Lady Cats Take on Pleasant Grove March 26th in Softball
The Sulphur Springs High School Lady Cats take on Pleasant Grove in Softball Tuesday, March 26, 2024 at Lady Cat Park in Sulphur Springs, Texas. Tune in to KSST, 1230AM, for a live broadcast. You can also catch the game, live, streaming on KSST’s YouTube Channel. We will also video the gave for playback later on Cable Channel 18. The game is scheduled to start at 6:00pm March 26th! Be sure to tune in! Copies of the game will be available for purchase on DVD at a later date and time. Just call KSST at 903-885-3111 to place your order.
Virtual East Texas Pasture Management Program Set for April 5
March 22, 2024 – The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will host a virtual East Texas Pasture Management Program on April 5. The April 5 virtual East Texas Pasture Management Program will focus on topics related to beef and forage production.
The online program will run from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. via the Zoom meeting platform. Registration cost is $35. Attendees must pre-register at https://tx.ag/VirtualETPastureMgt before 11 a.m. on April 4.
There will be five Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units available, including one laws and regulations, one integrated pest management and three general units.
Practice sessions will be available the week before the program to allow time for people to become familiar with connecting to the platform. A pasture with three cows grazing in the grass. A virtual East Texas Pasture Management Program will focus on topics related to beef and forage production.
The April 5 virtual East Texas Pasture Management Program will focus on topics related to beef and forage production. (Michael Miller/Texas A&M AgriLife).
The online program will run from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. via the Zoom meeting platform. Registration cost is $35. Attendees must pre-register at https://tx.ag/VirtualETPastureMgt before 11 a.m. on April 4.
There will be five Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units available, including one laws and regulations, one integrated pest management and three general units. Practice sessions will be available the week before the program to allow time for people to become familiar with connecting to the platform.
Pasture management program topics
A morning and afternoon session topics will focus on beef and forage production and will include:
- Pest control in the pasture — Jonathan Cammack, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma.
- Pesticide modes of action — Mark Matocha, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agricultural and environmental unit pesticide safety education specialist, AgriLife Extension Agricultural and Environmental Safety Unit, Bryan-College Station.
- Beef cattle external parasite control — Jason Banta, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist and professor in the Department of Animal Science, Overton.
- Drift management and drone use in agriculture — Scott Nolte, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension state weed specialist and associate professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station.
- Weed control in pastures and hay meadows — Vanessa Corriher-Olson, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension forage specialist and professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Overton.
For more information, contact Michelle Sensing at 903-847-6011 or [email protected].
St. Philip’s Episcopal Church Announces Holy Week Schedule
March 21, 2024 – As Holy Week approaches, starting this Sunday, March 24th with Palm Sunday, St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Sulphur Springs announces their schedule for this last week of Lent. All services will take place at 1206 College Street in Sulphur Springs.
Sunday, March 24: Palm Sunday 11:00am
Wednesday March 27: Stations of the Cross Service 6:00pm
Thursday March 28: Maunday Thursday Service 6:00pm
Friday March 29: Good Friday Service 12:00 pm
Saturday March 30: Easter Vigil Service 8:00 pm
Sunday March 31: Easter Morning Service 11:00am
Gilmer Couple Arrested with Drugs, Charged with Endangering Children
March 21, 2024 – A Hopkins County Sheriff’s Deputy was on patrol in Como and noticed a car traveling down a dead in street just after 1am early Thursday morning. A records check of the license plate of the vehicle returned registration from Gilmer, Tx. The officer initiated a traffic stop as the suspicious vehicle seemed to be lost in it’s travels. Upon making contact with the driver, the officer noticed the driver appeared to be under the influence of a possible narcotic. A records check of the driver also revealed an active Parole warrant. The officer asked the driver for consent to search the vehicle, and was denied consent to search. A female passenger and her three young children were asked to exit the vehicle and complied. A K-9 deputy was requested to the scene, and the canine quickly alerted on the vehicle. A search was conducted on the vehicle and a glass pipe of the kind commonly used to smoke methamphetamine was found in the glove box. Deputies also located a crystal like substance believed to be methamphetamine in the center console. The driver, Joseph Dalton Dodson, age 30, was arrested as well as the adult passenger, Renee Leigh Dodson, age 28. Both suspects showed Gilmer addresses. The three young children were transported to the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office and released to a family friend per Child Protective Services request.
