Lady Cats Win; Wildcats Play Monday 7 p.m.
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. The Lady Cats will play Whitehouse, Lindale or Corsicana in the playoffs.
Meanwhile the Wildcats’ baseball game scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. at Eagle Stadium was postponed by rain and wet grounds. It had been rescheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m. at Eagle Stadium. Now it is set for Monday night at 7 at Eagle.
Early Voting Begins Monday for City Election
The only race in Sulphur Springs city, school and hospital elections is one for a seat on the City Council. Incumbent Oscar Aguilar faces a challenge from former councilman Charles Oxford.
Early voting begins Monday at new City Hall and will continue weekdays through Tuesday, May 5. Hours are 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily except next Tuesday and Thursday, which will have extended hours of 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. The early voting site is on the second floor of City Hall close to the elevator.
The regular election day will Saturday, May 9. The regular election site will be the Sulphur Springs ISD Administration Building Board Room. Voting will be held from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
KSST will have election returns May 9 as soon as results are known
High Winds, Heavy Rain, Hail Move Across Hopkins County Friday Evening
At 7:51 p.m. Friday night, the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Rains and Hopkins Counties. A strong thunderstorm near Emory and 16 miles southwest of Sulphur Springs was moving across the area at 55 miles per hour. Winds in excess of 40 mph and nickel sized hail along with heavy rain were possible in the storm.
Flood watch and then a flood advisory were issued for urban and low lying areas in the county until midnight Friday.
The thunderstorm created a power outage in the Arbala area and flooding was reported at the State Highway 11/FM1567 intersection near Como. Streets in the city of Sulphur Springs were also flooded. Industrial Blvd. near Mockingbird and other areas that have not flooded in the last few years gave drivers a challenge. Radar showed hail across areas of southern Hopkins County. The warning set to end at 8:45 p.m. had passed through Hopkins County as the storm line moved southeast across the area. Individual storms were moving northeast through the storm line.
The line of storms were driven by a dry-line that created wind speeds of 72-100 mph in the DFW metroplex. Tornados, high wind, hail, and heavy rain were found throughout the line. It had calmed as it reached the local area, but not before creating strong storms for Hopkins County.
Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Sulphur Springs
A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT HOPKINS AND RAINS COUNTIES... AT 747 PM CDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS NEAR EMORY...OR 16 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SULPHUR SPRINGS...MOVING EAST AT 55 MPH. WINDS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH AND NICKEL SIZE HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... SULPHUR SPRINGS...EMORY...EAST TAWAKONI...COMO AND POINT. THIS INCLUDES INTERSTATE 30 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 115 AND 142.
New 2016 Corvette Unveiled
KSST News was on hand this morning in Bowling Green, KY for the unveiling of the new 2016 Corvette. GM officials unveiled the newest version of the 7th Generation Corvette to a crowd of their most loyal enthusiasts at the National Corvette Museum. Although there were no huge changes in the exterior of this years version of the hugely popular Corvette, some new color choices and combinations were introduced. One new option, a front bumper camera sensor, that helps parking the low clearance vehicle near a curb was the most talked about and well received option. Other convenience features, such as an automatic trunk latch, were just icing on the cake of an already awesome vehicle. Chevrolet’s Corvette Production Facility is enjoying unprecedented success since it retooled the factory back in 2013 preparing for the introduction of the redesigned 2014 Corvette. Since then, factory workers are working extra hours to keep up with the demand. A new feature during the 2015 model year, Performance Data Recorder, has been enhanced for the 2016 model year. The PDR can record G-force, steering angle, as well as MPH, gear selection, as well as other data and overlays the info onto a video recording of your driving experience. Perfect for laps around the track to download later and evaluate your performance, but also a handy tool when you hand over the keys to a valet parker.
Chevrolet also introduced a deep red metallic color (almost burgundy) called Long Beach Red for the 2016 model year of Corvettes. With a shaky start in 1953 when the company only built 300 Corvettes that model year and they were all white, Chevrolet now builds almost 200 examples of Corvettes each work day. All Corvettes are built in Bowling Green, KY and all of the supercharged 650HP engines for the hot Z06 model are HAND built in the same factory.
