PJC Spanish Classroom Help
Mayra Cummings, Spanish Instructor at the PJC-Sulphur Springs Center, helps students, Kenia Herrera, left, and Emilia Lopez with some of their classroom assignments.
SSISD Board Of Trustee Early Voting
April 26, 2023- Sulphur Springs ISD Board of Trustee’s are holding early voting to elect two new members to the board. Early voting will be held from April 24th to May 2nd between the hours of 8am and 5pm on weekdays. Voting will be at the SSISD Administration building, located at 631 Connally Street
On Election Day, voters must vote in the precinct where registered to vote. General election will be May 6th from 7am to 7pm at 631 Connally Street.
The Candidates for this election are: Darla Reed, Adam Teer, Wes Cooper and Erv Larry. Elections will be held at large, meaning that the top two voted candidates will be seated onto the board.
Understanding Pesticide Applicator Licenses By Mario Villarino
Understanding Pesticide Applicator Licenses: Do YOU need a license? If so, which endorsement do you need?
The Texas Pesticide Law requires that you must be licensed or certified by the Texas Department of Agriculture in order to lawfully use a restricted-use pesticide, state-limited-use pesticide or regulated herbicides. The law is designed to ensure safety of humans, animals, plants, and the entire ecosystem.
License types are below:
Private Applicator — A person who uses or supervises the use of restricted-use or state-limited-use pesticides for the purpose of producing an agricultural commodity on property owned or rented by the person or the person’s employer or under the person’s general control; or on the property of another person if applied without compensation other than the trading of personal services between producers of agricultural commodities. An agricultural commodity is defined as a plant or animal grown for sale, lease, barter, feed or human consumption and animals raised for farm or ranch work. Private applicator licenses are valid for five years, and the applicator must obtain 15 CEUs during that time to renew.
Commercial Applicator — A person who operates a business or is employed by a business that applies restricted-use or state-limited-use pesticides to the property of another person for hire or compensation. Commercial applicators must renew annually and obtain five CEUs each year.
Noncommercial Applicator — A person required to use restricted-use or state-limited-use pesticides but who is not a private applicator or commercial applicator. Noncommercial applicators are generally government employees who apply restricted-use or state-limited-use pesticides in the course of their employment or persons employed by businesses applying such pesticides on their own property. Noncommercial applicators must renew annually and obtain five CEUs each year.
Vector Control licensing: Effective Sept. 1, 2009, TDA assumed the duties of licensing for health-related pest control (mosquito control); TDA duties formerly conducted by the DSHS. This change occurred through HB 1530, which made these changes to Chapter 76, the Agriculture Code. Persons wishing to licenses in health-related pest control will be subject to licensing under the Ag Code and subsequent regulations in the Vector Control Category.
The Hopkins County Extension Office offers three dates for Pesticide Applicators to get their training on May 24, August 16 and November 15, 2023. Call the Hopkins County Extension Office at 903 885-3443 to register. The cost of the training is $30 and teaching materials (set) is $50. For more information call 903 885-3443 or email me at [email protected].
Dike Community Early Voting Is Under Way Now
April 26, 2023- Voting to make Dike, TX a Class C incorporation is holding early voting for the May 6th election. Early voting started Monday April 24 and will be continuing through May 2nd. Should the vote be passed to make Dike a city, elections for a Mayor as well as a new City Commissioner will be in effect from the same ballot
Currently there are two candidates for the mayoral position, Dru Bell and Brett Lester. Also, there are four candidates for the City Commissioner; Betty Waters, Pam Harder, Lucretia Argenbright Pool and Dirk Wessels.
Early voting will be held at the Justice of the Peace 2 Courtroom located at 128 Jefferson St, in Sulphur Springs, weekdays from 8am to 5pm. Saturday May 6th is the official voting day, polls will be open from 7am to 7pm.
Lady Cats Golf Qualifies for State Meet
Coach Whiney Spigener and her squad had themselves an incredibly solid outing last week.
Lady Cats golf placed third as a team at the Regional tournament in Canton to qualify for the 4A state meet held in Kingsland on May 15-17.
It is the first time in 31 years Sulphur Springs sends her women’s golf team to the state tournament.
“We set that goal at the beginning of the year, and they achieved it,” the golf coach said Friday. “It was great.”
Coach Spigener said even with the team qualifying for state, some of her squad came off the greens disappointed, never settling for anything less than greatness.
“They know what they can do,” she said last week, “[but] we are one of the top teams in the state, and if they play like it, we can place high at state.”
