Sealy City Manager Resigns Before Being Placed On Leave

The Sealy News

On Monday, Dec. 14 the special city council meeting saw the resignation of Sealy City Manager Lloyd Merrell. Merrell announced his resignation at the end of his contract in Feb. 2021. The announcement was made right before the council was to go into executive session to discuss his contract. However, upon emerging from executive session the council announced that Merrell would be placed on administrative leave effective immediately and he would be paid out the remainder on his contract. The duties of city manager will now be carried out by Warren Escovy of the city’s planning department.

The Brenham Banner-Press

Two local funeral homes are becoming affiliates of a funeral company headquartered in Houston. Legacy Funeral Group has announced the acquisition of Memorial Oaks Chapel in Brenham and Strickland Funeral Homes in Caldwell and Somerville. The group owns and operates over 140 funeral homes, cemeteries, and crematories in nine states throughout the southwest and the southern United States. Ryan Stephens will serve as the new managing funeral director of Memorial Oaks Chapel from Legacy Funeral Group.

The Gonzales Inquirer

Ligation regarding the estate of J.B. Wells will likely see a trial in Jan., depending on determinations made by Judge Spencer who is hearing the case in Gonzales County. The suit, which began in 2017, alleges that the City of Gonzales had breached the contract of the will of J.B. Wells, which left approximately 300 acres of land to the city to be turned into a park. Suit alleges that the City had breached these terms by building the J.B. Wells Expo and Arena on the property, as well as temporarily leasing some of the property as RV lots and entering into mineral leases on the property. The Seminary’s motion for partial summary judgment was granted as to the point of the city’s use of mineral income “constituting a taking of the Seminary’s property.” This means that the judge has entered judgment regarding this claim as part of their case, where other claims will be determined in trial.

The Smithville Times

Smithville city officials came together on Dec. 7 to turn shovels for the soon-to-be-built home for the Smithville Area Chamber of Commerce, Visitor Center, and Railroad Museum at James H. Long Railroad Park. The new building, which is being paid for and will be owned by the city, will be located on property owned by Union Pacific Railroad for which the city has a long-term lease. The new building’s location at Railroad Park is a few hundred feet east of the chamber’s previous home, which was burned to the ground in March 2019 after a man, according to police, started a fire inside the building which also housed the visitor center and museum. A grand jury indicted Alfred Earl Nealy in October for the fire. It is expected to cost under $200,000 to build, though the exact figure remains uncertain as many people working on the project are donating their time and labor. The building is being paid for by an insurance payout the city received when the chamber’s previous office was burned as well as with $40,000 the chamber and city raised in donations. Construction on the 1,200-1,300 sq. ft. building will likely start in January. It was designed by architectural firm Bernard Jason Merritt Inc. of La Grange.

The Colorado Citizen

Columbus Community Hospital announced plans to construct a state-of-the-art Wellness Center for the community. It will highlight all aspects of wellness, including a teaching kitchen, diabetic classes, and an event room. The Center will also feature a Columbus Community Hospital Community Center. The projected construction startup date is Jan. 2021. The Columbus Physical Therapy Clinic will move from the Columbus Medical Clinic building once the Center construction is completed enabling them to expand their services to accommodate their continued growth.

Lexington Leader

On Dec. 2 officers with the Criminal Investigation Division of the State Comptroller’s Office surrounded a mobile home in Tanglewood located at 11152 US Hwy 77 N. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office assisted. Elwisbel Gomez-Delgado, 33, and Yunaika Aleyda Romero-Marquez, 32, alleged to be Cuban nationals were arrested. Both subjects were charged with two counts of violation of motor fuel tax requirements, two counts of fugitive warrant/violation of motor fuel tax requirement, and fugitive warrant/credit card or debit card abuse.

The Shiner Gazette

After months of reviewing planned site concerns and investigating other site locations, Shiner city leaders voted to move forward with an all-new plan for a town fire station by making use of another cityowned property. The property is described as the old city helipad located cattycorner from the library across the street from the Wagner Clinic in Shiner. The local volunteer firefighters had simply outgrown their existing space.

Hallettsville Tribune-Herald

An early dawn two-vehicle accident occurred on Dec. 2 which resulted in both drivers being transported to Citizens Medical Center in Victoria. The accident took place around 6:17 a.m. in the 800 block of Fairwinds, near the Hallettsville Veterinary Hospital. A 2018 Nissan Kicks was traveling in the eastbound lane of Fairwinds when it failed to drive in its lane and collided with a 2008 Ford F-150 pickup that was traveling in the westbound lane. Both the Nissan driver, Bobbi Jo Ratley, 47 of Cuero, and the F-150 driver, Christopher Seeber, 37 of Hallettsville, had to be extracted from their vehicles and were believed to have possible serious injury.