POLLINATOR GARDEN PLANTING • EARTH DAY 2023
APRIL 22nd – 10am-1pm – Lunch Provided – Free Community Event
CraversTX Community Garden will be planting their FOURTH pollinator habitat in Sulphur Springs! Our event is in partnership with Pollinator.org and will also be a new way station for Monarchs.
A Monarch Waystation is an intentionally-managed garden that provides food and habitat for the struggling Monarch butterfly population. As a rule, a waystation must include at least 2 types of Milkweed, the ‘host’ plant for Monarchs.
Join us in the garden for a picnic lunch and planting. We have everything you need: gloves, native TX plants, Earth Day Crafts, etc. If you would like to volunteer, email them at [email protected]
The Community Garden is located at 420 W Park St in Sulphur Springs, TX.
Information From the Welding Program at the Paris Junior College Sulphur Springs Center
STRUCTURAL WELDING
La’Den Tice works on a structural welding project in his class at the PJC-Sulphur Springs Center welding shop. To learn more about the welding program and enrollment procedure, call Instructor John Plemons at 903-885-1232.–
Paris Junior College — located in Paris, Texas, about 100 miles northeast of Dallas — has been a part of the Lamar County community since 1924.
Paris Junior College offers Associate in Arts, Associate in Science and Associate in Applied Science degrees, as well as Certificates of Proficiency in technical/workforce fields. The college has expanded its academic curriculum through the years to encourage associate degree and university transfer candidates. Since establishing its first vocational program — jewelry and watchmaking in 1942 — the college has been aggressive in adding technical/workforce programs that will benefit students entering the workforce.
The campus of 54 tree-shaded acres includes 20 major buildings and residence halls and provides students a unique and pleasant environment for learning.
Paris Junior College also operates centers in Sulphur Springs, Texas, and in Greenville, Texas.
Vision
To be the educational provider of choice for the region.
Mission
Paris Junior College is a comprehensive community college serving the region’s educational and training needs while strengthening the economic, social and cultural life of our diverse community.
James Michael Feldman Sentenced
April 11, 2023 – Last week in 8th Judicial District Court, the case State of Texas vs. James Michael Feldman was tried. Feldman was indicted for Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child.
How The Case Started
In 2019, a CPS (or their equivalent) worker in New Jersey was investigating a completely separate matter and knocked on the door of the victim. During the interview, the victim told the investigator of the incident that had happened when she was visiting her dad in Sulphur Springs a few summers prior. At the time of the offense, James Feldman was living in Sulphur Springs while his daughter lived with her mother in New Jersey. Again, the act of sexual abuse occurred during a summer visitation between the father and daughter in Sulphur Springs. We believe the year to have been 2016.
After hearing the outcry, the CPS investigator was able to get word to the Sulphur Springs Police Department regarding the outcry of sexual abuse. SSPD requested law enforcement in Ocean County, NJ to perform a courtesy forensic interview of the child. This was completed and sent to Texas.
Since the time of the offense in 2016, everyone was living in the Northeast. The defendant was living in New York while the victim and her mother continued to live in New Jersey.
The Defendant was indicted in June of 2020 and appeared for court via zoom due to the pandemic. The entire time he had not been arrested on the charges. Eventually, the Defendant was ordered to appear in person and did not do so blaming back injuries and surgeries.
At this point, with cooperation between the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office and a NYPD/federal task force, the Defendant was finally captured outside of his home. He was sent to Rikers Island and held there until a Governor’s Warrant could be obtained so that he could be extradited to Hopkins County. He officially arrived in Hopkins County in August of 2022.
During the investigation, the District Attorney’s Office was made aware of another biological daughter who was a victim of Feldman’s sexual abuse years ago. She was located in Florida.
At trial, the State presented testimony from the named victim from New Jersey as well as her mother. Also testifying was the other daughter/victim from Florida. The State brought the CPS investigator from New Jersey, the detective from New Jersey and a NYPD officer who was integral in the Defendant’s eventual arrest.
A Decision Rendered
After around 3 hours of deliberation on Wednesday, the jury found the Defendant guilty as charged. The Defendant had elected for the Court to set punishment in the event of a conviction. After hearing evidence and arguments, the Court sentenced the Defendant to 60 years in prison. Due to the classification of the offense, the Defendant would not be eligible for parole until he serves at least half of that time (or 30 years). (There may be 3 more mandatory years based on his remaining at large after the warrant was issued. That would be a decision for the parole board.)
“I am very proud of these young ladies for having the courage to travel very long distances and testify in front of the man who committed these acts. They spoke truth to this Hopkins County jury and justice was achieved. I appreciate the strong punishment verdict from the Judge. Just one more statement that Hopkins County will not tolerate the abuse of our most vulnerable.”
