headlines - cody stark

6
by brandon k. scott brandons@itemonLine.com Three finalists for the Huntsville Hornets’ vacant head football coach were named Monday afternoon. Huntsville ISD Superintendent Steve Johnson told The Item on Monday that the finalists are Pflugerville Connally head coach Howard McMahan, Athens head coach Paul Essary and Belton head coach Rodney Southern. Johnson expects the HISD Board of Trustees to call a special meet- ing Thursday at noon to approve the hiring of the Hornets’ new head coach. “All three are current head coaches and have experience,” Johnson said. “They’ve had a lot of great suc- cess. Of course, like most coaches, if they coach long enough they don’t always win every game every season. Overall, the records for those three have been good. “What I’m finding out as I check the references on them, they run good, quality programs and the inter- view team that brought me those three names would be comfortable with any one of the three.” Huntsville has been searching for a new head coach since Shane Martin was asked to resign in November following the Hornets’ disappointing 2-8 sea- son. McMahan has been the ath- letic coordinator and head coach of John B. Connally High School since 2007, reaching the playoffs his first season on the job. Connally finished with a 2- 8 overall record in 2013, one of those wins coming by a score of 91-15 against Bastrop’s Cedar Creek High School. Connally was district and bi- district champion in 2010 with a THE HUNTSVILLE ITEM 50 cents tuesday, January 28, 2014 Visit us online: www.itemonline.com sPorTs: h ornets begin baseball tryouts at Kate Barr ross Pa rk — Page 7 a Finalists named for hornets football coac h hire expected to be announced at school board meeting thursday See coach, page 2A essary souThern R eaDy fOR R OunD 2 submitted photo six-year-old bryson thomas of Crabbs prairie, a kindergarten student at scott Johnson elementary, makes a snow angel after a couple of inches of the white stuff fell in Walker County last week. more snow may fall today, but the weatherman says there is a better chance of ice and freezing rain falling in huntsville starting early this morning. schools in Walker County are closed for the day. County prepares for second winter storm in past four days by cody stark cstark@itemonLine.com Emergency management offi- cials on Monday were quick to make a decision to close down local schools and government offices in anticipation of today’s winter storm warning. Walker County offices, including the courthouse, as well as all Huntsville ISD, New Waverly ISD, Alpha Omega Academy, Premiere, Vista Academy and Summit schools will not hold classes today. The city of Huntsville was set to still be open for business today as of Monday afternoon. Sam Houston State was going to make a decision on closing the campus this morning and will make an announcement through social media sites and Katsafe. Texas Department of Criminal Justice offices and units in Walker County will not open until 10 a.m. today. Employees can check the TDCJ website at www.tdcj.state.tx.us for updates. The National Weather Service was predicting the coun- ty and surrounding communities could see up to an inch of freez- ing precipitation today, begin- ning about 4 a.m. and continu- ing through the day. “Walker County could see a wintery mix of sleet and freez- ing rain,” said Dan Reilly with the NWS. “There is also a chance that could change to snow.” The Walker County Emergency Operations Center opened at 4 a.m. this morning. Butch Davis, the county’s emer- gency management coordinator, said crews would be on hand to assist with any problems that might arise due to the winter storm. Temperatures were expected to drop below freezing late Monday night and remain there until Wednesday. The NWS pre- dicted temperatures would dip into the low 20s tonight, which means if the county does get freezing rain or snow it might stick around for a while. “We will have people on hand monitoring the situation and ready to take action if the weath- er gets bad,” Davis said. “There will be crews out taking care of the roads and if anyone has an submitted photo Luke durham and hutton edney get ready to sled down the hill at the elkins Lake dam. See winter, page 5A In speech, Obama to help Dems frame 2014 arguments by Josh Lederman associated Press WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama can only do so much to help his party in this year’s midterm elections. Six years in office have taken a toll on his pop- ularity, and aside from raising money, his value on the campaign trail is limited — especially in the states that worry Democrats the most. But the president can set the tone. In his State of the Union address tonight, Obama will frame an economic argument his party hopes will help carry them to victo- ry in November. Although not explicitly political, the speech gives Obama an opportunity to issue a rallying cry for economic fairness and expanded opportunity — issues Democrats believe will resonate in races across the country. “It will be interpreted as the Democratic agenda,” said Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster. “He associated Press AUSTIN — State health offi- cials have advised against eating certain fish caught in East Texas. The Texas Department of State Health Services on Monday issued a fish consumption adviso- ry for parts of the Neches River Basin. The advisory includes Sam Rayburn Reservoir and the B.A. Steinhagen Reservoir. Lab testing of fish samples found elevated levels of mercury and dioxins. Agency officials say the advi- sory covers six species of fish caught between the State Highway 7 bridge west of Lufkin downstream to the U.S. Highway 96 bridge near Evadale and both reservoirs. Women of childbearing age and children are advised not to eat blue catfish larger than 30 inches, flathead catfish, gar, largemouth bass larger than 16 inches, small- mouth buffalo and spotted bass larger than 16 inches. Texas health officials warn against certain fish See obama, page 3A mcmahan 1-28 editorial pages_Layout 1 1/27/14 9:28 pm page 1

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Page 1: Headlines - Cody Stark

by brandon k. scott

[email protected]

Three finalists for theHuntsville Hornets’ vacant headfootball coach were namedMonday afternoon.

