CodeRED approved for county use

By Nathan Straus

nstraus@jacksonvilleprogress.com

RUSK — In the event of an emergency, Cherokee County residents will soon hear notifications from county officials on their home and business phones.

The CodeRED notification program was approved by the Cherokee County Commissioners Court Monday morning during its regular meeting.

CodeRED, part of an agreement between the county and the East Texas Council of Governments, is a high-speed warning device designed to quickly deliver messages to targeted areas or the entire county by phone.

According to county officials, this allows representatives at the city and county level to quickly notify residents of dangers which affect life and property. County Judge Chris Davis urged all county residents to register their phones with CodeRED.

“No one should automatically assume his or her phone number is included,” Davis said. “CodeRED allows geographically based delivery, which means street addresses are required to ensure emergency notification calls are received by the proper individuals in a given situation. The system works for cell phones, too, but we need to have an associated street address to provide relevant messages.”

Anyone who wants to register can call 903-683-5947 or visit www.co.cherokee.tx.us and click the link to the CodeRED Community Notification Enrollment page.

All businesses are encouraged to register, as are individuals with unlisted phone numbers or who are using cell phone numbers as their primary contacts.

Many items were covered in the meeting, which was the last court meeting until January 2010.

Sheriff James Campbell presented his monthly report and two additional items. In his report he noted the sheriff’s department received 1,140 calls in November and a total of 13,399 to date this year. The county received 215 prisoners last month and released 221.

Campbell also suggested accepting Zachary Womack as a reserve deputy. Womack is a recent graduate of the police academy. This suggestion was approved by the court.

The last item presented by Campbell was in regards to a required registration of a dangerous dog in the county at an annual fee of $50. According to Campbell, if the dog is sold or moved, the owner must then pay an additional $25 fee.

Two tax-related items were approved. Tax Assessor Linda Little informed the commissioners about overpayment of taxes on accounts belonging to disabled veterans. She said the veterans paid their taxes and then filed for 100 percent disabilities for veterans, which exempted them from portions of their payments. In addition, the court approved a resolution resale on “Struck Off” tax sale property.

Three grant-related agenda items were approved during the meeting. The first was for a grant application of the May 11, 2009, Recovery Act-Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance to be changed to purchase law enforcement equipment for the Precinct 4 constable, the sheriff’s department and juvenile services. Just under $6,000 will go to juvenile services for car radios. Originally placed at around $44,000, the rest of the grant money left will go toward communication equipment for the sheriff’s department’s Special Weapons and Tactics unit and for patrol cars.

County officials will seek to gain funds from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program to replace various county light equipment with more energy-efficient models. The commissioners approved the county to apply for this grant.

Officials will also try to obtain a polling place accessibility grant and an opportunity for access grant for the county clerk. The polling place grant is valued at around $6,500 and the access grant, if received, will come in at about $2,500.

Another agreement between ETCOG and Cherokee County was approved concerning the 9-1-1 Automated Location Information Maintenance Service contract. This new contract began Sept. 1 and will end Aug. 31, 2011.

Commissioners cast their votes for the Cherokee County Appraisal District Board of Directors. Tammy Treadwell and John Lester were approved for two-year terms. Precinct 3 Commissioner Katherine Pinotti opposed the motion.

An additional $5 fee on civil cases in county, statutory county, probate and district courts is now in effect after commissioners adopted a new appellate judicial system to help fund the operations of the 12th Court of Appeals.

One polling place was shifted in Alto for countywide, special and primary elections. The Alto Fire Station voting location was moved to the Alto Methodist Church.

Commissioners also approved the consent agenda, which included approval of the county auditor’s monthly report, the commissioners court minutes, the license and weight monthly report, the Precinct 2 and Precinct 4 constables monthly reports and the payment of bills. In addition, the court approved having only one meeting in December.

A single item was not approved by the court.

A motion made by Pinotti to grant the Lake Palestine Volunteer Fire Department about $2,000 to repair an ambulance used as a rehabilitation vehicle died for lack of a second.

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