TEA: State Accountability, Testing Waived For All Districts, Campuses
All Schools To Receive “Not Rated: Declared State of Disaster” For State Academic Accountability
For those worried what the mandatory school closures due to COVID-19 will mean as far as state academic testing and ratings and for their schools, don’t. For 2020 state academic accountability, all districts and campuses will receive a label of “Not Rated: Declared State of Disaster,” according to Texas Education Agency.
TEA this week received approval from the U.S. Department of Education to waive statewide assessment and accountability requirements under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act, for the 2019–2020 school year. School administrators should be receiving letters from TEA notifying them about this very soon, if they have not already received one.
Most state and federal funding and other opportunities schools received are tied to school ratings which are impacted by students’ scores on state tests and other indicators. After Governor Greg Abbot ordered schools closed through May, and suspended the annual academic assessment requirements, the question of what that would mean for schools arose.
TEA on March 24 requested a federal assessment and accountability waiver from USDE; the waiver was granted on March 30. TEA will issue “labels indicating Not Rated: Declared State of Disaster for 2020 to recognize that the closure of schools during the state’s testing window inhibited the ability of the state to accurately measure district and campus performance.”
Campuses identified for comprehensive support and improvement, targeted support and improvement, and additional targeted support in 2019 will maintain that label and interventions for 2020–2021.
Districts or campuses that received D or F ratings in 2019 will “continue to implement the previously ordered sanctions and interventions.”
“If a campus has been ordered to prepare a turnaround plan and then receives a rating of Not Rated: Declared State of Disaster, that campus is strongly encouraged, but not required, to implement the approved turnaround plan,” TEA reports.
Overall ratings or domain ratings of D or F in both 2019 and in 2021 by a campus or district “will be considered to be consecutive for the determination of multiple-year unacceptable status.”
Express Transport Offering Elderly Care Packages For Those In Need
Express Transportation is offering free grocery delivery to Northeast Texas elderly in need by offering elderly care packages, which include the basic essentials which might be hard to obtain in stores during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Many elderly are confined to their homes due to their immune systems or not being of good health preventing them from getting to the stores. We have coordinated with businesses throughout Northeast Texas to offer drop locations for folks to donate supplies,” said Mandy Kay with Express Transportation & Tipsy Taxi.
Express Transport started as a transport service, and expanded their services. The business provides people with rides to the airport, doctors’ appointments, grocery pick up, hospital pick up, errand service and a weekend Tipsy Taxi to take people who have imbibed alcoholic beverages home.
Seeing a need among elderly in the business’ service area for basic supplies they either can’t find in stores or can’t go to stores to get during the COVID-19 pandemic, Express Transportation decided to step in and help where they can. And, they are asking those in the community who have time or supplies to spare to pitch in as well.
“We are finding that some elderly don’t have anything to eat or even basic supplies. In some cases, it’s because there was nothing on the shelves. People stocked up and there was nothing for them to purchase. In other cases, they don’t have anything,” the Express Transportation representative said.
Express Transportation reported receiving reports from professionals and community members of elderly Northeast Texas people in need.
“People are reaching out. Nurses are reaching out, LVNs who help take care of people. We have lots of elderly people in our community who need help,” Mandy Kay said.
She stressed that this service is offered on a need basis. The care packages are not offered for people who want them and don’t want to go to the grocery story; they are for elderly community members who are in real need. Each is packaged individually to meet the specific needs of the elderly person who will receive it.
Those who have a little extra they would like to donate for elderly individuals may do so at any of the partnering business drop locations during collection hours; for donations during other hours or donations of perishable items, contact Mandy Kay directly at Express Transportation,
Donations may be made at the following drop locations by county:
- Hopkins County- Backstory Brewery, 211 Magnolia Street, Sulphur Springs, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. If no one is present to receive donations for the elderly care packages, Express Transportation asks that people not leave items; call (469)332-9124.
- Wood County — First Baptist Church, 100 Church Street, Yantis, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday- Thursday; contact if no one is available 903-383-2393.
- Gregg County — Kratom King, 315 West Marshall Ave., Longview, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; mention elderly care packages.
Express Transportation is hoping to add drop locations in Hunt, Upshur and Rains Counties, where Express Transportation serves as well. If any business or agency is interested in serving as a drop location for elderly care packages, they are encouraged to call 469-332-9124.
Items most needed by elderly include:
- Body wash
- Hand soap
- Lysol
- Kleenex
- Toilet paper
- Adult wipes
- Milk
- Eggs
- Bread
- Sandwich meat
- Canned meat
- Vegetables
- Soup
- Crackers
- Small containers of bleach
- Hand sanitizer
- Rubbing alcohol/aloe
- Toothpaste
- Dry beans
- Flour
- Sugar
- Hamburger meat, small packages
- Spaghetti noodles and paste
- Canned Tuna
- Cranberry juice
- Oatmeal
“Tell someone if you have cold food so they can be separated and refrigerated or call 469-332-9124,” Mandy Kay said. “We want to try to help as many as can, but we need donations and volunteers in Hopkins County. most cases are here.”
All packaging will be handled on-site at the drop location. For the health of the elderly who will receive the donated items as well as that of the volunteers and Express Transportation drivers who will help deliver the packages, all donated items are sanitize twice, even bags and boxes, with 15 minutes of time between.
Volunteers are welcome, but Mandy Kay emphasizes that they, like Express Transportation delivery drivers, can’t be sick or exhibit signs of sickness. Those who are are asked to stay home so as not spread illness in the community.
For additional information about the elderly care packages, including donating, volunteering or request help for a needy senior adult, call 469-332-9124.
Collin County Man Held On Warrants For Alleged Child Sex Crimes In Hopkins County
A 53-year-old Collin County man arrested Thursday, March 26, in Collin County following a Hopkins County investigation into child pornography allegations, has been served with two warrants for alleged child sex crimes in Hopkins County and has a federal hold related to the investigation as well, according to Collin County jail reports.
Christopher Hardesty was taken into custody at his residence for alleged possession of child pornography and online solicitation of a minor for sexual conduct, according to Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office investigators and Collin County jail reports. Hardesty has subsequently been served with Hopkins County warrants for sexual assault of a child and sexual performance by a child.
Hopkins County Sheriff’s investigators, while collecting forensics evidence in ongoing investigations, located videos of suspected child pornography that, based on evidence, appears to have been produced in Hopkins County, according to a HCSO press release following Hardesty’s arrest in Collin County.
A suspect was reportedly developed with further investigation and legal process. A search warrant was obtained for a residence in Collin County, HCSO officials reported.
Plano Police Department, Collin County District Attorney’s Investigator and a federal partners assisted Hopkins County sheriff’s officers in serving the search warrant at the Collin County residence, according to HCSO reports.
Based on evidence discovered during the investigation and execution of the search warrant, Christopher W. Hardesty was taken into custody at his Collin County residence and booked into Collin County jail Thursday, March 26, according to an HCSO press release. Investigators then obtained warrants for his arrest on two Hopkins County child sex warrants
Hardesty remained in Collin County jail Friday morning, April 3, in lieu of $305,000 bond on the charges: $100,000 bond each on the two second-degree felony Collin County charges; and $75,000 on the Hopkins County second degree felony sexual assault of a child charge and $30,000 on the third-degree felony sexual performance by a child charge, according to Collin County jail reports.
Dike Teen Accused Of Making False Report To Sheriff’s Officers
An 18-year-old Dike teen was accused Thursday morning of making a false report of sexual assault to officers, according to sheriff’s investigators.
The young woman reportedly made an allegation of a sexual assault. Using forensics, interviews and surveillance evidence officers determined the person accused in the offense was actually about an hour and a half away from the supposed location when the sexual assault was alleged to have occurred, investigators reported Friday morning.
“She provided false statements,” Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office Chief Investigator Corley Weatherford said. “If people choose to give false statements about alleged crimes, we will prosecute.”
Thus, a warrant was obtained for the 18-year-old’s arrest for making a false report. The teen was in an interview room at the sheriff’s office when the warrant was issued, so officers took her into custody at 10:20 a.m. April 2 and escorted her into the county jail on the Class B misdemeanor false report charge, according to arrest reports.
The teen spent the night in jail and was released from custody Friday morning, April 3. Bond on the charge was set at $1,000 on the misdemeanor charge, according to jail reports.
If you have an emergency, dial 9-1-1
The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office is located at 298 Rosemont Sulphur Springs, TX 75482. You can reach them for non-emergency matters at (903) 438-4040.
COVID-19 Update: 3 Positive Cases, 41 Negative, 32 Tests Pending For Hopkins County
Hopkins County Hospital District COO/EMS Director Brent Smith today reported that after 18 days, a total of 76 potential cases have met the criteria set by Centers for Disease Control and Texas Department of State Health Services for COVID-19 testing. Of the 44 test results returned for Hopkins County as of Thursday afternoon, April 2, three have been confirmed as positive for novel coronavirus 2019, and 41 negative COVID-19 tests for Hopkins County, Smith reported.
As of the last report on Monday morning, 62 tests had been sent off, 16 negative tests returned, 44 tests were still pending results and 2 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases for Hopkins County. One of those pending results came back Monday evening, with Hopkins County Emergency Management officials reporting confirmation of a positive case, bringing the county’s total to 3 positive COVID-19 cases.
That means while there have been no additional positive cases reported for Hopkins County since Monday evening, 25 tests did come back negative for COVID-19. It also means 14 additional tests were sent for testing, for a total of 32 screenings still out pending test results for Hopkins County, according to the data provided by HCHD/EMS.
