RECALLED: 4 Lots of Contaminated Lidocaine Topical Cream, Gel Products
Ridge Properties LLC DBA Pain Relief Naturally is voluntarily recalling four lots of 4 percent lidocaine topical cream and liquid gel products sold at the consumer level. FDA analysis has found these products to have microbiological contamination and the potency is higher than the labeled amount for lidocaine, according to
The risks from a contaminated pre-tattoo product are greater since the skin is being traumatized immediately after application and tattooing is known to have infectious complications. Additionally, use of lidocaine greater than the label claim may increase the risk of methemoglobinemia, a blood disorder in which an abnormal amount of methemoglobin is produced. To date, the company has not received any reports of adverse events related to this recall.
PRE-TAT is marketed as a numbing agent/topical anesthetic used prior to tattoo application. Soothing Sore Relief is marketed for soothing relief of pain and/or itch associated with hemorrhoids and bedsores. Superior pain and itch relief is marketed as a numbing agent/topical anesthetic. Lots and expiration dates are listed on a gold colored expiration sticker on the back of the products.
Products were distributed nationwide through online sales at the following websites: amazon.com, ebay.com, walmart.com, tatbalm.net and naturallyhl.com.
Commissioners Court To Consider Proposed Tax Rate, Consolidation of 2 VFDs
Hopkins County Commissioners Court have a full morning of work ahead of them Monday with a regular meeting scheduled at 9 a.m., with a work session to immediately follow.
Commissioners will be asked Aug. 12, to consider and vote on a proposed tax rate; and to set the date, time and place for two public hearing regarding the tax rate.
A public hearing will also be conducted to consider a plan for the district clerk’s technology fund for preservation and restoration of records, per Senate Bill 1684, Government Code 51.305 and 51.305(f).
Also proposed for the commissioners court to consider is an inter local contract between Hopkins County and Lubbock County pursuant to the Fair Defense Act, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 26.044(b) and Texas Government Code Chapter 791.
The court will be asked to consider a resolution creating the North Hopkins-South Sulphur Volunteer Fire Department, combining the two department to maximize resources to better serve the county.
Continuing Hopkins County Fire Department’s 20-year anniversary, Cumby Volunteer Fire Department is scheduled to be recognized with a proclamation honoring their continued service to the county.
The work session that follows Sulphur Springs City Manager Marc Maxwell is scheduled to talk with the commissioners court about a tire-derived-cylinder road base project.
Sheriff Lewis Tatum and Fire Chief Andy Endsley are slated to discuss operations, review revenues and expenditures, and any proposed improvements or repairs for their departments; while Tom Glosup will discuss maintenance of county buildings and status of construction of the courthouse annex next to the county jail.
A budget work session is scheduled to follow at the end of the meeting. A copy of the proposed county budget for 2020, as well as the three prior years, can be viewed and downloaded from the county website.
Regular meetings of HCCC are held in the Commissioners Courtroom on the first floor of Hopkins County Courthouse, and work sessions are held in the the Meeting Room on the Third Floor of the courthouse.
HCSO: Amended Community Supervision Terms Require Jail Time For Man On Aggravated Assault Charge
Robert Jay Aaron, 30, of Sulphur Springs was booked into Hopkins County jail for aggravated assault of a family or household member with a weapon, as ordered by 8th Judicial District Judge Eddie Northcutt, in “amended/altered court-ordered conditions of community supervision,” according to arrest reports.
The amendment reportedly directs Aaron to remain in the county jail from 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9, to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 11, as part of a required 6-day state jail commitment; Aaron was taken into custody at 7:17 p.m. Friday, and walked into the county jail by deputy Thomas Patterson, according to arrest and jail reports.
Aaron was originally arrested on the assault charge on June 30, 2017. Sulphur Springs Police responded at 11 p.m. June 30, 2017, where they were told Aaron grabbed a female victim and knocked her to the ground holding a knife to her throat, police alleged in reports at the time of his arrest. He remained in the county jail until July 10, 2017, according to jail reports.
That marked his third violence charge in two years. He was first arrested on April 21, 2016 for injury to a child, elderly or disabled person and assault of a family or household member that impeded breathing, according to arrest and jail reports.
Aaron was accused on April 21, 2016, of choking and hitting a female during an ongoing argument at an FM 3505 residence. Deputies reported the woman had red markings on her neck that supported the claim, but refused medical attention. The woman was concerned for her child, who she was reportedly holding when Aaron pushed her against a wall. The child reportedly complained afterward of right arm pain. The child’s arm, from elbow to the shoulder was red and swelling, deputies alleged in reports following Aaron’s arrest in 2016. When deputies contacted Aaron about the altercation, he allegedly admitted to choking the woman, but claimed she struck him first.
He remained in the county jail on both the injury to a child and assault impeding breathing charge from April 21 until May 4, according to jail reports. He spent another night in the county jail following his arrest May 15, 2016, for violation of bond and/or protective order, according to jail reports.
