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Montgomery County Trending Like the Rest of Texas

May 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The latest report by the US Census Bureau indicates that while the Texas is one of five Minority-Majority states, Montgomery County is not yet reflective of Texas as a whole. Across Texas 55.2 percent of the population is classified as “non-Hispanic white“. Montgomery County’s non-Hispanic white population is much higher, clocking in at 70.3 percent.

Montgomery County is, however, trending the same way most of Texas is, as the non-Hispanic white population a year before represented 71.3 percent of the overall total. That’s a one percent difference in a little over a year.

It appears those numbers will continue trending in the same direction. At the time of the 2010 census, 58.5 percent of all kids ages 0-4 were of a non-Hispanic white origin. A little over a year later, in July, 2011, that number decreased to 55.9 percent in Montgomery County.

We’ve seen Texas and Houston changing a great deal over the past 30 years. Those changes are also coming, albeit more slowly, to the Houston suburbs. There is no doubt that our community will be diversifying more in the future.

At the end of the accompanying Texas tribune article on the changing Texas demographics, Rice University demographer Steve Murdock is quoted saying, ”The future of the United States, like the future of states like Texas, is tied to its minority populations. How well they do is increasingly how well America will do.”

That statement is also true for our community.

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The Long Goodbye to Riley Fuzzel

May 15, 2012 By 1 Comment

We’ve all heard about it for a long time. The Grand Parkway, projected to run right down Riley Fuzzel to the Hardy Toll Road, was going to be a reality one day. Well, that day is pretty  much upon us. Construction is projected to start on three sections of the Grand Parkway, including astride our beloved Riley Fuzzel, in another eight months or so. Traffic is supposed to be flowing (and tolls collected) by July, 2015.

The Grand Parkway is a 180-mile tollway encircling  Houston, providing additional access paths between suburban communities located off of the main I-10, I-45, and US-59 thoroughfares. The section along Riley Fuzzel is part of a section (G) linking US-59 to I-45 and beyond. It will ultimately result in South County residents having better access to Kingwood (and vice versa. it would also allow folks in Fox Run, Spring Trails and Bender’s Landing to take Riley Fuzzel essentially to I-45, and forgo the congestion along Rayford.

Kenny Speight, candidate for Precinct 3 County Commissioner, arranged for David Gornet, the executive director of the Grand Parkway Association, to update interested residents on the progress of Grand Parkway planning in a meeting Tuesday night at Kaufman Elementary.

The event was well attended, and residents asked a number of good questions (save for an outburst by a couple of bozos claiming some kind of grand conspiracy involving the Houston Ship Channel extending into Spring Creek). Here are the particulars:

  • Sections F1, F2, and G, representing 38 miles of the project and extending from Kingwood west to I-45, then west toward 249 near Tomball, and then south to I-10 near Katy, will all be built concurrently.
  • The final RFP for the project will be sent out this month; the project will be awarded to various companies in September; construction will begin in January; cars are rolling on it in July, 2015.
  • The project is expected to total $1.2B (that’s billion) in costs, including right of way acquisition, construction, and initial maintenance. TxDOT (the Texas Department of Transportation) has yet to submitted the request for bond approval to the Texas Legislative Budget Board, but that step is not expected to draw any opposition.
  • The Grand Parkway will be a toll road, but like all toll roads, feeder traffic will remain free of charge.
  • Noise walls will be installed between the toll road and the neighborhoods of Fox Run, Spring Trails, Lockeridge Farms, and Creekside Village. No noise wall will be constructed in front of Bender’s Landing for two stated reasons: the existing berm and vegetation along Riley Fuzzel create a natural noise barrier, and “cost-per-receiver” of the wall would exceed the maximum of $25,000, according to TxDOT projections. The thinking is that because the lots are bigger in Bender’s Landing, and there are fewer residents to complain about the noise, a wall doesn’t seem justified. [Editor's note: they haven't encountered the mobilized Bender's machine yet]
  •  There will be a minimum of two lanes both north and south, along the Grand Parkway feeder from the yet-to-be-constructed Townsen Blvd (near Creekside Village) through to the Hardy Toll Road. This will be expanded for turn lanes as necessary.
  • The large interchanges at I-45, I-10, US-59, and SH249 will be constructed first. Right of way acquisition along Riley Fuzzel is not expected to begin until the summer of 2013.
  • Between Creekside Village and the Hardy Toll Road there will only be two entrances to the Grand Parkway, and two exits from it (eastbound and westbound). There will be a Birnham Woods entrance and exit, and and another entrance and exit right before the Spring Creek bridge.
  • The only overpasses along what is now Riley Fuzzel will be at Rayford, Birnham Woods, and the future Townsen Blvd.
  • Some existing traffic patterns will definitely be disrupted. No longer will Bender’s Landing residents be able to turn left from the original Bender’s entrance on to Riley Fuzzel. They would have to turn right on the feeder road to Townsen, and then make a U-turn under the freeway. Spring Trails residents returning from Kroger may no longer be able to turn right from Rayford and left into Spring Trails. They would need to go down to Spring Creek and make a U-turn.
  • The data given for the effect on home values near the Grand Parkway was squishy. While there has been a ten-fold increase in tax revenue in the neighborhoods southwest of Houston after the Grand Parkway was built linking US-59 to I-10, that’s largely because the development of master-planned communities like New Territory and Cinco Ranch has boomed where there were once only rice fields. No data was provided detailing any increase or decrease in price per square foot of existing homes.

