Upcoming Opportunities You Don’t want to Miss
By Johanna Hicks, B.S., M.Ed., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Family & Community Health Agent
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension provides numerous workshops, educational series, camps, one-shot programs, multi-county programs, newsletters, educational social media articles, newspaper columns, radio spots and individual consultations. Previously, a local media outlet would drop by the office asking if we had anything going on. That person now asks WHAT is coming up, rather that IF anything is coming up! We always have opportunities available for you! Below are a couple of upcoming opportunities you will want to jot down.
“Get a Taste for Reducing Food Waste”
Hopkins County has been selected as a pilot county for this four-lesson series, and the dates are just around the corner! Rather than spreading it out over a 4-week series, I will be presenting a condensed version on two dates (two lessons per day.) The goals of the program are:
- Participants will learn how much food they throw away at home.
- Participants will learn how to plan and prepare meals that minimize food waste.
- Participants will improve their ability to store foods to extend their life and quality.
- Participants will learn how to compost uneaten/spoiled food.
Participants will reduce the amount of money that is lost due to food waste.
If this sounds like something you would be interested in attending, there is no charge, but I do need to know how many plan to attend in order to make adequate preparations.
- What: Get a Taste for Reducing Food Waste series
- When: Monday, Aug. 12, and Thursday, Aug. 15
- Time: 10 a.m.
- Where: Hopkins County Extension Office, 1200 West Houston St., Sulphur Springs
- Call: 903-885-3443 to reserve a seat
Hopkins County Fall Festival Arts & Crafts Show
Vendor applications are now being taken for the 2019 Hopkins County Fall Festival Arts & Crafts Show. This is always one of the major attractions during the Fall Festival, and it provides a great opportunity for visitors to do some early Christmas shopping! There are a few guidelines to remember:
The Arts & Crafts Show will take place Oct.r 25 & 26, in the Sulphur Springs High School cafeteria, north entry way, and outdoor covered walkway. Set up will be Friday morning, October 25, from 7:15 to 10 a.m. The show is open to the pubic from 10 a.m. to p.m. on Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. This show is for handmade/hand-crafted items only. Commercially-made items or commercial businesses will not be accepted. If you want to be a vendor in the commercial exhibit area, contact Blake Weir, 512-740-8618.
Here are a few other guidelines to consider:
- You will need to provide your own tables, chairs and display equipment.
- Electrical outlets are limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please indicate on your application if you need electricity.
- Covered outdoor spaces are available.
- Arts & Crafts Show hours are: Friday, Oct. 25, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, October 26, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. No early pack-up unless cleared with Coordinator (me).
- Those wishing to exhibit for one day only will be assigned an outdoor space.
- A confirmation letter, including directions to the facility, unloading and parking information will be sent to exhibitors after receipt of registration and payment.
- Indoor space sizes are 8 foot X 8 foot (single space) or 16 foot X 8 foot (double space). Outdoor covered spaces are larger. Prices vary according to location of spaces (indoors or outdoors), number of spaces requested, and age.
- The deadline to apply for a space is Oct. 9. Fee is required with completed application.
Contact the Hopkins County Extension Office at 903-885-3443 for details and to get an application.
Other upcoming events:
- Twogether in Texas marriage education workshop – Saturday, Aug. 17
- Planning meeting/luncheon for Master Wellness Volunteers, Family & Community Health Committees – Aug. 23
- Diabetes Support Group – Aug. 27
- Cooking Well for Healthy Blood Pressure – Sept. 9, 12, 16
- Cooing Well with Diabetes – Sept. 16, 19, 23, 26
Closing Thought
“I no longer listen to what people say – I just watch what they do. Behavior never lies.” Winston Churchill
Woman’s Unusual Parking Job, Difficulty Using ATM Attract Police Attention
A 39-year-old Sulphur Springs woman’s inauspicious parking job at a bank ATM at 2:18 Sunday morning, Aug. 4, caught a police patrol officer’s attention and ended with her arrest.
When the Sulphur Springs police officer went to check out the suspiciously parked Ford Explorer, he reported finding a woman on the phone, holding a credit/debit card. She allegedly said she was having issues with the ATM. The officer noticed thick-tongued, slurred speech and her glossy eyes. The officer, in arrest reports, further claimed the woman emitted an alcohol odor.
