4-Time State UIL Competitor AllieGrace Woodard Earns 2 Medals In Theatrical Design
Sulphur Springs High School Theater Student AllieGrace Woodard received two medals in Theatrical Design at the Texas State Academic UIL Contest this week. Not only was 2022 Woodard’s fourth year to compete at State in Theatrical Design, school officials report she has earned the distinction of being the only double medalist ever in the same year in theatrical design.
Woodard’s designs this week earned second in UIL State Theatrical Design Costume contest and fourth in UIL State Theatrical Design in Hair and Makeup. The theme for both involved designs for Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express.”
She is quite accomplished at the state UIL theatrical design level. She placed 6th at state in Hair and Makeup her sophomore year and was the State Champion in Hair and Makeup last year.
Woodard says she loves the artistic challenge of telling stories through set, prop, and costume design.
For this year’s costume contest, competitors were asked to focus on two main areas in their design of Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express:” script details and historical accuracy.
Woodard noted that a wolf and bear were referenced in the opening dialogue, and Hercule Poirot describing a “primal murder” in his opening dialogue. While researching the time period, many women wore animal prints and furs. Thus, she imagined the characters as animals and the Orient Express–a zoo of sorts–being managed by Poirot. Her designs for each suspect were inspired by a different animal based on characterization. She designed 8 costumes, and made Poirot the zookeeper. She too was required to provide documentation about her choices.
For this year’s hair and makeup contest, Woodard then imagined the characters as clowns with Hercule Poirot as the ringmaster. Researching the time period, she was inspired by actors’ and performers’ makeup during the 1930s. Many of the elements and details of that makeup are very similar that of a circus performers’ makeup. She fused her finding about mid-1930s clowns and the 1930s nighttime celebrity glam looks. After getting her design down, she then applied make up and began styled the characters’ hair, replicating as closely as possible products and techniques from the era. Certain elements she deliberately overstated, creating what she a look she describes as “beautifully made up—yet almost scary—clowns.”
She has also acted in and served as publicity designer in 14 productions while in high school and advanced all four years in One-Act Play competition, often earning All Star Cast and Honorable Mention All Star Cast recognition. She served as site crew student coordinator in UIL OAP all four years of high school. Woodard’s resume includes serving as SSHS Theatre YouTube account manager, a set and prop designer, website designer and social media manager.
Woodard said her love or art and theater have given her a passion for design. She has utilized her design skills in the SSHS graphic design class working on advanced projects. She was a designer for and worked on promotional material for the College & Career Expo, and was a finalist in the Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce Stew logo design contest.
The thespian has also advanced to the regional UIL contest in poetry oral interpretation all four years of high school. She’s too has been involved in film projects, serving as director, cinematographer and editor of the Short Film entered into UIL competition this year. In 2021, she wrote, directed, filmed and edited a short film which advanced in UIL competition.
Woodard has been accepted to Savannah College of Art and Design, where she will continue to hone her craft studying production design in the fall.
Congratulations to AllieGrace Woodard on her many theatrical, UIL and design achievements. Brava!
Some of AllieGrace Woodard’s work can be viewed on her website: bit.ly/alliegracew
City Council Approves Purchase Of Materials For 3 Major Street Projects
Sulphur Springs City Council this week approved the purchase of materials for three major street projects, with one project progressing in Phase 2.
City Manager Marc Maxwell during Tuesday’s regular May City Council meeting reported that water, sewer and drainage work from Celebration Plaza to Patton Street is complete for Phase 1 of the College Street rebuilding project, completing the city’s portion of Phase 1.
Highway 19 Construction, the approved contractor, slated to begin rebuilding the road while the City of Sulphur Springs Capital Construction Division continues east with utility construction. Phase 2 for the city will pick up where the city left off on Patton Street and continue east to Como Street.
Assistant City Manager/Finance Director Lesa Smith presented bids for sewer and water supplies for College Street Phase 2, Holiday Drive and Alabama Street capital improvement projects. Smith said these were bid out now, ahead of schedule due to continued increases in the costs of materials and the extended wait time after materials are ordered.
