Commissioners’ Court to Discuss Courthouse Annex in Friday Work Session
Following the Friday 1 p.m. Hopkins County Commissioners’ Court special meeting, Commissioners will meet in a budget work session to discuss the construction of a courtroom annex adjacent to the New Hopkins County Jail. The courtroom annex was on the Monday, January 8th regular session agenda but commissioners tabled the item when questions regarding the building of a second building for offices for the District Attorney and District Clerk were presented by more than one commissioner.
The courthouse annex would be a 100 seat courtroom attached to the county jail to facilitate inmate transfer to and from the jail without having to use transportation to the current county courthouse. The annex would also facilitate public safety during the transfer and during times when certain trials are being conducted.
The desire for the courthouse annex began during the time current County Judge Robert Newsom was serving as District Judge for the Eighth Judicial District. The need for the courthouse has not evaded his attention now that he serves the county. Although commissioners are concerned about the cost, the building will not increase tax dollars and will be paid from money already available and that are to be used in connection with the jail and courtroom facility.
During the Friday Special Session, Commissioners’ Court will have the opportunity to take up again the Monday tabled item to purchase new, technologically updated voting equipment for elections. During a budget workshop following Monday’s session, County Clerk Debbie Shirley explained to commissioners, who had said the new machines were too expensive, that she has wanted to improve the voting equipment in the county for some time and that funding for the equipment is available. The county has been offered a reduced price by one of the two companies that are approved to sell the machines by the Texas Secretary of State Office.
Chamber Connection January 11, 2018
Would you like to recognize an Outstanding Educator?
Here is your chance…this year the Chamber of Commerce Education Committee wants to allow all Hopkins County Citizens to nominate their candidates for “Outstanding Professional Educator” (Administrator, Counselor, Diagnostician, or Teacher) “Outstanding Para Professional Educator” (Secretary or Aide) and “Outstanding Auxiliary Educator” (Maintenance, Custodial, Transportation, Nurse or Cafeteria). We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to nominate that “special educator” that has had an impact in their lives. You may pick up a nomination form at the Chamber office at 300 Connally Street and then either fax, e-mail or mail it in, no later than January 19th! Our fax number is 903-885-6516, our e-mail address is [email protected], and our mailing address is also 300 Connally Street, Sulphur Springs, TX 75482. Don’t miss this opportunity to recognize a special educator!
Nominations for Large and Small Business of the Year!
Please submit your nomination for Large Business of the Year or Small Business of the Year. Nominations should be for those businesses which exhibit outstanding community involvement—civic, church, educational, benevolent, humanitarian or other. You may pick up a nomination form at the Chamber office at 300 Connally Street and either fax, e-mail or mail it in, no later than January 19th! Our fax number is 903-885-6516, our e-mail address is [email protected] and our mailing address is 300 Connally Street, Sulphur Springs, TX 75482.
Additional Chamber of Commerce Banquet nominations other than “Outstanding Educator” or “Small and Large Businesses” are being accepted for the following:
Citizen of the Year – Chamber of Commerce, 300 W. Connally, Sulphur Springs, Tx 75482.
Woman of the Year – Beta Sigma Phi Organization, P. O. Box 72, Sulphur Springs, Tx 75483.
Caregiver of the Year – The Pilot Club, c/o Carriage House Manor, 210 Pipeline Rd., Sulphur Springs, Tx 75482.
Community Pride Award – Adult Leadership Class, 300 Connally St., Sulphur Springs, Tx 75482
Each of these nominations should be submitted in writing and mailed to the above-mentioned address.
Northeast Texas Choral Society is holding auditions
The Northeast Texas Choral Society is holding auditions on Saturday, January 13th from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church Choir room in Sulphur Springs. For additional information, call Glenda Duncan at (903) 243-7258. This is their 20th year, so you do not want to miss this wonderful opportunity!
Ribbon Cuttings:
Events Done Simply hosted their Ribbon Cutting on January 10th
Events Done Simply hosted their ribbon cutting celebration on Wednesday, January 10th at noon at the Chamber of Commerce, 300 Connally Street in Sulphur Springs. Events Done Simply is geared to handle all of your event planning needs. Contact Katrina Buth at (903) 975-0599, by email at [email protected], or visit her website at www.eventsdonesimply.com.
