Former Magnolia Fire Chief accepts felony conviction
By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff
Former Magnolia Volunteer Fire Department Chief Steve Sanguedolce has been
convicted of abuse of official capacity, a third degree felony, after an
investigation by the FBI and Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office
revealed he misappropriated Magnolia VFD funds.
Sanguedolce accepted a plea deal, which included a 10-year suspended prison
sentence, meaning he will not spend any time in prison but rather will be on
probation for the next decade, said Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office
Investigator Brett Peabody. If he were to violate the terms of his probation,
Sanguedolce could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
Sanguedolce accepted the deal last week and was sentenced in the 221st
District Court. As part of the conviction, Sanguedolce is no longer allowed to
work as a firefighter in Montgomery County, Peabody said. Sanguedolce will also
have to pay restitution to the Magnolia VFD of approximately $40,000, Peabody
added.
The investigation into Sanguedolce began in late February when investigators
raided the Magnolia VFD station on FM 1774 and seized financial records. Over
the next seven months, investigators pored over financial records and data,
which eventually revealed Sanguedolce’s misuse of department finances. “It was a
very thorough investigation,” Peabody said. “The quantity of financial records
was enormous.”
Both the FBI forensics department and the Magnolia Police Department aided in
the investigation. While working as Fire Chief in Magnolia, Sanguedolce also
held a paid position with the Houston Fire Department, a common practice among
firefighters, where he had been employed for the past 16 years.
The investigation revealed that Sanguedolce paid Houston firefighters to work
his shifts in Houston with Magnolia VFD funds. Sanguedolce also set up Houston
firefighters as Magnolia VFD employees in order to receive a paycheck, Peabody
said. Sanguedolce also misused his Magnolia VFD credit card for personal use.
“This is what abuse of official capacity is,” Peabody said.
While Sanguedolce was the primary target in the investigation, Peabody said
investigators saw no reason to suspect Houston firefighters of any wrongdoing.
“They were just doing what firefighters do over there,” he said. Sanguedolce was
placed on administrative leave at the onset of the investigation and
subsequently resigned.
Local counselor cooks up kid’s life skills book
By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff
Wanda Cook, a fifth grade counselor at Ruby Reed Academy for Engineering in
the Aldine Independent School District, makes it quite clear where her passion
lies. As she discusses the themes behind her first book, “Guidance for the
Gourmet,” Cook, a 15-year Tomball resident, speaks with a Sunday morning
preacher’s conviction about her desire to help children, or as she describes
them, “her babies,” navigate through society’s woes.
Wanda Cook
Her book is a collection of 23 interactive life skill lessons addressing such
topics as anger, bullying, respect, fear, obesity and other issues many children
today face. “I wrote these stories to teach kids to take care of themselves, to
protect themselves,” Cook said.
Her experience in working with inner-city youth and seeing the daily
struggles they have faced helped spur the ideas behind the book. “I got involved
writing this book when I worked at an inner city elementary school,” Cook said.
“There were a lot of apartment kids, and their problems were so unique. There
was no literature to address their specific needs. So, I created literature for
them.”
For the past six years, many of Cook’s short stories have been published in
newsletters and special collections. “Guidance for the Gourmet” is organized as
a sort of cookbook, with lessons organized into appetizers, main courses and
desserts.
The idea behind the format of the book was that of Cook’s publisher, Arden
Martinez. Martinez hit upon the idea of utilizing Cook’s culinary-friendly last
name in the mapping out of the book.
The issues the author discusses, such as bullying and obesity, are familiar
ones in today’s youth society. “There’s so much bullying,” she said. “The kids
are terrified to be intelligent. They are terrified to come to school.”
Childhood obesity was also a common problem Cook encountered. The children
with whom she has worked often didn’t have the financial resources to maintain a
healthy lifestyle, she said. “They eat whatever is cheap. They don’t know
anything about meal planning and if they did, they could not afford it.”
But perhaps the most frightening reality that Cook has encountered is the
overall living environment of many at-risk youth. “Many children are dealing
with living in an unsafe environment,” she said. “Some of those children have to
worry about being shot at night. There was so much gunfire, they had to sleep on
the floor. It is unbelievable. I had to create these stories because I had to
help my babies.”
