Reckless driver pulled from truck after police chase

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

Magnolia Police Department (MPD) Officer Eric Silliman, along with the combined efforts of area law enforcement agencies, apprehended a 65-year-old man who was driving recklessly and swerving dangerously into oncoming traffic, forcing vehicles off the roadway, in a Jan. 24 incident on Nichol Sawmill Road.

A pursuit by Magnolia Police Department Officer Eric Silliman and several Pct. 5 Deputy Constables and Montgomery County Sheriff's Deputies ended at Rachelle Lane when a reckless driver on Nichol Sawmill who was swerving dangerously and forcing other drivers off the road, was apprehended.

MPD Chief Ron Cunningham commended Silliman, who has been on the force for three and half years after serving with the Harris County Pct. 5 Constable’s Office, for being instrumental in the pursuit and apprehension of the subject.

“There is no doubt that Officer Silliman took these actions with no regard for his own life and saved the lives of other officers and deputies on the scene, as well as the life of other drivers and the offender,” said Cunningham. “He is very proficient and does a good job.”

“Officer Silliman performs excellently at his job within a police department that is doing everything it can to protect the city,” said Mayor Jimmy Thornton.

The incident began at approximately 4:10 p.m. on Jan. 24 as an off-duty Harris County Pct. 5 Deputy Constable in an unmarked car observed a white Dodge four-door pickup swerving dangerously into oncoming traffic and running vehicles off the road, said Lt. Wayne Rawley of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

A combination of three law enforcement agencies attempted to locate the suspect, all of which participated in a 45-mile-per-hour northbound pursuit on Nichol Sawmill Road. During the pursuit, the reckless driver attempted to ram a Montgomery County Sheriff’s unit, Rawley said.

Silliman responded to the call and joined the pursuit. Pct. 5 Deputy Constable G. Arnold pulled his patrol unit across Nichol Sawmill at Rachelle Lane in an attempt to deter the man. He stopped his truck at the rear of the patrol unit in the middle of the road, inside the city limits.

Silliman approached the vehicle and requested the man to step out of the truck. At that time the suspect locked the doors and refused to communicate, Silliman said.

To prevent the man from fleeing the scene, Silliman used his baton to break the driver’s side window and remove the man from the vehicle. First checking the man’s hands for weapons, Silliman then unlocked the door and restrained him on the ground while Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies handcuffed him.

During the incident Silliman sustained multiple cuts from glass to his left hand. He was treated and released at the Magnolia Health Care Center by Dr. Edward Terrasson following the incident.

Rawley reported there were no indicators of alcohol in the vehicle and the subject was not intoxicated, but was medically impaired. The suspect was transported to Tomball Regional Hospital emergency room where a blood sample was taken. Charges are pending the results of the blood test.

The crime scene was secured due to the alleged medical issue as well as glass in the roadway and the need to secure the suspect’s vehicle, said Rawley.

As a result, traffic was delayed in both directions for more than an hour, backing up as far as Old Hockley Road and FM 1774 during the incident.

“I would like to acknowledge that Silliman has gone above and beyond the call of duty in every effort to maintain the outstanding image of this city and the police dept throughout the community,” said Cunningham.

Grand Parkway group targets ’09 for completion of Tomball segment

By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff

If all goes according to plan, the Tomball area could see its portion of Grand Parkway open in two years, with the total 182-mile loop completed by 2013.

Pictured, Executive Director of the Grand Parkway Association David Gornet gives a presentation Jan. 24 to the Tomball Rotary Club regarding the highway project.

The projection came Jan. 24 when David Gornet, executive director of the Grand Parkway Association, was the guest speaker at the Tomball Rotary Club. Gornet discussed the current status of the project, as well as issues the roadway is facing and timetables for the completion of the project.

The loop is currently divided into 11 segments, with segment D, a 19-mile roadway linking I-10 to U.S. 59, the only stretch of road currently operating.