PJC-Sulphur Springs Center Spring Registration Continues This Week
READY FOR SPRING Alaryn Hill , with the help of advisor Carey Gable, right, completes her registration process to return to spring semester classes at the PJC-Sulphur Springs Center. Registration continues this week, with a special on-campus registration opportunity this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For further information, call 903-885-1232. The first day of spring semester classes is Tuesday, Jan. 16.
KSST Media Family Seeks Account Executive
The KSST family continues to grow and we are looking for an account executive to help carry the load. We are looking for an energetic, self-starting account executive that can handle a 9-5, Monday–Friday work week and has experience in outside sales. Past radio sales experience is not a requirement, but is a plus. As the top rated radio station in our market, KSST continues it’s reach by adding an FM outlet to the mix, as well as a strong web presence with KSSTradio.com and recently introducing a community smartphone app that highlights community events and business listings.
Our future account executive should have:
1-5 years of experience in outside sales, developing new business relationships
Strong understanding of lead generation and ability to be a “self-starter”
Effective communicator and ability to cultivate relationships
Willingness to have unlimited earning potential with a commission based pay structure.
Saltillo Lady Lions Win; Lions Drop Close Game
The Saltillo Lions and Saltillo Lady Lions were involved in basketball games Tuesday night. The Lions dropped a close one to Wolfe City, 46-42 while the Lady Lions won big over Sulphur Bluff, 65-24.
The Lions got off to slow start and trailed Wolfe City, 8-4 after the first quarter. The Lions rallied to take a 20-17 halftime lead. Wolfe City responded with a strong third quarter and went ahead 36-25. The Lions outscored Wolfe City 17-10 in the fourth quarter but ended up 4 points behind at 46-42. Trevor Moore led the Lions with 10 points. Walker McGill and Chris Boekhorst both scored 8 points. Matthew Gurley had 6 points. Levi Hoover added 5 points. Michael Clover scored 3 points. Lyle Bench had 2 points. The Lions are now 14-13 for the season. They play at Fannindel on Friday.
The Lady Lions outscored Sulphur Bluff in every quarter in their win. Madison Simmons had a big scoring game for the Lady Lions with 30 points. Anna Reeder score 9 points. Jordan Sustaire, Tori Mobley and Maddy Smith scored 6 points each. Jocelyn Ochoa scored 3 points. Chandler Bain and Christi Gurley scored 2 points apiece. The Lady Lions improved their season record to 11-15. They play next at Fannindel on Friday.
Tanton Named to Sports Writers Association All-State Team
Autumn Tanton #7 goes up to block a shot.
Lady Cats’ junior volleyball player Autumn Tanton was recently selected to the Texas Sports Writers Association All-State Team as an Honorable Mention choice. Tanton was also named First Team All-District and Academic All-District.
Lady Cats Volleyball Coach Justin Maness said it is always exciting to be recognized as part of an all-state team in volleyball in Texas, where there are so many good players. He said Tanton, a middle blocker for the Lady Cats, was very consistent this season and became a student of the game. Coach Maness said Tanton knew how to score using different shots and in different situations. He said Tanton absorbed a lot of volleyball this year and it showed. Tanton’s hitting percentage was the highest on the team. Coach Maness said that showed she knew what she was doing. He said he was glad she’ll be returning next year.
Coach Maness said he expects her to be even better next year. He said he is looking for her to be a big leader next year since she has been in the trenches and knows what it takes to win. Coach Maness said Tanton is a competitor who wants to win. This year the Lady Cats went 28-13 and won the district championship.
Kougher On Trial for Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child Under 6-years of Age
Following a hearing Monday, a jury was picked Tuesday and the Eighth Judicial District Court trial of Bradley Curtis Kougher, 41, is on trial for one count of a January 1, 2010 Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child Under 6-years of age, a Felony 1; a June 1, 2009 Sexual Performance by a Child under 14-years of age, a Felony 1; a May 1, 2009 Indecency with a Child Sexual Contact, a Felony 2; and a July 1, 2009 Attempted Sexual Performance by a Child, a Felony 2.
