Kevin O’Connor Kommentary October 1

Local Residents Return To Jail Following Arrests By Bryan And College Station Police

Two weeks after a Bryan woman finishes serving 336 days for two felony thefts, she returns to the Brazos County jail for the 37th time in 15 years. Two Bryan police officers investigating a theft at a convenience store Tuesday afternoon (April 16) say in their arrest reports that they got a false name from a woman they were interviewing. After the woman was told she was going to be arrested for the false name, she kicked the knees and stomped the feet of both officers and bit one of the officers. That led to additional charges against 36 year old Erica Jenkins of assaulting the officers, resisting arrest, tampering with a government record, and possession of P-C-P. A Bryan man is arrested for the second time in seven days. Monday night (April 15), a College Station police officer on patrol at an apartment complex was approached by a woman who reported a man on a moped made a threatening comment to her. With the help of another citizen, the man was found with what turned out to be a stolen moped and two black bags containing 107 pieces of stolen mail. The mail contained among other things, seven debit/credit or reward cards and nine checks. Officers also found a bag containing methamphetamine. The man who was arrested, 53 year old Joe Almaraz, was out on bond following his arrest by Bryan police on April ninth for vehicle burglaries, possessing more items containing personal identity information, and possessing a controlled substance.

College Station ISD School Board Fills Two Administrator Positions And Hears Public Comments About Staffing Concerns

College Station ISD school board members filled two administrator positions during April’s regular meeting. CSISD’s new facilities director is Paul Buckner, who held a similar position at Bryan ISD the last four years. Buckner takes over for Jon Hall, who retired from CSISD and according to a district spokesman has accepted a position with the city of College Station. The CSISD board also hired a new principal at Pecan Trail intermediate school. Brittany Cain has been Pecan Trail’s assistant principal the last five years. She will take over for Kellie Deegear, who opened the school as principal and is retiring according to a CSISD spokesman. And CSISD board members heard staffing concerns during the public comment portion of the April 16th meeting. After comments were made by David Foley, WTAW News e-mailed a CSISD spokesman requesting additional information regarding the district’s gifted and talented student program. As of April 19, there has been no response to our request. Click below to hear comments from the April 16, 2024 College Station ISD board meeting about the administrator hirings and public comments:   News release from College Station ISD about the board hiring a new facilities director and Pecan Trail intermediate school principal: The CSISD Board of Trustees approved Paul Buckner as the new executive director of facilities and Brittany Cain as the new principal of Pecan Trail Intermediate School at its regularly scheduled meeting on April 16. Buckner joins CSISD from Bryan ISD with 10 years of energy management experience and six years of project management experience. He has served as BISD’s director of construction and energy management since 2020 and has held positions with the district as energy and construction project manager and energy and sustainability specialist. Prior to his time with BISD, Buckner served as an energy accounts manager for Bryan Texas Utilities. He most recently led BISD’s $175 million bond project that included building Sadberry Intermediate School and the Haliburton Transportation Center. Buckner earned his Bachelor of Science at Texas A&M and holds certifications relating to energy management from the Association of Energy Engineers, Texas Energy Managers Association and American Public Power Association. “I’m looking forward to hitting the ground running with the team and contributing to the great work of CSISD and its schools.” said Buckner. Cain has served as the assistant principal for Pecan Trail Intermediate since 2019. In her time with CSISD she has been a summer school principal and department head while serving on numerous committees. Cain earned her Bachelor of Science from Louisiana State University-Shreveport and her Master of Education from Texas A&M University. “Our students, staff and parents are what make Pecan Trail a great place to learn and grow and I’m excited and grateful for the opportunity to continue to be a part of the amazing culture here,” said Cain.

KBTX Announces Changes To The Station’s Weather Team

KBTX anounces a major change in the people providing the station’s weather coverage. Chief meteorologist Shel Winkley has announced he is leaving to pursue a new opportunity. Taking over as only the third chief meteorologist in the nearly 70 year history of the station is Max Crawford, who has been at KBTX since 2008. Shel’s tenure at KBTX began as an intern in 2006. He joined the station fulltime in 2009 and was in his 11th year leading the weather team. News release from KBTX: Thursday, April 18, 2024, KBTX announced two major changes coming to the PinPoint Forecast Team. First, Chief Meteorologist Shel Winkley let viewers know he will be leaving the station on April 25 to pursue new opportunities. Winkley first joined the station as an intern in 2006 and became a full-time member of the meteorology team in 2009. He’s served as chief meteorologist since 2013. During his time at KBTX, Shel also taught broadcast meteorology at Texas A&M University, served as chair for American Meteorological Society’s Board of Broadcast Meteorology, and was routinely recognized as a leader in his field by peers and trade organizations. KBTX thanks Shel for nearly 15 years of dedicated service to the Brazos Valley and wishes him all the best in his future endeavors. “I cannot say thank you enough for allowing me to earn your trust to cover the storms, hurricanes, historic temperatures, impacts of a changing climate, and just the day-to-day weather of Central and Southeast Texas,” said Winkley. “But also thank you for the conversations, the questions, and most importantly the support and friendships you have gifted me over this decade and a half.” Concurrently, KBTX announced longtime morning meteorologist Max Crawford would now lead the station’s team of meteorologists. KBTX maintains the region’s only team of degreed meteorologists dedicated to the Brazos Valley, including a unique meteorology fellowship for students of Texas A&M University that’s helped launch Aggie into talent to television markets across the country. Max Crawford joined the KBTX weather team in 2008 after working at KWES-TV in Midland-Odessa, learning and working under legendary broadcaster Tom Tefertiller. Crawford got his degree in Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M University, where he was part of Winkley’s first broadcast meteorology class and worked as an intern at KBTX in 2013. Since 2015, Max has been a pillar of KBTX’s PinPoint Forecast Team and a regular face for viewers on Brazos Valley This Morning. Crawford is an active board member of the United Way of the Brazos Valley and remains actively involved at Texas A&M, where he was honored as a Fish Camp namesake in 2016. At KBTX, Crawford will be just the third person to hold the title Chief Meteorologist, and one of only around half a dozen people to formally lead the station’s weather department over its nearly 70-year history. He looks forward to continuing the station’s legacy of innovating and leading the market in weather coverage, and to leading a team of Aggie meteorologists dedicated to serving the Brazos Valley. For nearly 70 years, KBTX-TV has been the Brazos Valley’s only fully-staffed, full-power local television station. Broadcasting more than 40 hours of news each week over the air, KBTX is always available for free on channel 3.1, online at KBTX.com, and in the KBTX app on your phone or preferred streaming device.