Official site of Tribune News serving Tomball, Magnolia and Waller

Questions about red light cameras are once again being raised, after the Tomball City Council recently voted to extend the program for five more years.

City Councilman Field Hudgens was the lone dissenting vote on the issue and said that he prefers the issue be brought to a vote of the citizens.

"I wasn't questioning the legality or constitutionality of the cameras," he said. I want to see the issue decided by the voters of the city."

Opponents of the cameras have often cited privacy concerns and the lack of a clear criminal process as reason to oppose the cameras, while supporters say the numbers prove that the cameras work and that making the punishment merely a civil issue is easier on violators.

"Coming from California where the camera system was entirely punitive, where violations went on your record and you had fines in upwards of $400, I believe the system works better the way it is designed in Texas," Tomball Police Chief Robert Hauck said.

Numbers have shown that since the cameras were turned on, the number of traffic accidents has decreased tremendously.

Before the cameras were installed there were 626 accidents in the city. By 2010 that number had dropped to 322 – a decrease of 49 percent.

"Although red light cameras have contributed to the decrease, they are not the sole factor," said Tomball Police Cpt. Rick Grassi. "There are other reason that we call the three e's of traffic safety – engineering, education and enforcement."

Hauck said the revenue generated from the cameras has allowed the department to enhance other aspect of traffic safety, including adding sidewalks to heavily traveled routes.

"This program and the revenue generated from it has allowed us to enhance our traffic safety enforcement, without providing criminal penalties to violators," he said. "Every ticket an officer writes for a red light violation goes on your record and can cost hundreds of dollars in fines."

Grassi and Hauck said that the cameras are just a tool in the broader spectrum of traffic safety and unlike other cities; Tomball has not tried to turn it into a major revenue generator.

"The City of Tomball has never lost focus on the primary purpose of cameras, which is public safety, not financial compensation," Grassi said.

"We have never come back and tried to make this system into a cash cow by adding more cameras, even though our contract with the vendor says that we can," Hauck said

Hauck also said the cameras are just a part of a broader effort of traffic safety enforcement within the city.

"Adding things like the flashing lights in school zones is something we would not have been able to do," he said.

Hudgens said that he doesn't deny the numbers that support the cameras; however, he believes that the citizens have not been heard.

"It is a volatile topic and it should go to the citizens for a vote," he said.

In order for a vote to happen, a citizen led petition drive must occur, or the city council must agree and vote to add the issue to the ballot.

A complete remodel and overhaul is now complete at the Tomball Premiere Cinemas venue in the Four Corners shopping center at SH 249 and FM 2920.

The remodel was part of a complete renovation of the entire shopping center.

“It was gutted all the way down to the studs,” said Joel Davis, Premiere’s Chief Operating Officer and a Tomball native. “The construction team came in and did a great job. We are happy to see the entire center has come back.”

“The whole shopping center is turned inside-out,” said Tomball General Manager Jennifer Mendoza. “It’s amazing and something we can all be really proud of.”

New amenities in the theater include high-back rocking chairs, a new party room, 3D capability, two new lobbies and a state of the art concession area.

There is also a new auditorium, bringing the total number of screens available to seven.

The new theater has a 100 percent digital projector, which allows the theater more flexibility and better quality.

“It’s great technology,” Davis said. “It’s always in focus, can’t scratch it and it is never off frame.”

The technology allows for greater freedoms, especially during midnight movie premieres. If the theater sells out on a screen during a premeire, the movie can be loaded to another screen quickly, allowing another auditorium to be filled.

The theater, which was originally built in 1986, also has new food and beverage equipment, fresh-made cotton candy and a Dippin Dots ice cream cart. There are also several feet of self-service areas where guests can butter their own popcorn, among other things.

“People have driven here from miles away to get Dippin Dots already,” Mendoza said.

The theater is donating a portion of its grand opening proceeds to the Variety Children’s Charity of Texas, which helps special needs children throughout the state by providing funding for therapy, walkers, wheelchairs, prosthetic limbs among other experiences.

“It’s a great place for people to take their family,” Davis said. “There’s nothing like a good movie and some popcorn.”

For more information visit www.pccmovies.com.

