Update: Soccer Bi-District Location Changing
The Wildcats and Lady Cats’ soccer teams will be involved in a bi-district playoff but plans are changing according to Wildcat Coach Nicky Wiggins. A doubleheader had been scheduled for Rockwall Stadium Thursday.
The Lady Cats, the third seed in District 16-5A will play Wylie East, the number two seed in District 15-5A.
The Wildcats, the number four seed in District 16-5A, will take on Lovejoy, the champion of District 15-5A. It’s the second year in a row that the Wildcats have drawn the Leopards in bi-district.
Both the Wildcats and the Lady Cats will have warm up games before bi-district action. The Wildcats travel to district champ Pittsburg for a game at 7:30 p.m. Monday. The Lady Cats will host Princeton at Gerald Prim Stadium at 6 p.m. Monday.
Senior Advanced Planning Brunch: April 9th
PJC-Sulphur Springs English Class Review
A REVIEW PJC-Sulphur Springs Center English Instructor Dr. Ken Haley addresses a point to some students in his class. The students, from left, are Morgan Maynard, Marlene Martinez and Aleisha Gauntt.
12 Wildcats Set Personal Bests, Lady Cats Finished Sixth in Paris Track Meet Thursday
Wildcats Track at Paris
With seven of their best athletes missing Thursday (March 22), the rest of the Wildcats’ track meet competed at a Paris meet Thursday. The seven will be at the Jesuit Relays Friday and Saturday. Wildcats Track Coach Matt Young said 12 athletes achieved personal bests in Paris. Jeremiah Roland took second in the high jump again clearing 6-foot-4 inches. Roland just missed at 6-foot-6 on several occasions. Competing in his first meet of the season, Dedric Godbolt was third in high jump at 6-foot-2. Damiyon Dugan was second in the triple jump with a personal best of 43-feet-7 inches. Tiesan Goodson took sixth in triple jump at 41-feet. In shot put, Ian Blanch threw well but scratched. Jermond Bryant-Amos took second with a throw of 45-feet. Logan Caton was fifth in discus. Distance runner Eli Sellers tried the pole vault and finished fifth battling strong winds. Sellers also won the 800-meter run with a time of 2:05and was second in the 1600-meter run. The Wildcats 4 X 100-meter relay team of Andy Eddins, D’Corian Young, Dugan and Austin Dodd took sixth. Ricardo Torres was sixth in the 400-meter run. Bryce McQueen was third in the 200-meter dash. Andrew Escobar was sixth in the 1600-meter run. Coach Young said Carter Monk in triple jump, Landry Tyson in high jump, 110-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles, Simeon Taylor in the 200-meter dash, Ryan Humphries in the 300-meter hurdles, Kylan Wade in the 110-meter hurdles and Christian Palomino and Landon Thornton in the 1600-meter run and the 3200-meter run would be competing in the Jesuit Relays Friday and Saturday. Coach Young said he hoped all of them have personal bests. In Paris, the Wildcats JV placed third in the meet.
Lady Cats Track at Paris
The Lady Cats’ track team, minus four of their best performers, took sixth place at a Paris meet Thursday (March 22). Lady Cats’ Imani Taylor, Sadavia Porter, Abbi Baier and N’Sya Dugan missed the Paris meet to compete in the Jesuit Relays on Saturday. In Paris, Sydnee Washburn finished second in the 1600-meter run and third in the 3200-meter run despite battling nagging injuries. Faith Hatley won both the 100-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles setting personal records in both events. Freshman Delaney Miles took fourth in the 400-meter run. In the discus, Danielle Godbolt took first and Abbi Beggs was second. Jadyn Booth was third in the pole vault with a personal best of 8-feet, 6 inches into strong winds. Lady Cats Track Coach Triston Abron was very pleased with his JV team, which finished second.
Game Day: Tennis, Golf
On this game day Friday (March 23), soccer teams are preparing for the playoffs next week and the Wildcats’ baseball team and the Lady Cats’ softball team have an open date. We do have Wildcats’ tennis and Lady Cats’ golf on this Friday game day.
The Wildcats’ tennis team is playing in its sixth tournament of the season Friday. It’s at Whitehouse and it got underway at 8 a.m. Friday. The Wildcats are preparing for district play on April 4-5 in Texarkana.