The patrolman reportedly asked the 39-year-old woman to step out of the SUV. He then performed horizontal gaze nystagmus tests; she showed 6 out of 6 clues of intoxication. She was already swaying and having trouble standing up straight while he conducted the HGN tests, so the officer, out of concern for the woman’s safety, opted not to perform walk-and-turn and one-legged stand tests, police alleged in arrest reports.
The woman reportedly allowed the officer to properly park and secure her vehicle at the bank just off South Broadway Street, then took her to jail. She was booked for public intoxication.
She was released from the county jail later Sunday, Aug. 4, according to jail reports.
Woman Accused of Alcohol Consumption, Spitting On Cop At Travel Center
A 23-year-old woman allegedly consumed alcohol on the premises of a local truck stop and displayed aggressive behavior toward officers who located her at another. She was arrested Saturday night, according to police reports.
Sulphur Springs police were told the woman purchased alcohol and a stick of beef jerky, then began drinking the alcohol inside Pilot Travel Center. When told by store staff not consume the alcohol in the store, she allegedly told them she didn’t care if she went to jail. She reportedly continued to drink the beverage while trying to exit the store, falling into the door before getting it open and leaving, police alleged in arrest reports.
Police attempted to locate the woman, who they were told was last seen walking toward the truck parking area. They were unable to locate her.
A short time later, the woman was reported to have reentered the South Hillcrest Drive business. When police arrived, however, they were told the woman yet again had left, reportedly walking across the highway to Love’s Travel Stop, officers alleged in arrest reports.
The woman was reportedly inside Love’s when police arrived. Police spotted a woman matching the description given for the suspect in a beer cooler. As an officer approached her, the woman allegedly threatened to punch him in the face and became verbally aggressive toward him.
The officers alleged an alcohol odor could be smelled on her breath as she spoke with slurred speech. When asked about the alcohol consumption, she allegedly admitted to eating a stick of beef, which the officer believed confirmed she was the woman from Pilot, who had purchased beef jerky.
Once officers got her outside, they alleged the woman continued to shout and curse, after being warned multiple times to cease doing so. The officer, in arrest reports, claims when he asked her if he could perform horizontal gaze nystamus tests, the woman told him he could, but continued shouting and arguing with the policeman, preventing him twice from administering the HGN test to her.
The woman then allegedly stepped close to the officer, accidentally spitting on him. The officer alleged, in arrest reports, that when he asked her to step back and not spit again she placed her fingers to her mouth and made a hand gesture of spitting, causing more spit to strike the officer in the face.
The woman was placed into handcuffs and taken into custody for public intoxication about 11:45 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3. Upon arrival at the jail, the policeman requested an inmate clean out the back of his patrol vehicle, where he alleged the woman had spit in multiple locations, he noted in arrest reports.
The 23-year-old allegedly refused to provide any more information than her name and date of birth, and had no ID on her, preventing officials from completing the portion of the arrest report containing her address and other personal information.
The 23-year-old was released from jail on the public intoxication charge Sunday.
2 Jailed Over Weekend On Felony Warrants
Two men were booked into Hopkins County jail Saturday on unrelated felony warrants, according to jail reports.
Cumby Police Officer Zack Steward arrested 35-year-old Daniel Garza of Grand Prairie man at 4:12 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, on a Tarrant County possession of 4 grams or more but less than 200 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance warrant, according to arrest reports.
Garza was in a Chevrolet 1500 pickup Steward stopped on Interstate 30 east at mile marker 114 for a traffic violation. A records check showed the outstanding warrant for Garza’s arrest, resulting in the Cumby officer taking the Grand Prairie man into custody and jail on the charge, the officer alleged in arrest reports.
Garza remained in Hopkins County jail Monday morning. Bond on the Tarrant County controlled substance charge was set at $30,0000, according to jail reports.
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Deputy Terry Bevill traveled to Collin County, where 37-year-old Richard Otto Hall Jr. of Pickton was being held on a Hopkins County warrant.
Bevill took Hall into custody at 1:55 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at Collin County Sheriff’s Office and transported him to Hopkins County Law Enforcement Center. Hall was booked into the county jail on a warrant for violation of probation, which he was on for possession of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance in a drug-free zone, according to arrest and jail reports. The offense was alleged in arrest reports to have occurred on Feb. 28.
Hall remained in the county jail Monday morning on the charge, according to jail reports.
Sulphur Springs Man Reportedly Arrested On At Least 4th DWI Charge
A faulty license plate light lead to a traffic stop and eventually the arrest of a 41-year-old Sulphur Springs man early Sunday morning on a fourth driving while intoxicated charge, according to arrest reports.
