409-296-BANK
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Volume 31, Issue 20
East Chambers Plans "Live" Graduation
By Wade Thibodeaux  The East Chambers ISD Board of Trustees met in regular session on Monday, May 11, 2020 at 6:00 pm. via teleconference and Superintendent Scott Campbell announced that they are working out the details of a live graduation for Friday, May 29, 2020 beginning at 7:00 pm. The event will occur in the football stadium and graduates will walk along the track. Parents will be given either green tickets for home side seating or gold tickets for visitor side seating with parking for gold tickets in the visitor parking lot and parking for green tickets by the gym. All social distancing rules will apply and parents are encouraged to bring their own PPE(Personal Protective Equipment)
or it will be issued by the school. The event will be live streamed to the score board on the North end of the stadium as well as to You Tube. A rain contingency plan is still being developed with an indoor option off of the table per the Texas Education Agency, therefore if weather is an issue the event will have to be postponed until the weather is agreeable. This is a very fluid situation and things may change, but The Hometown Press will keep our readers informed either in print or on our Facebook page as the situation warrants. More details about the remaining agenda items that were voted on at the school board meeting will be in next weeks paper.
Blue Angels Make an Appearance
This picture of the famous Blue Angels was captured by photographer Brian Blalock last Wednesday, May 13, 2020 as they flew over Huntsville on their trip from Dallas to Houston. The group has been performing fly overs all around the United States to show support and gratitude for the first responders and medical personnel who are on the front lines of the fight against the Corona Virus. After the Blue Angels made a few loops around the Houston area they headed over to New Orleans to offer those guys and gals some support as well.
PRCA Stat of the Week
1,400+
BUSINESSES HELPED
&
50 cents
Commissioners Hold Another Computer Meeting
A screen shot of a computer screen seems to be the way to attend meetings these days. This one was taken during a recent Chambers County Commissioners Court meeting.
By Wade Thibodeaux  The Chambers County Commissioners Court met in regular session on Tuesday, April 28, 2020 once again by computer screen via the "You Tube" channel. Due to the Covid-19 situation, this computer meeting has become the norm and participants have become a little better at the process by not talking over one another and learning
how to mute and un mute their microphones on their computers. Chambers County Judge Jimmy Sylvia has been in the Courtroom at the Courthouse and Commissioners have been in their respective offices. The Court took up a couple of items under the Administration portion of the agenda by patching in Mike Darlow with the delinquent tax firm that works for the
County and he discussed recent collection actions and results. His report was a normal routine scheduled event that would have normally happened in person at the regular Court session, but due to the current circumstances he simple emailed his report before the Court date and then hit the highlights and answered questions from the Commissioners. The second item under Administration dealt
with the resale of several properties that had offers pending. The Court approved both the report and the resale properties list. Mary Beth Bess gave an update on the Covid-19 situation in the County and Ryan Holzaepfel gave a report on the recent Governor's orders to begin to partially open up the State of Texas. The rest of the days session was the consent agenda which included 28 items. Commissioners questioned several of the items but ultimately all of their questions were answered and they approved the consent agenda in its entirety. The next regular session of the Chambers County Commissioners Court was held yesterday, May 12, 2020, but was past the deadline for this weeks print edition of the paper. A report will appear in a future edition of The Hometown Press.
Trinity Bay Appoints New Director By Wade Thibodeaux  The Trinity Bay Conservation District Board of Directors held a special meeting on Friday, May 1, 2020 at Noon via teleconference primarily for the purpose of selecting a person to fill the remaining term of Mike Winzer who passed away suddenly a few weeks ago. After an hour and 23 minute executive session the Directors emerged to announce that they had selected Cody Bauer to fill the remaining term. Bauer will have to stand for election in November(if he so chooses) as Mr. Winzer's term was up for re-election this Fall. An agenda item re-organizing the Board of Directors was tabled. The rest of the meeting was not without fireworks as board members had a few other agenda items to deal with including rescinding the board authorization to build a
17,000+ JOBS SAVED
with
.6 Million gallon sewer plant in Hankamer and advertising for a permit amendment to build a .3 Million gallon sewer plant in the place of the .6 Million gallon plant. Chambers County has offered a pass thru gift of almost $3 Million in the form of a CDBG(Community Development Block Grant) and if Trinity Bay decides not to build a sewer plant at this time then the almost $3 Million goes away as far as TBCD is concerned and the County will dedicate that money to another project. Directors agreed on rescinding the board action on the .6 Million gallon plant and also withdrawing the request for financial assistance to the Texas Water Development Board, but differences developed when it came time to advertise for a permit amendment to build the .3 Million gallon plant. Directors Hamilton and
$151M+ IN
PPP LOANS
Jenkins were originally against advertising because they were against building the plant at all, but eventually went along with advertising the amendment to give the project just another glimmer of hope for advancement. At a subsequent special called meeting on May 7, 2020 when newly appointed Director Bauer was sworn in, the approval of the .3 Million gallon plant was once again on the agenda and the building of a plant was voted down. Directors Jenkins and Hamilton voted against the plant and Directors Gilbert and Turner voted for the plant, and that left brand new, first meeting Bauer to cast the deciding vote. Bauer voted NO on the agenda item to build the .3 Million gallon plant and the possibility that TBCD will lose almost $3 Million in grant money. This would place the burden of
a new plant squarely on the shoulders of the rate payers in the event that in the future TBCD has to build a new plant because the current plant is almost to capacity and it flooded during the two major recent rain events. This grant money would pay 90% of the estimated cost of raising the existing plant and increasing capacity, leaving TBCD and the monthly rate payers to only have to come up with about 10% or $300,000.00 of the cost of a new plant. This item is on the Chambers County Commissioners Court agenda for Tuesday and has been placed back on Trinity Bays agenda for Wednesday for one last chance at saving the project. Both of these meetings were past The Hometown Press's print deadline, but we will have information in following editions.
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