"I've been here more than 20 years, and I've never seen this.
We've had birds, we've had crickets, and now we have crabs."

Courthouse maintenance supervisor Johnny Pippin,
on the discovery of what was initially believed to
be pubic lice in the courthouse basement on April 9.
The insects were later identified as bird mites.

"She was always cooking something extra for us in the back.
She could make salsa that could burn the spoon in two."

Hot Skillet owner Tommy Frantom, on cook Maria Limon
who was killed by her estranged husband as she
arrived to work Jan. 3

"They are a non-fossil fuel alternative to a lawnmower.
I only had to mow my lawn twice this year."

-Amy Williams of Boyd defends her right
to own mini-goats inside Boyd city limits

"The tractor is simply a bare canvas for our painting.
It's our playing turf. It gives us a reason to do the things we do,"
Elmore said. "But it has very little to do with the tractor.
It's more business than anything."

Rick Elmore on the Decatur FFA all-girl team's
participation in the Chevron Delo Tractor
Restoration Competition

"There's a whole range of emotions - excitement and anticipation
as well as apprehension for the unknown. The most difficult part
is not going to be being there, but being away from Heather.
That's a lot scarier than anything over there."

Van James, Bridgeport city administrator,
on serving in Iraq as a consultant in 2008

"I made him wash out his mouth with mouthwash. I was really
surprised that he did it because I thought he would think it was too
gross. But they were really excited about these puppies."

Bianca Anderson, mother of Matt Anderson,
who saved a newborn puppy's life by giving
it mouth-to-mouth

"Candace Clark was an amazing parent. I just loved her. She
was always working for her children. She had high standards
for them and required them to do the right thing. And they
loved their mama. I have the utmost respect for her."

Glenda Goodwin, Decatur High School counselor, on
Candace Richardson Clark of Decatur, who was killed
in a vehicle accident on Sunday, Nov. 25. Her son Shane Eichthaler
died as a result of the accident and her son Steven Eichthaler
remains in the hospital.

"It will definitely be after the first of the year. At this point,
I do not have a firm date as to when they will complete the work."

Bill Nelson, TxDOT area engineer, on the completion of
construction on U.S. Highway 380 between
Decatur and Bridgeport

"Is $300 enough to make you trade in your truck for a hybrid?
I know there are some that will say 'You have to pry my
truck keys from my cold, dead hands.'"

-Jerry Clower, associate director of the
Center for Economic Development and Research

"The eleventh commandment should read:
Thou shalt not take thyself too seriously."

-Brad Ough, of Decatur, participant of the
2007 Hotter 'n Hell Hundred bicyle race

"When he was pulled over he tried to throw some dope
out of the window. He ended up spilling some on his shirt."

-David Walker, Wise County Sheriff
on the arrest of Alvin Durwood Qualls
of Bridgeport

"Wise County is number three in the state for accidents involving
commercial trucks. You can see the need for us to add manpower
in order to attack the problem."

-Sgt. Robert Cox,
Department of Public Safety

"Wise County has 27 injection wells and three more are permitted.
That's more than any other Texas county. Yet last week in Jack
County you said you didn't know much about injection wells. That
you are so uninformed about an issue so critical to the health and
safety of a vast number of your constituents is dereliction of duty."

-Sharon Wilson of Greenwood addressing state
Sen. Craig Estes at Decatur City Hall

"For the life of me, I don't understand why we don't have tens
of thousands of troops at the border."

State Representative Phil King, speaking in June on one
of the 80th Legislative Session's hot botton topics:
illegal immigration

"We activated our emergency operations center at the police
department in case it got worse. Luckily it stopped raining, but if it
had kept going two more hours, it would have been catastrophic."

Bridgeport Police Chief Randy Singleton
on the flooding in the Turkey Creek area of
the city June 30.