Tom Watt says trust should be key to Sheriff election

By Tom Watt for Sheriff of Grayson County

I hope this finds you enjoying a great start to 2016! It has definitely been an unusual week between Christmas and New Year’s Day in the race for Grayson County Sheriff. The big news is the resignation of David Russell from the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office due to, in his own words, a pending investigation.

As a 32-year law enforcement officer and retired Chief of Police, I know that effective law enforcement requires that the people trust those sworn to uphold the law and those sworn to uphold the law must live up to that trust. Integrity, transparency, wisdom and competence all play a part in establishing this trust. Secrecy, aborted investigations and veiled explanations destroy that trust. For example, when a high ranking official resigns pending an investigation, the public has an expectation to know what the complaint was, or at least what the complaint is about.

Early in my career as a law enforcement administrator I served as the Operations Commander at Sherman PD. My mentor, friend and supervisor, Chief Jerry Caylor, engrained in me the understanding that difficult situations arise in law enforcement all the time. The public will judge you not in regard to the difficult situation, but in how you handle the situation and whether it is handled openly and honestly. “It’s not when the bad thing happens, it’s how you respond when it does.” That has been proven to me many times throughout my career. The public wants and needs the chief law enforcement officer of the county to be a leader who can deal with stressful situations in an open, honest and transparent manner. After all, as public servants, we are doing the people’s business and the people have the right to know.

I’ll be the first to acknowledge the major contributions Sheriff Keith Gary has made to our county. He has served the citizens with pride, dignity and respect. Unfortunately, his leadership team has not. His leadership team failed to fulfill their duties to the citizens of Grayson County. His leadership team has simply not lived up to his high standards. We have all witnessed their failures in the recent past. Whether it be the theft of confiscated weapons by the supervisor responsible for overseeing them, the falsified training reports made to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, or the undisclosed investigation aborted by the recent resignation of Mr. Russell, it’s time for a reassessment of the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office leadership team. I will always respect Sheriff Gary, but we must recognize the shortcomings of his current administration for the good of the people of Grayson County.

I will continue to focus on my proven track record of integrity, experience and professionalism throughout the remainder of this campaign. I promise you I will never forget that my job as Sheriff is to protect and serve the people of Grayson County openly and honestly. If you would like to follow my campaign, please ‘like’ my page. Thank you for your support. I appreciate you.

Political Advertisement Paid for by Tom Watt, Treasurer Robert Brady, Denison, Texas. Tom Watt subscribes to the Code of Fair Campaign Practices. Privacy Policy Tom Watt for Sheriff P.O. Box 104 Sherman, TX 75091

Watt_HEbanner

The new Walmart Neighborhood Market in Sherman opens tomorrow

walmartThe new Walmart Neighborhood Market in Sherman will open to the community Wednesday, Jan. 13, 7:30 a.m., bringing a broad assortment of fresh, affordable groceries at Walmart’s everyday low prices. Customers will also enjoy the convenience of on-site services such as a full pharmacy and fuel station and a free store pickup service providing an easy way to shop millions of products on Walmart.com. The new store will employ up to 95 full- and part-time associates.

“We are very excited to open a Walmart Neighborhood Market in the Sherman community,” said store manager George Wilthers. “Our associates are looking forward to serving our customers and the opportunity to provide a clean, fast and friendly shopping experience.”

The new store is located at located at 2210 N. FM 1417 and will create approximately 95 jobs for full- and part-time positions within the store. Applicants interested in careers at Walmart can apply at a store’s hiring kiosk or online at Walmartcareers.com. Store manager, GeorgeWilthers began his Walmart career in 1988 as an hourly associate at a store in Denison.

At Walmart, more than 75 percent of store management teams started as hourly associates. In 2014, 160,000 associates were promoted, and 40 percent of those promotions went to associates within the first year of their employment. Earlier this year Walmart announced it would be investing more than $1B in higher wages and training and other enhancements for its associates.

The store offers fresh produce and meat, pantry staples and a full line of groceries from leading brands.  In addition to organics and nutritious food choices, customers will also find a Grab-and-Go section with rotisserie chicken, standard deli sides, and bakery items including custom cakes.


The Neighborhood Market includes a pharmacy with a full range of products, immunizations and services and Walmart pharmacists ready to assist customers with product and prescription questions. Sherman residents can easily transfer prescriptions and order refills on the go with the Walmart mobile app. A drive thru pharmacy window makes prescription drop off and pick up quick and easy.

