Chamber Connection December 21, 2017
Attention All Chamber Members…. Membership Directories are being prepared NOW!!!
Chamber Members, we are going to print with the 2018 Membership Directory. We are going to have it ready for distribution the first part of January, so we need you to do a few things…
- Please go to HopkinsChamber.org and click in the directory search. Please check to make sure that we have the correct information for your business. We have been trying to check and recheck it, but we need your help to make sure everything is correct.
- If your membership investment is past due, payment arrangements need to be made prior to
December 22nd to be included in the 2018 Directory.
3) If you find information that needs to be corrected, please call the Chamber at 903-885-6515. If you are interested in placing an ad in the directory, please contact Lee Ann Peugh at Echo Publishing at 903-885-8663.
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 December 31st! 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 December 31st! 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.
Beauty Grace Boutique is hosting a Christmas Trunk Show
Beauty Grace Boutique is hosting a Christmas Party and Trunk Show on Thursday, December 21st from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Beauty Grace will be featuring UWEZO shoes! They are located at 101 Bill Bradford Road, Suite 20, in Sulphur Springs. Make plans to go by, shop, and say hello!
DBA presents Ladies Night Out
Downtown Business Alliance is hosting a Ladies Night Out on Thursday, December 21st. Wear your Ugly Sweater and shop at the local downtown businesses to win prizes. Plan to shop between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. to win your prizes! Have fun!
Carter BloodCare is hosting a blood drive in Sulphur Springs
Carter BloodCare is hosting a blood drive in Sulphur Springs on Thursday, December 28th at Jay Hodge Chevrolet from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. They will move to Brookshires that afternoon from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. If you are interested in hosting a blood drive, please call Lanie Wright at 903-571-9667.
Lezley Brown
President/CEO
Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce
300 Connally Street
Sulphur Springs, TX 75482
903-885-6515-office
903-885-6516-fax
www.sulphursprings-tx.com
Dinner Bell Christmas Meal Marks Last of 2017
This weeks Dinner Bell is the last for 2017. The Community meal will resume January 10th, 2018, 11:45 AM at the First United Methodist Church.
9,501 meals were served at the Dinner Bell in 2017. That’s about 1,000 more than 2016. Judy Gilreath has an incredible outlook for 2018. “We hope to serve another 1000 more in 2018”, said Gilreath. Judy overseas each aspect of the meal preparation. While preparing the pork loins for the meal, she recalled butchering techniques learned over her years of cooking. Although Judy loves giving, she is looking forward to a few weeks break.
Judy Gilreath thanks everyone for their support of Dinner Bell, especially the folks that come and the fellowship each week.
TC Hamilton, Sally Hamilton and Family sponsored this weeks meal and helped serve it.
The Hamiltons who started Dinner bell in 2012, returned to sponsor the meal and helped to serve it. They were joined by their extended family, the Noacks.
Remember: Dinner Bell will return on January 10th, 2018
Saltillo Lions, Lady Lions Basketball Lose Close Games Tuesday
Both the Saltillo Lions and the Saltillo Lady Lions’ basketball teams lost close games Tuesday.
The Lions were defeated by a last second 3-point buzzer beater by the Bland Tigers, who won 49-46. The Lions led after one quarter 15-9. Bland bounced back to outscore the Lions 17-1 in the second quarter and they took a 26-16 halftime lead. The Lions turned the tables on Bland in the third quarter outscoring them 18-3 to take a 34-29 lead after three quarters. Bland outscored the Lions 20-12 in the fourth quarter, including the buzzer beating three, to win, 49-46. The loss evened the Lions season record at 11-11. Christ Boekhorst led the Lions in scoring with 14 points. Matthew Gurley had 10 points. Walker McGill and Trevor Morre had 7 points each. Levi Hoover and Lyle Bench had 4 points apiece. The Lions were hampered by making only 33% from the free throw line. The Lions play next against North Hopkins in a Boles tournament on December 28.
The Saltillo Lady Lions took the Class 2A #17 ranked Campbell Lady Indians into overtime before falling 43-37 Tuesday. After trailing 11-4 after one quarter, the Lady Lions outscored the Lady Indians 13-2 to take a 17-13 halftime lead. Campbell trimmed the Lady Lions lead to 2 points, 23-21 after three quarters. The game was tied after regulation, 34-34. The Lady Indians outscored the Lady Lions 9-3 in the overtime period. The Lady Lions are now 7-13 for the season. Madison Simmons had a very big game against Campbell scoring 28 points. Chandler Bain scored 4 points. Shelby Matlock and Jocelyn Ochoa had 2 points apiece and Jordan Sustaire had 1 point. The Lady Lions play next against Whitesboro in a Leonard tournament on December 28.
Local Dairy Legend Passes Away, Just Short of 100 Years Of Age
Wilma White, matriarch of one of the oldest dairying families in Hopkins County, passed away peacefully at her home on December 15, 2017. Wilma was 99 years old, and just one month short of her 100th birthday. Her late husband Eldon White established White’s Dairy in 1935 right after they married, just as the new industry was starting to take hold in the county. According to Wilma in a 2015 interview, her father gave them their first cows and the herd began to grow, as did their family.
White’s Dairy was one of the first to modernize with milking machines. Their milk is shipped out mainly to the eastern United States. They haven’t been limited to just dairy cattle; the family also produced pigs, ponies and a prosperous garden. Today, the Whites still raise award-winning horses in their equine operation.
