County Commissioners Declare Elder Abuse Month
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
HOUSTON COUNTY – Houston County Commissioner’s Court held a meeting Tuesday, May 14 to talk about the problem of the abuse of the elderly and to allow fireworks to be sold in the county for upcoming summer events.
The meeting was led by Commissioner Willie Kitchen as Houston County Judge Jim Lovell was unable to attend. The court began by receiving reports on the county’s HOT (Hotel Occupancy Tax) fund reports from event organizers. The fund grants $1,000 per day, with a maximum of $3,000 for local events which generate hotel stays and a boost to the local economy from tourism. The rules for receiving the money are strict and organizers must follow up with the court to present evidence they fulfilled their promises in generating tourism. The court approved of a report where almost all of the events approved for HOT tax funds had successfully submitted their post-event report.
Houston County Sheriff’s Office sought and received approval for hiring a part-time bilingual office worker and hiring a full-time jailer and dispatcher. There was some confusion over one of the dispatchers attending a training conference and which expenses would be paid by the county. The commissioners requested additional information and the issue was left for a future meeting.
Charlene Stevens with Adult Protective Services was present to thank the commissioners for their support in her efforts to protect elderly and people with disabilities from abuse. She said she appreciated the court’s proclamation, declaring June to be, “Elder Abuse Prevention Month.”
The proclamation read, in part, “Elder abuse is grossly underreported because of social stigma, embarrassment and fear, and is everyone’s business, in order to strengthen efforts to prevent, report and address elder abuse.”
It was noted in 2023 there were 120,069 reports of abuse of older people or people with disabilities in Texas, with 106 reports in Houston County, 76 of them being confirmed cases.
As recently reported in The Messenger, the declaration of local disaster was ratified, opening the county up to possible reimbursements from state and federal funds after the recent rains caused hundreds of washouts throughout the county.
Retail fireworks permit holders were cleared to sell fireworks for Memorial Day, beginning May 22 and ending at midnight May 27. July 4 fireworks will be on sales from June 24 until midnight July 4.
HOT funds were approved to support Piney Woods Fine Art Association and their Summer Series in The Park concert lineup, set for June 7, 14, 21 and 28.
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
