Illegal Short Cut Leads to Arrest
April 7, 2017 – When the Sulphur Springs Police Officer observed the vehicle cutting across a private drive to avoid an intersection and speeding, he initiated a traffic stop at the corner of Parkins and Broadway at 8:30 p.m. Thursday night. The driver appeared nervous and the officer sought consent to search the vehicle.
Mistie Michelle Watson
When methamphetamine was found, Mistie Michelle Watson, 43, of Sulphur Springs was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1, less than 1-gram. She is in Hopkins County Jail being held on a $5,000 bond.
Bowie Students Visit KSST
First grade students, their teachers and even the principal of Bowie Primary School in Sulphur Springs visited KSST studios on Friday April 7th, 2017. Tours were led by Morning Show Host and Personality Enola Gay and James Terry, a retired 26-year elementary level teacher and music historian. Students toured the radio museum, production rooms, broadcast studios for radio and television, television production, website operation, and weather observation deck.
The highlight of the tour… has to be the spiral staircase to the observation deck. Groups will continue to tour throughout the day, so check back frequently to view updated photos.
2:00 PM Group – Mrs. Ray and Ms. Griffin
1:00 PM Group – Mrs. Argenbright and Ms. Brown
9:30 AM Group – Mrs. Thompson and Ms. Shultz (Substitute)
Seven Skimmers Found in Area Gas Pumps
Seven Skimmers Found in Area Gas Pumps
After a warning to the public to be aware when using ATM and gas pumps at local convenience stores, Sulphur Springs Police found five skimmers. Hopkins County Investigators and Deputies found two at area convenience stores. The devices found Thursday were all inside the gas pumps and undetectable from the outside of the pump.
Two of the seven skimmers found in gas pumps by city and county law enforcement.
A Scam Alert was issued mid-morning Thursday by Sulphur Springs Police Chief Jay Sanders. Sanders says Sulphur Springs Police and County Deputies were examining ATM machines and gas pumps across the city and county. Criminals are able to hide these devices inside machines. Sanders said that before placing your credit card into the machine, shake the scanner to be sure it is intact and a skimmer has not been put in place.
He also said that some scam artists are taking the front off the gas pumps and placing the skimmer inside the machine. A number of skimmers have been located Thursday by local law enforcement.
Minimal Damage to SSISD Bus; No Athletes Injured Thursday Night
A Sulphur Springs ISD school bus returning the Lady Cat track team from a meet in Kennedale was involved in an accident on I-635 in Dallas Thursday night.
A vehicle was attempting to change lanes on the freeway when it sideswiped the bus. There was minimal damage to the bus and no one on the bus was injured, according to Rusty Harden, SSISD Assistant Superintendent.
Predator Control Vs. Predator Avoidance By Mario Villarino
Predator Control Vs. Predator Avoidance By Mario Villarino
As I was writing this piece, I recalled a recent interesting phone call of a small acreage rancher with Dorper sheep. His problem was having his sheep attacked by something, he did not know what. I had my own personal experience with a similar situation.
Not too long ago, I have seen ordinary domestic dogs attacking young livestock. For some reason, nature triggers the predator mechanism in domesticated dogs when baby small goats or sheep are new born, or just “new” to the neighborhood. In my experience, this is not really a hunger response, but a predator response mechanism.
One day, not too long ago, one of my south-african boer nanny delivered a baby buck. Just as any other baby goat, the buckling was responsive and loud. It was not too long before the neighbor hound was attracted to the baby buck. One afternoon, as I was grilling dinner, the “otherwise” friendly hound made the move and decided to attack the newborn buck. As I was witnessing the scene, almost in slow-motion, I recognized the potential outcome and I was put in a strange situation of having to make a decision quickly. I personally had no problems with the hound before, having played with him around my family and seen him “barking away” strangers passing by, wagging his tail. The hound was not aggressive towards me but was in a mind-set of taking the baby buck down. After inflicting several wounds to the baby buck, the hound left the scene as I jumped into the fenced area retrieving the wounded baby buck. Upon examination, I noticed several wounds in the neck and front and back arms. Promptly my wife and I attended the wounded buck and decided to sedate the animal. The baby buck was sedated, wounds were repaired but even after 45 minutes of care we lost the baby buck of “post-traumatic stress “ in our back porch.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a well- known human medicine term used to determine the effect of stress in humans after traumatic situations. A similar term has been used to define stress response in animals in long term traumatic situations but our understanding of similar disorders is not reported in farm animal veterinary medicine, possible because most cases are not reported or hard to evaluate, since veterinary care is not provided or the cost of care is too high compared to the value of a young animal (Who in the right mind will pay two veterinarians to do surgery for 45 minutes to save a baby goat, right?).
