Gigliotti Seeks to Unseat Incumbent Congressman
Lou Gigliotti is seeking to unseat Congressman John Ratcliffe in the Texas Congressional District 4 Republican Primary. Gigliotti has campaigned for the office four time—three times against the late Congressman Ralph Hall. Gigliotti does not live in the district but says he is building a new business facility in the district in Anna, Texas. Gigliotti was in Sulphur Springs Monday for the Republican President’s Day forum.
Gigliotti accuses the incumbent of calling him a liar and dishonest but Gigliotti said he is telling the truth. The controversy revolves around Gigliotti’s accusation that Ratcliffe has connections to a lobby group that is involved with Homeland Security.
If Gigliotti is elected, one of his biggest goals is to reduce the size of the federal government from the EPA to the Bureau of Land Management. Too many congressmen go to Washington with dollar signs according to Gigliotti who said that he was a math teacher who knows how to add and subtract.
He stated that as a businessman, he has built two businesses in the district and sold them. Now he is building a 55,000 square feet structure in Anna where he plans to employ 200 people in the next six to eight months with 40 to 50 of those jobs permanent in the district.
First Day of Early Voting: 374 Ballots Cast
Tuesday, February 16th was the first day for early voting for the March 1st primary. On the first day, 374 Hopkins County residents cast ballots. Of that 374, 352 voted in the Republicans Primary and 22 voted in the Democratic Primary.
Early voting for all county voters both Democrats and Republicans takes place in the Sulphur Springs ISD Administration Building in the boardroom on Connally Street in Sulphur Springs. Hours for early voting are 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. each weekday until February 26. Early voting is also available on Saturday February 20th from 8 until 5 and Sunday the 21st from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.
When preparing to cast your ballot, the election worker will ask you in which party primary you wish to vote. You must choose Democrat or Republican. At that time the worker will mark you voter card and assign the appropriate ballot. Voters must cast ballots according to party divisions in this election. In the general election you may choose to cross party lines.
See sample ballots here.
Oxford Files for Place 5 on City Council
One more time… Former Sulphur Springs City Councilman Charles Oxford, a perennial candidate for city council, has filed for Place 4 on the Sulphur Springs City Council Wednesday morning. He will oppose incumbent Freddie Taylor, who filed shortly after the start of filing. Filing for a place on the city council ends Friday, February 19th. Last year Oxford filed for Place 3 on the council. He lost that election to then incumbent Councilman Oscar Aguilar.
In his last attempt to unseat an incumbent, Oxford had compiled a list of what he called “concerns for the city”, which he had said he based on talking with local residents. Among his concerns then were that many in the city desired to “get rid of the city manager” and “why bother to vote because they are going to do what they want to do anyway.” Last year, Oxford said that he had talked to 4,000 citizens, twice. He also had stated that he wanted the residents to elect the major as opposed to the council picking the mayor.
Incumbent Emily Glass will face Jimmy Lucas for Place 5 on the council. The election will take place May 7th.
Filing for a place on the city council takes place in the City Secretary’s office on the second floor of City Hall.
Kiwanis Club Serves Pancake Fundraiser
Wildcats Soccer Opens Second Half of District in Second Place
The Wildcats Soccer Team improved it’s standing in the playoff race with a 1-0 victory over Hallsville at Gerald Prim Stadium Tuesday night. The top four teams were playing each other Tuesday night and the Wildcats are now tied for second with Hallsville one game behind the winner of the Mt. Pleasant and Pine Tree game Tuesday night.
The Wildcats are now 5-2 after the completion of the first half of district play. The Wildcats season record is now 10-7-1. The Wildcats open the second half Friday night at Prim Stadium as Marshall is coming to town. The Wildcats won in Marshall, 1-0 back on January 26.
Saltillo Lions Down Owls; Take Second in District
Saltillo Boys Basketball, Lane Bench
A total team effort sends the Saltillo Lions into play-off action after the Lions defeat the Yantis Owls, 48-38 Tuesday night at Yantis. The Lions will now face Roxton in Bi-District play with time and place to be determined.
