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A New Jersey man was arrested and charged with kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault, after Tomball police say he grabbed a woman from her place of work, took her back to his motel room and raped her, March 21.

Jesse Dains, 54, of Newton, N.J., was arrested at the Economy Inn & Suites, on Tomball Parkway, after the victim escaped his room and called police.

Police said that the victim worked at a local bar, where Dains was a customer. They said after the bar was empty, Dains grabbed the woman and forced her to drive him to his motel. Once in the room Dains allegedly beat and sexually assaulted the woman.

Police said that the woman was able to escape, after Daines passed out in the room. She ran to the front desk of the hotel, where the clerk then called 911.

"Upon arrival responding officers located a female victim who outwardly displayed signs of physical and emotional trauma and abuse," a Tomball Police Department press release stated.

The victim told police that Dains was still inside the room, and officers arrested him without incident. He was transported to the Tomball Police Department and questioned. He was later charged with the two felony counts.

Detectives said that Dains visits Tomball on business several times a year and that it appears he frequents that bar when in town.

Bond was set at $30,000 per charge and Dains was transferred to the Harris County Jail. He is set for arraignment in Harris County District Court 262 for April 26.

The city of Tomball is now in the process of tackling what they consider to have been a long standing nuisance within the town – out of control and unregulated signs.

The Tomball City Council passed a new sign ordinance last December that city workers can now enforce. It addresses everything from bandit signs to inflatable signs and provides, what they say, is a uniform system within the city limits.

"It's not a content driven ordinance, with the exception of obscenity," said Tomball City Planner Rebeca Guerra. "This is a sign ordinance that city council asked us to write and we want everyone to know that we are enforcing what they want."

Guerra said that city staffers are in the midst of a campaign to educate business owners about the ordinance. They won't be out handing out fines left and right and say they want to work with business owners, in order to help them get into compliance.

"We are always going to engage them first and let them know about the changes, before we attempt any other means," said Tomball Community Development Director Craig Meyers.

The staff has sent out a flyer to business owners, highlighting the major points of the new ordinance, while also holding a community meeting and enlisting the help of the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce.

"The purpose of all of this is outreach," Guerra said. "We want to give them a fair opportunity to fix any inconsistencies."

The new ordinance now prohibits inflatable signs, human or living signs, freestanding temporary signs, attention-getting devices, bandit signs, portable signs and obscene signs. It also will not allow new billboards to be placed within the city limits and if a billboard suffers more than 50 percent damage, it must be removed.

City workers are now working the major corridors, removing signs in the right-of-way, as well as educating business owners that are not in compliance.

"We are not a city that likes to issue violations," Guerra added. "We are trying to talk to people."

She gave an example that there are several businesses in town that only have banner signs, which aren't allowed to be permanent. She said part of the education effort is to let those businesses know that the Tomball Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) has grants available.

"Most folks don't know it, but TEDC can do a matching grant of up to $10,000 for sign improvement," she said.

While the enforcement of the ordinance is just in its infant stages, Guerra said there have already been some successes.

"We have had a great deal of luck in removing many inflatable and human signs," she said. "If people know that we aren't out there just to fine them, they are usually pretty receptive to what we are trying to do. We are never going to take action first, without giving them a chance to correct it."

For information about the sign ordinance, call city hall at 281-351-5484, or visit www.tomballtx.gov. For details about TEDC grants visit www.tomballtxedc.org.

City of Magnolia Economic Development Coordinator Deborah Rose Miller (left) and Magnolia City Administrator Paul Mendes (right) presented the Magnolia "City Comprehensive Plan" for the next 20 years, during the Magnolia Rotary Club's weekly luncheon March 26. The pair talked about the long term plans for managing growth in Magnolia. The Magnolia Rotary Club meets every Tuesday, at noon, at the Celeste Graves Education Support Center.

"Art, Art, where are you Art? Art, come in here right now! Art, are you listening to me? Where are you Art?"
The sounds of Marylyn. I can still hear them ringing in my ears after all these years.
Art and Marylyn Cummings have been family friends for many, many years. Art and I went to high school together and after a few years, we settled into the same church.
After my wife and I were married, we joined a church known as Grace Tabernacle here in Tomball. Art and Marylyn were married and joined the same church. We both have daughters about the same age.
Art and Marylyn used to live in a mobile home parked behind the church.  As time passed, our families grew close and we began to tease each other about the ways in which each of us treated our spouses. Art and Marylyn took the brunt of most jokes, because we accused Art of being hen pecked.
Marylyn had a way of calling out to Art from inside the house. Her voice would hit nasal octaves, which could be heard reverberating between the church building and metal walls of the house for hundreds of yards away. Regardless of where Art was on the church property, he would always promptly respond with his typical, "yes honey" and then go off and do whatever he wanted to do in the first place. Most of us men respond with the same answer. We always tell our wives what they want to hear, but do it our own way anyhow.
Marylyn was one to always be involved in a good joke. She could dish them out but she could take them as well.  One night a joke was played that went real bad.
A work day was being held at the church. As with most of us, we are happy to help when we can. I had been at the church for several hours and was soon ready to leave. I had no desire to go announce to everyone I was leaving, because I knew I would get picked on for being the first one to leave, so I simply left! I didn't tell a soul I was leaving.
As I drove up my driveway, my wife came running out the door screaming at me to get back up to the church because Marylyn called and said the church house was on fire! As I turned to run back to my car, I told her to call the fire department.
I had been a volunteer fireman for several years and I knew the drill as I was making my way back to town. A call would go in to the dispatcher at the police department and a siren would sound off at Bill Snyder's house on East Main. I knew if I drove with my window down, I would be able to hear the alarm as it was being rung and would need to watch out for the trucks as they pulled out of the station. The closer I got to town, the more and more my ears strained to hear the sounds of the alarms. 
As I began approaching the church house from Main, I strained to see the smoke. I really anticipated seeing black smoke billowing from all angles of the church, when a little voice inside my head told me to hold back and not rush to the scene without a moment of caution. I turned one block early and circled the church house from a one block distance. I soon saw the fire truck parked in front of the church, but the hoses were dry and still laying on the truck. The sirens were not on and I failed to see anybody scurrying around in much of a hurry.
That small voice started telling me somebody was pulling my leg. After circling the block a couple of times, I soon garnered the courage to drive into the lot. As I got out of my car, I realized a prank that was attempting to be pulled on me had turned real sour.
What really occurred, was that Marylyn had called my home attempting to force me to rush back to the church since I left work day without telling anyone. What she failed to tell my wife was, this was in fact a joke, so when I got home and my wife told me the church was on fire, I immediately told her to call the fire department! My wife then started calling other church members and soon everybody in church was panicking thinking the church was burning down.
For once, I was innocent and this prank turned bad by causing the volunteer firemen to come out and creating a lot of potential problems.
Art and Marylyn have moved and the church has changed names.  Life goes on, but my memories of Art and Marylyn will be forever.



- Clifford

Tomball PD
• Mar. 17 Officer Barrera arrested a 41-year-old woman from Pinehurst, for Possession of Marijuana. At 1:10 a.m., Barrera conducted a traffic stop in the 800 block of Peach. During a search, Barrera discovered marijuana in the suspect's pocket.
• Mar. 17 Officer Rod-riguez arrested a 17-year-old man from Tomball, for Possession of Marijuana. At 10:30 p.m., Rodriguez made contact with suspicious persons in the 900 block of Lawrence and detected a strong odor of burnt marijuana. During a search, Rodriguez discovered marijuana in the suspect's wallet.
• Mar. 17 Officer Nguyen arrested a 47-year-old man from Tomball, for Assault Family Violence. At 11:50 p.m., Nguyen responded to a disturbance in progress in the 1300 block of Big Pines. Upon investigation, Nguyen discovered that the suspect had assaulted his wife.
• Mar. 19 Officer Ramsey arrested a 44-year-old man from Tomball, for Possession of Marijuana. At 8:15 p.m., Ramsey conducted a traffic stop in the 700 block of E. Main.  During questioning, Ramsey observed marijuana in plain view in the vehicle.
• Mar. 19 Officer Henagan responded to a Criminal Mischief call in the 200 block of School, where a vehicle's window valued at $300 was shattered.
• Mar. 20 Officer Burns responded to a Burglary of a Motor Vehicle, in the 900 block of Lawrence, where a rifle valued at $157 was stolen.
• Mar. 20 Officer Henagan responded to a theft that occurred in the 28500 block of Tomball Pkwy., where a cell phone valued at $600 was stolen.
• Mar. 21 Officer Ferguson responded to a theft in the 27600 block of Tomball Pkwy., where $65.64 worth of merchandise was stolen and recovered shortly after.
• Mar. 21 Officer Hernan-dez responded to a theft in the 27600 block of Tomball Pkwy., where $56.70 worth of merchandise was stolen and recovered shortly after.
• Mar. 21 Officer Nguyen arrested a 44-year-old man from Newton, N.J., for Aggravated Kidnapping and Aggravated Sexual Assault. At 5:40 a.m., officers responded to a disturbance in the 30100 block of Tomball Pkwy., and discovered that the suspect had kidnapped and assaulted a victim at that location. The suspect was arrested without incident.
• Mar. 21 Officer Maglitto arrested a 38-year-old man from Tomball, for Theft. At 2:50 p.m., Maglitto responded to a theft in the 14300 block of FM 2920 and the suspect was arrested without incident. $115.95 worth of merchandise was recovered by the arrest.
• Mar. 21 Officer Sparks responded to a Criminal Mischief call in the 1000 block of Graham, where a sliding glass door pane valued at $150 was broken.
• Mar. 22 Officer Nguyen responded to a Criminal Mischief call in the 500 block of Roxanne, where two windows were broken in a vehicle for an estimated loss of $600.
• Mar. 22 Officer Sampson responded to a Criminal Mischief call in the 100 block of N. Cherry, where $700 worth of damage was inflicted upon a vehicle.
• Mar. 23 Officer Burns responded to a theft in the 14400 block of FM 2920, where a desktop computer valued at $899.99, a printer valued at $149.99 and a laptop computer valued at $599.99 were stolen.
• Mar. 23 Officer Hernan-dez arrested a 21-year-old man from Houston, for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. At 2p.m., Hernandez responded to a disturbance in the 31100 block of Stella. Upon investigation, Hernandez discovered that the suspect had threatened a victim with a handgun.
• Mar. 23 Officer Sampson responded to a Criminal Mischief call in the 1100 block of Summit, where $300 was inflicted upon a vehicle.

Montgomery Co. Sheriff
• Mar. 20 Deputy Sharman was dispatched to S. Carrol Lane. The female resident was apprehensive about her 32-year-old male roommate. Deputies found that the roommate had an active warrant and he was arrested and taken to jail.
• Mar. 22 Deputy Irvine was dispatched to the Dogwood Hills Subdivision. The female victim told deputies that her ex-boyfriend, a 39-year-old male, assaulted her after he forced his way into the home, then he fled into a nearby wooded area. Deputies found the suspect and he was arrested and taken to jail.
• Mar. 23 Deputy Crandell was dispatched to a business on Nichols Sawmill Road. Deputies found that a 26-year-old female had a warrant for her arrest. The suspect was arrested and an incident of theft remains under investigation.
• Mar. 25 Deputy Sharman was dispatched to the intersection of Turtle Creek and Walnut Creek.  The deputy found a 44-year-old male that was intoxicated, asleep inside a vehicle that was stopped in the roadway.  The suspect was arrested and taken to jail.

Harris Co. Pct. 4 Constable
• Mar. 23 At 7 p.m., Deputy A. Strain stopped a vehicle driven by a 22-year-old male from Conroe, for a traffic violation in the 2100 block of FM 2920. During the course of the stop, Strain learned that the man was operating the vehicle while his driver's license is suspended and he did not have insurance. The suspect was arrested and transported to the Harris County Jail.