Collin County Man Held On Warrants For Alleged Child Sex Crimes In Hopkins County
A 53-year-old Collin County man arrested Thursday, March 26, in Collin County following a Hopkins County investigation into child pornography allegations, has been served with two warrants for alleged child sex crimes in Hopkins County and has a federal hold related to the investigation as well, according to Collin County jail reports.
Christopher Hardesty was taken into custody at his residence for alleged possession of child pornography and online solicitation of a minor for sexual conduct, according to Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office investigators and Collin County jail reports. Hardesty has subsequently been served with Hopkins County warrants for sexual assault of a child and sexual performance by a child.
Hopkins County Sheriff’s investigators, while collecting forensics evidence in ongoing investigations, located videos of suspected child pornography that, based on evidence, appears to have been produced in Hopkins County, according to a HCSO press release following Hardesty’s arrest in Collin County.
A suspect was reportedly developed with further investigation and legal process. A search warrant was obtained for a residence in Collin County, HCSO officials reported.
Plano Police Department, Collin County District Attorney’s Investigator and a federal partners assisted Hopkins County sheriff’s officers in serving the search warrant at the Collin County residence, according to HCSO reports.
Based on evidence discovered during the investigation and execution of the search warrant, Christopher W. Hardesty was taken into custody at his Collin County residence and booked into Collin County jail Thursday, March 26, according to an HCSO press release. Investigators then obtained warrants for his arrest on two Hopkins County child sex warrants
Hardesty remained in Collin County jail Friday morning, April 3, in lieu of $305,000 bond on the charges: $100,000 bond each on the two second-degree felony Collin County charges; and $75,000 on the Hopkins County second degree felony sexual assault of a child charge and $30,000 on the third-degree felony sexual performance by a child charge, according to Collin County jail reports.
Dike Teen Accused Of Making False Report To Sheriff’s Officers
An 18-year-old Dike teen was accused Thursday morning of making a false report of sexual assault to officers, according to sheriff’s investigators.
The young woman reportedly made an allegation of a sexual assault. Using forensics, interviews and surveillance evidence officers determined the person accused in the offense was actually about an hour and a half away from the supposed location when the sexual assault was alleged to have occurred, investigators reported Friday morning.
“She provided false statements,” Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office Chief Investigator Corley Weatherford said. “If people choose to give false statements about alleged crimes, we will prosecute.”
Thus, a warrant was obtained for the 18-year-old’s arrest for making a false report. The teen was in an interview room at the sheriff’s office when the warrant was issued, so officers took her into custody at 10:20 a.m. April 2 and escorted her into the county jail on the Class B misdemeanor false report charge, according to arrest reports.
The teen spent the night in jail and was released from custody Friday morning, April 3. Bond on the charge was set at $1,000 on the misdemeanor charge, 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.
COVID-19 Update: 3 Positive Cases, 41 Negative, 32 Tests Pending For Hopkins County
Hopkins County Hospital District COO/EMS Director Brent Smith today reported that after 18 days, a total of 76 potential cases have met the criteria set by Centers for Disease Control and Texas Department of State Health Services for COVID-19 testing. Of the 44 test results returned for Hopkins County as of Thursday afternoon, April 2, three have been confirmed as positive for novel coronavirus 2019, and 41 negative COVID-19 tests for Hopkins County, Smith reported.
As of the last report on Monday morning, 62 tests had been sent off, 16 negative tests returned, 44 tests were still pending results and 2 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases for Hopkins County. One of those pending results came back Monday evening, with Hopkins County Emergency Management officials reporting confirmation of a positive case, bringing the county’s total to 3 positive COVID-19 cases.
That means while there have been no additional positive cases reported for Hopkins County since Monday evening, 25 tests did come back negative for COVID-19. It also means 14 additional tests were sent for testing, for a total of 32 screenings still out pending test results for Hopkins County, according to the data provided by HCHD/EMS.
In Texas, 143 of the 254 counties have reported confirmed cases of COVID-19 to DSHS. Throughout the state, there have been 50,679 tests conducted, with 4,669 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported, including 70 fatalities. At least 47.7 percent of cases were male and 45.9 percent female, with information still pending for 6.4 percent of confirmed cases.
The age groups in Texas with the most reported cases are those individuals ages 40-49 years (201 cases), 50-59 (196 cases), 30-39 years (166), 20-29 (152) and ages 60-64 years (100 cases). All other age groups had fewer than 100 cases, according to DSHS.
With the Governor’s March 31 Executive Order for Texans to stay at home, stay safe and the extended disaster declaration put in place by the Hopkins County Judge Robert Newsom April 1, local and state emergency officials urge community members to remain at home unless obtaining necessary supplies or active for a job, government or other activity deemed by the Governor to be “essential.”
When out for essential business or in groups, all are reminded to observe social distancing — maintain 6 feet between you and other people and reduce gatherings to 10 or less as a precaution. Doing so will help cut down on the spread of illnesses in Hopkins County, and could save lives.
