Eleven Former NETO Employees Indicted by Federal Grand Jury
Eleven former employees of Northeast Texas Opportunities, commonly referred to as NETO, were named in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury charging the 11 with conspiracy to commit an offense against and to defraud the U S Government of government property or money. The indictments were handed down in February in Eastern District Federal Court in Texarkana. The 11 are alleged to have caused losses of over $1.2 million to a distributor of federal grant funds to the needy and elderly.
The indictment was unsealed before U S Magistrate Judge Caroline Craven. The 11 named are from Mt Vernon, Mount Pleasant, Honey Grove, Greenville, Winnsboro, and Pittsburg. Those from Mount Vernon include: Maria Delaluz Telles, 35; Karinda Anne Breaux, 52; Darlene Hargrave Hatcher, 61; Brenda McGill Fountain, 60; Christy Lynn Shelby, 41; and Beverly Thomas Logan, 64. Others indicted include, Cythia Hillard Campbell, 54, of Mt Pleasant; Pamela Powe Gossett, 61, of Pittsburg, Paula Wallis Trantham, 50 of Winnsboro, Marco Antonio Alcaraz-Guerrero, 40 of Greenville, and Lana Bowie Dethrow, 58 of Honey Grove. Gossett was a contract nurse to NETO. Each defendant faces up to five years in federal prison if convicted of conspiracy to defraud the government and 10 years if convicted of theft of government property or money.
NETO closed its door August 31, 2015. The indictment charges that from January 2011 to June 2015, NETO employees and contractors conspired to defraud through writing checks drawn on NETO accounts and the proceeds split between those individuals. The funds were then used for personal use. Fraudulent invoices from vendors were used to support those unauthorized checks. Also overpayment to vendors and then requiring kickbacks from vendors also was employed to gain the funds. NETO funds were also used to pay personal debts for the individuals. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Texas Rangers, and Franklin County Sheriff’s office investigated the case.
NETO had operating in Hopkins County providing TRACS bus service to the elderly and disabled as well as providing some meals to homebound in the county. Other services had also been utilized. However, county government ceased to work with NETO when discrepancies in the use of funds became to come to light. Other county governments as well as the ARK-TX Council of Governments had also worked with the organization. On June 10, 2015, Hopkins County Judge Robert Newsom said that a 2013 audit of North East Texas Opportunities or NETO revealed more than $700,000 in fraud. At that time, NETO had a senior citizen meals program for rural county residents and a utility service. Judge Newsom says the county and others were disassociating themselves from NETO. State and federal investigations of NETO had begun at that time. At that time, Judge Newsom had been assured that county residents receiving meals would be taken care of by a state agency.
In December, 2015, several months after the demise of NETO, quite a few rural Hopkins County residents had been left without their daily meals program. In stepped the Lamar County Human Resources Council. Their Meals on Wheels, which already served a portion of Hopkins County, agreed to serve those in need.
Wildcats Tennis Team Continues Tournament Play
The Wildcats Tennis Team played in a tough Bob Faulkner Tennis Tournament in Tyler Friday. It’s all a part of the team’s preparation for the District Tournament April 5 in Texarkana. Wildcats Coach Tony Martinez was very pleased with the play of the mixed doubles team of Tyler Stout and Jaspyn Johnson in Tyler Friday. They finished in fourth place in a 16 team field. Coach Martinez said he also decided to pair up two of his top singles players into a doubles team. Unfortunately the team of Jesse Allen and Drew Sant ended up playing a doubles team that earlier had defeated a state champion team last year from Spring Hill. Coach Martinez said several other Wildcats got into the second or third round of the tournament before losing.
In other tennis news, Coach Martinez was pleased with the community tournament he offered up last Saturday at the new tennis complex. He promised another similar tournament for the public on April 16. It’s a benefit tournament for CanHELP. Coach Martinez said a JV tournament at the Wildcats Tennis Complex Tuesday went very well. Seven teams attended and there were 112 participants. The Tennis Complex will also be the site for a varsity tournament on Friday.
Sulphur Springs Middle School Destination ImagiNation Regional Results
The Sulphur Springs Middle School’s Destination Imagination teams competed this last weekend at the areas regional meet.
In the Technical Challenge, the team must build a vehicle that is able to carry at least one team member across the presentation site multiple times, change the vehicle propulsion system and vehicle movement method during the presentation, create and present a story about change that includes a change within a character, and create and present two Team Choice Elements that show off the team’s interests, skills, areas of strength, and talents. The Technical team won first place and also won a Renaissance Award for the innovation and technical design of their vehicle. The Technical team consists of Andrew Westlund, Brayden Wooten, Madison Garner, Chase Berry, Mady Posey, Mariam Tran, and Dawson Carpenter. Their team managers are Chip Vaughn and Clay Hansford.
