After more than a quarter-century of developing new technology and looking to the horizon, Tony Norman has decided to focus on his own future.

Norman, co-founder of Greenville’s Innovation First and related companies, is retiring.

“This is actually something I have been thinking about for a while,” he told the Herald-Banner this week.

However, Norman, who serves as president and CEO of the company that he created alongside Bob Mimlitch, won’t be going away completely.

“I’ll be staying on the board of directors,” Norman said. “I’ll keep my hand in.”

Innovation First began as a local robotics company but has since expanded into global electronics and technology enterprises. It remains a leader in educational and competitive robotics products and is a growing developer of consumer robotics toys.

Norman and Mimlitch graduated from Greenville High School and went to work for Raytheon, where they became involved in the For Inspiration of Robotics, Science and Technology (FIRST) competition. FIRST challenges students from around the world to solve engineering problems using robotics technology.

While working for Raytheon, the pair spotted some defects in the system used by the competition, and they became the default technical support staff for local FIRST participants.

Innovation First designed the technology powering the Vex Robotics Design System and partnered with RadioShack in 2005 to develop the product platform. In 2006, Innovation First acquired ownership of the technology outright.

Innovation First became a privately held corporation in 1996. The RackSolutions division, which designs the brackets and mounting hardware that became the company’s bread and butter, was formed in 1999.

Norman said the past few years have been difficult for Innovation First, as it has for any technology company, due to global problems associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. He explained the company has had to address issues in obtaining equipment and parts, including chips and semiconductors from overseas.

“We are just now starting to come back to the level we were pre-COVID,” Norman said.

More recently, a series of posts to robotics-related online message boards and social media forums have cropped up, alleging sexual harassment at Innovation First and claiming the company fosters a hostile work environment.

Norman said he obviously is aware of the posts but notes that many of the claims were related to incidents that allegedly occurred in 2015 and 2016.

“I was out of the country most of that time,” he said, adding the posts were being made by former employees now associated with his competitors.

Norman said he believes some major changes are coming to Innovation First’s management structure in the near future.

“We are going to have a restructuring of the board of directors,” he said, which will also include the naming of a new CEO.

“I expect to make an announcement in the next few weeks,” Norman said. “Maybe it will be in the next week or so.”

VEX is also expanding its offerings of labs and curriculum for students learning about Science, Technology, Education and Mathematics (STEM).

“Pretty soon they will be available for classes from pre-school all the way through 12th grade,” he said.

Mimlitch will also remain with the company.

“Bob will be staying and will be on the board,” Norman said. Still, Norman isn’t entirely sure of his own plans.

He wants to spend more time with his two children, and he is eagerly awaiting the return of his wife, who has been in an extended stay in China under that country’s COVID-19 quarantine protocols.

“I am going to be around. I will still be helping the community,” Norman said, adding that he will also remain on the boards of the multiple local service agencies. “I’d say I’ll be traveling, but I’ve been all over the world. But other than that, I think I just want to enjoy life.”

The staff at W. Walworth Harrison Public Library is gearing up for its fourth LitCon, which will be Saturday, March 18.

Since 2019, with one year off due to COVID-19, the library has been organizing the event as an annual celebration of science fiction, fantasy and other elements of “geek culture.” It’s also been a time for the library to highlight its collection of graphic novels (which can be thought of as long-form comic books) and young adult fiction.

“Unfortunately, there’s still some stigma about graphic novels, where some parents think they’re just comic books and not real literature, so we started LitCon to show off our collection of graphic novels so people can see what they have to offer and how they can encourage kids to read more,” said Children’s Librarian Christie Melton.

The “Dog Man” series and mangas (which are translated Japanese graphic novels) such as “My Hero Academia” are some of the most popular graphic novels in the library’s collection, Melton said.

This year’s LitCon will feature vendors, tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons, and special guests. Guests that have so far been announced for LitCon 23 include:

• Miracle Austin, a young adult supernatural fiction author who writes the “Doll” series of novels.

• Amanda Gish, a voice actress who has voiced animated characters that include Kinoko from “My Hero Academia,” Witch from “Goblin Slayer,” and Hop from "Dragon Ball Super."

• Troy Hughes, who is both a voice actor and a radio personality. For almost a decade, he’s been featured on 106.1 KISS-FM with Kidd Kraddick in the Morning. As a voice actor, he’s contributed voices for animated features that include “Attack on Titan,” “Fairy Tail,” “Fire Force, “My Hero Academia” and “Overlord.”

