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.
Eastbound I-30 In Greenville Shutdown by 18-Wheeler Stop Following Police Chase
Those traveling I-30 from the Dallas area to Sulphur Springs are encountering a major delay created by Police from several departments and troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety who have stopped an 18-wheeler with flat tires on the service road near the old Mary of Puddin Hill location.The drive finally exited the vehicle after gas was shot into the vehicle. He was placed in custody by a SWAT Team.
According to reports, the chase began in the Garland area just before lunchtime. More than two-dozen squad cars were behind the semi when it came to a stop after the service road came to a dead end.
Law enforcement officials have taken up positions along the frontage road and the highway. While traffic was freely moving in the westbound lanes of I-30 the eastbound side sat motionless and was backed up for miles.
Man Turns Himself In On Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child Charges
Raul Carrerea Pichardo, 35, turned himself in to the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office without incident Tuesday evening on a warrant for aggravated sexual assault of a child. Bond was set at $35,000 after a bond agreement between Pichardo’s attorney and the District Attorney’s office.
The incident occurred in October, 2014. Pichardo, a citizen of Mexico, is being held in Hopkins County Jail for both the offense and for Homeland Security.
Wildcats Football to Play Second Game of 2016 in Orlando, Florida
Wildcat football will take a road trip to Orlando, Florida for their second game of the 2016 season. Wildcat Head Coach announced the opportunity at a press conference, Wednesday, January 13. The Sulphur Springs High School football team has been invited to play Sept 2, 2016 in Florida at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex located in Orlando. Along with the football team, the cheerleaders and athletic trainers will be participating as well.
The team and cheerleaders will depart Sulphur Springs on Thursday, September 1 and return on Sunday the 4th. The cost of the trip for each participant is $1200 which includes airfare, meals, hotel, & a three day pass to Disney World. No tax dollars will be used to pay for the trip. Each participant will have to raise their own funds through designated fund raisers and hard work.
Some of the fundraisers for those attending will include: Battery Pack Sales, Wildcat Card Sales, Hudl email campaign, and Wildcat Work Days. Owens stated, “Our goal is not to beat the community up asking for money, but if someone wants to help make this trip possible or needs some strong young men to do yard work or heavy lifting please contact [Coach Greg Owens] [email protected].”
Owens called the trip “a once in a lifetime experience for our student/athlete. We will be representing the state of Texas and our community. By taking our team on the road, we are allowing them to experience a truly unique opportunity. Exposing our team to a whole new world of responsibility and competition is sure to develop lifelong skills proving the educational benefits of sports.”
No opponent has been named but teams from Colorado, Georgia, New York, and Florida will participate. SSHS junior varsity and varsity will play games. No ESPN schedule for broadcast has been announced.
Pilot Club Announces Three Projects on Morning Show
Talk about a busy start to the New Year! Members of the Pilot Club of Sulphur Springs have at least three projects about to begin, and you’re invited to get involved! Veteran member Jane Goldsmith joined me on the Morning Show.North Hopkins FFA Update
North Hopkins FFA Report Reported by: Samuel Stanley; Submitted by Jan Vaughn
The North Hopkins FFA has been extremely busy with numerous activities and contests the last couple of months. The October month the chapter hosted their monthly FFA meeting called All About FFA with the motto FFA isn’t just about cows, sows and, plows. They talked about everything the FFA had to offer other than actual farming such as LDE’s, CDE’s, Scholarships, and other awards you could gain. Guest speaker and state extemporaneous speaking champion Hudson Northcutt came and spoke about never giving up and fulfilling your dreams.
The November month was in full swing with the numerous Leadership Development Events. The invitational contests proved early that the students were bound for success with multiple team wins in chapter conducting and individual wins in creed speaking. With the 7 teams competing in the district LDE contest, 4 of those advanced to area. Those include; Greenhand chapter conducting- 3rd, Greenhand Quiz- 6th, Greenhand Creed- 2nd, Radio- 8th , Public Relations- 3rd , Senior Creed- 3rd, Senior Quiz- 5th . After attending the Area LDE contest the teams walked away proud of being in the top 3 in two contests, thus putting them alternates in the state contest.
We ended the month with the Adopt-A-Highway community service project where we cleaned up the roadside in front of the campus within our mile of adopted highway.