The favorite quote of the night, though, (outside of the whole Ship Channel debacle) was, “we anticipate minimal impact and disruption to mobility on Riley Fuzzel” during the construction of the Grand Parkway. Seriously?

Another certainty: the intersection of Birnham Woods and Riley Fuzzel, right now a four-way stop, is going to be huge and crowded and backed up. The combination of the Grand Parkway, a new CISD flex school, and additional Spring Trails and Bender’s residents will overwhelm the intersection sooner, rather than later. Pity those of us who cannot avoid it over the next few years.

Sadly, the name Riley Fuzzel will likely go the way of Jackrabbit Road (FM1960) before it. While the Grand Parkway Association will continue to refer to it as Riley Fuzzel, it is destined to simply become the Grand Parkway feeder road. And another part of Montgomery County history  will have faded away in the name of progress.

Additional information on the Grand Parkway can be found of the Grand Parkway Association website.

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Oak Ridge Golf Teams Search for Consistency

March 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Golf is really a frustrating game in that most of us can only manage a few great shots each round, and yet those shots keep us coming back to the golf course time after time, thinking that we can replicate them more often.

The boys and girls golf teams at Oak Ridge High School, have been striving to produce more of those great shots, and though they’ve not had the success this year they may have had in the past, they’re still putting up numbers much lower than the rest of us.

Both teams played this past weekend, the girls in Bryan and the boys in the Kingwood Spring Invitational. The girls team finished 11th our of fourteen schools competing in Bryan, and the boys were 11th (A Team) and 22nd (B Team) in their tournament.

These were the individual results:

Oak Ridge Boys A

Jimmy Anderson 75-79-154
Blaine Ray 77-78-155
Grant Godfrey 78-78-156
Tanner Doyel 85-82-167
Jameson Batchelor 85-90-175

Oak Ridge Boys B

Drake Barlow 85-87-172
Philip Woods 91-83-174
Kyle Cowden 86-89-175
Zach Schwarzer 89-89-178

Oak Ridge Girls

Danielle Word 102-109-211
Rachel Lamphier 116-104-220
Sally Munguia 116-108-224
MeKenzie Cooper 107-118-225
Abigale Nowak 118-107-225

 

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Last Week, In Case You Missed It: March 19, 2011

March 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It has been a week of contrasts, a week full of merriment and anticipation  and celebration cast against the shadow of worldwide drama and tragedy. We had the green beer and Guinness and the older lady at the office gleefully pinching folks. We had the onset of March Madness, where everyone, including our President, suddenly becomes a fan of college basketball, and carefully or carelessly fills out a bracket in anticipation of the coming weekend’s games. And this was the week when Rebecca Black became a YouTube sensation.

We also had the continuing tragedy unfolding in northern Japan, where nearly 500,000 people have been left homeless, another 20,000 folks are either missing or confirmed dead. And we have just begun the long-anticipated military action in Libya, to combat a dictatorial regime so consumed with maintaining power that they think nothing of slaughtering their own people to do so.

It’s OK to celebrate. To drink responsibly with your friends. To root on a team whose players you’d never heard of before. And to laugh out loud. But maybe we should just take a moment to be thankful that we don’t have to start our lives all over, wondering if the air we breathe or the food we eat is laced with microscopic radioactive material, wondering happened to our family and friends. And be thankful that we live in a country where, no matter how frustrated we might be with our government, we can rest assured that we won’t have to face the full force of our military if we dare to disagree with our leaders. Be thankful just for a moment, and then go back to your broken bracket.

Let’s take a look at what we covered this week in Oak Ridge Now:

With Japan’s nuclear fears broadcast round-the-clock, we gave you a handy reading list that points you to everything you might want to know about this tragedy, and it’s far-reaching implications. We also outlined the current worst-case scenario for the Fukushima Daiichi plant – it won’t have a direct effect on the U.S.