Of course, like Comic Con and other fandom gatherings, library staff encourage LitCon attendees to wear costumes depicting some of their favorite characters. At past LitCons, the library has been visited by “cosplayers,” who wear elaborate costumes such as Bumblebee from “Transformers,” Godzilla, Ghostbusters and Mandalorians from “Star Wars.”

In addition to the fun and games, lunch provided by In-N-Out Burger will also be served at LitCon.

The LitCon will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 18 at W. Walworth Harrison Public Library, which is located at 1 Lou Finney Lane (behind Super 1 Foods) in Greenville.

The streets of Greenville and area cities were eerily quiet this morning as a mixture of snow and sleet fell across the region, making travel hazardous and forcing scores of cancellations and closures.

Schools and government offices were closed across Hunt County, and the Texas Department of Transportation was urging motorists to stay off the roads unless travel is absolutely necessary. Driving is treacherous.

Numerous wrecks occurred Monday night in and around Greenville, including a few involving 18-wheelers going off the highway along I-30, according to the Department of Public Safety. There was no report of any serious injuries. As for accidents, the worst appeared to be on I-30 near FM 1570 in Greenville and on U.S. 380 between Greenville and the Collin County line, according to DPS.

The National Weather Service is predicting freezing rain and sleet, mainly before 3 p.m today. At about 10 a.m. Tuesday, thunder could be heard rolling in the distance from downtown Greenville.

Today's high is expected to be near 30 with a north wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. The chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime ice accumulation of 0.1 to 0.2 of an inch is possible. Total daytime sleet accumulation of less than a half inch is possible.

Tonight, expect a chance of more freezing rain and sleet before 9 p.m., and then freezing rain likely. The chance of precipitation is 70% with new ice accumulation of 0.1 to 0.3 of an inch possible. Little or no additional sleet accumulation is expected.

Wednesday looks to be a little warmer, but the forecast points to more freezing precipitation until mid-afternoon, and then rain showers after 3 p.m. with a high near 33. New ice accumulation of 0.1 to o.3 inch is possible. There's a 90% chance of precipitation over night.

On Thursday, rain is expected to be likely before noon, and then there's a chance of showers after noon. Thursday is expected to be cloudy with a high near 36. The sun is expected to break though on Friday.

Officials with the Greenville Electric Utility System said they were ready to deal with the potential for ice on wires and trees.

“We are doing our standard preparations for icy weather,” said GEUS Marketing and Key Accounts Manager Jimmy Dickey, who said the utility had also been in contact with ERCOT about the potential electricity demand during the storm.

“They feel like they have plenty of generation available,” Dickey said

Updated road conditions are are available at drivetexas.org.

Greenville and Hunt County will likely miss another White Christmas this year, but there is no doubt the next few days will be extremely cold.

And, there is at least a chance some of the white stuff may fall in the area today as a powerful arctic blast arrives.

Meanwhile, ERCOT is assuring Texans that there will be ample electrical power.

“As we monitor weather conditions, we want to assure Texans that the grid is resilient and reliable,” ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas said in a statement. “We will keep the public informed as weather conditions change.”

The National Weather Service forecast was calling for a chance of sprinkles and/or flurries until noon, then gradually becoming sunny, with a temperature falling to around 19 by 5 p.m. The worst part will be the wind, with wind chill values between 1 and 11 degrees. The winds will shift to north northwest 20 to 30 mph in the morning and could gust as high as 45 mph.

It will be mostly clear tonight, with a low around 7 and wind chill values between -4 and -13 degrees with a north northwest wind gusting as high as 35 mph.

It will be mostly sunny and cold Friday with a high near 23 and north northwest wind gusts as high as 25 mph.

The winds will finally die down by Friday night, as it will be mostly cloudy, with a low around 17.

Saturday is predicted to be mostly sunny, with a high near 31 and a low around 18 on Christmas Eve night.

Christmas Day is forecast to be sunny, with a high near 43 and a south southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

There will be at least two locations in Hunt County where people can get warm if they are caught in the cold.

Barbara Horan, owner of the Texan Theater, 2712 Lee Street in downtown Greenville plans to stay open continuously during the snap.

