Wildcats Intersquad Scrimmage Highlighted by Offensive and Defensive Play
Friday was the first day the Wildcats’ football team could practice in pads. Friday’s practice ended with an intrasquad scrimmage. The highlight play was a 98-yard TD pass. Quarterback Ryan Humphries threw the pass. Receiver Tyrese Peters caught the ball back off the line of scrimmage several yards and then set sail down the sideline to the end zone. Humphries also run for a touchdown.
The Wildcats defense had their moments causing JV and Varsity offenses to punt. The defense also made several sacks and had a couple of tackles in the end zone for safeties. They also blocked a field goal try. Kicker Angel Tevera was good on an extra point and a field goal.
After the scrimmage, Wildcats Coach Greg Owens said the scrimmage was a little sloppy. He said he kind of expected that. Coach Owens added the practice field was a little wet and he said players needed to get used to playing in pads. He said there were not a lot of blown assignments. Coach Owens said it was exciting to have Peters on the field. He missed all of last season with a shoulder injury.
Concerning the first week of practice, Coach Owens said his team had had a good camp so far. He said he continued to be impressed by the players retention of things they learned in May. Coach Owens used special teams to explain how far ahead his team is right now because of spring ball. The special teams units are ahead of where they normally are in mid-August.
The Wildcats will scrimmage Liberty-Eylau Friday morning at Gerald Prim Stadium.
Lady Cats Volleyball Captured Consolation Championship at Garland Tourney
The Lady Cats’ volleyball team captured the consolation bracket championship at a Garland tournament this past Friday and Saturday. The Lady Cats defeated Carrollton R.L. Turner, 2-0 in the consolidation championship game. Friday the Lady Cats ended up in third place in their pool with a win over North Garland and losses to Forney and Richardson Berkner. On Saturday, the Lady Cats won three of four matches in consolation play. Besides the win over R.L. Turner, the Lady Cats also defeated Dallas Skyline and Garland Lakeview Centennial. Their lone Saturday loss was to Mesquite. In all the Lady Cats won four and lost three in the tournament. Their season record is now 5-4.
Tuesday the Lady Cats will travel to John Tyler to play the host school and Kilgore.
A KSST Intern’s Trip to Australia Part 4
Welcome back to Brisbane! This city had so much to do I couldn’t fit it all in one article! Last time we talked about the Anzac War Memorial in Canberra, Lady Musgrave Island in the Great Barrier Reef, and two of the most popular and famous Zoos in Australia. If you’d like to read one of my previous articles click here for: Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3. This time I’m going to talk about some cool things to do inside the city center. Before we start, here’s a fun tidbit! Just about everywhere in Australia shuts down at 5:30 pm. The only places that stay open are usually only restaurants and a few movie theaters. So if you’re planning a trip to Australia anytime soon, know that you’ll be eating around 5:30 pm, or 6:00 pm because the shops are very prompt in their closing times. That being said, let’s take a look at some of the places and things to do during the day!
Queen Street Mall
-This outdoor mall stretched across half the city. Modern shops, Book stores, and lots of restaurants added to the city aura. There was a really interesting and good restaurant called “Jimmy’s on the Mall” that was completely outdoors. 
The food was delicious, but it was slightly terrifying to be sitting on a bench where you could fall backwards into the walkways-nevertheless it was fun. The mall housed both western stores and local stores. They had a bookstore called Dymock’s which was similar to Barns and Noble here. One thing that really surprised me was the window displays. Almost every shop had an awesome window display, and it was obvious the workers had put a lot of time into creating them.
Brisbane Parliament House and Museum of Brisbane-
When planning my trip I didn’t realize that these were in the same building! It was pretty funny when we found the Parliament House and saw the signs for the museum. The museum had multiple exhibits including a section on the War history, how Brisbane was created on the river, and a section on the people and inhabitants of Brisbane. It really focused on how diverse the city was, and the people that make the city their own. They had quizzes and questionnaires so that visitors could add their personal views and stories to the museum. Also an odd item they had was “scents” of the city. They had quotes from locals about their favorite city smells-and they recreated these smells to go with each quote in a large tube container you could smell them in. They also had the city smells bottled as perfumes that you could purchase! While we were in the Parliament House, we also got to free tickets to view the inside of the clock tower. 
