December 2021

DECEMBER • 2021

TEXARKANA MAGAZINE December | 2021 | Volume 2 | Issue 12

56. S T Y L E Attention to Detail 68. L I F E Light It Up! 70. S T Y L E Have Yourself a Merry Little Mantle

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10. P O L I T I C S Life of the Party 14. c o v e r/ C OMMUN I T Y Living His Best Life

46. S P O R T S Calling the Shots 52. E N T E R TA I NME N T Good Evening TXK

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74.

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24. C U L T U R E Sing a Song of Christmas 30. Y E A R I N R E V I E W 2021 in the Rearview

72. S H A R E T H E L O V E Milestone Celebrations 74. T X K R O O T S Nancy Hinshaw Curtis

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What is your favorite Christmas movie?

CASSY MEISENHEIMER Any of the Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel

TERRI SANDEFUR The Year Without A Santa Claus and Rise of the Guardians

KARA HUMPHREY A Christmas Story and Arthur Christmas

LEAH ORR Love Actually

MATT CORNELIUS Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

BRITT EARNEST Four Christmases

BAILEY GRAVITT The Family Stone

TERRI GRAVITT Almost Christmas

MEGAN GRIFFIN National Lampoons Christmas Vacation

JOSEPH GUERNSEY Dr. Seuss the Grinch (2018)

TIFFANY HORTON Home Alone

SONJA HUBBARD It’s a Wonderful Life It’s not just my favorite Christmas movie, but absolutely my favorite movie, ever.

BRIAN JONES Die Hard

PATSY MORRISS White Christmas

EMILY SARINE Elf

LIBBY WHITE The Holiday

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C O N T R I B U T O R S

T E X A R K A N A M A G A Z I N E

txkmag.com [email protected] 903.949.1460 OFFICE 911 North Bishop Street Building C • Suite 102 Wake Village, Texas 75501 MAIL 2801 Richmond Road #38 Texarkana, Texas 75503

Like a general going into battle, we are laser focused as we march toward the holiday season. We have decorating goals that would make Joanna Gaines dizzy, and the range of holiday dishes we have waiting in our Pinterest would make Betty Crocker curl up in defeat and eat straight from the jar. Reconsidering my over-zealous ideas, I shake my head when I concede that my holiday dishes will probably be prepared and purchased from some of our local restaurant favorites that thankfully do the hard work

keep the season centered on the true meaning of Christmas. As a Christian, I believe Jesus is not only the real reason for the season, but his birth, life, death and resurrection are the only avenue for the world’s introduction to the hope, faith, joy and peace traditionally represented by the four candles of the Advent tradition. The birth of our beautiful Savior, now THAT really is an event worthy of a “hoopla,” and thankfully, Lorie’s family recognized that. After the last couple of years that have looked unlike anything else we have seen in my lifetime, the idea of getting back to the simple things sounds exactly like what we all need a little more of. It is the perfect time to focus a little more on family, friends, and community. That’s the example James

Publisher C A R D I N A L P U B L I S H I N G Staff C A S S Y M E I S E N H E I M E R [email protected] T E R R I S A N D E F U R [email protected] K A R A H U M P H R E Y [email protected] L E A H O R R [email protected] M AT T C O R N E L I U S [email protected] B R I T T E A R N E S T [email protected] Local Sources C L A R E A N G I E R J O H N L U K E A N G I E R M A R Y C A R O L I N E A N G I E R P H I L I P A N G I E R K A R M E N C O R N E L I U S

to make holiday dinner s eas ier. My Ch r i s tmas decorations will consist of a single s u b - p a r t r e e decorated by my kids and a dancing Santa. It is easy to get swept up in the holiday “hoopla” of a wes ter n Christmas. From the days when kids were excited to wake up to a simple stocking s t u f f e d w i t h oranges , candy canes and a Slinky, how did we get here? These days

Bramlett has been setting in our city for years. Growing u p h e r e , h e developed a love for Texarkana and our citizens and has been giving b a c k t h r ou g h leader ship and service every time he has had the opportunity. From his time as mayor, to serving beans and cornbread for a good cause, his actions show that he shares the values of advent with the people o f Te x a r k a n a

T I M C O R N E L I U S A N G E L A E V A N S TA M M Y L U M M U S V I C K I M C M A H O N J O E R E G A N

C R A F T E D I N T E X A R K A N A . E M P L OY E E OWN E D A N D L O C A L LY S O U R C E D .

