SSHS Coaching Changes Numerous This Spring
It’s been a spring of change for the Wildcats and Lady Cats’ coaching staffs and Athletic Director Greg Owens indicates more changes may be on the way. Here’s what the School Board has approved and been advised of so far. Lady Cats Volleyball Coach Justin Maness has retired from coaching but will continue to teach at the high school. Bailey Dorner has been approved as Lady Cats Volleyball Coach to replace Maness. Lacie Jessup has been approved as a volleyball assistant. Lady Cats Basketball Assistant Coach Tyler Lindsey has resigned. Katelyn Webster has been approved as a basketball assistant for Lady Cats Head Basketball Coach Brittney Tisdell. Wildcats Basketball Assistant Phillip Manning has resigned to take a job as an assistant in Plano. The board has approved a new assistant for Wildcats Head Basketball Coach Clark Cipoletta. He’s Joe Garcia. Girls Soccer Coach Joel Bailey has resigned coaching but will continue to teach at high school. Wildcats Assistant Coach Javier Aguayo is the new Lady Cats Head Soccer Coach. Hired as a Lady Cats soccer assistant is Kristov Garcia. Former Lady Cats Soccer Assistant Ross Hicks will continue to coach cross country and track distance runners. Wildcats Soccer Coach Alexi Upton has a new assistant to replace Aguayo. He’s Salvador Mejia. Again we are told there are more changes to come later.
Weaver Cemetery Memorial Day June 2
The Weaver Cemetery Association will meet at 11 a.m. on June 2, 2019, at the Weaver Baptist Church.
All who have loved ones there, or an interest in the Weaver Cemetery, are encouraged to attend. Services will be followed by a covered dish lunch in the church dining hall. A Memorial roll call will be conducted to honor those that have died and been buried in the Weaver Cemetery since last year’s Memorial Day Service.
The cemetery had 70 stones turned over and flags burned. The Sheriff and Trustees of Hopkins County came and did the restoration. Please come
and thank them.
Anyone wishing to contribute to the care and upkeep of the Weaver Cemetery may do so by sending their donation to Weaver Cemetery Fund, Care of Nell Payne, 522 CR 3532, Saltillo, Tex., 75478.
- 2019
PJC Offering Sports Camps This Summer
Several of the Paris Junior College athletic programs are offering summer camps, starting in June and continuing in August.
The Dragons All-American Boys Basketball Camp will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., June 10-13 in the Hunt Center. Campers will receive a t-shirt and basketball and daily lunch. Instructors will include PJC men’s basketball coaches and players. The cost is $120, though group and employee discounts are available. For more information contact Coach Bobby Taylor at [email protected]. The registration form is available to download
at www.parisjc.edu/athletics.
The girl’s basketball camp will be held June 24-27 from 9 a.m. to noon in the Hunt Center, with registration the first morning at 8 a.m. The camp is for girls in first through eighth grade, and costs $60; campers will receive a t-shirt and basketball. Instructors will include PJC women’s basketball coaching staff and players. For more information, contact Coach Rosalyn
Tindel at [email protected]. The registration form is available to download at www.parisjc.edu/athletics.
PJC soccer coaches Evan Michael Camperell and Zach Zellmer are working with the City of Paris to lead Soccer Skills and Drills. The course will help students improve their soccer game through learning ball control and soccer basics. The course runs Monday through Thursday, 10
a.m. to noon, July 22-25, and costs $35. Registration is available at www.paristexas.gov.
On August 11 there will be a half-day softball camp from 9 a.m. to noon. The camp is for girls ages 12 and up and costs $30 per person. It will be held at Love Civic Center Field No. 4.
For more information, contact Coach April Lane Hartmann at [email protected].
Rep. Flynn: Commerce Approved for ‘Qualified Hotel Project’
The City of Commerce can now address lodging and event space needs by building a hotel and convention center thanks to House Bill 4347, which qualifies the city to complete a qualified hotel project using state hotel occupancy taxes, state sales taxes and re-investment funds, according to a press release from Rep. Dan Flynn’s office.
Rotary Club Grant and Scholarship Recipients
The Rotary Club of Sulphur Springs met May 30, 2019, to present both grant and scholarship money to area recipients.
