Dinner Bell Sponsored by Lowe’s Distribution
This week’s Dinner Bell was sponsored and served by Lowe’s Distribution in Mt. Vernon. The meal included spaghetti and meat sauce, roasted squash and zucchini, garden salad, garlic bread, cookies and a sugar-free lemon pudding for dessert. Dinner Bell is a weekly community meal served on Wednesdays at 11:45 at the First United Methodist Church. If you or your business would like to participate in Dinner Bell, call FUMC at (903) 885-2185.
Public Forum Dominates December City Council Meeting
Public Forum took much of the time of the Sulphur Springs City Council Tuesday night, December 5, 2017, as the council allowed extended time to Marty Brown of Wisconsin. Locally, Mr. Brown’s corporation, DOUBLE INSANITY INVESTMENTS LLC, owns the building that once housed Lou Viney’s Restaurant and Pub. Double Insanity Investments, LLC shows to be a Texas corporation with Martin C. Brown and Tamara M. Brown as officers. Mr. Brown addressed what he called a high level of cronyism in both the city of Sulphur Springs and Hopkins County.
Mr. Brown’s accusations of cronyism date back to 2016 when he sought to have the tax appraisal of his property on Main Street lowered. A check by KSST News in 2016 showed that his appraisal was in line with other businesses of equal square footage. He did approach the Tax Appraisal District and eventually went before the Appraisal Review Board. The board reduced his appraisal from the 2016 level of $142,270 to the 2017 level of $90,260. When Mr. Brown ended the lease with Lou Viney’s, social media took him to task. In response, he wanted city staff to see the trashy condition the restaurant left in the building when they moved out. City Staff refused siting no productive result if they did view the building. Mr. Brown posted a two page “manifesto” against the city at that time.
In his Tuesday night accusation of cronyism, he accused the city council of being a part of the city and county “Good Ole Boys Club”. Mr. Brown had sought and received a sign permit for his building to place on his current building a sign that would read “Good Ole Boys Gentlemen’s Club”. The sign has yet to be put in place. His accusations made Tuesday night focused on City Manager Marc Maxwell and the three councilmen who hold seats that will be on the 2018 municipal ballot. He also made specific accusations against Councilwoman Emily Glass and Mayor John Sellers.
Mr. Brown accused the council of not managing the city manager. He stated that if the city manager violates the law and the city council condones it or is aware of it and does nothing, the council is derelict in its duty. Mr. Brown stated that Manager Maxwell told police to release into his custody an individual arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct. He also accused the District Attorney and the Chief of Police for doing nothing in response to his complaint regarding the action of Mr. Maxwell. Both the DA and Chief of Police noted that Mr. Maxwell was operating within his rights and the law as an adult member of society according to Texas Law, Article 14.031 in the Code of Criminal Procedure (which follows):
Art. 14.031. PUBLIC INTOXICATION. (a) In lieu of arresting an individual who is not a child, as defined by Section 51.02, Family Code, and who commits an offense under Section 49.02, Penal Code, a peace officer may release the individual if: (1) the officer believes detention in a penal facility is unnecessary for the protection of the individual or others; and (2) the individual: (A) is released to the care of an adult who agrees to assume responsibility for the individual; or (B) verbally consents to voluntary treatment for chemical dependency in a program in a treatment facility licensed and approved by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and the program admits the individual for treatment. (b) A magistrate may release from custody an individual who is not a child, as defined by Section 51.02, Family Code, and who is arrested under Section 49.02, Penal Code, if the magistrate determines the individual meets the conditions required for release in lieu of arrest under Subsection (a) of this article.
(c) The release of an individual under Subsection (a) or (b) of this article to an alcohol or drug treatment program may not be considered by a peace officer or magistrate in determining whether the individual should be released to such a program for a subsequent incident or arrest under Section 49.02, Penal Code.
(d) A peace officer and the agency or political subdivision that employs the peace officer may not be held liable for damage to persons or property that results from the actions of an individual released under Subsection (a) or (b) of this article.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.04, eff. Sept. 1, 1994.
Mr. Brown did not cite the Texas Penal Code but did state the only reason for Mr. Maxwell’s action was “Good Ole Boys Club”.