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Deputy Lance Burdick alleged he could smell alcohol on Timmy Lynn Clark as he spoke to him, after stopping him for the equipment violation on the Chevrolet Cobalt he was driving at 1:17 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 4, on Bellview Street at Locust Street.
Burdick reported seeing an open 30-pack of Keystone light beer in the back seat of the car as well. When asked how many of the beverages he had consumed, the 41-year-old Sulphur Springs man allegedly admitted to having 8 beers.
Burdick reported having the man step out and asking him to perform standard field sobriety tests. Clark allegedly agreed to do “the eye” test but not others, and showed six clues of intoxication during horizontal gaze nystagmus testing. When asked, Clark refused to attempt standard field sobriety tests and was taken into custody, Burdick alleged in arrest reports.
A records check showed Clark to have three prior DWI arrests, resulting in the DWI charge being enhanced to a felony, according to arrest reports. Jail reports show Clark was arrested in 2010 on a third or more DWI charge and sentenced to 1 year in a substance abuse felony punishment facility for third or more DWI in 2013.
Clark also reportedly refused to submit to a blood test, so the deputy sought and obtained a search warrant requiring a blood draw for analysis. The sample was taken at the hospital, then the man was transported back and booked into the county jail, Burdick alleged in arrest reports.
Clark was released from the county jail later Sunday, Aug. 4 on $15,000 on the felony DWI charge, according to jail reports.
Success for Jayden Holly at the Texas Amateur Athletics Federation “Games of Texas” in July 2019
Although she has many family members and friends in the area, Miss Jayden Holly will be entering the Sulphur Springs School District for the first time in the Fall as a student athlete. In a follow up story on Jayden’s trip to the Texas Amateur Athletics Federation Games this summer where she participated in shotput and discus, here is her report in her own words.
“I PARTICIPATED IN TEXAS AMATEUR ATHLETIC FEDERATION “GAMES OF TEXAS” IN JULY. THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF YOUTH THERE AT THE GAMES, AGES 6 TO 18, FROM ALL OVER TEXAS ON SATURDAY JULY 28 AT BRYAN COLLEGE STATION.
MY SPORTS ARE SHOTPUT AND DISCUS. I COMPETED IN THE 13 AND 14 YEAR OLD DIVISION.
IN SHOTPUT, THERE WERE 52 COMPETITORS. I GOT FOUR TRIES TO THROW MY LONGEST SHOTPUT. MY LONGEST THROW WAS 33.7. MY ACTUAL COMPETITION ONLY TOOK ABOUT 20 SECONDS EACH TIME BUT THE WHOLE SHOTPUT CONTEST TOOK OVER 2 HOURS. THEN WE WENT TO DISCUS.
IN DISCUS, I HAD 49 OPPONENTS IN THE 13 AND 14 YEAR OLD DIVISION. I GOT THREE TRIES TO THROW MY FARTHEST. MY BEST DISTANCE WAS 80.5. SO I MADE THE PRELIMINARY FINALS. LATER, I GOT TO THROW ANOTHER THREE TRIES, AND MY LONGEST THERE WAS A 77.2, SO I DIDN’T DO AS WELL AS I HAD HOPED. WE WERE TIRED AND IT WAS VERY HOT ON THE FIELD! WE DID HAVE MIST FANS TO STAND UNDER AND THAT HELPED! SO I ENDED UP WITH 7TH PLACE OVERALL IN DISCUS AND I WAS PLEASED WITH THAT.
THAT SAME NIGHT, THE RECOGNITION CEREMONY WAS SET UP LIKE AN OUTDOOR OLYMPIC STAGE, AND THE TOP THREE COMPETITORS IN EACH SPORT GOT TO RECEIVE THEIR MEDALS. AS 7TH AND 9TH, I RECEIVED A RIBBON FOR EACH SPORT. THEN WE ALL TOOK PART IN THE AWARDS PARADE THROUGH THE TOWN OF BRYAN COLLEGE STATION.
WHEN SCHOOL STARTS, I WILL BE A LADY WILDCAT PLAYING VOLLEYBALL AND I HOPE TO PLAY BASKETBALL AND CONTINUE IN TRACK SPORTS. AT SCHOOL. AND NEXT SUMMER, I PLAN TO BRING HOME A MEDAL IN TEXAS AMATEUR ATHLETIC FEDERATION ‘GAMES OF TEXAS’!