Meanwhile the Lady Cats’ golf team is competing in its fifth tournament of the season. This one is a two day meet that got underway Friday in Longview. The Lady Cats will play 18 holes on Wood Hollow Golf Course and on Pinecrest Country Club. The Lady Cats have their district tournament April 5-6 at Rockwall Golf and Athletic Club.
SSHS EDGE Summer Conditioning Program Partners with Michael Johnson Performance
Sulphur Springs ISD Athletic Director Greg Owens announced Friday (March 23) that SSISD Athletics has decided to partner with Michael Johnson Performance for the summer Edge conditioning program. Coach Owens said the move would elevate all athletic programs this summer. Michael Johnson was a world class Olympic athlete who won gold medals in the 400-meter run and 200-meter race.
In a letter to parents of SSISD athletes, Coach Owens listed some of the reasons for the move. He cited expert coaches for every student athlete on speed, strength and agility training, Sulphur Springs as one of the only schools MJP has selected to partner with in the area, grouping of athletes by age, gender and ability for more specialized training, allowing athletes to hear a different voice than Wildcats’ coaches, world class training right here, measurable results expected and a $1,000 program value for $200 per athlete. The cost is based on 24 two hour sessions. MJP has set up a credit card payment plan or they offer a one time early payment discount. Parents with payment concerns are asked to contact Coach Owens. There is a registration link on the SSISD website.
The Edge will run June 11 through July 26 except during July 4th week Mondays through Thursdays with two hour sessions for high school boys, high school girls, incoming freshman boys and girls and incoming seventh and eighth grade boys and girls. The Edge will take place in the Multipurpose Building.
Caddo Indian Artifacts Plentiful in Eastern Hopkins County
Local archaeology-lover Lee Green owns an impressive collection of Caddo Indian artifacts unearthed in Hopkins County, especially from the well-watered eastern side of the county near Pine Forest. It was about this collection that Lee addressed the audience of about three dozen persons during the Hopkins County Historical Society meeting on March 22, 2018 held in the Chapel at Heritage Park.
In was in about 2002 when the long-time resident began to take an active interest in local finds. He had been raised in the Sulphur Bluff area where he searched for arrowheads as a child, then as an adult he moved to the Pine Forest area. Green had long hoped to discover more Caddo artifacts, so when his neighbor the late Garvis Anglin mentioned some sites on his property, Lee was very interested to see them. Artifacts he eventually uncovered there appear to be from the Woodlands Period (1000 BC-800 AD) and people who were seasonally nomadic hunter-gatherers, farmed and raised corn. Green’s finds include ancient spear points from large atlatl weapons. In the same vicinity, smaller and more common arrowheads or “bird points” were found from a much later era when native peoples began to adopt the use of the bow and arrow.
Caddo Indian artifacts unearthed in Hopkins County
Other artifacts from Green’s collection include an almost entirely intact crude ceramic pot found at Pine Forest near Stout’s Creek. Nearby, a site later named the Anglin Middin Site, contained a quantity of well-preserved artifacts of daily life that are 300-500 years old. In fact, this site and the nearby Tunier Farm Site in Hopkins County have become important in a 4-state study area (East Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma) of Caddo Indian life. The East Texas part of the 4-state study area has yielded thousands of artifacts including beautifully decorated pottery pieces, some with animal effigies, also bison remains, bison teeth which were worn as jewelry, ear ornaments, bone and clay beads and numerous weapon points. The study of this territory and period of time (1450-1700 CE) is designated the “Titus Phase Caddo”. The territory took in what is now Titus and surrounding counties, extending into eastern Hopkins County. Contributing to the large body of knowledge about Caddo Indian culture has been excavation for lakes and reservoirs. Reservoir-building projects such as Monticello, Sandlin, Cypress Springs, Cooper and Lake Fork have been most helpful in these excavations, for archaeological studies must be done prior to construction.
Green added that other persons like himself who are interested in documenting Caddo Indian life in this area have also made contributions. The Watkins and Culpepper sites, located near the Anglin Middin Site, were excavated back in the 1930’s.
Lee Green, left, with H C Historical Society President Rick Wilson
Chamber of Commerce Plans City Council Candidate Forum
The Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce will host a City Council Candidate Forum at the Sulphur Springs Middle School on Thursday, April 19th at 6 p.m. SSMS is located at 835 Wildcat Way in Sulphur Springs, and admittance to the forum will be through the back doors of the school. All City Council candidates have been invited to attend. The Hopkins County Democratic Party and the Hopkins County Republican Women will be providing refreshments.
