“Movie Night on the Square” Returning to Celebration Plaza
The Sulphur Springs Community Development Center will be hosting “Movie Night on the Square” for the third year in a row every Friday night starting June 3, 2016. This weekly event will feature family and teen friendly movies with free admissions. “The idea was to have an activity on Friday night, because there’s stuff going on downtown, but not a lot,” Community Development Director Shane Shepard said. “We thought that we’d try to have some family oriented entertainment on the square. In that first year we had 30 or 40 come out at each one, and last year the average was about 2oo to 300 people.”
The city uses a 20ft screen with JBL speakers and a modern projection system to display the movies. The movies were selected by members of the Community Development Center. “I go to staff, and people who have kids and select about 30 movies, and then we have to go out to a website to make sure that the movies are not going to be bad or innapropriate in any shape or form,” Director Shepard said. “We try to keep it kid friendly at PG, sometimes PG-13, but never above that.”
for the first time in “Movie Night” history, this year will feature a movie marathon of the Hunger Games Series. This will be the only marathon this year, but more marathons will be featured once a month in the years to come. “We have an event going on the square July 8 which put us in a conundrum, so we already have one of the Hunger Games movies playing this summer, so why not make it a movie marathon,” Community Development Specialist Sarah Dicus said. “So we’re going to show all four movies and put it out on Buford Park. We’ll have a big movie marathon with a bunch of teenagers hanging out and watching the Hunger Games.”
Some movies have been selected for families and children while others have been selected for teens. Parents who want to check if a movie is appropriate. Dates for the movies:
June 3: Goosebumps
June 10: Inside Out
June 17: Tomorrowland
June 24: E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial
July 8: The Hunger Games Marathon
July 15: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens
July 22: The Good Dinosaur
July 29: Guardians of the Galaxy
August 5: Jurassic World
August 12: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
To view movie trailers and to determine if appropriate for your family, go here.
Sulphur Bluff Bears All-District Baseball 2016
Sulphur Bluff Bears named to the All District Baseball Team include: Defensive Player of the Year, Marshall Anderson, a junior; First Team Outfield, Brennon Seymore, sophomore; First Team Designated Hitter, Taylor Josey, junior; First Team Outfield, Thomas Coberly, senior; First Team First Base, Cody Vance, senior; Second Team utility, Isaac Foley, sophomore; Second Team Pitcher, Jaden Goldsmith, junior; Second Team Outfield, Jacob Watts, sophomore; Second Team Outfield, Hunter Wallis, Freshman; Second Team 3rd Base, Joe Forshee, sophomore.
In announcing the Sulphur Bluff Bears who were named to the All District Baseball Team, Head Coach Jerry Burton stated, “I am very proud of this team, we lost some good players from last years team but some of the young or new guys stepped up and did great. We made it to the playoffs where we were defeated by a very good Maud baseball team. I am excited to see what this team can do with 8 returning starters in 2017.”
Academic All-District included: A Honor Roll: Jaden Goldsmith, Taylor Josey, Cody Vance; A-B Honor Roll: Brennon Seymore, Marshall Anderson, Jacob Watts, and Joe Forshee.
Sulphur Bluff Lady Bears All-District Team
Sulphur Bluff 18-AA Softball All-District. Pictured left to right: Emily Guajardo, Kaylon Hume, Kierstin Brown, Skylar Evans, Sierra Swanson, Makenna Morgan, Layna Early.
Over 12,330 lbs of Food Collected by Mail Carriers
U S Postal Service Letter Carriers in Sulphur Springs collected over 12,330 pounds of non-perishable food Saturday during the annual Letter Carrier Food Drive. Last year over 4,000 pounds of food were collected by mail carriers during the May drive.
Anyone wishing to contribute who may have failed to place their non-perishable food items in or near the mail box may drop off their donations at the Sulphur Springs Post Office on Church Street this week.
Wildcats Spring Football Proving Successful
The Wildcats’ football team is halfway through spring football practice. Wildcats Football Coach Greg Owens says it’s been great so far. It’s a good thing since the cost of spring workouts are one less week of practice in August and one less scrimmage.
The Wildcats will have only one scrimmage before diving into the regular season. Coach Owens says he has talked with several coaches who told him they had good retention of things learned in the spring during August. Coach Owens says his young team is getting lots of reps, lots of fundamentals and is getting some competition as well. He credits his coaching staff for coming up with ways every day to keep things exciting for the players.
Coach Owens says they recently featured third and long plays with the offense going against the defense for bragging rights. They also faced off on overtime situations with the ball marked at the 25 yard line. Another plus in the spring is players can focus on drills without the stress of getting ready for a Friday night opponent.
Coach Owens says he has asked the players what they think of spring football and he says he has received constant feedback that they are having a good time. He says he can see progress being made on both sides of the ball. Coach Owens hopes when August 8 rolls around, his team will just need to quick review of spring concepts to get going.
