Residents in cities and school districts throughout the Red River Valley will be going to the polls May 1 to determine who will serve on city councils and as school trustees for the coming year. In some instances, voters will decide the fate of bond elections and other matters pertinent to municipalities and school districts.
North Lamar ISD residents are to vote on a $51.55 million bond referendum with five separate propositions, and Prairiland ISD constituents will decide the fate of a $7.5 million bond in one proposition.
Election officials in both municipalities and school districts have approved candidate applications and are now in the process of drawing for positions on the May 1 ballot.
BOGATA â New municipal Judge Alex Davidson has never left his hometown because he wants to help it thrive.
âI have deep roots in this part of the world,â Davidson said. âI was born here, I was raised here, I was educated here, and I will likely die here. I love this part of the world.
âI hope to implement and provide positivity to our community. Bogata, despite any perceived flaws, is a great small town. If I have an opportunity to give back to the city that raised me, then I will do everything in my power to provide constructive and positive change. Itâs the least I can do.â
BOGATA â Mayor Pro Tem Larry Hinsley says though things on the City Council have calmed down considerably, there is still more to be done, and residents have to help.
âThe citizens have to be involved and help from time to time,â Hinsley said. âWe canât fix problems if they donât report them. Itâs your town, what do you want to see done?â
Hinsley said he and his wife, Nelda Jo, who goes by her middle name, decided to retire to his hometown in 2016, and after a couple of years of settling in, they wanted to get involved.
BOGATA â City Council is taking a hard look at hiring a code enforcement officer.
âIâve been working to find someone,â Mayor Pro Tem Larry Hinsley told the council earlier this week.
The city has been using the Bogata Police Department for code enforcement, but leadership for the city â as well as Police Chief David Short â would like to move that to a separate position. Two people have volunteered for the job, Hinsley said, Glenda Martin and Roland Strube.
âThey have told me on a number of occasions, âLarry, Iâll do whatever you want us to do, weâll do,ââ he said. âSo Iâm thinking if both of them really want to do this, ⦠we can tag team this. Glenda has skills and equipment, and ⦠Roland has the ability to help distribute the letters and warning and all the necessary things that go out to the public.â
BOGATA â City Council hired a municipal judge at Monday nightâs meeting and gave the position a considerable raise.
âWe need to have a city judge in place,â Mayor Pro Tem Larry Hinsley told the council. âOne of the things that I think is very important here is that we need to kickstart our judicial processes for lots of reasons, but for some of the things that we want to do as far as law enforcement, as far as code enforcement, you know, those kinds of things. We need to have we need to have a judge in place.â
Alex Davidson, a special investigator for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and a native of Bogata, presented himself to the council. Davidson grew up in the city and attended school at Rivercrest before moving on to get his degrees in science, social work and criminology. His masterâs degree is in criminology. He also has his police officer certification and has worked actively as an officer for the past 14 years, most