Tira News: RSVP For May 1 Birthday Celebration For Yvonne Weir
By Jan Vaughn, Tira correspondent
Destri Weir wants to extend an invitation to a birthday celebration honoring Yvonne Weir on Saturday, May 1, 2021, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Heritage Park, 416 North Jackson St. in Sulphur Springs. A picnic lunch and cake will be served. Text or call Destri at 940-367-3322 to RSVP.
The Tira Cemetery Association Board met on Tuesday, March 30, and made plans for the Tira Homecoming, which will be held on July 4, 2021. There will be a program and meeting in the Tira Methodist Church at 11 a.m., followed by a covered-dish lunch on the grounds.
Yvonne Weir reports, “Dacy visited Friday and worked very hard in the yard getting us ready for Spring. Dustin came and spent Saturday night and took Wesley to the Dallas Zoo with Dakota, Sarah, Lucas, and Levi. They had a good time. Robert got his second Covid vaccine. Wesley gets his next week.”
Chip and I went to Arkansas on the weekend of March 20-21 to spend some time with Tiffany, Perry, and Jaidyn. On Saturday, we went to Garvin Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs for their Daffodil Days and Tulip Extravaganza. The weather was perfect for strolling through the beautiful grounds. We stayed in Arkadelphia and did some hiking around Lake Catherine and on the Desoto Bluff Trail Sunday afternoon, after attending church with them at New Beginnings in Malvern. It was the beginning of Tiffany and Jaidyn’s Spring Break. Jaidyn wanted to swim, so we stayed at a motel with an indoor pool. We had lots of good food and fun!
Linda Ellen Vaughn came to our house on that Friday evening and spent the weekend with Grace while we were gone.
Our great-grandsons, Rylan, Brailon, and Slaiden Joslin, spent Friday night with us. They enjoyed doing jigsaw puzzles and playing games on the electronics. Their parents, Landon and Laiken Joslin, went to Greenville and had dinner at Shogun Japanese Restaurant and did some shopping.
I always need and appreciate input from my friends to help keep me informed of news in our community. If you have any news pertaining to Tira residents, past or present, please contact me, Jan Vaughn, at 903-438-6688 or [email protected].
Commerce Tigers Track Places Eighth at Paris Deion Minor Wildcat Relays
On Wednesday, Mar. 30, the Commerce Tigers men’s track and field team travelled to Paris to participate in the “Paris” Deion Minor Wildcat Relays. The Tigers track and field team finished with 20 points at the meet, good enough for 8th place at the invitational.
In the 3200 M run, Oliver Roberts placed fifth with a time of 10:57. Enrique Morales fared a bit better in the 800 M run, scoring bronze with 2:08:61. The Tiger team of Ashton Seale, Aidan Crowder, Edgar Castillo, and Jaystin Finch finished sixth in the 4×200 M relay with a time of 1:37:18.
Ty Hoffman placed fourth in 300 M hurdles, coming in with a time of 44.54. Oliver Roberts finished fifth in the 1600 M run at 5:01:35. Finally the Tiger team of Edgar Castillo, Enrique Morales, Aidan Crowder, and Da’shawn Jackson placed fifth in the 1600 M relays, coming in with a time of 3:51:65.
Coach Cameron Warren, head boys track coach at Commerce, said after the meet that the Tigers faced “A lot of tough competition from larger schools,” Coach Warren said, but also added that “our kids competed well.”
Coach Warren informed KSST Radio that the Tigers added another invitational to the schedule and the Commerce men’s track and field team will be back in action in Quitman tomorrow.
Ground Breaking Signals Start Of Construction On Connally Corner
Approximately 45 local dignitaries, business and community members turned out on a windy, lightly overcast Wednesday morning in celebration of the start of construction for Connally Corner, new housing development located just off the downtown square in Sulphur Springs.
Patrick Chase said he and daughter Carrie Nuckolls and their families have been working to see the project come to fruition for about three years now, during which the Sulphur Springs City Council approved an ordinance allowing accessory dwelling units, smaller secondary dwelling units on a property such as granny flats or garage apartments, as a means to meet growing local needs for additional housing.
Located at the corner of Connally and Easy Streets, the Connally Corner project is to be constructed in two phases with Scott and Diane Clements, of S. Clements Homes, are project builders.
The first phase will include construction of three two-story single-family housing homes, each with a detached garage that has an apartment above it, potentially providing six additional residences within walking distance of downtown Sulphur Springs. The units will face Connally Street, which connects to the Cross Town Trail and ends at Buford Park.
