Sulphur Springs ISD Has Scheduled Special Board Meeting
Sulphur Springs ISD has scheduled a special board meeting March 1, a week ahead of the regular meeting schedule, to address issues related to the days in February that school was cancelled due to the extreme winter weather that made roads unsafe for travel.
The 6 p.m. school board agenda includes only two action items. The SSISD Board of Trustees will be asked to consider approving a resolution regarding staff wage payments during emergency school closing as well as submission of an application to Texas Education Agency for a waiver for missed school days.
Afterward, the board is slated to enter into a work session for the SSISD strategic plan.
The SSISD special board meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, March 1, in the Exhibit Hall at Hopkins County Civic Center.
Man Jailed For Evading Arrest Or Detention
A 41-year-old Sulphur Springs man was jailed for evading arrest or detention Saturday night on Fuller Street, according to police reports.
After responding to more than once to disturbances in which the man was alleged to have been involved, then left, a Sulphur Springs Police officer spotted the suspect shortley after 10 p.m. Feb. 27 walking toward the area of the prior disturbances. Upon contact, alcohol was smelled on his breath. He reportedly admitted to consuming alcoholic beverages. He failed horizontal gaze nystagmus tests, and was arrested for public intoxication.
However, when the officer attempted to take Christopher James Timmons he pulled away from the officer and ran west on Fuller Street, where he was apprehended, Sgt. Matt Glenn alleged in arrest reports. Timmons was transported to jail, where Glenn reported Timmons refused to answer book-in questions. The officer noted the man had previously been convicted of evading arrest or detention, which enhanced the offense to a felony.
Timmons spent the night in jail and was released Sunday on a $5,000 bond on the felony evading arrest or detention charge, according to jail reports.
KSSTRadio.com publishes Sulphur Springs Police Department reports and news. The Police Department is located at 125 Davis St., Sulphur Springs, Texas. Non-emergency calls can be made to (903) 885-7602.
If you have an emergency dial 9-1-1.
The Sulphur Springs Police Department continues to serve its citizens with pride in its overall mission and will strive to provide the best possible police force in the 21st century.
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.
March 1-5 Meal A Day Menu
Although the Sulphur Springs Senior Citizens Center remains closed due to COVID-19, volunteers continue to work five days a week preparing and delivering meals to shut-in elderly in the community. The March 1-5 Meal A Day Menu includes:
Monday – Sweet and sour chicken on a bed of rice, egg rolls, Oriental vegetables
Tuesday – Beef spaghetti, Italian blend vegetables, garlic sticks
Wednesday – Hopkins County stew, crackers, cheese cubs
Thursday – Sliced ham, potato salad, baked beans, cole slaw, roll
Friday – Cornflake chicken casserole, broccoli with cheese sauce, roll
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.
Observing KSST Anniversary: ‘My First Real Boss’ by Harve Argenbright, Radio Workshopper
KSST Radio went on the air in Sulphur Springs, Texas on March 1, 1947 in an upstairs studio on the West side of the downtown square.. Within it’s first year of operation, a young engineer fresh out of military service came onboard, liked the work, and remained for the next 64 years. William E. Bradford, or Brad as he was lovingly known to the community, eventually served in every facet of operation and later became full owner of the station. During the 1950’s and 60’s, he linked the business with the local high school’s career training methods through the ‘KSST Radio Workshop.’ It was am after-school program where responsible high school students could volunteer to work for the experience they would gain. Students had the responsibility of producing a couple of hours of evening programming live on the air, including reading the news, taking requests and playing records. Many workshop students used what they learned in Radio Workshop to their advantage in adult life, giving due credit to Brad’s guidance and influence, as this story illustrates.
MY FIRST REAL BOSS by Harve Argenbright on January 05, 2021.
“By the time I graduated from high school I had had several jobs that were mostly manual labor type jobs that did not involve a real boss. People told me what needed to be done, and I did it. That was not really a boss.
When I was a junior in high school there was a program called Radio Workshop sponsored by the local radio station, KSST, for juniors and seniors to encourage young people to develop verbal communication skills, and I jumped on it. The program and the station were run by William E. Bradford.
Though well under six feet tall, Brad’s energy, large voice, and charisma made him seem ten feet tall. His presence never went unnoticed. A powerful force in the radio station, he was also a power in local politics due his ability to publicize.
He was one of the most intelligent men that I had ever met. Though gifted in electronics his knowledge and interest permeated many fields. KSST was the first radio station not associated with a TV station to have weather radar.
