Shelby County Today

May 28, 2020 - A COVID-19 drive-thru testing site opened Friday, May 15, 2020 in the Walmart parking lot located at 765 Hurst St., Center, TX 75935 and remains available 3 days a week.

The site is supported by Walmart, eTrueNorth and state and local officials to test anyone who meets CDC and state and local guidelines on who should be tested, including first responders, health care providers and others with symptoms of COVID-19 and those in high risk groups without symptoms. Those interested in being tested need to visit www.DoINeedaCOVID19test.com to see if eligible for testing and to make an appointment.

“Walmart is part of the community, and we are proud to help support the expansion of COVID-19 testing in Shelby County during this unprecedented time,” said Laurie Smalling Letts, Walmart Public Affairs Director for Texas. “We are grateful to our associates who keep our stores running, our pharmacists who support these testing sites, and to eTrueNorth and local officials as we work together to open the site and help our community.”

Details on the COVID-19 testing site:

• Beginning Friday, May 15, 2020, the site will be open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays weekly
• 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., weather permitting. Appointments must be made through eTrueNorth’s online portal at www.DoINeedaCOVID19test.com, which will screen individuals to ensure they meet CDC eligibility for testing.
• For questions regarding testing, call 800-635-8611.
• Those being tested will need to wear a mask and stay in their cars for verification of eligibility criteria, ID check and self-administered test. For the safety of all those on-site, the test site is not available to those who walk up.
• The site will use a self-administered nasal swab test that will allow those being tested to swab their own nose onsite while in their vehicles, observed by a trained medical volunteer to ensure the sample is taken correctly, and then dropped in the sealed sample into a container on their way out of the drive-through site.
• eTrueNorth will handle processing test samples and communicating results to those tested and applicable Departments of Health.
• The site will be staffed by Walmart healthcare professionals
• Please note, testing is not available inside Walmart stores.
• While individuals who are tested are awaiting results, please follow CDC guidelines and take steps to help prevent the virus from spreading to people in your home and community.

May 26, 2020 - The water has receded at Risinger Creek and CR 4323 is now open again to regular traffic.

May 25, 2020 - Commissioner Tom Bellmyer announces County Road 4323 at Risinger Creek is currently under water and impassable to car traffic.

Barricades have now been established, and once the roadway clears will be removed and this information updated.

Fire personnel are seen in the above photo gaining access to property as they attempted to locate the crashed plane.

May 21, 2020 - A wooded area near the Center Municipal Airport was the location where Texas Department of Public Safety State Troopers and Center Fire Department firemen were dispatched to when it was reported a plane had taken a nose dive and crashed just before 4:40pm Wednesday, May 20, 2020.

Authorities were feverishly searching a property just behind the woods and after a short time it was determined the plane was not located in the open field and the attention of fire personnel, law enforcement and EMS was quickly turned to the wooded area.

Searchers traveled in several directions as the search began.

Once inside the woods, directly behind Watson and Sons Funeral Home, the plane was located around 100 yards from the treeline where the majority of searchers had entered on the south-eastern side of the property.

Fire personnel worked painstakingly under the direction of Texas Department of Public Safety to extricate the members of the party within the airplane, and when it was determined the remainder of the efforts required the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) and FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) the operation was put on hold until those officials could arrive and continue their investigation. 

Neighbors to the crash site were quick to offer help to all the first responders in the area, including allowing access to their property.

Several law enforcement agencies joined in the search for the location of the plane which crashed near the Center Municipal Airport.

Donna Hughes, Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1, pronounced the pilot and passenger at the scene of the crash and they were identified as John D. Scull, 73, and Carolyn Hooker Scull, 81.

At this time the cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Update: The plane crash that occurred yesterday has resulted in the deaths of two Tenaha residents. The pilot is identified as 73-year-old John D. Scull and the passenger has also been identified as 81-year-old Carolyn Hooker Scull.

Update: The investigation of the plane crash continued Thursday, May 21 with FAA and NTSB on scene along with local authories. Shelby County Justice of the Peace Pct 1 Donna Hughes preformed the inquest and confirmed the crash resulted in two fatalities, a male and a female.

JP Hughes expressed her thoughts and prayers are with the family during this time.

Additional information is anticipated today from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

May 20, 2020 - Authorities are currently investigating a small plane crash that occurred at 4:40pm Wednesday, May 20, 2020 behind Watson and Sons Funeral Home located off State Highway 7 east of Center. The Center FD is on scene assisting law enforcement.

According to a press release issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), Troopers responded this afternoon to a report of a plane crash in Shelby County.

The preliminary information indicates at approximately 4:40p.m., DPS Troopers along with other first responders located the crash site, just south of the Center Municipal Airport. At this time details surrounding the cause of the crash and the identity of the occupant or occupants is not immediately available.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has been notified to conduct the investigation.

May 20, 2020 - The Shelby County Commissioners discussed and approved the replacement of the roof of the current courthouse with a pitch instead of the current flat build during their meeting held Wednesday, May 20, 2020.

After considering the bids for the roof work, the comissioners approved a bid from Alert Contracting in the amount of $130,500 to do the project. 

The company working on the air conditioning in conjunction with the contractor will be Parker Air Conditioning and he projected the work on the units to be four weeks, conservatively.

A motion carried by the commissioners to accept a bid on the Shelby General Hospital property of $150,001. Allison Harbison, Shelby County Judge, stated the winning bid was by Kelby McCall of Lufkin, Texas under KMJR Properties, LLC. The deed for the property is being processed as well as an owners policy.

Commissioner Tom Bellmyer confirmed with Judge Harbison the county has been paid for the property.

"Money's in the bank, we had it by 1 o'clock that day right after lunch," said Judge Harbison. "They assured me that they're going to start cleaning the place up, mowing and tearing down what they can." 

Judge Harbison said the Probation office has everything they need of the property and the county can now cut power to the building. 

The meeting was adjourned at 9:55am.

Agenda items approved during the meeting include:
1. Pay weekly expenses.
2. FY2020 Budget Line Item Transfers.
3. Bid for the Shelby County Courthouse roof of $130,500 from Alert Contracting.
4. Auction bid for the Shelby General Hospital property in the amount of $150,001 to Kelby McCall through KMJR Properties, LLC.
5. Adjourn.