Hopkins County Jury Finds Tilley Guilty of DWI 3rd or More
Eric Wydell Tilley was found guilty of DWI 3rd or More by a Hopkins County Jury in Eighth Judicial District Court Wednesday morning. The two day trial ended with the jury deliberating 32 minutes. Tilley will be sentenced by the judge on August 11th. His range of punishment is 25-years to life.
He has been in prison five times before for burglary, robbery, retaliation, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and DWI 3rd or More.
Great Blue Hole!
The Great Blue Hole is a giant submarine sinkhole off the coast of Belize. The Belize Blue hole is known to be one of the most stunning areas located in the Lighthouse Reef and is also considered a diving paradise.
The blue hole is almost a perfect circle and is over 1,000 feet or 305 meters wide and 480 feet or 146 meters deep. The deep blue color is caused by the high transparency of water and bright white carbonate sand. This interesting attraction is very liked by divers. Thousands of scuba divers go to Belize annually just to dive in the blue hole. It is probably the most famous dive site in Belize, definitely the place to add to your bucket list.
There is a lot to be enjoyed from the Blue Hole dive, but it also requires a certain level of experience and responsibility that some new divers just don’t have. On a day where its visibility is excellent and the wildlife are roaming beneath the blue waters, it can be an overwhelming experience. When diving in this area you can expect to see, clear waters and a variety of flora and fauna as you can meet here nurse sharks, Caribbean reef sharks, bull sharks, and the beauty of rock formations. But if diving is not for you, you can also snorkel for a full day around the hole and nearby.
This Great Blue Hole is a very interesting and beautiful place. If you’re an experienced diver I would totally recommend this place.
Would You Participate in Recycling?
Our recent recycling story has gotten a lot of consideration on our website and through social media. If you would like to read the previous story click here:
If you would like to voice your opinion on the matter, please Vote Below!
[poll id=”45″]
When Running a Stop Sign Leads to a State Jail Felony Charge
Running a stop sign was the reason for the traffic stop in the 300 block of South Davis Street but when the law enforcement officer asked the driver to step from the vehicle for a pat down, the drive admitted to having a syringe in his left pocket. That led to a probable cause search of the vehicle where the officer located a clear plastic bag with a crystal like substance believed to be methamphetamine. No one in the vehicle claimed the substance so both were taken to Hopkins County Jail on charges that are a state jail felony.
Jeremy Lynn Sharp
Jeremy Lynn Sharp, 40, who also had a baggy of pills in his pocket, is charged with possession of a controlled substance penalty group 1 less than 1-gram and possession of a controlled substance, penalty group 3 less than 28 grams. Chrystal Lee Hickman, 53, is charged with possession of a controlled substance, penalty group 1, less than 1-gram.
Chrystal Lee Hickman
PJC Announces Women and Men Soccer Tryouts
soccer ball net
Paris Junior College’s new soccer coach, Sylvester Jallah, will hold a tryout for the women’s soccer this Saturday, July 15 and men’s soccer on Saturday, July 16. The slots are for the upcoming season, which is fast approaching. Tryouts will be held at Noyes Stadium at the PJC campus in Paris.
“We are looking for players who are dedicated, have a great work ethic as well as a highly technical and tactical ability to deal with pressure in a competitive NJCAA conference,” said Coach Jallah.
The women’s tryout will be on Friday at 5 p.m., and the men’s tryout will be on Saturday at 1 p.m. Those wishing to tryout need to be high school graduates, arrive 15 minutes early to fill out the necessary paperwork, and must bring shin guards. For further information contact Coach Jallah at 254-931-5102 or [email protected].
Both teams are in Division I of the National Junior College Athletic Association. Noyes Stadium is on the west side of the Paris Junior College campus at 2400 Clarksville Street, Paris, Texas, 75460. Interested players may also fill out an online soccer recruitment form at www.parisjc.edu/athletics.
Winnsboro Police Department Report 7-4-2016 to 7-10-2016
Albright, Steven, 37 years of age, of Hawkins, was arrested on 7-5-2016 on Upshur County warrants and City of Winnsboro Municipal warrants.
French, Samuel, 28 years of age, of Mt. Vernon, was arrested on 7-6-2016 on a Franklin County warrant.
Wagner, Anthony, 32 years of age, of Tyler, was arrested on 7-7-2016 on Wood County warrants.
The Winnsboro Police Department responded to 152 calls for service, 40 citations, 47 warnings, and no accidents during this reporting period.
Why Does Sulphur Springs Not Have A Recycling Facility?
Think about it, you finish drinking a can of soda or a bottle of water and you toss it in the trash. What happens next? The can or bottle goes into a landfill where it may take from 50-450 years to decompose. Glass bottles may take millions of years to decompose. That’s a lot of time and a lot of trash! Stanford University found that the “average American discards seven and a half pounds of garbage every day.” All this means that eventually landfills will run out of space and trash will be everywhere-polluting water supplies, polluting air quality, and ruining our natural habitat.
You probably know recycling is a beneficial alternative to simply creating more trash. What you may not know is that currently Sulphur Springs doesn’t have a recycling facility. City Manager Marc Maxwell stated that the issue “really it comes down to economics, while there are reasons to do it regarding the environment and sustainability,” the main opposition is cost. In 2009 the City Council looked into creating a recycling trailer to put in a central location for citizens to put all of their recyclables. However, the total cost of the operation would be about $30,000 a year, and it would have only been open during specific hours. Therefore, the Council decided to table, or hold off on, the decision. “There just hasn’t been the groundswell of support for [recycling], there’s been some limited support, but not enough to get it done.” Maxwell explains. “Ultimately this is the public’s city.” If the public were to call for recycling facilities then the City would create them. Until then, Citizens are stuck with throwing their recyclables away in landfills, but we can change that, together, we can meet with the city council and show our support for more recycling programs. Many cities like Plano and Commerce are joining the recycling movement and we should too.
