“Shattered Lives” message hits MHS campus

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

The Magnolia Education Foundation (MEF), in conjunction with the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office (MCDA), sponsored the “Shattered Lives” program March 20-21 at Magnolia High School (MHS). This is the second presentation of the program at the school, the first occurring in 2005.

In a simulated DWI accident, the Magnolia VFD used rescue equipment to cut the accident victims from their vehicle. The presentation was part the Shattered Lives program held at Magnolia High School March 20-21.

“They do it every other year because it’s presented to juniors and seniors. That way every student gets to experience the program,” said Mark Hibner, senior assistant principal of MHS.

The program begins with a mock alcohol related accident where fire, police, ambulance and undertakers arrive on the scene to attend to the “injuries” and carry away the “dead” drivers and passengers. The accident scene was set up the night before in the Magnolia High School front parking lot.

On the morning of March 20, ambulance sirens were heard in the distance as Life Flight arrived to carry the more seriously injured “victims” to the hospital, while the students stood shocked and stunned, comforting each other.

Paramedics tend to an “injured” student during the Shattered Lives program.

The scene was a horrible mess. Strewn among broken glass lay debris and bodies. Beer cans, Mardi Gras beads and Hawaiian leis skittered in the wind, evidence of a party that took place before the accident.

One by one the grim reapers circled like vultures pawing at the bodies of the “dead” and testing the students for life, for warmth, for the pulsing blood that means the difference between life and death.

As the victims succumbed to their simulated injuries, their parents were called to identify the bodies. The living dead sat in silent testimony, holding crosses as the undertakers bagged the bodies and carried them away in a hearse.

The Magnolia Volunteer Fire Department used equipment similar to the “Jaws of Life” to cut into the vehicles, removing the “victims” who were taken away in ambulances.

Eleven students “died” at the scene. Four were taken to funeral homes and seven were taken to the hospital to be pronounced dead. Four of the six drivers were arrested in simulation for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Mike Valdez, Assistant MCDA described the events that followed.

Every 15 minutes during the day a heartbeat, followed by a flat line, sounded over the school’s loud speakers, representing someone who dies in an alcohol related accident, he said. During that time, the grim reapers will pull students from the classrooms, which represents them dying from an alcohol related accident, after which they are marked as the living dead. A deputy constable, who read eulogies written by parents to the student’s classmates, accompanies them.

The rest of the day those students remain in silence, with painted white faces. The students are transported to a retreat area for the evening after school where they can hear from the families, friends and drivers affected by alcohol related accidents.

“We attempt to show every possible aspect of making the wrong choice and the wrong decision. We bring in families that have lost loved ones and the drivers that have killed their friends and family members and allow them to speak to the students,” said Texas Department of Public Safety Dep. Angela Fountain.

The event ended on March 21 at a morning assembly in the MHS auditorium. Some of those eulogies were read and a videotape of the accident was shown to the student body, reinforcing the results of the poor choices of the victims.

The MEF is the sole funding mechanism for the Shattered Lives program. The foundation is volunteer-based, and depends on the donations of the community to fund educational programs through grants.

“We not only feel its import to take care of education in the class, we want to take care of the students who are preparing to leave school and begin making their own decisions. If we only change one kids mind, we’ve done something worthwhile,” said MEF President Charlie Riley.

New K-9 at Pct. 5 deemed a success

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

Pct. 5 Dep. Constable Jeff Buchanan and Toro have been a team since January.

Montgomery County Pct. 5 Constable Jeff Buchanan with Toro.

Toro is a 2-year-old golden Labrador retriever. The police dog took part in six months of training at Global Training Academy in San Antonio. Over three months of field service, they have performed a dozen searches, including assistance to other law enforcement agencies including one incident that netted more than $52,500 in liquid cocaine in January.

Global trains the dogs to specialize in a particular tracking skill such as bomb, attack, drug, live human, or cadaver, Buchanan said. Cross training for skills in tracking dogs is not a common practice.