Nerves ran high for Sulphur Springs at the 4A Regional tournament. Coach Spigener said her team knew full-well that they competed at the tourney with the best chance of advancing to state for the women’s golf program in quite some time. That, and the fact the Regional tourney had tee times, instead of a shotgun start where all compete at once, meant one player at a time hit the greens to shoot their shot, with all eyes on them as they did so.
The coach said Friday the team put a lot of pressure on themselves to compete well and as a result nerves ran high through a majority of the two-day tourney, but Coach Spigener said it was overall a great learning experience for a predominantly young team.
Lindale was the main competitor for Sulphur Springs at the Regional golf tournament, keeping their eyes on the foe throughout the meet.
Day one saw two Lady Cats shoot 86, in Mykylie Meador and Allison Thomas. A few strokes behind them came Evey Birdsong at 90, followed closely by Kenzie Posey at 91. McKenna Meskimen rounded out Sulphur Springs with a 92. Following an impressive day one at Regionals, Lady Cats golf found themselves in third, just eight strokes back of Canton.
Meskimen recovered from a 92 on day one to lead the team with a low score of 84. Coach Spigener noted that the Lady Cat did the same at the District 15-4A meet, shooting high 90’s day one but recovering with an 83 in day two.
Thomas came in at 90 on her second day, tying Meskimen for 10th place overall. Both Lady Cats qualify for All-Region.
Coach Spigener said no athlete from her team placed lower than 17th at the Regional competition, getting as high as 10th at Van Zandt C.C. The golf coach said a majority of the spots in between were occupied by Sulphur Springs athletes. To do so with 18 total teams competing at the Regional level, as a result around 90 golfers competing, is a huge accomplishment for Sulphur Springs.
Lindale had their best outing of the season, shooting 324 and taking home a Regional championship. Coach Spigener said that low score beats a lot of boys’ teams that competed at the second playoff tourney.
The golf coach said in spite of the players perhaps wishing they might have done better, Coach Spigener recognizes how much the program has improved since this time last year.
At Regionals last year, when Sulphur Springs was still 5A, the golf coach said the team was thrilled to have four players in the 90’s, for a team score of around 378. This time around, the Lady Cats shot 350 at Van Zandt C.C. and said the team was not happy unless they were in the 340’s.
They look to continue to build upon their improvement since last year by competing well at the state meet. It is the first time in 31 years that Lady Cats golf advances to the championship of Texas golf.
Coach Spigener and her squad head to the state 4A meet held in Kingsland on May 15-17.
KSST is proud to be the official Wildcat and Lady Cat Station. We broadcast Sulphur Springs ISD games year round live on radio. When allowed, we also broadcast games via our YouTube channel.
A Potential Danger In Sweeteners By David Wall
For so many of us, especially for diabetics, it’s important to check the sugar content in products. We normally think “no sugar,” “less sugar,” or “lite” must be better for us, and in most instances, such is smart thinking. Recently, however, an ingredient often found in regular or no-sugar products has been found to be unwanted, an in some case, perhaps downright dangerous.
Some years back, I wrote an article about artificial sweeteners and specifically recommended Stevia. Regrettably this recommendation must be withdrawn, due to its contained ingredient of erythritol (E). Stevia-in-the-Raw, however contains no E.
Researchers examining blood compounds have found that elevated levels of E can predict a definite risk for heart attack or stroke. Ironically, E is manufactured by our own bodies in very low levels and isn’t considered a problem. The problem is that adding high doses of E to foods we eat, allows it to build up in our bodies. It’s made by fermenting corn, and as a result, is found in so many everyday products we daily consume.
Products containing E increase blood’s ability to clot. When ingesting E-contained foods over a period of days, the result can be as much as a 1,000% increase in the blood’s E-content. Then, blood’s he ability to clot goes, shall we say, sky high. If blood clots form and move, the result can be a heart attack or stroke.
I’ve often wondered why, though in excellent condition, I had a serious heart attack last September. Fortunately, speed by EMS and a hospital trauma team stopped it cold by quickly getting stints in place in a heart artery within 16 minutes. Then when starting therapy, I was able to perform much better than expected. The answer remains unknown, but I strongly suspect E as being a basic cause.
Chamber Connection – April 26
Get your networking on at the next Business After Hours, set for Thursday, May 18, at CANHelp on Gilmer Street.
The event is scheduled for 4:30 to 6 p.m. and is open to the public. This is an excellent opportunity to network as well as get familiar with CANHelp and its mission.
