Changing our ways

By Marc Robertson - Editor | January 12, 2023

SPECIAL FEATURE: MEETING NEW COUNTY JUDGES ROCHELLE CAMACHO AND LEODORO MARTINEZ III

Opening a new dialysis clinic, supporting border-area law enforcement, curbing a new surge in coronavirus infection, improving infrastructure and reinforcing inter-government alliances are among the top agenda items for a first term in office by La Salle County’s new judge.

Elected without challenger in November and taking office January 1, Leodoro “Lolo” Martinez III did not have an easy time earning the job in 2022. In order to have his name on the ballot in the general election, he had to unseat a 20-year incumbent who had already weathered plenty of opposition.

Martinez succeeded in prevailing over County Judge Joel Rodriguez at the hard-fought party primaries early in the year to earn the Democratic Party nomination to the November general election, the only candidate to tap a significant wave of popular votes for the job over the incumbent since 2002.

It is the job held thirty years ago by his father, Leodoro Martinez, after whom a city and county park in Cotulla is named.

This month, “Judge Lolo” has begun moving into an office space that has only ever been occupied by his immediate predecessor. Renovations and historical preservation of the 1931-built La Salle County Courthouse a decade ago with millions of dollars from the Texas Historical Commission helped establish new office areas that had never been completed in the building’s 75-year history. Likewise, podium and benches in the county commissioners’ court were never installed in the 20^th century and only became fixtures as restoration funding allowed.

Martinez presided over his first county government meeting Friday, Jan. 6.

In his first interview since taking office, the new judge said he expects La Salle County to continue building on the many assets it has gained since the lucrative Eagle Ford Shale energy industry began boosting South Texas’ economy 14 years ago.

“The first thing is to finish the projects that have been started, and top of the list is the dialysis clinic,” Martinez said of the building that has been completed on North Baylor Street near IH-35, a stone’s throw from some of the 25 hotels and motels that were built during the oil boom. “There are so many people who need the service, and it’s something that everyone can take advantage of.

“We are setting a date for March 31,” he added. “By that day, we expect to have served our first patient at the clinic.”

County commissioners have been hesitant to show their excitement over the multimillion-dollar clinic’s belated opening day, largely because repeated setbacks have dimmed the early optimism. Construction problems – notably physical flaws – have been corrected, the judge believes, and La Salle can expect a $90,000 refund on some of its expenses.

La Salle has entered an agreement with Satellite Health, which will manage the facility. The county judge foresees the first months of this year as “off to a good start with Satellite.”

In law enforcement coverage, the judge said he sees a strong collaboration between the county sheriff’s office, the Texas Highway Patrol, Encinal Police, and other agencies across the region as paramount in helping improve border security and intercept a rising tide of human smuggling.

“Operation Lone Star is still supported here,” Martinez said of the Texas governor’s initiative to fund increased law enforcement along the border. “The Border Patrol is being deployed to under-served areas, and the Department of Public Safety is still supporting us. They assure us that there will be plenty of officers here to ensure the county is safe.”

The county judge said today’s humanitarian crisis and the crime that accompanies it were brought home to him early in the job. Among his first tasks as county judge was to preside over a hearing in which a 14-year-old boy was charged with human smuggling.

“It is sad that the organizations behind this are still tempting smugglers with promises of cash,” the judge said. “And this especially applies to teenagers. That boy drove here from Houston, and he was caught in La Salle County.

“The bad part is the cost to the county to detain these juveniles,” Martinez added. “It’s costing us $250 a day, and there aren’t enough beds.

“What’s sad, though, is that the boy’s own mother didn’t want him released to her custody,” he said.

Martinez views the return of the coronavirus as a further humanitarian crisis, but it is one that he believes La Salle can help combat, both through education and awareness, and in close cooperation with service agencies in the area, including the county’s fire brigade and ambulance service.

“Coronavirus is silently on the rise,” the judge said. “We have to improve public education on this, and we are talking with healthcare professionals about it, about educating the people about hygiene and changing habits.

“COVID-19 has evolved,” he added. “I believe it is much more contagious. It’s killing people. We are going to use all available resources on this, from physicians to fire department. We will have to reach out to the school district to work on hygiene and prevention, to help us change habits at home. We have to start changing our ways.”

The judge describes the collaboration between county government and the La Salle Fire Rescue as “an excellent relationship,” and indicated there are more improvements to come in services and facilities, although he stopped short of making a public announcement.

“We can continue helping lower homeowners’ insurance rates by having a top-rated fire rescue service in the county,” Martinez said. “Law enforcement and fire department are my two top agencies, and my interest is in protecting the people.”

The judge concluded by saying that he believes county residents can expect to continue reaping the benefits of the energy industry boom. A new truck stop on the outskirts of Cotulla, he said, will help with employment and tax revenues to the city; and real estate now open for development along the truck bypass loop named after his predecessor will attract housing developers and commercial enterprise.

“The oil industry is picking up,” the county judge said. “Traffic is increasing, hotels are busy, and business is coming. We need to prepare for that.”

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