Here is a recap of what was featured in the Wednesday, May 15, e-edition of the Taylor Press. Read the e-edition for the full stories and more. The e-edition is emailed to subscribers and available at www. taylorpress.net.
ARIOLA NAMED MAYOR, COUNCIL MEMBERS SWORN IN Dwayne Ariola was elected to the position Tuesday, May 14, in a 3-1 vote, with District 1 Councilman Gerald Anderson absent, during a special called City Council meeting. Ariola has held the at-large seat for seven years.
Ariola, along with newly inducted council members Shelli Cobb and Kelly Cmerek, voted in favor of approving the nomination made by Cmerek. District 4 Councilman Robert Garcia was the lone dissenting vote. Cobb nominated Cmerek as mayor pro tem in a motion that passed unanimously.
The meeting also marked the end of Rydell’s term and District 2 Councilman Mitch Drummond’s term.
KIDS LOCKED IN CAR, MOM GETS PI CHARGE A woman confronted by police when three young children were found in a locked, nonrunning vehicle at a gas station now faces charges of public intoxication and resisting arrest.
Mariana Quintero-Hernandez, 24, of Red Rock, was released from custody Friday, May 10, after posting bonds totaling $2,500, officials said.
The case stems from a Thursday, May 9, incident at Texaco, 2200 W. Second St., when officers responded at 9:43 p.m. to a report of children left in a car that was turned off for about 30 minutes.
A weather report indicates the temperature was 76 degrees at the time, but earlier in the day the mercury had soared to 91 degrees.
A woman questioned at the scene was identified as the children’s mother, police said. According to reports, officers observed three young children in the vehicle and one was “very distressed.”
Each child was under the age of 4.
Officers said the woman confronted was “a danger to herself and others,” and began walking away and resisted when police tried to stop her.
According to police, individuals can be arrested under Texas law for leaving a child in a vehicle, but in this case, officials decided against such a course of action due to a “totality of circumstances.”
The resisting arrest charge is a Class A misdemeanor, which can carry up a sentence of up to one year in jail and a fine not to exceed $4,000. Public intoxication is a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $500 fine.
WILCOTT WITHDRAWS FROM RUNOFF HUTTO — Hutto City Council member Dana Wilcott has presented her resignation from council, forfeiting her current seat and officially signaling her intention not to participate in a runoff election with challenger Evan Porterfield. The letter was dated May 5 and officially received by the city secretary May 10.
Wilcott topped the field of five candidates for her Place 5 City Council seat with 305 votes, 32.94%, short of the 464 she would have needed to avoid a runoff. The second-highest number of votes went to business owner Evan Porterfield, with 174 votes, just under 18.79% of the total.
At the May 16 City Council meeting the council accepted Wilcott’s resignation and appointed Porterfield as the elected Place 5 City Council member.
Kelly Cmerek takes his oath of office as he is sworn-in as the District 3 City Councilman.
Outgoing District 2 Councilman Mitch Drummond hugs and congratulates his successor Shelli Cobb while telling her, “Now go out there and do a great job.”
Quintero-Hernandez
