TISD opens the floor for religious expression

By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff

The Tomball Independent School District has adopted a policy, which will allow student speakers to express their religious viewpoints.

The policy comes on the heels of the passage of House Bill 3678, also known as the Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act, which was passed by Texas lawmakers during the last legislative session.

“This gives the district flexibility to allow students to express their religious viewpoints,” Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services Huey Kinchen said at the meeting.

HB 3678 requires school districts to adopt a policy for student expression in time for the 2007-08 school year.

The policy allows for students to speak during public forums, such as during school announcements or football games.

According to the policy, the school district must provide a method, based on neutral criteria, for the selection of student speakers at school events and graduation. The policy also ensures that a student speaker will not engage in obscene, vulgar, offensively lewd, or indecent speech. The district policy also must state that the speech does not reflect the position of the district.

The policy also outlines the following:

Freedom of religious expression
Tomball ISD must treat a student’s voluntary expression of a religious viewpoint on an otherwise permissible subject in the same manner the district treats their voluntary expression of a secular or other viewpoint on the same topic.

“We can’t discriminate based on their viewpoints and their religious nature,” Kinchen said at the meeting.

Class assignments
The law states that students may express religious beliefs in their homework, artwork and other written and oral assignments, which must be judged by ordinary academic standards.

Freedom of association
Students may organize prayer groups, religious clubs, “See you at the pole” gatherings, etc., before, during and after school to the same extent that students are permitted to organize other non-curricular student activities and groups.

Most of the previous provisions were accounted for under existing laws, but the biggest change is the requirement that districts establish limited public forums for student speakers.

The State Model Policy designates football games and daily announcements as school events during which a limited public forum will be established for student speakers to give introductions, but the district may designate additional events.

Opponents of the new law have expressed concern that hate speech and other discriminatory speech will now have a forum in public schools.

Kinchen did not return phone calls as of press time last week while the Tribune was seeking further comment.

Magnolia business leaders voice concern over FM 1774 improvements

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

The proposed 10-mile stretch of improvements scheduled for FM 1774 completed the first public hearing on Aug. 9 with several business owners in the area submitting comments prior to the Aug. 19 closing date.

Pictured, Preston Cutbirth, owner of Magnolia Medical Center. Residents and property owners reviewed designs for and offered comments on proposed improvements to FM 1774 from Mill Creek to FM 149 at a public hearing held Aug. 9 by the Texas Department of Transportation.

An estimated 70 people were in attendance. Of the seven requests received to speak, four voiced concerns about a proposed raised median through Magnolia, requesting TxDOT to reconfigure the improvement with a continuous left turn lane.

“The City of Magnolia has adopted a resolution asking that the center median be a continuous turn lane,” said Councilman Dave Sutherland, who said he would forward a copy of the resolution to TxDOT representatives.

Besides Sutherland, Magnolia Medical Center owner Preston Cutbirth, Kemah Seafood owner Sovon Thou and Magnolia Area Chamber of Commerce President Anne Sundquist submitted similar comments.

“It is my opinion that the raised median and the selective turns will have a negative economic impact on the businesses along FM 1774,” Cutbirth said, with the result being less mobility for traffic attempting to access the businesses on the southbound side.

Thou expressed the same concern, also requesting a continuous left-hand turn.

“The raised median is not conducive to business,” he said.

Sundquist said the city was planning a revitalization effort for downtown and that the mobility committee had voiced concerns about the raised median.

“The raised median is going to hinder both the value of the property and the future development” of that project, she said.

Should there be significant changes in the proposed project, additional public hearings will be scheduled, said a TxDOT spokesperson.

The proposed project is the result of a Level of Service study TxDOT completed in 2003 that reflects 12,400 vehicles per day (vpd) travel FM 1774 with heavy congestion during peak hours, according to TxDOT Project Manager Manny Francisco. Projections for 2023 raise that number to 22,600 vpd.

Construction will begin at the Grimes County line and travel south toward Tomball.

The development of a 23-foot overpass for the Union Pacific Railroad and a southbound feeder will require a crossing at Magnolia Blvd. and FM 1488, displacing businesses and residences as it connects to FM 1774 to accommodate the new 100-foot roadway.

The overpass takes a southwesterly turn off the existing FM 1774 roadway and is positioned roughly between the entrances to Magnolia Business Park and Chumley’s Wrecker Service.

