Official site of Tribune News serving Tomball, Magnolia and Waller

The Society of Samaritan (SOS) of Magnolia has a 25-year history of helping needy residents within the Magnolia area by supplying food, emergency financial needs, clothing and household items. Lynette Gibbons, who previously headed the special projects ministry of S.O.S., is now heading up a sister organization, Intercept Ministries.

The new non-profit organization will support family events, such as back-to-school clothing and supply drives, Christmas toys and Easter baskets. Also, Intercept Ministries will expand giving programs to include residents in the tri-county area where Waller, Grimes and Montgomery counties meet.

"This area is really not served by any other organization and there is so much need - many people have not yet recovered from last year's fires. We are so pleased to be able benefit these families," said Gibbons. "Last year we helped 567 families, and we hope to aid more this year."

Both organizations, S.O.S. and Intercept Ministries, plan to work closely together to increase the capacity to assist families and elderly residents. They are staffed entirely by volunteers and are planning two holiday events that people should sign up for soon -- a Thanksgiving meal and a Christmas boxed meal and toys. The Thanksgiving meal will be held on Thanksgiving Day at the West Montgomery County Community Development Center.

SOS will continue to fill the needs of the residents of the Magnolia Independent School District through the food pantry, emergency financial needs and clothing and household items through the Little Twig location. 

Sign up for the Thanksgiving meal at the West Montgomery County Community Development Center, 31355 Friendship Blvd., Magnolia 77355, Mondays from October 22 through November 12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Those wishing to register for the Christmas events should sign up on Mondays from October 22 through December 10, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., also at the West Montgomery County Community Development Center. Pick up and delivery details will be determined at sign up.

Volunteers are welcomed by both organizations. To volunteer or donate to S.O.S., call 281-259-8452. To help with Intercept Ministries, or to donate toys, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . In addition to volunteers, Intercept Ministries is also seeking a building for storage of donated items, office supplies and sponsors.

A group of 25 committed Magnolia West High School Interact members, led by club president Dakota (Cody) Stormer, have began an initiative to help the Magnolia Independent School District (MISD) become more eco-friendly, by raising the awareness of students and teachers to conserve energy and reduce their carbon footprints.

This past August, Interact club members joined forces with National Honor Society members to work for a week at MISD’s J.L. Lyon Elementary. Their mission? To get the “go green” message across. They helped teachers create bulletin boards with conservation messages, moved furniture and placed stickers encouraging energy and waste conservation on lights, computers and even paper towel dispensers.

J. L. Lyon fifth grade science and social studies teacher Julie Sustala thought the work the students did was a “life saver for us teachers. They all worked enthusiastically and they did a great job.”

Connie Melton, fifth grade reading and language arts teacher at J.L. Lyon, was also appreciative of the help the students provided.

“They provided my room with a warm, cozy feel – it has never looked better,” she said. “Dakota was a student of mine here before and I saw the spark of leadership in him. I’m not surprised he has become such a good organizer.”

The Magnolia West Interact club plans a similar effort at Williams Elementary Sept. 29, with the students again donating their time and hard work. Stormer explained that projects like this are part of Interact’s environmental stewardship project for the national student organization Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA).

“We hope to add more MISD schools to our schedule throughout the school year,” said Stormer. “We want this project to help teachers educate students about their impact on the environment and make this a cleaner, greener year for our district.”

Interact “green” initiatives  include  recycling plastic bottles at Magnolia West, promoting water conservation and educating students about ways to reduce litter and pollution. 

The Rotary Club of Magnolia sponsors the Interact clubs at both Magnolia and Magnolia West High Schools.

 “Interact clubs are the high school version of Rotary – a service organization to help students give back to their communities,” Judy Bode, the club’s Rotary liaison, said. “It is exciting to watch these kids develop their own vision and leadership skills.”

Deborah Rose Miller, Rotary Club President agreed.

“We are so proud of what the Magnolia West Interact club has done,” she said. “It is truly helping to teach young people that life is not just about them but about helping others.” 

Besides being the Magnolia West Interact club founder and president, Stormer is also a board member of Keep Montgomery County Beautiful, so going green is something he is passionate about.

“We chose J.L. Lyon as the first school in our project, because I had heard that the school had been actively engaged in energy conservation in the past and thought they would welcome us,” Stormer said. “We believe this project will save the school thousands of dollars in electric bills.“ 

Magnolia West students wishing to join Interact or volunteer for the conservation project should contact Stormer at 832-533-0935 or faculty sponsor Connie Maddox at the high school. Any Magnolia or Magnolia West student is eligible to join Interact, and dues are about $15 per year.

The Magnolia Interact club’s conservation project is part of a national FCCLA competition. FCCLA comprises more than 200,000 members in approximately 6,500 chapters across the U.S. The organization focuses on helping students promote personal growth and leadership by addressing critical issues such as character development, creative thinking, interpersonal communications and career preparation. It encourages active student participation in community or family activities at local, state and national levels. For more information, visit www.fcclainc.org.

MAGNOLIA - The Magnolia City Council continued with its extraterrestrial jurisdiction (ETJ) expansion eastward, along FM 1488, at the Sept. 11 meeting. In Texas, the ETJ of a municipality includes specified unincorporated area that is adjacent to the city limits. Property owners can request to be part of the ETJ.