Huntsville ISDSuperintendent Steve Johnsontold The Item on Monday thatthe finalists are Pflugerville

Connally head coach HowardMcMahan, Athens head coachPaul Essaryand Beltonhead coachR o d n e ySouthern.

J o h n s o nexpects theHISD Board ofTrustees to calla special meet-ing Thursday atnoon to approve the hiring of theHornets’ new head coach.

“All three are current head

coaches and have experience,”Johnson said. “They’ve had a lotof great suc-cess. Of course,like mostcoaches, if theycoach longenough theydon’t alwayswin everygame everys e a s o n .Overall, therecords for those three havebeen good.

“What I’m finding out as I

check the references on them,they run good, quality programsand the inter-view team thatbrought methose threenames wouldbe comfortablewith any one ofthe three.”

Huntsv i l l ehas beensearching for anew head coach since ShaneMartin was asked to resign inNovember following the

Hornets’ disappointing 2-8 sea-son.

McMahan has been the ath-letic coordinator and head coachof John B. Connally HighSchool since 2007, reaching theplayoffs his first season on thejob. Connally finished with a 2-8 overall record in 2013, one ofthose wins coming by a score of91-15 against Bastrop’s CedarCreek High School.

Connally was district and bi-district champion in 2010 with a

THE HUNTSVILLE ITEM50 centstuesday, January 28, 2014 Visit us online: www.itemonline.com

sPorTs: hornets begin baseball tryouts at Kate Barr ross Park — Page 7a

Finalists named for hornets football coachhire expected to be

announced at school

board meeting thursday

See coach, page 2A

essary souThern

ReaDy fOR ROunD 2

submitted photo

six-year-old bryson thomas of Crabbs prairie, a kindergarten student at scott Johnson elementary, makes a snow angel after a couple of inches of thewhite stuff fell in Walker County last week. more snow may fall today, but the weatherman says there is a better chance of ice and freezing rain falling inhuntsville starting early this morning. schools in Walker County are closed for the day.

County prepares for second winter storm in past four daysby cody stark

[email protected]

Emergency management offi-cials on Monday were quick tomake a decision to close downlocal schools and governmentoffices in anticipation of today’swinter storm warning.

Walker County offices,including the courthouse, aswell as all Huntsville ISD, NewWaverly ISD, Alpha OmegaAcademy, Premiere, VistaAcademy and Summit schoolswill not hold classes today.

The city of Huntsville was setto still be open for businesstoday as of Monday afternoon.Sam Houston State was going tomake a decision on closing thecampus this morning and willmake an announcement throughsocial media sites and Katsafe.

Texas Department ofCriminal Justice offices andunits in Walker County will not

open until 10 a.m. today.Employees can check the TDCJwebsite at www.tdcj.state.tx.usfor updates.

The National WeatherService was predicting the coun-ty and surrounding communitiescould see up to an inch of freez-

ing precipitation today, begin-ning about 4 a.m. and continu-ing through the day.

“Walker County could see awintery mix of sleet and freez-ing rain,” said Dan Reilly withthe NWS. “There is also achance that could change to

snow.”The Walker County

Emergency Operations Centeropened at 4 a.m. this morning.Butch Davis, the county’s emer-gency management coordinator,said crews would be on hand toassist with any problems thatmight arise due to the winterstorm.

Temperatures were expectedto drop below freezing lateMonday night and remain thereuntil Wednesday. The NWS pre-dicted temperatures would dipinto the low 20s tonight, whichmeans if the county does getfreezing rain or snow it mightstick around for a while.

“We will have people on handmonitoring the situation andready to take action if the weath-er gets bad,” Davis said. “Therewill be crews out taking care ofthe roads and if anyone has an

submitted photo

Luke durham and hutton edney get ready to sled down the hill at the elkinsLake dam.

See winter, page 5A

In speech,Obama tohelp Demsframe 2014arguments

by Josh Lederman

associated Press

WASHINGTON — PresidentBarack Obama can only do somuch to help his party in this year’smidterm elections. Six years inoffice have taken a toll on his pop-ularity, and aside from raisingmoney, his value on the campaigntrail is limited — especially in thestates that worry Democrats themost.

But the president can set thetone. In his State of the Unionaddress tonight, Obama will framean economic argument his partyhopes will help carry them to victo-ry in November. Although notexplicitly political, the speech givesObama an opportunity to issue arallying cry for economic fairnessand expanded opportunity — issuesDemocrats believe will resonate inraces across the country.

“It will be interpreted as theDemocratic agenda,” said CelindaLake, a Democratic pollster. “He

associated Press

AUSTIN — State health offi-cials have advised against eatingcertain fish caught in East Texas.

The Texas Department of StateHealth Services on Mondayissued a fish consumption adviso-ry for parts of the Neches RiverBasin. The advisory includes SamRayburn Reservoir and the B.A.Steinhagen Reservoir.

Lab testing of fish samplesfound elevated levels of mercuryand dioxins.

