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.
Pine Tree Invitational Assists SSHS Academic Team Prepare for District
“With the district UIL Academic meet just over two months away, the Pine Tree UIL Invitational was a great meet for the SSHS UIL team to see where we stand among our district competition,” stated Gina Wilder, Coordinator for the Academic UIL Team at Sulphur Springs High School. She said, “ I’m very proud of how all of our competitors performed. They are really stepping up to the plate in preparing to go to state in May!”
The UIL academic team attended the Pine Tree UIL Invitational this past weekend. The competition at the meet was stiff as six of the eight schools in our district were present. The contest took place over two days, with debate being held on Friday evening and the remainder of the contests conducted on Saturday.
In L-D Debate, Noah Hammons won 2nd place, and Corban Philo won 8th place.
In C-X Debate, the team of Sean Allemang and Joshua Robertson won 8th place, and the team of Karen Hurtado and Catherine Knotek won 10th place. Both of these teams had a 2-1 win record, as did the team of Felipe Alba and Dakota Soles.
In Ready Writing, Steven Payne won 4th place, Lydia Burleson won 5th place, and Patricia Parks won 6th place.
In Computer Applications, Raynie Hooten won 5th place.
In Computer Science, Sean Allemang won 1st place, Trenton Brock won 2nd place, Timothy Charlton won 3rd place, Mauro Basio won 4th place, and Josh Synder won 6th place. The team won 1st place.
In Spelling and Vocabulary, Lydia Burleson won 1st place, Carson McIllwain won 2nd place, and Mandy Eckhardt won 3rd place. The team won 1st place.
In Literary Criticism, Patricia Parks won 1st place, Chloe Ross won 3rd place, Sadie Evans won 5th place, and Jesse Allen won 6th place. They also won first place team.
The math and science events were divided up by grade levels.
In 11th grade competition, Rudy Perez placed 6th in Calculator Applications, and Jessica Rivera placed 5th in 11th Science. The Number Sense team won 3rd place overall.
In the journalism events, Steven Payne won 5th place in both News Writing and Feature Writing, and Lili Gallagos placed 5th in Headline Writing.
In upcoming competition, debate will head to Lindale this coming weekend, and the whole UIL team will attend the Whitehouse meet the weekend of January 22-23.
Food Safety Important to BEF Foods
BEF Foods (Bob Evans Farms) recently took down certain lines at the facility in Sulphur Springs to allow for sanitation, repairs and maintenance on those lines. The work should be completed and production resumed this week, according to a spokesperson for the corporate offices of BEF. Food safety is important to BEF Foods.
According to the spokesperson, there have been no layoffs as a result of the lines being down. The majority of the plant has remained in full operation. “BEF Foods prides itself on completing rigorous and frequent inspections of our equipment and productive environment. If our internal testing produced findings that posed any level of risk to customers and resulted in a recall, we would disclose those findings accordingly.”
A caller to KSST News stated that specific problems had resulted in the shutdown of a number of lines at BEF. Those statements proved to be rumors according to BEF Foods.
Chronic Wasting Disease Ante-mortem Testing Symposium Live Stream
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas Animal Health Commission are conducting a Chronic Wasting Disease ante-mortem testing symposium on Tuesday to explore alternatives for CWD monitoring in Texas deer breeding facilities. The symposium focuses on scientific research and techniques that may assist in development of future CWD testing protocol for Texas. Experts from around the country will speak during the event.
Live stream link will be available on the TPWD homepage on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 from 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Winnsboro Police Activity for January 4-10
Winnsboro Police arrested five (5) individuals, answered 146 calls for service and issued 35 citations and 32 warnings during the seven day period of January 4 – 10, 2016. No accidents were reported.
George Lenox, 59, of Winnsboro was arrested Monday the 4th for assault causing bodily injury.
Christopher Ross, 44, of Nampa, Idaho, was arrested Wednesday the 6th for possession of marijuana under 2 oz.
Stephen Pyron, 24, of Winnsboro was arrested on Thursday the 7th for Manufacture/Delivery/sell/possession of controlled substance.
Brian Sherwood, 39, of Winnsboro was arrested Friday the 8th on a Wood County warrant.
Jennifer Cook, 28, of Winnsboro was arrested on Saturday the 9th for possession of controlled substance under 1 gram and tamper/fabrication physical evidence with intent to impair.
Maybe Next Year for SSHS Band Members
Five Sulphur Springs High School Band students competed in the first day of All-Area band last Saturday. Although the students did not advance to the second day of competition, Charles McCauley, Director, said the students performed well and, thanks to their age, they will compete again in coming years.
Next up for the band, solo and ensemble competition. February 19th is the date of competition for the 65 soloists and 12 ensembles that will represent SSHS band.
Sheriff’s Investigators Have Suspects in Fire Hydrant Scam
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office Investigators believe they have discovered two subjects connected to a recent scam in Sulphur Springs. According to Chief Criminal Investigator Lewis Tatum, two white males in their mid-twenties approached the home of an elderly Sulphur Springs woman and informed her that they were there to replace the fire hydrant on her property. The false claims made by the suspects were indicated an intention to extort money from the victim.
Names of the suspects have not been released as investigators are preparing to present information to the District Attorney’s office to obtain arrest warrants. Tatum encourages Sulphur Springs citizens to be alert and he says there are two things you must do when you find yourself in a similar situation.
Number one: Never grant the individuals access into your home.
Number two: Immediately notify either the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office or the Sulphur Springs Police Department.
Yates Trial Begins
Monday morning in 8th Judicial District Court, Assistant District Attorney Clay Harrison began calling the first of an expected 40 witnesses for the prosecution in a trial expected to take four days. Stanton Wayne Yates, 30, is being tried for five counts of organized criminal activity.
With a map of Hopkins County predominantly placed facing the 12-member jury panel, Harrison had witnesses place a sticker at the location of their home that had been burglarized or the location that they had observed a burglary. Stickers began covering several segments of the county. Identifying tools used in the burglaries was also a feature as Hopkins County Sheriff’s Deputies were called upon to testify. One witness identified specific items of value and greater sentimental value that had been taken from his home in the North Hopkins/Birthright area.
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 has been sentenced to 20 years in the state penitentiary. Perry Jeff Yates is expected to be a witness in the current trial.
Morning Show Featured A & M-Commerce Leaders Touting MLK Awards Celebration
Four leaders of Texas A and M University-Commerce were guests on the Monday Morning Show with Enola Gay. The four invited the public to attend the 25th MLK Awards Celebration. Organizer Pastor M. Lavelle Hendricks related that 75 individuals will be recognized at the 2016 event. In a nod to the growth of the celebration, Hendricks reminisced that just three individuals were present to be honored at the first awards in 1991.
Noah Nelson, Head of Media Relations and Tim McMurray, Athletic Director at A & M Commerce commented that the Sulphur Springs event attracts people of all ages, race and educational levels who attend in a spirit of love and mutual appreciation. Dr. Dan Jones, Emcee of the event, said that there are many individuals quietly doing good works in the community and this event is a celebration and recognition of their work.
Keynote speaker for the event will be Honorable Judge Morris Overstreet, former judge, Texas Criminal Appellate Court.
The MLK Awards Celebration is set for Monday January 18, 2016 at 7pm at Morning Chapel Missionary Baptist Church and everyone is invited to the free event.