The store is approximately 41,000 square feet and offers a wide assortment of products to meet the needs of Sherman residents. Customers will find health and beauty aids, pet products and cleaning supplies. Shopping is more convenient than ever as Sherman residents can shop seven million items on Walmart.com, many of which can be shipped for free to any Walmart store through Walmart Pickup.

The 24-7 operation has a Facebook page located at www.facebook.com/walmart3521

 

Manslaughter for Mayfield after baby dies of asphyxiation

KristanMayfieldOn January 11, 2016, Kristan Renee Mayfield, 20, of Whitewright, pled guilty to one count of Manslaughter in the 59th District Court.    Mayfield entered her plea without reaching agreement with the District Attorney’s office regarding her sentence.   Mayfield entered an “open” plea, choosing to allow District Judge Rayburn Nall to set her punishment in the case.   A sentencing hearing has been set for February 25, following the completion of a pre-sentence investigation by the Grayson County Probation Office.   Manslaughter is a second degree felony, punishable by 2-20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.

On September 23, 2014 at approximately 3:30 pm, the Whitewright Police Department responded to an apartment in the 1000 block of Hwy 160 in Whitewright to the report of an unresponsive infant child.   Upon arrival, Whitewright Lt. Beau Heistand observed that a 3-month-old child, Lillian Rose Lee, was deceased.    Heistand determined that the child had been in the care of her parents, Mayfield, then 18, and Charles Lee, 23.   The parents reported that they had found the child unresponsive in the crib after the parents had fallen asleep that day.   Heistand discovered that a plastic trash bag had been placed in the crib, and used to cover the mattress pad.

The body of the child was sent to the Southwester Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas, where the medical examiner determined that, while the cause of death was consistent with asphyxia, an official cause and manner of death could not be determined.

“We believe the baby died by asphyxiating because of the plastic bag left in the crib,” said Grayson County District Attorney Joe Brown.   “Leaving a 3-month-old unattended with a plastic bag in a crib is incredibly reckless, and that is what manslaughter is – recklessly causing someone’s death.”

Following Mayfield’s guilty plea, Judge Rayburn Nall revoked her bond and she was taken into custody, where she will remain until she is sentence.   Mayfield had previously posted bond on the charges and had remained out of jail.  Criminal charges remain pending against Charles Lee, the child’s father, who has remained incarcerated in the Grayson County jail.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Matt Johnson.  Sherman attorney Ron Uselton represents Mayfield.

2014 0623 Baker Heating and Air

David Russell makes statement about his resignation from Sheriff’s Office

David RussellDavid Russell, who is running for Sheriff of Grayson County resigned his duties last week from the Sheriff’s Department.  Today, he made the following statement to his Facebook page about his decision to resign.

“I hope that all had a blessed Christmas and joyous New Year celebration. This holiday season is the time of year for us to step back reflect on the blessings received, as well as feel the excitement and eagerness for the new year to come. Much has happened for my campaign during this holiday season, and now that the Christmas lights and the eight tiny reindeer are back in the attic, I am focusing 100% of my time towards my campaign for the critical position of Grayson County Sheriff. As many of you know, on December 30th I resigned from the Grayson County Sheriffs Department, an institution that I hold in high esteem. While I was planning on taking a leave of absence at the turn of the new year to focus on my campaign, this plan was put on a fast track due to a heated disagreement over personal matters between myself and a close colleague of mine. It is important to note that disagreement took place while we both were taking vacation time and not performing any duty as employees of Grayson County. I was concerned this incident, although short and quickly rectified, would cast the Grayson County Sheriffs department in a negative light if there was ever to be an investigation into the matter. I made the decision to spare the department I have dedicated almost 13 years of my life to any negative light, especially due to a matter that was between two close friends and colleagues that had been resolved as quickly as it occurred. While looking at this incident by itself, it may seem rash behavior to just pack up and resign. It is essential to note that other factors preceded this incident such as a fellow deputy and supporter of another candidate for Sheriff shadowing my every move with their camera waiting to try to catch me in the act of campaigning while on duty, unsuccessfully I might add. The actions of this deputy helped kick my decision to resign into overdrive. I felt strongly that if my presence in the department as a candidate for the position of Sheriff was going to cause an ounce of distraction from the duty of the department to protect the people of Grayson County, then it was my obligation to step aside for the time being. I cannot stress how difficult of a decision this was to make, but I am convicted that it was the right thing to do for the people of Grayson County. As a lifelong servant of the public, I have always held the welfare of the people I have sworn to protect above my own. It is what I have always done, and as Sheriff of Grayson County this is what I will continue to do. I sincerely look forward to your continued support as we the people enjoy the freedom to exercise our rights to elect the best individuals to public position. May God bless Texas!”

