By Mary Jane Farmer for the Van Alstyne News/Scene In Town

A definitive change in the U.S. Highway 75 services roads flow of traffic will be set in place this coming Tuesday (weather permitting), February 7.

Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) officials said that the yield signs at entrance and exit ramps along the US 75 frontage roads in the Van Alstyne area will be replaced with stop signs. Van Alstyne Mayor Jim Atchison said that this is TxDOT’s initial response for assistance in making the frontage roads safer for drivers.

At the December 10 City Council meeting, one item on its agenda was a public hearing regarding “changing the flow of traffic on US Highway 75 from two-way travel to one-way travel within the city limits.” Council members said that the individual comments, both for and against the proposed change, were enthusiastic, and that the Council is restricted by law from responding to comments made by the public during public hearings.

No decisions were made at that meeting. City officials have talked since with TxDOT.

As Atchison said, TxDOT has responded with this first change. He said, also, that the Council will hold a workshop on that same Tuesday, February 7, to look at the possibility/probability of any other changes. The Council is currently meeting at the Grayson College campus on West Van Alstyne Parkway and that agenda will soon be posted on the City’s Website, cityofvanalstyne.us

TxDOT crews will replace existing yield signs with stop signs on both sides of US 75 at each entrance ramp and exit ramp between Farmington/Blythe Road and County Line Road/Panther Parkway. Message boards will be placed at high-volume traffic ramps the week of Feb. 1 to alert travelers of this upcoming change, TxDOT.

TxDOT asks motorists traveling in this area to pay special attention to all barricades, traffic
controls, and signs; and to reduce their speed as they approach and travel through work zones. They should also avoid distractions such as cell phones, eating, drinking, or car audio or navigation systems.

By Mary Jane Farmer from information provided by Motina Books.

     Motina Books

Motina Books Publishing is a small, independent press located in Van Alstyne. Owner and publisher Diane J. Windsor said, “We mostly focus on bringing books written by women and mothers to life, but we do have a couple of male authors. We love to support new authors, small bookstores, and libraries.” The company will be releasing two new novels in February, both by out-of-state, prolific authors.

One can view the publisher’s Website at www.MotinaBooks.com, and can reach Windsor by E-mail at Diane@MotinaBooks.com

The Communion of Shadows

“The Communion of Shadows” by Gordon Bonnet

It’s August of 1850, deep in the bayou country of southern Louisiana. Four good friends are working in the fields harvesting the crops when a sudden thunderstorm drives them all indoors.
There’s kind, warm-hearted J. P. Ayo; eager, earnest young T-Joe Lirette; wry, hard-bitten Clovis Dantin; and gentle, easy-going Leandre Naquin.
“Hell of a night,” Leandre remarks, as they share a drink and wait for the storm to pass. “The kind of night when the ghosts walk.”
This seemingly off-hand comment is the impetus to the four men sharing their own ghost story. The tale each man tells — by turns being tragic, funny, frightening, and heartbreaking — gives them a window into their friends’ souls. When one of them confesses that his own personal ghost story isn’t over, that he’s still trapped in the middle of it, the events that follow will test the depth of their loyalty and friendship in ways that none of them could ever have dreamed.
What is certain is that after that night, none of the four will ever be the same.
Author Gordon Bonnet has been writing fiction since he was six years old, with a passion for storytelling and a deep love of the written word. He has always been fascinated with the paranormal, but his love of science, languages, and history also shows through in his writing.
“The Communion of Shadows“ is an homage to Bonner’s home, as he was born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana. When he’s not writing, he can usually be found running, making pottery, or playing music. He lives in rural upstate New York with his wife and two dogs. Go Online for more information at wwwGordonBonnet.com.

This new book will be released on February 21 and will be available as e-Book ISBN: 979-8-88784-002-4; Paperback and Hardcover through Amazon, and everywhere books are sold.

Home is a Made-Up Place

“Home is a Made-Up Place” by Ronit Plank
“A poignant and melancholy collection of stories about the constant search for a place to belong.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Home is a Made-Up Place“ expertly plumbs the complicated and surprising depths of motherhood and daughterhood while introducing characters who thrill and linger. A tender and exacting debut from an exciting new voice.” — Marie-Helene Bertino, author of “Parakeet”
“Stories that traverse the fraught territories between old conflicts and new starts, old patterns and uncomfortable realizations. Peopled by characters who are as complex and compromised as your own family, this is a lucid and compassionate collection by a writer to watch.” — Cate Kennedy, author of “Like a House on Fire”

“Home is a Made-Up Place“ invites readers into the lives of people grappling with emotional injuries and who are confronting the past to become who they wish to be. Set in New York City, New England, the Southwest, and rural Alaska, a single mother fights to protect her son, a daughter tries to forget her missing mother, a couple struggles to keep a marriage together and their children safe, and a family must face the truth about their father.

Bracing and intimate, “Home is a Made-Up Place” is a collection of stories about fighting for personal power, recognizing the difference between what can and cannot be changed, and the pull of familial attachments despite the toll they might take.
Author Ronit Plank is a Seattle-based writer, teacher, and editor whose work has been featured in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Writer’s Digest, The Rumpus, American Literary Review, Hippocampus, The lowa Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir, “When She Comes Back,” about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation, was named a  Best True Crime Book by Book Riot and was a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards, the
Housatonic Book Awards, and the Book of the Year Awards. Plank’s fiction and creative nonfiction
have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes, the Best of the Net, and the Best Microfiction Anthology,
and her short story collection “Home is a Made-up Place” won the Hidden River Arts’ Eludia Award.

This book becomes available on February 28 and will be available through the publisher and everywhere books are sold, and as an eBook with ISBN: 998887840093.

Windsor said that she will also be providing copies of both books to the Van Alstyne Public Library for check-out.

“Judy (Librarian Judy Kimzey) is very supportive of my books,” Windsor said, and added that she is a member of the Library Board.