Community Calendar January 26-February 4
Woman of the Year and Caregiver of the Year nominations are being sought for recognition at the Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce Banquet on February 16. If you know an exemplary woman who does good deeds in her family, community or church that are non-job related, nominate her for the Woman of the Year Award in writing to P.O. Box 72, care of Beta Sigma Phi, or contact Ms. Jimmie McIntire for details. Deadline is February 5. Nominate someone for the Caregiver of the Year Award by contacting any Pilot Club member or by mailing a nomination to 210 Pipeline Road in Sulphur Springs, care of Pilot Club. Deadline is February 3.
The annual Youth Trout Fishing Day is scheduled for Saturday February 4 in Sulphur Springs at City Park Pond (Peavine Pinion Pool behind the Civic Center). Kids of all ages are invited to bring their fishing gear and try to catch some of the 1500 rainbow trout stocked by Texas Parks and Wildlife. There will also be hot dogs, soft drinks and door prizes. Hours are 10am til 2pm. Also, for adults actively helping a kid fish in this event, normal license restrictions are lifted during those hours. ther anglers, are required to have a freshwater fishing license. Daily bag limit is 5 fish per person. For details, 903-593-5077.
Locust St Project Crossing the Tracks
The rework of Locust St is nearing completion, and City Crews continue to make progress north to Main Street. The railroad crossing is the last major barrier, and a boring contractor is working to make a tunnel for gas and water lines.
Currently, the bore is being made for sewer lines under the railroad tracks. Once installed work will begin on the other side of the rail lines. Work on Locust Street should take another month to complete, according to City Manager Marc Maxwell.
City crews will be installing a new fire hydrant across from the dollar store at Main and Locust. Existing valves and lines must be located before any work can be done. This assures that water will continue to flow. Keeping outages to a minimum is a priority during the improvements.
A city crew working to find a water valve at the Corner of Main and Locust Street.
Three Sentenced in Plea Bargain Agreements
Three individuals were sentenced in plea bargain agreements Thursday morning in Eighth Judicial District Court.
In Eighth Judicial District Court Thursday morning, Jose Rios Wis Soto pled guilty to Tamper/Fabricate Physical Evidence with Intent to Impair and was sentenced to two years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. As part of the plea bargain, charges for Obstruction or Retaliation was dismissed.
Also, Derrick Glen Berry plead guilty to Tampering With Evidence. He was sentenced to three years in the TDCJ.
Rhonda Gaye Rozell, 46, of Tyler pled guilty to Possession of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1, less than 1-gram. She was sentenced to one year in state jail. She was an inmate in Hopkins County jail found the offer of methamphetamine by a sister inmate to be too tempting. Rozell was in a holding cell in the book in area of the jail when another female inmate removed methamphetamine from her person and prepared the meth in a line. Rozell tore a piece of paper and made a make-shift straw. Both inmates used the straw. Rozell picked up crystals off the floor and was seen in a video eating the crystals.
Sisters Share a Passion for Art
Deborah Schubert Lytle and Connie Schubert Hall are both artists in their own right..one in portrait painting and one in music and songwriting. Back in Sweetwater where they were raised, their parents could “make anything and do anything” and were always supportive to the girls’ artistic interests. After attending Western State University, Deborah transferred to Commerce, Texas to study Art at East Texas State University. In a few years, Connie followed, and both eventually became teachers. Deborah was art instructor at Sulphur Springs High School from 1989 until 1995, and Connie taught elementary classes in public and Christian schools. Today, both have their own families and are heavily involved in their artistic interests.
Deborah has become a professional portrait artist. Her oil paintings of former University presidents hang at Texas A and M University-Commerce and she has been commissioned for a mural by Hunt Regional Medical Center in Greenville. She was recently recognized as Woman Artist of the Month by fineartamerica.com, and named Best Artist 2017 by County Line Magazine. She is an active member of Hunt County Public Art. Asked about her approach to starting a new portrait, Deborah replied that she will try to spend about two hours with a potential subject, getting to know their personality and taking a few photographs. From this she starts the canvas with a sketch in paint. By habit, she begins the painting with the face first because that is the most exciting to her. She will work on the project each day, allowing time to re-direct her concept of the subject as part of the process. Her work is realistic and true-to-life. A portrait of her musician son Jaret called “Green Guitar” was her first real commission, done more than 15 years ago. Today, Deborah also paints still life and landscapes and works in oil on canvas, pastel, charcoal and pencil. Her studio is on CR 4734 in Cumby and you can view her work at deborahlytle.com. Deborah and her husband Jerry have been married for over 30 years.
Connie’s passion for music started in singing and playing the guitar as a youth. During her adult life, singing has been a hobby and a form of ministry for her and in recent years, songwriting has become an important outlet in her music ministry. Her first solo CD is now available called “Come to Jesus” and of the 10 selections, she wrote four and her husband Sam wrote one. Studio musicians appearing on the CD include Jon Beck of Hopkins County and Mike McClain of Garland. I asked Connie how she starts out writing a new song, and found that she has more than one standard approach. According to Connie, there may be a phrase or two jotted down on paper, or a scriptural message that comes to mind and from that, she will create music to go with the words. Other times, it’s a tune “in her head” that she develops first, then adds lyrics that fit the feel of the music. Other times, she will reach back for a song written earlier in life and modify it to her own more mature Christian viewpoint. She plays guitar every day for pleasure, and tries to spend some time in songwriting mode every day no matter where she is. Connie and Sam, her husband of 21 years, attend Brashear Baptist Church. She finds much joy in being part of the worship music there.
