tyler county
Tyler Dozier aims for country gold Dogwood Country Living – Page 1B
THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020
BOOSTER S er v ing Ty l er C o unt y S inc e 19 3 0 Visit us online at tylercountybooster.com |
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COVID-19: Tyler County by the numbers As of Tuesday, August 18, Tyler County has
•176 confirmed overall cases reported
•130 recovered cases• •40 active• •6 deaths•
– Information courtesy of the Tyler County Office of Emergency Management
75¢ | VOLUME 94 NUMBER 35
Disaster declaration issued for coming hurricane
Laura predicted to make landfall late Wednesday BY CHRIS EDWARDS news@tylercountybooster.com
TYLER COUNTY – County Judge Jacques Blanchette no doubt encapsulated the thoughts and prayers of many in the region on Monday morning. Before tackling the agenda for that morning’s commissioners court meeting, Blanchette gave a
simple, one-sentence invocation, which asked God to have mercy on the people. Whether Blanchette was referring to two unwanted guests named Marco and Laura or not, the storms have likely produced an uptick in prayerful energies. According to the National Weather Service on Monday evening, Marco had weakened quickly and was not expected to cause any weather problems in the region. Laura, however, was projected to make landfall between Southeast Texas and south central Louisiana as a category two hurricane late
Wednesday or early Thursday. Jefferson and Orange counties posted mandatory evacuation orders effective on Tuesday morning, and with US 69 as an evacuation route, there was a large increase in traffic through the county. “Everyone should be preparing for a category three hurricane due to the typical hurricane forecast errors, especially when it comes to wind speeds,” stated an NWS news update. On Monday Blanchette issued a disaster declaration for Tyler County, which cited potential flooding, property damage, long-
term electrical power and utility outages and major infrastructure damage. The five school districts in the county have been closed for the week, and athletic events that were scheduled have been cancelled or postponed. Forecasting for Laura has been unpredictable since tracking began, but the county’s emergency management team suggested for residents to exercise a position of readiness in the event of a disaster. According to the Office of Emergency Management, the areas in Tyler County
most likely to be affected are Woodville, Fred and Warren, with the wind being the factor to watch out for, with gusts of up to 90 mph predicted for Wednesday evening until Thursday afternoon. The possibility of a destructive hurricane in the region comes on the anniversaries of two other devastating events for the region: hurricanes Alicia (in 1983) and Rita (in 2005.) Please follow the Tyler County Emergency Management and Tyler County Booster Facebook pages for updates as they are available.
Colmesneil man arrested on sex charge BY CHRIS EDWARDS news@tylercountybooster.com
CALEB FORTENBERRY | TCB Warren Warriors offensive coordinator Ronnie Ford coaches the team as they prepare for the season. Friday’s game against Huntington is cancelled due to Hurricane Laura, but according to Warren ISD, those who bought tickets will be honored at the next home game on Sept. 11 when the Warriors play West Hardin. For more countywide sports, check out page 5A.
