Hopkins-Rains Retired School Personnel Program Will Be About “Dolly Parton Imagination Library”
Hopkins-Rains Retired School Personnel will meet Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at 10 a.m. at The ROC, 115 Putman St., Sulphur Springs. All retired school employees in the area are invited and encouraged to attend. Lyn Baldwin will present a program on “Dolly Parton Imagination Library Comes to Rains County!”
Lyn Baldwin, an educator of 42 years, is now retired and volunteering in Rains County. Three years ago, while watching Good Morning America, Lyn saw an interview featuring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The program mails FREE books to children under the age of five to communities who become Local Affiliates of the program. Local Affiliates pay a small portion of the book and mailing costs, while Dolly’s Foundation pays the rest.
Lyn, then and there, decided she would work for Rains County to become part of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. The Rains County program was organized in 2018 and began enrolling children in 2019. Today over 190 children in Rains County receive books each month.
The Rains County program is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has a five-member board, with 14 people on their Dolly Team working on enrollment, fundraising, parent engagement, area development, and spreading the love of books and reading. Their goal is to set Rains County children on the path to educational success in literary skills.
Dolly and Lyn both believe that if you can read, you can do anything, dream anything, and be anything!
SSHS Principal Derek Driver Named Finalist For Position In Celina
After serving seven years as principal at Sulphur Springs High School, Derek Driver will soon be taking on the challenge of leading at high school in a district he’s told is the fastest growing district in the United States.
He will remain at SSHS to see this group of seniors graduate, and complete the school year. His contract at Celina doesn’t begin until July 1, 2022.
“I’m not going to bale on my students,” Driver said. “This is a great senior class. We’ve had seven great senior classes here. I want this one to be just as special as the other seven have been.”
He is actively working alongside Superintendent Michael Lamb and Assistant Superintendent Josh Williams to fill all or as many as possible of the openings that have yet to be filled for next year at SSHS before he leaves.
Principal Derek Driver said the current principal at the campus where he will be working plans be moving to another position in district but is working toward the same goal in Celina. He wants the next principal at SSHS to be able to more easily move forward.
SSHS has been fortunate in that the number of positions to fill is about what is expected and usual for this time of year. In fact, the district is in a lot better place this year than this time last year, coming out of COVID. Currently, the school is fortunate to have more applicants than positions open, whereas, coming out of COVID, applicants were scant. The district had to extend the search for candidates. Administrators have visited the Region 8 and Texas A&M Commerce job fairs, which have resulted in applicants from some new teachers trying to get their start in education and some veteran teachers that are looking for a new place to work.
Sulphur Springs is supportive of staff – a big second family that’s fairly close to each other, works hard and has fun daily, while serving as advocates for students and trying to provide resources necessary for all students to be successful.
“I think it has been a great place to work. Mr. Lamb and Mr. Williams are great bosses. This district allows the flexibility for us to serve kids, it allows us the flexibility to think outside the box, be risktakers, we’ve tried to develop that culture here at Sulphur Springs High School. We’ve hired a lot of people in my time here. We’ve served a lot of great students with a lot of cool activities,” Driver said.
Some of those changes, he noted, have included flextime, Food Truck Friday, a Back to School Bash, and reward events. Driver said he feels the school has maintained a good balance, keeping many school traditions and activities such as Senior Shutout and pep rally traditions, alongside the changes.
Driver believes that achieving a balance, being able to recognize important traditions along side change, is one of the attributes Celina officials seriously considered when selecting him to become a principal for the district.
He said Lamb and Williams are graciously allowing him, where schedule permits, to make a few trips to Celina before his contract is up, to become acquainted with the staff and assistant principals, and start getting acquainted with the campus.
Driver said the decision to apply for and accept the position was a big one for his family. There are still many details to be worked out, including living arrangements. The high cost of housing is one thing to be worked out; properties are quite expensive in that area
He said his son and daughter, Brady and Bella, love living and going to school at Sulphur Springs High School and his wife really has a job at North Hopkins she really enjoys, so the move may be a gradual one for his family. He already knows son Brady plans to stay in Sulphur Springs to finish high school, and expects his daughter might as well.
