Constitution Week is September 17-23; View DAR Display in SS Public Library Foyer
What is Constitution Week?
Constitution Week is the commemoration of America’s most important document. It is celebrated annually during the week of September 17-23.
The United States Constitution stands as a testament to the tenacity of Americans throughout history to maintain their liberties, freedoms and inalienable rights.
This celebration of the Constitution was started by the Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1955, DAR petitioned Congress to set aside September 17-23 annually to be dedicated for the observance of Constitution Week. The resolution was later adopted by the U.S. Congress and signed into public law on August 2, 1956, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The DAR has also erected a structure that is built in tribute to the Constitution of the United States. DAR Constitution Hall, which is a performing arts center, opened in 1929.
The aims of Constitution Week celebrations are to:
- Emphasize citizens’ responsibilities for protecting and defending the Constitution.
- Inform people that the Constitution is the basis for America’s great heritage and the foundation for our way of life.
- Encourage the study of the historical events which led to the framing of the Constitution in September 1787.
from press release of the Daughters of the American Revolution Headquarters in Washington, D.C.: We’re excited to welcome you back! The DAR Headquarters buildings, including the DAR Museum, DAR Library and DAR Constitution Hall, will reopen to the public on September 1, 2021!
Locally, for almost fifty years the Captain David Phillips Chapter of the DAR has been active in Hopkins County. The Chapter began in October 1972. Officers this year are Marynell Bryant-Regent, Patsy Bolton – Vice Regent, Gail Boles – Chaplain, Barbara Cockrum – Secretary, Debra Wood – Treasurer, Sandy Boyd – Registrar, Jan Kimmel – Historian, Michelle Arnold – Librarian and Elner Pettiet -Parliamentarian.
In past years, the local Chapter has celebrated Constitution Week by hosting a Tea, ringing bells, obtaining proclamations, reading part of the Constitution on the Courthouse steps, and donating posters and books to all the county schools. Thanks to the local DAR for this timely reminder for Americans living in Hopkins County!
Local Food Pantries Need Volunteers on Food Bank Days
Each Monday when the Northeast Texas Food Bank truck arrives in Sulphur Springs, volunteers are needed to assist local food pantries in getting their supplies for the week. Recently, a call went out on local media for more volunteers. KSST went to see how best to help the local situation.
A Northeast Texas Food Bank semi-truck arrives at approximately 9 a.m. Mondays on the parking lot of Church of the Nazarene, 1300 League Street. That’s when volunteers are most needed….to help put the boxed and crated foods onto the trucks and trailers of the individual pantries. There are six of these served by the Northeast Texas Food Bank, and they all receive their weekly food orders on Monday mornings. Many of the volunteer drivers are senior citizens themselves. Can you help out for an hour or two on Monday mornings?
Once the food truck driver sets all the pallets onto the parking lot, then the work of loading each pantry’s order gets underway by volunteers. Sharon Newton of Cumby is co-ordinator for the six Hopkins County pantries served by Northeast Texas Food Bank. Among these are Cumby Food Pantry, Pine Forest Food Pantry, Jehovah Jireh Food Pantry at Como, Fruitful Harvest Food Pantry and Meal a Day. “It’s like a team effort out here, in all kinds of weather”, stated Gloria of the Cumby Food Pantry.
“We all participate in sorting the food in the crates and containers and dispense it evenly. Then we each help each other load up. If one of the pantries is short-handed on a Monday, we all pitch in. No one has to do the work alone. And we all feel blessed that there is food for those individuals and families who most need it in our communities”.
Obviously the efforts are rewarding. Several are long-time volunteers: Edith Bain for 14 years, and Melba Sickles has also been serving in this way for a long time. Karon Weatherman of the Meal- a Day program reminds everyone, “if you’d like to become a Monday morning volunteer, just show up with two hands and a willing heart. You will probably go home with a bigger blessing than the gift you give. All it takes is a little time to volunteer and a spirit of giving to others”.
