District Soccer Begins With Lady Cat Win, Wildcat Loss
Lady Cats Soccer 1, Pine Tree 0
The Lady Cats’ soccer team scored a big second half goal and then held on to win their district opener over Pine Tree, 1-0 on the road Friday night (February 2). Mileena Zirretta scored an unassisted goal that made the difference. The Lady Cats are 1-0 in district play and 9-2-3 for the season. The Lady Cats play Marshall Tuesday night at Gerald Prim Stadium in district play.
Pine Tree 3, Wildcats Soccer 0
The Wildcats’ soccer team lost their district opener to Pine Tree, 3-0 at Gerald Prim Stadium Friday night. The Pirates had three first half goals and then made sure they were enough in a scoreless second half. Things began to go wrong for the Wildcats about half way through the first half. After a Pirates’ corner kick, the ball bounced around in front of the Wildcats net and the Wildcats suffered an own goal. Pine Tree led 1-0 with 23:01 left in the first half. Less than two minutes later, the Pirates added another goal and they led 2-0 with 21:05 left in the first half. The Wildcats allowed a third goal with just :01 left on the first half clock. The Pirates scored after a corner kick. The Wildcats battled throughout the second half but could not put the ball in the net. Pine Tree is 1-0 in district play. The Wildcats slip to 0-1 in district play and to 7-7 for the season. The Wildcats will attempt to bounce back as they travel to Marshall Tuesday night for their second district contest.
February 5th Jury Panel Summons Cancelled
The jury panel summoned to appear Monday, February 5th at 8:30 in the morning for 8th Judicial District Court Judge Eddie Northcutt has been CANCELLED.
You’ve Heard of Punxsatawney Phil, But Do You Know Jimmy?
By Savannah Owens
Punxsatawney Phil, Buckeye Chuck, and Jimmy: that’s right, it’s Groundhog Day 2018. February 2nd, aka Groundhog day, houses an unusual but fun 132 year tradition of looking to groundhogs . Groundhog day was celebrated for the first time in Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsatawney, Pennsylvania in 1887. “According to tradition, if a groundhog comes out of its hole on this day and sees its shadow, it gets scared and runs back into its burrow, predicting six more weeks of winter weather; no shadow means an early spring…In 1887, a newspaper editor belonging to a group of groundhog hunters from Punxsutawney called the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club declared that Phil, the Punxsutawney groundhog, was America’s only true weather-forecasting groundhog.”
There is much dispute over the accuracy of using groundhogs as weather predictors. The Washington Post cites that “AccuWeather finds the rodent has an 80 percent accuracy rate. But the StormFax Almanac reports that Phil has been right a lowly 39 percent of the time.”
“The line of groundhogs that have since been known as Phil might be America’s most famous groundhogs, but other towns across North America now have their own weather-predicting rodents.” This year, Punxsatawney Phil, and Jimmy the Groundhog saw their shadows, predicting six more weeks of winter. However, other groundhogs like Dunkirk Dave from New York or Shubenacadie Sam, didn’t see their shadows, which would mean we have an early spring.
KSST has compiled and alphabetized a list of 17 famous groundhogs so you can choose who to follow for your 2018 weather predictions.
- Birmingham Bill-Birmingham, Alabama
- Buckeye Chuck-Marion, Ohio
- Chattanooga Chuck-Chattanooga Tennessee
- Dunkirk Dave-Dunkirk, New York
- General Beauregard Lee-Jackson, Georgia
- Holtsville Hal-Holtsville, New York
- Jimmy the Groundhog-Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
- Malverne Mel, Malverne, New York
- Murray the Groundhog-Cumberland, Maryland
- Pierre C. Shaddeaux- New Iberia, Louisiana
- Potomac Phil-stuffed animal preserved by taxidermy, Washington D.C.