Cook’s writing career began about 15 years ago when she penned stories for
her two young children. Since then, the move to authoring a book has been a
natural progression, she said. “I just found a great joy in writing,” she said.
“It’s very therapeutic.” She is currently working on her second book, but was
coy about divulging the theme.
“Guidance for the Gourmet” took Cook about a year and a half to complete, a
span that she says was not at all painstaking. “It is part of me, it’s what I
love to do. It’s not a chore.” “Guidance for the Gourmet” is available to
purchase online at www.marcoproducts.com
or by calling 1-800-448-2197.
Cougars shut out Bulldogs, Mayor’s Cup to remain in Tomball
By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff
The Mayor’s Cup will remain in Tomball for at least another year. Mayors H.G.
“Hap” Harrington from Tomball and Jimmy Thornton of Magnolia put town pride, and
perhaps a bit of their own, on the line Sept. 8 in the annual battle between
cross-town rivals the Tomball Cougars and Magnoila Bulldogs.
Pictured, left to right, Mayor of Magnolia Jimmy Thornton and Mayor of Tomball
H.G. "Hap" Harrington stand with the Mayor's Cup at the rivalry game hosted by
Tomball on Sept. 8. As tradition, the Mayor's team that loses must present the
cup at the winner's next city council meeting wearing their colors.
For the third consecutive year since the inception of the Mayor’s Cup, the
Cougars came out on top, 18-0. After a scoreless first quarter, Tomball’s
Lazarus Crumedy punched it in from two yards out to give the Cougars a 6-0 lead.
The extra-point failed. But kicker Chad Tarhini redeemed the miss by nailing a
21-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the first half to put the Cougars
up 9-0.
Cougar sophomore quarterback Keaton Smith made it 15-0 when he scored from
the 9 yard line. Tarini again missed the extra-point, but again made up for it,
this time with a 34-yard field goal, which closed out the scored at 18-0. Smith
finished the game with a workman-like 6-for-9 passing for 71 yards. The Cougar
defense held the Bulldogs to just 99 yards of total offense. Magnolia’s Robert
Hernandez picked up 61 yards on the ground on 16 carries. The Cougars improved
to 1-1 on the season while the Bulldogs fell to 0-2. Magnolia is still in search
of its first win under new head coach Ron Lynch.
Thornton will present Harrington with the trophy at the Sept. 18 meeting of
the Tomball City Council. The Mayor’s Cup was instituted by Thornton three years
ago to promote the friendly rivalry between the two cities. Since then, Thornton
has never held the cup.
In other gridiron action, the Concordia Crusaders avenged a Week One defeat
by pummeling Faith West 57-0 on Sept. 8. The Crusaders established their
dominance early in the first quarter when the defense blocked a Faith West punt.
Running back Jared Mueller scored from a yard out to quickly put the Crusaders
up 7-0.
Quarterback Caleb Christian was impressive, throwing for a pair of touchdowns
and running for another in victory. Jake Grield and Mueller also each scored a
pair of touchdowns in the rout. The Crusader defense held Faith West to just 38
total yards.
Magnolia ISD FFA Livestock Show Results
By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff
The Magnolia Independent School District sponsored the annual district
livestock show Sept. 7-9 at the FFA show barn on the Magnolia High School
campus. Participating in the show were the Magnolia 4H Club, Shining Star 4H
Club and the Magnolia FFA and Magnolia West FFA.
Brianna Hall, a junior at Magnolia High School, is congratulated by Steer Judge
Curtis Fuch for her Grand Champion win in the MISD Livestock Show and Sale Steer
Division Sept. 9
The Premium Show, organized by Angela Knee, was held on Sept. 9 for baked
goods judging. Cash prizes provided by area sponsors were awarded to
participants. Design-N-Counters of Magnolia sponsored the Pie Division. Nancy
Purvis sponsored the Cake Division. Precinct 2 County Commissioner Craig Doyal
sponsored the Cookie Division.
Cake Division
1st, Brianna Hall, 2nd Courtney Cantu, 3rd Michael Kenjura.
