| Animal Control / Animal Cruelty Issues in Johnson County |
| Thursday evening, March 11, 2010, at 7:00pm, the public is invited to attend an informational meeting at the Precinct #3 office. Commissioner Stringer is hosting the meeting to discuss issues regarding animal control issues within the county, and the growing problem of animal cruelty cases. In addition to the Commissioner, representatives from the Johnson County Sheriff's Office and the Humane Society of North Texas, as well as interested citizens, will be present to discuss the problems in Johnson County and hopefully set a groundwork for future solutions. We're hoping for a good turnout! The office is located on East FM 917 near Lillian. |
| Check out "The Scoop" in the Alvarado Star! |
| The Alvarado Star newspaper asked Commissioner Stringer to write a monthly article about county business with an emphasis on Precinct #3. He agreed and the first printing of "The Scoop" (title idea by the editor!) was published in early January. We received lots of positive comments about the article so we're looking forward to the next issue in February. Watch for it! |
| Our Open House / Christmas Drive!! |
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
Our December Open House was a huge success! We had a constant flow of guests during the entire time we were open and received some great feedback.
The employees of the precinct had decided to get involved and help others who were not as fortunate to have a great Christmas this year. Pastor Rick Hope with 1st Baptist Church Lillian had discussed the possibility of our crew sponsoring a food, toy, and gift drive at the precinct office during the open house. The public helped us out tremendously by making donations of non-perishable food, toys, gift cards, and even cash. (We used the case to purchase items and gift cards).
As it turned out, our office was able to sponsor FOUR FAMILIES living in Precinct #3 to give them a good Christmas!
Santa delivered one family's gifts and food in a front loader that was escorted by the Precinct #3 Constables Office. It was amazing! The kid's eyes were as big as pie plates and they were thrilled. More than one tear of joy fell as our crew saw how they had made a difference in those kids' lives. We can't wait until next year!
The Alvarado Star did a great job of documenting the event with a story that made their front page (Good job, Chris!)
Thanks again to the public for helping!
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| Precinct #3 Sports a New Look! |
You may have noticed a different look on some of the county trucks driving around Precinct #3 lately. After taking office on January 1, 2009, Commissioner Jerry Stringer noticed that the facilities housing the Precinct #3 offices and maintenance facility were in much need of a facelift. The carpets were badly worn, the office walls were begging for new paint, and the parking lots were in need of repair.
It didn't take long for upgrades to to be put into place. Carpets and countertops were replaced, a new coat of paint hit the walls, and a donation from Chesapeake took care of the parking lots. But to complete the picture, the Commissioner felt that the precinct needed a new logo - one that caught your eye, displayed some color, and set a progressive tone for the future. He enlisted the donated time of a graphic designer to come up with some ideas, and presented them to the employees for their input. A new design was quickly chosen and has now become the icon for Precinct #3. The employees and staff love it . . . and it looks great on the trucks and equipment!
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| Thanks to Chesapeake for our new parking lot |
| Chesapeake Energy has leased the back portion of the Precinct #3 property to put a gas well drilling site. Because of the poor condition of the precinct office parking lots, Chesapeake agreed to hire an asphalt contractor to completely resurface the lot and picked up the tab for slightly over $28,000.00. THANK YOU, CHESAPEAKE! |
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| Commercial Vehicle Weigh Station Is Now Complete |
| We've been working for some time now to complete a Commercial Vehicle Weigh Station in the front yard of the Precinct #3 office. It's a result of a cooperative effort between Precinct #3, the Texas Department of Transportation, and Premier Tank Truck Lines (a private trucking company who donated the concrete!) and is used by the Texas Highway Patrol Troopers and The Sheriffs Department Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Deputies to weigh large trucks to keep them within the legal weight limits. We'll have more information as well as photos shortly! |
| The Asphalt Zipper is doing a great job! |
As part of a strong push to catch up on some of the much needed road repairs in Precinct #3, we researched several different ideas to work more efficiently and be more productive during our work days. One idea was to consider a piece of equipment called the Asphalt Zipper. It's a portable grinding machine (called a "reclaimer") that can quickly be taken to a job site, and selectively repair failed portions of roadways.
We have assembled a team of equipment operators that are becoming very proficient with the Zipper and their efforts are doing a better job of road repair while saving many hours of work over methods previously used. The ZIpper has turned out to be a great investment for Precinct #3! |
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| Precinct #3 Makes Channel 5 News! |
| On July 21, 2009, a reporter and cameraman spent the day at Precinct #3 to do an in-depth report on our efforts to repair and protect our county roads. A large portion of the report covered our new Commercial Vehicle Weigh Station where large trucks are weighed by Highway Patrol Troopers and County Deputies and overweight or unsafe vehicles are cited. Part of the news story showed our crew repairing roads using the Asphalt Zipper. If you would like to read the story and see the video newscast, go to this URL: www.nbcdfw.com/traffic/transit/Johnson-Co-Puts-Gas-Well-Trucks-on-Weight-Watchers.html |
| We Also Made Channel 33 News! |
| On August 4, 2009, Channel 33 contacted Precinct #3 and asked for assistance with a story they were doing about the unsafe practice of drivers texting while driving. The reporter and camera crew went out on the job with our "patch crew" while they repaired potholes. They interviewed the crew and got some great video for their story. The reporter got a first hand experience when a driver on a cell phone almost hit her while she was doing an interview. The URL to that story and video is here: http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-shana-texting-driving-story,0,6333206.story |
| Precinct #3 offers an Auto Tech Intern Program with Burleson High School! |
| Beginning in the spring of 2009, Precinct #3 offered an Auto Tech Intern Program for senior level students enrolled in the Burleson High School Auto Tech program. Through this program, every semester a senior level student is allowed to spend part of their school day at the Precinct #3 equipment maintenance facility where they get hands on experience in working on heavy equipment, while also getting school credit. Burleson High School has been very successful placing these students in mechanic shops where they can work on cars and light trucks, but Precinct #3 was the first to offer experience on heavy equipment. The first semester was a hugh success, and we even helped the student assigned to us gain employment with a local trucking company as an entry level mechanic. The program will continue with the beginning of the next school year. |