Dennis Hunt, Scott Lennon,Jan and Hrold Smithson and Mike Borden of Jehovah Jireh Food Pantry at Como. Nancy Attaway (not pictured) heads up that facility 
Paul Bennet, Edith Bain and Eddie McGregor of Pine Forest Food Pantry in the southeastern portion of the county 
For Meal a Day, Mack Pitts and Pamela Johnson are among the regular volunteers. They transport the food to the Senior Citizens Center, where other volunteers store the supplies and prepare nourishing meals which are then packaged and delivered to shut-in senior citizens in the Sulphur Springs and Como areas, five days a week. 
Fruitful HArvest Food Pantry volunteers include Melba Sickles, Barbara Martin, Jerry Brewer and Heath. Volunteer James Hathcoat is not pictured. Fruitful Harvest distributes on Mondays from 2-4pm at 413 West California Street in Sulphur Springs. Persons who need food can come to the location and get signed up. 
For the Cumby Food Pantry, Gloria, Allen and Walter are joyful volunteers. Cumby distributes every other Thursday from 9am til noon 
New volunteers who answered the call on Monday September 20, 2021 “Will you join us next Monday?”
Evading Arrest Charge Enhanced To Felony Due To Prior Convictions
A man who tried to run from officers during a traffic stop ended up charged with two felonies, including an evading arrest charge enhanced to a felony due to prior convictions, according to sheriff’s reports.
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Josh Davis and Sgt. Tanner Steward reported that not only did Justin Wayne Andrews fail to stop the Concord he was driving at a Van Sickle Street stop sign Friday night, he also took off running on foot after they stopped the car. When deputies took the 35-year-old into custody at 9:24 p.m. Sept. 17, the Cooper man admitted to discarding a methamphetamine pipe. The pipe was recovered.
Because Andrews has more than one felony conviction on his criminal record, the evading arrest charge was enhanced to a state jail felony offense. He was booked into Hopkins County jail on a tampering with physical evidence charge.
Deputies learned the 32-year-old Cooper man, also in the vehicle at the time of the traffic stop, had a digital scale with suspected methamphetamine residue in his pocket. The man was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia. The man appeared to be under the influence of methamphetamine and “more than a hypodermic syringe” was reported to have been located in the car.
The 32-year-old was released from jail on the misdemeanor charge Saturday. Justin Andrews was released from Hopkins County jail Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, on $10,000 in bonds, $5,000 per chaarge.
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.
Hopkins County Unemployment Rate Dips During August 2021
Delta, Franklin, Hopkins, Lamar Counties Jobless Rates Remain Below State Average
The unemployment rate in Hopkins County dipped slightly during August 2021, and Franklin County continued ahead of Hopkins County for the second consecutive month in a row with the lowest unemployment rate in the Northeast Texas/Texarkana Workforce Development Area, according to the Texas Workforce Commission and Texas Labor Market Index data released over the weekend.
Franklin, Hopkins, Delta and Lamar counties’ jobless rates remained below the state average of 5.3 percent (5.9 percent once seasonally adjusted) and NET WDA rate of 5.1 percent for August 2021. At the state level, that’s a 0.7 percent dip from July 2021 to August 2021, and a 1.6 percent dip from August 2020. Unemployment in the Northeast Texas WDA as a whole dipped 0.6 percent from month to month and was 0.4 percent lower than in August 2020.
Franklin County had the lowest unemployment rate of 4.2 percent in the 9-county region that makes up the Northeast Texas/Texarkana WDA. Hopkins County ranked second in the area with a 4.3 percent jobless rate, Delta County third at 4.7 percent and Lamar County fourth with a 5 percent unemployment rate.