Winnsboro Man Arrested Following Highway 11E Head-on Crash
A driver weaving in and out of traffic on State Highway 11E Wednesday night stopped his antics near the Highway 11E/FM 3019 intersection when his vehicle hit another head-on. The accident resulted in a man and wife being flown to an area hospital with fractured bones and other injuries, one vehicle on fire, and the erratic driver being arrested for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.
The erratic driver, Nelson Mitchell Privette, 20, of Winnsboro, was also taken to CHRISTUS Mother Francis Winnsboro for treatment. He admitted to the DPS Trooper that he was driving erratically. Currently, he is in Hopkins County Jail awaiting a magistrates hearing.
Senior Citizen’s Center, Possible Move? Petition Seeks Larger Space
By Interns
The Meal A Day program at the Sulphur Springs Senior Citizens’ Center is a program that offers a free meal everyday for those who don’t have the luxuries most people have. There is a petition inside, on a table, at the senior center that is a request to move it’s current location. According to volunteer Polly Swatsell, “ We need a larger space.” The amount of activities that go on and the amount of people that come to the center simply need more space than what is available at the moment.
If you have any extra time volunteering at the senior center they are currently in need of more drivers to drive the free meals to the people who are not able to get out and go to the senior center for the meals and activities.
29th Commerce Leadership Institute Begins Year
(January 26, 2017, Commerce, Texas) The Commerce Leadership Institute (CLI) Class of 2017 met for the first time at Dixie Turman’s State Farm office in Commerce on Wednesday, January 18. The Commerce Leadership Institute was established in 1988, making this the 29th CLI class.
The CLI Class of 2017 consists of Jim Ayres, Amy Barrow, Erica Contreras, Stephanie Davies, Amanda Escobedo, Darrek Ferrell, William Ford, Devin Girod, W. Scott Lancaster, Katie McKenna, Rachel Mitchell, Jamie Morgan, Kris Myers, Kristen Neeley, Charles Perry, Erik Pietersma, Rickey Porter, Krista Rasco, Ann Reel, Victoria Reeves, Diane Stegall, Jeremy Tanner, and Patricia Tremmel. Michael Barera and John Weatherford, members of the CLI Class of 2016, are serving as co-leaders for this year’s CLI class.
CLI promotes community involvement and civic leadership. The class will meet twice a month for 10 sessions this spring, during which class members will visit local businesses, schools, the university, and various city facilities to get a broader understanding of all of the parts that work together to make up our wonderful city.
In addition to the regular class meetings, the CLI class will attend an all-day outdoor team-building experience in April. The class will also attend the Commerce Chamber of Commerce annual banquet on February 16th. As it has for many years, the CLI Class of 2017 will conduct a fundraiser barbecue in conjunction with the Bois d’Arc Bash on Friday, September 22. In addition to being a substantial team-building exercise for the current CLI class members, proceeds from the barbecue help to assure that the CLI program will continue for future class participants.
“This 29th class of the Commerce Leadership Institute is on their way to improving Commerce,” says Commerce mayor and CLI alumnus Wyman Williams. “It is so rewarding to see such a high level of leadership come together to learn about the various institutions that build our community.”
Wildcat Soccer Picks Up Win; District Play Begins Friday
Wildcats Soccer Coach Nicky Wiggins said his team played real hard in a 1-0 victory over Pittsburg on the road Tuesday night. Johnathan Alvarez scored the Wildcats’ goal. It was the Wildcats’ final non-district game.
Coach Wiggins said Pittsburg was a pretty good team and he added they were very physical. He called the match a good little dogfight to be in right before district play. Coach Wiggins said the atmosphere was good in Pittsburg with fans from both teams really getting into the game. With the Wildcats in the lead, he said every time Pittsburg got past midfield their fans thought they were going to tie up the game. Coach Wiggins said his team made the game a little more exciting than it should have been. He said the Wildcats created some opportunities but he told his players they needed to finish some of those and score some goals.
Coach Wiggins said his team is excited about starting district play at Pine Tree Friday night. The Wildcats finished non-district play with a 7-1-1 record. Pine Tree is always at the top of the district standings but the past two seasons, the Wildcats have played Pine Tree as good as anyone in the district. Coach Wiggins said he’d have to contact former Coach Andy Holt to learn his secret against the Pirates.
Happy Birthday to the Lone Star Flag
On January 25th, 1839, the second Texas Flag was adopted. Our current flag is a much different version than our Texan forefathers saw. Texas’s first flag boasted a blue background with a yellow five-point star in the middle and represented our state for a little over two years, beginning in 1836. The design of our current flag is accredited to Charles B. Stewart of Montgomery County. For years Texans considered the origins of our flag to be a mystery until 1997, when President Mirabeau Lamar commemorated Montgomery County as the birth place to our red, white, and blue flag. The striking red, blue, and white are stated to represent bravery, loyalty, and purity. Early appearances of the “lone star” were said to represent Texas’s independence from Mexico, but now represents all of Texas and stands for our unity as one for God, State, and Country. One hundred and seventy eight years later, students across the great state of Texas stand, salute, and pledge to our Lone Star Flag.