Federal suit filed against Woodville Pellets Star Legal Aid filed the suit on the plaintiffs’ behalf. EIP is representing the Sierra Club, while Lone Star Legal Aid is representWOODVILLE – A federal lawsuit was filed last week against Wood- ing Stafford. The plant formerly operated ville Pellets. The Sierra Club and under the name German Pellets, Dustin Stafford, a Woodville was constructed in 2012 and went resident, are named as plaintiffs in on-line the following year. It was the suit. According to the text of the suit, acquired in 2019 by the Europethe plaintiffs are alleging that the an-based biomass firm Graanul wood pellet manufacturing facility Invest, which is headquartered in Estonia. Graanul aslo purchased is in violation of the Clean Air Act, and has routinely used bypass its sister plant in Port Arthur, which is now used for storage and smokestacks to circumvent the as a shipping point. facility’s air pollution controls, Under its previous ownership, the resulting in plant was found to have exceeded The Environmental Integrity state pollution limits by emissions Project (EIP) along with Lone of 580 tons of gases, while it was
only permitted to release 64 tons. Last year, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) required it to implement pollution controls, and gave Woodville Pellets an 18-month deadline, which began in April 2019, to construct a thermal oxidizer. The unit is designed to control pollution by decomposing hazardous gases at a high temperature before releasing them into the atmosphere. According to attorney Patrick Anderson, who works with the EIP, the plant is “dragging its feet” on implementing pollution controls, thus “forcing” the lawsuit. In the suit, attorneys allege that Woodville Pellets has
not committed to a firm date for when the control will be installed and operating and will not begin construction on the controls until April 2022. “We’ve seen many wood pellet plants emitting vast amounts of illegal pollution,” Anderson said, “But most of those plants quickly installed the additional controls needed to operate within the law.” The attorneys allege in the suit that the plant has been “severely out of compliance with crucial Clean Air Act requirements that protect the health of the community.” Sarah Stephens, who works as an environmental officer for the facility, See PELLETS ➩ Page 3A
concerns to the officials about BY CHRIS EDWARDS what they say continues to be a news@tylercountybooster.com dangerous intersection. The group stated in a FaceDAM B – On Friday officers from book post that there has been an the Dam B Community Watch group (DBCW) along with Sher- increase in the amount of traffic in the area over the last few years due iff Bryan Weatherford and Rep. to an increase in new businesses, James White met virtually with which, along with a hill on US TxDOT officials. The purpose of the meeting was 190 west of the intersection, has contributed to the danger factor. to address concerns about the There have been three serious intersection of US Highway 190 and FM 92 in Dam B. The Com- wrecks at the intersection in the munity Watch group brought their past eight months, and on Sunday,
a fatal wreck was reported. A representative of DBCW said that during the meeting, they, along with White and Weatherford “acknowledged that every possible solution is a compromise and may present its’ own problems. A solution will have to be practical, and not interfere with business opportunities at the intersection. We all agreed that the end solution must be driven by data and sound engineering principles, not just feel-good reactions.”
TxDOT keeps records of all accidents on Texas roadways, and their records did indicate a marked increase in the rate of accidents at the intersection. They also noted, during the meeting, that the intersection of FM 92 and FM 1013 in Spurger has drawn their attention. Some of the factors the watch group members presented, along with the visibility hindrance of the hill and the businesses, included the lack of an eastbound lane to
BY CHRIS EDWARDS news@tylercountybooster.com
Leaders meet with TxDOT to discuss intersection
Woodville, Texas 75 CENTS
USPS 645-560
THU 8/27
FRI 8/28
84/74
90/75
SAT 8/29 SUN 8/30
92/75
89/75
Scattered Thunderstorms Partly Cloudy Rain/Wind Thunderstorms SSW 9 mph SSW 6 mph W 34 mph Chance of rain Chance of rain 80%.Chanceof rain20%. SSW 6 mph Chance of rain 90%. 40%.
MON 8/31
88/76
Scattered Thunderstorms S 9 mph Chance of rain 40%.
See INTERSECTION ➩ Page 3A
TUE 9/2
89/75
Partly Cloudy S 9 mph Chance of rain 20%.
DAVIS TRINITY COUNTY –A Colmesneil man was arrested by the Texas Rangers last week in Tyler County following an investigation in Trinity County. Kenneth Duane Davis, age 62, was taken into custody last Wednesday and booked into the Tyler County Jail. According to Sheriff Bryan Weatherford, Davis’s arrest was the result of an ongoing investigation by the Rangers, which resulted in a first-degree felony charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child. The indictment outlining the charge was handed down in Trinity County. See CHARGE ➩ Page 3A
Eddins announces CISD board candidacy
My name is Kelly Eddins. I moved to Colmesneil 19 years ago. My husband, Scott and I have been married for 23 years and have three children. My husband is a graduate of Colmesneil High School. Our daughter, Grace graduated from Colmesneil High in 2018 and is now an LVN. Our son, Scott Jr. is a junior at Colmesneil High. See EDDINS ➩ Page 3A
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