In the Scientific Challenge, each team must research the way organisms use camouflage in nature, showcase camouflage research in a visible appearance of an organism, create and present a story with a plot twist that is caused by the use of camouflage, apply camouflage methods to an origianl, team-designed and created set piece or prop, and create and present two Team Choice Elements that show off the team’s interstes, skills, areas of strength, and talents. The Scientific team placed third. The Scientific team consists of Isabelle Reneau, Sahib Randhawa, Austin McCain, Layla McCarley, Anabeli Juarez, Carson Fenton, and Ella Moore. Their team manager is Gerson Salvetoreh.
In the Structural Challenge, each team must design and build a structure that both supports weight and is a musical instrument, play a musical solo using the structure, tell a story with at least one musical character, integrate the story with the weight placement testing of the structure, and create and present two Team Choice Elements that show off the team’s interests, skills, areas of strength, and talents. The Structural team placed second. The Structural team consists of Mattie Thurman, Kip Childress, Kendall Little, Savannah Lilley, Connor Bailey, Luke Dietz, and Braxton Hohenberger. Their team manager is Jamilyn Hunt.
In the Fine Arts Challenge, each team must present a story set on Earth in team-chosen time period before 1990, discover, live on stage, which of the three suspect characters is responsible for the mystery, include a TechniClue that helps solve the mystery, present in the style of traverse staging, and create and present two Team Choice Elements that show off the team’s interests, skills, areas of strength, and talents. The Fine Arts team placed sixth and also received a DaVinci Award for the outstanding creativity of their performance. The Fine Arts team consists of Braylea Brewer, Jasmin Vargas, Corde Mayo, Hope Williams, Allie Thurman, Wiley Bennett, and Allie Grace Woodard. Their team manager is Nathan Woodard.
In the Improvisational Challenge, each team must research Challenge-provided confined spaces, create and perform a four-minute improvisational presentation within a confined space, show how characters work together to address a news flash, and integrate a mysterious stranger and a team-created miscellaneous prop into the presentation. The Improvisational team placed first. The Improvisational team consists of Mattie Smith, Gavin Patrick, Robert Dyer, Ben Braddy, Harley Speed, Rorie Young, and Trinity Sherman. Their team manager is Lane Doughtie.
The Technical and Improvisational teams will advance to the state competition in Anna, Texas at the Anna High School on April 1-2.
State Historian O’Neal Opens Mini Speaker Series on Texas Independence Day
DALLAS, TX— The Universities Center at Dallas and Texas A&M University-Commerce will kick off their Mini-Speaker Series on March 2 with Texas State Historian Bill O’Neal. The Mini-Speaker Series will feature a line-up of speakers covering intellectual, relevant and intriguing topics of today.
An alumnus of A&M-Commerce, O’Neal is currently serving his second term as State Historian of Texas. He has written over 40 books, as well as 300 articles and book reviews. He has also appeared on TV documentaries on TBS, The History Channel, The Learning Channel, CMT, A&E, and currently the series “Gunslingers” on the American Heroes Channel. He has earned multiple awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Wild West History Association in 2012, the A.C. Greene Distinguished Author Award of 2015, a Piper Professorship in 2000 from his time teaching at Panola College, in addition to being named True West Magazine’s Best living Nonfiction Writer. In 2013, A&M-Commerce awarded O’Neal with an honorary Doctor of Letters degree.
“I am delighted and honored to inaugurate the A&M-Commerce Mini Speaker Series on the 180th Anniversary of Texas Independence Day!” said O’Neal.
At the event, O’Neal will premiere his latest book, “Sam Houston, A Study in Leadership.” Sam Houston was a general of the victory at San Jacinto, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, and the only man to have served as governor for two states, Texas and Tennessee. Though Houston is a Texas icon, he lived a wild and controversial life filled with drama, conflict, and outstanding achievements.
“Sam Houston was a larger-than-life hero, whose story radiates incredible courage and passion and accomplishment,” said O’Neal.
The event will take place March 2 at 1910 Pacific Place, Dallas, Texas on the third floor. A complimentary buffet lunch provided by A&M-Commerce will be available at 11:45 a.m. with O’Neal’s speech at 12:15 p.m. There will be a book signing at 12:45 p.m. The public is cordially invited.
A Summer Between Two Winters
by Mario Villarino DVM, Ph.D
Our winter suddenly is starting to warm up. With the increase of temperature, plant activity in lawns and gardens starts to kick in. I have visited with several members of our community who are even getting their lawnmowers getting ready to start an early mowing season. IT is however important to remember that the chances for cold days are not over and it will be wise to have a way of protect our tender early plantings from frost still.
