Katelyn Brown of the Destination Bryan tourism office visits with WTAW’s Bill Oliver about December’s First Friday in downtown Bryan, details of the December 11th downtown Bryan lighted holiday stroll event, and an invitation for Bryan and College Station residents to share opinions about branding the city’s tourism efforts by filling out a survey at brandbryan.com.
Listen to “Destination Bryan update: December 3, 2020” on Spreaker.
A new monument will be dedicated outside the Brazos County courthouse Tuesday afternoon (November 26). The monument is a bronze replica of the Victory or Death Alamo letter written in 1836 by William Barrett Travis and delivered to Sam Houston. Fain McDougal, who is the Brazos County representative of the Alamo Letter organization made the request to county commissioners last April to add the monument. Tuesday’s dedication program starts at 1:30. Click below to hear comments from Fain McDougal during the April 23, 2024 Brazos County commission meeting. News release from Brazos County: Brazos County residents and Texas history fans are invited to the dedication of a new monument at the Brazos County Courthouse. A bronze replica of the Victory or Death Alamo letter written by Lt. Col. William Barret Travis will go on permanent display on November 26, 2024, between the two flag poles in front of the courthouse. Travis’ letter was written on February 24, 1836, and heroically dispatched through the Mexican Army to General Sam Houston. The Brazos County Commissioners Court accepted the donation of the Alamo letter plaque during its regular meeting on April 23, 2024. Brazos County Alamo Letter Society Chair Fain McDougal said, “This Alamo Victory or Death letter plaque at our courthouse will serve as another reminder to future generations that freedom is not free, and the price of liberty does not come cheaply.” The public is invited to attend as local dignitaries gather on the front lawn of the Brazos County Courthouse on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, at 1:30 pm to remember the bravery of those who fought for Texas’ independence, and to dedicate the large granite and bronze monument in their honor. Visit www.alamoletter.com for more information on this statewide initiative.
Friday night (November 22), Bryan police issued a news release about a school threat that was made eight days earlier that resulted in a lockdown. Bryan ISD (BISD) did not publicize what happened on November 14th at Stephen F. Austin (SFA) middle school that a BPD news release stated “significantly delayed” dismissal. The BPD news release says a juvenile who is not a BISD student was arrested for felony terroristic threat. The juvenile placed the undisclosed threat in a phone call that originated outside the Brazos Valley. After the student was identified, they admitted making the threat to investigators. BPD did not release the suspect’s relationship with SFA or BISD. The juvenile surrendered to authorities on November 21st and taken to the juvenile detention center. Bryan police respond last Friday (November 22) to a report of a stranger entering Rudder High School. The BPD arrest report says a former student would not tell officers how he was able to enter through west wing doors. 17 year old Treavion Chambers of Bryan remains in jail following his arrest for criminal trespassing and public intoxication.
A Bryan man will go to prison after admitting to firing a gun twice during a six month period last year. A plea agreement between 20 year old Jacobee Stockton and the Brazos County district attorney’s office also includes admitting to unlawful carrying of a weapon, felony and misdemeanor possession of marijuana, and failing to identify himself. The five year sentence is for Stockton firing 14 shots at a home in Benchley in December 2023. Three shots entered the house and missed hitting two people. In June of 2023, Stockton fired a gun at a moving vehicle where nothing was struck. A Bryan man who admitted to possessing with the intent to sell cocaine more than two years ago is now headed to prison. The Brazos County district attorney’s office says 39 year old Thomas Gongora Jr. violated multiple conditions of being placed on probation for four years. Prosecutors say earlier this month, Gongoria was sentenced to eight years. The probation revocation also took into account, Gongora violating community supervision in prior criminal cases. News release from the Brazos County district attorney’s office regarding Thomas Gongora Jr. On November 5, 2024, Judge John Brick sentenced Thomas Gongora, Jr., to eight years in prison for violating his probation for Possession with Intent to Deliver cocaine. The defendant was placed on probation on May 22, 2023. Gongora’s charges stem from a traffic stop on June 29, 2022, by the College Station Police De-partment. In that incident, an officer with the College Station Police Department witnessed Thomas Gongora Jr. perform a drug ex-change in a gas station parking lot. The officer subsequently stopped Gongora’s vehicle for a traffic violation, requested a K-9 unit and, after a positive indication, searched the vehicle. Officers located cocaine and methamphetamine in a backpack that Gongora admitted to owning. At the probation revocation hearing on November 5, 2024, the court heard evidence that Gongora had violated multiple conditions of probation, that he never submitted to a drug test, performed community service, or completed a drug education course. The court also heard evidence that Mr. Gongora had been placed on community supervision in prior cases, and had violated his conditions then as well. Statement from assistant district attorney Mark Stahman: “The defendant repeatedly failed to follow our courts’ instructions and repay our community for the damage he caused. This sentence reminds our probationers that their efforts to give back to our community are meaningful.”
Bryan Broadcasting Corporation