Browsing: Waco Updates

A Waco man implicated in the sexual abuse of eight young girls dating back 20 years was sentenced to life in prison Monday for molesting one of the girls.

Jurors in Waco’s 19th State District Court deliberated over two hours before recommending maximum penalties on three of the four felony counts for Tomas Ramirez, a 36-year-old floor and carpet layer and the father of three children. Including the life sentence on an aggravated sexual assault of a child conviction, the jury returned maximum 20-year sentences on two counts of indecency with a child. On the other count, another aggravated sexual assault of a child charge, the jury sentenced Ramirez to 99 years in prison.

A Waco developer has bought the shuttered Lake Brazos Bar and Grill and says he plans to turn it into a destination restaurant, inspired by the construction of Baylor Stadium downstream.

Two recent graduates have carried their Baylor school spirit into a new business. Sic’em Delivery offers a service specially designed for the college lifestyle.

Sic’em Delivery takes orders for food or other goods from around the campus area and brings them to students’ front doors.

Don’t think of it as losing an Arby’s. Think of it as gaining a 7-Eleven.

The world’s largest convenience retailer, with close to 49,500 stores around the world, will open a store across from Robinson Tower, an area once occupied by an Arby’s. Now it’s a pile of rubble.

An Army psychiatrist will not be allowed to plead guilty to any charges in the deadly 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Maj. Nidal Hasan’s attorneys previously said he was ready to plead guilty to the 13 counts of premeditated murder he faces in the worst mass shooting on a U.S. military installation, but Army rules prohibit a judge from accepting a guilty plea to charges that carry the death penalty.

People across Texas will soon hear more about what’s special about Waco and its neighboring cities, thanks to a new regional marketing plan. And locals will also be asked to join the action by sharing online what they like about their hometown.

Spring break is on the horizon. For the Texas Department of Public Safety, this influx of students on the road means trouble.

Starting today, Texas DPS patrols will double in number and focus on high-risk areas at times when crashes are most frequent, according to Texas DPS.

Security cameras donated by Financial Equipment Corp. have been set up in Oakwood Cemetery to increase the security and surveillance of the grounds.

This is a result of the Jan. 26 vandalism of statues and busts in the cemetery caused by multiple vandals. The vandalism cost the cemetery $200,000 in repairs.

A Waco police officer suffered a fractured wrist early Tuesday morning while trying to apprehend what authorities described as a “sword-wielding suspect.”

Steven Walker Webb, 21, was suspected of stealing several items at Discount Smoke Shop, 1402 N. 34th St., including a 4-foot sword, said Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton.

Children’s hospital gets special ambulance

Children ill enough to need a transfer from a local hospital to McLane Children’s Hospital Scott & White in Temple can now take the ride in style.

Run 2.2 miles. Eat 1.87 pounds of Gut Pak.

That is the challenge that some runners faced at the second annual Gut Pak Run on Saturday.

Two women and 20 men from Baylor and surrounding communities accepted that challenge, out of the 105 total participants, and ate a large gut pak while running the race.

Ladies and gentlemen, get ready to strap on your stilettos because a stampede is coming to town.

Registration for the Stiletto Stampede begins today.

The event will take place on April 27 at Heritage Square to help educate and raise awareness about breast cancer.

Though many Texans might forget the significance of March 2 in Texas history, the Historic Waco Foundation will be celebrating Texas Independence Day a little early with food, fun and music.

Tonight, Wacoans are invited to participate in the third annual Texas Independence Day Celebration of the Historic Waco Foundation.

Common Grounds customers will soon see a change in cups. The coffeehouse will replace its Styrofoam cups with completely decomposable cups as a part of their green initiative.

This will make the shop Styrofoam-free. Blake Batson, owner of Common Grounds, said the shop will order its first shipment of Styrofoam-free cups Monday.

The 20th anniversary of the disastrous raid on the Branch Davidians compound near Waco passed quietly Thursday, as colleagues of the four agents who died gathered in private and local officials made no plans to mark the day.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives held a ceremony in Waco to honor agents Conway LeBleu, Todd McKeehan, Robert John Williams and Steven Willis, the four agents who died in the Feb. 28, 1993 raid. Six Davidian members also died in that raid, which began a 51-day standoff that ended with the compound burning and the deaths of about 80 more sect members, including two dozen children.

o beyond the Baylor Bubble — that was the idea behind the Community Coffee House.

A panel of three community leaders gave a short presentation and then answered questions from both a moderator and students Tuesday in the Den of the Bill Daniel Student Center.

Ennis senior Briana Treadaway, student government’s external vice president, said she wanted students to know more about their community. Treadaway led the organization for the event.

