According to cosmetology instructor Brenda Murphy, only the most experienced students are allowed to practice their skills on live customers. In fact, students must have at least 1,000 hours of instruction before they can cut a client’s hair.

For those who aren’t ready to work with a real person, there are mannequins. With a blank stare and a low level of expectation as far as hair is concerned, these mannequins are not likely to complain about the little mistakes, or even the big ones.

“It gives them a practical way to try out their skills without having to have a live person sitting there,” said cosmetology instructor Brenda Thrash.

The school, which was located in Lumberton until just recently, opened its doors to students at the site of the old WalMart building on Hwy. 327 across from the Silsbee Middle School.

Students can earn an education is cosmetology, which takes 1,500 hours to complete, nails, a 600-hour course, or skin, which takes 750 hours to complete.

According to esthetology instructor Cheryl Emerson, learning to help people with their skin has become a hot career path for young people.

“With this training, they are able to work in a doctor’s office helping with dermatology problems, or they can work in a day spa,” she said.

According to the school’s director Lilly Cooper, the cosmetology education is certified by the state as a post-secondary educational opportunity, qualifying that part of the coursework for grants or loans.

That process took more than three years and was bolstered by help from several areas.

“Rep. (Mike) Hamilton helped us with that and it took a while to get done,” Cooper said. “But students are able to get financial help to get their education with us.”

Mike Bruce of Silsbee, owner of the property once occupied by WalMart, purchased the school and moved the complex onto his property.

“We can’t thank Mr. Bruce enough,” said Cooper. “He’s done some fantastic renovations to the building and it’s first-class.”

In addition to cosmetology classes, the school is offering emergency medical technician training with plans to include coursework in computers in the near future. A daycare will also take up residence next door to the existing school.

There are currently about 100 students enrolled in the school with day and night courses available. Day classes run Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Fridays from 8:30 to noon.

Night classes are Monday through Thursday, 5 to 9 p.m.

There is open registration for the school with new classes starting the first week of August.

In addition to being able to get an education, area residents can get inexpensive haircuts, colors and other hair treatments. For information about classes or to schedule an appointment, call 386-2020.

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"I have no doubt that Rep. Gattis will be a vital asset to the Advisory Group as he has been to all the committees on which he has served," Speaker Craddick said. "He and Rep. Hamilton, along with the other members, are sure to succeed in addressing the issues facing the states water supply."

The Advisory Group will closely examine how to better balance needs associated with instream flows, bays and estuaries with the expansion of the state's population and the related demand for water. Created by House Bill 3, the group will work with local stakeholders within river basins on these important issues.

The Advisory Group includes nine members. The governor appoints three members - one from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, one from the Texas Water Development Board, and one from the Parks and Wildlife Commission. The lieutenant governor and the speaker each appoint three members from their respective chambers. All serve terms at the pleasure of the appointing official. Two co-presiding officers - a senator and a house member - are chosen according to seniority.

Rep. Gattis is serving his third term as the state representative for District 20. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee, where he is the chair of budget and oversight.

Rep. Hamilton is serving his third term as the state representative for District 19. Rep. Hamilton is also a member of the House Calendars Committee and the House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee.

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"Rep. Hamilton is a well qualified, obvious choice to chair the Natural Resources Committee considering his previous experience as vice chair and his familiarity with the issues facing this important committee," Speaker Craddick said. "He will no doubt serve his constituents and the people of Texas well as he leads the committee that manages the state's most vital resources."

The Committee has nine members. Aside from overseeing the conservation, control and development of the state's natural resources, the Committee also has jurisdiction over irrigation, irrigation companies, and irrigation districts, the regulation of water supply districts, water control and improvement districts, as well as conservation and reclamation districts. It has oversight of a number of state agencies including the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as it relates to the regulation of water resources, the Office of Canadian River Compact Commissioner for Texas, the Office of Pecos River Compact Commissioner for Texas, the Office of Red River Compact Commissioner for Texas, the Office of Rio Grande Compact Commissioner for Texas, the Office of Sabine River Compact Administrator for Texas, the Multi-State Water Resources Planning Commission, and the Texas Water Development Board.

