Medicare Agent in Lubbock, TX

Sen. Charles Perry, I appreciate the focus on planning for Texas' long-term water future in your recent opinion column in the Avalanche-Journal.

There is one goal that deserves to be placed at the very top of that plan:

Make 100% beneficial reuse of treated wastewater the goal for Texas instead of discharging managed pollution into our watersheds.

Every drop of treated wastewater reclaimed for beneficial use—agriculture, irrigation, industrial purposes, aquifer recharge, municipal uses, or other appropriate applications—is a water resource that should be reused before it is simply discharged into a river, creek, lake or reservoir.

Establish a beneficial reuse hierarchy that protects water supply and water quality, at the same time:

First, conserve. Second, reclaim and reuse. Third, recover and recharge. Last, develop additional water supplies where the need remains. Implement

Texas is investing our money, and we should make sure that investment is producing the maximum amount of usable water possible. Waiting to put in purple pipe reuse infrastructure later, is “cost prohibitive”.

Texas has spent decades treating effluent as something to discharge. It is a water supply.

If we are serious about water for the future, let's make 100% beneficial reuse the goal.

One water. One future.

Texas lawmakers have the opportunity to lead the nation and the world in reclaiming treated wastewater for beneficial reuse, and not just in Austin. Let’s be first! —not “first at worst.” - Danae N Delaney, Canyon Lake, Texas.

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Want to share your voice in the A-J? We'd love for you to contribute to the thoughtful and civil conversation. Please send us a letter to the editor by emailing us at newmedia@lubbockonline.com or through mail: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, PO Box 491, Lubbock, TX 79408. Please keep submissions to around 250 words or less.

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Lubbock County’s top prosecutor says flat funding is pushing attorneys out the door and putting public safety at risk.

District Attorney Sunshine Stanek says her office is currently down 10 prosecutors — a fifth of her attorney workforce. She said in her 26 years with the office, she has never seen it in its current state.

While she feared it may fall on deaf ears, she urged commissioners to increase funding so she could give her employees eight percent raises at an initial budget hearing in June.

“If we keep having years like last year, where we don’t give them anything, we are setting this office and public safety and this community up for failure,” Stanek said.

Attorneys leaving for higher pay

Stanek said of the 12 attorneys who left over the past year, 10 departed for higher-paying jobs and two left the workforce entirely. She said those departures included both new attorneys and two who had been practicing for more than a decade.

“To know the reason why someone’s leaving your office is not only very personal to me, but it’s something that we could actually do something about,” Stanek said. “It’s not like they’re complaining about the environment or the work or things like that. It’s something that you could actually change if people would get on board with that.”

She told commissioners her top priorities are retaining experienced attorneys and recruiting new ones. She said entry-level attorneys could immediately earn $23,000 more by taking a job in Canyon, roughly 90 miles away.

Salaries stagnant since last correction

Chief Administrator and Prosecutor Edward Wharff said commissioners brought salaries up to a competitive rate three years ago but pay has not moved since.

“We have just slowly lost folks again and we’re at another point where it’s going to have to take quite a big correction to set us right,” Wharff said.

Last year, county departments were asked to cut their budgets by 10 percent, and county employees did not receive raises or cost-of-living adjustments. Stanek said she declined a $5,000 raise to her county stipend that commissioners offered to some elected officials because her staff received nothing.

State grant funds out of reach

Stanek said she is also still requesting the three additional positions she sought last year and warned that inaction will have consequences.

“We can’t remain stagnant. We are a growing community and in order to keep up with that growth, which is great by the way, it’s great, but we have to keep up with the growth in this county or public safety is going to fall behind.”

A recent state law provides grants to supplement salaries for rural law enforcement and district attorney’s offices. Lubbock County falls at the cutoff threshold and is considered too large to receive those funds.

“I fear what this office will look like if they do not do anything this year,” Stanek said. “I fear what the sheriff’s office will become if they do not do anything for them this year. I mean, I can’t use this word enough. This is alarming.”

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - The public gathered, Monday, to hear Lubbock County commissioners discuss and potentially approve a resolution regarding large-scale industrial development in the state of Texas.

This discussion mostly centered around data centers potentially being built in unincorporated parts of the county, but the wording opens it up for any major business to disclose how much water and electricity it would use for its projects.

The resolution passed four to one, with only judge Curtis Parrish voting against it due to its language.

