Atmos Energy Digging Into Lamar Street Reconstruction
Sulphur Springs City Manager Marc Maxwell had some bad news for the City Council Tuesday night. After noting the Lamar Street reconstruction project had been finished, Maxwell said Atmos would be digging it up in three places. A subcontractor that did work on Lamar for Atmos lacked proper certification to do the work on three addresses. The city wants Atmos to repave that portion of the project after they dig it up to do tests.
Allen Waives Appeal; Ruiz Sentenced
District Attorney for the 8th Judicial DistrictWill Ramsey praised his team of assistants for their hard work and dedication that has recently resulted in the sentencing of three individuals to state jail time.
ROBERT DWAYNE ALLEN
On Tuesday, May 5, 2015, Robert Dwayne Allen appeared before the court and announced his intention to waive appeal in his recent life sentence for Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child. In exchange for his waiver of appeal, the State agreed to dismiss all of his pending charges in Hopkins County. Mr. Allen will be eligible for parole after serving 30 calendar years in the penitentiary.
Also Tuesday, following his Thursday, April 30, guilty plea to one count of Aggravated Assault on a Public Servant with a Deadly Weapon and one count of Evading with a Motor Vehicle, Mike Alvin Ruiz was sentenced by Judge Eddie Northcutt on both counts. The basis for the charges is a traffic stop that occurred on December 6, 2014 within the city limits. Sulphur Springs Police Officer Zachary Brown pulled over Ruiz for a minor traffic violation. During the stop, however, Officer Brown noticed that Ruiz was becoming increasingly nervous and agitated. When the officer directed Ruiz to exit the vehicle, the defendant instead put the vehicle in gear and almost drove Officer Brown into a telephone pole. The officer was dragged along the concrete for several feet before he freed himself from the car and fell onto the curb. Fortunately, Officer Brown sustained only minor injuries. Ruiz evaded law enforcement that night, but was arrested days later in Commerce, Texas. During sentencing, prosecutors put on evidence of five prior convictions, including one for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. The defendant’s mother testified on his behalf. Judge Northcutt sentenced Ruiz to 30 years TDCJ on the Aggravated Assault on a Public Servant with a Deadly Weapon charge and 20 years TDCJ on the Evading with a Vehicle charge. The defendant will be eligible for parole after serving 15 calendar years.
SAMUEL MOSES WILLIAMS
On Thursday, April 30, Samuel Moses Williams was sentenced by Judge Eddie Northcutt on four counts of Indecency with a Child by Contact. Williams was previously found guilty on all four counts by a Hopkins County jury on April 7. At the sentencing hearing, prosecutors put on evidence of Williams’ juvenile adjudication for two counts of Indecency with a Child as well as two adult prior convictions for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. In his defense, Williams called several friends and family members. Judge Northcutt sentenced Williams to 20 years TDCJ on each of the four charges. The judge structured the sentence so that Williams was effectively sentenced to 40 years TDCJ. Mr. Williams will have to serve at least 20 calendar years before he is eligible for parole. The District Attorney’s office dismissed a pending Failure to Register charge, disposing of all of Williams’ cases.
Ramsay said, “I hope the people of Hopkins County understand that we are working hard to achieve justice in these cases. I am extremely proud of the team we have here at the DA’s office. These sentences are the result of hard work and dedication. Clay Harrison did a great job of prosecuting both Williams and Ruiz. We are dedicated to ensuring that violent predators are held responsible in this great community.”
Expecting Garden Produce? Preserve Foods Safely!
Johanna Hicks
Gardens have begun producing delectable vegetables and fruits! If you have an abundance, home food preservation just might be the solution to have these delicious foods year-round! However, special efforts must be made to keep them safe for you and your family.
Organisms that cause food spoilage – molds, yeasts, and bacteria – are present everywhere in the air, soil and water. Enzymes that may cause undesirable changes in flavor, color and texture are present in raw fruits and vegetables. When fruits and vegetables are canned properly, they are processed hot and long enough to destroy organisms that make people sick in addition to spoilage organisms.
Pressure canning is the only safe method of canning all vegetables (except tomatoes, which can use a boiling water bath). The recipes that specify only pressure canning have so many low acid ingredients that they are only safe when canned in a pressure canner at the specified pressure. Jars of food are placed in a pressure canner which is heated to an internal temperature of at least 240° F. This temperature can be reached only in a pressure canner. The Clostridium botulinum (botulism) microorganism is the main reason pressure canning is necessary.
