SSHS Tennis Complex Grand Opening
A Grand Opening ceremony for the new Sulphur Springs High School Tennis Complex took place Saturday morning. Athletic Director Greg Owens welcomed everyone and Wildcats Tennis Coach Tony Martinez had praise for the new facility.
Coach Martinez also recognized this year’s Wildcats Tennis seniors, Morgan Sutton, Johnathan Philo and Grace Horton.
The Wildcats then played a dual match with Mt. Pleasant.
Free Summer Class Tuition to Graduating Seniors
While most high school seniors are thinking about their graduation, Paris Junior College is working to assist them in taking summer and fall classes.
PJC is again offering a scholarship covering tuition for one summer class to all high school seniors graduating this year. The summer tuition offer is available to those graduating from high schools in the PJC service area in Delta, Fannin, Lamar, Hunt, Hopkins and Red River counties.
“This is a great way for high school seniors to either take core academic classes or experience a workforce class to see if that is a career they might like,” said PJC President Dr. Pam Anglin. “We are grateful to the generous donations from groups and individuals in the past year making it possible for PJC to help so many students.”
To help students succeed starting in the fall, PJC has $1 million in scholarship funds available. Scholarships for $1,000 are available for the 2015-16 academic year. Awards are already being made, so students should apply for those funds as soon as possible.
PJC’s scholarship funds come from an allocation of the Paris Junior College Memorial Foundation. This fall, the $1 million will enable PJC to award around 800 scholarships for the coming academic year.
The link to the scholarship application may be found by going to www.parisjc.edu/scholarships. High school seniors wanting the summer class scholarship should enter “graduating senior 2015” in the scholarship application box that asks for “semester/year to attend PJC.”
Early registration is going on now for both the summer and fall semesters at PJC. For questions or more information contact Amie Cato at 903-782-0431 or [email protected] or Sheila Reece at 903-782-0211 or [email protected].
Late Start for Como-Pickton Schools Monday
Due to a power outage, Como-Pickton Schools will begin classes at 10 a.m. Monday. Buses will run two hours later than their regular schedule. According to Linda Rankin, Principal at Como-Pickton Elementary, Morning Pre-K Class has been canceled for Monday also.
“Complete Update” Drowning Victim Perez Called a Special Type of Person
Memorial service for Isaac Antonio Perez, age 18, of Sulphur Springs, will be held at 4:00 p.m., on Wednesday April 29, 2015 at Hopkins County Civic Center with Rev. Jeff Harris and Rev. Jose Pacheco officiating. Pallbearers will be Anibal Perez, Christian Perez, Angel Perez, Adrian Perez, Charlie Perez, Gustavo Ramirez, Jessie Ortiz, Alex Gamez and Landon Watkins. Honorary Pallbearers will be Sulphur Springs High School Football Team and Sulphur Springs High School Band. Visitation will be held from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., Tuesday April 28, 2015 at West Oaks Funeral Home.
He was born on November 5, 1996 in Green Bay, WI, the son of Antonio and Yolanda Anaya Perez. They survive. Isaac was a member of the SSHS Class of 2015 and a member of the National Honor Society. He played on the offensive line for the Sulphur Springs High School Football Team and played the trumpet in Sulphur Springs High School Band where he received the Rex Wilemon award. He was of Christian Faith. Isaac had received his acceptance letter to North Texas State University and was employed at Whataburger.
He is survived by a brother Anibal Perez, sisters Erica, and Brenda Perez all of Sulphur Springs, paternal grandfather, Francisco Perez, maternal grandparents, Carmelo Anaya, and Socorro Anaya both of Mexico. He was preceded in death by his maternal grandmother Elpida Perez. Cremation arrangements are under the direction of West Oaks Funeral Home.
A swimming accident led to the death of Isaac Perez Saturday afternoon April 25, 2015. Perez was a 2015 Senior at Sulphur Springs High School and scheduled for graduation in just weeks. KSST Sports made reference to Perez almost every Friday night both during play-by-play and half time at Wildcat football games. Perez was both a member of the Wildcat football varisity offensive line at right tackle and and the Wildcat Marching Band.
Landon Watkins, starting Center for the Wildcats said, “Isaac came in last year as a starter and he gelled right in with us. If you know us,” referring to the offensive line, Watkins said, “then you know it takes a special type of person to do that! He was just that Special! Isaac was hardworking, funny, and he always had a smile on his face. He played in the band and would be late to practice every now and then and man we gave him a hard time! He just smiled. He was a great friend and brother in the trenches! He will be missed but NEVER FORGOTTEN! As he would say RIGHT POWER! #60.”
Charles McCauley, Fine Arts Director and Wildcat Band Director said Perez death was a sad day for Sulphur Springs. He called Perez “one of our best kids.” McCauley noted that Perez played in the band, Wildcat Football, and worked at the local What-a-Burger. The band director said the outstanding young man was well loved by those who knew him.
