County Commissioners Get Update on Sexual Assault Victims
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
HOUSTON COUNTY – Houston County Commissioners Court met Tuesday, Nov. 28 to discuss adopting an unused radio tower in the county and to hear a progress report from SART, the county’s Sexual Assault Response Team.
The commissioners began by approving salaries for two part-time heavy equipment operators, with Precinct Two Commissioner Willie Kitchen commending the work ethic of one of the men by name. Kitchen told how Billy Hoch had suffered a stroke on his second day on the job and was taken to be treated in a hospital in Tyler. Kitchen was happy to report Hoch made a full recovery.
“Hoch called from the hospital and said, ‘I am ready to come home…see you Monday!’” Kitchen remembered. “Well, I don’t know about Monday, but we do hope to see you back soon.”
The commissioners voted to dispose of the last remaining items of unused goods recently accounted for in the county. The items – many of which were broken and past their prime – were put up for auction, with the last few to be disposed of after no buyers were found or the items were never paid for or picked up.
Whitney Burran from the Family Crisis Center of East Texas (FCCET) updated the commissioners on the SART program in the county. A Houston County native herself, Burran oversees assistance to victims of family violence and sexual assault in nine counties throughout East Texas.
Burran told the court the SART program is a mandatory – but unfunded – program by the state, insisting counties establish such facilities without funding, causing FCCET to rely on help from local governments and donations from the public. The SART team works closely with the county attorney’s office and local law enforcement to support the victims and arrested the accused.
“It’s mandated because there are agencies across the state of Texas that don’t have great working relationships with law enforcement; they don’t have great partner relationships,” Burran said. “Of course, before we even made SART, we had those great partners and working relationships in Houston County, so it should not be a surprise for you to hear that it’s working well.”
Texas Parks and Wildlife is offering the county use of a radio tower located in Crockett to help support law enforcement and first responders, with Houston County Office of Emergency Management’s Heath Murff telling the commissioners he has checked with the sheriff’s office and local radio operators and they would be happy to utilize the equipment.
The tower is located on private land, which the owner is willing to lease to the county for up to 30 years for $1 per year, provided they make renovations to the site and keep it looking nice. A real estate agent representing the property owner told the commissioners once they officially accept the tower, the owner would be happy to sign the lease, since the county cannot take the lease without possession of the tower.
This worried the commissioners, with Kitchen wondering aloud if they took possession of the tower and, for some reason, the lease did not work out, the county would have to move the equipment to another location. Houston County Judge Jim Lovell consulted with County Attorney Daphne Session, present in the meeting, who advised signing both documents, back-to-back at a future meeting. She advised the commissioners to make a preliminary lease agreement with the landowner, while a final agreement could be finalized once the county actually took legal possession of the radio tower, which could take several months.
Murff sought and received approval from the court to make a new memorandum of understanding between his office and Houston County Search and Rescue (SAR), to try and provide them with some of the funding they need and currently, either provide out of their own pockets or do without. SAR requested $10,000 per year for vehicle maintenance and insurance, fuel and training. This was approved unanimously.
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
