Official site of Tribune News serving Tomball, Magnolia and Waller

Magnolia Bulldogs    20
Willis                              6
The Magnolia Bulldogs secured their second win of the season, defeating Willis 20-6 Nov. 2 in a District 18-4A showdown.

The Bulldogs were paced by Sheyrome Harris, who ran 25 times for 144 yards and a touchdown.

Harris put the Bulldogs up late in the second half, on a 1-yard touchdown run with a little more than two minutes to play. The Woodman Nigh extra-point made in 7-0, in favor of Magnolia.

The Bulldogs added to their lead early in the third quarter, as Matt Hebert caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Darrian Edwards. The extra-point was missed, keeping the Bulldog lead at 13-0.

Willis drove down the field and scored, cutting the lead to 13-7, but Magnolia answered on their next drive.

The drive, which extended into the first few seconds of the fourth quarter, was capped off by a 7-yard touchdown run from Noah McGowan, sealing the Bulldogs (2-7, 1-6 in district play) win.

The Bulldogs hosted Montgomery Nov. 9, in the final football contest of the season. Results were not available as of press time.

TB Memorial Wildcats     30
Ft. Bend Willowridge      27
The Tomball Memorial Wildcats squeaked out their second win in school history in dramatic fashion, scoring on a last second field goal by Christian Jugg to win 30-27 over Ft. Bend Willowridge Nov. 2.

The Wildcats raced to a big lead, before a small meltdown led to a deficit by the start of the fourth quarter.

Running back Josh Williams opened the scoring for Tomball Memorial, with a 3-yard touchdown rush in the first quarter. Williams followed that with a 1-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.

Brandon Shoemaker then intercepted a Willowridge pass and returned it 72 yards for the score, putting Tomball Memorial up 21-0.

Willowridge began their comeback with a 73-yard kickoff return. They added three more scores in a row to take a 27-21 lead, headed into the final period.

Williams scored his third touchdown of the night, giving the Wildcats the chance to take the lead on the extra-point. Jugg's kick was blocked, however, keeping the score tied at 27.

After stopping Willow-ridge on their last possession of the game, Tomball Memorial began a wild final drive to get them inside the red zone with a few seconds remaining.
Jugg kicked the game winner from 21 yards out as time expired, giving the Wildcats an amazing come-from-behind victory.

Williams led the Wildcats with 258 yard rushing on an amazing 46 carries.

The win improved Tomball Memorial to 2-7 on the season and 2-4 in District 22-4A. The Wildcats played in-town rival Tomball Nov. 9. They fell 49-6 to their crosstown rivals. A full game recap will be in the next issue.

The smell of gas still fills the air in the storage lot of Tomball Towing and Storage, days after a large fire destroyed at least 10 cars and damaged several more.

"There was stuff exploding the entire time we were fighting the fire," Tomball Fire Chief Randy Parr said. "Gas tanks, tires, shock absorbers. There was magnesium in one of the engine blocks and when you hit magnesium with water it just causes the flames to roar."

The fire started around 4:30 a.m. Oct. 30. While the cause is still under investigation by Harris County Fire Marshals, proof of arson still lies everywhere. Several cars had windows busted out and their insides were doused with gasoline, but were spared from the blaze.

Once Tomball Fire Department (TFD) firefighters reached the scene it look less than an hour to knock out the fire, according to Parr.

"Once we got through the gate it took us about a half-hour to three-quarters of an hour to knock it down," he said.

The lot serves as a storage lot for wrecked and damaged cars, as well as cars impounded by law enforcement.

"(The TFD) did a wonderful job," Randy Schmidt, owner of Tomball Towing and Storage said. "The response time and how quick they contained it was amazing. It could have been a lot worse. We could have easily lost 100 cars."

Officials from the Harris County Fire Marshal's office are still investigating the blaze.

A rollover crash on Nichols Sawmill, killed two people Oct. 26 and injured two more. Police say alcohol was a probable factor in the crash. The crash involved multiple ejections from a white pickup truck.

Tabor Tory, 19, of Magnolia was pronounced dead at the scene, while Kevin Hansen, 20, also of Magnolia was pronounced dead at Tomball Regional Medical Center. The driver of the truck, Brian Goetz, 20, was admitted to Northwest Hospital, while passenger Audrey Trent, 19, was life flighted to an area hospital in stable condition.

When emergency workers arrived on scene they initially thought there were only three victims, but later found a fourth victim 12 feet in the woods. With so many victims the Montgomery County Hospital District called in Northwest EMS for assistance.