Closer to home, we kept track of what was going on this past week in the Texas Legislature. Budget cuts for public school funding dominated the news this week. Thousands of parents, educators, and students marched on the capitol to protest the pending cuts. And, of course, our elected leaders are pre-emptively trying to shift the blame for those cuts, with Governor Rick Perry saying, “The lieutenant governor, the speaker and their colleagues aren’t going to hire or fire one teacher, as best I can tell,” he said. “That is a local decision that will be made at the local districts.” Sure. After you cut billions from their funding. Don’t forget to reserve some money for the new social studies textbooks that downplay the historic role of that shifty Thomas Jefferson.

After graduating from public school, let’s hope our students are well-armed for college. In fact, let’s make then really well-armed, as legislators heard from both sides of a debate to allow students to carry licensed concealed handguns on Texas college campuses. I cannot wait for the first legislator to disavow any culpability after the first gun-related campus violence occurs.

We ran a Texas Tribune interview with the president of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards. The group is feeling pressure right now from both the Texas Legislature and the U.S. Congress. Finally, my favorite story involved a Houston man’s quest to draft Tommy Lee Jones, of Men In Black and No Country For Old Men, to run as a Democrat for U.S. Senator in 2012.

Even closer to home, our Oak Ridge High School Color Guard came in first place for the fourth performance in a row, and Linda McBride thought about what her friend Christie Mercer Sumstad, an ORHS grad who passed away last month, would have made of the event.

The latest of our In The Spotlight interviews brought you a look at Taylor Dye, an Oak Ridge High School football player who has learned to live with dyslexia.

Right now baseball, softball, soccer, golf and track teams are all involved in District 14-5A competition. The baseball team opened District play with a loss to College Park, but that was after excelling in a tournament in Austin, capping it with a big win over the host team. Meanwhile, the sophomore baseball team fared better.

The Lady Highlander softball team split a pair, taking an exciting extra-inning affair from Atascocita, and the getting walloped by a very good squad from The Woodlands. Finally, the ORHS girls soccer team accomplished something for the first time since entering the ranks of division 5A: they fought to a tie with The Woodlands.

In maybe our most well-written piece this week, Teresa Strasser looks at Charlie Sheen’s and Tiger Mom Amy Chua’s obsession with WINNING! “In a world filled with participation trophies and a cloying, bogus focus on “self-esteem” that isn’t earned, there’s something satiating about this warrior attitude. Winners take all, so do warlocks, so do little girls who play the crap out of the piano.” It’s a very good read. Duh.

In Lost in Suburbia, Tracy Beckerman recounts her dog’s flirtations with other dogs around the neighborhood. Will E Sanders talks about a friend who has yet to comprehend time zone differences. And in Unknown Soldiers we tell the story of Sergeant Rusty Dunagan, who lost both legs and an arm in an explosion.

Dave Ramsey attempts to answer the classic question, “How do you find a balance between home and work?” [note to self: read this one again]. And Margo Howard wades into the sticky issue of a 17 year old girl in love with her 29 year old co-worker at a pizza joint. Once again, thank you, Lord, for blessing me with only boys.

Bill O’Reilly speculated on the possibility of Charlie Sheen as a cable news star. “I’m tired of pretending like I’m not a total bitchin’ rock star from Mars. And people can’t figure me out; they can’t process me. I don’t expect them to. You can’t process me with a normal brain.” Face it, we’d all tune in to watch him interview presidential candidates.

Mark Shields looks at Newt Gingrich’s recent rationalization of his affairs and failed marriages. “His “patriotism made me do it” defense is as nervy as it is imaginative, although it might have been more believable if he had been caught cheating with Betsy Ross and/or the Daughters of the American Revolution.”

John Stossel argues that the high prices of illicit drugs are responsible for a crisis in the black community. Yes, you read that right. And Will Durst looks back on the union-busting activities in Wisconsin. “As is their way, the GOP might once again have overreached and awakened a sleeping giant. Today, we are all Cheeseheads. Or as JFK might have said, “Ich bin ein kaasekopf.”

Finally, in this St. Patty’s Day week, we present you with five recipes, three of which involve Bailey’s Irish Creme as an ingredient. All this and our daily editorial cartoons, this week in Oak Ridge Now.

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Last Week, In Case You Missed It: March 12, 2011

March 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We’ve done a number of In the Spotlight profiles of Oak Ridge High School students in Oak Ridge Now, and it amazes me how often we spotlight someone who really has their act together. When I was 17, the only things I thought about were girls, leaving home, girls, frisbee golf, and girls.

