Shelby County Today

The Shelby County Commissioners and County Judge are seen seated at the newly istalled courtroom furnitue.

January 28, 2025 - The expansion of a County Road in Precinct 4 was agreed upon by the Shelby County Commissioners during their meeting held January 22, 2025.

Tom Bellmyer, Commissioner Precinct 4, provided some detail on the circumstances around the desire of property owners to have the roadway expanded.

Bellmyer explained that several months ago Bobby Bice, owner of BRK Meats in Tenaha, had discussion with Bellmyer about a business expansion to his facility and the ensuing substantial traffic increase. 

“Mainly on large trucks and live animals coming in and of course process of product leaving, and we talked about expanding his road,” said Bellmyer. 

Bellmyer stated there's a chicken farm beyond the BRK Meats facility that has poultry, live haul and feed trucks on it. 

“We talked about expanding his road and part of the discussion along with he and an adjacent landowner, Roland Cross, because he has a housing development between Bobby's facility and the highway that we would need to get an easement agreement for expanding the easement for me to expand the road onto,” said Bellmyer. 

Bellmyer said there have been several conversations between himself, Bice and Cross and they got the county attorney involved in the conversation. 

“[We] talked about what it would take to expand the easement along there, and it's really to protect everyone, protect the county, protect the landowners, me not infringing on their non-easement property and then of course kind of having a path forward on the road,” said Bellmyer.

Bellmyer stated that County Attorney John Price put together an agreement for expanding the easement and Bice and the Cross family have all signed off on it. 

“I’m very comfortable with the language that's in it. It gives responsibility to all the parties. So I think it's pretty clear,” said Bellmyer. 

Bellmyer commented that this can help support business expansion in Shelby County, which helps increase the tax base

County Attorney Price stated Tenaha Mayor O’Neal Jones was also present for the meeting. Price concurred that he had drafted an agreement for the 20-foot expansion of CR 4620.

Roland Cross stated he would like to see the road widened and that a lot has been invested in that area and a wider road is needed for commercial use.

Bice stated, "This has been in the planning for some good time and we actually have another agreement with a very large company that's going to be a little bit of a different type of process out there that is more than likely, it's going to be very big. So our timing is perfect for this to happen right now. So we're very satisfied that we're out there. So we look forward to our growth. As I said before, to some of you that's been in meeting with us, our goal is to move our whole facility out to Tenaha. Once we get the final buildings put in place, we'll move all of our Carthage facilities out to Tenaha and we'll be there.”

Mayor Jones spoke about trying to improve the community of Tenaha and Shelby County through development, and in conjunction with a wage program.

“So with this program, bringing in this facility also increases the cost of living because with this plan, it brings in higher wages. So that's one thing we spoke about bringing this in to help the people in this community, especially in Shelly County,” said Jones.

Commissioner Bellmyer thanked Mayor O’Neal for the work he has done with those involved and doing what’s best for Tenaha.

Bellmyer moved to approve the request as presented by the County Attorney, and a second was heard from Commissioner Shannon Metcalf. The motion carried.

Sealed bids for a haul truck for Precinct 3 were opened with one bid received from Volvo Mack Truck in Waco in the amount of $142,910, and another bid received from Performance Truck in Lufkin in the amount of $147,876.80.

Commissioner Stevie Smith moved to table to item for further consideration, and the bid was seconded by Commissioner Metcalf. The motion carried.

Commissioner Bellmyer has a 2008 CPS Belly Dump Trailer, that has been in his precinct’s fleet since 2008 and he was requesting approval to list the trailer on Purple Wave since he doesn’t need the trailer.

Commissioner Bellmyer moved to list the trailer on Purple Wave, Commissioner Metcalf seconded the motion and it carried.

A Case 850D LongTrack Dozer was also requested by Bellmyer to be placed on Purple Wave. Commissioner Bellmyer moved to place the Case 850D LongTrack Dozer on Purple Wave, and a second was given by Commissioner Smith. The motion carried.

The commissioners considered submitting an application for the Texas Preservation Trust Fund Fiscal Year 2026 Grant Program to benefit the Historic Shelby County Jail. 

County Judge Allison Harbison explained the grant is different from the previous one that the county went out for involving the courthouse, and that it is specifically for a smaller project.

Rayford Copelin, Shelby County Historical Commission, described for the commissioners what the grant is for and how much money is potentially available.

“This one is a smaller program. It's called the Preservation Trust Fund. Total state-wide budgeting for this is $330,000, but these grants are open more than just to a courthouse. They're all away from archaeological types of things, buildings and everything,” said Copelin.

He stated there really isn’t funding from the state for a project such as the Shelby County Historical Jail. One focus of needed repair on the jail are the windows and Copelin described their condition.

“Most of the window frames are rotted out. There is gaps from an inch to two inches where the window pane is actually separated from the frame itself. So it's a project that needs to be done and since the jail is a state antiquities landmark, we are required to do the renovation in certain ways so that it meets those requirements,” said Copelin.

Copelin explained that standards established by the Secretary of the Interior, which is a federal group, are what have to be followed involving doing any work to any building on the courthouse square now because of its designations.

“We were we were looking at that project to look at the windows and replacing the windows, and we had a company from Fort Worth who specializes in historic renovations and stuff come down and look at they are in the process of kind of assessing the need,” said Copelin. “We did identify that to do the windows. We're going to take the bars off also and replace them.” 

