WTAW - Interviews

This podcast contains comments from the October 20, 2025 Bryan ISD school board meeting.

The Bryan ISD school board approves the purchase of a new software program for teachers and administrators to communicate with parents.

Technology director Julea Johnson presented the proposal at the board's October 20th meeting.

Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the BISD October 20, 2025 school board meeting.

WTAW's Bill Oliver visits with Lisa Wamsley of United Way of the Brazos Valley partner agency Sonshine Outreach Center of Madisonville and UWBV president Lizette Hawkins.

This podcast contains visits with Pink Alliance board secretary Tracy Paine and the featured speaker at the 22nd annual Pink Alliance Surviving & Thriving luncheon, Heidi Floyd.

The Pink Alliance breast cancer advocacy organization hosted its 22nd Surviving & Thriving breast cancer awareness luncheon on Monday (October 27).

The organization announced launching a new initiative, offering free mammograms on the second Friday of the month starting November 14. Pink Alliance board secretary Tracy Paine said the mammograms will be done from 8 a.m. until noon at Brazos Valley Women's Center.

Paine said in 2024, Pink Alliance gave $128,000 dollars of direct patient services to 80 women and one man who live in the seven county Brazos Valley region.

The Surviving & Thriving luncheon has raised over $1.36 million dollars to serve and support local breast cancer patients and advance breast health and cancer awareness efforts.

This year's keynote speaker was Heidi Floyd of Atlanta, a national advocate who is a two time cancer survivor, a mother of four, and the daughter of a metastatic breast cancer victim.

Floyd was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 36 and underwent chemotherapy while she was pregnant with her fourth child.

A Pink Alliance news release says Floyd is a public speaker and published author who has also served as the “voice of the patient” for Ford, Google, The U.S. Department of Defense, the American Cancer Society, and the Susan G. Komen foundation.

This podcast contains comments from the October 23, 2025 College Station city council meeting.

College Station city council members agree to visit in a future meeting about possible city assistance to increase mental health services.

Councilwoman Melissa McIlhaney suggested the topic at the end of last Thursday's meeting (October 23).

She said she has been shocked by the reports they receive on the number of suicides

McIlhaney says she is not advocating that the city take a certain course of action.

This podcast contains comments from the October 21, 2025 College Station ISD school board meeting.

College Station ISD school board members will officially decide at its November regular meeting whether to start accepting students who live outside the district. 

There was no opposition to the idea that was presented by superintendent Tim Harkrider during the October workshop meeting.

Harkrider's proposal for out of district transfers would be on an application basis where CSISD decides who is accepted, what campuses students would attend, and what is required to remain in the district.

If approved by the CSISD board in November, then administrators will start taking applications in December and January and make decisions next February.

This podcast is a visit with Dean Schneider of the College Station Noon Lions Club and WTAW's Bill Oliver.

The College Station Noon Lions Club is holding its 75th anniversary celebration Thursday night (October 30).

A past president who is chairing the 75th anniversary committee, Dean Schneider, says they have worked for one and a half years on the event.

The milestone celebration will showcase the community impact of the club through programs focused on vision, hunger relief, childhood cancer, diabetes awareness, and the environment. 

The program includes remarks from Lions International past president Dr. Patti Hill.

Click HERE to be directed to the College Station Noon Lions Club 75th anniversary webpage.

The College Station Noon Lions club was chartered in October 1950 with 26 members.

Current membership is 135.

The club recently received proclamations from the College Station city council and the Brazos County commission.

This podcast contains comments from the October 23, 2025 College Station city council meeting.

The first Friday in November is celebrated as Texas Arbor Day.

Before mayor John Nichols read a proclamation at the last College Station city council meeting, he brought up the removal of trees in the path of the freeway expansion.

After the proclamation, Nichols suggested sycamore trees donated by the Texas A&M forest service would go to the parks and recreation department.In College Station,

Texas Arbor Day will be recognized with a program by the parks department and the Texas A&M Garden Club on Friday, November seventh, at ten a.m. at Richard Carter Park.

Click HERE to read and download the proclamation issued at the October 23, 2025 College Station city council meeting.

This podcast contains comments from the October 23, 2025 College Station city council meeting.

The College Station city council moves to a third location to build more baseball facilities.

The council at Thursday's meeting (October 23) voted 5-1 to pursue negotiations for a public private partnership with a developer who wants to build a complex on city owned land behind the Costco store in the Midtown district.

The proposal from a local company called Southern Roots includes among other things a 3,800 seat stadium and eight adjacent fields.

Click HERE to read and download the Southern Roots proposal that was made at the October 9, 2025 College Station council meeting.

The council's motion also put a pause on adding a stadium and two fields at Veterans Park, which has been in the design phase. 

The Veterans Park location was chosen after the council in 2023 cancelled the construction of ballfields at Texas Independence Park due to soil quality issues.

Another component of the council motion also called for the remaining city owned land in the Midtown Business Park that won't be used for baseball to be preserved for business uses.

The no vote came from David White, who was able to get any support for building a stadium and two additional fields at Veterans Park. Absent from the meeting was Scott Shafer.

White was also the lone vote against rejecting a $3.66 million dollar contract to do drainage work at Veterans Park that would have started preparing the site to build the stadium and two fields.

Click HERE to read and download information about the $3.66 million dollar contract that was rejected.

A statement was read during the meeting from a co-owner of the Brazos Valley Bombers, which has been negotiating with the city to play at the Veterans Park stadium. The statement from Uri Geva, read by city manager Bryan Woods, said "In order to ensure the best long term outcome for stakeholders, the city, its citizens, the youth sports community and the Bombers, we believe that additional time is essential (to develop more fields at Veterans Park). We fully support proceeding with the tributary work at Veterans Park (referring to the $3.66 million dollar contract to prepare the site that was rejected by a 5-1 council vote), as that infrastructure will be necessary regardless of whether the site ultimately supports the current three field plan or a future expanded build. Moving forward with this phase allows city staff and Midtown baseball developers the time needed to deliver an optimal data driven solution without closing the door on a potential 2027 opening at Veterans Park. Should the opportunity to play at either Midtown or Veterans extend to 2028 as previously discussed with city staff, we are confident College Station will explore alternative options including granting support to temporary access to existing 2,000 plus seat facilities in the Aggieland area. We trust our partners at the city of College Station as we plan for a permanent home for the Bombers for decades to come."

This podcast is a visit about the city of College Station's animal control office. Animal control officer Jaina Lara and the city's public communications director Colin Killian visit with Scott DeLucia on WTAW's The Infomaniacs.

Bryan Mayor Bobby Gutierrez visits with WTAW's Scott DeLucia about the American Public Power conference, the Nuclear Alliance, development at the RELLIS campus, a potential new datacenter, hiring a new city manager, new development, conversations with Waffle House, and more during his appearance on The Infomaniacs.