Pie Division
1st, Charlie Bell, 2nd Scott Sparkman, 3rd Michael Kenjura.
Cookie Division
1st Matthew Roach, 2nd Hunter Willis, 3rd Scott Sparkman.
The livestock show took place over all three days, beginning with check-in on
Sept. 7 and culminating with a Buyers Bar-B-Que and auction on Sept. 9.
Boiler Division
Grand Champion, Johna Brockett, Reserve Champion, Trey Baimbridge, 3rd, Roland
Walton, 4th, Lyndsey Stewart, 5th, Bradley Allison, 6th, Shane Stuckey, 7th,
Jayme Fulcher, 8th, Austin Henrichasen, 9th, Reno Gonzales, 10th, Ashley Wells.
Goat Division
Grand Champion, Brian Goetz, Reserve Champion, Karley Seagraves, 3rd, Weston
Wernecke, 4th, Anna Barren, 5th, Tyler Davis, 6th, Jordan Tyner, 7th, Barry
Carter, 8th, Chance Capps, 9th, Christopher Shanks, 10th, Morgan Emmons, 11th,
Pierce Latham, 12th, Darian Kelly, 13th, Shelbi Hooten, 14th, Gavin Johnson,
15th, Ashley Fulcher.
Hog Division
Grand Champion, Cody Robinson, Reserve Champion, Tyler Glasscock, 3rd, Jessica
Roach, 4th, Kayla Allison, 5th, Dillon Wade, 6th, Brandon O'Neil, 7th, Chelsea
Clampitt, 8th, Joe Beaver, 9th, Ashly Golden, 10th, Matthew Golden, 11th, Allan
Warren, 12th, Cory Cooper, 13th, Erich Patrick, 14th, Brooke Harris, 15th, Drew
Burnett, 16th, Joshua Bowman, 17th, Bailee Brown, 18th, Matthew Roach, 19th,
Ashley Beaver, 20th, Jennifer Stanley.
Lamb Division
Grand Champion, Hillary Foley, Reserve Champion, Brian Goetz, 3rd, Cody Wellmann,
4th, Megan Franks, 5th, Caryn Wheeler, 6th, Aimee Cruz, 7th, Harlie Burroughs,
8th, Rikette Hurst, 9th, Cara Gatlin, 10th, Jenna Wheeler, 11th, Levi Mason.
Rabbit Division
Grand Champion, Diana Fletcher, Reserve Champion, Rachel McClere, 3rd, Adria Ann
Jones, 4th, Jackie Baimbridge, 5th, Jesse Wade, 6th, Landon Lakics, 7th, O'Shae
Williams, 8th, Erica Julian, 9th, Coral Robertson, 10th, Grant Ward.
Steer Division
Grand Champion, Brianna Hall, Reserve Champion, Seth Kovanda, 3rd, Justin
Anderson, 4th, Cole Daniels, 5th, Chris Hall.
Turkey Division
Grand Champion, Jessica Murski, Reserve Champion, Maegan Wells, 3rd, Trey Crone,
4th, Emily Allen, 5th, James Fulcher.
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Residents take council to task on water rates
By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff
It was standing room only at Magnolia City Hall Sept. 12 for the regular
meeting of the city council as residents were standing in line to speak to
council members in regards to water rates and usage. Objections ranged from
water revenue surplus expenditures and unreasonable rates, to a lack of water
pressure and accusations of poor budgeting.
Nita McNulty (left) and Nancy Purvis (right) speak to the Magnolia City Council
at a Sept. 12 meeting.
Those present applauded the words of Tommy Timmons when he chastised city
council members. “Shame on you people,” he said. “(If) we have a $400,000
surplus, you need to spend that money on water and sewer, not on people in the
budget.”
Both council member Rick Carby and City Manager Roger Carlisle clarified the
city does not have a surplus of water revenues. Carlisle said the city only
anticipates a water revenue surplus.
“It’s a budget, that’s all,” Carby added.
Judy Darrington delivered a scathing speech to council saying, “last March
the city put out a newsletter saying we needed a new well and had to raise rates
to do that. We choked on them, but we were behind you. We’re still choking on
them and we’re still behind you.” Darrington said budget proposal one is the
closest to being a balanced budget
As frustration mounted, council members anguished over each item on the
agenda.
