Magnolia man run over during illegal beer run

By Cari Herr
Tribune News

A late night party went from bad to worse in a freak accident when Rick Woolard, 19, ran over Don Milam, 20, during a late night attempt by a group of friends to illegally purchase beer. Both Woolard and Milam live in the Magnolia area.

An auto-pedestrian accident in Exxon’s parking lot occurred on Jan. 5 when the driver of a one-ton Dodge dually left the scene after accidentally running over a passenger of his vehicle who was attempting to illegally buy beer.

When Magnolia Police Department Officer Greg Valdez and Cpl. Mike Alexander arrived at the Exxon in the 18600 block of FM 1488 around 10:40 p.m. on Jan. 5, they found Milam lying in the parking lot with multiple injuries.

Montgomery County Emergency Services was called and Milam was transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. Though his femur is broken at the hip and he now has a steel bar running through his leg and tire tread marks on his back, he doesn’t blame Woolard.

“I feel bad for him,” said Milam of Woolard from his hospital bed. “It was all my fault, a hard lesson learned.” When Woolard offered Milam a ride that evening, he made it clear that no alcohol was allowed in his vehicle, said Milam.

“We had just met that evening. I don’t want him to be in any kind of trouble. I told him to leave. My girlfriend went to jail, because she wouldn’t leave. It’s all my fault,” Milam said. “I acted stupid.”

Milam said he should have been honest and not misled the group by letting them think he could buy beer legally.

The store clerk reported to police that Milam entered the store and attempted to purchase several selections of beer. According to the police report, when the store clerk requested Milam’s identification, Milam threw $30 at him, grabbed the beer and ran out the door.

However, Milam said he had already completed the transaction for a 20-pack and a 12-pack of beer when the clerk requested his identification. That’s when Milam grabbed the beer and left the store.

As Milam got closer to the waiting vehicle he dropped the beer, which went rolling under Woolard’s truck. As he reached under the truck to retrieve the beer, Woolard panicked, said Sgt. Bo Crabtree. That’s when Woolard put the vehicle in gear and tried to drive away, crushing Milam beneath the wheels of the vehicle.

Woolard was driving two other friends in his Dodge one-ton four-door pickup. Milam’s girlfriend, Hailee Hilton, 17, of Conroe got out of the truck so she could help him, Crabtree said, after which Woolard left the scene with a juvenile passenger.

Through a field sobriety test, officers determined that Hilton was publicly intoxicated at the scene. She was arrested and taken to the county jail.

“Due to the excellent police work of Cpl. Alexander, and the use of Hilton’s cell phone, officers were able to track Woolard to a friend’s house early the next morning,” said Crabtree.

Woolard, accompanied by his parent, voluntarily turned himself and his vehicle over to the Magnolia Police Department on the morning of Jan. 6. The truck was impounded as evidence, but no arrest was made.

Charges against Woolard of failure to stop and render aid have been forwarded to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office. This second-degree felony carries a two to 20-year sentence with a $10,000 maximum fine.

House fire victim praises community efforts in aftermath of tragedy

By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff

When Stephanie Hardy, Darlene Mitchell and her four adopted sons were making the three-hour drive home to Tomball from Lacassine, La. on Dec. 27, they weren’t listening to the radio or keeping conversations going to pass the time.

Instead, they were listening to a fire department dispatcher give them a painstaking minute-by-minute description of their home burning to the ground.

A fire destroyed the home of Stephanie Hardy and Darlene Mitchell on Dec. 27. Hardy said the fire started due to an electrical problem.
Submitted Photo

At around 9 p.m. that evening, their mobile home on Berryhill Road caught fire, the blaze slowly eviscerating everything in its path.

“We lost everything,” Hardy said, fighting back tears.

The family was visiting Hardy’s mother in Louisiana that night when they got the call from a fire department dispatcher that their home was on fire.

They quickly hit the road in hopes of making it back in time to salvage something.

When they finally made it back, there was practically nothing left of their home. Their clothes, furniture, appliances, even the boys’ unwrapped Christmas gifts, were destroyed.

So were eight family pets.

Trapped inside the burning house were four cats, two dogs and four birds.

“That’s the worst thing we’re going through right now,” Hardy said.

The entire family, especially the oldest son, 12, was extremely attached to the pets and the deaths have impacted them all the most, Hardy said.

Now, the family is beginning to get their lives back in order. Hardy points to the generosity of the Tomball community, and her neighbors, as a guiding light in a time of darkness.

“For people we don’t even know to come together and say ‘We’re going to help these people out,’ is just amazing,” Hardy said.