16-month old John Henry Meisenheimer and Santa

FOLLOW US ON SOC I AL MEDI A

there is pressure to provide the postcard- perfect-looking, cinnamon-stick-smelling, overindulgent and over-stuffed Christmas experiences that have somehow cheapened this budget breaking holiday. One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is Advent. My friend Lorie Son started this tradition for my family. When my kids were little, she and her family handmade us an Advent countdown calendar with small gifts to unwrap each day that correlated with scripture. It was extremely meaningful then, and each year since, the tradition has helped my family

year after year. As the holiday season is kicking into high gear, take some time to read about his invaluable contributions in this month’s issue of Texarkana Magazine , and remind yourself to slow down and take notice of your family, friends and neighbors. They are the reason Jesus came and His coming changed everything. Let’s celebrate it together.

#txkmag

Texarkana Magazine is a multimedia publication showcasing the Texarkana area and is designed and published by Cardinal Publishing, LLC. Articles in Texarkana Magazine should not be considered specific advice, as individual circumstances vary. Ideaology, products and services promoted in the publication are not necessarily endorsed by Texarkana Magazine .

Merry Christmas!

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P U B L I S H E R ’ S L E T T E R

T E X A R K A N A M A G A Z I N E

LIFE OF THE PARTY BY SONJA HUBBARD

I n 1980, election officials came to Ashdown High School and registered students to vote, those of us who had attained legal age. I was excited to be all grown up, ready to make my own decisions and do my part as a proud American citizen. But as I stood there awaiting my voter registration card, the volunteer, without an utterance requesting party affiliation, took a rubber stamp and slammed a big red “Democrat” on my card. She then handed it back to me and abruptly turned to the next kid. I walked away wondering, “What just happened? Why wasn’t I given a choice?” Being a naïve young voter, I was also unsure if it even mattered. In 1985, after graduating from college and moving to Texarkana, I was more self-assured and now truly ready to make my mark and do my part. I’d even studied the issues and candidates for the local, county and state seats. I was an informed voter. My husband and I arrived at our polling place for the primary elections. He chose the Democratic ballot and I the Republican. When we met back in the parking lot, he seemed satisfied, and I again dismayed. Most of the elections weren’t even on my ballot. I didn’t have anyone to vote for. I clearly wasn’t as informed as I thought and again, proved to be a naïve voter. I learned, the hard way, that Texas has open primaries, as opposed to closed primaries, but not nonpartisan primaries. That’s when I researched and learned the difference. An open primary is a primary election that does not require voters to be affiliated with a political party. Any registered voter may participate in the primaries, regardless of political affiliation. However, voters must choose one party’s ballot. In a closed primary, only party affiliated voters may vote in their party’s primary. Generally, voters must have been registered with that party before Primary Day (or another specified deadline). No unaffiliated voter may participate.

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B U S I N E S S & P O L I T I C S

T E X A R K A N A M A G A Z I N E

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Many candidates in a nonpartisan primary may share similar political philosophies and end up splitting that vote, allowing a less popular, extremist candidate to fare better.

A nonpartisan primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office, regardless of political party, run against each other at once instead of being segregated by political party. A nonpartisan primary eliminates partisan primaries in favor of a single nonpartisan primary that is open to all voters, including independents, with the top vote getters, regardless of party, moving on to the general election. There are pros and cons to each of the above styled primary formats and hybrid styles in addition to these. There is also no clear consensus as to what style best serves public interest. PROPONENTS OF NONPARTISAN BALLOTS SUGGEST: • Voters should be able to choose from all qualified candidates without a commitment to party affiliation. • The current system blocks candidates who are more diverse, moderate, independent, or third-party by restricting access to the ballot through funding, support, and litigation.

Only four states have some version of nonpartisan primaries. It can certainly be argued based upon this statistic that our current system of partisan primaries is the right position and works, but based upon a Time article from March 31, 2021, “Two-thirds of adults in the U.S. and France believe the political system needs overhauled, if not overthrown.” That statistic doesn’t seem to support that our current system works. Both George Washington and John Adams expressed dread that the evolution of two great political parties competing for power and influence would create a strong and divisive partisanship damaging the effectiveness of our government. Nonpartisan elections, or especially nonpartisan politicians, could reduce the gamesmanship that goes on in party politics. Today, both parties seem more concerned about making the other party look bad than they are about finding compromises and taking actions, creating policies that benefit this country and the citizens that elected them. I challenge that most of us actually aren’t even that far apart, whether Democrat, Republican, Independent or other, at least not on the important issues. Regardless of party affiliation, most Americans align on the policies of significance. >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76

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