Hay Bale Decorating Contest
Hopkins County residents who wish to enter the Hay Bale Decorating Contest for fun and prizes can enter now. Entries are needed by October first, however, hay bale sculptures don’t have to be completely ready for judging until Monday October 14, 2019. This is the second year for the creative contest. Last year there were 19 entries, and more are expected this year as families, church groups, clubs and businesses join in. Now during the harvest season, it’s also a good way to recognize the importance of hay on the economy of Hopkins County. There is no registration fee. Feel free to sculpt your entry out of square or round bales, or a combination of both. Your entry can be from one bale to as many as you would like to use. Your sculpture can also use other materials with the bales to enhance your theme, and it can display then name of your sponsoring group or club. Wherever entries are located, in town or in the county, they will be viewed and judged on October 18 with winners announced on October 26. More details and entry information can be found by phoning contest organizers Shirley Patchen at 903-885-5914 or Sue Potts at 903-485-3241 or by email at [email protected]
National Emergency Management Month Observed in Hopkins County: Part Two, Fire Safety
Hopkins County Fire Chief Andy Endsley, who is also Hopkins County Emergency Management Coordinator, was joined by Kristi Springfield, Assistant Emergency Management Coordinator, to discuss families being prepared at home for a fire emergency. Of course, home smoke alarms are a standard protection for fire. Additionally, each family should have an emergency exit plan in place, as well as a designated place for family members to meet up once they have exited the home. It’s even better if families would also review that plan and even practice it, step by step if there are children in the home, according to Endsley. He recommends that a good time to go over your fire emergency plan would be annually, Spring and Fall, around the time we change for Daylight Savings Time. That would also be around the same time it’s recommended that you change the batteries in your home’s smoke alarms.
Springfield brought up that there is a local campaign by the Red Cross called ‘Sound the Alarm’ which will take place in Sulphur Springs on Saturday September 21, 2019. Between 10 am and 3 pm that day, Red Cross volunteers will give free smoke alarms and even help homeowners install the detectors. If you would like to participate in the free program, register by reaching out to volunteer coordinator Misty Batts by email at [email protected]. These Red Cross volunteers are teaming up with local volunteers, fire departments and partners during the Sound the Alarm Campaign this Fall. Additionally, Chief Endsley stated that our local fire departments will help homeowners without smoke alarms to install them or check them for safety anytime of year. They can also help change the batteries for homeowners who cannot climb a ladder to reach the alarms at ceiling level. Their main concern is safety for the people of Hopkins County.
When asked about how she got interested in a career in Fire and Emergency Management, Springfield said that when a student at Sulphur Springs High School, she joined a 9-1-1 Explorer Post and decided she would like to be a paramedic. She followed that dream up with training, and has been EMT certified since the year 2000. She currently pairs her fire certification and employment with Hopkins County Fire Department with an Advanced EMT certification. Bringing a number of years of on-the-job experience in emergency management, Springfield was named Assistant Emergency Management Coordinator earlier in 2019 while continuing to serve as a member of the team, all of whom are dual certified in medical emergency as well as fire protection.
Chief Endsley reminded everyone that September is National Emergency Preparedness Month, and October will be Fire Prevention Month, and so he asks that as citizens, we take preparedness seriously. He will return each Friday morning in September with more safety information at 8:15 am during the KSST Good Morning Show.
Sulphur Springs City Council Sept. 16 Special Workshop Agenda
CITY OF SULPHUR SPRINGS, TEXAS
SPECIAL WORKSHOP OF THE CITY COUNCIL
SEPTEMBER 16, 2019, 6:00 P.M.
A special workshop of the Sulphur Springs City Council will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, September 16, 2019 in the Council Room at 201 North Davis. The following
items will be discussed:
- Call to order.
- Pledge and invocation.
- Discussion only regarding the vision for the City of Sulphur Springs
- Adjourn
Home Fire Prevention: Free ‘Sound the Alarm’ Smoke Alarm Campaign for Homeowners
Red Cross is working with the Sulphur Springs TX Fire Department to make homes safer by installing free smoke alarms. Volunteers with Red Cross will work in teams to help install needed smoke alarms and educate home owners about fire safety and emergency preparedness. Members of Hopkins County Fire Department will be among the volunteers.
