I am the reporter and photographer for the Tomball Tribune. I'm originally from Ozark, Mo., a growing city between Springfield and Branson. I have been a journalist, editor and political consultant over the years. I am an avid St. Louis Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys fan and a complete karaoke addict.
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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Houston Rockets had plenty of trouble getting to Salt Lake City as a blizzard left them grounded for a while in western Colorado.
Once they arrived, they made the Jazz pay, rolling to a 125-80 victory on Monday night and handing Utah the most-lopsided home loss in franchise history.
"We could have had Michael Jordan in his prime with us tonight . and it wouldn't have mattered (the way we played)," Jazz center Al Jefferson lamented.
"It was like everything went wrong. They came ready to play. I don't know where our energy was."
The Rockets, after recently suffering through a seven-game slide, are out of that funk. They have now won three straight and four of their last five.
"That's the way we have to play," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "We have to play with pace. We have to move the ball. The ball can't get sticky. It's got to go from side to side. And guys just got to make plays."
James Harden continued to do most of the damage, scoring 25 points despite sitting the entire fourth quarter with the rest of the Rockets starters.
Harden, selected as an All-Star for the first time recently, has averaged 27.2 points in his last five games.
When he wasn't driving the lane, the Rockets were pouring in 3-pointers.
They hit 16 of 34 on the night to tie their season high for shots made beyond the arc.
But it was their pace that floored the Jazz, outscoring Utah 26-2 on the break.
"That's how we play," Harden said. "If you watch Rockets basketball, you know we get out in transition and we get some stops. We just try to do a good job of that for 48 minutes."
The Rockets held Utah to 39.5 percent shooting, and the Jazz made just 5 of 18 3-pointers.
Carlos Delfino and Marcus Morris each hit four 3-pointers alone for Houston and Omer Asik tied a career high with 19 rebounds.
Every Rockets player scored, including six in double figures, with Morris adding 16 and Delfino 14.
"It was just fun because everyone was getting involved," said Chandler Parsons, who added 12 points. "And it was right from the tip. We wanted to emphasize transition defense and taking care of the ball. We did those two things beautifully tonight and played unselfish. Everyone was just having fun out there and it's a lot more fun to play that way."
Houston led by 21 points in the second, by 35 in the third and kept pouring it on in the fourth.
The Rockets closed the third with three straight 3s — two by Morris and one by Harden — then saw Morris drain another 3 to open the fourth.
By then the fans were already booing and heading for the exits.
"We should have been booing ourselves," said Jefferson, who had 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting.
Randy Foye led Utah with 12 points.
Utah trailed by 50 points before a driving layup by Alec Burks and 3-pointer by rookie Kevin Murphy in the final 20 seconds.
Utah's previous most-lopsided loss at home was by 33 points to Milwaukee on Nov. 18, 1980. It was the fifth worst overall for the franchise.
"I don't think this ruins us," said Gordon Hayward, who did not play because of a sprained shoulder.
Still, the Jazz hardly looked like the team that had won nine of their previous 12.
They had been undefeated at home in January — 6-0 — with their last loss in Salt Lake City coming Dec. 28 against the Los Angeles Clippers in which they blew a 21-point lead.
Unlike the Jazz, the Rockets weren't about to blow this one.
"I think this is something we definitely needed," said guard Jeremy Lin, who took only five shots Monday but made all five to finish with 12 points.
It was a special trip for Lin, who arrived in Salt Lake City early enough Sunday night to slip in for the last screening of the documentary "Linsanity" during the Sundance Film Festival.
The movie premiered about a year after Lin began catapulting to worldwide stardom in New York. He was an afterthought only a month before, cut by the Rockets on Christmas Day and claimed by the Knicks off waivers.
If his rise to fame was crazy, so was Monday's game.
"It's a testament to how the ball moved tonight and how everyone was looking for everybody. When you have a team play like that, play so unselfishly, it's a beautiful thing to watch," Lin said.
