Local News

After more than a year of battling the COVID-19 pandemic, Austin County Judge Tim Lapham said that area businesses are starting to rebound and business is back to usual at the county courthouse. “Most all of the businesses are (back to usual) as well.

After the regular westbound exit off Interstate 10 to Highway 36 in Sealy was closed over the weekend, the exit to Rexville Road (Exit 718) was condensed with Exit 720 as a detour option back into town. This traffic pattern is scheduled for use for approximately two months as part of the Texas Department of Transportation’s expansion project.

The Texas Department of Transportation announced Tuesday the westbound exit from Interstate 10 to Highway 36 will temporarily close for two months starting Friday night, June 25. Eastbound traffic will not be impacted, TxDOT said.

At Tuesday night’s regular meeting of the Sealy City Council at the W.E. Hill Community Center, a new phone system for City Hall was approved four votes to three. It was at the previous meeting where discussions heated up determining the route the city was going to take.

After being forced to cancel last year’s event due to the pandemic, a three-day summer celebration with music, barbecue, softball and fireworks seems like a perfect way to shake off any remaining effects of social distancing.

The Sealy Chamber of Commerce hosted a governmental luncheon last Wednesday, June 16, where Sealy Mayor Carolyn Bilski and Austin County Judge Tim Lapham provided updates on various projects around the Sealy area for in-person attendees at the Legion Hall and on the Chamber’s Facebook page.

The Father’s Day Car Social in downtown Sealy provided bountiful opportunities for fathers to make memories with their children Saturday afternoon. Cars lined Main Street on the right, left and center and more cars spilled into the parking lot – where the Burns Pit BBQ food truck operated – and some more stretched around the corner onto Fowlkes Street for folks’ viewing pleasure.

The National Weather Service issued a Special Weather Statement just before 7 p.m. regarding severe storms moving west at 20 mph.

“Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along a line extending from 10 miles east of Speaks to Cumings,” the statement says. “Winds in excess of 30 mph will be possible with these storms.”

Eligible families can swing by Cryan Park in Sealy to pick up a box fan and cooling towels courtesy of Combined Community Action.

CCA Communication Director Karen Walpole said the service goes to different cities to provide family services, weatherization and meals on wheels aid.

Sealy City Council is battling the aftermath of Bitcoin Mining Software that resulted in the city being hacked. Sealy City Fire Marshal/IT Joey Schmidt spoke to the council during the June 9 workshop at the W. E. Hill Community Center and said the incident happened on several occasions last month.