I'm Jim Powers, Editor of The Tyler County Booster and this is my blog. You'll find a combination of Photos from around the county and brief "dispatches" about events and people.
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Posted By Jim on October 11, 2009
If you didn’t get a chance to see the latest play at the Emporium for the Arts in Woodville, you missed a great play and a lot of fun. Here is a quick edit of selected scenes from the play. I’m still editing the entire shoot.
Posted By Jim on September 13, 2009
I drive a 10 year old pickup. Runs good, looks fine, and best of all it’s paid for. Now in the last couple of years, I’ve had to do some work on it. And that cost some money! The rear brakes, rotors, etc had to be replaced, and that cost over $600. And the fuel pump went out, and that surprisingly cost over $600.
Well, over $1,200 in a short time is a lot of money. But, like I said, the truck is paid for and I’m planning on driving it a lot longer. Even if I have to replace the engine and transmission over the next few years, it’s still a bargain compared to what a new truck would cost me over the same time frame.
The Tyler County Justice Center, where the jail is located, has been having some age related problems. Recently, both the roof and the air-conditioning system have had to be replaced, at considerable expense to the county. Some people tell me that doesn’t make a lot of sense to them. That it’s throwing good money after bad.
Well, like my old pickup, the jail is paid for. And also like my pickup, there is going to be more things that need fixing up as the building and equipment continue to age. Still, doing maintenance work is a lot less expensive than building a new jail. So what’s the problem?
Well, the problem is that the existing jail isn’t up to housing the number of prisoners Tyler County needs to house, so the Texas Jail Commission says we have to build a new jail or they are going to shut the jail down. The only way we are holding off the TJC is by farming out our excess prisoners to other counties. Hardin County is currently getting $13,000 to $14,000 a month for that service.
So we have a jail we know we are going to have to replace and ongoing expenses trying to fix the age-related problems. Unlike my old pickup that I’m going to keep forever, the money spent on the current jail, and the money going to house our excess prisoners, is money with little return.
Clearly, a new jail facility is going to be expensive. I haven’t seen an exact figure yet. But think millions of dollars. And one way or another, the tax payers are going to be affected by the cost. And everything we are spending now on the current jail is just money added to the ultimate cost of the new jail.
Now, understand there is no choice. The county has to build a new jail. It’s the only way to ultimately comply with TJC regulations. The concern of the folks I’m hearing from, though, is that the longer we wait, and the longer we spend money fixing the old jail and housing prisoners in other counties, the more the project is going to cost us.
So what do you think? There’s a poll on the front page of the Booster Extra website dealing with this. And you can also comment below this blog entry as well.
Posted By Jim on August 24, 2009
It’s official! The Tyler County Booster’s “Booster Extra Magazine” is now live online! Be sure to check out the official announcement in the Thursday issue of The Tyler County Booster this week, but blog readers are getting a little heads up before the official announcement.
Everyone at the Booster is excited about this new web based magazine. The idea is community, not just stuff to look at, but stuff to do! This is not a newspaper format web site. It’s all about the Tyler County Community. We’ve got forums, blogs and photo galleries for YOU to participate. If you’ve got something to say, create a blog and start blogging. Got some photos from summer fun? Post ‘em in the gallery. Want to debate politics? The forums are the place to do it.
Anyway, just a bit of a heads up to those who read this blog. And, let us know what you think.
Posted By Jim on August 12, 2009
U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady was in Tyler County today to talk about Obama’s Health Care Bill. Brady opposes the bill for many reasons, and he found many who agreed with him during a town hall style meeting at Tyler County Hospital Nursing School. He had some visual aids on hand, a chart he said illustrated a flow chart of how the bill would work, and the bill itself, which is huge.
Brady’s primary points were that the bill would introduce new bureaucracy, decrease choice for consumers, increase taxes and ultimately put the government in a position to make decisions about what medical treatment people would be allowed to have.
President Barack Obama has said that he wants the bill signed into law this year, but Brady said that there was growing opposition to it among the American people. He thinks the dynamic has changed and passage is not as assured.
Posted By Jim on June 22, 2009
It’s really hot! Just looking at Weatherbug.com’s forecast, and they are listing the high for most of the week at 100 degrees!!!!! Sure hope they are wrong, because there also is no rain in that seven day forecast.
Tyler County has a couple of big events coming up over the next couple of weeks. This coming weekend is the annual Family Fun Day out at Lake Tejas. This day long event always brings out lots of folks despite the fact that it’s usually hot. The folks organizing the event are working hard to provide relief from the heat, though. There will be shaded booths, aster misters and fans. This is a great family event. It features a fireworks display, food, fun, games, entertainment and a lot more for every age group. It will be held Saturday, June 27, from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m.
Heritage Village in Woodville looks like the place to be July 4!
The Gates will open at 4 p.m. and a big fireworks show is scheduled at 9 p.m. And the best part is that it’s FREE! The Art League has a children’s parade planned which will begin at 5 p.m. There will also be lots of good food to buy and music to listen to.
Posted By Jim on June 12, 2009
Over the coming weeks, you are going to start seeing some cool new stuff from The Tyler County Booster! This Blog is the first of them. While it’s intended as a place to gather photos I shoot around the County day to day, I’ll be writing some explaination and a few dispatches explaining a bit about the photos. Be sure to check back daily, because new stuff will show up here frequenty!