Losses to the ranchers are economic losses, regardless of the cause. Upon reflection of the situation, and after my initial frustration passed, I was in the dilemma of having to talk to my neighbor about his beloved hound, putting fences up or getting a guard animal. After careful consideration, my family decided not to breed goats anymore, sell the goats, buy some steers and try to return to a friendly neighborly country life as quickly as possible. We still remember, several month after the incident, watching “good old Max” old hound wagging his tail as he “protected us” barking to the post man, delivery personnel or any other vehicle just passing by and me going back to grilling but this time, cooking home-grown steaks.
Mario Villarino DVM, Ph.D.
Hopkins County Extension Agent for Ag and NR
1200B Houston Street
Sulphur Springs, Texas 75482
903-885-3443
Happy and Safe Easter to All! By Johanna Hicks
Happy and Safe Easter to All!
As families are gearing up for Easter, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension provides some timely information to keep your egg hunts safe and fun. Eggs have been used to celebrate spring festivals for centuries. Immigrant settlers brought symbolic Easter rabbits ad colored eggs to America, and since then, Easter egg hunts have been enjoyed by children of all ages!
You can make sure your Easter egg hunts are fun and safe for all by following these simple guidelines:
- Before buying eggs, inspect them to make sure they are not dirty or cracked. Dangerous bacteria can enter a cracked egg.
- Store the eggs in their original carton on a refrigerator shelf until you are ready to cook them. Keep the eggs away from foods with strong odors (such as fish or onions). Be sure the eggs do not freeze.
- Always wash your hands in hot soapy water for at least 20 seconds before handling any food, including eggs.
- For the best results with hard-cooked eggs, buy the eggs 1 week in advance and refrigerate them. Eggs can be “too fresh” to peel easily.
When making hard-cooked eggs, follow these directions for perfect results:
- Place the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and add enough cool tap water to cover at least 1 inch above eggs.
- Cover the pan and bring the water just to boiling. Turn off the heat and let covered eggs stand in the hot water for 15 minutes for large eggs. Adjust the time by about 3 minutes up or down for each size larger or smaller.
- Immediately run cold water over the eggs or place them in ice water until they are cooled.
- Dry and refrigerate the eggs, or you can decorate them at this point.
- Do not decorate cracked eggs. Instead, refrigerate and use them as ingredients in holiday recipes.
To decorate Easter eggs, use food coloring or follow the directions on Easter egg-dyeing kits. For the dye bath, use water that is 10 to 15 degrees warmer than the eggs. Write names or holiday messages on the eggs with a wax crayon before coloring them. To create designs, mark out patterns during repeated coloring.
You can also make your own natural colors. Simmer uncooked eggs in water for up to 20 minutes with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar per cup of water and one of the following materials, as suggested by the American Egg Board. This is an art, so colors may vary:
– Fresh beets or cranberries, or frozen raspberries provide a pinkish read
– Yellow onion skins provide an orange color
– Orange or lemon peels, carrot tops, celery seed or ground cumin provide light yellow
– Ground turmeric provides yellow
– Spinach leaves provide a pale green
– Yellow delicious apple peels provide a green-gold
– Canned blueberries or red cabbage leaves provide blue
– Strong brewed coffee provides beige to brown
After decorating, returns the eggs to the refrigerator until it is time for the hunt. Do not hide cracked eggs. Also, avoid hiding eggs where they may come into contact with pets, wild animals, birds, reptiles, or lawn chemicals. Gather the eggs as soon as possible after they are hidden. Do not allow them to remain overnight. Counting the eggs before you hide them will assure that you have collected them all in the hunt!
After the hunt, inspect the eggs, discarding the cracked ones. Return them to the refrigerator within 2 hours. You can store any uneaten eggs in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Avoid eating eggs that have been used for table decorations. They have been out of the refrigerator for too long in the temperature danger zone – 40 to 140°F.
Athens Egg Salad
½ cup plain yogurt
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon crushed oregano
6 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
18 cherry tomatoes
½ cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup sliced drained pitted ripe olives
¼ cup chopped green onions with tops
4 pita bread halves
Lettuce leaves
To make, in a medium bowl, stir together yogurt, salt, and oregano until well-blended. Stir in remaining ingredients, except for pita bread and lettuce. Cover and chip to blend flavors. To serve, line each pita half with lettuce leaves and fill with egg salad.
Enjoy!
4-H Plant Sale and Dessert Auction
If you want to spruce up you flower beds and have a ready-made delicious dessert for your Easter company, our Hopkins County 4-H Montana Exchange Trip group has the perfect solution! On Friday, April 14, the exchange trip participants will hold a plant sale at the Extension Office and a Facebook Dessert Auction. To get to the link, simply type in Dessert Auction in the search bar from your Facebook page and click on the link that has the rabbit cake. Pictures of the desserts will be posted on this event page. Bidding will start at 9:00a.m. and end at 3:00p.m. Bids can be made in the comment section below each dessert. Highest bidders will be able to pick up their desserts at the Hopkins County AgriLife Extension office between 3:00pm to 5:00pm. We can deliver desserts locally.
