Sheriff's sale and changes

-  Commissioner Martin -

This week I ran into Precinct Three Commissioner Preston Martin at the local sheriff's sale. I've been looking into the process of buying county property that's in arrears on taxes, trying to figure out where the best deals are (school sales?). The people I've talked to about it are friendly and knowledgeable, like Penny Kiser and Elsie Pierce. I also talked to a man in Scurry county who's been buying such properties for years and he had some good stories and information for me. He buys lots and his brother buys houses. I never did catch his name. By the way, neither Martin nor I bought anything at the sale.

I'd like to mention some changes around the area. Things evolve so gradually that it becomes the norm before I think to say anything.

Something I wouldn't have thought there would be a difference in is the increase in air traffic. I see helicopters and small planes flying by on a daily basis. We have electrical, oil field and wind companies doing their business out here, and I guess they use a lot of different means to observe their sites. I don't know, maybe they're just on the way to work.

The traffic on the roads has also increased, but that was to be expected. There are a lot of tanker trucks and company vehicles.

There are big above ground water tanks everywhere. Big, square, dirt berms lined with heavy plastic, filled with water, and large nozzles on a couple of sides for tanker trucks to fill up with. I counted eight on the way to work the other day.

A temporary change in Snyder that is affecting commuters as far away as Rotan is the repair of the bridge next to Rip Griffin's Truck Stop, the one that crosses over US84. Talk about pick-up in traffic, Camp Springs Road is really getting the business as the alternative to US180. You better set your cruise to 60mph and have all your lights in working order and stickers current, because the Department of Public Safety is patrolling this area.