Video Presentation: Preview of Benefit Album Set for Caps and Flasks; Pullen, Cortez Present Ajaneece Johnson
A preview of an album being produced by a Sulphur Springs High School graduate, Santiago Cortez, will be presented at Caps and Flasks Friday, June 15, 2018, 9 p.m. until midnight. When the album of Cortez original music is produced, one half of the proceeds will be given to needy families in Sulphur Springs.
Tristan Pullen, also a SSHS grad and well known local actor/director, says Ajaneece Johnson, who began her career as a background singer for Usher and is now a singer/song writer, will present two songs that will be on the album Friday night. Johnson, from Detroit, Michigan, is preparing for her own singing tour. Johnson primarily sings soul and R & B but also enjoys incorporating various cultures into her music. She said she is excited to be a part of Cortez’s and Pullen’s community project.
Johnson and Pullen met in college and collaborated on a movie. Pullen wrote the script that is now being turned into a novel. Johnson wrote the music for the movie trailer.
Pullen and Johnson visited with KSST News Thursday afternoon.
Tira News for June 15th, 2018
By Jan Vaughn
Joyce Dodd would like to let everyone know about a Bible study at the Tira United Methodist Church every other Tuesday at 1:00, taught by Beth Hargrave. She says, “Bring your Bible and study with us on June 26th”.
Just Married: Tonja Dodd Jones and Jerry Lucas
Tonja Dodd Jones and Jerry Lucas were married on Sunday, June 10, 2018, at the Sulphur Bluff Assembly of God church. The couple will be living in Tira, after a short wedding trip. Tonja is the daughter of William and Joyce Dodd.
The 80th Annual Tira Homecoming is coming up on Sunday, July 1st . The program and cemetery meeting will begin at 11:00 in the Tira Methodist Church. A covered dish lunch will be shared at the picnic tables at noon. Make plans to come share memories. The reunion of families Lewis, Joslin, Speaks, Braden, Parker, Hobgood, and King was held on Saturday, June 2, 2018.
Dorothy Hargrave reports that the Tira Community Center was “bustling with activity” and “a good time was had.” She adds, “The reunion was established to honor Edna Lewis.” Those in attendance were Odell Lewis, Richard King, Johnny Parker, Sherman and Loretta Crawford, Dorothy Lewis Hargrave, C. W. and Diane Freeman, Clovis Hobgood, Imogene King Phillips, Bill and Joan Speaks, Reggie and Janice Hargrave ,Rick and Donna Hobgood, Greg, Pam and Hanna Hargrave, Wesley and Kaye Hobgood, Larry Clayton, Wanda Lewis Clayton, Judy Lewis, Sam and Kathy King Powlen and grandsons Cooper and Holden, Carolyn Allen, Allen and Pam Hobgood, Randy and Becky Hargrave, Peter Casey, Randall Douglas, Michael and Donna Zamora, James, Jeanna and Hayley Schaare, Jeremy Allen and special guests Amber, Susan Nunnelly, Linda Crowder and Donnis Newman. The Traveling Cross was won by Jeremy Allen. Good Food, fellowship and an auction provided much enjoyment. Rachel Lewis reported that she and Gary were at the high school graduation of their first grandchild that weekend, so they had to miss the reunion this year.
Jorene Orr would like to remind everyone about the meeting for concerned citizens on June 19th regarding traffic safety on Highway 19 North. It is being held in the North Hopkins School Cafeteria, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Doors will open at 6:00. Yvonne Weir has just returned from a trip to her family home place in South Dakota. I look forward to sharing news from her travels soon.
Chip and I took our daughter, Tiffany, grandson, Morgan, and his fiancee, Allison, out to the Fish Fry in Paris on Friday evening for their June birthdays. On Saturday afternoon, Tiffany went to McKinney to spend time with her friend, Stephanie Weaver. They enjoyed playing games with friends that evening, and then Tiffany returned home for church on Sunday morning.
Malcolm, Kenden, and Jaidyn Joslin attended the Joslin reunion on Saturday.
