Shelby County Today

June 8, 2022 - As Shelby County works at continuing to rebuild its Hazard Mitigation Plan, the Commissioners approved a contract for plan writing services with GrantWorks for that plan during their meeting held June 1, 2022.

"We have received several payments from the cities, the other entities," said Judge Allison Harbison.

Judge Harbison said when the agreements were sent out to the cities to participate in the Hazard Mitigation Plan, a bill was also sent with it by GrantWorks and as a result several checks have been received by the county.

"Whenever we approved this grant writing services, the contract was left over to have the county attorney look at it and I do have an email from him that he looked at the contract and said that it was, he approved it he thought it was a good contract," said Judge Harbison.

Along with deciding whether or not to move forward with the contract, Judge Harbison also said a fund for the money to go into would need to be chosen.

Commissioner Bellmyer asked, "Is the reason that like Joaquin and some of the other towns, they fall under the county umbrella, under our plan?"

Judge Harbison answered, "We've always had the other municipalities under our plan. It's a whole lot less expensive for them to go under our plan than it is to go out on their own. As a matter of fact the city of Center was in the process of going out for grant writing services whenever we approached them and they're going under our plan also, because the cost was a lot less expensive than going out on their own."

Bellmyer then confirmed with Judge Harbison all of the municipalities in Shelby County will be on the county Hazard Mitigation Plan. The cities were given a prorated rate as to their population. 

It's expected the savings to the county for all of the cities participating will be over $10,000.

Judge Harbison asked Clint Porterfield, County Auditor, if he had an account he would prefer to see the funds go in and he said either the Contingency Fund or the CRF.

A motion carried to approve the contract for Plan Writing Services between Shelby County and GrantWorks for the Hazard Mitigation Plan and designate the CRF (Coronavirus Relief Fund) to receive payments, also approval to pay GrantWorks invoice number 1 in the amount of $12,487.50.

Judge Harbison said Tracy Broadway, Justice of the Peace Precinct 5, requested a video monitoring system for the Justice of Peace and Constable Pct. 5 building in Timpson. 

With there being no one present in the foyer between the Justice of the Peace office and the Constable office, Judge Broadway had stated to Judge Harbison people walk in all the time and it would just help to let the judge and constable know who is coming in the front door.

A motion carried to approve the video monitoring system and services from SafeCo for Justice of Peace and Constable Pct. 5 building in the amount of $2,975 and for the monthly fee to come out of JP Court Security account, Fund 76.

The commissioners discussed the possibility of video monitoring system and services for the District Attorney and County Attorney building. The District Attorney has asked for a security system and the quote for the cameras was $4,250 for a seven camera system similar to what the courthouse utilizes.

Judge Harbison said they were going to see if there's any way to interlink that system with the courthouse cameras. 

A motion carried to enter into an agreement with SafeCo to have a monitoring system installed at the District Attorney's office and the County Attorney's office at a cost of $4,250.

"This is pretty much going to leave several JP's offices without surveillance and the most glaring one right now is the County Clerk's office, she has no video surveillance and I feel like one of these days she's going to ask for that," said Judge Harbison. 

The commissioners considered the Texas Association of Counties, Blue Cross Blue Shield, group health insurance plan for FY2023 and Auditor Porterfield gave some details on the plan.

"The pool average for TAC was 5.9% they'll tell you that the national average there is 9.8% to 13.8%," said Porterfield. "Our renewal was actually 7%."

The commissioners were proivided with information on the rates, plan and history of what Shelby County has paid out compared to its contribution. Porterfield said, from April 2021 to March 2022 Shelby County paid in approximately $1 million to the plan meanwhile nearly $1.3 million was paid out.

"Our county rate for this year, as expected, has gone up $55 per person, [per pay period]," said Porterfield. "That equates to about $72,000 a year which we'll have to add to our budget beginning October 1."

According to Porterfield, cost for employees with children on the plan has gone up $19.62, per pay period; employee with spouse, $28.33, per pay period; employee with family, $47.94, per pay period.

There were alternate proposals presented, and one would reduce the cost to the county; however, it would then be the employees who would be expected to make up the difference.

"My opinion, I want to stay with the plan we have because our employees in a county that can't, some are struggling to make it now and they cannot absorb more co-pay at the doctor or the pharmacy," said Roscoe McSwain, Commissioner Precinct 1.

A motion carried to continue with the current plan at the renewal rate of $841.20 per employee.

The Sheriff's Department presented a proposal for expanding the laundry room at the Sheriff's Department and to install a commercial washer, to accomadate the Sheriff's Department and allow them to gather more details on a washer, the item was tabled for two weeks.

The meeting went into an executive session and when the commissioners returned to an open meeting, there were no motions to be made.

Judge Allison Harbison stated, "We are not prepared right now to make a decision, I just kind of brought everybody up to date on where we were on the County Attorney appointment, and the rules and regs on the timeframe and some things like that."

