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School Boards The Lumberton ISD Board of Trustees meet the first Thursday after the first Monday each month at 7 p.m. at the Administration Building, 121 South Main Street.

The newly-formed Hardin County Election Commission held its first meeting ever last Wednesday morning, Dec. 6, 2023, and hired the county’s first ever elections administrator.

Mark Segrest has been named 2023 Fireman of the Year for the Silsbee Fire and Rescue. He responded to 168 calls during 2023 even though he was out of commission about half the time first with back surgery and then with hip surgery.

Gayle Stephen’s commitment to sharing a love of reading has been recognized by the Friends of Kountze Public Library. The dedicated teacher was recently honored with a Lifetime Friend’s Membership.

Toys for Tots (TFT) has been embraced by Hardin County with arms wide open. Fire Chief Robin Jones cleared the way for storage last year to get the program started. Silsbee volunteer firefighters stepped up in numerous ways, including buying toys, putting toys together, especially bicycles, moving and shifting toys, hosting meetings, and whatever they could do to make TFT a success. The City of Silsbee jumped on board collecting toys, working fundraisers, representing in the Christmas in the Big Thicket Parade, volunteering countless hours of work after hours, and donating supplies.

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The weather was beautiful Saturday and thousands of people packed downtown Silsbee for the annual Christmas in the Big Thicket celebration, which ended with a parade watched by thousands up and down Fifth Street. First, second and third place winners were named for the parade entries. First place went to Wiley Mae Community Baptist Church.Abundant Life won second place and Trecora Resources won third place. The Best Decorated Vehicle trophy went to Traveling Light Photography.