Good hygiene, washing hands with soap in warm water for at least 20 seconds, regular disinfecting and cleaning of surfaces, and avoiding touching the face, and avoiding people who cough or sneeze are also important, according to DSHS and the CDC guidelines.
If you’re not sure whether or not your job or business is considered essential? Read the Governor’s executive order or follow the steps outlined on the Texas Department of Emergency Management’s website (http://tdem.texas.gov/essentialservices/) to see what is and isn’t considered essential.
Channel 18: COVID-19 Precautions in Spanish
Please share this video with any of our Spanish-only or Spanish as a first language community. Video produced by Hopkins County EMS.
Texas A&M University-Commerce To Donate COVID-19 Testing Kits To Area Healthcare Facilities
COMMERCE, Texas — Texas A&M University-Commerce is set to donate 100 COVID-19 testing kits to several local healthcare providers.
According to A&M-Commerce PresidentMark Rudin, “In this time of crisis, we are all doing what we can to help each other in our community. Hopefully, this donation will combat the shortage of supplies in East Texas so more people can be tested forCOVID-19.”
The viral testing kits will be rushed to A&M-Commerce by the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory in College Station. The kits were assembled from lab supplies usually reserved for pigs, cows and chickens at A&M’s four diagnostic labs across the state.
Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp said the veterinary experts who track animal disease outbreaks were ready to assist with the current human pandemic.
“No one has ever done this before, but tough times call for creative measures,” said Sharp.
Dr. Bruce Akey, director of the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, said he sent out a plea for supplies to his labs in Amarillo, Center and Gonzales, Texas, and they began overnighting the supplies late last week.
“We assembled the supplies into testing kits here in our College Station lab,” Akey said. “We know that the 2,000 we came up with may not seem like much when there are 20-plus million Texans at risk who may need testing, but if you need to be tested and you can’t right now because they don’t have this kit, then it’s a pretty big deal to you and your family. So we are doing what we can right now.”
The kits consist of a swab, a vial with transport media to preserve the sample in the vial, and a bag. The components of the kits are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for use in sampling humans for the COVID-19 virus.
Before the pandemic exhausted the supply, the kits usually cost between $4-$5 if they were ordered in bulk. Now, these simple supplies are back-ordered for months, crippling efforts to test humans for COVID-19.
“We hope to get these testing kits in the hospitals or clinics where they are most needed as soon as possible,” Akey said. “We are pulling out all the stops.”
Standing Order For Civil Litigation In JP Courts Extended To June 1
The Supreme Court of Texas has issued a new order in regards to civil litigations in Justice Courts in Texas. Therefore, Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace BJ Teer and Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Brad Cummings have amended the standing order for the Hopkins County Justice Courts.
The April 1 order amends the first emergency order to delay all service and statute-of-limitations deadlines in civil cases from March 13 until June 1. The order does not affect deadlines for filing appeals or other appellate proceedings, but the order notes that requests for any such relief from those deadlines should be generously granted by the particular court.
Essentially, that means that all civil proceedings, including evictions, civil debt claims and small claims are halted and to be reset until June 1. Any case pending in either court will be rescheduled accordingly. All litigants will be notified by mail of the new date and time for court.
Below is the Temporary Standing Order regarding COVID-19 litigation in the Justice of the Peace Courts in Hopkins County.
A&M-Commerce student goes for wild ride in unique honors thesis
COMMERCE, Texas — Who says a thesis needs to be a standard research paper? One student at Texas A&M University-Commerce undertook one of the most unique honors thesis ideas in recent memory, documenting her entire journey from adopting a wild mustang, earning its trust and then excelling in competition.
Nicole Glenn is a senior from Pflugerville, Texas in the Honors College at A&M-Commerce, majoring in Visual Communications with an emphasis in Art Direction and minoring in Equine Studies. She says that she didn’t grow up around horses much, but one special day during her childhood cemented her lifelong dream.
(Photo courtesy of Nicole Glenn)
“I was taken to a wild mustang adoption day when I was in kindergarten, and I knew this was it,” Glenn said. “I knew that this is what I had to do. It became my dream to adopt my own wild mustang.”
Growing up, she took occasional horseback riding lessons and worked on a farm as part of a mentorship program in high school, but her dream still eluded her.
That changed when it came time to formulate an idea for her thesis project, a requirement of all students in the Honors College.
“For our thesis, we were encouraged to do something interdisciplinary, that combined multiple subjects,” Glenn said.
It’s safe to say she managed that aspect, as she fulfilled her lifelong dream of adopting a wild mustang and filmed her process of breaking, riding and eventually competing with said horse, turning the recordings into a half-hour documentary. The main goal was to show the feasibility of training wild horses, even with limited background knowledge.
She said that pitching the idea raised some eyebrows.
“[Honors College Dean] Dr. Green said that the Honors College has never had someone do something like this before, but they gave their blessing to it,” Glenn said.
