Official site of Tribune News serving Tomball, Magnolia and Waller

TOMAGWA HealthCare Ministries opened the doors to its new dental clinic to current TOMAGWA patients recently and the clinic held an open house celebration for the community.

TOMAGWA supporters, board members and staff were on hand to welcome the clinic's principal benefactors, the newly named Tomball Regional Health Foundation (TRHF).
Among the supporters attending was Elida M. El-Gawly, Director of Grants and Community Investments for the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, a major contributor to the dental and health care programs at TOMAGWA.

TRHF has agreed to provide up to $475,000 to fund start-up and operational costs for up to two years and hence forth, the dental clinic will be known as the Tomball Regional Health Foundation Dental Suite.

"God is always faithful and we are blessed by TRHF's compassion and generosity toward our patients and the community," said Judy Deyo, Executive Director of TOMAGWA. "We are delighted to have TRHF's name on our dental suite."

"We are thankful for the compassionate people at the Sisters of Charity, and for TRHF and their vision to be a catalyst for measurable health and wellness improvements in Tomball and the surrounding communities," said Steven G. Lightfoot, Senior Director of Development at TOMAGWA. "The clinic does not receive government or United Way funding, so we rely on the giving hearts of individuals, business people, foundations and corporations, to provide financial resources for the work we do. And, all of it is to the glory of God."   

TOMAGWA's dental program offers services such as routine checkups, cleanings, fillings and extractions.  Services are provided by a staff dentist and volunteer dentists from the community.  The dental program houses four dental chairs that will be able to accommodate up to 2,600 dental visits a year. 

The National Lutheran School Accreditation (NLSA) commission recently selected nine Lutheran schools in the United States for special recognition as "exemplary accredited schools."  Concor-dia Lutheran High School in Tomball was one of the nine schools to receive this tremendous honor.

All nine schools received NLSA accreditation last August – preliminary to their being named exemplary schools for recognition during the 2013-14 academic year.

"These schools demonstrated compliance with NLSA accreditation criteria that exceeded expectations related to the educational and ministry standards required for accredited schools, explained NLSA Director Terry Schmidt, who also is the Director of School Ministry with the Office of National Mission. 

"In addition," Schmidt said, "each school demonstrated innovative leadership through the implementation of NLSA best practices related to the academic quality and spiritual development of its students.

Schmidt added. "In the current 2012-13 academic year, the leaders of these schools will now be required to intentionally share their best practices through print articles and webinars prepared for potential use by other Lutheran schools. Sharing Best Practices provides opportunities and ideas that have the potential to improve all of our schools."

National Lutheran School Accreditation, based in St Louis, encourages and recognizes schools that provide quality Christian education and engage in continuous improvement.  NLSA accredits 694 Lutheran schools that have chosen to undergo vigorous self-study and evaluation. Currently, there are more than 2,300 Lutheran preschools, elementary schools and high schools in the United States.

Ticket prices for the Mar. 3 LSC-Tomball Scholarship Fund benefit concert featuring the Texas A&M Singing Cadets, have been reduced to enable the entire family to experience the one-of-a-kind event.

Adult tickets are now $15 (a 40 percent savings); children's tickets are available for $10; and tickets for seniors and armed forces veterans are free. Tickets for the VIP pre-concert luncheon with the cadets at 12:30 p.m. are still available for an additional $12.50 per person .

Known as the "Voice of Aggieland," the internationally acclaimed, 60-member, all-male chorus has been delighting audiences throughout Texas, the United States and overseas with its performances of religious, patriotic, Broadway, popular and novelty songs for 107 seasons.

Tickets are available at www.lonestar.edu/tomballpac.htm.  For more information, contact the box office at 281.401.1889 or Gary Cooper, PAC Manager, at 281.401.1890.
LSC-Tomball Performing Arts Center is located at 30555 Tomball Parkway in Tomball.

Keith Field has a heart for veterans and he has put more than feet to his passion, he has wheels. Keith has launched a personal crusade to transport veterans that need medical care to hospitals and is also seeking donations to complete the renovations on his unique vehicle.

