Milam County Annex Cornerstone Leveling—The Milam County Annex building was blessed with a traditional Cornerstone Leveling Ceremony on April 23 by the Masonic Grand Lodge of Texas. The Ceremony was well attended with over 50 masons from around the state.
The cornerstone symbolizes sturdiness, morality and truth. During the cornerstone ceremony, the stone is checked, using ancient tools, to be certain it’s square, plumb (straight) and level because a building constructed on a poor foundation isn't strong. Next, the cornerstone is consecrated with corn (or grain), wine, and oil — all of which are Masonic symbols of prosperity, health and peace. This ceremonial service is provided in part to bless the building for all future uses.
• Cattlemen Solar—Last week the Cattlemen Solar I project announced it had sold most of the 240 megawatts of electricity to Meta (Facebook) for its new data center which will be located on 393 acres in Temple. Meta has bought 156 megawatts of power for the operation of the $800 million facility. In addition, 60 megawatts of electricity of the project has been sold to Bristol Meyers Squibb. Construction on the solar project will commence very soon and completion is expected in early 2023.
• Veteran’s Service Officer—For over 20 years Milam County has funded a full time Veteran’s Service officer who has assisted Veterans in Milam County with various types of claims including disability and others. However, the veteran’s population in Milam County has declined 52% from 2,734 in 2020 to 1319 in 2020. This decline is consistent with a nationwide decline in veterans. In 1980, about 13 percent of Americans had served in the military (down slightly from 1970). In 2018, the figure was just over 5 percent. By 2040, the Census Bureau’s data suggest that it will be around 3 percent.
Accordingly, the Milam County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to keep the position, but on a part time basis. The plan is to have a person available in the county two days per week. A job posting will be placed in the next few days and any interested person may apply.
• Correction—In last week’s paper we indicated that eight persons had contacted the Veteran’s Service office during February 2022, but it should have stated that eight claims were filed.
• Job Fair—Texas Workforce Solutions of Central Texas will host a job fair for all Milam County high school juniors and seniors on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 at the Patterson Center in Rockdale.
This annual event puts interested high school students in contact with many employers of the county. Students may make applications on the spot and in some cases even do an interview. Many different employers from construction to bitcoin mining will be on hand and all are looking for qualified employees. We thank Texas Workforce and Julia Cardona for the great work they do in Milam County.
• New plans for the former Alcoa site—Last week I had the opportunity to meet with Randy Kendrick of Xebec Realty. The company purchased the 32,000 contiguous acres from Alcoa in 2021. Mr. Kendrick and his team have great developmental plans for the site. This will provide needed jobs and investment in Milam County. We welcome Mr. Kendrick and this wonderful opportunity.
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