Matt Ratcliffe

Lubbock County Sheriff David Gutierrez announced Monday that Dallas County Assistant Chief Deputy Danny Downes has joined the Administration of the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office as the Major over the Detention Branch. The major's position at the Sheriff's Office had been held since 2001 by the late Jerry Baggs who passed away last fall.

Most recently, Kelly Rowe had been serving in the position. The Commissioners' Court recently assisted the Sheriff's Office in establishing the position of Chief Deputy over the Detention Branch. Kelly Rowe has been promoted into this new position directly under the Sheriff, overseeing the Detention Branch.

Sheriff Gutierrez knows the value of these men in his administration, "The Detention Branch of the Sheriff's Office is growing at a rapid pace as we prepare current detention operations for transition process to the new direct supervision facility. The next two years our office and the status of detention operations in Lubbock County will be looked to as a role-model for other counties in Texas and across the nation looking to move into the 21st Century in detention technology and operations. Chief Deputy Rowe and Major Downes are two men who know this industry well and I look forward to utilizing their expertise and management skills."

Downes resigned his position serving the Dallas County Sheriff's Office as Assistant Chief Deputy to Sheriff Lupe Valdez to make the move to Lubbock. In Dallas, Downes oversaw the Inmate Housing Bureau where he was responsible for an average daily population of 7,500 inmates and 1,500 employees. He is a past president of the Texas Jail Association who has been in the jail business 15 years. Downes previously served 12 years with McLennan County Sheriff's Office where he was in charge of a 937 bed jail and over 200 employees.

"I am pleased to join the staff of such a well-respected organization. I am looking forward to the challenges of transitioning to a new, state-of-the-art, direct supervision facility and am happy to assist the Sheriff make this a smooth and successful transition for the Sheriff's Office," Downes said.

Sheriff Gutierrez was looking towards the future when he recruited Downes to his administration, "I truly believe that Danny's leadership and vision will be a huge asset to the Sheriff's Office and will be invaluable during the transition to our new facility. I look forward to the insight and experience he will provide to our Detention Branch."

Chief Downes received his Peace Officer License in 2000 from the Heart of Texas Police Academy and was Valedictorian of his class. He holds certificates through the Texas Commission on Law enforcement Officer Standards and Education for Advanced Jailer, Advanced Peace Officer and Instructor Proficiency and is certified by the American Jail Association as a Certified Jail Manager and is a member of the Texas Jail Association, the American Jail Association, the American Correctional Association and the Sheriff's Association of Texas. Chief Downes holds an Associates Degree in Electronics from National Education Center of Southern California and has additional hours of college credit toward a degree in Public Administration from Redrocks Community College in Denver and currently has 3,077 hours of TCLEOSE credit for continuing education in law enforcement and corrections training.

Chief Rowe has worked with Major Downes in various jail-related organizations and is excited to work with him at the Sheriff's Office. "Danny took over as the President of the Texas Jail Association the year after I was President so I had the opportunity to work closely with him at TJA. I look forward to working with him in this capacity to help make our transition successful. I am honored for the opportunity afforded to me by Sheriff Gutierrez to lead the transition into the new facility with the most experienced staff possible."

Chief Downes has been married to his wife Martha for almost 30 years. Prior to his career in detention he served in the United States Air Force during the Viet Nam conflict as a Vietnamese Linguist. "I have heard wonderful things about Lubbock and am excited for my wife to soon join me as we experience this great community together," Downes said.

Source: Lubbock County Sheriff's Office

Till Next Time
Matt Ratcliffe
KWRBV

On December 13, 2007 the College Station City Council appointed 30 citizens to the ad hoc Capital Improvements Citizen Advisory Committee known as the CIP Committee. Members of that committee are: Lindsey Bacon; Mike Ball; Jere Blackwelder; Brian Bochner; Jerry Cooper; Derek Dictson; George Dresser; David Hart; Anne Hazen; Don Hellriegel; Laura Holmes; Kathleen Ireland; George Jessup; Edsel Jones; Ronald Kaiser; Jean Marie Linhart; Dennis Maloney; William Mather; Robert Meyer; Steven O'Neal; Raymond Reed; Larry Ringer; Julie Schultz; Scott Schafer; Ron Silvia; Douglas Slack; Gary Thomas; Parvis Vessali; Henry Wittner; and Tom Woodfin.

On January 10, the City Council appointed Brian Bochner as chairman and Derek Dictson as vice-chairman for the committee and on January 24, they approved the job description and responsibilities for the committee. They will officially begin their meetings in February.

The charge of the Capital Improvements Program Citizen Advisory Committee is to recommend a prioritized list of projects that can be funded with General Obligation Bond funds to the College Station City Council.

The CIP Citizen Advisory Committee Members will work with the city staff and other committee members to evaluate the City's capital needs and then develop a prioritized list of projects. That list will be reviewed by the Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) and will be presented to the City Council. The City Council will use that list along with P&Z's comments and financial information provided by the staff to develop ballot language for a General Obligation (GO) Bond election that will be voted on by the Citizen's of College Station. Committee members will provide public support for and will promote the proposed bond issue in the time leading up to the election. The result of that vote will determine which projects will be funded for construction with GO bonds over the next five years.

