By Scott Harvey
Commerce – The Commerce City Council meets in regular session Tuesday night to hear a presentation on a sister city program and consider amending the city's curfew ordinance.
Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University-Commerce JoAnn DiGeorgio-Lutz will address council regarding a sister-city program with Battambang, Cambodia. Dr. DiGeorgio plans to inform council of the goals of the program, its impact on students and benefits of such a membership. The council is scheduled to decide for or against the program at its September 1 meeting.
Also Tuesday, council will consider approval of a second reading amending the city's curfew ordinance to include daytime hours as previously requested by Commerce ISD Resource Officer Joe Venable.
Currently, the curfew for minors is in place from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Following a second reading, the curfew will also be effective from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday when school is in session to prevent students who are sent home for disciplinary reasons from wandering the streets.
According to Venable, the amended hours will help reduce truancy and encourage students to come to school. He did emphasize, however, the actions are not presently a major issue at CISD.
Tuesday's meeting begins at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall, 1119 Alamo St.