Janecka Speaks His Mind In Return to the Courthouse

Retired County Judge Ed Janecka appeared at the Aug. 12 Commissioners Court meeting to speak during the public comment period. Janecka said he wished to impart some “institutional memory.”

“Sometimes it’s good to know what happened in the past,” Janecka said at the meeting. He began by speaking about the Gardenia E. Janssen Animal Shelter and the County’s animal control policies. The issue was a recent topic of conversation among the commissioners after the Animal Shelter request additional funding thei year for facility repairs.

“When I came into office, we had no dog policy in the county whatsoever,” Janecka said. “We really had a problem. Wild dogs were going out killing calves. The only solution we had was for an officer to go out and shoot the dog or tie it up and put it in the back of a patrol car.”

He said the County built the first animal shelter at the Fayette County Jail. Later the County helped to build the Gardenia E. Janssen Shelter by donating land where the shelter now stands.

“Let me tell you, guys, it has been a godsend from where we came from to where we are now,” he said. “In other counties, if you call and say you have a dog problem, they’ll tell you ‘Shoot ‘em.’ That’s not the way we operate in Fayette County.”

Janecka asked the Commissioner to continue supporting the animal shelter.

Janecka also discussed the volunteer fire departments around the County. He spoke about the funding mechanism that began under his administration in which the County allocates two cents of the property tax rate to the volunteer fire departments. Half of the money is divided equally among the departments. The other half is allocated according to call volume.

“Fire equipment costs more, everything costs more,” Janecka said. “That’s the reason its there and hopefully it will continue.

In related news, Flatonia Fire and Rescue recently petitioned the Flatonia City Council for funding to create up to three paid firefighter jobs due to a lack of volunteers. If that trend continues, fire departments could become an even greater expense for the County and the cities.

Finally, Janecka spoke about the low rate of coronavirus vaccinations in Fayette County.

“Only 46 percent of the people in Fayette County have at least one shot of the COVID vaccine,” Janecka said. “This is Fayette County, for God’s sake. We’re always the first ones to step up when something happens. What the hell has happened? You’re talking about people with common sense. It’s real simple, guys. You got something here that won’t kill you and may save your life. People talk about, ‘I got freedom.’ But when does your freedom start imposing on someone else?”