Tyler County News - Breakout

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NACOGDOCHES – The Warren FFA chapter traveled to Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches on Tuesday, Nov. 9 where they competed in the McGee Bend Leadership Competition. 

They came away with multiple banners, earning Sweepstakes Distinction and sending eight teams on to Area Competition. The teams were: 1. FFA Quiz- Cami Coleman, Andrew Craig, Juliet Crenshaw, and Gracie Moore- second place, advanced to Area. 2. Job Interview- Averie Willis-first place, advanced to Area. 3. Ag Advocacy-Colton Taylor, Melani Hargrave, Zoe Gonzalez, Maycie Allen, and Rebecca Norwood- first place, advanced to Area. 4. FFA Broadcasting- Zoe Gonzalez, Shane Fortner, and Bryce Dean – first place - advanced to Area. 5. Greenhand Chapter Conducting- Sam Standley, Weston Callaway, Sarah Decorte, Claire Petty, Emily Jones, Elyn Meredith, Hunt Reid, Jada Thompson, and Jenna Smith- 1st place, advanced to Area.  6. Senior Chapter Conducting- Austin King, Alyssa Yawn, Tyler Haynes, Julia Drake, Brooklyn Peddicord, Jase Fortner, and Wyatt Lott- first place, advanced to Area. 7. Public Relations- Natalie Standley, Chloe Johnston, Kyleigh Forsyth, Cole Weeks, first place, advanced to Area. 8. Greenhand Skills- Paula Fountain, Mikayla Brown, Hallie Foret, Maylynn Herrington, and Kyla Wallace- first place- advanced to area. 9. Senior Skills- Chloe Unsworth, Dusty Clinard, Tara Hollyfield- third place. 10. Senior Creed Speaking- Jana Haynes- third place. 11. Junior Creed Speaking- Emily Jones- third place. 

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Tammy Watts administers the oath of office to new WISD board member Kris Fowler. (CHRIS EDWARDS | TCB)

By Chris Edwards
news@tylercountybooster.com

WOODVILLE – A new facility and a bond election was the recommendation that the Woodville ISD District Facilities Task Force arrived at after an ongoing study of the district’s campuses.

Trey Allison, on behalf of the Task Force, gave a presentation to the WISD Board of Trustees at the board’s regular monthly meeting, held on Monday, Nov. 15.

Along with Allison, several members of the Task Force were present at the meeting. These individuals are comprised of community members from various walks of life, including business owners, parents, WISD staff and others. The committee has met for almost a year and has examined various options with the district’s facilities.

Allison said they have looked at every possible option on facilities, from renovations to starting over, and ultimately, the facilities used for the Pre-K through fifth grade students “exhibit many challenges,” he said.

With regard to safety and cost efficiency, a one-roof building to facilitate those students would be the best option, in the findings of the committee, Allison said.

Secondarily, Allison said, the committee found that a new facility is needed for vocational-agricultural classes. 

The current facilities for those classes, Allison said, are just not adequate. Further, the committee recommended that in May of next year, a bond be called for the amount of $47,850,000.

With that projected figure, Allison said a projected tax increase of around $0.45 per $100 of assessed taxes could be expected, if passed.

“Although that sounds big…we’re on the very bottom [of tax rates],” Allison said.

“Strategically, this sets us for the future,” he added, at the end of the presentation.

Board members sworn-in; board reorganized

Before getting down to the business of the agenda, WISD Board President Jimmy Tucker presented outgoing board member Greg Stewart with a framed resolution honoring his service.

Stewart opted to not run for re-election, and Kris Stewart won his seat. Stewart said he was honored to have served on the board.

Returning board members Bryan Shirley and Richard “Kooter” Shaw were sworn in along with Stewart to begin serving the new term.

After they were administered the oath of their office, Tucker said it was time to reorganize the board. Shaw motioned to nominate Tucker as president; John Wilson as vice president and Josh McClure as secretary. The nominations were unanimously approved.

Other Business

The WISD Board of Trustees during its Monday night meeting also discussed and/or voted on the following items:

• The district’s annual investment policy was approved.

