Transcript:
It’s Monday, December 11th and this is Chaz.
Brewster County Commissioners tomorrow will consider possibly lifting the county burn ban at its regular meeting in Commissioners Courtroom in the Courthouse Annex.
We have had some spotty rain lately but most of West Texas still is considered “extremely dry.”
County Emergency Coordinator Stephanie Elmore told the last Commissioners Court meeting she has received many requests for controlled burns.
A ban imposed during drought conditions does not prohibit burns supervised by a Certified and Insured Prescribed Burn Manager.
And the court will consider approving the updated Brewster Conty Flood Plain maps.
Some properties may be removed from the flood plain and some added to it, affecting the resident’s flood insurance premiums.
Clearly, those in a flood plain will pay more for flood insurance than those outside of the plain.
Commissioners will meet at 9:30 tomorrow morning.
The Alpine School District is offering a program to let students grow, prosper and flourish with technology.
Superintendent Dr. Michelle Rinehart notified parents and guardians by Facebook that the district has teamed up with Qustodio Parents App.
She said it is a digital wellbeing platform that protects devices school children use at school, ensuring they stay safe and secure.
Dr. Rinehart said they will receive a series of e-mails soon giving them access to the program.
She said it will give them insight on how their children are using school devices at no cost to the parent or guardian.
The program is completely optional, she said. To accept the invitation, simply follow the links to set up the program.
For questions, contact the school Technology Director Darin Nance at 837-7700 or email dnance@alpineisd.net.
Another school district post thanks what it calls an “incredibly generous” 70-thousand-dollar donation from the Permian Basin Area Foundation.
With it, the district was able to purchase brand new laptops for every teacher, counselor and attendance clerk at Alpine I.S.D. Many staff members were using laptops, some more than six years old, that the technology
department regularly updated and refurbished.
But the notice said it was time for new equipment.
Because of persistent state underfunding, it didn’t have funds in the 2023-24 budget to update the devices.
The post thanked outreach by Mrs. Caroline Fox and the success of past partnerships with the foundation.
It has contributed to library renovation, school supply drives and more.
The money was paired with instructional material funds and other grant funds to support blended learning to complete the order.
And it thanked tech pros Darin Nance and Jesse Crim for preparing the devices for our staff on a short timeline.
Our Congressmen Tony Gonzales and Democrat Don Davis of North Carolina have introduced bipartisan legislation to provide increased technical assistance for rural communities.
The Rural Uplift and Revitalization Assistance Act allows the United States Department of Agriculture to help rural districts strengthen local capacity.
It also will allow them to improve access to development programs for rural areas directly or through cooperative agreements.
Gonzales said far too often, rural communities are left out of the picture when it comes to access to federal development programs and grants.
He said one of his top priorities in Congress is to get funding out of Washington and back into South and West Texas communities.
This has been your local and area news report for KVLF 98.7 FM, 1240 AM and KALP 92.7 FM
Local news can be found on our website at bigbendradio.com.