Also unveiled today, was an extremely limited production edition of the already hot Z06. The C7.R edition of the Z06 will be limited to only 500 units in the 2016 model year and the price was not revealed. The new Z06 C7.R will only be available in yellow or black. Hey, that’s twice as many choices as in 1953.
Rehoboth Fresh Encounter May 1-2
First Baptist Chuch Sulphur Springs will be the host for Rehoboth Baptist Association’s Fresh Encounter. Fresh Encounter is a series of worship events that were scheduled last February. Only one of three worship events took place. Freezing rain created travel concerns for the churches of Rehoboth that include a seven county area. Two of the worship events featuring Dr. David Dykes, Pastor of Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler were rescheduled to May 3rd and 4th.
The first event in February packed the worship center at FBC. People in Sulphur Springs know Dr. Dykes. Green Acres is one of the larger Baptist churches in the East Texas area and has a television ministry that reaches this area. For the events in May, addition rooms will be provided at FBC to accomodate the overflow attendance expected.
Don Smith and Wayne Galyean told Enola Gay on KSST’s Morning Show that the event will be a Sunday night and Monday night event. Mike Parks, Minister of Music at Green Acres, will direct the music.
Activities begin at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, May 2 and Monday, May 3.
Tornado Watch for Northeast Texas
The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch in effect until 10 p.m. Friday evening (April 24) for 38 counties in North Central Texas and six counties in Northeast Texas. Hopkins, Delta, Rains, Van Zandt, Anderson and Henderson counties are the six in Northeast Texas. This is a watch and not a warning. A watch means that tornados are possible in the area due to weather conditions. A warning means that a tornado has been located either by radar or by sight. Weather spotters will be activated should the possibility of a tornado increase.
Two Lady Cats, Two Wildcats Qualify for Regional Meet
Following Thursday’s area track meet at Pine Tree High School track, two Lady Cats and two Wildcats qualified for the Regional Track meet May 1-2 in Arlington. The area meet included 5-A teams from across the East Texas area.
Madeline Massey placed first in the 1600-meter run. Imani Taylor placed first in the triple jump.
For the Wildcats, Zach Spigner placed first in the 100-meter hurdles and in the 300-meter hurdles and Jaylon Dugan was first in the triple jump.
Paris Junior College celebrates creative writers with awards ceremony
Top winners of the PJC creative writing awards, “Swingers of Birches,” included from left: Allegra Thomas of Cooper, winner of The Williams A. Owens Scholarship Award; Leticia Yanez of Sulphur Springs as Outstanding Student in English as a Second Language; Elizabeth Scott of Sulphur Springs as Outstanding Student in English; Iliana Chakarova of Bansko, Bulgaria as Outstanding Student in a Foreign Language; and Journalism Student of the Year Taylor McCloure of Pattonville.
Talented writers were honored Wednesday at Paris Junior College with an awards ceremony. Prior to the presentations, several instructors read their favorite poems to mark April as National Poetry Month.
Ceremony organizer and PJC English instructor Marsha Dennis thanked the presenters and welcomed everyone to the ceremony, commenting that it is a great pleasure to reward so many good writers.
The William A. Owens Scholarship Award was presented to Allegra Thomas of Cooper, a dual credit student attending North Hopkins High School. Owens was an area resident who attended Paris Junior College and went on to become a renowned writer and author.
Taylor McCloure of Pattonville was named Journalism Student of the Year. Elizabeth Scott of Sulphur Springs received the Outstanding Student in English.
Leticia Yanez of Sulphur Springs received Outstanding Student in English as a Second Language. Iliana Chakarova, from Bansko, Bulgaria, was named Outstanding Student in a Foreign Language.
Swingers of Birches, the anthology of first prize-winning entries published by the Communications and Fine Arts Division, was distributed at the reception following the awards ceremony. To receive a copy, contact the PJC English Department.
