SSHS Team Tennis Set to Travel Next Week
Wildcats Tennis Coach Tony Martinez had to content with several players who were unable to show up for the first day of team tennis practice Monday morning. They missed a dual session. It started bright and early Monday morning at 7:30 a.m. with running at the high school track. Later the players in attendance had challenge matches to determine seeding for early matches.
The Wildcats play two road matches on Tuesday, August 9. They will be at Whitehouse for a 9 a.m. match and then will bus to Mt. Pleasant for a 2 p.m. match. Coach Martinez said missing players would be behind the others. He hoped they would get caught up by the first district match on September 6. Unlike in past years, the Wildcats will play quite a bit of tennis before district play begins. Seven matches are on the schedule.
The home opener will be against Sherman on Thursday, August 11 at the Wildcat Tennis Complex. Coach Martinez remains optimistic that his team has what it takes to qualify for the area playoffs by finishing in the top four in district.
Six Varsity Lady Cats Return for Volleyball this Season
The Lady Cats’ volleyball team opened their fall campaign with two practices Monday. First came early morning conditioning. Later the nearly 40 hopefuls were involved in tryouts as new Head Coach Justin Maness decides who be end up on the varsity, JV and freshmen teams. He says there should be a lof ot competition.
Last year’s varsity team was 28-14 and got to the second round of the playoffs. Six of the nine varsity players return. Both the JV and freshmen teams had stellar records and Coach Maness said the incoming freshmen were undefeated last year as eighth graders. He won’t have long to make decisions. The Lady Cats host the first scrimmage of the season Friday. Cumby and Commerce will provide competition. Matches will take place at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and at noon.
Saturday the Lady Cats will take on several opponents at a Wills Point scrimmage. The Lady Cats open the regular season at home Tuesday night, August 9 against Sherman and North Lamar with matches at 3 p.m., 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Intoxicated Brothers Face Bigger Issues
Two brothers arrested for intoxication are facing Felony 3 charges.
Vernon Ray Kelly, 49, of Sulphur Springs was arrested following a traffic stop that found him to be intoxicated. Mr. Kelly was not was not pleased and told the officer that he “… would die with the rest of the officers that are dying.”
Vernon Ray Kelly is in Hopkins County Jail on a $10,000 bond charged with Public Intoxication and Obstruction or Retaliation, which is a Felony 3.
Also arrested, John Eric Kelly, 46, and brother of Vernon Ray. John Eric Kelly was arrested for Driving While Intoxicated 3rd or more. He is in Hopkins County Jail being held on a $10,000 bond of the Felony 3.
Theft of Property Once Too Often
Diane Julie Oglesby, 32, of Sulphur Springs was staying with a family member on FM 3236 but when she left the residence she took with her an iPad Air. When she refused to return it, the resident on FM 3236 called the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office. The deputy went to Oglesby’s home on FM 1567E and mirandized she. She admitted taking the item.
She was charged with theft of property under $2500 with two or more previous convictions, which is a state jail felony. She is in Hopkins County Jail on a $5,000 bond.
Is It Time For a County Road Engineer?
by Chad Young
With the overwhelming response that we received in our “County Road” poll that we conducted here on KSSTradio.com, we received 584 responses with different opinions of how the county could take care of our roads in a better fashion. Of those responses, 436 voted for either “Share resources between precincts” or “Hire more qualified help”. With almost 75% in one of the two categories, KSST News has done a little more research into neighboring counties and we wonder if our county should consider some choices that some of our neighbors have chosen. You can see the previous article with background information here: County Roads
One glaring option that may work well in our county is the utilization of a “County Engineer”. Basically, the county commissioners (acting as the county) would collectively hire one county road engineer that would be in charge of ALL of the roads in Hopkins County. Hopefully, this would be a licensed engineer, but the state statute does allow for the county to hire someone with lesser credentials. That hired individual would allocate all of the resources, equipment and labor, from each county “barn” to wherever the greatest need may be anywhere in the county. Obviously, there could be some cost savings on future equipment purchases over time instead of having to have four basically identical sets of equipment spread over the four precincts. Time would tell if separate precinct barns would be needed in the future.
With almost 900 miles of county roads in Hopkins County, any change should not be taken lightly. One can be certain that some commissioners and their constituents would not be in favor of giving up their own county barn, but at what point do we consider other options? By most accounts, our county roads are in the worst shape they have been in years. Now, the county commissioners have made great strides in working with FEMA, and other federal organizations to help pay for some bridges and road reconstruction, but this should be the exception, not the necessity. We polled each commissioner on their opinion (regarding their own roads… instead of of their own roads) and they were consistent in their answers that the roads that need repair average about 75% in each precinct. We have heard from constituents on some roads of the road being washed out constantly, and others suffering from bone jarring potholes. I would think that the constituents, commissioners, and county workers, would be ready to hear about some different solutions to this ongoing problem.
Basically, the current system that we are using has been in place for more than 100 years, or as long as anyone cares to remember. With all of the other things that have changed in the last 100 years, isn’t it time to consider other options?
Season Tickets Week
One of the biggest weeks for Wildcats’ football fans takes place next week as it’s Season Tickets Week. The cost for a season ticket packet of five home games is $50. The first two days, Monday and Tuesday, will be for current season ticket holders to renew their seats. Tickets not renewed those two days will be available to others. Wednesday is a day for renewing season ticket holders to seek upgrades. Those season ticket holders must renew their season tickets before seeking upgrades. Whatever tickets are left will be available to the general public on Thursday and Friday. This year all the season ticket activity will take place in the High School Library. Hours each day will be 8:45 a.m. until noon and then from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. Patrons are asked to enter the high school from Connally Street. Wildcats home games include their season opener against Sherman on August 26, homecoming against Whitehouse on September 16 and district games against Marshall, Mt. Pleasant and the senior night game versus Hallsville. The Wildcats will face Seminole Ridge, Florida on September 2 at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Other road games will take place at Paris, Pine Tree, Texas High and Greenville. The Wildcats open practice on August 8. Their lone scrimmage will be at Liberty-Eylau on August 19 at 10 a.m.
“Updated” Hopkins County Angels and Ponytails Win First Games in World Series Play
Both the 9 and 10 year old Hopkins County Angels and the 11 and 12 year old Hopkins County Pony Tails won their 9 a.m. Saturday games at the World Series tournament in Alexandria, Louisiana Saturday morning.
The Angels defeated North Carolina 5-1. The Pony Tails hammered Georgia 9-1. Both teams play again Sunday. The Angels will play Mississippi at 11 a.m. The Ponytails take on Tennessee at 1 p.m.
Volleyball and Team Tennis to Start
Sports activity for the fall semester at Sulphur Springs High School will begin Monday as the Lady Cats’ volleyball team and the Wildcats’ team tennis squad will have practice. The Lady Cats’ volleyball team will have sessions Monday from 7:30 a.m. until 9 a.m. and then from 9:45 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. The new Lady Cats volleyball coach is Justin Maness, who was the Head Volleyball Coach at Paris Junior College for the past ten years until PJC ended the program. The Lady Cats are coming off of a highly sucessful 28-14 season that included the team’s first playoff performance since 2005. They advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
Wildcats Tennis Coach Tony Martinez is in his third year. He has high hopes for his team tennis squad this year and feels they have a good chance to qualify for the playoffs. Monday will begin an important week for team tennis members. They will be playing matches against each other to determine seeding. The squad will be made up of the top eight boys and eight girls.