Aaron was sentenced to a 6-month commitment in a substance abuse felony punishment facility and jailed Oct. 26, 2017, according to jail reports.
De Kalb Man Picked Up In Arkansas On 2 Hopkins County Warrants Alleging Sexual Assault Of Child
Randay Toliver was jailed at the Miller County Jail in Texarkana, Arkansas on two felony Hopkins County warrants. After Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office was alerted, Officer Melvin Jackson was dispatched to retrieve the 44-year-old De Kalb man.
Jackson took Toliver into custody at 6:53 a.m. Friday at the Arkansas jail and transported him to Hopkins County jail, where he was booked on warrants for aggravated sexual assault of a child and sexual assault of a child.
The offenses, according to arrest reports, are alleged to have occurred on Jan. 7, 2017.
Toliver remained in Hopkins County jail Saturday morning. Bond was set at $200,000 on the aggravated sexual assault of a child charge and $100,000 on the other charge.
Cumby Traffic Stop Early Saturday Yields Marijuana, Pills, 1 Felony Arrest
An 18-year-old Arlington man was arrested early Saturday morning, after an alert by a police canine revealed a container with bags of marijuana and pills inside of it in the car he was driving, according to arrest reports.
A Cumby police officer, identified in reports only as Officer Geer, reported stopping a four-door Kia at 2 a.m. in Cumby for speeding. While talking to the driver and lone occupant, the officer claimed the 18-year-old Arlington man displayed indicators that lead him to believe the teen “may be in the commission of a crime,” Geer wrote in arrest reports.
Consequently, the Cumby officer asked permission to search the vehicle. When the teen refused, Geer reportedly called for a police canine. Sulphur Springs Police Officer Cleve Williams arrived with his canine partner. Williams deployed Ice; the dog gave a positive alert on the car, Geer alleged in arrest reports.
When Williams asked for the car keys, Geer claimed he attempted to get them from the teen’s pocket. The teen, Geer alleged, pulled away and so he “took control” of his arm and placed the teen against the hood of his vehicle. The teen resisted, pulling away from the officer, when to to give him his hands, Geer noted in arrest reports.
The Arlington man was placed into handcuffs. The car was searched. Williams allegedly found a container with two clear plastic bags inside of it. One bag contained a leafy green substance the police officer believed to be marijuana and the other contained yellow pills, Geer alleged in reports. The pills had R039, which identifies them as 2 mg Alprazolam, a medication in the benzodiazepine group that’s typically used in the treatment of anxiety, panic disorder and depression.
Consequently, the Arlington teen was jailed on the misdemeanor charges of possession of less than 28 grams of a Penalty Group 3 controlled substance, possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana and resisting arrest, search or transport, according to arrest reports.
He remained in the county jail mid-morning Saturday, Aug. 10. Bond was set at $2,000 each on the controlled substance and resisting arrest charges and $1,000 on the marijuana charge, according to jail reports.
Hopkins County Records For The Week Ending Aug. 9, 2019
Applications for Marriage Licenses
- Shawn Allen Caldwell and Tatum Celeste Johnson
- David Duane Tidwell and Lareda B. Robbins
- Sammy Davis Crocker and ALethea Ann Gibson
- Stanley Colton Aulsbrook and Shannah Lianne Walker
Police: Methamphetamine Found In Woman’s Pocket While She Was Being Booked Into Hopkins County Jail
A 31-year-old Oklahoma woman, one of a pair arrested for possessing drug paraphernalia, ended up with a felony charge after a corrections officer found a bag of suspected methamphetamine in her pocket while being booked into the county jail, according to arrest reports.
Sulphur Springs Police Officer Adrian Pruitt reportedly conducted a Ford F150 at 1:33 p.m. Aug. 9 in the 400 block of Texas Street. He contacted the driver, a 35-year-old man who refused to tell the officer his address. Pruitt alleged the driver to appear “extremely nervous” and admitted to having a marijuana cigarette in the truck.
A probable cause search of the pickup allegedly yielded a marijuana cigarette and a glass pipe used as a marijuana bong. Both the driver and the passenger were taken into custody and transported to jail on the misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia, Pruitt alleged in arrest reports.
A jail corrections officer alleged finding a bag containing a white, crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine in the 31-year-old Guthrie, Oklahoma woman’s pocket. Consequently, Mary Elizabeth McDonald was also charged with possession of less than 1 gram of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance in a drug-free zone, according to arrest reports.
The driver was released from jail later Friday. McDonald remained in the county jail Saturday morning, Aug. 10. Her bond on the controlled substance charge was set at $10,000, according to jail reports.
Progress On Wastewater Treatment Plant Bubbling Along According To Schedule
Testing of the wastewater treatment plant’s new systems is off to a bubbling start. On Tuesday, the city began testing the new aerators. That night they filled the aeration basin with treated effluent, and we will began a 5-day aeration test Wednesday afternoon. The next step will be to start treating wastewater with the new aerators.