Mr. Brown also questioned the integrity of Councilwoman Emily Glass when he questioned her use of the word “integrity” during a public discuss regarding emergency personnel. He also questioned what Mayor John Sellers had done following his complaint to the mayor regarding what he called Manager Maxwell’s violation of the law.
By law, the council was unable to publicly respond to Mr. Brown’s accusations. However, following the meeting Ms. Glass offered to meet with Mr. Brown personally but no one present for the meeting responded to Mr. Brown’s request for a witness to the conversation. No member of council could serve as a witness or they would violate the open meetings act. No one from the public volunteered.
In other action:
Sulphur Springs City Council approved the second and final reading of an ordinance abandoning a portion of Gladys Alexander Drive and will convey the property to KCS Railroad. The railroad will, in turn, create a pedestrian crossing in a different location where Crosstown Trail will cross the tracks.
Council also approved on first reading an ordinance authorizing the execution of a certain special warranty deed conveying certain property of the City of Sulphur Springs to Billie Ruth Standbridge. The sale will be at fair market value of $400,000. Ms. Standbridge will build improvements to the site worth more than a million dollars.
Lot 10 in Pioneer Business Park replat was approved. The plat will allow J B Weld to consolidate their property on the one lot.
Jonathan Newsom was appointed as an alternate to the Zoning Board of Adjustments.
City Manager’s Report Presented December 5, 2017
PAMPA STREET – The sewer line is finished, and the water line is finished. I expect our contractor, Texana Land and Asphalt, to cement-stabilize the base and repave the street this month.
STREET IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM – Expect the following streets to be repaved in December: Calvert, Junell, Beth/Rasure/Rose and a portion of Gossett Lane. Also expect portions of Woodside Lane to be reconstructed totaling 400 linear feet.
CANTEX FORCE MAIN – This will be our next capital improvement project. It will replace 2,400 linear feet of aging sewer force main and 2,900 feet of gravity main. Currently the main passes through the middle of the hospital complex. This would be a nightmare if the main ever ruptures. The proposed route would go around the hospital complex rather than through it. One third of the city’s sewage passes through this line.
WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT – The work at the wastewater treatment plant is on schedule. The three primary clarifier basins have been constructed, and backfilling continues. Other concrete structures adjacent to the clarifiers are under construction.
CROSSTOWN TRAIL – The Capital Construction Division began constructing the Crosstown Trail in November. This grant-funded project will connect Buford Park to Coleman Park as well as the high school/civic center complex with a concrete path. It will also replace the sidewalk on the north side of Connally Street.
CLAIMS – There were no liability claims or workers compensation claims in November.
REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES – Finance Director, Peter Karstens will present a year-to-date summary of revenues and expenditures.
Elsewhere around the city, employees:
- Applied pre-emergent on all athletic fields.
- Edged all sidewalks and curbs at Buford, Pacific and Coleman Parks.
- Prepared all bathrooms for winter.
- Repaired 589 potholes and made 9 street repairs following utility repairs.
- Graded and smoothed Pipeline Road.
- Demolished a house at 622 Mulberry.
- Decorated downtown for Christmas.
- Conducted 14 building inspections, 13 electrical inspections, 15 plumbing inspections, 2 mechanical inspections and issued 28 building permits.
- Checked out 2,749 items from the library, and 457 eBooks.
- Made 4 felony arrests in the Special Crimes Unit.
- Responded to 181 animal control calls, achieving an adoption rate of 53%.
- Recorded 74 offenses, wrote 487 traffic Citations, made 74 arrests and responded to 38 accidents including 9 injuries and 0 deaths.
- Sold 2,438 Gallons of AvGas and 8,458 Gallons of JetA fuel.
- Installed lights at Pacific Park.
- Repaired 4 water main ruptures.
- Replaced 9 water meters.
- Unstopped 10 sewer mains.
- Achieved a daily average total suspended solids reading of 1.90 mg/L at the wastewater treatment plant. Our limit is 15mg/L.
- Washed 75,000 feet of sewer main.
- Televised and smoke tested sewer segments 1 and 2, and made repairs.
