Video Presentation: The John and Deborah Gillis Foundation Presents Grants to Three County Schools
Three Hopkins County School Districts received grants Tuesday morning at the Sulphur Springs Country Club. The grants were presented by the John and Deborah Gillis and Robin Shrode with the John and Deborah Gillis Foundation. (See video below)
In August, 2018, John and Deborah Gillis announced the largest private educational initiative ever undertaken in Hopkins County with the formation of the John and Deborah Gillis Foundation which will provide scholarships for students and grants for school districts. At that time, the Foundation stated they will provide 10 annual Bright Stars Scholarships to seniors graduating from any of the seven high schools in Hopkins County, beginning in Spring 2019. The scholarships will be in the amount of $4,000 per semester, renewable for up to eight semesters — making it the largest single scholarship program in the county.
In addition, a total of $100,000 in grants over a three-year period will be awarded annually to qualifying schools to support instructional programs, staff development and other initiatives that align with the foundation’s mission. The foundation also committed to a total of $100,000 in grants over a three-year period to be awarded annually to qualifying schools to support instructional programs, staff development and other initiatives that align with the foundation’s mission.
Hopkins County Could Benefit from FEMA Declaration Made Monday
Hopkins County could benefit from a declaration made by The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Monday, February 25, 2019. FEMA announced that federal disaster assistance has been made available to the state of Texas to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms and flooding on September 10 to November 2, 2018. Hopkins County is one of 33 counties included in the disaster assistance. The assistance will be on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures. The cost-sharing will be for emergency work and repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the storms and flooding.
Hopkins County Judge Robert Newsom said Tuesday morning, “Hopkins County has the opportunity once again to benefit from this disaster declaration through the FEMA proclamation. In behalf of our citizens who live on county roads, we hope to apply for approximately $500,000 in damages which resulted from the October flooding event.
In addition, this Declaration opens the door for potential mitigation projects on our roads and other emergency needs. We are thankful that the State Of Texas has been approved for relief. We will begin the process in March and hope to be working on the affected areas of our County before summer.”
CNB Will Host 50 Years Celebration for Phyllis Loyd
Phyllis Stewart went to work at City National Bank on February 24, 1969. Now, in 2019, her career in banking has spanned 50 years, and Phyllis still enjoys her job at CNB’s downtown location in Sulphur Springs, Texas. A celebration will be held in her honor on Thursday February 28 from 1-3pm. Her friends and customers are invited to stop by !
Phyllis first started out in the bookkeeping department which was upstairs in the original bank. In those pre-computer days, the bookkeepers had to arrive at 7:30am in order to post all deposits and transactions on paper and get them downstairs by 9am. This was so that the tellers would have a current record of account activity when bank customers began to come in. The account transactions were posted on large yellow sheets on a Burrows machine located on the second floor. “We employees became like a family, and still are! One of the tellers I remember so well was Mandy Mosely who was always so sweet and so encouraging to younger employees just starting out. And Mr. Lonnie Campbell was a positive force back then too, for over 40 years. Sometimes we bank ladies would shop on our lunch hours at Marshalls and at Ellen’s Dress Shop. We would often grab a sandwich at Faulks or at Graves Drugstore, or at Nelson’s Corner Drug. The whole downtown area, including the bank, had a family feeling to it”.
In early 1969 when Phyllis came on board, the bank was actually located in temporary quarters. The bank rented Mr. Joe Dan Avinger’s insurance office space down the street and the employees worked out of that space until December 1969 when the new bank building was completed. The Avinger offices were where the CNB drive-thru is now. Over the years, more of the 200 block of Connally Street, spaces where the Mission Theatre, Don Deaton’s Barber Shop and Haynesworth Jewelry were, have been purchased for CNB expansion and parking to serve the historic downtown location.
In 1971, Phyllis became Mrs. Rickey Loyd and continued in her job at the bank. Over the years, she has worked as a teller as well as in collections, and has been in the Accounting department for 18 years, now in an upstairs office with no window. “I had a window by my desk for many years which overlooked the entrance to the alley. That’s the alley which runs between what is now Corner Grubhouse and Potato House. The sights I’ve seen in that alley, well I couldn’t tell you about them now!”.
Phyllis is not planning to retire. She likes to take trips. “When we get ready to go somewhere, we just go. Rickey and I just returned from a CNB Destinations trip to New Orleans and we also went and stayed at the Biltmore last year. With my two daughters Michelle and Lynette and the two grandkids, I am pretty happy doing just what I’m doing now.”
Commerce ASPIRE Celebrates Second Anniversary
The Commerce community gathered to reflect on the achievements of the ASPIRE program in a second-anniversary celebration held February 20 at the Sam Rayburn Student Center. At the Dinner & Dialogue: ASPIRE Community Update, attendees discussed the achievements of the program and how to move the program forward.
ASPIRE is a partnership among Commerce ISD, A&M-Commerce and the City of Commerce with a purpose to enrich the lives of K-16 students through innovative programs and experiences. According to a recent article in the Texas Observer, 62% of Commerce ISD students are considered “economically disadvantaged,” and adequate funding is not always available for needed student enrichment programs. Lack of educational opportunities and summer learning loss negatively impact students, so the ASPIRE program fills a crucial need in the Commerce community.
In the Observer article, Commerce ISD Superintendent Charlie Alderman stated, “We’re like every other rural school district out there, you know — we’re struggling with funding. That’s why we had to reach out to the university to build other relationships and maximize the resources we have.”