Vegetables are considered IMPROPERLY canned if any of the following are true:
1) The food was NOT processed in a pressure canner.
2) The gauge of the canner was inaccurate.
3) Up-to-date researched processing times and pressures were not used for the size of jar, style of pack and kind of food being processed.
4) Ingredients were added that were not in an approved recipe or the proportions of ingredients were changed.
5) The processing time and pressure were not correct for the altitude at which the food was canned.
So, what about fruits and tomatoes? These may be processed in a boiling water bath canner. However, because some tomatoes can be slightly low-acid for canning purposes, added acid is required for water bath canning of plain tomatoes, juice, and sauce. Any big metal pot may be used if it is deep enough so the water can cover the jars by at least one inch and still have ample room for boiling (two or four inches above jar tops). The canner must have a tight-fitting lid and wire or flat metal rack with plenty of open spaces in it.
Canning jars should be checked closely for cracks or chips. Jars specifically designed for home canning use are required. Commercial food jars, such as mayonnaise or pickle jars break easily and may not seal. Wash jars in hot soapy water and rinse well. Keep them hot until they are filled and placed in the canner.
Two-piece metal canning lids also need to be prepared for use. The flat lids can be used only once for sealing new products, but the ring bands may be reused as long as they are in good condition. Do not reuse lids from commercially canned foods for home canning.
When selecting produce, choose fresh, firm fruits and fresh, young, tender vegetables for canning. The sooner you can get them from the garden to the jar, the better! For even processing, sort the fruits and vegetables by their size and ripeness. Rinse all fruits and vegetables thoroughly, whether or not they are to be peeled. Do not let them soak – they may lose flavor and nutrients. Handle them gently to avoid bruising.
You may use the raw pack (putting raw vegetables into jars), or the hot pack (heating vegetables in water or steam before packing). Most foods should be packed tightly, except for starchy vegetables (they expand during processing). For either pack, use enough liquid to fill around the solid food in the jar. Each fruit or vegetable has directions for correct head space.
Well, that’s the basics of getting your produce ready to can. The most important part is using the correct processing time for the container and type of produce. Many publications are available from the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office, 1200-B W. Houston, in Sulphur Springs. We also have publications on drying fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Give us a call at 903-885-3443, and we’ll be glad to prepare a packet for you!
You can also check out the post at www.ksstradio.com for more details on food-borne illness, symptoms, and higher risk individuals.
Dairy Recipe Contest Reminder
Excitement is building for the 2015 Hopkins County Dairy Festival! The Dairy Recipe contest has been part of this celebration for a long time. However, due to low entry numbers, the contest was cancelled in 2014. Don’t let that happen this year! Make plans to enter. It is fun and doesn’t cost anything, except the cost of your ingredients!
Written entry (includes copy of the recipe and contact information) is due on or before June 15, and the actual contest will take place on Saturday, June 20, with registration of the actual dishes between 1:00 and 1:30 p.m., judging at 1:30 p.m., and awards presentation around 2:45 p.m. Contact our office or check out Hopkins County Family and Consumer Sciences Facebook page for more details.
Closing Thought
“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Johanna Hicks
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Family & Consumer Sciences
1200-B W. Houston
P.O.Box 518
Sulphur springs, TX 75483
903-885-3443 – phone
903-439-4909 – Fax
City Council Prepares to Fuel up with AVGAS and Jet-A
The Sulphur Springs City Council will have a brief agenda to go through at its regular monthly meeting coming up tonight at 7 p.m. at City Hall. The main item of business will be discussion and possible action by the Council on bids and awarding of a contract for AVGAS and Jet-A fuel for the Sulphur Springs Municipal Airport. Sulphur Springs City Manager Mark Maxwell will present his monthly managers report to the Council on capital improvements, waste-water treatment plant operations, and more.
More info on AVGAS and Jet-A here.
Annual Ice Cream Championship June 13
The Annual Texas State Champion Ice Cream Freeze Off will take place Saturday, June 13, 2015 during the Dairy Festival. It will begin at 4 p.m. in front of the Civic Center, leaving plenty of time for people to enjoy the parade and other scheduled activities.
“The biggest thing about ice cream is the people that make it,” Chamber of Commerce President Meredith Caddell said. “So we decided to make it a little different this year. The kids categories are still going to be the same. For the Big Dip category, anybody over 12 years old, the categories will be plain, fruit. And then we are going to divide the novelty category into two separate categories. We will do a novelty fruit and novelty other.”
