LEXINGTON, NE – The Dawson County Commissioners approved the contact for Patrick Tarr, the new Public Defender during their regular meeting Friday, May 15th.
Tarr is an attorney from Wahoo, Nebraska and according to the Nebraska State Bar Association website is currently with the Saunders County Public Defender’s Office and practices in the area of criminal law and juvenile law.
Other action taken in the meeting was approving the purchase of a new 2026 pickup of $41,798 for the county roads department.
Commissioners also approved the county’s health insurance renewal with Jones Group.
The agenda noted an update and discussion for future funding request from Sheltering Hands, a private nonprofit agency in Lexington that provides confidential bilingual services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse.
Melanie Gomez, Sheltering Hands Executive Director told commissioners they do not need funding from the county at this time thanks to new funding from the Department of Health and Human Services. The funding is under LB261 that was approved by the legislature in 2025 that was inteded for providers serving survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
Gomez said even though they won’t be requesting funding this year, she expects they will be back in the future.
Gomez added, “from January to March of this year, compared to the same time last year, the survivors that reached out increased by 55 percent. Our shelter night increased by 23 percent. The number of contacts we had with survivors increased 140 percent. And the number of hours spent providing services increased by 160 percent. These numbers reflect the growing level of crisis and instability survivors are experiencing right now.”