Here’s the community challenge – we all know there are actually a lot of benefits to having a recycling center. It starts with less pollution-not as much trash on the streets and factories save energy because they wouldn’t have to harvest so many raw materials. As the Stanford article explained: “This is because recycled materials have already been refined and processed once; manufacturing the second time is much cleaner and less energy-intensive than the first. For example, manufacturing with recycled aluminum cans uses 95 percent less energy” than finding or creating new aluminum. “Recycling promotes the economic recovery and reuse of materials, and also helps extend the life of local landfills by sending less waste to fill up their limited space” Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) specialist, Andrew Keese stated in an interview with KSST. Additionally having a recycling facility would provide more job opportunities like truck drivers, plant workers and operation managers.
Until we get a recycling facility, if you want to do your part to recycle here are some options:
Reed’s Scrap Metals takes all kinds of metals, aluminum, steel, copper, tin. All you have to do is stop by and they will weigh what you have, and pay you for it. Echo Publishing takes papers that need to be recycled. Brookshire’s takes plastics and papers on the north-side of the store. Walmart takes plastics right inside their front doors.
As responsible members of our community – let’s help start a movement by recycling and demonstrate that we care about our town. Then, if we show we care, the City Council and City Manager can bring a Recycling facility to Sulphur Springs. Is recycling important to you for our community? Do you think Sulphur Springs could attract additional companies if we were more socially responsible and “green?” Let us hear from you!
Arson Ruled Out as Cause of House Fire
Arson has been ruled out as the cause of a house fire on County Road 3528 near Weaver in Hopkins County Tuesday, June 29th . The investigation began when an arson dog made a hit on an area in the house that was a total loss.
County Fire Marshall Mark Matthews led the investigation. During the investigation, lab tests proved that the combination of carpet and other items that were burned in the area that alerted the arson dog had created a false hit.
At the time of the fire, County Fire Chief Andy Endsley said everyone who lived in the house was accounted for and fine. He stated there were no injuries to firefighters.
A New Day For Local Hospital: Video of Tuesday Celebration
Tuesday was a new day for the local hospital as it sheds the old name Hopkins County Memorial Hospital and becomes CHRISTUS Mother Francis-Sulphur Springs. The formal event took place at noon in the Medical Plaza Conference Room on the hospital campus. Tim Kelty, Chairman of the Hopkins County Hospital District Board and Chairman of the CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Francis Hospital-Sulphur Springs Board welcomed those present as he call the occasion a celebration.
Kelty said the change is about the future generations. He stated that Christus Health was chosen as a partner based on common goals with the desire to provide high quality health care, strength for the local hospital. Kelty called the move a part of his legacy as a member of the board, a board that his father had served on in years past. He said the work would carry out the goal of the mission statement for the new work to “… carry on the healing ministry of Jesus Christ.”
Kelty and CHRISTUS CEO Ernie Sadau addressed those present:
Paul Harvey is CEO at CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital-Sulphur Springs
Paul Harvey assumed the role of CEO of CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital – Sulphur Springs on July 12, 2016. In this position, Paul leads day-to-day strategy and operations for the hospital and lends extensive expertise in meeting the needs of the patients in the facility and the members of the community.
As he begins his new role, Harvey said, “I am incredibly excited to be joining the community of Sulphur Springs. I am honored to have the chance to serve a hospital that has been such a vital and key part of the community for almost 70 years. I’ve spent the majority of my career in Texas and Oklahoma and working with rural and smaller hospitals, and I know how important they are to the communities they serve. That’s why I’m excited to build on the good things that have been done here and continue to ensure that CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital – Sulphur Springs is a great community hospital. My wife and are very much looking forward to becoming active members of the Sulphur Springs community, and I’m eager to spend time here getting to know our hospital employees, our volunteers, and the rest of this beautiful community.”
Paul began his health care career in 1983, when he joined the staff of Huguley Memorial Medical Center (now Texas Health Huguley) in Fort Worth, Texas as an Administrative Resident. Since then, he has served in a variety of leadership roles across Texas and Oklahoma. He was an Administrator of a 235-bed long-term care, assisted living, and skilled bed unit facility, where he oversaw operations, retrofitted the facility with new systems and ensured continued quality of care.
Paul spent over 25 years of his career with VHA Inc., a nationwide network of leading community-owned health care organizations providing strategic solutions to assist hospitals in making sustainable clinical and operational improvements. In various roles at VHA, Paul supported community hospitals, including small and rural hospitals, to take advantage of the organization’s clinical, operational and supply chain improvement services. While there, Paul developed Rural Oklahoma Health Network (ROHN), Inc., a network that allowed members in western Oklahoma to connect with smaller rural hospitals in market service area by providing shared services such as supply chain services, clinical programs and educational training. He also managed and operated HealthLink, a regional nurse triage call center providing clinical triage advice, Emergency Department call screenings, physician referral, and population health (medical home advice) services.
Paul has a reputation for high quality customer service and support. During his tenure at VHA, he oversaw a region that finished in the top three every year (for 10 years) for high member satisfaction scores, led a region that won two national “Region of the Year” awards and sat on the CFO Customer Satisfaction Council.
Paul holds a master’s degree in health care administration from Loma Linda University in California. He received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Walla Walla University in College Place, Washington. He is an Advanced Member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association and the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Now CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Francis-Sulphur Springs
