The Digest: COVID numbers climb; big drug bust
Henderson County's COVID-19 numbers continued to set records through the past week.
County Judge Wade McKinney and I discussed the current COVID-19 statistics, tried to put them into perspective, and explained why the hospitalization percentage is so important on this week's County Government Podcast. You can listen to it here.
As of Thursday, there were 368 individuals hospitalized for COVID-19 in the Trauma Service Area (TSA) which includes Henderson County. That represents 12.82 percent of the available beds in the TSA. Our region has had record highs for COVID-19 hospitalizations in 10 of the last 14 days.
Texas separates the state into 22 regions for hospital data. Henderson County's region is designated TSA-G, includes Tyler/Longview, and includes about 960,000 people.
The percentage is important because the Governor has tied the expanded business opening to that number. If a TSA's COVID-19 hospitalizations are at 15 percent or higher for seven consecutive days, any business that otherwise would have a 75 percent occupancy or operating limit will have to reduce to 50 percent.
Wednesday evening, NET Health updated the 7-day rolling average for the area, with Henderson County jumping from 29 cases per day per 100,000 to nearly 40 cases per day. (Graphic above)
Henderson County has now moved into the "Substantial Community Spread" category.
What's Happening - Quick hits from the group and beyond
Athens ISD employees each received a "COVID stipend" from administrators and school board members to say thank you for the extra work they've put in during the pandemic. "It is an expression of their appreciation for all the extra work the staff has had to do beginning last March when the shutdown occurred," said Superintendent Dr. Janie Sims, "and happening all through the summer, and everything they've had to do extra during this year because of COVID." Read the story here.
The Athens Police Department arrested Lamontee D. Rodriguez, 26, of Athens this week in connection with a shooting in the 700 block of Jonathan Street. He was arrested for two counts of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon and two counts of Deadly Conduct Discharge of a Firearm and was being held in the Henderson County jail on bonds totalling $1.5 million. You can read the City's press release here.
Keep Athens Beautiful has released the schedule for Santa's House on the square. If you have children or grandchildren who need to see Santa, make sure you get these times on your calendar. You can find the schedule here.
Gun Barrel City this week extended an ordinance mandating face coverings inside commercial entities. The ordinance was originally enacted July 30. According to the post announcing the extension, "Simply put any commercial business inside the City limits that provides goods or services directly to the public shall post a notice to the public that all employees and visitors to the business/facility are required to wear face coverings. Face coverings must be worn at all times while visiting the business from the time entering the premises until exiting the premises." You can read the entire post here.
Athens ISD Superintendent Dr. Janie Sims went live Wednesday afternoon to discuss the district's COVID-19 protocols. Also appearing on the video were Assistant Superintendent Ginger Morrison, local physician James Qualls, and AISD Registered Nurse Vanessa Bledsoe. You can watch the video here.
Speaking of going live, I went live from Trinity Valley Community College to talk about the annual Student Government Food Drive. More now than ever, people need our help. Check out the video here and then drop off some canned goods at the college.
The Trinity Valley Community College Board of Trustees election results for District 3 were approved in a special board meeting held on Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. with Michael Hembree winning that seat. A Certificate of Election was provided to certify Steve Grant for District 1, Ray Raymond for District 2 and Michael Hembree for District 3. Both Grant and Raymond were unopposed in the Nov. 3 election, and Hembree defeated incumbent Kenneth McGee. Grant, Hembree and Raymond will be sworn in on Nov. 23 at the regular board meeting which will be held via teleconference at 6 p.m.
The No. 8 Waxahachie Prep Lady Warriors edged No. 5 ACPA in overtime, 44-43. ACPA fought back from a 16-point third quarter deficit to force Waxahachie to overtime, but foul trouble caught up to the Lady Storm who only had four eligible players on the floor at the end. You can read my coverage of the game here.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston is partnering with the Texas Department of State Health Services to launch the Texas Coronavirus Antibody Response Survey (Texas CARES). The survey will determine the proportion of people throughout Texas who have COVID-19 antibodies, indicating a past infection and presumably some degree of immune protection. Texas educators, administrators, and allied education staff are invited to participate in Texas CARES. To learn how to participate, click here.
County makes huge drug bust
The Henderson County Sheriff's Office landed its biggest drug bust of the year early Wednesday morning, when deputies raided an Athens motel room and arrested two methamphetamine dealers.
The pair had 2.2 pounds of meth, a 9 mm handgun, a large amount of cash, baggies to package the drugs, and paraphernalia to ingest the contraband.
On our weekly podcast, Sheriff Botie Hillhouse talked about the arrests, the amount of narcotics seized and how they are destroyed, what goes into this sort raid, and what sort of prison sentences could be involved. You can listen to the podcast here.
“We caught these two suspects just before they were ready to dump pounds of this horrible drug on the streets,” Hillhouse said.
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