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January 19, 2022 – The Lufkin District will pre-treat roadways, bridges and elevated surfaces throughout the district’s nine counties beginning Thursday morning ahead of a possible wintry mix predicted for Thursday night and Friday morning.
Crews will begin pre-treating with a brine solution in problematic areas and elevated surfaces Thursday in Polk, Trinity, San Jacinto, Angelina, Nacogdoches, Houston, Shelby, San Augustine and Sabine counties. Maintenance sections have prepared equipment and trucks to apply the brine as soon as expected rainfall tonight subsides.
“We want motorists to be prepared for any slick surfaces that could impact driving throughout this weather event,” said Rhonda Oaks, public information officer. “TxDOT is also prepared and we urge drivers to reduce speed and give the brine trucks room to work. This is a moving work zone, so stay alert if you see them along the roadways.”
Winter weather creates unpredictable and dangerous driving conditions. TxDOT strongly advises you to stay off the roads, should winter precipitation occur. If you must drive, please use extreme caution and follow these safety tips:
- Slow down. Speed limits are based on normal road and weather conditions, not winter road conditions.
- Maintain at least three times the normal following distance on snow or ice.
- Watch carefully for work crews and stay at least 200 feet behind moving equipment.
- Use extra caution on bridges, ramps, overpasses and shaded areas as they tend to freeze first.
If your vehicle starts to slide, ease off the gas pedal or brakes. Steer into the direction of the skid until you have regained traction. Then straighten your vehicle. In case of an emergency, dial 911.
Visit drivetexas.org to determine driving conditions and closures statewide. For more information, contact Rhonda.Oaks@txdot.gov or call (936) 633-4395.
January 18, 2022 - State Highway 87 North five miles from Center in the Mt. Gillion Community was the scene of back-to-back crashes Monday, January 17, 2022.
The first of the two crashes involved a pickup truck and a passenger car as the pickup truck was preparing to turn into a driveway.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) State Trooper David Shields, at around 6:30pm a black 2015 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck driven by Vera Boxley, 69, with passenger passenger Sheila Reed, 57, was northbound and was preparing to turn into a private driveway.
At that time a black 2016 Chevrolet Cruze passenger car driven by Trevonte Adkins, 26, of Louisiana was in the same lane behind the Dodge and failed to control speed resulting in a collision with the rear of the truck.
Adkins and his passenger Shamia Richards, 21, were transported from the scene by ambulance for treatment of possible injury.
The crash remains under investigation.
Assisting at the scene were Josh Tipton, Constable Precinct 5, and the Shelby County Sheriff's Department.
While the investigation into the first crash was ongoing, a similar incident occurred around 1/4 of a mile south as drivers were responding to the appearance of the original crash scene and were stopping to comply with emergency traffic.
According to Texas DPS Trooper Tim Grace, traffic was becoming congested due to the previous crash when a white 2010 Kenworth driven by Kenneth Lee Campbell, 33, came to a stop and a grey 2013 Hyundai Elantra driven by Carlos Morales, 28, of Timpson failed to control speed and struck the Kenworth in the rear.
During the investigation, both vehicles were removed to the shoulder until the investigation was completed and the Hyundai was towed from the scene.
No injuries were reported as a result of this crash.
Morales was cited for no driver's license, no insurance, and failure to control speed.
January 18, 2022 - Area fire departments are experiencing a rise in calls for grass and woods fires or controlled fires which are getting out of control due to high winds and dry conditions.
On Saturday, January 15, Shelbyville Volunteer Fire Department was called to a structure fire on FM 2975. The property owner was in the process of cleaning up a deteriorated older mobile home when the flames began traveling to nearby structures and trees. The fire department responded and assisted the property owner in regaining control of their controlled burn.
The Shelbyville Volunteer Fire Department and Huxley Volunteer Fire Department were both dispatched to another fire which had gotten out of control on Monday, January 17 on CR 2799. The property owner was burning debris when winds again caused flames to spread outside of their intended area resulting in a grass and woods fire which impacted a couple of acres of property just beside a residence.
According to the Texas Forest Service website, Shelby County is currently under a high level of fire danger for the north western part of the county as a moderate level of fire danger for the south eastern part. The dry conditions mixed with the current forecast by the National Weather Service of south wind around 15 mph with gusts as high as 25 mph setups a formula for poor burning conditions. The NWS forecasts a slight chance of showers on Wednesday which will help with the current dry conditions. Be kind to our volunteer fire fighters and wait for more preferable conditions.
January 18, 2022 - Officials with the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas, Angelina National Forest, have advised a prescribed burn today located in Compartment 62 (BLOCKS A & B) 1205 acres, near FM 2743 in and around the Caney Creek Recreational area. Winds are predicted from the South at 9-18 mph.
Also, please be advised, long range drift SMOKE may affect some of the areas.
January 14, 2022 - The Shelby County Commissioners approved the sale of several gaming machines January 5, 2022, which were seized during a raid of a fuel station and house on September 5, 2021.
Shelby County constables, assisted by other agencies, located the machines during the raids and eventually an agreement with the former owners attorney and Gary Rholes, Shelby County Attorney, resulted in an order from LeAnn Rafferty, 123rd Judicial District Judge, authorizing the machines to be relinquished to the county along with several thousand dollars which were recovered.
The county was seeking bids on the machines following approval of the commissioners' court on December 8, 2021.
