Wildcats Basketball Team Continues To Win at Mansfield Tournament
Wildcats Basketball Team Wins First Two Games in Mansfield Tourney
The Wildcats Basketball Team, ranked #5 in Class 5A, had a good Thursday (December 5) winning two games in the Mansfield ISD Spring Creek Barbeque Classic Tournament. The Wildcats outscored A&M Consolidated of College Station, 68-61 and then defeated Mansfield, 68-49. Both games were played at Mansfield High School. Against A&M Consolidated, the Wildcats were led by Day Day Hall with 29 points. Cameron Kahn added 20 points. Grayson McClure scored 9 points. Lamodrick Johnson had 7 points. Boo Wilkerson scored 4 points. Justin Haire added 2 points. Against the host team, the Wildcats used five players in double figures to defeat Mansfield. Boo Wilkerson led all Wildcats scorers with 13 points. Justin Haire, Cameron Kahn and Grayson McClure scored 12 points each. Day Day Hall had 10 points. Justin Brock had 5 points. Caleb Alexander scored 3 points. Lamodrick Johnson added 2 points. The Wildcats improved their season record to 6-1. The Wildcats now face Waxahachie, ranked #12 in Class 6A, Friday at 1:30 p.m. at Mansfield Legacy High School.
A Fascinating True Story and Some Good News About Local 'Wreaths Across America' Event December 14
Good news to share this Christmas season from Dena Loyd and from Loretta Scott, organizers of local Wreaths Across America events in Hopkins County! Sufficient donations have now been collected to pay for all the wreaths needed for Veterans graves in both Sulphur Springs City Cemetery/Mel Haven Cemetery in town, and Black Oak Cemetery out in the southeastern part of the county. Now, over 700 beautiful live fir wreaths trimmed with a red velvet holiday bow will be delivered by 18-wheeler to Sulphur Springs on Friday December 13, for distribution next morning. Similar deliveries will be made across the nation to towns participating in the annual patriotic gesture upon the final resting place of deceased military veterans. Just like at Arlington National Cemetery, a solemn military ceremony themed ‘Remember, Honor and Teach’ has been arranged locally.
The local cermony will be held outside the Myra Wilson Chapel at Sulphur Springs City Cemetery at 11am on Saturday December 14, 2019. The public is encouraged to be in attendance. Following the ceremony, everyone is invited to personally take wreaths into City Cemetery and Mel Haven Cemetery and help to place them on the more than 600 designated graves. Additionally, families of the Black Oak community will attend the 11am ceremony in town, then depart for a wreath-laying on the gravestones of 71 veterans interred in the Black Oak Cemetery. Wreaths are supplied across the U.S. at a nominal cost by the Worcester Wreath Company in Maine, this year to more than 1700 cemeteries. Trucking transportation is donated by trucking companies across the nation as a tribute to veterans. Ceremonies are arranged on a local basis by volunteers in participating cities and towns, and citizens provide the actual laying of the wreaths.
Below is the fascinating story of the Worchester Wreath Company. Find out more at wreathsacrossamerica.org.
Mr. Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine, was a 12 year old paper boy for the Bangor Daily News when he won a trip to Washington D.C. His first trip to our nation’s capital was one he would never forget, and Arlington National Cemetery made an especially indelible impression on him. This experience followed him throughout his life and successful career, reminding him that his good fortune was due, in large part, to the values of this nation and the veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
In 1992, Worcester Wreath found themselves with a surplus of wreaths nearing the end of the holiday season. Remembering his boyhood experience at Arlington, Worcester realized he had an opportunity to honor our country’s veterans. With the aid of Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, arrangements were made for the wreaths to be placed at Arlington in one of the older sections of the cemetery that had been receiving fewer visitors with each passing year.
As plans were underway, a number of other individuals and organizations stepped up to help. James Prout, owner of local trucking company Blue Bird Ranch, Inc., generously provided transportation all the way to Virginia. Volunteers from the local American Legion and VFW Posts gathered with members of the community to decorate each wreath with traditional red, hand-tied bows. Members of the Maine State Society of Washington, D.C. helped to organize the wreath-laying, which included a special ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The annual tribute went on quietly for several years, until 2005, when a photo of the stones at Arlington, adorned with wreaths and covered in snow, circulated around the internet. Suddenly, the project received national attention. Thousands of requests poured in from all over the country from people wanting to help with Arlington, to emulate the Arlington project at their National and State cemeteries, or to simply share their stories and thank Morrill Worcester for honoring our nation’s heroes.
Unable to donate thousands of wreaths to each state, Worcester began sending seven wreaths to every state, one for each branch of the military, and for POW/MIAs. In 2006, with the help of the Civil Air Patrol and other civic organizations, simultaneous wreath-laying ceremonies were held at over 150 locations around the country. The Patriot Guard Riders volunteered as escort for the wreaths going to Arlington. This began the annual “Veterans Honor Parade” that travels the east coast in early December.
