Bellville High School Grad Signed by New York Yankees
The Bellville Times
• Lucas Luetge, a lefthanded pitching, 2005 Bellville High School graduate, has been signed by the New York Yankees. The Yankees are the eighth organization for Luetge. He started for Milwaukee and was then with the Seattle Mariners, where he pitched for four years in the majors from 2012-2015. A stint with the Angels was followed by minor league stops with Baltimore and Cincinnati. In 2019 he was with the Arizona Diamondbacks and was selected to the Double-A All-Star team, but did not get to play in it because he was called up to Triple-A. He was then signed by the Oakland Athletics for 2020 but when COVID-19 hit the minor league seasons were wiped out.
Burleson County Tribune
• The dream of having a public library in Somerville could be closer to a reality in 2021. The Somerville Community Library Association (SCLA) previous plans to open were halted due to a mold issue in the building. The mold occurred during heavy flooding in the area over recent years and the building also needs more air circulation. However now the board feels that the plan to open will soon proceed. The next step is for them to rework quotes to address these issues. The library building off State Hwy. 36 was an old barbershop and Gulf State Utilities was once housed there. The building is owned by the City of Somerville.
• Burleson County sheriff’s deputies and the Texas Rangers are looking again at the Dec. 2001 disappearance of Jerome Robinson of Snook, seeking new clues into a cold case. Chief Deputy John Pollock said on Dec. 28 that they are seeking the public’s help with any information that would explain his disappearance. Law officers believe Robinson was murdered at the Team Club in Tunis. Robinson disappeared after being dropped off at the club by a friend. He had won about $1,500 in a dice game there at a previous game and was returning to collect some additional money still owed to him but was never seen again.
The Examiner
• A drunk driver, identified as 31-year old Mary Gross from Navasota, attempted to elude Navasota police officers after crashing on Dec. 27. Navasota Police Chief Shawn Myatt stated officers responded to a single-vehicle accident on the Texas State Highway 6 northbound feeder near Hi Ho convenience store. Gross, who was driving a 2019 Nissan Sentra, left the roadway and crashed into a ditch on the right-side of the road. Myatt said Gross left the vehicle and went to Hi Ho attempting to elude officers. Officers determined Gross was intoxicated and she was arrested for driving while intoxicated, a Class B misdemeanor. Officers transported Gross to CHI St. Joseph Health Grimes Hospital in Navasota to be checked out. While at the hospital Myatt stated Gross fled from the hospital and was captured after a short foot pursuit. She was additionally charged with escape, a Class A misdemeanor. Gross was transported and booked into the Grimes County Jail.
• A Christmas Day standoff ended tragically as a 75-year old Vietnam veteran took his own life. Grimes County Sheriff Don Sowell said on Dec. 25, deputies were dispatched to FM 1486, just north of FM 149. Sowell said a female victim called and stated her husband pulled a gun on her. Sowell said for five hours negotiations ensued as friends, suicide hotline prevention specialists, and other professionals pleaded with the male, but Sowell said he was very angry. The husband allowed his wife to exit the home safely, but after the five-hour standoff, he ended his own life.
The Brenham Banner-Press
• The State Fire Marshal’s Office has been called to investigate a house fire near the Washington-Burleson County line that has been deemed “suspicious” by local firefighters. Around 3 a.m. on Sunday, the Prairie Hill and Meyersville Volunteer Fire Departments responded to a structure fire on FM 50 at Jerry Lane. According to Prairie Hill Deputy Chief Doug Zwiener, the house, a single-story brick structure, was “nothing but a brick wall shell” when units arrived at the scene, with only the walls left standing. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in about three and a half hours. The structure was vacant, and no injuries were reported. Zwiener said there are a “lot of unanswered questions” with this fire, saying he estimates the house had been burning for at least an hour before anyone noticed it. He also said the burn patterns on some of the brick and the observation that the back door of the house appeared to have been kicked in threw up a “lot of red flags.” Arson investigators from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office were called to examine the scene and, according to Zwiener, agree that some of the circumstances behind the fire are suspicious.
• A Brenham High School student was taken into custody after a situation that resulted in the school temporarily being locked down during the morning of Wednesday. According to Brenham ISD Superintendent Dr. Tylor Chaplin, police were called after a student turned combative after arriving at school and left the building. Scanner traffic indicated the student was running away with handcuffs on near Higgins Branch on Blue Bell Rd. before being taken into custody. Dr. Chaplin says no students were in danger. He says after consulting with High School Principal Joe Chandler that there was no mention of a weapon being involved.
• A notable 22-acre grass fire was reported at 3:12 p.m. on Dec. 24 off U.S. 290 in Chappell Hill. Brenham Fire Department (BFD) was dispatched to automatic mutual aide with Chappell Hill Fire Department (CHFD). CHFD arrived on scene and reported about 10 acres on fire and spreading fast. Units brought the fire under control and started overhaul. The fire consumed approximately 22 acres and BFD was on scene for multiple hours.