LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Tom Green County Pct. 1 Commissioner Ralph Hoelscher led the prayer to begin the regular meeting of the Commissioners Court on Tuesday, as all of West Texas watches the radar scopes in anticipation of nearing monsoonal conditions, Hoelscher formally requested an extensive area-wide soaking.
And with local reservoir levels dropping daily, the timing for a major inundation couldn’t be better.
“We ask, O Lord, for guidance for this Commissioners Court, to make decisions that will affect all the people of Tom Green County…
“We are very thankful for the rainfall we’ve received, but we’re asking for additional rainfall now.
“Conditions are really right for us to get large amounts of rain; the saying is written ‘Ask, and ye shall receive;’ well, I, for one, am asking.
“I’m asking for large rains on our watersheds, to put water in our reservoirs.
“We can start out in Sterling County, in the northern part, and get the North Concho River flowing a lot of water, at Sterling City it will come this way, and we can work our way on around, into Glasscock County, and Irion County… to bring water into the Middle Concho, and we can get some rains up around the Stiles community, north of Big Lake in Reagan County. There’s a large draw called Centralia Draw, and (if) you get that big draw flowing lots of water, and I guarantee you can get Twin Buttes Reservoir filled up.
“It can come around Mertzon and Barnhart and Tankersley and Knickerbocker and come on around to the South Concho River; in Christoval and all of that area.
“If you get all of those rivers and creeks flowing water, you can certainly fill those reservoirs.
“The rainfall could be scattered out over the rest of this week; it doesn’t have to be all at one time.
“And anything raining in Precinct 2, Commissioner Bacon’s area, will go down to Lake Ivey, and everything east of town.
“So, I got it all planned out… as to how it will be delivered, I don’t know, but it that Hurricane Polo comes up here and stalls outside of town, we could get that big rain.
“When I saw the governor on television last night, and he was forecasting it to stall in Central Texas, so it depends… but Hurricane Polo will make history in the State of Texas in the next two days.”
Hoelscher then conclude the prayer by asking for peace in the world, and for good health and safety for all of the employees of the county.
No action was taken on the county wide burn ban, which remains in effect.
In other business, commissioners approved:
- An in-kind donation of $2,500.00 from the Tom Green County Friends of the Library for the Thomas Kingsley Troupe’s children’s program.
- A Sourcewell Cooperative contract for the purchase of a new trailer-mounted patching equipment for Road & Bridge 2 in the amount of $113,286.40 from Texas Patcher/Cimline.
- Texas Association of Hostage Negotiator 2026 Training Conference attendance fees for Reserve Deputy Christopher Roque at a cost of $908.
- Budget adjustment for TIDC Grant Budget and TGC Budget Amendment for Big Country and Concho Valley Public Defenders Offices.
- Awarding RFB 27-002 for countywide plumbing services and equipment to Black Plumbing Services, LLC, effective Oct. 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2027.
