Official site of Tribune News serving Tomball, Magnolia and Waller

TOMBALL - A straight shot to the Beltway from Tomball is inching closer to reality, as the Harris County Commissioners Court approved contracts with several engineering firms.

The expansion of SH 249 into a six-lane toll way, was approved by the court earlier this year and will run from the Tomball bypass to where the current freeway ends just north of Spring-Cypress Road.

The commissioners are looking at breaking ground about a year from now.

“I’m very excited,” Harris County Pct. 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle said. “This road is a road that a lot of people have had a desire to see completed for awhile now.”

The court approved more than $7 million in expenditures for design plans, environmental studies, utilities, lighting, landscaping, signs and planning.

The overall plan is to eventually extend the highway through a sliver of Montgomery County, where SH 249 merges into FM 1774. The court is now looking at when the best time to complete the second phase, along with Montgomery County. Montgomery County is also in the beginning stages of looking into its part of the expansion.

“Everyone understands that as you increase mobility in that area that it increases the benefits for both counties as a whole,” Cagle said.

Harris County has planned all along to extend the highway north to Tomball, as there is already a huge median between the north and southbound lanes.

Current plans call for the toll road portion to be EZ tag only and will be the standard fee for Harris County toll roads.

The project was pushed along by Cagle, after being approached by members of the new 249 Partnership. The group includes members in Tomball, Magnolia and Navasota and exists to promote growth along the 249 corridor. They are currently working with TxDOT to promote expanding 249 through Navasota. That expansion would create a highway running from Houston all the way to College Station.

“This is a very good first step to make Texas A&M more connected to Houston and Harris County,” Cagle said.

Expenditures approved by the court for the expansion included nearly $2.8 million to engineers Binkley & Barfield, $1.5 million to Pierce Goodwin Alexander & Linville, $1.3 million to I.S. Engineers, $1 million to Aguirre & Fields, as well as several others listed under a million dollars.

Early voting for the Nov. 6 general election starts Oct. 22 in Texas. In Tomball early voting will be held at the public works building, 501 James Street. Hours and times are Oct. 22-26 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Oct. 27 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Oct. 28 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Oct. 29 - Nov. 2 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. In Magnolia early voting will be at the Magnolia Fire Department, 18215 Buddy Riley Blvd. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 22-26, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 27, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 28 and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 29-Nov. 2. In Waller County early voting will be held at Houston Oaks Country Club, 26705 Heger Rd. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 22-24 and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 25-Nov. 2, with the exception of being closed Sunday, Oct. 28.

After months of political games, tricks, advertising and commentary, voters went to the polls Nov. 6 to choose local and national candidates.

In Harris County, once massively dominated by Republicans, President Barack Obama eked out a win, carrying a few local Democrats with him, including Sheriff Adrian Garcia.
Garcia won re-election over former Harris County deputy Louis Guthrie by a 53 percent to 45 percent margin, despite Guthrie receiving the endorsement of the Harris County Deputies Organization.

Another close race was one for the Harris County District Attorney's Office. Republican mike Anderson defeated Democrat Lloyd Oliver, despite the Democratic Party's attempts to remove Oliver from the ballot.

Democrat County Attorney Vince Ryan also won re-election by a slim margin, grabbing 51 percent of the vote over Republican Robert Talton. He was helped by a large democratic turnout on Election Day.

In races with national implications, Republican Ted Cruz narrowly won Harris County over Democrat Paul Sadler, by one-a-half percent.

Republican Kevin Brady easily won re-election to his U.S. House of Representatives seat, defeating Neil Burns. Brady attributed his win to his ability to not become one of the Washington establishment.

"Because I've never moved to Washington, voters know I never forget who I work for," Brady said. "Representing our communities in Congress is a privilege and I'm very thankful to my constituents for sending me back to work for them. I'll continue to fight for a stronger economy, lower taxes, balanced budget, secure border and greater freedom from the growing threat of big government."

Brady said he will try and convince colleagues in the House to tackle tough issues in the next session.

"America is standing at a precarious point," he said. "The President and Congress simply can't keep ducking the tough issues. We need to act now – right now – to tackle America's dangerous debt crisis, reform our oppressive tax code and find real solutions to preserve Social Security and Medicare for every generation without raising taxes. The U.S. House has already approved good ideas and sound solutions. All we need are a Senate and a President with the political will to work with us to get the job done – now."

Congressman Michael McCaul also won re-election. McCaul said that the election results amount to a message that his party will have to work together with President Obama for the good of the nation, but without compromising on their basic principles.

McCaul recently told reporters that immigration reform could be possible in the next session, if lawmakers and the President can come together on issues they agree on.

Montgomery County races were mainly uncontested in the Republican stronghold, as were State Representative races in the Tomball area.

Harris County Commissioners have agreed to a proposal to help Montgomery County build its portion of the SH 249 toll road.

The Memorandum of Understanding, signed by commissioners, states that Harris County will lend up to $20 million to develop SH 249 from Spring Creek to FM 1774.

"To understand this you have to go back about 10 years when the Westpark Freeway and the Ft. Bend Highway was going in," said Harris County Pct. 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle. "There were concerns that Harris County was going to spend a lot of money on our side and then have to wait for Ft. Bend County to catch up."

So Harris County eventually agreed to lend Ft. Bend County $15 million to complete their portion, according to Cagle.

