Meal A Day Menu for February 6th-10th
Starbucks Ribbon Cutting
January 30th, 2017 was an exciting, highly anticipated day for most Sulphur Springs residents. Starbucks finally opened early Monday morning and held it’s Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting at 2 pm that same afternoon. Before the ribbon cutting, drink and dessert samples were handed out to visitors. Despite a full parking lot, the lines have been considered quite painless to many customers, so far.
Oxford To Seek Place 6 on Sulphur Springs City Council
Charles Oxford will once again mount a campaign for Sulphur Springs City Council, this time for Place 6. Oxford who was a member of the council for one term has continued to run each year since not being re-elected.
Oxford filed for Place 4 opposing incumbent Freddie Taylor last year and filed for Place 3 opposing incumbent Councilman Oscar Aguilar the year before. This time he will face Brad Burgin for the Place 6 seat unless others file.
Kayla Price who currently holds Place 6 will not run this year. She states she will be pursuing other interests.
Wreck Ends Chase; Local Man Arrested
Robert Earl Hawkins, 32, of Sulphur Springs is in Hopkins County Jail charged with Evading Arrest Detention with Vehicle With Previous Conviction.
Sulphur Springs Police received a call Sunday at 1:05 p.m. from a complainant who said a maroon pickup was following the complainant. Officers attempted to catch up with the pickup after they activated emergency lights. Hawkins fled the scene and failed to yield to an emergency vehicle while traveling at a high rate of speed. The pickup wrecked out, according to police, in the 100 block of MLK Blvd.
Hawkins, who was arrested in January of this year for Assault Causes Boldily Injury Family Violence is again in Hopkins County Jail being held on a $10,000 bond.
Man Identified in Friday Night Incident
Sulphur Springs Police, Special Response Team, and Fire Department responded to a call in the 100 block of Kyle Street Friday night around 11 p.m. where a man had barricaded himself inside a residence wanting to harm himself, according to Captain Jason Ricketson with the Sulphur Springs Police Department. Officers first on the scene attempted to make contact with the male subject by phone but were unable to make contact. That’s when the Special Response Team (SWAT) and fire department were called to the scene.
Other individuals in the residence were not threatened by the man and were able to leave the house without difficulty prior to the attempt to remove the man from the house. A gas canister was fired into the house to attempt to smoke him out. The canister landed on a couch inside the house causing a fire which the Fire Department on the scene quickly extinguished with fire, smoke, and water damage to the structure.
Officers entered the house and found the man, Robert R. Richardson, 38, in a bathroom, dead, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound according to Justice of the Peace B. J. Teer. Teer ordered the body sent to Dallas for autopsy.
SKYWARN Severe Weather Class Set for February 9th
North and Central Texas had it all in 2016 when it came to storms. The National Weather Service will be offering a free class at the SKYWARN severe weather program on Thursday, February 9 th, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The program will be held at City Hall in Sulphur Springs and is held in partnership with Hopkins County Emergency Management and Sulphur Springs Police Department. This class is free of charge and no pre-registration is necessary.
This class is for organized storm spotters and anyone with an interest in severe weather. This is part of a regional severe weather preparedness campaign, which will include spotter training sessions across 46 counties in North and Central Texas.
This year’s program discusses thunderstorm formation, ingredients, and features associated with severe and non-severe storms. Several examples and cases for 2015 and 2016 will be shown. The program will discuss spotter operations and recommended reporting procedures. Most importantly, we will discuss what you can do to keep you and others safe when thunderstorms threaten. This session is free and open to the public. No advanced registration is necessary.
“By coming to this training session, you will gain a better understanding of Texas’ severe weather season,” says Tom Bradshaw, Meteorologist-in-Charge of the NWS Fort worth Office. “Waiting until storms are on your doorstep is not the time to start thinking about severe weather preparedness. We hope you attend these free sessions to learn more about the severe storms that impact the region every year.”
The Hopkins County severe weather program is one of 46 training sessions that the Fort Worth NWS Office will conduct between January and March 2017, with a session in each county. The National Weather Service in Fort Worth provides forecasts, warnings, and weather services for 46 counties in north and north-central Texas. For more information on severe weather, visit our website at http://www.weather.gov/fortworth, on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NWSDallasFortWorth and on Twitter: @NWSFortWorth
Hopkins County Teens Face Threats and Public Shaming as They Enter the Workforce
As a parent in Hopkins County I could do nothing when my teen started talking about an incident at her Fast Food Restaurant job. Here is the Reader’s Digest Version: She was yelled at and humiliated in front of the entire team and a few customers. My daughter is old enough to face these things on her own. I can not simply call and chew out her manager. I sincerely hope she wouldn’t want me to. My wife and I can only listen and offer a some advice. We let her know we too have faced similar situations in our jobs.
I have never worked in the Fast Food Industry. Based on what my teen has reported about the conditions at various establishments, and the way she has been treated, I consider myself very lucky. See McJob.
These work place nightmares are not limited to Fast Food. Another teen friend of the family, employed at a grocery store, talks about being threatened with physical violence if work is not done correctly and on time. Not the “I was just kidding” kinda threat, a threat that is followed with “…and I’ll do it and no one will believe you because you are just a kid.” kind of threat.
Teens can be hard to motivate, I can attest to this first hand. Before I call these managers ‘Evil Overlords’, perhaps they were treated in a similar manor. It could be all they know. I doubt there is corporate training that provides these motivational techniques. It’s probably part of the ‘Fast Food Management’ culture. It’s a supply and demand situation. Demand for these jobs are high (many teens looking for a job), and businesses can ‘fire and hire’ as needed.
I am desperately hoping that these negative experiences will serve to motivate my daughter. I remind her that college awaits and I hope to provide her with options when it comes to choosing a career. College may not be for everyone, but post high school training should always be on the table. Nothing is worse than working at a job you hate.
City of Mt Vernon Issues Boil Water Prior to Consumption Alert to Their Customers
Due to a line break, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has required the City of Mount Vernon water system to notify customers of the need to boil their water prior to consumption. An alert was issued at 3:31 a.m. Sunday morning, January 29, 2017.
To ensure destruction of all harmful bacteria and other microbes, water for drinking, cooking, and making ice should be brought to a vigorous, rolling boil, then boiled for 2 minutes.
In lieu of boiling, you may purchase bottled water or obtain water from some other suitable source.
When it is no longer necessary to boil the water, the water system officials will notify customers that the water is safe for consumption. Instructions to discontinue boiling will be issued in the form of phone, email, and other alerts.
Mt Vernon residents who have any questions concerning this matter, tmay contact City Administrator Tina Rose at 903-717-4489 or Director of Public Works Jeremy Cox at 903-285-3423.
4-H Food Challenge Practice Run
The 4-H Food Challenge competition is coming up this spring, and Johanna Hicks want’s 4-H’ers to be ready. In order to prepare, participants were given a few hints, a bunch of ingredients, and instructed to make something delicious. There was plenty of guidance, and the crowd also go involved. Food safety was also discussed and practiced. A brief presentation about the creations ingredients, and nutritional values was also given.
I learned that avocados can go in smoothies, and almond slivers are a nice crunchy addition to chicken salad wraps. I also learned that lettuce wraps are not to be feared. Everyone got to sample the finished dishes, and I had seconds.
Johanna said that teams in competition usually have matching aprons, and really put on a show.
