News

    EDITOR’S NOTE: Matagorda County Extension Agent Dr. Aaron Sumrall distributed information about this seminar.
   Anyone who’s been keeping up with current events in agriculture will know that there’s a growing interest in growing industrial hemp. 
   This new interest began with the enacted 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp with a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration of no more than 0.3% on a dry-weight basis. 
   Thus, the 2018 Farm Bill allows for expanding cultivation of hemp, but not marijuana. In the 86th Texas Legislative session this year, the Texas Legislature approved Industrial hemp production in Texas with House Bill 1325. 
   On Tuesday, October 29 USDA released their interim rules which Texas and other states will now use in crafting their state-specific guidelines for hemp production. Now, Texas Dept. of Agriculture will work to finalize Texas rules, which must then be submitted to USDA for federal approval. 

   A groundbreaking ceremony – the next phase in the LeTulle Dreamscape project, took place Monday, Nov. 25, at the park.
   The project itself cost $400,000 and will cover more than 9,000 square feet for children of all abilities.
   Funds for the playground came from a $200,000 state grant, a $150,000 grant from Bay City Community Development Corporation and more than $35,000 in donations and pledges.
   “The project will start with site work, installation of the equipment, concrete and rubber surfacing throughout the months of December and January,” said Parks and Recreation Supervisor Kelly Penewitt.
   “Please excuse our mess during construction of the Dreamscape. The project is expected to be completed in late January.”  

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   Two foreign companies looking at Matagorda County have narrowed their site choices to one or two locations, Matagorda County Economic Development Corporation board members learned at their regular meeting Friday, Nov. 22.
   To get to that point in an industrial selection process, those firms have gone through several preliminary steps, MCEDC Executive Director Mike Ferdinand said.
   At MCEDC’s meeting, Ferdinand reported that three companies, including the two foreign firms, were interested in the county and Board Member Loy Sneary asked Ferdinand to tell more about the process.
   “That preliminary process includes a review of the labor force and sites that may work,” Ferdinand said.

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   Two agreements – with the county clerk and district clerk – were approved with a technology firm to make updates from the last legislative session at commissioners court regular meeting Monday, Nov. 25.
   Both county offices will pay $1,400 to Tyler Technologies for Texas 2020 legislative updates configuration assistance.
   Tyler will help the county in making changes to state-mandated fees/costs, state traffic fines, uncollectable fees, and fees and costs list.
   “What would we do without our friends in Austin?” County Judge Nate McDonald said jokingly.
   Tyler also will make changes due to the 2019 repeal of the Collection Improvement Program (CIP).

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   Tidehaven ended its season with a 23-7 loss in a regional-round playoff game that wasn’t decided until late in the fourth quarter.
   “It was a good game. Poth had a size advantage on us,” said Tidehaven Head Coach David Lucio.
   “Our plan was to wear them out and try to pull it off late in the game.
   The score from the first quarter through the start of the fourth quarter was 7-13.
   “I felt like it was working but when Blake (Garcia) went down with an ankle injury it just became too much to overcome,” Lucio remarked.

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   This year’s new “HomeTown Christmas” event kicks off with the annual lighted Christmas parade at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6, in downtown Bay City.  
   The parade is co-sponsored by the Bay City Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture and features a new parade route.
   The route now starts at the Bay City Public Library and travels down Seventh Street to travel southward on Avenue F then turning onto Sixth Street and ending at the Bay City Police Department.
   “The Bay City Chamber has been partnering with the City of Bay City for several years, each year we have evaluated the costs associated with the parade, it was becoming difficult to maintain the insurance policy on or own,” said Chamber President Mitch Thames.

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