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A young boy was found dead by Magnolia firefighters, after a large house fire Dec. 8.

Fire officials identified the boy as Dakota Myers, 3, of Magnolia. He was found in a back bedroom of a travel trailer that had been converted into a permanent residence.

The fire started at the home on Todd Road, just after 1 a.m. Firefighters responded within minutes and tried to rescue the boy, but heavy fire conditions forced them out of the residence. Family members had also tried to rescue the boy, but were unable due to heavy smoke and fire.

The travel trailer had a wooden addition built onto it.

A 10-year-old boy and an adult were treated at the scene by Montgomery County Hospital District emergency workers for smoke inhalation.

“The first arriving Magnolia Fire Department units found that the fire had fully engulfed the travel trailer and addition built on to it,” a Montgomery County Fire Marshal press release stated. “The fire was so intense that no search was possible until it was brought under control.”

The 10-year-old boy was sleeping when the fire broke out. He told fire investigators that he woke up to find the fire in an area where Dakota Myers has been sleeping.

The boy’s mother stated that she was outside of her next door neighbor’s home with several other people when they saw the fire. Family members and neighbors ran to the home, but were unable to get inside. The 10-year-old boy was able to escape the home.

Fire officials said the investigations into the cause of the fire and Myers cause of death are still ongoing. They are awaiting additional test results.

They have yet to find evidence that the home was equipped with working smoke detectors.

“Each year approximately 3,000 lives are lost to fire in the United States with 85 percent of the deaths occurring in home fire,” fire officials stated. “The common theme in nearly all fatal fires is that they break out while the residents are asleep and there are no working smoke detectors.”

Although Montgomery County averages five to six fire deaths a year, this is the first fire fatality of 2012.

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Montgomery County sheriff’s deputies said a convenience store in the Pinehurst area was burglarized, during the early morning of Dec. 5.

Ken’s Bread and Butter store in the 34700 block of SH249, was burglarized and the suspects tried to get into the automatic teller machine.

Two males pried open the front door of the business and both were wearing dark colored clothing and had their faces covered, according to deputies.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office is seeking assistance from the public to solve this crime.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Shannon Spencer of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office at 281-577-8942 or 936- 760-5800. 

Crime Stoppers will pay up to a $1000 cash reward for information leading to an arrest or indictment of a felony crime.  Call 800-392-STOP (7867).  Anonymous tips can also be made through the Montgomery County Crime Stoppers WEB PAGE at www.montgomerycountycrimstoppers.org.

A woman is now sitting in the Montgomery County Jail, after being accused of putting a gun in the backpack of her boyfriend's son to try and salvage a relationship with the boy's father.

Heather Darlene Hodges, 26, of Anderson, was charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon on restricted premises and unlawful transfer of a handgun to a minor.

Deputies with the Montgomery County Pct. 5 Constable's Office, who provide security for the Magnolia school district, said the school received an anonymous call Nov. 5, that a student had a pistol in his backpack.

Upon arrival, deputies found that school administrators had already removed the student from class and found an unloaded 9mm handgun in the boy's backpack.

After taking the student into custody, deputies from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office proceeded to question the boy for several hours. Upon realizing that he was telling the truth and had no prior knowledge of the weapon, deputies began to investigate further. The boy told deputies that Hodges might have put the weapon in the backpack because she didn't like him.

Pct. 5 deputies were able to trace the anonymous phone call to a pay phone located at a nearby Exxon convenience store.

"Security video from the store led investigators to identify the anonymous caller as (Hodges)," a Pct. 5 press release stated.

The video allegedly shows Hodges car pull into the parking lot, where she then exited the vehicle and proceeded to walk to the pay phone.

During questioning detectives say that Hodges initially denied even being at the convenience store. However, once she realized she was on video, she admitted to deputies that she had placed the gun in the boy's backpack to get him in trouble with his father.

Sources told the Tribune that the boy's father was planning to move away from Magnolia and told Hodges that she would not be coming with them.

Hodges initially agreed to turn herself in to investigators, however she instead reported to her probation officer, where deputies took her into custody.
She is on probation for a 2011 theft conviction in Conroe.

Hodges is still in the Montgomery County Jail on a total of $20,000 bond. The boy was cleared of all wrongdoing by police.