TEA Releases Updated Guidelines Regarding COVID-19 Operational Restrictions – Including Use Of Masks At Schools
Before students and school district personnel get too excited about Executive Order GA-34 issued Tuesday which lifts the mask mandate and operational restrictions in Texas starting March 10, they will want to note that GA-34 provides TEA with the legal authority to publish requirements for the operation of public school systems during the COVID-19 pandemic. TEA Wednesday afternoon, March 3, updated the “School Year 2020-2021 Public Health Planning Guidance,” providing 12 pages of guidance that place the responsibility for developing a COVID-19 plan with school systems, including use of masks at school.
“Under this updated guidance, a public school system’s current practices on masks may continue unchanged. Local school boards have full authority to determine their local mask policy,” TEA stated in a March 3 news release.
TEA is recommending that public school systems consult with their local public health authorities and local legal counsel before making final decisions regarding the implementation of the guidance, which addresses on campus and virtual instruction; administrative activities by teachers, staff, or students that occur on school campuses or virtually; non-UIL extracurricular sports and activities; any other activities that teachers, staff, or students must complete that cannot be accomplished virtually; and visits by parents and the general public.
After-school providers and other programs that operate in conjunction with school campuses are recommended to follow TEA’s guidance in coordination with the campuses they serve.
The plan for on-campus activities and instruction “should be developed in consultation with teachers, staff, and parents to ensure the plan provides for the safety of teachers, staff, and students. Neither this summary document nor any local school systems’ reopening plans are subject to approval by any government entity,” the TEA guidance notes.
TEA still recommends following the CDC’s amended guidance, issued Dec. 2, 2020, regarding stay-at-home periods for those who have come in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Those in “close contact” should stay home for 10 days after exposure without a COVID-19 test or stay home 7 days after close contact with a negative COVID-19 test result.
"The CDC has also advised that critical infrastructure services—which includes schools—may
permit close contact staff members who are asymptomatic to continue to work in select instances
when it is necessary to preserve school operations. Per the CDC, this option should be used only in
limited circumstances. When using this option, school systems may consider adding additional
protocols to increase monitoring for these individuals, which might include the use of COVID-19 tests
(e.g., on Day 3 and/or Day 7 after the close contact exposure)," the TEA document stated
TEA notes that evidence suggests COVID-19 isn’t easily spread on surfaces, so increased cleaning practices may not help reduce the spread of it, so campuses can use more frequent cleaning practices by janitorial staff, if they choose to do so.
The guidelines for use of masks at schools and school activities in the TEA document are as follows:
Click here to view the full 12-page Public Health Guidance issued by TEA
DHHS: Child Care Workers, School Personnel Now Eligible For COVID-19 Vaccines
The Texas Department of State Health Services today notified all vaccine providers that they should immediately include school and child care workers in vaccine administration.
Last night, DSHS received a letter from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services directing states to expand eligibility to include people who work in school and child care operations. The federal directive defined the people eligible as “those who work in pre-primary, primary, and secondary schools, as well as Head Start and Early Head Start programs (including teachers, staff, and bus drivers) and those who work as or for licensed child care providers, including center-based and family care providers.”
This action does not change the other groups prioritized for vaccination in Texas. Providers are encouraged to continue their efforts to vaccinate older adults since the burden of COVID-19 falls most severely on people age 65 and older.
Masks Still Required At CHRISTUS Facilities, Per CDC Guidelines
Although Governor Greg Abbott Tuesday announced GA-34 which lifts face mask mandates and occupancy limits for businesses starting March 10, those planning to visit medical facilities, particularly CHRISTUS Health facilities, on or after next Wednesday should still be prepared to wear a face mask.
CHRISTUS Health, around 12:20 p.m. Wednesday, March 3, 2021 reported the state-wide lifting of the face mask mandate on March 10 does not apply to CHRISTUS facilities. All entering CHRISTUS facilities -whether as a visitor, worker or patient – will still be required to wear face masks, in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines, a notice on the health organizations’ social media page states. Hand hygiene and social distancing will also be followed, where possible, at CHRISTUS facilities as well.
