First Female Army Ranger Graduates Trained by Sulphur Springs Native
US Army Staff Sgt. Clay Bounds, stationed at Ft. Benning, Ga. is one of 80 Army Ranger Instructors for the first female Ranger class in the history of the U. S. Army Rangers program. On Friday, Bounds will observe as the first females receive their “Ranger tab” during graduation ceremonies. Bounds is a native of Sulphur Springs and the son of KSST’s Enola Gay.
Ranger School is a grueling 62-day course in swimming, land navigation, parachuting, foot marches and mock combat patrols. In April 2015, the first-ever class of 19 female recruits began Phase 4 school at Ft. Benning. Eight (8) female recruits advanced to Phase Five mountain training, and two (2) endured to enter the final “swamp” phase in Florida. 1st Lt. Shaye Haver and Captain Kristen Greist, both graduates of West Point U.S. Military Academy, completed all tests successfully and will join 94 male candidates at ceremonies.
In addition to parading in uniform for superiors, instructors and families, the class will demonstrate knowledge of helicopter jumps, rappelling, demolition and explosives skills. Sgt. Bounds is a graduate of SSHS, joined the Army in 1994, became a Ranger in 2013 and has been a Ranger Instructor since 2014.
Lady Cats Win Home Opener
The Lady Cats’ volleyball team won their home opener over Mineola Tuesday night, 3-0 in Wildcats Gym. The score was 25-21, 25-13 and 25-20. The Lady Cats improved to 6-4 for the season. Kaylee Jefferson, freshman Autumn Tanton and Mieke VanBenthem were impressive at the net. Tori Moore led in digs. The Lady Cats will play Terrell, Wills Point and Chapel Hill in pool play in a Wills Point tournament Friday and Saturday.
Supreme Court Rescues Potato House Sign
Boards and commissions representing the City of Sulphur Springs had no choice but to approve the signage posted to advertise the location of the Potato House located along a downtown street. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Reed vs. The Town of Gilbert, Arizona that such signs are protected by the First Amendment Freedom of Speech. One has to only Google or read SCOTUS blog’s explanation of Reed v Town of Gilbert, Arizona. The court case focused on a non-profit organization’s signage but the court extended their decision to public business as well.
In recent weeks, social media had been used to fuel a public relations campaign that has given the Potato House more exposure than the innocuous wooden sign. The sign consists of a potato in a chef’s toque blanche pointing the way to the entrance of the establishment. Media from outside the city provoked opinions with reports that reflected the message of social media but that indicated they did not go beyond the potato establishment in researching the background of the appeals being made. Although the city mayor was implicated in their report, they never approached the mayor regarding what she understood to have been said regarding applications for signage and other factors related to the original denial of the sign.
Auto Theft Prevention; Lock the Doors
Sulphur Springs Police continue to get reports on cars being broken into on a fairly regular basis. Police Chief Jay Sanders has one suggestion that could help–lock your doors. Sanders said “handle pullers” walk around and pull the handles on parked autos. If the door opens, the individual enters the auto and extracts cellphones, wallets, money, and other items of value.
Sanders once again asks that residents to lock their cars, especially at night and during the day as well. He said those who open the car doors are looking for something to sell or trade. He encourages locking auto doors when out shopping and when you are at home. He stated that one should remove any thing of value from the auto at night. A few auto windows have been broken as well.
Magnolia Seed Pods and a Child Cause Spotting on Memorial
The Sulphur Springs Police Department has figured out what happened to mar several stones of the Hopkins County Veterans Memorial over the weekend. Video showed an 8 or 9 year old girl playing between the stones of the Memorial. Speculation was that pizza and soft drinks had caused the spotting on the stones. It turned out the girl was throwing seed pods from a Magnolia tree up against the memorial’s stones. Police Chief Jay Sanders said the stains should clean up without too much problem.
