Kevin O’Connor Kommentary January 5

Bryan ISD School Board Takes Up Two Safety And Security Items

Monday night’s (July 15) Bryan ISD school board meeting included two items involving safety and security. Behind closed doors, board members discussed what the agenda described as the “deployment of critical infrastructure and security devices”. No action followed the executive session. And the board approved the annual agreement with the city of Bryan for school resource officers at BISD junior high and high schools and the district’s alternative school. Security director Rich Himmel said there will continue to be ten officers and one sergeant. The board without comment, unanimously approved the $1 million dollar interlocal agreement. The cost represented an increase of less than one percent. Security at other BISD campuses is provided by a private company. Click HERE to read and download the BISD-city of Bryan school resource officer interlocal agreement that was approved at the July 15, 2024 BISD board meeting. Click below to hear comments from Rich Himmel at the July 15, 2024 BISD board meeting.  

City Of Bryan Announces A New Chief Financial Officer

A recent e-mail from the city of Bryan contained announcements that included the naming of new chief financial officer (CFO). The announcement came after the Bryan city council’s July 9th workshop meeting, when someone named “Katherine” was asked several times during budget presentations if the numbers were all right. Click below to hear references to “Katherine” from mayor Bobby Gutierrez during the council’s July 9, 2024 workshop meeting.   The city of Bryan’s new CFO, Katherine Tapscott, started July 1st after serving in a similar position in Tomball. The city’s e-mail stated her predecessor, Will Smith, accepted a financial advisor position outside of Bryan. But Smith also participated in one of the budget presentations. City of Bryan announcement: On July 1, Katherine Tapscott joined the City of Bryan and Bryan Texas Utilities as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The transition comes as former CFO, Will Smith, accepted a financial advisor position outside of the city. Katherine, a Certified Public Accountant, holds a Master of Accounting and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting (Summa Cum Laude) from Texas State University. She came from the City of Tomball where she served as the Finance Director, and prior to that she served the same role for the City of West University Place. Katherine’s local government experience is complemented by a utilities finance background having worked at New Braunfels Utilities, Pedernales Electric Cooperative Inc., and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. (ERCOT).

College Station Police Arrests After A Stranger Enters Two Apartments In The Middle Of The Night And After Someone Arrested For DWI Was Driving A Roommate’s Car Without Permission

A College Station man tells police he went into two apartments at different complexes at 3:55 and 4:50 Monday morning (July 15) in order to take a shower. That led to the College Station police arrest of 29 year old Edgar Garza of College Station on two counts of criminal trespassing. At the time of his latest arrest, Garza was out on bond awaiting trial on misdemeanor charges of falsifying a drug test and indecent exposure that took place on separate days in May. Garza remains jailed as of July 17 in lieu of bonds on the new charges totaling $6,000 dollars. A College Station police arrest report says a woman arrested for DWI on May 22nd was driving her roommate’s car without his permission. That led to a return to jail of the driver on charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and criminal trespass of a vehicle. The victim, who had been out of town from May 12th through May 23rd, learned someone took his car out of the garage after finding a receipt from the towing company associated with the DWI arrest and a fishing license belonging to the roommate inside the car. 24 year old Hailey Janson is out of jail after posting bonds totaling $12,000 dollars on the new charges.