Tonight’s Movie On Celebration Plaza!
Tonight is movie night at Celebration Plaza!
Tonight’s movie is a Fantasy/Mystery called Tomorrowland!
Tomorrowland is about whenever Casey touches a lapel pin with the letter T on it, she finds herself transported to a place with robots and sleek building which is known as Tomorrowland. The gifted young woman recruits the help of scientist Frank, a previous visitor to Tomorrowland, who years ago made a startling discovery about the future. Together, the two adventurers travel to the metropolis to uncover its mysterious secrets.
Grab your friends, family and even your pets and bring them down to Celebration Plaza for a fun filled movie night!
Story and Photos by Molly Clegg, HS Intern
RSVP 12th Annual Hopkins County Recognition Banquet
Volunteer of the Year and Station of the Year were named at the RSVP 12th Annual Hopkins County Recognition Banquet Thursday afternoon, June 16th at New Beginnings Fellowship Church in Sulphur Springs. Roughly 80 to 100 people attended, and the Banquet was catered by Murray’s BBQ. Tim Walsworth was master of Ceremonies. RSVP Director Kelly Hamill lead the Recognition of Guests and introduced Musician and Singer Enola Gay Mathews and Dusty Starr Williams who both provided musical entertainment to the crowd.
Station of the Year was awarded to the Sulphur Springs Senior Citizens Center. The Senior Citizens Center hosted 29 annual events in addition to daily and weekly activities. Senior Citizens Center Director Karon Weatherman shared the award with the rest of her volunteer staff.
Volunteer of the Year was awarded to Mona Giles.
The Banquet ended with door prizes provided by At Home Healthcare, Cypress Basin Hospice, Dubuis, Guardian, Carriage Hour Manor, Memorial Hospital Volunteer Auxiliary/ Johnnie Masters Gift Shop, Pioneer Crossing for Seniors, Texas AgriLife Extension, United Healthcare, Visiting Angels, and Wesley House/Wesley Oaks.
Girls Basketball Camp Registration Open
basketball
Lady Cats Basketball Coach Jeff Chapman will have his girls basketball camp next week, June 20-24. It will take place in the main high school gym Monday through Thursday. The camp for girls who will be entering the fourth through the ninth grades will take place from 9 a.m. until noon each day. Cost to attend is $40. Coach Chapman’s assistant coaches, Ashton Wells and Kevin Tanton, will be on hand to help at the camp.
Registration information is available on the school district web site at www.ssisd.net. Campers can also be registered on the first day of camp.
DWI, PI, and Mischief Increase in Summer; Consequences Remain; Man Arrested for Felony 3 DWI
Public intoxication and drinking and driving are a bad mix and the mix has increased in Sulphur Springs and Hopkins County in the past few weeks according to offenses filed, arrests made, and the incarceration of several at the Hopkins County Jail. Among those charged with a 3rd degree felony, DWI 3rd Offense or More is Weldon David Jordan, 33. Sheriff-Elect Lewis Tatum and Sulphur Springs Police Chief Jay Sanders point to summer activities as a culprit for the increase. 
Thursday, an off duty police officer noted Jordan’s driving at the corner of Arbala Road and Wildcat Way. An on duty Sulphur Springs Police officer was dispatched to the area. The officer made contact with the driver at a convenience store parking lot as the driver was exiting his vehicle. The smell of alcoholic beverage on the driver’s breath was noted by the officer. A blood test revealed Jordan’s intoxication over the limit for driving.
Jordan is in Hopkins County Jail on a $10,000 bond.
Sheriff-Elect Lewis Tatum told KSST News that with the advent of summer, public intoxication and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs increases. He also stated that he expect attacks on mail boxes to begin in the next few weeks. He stated that although adults are often the ones who are driving under the influence teenagers are also more active in inappropriate activities in the summer when school is not in session. Tatum encourages parents to continue supervision during the summer months. He said, “Know where your children are and what they are doing, especially after 10 p.m.”
Police Chief Jay Sanders concurs with Tatum. Chief Sanders says that summer time brings and increase in PI and DWI but also increases in property crimes. He said property crimes, criminal mischief, vehicle break-ins, always sky-rocket the first month school is out.
