Ownership of Malnourished Horses Relinquished
An elderly person unable to care for the five horses the individual owned relinquished her rights to the horses to the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office Saturday morning. The five horses were extremely malnourished but not beyond recovering good health, according to Kobe Hume, Animal Cruelty Investigator for the Hopkins County Sheriff’s office.
Hume received a call regarding the horses in the Cumby area late Friday afternoon. On Saturday morning, he went to the property where they were and observed the horses. He contacted the aged owner who admitted they were unable to care for the horses properly. Hume stated that the horses would be housed locally through the holiday weekend and that the SPCA would receive the horses sometime next week.
Hume stated that no charges would be filed against this owner due to her age. He stated that the horses had been a large part of her life but she could no longer appropriately care for them. Hume pointed out that the horses will have medical care and nourishment because Sheriff Butch Adams and Sheriff-elect Lewis Tatum have created the animal cruelty investigator position. He has been receiving a number of calls and investigating each in an effort to create a better environment for animals that are in need.
New Paris Junior College Taxing District?
Paris Junior College currently serves a five county area and has one of the smallest taxing districts in the state of Texas. The area Paris Junior College serves is approximately 3,848 square miles while their taxing district is approximately 44 square miles. Only 1.14% of Paris Junior College’s service area pays taxes in support of the college. PJC has two satellite campuses, one in Sulphur Springs and one in Greenville, in addition to their main campus in Paris. In the 2014-2015 school year 8,643 students were enrolled at PJC with a 22:1 student teacher ratio. Also in the 2014-2015 academic school year, 1,029 associate degrees and certificates were awarded.
Why is this an issue?
The Paris Junior College Board of Regents met on Monday, June 27, 2016 to discuss the upcoming November annexation election. In the November annexation election, registered voters will vote county by county on whether or not their county will become a part of the PJC taxing district. The tax would impact property owners at a rate of .10 per $100 assessed property value. So if your property was assessed to be worth $50,000 the monthly tax would be $4.17 and the yearly tax would be $50. The average Texas community college tax rate is $0.17546 per $100 assessed property value. Paris Junior College is currently funded by state reimbursement for student contact hours, which is 29% of the cost of instruction, tuition and fees paid by students, and property taxes paid by property owners within the City of Paris and the old Cunningham ISD.
What will happen if the service area is annexed?
Once the decision for your county is made, property owners in the newly annexed territory will begin paying property taxes in Fall 2017. Several actions must be completed in order for the territory to officially become part of the district. The votes will first be canvassed and the results will be “certified”. The Board of Regents will then pass a resolution amending it’s boundaries, that will change tuition rates for the new in-district residents for the 2017-2018 school year. Property owners will then begin paying property taxes. The Board of Regents provides a $10,000 property tax exemption to homeowners 65 and over to help offset the possibility of property tax increases among those living on fixed incomes. With annexation, the college will enact a property freeze for those 65 and older.
The positives in the redistricting plan all lie with the perspective of the property owners. For some the tax will benefit their children or even themselves. The traditional In-District tuition rate compared to the Out-of-District rate is significant to some. Tuition and fees for 30 semester credit hours for an Out-of-District student is $3,600, while tuition and fees for an In-District student is $2,250. Also, tuition rates for Dual-Credit courses are lower for In-District students. In 2016-2017, students residing within the taxing district pay $55 per semester credit hour and students residing outside the taxing district pay $100 per semester credit hour.
Annexation will secure the long-term future of Paris Junior College. With the support from the new district, new workforce programs will be implemented as well as career and technical education for high school students through dual-credit.
What will happen if annexation is unsuccessful?
The current way Paris Junior College is funded will not sustain the college over the long-term, the state cut funding per full-time equivalent student with the anticipation that more of the financial burden to be passed on locally. Without a tax base, tuition and fees for students will increase and students will not be able to bear the cost. There will be possible reduction of services and possible closure by Texas Legislation in the next legislative session.
Who can vote?
All registered voters living in the following school districts who do not live in the current Paris Junior College taxing district may vote in the November, 2016 election: Bland, Boles, Caddo Mills, Campbell, Celeste, Chisum, Clarksville, Commerce, Cooper, Cumby, Detroit, Fannindel, Greenville, Honey Grove, Lone Oak, Miller Grove, North Hopkins, North Lamar, Prairiland, Quinlan-Ford, Rivercrest, Roxton, Sulphur Bluff, Sulphur Springs, and Wolfe City.
