DeWitt County Commissioners create proclamation, institute burn ban at March 24 meeting

DeWitt County Commissioners made a Proclamation establishing April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month at the March 24 meeting.

Kati Klores is with the DeWitt County Child Welfare Board and she is happy to accept this proclamation.

“Our organization serves kids in foster c a re ,” Klores said . “The commissioners give us money annually to purchase items for our ‘Rainbow Room.’ There we have things like diapers and wipes that case workers can grab to help with children. We also help with school clothes and school supplies as well as Christmas and Birthday gifts.”

Currently, 33 children are in foster care in DeWitt County.

Along with the Child Welfare Board, Norma’s House and BELONG were in attendance to accept this proclamation. BELONG is an organization in Texas that cares for children and families who have been affected by trauma, abuse, or neglect. Their mission is to offer help and hope to assist in the victim’s journey to healing. Norma’s House is an organization from Gonzales, and they provide therapy for children and their family members as well as medical exams as needed.

Board members also enacted a burn ban which will last until Sunday, June 22.

“We’ve been in a consistent drought,” Judge Daryl Fowler said. “That manifests itself right now as you’re going up and down the highways of the county, there are really no wildflowers. A burn ban has in the past helped us in some sort of an ironic way to get to significant rainfall. We put this on the agenda because it’s become very droughty and there’s been an excess of winds. As of this morning, the KeetchByram Drought Index for our County is 501. We do have a portion of the County that exceeds that at 589. That is the threshold, 550, in which the law allows us to institute and adopt a burn ban for the next 90 days if we so choose.”

Fowler asked what the mind of the court was on this agenda item.

“There is not substantial enough moisture,” Precinct No. 1 Commissioner Ryan Varela said. “It’s too dry to control any kind of burn.”

Commissioners also accepted a letter of retirement from DeWitt County Justice of the Peace Precinct No. 1 Peggy Mayer. Mayer has assumed this position for almost 23 years.

“Mayer did this out of gratitude,” Fowler said. “She said in the letter that this was one of the most rewarding experiences of her life.”

Judge Blanca McBride will be the interim Justice of the Peace for Precinct No. 1. Applications for this position are now open.

Other items on the agenda include:

• Commissioners adopted a resolution to provide critical funding for rural emergency medical services.

• Commissioners approved a food service vendor contract with Performance Food Service for the jail.

• Commissioners received a letter from “Keep Cuero Beautiful” which commended DeWitt County for diligence in keeping its properties clean.

• Commissioners received a Jail Inspection Report. They also approved a Project Agreement Form between the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and DeWitt County for prison labor at the DeWitt County Historical Museum.

• A permit application from Qwik Pipe Inc. for the installation of a temporary water line along Metting Road and Metting School Road in Commissioner Precinct No. 3. A lease application from Repsol Services Company for the installation of a saltwater pipeline along Seiler Road in Precinct No. 3 was also approved.

• A certificate of completion from the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas for Commissioner James Kaiser was given. This is for successfully completing the continuing education provisions.