HOWE, Texas – The Howe Police Department is seeking the public’s help with information regarding a fatal motorcycle crash that occurred on southbound U.S. Highway 75 near Exit 52 (West Farmington Road) in Howe on Saturday, March 9.
Benny Watkins, 76, of Farmersville, was riding his black 2004 three-wheeled Harley Davidson motorcycle on U.S. Highway 75 at around 7:30 p.m. in southern Howe when he struck a mattress laying in the roadway. Watkins, a Vietnam veteran, was transported via helicopter to a Dallas area hospital with severe head trauma. He succumbed to his injuries on March 14.
According to witnesses, a mattress fell from the back of a pickup which continued south on the highway.
Anyone with information regarding the identity of the pickup truck driver or who may have witnessed the crash is encouraged to contact Sergeant Keith Milks at 903-532-9971 or via email at kmilks@cityofhowe.org.
Instructions came down from Magni-Power of Wooster, Ohio that the Howe, Texas location, Magni-Fab Southwest, would be closing its doors at the end of April. Most of the afternoon consisted of meetings with employees informing them that their jobs would be going away with the plant at that time. The metal fabrication plant has been in Howe since 1971 when originally beginning with 25 full-time employees. The original facility is located at the former Grayson County Coliseum on the northwest corner of US 75 and FM 902. As the company grew at the turn of the century housing nearly 200 full-time employees, the company purchased the former Old America Stores warehouse. Currently, the plant houses 28 full-time employees and another 41 temporary positions.
In a press release from Jeffrey D. Musselman, Secretary of Magni-Fab Southwest Company, it stated:
“It is with deep regret that we must announce that Magni-Fab Southwest Company will be closing its operations on April 30, 2019. The company has experienced financial difficulty for several years, making it impossible to justify keeping operations running. We had hoped to weather this storm, but after efforts to secure additional business and attempts to sell the business proved unsuccessful, the difficult decision to permanently close the company was made.
We realize that without the hard work and support of our employees and their families, and the community as a whole, the company could have never continued for as long as it did. It has been a wonderful 47 years in business, and we sincerely thank everyone who made it happen. We wish all the very best in the future.”
Howe Mayor Jeff Stanley made the following written statement to the Howe Enterprise:
“Our prayers go out to those that will be affected by the closing of Magni-Fab, from the employees, families, school kids that have had projects paid for or provided for, and all through the community of Howe, this will affect us all in some way. We, as a community are with you. “
Magni-Fab Southwest Company officially began the metal fabrication process in Howe in July of 1971.
According to Howe Head Basketball Coach Eric Johns, Howe senior Elijah Campbell and his sophomore brother Noah Campbell have been named to the All-Texomaland Team. Earlier this week, they were each named on the 10-3A All-District Team as Elijah was named firstteam and Noah garnered second-team honors.
On February 15 at 12:55 a.m., Officer Brandon Ozuna arrested
a 40-year-old Howe woman for Assault Causing Bodily Injury (Family Violence)
after responding to a reported disturbance at a residence in the 700 block of
S. Denny Street.
On February 15 at 8:25 p.m., Sgt. Keith Milks and Officer
John Grant arrested a 45-year-old Seagoville woman DWI after stopping her on
U.S. Hwy 75 for a traffic violation
On February 16 at 2:03 a.m., Sgt. Keith Milks arrested a
22-year-old Burleson woman for Criminal Mischief > $100 < $750 after
responding a report of a disturbance at a residence in the 1100 block of S.
Collins Freeway. When Sgt. Keith Milks arrived, he found the 22-year-old
intoxicated and witnessed her kicking a door inside the residence, causing
damage.
On February 23 at 6:45 p.m., Officer Brandon Ozuna arrested a 61-year-old Denison man for Driving While Intoxicated after stopping him on U.S. Hwy 75 for a traffic violation. On February 25 at 1:11 a.m., Officer Brandon Ozuna arrested a 27-year-old man and 26-Year-old woman, both of Howe, for Assault Causing Bodily Injury, Family Violence at a residence in the 400 block of S. Denny Street.
Howe’s Elijah Campbell was the lone member of the Bulldogs to be named to the 10-3A All-District First Team. The senior captain led Howe through a tough stretch in district play. He averaged 12 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, 6.4 assists per game, and 2 steals per game.
Campbell’s younger sophomore brother Noah Campbell was named as a unanimous 2nd-Team All-District member while teammates Devin Porter and Caiden Harmon were given honorable mention.
The Bulldogs also landed several members on the All-Academic Team which were Elijah Campbell, Logan Elvington, Layton Elvington, Ayden Norton, Jarron Ing, Noah Campbell, Cameron Lankford, and Steven Waldrip.