100% of the proceeds from Claws for a Cause 2019 were dispersed among the groups and individuals Rotary Club deemed most worthy. The 2019 event set new records for both pounds of crawfish eaten, and revenue generated. This in turn set new records for the amount of money given back to the community. These increases were most noticeable in the scholarships, where most were double, and one triple, the amount awarded last year.
Grants were given to:
- Bright Star Baseball
- CAN Help
- CASA
- Civil Air Patrol
- DFW Honor Flight
- Dinner Bell
- Empty Stocking
- Heritage Christian Counseling
- Hopkins County Community Chest
- Hopkins County Community Health/Wellness
- Hopkins County Free Dental Day
- Hopkins County Genealogical Society
- Hopkins County Healthcare Foundation
- Hopkins County Veterans Memorial
- Lil 4s Club
- Lord’s Work Food Pantry
- NETLA
- Scout Troop 69
- Star Foundation
- Teen Court
Local students, all graduating seniors heading to area colleges, received a combined $13,400.
- Amy Sprague
- Carissa Carter (Not Pictured)
- Peyton Baugh
- Kelsey Horton
- Madelyn Ray
- Caitlyn Williams
Rotary Club meets each Thursday at noon at the First United Methodist Church. As is their tradition, a meal is served, and a meeting follows. If you would like to become a member of Rotary Club, contact the President-Elect, Logan Vaughan by email [email protected].
Frisco Man Allegedly Caught With Stolen Firearm
Patrick Deshaun Holman, 23, of Frisco was jailed Wednesday night after police found a stolen firearm in his possession during a traffic stop, according to arrest reports.
Holman was reportedly a passenger in a Toyota Camry stopped on Interstate 30 east at mile marker 122 for traffic violation at 10:38 p.m. May 29 for a traffic violation, Sulphur Springs Police Officer Cleve Williams alleged in the arrest report. During Williams’ interaction with the car’s occupants, he reported finding a firearm that’d been reported stolen in Holman’s possession, resulting in the Frisco man’s arrest, according to arrest reports.
SSPD Officer Nick Floyd responded at the location and transported the man to jail, according to arrest reports. Holman remained in the county jail Thursday afternoon, May 30; his bond was set at $5,000 on the felony theft by possession of stolen firearm charge, according to arrest and jail reports.
Alleged Car Thief Also Accused Of Using Another Man’s Credit Card
The 51-year-old Sulphur Springs man accused of stealing a car in Paris also was charged with credit card abuse.
Michael Allen Coker was first arrested Tuesday, after Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper William Gillentine discovered the silver Chevrolet sedan he stopped at 1:40 p.m., just west of Sulphur Springs on Interstate 30, for speeding had been reported stolen in Paris.
When Gillentine asked Coker why the vehicle would be reported stolen, Coker claimed a woman gave it to him to drive the day before, the trooper alleged in arrest reports. When pressed for more details and asked numerous questions, Coker was alleged to provide a vague story.
A Paris Police Department detective contacted Gillentine by phone. The car has reportedly been left running and unattended while the driver went inside a store; when the driver walked back outside, the vehicle was missing, the Paris officer reportedly told Gillentine.
An inventory of the vehicle prior to impound revealed an open can of Angry Orchard hard cider in the console; a credit card with another man’s name on it, a receipt, new set of drill bits and mirrors, and packaging were also found in the front compartment of the car, Gillentine alleged.
The Paris police detective met Gillentine at Hopkins County jail and showed him pictures taken from a video of the area where the vehicle was reported stolen. Coker was reportedly wearing the same clothing as the suspect who was pictured approaching the car in the store parking lot.
Coker was booked into Hopkins County jail for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
The Paris Detective later advised Gillentine that they’d been alerted a man’s credit card had been used at O’Reilly Auto Parts store in Sulphur Springs around 1:30 p.m. May 28. That’s the name on the credit card found in the stolen car, Gillentine reported.
Shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday, Gillentine interviewed the manager and assistant manager at the Gilmer Street auto parts store. The store staff recalled seeing the person who made the purchase. One noted the man who made the purchase with the credit card acted weird, gritting his teeth, in ragged clothing, ‘ like he was high or something’ entered the the store three times. The suspect allegedly tried to trade a gift card for cash, Gillentine alleged in arrest reports.