“They should have only one strong suit,” said Buchanan.

The two are partners, riding together every day. Buchanan’s patrol unit is equipped with a travel cage for the dog.

The precinct has two working drug dogs. Toro is the fourth canine for the constable’s office in five years. The service life of a drug dog is six to seven years.

The precinct acquired its first drug dog, Guard, in 2002. He retired after two years of service.

The second drug dog, Zena, came to the precinct in 2005. Two years into her service, she passed away of leukemia. Buchanan trained for three weeks with Zena to get his certification from Global.

Zeus, the precinct’s third drug dog, was purchased by the Magnolia Independent School District almost a year ago. Dep. Constable Charlotte Hamm and Zeus work in the schools everyday, said Pct. 5 Constable David Hill.

Buchanan attended a crash course with Global to obtain Toro. Two days into a three-week training, the dog and his handler were inseparable, said Buchanan. If the match is a good one, the handler and dog stay together. If not, the handler must try for a different dog.

“Toro was purchased with funds from seized assets,” said Hill.

At a cost of $6,000, Toro’s skills are strictly narcotics tracking. He is trained in marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamines, and heroin, as well as a mix of any of those substances.

Magnolia mom homeless after eviction, seeking housing

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

Carrie West, 31, is a single mother with two children, Destyni, 9, and Zachary, 5. They have lived in Magnolia all their lives. West said she came kicking and screaming to Magnolia at the age of 13 from Houston with her mother and stepfather, but has learned to love the small town community of Magnolia.

“I did move to Colorado for a year, but ran back home because there’s no place like Texas,” she said, teary-eyed.

The day before she was to start a new job after a week of training, West was evicted from her home. She and her mother disagreed and West was forced to pack her few belongings and leave. Though West did not make her first day at work, Brooke Gomez at The Academy II in Magnolia confirmed that West would continue her employment with the company.

She does have a vehicle, although no money to buy gas. With no income and no place to go, she turned to Marcia Mead, a friend who is trying to help West get back on her feet.

“I could stay with my friend for a few weeks while I work to earn money to pay for housing, but not long term,” said West.

Neither the Montgomery County Women’s Center nor Focusing Families of Waller County have available bed space at their shelters, she said. West has attempted to gain assistance through the Society of Samaritans, Interfaith Ministries, United Way, Star of Hope, and the Salvation Army.

What assistance they could offer was not sufficient to provide childcare for West’s children. Although the Star of Hope offered nightly housing on a first come, first serve basis, she is not willing to relocate to Houston.

“I don’t want my kids around drug addicts,” she said.

Sherrie Schiel, West’s friend of 17 years, had this to offer.

“She needs a break. She just needs somebody to give her that one chance, and she’s never gotten that. I just don’t have the finances to help her myself, but I know she needs it,” Schiel said.

To offer assistance or temporary housing to West and her two children, please call 281-580-4133.

Brook or Lana at The Academy II to start Mon. 19, 281-356-9565 She was evicted from her home Beyette Road where she lived with her mother, Marcia McQueen.

She worked for me previously, but due to circumstances she had to leave. She never showed up for work on the 19th.

281-935-7530 Sherrie Schiel cell,

“We’ve been friends since 1989. She’s a good person, a wonderful person and dependable. She’s a single mom with two children. Her relationship with her family is unstable. I don’t have the finances to help her myself, but I know she needs it. She was trying to get a job at a daycare, but I haven’t seen her for a week. I don’t know if she got a job. She needs a break. She just needs somebody to give her that one chance, and she’s never gotten that,” Schiel said.

281-931-8846 Gloria Dupree, grandmother, lives in Houston, but are selling their home

Tomball family praises community after fire destroys home

By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff

Nearly two weeks after the fire, the unmistakable stench of ash, melted plastic and burned wood still lingers in the air. The house of Jennifer and Jay Eckert in the Timberloch Estates neighborhood is merely a shell of its former self, charred black and littered with ruined family belongings.

