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The Tomball Lady Cougars basketball squad advanced to the 4A area championship game, after an undefeated run through District 22-4A competition and a mauling of Houston Austin in the bi-district round.

The Lady Cougars have rolled off 11 consecutive wins in cruising to a 27-6 overall record and number 15 4A state ranking.

Their first playoff game was at home against Houston Austin Feb. 11. The Lady Cougars ran to a 20-3 lead by the end of the first quarter and never looked back, as they rolled to a 59-20 win.

Tomball's Carissa Diaz led all scorers with 21 points on 10-21 shooting, while also grabbing nine rebounds. Senior Lexe Marks dropped in 12 points for the Lady Cougars, while senior Layna Waters added seven points and three assists.

The Lady Cougars traveled to Don Coleman Coliseum in Houston Feb. 15, to take on Foster in the Area Championship game. Results were not available at press time.

The Woodlands/Houston chapter of Therapy Pet Pals of Texas is looking for volunteers with calm, friendly and obedient dogs to provide pet therapy to elderly and ill people at local healthcare facilities. The non-profit organization will be taking reservations until Feb. 20 for the Feb. 27 qualifying and training class. For information, visit www.therapypetpals.org, and then call 512/347-1984 for pre-screening.

The Tomball City Council had another round with a proposed fencing ordinance, before finally approving the measure Feb. 4. Members also looked at the possibility of regulating the large donation boxes located around town, as well as approved waving impact fees for new businesses locating downtown.

Council started the meeting by revisiting the long debated fencing ordinance.

Councilman Derek Townsend's wife Lisa sent an email, which city secretary Doris Speer read.

"I oppose such laws where government regulations limit our decision making ability or puts undue stress on property owners and taxpayers," she wrote. "I hope there are elected officials which support the rights of homeowners and taxpayers."

Derek Townsend then suggested tabling the ordinance to allow for more discussion on what will be permissible. Other council members did not support Townsend and ultimately passed the new fencing ordinance. Townsend was the lone dissenting vote, while Councilman Mark Stoll wasn't present.

The discussion then turned to the charitable donation boxes located around town.

Assistant City Manager Christal Kliewer Weber told the council that most of the boxes are owned by private businesses, which then donate a portion of the proceeds to the charity named on the box. That drew the ire of Councilman Rick Brown, as he suggested charging a fee for those boxes. He had concerns that Goodwill maintains and pay rent at a storefront in the city, while the owners of the boxes do not.

"It seems like they need some kind of fee," Brown said. "Now the questions for staff is, what kind of burden does that put on staff?"

"There are only 16 (boxes) now," Weber said. "We can limit them, depending on what council wants to do."

Councilman Preston Dodson agreed that the boxes need to be regulated.

"I don't see a need for them to pay the city, but I do see a need for them to be well maintained," he said.

Townsend suggested the possibility of placing all donation boxes in a central location.

"Do we have a piece of property that we can set these on and say this is the donation area?" he asked.

Weber replied that some cities do.

Weber will take the council's suggestions and questions and city staffers will come up with a proposed ordinance in the future.

The council then voted unanimously to waive impact fees for new businesses in the downtown area for the next two years, as a way to lure new businesses to the area.
Rodney Hudson, a downtown property owner, thanked the council for the proposal.

"Waving these impact fees will make a difference and I think it's a positive move forward," he said.

Councilman Field Hudgens said he didn't think the move would have a big impact in the end, but still voted to approve the measure.

"I voted against this last time considering I don't think it will have such an impact in the way you guys really think it will," he said.

Tomball ISD recently put together a steering committee last October to look at ways the growing district could prepare for current and future needs. That committee presented its findings to the public during a recent public forum.

"The growth we are experiencing now requires us to look towards future needs, as well as maintaining what assets we have now," said steering committee chair Rick Pritchett.
Charged by the school board with that goal, the committee identified several areas which they studied. They included new schools, a way to take care of current facilities and capital improvements, new technologies and transportation.

When it comes to future growth, the committee will recommend four new campuses be built, at a cost of around $110 million. New schools recommended are a new elementary school and junior high in The Woodlands, as well as a new fifth and sixth grade campus and a new elementary on the districts south side.

The need for these schools is based on projections in growth through the 2018-19 school year.

"The growth we have experienced in the district has primarily been in the northeast and south side of the district," Pritchett said.

The committee also looked at ways to improve and maintain current schools, as well as improvements in technology and transportation. The improvements the committee will recommend in those areas are estimated to cost around $58 million.

"We have to provide for and take care of the assets we have, as well as provide new technology for the students and keep up with our transportation needs," Pritchett said.
Security was also a big factor for the committee. Pritchett explained that several campuses have their administrative offices located away from the front entrance, causing security concerns. The committee recommended that those campuses add a security vestibule at the front entrances.

The committee will present their findings and recommendations to the school board at a meeting Feb. 11. The board will then look at options to fund the recommendations that it approves of, which could include a future bond election.

Pritchett did say that all totals are only estimates at this point, but the district would avoid going over a tax rate of five cents per $100 valuation.

"We are fortunate here that we have a board that is not only passionate about education, but also financially savvy and skillful," he said.

The board will take some time after Monday's meeting to get community input on the proposal, before deciding on whether to hold a bond election. They will decide that during their March meeting.

Tomball High School (THS) senior Christi Gamble showed her lamb, Luna, at the 37th Annual Tomball ISD FFA Project Show. This was Gamble's second year to raise a lamb. She was one of 275 Tomball ISD students showing chickens, turkeys, lambs, rabbits, swine, and steers. The live auction brought in a total of $313,500. Grand champion results were Rabbits - freshman Bailey Wargo, Tomball Memorial, $3,500; Broiler - junior Casey Smith, Tomball, $2,800; Turkey -  senior Megan Vaculin, Tomball, $4,500; Lamb - senior Stephanie Ludwig, Tomball, $5,000; Swine - senior Landon Folkerts, Tomball, $14,000; Steer - sophomore Kathryn Lewandowski, Tomball, $27,000. Reserve champion results were Rabbits - freshman John Leibham, Tomball, $3,000; Broiler - junior Thomas Reeves, Tomball, $6,500; Turkey - senior Chase Johnson, Tomball, $5,000; Lamb - senior Austin Boggs, Tomball, $5,000; Swine - junior Sydney Breaux, Tomball, $22,000 and Steer - junior Shayla Arvizu, Tomball, $19,000.