Hearts of Life Presents Jana for Adoption
Jana will be looking for a home Saturday. She and other dogs will be at Petsense from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday. She and one other are the last two of a litter of 10 that are available for adoption. Hearts of Life Rescue Shelter brought Jana to KSST studios this week. Hearts of Life currently has 50 dogs available for adoption at this time.
Wildcats Baseball Celebrates 2015 Season
Wildcats Baseball Coach Jerrod Hammack says it’s a big deal for a Wildcats’ baseball team to have a sign put up at Eagle Stadium. Only the special teams get signs. Wednesday afternoon a sixth sign joined the group. It honored the 2015 Wildcats’ team that advanced to the regional semi-finals, further than any team in Wildcats’ baseball history. Eleven players from last year’s team showed up Wednesday afternoon to check out the sign and have pictures made in front of it. Coach Hammack says the 2015 team had the kind of season they can be proud of and can look back on with pride. He says sometime last year the players became a team that were just as excited for the accomplishments of others as they were for themselves.
In ten years, three of Coach Hammack’s teams have earned signs. His 2006 squad went through district play undefeated and advanced to area. His 2010 team made it all the way to the regional quarterfinals.
Express Care Open Seven Days A Week
Kalee Kirk, Physician’s Assistant and Sherry Moore, Director of Marketing at Memorial Hospital were guests on the Good Morning Show with Enola Gay to talk about the new Express Care urgent care clinic. Since opening on January 7, the clinic has seen an increasing flow of patients including 21 on the first Saturday of operation. Kalee, PA Colby Cross and Dr. Darrell Peirce are seeing patients seven days per week, treating everything from colds and flu to minor injuries, and offering x-rays and lab in-house.
Although Express Care does not file claims for Medicare and Medicaid patients, those can be seen with cash payments. Express Care does honor the insurance and employer programs which Memorial Hospital honors, as well as all other cash patients.
Express Care at 1339 South Broadway is open from 7am til 7pm Monday through Saturday and open from 9am until 4pm on Sundays. To phone Express Care, call 903-951-1001.
Sulphur Bluff 5th Grader, Jack Philips, Featured on RFD-TV
Not every 10-year old is a featured guest performer on television but Jack Philips, fifth grade student at Sulphur Bluff ISD, was recently featured on RFD-TV’s “True Country”. Jack plays Western Swing and sings in the Bob Wills’ style. Jack’s fiddling natural abilities are being strengthened by formal training, but what he does naturally is something even seasoned musicians never learn.
County Commissioners Move Forward Seeking FEMA Disaster Relief Funding
Hopkins County Commissioners and FEMA are nearing completion of evaluation of spring storm and flood damage to of county road. Disaster inspections based on spring 2015 damage is nearing completion. When completed, commissioners and FEMA will quickly begin evaluation of damage from storms, tornados, and floods that occurred in December of 2015. FEMA will provide 75% of the final dollar total of damage with the county providing 25%. The county’s responsibility can be met through county labor and use of machinery.
Beth Wisenbaker, Commissioner Precinct 1, said that depending on weather and other factors January 29th should be the end date for the evaluations o
f spring damage. Although upper level review of the final assessment will follow, it is expected the January agreement will be accepted in the final decision by FEMA. Commissioners and FEMA representatives will meet to determine a final dollar figure in the next couple of weeks. With all precincts in the county affected, each commissioner had applied for their own specific amount depending on need. Wisenbaker said Precinct 1 would be applying for FEMA assistance at an amount around one million dollars. She said that some of the funds received from FEMA would reimburse the county commissioners’ budget for work already performed. The remainder would be used to fund the remaining projects.
Next the county commissioners will begin working with FEMA on damage that occurred during the December 26th rains. Some of the roadways destroyed by the spring rains had been repaired but were wiped out again by the December disaster. Wisenbaker said the county has already met the FEMA local funding threshold. Wisenbaker said the county has easily met the disaster threshold of $125,000 in damage and is sure the state will reach the $35-million minimum due to the statewide effect of storms, tornados, and blizzard. Agri-business received the greatest damage from the storm named by some, “Goliath”.
FEMA representatives that have been working with the county have been based in Texarkana. However, Wisenbaker said FEMA is considering establishing a base in Sulphur Springs as they continue working disaster relief locally.
Yates Found Guilty; Sentencing Expected Thursday Afternoon
Wednesday a Hopkins County jury found Stanton Wayne Yates, 30, guilty of four counts of engaging in organized criminal activity and one count of burglary. In a trial that began Monday morning in 8th Judicial District Court, Assistant District Attorney Clay Harrison said the sentencing phase of the trail began Wednesday afternoon with testimony. Attorney arguments in the sentencing phase will be presented Wednesday afternoon. Yates faces a range of punishment that ranges from probation to life in prison.
