Category: Howe News Bulletin

Only three seasons have passed since Howe Head Coach Zack Hudson broke through the doors and revamped the Bulldogs football program.   Since this video, two more championship team photos have been added to the wall and three more gold footballs have been added to the trophy case.  This video was taken during Coach Hudson’s first two-a-days session in Howe in 2013.

KTEN is reporting that the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that a helicopter has crashed in the 200 block of Bennett Road in Howe.  Two unidentified people were aboard the helicopter where one is dead and the other’s condition is unknown.

Multiple crews are responding and the FAA has taken over the investigation.  No more information is available at this time.

**UPDATE**

KXII reported that one was rushed to Wilson N. Jones hospital and another was listed in critical condition.  KTEN reported earlier that one had died.  The Herald Democrat reported conflicting reports whether there was a fatality or not. Two occupants of the helicopter were transported to the hospital, one in critical condition. The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to conduct an investigation beginning tomorrow morning.

The Herald Democrat reported late Tuesday night that Matt Cavender was involved in the accident and was injured.  A Lewisville man was seriously injured and both were taken to Wilson N. Jones hospital.

 

The Howe Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting the 3rd Annual Back to School Blues Downtown Block Party.  This year, the feature artist is Jason Elmore and Hoodoo Witch.  All downtown business will be open and the downtown area will have vendors service ice cream and shaved ice.  Bounce houses will also be available for the kids.

The 5pm – 9pm event is sponsored by Tomlin Investments, Fierce Motions in Dance, Sheryl Bentley REALTOR, and the Howe Enterprise.

Jason Elmore, formerly of Howe, and his band, Hoodoo Witch”, is a high-energy trio that blends jump blues, hard-hitting rock, vintage soul/r&b, and traces of 60’s country into a unique-but-familiar sound that always maintains the essence of the blues while simultaneously offering a fresh take on the genre.   The band is comprised of Jason Elmore on guitar and vocals, Brandon Katona on bass, and Mike Talbot on drums. These cats are uncommonly seamless in their ability to tailor their performance to suit the venue and demographic, without compromising the integrity of their mission, which is to give 110% with every single performance, regardless of whether it’s 2 people or 2,000.

Having grown up with an obsession for all genres of American roots music, Jason Elmore is remarkable in his ability to appeal to fans of all genres of music with his virtuoso-level guitar playing, soulful and powerful old-school vocals, and keen sense of songwriting.  It is common to see an artist excel at one of those three things, but Elmore is uncanny in his ability to express himself with an original and unique voice as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter.   All one needs to do is watch him play live one time in order to have a good understanding of how all of these different genres of music have a common thread when it comes to eliciting an emotional response from the listener and taking them to that special place where only the music exists and the troubles of the world are temporarily put on hold.

The band is currently set to release their third full album, titled ‘Champagne Velvet’ in September 2016 on the Underworld Records label.  The album is a slight change of direction from the band’s 2010 album “Upside Your Head” and 2013’s “Tell You What”, both of which featured a heavy emphasis on Texas rock and blues.  ‘Champagne Velvet’ sees the band exploring their soul, blues, and country roots more in-depth than before with a sense of excitement and fire that is uncommon in the contemporary blues scene.  It is a throwback to 1950’s jump blues, rockabilly, and Memphis soul.  The guitar tones are cleaner, the bass and drums interplay with more dynamics and the grooves jump like a kangaroo on a hot sidewalk.  All 13 original songs flow with an abundance of melody, harmony, and clever lyrics.  At the same time, there is  just enough variety to quench the thirst of fans of the more rock-oriented material of past albums.  ‘Champagne Velvet’ is like a road trip from Dallas to Memphis, TN with a quick stop by the West Coast on the way.   It perfectly captures the essence of the band doing what they do best, which is bringing unrestrained boogie to the party.   So get ready to groove with Jason Elmore & Hoodoo Witch.

On Friday, July 22, 2016, Michael Garnet McGraw, 53, of Sherman pled guilty to one count of Injury To A Child and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.  McGraw was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for a separate charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance – Methamphetamine.  The sentences will be served concurrently.

The Injury to a Child charge stems from a 2013 report of a 13 year old girl to authorities in Omaha, Nebraska, that she had been sexually assaulted on several occasions by McGraw during the time the girl lived in Grayson County, several years before.   The girl, whose family lived in Denison during the years 2005 and 2006, reported the incident to Nebraska law enforcement, who in turn contacted the Sherman police department.  The girl reported that she was a friend of McGraw’s daughter and that the incidents took place when she would spend the night at McGraw’s home.

McGraw was originally charged with 5 counts of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child in April of 2015, but reached a plea agreement with the Grayson County District Attorney’s Office the week before he was to stand trial for the charges.

