San Jacinto County News - Breakout

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Special to the News-Times

COLDSPRING — January is School Board Recognition Month in Texas and Coldspring-Oakhurst CISD is proud to honor and celebrate its board of trustees. 

“These selfless men and women are elected volunteers who spend long hours in training, planning, and a multitude of meetings every year to ensure all of our students have the opportunity to learn and grow,” said COCISD Superintendent Dr. Bryan Taulton. “They truly care about our students, families, staff, and community.”

The school board members who serve our district are President Paul Buchanan, Vice President Daniel Williams, Secretary Tony Sewell, Trustee William B. Baker, Trustee Berlin Bradford, Trustee Barbara Moore and Trustee Ashney Shelly.

“School boards are essential to a strong public education system,” said Texas Association of School Boards Executive Director Dan Troxell. “They provide the local governance and oversight that makes it possible for school districts to serve students, including establishing a strategic plan, adopting policies, approving a budget, and selecting and evaluating a superintendent. It’s fitting that we celebrate them in January as their leadership is key to the success of every school district in Texas.”

The COCISD Board of Trustees will be honored at this month’s regular meeting on Monday, Jan. 24, at the Jones Educational Complex Auditorium. Meetings start at 6:30 p.m.

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The December Anchor Award staff recipient are (from left) Adrian Porrata- Doria, Shepherd High School; Jessica Moheng, Shepherd Intermediate School; and San Juanita Cruz, Transportation. Anne Gallmeier of Shepherd High School was the November recipient.

By Tony Farkas
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SHEPHERD — The Shepherd ISD Board of Managers additional pay for good grades.

The Board, at its regular meeting on Dec. 16, approved a pay plan which will reward all teachers and staff for good grades, which will be determined by state evaluations.

Superintendent Jason Hewitt said that the “performance pay matrix” is two-pronged, and depending upon teacher and campus success, employees could see bonuses from $1,000 to $5,000.

Hewitt said the plan encompasses all teachers, including CTE teachers, as well as all employees and support staff.

Based on state rankings, teachers graded A will receive $5,000, B gets $3,000 and C’s will receive $1,000.

All staff members are eligible to receive a stipend based on campus grades; those are A, $1,000; B, $750; and C, $250.

Hewit said that the new matrix took effect immediately, although the grading won’t be done until the summer months.

In a separate matter, the Board approved the financial audit report for last year, which came back with an unmodified opinion, the highest result. Hewitt said the district has been able to put about $1 million into its fund balance.

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Special to the News-Times

COLDSPRING — This first of many Community Services Program meetings is scheduled for Tuesday, and Sheriff Greg Capers looks to step up law enforcement in San Jacinto County with the help of the community.

Part of the sheriff’s program initiative is to provide to the community safeguard measures to help county residents from becoming a victim of a variety of crimes. 

One such crime that is becoming a large problem in the area is people finding paper stuck to the rear windshield, which could lead to carjacking or worse.

The obstruction can be a ruse to allow a thief to get into a vehicle with the keys and other items, leading to a person’s entire life in jeopardy.

Law enforcement personnel offer suggestions should this happen, victims should drive away and remove the item later.

This type of information and more will be available at the Sheriff’s Office of Community Service Program. Capers said that county residents should plan to attend and bring a friend or neighbor along with a list of questions and concerns that are important to the community.

The meeting is set for 7 p.m. Jan. 11 at the Sheriff’s Office, 75 W. Cedar Ave., in Coldspring.

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By Tony Farkas
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Many of us would agree that 2021 was not as bad as some of the year’s past — dealing with COVID crises, terrible economies and strange elections — but still it had some items of interest to keep the year lively and interesting.

Here, in no particular order, are some of the highlights of the last year.

Weather

It isn’t often that those of us in East Texas can complain about winter weather, but we got that chance when a week in February dropped snow on the ground and temperatures into single digits.

So with record low temperatures and uncharacteristic snowfall, San Jacinto County came to a standstill.

Schools were closed, roads were closed for ice, pipes burst, water mains ruptured and sewers and homes suffered damage. Even more disastrous was the electrical grid being unable to handle the load, and power companies were forced to start rolling blackouts to stave off a larger blackout.

Water had to be shipped it to give residents something to drink, because many areas were put under a boil water notice.

Rainfall also posed a problem in the first half of the year, with most of the annual rainfall soaking the ground by June. And in May, just under 14 inches of rain fell.

The result was that construction projects were delayed, travel was discouraged and even school buses had to be rerouted because of impassable roads.

Changes

There were several changes in the county, most notably in leadership, as 24-year political veteran Kevin Brady decided to retire from his position as U.S. Representative for District 8.

Brady said it was just time to bring in fresh faces and fresh ideas.

Coldspring-Oakhurst school district, however, gained a superintendent after hiring Dr. Bryan Taulton.

Taulton had served previously in Goodrich ISD.

Lunch order

The city of Coldspring gave a rapid response after a customer of a local diner decided to pick up his to-go order in a helicopter.

Mayor Pro Tem John Benestante said that on April 2, while he was working in his vineyard, he noticed a R44 model helicopter circling the area.

He then received a call that a nearby restaurant, The Hop, on Texas 150, had a helicopter landing in a yard. Apparently, the pilot had called in a burger order for himself and a passenger, and told the person taking the order he was flying in to pick it up.

Benestante, who had previously worked with the FAA and had some familiarity with requirements, told the pilot he had to have the property owner’s permission to land; the pilot claimed he had it.

Coldspring Mayor Pat Eversole, who owns The Hop as well as the property, said she was unaware of the incident, and said she did not give anyone permission to land near her business.

In response, the city passed an ordinance banning such landings.

Standoffs

Twice during the summer, once in June and once in July, people held Sheriff’s Deputies at bay by barricading themselves in homes.

In June, a 39-year-old Cleveland man told police he was tired of living and kept officers away for three hours while holding a rifle and threatening harm to himself.

After lengthy communication, the man allowed deputies access, and he was transferred to a hospital for evaluation.

A month later, a 36-year-old former Coldspring resident held his parents hostage for about four hours when deputies attempted to arrest him on a Harris County warrant for murder.

The parents were extricated from the home without harm, and later, the Harris County SWAT team was able to arrest the suspect.

Landfill

A proposed landfill has residents in the southwest part of the county petitioning the County Commissioners Court for help to get it stopped.

Residents have repeatedly sought help from the county, and have spoken at every meeting since June.

Concerns about safety, the environment, polluted ground and surface water and the effect on area crops and animals have been voiced to both the state TCEQ and the county.

Residents continue to oppose the effort.

Sports

While not a Cinderella story, the Coldspring-Oakhurst Trojans put up an exceptional performance in this year’s football season, making it to the first round of the playoffs.

The team went 5-1 in District play, and 7-3 overall.

It was the second year in a row that the Trojans posted good numbers, an accomplishment after the shortened 2019 season.