Shelby County Judge Allison Harbison opened the sealed bid during the meeting and announced the only bid to be from a Larry McCauley of San Augustine for the amount of $110 per machine for a total of $1,760.
It was discussed and agreed on for the buyer to be required to sign an agreement they would not take the machines to a location where the machines would be used illegally, as indicated by an opinion from the Texas Attorney General's office
A motion carried by the commissioners to accept the bid.
Tracy Rook with Texas Premier Communications addressed the court and stated their radio communication project has been completed.
"We're completely finished, all sites are installed, all sites are up and running," said Rook. "We've done radio tests with portable coverage inside the vehicle and basically all the way around the whole county."
He said the coverage didn't result in what was expected in Huxley; however, there is mobile coverage but not portable coverage. He said this was due to the water tower being shorter than expected.
"We've got a little bit of portable coverage in Joaquin, but there's not a whole lot, there's more mobile coverage," said Rook.
Rook recommended putting a tower up, because he's not sure how much longer the water tower in Shelbyville is going to be standing.
"It needs to be put in the budget for within the next five years of getting something to replace that," said Rook. "They're not maintaining it ever since I think it's 30 years that it had a hole shot in it, and they haven't done any kind of painting, sand blasting or anything to maintain that and the ladder on it's getting pretty rusty."
Rook did agree with Judge Harbison a tower in the Joaquin area should help improve communications more and he thinks a complete transmitter would be beneficial in Huxley.
"We have seen a very, very significant improvement in our radios," said Sheriff Kevin Windham.
Sheriff Windham remarked on a call they recently had been on west of Timpson close to the Rusk County line and previous to the recent upgrades there was no communication possible in that area.
Roy Cheatwood, Constable Precinct 3, agreed with Sheriff Windham on the radios being much improved. He said he continued to have issues with communications in the Sand Isle Community and near the perimeter of the school and in the Rolling Hills Community.
A motion carried to approve and pay the weekly expenses which included the payment to Texas Premier Communications for the radio repairs.
Agenda items approved during the meeting include: 1. Pay weekly expenses. 2. Current payroll. 3. Bid for gaming machines in the amount of $1,760. 4. Adjourn.
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Janaury 14, 2022 - Center Independent School District is going to close school from Monday, January 17, 2022 until Wednesday, January 19, 2022. As with many organizations we have people who have caught COVID, the Flu, Strep and other communicable diseases. At this time, we are having a difficult time covering all of our classes.
Monday, January 17, 2022, Center ISD was scheduled to be out in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We have decided to remain closed Tuesday and Wednesday of next week in an effort for some to get over their sickness and return to work. We also plan to have our facilities deep cleaned by our custodial services.
Our main problem is covering classes. We will continue extracurricular activities, as long as the coaches, sponsors, and students stay well.
Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones.
Sincerely,
Dr. Brian Morris
January 14, 2022 - Due to the number of active COVID-19 cases affecting our staff and students and in an effort to mitigate the potential for significant spread among our Excelsior Family, we will be closing our campus of Excelsior ISD for the beginning of next week. This closure will provide for the safety of our students and staff; as well as to make certain that we have appropriate staff available for the campus. We are currently working with the custodial department to ensure that all equipment and buildings are cleaned and sanitized before the return of students on Thursday, January 20, 2022.
The district will be closed Monday, January 17, through Wednesday, January 19, and we expect to reopen Thursday, January 20. Please stay informed on Shelby County Today for more information in case the situation changes.
We ask that you use this time to quarantine and screen your children at home. If your child should test positive for COVID-19, please contact the campus 936-598-5866.
Excelsior ISD’s priority remains the safety and well-being of our students and staff.
January 14, 2022 - Elections are upon us! If you are 65 or older, disabled, and would like to vote a ballot by mail, please contact the County Clerk's Office at 936-598-6361 to request an application. You can check the annual box on the application and you will be sent ballots for every election this year.
If you will be out of town during early voting and election day of the March 1st primary, please contact our office and we can mail you a ballot. Please note: If you request a ballot due to absence from the county, we will require an address outside of the county to mail your ballot to. Also, if you are voting by mail due to being out of town, you must contact our office before each election to request an application for ballot by mail.
Also note, the applications have changed this year. Please look at entire application and be sure to fill out all information to keep your application from being rejected and your ballot delayed.
If you have any questions whatsoever, please contact the County Clerk's Office at 936-598-6361.
January 14, 2022 - Officials with the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas, Sabine National Forest, have advised a prescribed burn today located in Compartments 42/43/44/48 (BLOCKS A, B and C) 2603 acres, with Helicopter support, which is located south of Forest Service Road 125 and 126.
Winds are predicted from the Southeast at 4-10 mph. Also, we advise a long range drift smoke may affect some of the areas.
Update: The Courthouse will be closed Friday, January 14, for Covid-19 cleaning.
All county offices will be closed Friday. The offices are closed Monday for MLK Day. All offices will be back open on Tuesday, January 18th.
Update: According to County Tax Assessor Collector Debora Riley, the Property Tax office and Vehicle Registration office is closed as well until Tuesday, January 18, 2022.
January 13, 2022 - According to District Clerk Lori Oliver, the Shelby County District Clerk's Office is closed until Tuesday, January 18, 2022, due to COVID exposure.
We are sorry for any inconvenience this causes.
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