2014 0623 Baker Heating and Air

A tale of two cities

2014 0303 Bulldog Stadium (5)(From Monday’s Howe Enterprise)

Okay, so Howe isn’t quite the dramatic Charles Dickens story of London and Paris, however, he might even be impressed with the differences of this one city from just a few years ago to the one in which we find of current state. Two years ago this month, we had the worst football facilities, a defunct downtown commercial district and one of our most historic landmarks in complete disarray.

Before we can get to 2013, we have to go back in time to 2007. That’s when some mismanagement of city funds by prior city leaders coupled with the ramifications of expected growth of the mid-2000’s housing boom that soon followed by the housing crisis strapped Howe with an enormous water and budget crisis. Tough decisions had to be made by new Mayor Jeff Stanley and new City Administrator Joe Shephard. They weren’t faced with righting the ship, they were faced with keeping it above water. The move to raise water bills was something that the city was not interested in doing, but had to do in order to fix the financial atrocity.

Those moves led Howe to make it through those desperate times during the depths of the economic cesspool that the country found itself in. It hit Howe at the absolute worst time. Had the housing crisis not happened, Summit Hill would have over 120 homes already on the ground and that is just phase one of five that will expand to the south of the current property. But the crisis did happen and houses were not being built in Howe and Summit Hill began to look like a leftover Hollywood movie set that everyone forgot about.

Zack HudsonBut lets fast forward to 2013 because it seems like so much has changed with our city since then. In April, My Estrella Mexican Restaurant opened under new ownership in Downtown Howe. The restaurant left six downtown units vacant. Howe landed Salvage Junky in September to go along with M&M’s Hardware, Designer Cuts and Clinton Upholsery. That, my friends, were the only downtown businesses. Before My Estrella, seven of the nine downtown units were vacant. About the time My Estrella settled in, Howe ISD was in the process of hiring a young energetic athletic director/head football coach/salesman. I included salesman in that because it may be his best professional feature and that is saying a lot based upon his recent accomplishments in his other official titles. The man I’m referring to is Zack Hudson. The first glimpse of the new coach was seen in a video compiled by the H-Association (athletic alumni) where he busts through the doors and signals a new era has begun. Yes, a new football era began, but also the ability of Hudson to talk the Howe ISD Board of Trustees and Superintendent Kevin Wilson to scrap a five year plan to renovate the athletic facilities and do it in one year was not only impressive, but on a different planet from other athletic directors who had been in Howe over the past 21 years prior to Hudson. In January of 2014, a plan was finalized to raze the old rugged, decrepit eyesore of a field house at Bulldog Stadium in preparation of a new field house to take its place. But wait, there’s more. Not only will it be just another building thrown up in its place, it will be an exact matching duplicate of the extension of the old field house that was erected in 1989 under then athletic director Jim Fryar. The plan was to not only replace a field house with a usable structure, but to do it with an aesthetic uniformed appeal that is not common for this city that has been known to do everything the cheapest way possible, regardless of appearance. In March, the old field house came down with a giant slug from Coach Steve Simmons with help from machinery.

2001 0920 Texoma Enterprise (2)That same month, March of 2014, saw a city regain its hometown news for the first time since 1997. The Howe Enterprise changed to more of a regional publication and changed the name to The Texoma Enterprise, which evenually stopped print publication in 2010 to go strictly online. The popularity from Howe citizens never regained the steam it once had from the 1960s through the mid-1990s. Without the local coverage dedicated to Howe and only Howe, things began to get lost and eventually the city’s news information primarily came from an arrow sign at the four-way stop in front of the bank.

With an agreement in place for Monte Walker to purchase The Howe Enterprise from Dale and Lana Rideout, it once again gave Howe their own news and their own opportunities for their own businesses to advertise to their own people. During those years of not having a dedicated news source for our school and our community, it hurt local commerce and restaurants and businesses would come and go and Howe got the reputation in the 2000s of being a great place to kill a business. But just as the old field house was knocked to it’s knees, two other businesses opened in downtown. Abby’s Restaurant and Don’s Smokehouse opened in April of 2014 to leave only three downtown units needing a tenant.

2014 0806 Bulldog Stadium (36)Meanwhile, the field house took shape over the summer along with a new scoreboard and a new press box replaced the old and outdated 1981 originally placed structure just in time for the season’s start. As a matter of fact, the entire athletic facility at Bulldog Stadium was completely renovated with new gravel parking and construction on a brand new softball field.

