SAVE THE KENDLETON POST OFFICE

My friend, Rev. Petitt.

SUNSET OVER PRECINCT 1

TEXAS RECYCLES DAY

November 15th is America/Texas Recycles Day. I encourage everyone to recycle everyday, but the 15th is a day to encourage a more widespread practice of recycling. Check out the links; here, here and here for more. Additionally, due to increased demand for recycling in the County, Fort Bend is getting authorization from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to expand its hours at the recycling center.

KILLING MOSQUITOS

KHOU TV covered the Fort Bend County Road and Bridge mosquito killing patrol. The film was done from Road and Bridge in Needville. Excellent footage at about the 1:25 mark showing the fleet of trucks leaving the gate. The only good mosquito is a dead mosquito.

HOG OUT!

Wild hogs are a problem nationwide and locally. Fort Bend County has joined the Hog Out program. To learn more about the program go the County's partner in the program, Texas Agrilife. For some background check out this Herald story. And for the history of hogs in American go here. Let's hog out.

UPDATE

This is a house in Sienna Plantation. As you can see, the hogs "rooted up" the yard. Hog out!

West Nile Found in Fresno

A mosquito sample from the Fresno area has tested positive for West Nile Virus. This is the first positive sample in Fort Bend County in several years. Following procedure, mosquito spraying in the area will be intensified until a negative sample is gathered from the area. The intensive spraying is targeted at areas likely to hold water including ditches and drains. In addition to extra spraying, Road & Bridge is also using a larvacide to prevent future mosquitoes from hatching.

Please be careful, wear long sleeves and pants, use bug spray and stay indoors when you can.

"A Mental Disaster"

One of Fort Bend County's biggest issues is treatment of its citizens that have mental health disorders. The mental health services that are offered to these vulnerable folks are already strained by the current budget restraints. This is a good article that goes into what the Texas Leg is proposing for future cuts.

County Judge Lonnie Hunt from Houston County sums up the problem:

"The patients don't get the help they really need, things just keep getting worse and local taxpayers end up paying the cost to house them in jail."

This wrongheaded solution is a cost escalator for the County. It cost between $10 and $20 per day to treat a person at a community mental health center, but it cost Fort Bend County about $150 per day to treat these folks at the County Jail.

The County has set up a Mental Health Public Defender's Office so that we can identify these patients and stop them from cycling through the jail, but it is only the tip of the iceberg.

Let your legislator know how important it is to fund mental health care, so that the mental health disaster can be averted.