The purpose of the Chamber of Commerce sponsored forum is threefold:
- To educate the public about the issues in the city council campaigns;
- To provide an opportunity for voters to hear candidates discuss those issues face-to face; and,
- To stimulate public interest and participation in the elections.
Opening and Closing Statements
The candidates will have opening and closing statements. Opening statements will be one minute, 30 seconds, and order will be determined by random draw the night of the forum. Closing statements will be 3 minutes. Incumbents will be the last speakers to present their closing statements.
Questions and Answers
Candidates will be given one minute for answers and one minute for rebuttals, if addressed by name. Candidates may not direct questions to another candidate.
Selection of Questions
Questions from the public must be submitted in advance to the Chamber of Commerce via email, fax, or mail. Questions must be received by Monday, April 16th. Submitted questions will be reviewed and approved by a committee appointed for this purpose. No
questions will be accepted from the floor during the forum. Email questions to [email protected], fax to (903)885-6516, or mail to 300 Connally Street in Sulphur Springs.
Forum Topics
The range of topics will depend on submitted and approved questions from constituents. Each candidate will be given a minimum of two questions throughout the evening. Questions will not be distributed to candidates in advance.
Timing the Debate
The timekeeper will notify the candidates and moderator when time expires. Fifteen-second warnings will be indicated with a yellow card. Five-second warnings will be indicated with a red card. Candidates must end their comments when time is called.
Order of Speakers
Incumbents will be seated last. Seating placements for non-incumbents were selected by random draw, and are as follows:
Place One: Justin Davidson, Erica Armstrong, Incumbent Craig Johnson; Place Two: Jimmy Lucas, Sara Gibson; Place Three: Norman Sanders, Andy Lowen, Incumbent Oscar Aguilar.
Order of speakers will rotate each round of questions. For example, Place One will all the answer the same question. After the first question is read, Justin Davidson will answer first, Erica Armstrong second, Craig Johnson third. For the second question, Erica will answer first, Craig second,
Justin third.
Debate Length
The forum is scheduled to last 90 minutes.
Props/Signs
No props or signs will be permitted on stage.
Panel
The panel will be composed of the timekeeper, Garrett Glass of Guaranty Bank & Trust; the parliamentarian, Bradley Edge of NETCinity; and the moderator, Chris Brown, Executive Director of the Ark-Tex Council of Governments.
Notice
The Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce does not and will not endorse any candidate for office.
PJC Announces Fall 2017 President’s and Dean’s List Honorees
Paris Junior College is pleased to announce that 182 students were named to the President’s and Dean’s lists for academic achievement during the fall 2017 semester.
To be eligible for the President’s List, students must earn a 4.0 grade point average, (straight A’s) on a minimum of 15 semester hours. Those on the dean’s list must have a minimum of a 3.5 grade point average for at least 15 semester hours and have no grade lower than a “C.” Both lists are compiled exclusive of developmental hours.
Students from the area on the President’s List include:
Brashear: Cody Sutton
Campbell: Jennifer Mccauley
Commerce: Tyjire Smith
Como: Gladys Pulgarin
Cumby: Lauren Hudson
Emory: Brittney Barlow, Brice Chairez
Lone Oak: Aaron Hendrix
Mount Pleasant: Billy Milton
Pickton: Parker Cummings, Presli Cummings
Sulphur Springs: Ronald Arellano, Travis Caviness, Jose Gamez, Gideon Gregory, Bryan McFarlin, Joshua Newby, Justin Peek, Lauren Reeves, Cassidy Seaney, Clayton Wilson
Sumner: Brandon Michael, Samuel O’Nolan, Erin Scholl, Eric Sugg, Katharina Teichroeb
Yantis: Samuel Earle
Students from the area on the Dean’s List include:
Brashear: Jasmin Del Castillo
Campbell: Darrel Dix, Samantha Hagood,l Jake Lueck
Cooper: Colton Barnard, Jade Sillivan
Cumby: David Hebert, Ty Holland, Kaleigh Poteet
Dike: Terri McCoy
Dorchester: Justyn Davis
Sulphur Springs: Emily Kuiper, Karla Pizano
