Stoudt: “The state of the county is strong”

LONGVIEW — An upbeat message was offered by Gregg County Judge Bill Stoudt Tuesday as he presented his annual State of the County Address. “I will start off by telling you the state of the county is strong,” Stoudt said, according to our news partner KETK. “I keep saying it, I’ll continue to say it – this is a great community with a lot of great people in it.” Stoudt also spoke about COVID-19, telling attendees, “If you haven’t gotten your vaccination we encourage you to do so.” And he addressed bringing broadband internet access to rural areas throughout the county using grant funds. “Broadband, if you’re inside the cities, it’s not too bad. If you get out into the county, it’s terrible,” Stoudt said. “I live out in a rural area of Gregg County, and it’s something that we work on. These grant funds that we received will allow us to do something about it.”