HVAC Problems Plague Colorado Co. Courthouse

The Colorado Co. Citizen

• Colorado County commissioners discussed the ongoing HVAC issues at the courthouse during the Oct. 25 meeting. Colorado County Judge Ty Prause and Commissioner Doug Wessels said they are “at wit’s end” with the HVAC troubles. Power surges continue to blow electrical boards, which has resulted in the county spending in excess of about $28,000 to replace electrical boards over the last six to eight years. The issues began approximately six months after the courthouse renovations were completed. About 30 percent of the HVAC system is not functioning properly, and nearly 20 dehumidifiers have to run in order for the records that require climate control to be adequately stored. Warranty issues on parts have further complicated the problem.

Giddings Times & News

• Local police officers were able to make a major bust and arrest a Giddings man who was using a rented storage unit to conceal a large amount of illegal drugs. “Information had been received that a strong odor of marijuana was smelled coming from a specific climatecontrolled storage building,” said Captain Steve Spencer. The odor was isolated to a single unit, which leased under the name of Kenneth Punchard from Giddings. “The search revealed approximately eight pounds of marijuana, just under a half a pound of cocaine, 13 grams of Ecstasy, and over nine ounces of Xanax. A large sum of money and a pistol were also located inside the storage unit,” said Captain Spencer. Punchard, 39, was taken into custody.

Gonzales Inquirer

• Gonzales ISD could be in jeopardy losing revenue from the Texas Education Agency due to a dip in both average daily attendance and enrollment, the district’s chief financial officer told trustees at the October board meeting. “Our actual average daily attendance is lower that what we actually anticipated during the budget development,” CFO Amanda Smith said Oct. 11. “Unless enrollment and attendance increase, we will not hit our revenue targets for this year, so we are very anxious to get our hands on an updated revenue estimate for this year.” Through September 2021, the district had an ADA of 2,279 students, which was 114 below what had been budgeted, which represented about 89.04 percent.

Wharton Journal Spectator

• Less than a year into his employment here, the supervisor of the Wharton County Maintenance Department was recently arrested on a stolen vehicle charge following a traffic stop.

According to a Wharton County booking report, Greg Ricky Palmisano, 55, of Boling, was arrested on an unauthorized use of a vehicle felony warrant charge.