Winners by category include:
Argumentative/Informative Essay: First, “Why Wait,” Micah Heatwoles of Paris, PJC; Second, “Loneliness,” Sarah Wilburn of Caddo Mills, Caddo Mills High School; Third, “A Rose for Emily,” Shelby Webster of Royse City, Caddo Mills High School; Honorable Mention, “The Gilded Six Bits,” Courtney Morrison of Caddo Mills, Caddo Mills High School. Judged by Joan Mathis; Instructor of English, Writing Center Director, retired; Paris Junior College, Paris, Texas.
Narrative Essay: First, “My Friends When I’m Alone,” David Sleeper of Royse City, Quinlan Ford High School; Second, “The Toy Drive that Changed My Life,” Laura Reynolds of Paris, PJC; Third, “That One Regret,” Amanda Cope of Brookston, Chisum High School; Honorable Mention, “Decisions Make a Difference,” Misty Stotts of Paris, PJC. Judged by Boyd Minner; Professor of English Arts, Sciences, Humanities & Kinesiology; Navarro College, Corsicana, TX.
Poetry: First, “Innocence,” Anne Rouleau of Greenville, Celeste High School; Second, “Life Altering Youth Camp,” Gideon Little of Emory, PJC-Sulphur Springs Center; Third, “Soul Sweller,” Rebecca Graham of Arthur City, PJC; Fourth, “The Rite,” David Sleeper of Royse City, Quinlan Ford High School; Fifth, “Terry,” Jillian Fisher of Winnsboro, PJC-Sulphur Springs Center. Judged by Bertha Wise; Professor of English, Division of English/Humanities; Oklahoma City Community College, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Research Essay with Documentation: First, “Roger Chillingworth: A Face of Evil,” Shikha Prakash of Paris, Paris High School; Second, “The Psycho Critic Way,” Arish Pardiwalla of Paris, Paris High School; Third, “Heart of Darkness,” Hani Safi of Paris, Paris High School; Fourth, “Heart of Darkness,” Tyler Scott of Paris, Paris High School; Honorable Mention, “Guns Are More Protection Than Hazard,” Lainey Wolf of Detroit, Detroit High School. Judged by Beth Shelton, Instructor of English, Communications Division Chair, Dean; retired, Paris Junior College, Paris, Texas.
Regional Literature: First, “Under the Willow,” David Sleeper of Royse City, Quinlan Ford High School; Second, “Lamar County Fair,” Kaitlyn Martin of Detroit, Detroit High School; Third, “Paris, TX,” Shikha Prakash of Paris, Paris High School. Judged by Anita Fisher; Customer Service Specialist, Saputo Dairy Foods; Dallas, Texas.
Short Story: First, “For Love and Fish,” Patrick C. Harrison III of Farmersville, PJC-Greenville Center; Second, “The Apple,” Todd Kleiboer of Sulphur Springs, Cooper High School; Third, “Increasing Human Potential,” Shikha Prakash of Paris, Paris High School; Fourth, “The Gunslinger’s Inferno,” David Sleeper of Royse City, Quinlan Ford High School. Judged by Connie Dodd; Instructor of English, Dual Credit Studies; retired, Paris High School, Paris, Texas.
City’s Revitalization Attracts Texas Downtown Association
Scott Welmaker, Director of Economic Development for Mansfield, is the President of the Texas Downtown Association. Welmaker says 45 to 50 TDA members were in Sulphur Springs Thursday to attend a workshop on downtown code enforcement. He says about 15 members of the TDA Board will stay in town Friday at attend a board meeting. Welmaker says this is his first visit to Sulphur Springs and adds he’s impressed with the town. Hear Welmaker here:
Sulphur Springs City Manager Marc Maxwell gave a slide presentation on the city’s revitalization efforts downtown at a workshop hosted by the Texas Downtown Association held at The Roc of First Baptist Church Thursday. Maxwell showed the downtown before and after. He said before nothing stirred downtown after 5 o’clock except crickets. Maxwell also shared after slides of large crowds now downtown for various events. Maxwell’s comments follow:
