Llano County’s in-coming sheriff and its newest game warden were united in an emphasis to crack down on intoxicated drivers when they spoke at the August meeting of the Lake Buchanan Conservation Corporation.

Sean Reneau recently joined Rick Snitkin and Kevin Webb as Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Wardens serving Llano County.

Bill Blackburn, a former game warden who won the Republican primary nomination over Sheriff Nathan Garrett, will be the only name on the November ballot for sheriff. A hard line on driving while intoxicated (DWI) was one of his chief campaigning points.

“If you are at a party or a bar and call us (the sheriff’s department), we’ll help you get a ride,” he said, taking into account the frequency of bars and recreational visitors and tourists. “But if you are driving, you are going to jail.

“In three years we had 77 alcohol-related accidents in Llano County. Any night in the county, a guy who drives 20 miles has a good chance of meeting someone who is drunk.”

One of Blackburn’s first priorities as sheriff will be consistent training in Standard Field Sobriety Testing (SFST), and he saw a few sly hands raised when he said the training is conducted with volunteer drunks as subjects.

“It sounds like fun, but it’s really not,” interjected Reneau who said the SFST training is standard for all TPW officers who enforce boating while intoxicated (BWI).

“We want everyone doing it in the same way,” Blackburn said. “That is what makes it stand up in court.”

Open containers are not banned on Lake Buchanan and Lake LBJ as they are on the roadways and Reneau said he was pleased to see how many designated boat drivers he encounters. He is not hesitant to pull a driver over for an SFST followed by breathalyzer testing if he encounters a driver he suspects is drunk.

Members of the LBCC were interested in the game laws that pertain to their lake and the surrounding area, but they also had many questions of Blackburn as in-coming sheriff. They were supportive of his commitment to increase drug and alcohol education for young people.

“I want to be proactive with kids and the community, so kids are fully aware of what they are getting into with drugs, what the bad parts are,” he said.

In addition to consistent training for his officers Blackburn said he wanted to support them as much as possible with equipment and through salaries.

The 62-year-old sheriff-elect came through experience to favor Tasers for his officers for their own protection and the protection of citizens they may have to subdue.

“It has nothing to do with hurting them (an aggressive subject),” he said. “It makes them drop, but it does not have a long lasting effect like pepper spray.

“I will not tolerate Tasing as a punishment, but I don’t want any of my men hurt,” he said recounting the event in which he and Horseshoe Bay policemen were injured and which led to HSB Police Chief Bill Lane’s use of Tasers in his department.

Blackburn did not promise to take the issue of salaries to his first budget round as sheriff, but he is sympathetic to the county's deputies and has their pay as a priority. He already is looking for grants and alternate funding for training and improvements to make room for it.

“Most have side jobs,” he said. “They are doing anything they can to make a living. Granite Shoals Police start at $35,000 a year and go up to $40,000. Our starting pay is around $28,000.”

Reneau fielded as many questions about deer hunting as he did about fishing from the lake crowd.

He transferred here from Sulphur Springs and he said he was constantly bumping into names that vary for the same fish and game in East and Central Texas.

One thing he was very consistent about, however, is enforcement of laws requiring deer licenses and their use.