News writing 2015

SEALY NEWS THE

Girls rip Royal a good one in basketball PAGE 5

Candidates forum Feb. 5 The Austin County Republican Party will hold a candidates forum between House District 13 runoff candidates Carolyn Cerny Bilski and Leighton Schubert at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 5, at Tony’s Family Restaurant in Sealy.

Voters are welcome to attend and ask questions of the candidates. The meeting is open to all.

Super snack sale on Friday Citizens State Bank will be having a “Super” snack sale on Friday, Jan. 30 at 9 a.m. There will be a variety of tasty items to choose from. All proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society – Relay for Life.

Valentine’s Day Sip & Shop The Valentine’s Day Sip & Shop will be held on Sealy Main Street Feb. 14 from 2-5 p.m. Gather tickets at shops for multiple chances to win prizes. Enjoy refreshments, Valentine’s treats and sales while strolling the Sealy historic downtown area.

Trafficking conference

THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

By LANCE HAGOOD reporter@sealynews.com

Are Satanists coming to Sealy?

The founders of The Greater Church of Lucifer have filed paperwork in the Austin County Courthouse for two assumed names to conduct business here.

Michelle Thomas, the fiancée and partner of Jacob No, the world leader of the Greater Church of Lucifer, came to the county clerk’s office on Jan. 8 and took out two assumed name/ DBA (doing business as) certificates. One is a religious organization called The Greater Church of Lucifer and the other a retail business called BlackMass Incubus. They listed an address on Park Road in Sealy.

No and Thomas had been living in the Austin County area, but relocated to Spring shortly after the filing.

They are not planning on opening a church facility in the county in

This screenshot shows part of the Facebook page logo for the Greater Church of Lucifer, which has filed two DBA (doing business as) forms at the Austin County Courthouse. the near term.

“Anything is possible, we are growing fast in 10 countries and expect to be a global alterna-

tive to religion in a few years,” No said.

“The growth is primarily Web based for now. We are working on

refurbishing a building in Houston right, but a physical meeting place is still in the future,” No said.

County ready for runoff election

By LANCE HAGOOD reporter@sealynews.com

Even though the governor has not called for nor set a date for the House District 13 runoff election between Carolyn Bilski and Leighton Schubert, Austin County is ready for it.

The Austin County Commissioners met Monday and acted to approve voting locations for the runoff election.

The commissioners authorized a new plan for early voting and extended poll hours.

Austin County Tax Assessor

Collector Marcus Pena, who is also the county’s election official, presented commissioners with an improved plan for voters on election day. The plan is pending until newly elected Gov. Greg Abbott sets a date and declares the House District runoff election run.

Pena’s voting plan tentatively sets Tuesday, Feb. 24, as the special election day, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Poll locations will include Sealy, Bellville, Wallis, Cat Spring, Industry and Frydek.

“I’m going to change the hours

for our voters to come out and vote, knowing that we have a lot of voters that work in Houston.

If we close at 5 o’clock, it doesn’t give them a chance to vote so I’m extending the hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.,” Pena said.

Early votes can be cast at the Austin County Tax Office, 804 E. Wendt St. in Bellville. Early voting is planned to be available Feb. 17-21 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

One day of early voting will be set for a location in Sealy, open from 6 to 8 p.m., either Feb. 19 or Feb. 20.

Pena stressed the importance of voter turnout in reducing the ■ ELECTION, page 17

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Greater Church of Lucifer files to do business in Austin County

All we need is an election date

The Difference Makers Conference, focusing on human/ sex trafficking, will be held Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. at Christian City Fellowship, located on Hwy. 36 just north of Sealy. A run/walk in support of ministries combating human/sex trafficking will be held Jan. 31 at 10 a.m. in Sealy at Levine Park.

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He said they filed in Austin County for the convenience.

“The courthouse was the nearest one. We wanted to get the ball rolling for 501c3 (nonprofit) status,” No explained to The Sealy News.

He said the church follows a philosophy and is not a religion.

And no, No said, they are not Satanists.

“The name Lucifer occurs only once in the Bible,” he said. “It is a Gnostic title, meaning ‘bearer of light.’”

“If anything we are the opposite of the occult. We recognize a balance of the light and the dark in the self. The philosophy is very similar to the left hand path of Buddhism,” No said.

“There is a problem in following through blind faith. This is about selfempowerment and seeing oneself in a positive way.”

