Sulphur Springs Woman Accused Of Swinging Rod At Her Fiancé
A 26-year-old woman was accused Friday night of aggravated assault by swinging a rod at her fiancé during an argument.
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Deputy Drew Fisher, Sgt. Tanner Steward and Deputy Zack Horne responded at 10:31 p.m. July 22, 2022, to a disturbance at a County Road 2310 residence. While deputies were en route, the woman advised dispatchers that her fiancé had a weapon and was harming himself.
Upon arrival, however, the deputies determined none of the woman’s claims to be true, Fisher noted in arrest reports. After speaking with Clara Gaetano and her fiancé, as well as witnesses at the address, officers determined Gaetano picked up a threaded rod and a knife and swung the rod at her fiancé. Defensive wounds consistent with contact with a rod were observed on the arms of the man Gaetano is engaged to marry.
Gaetano then claimed she had been choked and slammed onto the ground, but had no visible injuries to give validity to the claim. She was taken into custody at 11:48 p.m. Friday, July 22, 2022, and transported to Hopkins County jail, where she was booked in at 12:53 a.m. Saturday, July 23, 2022, on an aggravated family violence assault with a weapon charge. The 26-year-old Sulphur Springs woman also known by Clara Lynn Gaetano remained in jail late Saturday morning, July 23, 2022, on the felony assault charge; bond was set at $50,000, according to arrest and 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.
Brock’s Peach Strawberry Ice Cream Won Top Honors At 2022 Freeze Off
Friday’s Ice Cream Freeze Off was another successful event, well attended with plenty of tasty cool treats to sample
Shirley Brock’s strawberry peach ice cream won first place honors in the 2022 Freeze off, held at the Senior Citizens Center. Teresa Mathews’ Butterfinger treat, sponsored by At Home Health Care, was ranked second. Third place went to Tina Cox for her pina colada ice cream, sponsored Sunny Springs Nursing and Rehab.
The five additional entries earning honorable mention recognition for their entries in the Freeze Off included: John and Mary Ellen Little’s cherry ice cream; Kelly Whitley’s chocolate malted crunch, sponsored by Embark; Libby Daves’ cherry cheesecake, sponsored by Family First Home Health; Donna Seamon’s vanilla ice cream, sponsored by Wesley House Assisted Living; and Stacey Wetzel’s strawberry ice cream, sponsored by Mays Home Health.
“We had a great Homemade Ice Cream Freeze Off today at the Sulphur Springs Senior Citizens Center,” Sulphur Springs Senior Citizens Center Director Karon Weatherman said. “Thank you Carriage House Manor and the Cottages for being our Sponsor. Congratulations to everyone. No one was a loser. It was a delicious.”
USDA Announces Increased Funding For School Meals, Child And Adult Care Meals
Support Provided For Schools And Child Care Providers Dealing With Rising Food Costs
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced an increase in funding to help schools continue to serve kids healthy meals this coming school year and provide financial relief for schools and child care providers. Effective July 1, 2022, the reimbursement schools receive for each meal served will increase by approximately $0.68 per free/reduced-price lunch and $0.32 per free/reduced price breakfast. Other reimbursement rates, including rates for paid school meals and child care meals, are available online.
The action will provide support for schools and child care providers dealing with rising food costs, and is part of the Biden Administration’s work to lower costs and provide American families some additional breathing room.
This increase includes both a required annual adjustment in reimbursement rates to reflect the cost of food and an extra temporary per-meal boost in reimbursements from the recent Keep Kids Fed Act. Combined, this will pump an estimated $4.3 billion more into school meal and child care meal programs across the nation this school year, in addition to the nearly $2 billion in additional funding USDA has already provided.
“The boost in reimbursements will help provide financial relief for schools so they can continue serving high-quality meals to students amid higher food costs and persistent supply chain challenges,” said Stacy Dean, deputy under secretary for food, nutrition, and consumer services. “USDA is fully committed to using every resource in its toolbelt to ensure kids get the healthy meals they need to grow, learn, and thrive.”
Today’s announcement is part of USDA’s commitment to ensuring the school meal programs are strong and supported so they can successfully navigate current challenges and support more American families. Additional actions USDA has taken include:
- Providing an additional nearly $2 billion for schools to buy domestic food for their meal programs.
- Offering a suite of operational waivers that give states and schools flexibility to adapt to their on-the-ground circumstances such as through grab-and-go or parent-pickup of meals.
