President Trump Signs Disaster Declaration & Governor Abbott Suspends Collecting HOT Taxes After Holding Hurricane News Conference

Bryan ISD School Board Members Get An Update On 2020 Bond Projects

Bryan ISD school board members learn that contracts for building projects and purchases approved by voters in 2020 have come in more than $2 million dollars under budget. Assistant superintendent Kevin Beesaw says renovating the Stephen F. Austin annex came in $2.5 million under budget and the new Sadberry intermediate school, when phase two is completed, is projected to be a little over $1 million under budget. Phase two construction that is underway at Sadberry involves more parking and a play area among other things. Board president Julie Harlin noted the mound of soil that had been next to Sadberry was used to fill the area where the district’s transportation building was demolished. Harlin and Beesaw pointed out the cost savings by recycling the soil instead of purchasing fill dirt for the demolition site. Beesaw says at the new Haliburton auxiliary complex, BISD’s warehouse and food service departments will join transportation and the district’s maintenance and operations departments by the end of the calendar year. Click below to hear some of the comments from the October 7, 2024 Bryan ISD school board meeting.  

College Station Police Arrest A Mother And Boyfriend For Injuring The Mother’s Child

College Station police arrest a mother and her boyfriend on felony charges of injuring the mother’s child. This is after a custodian at a College Station ISD elementary school reports seeing a student with bruises and numerous other markings. That led to an investigation by school administrators, child and protective services, and three CSPD detectives. The mother told a detective according to the CSPD arrest report that she was laughing while saying the child “gets whooping’s with the belt”. The arrest reports say the child was struck by a stun gun, a leather belt, an extension cord, and wooden yard sticks. Those items were found during a search of the family’s apartment. The child had injuries and scars on their legs, back, stomach, and buttocks. The arrest reports do not say who has custody of the student. The mother, 36 year old Chantel Turner, and her boyfriend, 31 year old Andrea Bell, remain in jail as of October 14 in lieu of bonds of $75,000 dollars each.

State Prison Board Meets In Bryan

The Texas board of criminal justice (TBCJ), which oversees the operation of the state’s prison system, met last Friday (October 11) in Bryan. The board unanimously approved an organizational restructure, as laid out by executive director Bryan Collier. Click below to hear Bryan Collier’s organizational restructure of the state prison system administration:   Collier and his chief of staff, Jason Clark, had a presentation on the findings of the Texas sunset review commission. Click HERE to read and download presentation materials related to the sunset review commission’s findings of the state prison system. Click below to hear comments from Bryan Collier and Jason Clark about the sunset review commission’s findings of the state prison system.   The TBCJ board heard the findings of an internal job satisfaction survey of state prison corrections officers, conducted by a third party company hired by the state prison system. Click HERE to read and download presentation materials related to the job satisfaction survey of state corrections officers. Click below to hear comments from the state prison system’s Andy Barbee of the job satisfaction survey of state corrections officers.   The TBCJ board heard the findings of efforts to reduce contraband in state prisons. Click HERE to read and download presentation materials related to efforts to reduce contraband in state prisons. Click below to hear comments and questions asked of TBCJ board members about efforts to reduce contraband in state prisons, and staff responses.   Using virtual meeting software, an inmate at the Hamilton Unit in west Bryan received a standing ovation from the TBCJ board after sharing his experiences with the prison system’s peer support recovery program. Click below to hear comments from inmate Scott Michael Flynn.   The TBCJ board also recognized October’s observance of domestic violence awareness month. That included comments from board member and domestic violence survivor Sydney Zuiker of Houston. Click below to hear comments from TBCJ board member Sydney Zuiker.