Agency officials say the advi-sory covers six species of fishcaught between the StateHighway 7 bridge west of Lufkindownstream to the U.S. Highway96 bridge near Evadale and bothreservoirs.

Women of childbearing ageand children are advised not to eatblue catfish larger than 30 inches,flathead catfish, gar, largemouthbass larger than 16 inches, small-mouth buffalo and spotted basslarger than 16 inches.

Texas healthofficialswarn againstcertain fish

See obama, page 3A

mcmahan

1-28 editorial pages_Layout 1 1/27/14 9:28 pm page 1

jermis
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Page 2: Headlines - Cody Stark

bY Jp mCbRide

[email protected]

Morgean Schultz and herheavyweight division-win-ning lamb were named grandchampion in the market lambshow on Monday night at theWalker County Fair.

Schultz, a 16-year old stu-dent at new Waverly HighSchool, couldn’t stop smilingafter being named the grandchampion.

“It’s a relief. All the hardwork paid off,” she said.

Schultz loves the competi-tion that the county fairbrings, which is why she hasbeen competing in the marketlamb show since the thirdgrade.

“I like the competitivenesshere. My parents (Michelleand Gary Schultz) used to doit and I just grew into it andhave loved it ever since,” shesaid.

The reserve grand champi-on went to Cody Corcoranand his lightweight division-winning lamb.

Corcoran, who is also a 16-year-old student at newWaverly and the son of Sonjaand Anthony Corcoran, wasglad that all the long hoursand hard work he put into hislamb resulted in a top-twofinish.

“It takes a lot of hard workto raise an animal. It takes alot of knowledge of how totake care of the animal andhow to get them to be the bestthey can be,” he said.

bY winsTon spenCeR

[email protected]

Fun was the order of the evening asnumerous little cowboys and cowgirlstook center stage at this year’s WalkerCounty Fair Little Tykes Rodeo.

Children in two different age divisions(3-5 and 6-8) showed their skills in thisspecial rodeo Monday evening, much tothe delight of parents and fans alike.

First up Monday was the dummy-rop-ing contest that put these future rodeostars to the test. each child was asked torope the head of a fake calf and everyonedid it with surprising accuracy. First

place in the 6-8 age division went toBrayden Stevenson while Bubba Simonsand Shelby Simons finished second andthird, respectively. For the 3-5 year olds,first place went to Brecken Slott, secondto Brazos Stevens and third to MaxTomczak.

It wouldn’t be a rodeo without a horseand a barrel. The children galloped alongwith their stick horses around a barrel tocheers from the crowd.

For the 6-8 age group, first place wentto emily Vaughn, second to Stevensonand third to Shelby Simons. In the 3-5division, Slott took first, Stevens secondand third went to Riata echtler.

next up was the chicken touch for the3-5 year olds, in which the children ranup to pet a broiler then ran into the armsof their parents. Stevenson placed first,

bY winsTon spenCeR

[email protected]

After some near misses over the years, asenior from Alpha Omega Academy finallycaptured the elusive title of having the bestbroilers in the county.

Sarah Heaton, the 18-year-old daughterof Peggy and Marty Heaton, took homegrand champion honors for her pen of threebirds at the Walker County Fair on Monday.

What made this time around particularlysweet was that it is Sarah Heaton’s last yearto compete.

“After 10 years of trying and coming upshort to finally win it all, especially to goout with a bang in my senior year, is a

tremendous feeling” Heaton said. “We justkept moving (in the order) and it was look-ing better and better. This is absolutelyamazing because you just never know untilyour name is called.

“It seemed like I would move up thenmove back down, I just didn’t want to getmy hopes up, just to have them come crash-ing down.”

But that didn’t happen Monday. Heatonhad a big grin on her face as broiler judgeGlenn Clinard shook her hand to tell her shewas the grand champion.

“everything I learned, all the hard work,trying to fit everything in with all that I haveto do for my senior year paid off,” Heatonsaid.

Another senior also capped his fair expe-rience in the winner’s circle.

Cody O’Bannon from Huntsville HighSchool was named the reserve grand cham-

pion at the broiler show Monday.“This is the fifth generation of

O’Bannons competing in the WalkerCounty Fair and this is the first time thatanyone of us has ever placed this high,”O’Bannon said. “This had been a long timecoming I’m just so excited and really grate-ful.”

O’Bannon said it was tough to put in allthe hours it takes to raise a pen of championchickens, but he was thankful for the helphe received from his family.

“At times it was really hard getting upearly every morning to do all the things Ihad to do, but everyone in my whole familyhelped me out,” he added. “This is a win forall of us and it’s my senior year.”

Cody O’Bannon, 17, is the son of normaand Steven O’Bannon and they are proud of

THe HUnTSVILLe ITeM50 centstuesday, april 8, 2014 Visit us online: www.itemonline.com

SPORTS: Hornets tee off at district golf tournament — Page 7A

cody stark/the huntsville item

alpha omega academy senior sarah heaton, center, breaks into a smile as judge Glenn clinard congratulates her for raising the grand champion pen of broil-ers at the 2014 Walker county Fair on monday. Peggy heaton, right, was just as excited when her daughter was announced the winner.

