A new Justice of the Peace was appointed for Precinct 1 Tuesday by the Commissioners Court. Hershel Stagner, Jr. was unanimously approved by the Court out of the seven persons who submitted resumes to replace the retiring David Peck in January.
Commissioner Precinct 1 David Dubose recommended Stagner for the appointment after first considering the Court Coordinator in the Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 Donna Williams for the position. Dubose admitted he wanted to promote from within the county employees, but Williams does not meet the requirement issued by the Texas Attorney General’s Office this week that the appointee live in Precinct 1. The Commissioner said he received numerous phone calls and emails supporting Stagner for the appointment. Dubose concluded, “It was the right thing to do.”
Stagner has worked for more than three decades with Claybar Funeral Homes. He expressed his decision to seek the position of Justice of the Peace was not a spur of the moment, but that he had thought about running for Justice of the Peace once Judge Peck retired. After attending the Commissioners Court last week and hearing that persons interested in the position could submit resumes he made up his mind to try for the appointment. He heard from many people voicing support for his seeking the position. Stagner stated, “I feel like I’ll be able to represent not only the citizens of Precinct 1, but also I look forward to serving all of Orange County.”
The new appointee will need to attend 80-hours of judicial training before taking the position officially the day after Judge Peck retires on January 3, 2017. Stagner did indicate he plans to seek re-election to the office in 2018.
Although the vote of the Commissioners Court was unanimous, there were some dissenting comments from those attending the meeting. Three citizens Henry Lowe, Essie Bellfield, and Franklin Ganz the outgoing president of the local NAACP voiced support for Gail Barnett who actually ran against Peck for Justice of the Peace in 2014. Ganz stated, “The NAACP is very concerned about that, and I don’t know what will be done at this point or could be done, but I really think it’s a decision that should’ve been given a lot of consideration for her and her qualifications for that position.”
Dispatchers with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office got some good news Tuesday as their inclusion in the Sheriff’s Office Employees Union was reconsidered by the Commissioners Court. County Judge Brint Carlton made the recommendation to include the dispatchers in the collective bargaining agreement with the union. Carlton informed that last week he found evidence that the dispatchers did qualify as law enforcement personnel to be included in the union’s normal negotiation structure. The Commissioners voted unanimously to again include the dispatchers in the Sheriff’s Employees Union. It was stipulated that all pay and benefits that were lost because of their removal from the union since September be reimbursed to the dispatchers.
The Court awarded a contract to the lone bidder Freys for plants to landscape the Orange County Convention and Expo Center. Commissioner Jody Crump was the lone dissenting vote stating he felt the more than $30,000 was excessive even if it was from Hotel Occupancy Tax funds. Crump added that grass or concrete pavement would have been cheaper.
Santa Claus has made a re-appearance in front of the Courthouse. Judge Carlton indicates a new nativity scene will soon be on the Courthouse lawn. Carlton said the new nativity scene was received the week of Thanksgiving, and he believes everyone will be pleased with it. The new nativity scene replacing a more than 20-year old one will be going up by the first week of December according to Maintenance Director Kurt Guidry.
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