Sophomore Baier Qualifies for State 300-Meter Hurdles
Sophomore Lady Cats’ track athlete Abbi Baier qualified for the state meet in the 300-meter hurdles at the regional meet Saturday at UTA Stadium in Arlington. Baier, was seeded fourth in the field for the final on Saturday but took second. Lady Cats Coach Triston Abron said Baier just beat out a Royse City hurdler to earn the state berth. The state meet takes place May 12-13 in Austin. Coach Abron believes Baier is the first Lady Cats’ track athlete to go to state since the 1990’s. Coach Abron and Hurdles Coach Derek Tyson have high hopes for Baier at the state meet. Her best time is close to those with the best times in the state field for the 300-meter hurdles.
Coach Abron had six athletes competing at the regional meet. On Friday final events, junior Imani Taylor finished sixth in the long jump and Sydney Washburn was eleventh in the 3200-meter run. In prelims, any relay team’s nightmare occurred to the Lady Cats 4 X 100-meter relay team as they had a dropped baton during a hand off. They did not finish the race. The Lady Cats 4 X 200-meter relay team bounced back and finished ninth in a preliminary race. Only the top eight advanced to Saturday’s final. Baier competed in the 100-meter hurdles but was unable to qualify for Saturday’s final. N’ysa Dugan again shattered the school record in the prelim for the 100-meter dash. Dugan was second in her heat and qualified for Saturday’s final. Saturday Dugan finished sixth in the 100-meter final.
Meal A Day Menu For May 8th-12th
Sheriff’s Office Responds to Out of County Tornado Damage
Hopkins County Sheriff along with investigators, deputies, and a number of trusted inmates traveled to Canton and Emory Saturday evening after tornadoes ripped through the Van Zandt and Rains County area. They were involved in immediate clean-up and rescue.
The Sheriff took chain saws and other equipment to assist the neighbors to the south. They spent several hours immediately following the destruction left in the wake of the tornadoes.
According to Lt. Tanner Crump, Hopkins County officers will return to one or both counties when the proper requests for assistance are received.
Wisenbaker Hired to Assist County in Securing FEMA Funds
With several counties having difficulty receiving funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency Hopkins County has employed former commissioner for Precinct 1 Beth Wisenbaker to assist with getting the paper work satisfactorily through the FEMA process according to County Judge Robert Newsom. Wisenbaker’s experience with FEMA will prove to be an asset according to Newsom.
The work that FEMA will reimburse has already been performed according to the judge. He stated that his duties and that of the commissioners in repairing and reworking roadways demands the necessity of adding Wisenbaker’s expertise to the mix. She does not work every day but has been given a small office next to the County Judge’s office to facilitate her work and the communication of paperwork between the county and FEMA.
Former commissioner for Precinct 1 Beth Wisenbaker and State Representative Dan Flynn. Wisenbaker has been hired by the county to assist with securing FEMA Funds.
Lightning Strikes Disable Three City Warning Sirens Saturday Evening
According to Sulphur Springs Police Chief Jay Sanders, two emergency warning sirens in the City of Sulphur Springs failed to sound Saturday evening when an imminent warning for a tornado was issued. Both had been struck by lightning before the warning was issued. Also during the siren’s sounding, a third siren was struck by lighting and was disabled.
Chief Sanders stated that the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was officially opened at 4:30 p.m. as members of the EOC team watched the progress of the tornados from Canton, Emory, and other locations that had potential to affect the city. The center remained open until all severe weather had moved out of the area.
Sirens on Calvert Street and at the corner of Church and Bonner Streets were struck prior to the warning. Chief Sanders stated that thanks to the redundancy of the sirens in the city, no part of the city was without warning. The siren at the corner of Bonner and Church is located on city property at Fire Station 1.
The siren located on College Street at Lake Highlands Baptist Church was sounding when disabled by a lightning strike.
Chief Sanders said all three sirens should be repaired by the end of the day and prior to the possibility of severe weather in the area Wednesday.
Courthouse Basement Floods; Generator Failed
Hopkins County Courthouse was one of 216 ONCOR customers in Hopkins County that were without electrical power Saturday evening following severe thunderstorms and a tornado warning. The courthouse flooded for the first time since underground pumps and a generator were employed to keep the basement dry.
