Polk County News - Breakout

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Livingston High School one-act play is advancing to regionals. Students are performing The Velveteen Rabbit, which they will continue Friday at Carthage High School, the regional host. Award winners for Livingston include (pictured L-R) are Sofia Fitzgerald for All-Star Tech, Caleb Fleming for All-Star Cast, Luci Chambers (LHS Theatre Arts Teacher), Aiden Hopkins for All-Star Cast, and Diego Cuevas for Honorable Mention Cast. 

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From Enterprise Staff

The Onalaska City Council took action on several resolutions related to grant activity during a special called meeting Wednesday.

Resolution 2024-010 regarding the civil rights policies for the General Land Office (GLO) Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation Method of Distribution Program, Contract #24-065-049-E541 including Citizen Participation Plan Resolution 22-017 (Reaffirm), Excessive Force Policy, Section 504 Grievance Policy, Section 3 Policy and (Reaffirm) Fair Housing Policy Resolution2022-021 was approved.

Resolution 2024-011 designating authorized signatories for contractual and financial documents pertaining to the GLO Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation Method of Distribution Program, Contract #24-065-049-E541 was approved.

Proclamation 2024-001 “Reaffirming Fair Housing Month Proclamation 22-001, Proclamation of April as Fair Housing Month” was approved.

Resolution 2024-012-Amendment No. 1 for the grant administration and environmental services contract for the Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation Method of Distribution Program Contract #24-065-049-E541 was approved.

Resolution 2024-013-Amendment No. 1 for the engineering services contract for the Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation Method of Distribution Program Contract #24-065-049-E541 was approved.

 

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By Brian Besch 
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The Goodrich ISD School Board approved cafeteria purchases and heard maintenance updates for April’s regular meeting Thursday in the administration building.

Students in English as a second language are required each year to test in Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS). The test has four different categories that include listening, speaking, reading and writing. In order to exit the ESL program, students must reach an advanced score. Goodrich principal Aubrey Vaughan said the district had a procedural irregularity, missing the window for the students to test.

“We have a couple of different calendars,” Vaughan said. “We have a paper calendar we send out and a Google calendar with our testing assessment dates on there. The date on that calendar was incorrect. We’ve made some adjustments. This will not happen again, but we should have tested them by March 29. We were scheduled on our Google calendar for April 22.”

Vaughan said missing it will impact the district’s accountability rating, as 3% comes from this exam.

Goodrich ISD finance manager Sarah Fulcher said the school district will apply for two grants in the following weeks. The first is a rural education achievement program that is applied for every year. This year, the grant is worth $11,750, and Fulcher said Goodrich applies every year and receives this grant. The other possibility is a safety cycle II grant for $150,000.

Goodrich superintendent Daniel Barton said he and Vaughn attended a safety meeting led by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office last week. The school district will review current operations plan that is submitted to sheriff’s department, which is submitted annually.

Goodrich ISD also holds its own safety meeting that is attended by a representative of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, as well as Office of Emergency Management’s Courtney Comstock. Another will take place in June to review upgrades and safety and plans for the future.

Barton said the old gym developed a leak after the storms last week. The theater flooded, which has not occurred since adjustments were made to the culvert. There’s also a leak in the fitness center, prompting the superintendent to call TASB risk management to file a claim. He said an adjuster has been sent and a forensic engineer will stop by soon to look at the roof on the old gym and the reason behind the flooding. Barton said the old gym will probably need to change to a seamless roof, where the solar panel system can be attached with clips instead of holes drilled.

Bids are currently being taken for an intercom and bell system. Barton said if the school district pays for that system, it can likely be reimbursed through safety grants later.

In business items, the board approved egress bars in the cafeteria and lower elementary door locks. The district has upgraded all its doors on campus through Esser funds. Also approved was cafeteria equipment, including an electric countertop convection steamer, a tray rack, and a milk cooler for a total of over $22,000.

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From Enterprise Staff

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its first-ever limits for five “forever chemicals” in drinking water April 10. While there are more than 12,000 types of individual forever chemicals, the new EPA standards set limits for five of them, including “PFAS.”

PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a family of chemicals used since the 1940s to repel oil and water and resist heat. PFAS are a key component of firefighting foam. It is easily dissolved in water, which allows it to seep into the soil, groundwater and aquifers. PFAS are considered a “forever chemical” because they do not naturally break down and can remain in the soil and water indefinitely.

The new standards require all public water utility systems to submit PFAS data to the EPA. So far, only about 24% of them have submitted the data nationally, including 49 public water utility systems in Texas, one of which is the City of Livington’s.

“The City of Livingston has a 50-year contract in which it purchases surface water from Lake Livingston through the Trinity River Authority, ensuring its citizens will have water for years to come. That surface water is treated at the Trinity River Authority Water Treatment Plant, of which the city has exclusive rights,” Livingston City Manager Bill S. Wiggins said. “We’ve spoken with TRA. They are aware of it and are on top of it. They are being very proactive.”

The EPA expects all data to be submitted by 2026. As far as compliance goes, the EPA has stated that public water systems must complete initial PFAS monitoring and begin notifying the public about these findings by 2027. Additionally, public water systems with PFAS levels above the new MCLs must start implementing solutions to reduce PFAS levels by 2029.