What's Happening in Henderson County

The 2020 Athens Citizens of the Year are the members of the medical community. They have been chosen for their work during the pandemic. To highlight these heroes, we will be posting an interview with someone representing various sectors of the medical community: Doctors, nurses, administrators, clinical, non-clinical, and EMS. Today, we interview UT Health East Texas EMS Regional Director Todd Lo...

This interview was recorded at the Henderson County Courthouse Annex on Wednesday, Feb. 24. == Henderson County Judge Wade McKinney signed a disaster declaration Sunday, Feb. 14, before things got really crazy following this month's historic winter storm. What was his thinking regarding the early declaration? What challenges did the County face in responding to the disaster and what did officials...

This interview was conducted at the Henderson County Justice Center on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. == Last week's winter storm created an environment few Texans have ever experienced before, and that goes for the folks at the Henderson County Sheriff's Office. In this interview, Sheriff Botie Hillhouse talks about how the Sheriff's Office dealt with the multiple challenges it faced. Some of the topi...

The 2020 Athens Citizens of the Year are the members of the medical community. They have been chosen for their work during the pandemic. To highlight these heroes, we will be posting an interview with someone representing various sectors of the medical community: Doctors, nurses, administrators, clinical, non-clinical, and EMS. Today, we interview Blake Daniels of Daniels Partners. His experience...

The 2020 Athens Citizens of the Year are the members of the medical community. They have been chosen for their work during the pandemic. To highlight these heroes, we will be posting an interview with someone representing various sectors of the medical community: Doctors, nurses, administrators, clinical, non-clinical, and EMS. Today, we interview Dr. Michael Swartwood. == Our Sponsors This site i...

County Judge Wade McKinney and I spoke this week about the Rent Relief Program rolling out in Texas. You can listen to our discussion above. The whole podcast is posted below. Here is the press release issued by the state: The  Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs  (TDHCA) announced the launch of the Texas Rent Relief Program, funded through approximately $1.3 billion received through...

This podcast was recorded at the Henderson County Justice Center on Wednesday, Feb. 10. == We lead this week's podcast with Sheriff Botie Hillhouse discussing an animal control case that resulted in 79 dogs being rescued. This week's topics include: -- Stats (1:14): Booking and jail stats for the past week. -- Animal Control Case (2:12): Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse’s Deputies – with t...

This podcast was recorded at the Henderson County Courthouse Annex on Wednesday, Feb. 10. == There's great news on the COVID front. The Trauma Services Area (TSA) that includes Henderson County is no longer considered a "high hospitalization area." This change comes with expanded openings for some businesses and bars. County Judge Wade McKinney and I discussed the positive trend in COVID numbers -...

This interview was recorded Wednesday, Feb. 3, at the Henderson County Courthouse Annex. == In this week's County Podcast, County Judge Wade McKinney and I started things off by discussing two important vacant positions in County Government. -- PCT. 1 CONSTABLE (:28): The passing of Kay Langford has caused an opening for the Pct. 1 Constable's position. Judge McKinney describes the process for fil...

This interview was recorded Wednesday, Feb. 3, at the Henderson County Justice Center. == We started fast in this podcast because of a scam going around Henderson County. Sheriff Botie Hillhouse said scammers are posing as employees from Direct TV and say you can lower your bill if you pay three months in advance using eBay cards. "Direct TV has no ties with this," Hillhouse said. "It is totally,...

This interview was recorded at the Henderson County Courthouse Annex on Wednesday, Jan. 27. == Henderson County Judge Wade McKinney and I sat down for our weekly interview on Wednesday. The topics we covered include: -- Start of Fiscal Year (1:07): January marks the start of the fiscal year for county government. That is different than most municipalities and it isn't the only difference. Judge Mc...

This interview was recorded at the Henderson County Justice Center on Wednesday, Jan. 27. == Because of COVID quarantine, Sheriff Botie Hillhouse and I missed our regular interview the past couple of weeks. We caught up this week and talked about: -- Stats (:33): The Orange County inmates are gone, but there are still plenty of out-of-county inmates bringing money into the county. -- Death Investi...

(Photo: County Judge Wade McKinney) This interview was recorded via Zoom on Wednesday, Jan. 20. == The lack of COVID-19 vaccines in Henderson County continues to be a big story. The Judge and I reviewed the current status of both the county and the state in this podcast. In addition, Judge McKinney discussed the possibility of a future vaccination event in Henderson County. There is no date schedu...