Residents were clearly not pleased when the Public Hearing about to the
city’s budget was rescheduled for Sept. 26. According to City Attorney Leonard
Schneider, Chapter 2 of the Texas Local Government Code requires 15 days notice
for the Public Hearing that was originally on the agenda for the evening. The
filing date of Aug. 28 missed the Sept. 12 meeting by one day. The public
hearing was rescheduled for Sept. 26.
Nancy Purvis owns Magnolia Plaza apartments as well as the Rosewood
Apartments in Magnolia. Both properties are registered with the Texas Housing
Authority (THA) as schedule 8, low-income housing with government-subsidized
utilities.
Now, she and her daughter, Nita McNulty, must go to bat again on behalf of
the residents, this time against the city.
Purvis asked Carlisle to suspend an imminent cutoff of water services to her
properties saying she had made four good faith payments of at least $1,800 since
July while she has attempted to resolve the mystery of a $4,200 water bill for
June and subsequent inconsistent and unreasonable bills.
Discussion with council members revealed several action items which affect
the rates for Purvis’ property: identify the correct meter size, verify the
property’s residential status, and determine the utility contribution of THA
Carlisle claimed “his hands were tied,” but the issue was resolved when Carby
made a motion to suspend the cutoff in anticipation of resolving the residential
status of Purvis’ property with the THA.
Grand Oaks developer Pat Carmichael requested council to consider and accept
an interim proposal for water rates until Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality reaches a decision as to whether or not the new rates are reasonable.
When the city de-annexed Grand Oaks three years ago a contract was established
with developers whereby the city would provide water at a wholesale cost via a
three-inch meter.
An Executive Session was called to discuss items related to a lawsuit Grand
Oaks MUD has filed against the city, as well as to discuss a proposed interim
agreement offered by the MUD.
“Everything was great for three years,” said Carmichael. “We’ve got 269 units
on the ground in this development. The water bill went from $6,000 to $28,000 in
one month,” he said.
After reconvening from Executive Session, Carby made a motion to accept the
interim agreement proposed by Grand Oaks developers and schedule a negotiation
meeting for Sept. 18. Council members unanimously passed the motion.
Much of the increase that Grand Oaks and Purvis are experiencing are the
adjusted rates for meters outside the city limits as well as commercial zoning
versus residential zoning, combined that with the size of the meter, and usage
comparisons over the last year. As Nancy Purvis said at the council meeting,
“Something’s not right.”
According to Bill Carmichael of Grand Oaks Homes, a hearing scheduled for
Sept. 14 in the 284th Judicial District Court in Conroe has been postponed in
lieu of negotiations the city has agreed to that are scheduled to take place on
Sept. 18 at 11 a.m. at City Hall.
MISD assessment scores cause for celebration
By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff
The room was exceptionally crowded at the regular meeting of the Magnolia ISD
Board of Trustees on Sept. 11 where performance awards were presented to
district principals who gathered to give an account of their respective
State-Developed Alternative Assessment II (SDAA) ratings based upon TAKS
performance scores.
The principals of MISD campuses receiving a 2005 - 06 preliminary accountability
rating of Recognized or Exemplary status were presented with plaques at the
Sept. 11 MISD Board of Trustees meeting. Pictured from left front are Tommy
Burns, Linda Kenjura, Kyle Fontenot, Leslie Schatte, Susan Ward, and Tim Owens.
In the back row are Foy Campbell, Board President Glen Addison, and
Superintendent Michael Holland
“We have a lot to celebrate tonight,” said Magnolia ISD Superintendent
Michael Holland as he announced the results.
The district boasts six schools that earned Acceptable ratings including the
Alpha Academy, and five schools that earned Recognized ratings. But the real
feather in its cap is an Exemplary rating received for the 2005-06 school year
by Bear Branch Elementary.
Bear Branch Elementary Principal Susan Ward credited several practices for
the success of the school’s rating. Students receive 10 and a half extra hours
over regular instruction in math. Students are offered a variety of presenters
and teachers to allow for maximum comprehension. Teachers regularly take part in
weekly 45-minute peer observations. As a result, there is no fifth grade
discipline on campus, she said. Fifth graders are self-managers.
