Burglary suspects leave stolen truck, ATM behind
By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff
Two men used a stolen vehicle out of Magnolia to crash through the front
windows of Ken’s Bread and Butter at the Mid South Center in Pinehurst in the
early morning hours of July 15. Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy Aaron Sumrall
responded to a call of burglary at the store located at 34703 SH 249 made as the
store opened for business the same day.
Ken’s Bread and Butter Citgo in Pinehurst was robbed in the early morning hours
of July 15.
The ensuing investigation produced surveillance tapes provided by the
storeowner. The tapes reveal that a gold, 2000 model Ford pickup was backed onto
the curb of the store at 2:16 a.m on July 15. The rear of the vehicle was used
to ram through the front of the store leaving tire marks on the sidewalk.
Two suspects then attached a chain from the truck to the ATM machine in the
store and pulled the machine out onto the sidewalk. Requesting to be named only
as, Bobby, the owner of Ken’s Bread and Butter said the second suspect assisted
the first in lifting the ATM machine into the back of the pickup.
Of use in the investigation was a report filed by officer Dean Simmons of the
Magnolia Police Department regarding the stolen vehicle. On the morning of July
15 Simmons was on patrol and found an open gate at 2 a.m. in the 300 block of FM
1774. Upon investigating, Simmons found the master lock and chain had been cut
and was lying on the ground at the gate of World Petroleum Supply.
It was determined that some time between July 14 at 5:15 p.m. and July 15 at
2 a.m. the truck had been stolen from within Magnolia and was used in the county
burglary in Pinehurst. One of two suspects was wearing all black clothing,
gloves and a mask while another suspect wore only a yellow polo shirt, shorts
and shoes.
“I have never before seen anything like this. This is the first thing like
this that has happened at this store,” said Bobby who has operated the store for
the last five years. The storeowner will file an insurance claim to recover
costs for the repairs to the building.
Lt. Dan Norris of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s office confirmed that the
vehicle was recovered by deputy K. Funderburk in an empty field on Goodson Loop
at 9:15 a.m. on July 15 with the ATM machine, owned by ATM Link, still in the
bed of the truck. The owner’s of the vehicle were contacted to identify the
stolen pickup.
Montgomery County Crime Investigations detective Mandy Pieper confirmed that
the ATM machine had been gutted. All the components, including any cash that may
have been inside, had been removed. Pieper is pursuing leads relating to the
case and will use the prints found on the ATM machine and truck in identifying
the suspects. Any information relating to the incident may be offered to the
Montgomery County Sheriff’s office by calling 936-760-5876.
Ninth grade academy insuring success for MHS
By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff
Magnolia High School has an exciting agenda for freshmen in the coming school
year. Principals and staff have developed the “School within a School” program
in workshops this summer. Several programs designed to profile leadership skills
and characteristics have been added to the ninth grade curriculum for the coming
year.
Magnolia Ninth Grade Principal Randy Harris and Ninth Grade Counselor Gerry
Anderson are preparing for a banner year at Magnolia High School’s Ninth Grade
Academy this year.
Insuring success for ninth graders coming from Bear Branch Junior High will
be Principal Randy Harris and Counselor Gerry Anderson. This will be the eighth
year for Harris at MHS, who spent three years as a track and football coach and
four years as Assistant Principal. Harris has a total of 16 years in the field
of education. Anderson has spent nine years at MHS in student counseling. He
hopes the new programming will bring even more success to the freshman class
this year, he said.
“It’s going to create a unique learning environment,” said Harris. Teachers
will be able to share, collaborate and work together and the students will have
a common bond, he said. Additionally, an entire wing of the first floor has been
dedicated to the Ninth Grade Academy.
Freshmen can expect great things this year with creative scheduling. The
class will be divided into three families of students over the four core
subjects: English, history, math, and science. Each freshman family of students
will have the same teachers. Each group of teachers will have a common off
period in which to discuss interdisciplinary and curriculum action across a
common group of students.
