City Council Position 1 runoff is Saturday, June 21 7 a.m. - 7 a.m. City Hall 415 Main St.
SEALY NEWS THE
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Serving Sealy and Austin County since 1887 • Home of Willie Mae Dzierzanowski
Volume 127 Number 25
THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2014
22 pages, $1
Sheriff closes most of jail, ships inmates to Fort Bend By JOE SOUTHERN reporter@sealynews.com
The Austin County Jail is experiencing a jailbreak, not from the inmates, but rather the guards. Due to a loss of staff and an inability to compete with neighboring counties for salaries, Sheriff Jack Brandes closed most of the jail and on Monday began shipping inmates to
Fort Bend County. “We don’t have enough people employed to keep the new jail open,” he said, referring to a newer addition to the jail that houses 50 of the 87 beds at the facility. The inmate exodus comes at great cost to the county. It will pay Fort Bend County $55 per inmate per day. Brandes said nine inmates were trans-
ported in the first load. On top of that is the cost of fuel and other vehicle expenses for the transport, the loss of time for deputies to make the more than one hour round trip to Richmond several times a day, and the declining morale at the jail. Brandes said it takes a minimum of 16 jailers to keep the full jail in operation and 12 to operate the 27-bed
older portion. He currently has 15 and two of those are newbies with incomplete training. As part of the cutbacks, all work crews have been suspended and the jail is no longer taking Class C misdemeanor cases from the cities. Capt. Lynn Drake, the chief jailer, said the minimal staff leaves little room for anyone to get sick or take a ■ JAIL, page 9
NEWSBITS
County approves jailers' overtime
Diabetes walk Support those with diabetes and help to fight the disease by joining the American Diabetes Associations’ Walk to Stop Diabetes on Saturday, June 21, at Jaqueline Cryan Memorial Park. The walk starts at 9 a.m. and entry is $10. There will also be booths from local health and fitness providers.
By JOE SOUTHERN reporter@sealynews.com
Wallis Dance Club The Wallis American Legion Dance Club will hold its monthly dance on Saturday, June 21, with music by The Kreneks, playing good country western and mixed music for your pleasure from 8 to 11:30 p.m. So come out and enjoy. There will be lots of door prizes and free coffee. For more information, call Steve Muzny (979) 478-2494 or Charley Janik (979) 478-6226.
Chicken fried dinner Sunday, June 22, the Sealy KC’s will hold a fried chicken dinner, dine in or drive through, serving 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Sealy KC Hall.
KC Gala The Sealy Knights of Columbus annual Gala is set for Saturday, July 26, at 6 p.m. at the KC Hall located at 1310 Highway 90 West in Sealy. Tickets are now available. Call (713) 296-9387 with questions.
The Sealy News/JOE SOUTHERN
A van with the first load of nine inmates left the Austin County Jail on Monday morning headed for the Fort Bend County Jail. The inmates were moved so most of the Austin County Jail could be closed due to staffing shortages.
The Sealy News/JOE SOUTHERN
Digging in San Felipe Steve Salyer, left, and Larry Ripper dig for artifacts Tuesday at San Felipe de Austin State Historical Park as part of an excavation taking place this week in search of the remains of a hotel that burned with the rest of the community when colonists fled San Felipe during the Runaway Scrape in 1836. Experts believe that a brick cellar from the hotel may remain on the site.
The Austin County Commissioners Court voted unanimously Monday to do away with comp time and to pay overtime for jailers at the Austin County Jail. The move comes during a crisis where Sheriff Jack Brandes was forced to close a major portion of the jail and ship inmates to Fort Bend County due to a shortage of jailers. (See related story.) The first vanload of transferred inmates rolled past the courthouse while the court was preparing to convene. Brandes said he has
■ Johnny Earl Gilbert ■ Shirley Anne Vykoukal
BIBLEQUOTE Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9
Thank a
Veteran and Serviceman everyday
■ OVERTIME, page 9
Discord, infighting at city council Runoff election Seating, figuring out how agendas are set dominate meeting discussion. June 21 By AMBER GONZALES editor@sealynews.com
It’s not everyday that the Sealy City Council gears up for battle, but since the election last month, it seems that every meeting has become a civil war. “We need to focus on the
building of this city…,” said councilwoman Yvonne Johnson at the meeting June 10. “We need to be concerned with being a unified council with our mayor and with our city staff.” Since Mark Stolarski has taken up the mayor’s seat, he members of the council and
have been disputing basic governance policy, how to set the agenda and seating within the council chambers. With the city’s attorney present to deal with questions from the council and a full audience, ■ COUNCIL, page 8
Cook-off entry open until July 9
■ NEWSBITS, page 7
TODAY'SOBITUARIES
been losing jailers to neighboring counties that pay more and said he is unable to attract qualified applicants to replace them. “This is a step in the right direction,” he said of the action by the commissioners. He informed the court that he has lost several jailers in the past month, has another that has given notice to leave, and has others openly applying for other jobs, leaving him with no qualified applicants in the offing. He said even if he did have the applicants that it takes three to six months to train them
The summer heat, the smell of brisket and the glory of a champion title – the fifth annual Sealybration BBQ Cookoff is one of the tastier attractions of the summer festival and potential cookers still have a chance to enter the competition. The cook-off begins July 11 with awards announced the afternoon of July 12. The entry fee is $100 for brisket, pork spare ribs and chicken with a $10 jackpot per entry for margarita, chef’s choice and pinto beans. Prizes include showmanship; $150 for first place in each category; $125 for second place; and $100 for third; as well as $400 for grand champion; and $200 reserve overall.
The entry deadline is July 9. Contact chairperson Aaron Ward at award@legendhomescorp.com for questions or access form and official rules online at http://sealycommunityfoundation.weebly. com/bbq-cookoff.html. Please make checks payable to Sealy C o m m u n i t y Foundation. They can be mailed to Ward at PO Box 406, Sealy, Texas 77474. Applications are available at www. SealyCommunityFoundation.org for Sealybration 2014 food and retail vendors, the cook-off, tractor show, car show, 5 Alarm 5K fun run and softball and beanbag tournaments. Sealybration is Austin County’s “can’t
The Sealy News/AMBER GONZALES
Team Doctor Smoker took home Grand Champion as well as third place brisket at last year's cook-off..
miss” summer event held July 11-12. It’s packed with activities for the whole family to enjoy, including a
patriotic parade and carnival. It’s all capped off with an awesome fireworks display Saturday night.
Election Day for the city council runoff between Michael Kubricht and Dwayne Virnau is Saturday, June 21. Voting is 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at city hall, located at 415 Main St. Results will be posted as soon as they become available online at www.sealynews.com. Virnau and Kubricht, who were the two top vote getters in the fourway race in May. Virnau said that, as a member of the city council, he would ensure infrastructure is in place to accommodate growth in downtown and other parts of the city as well. Virnau identifies the major challenges to the city as providing additional water supply and sewage treatment in preparation for growth. But he also wants to make sure that the council meets the dayto-day challenges as well as a vision for the city in the next 20-30 years. “Sealy is a great place to live and I want to make sure Sealy is always a great place to ■ RUNOFF, page 8
The Sealy News • 193 Schmidt Road • P.O. Box 480 • Sealy, Texas 77474 • phone: (979) 885-3562 • fax: (979) 885-3564 • www.sealynews.com