The costs per square foot for water materials now compared to September’s prices for the College Street project is $48,000 more, according to the finance director.
“What would be $215,496 for those materials, now based on today’s bid prices last September would have been $166,000. Last September it had a lee-time of three to four weeks. Now, it has a lee-time of 8 months,” Smith said.
The finance director said city staff received and email Tuesday from one business letting them know all of their supplies will be increasing by about 4%. The rates quoted in the bids are locked in, but waiting to purchase the materials would mean paying that that much more. The business representative also noted that some of their suppliers won’t bid on projects or offer quotes for supplies that are not purchased immediately due to the continued rising cost of materials.
Maxwell said because of the extended time between order and delivery of materials, from weeks to months, city staff recommends purchasing the supplies, which can be stored in the city’s warehouse until it’s time for the projects to begin. He said there should be ample room in the big storage facility, and better to store supplies as quick as the city can get them than to wait indefinitely, delaying the start of these capital improvement projects.
Place 5 Councilman Gary Spraggins asked which is more important to the city, the low bid or the time it takes to get the materials after they are ordered. Bryan Craig with the public works department noted that the sewer work will be performed first, so those supplies are more imminently needed. The water materials then would be needed in a couple of months when the sewer is completed.
Smith and Maxwell recommended accepting the low bids submitted for water and sewer supplies for utilities all three major street projects, and storing supplies until needed if they arrive ahead of schedule. The low bid for each of the three for water materials came from Coburn’s Supply: $219,317.93 for College Street Phase 2, $132,177.16 for Alabama Street and $87,486.10 for Holiday Drive. The low bids for sewer work all came from APSCO: $87,506 for College Street Phase 2, $63,029.60 for Alabama Street and $30,823 for Holiday Drive.
The City Council at the May 3 meeting approved the low bids from Coburn’s Supply and APSCO, as recommended, to provide materials for the three major street projects.
Sulphur Springs Man Jailed On A Probation Warrant
A 22-year-old Sulphur Springs man was jailed on a probation warrant early Wednesday morning, according to arrest reports.
Dequarian Terran Pitts was escorted by Deputy Bobby Osornio and Sgt. Scott Davis from the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office lobby into the county jail, at 2:57 a.m. May 4, 2022.
Pitts was booked in at 3:05 a.m. Wednesday, on a warrant for violation of probation, which he was on for a Dec. 3, 2020, assault of a family or household member that impeded breathing or circulation charge, according to jail and arrest reports.
The 22-year-old remained in Hopkins County jail later Wednesday, May 4, 2022, held without bond on the charge. He too was jailed Feb. 10-March 18, 2021 for surety off bond on the 2020 the assault impeding breathing charge in which he was alleged to have choked a female to the point she couldn’t breath, leaving marks on her neck, during a verbal altercation, 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.
2 Caught With Suspected Methamphetamine, 1 Jailed On Controlled Substance-Related Warrant
Woman Found Hiding In Dilapidated Mobile Home,, Where She’d Been Trespassing Since The Day Before
Two people, including a woman who’d reportedly been hiding in dilapidated mobile home since the day before, were caught with suspected methamphetamine Tuesday by local authorities, and one man was jailed on a controlled substance-related warrant, according to arrest reports.
FM 275 North Traffic Stop
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Deputies Justin Wilkerson and Bobby Osornio, and Sgt. Scott Davis were dispatched at 5:52 p.m. Tuesday evening to a report of criminal trespassing at a FM 275 north property. Upon arrival, deputies were told by the homeowner that a woman had appeared on the property Monday. The trespasser had reportedly been seen hiding in a dilapidated mobile home on the property that’s been used mostly for storage with the homeowner’s dog in the building with her.
The homeowner said she made it clear to the woman she did not want her on the property. The woman, identified in arrest reports as Tatiana Marie Ugalde, had been in a dating relationship with the property owner’s son, who does not live at that address, deputies noted being told.