Although 48 additional people obtained employment in Hopkins County in August, for a total of 16,646 people working, the overall labor force also shrank by 14 people to 17,394 from August to July. So, while the number of people seeking employment in Hopkins County dropped from 810 from July to 748 in August, the declining labor force offset the change in unemployment numbers, so the total August 2021 unemployment rate only dropped from 4.7 percent in July 2021 to 4.3 percent last month – matching the August 2020 unemployment rate. Notable is that the labor force in August 2020 was 17,770, with 17,022 working and the remaining 768 jobless, while the labor force last month consisted of 17,394 with 16,646 working and 748 jobless, according to the Texas Workforce Commission and Texas Labor Market Index data released over the weekend.
Franklin County’s unemployment rate dropped from 4.6 percent in July 2021 to 4.2 percent in August 2021, which also down from 4.5 percent in August 2021. The labor force in Franklin County grew by 5 to 5,320 in August 2021, up from 5,002 in August 2020, with 24 more people employed last month than in July 2021, causing the number of unemployed to shrink from 242 to 223 in August 2021. The labor force in Franklin County has grown by 328 workers since August 2020,
Delta County’s workforce was still less than the 2,433 recorded in August 2020, but had grown from 2,388 in July 2021 to 4,402 in August 2021. Only 114 people were unemployed last month, the same number reported one year before when the unemployment rate was also 4.7 percent, but down from129 unemployed in July 2021. Overall, that’s a drop of 0.7 percent from July to August 2021.
Lamar County’s unemployment rate dipped 0.7 percent to 5.0 in August 2021, which is 0.6 percent less than the unemployment rate reported one year before. The overall work force grew by 102 people from August 2020 to last month in Lamar County. From July 2021 to August 2021. However, the workforce in Lamar County rose from 23,820 in July 20201 to 24,133 in August 2021, while the number of jobless shrank from 1,367 to 1,218 last month – that’s 462 more people working in Lamar County last month than in July 2021 and 221 more working in August 2021 than one year before,
The unemployment rate for the city of Paris decline from 6.7 in July 2021 to 6.0 in August 2021, which was 0.5 percent less than in August of 2020, according to the WDA unemployment data released Sept. 17, 2021.
Titus County’s August 2021 jobless rate of 5.4 percent was down from 6.1 percent in July 2021 and 5.9 percent for August 2020. The workforce in this county shrunk from 13,213 in July to 13,189 last month, both down from 13,519 in August of 2021. The decreased workforce has also mean a decrease in unemployment from 800 without jobs in August 2020 to 801 in July 2021 and just 711 seeking employment in August 2021.
Red River County’s unemployment rate dropped from 6.2 percent (320 of 4,172 potential workers) in July 2021 to 5.6 percent (293 of 5,235 workers) in August 2021. Both months in 2021 are still higher than in August 2020, however, when the unemployment rate was 5 percent ( 2.62 of 5,277).
Bowie County’s unemployment rate also dropped from 6. 2 percent (2,389 of 38,673 labor force) in July 2021 to 5.6 percent (2,150 of the 38,554 labor force unemployed) in August 2021, down from 6.3 percent (2,457 of 39,187) in August 2020. Within Bowie County, Texarkana, Texas’ unemployment rate dripped from 7.1 percent in August 2020 when 1,085 of 15,187 were without jobs, to 6.2 percent (979 of 14,910 LF) in July 2021 and 6.4 percent (904 of 14,927) in August 2021. Texarkana, as a metropolitan statistical area posted a 5.1 percent unemployment rate for August 2021, with 3,241 of 63,073 unemployed; that’s down from 5.9 percent in July 2021 (3,757 of 63,867 unemployed), and 6.4 percent (4,081 of 63,855 LF) in August 2021.
Morris County continued to have the highest unemployment rate in the 9-county NETWDA area in August 2021, although the rate has declined from 11.3 in both August 2020 when 540 of the overall workforce of 4.767 were unemployed and July 2021 (512 of 4,513) to 10.4 percent (467 of of 4,498) in August 2021.
Wildcats Golf Fall Schedule Released
Wildcats football head coach and athletic director Greg Owens earlier this week released the men and women’s golf schedules for the fall 2021 season.
