With 12 years of experience as Hockley County Commissioner of Precinct One, Curtis Thrash is looking to return to the group.
Falling short in the last election, Thrash feels that he still has a lot to offer the county and the individuals in precinct one.
Having experience in repairing roads and understanding county government, Thrash has had his hand in solving numerous road issues and even helped in raising over $4.4 million in state funding for oil field damaged roads.
“I was blessed by the Lord Jesus Christ and he blessed my family,” said Thrash. “I feel there is still something for me to give back to the community and the citizens of this county.”
Talking with community members and receiving encouragement from those who hear he is running for commissioner again also ensured Thrash that this was the right decision.
“After a lot of prayers and conversation between my wife and I, I got clarity one day and decided to run again,” said Thrash.
Being numbers oriented, Thrash has found a great deal of enjoyment tracking the county budget. Additionally, Thrash has had his own success on the business side of things which he feels is a benefit to him when handling finances.
Talking with community members, the needs of the precinct are many. Thrash explained that the jail side of things has become a big topic of discussion.
“The jail has been an issue when I was in there for 12 years,” explained Thrash. “You’re not going to get rid of crime unfortunately.”
The second biggest topic within the precinct is the raid growth that is expected to take place in the east side of the county.
“Just around Ropes alone, there’s nine subdivisions out on 1585. There’s a couple over by Smyer,” said Thrash. “I think the infrastructure is going to be the biggest challenge for that precinct. We’re gonna have to maintain roads better.”
While the outcome of the election is not known yet, Thrash has tried to be proactive in talking with the Wolforth Fire Department.
“I’ve already been in contact with them to see if we can work something out to help us on the east side of the county,” explained Thrash. It’s very important to help them because the response time for Levelland to Ropes is not quick. It is a lot shorter from Ropes to Wolforth.”
Work is being put into creating a volunteer fire department within Ropes. While the timeline is uncertain, Thrash explained that there is a need to be proactive.
Thrash also noted that during his tenure there had been an interlocal agreement established between the county and Ropes. He is hopeful to bring that back if elected to create that much needed relationship.
Much of the east and southeast side of the county are areas for inevitable growth with the amount of subdivisions that have been created. Thrash explained that roads will be more important than ever especially to reach community members through fire, ems or sheriff’s.
“None of us are perfect but I know I made some mistakes,” said Thrash. “Maybe I should have fixed this road instead of that road but I did what I thought was right at the time.”
Thrash added that he has had the ability to look back at his body of work and see what worked and what did not. He also explained that making difficult decisions is something that does come up when working with the district attorney’s office or any additional funding issues.
“You have all these issues that you gotta come up with and and I did enjoy that,” explained Thrash. “Sometimes it was stressful you just you scratch your head and wonder am I doing the right thing but it’s something I did enjoy doing.”