Lifestyle

   Bay City High School Blackcat Band member Clayton Davis auditioned and was selected to the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) All-State Band as a trumpet player. 
   This is the highest honor a Texas music student can receive. 
   The competitive process begins throughout the state in auditions hosted by 28 TMEA Regions. Individual musicians perform selected music for a panel of judges who rank each instrument. 

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   The All-State audition process began for Caitlin Seigrist this summer when she attended choir camp at the University of Houston.
   Caitlin is a private voice student of Dr. Kara Cowart, choir director for Bay City High School. 
   At the UH camp, she learned the audition music that would be used throughout the audition process.  

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   Looking for something a little out of the ordinary and unique for Valentine’s Day weekend?
   Look no further, than CAST’s second dinner theater production of the 2015 – 2016 season.
   “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” places Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso in a Parisian cafe in 1904.
   That’s just before the renowned scientist transformed physics with his theory of relativity and the celebrated painter set the art world afire with cubism.
   “The play is an Off-Broadway absurdist comedy written by Steve Martin,” said director Zeinab Ghais.
   It is also Martin’s first full-length written play.
   Much of the play is filled with discussions about the coming and shaping of the 20th Century.

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  Several local agencies teamed up and pooled resources and personnel to save two whitetail bucks - shown in the photo above - that got their antler racks tangled Saturday, Jan. 2.
   A vigilant Van Vleck citizen saw the two deer on the TenarisBayCity property and reported the antler lockup to game wardens.  
   Matagorda County Game Warden David Janssen answered the call and requested help from the Bay City  Police Department Animal Control Division. 
   Animal Control Officer Dotty Grandstaff and BCPD K9 Officer Keith Hatton responded. 
   TenarisBayCity safety personnel Shane Atkinson provided ATVs to search and find the deer. 
   The deer were temporarily restrained for their safety and within a few minutes the deer were pulled apart. Without teamwork and intervention these deer would have died, police said.

   Jackson Electric Cooperative (JEC) is planning to build a new office complex and warehouse on nearly 28 acres off Texas 35 between Bay City and Van Vleck. 
   JEC closed on buying 27.98 acres across Showboat Drive from the vacant Ford dealership Monday morning, said JEC General Manager Jim Coleman. 
   “We’re going to make it more convenient for our members,” Coleman said of the projected new facilities that will include a drive-up window and several added services. 
   He said engineers told JEC that the cooperative’s existing metal building was significantly corroded after about 40 years of service. 
   In addition, the present site – also off Texas 35 east - is six acres, but JEC is able to use only two acres. 
   The new office complex will have about 10,000 square feet and the warehouse, an estimated 15,000 square feet, Coleman said. 

   Rain or shine the first ever Wild Game and Wine Camofest will fill downtown Bay City on Saturday Jan. 23. 
   “Rain, sleet or snow, wear your Camo!” said Alicia Waters, co-director of Main Street and promotional committee chairman. 
   Tickets are currently on sale and cost $15 each ($5 for children ages 5 – 12 and free for children under five), and are available at the BCCDC office at 1900 Fifth St. in Bay City. 
   From 1 – 5 p.m. ticket holders will be able to sample wine alongside wild game, fowl and fish from local hunters and guides. 
   Camofest honors Chinquapin native – and renowned artist and fisherman – Forrest Bess.  
   Bess is famous for his nature paintings, which have been showcased in museums in New York and Chicago, among many.  

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   The Crisis Center of Matagorda County is hosting its 9th Annual Chicken Fried Steak Dinner fundraiser from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29, at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bay City.  
   Volunteers will be on hand frying up steaks, preparing plates and helping oversee the silent auction.  
   Tickets are $10 for dine in or drive thru plates and are available at the Crisis Center, 3010 Sixth St. in Bay City. 
   Tickets can be purchased by cash, check or credit card by phone at 979-245-9109. 
   Patrons that dine in will be able to enjoy the silent auction and entertainment. 
   Funds raised will help support the programs of the Crisis Center which include: 

•     Domestic Violence 
•     Sexual Assault 
•     Prevention Education 
•     Children’s Advocacy Center 

   Sponsorships for the event are available from $100 to $2,500 in varying increments.