We hope everyone reading our blog had a merry and safe Christmas. The past three weeks have been spent trying to get everyones vacation time in while the weather was too bad and wet to get much road work done. We did however get the all-weather materials bunk completed and loaded with iron ore and oil sand. We will begin soon on some simple sheds to park additional equipment under. I have a "thing" about equipment being left out in the weather. We installed some culverts for four of our taxpayers during the interim. We also got some patching done on part of the precinct and did some badly needed scabbing on CR 1250.
Recently in Commissioner's Court, I voted against the other commissioners on an issue that I feel strongly about. We have a very good health insurance policy that we provide as a benefit to our employees. It has been well administered by Health First TPA in the past. However, the agent that we deal with represents Health First and their company is owned by East Texas Medical Center. I feel that is a potential conflict of interest and I would prefer an independent agent that represents "only" our interests. The court has recently been sensitive to making local health care providers accessible to our employees through this plan and that will go a long way to helping my reservations.

We have officially started on our all-weather materials bunk. Despite the weather, we have cut our grade, installed our pole supports(2 7/8 drill stem), run our roof supports and welded our purling. We are working on running the rebar for our concrete bunks and ditching the perimeter for our concrete forms. We may have to sub-contract our forms and the concrete pour due to our lack of experience, however by doing the rest of the work ourselves, we can afford that to prevent the possibility of an expensive mistake with concrete.
During the intermittent good weather, the crew has been able to scab a portion of CR1616 and ditch a portion of CR1612. We were also able to due some culvert repair and drainage work for Mr. Whitfield on CR 1430. Mr. Huffman on CR 1345 needed some culvert repair where a large truck had turned around in his driveway and broke the end off the tile. We also "tried" to do some badly needed mowing and trimming, but we got so stuck, that we were afraid the precinct would end up looking like the job on the interstate by the state crews. One day we also cut some trees on CR1612, CR 1635 and west of Lake Tankersly. Center stripes were also repainted on several blind hills and curves.

Since my last post, we literally had a flood. On Thursday, October 29th, we had more rain in an hour and a half than I ever remember seeing. Whew!! We did have one day last week when we could do some much needed patching throughout the precinct. We also were able to unclog some culverts and bridges in the rain. Thanks to my crew who never complained about work that had to be done regardless of the weather. We also got the pad for the materials bunk laid out so we can get started on that next week.
This week we were able to finish patching the worst places in the precinct on Monday. Tuesday, we began installing two sets of tile culverts on CR1540 for Ms. Chism. We ran into probems when we cut a phone cable and had to move to another job while repairs were being made. The cable was in the middle of the ditch, not off to the side per the code so my crew not not liable. In the meantime we installed another culvert on CR1632 that was intended to be done a month ago. Wednesday and Thursday, we got some topping material and scabbed more sections on CR1632 and CR1314. We also had time to finish the tile culverts for Ms Chism on CR1540. Today, we have at least two and, if time permits, maybe three culverts for Mr. Griffin on CR1035, Mr. Johnson on CR1540, and Dr. Robertson on CR1675.
At last the proposition election is over and resolved. The people spoke loud and clear about their wishes concerning beer and wine sales in the city. That sounds like the good "ole" American way of doing things is working!

Well, so much for better weather. We have been out in the weather however, repairing culverts that have not carried this much run-off since they were installed. We were able to overlay one section of CR 1312, another section of CR1475 and a section of CR1660 close to the old Greenhill Presyberian Church. They will be having their foundational worship service on this Sunday, October 25, and I'm sure they will appreciate smoother roads. We also installed a supplemental culvert on CR 1362 to assist the drainage of their road. CR1362 is in a Post-Oak flat that will not drain very rapidly, regardless of what we do, but we are willing to try this to maybe ease the problem. We also overlayed a section of that road while we were there.
As for the Courthouse, we are dealing with a request by local volunteer fire departments to fund the matching portion of two grants that were awarded to them. Our VFD's are very dedicated and valuable to our county, but we have no allocation in our newly adopted budget for the $30,000+ that they will need. Although we may opt to fund this request, I'm very concerned about the future applications for grants on which we have no input. The county budget was not lightly conceived and more pressure at this critical time in our local economy is very worrisome. On one hand, we welcomed the "Tea Party" to our budget hearings to address their taxation concerns and at the very next meeting, we are asked for a large budget amendment by the VFD's. I guess one thing is for sure: "Ya can't please everybody!"

