Councilman Sutherland claims he was purposely left out
of city communication
Mayor Thornton denies involvement
By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff
As the City of Magnolia sheds itself of one political
problem after another, more cloudy issues are coming to
light as an important May election nears.
Last week the Tribune learned that councilmember Dave
Sutherland was left off of dozens of city e-mails during a
three-month span beginning in early October.
Councilman Dave Sutherland
The e-mails, sent from City Manager Roger Carlisle,
concerned a myriad of city issues, including discussion
about a recent Grand Oaks Municipal Utility District
dispute, the city’s possible purchase of the former City
Hall on Buddy Riley Blvd., police department salary
structure, and city utility issues.
All of the e-mails viewed by the Tribune were distributed
to each member of the city council, Patsy Williams, Rick
Carby, Todd Kana and Chris Neal, except for Sutherland.
He claims that Carlisle was instructed to remove him from
the city e-mail list following Sutherland’s submittal of a
petition in October to put to vote the City Manager’s
position in the May election.
“They wanted me out of the loop of information,”
Sutherland said.
When asked by the Tribune if he was, in fact, instructed
to leave Sutherland off the e-mail list, Carlisle declined
to comment.
The only position in the city that has authority over the
City Manager is that of the Mayor.
However, Mayor Jimmy Thornton denied instructing Carlisle
to withhold Sutherland from city e-mails.
“I don’t know why he was left off, I have no idea,”
Thornton said.
He believes Sutherland is only bringing to light the
allegations because the council member hopes to rid the city
of Carlisle, whom the city hired in 2005.
“They’re trying to make Roger look bad,” Thornton said.
“They’re trying to get rid of him.”
However, in an e-mail dated Jan. 23, 2007, Sutherland
alludes to a conversation he and Carlisle allegedly had.
“You (Carlisle) told me in your office when I picked them
(copies of the e-mails) up that you were ‘instructed’ to not
give me the e-mails,” the e-mail reads. “I would like to
know who instructed you to exclude me from e-mails in the
first place and then to not comply with the Open Records
Request.”
Sutherland made an open records request to the city on
Dec. 28, 2006 to get copies of the missing e-mails.
In his e-mail response to Sutherland’s allegations,
Carlisle wrote “The City of Magnolia Mayor and City Council
has not given me any written directive in reference to
e-mail distribution or any other City of Magnolia
distribution process.”
Carlisle also denies in the e-mail that he was instructed
not to comply with Sutherland’s open records request.
According to Sutherland, the first e-mail which he
believes he was omitted from was dated Oct. 4, 2006.
Three weeks later, on Oct. 21, Sutherland was informed
about “a problem with the city’s e-mail system.”
Thornton acknowledged that the city was having issues
with its e-mail system for a time.
“We were having a lot of problems with our computer
system,” he said. “I wasn’t getting half of my e-mails.”
Five days later, Sutherland sent an e-mail to the city
asking again if the system is working.
The last message Sutherland believes he was omitted from
is dated Dec. 20, 2006. Eight days later, Sutherland made an
open records request for the documents.
Since then, the city has complied with the request, but
Sutherland isn’t sure if he got all that he missed.
Carlisle said in a message dated Dec. 30, two days after
Sutherland’s request, that “hardly any” e-mails were
retained because of storage capacity in the city’s computer
system.
Despite missing out on no fewer than 20 messages directed
to the council from the city manager, Sutherland believes he
was not at a disadvantage.
“It hasn’t hurt, in my opinion, my ability to conduct
city business,” he said.
When Thornton was asked by the Tribune if Sutherland
could have possibly missed anything of significance,
Thornton said “I don’t think so.”
“He’s trying to make a big deal out of nothing,” Thornton
said.
The mayor added that even though he may disagree with
Sutherland’s actions, he is not purposely doing anything
malicious.
In a Jan. 23 message to Sutherland, Thornton claims that,
“All this started after you and your wife (Judy Darington)
did not get your way with the city budget, and we all know
that.” Thornton goes on to offer assistance to Sutherland in
the e-mail.
“What else are you missing?” it states. “How can I help?”
“That right there goes to show that I am willing to do
what I can to help Dave,” Thornton said.
Sutherland said he submitted a budget to the council for
possible approval, but it was not approved. He said he
intends no harm in bringing to light the allegations.
“I’m not trying to make a problem for the city,” he said.
“But there is a problem. We don’t operate in a secret
society.”
Tomball High School senior Breann Boze (pictured) showed off
her artwork during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
School Art Auction March 23. Boze’s original piece, entitled
“Jack,” went for $30,000. Also, junior Laura Baker won
$16,000 her original work, “Close to Mama,” at the auction.
