RUSK —  As members of the Cherokee County Commissioners Court prepare to conduct their first meeting of the year Monday, Commissioner Katherine Pinotti is hard at work making sure repairs and handiwork continue in a timely fashion in her Precinct 3.

According to a road and bridge schedule she publishes on her website, www.katherinepinotti.com, the commissioner is working to have guard rails  placed on sections along culverts to prevent accidents along Lake Jacksonville, Indian trails, County Road 3601 and some areas along CR 1804.

"We will finish CR 3114 by the end of the month," the commissioner said. "Patch crews cannot fix pot holes unless we can get asphalt and the plant does not make it unless it is over 35 degrees in the morning, so we have had a time getting materials in mid-afternoon when it warms up. However, we are checking the roads and will fix any pot holes we find or that are reported."

A comprehensive round of patching probably won't be completed until early spring.

"Thank you for your patience as I try hard to keep the county roads in shape," she said to her constituents on her page. "I love the recent cold and rainy weather we have been so fortunate to get, but it sets us back a little on our plans."

One of Pinotti's long-term fixer-upper plans was convincing the Commissioners Court last month to impose changes to the Cherokee County Precinct 3 maps, which she praised in December as "a victory for the people who live in my district."

Pinotti is still striving to end vandalism to the Killough Monument, the stone obelisk north of Jacksonville in Precinct 3. It commemorates the Oct. 5, 1838 Killough Massacre, said to be the last and largest Native American attack on caucasian immigrants in East Texas.

Meanwhile, The Cherokee County Commissioners Court meets at 10 a.m. Monday in the county courtroom of the county courthouse, 135 S. Main.

County Judge Chris Davis could not immediately be reached Friday to comment on the agenda, but Precinct 4 Commissioner Byron Underwood said the first meeting of the year doesn't hold as much significance for the court as the first meeting in October.

"Our fiscal year starts Oct. 1, you see," Underwood explained.  

There are several items on the Monday agenda, including one for  commissioners to appoint Jack Traylor to replace Barry Hughes as the Cherokee County representative to the North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority.

Commissioners also will consider laying utility lines in each district.

The agenda also includes an item calling  a public hearing and vote on a proposal to set a 35 mph speed limit on County Road 4910.

Additionally, the court will consider approving a resolution on the Keystone Pipeline Gulf Coast Project.