In preparation for the construction of a bad weather storage bunk for our materials, I was stepping off the pad and found a treasure. Covered in briars and brush was a rusted old brush-hog. It had been there since Mike Price was commissioner nine years ago. Nobody could tell me if it was any good, so during one of these rainy days, I had the crew dig it out, clean it up, and hook it to a tractor. IT WORKS!!! We rewelded some damage to the frame, sanded out all the rust and painted it. Since we don't need it, I'm going to put it on the auction site along with other items that haven't been used in years and put the money into some extra road work.
We did get some half-way decent weather last week and got to scab some areas on CR 1475, CR 1550 (some of the rebuild was too rough), CR 1695, and CR 1660. We also got to pull some ditches on CR 1660 and help out a resident on CR 1670 with some trashy fill dirt she needed behind her house. Three disability residents also asked for help with their drives to accommodate the mail carriers which we were glad to do for free. Working on private property is generally a big NO unless the resident is documented as "Disabled".
This week we have been cleaning equipment, prepping and painting the precinct's treasure brush-hog, and cleaning some culverts for residents on CR 1362. Hopefully we'll have some better weather next week so we can get started on our building project.

Rain, rain, and more rain. We have been able to catch up on some equipment maintenance. Some of the larger problem trees and some fallen trees around the precinct have been cut up and piled to burn. The few semi-dry days this week have afforded us the opportunity to do some patching that has been neglected while we were building roads the last two months.
The County has had the last of the budget and tax rate hearings on Monday. I think from the questions posed, we satisfactorily explained the rate and the reasons for the budget changes. The Commissioners as a whole took the lead in giving their employees a small raise, but paying for it without increasing our budget allotment. We all are carrying a certain amount of contingency money that we will have to do without next year. I think that is responsible and sensitive to the harder economic times.

We have now finished the immediate improvements to the "Pipeline " roads. We do have CR1905 yet to complete, but we have been working hard and fast to beat this rapidly approaching fall temperature. The rain and early onset of cooler temperatures may cause that to be postponed until late spring, early summer. We surfaced the bottom road on CR1680 with the ground up asphalt called RAP. It will be damaged every time it floods that road (often!) and we can blade it back fairly easily. The high ground was surfaced with RAP mixed with oil as an experiment and it layed down well and appears to cohere fairly well. We have other areas of the precinct that are lightly traveled that might benefit from this method because it makes a good surface and is inexpensive.
Some people in the precinct don't know that if you need a culvert for your property, call us. We will come out to assess the need, tell you what size culvert to buy, and we will install it for FREE! We have had some people try to put it in themselves and we can't let them do that because the bar-ditch belongs to the county. We have to maintain it so it needs to conform to certain specifications. If you need one, give us a call.
On the "local option" election, I don't really care one way or the other. The way it is now is acceptable to me. I happen to drink alcohol and have no problem driving out of town to purchase my needs. However, I am sensitive to the arguement that it would boost local sales tax revenue considerably. As far as the Court calling for the election, it is our responsibility to respect the lawfully submitted petitions and let the voters decide the issue.

We finished to repairs to CR1612 just in time before school started! The work has begun on the remainder of CR1550 and the first part turned out very well in spite of some very hard rains. The road was broken up, ground up, mixed with crude oil, and was laid back down. We are using our new Caterpillar motor grader htat does such an exacting job of finishing the surfacing. The good news is, it's costing less than the depreciation on the old one! In my next post, I will talk more about the "local option" elections here in Titus County.

