JUDGE: Milam County hires new Veterans Services officer
Gary Ivy Selected for Veterans Service Officer: This week the Commissioners Court selected Mr. Gary Ivy as the new Milam County Veteran’s Service Officer. Gary is imminently qualified for the position as he currently works for the Texas Veterans Commission as the Northwest District Manager. He has worked for the Texas Veterans Commission since 2008 and will retire to fill the Milam County position, which is being vacated by Ken Janicek.
Gary will “break in” before actually starting the job on April 1, 2022. He may be contacted by calling (254) 697-7031. We welcome Gary to Milam County as we know he will be a great asset for all of our Milam County veterans.
County Wide Hazardous Waste Cleanup - April 9, 2022: Milam County will sponsor a hazardous waste clean up day for any resident of Milam County. Hazardous waste includes paint, chemicals, fluorescent bulbs, petroleum products, pesticides, herbicides, acids, household cleaners, antifreeze and batteries. It does not include tires, electronics, fire alarms, smoke detectors, explosives or pressurized containers. The drop off point will be at the Milam County Precinct 4 headquarters, located at 501 East Highway 79, Thorndale, Texas. Commissioner Jeff Muegge will be in charge of the operation.
Feral Hogs Eradication in Milam County: There is a new Federal Swine Eradication and Control Pilot program for Milam County, which was authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill. The first stage of the new program will provide traps to farmers and ranchers in Milam County. The second stage is aerial management of the hogs. Wildlife services will conduct aerial operations starting in early 2022. If you or someone you know has any interest in a trap or aerial management, please call (979) 599-5070 or (254) 697-7045 and sign up to participate.
ERCOT on the County Judge Show: Be sure and tune in to the County Judge show on Wednesday, March 23, at 9:05 a.m. on KMIL 105.1 or KRXT 98.5. We will have Brad Jones who is President of ERCOT and our former Congressman Bill Flores who now serves as Vice Chair for ERCOT. We will get a first hand update on the progress that ERCOT has made to improve the reliability of the grid. We recently had Mr. Jones on the program, who gave a fascinating explanation of where our power comes from and how the grid really works.
COVID in Milam County: Two years ago we reported our first case of the COVID-19 virus in Milam County. Sadly, just last week we reported our 100th COVID-19 related death in Milam County. However, today our active, confirmed cases are under 10 and we have two individuals hospitalized. About 48 percent of those eligible to be vaccinated in the county are fully vaccinated and of those about 20 percent have received their booster shots. Had we not been so aggressive with our vaccination protocol, many more would have died!
I thank our Milam County Medical Department and all of the wonderful volunteers who helped with and continue to help with providing the vaccines to all of us in the county.