We as a society expect high school kids, only a few years removed from The Disney Channel and the children’s clothing section, to somehow decide what they want to do with the rest of their life, and where the best place would be to prepare for it. We expect them to have this nailed only a couple of years after they learned to drive. Sure, many of them don’t have a solid plan — my wife and I have five so far that fit into that category, and the sixth is careening precipitously down that same path.

And then we meet people like Laurin Engle, who knows she’s going to Baylor, knows she’s going to major in Sports Management, and knows she’ll have to put her soccer days behind her. She’s passionate and articulate and actually enjoys her calculus class. Unreal. I read every story in Oak Ridge Now, many of them at least twice, and these are the ones I enjoy the most.

In other stories, we told you about the continued success of the Oak Ridge Color Guard, who is racking up win after win in their various competitions, and is heading to a national competition next month. They are scheduled to perform at 9:52 pm tonight, as they host their own 78-unit competition.

Not to be outdone, Oak Ridge baseball and softball teams both had good weeks. The Lady War Eagle softball team topped College Park, went 4-1 in a weekend tournament, and then got by Conroe. The boys started out in an early season funk in the Wharton tournament, but then crushed traditional 5A TAPPS powerhouse Houston Christian 12-0. They then started off this weekend’s Pflugerville tournament with a win over Killeen Ellison. And the ORHS girls track and field teams also continued to make strong showings at area meets.

In other local happenings, I probably offended some folks by incorporating a Cymbalta reference and Neil Diamond‘s Brother Love’s Travelin’ Salvation Show into an article about Alana Lane Baptist Church’s upcoming Revival. But I assure you, my intentions were all good.

Across the State of Texas, we looked at legislation designed to further protect high school athletes from the effects of concussions. A bill was filed to outlaw texting and driving across the state. And our Tea Party friends want state legislators to know they’re keeping an eye on them. “The people that were elected, they understand there will be no new taxes or they won’t have a job next round.”

Our features this week included Teresa Strasser wondering why other babies are mellower than hers. “It means that baby just sits on your lap at baby music class while my kid rummages through random diaper bags, climbs on a bench, helps himself to anyone’s juice, pulls off his socks, gums the side of a tambourine and attempts to escape out the front door before the wheels on the bus have even gone round and round.”

Lost in Suburbia finds Tracy Beckerman trying to remain a cool mom. “I wanted to connect with my daughter and prove that even though I was from another generation, I was not from another planet, and I did actually know the difference between Eminem and M&M’s.”

Unknown Soldiers tells the story of a Marine killed only last month in Afghanistan. “We said ‘I love you’ 20 times before hanging up on that last phone call because I wouldn’t say goodbye,” his wife said, “I have a feeling that he knew.”

Will E Sanders bemoans receiving yet another wallet as a gift. “After all, it is not like the three dollars I have in there are working my wallet double time or causing it to bust at the seams.” He needs my wallet, made by Rawlings and still smells like a baseball glove. Dave Ramsey encourages a couple to forget about the down payment on a house – get out of debt first.

Dear Margo tackles a complicated adoption dilemma and a man whose wife insists her dogs sleep with them in bed. Margo says, “I suggest giving it a try, to show good faith, and if they do actually interfere with your sleep, perhaps your wife will return your good faith effort.” Are you kidding me? She also addresses a woman who thinks there might be some tomfoolery between her husband and her sister. Ewww.

We previewed St. Patrick’s Day with a recipe for Lucky You Mint Pie. It says that the green food coloring is optional. Really?

Peter Funt examined the escalating costs of attending spring training games in Arizona. Tina Dupuy looks at her fellow potential jurors, waiting to be selected for jury duty. “It was like their outfits were trying to increase their chances of being dismissed. “You’re looking for someone who is impartial and has common sense. As you can see from my corduroy cut offs and Megadeth t-shirt – clearly that’s not me.”

Will Durst has advice for some of the emerging Middle East freedom fighters: “Democracy for one means democracy for all. It’s a take-it-or-leave-it enterprise. All men are created equal. And women. None of this wife- walking-five-paces-behind her-husband-while-dressed-as-a-grieving-beekeeper stuff.”  Mark Shields says he cannot believe that Mike Huckabee actually thought President Obama grew up in Kenya.

Bill O’Reilly is a union member. His grandparents were, too. But that doesn’t mean he disagrees with the union-busting actions in Wisconsin. John Stossel thinks those “green jobs” President Obama and friends talk about aren’t there. They’re not going to be there. They’re a myth. An illusion. And the ones that are there will cost way too much to create.

All that this week, along with our daily editorial cartoons, this week in Oak Ridge Now.