Please join us Saturday, September 21, 2019 10 AM – 3 PM
Lunch will be provided. Please wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather.
We will gather at the 128-A Jefferson St, Sulphur Springs, downtown (the small stand-alone building across from First Baptist Church Spence Chapel)(Google Address: 125 College, Sulphur Springs)
To register:
Home Fire Prevention Campaign, Smoke Alarm
For more information, please contact Misty Batts, [email protected]
John Brian Beadle Plans To Run As A Republican Candidate For Hopkins County Precinct 2 Constable
John Brian Beadle Wednesday announced his intent to file as a Republican candidate for Hopkins County Constable, Precinct 2, in the spring primary election.
He said Hopkins County is his home county. He and his wife of 19 years were able to move home about 14 years ago; they currently live in Weaver with their two sons, who attend Saltillo ISD.
Beadle said for the last 25 years, he’s worked for Dallas County. More than 19 of those years he has served as a deputy constable in Dallas County Precinct 3, where he said he “worked in civil, traffic, misdemeanor and felony warrants, writs, mental health warrants and as a bailiff of the court.”
“After commuting for the last 12 years, I would like to bring my job home. I’m confident that with the knowledge and experience gained from the past 19 plus years that I can perform the duties of Constable Precinct 2 in an efficient and professional manner,” Beadle said.
He plans to file for a place on the 2020 Republican party ballot as a Precinct 2 Constable candidate as soon as filing starts later this year.
New Terrell Coach Has History of Rebuilding Football Programs
The Wildcats Football Team opens district play Friday night (September 13) at Terrell. The Tigers have a new football coach. Former Tigers Coach Mike Shields went to McGregor, near Waco. Arriving in early May was Marvin Sedberry, Junior. If that name sounds familiar it may be because his father, Marvin Sedberry Senior, is a longtime, well regarded football coach who had three separate stops in Greenville. Sedberry Junior also has an impressive resume full of stops where he has turned programs around: Fort Worth Poly, Baytown Lee and most recently at Garland Naaman Forest. Now he’s at Terrell, in need of a rebuild after a one win season last year. Some of the Tigers players left the program and went to other schools after the coaching change. Coach Sedberry Junior says the Tigers are a young team that needs to learn how to win. The Tigers are 0-2 entering district play. They opened at home against Hallsville and Coach Sedberry said they hung with them for about three and a half quarters. Some late turnovers were more than the young Tigers could overcome. Last week Coach Sedberry said he learned why Paris is ranked #7 in the state in Class 4A. Still he says his Tigers are getting better. Wildcats Football Coach Greg Owens indicated that he felt the Tigers would like their new coach and would play hard for him. The Tigers run a version of the old Wing-T offense. They are led by senior running back Jaquavious Morris, who like almost all of the Tigers plays both ways. Morris is also a linebacker. Another running back is sophomore Jarrius Nickerson-Scruggs. Defensive standouts for the Tigers include senior linebacker Khalid Johnson, who also plays tight end on offense. Senior Defensive tackle Malik Griffin is a good one and he also plays left guard on the offensive line. Senior Stephen Idemudia is a standout cornerback. Coach Sedberry said the Wildcats 0-2 record is misleading. He added there are no off weeks in District 8-5A as all eight district opponents present a challenge.
Student Preparing to Enter Fall Semester at PJC Sulphur Springs
Annabel Marin of Sulphur Springs, left, is pleased to complete her paperwork with Educational Advisor Tonya Yeager, center, of the Educational Opportunity Center so she could begin the fall semester at the PJC-Sulphur Springs Center. Her mom, Patricia Marin was there to lend support.
Harden: Teacher Turnover Rate at SSISD Comparable To Most Recent State Averages
While it may seem like Sulphur Springs Independent School District administrators are doing a lot more hiring each year, a six year study shows the district’s teacher turnover rate has remained pretty close to the state teacher turnover rate, according to SSISD Assistant Superintendent Rusty Harden.
That’s an average of 86.83 new employees hired annually for a total district staff of about 650, according to the annual SSISD human resources report Harden presented this week to SSISD Board of Trustees.
