WTAW - Interviews

City of College Station Assistant Director of Water Stephen Maldonado joined WTAW’s Scott DeLucia to provide updates on water services, offer a reminder on conservation, compare current water usage to levels from 18 years ago, discuss planning for future growth and infrastructure, address rising water prices, drought monitoring, challenges from state and federal government, available irrigation resources, and more during his appearance on The Infomaniacs on Friday, February 27, 2026.

This podcast contains three interviews conducted by WTAW News Director Bill Oliver, the first with Brazos County Republican Party chairman Russ Ford, the second with congressional district 10 Republican candidate Ben Bius, and the third with Brazos County elections administrator Trudy Hancock.

Voters in Brazos County's Republican primary election are being warned to proofread their ballots.

That's because there are races with more than seven candidates. In those races, voters have to touch a button on Brazos County voting machines to see the remaining candidates.

The first person to contact WTAW News requesting assistance with educating voters was the chairman of the Brazos County Republican Party, Russ Ford.

Ford and a candidate for the Republican nomination for congressional district 10 whose name is not seen until voters hit the button to see the remaining choices, Ben Bius, told WTAW News they want signage at Brazos County voting locations informing voters that some races will require the additional step to see all candidates.

Bius also told WTAW News "I feel like this has harmed me and the other candidates. And I know that all the folks on that ballot want to have a fair election."

Brazos County elections administrator Trudy Hancock told WTAW News "I feel that the voters of Brazos County are intelligent voters. They can follow the instructions to see the full field of candidates."

WTAW News also took a phone call from a Brazos County voter to report what happened when he made his selection for a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, which is another race with more than seven candidates. After the voter touched the button to see the remaining candidates, he said the voting machine changed his selection. WTAW News contacted Hancock about what the voter described as the machine flipping his vote. Hancock said she took that machine out of service.

This podcast is a visit with a spokesman of the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial and WTAW alumnus Tom Turbiville and Scott DeLucia on WTAW's The Infomaniacs February 26, 2026.

The Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial at College Station's Veterans Park will dedicate its newest statue on Saturday morning (February 28) at 10:30.

The new statue, which honors veterans of the Mexican Border Service, is a representation of a commander in the 10th U.S. Cavalry "Buffalo Soldiers", Army major Charles Young.

This is the 25th BVVM statue created by sculptor J. Payne Lara of Navasota.

The keynote speaker is retired Marine captain Al Scott, who is also a retired executive with Wells Fargo Bank in Bryan/College Station.

BVVM spokesman and WTAW alumnus Tom Turbiville says this is the next to last statue to be placed at the memorial. He also says there will be a special program recognizing the United States 250th birthday the morning of July 4th at 9 a.m. at the American Revolution statue. And the memorial's wall of honor, recognizing those who have served in the military, will pass 7,000 names during the annual Veterans Day program.


News release from the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial:

The Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial (BVVM) will dedicate its newest statue on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 10:30 a.m. This statue, honoring veterans of the Mexican Border Service, is a representation of Major Charles Young, U.S. Army, as a commander in the 10th U.S. Cavalry “Buffalo Soldiers” in 1916. This statue is a part of the 17th memorial site along the Lynn Stuart Pathway, a half-mile trail connecting the BVVM memorials, and the 25th statue created by sculpture J. Payne Lara of Navasota for the Memorial. 

The dedication’s keynote remarks will be given by Captain Alfred ‘Al’ E. Scott, USMC (Ret.) Captain Scott enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1974 and commissioned as an officer after graduating from Texas A&M University in 1981 with a BBA in accounting. After serving more than 20 years in the Marines, Captain Scott entered the banking industry and retired from Wells Fargo Bank as business relationship manager and vice president of Bryan/College Station and Northwest Houston locations. 

This dedication is the first BVVM event for the historic American 250 celebration year and coincides with the annual Black History Month. The soldier chosen to represent the conflict, Major Young, served in the U.S. Army from 1889 to 1922 after being the third Black graduate of the United States Military Academy. He commanded the 2nd Squadron of the 10th U.S. Cavalry during the 1916 Punitive Expedition by the U.S. into Mexico. He was the first Black man to achieve the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army.

Bryan police officer Seth Waller joined WTAW’s Scott DeLucia on The Infomaniacs on Thursday, February 26, 2026, to talk about the Blue Bunny Egg Hunt, home security, the impact of A.I. on the department, and more.

This podcast contains comments from the February 17, 2026 College Station ISD school board meeting and the February 23, 2026 Bryan ISD school board meeting.

Existing religious practices by students and employees in Bryan and College Station ISD's will continue.