The proposed roadway from Mill Creek to FM 1488 widens to between 130 and 206 feet. It is planned to provide two 10-foot traffic lanes in both directions with open ditches, a raised center median with transitions for left turns, and a 10-foot shoulder.

Plans for Magnolia include two 10-foot traffic lanes in both directions with curb and storm sewer, an eastbound parking lane and sidewalk, and raised median versus a center turn lane from FM 1488 to First Street, all within 100 feet of right-of-way.

From First Street to FM 149 the design is similar excluding the eastbound parking lane and sidewalk.

TxDOT representatives said they anticipate a public hearing summary to be complete in Nov. 2007 and should begin right-of-way acquisition in early 2008 through 2010. The project is scheduled to begin bid letting in May of 2010 and is scheduled to be complete by 2013.

Relocation assistance is available for those potential residents and business owners who may be displaced during the project. Submission of comments on the project closed Aug. 19. For more information, call 713-802-5241.

Home sweet home: Pigeon racing finds a niche

By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff

The loft in the backyard of Rodney Powell’s Tomball area home could, upon first glance, be home to any number of critters like chickens or maybe even ducks.

Homing pigeons’ genetics give them the ability to remember where their homes are, down to the exact perch in a loft.

But nestled in this intricately designed and constructed Taj Mahal of bird houses are more than 100 pigeons, all fluttering about and waddling across the concrete floor, appearing quite happy in their upscale digs.

However, these birds are no urban nuisances that hang out under bridges waiting to victimize a passing car or pester park-going picnickers for a crumb of bread.

Instead, these birds are highly prized and conditioned “athletes” that make up the highly organized and specialized sport of pigeon racing.

Since homing pigeons are born with a gene that imprints exactly where their home is (even down to the exact perch in a loft of more than 100), with a little creativity and ingenuity, a sport was quickly born.

“Not only do they come back to their loft, they come back to their perch,” Powell said. “They’re really territorial birds.”

Pigeon races are not typical races, where an animal may leave from a starting point and make a beeline for the finish line with the first to cross winning the race.

Instead, since each pigeon’s “finish line” is their home, a system to determine a winner had to be established.

Powell explained that five days after a pigeon is born, a small clip with an electronic chip is attached to their ankle. That chip provides a means to electronically monitor the bird. There are two seasons in pigeon racing, young bird season, which occurs in the fall, and old bird season, which takes place in the spring, Powell said.

During young bird season, pigeons race in anywhere between 50- and 300-mile races, in 50 mile increments.

Old birds race between 300 and 500 miles.

Once a race is organized, say a 300-mile trek, bird owner’s meet at a pre-determined location. For instance, most recently Powell took his birds to a race that began in Hearne near College Station.

There, a GPS tracking unit electronically recorded when each bird left the starting point. Powell then made the trek back to Tomball to await his birds’ return.

“They were going faster than 40-miles-per-hour,” he said.

Part of Powell’s pigeon loft includes a landing pad for the birds, which tunnels them through a small corridor, beneath which another GPS unit records the birds’ return.

Attached to the GPS unit is a USB port, which Powell connects to his laptop computer where a special program calculates the time each bird took to get home.

“Everyone has one of these at their loft,” Powell said.

Powell then computes the data from the GPS system into yards-per-minute each bird traveled.

The data is then shared with each race participant and the bird with the fastest yard-per-minute ratio is deemed the winner.

The elaborate, but remarkably simple system allows for an even playing field. “It allows us to compare apples to apples,” Powell said.

He is part of the West Side Limited Racing Pigeon Club, which is a group of about a dozen northwest Houston area pigeon racers. According to Powell, there are several other such clubs in the Houston area, and many more across the U.S.

“Some (members) are in it for the family thing, some are retired,” he said. “But most had pigeons when they were kids.”

Such is the case with Powell.

He said that one spring when he was a boy, he kept several pigeons in the upstairs game room of his home without telling his mother.

“Believe it or not, they lived,” he joked.

When the school year ended and it was time for Powell to leave for summer camp, he confessed to his mother about his secret operation.

“Surprisingly, she wasn’t that mad. She was pretty amused,” Powell said. “And I always said if I had the opportunity, I’d do it again.”

While pigeon racing isn’t exactly a sport sweeping the nation, it has found its niche.