Howe Bulldog Senior Elijah Campbell named First-Team All-District
All District Selection Boys Basketball 2017-2018
District 10 Region 2
District MVP Josh Ukpe – Sr. – Bonham
Offensive MVP Samuel Tormos – Jr.- Van Alstyne (Unanimous)
Defensive MVP Seth Lewis – Sr. – Leonard
Sixth Man Award Tanner Reaves – Soph. – Bonham
Newcomer of the Year JJ Boling – Fr. – Van Alstyne
Coaching Staff of the Year Van Alstyne
1st Team All-District
Tyler Sperry – Sr – Van Alstyne – Unanimous
Jordan Meixelsperger – Sr – Whitewright – Unanimous
Seth Jackson – Sr – Whitewright – Unanimous
Jonathan Garza – Fr – Blue Ridge
Tyler Rodriguez – Sr – Bonham
Noah Shellman – Sr – Bonham
Elijah Campbell – Sr – Howe
Jaylen Duncan – Jr – Leonard
DJ Brown – Fresh. – Leonard
2nd Team All-District
Cam Montgomery – Van Alstyne – Unanimous
Utah Porath – Blue Ridge
Brandon Dona – Bonham
Dylan Cordell – Whitewright
Aaron Pitt – Whitewright
Wrangler Priest – Bells
Cire Luster – Bells
Cam Reed – Bonham
Noah Campbell – Howe – Unanimous
Jackson Anderson – Leonard
Jayson Beckett – Van Alstyne
Honorable Mention
Bells: Tyler Hawthorne, Keaton High, Bryan Ponder
Blue Ridge: Caden Phillips, Ross Feagins, Kaden Walker
HOWE, Texas – A Saturday morning traffic stop in Howe landed a 30-year-old McKinney man in the Grayson County Jail on a variety of narcotics charges. Howe Police Officer Mark Kilbourn stopped a driver for committing multiple traffic violations and a probable cause search of the man’s vehicle led to the discovery of a half-ounce of methamphetamine packaged for sale in individual baggies, Xanax, pain medications, multiple pieces of drug paraphernalia, and a scale and baggies. Several bottles containing an unknown liquid will be analyzed to determine the nature of the contents. Richard Fife was arrested and booked into the Grayson County Jail for manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, a dangerous drug, and Xanax.
The Howe Lady Bulldogs (23-10) finish the season as only the
second girls basketball team in school history to become area champions. Howe,
who had an 11-point lead in the early parts of the fourth period could not
stave off the elevated temperature of a desperate Mineola (27-8) team in the
final minutes of the game. Howe’s lead collapsed with 30-seconds remaining in
the game when The Lady Jackets’ All-State guard Sabria Dean made a ball-fake
move that would have made LeBron James blush and hit a 9-footer from the middle
of the lane to give her team the lead, 36-35 which seconds later became the
final score.
Mineola’s All-State guard Sabria Dean (3) was kept in check by Howe’s Jenna Honore, who has been mentioned as one of the best defenders in 3A. Michelle Carney/Howe Enterprise.
After Dean’s would-be game-winning shot, Howe still had a
chance with 21.94 seconds remaining as Lands called a full timeout to gather a
plan to score. With the ball in Jenna Honore’s hands on the right wing
dribbling to the right corner with pressure from Jessiah Riley, the ball went
off of Honore and out of bounds. This led to three quick desperation fouls to
send Mineola to the line. During the second foul, Honore, the district
defensive MVP, seemed to be in position to draw the charge on Dean, but a
blocking call was made instead which virtually eliminated a serious threat for
a last-second comeback. Dean missed her free throw which was rebounded by
Honore who found the District 10-3A MVP Ally Harvey at halfcourt for a
last-second heave from her hip that missed going in by a foot to the right.
Soon afterward, an eruption from the crowd in orange and their head coach Troy
Riley who ran to the Lady Jacket crowd and underarm flexed his muscles which
sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Bulldog junior Jenna Honore after a controversial foul call that didn’t go Howe’s way in the final ticks of Tuesday night’s regional quarterfinal playoff game in Princeton. Michelle Carney/Howe Enterprise.
This year’s version of longtime Head Coach Derek Lands’ team
was built heavily around defense with five starters with exceptional abilities
to lock-down their opponent. The individual matchup of Honore versus Dean
proved to be the girls 3A basketball version of Ali-Frazier. Neither player
left the floor for the entire game and as expected, the game came down to that
matchup in the most meaningful final moments. Dean made the great ball-fake
move to get Honore off balance for the go-ahead score and Honore answered back
with an outstanding defensive drawn charge. The only problem for Howe was – the
charge wasn’t called.