Fill dirt was trucked in last week so that construction of the Connally Street development would be ready to begin following the groundbreaking ceremony. Scott Clements anticipates construction on the home will take 5-6 months barring weather and COVID-19 impacts to construction. Although they three units have yet to be purchased yet, Clements said the homes should be ready for occupancy by the end of the year. The three units are priced in the $300,000s and are for sale by contacting Nuckolls. One condition of the city in approving the property, as is the case with new accessory dwellings, is that the owner of the property must live either in the two-story home or the garage apartment if the unit is rented out.
The second phase will include construction of three additional housing units just like the first three, each with detached garage apartments, located on the open field behind the first set of homes, at the corner of Easy Street and Parkins Street, facing Easy Street.
“We are excited about doing this. We think it will be good for downtown. We think it will be good for all of Sulphur Springs. We are excited about the Cross Town Trail and all that the city has done to make Connally Street more beautiful and the great place that it is,” Chase said.
Chase offered thanks to the City Council, city staff including the community development director and city manager “for all they have done” as well as the many people whose labor has made the project possible.
Nuckolls extended special thanks to Sulphur Springs City Manager Marc Maxwell for “his vision” for Sulphur Springs. People come to Sulphur Springs and want to live in the city because of the downtown “vibe and energy and what our downtown has to offer.”
Also among those Nuckolls and Chase expressed thanks to were banker Don Sapaugh for taking a chance on the project as well as all the local banks for being the “backbone of this economy” by going the distance for a lot of people in up and down markets.
Sulphur Springs Mayor John Sellers said the City Council is excited to see the new development begin.
“This just bring about more of what we’ve been talking about – improving our city, making it to where we can be here to work, play, eat and live. So, that’s really exciting,” Sellers said. “I am just really excited that we are doing this. We’ve go the vision to do this and that it’s going to become a reality.”
Terrell Man Sentenced On Indecency Charge
A 41-year-old Terrell man was sentenced Wednesday afternoon, March 31, in the 8th Judicial District Court on an indecency with a child charge.
David Joel Dean had previously pled guilty to indecency with a child by contact. He also reportedly pled “true” to having a prior felony controlled substance conviction for which he served time in the penitentiary, which increased the range of punishment on the indecency charge from a second-degree felony to that of a first-degree felony, according to prosecutors. Therefore, at the sentencing hearing Wednesday afternoon, Dean faced a potential range of punishment of 5 to 99 years or life in the penitentiary.
Dean was arrested June 19, 2020 on warrants for the indecency charge as well as violation of probation on a July 2018 Hopkins County controlled substance charge; he was indicted in April 2019, then, plead guilty and received one year of deferred adjudication probation on the controlled substance charge in December of 2019, according to arrest and court records.
During the March 31, 2021 sentencing hearing, Assistant District Attorney Matt Harris argued for a lengthy prison sentence for Dean on the indecency charge. The defendant, represented by Martin Braddy, reportedly argued for probation with drug and sex offender rehabilitation conditions.
Eighth Judicial District Judge Eddie Northcutt sentenced Dean to 12 years in Texas Department of Criminal Justice on the indecency with a child conviction. He was taken into custody and transported to Hopkins County jail, where he is to be held until he can be transferred to prison, according to court and arrest reports.
Cumby ISD Hosting Three Virtual Community Meetings To Discuss Bond Election
Cumby ISD has scheduled three virtual community meetings in April to discuss the $7.34 million facilities bond proposal and a $600,000 optional bond proposition to improve athletic facilities.
Upcoming Community Meetings
To give community members a chance to voice any questions or concerns they may have regarding the bond proposals, Cumby ISD has scheduled three community meetings prior to early voting, which starts April 19.
The community meetings will be conducted via Zoom virtual conferencing, as followings:
- Noon April 1 – First Community Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89733575112
- 8 a.m. April 8 – Second Community Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82033191285
- 4:30 p.m. April 15 – Third Community Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81729825522
Bond Proposals
The Cumby ISD Board of Trustees at the February meeting called for the special bond election, which if approved on May 1, would fund construction of new high school facilities, conversion of the current junior high/high school building into an intermediate/middle school campus and safety renovations at the elementary building, including renovation of the cafeteria and removal of portable buildings. The second proposition for a finished track, if approved by voters, would be contingent on the main proposition passing as well.
The proposed 2021 bond construction and renovation takes into account potential future growth for the district. Renovations and new construction could occur while students remain in current facilities without a disruption to education, Cumby ISD officials reported during a Jan. 30 community meeting.