“The goal is to usher in a new age for the progression of mankind ■ LUCIFER, page 17

Chamber celebrates the ’50s at shindig

By JOE SOUTHERN editor@sealynews.com

Those fabulous ’50s are back, baby!

Get ready to rock with the Sealy Chamber of Commerce as it rolls back the calendar for a 1950s themed dinner dance on Feb. 13.

Even Elvis will be there when the annual gala takes place at the Knights of Columbus Hall. Texas Elvis tribute artist Greg Winston will take the stage in two sets, first as the ’50s Elvis and later as the jumpsuited ’70s Elvis.

“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Executive Director Peggy Spradley.

Last year’s Camo & Commerce event played off a Duck Dynasty theme and included a duck-kissing contest.

This year, no livestock will be smooched for the sake of commerce.

Instead there will be costume contests with $100 prizes for the best original male and female costumes.

Back by popular demand will be the photo booth, the dessert auction and silent auction. There will also be a raffle drawing for a trip to San Antonio, which includes a twonight stay at the El Tropicana on the River ■ CHAMBER, page 17

The Sealy News • 193 Schmidt Road • P.O. Box 480 • Sealy, Texas 77474 • phone: (979) 885-3562 • fax: (979) 885-3564 • www.sealynews.com

THIS

WEEK'S WEATHER According to The Weather Channel

Thursday • Friday • Saturday • Sunday • Monday • Tuesday • Wednesday

High: 73 Low: 48 Rain: 10%

High: 60 Low: 50 Rain: 0%

High: 61 Low: 56 Rain: 80%

High: 57 Low: 38 Rain: 90%

High: 50 Low: 37 Rain: 0%

High: 47 Low: 40 Rain: 20%

High: 47 Low: 44 Rain: 20%

This week's weather art is by Alexandra Ruiz, 5, a student at Selman Elementary School.

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015 ■ PAGE 17

THE SEALY NEWS

ELECTIONS continued from Page 1

The Sealy News/JOE SOUTHERN

Donated flag Woodmen of the World recently donated a new American flag to First United Methodist Church of Sealy. Pastor Curtis Matthys, second from right, received the flag from Woodmen representatives (left to right) Barbara Brandes, Patricia Knapp, Bernice Stolarski, C.W. Brandes and Bennie Stolarski.

CHAMBER continued from Page 1 Walk.

Jeff Virnau will have his ’57 Thunderbird convertible on display and will once again be serving as master of ceremonies.

Nancy McCready will give the invocation and the flags will be presented by the Knights of Columbus.

Mayor Mark Stolarski will lead the pledge of allegiance.

Austin County Judge Tim Lapham will install the new chamber officers.

Ben’s Chuck Wagon will serve ups burgers and fries along with an ice cream and soda bar.

In addition to Elvis, more musical entertainment will be provided by Blue Note Brothers.

The annual event is a fundraiser for the Sealy Chamber of Commerce and helps to promote chamber events and activities.

“Our growth is off to a great start and we want to keep the momentum going,” Spradley said.

The dinner dance will be Feb. 13, from 6-10 p.m. at the Sealy Knights of Columbus Hall, 1390 Highway 90 W. Individual tickets are $35. To sponsor a table of eight is $350 and a half-table sponsorship is $175.

To register, contact the Sealy Chamber of Commerce at 979-8853222, email tammy@ sealychamber.com or visit www.sealychamber.com.

cost of elections.

“The higher the turnout the less it costs us,” Pena said. “I encourage the elderly and others who want to vote by mail to request an application soon.”

Applications are available from the Austin County Tax Assessor and Collectors office in Bellville.

In other news from the commissioners meeting on Monday, Ron Dille, Austin County EMS supervisor, represented the EMS service in accepting a $100 donation from KJZT, the Catholic Family Fraternal of Texas. In another donation, he accepted $4,000 from the Mark Chapman F o u n d a t i o n .

Commissioners approved the donations.

“We appreciate the public support of EMS. Every bit we get supported is less burden on the taxpayer,” Dille said.

The commissioners designated January as Austin County Mentor Month honoring the Raising Academic Performance (RAP) program. RAP was established to identify and assist at-risk Austin County students. The program is in its 19th year of service. As trained volunteers, RAP mentors visit with their students to encourage academic

success, a positive image, and an increased quality of life. The dedication of RAP mentors and the generosity of Austin County citizens and businesses, Austin County students have received numerous opportunities from elementary through high school and higher education.

“The teachers are our biggest recruiters for the mentees, but you as citizens are always welcome to contact the counselors with a student to consider,” Director Charles Kinney said.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Reese Turner planted a seed with the court, suggesting they consider selling road bonds.