Howe started the game strong with Molly Wilson scoring the
game’s first points. The Lady Bulldogs did a nice job early of breaking the
quick Mineola press, meanwhile, Honore held Dean scoreless in the first as Howe
led 9-6 after the first eight minutes of the game. Mineola had to rely on a
3-pointer by Meghan Brewington for half of the Lady Jackets first points.
As the second period began, Howe’s usually sharp-shooting
long ball specialist Cassidy Anderson, named the district’s offensive MVP,
started cold by missing on her first five 3-point attempts in the half. As Howe
went cold, Dean began to heat up after starting 0-for-7 from the field scoring
six of the Lady Jackets’ eight second period points.
Midway through the second with Howe clinging to a 5-point
lead, 11-5, Anderson was subbed for sophomore Sierra Copeland and Wilson for
sophomore Katie Grogan. Seconds later Dean hit her first two buckets of the
game in back-to-back fashion to cut the Howe lead to 11-10. With three minutes
remaining before the half, Honore fouled Dean on a 3-pointer which she made
2-of-3 foul shots to give the Lady Jackets a 14-13 lead which became the
halftime score.
The Lady Bulldogs came out of the break with an outstanding
third period scoring 20 points while allowing Mineola nine points. Howe’s
offensive firepower came from a resurgence of Anderson and her 3-pointer as her
first one tied the game at 16. Moments later, she drained her second 3-bomb
from the same spot in the right corner to give Howe a 19-16 lead. After a foul
shot by Mineola, Anderson again drained a 3-pointer to up Howe’s lead to 22-17.
Molly Wilson on momentum-turning 3-pointer in the third. Michelle Carney/Howe Enterprise.
Howe’s lead was cut to 22-21 with 4:33 remaining in the
third, and the hot-shooting Anderson had to exit the game due to picking up her
fourth foul. But the right corner 3-point hot spot for Anderson remained that
way when Wilson drained a bomb from there to give Howe a 29-23 lead which
forced a timeout by Mineola and a bench jumping, stands fist-pumping moment for
Howe with 3:04 left in the third. The Lady Bulldogs led by 10 at the end of the
third and had clear momentum headed to the final frame as Honore held the
all-state Mineola guard to only seven points through the first three quarters.
Anderson checked back in the game with four fouls as Honore extended Howe’s lead on a foul shot to 11 at 34-23 with 6:52 left in the game. The 11-point lead held until 5:27 left when Dean hit a runner to start the comeback. Mineola called a timeout and at that very moment, they became the dangerous desperate team that every coach fears. Coming out of the timeout, their defensive press was stepped up along with the intensity. Howe senior point guard Calley Vick was called for an unusual travel call and Wilson was called for the non-often called carry which was a questionable call. At that moment with 4:43 remaining, the game changed. Mineola’s Tahjae Black rebounded a Dean errant 3-pointer and put it back up to cut the Howe lead to seven. She was fouled on the put-back and her successful free throw made it 34-28.
The third of Cassidy Anderson’s three 3-point daggers in the third period. Michelle Carney/Howe Enterprise.
Seconds later, Vick had the ball stolen and an easy layup
made it a 4-point game. Vick then attempted a 3-pointer which was no good and
rebounded by Mineola who made a long pass down the court for the easy layup by
Black to make it a 2-point game with 3:53 left. Mineola had captured clear
momentum in less than two minutes. A Howe timeout brought out the first
bodybuilder flex from Mineola’s head coach Riley.
For the next few minutes, the temperature rose on both sides and Mineola’s Riley was called for a technical foul after getting called for a travel. Vick made the first foul shot, but the second shot rimmed in and out to leave Howe with a 35-32 lead. The score remained the same until 2:20 left in the game when Dean’s layup rolled over the front of the rim to cut the game to 35-34.
With 1:52 remaining in the game, Wilson threw the inbound
pass to Vick which slipped through her hands resulting in Dean taking it up the
court for Mineola. Several missed shots resulted in a loose ball with Harvey
trying to tie it up, but was called for a foul which gave the ball back to
Mineola.
With less than a minute left, it was Dean who was able to
complete the ball-fake and go ahead shot to eventually win it.
Howe was led in points by Harvey with 12, followed by
Anderson’s nine. Other scorers were Honore (6), Wilson (5), and Vick (3).
Harvey also pulled down an incredible 17 rebounds to lead
Howe.
The Lady Bulldogs will lose two seniors in Calley Vick and Gianna Henry. Four starters will return as well as first team all-district members Sierra Copeland.
Calley Vick on the runner in the lane during her final high school basketball game. Michelle Carney/Howe Enterprise.
