North & East Texas
Anderson County received a state grant of $60,000 for replacement of county bridges.
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Cherokee County Commissioners Court appointed veteran lawyer Dana Norris Young as interim county attorney. She replaces Kelley Peacock, who was appointed interim county court at law judge.
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Ellis County received a homeland security grant of $558,000 from the North Central Texas Council of Governments for more upgrades of emergency communications. Ellis County recently erected a new radio tower.
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Falls County Commissioners Court voted to install a new security system for the courthouse funded with a grant of $17,050.
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Franklin County courthouse is scheduled to reopen in September after renovation by MMI General Contractors of Weatherford.
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Hopkins County has a new County Judge. Robert Newsom, former 8th judicial district judge, was appointed to replace Chris Brown, who resigned to become executive director of the Ark-Tex Council of Governments.
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Hunt County Commissioners Court approved tax abatements and a tax reinvestment zone for International Grains and Cereal for a state-of-the-art agricultural manufacturing facility.
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Johnson County Commissioners Court approved an agreement with Tyler Technologies for a software program to share information with other counties, including jail, adult probation, constables, and county and district courts. Commissioner Court also voted to close parts of four county roads for the opening of Chisholm Trail Parkway, a toll road from Cleburne to downtown Fort Worth scheduled to open this year.
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Kaufman County Commissioners Court approved the sale of 50 acres of land for $18,000 per acre to Kaufman ISD, which plans to build a high school building.
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Liberty County Commissioners Court approved the purchase of radios for $176,488 for emergency management through an agreement with Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council.
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Limestone County received the five-star award for the clerk’s office from the Texas registrar for filing county records, managing registration, security of records, and an on-site assessment by the state.
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McLennan County Commissioners Court selected Tex 1 Security of Waco to increase security at the records building and 74th District Court to prepare for an accelerated court docket.
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Polk County Commissioners Court voted to lease about 20 acres of land below Lake Livingston dam for 99 years to East Texas Electric Cooperative, which is proposing a new 24-megawatt hydroelectric plant.
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Rains County Commissioners Court approved $20,000 from the child safety fund for Rains ISD to purchase a nationwide database system for background checks with drivers’ licenses, and cameras for the student parking lot and ADEP classroom.
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Robertson County held open house Jan. 25 for its newly renovated courthouse, a 133-year-old building that was remodeled by J.E. Kingham Construction of Nacogdoches.
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Van Zandt County received a $30,000 solid waste management grant for nuisance abatement to enable the county to hire an additional employee. Commissioners Court also approved the purchase of a mobile command unit.
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Walker County is opening a new jail, a state-of-the-art facility of 75,000 square feet for up to 260 prisoners that cost $18 million.
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South Texas
Aransas County Commissioners Court accepted a bid of
$6.7 million from RLB Contracting of Port Lavaca for the Cedar Bayou-Vinson Slough restoration project.
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Brazoria County Commissioners Court approved tax abatements for Phillips 66, which is planning a $2.2 billion project that is now in the engineering design phase for a liquefied petroleum export terminal at its existing terminal in Freeport. They also approved tax abatements for BASF and Freeport Welding.
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Caldwell County Commissioners Court approved contracts totaling $7.5 million for renovation of a former Walmart building into a judicial service center.
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Calhoun County Commissioners Court voted to pay $30,000 for management services to develop Green Lake as a public park. They accepted a grant of $27,543 from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission for public defense lawyers.
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Colorado County Commissioners Court authorized grants totaling $78,250 to fire departments and $22,000 to libraries in the county.
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Fort Bend County held dedication ceremonies Jan. 19 for the
$6 million restoration of its 105-year-old courthouse. Also, Fort Bend received a grant of $49,875 to assist in enforcement of laws governing tobacco use by minors.
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Harris County selected Dr. Regenia Hicks, former deputy director of MHMR of Harris County, to direct the development of a pilot program for mental health jail diversion. The state will provide $5 million a year in funding.
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Hidalgo County tax department will collect and send to the state from the county’s nine private hospitals
3.5 percent of their profits – $44 million according to the Advance News Journal – for indigent health care.
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Jim Wells County Commissioners Court has joined the city of Alice in approving economic development incentives for Adni-Bel One Investments, which is planning to build about 100 single-family homes.