He even mapped out what he feels would be an equitable way to split the money.

He said the bond revenue division would track the existing division of taxbased road and bridge fund allocations.

Currently, Precinct 1 shares 24.9 percent,

Precinct 2, 28.9 percent, Precinct 3, 19.9 percent, and Precinct 4, 26.3 percent. In the future that method could allow bond revenue distribution to closely match road and bridge tax-based distribution.

“This is my idea so that the people of one precinct are not subsidizing another precinct. Right now oil prices are extremely low, interest rates are extremely low and right now is a very good time to look at

investment,” Turner said.

No action was taken on the item.

The commissioners also discussed and approved some limited facility painting for Justice of the Peace Court No. 4 and lighting updates for the courthouse.

They took action to authorize bids for a Caterpillar 308C excavator, and streamlined the procedure for county employees to order work uniforms.

LUCIFER continued from Page 1 without the slavery of dogmatic thought,” said No. “We are all gods and goddesses of our own life. We are the captains of our own ship and have the right to control our actions.”

The church was founded in Houston eight months ago. No was raised Mormon and earned a degree in cognitive psychology and behavioral therapy. He said he studied and wrestled with theological issues most of his life. The original philosophy of the church was developed by No and a small group of associates. From a Webbased outreach and word of mouth, the church has grown to more than 10,000 followers worldwide via the Internet.

Their website can be viewed at greaterchurchoflucifer.org.

BlackMass Incubus, the other name registered by Thomas, is a Web-based retail outlet for church of Lucifer related books and products.

“We had to start somewhere to get the word out,” No said. “We have already trained

church leaders and gained followers in Toronto, Canada, the New York-New Jersey area, Monterrey, Mexico and Chile.”

“We have members who are doctors, attorneys, people from all areas of society,” No said.

The church was holding informal meetings in Houston, and is now developing space for regular gatherings. The church appeals to a wide variety of people.

“When we unveiled our Spanish language Facebook page, we had a thousand followers the first day,” No said, adding “I’ve been surprised by the rapid growth in such a short time.”

The church is open to the public and interested individuals follow a process to become members. Candidates are interviewed either in person or over social media. If accepted, the follower participates in a private ceremony consisting of a ritual of self-affirmation. The follower may then find a positive place to construct a shrine.

The church has plans

for outreach programs to assist members and society at large.

“We are planning a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, a parenting program, and a worldwide food bank, shipping food to where it is needed,” No said.

“We also plan to open an accredited college offering a degree in occult science.”

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Serving Sealy and Austin County since 1887 • Home of Joe Hintz

Volume 128 Number 48

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

22 pages, $1

Kathy’s Korner celebrates grand opening

By JASON B. HOGAN reporter@sealynews.com

Sealy's own Jamie Lin Wilson PAGE B1

NEWSBITS Thanksgiving meal offered LifeBridge Church, 2162 FM2187 (former location of Othie’s Restaurant) is holding a free Thanksgiving Day feast for the community from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 26.

Rotary chicken meal fundraiser The Rotary Club of Sealy is hosting its annual half chicken and all the fixin’s lunch fundraiser on Dec. 2 at the American Legion Hall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Pick up only. For tickets, stop by The Sealy News at 193 Schmidt Road or contact Karen at 979-8853562 or any Rotarian.

Kathy’s Korner — the full-service, one-stop destination — swung its doors open at 11 a.m., Nov. 21, to an antsy and anticipating crowd.

Approximately 1,000 people showed up between the hours of 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 21 to celebrate the grand opening.

Kathy’s Korner is a restaurant, a corner store and seafood market combined into one building totaling 11,000-square feet.

George and Kathy Bishop’s enterprise, located at 9027 SE Interstate 10 Frontage Road, spreads across the feeder road east of Sealy in Brazos Country. The business gets its namesake from Kathy after years of dreaming of a local corner store in Brazos ■ KATHY'S, page 11

The Sealy News/JASON B. HOGAN

Kathy's Korner, a one-stop, full-service destination located at 9027 SE Interstate 10 Frontage Road, commemorates its grand opening, Saturday, Nov. 21, with a ribbon-cutting event sponsored by the Sealy Chamber of Commerce. Over the course of its first two hours of operation from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Kathy's Korner hosted approximately 1,000 people from across Austin County, including other chamber members, Sealy and county leaders. Kathy and George Bishop, center, prepare to cut the ribbon culminating years of anticipation.

