The Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce honored local law enforcement officers and agencies on Friday at their 5th annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Luncheon held at the Brownwood Country Club.

Agencies recognized at the luncheon included Brown County Adult Probation, Brown County Constables, Brown County Court at Law, Brown County District Attorney, Brown County Sheriff’s Office, Brownwood Police Department, Early Police Department, Justices of the Peace, Lake Patrol, Texas Department of Public Safety, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.   Each agency was recognized and given the opportunity to present departmental awards.

The Brownwood Police Department presented their Officer of the Year award to Corporal Aaron Taylor.

Brownwood Independent School District issued the following statement regarding Thursday's brief lockdown of schools:

Coggin Elementary and Brownwood Intermediate schools went on lockdown, Thursday, May 16th, for a brief period around 1:10 pm.

Initial reports of a suspicious person with a gun were quickly determined to be false and the lockdown was lifted when it was discovered that the man was carrying a screw-gun.  School officials responded immediately to the report and secured students and staff on both campuses while the situation was investigated by district administrators.

The situation lasted approximately ten minutes.  Due to the brief span of the lockdown period, the district's e-alert communications system was not activated before the "all-clear" was given. Had the situation been verified as an actual emergency, alerts would have been sent out via email, Brownwood ISD Mobile App, website and social media.

The “all-clear” message was posted on the Brownwood ISD website at approximately 1:45 pm and subsequently through the district’s social media channels.

Brownwood Police Department’s Assistant Chief James Fuller recently attended a 3-day Critical Incident Stress Management class in Plano, Texas in order to learn more about how the police department can help their employees who suffer a traumatic incident or loss.

The reason for taking the class, Fuller stated, was to provide more resources to those suffering through a traumatically stressful event such as and death, divorce, injury/illness, or other painful experiences and situations.  The workshop was designed to provide assistance in individual and small group settings, teaching attendees tips on how to get victims of traumatic stress to open up.

"National Police Week (May, 13-19) is a great time to remember and honor fallen officers and also to realize that law enforcement officers are human—they have families, hobbies they enjoy and at the same time they are human and feel pain and hurt like everyone else,” said Fuller.  “The problem is we have a job to do while we are experiencing the trauma.  We are the ones that run to danger, feeling the same trauma as the public that is experiencing it, but it’s our duty and responsibility to perform during problems.”

Law enforcement officers must hold themselves emotionally “together” during an incident and are forced to react to it later, according to Fuller.  He stated that it is important to be reminded that we all need to understand the dangers of law enforcement.

He stated that he had the chance, through the class, to learn not to try to cure/relieve a mental problem, but to provide guidance in dealing with mental trauma, something that has been lacking in the Brownwood Police Department for many years.

Law enforcement arrests and reports released Thursday, May 16, 2013.

Tuesday, May 14th

* 10:19 AM – A Brown County Sheriff’s deputy was called to a property on Farm Market Road 585S regarding theft.  According to the report, a homemade welding trailer had been stolen from the property between the hours of 5:00 pm on May 9th and 9:30 AM on May 14th.

Wednesday, May 15th

*12:30 AM – Brownwood Police were dispatched to the 800 block of 1st Street regarding suspicious circumstances. According to the report, the complainant stated a male subject opened a bedroom window and walked through her house.

*8:25 PM – A Brown County Sheriff’s deputy was called to a residence regarding theft.  According to the report, the complainant stated someone had stolen a vehicle transmission that was lying beside his pickup.

*Brown County Sheriff’s Office arrested 21-year-old Grant Jay Bear on two warrants related to burglary of a building.

*Brownwood City Marshal arrested 34-year-old Larry Wayne Durham, Jr. on five warrants related to driving while license invalid, two counts of failure to appear, failure to maintain financial responsibility and ran stop sign.

Brownwood ISD students on a school bus were involved in a two-vehicle accident at the corner of Avenue I and 9th Street on Thursday afternoon.

Shortly after 4:00 pm, a Student Transportation Services bus was struck as the driver of a 1987 Oldsmobile turned the corner onto Avenue I from 9th Street.  The driver of the bus stated that the other driver “just didn’t turn sharp enough” causing the vehicle to strike the front driver’s side wheel on the bus.

A heavy load was escorted very slowly through Brownwood on Thursday morning and into the afternoon, on its way to a substation in Brookesmith, Texas.

The load was a 750,000 pound transformer on a special hauling truck’s trailer which had 112 wheels to support the enormous weight.  These wheels were mounted on 8 axles which were hydraulically controlled to keep the load level as it traveled.  The axles can move up and down and are able to individually be turned.  The axles and their heights are manually controlled as the load moves down the road at a “snail’s pace,” top speed of 10 miles per hour.

According to Brownwood ISD officials, Coggin Elementary and the Brownwood Intermediate School were temporarily placed into a “lockdown” on Thursday which was later determined to be a false alarm.

At approximately 1:10 PM, the schools were placed into a lockdown posture for the safety of the students and teachers as administration determined the situation.  According to BISD superintendent Reece Blincoe, a male subject was observed outside of the Intermediate school with a cordless drill and was waving it around while yelling.

“At first they didn’t know if it was a real gun,” said Blincoe who stated the male was taken into custody from what he was told by Chuck Chesser the intermediate principal.

According to Blincoe, no one was ever in danger at any point of the incident; however, the lockdown was successful as teachers were able to get into the lockdown posture as a precaution for the safety of all at the schools.  The lockdown was lifted after approximately 10 minutes.

Below are the fishing reports for area lakes as reported by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department this week.

Lake Brownwood

Water stained; 69–73 degrees; 11.63' low. Black bass to 5 pounds are good on RJA crankbaits and flukes in the evenings in 3–5 feet, and on spinnerbaits around docks early. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are good on minnows and watermelon jigs off lighted docks at night in 5–15 feet. Crappie are good on minnows and watermelon tube jigs over brush piles in 5–10 feet. Channel catfish are slow. Blue catfish are slow. Yellow catfish are slow.

Lake Coleman

Water lightly stained; 69–73 degrees; 14.82' low. Black bass are good on watermelon Rat–L–Traps, spinnerbaits, and soft plastic worms and lizards. Hybrid striper are good on live shad near the park and the store. Crappie are good on minnows at night. Channel catfish are good on trotlines baited with live perch. Yellow catfish are slow.

Brownwood’s Lyric Theatre presents its annual summer camp for students to learn the basics of acting, theatre, costumes, lighting, stagecraft, props, and more this June! While attending camp, children who have completed Kindergarten through high school will be cast, directed, and perform before audiences, experiencing the heart of the theater in versatile methods including crafts, media, and hands-on activities.

Students will be split into age-appropriate environments so that all participants not only learn about theatrical activities in a manner suited to their needs, but be part of a professional show. The 2013 theme is “Once Upon A Time.” Combined, the plays offer goofy conundrums, witty tales, and magical moments with a dragon in the mix. Audiences of all ages will experience laughter, mystery, and whimsy as “Law & Order” comes to the land of fairy tales.

Summer Camp will be held at Howard Payne University from Monday, June 3rd through Friday, June 7th, and continues on Monday the 10th through Friday the 14th. Two public performances will be held:  Friday, June 14th at 7:00 PM and Saturday, June 15th at 2:30 PM.