“I know how important high school years are to kids. Mine are comfortable here. I tell people all the time, I love Sulphur Springs High School. I’ve loved it for seven years. It’s been a great place to raise a family, for me family to grow. This was just another opportunity for me to do that on a larger scale,” Driver said.
Celina plans to build one new elementary school a year to accommodate the growth. The district built new high school in the past year, has just completed a new middle school that holds 1,500 students and are planning to build another middle school to house 1,500 students in 3 years. The superintendent envisions Celina will be a district with two 6A high schools in 10 years due to growth in the area.
“Eventually, if that comes to fruition, it’s a great opportunity for me to get into a school about the same size as Sulphur Springs now or maybe even a little less. We are all in the same 4A classification for next year, but I think in the next realignment they could easily be big 5A or 6A. That just gives me the opportunity to impact more students, impact more staff, and just really feels like what I’m meant to do,” Driver said Wednesday.
Celina, Driver said, is a lot like Sulphur Springs ISD in the type of culture the school is trying to create. He feels he meets a lot of the criteria the district used in their profile search.
“I felt like it was a win, win for me, and if my family comes, it’s a bonus. If I have to commute, stay some nights over there, we’ll get all that worked out this summer,” Driver said.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to work at Sulphur Springs High School. Everyone I have worked with in Sulphur Springs has been so supportive of me and my family. I’m forever indebted to it. It will always be a part of me. I have lifelong friends here and I’m sure I’ll be in touch with a lot of them. You’ll see me around some of the stuff, especially if my kids are staying around. I’ll be here to watch Brady and Bella do their things and I’ll enjoy seeing all of the kids I’ve met before I left,” Principal Derek Driver concluded.
Lady Cats Softball Opens Postseason at Home on Wednesday Gameday
Coach David Carrillo’s squad begins their postseason on Wednesday, Apr. 27 hosting Whitehouse for game one of Bi-District.
The best of three series has Sulphur Springs hosting games one and three, traveling to Whitehouse Friday for game two.
Softball hopes for an even better run than last year, one which saw Sulphur Springs make it to the fourth round for the first time in Coach Carrillo’s tenure as softball coach for the Lady Cats.
Sulphur Springs enters the playoffs sporting a 21-2-2 record, having completed a perfect 12-0 district season. The Lady Cats fell in their warm-up game to Canton 11-9 for their first loss in almost two months.
Whitehouse enters the playoffs two games over .500 at 18-14 (5-5 in District 16-5A).
The second game of the series, after the playoff-opening contest Wednesday in Sulphur Springs, has the Lady Cats traveling to Whitehouse on Friday, Apr. 29 with that one set to begin later this week at 6:30 P.M.
Game three, if necessary, has softball back at home on Saturday, Apr. 30 hosting Whitehouse at 2 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.
Health Care Foundation 2022 Gala Meets Goal To Help Fund Purchase Of 4D Video Sonogram, Beds
The 2022 Hopkins County Health Care Foundation Gala not only provided an evening of fun and fine dining, but also raised the targeted goal to help purchase a 4D video sonogram machine and five state-of-the-art labor and delivery beds for CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital, according to Shannon Barker, executive director, Hopkins County Healthcare Foundation.
Barker offers a huge thank you to all the sponsors, donors, attendees and volunteers who made the Gala possible, and in doing so, helping provide equipment to help make pregnancies and deliveries safer, easier and healthier in Sulphur Springs.
The Hopkins County Health Care Foundation Board and the 2022 Gala Co-Chairs presented a check for $216,000 to the hospital for the purchase of a 4D Video Sonogram Machine and five labor and delivery beds.
Wildcats Baseball Falls to Hallsville on Senior Night
Senior Night did not go as planned for Wildcats baseball.