SPECIAL REPORT

Food bank produce truck The Houston Food Bank Produce Truck will be in Sealy at Trinity Lutheran Church, 402 Atchison St., rear parking lot, on Dec. 1 from 1-3 p.m.

The produce is free to anyone living in Austin County. There will also be someone from the Houston Food Bank to assist anyone that needs help with applying or renewing SNAP (food stamps) or children’s Medicaid/CHIP.

Breakfast with Santa Dec. 5 Breakfast with Santa will include free pictures of children with Santa on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 9-11 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church. All you can eat for $5. Children under 8 eat free. Sponsored by the Sealy Lions Club. Proceeds benefit Lions Charities.

■ NEWS BITS, page 13

BIBLEQUOTE Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.

Proverbs 23:4

Thank a

Veteran and Serviceman everyday

Young

Skrivanek

Johnson

Koehn

Turner

Gregor

Rasbury

Campaigning leads to GOP rift Republican Party officials allege election wrongdoing; DA takes no action

By JOE SOUTHERN editor@sealynews.com

With a new election season rapidly approaching one only needs to look back a year ago to see that there were a number of election related irregularities that are still festering and threatening the unity of the Austin County Republican Party.

Apparently, after 20 years as Austin County Judge, Carolyn Bilski not only made a lot of friends but also a lot of enemies – especially within the walls of the Austin County Courthouse. When she ran for the District 13 seat vacated by Lois Kolkhorst in the State House of Representatives last winter, a firestorm of campaigning against her spewed forth from within the courthouse.

That caught the attention of Republican Party officials who felt that county employees using county computers and time on the clock for political campaigns was not only unethical but also bordered on criminal activity.

They took their complaints and ample evidence to District Attorney Travis Koehn who dismissed them outright and closed the case. Several attempts to seek action on the alleged wrongdoing has led to continued stonewalls at Koehn’s desk and has ostracized Republican Party Chairman Michael Skrivanek,

The Sealy News/JOE SOUTHERN

The House District 13 run-off election between Carolyn Bilski, left, and Leighton Schubert, right, led to significant online campaigning by Austin County officials who were working on the clock at the time.

Vice Chairman Marc Young and Precinct 102 Chairman Tommy Johnson, a former candidate for county judge, from many within their own party.

What happened?

Last December, Kolkhorst won a special election to the Senate and the remainder of her term in House District 13 came open for election. Three Republicans and a Democrat filed for the seat and the election was held in January.

Bilski was the top vote getter

but lacked a majority vote, which sent her into a runoff against fellow Republican Leighton Schubert of Caldwell.

Schubert beat Bilski during the runoff election in February with 57 percent of the vote and even took the majority of the votes in Austin County.

It was that runoff election that caught the attention of Austin County Republican Party leaders, primarily Johnson who is an Internet technology professional, a social media regular and a self-described troublemaker.

He began seeing pro-Schubert/

anti-Bilski campaign posts on Facebook from county officials and employees during times when they should have been working on the clock.

Knowing that Facebook posts can disappear as fast as they appear, he began doing screen captures to record and preserve the evidence. He also did open records requests for timesheets of those he was watching and determined that they were indeed on the clock while conducting their virtual campaigns.

Johnson also collected antiBilski emails sent out by Pct. 1 Commissioner Reese Turner using an email account that Turner regularly uses for county business. Johnson, Skrivanek and Young later probed into Turner’s campaign finance reports and found irregularities that they reported to the Texas Ethics Commission. That led the commission to reprimand Turner with a $100 fine due to his errors.

It’s the social media campaigns, however, and the lack of action from the district attorney, that most concern the Republican trio.

Suspects and evidence In addition to Turner, the three men targeted County Clerk Carrie Gregor, some of ■ REPUBLICANS, page 3

The Sealy News • 193 Schmidt Road • P.O. Box 480 • Sealy, Texas 77474 • phone: (979) 885-3562 • fax: (979) 885-3564 • www.sealynews.com

THIS

WEEK'S WEATHER According to The Weather Channel

Thursday • Friday • Saturday • Sunday • Monday • Tuesday • Wednesday

High: 77 Low: 68 Rain: 20%

High: 75 Low: 57 Rain: 80%

High: 66 Low: 57 Rain: 40%

High: 62 Low: 51 Rain: 80%

High: 63 Low: 48 Rain: 10%

High: 58 Low: 45 Rain: 60%

High: 59 Low: 43 Rain: 20%

This week's weather art is by Callie Whatley, a student at Selman Elementary School.

