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Trinity County News 2

County attorney helps save infant

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060321 hayCOURTESY PHOTO Trinity County Attorney Colton Hay walks away from a one-vehicle crash, where he and others helped rescue an infant that was in the vehicle.

News-Standard staff

GROVETON — Trinity County Attorney Colton Hay can add lifesaver to his resume, having come to the aid of an infant following a car crash on May 25.

The wreck occurred on State Highway 94 west of Groveton at about 5 p.m.

According to police reports, the driver, James Christopher Gambrell Jr., 29, was driving his vehicle in an unsafe manner during a rainstorm, hydroplaned, and rolled the vehicle into a ditch.

Hay said he witnessed the event on his way home from work,

“We went over to the car, me and a few other people, and someone hollered, ‘There’s a baby in here,’” Hay said. “I carry a sledgehammer in the car for trailer hitches; we looked, found the child, and broke the back window.”

Hay then called law enforcement officials on his cell phone to report the event.

The car had come to a stop upside down in about a foot of water, with oil and other fluids leaking from the car, reports indicate. Hay, who recently became a father for the first time, climbed into the car to get the baby out.

Hay said the car was filled with many items, such as computers and tools, which made entering the car difficult.

“I shimmy into the car through the back window; the driver was wedged in the car, part in front and part in back,” Hay said. “I got to the baby; it looked to be about a year old. The car seat was flipped over, because it was not attached properly.”

Hay said the child was crying and moving her arms and legs, and had a small abrasion on her cheek.

“I unhooked her as carefully as I could from the seat, cradled her as best as I could, and shimmied out,” he said.

Reports state the child was taken by ambulance to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver was arrested for driving with license invalid with a previous conviction, and other charges are pending.

Hay said that with the help of other passers-by who witnessed the crash and stopped to help, they were able to help the child.

“I just had a baby, and holding her was like holding mine, and we got her out and we all were ecstatic,” Hay said. “It was beautiful to see people to come together from all walks of life and save this girl.

“It was an emotional experience,” he said.

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Agent takes a step up to get back to roots

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052721 extensionCOURTESY PHOTO Stacye Tullos (second from right), the new Texas A&M Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agent for Trinity County, stands with (from left) Trinity County Judge Doug Page, Cathey, Kayla Kembro, Clarissa Ashworth, and Cole Sullivan, 4-H members who were honored with Gold Star awards from the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. Tullos recently was promoted to the agent, having served initially as an agent for Healthy Texas.

By Tony Farkas

GROVETON — Combined passions for agriculture and teaching put Stacye Tullos back to the place where she always wanted to be.

The former Health Agent for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, which dealt with educational programming in the school about chronic disease and nutrition, among other things, is now agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources.

“I always knew I wanted to be in something ag-based because of how I grew up,” Tullos said. “That made me who I am, being in FFA in high school. I was one of those kids who didn’t have a clue of what I wanted to do until I got into high school and started in ag.”

When it came to learning about all things agriculture, Tullos said she fell to that like a duck to water; instead of athletics or other extracurricular activities, that was her passion — her sport.

“4-H program is part of what I deal with, and that’s where my heart is at,” she said. “I was an ag teacher for three years (prior to joining the Extension Service). I come from a long background in agriculture. My grandpa was the largest producer of rice in the state of Texas in the 70s and 80s, and he also ran cattle, grew corn and hay, and things like that.”

Tullos said that children are her passion, especially teaching them, and with agriculture, the possibilities for kids to find something that will interest them are endless.

“People think that ag only has to do with cattle or pigs or lambs or goats, or maybe just farming, and it’s a misconception,” she said. “I’ve seen kids so shy that when they got an opportunity to be a part of FFA or 4-H, they find themselves. There are speaking events, or sewing, or robotics, or mechanical engineering. It’s cooking and learning about food. It gives them a sense of responsibility and grow character. You’ll find some of the most exceptional kids come from ag. It’s not just county fair stuff.”

Agriculture and its related disciplines teaches responsibility, and a work ethic, and how to create, and it teaches children how to sell themselves, not just sell a commodity, Tullos said.

“Kids need to know how to market themselves these days, and they need to learn to earn their way,” she said.

So in her new role, Tullos helps people with questions about starting gardens, or identifying plants, or check a pond, or eve finding out why cattle aren’t producing well or losing weight.