“Everybody played hard, played defense, and blocked out,” said Coach Bill Giles. He continued that he is “Extremely proud of this team. We lost 13 of our top 14 players from last year. Ten graduated, two left the program and one injury. For this group of young men to finished second in district is an outstanding accomplishment. Earlier in the season we played a tough schedule and really struggled, but they stayed positive and continued to work hard and it paid off.”
The Lions hit 16 of 23 free throws. Scoring for the Lions: John Vanholten 20, Lane Bench 13, Matthew Gurley 7, Walker McGill 2, Dakota Patridge 2, Branson McGill 2, and Logan Camp 2.
The Lions end regular season with a 14-17 overall record and a 7-3 district record.
Lion junior varsity defeated Yantis 29-21 to go 5-0 in district play.
Heartbreak in Hallsville for Lady Cats Soccer
The Lady Cats Soccer Team has found some heartbreaking ways to lose at Hallsville the past two years. Last year, late in the game a Lady Cats penalty resulted in a penalty kick goal as Hallsville excaped with a 1-0 win. This year after the teams battled to a 0-0 tie, Hallsville won a shootout scoring on 3 penalty kicks to 2 for the Lady Cats.
After starting district play, 4-0, the Lady Cats have lost three games in a row. They will open play in the second half with a game at Marshall Friday night at 7 p.m. The Lady Cats defeated Marshall 4-0 at Gerald Prim Stadium back on January 26.
Wildcats End Season With Loss to Marshall
The Wildcats Basketball Team got off to another slow start Tuesday night that again proved too much to overcome as Marshall claimed the district championship with a 89-64 win in Marshall. It seemed after the Wildcats warmed up, they had one of their best shooting nights of the season. The Wildcats end district play with a 3-11 record. The final season mark is 10-20. That’s one more win than they had last year.
Watch out for the Wildcats next year as their athletic JV freshman Victor Iwaukor will be able to play varsity ball. They could be one of the district’s best next year.
Lady Cats Win Bi-District in Overtime; Play Mansfield Summit Thursday
The Lady Cats Basketball Team, trailing by ten points after the third quarter, staged a ferocious fourth quarter comeback to force overtime where they claimed a 58-52 win over Lindale Tuesday night at Grand Saline.
Sophomore Kaylee Jefferson had been held to only six points through three quarters but then took charge scoring 15 fourth quarter points. Daieyshia Pruitt hit two big three point shots in the fourth quarter including the one that tied the game, 49-49 with just seconds left. Pruitt also drove to the basket and scored the first two points of overtime as the Lady Cats outscored the Lady Eagles, 9-3 in the overtime. Jefferson added four more points in overtime and led the Lady cats with 25 points. Pruitt ended up with 11 points as did senior Lexie Moore who had three clutch overtime free throws.
It seemed the fourth quarter wouldn’t mean much as the Lady Cats scored only 13 points at the half and 26 after three quarters. The Lady Cats are now 26-6 for the season. They will meet Mansfield Summit Thursday night at 7 p.m. at North Forney in Area action.
Now the Lady Cats prepare for Mansfield Summit Thursday night, 7 p.m. at North Forney High Gym in Area action. The game was first set for Rockwall High School Gym but due to the teams in the first game not agreeing to a doubleheader, the game was moved.
Local Voters Question Aggressive Electioneering Near Early Voting Poll
Stock Photo; Names changed to protect candidates
Political aggressiveness that has been unknown to Hopkins County has finally arrived from the big city and areas of the nation where last minute effort outweighs common courtesy. According to Debbie Shirley, Hopkins County Clerk, and county Republican Party leadership, voters are complaining about candidates and/or their representatives standing outside the non-electioneering boundaries. According to law, those seeking a political office and those who represent them are not allowed within a 100 feet boundary around the polling place. According to Shirley, no one is electioneering inside the polling boundaries. However, there are those who are electioneering outside the boundary.
Shirley said that some signs were posted today but that the signs are on school property and it is the jurisdiction of SSISD that would decide the fate of the signs. Shirley said she has been told the signs were removed after she contacted the school regarding their rights. Candidates may also stand on the sidewalk if the property owner does not allow them on the property for their electioneering activity.
Early voters going to the SSISD Administration Board Room on Connally Street will simply have to prepare themselves for a greeting from candidates. Voters have the right to not take literature, speak a kind word whether it’s your candidate or not, or simply ignore the candidate or their representative.
