Bexar County pilot program for defendants facing minor charges touted a success
BCSO, judges launch pilot project similar to work-release programThe program allows participants an opportunity to avoid jail time by working weekends doing landscaping and cleanup work around the jail and other county properties. โThe participants have a sense that theyโre giving back to the community,โ Judge Velia Meza said Wednesday. Meza, along with Judge Melissa Vara and the sheriff, launched the program last month. โWeโve already saved $16,000 in housing costs and another $4,000 in hourly wages we would have paid to landscaping companies,โ he said. โI would also like to expand this out to help out some of the nonprofits or do more graffiti cleanups,โ he said.
Texas pilot of small plane dies in crash as he tries to land
ZAVALLA, Texas โ A 40-year-old pilot died when his small plane crashed as he tried to land on a private runway in East Texas early Saturday morning, officials said. The Texas Department of Public Safety said James Duke VanLue, of Tomball, was pronounced dead at the scene. Officials said it appears the crash happened at about 2 a.m. but the scene wasn't located till about 12:30 p.m.Capt. Alton Lenderman with the Angelina County sheriff's office tells KLTV that the single-engine plane crashed north of Zavalla. The pilot clipped the top of some trees and crashed just north of the runway.