Tira News April 21, 2017
by Jan Vaughn
William and Joyce Dodd had Easter lunch at their house on Sunday. Those attending included Michael McNiel, Brad, Tanya, and Matthew Dodd, Stuart, Tiffany, Tristan, Emery, Elli, and Edon McPherson, Alyssa, Gavin, and Ethan Shelton. The kids enjoyed an Easter egg hunt in the afternoon.
Yvonne Weir reports that they drove to Lake Texoma last Thursday, following Wesley’s appointment at Children’s, and visited with her cousin, Dawn and her husband, from Alaska, and her uncle, Casey, from Michigan. The Weirs visited with Dacy, Ely, and Elise Campbell on Good Friday evening, along with Dustin and Natalie Weir. On Sunday, they visited Destri, Eben, Emmie, Mena, and Nicolaas at their home in Dallas. Dakota, Sarah, and Lucas went, also. They attended the Santa Monica neighborhood parade and the kids went to the Easter egg hunt.
The North Hopkins FFA Stew and Auction is coming up on Thursday, April 27th. The students and their teachers would appreciate you attending to help support their projects.
Landon and Laiken Joslin and Rylan, Brailon, and Slaiden, and Tiffany Vaughn and Kenden and Jaidyn came for spaghetti dinner at our house on Saturday evening. After the meal the kids hunted Easter eggs, and then Landon, Laiken, and Rylan went to the Monster Truck Show in Sulphur Springs. The rest of us went to Tiffany’s and the kids enjoyed playing on the trampoline. After attending a wonderful Easter service at church on Sunday, Grace Vaughn, and Tiffany, Kenden, Jaidyn, and Morgan and his girlfriend, Alexis, joined us for chicken and dressing for Easter lunch. That afternoon Chip, Grace, and I dove around in the Winnsboro and Lake Cypress Springs area, before taking Grace back to her home in Sulphur Springs. Tiffany’s family came back that night for leftovers. Landon, Laiken, and the boys spent Easter Sunday with Laiken’s family. Our son, Delayne, stayed in Waco for the Easter weekend to sing in the choir at his church.
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].
Miller Grove News April 21, 2017
by Brandon Darrow
I hope everyone had a great Easter. It was nice to have the day off of work on Good Friday and we had an excellent church service on Easter Sunday. Jenny (Weatherly) Arledge was one of many who sang a solo that day and was backed by the children’s choir and they all did a fantastic job. After church I had a lunch of chicken and dressing with my family.
There are several news items to report this week. Spring is very busy in “The Grove” and surrounding areas – especially as the school year begins to draw to a close. There are so many activities that take place in the final 6 weeks of the school year that you wonder how it can all be squeezed into the that sort amount of time.
Upcoming Events: Apr. 25 – Elementary Open House (4:30-6 pm), May 9 – Miller Grove Shines, May 18 – FFA Awards Banquet (6 pm), May 19 – End of School Stew (noon) & Academic/Athletic Awards Banquet (6 pm), May 21 – Baccalaureate Services (6 pm), May 24 – Elementary school Awards Assembly (9 am), May 25 Kindergarten Graduation (9 am) & Junior High Graduation (7 pm), and May 26 – High School Graduation (7 pm).
Don’t forget Miller Grove Cemetery’s Memorial Day on Saturday, May 6, at 10:30 am. We have a great line-up this year for our program. Mark Garrett will deliver the message and Woody Garmon will be the song leader. Special music will be by Anna Ferguson accompanied by Mary Lynn Ferguson on the piano. This year’s Master of Ceremonies will be Kellie Rowbotham and ushers will be Addison May and Pacen Price. After a short business meeting we will have dinner on the grounds and then afternoon singing.
James Weaver is somewhat of a celebrity these days. He was recently featured on Lone Star Law, a reality series that features game wardens all over Texas and some of the things they encounter while on the job. The series is aired on Animal Planet and can even be viewed online. For those of you who don’t know James, he is the youngest son of Ernie and Vicki (Lennon) Weaver and was raised in Miller Grove. He graduated in 2006 and went to college to be come a wildlife biologist. James and wife Kayla have 2 children, Jaxson and Blakely, and reside in Alpine, TX. James and Kayla just celebrated their 7th year of marriage and Jaxson recently turned 5 years old. Their growing family is doing well and enjoying life on the other side of our great state.
