The Sealy News

Sealy City Councilmember Larry Koy talks during a Zoom meeting of the council July 14. The city council has moved its meeting back online to be in compliance with COVID-19 regulations.

The importance of having an odd number of members on council became evident Wednesday night as two items failed to pass due to tie votes during an online meeting of the Sealy City Council. more

By Joe Southern | 7/22/20

Chesnutt, Whiskey Meyers to headline fair

The 93rd Austin County Fair and Rodeo is set for Oct. 2 to 11 in Bellville, starting with the barbecue contest and ending with Whiskey Meyers on the main stage. more

By Cole McNanna | 7/22/20

Bellville's Zach Hood (3) played linebacker and kicker for the Brahmas and last year helped Bellville reach the third round of the playoffs for the fourth time in the last five years.

Bellville student perishes in crash

Zach Hood, a rising senior at Bellville High School, was involved in a fatal accident Sunday night, his family announced. He was 18 years old. more

By Cole McNanna | 7/22/20

While both NCAA and Big 12 Conference officials have yet announce firm decisions on how college football will proceed as schools grapple with the pandemic, Texas athletics director Chris Del Conte sent an email Monday to season ticket holders announcing the season would move forward as planned.

UT-Austin preparing to let football fans fill half its stadium when games resume Sept. 5

A university official said seating at the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium will be reduced to 50% to facilitate social distancing, meaning around 50,000 Longhorns could potentially be seated in stands this fall. more

By Raga Justin, The Texas Tribune | 7/21/20

Juan Lopez prepares to pick up a body in the early morning from a refrigerated trailer at Doctors Hospital at Renaissance in Edinburg.

These “last responders” deal with the bodies as coronavirus deaths surge in the Rio Grande Valley

Funeral homes have set up temporary morgues. Crematoriums are running overtime. Families must wait more than a week to bury their loved ones. For body couriers and funeral workers, there’s no letup in sight. more

By Shannon Najmabadi and Miguel Gutierrez Jr., The Texas Tribune | 7/21/20

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, along with over 90 other Texas mayors, signed a letter asking members of Congress for “fiscal assistance to all cities.”

Facing budget shortfalls, nearly 100 Texas mayors plead with Congress for coronavirus relief funding

City leaders are asking for more spending flexibility to address the financial shortfalls caused by the pandemic. more

By Reese Oxner and Juan Pablo Garnham, The Texas Tribune | 7/21/20

McAllen sits in Hidalgo County, whose top official issued an emergency order Monday in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But such mandates are largely unenforceable in the state.

Hidalgo County judge tries slowing coronavirus, but Gov. Greg Abbott has limited his options

Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez issued a new shelter-at-home order Monday night, but it “has no enforcement mechanism” according to Abbott’s office. more

By Sarah R. Champagne, The Texas Tribune | 7/20/20

Only 10 days after crossing the 3,000 threshold, Texas surpassed 4,000 COVID-19 deaths Monday.

Coronavirus kills another 1,000 in Texas in just 10 days

The number of COVID-19 deaths has reached 4,000 in Texas, and public health experts say that’s an undercount because not all people who died with coronavirus symptoms were tested. more

By Sarah R. Champagne, The Texas Tribune | 7/20/20

TAPPS delays seasons

Faith Academy in Bellville will delay the start of fall and winter sports after the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools announced July 17 that it will be delaying the start of those sports seasons due to rising cases of COVID-19 in the state. more

By Cole McNanna | 7/20/20

On Monday, Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced the economic blow from the coronavirus pandemic had created a large shortfall in the budget.

Texas faces a looming $4.6 billion deficit, comptroller projects

The coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices are driving down projected general revenue in the state's current budget by more than $11 billion. more

By Cassandra Pollock, The Texas Tribune | 7/20/20

A patient at the COVID-19 unit at Doctors Hospital at Renaissance Health System in Edinburg. The U.S. Navy has deployed teams to help deal with coronavirus surges in the Rio Grande Valley and other Texas hot spots.