I always need and appreciate input from my friends to help keep me informed of news in our community. If you have any news pertaining to Tira residents, past or present, please contact me, Jan Vaughn, at 903-945-2190 or 903-438-6688 or [email protected].
Nitrate and Prussic Acid Management By Mario Villarino
The One Health concept is a strategy for expanding interdisciplinary collaborations and communications in all aspects of health care for humans, animals and the environment. To promote improvement in community health, The Hopkins County Leadership Advisory Board is sponsoring a two series event (July 6 and 13) at 6:30 PM at the Hopkins County Extension Office with the idea of conducting an open discussion related to pet and human health (Dr. Leah Larsen) and clearing up the Human Vaccination Confusion (Danielle Altenbaumer, Department of State Health Services). On July 13, Brad Fain (Zoetis) will address issues related to food safety, animal derived protein foods and hormones in food. The purpose is to have an open discussion with our presenters and bring questions and topic priorities from the audience. The sessions are free and everybody is welcome to attend. Coffee and Cookies will be available. Interested participants are encouraged to RSVP by June 29, 2019.
Drought and heat stress can cause nitrate and prussic acid accumulation in grasses. If forage contains too much nitrate the animals cannot complete the conversion and nitrite levels build up. Nitrite is adsorbed directly into the bloodstream through the rumen wall, where it combines with hemoglobin to form methhemoglobin. Hemoglobin carries oxygen in the blood, but methhemoglobin does not. The formation of methhemoglobin can cause an animal to die from asphyxiation, or lack of oxygen. The animal’s blood turns brown instead of the normal bright red. Monogastrics (i.e., horses, mules, swine, etc.) are less sensitive to nitrate toxicity than ruminants. An animal’s conditioning affects its ability to assimilate or tolerate nitrates, so consult your veterinarian before feeding forage that contains nitrates.
Nitrate Management
- First, carefully determine the nitrate levels in various plant parts. Allow animals to graze the upper one third to one-half of the grass, legume or leaves of coarse-stemmed forages if the nitrate level in these plant parts is safe. Monitor grazing closely and remove livestock when the safe portion of the forage is consumed.
- Monitor nitrate levels in the lower one-third to one half of the plant or coarse stems if livestock are to be released into a field with questionable or potentially toxic nitrate levels. Generally, forage nitrate levels drop significantly 3 to 5 days after sufficient rainfall.
- A third management practice is to cut the forage for hay, field cure and bale it. This will not lower the nitrate levels, but the bales can be ground and mixed with nitrate-free forages to retain a higher overall protein and energy value.
- The forage could be harvested and ensiled. During the ensiling process nitrates are converted to volatile nitrous oxides, also called “silo gases.” These gases are highly toxic and workers should be extremely careful when entering silo pits and bunkers where nitrate-tainted forages have been ensiled. A common safety practice is to remove tarps from a portion of the silo a day or two before removing silage from that part of the pit.
Prussic acid management
Forage type and harvest method determine the best management techniques.
- Standing forages that test positive for prussic acid and will be grazed should be sampled every 3 to 4 days. With frequent sampling, forage can be grazed as soon as it is safe and before its nutritive value decreases more than necessary.
- Standing forages can be green chopped and ensiled. Prussic acid is enzymatically converted to free cyanide, which escapes when silage is removed. Another benefit of green chop/silage systems is that the effect of prussic acid is diluted when livestock
aren’t free to select only leaves.
- Standing forages also can be cut, field cured and baled. As with all baled forages, proper sampling with a bale probe is required. Bales should be sampled repeatedly until prussic acid is no longer detected. Bales can be made even safer by grinding them to combine leaves and stems.
For more information on this or any other agricultural topic please contact the Hopkins County Extension Office at 903-885-3443 or email me at [email protected]
Mario Villarino DVM, Ph.D.
Hopkins County Extension Agent for Ag and NR
1200B Houston Street
Sulphur Springs, Texas 75482
903-885-3443
JB Weld Breaks Ground for New Facility
An official ground breaking for a $7-million-plus, 78,000 square feet facility to house JB Weld on CMH Road in Sulphur Springs attracted the presence of JB Weld employs, leadership, city council, and members of the Economic Development Corporation. Chip Hanson, JB Weld Executive, said the expansion will enable greater efficiency for the company.