"I thank Speaker Craddick for his confidence in my abilities and look forward to serving as Chairman of the House Natural Resources committee," Rep. Hamilton said. "Water has long been a priority of my district, and I am honored to be serving my constituents and all Texans as a leader in water resource issues."

Rep. Hamilton is serving his third term as representative for District 19. Aside from his position as chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, Rep. Hamilton is a member of the Calendars Committee and the Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committees.

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"Representative Hamilton advocated for AT&T to extend the availability of high speed Internet service to Mauriceville and deserves credit for his commitment to the issue," said David Moore, chief executive officer of Crawdad Convenience Stores. "To compete in today's marketplace, businesses need the high speed Internet access that broadband provides. We're excited that the citizens of Mauriceville will now have access."

Industry-Leading Features
AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet delivers a unique high speed online experience, including differentiated entertainment-related video content; virtually unlimited e-mail storage; an award-winning parental controls offering; industry-leading safety and security features built into an online protection suite; multiple e-mail addresses; and a core offering of customer-driven features, such as online marketing tools, to further customize the online experience.

In addition, the AT&T Yahoo! Online Protection suite of software features a comprehensive safety and security package with valuable tools, including spam filters and anti-virus protection, anti-spyware, pop-up ad-blocking and one of the industry's most extensive parental control offerings, which are recognized by The National Parenting Center with its Seal of Approval. AT&T Yahoo! Online Protection provides subscribers a complete security solution that is simple to install, configure and keep up to date.

Compelling Prices and High Speeds
Residential customers can choose from four AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet speed tiers, each with a flat everyday low rate that doesn't require a 12-month commitment. Customers can also enjoy the same great price whether they are ordering AT&T high speed Internet by phone, online (at http://www.att.com) or when shopping with participating retailers.

AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet features the following speeds and rates for residential customers:

Basic (up to 768 Kbps downstream; up to 384 Kbps upstream) is available for $14.99 a month (available for new customers only).
Express (up to 1.5 Mbps downstream; up to 384 Kbps upstream) is available for $19.99 a month.
Pro (up to 3.0 Mbps downstream; up to 512 Kbps upstream) is available for $24.99 a month.
Elite (up to 6.0 Mbps downstream; up to 768 Kbps upstream) is available for $34.99 a month.
The offer for AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet Pro and Elite includes even greater value with the addition of an AT&T Wireless Gateway. The gateway enables residential broadband customers to roam — untethered — throughout virtually any room in the home and receive fast access to the Web using multiple Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Hundreds of thousands of AT&T broadband customers already have home Wi-Fi gateways; AT&T ships an average of nearly 7,000 a day.

AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet service is available in the company's 13-state incumbent local exchange areas, where high speed Internet service is available: Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, California, Nevada and Connecticut.

Residential and small business high speed Internet customers can also enjoy their service on the go with a subscription to AT&T Wi-FiSM service, which provides a wireless broadband experience at nearly 10,000 locations nationwide, including airports, hotels, convention centers, coffee shops, restaurants and business centers. Customers with AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet Pro or Elite automatically benefit from free, unlimited access to AT&T's nearly 10,000 hot spots nationwide.

AT&T is the premier provider of broadband service, with 13.3 million broadband lines in service as of the second quarter of 2007, with the nation's largest Wi-Fi network.

AT&T Homezone Service
Mauriceville customers also will be able to subscribe to AT&T Homezone, a groundbreaking new service that integrates AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet, AT&T | DISH Network satellite television and AT&T Home Networking services via a single device.

AT&T Homezone provides Internet Protocol (IP)-based video with satellite TV programming in a seamless in-home experience. It features digital video recording, movies on demand, photo and music sharing — plus storage for both — and remote, Web-based access to the system.

AT&T is the first major U.S. telecommunications provider to offer seamlessly integrated video content and TV entertainment to the "digital living room" through both broadband and traditional satellite networks.

In addition to accessing video content, AT&T Homezone customers can also access a range of Yahoo!-provided services, including AT&T LAUNCHcast Radio, AT&T Yahoo! Photos, AT&T Yahoo! Movies and AT&T Yahoo! Web Remote.

Homezone also now includes a High Definition version of the receiver, as well as enhanced remote and wireless access to the system and more than 7,000 on-demand titles from content partners Movielink and Akimbo.

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