Local Reaction To State Government Leaders Proposal To Further Cap Local Property Taxes

A Former Texas A&M Veterinary College Professor Is Found Guilty Of Livestock Cruelty

A Brazos County district court jury takes 63 minutes to find a former Texas A&M veterinarian and professor guilty of livestock cruelty. 47 year old Ashlee Watts faces punishment on the felony crime from probation to two years in a state jail. A sentencing hearing has been set for December 6. Watts was convicted of what the indictment says is intentionally and knowingly torturing a horse through the excessive use of an electrical device. Watts was treating the horse at the A&M vet hospital in December of 2019. A statement from the dean of the vet college said in part that the incident involving Watts does not in any way represent the care that is given to the nearly 27,000 animals who visits A&M’s small and large animal teaching hospitals each year. The statement from dean John August also said the case “has been deeply troubling for clinicians, students, support staff, and leadership, not just at the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences but for the public and, particularly, the equine community as well.” Statement from the dean of Texas A&M’s college of veterinary medicine and biological sciences John August, provided by the university: This case involving a former faculty member has been deeply troubling for clinicians, students, support staff, and leadership, not just at the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences but for the public and, particularly, the equine community as well. We firmly believe that the incident is not in any way representative of the care we strive to provide to the nearly 27,000 animals that visit our Small and Large Animal Teaching hospitals each year. Our administrative actions throughout this process have been guided by Texas A&M human resources policies and procedures — as well as the decisions by the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners and the criminal investigations related to the incident. We have outstanding faculty throughout the entire VMBS — not just in the teaching hospitals — who represent Texas A&M and our profession extremely well. Our faculty are well-regarded not only at Texas A&M but at other veterinary colleges around the world and within the profession itself. They are regularly recognized for their exemplary teaching, research, and patient care at university, state, national and international levels.

Brazos County Commission Discussion And Action Involving A County Road East Of Kurten

This week’s Brazos County commission meeting (October 1) included two sets of comments about what is currently an unpaved county road where there are future plans for paving. The status of Democrat Road east of Kurten was first brought up by a former precinct two commissioner who lives on that road. Russ Ford said he and his neighbors have had to ask to grade the unpaved road, which has been used as a detour around bridge repairs on Oak Lake Road. Later in the meeting, current precinct two commissioner Chuck Konderla brought up future improvements along Democrat Road as part of his motion to move a Frontier Communications utility line. Konderla pointed out utility lines are being moved as the result of commission action during the summer to acquire the additional right of way to widen and pave the road. The bridge repairs on Oak Lake Road are supposed to take three months to complete, weather permitting. Click below to hear comments from Russ Ford and Chuck Konderla during the October 1, 2024 Brazos County commission meeting.  

Bryan Police Arrest A Fugitive Wanted Since August Of 2023

A Bryan man who eluded Bryan police in August of 2023 is now in jail. Online court records show a Brazos County grand jury indicted 23 year old Jorge Aguina Jr. in March 2024 for aggravated kidnapping involving sexual abuse, assaulting a pregnant woman, and evading arrest. The BPD arrest report says Aguina got away twice during high speed pursuits…the first time at speeds over 80 miles per hour and the second time where speeds exceeded 115 miles per hour. As of October 3rd, Aguina is held in lieu of bonds totaling 200 thousand dollars.