WWW.SEALYNEWS.COM

THE SEALY NEWS

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015 ■ PAGE 3

REPUBLICANS continued from Page 1 her staff, and Tinson Rasbury, an assistant auditor who ran unsuccessfully for county treasurer in 2014. Their primary focus was on Turner and Gregor as elected officials. Most of the postings by the county officials were on Facebook in a group called Austin County Politics.

Johnson provided The Sealy News with screen captures showing that Turner, Gregor and Rasbury frequently posted to Facebook during weekday hours when their respective offices were open for business. In the case with Rasbury, Johnson even matched specific posts to times she recorded on her timesheet that she was working.

Turner has by far been the biggest target of Skrivanek, Young and Johnson. He is an unabashed and outspoken critic of Bilski and clearly pulled out the stops to campaign against her, going as far as to email officials in other counties within District 13 with antiBilski rhetoric.

Among the nearly inch-thick stack of documents provided by the GOP representatives are screen captures of Facebook posts showing that Turner was campaigning on Thursday, Feb. 5, at 10:05 a.m. and 4:41 p.m. and on Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 2:15 p.m., among many other examples. “(This was) during normal working hours.

High probability it was done on county equipment, utilizing the county network, and county Internet provider,” Johnson alleged in his notes.

Turner denied violating any laws and made no apologies for campaigning against Bilski.

“These are very small, irrelevant men who are still mad that I and others were very successful in promoting Schubert over Bilski,” Turner said in an email to The Sealy News. “However, they give me and others way too much credit for her defeat; she did so much to defeat herself that we who knew her well could have sat quietly and watched her crash on her own.”

The trio provided similar documentation for Gregor. She was posting election-related material to Facebook on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at multiple times, on Friday, Feb. 6, at 9:56 a.m., on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 10:33 a.m. and on other days.

Johnson also documented posts that were done after hours and during what are normal lunch break times, but questioned whether or not county computers and/or Internet service providers were used.

When asked by The Sealy News, Gregor flatly denied any wrongdoing.

“No, I was not using any county equipment,” she said.

She pointed out that Koehn, the district attorney, had investigated the complaint and found no criminal violations.

The buck stops with Koehn Although it was easy to see that there was rampant campaigning on the clock coming from within the courthouse, proving that it was done on county computers or using the county’s Internet service provider has been difficult for Johnson, Skrivanek and Young.

The Sealy News/JOE SOUTHERN

Tommy Johnson, left, and Marc Young, right, visit with Austin County judge candidates John Graham and Tim Lapham after a candidate's forum in Sealy last year. Johnson and Young are pointing fingers at county officials for what they said was illegal and unethical campaigning during the House District 13 special election last winter. A result of their allegations has been a big rift in the Austin County Republican Party.

Their initial complaint to Koehn on Feb. 18 was denied.

“In response to your complaint, my staff and I have reviewed the documents you provided as well as the relevant statutes and caselaw. After reviewing all the available information, I have found no violation of Texas criminal law and will not be pursuing criminal charges at the time against the persons listed in your complaint,” Koehn wrote to the three men.

He went on to point out legal opinions that say that incidental use of state property for personal purposes is not a misuse. He said that they have a First Amendment right to express political opinions or support political candidates.

“Targeting county employees for investigation due to their support for one political candidate over another may also violate Federal Equal Employment and Non-Discrimination laws,” he added in his letter dated March 4.

Young appealed to Koehn the next day but was rebuffed by the district attorney.

Undeterred, Johnson filed open records requests on March 18 seeking, among other things, the Internet browser history for Turner, Gregor and Rasbury from Oct. 1, 2014, to March 1, 2015; copies of phone logs and text messages; all email correspondence from Turner’s gmail account for two years; and data usage to specific websites (Facebook, eBay, etc.) from the county clerk’s office.

Koehn requested an opinion on the request from Attorney General Ken Paxton on March 30. In doing so, he outlined his argument why some of the information was not public record and also excused Rasbury from the request because “Mrs. Rasbury is participating with the Texas Department of Public Safety in (another) investigation and release of this and similar information would interfere with law enforcement.”

In a seven-page reply from Assistant Attorney General Joseph Behnke dated June 4, the attorney general’s office agreed that some of the requested information could be withheld but said most of it had to be released.

In the interim, Johnson met with Koehn and agreed to narrow the requests so they weren’t so broad and covering such a large timeframe. In a letter to Johnson dated June 18, Koehn informed him that it was going to cost $2,210 to retrieve the information and $75 to copy 750 pages of requested information for a total of $2,285.

