The Tom Green County Commissioner’s Court recognized employees for their long-term commitment to the county on Tuesday. County Judge Lane Carter was joined by Human Resources Director Julie Ratekin in the presentations, where she noted that the 38 employees represent almost 500 years of service and experience.
“We are here to honor our employees who are going on 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 — and on-up to 30-years with the county,” Ratekin said. “We want to say “Thank you, so much for your service.” We really and truly appreciate it. Y’all do a great job. You represent the county well, and this is just one of the ways we can say “Thank you!”
Judge Carter thanked them for their service, and — as an added treat — he singled out the three employees who began working for the county in 1994, briefly going over each one’s rise through the ranks over the course of their 30-year careers.
Recipients Were:
For 30 Years of Service: Pct. 3 Justice of the Peace Stacye Speck; Juvenile Probation Dept. Head Monica Schniers; and Legal Asst. Christine George with the District Attorneys Office.
25 Years: Environmental Health Specialist Pamela Weishuhn; County Court-at-Law No. 1 Coordinator Jose Losoya; Sheriff’s Office Lt. William Fiveash; County Court-at-Law No. 2 Reporter Sharla Bredemeyer; and Juvenile Probation Officer Jonnie Benge.
20 Years: District Court Bailiff Jesus Tellez; and Norman Murphy, equipment operator for County Road & Bridge 2&4.
15 Years: Facilities Maintenance Supervisor Juan Garcia; Tax Assessor/Collector Asst. Corey Martinez; Detention Center Corr. Officer Mallory Swick; Library Dept. Head Jill Donegan; and Charles McWilliams, equipment operator for County Road & Bridge 1&3.
10 Years: Pct. 3 JP Clerk Adella Daugherty; Custodian Maria Hernandez; Tax Assessor/Collector Title Registration Clerk Natalie Neill; Marino Acevedo, sign and flag technician for County Road & Bridge 1&3; Sheriff’s Deputy Corporal Weston Crabtree; Information Tech. Department Head Justin Thornton; and Tax Assessor/Collector Title Registration Clerk Melinda Rojas.
Five Years: Concho Valley Public Defenders Legal Asst. Haley Turn; Sheriff’s Office Lt. William Kirkland; Custodian Maria Flores Ledesma; Extension Svc. Dept. Secretary Amanda Corfield; Sheriff’s Deputy Timothy Manis; Facilities Dept. Jail Coordinator Andrew Sedlacek; Detention Center Corporal David Taylor; District Attorney’s Office lawyer Joseph Webster; District Court Coordinator Diana Ramirez; Detention Center Officer Debra Lukasewski; Marcus Trubenstein, equipment operator for County Road & Bridge 1&3; Juvenile Probation Officer Ruben Aguirre; Librarian Amy Dennis; Detention Center Officer Roger Muehlbrad; Sheriff’s Deputy Billy Cortez; and Tom Green Co. Sheriff Nick Hanna.
Not all recipients were on hand to receive their awards, as several were unavoidably needed at their duty stations. Tom Green County currently employs about 600 people in roughly 30 departments.
The Importance Of Grants
Commissioners approved a Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant (DEAAG) in the amount of $4,821,472, which is earmarked for the Defense Access Control Point Project at Goodfellow Air Force Base, to reconfigure gate entrances and enhance security, along with applications for two grants; one that would cover the purchase of night-vision equipment for the Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Group, and another to fund training expenses for several special units within the department.
Near the close of the meeting, Pct. 4 Commissioner Shawn Nanny took a moment to speak about the importance of securing these grants.
“I just want to bring to attention the number of grants on today’s agenda,” Nanny said. “These save a lot of local tax-dollars… and its not all free money; there’s some matching involved, and time for administration, and our treasurer is involved, and our auditing department is involved, so it’s not absolutely free, but it is showing our efforts here to save local tax-dollars, and bring something into this community to benefit everybody.
“Like with this DEAAG (grant); it’s an indirect impact on the county, but it’s a lot of money from outside Tom Green County, being brought inside where it can remain.”
In Other Business
Commissioners approved a 24-month contract with LexisNexis for Accurint TraX services at a cost of $11,875; a contract with Conterra Ultra Broadband in the amount of $890 monthly for redundant internet connection; a Sourcewell cooperative contract for software as a service agreement with Tyler Technologies in the amount of $673,782 for the first year; and a contract for a new roof for the Concho Valley Female Community Corrections Facility (FCCF) by Harrison Roofing in the amount of $223,376.59.