Tomball area residents have donated new clothes, food, money and even new Christmas gifts for Mitchell’s sons.

“We’ll have another Christmas,” Hardy said. “I don’t want (the boys) to have a sour taste in their mouths because of this.”

When the fire started, many of Hardy and Mitchell’s neighbors believed they were trapped inside.

One of their neighbors, Buddy Hunt, broke into the house through a rear door hoping to get the trapped residents out, had they been home. Once Hunt was told by neighbors they were out of town he used a water hose to try to put out the fire, Hardy said.

A small explosion erupted, injuring Hunt, who was taken to the hospital. Hunt, whom Hardy calls their “hero,” is expected to fully recover, she said.

Like Hunt, about five or six other neighbors frantically broke into the burning building thinking they were home.

“This was just devastating, but it’s comforting to know the community was helping us, to know we’re not helpless,” Hardy said.

She praised the efforts of the responding fire departments from Tomball, Klein and Cy-Fair. Several of the firefighters even recovered the remains of the deceased pets so that they could be buried.

“I know that’s not a real pleasant job,” Hardy said. “But, our thanks go out to them.”

The family is currently staying with Hardy’s cousins, but is looking to temporarily move into a hotel room, one that will allow pets.

Hardy and the Mitchell family did take their Great Dane and one cat with them to Louisiana.

“Having the support of the community has made all of this a lot easier,” Hardy said.

Tomball High School student Kayla Quinn (right) shakes the hand of Tomball ISD Trustee Stephen Robinson (left) during a Jan. 8 meeting of the TISD Board of Trustees. Quinn is a member of the school’s FFA program, which was recognized at the meeting. The Tomball High School FFA Show and Sale is scheduled for Jan. 26 and Jan. 27.
Photo by Brian Walzel

First-time runner tackles marathon in first athletic venture

By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff

Dharti Singh was born 27 years ago in India, where athletics take a far back seat to education. She was told at a young age to go to school, get an education, and make money. So she did, eventually landing a job at a staffing firm in northwest Houston. All the while, Singh didn’t so much as join a co-ed softball team.

But on Jan. 14, Singh, who now lives in the Tomball area, was one of the more than 20,000 runners who took part in the Houston Marathon, her first formal athletic venture.

Singh ran in the 13.1-mile Aramco Half Marathon through downtown Houston, a significantly less daunting task than the 26.2-mile trek in the Chevron Houston Marathon, but a strenuous test nonetheless. Results of the race were unavailable at press time last week.

She began the venture last summer after seeing a friend run a marathon and witnessing the experience of the thousands of runners who participated in it.

“When I went out there and saw 15,000 people running, something changed,” Singh said.

Fueled by a desire to do something more with her life, Singh joined Fort Bend Fit, a west Houston marathon training organization. For the next several months, Singh changed her life, and her lifestyle, furiously training for the January run.

Instead of enjoying the nightlife on the weekends, Singh disciplined herself to be in bed by 10 p.m. on Friday nights. Waking up at 4 a.m., she was at the track by 5 a.m. and running several miles by 7:30 a.m.

Singh credits Fort Bend Fit for putting her in a position in which she is able to run a marathon.

“I owe them a lot for getting me to this stage,” she said.

But getting to that stage, being trained in seven months to run a 13-mile marathon, didn’t come without Singh hitting a few roadblocks.

Within several months of beginning her training, Singh developed serious and painful shin splints and was told by her doctor to stop running; she was overexerting herself.

Frustrated, Singh reluctantly stopped her rigorous training regiment for two months while her legs healed, all the while taking vitamins and eating well to ensure her body recovered fully and quickly.

Her doctor told her the reason for the injury was likely due to the fact that Singh had never done anything athletic before.

Now, she is relishing her new lifestyle.

“I truly feel like a new person,” she said.

Singh is already making plans to take part in one of the largest marathons in the country, the MS 150 in April. She is currently seeking sponsors for her run and is willing to promote businesses that do sponsor her. Anyone interested may contact Singh at sponsor.dharti.ms150@hotmail.com.

Facility study committee recommends new high school

By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff

A committee charged with studying current Tomball ISD facilities recommended Jan. 9 what many in the community have expected for several months: suggest the district build a new high school.

Steering Committee Chairman Stephen Hohl presents the findings of the committee to the Tomball ISD Board of Trustees Jan. 9.
Photo by Brian Walzel

Stephen Hohl, chairman of the Tomball ISD Steering Committee, presented the findings to the TISD Board of Trustees, who will now consider a list of proposals set forth by the committee.

