May 19th is Lupus Awareness Day in Sulphur Springs and citizens are asked to wear the color purple to heighten awareness and unify support for those in the community who living with lupus, which is a chronic inflammatory, autoimmune disease that can affect various parts of the body, especially the skin, joints, blood and kidneys. Mayor Emily Glass read a proclamation officially naming the day during the Tuesday night, May 2nd City Council meeting.
In her proclamation, Mayor Glass stated that Lupus can be difficult to diagnose because its symptoms are similar to those of many other illnesses, and major gaps exist in understanding the causes and consequences. The proclamation also noted the necessity of raising funds for research for those affected by lupus and calls upon the community to advocate on behalf of those with the disease as well as encourage educational programs so everyone affected by lupus can have an improved quality of life.
In other action, the City Council noted that 98% of property taxes have been collected by the city for the past year and gave approval to refinancing the Economic Development Corporation debt. The debt was incurred to build roads in business parks on both the east and west side of the city. The new rate will be a fixed rate of 3.05%. A fixed rate was chosen at this time due to increasing rates on the variable rate loan.