Judge previous to adjourning Commissioner McSwain asked that everyone keep the family of Charles Williams in their prayers, because he had passed recently and he was Precinct 1 Commissioner for 12 years.

The meeting was then adjourned.

Agenda items approved during the meeting include:
1. Pay weekly expenses.
2. Contract for Plan Writing Services between Shelby County and GrantWorks for the Hazard Mitigation Plan and designate the CRF (Coronavirus Relief Fund) to receive payments, also approval to pay GrantWorks invoice number 1 in the amount of $12,487.50.
3. Video monitoring system and services from SafeCo for Justice of Peace and Constable Pct.5 building in the amount of $2,975 and for the monthly fee to come out of JP Court Security account, Fund 76.
4. Video monitoring system and services for District Attorney and County Attorney Building at a cost of $4,250.
5. Texas Association of Counties, Blue Cross Blue Shield, group health insurance plan for FY2023, remain at the current plan.
6. Adjourn.

Agenda items tabled during the meeting include:
1. Sheriff’s office to address the court about enlarging the jails laundry room.

Pictured from left: Investigator Chad Hooper, Jerry Russell – property owner, and Investigator Misty Ray.

June 7, 2022 - The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division initiated an investigation on May 2, 2022, that recently resulted in the recovery of stolen property.

Investigator Chad Hooper and Investigator Misty Ray recovered stolen property including an EXMARK zero turn mover and a trailer that were stolen from a property located on State Highway 7 West in Center. On Friday, June 3, 2022, the property was recovered from Portacool Park in Center.

The property has been returned to the owner.

“The determination and hard work these two investigators put into this case are what produced this recovery,” stated Sheriff Kevin W. Windham. “This is the exact outcome we hope for in every theft case we work.

Leah Chase, SCSO Public Relations

Sheriff's Department Seeking Help with Theft in Excelsior School Area (Recovered)

May 3, 2022 - The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a theft that occurred in the 11000 block of State Highway 7 West (Excelsior School area) between Sunday, May 1 and Monday, May 2, 2022.

A black bumper pull trailer bearing Texas plate FKZP22 (with damage to the left side wheel well) and an ExMark ZTR zero turn lawn mower were removed from a residence without the owner’s consent.

Homeowners in the area are encouraged to check any surveillance footage in hopes of recovering any information relating to this theft.

If you have any information regarding this case, please contact Investigator Chad Hooper at 936.598.5601 or 936.572.5045.

June 6, 2022 - State Highway 7 (SH 7) West at the intersection of FM 711 was the scene of a crash involving a truck-tractor chicken hauler and SUV with a tree on Monday, June 6, 2022. 

Emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene and Center Fire Department helped extricate those individuals who were in the SUV.

According to Texas Department of Public Safety State Trooper Keith Jones, at 10:35am a 2012 Mack Truck owned by Tyson Foods and driven by Tommy Joe Jackson, 60, of Center was northbound on FM 711 approaching SH 7 West hauling a trailer of chickens.

Jackson disregarded the stop sign while turning right, overturning and blocking the roadway.

At that time a tan 2008 Ford Explorer driven by Tammy Davis, 58, of Center was eastbound on SH 7 with a 13-year-old and 12-year-old passenger. Upon seeing the roadway was blocked, took evasive action and steered to the left avoiding contact with the truck-tractor. The Explorer then left the roadway to the left and made contact on its passenger side with a large pine tree before coming to a stop just beyond the tree.

All occupants in the Explorer were transported by ambulance to Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital for treatment of possible injuries.

Jackson was issued a citation for disregard stop sign.

Tyson Foods personnel were quick in helping to clear the roadway and get traffic flowing normally. The scene was clear by 2:10pm.

Additional details are pending and will be updated when they are made available.

Center Fire Department, Shelby County Sheriff's Deputies, Constable Precinct 3 and West Shelby County Volunteer Fire Department personnel all assisted at the scene.

June 6, 2022 - Upon taking the oath as your Sheriff, I made a promise to be transparent to the citizens of Shelby County and have an open door policy. I strongly feel that the public has a right to know what is going on with this office and this is not something that will change.

During a recent Commissioner’s Court meeting, several statements were made about the Sheriff’s Office that I feel need to be clarified. The article was published on Shelby County Today (SCTTX.COM), dated May 31, 2022 and titled: SC Commissioners allow Constable to maintain use of bulletproof vest, add reserve officer.  

While I understand that everyone has a right to state their concerns, I can only accept responsibility for the actions that I have had control of since taking office January 1, 2021. Being Sheriff is not an easy task and I quickly learned that it is impossible to make everyone happy and keep everyone satisfied. I feel that if an article is going to be published, both sides deserve the right for clarification.