Heavy rains created the water issue. The generator not starting when electrical power was down was the second issue for the courthouse basement. According to County Judge Robert Newsom, the generator is started weekly to insure it is in working order. He called the fact that the generator did not start “…a surprise to everyone.” However, for some reason the generator did not start Saturday night. Judge Newsom stated that workers are repairing the generator to insure it will work when rains return to the area Wednesday.
Inmates from Hopkins County Jail and their supervisor, Lee Glenn, were at the Courthouse Monday morning mopping up and clearing the water in the basement. The flooding was not as bad as it had been in the past. However, some paperwork left on the floor by county workers was damaged.
The basement houses the Treasurer’s Office, the Auditor’s office, and Court Administration Office.
The new slate roof showed no signs of leakage.
Mt Vernon Man Arrested on Warrant; Meth, Dangerous Drug Found in His Possession
Cody Lee LaGrone, 21 of Mt Vernon was stopped by local law enforcement for a traffic violation. On a warrant check, it was found he was wanted for Injury to Child/Elderly/Disabled Criminal Negligence. An inventory of his vehicle discovered a small blue bag located in the front console of the vehicle. Inside the bag was a clear baggie containing less than one gram of methamphetamine. A second baggie was also found. The second baggie contained Xanax.
LaGrone is in Hopkins County Jail charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1, less than 1-gram, Possession of a Dangerous Drug, and on the warrant. His bonds total $17,000.
Attend the Send-off for Vets on Honor Flight #33!
Lynda Hager dropped by the KSST studios to encourage everyone to give seven of our local military Veterans a “Hopkins County Send-off” on Thursday May 4, 2017 at 11:45 am at the Courthouse steps on Celebration Plaza. Judge Robert Newsome will speak and SSHS Senior Miss Sydnee Hawkins will sing the National Anthem. A large crowd of friends and citizens is invited to be there for the brief send-off ceremony.
The group of Vets will depart for the nation’s capitol on Friday May 5 along with about 40 other Texas Veterans, and will return on Saturday May 6. Going on the 2-day experience are Bernie Beers, Harold Cheatham, Bob Griffin, Kenneth Jenkins, Clayton McGraw, Milus Robinson and Jerry Voss. Of these men, there is one with WWII service, 5 with Korean and one with Vietnam-era service. For the duration of the trip, each Veteran will have a personal attendant as well as a strong medical team traveling with them. Their appreciation experience will include a banquet in their honor, hosted by the Honor Flight Network. If you would like to join volunteer greeters for a “Love Landing” when the group returns to Texas, you may be there to meet Southwest Flight #4476 at Love Field 2nd Level at 9:50pm on Saturday May 6, 2017.
The Honor Flight Network is a non-profit network organization created in 2005 to honor and “thank” American Veterans by transporting them to Washington, D.C. to visit the war memorials. To date, over 1400 Veterans have taken the flight. The trips are paid for by the Honor Flight Network.
Sulphur Springs City Council Agenda for May 2, 2017
The regular meeting of the Sulphur Springs City Council will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 2, 2017 in the Council Room at 201 North Davis Street. The following items will be discussed:
- Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag, Texas Flag, and invocation.
- Presentations, proclamations, and announcements: Lupus Awareness Month
- Manager’s report will include status report of capital improvements, wastewater treatment plant operations, accidents and claims for the month, and a review of expenditures and revenues.
- Discussion/action on Consent Agenda.
- Discussion/action on Public Hearing for the second and final reading of Ordinance No. 2700 amending the Code of Ordinances, Chapter 13, Article 1, Section 13-2 (b)(3)Regulations, Permits, and Preoperational Inspections for mobile food establishments and hot trucks; correcting dates of permit renewal.
- Discussion/action on first reading of Ordinance No. 2701, a rezoning request by owner Tim Kelty to rezone property located at 1523 and 1527 South Broadway, being further described at Lots 8 and 8-10 of Block 209, from Light Commercial (LC) to Heavy Commercial (HC).
- Discussion/action on Resolution No. 1127 approving the refinance of the outstanding debt for the Sulphur Springs Hopkins County Economic Development Corporation.
- Discussion/action on assignment of Airport Lease Agreement for Lot 1220-08.
- Visitors and public forum
- Adjourn.