Hallsville cruised past Sulphur Springs 14-1 on Tuesday, Apr. 26.
Coach Jerrod Hammack’s squad fell behind early to the Bobcats and could not recover, coughing up eight runs through the first two innings. Hallsville tacked on two more through the next two innings to lead big over Sulphur Springs 10-0.
Another big inning in the 5th saw the Bobcats pour on four more.
The Wildcats scored their lone run of the game in the bottom frame of the inning thanks to a double from Mayer Millsap. Matt Mitchell reached second thanks to a fielding error on what should have been a routine pop-up, as Millsap was able to cross home for the lone run for Sulphur Springs.
That lone run would be all she wrote, as the game was called after five with the Wildcats losing to Hallsville 14-1 on Tuesday, Apr. 26.
CF Millsap, SS Colt Silman, and Matthew Sherman, three of 11 seniors honored Tuesday night, all finished the night going 1 for 3 with a hit apiece. P Colby Albritton, another senior, went 1 for 2 in the loss.
The senior night loss to the Bobcats drops the Wildcats’ season record to 7-15 overall (4-7 district).
While the loss to Hallsville may have been a tough loss, Coach Jerrod Hammack’s team is not out of the playoff hunt. Wildcats baseball travels to Longview Friday for a chance to make the postseason.
Longview (fourth in 15-5A, 5-6) fell to Pine Tree Tuesday.
If Sulphur Springs beats the Lobos Friday in Longview, the Wildcats would then play a play-in game with the Lobos.
The regular season finale, and possibly season finale, tees off in Longview Friday, Apr. 29 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.
CPHS Student Kara Tifft Named Junior Intern For Texas FFA Foundation Summer Leadership Team
Como-Pickton High School FFA Chapter Vice President Kara Tifft has been named a junior intern for the Texas FFA Foundation Leadership Team.
Tifft and Texas A&M University students Nathan Barrett, who will be a senior intern, will assist the foundation’s leadership team in executing programs, activities, and providing service to Texas FFA members, advisors, sponsors, special guests and other stakeholders during the annual FFA Convention.
The Texas FFA Foundation staff members include Aaron Alejandro, executive director; Chandra Orren, executive assistant/comptroller; and Kassie Montford, coordinator for planning and development.
Tifft aspires to be an outstanding agriculturalist and leader. Along that line, in addition to serving as chapter vice president, she serves as a class officer is a member of the National Honor Society as well as other clubs at CPHS. She too has served as a Texas FFA Foundation Ambassador three times since 2019, an experience that inspired her to pursue this internship this year.
In addition to her active involvement in FFA, Tifft also participates in CPHS athletics programs and UIL.
Kara Tifft plans to attend Tarleton State University to major in animal science and eventually become a large animal veterinarian.
Spring Brings Fresh Garden Produce
By Johanna Hicks, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Family & Community Health Agent, Hopkins County, [email protected]
Many home gardens have been planted and questions have been received by our office on preserving the harvest. A great resource for home food preservation comes from my colleagues at the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service. They have published a book called “So Easy to Preserve,” which covers not only the basics of water bath canning and pressure canning, but also recipes for canned products, pickled products, spreads and syrups, freezing, and drying foods to preserve them.
If you are interested in learning more, contact the Hopkins County Extension Office at 903-885-3443, and I’ll provide you with information. We also have a few printed publications in our office available to anyone interested.
In addition to food preservations publications, we have more great resources for produce, including full-color packets which include growing season, storage, varieties, fun facts & tips, and three recipes for each vegetable. Topics include bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, lettuce, jalapenos, okra, onions, radishes, spinach, Swiss chard, tomatoes, and zucchini. We hope you will take advantage of the great resources available to you!