Will Ramsay
8th Judicial District Attorney
Click here to read a story on KSSTRadio.com about Feldman’s arrest. Ohio And New York Men Jailed On Aggravated Sexual Assault Of A Child Warrants
Baseball has crucial game Tuesday at Pittsburg
Sulphur Springs has another must-win game Tuesday, Apr. 11 when they travel to Pittsburg to take on the Pirates.
Coach Jerrod Hammock’s squad must win Tuesday in Pittsburg if they hope to keep postseason hopes alive.
Most recently, on Thursday prior to Good Friday, Wildcats baseball traveled to Paris for their second match-up with the Panthers. Unfortunately for Sulphur Springs, they fell big at North Lamar 14-0. It is the second such shutout loss in district play for Wildcats baseball.
Coach Hammock’s squad went hitless in Paris on Thursday. They also committed a costly six errors in the loss.
Pitcher for the Wildcats Ty Robinson picked up his third loss starting for Sulphur Springs in district play. He pitched just over an inning, giving up six hits in seven outs.
Coach Hammock’s squad coughed up 11 runs with Robinson on the mound, but the pitcher earned only three due to costly errors committed by Sulphur Springs.
Thursday’s loss dropped Wildcats baseball’s season record to 6-11 (2-7 district).
They look to rebound Tuesday when they head to Pittsburg for another duel for the final playoff position.
The Pirates are also 2-7 following their 3-0 loss to PG, so a win Tuesday for either team keeps them in the fourth spot with only five games left. More importantly, Tuesday’s duel in Pittsburg is the final match-up between the Wildcats and their hosts.
Sulphur Springs must win Tuesday if they hope to make the postseason.
The duel in Pittsburg tees off Tuesday, Apr. 11 at 7 P.M.
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.
Hopkins County Commissioners Approve Inmate Psychiatry Service
April 11, 2023 – Hopkins County Commissioners Court discussed a temporary contract that would make psychiatry services available to inmates. This contract would bring Telepsychiatry services to inmates for a minimum charge of $1200 a month for a initial charge of $300 per inmate and $100 per month for a follow up appointment.
The commissioners unanimously approved the temporary contract for the services.
Speed Limit Change for CR 3523
April 11, 2023 Hopkins County Commissioners Court met April 10th and discussed the change of the speed limit for county road 3523 near the Community of Dike, TX. . With the sudden increase in traffic along the road the usual 35 miles per hour speed limit has been decided to be reduced to 25 mph. Commissioners unanimously approved the change of the speed limit.
Lady Cats track gets third, at 15-4A meet Tuesday
Coach Ross Hicks’s squad came up big again, getting a second straight top-3 finish as a team on Thursday. Doing so came at their home invitational on Thursday, Apr. 6.
It is a quick turnaround though as both track squads head to Texarkana for the 15-4A district championships this week.
It begins Tuesday, Apr. 11 at Liberty-Eylau’s Harris Field at 4 P.M.
Running Events
The 200 M dash was the first event in which Sulphur Springs scored points in their home invitational, as Jaicee Jasmer proved to be the first of two Lady Cats to emerge victorious in an event.
Her winning mark of 26.52 got Coach Ross Hicks’ squad 10 points. Codee Roland got sixth in the event.
Laney Hurst came in a little after a minute for fourth place and four points in the 400 M dash, but the 800 M run saw three Lady Cats get points:
- 3rd. Abigail Williams: 2:36.87 — six points
- 4th. Rainey Johnson: 2:38.59 — four
- 5th. Hurst: 2:42.75 — two points
Edith Martinez got fifth in the 1600 M run. She fared better in the 3200, getting third with a time of 12:36.62, and Dylan McKinney came up sixth in the event.
Lady Cats track & field placed fourth in the 4×100 M relay. Vanessa Wayne, Roland, Jasmer and Trinity Jefferson crossed the line at 51.80 for eight points. The same team, sub Wayne for Rowan Faircloth, got second with a mark of 1:51.58. That Lady Cat relay team scored 16 for Sulphur Springs.
Another fourth finish for Coach Ross Hicks’s squad came in the 4×400 M relay. Johnson, Jolea Moore, Hurst, and Aaliyah Cheatum got eight more for the Lady Cats.
Field Events
Codee Roland proved to be the final Lady cat to emerge victorious in an event in the Sulphur Springs invitational, coming up big in long jump.
Her winning mark of just over 15′ 1/2″ got her team 10 points.
Pole vault saw Jaicee Jasmer come up shy of winning a second event Thursday, getting second place as 12′ even. Her efforts got her team eight points.
Isabelle Thesing got sixth in discus. Amerson Boles placed the same in pole vault.
Sulphur Springs cumulated 88 points as a team. Lady Cats track and field slipped a spot as a team from last week’s competition, coming up third at their home invitational.
Next up, both track teams participate in the 15-4A district championships on Tuesday, Apr. 11.
