The Hopkins County Echo (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 203, No. 7, Ed. 1 Friday, February 13, 1998 Page: 1 of 4
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The seals currently held by Judy
Gilreath, .Harold Bryant and Gregg
Price are up for election, but all said
Filing for city races
to begin on Monday
From Staff Reports __
Filing for Sulphur Springs City Council races begins Mon-
day at City Hall and ends March 18.
The election is May 2, and early voting will bp 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. April 14-28. Positions open this year are Place 4, cur-
rently held by Larry Powers, and Place 5, currently held by
Mayor Valanderous Bell. ,
Powers, a local attorney, first took a seat on the council after
the 1995 elections, but Bell, a minister, has been on the coun-
cil since 1992. Under Sulphur Springs’ form of government,
the citizens do not select the mayor directly. The council vot-
ed for Bell as mayor last year. There are no term limits on the
Sulphur Springs City Council. Terms are for three years.
Candidates must file in City Secretary Sharon Ricketson’s
office at City Hall, 125 S. Davis St.
Forums scheduled
by women’s groups
From Staff Reports
Ooiic fishing * staff ^hoto ^ Marc° ^nt°n'° Me<,'na sr.
Scott Ellis takes advantage of Wednes- at the Peavine Pinion Pool in Sulphur
day morning’s sunny, but cool, weather Springs ( ity Park,
to get in a little fishing and relaxation
The Democratic women and the
Republican women of Hopkins Coun-
ty have each scheduled political
forums.
Republican state representative
candidates Stacy Cody of Sulphur
Springs and Sue Fancher of Paris, and
Hopkins County judge candidate
Robert Van Winkle will be the guests
at the Republican women's forum at
7 p.m. Thursday at the Farm Bureau
building at Jackson and College
streets.
All local, regional and statewide
Democratic candidates have been
invited to participate in the Demo-
cratic women's forum at 7 p.m. Mon-
day in the Woman’s Building, 217
College St.
Each candidate will be given an
opportunity to speak and written
questions will be taken from the audi-
ence, who will have the opportunity
to visit informally with the candidates
following the fprum.
All interested voters are invited to
attend the forums.
Jail cited for
overcrowding
by state
By BRUCE ALSO BROOK
The Hopkins County Jail
failed an inspection by the Texas
Commission on Jail Standards
Wednesday, but county officials
weren’t surprised at the results.
As in years past, the single
problem of too many inmates in
too few jail cells left the county
lockup with an unsatisfactory
grade.
“The inspector commented
that the jail was in the best shape
that it has been in a long time,”
Chief Deputy Rickey Morgan
said Friday morning. “She made
the comment that it was as clean
as she’d ever seen it. The only
reason [for the failing grade] is
because of the overcrowding.”
TTie jail is built to hold 48 pris-
oners, and the state jail commis-
sion has allowed the county a
variance that allows the facility
to hold up to 58 inmates.
The average count of prisoners
in the jail, however, has exceed-
ed the magic number. Friday
morning, for example, the jail
held 70 prisoners, and over the
course of the week housed an
average of 69 per day.
Ironically, if the jail held only
inmates sentenced to serve time
in the Hopkins County Law
Enforcement Center, the facility
would have passed inspection.
The number of “paper-ready”
inmates — people convicted of
felonies awaiting transfer to state
jails and prisons — being held in
the jail pushes the lockup’s pop-
ulation above the legal limit.
‘The reason that the state
failed the jail is because of the
state inmates.” Morgan said.
Hopkins County is apparently
not alone in failing the most
recent inspection. The inspector
reportedly told officials at the jail
that eight other jails in Northeast
Texas failed to pass inspection
because of overcrowding.
Henry new SSISD superintendent
Board members
tap ‘rising star’
to head district
By BRUCE ALSQBROQK
A “rising star” will take over the
leadership of Sulphur Springs Inde-
pendent School District in April,
school board trustees decided Tues-
day.
Dr. Mark Henry, currently superin-
tendent at Collinsville ISD north of
Denton, will officially assume the
duties of SSISD Superintendent April
1. He replaces Paul Glover, who
announced early in the school year he
would retire. Glover said he would
stay on to assist in the transition.