Through a series of January public meetings the committee members and staff have been able to seek opinions of the general public before they begin their official deliberations and prioritization beginning on February 5, 2008.

The city has created a web site specifically dedicated to the 2008 Bond Election to allow residents to keep up with the process through reports, meetings, and an on-line survey for those unable to attend one of the meetings. To access the web site go to ../home/index.asp?page=2764.

Till Next Time,

Matt Ratcliffe
Team Leader
KWRBV

Lubbock, Tech health officials recommend flu shots

It's the sniffling, sneezing, aching, coughing, stuffy-headed, fever time of year again, and the Lubbock Health Department and the Texas Tech Student Wellness Center are reporting more cases of influenza in the last two to three weeks.

"Tis the season," said Tigi Ward, public health coordinator for the City of Lubbock.

She said reporting a case of the flu is not mandatory, but many physicians and hospitals do so in order to monitor the trends. Although activity has increased in the last two to three weeks, it is not out of the ordinary for this time of the year.

Ward said statewide, influenza is widespread, but there does not seem to be any signs of an epidemic in Lubbock.

Juli McCauley, the clinical department administrator for Student Health Services at Tech, said the Student Wellness Center received its first diagnosis of influenza during the week of Jan. 14. Since then, there have been 151 diagnoses of influenza.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site, www.cdc.gov, flu season can begin as early as October and end as late as May. The CDC reported the best time to get vaccinated for influenza is October or November, but people can be vaccinated in December and later.

McCauley said the Student Wellness Center has administered 1,000 flu vaccines since fall 2007.

There currently are no influenza vaccines available at the Student Wellness Center as well as many pharmacies around town, but vaccines still are available at all United Supermarkets as well as the Walgreens stores located at 5206 Fourth St. and 6420 82nd St.

According to the CDC, the influenza vaccine is the best protection against influenza viruses. The influenza vaccine can reduce the chances of getting the virus by as much as 70 to 90 percent if scientists correctly predict which strains of influenza to vaccinate for.

Till Next Time,

Matt Ratcliffe
Becky Brawley, a public health coordinator at the Lubbock Health Department, said she recommends the flu shot for everyone 6 months old and older unless the person has an allergy to eggs or another type of reaction to a component in the vaccine.

The state's transportation department has suspended studies on Lubbock's outer loop project because of the department's continued cash struggle.

Cuts in federal funds to all state transportation departments, as well as the rising cost of construction materials and less state revenue, have forced the Texas Department of Transportation to cut some projects.

"We need to pay for what we have, we need to maintain what we have and spend money on (the state's) most important needs," said Randy Hopmann, TxDOT's district engineer in Lubbock.

"I know community leaders are going to be disappointed by that," he said.

An outer loop - encircling Lubbock beyond Loop 289 - has been discussed for several years. There are housing additions platted all the way to FM 1585 south of Lubbock as well as projected growth west and north. That growth has transportation leaders anticipating what Lubbock's traffic scene may look like in 50 years.

TxDOT has said the rising cost of construction has strained its budget, as has lawmakers' refusal to increase the state's gas tax in more than 15 years. The department anticipates losing $1.2 billion in federal funding it was set to receive from the current federal highway bill. The department has said a state transportation fund can now only sustain maintenance needs, not new projects.

TxDOT's funding issues prompted the Lubbock City Council in January to find an alternative way to pay for an overpass at Slide Road and North Loop 289. TxDOT said it could no longer reimburse the city for money it spends.

The cutbacks, which are happening to transportation projects around the state, are having an effect on engineering firms that are losing projects, said Steve Stagner, president of the Texas Council of Engineering Companies in Austin.

Stagner said he heard dozens of firms have laid off more than 100 people since November, especially smaller firms that deal primarily with transportation. Local engineering firm Parkhill Smith & Cooper has had contracts suspended, but does not anticipate laying off employees.

"It's important from a broader perspective because things my guys are not designing now aren't going to be built later," Stanger said.

TxDOT had begun the feasibility study on the outer loop last fall. The study could have identified areas suitable to build the project and/or any flaws in its concept.

The study came at the request of the city's Metropolitan Planning Organization.

The state considers the project "suspended," meaning it could start again if money becomes available.

Hopmann also said it's possible the outer loop would one day be a toll road, saying the Marsha Sharp Freeway project in Lubbock might be among the last of its kind in the state not to be paid for with tolls.

Till Next Time,

Matt Ratcliffe

The Downtown Redevelopment Commission will unveil its plan for revitalizing the city's central business district at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Lubbock Civic Center.

The 11 member commission was appointed in 2005 by the City Council to develop a strategy to revitalize downtown.

"At one time, downtown Lubbock was the hub for entertainment, commerce and culture," said Jim Cummings, co-chair of the Downtown Redevelopment Commission. "Today, downtown is showing promise again with the energy of the Depot Entertainment District and creation of a new arts district."

The commission raised more than $320,000 to hire EDAW, an international consulting firm specializing in urban design, to develop a long-term redevelopment plan. The firm held three public meetings to gather input on design concepts, green spaces and catalytic projects.

The firm's final recommendations will be presented during the Tuesday evening meeting.