Precinct #1 hit a bonanza on the auctioning of our equipment. The items brought considerably more than we expected. This will enable us to buy a bigger, more suitable tractor and side-boom mower plus allow us to lease a Caterpillar motor-grader for the same money.
We have finished one-half of CR1550 and have started rebuilding CR1612. We will return to CR1550 after we finish but we needed to complete the repairs on CR1612 before Hart's Bluff School started their classes. We have also started over on mowing the precinct due to the unseasonal rains.

Our precinct has been very busy since the settlement with the pipeline company. We ordered 300 tons of paving material that week and got it put out Thursday and Friday on CR1550. It was just a start though and then the rains came. We spent all last week cutting trees and cleaning up after the strong rains. We were able to put in an extra culvert on CR1612 at the back of the new development of Stonebriar. That particular property has created more run-off than before and I felt that more road drainage would be beneficial. We have 150 tons more of paving material to be delivered tomorrow and with the help of some dry weather, we should be back on CR1550. By the way, precinct 1 has some equipment on the Auctioneerexpress,com website in case anyone needs a motor grader or a side boom mower!

Well, the hens finally came to roost. After several attempts to negotiate a lower figure, the pipeline company finally settled for no less than the amount I need to complete the repairs to the roads that they damaged. We are busy winding up any project that can't wait for a month or so while we are repairing the damages. We added another culvert to CR1612 to handle the extra run-off from the Stonebriar development, today. We covered the repairs to CR 1355 and CR 1357 with topping and we scabbed a small section of CR 1485. Curtis is still making his way around the precinct, trimming back the limbs and cleaning up where the mower couldn't get with his side-boom mower. Next week, we should begin resurfacing CR 1550 and rebuilding the worst parts. All said, the pipeline company was fair to our precinct in both the negotiations and the settlement.

If you will notice around bridges, curves and corners, our spraying of the roadside has done extremely well. I told the crew that I had some secrets to improve the kill on the spraying, all legal and according to the label, left over from my days on the ranch. They still work!!! We have been digging out some soft spots around the precinct, filling with iron ore, and began covering with asphalt today. We have more to do tomorrow before we do some basic patching on Friday.

See, I told you I have been having issues with my computer! I'm not really repeating myself, I just didn't think the first entry posted yesterday.

Sorry that I haven't posted lately, but my hand-me-down computer has been on the fritz since last week. We have finished for now our improvements on CR1200. We have more to do, but I'll wait for the new budget year in October. We will probably move to CR1485, CR1775 and CR1695 for our next projects. We hope to get to finish the repairs to the roads used by the pipeline, CR1550, CR1680, and CR1780, but we must wait for their damage money. We have been finishing up our mowing of the precinct and the spraying of the right-of-way. Also we have been taking advantage of the unusually warm weather by making our own oil sand at our mixing field.

Since my last post, we have finished the improvements on CR1200. There will be more to come but we will need to wait for the new budget in October. Luminant was generous to provide us with 200 tons of cold mix, so that we could take the "roller coaster" out of the road and the rise to the haul road bridge. We now have turned to our mowing of the precinct and spraying of the rights of way. Also, we are waiting for our new bid on materials to start on July 1st that will save the precinct about 25%. In the meantime, we are making our own oil sand at our mixing field, taking advantage of this unually hot weather. Soon, we hope to get started on finishing our repairs to the roads used by the pipeline, CR1550, CR 1680, and CR1780. We have much in front of us, but we have the crew to get it all done this year. Sorry for not posting more often, but my hand-me-down computer has been on the fritz since last week.

I'm sorry that I haven't posted before now but we have been "gittin it" lately. We installed a large culvert for Mr. Easley, the contractor for a couple from out of town, building on the old Coburn Place. We also have been spreading alot of paving material on CR1200 and on the intersecting road CR1220. The expenses are high but that area needed some work badly. We also have had trees to cut off the road after the storm last week, but we were lucky that very little damage occurred during that high wind storm. The mower is still making its way around the precinct, having completed most of the eastern and southwestern portions of the area and working our way north from CR1340. We also have been patching some odds and ends during our "in between" times.