 

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War Eagle Lawrence Named District 14-5A MVP

March 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge High School senior basketball player Terrell Lawrence was named the District 14-5A Most Valuable Player, beating out a host of very good players from The Woodlands, Kingwood, Atascocita and Lufkin for that honor. The War Eagles were well-represented on the All-District team, with junior Taw Mann earning Second Team All District Honors, and seniors Halen Butler, Chase Daniels, D’Marcus Fitch and Mark Forson, along with junior Michael Handy, each earning Honorable Mentions.

Butler, Forson and Handy led a group of Oak Ridge players who made the Academic All-District team, including senior Torrey Dickey, junior Brent Burress, and freshman Tanner Doyel.

Our congratulations go out to each of these guys for their individual honors, all made possible by their hard work and perseverance, and the time and effort put in by Coach Stewart and his staff.

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Last Week, In Case You Missed It: March 5, 2011

March 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I can only imagine what it would have been like to have been Barbara Finley last Tuesday night, walking out on to the ball field where you watched your son play countless games.

Barbara’s son, Shaun, was called home by God earlier than anyone could have expected last year. And there she was on the infield, on the night Shaun’s #24 jersey was to be retired in a ceremony before the Oak Ridge varsity game. Seeing the War Eagle players and coaches lining up to give her a hug, listening to Doug Sarant recount the moments that painted a picture of Shaun’s life. Probably overcome with a wild mix of emotions: the grief and happiness and solemn pride in knowing that all of these people, on the field and in and around the stands, were here to celebrate the life of her son, and vow to never forget one of Oak Ridge’s own.

I can only imagine how she must have felt. I do know, however, that I would be glad that my son was raised in a community such as ours, chock full of the people who are there for us in both the good times and the bad, and who understand that the individual triumphs and trials of the players and their families are so much more important than the score at the end of the game.

Ann Allison provided a touching recap of Shaun Finley Night, and we covered a good deal more in Oak Ridge Now this week.

The War Eagles lost to Klein Collins Tuesday night, but that was sandwiched between a Craig Biggio sighting at the War Eagle Invitational Tournament and this week’s Wharton Invitational Tournament, which they opened with a 15-2 pounding of Cy Springs.

We also told you about the Oak Ridge Color Guard, whose road got a little more difficult when their fine performance at Houston regionals moved them up a competition class at the upcoming Winter Guard Nationals. I am sure they are up for the challenge.

On the larger stage, we provided a handy dandy update on the relationship status we have with various countries in the Middle East. We republished a ProPublica investigation of morgues and coroners and medical examiners that have landed the wrong people in jail. If only there were more Horatio Caines and Gil Grissoms to go around, because they never seem to make these mistakes on CSI. And if you know anyone that works in a refinery, you might have them read our Center for Public Integrity story on the regulatory mess that has helped lead to an increasing number of worker injuries and deaths. Then again, they probably already know.

Here’s one that’s interesting maybe only to me: 22 percent of Americans believe that recently enacted health care reform has been repealed, and another 26 percent are unsure or unwilling to say. Read much?

Around the great State of Texas, no legislation has yet been signed into law, but our faithful legislators are plowing through their respective agendas. Smoking cessation programs are likely to be slashed by 80%, but the long-term costs associated with health care associated with a larger number of smokers in the state may cause that plan to backfire. Lawmakers are also discussing how to write laws that properly define bullying and some appropriate penalties. They would be wise to provide the funding though, to prevent it from occurring in the first place, like the Safe School Ambassadors program in place at York and Oak Ridge High School.

The Texas Department of Public Safety issued yet another warning aimed at students planning to go to Mexico on Spring Break: Don’t Go. Not “Don’t Be Stupid When You Go” or “Don’t Drink Too Much When You Go” or “Don’t Go Off With Locals Like Natalee Holloway Apparently Did”, just “Don’t Go”, period. We’ll see if anyone heeds the warning.

Texas school districts, faced with looming budget cuts, are now able to consider applying for federal Race to the Top funding. Of course, there’s a catch. There’s always a catch. School districts that accept the funding must implement federally-mandated curriculum standards. They may eventually have to give students national assessment tests in addition to TAKS-like state tests. Is it worth the money? The answer, as always is probably, “It depends.”

In our weekly features, Dave Ramsey says, “There’s no higher calling on the planet than motherhood. We’ve lost that in our culture, and we’re suffering dearly for it.”  Unknown Soldiers features Major General David Blackledge, who swallowed his pride and asked for help for his post-traumatic stress disorder after suffering injuries in two separate attacks in Iraq.

In the best-feature-that-nobody-reads department, Tracy Beckerman recounts her ski encounter with a tree. “I had actually not skied for a while, and over the course of the month, had somehow come under the delusion that I had improved over the break.  I had gone through something similar years ago when I’d had kids and had convinced myself that childbirth would be much less painful the second time around.  Faster?  Yes.  Les painful?  Not so much.”

