County residents speak on dumping, more deputies for public safety

Grimes County Commissioners heard from citizens during Public Comments at its Wednesday, April 20, meeting about the impact of illegal dumping on residents and county services as well as the need to hire more law enforcement to ensure the safety of Grimes County residents in light of the state of the Texas border and illegal immigration.

Illegal dumping - problems & solutions

Property owner Patrick Murphy described an on-going problem with illegal dumping on his property. According to Murphy, two creeks entering his property have been the site of dumped automobile parts which included bumpers, fenders, wheels and tires, multiple times.

Murphy said, “Within the last 12 months, over 30 car tires were removed by the County which required the County to dispatch three trucks - a crane truck, a dump truck and pickup truck - and the men associated with that to remove this.”

Murphy suggested installing signage displaying illegal dumping penalties on bridges and county roads which intersect farm-to-market roads as a way to mitigate illegal dumping in Grimes County. In addition, he suggested guardrails raised high enough to discourage dumping from flatbed trucks as well as the use of chain link fencing.

Border issues, impact on Grimes County

Comments were also made by Dr. Johnny Sexton addressing the need for more patrol deputies on duty during each shift and the lack of citizen awareness about the challenge for the Grimes County Sheriff’s Office when it comes to sufficiently staffing each shift. While not minimizing concerns about roads, Sexton indicated citizens’ priorities are often focused on road conditions rather than public safety.

Sexton, a former law enforcement officer and criminology instructor, pointed out the increase in illegal crossings into Texas and the Department of Homeland Security’s prediction of 18,000 per day in May which includes individuals from countries which pose a threat to America’s safety.

Pointing to the recent unloading of 100-plus illegal immigrants in Uvalde without forewarning the local law enforcement, Sexton said, “If we don’t act now and make this county safer than it is, what is happening on the border and in Uvalde will happen here.”

He continued, “We’ll wake up at 2 a.m. and there will be a bus unloading 136- 145 people that we don’t know, and they’re released on the street, and we provided them a cellphone through the federal government.”

Note: The Texas Open Meetings Act does not authorize a board to discuss or act on comments or complaints from a member of the public if the subject is not on the meeting agenda.

Commissioners Court is available for viewing in its entirety at www.facebook.com/GrimesCountyCourtHouse.