Troopers said that Trent was sitting in the middle of the front seat and was the only person wearing a seatbelt.

The Montgomery County Police Reporter reports that Goetz was driving the truck north on Nichols Sawmill when he came to a curve in the road. The Police Reporter stated that DPS officials believe he left the pavement at a high rate of speed, overcorrected, crossed the road and flipped the vehicle at least twice. The truck then hit a fence before slamming into a tree.

One of the victims clothing was found 12 feet high, stuck in a tree.

The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office assisted at the scene as well.

No charges have been filed as of press time.

TxDOT recently announced that it has selected a design-builder for sections of the Grand Parkway that will run south of Tomball and into Montgomery County.

Zachry-Odebrecht Parkway Builders, J.V., was selected to develop, design, construct and maintain sections F-1, F-2 and G. The sections will complete about 38 miles of the toll road project, from US 290 to US 59 North. The project is expected to cost just more than $1 billion.

Construction will begin in 2013 and TxDOT is hopeful work can be completed in 2015. After the project is completed the developer will handle capital maintenance responsibilities for up to three consecutive five-year terms. TxDOT officials went on to explain that they still own the project and will continue to when the highway is complete.

TxDOT held two public hearings to discuss the financial aspects of the project Oct. 30. Those that attended heard how TxDOT planned to pay for the project.

Officials said that TxDOT will fund the project with toll revenue bonds issued by the Grand Parkway Transportation Corporation (GPTC). Officials with that group expect to issue just less than $3 billion in debt to finance design costs, construction and right-of-way acquisition. They anticipate to pay the debt within 40 years strictly with toll revenue.

Learn more about the project by visiting www.txdot.gave and use keyword Grand Parkway.

A long awaited dental clinic at TOMAGWA is now a reality, thanks to a partnership with the Tomball Regional Health Foundation (THRF). THRF is the new name of the Tomball Hospital Authority, which ran Tomball Regional Medical Center until its sale in 2011.

"Tomball Regional Health Foundation's vision is to become a catalyst for measurable health and wellness improvements in Tomball and the surrounding communities," TRHF Chairman Jack Smith said. "Our partnership with TOMAGWA and the launch of this dental program is an example of how we will advance this goal."

TOMAGWA had the facilities in place to provide dental services, but had been waiting to raise enough funds to open it. That's when TRHF stepped in. The provided $475,000 to fund start-up and operational costs for two years.

"We received the funding from them and we are very appreciative," TOMAGWA executive director Judy Deyo said. "God had us on hold for awhile, but once again our prayers were answered. To God be the glory"

The new dental clinic will be run by Lorie Jones, who said the focus now will be on hiring a part time dentist, as well as securing volunteer dentists and hygienists to help staff the clinic. The clinic is set to open Jan. 3 and will initially serve current TOMAGWA patients.

"We can't wait to serve the needs of our patients," she said.

The clinic has four separate stations and will provide preventative and restorative services and will be open from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. The clinic will be able to handle up to 2,600 visits a year. Monday through Friday. The clinic was supplied with all digital equipment, which allows TOMAGWA to stay ahead of the curve technologically.

"We were trying to plan ahead by going with all digital equipment," Jones said.

The dental clinic is not the only news coming out of TOMAGWA, Deyo said. Plans are rapidly moving forward for a new full-time clinic in Magnolia.

"We are very excited right now," Deyo said. "We will soon be moving into negotiations on a lease for space in the Landmark Building."

The building, which sits on FM 1488 in Magnolia, has approxiamately 6,000 square feet of space that TOMAGWA is looking to lease.

Deyo said that as the process moved along, more and more people have jumped on board over the past year. It came to a head Oct. 25, as area leaders, pastors and business professionals were treated to a tour of the potential site.

"We have met with leaders in the community several times over the past year so today was very exciting," she said. "We had a number of pastors there that had not been there before."

The group has estimated that it will take hundreds of  thousands of dollars to build, equip and staff the new site so they have created a  fundraising committee and a marketing committee to begin that process.

"We would love to have people interested in helping to become a part of this," she said.

After a lease is finalized, TOMAGWA will begin the process of receiving bids from architects and contractors, "within the next few weeks," Deyo said.

"Magnolia has been waiting for this for a long time," she said. "The community is very important to us and we are thankful for everything."

As far as a time frame, Deyo said it depends on how quickly fundraising efforts come together.

"We will move as rapidly as we can get the help of the community," she said.

Those interested in helping, email Deyo at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or Stephen Lightfoot At This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Those who wish to volunteer at the dental clinic may email Jones at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .