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Thanks to careful planning and astute spending, the Magnolia Volunteer Fire Department has been able to acquire four new tanker trucks. They are also  building three new station locations over the next few months. The department says it needs these upgrades in order to provide a dependable source of fire protection in some of Magnolia's most remote areas, but there is another benefit to all homeowners in the area – lower homeowner insurance premiums. Residents will pay less for insurance if their local fire department is modern and effective, which is what the Magnolia department has been working toward.

Fire Chief Gary Vincent explains.

"Every ten years, fire departments are rated by the Insurance Services Organi-zation (ISO)," he said. "These ratings are used by the insurance companies to help determine the prices that they will charge for homeowner's insurance. The highest rating is a '1' and the lowest is a '10,' which represents the most risk. The fire department is rated for each of its separate service areas. In Magnolia, the individual ratings go all the way from 1 to 10, but the department averages a 3. This is actually a very good score for a department where few homes have fire hydrants nearby. Our department services a broad area that is two-thirds the size of Austin, and growing."

To maintain this high rating with a growing population, the department administration plans ahead and gets competitive bids on everything. They spent more than two years planning for and designing the new tanker trucks, which were made by Farrara Fire Apparatus in Holden, La.

"We designed places for all the equipment to go that would give us fast, easy access, and even designed the red, black and gold color scheme for the trucks," Vincent said. "We think it gives them an identifiable, traditional look."

The new trucks will be strategically placed in stations where they will benefit the ISO rating of the area.

The new tanker trucks are state-of-the art, capable of carrying 3,300 gallons of water (which is considerably more than the existing tankers), four firefighters, EMS equipment, ladders and a thousand feet of five-inch supply hose. The trucks are still being outfitted at the station, but they should be ready to roll in early April and will bring the existing fleet up to 11 fire trucks.

Magnolia firefighter Josh Griffith is one of several firefighters who have been helping to outfit the new trucks.

"It's a luxury for us to be able to get our water, equipment and manpower to the fire all at once in one vehicle – these trucks are a valuable asset,"  Griffith said.

Along with the new trucks, three new fire stations are being constructed in locations that did not have ready access to an existing station.

"The codes go up all the time. In the past, a home could be located within a five-mile radius of a station and maintain a good rating, but now a home must be within five 'road miles' of a station," Vincent said. "Since most of our roads are winding, that makes a big difference. The later requirement left several areas with low ISO ratings. Our new stations will boost the ratings and provide more comprehensive coverage for the community."

Not all the stations are manned, although all do contain equipment the firefighters can utilize as soon as they get there.

Magnolia began as an all-volunteer fire department. Now, it has approximately 100 part-time paid firefighters who man the larger stations during the day. The department still maintains another hundred volunteers who man stations on nights and weekends, and who will be deployed to fight fire emergencies at other times.

"We are always in need of more firefighters and more volunteers in general. Many of our volunteers don't go near the fires, but they are critical to the operation of our department," said Vincent. 

The Magnolia department is funded by Emergency Services District 10. Vincent mentioned that the enhancements were funded with existing revenue.

"We are good stewards of taxpayer dollars," he said. "We look for ways to invest wisely and keep spending down."

As an example, the new tanker trucks were outfitted in the station to avoid the costs of the factory doing the work. Another example - the main Magnolia Fire Station contains furniture that was built in Texas prisons, which kept the price down.

Fire trucks last about 20 years, but it takes two to three years after the money is appropriated to design and obtain the new trucks, then it takes two months or more to train the firefighters to properly use a new one. Training goes on all the time, according to Vincent.

Those wishing to volunteer can find information on the website: www.magnoliafire.org.

More than 60 members of the Keep Montgomery County Green (KMCG) organization gathered for the fourth Volunteer Recognition Dinner at the West County Community Development Center on Friendship Drive in Magnolia, Feb. 23. The main purpose of their event was to honor six special volunteers who gave a tremendous amount of time and effort to help promote the beautification of Montgomery County and to unveil the 2013 Growing Green Plant, the Black and Blue Salvia, and the award-winning poster for this year.

One of the winners of a KMCG award was the Magnolia Citizen's Police Academy Alumni Association, who won the award for Beautification/Community Improvement for the Roy Street Demolition Project, led by Alumni Association President Summer Foltz and member Jill Gabriel, with Officer Juan Lopez as leader of the academy classes. Magnolia Police Chief Domingo Ibarra nominated this project because of the effort mounted by the group to integrate several civic and neighborhood association members, along with local companies that donated their services to help, to remove an abandoned structure that was an eyesore and a danger to the community.

"We work hard to live up to our motto, 'In Partnership with Our Community,' and this project was a perfect example of that success," said Ibarra, who stated he was extremely proud of the Alumni Association. 

Other winners include: John Warner of the Texas A&M Forest Service with sponsor Anheuser-Busch, for heading a volunteer to replant 500 trees as part of the Texas ReLEAF project; Boy Scout Troop 1855 in West Conroe for donating more than 900 hours of time for trash collection; the City of Conroe for implementing effective water conservation programs during the recent 2011 drought; Cherrie Edwards of Project Building H.O.P.E. (Helping Others Play Everyday), a project to rebuild a park destroyed by the Tri-County Fire; and Jan Hatfield for leading the recycling efforts of Magnolia United Methodist Church Women.

Along with honoring the super volunteers, a $500 college scholarship for the organization's poster art contest was awarded to Dylan Etter, who is a senior at Magnolia ISD's Alpha Academy. Etter was sponsored by his art teacher, Regina Michaels, who is also a member of KMCG.

"I entered the poster contest last year and received some recognition, but this year I entered again and won," said Etter.

He wants to attend art school with the scholarship money and is interested in becoming a computer designer.

"I was surprised to see how much this organization does for the community and especially all the great progress they have made in helping the county recover from the recent fires," Etter noted.

The February Volunteer Recognition Event is held to honor outstanding volunteers who have been nominated for doing work areas that align with the mission of KMCB. Members and the public can nominate outstanding volunteers from November to January each year, in the areas of: recycling/waste reduction, litter prevention, beautification and community improvements, volunteerism, and environmental education.

Charlotte Riser Harris, the board chairman for the nonprofit organization, said, "We are so grateful to all our volunteers and also to our commercial sponsors, who helped us put on this event and provide the scholarship funding. We have many other projects in our community that we would love to implement - we just need help to make them happen."

KMCB puts on several events throughout the year, which include a Volunteer Recognition Dinner and a Growing Green Plant Sale. Volunteers also man the organization's booth at events and festivals and serve on the Board of Directors.

KMCG is based in Magnolia and was founded in 2004 as one of more than 350 affiliate organizations of Keep Texas Beautiful, a statewide nonprofit committed to improving community environments through programs and education. KMCG is dedicated to helping residents enhance their communities by volunteering with programs that promote waste reduction, recycling, litter prevention and community beautification.

Keep Montgomery County Green is looking for more volunteers of all ages and capabilities. For more information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or visit www.kmcbtexas.org.

Jake Duncan is excited about technology in schools and even more excited about teachers and students working together, in order to create innovative technology projects that can teach real life skills.

Duncan, the technology integration specialist for Texas Region 6 Educational Service Center in Huntsville, recently staged a video contest designed to motivate teachers to integrate technology into their classrooms, and to get the students to "show off their technology skills" in the process.

The contest asked for videos in three categories: Technology as a Teaching Tool, Morning Announcement and My School is the Best. Each category had two levels – one for grades K-5 and one for grades 6-12. Up to three videos could be submitted per school.

Magnolia High AV Production Instructor Kathrina Martin won the category of My School is the Best with the video "The Magnolia Style," a fast-paced parody of the popular Gangnam Style video by the South Korean musician PSY. The video involved a huge cast of Magnolia High staff members and students, but above all, it shows a sense of accomplishment and pride that the students have for their school, Duncan said.

Texas Region 6 comprises more than 12,000 square miles across 15 counties in southeast Texas, including Montgomery County. Region 6 has 57 school districts, including Magnolia ISD, and a number of private and charter schools. More than 30 videos were submitted for consideration in this first video contest, and winners were announced this month.

"This is an example of how we want technology to work in the schools – classroom transformation with digital learning," said Duncan.

"We actually created the video before we heard about the contest," Martin said. "When I heard about the contest I knew the video would be perfect for that."

Martin sent the idea she had for the parody to former student Jeremy Fowler – now a college student in Austin – and he wrote the lyrics. Fowler and another former Magnolia student Austin Clark then put the song together, which the students lip sync in the video.

Martin said the students and faculty members that participated in the making of the video spent countless hours meticulously matching every movement and shot in the original video.

"The kids had to do research on getting the shots and framing just right," she said.

Martin's students and Magnolia High had already received some fame for a past video, in which they lip synced to Katy Perry's song "Fireworks." Perry then got word of the video and shared it with her Twitter and Facebook followers, with the video now having received almost 400,000 views on YouTube.

"Our students work extremely hard and are very creative," Martin said. "I am really proud of what they did."

Duncan is optimistic that the next contest will have more entries.

"The next contest is on the subject of teaching others to become good digital citizens," he said. "The videos will be due May 13. These contests are about collaboration and creativity, not just about who can produce the fanciest video. I hope more teachers and students get involved in the next one – they can learn a lot and it's fun."

Each video must be submitted by a teacher sponsor, but students are invited to get involved. The Magnolia Style can be viewed here.

Tribune Reporter Caleb Harris contributed to this report.

The Magnolia City Council is moving ahead with ordinances that will allow for expansion of the city limits while trying to preserve the attractiveness and charm of the town.

At the city council meeting on Feb. 12, they passed ordinances to help control building codes for new construction, improve the placement and type of business signs and provide the groundwork for subdivision and land development regulations. They agreed to increase fees for city services to make them more in line with comparable cities.

