JUDGE: Samsung coming to Taylor; county to host infusion center
Last Sunday the New York Times reported that Samsung has decided to locate its new “chip” plant just outside Taylor.
Samsung will invest $17 Billion; the single largest economic investment ever made in Texas to build a 5 million square foot facility that will employ an estimated 1,300 employees. Groundbreaking will begin in the first quarter of 2022 and completion is scheduled for late 2024. No doubt this will provide a lot of jobs for Milam County and create a need for more housing in the county.
I will attend a special meeting in Taylor on Wednesday evening with County Judge Bill Gravell to get more details.
Monoclonal Infusion Clinic for Milam County
Last Friday we met with several medical providers in the county regarding treatment of those infected with COVID. Those infected with the virus can be treated with several different drugs to avoid hospital treatment.
The plan is to put the clinic in Rockdale at the former Medical Clinic, which is the best facility in the county for such a purpose.
Funding for the project would come from FEMA. This week we will make a formal proposal to FEMA for funding and the clinic could be open as soon as Oct. 1, 2021.
Ambulance Service
On Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, we initially met with representatives of AMR to solve the ongoing ambulance shortage issue in Milam County.
AMR operates three, 24-hour ambulances in the County, but there is often a shortage of ambulances.
One problem is a nationwide shortage of paramedics as schools closed during the pandemic.
We will meet again on Wednesday to discuss a couple of possible solutions. The first is to create a “roving paramedic” that will be available to go to just about any needed location by a separate vehicle.
This person will not be tied to an ambulance and will have more flexibility.
The second idea is the use of telemedicine to allow for direct communication with an EMT or paramedic, which could potentially alleviate some of the ambulance calls. We will keep you updated on the progress of the meeting.
Moot Court
We have a second Moot Court event scheduled for Oct. 5-6 at the Milam County Courthouse.
This was a huge and very successful event we held in 2019 whereby every high school in the County competed. Moot Court is an oral argument regarding a specific legal matter made by the participating students to a panel of three judges. Our panels will be composed of judges and lawyers in the county. The event is intended to expose students to the legal field. It is the only event in the county where all the schools compete together.