Work to commence on plumbing repair at county jail

RUSK – The approval of a $24,000 bid from local provider Ballew Plumbing by county leaders during a Jan. 25 Commissioners’ Court meeting will get the ball rolling on much-needed repairs at the Cherokee County Jail.

The bid to saw and remove concrete, as well as remove and replace 60 feet of sewer pipe, then replace the concrete will address the most pressing need for now, Sheriff Brent Dickson told the court.

“We’re having some major issues in the jail, in the old portion of the building,” he said. “Right now, it’s causing flooding in our jail. We’re having to have it pumped out every other day.”

In other action, the court approved the 2021 racial profiling report submitted by CCSO, which analyzed 1,211 total stops in the county during the year.

Dickerson noted no complaints of possible violations related to the Texas Racial Profiling Law between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 of 2021.

Of the 1,211 stops, 659 were made on a U.S. highway, while 255 were made on a state highway and the remainder – ranked from highest number to lowest – were made on a city street, a county road or private property.

Only in nine of the 1,211 stops were race or ethnicity known beforehand, the report stated. Of the total stops, 832 of the drivers were white, 146 were Black, 119 Hispanic or Latino, 10 were Asian or Pacific Islander and four American Indian/Alaskan native.

By gender, that overall number was comprised of 834 males and 377 females; 657 of the stops were due to moving traffic violation and 489 due to vehicle traffic violation.

Of the total stops, only 203 searches were conducted, with 102 of those with consent. Contraband was discovered during 113 of the searches, primarily (81 cases) drugs.

These 1,211 total stops resulted in 881 written warnings, 220 citations, 81 arrests, 23 written warning/arrest and 6 citations and arrests.

None of the motor vehicle stops resulted in the use of physical force resulting in bodily injury, according to the report, which Dickson said is available at the Cherokee County Clerk’s office for public viewing.

Also, during the meeting, the court:

• Approved combining polling locations for Precincts 37 and 38 into a single site for the March primary election. The new site is at the Precinct 3 Barn, located at 7500 U.S. Highway 79 West

• Appointed three Airport Advisory Board members – Jimmy Steward, who replaces a member who resigned, T.J. Hunter and Mike Miller (reappointed)

• Approved agreements with police departments in Rusk and Bullard, who sought to be part of CCSO’s SWAT Team

• Approved two separate donations to the sheriff’s office: A $250 from David Mason, which will be used for deputy reserves, and $1,500 from Law Enforcement Partners, which Dickson said would be used for community awareness and community relations.

• Approved a consent agenda that featured monthly bills, department reports and the authorization for paying of bills, payroll and the transfer of funds

County leaders agreed to pass on an agenda item that called for approval of the sale of scrap metal by one or more precincts to allow more research into whether used culverts could be considered as scrap (and therefore, sold) or surplus (which, by law, must be auctioned).