• The approval of unassigned fund balances were committed toward capital improvements, contingencies and debt service.

• A bid was awarded to Skywriter Communications for the WISD technology infrastructure project.

• Two bids were awarded to McWilliams and Son for two HVAC projects, totaling $87K.

 

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By Mollie LaSalle

COLMESNEIL – Colmesneil city council members quickly got down to business last Tuesday evening at their regular monthly meeting. 

After swiftly approving the minutes from last month’s meeting, agenda items were debated. First up was a discussion of the city employee personnel manual. The benefits available to part-time employees were discussed at length, with council member Virgie Sullivan doing most of the questioning about their (part-time employees) benefits currently offered.

Sullivan was questioning the removal of vacation days for part-time help; the existing manual had part-time help accruing vacation and sick days. Council members were voting on whether to leave it like it is now, or take the vacation days away, and just offer sick time, or offer no benefits at all. 

“If you have nothing to offer these employees, you are not going to recruit or keep the good ones,” she said. “Anything can come up at any given time, you can get sick, your kids, husband, any kind of emergency could arise, and you can’t plan on these things.” The city is currently looking for a new assistant to the city secretary, and “if they aren’t offered any kind of incentive, they won’t stay very long”, she added. 

The current starting pay for part-time (24 hours a week) is $11, with a dollar raise after a 90-day probationary period. 

After much discussion about the employee manual, council voted to offer part-time help sick days, and discontinue vacation days.

The budget for FY 2021 was reviewed, and approved, with a pay raise for city employees added. There were no amended items in the budget. City Secretary Wendy Bendy commented that this year’s Fall Festival was a “huge success” and wanted to express her gratitude to everyone who helped in this endeavor. 

The mayor stated that at next month’s meeting, council is planning on recognizing the accomplishments of the last two mayors, Jackie Brown and Don Baird. Brown and Baird have been invited to attend the meeting so they can formally be acknowledged for their many years of service to the city and its citizens. 

The next meeting will be held on Dec. 14, and the Christmas party will be held immediately after the meeting. With no more business to discuss, council adjourned for the night at 7:32 p.m.

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By Chris Edwards
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WOODVILLE – At its regular meeting on Monday morning, the Tyler County Commissioners Court began its agenda with a trio of tabled items from previous meetings.

Two of the items, which pertained to part-time employees of the county and which ones are deemed essential workers, with regard to the American Rescue Plan Act funds, were requested to be tabled by county treasurer Leeann Monk, pending more information on the topic. Monk requested the items be tabled again, so that she can gather more information on the topic.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill signed into law by President Joe Biden in March and intended to expedite the nationwide fiscal recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aside from determining which employees are designated as essential workers, in order to receive the premium pay amounts from the stimulus funding, the commissioners will also discuss and determine at a later meeting how and when the funds will be distributed.

The third item under tabled items was a renewal of the county’s IRIS service. The service, which is provided through the company TechRadium, Inc., is a communications infrastructure service used by the county’s emergency management office. 

Emergency Management Coordinator Ken Jobe recommended to renew the service.

Opioid Resolution adopted

The officials adopted a resolution for Tyler County to support the state’s allocation method for a recent opioid settlement.

Before reading and adopting the resolution, the commissioners and Judge Jacques Blanchette looked at the terms of allocation for the settlement. The county stands to receive about $130K from the settlement, and adopting a resolution is the necessary step for an entity to get in on the funding.

In March, Purdue filed an estimated $7 billion bankruptcy plan, which placed the company’s value into a trust set up to allocate toward opioid abatement efforts nationwide. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced at that time that his office had worked “aggressively” to hold the pharmaceutical giant accountable “for its reckless contributions to the opioid crisis,” as Paxton stated in a news release.

Paxton said that the monies that would come from the settlements would be put toward treatment facilities, educational programs, foster homes and more.

More recently Paxton announced a $290 statewide settlement with Johnson & Johnson to resolve opioid-related claims, which will be disbursed in the future in a manner similar to the Purdue monies.