As an addition to my earlier post, I want to go over criteria for where we patch, scab, redo or leave for a new budget year. I wished we had sufficient funds to make our county roads look like city streets. However, we maintain our roads to be all weather, pothole free,and relatively smooth. Most roads are in good enough shape to require only patching on regular intervals. Sometimes, heavily traveled roads (i.e. CR1200) with many residents require scabbing( a smooth surface treatment on the existing base) on a regular schedule. This doesn't mean shoulder to shoulder cover, but a long stretch of topping to cover past patching. Maybe one or two roads per year can be singled out in certain stretches to be redone. Where the base has been undermined and washed out, we rip up the existing road, mill it into a coarse material, add fresh oil, mix it well and lay it back down from shoulder to shoulder. That could be a heavily traveled road with base problems( i.e. CR 1905) or a badly damaged road with past neglect. Eventually, all roads will be addressed as to their needs, but on a day to day basis, this is the criteria we use.

The much needed repairs to surface of CR1200 have begun and will continue for some time, weather permitting. We scabbed alot of the stretch between VOC-NET and the haul bridge plus some of the area towards Mrs. Thomas's place. I got a commitment from Luminant to furnish materials for a repair to the "roller coaster" section of the southeastern part of CR1200! Thanks to Doug Blevins and Don Marquardt, that should go along way to relieving some budget pressure that CR1200 always has caused. The precinct mowing crew is steadily working it's way around the area, cleaning up all the ditches from the thick grass and weeds due to the wet weather this Spring.

We started mowing last week but didn't get far before the rains made it too muddy to negotiate the ditches. We had several trees to cut up that had fallen across the road on Tuesday and Wednesday. One, just off CR1030, required almost all day. Thursday, we found some area in the precinct that we could mow that wasn't too wet and we also did some patching. Friday, we worked the same tasks as Thursday until noon, but all but one crew member took off the afternoon on their comp time.
Today, we continued mowing the ditches and we also started one of my priorities, CR1200. We scabbed about 100 yds of the road where we had patched and repatched. Weather permitting, we hope to get much of the road repaired between VOC-NET and the haul bridge!

Finally, we had some good weather this week to do some road repairs. Monday, while we were waiting for material to be delivered, we mowed and cleaned up the barn and yard. On Tuesday, CR1670 was our starting spot with 125 tons of cold mix to resurface down to the Piney Church turn off. We had to put in a culvert extension for Mrs. Duncan on CR 1468 on Wednesday and did somemore ditch cleaning. Thursday, instead of cold mix, I had 125 tons of oil sand delivered to finish topping CR1670. All the other commissioners use cold mix for this purpose but my foreman says that oil sand is better a better product and cheaper. So-o-o-o we're going to give it side-by-side comparison. Place your bets now! Today we finished CR1670, only to find the pipeline dumps were sneaking around to CR1670 for a short cut. What we didn't catch and make turn around, we'll just add another $10,000.00 to the pipeline bill. If you dance, you've got to pay the fiddler.

Our focus here at Precinct 1 has been restoring our roads to pre-storms status. We cleared some culverts and ditches on CR1680 on Friday. Monday, while it was raining, we greased all our equipment and checked our fluid levels, we burned all the trees and limbs we have cut off the roads, and we did some patching on CR1317. Tuesday, we cut some intersection corners so drivers can see oncoming traffic in Bridges Chapel, handled a drainage problem for Mr. Cannon in the Hayes Addition, and cleaned somemore culverts and ditches. Commissioners Court on Monday was significant for a couple of reasons. Not only did we reject Pilgrim's Prides request for penalty and interest abatement by not taking action on the issue, we tightened up on a much needed policy concerning travel expenses. The loop project is progressing but the court is getting very impatient with the firm handling the administation of the project.

