Wildcats in 10th After First Day of Regional Golf Tourney
The Wildcats’ golf team is in tenth place after the rain-delayed first round of the Regional Golf Tournament Wednesday at Rockwall Golf and Athletic Club. There are fifteen teams participating. Alex Motes led the Wildcats Wednesday with an 11 over par 83. He’s tied for 22nd place in the tournament. Carter Lewis shot 84. Andrew Escobar had 87. Caleb Lewis came in with an 89. Matt Calhoun shot 93. The Wildcats shot a team total of 343.
Round two got started Thursday morning. All the Wildcats were scheduled to get underway between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Thursday.
Lady Cats Begin Bi-District Series
The Lady Cats’ softball team opens their best two out of three bi-district series at Lovejoy in Lucas Thursday at 7 p.m. The Lady Cats will be playing with heavy hearts after the death of the mother of Lady Cats’ pitcher Bailey Haggerty on Monday in Dallas.
On KSST Radio and Cable Channel 18’s Saturday Morning Coaches Show, Lady Cats Softball Coach David Carrillo gave a scouting report on Lovejoy. He said they had six or seven left handed slap hitters in their lineup. Coach Carrillo said they would slap the ball and move the ball around. He added they were very aggressive on the bases. They also have two big hitters that hit with power. Coach Carrillo said their number one pitcher is out with a back injury and they have been using their number two. He said she keeps the ball around the plate and likes to throw outside to right handed and left handed batters.
Coach Carrillo said the Lady Cats need to play good defense and pitch well to win.
We’ll bring you Lady Cats’ softball Thursday at 7 p.m. live from Lovejoy. We will also videotape the game for replay later on Channel 18 on Suddenlink Cable.
Game two in the series is Friday at Lady Cat Park at 7:30 p.m. with game three, if necessary, at Royse City Saturday at noon.
KSST is Giving Away Rangers Tickets!
KSST will be giving away a pair of tickets to each of the Texas Rangers Games this Weekend. Winners will be picked during Afternoon Drive 4-6PM on Thursday April 27th, 2017.
Rules: The tickets must be picked up from the KSST Studios on Friday April 28th. The tickets must NOT be resold!
How to enter: Like KSST on Facebook, AND like this Post on Facebook.
Affiliated Driving Class June 29th at Senior Center
Another driving class is being held at the Sulphur Springs Senior Citizens Center from 10 to 4 PM at June 29th. Lunch will be available for $2 a meal. This class is good for a Ticket Dismissal or 10% Discount on your Liability
Insurance for 3 years.
TxDOT Launches Motorcycle Safety Awareness Campaign
AUSTIN – In an effort to curb an increase in motorcycle fatalities on Texas roads, the Texas Department of Transportation is launching its “Share the Road: Look Twice for Motorcycles” campaign as part of Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in May. The campaign implores drivers to watch closely for motorcycles, especially at intersections and when changing lanes.
“Part of our responsibility as motorists is to always be aware of other vehicles on the road and to give them plenty of space,” said TxDOT Executive Director James Bass. “Motorcycles are particularly vulnerable because they can be difficult to see and don’t have the standard safety features found in cars and trucks. On a motorcycle, even a relatively minor collision can be fatal, so we’re urging drivers to please keep an eye out for their fellow motorists.”
Motorcyclists are nearly 5 times more likely to be injured and 29 times more likely to be killed in a crash than car or truck occupants.[i] More than half (54 percent) of fatal motorcycle crashes result from a collision with a car or truck.[ii] From 2015 to 2016, Texas motorcycle fatalities increased from 464 to 493 (6 percent), and crashes resulting in seriously injured motorcyclists increased from 1,902 to 2,006 (5 percent). The summer months have the highest incidences of motorcycle crashes.[iii] TxDOT’s “Share the Road: Look Twice for Motorcycles” campaign reminds drivers to:
- Always use turn signals.
- Give motorcycles plenty of space and don’t follow too closely.