The segments of Grand Parkway that affect the Tomball and Magnolia areas, F-1 and F-2, are in the final study stages. F-1 is projected to connect SH 249 to U.S. 290, while F-2 is planned to connect SH 249 to I-45.

According to Gornet, Environmental Impact Statements have been submitted for approval and several public comment forums have been held, all steps required before construction can begin.

Final studies are currently underway for segments B, C, E, F-1, F-2, G, H and I-1.

A 10-mile stretch of I-2 in Baytown is currently under construction.

Construction on segment E, which would connect I-10 to U.S. 290, could begin in 2008.

Some of the issues facing the completion of the project include natural issues, such as wetlands and flood plains, manmade facilities such as historic structures and property disputes and technical issues such as traffic management and regional planning.

According to Gornet’s presentation, the Houston Galveston Area Council is estimating that the Houston region will increase in population by 3 to 4 million in the next 20 years. Grand Parkway, at least in part, is designed to aide in the flow of the influx of Houston area residents.

While commercial development is expected to be limited in the immediate areas around the parkway, the highway is expected to optimize suburban development around Houston.

“Grand Parkway does address growth in the suburban regions,” Gornet said.

The massive loop should also provide new evacuation routes, he added.

Debates regarding which portions, if any, of Grand Parkway should and should not be tolled have remained a constant point of contention for developers.

While it remains unclear exactly which portions of the highway may be tolled, Gornet said whatever existing facilities there are now will remain free.

It is expected that the main roads of Grand Parkway will be tolled, while any frontage roads will be free.

How much the tolls will cost, who will run them (i.e., E-Z Tag) and what their structures will be (pass through, coin drop, etc.) remains unclear.

Gornet cited the primary reasons for the need of toll roads are a lack of gas tax increases by the state over the past 16 years and increased costs of building and maintaining roads.

Grand Parkway was originally conceived in 1961 by the city of Houston. In 1984, the highway was officially dubbed U.S. 99.

Year-end report shows Tomball a safer place in 2006

By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff

The Tomball Police Department has released its 2006 statistical report and the data shows that the city was a significantly safer place last year.

According to the report, Uniform Crime Report (UCR) Part 1 crimes, defined as violent and property crimes, numbered 453 in 2006, the lowest total in five years, and a 9.8 percent decrease from 2005.

Motor vehicle accidents in Tomball were also at a near-record low last year. In 2006, the department recorded 538 accidents, the second lowest total since 2000 (there were 517 in 2004).

The department also reported an increase in drug-related arrests.

“We’ve really had a very good year in Tomball,” Chief Michael Blake said. “Better than we actually expected.”

Compared to other departments in the state, the Tomball PD is among the most efficient.

In 2006, only 14 percent of all Part 1 UCR crimes in the state were cleared. Tomball PD cleared 43 percent of Part 1 crimes.

“That’s the highest crime clearance in Harris County,” Blake noted.

The department implemented new strategies in surveillance and law enforcement, which directly led to several major arrests and convictions and to the drop in incidences.

Perhaps the most significant change in patrol for the department came in the implementation of geographic patrol assignments. Rather than officers on duty covering the entire city, each officer was assigned to a specific geographic location for each of his shifts, which gave the officer the opportunity to get to know the neighborhood and its citizens.

“The biggest advantage is that you learn your area,” Capt. Rickey Doerre said.

For instance, officers were able to get to know which cars stay at which businesses during certain hours, who jogs, who mows their grass, when residents walk their dogs at certain times of the evening and what businesses remain open after hours.

Three weeks ago, Sgt. Frank Stachmus apprehended a burglary suspect after Stachmus saw a car at a building he knew didn’t belong there.

Another new surveillance strategy was a citizen’s patrol program, where neighborhood residents communicate potential crimes to the police department.

“It gives them an opportunity to see things we wouldn’t normally see,” Doerre said. “There have been a couple of incidences this year where they have caught crimes in progress.”

