Jail Log
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The following persons were arrested or booked into the Madison County jail. All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
News
Midway VFD acquires engine
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The Midway Volunteer Fire Department welcomed a new addition to the organization Friday with the acquisition of a second engine truck. The Pierce Manufacturing brand truck was built in Florida and picked up by department members at a factory in Houston late Friday afternoon.
SNOW DAY
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Cattle owned by Midway resident Dalton Turner at Diamond T Ranch watch as snow begins to fall early Sunday (Above). Hours later, Madisonville residents George Simmons Sr. and his wife Lillian Simmons pose next to a newly assembled eight-foot snowman at their residence on Greenbriar Road in Madisonville (Right). Madison County and surrounding areas were hit with significant snowfall Sunday, with some areas seeing as many as seven inches. The rare winter storm resulted in power outages across the county, Monday school closures at Madisonville CISD and North Zulch ISD, along with multiple related closures or delayed starts for area businesses and government entities.
Snowfall results in delays, outages
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Sunday’s snowstorm disrupted a number of regularly scheduled events in Madison County as the work week began Monday. The rare winter storm, which produced as many as seven inches of snow in some locations, resulted in closures at both Madisonville CISD and North Zulch ISD, as well as delayed starts on Tuesday.
DSHS estimates COVID-19 case totals
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There were an estimated 75 active cases of COVID-19 in Madison County as of Tuesday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Madison County has received a total of 300 doses of the Moderna vaccine since the state began the distributing process in December.
MCISD reviews annual TAPR
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The Madisonville Consolidated Independent School District (MCISD) held their monthly meeting for January Monday and reviewed the district’s Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas students did not take the annual STAAR test during the 2019-20 school year, rendering much of the information even more outdated than usual.
New year can’t shake focus from COVID-19
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It’s a new year, but the news out of the capital continues to focus on COVID-19. Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted last week that “a significant portion of vaccines distributed across Texas might be sitting on hospital shelves as opposed to being given to vulnerable Texans. The state urges vaccine providers to quickly provide all shots. We get plenty more each week.” Many health providers and county health department officials responded that they were working as quickly as they could to give shots to front-line health care workers and lacked the doses necessary to move to what Texas calls phase 1B recipients. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, phase 1B recipients include those 65 and older and those 16 and older with medical conditions that would put them at greater risk from COVID-19. Various state news outlets reported Texans in phase 1B could not find any vaccine available to them yet. The state health department encouraged the public to check its website weekly for updates on vaccine availability. In the meantime, people should continue wearing a face mask when in public and follow all social distancing guidelines, health officials said.
The history of the Ferguson Unit (Part 1)
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Surely many of you know that the Ferguson Farm, or the Ferguson Unit of the Texas Department of Corrections, holds a place of importance in Madison County’s economy and the lives of many of us here. It’s been here long enough that it’s on a first-name basis for some. “Where do you work? Ferguson. Where do you live? Near Ferguson.” Located six miles south of Midway on F.M. 247, its payroll is essential to many local families.
DH Roadway Issues Addressed
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We trust 2021 will be a year of promise and hope in our community. Our time of trial will yet continue a few months longer, but each step we take to recovery (COVID inoculations, measured social gatherings, and long delayed community celebrations) are the “light” yet too far at the end of the tunnel.
County officials take the oath
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Newly elected county officials were sworn in with the new year Friday by Madison County Judge Tony Leago in the district courtroom in the presence of friends and family. Leago offered a prayer at the conclusion of the ceremony and spoke on the difficulties of the last year and the importance of continued unity moving forward into 2021.