Pigeon racing hot spots, Powell said, are Florida, California, New Jersey and Texas, with Spring Hill, Fla., having been deemed the pigeon racing capital of the world.

Some circuits race for large cash prizes, with some even having purses in excess of $1 million. “Here, we just race for bragging rights,” he said.

For more information about pigeon racing, visit www.pigeon.org or call Powell at 281-379-2000.

Magnolia property owner asks neighbors to clean up their trash

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

Jaunita Spurlock-Miller is outraged that her family’s homestead on Roy St. in Magnolia is being used as a dumping ground and has requested the city’s assistance in getting her property cleaned up.

“Some of the people that live in Magnolia know how my mother and father used to keep that home so well,” said Spurlock at an Aug. 14 city council meeting. She has collected a large pile of garbage off the northwest corner of the house that she says has been thrown onto the property.

While the city does have a nuisance ordinance, without a Code Enforcement Officer there is little the city can do to legally address the issue, said City Secretary LuAnn Drake. The ordinance places the burden on the property owner to keep the property hazard free.

This is not the first time the council has been requested to intervene with dumping and code enforcement. Councilman Dave Sutherland led a successful initiative in helping resident Dawn Marsh get dumped garbage removed from her property in June.

Spurlock alleged to council members that her neighbors are using her property as a dumping ground, leaving old washers and dryers on her fence line, channeling raw sewage to her back yard and discarding beer bottles, trash and old tires.

“I’ve had my place cleaned several times,” Spurlock said. Though she is trying to clean the property up, she said it was “so boggy from the sewer that they couldn’t get a bull dozer back there.”

Spurlock said she has talked with her neighbor, who told her that if she would help him, he would remove the trash. “I didn’t help him put it on there and I’m not going to help him get it off.”

When it comes to dumping trash on her family’s property, Spurlock says she’s ready for the fight.

“I cannot let people throw trash on my place just to keep peace,” she said. “If they are not going to help to clean up the place, then you have to take it to the next level.”

Mayor Jimmy Thornton said Sutherland would once again lend his assistance in resolving the issue. Sutherland told the Tribune he would do what he could for Spurlock.

Meanwhile, Councilwoman Patsy Williams went with the Tribune to the property to assess the issue.

Old tires were found under heavy brush to the north of the house, while the reek of sewage was obvious in the overgrown northeast corner where Spurlock claims her neighbor has dumped a washer and dryer, now overgrown with brush and hardly visible.

“If there is raw sewage draining to the property,” said Drake, “that is an issue for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.” Drake requested Public Works official David Coburn to investigate the complaint.

Spurlock hopes that by getting the city involved, her neighbors will clean up their trash.

“That’s why I went to the meeting, so I could get the police to come and see who is putting this trash on my place,” said Spurlock. “I’d like to see the place look nice, even if I never live there.”

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul spoke briefly at an Aug. 15 meeting of the Tomball Rotary Club as part of his day-long tour through the city. McCaul gave a report on the recently-concluded legislative session, including measures he voted for, such as national security issues, and against, such as increases in federal spending.
Photo by Brian Walzel

Developers lobby city council for change in fee collection

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

Local developers can hang onto their equity a little longer now that they’ve managed to sway the vote of the Magnolia City Council in what has been a highly controversial issue of capital recovery and impact fee collections. The approved change came Aug. 14 in a 4-1 council vote.

Magnolia Ridge Project Manager David Burdick (center) as well as other area developers won a decided victory at an Aug. 14 city council meeting with a 4-1 vote that moves impact fee collection to the time of building permit.

Magnolia’s city ordinance will be in line with industry standards, said developers. Impact fees are assessed at the time of filing a final plat, but are not paid until the building permit is issued.

Don French of French Development and Ray Jordan of Jordan General Contractors addressed council members in a plea to alleviate the burden of having to pay the fees when the final plat is filed versus at the time a building permit is applied for.

Pat Carmichael of Glen Oaks echoed that request along with Magnolia Ridge Project Manager David Burdick and developer Mike Gibbs of MAG-TEX.

The win for developers means that Glen Oaks can hold on to its $300,000 a little longer, and Magnolia Ridge can keep its impact fee waiver, while other area developers can breath a financial sigh of relief over their capital investment dollars.

Carmichael cited a long history of rate fluctuations in requesting a review of the city’s 2003 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for rate accuracy.

