News Staff Wharton County has lifted its outdoor burning ban, but don’t start any fires just yet, especially if you’re in El Campo or Wharton city limits. Recent heavy rains moved the area out of wildfire danger on the Keetch-Byram Drought Index. Be cautious; the grass isn’t fully recovered. Rural residents should use screened barrels for burning … Read more
The Matagorda Regional Medical Center Foundation is hosting “PULSE…A Bavarian Experience” — an Oktoberfest-themed fundraiser to upgrade the Cardiac Patient Monitoring System at the medical center. Join the fun on October 7th at 6 p.m. in the outdoor Biergarten with Shiner Bock and more. Enjoy a Stein Hoist competition, live polka music, German cuisine, and … Read more
A former Tenaris employee, Eddie Richardson, won a landmark judgment of over $1 million last Thursday in a religious discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination lawsuit. The award includes $11 thousand in back pay, $425 grand in compensatory damages, and $750 thousand in exemplary damages. According to Richardson’s lead counsel this is one of the biggest … Read more
El Campo City Council approved $450 thousand dollars for vital road and excavation equipment for Public Works. A new $387 thousand dollar Caterpillar will replace an aging Gradall. They’ll finance it through First Financial Bank at 5%. Councilman Ward questioned alternate funding sources. They chose Caterpillar over Gradall XL3300. They also approved almost 65 thousand … Read more
The mother of one of the El Campo men accused of stealing sacred items from St. Robert’s Catholic Church was arrested on Monday. Sandra Rivera Hedges, 61, was charged with tampering with evidence. She’s the mother of Thomas James Graham, who was arrested earlier for theft and tampering. Hedges took stolen items from her son’s … Read more
Early Sunday morning, a submerged vehicle was pulled out of a retention pond in Fort Bend County. Around 6:26 a.m. in the 13400 block of US 59, the Northeast Fort Bend County Fire Department responded. They dispatched the Northeast Dive & Rescue team to Sugar Land to retrieve the submerged vehicle. Fortunately, the driver had … Read more
On Monday at approximately 3:35 a.m., a Victoria Police Department officer spotted a Ford Fusion speeding north on Main Street. They pulled the car over in the 4300 block of Main Street and made a discovery – marijuana and a firearm inside the vehicle. The driver, Robert Garza, a 19-year-old from Cuero, was charged with … Read more
A heated disagreement between parents at a youth football game in Fort Bend County turned violent at Harlem Road park, resulting in gunfire. Two people were hurt, an adult grazed by a bullet and a teenager physically assaulted. The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office and the Fort Bend Youth Football League are investigating. In the … Read more
The Texas Department of Public Safety issued a clear alert for a missing man named Gerald Blystone from Wharton. He was last seen on Sunday morning at 1405 Valhalla Drive in Wharton, around 11 a.m. Blystone is a 58-year-old white male, 5’6″ tall, 165 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a … Read more
Wharton residents spoke out at a recent City Council meeting about the proposed I-69 overpass near Wharton Airport. Of the six public comments, five focused on this issue. One citizen urged the council to prioritize it in the upcoming meetings with TxDOT, emphasizing the impact on the community and emergency services. The proposed overpass would … Read more