DeWitt County Commissioners Court voted to extend the burn ban for unincorporated areas of the county when the 90day ban approved in August expires.
There have been a number of roadside fires recently with no prediction that dry conditions will improve.
Billy Jordan, Emergency Management Coordinator, reported to DeWitt County Commissioners Court that local companies have been a great help recently extinguishing grass fires and limiting property damage.
On October 29, Friedel Drilling Company had trucks in the area of a fire on US 183 north of Cuero. An em- ployee saw the smoke and brought a water truck to assist, saying he was glad to help out when he could. That same day, a home was in danger from a fire on FM 766. R Construction Oilfield Services came with a tractor to cut a fire break to contain the fire.
The court conducted a post-election canvass of the results of the Nov. 4 Special Election on 17 constitutional amendments. Commissioners reviewed reports from each of the four polling places in the county, comparing the printouts from the voting machines with the report of election results.
Deidra McCollum, elections administrator, will post a final report on the county website. 16.5% of registered voters in DeWitt County voted in the Constitutional Amendment Election.
The court granted an exemption from state law for three vehicles belonging to the Sheriff’s Office to be marked. State law requires that countyowned motor vehicles and heavy equipment be marked with the name of the county and the department having custody of the vehicle. Commissioners Court can exempt vehicles from this requirement. An audit found that 8 vehicles used by the Sheriff’s Department did not have identifying inscriptions. The court granted the exemption for the sheriff’s vehicle and those of the two investigators. The other vehicles were not exempted and will have the inscriptions put on them.
The Court conducted other routine business, including the county treasurer’s payroll report. The payroll for the county for wages, benefits, and taxes is roughly $500,000 biweekly.
The court received monetary donations of $1,500 each for the Emergency Management and Sheriff’s Office from Devon energy and letters from the county auditor certifying the funds will be used for those offices.