Brad made our radar from an Army surplus radar that came from a Navy PBY aircraft. Later he made a helical satellite receiver antenna to allow us to receive satellite weather pictures from an empty barrel of floor sweep and some copper tubing.
After growing up in Hillsboro, TX during the years before WWII, his interest in radio lead him to a job in South America flying as radio operator on DC-2 and DC-3 airliners for Panagra Airlines .
One day he was called into the chief pilot’s office where the chief pilot rather sternly announced, “Some of the pilots tell me that you have been flying the airplanes.”
While Brad stood there wondering how hard it would be to get back to Hillsboro after being fired, the chief pilot said, “They tell me that you are pretty good at it too. Would you like to be a pilot?”
Brad immediately replied, “How much does it pay?” It was more than the pay for a radio operator. He said, “Yes’”
The company gave a local aviation official a few dollars and a couple of Wheaties box tops. Brad had his pilot’s license.
Between then and WWII Brad flew across the jungles of South America under rather primitive conditions. On one occasion Brad was asked by another pilot to trade trips. Brad accepted on the condition that the other pilot go to ops and change the names on all of the paperwork. The other pilot agreed.
Later that day the other pilot and his plane disappeared in the dense jungle never to be found again. The paperwork was never changed by the other pilot. Brad’s family in Hillsboro was wrongly notified of the death of their son.
On the wall of Brad’s office was the framed clipping of his obituary from the Hillsboro newspaper.
After the outbreak of WWII airline pilots were inducted into the Military Airlift Command. Brad did his patriotic duty for most of the war flying in MAC. However, later in the war MAC was trying to construct a long range hf communications system to keep track of its far flung aircraft. Brad’s electronics knowledge had been noticed, and he was put to work developing this system.
The guiding hand of fate was once again felt. The rest of his squadron was deployed to Europe for the Berlin Airlift. There many of them died attempting the difficult instrument approach in terrible weather at Templehof Airfield in Berlin, Germany.
Decades later when as a pilot for Braniff International I flew into airports in Bogota, Quito, Lima, and Caracas I always had the feeling that I was following in Brad’s foot prints in some small way.
When I finished my freshman year at East Texas State I was about out of funds for higher education and was wondering from where they would come when Brad called. He said that I had a good voice for radio, and would I like to have the night shift, some weekends, and do vacation fill-in? He would arrange the schedule to meet my college requirements.
This seemed like a dream come true. I would sit in an air conditioned room drinking company coffee and get paid for talking. It sure beat the heck out of pouring concrete in the Texas summer sun.
There was some concern, however. The last two announcers hired at KSST were fired in the middle of the night and told that their stuff would be mailed to them.
In both cases the actions were highly justified. Radio announcers are a strange breed. I worked for Brad for more than six years, and never was there a problem between us. Brad was a fair and just man if you did your work responsibly. I always had total respect for him.
Since I was part time help I did not qualify for some of the perks that full time employees received. Brad went to the annual board of directors meeting and requested that I be made an exception. He made me eligible for stock sharing and other benefits that were small in value but great in meaning.
My last airtime on KSST came in 1970 in the form of an “On the Scene Report” from a short, muddy, jungle airstrip in Cambodia reporting on the evacuation of Cambodian civilian refuges under heavy fire from advancing North Vietnamese Regular Troupes .
I will be forever grateful to Brad for the opportunities, inspiration, and guidance he provided. Many thanks Brad. I will always remember the times we flew together in Henry Oppenheim’s Maytag Messerchmitt”.
In 2013, following Brad’s passing, Chad and Rhonda Young purchased KSST. In following Brad’s tradition, they soon developed ksstradio.com for the community, a news website providing companion coverage of local events. Today, the ‘KSST Interns’ from Sulphur Springs High School gain valuable knowledge and experience by learning to interview individuals and prepare news stories for ksstradio.com, KSST AM Radio and KRVA FM.
Shorthanded Lady Cats Soccer Team Comes Out on Short End of 3-1 Game Against Longview Saturday at The Prim
The Lady Cats Soccer Team dropped a match to Longview, 3-1 at Gerald Prim Stadium Saturday morning.
Longview is one of the district’s very best teams. The Lady Cats played without top goal scorer Rebekah Stanley, veteran defensive player Chloe Jones and talented freshman goal scorer Kylie Clarke.
