San Jacinto County News - Breakout

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 All Curbs ribbon cutting at Coldspring Chamber of Commerce. Courtesy photo

Coldspring Library honored Darnell Schreiber last week for her fundraising efforts on behalf of the Children’s Section.

A ceremony where a plaque was installed in the Darnell Schreiber Children’s Reading Corner recognized her great efforts in creating the funds necessary for the delightful addition to the Library.

•Shepherd Library held Pamper Time this week where ladies were shown how to make their own sugar scrubs and bath salts. This was sponsored by Shepherd Super Center.

Coming up is the Tiny Art Show. The entries will be on show from May 22-24 for public voting. Call in then to be a voter.

The Library is advertising for a new part-time assistant. Call the library at (936) 628-3515 or City Hall at (936) 628-3305 for more details.

•Coldspring Chamber held a ribbon cutting for new member All Curbs last week. This is a very interesting business owned by Philip Allison which creates the most decorative concrete curbing for your garden, patios, playground and other areas which need some beautification.

Philip showed the Board how the machinery works to make the curbing look like cobbles or granite, slate or basketweave or one of the many other finishes which he can create. This is a new business to our area, based in Livingston and offering a free, no obligation, written estimate. Call (936) 247-2963 or go to www.All-Curbs.com.

Coldspring Chamber welcomes SAAFE House to the chamber which will have a ribbon cutting on June 1. SAAFE House is an organization dedicated to helping those in abusive situations. They have an office inside the Chamber building.

Shepherd Chamber is happy to welcome new member Nixon Adult Day Care in Shepherd. Nixon Day Care has also joined the Coldspring Chamber. Ribbon cuttings will be announced soon.

•Vendors: July 1 is Shepherd’s Independence Day Celebration. Held at the Community Center and Park, it is a great opportunity to sell your homemade items, artwork, jewelry, etc., to the community. Retail items are also welcome.

We have already booked many food vendors and will have a volleyball contest, children’s games, and a patriotic dress contest for adults, youth/children and pets. Our live music line up is fabulous with Bayou Sounds, a Zydeco band, and Mike L, a solo singer, to make the day perfect.

We will have the American Legion open the event and DJ Jaccen Lee to keep the music going. Call the Chamber at (210) 995-7420 to book your space inside the Center or outside. The day will begin at 1 p.m. although vendors can open early from 9 a.m. Fireworks will be at 9 p.m.

Contact the Shepherd Chamber at (936) 628-3890 or the Coldspring Chamber at (936) 653-2184.

Yvonne Cones is president of the Greater Shepherd Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Coldspring Chamber of Commerce.

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Shepherd ISD Coach Eldridge McAdams checks the roster of awards at the annual sports banquet. Photo by Tony Farkas

By Tony Farkas
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SHEPHERD — It was a banner year for athletics in the Shepherd ISD, with numerous firsts for the different sports.

At the annual athletic banquet on May 9, Athletic Director Miles Robison said the 2022-23 year will go down as one of the best years ever for the program, if not the best year.

He said most teams made the playoffs, and the Shepherd Lady Pirates softball teams won the district, bi-district and area championships for the first time. Additionally, 13 of the players were picked for all-district spots.

Other accomplishments include:

•breaking the school record in cross country and participating in regionals;

•earning a spot in the volleyball playoffs, which had not been done in 22 years;

•the junior varsity football team won district, and the varsity quarterback, H.D. Green, broke 1,000 yards rushing;

•the baseball team reached the playoffs;

•the powerlifting team dominated every meet, and sent Celine Orozco to state; and

•the tennis squad made the regional tournament for the first time.

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Special to the News-Times

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas 8, the Vice Chair of Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee on the Homeland Security Committee, lauded the House passing the Secure the Border Act.

However, he lamented Democratic resistance to the measure.

“I am proud to have helped craft and voted for the Secure the Border Act that will take back control of our borders, establish crucial immigration policies, and make our country safe again,” Luttrell said. “It is unfortunate that rather than addressing one of the most important issues to Americans, my colleagues across the aisle railed against legislation that would secure President Biden’s open border, which has led to a fentanyl crisis, attempted crossings by terrorists, and unchecked child exploitation. While the Biden Administration and Democrats continue to be extraordinarily unserious about the border crisis, House Republicans are delivering on our promise to secure our border and keep Americans safe.”

Luttrell and his Republican colleagues on the Committee on Homeland Security traveled to McAllen for a field hearing on the border crisis where he heard testimonies from Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Texas Department of Public Safety, Kinney County Sheriff, and National Border Patrol Council.

In April, CHS also heard testimony from Secretary Mayorkas. During this hearing, Luttrell challenged Mayorkas about the ongoing fentanyl crisis that has been exacerbated by the Administration’s open border policies, while having two parents in attendance who have lost children to drug overdoses.

The legislation passed today included provisions specifically drafted by Congressman Luttrell:

•Publication by CBP of operational statistics — Requires Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to report Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) hits and whether the individuals were released into the interior of the United States, in addition to reports on got-away numbers.

•Report to Congress on terrorist crossings — Requires a report to Congress detailing which terrorist organizations are attempting to exploit the northern, southern, and maritime borders to get their members in.

Morgan Luttrell represents District 8, which includes San Jacinto County, in the Texas Legislature.

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By Tony Farkas
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COLDSPRING — In light of the recent mass killings in San Jacinto County, residents came to the San Jacinto County Commissioners Court looking to have the Sheriff’s Office fully staffed.

George Deeter said that while all the accolades were to be given to the Sheriff’s Office for the arrests in the catastrophe that occurred, they need to be fully staffed and equipped.

“You have tasked the Sheriff in covering 700 square miles of the county, but have not provided the necessary funds for the Sheriff’s Office to have a full staff,” he said.

Deeter said he was fearful during the manhunt because he was not sure where the suspect was going to land.

However, court officials told Deeter that the office had the funds available to be fully staffed, and had the paperwork to back it up, but there was a hiring problem statewide.

Deeter said there has to be a way to make people interested in working for the Sheriff.

“Between the five of you sitting up there, and with the county and the residents, we need to solve this,” he said.

Commissioner Donnie Marrs said that the hiring shortage was due to people not wanting to work as police due to the way they are treated, and that, combined with shortage in proper equipment, including vehicles, leave people demoralized.

In other business, the court:

•approved a bid of $43,300 on the sale of several lots of land owned by the county;

•approved the bond renewal for Jaclyn Williams;

•approved a lot split in the Tomiko Brown survey for J. Moore;

•approved seeking bids for an asphalt grinder/reclaimer for Precincts 1 and 3; and

•approved seeking bids for a Maxxum tractor.