Hearts of Life Presents Sophie For Adoption
Sophie is still searching for her forever home! Sophie is a mature yet high energy girl! She can be a complete goofball but also loves to be at your side. She walks well on the leash and would make an excellent running partner! Her adoption fee is $100.00. If you’re interested in this sweet girl, please call or text us at 903-439-5019, email [email protected], find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/heartsoflife or on Petfinder.com.
Local Author Don Brown’s “Experiences of a Lifetime” Book Signings This Week
After retirement as Vice President of Ben-Tex Pharmaceuticals in Houston, Don Brown and his wife Nora moved to Sulphur Springs in the early 1990’s. This move followed a lifetime of ministry and world travels and put them closer to their two children and grandchildren. Then in 2017, following the passing of his wife and 68-year prayer partner, Don decided to put their many interesting experiences into book form. His self-published work “Experiences of a Lifetime” was released in 2019 and will be offered locally this week in two book-signing events at Good News Christian Bookstore in Sulphur Springs.
“Experiences of a Lifetime” has 199 brief chapters, most only one page long. Each fascinating, well-written recollection offers a vignette of an enriching experience and a lesson learned. Readers will follow Don from his youthful years in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas as a minister’s son to earning money and life skills through farm and ranch work. His teen years included high school Varsity sports from which he earned three college scholarships as well as a ministerial scholarship. Later, broad opportunities to preach God’s word came as he and Nora followed God’s direction to new places. He credits God’s direction and protection in all his experiences, from his frequent hitchhiking across the 4-States region during college years, to witnessing a secret and sacred Ute “Sun Dance”, to a life-threatening encounter at the Great Pyramid when visiting the Holy Lands. Within the chapters, Don subtly uses each story as a faith-building teaching tool.
You can meet Donald Brown on Thursday May 16 and on Saturday May 18, 2019 at Good News Christian Bookstore inside the VF Outlet along I-30’s Industrial Drive East in Sulphur Springs. The two book signings will be held from 10 am til 2 pm, Don will gladly autograph the books purchased. He is a retired pastor, an active member of First Baptist Church in Sulphur Springs and Director of an Adult Department at the church. You can find out more at donaldbrownauthor.net.
Raffle to Fund Ms. Hopkins County Senior Trip to State Pageant this Summer! Tickets at Seniors Center
from: Karon Weatherman, Director of Sulphur Springs Sr Citizens Center
We have a project going to raise money for the 2019 Ms Hopkins County Senior Pageant Winner to help pay for her expenses at the State Pageant. We are selling 50/50 Raffle Tickets for $ 1.00 each or 6 for $5.00. You can purchase your Raffle Tickets at the Sulphur Springs Senior Citizens Center or from any of the 10 Contestants. I will list them on the bottom of this post. 50 % of the funds raised will go to the 2019 Pageant Queen and the other 50% will be split between 2 Lucky Winners that will have their tickets drawn from a basket during the pageant. You do not have to be present to win.
You just need to make sure your Name and Phone number
are on the Ticket Stub for the drawing on June 1st. The drawing will be held during the evening of the Ms. Hopkins County Senior Classic Pageant, scheduled for the Civic Center Banquet Hall on Saturday June 1, 2019 at 6pm. Admission to the Pageant is free. The evening will be filled with talent by contestants and former Ms. Hopkins County Senior title-holders.
Contestants are: Vender Wright, Marjean Allen, Nancy Bassham Bolton,Pam Gibson George, Jan Gray, Majel Redick, Elizabeth Wilburn, Valerie Tuttle Ross, Jan Massey and Linda Hawk Pickle-Hill. The current reigning Ms. Hopkins County is Mary Ivey.
SSISD Trustees Recognize 2 Community Supporters, Top Students; Approve Copier, Region 8 ESC Contracts
A budget calendar, recognition of two community supporters, a copier contract, contract with Region VIII Education Service Center and Spanish language arts and reading instructional materials for kindergarten through fifth grades are among the items addressed at the Sulphur Springs Independent School District Board of Trustees meeting this week.
Community Supporters
Superintendent Michael Lamb presented Texas Association of School Boards Recognition Program certificates to Ryan McKenzie and Paul Harvey for Grocery Supply Company and CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital’s support of SSISD and the community.
Lamb explained that SSISD issued its first certificates at a previous board meeting to businesses that entered and helped with the district’s summer golf tournament.
That same week, GSC and the hospital came through in big ways for the boys basketball team that competed for the state title.
“Ryan and Grocery Supply called. They helped some of the families get to San Antonio that might not be able to do that otherwise. And, the hospital called and wanted to pay for the bus that the boys took. We are very appreciative for both of those,” Lamb said.
CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital-Sulphur Springs CEO Paul Harvey accepted the certificate for the hospital and Grocery Supply Company COO Ryan McKenzie accepted for GSC.
Top Students
SSISD Board of Trustees President Robbin Vaughn presented plaques recognizing Carissa Carter as the valedictorian and Maddie Millsap as salutatorian of Sulphur Springs High School Senior Class of 2019.
