Maggie Gray from United Way of the Brazos Valley visits with WTAW’s Chelsea Reber about the increase in 211 calls for food assistance, resources available during the government shutdown, Thanksgiving meals, and more during this week’s UWBV update on WTAW.
Listen to “United Way of the Brazos Valley Update on WTAW” on Spreaker.
The Texas A&M campus Rabbi and the CEO of the Rohr Jewish Center is on his way to Australia, where his son was among the casualties in a terrorist attack at a Hanukkah celebration. Yossi Lazaroff posted on social media Sunday morning (December 14) “Please say Psalms 20 & 21 for my son, Rabbi Leibel Lazaroff, יהודה לייב בן מאניא who was shot in a terrorist attack at a Chanukah event he was running for Chabad of Bondi in Sydney, Australia. The Chabad Rabbi he was working with Rabbi Eli Schlanger HY”D was killed. Praying for all the victims and their families.” Sunday night he posted “As I travel to Australia, to be with my son who is in the ICU, following the terrorist attack on the Jewish community in Sydney, I had a layover in San Francisco, I needed a place to light my Menorah for Chanukah. Not an easy feat. As I prepare to light, Vital comes over and joins me proudly. A proud elderly Sephardic Jew, originally from Spain before his family was expelled for being Jewish. Lived in Israel for many years and served in the IDF protecting our Holy land. מי כעמך ישראל (translation: Who performed miracles for our ancestors in those days, at this time.) #sharethelights” Monday morning (December 15) he posted “Sitting on a very long plane ride to Australia from Texas, while still grappling with the lives lost & communicating with the hospital as my son Leibel goes into multiple surgeries for his life threatening injuries. Leibel was spreading light, helping a community thrive, volunteering his year to bring joy to others. While doing so, a father & son duo, filled with an ideology of Jewish hatred, hunted him & his fellow Jews down. This is about good vs evil, light vs darkness, up-standers vs bystanders. It’s your choice to make. Who are you?” Monday afternoon, Texas A&M interim president Tommy Williams posted the following message on the president’s office Facebook page: “”I am deeply saddened by the horrific violence in Sydney and join the university community in praying for the son of our own Rabbi Yossi and Manya Lazaroff, Rabbi Leiber Lazaroff, and all the victims and their families. Texas A&M remains committed to supporting our Aggie community during this difficult time and we are making resources available to our students, faculty and staff who may be affected by this tragedy.” – Tommy Williams ’78, Interim President”
A College Station police officer seeing a car exiting the mall Friday night (December 12) without signaling then saw a gun being thrown out of the car. The car did not stop until it was in another parking lot. With the assistance of more CSPD officers and the Bryan police department’s SWAT team, two 18 year olds and a 19 year old were arrested. CSPD’s arrest reports say the gun that was thrown out and a second gun that was found nearby were both illegally modified to become automatic weapons. An 18 year old passenger, Dutaveon Rogers of College Station, was charged with possessing prohibited weapons and evidence tampering. As of December 15, Rogers remains jailed in lieu of bonds totaling $70,000 dollars. Jail records show this is the fourth time he has been booked since February 19th. And court records show Rogers is awaiting three trials, one for felony possession of a prohibited weapon and misdemeanor charges of escape and unlawful carrying of a weapon. The driver, 19 year old Brandon Deon Turner Jr. of Bryan, is out of jail after posting bonds totaling $4,000 dollars on charges of fleeing an officer and interfering with public duties. A second passenger, 18 year old Ladarious Johnson of Bryan, is out of jail after posting a $2,000 dollar bond on a misdemeanor charge of possessing marijuana.
In November 2022, a Huntsville man appearing in Brazos County district court was placed on probation as part of a plea agreement after admitting to felony family violence assault with prior convictions that took place five years ago. Last week (December 9), 31 year old Michael LeBlanc returned to court to enter a second plea agreement where he was sentenced to four years in prison after violating probation and violating conditions of his bond. A Brazos County district court jury last week (December 10) found a 52 year old Bryan man guilty of unlawful possession by a gun by a felon that took place in 2018. But the jury could not decide punishment for Sedrick Auston. Another punishment trial will be held at a date to be set. Another Brazos County district court jury last week (December 9) gave the maximum punishment to a Bryan man who stabbed a convenience store clerk. 30 year old Jonathan Doyel was found guilty of stabbing the clerk after the clerk refused to sell a case of beer. News release from the Brazos County district attorney’s office about the trial of Jonathan Doyel: Jonathan Doyel, 30, was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by a Brazos County jury on December 9, 2025. Following the conviction, the jury sentenced Doyel to 20 years in prison, the maximum possible sentence. On January 21, 2024, Doyel entered a local convenience store on Old College Road in Bryan, Texas and attempted to purchase a case of beer. The store clerk—the victim of the crime—refused service to Doyel because of his history of unruly behavior at the location. Angered, Doyel left the store and slashed the victim’s car tire with a knife. Later that evening, the victim began to change his tire in the store’s parking lot. While the victim was kneeling next to his tire, the Defendant attacked from behind with a steak knife and stabbed the victim in the left side of his back. The victim’s lung was punctured. The victim turned and struggled with the defendant, who was still wielding the knife. The jury learned that the victim defended himself and was able to subdue the Defendant by laying on top of him after the struggle. Bystanders responded to the victim’s calls for help and dialed 911. Bryan police officers arrived along with paramedics from the Bryan Fire Department. Police collected video surveillance of the assault and arrested the defendant on scene. The victim was transported by ambulance to a local hospital where emergency department doctors and nurses worked to stabilize the victim and provided medical treatment for his life-threatening injuries. During the punishment phase of trial, the jury heard evidence that the defendant’s criminal history includes two convictions for driving while intoxicated as well as a prior conviction for assault causing bodily injury. We would like the thank the Bryan Police Department, the Bryan Fire Department, all doctors and nurses that cared for the victim. Statement from assistant Brazos County district attorneys Kevin Capps and Caleb Beacham: “This was a senseless and terrifying act of life threatening violence against an innocent victim who had to fight to save his own life. We thank the jury for protecting our community from this defendant to the maximum degree permitted by our law.”
Bryan Broadcasting Corporation