Lady Cats Softball Coach David Carrillo Comments On Disappointing Senior Night Loss Tuesday
Lady Cats Softball Coach David Carrillo said the Lady Cats just did not play well in their 9-1 Senior Night loss to Mount Pleasant Tuesday night, April 16, at Lady Cat Park.
Both teams are now tied for first place with 7-2 records. If both teams win their final district game on Thursday, both teams will be co-champs. Mount Pleasant would be the district’s #1 playoff seed because of their two wins over the Lady Cats in district play.
Coach Carrillo said it was tough watching his seniors go out on Senior Night like that. He said a team is not going to win getting just two hits. He said Mount Pleasant just hit the ball better than the Lady Cats did. Coach Carrillo said the Mount Pleasant pitcher seems to have the Lady Cats’ number this season. The Lady Cats have collected only five hits and scored only two runs over 14 innings in their two losses to Mount Pleasant.
He said the Lady Cats need to move on and do it real quick because they have a key game Thursday at Texas High. If the Lady Cats lose Thursday, they would have to have a second and third playoff seed determining game on Monday against Texas High.

Xavier Cork Signs To Be a Catamount of Western Carolina on Signing Day

Wildcats 6-foot-9 senior post Xavier Cork signed a letter of intent Wednesday, April 17, to play college basketball for the Western Carolina Catamounts. Western Carolina is located in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
Cork, the son of the late Kevin Cork and Reshemah Wright, said the Catamounts scouted him at the Wildcats bi-district game against John Tyler. They told him they liked the way he played, crashing the boards, boxing out and running the court.
Cork said he visited Cullowhee and found it to be a pretty place with trees, flowers and the mountains of western North Carolina. Cork believes he will play some center and power forward for the Catamounts.
He said his years of going head to head with former Wildcats Victor Iwuakor and Godsgift Ezedinma helped him develop his skills. Cork told Wildcats Coach Clark Cipoletta last summer that he was serious about spending more time to improve his overall game.
To adapt for the next level, Cork said he needs to work on his jump shot and on handling the ball. Cork began to hit three point baskets as this year’s season progressed. He said he was proud the Wildcats went to the state tournament, calling it a very big deal.
Cork plans to study kinesiology and hopes one day to become a basketball coach.
Wildcat Keaston Willis Officially Signs Letter to Play Basketball at Incarnate Word

Wildcats senior guard Keaston Willis made it official on National Basketball Signing Day Wednesday, April 17. Willis, the son of Leanne Willis and Lonnie Gusters, signed a letter of intent to play college basketball at The University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio.
Willis verbally committed to them several months ago. Willis said Incarnate Word first showed interest in him when he was in the eighth grade, but then it fell off until his senior year.
He said Incarnate Word’s football team won their conference and he said the Cardinal’s basketball team is very young. Willis said they are in need of a scorer and he said he can fill that role. He said they have indicated that they may use him some at shooting guard and some at point guard, just like Wildcats Coach Clark Cipoletta did this year.
Willis said he’ll have to adapt to the increased speed of the college game and he said he needs to work on being a play maker for others.
Willis missed eight district games this season due to a small fracture to an ankle. He said the injury has completely healed on its own without the need for surgery.
Willis said he plans to study kinesiology in college.
Woman Jailed For Allegedly Attempting To Get Medicine With Fake Prescription

Sulphur Springs Police arrested a 58-year-old Big Sandy woman who allegedly tried to obtain controlled substances using a fake prescription.
Cindy Lynn Dunn, who is reported to be employed as a Project Restore organization counselor, was arrested Tuesday for fraudulent use or possession of a Schedule III prescription, according to arrest reports.
Sulphur Springs Police Sgt. Josh Shufeldt was dispatched at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, April 16, at a South Broadway Street pharmacy to the pharmacy to a complaint of a person trying to pick up a fake prescription.
Shufeldt reported contacting the pharmacist and was told the woman had dropped off two prescriptions for a controlled substance that had been photocopied. The pharmacist reported he had contacted the doctor and was told it was not a valid prescription. In fact, the alleged prescriptions didn’t belong to the woman either, the officer noted in arrest reports. Consequently, Dunn was arrested on the charge. She was released from the county jail Wednesday. Her bond was set at $10,000 on the charge, according to jail reports.

