Franklin County Capital Murder Trial Set for June
James Crawford of Talco will be tried Capital Murder in Franklin County in June of this year according to the office of Eighth Judicial District Attorney Will Ramsay. Crawford will not face the death penalty but if convicted will face up to a life sentence without parole.
Working on a tip, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department arrested 21-year old James Crawford of Talco for a capital murder in Mt. Vernon in September, 2015. The suspect was arrested in an apartment in Marshall. Crawford is accused of the murder of 75-year old Kenneth Raley of Mt. Vernon. The body of Raley was found in his Miller Street home. Franklin County Sheriff Ricky Jones said it was obvious foul play had occurred. The home had also been burglarized.
Lady Cats Track Finished Third at Aubrey Meet
The Lady Cats track team finished third at an Aubrey meet Thursday evening. Due to wet conditions, all field events were canceled.
Lady Cats Track Coach Triston Abron said N’ysa Dugan won the 100-meter dash. Raleigh Potts placed in the race and picked up points. Tahtiana King also competed in the race. Sadavia Porter and Sheretta Hill finished 1-2 in the 200-meter dash. Porter had a time of 26.91 and Hill 27.17. It was Hill’s first time to compete in the race. Coach Abron said he enjoyed how they competed with each other. Brooke Williams ran in the 400-meter run for the first time and finished fourth. In the 100-meter hurdles, Lady Cats finished 1-2-3. Abbi Baier finished first tying the school record with a time of 16.05. Mackenzie Moore was second and Faith Hatley third. In the 300-meter hurdles, N’ysa Dugan was second with Hatley third. The 4 X 400 relay was the only one in which the Lady Cats competed. Picking up points were Danielle Godbolt, Alli Fain, Autumn Adams and Kelsey Wallace. It was the first track action of the year for Wallace, a Lady Cats softball player.
The Lady Cats will compete in a Paris meet on March 24.
Like It or Not, Daylight Savings Time Begins Sunday, March 13
For some, it is the day most dreaded. No, not April 15 and the deadline for income tax returns, this one is even worse. It’s Daylight Savings Time and it begins Sunday, March 13, 2016 at 2 a.m. It is officially the hour in which time will “spring forward” and without proper planning you will lose an hour of sleep.
Why Daylight Savings Time? The original answer was to save energy costs and to have more daylight for activities during warmer weather. However, recent studies are challenging the energy savings idea. Energy use and demand for electricity is connected to when we get up and when we go to bed—think lights and TV and open refrigerators during commerical breaks. In a 1970’s study by the U S Department of Transportation, the entire nation’s electricity usage was cut by about 1% each day with Daylight Savings Time.
Although Ben Franklin suggested DST in 1784, the Uniform Time Act of 1966 provided the basis for alternating between DST and Standard Time. In 1973, Daylight Savings Time was observed all year. In 1986, Congress declared that 2 a.m. the first Sunday in April would begin DST and the last Sunday of October would return to Standard Time. Halloween got in the way. In 2007, Congress moved the end of DST to the first Sunday of November.
Whether you lose the hour of sleep or you plan your evening schedule to accomplish the hour before arising Sunday morning for that much needed cup of coffee before worship, work, or whatever, the greater effect of the day is on your circadian rhythm. It can take up to one week before your body adjusts to the time change according to Harvard Health. That lack of sleep often leads to irritability, lack of focus, and a weakened immune system which create a number of health problems.
Speaking of Health issues, studies over the past several years have shown that the heart attack rate increases during the first few days following the time change. Workplace and motor vehicle accidents spike as well during the week following the time change.
It you want to limit the effect of the spring forward there are a few steps to take. Stick to a schedule that will prioritize bedtime around the same hour each night, even with the time change. Alcohol and caffeine intake also affect your sleep. Both contribute to sleep interrupted. Cut off caffeine and alcohol intake at least two (2) hours before bedtime. Exercise during the day but do not exercise within two hours of bedtime.
Like it or not, Daylight Savings Time will be with us until November 6 this year. The only way to escape it is to move to Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, or Arizona. But in Arizona, don’t take up residence on the Navajo Nation, which does participate in DST.
