Sunday's Internet Edition, July 20, 2008.
getting extra day to vote
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Leader-Press correspondent
GATESVILLE – County Clerk Barbara Simpson told Coryell County Commissioners on Monday the Copperas Cove early voting location would remain open on Saturday to allow for early votes by soldiers.
“The Army called and asked if we could be open on Saturday, Oct. 23, because there is a unit that will be out in the field during regular hours and they would not be able to vote on weekdays,” Simpson said. The office will remain open on that day from 8-5 and anyone – not just soldiers – may vote there during that time.
Early voting begins Oct. 18 at the courthouse in Gatesville and at the courthouse annex in Copperas Cove.
Commissioners also took steps on Monday to provide a spot for Central Texas College to begin offering college classes in Gatesville.
The question concerning expansion of CTC to Gatesville was initiated after the Gatesville City Council heard similar reports last week. Commissioner Cliff Price added the question to the court’s agenda as a workshop so members could discuss the matter openly.
The court discussed trading real estate with the city so better a location could be provided to CTC. Currently the court is considering using the Mental Health-Mental Retardation building on North Lutterloh as the CTC site and trading that site for the old Foxworth-Galbraith building, on Main Street near the courthouse.
“The Foxworth building would be much more beneficial to the county because of its location alone,” Commissioner Kyle Pruitt said.
“CTC has approved the plan at the highest level,” said Price. “We need to stay in touch with them. CTC already has a presence here but some people don’t like to attend classes on the prison grounds. When we can put all these pieces together I’ll be anxious to follow up.”
“It would be extremely good for Gatesville and for the rest of Coryell County if we could work out this deal,” said Commissioner Jack Wall.
“If we could provide another location (for MH-MR) they would be agreeable to move,” said County Judge John Hull. “CTC wants in here as soon as possible. It’ll be a big benefit for the City of Gatesville and for the county.”
“We should move as fast as we reasonably can on this,” Price said.
“It’s a win-win-win situation for everybody concerned,” Wall said.
As well the court reduced its number of regular meeting dates to just two a month, approved a contract with an electricity provider and appointed a new county veteran’s services officer, approved a proclamation naming Oct. 3 through 9 as 4-H Week in Coryell County, and tabled a question regarding additions to the county’s road system.
The court voted without dissent to reduce its regular meetings from a weekly schedule to twice a month on the 2nd and 4th Mondays. The court had been meeting on a twice-monthly schedule until the spring when members decided a weekly meeting would benefit them at budget time.
The move also provided a way for the court to call a special meeting in five Monday months to facilitate County Auditor Ben Roberts in his bill paying duties.
The court will begin the new schedule next Monday with a regular meeting on the second Monday of October.
Kathy Warren, of Gatesville, was tapped as the county’s new Veterans’ Services Officer. Ms. Warren is very active in the Gatesville American Legion Post and will do a good job for the county’s veterans, Judge Hull said.
The court approved an agreement between Coryell County and MH&KP Services to provide electricity for the county at the best rate available.
Roberts said the company reviews electric rates from many providers and finds the best rate for the county. The approval was an extension of the original agreement that has been in place for some time, Roberts said.
Marilyn Prause, of the Texas A&M County Agents’ Office, appeared with a proclamation naming Oct. 3 through 9 as National 4-H Week in Coryell County. The court approved the document without dissent.
Prause, 4-H’ers Kathy Webber and Laura Melton and Fort Hood’s Child and Youth Services representatives Melody Hill and Nita Hightower addressed the court regarding the benefits 4-H provides for both civilian and military children.
Chapters of 4-H in Bell and Coryell counties have for some time coordinated an effort to bring military youth into the program by extending services to military families like leadership camps and other special projects.
Currently, Ms. Hill said, there are 1,100 youth enrolled in 4-H and another 2,600 enrolled in special interest programs, for a total of some 3,700 Fort Hoop youth as participants.
A similar program exists on other military bases, but the Central Texas project is the model, Judge Hull said.
Pruitt asked the court to accept a new road into the county’s inventory. Judge Hull pointed out that October is the routine month for making changes to the county’s road inventory. The issue was tabled for further study, but the road inventory will remain open for the rest of the month in case others want to have roadways considered for assignment.