Budget Calendar
Business Manager Sherry McGraw presented the school board with dates for budget workshops this summer in readiness for adoption of a district budget.
The first budget workshop is planned during the regular June 11 school board meeting. A preliminary budget will be presented with revenue based on new template, estimated tax values and estimated student counts. Expenditures will include campus requests and estimated payroll increases, but employee turnover will not be entered in budget at this point. Any new expenditures will be added.
A second budget workshop will be held during the next regular school board meeting on July 8. Revenue in this preliminary budget will be based on the new template, estimated tax values and 2018-19 student counts. Expenditures will include campus budget requests, payroll increases, employee turnover and any new expenditures.
The district will not have certified tax values until July 25. Those numbers will be used to create a final draft of the budget, which McGraw anticipates presenting along with the tax rate to trustees for adoption at their Aug. 12 board meeting.
Trustees would then be asked at a special noon board meeting on Aug. 23 to approve an amended 2018-19 budget to reflect all changes made over the last year.
Contracts
SSISD’s contract with Advantage Copy Systems expires on May 31, so bids were sought for the service. Only two bids were received. Advantage Copy Systems bid was for $10,389 per month, for three years, with an overage fee of $0.005 per black and white copy and $0.047 per color copy that exceeds the 8 million per year copies allowed. CPI Imaging’s bid was for $9,998.07 per month with no additional charges for overages.
Trustees approved the lower bid submitted by CPI Imaging, as recommended by District Technology Coordinator Rodney White. Trustee Kerry Wright abstained from voting due to a conflict of interest.
Trustees also approved contracted service agreements with Region VIII Education Service Center, as recommended by Assistant Superintendent Josh Williams.
“Each of these packages provide training and resources in different areas we practice here at the school and take advantage of,” Williams said.
The overall cost increased by a just over $4,000. That includes about $2,400 for DBA Services, which schools are required to buy for use in the business office. The Safe Schools and Healthy Students package went up by about $2,000, Williams said.
Williams said he send the list to every pertinent director to look at and see if there are things that could be beneficial, then consideration is given to adding those options to the package the district purchases annually.
The board approved a Region VIII ESC contract for $111,821, to be paid in two semi-annual payments.
Instructional Materials
Also approved as recommended by the Instructional Materials Adoption Committee and SSISD Director of Curriculum and Instruction Lisa Robinson were the Benchmark Taller/ Benchmark Workshop materials for Spanish language arts and reading classes for dual language students from kindergarten through fifth grade.
Robinson said the materials adopted for reading in English do not have a direct Spanish correlation. Benchmark Workshop, however, is structured in the same way.
“This puts hundreds of authentic Spanish books in each classroom and the lessons are tied with those for the teachers to let them use to teach. It’s very similar to what we purchased on the English side.
In kindergarten and first the literacy does take place in the native language, the Spanish-speaking students will be taught to read with the SLAR materials and the English-speakers in English.
In second through fifth grades students receive instruction in both languages.
Registration For SSISD Dual Language Enrichment Program Ends Friday
Registration for next year’s kindergartners in Sulphur Springs Independent School District’s Two-Way Dual Language Enrichment Program is ongoing through Friday, May 17.
The enrichment program is designed to teach children a second language in a natural way through subject content instruction and everyday classroom conversation.
In the two-way dual language program native English-speaking students and native Spanish-speaking students are paired together to learn to speak and read in both languages.
Students develop oral and cognitive academic language in both English and Spanish, while mastering grade-level knowledge and skills in all content areas. Students will initially learn to read and write in their first language with formal literacy instruction in the second language in grades 2-5.
Students receive Spanish and English instruction in language arts and reading according to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills curriculum requirements. Science and social studies are taught in Spanish and mathematics it taught in English. The program is based on the Gomez and Gomez Dual Language Enrichment Model.
Potential students must also complete a basic screening process. Parents will be notified if their child has been accepted into the program, then must sign a contract agreeing to the terms and keeping their student in the program through fifth grade.
The 2019-2020 kindergarten class was expected to have 30-35 seats for English speaking students; the exact number will depend on the number of native Spanish speakers enrolled in the program. As of Monday, 27 seats had already been filled. The program is a six year commitment; students enroll in kindergarten and continue in the program through fifth grade.
Parents and guardians interested in enrolling their kindergartners in the Spanish immersion program for the 2019-20 school year may stop by SSISD Administration Building, 631 Connally St., or Travis Primary, 130 Garrison St., to complete an application.
For additional program information, view the program video or contact the Dual Language/ESL Department at 903-885-2153, ext. 1148.
SSISD Opts For Buses Without Seat Belts Due to Budget Constraints
Sulphur Springs Independent School District moving forward will purchase school buses without seat belts for general bus routes, district trustees decided this week. Pre-kindergarten and Head Start buses will still have the safety devices required by law, but all other new buses will not have seat belts for students.