After being directed to the building where the woman was alleged to be trespassing, deputies began calling out to Ugalde by name. The reported finding her in a bathroom. She claimed to not have a residence and to have been waiting for her boyfriend to pick her up.
The sheriff’s officers said it was apparent the woman had been staying in one bedroom, and asked her what she had in the room. She claimed to have stowed a purse behind the door and a bag under the bed. Deputies reported asking the woman if she had anything illegal in the bags and obtained her permission to search the purse and bag.
Officers reported finding a make-up container with a small amount of suspected marijuana and marijuana seeds, a sock with a metal wire a cut straw, which are commonly used to inhale controlled substances were found in the bag, along with a small baggy containing a crystal-like substance the deputies believed to be methamphetamine.
When the deputies placed the woman into handcuffs, they allege the 35-year-old Klondike woman actively resisted. They in turn responded with the least force needed to place her into custody at 6:11 p.m. May 3, 2022, the sheriff’s officers noted in arrest reports.
Deputies obtained permission from the homeowner to search the rest of the room Ugalde was believed to have been staying in. The sheriff’s officers found additional glass pipes with suspected meth residue and marijuana accessories in the room. Ugalde was transported to Hopkins County jail, where the crystal-like substance field-tested positive for meth and weighed 0.26 gram, including packaging, Sgt. Scott Davis alleged in arrest reports.
Ugalde (who arrest reports show is also known by Tititana Marie Ugalde, Tot, Hot Tot, Tater Tot and Tot T), was booked into Hopkins County jail at 11:15 p.m. Tuesday on a possession of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance charge. She was released from the county jail Wednesday, May 4, 2022, on a $5,000 bond on the controlled substance charge, according to jail reports.
I-30 East Traffic Stop
(HCSO jail photo)
Sulphur Springs Police Officers Dustin Green and Thad Cook reported stopping a Nissan Altima at 8:45 p.m. May 3, 2022, for a traffic violation on Interstate 30 east near mile marker 126 (College Street). While talking with the car’s occupants, Green reported seeing open alcoholic beverages inside of it. Timothy James Simpson allegedly admitted to drinking.
All occupants were asked to exit hte car. A probable cause search reportedly revealed a metal pipe containing a green leafy substance in plain view in the driver’s seat. All of the people who’d been in the car was search. Police found a bag containing a crystal-like substance they believed to be methamphetamine and glass pipe of the kind commonly used to smoke meth when patting down Tim Simpson, the police officers alleged in arrest reports.
Officers placed the 43-year-old Texarkana man into custody. Upon arrival at the jail, Simpson allegedly admitted he had more contraband on him. Jail staff recovered another bag containing a crystal-like substance during a subsequent search of Simpson. The contraband, in its packaging, weighed about 1.6 grams, the policemen alleged in arrest reports.
Simpson was booked into Hopkins County jail at 10:02 p.m. Tuesday on a possession of 1 gram or more but less than 4 grams of a Penalty Group 1/1B controlled substance. The Texarkana man was released from from Hopkins County jail Wednesday, May 4, 2022, on a $5,000 bond on the third-degree felony charge, according to jail reports.
Jail Transfer
HCSO Deputy Steve Huffman took Steven Lee Welborn into custody at 12:57 p.m. Tuesday at Dallas County jail, where the 55-year-old Irving man was held on a Hopkins County warrant.
Huffman transported Welborn to Hopkins County jail. Welborn was booked in at 2:53 p.m. May 3, 2022, on a warrant for violating probation, which he was on for possession of 1 gram or more but less than 4 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance.
Steve Welborn was held in Hopkins County jail May 4, 2022, without bond, 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.
Volunteer Driver Needed Tuesdays To Deliver Meals
A volunteer driver is needed on Tuesdays to help deliver meals to Meal A Day recipients.
Meal A Day is staffed by volunteers who donate their time to prepare and deliver food to senior citizens and individuals who are unable to provide or prepare meals for themselves.
