Well, I am sitting here this morning praying for rain, but watching it go around us on the radar. I am sure hoping that it will move into our area and linger for a while, maybe take a nap or something so that it will stick around for a day or a week or so. All of our farmers and ranchers have been and still are in our prayers and thoughts each day.The tax office will be closed on December 8th for the entire day. The state will be here, replacing our equipment and updating our office. The ladies will be very busy working with them and will not be able to handle customers as well. We are sorry for the inconvenience but also wish to remind everyone that we are on-line now and that you can also pay on-line with a credit card. I am very proud of the ladies in the tax office or the "Lebow" express as I call them. They have both done a wonderful job for the county and continue to make the tax office a customer friendly work place.The jail has been holding steady and we are holding steady at six inmates currently in our jail with three being held out of county as well. We will be holding training on the dangers of handling individuals with hepatitis and HIV and the Commissioners Court has approved the jailers and deputies for the hepatitis vaccinations. Working in the jail, it is not if, but when you come into contact with sick individuals and we must take all the precautions, not only for the prisoner but for the staff as well. We must always make sure that our staff are not only protected but educated as to the dangers that they face each and every day in our jail. I am happy to report that the jail passed two inspections this week with the second one being the health inspection by Doctor Whiting. We are proud of the condition of the jail and each and everyone of our staff have worked very hard at protecting it as well as keeping it clean. We must make it last as long as possible and keep it in good condition for it's use as a monument.We also want to report a new member to our jail staff. Taber Shea Plumley was born to her parents on 11-01-11 and is healthy and doing fine. We wish to congratulate her parents and grandparents on her arrival and look forward to her working soon. We are currently accepting applications for the position of jailer/dispatcher and it is for part time work. The position is a maximum of 32 hours but can be as little as 16 on some weeks.The deputies are now back up to full strength and man, am I glad. We hired Deputy Stiles and he is now off the training program and working the streets. He and his beautiful partner Dominion are living in Richland Springs and are slowly working into the community. I reported to Commissioners Court yesterday that as of now each school will have a deputy assigned to work the campuses in their assigned area. Deputy James Barrows will be working in Cherokee, Deputy Chase Stiles will be in Richland Springs and Sergeant John Wilkerson will be in San Saba. I and Chief Deputy Bill Price will be in all three schools as needed and I look forward to more time now to do just that. I believe that the success that a community has will be judged by the amount of work that they do in their schools with the greatest asset that God has given us, our children.Arrests relating to Driving While Intoxicated, Driving Under the Influence, and Public Intoxication are holding steady, while there has been a huge drop in narcotic related arrests throughout the county. We are seeing more driving without a license offenses and for some reason, we have had a short rash of individuals who believe that they can run from the police. That is a felony every time and 99 percent of the time they get caught and go to jail, their car goes to jail and they can face even more charges and fines if police vehicles and/or other equipment are damaged during the chase. Some really good news that I enjoy reporting is that for the time being burglaries of buildings and residences as well as thefts are down at this time. Now, with the economy like it is, we cannot expect this to hold, but I do believe that we can and will stay ahead of the problem with proactive policing in place.What we are doing now in San Saba County by using a heavy dose of good hard nosed street work combined with good solid community policing means a better long term relationship with the community and solid prevention of criminal activity in this county. If we want to as they say "Take a bite out of crime," then we must all work together and make sure the message is clear and the consequences severe. Stay out of our county if you want to break the law, or face the wrath of this county by looking at us in a jury box. I want to thank you all again for all your support and prayers. We ask that if you see anything suspicious that you call us at 325-372-5551 or 5432 and if it's a major emergency, please call 911.