Bats halt mail in Alvin

ALVIN, Texas – The unofficial motto of the U.S. Postal Service is "neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night …" can stop them from their appointed rounds. They didn’t say anything about bats.
Mail delivery service in Alvin came to a screeching halt Thursday when workers spotted a bat inside the post office.

When they tried to remove the winged creature, they discovered a whole colony of bats roosting inside the building.

They called animal control and evacuated the post office.
Animal control removed one bat, but told them they were on there own with the others.

Postal workers called a bat removal expert to clear out the rest of them.
Postal workers weren't able to deliver mail while the post office was closed, but everything is back to normal now.

Warrant roundup begins ...

Thayer Evans wrote:
If you have any tickets you haven't gotten around to paying, this is the week to take care of them.

League City, Friendswood, Houston and other cities around Clear Lake will join hundreds of jurisdictions participating in the Great Texas Warrant Roundup this weekend.

Starting Saturday, March 6, police will be visiting homes, schools and workplaces to arrest those with outstanding warrants from municipal courts.

Most of the offenses involve unpaid traffic or parking tickets but more serious violations are included, and no amnesty is being offered. Those with outstanding warrants can be arrested at any location.

Cities are mailing notices to the last known address of those with warrants.

League City Police Chief Mike Jez said those with warrants needs to resolve them before the roundup. His police department will have “quite a few” officers participating in it this year, he said.

“The message to folks right now is avoid getting arrested on your job site or an embarrassing moment,” Jez said. “Come take of things. It’ll save you time, money and embarrassment. It’s something that’s easily avoidable. Most of them are minor offense violations anyway.”

If you think there may be a warrant out on you, contact your local municipal court to find out how to post a bond.

Clear Lake's Houston residents can call 713-731-3950 or visit the city's Clear Lake police station at 2855 Bay Area Blvd. from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Local boy becoming Disney star

Sterling Knight, who grew up in Sugar Land and Manvel, stars with Danielle Campbell in StarStruk


Sterling Knight's initial experience with Sonny With a Chance was one of disappointment. The actor filmed the pilot for the hit Disney show and even when the show was picked up, he wasn't. “I wasn't exactly fired, but I wasn't exactly hired either,” he says. The show's creators decided to take Sonny in a different direction and Knight says “my character didn't work. They were real sweet about it, they told me it wasn't anything I did.”

Sonny's writers then set about writing Knight back into the show as a different character, Chad Dylan Cooper. The show's success led to his first starring role in a Disney film, StarStruck, which airs at 7 p.m. Sunday on the Disney Channel.
Knight plays a pop star in the romance/adventure, though because he joined the production so late, he doesn't do his own singing. But he says unlike so many of Disney's other TV stars, he really doesn't have any pop aspirations. Having grown up in Sugar Land and Manvel (where he says his family still lives) Knight, 20, did work with Theatre Under the Stars, Theater Southwest and Fort Bend Theater.

He made appearances on Hannah Montana, The Closer and Grey's Anatomy before landing with Sonny in 2009. The show — which puts him with fellow Texans Demi Lovato and Tiffany Thornton — begins its second season next month. “It really is just a coincidence,” he says, “though I guess we just grow them better in Texas.”
Despite being surrounded these days by Los Angeles' hyped In-N-Out Burger joints, Knight's fast food loyalties remain regional. “In-N-Out is a wonderful substitute, and it keeps the heavy cravings off,” he says. “But nothing beats a Whataburger with bacon, cheese and jalapeños.”