This has been the rainiest spring since 2000. We have been struggling with all the wind and rain damage incurred during the last 6 days. Sunday morning, on CR 1042, the crew had to cut up a HUGE oak tree so residents could get to church. The roads for the most part have held up well. We have some large pot holes on CR1200 that will be repaired on Friday and most roads need their ditches cleaned of leaves and limbs. Hopefully we can get things back to normal by the time our materials dry out so we can get back to the roads. By the way, I've billed the pipeline company for damages and restoration $253,962.21. Precinct 1 does not plan to be out any money to accommodate the extensive damages done to our roads by the pipeline company.

The rains are guaranteeing a good growing season for all our farm and ranch operators this year. The roads are holding up pretty well, however we have alot of ditch clean-outs in front of us. We are taking this down time to paint some of our equipment and service our machinery. Wednesday, we had some trees down in the precinct. One on CR1342 required me to call two of the crew back at 6PM to cut it off the roadway, one I pulled off the road by hand, and one I had to call the other two of the crew out at 3:30 in the morning to meet me on CR1455 to get it off the road. Today, we picked up the logs and trash, hauled it off and road the roads for more limbs and branches. We did repair some driveway aprons on the west side of Lake Tankersley and we finally repaired some guard rail on CR1200 that had been damaged years ago.

Well, the precinct meeting was poorly attended. I ran notices in the paper for three days leading up to the event, had hot dogs for 200 people and homemade chili by my friend Chuck Denman. With competition from two area revivals, youth baseball and softball, and a tool /computer show at the civic center, I discovered the level of interest from the precinct when things are going pretty well. I wanted to thank Bob Fitch for leaving the precinct in such good condition, both physically and financially, inform residents about the technology options I am offering to keep everyone informed( E-mail and this blog, and to hear any concerns people had. It may be the first and only event of its kind!
Last week we cleaned more ditches on CR1697 and CR1695, we cut the GRASS, yes grass, from one of the worst roads in the precinct CR1749. We spent a couple of days patching holes. On Thursday, we went back to CR1749 and laid the prettiest pavement for those poor souls and thrilled them no end.
The court is considering abating interest for Pilgrim's as they go through bankruptcy. I think Pilgrim's is a vital industry for the community and overall a good corporate entity. My thinking right now is to reject their proposal for abatement due to our inability as a taxing district to legally do so. Also there are many other businesses that are having trouble or are out of business that expect the same rules and accommodations for everyone.

We have been busy lately with the clean-up from the storms Friday and Saturday. Friday night was spent on CR1435 and CR150 with downed trees. CR 1350 and CR1680 also had some big trees across the road, but we didn't find them until Saturday morning. During the week however we installed two culverts at the 6T Ranch for Mr. Parrish and we prepared CR 1749 for scabbing. We also used the down time from the rains to patch some roads. CR1130 was patched at several axcesses to driveways and the shoulders needed some repair. Mr. Roy had asked for a "No Outlet" sign to be installed going into the neighborhood. We also patched some places on CR1200. We are making preparations for the precinct meeting this evening at 6 o'clock at the Maintenance Barn.

The work continues on the two roads that have gotten more attention than they probably deserve, CR1550 and CR1670. The combination of wet weather and heavy loads have damaged the repairs already done. However we must keep up with the repairs so that the normal users won't break an axle! Also, once the pipeliners leave, we can start resufacing as soon as possible. We were able to help Mr. Bassinger on CR1332 with his culvert and respond to a request from the Presbyterian Church to put out some ground cover by their foundation church on CR1660. Rain was forcasted for Easter Sunday and they hold a Sunrise Service on that day. Today, we put up a "No Outlet" sign on CR1130, cleaned out a clogged ditch on CR 1030, and surveyed the precinct after the storms this weekend.

Well, last week brought some much needed rain to the county, but didn't do much for our county roads. We did get some routine monthly patching done over most of the precinct, but no major repairs. On Friday, we extended a culvert for Mr. Jenkins to accommodate wider loads in and out of his property. The guys got all of our equipment, the dumps, the haul trucks, backhoes, etc. cleaned out and washed. The funniest thing was a bad smell coming from the refrigerator we have to keep their lunches in during the day. We cleaned it out and found prehistoric tuna salad, rock hard sandwiches, and juice from the Bush Years. What would one expect from a crew of all men!