“If the concern is about data centers, let’s make sure this resolution is tailored to data centers,” Parrish said. “I don’t have anyone coming and talking to me concerning about any other manufacturing businesses, any other expanding businesses.”

Commissioner Cary Shaw, who presented this resolution, does not see it the same way, feeling each business should be up front about what it plans to use regardless of its industry.

“Why would you not want all the information before a business comes in?” Shaw said, “what they’re going to use, what kind of resources they’re going to need from the county.”

Nothing in this non-binding resolution creates or expands county authority. It does not require the county to take any action or authorize the county to prohibit, suspend, delay, or impose a moratorium on a privately financed project, except as expressly permitted by Texas law.

This became a point of contention inside the commissioner courtroom.

“All this is doing is telling Texas law that we need some help,” commissioner Jordan Rackler said during the meeting.

“You just got done rattling off that this would make the data centers come talk to us,” commissioner Jason Corley said in response. “If you want it to pass, let’s pass it, but this is 10 minutes of my life I’m never getting back. Let’s get going. Resolutions do nothing, they are not binding. You want to pass it, let’s pass it.”

After the resolution passed, Parrish said a lot more work needs to be done before anything moves forward regarding this topic.

“We need to make sure that the state gives us enough teeth, enough authority that we can put a hiatus on these data centers coming and taking our electricity, taking our water and not giving anything back to the community,” Parrish said. “That’s what I want to make sure we’re protecting the citizens of Lubbock county for. This resolution does not do that.”

Commissioner Shaw says the symbolic approval does send a message to Austin as the statewide debate over the future of its economy takes up more of its bandwidth.

SNYDER, Texas (KCBD) - Lubbock ISD is partnering with Texas Tech University’s K-12 program to offer a new tuition-free virtual school option for families who need an alternative to the traditional classroom setting.

While district officials emphasize that face-to-face learning remains their top offering, they recognize that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for every student.

“Traditional face-to-face school is of course our number one best option. That’s our Cadillac of what we offer,” said Misty Rieber, Lubbock ISD Chief Academic Officer. “What we see virtual school is an option for families that traditional school doesn’t work for them.”

Meeting students where they are

The Lubbock ISD Virtual Education program is designed specifically to support students with unique needs, including:

To ensure the program is a good fit, the district uses a rubric and conducts extensive evaluations.

“There’s a lot of family needs that are unique... and that has created a window that works for them for virtual school,” Rieber said. “But what we know is that we have to be innovative to try to meet families where they are.”

Requirements and campus connections

Families interested in applying must meet several criteria:

Students accepted into the program will remain Lubbock ISD students, meaning they retain full access to district resources, support, and UIL activities. However, any student participating in UIL, fine arts, or athletics must still meet all course requirements, which includes attending in-person classes when required.

If a student transitions to virtual learning and later finds it is not the right fit, Lubbock ISD will work to transition them back to traditional, face-to-face learning.

Students will be connected to the district through specific campuses:

“This is a benefit for the family because this is free,” Rieber added. “You get all the resources and support from Lubbock ISD, but you get the incredible educational experience of TTU K-12. They have certified teachers, they have 24-7 tutoring, lots of experience and expertise, so it’s the best of both worlds coming together.”

How to apply

Applications are open now on the . Enrollment is limited, and the application window closes on August 10th.

Troy Havard now serving Lubbock County after 28+ years in the Marine Corps, 10 years in Tarrant County

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - As November elections creep closer, the new Lubbock County Elections Administrator is looking toward the future.

Troy Havard took over for former administrator Roxzine Stinson after her retirement.

The Texas native served more than 28 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and retired in 2019. Just three days after his retirement from service, Havard began working as the Assistant Elections Administrator in Tarrant County. He held that position for eight years before applying for the job here in Lubbock.

He says it was God’s plan for him to work in the election field. He served as the voting officer during service, and said it was chance that he continued the path after retirement.

“I looked at the job description and it was essentially the same thing I was doing in the Marine Corps - just a different name,” Havard said. “So I said why not?”

Havard said similar to military service, working elections isn’t a job - it’s a calling.

“You either love it or you don’t. It’s not something you do to earn a paycheck, it requires dedication and devotion,” Havard said.

Running elections isn’t an easy job, but Havard says he has the discipline to lead Lubbock County through the changing landscape.