The department was involved in several high-profile incidences in 2006. Chiefly among them was the arrest of former Tomball ISD administrator Michael McWhirter in a “lewd conduct” sting in March. McWhirter was arrested for prostitution after he solicited an undercover male officer for sex. McWhirter subsequently resigned from his position with the district.

Acting on an anonymous tip in March, the department arrested James Vern Reynolds of Magnolia. The caller notified police about a hidden stash of illegal drugs. Capt. Ron Stewart and Sgt. Gary Hammond located the hidden narcotics and awaited someone to pick them up. Reynolds eventually arrived to pick up the stash and was arrested in the Academy parking lot. Reynolds was found to have more than 4 pounds of marijuana, 76 grams of crystal methamphetamines and 78 illegal pills. The street value of the drugs totaled more than $7,000. Reynolds was later charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, both felony offenses.

In October, following a six-car collision which resulted in the death of Rita Gervais, the work of the department led to a murder conviction for Tyree Jack Jones, a habitual DWI offender who caused the accident and was held responsible for Gervais’ death.

The department also received the prestigious Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) recognition in March.

With the City of Tomball and the surrounding areas increasing rapidly in population, larger numbers of people could present a challenge to a department in charge of policing what many still consider to be a small town.

However, Blake said the department is keeping up with the growth.

“The city is doing a great job handling the growth,” Blake said. “It has not been above our capacity. We know what the long range (population) trends are.”

Two years from start to finish for FM 1488 road project

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

Though the FM 1488 expansion project has started in the middle and is working its way to the end, over the next two years commuters along the roadway in Montgomery County will at least get a change of scenery.

Utility poles stand at the ready along FM 1488 from the intersection of FM 2978/Honea-Egypt Road, just one segment of scheduled improvements soon to be under construction along the route east of the intersection toward IH 45.

Dual rows of utility poles stretch endlessly along FM 1488 east of FM 2978 and the noise of construction vehicles and traffic delays are imminent as the long-awaited expansion of FM 1488 west of I-45 and east of FM 149 has arrived, but not without problems to overcome. That section of FM 1488 is divided into various segments, with most of the congestion isolated between FM 242 and FM 2978/Honea-Egypt Road.

“The billboard people have been impossible to deal with,” said Pct. 2 County Commissioner Craig Doyal. “They wanted us to relocate their signs to I-45, versus relocating them back from the road.”

Having overcome the daunting task of negotiating replacement sites for billboards along FM 1488, the project is moving forward with construction scheduled to begin March 1 and is slated for completion within 19 months.

Doyal laid out the four-lane approach to FM 1488 from both FM 2978 and Honea-Egypt Road. A left, straight and right turning lane, as a well as a single lane for oncoming traffic is planned both ways with a 12-foot shoulder for additional capacity in the future.

That portion of FM 1488 west of I-45 and east of FM 242/College Park Dr. experienced delays in obtaining right-of-way (ROW) through the W. Goodrich Jones State Park, Doyal said. A wetlands survey indicated a need to either improve the habitat or create a mitigation program habitat for a current wildlife occupant.

“Jones Forest is a prominent habitat for the Red Cock Headed Woodpecker,” said Doyal, not without a smile. Ornithologists go to great lengths to observe these birds; they are social birds that congregate where people are, he said.

With a September schedule for clearing the ROW and moving the utilities on the two-mile stretch through the state park, construction should start by January 2008 and be complete within 18 months.

“The delay between the two projects will overlap and be almost imperceptible,” Doyal said.

Designs for FM 1488 west of FM 2978 and east of FM 149 are 70 percent complete, Doyal said. Acquisition of 143 parcels for ROW should be complete by November. The clearing contract and utility improvements scheduled for December pre-empt a March 2008 construction date, scheduled for completion within 18-24 months.

The Fish Creek Thoroughfare, an extension of FM 2978, bridges the gap over a watershed, giving residents an alternative route across Lake Creek at Sendera Road. It ties into Honea-Egypt and moves onto FM 2978. Construction permits could be issued within the next six to eight months, said Doyal.