The meet gets underway in Texarkana at Liberty Eylau’s Harris Field Tuesday at 4 P.M.
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.
Notice Of Special Election For Dike Texas
April 11, 2023- Notice for the the registered voters of the Dike community,
This notice is issued to for the purpose of whether to incorporate the proposed city of Dike and to elect a mayor and two commissioners. The election of officials will only be necessary if the incorporation is approved by voters.
Voting will take place On May 6th located at the Dike Community Center at 6580 FM 69 North, Dike from 7a.m. to 7p.m.
Early voting by personal appearance will be conducted weekdays at Hopkins County Justice Of The Peace J.P. #2 Courtroom located at 128G Jefferson Street
Chamber Connection – April 12 By Butch Burney
Congratulations to the golf team of Alliance Bank, the winners of the 34th Annual Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament last Friday at Sulphur Springs Country Club. We had a full field of 43 teams that competed for the tournament championship. The Alliance Bank team was composed of Kevin Monk, Carter Monk, Jason Thompson, Jase Thompson, Mike Jumper and Craig English.
Alliance Bank and Interstate Body Shop both tied with rounds of 47, and Alliance won on a scorecard playoff. Interstate Body Shop was composed of Chuck Sickles, Haden Sickles, Randy Blackmon, Kason Childress, Zac Blackmon and Brody Blackmon.
Third place was the team of Hidden Lakes Hunting Resort, made up of Cord Burnett, Joe Wolcik, Daniel Cerretani, Thomas Jenkins, JW Burnett and Chris Hass.
Thanks to all our sponsors!
Business After Hours
Join us for a Business After Hours – at your business!
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.
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 will host its spring Lunch and Learn on Tuesday, April 18, from 11:30-1 p.m. 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.
Ribbon Cuttings
Beauty Grace Wellness Shop will have a ribbon cutting at its location on Connally Street at noon on Friday, April 14. Please join us for this event.
TAMUC Faculty Win Grant Award for Digital Privacy Lab on Campus
COMMERCE, TX—A collective featuring two Texas A&M University-Commerce faculty members is the recipient of a monetary award that will be used to establish a digital rhetorical privacy lab on the university campus.
Dr. Charles Woods and Dr. Gavin Johnson, both assistant professors in the Department of Literature and Languages at A&M-Commerce, are advisory board members of the Digital Rhetorical Privacy Collective (DRPC), a project Woods founded in 2022. The collective, which currently includes representatives from five universities across the U.S., describes itself as a coalitional action undertaken to continue to better understand the importance of digital privacy for ending oppression in American society and building an equitable future for all.
In February, the DRPC was honored with the Emergent Researcher Award by the National Council of Teachers of English at their Conference on College Composition and Communication. The monetary award of just under $2,000, while small, is seen as a seed to begin funding a lab space on the A&M-Commerce campus dedicated to digital rhetorical privacy research.
What is Digital Rhetorical Privacy?
“This is a concept that comes from my dissertation project,” Woods said. “It is a state of being when a user is confident their digital data is free from unauthorized observances by nefarious computer technologies and other users.”
“The rhetorical part of it comes from the way that digital privacy gets shaped by different actors,” Johnson said. “Something that we can look at as a recent, high-profile event is the banning of Tiktok. The way that the directives came from the governor’s office very much used privacy, security and data protection as the justification for banning the use of this social media platform by state entities.”
Johnson continued: “The rhetorical aspect stems from how digital privacy is being shaped and used to enact policy change. Basically, how privacy is being defined to do certain things.”
Woods speaks often on the subject as part of his podcast, “The Big Rhetorical Podcast.” The program, which has nearly 130 episodes at the time of writing, has received multiple accolades over the years. Woods and his podcast received the 2020 Service Award and the 2022 John Lovas Award from Kairos, an academic journal, as well as the 2022 Michelle Kendrick Award from the journal “Computers and Composition.”
Creating a Privacy Lab on Campus
One of the goals of the collective is to create a collaborative space dedicated to fostering research into what digital privacy truly is, as well as thinking collectively about a complex issue.
“Digital privacy is such a complex subject that I think a lot of us suffer from what Charles has called ‘privacy apathy,’” Johnson said. “How do we work to make digital privacy something people care about and not just click ‘agree’ on a privacy policy without reading through it at all?”
Woods and Johnson describe the Emergent Researcher Award as a “ringing endorsement” of their work.
“While we didn’t get a huge monetary sum to immediately start a lab space, this is still exciting because this is our seed,” Woods said. “This is the starting point for us to potentially go out and receive more grants because it shows there is value in the work we are doing.”
The proposed research lab would also be a place to work with campus and community partners on privacy issues, while valuing diverse perspectives on the issues surrounding digital privacy and fostering the work of emerging scholars.
Learn more about the Digital Rhetorical Privacy Collective and the Department of Literature and Languages.