The annual trip to Arlington and the groups of volunteers eager to participate in Worcester’s simple wreath-laying event grew each year until it became clear the desire to remember and honor our country’s fallen heroes was bigger than Arlington, and bigger than this one company.
In 2007, the Worcester family, along with veterans, and other groups and individuals who had helped with their annual veterans wreath ceremony in Arlington, formed Wreaths Across America, a non-profit 501-(c)(3) organization, to continue and expand this effort, and support other groups around the country who wanted to do the same. The mission of the group is simple: Remember, Honor and Teach.
“The annual trip to Arlington and the groups of volunteers eager to participate in Worcester’s simple wreath-laying event grew each year until it became clear the desire to remember and honor our country’s fallen heroes was bigger than Arlington, and bigger than this one company.”
In 2008, over 300 locations held wreath-laying ceremonies in every state, Puerto Rico and 24 overseas cemeteries. Over 100,000 wreaths were placed on veterans’ graves. Over 60,000 volunteers participated. And that year, December 13, 2008 was unanimously voted by the US Congress as “Wreaths Across America Day”.
In 2014, Wreaths Across America and its national network of volunteers laid over 700,000 memorial wreaths at 1,000 locations in the United States and beyond, including ceremonies at the Pearl Harbor Memorial, as well as Bunker Hill, Valley Forge and the sites if the September 11 tragedies. This was accomplished with help from 2,047 fundraising groups, corporate contributions, and donations of trucking, shipping, and thousands of helping hands. The organization’s goal of covering Arlington National Cemetery was met in 2014 with the placement of 226,525 wreaths.
The wreath-laying is still held annually, on the second or third Saturday of December. WAA’s annual pilgrimage from Harrington, Maine to Arlington National Cemetery has become known as the world’s largest veterans’ parade, stopping at schools, monuments, veterans’ homes and communities all along the way to remind people how important it is to remember, honor and teach.
Commerce, Cumby Men Jailed On Warrants
Hopkins County sheriff’s deputies reported taking two men into custody on outstanding misdemeanor warrants on Thursday, including one also charged on a firearm charge, according to arrest reports.
Deputy Drew Fisher reported initiating a traffic stop around 8:20 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, on a silver Ford F-150 pickup that failed to stop at the stop sign on FM 2653 at Interstate 30. One person in the vehicle, identified as Shawn Lee Marker, was reported by communications operators to have three active misdemeanor warrants for his arrest, Fisher alleged in arrest reports. Thus, The 48-year-old Commerce man was taken into custody.
Deputies alleged finding a rifle under the backseat of the truck. Marker claimed to be unaware the rifle was there, and admitted to being a convicted felon, Fisher alleged in arrest reports.
Marker’s wife came to the location and took possession of the truck. The rifle was unloaded and transported to the sheriff’s office, where it was secured as evidence, according to arrest reports.
Marker was booked into the county jail not only on the improperly displaying of registration or insignia, no driver’s license and displaying expired license plates warrants but also on felon in possession of a firearm charge. He remained in Hopkins County jail Friday morning, Dec. 6, in lieu of $10,000 bond on the firearm charge, according to jail reports.
A 20-year-old Cumby man was also arrested after turning himself in at the sheriff’s office at 6:25 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, on three misdemeanor warrants, deputies noted in arrest reports.
Deputies Aaron Chaney and Elijah Fite contacted the man, confirmed the warrants and escorted him into the county jail, where he was booked on warrants for a Class A misdemeanor possession of less than 28 grams of a Penalty Group 3 controlled substance charge, Class B misdemeanor duty on striking fixture or highway landscape charge and not taking care of a Class C misdemeanor failure to maintain financial responsibility fine, according to arrest and jail reports.
The Cumby man was released from jail later Thursday. His bond was set at $2,000 on the controlled substance charge and $1,000 on the Class B charge, and the fee owed on the fine was $559, according to jail reports.
Grand Saline Man Receives 10-Year Sentence On Indecency With A Child Charge
A 41-year-old Grand Saline man received a 10-year sentence from a district judge on an indecency with a child by sexual contact charge.
Anthony Michael Luft plead guilty to indecency with a child by sexual contact; a sentencing hearing was held Dec. 3 before 8th Judicial District Judge Eddie Northcutt, who sentenced Luft to 10 years, according to prosecutors.
“This was a very tough case. Law enforcement did an excellent job on this case,” said Jodi Haney Cox, assistant district attorney for the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Luft was arrested March 28 as a result of a joint investigation between Sulphur Springs Police Department and Child Protective Services officials, police reported following Luft’s arrest.