During the hearing, the children involved in the incident and family members are being called as witnesses by District Attorney Will Ramsey. Although Kougher was living in Hopkins County at the time of the offenses, he was thought to be in Kentucky as Hopkins County law enforcement sought him for the Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child Under 6-years of age. Kentucky law enforcement had aided local officers. However, Kougher, along with his attorney, turned himself in at Hopkins County Jail in October, 2017.
The trial began at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Author Caleb Pirtle III Visits KSST and Channel 18 TV
This Texas Writer was born at Kilgore, Texas and went to public school at New London. With a degree in journalism from the University of Texas, he began his writing career as a reporter for the Ft Worth Star Telegram. His career moved forward when his talents in coaxing out the back story was discovered by Texas Governor John Connally who hired Pirtle as chief of media relations for the state’s first tourism branch, the Texas Tourist Development Agency. Decades of meeting people through travel has supplied fodder for the 75 books he has published. Today, he likes helping develop new authors through writer’s leagues across the state including the Silver Leos Writers Guild at Texas A and M University at Commerce, Texas. He scheduled a visit on the Good Morning Show with Enola Gay at our studios along the way.
Pirtle grew up in the Kilgore/Henderson area of East Texas among oil field workers who came from everywhere to man the oil boom. He always liked listening to the stories of people, especially older ones. Across the South he has found that people love to tell stories about their town, their work, their life, and if you listen long enough, their secrets. He describes his work as that of a “thief” because he takes the bits and pieces of other people’s lives, experiences and memories and weaves them into his stories, articles, teleplays and novels. “Everyone has a story if you just take time to listen”, says Pirtle. Though much of his decade as Travel Editor for Southern Living Magazine was about destinations, he most liked writing about the people he met along the way. He made the leap from conventional to digital publishing and today, his works are found on Amazon and Barnes and Noble as well as on the shelves of bookstores and libraries around the world. His memoir “The Man Who Talks to Strangers: a Memoir of Sorts” was released in late 2017. Pirtle has launched a new mystery series set in the area of his birth, and the first book is called “Back Side of a Blue Moon”.
Aspiring writers are invited to attend a Writer’s Conference in March 2018 hosted by the Silver Leos Writers Guild, an organization open to alumni and non-alumni of TAMU Commerce. For more information, visit SLWG Facebook page.
CALEB PIRTLE III, vice president and editorial director for Dockery House Publishing in Dallas, is the award-winning author of more than thirty books. A former travel editor for Southern Living magazine, he has co-written two teleplays for CBS and has written for such publications as Travel & Leisure, Bon Appetit, and Holiday. He’s the recipient of a Texas Associated Press Award, Small Press Book Award, and a Discover America Award.
Commissioners’ Court to Revisit Voting Machine Request During Friday’s Special Session
Although Hopkins County Commissioners’ Court tabled an item on Monday’s agenda, that items will grace the Friday agenda for a special meeting of the court. The addendum of the item to purchase new, technologically updated voting equipment for elections on the special meeting agenda came as a result of a conversation with Hopkins County Clerk Debbie Shirley Monday during a budget work session that followed the Monday regular meeting.
Commissioners had voted to table the purchase of new voting machines Monday after Commissioner Mike O’Dell stated he thinks the new machines are too expensive and Commissioner Wade Bartley said the current machines should be used until they no longer worked.
For some time Debbie Shirley, County Clerk, has wanted to improve the voting equipment in the county. With several payment options offered, a new county clerk coming into office after the first of the year, the newer machines easier to learn, and the new machines considered more accurate and fitted with the technology that fits the current hub voting process, Shirley presented her plea for the new machines. She pointed out that much of the current system used was purchased in 2005 and technology has changed in the voting field over the years. Shirley expressed concern regarding the current voting equipment with the March 6 Primary Election weeks away. The county auditor told the court that there was enough money in the fund balance to pay for the new machines and that other options were available.
Only two companies in Texas are approved by the Secretary of State to sell the machines. The proposal was presented Monday included a discount in price and an extra year of maintenance by the company presenting the offer. The company had stated that the price offer was only good through Monday but did agree to extend the offer when notified Monday of the Friday special session. The machines and offer had been approved for the county by the Secretary of State’s office last week.
Other routine business is included in the special session of the court. However, the tabled items regarding the building of a new courtroom at Hopkins County Jail are not included in agenda items.
