Monday, December 28, 2020
Editor’s note: This story is the second installment of a four-part series looking back at the year that was 2020.
In the months of April-June, San Marcos saw a tragedy with the killing of San Marcos Police Department Officer Justin Putnam. San Marcans also participated in civil-rights protests seeking justice for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. As the summer began in 2020, COVID-19 cases began to spike.
April
On April 1, the Daily Record reported that Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra announced the county would receive 2,000 COVID-19 tests through an agreement with Reliant Immune Diagnostic’s telemedicine application MDBox. The tests, however, would become a source of contention and never became available to the county. The CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System completed its acquisition of Central Texas Medical Center on April 1. The hospital was also renamed to CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital - San Marcos. To combat the economic hardship caused by the C
Thursday, December 24, 2020
San Marcos Chief of Police Stan Standridge had just over a month under his belt in the position when he addressed the community in his first Chief Advisory Panel Meeting Monday night.
“I want to broaden the scope and purpose as to why we are here,” Standridge said. “Cite and release is such a small proponent of what we do on a daily basis. We need to have a much more detailed conversation.”
Standridge not only pledged his dedication to the task, stating San Marcos was his forever home, he pledged to address the deep societal issues plaguing the police department and the community.