Cypress Basin Hospice has, for the past few years, been delivering meals to seniors and shut ins along the Tuesday route, but is having to give it up. The route is in-town and takes approximately 1-1 1/2 hours to deliver prepared containers of food to senior citizens in Sulphur Springs. Food an be picked up at 9:30 a.m. each Tuesday at the Senior Citizens Center. This could even be filled by a couple or pair working together to distribute to the boxed meals.
Senior Citizens Center Program and Marketing Director Weatherman asks that anyone willing to help, even if on a temporary basis until a dedicated driver can be found, contact her at 903-885-1661, send her an email at [email protected] or comment on her post on Facebook.
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.
FDA Permits Marketing For New Test To Improve Diagnosis Of Alzheimer’s Disease
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today (Wednesday, May 4, 2022) permitted marketing for the first in vitro diagnostic test for early detection of amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The Lumipulse G β-Amyloid Ratio (1-42/1-40) test is intended to be used in adult patients, aged 55 years and older, presenting with cognitive impairment who are being evaluated for Alzheimer’s disease and other causes of cognitive decline.
“The availability of an in vitro diagnostic test that can potentially eliminate the need for time-consuming and expensive PET scans is great news for individuals and families concerned with the possibility of an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis,” said Jeff Shuren, M.D., J.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “With the Lumipulse test, there is a new option that can typically be completed the same day and can give doctors the same information regarding brain amyloid status, without the radiation risk, to help determine if a patient’s cognitive impairment is due to Alzheimer’s disease.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, more than six million Americans, most age 65 or older, may have dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease, a brain disorder known to slowly destroy memory and thinking skills, and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. In most people with Alzheimer’s disease, clinical symptoms first appear later in life.
Alzheimer’s disease is progressive, meaning that the disease gets worse over time. Early and accurate diagnosis is important to help patients and caregivers with planning and early treatment options. There is an unmet need for a reliable and safe test that can accurately identify patients with amyloid plaques consistent with Alzheimer’s disease. While amyloid plaques can occur in other diseases, being able to detect the presence of plaque, along with other evaluations, helps the doctor determine the probable cause of the patient’s symptoms and findings. Prior to today’s authorization, doctors used positron emission tomography (PET) scans, a potentially costly and cumbersome option, to detect/visualize amyloid plaques in a patient’s brain, often years before clinical symptom onset, to aid in diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease.
The Lumipulse test is intended to measure the ratio of β-amyloid 1-42 and β-amyloid 1-40 (specific proteins that can accumulate and form plaques) concentrations found in human cerebral spinal fluid (CSF), which can help physicians determine whether a patient is likely to have amyloid plaques, a hallmark sign of Alzheimer’s disease. Results must be interpreted in conjunction with other patient clinical information.
A positive Lumipulse G β-amyloid Ratio (1-42/1-40) test result is consistent with the presence of amyloid plaques, similar to what would be seen in a PET scan. A negative result is consistent with a negative amyloid PET scan result. A negative test result reduces the likelihood that a patient’s cognitive impairment is due to Alzheimer’s disease, enabling physicians to pursue other causes of cognitive decline and dementia. The test is not intended as a screening or stand-alone diagnostic assay. There is also the possibility that a positive test result could be seen in patients with other types of neurologic conditions, as well as in older cognitively healthy people, which underscores the importance of using this test in conjunction with other clinical evaluations.
The FDA evaluated the safety and effectiveness of this test in a clinical study of 292 CSF samples from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative sample bank. The samples were tested by the Lumipulse G β-amyloid Ratio (1-42/1-40) and compared with amyloid PET scan results. In this clinical study, 97% of individuals with Lumipulse G β-amyloid Ratio (1-42/1-40) positive results had the presence of amyloid plaques by PET scan and 84% of individuals with negative results had a negative amyloid PET scan.