- Ensuring states continue to receive stable funding for USDA Foods for the coming school year – comparable to last school year – for purchasing 100% American-grown foods for their school meal programs.
- Ensuring schools are not penalized if they cannot meet meal standards due to supply chain issues.
- Awarding up to $200 million to states to purchase domestic local foods for distribution to schools, through the new Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program.
- Extending deadlines for districts to participate in the Community Eligibility Provision, which allows schools serving many high-need students to provide all meals for free without collecting applications from families.
USDA is also providing ongoing support for other child nutrition programs that work in tandem with the school meal programs to give kids a strong, healthy start. For example, USDA:
- Approved 32 states and territories to date to provide food benefits for the summer months (Summer P-EBT) to eligible children. USDA is actively working with all states to help them offer these benefits to children.
- Extended nationwide flexibilities to summer meal programs through September 2022, which allows sites to continue serving meals in all areas, at no cost to families.
- Provided all family day care homes with the higher temporary reimbursement rate for the Child and Adult Care Food Program school year 2022-23.
For information on the child nutrition programs for school year 2022-2023, visit: Child Nutrition Flexibilities for Summer 2022 and School Year 2022-23
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, lowering costs for American families, creating fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy, and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
Arrest Made In Connection With Bank Robberies, Including Pilgrim Bank-Sulphur Springs
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas on July 22, 2022, reported an arrest has been made in connection with a series of bank robberies, including the June 15 robbery at Sulphur Springs Pilgrim Bank.
The man taken into custody is believed to have been involved in robberies reported over the course of a month at five Texas banks, according to a press release posted July 22 on the Department of Justice website by the US Attorney’s Office. (See release below)
Dallas Man Arrested And Charged In Connection With Multiple Bank Robberies Across Northeast Texas
PLANO, Texas – A Dallas man has been arrested and charged in connection with multiple bank robberies across the Metroplex area, announced Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.
Mark Robert Disch, 53, was named in a complaint filed in the Eastern District of Texas on July 19, 2022, charging him with two counts of bank robbery. Disch was arrested on July 21, 2022, and appeared in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kimberly C. Priest Johnson today.
According to the complaint, Disch is alleged to have robbed five Texas banks between May 25 and June 27, 2022: two in the Eastern District of Texas and three in the Northern District of Texas. The banks were located in Lewisville, Arlington, DeSoto, Sulphur Springs, and University Park. Using video surveillance and witness accounts, along with other investigative techniques, law enforcement officers and federal agents were able to identify Disch and determine he was in the immediate vicinity of each bank robbery.
If convicted, Disch faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
A complaint, information or indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Dallas Police Department, the Sulphur Springs Police Department, the Lewisville Police Department, and the University Park Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Eastern District of Texas Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan R. Hornok with assistance from Northern District of Texas Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Hammond.
Delta County Man Arrested During Multi-Agency Child Abuse Investigation
A Delta County man was arrested Thursday and remained in custody Friday morning on multiple injury and aggravated assault of a child with deadly weapon charges, charges stemming from an ongoing multi-agency investigation into alleged child abuse.
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office first received information of suspected abuse of children and initiated an investigation. The alleged abuse was determined to have occurred in Delta County. HCSO investigators contacted Delta County Sheriff’s Office to apprise them of the situation. Both agencies then worked together on the investigation.
What authorities found was a “severe child abuse situation” with multiple child victims, who were rescued, according to HCSO Chief Investigator Corley Weatherford. Continued investigation revealed one adult victim as well.
One adult male was arrested Thursday, July 21, and remained in jail at 11 a.m. Friday, July 22, 2022, on five aggravated assault of a family or household member with a weapon charges, four injury to a child charges and one sexual assault charge. The man’s bonds on those charges totaled $3.55 million — $250,000 bond on each first-degree felony aggravated assault charge, $500,000 bond on each injury to a child charge, and $300,000 on the sexual assault charge.
“We are extremely thankful for the help from Hopkins County,” said Delta County Sheriff Charla Singleton.
“We are working in conjunction with Delta County Sheriff’s Office on this investigation. These are Delta County cases. We initiated the investigation because the tip originated here. We are assisting Delta County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation,” Weatherford said.