Although others cities were attractive to relocating the local JB Weld facility, Hanson said the decision was made to stay in Sulphur Springs based on the quality and experience of workers and other factors. The expansion will allow for growth. Instead of three buildings that are currently housing the work on Como Street, the new building will provide greater efficiency for the 70 who now work at JB Weld in Sulphur Springs.
Plans are for the building to be completed before the end of this year. Their current location is being purchased by Saputo as a part of their $50-million expansion.
Following the ground breaking, lunch was served at the current JB Weld facility as company leadership shared their plans for the future.
Video Presentation: Man “Known Only to God” Receives Recognition and Identity in Planned Ceremony at Sulphur Springs City Cemetery
Rhonda Bechhold, a member of the Hopkins County Genealogical Society, has conducted an almost two-year research project finally leading to fulfillment, and it’s proven to be a satisfying journey. When Rhomda moved to Sulphur Springs a few years ago and was researching cemetery records, she noticed a grave marked “Known Only to God”. That sadly stuck in her memory and later, when perusing newspaper clippings donated from the Bobby McDonald Archives, she found the 1954 front page story about the unidentified man who was buried in Sulphur Springs City Cemetery. Now, the hitchhiking stranger killed in that late-evening crash at the White Oak Creek bridge on Highway 19 north of Sulphur Springs has a name, his family has been located, and his grave will soon be marked with his name, John Everett Phinney, along with the military marker that he deserves. The gravestone will be revealed on Saturday June 16, 2018 at 10 am in Sulphur Springs City Cemetery, followed by an 11 am ceremony downtown, open to the public to attend.
As Rhonda and assistant researcher Carole Ann Smith began the slow backward search from the man’s death date to his orgin, they found out that the Cass County family of eight children lost their mother in death in 1945 and soon afterward their father. John Everett, the eldest and at the time a WWII Army soldier, found out that some of his younger siblings had been adopted out and some had been placed in the Buckner Children’s Home in Dallas. When he arrived a few short years later in Hopkins County in the summer of 1954 and met his death, he was hitchhiking to visit the two youngest whom he knew were living with their adopted families in Texarkana. That he was a responsible, caring brother is shown through Buckner Children’s Home records revealing that Phinney had made allotments of his Army pay to the care of his brothers residing there.
Obtaining a death certificate, court order and other documents and later, correcting his name from “Unknown” to John Everett Phinney, involved months of diligent work which really put Rhonda through her paces as a genealogical researcher. This has proven to be her most difficult case, but possibly her most fulfilling. Meeting his surviving siblings and planning the cemetery event to honor “Known Only to God” have been among her pleasures, she admits, with tears in her eyes.
Downtown Satisfaction Survey
KSST is conducting a survey to evaluate overall satisfaction with Downtown Sulphur Springs.
Please take a few moments to make your opinion count.
Downtown Sulphur Spriings, TX
Local Whataburger NOT Affected by Bun Problems
Rest assured that you can still get your favorite Whataburger sandwich or burger in Sulphur Springs as your local Whataburger bread supplier is NOT the supplier having problems around Texas. Other burger chains, namely In-and-Out Burger, closed some of their stores recently due to a quality issue with their bun supplier. For a brief time, some other Whataburger stores were having issues with their White Buns and Texas Toast, but that is NOT the the case with the Sulphur Springs Whataburger. In speaking with one of the managers, Melissa said, “It’s business as usual with our customers, as our supplier is different than some of the other stores having trouble. All of your favorites are still available!”
Tanker Fire Diverts Traffic in Delta County
Photo provided by Cooper Review, Cindy Roller, Editor
Sparks from the rim of a wheel caused a tanker filled with unleaded gas to catch fire on State Highway 24 in Delta County. The incident occurred around 5 p.m. Wednesday near the Highway 24/Highway 154 intersection causing traffic to be diverted from the area.
Kerry Bell of Winnsboro, driver of the vehicle, was uninjured when a tire blew and the rim created sparks causing the fire.
A truck from L3 of Greenville sprayed foam on the truck to extinguish the flames.