Saltillo Lady Lions Players Earn All-District Honors
The district champ Saltillo Lady Lions fared very well on the All-District list released Wednesday, Mar. 3 by Lady Lions basketball coach Bill Giles. Seniors Chandler Bain and Anna Reeder of Saltillo were named the district’s Co-MVPs while Christina Wade was selected as the district’s Offensive MVP. Coach Giles was selected by his peers to as Coach of the Year. Defensive MVP of district 24-1A also went to Saltillo’s Brittney Peeples. Seniors Paisley Kastner and Maddy Smith were chosen to the All-District First team, and rounding out the awards for Saltillo were sophomores Julianna Giles and Allie Lane who were voted to the All-District Second team.
Coach Bill Giles said that he was “Extremely proud of our team,” and added “when your team has success, the individual awards come with it. The Lady Lions coach said each one of the girls put in a tremendous amount of time working on their game outside of practice each year. During practice, they bought into practicing hard against each other and that also aids in improvement.”
Congratulations to Coach Bill Giles and all that his Lady Lions were able to accomplish this season.
The rest of the awards for District 24-1A are as follows:
1st Team All-District
- Saltillo: Paisley Kastner – SR.
Maddy Smith – SR. - Sulphur Bluff: Jada Wade – SR.
Alley Collett – SR.
Skylar Stanley – JR. - Avinger: Naomi Fountain – SO.
Taygen Downs – SO. - Bloomburg: Cassie Glasgow – FR.
Haylee Breedlove – JR. - Avery: Juliana Burkett – SR.
2nd Team All-District
- Saltillo: Julianna Giles – SO.
Allie Lane – SO. - Sulphur Bluff: Bailey Neal – JR.
Tori Raine – JR. - Avinger: Huda Hanan – JR.
Samantha Chandler – SO. - Bloomburg: Kenzie Laduke – FR.
- Avery: Selena Maturino – JR.
Jalyh Ingram – SO. - Yantis: Macie Starrett – SR.
Evelyn Angel – SO.
Saltillo Lions Basketball Players Earn All-District Honors
The district champ Saltillo Lions fared very well on the All-District list released Wednesday, Mar. 3 by Lions basketball coach Casey Riddle. Chris Boekhorst of Saltillo was named the district’s MVP while Gunner Tarver was selected as the district’s Offensive MVP. Saltillo’s Andrew Redburn was named offensive player of the year with David Whitworth being awarded New Comer of the Year. Coy Collins of Saltillo was chosen to the All-District Second team.
The rest of the awards for District 24-1A are as follows:
1st Team All-District
- Kagan McGuire- Avery
- Cruz Martinez- Avery
- Jordan Samples- Avinger
- Kade Walker- Avinger
- Montana Hurley- Sulphur Bluff
- Brandon Branom- Sulphur Bluff
- Tevin Bigbee- Union Hill
2nd Team All-District
- Logan Hutson- Avery
- Jacob Burleson- Avinger
- Shane Johnson- Sulphur Bluff
- Logan Dunn- Union Hill
- Carlos Lopez- Yantis
- Judson Jones- Avinger
- Coy Collins- Saltillo
Sulphur Springs ISD Will Have To Make Up 1 Snow Day
Sulphur Springs ISD will have to make up one of the days missed last month due to the ice and snow which made travel dangerous Feb. 18-26, school administrators announced in a notice sent out via Blackboard.
Students missed five regular class days due to the recent snow storm and its effects. SSISD Board of Trustees Monday night approved submission of an application to Texas Education Agency asking for a waiver, excusing the district for five school days missed, Thursday, Feb. 18, and Tuesday-Friday, Feb. 23-26.
After filing a waiver, SSISD received notification by lunch time Wednesday, that the district will only be required to make up one of the five missed class days. That day will be made up on Monday, April 12, a day originally intended to be a staff preparation day and student holiday. Now, however, April 12 will be a traditional day of school for all – with all students and staff required to attend that day.
Bids For Street Improvement Work, Park Concessions Approved By City Council
Bids for street improvement work and park concessions were approved by Sulphur Springs City Council during a streamed Tuesday evening meeting that lasted less than 30 minutes.
SIP Contract
The city posted notices for bids for all labor, materials and equipment for full depth milling and inlay, hot mix asphalt concrete and cement treatment of the sub grade, including mixing, cement, compaction, final grading and coating for the Street Improvement Program. At the close of the bid period, the city received four bids: $1,627,285 from Richard Drake, $1,517,648 from RK Hall, $1,144,454 from Area Wide Paving and $1,137,776 from Texana Land & Asphalt.