KSSTRadio.com publishes Sulphur Springs Police Department reports and news. The Police Department is located at 125 Davis St., Sulphur Springs, Texas. Non-emergency calls can be made to (903) 885-7602.
If you have an emergency dial 9-1-1.
The Sulphur Springs Police Department continues to serve its citizens with pride in its overall mission and will strive to provide the best possible police force in the 21st century.
If you have an emergency, dial 9-1-1
The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office is located at 298 Rosemont Sulphur Springs, TX 75482. You can reach them for non-emergency matters at (903) 438-4040.
Police: 5 Teens Charged Following Investigation Into Vehicle Theft, Burglaries

An investigation into a rash of car burglaries and a vehicle theft reported over the weekend resulted in five arrests and clearing of most of the cases, Sulphur Springs Police Detective David Gilmore said Wednesday.
“A juvenile arrest early Sunday morning provide insight that helped clear cases of burglaries and a vehicle theft reported on the 12th and 13th,”Gilmore said.
Investigators spent most of Monday and quite a bit of Tuesday following up on leads and conducting interviews as the vehicle burglary and vehicle theft cases developed.
Officials recovered property taken from one burglary Sunday that allegedly connected a 15-year-old taken into custody as a runaway and 17-year-old Jumierquai Doverieay “Jaime” Davison, 17, of Sulphur Springs to the Sunday burglaries, according to Gilmore
Davison was arrested Monday afternoon on the misdemeanor charges of burglary of a vehicle and prohibited weapon-knuckles, according to arrest reports. The juvenile also incurred charges for his alleged involvement, according to the detective.
Additional evidence related to the vehicle burglaries April 12-13 and the vehicle theft April 13 was recovered and eventually resulted in four arrests.
“Some suspects involved confessed on seven vehicle burglaries and the stolen vehicle from the 100 block of Harred Street. We charged the four involved Friday night, one juvenile and three adults, with engaging in organized criminal activity,” Gilmore said.
Jumierquai Doverieay “Jaime” Davison, 18-year-old Kelley Waterhouse and 17-year-old Clarence Ofield III, all of Sulphur Springs, were charged Tuesday with engaging in organized criminal activity, specifically for their alleged unauthorized use of a the Mercury Mountaineer on April 13 from Harred Street. A 16-year-old juvenile was also reportedly charged for involvement in the vehicle theft as well, according to Gilmore.
The investigator said, while the investigation cleared many of the burglaries and even resulted in some stolen property being recovered, the criminal activity charge specified the unauthorized use of the vehicle as it is the higher of the offenses.
According to Gilmore, these burglary and theft cases should serve as a reminder to community members to lock their vehicles and remove all wallets, purses, valuables, electronics, keys and money from them. The cases involved unlocked vehicles. The stolen vehicle, which was recovered from Lamar Street where it’d been left parked, had also reportedly been left unlocked and the keys left inside of it.

Meet Jeff Gravens, New Pastor at First Baptist Church, Sulphur Springs
In a KSST Good Morning Show interview, Pastor Jeff Gravens introduced himself to the Hopkins County community. He is the new pastor at First Baptist Church of Sulphur Springs, and will bring his first sermon on Sunday April 21, 2019, on Easter Sunday morning. He invites everyone to attend at 8:30 am or 11 am where both classic and contemporary services are conducted at First Baptist Church in downtown Sulphur Springs. He and his family are eager to meet everyone in the community.


10 Students From 5 Schools Named 2019 Hopkins County Bright Star Scholars

Students from five county high schools were recognized Tuesday night as the very first Hopkins County Bright Star Scholars.
Honorees include Akayshia Smith,Cumby ISD; Faith Wheeler and Amy Sprague, North Hopkins ISD; Nathan Valenzuela, Saltillo ISD; Casey Bass, Sulphur Bluff ISD; and Jennifer Lopez-Cervantes, Maddie Millsap, Madelyn Ray, Rhett Reid and Landry Tyson, Sulphur Springs ISD.
Each of the 10 students were awarded a $4,000 per semester scholarship from the John and Deborah Gillis Foundation, renewable for up to eight semesters, to pay for college, up to total of $32,000 each.
Any Bright Star Scholar who graduates college in less than four years can continue to apply the rest of their award, $4,000 per semester through the full fourth year or eight semesters toward graduate school, if they choose to pursue a master’s degree or higher.
The selection process was difficult due to the high caliber of students applying for the scholarships, but using the rubric scale established to evaluate each application and part of the process, they believe the best choices were selected, according to John Gillis and Foundation Executive Director Robin Schrode.
“This is a wonderful group of students that interviewed. It was so hard to pick just 10,” said John Gillis during a recognition ceremony Tuesday for the Bright Star Scholars.
“That was some tough competition. As a county, I want you all to be so proud of the young people of this county that’s going to move forward and become the adults that’s going to leading you further into the 21st century. They are amazing, absolutely amazing,” Shrode said.
She commended the parents of the 2019 Bright Star Scholars for the “incredible job” they’ve done raising “some of the brightest, kindest, caring-beyond-themselves young adults I’m going to have the pleasure of meeting and working with.”
“Bright Star Scholars, this is only the beginning of my relationship with you. I get to take this four year ride with you and I am so excited. I can’t wait to see what each one of you are doing with your lives. I know you are not only going to represent the foundation well but you are going to represent your families and community as well,” Shrode told the Bright Star Scholars.
Gillis said he hopes this effort to help 10 students annually will be the start of a movement, to really get the ball rolling, to produce additional ways to increase the number of students receiving financial assistance to continue education beyond high school annually.
The scholarship program is the second platform of the Gillis Foundation’s commitment to local education.
In February, the foundation awarded three grants – one each to Como-Pickton, Sulphur Bluff and Cumby school districts – for a total of $100,000 for innovative programs in their schools. The purposes of the grants are to support schools are they prepare students who graduate from high school to be college and career ready whatever their life goals may be.
The grant funding’s intentions are ultimately to increase Hopkins County graduates’ chances of competing in a global society for college entrances of their choice and competitive career opportunities.
Information regarding the process of applying for the Grants to Schools and Bright Star Scholarship programs can be found on the foundation’s website: www.jdgillisfoundation.org