Currently, the school’s tax rate is $1.14. If passed, this 2-proposition bond proposal will raise taxes to either $1.43 or $1.46, depending on projects chosen. School taxes would increase either 29-cents per $100 property valuation if only Proposition A were passed, or by 32-cents if voters approve both Proposition A and Proposition B on May 1.
Current Campus Plan 
Proposed Campus Plan
A $1.43 school tax rate would increase the school taxes on a home that costs $100,000 to $18.13 monthly or $217.50 annually, while a tax rate of $1.46 would increase the school taxes on a $100,000 home by $20 monthly or $240 annually.
School officials emphasize that voter approval of one or both of the bond proposals would have no affect on the school taxes of citizens age 65 or older who have a homestead exemption application filed with the local appraisal district. Their taxes would continue to be the same rate they were frozen at, unless the property owner makes significant improvements to their home which would increase it’s appraised value or if the property’s value decreases, then the rate would be filed accordingly.
Passing a bond in May, instead of waiting should allow the district to take advantage of historically low interest rates for repayment of the bond fund over the next 30 years. Depending on the interest rate, tax appraisals and the amount of the bond if approved, the tax rate could potentially be lower than projected, and likely would go down at some point, as other debts are paid off, officials noted in a previous public session.
School officials noted that if neither of the 2-proposition bond projects receive voter approval in May, “Cumby ISD will continue to put students first and take care of student and program needs with our current facilities.”
Voting information
Early voting in the Cumby ISD Bond Election will be conducted from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. April 19-23 and April 26-27. Election Day voting will be conducted from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 1. All voting in the special Cumby ISD bond election will be conducted in Cumby ISD Administration Building, located at 301 Donelton St.
Additional Information
Additional information about the May 1 Cumby ISD bond election, including voting details, can be obtained during the three community meetings, on the district website (https://www.cumbyisd.net/) under the Bond 2021 tab, or by calling Cumby ISD Administration Office at (903) 994-2260
North Hopkins Baseball Team Continues on Good Streak With 13-3 Win Over Fruitvale
After a slow start to the season, the North Hopkins Panthers continue to gain momentum. Tuesday, playing at home, the Panthers soundly defeated Fruitvale, 13-3.
The Panthers only led 5-3 entering the bottom of the fifth but then they scored 7 runs to put the game out of reach.
The run support was more than pitcher Karson Jenkins needed. Jenkins got the win throwing 88 pitches over 6 innings allowing only 4 hits and 3 runs while striking out 13 and issuing only 1 walk.
Dakota Smith was 2 for 3 with 3 RBI’s, 1 run, a double and a stolen base. Dylan Minick was 2 for 2 with 2 RBI’s, 2 runs scored and a stolen base. Aaron Nguyen was 2 for 4 with an RBI, 1 run scored, a double and 3 stolen bases. Carson Mathis was 1 for 3 with an RBI, 1 run scored with a walk and a stolen base.
Landry Breckeen was 1 for 3 with an RBI, 2 runs scored with a walk and 2 stolen bases. Braydon Nguyen had an RBI, scored a run and walked. Jenkins was 1 for 3 with 2 runs scored, a walk and a stolen base. Tate Myers scored 2 runs and stole a base. Gaven Buccieri walked. Robert Perry walked twice and stole a base.
Como Woman Accused Of Improper Photography Or Visual Recording
A 26-year-old Como woman was jailed Tuesday on warrant for improper photography or visual recording without consent, according to arrest reports.
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jason Lavender assisted investigators in Whitney Lenea Mauldin with the felony warrant at her FM 69 residence. Lavender took her into custody around 2:30 p.m. March 30, 2021, and transported her to Hopkins County jail on the Hunt County charge.
According to Sec. 21.15 of Texas Penal Code, one commits “improper photography or visual recording” if the person photographs or by videotape or other electronic means records, broadcasts, or transmits a visual image of another at a location:
- that is not a bathroom or private dressing room without the other person’s consent, with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person;
- that is a bathroom or private dressing room, without the other person’s consent with intent to invade the privacy of the other person or arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person;
- or knowing the character and content of the photograph, recording, broadcast, or transmission, promotes a photograph, recording, broadcast, or transmission.
An improper photography or visual recording without consent as defined above is a state jail felony, according to Texas Penal Code.
Mauldin remained in Hopkins County jail Wednesday morning, March 31, 2021, on the Hunt County charge; bond was set at $50,000 on the improper photography or visual recording charge, according to arrest and jail reports. The offense is alleged to have occurred on Sept. 3, 2020, the deputy noted in arrest 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.