The school was doing its job to recreate a new atmosphere and eliminated one of the three major complaints from citizens. The athletic facility was now something to be proud of. And it would be impossible to imagine that happening without the key hiring of Hudson and the leadership of Superintendent Kevin Wilson.

Speaking of Hudson and Howe ISD, they hired an assistant football coach by the name of Dale West, who installed a throwback offense that propelled them to the area championship for the first time in 24 years. Offensive team and individual records were broken and the football program which had been, as a whole, mediocre at best for the past 15 years started getting attention from their city. A good team with good facilities was a far cry from 2013.

Before the season, the Bulldogs’ Victory Light, which was a tradition started in 1977, was taken down off of the old press box and hung downtown at the four-way stop on a building that had just been purchased. The light that serves as an inspiration and a community-wide apathy killer was now front-and-center for all to see.

M&M’s hardware closed shop in September of 2014 and construction began a few months later to house the Howe Development Alliance, which Walker had been hired to oversee. Walker recruited individuals to upstart the chamber of commerce and instituted a Howe mural downtown that stated “Shop Local.”

In 2015, Advantage Business Machines relocated from 200 S. Denny to the old Chisum building which left only two vacant units in downtown. The sale of the Stockton buildings from O.B. Powers to Georgia Caraway meant that at some point every downtown building would be occupied in 2015. This coming with seven of the nine open units and a ghost town just 17 months prior.

The long-time downtown merchant, Clinton Upholstery was moved out of downtown by the new owner but relocated and found a new home just down the street on Haning. Howe Mercantile opened for business in April of 2015, Salvage Junky relocated to 200 S. Denny which opened up space for Texas Home Emporium.

2015 0213 downtown (1)It was a year of change. It was a year of somewhat turbulence at times due to change, but when all was said and done, the city had taken care of part two of the equation. Downtown was no longer in shambles and every unit was full and open for business. No longer an eyesore, but it was something to be proud of and just as the new stadium facilities sparked winning ways, it also happened in downtown. The city’s investment in their economic development plan paid off as 2015 was the largest increase in sales tax revenue in Howe history.  The $308,000 in revenue was the most Howe has ever seen and the 12.44 percent increase has Howe ranked 256 of over 1152 cities in Texas in that category and had by far the biggest jump of any city along the US 75 corridor from Denison to Dallas.

Bulldog Stadium facilities had been completed thanks to Howe ISD. Downtown Howe had been completed thanks to the City of Howe. And the third issue and complaint of the citizens was the old First Christian Church. And this task would be monumental because there would be no involvement from the city or the school. It was left up to the community. But with the improvements to the other areas and the victory light shining bright on 10 of 12 tries lately, the citizens’ apathy meter, which was at an all-time high during the recession, were now willing to do something about it.

Great Days of Service kick-started the project and cleaned up brush around the perimeter. Jean Norman presented enough money from the defunct Howe Historical Society to fix the foundation on the building.

2015 0908 church windows (5)Roger Brown and Clyde Hepner painted the top of the building with their own time and materials. The Collins Family had left enough money to get the facade recovered with new siding. Georgia Caraway contributed new windows to replace the broken ones. Finally, a live auction and barbecue dinner was planned as a community-wide fundraiser for the old structure. This is where the transformation and a culmination of a city truly spoke loud and clear that something is different here. Something special has taken place here. The fundraiser brought in over $25,000 which included a $10,505 donation from another local group that cared about Howe. The church is no longer an eyesore and the community is responsible for that.

To make a great community, it takes a partnership. A school, a city, and the citizens. All three of those elements played huge roles in the last two years to knock out what probably was the top three complaints about our city in 2013.

Howe has gone from shanty town to victory town in two short years. The citizens, who once would rather complain about the situation rather volunteer for solution are now gathering in herds for the good of the community. The apathy meter in this little town on the hilltop is the lowest, one would presume, in at least 25 years.

“I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss. I see the lives for which I lay down my life, peaceful, useful, prosperous and happy. I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the hearts of their descendants, generations hence” – Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities.

2014 0623 Baker Heating and Air

Gabriela’s brings new name and look to downtown

IMG_5829When one goes to a Mexican Food Restaurant, the expectations are to be a sense of something different and unique. The ambiance is often just as important as the salsa or the enchilada. The conversion from My Estrella Mexican Restaurant to Gabriela’s Mexican Cocina has already added the flavor outside of the kitchen. The first difference that patrons will notice is the new vibrant colors and mural inside the restaurant instead of the previous beige walls. The new look gives one a feeling of something unique and more of an experience. The previous atmosphere was great for a catfish family restaurant, but Ana Gabriela Mendoza is trying to give the restaurant a new flavor to go along with the salsa and enchiladas.