Tira News
By Jan Vaughn
The annual Tira Homecoming and Cemetery Association Meeting is coming up on Sunday, July 3rd. The program and business meeting will begin in the Tira Methodist Church at 11:00, followed by a covered-dish lunch at the picnic tables on the grounds. Last year, Larry Fitzgerald volunteered to serve as the Program Chairman, but he has since taken the position of Music Director of First Baptist Church in Somerville, so he and Dorothy will not be able to attend the homecoming this year. Danna Lewis has graciously agreed to take over the position and I know that she will have a wonderful program planned. Also, Floyd Payton has resigned as President of the Cemetery Board and Mick Petty is filling that position. We appreciate all that Floyd and Martha have done for the cemetery association and for the community. Please make plans to attend the homecoming and share memories and make new ones.
William and Joyce Dodd hosted a birthday celebration for their son, Brad Dodd, on Sunday. Guests were treated to beef stew and homemade ice cream. Others attending included Tanya, Matthew, and Trenton Dodd, Trenton’s friend, Melony, and Rob Dodd.
Morgan Joslin flew solo to Nacogdoches for Civil Air Patrol Powered Flight Academy last week. He got in a little more flying time during the week, and then flew back to the Mount Pleasant airport on Saturday.
Gail Smiddy, Tim, Teresa, and Arizona Barcus, and Beverly, Parker, and Preston Landis, family of the late Jerry Wayne Smiddy, were in Tira to visit the cemetery and the home place. They stopped by and visited with us for a little while on Saturday afternoon. Later that evening Rylan, Brailon, and Slaiden Joslin stayed with us, while their parents, Landon and Laiken Joslin, went to Sulphur Springs to eat and shop.
Yvonne Weir and I met for lunch at Coffee Off The Square on Friday. We were celebrating Yvonne’s birthday – over a month late! Brenda Allen had planned to join us, but was delayed and she arrived just as we were leaving. I guess that means we will need to try for lunch together again soon!
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].
PJC Atheletic Director and Baseball Coach Becomes AD at New Mexico Junior College
After two decades at Paris Junior College, baseball coach and athletic director Deron Clark contemplates his next step. He has accepted the position of Athletic Director for New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, N.M.
“It’s a combination of excited and sad,” said Clark. “It’s a strange emotion. My wife and I are both looking forward to the change and the new environment but at the same time we’re leaving a lot of friends and we’ve enjoyed living in Lamar County and raising our children here so it’ll be a bit disappointing leaving all that. In the 20 years of work here, I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been a good situation and I’ve made a lot of good relationships.”
Clark’s career with the Dragons has included six Regional Tournament appearances, 114 players transferred – 54 of those attending NCAA Division I schools, and nine players drafted into Major League Baseball (four of those in the top ten rounds).
The achievements of his players include six All-Americans; 55 All-Conference, including two Players of the Year, two Pitchers of the Year, and two Freshman of the Year; 11 professional players, including three from Lamar County and two major league players.
There have also been14 Academic All-Americans; 35 Academic All-Conference; two Marucci Elite Hitters; one conference title; and an 82 percent graduation rate. Clark’s life time career record is 577-550. He eclipsed the 500-win career mark during the 2013 campaign by defeating Eastfield College 10-0 at Hub Hollis Field.
“Coach Clark has done a great job at PJC with the baseball team and as our Athletic Director for the last two years,” said PJC President Dr. Pam Anglin. “We will miss him at PJC but wish him much success as he moves from coaching to being a full-time Athletic Director at a good institution.”
Clark began his coaching career in the spring of 1987 as he joined Norm Debriyn’s Arkansas Razorbacks team. The team earned a fifth place finish in the NCAA College World Series. Following the 1988 season at Arkansas, Clark moved to Dallas, Texas, where he became the pitching coach for Northwood University. After three NAIA Regional Tournament appearances with the Knights, Clark then moved to San Jacinto College as an assistant coach to Chris Rupp.
Following three seasons with the Gators, Clark landed his first head coaching job with the Bulldogs of Texarkana College. Two NJCAA Regional Appearances and three seasons later, Deron earned the post as head coach of his alma mater Paris Junior College.
Clark and his wife, Saundra, have two children, Katie and Jake. From the records he reviewed, he believes he is the longest tenured baseball coach in PJC history. He’s looking forward to the challenge, though he won’t be coaching anymore.
“There will be six sports,” Clark said, “rodeo, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s track, golf, and baseball. I’ll be fundraising and managing the athletic program. I’ll miss coaching; there will be a withdrawal but I’ll have to channel my energies in other directions, so that will be a fun change. At 1:00 p.m. I won’t have to go to the field so I’ll have to figure out what to do with that time to make it productive.”
