Record Number Participate in PJC Commencement Ceremony
A record number of Paris Junior College participated in Friday evening’s commencement ceremony. With more than 300 students wanting to walk across the stage to receive their diploma, the ceremony was moved to the Paris High School Gymnasium to accommodate overflow crowds.
Dr. Pamela Anglin, Paris Junior College President, led the Board of Regents, faculty and graduates in procession. Sophomore Lauren Jeans of Paris, Student Government Association president, gave the invocation.
“Tonight we have graduates who have received state and national honors in their degree field,” said Dr. Anglin. “We have 638 individuals graduating from Paris Junior College with certificates and associate degrees; 38 percent are male and 62 percent are female. They range in age from 17 to 73 years young. They come from all over the State of Texas, across the United States and the globe representing 37 different Texas counties, 23 different states, and 6 foreign countries, Japan, Mexico, Bulgaria, Australia, United Kingdom and Brazil.
“We have 19 students who will be receiving their associate degrees and will graduate from high school the first week of June. Of these, one is from Sulphur Springs High School and 18 are from Quinlan Ford High School. Four years ago we signed a partnership agreement with Quinlan Ford High School. Quinlan Ford would bus dual credit students to the Greenville campus in the early morning for classes and then they would return to the high school campus by bus after the class was over. These students could take summer classes on campus and complete all the coursework for an associate degree by the time they graduated high school. Quinlan ISD made the commitment to pay the tuition for their dual credit students, saving parents of these students approximately $19,000, which is the average cost of two years at a public university in the state of Texas.”
Next came the 2014 Master Teacher Award, announced by Vice President of Academic Affairs Ed McCraw. To be considered peers must first nominate instructors, then a committee reviews nominees. The 2015 Paris Junior College Master Teacher Award has been awarded to co-winners Instructor of Computer Information Systems Marjorie Pannell and Instructor of Nursing Thomas Bass. Each received a medallion, plaque and $1,000 honorarium.
About Pannell, nominating faculty said that she has a clear vision of the college’s goals and the needs of the students, helps motivate and encourage students to be successful, strives to stay current in a field where the technology changes almost daily and is respected by students and faculty alike.
Nominations for Bass praised him for being able to communicate and teach effectively to our diverse population of students, exceeding all of the criteria required of this honor, working tirelessly on behalf of PJC and always being available to students, as well as having a commitment to excellence and challenging students and co-workers to give their very best.
Jeramy Howell of Ladonia received the Distinguished Service Award. Presented annually since 1935, the award recognizes academic achievement and service to PJC and the community by an outstanding graduating student. PJC’s faculty and professional staff select the recipient of this award. The first recipient of the award was Louis B. Williams, who later served as president of PJC.
Howell has served as Vice President and President of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society and as a member of the Student Government Association. He was recently elected SGA Region III Vice President, as well as selected for the 2015 All Texas Academic Team for Phi Theta Kappa and is a Distinguished Member of Beta Zeta. He represented PJC at Community College Day in Austin, the Student Government Association State Convention, and the Phi Theta Kappa International and State Convention.
Howell was also named to the Dean’s List, the President’s List and was nominated to Who’s Who Among Students in American Junior Colleges. His activities include being a volunteer fireman for the Ladonia Volunteer Fire Department, a 2015 Mr. PJC nominee, Fannin County CERT, and working as a library aide. He has been accepted to the University of Texas at Austin and will pursue his degree in political science and public administration. He would like to work in higher education.
Other graduating sophomores nominated for the award were Stephanie Bradford of Sulphur Springs, Lauren Jeans of Paris, Taylor McCloure of Pattonville, and Nathan Slinkard of Greenville.
SSHS Band Awards Presented at Banquet
Saturday night’s Sulphur Springs High School Band Banquet was a very special one. There were lots of awards given including one presented posthumously to the family of Isaac Perez, who passed away recently.
Wildcats Band Director Charles McCauley named award winners:
Carlos Ramirez won the “John Philip Sousa” award.
Riley Dixon won the “Director’s Award” award.
JaRyus Ivery and Gioanni Villegas both won the “Louis Armstrong” award.
Isaac Perez and Josh Burgin both won the “Rex Wilemon” award.
Steve Proctor won the “Legacy” award.
Blue and Gold Award (given to outstanding students in various areas of band life):
Jaime Stahl – first one to pass off.
Gillan Boyer – great leader.
Jonathan Cook – work ethic.
Logan McGraw – loading crew king.
Owen Lee – hard worker.
Kimberly Weems – took over a new part in jazz band.
Carlos Williams – always ready to go.
Ariel DeLong – outstanding student.
Vanessa Gonzalez – always dependable.
Jonathan Guzman – did whatever we asked him to do.
Hannah Mattison – multi-talented.
Felicia Thomas – leader in concert band.
Bryant Neff – most improved.
Celeste Leeds – Laliberte-making first chair symphonic band as a freshman.
Christian Diaz-DeLeon – most improved.
Theater Auditorium Named to Honor Joe and Lucy McCorkle
Joe McCorkle is the last of the original Charter Member Community Players who brought presentation of plays to Sulphur Springs 35 years ago. Sunday after a matinee staging of Sylvia at the Main Street Theatre, some of the current Community Players bestowed special awards to Joe and Lucy McCorkle. During the event, the auditorium of the theater was named the “Lucy and Joe McCorkle Auditorium”.
At the conclusion of the play, Leah Connor, President of the Board, called for the house lights to be up and proceeded to present a Founders Award to the McCorkle’s in honor of their years of support and work in the theater.