The risks associated with the Lumipulse G β-amyloid Ratio (1-42/1-40) test are mainly the possibility of false positive and false negative test results. False positive results, in conjunction with other clinical information, could lead to an inappropriate diagnosis of, and unnecessary treatment for, Alzheimer’s disease. This could lead to psychological distress, delay in receiving a correct diagnosis as well as expense and the risk for side effects from unnecessary treatment. False negative test results could result in additional unnecessary diagnostic tests and potential delay in effective treatment. Importantly, the Lumipulse G β-amyloid Ratio (1-42/1-40) is not a stand-alone test and other clinical evaluations or additional tests should be used for determining treatment options.
The FDA reviewed the device through the De Novo premarket review pathway, a regulatory pathway for low- to moderate-risk devices of a new type. This action creates a new regulatory classification, which means that subsequent devices of the same type with the same intended use may go through FDA’s 510(k) premarket process, whereby devices can obtain marketing authorization by demonstrating substantial equivalence to a predicate device.
The Lumipulse G β-amyloid Ratio (1-42/1-40) was granted Breakthrough Device designation, a process designed to expedite the development and review of devices that may provide for more effective treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating diseases or conditions.
The FDA permitted marketing of the Lumipulse G ß-Amyloid Ratio (1-42/1-40) to Fujirebio Diagnostics, Inc.
Chamber Connection – May 4
Upcoming Events: Mom’s Day Out, Spring Into Wellness, Mission Fundraiser, Choral Music Concert
By Butch Burney, President/CEO of Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce, [email protected]
I’ve always maintained that it’s good to be a guy. I’ve seen what women deal with as wives and mothers on a daily basis, and I don’t want that job. It’s way too hard.
However, for the next week, it looks like it will be good to be a woman. There are a couple of events coming up, hosted by local businesses, that are specifically geared for females.
- Mama’s Day Out, hosted by Kay Jae + Co., is set for 5 p.m. Friday, May 6 at the boutique at 325 South Davis St. The evening promises shopping, flowers, mimosas, muffins and more. Nicole Brantley, RN, BSN, injector with Everlasting Aesthetics, will offer fillers and Botox.
- Then, Spring Into Wellness will be hosted by four local businesses from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 10, at Beauty Grace Lifestyle Shop, at 220 Connally St. You’re invited to a Q&A session with Live Well Chiropractic, Pursuing Wellness Practitioner, Texas Pelvic Health and Beauty Grace Lifestyle Shop.
Mabel’s Foundation
Mabel’s Foundation is hosting the third annual Trade School Dinner to support Nuevo Progreso Trade Schools on Saturday, May 7, from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Lake Fork Baptist Church, 9483 FM 515 in Alba. There will be free will offering at the door for a crappie fish fry with all the fixings. Carry out or sit down is available. Please call 605-431-9655 to let them know you’re coming.
Sounds of Summer
The North East Texas Choral Society will present the Endless Summer Spring Concert May 7 and May 8 at the SSHS Auditorium in the Hopkins County Civic Center. The shows are at 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Buy tickets at SingersCount.org.
Ribbon Cuttings
- Northeast Texas Gellyball hosted a ribbon cutting at their new location at 1511 South Broadway Street at noon Friday, April 29. Please welcome them to Sulphur Springs.
- Kay Jae + Co Boutique, located at 325 South Davis St., will host a ribbon cutting for their shop at noon on Thursday, May 5. Please visit this new boutique.
- The North Hopkins Volunteer Fire Department will host a ribbon cutting at the firehouse at 72 West FM 71. Please join us for that event.
Business of the Week
Beauty Grace Lifestyle Shop is the Chamber’s Business of the Week for May 4. See more about our Business of the Week on the Chamber’s Instagram and Facebook pages as well as our website.
Hopkins County 4-H Archers Compete
By Johanna Hicks, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Family & Community Health Agent for Hopkins County, [email protected]
Many folks are misguided in thinking that 4-H is all about showing animals. Quite the contrary! The Texas 4-H program offers so much more. There are many opportunities for involvement including leadership, community service, foods and nutrition, fashion and interior design, photography, archery, recreation, livestock, and more. Actually, one of the most popular projects is Foods and Nutrition, not only in Hopkins County, but across the state.