Once at the Sheriff’s Office, the crystal-like substance tested positive as methamphetamine and weighed approximately 4.223 grams. Both suspects were booked into the Hopkins County Jail, with each receiveing charges of Possession of A Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1 >4g<200g, a second degree felony, and three charges each of Endangering a Child (State Jail Felony). The Dodson Pair await for their bonds to be set in the matter.
Sulphur Springs United Methodist Church Wants the Public to Know Sanctuary Doors to be Open Good Friday
March 20, 2024 – On Good Friday, March 29, the doors to the Sanctuary at First United Methodist Church, one block north of downtown Sulphur Springs at 301 Church Street, will be open for quiet meditation and individual prayer from 8 am to 3 pm. All are welcome. Stephen Ministers will be there to greet those coming to pray.
Good Friday is the commemoration of the day Jesus Christ died on the cross at Calvary.
For more information, please call 903-885-2185 or visit www.ssfumc.org.
Sulphur Springs Middle School Students Shine as Spotlight Award Winners
March 20, 2024 – Richard Kirby, a counselor from Sulphur Springs Middle School, reached out to KSST with the following info and pictures about some amazing SSMS students. Please check out these students as KSST continues our Salute to Excellence.
8th grade spotlight award winners for the 3rd nine weeks from left are:
Tabitha Cumming, Irwin Delgadillo, Sophie Schaack, Melissa Gutierrez, Gerard Cloutier, and Peyton Mollenhour.
7th grade Spotlight award winners for the 3rd nine weeks from left are:
Carlee Thomas, J’myron Williams, Brevin Watkins, Colt Glenn, and Emily Nunez
6th grade Spotlight award winners for the 3rd nine weeks from left are:
Jose Camacho, Sophie Deuson, Jaiden Shaw, Gabriella Tucker, Kinley Grand-Lienard and Victoria Villegas
Consumer Alert: Tax Scams Are on The Rise
March 20, 2024 – The IRS recently warned that financial scams are on the rise, especially during tax season. Reduce your risk of becoming a target by staying alert and knowing what to watch for.
Spotting the most common tax scams.
Scammers may contact you via phone, email, text or social media and then impersonate the IRS to make you think there’s a problem with your tax return. Common scam strategies include:
- Using false phone numbers or accounts to mimic a legitimate text or call from the IRS.
- Adopting fear tactics, such as suggesting your tax return has an error or that you owe a large sum of money or a penalty, as well as taking urgent action to address these types of issues.
- Instructing you to provide unusual payment methods (such as gift cards, money transfers or cryptocurrency) to pay your taxes.
- Asking you to share personal information to facilitate tax refunds.
Three tips to safeguard against tax scams:
- The IRS always initiates contact about any tax issues with a letter on official IRS letterhead. They will never contact you by phone, text, email or social media.
- Don’t give your personal information to anyone contacting you via phone calls, texts, email or social media.
- You can verify the legitimacy of any communication you receive using the published IRS phone number: 1-800-829-1040.
If you’re targeted by a scammer, ignore it instead of responding.
Visit the IRS for instructions on reporting tax scam attempts, and report fraud to the Federal Trade Commission or by calling 877-FTC-HELP.
CHRISTUS Health: Spring is Here and so is Allergy Season
March 19, 2024 – (EAST TEXAS) – This week marks the official start to spring, and as warmer begins to settle in, the season brings with it an unwanted guest: allergies.
More than 25% of Americans – approximately 80 million people — suffer from seasonal allergies, which can range from a mild nuisance to a near-debilitating issue, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
“Allergy symptoms can last for several weeks if not months,” said Dr. Lori George, a family medicine physician with CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic in Texarkana. “The key is to recognize your level of sensitivity and try to be as proactive as possible.”
Taking an antihistamine early in allergy season before symptoms start, using an air purifier at home, avoiding outdoor activities in the morning where pollen counts are highest and tracking your local pollen counts are all ways to prepare for the allergy season.
In the East Texas region, high counts of pollens like cedar, elm, oak and ragweed are extremely common, and due to humidity, mold spores can make symptoms worse.
It is very common for a person to develop a sinus infection on top of dealing with allergies, and those infections usually require prescription medications.