Will E Sanders won a ham at a raffle, and really doesn’t know what to do with it. “This happens to me every time I win meat, which is surprisingly often believe it or not (it’s the second raffle ham that I’ve won this year). I never have a place to keep large chunks of meat. I almost wish hams were redeemable for cash, but mostly because it would give “bringing home the bacon” an all new meaning.”

Margo Howard addresses a sister who poured Riesling in the soup at her teetotaling parents’ house, and a grandmother who regularly steals money from her children and grandchildren. Really. Ingrid Hoffmann, the lovely host of Simply Delicioso on the Cooking Channel, has some spring dessert tips, including recipes for Tropical Dessert Bars, Chocolate Flan Cake, Passion Fruit Cheesecake and Caribbean Pineapple-Lime Ice Cream. Save some for me.

I think our opinions section was strong this week: Bill O’Reilly led off with his view on the legislative fight in Wisconsin pitting public sector unions against the State. Chuck Norris has similar concerns: “The fact is that teachers union-sponsored protests spreading the land are not primarily about the teachers or the students. They are about the unions and feds maintaining their Mafia-style rule over education and our kids and preventing people from choosing educational alternatives.”

Peter Funt suggests that Congress should use care when trimming the budget of the U.S. Postal Service: “Like the cop on the corner, whose job I’d also argue is worth preserving, the mail carrier is for many Americans an anchor in a stormy world.” Michael Reagan weighed in on the duplication of programs funded by Congress. “Uncle Sam hosts 47 job-training programs, 44 of which do the same things. The federal government also runs 80 programs for what it calls the “transportation disadvantaged.” Count ‘em: 80 — paid for by your tax dollars.”

The Academy Award for Best Picture won by “The King’s Speech” led John Stossel to recount his personal issues with stuttering. I was just as surprised as you. Our own Doug Sarant looked back at second grade, the girl he sat next to in class, and dealing with his ADD. Finally the Supreme Court ruled this week that the disgusting protests conducted by the Westboro Baptist Church at military funerals are protected by the First Amendment. As much as it hurts us to say, they probably made the right decision.

Nonetheless, those loathsome folks from Westboro highlighted our editorial cartoons this week, along with Libya, Sarah Palin, our deficit reduction time bomb, and everyone’s favorite subject of the moment, Charlie Sheen. All that this week in Oak Ridge Now. Read it. Like it. Tell your friends about it.

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In Other News: ORHS Sports Carnival Edition

February 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We posted a lot of articles this past week in Oak Ridge Now, but there were a lot more out there to tell. Here is a recap of the things we missed, but thankfully other publications did not:

This past Friday night saw three Oak Ridge High school teams in action simultaneously on their home fields. The baseball team was facing Channelview in its War Eagle Classic tournament, the softball was hosting Tomball, and the boys soccer team went up against College Park. Our soccer players were overmatched by the Cavaliers 5-0, and both the baseball and softball teams ended up dropping their games 5-4. The baseball team won their first game of the tournament, beating Deer Park 18-7, before dropping the next three games including a 9-6 loss to New Caney and a 13-11 loss Saturday to St. Thomas.

In other War Eagle sports news, The Villager had a nice article about this week’s basketball playoff loss to Klein Forest.  We have it here with more pictures. The Villager also covered two Oak Ridge wrestlers, Roshelle Zapiain and Rachel Bates, who both lost in the UIL State Wrestling tournament on Friday.

Two Oak Ridge High School swim team members set school records. Laura Ramirez set a new school record in the 100-meter butterfly in the recent Region 4 meet with a time of 57.45, beating the old record of 59.63, set in 2009. Lindsay Manning set a school record in the 500-meter freestyle of 4:53.18, beating the previous record of 4:59.42, set in 2002. The good news? B0th of the girls are only sophomores, and they’ll be competing for Oak Ridge for two more years.

Also, last Saturday at the Oak Ridge Invitational track meet, the varsity girls team took 5th place overall out of 13 teams. The JV girls track team won their meet at Northshore, with the boys JV team placing second.

Approximately 30 children received free dental services thanks to Dr. Todd Brady and Dr. Julie Martinez, who volunteered their time and talents during the Interfaith Community Clinic’s Annual Doctors with a Heart Day Feb. 16.

Finally, the Montgomery County Health department had a very busy week, inspecting restaurants and keeping the rest of us safe. Area estaurants and other facilities that passed their inspections with flying colors included: Sunrise Grill, Crescent Moon Wine Bar, Woodlands Bowl, Pit Masters BBQ, My Fit Foods, Pappas BBQ, Catering Delights, and an old favorite of mine, Greek Tony’s.