"That success is the model for our partnership with Montgomery County," he said.

Cagle said that while Montgomery County could ultimately afford the project on its own, the length of time it would take would slow the project.

"It could delay it, even by several years," he said.

Cagle said the speed with which Harris and Montgomery counties have come together to start the project has caught the attention of state officials.

"TxDOT has now committed to extending the Aggie Freeway all the way out to highway 6, once it is complete to 1774," he said.

The first phase of the project will be Harris County's, where they will expend 249 from Spring Cypress Road to FM 2920. Construction on that is expected to begin this fall. The second phase, from FM 2920 to FM 1774, will begin about a year later. Cagle said TxDOT will follow a year after that, beginning work on the extension to SH 6 in Navasota.

Cagle praised Montgomery County Commissioner Craig Doyal for his hard work and cooperation on the issue.

"He (Doyal) definitely understands that a rising tide floats all ships," he said.

Cagle said the loan will be at a standard commercial rate, which Montgomery County will pay back once they secure revenue bonds, which will then be paid off using toll revenues.

"This area is so congested that it has hindered its growth," Cagle said. "This is akin to taking the locks off this area and allowing business to just flow in."

"With the 249 project and Grand Parkway coming soon as well, I see this area becoming a prime attraction for business and growth, not just regionally but nationally as well," he added.

Magnolia Chamber of Commerce Chairman Barry Tate knows this development is important to the area and its businesses.

"We want to be sure our chamber members are informed about the SH 249 road project, because we feel this project could really impact them, both during construction and after the road opens," Tate said. "That is why we are devoting our February luncheon to this topic, and have invited quest speakers to be sure everyone has a chance to get their questions answered."

A Magnolia woman has been arrested and charged in Harris County, after she allegedly embezzled nearly $200,000 from her Tomball employer.

Cindy Lee Berry, 44, was charged with Theft of greater than $100,000, but less than $200,000, after officials allege she stole the money over a period of a year-and-a-half fromher employer Johnston Water Well Service. The thefts allegedly took place from Jan 2011 through August of 2012.

The owners of the company have also filed a civil suit in Montgomery County against Berry. Their attorney in the civil case, Field Hudgens, said that the Johnston's discovered some irregularities when looking over their books.

"It came to my client's attention that there were irregularities in the books, checks were missing among other things and an audit showed that there was nearly $200,000 missing," Hudgens said. "After more digging it became clear to them who was responsible."

At that point the Johnston's turned over the information to the Harris County Sheriff's Office who investigated the case.

"We worked with law enforcement agencies to provide all the information to them," Hudgens said.

After completing a lengthy investigation, the Harris County District Attorney's Office filed charges against Berry a month ago, after a grand jury decided to indict her.

"The DA's office has taken a very hard look at this case and is treating it as a very serious matter," said assistant district attorney Lester Blizzard. "It was reported to us and we found evidence to support the alleged embezzlement."

Berry was arrested on April 18. She made a $100,000 bond on April 26 and was released.

Her attorney Stephen Jackson of Conroe said he is still in the early stages of building Berry's defense strategy.

"I have been in touch with her civil attorney and the district attorney is cooperating with us in handing over the information we need," Jackson said. "We will be digging into the records in order to get to the bottom of this. It's a private matter for the Berry's and we will help them through this."

Laura Johnston, who owns the business with her husband, said that the ordeal left her stunned.

"We didn't suspect anything and when we found (the theft) it was a big shock," she said. "We felt betrayed."

Hudgens said he is trying to work out a settlement agreement with Berry's civil attorney.

"We are in the process of contacting Berry's attorney to try and reach an agreement so they can recover some of their money," he said. "I am happy to report that Johnston Water Well Service has survived and continues to be a viable and strong business in Tomball."

Johnston said she hopes other business owners learn from her situation.

"People need to be watching," she said. "I don't want this to happen to others."

If convicted, Berry could face a punishment of two to 20 years in state prison.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Mike Sullivan is reminding residents that the deadline for property tax payments is rapidly approaching.
Payments for 2012 property taxes are due by Jan. 31.  A seven percent penalty and interest charge will be assessed beginning Feb. 1 on all unpaid 2012 tax bills.
Taxpayers that are unable to make their entire payment on time can avoid paying full penalties by making a partial payment by the January 31st deadline," Sullivan said.
Sullivan encouraged taxpayers to pay online at www.hctax.net by credit card, debit card and/or e-Check.
To accommodate taxpayers wanting to pay in person, all branches of The Harris County Tax Office will extend their hours until 6:00 p.m. Jan. 31. Additional staff will be present at all Harris County Tax Office branch locations to help accommodate the anticipated high volume of last-minute tax payments.
Tax bill payments may also be made by credit card, debit card and/or e-Check at any of the 15 Harris County Tax Office branches. Each branch is equipped with a computer kiosk available for taxpayers to utilize in making tax payments. A surcharge of (2.15%) will be added to each credit card transaction, as well as MasterCard debit transactions. When using a Visa debit card, there is a flat fee of $3.95. There is no fee charged for e-Checks.
For taxpayers wanting to pay by telephone, they can call 713-368-2273 using a touch-tone phone.  Telephone operators will be standing by to accept 2012 tax payments until 11:59 p.m. Jan. 31.
For more information, call 713-368-2000 or visit www.hctax.net