Update on the Independence Day Celebration Stage
The stage for the Independence Day Celebration will be finished Saturday morning. The county, city employees and inmates have been out since 8:30a.m. Friday. The stage takes 6-8 hours to complete and they’ve moved the location back four feet since last year. The Stage, placed in front on Alliance Bank on the northside of the square, is 36 feet by 48 feet, and audience seating will be on Celebration Plaza.
Jerry Dalton, county worker, and Misael Romero, city workers, have been overseeing the completion of the stage. Symphony League President Linda Galligher says “We could not do it with out them.” The completed stage will include huge flags, railing and sound all around the stage. On top of working all day, the crew will work into the night and tomorrow night after the concert they’ll reverse the process and finish around midnight or later.
Bookworm Box Packing Party!
On Friday July 1st, The Bookworm box held their monthly packaging party to create their subscribed book boxes. In an interview with Lin Reynolds, Colleen Hoover’s sister, who manages the public relations for the company she explained how each month’s packing parties work.
100% of the box subscriptions profit goes to charities. This month’s charities include; The Rotary Club, No Place for Hate, Margie Long Scholarship Fund, Leukemia & Lymphona Society, The Family Service Bureau of Newark, Soul Brothers Foundation, Haystack Choir and many more. 25% of the raised profit stays in the local area and is raising $500,000 this year for donations. Lin calls it the ” Hunger Games” because there are only so many book box subscriptions available each month.
Inside each box subscribers can expect to get two books and swag bag materials, including their awesome pens. All of the books, in each book box and in the store are signed by various authors. The store also sells T-shirts of various colors and styles. And they invite all of their customers to come back July 9th to see Gail Reed, a book author from 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. Also on July 16th they will have Vannoy Fite another author from 2-4 p.m.
The Bookworm Box (real store)
204 Main St.
Sulphur Springs, TX 75482
903.919.5027 (only bookstore questions please)
www.thebookwormbox.com
Tues – Thur 12 to 5
Fri/Sat 12 to 7
Closed Sun/Mon
CNB Has Free Ice Cream Today!
Today, July 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. City National Bank will be giving out free ice cream. The free ice cream will be given out indoors at both CNB locations. Which are Mocking Bird Lane and The square.
John Sellers quotes, ” The reason for the free ice cream is for customer appreciation, to honor the 4th of July, and in honor of the Dairy Industry.”
Everyone go on out to City National Bank for some free delicious ice cream!
Final Pre-Trial For Mapps Set for July 15; Trial Set for August 8
A pre-trial hearing was conducted Thursday and the final pre-trail hearing is set for July 15th, as the District Attorney’s office moves toward an August 8th trial date for Joshua Isaiah Tilton Mapps, 21 . Mapps is scheduled to be tried for murder, a Felony 1 and Tamper/Fabricate Physical Evidence with Intent to Impair, a Felony 3. Mapps is accused of the murder of Jonathan Trahern Young at Pacific Park on June 8, 2015. Since July 2, 2015, he is being held in Hopkins County Jail on a $1 million bond for murder and two $20,000 bonds for tampering with evidence.
Mapps became a suspect in the murder after local law enforcement questioned several witnesses at the park. Police obtained a warrant for Mapps arrest the day of the shooting. At that time, Mapps, who was known to live in Greenville, was considered armed and dangerous and area citizens were asked to report his whereabouts to local law enforcement.
Mapps allegedly shot Young multiple times and disposed of the fire arm after he admitted to throwing the weapon into an unspecified body of water. SSPD Criminal Investigator David Gilmore had said at the time that one of the key pieces of evidence in a homicide is the murder weapon. Gilmore said Mapps was very vague regarding what body of water the weapon was thrown. Tampering with evidence is a felony 3 carrying 2-10 years in a state penitentiary.
Mapps proved to be elusive. On June 11, 2015 KSST News reported that Texas Ranger John Vance, the U. S. Marshal’s office, and the Criminal Investigation Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety were assisting in the search. They felt hampered in the search because, as they stated, the family members and associates of Mapps are not law abiding citizens and were assisting Mapps in eluding law officers. Mapps was arrested in Fort Smith Arkansas on Monday June 29, 2015.
