Kevin O’Connor Kommentary August 28

Texas A&M’s President Addresses The Faculty Senate

September’s meeting of the Texas A&M faculty senate included an appearance from president Mark Welsh. The 50 minute session opened with Welsh providing updates on committee work and upcoming initiatives that includes A&M’s Vision 2040 plan, engaging new employees and students in what he called “Reembracing the Spirit of Aggieland”, and launching a new student leadership program where students could get academic credit. Welsh then answered faculty questions on topics ranging from paying student athletes to the university continuing to study employee pay, academic freedom, and transportation issues between the main campus, the west campus, and the health science center. Click below to hear some of the comments from Mark Welsh during the September 9, 2024 Texas A&M faculty senate meeting. Listen to “Texas A&M's president addresses the faculty senate September 9, 2024” on Spreaker.

Announcements Involving Brazos County Emergency Management, College Station Fire Department, And Bryan Fire Department

Brazos County has a new emergency management coordinator. Shannon Covey moved here from Arizona, where she spent more than 20 years in various emergency management positions in the public and private sector. Covey takes over for Michele Bailey-Meade, who retired after nine years as emergency coordinator as part of 40 years in various public safety positions in Brazos County. The College Station fire department receives more federal money to hire more employees. The nearly $4 million dollar grant will pay for 12 firefighters for the first three years of the city’s seventh fire station. Construction is scheduled to begin early next year on Greens Prairie Road between Wyndham Ranch Road and Sweetwater Drive. Two years ago, CSFD received almost $2 million dollars to hire seven firefighters. And the same grant program paid for six new positions in 2018. The president of the Bryan firefighters union has been appointed to the Texas commission on fire protection. A news release from the governor’s office says the commission develops and enforces fire service standards and provides education and assistance to the industry. Daniel Buford, who lives in Montgomery, is a BFD lieutenant. He was appointed to serve on the fire commission through February of 2029. News release from Brazos County about the hiring of a new emergency management coordinator: Brazos County Judge Duane Peters is happy to announce Shannon Covey (KOH-vee) has started her new position as the Brazos County Emergency Management Coordinator. Shannon has worked in emergency management for 20-plus years, most recently as an Emergency Management Coordinator for Valleywise Health in Phoenix, Arizona. Before working at Valleywise Health, Shannon was employed by the Arizona Department of Emergency & Military Affairs as an Emergency Services Program Coordinator working with both the private and non-profit sector to assist communities in the recovery process following disasters. “I am passionate about training and equipping individuals with the knowledge and tools to prepare, mitigate, respond and recover from inevitable disasters,” she says. Shannon has a master’s degree in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Leadership, and is a certified Community Emergency Response Team (C.E.R.T.) professional. She and her husband of 24 years have two children, and are looking forward to embracing the Texas culture and way of life here in Brazos County. News release from the city of College Station about the federal grant hiring 12 firefighters: The College Station Fire Department has been awarded a $3.87 million federal grant under the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program to fully fund 12 firefighters for three years at the new Fire Station No.7. The City Council will officially accept the grant award at its Sept. 26 meeting Thursday night. The grant award is the largest federal grant ever received by the CSFD. Construction on the new station at 2981 Greens Prairie Road will begin in early 2025 and is expected to be completed by the fall of 2026. Voters approved the project as part of the 2022 bond election. “We are excited to be awarded the SAFER grant as a mechanism to begin to build the staffing of the department as we move toward adding Station 7,” CSFD Fire Chief Richard Mann said. “The SAFER program allows us a critical transition period to use federal funding to meet the fire service staffing needs.” CSFD plans to begin recruiting this fall and hiring firefighters in the spring to meet the grant requirements. Applications will be considered for fully, partially, and non-certified candidates. The grant will fully fund the firefighters’ salaries and benefits through the three-year grant performance period as the first phase of staffing requirements. News release from the governor’s office about a Bryan firefighter’s appointment to the state commission on fire protection: Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Daniel Buford to the Texas Commission on Fire Protection for a term set to expire on February 1, 2029. The Commission develops and enforces statewide fire service standards and provides education and assistance to the industry. Daniel Buford of Montgomery is a lieutenant of the Bryan Fire Department and previously served as a lieutenant for the Northeast Volunteer Fire Department. He is president of the Bryan Fire Fighters Association and district service representative of the International Association of Fire Fighters. Additionally, he is a member of the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters and former vice president of the Village Professional Fire Fighters Association. Buford received an Associate of Applied Science in Fire Science from Lonestar Community College.

One Arrest On Check Forgery Charges And A Juvenile Detention Detainee Moves To The Adult Jail Following Assault Charges

A Bryan woman is out of jail after posting bond following her arrest last Friday (September 13) for cashing a forged check for $8,000 dollars. Arrest reports from Bryan police say 42 year old Lisa Martinez got the money after impersonating a customer at a College Station bank. 40 minutes later, Martinez was at a Bryan branch of the same bank trying to cash a $6,290 dollar check. An employee who knew what happened in College Station called 9-1-1. Martinez was still at the Bryan bank when officers arrived. She is also charged with trying to run away, resisting arrest, possessing a third forged check for $5,160 dollars, and having a stolen drivers license and a stolen credit card. Martinez was released after posting bonds totaling $23,000 dollars. A 17 year old from Hearne who was held in the Brazos County juvenile detention center is now in the adult jail. Arrest reports from the Brazos County sheriff’s office say Semaj Seals is accused of hitting another young man held in juvenile detention. The victim, who fell to the floor and became unconscious, was taken to a local hospital. Seals is also charged with assaulting a juvenile detention officer. He is also being held on an undisclosed charge from a Brazos County district court and for state juvenile detention officials on an undisclosed charge. Bonds on the assault charges totals $12,000 dollars.