“We want to ease the transition from junior high to high school with the
least negative impact,” said MHS Principal Jeff Springer. “Statistics show that
if a student has a successful ninth grade year, they are more likely to finish
high school.”
With 8 to 10 percent of freshmen labeled as “repeaters” and classified as
freshmores, a student becomes less likely to graduate with their class if they
fall behind, eventually opting to drop out rather than complete their high
school education.
Approximately 80 percent of incoming freshmen at MHS will be enrolled in a
Teen Leadership class. This course is designed by Leadership Solutions of
Bryan/College Station.
“The course will channel the leadership qualities that all students have by
teaching goal setting, presentation and speaking skills, interviewing
techniques, and relationship building by showing students how to reframe issues
to create a positive outcome,” said Springer.
Over the last four years MHS has offered Challenge Day to 100 students per
day over a two-day period. As a result, significant discipline issues have
declined at the high school, while enrollment has increased by over 600
students. This year’s Challenge Day will be offered only to incoming freshmen in
groups of 80 to 100 over a five-day period. Challenge Days will be held on Sept.
27, 28, and 29 and Oct. 1 and 2 at an off-campus facility.
The goal of Challenge Day is to “break down barriers by helping students and
adults learn to accept those whom they would not normally spend time with,” said
Springer. “Many community members, counselors, assistant principals and staff
have already participated in the program. It’s an emotional, life-changing day
that provides a reconciliation opportunity.”
The program will be facilitated off-campus by Challenge Day Inc. of
California. Two of five needed Challenge Day sponsors are Balfour and Brady Hall
of the Herff Jones Company. Magnolia High School is seeking other Challenge Day
Sponsors. Please contact Jeff Springer at 281-356-3572 ext 7001. More
information on Challenge Day programming may be found at
www.challengeday.org.
Mind over matter, all in the training
By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff
A life rich in excellent health, boundless happiness and abundant blessings
are the desire of every human. These are the reality we seek, though we often
are not equipped to obtain them.
Magnolia resident, Jody Cantu-Howard, author, teacher, healer, and spiritual
counselor will offer four classes at Tomball College this fall.
“We all have the ability to possess each of them, yet we continually create
self sabotaging patterns within ourselves that become obstacles to receiving,”
writes Jody Howard, author of A Soul’s Guide to Abundance, Health and Happiness.
The book provides study guides at the end of every chapter and incorporates
spirituality in a general form. Chapters include prayer, poetry, quotations and
stories, which are designed to enhanced newly learned skills.
Howard lives in Magnolia and will be teaching classes this fall at Tomball
College in the Continuing Education Curriculum and other programs. The classes
teach life-enhancing skills and provide a series of healing techniques, which
can be used as defensive maneuvers to destructive behaviors.
“I like to think of myself as a life coach,” she said.
Meditation for Stress Reduction and Relaxation will offer teaching and skill
building for removing negative thoughts. Negative thoughts create fear of the
past, because people hang on to bad experiences, said Howard. The class will
teach people to release the past from the present, so they can reach their full
potential.
Another class offered by Howard this fall is Enjoy Every Minute Of Your Life
where students will learn to let go of the past, not worry about the future and
live in the now.
Manifesting For Abundant Health And Happiness is geared toward releasing
emotional blocks people have that prevent them from having the things they
deserve and desire using a journaling method of instruction and relation.
Howard offers personal counseling and provides a “toolbox” of resources
including Reiki, meditation and energy infusion. She has 20 years experience
assisting others as a teacher, healer and spiritual counselor.
“My biggest gift is that I can feel the energy of the body,” she said.
More information on Howard’s self-published book can be found at
http://www.lulu.com /jodyhoward.
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Golf tournament raises $25,000 for new high school
By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff
The sweltering heat did not keep more than 80 area golfers off the course
July 17 when Magnolia West High School put on its inaugural fundraising golf
tournament at High Meadow Ranch Golf Club. Despite temperatures that reached the
mid-90s by the early afternoon, 23 teams drove, putted and hacked their way
through the picturesque and heavily wooded golf course off of FM 1488.