The plant sale on the same day will include 1 gallon and 3 gallon plants, as well as baskets. Drop by and see the beautiful plants that will be offered. Twelve Hopkins County 4-H’ers and chaperones will travel to Montana in July for an Exchange trip with Sanders County (Thompson Falls). Our former 4-H agent, Juli Hutchins-Thurston is employed with the Extension Service there, and they are planning host homes and activities for our group upon arrival. Proceeds from the Plant sale and dessert auction will go toward expenses of the trip, so your participation is greatly appreciated!
Closing Thought
We plan big things for tomorrow in spite of zero knowledge of the future. That’s confidence! – unknown
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]
Tira News
by Jan Vaughn
Tira Council Members Joyce Dodd, Tami Joslin, Sherry Smiddy, and Yvonne Weir, and I, City Secretary Jan Vaughn, met North Hopkins Ag Teacher Christin Daugherty, Superintendent Dr. Darin Jolly and incoming Principal Brian Lowe at North Hopkins School on Friday, March 31st, to pick up the food pantry that FFA students made. We appreciate them providing the labor for the project. We are working toward getting the pantry up and going soon. We want to express our gratitude to Judy Moore, with the Reach Out Program, for helping with donations of food items for the project.
The North Hopkins FFA Stew and Auction is scheduled for Thursday, April 27th, at 6:00 p.m. Make plans to come out and support the students and have some good food and fun.
Yvonne Weir reports, “Sarah Therault, Lucas, and friend, Brandon, spent Saturday [April 1st] with the Weirs. They enjoyed feeding the fish and playing outside.
Destri, Eben, Mena, Emmy, and Nicolaas arrived this past Friday night for a visit with Destri’s parents, Robert and Yvonne Weir. Destri and Eben left on Saturday for a date and the kids stayed with “YaYa and Papa” until Sunday. Dustin Weir and his niece, Maria, came on Saturday and spent the night. Dakota and Wes were also there. Their guests left on Sunday and, Yvonne comments, “it was a quiet house.” Robert and Yvonne ate in Cooper on Thursday, where they ran into Rick and Judy Petty and had a nice visit with them.
Our great-grandsons Rylan, Brailon, and Slaiden spent Friday night and Saturday with us, while their parents worked on remodeling their bathroom. Tiffany Vaughn and daughter, Jaidyn, attended a Vacation Bible School workshop in Longview on Saturday. That night, Chip, Tiffany and I enjoyed barbecue and live music at Fat Boy’s in Cooper.
I always need and appreciate input from my friends to help keep me informed of news in our community. If you have any news pertaining to Tira residents, past or present, please contact me, Jan Vaughn, at 903-945-2190 or 903-438-6688 or [email protected].
Thursday Accident Update: Driver of Mustang Expectant Mother in Hospital Overnight for Observation
The driver of the Ford Mustang involved in a multi-vehicle accident Thursday afternoon at the 122-mile marker westbound I-30 is remaining in the hospital over night for observation due to her pregnancy. Her daughter, also in the Mustang, was released, according to her grandmother.
The accident occurred, according to observers at the scene, near the work zone on I-30 where the right lane was closed to traffic. A semi-truck, the Mustang, a pick-up, and a box truck were involved according to pictures from the scene (see slide show below).
The accident creating the necessity of an alternate routes for many parents picking up children at the Early Childhood Learning Center and others bound for various locations. Traffic backed up from State Highway 19 to east of KSST studios over two miles away. Traffic on the interstate and much of the north service road moved slowly or not at all until around 5 p.m.
A closed westbound lane one mile past State Highway 19 also contributed to the slow traffic.
*Updated* Accident Thursday Creates Traffic Woes on I-30 Westbound and North Service Road
Photo courtesy of Kyle Ray
An accident on I-30 westbound backed up traffic Thursday afternoon creating alternate routes for parent picking up children at the Early Childhood Learning Center and other locations. The accident occurred at the 122-mile marker. Traffic backed up from State Highway 19 to KSST studios on the interstate and much of the north service road.
A closed westbound lane one mile past State Highway 19 also contributed to the slow traffic.
Dates for Summer Sports Camps Announced
Sulphur Springs Athletic Director Greg Owens has been putting together a schedule for another summer of sports camps along with dates for the annual conditioning program, The Edge.
The Edge will begin June 12 and will run four days a week Monday through Thursday. There will be four straight weeks of The Edge for high school and middle school athletes until July 6. New this year will be a two week break in the schedule. The Edge, just for high schoolers, will resume for two more weeks from July 24 through August 3. Plans call for the weight room in the Multipurpose Building to be open from June 12 through August 3.
The baseball and softball sports camps will be June 6-8.
Girls’ basketball camp takes place June 19-22.
Soccer camp for boys and girls is June 26-29.
Volleyball camps take place June 26-28.
Boys’ basketball camp is scheduled for July 11-13.
Football camps take place August 1-3.
Tennis camp is planned August 1-4.
Coach Owens said the goal of the camps is for kids to learn skills and have a good time.
