News

A Matagorda County deputy sheriff was arrested by FBI agents Wednesday, July 31, and charged with cyberstalking a minor female residing in Worcester County, Mass.

Pasquale T. Salas, 26, known at the sheriff’s office as Teddy, a patrol deputy sheriff with the Matagorda County Sheriff’s Office, was arrested at the sheriff’s department in Bay City, Wednesday morning, July 31.

He appeared in federal court in the Southern District of Texas in Galveston Thursday, Aug. 1, and will appear in federal court in Worcester at a later date.

According to the charging document, Salas met the victim through an online Minecraft video game website in 2014, when the minor was 12 years old, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a press release July 31.

Salas and the girl communicated on a private chat room and then moved those communications to various other platforms, including text messaging, Skype and Snapchat.

   Peyton Creek Wind Farm is working with Matagorda County and TxDOT to get access driveway facilities constructed on Texas 60 right of way near Shepard Mott Road.
   The project surfaced at commissioners court regular meeting Monday, July 29.
   Peyton Creek Wind Farm will have several wind turbines along Shepard Mott Road, which intersects with Texas 60.
   The county is involved because the project is in the county right of way, Precinct 2 Commissioner Kent Pollard said.
   The wind farm is asking TxDOT to construct a driveway at the intersection near Savage Triangle Rice Farms to accommodate wide turns from tractor-trailer rigs bearing wind turbine masts and blades.

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   With temperatures in the mid-90s Saturday, an ice-cold snowcone sounds like the best way to beat the heat.
   Davis’ Daiquiri Barn is hosting their soft opening starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at 4206 Sargent Court.
   The barn features a drive-through for orders to-go and parking for those wanting to hang out inside.
   Drive-thru customers are urged to follow the gravel driveway to the right of the barn all the way to the back.
   There’s over 50 daiquiri and snow cone flavors available along with beer, wine, sodas and bulk ice purchases.
   Owners Glen and Leslie Davis are looking forward to providing “something different” to locals and visitors.
   “We want people to come here and have fun, maybe hang out for a bit but still keep it as a family-friendly atmosphere,” said Davis.

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   A community spirit award named for Claude “Tiger” Lane was created by the Matagorda County Economic Development Corporation board Friday, July 26.
   Lane, who represented Sargent on the EDC board, died July 15.
   Asked to create a way to honor Lane - someone widely respected as a goodwill ambassador for Sargent and the county - EDC Executive Director Mike Ferdinand said the award would be presented at MCEDC’s annual meetings.
   County Judge Nate McDonald, who also serves as EDC president, said such an honor was “entirely appropriate” for Lane who’s “level of action was always ever present.”
      In other discussion, Ferdinand said EDC owns 7.88 acres on South Industrial Boulevard in the North Bay City Industrial Park. 

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   A fiscal 2020 budget of $2,010,476 and a new website were approved by the Bay City Community Development Corporation board at its regular meeting Monday, July 29.
   In addition, the board approved business and expansion grants to MEHOP and Cash Cow and authorized a contract with Bob Phillips to do hospitality training. 
   BCCDC Executive Director Jessica Russell had presented the fiscal 2020 budget to city council last Thursday, and the document shows about $2.3 million in income.
   The largest income source is $1.45 million in collections from the half-cent economic development sales tax.
   Projected expenditures include $400,000 in special projects.
   Those projects include the possible purchase of property for future economic development near the airport, for feasibility studies for drainage, Nile Valley Road and a train switching yard outside of Bay City.

   Bay City and Palacios physician Dr. Alan Barker and longtime city employee Joe Rodgers were honored by City Council at its regular meeting Thursday, July 25.
   Mayor Robert Nelson presented Barker - in his uniform as a U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel – with the Key to the City for his work at Bay City and Palacios hospitals.
   A large medical community contingent filled city hall council chambers for Barker’s presentation. 
   Barker is MRMC chief of staff and serves several other agencies.
   Rodgers worked for the city for 35 ½ years until his recent death and was well liked among fellow employees and the community.
   Nelson read council’s proclamation naming the city’s new recycling center at 1702 Ave. K in honor of Rodgers. 
   Rodgers had spent the last five years at the recycling center.
   City Manager hiring plans

   The Matagorda County Transfer Station’s projected reopening has moved to Friday, Aug. 2.
   “We have had some scale repairs made that ran into more delays than expected. Trash can still be hauled to Angleton,” said Environmental Health Department Director Lisa Krobot.
   The transfer station was first closed from July 18 to July 23 for repairs to the scale, then the reopening was moved to Monday, July 29. 
   Krobot said she hopes the transfer station will reopen Friday, Aug. 2.
   There are trailers lined up on the road leading to the transfer station, Krobot commented.
   Seabreeze Environmental Landfill is open at 10310 FM 523 in Angleton, said Krobot.
   The phone number is 979-864-4442 - it is best people call before driving there to make sure what the hours of operation, she said.

INSIDER’S REPORT:
   Speak Up! Oppose Unfair TWIA Rate Hike on Coastal Homeowners
   Last year, I joined my House colleagues along the Gulf Coast in fighting back against the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association’s (TWIA) proposed 10% rate hike in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. 
   Thanks to an 8-month moratorium imposed by Governor Greg Abbott as a result of our efforts, the Texas Legislature was provided the opportunity to even further strengthen laws governing TWIA to increase transparency and accountability in the rate setting process. 
   This legislation - House Bill 1900 passed earlier this year - resulted in TWIA canceling their previous rate hike entirely.
   However, rate increases are never completely off the table and we must again express our strong opposition to proposals that disproportionately burden homeowners over insurers.

   National Health Center Week is part of a national campaign to increase awareness of the ways health centers are providing affordable health care in communities.
   This year, health centers celebrate the ways they are “Rooted in Communities.”
   They are an American success story - saving lives and stimulating local economies. They are locally run, yet part of a national network that serves 1 in 12 Americans, or 28 million people.
   They save American taxpayers $24 billion a year in health care costs by preventing and managing chronic diseases in medically vulnerable communities.
   Health Centers are not ordinary medical clinics; they are problem-solvers at the forefront of a nationwide shift in addressing environmental and social factors as an integral part of primary care.