“I am calling it a movie marathon for everyone who is cold and or hungry, or just wants to watch free movies on the big screen,” Horan said. “After 7 a.m. I won’t lock the doors until it is warm, I maybe open until Saturday. I am not sure which movies but continuous all day and night. Even people with heat at home can come party with me.”

Also, the Fellowship Hall at First Baptist Church in Wolfe City, 103 S Preston Street, has been designated as a cold shelter. Additional information is available at 903-496-2560.

The cold front will be arriving right about the time people are driving into and out of the region, traveling to their Christmas destinations. TxDOT is offering up-to-date road conditions at www.drivetexas.org. The Texas Division of Emergency Management has updates on the weather on its website at www.tdem.texas.gov

A White Christmas has occurred locally in years past.

A sudden snowstorm developed on Christmas Day 2012. Powerful thunderstorms rolled into the region shortly before dawn on December 25, bringing thunder and heavy rain before the precipitation rapidly changed over to snow that afternoon.

Heavy blowing snow fell well into the evening. The National Weather Service reported Greenville officially received four inches of snow on Christmas, although reports from weather spotters varied widely.

Quinlan was reported to have received about two and one-half inches, with Commerce receiving three and one-half inches of snow. The highest totals came from reports to the north and west of Hunt County, with areas of Fannin County recording up to six inches of snow from the storm.

Greenville and most of Hunt County received up to two inches of snow from a storm which blew in on Christmas Eve 2009.

A powerful arctic front blew into Greenville on the morning of Dec. 22, 2004, bringing a combination of ice and snow and plunging temperatures into the low teens by Christmas Eve, with near zero wind chills. There were still some patches of snow in spots on Christmas Day.

A light dusting of snow fell on some parts of the area on Dec. 22-23 1990, and a trace of snow was reported in North Texas on Dec. 23, 1983.

The great Christmas Day ice storm of 2000 was actually two ice storms back to back during the last week of the year. Several inches of ice fell across the region, leaving some cities without power for days.

In a unanimous vote, the Greenville City Council on Tuesday selected BlackJack Disposal to be the city’s next commercial and residential disposal service.

The company will replace Waste Connections, which was one of three companies bidding for the service. The other company was Frontier Waste Solutions.

A council subcommittee composed of council members Ben Collins, T.J. Goss and Terry Thomas made the recommendation to select BlackJack.

Collins said the committee was impressed with the bids submitted by Frontier and BlackJack. They ultimately recommended BlackJack in part based on “our overall impression of the company.’

Said Goss: “We had an opportunity to be the main contract for a company, and with that I think it creates quite a bit of leverage” that may make it easier to address issues that may arise.

Tim Oliver, co-owner of BlackJack Disposal, a company based in Cash, said he and his partner have experience with the Greenville trash disposal market, having worked for a previous company that collected solid waste in Greenville.

BlackJack Disposal, he said, prides itself in customer service. Because the company is local, it has agility and the ability to make quick decisions and adjust should the need arise. In addition, all BlackJack trash trucks have cameras and updated technology, he said.

“I think we’re a great fit for the city; these are our neighbors and our friends,” he said.

John Gustafson, founder and president of Frontier Waste, which began operations in 2017, said he also has experience with trash collection in Greenville. He said his company’s bid was superior.

“We’ve got the best bid by a pretty substantial margin,” he told the council, adding that “our proposal over the first five years represents a savings of more than $4 million to the city of Greenville, $800,000 per year.

“We believe based on the current roll-off volumes that that number could be as high as $8 million,”Gustafson said.

Under the proposal submitted by BlackJack, trash will be collected twice per week at a cost of $22.05. Recyclables would be picked up once per week at a charge of $4.24, for a total of $26.29.

Under the existing contract, those same services run $22.41.

In other business, the council approved an expenditure of $21.13 million for the purchase of 10 miles of 36-inch fusible PVC pipe to use in the raw-water line project that will move water from Lake Tawakoni to Greenville.

The purchase will be funded by $50 million in certificate of obligation bonds approved by the City Council in 2021.

Also, the council ok’d a request by City Manager Summer Spurlock to approve a contract for engineering and surveying services with MTG Stovall Engineers and Surveyors.

The city has the need for private engineering services because of the recent dismissal of former Public Works Director Press Tompkins, who was a trained engineer.

The city will utilize MTG Stovall on project-by-project basis and pay for services based on an hourly rate schedule.