NEWSBRIEFS

Youngblood seeking re-election in 2020

Judge John W. Youngblood, 53, announced Tuesday that he will file as a Republican candidate for re-election as Judge of the 20th District Court of Milam County.

Youngblood took the bench in July, 2011, appointed by then Governor Perry to fill the unexpired term of retiring Judge Ed Magre.

He won a contested election in 2012 to retain the bench, and was unopposed in his election to a second full term in 2016.

Two persons sentenced in 20th District Court

Two persons were sentenced during the past week in 20th District Court, according to Prosecutor Bill Torrey, who listed case dispositions as follows:

• Matthew Christopher Kane, 24, Rockdale, drew a five-year prison term after pleading guilty to sex offender duty to register with previous conviction.

• Larry Manuel Martin, 53, Rockdale pleaded guilty to a lesser included Class A misdemeanor, possession of controlled substance (less than one gram) and was assessed a 200-day county jail term.

Centex Food Bank sets monthly visit Thursday

The Central Texas Food Bank Pantry will host a distribution at 9 a.m. Thursday at the KC Hall parking lot.

Denise Sifuentes, spokesperson, said since the distribution relies totally on volunteer help, volunteers will be “greatly appreciated.”

For further information contact Deanie Houser at 512-446-3336. Sifuentes said clients are asked to bring sacks or boxes in which to place groceries.

The distributions are held the third Thursday of each month.

Volunteer workers under 18 must be accompanied by an adult on Thursday.

Volunteers sought for 2020 Earth Day efforts

Rockdale Earth Day will host a meet and greet for interested individuals, businesses, churches and organizations at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17 at Rock-dale Dairy Queen.

“If you are looking for a way to serve your community and help improve the appearance of our town, please join us,” said organizer David Melton.

April 22, 2020 is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day efforts around the globe. “We want to make 2020 a special year for the city of Rockdale,” Melton said

Library hosting annual ‘lock-in’ all day Friday

In celebration of October as Family History Month, the Lucy Hill Patterson Memorial Library will join the Genealogy Center of the Waco-McLennan County Library in its 19th Annual Genealogy Lock-in.

Librarian Melanie Todd said the state-wide initiative provides educational and research opportunities for family historians.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m . Friday, Todd said.

“This is the ninth year that the Waco-McLennan County Library has spearheaded the collaborative effort to organize, provide and share programs remotely with libraries and genealogy societies across the state of Texas,” she said.

Thorndale city okays softball field agreement

THORNDALE—Thorndale City Council members okayed an agreement between the City of Thorndale and the Thorndale ISD for use of city baseball and softball fields in their regular monthly session last Wednesday.

In other action, the council:

• Okayed the Thorndale Economic Development Corporation’s 2019-2020 budget.

• Approved grant expenses for the Thorndale Police Department.

• Designated The Thorndale Champion as the city’s official newspaper.

• Okayed investment police and strategy guidelines with no changes to the proposal.

• Approved Tex-Con Oil Company for the city’s fueling program.

County to sign lease for move of offices

On a split vote Tuesday, Milam County Commissioners to sign leases with area banks to trade properties in downtown Cameron to facilitate the move of several county office to the former Little River-Cameron hospital.

Commissioner Donald Shuffield voted against the proposal.

Plans for renovation of the former hospital should be completed soon and submitted to commissioner court for their approval.

JOB TRAINING—County Judge Steve Young said he had met with representatives of the county’s five school districts and Workforce Solutions of Texas to begin strategy planning for high-tech jobs expected in Milam County.

Young said Whinstone, which is planning a facility at the former Alcoa smelter, has provided job descriptions.

“We need to figure out what training we will need to provide people to get these jobs,” Young said. “We need to get ready for that.”

“We need to educate our work force,” he said. The judge said the training should include students who do not plan to attend college and adults looking for good jobs.

Commissioners also okayed tax abatements for the Ben Milam and Athena solar projects, both to be 10 years, starting with a 90-percent abatement and decreasing by 10 percent each year.

In other business, commissioners named Michelle Morgan as the county’s new Economic Development Director with the salary to be paid through a grant recently awarded the county.

Aquifer plan deadline extended to Oct. 31st

The deadline for landowners to sign up for the Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District’s Aquifer Conservancy program has been extended to Oct. 31.

According to the POSGCD, more than 22,000 acres have already been enrolled in the program whose goal is to conserve the district’s aquifers.

For more information, or to sign up for the program go to https://posgcd.org/pacp/ and follow the directions.