Walk Through Texas History Starts May 2
Hopefully by now you have read or heard about Walk Through Texas History. This four-week program is designed to help Texans establish the habit of regular physical activity while learning the rich history of Texas. Each adult team may include up to 8 team members, all working together to reach designated goals while following along legendary historical paths created by fellow Texans. A new path has been developed, and already, we have four teams signed up to take part. The Texas Historical Commission has put together a 510-mile trek across Texas to highlight some wonderful historic sites.
The beauty of the program is that participants can log miles in their own neighborhoods, parks, walking tracks or even in their own homes. With each historic marker reached by the team, team members can read about that specific site and its’ rich history. I will be sending out a weekly e-mail with team mileage updates, along with a delicious recipe. To join a team, contact my office and I’ll provide you with details. Participants are not required to walk with their team members, but it is more fun to have a walking buddy! The event kicks off on Monday, May 2 for teams to begin logging miles/steps. It will wrap up on May 29.
Closing Thought
In our daily lives, it isn’t happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy. There is always, always something to be grateful for.
– Unknown
Contact Johanna Hicks, B.S., M.Ed., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Family & Community Health Agent at the Hopkins County Extension Office at P.O. Box 518, 1200-B West Houston, Sulphur Springs, TX 75483; 903-885-3443; or [email protected].
Chamber Connection – April 27
By Butch Burney
Eat as much crawfish as you can and also help a great cause with Rotary Club’s Claws for a Cause benefit dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, May 30, downtown. Proceeds will go to selected non-profits and scholarships.
Tickets are still available for the crawfish dinner with fixings. Drinks will be available for purchase.
Dub and The Love Machines will also be playing for the cause.
Be a Kids Superhero
You can be a superhero in attire and deed with the CASA Superhero Virtual Walk to promote Child Abuse Awareness. During the month of April, you are encouraged to walk or run anytime anywhere while wearing a superhero costume, cape or simply a blue shirt. Post your photo on social media with the hasthtag #lakecountrycasa.
Mabel’s Foundation
Mabel’s Foundation is hosting the third annual Trade School Dinner to support Nuevo Progreso Trade Schools on Saturday, May 7, from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Lake Fork Baptist Church, 9483 FM 515 in Alba. There will be free will offering at the door for a crappie fish fry with all the fixings. Carry out or sit down is available. Please call 605-431-9655 to let them know you’re coming.
Ribbon Cuttings
- Northeast Texas Gellyball will host a ribbon cutting at their new location at 1511 South Broadway Street at noon Friday, April 29. Please welcome them to Sulphur Springs.
- Kay Jae + Co Boutique, located at 325 South Davis St., will host a ribbon cutting for their shop at noon on Thursday, May 5. Please visit this new boutique.
- The North Hopkins Volunteer Fire Department will host a ribbon cutting at their firehouse at 72 West FM 71. Please join us for that event.
- (Top, right) Let ‘Er Rip hosted a ribbon cutting Wednesday, April 20, at 1441 Shannon Road. Please welcome them to the business community.
- (Bottom, Right) The Shave Shop hosted a ribbon cutting at noon Friday, April 22, at Kids Kingdom. They are available for special events.
Business of the Week
Bulkley and Associates is the Chamber’s Business of the Week for April 27. See more about our Business of the Week on the Chamber’s Instagram and Facebook pages as well as our website.
A Strange Thing About The History Of The Tomato … And A Few Local Recommendations
By Mario Villarino, Texas AgriLife Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Hopkins County, [email protected]
As temperatures start to warm-up, gardeners get in the mood of working outside, visiting plant stores and enjoying the garden. This week has been a very pleasant one with sporadic rain and cold temperatures at night. In Hopkins County, we have several gardeners passionate about tomato plants and tomato plant gardening.
According to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, one of the strangest things about the history of the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) is the fact that, although it is of American origin, it was unknown as food in this country until long after it was commonly eaten in Europe.
