College Station City Council Accepts A State Grant To Form A New Mental Health Unit

Texas A&M’s President Messages About Communication, Upcoming Retirements, And Ongoing Searches To Fill Leadership Positions

Texas A&M president Mark Welsh publishes online messages the Thursday and Friday before Christmas. Welsh’s message on Thursday (December 19) where subjects included efforts to improve communication, announcing retirements of two longtime leaders, and providing the status of ongoing searches to fill leadership vacancies. The subject of improving communication was the only subject initiated by the president during a visit at the December A&M faculty senate meeting. Welsh said the “university’s greatest shortfall as an organization, is communication.” He asked faculty members to assist him in that area. One of the upcoming retirements announced by the president was the vice president of research Jack Baldauf, who is finishing more than 40 years at A&M on February 28, 2025. Welsh also said R.C. Slocum’s last day will be January 2nd, which is the 53rd anniversary of the first day as an assistant football coach for Emory Bellard. Slocum would spend 30 years with the Aggie football coach, including 14 years as head coach. Slocum would later serve two stints as interim athletic director and would serve Welsh and others as a special assistant to the president. Welsh said his search committee to help select a new Corps of Cadets commandant has finished its first round of interviews. Three or four finalists will be invited to the campus in late January for interviews and open forums with members of the university community. As previously reported, a search committee has been named to help select a new vice president of student affairs and the interim VPSA is associate vice president Tom Reber. Searches will begin soon for vice president of human resources and the chief operating officer of A&M’s operation in Washington D.C. And searches are underway for the next dean of A&M’s college of veterinary medicine and pharmacy college. On Friday (December 20), Welsh posted a video where he and his wife Betty wished everyone happy holidays. Click below to hear Mark Welsh’s comments about communication during the December 9, 2024 Texas A&M faculty senate meeting. Listen to “Texas A&M president Mark Welsh publishes online messages the Thursday and Friday before Christmas” on Spreaker. Screen shots from Mark Welsh’s letter published December 19, 2024:

Cleanup Resumes Following Flooding At College Station ISD’s Pebble Creek Elementary

The start of Christmas break in College Station ISD meant the resumption of cleaning and assessing damage at Pebble Creek elementary school following flooding earlier this month. CSISD assistant superintendent Josh Symank provided an update during December’s school board meeting. Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the December 17, 2024 CSISD board meeting. Board members were told administrators have been meeting with insurance adjusters and the two days that classes were cancelled will not have to be made up. Symank said there was a hole the size of his fist in an underground water line that feeds the building’s fire sprinkler system. The hole was in a place where the city of College Station had to turn off a valve. Symank thanked all CSISD employees for their assistance. That included a shoutout to affected Pebble Creek teachers for preparing their rooms the day before classes resumed. Symank said water damage closed the library and it hit hard the music room. The kindergarten and first grade wings escaped and there was little damage to second grade rooms. During the Christmas break, there will be a two foot cut and replacement of sheet rock in affected areas, base moulding will be reinstalled, affected flooring will be replaced, and there will be additional air and moisture testing. After Symank’s update, the board ratified agreements that were approved by administrators that allowed the cleanup to start immediately. The approvals included $250,000 dollars associated with the cleanup and $95,000 for the repair of the fire alarm system. Yet to be determined, is the cost of repairs. Click HERE to read and download a memo associated with an emergency resolution for Pebble Creek. Click HERE to read and download the emergency resolution approved by the CSISD board. Click HERE to read and download a memo associated with fire alarm system repairs at Pebble Creek. Click HERE to read and download the list of services associated with the cleanup at Pebble Creek. Click below to hear comments from Josh Symank during the December 17, 2024 CSISD board workshop meeting.  

Prison For A College Station Woman Who Admitted To Drunk Driving With Two Prior Convictions

A College Station woman who pleaded guilty to DWI with two prior convictions chose to argue her punishment before a judge. A Brazos County district judge imposes a six year prison sentence to 37 year old Sabrina Perez, whose blood alcohol level nearly five hours after a crash in December 2023 was more than two and a half times the legal limit at .214. A spokesman at the district attorney’s office says punishment for the DWI was enhanced by Perez previously serving a two year sentence for credit or debit card abuse against the elderly. Online court and jail records show two women from College Station named Sabrina Perez who are dealing with DWI cases. The other woman, who is 29 years old, is awaiting a trial after she was arrested for misdemeanor DWI in May 2024. Jail records show both women were arrested by College Station police. News release from the Brazos County district attorney’s office: On Wednesday, December 18th, 2024, Judge David Hilburn of the 361st District Court sentenced Sabrina Perez to 6 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for the offense of Driving While Intoxicated 3rd or More. In December of 2023 officers with the College Station Police Department responding to a three vehicle crash in the 2400 block of Texas Avenue in College Station. Fortunately there were no injuries, but prior to officers arriving the driver of the vehicle that caused the crash told the other drivers that this would be her third DWI. When officers approached Perez the saw distinct signs of intoxication including the odor of alcohol, red and glassy eyes, slurred speech, and stumbling and losing her balance. Perez told officers she had only had two beers after work and was on her way home. Officers attempted to perform a Standard Field Sobriety Test, but were unable to complete the test due to the level of intoxication. Perez was asked to consent to a breath or blood draw and she refused. A search warrant was obtained to do a blood draw of the defendant at Saint Joseph’s hospital. The results that blood draw showed that Perez’s blood alcohol content was a 0.214 nearly five hours after she caused the crash. Perez previously pled guilty for the offense of Credit/Debit Card Abuse from the Elderly and was placed on probation. During her time on probation she was sent to an inpatient treatment facility to address any sub-stance abuse dependency. Perez completed the outpatient program but later violated her probation, which was revoked and she was sentenced to 2 years in the TDCJ This prior prison trip enhanced the 3rd degree felony to a 2nd degree felony. Perez pled guilty to offense of Driving While Intoxicated 3rd or More in October of 2024 and a punishment hearing was scheduled for December. Judge Hilburn heard evidence from one of the responding officers and one of the individuals involved in the crash. He then sentenced her 6 years TDCJ. Statement from assistant district attorney Rachel Porter: “The defendant’s actions placed the lives of members in our community in danger. The Court sent a message that this type of behavior isn’t welcome in Brazos County.”