Authorities said the sheriffs’ departments are working in conjunction with Child Protective Services on the child abuse investigation, as well as local and national partners to assist the victims as much as possible. The investigation is still in early stages, so additional information is not being reported Friday afternoon.
Fallon Hosting Another TeleTown Hall Next Week
Texas District 4 Congressman Pat Fallon will be holding another TeleTown Hall at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 27, 2022.
Anyone in the district is welcome to dial in by calling 833-636-1753 to receive the latest update and voice any questions they may have for the congressman.
SSISD Administrator Presents Brief Update On Local Policy Recommendations
Sulphur Springs High School Principal Josh Williams presented Texas Association of School Boards Localized Policy Manual Update 119, a document containing recommendations for 60 new or revised policy recommendations.
“I sent these policies to every relevant person for review on June 17 as it tends to affect every department and every campus in the district. So within this, there will be 51 legal policies for you to review and nine for you to adopt when you come back next month,” Williams told the school board.
While the district has no choice except to implement the legal policies, they do have some leeway regarding Local policies, provided they meet all requirements. Williams briefed the school board on a few of the Local policy recommendations contained within the approximately 500 page TASB update.
Office Management: Records Management
CPC (Local) policy has to do with records management, specifically a plan on how to manage and protect electronic records. A records management officer must be designated, and has the responsibility of developing procedures for management of electronic records that comply with the district’s records control schedules and meet minimum components required by law.
Justin Cowart, who was appointed June 14 to replace Williams as assistant superintendent over secondary education and officially assumed the role on July 1, 2022, has been designated as official records management officer. The update resource manual includes updated sample procedures on the topic to guide Cowart and the district in establishing those policy requirements.
Professional Development: Required Staff Development
DMA (Local) has to do with required staff development, which Williams said administrators have already been discussing. Essentially, Williams explained, the State Board of Educator Certification has a clearinghouse of best practices and industry recommendations for professional training. The trustees must review the SBEC options and adopt a professional development policy based on the training recommendations of the clearinghouse annually.
“So, what I think is going to happen is, next month when you adopt DMA(Local), with it will come a short plan citing these trainings from the clearinghouse. You will do that once a year. That’s a new requirement,” Williams told the SSISD Board of Trustees during their regular meeting earlier this month.
Williams said SSISD staff have already been receiving the training, this will just include a plan citing the training district staff have or will be receiving over the course of the 2022-2023 school year.
Basic Instructional Program: Required Instruction (All Levels)
EHAA(Local) the board will be asked to consider adopting at their August meeting includes basic instruction on the prevention of child abuse, family violence, dating violence, and sex trafficking, including a board policy on adopting curriculum materials, per Senate Bill 9, coming out of the Second Called Legislative Session. The board will need to adopt a resolution to convene the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) to hold meetings and make recommendations to the board at a public meeting, as well as board confirmation that the recommendations meet legal requirements before voting on it. The district has already adopted a program and policy. EHAA(Local) requires the trustees to go back over it to make sure that all requirements are being met.
Special Program: Gifted And Talented Students
EHBB(Local) removes the statutory requirement for a district to annually certify to the Commissioner of Education that the district’s Gifted and Talented Program is consistent with the Texas State Plan for the Education of GT students. Williams said SSISD does follow those rules, but said it is being recommended that local policy provision, passed in House Bill 1525 during the last Regular Legislative Session, be deleted from the board policies.
Academic Achievement: Graduation
Policy EIF(Local) gives information on how the school documents proof that a student has completed and submitted either a Federal Financial Aid (FAFSA) form or Texas Application for State Financial Aide (TASFA) form before graduation.
“We’ve been doing that as well,” Williams said. “There are statutory reasons why a student may not do that, but the general rule is they are supposed to do that and we’ve facilitated that through our counseling department. This just gives us a list of six different ways we can keep documentation. We’ve done it and shared that with our High School counselors and that will be done.”
Student Welfare: Freedom From Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation
FFH(Local) is a new local policy, but one which the district already follows, notification of parents if their student is suspected to be the victim or perpetrator of dating violence, Williams noted. The student welfare policy, established in SB 9 during the Second Called Legislative Session, stipulates that the parents of both students be contacted immediately. The policy must also include reporting procedures and guidelines for students who are victims of dating violence and include a clear statement that dating violence is not tolerated at school.
No revisions are recommended for the district’s current policy provisions, including reporting procedures and a statement of nondiscrimination that specifically prohibits dating violence.