In Texas, 143 of the 254 counties have reported confirmed cases of COVID-19 to DSHS. Throughout the state, there have been 50,679 tests conducted, with 4,669 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported, including 70 fatalities. At least 47.7 percent of cases were male and 45.9 percent female, with information still pending for 6.4 percent of confirmed cases.
The age groups in Texas with the most reported cases are those individuals ages 40-49 years (201 cases), 50-59 (196 cases), 30-39 years (166), 20-29 (152) and ages 60-64 years (100 cases). All other age groups had fewer than 100 cases, according to DSHS.
With the Governor’s March 31 Executive Order for Texans to stay at home, stay safe and the extended disaster declaration put in place by the Hopkins County Judge Robert Newsom April 1, local and state emergency officials urge community members to remain at home unless obtaining necessary supplies or active for a job, government or other activity deemed by the Governor to be “essential.”
When out for essential business or in groups, all are reminded to observe social distancing — maintain 6 feet between you and other people and reduce gatherings to 10 or less as a precaution. Doing so will help cut down on the spread of illnesses in Hopkins County, and could save lives.
Good hygiene, washing hands with soap in warm water for at least 20 seconds, regular disinfecting and cleaning of surfaces, and avoiding touching the face, and avoiding people who cough or sneeze are also important, according to DSHS and the CDC guidelines.
If you’re not sure whether or not your job or business is considered essential? Read the Governor’s executive order or follow the steps outlined on the Texas Department of Emergency Management’s website (http://tdem.texas.gov/essentialservices/) to see what is and isn’t considered essential.
Channel 18: COVID-19 Precautions in Spanish
Please share this video with any of our Spanish-only or Spanish as a first language community. Video produced by Hopkins County EMS.
Texas A&M University-Commerce To Donate COVID-19 Testing Kits To Area Healthcare Facilities
COMMERCE, Texas — Texas A&M University-Commerce is set to donate 100 COVID-19 testing kits to several local healthcare providers.
According to A&M-Commerce PresidentMark Rudin, “In this time of crisis, we are all doing what we can to help each other in our community. Hopefully, this donation will combat the shortage of supplies in East Texas so more people can be tested forCOVID-19.”
The viral testing kits will be rushed to A&M-Commerce by the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory in College Station. The kits were assembled from lab supplies usually reserved for pigs, cows and chickens at A&M’s four diagnostic labs across the state.
Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp said the veterinary experts who track animal disease outbreaks were ready to assist with the current human pandemic.
“No one has ever done this before, but tough times call for creative measures,” said Sharp.
Dr. Bruce Akey, director of the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, said he sent out a plea for supplies to his labs in Amarillo, Center and Gonzales, Texas, and they began overnighting the supplies late last week.
“We assembled the supplies into testing kits here in our College Station lab,” Akey said. “We know that the 2,000 we came up with may not seem like much when there are 20-plus million Texans at risk who may need testing, but if you need to be tested and you can’t right now because they don’t have this kit, then it’s a pretty big deal to you and your family. So we are doing what we can right now.”
The kits consist of a swab, a vial with transport media to preserve the sample in the vial, and a bag. The components of the kits are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for use in sampling humans for the COVID-19 virus.
Before the pandemic exhausted the supply, the kits usually cost between $4-$5 if they were ordered in bulk. Now, these simple supplies are back-ordered for months, crippling efforts to test humans for COVID-19.
“We hope to get these testing kits in the hospitals or clinics where they are most needed as soon as possible,” Akey said. “We are pulling out all the stops.”
Standing Order For Civil Litigation In JP Courts Extended To June 1
The Supreme Court of Texas has issued a new order in regards to civil litigations in Justice Courts in Texas. Therefore, Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace BJ Teer and Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Brad Cummings have amended the standing order for the Hopkins County Justice Courts.
The April 1 order amends the first emergency order to delay all service and statute-of-limitations deadlines in civil cases from March 13 until June 1. The order does not affect deadlines for filing appeals or other appellate proceedings, but the order notes that requests for any such relief from those deadlines should be generously granted by the particular court.
Essentially, that means that all civil proceedings, including evictions, civil debt claims and small claims are halted and to be reset until June 1. Any case pending in either court will be rescheduled accordingly. All litigants will be notified by mail of the new date and time for court.
Below is the Temporary Standing Order regarding COVID-19 litigation in the Justice of the Peace Courts in Hopkins County.
A&M-Commerce student goes for wild ride in unique honors thesis
COMMERCE, Texas — Who says a thesis needs to be a standard research paper? One student at Texas A&M University-Commerce undertook one of the most unique honors thesis ideas in recent memory, documenting her entire journey from adopting a wild mustang, earning its trust and then excelling in competition.
