A survey commissioned by the NRF (National Retail Federation) expects sales of Halloween products to reach $9 billion in 2018. This number is about the same as last year’s record of $9.1 billion and suggests the strong U.S. economy should help retailers ring up record sales throughout the 2018 holiday …

The Chocota VFD is having a hamburger and hot dog supper on Saturday, Sept. 29, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Chicota Community Center, 100 County Road 35860. There will be tea, coffee, water, and desserts with a live auction plus door prizes for both adults and kids. …

North Carolina-based Relay, the screen-free kid-tough smartphone for kids by Republic Wireless, has released the results of an extensive survey on the impact of screen time on families. The results of Relay’s “Bring Back Play” study shed light on the impact caused by a shift away from outdoors free play …

Photo by Bill Higgins Area volleyball tonight as district play starts for some teams and keeps going for others. At Paris High, the Lady Cats will host North Lamar. Paris is 1 and 0 in the district while this is North Lamar’s first district contest. Prairiland will take their 1–0 district …

A white Dallas Police Officer who fatally shot her black neighbor inside his own apartment was fired Monday. Officer Amber Guyger is charged with manslaughter in the Sept. 6 shooting that left 26-year-old Botham Jean dead. The case will be presented to a grand jury, which could decide a more …

The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the fatal explosion that took place August 31 at the Lone Star Specialties plant. William Rudd of Yale, Oklahoma, died in the blast and several others were injured. Multiple states, Lone Star and Morris County authorities responded to the explosion.

Lamar & Red River County Crime Stoppers is putting Crime to Bed, Saturday beginning at 1:00 pm, at the Red River Valley Fairground. Gates open at 11:00 am. Medals will be awarded to the team with the fastest bed, the slowest bed, the most creative bed/attire, and the people’s choice award. …

Paris Police arrested 51-year-old Lonnie Bassett after responding to a disturbance in the 400-block of Graham St. Bassett had allegedly entered the property demanding to speak with a person that no longer lived there, became agitated and began swinging a hatchet at the victim. Bassett was later found in the …

Photo by Bill Higgins In area volleyball Friday night the Prairiland lady Patriots defeated Commerce in four sets to open district play. Detroit took care of Clarksville in three sets while Rivercrest downed Maud in straight sets. The Texas A&M commerce football team had their 13 game winning streak snapped …

How often do you get calls on your cell from numbers nearly identical to your own? You’ve likely come to realize they’re all scam calls, and tech firm First Orion has found that mobile scam calls increased from 3.7% in 2017 to 29.2% in 2018, and it’s only going to …