The event raised more than $25,000 for the new high school’s athletic
department, Men’s Athletic Coordinator David Joiner said, an amount far more
than even he expected. “This just shows the generosity of our community,” Joiner
said. Money was raised through entry fees, hole sponsorships, course side games
and a live and silent auction.
Items up for bid in the auction included autographed footballs by former
Texas A&M head football coach R.C. Slocum and current University of Texas head
football coach Mack Brown. The item that generated the highest bid was a framed
photograph and autographed document by Babe Ruth, which brought in $400.
Pictured above, Ben Fuentes, owner of Hit-A-Way sports complex, connects on a
drive during a golf tournament held July 17 at High Meadow Ranch Golf Club to
benefit Magnolia West High School athletics.
The winning foursome of Jim Rockford, Robert Jones, Mike Kazmierski and Rene
Hancock shot a combined score of 51. The team was awarded a first-place trophy
at a ceremony following the tournament. Awards were also given for longest drive
and closest tee shot to the pin.
Teams were given an opportunity to improve their scores with various side
games throughout the course. Among those was a poker hole, in which players paid
$5 to draw a card from a deck of cards. If a player was to draw an ace, that
team could score a hole in one for the par three. At least five teams drew an
ace, an event organizer said.
Another par three gave players a chance to win a 1968 Ford Mustang with a
hole in one. The closest anyone came to winning, a tournament volunteer said,
was within three feet of the hole. Joiner credited Magnolia West Booster Club
President Michelle Daniels with helping organize the event. “She really put it
all together for us,” he said.
Joiner was named Men’s Athletic Coordinator for the new high school more than
16 months ago and has been working to develop talent at the junior high level
since then. “The district allowed me to work in the junior high schools and that
has helped me get to know a lot of the students,” he said.
Magnolia West will not field varsity teams until the 2007-08 school year.
This season, the school will only field freshman-level teams. However, student
athletes participating in individual sports such as track and field, swimming,
golf and tennis would have the opportunity to compete at the varsity level if
they prove they are good enough, Joiner said.
Joiner, who will also coach the varsity football team, has also been busy
hiring a coaching staff at the new high school. “I’ve been lucky because I’ve
had a big stack of resumes,” he said. “I’ve had the opportunity to hire some
great folks.”
White Dove ramps up for demolition derby in fall
By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff
A demolition derby, raffle and haunted house are scheduled for Oct. 27 and 28
as a fundraiser providing fun for the whole family. The membership and board of
directors of White Dove of Hope met on July 13 at Irene’s Café on Fields Store
Road at FM 1488 to discuss, plan and assign tasks for the upcoming fall
fundraiser.
Thunder Chicken and driver Bubba Schiel, sponsored by Hometown Hardware, came in
second place in the final heat of the 2006 White Dove spring demolition derby
held at the Chad Treichel Memorial Arena in April.
Here, a unique group of individuals saw a need in the community for a
benefactor.
“It all started because I wanted to help a friend whose daughter had cancer,”
said President Leonard Treichel. The family received $37,000 in assistance from
White Dove of Hope for medical and illness related expenses.
For four years the group has held benefits, barbecue’s and derby’s to assist
people in need. The headquarters for White Dove of Hope is the Chad Treichel
Memorial Arena, in Fields Store at 30628 FM 1488. They are a 501c3 non-profit
organization governed by a Board of Directors. The mission of White Dove of Hope
is to come together as friends and raise funds to help those in our communities
during times of crisis in their lives. Together the group has a vision that
White Dove of Hope will be recognized as the catalyst for mobilizing people to
pull together and build a healthier, more compassionate community. Derby
contestants, food vendors, new members, and volunteers for the derby may contact
info@whitedoveofhope.org or call
Jan Bowen at 936-931-9131 for more information.