Pictured, Jennifer Eckert stands in her home that was destroyed by fire March 10.

In the early morning hours of March 10, the Eckert’s home caught fire while the family was sleeping; the oven in the kitchen had an unexpected short, which ignited the blaze.

But Jennifer and Jay were sound asleep, having no clue about the danger that was spreading just outside their door in the small mobile home.

It wasn’t until Kaleigh, their 3-year-old daughter, insisted that Jennifer get up out of bed that they knew what was wrong.

“She came in and said she needed a glass of water,” Jennifer said. “She normally has no problem getting water herself. She kept telling me I needed to get up.”

Jennifer finally arose from bed and it was then that she saw the fire.

“You could see the flames coming out behind the oven,” she said.

Also asleep in the house was the Eckert’s 13-year-old son, Justin, and Jennifer’s two nephews, Daniel and Delbert.

They had already fled the house through a bedroom window, with Justin scrambling to a neighbor’s house to call 911. Meanwhile, Jay and Jennifer attempted to extinguish the fire with a water hose.

“I tried to spray it out, but it was too late,” she said.

The Eckerts decided to move their cars from the driveway and away from the fire and were consigned to watching their house burn down from the street. They initially thought that if the fire department could arrive in time, it may be possible to contain the fire to the kitchen. But then Jennifer and Jay saw the flames break through the roof, and they knew their home wouldn’t withstand the fire.

“It was just disbelief,” Jennifer said, “total shock. Since it was so early in the morning, it was almost like it was a bad dream. But luckily we got out okay.”

The fire department arrived and quickly doused the flames, but the damage had been done. The Eckert’s have since moved into a rent home just down the road. They had lost everything and were essentially starting over.

It was then that the outpouring of support from the Magnolia and Tomball communities began to practically overwhelm them.

“We’ve had so many people stop and offer to help,” Jennifer said.

Friends and neighbors have donated clothes, food and other items to help the family get back on their feet.

Jennifer and Jay both play softball at PJ’s Softball Park, off Gosling Road north of Tomball. Their friends, and the members of the staff there, have played a large role in the Eckert’s recovery, as well, Jennifer said.

“They have pretty much been life savers,” she added. “They have come by, brought us things, even if we didn’t ask.”

Jennifer has been a lifelong resident of Tomball. Her mother, Karen Carlisle, taught at Tomball Elementary School. Jay has lived in the area for the last 15 years.

“This community has just been incredible,” she said. “I mean, it even says it on the sign when you come into town, ‘The Hometown With a Heart,’ and that’s exactly what it is.”

Bramlett will continue to campaign despite late withdrawal

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

Despite a March 21 notification, one day late of the deadline, by John Bramlett to the City of Magnolia to withdrawal from the election, he will continue to campaign for City Council Position 2.

Upon notifying the city, Bramlett was advised that the deadline had passed, and that according to the Texas Election Code, his name would remain on the ballot, said City Manager Roger Carlisle.

Despite a threatening letter Bramlett claims to have received, he has decided that he should continue his campaign.

“I received a threatening letter last Saturday (March 17) in the mail that was disturbing to me and my wife. I made an emotional decision to withdrawal (from the election), not realizing that the deadline had passed,” Bramlett said. He declined providing a copy of the letter to the Tribune pending the outcome of a police investigation, he said.

Encouragement from residents in the city to continue his campaign has caused him to reconsider, he said. “I will continue to campaign for City Council Position 2.”

Tomball Fire Chief Parr named Executive Fire Officer

By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff

Tomball Fire Chief Randy Parr sat in his office looking and sounding much like the exhausted college senior who finally passed his last exam.

Tomball Fire Chief Randy Parr

He’d been through classes, workshops and typed enough pages to fill a small encyclopedia.

