County Commissioners Consider Request For A Property Tax Payment Refund
Hopkins County Commissioners during a special court session called Monday, the Commissioners Court acted on a request for a property tax payment refund, accepted a donation and tabled a a contract to obtain new equipment for Precinct 1.
Tax Payment Refunding Request
On Feb. 22, the Commissioners Court was asked to consider a request from Carlos Whitaker for the $5,367.16 he paid on someone else’s taxes to be refunded to him.
Hopkins County Tax Assessor/Collector Debbie Pogue Mitchell at the Feb. 22 meeting explained that the county had received a letter requesting the refund.
“Someone had told the man if he paid the taxes, it was going to be his. He didn’t pay Sulphur Springs ISD because they were quite a bit more than ours, but he did pay Hopkins County for three accounts in the amount of $5,367.16. So, they are asking for a refund of that money back to Mr. Whitaker,” Mitchell explained to the Commissioners one week ago.
Mitchell directed the request to the Commissioners Court because the amount paid is over $500; any refund above $500 requires a ruling by the Commissioners Court.
“I have to do refunds all the time for things from the Appraisal District, but I don’t ever have customers that pay other people’s accounts that come back and ask for a refund. That’s also very unusual,” Mitchell noted.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Wade Bartley pointed out the man did not go through the proper channels regarding the matter and asked why he didn’t go through his attorney to handle that transaction.
“I don’t know,” Mitchell replied to Bartley. “I didn’t wait on him. I don’t know what his intent was. The first story that I was kinda involved with, this man thought his house was built on one of these tracks. It is not, had nothing to do with it. The one acre that his house is on is like three tracts over. I don’t know where he got his information. I have no idea what the man had in his mind.”
Mitchell recommended that the $5,367.16 paid by Whitaker on the other person’s taxes be refunded to him.
“He should get his money back. He’s not going to get the property,” Mitchell said on Feb. 22, noting that approximately $10,000 in taxes are still owed to Sulphur Springs ISD for the properties in question. “Just because he paid me, he’s not going to get the property, and it wouldn’t matter if he paid the school, he’s not going to get the property. It does have a suit on it, but he was way out of line in paying the taxes.”
“My opinion is he was not trying to pay the taxes for someone. His intent was not to pay the taxes for someone. His intent was to gain the land so he was misinformed,” County Auditor Shannah Aulsbrook told the court last week.
Bartley said he’d like to have more time to think about the matter, and made a motion Feb. 22 to table the matter. Precinct 4 Commissioner Joe Price seconded the motion, and the Commissioners Court unanimously agreed to table the request.
Monday, Hopkins County Judge Robert Newsom noted that the commissioners had time a work session last week to take a closer look at the situation and discuss it.
They “un-tabled” the request, with Price making the motion to return the money to Whitaker as requested. Bartley seconded the motion, which then received unanimous approval of the Commissioners Court.
Other Court Business
The agenda called for the Commissioners Court to consider approving the purchase of a 2019 Volvo pneumatic roller for Precinct 1 through Buyboard cotnract with Romco Equipment Company. However, at the March 1, 2021 meeting, Barker asked that the request be tabled. He noted that he needed to gather more information regarding the matter. Barker said he had planned to rent the needed equipment, but may still propose something different. He noted the Aulsbrook is checking into the matter for him.
Aulsbrook recommended accepting a donation of $41,538 from Summit Ranch Investments to Precinct 4 for road repairs on County Road 4721, and approving a budget amendment to move that funding from the general fund to the Precinct 4 road building fund to be used to make road repairs on CR 4721.
“I have a gentleman who bought some property down there. He’s wanting to be able to access Interstate 30, so he’s going to pay to have it rocked,” Price said, noting that there’s a house and the intend to add at 1-2 more homes along that stretch.
The court agreed and approved the budget amendment.
The Commissioners Court also approved payment of bills, revenues and expenses, and financial statements are presented. Typically, these items would have been approved at the Feb. 22 meeting. Aulsbrook at that time explained that her office had been off last week due to the weather and asked that the court delay payment and approval of all except payroll for another week to allow time for the necessary work to prepare them.