Mapps, along with his girlfriend, Tressa Macon, were located by the U S Marshal’s office. Marshalls along with Ranger Vance, Sgt. Gilmore, and the Fort Smith Police made the arrest at an apartment complex where the pair and others were staying. Mapps was being assisted in his attempt to evade arrest by several individuals, according to Gilmore. A decoy car was used in an attempt to draw law officers away from the scene. After the first vehicle had left with two police cars giving chase, a second vehicle was used in which Mapps laid down in the back seat and, in an attempt to hide from view, pulled a pink swimming pool floaty over him. Gilmore said that the Marshal Service and the Fort Smith police worked together with a part of the force apprehending the first vehicle while the remainder of the force continued to watch the apartment. That group of officers was able to apprehend the second vehicle as Marshals converged on the vehicle as it was pulling away from the curb. Gilmore stated that even though the law officers had not worked together before, they were able to orchestrate the arrest as though they had worked on other arrests.
Narcotics In a Shoe Box
In the 100 block of Van Sickle Street, local law enforcement stopped a vehicle on a drug investigation and asked the driver about the possession of illegal narcotics. The driver immediately stated that the passenger in the right front passenger seat had narcotics in a shoe box. Inside the shoe box located in the passenger’s front floor board was a quantity of Hydrocodone, Xanax, and Tramadol. A further search revealed a quantity of suspected methamphetamine in a plastic cooler in the back floorboard which weighed approximately 3.9 grams.
Arrested were Tamera Gayle Davis, 48, the driver of the vehicle and the passenger, Samantha Marie Martinez, 18. Each one is charged with possession of a controlled substance, penalty group 1, over 1-gram and less than 4-grams in a drug free zone, which is a Felony 3. Each is also charged wih possession of a controlled substance, penalty group 3, under 28 grams in a drug free zone, a State Jail Felony. Both Davis and Martinez are in Hopkins County jail held on a total of $15,000 bond each.
Tira News By Jan Vaughn
We want to express our sympathy to the family of Leroy Reaves. His funeral service was held on Wednesday morning, at the Tira Methodist Church, under the direction of Delta Funeral Home. He was buried in the Tira Cemetery, and then family and friends gathered at the Community Center for lunch. Leroy was married to the late Mamie Lou (Weir) Reaves. Please remember the family in your prayers.
Also, we extend our sympathy to the family of William Foy Chapman, of Dallas. He was the son of the late Claude and Rosa Chapman, of Tira. He passed away on Thursday, June 30, 2016 and a graveside service is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 5th at the Tira Cemetery. Please be in prayer for the family.
Chip and I took our grandchildren, Kenden and Jaidyn, to Piney Shores Resort on Lake Conroe on Saturday afternoon – Chip and the kids had been to Chuck and Karen Olmsted’s fly-in and skeet shoot that morning. We enjoyed cooling off in the pool, when we arrived at the resort, and then we went to Red Lobster for dinner, and celebrated Kenden‘s 14-½ year birthday (he has a December 27th birthday and it gets overshadowed with Christmas activities). On Sunday, I went to Sour Lake near Beaumont and picked up our great-granddaughter, Dixie, and brought her back to the resort, where we all enjoyed swimming again. Chip and the kids played miniature golf and tennis while I was gone to get Dixie. We all returned to Tira on Sunday evening and dropped Dixie off to spend time with Landon, Laiken, Rylan, Brailon, and Slaiden Joslin, and then we visited with Elizabeth Steinsiek, of Sulphur Springs, and Tonja Horn, of Chicago, at their farm in Tira.
Be sure to make your way to the Tira community this Sunday, July 3rd, for the annual Tira Homecoming. Danna (Evans) Lewis and her family (the family of the late Hub and Ruth Weir) will be presenting a program, beginning at 11:00 a.m., in the Tira Methodist Church. There will also be a brief Cemetery Association meeting. The families of those buried in the Tira Cemetery in the past year, will be recognized at the homecoming. A pot-luck lunch will be held at the picnic tables, following the program. Please come share a meal and visit with friends.
As we celebrate our freedom this holiday weekend, let’s take time to remember and give thanks for our troops and veterans.
I always need and appreciate input from my friends to help keep me informed of news in our community. If you have any news pertaining to Tira residents, past or present, please contact me, Jan Vaughn, at 903-945-2190 or 903-438-6688 or [email protected].
