Category: Howe News Bulletin

After 12 years of discussions between Tomlin Investments and the City of Howe, an agreement was reached and a round of applause broke out at the city council meeting on Tuesday night after the council members voted unanimously of an annexation of approximately 469 acres located between State Highway 5 and US Highway 75 along Blythe Road.

The city put together a Chapter 380 Economic Development Program and Agreement that would allow for the developers to reinvest for future infrastructure development.

The development will take 36 to 48 months to be recognizable as a future site due to the process of constructing a wastewater treatment plant to serve the development and eventually the entire city.

“This has been going on for quite some time,” Howe City Administrator Joe Shephard told the public. “There have been many many meetings between city representatives and Tomlin Investments. We’ve worked out an agreement that we think is both beneficial to the city as well as the investment company that will form a district to finance the infrastructure.”

Shephard said that the best part of the agreement is that there will be a sewer treatment plant at the southern tip of the city in which the city will be able to tie into it in the future.

The city and Tomlin Investments agreed to a five-year period where Tomlin must meet certain criteria in order to qualify for the agreed upon reinvestments. Current and future Howe taxpayers that are not located in the newly created district will not be affected on any reinvestments provided to Tomlin Investments – only those within the new development.

Shephard commended City Attorney James Tidwell and City Engineer Bob Helmberger on their efforts to move this deal forward with Tomlin.

“We just asked that the city be treated fairly and these guys did a great job,” said Shephard, who then personally thanked Tidwell.

Scott Norris, representing Tomlin Investments told the council that the sewer treatment plant should be in operation in 36 to 48 months and that the paperwork is ready to be submitted to the State of Texas.

“We are going to spend an exorbitant amount of money and we’re going to get a portion of that money back,” said Norris. “Our reimbursement comes from our future residents and they’re treated just like your current residents with police and fire protection that are already in place for Howe citizens.”

The development will include commercial property designations on both US 75 and Highway 5 that is in the Howe sales tax base. The home values in the new development are expected to be in the $250,000 range to begin and migrate upward.

The city says that the agreement will retain a portion of the taxable amount within the district. The eventual wastewater treatment plant would allow for the separation of the current sewer contract through the City of Sherman that sees the City of Howe paying the rate of a commercial business. It has yet to be determined who will own and operate the treatment facility upon completion, but the cost of sewer for citizens should be well reduced due to the eventual extinction of the current contract.

The district will also make water improvements to the development and construct a storage container for water. The addition of homes will be able to reduce the water cost to Howe citizens due to the addition of homes sharing the cost.

The benefits to Howe and Howe citizens are not only the reduction of utility costs but the new opportunities that come with new developments.

In a recent citizens survey, the number one want and need was indicated to be a grocery store.

“In order to attract a grocer or other retail centers to improve the quality of life and bring jobs, those companies have to have a certain population criteria in order to qualify,” said Howe’s Economic Development Director Monte Walker. “With the addition of Summit Hill and this future development, the city is getting closer to reality for those opportunities.”

The residential growth that inspires the commercial growth will feed the local city’s economy which will result in better streets, parks, and overall infrastructure. Currently, Howe has the least amount of sales tax revenue for any city along Highway 75 or Interstate 45 from the Red River to Palmer, Texas – which is 28 miles north of Corsicana.

The round of applause after the motion was passed was in part due to the finalization of hard work by many involved for many years. But it also may have also been for the sudden realization that the financial opportunities that will soon begin for Howe have finally come to fruition.

Those Williams boys on Duke Street are at it again.  This time the team leaders of a team of 20 plus home school kids have formed a team named Texoma Home Educators (THE) to compete in the robot program again in 2017.  A full story will be in this coming Monday’s edition of the Howe Enterprise.

Below is a video of the unfinished robot in action.

Click above photo for the downloadable order form.

On Thursday, October 5, 2017, Howe Police Lieutenant Michael Hill and Officers Morris and Stone arrested 21-year-old Melissa resident Bryce Woodall for Burglary of a habitation, Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and Public Intoxication.

Woodall broke into a home on Tutt Street at approximately 5:00 am Thursday morning. The homeowner heard the commotion and confronted Woodall. He assaulted the homeowner with a baseball bat, then ran from the scene. He was later located walking down State Hwy 5. Inside the backpack, he was carrying contained items taken from the home on Tutt Street. He was found to be intoxicated. Woodall was arrested and into the Grayson County Jail.

Woodall was arrested with a stolen bicycle and the police are trying to get it to its rightful owner.

From this week’s Howe Enterprise

The Howe Bulldogs improve each time they play and were very close to winning their first game of the season on Friday night.  Howe Head Coach Zack Hudson made more changes to the offense trying to find the right combination of players in positions. For the second time this season, Howe has moved an offensive lineman to the backfield. Two weeks ago, it was Mikey Hymel who made the transition from offensive guard to slot back. This time it was Chase Harvey, who made the extremely seldom move from offensive guard to quarterback. While the new signal-caller had an impressive performance and re-energized the Bulldogs, Howe (0-5) was unable to hold off the Caddo Mills Foxes’ (3-2) fourth-quarter surge to come back and shock Howe, 17-14.

Harvey completed 11 of 16 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown to cousin Ty Harvey. The Harvey-to-Harvey connection was good for three big plays and the Ty Harvey finished with six catches for 129 yards. Caddo Mills won the coin-toss and elected to receive to start the game, but quickly went three-and-out due to a great defensive stand. Howe’s first possession was impressive by moving the ball 51 yards on 11 plays and taking 4:51 off the clock, but it ended on a turnover on downs at the Caddo Mills 27 yard line after a miscommunication between the new quarterback and a new receiver. While Howe’s offense was learning on the fly, the defense was holding Caddo Mills to the minimum amount of plays.

