County calls special meeting to canvass election
By SHARON KERR Staff Writer

Jasper County Commissioners Court will meet tomorrow, May 17, at 1 p.m. for a special session to canvass election returns, and to hear from Dan Bledsoe on the Partners Ranch for special needs children to be built near Evadale.

The court also moved several items from the Monday, May 14, monthly agenda. The court will consider including district court employees in the county's group life insurance plan; will consider authorizing the county auditor to advertise for group medical insurance coverage; and will consider publishing ads for bids for wireless internet service at the Jasper County airport.

Jasper County Judge Mark Allen also reported that the county last week received $1.3+ million more of the Community Development Block Grant money for expenses and losses sustained during Hurricane Rita.

In regular session May 14, the court debated whether to replace Phil Denney, who retired as Jasper County Death Investigator. Allen explained that in Texas the death investigator provides assistance to the Justices of the Peace (JP) in conducting an inquest, but cannot act on his own accord in the absence of a JP. David Schultz, who works for Forest Oaks Funeral Home, volunteered to serve as death investigator and assist the JPs at no charge to the county, because he needs the training hours to receive national certification.

By most national standards, Schultz said properly certified investigators can perform investigations in lieu of a coroner or JP. Schultz said he expects Texas will soon follow, and that currently only 57 people in the state are certified by the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators.

Precinct 2 Commissioner Roy Parker and Precinct 1 Commissioner Charles Shofner expressed concern that it might be a conflict of interest for an employee of a funeral home to represent the county at a death scene.

"It might influence the family by your presence," Parker observed.

Schulz replied that the state prohibits him from soliciting business at a death scene, and that by common practice funeral homes are often called to remove a body and later transport it to another funeral home.

"But we could eliminate the position and avoid a conflict of interest," Shofner said. "The JPs are already having to go to the scene."

Allen requested that Schulz provide the county with an affidavit that he would not use the death investigator position to solicit business. With that agreed, commissioners appointed Schulz by a 3 - 2 vote with Allen, Precinct 3 Commissioner Willie Stark and Precinct 4 Commissioner Vance Moss voting to approve, and Parker and Shofner voting no.

The court also approved Delton Parker as fire commissioner for emergency services District #4, to replace James Warner who moved.

The court approved an hourly wage of $20, and a cap for hours and mileage, for Robert McWhorter, recently appointed as county radio officer.

The final step in approving an official county road map is for disputes to be heard by a Jury View panel. Each commissioner and the county judge submitted two names to serve at the June 20 hearing. From that pool of 10, five names will be drawn to resolve any claims. Any juror with a personal interest in the outcome will be asked to excuse themselves from the panel.

In other business, the county approved the plat map for the Tiger Creek Estates subdivision, Section 2, for filing purposes only since no new road construction is involved. The approved section is on a deeded county road across from the Sky Ranch property near Lake Same Raybur\n.

Discussion on repair of the courthouse panic buttons was tabled until June. Also tabled for more information was the airport hangar project and two requests for pipeline easement and right-of-way grants from Temple Inland.

Two people with action items on the agenda failed to appear and those items were also tabled. Precinct 4 JP Joe Wilkinson was to address the court requesting assistance with manpower. Robert Hoehn, representing Paul Davis Restoration on repair to county properties, also did not appear.

The court approved District Attorney Steve Hollis's request to apply for a $30,000 state VOCA grant (Victims of Criminal Acts).

The court approved Mustang Engineering's request to install an eightinch natural gas pipeline crossing county roads 23, 32 and 82.

Michael Hunter of Hunter and Hunter, reported that after recent open enrollment for applicants wishing to receive assistance in replacing hurricane damaged homes, there were not enough qualified applicants to fulfill the minimum number required by TDHCA (Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs) contracts. He requested and received permission to extend the enrollment deadline to June 16.

The court also accepted an ordinance and a resolution for Tiger Truck LLC that will allow the new business to seek further incentives from the state for relocating to an economically disadvantaged area and agreeing to hire local labor.