Construction workers will temporarily close Interstate 35 just south of Bruceville-Eddy on Tuesday night to demolish the Old Blevins Road overpass, the Texas Department of Transportation reported.

All I-35 main lanes will close at Exit 314 from 7 p.m. Tuesday to 7 a.m. Wednesday while workers destroy the bridge, forcing drivers to use frontage roads through the area. Workers closed the bridge Monday ahead of the work, TxDOT spokesman Ken Roberts said.

The Hot Seat series brought together Wacoans and Texas officials to discuss the 83rd legislative session last Saturday.

The forum let any topic be brought to the table, but much of the discussion with state officials revolved around the heated topic of education.

The series was presented by the Texas Tribune and hosted in the Stone Room of the Ferrell Center.

The Metropolitan Planning Organization is holding public meetings this week to gauge residents’ interest in seeing more bike lanes and pedestrian paths throughout the Greater Waco area.

The MPO seeks input from residents on whether new lanes for bicyclists, runners and walkers are needed in cities that border Waco, and where the features would get the greatest usage. Suggestions for installation of new sidewalks also are welcome.

The meetings are scheduled in Waco, Hewitt and Lacy Lakeview, but also target residents from neighboring cities like Bellmead and Woodway.

Developer Jerry Dyer, who is making a mark on downtown Waco with his Franklin Place retail and housing venture, has another project in mind.

Dyer confirmed he hopes to buy the Waco Independent School District’s alternative school campus, 805 S. Eighth St., and convert it into space for loft apartments, while retaining its historic look.

Dyer and Austin-based Realtex Development Corp. have signed a contract to purchase the 50,794-square-foot school, which the school district shuttered and designated as surplus property.

State transportation officials are rolling out several changes to Interstate 35 construction zones in Central Texas in response to a string of major wrecks and deaths.

Lower speeds, rumble strips and more warning signs will mark work zones along I-35 in the Waco area and parts of Hill, Bell and Falls counties.

Some new 60-mph speed limit signs are up in Hill County, but most of the new safety features will go live in the spring, Texas Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jodi Wheatley said.

Federal officials say air traffic control centers at 25 smaller Texas airports could close or see hours reduced if automatic federal spending cuts take effect next week.

Officials on Friday said travelers should expect delays when the cutbacks begin in April.

Rattlesnakes can be found in many areas of Texas and are a part of southern folklore.

Oglesby, a town southwest of Waco, hosts a yearly festival to catch these serpents in the hopes of controlling the rattlesnake population.

The 44th Annual Rattlesnake Roundup, hosted by the Oglesby Lions Club, will start at 7 a.m. Saturday and will continue until Sunday afternoon.

Texas A&M University officials are investigating a bomb threat at Kyle Field that prompted officials to issue a “Code Maroon” safety advisory and close the stadium and nearby buildings, displacing about 700 people.

An A&M statement Wednesday says the football stadium and adjacent buildings that were evacuated will remain closed for the rest of the day.

Ninety-five percent of state prisoners will re-enter society at some point, according to the National Reentry Resource Center.

The Waco Reintegration Roundtable is working to help ease the transition of those ex-convicts.

Entrepreneurship may become the next big degree for students to pursue on college campuses.

Alex Wallace, who graduated from Baylor in 2008, has become a major businessman in the success of The Grounds Guys, a full-service commercial leading lawn care company.

Sanderson Farms notified the city of Palestine and Anderson County today of its intent to build a poultry complex in the region. The announcement immediately followed the completion of the company’s annual stockholders meeting in Laurel, Miss.

Zack Owen and Jim Cody will celebrate 20 years with Waco 100 as Central Texas’ longest-running No. 1 morning team.

Zack and Jim’s 20th Anniversary Blowout will take place from 7 p.m. to midnight Saturday at the Extraco Events Center off Lake Air Drive and Bosque Boulevard.

After 20 years of sharing news, telling corny jokes and providing McLennan County with a wide variety of country music, local disc jockeys of Waco 100 country radio station Zack Owen and Jim Cody are throwing a party to tell their listeners “thank you” for all the years of tuning in.

Zack & Jim’s 20th Anniversary Blowout will take place at 6 p.m. this Saturday at the Extraco Events Center, featuring a concert including A-list country stars Easton Corbin and Dustin Lynch. The event is free and open to everyone, and floor seats to the concert are $6.

A Waco alumnus is giving the oldest hardware and lumber store in Waco a makeover.

Accounting alumnus Larry Dagley and his wife Norma Dagley, an Alumna by Choice, bought the store last year as a venture into the retail market.