Prizes for winners of the contest will receive $75 for first place, $50 for second, and $25 for third in the big dip category. In the super scoop, people who have won the competition in the past, all will compete together to win $100 for first place, and $50 for second.
“The greatest thing about it is that it’s free to enter,” Caddell said. “You just to fill out a registration form, which will be online, and we will also be mailing them this week to all the previous contestants. It just asks what they will be making, and it also has to include the recipe, because we have to make sure anybody that has eggs in their ice cream cooks it and that the eggs aren’t raw because we don’t want anybody getting sick.”
The registration deadline is June 8, 2015. Anybody who registers by the deadline is entered into a special prize drawing.
“We usually have some pretty nice prizes,” Caddell said. “Some are gift certificates and things like that in order to entice people to do it. We allow them to come register the day of the Ice Cream Freeze Off, but it just makes it a lot more difficult on us because we have to make sure that they receive their sign, and also get their paperwork done. So we try to encourage people to register prior to the deadline.”
Hannah Kirby Day Wednesday!
Hannah Kirby
There will be a reception for Hannah Kirby Wednesday, May 6, 2015 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at Sulphur Springs City Hall. The entire City Council has been invited. Many citizens of Sulphur Springs have joined together to support Ms. Kirby during her recent participation on “The Voice” on NBC.
SSHS All Sports Honors Announced At Annual Banquet
The athletic year for Wildcats and Lady Cats’ teams was relived Monday night at the annual Sulphur Springs All-Sports Banquet. Larry Pryor, a football standout and a solid baseball player, received the Forrest Gregg MVP Award for a Wildcat. Two Lady Cats, basketball star and volleyball player Desi Debase and softball standout and basketball player Kasey Moore shared the Forrest Gregg MVP Award for a Lady Cat. Madeline Massey, a distance runner in track and cross country, received the James Cameron Fighting Heart Award for a Lady Cat. Three Wildcats shared the James Cameron Fighting Heart Award for a Wildcat: football player Landon Watkins, star golfer Garrett Landers and football and baseball player Carson Hicks.
Individual sports MVPs included Drew Cross and Jonna Higginbotham for athletic trainers, Desi Debase, Jessye Castro and Sarah Womack for volleyball, the 24-seniors for football, the seniors for Lady Cats’ cross country, Jacob Gatewood for Wildcats’ cross country, senior’s Desi Debase, Kasey Moore and Chrissalynd Person for Lady Cats’ basketball, Cain Cody and Jaylon Dugan for Wildcats’ basketball, the senior class for Lady Cats’ soccer, Juan Gomez for Wildcats’ soccer, Johnathan Alvarez for powerlifting, seniors Johnathan Philo, Morgan Sutton and Grace Horton for Wildcats’ tennis, Sarah Rost for Lady Cats’ golf, Garrett Landers and Mason Maeker for Wildcats’ golf, Madeline Massey for Lady Cats’ track, Zach Spigner and Jaylon Dugan for Wildcats’ track and Makayla Glosson, Kasey Moore and Sarah Womack for Lady Cats’ softball. Wildcats Baseball Coach Jerrod Hammack deferred naming an MVP since their season is still in progress.
Earlier during the banquet, Athletic Director Greg Owens gave out special awards for cheerleaders, the Blue Blazes Drill Team and to special athlete Lain Young.
Knee Surgery Completed For Kojak
Sulphur Springs will not soon see its most famous pedestrian, a man known to most as Kojak, on local streets. He was injured in a vehicle pedestrian accident in the turn lane on Gilmer Street outside Brookshire’s in Sulphur Springs at 9:13 p.m. Sunday. The 56-year old Kojak, whose real name is Dennis Lewis, underwent knee surgery Tuesday morning. According to a family member, the surgery went well and the doctor was pleased with the result. Following his time in the hospital, he will receive physical therapy. The family member said his wrist is also broken but they are not planning surgery at this time.
He was taken by helicopter to the Plano hospital shortly after the accident. On first reports to his family, Kojak was said to have two broken ribs, a possible broken knee and lots of bruises. He suffered no head injuries.
The Sulphur Springs Police Department continues to investigate the accident. Prior to the accident, Kojak was daily walking the streets of the city all over town. His nickname is believed to have come from some members of the police department many years ago.