Glenn adopted her horse, named “Valentine,” in February of 2018 at the Wild Horse & Burro Adoption Center in Paul’s Valley, Oklahoma. It was a defining life moment for Glenn.
“I remember it so clearly still,” Glenn said. “We just clicked. I probably have never been more emotional in my life.”
In the early days, Valentine was kept by the Raine Family on their land in Sulphur Bluff, Texas. Glenn said that it was hard to keep her confidence at first.
“The biggest challenge was just knowing if I was doing everything right or not,” Glenn said. “There are guides and tutorials out there, but still, every horse is different.”
On day 3, Nicole began to have Valentine become accustomed to objects around and on his back. On day 25, he first wore a saddle. Day 28 was the first time Glenn sat atop Valentine’s back.
Finally, on day 30, Glenn and Valentine had their first ride together.
“Finally having the first ride after so much work was amazing,” Glenn said. “I felt like a kid in a candy store.”
On the 61st day, Valentine was moved to A&M-Commerce’s Mary Bonham Equine Pavilion, where he currently resides. This allowed for better facilities and training for the horse, and Glenn said the assistance from people like Equine Studies Instructor Nathan Wells and Assistant Farm Manager Lindsey Bernbaum was a tremendous help.
“The support we got from the Equine Studies Program was huge,” Glenn said. “The professionalism of Nathan and Lindsey was an incredible help.”
The months went by and the pair’s bond grew. In September 2018, Glenn entered Valentine into the Extreme Mustang Makeover Open Show in Fort Worth, Texas. In that contest, Glenn and Valentine finished 2nd in Trail, 4th in Freestyle and 5th in Walk Trot Pleasure.
Now, Glenn and Valentine compete together on the A&M-Commerce Stock Horse team.
Wells, who helped train Valentine, had high praise for the dynamic duo.
“I have known Nicole throughout the process, and was blessed to have her as a student in several of my classes,” Wells said. “She has worked her tail off with this horse and I am proud of her accomplishments.”
Dean Dr. Ray Green also lauded the work that went into this project.
“One of the goals for our Honors College is to help shape the whole individual. Nicole’s thesis exemplifies where this goal can lead,” Green said. “In Nicole’s journey to train her mustang and to shed light on the feasibility for others to do so she honed both her mind and her body.”
Green continued: “Her hard work and determination led her to improve her skills in multiple areas including painting, filming and editing, and horsemanship. It was a joy to work with Nicole and to see the fruits of her labor.”
Glenn presented her documentary and findings in a thesis defense on March 24, and passed her defense. She says that the most rewarding thing has been seeing the enjoyment the pair get from riding and competing.
“He takes everything in stride,” Glenn said.
Glenn’s documentary, “Wild Heart, Wild Ride,” can be viewed for free here.
City Of Cumby Issues Boil Water Notice For Residents On Grove Road, FM 275S
The City of Cumby Thursday morning, April 2, issued another boil water notice. Cumby residents who live on Grove Road and FM 275 south are recommended to boil their water before consuming it.
Cumby Alderman Julie Isham Morris posted the notice on the city’s Facebook page around 9 a.m. that “Water on Grove Rd and 275S will be shut off this morning to do repairs. The city will be issuing a boil water notice as soon as the repairs are done.”
The boil water notice was posted about an hour later.
Cumby City Council in late February began discussions of about the possibly pursuing a connection with Cash Special Utility District for emergency situations and providing possible water supply. The City Council agreed to continue the process to find out the possible costs, but did not commit to decisions regarding CSUD, city staff reported.
Lake Fork’s ‘Patriots Sporting Challenge’ to Benefit ‘Folds of Honor’ Has Been Postponed Til 2021
from Garry Schnabel, PSC Board Chairman
We are sorry to report that we are postponing our 2020 Lake Fork Challenge event so as not to exacerbate the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Like most, we have been monitoring the spread of the virus and following closely the recommendations of the President, his team of advisors and CDC. While we realize that up to this point the incidence of the disease has been low within our geographical area, we feel this step is necessary to help with the containment program our country has undertaken. The health and safety of each and every one involved is our primary concern; the funds we raise for our cause is purely secondary.
Since it cannot be predicted how long this virus issue will last, we are postponing this event until the spring of 2021. We will advise all as to the exact date of our event as soon as we check out major events already scheduled at that time, but for planning purposes, expect it to be close to the same time period as this year’s event. We will post updates on our website and Facebook page and continue to recognize all medal and team sponsors already paid as 2021 sponsors.
We thank everyone impacted for your patience and understanding as we all work through this critical health issue.
‘Claws for a Cause’…SS Rotary Club’s Annual Crawfish Boil Cancelled
The annual Crawfish Boil fundraiser planned by the Sulphur Springs Rotary Club has been cancelled for Spring 2020. ‘Claws for a Cause’ tickets purchased and sponsorships will be refunded. Everyone is urged to stay safe during the COVID-19 crisis.
