Maxwell Named 2017 Official of the Year by Texas Mining Reclamation Association
AUSTIN, Texas [Oct. 31, 2017] — The Texas Mining and Reclamation Association (TMRA), the state’s leading mining industry association representing more than 150 companies and individual members, presented Sulphur Springs City Manager Marc Maxwell with its 2017 Elected Official of the Year Award at the trade group’s annual meeting last night in Bastrop, Texas. The award is in recognition of his support for the Texas lignite mining industry.
“On the heels of the announcement of the permanent shutdown of Luminant’s Thermo Mine, Maxwell was instrumental in leading the charge to breathe new life into this community asset, which had served the City of Sulphur Springs and its surrounding community for so many decades,” said Ches Blevins, TMRA executive director and general counsel.
Because of its proximity to the City of Sulphur Springs, the Thermo Mine presented an ideal opportunity for dual repurposing as a mixed-use zone with both industrial and recreational development. Maxwell was keenly aware of the opportunities that could stem from redevelopment of this asset and has been working with Luminant for the past two years to bring some of his ideas to fruition.
“The solution just seemed so evident; Luminant wouldn’t be required to rebuild county roads or demolish an overpass, and it could write off the donation. The city would receive an asset that could be a game changer in terms of large recreational events and even some industrial development,” said Maxwell. “It’s a win-win situation. We are so grateful for Luminant’s receptivity and generosity.”
Maxwell has been the city manager for the City of Sulphur Springs, Texas, for 22 years. In this role, he serves as the chief executive officer and is responsible for 157 employees and an operating budget of approximately $30 million. He plans, directs and reviews the city’s activities and operations, while maintaining a positive working relationship with many outside agencies
Maxwell is motivated by a desire to improve the quality of life for the citizens of Sulphur Springs. He has an ambitious and forward-looking vision for the city and often employs out-of-the-box thinking to make that vision a reality.
He and his wife Kathy have two sons, two daughters and three grandchildren.
“Fly Your Flag” On the Air During Contest Hosted on KSST…Texas A and M Commerce Wins Again
KSST opened it’s doors to the Hopkins County Healthcare Foundation Executive Director Meredith Caddell, board members and volunteers on Tuesday November 14 for the annual “Fly Your Flag” fundraising effort which benefits the Lights of Life Campaign. KSST owners Chad and Rhonda Young, General Manager Jim Rogers and the staff fielded phone calls from listeners who pledged money to have their own Alma Mater flag flown above the Hopkins County courthouse during Thanksgiving week.
At the halfway point of the morning’s bidding, the contest was between Texas A and M Commerce, Texas A and M College Station and Texas Tech. Other bids were for Baylor, SMU, U.T, Oklahoma State and others. For the previous four years, Texas A and M Commerce has flown their flag.
Mikki Eddins is the 2017 Fly Your Flag Committee Chair who also supports the Hopkins County Healthcare Foundation as a board member. She joined Meredith and Rusty Harden with more pledges she had collected from local citizens.
The pledge process went on through the morning by e-mail, Facebook, text and phone as listeners, friends and fans responded to the invitation to help the Healthcare Foundation meet their goal of $400,000. as well as to place their college flag on Celebration Plaza during the last two weeks of November. The college flag which brings in the most pledges gets the singular privilege, which for 2017, is Texas A and M Commerce at $5,100, the winner for four out of five years. Texas Tech was a close second, bidders pledged a total bid of $4775.
Winnsboro Police Report November 6-12, 2017
Winnsboro Police made four arrests, investigated a minor two vehicle accident, responded to 157 calls for service, issued 54 citations, and wrote 37 warnings during the report period , November 6-12, 2017.
Dawn-Marie Mooney, 47, of Winnsboro, was arrested November 7th on two city of Winnsboro Municipal warrants.
Jimmy Beckham, 36, of Winnsboro, was arrested November 7th on a felony warrant out of Franklin County.
Wesley Miller, 39, of Winnsboro was arrested November 12th on a Wood County warrant.
Jason Phillips, 41, of Winnsboro, was arrested on November 12th for Possession of Marijuana less 2 oz.
On November 9th, Winnsboro Police responded to a minor two vehicle accident in the 200 block of East Coke Rd. No injuries were reported when a vehicle made an unsafe lane change and struck another vehicle.