Mendoza started working at My Estrella Mexican Restaurant in Anna at the age of 16. The owner of the location in Anna, Evelia Santivanez was looking to expand to another location but couldn’t find the right fit. Mendoza says that’s when fate intervened.

“Whenever my parents lost their job in Van Alstyne when the factory closed down, I involved my mom (Julieta) over there and it was something new for her.” said Mendoza. “She had never worked in a restaurant. She had never been a cook professionally.”

Mendoza and her mother worked together for a couple of years until Mendoza was about to give birth to her first child. After the birth of her child, she was ready to go back to work, but Santivanez didn’t need extra help at the time which meant Mendoza worked at another restaurant and also Verizon for a period of time.

Santivanez later opened up My Estrella in Downtown Howe at 102 E. Haning and offered to sell the Anna location to Julieta. Due to the much higher rent in Anna, the family decided not to purchase the Anna location. At that time Santivanez offered the Howe location to the family. Mendoza quit her jobs and became the waitress at My Estrella while her parents ran the business and were the cooks.

2015 1230 Gabrielas (1)

Under the agreement from Santivanez, they weren’t able to change the name or the menu for a period of two years, which now has come and gone and a new direction is in place. Mendoza had the new lighted sign in place just after the holidays.

“People don’t even know that we’re here so we want to make sure they see us when they drive by.” said Mendoza. “We did the painting because we want it to look a little more Mexican and a little bit nicer. It was a plain beige color and it was bland.”

As far as the menu, they are going to redesign it and add a few more plates that the family has come up with.

“We’re going to keep everything that is already there because we have customers that order each plate everytime they come.” said Mendoza. “We don’t want to take anything away from them. If you want to come in here and eat something specifically and we have the ability to make it, we’ll make it. We let people make up their own plates all the time.”

Mendoza explained the importance of family and said that they take days off very seriously because of that time they want to spend with each other away from the family business. They are not open on Sundays for that very reason and will not be open on holidays.

2015 1228 Gabrielas (1)Gabriela’s is located on the southwest corner of Downtown Howe which has been home to, most recently, Huck’s Catfish and Finn’s Catfish. At one time in the 1970s and 80s, the building housed a grocery store named Yonce’s where a young fellow who would grow up to be the online newspaper owner took his first steps.

“We’ve heard a lot of stories about the grocery store here.” said Mendoza. “People will come in and tell us that there used to be a wall right here. We love hearing the stories of how this place has changed.” It is changing once again. The corner building will have a new flavored atmosphere and a new flavored menu and the family is ready to show it off to their existing and new customers.

2014 0623 Baker Heating and Air

Harvey named as nominee to McDonald’s All-American Games

2016 0105 Lady Bulldogs vs Pottsboro (2)
Photo by Michelle Carney

Howe Lady Bulldogs’ post Riley Harvey has been named as a nominee for the McDonald’s All-American Games.  The first boys game was held back in 1978 with Magic Johnson on the squad.  Others to play in the annual game are Isiah Thomas, John Paxson, Michael Jordan, Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin Garnett, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and others.  The girls game will be the 14th annual classic.

The event schedule for the McDonald’s All-American Games:

  • March 28 – Player arrival in Chicago; orientation; welcome event
  • March 29 – Ronald McDonald House visit
  • March 30 – 28th Powerade Jamfest 6:30pm CT University of Chicago/ESPN2
  • March 31 – Media Day 11:30am CT United Center
  • March 31 – Player Awards Banquet 6:00pm CT Union Station
  • April 1 – 38th McDonald’s All American Games
  • – Girls Game 5:30pm CT United Center/ESPNU

2016 McDonalds Nominee List-page-014
Complete List

2014 0623 Baker Heating and Air

Chamber accepting nominees for Howe Hall of Honor

The Howe Area Chamber of Commerce will be accepting nominations for the Class of 2016 Howe Hall of Honor.  Those that wish to nominate someone (living or deceased) can fill out the form below.  If you’re unable to see the form below, you can click here.

Previously inducted members:
Jabez Haning
W.P. Thompson
A.M. Ferguson
Mame Roberts
Charles Thompson
Arthur Boyle
Tony Brinkley
L.B. Kirby
Norma Wallace
Ray Bledsoe
Carrie Waller
Elmer Schenk

Fill out my online form.
The easy to use Wufoo form builder helps you make forms easy, fast, and fun.