We need to get right to matters today and the first is our school zones. We must all work together to tighten up our driving skills in those school zones. There are no more valuable areas to protect than those where our teachers and children are working during the day. We will be in these areas as much as possible and will focus our limited resources in protecting these areas, but need your help if possible. When you see a driver that is not focused or is driving dangerously, please call 911 and report this right away.

A situation was brought to our attention concerning the shoulder of county roads. We all know that these shoulders come right up to property lines and that sometimes problems occur with neighbors and misunderstandings happen over right of ways and questions of who owns what arise. Yet, at no time is it ever allowed for any citizen to take the law into 　their own hands and plant spikes, nails or other sharp metal objects into these areas to prevent turning around or what they might consider the law. The shoulder, as we call it, is for emergencies and should be a safe place for a vehicle to move to in an emergency or for someone to step onto or ride their bike without threat of injury by a dangerous or stupid act of another. Actions like these will not be tolerated. The county will be forced to clean up the area with heavy equipment and the bills both criminally and civilly will be attached to the suspect in these matters. Please consider your actions when tampering with a county roadway and understand that it is not only dangerous but is against the law.

I want to again state that this county has taken a serious blow to the probation department and that the loss of Miss Pat Wadsworth to our justice system in San Saba County is dangerous. Miss Pat has broken in and trained most of us patrol officers and taught a lot of us the ins and outs of the judicial system and how it works through probation and the court system. Miss Pat has 17 years experience working here in this courthouse and has now been released from her job serving the community due to so called budget cuts. It sickens me that someone with her heart, experience and love for her community is just thrown away after 17 years of service. I don't care what the numbers for the big boys say, you cannot replace 17 years of hands on experience and expect things to just keep on keeping on. Thank you Miss Pat, for everything that you have done for all of us, and for all that you have taught me over my 15 years in San Saba. You cannot ever be replaced and you will be missed every single day.

We need to keep on working towards weeding drugs out of our county and keeping our streets free of drunk drivers. I had someone tell me in the coffee shop, "You won't ever stop it, it will always be here, so ease up a little." What is sad is that they are correct in one aspect and that is that we will never completely stamp it out. Even the Bible tells us that, so that is not my argument. I thoroughly believe that if our goal is to work as hard as possible to stamp it out completely, then we will come a whole lot closer to winning than if we just push a little and give up. We must fight this fight every single day as if it is our last and as if lives depend on it, 'cause I have a news flash for you, they do. Find a cop, a deputy, a game warden or a state trooper and tell them that you appreciate them and that you want them to go after the drunk drivers and the drug dealers and users. Everyone needs a little encouragement in this day and time. It's easy for some who walk around and talk about doing something, but it's a whole other can of worms when you have to fade the heat for doing it.

Once again we want to thank you for your support and your prayers and ask that you call in what you see. Contact us at 325-372-5431 or 5551.