TISD camp teaches select students leadership qualities
By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff
Twice a week, 18 bleary-eyed students stagger into a classroom at the Tomball
Alternative Education Center early in the morning, no doubt knowing they could
still be sleeping like most of their other classmates this summer.
Pictured above, Tomball Regional Hospital Dietician Patricia Henry (far left)
discusses healthy diet choices with Tomball ISD students who are participating
in the district’s yearlong leadership camp.
These students are not here for punishment or summer school. Instead, they
have been handpicked by their respective principals to take part in the Tomball
Independent School District’s Leadership Camp. The camp is a year-long session
which is designed to “explore how qualities such as integrity, honesty,
humility, courage and commitment not only can boost leadership abilities, but
also help students enhance leadership skills,” according to Tomball ISD. The
summer session is held throughout June and July each Tuesday and Friday.
For the morning sessions, students typically are engaged in classroom-style
exercises, which involve meeting with community leaders and local professionals.
As part of the Leadership Camp, Tomball Police Chief Michael Blake, Tomball Fire
Department Chief Randy Parr, Tomball Mayor Hap Harrington, Tomball ISD’s Darlene
Blair and others visited the students at the camp last week.
Camp organizer Sergio Cortes said the camp is helping students who have
already been identified as potential leaders take the next step toward
leadership. “The principals have seen the leadership skills of these students,”
Cortes said. The students range from ages 11 through 16 and are enrolled in
classes in intermediate through junior high schools. The same 18 students will
participate in the camp throughout the year. Part of the goal of the camp was to
keep students active during the summer months, Cortes said.
“We noticed a lot of kids spending too much time at home,” he said. “This
gives them other opportunities.”
The camp is divided into four aspects, or themes: technology, health and
fitness, leadership and community issues. Part of the instruction of the camp is
for students to identify a problem in the community and offer a solution, Cortes
said.
Later in the day, the students spend an hour of recreational time. Among the
activities the students participated in last week was a spirited game of dodge
ball. “We haven’t had one altercation, not one fight,” Cortes said.
The summer portion of the camp has met twice a week through June and July and
will meet every two months throughout the school year. The summer camp concludes
July 28. Cortes said the response from parents has been positive. “We’ve had a
fantastic response,” he said.
Custom wheels, calendar girls on display at Napa
By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff
Jodi Reed exhibits body and brain as she heads up the Napa Girl’s Division of
Napa Texas. She is in charge of marketing and advertising for Tom Parlow’s five
Napa stores in College Station, Huntsville, Madisonville, Magnolia and Waller.
She and her team of calendar girls and support staff attend charity benefits,
toy drives, and marketing expos as well as delivering donuts to local area
customers.
Perched atop a 2005 OCC Chopper is Jodi Reed, Napa Texas’ 2006 calendar cover
girl. The motorcycle is a one-of-a-kind design, handcrafted by Paul Sr., Mike
and Paul Jr. Tuttle of upstate New York. Reed is the head of marketing for the
Napa Girl’s Division of Napa Texas.
“We like to know our customers,” said Reed, who was selected as the cover
girl for the 2006 Napa Calendar.
Parlow kicked off the Grand Opening of the Magnolia store, his fifth Napa
acquisition, on July 19 with a display of the OCC Chopper as seen on the
Discovery channel, a free lunch catered by Domino’s Pizza and the 2006 Napa
Girls. Reed was on hand to autograph pictures and pose for the crowd. The store
is located at 18260 FM 1488 in Magnolia.
“We believe it’s a great place to work, and a great place to shop,” said
Parlow. If your employees love to come to work and are treated fairly, they make
it a great place for customers to shop, he said.
Napa Texas provides an ASE certified or Master technician on duty every hour
at four of five locations. The area sales representative for Napa Texas, Todd
Ferris, is an ASE Master Technician who spends three weeks a year at the San
Antonio Nascar division.
Both the chopper and the truck will be given away, one in Texas and one
nationally. For more information logon to
www.NapaTexas.com.
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