Not everyone received a gold star, however. Red Robin received three demerits for an unapproved sewage/wastewater disposal system (does anyone besides me wonder what this was?) and Rico’s Grill on Sawdust rolled up a whopping 16 demerits (4 demerits for improper labeling, 3 demerits for inadequate handwashing area, 3 demerits for unapproved sewage/wastewater system, 3 demerits for thermometer not provided and 3 demerits for improper food contact surfaces). Think twice, my friends. Think twice.

That wraps up this week’s news that wasn’t covered previously in Oak Ridge Now. Think twice, my friends. Think twice.

 

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Last Week, In Case You Missed It: February 26, 2011

February 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

How is it that someone has ruled a country for 42 years and there is still no consensus on exactly how to spell Moammar Gaddafi’s name? Qadhafi? Khadafi? Gadhafi? Khadafy? Qaddafi? Khaddafi? Muammar or Moammar? According to Wikipedia, my source for pretty much everything, the U.S. Department of State uses “Mu’ammar Al-Qadhafi“, although the White House chooses to use “Muammar el-Qaddafi”. The New York Times uses Muammar el-Qaddafi. The Associated Press, CNN, and Fox News use “Moammar Gadhafi”. Well, at least there is something they can agree upon.

We actually didn’t have a whole lot on the self-proclaimed “King of Kings” this week, but we did have a lot of other stuff this week in Oak Ridge Now:

This week we spotlighted Oak Ridge High School cheerleader Serena Bufton-VonArb, who has friends throughout South Montgomery County. “No matter what side of the freeway we are from, we share the same talent and have the same passion for cheerleading. I know these girls will be lifelong friends to me.”

The War Eagle basketball team ended their season with a loss to Klein Forest in the playoffs. Coach Stewart said, “I am very proud of how we continued to play and fight through all of our adversity this season. I have said before that this is the most resilient group of young men that we have had.” The ORHS girls soccer team has also fought through disappointment of late. Coach Collins says, “e still have about one minute out of 80 of head scratching plays that cost us goals and games.”

Baseball season is here, and Doug Sarant promises to document the highs and lows with his Politically Correct Yet Honest ORHS Baseball Blog. [Some of my conversation with Doug yesterday: "You can't say 'jagoff". "How about dickhead?' "Okay"]

The Oak Ridge High School Color Guard grabbed first place at the Winter Guard Nationals, and they will be heading to beautiful Dayton in April to perform there. Congratulation to them, and good luck in Ohio. ORHS Interact put on a Birthday Party for Dr. Seuss, and the ORHS PTO held its annual Texas Hold ‘Em poker party to raise funds for Operation Graduation. For those of you who don’t know, Operation Graduation is a drug and alcohol-free party held on ORHS graduation night, designed to keep our graduates from becoming grim statistics.

Our weekly recap of local news started us off on Sunday looking back at the appearance of the DEA in Bender’s Landing. With our Texas legislative session in full swing, we had a number of stories coming out of Austin.

The chances are increasing that legislators, loathe to raise taxes, could look at expanded gambling as a source of additional revenue. After all, how much Texas money goes into those nasty casinos in Louisiana? We can do it bigger and better, and reap all the rewards. Polling shows that the vast majority Texans favor this idea, so let’s stop worrying about voter ID and get on with something that actually benefits our daily lives. In no time we can see Night Ranger and Jeff Foxworthy playing the Beau Rivage Galveston.

In other state budget news, Texans want lawmakers to cut the budget, but we don’t agree on the specifics. “We really want to slash the budget, but not anything in it,” says pollster Daron Shaw, a professor of government at UT.  We also looked at the touchy subject of whether or not schools spend too much money on administrative personnel. the venerable Dan Patrick says, “As the old saying goes,” he said, “when I start seeing districts’ firing assistant football coaches, then I’ll really know that they’ll have a lean budget.”

We ran an article about how proposed cuts in mental health funding would move the burden of treating the mentally to local Texas jails. Already, the Harris County Jail, a facility the size of two football fields, houses 10,000 inmates, 2,400 of which are taking psychotropic medications.

One proposed way to reduce the state’s health care costs would be to create programs to distribute sterile syringes to injecting drug users. How would that save money? The average lifetime cost of treating a person with HIV/AIDS is currently estimated to be $380,000. Lifetime costs of treatment for hepatitis C can exceed $300,000. Texas has the fourth-highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the nation, with an estimated 63,000 Texans currently living with HIV, and at least 300,000 with hepatitis C.