During the last years of her life, Wilma served as a consultant for her son Gerald who does the daily milking chores at the barn along I-30, now located inside the city limits. Her daughter Theresa manages the horse business which was honored in 2014 as a Legacy Breeder by AQHA for fifty continuous years of raising foals. Wilma regularly rode along in the pickup to check the cows and the horses, including twice during the final week of her life.
Five daughters and a son survive, she was preceded in death by her husband and two sons.
Services will be held on Sulphur Springs on Thursday December 21, 2017 at 11 am at Murray Orwosky Funeral Home with burial at Restlawn Memorial Park.
EDITORS NOTE: JOURNALIST CINDY ROLLER CONTRIBUTED TO THIS ARTICLE
Wilma White in 2015
Winnsboro Woman Arrested for Assault Public Servant; Outstanding Warrants
December 20, 2017 – Jessica Elizabeth Bruce, 34, of Winnsboro, kicked a Hopkins County Deputy in the chest as she refused to exit her vehicle following a stop for a defective tail lamp. The stop led to the deputy being informed by dispatch of outstanding warrants for Bruce.
When informed of the outstanding warrants, Bruce was asked to step out of the vehicle. She refused to leave her vehicle until “…she was given proof of the warrants” according to the deputy’s report. The deputy called for backup. When the second deputy arrived, Bruce was resisting arrest and kicked one of the deputies.
Bruce was arrested for Assault Public Servant and two warrants for issuing worthless check in Louisiana and defrauding a financial institution in Illinois. She is in Hopkins County Jail held on a total of $30,000 in bonds.
Cumby Arrests Nets Over 400-g of THC
A Toyota with a defective headlight caught the attention of Cumby Police Officer Ray Embro at 1:35 a.m. Wednesday morning. Officer Embro made contact with the driver, Travis Allen Shipley, 28, of Garland.
The officer identified the faint odor of marijuana but was denied permission to search the vehicle. Officer Embro advised Shipley that he had probable cause to search the vehicle. Before beginning the search Shipley advised Embro that illegal contraband was in the vehicle and told him it was in a brown box in the left rear floorboard. The box contained a large amount of marijuana and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) packages.
Shipley was arrested for Possession of the Controlled Substance Penalty Group 2 more than 400-grams and for Possession of Marijuana more than 4oz but less than 5lbs, a state jail felony. He is being held in Hopkins County Jail on bonds totaling $50,000.
Wildcats Defeat Pine Tree 70-50
The Wildcats’ basketball team, ranked #11 in Class 5A, used a 19-0 run late in the second quarter and early in the third quarter to win their district opener against a pesky Pine Tree team, 70-50 Tuesday night in Wildcats Gym.
When the run started, the Wildcats actually trailed the Pirates, 32-29. The Wildcats scored the last 12 points in the second quarter to take a 41-32 lead into halftime. After the break, the Wildcats scored to first seven points in the third quarter to extend their lead to 48-32. The Wildcats were never seriously threatened after that.
Wildcat junior Keaston Willis was a big part of the run as he scored 16 third quarter points on his way to a game high 23 points. Willis hit five three-pointers. Junior post Victor Iwuakor proved too much for the Pirates inside. He scored 10 first quarter points and ended up with 19 points for the game. Sophomore Michael Jefferson scored 10 points including two three-point baskets. Sophomore Godsgift Ezedinma added 9 points. Senior Bryson Lynn had five points including a three. Senior Dedric Godbolt had 4 points including a thundering dunk on a fast break that sent the crowd into a frenzy. All thirteen Wildcats’ players got some playing time.
The Wildcats survived ten successful three-point shots by the Pirates that kept them in the game, especially in the first half. Pirate Guard Isaiah Lawson led the Pirates with 14 points including four three-pointers. Pine Tree cooled off in the third quarter and the Wildcats held them to only 6 points.
The Wildcats have now won nine games in a row and they improved their season record to 16-1. After a Christmas break, the Wildcats will play in a three-day Allen tournament beginning December 28 and featuring lots of Class 6A teams, some with top 25 rankings.
The Wildcats resume district play at Marshall on January 2.
Alleged Buy of Small Amount of Marijuana Led to Sunday’s Shooting Death
In evidence gathered, a dispute over an alleged buy of a small amount of marijuana led to the shooting death of 18-year old Tyrese Pryor and Felony 1 murder charges and four counts of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon filed against 17-year old Gavin Gilbert. The alleged sale was between Gilbert and one of five passengers in a truck on County Road 1185 just off FM 1567 in the South Liberty area of Hopkins County. Investigations and evidence collection conducted by the Texas Ranger and Hopkins County Sheriff’s investigators and deputies are nearing an end according to law enforcement.
In the allegations of those present in the truck at the scene at the time of the incident, they had traveled Sunday evening, December 17th, to the CR 1185 location to purchase a small amount of marijuana. During the alleged sale, those present said a gun was produced and the driver of the truck began to speed away. That’s when 9-mm shots were fired into the back window and cab of the pickup as it drove away. It was said that Pryor was sitting in the back seat behind the driver of the vehicle. According to those present, they were fortunate more were not hurt in the incident.
The vehicle was driven to the Hopkins Country Fire Department Station 20 at Arbala Road and Texas Street seeking help for Pryor. From there he was transported to CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital where he was pronounced dead by Justice of the Peace B. J. Teer. Gilbert was arrested when the Texas Ranger, DPS, and the combined Hopkins County/Sulphur Springs SWAT team served a warrant around 2 a.m. Monday morning at the Gilbert home.
Gilbert is in Hopkins County Jail being held on a $2-million bond for murder and $500,000 bond on each of the four counts of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.