The vote, which came during a reg-
ular meeting of SSISD trustees Tues-
day night, gives Henry a three-year
contract and ended four-months of
searching and sifting through almost
30 applicants for the post
His relative youth — Henry turns
38 in June — and the fact he’s spent
most of his educational career in dis-
tricts smaller than Sulphur Springs
sent up red flags for board members
initially, said Dr. William Dietze.
“We came back and had our first
meeting with [consultant Don] Kil-
lough and we all brought that up as a
concern,” Dietze said. “He [Killough]
kind of smiled, and 1 remember his
comment was, ‘You really need to
look at this person.’ He use’d terms
like ‘rising star’ and ‘excellent com-
municator.' and as I went back and
started looking at his application a lit-
tle closer, those things began to come
out.”
Henry, his wife, Cindy, and chil-
dren Ryan, 12, Emily, 11, and
Stephen, 7, joined him at the
announcement.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be
standing here before you,” said Hen-
ry, who said he calls Collinsville his
hometown because the people treated
them as friends and as family.
"When I began looking for a place
to advance my career, I wanted a
place just like Collinsville," he said.
Family man
Dr. Mark Henry, right, shares a laugh with son Ryan.
12, during a reception for the new superintendent of
Sulphur Springs schools. Henry, currently superin-
tendent at Collinsville Independent School District,
‘The more I found out about Sulphur
Springs, the more I knew it would be
a great place for my family, which is
the most important thing for me. and
a great place to grow professionally.
Hopefully I can do that here, and with
you, we can make Sulphur Springs
even greater than it is now.”
Henry attended Southern Arkansas
University from 1979-1982 before
going to the University of Texas-
Arlington and earning a bachelor’s
degree in physical education and his-
tory in 1984. Between 1988 to 1992
Staff Photo By Marco Antonio Medina Sr.
was joined by his family at Tiiesday night’s
announcement, including his youngest son, Stephen,
who is holding Henry’s left arm.
he earned both his master's degree in
administration and economics and
doctorate degree in education.
Henry s first job as superintendent
came at Milford ISD. a 225 enroll-
ment district, in 1991
He remained there until 1993.
when he took the post of superinten-
dent of schools at Collinsville, which
is home to 500 students. He said the
sheer si/e of SSISD approximate
ly 4.000 students — makes the new
job the biggest challenge of his
career.
“I’ve been in some larger schools,
but not as the’superintendent, so cer-
tainly there will be some adjustments
on my part," he said.
"But your school district and the
people that work in the school district
have such an excellent reputation that
I feel like they have a whole lot to
teach me, too. I think that we’re going
to w ork together and learn from each
other, and I’m excited about that
learning opportunity.”
Henry's rise through the ranks has
been rapid.
Three seats
up for grabs
in upcoming
SSISD vote
By BRUCE ALSQBROQK
Three seats on the Sulphur Springs
school board will be up for grabs in
May. but prospective candidates will
have to battle the incumbents for the
posts.
The SSISD board, during Tues-
day’s regular meeting, set May 2 as
the date for the school board election,
with candidate filing to be held from
Monday. Feb. 16 through Wednesday,
March 18.
Tuesday night they intend to remain
ori the panel.
“I’ve already signed my forms,”
said Gilreath. who has first elected to
the board in 1974.
“I’ll be there on the first day of fil-
ing." said Harold Bryant, who has 12
years’ experience as an SSISD
trustee.
Gregg Price, currently serving as
board president, said he would seek a
second term.
If the past two elections are any
indication, the election date may be
moot. A law that went into effect in
1996 permitted school districts to
forego the election if the seats hao
only one candidate running unop-
posed. No challengers signed up to
run against incumbents in either 1996
or 1997.
Should the election be held, early
voting will be from April 15 through
April 28 at the Sulphur Springs
Municipal Building, with the general
vote held Saturday, May 2. at Sulphur
Springs High School.
A runoff election, if necessary,
would be held June 6,
CNB will buy
First National
By BRUCE ALSQBROQK
Officials with City National Bank have entered
into an agreement to purchase the assets and assume
certain liabilities of First National Bank.
The purchase should be completed within 90 days,
pending government regulatory approval.
