Sulphur Springs Cross Country Coach Feels The Edge Is Beneficial For His Teams This Summer
Sulphur Springs Cross Country is another sport that became part of The Edge this summer.
Wildcats and Lady Cats Head Coach Ross Hicks is beginning his 5th year in Sulphur Springs. In past summers, Coach Hicks would encourage runners to do some work during the summer on their own. Coach Hicks says The Edge has been an enhancement for his program.
After months of staying home, Coach Hicks says, The Edge has given his runners something to do. He calls it a safe alternative too, as he says he is following all precautions and protocols.
Coach Hicks says his numbers of middle school and high school runners are some of the best since he’s been here. He says he can see how kids have progressed since they started out on June 8.
Runners did take last week off and Coach Hicks says he detected some rust and some struggles when they returned this past Monday. The Edge will continue through July 31.
He says he enjoys getting an early start as his teams prepare to get back to the top of the district and region, where they need to be this season.
Coach Hicks feels cross country is getting to be more popular. There are programs in middle school as well as high school. He says runners don’t have to be big and strong like football players and don’t have to fit a mold.
Coach Hicks says when he was in high school, he wasn’t much of a football or basketball player but, he says, he found his niche as a cross country runner. He also got to continue running in college for 4 years at Texas A&M-Commerce.
2 Traffic Stops Resulted In 3 Arrests
Two traffic stops resulted in a total of 3 arrests. An Interstate 30 traffic stop resulted in 2 arrests Tuesday evening and a Hillcrest Drive traffic stop early Wednesday morning resulted in one felony arrest, according to arrest reports.
Interstate 30 Traffic Stop
Sulphur Springs Police Cpl. Chris Rosamond reported stopping a Dodge Charge for traveling 98 miles per hour in a 75 mile per hour speed zone on Interstate 30 west near mile marker 124 in Sulphur Springs at 8:17 p.m. Upon contact with the occupants, Rosamond alleged smelling the odor of marijuana in the car. The occupants were questioned. The rear seat passenger allegedly produced a small clear plastic baggy of suspected marijuana.
A subsequent search of the car revealed additional contraband, including a 16-ounce bottle of promethazine hydrochloride which also contained codeine. Initially, all three occupants denied the promethazine belonged to them. A short time later, however, 26-year-old Eron Lamar Smith of Arlington admitted it was his, Rosamond noted in arrest reports.
Consequently, Smith was arrested at 9:10 p.m. July 14 for possession of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance and the passenger, a 24-year-old Arlington man, was arrested for possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana. The car was released to the other passenger, according to arrest reports.
Both men remained in Hopkins County jail Wednesday morning. Smith’s bond was set at $15,000 on the controlled substance charge, while the other man’s bond was set at $1,000 on the Class B misdemeanor marijuana charge, according to jail reports.
Hillcrest Drive Traffic Stop
Sulphur Springs Police Officer Silas Whaley conducted a traffic stop on a Nissan Altima in the 1500 block of South Hillcrest Drive at 2:28 a.m. July 15.
Whaley noted Cheyenne Nicole Carter to display signs of nervousness when he contacted her. She agreed to let officers search her car. Later, Whaley alleged in arrest reports, the 25-year-old Sulphur Springs woman admitted to being in possession of methamphetamine. She was jailed for possession of less than 1 gram of methamphetamine, according to arrest reports.
Carter remained in Hopkins County jail late Wednesday morning. Her bond on the controlled substance charge was set at $5,000, 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.
SUV Driver In Fatal Crash Accused Of Manslaughter
Warrants have been issued for the driver of a SUV involved in a collision with a truck-tractor trailer on Interstate 30 in Sulphur Springs. The collision resulted in the death of two young boys on May 24, 2020. The SUV driver in the fatal crash is accused of manslaughter, but has yet to be arrested on the charges.