Additional revisions are recommended, however, to clarify the definition of prohibited conduct and the district’s response to such conduct.
Additional Local Policy Recommendations
Additional Local policies identified in the update included:
- EHB, which would require SSISD to provide regular training opportunities for teachers of students with dyslexia;
- EHBAA, has to do with special education identification, evaluation and eligibility. It’s recommended that a student who is transitioning from early childhood intervention to have an individualized education program developed and implemented by the child’s third birthday to meet Texas Education Agency requirements for ongoing TEA Special education cyclical monitoring reviews. This policy, the update notes, will need to be adopted by the school board and linked to the Legal Framework by the Aug. 31, 2022 deadline.
- FFBA has to do with crisis intervention and trauma informed care. Senate Bill 1267, established in the Regular Legislative session, requires training in trauma-informed care to be provided in accordance with the board’s professional development policy. At training, a reference has been added to the district’s professional development plan.
- SB 1267 also repealed the requirement for a district to annually report to TEA the number of employees who participated in trauma-informed care training. TASB and the administrators recommend deleting that local policy provision from FFBA(Local).
All policies approved by SSISD Board of Trustees are then updated and can be found online on the district’s website, www.ssisd.net. Select “About SSISD,” then “SSISD Board of Trustees” and finally, select the “School Board Policies.” Once on the policies page, choose the search option that best fits your needs.
2 Jailed On Violation Warrants
A 43-year-old Seagoville man and 23-year-old Sulphur Springs man, were jailed on violation warrants, according to arrest reports.
Shalik Dayron Reed was transported from another facility in East Texas to Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office by Deputy Terry Thompson. The 22-year-old was booked into the county jail at 5:26 p.m. for violation of probation, which he was on for indecency with a child by sexual contact, according to arrest reports. He was held on the charge Thursday, according to jail reports.
Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Chris Sorley was contacted by US Marshals who sought assistance in their searching for Jerome Henderson on Wednesday. The 43-year-old Seagoville man was believed to be on a Greyhound bus stopped in the 1600 block of West Shannon Road, the trooper noted in arrest reports.
Trooper Sorley went to the bus stop and showed the bus driver a photo of the wanted man. She advised the man pictured was one the bus and granted the trooper permission to enter the bus and look for Henderson. The trooper reported finding a man who appeared to be the person in the photo of the wanted man. The man identified himself with a county jail ID card as the man sought by the US Marshals Service, Sorley wrote in arrest reports.
The highway patrol trooper had Edward Jerome Henderson exit the bus, advised him of the warrant for his arrest for violating a bond or protective order at least twice during a given 12-months. Henderson remained in Hopkins County jail Thursday, July 21, 2022, in lieu of the $5,000 bond set on the Tarrant County warrant.
Qualifying Full-Time Paris Junior College Students to Get Free Laptops This Fall
Paris Junior College
Public Information Services
Qualifying full-time PJC students to get free laptops this fall
Paris Junior College will be giving laptops to qualifying full-time students in the fall semester.
“We want to encourage students to be full time so they can get their degrees as quickly as possible,” said Dr. Pam Anglin, PJC President, — “and work to ensure those students taking a full load of classes have the resources they need to succeed.”
To qualify, students must register for a minimum of 12 semester credit hours, of which nine of those hours must be in face-to-face classes, whether in Fall 1 or 2 eight-week terms or the Fall 16-week semester. The offer is not available to dual credit/concurrent students.
Students are encouraged but not required to apply for financial aid by completing the FAFSA at www.fafsa.gov. Once students have registered for fall classes, paid their tuition in full or set up a payment plan, their names will be added to the list of those receiving laptops. It will be first-come, first-serve for those meeting the criteria.
During the first week of the fall semester, vouchers will be distributed allowing students to get their laptops from the College Bookstore. Should a student drop their classes, they must return the laptop to PJC. For more information, contact Sheila Reece, Vice President of Student Access and Success, at 903-782-0211.
Paris Junior College — located in Paris, Texas, about 100 miles northeast of Dallas — has been a part of the Lamar County community since 1924.
Paris Junior College offers Associate in Arts, Associate in Science and Associate in Applied Science degrees, as well as Certificates of Proficiency in technical/workforce fields. The college has expanded its academic curriculum through the years to encourage associate degree and university transfer candidates. Since establishing its first vocational program — jewelry and watchmaking in 1942 — the college has been aggressive in adding technical/workforce programs that will benefit students entering the workforce.