Something to crow about

Event tocelebrateSHSU’spast, future

bY amY baRneTT

shsu new seRviCe

Horticulture and crop sci-ence major Ali Ullrich makesdaily trips to the Interstate 45greenhouse to ensure 137young Catalpa trees receivethe water and attention theyneed to remain healthybefore they make their springdebut.

These trees aren t just anytrees, but are part of a legacyat Sam Houston StateUniversity.

While the heart-shapedleaves of a Catalpa tree pro-vide dark shade and a safehabitat for birds seeking shel-ter from rain and wind, forSHSU alumni and students,they provide a peek at histo-ry, an inside look at the lovestory between the universi-ty’s namesake and his wife,Margaret Houston.

Legend tells us thatMargaret planted twoCatalpa trees on the propertyof the Woodland Home, theirfamily’s house in Huntsville— one symbolizing her, andthe other representing herhusband.

While Houston spentmuch of his time inWashington, the couplewould send letters to eachother professing their loveand devotion. Margaretwould often fold a Catalpaleaf and place it in the lettershe would send her husband,as if she were sending him aheart-shaped Valentine.

Several of these love let-ters are now on display at theSam Houston MemorialMuseum.

“I think they are a vitalpart of the history of

See shsu, page 6A

seniors claim championhonors at broiler show

See bRoileR, page 3A

cody stark/the huntsville item

new Waverly high school student morgean schultz poses with her lamb after winninggrand champion at the Walker county Fair on monday evening.

It’s a sweep for New Waverly

cody stark/the huntsville item

riata echtler turns to race back toward the finish line after touching achicken during the little tykes rodeo at the Walker county Fair onmonday evening. echtler didn’t place in the chicken touch, but she didtake third in the 3-to-5 age barrel racing competition.

Showing off some skillsYoungsters haul hay, ropecalf dummies at fair’slittle Tykes Rodeo

schultz, Corcoran present top lambs at youth livestock show

See skills, page 3A

See lambs, page 3A

jermis
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Page 3: Headlines - Cody Stark

THe HUNTSVILLe ITeM50 centstuesday, april 15, 2014 Visit us online: www.itemonline.com

SPORTS: Regional tournament begins for Huntsville golfers — Page 7A

County not to pair with city in grant application

By cody stark

[email protected]

County officials have decidednot to include the city ofHuntsville in an application fora grant that could possibly fundnew radios for volunteer fire

departments.The Commissioners Court on

Monday approved an applica-tion seeking more than$700,000 from the TexasWildfire Disaster RecoveryFunds so the county could pur-chase the new radios. WalkerCounty has been seeking grantfunds for the past three years toreplace the outdated radio sys-tem the volunteer fire depart-ments are currently using.

Area fire departments ran intoproblems communicating dur-

ing the break out of wildfires inthe county during the drought in2011, which scorched severalthousand acres.

“We have to get the firedepartments these radios,” Pct.4 Commissioner Tim Paulselsaid. “It doesn’t matter whattype of equipment they have ifthey can’t communicate with

each other.”The city is seeking a similar

grant for more than $300,000 topurchase a brush truck for theHuntsville Fire Department andradios for the police department.HFD received a grant last yearto update its radio system.

Andrew Isbell, the county’sPlanning and Development

director, told the court Mondaythat the state had sent notice tothe city that it would be best tocombine its application for thefunds with the county becausethe majority of the wildfiresoccur outside the city limits.

“What (the CommissionersCourt) needs to decide today isif you want to combine applica-tions with the city,” Isbell said.“It is my understanding thatadding the city would not push

commissionersseeking funds toupdate volunteer firedepartments radios

“I would love to see the city get what they can get, butI don’t want to hamper our efforts.”

danny Pierce/Walker county Judge

See county, page 3A

Huntsvilleman chargedfor shootingat frat house

suBmitted Photo

the alpha omega acadmey choir received an excellent rating atthe state taPPs music competition. Five soloists also placed withWendy Pham, thomas matchett, and Phoebe henderson receiv-ing excellent ratings, and aaron mcdonald and caleb cortinareceiving superior ratings. the choir was directed by cynthiacross and stephanie clenney.

Winners announced at first annualSHSU Art Song Competition

By emiLy Binetti

shsu neWs serVices

Sam Houston State University’sSchool of Music presented an impressivearray of highly talented young artistscompeting for top prizes in the first annu-al Art Song Competition.

This on-stage showcase featuring 18student singer/pianist teams took placeSunday in the acoustically acclaimed set-ting of the Gaertner Performing ArtsCenter. The final round of the competi-tion, a formal evening concert presented

to audience members, featured sevenfinalist teams and concluded with threewinning teams selected by a panel ofesteemed judges.

First prizes were awarded to vocalistArdeen Pierre and Mihai Vatca who eachreceived $1,000. Pierre, a senior vocalperformance soprano and Vatca, a masterof music graduate student, wowed theaudience with Mozart’s “Smanie impla-cabili,” Berlioz’s “Le Spectre de la Rose”and ended with “Amor” by Bolcom.