“The right-of-way was donated by plat through Sendera Ranch and Montgomery Trace by developers 20 years ago and did not cost the taxpayers anything,” said Doyal. “It makes so much sense to require the developers that are driving the need for the road to participate in the cost of construction.”

When asked about the widening and extension of FM 1774, Doyal said that is a TxDOT project with a spring 2008 construction date for which the county is required to provide 10 percent of the cost ROW acquisition.

“(TxDOT) will do an at-grade crossing of FM 1774 extending across FM 1488 (for some distance),” said Doyal. “A bypass will then fly-over the railroad tracks from there, which will tie back into FM 1774 to avoid having a tremendous impact to the downtown area of Magnolia.”

Additionally, a connection of Nichol Sawmill Road to Mueschke Road is part of the major thoroughfare plan for the county and has been since the mid-80s, according to Doyal. Several large developers would be willing to donate ROW, he said, but there is no funding for construction on that project for 10 to15 years.

First court date set in Tomball shooting death

By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff

An arraignment date has been set for Michael Alan Zuercher, the man believed to have shot and killed Edward Lee Cox on Jan. 15 outside a Tomball night club.

Zuercher’s first court appearance is set for Feb. 16 at 9 a.m. in the 174th District Criminal Court in Houston.

Judge George Godwin will preside over the hearing.

Cox was found dead in the parking lot of Gary’s Spot and Firestone, the apparent victim of multiple gunshot wounds.

Zuercher later confessed to the shooting, Tomball police said.

According to Court Coordinator Dolores Phillips, Zuercher’s arraignment is a preliminary hearing where the respective attorneys for both sides can meet each other and discuss the basics of the case and is an opportunity for Zuercher to meet with his attorney. Godwin could also set the date for a trial.

Phillips said Zuercher might be indicted by a grand jury for the murder of Cox prior to the arraignment. Zuercher has been charged with first degree murder.

The grand jury will likely see the case before the arraignment, Phillips added.

The reason for the shooting is still unclear.

Gary Crawford, owner of Gary’s Spot, said both Cox and Zuercher were seen at the bar prior to the shooting, but he did not notice any sort of altercation between the two, or anyone else at the bar.

“They were not together,” he said. “They were in completely different groups.”

Crawford called Cox an “oftener” at Gary’s Spot, visiting the bar not quite as often as a regular, but typically on paydays.

“He was a very nice customer, I never had a problem out of Eddie,” said Crawford, who discovered the body in the parking lot.

According to Crawford, Cox left the bar to take a friend home, as he often did, sometime before 11 p.m. He returned to the parking lot, but did not go back into the bar, Crawford said.

Instead, Cox was helping a couple who had been inside the bar jump start their car.

According to Crawford, Zuercher had left the bar before Crawford had a chance to greet him, as he typically does with his customers.

“I didn’t know him. I have never even seen him before,” he said.

Crawford said he and many others at the bar heard the shots, but believed the noise to be a result of some work the soundman was performing.

“I heard three shots, but it sounded like a short in the sound,” Crawford said.

He called the evening at Gary’s Spot a “fantastic night at the bar” before the shooting, with the larger crowd playing pool, throwing darts and generally having a good time.

Cox’s murder was the first in Tomball in nearly two years.

Pictured above, Magnolia High School senior Tyler Hodgson, 18, is a finalist in Sam Houston Race Park’s competition for best country singer in Houston.
Submitted Photo

Tomball names Dobie’s Kaiser new football coach

The Tomball Independent School District announced that Tommy Kaiser has been hired as Tomball High School’s head football coach. Kaiser replaces former head coach Pat Patterson, who retired following the 2006 season.

Tommy Kaiser

The Cougars went 2-8 last year.

“I’m excited to be here and really look forward to working with the faculty, the community, the athletic program and the kids,” Kaiser said.

Kaiser began his coaching career in 1974. He coached high school football at Cleveland, Weimar, Klein and El Campo High Schools, as well as at Oklahoma State University, Texas Tech University and at the University of Houston. He also spent three years as the running back coach for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.