Below is the news released issued July 15 by SSPD regarding the case:
At approximately 5 a.m. on the morning of May 24, 2020, Officers responded to a major crash in the eastbound lane of Interstate 30 at the 124 mm. The crash involved a mid-sized SUV and a tractor trailer.
The crash claimed the life of two young boys, 7-year-old Joshua Zmontreal Kent and 9-year-old Jeremiah Irvin Kent Jr. The mother of the boys survived the crash, as did the driver and front seat passenger. The mother was transported to CHRISTUS Mother Francis Hopkins County emergency room and later transferred to Baylor hospital in Plano for her injuries. The driver and front passenger were uninjured. The occupants of the mid-sized SUV were traveling to Mississippi. The driver of the tractor trailer was also uninjured.
As a result of the subsequent investigation into the crash by SSPD Crash Investigator and SSPD Criminal Investigation Division, charges were filed and warrants issued for two counts of manslaughter against the driver of the mid-sized SUV, Lidavin ZMonteal Truitt. The warrants are entered in TCIC/NCIC and are currently outstanding.
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.
Chamber Connection- July 16: Deadline To Register For Hopkins County Adult Leadership Class Is Aug. 1
By LEZLEY BROWN, Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce CEO/President
The Hopkins County Adult Leadership is happy to announce that we are currently taking applications for the 2020-21 class. The Adult Leadership Class is a community leadership development program sponsored by the Hopkins county Chamber of Commerce. The course was created in 1989 with the concept of offering leadership training and community involvement for emerging business and community leaders. Leadership Sulphur Springs is a nine-month session, with meetings held once a month. For more information and to get an application, please call the Chamber of Commerce at 903-885-6515. Deadline to apply is August 1.
CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital – Sulphur Springs Is Now Scheduling 3-D Mammography
CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital in Sulphur Springs is excited to announce the soft opening of the Ruth & Jack Gillis Women’s Center. Using their new Hologic Genius 3D Mammography with biopsy equipment
purchased with funds raised by the Hopkins County Healthcare Foundation, they are now performing screening and diagnostic 3-D mammograms right here in Sulphur Springs. Bone Density and Ultrasound are both also
available at the Women’s Center, in addition to our full-radiological services. For more information, call 903.439.4325.
Hunt Regional Is Offering Mobile Mammography Coach In Sulphur Springs
Hunt Regional Hospital is offering the Tubby Adkisson Memorial Mobile Mammography Coach on July 29th in the Spring Village Shopping Center in Sulphur Springs. All insurances accepted at Hunt Regional are also
accepted for the Mobile Mammography Coach, including Medicare and Medicaid. To schedule individual screening mammograms, please call ( 903) 408-5010. Appointments and pre-registration are requested.
Business Highlight
During the year 2020, The Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce is highlighting a business each week.
Please join me in congratulating our Business of the Week for July 16, American Towing & Tire. You can read biographical stories at the Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page and Instagram page.
PJC Registration Underway For Fall Semester
By PJC-Sulphur Springs Center, Public Information Services
FALL SEMESTER NEAR
Campus Director Rob Stanley of the PJC-Sulphur Springs Center is busy putting up signs reminding everyone that registration is now underway for the fall semester that will begin on August 24. In-person registration is being conducted by appointment only, and reservations can be made by calling 903-885-1232. For more information go to www.parisjc.edu and check the PJC Facebook page.
‘The Produce Stand’ Family Has Brought the Country To Town for Three Generations
Jo and Richard Taylor
Jo Ann Hilderbrand Taylor comes from a line of farmers, and feels that fresh homegrown produce is more valuable in our lives today than ever. Better health is part of it, but so is the fact that nature’s bounty keeps us grounded to the earth’s gifts and the farmers and farming families who produce these. Jo Ann and her husband Richard own J and R Farms, located near Lake Fork, and they own and operate a produce stand located in Sulphur Springs at 316 South Davis Street. There’s a bounty of delicious garden produce and a wealth of history behind this fresh, familiar stop!
