A man with a history of family violence is appealing his 25-year prison sentence for attacking a child in Wharton County. Adam Dave Abelar, 45, argues that two witnesses should not have been allowed to testify during his trial. These witnesses included a police officer who relayed the child’s statement and a crisis center representative … Read more
Marley Jane, a local Girl Scout, has created a Little Free Library on Matagorda School grounds, making books more accessible to the community after the closure of the public library. This initiative was part of Marley’s “Take Action!” project, where she identified the need for a library after the school’s library closed for safety reasons. … Read more
A major solar project is now powering up in East Bernard. The Bernard Creek Solar Farm spans 1,620 acres and features nearly 570,000 panels generating 230 megawatts of energy. County leaders, local fire departments, and Houston-based owner ENGIE celebrated the launch. ENGIE donated $15,000 to the Hungerford and East Bernard fire departments, which fought brush … Read more
Bay City Police are teaming up with Brazoria County Crime Stoppers to crack four unsolved murder cases, all local and deeply investigated. Tipsters can stay anonymous and earn up to $5,000 if their info leads to an arrest. The victims—David Zepeda, Lawyer Fields III, Brock Battle, and Desmond Murphy—all died from gun violence in Bay … Read more
Bay City residents will vote in the General and Special Election tomorrow from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Bay City Service Center and Matagorda County Navigation District office in Palacios. The ballot includes uncontested mayor and council races, with only one competitive race for Position 4 between Cory McCray and Susan M. Reardon. … Read more
Floyd Ciruti’s legacy at Wharton High School will live on with the renaming of Tiger Field in his honor. The school board approved the change on April 17th, marking over 30 years of Ciruti’s leadership, which included 547 wins and 26 playoff appearances. A former player for Sam Houston State, Ciruti led the Tigers to … Read more
Jackson County high schoolers got a hands-on civics lesson in April during National County Government Month. Students from Edna, Industrial, and Ganado visited the courthouse to see local justice in action. Some watched a real trial, others ran a mock trial with county officials guiding them. They toured county offices and the jail, learning how … Read more
Wharton County commissioners voted Monday to move forward with plans for a joint public defenders office with Matagorda County. The county applied for a state grant that would fully cover start-up costs in year one. Wharton spent $750,000 thousand dollars last year on indigent defense, much of it tied to costly murder trials. Senator Joan … Read more
The Bay City Council recently approved a $5.5 million contract to upgrade two critical water treatment plants. The funds, part of a $12 million grant from the Texas Water Development Board, will tackle long-standing issues like arsenic levels at the 6th and I Plant and electrical upgrades at the Mockingbird Plant. The project is expected … Read more
A neighborhood argument in El Campo turned violent Sunday afternoon on Lundy Street. Around 4:30 p.m., police say 29-year-old Thomas Abisai Contreras shot a man in the arm during a dispute. EMS treated the victim at the scene before transporting him to Memorial Hermann in Houston. The injury was not life-threatening. Contreras, who lives next … Read more