In the future, the City of Magnolia may choose to extend city limits and city services into the ETJ areas.

Unincorporated areas may be subject to annexation by a nearby city, which could be either Conroe or Magnolia. Currently, Magnolia has extended its ETJ areas five miles east of the city limits, which could add a beneficial tax base for the city in the future.

“We have one of the largest ETJs for a city of our size in the state of Texas,” said Deborah Rose Miller, Magnolia’s economic development coordinator.

In other business, the council appointed Anne Sundquist as the city representative to the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s general assembly, which meets in January. The Houston-Galveston Area Council is an association of 36 members from local governments in the 13-county Gulf Coast Planning Region of Texas. Its service area comprises 12,500 square miles and more than six million residents.

Following an executive session, the council terminated the Magnolia Waste Management contract for sewer treatment (sludge removal) services. The city will continue to use Magna-Flow for these services. Contracts with both services have co-existed and the council wanted to remove the redundancy.

Police Chief Domingo Ibarra announced the promotion of Officer Kyle Montgomery to the rank of Sergeant. He also had news about the cooperation of the MPD patrol division with other government entities.

“They are doing a great job working together. As an example, we recovered a stolen vehicle recently from the Brookshire Brothers parking lot, which was a great success,” said Ibarra.

A new Magnolia Police Trespass Agreement Program was announced by Ibarra. The program offers businesses and property owners the opportunity to allow Magnolia police the authorization to contact and question persons who may be unlawfully on private property (without prior authorization from the property owner). It is expected to reduce the instances of crime on private property.  

The Magnolia Community Foundation presented Magnolia City Manager Paul Mendes with a plaque honoring his volunteer service for the organization. Mendes has been instrumental in many of the accomplishments of the Foundation, and has donated his time to help ensure the success of community events, such as those at Unity Park and The Stroll.

Miller, who is also president of the Magnolia Community Foundation, explained the plaque was very appropriate.

“We wanted Paul to know his efforts are greatly appreciated,”

A year ago, the Magnolia 4B Economic Development Corporation assumed the debt service for moving the utility lines along FM 1774 between Friendship Drive and 10^th Street. This act removed the debt from the City of Magnolia, which would have been forced to raise property taxes in order to pay it.

The debt was a result of a $2 million loan from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Special Infrastructure Fund used by the city to move the utility lines, which was necessary due to the widening of FM 1774 within the city limits. Just last week, the 4B Corporation approved a $160,000 interest payment on this loan, which will be paid from sales taxes collected by the corporation.

These types of projects are funded through both the 4A Economic Development Corporation and the 4B Community Development Corporation.  The purpose of both corporations is to provide funds from another revenue source, other than just property taxes, which is the only way the city itself can raise funds.

The 4A Corporation is tasked with managing infrastructure projects and the 4B Corporation handles community projects. The corporations are managed by board members who are appointed for a two-year term and volunteer their time. Many Texas cities have similar corporations, which typically raise funds through sales taxes.

The Magnolia development corporations make it possible for the city to provide services to additional areas and overhaul structures that are wearing out, as well as provide parks and recreational opportunities for residents. As Magnolia grows, officials said these projects become more critical to improving the quality of life for the area.

The 4B Corporation manages the Farmers Market, Unity Park and The Stroll. The next event at The Stroll is “A Stroll through the Renaissance,” which salutes the Renaissance Festival and will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, September 29. Renaissance-themed games, food, drinks and crafts will be offered.

The 4A and 4B Corporations impose serious responsibilities on the board  members.

As newly-elected 4B Corporation president Pat Zaiontz  stated, “This (4B) Corporation is just like a business. We need to watch our spending and pay our debts.”

It’s been a year since the City of Magnolia passed an ordinance against texting while driving within the city limits. According to Sgt. Silliman of the Magnolia Police Department, this ordinance is doing its job while making the city’s streets safer.

“There has been a 54 percent decrease in the number of auto crashes since the ordinance was passed last September,” said Silliman.

Silliman contends that thhis is a pretty important statistic because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (www.nhtsa.gov) sited the death of more than 3,000 people nationwide because of texting and driving, or one in ten traffic fatalities, in 2010. 

Silliman would like to remind people that the ban on texting while driving still stands within the city limits. So far this year, 34 citations have been issued. Several other Texas cities prohibit texting while driving,, but so far this legislation has not been passed to extend such a law to the entire state. Texas is one of only 11 states without a ban on text messaging.

Driving near schools is an exception. The use of communication devices while driving in a school zone (this includes both texting and talking) is against the law statewide. Additionally, novice drivers in their first 12 months behind the wheel are prohibited from using cell phones for text or voice communication.

“Tragically, a lot of people think it’s harmless to text and drive,” Magnolia Police Chief Domingo Ibarra said. “We have had several fatal traffic accidents in Montgomery County that were due to texting and driving. The Magnolia ordinance is a benefit because once people realize texting and driving is illegal, it does get their attention and they tend to be more careful.”

Magnolia Mayor Todd Kana agreed.

 “This ordinance was a move in the right direction," Kana said. "I have heard nothing but positive feedback from residents. As a smartphone user myself, I know it is easy to get distracted by these devices. When people know about the law, it is easier for them to stay focused."