My cousin, Tiffney Darrow, was recently inducted into Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Only thirty percent of students in the nursing program receive this special invitation. Tiffney along with ten other students from Texas A & M University-Commerce enrolled in the nursing program were inducted into the society at a recent ceremony.
I’m sorry to have to report the recent passing of Bonanza native, Garth Looney. Keiffer Garth Looney was born Jun. 25, 1928, in Emory to Keiffer Franklin Looney and Susan Vera (Potts) Looney. Garth graduated from Miller Grove in 1946 and later served in the US Army. He was a dairyman and rancher and if anyone knew Garth, they knew he loved gospel singings and he was a very good pianist. His church home was Emory United Methodist, which he was a member of for many years. In latter years, he submitted a column to the Rains County Leader detailing funny stories and personal experiences throughout his life for readers to enjoy. Garth passed Apr. 5 at his residence at the age of 88 and was buried Apr. 10 in Greenview Cemetery.
Happy Birthday to my niece, Savanna Darrow and Derek Petty on Apr. 25 and Dwayne Wren and Natalie Darrow on Apr. 29.
There was a recent graveside service for Willie Ledbetter, Jr. in Miller Grove Cemetery. He was born Oct. 29, 1935 and passed Apr. 6, 2017. Interment took place Monday, Apr. 10 with West Oaks Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
As you travel the highways and byways don’t forget that all roads lead back home and back to Miller Grove. Please send me any newsworthy information. My email address is [email protected].
Four Lady Cats Sign to Play College Soccer
Signing Thursday, left to right, Payton Pierce, Kamryn Wimberly, Ciarra Rico, and Abbie Hale.
Four Lady Cats’ soccer players signed letters of intent to attend college and play soccer Thursday morning at a signing event in the Multipurpose Building on the high school campus. Defender Payton Pierce signed to play at four-year school, LeTourneau University in Longview, where her sister, Myranda is a soccer player. Three Lady Cats are headed to nearby Paris Junior College: Goalkeeper Abbi Hale, defensive midfielder Ciarra Rico and defender Kamryn Wimberly.
Payton Pierce found all about LeTourneau from her sister. She said she visited and loved the campus. During this year’s high school season, she said she decided she wanted to go to college and continue to play soccer. LeTourneau indicated they expected to keep her on defense. Payton plans to study biology and then train as a Physician’s Assistant after college. She began playing soccer at 3-years old. Payton doesn’t remember much if it but she’s been told she cried at her first game but her father held her hand during the game. She thanked her father for getting her involved in soccer on senior night this year.
Abbi Hale likes that Paris Junior College is close by so friends and family can come and watch her play. She says Paris is a good community and she likes that two of her Lady Cats’ teammates will be joining her. Abbi’s been told that the goalkeeper position at PJC is open. She says she’s been playing in the goal since the eighth grade. Abbi wants to continue playing soccer after PJC. Eventually she would like to get a doctoral degree and become a certified registered nurse. Abbi admits she would really like to put on her high school jersey for one more game but then she adds, it’s time for her to grow up.
Kamryn Wimberly says PJC coaches saw her at a tournament and expressed interest in her. She says she visited the campus and liked it and she liked the PJC coaching staff. Kam says PJC is close to home and she says going to school with teammates will make the transition into college easier. She says she expects to play on defense at PJC but she says the coaching staff may want to move her around. She figures she will start if she works hard. If they need someone to take a big penalty kick, Kam would be the one. She will always be remembered for successful penalty kicks in two straight playoff games last year that won the games for the Lady Cats. Kam says her ultimate goal is to become a Physician’s Assistant.
Ciarra Rico calls Kam Wimberly her right hand and she is very happy they will be going off to college together. For Ciarra, PJC is close to home, is giving her a scholarship and it has what she calls a homey atmosphere, just like Sulphur Springs. She too expects to play defensive midfielder like she did in high school. Ciarra would like to start right away but she knows that will depend on what she comes in and does. She says she will miss her high school teammates. Ciarra hopes to play soccer at a university after PJC and to study psychology.
Lady Cats Soccer Coach Jesus DeLeon said he felt like a proud uncle at Thursday’s signing. He said he has known most of the players since the seventh or eighth grades and he has watched them grow into the players they are now. While he’s proud of them, he said he is also a little sad to see them go. But he added he’s happy that they have the opportunity to continue playing soccer. He said they have worked hard and they are being recognized for that. Coach DeLeon said they would all do great.
