Trinity County News 2

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By Tony Farkas

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GROVETON — A request for pay raises for dispatchers and jailers by Sheriff Woody Wallace touched off an argument over timing and budgets.

At the July 27 meeting of the Trinity County Commissioners’ Court, Wallace had submitted requests for four employees, currently making between $9-$10 per hour, to be paid $14 per hour.

While initially against the raises, the county relented and approved a $12 per hour rate, but not before tempers flared.

“We’re taxing the people, we might as well pay our people better salaries,” Wallace said. “Is there any opposition to that, or do we want to defund the police by not funding them properly? Because that’s what we’re doing.”

Wallace said that neighboring counties are paying $14 per hour, and his employees are looking elsewhere.

However, the county had just commissioned a salary study, which was to be incorporated into the Fiscal Year 2021-22 budget, which becomes effective Oct. 1, two months away.

Commissioner Mike Loftin said he calculated that to begin paying these employees now as opposed to Oct. 1 would cost the county $5,331.

Wallace countered, saying that these employees are answering 911 calls, taking hundreds of calls a day while dealing with walk-ins, all in a stressful environment.

“I welcome anyone to come over and sit through a 12-hour shift and see if you would do it for $9 an hour,” he said.

Commissioner Steven Truss said that the new budget will take effect in October, but Wallace said he will lose several employees before then, and has no applicants for open positions now.

“They are starving to death; this is wrong,” Wallace said. “I don’t understand why we are against paying the females of this county a little money.”

Commissioner Tommy Park said that several months ago, the county denied a raise for a 30-plus-year employee, and if they were to approve raises now, they needed to approve that one as well; Loftin said that they would then have to provide raises for every county employee.

Commissioner Neal Smith said that someone in the Sheriff’s Office wasn’t paying attention to the people, citing a 2014 agreement made between the Sheriff and the Trinity Police Department to hire dispatchers at $10, made to stop employees from swapping jobs.

Wallace said that he’s not asking for the county to borrow money, but to have some compassion for its employees.

County Judge Doug Page said that with the new salary survey in place, there was going to be some good increases within the new budget for dispatchers and jailers in the new budget cycle.

Smith also said that last year, the Sheriff’s Office was $159,000 over budget in the jail, and this year is tracking to be $100,000 over, and that Wallace should manage his department better. Wallace said that since he took office, the county no longer has to borrow funds to run the jail, and he’s just asking for a few thousand dollars to pay his people.

Since a new dispatcher was hired at $12, commissioners unanimously approved raises for other employees at the same rate.

In other business, the county:

• declared office equipment as surplus and salvage;
• approved the sale of three pickup trucks from Precinct 3 by sealed bid;
• discussed the quarterly audit;
• approved the FY 2020 audit, which was given an unmodified opinion;
• approved a lease for a copier for the Sheriff’s Office; and
• held budget workshops for county departments.

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Special to the News-Standard

TRINITY — While the details surrounding the July 23 death of two men near White Rock City Marina remains unknown, they have been identified.

Bruce Devlyn Sutton, no age given, of Point Blank, and Eric Franklin Womack, no age given, of Trinity, were found dead.

The bodies of the two men were recovered Friday after officers responded to a caller reporting a body floating on a private lake near the marina, according to police reports.

Deputies and game wardens retrieved the body, and officers noticed what appeared to be vehicle tracks leading into the water.

Game wardens were able to use the sonar on a boat to locate a vehicle submerged in about 12 feet of water. A second man was discovered inside the truck that was pulled from the lake by a wrecker service.

DPS Troopers were called to investigate, and Justice of the Peace Lyle Stubbs pronounced the two dead at the scene.

The investigation continues, and autopsies were ordered to determine the cause of death, the reports state.

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Trinity County Sheriff’s Office deputies examine a vehicle that was pulled from a private lake at the scene where two men were found dead. (Courtesy Photo)

Special to the News-Standard

TRINITY — The Trinity County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of two men.

The identities of the two men are not being released at this time. 

The bodies of two men were recovered Friday after officers responded to a caller reporting a body floating on a private lake near White Rock City Marina, according to police reports.

Deputies and game wardens retrieved the body, and officers noticed what appeared to be vehicle tracks leading into the water. 

Game wardens were able to use the sonar on a boat to locate a vehicle submerged in about 12 feet of water. A second man was discovered inside the truck that was pulled from the lake. 

DPS Troopers were called to investigate the crash. 

The investigation continues, and no other details are available at this time.

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By Tony Farkas
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GROVETON — The Trinity County Commissioners’ Court will be on the side of Trinity Cove’s POA in helping abate some nuisances located within the subdivision.

At its regular meeting on July 12, the court set a public hearing for Aug. 10 into a list of 12 properties in Trinity Cove that have been deemed public nuisances.

County Judge Doug Page said the county had taken this matter up about 1 ½ years ago, under former County Attorney Joe Warner Bell, but did not finish the matter. Bell was defeated in a subsequent election, and the matter went dormant.

The current attorney, Colton Hay, said that it needed to be revived, and the commissioners agreed.

 In other business, the county:

• approved bids for the sale of tax resale properties submitted by the County Appraisal District;
• approved the deletion of Crabapple Lane from the county’s 911 addressing map;
• approved the purchase of body cameras for the county’s four constables, and signed an agreement with WatchGuard Video Inc. to that effect;
• approved new private road in the Colt Ranch Land Development, designated Colt Lane;
• approved designating east and west directions for Sixth through 11^thstreets in Milltown, based on location relative to Avenue A;
• discussed a new city ordinance for the city of Trinity requiring homes and businesses to display the proper 911 address; and
• scheduled special session for Aug. 4 for budget requests from department heads.