Smith County Veterans Services Office cuts ribbon on new location at CampV

“It allows your local, state, and federal jurisdictions to get information out quickly to the masses. So, if there is any large scale disaster, I mean even if we had one in Smith County we could send one out,” said Smith County Emergency Management coordinator Brandon Moore. Moore said the test is similar to the local alert tests we receive monthly, but on a national scale.

Ocean Restaurant has been open for around two-and-a-half years. Before the construction they saw around 50 customers a day and now they get around 10. The owner, Estela Cedillo, has to work outside jobs to keep the doors open.

“If we can reduce the jail population, that’s great,” said Pct. 2 Commissioner John Moore. “But it needs to be balanced with public safety to make sure if they are released, that it was the right move to make.”

According to plumbing instructor Harold Gober, Isabella Bravo and Vanessa Veta are his two best students, and he said he could see the two owning their own business someday.

“I’ve been here 59 years, and you can do the math. I’ve never lived anywhere else in my life, so it just thrills me as a citizen to see my hometown grow, and the camaraderie that we have amongst all of our people here, to come out in one unified group of people to celebrate our men and women in blue,” said Mayor Randy Gorham.

Mayor Randy Gorham has lived in Jacksonville since he was a child, and stresses the importance of the community and local law enforcement partnering to keep the city safe and prosperous.