City officials indicated they were pleased with the bid prices as they reflected only a nominal increase in unit price, with the less than $6,800 separating the two lowest bids.
The City Council, at the recommendation of city staff, awarded the contract for the Street Improvement Program to Texana Land & Asphalt; the company not only was the lowest qualified bidder but was also reported to have performed satisfactory work for the same services in 2020. Upon mutual agreement of the city and company, the contract may be extended for up to one year.
Funding for the services will be provided by street maintenance fee funds, which is a fee charged on city utility bills which is budgeted to raise $500,000 annually, and budgeted capital improvement program street funds.
The street maintenance fee is $5 per month per residential unit, $5 per month per unit for multi-family units, $12.50 per month for commercial units and $30 per month per industrial unit.
In 2020, the Street Maintenance Fee, enabled the City to pave 5.45 miles of city streets, 3.04 miles more than the regular Summer Paving program allows, according to the FY 2020 Street Maintenance Fee Report.
Park Concessions
For about 10 years, the city contracted with various individuals or local restaurants to provide concessions services at four concessions stand in designated city parks. The most recent contract with The Little Egg ended in December of 2020, Sulphur Springs Finance Director Lesa Smith explained.
Notices were posted requesting proposals for concessions services. The city received one bid, from The Little Egg. City staff reviewed the proposal and found it acceptable, meeting all terms.
City Manager Marc Maxwell noted that this is not a service for which the city typically receives an excess of bids, and is in fact grateful to have received the one bid.
“I spoke with Jerry Maynard on it. They’ve gotten excellent feed back doing tournaments. They have an extensive menu and does every time it opens up. Some come to get the food that do not come to see games. This one does an excellent job. I think we should hire him before he changes his mind,” Sulphur Springs Place 5 Councilman Gary Spraggins noted.
“I’ve also hard positive comments on the food out there,” Sulphur Springs Mayor John Sellers said.
Smith recommended the City Council award the contract to The Little Egg, with the contract to run from March 3 to Dec. 31, 2021, with an option to extend it for three additional one-year terms upon agreement between the city manager and concessionaire. The Little Egg has provided “quality concession services” to the city of Sulphur Springs since 2018.
The contract for park concessions will be a bit different from past concessions contracts. In the past, Smith explained, contracts were based on a percentage of gross sales to be remitted to the city each month by the concessionaire. This time, the method of fee collection will be a monthly rental amount based on the events hosted at the park. That means that some months there may be no rent paid, and monthly rents will vary.
The City Council approved the bid from The Little Egg to serve as concessionaire for city parks this year, with the option to renew in one-year increments for up to three additional years.
May Elections
Sulphur Springs City Council voted unanimously to accept the certificates of unopposed candidates and orders cancelling the May 2021 General Election and Special Election as the incumbents were the only candidates to filed by the February deadline for their seats on the council.
Jay Julian, Place 1 
Harold Nash Sr., Place 2
Jay W. Julian, who was elected in a December 2020 runoff for the unexpired term for Place 1, will serve a three-year term in the seat beginning in May. Harold Nash Sr., who was appointed in December 2019 to fill Place 2, one of four openings created by the resignations of four City Council members, then was unopposed in November 2020 for the unexpired term, will serve a full term in the seat starting in May 2021. Oscar Aguilar was unopposed in Novembers to serve the remainder of the unexpired term for Place 3.
Gary Spraggins was elected in November to serve part of the unexpired term in Place 5 on the Council, another of the four seats left vacant by the resignation of the councilman in December 2019. Spraggins was the only candidate who filed to serve another one-year of the unexpired term for Place 5 and also will continue serving in the seat until May 2022.
Oscar Aguilar, Place 3 
Gary Spraggins, Place 5
PJC Tuition and Fees to Remain Unchanged
Paris Junior College tuition and fees are slightly below the state average, and Monday evening, Feb. 22, the Board of Regents approved keeping the same rates for the 2021-2022 academic year.
“We’re recommending that we keep the same tuition and fee rate,” said PJC President Dr. Pam Anglin.
“We’ve looked at what surrounding community colleges charge. I’ve talked to other community college presidents around the state and they’re not planning on going up on their tuition and fees. Our reasoning is with this pandemic, our students are struggling more than ever before, ” she said.
