Sulphur Springs ISD Community Reportedly At Low Risk For Corona Virus
Sulphur Springs Independent School District today reported that the school community is at low risk for Corona virus, but the district staff continues to track of the situation through the our local health department, the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Families, students, staff and community members are encouraged to take the same steps to help protect against corona virus as one would take to prevent the spread of everyday illnesses like the common cold or the flu.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Cover your mouth and nose with the inside of your elbow when you cough or sneeze.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
Below is the letter from Superintendent Michael Lamb to the “Sulphur Springs ISD Family” regarding the topic.
Lady Cats Softball Team Has Better Week Last Week Winning Three and Losing Two
Lady Cats Softball Coach David Carrillo liked last week (February 24-29) better than the week before. He called it a good week and noted his team played well. Coach Carrillo said his whole goal right now is for the team to continue to get better. After a 1-4 week to open the season, the Lady Cats went 3-2 last week. Their season record is now 4-6. Last week the Lady Cats defeated Mineola at home and then went 2-2 in a tough Allen tournament. Coach Carrillo said he noticed the Lady Cats are doing a better job of moving the ball around and are beginning to jell as a group. He said a lot of the tournament games were long, complete games that were a good test for his young team. Next for the Lady Cats is a Wylie tournament. The Lady Cats open Thursday against Allen and McKinney Boyd and then play three more good teams. Again Coach Carrillo said he is looking for his team to get better and he said he is more interested in that than in wins and losses right now. As always, he said his goal is to have the team rocking and rolling by the start in district play. District play begins in three weeks, Coach Carrillo said he currently has 18 players on the varsity roster and he said he continues to evaluate them all. He said he is seeking a good hitting lineup. He said the Lady Cats will have to score runs this year. Coach Carrillo said early season weaknesses of his team have been defensive play at times and not hitting at times.
KSST is proud to be the official Wildcat and Lady Cat Station. We broadcast Sulphur Springs ISD games year round live on radio. When allowed, we also broadcast games via our YouTube channel.
Lady Cats Track Team Finishes in Second Place at Sulphur Springs Meet Last Friday
Competing against five other teams at their own Sulphur Springs Track Meet last Friday (February 28), the Lady Cats Track Team finished second. Lady Cats Coach Ross Hicks said his team had a good meet in great weather. He said he was missing some of his athletes who were doing other sports and activities. He said the ones he had competed hard and well. Claire Bybee broke her own record in the pole vault clearing 6 feet, 11 inches. Bybee also ran the 300-meter hurdles and placed second in what Coach Hicks called a photo finish. Sable Erdmier won the discus event. Myssiah Dugan got second place in both the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. Coach Hicks said the Lady Cats did not run in the 4×100-meter relay race because of missing runners. Dalanee Myles got second place in the 400-meter race. Myles’ training buddy, Sierra Vescovo, placed third. Freshman Lainey Hurst won the 800-meter run in a time of 2:38, close to the school record. Hurst also finished fifth in the 1600-meter run. Distance runner Sydney Washburn was third in the 3200-meter run and fourth in the 1600-meter run. Next for the Lady Cats Track Team is a Royse City Meet on Thursday.
KSST is proud to be the official Wildcat and Lady Cat Station. We broadcast Sulphur Springs ISD games year round live on radio. When allowed, we also broadcast games via our YouTube channel.
Wildcats Golf Team Plays at Dallas Athletic Club Monday, Bench Shots 76
The Wildcats Golf Team played in their fourth tournament of the spring semester Monday (March 2) at a Dallas Lake Highlands sponsored tournament at Dallas Athletic Club. Wildcats Golf Coach Jeremy DeLorge said his team had ups and downs. Colton Bench shot a 76 and tied for third place. Bench lost a scorecard playoff to finish fourth. For Wildcats Kip Childress and Grant Mohesky, it was a long day. Coach DeLorge said for them it was a case of Murphy’s Law or what can go wrong will go wrong. He said the golfers got a lot of bad breaks. Childress ended up shooting 86 and Mohesky 89. Youngster Caleb Kesting recorded his first tournament birdie and came close to breaking 90. Coach DeLorge said a putt lipped out to give Kesting a 90 instead of 89. Rylan Brewer also got his first tournament birdie and ended up shooting 99. Coach DeLorge said after a week off, the Wildcats will play in a Melissa sponsored golf tournament at The Bridges Golf Club in Gunter.
KSST is proud to be the official Wildcat and Lady Cat Station. We broadcast Sulphur Springs ISD games year round live on radio. When allowed, we also broadcast games via our YouTube channel.
Wildcats Basketball Regional Quarterfinal Game and Lady Cats Soccer District Match on Game Day
It’s the #10 ranked Wildcats Basketball Team against #1 ranked Lancaster Tuesday (March 3) at 7:30 p.m. at Rockwall Heath in a regional quarterfinal game. Both teams have won handily in the first two rounds of the playoffs. The winner of the Tuesday night contest will advance to the Regional Tournament at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland. The Wildcats won the Regional Tournament last year to advance to the State Tournament in San Antonio. The Wildcats have a season record of 28-8 so far this season. KSST Radio will bring you the Wildcats and Tigers from Rockwall Heath beginning at 7:30 p.m. The game will also be videotaped for replay at a later date on Channel 18 on Suddenlink Cable.
