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Mount Pleasant Tribune www.TribNow.com 147th Year • No. 35 Mount Pleasant, Texas Saturday, May 1, 2021 75¢ Local man arrested for possession of child pornography By DI DUNCAN [email protected] A Mount Pleasant man has been arrested for pos- session of child pornography after Titus County Sher- iff ’s Office received a tip describing his alleged crimi- nal activity on Wednesday. Ramiro Perez Garcia, 40, was arrested and booked into the Titus County Jail after Investigator Sergeant Scott Wildey succeeded in obtaining an arrest warrant. At arraignment, Garcia’s bond was set at $1 million. Katie Andrade COURTESY PHOTO This arrest is far from Garcia’s first brush with law enforcement. In November of 1999, he was arrested for indecency with a child, and following that, was Governor Abbott arrested numerous times from 2002 to 2014 for al- cohol-involved incidents, including making alcohol appoints Andrade to available to a minor. Over 20 years, Garcia created numerous aliases for himself. He has been known as Andres Guerro, Arturo Texas State Board of Perez Ramirez, Arturo Ramirez Perez, Arturo Garcia Perez, and Arturo Garcia. Social Worker Examiners If convicted, Garcia faces a third-degree felony pun- FROM STAFF REPORTS ishable by 2 to 10 years of incarceration and a fine up to $10,000. Garcia Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Katie Andrade to the Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners for a term set to expire on February 1, 2027. The board is responsible for regulating the practice of social work in Texas. Takeback Day brings in 249 lbs Katie Andrade of Mt. Pleasant is a Licensed Master’s Social Worker at Titus Regional Medical Center. She is a member of the National Association of Social Work- of prescription drugs ers and the National Society of Leadership and Success. She is a former member of the Texas A&M University By DI DUNCAN 50% of all unintentional overdose deaths. – Commerce Honor Society and previously interned [email protected] Most teenagers who abuse prescription drugs say in the Master’s Social Workers Program with Commu- they are given to them for free by a friend or relative. nities in Schools. Andrade received both a Bachelor of Overdose deaths in Texas have long been an issue, but, Free access to opioid painkillers makes these teens 40 Arts and Master of Arts in Social Work from Texas A&M according to DSHS, overdoses have increased during times more likely to become addicted to heroin. Ac- University – Commerce. the pandemic. The average number of deaths per month cording to the CDC, opioids (including prescription opi- Andrade said that it’s “such an honor to be chosen to due to overdose rose from 114 in 2019 to 157 deaths per oids and heroin) killed more than 33,000 people in 2015. be a member of the Texas Board of Social Workers for month in the first eight months of 2020. DSHS states the next 6 years.” This appointment is subject to Senate confirmation. that since 2017, opioids have been involved with about See TAKEBACK Page 2 Titus Regional CEO Terry Scoggin said, “On the behalf of Titus Regional Medical Center, we want to congratulate Katie on this honor and huge accom- plishment. She is a huge asset to OUR community! Chism recognized as Top Coach in State Katie exemplifies our mission of creating healthier tomorrows and will be a great ambassador of rural healthcare at the state and federal level.” County holds only 17 active cases of COVID-19 Vaccines plentiful By DI DUNCAN [email protected] As of Friday, Titus County is home to only 17 ac- tive cases of COVID-19, just months after active cas- es were in the hundreds. More than 3,500 locals have recovered from the virus. Vaccines are also plentiful in the area currently. Coach Chism calls out a play in the regional semi-final game vs Lancaster. COURTESY PHOTO / JOHN WHITTEN According to DSHS, currently, Walmart Pharmacy has 100 doses of Moderna, CVS Pharmacy has 989 By DREW BARKLEY gion 2. This is the second year Chism has been nom- doses of Pfizer, Super 1 Pharmacy has 40 doses of inated for the award after his team finished with a Moderna, Wellness Pointe has 150 doses of Moder- Mount Pleasant High School basketball coach Joey 27-1 overall record falling in the regional semi-finals na, Thurman’s Pro-Med Pharmacy has 1,060 doses Chism continues to be recognized as one of the top to #1 Lancaster by a mere 2 points. Mount Pleasant of Moderna, and Titus Regional has 1,700 doses of coaches in the state of Texas. Not only was he select- finished ranked as high as #3 in the state this past Moderna and 6,528 doses of the Pfizer vaccine. ed District 15-5A Coach of the Year, but the Texas As- season. Chism was last nominated four years ago Currently, in local residents age 16 and older, sociation of Basketball Coaches recently nominated when he led Mount Pleasant to their first regional 30.33% have received one dose of the vaccine and him for the Don Coleman Outstanding Coach Award. tournament appearance in school history. 