- Punxsatawney Phil-Punxsatawney, Pennsylvania
- Shubenacadie Sam, Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia
- Staten Island Chuck (Charles G. Hogg)– Staten Island, New York
- Sir Walter Wally-Raleigh, North Carolina
- Wiarton Willie, the only albino weather prognosticating groundhog, Ontario, Canada
- Woody the Woodchuck-a female groundhog, Howell, Michigan
Pesticide Private Applicator Training: February 14, 2018
For those Hopkins County residents seeking pesticide private applicator license (new licenses only), the Hopkins County Extension Office will offer the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) mandatory training Feb 14, 2018 starting at 10:00 AM. A private pesticide applicator is someone who uses or supervises the use of restricted-use or state-limited-use pesticides or regulated herbicides to produce an agricultural commodity on:
- Personally owned property;
- Rented property;
- Property owned by his or her employer;
- Property under his or her general control; or
- The property of another person if applied without compensation, other than the trading of personal services between producers of agricultural commodities.
An agricultural commodity is a plant or animal grown for sale, lease, barter, feed or human consumption and animals raised for farm or ranch work. No license is required to apply general-use pesticides to produce agricultural commodities. In Texas, several agricultural products including 2-4D based products are considered restricted products and require private applicators license to purchase. The TDA training cost is $30 lunch and refreshments included. Interested applicants must RSVP by calling the Hopkins County Extension Office at 903-885-3443 and purchase training materials ($40) available at the Extension Office. For more information on this or any other agricultural related topic please contact me at 903-885-3443 or email me a [email protected].
Weather Plays Havoc with Wildcat Tennis Schedule
The cold weather has played havoc with Wildcats’ tennis so far this season. A dual match at Sherman has been postponed twice. The Wildcats’ varsity was able to play in their first and only tournament of the season so far last Friday(January 26) at Hallsville.
Wildcats Tennis Coach Tony Martinez said it was a tough day for the Wildcats. He added they played well despite making a lot of mistakes. Coach Martinez said they made too many errors serving and returning serve. He was proud of the veteran boys’ doubles team of Jonah Kirkpatrick and Alex Benitez. They won a first round match and then were defeated by a top team from All Saints, 8-6. Coach Martinez said all the Wildcats competed well.
He said the weather has been better this week allowing practices each day. Coach Martinez said spring tennis is all about improving and winning matches to earn higher seeding at the district tournament in early April. The varsity plays again in a sixteen-team tournament in Kilgore next Friday (February 9). Players are guaranteed four matches each. Coach
Martinez said he also took some of his younger varsity players and JV players to a tournament at John Tyler Thursday (February 1). A mixed doubles team and a boys B doubles team both finished first. A mixed doubles B team was second. A girls doubles team was third. Kirkpatrick finished fifth out of sixteen players in boys singles.
Game Day: Wildcat, Lady Cat Soccer Open District Play
Basketball Plus Soccer Game Day
The Wildcats and Lady Cats’ basketball teams, both tied for first place in the loss column in district play, have a bye on this Friday game day (February 2).
There will be soccer. The Wildcats’ soccer team opens district play at Gerald Prim Stadium Friday night against Pine Tree. There will be a JV contest at 5:30 p.m. with a varsity match to follow at around 7 p.m. The Wildcats have not played since January 23. That night the Wildcats’ varsity won their regular season home opener over Pittsburg, 2-0 at the new Prim Stadium. Since then the Wildcats have been practicing for the district opener against Pine Tree. The Pirates have been one of the district’s top teams for several years now. The Wildcats come in with a season record of 7-6. They have won four matches in a row. We will bring you all the action of the Wildcats and Pine Tree soccer live on KSST Radio beginning at around 7 p.m. We will also videotape the game for replay at a later date on Channel 18 on Suddenlink Cable.