SSHS Band Plans “Five” For on Field Fall Show
Wildcats Band Director Charles McCauley faced his toughest audience Wednesday as he unveiled his idea for this year’s on field fall show. When he told them about his idea, he admitted they didn’t know quite what to think at first. McCauley said by the time he explained it all, they applauded. The show will be called Five, a show McCauley called an eclectic and different show featuring several styles of music. The show will include Gustav Mahler’s fanfare from his Fifth Symphony, Sergei Prokofiev’s second movement from his Fifth Symphony, a compilation of Beethoven’s Fifth and a jazz tune, Take Five, a ballad from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony and the ending number, Dancing Machine from The Jackson Five. McCauley believes the show’s music will be a crowd pleaser and a judge pleaser at contests. He says the show will feature lots of props and references to five. It will include solos for clarinet, French horn and trumpets. The band began to practice the music Thursday. He predicts the band will like the show more and more as they go along.
Wildcats, Lady Cats at Area Track Meet Thursday
The Area Track Meet in Lovejoy got underway Thursday morning.
For the district champion Lady Cats, Sydney Washburn will be running in the 3200-meter race and the 1600-meter run, The Lady Cats will also compete in the 4 X 100-meter relay and the 4 X 200-meter relay races. The 4 X 100-meter relay team consists of Imani Taylor, Abbi Baier, N’ysa Dugan and Sadavia Porter. The 4 X 200-meter relay team includes Taylor, Rita Hill, Dugan and Porter. Baier and Faith Hatley will compete in the 100-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles. Dugan and Porter will run in the 100-meter dash, Hill will compete in the 400-meter run. Besides the relays, Taylor will also compete in the long jump and triple jump.
For the Wildcats, Landon Thornton and Peyton Vickery will compete in the 3200-meter run. Landry Tyson will be in the 110-meter hurdles and the high jump. Ryan Humphries is in the 100-meter dash and the 300-meter hurdles. Mason Buck is also in the 300-meter hurdles. Ian Blanch is in the shot put.
The top four in each competition advance to the regional meet in Arlington on April 28-29.
Five Saltillo Lions Qualify for Regional Track Meet
Five Saltillo Lions qualified for the regional track meet in five events at the area track meet Wednesday at Como-Pickton High School. Regional qualifiers included Trevor Moore, who was second in the 800-meter run, Dakota Patridge, who qualified with fourth place finishes in the 400-meter run and in the 1600-meter run and Walker McGill, who was fourth in the 3200-meter run. The Lions 4 X 400-meter relay team also qualified finishing third. That team includes Patridge, McGill, Hendrick Rios and Branson McGill. Several more Lions placed and scored points. Matthew Gurley was sixth in the 200-meter run, sixth in the long jump and fifth in triple jump. Anthony Torres was sixth in the 110-meter hurdles and sixth in the 300-meter hurdles. Also competing for Saltillo were Levi Hoover in shot put and Mike Clover and Hondo Torres in long jump. The regional track meet will take place April 28-29 at Whitney.
New Phi Theta Kappa Inductees
Six new members were inducted into the Beta Zeta Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the two-year college honor society, during ceremonies held recently at the Paris Junior College-Sulphur Springs Center.Students who are in PTK have opportunities to develop qualities of scholarship, leadership, fellowship, and service. To be eligible, students must have a grade point average of 3.5. The inductees included, from left, Destri Danley, Rachel Kilgore, Blake Moore, Sarah Webb, Victoria Wilburn and Rayline Worthy.
Sulphur Springs Water Bill Takes New Form
City residents receiving their April water bills from the City of Sulphur Springs will notice a change. No longer be the bill be a postcard but now a statement in an envelope. Peter Karstens with the City of Sulphur Springs says this has been discussed for some time and now, with increased state mandates for mailings, the envelope process will facilitate a more economical way of communication.
Water quality mailings, information regarding city activities, and a better understanding of water usage at the address billed will be included. Karstens says do not throw away the envelope from the city, it has your water/sewer/sanitation bill enclosed.
Newborn Tests Positive for Cocaine; Mother Arrested
A Special Crimes Unit and Child Protective Services investigation resulted in the arrest of Shaukiquia Tralynn Ford, 31, of Sulphur Springs. The investigation began when CPS was notified that Ford’s newborn baby tested positive for cocaine at the time of birth.
Ford was arrested on a warrant at an Industrial Drive address Wednesday afternoon. Ford admitted to drug use during her pregnancy. (Picture was unavailable, county jail website was down.)