The season gets underway in mid-October when the men’s team, lead by head coach Jeremy DeLorge, will take part in their first tournament right here in Sulphur Springs at the Sulphur Springs Country Club on Oct. 18.
After that Coach DeLorge’s squad will be in Gladewater eight days later when they participate in a competition hosted by Longview located at the Tempest Golf Club.
The last two competitions for the men’s team take place the first two weeks of November; first in a tournament hosted by Richardson HS on Nov. 1 and then on Nov. 8 in their final competition hosted by Melissa.
Richardson’s tournament will be taking place in Garland at the Firewheel Golf Park Bridges Course and Melissa’s will be at a similarly named golf course in The Bridges Golf Club located in Gunter, TX.
The junior varsity schedule for both the men’s and women’s teams were released as well. It is listed below and follows the format of date, host school, and location of the competition.
The junior varsity schedule is as follows:
- Oct. 6 — Pine Tree @ Wood Hollow Golf Course
- Oct. 11 — Mt. Pleasant @ Mt. Pleasant Country Club
- Oct. 18 — Sulphur Springs (SS Golf Course)
The full golf schedule for the Wildcats can be found here as well.
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.
Harrison Announces Intent To Seek Re-Election As County Court At Law Judge in 2022
Hopkins County Court at Law Judge Clay Harrison Monday announced his intention to seek re-election. Harrison was elected in 2018 upon the retirement of Judge Amy Smith. A conservative Republican, Harrison said he plans to once again seek the nomination of his party in the spring 2022 primary.
In 2019, Judge Harrison was appointed by the Texas Supreme Court to a joint taskforce on emergency mental health procedures.
Since taking office, Judge Harrison led the county’s transition to electronic warrants in driving while intoxicated cases.
“Under the new system, law enforcement officers no longer have to drive back and forth to the judge’s house for his signature. Instead, the process is a seamless exchange using cell phones – with the aid of software – at no cost to the county,” Harrison said.
In 2020, the state’s highest criminal and civil courts authorized Harrison to use an electronic recording system for all cases in lieu of a live court reporter.
“Nothing can replace a professional court reporter,” he said, “but the flexible approach we have at our fingertips saves tens of thousands of dollars.”
Judge Harrison is the county’s primary judge for family law cases, but he also hears probate, mental health, civil, and criminal cases. He is board-certified in criminal law – one of only two such attorneys based in Hopkins County per the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Winnsboro Police Department Media Report For Sept. 13-19, 2021
The Winnsboro Police Department’s weekly media report for Sept. 13-19, 2021, included the following:
Arrests
- Milton Henderson, age 53, of Dallas, was arrested on September 13, on a Collin County warrant for probation violation-larceny.
- Hunter Ray, age 23, of Gilmer, was arrested on September 14, for tampering with or fabricating evidence with the intent to impair and possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana.
- Jason Bearden, age 43, of Winnsboro, was arrested on September 15, for criminal trespass and a Winnsboro Municipal Court warrant for public intoxication.
- Ronald Brown, age 51, of Winnsboro, was arrested on September 17, on a Winnsboro Municipal warrant for disorderly conduct-fighting.
- Angela Taylor, age 51, of Hawkins, was arrested on September 17, for driving while intoxicated-second offense.
- Megan Wells, age 33, of Winnsboro, was arrested on September 18, on a Winnsboro Municipal Court warrant for theft over $20 and under $500.
- Judy Gordon, age 55, of Quitman, was arrested on September 19, for public intoxication. .
Calls for Service
The Winnsboro Police Department responded to a total of 181 calls for service during this reporting period.
Citations
The Winnsboro Police Department issued 76 citations and 51 warnings during this reporting period.
2021 Clara Bridges 90+ Celebration at Nursing Homes and Assisted Living
It is an great achievement to reach over 90 years old. Karon Weatherman has honored those who have gained that achievement for years.
