Wildcats Football Plans Spring Drills
football
For the first time since Wildcats Football Coach Greg Owens has been in Sulphur Springs, the Wildcats will have spring football practice. It will take place during one week in May and the coaching staff is currently working on details. Taking the week in the spring means that the Wildcats will be getting under in August one week later than usual. The later start is why the Wildcats have time for just one scrimmage instead of their usual two. They’ll be scrimmaging at Liberty-Eylau on Friday, August 19. The regular season gets underway the next Friday at Prim Stadium.
Fraud Strikes Hopkins County Yet Again
Residents in Hopkins County are yet again being harassed by scam artists. A Como man filed a complaint to the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office after he received a phone call from an individual claiming to be a Hopkins County law enforcement officer. The caller claimed to be “Officer Adam Williams,” gave a false badge number, and proceeded to inform the Como man that he needed to pay a fee immediately or an arrest warrant would be filed. According to the complaint report, the phone number showed up as 903-438-4040 and the caller carried a “strong Indian accent.”
Chief Criminal Investigator Lewis Tatum reminds us that the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office would never call residents demanding payment of any sort and that when arrest warrants are filed law enforcement officials go to the residence to serve the warrant. Tatum urges residents to hang up when called by similar scam artists and to immediately report the phone number and incident to the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office.
Hopkins County Junior Livestock Show Begins Thursday; Sale of Champions Saturday Afternoon
Hopkins County Junior Livestock Show begins Thursday with lamb and goat weights due from 2 p.m. until 3 p.m. in the Hopkins County Regional Civic Center Arena. At 4 p.m., the Lamb Showmanship and Lamb Show begin. The Goat Showmanship and Show follows immediately after the Lamb Show. At 7 p.m. all heifer entries are due at the arena.
Friday morning, all poultry projects are to be in place for check in as the Poultry Show and Poultry Showmanship gets underway at 8 a.m. From 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. all swine weights are due. All steer and heifer projects are to check and be in place at 10 a.m. The Swine Showmanship and Swine Show will begin at noon Friday. From 12:30 until 1 p.m. steer weights are due. The Heifer Showmanship and Heifer Show will begin at 3 p.m. followed by the Steer Showmanship and Show at 6 p.m.
Saturday at noon, the Professional Ag Workers Stew will attract exhibitors and those who will bid during the Sale of Champions that begins at 1 p.m. A detailed sale list will be provided with each lot number, its species, exhibitor name, and resale amount will be included.
A scholarship animal will be sold at the end of the Sale of Champions. The proceeds from the animal, along with a portion of the entry fees, will assist in funding the Larry Spradlin Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is named for the late Larry Spralin, who served as a Vocational Agriculture Teacher and as Hopkins County Extension Agent. A minimum of two scholarships are awarded annually to students from Hopkins County who will be candidates for graduation in the Spring and who have participated in the Junior Market Livestock Show for at least two years and meet all the requirements of the scholarship application.
Fewer Early Voters Tuesday
With rain and cooler temperatures, Hopkins County early voting numbers decreased Tuesday. Only 186 ballots were cast with 169 Republican Primary votes and 17 Democrat Primary votes cast.
This brought vote totals to 1825 total votes cast in early voting through Tuesday. Of those votes, 1,670 were cast in the Republican Primary and 155 were cast in the Democratic Primary.
Early voting continues through Friday at the Sulphur Springs ISD Administration Board Room on Connally Street from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day.
“Updated” Electrical Power Outage in Woodbridge Subdivision; Power Restored Wednesday Morning
Electrical Power was restored at approximately 8:30 a.m. to the homes in the Woodbridge Subdivision and area near the subdivision where power was disrupted Tuesday night.
Approximately 221 ONCOR customers were without power Wednesday morning and have been without electrical power since 10 p.m. Tuesday night. High winds may have been the cause of a transformer explosion heard around 10 p.m. in the Woodbridge subdivision in Sulphur Springs that has affected 121 of those customers.