Superintendent Michael Lamb cited budget constraints as the prime reason for his recommendation of buses without seat belts, when presenting the proposal to SSISD Board of Trustees. He explained that after the legislative session 2 years ago some laws were passed which allow school districts that are unable to handle in their budgets the costs of converting to buses with seat belts to formally make that decision in a board meeting.
“Basically, the way the wording is, it says ‘if you feel like your budget can’t handle it.’ This time last year, we didn’t go this route because I felt like for the most part we have the finances to buy a bus. What we’ve discovered in a year’s time is that it’s really bigger than that,” Lamb said.
Converting to buses with seat belts would mean one less person per bus seat. That would necessitate the purchase of about 20 additional buses to have enough seats for all bus students. That would increase the bus fleet from 60 to 80 buses, because only two students can sit per seat in school buses with seat belts as opposed to potentially three per seat without seat belts.
SSISD cannot afford purchasing that many more buses, nor hire additional drivers to drive them.
“Right now, we are running about two or three bus drivers short all the time. We have a hard time finishing that staff. Well, if we go to 80, we certainly will,” Lamb told trustees at their regular May meeting Monday. “We truly, truly, truly – and we didn’t feel like we could say this last year — cannot afford this transition. We can’t afford what we’d need to pay to get more drivers, we probably cannot afford to maintain an 80 bus fleet, at least not under the current circumstances. … To catch up and do the things we really need to do, we just can’t.”
He noted that Assistant Superintendents Josh Williams and Rusty Harden are doing a lot of substitute bus driving of late, to make up for the shortage in bus drivers.
“Do we have any in our fleet that do have seat belts?” Jason Dietze asked.
Lamb said SSISD did purchase a bus with seat belts last year, and it can still be used, he recommended for field trips.
Lamb acknowledged that seat belts on buses can be a controversial topic that raises safety questions.
“Typically, we feel like the impact of a bus wreck – because the bus is so large, the seats are covered, etc. – students are generally safe,” Lamb said.
He said in his research, he found concerns have been expressed that seat belts on a bus could actually be more detrimental to smaller children’s health in that they might prevent younger students from being able to quickly and safely exit a bus in an emergency situation such as a bus fire or a bus overturning into a ditch with water.
“I think in reading through the literature on the design of buses, the intent of the way they are structured, they have a design to prevent things that would happen,” board member John Prickette said, noting information referred to them by Lamb regarding school bus safety and seat belts.
“I know it’s not necessarily an easy thing to come up with or decide, but it is the recommendation I’m making that we be allowed to buy buses from this day forward that do not have seat belts. That’s the request of the administration at this time,” Lamb said.
Trustees gave approval for the purchase of two school buses without seat belts this year according to the regular maintenance and replacement schedule, as recommended by Lamb, at their regular May board meeting Monday.
Gabby Idzi, Kavan Smith Recognized As Top Miller Grove 8th Graders
Gabby Idzi and Kavan Smith have been announced as the top 8th graders at Miller Grove Junior High this year.
Gabby Idzi, daughter of Robert and Michele Idzi, is the MGJHs valedictorian.
She is a member of Awana’s Youth Group at Brashear Baptist Church and helps her mom and dad around the house as much as possible.
Gabby participated in many UIL events and has gained many awards. This year she placed second in calculator, fifth in editorial writing, first in math, and second in number sense.
Her future plans include graduating with her Associate’s Degree the same year she graduates from high school.
Gabby Idzi, MGJHS valedictorian 
Kavan Smith, MGJHS salutatorian
Kavan Smith is this year’s MGJH salutatorian.
He offers thanks to his parents, Jimmi and Marcella Hayden, and his mom, Melanie Hayden, for always being supportive and pushing him to be his best.
This year, he worked hard in his academics which helped him in UIL. He participated in number sense; social studies; maps, graphs and charts; spelling; impromptu speaking and dictionary skills. He placed fifth in dictionary skills and impromptu speaking.
His future plans include taking college classes through high school, and to continue to participate in baseball, basketball, track and UIL events.
Police Arrest Man Following Disturbance Complaint
Sulphur Springs Police responding to a disturbance complaint late Tuesday night found one man “foaming at the mouth” in the street, according to arrest reports.
Police were dispatched about 11:45 p.m. May 14 to Como Street at Freeman Street , where two males were reported to be in the street, having some sort of altercation, possibly fighting.
Upon arrival, officer reported seeing a 26-year-old Sulphur Springs man “acting very erratically.” In arrest reports, the arresting officer alleged the man was “foaming at the mouth, covered in sweat, and making very erratic movements.” The man allegedly admitted to smoking marijuana. The officer, in the arrest reports, said he believed the man “was not in a stable condition to be left in a public place.”
The other man involved in the disturbance allegedly claimed the 26-year-old wouldn’t leave him alone. He claimed the other man had been walking behind him, following him down the street in an attempt to provoke a physical fight, and he’d been unsuccessful in getting away from him, police noted in arrest reports.
The arresting officer, in arrest reports, said he believed the 26-year-old Sulphur Springs man to be a danger to himself and/or others and took him to jail for public intoxication. He had been released from custody by Wednesday afternoon, according to jail reports.