Karon Weatherman, Director of the Sulphur Springs Senior Center expresses a solution to still honor the 90+ seniors while keeping everyone safe. She states: “Instead of having one large event I am going to hold smaller Birthday Celebrations at each of the 6 Nursing Homes and Assisted Livings here in Sulphur Springs during September. I think this will keep the residents of each facility safe.
I will be serving Cake and Ice Cream to all the residents of the Facilities. I will also be presenting the 90+ Seniors their Certificates of Award. I thought this way they would be recognized and everyone could join in the fun of celebrating these wonderful Seniors.”
2021 Clara Bridges 90+ Award Recipients
Sulphur Springs Health and Rehab
Carriage House Manor and the Cottages
Sunny Springs Nursing and Rehab
Hopkins Place Assisted Living
Alvis Gillbert 
Andrew Clark 
Wesley House Assisted Living/Wesley Oaks Memory Care
Meal A Day Menu For Sept. 20-24, 2021
Volunteers prepare meals at the Sulphur Springs Senior Citizens Center and deliver them five days a week to Meal A Day program recipients in Sulphur Springs and Hopkins County. The Meal A Day Menu for Sept. 20-24, 2021, includes:
- Monday – Chili Cheese Dogs, Frito’s and Cole Slaw.
- Tuesday – BBQ Rope Sausage, Macaroni and Cheese, Stewed Squash and Roll.
- Wednesday – Taco Soup, Tossed Salad, and Tortilla Chips.
- Thursday – Chicken Pot Pie, Broccoli, and Pickled Beets.
- Friday – Cheeseburgers, Lettuce Tomato Onions, Pickle Spears, Baked Beans and Chips.
The Sulphur Springs Senior Citizens Center is a place where Senior Citizens age 50 and over can have a good time with old friends and make some new ones. Meal-A-Day is just one service the center provides. The coffee pot is always on and a smile is on each face. The SCC has a full library with all different kinds of reading books that can be taken, read and returned. Take as many as you like and bring some of your books in to share with others. Click here to find more information for seniors citizens.
Update: 11-Year-Old Killed In 2-Vehicle Crash Friday Identified As Local Youth
The 11-year-old killed in a 2-vehicle crash Friday morning has been identified by Texas Department of Public Safety Funeral services have also been set for the local youth.
DPS Sgt. Gregg Williams, with the Texas Highway Patrol Media Communications for the Texarkana/Mount Pleasant region which includes Hopkins County, Saturday reported Angel Olvera was the 11 boy who died at the crash site Friday morning. Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Brad Cummings pronounced Olvera dead at 8 a.m. Sept. 17, 2021.
The driver of the smashed Toyota Camry was identified as 34-year-old Angeles Vicente-Hernandez of Sulphur Springs; the car also contained a juvenile female passenger.
Medical helicopters were requested at the crash site. Vicente-Hernandez and the female youth were each flown to an area trauma center for what appeared to emergency responders to be with life-threatening-injuries. No additional update on their conditions was available Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021.
The driver of the Ford F750 garbage collection truck also involved in the crash, identified by DPS as 70-year-old Lewis Vickers of Mount Vernon, was not injured.
DPS have determined the 2015 garbage collection truck driven by Vickers was stationary on the south Interstate 30 service road about six miles west of Sulphur Springs, in the eastbound lane, with its flashing caution lights activated at 7:45 a.m. Friday, Sept. 17. The 2007 Toyota Camry driven by Vicente-Hernandez was traveling eastbound on the service road.
“For an as yet undetermined reason, the driver of the Toyota failed to control the vehicle’s speed and struck the back of the Ford,” Sgt. Williams reported in the Saturday news release about the fatal crash.
According to other local authorities the occupants of the Camry were removed with assistance from local firefighters.
A service for the 11-year-old Angel Olvera, known as Chitto Olvera, will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday, September 22, 2021, at the Saltillo Kerry Garmon Gymnasium, at Saltillo ISD.
A visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021, at Murray-Orwosky Funeral Home.
