Pesticides and waterways By Mario Villarino
Recent rain in Hopkins County has created large portions of stagnant water that creates a challenge to landowners when trying to maintain them. National Pesticide Information Center stated: When you look at a glass of water, you are looking at a world traveler. Water evaporates off the earth and circles the globe as clouds and vapor. It is deposited as rain and snow. Rain and snow melt then flow down streams and rivers into estuaries and the oceans.
Pesticides have the potential to enter this hydrologic cycle at any point, and they can be transported long distances. The physical and chemical properties of a pesticide and the environmental conditionscombine to determine if pesticides are going to persist in water and move to other locations.
When using pesticides around waterways, keep these tips in mind: Always read and follow the label directions: some pesticides are specially formulated for use in and around waterways. Pesticide use directions may vary between marine and fresh water environments. Buffer zones may be required. Permits or licenses may be required for any chemical application to water. Avoid small droplet sizes when spraying. They are more likely to drift or volatilize.
Always clean pesticide application equipment in a location where rinse water cannot enter storm drains or waterways. Consider an IPM approach that is designed to have less impact on the environment. Consider the weather conditions during the pesticide application and up to 48 hours afterward.
Rain can wash the pesticide off the application site into drains or waterways. Fog and humidity can prolong drying times and increase potential for runoff. High temperatures can increase the likelihood of volatilization of the pesticide, which can then be moved through the air and deposited off-site. Excessive wind can lead to the pesticide drifting off site. Floods and other natural disasters can move pesticides into waterways.
For more information on this or any other agricultural topic please contact the Hopkins County Extension Office at 903-885-3443.
Secure Your Child’s Future – Free Car Seat Inspection: By Johanna Hicks
Every parent wants the best for their child’s future, and one of the best ways to make sure your child will have a bright future is to be sure that you are correctly using the correct car seat for your child…and that the seat is correctly installed in your vehicle. The problem is that keeping them safe in vehicles isn’t as easy as it might appear. Most parents think they are using their car seat correctly, but unfortunately, at least three out of four car seats are used incorrectly.
For a car seat to best protect your child, it must be the one that fits your child, your vehicle, and one that you will use correctly every time you travel. That’s why I am urging all parents and caregivers to attend the child safety seat checkup event, scheduled for Wednesday, April 3. Certified technicians will be available to provide on-site child safety seat inspections and education from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Lowe’s parking lot in Sulphur Springs.
Securing your children properly in age- and size-appropriate safety seats – in the back seat of your vehicle – is the most effective thing you can do to protect them in the event of a crash. In fact, in motor vehicle crashes, child safety seats reduce the risk of a fatal injury by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers. For a child safety seat to do its job correctly, it has to be:
· Appropriate for your child’s age and size
· Installed properly in your vehicle
· Adjusted to fit your child securely
Parents are reminded to keep children rear-facing until they reach the limit of their rear-facing convertible seat, which is usually 40 pounds or more. Also, children should stay in a 5-point harness system until they reach the highest limit of the seat. Booster seats are for children who are at least age 4 and 40 pounds or more, and mature enough to sit still in a booster. Finally, keep children in a booster seat until the seat belt fits correctly. This is usually sometime between ages 8 and 12. The average child fits in a seat belt at age 11.
If you’re a parent or caregiver, don’t miss this opportunity to have a free child safety seat inspection by a certified child passenger safety technician. The law requires all children under age 8, unless taller than 4 feet, 9 inches, to be in a child safety seat system. Keep in mind that the law is always the minimum. Care seat technicians will be able to provide education on best practices.
Follow these guidelines from American Academy of Pediatrics to keep your children riding safely:
· Infants and toddlers – Rear-facing only and convertible seats. All infants and toddlers should ride in a rear-facing seat until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car seat manufacturer.
· Toddlers and pre-schoolers – Convertible and forward-facing seats with a harness. Children who have outgrown the rear-facing weight or height limit for the convertible seat should use a forward-facing seat with a harness for as long as possible, up to the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer.
· School-age children – Booster seats. Children who weight or height exceeds the forward-facing limit for their car seat should use a belt-positioning booster until the vehicle seat belt fits properly, typically between ages 8 and 12.
· Older Children – seat belts. When children are old enough and large enough to use the seat belt alone, they should always use lap and shoulder seat belts for best protection.