Chiefly among them is the suggestion to build a new high school. With current enrollment projections, Tomball High School is expected to near capacity within the next three to four years.

While many who served on the committee, and many in the community, see the construction of a new high school as the most logical and cost-effective solution to a potential overcrowding problem, still others are concerned with escalating costs and a steeper increase in district taxes.

As a result, the committee recommended as an alternative to building a new high school, renovating the current Tomball Junior High and utilizing it as a ninth grade campus, while constructing a new junior high school.

The total cost of all the recommendations, which include the construction of a new high school, is approximately $209 million.

The cost of the alternative recommendation, not building a high school, but instead a junior high, is about $158 million.

The committee also recommended the district build one new elementary school, and two new K-6 schools. The K-6 schools were earmarked for the new Woodlands village, Creekside Park.

Other recommended projects include upgrading the district’s instructional technology, the purchase of new buses, better lighting and new security cameras at several campuses and the purchase of new cafeteria and kitchen equipment for several campuses.

The Tomball ISD Board of Trustees will consider the proposals over the next few months and decide on a possible bond election and how much it should be.

The Steering Committee was divided into three subcommittees: Student Growth and Instructional Facilities, Educational Adequacy of Existing/Support Facilities and Financing Facilities for Student and Program Growth.

The subcommittees began to meet in August and over the next five months examined several aspects of the district’s facilities, its finances and its potential growth.

The board is expected to announce plans for a bond election at a March meeting. A bond election could be scheduled for May of this year.

Magnolia realigns personnel, board members

By Cari Herr
Tribune News

Magnolia City Manager Roger Carlisle introduced the first of several planned new city employees at the Jan. 9 meeting of the Magnolia City Council where some discussions became heated over the hiring of city staff and the appointment of new directors for the 4A and 4B corporations.

Magnolia City Manager Roger Carlisle (right) introduced Beverly Standley (left) at the Jan. 9 City Council meeting.

Beverly Standley is the newest member of the city staff. She has worked for the City of Cleveland for four years and has 23 years experience with Prosperity Bank. She is primarily responsible for human resource benefits and expenditures such as payroll and insurance administration and will report directly to Carlisle.

Councilmen Todd Kana and Chris Neal questioned Carlisle at length about an agenda item authorizing Carlisle to hire a records retention clerk and a certified building official. Additionally, Carlisle was asked to explain a realignment of Erick Edwards, the Assistant to the City Manager, as an interim finance director to facilitate the transition of the city’s accounting program from Encode to GFOA.

Neal referred to comments made by resident Jodi Sanders at the opening of the meeting in which Sanders praised the police department and encouraged council members and city staff to hire and keep qualified individuals.

Carlisle assured council members the transition was temporary, but necessary. The city had made an offer to a candidate for the position of finance director in December, but the candidate declined the city’s offer, he said. Advertising for a finance director and a certified code enforcement officer is still in process.

Council members Dave Sutherland and Patsy Williams objected to an agenda item sponsored by Neal to reappoint the directors of the 4A and 4B Corps. and questioned Neal as to the purpose of the agenda item.

“It is a conflict of interest to have a council member or their family members serving on all three boards,” said Neal. “We need to broaden our appointments.”

The agenda item was targeted at Sutherland and Ronnie Chumley, both of whom are held seats on 4A and 4B, and Jonny Williams, who serves on the 4A, 4B and the Planning and Zoning (P&Z) commission. Jonny Williams is the husband of Councilwoman Patsy Williams

Kana agreed that it was a better practice to not have council members and family members on multiple boards.

Despite Neal’s argument, Jonny Williams retained his seat on the 4A and 4B corporation boards, in addition to his seat on the P&Z. Other directors appointed to 4A were Calvin Williams and Chumley, leaving two vacant seats. Nominations for Joann Windham and Sutherland did not pass. Appointments to 4B included Sutherland, Frank Parker, and Jerry Reed, as well as Jonny Williams. A nomination for Clores Bramlett, whose husband John Bramlett serves on the P&Z, did not pass. Chumley was not nominated for reappointment, leaving three vacant seats.