Keith describes the RV/bus as a personal vehicle designed to transport people with disabilities. Anyone who sees the bus, knows it stands for America in a Texas-sized way.

Moreover, Field created ServingProject.org, a non profit organization to help fund the renovation of the large recreational vehicle into a state-of-the-art mode of transportation for veterans in wheelchairs. The bus is also used to provide recreational opportunities for veterans who otherwise might not be able to take a cross-country tour.

"It's a service provided by people that believe in what we are doing and paid through donations and a website," Keith said. "You cannot hire this vehicle."

The RV is made of materials with meaning. The natural stone steps at the front of the vehicle represent the rocky roads that military veterans have walked upon. The front half of the vehicle has floors made from exotic hardwood from South America that appropriately are called Purple Heart.

The ceiling of the vehicle has a large 7-by-14-foot, handmade quilt with a military theme. The quilt was designed by Bridgette Stein. The center of the quilt features a Purple Heart medal embroidered with the outline of George Washington. It contains the four seals of the four branches of the military, a strip commemorating those Missing in Action and random embroidered designs such as stars, stripes and doves.

The vehicle is a work in progress. The kitchen countertops have been installed, but not the rest of the appliances. The kitchen will feature a sink, stove, microwave and coffee maker.

Visitors can see the bus Mar. 12, when Keith and ServingProject.org visit Tomball for the Christian Business Luncheon at First Baptist Church. The red, white and blue statement vehicle will arrive early to the church parking lot in anticipation of a media event.

At 11:30 in the fellowship hall of the church, Keith will share his vision and his experiences with veterans. First Baptist Church Tomball is located at 401 Oxford St. RSVPs for the CBL are not necessary but available online at, ChristianBusiness Luncheon.org. Free will donations for the luncheon are accepted in lieu of payment.

Tomball Regional Medical Center (TRMC) has earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for accreditation, by demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission's national standards for health care quality and safety in hospitals. The accreditation award recognizes TRMC's dedication to continuous compliance with The Joint Commission's state-of-the-art standards.

"In achieving Joint Commission accreditation, we have demonstrated our commitment to maintain excellence and continually improve the care we provide," said Bud Wethington, CEO of Tomball Regional Medical Center.  "Joint Commission accreditation provides us a framework to take our organization to the next level and helps create a culture of safety and excellence."

TRMC underwent a rigorous on-site survey last December. A team of Joint Commission expert surveyors evaluated TRMC for compliance with standards of care specific to the needs of patients, including infection prevention and control, leadership and medication management.

The Joint Commission's hospital standards address important functions relating to the care of patients and the management of hospitals. The standards are developed in consultation with health care experts, providers, measurement experts and patients.

"I am extremely proud of all of our accomplishments in 2012 and look forward to more safety and quality accolades in 2013 and beyond," said Wethington. 

As a society we are more dependent on our electronic devices for communication and data storage than ever. Whether it is our business data or family pictures, we may only have one chance to prepare for a loss that could be forever. This month's topic for the Be Tomball Ready disaster preparedness seminar is intended to give a general overview of how bad the data loss could be, the general causes and recommended prevention.

The event will be held May 16, at River of Praise Church, 13215 Boudreaux Estates Dr., in Tomball, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. It is hosted by the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce and the Tomball Area Local Emergency Planning Committee.

Organizers said that guest speakers will explore the ever changing risks to our business and home computers. A panel of industry experts will address three major areas of risk; hardware/software failure, current virus and spyware and the latest backup technology. General areas of discussion will be data security involving employees (intentional or accidental loss), hackers and catastrophic equipment loss or failure. 

Speakers include Ken Dwight, the Virus Doctor; Gary Gray of Concerto Networks and John Pursley, also of Concerto Networks.

Some people simply enjoy causing havoc, but people can protect themselves with, in most cases, minimal effort and cost. Many of these techniques will be shared by the panel.  

There is no charge for the event, but organizers advise to bring your own lunch. For more information call Mike Ott at 713-299-1554 or to RSVP call Dawn Stone at the chamber office, 281-351-7222.