“Jo” as she is known to her customers, transitioned her family’s produce stand from the Main Street spillway two years ago due to the addition of the Crosstown Trail. She decided to move onto a lot her mother owned on South Davis Street, and she set up shop there. Produce is part of her life, because she was raised by farmers, most of them women. She explained “my maternal grandmother Connie Nichols grew a large crop of strawberries in the sandy land at Reilly Springs when she was in her prime, and my granddad raised watermelons on their 200 acres. And large plots of peas. That’s a huge undertaking for just two people, but they did it for years, along with their vegetable garden that they ate out of. There was no grass in my grandma’s garden! She was out there every day with a hoe. And they not only raised the produce, they found markets to sell it at. That’s how my grandmother was smart. Their daughter is my mother, and a lot of people remember her as Rose Mary who had a produce stand at the lake spillway on Main Street in Sulphur Springs. Sometimes known as ‘the lady at the lake’, she and my step-father Frenchie Beaudin were well known by everyone who came to buy produce under the shade trees. And we are carrying on the family tradition here!”
Rose Mary serves a customer at the old Spillway location on Main St
“Right now, people are wanting peas. We offer a variety of peas including purple hull , cream and pinto beans, and we’ve got them already shelled. They’re $9 quart or $4.50 pint, they are bagged, refrigerated and ready to go. We’ve got Celebrity, Big Boy and Early Girl tomatoes, and we have a LOT of them chilling here at the stand. We raise between 2,000 and 3,000 tomato plants in our greenhouse per year! We’ve got yellow squash, zucchini including the golden variety, and we’ve got white patty pan squash, too. We handle several varieties of watermelons in now, grown by farmers in Grapeland. These are Red Diamond variety in the $6-$10 range. We also try to carry yellow meat melons too, also seedless as well as the big seeded melons. Our fragrant West Texas cantaloupes are from Midland growers, and they are the sweetest and best you can eat. A farmer in Hunt County grows our okra for us, and we buy all he raises for this stand. Peaches? They’re freestones from Pittsburg, and there will be different varieties of these ripening all summer. I’ve got plums and blackberries in the chilled case now. Yes, we grow a lot of our produce, but the rest we get from farmers whose quality we trust.
Jo and Richard try to stock everything that customers want in season
Canned goods from ‘Granny Annie’s’ inside the produce stand
Jo remembered back on her childhood and youth, growing up at the market places around Northeast Texas. “People will probably remember that there was a produce stand in Buford Park in Sulphur Springs, and later we were on Gilmer Street. and other places. Mother would grow and sell greens in the spring. She’d have her Ranchero filled with greens, and it was easy to sell right out of it at the Dallas Farmers Market. Different times of year, she’d pick poke salad, dig sassafras root and even get mistletoe out of the trees to sell. She was a worker and a businesswoman.
Grandmother Connie Nichols in pea patch at Grubb Toe near Reilly Springs
Mom worked for a number of years at the Lee Plant, but later quit to go back to the farm, and I worked too, evenings and weekends. She bought an old Farmall tractor for $100, and Grandpa drove it. When she met and married Frenchie in the 1980’s, they sold mostly in Sulphur Springs. And even after losing Frenchie in 2005 and going through cancer, my mother kept right on going with her produce business. About 5 years ago, I was still working for a grocery chain in McKinney, and I decided I’d better go back home to help her, since I was an only child. That’s how I came back to Sulphur Springs.”
When our cantaloupes come in from Midland, we put them in the blue bin out front, and when people pass by, they know we’ve got em so they stop. Some days we sell 100 melons a day, and we average about 60 a day during the season. So, you see we could not grow that much ourselves and still run the produce stand! On the smaller varieties of watermelons, these are good for the senior citizens because they’re not so heavy. We really care about our customers and strive to stock what they need and want. And they get a lot of joy from shopping in a place where the atmosphere is friendly and reminds them of the country and an earlier era.
