Texas News Service
Chris Thomas
Texas News Service
AUSTIN, Texas – More than a dozen attorneys representing about 600 Texas school districts laid out their case on Monday that the state education funding system is inefficient, outmoded and favors wealthy districts over poor ones. They contend that over time, the system has eroded many students’ chances of getting a good education. Five other cases have alleged as much since the 1980s.
The Public Arts League of Salado and Keep Salado Beautiful hosted the first anniversary celebration of the Salado Sculpture Garden starting with a gala preview party 6 p.m. Oct. 26 in the garden at 113 Salado Plaza Drive.
FORT HOOD, Texas — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces issued another stay of proceedings Oct. 22 in the Maj. Nidal M. Hasan court martial.
The CAAF issued the stay after defense counsel for Hasan notified the court last week that they planned on appealing the recent decision from the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals that upheld the trial judge’s ruling that Hasan must appear in court clean shaven.
The CAAF did not state how long the stay would remain in place, only saying that Hasan’s motion for a stay “is hereby granted pending further order of the Court.”
AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has added Ricco Leo Torres, 32, to the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive list, and a $10,000 cash reward is now offered for information leading to his capture.
AUSTIN – Thomas Lee Elkins, 58, a Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender, is now in custody after being arrested in Coppell on Friday by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Highway Patrol and Coppell Police Department. A $5,000 reward will be paid on a tip that helped lead to his arrest. Elkins was wanted for felony Failure to Comply with Civil Commitment Requirements after discarding his electronic monitoring device and leaving a Houston halfway house October 5.
The tip came from Arizona and established that the offender may be a passenger in a truck traveling in Dallas County. DPS and the Coppell Police Department pulled the vehicle over and arrested Elkins Friday morning at 346 E. Beltline Road in Coppell. His lengthy criminal history included Aggravated Sexual Assault, Assault, Aggravated Kidnapping, Aggravated Rape, Forcible Rape, Indecent Liberties with Child and Aggravated Battery. See Elkins’ captured bulletin at: http://www.dps.texas.gov/Texas10MostWanted/capturedDetails.aspx?id=169 .
So far in 2012, DPS and other agencies have arrested 29 Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives and Sex Offenders, including 20 gang members, and $93,000 in rewards have been paid for tips that resulted in arrests. The cash rewards are funded by the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division.
There is a new way to save for your child’s college tuition.
To encourage families to put aside money for the cost of higher education, the Texas Comptroller’s office is offering competitive matching scholarships and tuition grants to 150 students this year through the Texas Match the Promise Foundation®.
AUSTIN – (October 17, 2012) – The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) today approved by resolution a loan in the amount of $900,000 to the Salado Water Supply Corporation (Bell County) from the Rural Water Assistance Fund to finance water system improvements.
The Salado Water Supply Corporation intends to use the funds to construct infrastructure that will allow it to connect to the Kempner Water Supply Corporation’s recently constructed surface water treatment plant.
The TWDB is the state agency charged with collecting and disseminating water-related data, assisting with regional planning and preparing the State Water Plan for the development of the state’s water resources. The TWDB administers cost-effective financial programs for the construction of water supply, wastewater treatment, flood control, and agricultural water conservation projects.
FORT HOOD, Texas — The U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals issued an opinion Oct. 18 upholding the trial judge’s decision to order Maj. Nidal M. Hasan to appear in court clean shaven. The ACCA ruled that Col. Gregory Gross, the trial judge, properly found that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not provide Hasan the right to wear a beard while in uniform during his upcoming court martial.
Fingerprints have led to the identification of a body that was discovered Oct. 12 a half-mile south of the dam at Stillhouse Hollow Lake.
Southwest Institute of Forensic Science notified the Bell County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 13 that the body discovered in a bag off of FM 1670 died of multiple stab wounds in the chest.
The victim is identified by fingerprints as being a missing person reported out of San Antonio. Llael Garcia-Rodriguez, 31 years of age, from San Atnonio has been identified as the murder victim.
COLLEGE STATION – Experts at a conference addressing water and energy in Texas collectively agreed the state’s water needs will grow exponentially over the next decade, fueled by a “business-friendly” environment attracting more people to the Lone Star state.
But unsolved is how to fund the proposed $53.1 billion state water plan going before the Texas Legislature in January. This issue, along with education, will be on the forefront of issues debated among lawmakers in Austin, according to conference speakers.