Jayden will be a Freshman who, along with participating in sports, hopes to become a Sulphur Springs Blue Blaze during her high school tenure. Also, along with Cadyn Spigner, Jayden has been a student intern at KSST for a portion of the summer through Morning Chapel Missionary Baptist Church’ youth program started by Reverend H.B.Nash and Deacon Pete Nash.
HONORING THE VICTIMS OF THE TRAGEDIES IN EL PASO, TEXAS, AND DAYTON, OHIO
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Our Nation mourns with those whose loved ones were murdered in the tragic shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, and we share in the pain and suffering of all those who were injured in these two senseless attacks. We condemn these hateful and cowardly acts. Through our grief, America stands united with the people of El Paso and Dayton. May God be with the victims of these two horrific crimes and bring aid and comfort to their families and friends.
As a mark of solemn respect for the victims of the terrible acts of violence perpetrated on August 3, 2019, in El Paso, Texas, and on August 4, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America,I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, August 8, 2019.
I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand nineteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America two hundred forty-fourth.
DONALD J. TRUMP
Arkansas Man Leads Deputy On High Speed Chase With Infant, Preschooler In Car
A 23-year-old Arkadelphia, Arkansas man lead deputies on a high speed chase off State Highway 154 south onto county roads, with an infant and small child in the car, according to arrest reports.
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Deputy Aaron Chaney observed a 1998 Ford Mustang that didn’t have a front license plate travel past him at about 7:50 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3. He turned around to catch up and see if it had a rear license plate. Before he got close, he saw the car speed up and pass another vehicle on the shoulder. He attempted to stop the car for that traffic violation, the car accelerated to speeds over 100 miles per hour as it continued south on SH 154.
The car abruptly slowed to turn onto County Road 1196, reaching speeds in excess of 90 miles per hour. The driver took sharp turns and corners at high rates of speed as well. The car crossed into Wood County, turned onto County Road 1730, still reaching speeds in excess of 90 mph, before abruptly stopping at a residence.
As soon as the car stopped, the driver jumped out and ran, jumping a barbed wire fence and running through a Yantis pasture. Chaney drew his Taser and ordered the man to stop and get on the ground. The man was identified as 23-year-old Dillon Curtis Derry of Arkadelphia, Arkansas, Chaney wrote in arrest reports.
Once Derry was secured, Chaney reported going back to talk to female passenger about what was going on. Through his dash camera, he observed the woman get out of the car and take two children, an infant and child estimated to be 4 years old, out of the car.
HCSO Deputy Zach Horne reportedly inventoried the vehicle while Chaney questioned Derry. The Arkansas man allegedly told Chaney he ran because he thought he was wanted in Arkansas on felony charges.
A records check on the vehicle showed the license plate mounted on the vehicle didn’t belong to it. The resulted in a citation for operating a vehicle with a false license plate and driving on the improved shoulder, Chaney alleged in arrest reports.
Because the man endangered the lives of the two children, traveling at high speeds on roads on which speed limits were 35 miles per hour, Derry was jailed on two counts of child endangerment and one charge of evading arrest or detention with a vehicle. He remained in the county jail Monday morning. Bond was set at $15,000 on the evading arrest and $5,000 on the endangering a child charges, according to jail reports.
Governor Abbott Orders Texas Flags Lowered To Half-Staff In Honor Of El Paso Shooting Victims
August 3, 2019
Director Dwight D. Mathis
Capitol Region VII
Texas Department of Public Safety
201 East 10th Street, Suite 600
Austin, Texas 78701
Dear Director Mathis:
The El Paso community was struck by a heinous and senseless act of violence today. Our hearts go out to the victims of this horrific shooting and to the entire community in this time of loss. As such, it is fitting that flags should be lowered immediately to half-staff in memory of those who lost their lives.
Therefore, pursuant to Chapter 3100 of the Texas Government Code, I direct the Texas flag be immediately lowered to half-staff statewide on Saturday, August 3, 2019, in memory of those who lost their lives. Flags should remain at half-staff through sunset on Thursday, August 8, 2019. Flags should be returned to fullstaff on the following day.
Individuals, businesses, municipalities, counties, and other political subdivisions and entities are encouraged to fly their flags at half-staff for the same length of time as a sign of honor and respect.
The First Lady and I extend our prayers of comfort to the survivors and the families of the victims and we will continue to keep them in our thoughts and prayers.
Respectfully,
Greg Abbott
Governor
JH/gsd