“That’s everything teachers, police, aides everything,” said Harden, whose job since being appointed assistant superintendent for human resources and support services six years ago has included tracking personnel data.
All staff hired in last 6 years: 84 during the 2014-15 school year, 86 in the 2015-16 school year, 90 in the 2016-17 school year, 82 in the 2017-18 school year, 89 last year and 90 for this school year. Overall, that’s an average of 86.83 hires each year.
This year, the district hired 90 employees, including one librarian, two counsels, two police officers, five office staff, 23 aides and 57 teachers.
“The majority of it every year is going to be teachers, each and every year, and aides also this year. We added a police officer and also we had one that left Lamar that we replaced also,” Harden noted.
The six year average for teachers hired is 59.4 annually for a staff of 350-400, although some years were fewer and others higher.
SSISD hired 54 new teachers in both the 2014-2015 and 2016-2017 school years, 57 this year, 62 teachers in the 20017-18 and 2018-19 school years, and 65 in the 2015-16 school years.
“It’s not too far as much as up and down. We’ve averaged 59.4. That’s kind of where we’ve been, close to 60 or so the last six years. I look at some of this stuff and I remember years and years ago people waited for people to leave teaching jobs, just to have a job. Now, there’s a larger vacancies each year,” Harden said.
That’s below the state averages for teacher turnover rate every year except the 2017-18 school year, the latest year the figures for which the data is available in Texas Academic Performance.
The state teacher turnover rate in the 2014-16 school year was 16.6 percent and SSISD’s was one percent lower. SSISD was just under the state average of 16.5 percent with a 16.4 percent teacher turn over rate in the 2015-16 school year. During the 2016-17 school year, the state average was 16.4, percent, but SSISD’s was more than 2 percent lower at 14.2 percent. SSISD’s teacher turnover rate in the 2017-18 school year, however,was 17.5 percent, nearly a full point above the state teacher turnover rate of 16.6 percent, according to the data presented by Harden.
“We’re just kinda right there where the state is, so it’s not just something locally that’s happening. It’s happening across the state,” said Harden. “That’s just kind of been the trend before that. I’m kind of excited for my daughter because she’s student teaching at Royse City geometry in high school, so that looks pretty good for her. But for us in the summer, we’re always real busy with the hiring.”
Harden said when people erroneously think that school administrators get to relax during the summer, he points out that they stay busy during the summer with the hiring process.
12th Annual Help-A-Child Benefit Plans Dual Fundraisers for Charity
Twelve years ago, Wade Bartley found a way to put on a fun farm-related event and help some charitable organizations at the same time. He called it simply the “Help a Child Benefit” and it has grown from a small tractor pull, chili cookoff and auction to a much-anticipated Fall event for families across and beyond the county. Last year, a new and different separate event was added to help in the fundraising called “Date Night at The Brewery”. Local singer Lee Beck and Jason Waldon, bandleader of The Alibis, have again helped to organize a night of fun, food and prizes that will also channel funds into this year’s 2019 Help-A-Child Benefit. Wade Bartley dropped in the KSST Good Morning Show to ask listeners to mark the two events…September 19 and October 19.
Date Night at the Brewery will begin at 7pm on Thursday September 19, 2019 for an evening of music by Jason Walden and the Alibi’s, a taco bar catered by Lefty’s Catering and a chance to take home prizes like catering for groups and weekend getaways for two. Seating is limited to 120 persons and advance tickets are being offered at $25 each. To reserve your tickets, call Wade Bartley at 903-348-1878 or Lee Beck at 903-348-5975
The 12th Annual Help a Child Benefit on Saturday October 19 at the Hopkins County Civic Center will have Chili and Brisket Cookoffs outdoors and the Lake Country Antique Tractor Pull and the Garden Tractor Pull inside the arena. There’s also the popular Ira Black FFA Ag Mechanics Project Show and Auction. Cost is $10 for an all-you-can-eat plate, and the tractor events are free to spectators.
Overall, the two local events raise money which will be donated to two non-profit organizations; Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and The Northeast Texas Child Advocacy Center. Both these entitles have been recipients of proceeds since the beginning in 2007. Last year, the Help-A-Child benefit was able to donate $73,000 from the proceeds of the two successful Fall events held locally.
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