Only rather than a five-month semester, it has taken Parr four years to complete one of the more prestigious fire fighting courses in the nation.

Parr was recently named an “Executive Fire Officer” by the National Fire Academy, a program for officers who are either currently chief officers or future chiefs.

Parr began the course in 2001 when he was a volunteer fire chief with the Tomball Fire Department. His last class was in 2005, with his final paper being completed last year.

Each year, Parr made the trip to Emmitsburgh, Mary., where the class was held, for the two-week course. There he participated in a myriad of classes and activities involving all aspects of fire fighting and running a fire department.

“The class is designed to prepare chief officers for the executive level work they are expected to perform,” Parr said.

Many of the strategies he learned Parr plans to implement at the Tomball Fire Department. The class takes up to 250 students each year, with 24 students in each class.

The first two years of the program were a challenge to Parr and his family, when he was forced to utilize his vacation time to attend the program rather than spend it with his family.

But if missing out on family vacations were not enough, Parr also had to write four 25 to 40 page papers, a daunting task that he said was perhaps the most difficult part of the program.

The first two came after the deaths of his parents, a year apart.

“Definitely the biggest challenge was getting the papers done,” Parr said.

Taking part in the program was completely voluntary, he said, and he admits he got a few odd looks when he first brought the idea to the city.

“(City Manager) Ben Griffin said ‘Randy, are you sure you want to do this?’” Parr joked. “But I wanted to do better and I wanted to do a higher level of work for my department.”

Last week, Parr was honored at a city council meeting, presented by Griffin with a special dedication.

“This certificate says he is an exemplary fire fighter,” Griffin said, “but we already knew that.”

Magnolia budget inching toward the black

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

The Magnolia City Council met on March 20 to discuss and take action on several issues, most significantly an audit report from Mike McCall of McCall, Gibson and Company, reflecting that the city’s budget, while still in the red, is inching toward the black.

Pictured, Michael McCall of McCall, Gibson and Company, discussed Magnolia’s financial situation.

McCall gave a status report on the audit to council members citing a decrease in the city’s deficit over the past three years.

“We’ve had a deficit in the city (general fund) since we’ve been the auditor for the last three years. But we’re slowly getting a handle on it,” said McCall.

From a deficit in the budget of $243,000 in 2004, and of $206,000 in 2005, the deficit for 2006 has been reduced further to $130,000, according to the audit report.

In discussions with City Manager Roger Carlisle, McCall said, “It may be prudent to move HB 445, the fund for highway improvements and the sales tax receipts from that, out of the general fund. If we do it’s going to have a positive impact on your fund balance for the year (2007).”

Carlisle made the change to move HB 445 from the general fund to a specialty fund within days of the meeting.

“I’m taking care of a deficit that was here when I walked in the door,” he said. “At the same time, I have maintained the city under budget so that I can chip away at the deficit. I’m operating the budget to bring down a deficit that started in 2001.”

According to the audit report, the general fund deficit in 2001, under the direction of former Mayor John Bramlett, was $652,000.

Had city administrators been allowed to move HB 445 to a specialty fund last year during budget season, the city could well have seen a positive bottom line for 2006, according to Councilman Rick Carby.

In other city news, council members approved the following:

A $12,350 upgrade to the city’s water well electrical service entrance equipment and generator based upon the recommendation of City Engineer Craig Kankel, who stated in a Feb. 20 letter that the well “produces more water than had been anticipated.”

An agreement for engineering services from O’Malley Engineers to begin preliminary design work on the resurfacing of city streets to include Commerce St., and Buddy Riley Blvd. Cost estimations for the resurfacing hover at $227,750. Kelly Road was included in the discussion with costs estimated at $136,000 for that resurfacing.

A recommendation by the Magnolia Ridge Local Government Corp. (MRLGC) Public Improvement District (PID) to appoint Terry Woodson, the regional vice president of Waste Management, to fill a vacant position on the board. Existing MRLGC PID board members Cedric Smith and Carol Drake were also reappointed by the council.

