Marijuana decriminalization measure sent to ballot
Killeen residents will decide in November whether to decriminalize low-level amounts marijuana after City Council members last week unanimously voted against adopting an initiative ordinance.
The vote was 6-0, with Councilman Ramon Alvarez absent from the meeting.
The move came after nearly two dozen people during a public hearing talked in support or opposition to the ordinance that required that “Killeen police officers shall not issue citations or make arrests for Class A or Class B misdemeanor possession of marijuana offenses, except in the limited circumstances.”
Killeen ISD holds active shooter training at Bellaire
Amid the blare of sirens and the loud pops of a handguns shooting chalk rounds, members of the Killeen Independent School District Police Department strode toward classroom 123 of Bellaire Elementary School in tight formation to rescue seven students being held hostage by a school shooter.
KISD’s active-shooter training on Thursday came in bursts that were brief but intense.
In addition to the responding officers, several men and women played the part injured children while a 15-year-old, equipped in full tactical gear, acted as the shooter.
According to KISD Police Chief Ralph Disher, using someone so young as the mock shooter helps mentally prepare officers for dealing with school shooters who he said typically range from 14 to 20.
Consultant pushes smarter development, focus on north Killeen
In an overview of the Killeen City Council’s proposed comprehensive plan, consultant Kevin Shepherd said Monday that it will take decades to reconcile development gaps between the north and south ends of the city.
During a public hearing on the city’s comprehensive plan at the Killeen Civic and Conference Center last week, Shepherd said Killeen is “sabotaging” the north side of the city.
About 40 people, including city staff, were in attendance, as well as Mayor Debbie Nash-King and Councilmen Riakos Adams and Jose Segarra.
Shepherd, the CEO of Verdunity of Dallas, also criticized how south Killeen is being developed, citing low quality of construction.
Monkeypox reaches Bell County, health officials report Friday
The Bell County Public Health District announced Friday that the county has confirmed its first case of monkeypox.
A county resident who recently traveled within the state is isolated and recovering at home, Amy Yeager, director of the district, said in a news release.
Most of the state’s 338 monkeypox cases involve men, mostly ages 18-39. The disease can be spread through sexual contact.
Monkeypox can spread through respiratory droplets while kissing as well as be contracted by touching surfaces, clothing and bedding contaminated by an infected person’s secretions, fluids or scab tissue.
Symptoms of monkeypox infection include fever, chills, headache, muscle ache and backache, and swollen lymph glands, followed by a rash three to five days after the fever starts. Respiratory symptoms such as sore throat, coughing or nasal congestion may also occur.
Fort Hood unit tests robotic combat vehicles
The 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment “Garryowen” is in the process of laying the groundwork for how the Army will utilize robotic combat vehicles to enhance combat lethality in the future.
The unit is testing the robots all this week on several training ranges on the western side of Fort Hood.
The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division unit was chosen to put the robots through their paces and develop the tactics, techniques and procedures for best practices that will define their use for all Army units when the robots are fully deployed between 2028 and 2035.
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