The Bedias community had a serious wildfire outbreak last Tuesday, July 19. At least one home was lost along with much of the possessions for a Bedias family. We must be very aware of the present fire danger and diligently watch out for our neighbors. As a side note, one of the responding volunteer fire departments had to stop on the way to suppress a carelessly started grass fire before even getting to the Bedias fire.

If you happen to visit a high-traffic area in one of the state’s larger cities, you might come across some folks wearing sandwich boards, such as one sees during tax season or mattress sales. The Texas Department of Transportation has adopted this marketing device to promote its “Be Safe. Drive Smart” pedestrian safety campaign this month.

I’m possessed by a bad case of curiosity. Sometimes it seems like many of us here in Madison County are pretty much a big Heinz 57 mixture, but then I think, “where did we start?” With that in mind, I did some searching in Volumes 1 and 2 of local history.

Madison County Sheriff Deputy Frank McIntyre completed and passed an intense two-week K9 handler academy through Sector K9 Foundation on Thursday, July 21. At the completion of his course, Deputy McIntyre returned to Madison County with his new partner, and the department’s newest Deputy, K9 Maverick, by his side.

Tough decisions are being made around Texas as drought conditions force ranchers to cull cattle herds due to lack of forage. Cattle producers must decide whether to continue feeding by purchasing available hay or find other economical feed options, or simply pare down herd numbers.