Early Morning Drug Arrest
A Hopkins County Sheriff’s Deputy stopped a speeding auto early Tuesday morning on FM 2297. The driver of the auto was nervous as she was questioned by the officer. A search of the vehicle revealed 5.5 grams of a controlled substance. Taylor Alane Hunter, 25, was arrested and transported to Hopkins County Jail. Tuesday morning, Justice of the Peace Brad Cummings set bond for Hunter at $25,000 for the second degree felony charge–possession of a controlled substance >4 grans ,200 grams.
Hopkins County History a Life Long Work for Bill and June Tuck
Bill Tuck is proud of the volumes of Hopkins County history compiled by his late wife, June Tuck. Tuesday on KSST’s Good Morning Show hosted by Enola Gay, Bill reminisced that he and June worked tirelessly on research and documentation for the half-dozen beautifully bound works. The books feature the cemeteries, schools and communities of Hopkins County as well as Civil War soldiers stationed here, obituary records, and a pictorial history with photographs of families and places from all over the county.
After Bill’s service with the United States Marine Corps in Korea he and June decided to make their home in Sulphur Springs and Hopkins County. He went into business as a jeweler and opened Tuck’s Jewelers on the west side of the downtown square. Bill served as President of the Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce and in numerous service clubs. He was named Citizen of the Year in 1993.
For decades, the couple’s shared hobby was preserving the history of Hopkins County. As one of their contributions to preserving local history, Bill and June secured the purchase of a historic structure on North Jackson Street which is today’s Hopkins County Museum. The adjoining 11-acres of land became Heritage Park. Much personal labor was donated by Bill in disassembling and moving several structures now on display on the grounds of the Park. The museum and park is operated today by the Hopkins County Historical Society.
Bill will soon be saying goodbye to his friends in Hopkins County and completing a move to McKinney, Texas to be near his daughter, Deborah, and her family.
New Record Set for Electric Usage in Texas
Continual heat in late July and August have created stress for consumers as they received their electric bills this summer. Consumers in Northeast Texas are not alone in using larger amounts of electrical power. Their neighbors across the state have aided in pushing the use of electric power to new highs in August. According to the U. S. Energy Administration in “Today in Energy”, Texas has set a new record for electricity use. They report that during the recent heat wave in Texas, the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the operator of the electric grid covering most of the state, set a new record for electricity use when demand for electricity reached 69.8 gigawatts (GW) between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on August 10. ERCOT has been able to handle this extremely high demand without any system emergencies. Year-to-date through August 11, Texas used a record-high 4.5 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas to help fuel the state’s expanded power generation needs.
Although sustained high summer temperatures and strong population and economic growth pushed peak demand higher than forecast, the grid has performed as expected. In its summer 2015 reliability assessment, the North American Electricity Reliability Corporation (NERC) had forecasted a higher reserve margin for Texas’s electric grid this summer (16.24%) compared with previous years (14.98% in 2014). Reserve margins reflect the amount of available generating capacity in the absence of unplanned outages at projected peak system demand. Reliability planning helps to ensure that there are enough electricity supply and transmission resources to meet demand even if there are unexpected outages of generation plants or transmission lines.
In August 2011, ERCOT declared several emergencies in an effort to reduce electric demand. Rolling power outages were avoided because load curtailment was carried out through demand response and interruptible load contractual agreements, calls for voluntary conservation, and execution of short-term contracts that brought four generators back from nonoperating status. Since then, grid operators have worked to better ensure reliability in ERCOT.
The complete report first published in U. S. Energy Administration’ “Today in Energy” found here.
Welding Shop in Place for Fall at PJC-Sulphur Springs Center
Paris Junior College-Sulphur Springs Center’s new welding shop, located on the future campus now under construction, will be complete and ready to teach welding when the fall semester begins on August 31. A student Weldstation is pictured above. In addition to welding, PJC will also be teaching mechatronics and computer aided drafting with 3-D printing this fall at the 1137 East Loop 301 location. To register for any of these classes, stop by the PJC-Sulphur Springs Center campus office at 1202 W. Houston Street, or call 903-885-1232 for more information.
