The Stephens County Commissioners met with a keen eye on improving the county for 2020, with a focus on the Texas Department of Public Safety, bond supervision and morale improvement.
The commissioners approved the contract for the Texas Department of Public Safety Failure to Appear program on Monday, Jan 27 at the county courthouse.
Justice of the Peace Steve Spoon provided the commissioners information about the program.
Bacel Cantrell is stepping into a new role as police chief of Breckenridge Police Department. He brings with him almost 15 years of experience.
Cantrell is a 2002 graduate of Breckenridge High School and started his law enforcement career in 2006.
“I went and talked to Jim Reeves, the sheriff at the time, and he told me, ‘if you’re going to be a police officer, you are going to have to start in the jail. You’ll have to start from the bottom and work your way up,’” Lt. Cantrell said.
There is nothing more patriotic then practicing one’s democratic right. With election season swiftly approaching, the race for the U.S. House District 11 seat is sure to be a contested battle.
According to the Federal Elections Commission, 12 republicans, one democrat, one libertarian and one independent will be running in the primaries.
Stephens County will have several elections upcoming regarding the county.
On the ballot for the 2020 primaries will be elections for County Commissioner of precinct 1 and 3, Sheriff, Constable, Tax Assessor, County Attorney, and Stephen County Republican Chair.
The Breckenridge Independent School District board of trustees presented the possibility of closing North Elementary, on Monday, Jan. 20 at the School Administration Office. The board considered the option as a way to help with accountability while creating a more efficient operation of district resources and facilities.
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is currently writing rules to reconfigure campuses in districts around Texas. The reconfiguration is defined as Improvement Required, which Breckenridge ISD is in the first year of.
The Stephens Memorial Hospital District (SMH) board of trustees confirmed the mishandling of “significant amounts of blood volume” regarding blood samples on Thursday, Jan 23 at the O.C. Heairren Annex building.
System malfunctions involving blood samples were identified as a cause for the decrease in lab volume over the past few months.
The Breckenridge ISD held a community involvement meeting for the search of a new superintendent during their School Board meeting on Monday, Jan. 13. During the meeting, the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) sent representative Rick Howard to discuss the leadership qualities desired by the community for a new superintendent.
Candidates can begin filing for a place on the ballot for the May 2 uniform election which involves local political subdivisions. The first day to file was Wednesday, Jan 15, with the deadline set for Friday, Feb. 14.
The last day to register to vote in the May 2 election will be Thursday, April 2. Early voting will run Monday, April 20 through Tuesday, April 28. The last day to receive ballot by mail will be on election day at 7 p.m. if not postmarked, or Monday, May 4 at 5 p.m. if postmarked by 7 p.m. at the location of the election on election day.
The Stephens County Commissioners discussed numerous items during the regular scheduled meeting held on Jan. 13, including honoring Ron White, a retiring postal service employee, the lifting of the outside burning ban, and details on the hazard mitigation plan.
Ron White was in the first grade when his teacher asked him to collect the mail for the school. Along with another student, White would walk about four blocks to the mailroom to gather those documents.
With a pleasant experience from the postmaster, White recalls being fond of his carrier duties even at a young age.
At the Jan. 13 County Commissioner meeting, Ron White was honored for his 35 years of service to the Breckenridge community. As a U.S. Postal Service employee, White has been voted the most liked carrier for a record number of years.
