Champ Wins OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational

The driver of a car who was pulled over for speeding on the freeway shows a College Station police officer a picture he took showing the speedometer at 112 miles per hour. That’s according to the CSPD arrest report that led to 19 year old Joeseph Alexandre Powell of College Station going to jail for reckless driving. When asked why he was speeding, Powell said had no reason. Powell is out of jail after posting a $2,000 dollar bond. For the second time in three months, an inmate at the Brazos County jail is accused of assaulting an officer. A detention officer was taken to the hospital after he was struck in the head and face 14 times. The sheriff’s office arrest report says 31 year old Darwin Brown of Bryan punched the officer with a closed fist after the officer attempted to separate him from other inmates and employees. Brown is awaiting trial on a felony charge of spitting and striking a detention officer last Thanksgiving. He is also held on Harris County charges of assaulting and interfering with the duties of a public servant. College Station police respond with what an arrest report says is a large presence to College Station High School Friday night. That’s the response to the report of a man threatening to shoot someone in the parking lot during a sports event. That led to the arrest of 28 year old Brandon Hooper of from Kountz, north of Beaumont, for unlawful carrying of a weapon and possessing a dangerous drug. Bonds on those charges totals $10,000 dollars. Hooper is also held on a warrant from Hardin County for violating probation.

Motorists have to deal with construction this week on Highways 6 and 21. The TxDOT Bryan district office says starting Monday (March 3) is the installation of two cable barriers. One is in the center median of Highway six in north Bryan between Highway 21 and FM 2818. The other one is on Highway 21 between 2818 and Pleasant Hill Road. The nearly $1.5 million dollar project is scheduled to be completed this summer. And TxDOT says there may be lane closures, which would take place weekdays between 8:30 and 4:30. A heads up for late night drivers on Highway 6 between OSR and Hearne. TxDOT says a bridge will be closed from Wednesday night (March 5) at ten until Thursday at five a.m. The bridge south of Hearne over the railroad tracks will be closed for maintenance. TxDOT Bryan district office news release regarding installation of new cable barriers on Highway 6 and Highway 21: Beginning March 3, 2025, TxDOT’s contractor is set to begin the installation of a cable barrier in the center median along SH 6 and SH 21. Most work will take place in the center medians with no impact on inside lanes; however, there may be instances where inside lanes on SH 6 and SH 21 will need to be closed. All closures will be restricted from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday. This is a $1.4 million multi-location project in Brazos County to improve safety, with the SH 6 project beginning at FM 2818 to SH 21 and the SH 21 project starting at SH 47 to Pleasant Hill Road. The projects are anticipated to be completed by early summer 2025. Massana Construction Inc. is the contractor. Drivers are encouraged to be aware of the occasional lane closures and allow for extra travel time during construction hours. TxDOT Bryan district office news release regarding Highway 6 closure south of Hearne: Beginning at 10:00 PM Wednesday, March 5, 2025, the US 190/SH 6 overpass at the UPRR south of Hearne will be closed at intervals of up to 30 minutes to perform a bridge lift for bridge maintenance. There will be no designated detour for this road closure. This work will be completed during the night. Traffic will be restored on US 190/SH 6 at 5:00 AM on Thursday, March 6, 2025. This work is part of a $360,000 multi-location project for various bridge repairs in Robertson County. Work began in July 2024 and is anticipated to be completed by March 2025. Drivers should plan for alternate routes during the closure.

Another generation of College Station city council members are educated about the decades old problem of more than four unrelated residents living under the same roof. Takeaways from a two and a half hour discussion at Thursday’s council meeting (February 27) included staff being directed to increase enforcement efforts and investigate options for parking restrictions in affected neighborhoods. Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the city of College Station. Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the group “Occupancy Enforcement Alliance”. A council majority believes some Texas A&M students are violating the Aggie Code of Honor by knowingly violating the ordinance. That was based in part on an affected homeowner telling the council she overheard a group of students and their presumed parents laugh about the overoccupancy ordinance. There was also discussion about proposed state legislation that would do away with most of a city’s power to regulate overoccupancy. Councilwoman Melissa McIlhaney said the staff of the author of Senate Bill 1567 thought cities were entering homes “counting toothbrushes”, while local residents “think we’re not doing enough”. Mayor John Nichols was also interested in prosecuting owners of rental properties who violate the portion of the city’s rental registration agreement that says they will abide by occupancy limits. Click below to hear comments from the February 27, 2025 College Station city council meeting. Listen to “Another new College Station city council discusses rental housing overoccupancy” on Spreaker.