One is adjusting to a new system under a new coach, while the other is preparing for it’s first ever varsity football season. However, both the Tomball Memorial Wildcats and Tomball Cougars are readying themselves for a move to District 22-4A.

The Tribune talked to both schools head coaches about the upcoming season and what fans can expect from both teams.

Tomball Cougars

Tomball High School welcomed Danny Ramsey as its new head coach earlier this year. Ramsey replaced Tommy Kaiser, who retired.

Ramsey comes to Tomball from Waco High, where he led them to the 4A playoffs the past two seasons.

“I’m from this area,” Ramsey said. “I graduated from Westfield High School and I have family all around this area. It was a family decision to come home.”

While the Cougars return several lettermen, Ramsey’s squad won’t be that experienced, as Tomball returns just three starters on both sides of the ball. That won’t stop the team from having some lofty goals, however.

“A lot of kids will be playing varsity for the first time,” he said. “Our goals will still be the same. I’d like to see us contend for a district championship, but that all depends on how much the kids are willing to sacrifice.”

“The kids are hungry and their motivation level is pretty high.”

Ramsey will run a number of formations on offense, while sticking to a spread option style of play. On defense Ramsey said the Cougars will look to attack out of a 3-4 set.

“We will run a lot of different looks at teams though,” he said.

Ramsey said that Drew Reynolds will be a top target at wide receiver, while Xavier Powell will once again handle the backfield duties at tailback.

Ramsey said he can’t wait for the season to start.

“We are really excited about this season,” he said. “Hopefully at the very least we can prepare our kids to become good and honest citizens along the way.”

Tomball Memorial Wildcats

Tomball Memorial head coach Finis Vanover is ready for the season to start. One year after the new school played a sub-varsity schedule in preparation for this season, the Wildcats are also ready for the lights of Friday nights.

“The deal last year was just to get them on the field and playing and it worked out well,” Vanover said. “But we’re ready to get out there and do it because Thursday nights just aren’t the same. We are ready for them to experience the crowds, the lights and the bands on a Friday night.”

The Wildcats, who went 7-3 at their top sub-varsity level last season, have two starting position battles still raging, according to Vanover.

Quarterback candidates Jared Seinkiewich and Jordan Peterson are battling for the starting position. The runner-up will still play at receiver this season, however.

“It’s a tremendous battle going on there between two great young men,” Vanover said.

At tailback Josh Williams and Payton Logan are fighting for the starting nod, though both will see time at the position.

“Those two are way ahead of others at that position,” Vanover said.

Vanover plans to run multiple offensive formations, but will still employ a run-first mentality where the pass plays off the run.

On defense Tomball Memorial will play an attacking, blitzing style.

“We will play man-to-man coverage and make things happen up front,” Vanover said.

He is looking to sophomore linebacker B.J. Catherman to lead the way on defense, along with defensive end Clay Jacobs.

Vanover said the teams goals are to win, bottom line.

“We expect to win and will play to win every time,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier with our effort. It’s been a total buy-in by the kids and their parents and we are laying a great foundation here.”

The Tomball Texas Peppers 10-and-under girl’s fastptich softball team traveled to Ridgeland, Miss. recently to compete in the ASA Southern Nationals.  After losing their first bracket game, they battled their way back to take the title of ASA 10U A Southern National Champions. Pictured (top row, from left) are Coach Jim Gleason and Coach Chris Walton; (middle row, from left) Kori Smith, Mackenzie Adams, Savannah Stevens, Imani Edwards, Jenna Gleason and Cynthia Sizemore; (bottom row, from left) Brittney Stafford, Lesly Miranda, Kat Hebert, Maddy Walton, Lyndsey Gleason.

After struggling to a 0-4 start, the Tomball Cougars stormed back this season to earn a playoff berth. The Cougars showed that the playoff spot was no fluke, after hammering Houston Reagan 47-14 in a bi-district showdown Nov, 15.

"Change equals discomfort," said first-year Tomball coach Danny Ramsey. "When you get discomfort it's difficult to put guys together and get them going in the same direction. These kids fought through adversity in the first four games and put a legacy together."