ASPIRE features several impactful programs, including the ASPIRE Summer Experience, in which students participate in enrichment programs at the university. At the ASPIRE dinner, fifth-grader Brandon Nelle said Summer Experience participants visit the university’s children’s museum, planetarium, rec center and blueberry farm. Students also enjoy tours of the KETR radio studio and robotics demonstrations.
ASPIRE also features an after-school and summer program called ACE where A&M-Commerce work-study students mentor students after school and during the summer. AVID, another signature ASPIRE program, helps students develop study skills and become career and college ready.
Dr. Mark Rudin, president of A&M-Commerce, concluded the ASPIRE dinner by expressing the university’s commitment to the program and describing his vision for the future. “Let’s take ASPIRE one step further,” he said. “Let’s start thinking about a relationship where there is no difference [among campuses]. Let’s start thinking about it as one campus, collectively.”
Rudin suggested that Commerce ISD faculty could receive joint appointments where they share the university’s resources and receive benefits including grant writing opportunities, tuition scholarships, a Lion ID, parking, access to work-study students and use of university facilities including classrooms and the planetarium.
“There has been so much great work done in ASPIRE. I just wonder if we can figure out a way to continue to move this forward and be one Commerce,” Rudin concluded.
Enrollment for 2019-2020 School Year Open at Central Christian Academy
Central Christian Academy (Where Christ is Central)
The enrollment for the 2019-2020 school year will begin Friday, March 1, 2019 at Central Christian Academy (Where Christ is Central).
Applications may be picked up at the school office, the Church office or at Jordan’s Place Pediatrics. Grades: 3 year old through 6th grade Phone: 903-335-8913
Address: 840 Connally St. Sulphur Springs, TX 75482
Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Ballot Position Drawn for May 4th Municipal Election
Candidates for Sulphur Springs City Council drew for places on the May 4, 2019 Municipal ballot at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Candidate order for Place 4 on the ballot:
Freddie Taylor (incumbent) 1;
Reiko Alexander 2
Candidate order for Place 5 on the ballot:
Jeff Sanderson 1
Emily Glass (incumbent) 2
Candidate order for Place 6 on the ballot:
Doug Moore (appointed) 1
Landon Thornton 2
Congratulations! First Graduates in Career Online High School Program Through Sulphur Springs Public Library
Raquesha Lashaun Sneed of Sulphur Springs, along with another student who chose to remain anonymous, were the first graduates in the Career Online High School Program offered through Sulphur Springs Public Library. A group of more than 25 persons were present to attend the ceremony.
Following the Processional, the students were seated and welcomed by Librarian Hope Cain. Musical entertainment was provided by Kenya and Charles Chaffer of Chaffers Place Arts and Academy, and by members of the youth of Colorblind Ministries. Hope Cain explained how the Career Online High School program was adopted by the library, one of the first six libraries in the state of Texas to offer adults an opportunity to earn an accredited high school diploma through this program. Sulphur Springs is the smallest community to offer it, and is one of 144 libraries in 17 states across the nation. Not a replacement for GED testing, the program allows students to complete all the coursework they missed in high school and receive a career certificate along with a resume, cover letter and other tools to start or advance their career. Career Online High School offers tutoring until mastery for all subjects and takes up to 18 months to complete.
Blake Moore, a student at Texas A and M University in Commerce, gave the keynote address. Born and raised in Sulphur Springs, Moore related how he dropped out of high school, overcame his feelings of failure and pressed on to obtain a GED from PJC through classes at CANHelp. He is now a full-time student pursuing a major in Psychology and Social Work, is active in honor and leadership student organizations, and has a new outlook on education. Moore congratulated the graduates on their perseverance and success. At that time, the diplomas were presented, tassels turned and applause received from the audience. Raquesha Sneed presented a song of thanks to those in attendance, and the graduates exited their graduation ceremony.
To find out more about Career Online High School offered through Sulphur Springs Public Library, phone Hope Cain at 903-885-4926.
SCU Investigation Leads to Arrest of Emory Man
Following a Special Crimes Unit investigation into the sales of methamphetamine, Curtis LeRoy Marler, 47, of Emory, was arrested on two charges of Manufacture Delivery of a Controlled Substance.
Two separate undercover buys resulted in approximately 7.4-grams of meth being purchased.
Marler is in Hopkins County Jail Charged with Manufacture Deliver Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1, more than 4-grams but less than 200-grams in a Drug Free Zone (a Felony 1) and Manufacture Deliver Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1 more than 1-gram but less than 4-grams in a Drug Free Zone (a Felony 2).
Truck Driver Found to Have Methamphetamine in Possession
Responding to a welfare concern, Sulphur Springs Police found Kyle Dean Fargo, 37, of Gage, Oklahoma, standing outside his Freightliner Truck at a local travel center. Fargo seemed to be under the influence of a narcotic and the police officer had received word that Fargo might have methamphetamine in his possession.
Although Fargo refused consent to search the vehicle, a K9 assisted in a positive alert on the vehicle. The subsequent search found a pill bottle with less than 1-gram of methamphetamine.
Fargo is in Hopkins County Jail Charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1, less than 1-gram, a State Jail Felony.
Man Wanted on Homicide Warrant Arrested in Traffic Stop
A man wanted on a Homicide Warrant in Dallas County was apprehended Monday evening on I-30 at the 140-mile marker. Sulphur Springs Police Officer Cleve Williams made a traffic stop. Juan Alberto Bautista, 17, of Memphis, Tennessee was found to have a warrant for his arrest.
Bautista is in Hopkins County Jail held without bond for Dallas County Authorities.