Havard used 2020 as an example of an unusual year because of COVID-19 and because Governor Greg Abbott gave an extra week of early voting for the presidential election that November, which had never happened before. Havard said the Legislature has since passed a law prohibiting that from happening again.

Havard said 2026 has also been unusual because of a series of special elections and runoffs, not just in Lubbock County but across the state, along with some off-cycle redistricting.

Havard explained that state law requires voting precincts in all 254 Texas counties, and those precincts are set up based on rules tied to district lines that cannot overlap. He said, for example, voters cannot vote in two separate independent school districts or for a state representative outside the district where they live.

Havard affirmed that despite changes and unusual elections, his office is bound by law.

“In the military, everything you do is governed by laws, rules, regulations, and by your commanding officers all the way up to the Commander in Chief,” Havard said. “The same kind of principles apply here in the elections world. Everything we do is governed by some law or some guidance that is provided.”

Havard said guidance sometimes comes as advisories from the Texas Secretary of State’s office, which interprets law and legislative intent.

He said other decisions, such as voting systems, methods of voting, and polling locations are not mandated by the state and instead require Commissioner’s Court approval. Commissioners also approve presiding and alternate judges for polling locations, ballot board members, and the central count station presiding and alternate judge.

Havard credits Stinson for running a “tight office” during her tenure as the Lubbock County Elections Administrator, saying he doesn’t plan to change much.

“There’s nobody that can replace Roxzine, and I’m not trying to. Her shoes are too big to fill. They’re on the side, and I’ve got mine next to them,” Havard said.

When discussing whether he anticipated any changes to election processes in Lubbock County in coming years, Havard said he plans to evolve as the County grows.

He suggested potentially decreasing hours during the first week of early voting. State law requires polling locations to be open for 12 hours a day during the second week of early voting, not the first, but Lubbock County’s polls are currently open for 12 hours both weeks. Havard said it could be beneficial to decrease that first week’s hours to nine.

“There is a cost savings [aspect] in terms of both money and humans. Most of our poll volunteers are retirees who end up working close to 14 hours a day for two straight weeks,” Havard said. “That wears you out.”

Havard said Lubbock County is also planning to renumber its voting precincts. Precincts currently run sequentially starting at one, up to more than 200. Under the planned change, every voting precincts would get a four-digit number, with the first digit representing the commissioner precinct in which that voting precinct is located. Havard said this would not affect what races or districts a voter falls within — it is intended only to make it easier to identify which commissioner precinct a voting precinct resides in.

Neither of these potential changes would go into effect ahead of November’s midterm election.

Havard said Lubbock County is aware of a recent executive order signed by President Trump regarding voting by mail and the U.S. Postal Service, and that a judge has since removed restrictions to allow it to be implemented.

He said Texas has already implemented some related measures, such as intelligent mail barcodes and serialized ballots on envelopes, and that he anticipates the ruling will affect other states instead of ours.

Havard has attended several trainings in recent weeks to discuss such measures. He says one of the biggest points made involved absentee voting, advising voters who vote by mail to return their ballots early rather than waiting, in order to avoid problems tied to postal delivery timing. He said it matters when a ballot is postmarked and when it’s received by his office.

In all, Havard says he and his team work year-round - whether that’s assisting with voter registration, training volunteer deputy registrars from civic groups and political parties, or voter list maintenance.

He says one of the biggest ways people can help is by volunteering to work the polls. He encouraged people to visit votelubbock.gov to sign up.

Havard said word of mouth is the office’s best method for recruiting poll workers, particularly among retirees, encouraging people to talk to friends and neighbors about the process. He said poll workers are paid an hourly rate and can simply work at a polling location to learn how it operates.

Havard says volunteers and civic engagement hold the utmost importance, and he wishes to see an increase in voters this year.

“I spent over 28 years, almost three decades of my life defending the rights of people in the United States to express themselves by casting a ballot,” Havard said. “And it is a little disheartening to see that the numbers have been declining. I don’t care what your political leaning is. I just want you to vote. Vote your conscience. Vote for whatever’s on the ballot that you can vote for. That’s my goal, to get people to vote.”

You must be registered to vote by October 5th to participate in the November elections. You can check your status here.

Havard said you can also call the elections office, stop by in person at 1308 Crickets Avenue, or send an email.