19.66% are fully vaccinated. In seniors (those 65 and Only four coaches from class 5A were selected for the older), 55.38% have received one dose, and 46.75% honor with Chism being the sole nominee from Re- See CHISM Page 3 are fully vaccinated. Cypress Bank Supporting East Texas 1312 South Jefferson Mt. Pleasant, TX. 75455 Law Enforcement 903-572-9856 BECOME A MEMBER TODAY www.CypressBankTX.com www.easttexas100club.org Page 2 • TribNow.com NEWS May 1, 2021 COVID-19 Recovery Frankie and Henrietta King give Clinic opens $600 for Work4College to help patients with lingering health issues Tyler, Texas (April 29, 2021) — UT Health East Texas Physicians on Monday will open a COVID-19 Recovery Clinic at UT Health North Campus Tyler that is designed to treat patients who have recov- ered from COVID-19 but continue to experience lin- gering health issues. At the clinic, a multidisciplinary team will screen, assess, treat and provide referrals for patients who continue to experience negative health effects from COVID-19. The team includes representatives from pulmonary and critical care medicine, phys- ical therapy, occupational therapy, speech thera- py, respiratory therapy, dietary, behavioral health and clinical research. Leading the team will be Dr. Frankie and Henrietta King recently presented the Northeast Texas Community College Foundation with a check for $600. The gift provides a scholar- Megan Devine, who is board certified in pulmo- ship for a Work4College student. The Kings (center) are pictured presenting the check to Nita May (left), NTCC Director of Development, and Dr. Jon- nary and critical care medicine; Dr. Renee Hebbel- athan McCullough (right), NTCC Executive Vice President for Advancement. To learn more about the unique Work4College program and how it allows students to earn money for college through meaningful campus jobs, visit www.work4college.com or call Mason May at 903-434-8246. er-Clark, who is board certified in critical care and COURTESY PHOTO infectious disease medicine; and Tara Sadler, APRN, MSN, FNP-C. Those who have recovered from COVID-19 but continue to experience symptoms, including but Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Patrick, not limited to the following, may benefit from treat- ment at the clinic: Speaker Phelan announce $11.2 billion in • Decreased exercise tolerance, including shortness of breath • Headaches, dizziness, hair loss, prolonged loss of new funding for public schools taste or smell Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan have the necessary resources to help Texas students re- • Cognitive conditions including memory loss, Patrick, and Speaker Dade Phelan recently announced cover from learning loss related to COVID-19,” said Gov- brain fog or mental fatigue the release of $11.2 billion in new federal funds to help ernor Abbott. “Two years ago, the Legislature passed, • Mood disorders such as anxiety, depression or public schools address student learning loss and costs and I signed historic school finance legislation to en- post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These sure education funding was more equitable and that we The clinic also will participate in research studies one-time funds are intended to support a comprehen- fund schools in part on their ability to ensure students designed to combat post COVID-19 syndrome. sive learning recovery effort in Texas over the next three are ready for higher education or a career. To ensure this “COVID-19 has impacted our community in a years. Due to federal requirements, two-thirds of the pandemic does not become a generational education number of ways. Thanks to COVID-19 vaccines, we funds are available immediately under grants admin- crisis, we expect, and students deserve, for this funding are starting to see life return to some semblance of istered by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), with the to be used to remediate the progress lost due to the pan- normal. But, that’s not the case for many who were final one-third to be distributed contingent upon ap- demic. This will ensure that Texas students will be ready infected with COVID-19,” said Megan Devine, MD. proval by the U.S. Department of Education. to fill the jobs created in and attracted to this state.” “While they are no longer infected by the virus, Given the complicated nature of the federal main- “Throughout the challenges of the pandemic over the they continue to deal with the aftereffects, which tenance of effort requirements and the enormity of last year, I have worked to ensure the state maintains the can range from the inconvenient to debilitating.