A common weed covering our lawns is henbit. Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) is a cool season, annual broadleaf weed. Seedlings begin to emerge in early fall and grow throughout the fall, winter and spring. Henbit can dominate turfgrass in the spring throughout the southern region. Although henbit is not known for any herbal or medicinal purposes, this plant is used in flower arrangements because of its unusual leaf shape and arrangement. Henbit, a member of the mint family, has characteristic square stems. Stems are slender, ascending or prostrate, and freely branched at the base. Stems may root at the lower nodes. Leaves are opposite, nearly circular, deeply veined, hairy and petioled. Upper leaves clasp the stem and the lower leaves are distinctly petioled. Roots are shallow and fibrous. Flowers, conspicuous in early spring, are tubular, pink to purple, and borne in the leaf axile. Seeds are borne in a pod.
Henbit is most effectively controlled with herbicides in the fall while plants are small and immature. Products containing dicamba, MCPP and 2,4-D have demonstrated effective control in the fall and early spring. In dormant bermudagrass, glyphosate, diquat or metribuzin will control henbit. If applied prior to germination, products such as surflan, bensulide, pendimethalin and simazine also provide good control of henbit. Follow label directions on all products recommended for henbit to obtain the best control.
Remember to get ready to start also your grassburrs control program using a pre-emerge herbicide, it makes a big difference using a product before seeds emerge while controlling grassburrs.
For more information on this or any other agricultural topic please contact the Hopkins County Extension Office at 903-885-3443.
Voters, Boxes, & Locations: Oh My!
The new “location” voting process turned out to be very successful on getting people to vote through the easier access to voting locations. Unlike in the past, a voter didn’t need to find their specific “voting box” to cast their vote on election day. Instead, any Hopkins County registered voter could go to any location throughout the county and cast their vote. The specific vote would then be counted and redistributed into the appropriated “voting box” like before. This new method provided a little confusion on election night, as KSST News was receiving the numbers from the County Clerk’s office. The first numbers came in as totals from a “Location” which would have votes that were cast from any and all “boxes”. KSST is used to doing it the old way and having the individual box numbers come in as a whole. It only took us a little bit to figure out that those old box numbers couldn’t be totaled until ALL of the locations had been totaled. Although we think the new Location voting system is much more efficient and convenient for all voters, we realize that some voters like to know how their neighbor voted and want to see the old box number totals.
Also, the number of overall voting locations has been reduced from 21 to 14 (on election day). KSST fielded many calls on election day from voters needing to know “their” voting location. It is so much easier with this new system to give voters several options on where they could go cast their vote. The ease of voting on election day coupled with extended early voting times (even on weekends!) has made voting the easiest it has ever been. This resulted in a great turnout for this last election. With over 8,000 votes cast in this election, it has to be one of the highest turnouts in recent memory. The County Clerk’s Office is certainly the unsung hero of this entire process. The coordination of all of the polling locations along with the programming and tabulation involved in all of the voting machines has to be a huge job. Thanks also to all of the election judges and other folks that help throughout the entire process. Lots of work goes into Election Day before it happens, but it takes an army of folks to staff all of the locations all day long. KSST only heard of one polling location that had some machine trouble on election day. With all that it takes to get it all together, we think that is a pretty good score. I have listed below the sheriff’s race vote totals as we received them from the County Clerk’s office, by BOX number. We will be adding more of the box number totals soon.
Business History Month: Legacy Ag Credit, ACA
Legacy Ag Credit is a branch of Farm Credit System that began in 1916 when President Woodrow Wilson passed the Farm Credit Act. Farm Credit is a nation wide system whose sole mission is to finance and serve the people who feed and clothe our country. Legacy Ag Credit focuses in on financing agricultural needs and rural real estate by eliminating interest rate risk with long term fixed interest rates.
Legacy Ag Credit is a borrower-owned cooperative. The Farm Credit System is the only major agricultural lender that is owned by its borrowers. Legacy Ag Credit has adopted the cooperative business principle of refunding a portion of their annual earnings back to their stockholders in the form of patronage payments. At the end of each fiscal year, the board of directors, who are chosen by the customers of Legacy Ag Credit, review the financial results and capital standing of the association. If results of this analysis allow, the association will pay patronage to eligible shareholders based on each patrons contribution to the association’s net interest income for the year.
Legacy Ag Credit has five convenient locations in Sulphur Springs, Canton, Kaufman, Gilmer, and Longview. They serve 10 counties stretching from the Louisiana state line to north Dallas. At their Sulphur Springs location, they employ 31 people and serve over 1170 stockholders. Legacy Ag Credit is 240 million dollar financial institution. Legacy Ag Credit holds pride in their knowledgeable staff and relationship based business with loan products geared toward a variety of customers.