Hopkins County Received 153 Pallets Of Water, 2 Trailers Full Of Supplies Donated Following Winter Storms
Emergency Management Officials, Businessmen Recognized For ‘Meritorious Service’ During Winter Weather Disaster
Hopkins County received 153 pallets of water and two trailers full of supplies donated to help those in need in the community following February’s extreme winter weather. Two emergency management officials, the sheriff and local businessmen were recognized Monday by Hopkins County Commissioners Court for “meritorious service” during and immediately following February’s winter disaster.
Bottled Water Distribution
Hopkins County Emergency Management Deputy Coordinator Kristy Springfield, during Mondays special called Commissioners Court meeting, reported the county received 153 pallets of water to distribute to help county residents and others in the region who either had no water, low water pressure and those under boil water orders, especially North Hopkins Water Supply Corporation customers whose water had been turned off a few times over the weekend by the City of Sulphur Springs.
Hopkins County Emergency Management Coordinator Andy Endsley expressed appreciation to TDEM and Rep. Bryan Slaton and Senator Bob Hall’s Office for going above and beyond to help.
“They really got on the ball and really helped us get things moving, Because we weren’t projected to get water until this past Friday. So we’d have gone the whole week without anything. They made a lot of phone calls and they got things moving for us,” Endsley said. “To all the Commissioners and precinct workers, that was a huge help having them out there, and the trustees and the sheriff’s department. There’s a lot of people involved in this. They got in there and joined up together, local citizens there in North Hopkins Water [Supply Corporation district]. We really appreciate it.”
Texas Department of Emergency Management sent 151 pallets of water, each containing 50 cases of bottled water, and Texas Baptist Men donated two pallets of water as well. Three pallets of water were sent to neighboring Delta County and 48 pallets to Lamar County, which were also experiencing water issues as well. Springfield reported.
County officials staged at Joe Bob’s store in Birthright most days from 8:30 a.m. until nearly 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, Feb. 22-25, handing out water two cases per household at a time to NHWSC residents. Overall, 58 pallets of water were distributed to NHWSC customers.
Five pallets of water went to North Hopkins ISD and three pallets of water to Sulphur Bluff ISD so the schools, which had to cancel classes Monday, Feb. 22, due to the lack of water, could resume classes. Precinct 1 and Precinct 3 received three pallets of water. The City of Sulphur Springs received five pallets of water for customers in the city with water issues as well.
Overall, that’s 128 pallets of water distributed last week in Hopkins County, leaving 25 pallets that are still available in the county if anyone is still in need of water. Water in the county is in the process of being relocated to Hopkins County Community Chest, and will be available by contacting the agency as soon as that process is complete. Anyone living in Sulphur Springs who is still in need of water may contact Sulphur Springs Police Department at 903-885-7602.
Rewritten Story Donation
Hopkins County Sheriff Lewis Tatum also reported that The Rewritten Story Foundation from North Carolina over the weekend donated two trailers and vehicles packed full of supplies to the county to help those in need following the winter storms. The organization’s purpose is to to “provide aid in times of crisis and pay tribute to our nation’s heroes.”
The sheriff explained that the North Carolina group heard about the problems in Texas and wanted to help. Randy Vann, a new resident here in Hopkins County, reach out to them last week via Facebook and asked if he could bless some residents of Hopkins County after the winter storms.
Tracy Story, a tire shop owner in North Carolina who founded the organization and serves as a part-time deputy/drug interdiction officer at Halifax County who donates his pay from the county to charities, asked his community for donations.
Story, Thomas Barrett, Randy Rolfe, Sean Cook and Caleb Cook made the 26 hour drive from North Carolina Friday to reach Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office at 7:30 Saturday to deliver the two trailer loads of donated items for local individuals.
The donations included everything from water to socks, diapers, blankets, Gatorade, clothing, formula, wipes, hand sanitizer, towels, vitamins, personal hygiene products, laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, batteries, paper products, pet food, peanut butter and jelly and lots of other food. Tatum said the items were donated with the condition only to that it be used for help anyone who might be in need.
The dog food has already been donated to an animal rescue group in northern Hopkins County.
Tatum asked the court’s approval to donate the items, which are being sorted over the next couple of days, to residents in “Section 8 apartments on Woodlawn Street.” He said the amount wasn’t enough to open to the entire county to meet needs, but officials at HCSO feel there’s enough items to put into boxes and distribute to those needy individuals at the location to help them out.