It was unbelievably cool to not only see the working parts of the clock but also see out over the city and even view the Queen Street Mall. The view stretched out to the far corners in every direction. I found it interesting that inside the tower the bell is muted and barely audible, but when you’re outside the tower the bells echo around the city.
The Brisbane Tramway Museum-Have you ever wanted to ride Trams (similar to a Trolley Car) and learn about transportation in the early 1900’s? The Tramway museum allowed us to ride 6 trams starting with the oldest one and working the way up to the most recently created one.
The museum workers even dressed up as an authentic Conductor and Motorman, asking for our tickets each time we switched Trams. While we were visiting, Remembering Brisbane Tramway’s worker, Paul Campbell, was there and he shared his past about how his father Theodore (Jim) Campbell worked as a mechanic on the trams in Brisbane until they were shut down. Paul remembered going to work with his dad a few times and said he has always enjoyed the trams. Now that he is grown he enjoys visiting the museum regularly with his wife and son.
Australian Rules Football (a.k.a Footy)-The Australian Rules Football game was so much fun! Aussie Rules Football is basically a combination between Rugby, American Football, and a little bit of basketball. 
The object of the game is to throw or kick the ball though 1 of 3 goal posts. If it goes between the 2 outer goals or hits the goal post the teams score 1 point, and if it goes between the middle goal the team scores 6 points. In America, typically there is a huge rivalry between teams, in any sport. In Australia, there was a rivalry, but the crowd never got rough or ugly. The fans were all mixed together-it wasn’t specific sides for each team, but the opposing fans were very cordial. I think the worst things I heard shouted were: “Power Sucks!” (But that was only after the other team had a 100+ point lead) and “I hate your arm!” (After a player made a particularly good one-armed catch.) Other than a few fights that broke out between the players the game was clean, and exciting to watch. 
The Brisbane Lions unfortunately lost, and the opposing team, the Port Adelaide Power happened to make the highest score and largest winning margin outside of South Australia for this season. Even though we lost it was still a really fun opportunity and I am glad we attended the game.
That’s all for now! I hope you’re enjoying these articles, and learning as much as I did when we went! Stay tuned for part 5 which will be about the delicious, average, and just plain weird food options in Australia.
PJC-Sulphur Springs Students Completing Welding Certification
CERTIFIED WELDERS These students in the welding program at the PJC-Sulphur Springs Center are completing their certification work this week in various welding skills, including structural welding (SW), pipe welding (PW) and Advanced Welding (AW). The students are, from left including certification: (Front row) Benito Escobar (PW), Patrick Owens (PW), Ethan Dorsey (AW), Daniel McDonald (AW), Seth McMackin (PW), Ben Brown (SW). (Back row) Christian Kilgore (SW), Dalton Peek (SW), Xavier Plata (AW), Marcus Beumer (PW), Logan McClure (AW), Austin McKim (AW), Jacob Neal (AW), Frederick Smith (SW), Todd Lehenbauer, lab facilitator and John J. Plemons, welding instructor.
Rain Delays County Roadwork
Although welcoming the rain, the precipitation has created difficulties for Hopkins County Commissioners as they continue to work their way through road damage done in previous flooding as well as normal maintenance needs.
For Commissioner Precinct 1, Beth Wisenbaker a planned oil mix for one of her roads cannot be accomplished today. Wisenbaker says she now has access to the needed oil to mix the for road work and will begin as soon as weather permits.
For most precinct crews, wet weather means clearing roadways and ditches of dead trees and fallen limbs, mechanic work on equipment, replacing signs, and selling scrap metal to recycle and replenish the precinct budget with the revenue received from the sale.