The city paid PBS&J to complete a rolling10-year study, which must be updated every five years, said Darrell Cline of R.W. Beck, a professional consultant that provided information about the basic principals of why and how impact fees can be assessed.

“It is due for an update by next year,” said Cline. The plan should be reviewed regularly to include significant growth factors and land use assumptions.

The CIP is a method used by cities to recover costs associated with growth, Cline said. It anticipates growth and determines in part what the impact fees will be. But the city cannot include in impact fees costs for improvements associated with existing deficiencies or what is already paid for in ad valorem taxes.

That’s significant because Gibbs believes the city’s CIP never included plans for Magnolia Ridge or its impact on city services.

However, Councilman Dave Sutherland said the CIP did consider growth for the area that is now Magnolia Ridge.

“Magnolia Ridge is in sub-area number two (of the CIP),” Sutherland said. Though, “it does indicate that most of the growth would be on the south side at FM 1774.”

The development received a waiver from the city against paying its fees up front, in lieu of installing 4,700 feet of water and sewer lines.

That same offer was not extended to other developers in the area, giving Magnolia Ridge an unfair advantage over its competitors, said Sutherland.

Though 3,200 feet of lines has been installed across private lands, construction of 1,500 feet of lines across public property was suspended when the city began discussing revoking Magnolia Ridge’s waiver.

Carmichael said he was more than willing to pay $300,000 in fees, but agreed with other developers that payment at permitting would alleviate an equity hardship.

The issue of water improvements and whether or not costs for those improvements included Magnolia Ridge has continued to rise to the surface of discussions.

“We needed to do water improvement for the City of Magnolia,” said Sutherland. “And we planned our bond for water improvements based upon Magnolia Ridge coming in.”

Now, the city is strapped with a revenue bond and the current residents and homeowners are footing the bill through rates, Sutherland said, who voted against the motion.

But Mayor Jimmy Thornton said revenue bonds and subsequent water rates were a result of existing infrastructure deficiencies, not a result of potential growth needs caused by the development.

“The new well and distribution lines were never a result of the Magnolia Ridge development,” he said. “There is no cost to residents.”

Members of Boy Scout Troop No. 113 greeted visitors from around the world with their respective country’s flags during the International Lutheran Council.
Submitted Photo

Homeschool communities: Old concept in a new age

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

Since the 1960s when compulsory education was mandated by the federal government, the homeschool community has been viewed as a “grassroots movement” associated with a return to parental instruction and moral values.

The truth is education in the home is not a new concept, but an age-old tradition with a multi-faceted forum of resources.

A growing community

Since 1985, the National Home Education Research Institute has tracked statistics on home-based education. According to its Web site, homeschooling has grown seven percent annually during the past four years.

However, Tim Lambert of the Texas Home School Coalition puts that number at closer to 15 percent, with the U.S. Department of Education reporting a homeschool population of 1.1 million for 2003.

Getting started

There’s an overwhelming amount of available resources for a homeschool educator, said Jana Bufkin of Plantersville, whose three sons, Jacob, 13, Wyatt, 9, and Tucker, 8, began a home school program three years ago.

“There’s a lot to wade through to find the right curriculum for each student,” she said. “You must be organized, diligent and committed to homeschooling your student toward specific goals.”

Insiders view home schooling as a uniquely defined curriculum with expanded intellectual opportunities. However, outsiders often see it as a limited education of narrowed perspective with little social interaction opportunities for developing maturity.

Both perspectives have the possibility of being true, according to Elizabeth Cutbirth of Magnolia, whose four children have never attended a public school.

“Homeschooling is what you make of it,” she said. “There’s a stigma that has been attached to home school students that does not apply and is not fair.”

Her son, Stephen, is a 2005 graduate of the Lighthouse Education Center and currently a sophomore at Baylor College of Medicine.

Susan Browning of Tomball has spent 25 years in education, teaching not only her own children at home, but others who seek to broaden and enrich a homeschool curriculum, without losing the personal interaction of parenting while teaching.

Browning accessed the services of Homeschoolers Christian Youth Association (HCYA) as an “athletic outlet, as well as the graduation ceremony.”

Two of her three children are already at college, one of which is a National Merit Scholar, which makes for a very desirable student, she said.

Desired by recruiters

Colleges and universities provide few admissions statistics for homeschoolers.

