Five members of the Paris Junior College basketball team were in the audience Monday for the Paris City Council meeting and were called up afterward to visit with council members. From left are Chris Jones, a 5-10 freshman point guard from Memphis, Tenn.; Delvin Dickerson, a 6-6 freshman from Houston; Paris mayor AJ Hashmi; District 6 councilwoman Cleonne Drake; 6-8 freshmanWill Ransom of North Crowley; District 2 councilwoman Sue Lancaster; 5-11 freshman Courtney Austin of Dallas; 6-11 sophomore Henry Buckley of Houston; District 1 city councilman Aaron Jenkins; and District 3 city councilman John Wright. (eParisExtra Photo by Charles Richards)
Someone told Buckley, “You may be taller than councilman Jenkins, but he can outrun you.” Jenkins said he doubted that — noting that his victory in a relay race at the state high school track meet came more than 20 years ago.
PJC athletes frequently are seen at city council meetings as part of a class requirement. The five PJC basketball players were accompanied to the council meeting by assistant PJC coach Derek Taylor. (eParisExtra phogo by Charles Richards)
Charles Richards Charles Richards moved to Paris in 2004 after retiring from a 40-year career in journalism – the last 26 years as a news writer and sports writer with The Associated Press in Dallas and Washington, D.C. In mid-2004, The Paris News coaxed him out of retirement, and he began covering the police, court and regional beat for The Paris News. Then in early 2005, he was switched to coverage of a sharply divided Paris City Council. He was appointed by the City Council in 2006 to the 12-member City Charter Review Commission, which extensively rewrote the outmoded document. His writing awards include two first-place awards in statewide competition for feature writing. The most recent was his 2005 story on a Paris doctor’s startling use of leeches in a successful attempt to re-attach a man’s severed ear. Over his career, Richards’ interview subjects include Alabama Gov. George Wallace, President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, David Koresh, Arnold Palmer, Muhammad Ali and numerous other political and sports figures. He is an alumnus of Texas Tech, where he was editor of the school newspaper. He lives in Paris with his wife, Barbara, who is retired after 30 years as a teacher and high school counselor.
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