The campus of 54 tree-shaded acres includes 20 major buildings and residence halls and provides students a unique and pleasant environment for learning.
Paris Junior College also operates centers in Sulphur Springs, Texas, and in Greenville, Texas.
Vision
To be the educational provider of choice for the region.
Mission
Paris Junior College is a comprehensive community college serving the region’s educational and training needs while strengthening the economic, social and cultural life of our diverse community.
July 22 Commissioners Court Agenda Includes 3 Contracts, Holiday Calendar
Commissioners Slated To Hear From Tax Collector, Chief Appraiser, FEC & Big Ditch Works Reps During Friday Morning Work Session
Hopkins County Commissioners will be holding their regular meeting and work session this Friday morning instead of Monday due to a scheduling conflict. While the regular July 22 Commissioners Court agenda appears to be mostly routine, the work session appears a bit longer than usual and will be the second work session this week at Hopkins County Courthouse.
Regular July 22 Meeting
Among the items the Commissioners Court will be asked to consider approving at the 9 a.m. meeting Friday, July 22, will be a holiday calendar from 2022-2023 and leases with Datamax for a printer/copier for the Justices of the Peace Office and for Hopkins County District Clerk’s Offices.
The agenda also shows a contract with Spindlemedia, a Flower Mound company that specializes in cloud-based tax collection software, custom-crafted for Texas. The company website boasts about its “complete software suite” designed to “automate virtually every task in the office.” Among the products offered are a tax suite designed to make “even the most complex collection processes” seamless, general ledge with “total accounting package,” special inventory tax processing as well as beer, wine and liquor permit and renewal processing.
The Commissioners Court too will be asked to consider approving a resolution in support of state funding to match competitive federal rail programs and to appoint Precinct 3 Commissioner Wade Bartley to sell or lease real property owned by the county in accordance with Local Government Code 263.001.
Subchapter A Sec. 263.001 states the following general provisions for real property sale or lease:
a) The commissioners court of a county, by an order entered in its minutes, may appoint a commissioner to sell or lease real property owned by the county. The sale or lease must be made at a public auction held in accordance with this section unless this chapter provides otherwise
(b) The appointed commissioner must publish notice of the auction before the 20th day before the date the auction is held. The notice must be published in English in a newspaper in the county in which the real property is located and in the county that owns the real property if not the same county. The notice must be published once a week for three consecutive weeks before the date the auction is held.
(c) If the real property is sold, a deed that is made on behalf of the county by the appointed commissioner in conformance with the order entered under Subsection (a) and that is properly acknowledged, proved, and recorded is sufficient to convey the county’s interest in the property.
The consent agenda, in addition to previous meeting minutes, includes a request from Farmers Electric Cooperative to construct electrical power distribution facilities across County Road 1125, located 4,500 feet south of County Road 1120 in Precinct 1.
July 22 Work Session
Immediately following the regular meeting Friday, the Commissioners Court is slated to adjourn to the third floor of Hopkins County Courthouse, where a work session will begin.
The Commissioners Court is slated July 22 to meet as usual with Fire Marshal Andy Endsley and Sheriff Lewis Tatum to discuss operations, review revenues and expenditures, and any proposed improvements or repairs in their departments; and with the Civic Center general manager to discuss events, repairs and improvements, and to review revenues and expenses.
At least five others are also scheduled to meet with the Commissioners Court during the Friday morning work session: County Tax Collector-Assessor Debbie Mitchell, Chief Appraiser Cathy Singleton, Patrick Covington and Tamara Williams of Farmers Electric Cooperative, and Mike Jones of Big Ditch Works.
A budget work session to discuss current and potential future financial matters, including work to continue shaping the 2022-2023 budget.
Additional Work Sessions
Friday’s will be the second workshop the Commissioners Court have held this week. The elected official also met Monday morning, July 18, 2022, to discuss elections. This session reportedly covered changes from a past Legislative session which will impact the Nov. 8 election which will include having to have paper backup for ballots cast by voting machine and the adjustments that will need to be made to voting equipment and at the polls to meet those Legislative mandates.
On July 26, members of the Commissioners Court are scheduled for a work session, enabling them to attend the 2022 Texas Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Conference Awards Program, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and if they choose to hold a budget work session during that time.