The other store employee remembered the man because he claimed to be the son of a man who had been his customer for 25 years. He also when asked gave the same number Coker gave the trooper when asked for his contact number, Gillentine noted in arrest reports.
Consequently, Coker was subsequently charged May 29 with credit card abuse for alleged use of the other man’s credit card at O’Reilly the day before.
Coker remained in Hopkins County jail at noon Thursday, May 30. His bond was set at $5,000 on both the unauthorized use of vehicle and credit card abuse charges, according to jail reports.
Get a Taste for Reducing Food Waste
Have you ever wondered how much food is wasted? A simple definition of food waste is edible food that is lost, discarded, or uneaten. Research suggests that as much as 40% of the edible food produced in this country goes to waste. That is enough to fill the Rose Bowl – every day! On a household level, USDA estimates that as much as 20 pounds of food per person per month is wasted.
Across the United States, the foods wasted most often at the consumer level (household) include dairy products, fresh produce, meat, and grains. Us to 20% of the food wasted in the home is from leftovers. So, why should we care? Food production in the U.S. requires land, energy, and water. If that food is wasted, so is the water and the energy (along with other resources such as labor, fertilizers, and pesticides) used to produce it. An estimated 97% of wasted food ends up in a landfill. Many communities are working to reduce this through food donation programs and composting, but more needs to be done. Wasted food = wasted money. Researchers have estimated that the total value of food loss is between $371 and $400 per person. At the federal level, The Environmental Protection Agency (EAP) has recommended strategies for reducing food waste. The most preferred strategy is to reduce the volume of surplus food that is generated. The next step is to take extra food that is not used to food banks, soup kitchens, and other emergency food programs. Other strategies include using food scraps as animal feed, but this may not be permissible in large-scale, commercial production operations. Composting is another option. The least desirable method of disposing food waste is to place it in a land fill. Because the majority of food waste occurs at the consumer level, there are strategies that can be adopted in the home to reduce food waste.
This is where “Get A Taste for Reducing Food Waste” comes in! This is a 4-topic series from realistic meal planning to composting. The goal of this program is to help individuals get a feel for how much food they are wasting and then adopt one or more strategies to reduce it (and hopefully save a little money in the process!) The four topics are 1) knowing your own food inventory, 2) planning meals and shopping smart, 3) storing foods properly (emphasis on food label dates), and 4) home composting.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Hopkins County, will be piloting this 4-topic series before it is released statewide. We invite anyone interested in the topic to join us! Here are the details:
What: Get a Taste for Reducing Food Waste
Dates: Monday, August 12, and Thursday, August 15
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Where: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Hopkins County Office, 1200 W. Houston, Sulphur Springs
Call: 903-885-3443 to reserve a seat so adequate preparations can be madeBecause we are piloting the program, there is no cost! Our Hopkins County Master Wellness Volunteers and Master Gardeners will be assisting with the program.
Food preservation Publications
Our office has received a few phone calls about home food canning. This is the season! We have free publications on canning and freezing fruits and vegetables, pickles, salsas, jams and jellies. Feel free to drop by, or better yet, give us a call and we’ll put a packet together for you. And don’t forget about the vegetable cookbook we are offering free of charge! Just aske for it.Closing Thought
“Fear paralyzes. Hope mobilizes” – Rudolph Giuliani
Recipe of the Week
Creamed Spinach Baked Potatoes
Ingredients:
4 russet baking potatoes
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, minced
3 tablespoons flour
1 ½ cups low-fat milk
1 bag (10 ounces) spinach, choppedDirections:
Preheat oven to 425ᵒF. Scrub potatoes with water and pat dry.
Rub potatoes with vegetable oil and poke them with a fork. Lay them directly on the oven rack.
Cook the potatoes for 45 to 60 minutes, until skin is crispy.
In a large pan, cook minced onions in butter over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle flour over onion mixture and cook for 2 minutes.
Add spinach and milk; cook 7-8 minutes until mixture is thick and creamy.