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Kleberg County Commissioners Court approved the purchase of 17 iPads for $16,490 to expand the use of new election software and enhance the process of qualifying voters during primary elections in March.
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Lavaca County Commissioners Court approved two additional plaques at the courthouse honoring local military veterans who died in the Korean and Vietnam wars to be displayed adjacent to plaques honoring veterans of World War I and II. Also, the county received a donation of $35,000 from Dickson-Allen Foundation for records retention.
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Matagorda County Commissioners Court awarded an emergency contract of $92,000 to Wakefield Construction of Corpus Christi to replace a bridge on Cash Creek that serves at least one bus route to an elementary school.
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Refugio County Commissioners Court approved fire protection contracts with VFDs in Tivoli, Woodsboro, Austwell, Bayside and Refugio.
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Travis County Commissioners Court established a fund with
$2.1 million to buy homes damaged in unincorporated areas of the county in floods last year. Also, Commissioners Court voted to require background checks for sales at gun shows in the Travis County Exposition Center.
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Victoria County Commissioners Court approved a donation to the sheriff’s office for the purchase of a drug dog.
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Washington County Commissioners Court approved the purchase of a defibrillator and a chest compressions system for EMS with a grant of $11,000 to help reimburse some costs.
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Willacy County Commissioners Court received a grant of $323,000 to provide a total of about 100 radios to all county volunteer firefighters. The Raymondville Chronicle said Willacy is the second county in Texas to provide radios for all of its volunteer firefighters.
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Williamson County has a new healthcare program that will serve uninsured or under-insured residents with income too high to qualify for the indigent care program. The health district will administer the program in a partnership with St. David’s Hospital, Samaritans Health Ministry, and Lone Star Circle of Care.
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West Texas
Andrews County Commissioners Court approved a contract of $618,408 with Kofile of Dallas to scan plat, probate and property records dating back to 1910. They also contracted with Air MedCare Network for air medical transportation.
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Bailey County Commissioners Court approved a contract with Certified Payments to allow residents to make online payments and credit card payments to the county tax assessor and the district and county clerk’s office.
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Brewster County has a new treasurer. Della Shackelford, who was most recently employed by the 83rd district attorney, was appointed to replace Carol Ofenstein, who retired Jan. 1.
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Dickens County Commissioners Court awarded a contract of
$1.8 million to Collier Construction Co. of Lubbock for constructing a courthouse annex.
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Kerr County Commissioners Court approved up to $4 million in certificates of obligation for improvement projects in six county departments, including a new fire station, technology, security enhancements, and vehicles for the sheriff’s office.
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Llano County Commissioners Court approved a contract with Performance Facility Services, a Way Co., for energy services. PFS evaluated Llano’s energy usage, heating and cooling units, and lighting to recommend a program that will cost a total of $904,380 and is designed for savings on maintenance, capital expenditures, and energy use. It will include replacing 44 air conditioning units and upgrading 1,100 light fixtures.
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Lynn County received a grant from South Plains Association of Governments for its solid waste department.
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Parker County Commissioners Court approved a bid of $188,000 from Kofile of Dallas to restore and preserve county documents dating back to the 1870s.
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Presidio County received a total of $495,000 of state funding for renovations at Marfa Municipal Airport and Lely International Airport in Presidio, including engineering and design for pavement and hanger improvements.
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Randall County Commissioners Court approved the purchase of a building, The Courts of Amarillo, and 87 acres of land for $2.5 million. The athletics facility will be used for training for the sheriff’s and fire departments, storage, and junior livestock show events.
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Scurry County Commissioners Court approved a move for the Boys and Girls Club to be operated by the county effective April 1. The county also operates the senior citizens center.
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Tom Green County Commissioners Court appointed Becky Robles as interim tax assessor-collector after the death of Cindy Jetton. Robles, previously chief deputy tax assessor-collector, will serve until Dec. 31.
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Winkler County has a new tax assessor-collector. Minerva Soltero was appointed by Commissioners Court to replace Patti Franks, who resigned after working for the county for 36 years.
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Wise County Commissioners Court voted to remove the animal shelter from supervision of the sheriff’s office and create an independent department with its own annual budget. Two animal control enforcement officers will remain with the sheriff. H
–Compiled by Garner Roberts