4-H equips youth with skills that can be used throughout their lifetime. Learning responsibility and how to treat others are of utmost importance. There are project workshops, individual project involvement, contests, camps, 4-H meetings, special events, and much more through the 4-H program.
Recently, seven Hopkins County youth participated in the District 4-H Archery Shoot. Coached by Stephanie Stewart and assisted by Brad McCool, the young archers came home with some fine awards. Below are the results:
- Senior Division: Jaqlyn Chapman, Compound Unaided, 2nd place
- Intermediate Division: Marilena Reyes, Compound Unaided, 4th place
- Intermediate Division: William Mason, Compound Aided, 9th place
- Intermediate Division: Hunter Rich, Compound Aided, 14th place
- Junior Division: Bryce McCool, Compound Unaided, 1st place
- Junior Division: Roy Duffey, Compound Unaided, 4th place
- Junior Division: Aaiden Wisniewski, Compound Unaided, 10th place
Congratulations to each of these 4-H members. We hope to see more good things as they progress through the shooting sports project!
Multi-County 4-H Camp
Each year, our Hopkins County Extension staff members serve on the planning committee for the Multi-county 4-H Camp. Held in Lone Star, Texas at the Lakeview Baptist Conference Center, the camp features workshops, group activities, swimming, paddle boating, recreation, and much more. Registration is now taking place. Dates of the camp are July 11-13 and cost is $125 which covers two nights lodging, six meals, camp t-shirt, and all workshop activities.
The camp is open to any youth grade 3-12, regardless of 4-H membership status. However, youth must complete a registration form and return it to their respective county Extension Office. The Hopkins County deadline is June 1. Our group will carpool to the location. Parents are welcome to attend the closing day award ceremony. Contact the Hopkins County Extension Office at 903-885-3443 for more information.
Closing Thought
The major key to your better future is you.
– Jim Rohn
Contact Johanna Hicks, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Family & Community Health Agent at the Hopkins County office at P.O. Box 518, 1200-B West Houston St., Sulphur Springs, TX 75483; 903-885-3443; or [email protected].
City Council Approves On First Reading Residential Homestead Tax Exemption Ordinance
Sulphur Springs City Council Tuesday night, April 3, 2022, approved on first reading an ordinance providing for a residential homestead property tax exemption. The ordinance must be approved by the City Council on second and final reading before it is officially adopted.
Assistant City Manager/Finance Director Lesa Smith reminded the City Council of the information she presented to them regarding the topic during the April 5 council meeting. At that time, Mayor John Sellers asked that a proposal for a residential homestead property tax exemption be included on the agenda as an action item at the May meeting, in order to fit the timeline for the ordinance to take affect in October for the 2022 tax year, provided the council approves it.
Smith explained that she left the percentage of exemption blank on first reading, pending further discussion and guidance from the City Council regarding how much the exemption would be for.
City staff recommended approving a homestead exemption for the greater of $5,000 or whatever percent of appraised value on the homestead to help city residents. The percentage allowable could be up to 20%, the City Council was advised.
Smith said in figuring potential impacts, she did receive preliminary tax values from the Appraisal District May 3, 2022, but had yet updated the projects to reflect growth of net taxable value within the city as she had a few questions she plans to get clarification for most accurate information in the updates using preliminary values.
Place 5 City Councilman Gary Spraggins made a motion Tuesday to adopt Ordinance No. 2797 on first reading, providing for a homestead exemption for the greater of $5,000 or 20% of the appraised value for residential city tax payers. Place 4 Councilman Freddie Taylor seconded the motion, which the council then approved. The ordinance is slated to be presented again for second reading and final approval at the June 7 City Council meeting.