Students from more than 90 school districts entered more
than 300,000 original works.
Submitted Photo Uncontested board election
cancelled at MISD
By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff
The May 12 school board election for Magnolia Independent
School District (MISD) was cancelled at a special meeting on
March 23 due to an uncontested election.
The May board meeting, which had been moved to May 21 to
accommodate the election results, was returned to its
original schedule date of May 14.
Current trustees for Position 1, Bobby Montgomery, and
Position 2, Frank Winford, did not apply for re-election.
However Position 3 Trustee Cecil Bell Jr. did. Steve Crews
applied for Position 1 and Deborah Rose Miller applied for
Position 2.
Because both were running unopposed, the district was
able to cancel the election.
MISD Trustee positions are a three-year term. Continuing
to serve as trustees for the district are President Glenn
Addison in Position 7, Vice President Brent O’Neal in
Position 4, Assistant Secretary Billy Thompson in Position
6, and Charlie Riley in Position 5. O’Neal and Riley’s terms
expire in 2008, while Addison and Thompson’s positions come
up for re-election in 2009.
Montgomery and Winford will step down and new board
members Crews and Miller, as well as Bell, will be sworn in
at the May 14 board meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Cougars soccer takes opening round game over
College Park
By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff
The record-setting season for the Tomball Cougars boys
soccer team continues.
The Cougars knocked off The Woodlands College Park
Cavaliers, 3-1, in an opening round playoff game March 27 at
Tomball High School.
Kyle Hoffmeister (No. 4) and Matt Honeywell (No. 9) warm up
before the Cougars playoff game against College Park.
Tomball came in the higher seed, by finishing second in
16-5A. College Park was the third place team in 15-5A.
Jon Paul Perez scored a pair of goals to seal the win for
the Cougars, who advanced to the second round of the Region
2 playoffs.
The Cougars got on the board first with a first-half goal
by Perez. From then on, the Cougars would never trail.
The Cavaliers answered in the second half with a goal by
Patrick Krispin. But another goal by Perez and one by Chad
McCoy put the game out of reach for College Park.
With the win, the Cougars improve to 13-4-2 overall. They
concluded their district schedule with an impressive 8-2-2
record. Their only two losses came to perennial
thorn-in-the-side Klein.
The Cougars took on Belton in the area round of the
playoffs on March 30. Results of that game were unavailable
as of press time last week.
Concordia to host Shattered
Lives program for first time
By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff
The Shattered Lives program is quickly making its way
around Tomball and Magnolia area high schools.
Less than a month after the two-day crash course on the
consequences of drinking and driving hit Magnolia High
School, the event will take the private school route when
Concordia Lutheran High School hosts April 11 and 12. 2007
marks the first year Concordia has hosted the program.
Counselor Tammy Brennan has head up the efforts to bring
the program to Concordia.
She said the school became interest about a year ago when
she spoke with local firefighters at church about the
program.
“I immediately thought ‘Concordia needs to do this,’” she
said. “We got on board right away.” Shattered Lives is
quickly becoming an annual event at nearly every local high
school. Tomball, Magnolia, The Woodlands, Conroe, Oak Ridge,
Montgomery and Willis High Schools have all participated in
the event.
The program takes place over two days and features a mock
drunk driving accident scene, typically in the parking lot
of the hosting high school. The accident scene, with enough
attention to detail (scattered beer cans, party beads) to
impress a Hollywood director, is followed by a list of guest
speakers and presenters.
According to Brennan, the program takes up to six months
to plan and prepare for. But the time, effort and costs are
all worth it, she said.
“I think every student needs to be made aware of the
consequences of drunk driving,” she said. “I think all
students and adults need to experience this.”
She plans for Concordia to present Shattered Lives every
two years, so each junior and senior can experience the
event.
The Shattered Lives program has been a well-received
addition at public high schools, where alcohol abuse and
drunk driving accidents among students have been well
documented.
But is the problem as rampant and apparent at a
close-knit private school where enrollment pales in
comparison to many 5A schools?
“Just because we are a private school doesn’t mean we
don’t have the same issues,” Brennan said. “We all do things
we know we shouldn’t do. It doesn’t matter what school you
go to.”
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Waller Robberies
It is believed that the same person committed three
robberies in Waller, Texas. The suspect is described as a
large black male weighing around 280 lbs. and about 5’ 7”
tall. He was described as short and fat and was about 45 to
50 years old with a very dark complexion.
After one of the robberies the suspect was seen leaving
northbound from the Waller Village shopping center on FM
2920 in a white and gold late 1970’s model Chevrolet pickup.