March 1, 2021, the City of Timpson made the decision to close their police department. As a result of their closure (effective March 4, 2021), the City of Timpson donated a patrol vehicle to the sheriff’s office and the county purchased an additional vehicle from the City of Timpson for $35,000. From January 1, 2021 to March 3, 2021, 98 calls for service came through the sheriff’s office for assistance in Timpson. From March 4, 2021 to the present date, 829 calls for service came through the sheriff’s office for assistance in Timpson area and Precinct 5.

In 2021 during a budget meeting, I asked the commissioners for permission to hire an additional three deputies, we were granted one additional deputy. The position was filled in October 2021. While we were VERY grateful to add another officer to patrol, this did not even touch the need.

In the meeting, the statement was made, “That’s the reason we hired them another deputy and they assured us when the mayor was here to help donate the car, and stuff like that, they would pick up and step up and do more and they’re not doing it.”

From the time Timpson Police Department closed to the time we actually put the additional deputy on patrol was seven months. Prior to adding the deputy, and to the present time, yes, we have stepped up. Yes, we are doing more and we will continue to do all that we can. We have never refused a call and we never will.

In the meeting, Constable Tipton stated that 75% of the calls in Precinct 5 come through his office. While the sheriff’s office has no idea of the personal calls that go directly to Constable Tipton, we do for a fact know that multiple times, on a daily basis, the sheriff’s office is contacted directly for assistance in Timpson. We log every single call that comes in to our office. This is public information.

In the meeting, the comment was made,” We may need to have a sit down with the Sheriff and we may need to hire another deputy or two, have somebody that serves their community, not goes up there once or twice a week.”

Our call logs clearly reflect that we have deputies in Timpson more than once or twice a week. Again, in the budget meeting, I asked for three deputies. We were granted one. The reason I asked for three is simple: there is a NEED. At the minimum, a total of three deputies would allow us to always have two deputies on duty at all times. Three additional deputies can’t even begin to cover the need for additional manpower, but it would be better that what we have now. We cannot work with more than what we have. This has to be understood. If a deputy is sick, or has requested time off – we have to bring another deputy in to cover the shift. This creates overtime. Overtime causes a major problem as it is pulling more money from our already strained budget. To avoid overtime, we often shuffle the schedule around, and have deputies work split shifts. Even by doing this, at some point during the night, that deputy goes off duty leaving ONE deputy on patrol. ONE. One deputy trying to cover approximately 850 square miles - this is impossible. I will continue to ask for more deputies because there is a need.

Shelby County resident Robin Connell was in attendance at the meeting. Connell is a business owner in Timpson and Joaquin, as well as a resident of Precinct 4. Connell made the statement, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve called the Sheriff’s Department and this is what I’m told, ‘we don’t have anybody on duty right now, we don’t have anybody we can send, the only people we have on duty are down in Possum Trot.” Connell added, “Emergencies aren’t Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. That’s not when you call and you’re scared to death of what’s going on, that’s not when it happens. We had the luxury of having a city police department and I say that in all sincerity we had the luxury of having one, that’s gone. If you call the Sheriff’s Department Monday morning at 9 a.m., you’ll have a whole army show up, but Thursday at 12:15 a.m. it would be a different situation.”

I can only take responsibility for the actions of this office since January 1, 2021. Since I became Sheriff, we have always had a deputy on duty. Our call logs reflect that since January 1, 2021, Ms. Connell, and/or her store associates have called the sheriff’s office for assistance 10 times. Every single time they requested assistance, a deputy showed up. We cannot control the location or time of crime. Obviously, during the day, we have more manpower available. All of our investigators are in the office, as well as Chief Deputy Ruth Gonzales, Captain Tanner Peace, and me. This is not to say that if/when a situation arises at night that no one will respond. We will respond, and we will respond every single time. There just may not be as many of us and depending on where the deputy(s) are in the county will depend on our response time. For instance, if we have a deputy on a call in the southern most part of the county, and an additional call comes in on the most northern part of the county, the response time is going to be right at an hour. Mind you that this is the deputy doing their best to get there as quickly and safely as possible; and that is only if he is able to leave immediately from the call he is on.

At times situations arise and we have two deputies tied up on a call and both are unable to leave. We use every resource available to respond as quickly to the call. This includes reaching out to constables in the surrounding precincts, as well as our on call investigator. Calls are never and will never be turned down under my administration. It has to be understood that our hands are often tied because of lack of deputies.

We are doing our best to manage from where we are, not where we wish we were. Unfortunately, unlimited resources are not provided to us. As I have previously stated, we are going to be transparent to the people of our county.  My door here at the office has been and will remain open for any help, questions, or comments. Continuing to build community relations between our office and the people of Shelby County is one priority we will refuse to let wither. I am your Sheriff. One thing I can always promise you is that every decision that I, or my administration makes, will always be in the best interest of this county.   

Sheriff Kevin W. Windham