UPDATES: Pageant raises confidence; motorcyclist recovering; another water line hit

“The pageant was amazing. Unfortunately I didn’t place to finals,” Llanas said. “However, the director of Miss Pageant Latina reached out to me and asked me if I wanted to compete and I said yes. Overall, the experience was amazing and I got to enjoy my first pageant — on to the next.”

Llanas described herself as shy in her youth, but wanted to use the platform of the Miss Houston pageant to bring awareness to Poland syndrome, a condition where a child is born with missing or underdeveloped chest muscles.

Competing in pageants is Llanas’ way to overcome her insecurities. Llanas attends Brazosport College and is working toward a degree in math. She hopes to attend the University of Houston to earn a bachelor’s in finance, she said. She would like to specialize in wealth management.

The Miss Pageant Latina will be in September in Houston, Llanas said.

Motorcyclist still has long road to recovery

William Harris, 28, has undergone more than 20 surgeries since his 2013 Honda CRV motorcycle collided with a 2019 Nissan Frontier pickup that was towing a boat trailer about 3:30 p.m. Jan. 10 at Highway 36 and CR 310.

The procedures include a leg amputation, skin grafting, the removal of his spleen and part of his colon along with the placement of a metal rod in his back, said Autumn McGinnis, a friend and coworker at Grazia Italian Restaurant in Lake Jackson. She visited Harris just a couple of weeks ago when he was moved out of the intensive care unit, she said.

“He’s recently started physical therapy and is getting to where he can sit up on his own,” McGinnis said, “But he’s not anywhere close to where he can walk yet. He’s also on dialysis because his kidneys were injured in the wreck, but he’s in very good spirits.”

Grazia Italian owner Carlos Marin set up a donation account to assist with Harris’ medical expenses since he is uninsured. The fund goal is $20,000 with $2,050 raised so far.

To help Harris, the father of two small children, go to gofundme.com and search Medical and Financial Assistance William Harris.

Water line hit again

A rash that’s slowly been turning into an epidemic over the course of the last year, outside contractors damaged another utility line Monday in Freeport, and crews had to perform an emergency repair on a water pipe.

Port Freeport, BASF and the Bridge Harbor neighborhood were affected, but the city managed to avoid a boil water notice.

The latest in a long-line of contractor accidents, this time crews working for Centerpoint Energy were the culprit.

“They dug a pit for drilling, and when they dug that pit, they loosened the blocking behind an 8-inch waterline that had a 45 on it, and when they loosened that up, the 45 slipped off the pipe,” Assistant City Manager Lance Petty said, referring to a 45-degree pipe elbow.

Because the contractor is at fault, they will be paying for the city’s repairs and the lost water.