Lady Cats Fall Into First Place Tie After One-Sided 9-1 Loss To Mount Pleasant On Senior Night
Mount Pleasant 9, Lady Cats Softball 1

The Lady Cats’ softball team fell into a first place tie in district Tuesday night, April 16, after a miserable 9-1 loss to Mount Pleasant on Senior Night at Lady Cat Park.
Both the Lady Cats and Lady Tigers are now 7-2 in district play with one game left for each team. Little went right for the Lady Cats as Mount Pleasant dominated play almost from the beginning.
The Lady Tigers opened the scoring with three runs in the top of the second inning. The Lady Cats got their only run in the bottom of the fifth.
Sadie Stroud hit a long fly to left field that looked like it might had hit on the top of the fence on the yellow line and then bounced back onto the field. Stroud was initially given a double. The umpires huddled and then ruled the ball a home run. It cut the lead to 3-1 and that was as close as the Lady Cats could come.
Mount Pleasant added two runs in the top of the sixth to go up, 5-1. They padded their lead with four more runs in the top of the seventh to make it 9-1.
The Lady Cats only managed the single run and two hits. Stroud and Sierra Smith had the hits. Mount Pleasant made 11 hits.
Bailey Haggerty took the pitching loss for the Lady Cats. Over seven innings, Haggerty allowed 11 hits and nine runs, eight of them earned. She walked six and had five strikeouts.
Averie Ayres befuddled the Lady Cats for the second time this season. In Mount Pleasant, she allowed only one run and three hits. This time, over seven innings Ayres allowed two hits and one run striking out eight and walking one.
The Lady Cats season record slips to 21-6. The Lady Cats still hope to earn part of a co-championship. To do so they probably will have to defeat Texas High in Texarkana Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m.
The Lady Cats honored ten seniors on Senior Night Tuesday night: Kelsey Wallace, Brinklee Driver, Sadie Stroud, Sierra Smith, Bailey Haggerty, Maddie Millsap, Landri Bell, Tessa Holt, Abbi Baier and Darby Williams.
Wildcats Baseball Team Uses Pitching, Defense To Eke Out 1-0 Victory Over Mount Pleasant
Wildcat Baseball 1, Mount Pleasant 0
The Wildcats’ baseball team utilized strong pitching and defense to squeeze by Mount Pleasant, 1-0 in a district game Tuesday night, April 16, at Wildcat Park.
Wildcats pitchers Will Sims and Jake Davis combined to throw a shutout. Sims got the win going 5 1/3 innings allowing only one hit and no runs with two strikeouts and one walk. Davis went 1 2/3 innings allowing three hits and no runs with no strikeouts and a walk. Neither team committed an error.
The Tigers actually outhit the Wildcats four to one but could never push a run across the plate. Sims had the lone Wildcat hit, a double. Austin Dodd scored the game’s only run. He scored in the bottom of the second on a ground ball hit by Jase Thompson.
The Wildcats improved their district record to 4-8. They remain one game behind Royse City in the district standings and the Bulldogs own the tiebreaker over the Wildcats having swept the series between the two, 3 games to 0.
Royse City defeated Greenville Tuesday night, 4-2. Mount Pleasant, in third place in district, slips to 6-6 in district play but now they are only one game ahead of 5-7 Royse City.
The Wildcats are 12-10 for the season. They play at Mount Pleasant Thursday night at 7 p.m.