Most recently, Kaiser was the head football coach at Dobie High School in Pasadena ISD for three years, where his win/loss record there was 21-12. In his last year at the helm at Dobie, the Longhorns went 3-7 overall.

Kaiser knows the importance of winning, but he said it is important to build a strong off-season program and hope that success comes quickly. In order to do that, he will focus on gaining trust from his new players.

“You can’t fool kids,” Kaiser said. “They can see right through anything, but we have to build trust and be on the same page to have a good football program.”

Although, Kaiser maintains a variety of coaching experiences, he is no stranger to Tomball. He is originally from Klein and between 1978 and 1983 he worked at Tomball High School as the first assistant football coach. During that same time, he also served as the head baseball coach. Kaiser said returning to Tomball has always been in the back of his mind.

“This is a great school district, a great administration and a great opportunity,” Kaiser said.

Tomball ISD Athletic Director Bob Fontenot said Kaiser should bring excitement to the Tomball football program.

“I think Coach Kaiser will bring a lot of excitement and experience to our program,” he said. “He is a very diligent worker with a great work ethic and I think he’ll have a very positive influence on our kids.”

Kaiser earned a Bachelor of Science in education and physical education from the University of Houston in 1974. Two years later, he completed a Master of Education in education and physical education. He is also a member of the American Football Coaches Association, the Texas High School Coaches Association, the University of Houston “H” Association and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Kaiser and his wife, Pamela, have been married for nearly 30 years and they have three daughters, Carrie, Kayla and Kelsey.

Eight members of the Waller High School UIL team competed in the Willis UIL practice meet on Jan. 13. The team competed against 14 other teams from across the district and Houston area. Austin Allen placed fifth in Ready Writing and Catherine Waldrop placed sixth in Current Events. This is an impressive accomplishment as neither Allen nor Waldrop had competed in their individual events previously. For the rest of the team, the competition was a learning experience as each of them competed in events in which they had no experience. Other members participating in the event were Austin Cooke, Nathan Roub, Lawrence Maxwell, Brandon Callis, Rebecca Grimes, and Gordon Schultz. Pictured, back row, left to right, Cooke, Roub, Maxwell, and Allen; front row, left to right, Callis, Grimes, Waldrop, and Schultz.
Submitted Photo

Soap project lands area teacher prestigious award

By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff

What began as a typical classroom project has landed a teacher who lives in the Tomball area a prestigious national award and a $7,500 prize.

Pictured, Susan Guy (left) helps Lauren Rowbothan pour liquid soap into a container. Guy utilized soap-making as a central theme to a semester-long project for which she won the Leavey Award.

Susan Guy, a fifth and sixth grade economics teacher at Hill Intermediate Excel Academy in Aldine ISD, was recently awarded the Leavey Award by the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge.

The award is given to full time educators “who have an innovative way of teaching America’s private enterprise system,” according to the Freedoms Foundation Web site.

Guy integrated different aspects of soap into a semester-long project in the spring 2006 semester, culminating in the awards ceremony set for March of this year.

“The purpose of the project was to find an interesting way to get kids involved in a hands-on project that teaches them business ownership, entrepreneurial skills, as well as integrating English, math and science,” Guy said.

At a conference for economics teachers prior to the spring semester, Guy met with several teachers who implemented similar teaching strategies, such as using lotions to teach a broad range of topics.

Guy returned to Aldine ISD with her soap project in mind and submitted an application for a grant through the district’s A-plus program. She was eventually awarded the $500 grant and the project was off and running.

Guy’s students began to learn about the history of soap, the technologies to do research on products, how professionals use soap and several other aspects of the product and the industry.

“Everything was based on soap,” Guy said.

The project included labs to make the soap, field trips to learn about the economics and a visit by a banker for the students to learn how to open their own business.

“I integrated anything I could,” Guy said.

Her students took to the project quickly.

During two field trips, one to a car wash facility and another to a salon, students asked poignant questions, perhaps surprising the tour guides with their knowledge.

