Good morning.
It’s the last day of August and on this day in 1871 future Texas governor Jim Ferguson was born in Salado.
NOOOOOOOO!
Brenda Hughes shared last night that her family-run business Buzzie's Bar-B-Q was closed until further notice due to staffing shortage — partially from COVID-19 exposure. We just saw Buzzie Hughes on Saturday slicing up a brisket for the Kerrville River Roadster Show at Louise Hays Park. The staffing issue continues to be a problem for a lot of small businesses, especially restaurants.
There are two issues here: the impact of COVID-19 on a small business; and the apparent, yet debatable, shortage of workers in general.
Yesterday, we noticed Taco Bell was starting people up to $14 per hour. Practically, every restaurant in town seems to be looking for help.
The Texas Workforce Commission reports there are 766 job openings in Kerr County, including 100 at Peterson Health. The previously-held notion was people were sitting out of the labor market because the unemployment benefits were too good. However, looking at the job postings it seems companies and agencies are seeking skilled labor. The demand for nurses and health care workers dominates the help wanted ads.
DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON?
On Monday, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported there were 121 active Kerr County COVID-19 cases. Later Monday evening, the county released a report that it was 173. We’re not sure that takes into account the 63 cases Peterson Health reported over the weekend or the 58 reportedly in the Kerrville Independent School District. Our conclusion? Nobody knows what’s going on.
DO YOU NEED TO RESOLVE A MUNICIPAL COURT MATTER?
Kerrville’s Municipal Court is conducting a Warrant Resolution Drive from now through Oct. 15, 2021, focusing on anyone with outstanding warrants and encouraging the public to take necessary steps to resolve their cases with the Court.
In a city press release, Kerrville said there are approximately 1,028 outstanding warrants in Municipal Court with another few hundred that are waiting for warrants to be signed. These warrants span a time frame from approximately 2006 to the present.
SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO ROLL WITH IT
Our most-read story yesterday was about how one Kerrville doughnut shop is going to handle the emergence of two chain doughnut stores set to open in the coming weeks. With the arrival of national brand Dunkin', which has more than 20,000 stores, and regional chain Shipley's Do-Nuts we stopped by Kerrville's Donut Palace to see how they were going to handle the competition.
However, in our Facebook comments on the story, there was a discussion about whether Dunkin' and Shipley's was coming to Kerrville. And looking at the numbers, we know a lot of those folks didn't read the story, which we took great lengths to explain. Oh well.
OUR FIRST SUBSCRIBER-ONLY PIECE WAS PUBLISHED
We editorialized on the situation with the city of Kerrville’s failed attempt to pass certificates of obligation to pay for a new public safety building. Let’s just say we’re concerned about the tone of the opposition. Here's the link and how to subscribe: COMMENTARY: Right here in our own river city, we've got QAnon troubles