Yates is one of two Hunt County brothers who were found in Collin County jail for burglary of a habitation. At the time of their arrest, Hopkins County Sheriff’s officers thought seven burglaries that were under investigation at that time would be cleared.
Yates’ brother, Perry Jeff Yates, pled guilty to burglary and was been sentenced to 20 years in the state penitentiary.
Animals of the Week: Daina and Paxton
Daina and Paxton are two dogs with a close bond. Daina is a female Beagle and Bull mix and is one and a half years old. Paxton is a pug and Chihuahua mix and is five years old.
“The original owner was trying to re-home them. She had to vacate the home that they were at and, we believe, the people there had just dropped them off at another street,” Animal Shelter Officer Barbi Blanch said. “We ended up picking them up and we knew where the dogs since we found them over at the Lake Highland church.”
The two dogs have stayed together ever since they were found on November 10, making them the oldest animals in the Shelter. Paxton has seen Daina grown from a puppy until she towered over the little pug/chihuahua mix. The dynamic duo went together at the beginning of December to the foster home of Tasha Webb where they live with ten other foster animals.
“I love animals and I wanted to make sure they were okay,” Webb said. “I have a houseful, and they all get along well. They’re very sweet dogs, they’re calm and cool and don’t try to annoy other dogs or animals.”
Paxton and Daina are inseparable, sleeping and eating together. Webb has even had to have one dog present while bathing the other so as to not cause distress between the two. Because of this, the Animal Shelter only wants to adopt them out together, since separating them has seen bad results in the past.
“At one time we did adopt Daina out and the man brought her back because she was chasing cats. During the time that Daina was gone, Paxton more or less moped. At times he really wouldn’t eat, he’d just lay there. Whenever she came back, it was like his whole life lit back up. He was a completely different dog.”
Both dogs have been presented together at off site adoptions and other events. Bonded pairs such as Paxton and Daina are always kept together at the Shelter, and are always adopted together as well.
Daina with Officer Annie DeWolfe (left) Paxton with Tasha Webb (right)
What is that weed?
What is that weed: Lawn burrweed
This time of the year is always a challenge for the gardener. Our lawns are idle with most of the grasses dormant. Sporadic ryegrass blades might be greening up and need some touch-up mowing but in general our gardens are just as we are: cold and grumpy waiting for the temperatures to raise. This year our knock-out roses had an unexpected flowering last week: The “Nacogdoches” yellow roses bloomed and greened up as a reminder to me that springs is just few weeks away. For some residents in the county the carpet burweed or lawn burweed (Soliva spp.), a cool season annual introduced from South America, has become a nuisance on golf courses, athletic fields, parks and lawns. According to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension the lawn burrweed becomes a real nuisance when the seed matures in the spring because the sharply pointed spines on the seed can easily pierce the skin. Burweed becomes a deterrent to the use of athletic fields, parks and playgrounds in the spring when the seed mature. On golf courses, burrweed invades even the most closely mowed putting greens as well as fairways, tees and roughs. Burweed is a small, low-growing annual plant. In an unmowed site, it only reaches 2 inches in height and the individual plants may spread out to about 6 inches in diameter. Leaves are pinnately divided giving the plant a feathery appearance. The seed enclosures are flattened, callous structures terminating in teeth on spines. Burweed emerges in early fall and matures in the spring. The vegetative part of the plant dries up in May and the seeds remain to germinate the next fall. Populations of the weed may become so high that plants cover the ground like a carpet-thus, the name “carpet burweed.” Where grassy weeds such as annual bluegrass are eliminated by the use of preemerge herbicides, populations of burweed increase dramatically in following years.Like most broadleaf weeds, burweed is easily controlled in the seedling stage with hormone-type herbicides. Products containing 2,4-D, MCPP and dicamba will control burweed in the seedling stage. Preemerge herbicides are generally not effective for burweed control. In fact, burweed populations increase where preemerge herbicides reduce the competition. Products based on isoxaben are label to use as pre-emergent herbicide for Soliva spp. For more information on this or any other agricultural topic please contact the Hopkins County Extension Office at 903-885-3443 or email me at [email protected].
Mario Villarino DVM, Ph.D.
Hopkins County Extension Agent for Ag and NR
1200B Houston Street
Sulphur Springs, Texas 75482
903-885-3443
SSISD Counselors’ Family Series: Raising Toddlers to Teens
The counselors of Sulphur Springs Independent School District will be hosting their second informative parent session this school year on Tuesday, January 26, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. in the SSES cafeteria. The guest speakers for this specific event are Ginger Brooks, Licensed Professional Counselor and Dr. Todd Connor, MD. This specific session is titled Top Tips for Raising Toddlers to Teens and will provide information on the social\emotional needs of a child, behavior, homework habits and test anxiety.
A meal will be provided prior to the presentation at 5:30 p.m. Childcare will be provided from 5:45-7:15.
The third and final session of this school year will be on Thursday, April 7, 2016 in the SSHS cafeteria.
