Hallettsville Man Arrested for Attempted Murder
Hallettsville Tribune-Herald
• Hallettsville Police Department officers were called to the 900 block of N. Texana St. around 10:59 a.m. for a domestic disturbance incident on Oct. 16 that resulted in an adult male subject arrested for three counts of attempted murder and one count of attempted arson. According to a press release from the Hallettsville Police Department, the call was in response to Christopher Robin Leggett, 43, attempting to pour gasoline on a female subject and lighting the house on fire. When officers arrived, they immediately detained the male subject and rendered aid to the female along with two small children inside the residence. There were no transports that needed to be taken to the Lavaca Medical Center. The case remains under investigation.
The Gonzales Inquirer
• A printing mistake by a ballot vendor caused some confusion for voters in Gonzales County. The original ballots incorrectly listed the candidates for the U.S. Rep. District 27. Some of the ballots were mailed out to people 65 or older or who requested mail-in ballots before the error was caught by county officials. The second round of correctly printed ballots has been mailed out and marked with a red “LA” stamp. Only some of the original ballots were mailed before the Clerk’s Office was made aware and the rest are set to be shredded in the presence of the sheriff. Mailing both ballots does not constitute election fraud.
The Bellville Times
• If Bellville Hospital District (BHD) voters do not pass the proposed property tax increase that is on the Nov. 3 ballot, the BHD will be hit with an approximate $50,000 bill from the Austin County Appraisal District. Proposition A on the ballot, if approved, would increase the tax rate within the BHD from its current 0.05218 per $100 valuation to 0.0999. The appraisal district will be sending property tax notices out before the results of the election will be known. If Proposition A passes, then there will not be an additional expense, but if it fails, the appraisal district will need to send out new notices as well as reimburse taxpayers who pay before the new notices could go out.
Burleson County Tribune
• Jake Sullivan of Frisco, a law officer with more than 25 years experience including serving as police chief in three other communities, has been hired as Somerville’s new police chief. Sullivan began his duties on Oct. 21 and comes from the Paris School District, where he served as a relief officer. He is succeeding Craig Wise, who recently retired.
• A College Station man is free on bond after his indictment in the death of a woman at Lake Somerville in July. 43-year old Ovie Powell II faces a charge of criminally negligent homicide in the drowning death of Olivia Paige Sweeney, also of College Station. Powell was booked into jail Oct. 24 after a Burleson County Grand Jury indicted him on the charge. Sweeney drowned while at the lake after she and a friend were both hit by the boat that Powell was driving. Powell posted a $20,000 bond from the Brazos County Jail. He faces a state jail felony if convicted.