Flynn Named Chair of House Pensions Commission for 85th Texas Legislative Session
AUSTIN- Representative Dan Flynn named Chairman of the House Pensions Committee for the 85th Legislative Session.Adult Learning Series at the Library: Couponing, Cooking, and More
Through out the next two months the Sulphur Springs Public Library will be hosting several Adult Learning Programs. Couponing, cooking tips, and legal advice is being offered for free by local professionals. See the above flyer for dates and times for all events. Each attendee will have a chance to win a family 4 pack of tickets to the 2017 Season of the Scarborough Renaissance Festival.
Free Lunch and Food Pantry Open February 11th at the Church of Christ
A free lunch and food pantry will open February 11th, 2017 at the Church of Christ at 154 MLK Jr Dr. in Sulphur Springs, Texas. The food pantry is scheduled to open the 2nd Saturday of each month from 11 AM to 1 PM.
PJC Adult Education Program
A new program at the Paris Junior College – Sulphur Springs Center targets individuals with a high school diploma or GED who are looking to start college to pursue a career.
The Adult Education and Family Literacy program is offering the Life Skills Education Advancing People (LEAP) Academy to equip potential students for success beginning Thursday, Feb. 16.
The free LEAP Academy will provide information about college and career services and give tips to make everyday life easier. Topics will include finances, time management, study and test-taking strategies, and college and career advising.
Texas Certificate of High School Equivalency/Texas Success Initiative scholarships will be available for qualified participants upon successful completion.
Classes will be offered at the PJC – Sulphur Springs Center from 6-9 p.m. on Thursdays. For more information please contact Felicia Cleburn, Career Navigator, at 903-782-0423 or [email protected].
The Pirates Are Coming to the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum
(February 8, 2017, Commerce, Texas) Shiver me timbers! The pirates are coming to the Children’s Museum on Saturday, February 25 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Now that the Daddy-Daughter dance is history for this year, it is time to turn attention to the Mother-Son Pirate Night, a time for mothers and sons. Moms and young boys will have the opportunity to look like pirates and the “mates” will receive pirate training during the evening. Learning to walk with “sea” legs, escape a sinking pirate ship, and attack a sea monster will be part of the evening. Detective skills will be used as the Museum Pirates search for Blackbeard’s treasure.
“It is important to the Children’s Museum that we recognize the special relationship between moms and their sons, “said Donna Tavener, Board President.
“We have a great group of volunteers working on this event,” Sharline Freeman, Executive Director of the Children’s Museum, stated. “Kathy Erwin, a former caterer, is coordinating the pirate food with help from Brenda Estess. Lonnie Plunkett will assist with the decorations. And the balloon lady will be back again.”
The pirate food will include Pirate’s Trash, Peg Legs, and Cannon Balls. Face painting and balloon entertainment will also be part of the evening. And, of course, the Children’s Museum will be open for play in the many play areas.
“When I was creating the event poster, I wanted to capture the excitement for this event. It is a special time for moms and sons, “said Elana Barton, Director of Development.
Tickets for the evening are $30 per couple. Purchase them by calling the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum at 903-886-6055.
Meal A Day Menu Change for February 13th-17th
It’s Official: Lady Cats Basketball Face North Forney at Rockwall Heath Gym Monday; Game Broadcast on KSST
We now have solid information on the Lady Cats’ basketball team’s bi-district playoff game with North Forney. The game will take place Monday night at 7:30 p.m. at the Rockwall Heath Gym. The Lady Cats will not be playing a warm up game. They wrapped up their second straight district championship Tuesday night with a 49-34 win over Mt. Pleasant in Wildcats Gym.
The Lady Cats were unbeaten in district play at 12-0. Mt. Pleasant finished second with a 10-2 record with both of their losses to the Lady Cats. North Forney was a fourth place finisher in their district, which includes Wylie East, Highland Park, Lovejoy, Mesquite Poteet, West Mesquite, Forney and Royse City.
The game will be broadcast live on KSST and ksstradio.com with video replayed on Suddenlink Cable Channel 18 at a later time.
ONCOR Restores Power
Electrical power was restored at 11:50 a.m. Thursday following a brief power outage created by a faulty switch. Larry Willis, ONCOR Area Manager stated that they have bypassed the switch to restore service. He stated that when the switch is replaced there will be a brief power outage at that time.
An electrical power outage Thursday morning affected the west side of the city of Sulphur Springs. Sulphur Springs High School, the Early Childhood Learning Center, the Azalea Lane area, and Woodbridge areas reported power out. At that time, ONCOR stated that power should be restored around 12:30 p.m. The outage occurred after 9 a.m.
The League Street substation is affected by the outage. A faulty switch created much of the problem according to Larry Willis, ONCOR Area Manager.
Waste Water Treatment Plant’s $18.2-Million Makeover Underway
The City of Sulphur Springs is increasing the capacity of the waste-water treatment plant in an $18.2 million dollar project which is designed for the next 20-years of growth based on population. City Utilities Director Robert Lee stated the project will double the capacity but will not change the flow capacity, which is adequate, to the plant. He states the project is a necessary one.
Lee stated that several food industries in the city create the need for a larger capacity. Lee stated that should additional large industry come to the city, the 20-year time frame would be shortened. He stated that residential growth should not affect the length of service before additions are needed. He stated that normal domestic sewage produces a small load on plant capacity. However, the organic loading from food industry is the area of service that is lacking at this time.
A holding area as long as three football fields and as wide as two football fields will contain three clarifiers and a pump station which will take over one year to put into place. After the first year, current clarifiers will be taken out of service and that will create a balancing act for the plant. The current clarifiers will be demolished and that area will be converted to aeration capacity increasing aeration capacity by two-thirds.
The waste-water treatment plant has been coming in under state requirements for solid matter. Lee credits the dry weather and hard work by his staff. He stated that wet seasons create a heavier load from all contributing factors. He stated that in conjunction with the improvements at the plant utility personnel are working with the collection system to limit inflow and infiltration. Every collection system has leaks such as a clean out in a low spot so that when it rains there is inflow. Storm flow does not enter the waste water system but rain water does enter through certain problem areas.
Lee said the lab operator brought him two jars of water Thursday morning. One jar contained tap water and the other the release from the waste water treatment plan. He stated that he could not tell the difference. The water released from the treatment plan is almost pure drinking water and water that is more pure than the water in White Oak Creek where it is emptied. Water released by the treatment plan eventually makes its way into the Sulphur River. He stated that some cities are already using water that is purified by their wastewater treatment plant and that as water becomes more scarce based on population and industrial growth, more cities will be using the recycled water. At this time, the City of Sulphur Springs does not use that water thanks to the capacity of Cooper Lake and Lake Sulphur Springs.