The investigation was launched after an outcry was made of alleged sexual abuse of the child. The alleged sexual abuse was first reported to authorities in another jurisdiction. However, the offense was alleged to have occurred in Sulphur Springs, so authorities contacted SSPD on March 26, Sulphur Springs Police Detective Jason Reneau reported following Luft’s arrest.
The alleged child victim was interviewed at Northeast Texas Child Advocacy Center. Based on the investigation and NETCAC interview, Reneau sought and obtained a warrant for Luft’s arrest, the SSPD investigator reported.
Luft was located and arrested March 28 in Grand Saline, then transported to Hopkins County jail, where he was interviewed regarding the allegation, according to Reneau.
Luft plead guilty and appeared in court for a sentencing hearing in which he receive a 10-year sentence Wednesday from the judge.
“We believed this victim deserved justice and justice was served. The judge made sure justice was served, no matter who the defendant was,” Cox said.
Sulphur Bluff Lady Bears Basketball Team Wins Big at Home Over Yantis
The Sulphur Bluff Lady Bears Basketball Team got a one-sided win over Yantis at Sulphur Bluff Tuesday (December 3) winning 74-14. The Lady Bears led 25-6 after one quarter, 44-12 at the half and 62-12 after three quarters. Skylar Stanley had a big night with 23 points, 19 rebounds, 8 steals and 2 assists. Lady Bears Coach Zandra Peyton said Bailey Neal had her best game of the season with 10 points, 2 steals and 2 rebounds. Ann Dorner, playing only a few minutes, had 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and an assist. Alley Collett had 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 assists. Jada Wade had 4 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists. Angel Brown had 4 points, 2 steals, 1 rebound and a team high 6 assists. Coach Peyton said Brown reads the defense well and sets up her teammates in a position to score. Dalena di Donato had 4 points, 1 steal, 3 rebounds and an assist. Tori Raine had 2 points, 5 steals, 1 rebound and 2 assists. Lydia Drummond had 3 points. Sulphur Bluff plays next at Cumby next Tuesday.
2 Business Women Ask City For Help With Unsupervised Children Downtown
Two local business women this week approached Sulphur Springs City Council regarding concerns of middle school-aged children being unsupervised downtown.
“We would like to approach y’all for a curfew for the children running downtown. It is out of control. My people sit outside at night and eat. The language of the 12- and 13-year-olds, and they’re running back and forth and fighting. It’s crazy,” said Dinky Weeks, Corner Grub House general manger of operations.
Lara Colby Magic Scoop owner-manger Lara Colby said youth often congregate in front of her business at night.
“There’s sometimes 20 kids out there, all discussing who’s going to fight whom. I know this because they come into my shop. We’ve had problems with theft with some of these young children,” Colby said.
Colby said the middle school aged children are dropped off and left unsupervised downtown, even after her business closes at 10 p.m.; some even are seen running around in the back alley.
The youth are out every Friday and Saturday night, and were downtown every night during the Thanksgiving break from school. Being unsupervised enables the youth “to make really bad decisions. They’re really good kids, but they aren’t being supervised, Colby said.
Weeks noted the kids knock trash cans over, which business personnel have to pick up. Colby said the kids also are known to be in the alley
There is an officer on patrol downtown two nights a week, but they are limited in the actions they are able to take, Weeks told the City Council during public forum at the Dec. 3 meeting.
“One policeman can only do so much, and they have to have right to be able to do something. They can’t just go up to them and tell them, ‘Hey, look don’t do that, you can’t do that,” every single time they’re down there. After the first time, they need to have something that they can fall back on,” Weeks told the council.
Colby said allowing the children to be left unsupervised downtown is not only not good for the children, it’s also not a good representation of Sulphur Springs.
Colby asked the council to consider implementing some kind of curfew which would curtail unsupervised children after hours downtown. She suggested perhaps requiring children to present identification, and those who couldn’t wouldn’t be allowed to be out past a certain time. The curfew would be for younger children, not 15 and 16-year-old, who she said could be trusted.
“We just need ideas. All we’re asking is help with the situation, the kids that don’t any parental supervision,” Weeks said.
City Attorney Jim McLeroy told the business women while the City Council couldn’t discuss the matter with them during public forum, he could say that the matter would be address in January.
“I’ll have something in the January agenda to begin addressing this. We can address this. This is something we can address and we can enforce,” McLeroy said.
McLeroy shared information on what he anticipates the proposed ordinance will entail with KSST. Read about it here.
City Attorney To Propose Curfew Ordinance For Unsupervised Minors At January City Council Meeting
Minors in Sulphur Springs could face a curfew in the new future.