City Council, Police Chief Honor Life Saving Response of Officer Shufeldt
Tuesday night during the Sulphur Springs City Council meeting, Police Chief Jay Sanders presented a Life Saver Ribbon to Officer Josh Shufeldt for his efforts in saving a life.
Shufeldt was working the late shift in October of 2015 when he responded to a call on Airport Road. When he arrived at the location, he found an adult male who had overdosed and was unconscious, unresponsive, no pulse, and not breathing. Shufeldt began chest compressions until Emergency Medical Services arrived. The man survived thanks to the officer’s response.
Flynn Re-elected to State Representative District 2
Dan Flynn
Incumbent State Representative District 2 Dan Flynn edged out Bryan Slaton in a highly contested race for the Republican nomination and by default of no Democrat opposition, re-election to the Representative seat. Slaton, who carried Hopkins County by only 13 votes, out polled Flynn in early voting across the district but it was Slaton’s home county that sidelined his effort.
Hunt County voters cast 6,476 votes for Flynn and only 5,988 for Slaton. Those 488 votes set aside the Hopkins and Van Zandt slim margin for Slaton. Hopkins County voters gave Flynn 2,958 votes while casting 2,971 for Slaton. Van Zandt County cast 5,377 votes for incumbent Flynn and 5,483 for Slaton.
During the campaign, Slaton tried to show himself as more conservative than Flynn, a task some would call impossible. Flynn on the other hand received endorsement from almost every Republican elected representative, the NRA, and right to life advocates. Flynn stated that Slaton was being financed by a West Texas millionaire.
Slaton was also very quiet about his past. A past that was shadowed by changing jobs often, working in a church that was slow in uncovering sexual misconduct by youth staff members, and accusations of harassment by Hunt County and Royce City officials.
SSHS Track Teams Ahead of Last Year’s Pace
The Lady Cats Track Team finished second in the girls division and the Wildcats finished fifth in the boys division at their Sulphur Springs Meet Friday night. Monday, both Lady Cats Coach Triston Abron and Wildcats Coach Matt Young highlighted the accomplishment of their teams for KSST Sports.
Lady Cats Track Coach Triston Abron was pleased. His 4X100-meter relay team finished second and he said they were really good. He said they were second because of a lack of handoff work that he said was his fault. The Lady Cats 4X200-meter relay team of Imani Taylor, Abby Baer, Sheretta Hill and Sadavia Porter took first place.Coach Abron praised Sheretta Hill for her leadership qualities. Returner Raley Potts finished third in the 100-meter dash, N’ysa Dugan performed well in the 100-meter hurdles as did Abby Baer, Faith Hatley and McKenzie Moore. Brooke Williams also competed in the 300-meter hurdlers. Thrower Abby Beggs took third in the shot put even though discus is her speciality. Imani Taylor’s first triple jump of the year went for 37 feet. Coach Abron said Abby Baer’s long jump of 17 feet 5 and a half inches would have qualified her for the state meet last year. The Lady Cats compete at a Gilmer meet this Friday.
The Wildcats Track Team finished fifth out of seven teams at the Sulphur Springs Relays at the High School Track last Friday night. Wildcats Track Coach Matt Young said the Wildcats did not have Jacob Gatewood due to injury but he’s expected back this week. In his place, the Wildcats had two runners step up. Eli Sellers and Payton Vickery both placed in the 1600 meters and 3200 meters with personal best performances. In field events, Bubba Hall was third in the triple jump. Terrell Turman had a personal best of over 39 feet in the triple jump. In the discus, Derrick Weeks finished third with a personal best and Gideon Gregory was fifth. Sophomore Ian Blanch was fifth in the shot put with a throw of more than 40 feet. In relay races, Coach Young said they were all about one leg short right now. The 4X100-meter relay of Lawrence Worth, Bubba Hall, Bralin Adams and Isaiah Neal finished sixth. The 4X200-meter relay was tied for first going into the last leg but wound up 4th or 5th according to Coach Young. Will Fain won the 800 meters. Terrell Turman picked up right where he left off last year in the 110-meter hurdles according to Coach Young. Ryan Humphries, after throwing a shutout in baseball against Nacogdoches, showed up and ran a strong race in the 300-meter hurdles that was close to a time he finished with last year. Competitors for the Wildcats included Sherman, Denison, Mt. Pleasant, Paris, Lindale and Royse City. The Wildcats compete at a Gilmer meet on Friday.
The JV Wildcats finished third. Coach Young said a great crowd turned out to watch.