The $750 cash prizes for second placewent to vocalist Nick Szoeke and pianistCatalin Lacob. The $500 awards forthird place were presented to vocalist

By cody stark

[email protected]

A Huntsville man angry overloud noise was taken into custodyfor allegedly firing a gun in thedirection of his neighbors over theweekend.

Officers with the HuntsvillePolice Department were dis-patched to the Sigma Chi fraternityhouse in the 200 block of FM 980about 10:15 p.m. on Friday con-cerning a report of a person with aweapon.

According to police reports, 45-year-old Dagoberto Avila wasupset that people at the fraternityhouse were playing music too loudand displayed a firearm beforeshooting it in the direction of the

See shooting, page 2A

Texas grandjury beingseated in Perryethics case

By pauL J. WeBer and

WiLL Weissert

associated press

AUSTIN — A Texas judgeselected a second grand juryMonday in an investigation intowhether Gov. Rick Perry abusedhis power by vetoing funding forpublic corruption prosecutors, andthis time the Republican hasretained a high-profile defenseattorney to represent him.

At issue is Perry’s veto of $7.5million for the state PublicIntegrity Unit after the prosecutorwhose office oversees it refused toresign following a drunken drivingarrest. A political watchdog groupfiled a complaint alleging Perry

See perry, page 3A

pierre, Vatca place first,claim hefty cash prizes

See shsu, page 6A

cody stark/the huntsville item

Wilbert “Pip” Brown strums on a guitar while playing at one music square in downtown huntsville on monday afternoon. Brown, who has played withlegendary artists such as James Brown and BB king, is a recovering addict and has been sober for seven years. he said he has found his “purpose inlife” by volunteering at the Good shepherd mission.

The Soul of Music

By Winston spencer [email protected]

Rhythm and timing can form thesoundtrack of a lifetime. One day you’restanding on the top “getting down,” thenext day, you’re just going down.

If the timing’s not right, rhythmbecomes a rut and what was once a prom-ising way is lost by the wayside.

But in the rhythm of life, there can be asecond act with a much sweeter verse.Just ask local musician Wilbert “Pip”Brown.

Brown was born into the burgeoninggospel, soul and R&B era in Chicago butlater moved to Huntsville. His father,Walter Brown, once a member of the leg-

endary gospel group “The Soul Stirrers,”from Trinity, started calling his son Pipwhen he was a boy and the name stuck.

Pip Brown learned form the masters ofour time. Legendary names like JamesBrown, Johnny Taylor, BB King andBilly Rigsby sought him out for his bot-tomless deep bass sound.

“He could just feel it,” rememberedMike Herron, a long time fan andHuntsville native. Those feelings “justcame through his music.”

But drugs turned what was once apromising career for Brown into a life atrock-bottom.

“I started out playing in church and Iwas high then, my eyes were just blind,”he recalls.

His sightlessness led him to believethat if he stop using drugs, selling them, itwould be the way to regain all he had lost.Never focusing on the perpetual grief hewas causing himself and this community.

“I was trying the live the life of‘Superfly’,” Brown said of the 1972motion picture with the smash hit singleof the same name. “I had cars, money,women, but was still lost and blinded byaddiction. It took me so low I once sold aPorsche for $30.”

After 10 years sober, his demonsreturned, causing him to lose it all again.He tried to out run those demons by goingon the Chitlin’ Circuit tour with cousinand blues recording star Billy Rigsby.

However, it wouldn’t be long before itbecame clear, the demons ran faster thanhe could.

“After a few dates on the tour, Billycould tell I was using again and told mewhen we got back to change my life ordie,” Brown said.

That’s when his life began to change,again. He met an army veteran, Mike

Local musician rediscoverspurpose in communitythrough volunteer work

See music, page 3A

jermis
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Page 4: Headlines - Cody Stark

Visit us online: www.itemonline.com 50 centsTuesday, May 27, 2014

Weather......................... 2AObituaries...................... 3AOpinion ......................... 4ASports............................ 7AClassified....................... 9A

inDex You might want to make sureto have an umbrella or rain coathandy if you go out today, espe-cially this evening as the forecastcalls for achance ofshowers andthunder-storms.

High: 83 Low: 70

WeATher

poll locations for today’s primary elections

• Pct. 304 — Riverside UnitedMethodist Church, 2341 FM 980• Pct. 404 — New Waverly FirstBaptist Church, 460 Fisher St. inNew Waverly• All other precincts will vote at theAnnex, 1301 Sam Houston Ave.

Citizens head to polls today to decide runoffs

By Cody Stark

[email protected]

For those who haven’t voted already,today is the last opportunity to cast a ballotin the Republican and Democratic primaryrunoff elections.

Polls will be open today from 7 a.m. to7 p.m. as candidates across the state battle

to earn their politicalparty’s nomination forthe election inNovember.

Early voting ended inWalker County on Fridayand Elections OfficerDiana McRae waspleased with the turnout.

“Early voting wentsmooth here in WalkerCounty,” she said. “We had a better turnoutthan expected. We had 440 voters turnout

on the last day of earlyvoting making the totalfor the week 1,469.”