The Commissioners Court expressed appreciation to The Rewritten Story Foundation of North Carolina for their generosity and gladly approved the donations to be distributed a box each to individuals in need in the community.
Service Recognition
The Commissioners Court recognized Burgin and employees at Joe Bob’s/Burgin Pipe in Birthright for “meritorious service provided during the disaster of the winter weather of February 2021.”
“I’d like to recognize Kristy and our Fire Marshal Andy Endsley for all the work they did to get us the water and helped distribute it. I appreciate you,” Barker said.
“I’d like to thank Mr. Joe Bob Burgin for his part in this. Through Burgin Pipe out there, they loaned us their lot to distribute these about 3,000 cases of water. That was a lot of work. Without Luke, your supervisor out there helping unload that, we’d have had an awful big job on our hands. And Joe Bob, I certainly appreciate you,” Precinct 4 Commissioner Joe Price said.
“We went to Corey, when we saw we saw we were going to have a large amount of water coming in. I asked him for permission. He said, ‘Don’t ask me again, just bring whatever you’d got to do.’ So was very cooperative and helpful. I appreciate that,” Barker said.
Price expressed thanks to him for allowing the county to disrupt the flow of traffic and business, and assisting in unloading. At one point on Wednesday, eight 18-wheelers sent by TDEM arrived at one time filled with pallets of water.
Barker and Price’s precinct crews also assisted at the water distribution site, as did the jail trustees.
recognized Joe Bob and Corey Burgin for allowing the county to use the Burgin Pipe and Steel property connected to Joe Bob’s in Birthright to distribute the water at a central location for distribution to NHWSC residents last week and assistance from business employees in unloading the pallets.
Joe Bob Burgin, who was on hand at Monday’s Commissioners Court meeting, noted they were glad to be able to help.
“This has been a quite a trying time for the county, you came through and pulled together,” Newsom said.
Wildcats Golf Team Places Sixth at Two-Day Tourney at Squaw Valley Links Course in Glen Rose
Playing against a good field of 13 teams, the Wildcats Golf Team finished in sixth place at a tournament at Squaw Valley Links Course in Glen Rose this past Friday and Saturday (February 26-27).
The Wildcats shot 315 Friday and 313 Saturday for a total of 628.
Kip Childress shot 76 and 77 for a 153 total, good for 25th place. Rylan Brewer and Grant Mohesky shot 158 total and tied for 29th place. Brewer had rounds of 81 and 77 while Mohesky was consistent shooting 79 and 79. Caleb Kesting had 79 and 92 for a total of 171, good for 43rd place. Luke Dietze shot 95 and 80 for 175, good for 46th place.
The Wildcats will compete in the Pine Tree sponsored Twisted 54 Tournament with 18 holes this Friday at Wood Hollow Golf Club in Longview and then 36 holes Saturday at Tempest Golf Club in Gladewater.
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.
Dinner Bell Menu For March 3, 2021
Dinner Bell Menu for March 3, 2021
First Presbyterian Church is the Community Partner
MENU
Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken Breasts
Rice Pilaf
Marinated Vegetables Over Torn Lettuce
Buttered French Bread Slices
Peach Cobbler Crisp
Dinner Bell remains a Grab and Go distribution system for meals. Meals may be secured by driving under the covered driveway on the Northeast Corner of The First United Methodist Church Campus after 11:00 a.m. on Wednesdays.
PLEASE WEAR MASKS. WASH YOUR HANDS OFTEN. KEEP SIX FEET FROM OTHERS. DINNER BELL CARES! STAY HEALTHY!
Wildcats Baseball and Lady Cats Softball Games Are Washed Away on Monday
Both the Wildcats Baseball game and the Lady Cats Softball game scheduled for Monday, Mar. 1 have been wiped out by rain. The Wildcats were scheduled to play at North Lamar Monday. The Lady Cats’ schedule had them playing at Caddo Mills Monday. Lady Cats Softball Coach David Carrillo said there was a slight chance the game could be made up Wednesday at Lady Cat Park. A decision on that game could come Tuesday.
Both the Wildcats and Lady Cats are expected to be in tournaments Thursday through Saturday this week, weather permitting. The Wildcats hope to play in the 2021 Raider Classic at Wylie East. The Lady Cats are planning to play in a tournament at Canton.
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.
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.