The Lady Cats’ soccer team also opens district play Friday night (February 2) with a match at Pine Tree. There is a JV match at 5:30 p.m. followed by the varsity game at around 7 p.m. The Lady Cats come into district play after a good regular season. The Lady Cats are 8-2-3 so far. They won Tuesday night (January 30) in their regular season home opener at the new Prim, 3-0 over Tyler Chapel Hill. The past few years, goals have been hard to come by when the Lady Cats and Pine Tree play. Lady Cats Soccer Coach Joel Bailey said the last couple of matches against Pine Tree have gone to extra minutes. He noted you can still get a full three points with an extra minute win. Coach Bailey said he doesn’t like having to settle for a tie to be determined by penalty kicks. He said you can only earn 2 points, which he said was just about as bad as losing. Coach Bailey said it will be catastrophic to lose to anyone twice in district play. He said he is pleased where the team is right now. Coach Bailey said the Lady Cats are a little banged up but he said the team seems to be over the flu. He has been working on conditioning hoping the Lady Cats will be able to outwork other district teams. Coach Bailey said he wants to victory at Pine Tree to set the tone for the rest of district play.
soccer ball net
Planning to Say “I Do?” Don’t Miss This! By Johanna Hicks
Planning to Say “I Do?” Don’t Miss This!
Hopefully, you have read or heard about the Twogether in Texas Marriage education workshop. This event only takes place three times each year, but the benefits are huge!
Twogether in Texas is recognized by the state of Texas as being an important part of helping couples have a successful marriage. As a matter of fact, engaged couples who complete the workshop are given a certificate to save $60 upon applying for a marriage license. That is the state portion of the fee – waived!
Did you know that family fragmentation costs U.S. taxpayers at least $112 billion each year? Finding ways to strengthen marriage and reduce unnecessary divorce and unmarried childbearing is a legitimate and pressing public concern. Because of the very large taxpayer costs associated with high rates of divorce and unmarried childbearing, marriage-strengthening initiatives programs will be cost-effective for tax-payers (Institute for American Values).
Twogether in Texas is dedicated to increasing the overall strength of marriages, as well as increasing the well-being of children by providing voluntary marriage and relationship education skills to their parents. All Texans are able to utilize these services. There are no eligibility requirements. Couples that complete pre-marital education through one of the service providers listed on the Twogether in Texas website are able to receive $60 off their marriage license fee. Out of the 288,000 Texans who have taken these classes, 95% of couples say they have learned skills to:
- Improve their relationship
- Increase their ability to communicate and share feelings
- Understand and feel understood by their spouse
- Disagree without fighting
Benefits of taking a premarital education workshop include:
- Enhancing your communication and conflict resolution skills to enrich your relationship,
- Learning the key components of a successful marriage,
- Receiving a $60 discount on marriage license fees (the certificate to save is good for one year from the date it is issued), and
- Waiver of the 3-day waiting period.
The workshop offered through the Hopkins County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is free of charge, and lunch is provided! I’ll also have coffee, water, and snacks available throughout the day. So, here are details on the 2018 workshops:
WHEN: Saturday, February 10
WHERE: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office, 1200 W. Houston, Sulphur Springs
TIME: 8:30 a.m. to approximately 3:30 p.m.
TOPICS: marriage expectations, communication, conflict resolution, money management, and goals & dreams
COST: nothing
Because lunch is provided, I do request that couples call to reserve a seat – 903-885-3443. If the February 10th workshop is not convenient, two other dates are also available – Saturday, May 12, and Saturday, August 25. The workshop uses videos, group participation, couple interaction, and a simple workbook for couples to keep.
Please share this information with anyone who might be interested. Married couples are also welcome to attend!
Do Well, Be Well with Diabetes
I’ve received a few inquiries about the “Do Well, Be Well with Diabetes” series. The spring sessions are scheduled for April 9. 12. 16. 19. And 23. We’ll cover nutrition and self-care concepts, using research-based and evidence-based information from the American Diabetes Association and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. This series has resulted in very positive results from participants. You don’t have to be from Hopkins County to participate!