There is one WalkerCounty race that will bedecided today in theRepublican primaryrunoff as incumbent TimPaulsel faces challengerJimmy Henry for countycommissioner of Precinct

pauLseL henry

paulsel, Henry vying forpct. 4 commissioner

See pollS, page 3A

MeMOriAl DAy

WINSTON SPENCER JR./THE HUNTSVILLE ITEMEmeka Asike looks over what is left of his family’s belongings Monday afternoon after afire tore through his residence in building C-1 of the Oaks Apartments last week. Thecause of the blaze, which started around 11:30 p.m. Thursday in the 700 block of HickoryDr., is still under investigation. Anyone who would like to help the Asike family can contactPastor John Okperuvwe at (281) 818-3244 or (936) 649-5028.

Local family copes withaftermath of apartment fire

By WinSton SpenCer [email protected]

When Emeka Asike started to wind downlast Thursday night at his residence in the OaksApartments, his four-month pregnant wife Joyand two children Somty and Muna were drift-ing off to sleep. Asike decided to stay up just atad longer and little did he realize just howmuch his life was about to change.

“I was on the telephone making plans toreturn to New York for my graduation (from

Meger Evers College),” he said. “I suddenlyheard a loud banging sound at the door and(simultaneously) our neighbors across the alleyscreaming.”

With the resent events of a home invasion inWalker County earlier last week fresh in hismind, naturally Asike was apprehensive aboutanswering the door, particularly with a sleepingfamily.

“I was curious about the commotion so Iopened the patio door of my apartment,” Asikesaid.

What was once a quite early summer nighterupted.

Cause of thursday’s blazestill under investigation

See fire, page 3A

Tea partypoised forbig wins inTexas GOPrunoffs

By paUl J. WeBer

aSSoCiated preSS

FORT WORTH — A teaparty leader is favored tobecome Texas’ lieutenant gov-ernor. A Ted Cruz-endorsednewcomer is inching closer toreplacing Democrat WendyDavis in the statehouse. On tel-evision, millions of dollars inattack ads have given estab-lished Republican incumbentsall they can handle.

For all the talk of Texasgrowing competitive forDemocrats in 2016 andbeyond, GOP voters are poisedto make a harder turn righttoday.

Though the tea party hassputtered this year in electionsaround the country, Texas’conservative insurgents are thefront-runners in Republicanprimary runoffs for majorstatewide offices and posi-tioned to bolster their ranks inthe Legislature. Victories nowand again in November wouldsignal an aggressive new slateof Republican priorities —from tightened spending toexpanded gun rights — afterGov. Rick Perry leaves officein January.

Of the four statewide GOPraces, none have been nastierthan state Sen. Dan Patrick try-ing to oust longtime Lt. Gov.David Dewhurst. Republicansare also nominating an attor-ney general to replace GregAbbott, who faces Davis in thegovernor’s race, and candi-dates for nearly a dozen state-house races.

“We’re supposed to be thisvery conservative state, andthe people in Texas are, yet our

See gop, page 2A

JOHN RUDOLPH/FOR THE HUNTSVILLE ITEMRetired Lt. Col. Champe Miller, left, solutes the United States flag while veteran C.F. Hazlewood stands during the National Anthem at the Memorial Day pro-gram Monday night at the Walker County Storm Shelter. More than 200 people were in attendance to celebrate fallen American heroes.

Some gave allAll gave some,

By WinSton SpenCer [email protected]

There was something different about this particularMonday.

An unmistakable, yet palatable calm was in the air overHuntsville. What made this Monday so special was that itwas Memorial Day. It was a day this nation, and particular-ly this community, paused to honor those military heroeswho served this country and protected its way of life andgave their lives in its defense.

Community comes together tohonor fallen US military heroes

See memorial, page 3A

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Page 5: Headlines - Cody Stark

There is another chance ofshowers and thunderstorms againthis morning. The sun is expectedto come backout this after-noon andwarm thingsup.

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hIsD unlikely to pursue november bond

By stePhen green

[email protected]

It looks like that the earliestHuntsville ISD Board of Trusteeswill seek a bond will be May2015.

At their special workshop onTuesday, Board President J.T.

Langley and Board MemberTracy Stout seemed to advocateagainst a November 2014 electiondue to time and the political envi-ronment.

“At the (Texas Association ofSchool Boards) meeting, theywere very bold,” Langley said.“They said to stay away fromNovember 2014 and 2016.”

The reason being the guberna-torial and presidential electionsthat make it difficult for bond pro-grams to pass. The second factorwas time. Superintendent Dr.

Steve Johnsonsaid in order togo for aNovember elec-tion, the boardwould have tocall it in the lastweek of August.

Although theboard couldtechnically havethe legal aspect of a bond electionprepared in time for August,board members and Johnsonagreed that they want more firm

details before going back out tothe public.

“We never gave them some-thing warm and fuzzy they couldfeel,” Stout said referring to thefailed bond election in May 2013.

Stout, Langley and Johnsonsaid they’d want to have render-ings of any potential projects andmore specific cost estimatesbefore calling the election andholding public meetings.

Langley said the public andmany board members were leftwith questions about cost in the

last go around. In addition, the“overwhelming” number ofoptions the architectual firmoffered the city would be nar-rowed down in future searches.

“(Last time) we just said toshow us what we can do,” Stoutsaid.

