Friday's Internet Edition, July 04, 2008.
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| Reviewing road map.... Culberson County Commissioner John Jones (R) reviews the county road map under discussion with property owners during a break in the action Tuesday. |
- Culberson County Commissioners may have enjoyed the luxury of a short meeting on Monday but they paid for it in Tuesday, as they spent nearly the whole day on one subject....county roads.
Attorney Bob Bass, hired by commissioners to try to get the county road map accurate, spent a good part of Tuesday morning explaining the hows and whys of the current process.
According to Bass, “We have made our best effort to determine the roads that have some history of maintenance by the county.”
He went on to say that land owners may submit protests over roads that they believe are not county roads and roads that they believe should be county roads but are not shown.
After the protests are submitted he said that a jury of appointed citizens, 10 in all appointed by commissioners and the county judge, will hear the protests. Bass further noted that the burden of proof is on the county to show that it has or has not maintained the roads.
Bass noted that following the hearing of the protests and a time lapse of 2 years, the county road map produced would become the official road map of the county. The entire process must be completed, Bass said, by August 31, 2009.
And, Bass further pointed out that county’s have three courses of action as pertains to county roads. First is abandonment, second is closure, and third is cease maintenance. Normally, county’s take the third course of action because of damage and liability issues related to the first two.
Before the process of receiving complaints began in earnest, Bass pointed out that what was taking place here today was an information gathering hearing and no actions would be taken as a result.
Following his remarks, he began the process of hearing the protests from various land owners and that continued for the rest of the day.
The process of getting an accurate county road map has begun.
Commish tlak sheriff’s matters on Monday
Culberson County commissioners met Monday morning and spent most of their time talking about various matters pertaining to the sheriff’s department.
Sheriff Carrillo came before the court to ask that commissioners send a letter to Edd Hendee and the Eyes on the Border Foundation thanking him for the donations they have made to area sheriffs.
Hendee and the Foundation have donated a Maule aircraft and some 21 bulletproof vests and helmets to sheriffs Arvin West and Oscar Carrillo. Carrillo noted that his budget for vests is $500 a year and that won’t buy one vest. The donated vests cost nearly $800 a piece.
Commissioners agreed to prepare the letter thanking Hendee and the Foundation for the donations. It was noted that the aircraft will provide aerial surveillance of a vast west Texas area looking to halt the influx of drugs and other criminal activity.
Sheriff Carrillo also asked commissioners to approve a resolution asking for some $224,000 in federal grant money. Commissioners approved the resolution for the grant funding.
Carrillo further reported that during the e past year (2006) his deputies wrote over 900 citations which should have brought in over $157,000 to county coffers. At the same time, Carrillo noted how the tickets were broken down to demonstrate that his department was not racially profiling people they stop.
Sheriff Carrillo also reported that his deputies took part in 3 High Intensity Drug Trafficking events over the holidays.
Before relinquishing the floor, Sheriff Carrillo asked that one of his people be compensated for pulling extra shifts when folks call in sick. Commissioners, following a behind closed door session, opted to table the matter pending further review.
With regard to other matters considered by commissioners on Monday, the following actions were taken:
* Approved of county holidays for 2007. They were basically the same as for 2006.
* They approved the preliminary plans for Phase II of the Boys and Girls Club facility which adds the gymnasium to it. At the same time they approved going out for bids on the grant project and they approved submission of a draw in the amount of $12,550.
* They learned that the Border Colonia Street Improvement Project is on hold until late March or early April.
* And, while still on grant matters, they learned the time frame for submission of the 2007 Community Development Grant Applications.
* Commissioners named Darla Syffert, Miguel Baeza, Laura Barragan and Harry Najar to the County’s Salary Grievance Committee. That is subject to these folks willingness to serve.
* Commissioners entered into the minutes the certification of clerks deputies as presented.
* Budget amendments, as recommended by County Auditor Maxine Chance, were approved.
* Under county projects, Justice of the Peace Oscar Espinoza, Sr. presented a concept for collecting old fines at no cost to the county. The court approved looking into a contract with the firm.
* After approving the submitted monthly reports, commissioners approved the payment of bills and salaries amounting to $177,114.08. Of that sum, $108,464.87 was for payroll and related expense while $68,649.21 was for monthly bills.
CPR/AED classes will be taught on January 17th
By Russ Wyatt
Classes in CPR/AED are scheduled for January 17 for anyone interested. The class will be held at the Convention Center starting at 6 p.m. This is a joint effort between the Town of Van Horn and the Office of Emergency Management to get as many people as possible educated in both of these areas.
Attendees will have the choice of taking both classes, or the CPR class only. Cost will be $10 for the CPR class, or $15 for both classes. The certifications will be good for 2 years. For further information, contact Mayor Okey Lucas or Russell Wyatt.