If you are a Chamber of Commerce member and want to host a Business After Hours (or Before Hours), we have some openings for you!
We are scheduling our monthly networking events for the remainder of the year, and are looking for host businesses. The cost of the event is free; we just ask that you provide some refreshments.
You simply open your business from 4:30-6 p.m. on the designated day (or 7:30-8:30 a.m.), and welcome the guests.
If you’re interested, send me an email at [email protected] or call 903-885-6515.
Super Hero Night
Join the fun and raise awareness for CASA on Thursday, April 27, with Super Hero night at Chick-Fil-A from 5-7 p.m. Come dressed as your favorite super hero and take part in free bounce houses, face painting and sno cones.
Skeet Shooting
Heart of Hope will have a Skeet Shooting Event, starting at 11 a.m. on May 11, at the Church at Klondike. Entry fee is $15 and includes lunch and a raffle ticket. The contest will be sporting clay shoot, wolf chase and buddy shoot. There will also be a kid shoot for 14 and under. Bring your own ammunition.
Proceeds benefit Heart of Hope in Sulphur Springs. For more information, call 903-440-1665.
Freedom Ball
This year’s Hopkins County Freedom Ball is going to be bigger and better than ever! Come help celebrate our local heroes at the Hopkins County Civic Center on May 20.
This years theme is “Top Gun” and Jason Walden & The Alibis will be providing the music for the evening.
Tickets are $125 each, and 200 tickets are set aside for veterans and their wingman each — first come, first serve. So, get your tickets now.
For tickets, contact Danny Davis at 903-438-4003.
Lunch and Learn
The Chamber is rescheduling a Lunch and Learn originally set for April 18. The program will be a roundtable discussion on marketing, both conventional and social media. The seminar will be informational and practical to help business marketers increase their profile by doing it themselves. The cost is $25 for Chamber members and $30 for nonmembers.
Call 903-885-6515 or email [email protected] to sign up.
Patriot Sporting Challenge
The 5th Anniversary Patriot Sporting Challenge is set for June 3, 2023 at Lake Fork, supporting Folds of Honor and Heroes Ranch.
The Challenge is limited ot 72 teams who participate in fishing and golf at Lake Fork, then meet for Casino Games at 2 p.m. at the iconic Neon Moon in Yantis.
It’s a unique opportunity to support the two military veteran organizations.
Register on the website PatriotSportingChallenge.org.
Ribbon Cuttings
The Kennington Insurance Agency will have a ribbon cutting at noon on Friday, April 28, at their office located at 122 Lee St., Suite A.
Sulphur Springs City Wide Clean-up Underway
April 25, 2023- The annual City-Wide Spring Clean-Up is taking place now through Saturday, April 24-29, 2023. Sulphur Springs residents may bring large items to discard from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on clean-up days to the city collection site.
To verify the person arriving with garbage is a resident, living within the city of Sulphur Springs, those bringing large items to discard will be asked to show proof of city residents by presenting a driver’s license or city utility bill (water bill) with their physical address on it.
No containers or appliances with hazardous or harsh materials will be accepted at the city collection site If discarding a refrigerator for instance, the city resident must show documentation that the Freon within has been removed. No paint, batteries, tires or other household hazardous wastes will be accepted.
Residents do have to bring their own items to the clean-up site; the city will not furnish a means to do so. There are typically people on-hand to help city residents who do take advantage of the City-Wide Spring Clean-Up by bringing items to dump. They can help with some items but residents for the most part will be responsible for offloading their own items.
The drop off will be located half a mile east of the 4 way stop at Jefferson ST (HWY 67) and loop 301.
The County-Wide Cleanup is scheduled for May 5th and 6th.
Dike Meeting Delivers Solar Reality Check
April 25, 2023 – On Monday night, speakers with first hand knowledge of the effects that Solar Power Plants can have on all aspects of rural life in Texas spoke at a meeting held at the Dike Community Center. Andy Ivey and Joanna Friebele spent about two hours talking with Dike Community Members, and at least ten people from Franklin County who are fighting their own Solar Power Plant.
One of the points made by the speakers that caused the most reaction from the crowd was that Solar Companies are not really interested in generating electricity from solar: they are most interested in gobbling up Tax Incentives and other Government Provided Funds. “The want that Chapter 313. Their business model make sure they make money.. significant money before they ever produce their first watt.”