Nicole Glenn is a senior from Pflugerville, Texas in the Honors College at A&M-Commerce, majoring in Visual Communications with an emphasis in Art Direction and minoring in Equine Studies. She says that she didn’t grow up around horses much, but one special day during her childhood cemented her lifelong dream.
(Photo courtesy of Nicole Glenn)
“I was taken to a wild mustang adoption day when I was in kindergarten, and I knew this was it,” Glenn said. “I knew that this is what I had to do. It became my dream to adopt my own wild mustang.”
Growing up, she took occasional horseback riding lessons and worked on a farm as part of a mentorship program in high school, but her dream still eluded her.
That changed when it came time to formulate an idea for her thesis project, a requirement of all students in the Honors College.
“For our thesis, we were encouraged to do something interdisciplinary, that combined multiple subjects,” Glenn said.
It’s safe to say she managed that aspect, as she fulfilled her lifelong dream of adopting a wild mustang and filmed her process of breaking, riding and eventually competing with said horse, turning the recordings into a half-hour documentary. The main goal was to show the feasibility of training wild horses, even with limited background knowledge.
She said that pitching the idea raised some eyebrows.
“[Honors College Dean] Dr. Green said that the Honors College has never had someone do something like this before, but they gave their blessing to it,” Glenn said.
Glenn adopted her horse, named “Valentine,” in February of 2018 at the Wild Horse & Burro Adoption Center in Paul’s Valley, Oklahoma. It was a defining life moment for Glenn.
“I remember it so clearly still,” Glenn said. “We just clicked. I probably have never been more emotional in my life.”
In the early days, Valentine was kept by the Raine Family on their land in Sulphur Bluff, Texas. Glenn said that it was hard to keep her confidence at first.
“The biggest challenge was just knowing if I was doing everything right or not,” Glenn said. “There are guides and tutorials out there, but still, every horse is different.”
On day 3, Nicole began to have Valentine become accustomed to objects around and on his back. On day 25, he first wore a saddle. Day 28 was the first time Glenn sat atop Valentine’s back.
Finally, on day 30, Glenn and Valentine had their first ride together.
“Finally having the first ride after so much work was amazing,” Glenn said. “I felt like a kid in a candy store.”
On the 61st day, Valentine was moved to A&M-Commerce’s Mary Bonham Equine Pavilion, where he currently resides. This allowed for better facilities and training for the horse, and Glenn said the assistance from people like Equine Studies Instructor Nathan Wells and Assistant Farm Manager Lindsey Bernbaum was a tremendous help.
“The support we got from the Equine Studies Program was huge,” Glenn said. “The professionalism of Nathan and Lindsey was an incredible help.”
The months went by and the pair’s bond grew. In September 2018, Glenn entered Valentine into the Extreme Mustang Makeover Open Show in Fort Worth, Texas. In that contest, Glenn and Valentine finished 2nd in Trail, 4th in Freestyle and 5th in Walk Trot Pleasure.
Now, Glenn and Valentine compete together on the A&M-Commerce Stock Horse team.
Wells, who helped train Valentine, had high praise for the dynamic duo.
“I have known Nicole throughout the process, and was blessed to have her as a student in several of my classes,” Wells said. “She has worked her tail off with this horse and I am proud of her accomplishments.”
Dean Dr. Ray Green also lauded the work that went into this project.
“One of the goals for our Honors College is to help shape the whole individual. Nicole’s thesis exemplifies where this goal can lead,” Green said. “In Nicole’s journey to train her mustang and to shed light on the feasibility for others to do so she honed both her mind and her body.”
Green continued: “Her hard work and determination led her to improve her skills in multiple areas including painting, filming and editing, and horsemanship. It was a joy to work with Nicole and to see the fruits of her labor.”
Glenn presented her documentary and findings in a thesis defense on March 24, and passed her defense. She says that the most rewarding thing has been seeing the enjoyment the pair get from riding and competing.
“He takes everything in stride,” Glenn said.
Glenn’s documentary, “Wild Heart, Wild Ride,” can be viewed for free here.
City Of Cumby Issues Boil Water Notice For Residents On Grove Road, FM 275S
The City of Cumby Thursday morning, April 2, issued another boil water notice. Cumby residents who live on Grove Road and FM 275 south are recommended to boil their water before consuming it.
Cumby Alderman Julie Isham Morris posted the notice on the city’s Facebook page around 9 a.m. that “Water on Grove Rd and 275S will be shut off this morning to do repairs. The city will be issuing a boil water notice as soon as the repairs are done.”
The boil water notice was posted about an hour later.
Cumby City Council in late February began discussions of about the possibly pursuing a connection with Cash Special Utility District for emergency situations and providing possible water supply. The City Council agreed to continue the process to find out the possible costs, but did not commit to decisions regarding CSUD, city staff reported.
