Shelby County Today

March 28, 2017 - New Life Church would like to express their appreciation to everyone who came out and supported the Chicken Sandwich plate fundraiser held last week. Thank you for those who pre-ordered meals. We apologize for the delay in delivery. God blessed us with good weather and blessed the fundraiser turnout. Unfortunately the main cook for the event had a flat tire that morning which delayed the food cooking. The devil may make things difficult but God will get us through.

Thank you again to all who supported the fundraiser. 

March 24, 2017 - Joaquin, TX—All first graders at Joaquin Elementary School were recently given free prevent tooth decay kits through the Fantastic Teeth Fan Club. Members of Joaquin Masonic Lodge, led by Jay Wilson, assembled and delivered more than 50 dental hygiene kits to the school.

The Fantastic Teeth Fan Club, sponsored by Masonic Home and School of Texas (MHS), strives to prevent suffering from toothaches, reduce missed school days due to dental problems, and cut costs for dental treatment.

Prevent tooth decay kits contain:  a toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, healthy teeth sticker, two-minute timer (optimal brushing time), Tips for Healthy Teeth educational information for parents in both Spanish and English, and a summary of MHS services. Last year, Texas Masonic lodges partnered with MHS to distribute 125,738 Fantastic Teeth Fan Club dental kits and information to first graders in 1,447 schools across the state.

According to Oral Health In America: A Report of the Surgeon General, tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease—five times more common than asthma and seven times more common than hay fever. Poor children are affected by this epidemic more frequently than other children, with nearly 12 times more restricted-activity days due to dental issues than children from higher-income families. With more than 1.5 million Texas children living in poverty, there is a great need for preventive dental care.

Dental problems also directly affect success for children, with more than 51 million school hours lost each year to dental-related illness. Teachers have judged both classroom performance and classroom behavior to be significantly poorer among children in need of dental care. Pain and suffering due to untreated dental disease can also lead to problems in eating and speaking.

Masonic Home and School of Texas is a non-profit organization with a history of helping children across Texas for more than 100 years. Contact MHS by calling toll-free 1.877.203.9111; sending an email to info@mhstx.org; or by visiting the website, www.mhstx.org. 

Preservation of Shelby County District Clerk Records

March 20, 2017 - Would you like to see and touch records made by and about your ancestors since the late 1800s?  Shelby County officials are making it possible for the citizens and taxpayers to do just that! 

On Wednesday, March 15, 2017, Shelby County District Clerk, Lori Oliver, spoke to the Timpson Area Genealogy and Heritage Society about the efforts currently in progress to preserve the paper records entrusted to the Shelby County District Clerk’s office. These records include such case files as lawsuits, divorce, adoptions and cases involving juveniles.

When the Texas Constitution was written, the founding fathers stipulated that each county would have a district clerk.  The clerk shall, by government code, maintain and arrange the records relating to and lawfully deposited in the clerk’s office.  Ms. Oliver and her staff take this charge seriously and are working diligently toward that end.  

Most early county records were lost when the Shelby County Courthouse burned on June 2, 1882.  The oldest surviving record found to date is dated 1883.  Past efforts to preserve records have included microfilming and digitizing through a scanning process.  These efforts, however, do nothing to preserve the original paper records, which are disintegrating into dust as time passes. The rapidly deteriorating condition of the records prompted action to remediate the problem. County officials began looking at new technology and best practice for preserving them.  Paper records are estimated to last 300-500 years.  Microfilmed records are estimated to last 50-100 years.  With rapid changes in technology and the resultant incompatibility between old and new technology, digital records are estimated to be useable for 2-10 years. Based on these statistic, it has been determined that preserving the original paper record is the best preservation approach.

Funding is a big issue on what will be a long and costly project, but one that must be done. Preservation efforts are moving forward in $12000 to $15000 expenditures as funding becomes available.  Ms. Oliver stated that it is doubtful that the project will be completed in her tenure in the office of District Clerk and maybe not even in her lifetime.  

In 2009 the Texas State Legislature passed HB 3637 which assesses a $10 filing fee on all civil filings in the District Clerk’s office. Money collected from these filing fees is designated for records preservation.  Using income from the $10 filing fees, and with the support of the County Commissioners and a generous $50,000 transfer by Shelby County Clerk, Jennifer Fountain, from the County Clerk’s records preservation fund to the District Clerk’s records preservation fund. the efforts have begun.  

Kofile, Inc, the oldest and most experienced private conservation laboratory was hired and authorized to begin the preservation.  The initial investment authorized by the District Clerk was not to exceed $12,000.  Skilled conservators from Kofile carefully collected and processed the first batch of records through deacidification, which includes unfolding the records, cleaning them of dust, tape, etc, enhancing the clarity of the writing/typing and encapsulating each record in archival sleeves.  This process is projected to protect and extend the life of the original records for up to 300 years.  The processed records are returned to the county in attractive fire and weather resistant binders for viewing by the citizens of Shelby County and other interested parties.  A digital copy of each case file is provided by Kofile, Inc. Shelby County citizens and other researchers have the option of viewing the digital file or the bound file.  

In April 2015, the government mandated that the District Clerk accept only electronically filed cases.  In situations where e-filing is not practical and will impede action necessary to address an emergency situation, the office will accept original document filing.

The e-filing mandate requires that attorneys file cases through a secure online portal.  It was quickly determined that Judges and attorneys need access to these electronic files. With the expansion of access, however, confidentiality and privacy became issues.  To address this problem, State Representative, Travis Clardy, has introduced a bill in the Texas Legislature to protect those records that must be kept confidential.  These would include cases involving juveniles, adoptions and cases sealed by the courts.

March 17, 2017 - On Thursday, March 16th, members of Shelby County Memorial Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8904 and the Auxiliary visited with US Marine Crops World War II Veteran Ford S. Brown, Sr.  Mr. Ford who will turn 100 years old in September recalled his service during the invasion of Okinawa in April 1945. The battle of Okinawa was the bloodiest and last battle in the Pacific.

He and his wife Iva Nell will also celebrate their 79th Wedding Anniversary on June 28th. Mr. Ford was presented with a World War II baseball cap, a framed certificate of appreciation for his service and a complimentary membership in the VFW. On hand with Mr. Ford and wife were their two daughters, Sylvia Hearn and Cynthia Perez, County Veteran Service Officer Sherry Riley, Auxiliary member Mary Fausett and Post Service Officer John Piersol, Post Chaplain Cynthia Islas, Past Post Commander Mike Langford and his three grandchildren and Post Quartermaster Larry Hume.