- Check mirrors before changing lanes.
- Give motorcyclists a full lane.
This year’s “Share the Road: Look Twice for Motorcycles” campaign will conduct outreach events inviting visitors to participate in activities that highlight motorcycle safety. Campaign tour stops are:
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- April 27 – Austin (statewide launch)
- April 29 – San Antonio
- April 30 – Houston
- May 6 – Waco
- May 18 – El Paso
- May 27 – Dallas
To learn more about the campaign, visit LookTwiceTexas.com or visit TxDOT’s website at txdot.gov. You can also follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/TxDOT and on Twitter at twitter.com/txdot.
Sandra Phillips, 50 Years at City National Bank!
Sandra Phillips was hired in April 1967 in a ground-floor position at City National Bank’s original downtown building. Since then, she has seen the industry change, the building change and almost all the equipment she works with on a daily basis. One thing that hasn’t changed is that CNB is “good people to work for. They care about their employees”.
Sandra was hired right out of college and like most beginner employees, she was in bookkeeping. Then, sums were figured on an old-fashioned adding machine. The first calculator took up most of the desk top. Her first boss was Billy Jones, CNB President who had succeeded his father, Will Jones. Henry MaHaffee was Senior Vice President and Lonnie Campbell was Cashier. The bookkeeping team would formulate a customer’s note from a paper form filled out by the loan officer when he was preparing the loan application for the customer. She likes to remember how important the loan officer was in many people’s lives, almost like a family friend. Frequently, a customer might stop by the bank just to tell his loan officer about a good crop, a wedding, new baby or funeral in his family.
She moved up to teller, loan secretary and Mr. Jones secretary. Today Sandra is Assistant Vice-President and handles Collections and Accounts as well. Each morning, she checks the Fraud Program Report which is one way that CNB’s safety policies protect their customers from today’s cyber dangers.
After spending most of her career in a downstairs office, Sandra moved up to the second floor when the bank was expanded and completely remodeled. She doesn’t get to see as many customers, but she is still the go-to person when an employee wants to ask, “Sandra, do you remember…?” CNB employee Dorothy Edwards already celebrated her 50 year mark; she was on the job in bookkeeping when Sandra was hired. Phyllis Loyd came on board 2 years later. Outside of moving into the computer age, one of the biggest changes for the ladies over the years was the dress code. Only dresses were allowed at work until 1970 when pant suits came into style. Formal bank uniforms gave the ladies slacks and matching skirt to go with the required shirt and vest. Men’s styles have relaxed as well, but a white shirt and tie or even a 3-piece suit was the standard for bank officers in Sandra’s early days.
Sandra’s dad worked for Foremost Dairies in Dallas and moved his family to Sulphur Springs when she was 5 years old. She graduated SSHS and attended East Texas State University. She has a son and a grandson. When her husband passed away, she moved into town closer to work. She likes to garden, sew and do needlework, and read. She does not plan to retire.
Flight For Life, CHRISTUS Introduces Pilatus PC-12
Flight for Life and CHRISTUS Mother Frances Health System introduced the local community to the addition of a Fixed Wing Pilatus PC-12 critical care aircraft that has been placed in service recently. Fifty-six care flights have already been carried out since the plane was introduced. The fixed wing plane will join a fleet of helicopters operated by Flight for Life.
Paul Harvey, CEO of CHRISTUS Mother Frances Sulphur Springs, introduced the flight crew and representatives of Fight for Life. Members of the local hospital staff and board along with members of the community were present for the introduction.
The Pilatus PC-12 has a multi-state service area of 350 miles and a secondary service area of over 1,000 miles. Recently a flight carried a burn patient from Tulsa, Oklahoma to the Galveston Shriner Burn Center according to Flight for Life officials. They stated that continuity of care, personal service and optimized health outcomes for patients served by the CHRISTUS system as those patients are moved from one hospital to another is the primary goal of Flight for Life. A larger cabin area accommodates greater specialty equipment and treatment modalities that are a challenge inside the cabin of the existing helicopters. The cabin of the plane allows a member of the patient’s family to accompany the patient on a flight. Critical care dual-certified Flight Nurse and Flight Paramedic clinical team add to the patient’s care.
