News

SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE TAKE UP FIRST BILLS
The two Senate committees that oversee education related bills held their first hearings on legislation this week. The Higher Education Committee considered a bill that would end the mandatory tuition set aside policy, which critics call an unfair hidden tax on students. "College affordability is an issue the legislature must address, but we should not do it for some students on the backs of others that may very well be of the same financial status," said Committee Chair and bill author Kel Seliger of Amarillo.

By Chris Lundstrom
Publisher/Editor
Edna City Council members are frustrated with Republic Services. The trash removal company contracted by the city has come under fire numerous times since they were hired in 2013, mostly for not picking up brush in a timely fashion.
The most recent issue is a concern over a $23,169 bill from the county for grinding collected brush which was discussed at the Feb. 16 council meeting.
According to Mike Reeves, municipal services manager for Republic Services, Ken Knight, the previous city manager, verbally agreed to allow Republic Services to take the brush debris to the transfer station which would allow for more pickups because it would be a lesser distance than to another composting site.

The Jackson County Wildlife Management Association will hold their post-harvest meeting on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 4 p.m. in the Jackson County Services Building Auditorium.
A post-harvest report will be given from Brent Pierce, Texas Parks and Wildlife Biologist, and another presentation will be given by a guest speaker.
The WMA year begisn on Sept. 1 and runs until Aug. 21. Annual membership dues are $20 per person. Mustang Creek BBQ will serve dinner, and it is included in the membership dues.
The JCWMA began in 1999 and has approximately 200 members. Their goals are to enroll acreage in the county that assists in neighbor relations through educaion concerning all wildlife with an emphasis on white-tailed deer management.
The JCWMA is divided into three groups: Texana, Lavaca River and Sandy Creek Management Associations.

COMMITTEE CONSIDERS CONVENTION CALL
Texas would join eight other states in calling for a new constitutional convention under legislation considered Thursday by the Senate State Affairs Committee. This plan would seek to restrict new amendments to those relating to reining in the authority of the federal government. Author Senator Brian Birdwell of Granbury said that this action may be necessary to return America to the government the Founding Fathers intended. "For years we've watched as the executive, judicial and frankly the legislative branches have usurped more and more power from the states," he said. "It is my firm belief that the only way we will save this republic and federalism as a whole is to go about the process of the states taking control of the federal government that they created."

SENATE COMMITTEE HEARS ABORTION REGULATION BILLS
Three bills aiming to restrict certain practices related to abortions came before a Senate panel on Wednesday. Two deal with the disposition of fetal tissue, and one would add new requirements to a controversial procedure. Health and Human Services Committee Chair Charles Schwertner of Georgetown said it's important the state affirm its commitment to protecting unborn children. "The state has a moral obligation to protect our most vulnerable Texans, a group that I believe must unquestionably include the unborn" he said.

By Jessica Coleman
Staff Writer

Shortly after 3 p.m. on Tuesday, fugitive Gilbert Garza, who was recently placed on the Texas Department of Public Safety’s 10 Most Wanted List, turned himself in to authorities in Travis County.

According to Jackson County Chief Deputy Rick Boone, law enforcement has been tracking him via his cell phone since last week, but the signal fell silent over the weekend.

“He either turned it off or he ran out of minutes,” said Boone,

After the weekend, the phone became active again.

“We tracked him to Austin where we got a good location on him,” said Boone, “The Marshals were able to surround the area. He was at an attorney’s office.”

The attorney with whom Garza was visiting convinced him to turn himself in peacefully.

By Jessica Coleman
Staff Writer
Prosthetic limbs. Service dogs. Military uniforms. The unmistakable rumble of dozens of motorcycles. A mixture of laughter at shared memories and tears over the fresh loss of a young man.

All of these things crowded in and around First Baptist Church in Edna on Feb. 11, as friends, family, and military brothers said goodbye to Jarrett Parker.

Parker’s casket, designed by his good friend and employer Trey Ganem, was carried to Memory Gardens Cemetery by Chopphearse Central Texas who used a motorcycle with a sidecar designed for a casket.

BILL TAKES AIM AT HAILSTORM LAWSUIT ABUSE
A bill filed in the Senate Monday seeks to curb the skyrocketing number of lawsuits filed against insurers for bogus or inflated hailstorm claims. According to a survey by the Texas Department of Insurance, the number of hailstorm-related lawsuits filed against insurance companies has increased fifteen-fold since 2011. This activity has led to insurers decreasing and even declining to insure homes against hailstorms in the areas with the most litigation. The Business and Commerce Committee was directed to study this issue over the interim, and Chair Kelly Hancock announced Monday a bill to combat this trend.

By Jessica Coleman
Staff Writer

Jackson County Justice of the Peace Darren Stancik said a preliminary autopsy report on the body of Jarrett Parker gave only “a cause of death and a manner of death.”

Parker, a 33-year-old Edna resident, died of a gunshot wound to the chest, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide.

In medical terms, “homicide” is the killing of one human being by another, meaning the ruling does not make any assumptions about the details surrouding the case or moments leading up to Parker’s death. It simply means that the death was not the result of an accident or a suicide. Murder, manslaughter, and self defense all fall under the heading “homicide.”

A full, detailed autopsy report may not be available for six weeks, according to Stancik.

The Senate this week passed two bills dealing with issues designated as emergencies by Governor Greg Abbott. Bills strengthening ethics rules for elected officials and outlawing sanctuary cities are now on the way to the House for consideration. Both were highlighted by the Governor in his State of the State address last Tuesday.