A Wharton County grand jury has indicted a 29-year-old East Bernard woman in connection with a deadly drunk driving crash. Courtney Michelle Smith is charged with intoxication manslaughter and manslaughter in the October ’25 death of 25-year-old Citlali Perez Hernandez. Investigators say Hernandez was walking along Dill Street near College when Smith’s Toyota Camry hit … Read more
Shoppers across Wharton County helped boost local budgets with stronger sales tax rebates this month. Money returned from November shopping shows El Campo, Wharton, and most nearby towns saw increases, while East Bernard was the only community reporting a drop. Wharton County led the region with nearly a 14 percent jump in rebates from last January. Wharton’s … Read more
Matagorda Bay oyster reefs are closed again after Texas Parks and Wildlife found too few legal-sized oysters in recent surveys. The shutdown, which began last week, affects the TX-19 harvest zone and sidelines both local watermen and weekend pickers. Only 11 of Texas’s 34 public reefs now remain open. Officials say back-to-back storms, heavy freshwater … Read more
City crews in Palacios have fixed a broken water main at Tenth and Humphrey Avenue, but a boil water notice is still in effect for the entire town. The state says bacteria could’ve gotten into the lines when system pressure dropped overnight. Until further notice, everyone should boil tap water for two full minutes before … Read more
A Hallettsville man will spend 80 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of major drug charges, according to the Lavaca County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators said 44-year-old Duncan Todd Davis was arrested in February of ’25 when a regional drug task force raided his home, finding cocaine, meth, marijuana, cash, and a gun. … Read more
East Bernard celebrated its student athletes recently with the school’s first-ever Fall Athletic Awards Ceremony at Riverside Hall. The event honored standout performances across football, volleyball, and cross country. Senior Daniel Breitenwisher, Justin Kurtz, Lauryn Locke, and sophomore Samantha Fryer earned the Fighting Heart Awards in cross country. Football honors went to seniors Ty Grigar … Read more
Police say a recent high-speed chase in El Campo helped crack a major mail theft case now under federal investigation. Officers tried to stop a car for broken tail lights, but the driver sped off, hitting more than 70 miles an hour through city streets before being caught on Avenue I. Inside, police found meth, … Read more
Wharton High School is celebrating strong performances in the pool after the Tigers swim team made waves at the District 12-4A meet in El Campo. Two standout swimmers, Xyrus Zarate and Aron Santes, punched their tickets to the regional competition set for this weekend at Lamar High School. Zarate took second in the 200-yard freestyle … Read more
Victoria County officials are back to the drawing board after their top choice to replace Elections Administrator Margetta Hill turned down the job. Hill, who has led the county’s elections office for years, was expected to retire next month. But with the March primary just weeks away, Hill says she’s willing to stay on through … Read more
Power crews were busy across the Crossroads Monday as scattered outages hit parts of Port Lavaca and Bay City. Nearly 2,300 customers in Port Lavaca lost power, mainly around Virginia Street, Lynn Bayou, and stretches near U.S. 35. Bay City also saw close to 2,000 customers in the dark earlier, but restoration crews quickly reduced … Read more