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The sales tax allocation figures for July have been published by the State Comptroller’s Office.
In July, 2011, Mineola received $125,667 in sales tax proceeds from the state, compared to $105,571 in July of 2010, a monetary increase of $20,096 for the city of Mineola.
This is, no doubt, largely attributable to the delivery of beer and wine to local stores in late June and early July.
This is more money that can be spent on roads, emergency services and other necessary maintenance and upkeep of our town.
In a phone conversation with David Stevenson, Mineola City Administrator, it was confirmed that during this period the city saw no increase in alcohol-related crimes or arrests.
The state of Texas collects sales tax and distributes it back to municipalities. This process takes place over a 30-40 day period, making the September sales tax posting reflect actual taxes collected in July.
2011 vs. 2010 Sales Tax Collection for Mineola, Texas
The Mineola Gypsy Market has announced the ten bands that will compete for the $2000 cash first prize in the Mineola Gypsy Market Battle of the Bands on October 8th, 2011.
The bands, in the order they will appear, are:
One of these bands will walk away with the $2000 first prize on October 8th. For full details regarding the Battle of the Bands as well as the Mineola Gypsy Market in general, please visit MineolaGypsyMarket.com.
I was told not to compare the movie and the play when it comes to “Bus Stop”, which is being performed at Lindale Community Theater this weekend. The play debuted in 1955. It’s a “slice of life” drama with plenty of comedic moments. It moves quickly and will take you on an emotion-filled journey through the lives of the characters.
In their second season, LCT doing a summer drama is somewhat of a departure from “the norm” in the world of community theater. Tim Mitchiner and his cast and crew really did a nice job on this show. It will stimulate several of your senses.
The play ran last weekend and broke attendance records at LCT. It opens back up Friday, July 15th at 7:30 and runs Saturday night at 7:30 and Sunday at 2 PM.
A tense moment between the characters of Bo and Cherrie in William Inge's "Bus Stop" at Lindale Community Theater.
Reservations can be made by calling 903-638-0402.
Tickets are $10.
Local bands have until July 31st to enter the Battle of the Bands event at the Mineola Gypsy Market Music & Arts Festival.
The winner will walk away that day with $2000 in cash winnings. Ten bands will compete in the event to be held on Saturday, October 8, 2011.
Interested parties can download and print all necessary entry forms and read the complete rules at the Gypsy Market web site.
The Mineola Gypsy Market is produced in conjunction with the City of Mineola. This is the 4th event in a 3 year period. This event is now an annual event that takes place in October.
Admission is always free to the Gypsy Market and there is always ample free and close parking.
It promises to be a day of good music, fun, games and lots of activity for the kids and ALWAYS plenty to eat and drink.
Again, the deadline for bands to enter the Battle of the Bands is July 31st, so get to the Gypsy Market web site and get your entry forms now and get entered so you can win the $2000 cash first prize.
Battle of the Bands in Mineola. $2000 Cash First Prize!
Pat Wood (left) and Pat Hamlett (right) pose with the first alcohol sold in Mineola since prohibition.
History was made in Mineola on June 29, 2011 when the first alcohol was sold since the inception of prohibition on June 30, 1919. Hamlett was the chair of the committee responsible for getting the alcohol propositions of the May 2011 ballot.
Stores in Mineola may now sell beer and wine on a packaged, off-premise consumption basis. Restaurants may have a full bar as long as they meet the requirement that 51% or more of their total sales are derived from food sales.
Many other East Texas towns are realizing the additional sales tax dollars associated with alcohol sales. Recently, the town of Alba, Texas also enacted similar laws. Emory enacted beer and wine sales two years ago and public records show additional tax revenue to be $80,000+.
The Mineola Civic Center will be having a festival on July 4th. There will be multiple slip-n-slides, vendors and other activities. The events of the day will be topped off by a professional fireworks presentation at dusk.
The event begins at noon and ends after the fireworks are over. Donations to the fireworks fund will be accepted throughout the day.
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June 28, 2011 is the day that beer arrived in Mineola and, of course, Mineola Buzz brings you the story first.
Pat Hamlett bought the first beer, a six-pack of Miller Lite, at Brookshire’s this morning.
James Dear is 94, sharp as a tack and knows just about everything there is to know about Mineola.
In this chat, we discussed his career at the Select Theater, events of the town, local music, his work with the Meredith Foundation, gunfights, bootlegging, Bonnie & Clyde and much more.
