HENDERSON COUNTY–Sept. 18, Henderson County Judge Wade McKinney terminated the local state of disaster for wildfires that has been in effect since Aug. 22, the county announced on social media.
Henderson County has experienced just two wildfires in the past seven days, and the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) has fallen substantially, the county continued. The KBDI is maintained by Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Texas A&M Forest Service and is used to determine fire potential.
Termination of the disaster declaration lifts the increased restrictions such as the prohibition against cooking on a grill and the constraints on welding, according to the county.
However, the burn ban is still in effect because the KBDI is still above 575, the level suggested for a burn ban, the county stated. This means outdoor burning is still prohibited, the county says. The burn ban will remain in effect until Tuesday, Sept. 26, unless Henderson County Commissioners’ Court ends it earlier, according to the county.
Also, after a public hearing, Henderson County Commissioners’ Court voted Sept. 19 to approve an order cancelling a plat, easements, restrictions and covenants for ruralHIP subdivision, located in Precinct 1 northwest of Athens.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Wendy Spivey said the subdivision’s elements were approved by the county in 2006. Spivey told the court that the land is owned by one person, who requested the cancellation, and that she visited the property the day before the meeting and observed that there’s nothing built, “just grown-up land.”
Having one owner makes such cancellation “much easier in this process,” according to County Judge Wade McKinney.
The court also approved an order regarding removal of obstructions, specifically vehicles, a portable building, wooden shipping pallets and bundled cardboard, from the right-of-way of County Road 4503, located in Precinct 4.
The actions are pursuant to state law such as the Texas Transportation Code’s requirement for public roads to be free of obstructions and the Texas Penal Code addressing obstructing a highway or other passageway, according to the agenda item. 
Precinct 4 Commissioner Mark Richardson said that over several years the road has become totally blocked and that neighbors who have homes past that obstruction have had to build a driveway for access. This has been going on for 15-plus years and it is a county road with an easement, according to the commissioner.
Richardson said the precinct will remove some of the debris and move the vehicles onto the private property. The landowner requested 180 days to clear what’s salvageable and asked the county’s assistance in moving other items, at his own expense. Richardson said he would be agreeable to giving some time but that his precinct planned to do the work during the winter.
First Assistant County Attorney Sam Hicks confirmed that the order doesn’t allow the county to come onto the private property and move or relocate items, only to move or dispose items from the right-of-way. In addition, the order gives the commissioner the authority to defer the process at his discretion, McKinney stated.
In other business, the court:
• Approved the sheriff’s and constables’ 2024 fees, which are charged for delivery of certain documents, according to McKinney.
• Approved a contract with the Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) for the fiscal year 2024 Statewide Automated Victim Notification Service (SAVNS) grant award; SAVNS allows crime victims to receive information about changes in offender status and court events, according to the OAG website.
• Approved a contract with Appriss, a software company, for the maintenance of the fiscal year 2024 SAVNS data, for which the county receives full reimbursement from the OAG, according to McKinney.
• Appointed Thomas Faulk IV to fill the vacancy of the deceased Orville Bevel Jr. on the Henderson County Hospital Authority Board, with the term expiring Dec. 31.
• Set an Oct. 17 public hearing about applications for the designation of Sloan Energy Storage, Tanzanite Energy Storage and BT McGee Solar as tax reinvestment zones, per Texas Tax Code Chapter 312, located in Precincts 2 and 3.
• Approved replatting seven lots into one at the Pinnacle Club, located in Precinct 2.
• Approved paying fiscal year 2023 bills of $372,184.96.