Until hardly more than a hundred years ago, it was generally thought to be poisonous in the United States. Long before it was considered here as fit to eat, it was grown only as an ornamental garden plant, sometimes called “love apple.” The mistaken idea that tomatoes were poisonous probably arose because the plant belongs to the Nightshade family, of which some species are truly poisonous. The strong, unpleasant odor of the leaves and stems also contributed to the idea that the fruits were unfit for food.
Our word “tomato” is but a slight modification of tomati, the word used by the Indians of Mexico, who have grown the plant for food since prehistoric times. Other names reported by early European explorers were tomatl, tumatle, and tomatas, probably variants of Indian words.
Cultivated tomatoes apparently originated as wild forms in the Peru-Ecuador-Bolivia area of the Andes. Moderate altitudes in that mountainous land abound today in a wide range of forms of tomato, both wild and cultivated. The cultivated tomato is very tender to cold and also rather intolerant of extremely hot or dry weather, a characteristic reflecting the nature of the climate in which it originated.
Not until after the Declaration of Independence do we find any record of the tomato as being grown in the United States. It was supposedly introduced to Philadelphia by a French refugee from Santo Domingo in 1789 and to Salem, Massachusetts, in 1802 by an Italian painter.
The various shapes and colors of tomatoes known today in the United States were found in America by the earliest explorers. Plant breeders have improved the size and smoothness of the fruit and the productivity of the plants, but have introduced nothing basically new in form or color.
After having made good abroad, the tomato has attained great importance in its native hemisphere. Today, in the United States alone, hundreds of thousands of acres yield millions of tons of tomatoes.
Recommended Varieties of Tomato for Hopkins County
- Large: Better Boy, Big Beef, Bradywine, Early Big Red, Floradade, Mountain Glory and Pik Rite.
- Medium: Carnival, Celebrity, Golden Jubilee, Mountain Spring, Porter improved and Ultra Sweet.
- Paste: Chico and Roma.
- Small: Cherry Grande, Small Fry and Sunsugar.
It is important to remember that tomato plants are sensitive to cold weather. A frost protection method is recommended until all risk of cold weather in Hopkins County is over. For more information on this or any other agricultural topic please contact the Hopkins County Extension Office at 903-885-3443 or email me at [email protected].
2 Arrested For Cocaine Possession
An out-of-town pair was arrested for cocaine possession following a traffic stop late Monday night, according to arrest reports.
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Isaac Foley reported an expired registration as cause for stopping the Dodge Grand Caravan at 11:48 p.m. April 25, 2022, at the intersection of Wildcat Way and Arbala Road. The strong marijuana odor he smelled upon contact with the two occupants, however, was the reason he had them step out of the gold van.
When the passenger notified Foley he’d find a firearm under his seat, the deputy placed the pair into handcuffs as a safety precaution. Passenger Dennis Edward “D.J.” Christopher Jr. agreed to let the deputy search his pockets. While he was doing so, a baggy containing a crystal-like substance he suspected was cocaine fell out of the 22-year-old Henderson man’s pocket, Foley alleged in arrest reports.
HCSO Deputy Drew Fisher then arrived to assist Foley. Another bag contained more suspected cocaine was found in the center dash areas of the van during the vehicle search, Foley wrote in arrest reports.
Both Christopher and the driver, identified as 26-year-old Damon Heath of Paris were read their rights and transported at 11:08 p.m. by Foley to the county jail. They were booked in at 12:24 a.m. April 26, 2022, according to arrest and jail reports.
Heath was charged with possession of less than 1 gram of the substance found in the dash, which field tested positive for the Penalty Group 1 controlled substance cocaine. Christopher was charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon and possession of less than 1 gram of a substance that also tested positive as cocaine, Foley alleged in arrest reports.
Both remained in Hopkins County jail later Tuesday in lieu of the $5,000 bond set on the cocaine possession charge; Christopher’s bond on the weapon charge was set at $2,000, according to jail reports.
If you have an emergency, dial 9-1-1
The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office is located at 298 Rosemont Sulphur Springs, TX 75482. You can reach them for non-emergency matters at (903) 438-4040.
