Commissioners to appoint new sheriff

Well, the rumors are true, then.

After an executive session during the April commissioners meeting, people around Rotan were asking each other if Fisher County still had a sheriff. I kept asking them, "What are y'all talking about?", and they would just shrug their shoulders and say "I don't know, I just heard we don't have a sheriff."

Although there was no public record of the subject or decision of that session, that is when people started saying that Sheriff Randy Ford had resigned.

People say gossip is a sin, but it's really the best, and sometimes only, way to hear news.

"Appoint New Sheriff" is number 14 on the agenda for the July 10 commissioners meeting.

 

7/10/2023 update:

Commissioners unanimously voted for Simon Wade, resident of the McCaulley area, to assume duty as Fisher County Sheriff.

About the weather

 - FM 611 South -

There's a lot of yellow in the barditches and pastures. The rain came at just the right time to feed the daisies, scrambled eggs and buttercups. It's good to shake it up sometime, have something other than bluebonnets all over the place.

It sure is nice to have a high of 81 early in June. My records say that it got to 103 this time last year. High humidity, daily rains and intense, intermittent sunshine are working to make the gardens grow and the grass green. I saw some cotton was already up on Camp Springs road, close to Snyder. I've measured over 6 1/2 inches of rain since May 9.

I've got quite an investment in Off! bug spray. I think the orange cans are the best. I'm working on my small motor skills with the flyswatter. I can't stand the smell of fly spray, but I've got some for desperate times.

Rain chances are ongoing for next week. What a stellar summer we've got started.

Appraisal district announces tax mistake

There is a message at the top of the the Fisher County Appraisal District website that states: "Attention land owners, we are currently correcting land values due to a system mistake. Please bear with us as we correct these errors. We apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused." 

I think it would have been better to send letters to the landowners, or to have placed an article in the newspaper, instead of issuing a random notice on the internet. They sure didn't spare a stamp to give me notice that they were doubling land valuation on scrap lots I own, where the only improvement I've made is mowing.

The Fisher CAD still operates under a cloak of darkness, despite the scandalous embezzlement committed by a clerk and the questionable actions of the appraiser that formerly ran that office. 

The meetings are not publicized. Notices of the agenda aren't placed in the paper, minutes are not printed afterwards. I have seen no news of the rearrangement of the board since the chairman died, no mention of candidates that the entities have put forward to fill that vacancy, other than the commissioner's choice of Micah Evans, announced during a video of a commissioners meeting.

It is puzzling that there is not more scrutiny of the appraisal district's activities. Their actions affect every citizen in the county.

Mesa Verde goes up

- Mesa Verde -

A big rig is sitting on the Mesa Verde 67-8 lease, ready to drill well 1H.

A permit for this lease was originally submitted by Browning Oil Company on April 14. It was then applied by and approved for Clear Fork on May 4.

The lease is 12 miles southwest of Rotan, near Hobbs.

The rig is located on Section 67, Block 2 of the HT&C RR survey. It will run from the north side of 67 to the south side of Section 8, Block 3 of the HT&C RR survey, crossing under Farm to Market 1614.

The total planned horizontal length from penetration point to the bottom hole is 10,070 .73 yards (about 5 1/2 miles).

The well is permitted for a depth of 7500 feet.

More information about this well can be found on the Rail Road Commission website.

Burn ban off; commissioner nominated for CAD

- Controlled burn -

The monthly commissioners meeting occurred Monday, March 13.

Commissioners voted unanimously to nominate Micah Evans as their candidate to fill a vacancy on the Fisher County Appraisal District Board. 

The vacancy is due to the recent death of Chairman Pete Garcia.

At the February 6 CAD meeting, board members elected Hunter Stuart as chairman, Mike Noell as vice chairman, and David Mullins as secretary.

Evans is precinct four commissioner and a member of the CAD Ag Advisory Committee.

The burn ban was rescinded March 9 by Fisher County Judge Ken Holt after recent rains. Commissioners allowed the decision to stand by taking no action.

Adkins trial uncertain, no justice for Hailey Dunn

The State vs. Shawn Casey Adkins jury trial is listed on the 32nd Judicial District Court calendar for April 11, but KWES TV out of Odessa is reporting that the trial has been moved to August 7 or September 11 of this year.

The news station cited Mitchell County District Clerk as their source for this information.

Adkins is accused of murdering Hailey Dunn, age 13, on December 26, 2010.

Update July 2023: Shawn Adkins was released from jail at the end of June and no trial is set for the murder charge.

Fisher County top producing oil leases 2022

The Railroad Commission of Texas reports that Fisher County produced 4,150,125 barrels (BBL) of oil in 2022. Here are the top ten producing leases:

• Jenna Unit: 313,773 BBL
  
• Grand Canyon W 31-46: 193,008 BBL
• Carlsbad Caverns 54-55: 192,086 BBL
• Grand Teton 109-128: 188,782 BBL
• Grand Canyon E 31-46:182,858 BBL
  
• Johnson Unit: 141,374 BBL
• Capitol Reef 33-6: 128,176 BBL
• Saguaro W 105-58: 127,335 BBL
• Canyonlands E 61-60: 99,504 BBL
• Tennie Unit: 97,228 BBL

Results can be found at RRC > Production Data Query System (PDQ)(Statewide) > Launch Application > General Production Query > General Query Criteria > Initial View: Lease - Date Range - Both - Onshore County: Fisher > Submit. You can then click on individual leases for more information.

Broken glass and dreams; losing my marbles

- Earthquake damage -

There's been a whole lot of shakin' goin' on out here at Hobbs the past week or so, and early this morning was the worst shaker yet. Earthquakes, that is, and they're becoming the norm.

This was the first one that caused breakage. Glasses fell out of the kitchen cabinets and broke, a bunch of marbles in glass jars hit the bricks around the wood stove, and everything fell out of the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. It was an alarming way to wake up. It was followed up by a few tremors that had me yelling "dammit!".

Although this one was deemed a 4.3 magnitude by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), it did more damage here and was scarier than the 5.4 quake we had last November, because we're practically on the epicenter, the Scurry/Fisher County line.

It's time to strap the televisions to the wall and put the knick-knacks away, or just get used to cleaning up messes.There have been at least 15 quakes and tremors in the last few weeks.

Stats on recent earthquakes can be found on the USGS site, and you can report if you felt it.

Update, 6:26 p.m.: The earthquake was upgraded to a 4.7. There have been several small quakes/tremors throughout the day. It's got me feeling gun shy.

Commissioners call special meeting

Fisher County Commissioners will hold a special meeting Thursday, February 16, 10:30 a.m. to approve road crossing permits for Caliper Energy.

The permits are for county roads 403 and 414, and will be presented to the court by Lance Barrett, Vice President of Caliper.

Four permits for Caliper were approved at the last meeting on Monday for county roads 317 and 324. The 403 and 414 permits were not on the agenda, prompting the need for another meeting as approval is needed by the company before the next regular commissioners meeting.

The special meeting will take place in the Commissioners Courtroom, located in the Fisher County Judge's office.

Commissioners court to meet February 13

Fisher County Commissioners will meet tomorrow at 9 a.m. in the county courtroom.

New items of business will include: several purchases for the sheriff's office; a new digital sign for the courthouse; $17,500 from Baywa as per abatement agreement; and approval of road crossing permits. 

The burn ban is also on the agenda, which can be found on the Fisher County home page.