Richard and I grew up not far from each other near Yantis, and met again and got married later in life. On our 12 acres, we start in January with onions and after that with potatoes. In our 10×30 greenhouse, we start tomato plants from seed. In fact we start most of our standard summer crops from seed and transplant them. We work a lot and definitely do most of it ourselves, just us two. In the Fall we’ve got pumpkins, gourds and sweet potatoes. And in the early Spring, we’ve got plants and hanging baskets. We sell a LOT of plants at The Produce Stand. Around Mother’s Day in May, the produce season picks up. And our friend Mary Day has been a big help because she does all the canning, pickling and preserving. We’ve always got tempting gifts here to sell, including a line of handmade aprons, and we stock honey, ribbon cane syrup, vanilla and pecan halves. We are so blessed. Coming back to Hopkins County was the best move we even made!
Democrats Select Hegar, Castañeda In July 14 Primary Runoffs
Just before 2 a.m. July 15, with all 3,178 polling locations reporting, Mary “MJ” Hegar and Chrysta Castañeda finished ahead of their opponents in the July 14 Democratic Party Primary Runoffs.
While more Hopkins County Democrats voted for Royce West for United States Senator (262-190), across the state more preferred Hegar. She finished with 498,180 votes to Royce West 457,555 votes, giving her the state win with 52.13 percent of the vote.
Hegar will face incumbent John Cornyn on the November election ballot. Cornyn defeated challengers Virgil Bierschwale, John Anthony Castro, Dwayne Stovall and Mark Yancey in the March Republican Primary for US Senator.
In runoff for Railroad Commissioner, 55.4 percent of Hopkins County voters selected Chrysta Castañeda and 44.76 percent voted for Roberto R. “Beto” Alonzo. Across the state, Castañeda received 575,460 votes (61.95 percent) to Alonzo’s 353,399 votes (38.05 percent), making her the winner. according to tallies posted at 2:45 a.m. July 15 by the Secretary of State’s Texas Elections Division.
The winner of the Democratic nomination for Railroad Commissioner will face Republican James “Jim” Wright on the ballot in November. Wright defeated incumbent Ryan Sitton in the March 3 Republican Primary.
| Candidate, Election | Hopkins County Election Day | Hopkins County Absentee | Hopkins County Early Voting | State Of Texas Totals |
| Royce West, US Senator | 79 | 104 | 19 | 457,555 |
| Mary “MJ” Hegar, US Senator | 46 | 78 | 66 | 498,180 |
| Roberto R. “Beto” Alonzo, Railroad Commissioner | 51 | 94 | 47 | 353,399 |
| Chrysta Castañeda, Railroad Commissioner | 64 | 84 | 89 | 575,859 |
Slaton Defeats Flynn In July 14 Republican Party Primary Runoff Election
Bryan Slaton has defeated incumbent Dan Flynn for the Republican Party nomination for State Representative, District 2. He will challenge Democratic candidate Bill Brannon in the November General Election.
Slaton received 61.07 percent (9,757 votes) of the vote to Flynn’s 38.93 percent (6,221 votes) out of the 45 polling locations across Hopkins, Hunt and Van Zandt counties.
“It can’t tell you how humbling it is to be so overwhelmingly supported by my community,” Slaton wrote on his Facebook page.
Slaton led by 60 percent or more in all three counties in the runoff.
| Early Voting | Absentee | Election Day | Total Votes | |
| Dan Flynn | 368 | 49 | 305 | 722 |
| Bryan Slaton | 731 | 73 | 512 | 1,316 |
He received 64.57 percent of the overall 1,221 votes cast in the Republican District 2 State Representative runoff in Hopkins County, including 731 votes during the early voting period, 73 absentee votes and 512 on Election Day. Flynn received 35.53 percent of the overall vote in Hopkins County, including 368 ballots cast during early voting, 49 absentee votes and 305 on Election Day.