“Allergies and illness, like a common cold, can be hard to tell apart as they present very similar symptoms: congestion, sneezing, itchy throat, and runny nose,” said Dr. David Larsen, a family medicine physician with CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic in Tyler. “The key difference is a cold will normally include a period of having a fever and should resolve itself in a few days, whereas allergy symptoms can persist for much longer period.”
Larsen said that anyone with severe allergies may want to consider allergen immunotherapy, commonly treated through shots or oral droplets, to help desensitize the immune system over longer periods of time.
For those with less-severe symptoms, over-the-counter remedies such as antihistamines, nasal corticosteroids and decongestants should alleviate symptoms.
“If symptoms persist despite over-the-counter remedies, significantly impact daily activities or simply continue to worsen over time, it’s best to seek medical attention,” he said. “Individuals with a history of severe allergic reactions, such as anaphylaxis, should also promptly consult a health care provider.”
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Solar Eclipse: A Once-In-A-Lifetime Event?
March 19, 2024 – For most of us, this April 8th will provide an opportunity to be front and center of what may be a once-in-a-lifetime event. A total solar eclipse is a rare event, recurring somewhere on Earth every 18 months on average. It is estimated to recur at any given location only every 360–410 years on average. That data makes Sulphur Springs a very rare place for a very rare occurence as our tiny town sits in the very center of the path allowing for even longer eclipse time. The sun will be completely covered by the moon for a total of four minutes and 21 seconds which is very near the longest amount of total darkness on the eclipse path. A location in Mexico tops the list at 4:28, but nearby Dallas, which is outside the centerline gets only 3:51 of total darkness.
As we anticipate our total blackout of the Sun being eclipsed by the Moon, you should know that it won’t actually be as dark as the middle of the night, but similar to civil twilight as the sun’s rays fight to shine around the moon’s shadow. Yes, your dusk-to-dawn lights will activate and your outdoor animals will get confused as they think night approaches, but rest assured four minutes later the sun will emerge and the day will quickly brighten back to normal.
The total duration of the eclipse beginning when the first edge of the moon begins to block the sun until the last edge finally uncovers the sun will take 2 hours and 40 minutes. For the majority of that time, there should be only a slight noticeable difference in brightness but as full coverage approaches the sky gets darker quickly, a halo of sunlight appears around the moon (for four minutes and 21 seconds here) and then as the sun begins to be revealed it will brighten quickly.
How does the much smaller moon block the much larger sun?
As the moon is approximately 400 times smaller than the sun, it also is about 400 times closer to the earth than the sun making for a perfect combination for the sun and the moon to appear the same size in the sky. Other planets in the solar system (Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune) have much larger moons than Earth and are farther away from the Sun giving them a better chance of a total solar eclipse.
PJC Holding In-Person And Online Presidential Candidate Forums
March 19, 2024 – Three finalists for Paris Junior College president will appear at public forums both in-person and online Wednesday through Friday, March 20-22.
The three presidential finalists are Dr. Stephen Michael Benson, Dr. Joel Michaelis, and Dr. Kevin Rose. Public forums for faculty, staff, students, and the public will be held in-person and online at 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. in the PJC Math and Science Building, Room 101 for Dr. Rose on Wednesday, March 20, Dr. Michaelis on Thursday, March 21, and Dr. Benson on Friday, March 22.
For those wishing to attend online, the Zoom meeting link is: https://parisjc.zoom.us/j/83063724564?pwd=IbOzH8dXruBBvyXZVIbpHGrBGNav8J.1. While microphones for online attendees will be turned off, they may submit questions for candidates through the chat function.
The online evaluation form links are:
Dr. Kevin Rose, Wednesday, March 20: https://parisjc.wufoo.com/forms/dr-kevin-rose-pres-candidate-evaluation/.
Dr. Joel Michaelis, Thursday, March 21: https://parisjc.wufoo.com/forms/dr-joel-michaelis-pres-candidate-evaluation.
Dr. Stephen Benson, Friday, March 22: https://parisjc.wufoo.com/forms/dr-stephen-benson-pres-candidate-evaluation
Each candidate’s online evaluation form will be turned on the day of that candidate’s appearance and turned off at 3 p.m. that day.
For additional information about the candidates, go to https://www.parisjc.edu/main/pjc-presidential-search-committee-names-three-finalists/.