However, the University of St. Thomas estimates that 60 percent of admissions come from public school, and 35 percent from privately funded institutions with only five percent of its freshman class of 310 coming from the homeschool community.

“In the past, many colleges had an aversion to homeschool students,” said Arthur Ortiz, Assistant Director of Admissions for the University of St. Thomas. “Now it seems as though colleges, like us, are trying to actively recruit homeschool students.”

Outside classes

As the founder of Lighthouse Education Center in Magnolia, Loni Cothran views homeschooling as an opportunity for students and parents to customize a curriculum to specific interests and learning needs.

“Our goal has always been to partner with families and give them what they need to homeschool,” said Cothran. “People see things differently and you have to stay true to the vision.”

Cothran has watched an idea give birth to a variety of opportunities in the area for students and home educators.

As a result, several outside classes supporting academics, as well as sports, fine arts, and agriculture are available in the area.

“There’s lots of opportunities for our children to be involved in not only academics, but also sports and agriculture,” said Marilyn O’Neal of Tomball, whose son Jeremiah, 15, is a business entrepreneur and the youngest ambassador in his local chamber. “The opportunities that are available to homeschoolers are more than four walls and an instructor.”

The power of partnership and what it means for Magnolia

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

When city, county and school district officials pool their resources with that of the community, a partnership can be formed to achieve the larger vision of community revitalization, recreation and functionality, despite constraints.

That was the general theme of an architectural planning presentation by Burditt Consultants at a Magnolia 4A Corp. Steering Committee meeting held Aug. 15.

Owner Charles Burditt referred to Magnolia as the gateway to and from south Montgomery County.

“If you’re ever going to capture people at the gateway, you’ve got to make improvements,” he said.

The meeting was an informal public forum where residents were invited to partner with the city, county and school district to embark on a journey of profound community effort.

“It was a good meeting,” said Assistant Superintendent John Paul Watson of Magnolia Independent School District (MISD).

Consultants painted a vivid picture of a refurbished downtown, thriving with commerce that will segue into a combined city detention park and county horse arena.

Steering Committee President Jonny Williams said the project was essential to increase sales tax dollars and property values that will in turn feed city and county coffers to the direct benefit of all South County residents.

“Once the rooftops start going up, the available sales tax dollars go up,” he said. “It’s going to take everyone getting involved to make this happen.”

More than 75 people gathered to receive information, discuss options and voice concerns about the combined effort.

The most surprising piece of information during the discussion came when county officials announced that the county was seeking to establish a new facility to accommodate the Dist. 4 Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Pct. 5 Justice of the Peace and Constable’s Office, as well as the Pct. 2 Commissioner’s Office and county barn.

“We’re looking for about 30 acres,” said Charlie Riley, Administrative Assistant to Pct. 2 Commissioner Craig Doyal.

The addition of county services to the project took many by surprise, but was not wholly unwelcome.

Watson said that the district did have 70 acres at one time, but that has been parceled out to sustain two MISD campuses for the Alpha Academy and the Celeste G. Graves Education Center.

4A has been seeking to fund the revitalization project with its sales tax dollars, but must put the project to voter approval in the November election.

Discussion of funding the procurement and development of 20 acres from MISD to accommodate the detention park, as well as a horse arena, with a Texas Parks and Wildlife grant has been ongoing for some time.

“There is funding and grant potential for anything that involves public mobility,” said Burditt, encouraging input on mobility needs such as horse trails, walkways, and transition points from services to commerce to recreation.

The Magnolia High School Texas Star Dance Team completed its sixth annual line camp with HTEDance recently. Four teams attended the event along with Texas Star, including Magnolia West, Eisenhower, Navasota and Waller high schools. On the last day, Texas Star displayed their pre-football season material. Texas Star also received a team spirit stick, one of two awarded at the camp. Special individual awards were given to performers for the HTEDance and Kick Academy. Academy winners for 2007-08 have been invited on a spring performance trip to Paris, France. More than 100 dancers auditioned for the academy. For Academy Dance, 14 dancers were awarded, one of which was from Magnolia High School, Jennifer Simms. Also awarded were 19 spots for the Kick Academy, eight of which were from Texas Star. Those include: Lauren Samples, Megan Goble, Kayla Taylor, Sarah Lane, Kayla Pangarakis, Diana De La Fuente, Melissa Moroney, and Mary Sheil. The ladies join Jennifer Simms as part of the Kick Academy. Texas Star is under the direction of Rachael Burch and Tracy Mentlewski.