The Cougars opened up the scoring on the game's first possession, as they drove downfield, deep into the red zone. The drive stalled at the Reagan 4-yard line though and Tomball had to settle for a 21-yard field goal from Chadd Brown.

The Tomball defense started a trend of swarming and harassing the Reagan offense on the ensuing possession, as defensive back Tyler King broke up a third down pass to force a punt.

Both teams traded turnovers in their next drives by failing on fourth down plays, giving Tomball the ball with a little more than two minutes to play in the first quarter.
Starting at its own 37-yard line, the Cougars drove down the field with a purpose, running the ball eight times for 63 yards. Quarterback Drew Reynolds capped off the drive with a 5-yard bootleg around the right side for a score, as time expired. Brown's extra-point gave Tomball a 10-0 lead after one quarter of play.

Reagan quarterback Tyron Washington saw the first snap of the second quarter sail over his head. Tomball's David Luna recovered the ball at the Reagan 32, giving the Cougars excellent field position.

Tomball methodically took the ball down field, scoring on a 5-yard run from running back Dmitri Scott to take a 17-0 lead.

Both teams were unable to get much going in their next few drives. Reagan shot themselves in the foot while attempting a big fourth-and-one from their own 25-yard line. Two false start penalties in a row forced the Bulldogs to punt from about their own 5-yard line.

The short punt allowed Tomball to take over at the Reagan 40, where they wasted little time in adding to their lead.

After a 7-yard run by running back Percy Alford, Reynolds juked and jived his way to the Reagan nine. He barreled it in from there, giving the Cougars a 24-0 halftime lead.
Reagan opened the second half with a little trickery that backfired, as they attempted a fake punt. The ball was direct snapped to the up-back, who let the ball slip from his hand as he was going back to throw. Reagan recovered the fumble in their own end zone, leading to a safety and a 26-0 Tomball lead.

The Cougars took control of the game for good on their ensuing drive as Richards found Weston Shattuck over the middle for a 22-yard touchdown pass and the rout was on.
Tomball looked well on their way towards another score later in the quarter, but Reynolds pass was intercepted by Reagan's Tavon Dodd, who returned it 78 yards for a pick six, cutting the lead to 33-7.

The Bulldogs then went on to sustain their best drive of the game, capping it off with a 5-yard touchdown by Dodd.

With their big lead now nearly cut in half, the Cougars rallied on their next possession, when Scott caught a pass from Reynolds and weaved his way to the end zone for a 66-yard touchdown. The extra-point extended the lead to 40-14 with nine minutes to play.

"You are only going to play as good as you can control your emotions," Ramsey said. "We may have had a little breakdown there, but give the kids credit because they refocused and put the game away."

With the big lead, Ramsey decided to give his backups some playoff experience and they responded. Quarterback Austin Sturtzman broke initial containment at the line and raced downfield 50 yards to the Reagan 11-yard line.

Three plays later running back Max Baranoske plowed his way for a one-yard touchdown, for the final 47-14 score.

The Cougars bested Reagan 604-127 in total yards, with 463 of those on the ground. Xavier Powell was the workhorse, running 25 times for 168 yards. Reynolds added 99 yards on 15 carries, with two touchdowns, while Scott had 62 yards on nine rushes and a touchdown. Sturtzman had 63 yards on three carries, while Alford had 28 yards on eight rushes. Baranoske rounded it all out with 22 yards on three carries and a score.

Reynolds was 5-12 passing with two touchdowns and 141 yards through the air.

The Cougars will play Angleton, who defeated Friendswood 48-41 in the first round, at Humble's Turner Stadium, Friday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Tomball High School Assistant Baseball Coach Tim Dyson (back, left) and Head Baseball Coach Doug Rush (back, right) congratulated seniors (from left) Ishmael Edwards, Bryce Welborn and Nicholas Banks for earning scholarships to play baseball in college. Edwards will play outfield at Howard Junior College. Welborn will pitch for Texas Tech University. Banks will play outfield and pitch at Texas A&M University.