Re-Elected Smithville Mayor Resigns
The Smithville Times
• Two months after winning re-election to the highest elected office in Smithville, Mayor Scott Saunders is resigning effective Jan. 11. “I am leaving the community and the city of Smithville in better shape than I found them,” Saunders said. “I am extremely humbled and grateful to have been able to contribute so meaningfully to my hometown, but it is time for me to focus on my family, my small business, and my personal life,” Saunders said he had been thinking about resigning for about a year, about the time he had bought a new business that was expanding and requiring more of his time. Though he said he couldn’t work fulltime as mayor and at his business, he decided to run for reelection this year to keep a steady hand at the helm for the city as it navigated through the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he decided to resign now because the city is having a City Council election in May and the filing period for it begins next week. Therefore, a mayoral election could be added to the ballot and the city wouldn’t have to hold a special election. The City Council will consider appointing Mayor Pro Tem Joanna Morgan to serve as mayor until an election to fill that seat is held in May. Morgan said she plans to run for the mayor’s seat in May, and if elected will serve until May 2022, when the term expires. The mayor and council members serve two-year terms.
Giddings Times & News
• A 19-year-old woman who graduated from Giddings High School and worked at a local Mexican food restaurant was killed as a result of an automobile accident. Ann Magdalena Perez died in a collision near Fairfield on Dec. 31. She was driving a 2012 Toyota Camry on I-45 when she lost control of the vehicle and crashed at 11:10 p.m. Ana’s twin sister, Brenda Perez, was taken by ambulance to Freestone Medical Center with minor injuries.
• A dispute regarding the owner of two horses resulted in a local woman’s arrest in the Giddings Livestock Commission parking lot on CR 226 on Jan. 3.
The auction barn called the Lee County Sheriff’s Office at 3:39 p.m. about a woman trying to take two horses from the sale barn claiming they belonged to her. Arlinda Lawson was told she could not take the horses without ownership verification from the sheriff’s office then she allegedly tried to run over an employee who tried to explain the process. A 911 call was received a short time later from Lawson claiming the auction barn refused to release the horses to her. Lawson was arrested for theft of livestock and assault. The horses were picked up by Brandon Riggins, a contract cowboy for the sheriff’s office for livestock being estrayed.
• Rick Beasley called the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 2 at 7:46 a.m. to advise Brandon Riggins was on his way to round up 10 head of cattle that were on Beasley’s property on CR 316 in the Lexington area. Beasley said the cattle had been on his land for about a month and no one has claimed them and he wanted them removed. That afternoon around 2:30 p.m. Riggins was on the way to the auction barn in Lexington when he was cut off by someone. The subject said he is the possible owner of the cattle. The man was causing a disturbance and Riggins asked for officers. The two parties were separated and the possible owner followed law enforcement to the Lexington Livestock Commission to determine the owner of the cattle.
New Ulm Enterprise
• Timothy Kerkman, son of Randy and Sandra Wiebusch Kerkman of Austin and grandson of the late Adolph and Joyce Blezinger Wiebusch, is suffering from Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia Purpura (TTP), a very rare blood disorder. Due to this disorder, Timothy’s kidney function is around 21% and he is currently searching for a living kidney donor. Tim’s immediate family is not a match for donating a kidney, so his story is being shared in the hope that a suitable donor might be found. To read more about Timothy’s story, medical journey, and learn about being a living organ donor, visit his profile on the National Kidney Registry website www.nkr.org/ ghh578.