Officially the new Texas D-M-V doesn’t open its doors until Monday—but on Friday, the folks at the new state agency were celebrating.
The new agency will mean some changes at the Texas Department of Transportation, Director Amadeo Seinz said.
The new D-M-V will take care of titles, registrations, auto theft prevention and some other motor-vehicle related functions, all of which used to be under the TX-DOT umbrella.
Several young children have recently disappeared, been abducted, and killed, once again bringing national attention to the subject of child safety. Some of these tragedies are happening in very quite, peaceful small towns similar to Brady Texas so everybody, no matter where they live, must take all available measures to protect their children.
There are some very useful resources on this subject for both parents and children available on the Internet or locally at places such as your Police Department or Church.
National Center For Missing And Exploited Children
http://www.missingkids.com
Great source of information for parents, law enforcement, and child care providers.
Their website is currently featuring information on Halloween safety.
AMBER Alert
http://www.amberalert.gov/
Information on how to become actively involved in finding and safely recovering abducted children.
EVERYBODY needs to participate in this program as much as possible and in any way possible.
Active Texas Amber Alerts, (including McCulloch County and Brady Texas), can be found at:
http://calfcreek.net
Consider having Amber alerts for your area sent to your Email address or Text Message to your cell phone.
Registered Sex Offenders In Texas
https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/DPS_WEB/SorNew/index.aspx
Texas Department Of Public Safety maintains a current searchable list of registered sex offenders where you can search for registered sex offenders by names, address, county, or zip code. Most people would probably be very surprised how many registered sex offenders live near them, (and their children), even in very small towns like Brady Texas.
Report ANY suspicious activity to your local police department, particularly things like occupied cars or adults loitering near schools, playgrounds, or groups of children. Write down descriptions of suspicious vehicles and persons including the location and time so that this information can be furnished to law enforcement if needed. Tell your children to stay with groups when walking to and from school or other places, avoid any contact with unknown vehicles or people, and tell your children about “safe places” in your neighborhood such as churches, police stations, and fire stations. Read the information on the websites listed above and use it to instruct your children on safety. Contact your local police department for child safety tips and information such as brochures or lectures. Get to know your neighbors and share the responsibility of keeping your children and other children in the neighborhood safe.
Charles Derrick, a retired Texas Department of Public Safety officer and currently a member of the Cedar Park police department was selected Monday to be the next Brady Texas Chief of Police.
The selection of Derrick for the post followed interviews with the three final candidates for the job by the Brady City Council on Monday.
Derrick will take over as Brady Texas Police Chief on October 1st.
Derrick has served 28 years with the Department of Public Safety, first as a highway patrol trooper before becoming a narcotics investigator. He served 12 years as a narcotics lieutenant before finishing out his last five years as the range master at the DPS fire arms range.
Derrick said he is looking forward to being able to work in a small town environment and get back into the life that people live — to enjoy a slower, better pace and to spend more time with his wife.
On Friday, Sept. 18, Brady Texas City Manager James Minor issued the following statement on the resignation of Lance Sides from the Brady Police Dept. Sides resigned on Friday, Sept. 11th citing a “hostile work environment created by (Mayor) James Stewart.”
“I have accepted the resignation of Lance Sides from the Brady Police Department. I regret that Lt. Sides has decided to resign from the department. I would like to express my gratitude for his service as the Interim Police Chief during the time the city was conducting a search to fill the Chief’s position. He provided valuable leadership to the department and I appreciate his willingness and cooperation over this period. I have nothing but respect for him and his family and I wish them the very best in the future.
“The city is moving forward with the final decisions concerning filling the police chief’s position and we anticipate that the process will be completed within the next several weeks. Although there are some personnel shortages at the department, the officers of the Brady Police Department and the Sheriff’s office will ensure that all aspects of law enforcement activity are covered for the citizens of the City of Brady Texas.
Interim Brady Police Chief Lance Sides resigned Friday, citing what he called an increasingly hostile work environment created by Brady Mayor James Stewart. In his resignation letter, Sides said he felt he had no recourse other than to resign. Sides said that he was “a man of honor and will not lower myself to raising my voice or acting in an unprofessional manner as Mr. Stewart has done time and time again.”
Sides said his resignation came about because of continuing involvement by people who should not be involved in the day-to-day activities and operations of the Police Department — mainly by the Mayor. He said the Mayor was continually interjecting himself into a lot of the City’s day-to-day duties and things the City Manager is more than capable, competent and hired to handle, and is not being allowed to do. Sides said it ultimately came to the point that it became so hostile that he no longer felt he could effectively serve the citizens of Brady.
Sides said that on Friday he was called to a meeting that he thought was going to be with City Manager James Minor. But, when he got there, he found Fire Chief Joe Foster, McCulloch County Sheriff Earl Howell and Mayor James Stewart also in attendance. He said the Mayor was basically concerned with some operations of the Police dispatch – an issue Sides said he had already addressed and resolved earlier in the day with City Manager Minor. Sides said he felt the situation had been dealt with professionally by himself and the City Manager. The person the Mayor and City Manager were concerned with had already been talked to.
Sides said the discussion became more than a dialogue, and as he was listening to the Mayor speak to him, he (the Mayor) became more and more aggressive to the point that Sides said he felt it wasn’t going to be conducive for him to be there. He said he wasn’t going to lower himself to raising his voice or acting in an unprofessional manner. So, he said he felt he had no other recourse than to submit his resignation.
Sides added that it was his understanding the Mayor’s job is as a figure-head and a person to keep meetings rolling, maintain parliamentary procedure — and not supposed to be interjecting himself into the day-to-day operations of a city. He said this especially applies to a city such as Brady with a city manager, city council type of government. The city manager and city council are the ones, Sides said, that are supposed to be doing the operational things. Sides added the thought that was the reason you had someone with Minor’s qualifications to run and manage the city. Sides said it is his understanding that the Mayor is not supposed to be interjecting his opinions or his authority into the operations of any department — police, gas or fire .
Sides closed by saying that over the last six years he felt he had served the community with dignity and respect and had never asked for anything but the same in return.
In response to Sides resignation and his allegations, Brady Mayor James Stewart said the situation stemmed from a number of citizens and City personnel who contacted him as Mayor in the absence of the City Manager regarding professional conduct within the Police Department. Stewart added that in following proper protocol, he brought this situation to the City Manager’s attention upon his return from vacation, which led to Friday’s meeting. He added that, unfortunatly, the discussion of the concerns ended with Lieutenant Sides tendering his resignation.
Sides had been serving as the Interim Brady Police Chief since the resignation of former Chief Tommy Payne earlier this year. The search for a new Chief has been underway since, with the number of candidates reportedly now having been narrowed down to three who will be interviewed by the City
Texas Rangers today arrested a Boerne trooper on felony drug charges after a month-long joint investigation conducted by the Rangers, the DPS Criminal Investigation Division and the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Highway Patrol Trooper Jeffery Jerman, 33, is charged with delivery of a controlled substance (steroids). He has worked for DPS for nine years.
“The Department of Public Safety is made up of thousands of hard-working and honest commissioned officers and non-commissioned professionals,” said DPS Director Steven McCraw. “Unfortunately, as with any large organization, isolated incidents occur when individuals violate their oath of office and run afoul of the law. The Department continues to maintain the highest standards of conduct, and criminal activity by those who violate the trust of the Department and the citizens of Texas will not be tolerated.”
Jerman has been suspended by DPS and the joint investigation is ongoing.
The charge is a second degree felony punishable by a maximum 20-year prison term and a $10,000 fine. Jerman was taken to the Kendall County jail and his bond was set at $15,000.