Johnson developed a more nar-rowed down list of ideas the dis-trict would need if a new bondwas passed. For example, achoice between building a new

Monsoon Monday

STEPHEN GREEN/THE HUNTSVILLE ITEMA car is stalled on Bearkat Boulevard during a flash flood Monday afternoon in Huntsville. The major storm system that passed through Walker County alsocaused power outages and road closers.

emergency personnel deal with flooding, power outages during severe storm

By Winston sPencer [email protected]

Emergency responders had their handsfull Monday due to a major storm systemthat rolled through Walker County.

Severe weather erupted acrossHuntsville about noon Monday, causingflash flooding, road closers, power outagesand lightning strikes.

Firefighters were dispatched to assiststranded motorist at Bobby K. Marks Driveand Bearkat Boulevard near the SamHouston State University campus where

Huntsvilleman diesafter hitby car

By cody stark

[email protected]

A Huntsville man died whiletrying to run across Interstate45 on Sunday night.

Rickey Don Carter, 35, waspronounced dead shortly afterhe was struck by a vehicleabout 9 p.m. Sunday, accordingto Texas Department of PublicSafety Sgt. Steven McNeil.

Carter was attempting tocross the west side of I-45 nearthe Highway 30 overpass whenhe was hit by a Jaguar, policesaid. He was killed on impact.

“There were two witnesseswho said (Carter) ran out ontothe interstate,” McNeil saidMonday. “This was an unfortu-nate accident. We talked withhis family and they said he hadtold them he was going toWalmart.”

The driver of the Jaguar, whowas just passing through thearea, was not injured in theincident. McNeil said nocharges are expected to bepursed as a result of the acci-dent.

County officials address future Pct. 4 spending

By cody stark

[email protected]

With a new Precinct 4 com-missioner set to take office inJanuary, county officials aretaking steps to iron out futurebudget spending issues.

The Walker CountyCommissioners Court onMonday approved an orderwhich will give incumbent TimPaulsel the authority to spend25 percent of the Pct. 4 roadand bridge budget for theupcoming fiscal year, which

begins Oct. 1. Paulsel, who wasabsent from Monday’s meeting,will still have three months inoffice when next year’s budgetgoes into effect.

Jimmy Henry, who defeatedPaulsel in the Republican pri-mary runoff election last monthand will run unopposed inNovember, will have theremaining 75 percent of the Pct.4 budget to work with when hetakes office in January.

“This is to make sure that theperson in office has funds towork with and that the newcommissioner has adequatefunds when he takes over,”County Judge Danny Piercesaid Monday. “Since Tim willbe in office for 25 percent ofthe time, he will have access to25 percent of the budget for thenext fiscal year.”

If an issue comes up afterOct. 1 that calls for Pct. 4 to

spend more than 25 percent ofthe budget, it will have to bevoted on by the CommissionersCourt before it can beapproved.

Paulsel does not have to havethe court’s approval to spendfunds that are currently in thePct. 4 budget for the 2013-14fiscal year.

In other business Monday,the Commissioners Court:

• Approved payment toBurns Architecture in theamount of $11,335 from bud-geted funds for the WalkerCounty Jail project.

• Approved WageWorks planamendment to the Health FSAfor the 2014-15 plan year.

• Approved minor plat forKimberly A. Brooks 23.14 acre

Paulsel has accessto 25 percent of

next year’s budgetto finish term

“This is to make sure that the personin office has funds to work with andthat the new commissioner has ade-

quate funds when he takes over.”

DANNY PIERCE/Walker County Judge

Members of theHuntsville FireDepartment work to clearBluebonnet Antiquesafter a lightning strikecaused an electricalshortage Monday after-noon. Emergencyresponders closed 11thStreet between SamHouston and Universityavenues while they dealtwith smoke in the build-ing. No one was injured.

STEPHEN GREEN/THE HUNTSVILLE ITEM

Supreme Court:Texas can withhold drugsource name

By michael graczyk

associated Press

HOUSTON — The U.S.Supreme Court on Mondayrefused an appeal from a Texasdeath row inmate whose attor-neys had demanded that stateofficials disclose the source ofdrugs intended to execute him.

Robert James Campbell, 41,had avoided execution May 13when the 5th U.S. Circuit Courtof Appeals stopped his punish-ment less than three hoursbefore he could have been putto death. That court agreed togive Campbell’s lawyers timeto pursue claims that he’s men-tally impaired and ineligible forthe death penalty. That issue isstill pending.

At the time of the reprieve,Campbell’s appeal seekingidentity of the supplier of thepentobarbital used by the TexasDepartment of Criminal Justicefor executions was before theSupreme Court.

Campbell was sentenced todeath for the 1991 abduction,rape and slaying of a 20-year-

See county, page 3A

See storm, page 3A

See drug, page 3A

Board members discuss graduation

requirements

johnson

See hisd, page 3A

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Page 6: Headlines - Cody Stark

By Gene schallenBerG

[email protected]

Following arguably the mostsuccessful three-year span in thehistory of Sam Houston State’sbaseball program, the Bearkatshave a new head coach.