In Van Zandt County, Slaton received 60.57 percent (4,055) of the overall 6,695 votes to Flynn’s 39.43 percent (2,640). In Hunt County, Slaton received 60.54 percent (4,386) to Flynn’s 39.46 percent (2,859) of votes.
| Hopkins County | Hunt County | Van Zandt County | Total Votes | |
| Dan Flynn | 722 | 2,859 | 2,640 | 6,221 |
| Bryan Slaton | 1,316 | 4,386 | 4,055 | 9,757 |
This was shift from the March 3 Primary Election, where Flynn received 44.76 percent of the overall votes 27,358 ballots cast in the District 2 State Representative Election to Slaton’s 26.15 percent, with Dwayne “Doc” Collins receiving the remaining 19.09 percent. Following the March 3 primary, Collins publicly expressed his support for Slaton in the party primary runoff.
“I first ran for this seat 6 years ago,” Slaton said of the past years’ elections won by Flynn. “Those of you who supported me from day 1, thank you!,” Slaton said to those who have supported him in previous elections. “To those of you who have come on board in the last several months, I couldn’t have done this without you. This is a victory for House District 2, and I promise I won’t let you down,” Slaton’s post stated.
“To the grassroots conservatives across the state, I promise you I won’t back down from the fight next session,” he concluded.
| Candidate/Election | March 3, 2020 Republican Primary | July 14, 2020 Primary Runoff |
| Dan Flynn | 12,246 | 6,221 |
| Bryan Slaton | 9,889 | 9,757 |
Hopkins County Results Of July 14 Party Primary Runoff Elections
Below are the unofficial final results of the July 14 party primary runoffs conducted in Hopkins County. Results reflect Hopkins County totals only.
REPUBLICAN RUNOFF
District 2 State Representative
Slaton defeats Incumbent Flynn to challenge Brannon in November General Election. Slaton received 61.9% (11,605) of the vote to Flynn’s 38.1% (7,152) out of the 45 polling locations across Hopkins, Hunt and Van Zandt counties.
Hopkins County results are shown below:
- Dan Flynn
- Absentee Voting 49
- Early voting 368
- Election Day 305
- Total 722 (35.43 percent)
- Bryan Slaton
- Absentee Voting 73
- Early Voting 731
- Election Day 512
- Total 1,316 (64.57 percent)
DEMOCRATIC RUNOFFS
Texas Railroad Commissioner
- Roberto R. “Beto” Alonzo
- Absentee Voting 94
- Early Voting 47
- Election Day 51
- Total 192 (44.76 percent)
- Chrysta Castañeda
- Absentee Voting 84
- Early Voting 89
- Election Day 64
- Total 237 (55.24 percent)
United States Senator
- Mary “MJ” Hegar
- Absentee Voting 78
- Early Voting 66
- Election Day 46
- Total 190 (42.04 percent)
- Royce West
- Absentee Voting 104
- Early Voting 79
- Election Day 79
- Total 262 (57.96 percent)
Hopkins County Update: 3 New Positive COVID-19 Cases Reported On July 14
The Hopkins County Emergency Management Team at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, reported that 3 new positive COVID-19 cases have been announced for Hopkins County. Local officials are requesting verification of addresses for two of the three new patients as they were listed only as Post Office boxes in Hopkins County.
July 14 is the 6th consecutive day in which new COVID-19 patients have been reported for Hopkins County, and at least the 9th day this month that new cases have been reported. New case counts reported earlier this month by HCEMT included: 1 each on July 6 and July 11; 2 each on July 7, July 13 and July 12; 4 on July 9; 6 on July 10; and 7 new cases on July 2. Overall, that’s 28 new cases report so far this month for Hopkins County.
That brings the total of positive COVID-19 cases reported since March for Hopkins County to 91. So far, 65 Hopkins County patients have recovered from COVID-19. That leaves 26 active cases of COVID-19 for Hopkins County.
One Hopkins County resident is in the COVID-19 unit at CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital – Sulphur Springs on July 14. One patient who was in CMFH-SS COVID-19 Unit Monday was discharged today, Sulphur Springs Emergency Management Coordinator/Police Chief Jason Ricketson reported.