Since my last post, we helped Kieth Thomas tie his new residential development street at Stonebrier into CR1605. We also cut some smaller dead trees off of several county roads. Today we installed a 32 ft. culvert for the Johnson's on CR1660 and we did some hurried repairs on both CR1550 at the White Oak church and CR 1670. With rain expected tomorrow, the guys had to be in a hurry today.

Despite the threatening weather, we actually got quite alot done this week. There was a culvert on CR1475 that had rotted out, so we replaced it. Also we had to tamp all the dumpsters from "Spring Cleaning" week so the waste management people could pick them up. We got rid of alot of garbage last week! We put in a culvert for the Morrises on CR1364 on Tuesday. Also, we did odd jobs around the yard, like putting some of our materials under the shed so we could do road repair as soon as the the weather clears. We also had maintenance check the differentials on all our large trucks. Dennis, our maintenance foreman, said there had been a rash of rear-end jobs around the county lately and we should make time to check those. Wednesday we had a contractor come out with his lift truck and cut dead trees that were too big or hazardous for us to handle. We cut six large trees in a days contract and hauled them to the burn pile. Today, we checked for damage from the hard rain Thursday, burned the burn pile, and cut a tree on CR1550.

The county is really getting into this "Spring Cleaning". A great effort is meaning shown to clean up around properties in the precinct.Great Job!!! Friday, we cleaned out a ditch and culvert on CR1123 for the Camerons and the Holts so the water would flow off their yards if we get more rain this week. We also picked up the waste fill dirt at Bridges Chapel and brought it back to the mixing field. The rest of the day was spent cold patching precinct roads damaged during the rains last weekend.

It looks like everyone is taking advantage of the "Spring Cleaning Week". Participation hasbeen enough to fill two job site dumpsters!!! at CR1342 and one dumpster on CR1670. We have been doing our monthly patching of roads. We may not get all over the county this week since the heavy rains did some damage. We repaired the road at Bridges Chapel cemetery using 7 tons of material. The cost was $575.00 that we incur to accommodate the families of the deceased. We also plan to bring some fill dirt for the cemetery association and pick up some scree. Nicky Brown says that the doctor will release him to go back to work on Monday.

Since my last post, we've been busy trying to unclog culverts around the precinct. We've also been cleaning up limbs and refuse from the much welcomed rains. Nicky, my foreman, got a slight injury on Monday and should be out for at least a week. We wish him a rapid recovery. We are also checking and tamping the dumpsters scattered around the county for "Spring Cleaning Week". Remember to get those garages and barns cleaned out this week because the trash haul-off is FREE!!!

Since my last blog, I attended the 2009 County Judges and Commissioners Conference to get my requisite 16 hours of continuing education. The sessions were mostly obvious information however there were some very good sessions. The main thing I learned was how fortunate we are to have a functional and cooperative county government in Titus Co. From the questions asked at some of the sessions, it was obvious that some counties have severe problems with the duties and responsibilities of various office holders. It seems the "good ole boys" network is still around in some counties. Trust me, I have only been in office for two months, but I have yet to see anything other than normal disagreements and a cooperative attitudes.
While I was away, the crew worked some more on CR1550, CR1670 and did some much needed clean out of equipment sheds and the county office during the rains.

Since Monday, we have been taking advantage of the weather to repair CR1680, CR1780, the west end of CR1550, and CR1475. Numerous sites were dug out and new iron ore was packed in. Now the pipeline has started hauling dozers, trackhoes and other extremely heavy equipment across the areas repaired last week. We will try to stay ahead of the damage and deal with the repair as it arises. Today we spread 35 tons of oil-sand on CR 1905(the extension of the Green Hill Road) so the faster and busier traffic would not be affected as severely.

CR1680 got a little smoother today. We pulled the ditches and bladed the road down to the curve. Tomorrow, we'll haul some iron ore for some bad holes and finish out to CR1780.