December has proved successful as well with the many holiday events. We hosted Santa Day for the younger students on campus on Monday the 14th and passed out goody bags, and took pictures with Santa. We then held our chapter Christmas Meeting on Wednesday the 16th where all the members attended lunch in the ag shop.
The chapter officers traveled to Sulphur Springs on Thursday 17th to deliver their angels gifts for the holidays and meet their angels.
The upcoming month will be busy as the chapter is getting ready for District Convention where they will hear two of their own members run for district and area office within the FFA.
Hallsville Defense Overcomes Lady Cats, Wildcats
Lady Cats:
The Lady Cats’ basketball team saw a big lead evaporate in the fourth quarter as Hallsville stormed back to take a 49-47 win in Wildcats Gym Tuesday night. After Lady Cats leading scorer Kaylee Jefferson fouled out, it appeared the Lady Cats would rise to the occasion and they built a double digit lead about halfway through the final quarter. Then Hallsville turned up the pressure forcing turnovers and started hitting three point shots. Still the Lady Cats clung to a one point lead with only 20 seconds left. One final turnover led to a Hallsville 3-point play for the lead. Two missed free throws ended Lady Cats’ hopes. Lady Cats Coach Jeff Chapman said the loss was no one player’s fault. He said the team had to learn how to handle pressure better. The Lady Cats committed 27 turnovers in the game. After the game Coach Chapman told his team that they can’t let this disappointment affect future games. He predicted his team would pick each other up and go play. He noted they had to fight to get where they were and he said they would continue to fight to keep going. The Lady Cats fell out of a first place tie. They are now 4-2 in district play and 17-6 overall. They’ll travel to Pine Tree Friday night for a 6:30 p.m. game.
WILDCATS:
Hallsville can be a tough place to play and the Wildcats didn’t buck the trend Tuesday night. Hallsville ran a stifling press at the Wildcats and keep it up almost all the way until the end. The Wildcats fell into a big hole and trailed 41-14 at the half. Hallsville eventually won 94-43. With the loss the Wildcats dropped out of a fourth place tie as they are now 1-3 in district play. Their season record is now 8-12. The Wildcats will attempt to jump back into the win column as they play host to Pine Tree Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
Starbucks Signage Variance Approved By ZBA
Sulphur Springs Zoning Board of Adjustments approved a sign ordiance variance for property located at 1320 South Boardway. The approval opens the door for further steps to be taken to build a Starbucks, purveyor of coffee, in the city. The property owners at 1320 South Broadway sought the variance to the city sign ordinance. They are wanting a sign 85 ft high. The city sign ordinance allows signs to be only 24 feet high. City staff favored the variance. No property owners around the property opposed the variance. The approval is contingent on the lot being plotted and building permit for Starbucks issued.
The sign will be the same height as or shorter than IHOP and Taco Bell signs. Those seeking the variance had flown a balloon to the height of 85 feet and it could be seen from the Interstate Highway but at 70 feet it could not be seen prior to the exit from I-30 at Broadway. The height of the sign will not affect the billboard that is currently near the proposed location for the Starbucks sign.
Kyle Robinson, a member of the board, and board chair Matthew Johnson questioned the need for a sign at that height. Carrie Nuckolls stated that the balloon test enabled her to understand the necessity of the height. Joel Sheffield said that highway signage that advertised establishments would draw his attention more than a sign at the recommended site. All board members and alternates were present for the vote.
Kevin Mohl was sworn in as a member and Brad Burgin and Ben Spraggins were sworn in as alternate members. Nuckolls was elected as vice-chairperson for the board.
Sulphur Springs FFA to Ag Mechanics Shows
by Allison Bledsoe, Intern
Sulphur Springs High School FFA will compete at the Fort Worth Ag Mechanics Show on January 15-18. At this particular show, Kris Nottingham will show a shop table and Morgan Mayers and Brenton Burnside will show a tailgate bench.
Those same students will show their same projects in San Antonio on February 26-28 and in Houston on March 18-20. In addition to those, Hunter Stonaker will show a 26′ gooseneck trailer. Kye Johnson, Mark Maddox, and John Hogan will show a 12′ bumper pull utility trailer. Tristan Fairchild and Layton Pace will show a 10′ welding trailer. Kyle Gammill, Logan Merrell, Tyler McKinney and Dalton Irby will show a 14′ bumper pull utility trailer. Cameron Davis will show a hay saver-feeder. Kelley Osornio and Kyle Wood will show a portable hog trap.