SSHS Athletic Director and Wildcat Football Head Coach Greg Owens called Isaac “an outstanding young man, son, brother, friend, student, musician, and athlete. He was truly a honor to coach. He did everything that was asked of him with a great attitude and maximum effort. Isaac was an undersized offensive lineman, but his oversized heart allowed him to excel at his position. His work ethic was second to none-band practice, football practice, then to his job till 2 a.m., all while being an honor student. At halftime he would grab his instrument and march with the band, then grab his pads and helmet to go back into battle for the second half. He was an unselfish & good hearted kid. He cared about others first and loved being around his friends and family. Charlie McCauley and I spoke of him often-all we could say is ‘Wow, what a great kid’. It is hard to believe that an innocent day of fishing with your buddies could turn so tragic. It is a sobering reminder of how precious and fragile life is. Our hearts and prayers are with his family and friends. Yes, this phenomenal young man will be missed. I won’t dwell on how he died, but how he lived. Isaac Perez inspired everyone he came in contact with. I think Colossians 3:23 sums up the way Isaac lived–‘do it enthusiastically, as unto the Lord’.”
One Arrest Solves Two Cases for SSPD
Joshua Lee Wrenn
Sulphur Springs Police believe they have solved two cases with the Thursday arrest of a 31-year old Kaufman man who has been residing in Sulphur Springs.
SSPD investigator Monty Tipps told KSST News that as he investigated a vehicle break-in at the Terminex building on Main Street, he noted a hand-held computer, a cellphone, and a printer had been taken. Later in the day a person had returned some of the property to the Terminex building, according to Tipps. Tipps said the person told employees there that he had found the equipment in the weeds. The story didn’t add up since it had been raining and the equipment did not show signs of having been wet during the rain that had been falling during the day.
Tipps went to the house of Joshua Lee Wrenn who had returned the property. Wrenn gave consent for the offers to search his apartment. However, Wrenn was living with his girlfriend and her mother who did give consent. One of the first things found in the apartment by Special Crimes Investigator Mark Estes was an alleged usable amount of a controlled substance. The substance has been sent to a lab to determine if it is methamphetamine or cocaine. Wrenn was arrested for possession.
As the investigation continued, Tipps found several items including a GPS and a bottle of medication that had been taken from the vehicle burglary that morning. Wrenn was taken to the police department where he confessed to the burglary and to unauthorized use of a motor vehicle that was being investigated in a separate case. The vehicle had been taken from a garage on Connelly Street and driven to Van Zandt County and left there.
Wrenn is in custody at Hopkins County Jail on a $10,000 bond for possession of a controlled substance and a $5,000 bond for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Other warrants from other counties are expected.
Claws for a Cause Success
The Sulphur Springs Rotary Club held the 2nd annual “Claws for a Cause” Crawfish Boil on April 25, 2015. The event took place from 5pm to 10pm, and featured live music. The proceeds from the “all you can eat crawfish and fixins” will go to benefit local charities.
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- Packed Main St
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- People Eating
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- Live Music
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- Crawfish and Fixins
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- Line for Food
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- Line for Food
Heated Debate Surrounds Push for Deep Fryers in Schools
by Eva Hershaw, The Texas Tribune – April 24, 2015
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, the cowboy-hat-wearing champion of local control, is looking to buck a decade-old statewide ban on deep fat fryers in public schools. Putting decision-making back into the hands of Texas school districts, he says, “isn’t about french fries, it’s about freedom.”
Within the next couple of months, the Texas Department of Agriculture could be poised to repeal a state policy that bans deep fat fryers and soda machines on school campuses and places limits on the time and place that junk food can be sold there. In addition, Miller is proposing an increase in the number of allowed fundraiser days – when cupcakes and other sugary, fatty foods can be sold during the school day – from one to six per school year.
His critics are calling foul, saying that Miller’s actions are counterproductive in a state struggling to contain child obesity rates. But the commissioner believes that repealing these parts of the Texas Public School Nutrition Policy will simplify things, pulling the state into line with less-strict national standards. Currently, there are no federal restrictions on deep fat frying as a preparation method.
“It’s simple. If a school district doesn’t agree with any of these changes, then they don’t have to implement them,” Miller wrote in a statement, referring to the policy changes. “That’s the beauty here.”
Miller hinted in January that deep fryers would be one of his priorities, and he officially proposed the change in March. A public comment period closed earlier this month, and Miller’s nutrition team is now reviewing more than 200 comments. He is expected to announce this summer whether the commission will move forward with the changes.
The deep fat fryer and soda machine ban are the last of strict nutritional policies introduced by former Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs. In 2004, in addition to those bans, Combs introduced the more comprehensive Texas Public School Nutrition Policy, which banned foods with high levels of sugar and fats in public schools. The policy was repealed last year, when Todd Staples was commissioner, and Miller has consistently expressed his support for less regulation of food in schools.
