409-296-BANK
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Volume 32, Issue 8
DSHS Allows Chambers County to Return to 75 Percent Capacity in Businesses Chambers County Judge Jimmy Sylvia received the attached letter from Dr. Hellerstedt of the Texas Department of State Health Services notifying the County that businesses may return to 75 percent capacity. We are very excited about this development as we know that this rollback (and the greater pandemic) has caused great financial burden upon businesses in Chambers County. However, we encourage all businesses and residents to continue practicing safety tips which we
know are effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19: wear a face covering, avoid crowds, practice social distancing and stay home when possible. On Wednesday, October 7, 2020, Governor Abbott issued Executive Order GA32, which superseded GA-30. Significantly, GA-32 updates the thresholds for areas with high hospitalizations. The new definition of areas with high hospitalizations is: Any Trauma Service Area (TSA) that has had seven consecutive days in which the (contd on page 3)
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Runnin Bucs Win First Round of Playoffs
Sometimes you have to get "High" to play this game. By Wade Thibodeaux The East Chambers Runnin Bucs won their first round playoff game against Hemphill rather handily last Saturday afternoon
in the neutral playoff site of Woodville, Texas. The Bucs won the game 9262 with Ernest Ceasar III scoring 31 points, KK Morris and Jacoby Perrault
with 16 points each, Brayden Guillory with 13, and Keyrin Green with 8 points. The East Chambers Runnin Bucs will now move on to the Area Round
and will play against the Trojans from ColdspringOakhurst in Woodville again today, Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 7:00 pm. Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Southeast Texas Property Owners Get Major Win in Flood Damage Case United States Magistrate Judge Andrew Edison has entered an order denying an attempt by the State of Texas to claim sovereign immunity in a lawsuit filed by dozens of Chambers County residents. Barring an appeal by the state, the litigation can now move forward. The lawsuit involves allegations by the residents that the state’s design of a local highway has caused repeated flooding of thousands of acres of property, including their homes and businesses. According to the lawsuit, the state’s decision to install a solid concrete traffic barrier in the highway’s median causes flooding on properties along the north side of I-10. While the lawsuit recognizes that the median protects driver safety, the plaintiffs point out that Texas transportation engineers elected to use a type of barrier that retains water upstream rather than
letting the water flow downstream. In the order Judge Edison writes: There is no doubt in my mind that Plaintiffs have plausibly stated that the State’s use of their property was more than incidental, meaning that the State has no immunity from liability. Not only have Plaintiffs alleged that the State knew or was substantially certain that the concrete barrier would cause flooding on the northside of IH10, but they have also pointed to specific ways in which discovery might help them to prove those allegations at trial. Viewing the allegations in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs, as I must at this early stage, Plaintiffs have made a valid claim for inverse condemnation under Texas law that is plausible on its face. To speak with the attorney for the property owners, please contact Daniel Charest at 214681-8444.
This non contact sport sometimes gets a little physical.
Chambers County Sheriffs Office Arrests Thieves
Sheriff Brian Hawthorne reports that on January 28, 2021, Deputies with
the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to Eagle Drive Storage, 8724
FM 3180, in reference to a burglary of a building. Detective Orlando Jacobs with the
Criminal Investigations Division also responded to the scene. (contd on page 3)