Copelin stated that when the restoration was done back in the early 90s, it wasn’t done well and the windows were not quality. When they put the bars back in, Copelin said they didn't sink them correctly.

“What we're looking at is taking the windows and replacing them with windows that are more appropriate for the age of the building plus windows that would match the courthouse windows which are paned  windows, there's like 12 panes in one of those windows. The ones in the jail are just two big sheets of glass and I don't think that's anywhere close to being period-appropriate,” said Copelin.

Commissioner Bellmyer made a motion to move forward with the grant application, and a second was given by Commissioner Metcalf. The motion carried.

During the Commissioner Court Reports portion of the meeting Commissioner Bellmyer commented on the two TxDOT bridge projects currently ongoing in Precinct 4 and Precinct 3 by the same contractor.

“They are about 10 days or two weeks ahead of schedule, surprisingly, and I know that the next phase of this bridge is to set the precast concrete beams. So we're right on schedule for that activity to happen,” said Bellmyer.

He stated the contractor has been very good to work with.

Commissioner Bellmyer also noted that there is now activity at the Huber water well project.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:07am.

Agenda items approved during the meeting include:
1. Pay weekly expenses.

2. Expand a portion of County Road 4620 by a width of 20 feet on the East side of said County Road in Pct. 4 for further business development. 

3. Recognize the Certificate of Completion of 20 hours of Continuing Education for Jennifer Fountain, County Clerk.

4. Recognize the 2024 Judicial Education Record of Hours obtained by County Judge, Allison Harbison. 

5. Precinct 4 to place surplus equipment on Purple Wave Auction.  (1) 2008 CPS Belly Dump Trailer, VIN# 5MC1116209PO1OO29 Tx Exempt 911 2546.

6. Precinct 4 to place surplus equipment on Purple Wave Auction.  (1) Case 850D LongTrack Dozer, year unknown, VIN# JAK0002103.

7. Submit an application for the Texas Preservation Trust Fund Fiscal Year 2026 Grant Program to benefit the Historic Shelby County Jail. 

8. Adjourn 10:07am. 
 
Agenda items tabled during the meeting include:
1. Open sealed bids for Precinct #3 haul truck, review and possibly award bid.

January 28, 2025 - On January 23, 2025 the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality required the City of Joaquin public water system, #210010, to issue a Boil Water Notice to inform customers, individuals, or employees that due to conditions which occurred recently in the public water system, the water from this public water system was required to be boiled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes.

The public water system has taken the necessary corrective actions to restore the quality of the water distributed by this public water system used for drinking water or human consumption purposes and has provided TCEQ with laboratory test results that indicate that the water no longer requires boiling prior to use as of January 28, 2025.

If you have questions concerning this matter, you may contact City of Joaquin, 130 Steve Hughes Dr., Joaquin, TX 75954. 936-269-3021.

January 23,2025 - Due to loss of distribution system pressure the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has required the City of Joaquin/PWS ID #210010 public water system to notify all customers to boil their water prior to consumption (e.g., washing hands/face, brushing teeth, drinking, etc). Children, seniors, and persons with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to harmful bacteria, and all customers should follow these directions).

To ensure destruction of all harmful bacteria and other microbes, water for drinking, cooking, and ice making should be boiled and cooled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes. The water should be brought to a vigorous rolling boil and then boiled for two minutes.

In lieu of boiling, individuals may purchase bottled water or obtain water from some other suitable source for drinking water or human consumption purposes.

When it is no longer necessary to boil the water, the public water system officials will notify customers that the water is safe for drinking water or human consumption purposes.

Once the boil water notice is no longer in effect, the public water system will issue a notice to customers that rescinds the boil water notice in a manner similar to this notice.

Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.

If you have questions concerning this matter, you may contact City of Joaquin at 936-269-3021 or 130 Steve Hughes Drive, Joaquin, TX 75954.

January 24, 2025 - The Center Fire Department was dispatched to a vehicle fire early Friday morning, January 24, 2025, located on the 600 block of Sharp Street.

According to the Center Fire Department, when the firefighters arrived sometime just after 7:10am they found a Ford Expedition fully engulfed in flames beside a home. 

The firefighters were able to quickly knock the flames back with water and extinguish the blaze. The cause and origin of the fire was not able to be immediately determined.

Firefighters returned to the station at 8:20am.

January 23, 2025 - Emergency responders were dispatched to a fatal single-vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 96 North Thursday, January 23, 2025, just south of the Center Country Club.

Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputies and Center Fire Department were first to the scene where it was discovered live power lines were laying across the vehicle involved. 

Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative crews were requested, and responded quickly to help disconnect power to the electrical lines.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the preliminary crash investigation indicates that at approximately 1:05am, a 2012 Cadillac SRX was traveling north. It is reported that the Cadillac driven by Jason Bush, 42, of Center failed to drive in a single lane, left the roadway to the right, over-corrected back to the left across all lanes of U.S. 96, and overturned multiple times. Bush was ejected as a result of the crash. 
 
Bush was pronounced deceased by Donna Hughes, Justice of the Peace Precinct 1. He was later transported from the scene by Mangum Funeral Home.
 
The vehicle was towed from the scene by Smith Towing.

The crash was investigated by Troopers Jordan Ford and Taylor Buster.

DPS reported this is an ongoing investigation, and no further information is available at this time.