Lady Cats Coach Javier Aguayo said he would not make any excuses though. He said no matter who is out there, they need to be mentally and physically ready to play as a team.
Coach Aguayo said Longview was the better team Saturday noting that they outplayed the Lady Cats in the first half.
He said the Lady Cats did give them a couple of scares in the second half.
Haylee Shultz scored the Lady Cats goal Saturday assisted by Janine Yamaguchi.
The Lady Cats are now 3-4 for the season with one of the wins by shootout. The Lady Cats season record is 8-8-4. The Lady Cats play Mount Pleasant Tuesday night at The Prim.
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.
Wildcats Soccer Team Edged Out by Longview, 1-0 on the Road Saturday
The Longview Lobos are one of the district’s best teams and for the second time this season, they managed to eke out a 1-0 victory against the Wildcats Soccer Team at Longview Saturday afternoon.
Wildcats Coach Alexi Upton said it was a weird game due to the humidity and changes in the weather. He noted the Wildcats had some chances but could not finish them.
Coach Upton said he was proud of his Wildcats adding they have got some more work to do.
The loss drops the Wildcats to 3-4 in district play and 12-8-1 for the season. The Wildcats travel to Mount Pleasant on Tuesday for another big district game.
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.
Wildcats Baseball Team Drops Their Final Two Games at Rose City Classic Saturday
Saturday, Feb. 27 turned out to be a very long day for the Wildcats Baseball Team on the third day of the Rose City Classic at Mike Carter Field in Tyler.
In an early game, the Wildcats battled Forney. Forney scored twice in the top of the seventh and then held on for a 3-1 win. The Jackrabbits outhit the Wildcats 7-5. Forney had the games only error.
After Forney scored the game’s first run in the third inning, the Wildcats got a run to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth. The Wildcats got good starting pitching from Jake Armstrong who pitched the first 4 innings allowing 5 hits and only 1 run while striking out 6 and walking 4 Hector Martinez, who got the pitching loss, threw the last 3 innings giving up 2 hits and 2 runs with 2 strikeouts and 2 walks. Kaden Wallace was 2 for 3 for the Wildcats with a triple. Colby Albritton was also 2 for 3. Ty Stroud was 1 for 4 and he drove in the Wildcats’ run. Matthew Singleton scored the run. Hayden Hurst was hit by a pitch. Matt Mitchell and Colt Silman worked walks.
Wildcats Baseball Coach Jerrod Hammack said by the fifth game of the tournament, he had no pitching left. He said he had to throw some position players that don’t normally pitch. Unfortunately the Wildcats opponent in the fifth game was heavy hitting Hallsville. The Bobcats took the game 19-0.
The Wildcats have opened the season 0-5. Weather permitting, the Wildcats will seek to break into the win column at North Lamar Monday night.
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.
Lady Cats Softball Team Takes Two Games on Final Day of Allen Tournament on Rainy Saturday
The Lady Cats Softball Team put two more games in the win column on the last day of the Allen Tournament Saturday defeating Cedar Hill and Dallas W.T. White.
For the second game in a row Saturday morning, the Lady Cats depended on a big late rally to get by Cedar Hill, 8-6. The Lady Cats scored 7 runs in the top of the sixth inning after entering the frame down 6-1.
Crimson Bryant got the pitching win throwing 101 pitches over 6 innings and allowing 5 hits and only 1 earned run with 10 strikeouts and 2 walks.
The Lady Cats were outhit 5-4 by the Lady Longhorns but the Lady Cats benefited from 8 walks and 5 Cedar Hill errors. The Lady Cats had 6 errors in sloppy conditions.
Addison Caddell swung a good bat going 2 for 3 with a double, an RBI, a run scored and a walk. Grace Magnuson was 1 for 2 with an RBI, a run scored and 2 walks. Nylah Lindley was 1 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base. Jadyn Harper had an RBI, scored a run, worked 2 walks, stole a base and was hit by a pitch. Nicole Higgins had an RBI and scored a run. Bryant had an RBI and drew a walk. Addison DeSmet scored 2 runs and had a walk. Matti Smith scored a run and walked twice. Katie Johns scored a run.
In the second game of the day, the Lady Cats got a 6-0 win over Dallas W.T. White. Due to conditions, both coaches agreed to end the game after an inning and a half. These Lady Longhorn pitchers had trouble throwing a strike and they walked quite a few Lady Cats in the bottom of the first. Higgins pitched two scoreless innings to get the win.
