Several local governmental offices and government-operated services have re-opened recently in accordance with Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s order easing off COVID-19-related quarantine restrictions.
“Scurry County will open in several different ways,” County Judge Dan Hicks said. “The following offices will remain closed to the public: Scurry County Youth Center, Scurry County Senior Center and Scurry County parks offices and rental facilities such as the armory and community centers.”
Hicks said some county services will be re-opening with some changes to their normal operations.
“The library will open at 50 percent capacity,” he said. “The tax office will open to the public but with barriers at the door for protection of both the public and the employees. The County and District clerks’ offices will be open. The treasurer’s office will be open but allow only one customer in at a time due to limited space.”
The county golf course will also re-open, but with some changes.
“The golf course is open to the public; however, at this time the pro shop will remain closed to the public,” he said. “Transactions will be made at the window.”
Hicks said all other county offices will be open, but social distancing procedures will be maintained.
Scurry County Sheriff Trey Wilson said that while he plans to re-open the Law Enforcement Center with social distancing rules in place, he plans to approach any additional changes more slowly.
“I’ve been kind of limiting what we’re allowing, and I’m going to relax that. I’m going to relax that a little bit, but not all the way. I’m trying to balance that with quarantine space, if somebody is being arrested,” he said. “We will probably open the lobbies back up and just use social distancing. We don’t have a lot of people in the lobby at any given time, so I don’t feel like that would be a problem.”
Visitation at the Scurry County Jail will remain closed he said.
“For now, no. I’m not going to change anything,” he said. “I’m probably going to visit that this coming week, but for right now, that part of it’s not going to change.”
Scurry County Librarian Olivia Aparicio provided some further details about the library’s re-opening.
“We will open from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. for patrons 65 and older, and for those who have a compromised immune system, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for everyone else, Monday thru Friday for the first couple of weeks,” she said. “Services provided at this time will be material check outs, holds and Xerox machine. We look forward to servicing the public, as well as maintaining safety procedures. We request that you wear a mask while visiting the library. If you do not have one we will provide one.”
The Scurry County Museum will remain closed, according to museum director Nicole DeGuzman.
“In regard to the announcement by Governor Abbott, the Scurry County Museum will not be opening this Friday (May 1st) and will wait to open under the recommendation of Western Texas College leadership,” DeGuzman said in a post on the museum’s Facebook page.
In the meantime, DeGuzman said the museum is offering free STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) activity kits for school-aged kids, although quantities are limited.
“Due to the limited number of kits available, please email to reserve and get more details at SCM@SnyderTex.com. Free kits will be available until we run out.” she said. Snyder City Manager Merle Taylor said reopening city offices might be delayed due to a recent hacking attack on city computers.
“We anticipate that (City Hall) will be reopening next week,” Taylor said. “If testing indicates that our positive cases are increasing, we’ll probably have to reconsider our plans.”
Kim Fritz, financial director for Jumpstart Enrichment for Tomorrow’s Students (JETS) said the organization’s campus and programs will remain closed.