DeWitt Commissioners presents proclamation Youth Livestock Show Week

DeWitt County Commissioners made a proclamation designating the first week in March as DeWitt County Youth Livestock Show Week at the Feb. 24 meeting.

“FFA and 4-H members from throughout DeWitt County participate in the Cuero Livestock Show and they build leadership skills and responsibilities through their hard work and dedication,” Judge Daryl Fowler said. “As they participate in the stock show, it provides a positive atmosphere which enables the youth of DeWitt County to become productive citizens of today and leaders of tomorrow.”

Members of the County Extension Agency were in attendance during this proclamation.

“We appreciate the Commissioners Court and staff for recognizing the first week in March as a proclamation for the stock show, we’re very grateful to the court,” Cuero Livestock Show President Greg Gossett said. “Commissioners Court was gracious enough last year to give us $25,000 annually to support our facilities that we have.”

The numbers in the youth livestock show have gone up according to the Cuero Livestock Show Secretary Anthony Netardus.

“Our numbers are up,” Netardus said. “There was somewhat of a rumor that numbers this year were down, but they’re actually up. Last year, the total animal entries were 368 and this year it is 386. We are 18 animals up. There were also 291 exhibitors last year and this year it was 305. We are very proud of that. It is because of the support of the commissioners court and the community.”

Netardus invites everyone to attend the opening ceremonies this Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Homemaking building.

Emergency Management Coordinator Billy Jordan also spoke about code enforcement at the meeting.

“We have seen over the last calendar year that we have had about 15 controlled fires that we’ve dispatched,” Jordan said. “We are utilizing resources when we can pull those resources for other issues. What I am asking is to consider allowing me to go and take a code enforcement class to enforce the Texas Health and Safety Codes. We want to organize a burn rule that if citizens want to have a controlled burn, then they should call it in. This is merely a suggestion, I see that there’s an enhanced number of calls for controlled burns and if people just call these in, we can send a deputy out to look at it.”

Commissioners also approved an out of state training request fo r D e Wi t t C o u n t y Sheriff’s Office Investigator Bethany Hobbs. She will be training with the FBI Academy in Quantico.

The funds for this request are not to exceed $10,000.

“The FBI Academy is the most expensive free training that one will have in their life,” DeWitt County Sheriff Carl Bowen said. “Some purchases for this trip include a trip to New York City where Hobbs will see how operation centers there function. There are also trips to the Memorials in Washington D.C.”

Other items on the agenda include:

• Commissioners received the DeWitt County Historical Commission annual treasurer report for fiscal year 2024.

• A memorandum of understanding for the purpose of establishing a partnership between the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and DeWitt County was approved this is for cooperative demonstration work in agriculture and home economics.

• Commissioners awarded a bank depository bid to First National Bank in Shiner.