NOTES: Eighty-nine-year-old Wataru Misaka, the first player of Asian descent to play in the NBA, was at Monday's game to watch Lin warm up. Misaka, once discriminated against because of his Japanese ancestry, recalled writing Lin a note of encouragement "when he was with Oakland back in the dark days when things didn't look too good for him. He didn't have all these fans at this time but he's made a lot of progress since then and I think he's in a much better place now." Misaka, who lives in nearby Bountiful, is a former point guard who played for the New York Knicks in the 1947-48 season and led the University of Utah to the 1944 NCAA championship. "He broke a lot of barriers and racial stereotypes," Lin told the Houston Chronicle of Misaka. "You have to pay respect to the people who came before you." Lin is the first American-born NBA player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
UPDATE: (2:05 p.m.) - Brief statement by sheriff's official conformed three people injured, one suspect in custody, still an active situation.
UPDATE: (1:43 p.m.) - Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia is calling this an active shooter situation, meaning they believe there was more than one gunman involved, although one shooter is reported to be in custody now. There are reports of multiple injuries in the incident.
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ORIGINAL POST: Lone Star College has posted the following alert, taken directly from their website www.lonestar.edu.
Local station KHOU has live coverage of the event here.
KHOU is reporting that two men were arguing and shot at each other, hitting innocent bystanders in the process, although law enforcement officials have not confirmed that at this time.
Important Notice!
ALERT: LSC-North Harris - Shelter in Place
LSC-North Harris is under a shelter in place. Students, Faculty and Staff are advised to take immediate shelter where you are.
Posted 01/22/2013 at 12:47 pm
Lone Star College System is committed to providing a safe environment in which to learn, study, and work. We are better prepared for an emergency thanks to the many men and women here to serve you.
Our ability to survive a disaster also depends on you doing your part to
prepare for the unexpected. When calling an emergency assistance number, remember to:
Look for information from your Lone Star Email ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ), Twitter, and local media sources.
Tomball Superintendent John Neubauer will soon be turning off the lights in his office for the final time, as he will retire following a career spanning more than 45 years.
Neubauer submitted a letter of resignation to the Tomball school board Jan. 14. His retirement will be effective when his contract ends June 30, after 16 years as the administrative head of the district.
"After much thought, prayer and evaluation, I decided that the time has come for me to retire," Neubauer said. "Retirement comes with mixed feelings. It's been an honor to serve the students of this district and a pleasure to work with so many wonderful and dedicated people district wide."
Board president John McStravick said that Neubauer's shoes will be difficult to fill.
"I think John has done an excellent job during his tenure," McStravick said. "He has been an asset to our entire school community. He is a dedicated educator who is loyal, practical and caring. The district is in great shape thanks to his leadership. As he plans his retirement, he'll have more time for his family and his hobbies."
Neubauer, who has held positions as a teacher, coach and principal, as well as superintendent, began his career in 1967, when the old 1936 Cherry Street building was an intermediate school.
"When I came to Tomball the principal handed me a textbook and a box of chalk and said, 'Good luck,'" he recalled.
Now, on that same site sits the new John P. Neubauer Administration Building, where his current office is located.
"My first teaching job was in the 1936 Cherry Street school where our administration building is now located," he said. "I feel I've been blessed to end my career in the same location where I began my career over four decades ago."
Neubauer, who also will step down as president of the Tomball Scholarship Foundation and chair of the UIL Region 9 Music Executive Committee, said his tenure was defined by one word --- teamwork.
"As superintendent I have set goals for myself and our entire staff has helped me achieve those goals," he said. "It's been a team effort."
He said he is proud of the financial shape the district is in, especially considering the tough times faced by other districts in Texas.
"I am proud that we offer the highest starting teacher pay in our area," he said. "We have weathered the school finance crisis without laying off employees or cutting any programs. We have maintained the same tax rate for five consecutive years. I am proud of those accomplishments, but I could not have accomplished any of those goals without the help of wonderful employees and wonderful students."
Neubauer said he plans to spend a lot more time with his family members and pursuing his hobbies.
"I plan to spend time with my family and with my grandson at our farm in east Texas," he said. "I also enjoy gardening, cooking, wood working and raising cattle and honey bees. I also plan to travel and see my relatives and I'm looking forward to that."
Tomball Communications Director Staci Stanfeld has gone from being a student of Neubauer's to a colleague and co-worker. She says he has been a huge influence in her life.