Life-long friends injured in knife fight

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

“You always hurt the ones you love,” is a truism that became starkly real for a Waller County family this month when a domestic dispute at a recent child visitation exchange turned violent.

Two long-time friends with a common interest, a mother and her two children, turned on each other in a knife fight Aug. 9, sending both men to the hospital.

Bobby Hale, the ex-husband of the woman, and Shane Bradley, the boyfriend, were described as “life-long friends” by Waller County Chief Dep. John Kramer. Both 34-years-old, they apparently “grew up together, went to school together, and had known each other all their lives.”

When Hale met his ex-wife, who was unidentified by authorities, to exchange their two children at the Oak Hollow subdivision’s community park, Bradley and he exchanged heated words.

As the mother and frightened children stood by, a fight ensued and the two men assaulted each other with a three-inch knife, said Kramer.

Residents in the park included a Brownie Troop eating ice cream at a table, and several who were fishing in the pond, according to the report.

When the fight broke up Waller County EMS was called to the scene and Life Flight arrived shortly thereafter with the assistance of the Tri-County Fire Department.

Hale sustained multiple knife wounds, with at least one severe wound to the head. He was Life Flighted to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.

According to a Magnolia police report, Bradley drove himself to the Magnolia Volunteer Fire Department seeking emergency treatment from paramedics for several knife wounds to his hand and head.

Bradley stated in the police report that Hale had assaulted him with the knife, but that a struggle ensued in which Bradley turned the weapon on Hale striking him three times. He was transported to Tomball Regional Hospital and was later released.

The investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed.

In early Aug. Michael Wostarek (center) donated $2,000 to Waller Junior High (WJH) to purchase material and supplies for faculty, staff, and students. Earlier in the year he donated $1,000. Wostarek is pictured above with daughter and WJH Assistant Principal, Stephanie Wostarek (left) and WJH Principal Troy Mooney (right). “We are grateful that Mr. Wostarek has chosen to sacrificially give to Waller Junior High School. His actions exemplify one form of the necessary parent and school partnership required for student success,” Mooney said.
Submitted Photo

Tomball ISD drug testing policy hitting the mark

By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff

With the first year of random drug testing under its collective belt, Tomball Independent School District administrators are calling the program a success.

Tomball High School Assistant Principal Greg Quinn reported the results of the drug testing program, which the district implemented at the high school last year.

According to Quinn 650 random tests were performed, 50 of which were for steroids. Of those, 14 different students tested positive, two tested positive twice and one student tested positive three times.

Quinn said the 2 percent positive test result was what the district had expected.

Students who tested positive were required to undergo counseling as part of the program. Those who were drivers or were involved in extra-curricular activities such as athletics lost certain privileges.

While Quinn praised the success of the program, he said some aspects could be altered. “There are a few things we can shake up a little bit,” he said.

The district contracted with an independent company, which performs the random selections and the tests.

“The company was outstanding,” Quinn said. “They understood the seriousness of confidentiality issues.”

Of the 650 tests the district performed, almost 600 different students were tested. “I am pleased with that high of a number,” Quinn said.

One of the quirks of the system was some students were being tested more than once, and even three or four times.

“Some people were tested two times in a row,” Quinn said. “We got phone calls about that, but there really was no explanation.”

He explained that the only negative feedback came from parents whose children were tested more than once.

“Once I explained it to them, they understood,” Quinn said.

Tomball High School has an enrollment of 2,600, with a pool of 2,100 students to choose from for the testing, he added.

The program would typically draw 60 random names to test, with 50 to 55 usually being tested, Quinn said.

“By November, it was a way of life,” he said.

Waller athletics gear up for fall season

WHS Cross Country
Waller High School boys and girls cross country will be holding practices Aug. 20. Participants should meet at 7 p.m. outside the of WHS gym. Bring the results of a physical if it is not already turned in. For more information, contact Clint Blinka at cblinka@wallerisd.net or 936-577-0270 or Lauren Kershner-Blinka at lkershne@wallerisd.net or 713-408-3019.

