Jacksonville Progress
February 24, 2009 03:19 pm
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By Kelly Young
kyoung@jacksonvilleprogress.com
Travelers on County Road 1616 will need to slow down now that the Cherokee County Commissioners’ Court has imposed a 35 mph speed limit along that roadway.
A public hearing was held during Monday’s meeting, during which only people in favor of the limit spoke.
Commissioners then voted unanimously in favor of the lowered limit.
Charlotte Morton, the resident of CR 1616 who initially brought the problem to her commissioner’s attention, said the current situation posed a safety threat to the residents that live there.
“I have lived on that road now for over 40 years, and it has rapidly become a cut-through from the Dialville Highway to (U.S. Highway) 69. It is more or less a residential area, but we have logging trucks, cattle trailers and 18-wheelers coming through at a high rate of speed,” Morton said. “The only thing that slows them down is a sharp curve right there where you get on 69, and a lot of people have missed that corner because they were going too fast. This is just a little bitty country road, and it has gotten out of control.”
Shelley Cleaver, who attends Craft Turney Baptist Church — which has a playground right off of CR 1616 — said he sees a lot of commercial trucks going “awful fast” on the road in areas where children frequently play.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Kelly Traylor said the new limit will be imposed along the entirety of CR 1616, and that additional precautionary signs will be posted near turns in the road advising the public to take the curves at an even slower speed.
In other business, the court scheduled a special meeting for 9 a.m. Thursday, March 5, for the purpose of discussing goals and objectives of the county’s 2010 budget. Traylor said it will be a time when commissioners will be able to present their personal goals to the rest of the commissioners.
“Setting up a step program here for salaries is one of my main goals for the future, and something like that is going to take some research and some time to implement, so if we want to do something like that we are going to have to get a start on it,” he said. “This meeting will just be a good time for the members of the court to bring their own goals to the table and we, as a court, can decide what to do for the county.”
Several other members of the court agreed that the special meeting was a good idea.
Sheriff James Campbell came before the commissioners with three agenda items of his own. He presented for court approval the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department’s 2008 Racial Profiling Report and the 2009 Jail Inspection Report. The department received no racial profiling complaints last year, and the Texas Commission on Jail Standards found no deficiencies in its inspection of the Cherokee County Jail.
The sheriff also asked for, and received, permission to purchase a used car to replace a patrol car that was totaled six weeks ago in an wreck.
Action was taken to accept a bid of $3,750 from Weaver Motor Company for the used 2004 Dodge Stratus that Precinct 1 had been looking to sell.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Katherine Pinotti chose to reject a bid of $30,297.42 plus tax, title and license for a used 3/4-ton pickup from Al Meyer Ford. Pinotti said she would be seek permission during the court’s next meeting to go out for bids again.
The court also approved tax refunds to four local entities. Cellular One of East Texas was given $3,660; Franklin Bank received back $1,525.82; the Lake Palestine Association was refunded $1,128.39; and Forest Oil Corporation was given $9,120.86. All refunds in excess of $500 must be approved by the commissioners.
During the open forum portion of the meeting, all four commissioners went out of their way to compliment the jobs their constables are doing.
County Judge Chris Davis was not present for Monday’s meeting, as he was attending meetings in Austin. Precinct 2 Commissioner Kevin Pierce conducted the meeting.
Also on Monday, the court approved:
• laying utility lines on County Road 3424;
• the monthly report from L. H. Crockett, county auditor;
• the monthly report from Lynn Kelley, constable of Precinct 1;
• the monthly report from Eddie Lee, constable of Precinct 3;
• the monthly report from Jamie Beene, constable of Precinct 4;
• the monthly report from Ricky Moore, license and weight officer;
• one or more precincts to purchase rollers through BuyBoard;
• Precinct 3 to purchase a ditcher attachment for the precinct’s boom axe;
• Jeremy Hill to serve as a reserve deputy for the constable of Precinct 3;
• March 15-21 as Poison Prevention Week; and
• paying the bills.
The Cherokee County Commissioner’s Court regularly meets at 10 a.m. the second and fourth Monday of each month, at the county courthouse. The public is invited to attend all meetings.
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