Rusk Municipal Court is giving Cherokee County with unpaid tickets one last chance to get it taken care of, or else they may get a visit from an arresting officer, according to Cristin Ross, RPD public information officer.

Rusk Municipal Judge Forrest Phifer has compiled a list of people who were issued tickets in recent years, but failed to make restitution to the court. Six Bullard residents are on the list.

“Some people may just not have paid, some people may have started a payment plan or community service and just never finished,” Phifer said. “The court has sent numerous letters, made several phone calls and continuously made an effort to contact these citizens in some way to get these cases off the books, with no success. Releasing this warrant list is the last attempt to help people take care of business, before they get arrested for it.”

Phifer said these warrants are for Class C misdemeanor offenses only and the individuals named are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of proper jurisdiction.

“In the near future, police officers will begin to serve any unresolved arrest warrants,” Phifer said. “In order to avoid being arrested at your home, place of business, or anywhere else you may be found, you need to contact the court immediately to resolve the matter.”

Phifer said getting the fines for these tickets could net the court more than $100,000. Fines assessed on these cases range from $150 to $597.10.

Rusk Police Chief Joe Evans said while each of his officers recently received the court’s list, they won’t be actively seeking anyone out yet.

“We’re in the process of organizing a county-wide warrant round-up with all our local law enforcement agencies,” Evans said. “We’ve got this updated list, and we’re working with the court for now to help give people with outstanding tickets one last chance to get them taken care of, before anyone has to go to jail. But if they don’t get it done before the round-up, we will start taking people to jail.”

Phifer also urges citizens to contact the court with information they may have on anyone on the list.

“There’s no reward or anything, but someone may know if a person on the list is deceased or has moved,” Phifer said. “These warrants are a last resort and we want to give everyone every possible chance to clear these cases with the court, before they get arrested.”

Individuals on the list need to contact the Rusk Municipal Court at (903) 683-2677, or come to the court in person, at 197 S. Main St., located behind Rusk City Hall. To pay by mail, send a check, cashier’s check or money order to the Rusk Municipal Court, 197 South Main, Rusk, Texas 75785-1332. Do not send cash through the mail. There is a $30 administrative fee for any returned check and a criminal complaint may also be filed should a personal check be returned unpaid.

To pay by credit card (Visa, MasterCard or Discover) by telephone or via the Internet, call (866) 549- 1010 or visit www.certifiedpayments. net. Payment may be made at anytime, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A fee for this service will be charged to your credit card directly by Certified Payments. The Court’s Bureau Code is No. 7435389. Have this number with you when you call, as well as the citation number and the amount owed. Contact the court for this information.

“The court is still willing to work with anyone who’d like to get their cases cleared – be it community service or a payment plan,” Phifer said. “But if they wait around until they get arrested for this, the court’s patience is going to be less than full.”

To find out if your name is on the list, call the Bullard Banner News at (903) 894-9306 or come by the office at 114 N. Houston St., in Bullard.