Grand jury no bills Sunset city officials

BOWIE — The Montague County grand jury no-billed two Sunset city officials for possible misdemeanor open meetings violations, The Bowie News reported.

When the grand jury met it heard evidence gathered over the past year on allegations of open meeting violations in the city of Sunset.

District Attorney Tim Cole said the grand jury subpoenaed Danny Russell, who now serves as Sunset mayor, and Renee Maddox, who now serves as clerk in the Sunset municipal court. More than a year ago, complaints about the city were turned over to the district attorney’s office investigation.

Aggie wants to track student fee usage

BRYAN — Texas A&M University student Mark McCaig said he wanted an explanation for how the school was spending the $284 he paid annually for a particular student fee, The Eagle reported.

McCaig, a 21-year-old junior from Houston, listened to student affairs administrators talk about university programs funded by the fee during a meeting of the Student Service Fee Advisory Board late last year.

But when it came time for the student-run board to discuss which programs should receive a share of funding and why, McCaig was barred from the proceedings while the group met behind closed doors.

The board has closed such meetings for decades so students can speak frankly about how they want A&M to divvy up the $12.2 million collected annually from the Student Service Fee, said Bill Kibler, interim vice president for student affairs.

With a state senator backing him, McCaig is testing the legality of the board holding closed-door conversations about the student fee.

McCaig and Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, have asked the Texas Attorney General’s Office to determine whether closing the meetings is a violation of the state’s Open Meetings Act.