To participate in the Child Safety Seat Check-up, bring your child with the seat secured in your vehicle. Be sure to know the child’s height and weight. A limited number of safety seats will be available if your seat is expired or not the correct size for your child.
Do Well, be Well with Diabetes
Have you or a loved one been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes? Do you need help understanding how to manage the disease? Do you care for a loved one with type 2 diabetes and need guidance on how to best assist them? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you won’t want to miss the spring, 2019 “Do Well, Be Well with Diabetes” series. The dates are Mondays and Thursdays, March 11, 14, 18, 21, and 25, at the Hopkins County Extension Office, 1200 W. Houston, Sulphur Springs. Sessions will take place at 6:00 p.m., and a 1:30 session will be added if enough interest in an earlier session is shown.
Cost of the series is $25, payable at the first session. The fee covers all materials, recipes, sampling, door prizes, and incentive items. If the fee is a hardship, scholarships are available, so please don’t let that stand in the way of your attendance. Call 903-885-3443 to sign up.
Closing Thought
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort – Herm Albright
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Black Bean and Rice Salad
Ingredients:
· 1 cup cooked and cooled brown rice
· 1 cup chopped onion
· ¼ cup chopped green bell pepper
· 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
· 15-ounce can no-salt added black beans drained and rinsed
Dressing:
· 1 cup white wine vinegar or lemon juice
· ½ teaspoon dry mustard powder
· 1 garlic clove, chopped or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
· 2 tablespoons canola oil
· ¼ teaspoon black pepper
· Dash of salt (optional)
Directions:
1) In a large mixing bowl, stir together rice, onion, peppers, and beans
2) In a jar with tight-fitting lid, add vinegar, dry mustard, garlic, canola oil, salt and pepper. Shake until dressing is evenly mixed.
3) Pour dressing over bean mixture and stir to mix evenly. Chill for at least one hour. Makes 3 servings.
Nutritional information per serving: 300 calories; 10 g total fat; 1 g saturated fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 43 g total carbohydrate; 10 g fiber
Panthers Win Bi-District; Face Clarksville Friday
Former Wildcat Coaches 5-A Team to Bi-District Win
Coaches can often be quite proud of their former players. SSISD Assistant Superintendent Rusty Harden is a proud former coach. Bradley Washington, a 2007 Sulphur Springs graduate, played basketball for former Wildcats Basketball Coach Harden. Harden, who coached the Wildcats in 2006-2007, was discussing some of his players on that team and he mentioned his former post player Washington. Washington is now the head basketball coach at Pflugerville Connally. Harden mentioned that Washington had just picked up his first ever playoff win.
Pflugerville Connally defeated the Hutto Hippos, 60-41 in a Class 5A bi-district game at Weiss High School Monday (February 18). Coach Washington’s team has a 23-9 record.
After graduation, Washington earned a bachelors degree in math from Texas A&M-Commerce. This is Coach Washington’s first year at Pflugerville Connally. He has had previous stops at Georgetown, Waco Midway, Killeen Ellison and Leander. Harden has a picture on his phone of Washington coaching up his team against Hutto. Proud indeed.
Game Day Thursday: Baseball, Softball, Powerlifting, Track
There is baseball, softball, powerlifting and track on the schedule on this game day Thursday (February 21), weather permitting.
The #10 ranked Wildcats’ baseball team will be opening the regular season at a familiar place, Tyler’s Mike Carter Field at the Rose City Classic. The Wildcats are scheduled to play five games over three days. On Thursday, the Wildcats are scheduled to play host Tyler Lee in a game that started at 10 a.m. The Wildcats are also scheduled to take on Lindale Thursday at noon. The Wildcats draw Amarillo Friday at 4 p.m. They also have back to back games scheduled on Saturday, The Wildcats face Waxahachie at 10 a.m. and then Forney at noon. Wildcats Coach Jerrod Hammack, beginning his 14th season at Sulphur Springs, is hoping the weather cooperates so the Wildcats can get in most if not all of their scheduled games.
