Vacation Express to Resume Nonstop Service to Cancun

Vacation Express will resume nonstop weekly service between Memphis International Airport (MEM) and Cancun International Airport (CUN) starting May 17.

The Memphis-Cancun service will be available between May 17-July 31, with most flights departing MEM on Monday and returning Sunday as part of six-night packages offered by Vacation Express. The only exception to this schedule is the inaugural 2017 flight, which will depart on a Wednesday as part of a four-day package.

The weekly flight to Cancun will be operated by Swift Air LLC and will feature 148-seat Boeing 737-300 planes.

“We are happy to welcome back Vacation Express and their nonstop flights to the popular vacation destination of Cancun,” said Pace Cooper, chairman of the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority board. “The larger aircraft that was added last year illustrates this route’s popularity among leisure travelers.”

The inaugural flight will depart Memphis on May 17 at 11:10 a.m. and arrive in Cancun at 1:45 p.m., while the Monday flights that start May 22 will depart Memphis at 10:55 a.m. and arrive in Cancun at 1:45 p.m.

All the Sunday return flights leave Cancun at 1 p.m. and arrive in Memphis at 3:45 p.m.

Flights and vacation packages are offered through vacationexpress.com or by calling 800-309-4717.

– Daily News staff

Liberty Bowl to Honor Baseball’s Tim McCarver

Former St. Louis Cardinals catcher Tim McCarver, who was the MVP of the 1964 World Series and is in the broadcast wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame, will receive the AutoZone Liberty Bowl’s Distinguished Citizen Award on June 25.

McCarver was born in Memphis and was a star football and baseball player at Christian Brothers High School. He played 21 years in the majors, 12 of them with the Cardinals, and was a two-time All-Star.

As broadcaster, he has provided analysis for 23 World Series and 20 All-Star Games. He was inducted into the Hall’s broadcast wing in 2012. He is entering his fourth season as an analyst on select St. Louis Cardinals telecasts on Fox Sports Midwest.

McCarver will receive his award June 25 at the Hilton Memphis, 939 Ridge Lake Blvd. A cocktail reception begins at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m. Live and silent auctions will be held, with 100 percent of proceeds going to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Seats for the dinner are $75 each or $750 for a table of 10. To reserve one or more seats, call the AutoZone Liberty Bowl at 901-795-7700.

– Don Wade

4 Republicans File to Run For State House District 95 Seat

Four contenders in the April 27 Republican primary for state House District 95 had filed with the Shelby County Election Commission by the start of the week. And five others had pulled qualifying petitions but had not yet filed.

The deadline to file for the special elections is Thursday, March 16, at noon.

The election is to fill the vacancy created by the February resignation of state Rep. Mark Lovell just weeks into his two-year term of office.

The contenders who have filed in the Republican primary are Collierville school board member Kevin Vaughan and Collierville alderman Billy Patton as well as Melissa R. Marshall of Collierville and Frank Uhlhorn of Germantown.

Joseph Crone and John Bogan of Eads have petitions out for the Republican primary. Julie Byrd Ashworth of Collierville has pulled a petition to run in the Democratic primary.

Jim Tomasik of Cordova has pulled a petition to run as a Libertarian, though his address shows he lives in state House District 96.

And Robert Paul Schutt of Eads has pulled a petition to run as an independent. He is the son of Peter Schutt, president of The Daily News Publishing Co. He would advance automatically to the June 15 special general election if he files by the Thursday deadline.

– Bill Dries

Gaelic Football League Preparing for Kick-Off

The aptly named Gaelic Football Spring Pub League in Memphis kicks off a couple of weeks after St. Patrick’s Day on April 2 and it’s looking for new members.

Gaelic football contains elements of field hockey, lacrosse, soccer and basketball, and the spring club league is open to all, regardless of gender, fitness or skill level.

Memphis businesses that will no doubt be popular watering holes on Friday, March 17, are sponsoring league teams, including The Brass Door, Celtic Crossing, Majestic Grille and Murphy’s Public House.

Irish sports like Gaelic football and hurling have a history dating back more than 2,000 years.

Jesse Gammons, a graduate research assistant at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, was an active player in Nashville before he relocated to Memphis, where he founded the Memphis Gaelic Athletic Association club in 2015. Dermot Murray, a Memphian originally from Ireland, serves as club president; Liam Coyle, another Memphis GAA member, started a GAA society at Rhodes College, where he’s currently a student.

Gov. Bill Haslam has proclaimed March 25 Irish Sports Day in Tennessee.

Hurling teams from all over North America will travel to Nashville to compete in the Music City Invitational tournament that day.

Anyone who’s interested in giving the Memphis league a try can visit memphisgaa.com for more information and to sign up.

– Daily News staff