- Flushed 35 dead end water mains.
- Treated 130 million gallons of potable water.
Marc Maxwell, Sulphur Springs City Manager
Cole Announces Candidacy for Precinct 4 Commissioner
Kevin Cole has announced he is running for the office of Hopkins County Commissioner Precinct 4.
He and his wife, Sonja, operate a small cattle ranch. Kevin also works as an Engineer at L-3 Technologies in Greenville and his wife at Texas A&M University Commerce. Kevin uses his conservative Christian values in everything he does.
Kevin’s vision for the county is keeping taxes low and making sound decisions with taxpayer money.
Kevin’s background includes serving in the US Air Force for more than 20 years as a linguist – he participated in the first Gulf war. After his service, Kevin’s focus has been in the areas of Business and Project Management. He has worked as a Vice President of a software company and Project Manager at a nuclear waste cleanup facility. He recently traveled to Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel as well as supporting other military programs in the Middle East.
Kevin’s academic background includes a Bachelor degree in Business, a Master’s in Education, and Project Management Professional Certification.
Kevin’s achievements in education and business make him an excellent candidate for conducting the business of Hopkins County for the people of Hopkins County as Commissioner of Precinct 4.
Winners Announced by Lions Club in the 2017 Christmas “Parade of Lights”
According to John Campbell, President of the Lions Club of Sulphur Springs, among the many floats entered, these are the first, second and third-place float winners in this year’s popular Lighted Christmas Parade were:
NON-PROFIT CATEGORY
1.Central Baptist Church 2. Trinity Harvest Church 3. Brewer/Rawson
SMALL BUSINESS CATEGORY
1. Janet Martin Realty 2. Don Lalos Restaurant 3. Sister Babyz Fashions
LARGE BUSINESS CATEGORY
Carriage House Manor gets to keep the Traveling Trophy for another year!
MAYOR’S CHOICE AWARD
Shining Star Productions
Lions Club
Main Street Theater Presents “A Good Old Fashioned Redneck Country Christmas”
For the past few weeks, co-Director Brenda Payne and her cast of nine local actors have been practicing redneck accents and mannerisms for the holiday run of “A Good Old Fashioned Redneck Country Christmas” on the stage of Main Street Theater December 8-17. Be sure and reserve your seats to enjoy this slightly different but nevertheless warm and wonderful rendition of the Christmas story and a miracle birth among common folk in a small village.
L. to R. Sierra Joslin, Kiara Stowater, Tim Karl and Brenda Payne
Among the cast are Sierra Joslin who plays “Mark the Doctor”. Sierra is a student at North Hopkins Middle School who likes sports and theater. Portraying Mary is Kiara Stewater as “Mary Sue”. Kiara is a student at SSMS and enjoys choir and drama. One of the guys in the redneck trio is “Dave”, portrayed by Tim Karl. Tim bring numerous skills to Main Street Theater including stunt acting in Hollywood. Others in the cast are Cindy Lancaster, Shawn Deterding and Sheila Armstrong. Barbara Grubbs is co-director,
Main Street Theater is located at 225 Main Street, downtown Sulphur Springs, Texas. Tickets are $10 each, evening shows start at 7pm and matinees begin at 2pm. Make reservations at 903-885-0107 or mstsulphursprings.com
A GOOD OLD FASHIONED REDNECK COUNTRY CHRISTMAS
Directed by Brenda Payne and Barbara Grubbs
Show Dates: December 8th-17th
What if the three wise men weren’t really all that wise? What if they were just three ordinary guys, avoiding conflicts at home, who happened upon the greatest story ever told?
Set the entire story in modern day America, sprinkle in a little redneck humor, and you have the smash A Good Old Fashioned Redneck Country Christmas Bill, Dave, and Jimmy have had it with their women! Even though it’s Christmas Eve, and tradition dictates they should be home, drinking hot cocoa and singing carols, the boys decide to high-tail it into the mountains for a little hunting and a lot of beer.