When two local businesswomen Tuesday night asked Sulphur Springs City Council for help with middle school-aged children being allowed out at night and after businesses close without supervision, Sulphur Springs City Attorney Jim McLeroy told them he plans to present something at the January City Council meeting that could help address that.
McLeroy Thursday said he is already at work drafting a curfew ordinance proposal to present for consideration at next regularly scheduled City Council meeting.
The proposed ordinance as currently written, McLeroy said, would apply only to minors under 17 years of age who are unsupervised after certain hours each night and before certain hours in the morning in Sulphur Springs.
McLeroy said he anticipates the curfew would be in place from either 9 or 10 p.m. until about 6 a.m. weekdays and on weekends starting around 10 or 11 p.m. for minors under age 17 who are not accompanied or supervised by a parent or guardian.
There would be a few exceptions, however, McLeroy noted. The proposed ordinance would not apply to minors 16 and younger who: are with parents or legal guardians, are on task where they are supposed to be while running errands for parents, working or traveling to and from work, emergency situations, outside their residences, or involved with school or religious functions.
Minors exercising their First Amendment rights would also be protected. For instance, protesters of milk production over the summer assembled downtown. They wore t-shirts, had signs and spoke in protest. Minors actively participating in such protests, even during curfew hours without a parent or legal guardian present, would not be in violation of the ordinance; their right to do so is protected under the First Amendment, according to McLeroy.
The ordinance, as proposed by McLeroy, would apply to all public areas of the city, including parks, downtown and public parking lot. However, areas identified as most troublesome will likely be enforced more heavily than other areas.
Violation of the ordinance could result in a Class C misdemeanor citation. Minors violating the ordinance, parents or guardians who knowingly allow their minor children to be unsupervised in public during curfew hours and businesses who knowingly allow minors to be on their property in violation of the curfew ordinance could be issued citations, according to McLeroy.
The proposed ordinance is intended as a deterrent for minors congregating and potentially getting into mischief after curfew hours. Currently, officers can only ask unsupervised minors to leave public areas and go home. The ordinance would lawfully provide officials with an additional enforcement tool, when needed. For instance, it would allow them to take an unsupervised minor found in violation of the ordinance home, according to the city attorney.
Of course, the ordinance is only proposed at this time. McLeroy anticipates presenting it for first reading, discussion and consideration at the January City Council meeting, which should be on Jan. 7, according to the current schedule. If the ordinance is approved, as well as times and other modifications, will be up to the City Council.
Lady Cats Basketball Team Opens Play Against Burkburnett in Glen Rose Tournament Thursday
Starting Thursday (December 5), the Lady Cats Basketball Team begins play in a three day tournament quite a distance from home as they are in the Glen Rose Lady Tiger 2019 Lions’ Club Varsity Tournament. The Lady Cats open up in the Glen Rose Arena Thursday at 3:15 p.m. against Burkburnett. Win or lose, the Lady Cats second game of the tourney will be on Friday. The Lady Cats come in with a 3-6 season record. They have lost back to back games in overtime. Lady Cats Coach Brittney Tisdell was disappointed in her team’s play in a loss at Terrell on Tuesday. She’s hoping getting out of town is just what the team needs. Coach Tisdell says since the tournament will require overnight stays, she is hoping the players will enjoy hanging out with each other and doing some bonding.
Wildcats Basketball Team Wins First Game at Mansfield Tournament Over A&M Consolidated
Wildcats Basketball Coach Clark Cipoletta says he loves the Mansfield ISD Spring Creek Barbeque Classic Tournament. He says last year’s tourney was when he figured out what type of team the Wildcats were. The Wildcats early results in this year’s tournament were good. The Wildcats won Thursday morning (December 5), 68-61 over A&M Consolidated of College Station. Day Day Hall scored a team high 29 points and Cameron Kahn chipped in 20 points. Grayson McClure added 9 points. Lamodrick Johnson scored 7 points. Boo Wilkerson had 4 points. Justin Haire scored 2 points. The Wildcats improved their season record to 5-1. The Wildcats will play a second game in the tourney at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Mansfield High. The Wildcats had some ups and downs last year. They opened with an impressive 81-73 win over Mansfield Lake Ridge on their home court. Lake Ridge, a 6A school was top 25 ranked for awhile last year. Then came a disappointing 68-63 loss to Fort Bend Elkins, a Class 6A team that was ranked #7. The next day, the Wildcats got a solid 59-55 overtime win over Killeen Ellison. Ellison, a Class 6A team, made their way into the rankings for awhile later in the season. Then the Wildcats closed with a downer, a 44-32 loss to Mansfield Summit. Coach Cipoletta said at the tournament last year, the Wildcats inspirational manager Dylan Jester asked to talk to the team and according to Coach Cipoletta, really let the Wildcats have it because of the way they were playing.
