The Alvin Sun (Alvin, Tex.), Vol. 129, No. 5, Ed. 1 Sunday, February 3, 2019 Page: 1 of 8
eight pages : ill.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Th<>lvinSUN
86037 80509
7
1
Victims' families watch quietly at first Pagourtzis hearing
Hunting down
a wayward bat
Olson's House seat
>1
L |
Joe Walz
I
7
See WALZ, page 2
See BAT, page 2
Joshua Truksa
See POWER, page 2
See SENATE, page 2
50^
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2019
www.alvinsun.net
I
Power outage leaves ACC,
thousands more in the dark
Army vet Joe Walz
announces bid for
By Joshua Truksa
Staff Reporter
By David Rupkalvis
Publisher
A Publication of
AUaSw
MEDIA
was reported at approximately
1:55 p.m. and affected
approximately 1,250 homes
and businesses.
Mark Armstrong, who works
as a chef at Bypass Grill, was
cooking an order when
suddenly the power went out.
He had to use the light from his
Robert Barfield, left, and Nicholas Poehl, defense attorneys for Dimitrios Pagourtzis, listen during a
court hearing in the case. The defense is asking for a change of venue in the case, where Pagourtzis
is charged with killing 10 people and injuring 13 at Santa Fe High School. (Courtesy photo)
response of the nervous system
followed by a curse. Therefore, I
considered the effort successful.
The bat was first spotted at
approximately 10:30 a.m.,
prompting a call to Brazoria
County Animal Control, which
was too far away to beat Texas
and spent a considerable amount
of time discussing the
frustrations with the ability to
get or update driver’s licenses in
the state.
The DPS operates 235 driver’s
license offices across the state,
ranging from 166 offices staffed
by 10 or fewer employees to
nine mega-centers in major
cities that process more than
1
procedure with Judge John
Ellisor, discussing the schedule
of future proceedings and when
the prosecution will provide its
response to the defense’s request
for a change of venue. The
prosecution said it would be
filing its motion of response
Friday as it needed a week for
review. Ellisor said the court
would be scheduling oral
arguments within seven to 10
days after the prosecution’s
motion is filed.
Judge Ellisor said he did not
expect the hearing regarding the
change of venue to consist of
anything more than oral
arguments.
As to when the actual trial
will take place, there will be no
attempt to set a trial date for at
least 90 days according to
Pagourtzis’ defense attorney
Nicholas Poehl.
“We’ll be setting a court date
for roughly 90 days out to — it’s
kind of a disposition date where
— a day where we will attempt
to set a trial date and set some
other deadlines for remaining
discovery and issues like that,
designation of experts, things
along those lines,” Poehl said.
2,000 transactions every day.
But whether a citizen goes to a
single-person office or a mega-
center, they aren't receiving
good customer service,
according to an interim review
by the Sunset Advisory
Commission.
The commission met over the
co-worker Scott Snider’s phone
to finish cooking.
“He was standing over the
grill while I was cooking the
burger. We don’t need no
lights,” Armstrong joked, with
he and Snider adding that they
One of the most frustrating
things for average Texans finally
has the attention of the Texas
Senate.
On Monday, the Senate
Finance Committee discussed
the budget of the Texas
Department of Public Safety
Poehl said that while he
understood the families’ feelings
about moving the trial, he
believed the change of venue
request was appropriate to
ensure that Pagourtzis receives a
fair trial.
“The issue goes to Dimitrios’
ability to get a fair trial. That is
the only thing that I’m concerned
with, and for purposes of this
motion it’s the only thing the
judge should be concerned with.
If that necessitates moving the
trial to give him a fair trial then
it does, and all other
considerations are secondary,”
Poehl said.
Poehl said if there is a change
of venue, it will most likely not
be moved to Harris County
because the “law does not favor
contiguous counties.”
Responding to a reporter’s
question mentioning a fake
news story circulating on social
media that was cited in the
defense’s affidavit for a change
of venue, Poehl said such posts
continue to make an impact on
the community that make it
impossible for Pagourtzis to
receive a fair trial in Galveston
See HEARING, page 2
*
. I
Equipment failure led to a
nearly one-hour long power
outage on the east side of Alvin
on Monday. Eric Paul, a
spokesman for Texas-New
Mexico Power, said the outage
I
If Congressman Pete Olson
chooses to run for another term
in the U.S. House of
Representatives, he will face a
challenge in the Republican
primary.
Last week, Army vet Joe
Walz announced he would be
seeking the Republican
nomination in District 22.
Walz, who lives in
Richmond, said he decided to
run after watching the 2018
election cycle. He said concern
about his daughters led him to
throw his hat in the ring.
“I am running for office for
many reasons,” Walz said.
“The inclination came to me
about a month after the 2018
election when thinking about
how I was to prepare my
daughters for what the world
has become. I felt as though
running for office would help
me prepare the world for my
daughters instead. In my 34
years, I have never seen the
country more divided. We are
purposely divided and under
deception by the establishment.
Our representatives have
created a $21 trillion debt and
operate our country with a $1
trillion deficit every year. To
The feeling was somber and
the room was very quiet at the
start of the first hearing for
Santa Fe High School shooter
Dimitrios Pagourtzis.
The parents of Pagourtzis and
the families of all 10 victims
except for the Pakistani
exchange student Sabika Sheikh
were present. The victims’
families sat taking up the left
front row in the Jury Assembly
Room of the Galveston County
Courthouse.
Rosie Y. Stone, mother of
victim Christopher Stone, left
the room crying shortly before
the scheduled start of the
proceedings, returning within a
few minutes.
The court placed tissues
intermittently among the chairs
as a courtesy.
Over a poor, echoing sound
system, media personnel,
victims’ families and one of
Pagourtzis’ attorneys who was
present with him via live video
feed struggled to hear as
prosecution and defense
attorneys went through a routine
u;[" :
tn
K’-'
Avery Truksa (left) watches as Brazoria County Sheriff’s Deputy Thomas Liles readies Truksa’s Shop Vac in Liles’first attempt to obtain
the bat from a recess behind the cabinets. (Photo by Joshua Truksa)
terrified after hearing stories
about rabid bats on the news for
years, slowly wandering around
the house looking up. Naturally,
I did what anyone would do. I
snuck up behind her and
screamed. Later, I pointed
behind her and shouted, “There
he is!” Both times elicited an
initial response of quick
Prosecution to respond to change
of venue request this week
By Joshua Truksa
Staff Reporter
The bat, the game warden and the two cops
One could say our house has
been doomed with Biblical style
plagues. Years ago, a swarm of
bees decided to make the
underside of our raised house
near Mustang Bayou home. On
Jan. 24,2018, yet another animal
decided to make our house home
— a bat.
Of course, my mother was
State Senate looks for ways to
improve driver’s license service
By David Rupkalvis
Publisher
think that is sustainable is pure
ignorance. We can’t continue
electing representatives that
allow this to happen.”
While Walz said he respects
Olson and has no substantial
complaints about his service,
he said District 22 would be
better served by a younger
representative who would
bring more energy and
enthusiasm to the office.
“I would like to see more
youth and vigor for Texas 22,”
Walz said. “Pete has done well
for the most part, but it shows
in his speech, body language
and lack of public town halls
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
The Alvin Sun (Alvin, Tex.), Vol. 129, No. 5, Ed. 1 Sunday, February 3, 2019, newspaper, February 3, 2019; Alvin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1245361/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Alvin Community College.