IRS Phone Scam Rings Again
It’s happening again. A telephone scam in which the caller says he represents the IRS is once again being worked in the area. A Como resident reports two automated phone calls requesting a return call to a specific 800 number to arrange payment to the IRS for money owed. The calls stated that the individual was in severe trouble with the IRS. The resident did not return the call.
The IRS has warned consumers to guard against such scam calls from thieves intent on stealing their money or their identity. Often these callers demand the victim pay a bogus tax bill through a prepaid card or wire transfer. Phone scams use threats to intimidate and bully a victim into paying. They may even threaten arrest, deportation, or revoke the license of their victim if they don’t get the money. The callers often use IRS titles, fake badge numbers, and other means to appear legitimate. Often, they use the victim’s name, address, and other personal information to make the call sound official.
The IRS will not call you if you owe taxes without first sending you a bill in the mail. They will also allow the tax payer to question or appeal the amount owed. They will not require a specific means of payment such as a prepaid debit card, nor will they ask for your credit or debit card numbers over the phone. They will not threaten to bring in police or other agencies to arrest you for not paying.
If you receive such a call, the IRS advises you to:
- Contact TIGTA to report the call. Use their “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” web page. You can also call 800-366-4484.
- Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.
If you know you owe, or think you may owe tax:
- Call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you.
Altercation at Local Sports Bar Results in Arrest
August 15, 2016 – A disturbance/fight at Muddy Jakes called for Sulphur Springs Police to respond. As the police arrived, Kyle Dayne Putman, 24, of Commerce fled the area. Given a description of Putman and his auto, Putnam later passed by the location in a White Trailblazer. The witnesses alerted police again and the vehicle was stopped at EZ Mart on Main Street. The officer that made the stop noted a black Glock .40-caliber handgun on the passenger side of the console. The officer retrieved and secured the weapon for safety.
Kyle Dayne Putman
Putman does not possess a license to carry the weapon. Under the barrel of the weapon was a clear plastic bag of 1.1-grams powder substance believed to be cocaine. Inspecting the auto, the officer found a pipe, a marijuana bud, and a clear plastic bag suspected to be marijuana in the console. Putman told the officer he needed a medical unit. He had a laceration on the back of his head. He was treated by EMS at the scene and placed in Hopkins County Jail. The offense occurred within 1000ft of Travis Elementary School, a drug free zone.
Putman was charged with Possession of a controlled substance, penalty group 1, over 1-gram and under 4-gram and unlawfully carrying a weapon.
Back To School Bash!
Sulphur Springs if you’re a student or school employee of any kind, we are celebrating you this Sunday, August 21, at Central Baptist Church. There will be a free lunch, door prizes, games, bounce houses and lots of fun! Join us for church at 10:30 or if you are unable to make it for our church service join us from noon to 2:30 in the family life center. Rain or Shine! All ages welcome! For more information go to 840 Connally Street. Or call 903-885-3660
Renovation of Frontage Roads Set to Begin Monday
Some equipment is now in place for a Monday start as the Texas Department of Transportation beings work on Interstate Highway 30 north and south frontage roads through Sulphur Springs in Hopkins County.
The project will extend from about one-half mile west of State Highway 19 eastward to Loop 301, along the north and south frontage roads of I-30. The contractor will perform spot base repairs on the roadway, mill the existing pavement surface, apply a hot-mix asphalt surface overlay and re-stripe the roadway. The contractor anticipates beginning work just west of State Highway 19 and moving eastward along the frontage roads until the project is completed.
The contractor, RK Hall, Paris, Texas, has 62 days to complete this overlay and renovation project with an estimated cost of more than $2.4 million. Weather permitting, this roadway improvement project will be completed by mid-November 2016.
TxDOT officials asked drivers to remain alert when traveling I-30 frontage roads through Sulphur Springs while this construction project is underway. They should pay special attention to all signs, barricades and traffic controls, and reduce their speed as they approach work zones on the roadway. They should also avoid distractions such as cell phones, eating, drinking, or car audio or navigation systems when driving.