(Photo: Henderson County Judge Wade McKinney) This podcast was recorded at the Henderson County Courthouse Annex Wednesday, Jan. 13. == Interested in information about the COVID-19 vaccine? This is the podcast for you. Henderson County Judge Wade McKinney and I discussed the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) COVID-19 Vaccination Plan during this week's interview. The podcast covers:...

(Photo: County Judge Wade McKinney) This podcast was recorded in the Henderson County Courthouse Annex on Wednesday, Jan. 6. == I interviewed Henderson County Judge Wade McKinney Wednesday morning about the current COVID-19 statistics and vaccine availability. I. Current Statistics (1:50) At the time of the interview, the only figures available were from Tuesday and those showed record highs in bo...

(Photo: Sheriff Botie Hillhouse) This podcast was recorded at the Henderson County Justice Center on Wednesday, Jan. 6. == Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse and I sat down for our first podcast of 2021 this morning and the main topic was COVID-19. The Sheriff's Office has been hit hard. After seeing just one positive case of COVID-19 in the jail through the first 10 months of the pandemic,...

(Photo: Henderson County Commissioner's Court.) This podcast was recorded Wednesday, Dec. 23, in the Henderson County Courthouse Annex. == Henderson County Judge Wade McKinney and I discussed two major stories this week: Henderson County being declared a "high hospitalization area" and Kaufman County Commissioners Court passing a resolution about the the border between the two counties. I. High Ho...

(Photo: Sheriff Botie Hillhouse) This podcast was recorded Wednesday, Dec. 23, in the Henderson County Justice Center. == This is the final Sheriff's Podcast for 2020, so we decided to do a review and look at the Top 5 Stories of the Year in the Sheriff's Office. Thank you for listening and we'll be back the first week of January 2021. I. The New Communications System (1:25) We have spoken many ti...

(Photo: Henderson County Judge Wade McKinney) This podcast was recorded at the Henderson County Courthouse Annex on Wednesday, Dec. 16. --- Henderson County officials have been looking at the rules for residential development recently, according to Judge Wade McKinney. One of the things prompting this review is the stream of new residents and businesses coming to Texas. He said 2020 has been a big...

(Photo: Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse) This podcast was recorded at the Henderson County Justice Center on Wednesday, Dec. 16. === A pair of recent arrests by the Sheriff's Office highlighted the ongoing battle against property crime in Henderson County. During this week's podcast, Sheriff Botie Hillhouse described two cases where individuals were arrested for stealing property. The fir...

Henderson County Judge Wade McKinney said he and the commissioners were "so pleased" with an update they received from the Athens Animal Rescue Shelter Tuesday morning. "This program is exceeding all over our original thoughts," he said during our podcast this week. "It has been an outstanding success." (Listen to this discussion from the start of the podcast above.) Board President Lynette Ainswo...

(Photo: County Judge Wade McKinney) This podcast was recorded at the Henderson County Courthouse Annex on Wednesday, Dec. 9. === Henderson County Judge Wade McKinney spoke on three topics during this week's podcast: -- An update on the Athens Animal Rescue Shelter. -- The county applied for an Assistance to Firefighters grant that would improve VFD radios. -- Our weekly COVID-19 update, and specif...

(Photo: Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse) This podcast was recorded at the Henderson County Justice Center on Wednesday, Dec. 2. === It's been a busy couple of weeks since I last spoke with Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse. The Sheriff's Office has taken down another game room and caught up with a sex offender who didn't register. They've also located a man who has been missing sin...

Our COVID-19 hospitalizations are up and the state is noticing. Monday morning, Henderson County Judge Wade McKinney participated in a conference call with Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Commissioner John Hellerstedt and Dr. John Zerwas, a COVID-19 advisor to the Governor. The call was to discuss the rising COVID-19 numbers in Henderson County's Trauma Service Area (TSA). Monday aftern...

(Photo: Henderson County Judge Wade McKinney) This podcast was recorded in the Courthouse Annex on Wednesday, Nov. 25. === Henderson County hit some very important COVID-19 milestones Tuesday. Hospitalizations in the county's Trauma Service Area (TSA) broke 400 for the first time. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) reported 428 COVID-19 patients in the hospital in the TSA. For th...