Wow what a night, got to love that rain no matter what comes with it right now. I was cold, wet and smiling while we were out moving limbs and guarding downed power lines, but not complaining one bit. Thank you Lord for the rain and bring on some more, just if possible maybe a little less wind this time. We worked till around 10 p.m. last night removing trees and limbs from the roadways and there were numerous power lines downed and it took some time to get all the power restored throughout the county. Our thanks go out to everyone who threw a chain around a tree, or cranked a chain saw and who got wet helping us clear all the roadways. Numerous citizens, firemen and commissioners were called out to assist during the storm. I also decided that there is another job that I don’t believe that I could ever do and that is working in the electric department. Thank God for all you crazy guys and gals who are brave enough to go out in those storms and restore power for all of us in the worst of times. The jail has been a little slow during the first part of the week with arrests being down from the week before. We currently are housing 4 in San Saba with another 8 being housed out of county at this time. I hate to say it, but everything is back up and running smoothly at the jail. We are now working with a new situation with the emergency paging system and the storm alert siren. Ever since the state came in here and shifted all our equipment to narrow band signals, we have had problems to work out with the paging of Cherokee Volunteer Fire Department. We are working on this matter and are checking both ends of the system to find the problem and the solution. The Storm Alert Siren is another matter and we are working closely with our Emergency Management Coordinator Marsha Hardy and the City of San Saba to fix the situation. It should be up and running soon. It was a horrible start to a beautiful Sunday morning this week. We were dispatched to a one vehicle crash on Hwy. 16 South at Buffalo Creek. A pickup driven by Nathan Carpenter had left the roadway and struck a tree and the passenger, Payten Vaughn was killed in the crash. Nathan was transported to Llano ER and treated and released with minor injuries. Nathan and Payten attended Cherokee High School and Payten was due to graduate this year. The crash is under investigation by DPS and TABC has also been called in to assist due to some factors involving alcohol. Please pray for all the families, first responders, and the community of Cherokee during this tragic time. I am at a loss for words due to this tragic event. It is bad enough when anyone is killed in our county. Yet it is horrifying when it is someone that we know and see all the time. One of the worst fears of a first responder is to arrive on scene and it is one of your family members that is injured or killed, or one of those that we work with everyday. Please think about your actions when you climb behind the wheel of a vehicle. There are enough risks out there just from driving without adding alcohol to the mix. We are and will continue to strictly enforce the laws concerning drinking and driving and those laws that are in place to protect minors from alcohol. One more reminder that you as an adult cannot furnish alcohol to a minor that is not your own, anytime or anyplace. The only way a minor can consume alcohol is in the presence of his parents or legal guardians provided by the court. The penalties for this can be severe and the civil repercussions involving lawsuits can be even worse. If you have any information on any parties where alcohol is provided or made available to minors please contact us. The life or lives that you save might be someone that you see every day. You can contact us at 325-372-5551 or 5432 and thank you for all your support.