SSISD Board Hears Reports, Approves Contracts, Approves Personnel Changes During November Meeting
Sulphur Springs School Board approved the purchase of replacement air conditioning/heating units for four classrooms at the high school and took a tour of Salem, Massachusetts during colonial times during their Tuesday evening November board meeting. The board also learned that almost all of the local policies in the district complied with the 800-plus pages of legislative chances for public education.
Lamar Primary School students, who had lead the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States and Texas flag shared their headsets with board members for the tour. The headsets allowed students and board members to adjust the focus of the lens and provided popups to highlight the various sites to be observed. It was noted that stocks for prisoners were among the first things to be built in colonial villages. Wigwams, colonial thatched roof homes and furnishings, and other sites were featured. Board members exhibited an enthusiasm that matched that of first graders who experience the headset tours. Principal Rowena Johnson presented an audio-visual overview of all the activities at Lamar.
Regarding state legislative changes, policies for firearms in the vehicle of a teacher were discussed. The legislative changes allow school policy to permit teachers to store a handgun in their locked vehicle. The policy allows for the weapon to be unloaded and the recommendation to the board is to delete “not loaded”.
In the 2016-2017 school year, SSISD provided services for 585 students of limited English proficiency. Bilingual and ESL Programs served 572 of these students.
Dan Froneberger will serve as one of two SSISD representatives on the Hopkins County Civic Center Board of Directors. He returns to the post for a second time and will serve the new term, January 1, 2018-December 31, 2020.
An agreement between the district and the Sulphur Springs Country Club will allow golf teams to use the course for practice and tournaments.
Reading at the Kindergarten level is a top priority for the local school district, according to Assistant Superintendent Kristin Monk. Monk reported on the various emphases on the Primary Education level. Josh Williams reported on the Secondary level.
PERSONNEL
Resignations
Alexis Navarrette Purchasing Clerk Administration
Andrea Rodriguez Office Clerk ECLC
Sy Lucas Grade 1 Teacher Lamar Primary
Janlyn Therwhanger ESL Aide Middle School
Maci Newsom Government Teacher High School
New personnel
Alison Thompson Grade 1 Teacher Lamar Primary
Tobias Adams Special Ed Aide Middle School
Ruston Pennington Math Teacher High School
Beatty Named Texas A & M-Commerce Vice President of Advancement
Commerce, TX – President Ray Keck announced that Keturi Beatty will serve as the University’s next Vice President of Advancement. Beatty joined A&M-Commerce as the Associate Vice President for Advancement in July of 2017. Interim Vice President for Advancement, Wyman Williams, will continue his service to the University as the Associate Vice President for Advancement and Beatty’s senior development officer.
President Keck looks forward to working with Beatty in her new role, stating, “Everyone who works with Keturi notices her acute ability to listen and to engage a community of active participants in University life. She possesses all the warmth and openness East Texas proudly offers both our nation and the global community. She will serve as the ideal partner with Wyman Williams, whose knowledge of this population and its history is unmatched.”
Beatty previously served as the Senior Director of Development for the College of Education at the University of North Texas. In this role, she redesigned major gift solicitation strategy, aligned the strategic priorities of the university’s College Development Board, implemented a peer solicitation program, and integrated communications, alumni, marketing, events and strategies to support college and campaign goals. Prior to her time at UNT, Beatty held advancement positions with The Hockaday School, where she served as the Director of Planned Giving and Stewardship and the Director of Annual Giving.
Now settled in with the A&M-Commerce advancement team, Beatty looks forward to assuming her new role, stating, “In my short four months, I have fallen for this great university. I am honored to serve in this role, and I look forward to partnering with our alumni and donors to build a robust culture of philanthropy at A&M-Commerce.”
Wyman Williams has served as a development officer at A&M-Commerce since 2010, and as Interim Vice President for Advancement for the past 18 months. Williams has lived in Commerce since he was three years old, and has had the rare opportunity to attend first grade through college in Commerce. He also owned and operated a family business in town. He is a 1969 graduate of East Texas State University and prior to joining senior leadership at A&M-Commerce, Wyman served on its Foundation Board for more than 20 years.
Wyman looks forward to continuing the important work of expanding alumni and donor support for his beloved alma mater. “Keturi is the right person to lead advancement at A&M-Commerce,” he said. “I am thrilled to assist her in taking our fundraising enterprise to the next level.”