Spring football will conclude with a spring game on May 26. This week the Wildcats will practice Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from around 3:50 p.m. until about 5:45 p.m. each day. Tuesday the Wildcats 7 on 7 teams will play host to Gilmer. Games get underway at around 5:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Relay for Life Event Raises $45,332 for Cancer Society
Amber Henry, Event Leader for Relay for Life, told KSST News that thus far $45,332 have been received for the American Cancer Society through the Saturday, May 14th event on Celebration Plaza.
Over 400 people signed up for Relay teams, and 26 teams were set up. Participants walked through the evening around the walking path in front of the courthouse and near the flagpole and Veterans Memorial. A wrap-up meeting will be called next week.
According to security at the event, almost everyone left the walk prior to the closing hour.
Only Three Applications For County Fire Chief; Application Deadline is May 26
With only 10 days left for application to be made, Hopkins Count Judge Robert Newsom has received only three (3) applications for County Fire Chief. Newsom and County Commissioners plan to have a new county fire chief in place by July 1, 2016 according to Judge Newsom. The application has been posted on the county website. Deadline for applicants will be May 26th.
Those applying for the top firefighter job in the county will be required to live in the Hopkins County area according to Newsom. He stated that he and commissioners seek one who will plant his life in the area served. A number of qualifications will be posted but Newsom pointed out that moral leadership, experience and education will be top priorities for the new chief.
Judge Newsom said he and Commissioners Court will review applications, interview the top six candidates, and hire the new chief. Newsom’s office will review applications to ensure that those forwarded to commissioners meet the criteria for the job.
The Fire Chief position opened following the resignation of Kevin Yates, after he took a Fire Chief position in Louisiana. Hopkins County Fire Marshall Mike Matthews was appointed interim Fire Chief by Judge Newsom and the Court to supervise operations for the county fire department. Matthews will serve as interim Fire Chief for the county during the search period.
Matthews is a Hopkins County native whose first full time fire-fighter job was with the county. He worked full-time with the Hopkins County Fire Department for 13 years prior to becoming a fireman in Longview. Currently, he is a driver engineer and paramedic for the Longview department and spends two (2) of every three (3) days in Hopkins County as Fire Marshall here. The third day is in Longview.
9-1-1 “The Connection” Saturday May 21
Emergency Medical Services and the Sulphur Springs Police Department are joining forces to Celebrate EMS and Law Enforcement Weeks with 9-1-1 “The Connection” Saturday, May 21st, 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Celebration Plaza. The event features activities for the entire family.
Creative Writing Awards Showcased at PJC Awards Ceremony
Top winners from the Paris Junior College Creative Writing Awards included, from left, David Sleeper of Royse City for Regional Literature; Evyn McGraw of Greenville for Outstanding Student in English; Yuliana Morales of Paris for Outstanding Student in a Foreign Language; Caroline Janes of Paris for Narrative Essay; Letcia Yanez of Sulphur Springs for Outstanding Student in English as a Second Language; and Nathaniel McClain of Powderly for Short Story.
Creative writing talent was showcased in a recent awards ceremony at Paris Junior College.
Ceremony organizer and PJC English instructor Marsha Dennis thanked the presenters and contestants and welcomed guest speaker Sharon Dennehy, retired PJC journalism instructor.
Evyn McGraw of Greenville received the Outstanding Student in English award.
Leticia Yanez of Sulphur Springs received the Outstanding Student in English as a Second Language for the second year in a row.
Yuliana Morales of Paris was named Outstanding Student in a Foreign Language and received her award from Spanish instructor Mayra Cummings.
Winners receiving writing awards by category include:
Regional Literature: First, “A City from Two Sides,” David Sleeper of Royse City, PJC-Greenville Center.
Poetry: First, “Sunday Morning Masquerade,” Mayzie Purviance of Bogata, PJC – Paris campus; third, “Those Winsome Days,” David Sleeper of Royse City, PJC – Greenville campus.
Short Story: Second, David Sleeper of Royse City, PJC – Greenville Center; fifth, “The Sacrifice,” Hailey Halbert of Sulphur Springs, Sulphur Bluff High School.
Argumentative/Informative Essay: First, “Illegal Immigration,” Jacob Dudley of McKinney, PJC – Greenville Center; fourth, “Martial Literature: “The Stories of War,” David Sleeper of Royse City, PJC – Greenville Center.
Research Essay with Documentation: First, “Dystopian Society,” Katelyn Allen of Sulphur Springs, Sulphur Bluff High School; second, “Dystopian Society,” Taylor Self of Sulphur Bluff, Sulphur Bluff High School; third, “The Importance of Vaccinations,” Katie Watson of Paris, Paris High School.