WJH Girls’ Parent/Athlete Meeting
Waller Junior High (WJH) girl’s athletics will hold a parent/athlete meeting Aug. 27 at 6:30 p.m. in the east gym of WJH. All girls signed up for athletics and their parents should plan to attend. For additional information, contact Coach Bankston at kbanksto@wallerisd.net or 936-931-1353.

WJH Volleyball Tryouts
Volleyball tryouts for Waller Junior High seventh grade girls will be held Aug. 28 and Aug. 30 during class and after school from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tryouts for Waller Junior High eighth grade girls will be held Aug. 29, during class and after school from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Athletes must have a physical on file in order to tryout. For additional information, contact Coach Bankston at kbanksto@wallerisd.net or 936-931-1353.

From the Book of Clifford

By Clifford Parker
Contributing Writer

Well, it’s now official. I have made a self determination that I am officially an un-official old man.

This self-appointed title has been declared by me, myself, and I, so it’s my own title that only I can hold. Everyone else is excluded from my title and my self-made lot in life is not shared with my wife or family.

In other words, I am not really an old man, but I have started doing some old man things. Now, some of you are going to disagree with me in my personal observations because you may be young in age and you may find yourself already in my realm of reasoning as to why I have declared myself old.

A few years ago, I went into a local restaurant and forced myself to purchase an order of liver and onions. As many of you may remember, eating liver and onions as a young child usually causes crying, gagging, kicking and screaming fits.

I purchased the order as a personal test to see if my tastes have changed. I was surprised that I was able to eat the food at hand. I can't say I enjoyed it, but I did, in fact, eat my portion and walked away satisfied.

This was my first sign of aging. My second test came when I entered a seafood house. I have tried many, many different foods in my lifetime. I have eaten alligator, rabbit, squirrel, buffalo, coon, armadillo, gar, mountain oysters, but one thing I never enjoyed was raw, saltwater oysters. I still don’t enjoy fried oysters.

Most of us guys have been dared by our dads or teased by our camping buddies about eating raw oysters. As I entered the restaurant for some reason, out of the blue, I decided it was time to try some raw oysters. I really enjoyed them and I now order them often.

My third test came about two weeks ago. My wife had purchased some buttermilk to try her hand at making buttermilk biscuits equal to her grandmother’s biscuits she remembers from years ago. I got up for my morning breakfast and, as I opened the refrigerator, I noticed the un-opened bottle of buttermilk. It caught my eye and I said to myself, “I wonder how a glass of buttermilk would taste.”

Here again, buttermilk is usually despised by youngsters. Just like the liver and onions, the gag reflex kicks in and once again the crying, kicking and screaming will start.

I grabbed a glass, poured some of the thick globs of sour milk, drank it down and lo and behold, I really enjoyed it!

My final test came this past weekend.

Growing up and working outside most of my early years, I was made to believe that suffering the sweat and pains associated with farming and ranching always made me tough. I watched my dad do mechanic work, carpenter work and other outside work.

My dad was the kind of guy that if he got a cut, he would simply ignore it. I never understood how he could handle the pain.

I saw him bust his knuckles ’till they bled and he seemed to ignore the dripping blood from his hand. He never showed the pain.

I tried the same thing as a young man. I never wore gloves. They were for sissies. I never properly protected my eyes while grinding and protecting my hearing was unheard of (no pun intended).

Working without a shirt was common and getting sunburned made my skin leather tough! Going barefoot and walking across stickers with my mulberry-stained feet was the norm. I was tough, at least in my mind.

Now, I know most of my antics were out and out dumb.

I went to the ranch this past weekend and was going to mow the pasture. Normally, I would wear a small gimmie hat and by the end of the day, I would be so dirty and sunburned you would think the devil was my half brother. (Okay, a lot of ya’ll know my brother, Keith, and I’m not talking about him!)

When I arrived at the ranch, I went to crank up the tractor and, for some reason, my old man senses caught hold of me.

I put on a wide-brimmed hat with a large handkerchief draped over my head and neck before putting on my hat. I placed a breathing mask over my mouth and nose and I put on a good pair of gloves. After spending eight hours on the tractor in 100-plus degree heat working, I was hot, but protected. I wasn’t sunburned and I could actually breathe without laboring through the dirt and grit that gets in your nose while mowing.

I’m sure as time passes and I get really, really old more signs shall come to pass that will show my age, but for now I have officially declared myself as the beginnings of an old man.

For me, myself, and I, it’s a place I really enjoy. ---- Clifford