After another robbery the suspect was seen leaving in a
white crew cab pickup.
On October 9, 2006 at about 8:30 PM a large black male
entered the Harlan’s Grocery Store in Waller, Texas and
approached the register with candy that he paid for. After
the clerk rang up the sale and the register was opened, the
suspect told the clerk that he had a gun and that this is a
robbery.
On October 15, 2006 just before 7:00 PM a large black
male entered the Family Dollar Store in Waller, Texas and
approached the register with a drink that he paid for. After
the clerk rang up the sale and the register opened the
suspect told the clerk that this is a robbery.
On November 1, 2006 at about 10:00 PM a large black male
entered the Harlan’s Grocery Store in Waller, Texas and
approached the register with candy that he paid for. After
the clerk rang up the sale and the register opened the
suspect told the clerk that this is a robbery.
If you have any information concerning these robberies
contact the Waller Police Department at 936-372-2525
Waller ISD calls $49.3 million bond election
After months of citizens’ committee meetings and careful
consideration, Waller ISD’s Board of Trustees voted
unanimously at a March meeting to call for a bond election
in the amount of $49.3 million.
The bond package includes a new elementary school,
renovating and converting Schultz Middle School to a sixth
through eighth grade campus, additional technology, office
space, a covered walkway between the east and west campuses
of Waller Junior High, district stadium improvements, school
buses, additional space and equipment for transportation,
and renovations at all campuses.
If approved, the district’s current grade structure
(kindergarten through fourth grade, fifth and sixth grade,
seventh and eighth grade, and ninth through twelfth grade)
would change to the more common kindergarten through fifth
grade, sixth through eighth grade, and ninth through twelfth
grade structure used in many other area districts.
According to data provided by Population and Survey
Analysts’ (PASA), if Waller ISD’s grade structure does not
change, WISD would need one new school in 2009, two new
schools in 2011, and one new school in 2016. If the grade
structure is realigned, the district will need only three
new schools: one in 2009, one in 2012, and one in 2016. In
addition to saving the district the cost of one school, the
grade structure realignment also aligns with state
curriculum and testing, and allows fewer transitions for
school, staff, peers, building structure, and parents.
In citizens’ committee meetings held earlier this school
year, WISD Superintendent Richard McReavy pointed out that
Roberts Road Elementary is currently over capacity and,
according to PASA’s “most-likely growth scenario,” all six
kindergarten through eighth grade campuses will be at or
above capacity by 2009.
With the passage of the bond, WISD will be able to
provide its taxpayers with a minimum 25-cent decrease in
overall tax rate. The district is able to do this because it
holds a Moody’s AAA bond rating, the taxable value of the
district is rising, it is retiring old bonds, state mandated
decreases, and current rates are optimal for a bond program,
the district said. The average homeowner (with a home valued
at $100,000) would pay (at minimum) $213 less in taxes each
year over the next three years.
Early voting will be held in the WISD Administration
Building from April 30 through May 4 from 8 a.m. until 4
p.m. and May 7-8 from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Election Day is
May 12. Voting will be held in the west campus of Waller
Junior High from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
For more information on the facilities planning process,
visit
www.waller.isd.esc4.net then click on “Facilities
Planning,” or contact Sarah Stephenson at 936-931-4078 or
sastephe@waller.isd.esc4.net.
Tomball entrepreneur capitalizes on fashion frenzy,
spring-cleaning
By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff
Tomball area resident Triss Budoff is turning a little
spring cleaning into a modest profit.
What began as a nation wide fashion frenzy has turned
Budoff into an emerging eBay entrepreneur.
Pictured, Tomball’s Triss Budoff has found putting up both
used and new clothing at online auction site eBay can turn a
significant profit.
She started off by capitalizing on the frenzy of the
Proenza Schouler clothing line and Rafe handbag line being
carried at Target stores. The retail giant began carrying
the high-end designs at discount prices early last month.
Customers lined up for hours before stores opened in hopes
of claiming anything off of the racks. Many Target stores
ran through their stock in less than 10 minutes.
Budoff jumped on the coattails of the frenzy, initially
buying $2,000 worth of Proenza Schouler clothes and Rafe
handbags from Target and putting them up on eBay. The days
of those items going for hundreds of dollars on the popular
auction Web site were quickly over, but the demand was still
there for Budoff to turn a substantial profit.
She also soon realized buyers were interested in
acquiring more than just high end clothes at a bargain
price. Budoff found that buyers from all over the world, in
far away places such Australia, Singapore and the UK, would
pay good money for used clothing that has been
well-maintained.