“We have some regulatory issues and some regu-
latory constraints that have to be met and approved
by federal banking authorities," said Lee Teetes,
president of City National Bank. "We do expect that
to happen. That is not a certainty, but we will do
everything we can to ensure that the purchase goes
through.”
Teetes said he anticipates customers of both finan-
cial institutions will receive more detailed informa-
tion by mail in the future.
“We’ve worked hard the past six months,” Teetes
said. "We’ve spent money on accounting and legal
fees trying to structure an arrangement Some of that
has come to fruition, and we're certainly hopeful of
seeing the project through and the transaction con-
summated.
“We do believe that it will be beneficial to our cus-
tomers and to all of First National Bank's.”
At the close of the transaction. City National Bank
would have approximately $15 million in assets and
approximately $132 million in deposits.
Groundbreaking Thursday
for ICU building at HCMH
By LAURIE D. HAYNES
Hopkins County Memorial Hospital will
break ground on a new 10.000-square-foot
intensive care building at 2 p.m. Thursday on
the north side of the hospital by the emergency
room entrance.
The addition begins the second phase of a $5
million project to upgrade facilities and will
include relocation of the day-surgery unit; relo-
cation of outpatient procedures such as
endoscopy, colonoscopy and urology; and ren-
ovation of the operating room and recovery
room.
“This ICU will allow us to increase our bed
£«ize from six beds to 10 beds." said Laura
Miller, director of nursing. "The new ICf will
include an upgrade ot our present monitoring
capabilities and will have a subflboi lot future
expansion needs."
New ICU monitoring equipment will include
electroencephalogram monitors, oxy gen satura-
tion monitors and cardiac output monitors, said
Miller.
"There will be monitors at each bedside as
well as at the central nurse's station." she said
"This w ill increase the number of patients w e
can have on telemetry and we can also monitor
Stall Photo By Marco Antonio Madina Sr.
Banquet honorees
can nave on leiemeny unu wc ran him< nnmuui Gary Spraggins, left, 1997 president of the Professional Ag Workers Asso-
patients' heartbeats from elsewhere in the hos ciation. receives a plaque in appreciation of his services during the asso-
pital " Miller said the new ICU beds will be ciation’s Sweetheart Banquet Tuesday night at Heritage Hall. Also pic-
more sophisticated than the ones the hospital tured are current president J.D. Norris, center, and 1997 Agricultural
has now Service Award recipient Joe Don Pogue.
llCulI MA I/vUj Iv IV/ l/vua, ’ulu *-‘uu ^
City lets truckers park their rigs at home
-■- ii K .. L ih,», ,-in. i.,. mint Tnu tmrln must also he narked in drive- the proposed ordinance.
By LAURIE D. HAYNES
Trucked protested when the Sulphur
Springs Chy Council recently proposed
stopping them from bringing their rigs into
their home neighborhoods, so the Council
compromised Tuesday by allowing the big
trucks to be parked in owners’ driveways.
However, the back of the vehicles must
be 10 feet from the curb, and trailers w ill
not be allowed in neighborhoods unless
trucks arc making deliveries.
In addition, boats and boat trailers w ill
still not be allowed to paik on any street or
highway, nor can one park motor homes
on the street
Tow trucks must also be parked in drive- the proposed ordinance,
wavs. ® “This part where a man who drives a
the ordinance passed by the Council truck can t park in his own driveway is not
also established truck routes through the right." said Johnny Gibson,
city. “You park them around here, and they’ll
Truck drivers and their spouses turned steal everything on them. You’re talking
out in force at the City Council meeting about my livelihood. Some of these trucks
Tuesday and explained their opposition to cost $80,000 to $ 100,000.
Rural News: 4
Club News: 2
Reunions: 3
Wt)t JlopbinS Count? Ccfjo
Absorbed The Gazette Circulation By Purchase On May 12, 1928
VOL 203 — NO. 7
SULPHUR SPRINGS, TEXAS — FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1998
4 PAGES — 25 CENTS — PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY
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Keys, Scott & Lamb, Bill. The Hopkins County Echo (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 203, No. 7, Ed. 1 Friday, February 13, 1998, newspaper, February 13, 1998; Sulphur Springs, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth780712/m1/1/: accessed July 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Hopkins County Genealogical Society.