Over the last two weeks, school board members in Bryan and College Station ISD addressed a requirement from a new state law passed in last year's legislative session, Senate Bill 11, to take a position on a state option of setting a specific time and place to pray and read religious materials.

Click HERE to read and download Senate Bill 11 from the 2025 regular session of the Texas legislature.

Board members in both districts decided to continue with current local policies and practices on religious expression.

College Station ISD school board members spent less than five minutes on the subject at their February 17th regular meeting. Superintendent Tim Harkrider said the state option in Senate Bill 11 was more restrictive.

Click HERE to read and download a memo associated with the February 17, 2026 College Station ISD board meeting.

Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the February 17, 2026 College Station ISD board meeting.

Bryan ISD school board members and administrators spent 90 minutes on the subject at their February 25th meeting. 

Nearly one hour was spent behind closed doors with board members, administrators, and lawyers. That was followed by 30 minutes of public discussion. All six BISD board members at the meeting had comments. Five of the six shared their personal religious beliefs.

After the Bryan ISD school board unanimously rejected a state option requiring religious expression by students and employees at a specific time and a specific location, the board then unanimously adopted a resolution reaffirming the district's local policies and practices.

Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the February 23, 2026 Bryan ISD board meeting.

Click HERE to read and download the resolution that was passed at the February 23, 2026 Bryan ISD school board meeting.

Bryan Mayor Pro Tem James Edge visits with WTAW’s Scott DeLucia to discuss the new city manager, Bryan Texas Utilities, the fire department, Midtown Park updates, the Troubadour Festival, and more during his appearance on The Infomaniacs on Wednesday, February 25, 2026.

This podcast contains comments from the February 24, 2026 Brazos County commission meeting.

Brazos County commissioners approve adding two new state historical markers outside the courthouse.

Historical commission chairman Henry Mayo says one of the new state plaques will recognize a Black state lawmaker who represented Brazos County after the Civil War, John Mitchell of Burleson County. Mayo said Mitchell's marker is one of 23 special markers memorializing Reconstruction legislators of Texas, as requested by the 88th Texas Legislature in 2023 (Senate Bill 667). The emblem on top of Mitchell's marker is the State seal, and the typical Texas Historical Commission emblem is in the lower left. There is another state marker for Mitchell in Caldwell.

A former member of the Brazos County historical commission, Randy Haynes, pursued the second state marker, recognizing one of the first Black lawyers in Texas, John N. Johnson. The marker notes Johnson appealing the death sentences of two Black Brazos County men...where one man's sentence was overturned and the other was commuted to a life sentence. The state bar of Texas website also says Johnson taught school in Bryan before pursuing his legal career.

To make room for the two new state historical markers outside the courthouse, two other markers will be moved to Brazos County's Boonville Heritage Park. They are the confederate commissioners court marker and the daughters of the american revolution cedar tree marker.

No dates have been set for dedicating the new state historical markers and moving the existing markers.

This podcast contains comments from the February 24, 2026 Brazos County commission emergency meeting.

Brazos County commissioners reinstate a burn ban.The 60 day ban, applying outside of city limits, can be terminated before April 25th if weather conditions change.

Commissioners unanimously accepted the recommendation of the county's four rural fire chief and emergency management coordinator Jason Ware.

Ware said soil moisture is at an acceptable level. But there is a high fire danger due to grass that has dried combined with low humidity and increased wind speeds.

Click HERE to read and download the burn ban order approved by Brazos County commissioners February 24, 2026.

This podcast contains comments from the February 20, 2026 meeting of the Texas board of criminal justice.

Starting April 1st, Texas prison inmates will no longer be receiving hardback books.

That's part of a policy change approved by the board governing the prison system.

Last Friday's (February 20) unanimous vote followed staff recommendations that this will reduce the amount of illegal drugs being smuggled inside book spines and book covers.

The prison system's chief programs officer Jason Clark said last year, 78 inmates died of drug overdoses and an undisclosed number of employees received medical treatment after being exposed to drugs.

The chairman of the state prison board, Eric Nichols of Austin, said "There are people, and again I am biting my tongue not to use a different description for these human beings, who want to profit from selling these illegal and dangerous substances in TDCJ facilities and units. And frankly, they don't give a damn whether they kill people or not in making those profits."

The prison board's vote means inmates can receive only softback books in new condition.

Clark said this summer, the prison system will require those wanting to send inmates books to register online and provide information about what they will be sending.

Click HERE to read and download a news release from the Texas prison system.

Click HERE to read and download presentation materials shown at the February 20, 2026 state prison board meeting.

This podcast is a recording of WTAW's United Way of the Brazos Valley report on February 23, 2026 with UWBV president Lizett Hawkins and the program director at UWBV partner agency Unbound Now B/CS, Naomi Rijpstra.