Texas has joined other states in asking to operate the mandated Medicaid program as they see fit. That’s not likely to happen. Finally, a half-dozen men who spent decades behind bars, convicted of crimes they did not commit, pleaded with lawmakers to improve the reliability of eyewitness identifications used in court. All of them were sent to prison based largely on the testimony of witnesses who incorrectly fingered them in photographs and lineups.

Remember the foreclosure prevention program of a couple of years ago? it was going to save millions of homeowners from the brink of foreclosure. That didn’t work. Why? The loan industry that helped bring on the problem is largely in charge of trying to fix it. Dafna Linzer, a Canadian living in the U.S. for 12 years, details the questionable correct answers on the U.S. citizenship test she recently passed.

If you haven’t discovered our Lost in Suburbia feature yet, give it a read, as it is guaranteed to draw a laugh or two every time. This week Tracy Beckerman recounts the horror a awaking one morning with a zit in the middle of your forehead. “Greetings,” said my daughter, giving me the Vulcan hand wave.  “Do you come in peace?”

Teresa Strasser can now root for Natalie Portman to win an Oscar, because Princess Amidala is soon to join the ranks of motherhood. “Motherhood is such an equalizer that even the Black Swan will likely get cankles, varicose veins, bleeding gums, gas, leg cramps and insomnia. No way can she assign the hemorrhoids or any of the rest of it to a personal assistant or publicist. That baby will have to come out of her one way or the other.”

My wife was not at all impressed with the Usual Eccentric’s woeful tale of walking around all day with his zipper down. “At some point, you must have noticed, and yet you spoke not a word. You probably just giggled like a schoolgirl after I walked away with a “get-a-load-of-this-guy-over-here” look on your face. Yeah, that’s real mature, butthead!”

Unknown Soldiers told the story of a mom who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to equal a feat that her son, killed later in Afghanistan, once accomplished. “Come hell or high water, I was going to do it myself,”

Dave Ramsey answered a query about a son putting away money for a dad who cannot seem to manage his own, and Dear Margo featured a man who is worried that his best friend and his girlfriend are seeing the same therapist, and a woman who just wants to see her grandchildren. Not just the ones her kids want her to see.

In our opinions section, we wished everyone a Happy President’s Day. No matter how we feel about the Executive Branch, the governments in the Middle East should cause us all to pause for a moment. “There is not another country that is in existence now or has ever been that can point to such a long line of greatly admired leaders such as Washington, Lincoln or even Truman who were elected into office and never tried to stay longer than their official term.”

Bill O’Reilly examined a politically incorrect gaffe by Michael Bloomberg, and Mark Shields profiled Mitt Romney as a guy who can’t seem to take a firm stand on a position: “Mitt Romney is smart, handsome, accomplished, rich, personable and articulate. That’s what he is. What we don’t yet know is who he is.” John Stossel wonders why we a legally prevented from betting on the Academy Awards. Chuck Norris sees teachers’ unions and the federal government as a detriment to our children’s education, explaining that we have gone from spending $4,300 per student in 1971 to more than $9,000 today (adjusted for inflation), and there’s not a lot to show for it. Finally, Will Durst looks at the 112th Congress, and wonders if they’ll ever reach a budget agreement. “President Obama released HIS budget plan, which calls for tens of billions of dollars of program cuts mixed with tax increases. The Republicans countered with THEIR plan specifying nine figures of cuts only, and Ron Paul, well, he just wants to invade China, give them a proper thrashing and take all our money back.”

It was indeed a busy week. All that, along with our editorial cartoons, in one week of Oak Ridge Now. Read us. Like us. Share our articles on Facebook.

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You’re Invited to the Birthday Party for Dr. Seuss

February 23, 2011 By 1 Comment

The Oak Ridge High School Choir will be hosting a “Birthday Party for Dr. Seuss” and book sale on Saturday, February 26th at 9:00 am in the ORHS teacher’s parking lot. The event serves as a fundraiser for the ORHS Choir Scholarship Fund.

Some of Dr. Seuss’ friends are expected to attend. The ORHS Choir encourages everyone to bring the kids, meet Dr, Seuss characters such as the Cat in the Hat, and buy a few books. The fundraiser is being held in advance of celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday next week, and the associated “Read Across America” campaign, sponsored by Random House and the National Eduction Association (NEA).

The NEA is striving to build a nation of readers through its signature Read Across America program. Now in its thirteenth year, this year-round program focuses on motivating children and teens to read through events, partnerships, and reading resources.

Read Across America Day takes place each year on or near March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss. Across the country, thousands of schools, libraries, and community centers participate by bringing together kids, teens, and books.

As Dr. Seuss would say,”You’re never too old, too wacky or too wild to pick up a book and read to a child”.

Books have been generously donated by Once and Again Books, and character costumes are courtesy of Costumes Today.

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