“We consulted at length with the family of the girl who was the victim in this case, and they felt strongly that this was a good outcome of the case,” said Grayson County District Attorney Joe Brown. “Mr. McGraw will be in prison for at least 10 years, and potentially more.    We avoid the uncertainty of a trial and appellate issues, and the young lady does not have to go through the difficulty of a trial and re-living this experience.  Anytime you reach a plea agreement, both sides have to give something up in order to make it work, but this is a significant prison sentence.”

The Injury to a Child charge to which McGraw pled guilty was a first degree felony, punishable by up to 99 years or life in prison and a $10,000 fine.   McGraw will be eligible for parole after 10 years in prison.

The charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance – Methamphetamine, arose from an incident in October of 2012 when McGraw was stopped by a Grayson County Sheriff’s Deputy for a traffic violation and found to be in possession of 2 grams of Methamphetamine.

Assistant District Attorney Matt Johnson prosecuted the case.   McGraw was represented by Sherman attorneys Keith Brown and Pamela McGraw.

Persons who had reserved seating last year at Bulldog Stadium for Howe Bulldog varsity football games, have until August 4, 2016 to renew their seats.  On August 8, 2016, reserved seating will be open to the public for purchase.  Reserved seating of $25 per seat assures you a designated seat for all five home Howe Bulldog varsity games.  Game admission tickets are $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for students and must be purchased at the gate.  Reserved seats may be purchased at the Howe High School office.

WASHINGTON – Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) grilled U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch at a House Judiciary Committee Hearing today on her decision not to press criminal charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton following the FBI’s investigation on her use of an unsecured personal email system. Despite the FBI’s findings of “extreme carelessness” by Clinton in mishandling our country’s most sensitive matters of national security, when pressed by Ratcliffe, Lynch refused to rule out serving in a potential Clinton Administration.

In response, Ratcliffe said:

“That shadow which you cast on the Department of Justice just got a whole lot bigger. Because if you’re not willing to rule out future employment in the Hillary Clinton Administration, what that means is the American people have every right to wonder whether or not you looked at this through a fair and impartial lens, because your answer tells the American people that after the FBI Director told you that Ms. Clinton had been extremely careless with at least 110 emails marked as top secret, secret or classified and may have jeopardized the lives of actual Americans, and told you that she made numerous false public statements about sending, receiving or turning over classified materials, you might want to apply for a job with her?

“Your answer not ruling out employment with her means that as much of the free world is wondering whether or not Hillary Clinton should have been prosecuted and possibly sent to prison for being extremely careless as the FBI Director said, with hundreds of top secret, secret, and classified emails, you’re telling the American people watching today, that instead of going to jail, faced with the prospect of possible future employment, you think that she should go to the other end of the spectrum and be eligible to be the person with greater access and greater control over America’s sensitive and trusted national security information than anyone else on the planet? I’ve got to tell you, utter shock is an understatement with respect to what I just heard you say.”

Ratcliffe also pressured Lynch for answers on the nature of her review process – a question of heightened importance considering the well-publicized meeting between Lynch and former President Bill Clinton just days before Comey’s recommendation and Lynch’s subsequent decision to not pursue criminal charges. Lynch then refused to answer the most basic questions about the nature of her review. Specifically:

• She refused to answer whether her final decision weighed the strength of the evidence and the context of Hillary Clinton’s actions.
• She could not recall how long her meeting with the FBI lasted to review its recommendation on the Clinton email case.
• She refused to answer whether during her review of the FBI’s investigation she at least reviewed the 110 emails containing classified information that we know Hillary Clinton sent and received on an unsecured, unauthorized server.

Ratcliffe responded to Lynch’s shocking lack of transparency with the following:

“After a yearlong investigation involving 150 FBI agents working around the clock involving more than 30,000 emails, tens of thousands of man hours, that your thoughtful, careful weighing of the strength of evidence took you an afternoon? A cup of coffee with the FBI Director? That your decision in this case for charges relating to a person who according to the FBI Director was extremely careless handling America’s most sensitive national security matters, and is seeking to be a candidate in charge of America’s most sensitive national security matters took the better part of an afternoon? It didn’t last weeks. It didn’t last months. It didn’t take days. You weighed that evidence and determined her intent and gross negligence in a matter of hours.”

Click here to view Ratcliffe’s full dialogue with Lynch.

Ratcliffe has taken action to ensure that Clinton isn’t allowed to be held to a different standard of justice based on preferential treatment. Last week, he joined 200 House Republicans in demanding answers to a series of questions raised by the FBI’s investigation and recommendation on Clinton. He is supportive of House Republicans’ effort launched Monday requesting an investigation of Clinton for lying under oath before Congress.

Also yesterday, Ratcliffe’s original legislation, the Separation of Powers Restoration Act of 2016 (H.R. 4768) passed in the House of Representatives to reverse Constitutional erosion and stop overreach by administrative agencies.