“We feel it is important that we keep the amount the same, otherwise we would keep some students from being able to come to college,” Dr. Anglin said.
Regents also learned during the President’s Report that the Texas Association of Community Colleges will ask the legislature to prevent any community college from losing any money in the next biennium appropriation, and that $19.6 million to be added
to the community college appropriation to hold them harmless.
The College continues campus COVID-19 protocols. While free COVID testing on campus was shut down last week by the winter storm, it will continue to be available.
PJC nursing students continue to give vaccinations at the Love Civic Center. This Friday they will give 1,400 vaccinations and the same amount on Saturday. PJC Director of Nursing Rebbecca Harris is coordinating the students. The vaccination data entry group this past Saturday was made up almost entirely of PJC retirees.
Enrollment for the second 8-week flex term is 333 students, versus 231 one year
ago.
- Received a Financial Report from Controller Cody Helm showing that while tuition and fee revenue is down from the prior year due to the pandemic’s effect on enrollment, there are increased tax revenues and lower expenditures, so revenue is $6,510,299 over expenses.
- Approved a two-year extension of the depository agreement with Guaranty Bank and Trust for two additional years. The College must review the agreement every odd-numbered year in February and if the same terms are agreed to, the contract may be extended for two years.
- Continued waiving a portion of dual credit tuition and fees. The rates will remain unchanged from the previous year.
- Accepted the hiring of Heidi Richards as Director of the Paris Junior College – Greenville Center, effective March 1, 2021.
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.
Representative Slaton Files Bill To Make The Public Utility Commission Seats Elected Positions
AUSTIN, TEXAS – This morning, March 3, Representative Bryan Slaton of HD 2 filed HB 2691 to make the Public Utility Commission seats elected, rather than positions appointed by the Governor.
“Texans everywhere are angry over the energy failures during February’s winter storm. While there has been a lot of finger pointing on who is to blame, one thing is abundantly clear: The people of Texas deserve to have direct accountability of those in positions of power, not less. This bill will make the Public Utility Commission directly accountable to the people, not the Governor,” Rep. Slaton said.
The three commissioners on the Public Utility Commission would serve staggered six year terms, similar to the Railroad Commission, and would be elected during the general election for state officers as proposed by Slaton.
Chamber Connection: Upcoming Events Include An Anniversary Celebration, Golf Tourney Registration, Ribbon Cutting, iSTAT Reporting
By Lezley Brown, President/CEO, Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce
Great news! It’s time to register to play golf in the 32nd Annual Hopkins County Golf Tournament! We are mailing registration forms to our members this week. If you are interested in playing, call the Chamber at (903) 885-6515 to reserve your spot. We will have morning and afternoon tee times available, but they go fast! The tourney is set for Friday, April 9. It’s going to be a great day!
One thing I’d like to mention … County Judge Robert Newsom was explaining to me that Hopkins County has not yet been added to the Disaster Declaration from the snowstorm because we haven’t reported the damage to the state’s system. Texans are urged to fill out the Texas Department of Emergency Management’s (DEM’s) State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT) to help the state identify damages across Texas and help emergency management officials gain an understanding of damages that occurred during the recent winter weather. FEMA has asked the state of Texas for additional information regarding the amount of damage in the counties that have yet to be declared, and TDEM will continue to present that information until all Texas counties that qualify for federal assistance receive the assistance they need. If this applies to you, please do your part, and submit a quick survey.
Events
SAFE-T Crisis Center to celebrate their 14th Anniversary
SAFE-T Crisis Center is celebrating their 14th anniversary on Wednesday, March 24, in their new facility located at 1716 Posey Lane in Sulphur Springs.
Ribbon Cuttings
McCullough Paint to host a ribbon cutting
McCullough Paint, located at 3913-B Wesley Street in Greenville, Tx., will host their ribbon cutting celebration on Wednesday, March 10, at noon. Please make plans to attend!
Babe hosted their ribbon cutting celebration
Babe hosted a ribbon cutting celebration on Thursday, February 25, at noon. They are located at 215 B Main Street in Sulphur Springs and specialize in women’s and men’s clothing and (soon to be) shoes.
Business Highlight
The Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce is highlighting a member of the Chamber each week. Please join me in congratulating our Business of the Week for March 3, Town & Country Cleaners. You can read biographical stories at the Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page and Instagram page.