Five U.S. Navy teams deploy to Rio Grande Valley, other Texas coronavirus hot spots

Doctors and nurses at local hospitals across South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley have been working a number of extra shifts as their hospitals near capacity. more

By Stacy Fernández, The Texas Tribune | 7/19/20

Eighty-five infants younger than age 1 have tested positive for the coronavirus in Nueces County.

85 babies under 1 year old in Nueces County have tested positive for COVID-19 since mid-March

Nueces County Medical Examiner Adel Shaker told The Texas Tribune last week that a baby boy, younger than 6 months old, tested positive for COVID-19 and died. more

By Alex Samuels, The Texas Tribune | 7/18/20

The Hoffman family, visiting from Chicago, has dinner at Harrison's Landing Restaurant & Bar at the Corpus Christi Marina on July 16, 2020.

With 4 in 5 Texans living in a "red zone," coronavirus hot spots are moving targets

Early hot spots have been eclipsed by new regions in crisis. Now that so much of Texas is battling major coronavirus outbreaks, some severely ill patients have to travel long distances to receive the care they need. more

By Emma Platoff, Sarah R. Champagne, Edgar Walters and Mandi Cai, The Texas Tribune | 7/18/20

First COVID-related death reported in Austin County

Bellville Medical Center announced Austin County’s first death related to COVID-19 in an update Friday afternoon. Austin County Judge Tim Lapham confirmed the report in his update later in the … more

By Cole McNanna | 7/17/20

$Jessica Lemmer went over a fraction problem with her third grade math class in 2018 at Edward Titche Elementary School in Dallas' Pleasant Grove area. Dallas County officials have prohibited schools this year from having in-person classes until Sept. 8.$

Harris County officials recommend, not mandate, that school districts stay closed to in-person instruction until October

On Tuesday, Tarrant County joined the list of other officials, including those in Dallas, who are mandating delayed school reopening. more

By Aliyya Swaby, The Texas Tribune | 7/16/20

Pictured moving an outhouse to the Sealy Historical Park recently are, from the left, Dennis Holder, Ryan Gassner, Leon Konvicka, Berl Gassner, and Daniel Griffen.

Outhouse donated to historical society

The Sealy Historical Park is now privy to a new exhibit. A reproduction two-holer outhouse was recently donated to the Sealy Area Historical Society and has been temporarily placed next to the old … more

From staff reports | 7/16/20

Fr. Jonathan Moré has replaced Eric Pitre as the priest at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Sealy. He began his duties July 1.

New priest comes to Immaculate Conception Catholic Church

After saying goodbye to Fr. Eric Pitre upon his retirement at the end of June, the members of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Sealy have welcomed his replacement, Jonathan Moré, who hails from West Houston. more

By Joe Southern editor@sealynews.com | 7/16/20

Distilleries, wineries and even some restaurants with high alcohol sales say they are unfairly being caught in the crossfire of the statewide bar shutdown.

Distilleries, wineries shuttered by Gov. Greg Abbott's bar shutdown say they should be exempted

Distillery, winery and some restaurant owners say their businesses are different from traditional bars, which Abbott closed after COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations began to climb in June. more

By Reese Oxner, The Texas Tribune | 7/15/20

A demonstrator held a sign outside the state Capitol grounds during a teacher protest Wednesday.

Texas officials scramble to provide school reopening guidelines with only weeks of summer left

Conflicting mandates pingponging between state and local officials are frustrating many parents, students and teachers trying to plan for a fall semester during a raging pandemic. more

By Aliyya Swaby, The Texas Tribune | 7/15/20

The Texas A&M University System will send out about 15,000 mouth swab test kits each month to be distributed across its 11 university campuses.

Texas A&M System will provide free COVID-19 tests, but it’s a mixed bag for other schools

Up to 15,000 test kits will be available per month across its 11 universities. The system has set aside $16 million to pay for the testing program. more

By Stacy Fernández, The Texas Tribune | 7/15/20