The purchase of an additional 0.313 acres of utility easement for a total easement of 0.55 acres from the Magnolia Independent School District at a usage cost of $22,155. City Attorney Leonard Schneider said the city is purchasing the use of the easement and no permanent structure can be erected on the easement by the district. Mayor Jimmy Thornton said the current purchase price was negotiated down by 50 percent.

A $8,579.46 expenditure by the city for laptops to be used by the Magnolia Planning Commission board members because the commission has no funding mechanism for such a purpose.

The selection of RWS Architects, located in Houston, to provide build out design and construction supervision on the build out of City Hall, located at 18111 Buddy Riley Blvd. RWS won the bid based on a commitment to visit the site weekly.

Ordinance 2007-106, an ordinance governing the platting or replatting of land into subdivisions in the City of Magnolia. Erick Edwards, assistant to the city manager, said the new ordinance affects only new plats submitted by developers; therefore, the Magnolia Ridge development is not subject to the new ordinance.

Tanton yet to pay back stolen money to former employer

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

More than two months after receiving a judgment in his favor, Magnolia Foods storeowner Frank Dean has seen no payment of the court ordered restitution due him from Lori Ann Tanton, former employee of Magnolia Foods and former president of the now defunct Magnolia Girls Softball Association (MGSA).

The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office accepted charges against Tanton for aggregate theft by check early last year. Her subsequent arrest at the Magnolia Youth Sports Park came at a time when she was already on the defensive from accusations by ball club members for misappropriation of club funds.

After three trial resets, Judge Cara Wood of the 284th Judicial District Court heard the case and signed a judgment against Tanton on Jan. 18. Tanton waived her right to a trial by jury and entered a plea of guilty for aggregate theft by check. Ultimately, the court found “substantial evidence to support defendant’s guilt for the offense as charged.”

Tanton received deferred adjudication with three years probation beginning in February to include 120 hours of community service, restitution to Dean of $5,061.53 along with a letter of apology, a $1,000 fine, $323 in court costs, and monthly supervision fees of $60.

Though Dean has not received restitution, or the court-mandated letter of apology, he is pleased with the judgment.

“We’re happy because this will hopefully prevent this from happening to somebody else,” he said.

Elaine Dean was able to track five instances in which Tanton wrote checks for cash to herself on her personal account and cashed them at the store starting in February of 2005, she said. According to the court’s judgment, the final offense was July 26, 2005.

“She worked the morning shift,” said Frank Dean. “The afternoon before her shift she would cash a check to herself on her personal account and the next morning when she came in to do the deposit she would pull her check out and void it in the system.”

This is the second known conviction of theft by check for Tanton, who has a 2004 conviction in Rains County for writing hot checks. She received a year of probation and served 100 hours of community service, as well as paying a fine and court costs.

Attempts to contact Tanton were unsuccessful. In the wake of her departure from Magnolia she has left no forwarding address, her phone has been disconnected, and the MGSA Web site has been disabled.

Members of the new softball club chose to reform instead of spending funds to gain a conviction for Tanton’s alleged misappropriation of ball club funds. They filed new articles of incorporation with the state as the Magnolia Area Softball Association earlier this year with the hope of providing the community with a ball club of integrity.

“You just can’t trust anybody that walks in the door. You can be good to them, but you always have to keep your guard up,” said Elaine.

The Deans say they have learned a hard lesson and the incident will change the way they do business. They have instituted more checks and balances, as well as tighter controls on money handling. In addition, the funding of college tuitions and the extension of loans to employees may be a thing of the past for the Deans. They say they can no longer extend the level of trust to their employees they once had.

At the March 21 meeting of the Tomball Rotary Club, Tanner Page (pictured above) discussed Bo’s Place, a facility designed to aid children in grief following the death of a parent or sibling.
Photo by Brian Walzel