“It’s everything you can possibly imagine under the umbrella of agriculture,” she said. “We have a wealth of people with knowledge that help us with that, so if we don’t know, we have the resources of A&M.”

Tullos is replacing Armon Hewitt, who had been agent for Trinity County for about 15 years. She graduated from Tarleton State University in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture services and development, and followed that with an internship in ag education with the Extension Service in Grimes County.

After spending a few years working in human resources, Tullos made the change to teaching, and has been there since.

“At the end of the day, our youth are our future, and if I can say I had a small part in helping them to blossom into a mature adult with a work ethic and skills to use throughout life, that’s where I live,” she said. “We have to invest in our kids, and they have to know there is someone behind them.”

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Centerville alters school schedule

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052721 centerville isdCOURTESY PHOTO Centerville ISD

By Tony Farkas

CENTERVILLE — The Centerville ISD Board has approved a change to a four-day-a-week schedule for the new school year beginning Aug. 9.

The vote was not unanimous, however, as Board Member Randall Fry said he would remain skeptical of the new plan.

At the May 20 meeting, board members Joyce Carlton, Gerald Davis, Kim Blalock and Dwayne Whittlesley showed approval for the plan presented by Principal Andja Sailer.

Sailer said the district sent surveys to both staff and parents, and together it showed a 95 percent approval rate for the plan. Students will attend classes Mondays-Thursdays, from 7:20 a.m.-3:30 p.m. each day.

There are occasional Friday attendance required, mostly for testing.

Sailer said that benefits of the new schedule include more time in that classroom, which gives teachers more time with the students for more in-depth instruction.

Superintendent Mark Brown said that this will be a three-year pilot, but the program, if it turns out to be a problem, can be terminated at any time.

Board Member Michael Brister was absent and did not vote.

In other business, the board:

  • discussed the pending receipt of a $340,949 grant.
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Groveton celebrates athletes

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052721 banquet 2TONY FARKAS | TCNS Powerlifting Coach Mitchell Wheat displays a plaque to be placed with other school sports honors for the lifters who qualified for state.

By Tony Farkas

GROVETON — State qualifiers in cross country and powerlifting. District placing in numerous sports, such as track and volleyball. Grit, determination, heart.

These and more were celebrated at the Groveton ISD athletic banquet, held May 17 at the school.

Athletic Director Richard Steubing said the banquet was the first one in the five years he has been with the district, and the participants — coaches and players included — would be recognized.

The coaches all provided accolades to the students, saying that regardless of the wild ride the year was because of weather and COVID cancellations and quarantines, every player showed a competitive spirit worthy of the Groveton Indians.

Girls Basketball Coach Rogelyn Andrews said the first thing she thinks of when she thinks of her players is determination, since the team went “from the worst team in the district to the best team that Groveton has seen in years.”

Andrews told the students that grit and determination will follow them throughout their lives.

052721 banquet 3TONY FARKAS | TCNS The girls softball team giggle as they are introduced to the crowd by Coach Jim Dillard.

Girls Softball Coach Jim Dillard said that his team was the hallmark of overcoming adversity; Head Powerlifting Coach Jim Wheat said that while the pandemic and the weather made the season a challenge, the lifters were dominating, with all seniors qualifying for regional and four of them making the state meet.

Cross Country Coach Mary Lankford said that this year was a wild ride, but ended with eight girls participating in the state meet.

Lankford summed up the season for all sports by saying everyone made the most of the season.

052721 banquet 4TONY FARKAS | TCNS The boys baseball team introduce themselves at the Groveton ISD athletic banquet, held on May 17.

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New building, new business

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IMG 0418PHOTO COURTESY OF PHILIP SCHMITTEN

By Philip Schmitten
TCNS correspondent

TRINITY — Got a hankering for something sweet to start your day? Then just mosey over to the newly opened Spitfire Donut Shop in Downtown Trinity for the freshest donuts in town.

Dyna Hout and Pat Sokol are co-owners of the recently opened sweet shop. They own Spitfire Convenience Store in Pennington, as well.

"We love Trinity and thought that it needed us," said Pat Sokol. “We hired local employees from Trinity and are doing what we can to help the local economy.”

They offer breakfast, lunch and anytime smoothies. The hours are 4:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. Lunch is served 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

IMG 0426PHOTO COURTESY OF PHILIP SCHMITTEN Chrissy Stephens picks out a donut for a customer at the Spitfire Donut Shop.

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