The Lady Cats’ softball team, 6-0 so far this season, are scheduled to open play Thursday in the 20th annual Allen Varsity Invitational Softball Tournament. The Lady Cats are scheduled to play five games over three days. Thursday the Lady Cats will face Celina at 1 p.m. at Allen Station 4. The Lady Cats also play Longview and McKinney on Friday and Coppell and Frisco Lone Star on Saturday. In their first tournament of the season last week, the Lady Cats won all five games they played in the Sulphur Springs Varsity Softball Tournament.
The Wildcats and Lady Cats’ track teams are scheduled to have their first meet of the season Thursday at Mount Pleasant. Field events are scheduled to get underway at 4 p.m. Wildcats and Lady Cats’ athletes are preparing for the district meet coming up April 3-4 at Royse City.
Meanwhile Wildcats Powerlifting Coach Casey Jeter is taking seven lifters to a last chance qualifiers meet in Maud Thursday. Coach Jeter said the lifters are either ranked high in the region or they are just outside those that are ranked high enough to currently qualify for a regional spot.
Video Presentation: SSHS FFA Participates in Junior Market Livestock Show
Sulphur Springs High School FFA members Savannah Allen and Cash Vititow along with instructor John Holland told KSST News about their projects and enthusiasm regarding the Junior Market Livestock Show, February 21-23 at the Civic Center Arena.
Welding Students Decorate Cupcakes at PJC-Sulphur Springs
PJC-Sulphur Springs Center welding students Ethan Hill, Mauro Hernandez and Tyler Woodson compare cupcakes they decorated before enjoying them as a mid-day snack that was provided by the PJC Student Services Department.
4,799 Head Of Cattle Sold At NETBIO Pre-Conditioned Calf & Yearling Sale
A pen of some of the pre-conditioned cattle offered at the NETBIO Sale held Wednesday.The Northeast Texas Beef Improvement Organization held its March Pre-Conditioned Calf and Yearling Sale at the Sulphur Springs Livestock Commission Wednesday, selling 4,799 head of cattle.
David Fowler, co-owner of the livestock market center, said that a lot of the cattle in this sale were purchased to go to grazing and the demand was good. He said about 1,500 head of the nearly 5,000 were sold to buyers on the Internet.
“It was overall a very good sale with a lot of excellent lightweight calves being offered by our NETBIO producers,” said Fowler. “The market was active, and it was a good sale to begin the spring.”
Fowler said a total of 232 sellers consigned cattle to the sale. The 29 cattle buyers paid an average of $822.96 per head for the pre-conditioned cattle. Some new feed year buyers were on hand to purchase some of the cattle.
Fowler commended the employees of the Sulphur Springs market center for doing a good job of preparing and producing the sale. “They always do a great job with the cattle and in the office,” he said.
The next sale will be held at the Sulphur Springs Livestock Auction on Wednesday, May 15. The weaning deadline for calves consigned to that sale is March 31. The last date for booster shots is April 15. That sale will be followed by sales on July 17 and Sept. 18.
Auctioneer Joe Don Pogue takes bids at the March NETBIO Pre-conditioned cattle sale held at the Sulphur Springs Livestock Market. Fowler encourages producers who are getting cattle ready for one or more of those sales to get their consignment sheets in early and pick up their ear tags.
The NETBIO Pre-Conditioned Stocker and Feeder Calf Sale gives producers a market to offer their pre-conditioned calves and yearlings in load lot quantities. NETBIO holds seven pre-conditioned calf sales per year, which is the marketing arm for members of the organization.
Methamphetamine Found in Bags Underneath Feet of Five Year Old
February 21, 2019 – A Jacksonville, Arkansas couple stopped on I-30 by the Texas Highway Patrol was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1, Greater Than 400-grams. They had in their possession four zip-lock bags containing approximately 4003-grams of a crystal-like substance known to be ICE Methamphetamine. The zip-lock bags were in two large plastic bags in the second row seat floorboard underneath the feet of their five year old child.
The stop at the 113-mile marker resulted Victor Simon Hernandez, 38, and Amber Deann Hernandez, 39, showing signs of nervousness and giving implausible travel plans to the officer. Also in the vehicle were their children, a 17-year old male that his mother said has disabilities and the five year old. Children’s’ clothing was found in a cloth bag on top of and below the two large plastic bags containing the four small bags of meth.
Victor Hernandez and Amber Hernandez are charged individually with a First Degree Felony for possession and are held on a $75,000 bond each.
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.