City Manager’s Report – May 2022
Sulphur Springs City Manager Marc Maxwell presented the following report to the City Council during the regular monthly council meeting on Tuesday, May 3, 2022.
COVID-19 RESPONSE
We have 0 patients in the COVID unit at the hospital. (I hope soon we can leave this off entirely.)
CLAIMS
We had a fleet accident in March involving a police cruiser. One unlucky driver ran a red light and crashed into the squad car causing $1,500 worth of damage. Fortunately, nobody was injured.
We had one workers compensation claim for a laceration when a Capital Construction employee was struck by rebar during demolition activities at Pacific Park.
SENIOR CITIZENS BUILDING
It’s official; we got the $2.4 million grant from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA). As soon as we sign a contract with TDHCA we can begin the project. I expect the contract to be ready for signature in June.
PACIFIC PARK
- The playground complete. Demolition has begun on the splash pad.
- The Capital Construction Division in installing a concrete walking path around the park.
- Next up will be the basketball pavilion.
COLLEGE STREET
The water/sewer/drainage is complete for phase 1 from the plaza to Patton. Next, Highway 19 Construction (the contractor) will build the road and the Capital Construction Division will continue to the east with utility construction on Phase 2 (Patton to Como).
SPRING CLEANUP
The Spring clean-up was a busy event this year with 1,285 vehicles bring rubbish to the site. In total 3,480 cubic yards of trash was hauled to the landfill, and a small mountain of green waste was left on site to be burned later this summer.
ONCOR RATE INCREASE
Oncor advised the City in writing that they plan to file a full rate case with the Public Utility Commission of Texas later this month. This is different than the periodic Distribution Cost Recovery Factor (DCRF) that we are accustomed to seeing. The DCRF only recovers costs for new investment in distribution equipment, whereas this will be a full review of the base rate. The city is a member of the Steering Committee of Cities Served by Oncor. The steering committee is fully aware of this development, and they have already procured the consultants to review the filing once it is made. Expect action items related to this filing to be on future agendas.
REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES
Finance Director Lesa Smith will present a report of year-to-date revenues and expenditures.
STREET IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
Texana Land and Asphalt plans to pave the streets listed below this summer.
Around the City
Elsewhere around the city, employees:
- Cleaned storm drains 3 times.
- Cleaned up the property at Jefferson and Alabama.
- Placed the new utilities on College Street into service.
- Conducted 37 building inspections, 24 electrical inspections, 21 plumbing inspections, 51 mechanical inspections and issued 27 building permits.
- Sold 3,061 gallons of Avgas and 5,750 gallons of Jet-A fuel.
- Accommodated 1,595 landings/takeoffs at the airport for an average of 52/day.
- Checked out 2,841 items from the library plus 643 eBooks.
- Responded to 206 animal control calls while achieving an 88% adoption rate.
- Made 1 felony arrest in the Special Crimes Unit.
- Responded to 38 accidents, recorded 39 offences, made 35 arrests and wrote 521 citations in the Patrol Division.
- Sprayed for weeds downtown and changed out flowers for spring/summer.
- Repainted restrooms at Imagination Mountain.
- Hosted two baseball/softball tournaments.
- Assisted with the Kids Kingdom rehabilitation (Thank you Adult Leadership Class of 2022!!!)
- Responded to 196 calls for fire/rescue including 2 structure fires, 1 vehicle fire and 4 grass fires.
- Conducted 30 fire inspections.
- Performed preventative maintenance on 78 fire hydrants.
- Installed a new electrical service at Pacific Park.
- Performed preventative maintenance on several items at the water treatment plant and wastewater treatment plant.
- Treated wastewater to a total suspended solids reading of .41 mg/L (less than one part per million).
- Repaired 10 water main ruptures.
- Replace 10 water meters.
- Unstopped 23 sewer mains.
- Repaired 4 sewer mains.
- Washed 75,000 feet of sewer mains.
- Flushed 39 dead-end water mains.
- Repaired Cooper Lake water pumps.
- Treated 129 million gallons of potable water