“We focus on creating relationships that yield large benefits to us through
the year,” she said.”
Science scores for Magnolia ISD came up repeatedly at each presentation by
individual principals. For the district as a whole low socio-economic and
Hispanic sub group scores adversely impacted overall scores most significantly
in this core area. The low socio-economic science score improved seven points to
64 percent. The Hispanic science score improved two points to 58. Despite these
gains, additional improvement to 70 percent in each sub group is required to
bump the district’s Acceptable rating to Recognized.
Campuses in the district are taking advantage of these specialists to enhance
learning and improve scores. Additionlly, campuses have added personnel in the
ESL program such as Sara Bickle, the ESL aide at MJH, and Stacy Tipton, the ESL
lead teacher at ME. MJH has added a certified math tutor Principal Weatherly
said.
Magnolia Elementary Principal Jennifer Ward thanked Trustees for investing in
TRIAND, a data analysis system providing advanced information for early
detection and intervention allowing educators to design a tailor-made
curriculum.
A variety of practices have already been implemented this year as a result of
TRIAND data analysis, which began the first week of school
At the elementary level TAKS Tuesday or Power Day will focus on math, science
and Social Studies objectives. Four-Core Saturday’s will offer lunch to high
school students who will rotate through four, 45-minute core curriculum TAKS
blitz instruction periods. For other schools, Four-Core Blitz will occur during
the instructional day due to after school transportation issues.
Being implemented at several schools are ZAP days where “Zero’s Aren’t
Permitted.” Students with missing work will be offered instruction after school
and allowed to turn work in for a grade, while at other campuses DAWG Time
(Direct Academics without Grades) is being offered after school, as a tutorial
opportunity.
In the closing remarks of his presentation, Ellisor Elementary Principal Foy
Campbell said, “We need to rush to those campuses that received acceptable
ratings, and congratulate them because of the gains they have made.”
Detention land purchase delay may reap profits for Magnolia
By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff
A delay in the planned purchase of property from Magnolia ISD of 20 acres may
be beneficial to the city, Craig Kankel of O’Malley Engineering told the
Magnolia Planning Commission members at a Sept. 12 meeting.
The Planning Commission has pressed Magnolia ISD since June 7 to sell a tract
of land for a 13-acre detention pond along with a seven-acre tract of land
immediately to the south of the Alpha Academy campus on Nichols-Sawmill to the
City of Magnolia.
In anticipation of the city reapplying to the Texas Parks and Wildlife for a
matching funds grant, Kankel was invited by Assistant to the City Manager Erik
Edwards to address the commission. The grant could provide up to a half-million
dollars in cash or equivalent services, said Kankel. He explained that by
comparison the City of Bellville acquired the land for its park plan prior to
the grant application process. As a result Bellville was unable to use the value
of their land as part of its matching funds, he said.
Commission members discussed the results of last year’s application noting
that rejection by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for grant funds was
primarily due to the fact that the city had not yet purchased the land, hence
the negotiation with MISD for the acreage on Nichols-Sawmill.
“The program has changed since last year,” Kankel said.
He recommended that the commission hire a grant consultant who understands
the new program details to assist the city in the grant application process. The
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has only about one-quarter of the funding
they had in previous years and they have reduced the number of city’s they are
funding, he said. Kankel advised the commission to decide on park features such
as a skateboard park, pavilion, and detention pond and let him determine the
cost.
“We want to maximize the opportunity as much as possible. Each feature
written into the grant is scored a certain amount of points. The grant writer
will tell you what features score most points,” he said.
When asked by Commission Chairman Denny O’Brien if the detention pond could
be funded through the grant, Kankel said, “Water features score more points.”
“This is all new,” said O’Brien. “We were traveling down a certain path based
upon the response of the previous grant application refusal,” he said. “We must
notify MISD that we are in a holding pattern now that the rules have changed.”
The commission unanimously approved a motion to allow Kankel and City Manager
Roger Carlisle to review the project and locate a grant writer.
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