She began rummaging through her closets, finding clothes,
trinkets and collectibles to put up for bid. Her sales have
gone so smoothly, she said, and so positively that she is
beginning to earn a reputation in the eBay community as a
hot and reliable seller.
“I started cleaning out my stuff and people bought it,”
she said. “I even sold old bottles of perfume.”
Budoff put up shoes, clothes from Victoria’s Secret and
Frederick’s of Hollywood, and Louis Vuitton purses.
“People are delighted to have these things and take them
off your hands,” she said.
Budoff explained that the idea of selling what you don’t
wear or use is essentially the same as holding a garage
sale, only an eBay seller is earning significantly more than
a few quarters for a shirt or pair of jeans they may have
paid much more for.
“Ebay essentially is a better avenue to recoup some of
the costs,” she said. “And it gets you worldwide
visibility.”
Budoff’s selling tactics quickly caught the eye of two
well-known national news media. Teri Agins, a fashion beat
writer for the Wall Street Journal, got word of Budoff and
featured her in a mid-March article about selling used
clothing. That same day, ABC’s Good Morning America picked
up the trail and sent a camera crew out to Budoff’s house to
film a segment as part of a story they featured on March 24
about selling used clothes.
Budoff, who is a professional interior designer and
decorative painting artisan, uses her marketing skills to
put together an attractive product for buyers. She takes
countless pictures of each product, making sure the lighting
is just right, and the features of each product are
prominently displayed. She then creates each product page,
describing fully the details of the item.
Budoff has become so adept at producing eye-catching and
high quality auction items, that many sellers, who are
offering the same products, are essentially stealing her
images and product description pages and using them as their
own.
Budoff has had to contact eBay representatives to notify
them of the infringements.
So far, Budoff has sold 28 items. She has three closets
and two bedrooms littered with clothes and purses that will
soon be hitting the market.
“I’m by no means an eBay power seller,” she said. “I just
dabble in it for now.”
To see what Budoff is offering on eBay, check out her
seller name, trissmcq.
Criminal volunteers for arrest to off-duty
officer
By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff
While most criminals attempt to hide their activities,
some are so conditioned to being caught they give themselves
away. That makes the job of policing the streets of Magnolia
a lot easier. City police Officer Jorge Anez knows that it
pays to be sharp-eyed in keeping criminals out of Magnolia.
Anez was pumping gas into his personal vehicle on March
23 at the Exxon in the 18600 block of FM 1488 when he
observed a vehicle pull from the roadway into a handicapped
parking space at the store. The vehicle had no
handicap-parking permit.
Upon approaching the vehicle, the driver, Jason S. Kay,
23, of New Caney voluntarily stepped out of the vehicle and
raised his hands to his head, exposing a plastic bag of
marijuana in the front pocket of his pants.
Anez immediately called on-duty officers Travis Bushman
and Brian Clack. They arrived at 10:48 p.m.
A call to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
dispatcher revealed that Kay’s driver’s license was
suspended. In addition, there was an open warrant for Kay
for failure to appear in court for an invalid license. He
was issued a citation for driving while his license was
invalid pending an April 11 court date and was placed under
arrest.
Bushman took inventory of the vehicle. He observed an
underage passenger in the front of the vehicle with a
six-pack of Budweiser beer placed between his feet. The
passenger, identified as David Koger, 17, of New Caney, was
issued a citation for minor in possession.
In the back right seat of the vehicle was another minor,
identified as Charles Koger, 17, also of New Caney. He was
requested to step from the vehicle and submit to a pat down.
Bushman found a smoke-pipe in the pocket of Charles’ pants
for which he received a citation for possession of drug
paraphernalia.
During the inventory of Kay’s vehicle, Bushman recognized
the registration sticker to be fictitious.
“The state issued document had been altered by cutting
out the numbers and replacing them with fictitious numbers,
which is highly illegal,” said Magnolia Police Department
Sgt. Bo Crabtree.
In the seat occupied by Charles Koger, Bushman discovered
a small bag, the contents of which tested positive for
marijuana. Charles Koger was then arrested for possession of
marijuana, less than 2 ounces. Kay and Charles Koger were
transported to the county jail. David Koger was later
released to his father.
Northpointe Intermediate Math Teacher and Math Club
Coordinator Ron Jeggle (standing) looked on as sixth grade
Math Club members Michelle DeGracia (left) and Billy Helm
(right) completed a math worksheet on March 13 in
preparation for the Texas Math and Science Coaches
Association state meet. The students will compete in Number
Sense, math, calculator and science. Twenty-five Math Club
members will travel to San Antonio for the competition.
Submitted Photo |