This video is 1 1/2 hours, so watch it on your own time, but it is good stuff. Mr. Dear is not only lucid, but sharp as a tack when it comes to this town and the events of the last hundred years or so.
Enjoy!
James Dear tells a story about Mineola.
I had a chat with Shiloh Alexander of Haute Stuff Boutique. In the time that this shop has been open, it seems to have taken Mineola by storm. Shiloh has many useful nuggets of information for the upstart business owner. In our chat, I asked her about some of her ingredients for success.
If you don’t know Shiloh, stop by Haute Stuff Boutique and say hello.
Haute Stuff Boutique
206 W Broad
Mineola, TX 75773
(903) 569-5646
Wed – Fri: 10 AM – 6 PM
Sat: 10 AM – 4 PM
Books mentioned in this interview:
The 6-1-2011 edition of the Mineola Monitor is worth the 50 cents it costs just to read Kenneth Teo’s letter to the editor.
Please pardon my cynical nature, but how much more dramatic can a letter be? Really? May 14, 2011 is the saddest day in Mineola’s history? Even sadder than school officials going to jail for improper relations with students? Really?
Oh, one more thing, Mr. Teo. That dark cloud you refer to in your letter, that is more commonly known as nighttime. The sun came up on May 15th and it has every day since. We even made it through the end of the world that was supposed to happen on May 21.
Want to see sad? What happened to Joplin, Missouri is sad. What happened to Tuscaloosa, Alabama is sad. With all due respect, what happened in Mineola on May 14th, sir, is progress!
This issue has drawn nearly as many emotional responses as the alcohol issue did. Because we are not a merchant within the historic overlay district of Mineola, we have remained silent about this.
As I listened to people discuss this issue tonight, I was overcome with the level of fear on the behalf of citizens and council members alike, fear that if we allow this man to open a pawn shop in Mineola, that a sea of pawn shops would soon follow. It’s a good thing our founding fathers had a greater vision than to worry about the hypothetical.
Rob Carter of The Ponderosa make his case in city hall.
Simple laws of economics will dictate saturation levels that a local economy can support of a given type of business. Ask any antique shop owner in any of these East Texas towns and they will certainly agree with the principles of over-saturation that lead to diminishing returns.
I understand that laws and ordinances are set forth for the long term, but isn’t the principle of modern conservative economics to let the markets dictate what will and what will not last? Or is it that nobody wants to be next to the pawn shop? We have multiple small loan companies in the historic overlay district. Are they really any different than pawn shops?
After this town voted to repeal prohibition I was excited at the surge of progress. What I saw tonight was the quashing of progress in the name of “What if…” scenarios that may or may never come true and are driven by fear.
Kudos to Rob Carter of Ponderosa for doing what he thinks is right and for taking his fight to the council. Hopefully his pioneering spirit will be rewarded by having a successful business despite some members of his community and government rallying against him.
On May 14, 2011 the voters of Mineola came out to vote and voted for Propositions 1 & 2. The rhetoric was hot and heavy and both sides seemed very emotionally charged. At the end of the day, the prospect of extra sales tax dollars won out over the fear of our town becoming a haven for sin, crime and other evil things.
The video below is the announcement from David Stevenson, City Administrator. The video just below that is just for fun. I cannot take credit for the very appropriate music video. It was suggested to me by a friend. If that person wishes for people to know their identity, they can make that known.
The numbers are:
Prop 1
For: 440
Against: 419
Prop 2
For: 441
Against: 406
Mineola Texas has many fine eating establishments. The pizza at Taste of Italy is second to none. Their pasta dishes are also very good, very nice portions, all homemade with fresh ingredients and their prices are great. Best of all, when dining at Taste of Italy, you are supporting a locally-owned establishment where the owner of the restaurant is in the kitchen cooking your food.
Taste of Italy
113 East Commerce Street
Mineola, TX 75773-2047
(903) 569-9666
Wing Dingers is also a nice place for pizza and wings in Mineola. They are a take-out restaurant. At this point, I have not tried their pizza, but their wings are delicious.
Wing Dingers
1110 N Pacific St
Mineola, TX, 75773-1840
(903) 569-1113
The other pizza place in Mineola apparently does not want to serve beer and/or wine, even though most of their restaurants that I have been in serve beer.
Let’s face it, pizza and beer go together. Apparently, the local management of this restaurant does not see it that way and chooses to act against Mineola collecting the sales tax it needs to prosper. They have a choice and so do we.
Location of Taste of Italy
Location of Wing Dingers
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