The ‘dogs next possession took only five plays to go 42 yards which most of it came on a 36- yard pass from Harvey to Harvey.  Only four plays later, Chase
Harvey sneaked in from the one yard line and Howe took the first lead of the night, 7-0 after Calley Vick’s PAT.

The Howe defense again forced a quick punt before getting the ball back at their own 25 yard line. Howe took 5:36 off the second quarter clock and went 75 yards on 10 plays. The scoring strike was again the big play of Harvey to Harvey for 31 yards. Vick’s PAT was again successful and Howe led, 14-0 with 5:36 left before the half.

Caddo Mills finally created some offensive momentum on the next series. Foxes’ running back Payton Hammond started to stretch the field by running laterally down the line and turning the corner for an average of eight yards per carry on the drive. He would eventually catch 20-yard touchdown pass from Cade Hayden to cut the Howe lead in half at 14-7 with 4:36 left in the second quarter. The 5-play, 70-yard drive gave Caddo Mills was the ignition to the Foxes offense for the evening.

Howe’s next possession ended in a punt, but the Foxes had a chance to score just before the half with 2:21 remaining. Howe’s defense came up with great plays to force a turnover on downs to end the half.

While the Bulldogs controlled the ball and clock for the most part in the first half of the game, the Foxes turned the table in the second half and Howe’s defense spent most of the time on the field in the third and fourth quarters.

The first two possessions of the second half ended in punts, before Howe put together a 9-play drive which started at their own 29 yard line. Harvey to Harvey for 37 yards gave Howe a first-and-goal from the three yard line, but a bad center-to-quarterback exchange and a tipped screen pass mistakenly ruled a lateral pushed Howe back to the 19. A sack ended the drive which appeared to be a lock for a touchdown that would have made it difficult for Caddo Mills to comeback. Instead, Howe remained ahead at 14-7.

The Foxes’ next possession was an impressive one in which they ran 11 plays and 72 yards to tie the game at 14. Caddo Mills kept the Bulldogs defense on the field for four minutes. Ty Harvey had a chance for an interception, but the ball sailed through his hands. That kept the drive alive and Hayden ran in the tying score around the left edge from the 12 yard line with 10:05 left in the third.

The game changed on the ensuing kickoff when the Foxes elected for an onside kick. The kick sailed out of bounds which would have given Howe the ball, however, the officials said they called an official timeout before the kick which meant the Foxes were allowed to kick again which they were able to recover. That gave them a short field where they only had to drive 26 yards on 10 plays to kick the go-ahead 30-yard field goal by Cullen Brown. Caddo Mills led for the first time, 17-14 with 5:08 left.

Each of the teams had to punt before Howe made a last attempt to win the game with 2:28 left in the game. Chase Harvey led the ‘dogs down the field from their own 22 yard line to near midfield.  One more attempt at a big-play Harvey to Harvey connection ended in an interception with 1:20 remaining in the game.

Howe finished with 96 rushing yards and 171 passing yards. Caddo Mills had 62 passing yards and 121 rushing yards. Howe was lead by Andrew Griffin with 14 carries and 53 yards. Chase Harvey added 15 carries for 31 yards. Mikey Hymel added three catches for 27 yards.

It’s the first time Howe has been 0-5 since 2005, a season that ended with a 1-9 record. The Bulldogs get a much-needed bye week before starting district play at Pottsboro on Oct. 13.

Published in this week’s Howe Enterprise:

On Sept. 22 at 9 am, I walked into the Howe High School gym, for our homecoming pep rally. When I walked into the gym I was touched deep in my heart by an incredible, wonderful, and blessed experience. Every Howe Bulldog in Howe ISD from kindergarten to the senior class along with teachers, administrators, and friends had on a t-shirt bearing my name. Howe ironic, because my heart bears all of their names. My heart gears the names of all my
Bulldogs from 1987-2017. Some were in high school and middle school when I first arrived. My other Bulldogs being members of my famed 36 divisions. All marching through the halls of the Howe Elementary and P.E. program, all marching into Bulldog history and all marching right into my heart.

I don’t know how Pam Kirby was able to organize the event without me knowing. Even my wife Doreen was a soldier of the secret. The pep rally was an awesome event. The cheerleaders, band, athletes, coaches, faculty, administration, employees, family, friends, and all the Howe Bulldogs truly took the flame to the very top.

I would like to thank Pam Kirby for her incredible effort to organize this most incredible pep rally and most meaningful event in my life. I also want to thank my Bulldog cheerleaders for a spectacular portrait of Howe Bulldog history, tradition and love, painted by my own Howe Bulldog,
Jordan Streetman. Thank you, Jordan.

I also thank you for the beautiful flowers that you gave to my beautiful wife, Doreen.  I would like to thank Monte Walker for the introduction to have such a talented Bulldog to provide that

I would like to thank Monte Walker for the introduction to have such a talented Bulldog to provide that introduction was very meaningful. I would also like to thank our wonderful sponsors, Sonic of Howe, Howe ISD, Howe PTA, TLD Design Consulting, Southwest Auction, Texas Farm Bureau – Loretta Anderson, Frantz Group, Howe Family Dentistry, Edward Jones, Griffin Farms, Provider Business Partners, Attorney Micah Belden, Cavender Motors, Howe Athletic Booster Club, and Tom and Debbie Watt.  They provided over 1000 t-shirts.  They also presented me with an amazing watch. Which is inscribed with many special words. The most meaningful word being the word that went from being my title to being my name, Coach.

Above all, to the entire Bulldog Nation and my beloved 36 divisions – I want to thank you for the pride that we have, the joy we share and an entering of love.