All sessions will take place at the Hopkins County Extension Office. Two times are being offered to accommodate participants’ schedules, and you can even mix-and-match times – 1:30, or 6:00 p.m. Due to the nature of the series, a fee of $25, payable at the door, will be charged. Participants will receive a notebook of all the handouts, recipes, and supplementary materials, as well as refreshments and door prizes. Call the Extension Office at 903-885-3443 if you would like to attend.
Spring Break Sewing Workshop
I’m just putting out a “feeler” to see if there is enough interest in a spring break sewing workshop. A couple of individuals have asked about it, so if you would like to participate, let me know! It will most likely be March 12, 13, 14 (Monday thru Wednesday) during spring break. Anyone is welcome – youth to adult, but children under the age of 10 must be accompanied by an adult. Make-and-take projects will be available, but instruction using a pattern will also be given. Contact the Extension Office at 903-885-3443.
Closing Thought
You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips.
Johanna Hicks
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Family & Consumer Sciences
1200-B W. Houston
P.O.Box 518
Sulphur springs, TX 75483
903-885-3443 – phone
903-439-4909 – Fax
[email protected]
Hopkins County Genealogical Society is A Busy, Award-Winning Group
Congratulations to the Hopkins County Genealogical Society! The local organization earned two more awards from the Texas State Genealogical Society. during 2017. The Quarterly, edited by Carol Ann Dixon, was named second-best in state. A new publication based on The Collection of Kenneth and Sidney Brice, complied by Shirley Patchen and other members, received a third-place award.
John Sellers, President of H C Genealogical Society, displays a working copy of 1914 city directory
Do you remember the old City Directory published in Sulphur Springs where you could look up individuals and businesses and cross-reference them by name, street address and phone number? They were common even until the 1990’s. Well, these old hard-bound directories published by private companies provide a wealth of historical information for researchers. Late historian Sydney Brice helped compile information for the earliest-known published local directory, the 1914 Sulphur Springs city directory. Later, late historian June Tuck re-typed the directory and entered it into a computer file so that it could be safely stored for future use. That’s the project the Hopkins County Genealogical Society has in full swing right now.
Society President John Sellers says this new book, 1914 Downtown Sulphur Springs, will be important because it will document life during an important era. In 1914, the World was at war, scores of local residents serving as soldiers, local business and home construction was taking off, two railroads were actively providing transportation and commerce with distant cities, and the local Chamber of Commerce was active. 1914 brought a new United States Post Office to Sulphur Springs and free mail delivery in town by postmen. In order to provide postal delivery, homeowners in town got house numbers and merchants got business addresses, and the first listing of this new innovation was in the 1914 City Directory.
The 1914 Downtown Sulphur Springs project also needs photos. If you have snapshots or photographs of a house, street, church or business that is up to ten years older or ten years younger than 1914, bring it to the Genealogical Library. Photos can be scanned in and your photo returned while you wait. If you have photos that you are not sure of their location or if they fit the era, you can bring those too, to be added to the growing computer archive for use when identified. You can find helpful volunteers to assist you at the Genealogical Library inside the Sulphur Springs Public Library, 611 North Davis. And the Genealogical Society is accepting new members. Phone 903-885-8523.
Tennessee Man Arrested for Money Laundering
Three individuals traveling from Nashville, Tennessee to Dallas in a Black Cadillac Escalade were found to be in possession of $73,068 when Hopkins County Deputies stopped them Thursday morning. The driver, through an interpreter, voluntarily admitted they were on their way to Dallas to purchase 30lbs of marijuana and pay $2,000 to $2,200 per pound.
The driver stated that they planned to sell the marijuana for $2,800 to $3,000 per pound or $250 to $300 per ounce in Nashville. He said the customers were friends or people he knew.
The traffic stop was initiated when the Escalade failed to maintain a single lane. The driver of the vehicle did grant permission to search the vehicle and the money was found in two separate places. The money was packaged in a manner used by those who participate in the drug trade. K-9 O’Malley alerted positive on the money.
The Tennessee man was arrested for money laundering more than $30,000 but less than $150,000, a Felony 3.