In other news, council approved:

• Ordinance 2006-099, designating the Tomball Magnolia Tribune as the official newspaper of the city of Magnolia, with The Courier being designated as an alternate official newspaper.
• Authorized the city attorney to begin proceedings to purchase a 20-foot utility easement for the water distribution system from the Magnolia Independent School District along FM 1488 at Williams Elementary, pending an appraisal from the district.
• Approved the claim payment for wastewater damage to Noe and Maria Garza in the amount of $18,654.37.
• Approved the claim payment for wastewater damage to Ron and Kris Mikel in the amount of $197.06.
• Approved a $3,000 expense to Bytes of Life for a marketing DVD.
• Authorized the city manager to advertise for a records retention clerk and a certified building official.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is offering all females from the age of 12 years and older an opportunity to participate in a self defense class specifically designed for women known as R.A.D., Rape Aggression Defense. R.A.D. teaches women practical defensive techniques to protect themselves from sexual assault and physical violence. It also teaches Risk Awareness, Risk Reduction, Risk Recognition and Risk Avoidance strategies. The program also helps the participant to develop a defensive mindset. The upcoming class will be held Feb. 12, 13, 15, 19 and 22 at the Mangum-Howell Community Center, (formerly known as Doss Park Community Center) located at 2500 Frick Road in Houston. The class is a five-day program that will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. For more information for this class or future classes, contact the District 1 Harris County Sheriff’s Office Storefront at 281-537-9492 or Crime Prevention at 713-759-9454.
Submitted Photo

Shooting leaves two Tomball teenagers wounded

By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff

Two Tomball teenagers were wounded in a shooting Jan. 10 in front of a home on Blackshear, Tomball Police said.

Two 16-year old black males were wounded by gunfire and transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital by Lifeflight, according to Capt. Rick Grassi of the Tomball Police Department. They were treated and eventually released.

The incident began around 7 p.m. when three black males driving a Jeep approached a group of about a dozen people standing outside of the home on Blackshear. An argument arose between the teens in the Jeep and those standing in front of the home, which resulted in a physical altercation, Grassi said.

The three black males left the scene and returned within minutes, Grassi said. They then drove past the group and opened fire into them. The two teenagers were struck multiple times and taken to the hospital.

Grassi said it was not clear if the suspects fired at the two victims specifically or into the general crowd. A single handgun was used to fire the shots, he added.

Two of the suspects are in custody while a third had not been apprehended as of press time last week. All three have been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

It was unclear if the teens were students at Tomball High School, Grassi said.

Lady ’Dogs recognized for volleyball achievements

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

The Magnolia High School Lady Bulldog volleyball team went undefeated with a 10-0 district record and was a regional semifinalist with a 33-8 overall record for the season.

Members of the Magnolia High School varsity girls volleyball team were recognized at the Jan. 8 Magnolia ISD Board of Trustees meeting. Pictured, left to right, (back row) are Varsity Assistant Jennifer Kazmierski, Michele Williams, Kati Michael and head coach Terri Johnson; (front row) Kelly Stewart, Ashley Meeks, Caitlin Holland and Mandi Gray. Team members not pictured are Anna Barren, Kristyn Bergen, Hannah Davies, Hannah Fort, Ashley Howe, Jamie Kaleh, Samantha Lange, Ashlynn Newman and Alicia Shaffer.

Head coach Terri Johnson recognized the hard work of the 15-member team, as well as the contribution of varsity team assistant Jennifer Kazmierski, at the Jan. 8 Magnolia ISD Board of Trustees meeting.

Ten of the 15 players were recognized for achieving Academic All-District status, including Anna Barren, Kristyn Bergen, Hannah Fort, Mandi Gray, Caitlin Holland, Ashley Howe, Ashley Meeks, Kelli Stewart, Alicia Shaffer and Michele Williams.

“They are great students, as well as great on the court,” said Johnson. In addition, Gray, Holland, Meeks and Barren all made the Texas Girls Coaches Association (TGCA) Academic All-State Team, she said. Holland was also selected to the TGCA All Star Team and Williams made the All-State volleyball team.

Seven Lady ’Dogs were selected to the 15-5A All-District team. Those named to the team were Bergen and Stewart, as well as Holland, Shaffer, Fort and Williams, with Magnolia Honorable Mention going to Hannah Davies and Barren.

Holland was selected as Setter of the Year, Shaffer as Defensive Player of the Year, Fort as Blocker of the Year and Williams was selected as Most Valuable Player. Johnson was selected as Coach of the Year.

The Lady Bulldogs were twice honored with selections for the All Montgomery County Team. Bergen and Fort were selected, as well as Holland, Shaffer and Williams. Johnson was selected as All-County Coach of the Year and Honorable Mention went to Davies and Stewart.

“We had seven seniors on the team this year with eight returning players,” Johnson said. “They had great accomplishments this year. We believe we’ll be standing here at this same time next year.”