News

Approximately 120 Yoe band students began rehearsals last week from the Francis Cox Band Hall. The band is currently working on their brand new show, ‘To Honor Those Who Serve and Protect,’ in addition to the music played on Friday nights from the stands. 

A most important question at the Milam County Commissioners Court is should the county sign a watershed agreement with the Lower Brushy Creek Water Control and Improvement District.

Before going further, let’s review the history and reason for the Lower Brushy Creek WCID.

W.R. Poage, Texas’ 11th District U.S. Representative from 1937 to 1978, authored the “Upstream Flood Prevention Program” which became law in the 1950s. The original Brushy Creek WCID was created in 1957 as the first project approved under this program in the entire United States.

A total of 57 dams were approved to build in the watershed of the Brushy Creek in Williamson and Milam counties. Forty-eight have been built to date using millions of dollars provided by federal and state agencies.

Pre-school activities begin next week. Here's a schedule:

Meet  Yoe Coaches

As the 2016 fall sports season kicks off, the annual “Meet the Coaches” event will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. tonight (Thursday) at Yoe High School Cafeteria. 

Fall sports athletes and their parents should attend the event.

Practice begins Monday, Aug. 1, for both football and volleyball.

The first intra-squad scrimmage is scheduled Saturday, Aug. 6, from 8 to 11 a.m. at Yoe Field

The annual “Meet the Yoemen” event is set for 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, at the Performing Arts Center.

Picture day for fall sports teams will be held Saturday, Aug. 13, from 8 a.m. to noon on Yoe Field.

Band uniform fittings

Uniform fittings for those set to participate in Yoe Band will be held Saturday, July 30. 

Police are warning residents about a series of attempted break-ins that Police Chief Randy Dixon said had the potential to be violent home invasions.

Over the past two to three days, residences in the city have been targeted by as many as five men trying to “kick or punch their way into people’s homes through the doors homes during the night," Dixon reported in a news release.

The five reported incidents have occurred in “almost every area of town, east, west, north and south,” Dixon said, adding that while no homes have actually been broken into, several residents have been awakened by nighttime noise of someone trying to force open the doors of their homes.

 “In each instance every home was occupied by residents which could lead investigators to believe it possibly could result in a home invasion situation,” Dixon said. “As of now, no one has been able to give a complete description of the individuals who may be perpetrating these acts.”

According to the Milam County website and local fire departments, outdoor burning is banned temporarily.

High heat in recent weeks has caused vegetation to dry out, creating hazardous conditions.

The ban is in effect until further notice.

A suspect is in custody in the Milam County Jail, charged with sexual assault of a child in connection with an incident that occurred over the weekend, Police Chief Randy Dixon reported.

A warrant for Brandon Diserens, 33, of Coryell County was issued after officers responded to a call reporting the assault on Sunday. A 14-year-old girl was taken to McLane Children’s Hospital in Temple for examination, Dixon said.

With the help of several area law enforcement agencies, police tracked the suspect to Waco, where they found he was a patient at Providence Hospital. He was arrested Tuesday when he was released from the hospital, Dixon said. Diserens was charged with second-degree felony sexual assault of a child.

By Curtis Chubb, Special to the Herald

At Monday’s meeting, the Milam County Commissioners Court approved a ‘Standing Order’ for the Milam County Probate Court to “require all probate proceedings to submit to the court a $250 Ad litem Fee deposit.”

‘Ad litem’ is defined by Wikipedia as “a term used in law to refer to the appointment by a court of one party to act in a lawsuit on behalf of another party such as a child or an incapacitated adult, who is deemed incapable of representing himself.”

Milam County Judge David Barkemeyer sponsored the agenda item because he said that in some cases, the estate being probated refuses to pay the Ad litem fee.

Two major bid openings took place at the meeting. 

By Curtis Chubb, Special to the Herald

On the morning of April 18, Precinct 2 Commissioner Donald Shuffield received a telephone call from a citizen - County Road 267 Bridge had been washed away by a flood overnight. Shuffield went out to inspect the bridge which is located about nine miles northeast of Cameron and reported, “It is gone.” 

Shuffield didn’t know when the CR 267 Bridge was first constructed. Neither did Richard Dodd whose family has land near the bridge; but Dodd did say that the bridge is more than 50 years old.

Dodd also said that the CR 267 Bridge had been damaged by floods in the past. The presence of a concrete low-water crossing just west of the bridge also suggests that the bridge had been unusable in the past.

You can see the bridge as it looked in October in the ‘Before’ photograph. It was a one-lane primarily-wooden bridge with a span of 83 feet.

Cameron motorists are warned about lane closures starting today for TxDOT work on busy 4th Street/Hwy. 190.

Daily lane closures on 4th Street from Travis to FM 2269 (Columbus Ave) will begin Thursday for resurfacing work, TxDOT spokesman Bob Colwell announced.  

The section of 4th Street/Hwy. 190 will be resurfaced and re-striped with a continuous two-way left turn lane, according to Colwell. 

Cornerstone Paving and Construction, LLC of Brenham is the contractor for the $180,000 project expected to be complete by mid-August of 2016, weather permitting.

Colwell reminds motorists to obey all warning signs, watch for workers and equipment, buckle up, and drive safely.

A community prayer service was held Saturday evening at Cameron City Park, hosted by Holy Ground Baptist Church.

Residents, law enforcement officers and fire department personnel joined church members in a prayer circle.