Matt Deggs, a Texas Citynative who has served as anassistant coach at Louisiana-Lafayette the last three seasonsand the previous six at TexasA&M, was announced as SamHouston State’s eighth head

coach on Friday afternoon.“I appreciate this opportuni-

ty,” Deggs said. “Sam HoustonState is a school that’s near anddear to me and I know how goodthey’ve been. Sam Houston hasbeen well-coached by MarkJohnson and David Pierce andthey’ve laid the foundation.

“I’m glad to be the next guy tolead the program. Our goals willbe to get to regionals and superregionals and also Omaha oneday.”

Deggs has served as the

Ragin’ Cajuns hitting coach fortwo of the last three seasons andsaw his squad boast one of thebest offenses in college baseball.

This past season, Louisiana-Lafayette began the seasonranked 24th by the NationalCollegiate Baseball WritersAssociation and entered theNCAA Regionals as the top-ranked team in the country.

The Cajuns wrapped up the2014 campaign ranked first in

Today’s forecast calls forclouds in the morning and asunny afternoon. There’s achance forthunderstormsin the after-noon with briskwinds all day.

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Bearkats tab Deggs as new baseball coachsam houston state’s newest coach eager to bring strong offensive philosophy to kats’ program

JOSHUA YATES/THE HUNTSVILLE ITEMThe influx of rain has given Walker County a green glow in recent months. Pictured above, wild sunflowers bask in the sunlight after a quick rain shower onFriday afternoon in Eastham-Thomason Park.

Where the green grass growsWalker county continues to see drought recovery

By cody stark

[email protected]

There are still portions of the state thatare suffering through the worst droughtTexas has seen since the 1950s.

The Associated Press reported earlier thisweek that Wichita Falls near the Texas-Oklahoma border could be feeling theeffects of dry weather for another decade.Experts say the city’s reservoirs are on apath to dry up by August 2016, which will

likely cause Wichita Falls to implementcostly programs to retrieve or treat publicwater sources.

Mother Nature is causing all sorts ofheadaches for those areas that have hadminimal rain since the drought took hold in2011, the driest year in Texas history.

That doesn’t seem to be the case inWalker County. In fact, the Huntsville areahas continued to receive enough precipita-tion over the past year that the latest droughtmonitor shows Walker County is free of

drought.Meteorologist Bob Rose with the Lower

Colorado River Authority in Austin said thisweek that despite a bit of a dry spell inMarch and April, the area has thrived fromfrequent showers in the past two months.

“Drought conditions were the worst inlate April and early May due to dry weatherin March and April,” Rose said. “However,the soaking rains in May and June have

See GroW, page 3A

By Winston sPencer [email protected]

Riding and roping is something17-year-old John Douch has beendoing since he was knee high.

The Huntsville High Schoolstudent said that rodeo is just “inhim.” Earlier this month heshowed that he was one of the topyoung cowboys in the state afterwinning the calf roping champi-onship at the Texas High SchoolRodeo Association Finals inAbilene.

Douch is not resting on any lau-rels. He’ll be competing inRocksprings, Wyo., on July 13 atthe National High School FinalsRodeo.

“I just do like my daddy andbrother and family teach me,”Douch said. “I ride hard. I practiceharder. We’re going to see, but Ilike my chances and we’re goingto be hard to beat.”

Billed as the “World’s LargestRodeo,” more than 1,500 contest-ants from 42 states, five Canadianprovinces and Australia will befeatured in the national finals.

In addition to competing formore than $200,000 in prizes,NHSFR contestants will also becompeting for more than$350,000 in college scholarshipsand a chance to be named anational finals champion.

This year, the championshipswill be broadcast live online atNHSRATV.com.

At the tender age of 4 whenmost were just toddlers, Douchwas training to be a calf ropingchampion.

“He was just so small and hewould be around the house ropingour feet, roping the dogs, ropingthe cats. He’d rope anything if youlet him,” said Gladys Douch,John’s mother. “He’s been ridinghorses almost since he couldwalk.”

The two-time high school andformer junior high nationalchampion recalls his earliestexperiences.

“We had a rodeo arena in our

See ride, page 3A

Freshmen gear up for class during orientationBy JP McBride

[email protected]

Even though it’s summertime, high school graduatesfrom across the state are alreadypreparing for their next level ofeducation.

Some of those graduates trav-eled to Sam Houston StateUniversity’s campus onThursday night for FreshmanOrientation, where they took atour of the school and learnedmore about the various organi-zations at SHSU.

The incoming freshmen areexcited about becoming a partof the SHSU family.

“My sister and her fiancewent here and had nothing butgood things to say, so I decidedto take a tour of the campus andI really like the environment,”said Jose Figueroa, a graduateof Caney Creek High School inConroe.

He was also consideringStephen F. Austin and TexasTech, but said he liked the

JOSHUA YATES/THE HUNTSVILLE ITEMProspective students and their parents speak with representatives of SamHouston State’s various student groups during freshman orientation at theBernard G. Johnson Coliseum. See shsu, page 3A

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE SPORTS INFORMATIONMatt Deggs, an assistant coach at Louisiana-Lafayette for the last three sea-sons, has been selected as the new Bearkats baseball head coach. See coach, page 3A

Youngcowboypreps fornationalrodeo

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