This protest does nothing to improve the mood of the women back in town. Lou runs Lou’s Diner. She and Bill and have been trying (unsuccessfully) to have a baby. Barbie Jo, Lou’s head waitress, is married to Dave, and they have kids, but Dave’s not interested in family this year. Darlene, the most beautiful girl in three counties is dating Jimmy, but while she’s ready to settle down, Jimmy can’t stand the idea of “committment”. It’s gonna take a Christmas miracle to get these redneck families back together! Thank God one just came to town!
North Hopkins FFA Chapter Does Well at District, Area: Prepares for Stock Show
From November 2017 report by FFA Reporter Breeanna Hicks
For the North Hopkins FFA Chapter, this past month has been spent competing in LDEs and preparing for the holidays. Now that LDEs are done with, the chapter can finally take a quick breather before the upcoming stock show in February.
In the Leadership Development Events, we had a great outcome with success at both the District and Area Levels. At District competition The North Hopkins FFA Chapter brought home many awards. North Hopkins received 8th in Job Interview, 7th in Radio Broadcasting, and 5th in Senior Creed Speaking. The chapter also received 3rd in Greenhand Chapter Conducting, Greenhand Skills, Public Relations, Senior Quiz and Senior Skill. The chapter also took 2nd place in Greenhand Quiz, Greenhand Creed Speaking and Senior Chapter Conducting.
While at the Area competition, the chapter received a few awards as well. Senior skills, Senior Quiz, Senior Chapter Conducting, Public Relations and Greenhand skills all placed 11th at Area contest. Along with this, the Greenhand Creed Speaker placed 9th, Greenhand Quiz placed 5th and Greenhand Chapter Conducting placed 3rd. While none of the teams advanced past the Area level, it was an enjoyable experience for the whole chapter. The chapter First Vice President also competed in Dallas Texas with her prepared speech.
With the holidays approaching, the chapter will be busy tying up loose ends before Christmas break. After the break, everything will start back up again and the chapter will be as busy as usual.
Wildcats Defeat North Lamar 48-32
The Wildcats’ basketball team took care of business and defeated North Lamar, 48-32 Tuesday night in Paris.
The Wildcats did not allow the Panthers to think about springing an upset as Sulphur Springs jumped out to a 17-7 first quarter lead. The Wildcats increased their lead to 29-14 at halftime. During the last two quarters, the teams basically traded baskets, Wildcats Coach Clark Cipoletta played all twelve of his players and nine Wildcats scored points.
Keaston Willis led the Wildcats with 11 points including three three-point baskets. Victor Iwuakor scored 9 points including a pair of dunks. The last one shook the basket vigorously and sent some of the Wildcats fans in attendance into a frenzy. Godsgift Ezedinma added 7 points including a dunk. Michael Jefferson scored 5 points including a three point basket. Coming off the bench, Xavier Cork and Ivan Clayton scored 4 points apiece. Bryson Lynn and Jeremiah Roland both hit a three-pointer and each scored 3 points. Cameron Kahn scored 2 points. Sam Asay led the Panthers with 12 points including two three-point baskets.
The Wildcats are now 9-1 for the season. Next they will play in a Longview Union Grove Chick-fil-A Tournament this Thursday through Saturday.
Wildcat Game Day
The Wildcats’ basketball team makes the short trip to Paris to play North Lamar on this Tuesday game day. There will be a freshman game at 4:30 p.m. followed by a JV game at 5:45 p.m. with a varsity contest at around 7 p.m.
After a season of games so far against mostly big Class 6A programs, the Class 5A Wildcats face the Class 4A Panthers Tuesday night. Wildcats Basketball Coach Clark Cipoletta says he will approach this game just like any other. He says the North Lamar scouting report will look just like the one for South Garland.
Coach Cipoletta says North Lamar is well coached and he notes they are scrappy. Again he stresses he wants his team to play each game at their full potential with the goal of getting better each game. Coach Cipoletta says if the Wildcats do that every time the wins and losses will take care of themselves.
The Wilscats are ranked #13 in the state in Class 5A and they come into Tuesday night’s game with an 8-1 record. They are 3-0 against Class 5A opponents and 5-1 versus Class 6A teams. The Wildcats only loss was to South Garland, the #6 ranked team in Class 6A according to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Poll.