"We are going to miss him," she said. "He is a wonderful superintendent, a strong leader and a friend to so many people. He was my principal when I attended Tomball High School. Several of our employees are Tomball High School graduates and many of them had the opportunity to know him as a principal, teacher and coach."
While Neubauer jokes about his legacy – "They'll say I told a lot of stories and that I grow the best tomatoes they ever tasted!" – others say his footprint will last for a long time within the district.
"He has modeled the importance of being proactive and thoughtful when making decisions in the best interest of our students," McStravick said.
"He is a pillar in our community," Stanfeld added. "He's one of a kind and he's going to be missed."
Neubauer said he will miss the students and people of the community the most.
"I will miss seeing the accomplishments of our students and I will miss the people," he said. "The people of this great community have allowed me to serve all of these years. I'm a lucky man."
The sounds and smells of goats, pigs, turkeys, cows and other farm animals will fill the air this weekend, as students from both Tomball high schools diligently prepare for the annual Tomball Future Farmers of America (FFA) project sale and show.
This year brings the 37th incarnation of the event, which allows FFA members to show and hopefully sell the animals they spent all year raising, feeding and caring for. The event will be held Jan. 25 and 26 at the Tomball ISD Project Center, at 30330 Quinn Rd.
"It gives kids the opportunity to become involved in FFA and teaches them a lot about responsibility and handling money," said Jimmy Vaculin, former Tomball FFA teacher and president of the Tomball High School FFA Booster Club.
Vaculin said the program also helps students build friendships and teaches them how to be a part of an organization.
'They develop camaraderie with one another," he said.
Tomball Memorial FFA Booster Club President Lesley Chronister agreed and said the students look forward all year to the show.
"It's a huge deal," she said. "The kids raise their animals all throughout the year with this show as the goal."
The show and its live auction provide funds for both schools FFA programs, as well as a majority of the funds for the Tomball FFA college scholarship program.
"The kids are able to get a lot of the money back they spent raising the animals and a lot of the funds go directly towards the scholarship fund for seniors," Chronister said.
Last year the show brought in more than $500,000 for the program and scholarship fund and the group hopes to do at least that this year.
Chronister's son Colby said that FFA has taught him lessons he will be able to carry throughout his life.
"I wanted to raise animals because I thought it would be fun, but doing this has taught me responsibility, how to care for an animal and motivated me to keep my grades up so I can show my animals," he said.
Colby Chronister said the show is not only hard work, but fun as well.
"It's fun meeting all the new people and the competition it brings, as well as seeing everyone else's projects." he said.
The show's schedule for Jan. 25 includes rabbits being shown at 11 a.m., followed by broilers at 1 p.m., with turkeys to follow, then market swine at 4 p.m. On Jan. 26 market lambs will be shown at 8 a.m. and market steers at 10:30 a.m. The Buyer's Barbecue will be open from 3:30-5 p.m., with the live auction to immediately follow.
For more information visit www.tomballffa.net.
A Tomball man was recently sentenced to three years of probation, after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting device fraud in federal court.
Troy Alexander Tipton, 21, was charged, after federal prosecutors said he sold Spring cellular phone customer data and access information to another man. Tipton was an employee of Modern Wireless at the time. Tipton pleaded guilty to the charges last August.
Prosecutors said that Tipton sold data from at least 400 customer accounts to Vernon R. Parker of Houston, from April through October of 2011. Parker then directed Lakreshia Shana Smith, 28 and Frederick Sears, 38, both of Houston, to make claims for replacement or additional cell phones using the stolen accounts.
Sears and Smith were arrested after U.S. Secret Service agents followed them around the Houston area and observed them picking up packages containing the cell phones.
"The conspirators had placed phone and internet orders for either replacement phones, or additional phones to be charged to unknowing customers of Sprint," U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson's office said in a statement. "The packages were mailed from Sprint locations outside of Texas to various hotels and apartments as directed by the conspirators. The total loss to Sprint is estimated at more than $136,000 attributable to the Parker organization."
Smith was given probation by Judge Lee Rosenthal, while Sears was ordered to serve 18 months in federal prison. Parker, the ring leader of the group, was sentenced to 51 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised parole.
Parker will remain in local custody until he is transferred to a federal prison in the near future.
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