News Flash

October 29, 2013 – Drink. Drive. Go to Jail. The Commissioners Court unanimously approved a grant that funds DWI enforcement. This program provides grant money to local law enforcement agencies, enabling them to increase the number of personnel dedicated to DWI enforcement during periods associated with an increase in alcohol related incidents.
“Public Safety is of top priority. If one life is saved, it’s worth the investment in the matching fund portion of the grant,” commented County Judge Carol Bush. Additional patrol during specific time periods such as Christmas & New Year’s holiday support the statewide campaign “Drink. Drive. Go to Jail” program. Commissioner Bill Dodson moved to approve accepting the grant and matching funds, and thanked Captain Chuck Laubach for his efforts to ensure public safety. Commissioner Ron Brown seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

The Commissioners also approved a proposal from Swagit Productions to provide online streaming video of Commissioners Court Meetings. Contracting with Swagit Productions will enable Commissioners Court meetings to be viewed online, and will be synched with the Court Agenda. This allows the user to watch the entire meeting, or view specific parts of the meeting based on the agenda item. “The I.T. department is proud to work with Swagit to provide a simple integration of their webcasting solution on the County network. Swagit is diligently supplying us the necessary checklists to ensure a streaming experience for our community that is second-to-none,” said Ellis County Information Technology Director Teral Crawford. Investment for the initial equipment cost and installation as well as the monthly service will be funded equally from the (4) Commissioner’s budgets for the first year. “The previous Commissioners’ Court began exploring streaming technology well over a year ago. Previous quotes were cost prohibitive for the implementation of such technology. The Court has finally found the right technology at the right price to implement a system of delivery. Very few comparable government entities provide video streaming. This is just one of the initiatives intended to increase the communities’ ability to access information,” stated Judge Carol Bush.