The ordinance regarding building regulations was developed as an interim building, subdivision and land development ordinance that would be in place to ensure all future development is consistent with the comprehensive plan, until the plan becomes fully effective. It applies to new properties within the city limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction of Magnolia. Officials said its purpose is to promote the character and charm of Magnolia through architectural design, construction practices, landscaping guidelines, nuisance regulation, resource protection and adjacency protection, among other items.

The new sign ordinance will regulate or prohibit any signage that is placed on public property or right-of-way, private property signs and billboards. It will assure that permanent signs adhere to an annual inspection schedule and that applicable fees are paid to the city. It was also set in place to ensure attractive roadways in the city.

Council members agreed to rehabilitate the elevated water storage tank along the railroad tracks and to permit the purchase of two replacement police patrol vehicles.

In the business of elections, three council positions will be up for election, during a general election to be held May 11. Council agreed to conduct joint elections between Magnolia ISD and the city and to authorize an election services agreement between Montgomery County and the city.

Magnolia Police Chief Domingo Ibarra reported that for the last ten months the city has collected more warrants than it has issued and that officers are proceeding to impound vehicles of people without insurance or drivers' licenses who commit traffic or other violations in the city. He also stated that the department is working to report crime statistics that occur only within the city limits, not for crimes outside the limits, so that the statistics more accurately reflect the crime situation within Magnolia itself.

City Administrator Paul Mendes stated the comprehensive plan for the city is on schedule for completion in March. The Public Works Department is working on repairing pipes, sewers and ditches that need to be improved so the expansion of the city can stay on track.

"The infrastructure needs repair -- some water is not being accounted for due to leaks and improper construction that was completed long before city regulations were put in place," he explained.

He went on to say that city codes are being enforced and monthly building permits are up.

"These are good signs that Magnolia is moving forward," said Mendes.

Several presentations were given during the meeting. Auditor Robert VanWassehnova reported that "Magnolia had a good financial year in 2012 and the Council is making good use of the taxpayers' money" with its careful spending.

Juan Carreon, Union Pacific Railroad Vice President, presented commemorative gifts to the city in honor of its designation as an "Official Union Pacific Train Town," which occurred on the same day as the council meeting. Also, Matt Dillon, owner of Dillon's Gunsmoke in Magnolia, presented a Blackhawk Tactical Backpack Kit to the Magnolia Police Department. The military-style gear will help officers safely enter a dangerous building in the event of an active shooter incident.

In a separate presentation, Ibarra was awarded a plaque from the Fraternal Order of Police of Harris County for his recent help in diffusing a sensitive law enforcement situation.

Magnolia and Tomball have long enjoyed a small-town feel and friendliness that many area residents find comfortable. At least two area residents found inspiration living in the friendly, country environment that led them to successful writing ventures.

Author Terri Kelley lived in Tomball for several years, after she came to know the town because her mother came there for therapy.

"I had three kids and it seemed like a perfect place to raise a family," she said.

While she was employed in sales, she saw a billboard about becoming a teacher. The idea appealed to her and she became certified and taught first grade in the Cy Fair district. Soon she moved to Tomball ISD's Rosehill Elementary as a second grade teacher and later served as reading specialist and gifted and talented specialist for Northpointe Intermediate School. After two of her three children graduated from Tomball High, her husband was sent to work in Oregon, and the family moved there in 2009.
Kelley was working on her graduate degree and expecting to go into school administration when a travel trailer accident made it impossible for her to stand for any length of time and caused her to abandon those plans.

"I was depressed and really needed a new life goal," she said. "I had always enjoyed writing children's books and wrote one called Gingerly, which brought in many of my experiences working in Tomball with the students. My husband talked me into publishing the book last December. I am happy to say that it is already selling well. I have several more children's books in the works and can't wait to publish those, too."

Kelley is creating a series of textbooks for elementary children called Writing is a Process. She hopes the books will help children develop a passion for writing down their thoughts and ideas, just like she has.

"I believe I have found my true life's work."

Kelley's books are available on her website: terrikelleybooks.com, or through Amazon.com.

"I welcome comments or questions from children who have read my books. My email is right on the site," she said.

Another author, Rick Fontes, enjoys the peaceful life in Magnolia while he lets his imagination take him into all types of stories that he has turned into books in several genres. Fontes spent more than 20 years as a noted photographer of babies and toddlers in day care centers around the country. He wrote down his tips and techniques as a how-to manual for others who might be interested in a baby photography career, and found he liked writing. He retired from the photography business and moved to Magnolia from Houston "because I liked the country life," and started writing.

"I have all these ideas in my head," he said. "I don't want to confine my writing to any particular genre. I'd rather have something that will appeal to everyone. I like my books to be short enough, maybe 200-250 pages, so someone could read one during a plane flight."

So far Fontes has written eight books that include a poetry book, a book of short stories, a tale about the future, a western novel and several action-adventure stories that feature one hero character, Rick Moreno.

"I have a sci-fi idea that I want to work on next," he adds.

Fontes explained how his ideas took root. "I thought of my characters while I was driving all over as a photographer. Dreaming up their adventures occupied my mind while I was traveling alone. Now I have time to write them down." Fontes' books are available on Amazon.com and on lulu.com.