Saltillo Lady Lions Softball Team is Outscored 19-5 at Alba-Golden
It was a tough day Tuesday (March 30) for the Saltillo Lady Lions Softball Team as a big inning led to a 19-5 loss at Alba-Golden.
Alba-Golden scored 10 runs in the bottom of the third inning.
The highlight for the Lady Lions was a grand slam home run by Paisley Kastner. Chandler Bain was 1 for 2 with 2 runs scored. Ryleigh Redar was 1 for 3 with 1 run scored. Maddy Smith and Regan Speir were both 1 for 3. Calli Morris drew a walk and scored a run.
The Lady Lions are 3-2 for the season. They remain unbeaten in district play with a 3-0 record. Next the Lady Lions play at Como-Pickton Friday starting at 4 p.m.
PJC Board of Regents Keep COVID-19 Safety Protocols in Place
Facing uncertainties about the aftereffects of Spring Break and more virulent strains of COVID-19, the Paris Junior College Board of Regents voted to maintain current safety protocols at their meeting on Monday, March 22, 2021.
The issue of continuing mandatory masks and social distancing will be reevaluated after the Spring semester ends in May.
“We don’t know what the next three weeks after Spring Break will bring,” said PJC President Dr. Pam Anglin. “We need to get through this semester and keep everyone safe.”
In other business, the Regents:
- Received a financial report showing that PJC continues to have more revenue than expenses.
- Authorized continuation of local charitable giving through the United Way by opting out of the State Employee Charitable Contribution Campaign. This ensures that local donations are spent locally.
- Adopted a price increase of 3.5 percent for the meal contract with Aramark for 2021-2022.
- Accepted an increase of $60 in Room and Board rates for 2021-2022. The existing Room and Board rate for Thompson and Hatcher Halls is $2,540 and the rate for the South Campus Residence Hall is $2,740. Starting in the Fall 2021 semester, the new Room and Board rates will be $2,600 and $2,800, respectively.
- Accepted changes to 2021-2022 course fees for the 2021-2022 year. The majority relate to the nursing program and reflect changes to HESI testing and simulation lab packets.
- Received an update on the CARES Act/CRRSAA Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund I and II. While spending guidelines continue to be updated, PJC has spent about $1.7 million from first round stimulus funding on students and approved institutional costs. In the second round, PJC was awarded more than $5 million to be reimbursed after approved expenditures. A proposed third round would bring PJC additional funding. At this time, PJC must spend funding from the first two rounds by June 30, 2021. Though guidance has been modified and continues to change, PJC has spent funds on things clearly linked to COVID-19, such as face masks and plexiglass shields, and technology for items such as laptops that students may check out.
- “We feel very comfortable with everything that we have spent money on so far,” said Dr. Anglin. The PJC President said that the college has “been very conservative with what we’ve spent funds on.”
- Renewed faculty contracts and accepted the reassignment of Maria Nava as Upward Bound Advisor effective March 15; the resignation of Licensed Vocational Nursing Instructor Casey Escobedo and the retirements of History Instructor Lisa Johnson, Emergency Medical Services Coordinator Mark Mallory and English Instructor Diann Mason, all effective August 31.
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.
Quinlan Man Receives Maximum Sentence For Tire Theft
A 37-year-old Quinlan man Tuesday afternoon received the maximum sentence for tire theft, according to arrest and court reports.
Jeremy Edward Johnson was accused, while working as a commercial tire salesman, of stealing approximately $63,000 worth of commercial tires from his employer in fall 2019. He was arrested on Dec. 3, 2019 on a warrant alleging theft of property valued at $30,000 or more but less than $150,000 for the tire theft; he was released from jail later that day on a $30,000 bond, according to arrest and jail reports.
Johnson pled guilty to the lesser-included offense of theft of items valued at $2,500 or more but less than $30,000.00, punishable as a state jail felony. A sentencing hearing was conducted March 30, 2021, in the 8th Judicial District Court.
Assistant District Attorney Matt Harris called two witnesses Tuesday and the defense attorney called three witnesses, including the defendant. Harris argued for a sentence of two years in state jail, the maximum sentence, because the defendant was already on probation for a Dallas County theft at the time of the Hopkins County tire theft. The defense attorney argued for probation, according to court reports.
Eighth Judicial District Judge Eddie Northcutt sentenced Johnson Tuesday to two years in state jail. The 37-year-old Sulphur Springs man was taken into custody in District Court on the charge and transported to Hopkins County jail, where he was booked by Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Justin Wilkerson on the charge, according to jail reports.