Wildcats Defeat 6A Ranked Arlington Bowie; Face Rockwall Heath Tuesday
Wildcats Basketball Coach Clark Cipoletta said he was proud of his team and the way they came out focused and prepared in a season opening 66-58 win over Arlington Bowie in the Cowtown Showdown Saturday in North Crowley. Bowie was ranked #23 in Class 6A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. Coach Cipoletta said the Wildcats played the way he knows they can play. He said the team started making defensive plays right from the beginning of the game.
As with any first game, all was not perfect. Coach Cipoletta said the Wildcats did have some careless fouls and turnovers that led to easy Bowie baskets. The Wildcats trailed by 4 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Wildcats surged into the lead outscoring Bowie, 15-2. Junior post Victor Iwuakor led the Wildcats with 23 points. Sophomore Godsgift Ezedinma, or GG, and senior Keaston Willis added 14 points apiece. Sophomore Michael Jefferson chipped in 12 points. Despite Iwuakor’s offensive numbers, Coach Cipoletta was excited about his defense, played against a player Coach Cipoletta called one of the top guards in the country. Coach Cipoletta also praised the play of junior Xavier Cork. He was scoreless but Coach Cipoletta said he made his presence known with blocked shots and rebounds.
The Wildcats, 1-0 for the season, play at Rockwall Heath Tuesday at 8 p.m. Coach Cipoletta said Heath is expected to win their district. He said they shoot the ball well and will press and play at a fast pace.
File Photo
Lady Cats Basketball Use First Game to Set Bar for Improvement
Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. That was the assessment of his teams play in their season opener by Lady Cats Basketball Coach Jeff Chapman. He added his team sometimes has trouble with respecting all and fearing none. Coach Chapman said sometimes his team thinks the other team is just going to lay down and let the Lady Cats have the victory. He said Emory Rains played lights out in the first half at home.
After the Lady Cats opened the game with a 17-0 run, Rains hustled their way into a 27-26 halftime lead. Coach Chapman said the game changed in the second half. He said the Lady Cats made defensive stops, made shots and got some breaks. Coach Chapman said Rains’ emotions cooled down some in the second half. The Lady Cats outscored Rains 47-19 in the last two quarters. Included was a 15-0 run in the third quarter. Coach Chapman said he has five new varsity players. Returning point guard Sadavia Porter, who scored 27 points, also had three three-point baskets.
Coach Chapman credited Porter with working to improve her three point shot. He said several of his players, led by Kaylee Jefferson, were staying after practice to work on their games. Imani Taylor is expected to join the team soon. Coach Chapman said Taylor is working on her conditioning and he added she will provide needed depth to the varsity.
County Schools Cross Country Teams Honored in Proclamations
In what is becoming an annual event, Hopkins County Judge Robert Newsom recognized the excellence of cross country running in the county on the steps of the County Courthouse Monday morning. Judge Newsom read proclamations honoring girls Class 1A state champion Jorja Bessonett, runner up Sienna Collins of Saltillo, Class 1A second place girls’ team Miller Grove, Class 1A state champion boys team Miller Grove, boys team runner up Saltillo and fourth best boys team Sulphur Bluff. The state cross country meet took place November 4 at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.
The six proclamations urge all Hopkins County citizens to congratulate the athletes for their accomplishments. Before proclamations were read, one of the county’s foremost runners, District Judge Eddie Northcutt, praised the athletes for making it to the state meet and then for doing so well when they got there. He said he encouraged Judge Newsom to recognize Miller Grove, Saltillo and Sulphur Bluff. It was noted that the fourth in state finish by Sulphur Bluff was the highest finish for any team sport in school history.
Members of the State Champion Miller Grove boys team are Kobe Robertson, Albert Serrano, Luke Brignon, Grant Earp, Grant Sharp, Matthew Brignon and Andre Treyton. The second place Saltillo boys team includes Trevor, Moore, Walker McGill, Hendrick Rios, Branson McGill, Dillon Beadle, Lyle Bench and Matthew Gurley. Members of the fourth place Sulphur Bluff boys team are Turner, South, Montana Hurley, Ishmael Wade, Trayton South, Shane Johnson and Jonathan Brown. The second place Miller Grove girls team includes Jorga Bessonett, Lauren Bullard, Jolee Fox, Cassidy Seaney, Alexa Pelerosa and Katie Williams. 
Sulphur Springs Youth Orchestra Sets Fundraiser Concert
Sulphur Springs Youth Orchestra will present a Fundraiser Concert at Shannon Oaks Church Thursday, November 16. Donations are welcome.