At first ONCOR reported the outage would be repaired around 1 a.m. However, a second estimated time was set for 2:30 a.m. The estimated time of restoration of electrical power was changed once again during the night with a 9 a.m. Wednesday deadline. No specific reasons were given for the time adjustments.
Prim Pitch Too Wet for Wildcats Tuesday; Game Now Set for Wednesday
The Wildcats home soccer match against Mt. Pleasant for this Tuesday night has been postponed due to wet conditions at Gerald Prim Stadium. It has been rescheduled for Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Wildcats Coach Andy Holt said a decision on the field where the game will be played will be made Wednesday. The Wildcats are 6-2 in district play. They are just one point behind second place Mt. Pleasant in district standings. Mt. Pleasant won at home 2-0 the first time the two teams played. Again no Wildcats soccer tonight. The game has been moved to Wednesday night at 7 p.m. with the field to be determined.
Police and Firefighters Associations in Sulphur Springs Seek Pay Increase
Sulphur Spring Professional Police Association and the city’s Professional Firefighters Association are seeking an increase in salaries that would amount to a $1.2 million dollar budget increase for the City of Sulphur Springs and a 13-cent per $100 evaluation increase in city taxes to pay for the salary increase. In a packet presented to the city and city council, they are spelling out their desires and presenting a comparison with other cities that are considered in a “Market City Comparison”.Members of the local police and firemen associations are seeking the increase in salary to enable the city to keep pace with other cities in the surrounding area.
Leadership for each associations states that it has been 11 years since both fireman and police have received an increase in salaries. However, members of the city’s governing body point out that cost of living increases have been given every year but two (2) during the 11 year period.
A 2016 Police Department Salary Survey “Market City Comparison” was conducted to compare salaries in Sulphur Springs compared to eight other cities considered as comparison cities. The survey shows a variance of 20% to 43% for both departments in various levels of salary structure when compared to the other cities. Sulphur Springs with a population of 15,975 is compared to Terrell with a population of 16,561, Forney with 17,536 residents, Corsicana with 23, 989 residents, Greenville with a 26,180 population, Weatherford with 27,769, Cleburne with 29, 848, and Rockwall with 41, 786 within the city limits.
Utilizing a step plan, Sulphur Springs Police Association is seeking an annual base salary for a starting officer at $49,046 increasing to $62,656 in three years. For sergeants they request a $61,168 starting salary increasing to $70,755 in two years. Lieutenant’s salary would be $68,725 increasing to 78,370 in two years. Captain salary base proposed is $75,782 increasing to $83,886 in two years. They also ask that Certification pay not be changed. Certification pay currently per month is $50 for intermediate, $100 for advanced and $150 for a master peace officer certification.
For police within these jurisdictions, Sulphur Springs maintains the lowest salary minimum/maximum in each category. At the officer level, the minimum for Sulphur Springs is $37,113 and maximum of $46,845 compared to an average for the other cities of $49,046 minimum and $62,656 maximum. Thus a starting officer for the city would receive approximately $11,900 less than a starting officer depending on which of the seven other cities one chose. The variance would increase to about $15,000 less for experienced officers when compared. For Police Sergeants, Sulphur Springs salary minimum is $50,668 and maximum salary is $51,925. The average for sergeants in the other cities is $61,168 minimum and $70,755 maximum. A lieutenant in Sulphur Springs has a minimum pay of $53,327 and maximum of $54,722. The average for the seven cities used for comparison is $68,725 and $78,370. For a captain, Sulphur Springs minimum is $57,832 with a maximum of $59,685. For the comparison cities, no average was given but the lowest minimum is $73,217 and the highest minimum is $86,000. The lowest maximum for captains in the comparison cities is $74,964 and the highest is $97,000. Three cities in Collin County were not use for comparison but their rates were also noted in the packet given to the city and shared by the associations with city councilmen. The difference in pay ranged from 48% higher to 83% higher depending on rank held.