“The two managers at the car wash were impressed with the children’s questions,” Guy said.

Late in the semester, the culmination of the project came at an after-school soap sale.

The students in Guy’s class created their own businesses, their own business cards, flyers, posters and advertisements displaying their respective products.

It was during that sale that Guy realized her students fully understood the project.

“I watched the kids interact with the adults and other students that came in,” Guy said. She began seeing the kids make deals, selling soaps for half price and generally trying to outsell their competitors.

“I started to see them get into it and they forgot about it being fun and they got serious,” Guy said. “They surrendered to the moment and I stepped back and thought, ‘They got it.’”

Finally, as part of a community service portion of the project, the students in Guy’s class packaged the soap and other gifts and goods for an armed forces unit stationed in Iraq in which one of the servicemen was the father of one of Guy’s students.

“The more I thought about it, the more I realized that we needed to do something for these soldiers,” Guy said.

A few months later, Guy and her class got a package back from Iraq, with a picture of the troops holding a banner message thanking the students and the school.

“That made us feel good that we made a difference in his life, as well as some soldiers,” Guy said.

After the semester was over and the project was deemed an overwhelming success by Guy, the students and the district, Guy took another trip to a seminar for economics teachers, this time in Hawaii. There she met her roommate, a professor from a college in the northeast.

After the two discussed Guy’s project, the professor insisted on nominating Guy for the Leavey Award, Guy said.

The professor, along with Guy, submitted her project to the foundation late last summer. By the first week in December, Guy was notified that she had won.

“It’s bigger than I thought it was,” she said. “I feel honored to represent our district and our community.”

But, the biggest honor Guy said she feels is the influence the project had on her students.

“One day the students may look back on this and think ‘You know what? I know I can open my own business. I can do something for myself now,’” Guy said. “If that’s the one thing I gave to them, that’s what I wanted to do.”

Contractor negotiations bleak in pending sale of 4B building

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

A pending closing date of Jan. 29 has been jeopardized by negotiations with the contractor for work performed at the City Hall building currently owned by the Magnolia 4B Economic Development Corp. (4B).

Mike Shettig of Shettig Construction is under the gun by the board to reveal final subcontractor payments. Shettig has delayed compliance to the agenda item for three months. The board has requested a break down of cost for work on air conditioning units at the building and is withholding final payment due to the delay.

To complicate matters, City Attorney Leonard Schneider informed City Manager Roger Carlisle on Jan. 19 of another lien filed against the title. That brings the total number of liens to four, which include Brett Daniel of Highlights Electrical for $895, Consolidated Electric Distributors for $3,440.08, Frontier Materials Concrete for $10,477.80 and Fred Tonjes is owed $21,000 for the repair and installation of the air conditioning units, which the 4B is questioning.

The board alleges mishandling of the units pre-empted the need for repairs. In addition, Shettig’s request for payment of services rendered came after the services were provided, rather than prior to. That, in addition to added roof-related expenses, has the board questioning the validity of the submitted air conditioning costs.

The board is also questioning the more than $35,000 in payments due to vendors of which $21,000 is questionable. Compared to the more than $32,000 due to Shettig in retainage, the contractor is out-of-pocket some several thousand dollars.

As it prepares for the sale of the building to the City of Magnolia, 4B Chairman Frank Parker instructed Shettig at a Jan. 22 meeting to break the work into two parts for consideration of all or partial payment by the board no later than Feb. 5: work performed to install the units and work performed for repairs of the units.

Shettig committed to comply with the board’s request, as well as work with subcontractors towards the release of liens and provide the board with a detailed list of retainage balances owed to subcontractors.

“We have had no problems with this contractor for the length of the project and there is no reason to suspect we will. We have a good track record with (Shettig),” said John Edmundson of Klimas Edmundson Group, Inc., the architect on the project.

“The board has no reason to withhold this retainage,” said Parker. However, he said the board would reject at least a portion of the bill and suggested the naming of both the contractor and subcontractor on the final retainage payments.