The airplane is used primarily to move patient from city to city utilizing the local airport at each location. The plane will also enable increased poor-weather capability including the ability to fly in icing conditions.
Flight for Life has been conducting critical care transport for 30 years.
Trojans Celebrate World Win at KSST!
To celebrate their World title, seven of the nine members of the Cumby Robotics teams visited during the KSST Morning Show. They brought two robots and their sponsor, Lee Gifford. Controllers Larek Walker and Ken Chapin described the job of “driving” with hand-held controls while the robots perform tasks during contests. Hannah Jarvis and Lacy Jacobs are part of the support team, helping the drivers watch what the opponent’s robots are doing. Caden Phillips, Hunter Milam and Kadden Cota contribute to design of robots and with strategy during practice sessions. According to Ken and Larek, the 2017 World competition had the robots moving “stars” and “cubes” from one side of the ring or court to the other, similar to a timed tennis match. They also described how they lost the second place title due to a heartbreaking tie-breaker match. Next year’s goals of the VEX contest will be different, and will require different strategies and designs of robots. Presley Clampitt and Jesslyn Bond are also team members. Several of the Robotics students will graduate this year, and new students will be selected to join the “world class” robotics teams at Cumby ISD.
Busy Docket for Eighth Judicial District Court Wednesday
A busy docket for Hopkins County Eighth Judicial District Court Wednesday resulted in several plea bargain agreements. Among those sentenced to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice:
- Derek Lane Carrell, 20, of Sulphur Springs received seven years for Manufacture and Delivery of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1 more than 1-gram but less than 4-grams.
- Paris Gallamore received six years for Burglary of a Habitation.
- Valerie Hicks received six years for Manufacture and Delivery of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1 more than 1-gram but less than 4-grams.
- Asarias Gaona received two years for for Possession of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1 less than 1-gram in a Drug Free Zone.
texas flag courthouse
Local EMS Willing to Accept Ambulance Bus from State
Hopkins County EMS, which is still owned by the Hopkins County Memorial Hospital District, presented a proposal to it’s governing board earlier this week to accept another ambulance. The proposal paves the way for the local EMS to house, maintain, and operate one of the State of Texas’ “Ambus” vehicles. This vehicle is a special EMS unit that can transport or care for up to 20 patients at once, at least ten times as many patients as a standard ambulance. The vehicles are equipped like ambulances, including patient ventilators, wireless vital signs monitoring, suction devices and other life-saving equipment. Although the Ambus can be activated via a statewide response team, it can also be put into service locally, by local personnel. One of only 13 busses statewide, the bus is property of the State of Texas, but the local district would be responsible for housing and operating the vehicle during the two-year agreement with the state.
The Texas Emergency Medical Task Force would like to relocate a bus to Sulphur Springs so that it would be more centrally located in this region. Since the bus would be under local control, it is possible that it could also facilitate multi-patient transfers. Brent Smith, EMS Director stated, “Sometimes, our EMS team has multiple transfers going to Tyler, for instance, and the Ambus could take multiple patients instead of using two or more ambulances.” The Ambus stays “ready to roll” and assists in other instances that could arise. Recently, the Ambus stationed in Palestine assisted in a nearby community to transport nursing home patients to another facility when the nursing home lost power. With it’s ability to transport and monitor 20 patients at a time, the Ambus made quick work of the transfer.
Although the Ambus is technically owned by the State of Texas, the State reimburses our local District for personnel labor and expenses when the Ambus is activated by the State. Geographically, the Ambus would respond to larger emergencies from Rockwall to Texarkana along the I-30 Corridor and also a similar area along the I-20 corridor. Theoretically, the Ambus could respond to larger emergencies at farther distances.
