Commissioners appoint Veterans Service Officer

CROCKETT – At the regular meeting of the Houston County Commissioner’s Court held on Tuesday, March 14, the court approved the appointment of Dustin Persons as the new Veterans Service Officer.

Commissioner Willie Kitchens said the application process “was an eye-opening experience” and stated that most people aren’t aware of what these veterans are going through.

Both Kitchens and Judge Jim Lovell thanked veterans for their service, saying that “we need to be more aware of the sacrifices that they’ve made” and that veterans haven’t gotten the benefits they deserve upon their return home. After introducing himself to the court and sharing a little of his background, he made the statement that there are more veterans per capita in the East Texas area than in the whole state of Texas, and he looked forward to working with them.

During the session, the court also approved the following:

•Hiring a part-time road hand and a full-time jailer, the

•purchase/rental agreement for a Country Pure water machine with two bottles per month in the amount of $37.97 each for JP #1 and JP #2 offices, the

•the contract with the Texas Association of Counties Health and Employee Benefits Pool for required Affordable Care Act Reporting and Tracking Services (ARTS), designating the County Treasurer as the primary contact,

• the renewal of the lease agreement between Brenda Stubblefield and Houston County Road and Bridge Precinct #4,

• a donation of $2,000.00 from C & C Logging for improvements to County Road 3080 located in Precinct 2, and,

• purchase of road equipment using funding from the American Rescue Plan Act [ARPA] and renewal and/or consolidating lease-purchase agreements with Citizens National Bank maturing March 23, for the motorgraders for Precincts 1 and 2.