The Lady Cats won 4 of 5 games in the tourney and their season record is now 5-1. Weather permitting, the Lady Cats will play at Caddo Mills Monday evening.
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.
Saltillo Lions Basketball Falls to Slidell In Quarterfinal
The Saltillo Lions Basketball team could not keep pace with Slidell in a season-ending 63-53 loss in the quarterfinals of playoffs in Bells, TX on Saturday, Feb. 27.
While Saltillo did manage to outscore the Greyhounds, 16-10 in the first quarter, it was the only one in which the Lions were able to do so. From there, Slidell’s offense took control of the game, taking a 27-26 edge before halftime thanks to a Greyhounds offense that outscored Saltillo 17-10. From there it was more of the same, as even though the Lions managed to only get outscored 16-14 in the third to be looking at a three point deficit going in to the fourth quarter, 43-40, Slidell was able to pull ahead as the game drew to a close and left Bells, TX with a 63-53 win over the Saltillo Lions basketball team in the quarterfinal round of playoffs.
Chris Boekhorst led the Lions Saturday with 24 points. Coy Collins had 12 points, Andrew Redburn scored 12 points, Colby McCoy added 5 points and Gunner Tarver rounded out the scoring for the Lions with 4 points.
It was a tough end to an otherwise phenomenal season.
The Lions finish their season with an 20-8 (11-0 district) record, having been crowned district champs after an undefeated district season, were awarded the #1 seed of District 24-1A for the 2020-21 regular season. The Lions won their Area match-up before falling to Slidell in the Quarterfinal round.
Deputies Arrested Three People On Possession Charges Following Traffic Stops
Hopkins County Sheriff’s deputies arrested three people on possession charges following two separate traffic stops overnight Friday, according to arrest reports.
State Highway 19 Traffic Stop
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Justin Wilkerson reports stopping a 38-year-old Point man just before 10:30 p.m. on State Highway 19 south for suspicious activity. He reported seeing a Ford Mustang turn off SH 19 onto County Road 1182, stop in the middle of the road, traveled backwards to SH 19, nearly ending up in a ditch and striking a culvert as it did so. The black car was then driven onto the shoulder of SH 19, the deputy recounted in arrest reports.
Upon contact, the two occupants allegedly spoke very rapidly and made furtive movements in the vehicle, and he noticed a baggy in a cupholder. The driver allegedly picked it up and admitted it contained a small amount of marijuana, Wilkerson noted in arrest reports.
A probable cause search of the car revealed a small zipper bag containing a pipe with what appeared to be methamphetamine residue on it and three baggies of a substance that later field tested positive as 2.39 grams of methamphetamine (including packaging) on the passenger’s side of the car, Wilkerson alleged. The passenger, 35-year-old Jennifer Lynn Howell of Point, claimed the contraband,
Both were arrested just before 11 p.m. and booked into the county jail after midnight, the 38-year-old Point man on a possession of drug paraphernalia charge, and Howell on a possession of 1 gram or more but less than 4 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance charge. Howell remained in the county jail late Saturday morning, Feb. 27, 2021, on the felony controlled substance charge; the Point man was released later Saturday, according to jail reports. HCSO Deputy Aaron Chaney was credited with assisting Wilkerson with the traffic stop and arrests.
State Highway 11 Traffic Stop
HCSO Deputy Chaney and Sgt. Scott Davis arrested 36-year-old Kayln Dawn Bell of Scroggins just before 3 a.m. Saturday on two possession of controlled substance charges, according to arrest reports.
Chaney stopped a Chevrolet Tahoe for a defective light. While talking with the occupants, he noted the driver’s hands were slightly shaky when retrieving his license and the passenger kept the hood of her sweatshirt over her head and avoided eye contact with him. The deputy searched both and found no contraband on either.
A burned glass pipe with suspected meth residue on it was located between the passenger’s seat and door. Several used and empty hypodermic needles and a vial of suspected meth were found in a taped zipper case in the console in front of the gear shift; one used needle had a dark liquid-like substance suspected to be methamphetamine in it. Several other items of drug paraphernalia were found in the SUV. The female passenger, identified as Bell, claimed the contraband and was arrested. The substance inside the syringe field tested positive for meth and weighed 3.09 grams include needle. The substance in the vial weighed 0.28 grams. Consequently, Bell was jailed on two controlled substance possession charges, Chaney alleged in arrest reports.
Bell remained in Hopkins County jail late Saturday morning, Feb. 27, 2021, on both charges, 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.
