County burn ban reinstated

Sep. 25—Johnson County Judge Chris Boedeker's recent rescinding of the county-wide burn ban proved short lived.

Commissioners unanimously voted to reinstate the ban, effective immediately, during Monday's meeting of the Johnson County Commissioners Court.

Boedeker rescinded the previous ban, which had been in effect much of the summer, following recent rainfall in order to grant residents opportunity to burn rubbish and brush.

Boedeker and commissioners agreed that, despite Sunday's rainfall, conditions continue to present wildfire hazards.

The lack of rain forecast in the immediate future played into the court's decision.

"There's some green up since that last rain a week or so ago," Commissioner Larry Woolley said. "But there's still a lot of dry fuel out there underneath that."

Commissioner Rick Bailey agreed.

"No rain is forecast for the at least the next 10 days or so," Bailey said. "It was 100 degrees on Sunday. We're still seeing grass fires and it's still just dry, windy and hot out there."

County Emergency Management Director Jamie Moore praised the commissioner's decision to reinstate the ban and said it's a decision fire chiefs throughout the county support as well.

"Right now we're on the border as to being where we need to be as far as fire and outdoor burning restrictions," Moore said. "We're still averaging about two grass fires a day and firefighters were out on one of 300 acres on Friday."

Woolley noted that firefighters responded to more than 100 grass fire calls in August.

"The ban is something we can revisit during our next meeting in a couple of weeks to determine if it's still needed," Commissioner Kenny Howell said. "The other thing is, on the off chance we miraculously get a ton of rain between now and then [Boedeker] can always rescind the ban before then."

Wait and see

Officials from The Bread Connection, a local food bank serving numerous county charitable organizations, will have to wait on their Monday request.

Bread Connection cofounder Becky Hightower and board member Fernando Rodriquez requested $250,000 from the county for a new warehouse for the organization.

The money, if awarded, will come from American Rescue Plan Act funds.

ARPA funds are federal dollars distributed to counties and other governmental agencies to mitigate and/or offset costs associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.

A substantial portion of the ARPA money sent to Johnson County has already been distributed to area charitable organizations.

The Bread Connection received funding for tow trucks and a forklift, which Hightower said substantially helped the organization's ability to get food to those in need.

With need, and population, growing, so too are calls for help from The Bread Connection, Bread Connection cofounder Randy Hightower said.

"The space we have now is about 1.400 square feet and cramped to the point that we're bumping into one another," Randy Hightower said. "We need about three times the space we have now in order to keep growing to keep up with demand."

The hope, Hightower said, is for The Bread Connection to retain its current Cleburne location but to also purchase another warehouse for additional storage and distribution needs.

Commissioners made no decision on the Bread Connection request other than to suggest a wait-and-see approach.

"Of the money we made available to distribute to area charities and organizations, practically all of that has been pledged," Bailey said. "But, for various reasons, some of those organizations may not be able to complete the projects they requested funding for. So, we've given them till April to complete or have those projects under contract. Should some of them not be able to perform by that deadline we'll get some of those funds back. If that happens, we can look at distributing whatever is left over to other charitable organizations."

The Bread Connection, the name of which is soon to change to the Johnson County Food Bank, provides needed food to 27 county and area organizations, Becky Hightower said.

"There's going to be more need, more people needing help," Randy Hightower said. "At this point, we need to find some land and a warehouse to be able to keep up with the demand."

For information, to volunteer or donate to The Bread Connection, visit thebreadconnection.org.

Happy Holidays

Commissioners approved paying DFW Holiday Kings $5,650 from the county's general fund to install Christmas lights around the courthouse lawn. The annual holiday lights tie into decorations and lights put up in Hulen Park and other areas of Cleburne.

Cleburne's Whistlestop Christmas has been deemed one of the top 10 Christmas events in the state, Cleburne Chamber Tourism and Marketing Director Heather Juarez said.

Cleburne Christmas events draw tourism and last year accounted for about $570,000 in additional economic activity for an average of about $110 spent per visitor, Juarez said.

Commissioners, pleased that the cost of installing the lights this year totaled $1,100 less than last year's cost, unanimously approved the request.

Commissioners also approved tapping $60,000 of ARPA funds to chip seal the main entrance of Hamm Creek Park. Bailey explained that those come out of the county's lost revenue portion of ARPA funding, which differs from the portion commissioners used to award charitable grants.

Ham Creek attracts roughly 60,000 visitors per year, Bailey said, and has thrice received 1st place awards from the U.S. Corps of Engineers since the county assumed park maintenance and operations 14 years ago.