Weatherization Program Available to Qualified Residents
The Weatherization Program returns to Sulphur Springs this year and th Ark-Tex Council of Governments seeks to add to the number of homes that will become more energy efficient and provide utility cost savings to the resident. According to Sulphur Springs Mayor Kayla Price, 17 homes were weatherized last year. That number has changed in the past four months.
This year, the goal for the program is 50 homes and according to Hank Byrd his group has worked on 25 homes over the past four months. He stated he has managed this program for the past seven years. Sulphur Springs and the area has never traditionally had a number of people signed up.
As soon as a home is qualified, work begins. Byrd called the work a turn-key job. Funding limitations do control the number of homes that can be weatherized but Byrd said currently funds are available to do between 35 and 40 homes statewide. He said he prefers the work to be performed in Northeast Texas.
Qualifications for the Weatherization Program include:
- You must rent or won your own home or duplex.
- You must also have natural gas service through Atmos Energy.
- You must be experiencing higher than average energy burdens and financial hardship that limit your ability to make weatherization improvements to your home.
To find out if you qualify, call 1-855-738-4710.
Tira News
By Jan Vaughn
Jackson Dailey spent the weekend in College Station at the Student Government Association’s (SGA) conference for all the Texas A&M branches. Jackson will be ending his term as SGA president for the A&M system, as well as the president of the TAMU-C branch, as he will graduate in May.
Morgan Joslin flew to Smithville, just south of Bastrop, with another Civil Air Patrol (CAP) cadet, Joe Korona, on the weekend of February 26-28. They were there for Color Guard Academy at Camp Swift, where they taught several cadets to properly present the flags at public events and parades, and the proper procedure for raising and lowering them on a flag pole.
Tiffany Vaughn, Morgan Joslin, and Darris Cross went to Canton on Saturday for First Monday Trade Days. Landon and Laiken Joslin also went that day and we kept the boys. We spent much of the beautiful day outside watching Rylan, Brailon, and Slaiden play in the leaves and on the trampoline.
Yvonne Weir and Dacy Campbell hosted a baby shower for Destri in Dallas on Sunday afternoon. Joyce Dodd and I were there from Tira, along with several other friends and family members.
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].
Miller Grove News
By Brandon Darrow
This week Kevin and Michelle Tipps welcomed their son, Jacob Floyd-Scott Tipps, into this world Saturday, March 5. He was born at 5:38 am and weighed 5 lbs, 11 oz, and was 18 inches long. After a stay in Children’s Medical City of Dallas, from all reports baby, parents, and sister Rebecca are all doing well. Grandparents with Miller Grove connections are Stevie & Cheri Tipps; great-grandparents Faye and the late Buster Tipps and Marlene and the late Floyd Sturdevant.
Just a reminder that the fundraiser hunt for Miller Grove VFD will be scheduled for the weekend of March 19-20. Fliers are being distributed now and the VFD is also selling raffle tickets on a .243 Savage AXISII XP. Tickets are $1 each and can be purchased from any of the volunteers.
Gail Garmon recently updated me on how the County Line Baptist Church is coming along. She said that they have the new pews installed but waiting on plumbing to be complete. They are also going to be adding a new parking lot and driveway around the building. She also mentioned that the County Line Ladies have begun a special “Mission with Heart” project every first Monday night of the month at 6 pm. This month’s project will be lap covers for the residents of Sulphur Springs Health and Rehab.
Happy Birthday to Bradley Darrow & Peggy (Burns) Rohrer on Mar. 14, and Fran Sparks, Joe Weatherly and Jenny (Weatherly) Arledge on Mar. 18.
While speaking with Gail Garmon she also reminded me that her daughter, Sara, and Brandon Price have been married 10 years as of the 11th of March and have two sons, Pacen and Porter. Wow, time sure flies. My parents, Brett & Lynda Darrow, will have been married 38 years on Mar. 18.
As you travel the highways and byways don’t forget that all roads lead back home and back to Miller Grove. Please send me any newsworthy information. My email address is [email protected].