Slice open a baked potato and add creamed spinach.Nutritional info (per potato): 340 calories; 9 grams fat; 53 grams carbohydrate; 7 grams fiber; 12 grams protein
Source: Extension’s “I Love Vegetables” cookbook
Folwell: Hospital District In Good Shape Financially
Hopkins County Hospital District Board CEO Ron Folwell reported the district to be “doing fairly well” financially, and the director of EMS services reported April to be a good month for the service in the three counties they serve.
Financial Report
For the first 7 months of the year, the hospital district’s net income was $3.944 million, which means the district “made $811,000 on a consolidated basis for the hospital,” Folwell told HCHDB members at their meeting Tuesday night.
Tax revenues, he reported, were $14,000 less than last year for the month. Overall, that’s $621,000 greater than last year for the 7-month period, which Folwell attributed to an increase in valuations.
Rent incomes, are up $60,000 for the year. Folwell noted that there was a 2 percent increase last year.
“Labor costs actually look decent compared to last year for the month. For the month, we’re 2.4 thousand greater than last year, 13.4 greater than budget. …. I think we’re holding our labor costs fairly consistent,” Folwell reported.
Among those labor costs are benefits such as insurance. The hospital board heard proposals Tuesday night from Monica Blakeley, vice president and employee benefits consultant at IPS Advisors, a division of HUB International. Afterward, the hospital board selected a plan that would only be a $55 across the district increase, plus additional options for employees who choose a higher level of or additional coverage.
Cash flow, operating cash provided by operating activities, was $6.2 million, for the 7 months, the hospital district CEO reported.
“We’re in good shape from the government standpoint,” Folwell said. “Our cushion, net revenue is $2.9 million. For days of cash on hand we’ve got 98. We are required to keep 60 days,” Folwell said. “All in all, I think the district is in really good shape financially.”
One thing to potentially consider in the future is refinancing bonds at a lower interest rate for a cost savings in repayment amounts, according to Folwell.
EMS Update
April was a good month financially for the EMS department, with operations in all three counties — Delta, Franklin and Hopkins Counties — finishing the month in the black, said Brent Smith director of EMS services.
“So, in the financial on the expense side, we’re driving in the right direction. One of the positive things, our billing company does a 12-month look back. They compared it to the last 12 months. April 1, 2017-March 2018, April 1, 2018-March 2019., I wanted to point this. Gross charges and cash collections have both increased. The variance from year to year, some gross charges $1.6 milllion up, cash collection a little over half a million up to the good for the 12 months look-back,” Smith said.
Volume of patients increased, with 268 total transports more this year during this time frame, Smith said.
He reported a positive shift in payer mix as well: Medicare has dropped 1.9 percent, but commercial insurance has gone up 2.02 percent.
“Which is good because commercial insurance is required to pay more than the Medicare allowable rate. So that’s a positive shift,” Smith told the board
He reported a 2.26 percent decrease in private payments.
Levels of service are billed six different ways — specialty care transport, ALS, ALS Emergency, ALS non-emergency, BLS emergency and BLS network — based on the way Medicare set it up several years ago.
“The positive thing is we’ve had 2.5 percent increase in ALS runs over BLS. ALS receives higher reimbursement, which also means we are seeing a higher acuity of call. It’s not the sore throat people. The 2.5 percent increase required more of a paramedic in the back to manage the care of the patient. That’s looking really good. That comes from our billing company,” the EMS director said.
Smith too reported a 24.57 percent no transport rate, that is EMS was called to the scene but the no one is taken to the hospital from the call location.
“Compared to all of their other clients in their billing mix, which they have over 100 clients, the average rate is at 32.8 percent. Their own explanation to us was our organization has an excellent transport rate,” Smith noted
The EMS director says that indicates the people who need care are being taken to the hospital and a higher acuity of calls.
“What do they say about our actual collection rate, what we actually collect, compared to what’s billed? How do we compare with their other clients?” HCHDB member Kerry Law asked.
Smith told him that” they had no recommendations at this time in the analysis and recommendations section of the report.”
“Overall gross charges, class collections have increased with volume, agencies average cash per transport has improved as well: positive shift in power mixes,” Smith said.
“They don’t compare us to their other clients?” Law asked.
