Hopkins County Commissioners Vote to Lower Tax Rate
August 14, 2023 – Hopkins County Tax Assessor-Collector Debbie Pogue Jenkins made the recommendation to the court Monday morning to lower the effective tax rate for county residents. The recommendation came as a result of an increase in the overall valuation of properties in the county as over 900 new properties were added to the tax rolls. The current tax rate for Hopkins County is set at .523900/$100 or a little over 52 cents...
Wildfires Affect America’s Farms and Ranches by Mario Villarino
Wildfires affect America’s farms and ranches, damaging and destroying homes, barns, agriculture production facilities, crops and livestock. By the time this article gets to your hands, twelve wildfires are occurring in Texas at different stages of development. Much of this damage can be avoided, or at least minimized, if a few precautions are taken to minimize the risk and spread of wildfires. I. BEFORE Precautions should be taken...
Dinner Bell Menu For August 16, 2023
Alliance Bank is a very supportive entity in Sulphur Springs by being a Community Partner four times a year. This is the third event in 2023. Dinner Bell appreciates the Alliance Bank and its staff which give graciously to the area. GRAB and GO with a meal from the distribution area under the covered driveway (porte cochere) on the Northeast corner of the First United Methodist Church campus starting around 10:30 on Wednesday. MENU...
2023 Back-To-School Sales Tax Holiday This Weekend Aug 11-13
Sales Tax Waived On Qualifying School Supplies, Clothes, Shoes and Student Backpacks Priced Under $100 This Weekend in Texas If you’re planning to buy school clothes or supplies, waiting until this weekend to do so could prove monetarily advantageous as this weekend is the annual sales tax holiday in Texas. State law exempts sales tax on qualified items — such as clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks — priced below...
Juan Hernandez-Ruiz Charged with Murder
A Sulphur Springs resident was arrested at 4:40am early Sunday morning, August 6, 2023 after a report of a man covered with blood in the 700 block of Texas St. Sulphur Springs police officers responded to the scene at 4:10am to find Giovanni Lopez in the street bleeding from his injuries. Juan Hernandez-Ruiz, 2023 During the investigation, officers learned that the victim had been in an altercation earlier in the evening with a...
Hopkins County Resident Indicted on Six Counts of Wire Fraud
Lewis Parsons is a self-described visionary and technological guru. Since descending on Hopkins County from Rockwall a couple of years ago, he has attempted to immerse himself into the fabric of all things Sulphur Springs and Hopkins County. From living in a loft apartment on Main street, to occupying the “Lowry Mansion” on I-30 in Saltillo. His list of business ventures and connections go on and on, but those connections...
Crickets By Mario Villarino
Crickets are about 1″ long, dark brown to black with large hind legs used for jumping. Female crickets have a large, sword-like structure, the ovipositor, protruding from the tip of the abdomen. The ovipositor is an egg laying structure. Crickets feed on plant material and other insects. They can cause damage to seedlings and be destructive to plants when in high numbers. Males can become a nuisance with their sounds...
Dinner Bell Menu For August 9, 2023
Christus Mother Frances Hospital yearly sets goals to benefit the citizens of Sulphur Springs and Hopkins county. One of its goals is to improve food insecurity. To satisfy that goal Christus is a Community Partner giving monetary support to Dinner Bell five times a year. August 9 is its fourth appearance at the feeding ministry. Associates of the hospital further their commitment by preparing the food boxes and distributing them to...
Full Moon Tonight Is First of Two For August 2023
Ever heard of “once in a blue moon”? This month will give you the opportunity to witness this rare event although the second moon of the month occurring on August 30th will not actually be blue in color. The term “blue moon” references the rare occurrence when two full moons appear in the same month. With the time between full moons being 29 and a half days, there can never be a blue moon in the month of...
Diatomaceous Earth to Get Rid of Pests By David Wall
An easy, safe, and effective ways to prevent garden pest outbreaks and prevent them from starting, is to use food grade diatomaceous earth (DE). It’s harmless to humans and safe for animals. The pest list thatDE is effective on is long, while the time to control is short. It’s a jack of all trades and master of all of them. For those unaware, DE is fossilized algae in powder form. The fossils were tiny...