In January, Miller granted amnesty to cupcakes during his first act as commissioner in an attempt to reassure Texas parents that cupcakes and other treats would be allowed in schools under his administration, which he promised would increase local control of decision-making processes and protect the rights of parents.
“This is coming from when he was on the campaign trail,” said Bryan Black, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Agriculture, referring to the proposed changes. “He heard it repeatedly, when it came to cupcakes and other things. People were asking why local communities shouldn’t have a say.”
But for many parents and nutritionists, that reasoning doesn’t square with reality. In 2013, 16 percent of high school students in Texas were obese, up from 14 percent in 2005. Only Arkansas, Kentucky and Alabama reported higher rates. Nationwide, child obesity rates have jumped from 7 percent in 1980 to 18 percent in 2012. Among minorities, the rates for children and adolescents were significantly higher, with Hispanics at 22 percent and non-Hispanic black youth at 20 percent.
“I don’t think there is any way he could have studied the issue or he never would have done this,” said Combs, who said it was “unimaginable” that Miller would go ahead with these repeals. “I am actually baffled and sorry that Commissioner Miller did what was not good for kids. If you give children bad choices, they will make them.”
The Partnership for a Healthy Texas, a statewide coalition of more than 50 organizations working to prevent obesity, filed an open letter in opposition to the proposed changes. In the letter, the group challenged the merits of local control in questions of childhood nutrition.
“Schools are one of the key environments where our state can work to defeat child obesity,” the organization wrote. “Fit, nourished children perform better, miss less school, have fewer behavioral challenges, and are more likely to grow up to be healthy, working adults.”
Jay Root and Patrick Svitek contributed to this story.
Disclosure: The Partnership for a Healthy Texas was a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune in 2013. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2015/04/24/heated-debate-surrounds-millers-push-deep-fryers-s/.
Last FFA Projects Show for Teacher Danny Johnson
Saturday’s Sulphur Springs High School FFA Projects Show was the last one for Ag Teacher Danny Johnson, who is retiring at the end of the school year. He is currently teaching some children whose parents he also taught. He’s hoping no one mentions their grandfather he may have taught.
Lady Cat Softball Faces Whitehouse in Bi-District
Lady Cat Softball enters bi-district action Thursday, April 30 and May 1 facing Whitehouse. The Thursday game, Game 1 will be played at either Whitehouse or Brookhill with Game 2 played Friday night at Lady Cat Park. Both games begin at 6 p.m. The Friday night game in Sulphur Springs will also serve as Senior Night for the Lady Cats. The Lady Cats were unable to finish their district schedule on their home field due to weather conditions. Should a third game be needed it will immediately follow game 2 at Lady Cat Park.
The Lady Cats’ softball team ended district play on a high note with a 17-6 win at Pine Tree Friday night. The Lady Cats improved their district record to 11-3 and their season mark to 17-5.
Annual Ice Cream and Auction at FFA Project Show Saturday
The Local FFA Project Show SaturdayApril 25, 2015 at the Hopkins County Regional Civic Center featured entries from Sulphur Springs High School students. The show and judging began at 10 a.m. Items are on display throughout the day. At 5 p.m. the annual ice cream supper featuring homemade ice cream made by parents of FFA students will serve until 6 p.m. at which time the annual auction/fund raiser begins. Donations, purchase price of auction items, and other moneys given to the fund raiser assists in funding the projects of FFA students as well as their travel expenses to various shows. The public is invited to the ice cream supper and auction.
“We have students that are in our program that participate in many of these throughout the whole school year,” FFA Director Johnson said. “They have projects that they get to exhibit to the public. We usually make it to all the major shows in the state, but today is just our local event. This is also for those students, who don’t make it to the major shows, have an opportunity to put their livestock and shop skills on display for the comunity.”
The Local FFA Project Show usually has Ag-Mechanic projects that make it to the major state shows. Livestock has also done well in the past, but since the arrival of NETLA, most livestock have left the project Show. FFA also hosts Junior FFA Project Shows for younger students.
“We have a Junior FFA chapter, and those kids get to participate in all the other activities that we do, as far as exhibiting livestock,” Johnson said. “They are not involved with the Ag-mechanics. The Ag-mechanics projects have to be built in SSHS School Shop or under the supervisioin of the ag-mechanics teacher. But junior FFA can be nine year old up until the time that they get into high school.”
This year’s FFA Project Show featured a number of impressive entries. Some entries included a student-made trailor, custom outdoor tables, and barbeque equipment.
“Everything here has got a place,” Johnson said. “Some people don’t think that a picnic table might be a good project, but some of the barbeque stuff that’s here can go with it well. Horticulture items that were built were impressive. They’re all important.”
FFA began nationwide back in 1928, and Texas received its FFA charter in 1929. It was a few years after 1929 that the Sulphur Springs chapter of FFA started.