David Woody, Vice-President of Production, said working with Community Player and the theater was one of the best experiences of his life. He said that to work with Joe and Lucy was like working with family. “I have learned and continue to learn” in working with McCorkle according to Woody. Woody said there were times when if he had not had the theater for a place to go and heal he didn’t know what he would have done.
FFA Stew and Auction coming up Saturday May 23, 2015
Haylee Clover, Vice President, Jonathan Van Holton, Reporter,
James Franklin Stretcher, President,
Kortne Wilson, Treasurer
Four officers of the Saltillo FFA Chapter stopped by the studios on Monday, May 18, 2015 during a fundraising visit to Sulphur Springs. The group is collecting money and auction items for the upcoming annual FFA Stew and Auction and Scholarship Award. The event will be held on Saturday May 23 at the Saltillo Ag Shop. Stew (and chili) will be served at 5pm at $5 person, and the auction will follow at 6pm. The “Blue Jackets, Bright Futures” Scholarship Award will be made to two deserving Senior FFA members. The public is invited and your attendance will be appreciated.
DARS meeting planned for Tuesday May 19th, 2015
On Tuesday, May 19th, at 1:30 p.m., a meeting for the deaf and hard-of-hearing will be held at The ROC, 115 Putman Street, in Sulphur Springs. Teresa Dell, Deafness Resource Specialist for the area, will be on hand to meet to explain the services that are available for the deaf community. The program is a part of the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS).
All deaf and hard-of-hearing members of the area are encouraged to attend.
“Updated” Flood Advisory for Sunday
The flood advisory for Hopkins County has been extended until 6 p.m. Sunday. The National Weather service in Fort Worth has also issued a flood warning for the South Sulphur River from this evening until further notice. At 8:15 a.m. the river is only one and one half feet below the 16 feet flood stage. It is expected that the river will reach flood stage by or before Tuesday afternoon.
A flood advisory had been issued for Hopkins, Delta, and Hunt counties in Northeastern Texas Sunday morning at 4:06a.m. when radar indicated heavy rain due to thunderstorms. This will cause minorflooding in the advisory area.
Do not drive your vehicle into areas where the water covers the roadway. The water depth may be too great to allow your car to cross safely. The advisory is for Sunday morning (May 17).
Over 400 Participated in Relay For Life
This year’s Relay For Life event Friday night through Saturday morning raised a little over $42,000 for the American Cancer Society. Event Chair Amber Henry said funds are expected to continue to come in through August. Twenty-five to 28 teams participated. Although close to 400 participants signed up for the event on-line, Ms. Henry said a lot more people than that were in attendance. For the most part, the rain held off during the event.
Wildcats Win at Legacy; Corsicana Next
Wildcats Baseball Coach Jerrod Hammack liked how his team gutted it out in a series clinching 5-4 win in eight innings over Mansfield Legacy Saturday on the road. The win came after an earlier loss to Legacy Saturday, 1-0 that forced game three. The Wildcats now face Corsicana in a round three baseball series coming up at Sunnyvale Thursday and Friday nights at 7 p.m. with a Saturday afternoon game at 2 p.m. if necessary.
Two extra inning games led Coach Hammack to praise his pitching staff for giving “a little bit more” over the two games.
As the Wildcats take on Corsicana, Hammack said the third round in play-offs opponent is much like the team faced in the first round-Whitehouse. Corsicana plays good solid baseball which Hammack says in needed at this level of the play-offs. He said the team that makes the fewest mistakes and gets the most hits wins at this level.
Arrest Made in County Burglaries Investigation
James Alexander Pringle, 24, was arrested by Hopkins County Sheriff’s officers assisted by Quitman law enforcement Friday. According to Hopkins County Criminal Investigator Lewis Tatum, Pringle, who was living in a shed in Quitman, has been identified as one of the individuals who have been burglarizing homes and autos in the county. Pringle’s activity was identified as specifically in the Peerless area. Saturday morning Justice of the Peace Brad Cummings set bond for Pringle at $20,000 for Burglary of a Habitation.
Pringle was arrested following a joint effort by area law enforcement. A Mineola Police Criminal Investigator located a 1958 North Hopkins class ring and an East Texas State University class ring in a pawn shop there. The rings had been pawned by Pringle and were known to have been stolen from a Peerless area residence in Hopkins County. Pringle was traced to his residence in Quitman where Sgt. Cory Weatherford with the Hopkins County Sheriff’s office and Quitman law enforcement found him and made the arrest.
Tatum said he is convinced Pringle is not the only one involved in the burglaries and local law enforcement will continue to follow the various leads available. Thus far, Tatum said at least four cars have been identified as suspicious by county residents.
Tatum said the burglaries have occurred in the Shaggy area, County Road 3341 where it crosses I-30, east of the country club overpass, on and around County Road 2310, and along FM 2560 in the Martin Springs area. Lewis encourages rural residents to lock the doors of their vehicles. He also asks that citizens keep watch and should they see a vehicle parked on a roadway to get the license plate and notify the Sheriff’s Office.
Wildcats Win Game One; At Legacy Saturday
Tyler Follis threw a two hit shutout for six innings and Kade Hudgins pitched a scoreless seventh allowing one hit as the Wildcats defeated Mansfield Legacy, 6-0 in game one of their second round playoff series Friday night at Eagle Stadium.
The Wildcats got four key hits: Carson Hicks drove in two with a single, Landon Brock knocked in one with a single and Larry Pryor drove home two with a double and hit a solo home run.
The Wildcats travel to Mansfield Legacy Saturday at 1 p.m. trying to wrap up the series with one more win. All Wildcat play-off games can be heard on KSST radio, ksstradio.com stream, and the KSST smartphone app.