The $18 million dollar bond-funded project to put in eight new units to defuse the air and convert the eight existing units to a more efficient aeration system is expected to be completed in late December, according to City Manager Marc Maxwell. The process uses microbes in the waste water to eat the solids. A solution is used to keep the oxygenation right so they stay alive and continue to do their job.
Things were bubbling along Wednesday according to schedule, but will be monitored for five days to make sure everything is online and remains quiet so as not to disturb neighbors.
The update was needed to keep up with the amount of sewage concentration handled daily. The monitored levels were too high per liter of total suspended solid last fall. That is down significantly already. The new process will continue to improve that, creating what Maxwell calls a model plant.
The plan is once the eight old units are off line, to get the new ones online, then retrofit the older units to double the work potential.
Remaining work at the facility includes street construction, sidewalks and grass.
Sulphur Springs City Council Awards Contract For Re-Insurance to HM Life
City Considering Take Stand In Railroad Law Suit
The city of Sulphur Springs will continue to partially self-fund health insurance for city employees, the city council decided during their regular August meeting. Also discussed during a closed executive session was the city’s potential involvement in law service involving rail service.
Re-insurance contract
Sulphur Springs sought bid proposals for re-insurance coverage, as has been done for the last 9 years. Five bids were received, with those from Blue Cross, Liberty and Highmark reported to be competitive. The partially self-funded employee health insurance benefit program consists of a combination package of individual and specific stop loss and aggregate reinsurance coverage.
The bid from HM Life was recommended by Sulphur Springs Human Resources Director Gordon Frazier and approved by the city council. Proposals were to include a $80,000 specific stop loss attachment point as well as other levels. At $75,000, the lowest fixed cost was submitted by Blue Cross. Highmark was the lowest fixed cost at the $80,000 and $85,000 stop loss points. Highmark also offered a 72/12 contract term, which means the company would cover claims going back as far as 60 months and forward claims for 12 months. The other carriers’ contracts would go back only 12 months, according to Frazier.
Highmark or HM Life with the $80,000 specific stop loss with term coverage, bid a total fixed cost of $344,031, attachment point of $1.2 million and total maximum plan cost of $1.55 million. That means the city would at max pay $1.2 million for total claims for the year beginning Sept. 1, 2019 and ending Aug. 31, 2020; anything over that amount would be covered by the re-insurance carrier. The company would essentially underwrite any losses to the employee that are over $80,000. The plan is for 145 employees according the HR director.
Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Texas will continue to serve as administrator for all administrative services, with Blue Choice Network as the plan network.
According to information provided to the council by Frazier, the city’s claims are usually below estimates for the year. They are currently estimated to be $850,000-$900,000, a little lower than the expected claims of $900,391 and attachment point claims of $1.125 million in the 2018 proposal, and the $915,000 budgeted for 2019.
The city council approved the HM Life bid based on Frazier and Finance Director Lesa Smith’s recommendations.
Executive session
The council also discussed during executive session the possibility of joining a law suit involving rail service in Sulphur Springs, but opted to take no action on it at that time, according to City Attorney Jim McLeroy.
Having access to a shortline railroad is important to business due to the amount of product transported in the county annually. Without the railroad the product would have to be trucked in at a higher expense, according to the city attorney. The lawsuit is between Blacklands Railroad and Northeast Texas Rural Transportation District, known as NETEX.
McLeroy said the city will look at the matter again in a future meeting, and consider joining one side of the suit. With budget work sessions anticipated throughout the month, the matter is expected to be discussed again before the regular September city council meeting.
Cumby ISD Back To School Bash Slated Aug. 10 At Park
The annual Cumby Back to School Bash will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 10, at Cumby City Park, and will feature lots of activities and offer servcies for CISD families and the community to participate in.
New to the district students may register for classes at the designated school table.
Community organizations, including local churches will also be participating in the event.
Hot dogs, chips, cookies and drinks will be provided for CISD students and their families. Healthy snacks will also be offered. Kona Ice will be on site as well.
A Pack the Bus event will be hosted. Community members who are able are asked to bring school supplies to donate to help out less fortunate students.
A health fair will include free hair cuts; and free dental, vision and other health screenings. Bring shot records to get immunizations. Information to help economically disadvantaged families with services such as the food pantry will be available.
Carter Blood Care is also partnering with the City of Cumby to host a blood drive from 9 to noon on the Carter BloodCare bus. Contact Renee Seely at 903-456-3171 for more information. Community members are encouraged to “#GiveForLife and get a patriotic shirt that shows you care for your neighborhood and your nation.”
There will be bike raffle and other goodies given out at the back to school event. Booths will feature face painting, photo booth and games. Information about P31 can also be obtained at the Back 2 School Bash.