Additionally, by government code, Johnson had 10 days to pay or his request would be automatically withdrawn.

Lacking the funds to pay the charges, the

exceeds $1,500 (which most computers do), then it is a State Jail felony, therefore if found guilty, the above accused individuals would be removed from office, and serve time in jail,” Johnson told The Sealy News.

Johnson, Young and Skrivanek allege that there have been multiple violations of county policy and state election laws during the campaign. Every complaint made either to county officials or directly to Koehn wind up with Koehn as the final authority.

Is Koehn playing favorites?

The Sealy News/JOE SOUTHERN

Austin County Commissioner Reese Turner has come under fire for campaigning against Carolyn Bilski while on the clock and using an email account he uses to conduct county business. request lapsed on Koehn’s desk. The investigation of Turner, however, did not. Skrivanek, Young and Johnson made open records requests of his required financial filings with the state. On Aug. 31, they filed another complaint with Koehn alleging violations of the Texas Election Code by Turner.

Koehn conducted another investigation and concluded that there were no criminal violations and that he was closing the case. Young appealed to the Texas Ethics Commission and the commission ruled in his favor, fining Turner $100 for errors in this reports.

Why this matters As leaders of the Austin County Republican Party, the three men say they have a duty to make sure everyone is playing by the rules and to govern the organization. They said the actions by the county officials clearly violates county ordinances and are likely criminal in nature, but they need the requested Internet data to prove their case.

Under the county’s personnel policy manual regarding social networking, anyone under the employ of the county may not use social media on county time but may do so on their own time.

At any time they are prohibited from saying or doing things that disrupt work or defame the county or any of its employees.

The second part states that “No employee may use county equipment or facilities for furtherance of non-work-related activities or relationships.”

The sixth part says “Social media activities should never interfere with work commitments.”

Under the part of the code governing the use of tools, equipment, property and vehicles, “Access to the Internet

through county computers is to be used for county and departmental business only.”

The policy governing the use of county phones, email, computers and the Internet further states “The County prohibits the use of its computers, the E-mail system or the Internet in ways that are disruptive to others.” It also says “The Internet is to be used for County business and is not to be used for personal purposes.”

The seventh part of the section states: “Employees in violation of any portion of this policy shall be subject to disciplinary actions, up to and including termination.”

The county’s policy regarding political activity says a county employee may not “use his or her office of authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of an election or nomination for office.”

It later states that, “County employees, except Elected Officials, may not participate in political activities while on county duty.”

There is a gray area regarding Turner’s use of a gmail account. He uses the same address for both personal and county business. His personal emails are not subject to preservation and public disclosure as his county-related ones are. After the investigation began, he created a county email address but continues to use the gmail account for both purposes.

He told The Sealy News that he saves all county-related emails as he is required to by law.

When asked for copies of emails the newspaper sent to him regarding this investigation, he said he deleted them. If so, that would be in violation of the law because he was corresponding as a county official.

“The state law reads that if the value of any county property used to break Texas law by an official or an employee,

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When asked by The Sealy News about his investigations, Koehn said he conducted thorough investigations into the allegations and stands by his decisions.

Johnson, who admits to having a long-standing adversarial relationship with Koehn after a number of incidences, feels Koehn is playing favorites. In addition to a bias against him, Johnson alleged that Koehn is protecting Gregor, who used to work for him.

“I don’t know for sure that is why the stonewalling occurred by our DA, but I feel like it is a ****-poor excuse not to hold the people that did this accountable,” Johnson said.

A house divided One thing that both sides can agree on is that the nearly yearlong investigation has created a huge rift in the local Republican Party.

“Since then, Young, Skrivanek, and myself, have been repeatedly bashed on social media, and had our names and credibility dragged through the mud, all for trying to do what was right,” Johnson said.

“We still believe Carrie Gregor, a couple employees in her office, Reese Turner, and Tinson Rasbury got away with breaking county policy, violating the election code, and breaking Texas Law. They were assisted by the District Attorney’s delays ... and the end result is that they have split apart the Republican Party in Austin County.”

“These Doo-fusses have reduced the espirit-de-corps of the Austin County Republican Party to the point that next year’s meetings could be held in a phone booth,” Turner said in an email. “Fortunately, Buddy Koenig will rescue us from both Skrivanek and MarcMy-Many-Words Young, Austin County’s most boring man. Tommy Johnson is already well known by his record and of absolutely no influence with anyone.”