CR 1680 finally got a little smoother today. The ditches were pulled and the road surface was bladed to give a little smoother road. Tomorrow, we'll haul in some iron ore for a couple of bad holes in the road and finish the road to CR1780.

Now I feel like a veteran politician. I lied! I just thought I was through on CR1550. Nicky Brown, my foreman, said he had 7 or 8 more repairs to make before we moved the equipment to CR1680. We now have those completed and will be on CR1680 next week unless it rains a ton this weekend.

We finished the CR1550 stretch from FM2152 to the pipeline access road. Now we'll move our equipment to CR1680 and work on the base there. Maybe by next Thursday or Friday, the repairs on CR1550 will be dry enough for some oil sand paving.

Today, we had more iron ore hauled in to continue our repairs on CR1550. We dug out 8 more locations and put new base down. One more day ought to complete the initial repairs on that road, so we can then start on CR1680. After several days of sunshine, the base repairs on CR 1550 will be ready for some oil sand topping. Commissioners met with the superintendent of Willbro Co., the pipeline contractor, and discussed the responsibility of their company in defraying the cost of repairs to the county , for the damages caused by their truck-traffic to the roads they are using.

If you missed the Court meeting, you didn't miss much. The only thing on the agenda was putting Frances Neal back on the MHMR board as our county representative. She does a good job and her term was about to expire.
As for our road work, CR1550 was worked on again. That could be a "weeks long" job unless we can get a lot of dry weather. Commissioners Hinton, Hockaday and I will be meeting with the pipeline superintendent tomorrow to talk about compensations to the county for all the damages incurred.

We are working hard at tearing up CR1550...and putting new base in all the soft spots that the heavy trucks are causing. We really do ask for patience from all who travel the roads accessed by the pipeline trucks. Our material is a little damp and we hope it will set up so we can top with some oil mix. County Commissioners Court is scheduled for Monday. See you there!

Like Willie Nelson says, we're on the road again. The damaged areas of CR1905 were dug out and new base was replaced. On CR1550, we dug out 6 areas and repaired them between SH2152 and the first crossroad! More to come tomorrow.

Here's another day of odds and ends. We cut some intersection corners clean of the brush and vines on CR 1255 and also some trees in the area. CR 1342 and 1345 were trimmed of their low branches. We picked up two dead animals in the ditch on CR1340, two more on CR1312 and buried them at the mixing field. Tomorrow, we hope to get back on the pipeline roads of CR1550 and 1905 now that our material is dry and our base repairs are drying.

Hopefully, we will miss the forecasted rain for today so we can resume or repairs to CR1550, 1670, 1680,and 1905. Today, we put up a "Children at Play" sign for Terry Ward on the far end of CR1200. While we were there, we cut alot of low hanging limbs along the road and down CR 1255 and 1257. I also got a gate for the fence at the new bridge on CR1535.

Today we celebrate "President's Day"!

Today we cleaned out some clogged culverts on CR 1455. It was still pretty wet but it was badly needed if we get the rains forecast for Tuesday of next week. The crew also cut a large snag on CR1435 and some low hanging limbs. All of the wood was hauled to the burn site to burn Tuesday if we get some more rain.

Due to the rains earlier in the week, we could not apply our oil-sand to the repairs we made to the base on CR 1550, the most damaged road by the pipeliners. Instead we cut several dead trees, some quite large, and broken limbs on CR 1350 and CR 1345. We also cleaned off the corners of a crossroad intersection at CR 1250 and CR 1070. A visit was made to the house of Roman Cardenas on CR1485 to inspect the condition of the road there.

This is the opening blog to any one who might be interested in the activities of the Precinct 1 road crew and the issues we face in maintaining and improving the quality of the county road. Also I will be posting events and issues that pertain to the conduct of business affairs relating to this precinct; county government, taxation issues,etc. My plan is to post a daily account of our activities and locations. Please feel free to respond with requests or suggestions. Don