Also on Tuesday game day, the Lady Cats Soccer team will be taking on Lindale’s Lady Eagles in Lindale. There will be a JV contest at 5:30 p.m. The varsity match begins at around 7:15 p.m. The Lady Cats are 4-2 in district play and 8-8-1 for the season. The Lady Cats are currently in third place in the district standings. The Lady Cats defeated Lindale at The Prim back on February 14.
Both the Wildcats and Lady Cats Soccer Teams will take on Mount Pleasant on Friday. The Wildcats are on the road and the Lady Cats will be at home.
KSST is proud to be the official Wildcat and Lady Cat Station. We broadcast Sulphur Springs ISD games year round live on radio. When allowed, we also broadcast games via our YouTube channel.
Robbery Reported At Main Street Business
Sulphur Springs Police are investigating a robbery reported to have occurred around 1:25 a.m. March 3 at a business in the 1600 block of Main Street, according to Sulphur Springs Police Chief Jason Ricketson.
A black male in dark clothing with face covering allegedly entered the store and demanded money from the clerk. The clerk reportedly believed the man had a gun concealed by his clothing, but one was never displayed. The clerk reportedly handed over the money and the man fled on foot, according to the Ricketson.
Police are asking anyone who has information about the alleged robbery at the Main Street store, including possible identity or location of a the suspect, to contact Detective Sgt. David Gilmore at Sulphur Springs Police Department at 903-885-3461 or call Crime Stoppers at 903-885-2020.
CBS 60 Minutes Team Coming to NE Texas
A team from the CBS 60 Minutes program is slated to visit Franklin County Texas this week. 60 Minutes is doing a story on the effects of rural hospital closings in NE Texas.
The ‘Old Hospital’ in Mount Vernon Texas closed in 2014. At that time, the closure was a cost saving measure.
Since the closure, the building was found to contain asbestos, and have other significant problems. Water pipes have frozen and burst, and a SWAT team has done some training inside the structure.
Most recently the Franklin County Commissioners Court planned to offer the building up to the highest bidder. The internet auction for the structure is postponed to allow 60 Minutes access.
Unforeseen Problems
Closing the hospital caused an unforeseen burden for Franklin county. When a person calls for an ambulance, they are now transported to Titus or Hopkins counties. And in a perfect world this would be a workable solution. But the ambulance service only gets paid if they actually pickup a patient and transport them an Emergency Room. When a trip is made, and the potential patient waves the service, or they don’t end-up in an Emergency facility, the trip charge is passed to the county. The number of non-emergency ambulance calls have risen since 2014.
According to Hopkins County EMS director Brent Smith, the closure of hospital in Mount Vernon has resulted in longer trip times for patients. Hopkins County EMS contracts with both Delta and Franklin Counties.
60 Minutes
The team from 60 Minutes is planning to interview Dr. Jean Latortue. After the ‘Old Hospital’ closed in 2014, Latortue invested in the structure in an attempt to keep it going. Unfortunately Dr. Latortue was unable to keep it afloat. He now practices from from a clinic near the abandoned hospital building.
The Mount Vernon Optic-Herald has been in contact with CBS and will be covering the interviews as well. KSST spoke with Optic-Herald Publisher Susan Reeves on Tuesday. Reeves says the building is a total loss and must be razed before the land can be used. On a personal note, when Reeves fell ill last year, she ultimately found her way to Hopkins County and CHRISTUS.
What was the cause?
As to the actual cause of the 2014 closure, everyone KSST contacted points to the Affordable Care Act. And though it was signed into law in 2010, the full force of the ACA’s provisions came into effect in 2014. The ACA effectively diminished the revenue some rural hospitals could generate, and forced them to close.
CTE: SSHS Students Engage In Project Based Learning By Conducting Mock Trial
On Thursday, February 28, a Mock Trial was conducted by Sulphur Springs High School Court Systems and Practices students. The mock trial was the culmination of a project based learning assignment between the Forensics Sciences classes and the Court Systems and Practices class.
Ms. Caroline Kenealy and Mr. Mike Meador set up a crime scene for their classes in which their students had to analyze a crime scene, collect evidence (fingerpring ID, hair and document analysis), and determine the culprit. Students had to examine glass, bullet casings, as well as other forms of evidence.
Once the perpetrator was determined, the case was turned over to Court Systems and Practices class instructor Demetra Robinson to prepare the case for trial.
Ms. Robinson’s Court Systems and Practices class was divided into two teams prosecution and defense. Each team had the responsibility of examining evidence, interviewing witnesses, creating direct and cross examination questions, along with opening and closing statements.
The mock trial was conducted entirely by students. Court Systems students acted as attorneys, with one acting as bailiff. Forensic Science students acted as police officers, defendants, lay and expert witnesses. Sable Erdmier, a Practicum in Law student acted as judge.
2 Women Jailed In Hopkins County On Warrants
March 30, 2020 – Two Northeast Texas women were booked into Hopkins County jail Monday on warrants.
Stormi Alisa Marie Garcia, 26, of Mount Vernon turned herself in at Hopkins County Law Enforcement Center and was walked into the jail by Sgt. Richard Greer at 7:05 p.m. She was booked for bond forfeiture on false statement-property or credit charge and a warrant for violation of probation, which she was on for tampering with a government records, according to arrest reports.
Kyla Finklea-Wright, 38, of Yantis was transported by Deputy Elijah Fite from Rockwall County jail to Hopkins County jail, where she was held on a warrant for violation of probation on a possession of 1 gram or more but less than 4 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance charge, according to arrest reports.