He has several thoughts for the future of the program and his successor.
“It’s a good job,” Clark said. “I hope that they’re better than I am, do a better job, and get even better athletes in here and keep it going. It’s going to continue to be successful; it’s built over the last 20 years and I’m excited for what the next person will have the opportunity to do.”
Technological Advances To Be Made At SSHS
The Sulphur Springs High School campus is implementing the 1:1 Tablet Program next school year. Next school year is being described as the “year of zero” by some staff due to all the new learning techniques and advances being made. Each student will receive a tablet, making the ratio 1:1. The tablets will be used to take notes in class, stay organized, complete assignments, and learn interactively. Only one in six students attend a school that provides an individual tablet to each student in the nation.
Before 1:1, students had access to tablets or laptops through specified teachers but the devices couldn’t be taken home or out of the classroom. The use of tablets in the classroom and beyond has been introduced to Sulphur Springs Middle School students in the past year and the staff saw success. Microsoft OneNote will be used for note taking, presentations, and assignments. A few classes, the previous school year, began introducing the students to OneNote and the way it operates, hoping to make the 1:1 transition easier.
“…I would say that the process has been on going with many people involved in various aspects of the program from the purchasing and storage of devices, the updating of our high school technology usage policy, preparation of our teachers for the students to have devices, the physical roll out of the machines and maintenance, updating of our infrastructure to support the devices, and various other aspects of the program. It is credit to several departments in the district that we will be prepared for the start of school with our devices,” stated Sulphur Springs High School Principal Derek Driver.
The goal of implementing the program is to prepare graduating students for success in the 21st century world. Technology has advanced tremendously in even the past ten years. Technology is being used in the work place and learning institutions more than ever before. In addition to the traditional way of learning, the 1:1 program prepares students for life after hihg school education. The school has not set an exact date, but plan to have devices in the hands of the students as close as the first week of school.
Tesla Charging Station Nears Completion
The Tesla charging station is the world’s fastest charging station. These charging stations charge Model X and the Model S in minutes instead of hours. Tesla is a American automotive and energy storage company that designs, manufactures, and sells electric cars, electric vehicle power train components and battery products. The Model S is a fully luxury Sedan which was followed by the model X, a crossover. The station only takes 75 minutes to charge the vehicles to 100%. These stations are strategically placed to minimize stop during long distance travel and are conveniently located near restaurants, shopping centers, and wi-fi hotspots. 
The Tesla cars (Model X and Model S) come with the single charger, the mobile connecter with adapters for a 110 volt outlet and a 240 volt outlet, and the public charging station adapter.
There are 613 Tesla stations worldwide and 3,628 chargers. There are also 11 of these stations in Texas.
Its also time for Sulphur Springs Tx to get our Tesla stations, which will be opening within thirty days. Before opening Oncor and Tesla Corp. both have to finish their duties. The Tesla Charging Statios are located Davis Street behind the Police Station. The parking lot to this station is currently being worked on and perfected by Sulphur Springs helping hands. Marc Maxwell quoted, “I think that the charging station will be a good touch to Sulphur Springs and invite people who have never been to our town before.” “While people charge their car they can do some shopping and eat downtown, and hopefully would want to come back to Sulphur Springs in the near future.”
Story and Photos by Molly Clegg, HS Intern
Wildcats 7 on 7 in State Qualifier Friday
The Wildcats 7 on 7 football team will participate in its’ only state qualifier tournament of the season Friday at Rowlett High School. As of Thursday morning, Wildcats Offensive Coordinator Matt Young said he still had not been notified of the opponents the Wildcats will play in pool competition. All competition will be Class 6A and Class 5A and Coach Young said they would be the stiffest competition the 7 on 7 team had played this year. The Wildcats will play games at 9 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Friday.
If they advance into the playoff round, games will be at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Coach Young said the top two teams will advance to the state 7 on 7 tournament in College Station in mid-July. He said making it to state is a great goal for the Wildcats’ team to have. Teams can bring 20 players to Rowlett and Coach Young said the Wildcats would be taking 18 or 19. He said they have molded the team to prepare for the caliber of teams they will be facing. For example, Coach Young said the defense will include more defensive backs in place of some larger linebackers. He said defenders must keep hands off receivers. Coach Young said the Wildcats must score a lot of points to win.