The also talked about the fact that Solar Companies can sell the project at any time, effectively nullifying any contracts made. “If that happens, when it happens, the land owners can be left holding the bag. Their land, now full of equipment that belongs to a LLC, owned by another LLC, will be filling their land. And that land will no longer be eligible for Ag Exempt Tax status. In that instance, the only possible good thing for the land owners is that the land values in that area (around a solar plant) usually take a huge plunge.”
“Solar Power Plant Companies target absentee landowners in rural areas. They don’t attempt to get leases from family farmers and ranchers that actually care about the land. They pursue people that own land but live elsewhere, it makes their job easier.”
The same question from attendees came up several times during the meeting. People wanted to know who they could sue for potential violations and damages. Speakers revealed the hard truth that Solar Power Plant companies insulate themselves from litigation by stacking LLC companies. “Several LLC’s stand between the company, and the actual business that sits on your property. And each one takes no responsibility for the next one. These LLC’s often don’t even have assets on the books, but instead contain liabilities.” Their consensus was that a landowner has little to no chance of winning a lawsuit against these companies.
There were a few partially positive avenues for people to pursue. They focused around elections and politics. “Solar Power Plants are the ‘darling’ of renewable energy right now. We have to spread the word about what they truly do to the environment, and what these companies do… and make Solar Plants so politically toxic that no politician would touch them.”
Another route that has been successful is reporting negative environmental impact to the EPA. Soil tests confirming heavy metal leaching into waterways and adjacent properties and reports of soil erosion and flooding have been had some impact on Solar Power Plants. “When it comes to soil test, make sure you work with someone like your County Agent. These companies will argue that the samples are from another area, or are invalid for other reasons. Don’t just go and submit your own samples. You need to document them.” Speakers reminded the meeting participants that even a million dollar fine would be the cost of doing business for these companies.
A few participants were concerned about fires and a rise in homeowners insurance rates for people living around a Solar Power Plant. Power Plant fires seems to be rare at this time. Most rural volunteers fire departments have no way to obtain the special equipment required to fight a lithium battery fire. “You won’t be able to sell enough fried catfish to purchase breathing equipment and foam. You will have to keep your people back and let the fires burn.” As for insurance costs, they have not yet begun to rise. “Public perception is still very rosy when it comes to Solar Power Plants.”
Below are handouts provided by the speakers:
Baseball ends season this week with two straight at home 
Coach Jerrod Hammock and Wildcats baseball wrap up their season this week with two straight at home.
Sulphur Springs hosts North Lamar on Tuesday and Pittsburg for Senior Night on Friday, Apr. 28.
Both games tee off this week at Wildcat Park at 7 P.M.
On Friday the baseball team headed out to Paris for a big duel with their playoff hopes on the line. Sulphur Springs had to win out in their last three beginning Friday if they hoped to slide in to the fourth playoff seed.
Unfortunately for Sulphur Springs, they fell Friday in Paris 6-2.
Coach Jerrod Hammock’s squad rallied from down 1-0, but it was not enough as the hits kept coming.
Paris scored in three separate innings to win a crucial game three, eliminating the Wildcats from postseason contention with the loss Friday, Apr. 21. The Wildcats (2-11) came into the game in Paris (3-10) needing to win out, combined with Pittsburg (4-9) losing out. With the 6-2 defeat in Paris though, Sulphur Springs heads into their final two in sixth place.
As they have done all season, when their backs were against the wall Coach Hammock’s squad kept plugging away, being the gritty program we know them to be.
Trailing 1-0 in the second, two lead-off singles from the Wildcats put the team in prime scoring position with two runners on.
Even following that up with two straight outs was not enough to stop Sulphur Springs from scoring, as Ty Robinson made contact for the third single in the inning, allowing both runners to cross home plate and give the Wildcats their 2-1 lead.
The lead for Coach Hammock’s squad lasted until the fourth, when in the bottom of the inning, Paris scored two runs of their own to retake the lead. That, and three more for good measure in the bottom of the sixth paved the way for a 6-2 win over Sulphur Springs.
The loss drops the Wildcats baseball team’s season record to 6-16 (2-11 district).
Friday’s defeat in Paris also eliminates Sulphur Springs from postseason contention.
They wrap up their season this week with two straight at home, starting Tuesday when Coach Hammock’s squad hosts North Lamar (6-7, 3rd in district) at Wildcat Park.
Tuesday’s duel with the Panthers will be broadcasted onto KSST 1230 AM.
It will also be live-streamed onto KSST Radio’s Youtube channel.
KSST is proud to be the official Wildcat and Lady Cat Station. We broadcast Sulphur Springs ISD games year round live on radio. When allowed, we also broadcast games via our YouTube channel.