“They do. I do know we are performing better than a lot of their clients, but I don’t think I actually have that on me,” Smith said.
“That 25 percent no transport rate, do you have that broken down into what those consists of?” HCHDB member William Dietze queried.
“I can get that for you. I will tell you the highest is going to be motor vehicle accidents and falls. A lot of times we go out there and we may have four patients, but none of them called for the ambulance. People driving by called for the ambulance. So, we still have paperwork saying they’re not actually going to the hospital, but they’re not actually billed for that,” Smith answered.
“In falls, we get a lot of falls where maybe they slipped off their chairs and we don’t pick them up, as in we picked them up off the floor just not to the hospital for injury, ” Smith added. “I monitored those every month, and falls and motor vehicle accidents are the highest always.”
“I’m talking about if they’re recommended to come and they refuse to come,” Dietze said.
“No, we don’t break it out like that,” Smith said.
HCHDB President Suzanne Thomas asked about “high flyers,” people who call frequently for EMS to be take to the hospital, but don’t need to be transported to the hospital.
“Due to our population out here, we do have some, but I wouldn’t say it’s as excessive as in the urban areas,” Smith said.
There was an individual in Franklin County EMS used to respond to a lot, as much as three times a week, when Hopkins County EMS started providing service there. A check of the records recently showed the person had only been carried by EMS three times in the last year, Smith noted.
Those type of calls typically occur in spurts, often ending when people move or pass away. He said there’s not an abundance of that, but when there are, there are different variables that contribute to the rise in numbers.
Then, there are other instances, where EMS is called upon frequently to assist at a residence while a patient is undergoing a health situation, then are no longer needed as their health improves.
For instance, Smith said, one patient had some disabilities due to a stroke and had a lot of needs while going through therapy. As the individual’s health improved, EMS was called upon less frequently to respond.
“A lot of those ones that routinely access the ER, know what to say, where we can’t say no, where we assume liability if we’re saying you’re not really having chest pain,” Smith noted.
The EMS director reported that as best he can tell, a new transport record was set in Hopkins County last month.
“In April, Hopkins County, specifically Hopkins County, we had 446 transports. That was a record for us as far as I can go back. We’ve never transported that many patients in any month in the history of our service, or at least as far as I can go back on the records,” Smith said.
HCHB member Tim Kelty asked why there were few or no transports in Franklin County.
Smith said a significant portion of the “no transfer” patients in Franklin County are from accidents on Interstate 30. EMS often responds to multiple crashes along the same stretch of I-30 in Franklin County during the rain. Those increase in frequency when it’s raining.
Delta County and Franklin County had a strong month too, Smith reported.
Dairy Festival Board, Sponsors Are “Over the Moon in Dairyland”
As part of the lead-in to Dairy Festival 2019, Board President Carolyn McKinney, Vice President David McCaig, board members and sponsors met with media for a brief meet-and-greet and photo-op on the morning of Wednesday May 29, 2019. The group gathered around tables at The Creamery inside a major sponsor location, the Southwest Dairy Museum. The front drive of the Southwest Dairy Museum sports two of the largest statues of milk cows anywhere, while inside, the life-like displays illustrate 100 years of changes in dairying. Year-round, the massive Holstein and Jersey replicas and beautiful facility celebrate the dairy industry in Hopkins County and the importance of milk in the lives of Americans. Plan to visit the Museum this summer!
Other stops made that same morning were The Propane Company, PCI and Sulphur Springs Dodge, each of whom contribute in a large way to the success of the annual festival. Another of the major sponsors, Dairy Max, held a meet-and-greet at the AgriLife Extension Office in Sulphur Springs.
Each morning June 4-14, committee members and pageant contestants will be visiting another sponsor, KSST Radio/Channel 18 TV. Get to know them by listening to the 8:15 am interviews on KSST 1230AM radio, by watching playbacks on Cable Channel 18 TV, at ksstradio.com and on our YouTube channel. Dairy Festival 2019 runs June 7-15 with a parade, cattle shows, hot air ballooning, cooking contests, a carnival, a milking contest, an ice cream freeze-off, a Dairy Festival Queen’s Pageant and Coronation, and lots more!
