[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12347]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING SHERIFF JOE GOODSON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McCAUL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to tell the Nation 
about one of the finest and most dedicated members of America's law 
enforcement community, and one of the best sheriffs to ever have served 
in the 10th Congressional District of Texas.
  For 29 years, the good people of Lee County, Texas, trusted Joe 
Goodson to be their sheriff. He passed away last month, but left those 
he protected with a safe, friendly and God-fearing community.
  Sheriff Joe, as he was known to the thousands of people who called 
him a friend, worked hard, not just for the people of his county, but 
for all Texans and for all Americans.
  His fellow Texas sheriffs chose him to lead the Sheriffs' Association 
of Texas. He was a member of the Auto Theft Task Force, the Narcotics 
Task Force, and he was the head of the cold case review people team.
  But it wasn't just that he was among the finest lawmen in Texas that 
made Sheriff Joe so well liked and so respected. Sheriff Goodson always 
treated others the same way he wanted to be treated, and the thousands 
of people who knew him respected him for it.
  Law enforcement ran in Sheriff Joe's blood. His dad, Vernon Goodson, 
served as sheriff in Lee County for 25 years before his son Joe was 
elected and took over the position. And as Buddy Price, the editor of 
the Giddings Times and News in Lee County, will tell you, they were 
both dedicated to their jobs and loved the people they served. While 
they both enforced the law vigorously, they also used commonsense and 
resolved situations peacefully whenever they could.
  One of the things Sheriff Joe is best known for is a responsible, 
some would even say the conservative way in which he ran his sheriff's 
office. He saw the money entrusted to him and his deputies as the 
people's money. He ran a tight ship and accounted for every dollar his 
department spent.
  But once again, I have to go back to who Sheriff Goodson was as a 
person. As his family will tell you, one of the things he loved most 
was leading the Blue Santa Program to provide gifts for needy families 
during the Christmas season. He helped raise money for Blue Santa with 
auctions, and he even served as an auctioneer.
  To Joe's wife, Robyn, and Joe's entire family, and to the good people 
of Lee County, you have the thanks of a grateful Nation. We are 
indebted to you, and we mourn your loss.
  So to the good Lord above, I hope you are ready for one more angel up 
there because Sheriff Joe is on his way.

                          ____________________