Four years in the making, Madisonville High School has a presence in space.
Astronomy teacher Denise Rothrock says an asteroid discovered by students in 2008 between Mars and Jupiter is officially named Madisonville High.
Rothrock says what is normally a ten year process to approve a name took four years.
Rothrock says they are waiting for confirmation of naming eight more asteroids.
Denise Rothrock visits with WTAW’s Bill Oliver.
The Grimes County man charged in a mass shooting at a Bryan manufacturing plant in April 2021 is declared mentally competent to stand trial. Brazos County district attorney Jarvis Parsons tells WTAW News the trial judge made the ruling last Friday (February 21). 31 year old Larry Bollin of Iola was sent to a maximum security state hospital in November 2023 after he was declared mentally incompetent. The judge’s latest ruling followed an extended hospital stay by Bollin. Online court records show a jury trial date has been scheduled for this July. Bollin was indicted on Brazos County charges of murder, attempted capital murder of multiple people, and five counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
A divided Brazos County commission approves moving ahead with soliciting proposals from companies interested in doing an employee compensation and benefits study. The three to two vote was followed by comments from all five members of the commissioners court and several staff members. Human resources director Jennifer Salazar said the study would involve more than pay and benefits. It would include reviewing job classifications and other HR items. Commissioners Chuck Konderla and Wanda Watson supported the county moving away from pay raises based on longevity to raises based on performance. County judge Duane Peters reminded members that elected officials have authority to determine raises of their employees. Newly elected commissioners Fred Brown and Bentley Nettles voted against the study in part because of raises approved in recent years by past commissions to make those positions more competitive. Click below to hear comments from the February 4, 2025 Brazos County commission meeting. Listen to “Brazos County commission discussion about doing a pay study follows a 3-2 vote to solicit proposals” on Spreaker.
Construction starts soon on another roundabout in College Station. That’s after the city council awards a contract for a roundabout at Jones-Butler and Holleman. Prior to the unanimous vote, was discussion about the city practice of adding a contingency fee and the nearly $600,000 dollar difference between the lowest and highest of five bids. Capital projects director Jennifer Cain explained having the financial cushion that a contingency fee provides. She also said she was not concerned about the difference in the bids because of who submitted proposals. The council awarded the contract to the lowest of five bidders, which was over $741,000 thousand dollars. The council also approved staff’s recommendation to add a contingency of $74,000 dollars. The total amount the council approved, almost $816,000 dollars, leaves $152,000 in the project budget. Click HERE to read and download background information and the contract that was approved at the February 13, 2025 College Station city council meeting. Click below to hear comments from the February 13, 2025 College Station city council meeting.
Bryan Broadcasting Corporation