Police communications operators and supervisors are also included. Currently, receive a $31,012 minimum salary and a maximum of $38,105. Supervisors receive a minimum of $39,725 and a maximum of $39,725. Average operator minimum for the seven comparison cities is $35,675 and a maximum of $50,845. Superviors average minimum is $45,127 with a maximum of $60,725. The police association calls for a base of $35,675 increasing to $50,845 after three years for operators. Supervisors proposed base is $5,127 increasing to $60,725 in two years. No increase for Certification pay per month is requested. Currently, one with an intermediate certificate garners $100 per month. An advanced certificate calls for $150 per month and a master’s $200 per month.
For the fire department, the comparison included not only populations of the cities and salary of the three ranks considered but also the number of fire department employees in each city and the ratio of citizens per firefighter. Sulphur Springs employs 22 firefighters. The average for the other cities is 43. Terrell has 23 and Forney and Rockwall both have 24. The other cities have over 50 employees each. Citizen per firefighter in Sulphur Springs is 726. The average for the other seven cities is lower with an average of 723 citizens per firefighter. Corsicana has the lowest citizen per firefighter at 363 and Rockwall the largest difference at 1,741 citizens per firefighter.
Firemen in Sulphur Springs are proposing a step plan for local salaries. For firefighters, they propose a base of $46,312 increasing to $58,493 over a three year period. For a Driver, the proposed annual base will be $61,953 increasing to $66,769 in two years. Captains would begin at $69,394 and increase to $75,031 in two years. They also propose Certification pay per month. Certification stipend would be: Emergency Medical Technician $50; Paramedic $100; Intermediate firefighter $50; Advanced Firefighter $100; Master Firefighter $150; Fire Inspector $50; and Fire Investigator $50.
For Sulphur Springs, firefighter salary begins at $36,246 and maximum is $42,932. The rank of Driver receives $46,182 minimum and $51,240 maximum. A Captain receives a minimum of $52,767 and a maximum of $55,553. This compares to a Firefighter average minimum of $46,312 and maximum of $42,932; Driver average minimum of 57,137 and maximum of $66,769; and Captain minimum $63,758 and maximum of $75,031. The salary variances range between 21% and 36% higher in the other cities.
Wildcats 2016 Football Schedule Released
A few familiar teams and one totally new opponent populate the 2016 Wildcat Varsity Football Schedule now in place. Seminole Ridge, Florida will be across the line of scrimmage when the Wildcats travel to Orlando for a September 2nd game. That game will begin at 8 p.m. and be broadcast here on KSST as well as ksstradio.com stream and the KSST Smartphone App.
Wildcat football will take the field in Liberty Eylau for scrimmage action on August 19th at 10 a.m. prior to their opening game against Sherman at Prim Stadium, August 26th at 7:30 p.m. The trip to Florida will be followed with a trip to Paris, Texas for a 7:30 p.m. game on September 9th. Whitehouse visits Prim for Wildcat Homecoming on September 16th .
District play gets underway September 23 with a road game at Long-Pirate Stadium in Pine Tree. Marshall will be the second district game and played at Gerald Prim on the 30th of September. Texas High will be the next weeks destination for an October 7th game. October 14th is open before the Wildcats host Mt Pleasant on October 21. October 28th, the Wildcats are in Greenville and district ends at Gerald Prim when the Wildcats host Hallsville.
All district games will be played at 7:30 p.m.
Early Voting Numbers Now Over 1,600 for March Primary
Early voting continues at a steady pace in Hopkins County. On Monday, February 22, registered voters casting ballots numbered 267. Of that number 235 voted in the Republican Primary and 32 voted in the Democratic Primary. Total votes cast now stand at 1,639 with 1,501 Republican votes and 138 Democrat votes.
Early voting continues through Friday at the Sulphur Springs ISD Administration Board Room on Connally Street from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day.
Meal-a-Day Needs Driver
Meal-a-Day Center is in need of a Friday driver for an in town route. The route will take only an hour or less each day to complete.
If you are interested call Karon Weatherman at 903-885-1661.