Business History Month: IdziBitsy Bakery
IdziBitsy Bakery is a hometown, “Hopkins County owned, Hopkins County grown” custom bakery in downtown Sulphur Springs, Texas owned by Michelle Idzi.
Michelle Idzi’s great great uncle owned a bakery in Louisiana and when he decided to retire in the early 1980s, her grandmother then bought the business deeming her grandmother a second generation baker. While Michelle’s mom was in school full-time her youngest aunt, who was also employed at the bakery, watched Michelle and her sister there. The girls spent days after school and all summer at the bakery. To keep the girls busy their aunt would have them fold boxes for a nickel each. At the age of 8, Michelle took her first cake decorating class, Wilton Decorating I. She was one of eight people in the class and made the cake for her dance recital.
Originally, Michelle Idzi had plans of being an accountant and sitting for her CPA. She then had children and began looking for a bakery who could make a cake to fit the personality of her first daughter on her first birthday. She quickly realized no custom bakeries existed where she lived and baked the cake herself. She fell back in love with baking all over again. Upon moving back to Texas Michelle’s mother, who also grew up in the bakery, wanted to open up a bakery with her daughter. Their dream soon took flight and they began baking in December of 2012 in Brashear, Tx. With the last custom bakery existing in the 1960s, the people of Sulphur Springs were slightly skeptical. The two women made cakes, sold them, and kept putting the money back into their business. When Michelle’s mother began having health issues in 2013, Michelle moved the bakery to it’s current location at 209 Main Street.
Michelle always liked the building itself, but once she met the people who were originally in it and heard the history of the building she fell in love. The front of the building was home to a burger joint and a barber shop. When you look at the ceiling you can tell how the building was originally divided for the two businesses. Up until the bakery moved in and the landlord finished the building, the very back was still prepped for a livery barn.
IdziBitsy Bakery is a community grown business without the community, the people of Sulphur Springs, the bakery couldn’t be where it is today. IdziBitsy serves 16 ISD’s with donations, and strives to be involved with the community in every way possible. “One of my favorite things in this business is seeing the expressions of people when you bring out their cake. You’re making, whether it’s a birthday, wedding, baby shower, gender reveal, you’re becoming a part of a moment in somebody’s life. Life isn’t made up of days or weeks, it’s moments, and in this business we get to be in those moments. We’ve been apart of everything; from an engagement, to their weddings, and their children’s first birthday cakes. Just milestones in people’s lives. We want to stress to the public that we are not just a grab n’ go business. We care about our customers and want to make their moments special,” says Michelle Idzi.
IdziBitsy Bakery is a completely family owned and operated business. Every member of the family is involved in every decision that is made, from the hours of the bakery, to their work load, or even the ingredients that are chosen. “If I wouldn’t feed it to my children, I’m not going to put it on our menu. Any product we bring in, I do a lot of research. Just because they make things and it is sold online as a bakery product does not mean it’s ready for human consumption. We encourage people to come in and try our cake, because the difference is something you can taste,” said Michelle Idzi.
IdziBitsy Bakery can be contacted at 903-885-YUMM (9866) or [email protected] and are located at 209 Main Street.
South Sulphur River Flood Warning Continues Through Friday Morning
The National Weather Service in Fort Worth has issued a Flood Warning until Friday morning or until the warning is cancelled for the South Sulphur River affecting Delta and Hopkins Counties. At 3:15 p.m. Thursday, the river stage was at 16.76 feet. Flood stage is 16 feet. A few rural roads will begin to flood when the stage is over 16 feet. Farm and ranch land adjacent to the river will also flood.
Minor flooding is occurring and is forecast. The river will continue to rise to 17 feet by Thursday evening and should fall below flood stage Thursday night. The river should remain at 15 to 16 feet in the next several days.
Do not drive cars through flooded areas. Caution is urged when walking near riverbanks.
Hearts of Life Presents Diego for Adoption
Wednesday afternoon, Hearts of Life Animal Shelter gave Diego a quick trip to KSST Channel 18 Studios so that he could be presented to the community for adoption. Diego has had surgery to repair his jaw.
