Latest News

For four days, boys and girls participated in baseball and softball camps in Howe. The Howe Bulldogs Baseball camp was run by Howe’s varsity head coach, Torrey Ognoskie with the help of some players, such as Winston Mosse and David Crees. The Lady Bulldogs softball camp was led by varsity head coach Adam Rupert with help from players such as Emily Sanders, Madisyn Hargrove, and others.

The camp allowed the baseball program to raise money for equipment and to help maintain the field. The money raised from the $30 camper’s entry fee will be used for seeding the baseball field and for the purchase of general baseball equipment.

“The age groups were split up for developmental purposes. The younger ones participated in the morning, while the older players had their time in the mid-afternoon.

“The little ones were excited and fired up.” said Ognoskie. “That made me excited and fired up to help them.”

Ognoskie said he ran the older players camp more like practices to get them acclimated to the environment and terminology of what they’ll be doing soon. “It’s nice to have somebody who’s already done it and can show them what it’s supposed to look like.” said Ognoskie of Mosse and Crees.

Ognoskie said the kids learned a lot from day one to day four and that some of the younger ones went from playing fetch to playing catch. He said that some others wanted to be pushed to the max, such as young third grader Anthony Lowder, who wanted Ognoskie to make him run far in order to dive for the ball.

“On the last day, we did infield drills where I would roll the ball out there and they’d have to dive for it, get up and throw.” said Ognoskie. “They were fired up. No kid in that little camp went home without a little dirt on them. So that was good. Mom has to wash their pants and shirt.”

 

 

Tuesday night’s special city council meeting called for a work session to approve the annual budget for 2015-16 presented by City Administrator Joe Shephard. Mayor Jeff Stanley did the swearing in ceremony for newest council member Darren Foster to begin the meeting and for a quorum to be present as council member Debbie Lowery was not in attendance.

Sam Haigis, was once again nominated and approved as mayor pro tem. He has fulfilled that role “since Moses” as stated by Mayor Stanley to the audience. Haigis corrected the mayor by stating he’s only served that role since Joshua.

During the work session, Mayor Stanley told the council that they were being asked to open up two jobs from part-time to full-time.

Those two positions were to move a part-time utility worker to full-time and part-time economic development director to full-time. The mayor also said that the budget calls for a purchase of a small track hoe.

“Over the past several years, we’ve rented track hoes to dig out several places that our big back hoe cant go.” said Stanley. “I think it’s time that we purchase one of these.” A track hoe is an excavator that is a power-driven machine used for digging, moving, or transporting loose gravel, sand, or soil.

The small track hoe was budgeted for $40,000 for purchase. The city has recently spent approximately $2,000 on a job that took 10 days to complete. Councilman Bill French asked if the track hoe would be used five times per year. City Administrator Shephard stated that it’s hard to say due to small leaks, but said that it would probably be used that many times per year.

“One thing that me and David (Wortham) have talked about is the saving of wear and tear on the back hoe that we have.” said Shephard. “Obviously, not using it as much when needing to get into these smaller places.”

French asked whether the track hoe would be a maintenance issue down the road, whereas Wortham of Public Works stated that the City of Sherman’s oldest unit is five years-old and they haven’t spent any money on maintenance other than normal oil changes.

Haigis asked for an overall picture of what the city has spent on renting a track hoe over the past five years.

“While it’s good to have your own equipment, but in the same token, I’m sure we’ve got other places we can spend some money such as street repair.”

Shephard said that the total rent cost would not equal the cost of the new machine but felt this is a piece of equipment that is much needed and would be used to saved wear and tear on the big back hoe.

“I think the one thing that we have to be mindful of as council members is that if our department heads say that they need this and we don’t have hard solid evidence that they don’t, then we don’t have the right to argue with them.” said French. “If it’s fiscally responsible to get one, then we need to build our material fleet.”

Last year, the city bought a 4-wheel drive pickup. Other than that and a mower, those are the only pieces of equipment the city has purchased in five years.

Haigis stated that he didn’t want this purchase to take away from a budget for street repair. “Just like every city around here, we’re probably in better shape than some as far as the streets go, but we’ve got some that really need some repair and that’s going to be very costly.”

Mayor Stanley asked Shephard to give the new Council Member Foster a history of where the city has been financially in the past 10 years.

“Without blaming anyone, there was some mismanagement of the funds about seven or eight years ago.” said Shephard. Between 2000 and 2005, the city spent all of their reserves, about $750,000 of the general daily operations of the city. When I came on board, we had no money in investments and it was a struggle paying the bills.”

Shephard said that the city laid-off 33 percent of the workforce. The city went through every dime cutting expenditures. They cut electric cost and phones.

“We were, of course, forced to raise property taxes and utilities in order to pay the bills and now we’ve got to where we’re doing that.” said Shephard. “Now we’ve finally got to the point where we’re starting to put a little money back.”

Stanley said the city was bleeding over $250,000 per year before Shephard came on board. After four years of freezes on salaries for employees and fighting through the tightest of budgets, the city has nearly replaced the 33 percent (six employees) that was laid off.

“This has been thought out.” said Stanley. “When we go talking about getting track hoes and putting on people from part-time to full-time, there has been a lot of thought put in to it.”

Shephard said that the budget approval means that three of the six positions that were laid off will now be replaced and one position would be created. The utility department is still three short of before the layoffs.

The new budget also allows for a four percent increase in salaries across the board for city employees.

Shephard says that the new full time position in the utility department will free up Bert Dowlen in the code enforcement department to spend more time in that area instead of utilities.

In the budget, the solid waste charges went up by $15,349. Shephard explained that it was due to three new houses that are currently being built and that expense will actually wash due to the new homes being charged that amount.

Haigis said that the best thing that’s been done in Howe recently is going to the new progressive trash pick up system. Shephard says that he’s seen the trash driver go above and beyond to pick up trash around the city.

“We do get some complaints, but for the most part, that guy really does try hard.” said Shephard.

The trash contract goes through 2017 and at that point will be sent out for bid. Shepard said that Howe has the highest water rates in the county and will be for a long time. City Secretary Joy Stevens did a rate study with different cities.

“We’re not too far off from some other cities.” said Stevens.

“The monthly bill for citizens here are higher than anywhere else. We know that and we’re not denying that.” said Shephard.

The city utility bill not only includes water, but solid waste, and sewer. Shephard said that there is no plans to raise the bill in the future.

Mayor Stanley said that it would take a year before seeing what the results are from the apartments taking on some relief of the citizens’ water bill and spreading out the totals.

“I would like to go on the record to say that someday I would love to see us be able to lower our water rate.” said French. “I don’t know if it can be done. I think if the city administration ever wants to look like heroes to the senior residents of this town, a water reduction would do that. Anything in that direction would help.”

In conclusion, the council showed no objections to the budget and it is scheduled to be approved in September should all of the tax revenue be confirmed. If formally approved, the two jobs that are currently part-time would go full-time as of October 1.

Our Texas State Representative Larry Phillips will give us a recap of the 84^th Legislative Session to the Texoma Patriots on Thursday at 7pm in Sherman.  Senator Craig Estes has been invited but has not confirmed yet.

The event will take place in the Commissioners Courtroom, Grayson County Courthouse, 100 W. Houston St, Sherman, TX.

Larry Phillips is our District 62 member of the Texas House of Representatives.  He is Chairman of the Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee and he serves on the Transportation Committee.  His home office is in Sherman.  Craig Estes represents the 30^th Senatorial District.  Senator Estes currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Natural Resources Committee and as a member of the Senate Committees on State Affairs, Health and Human Services, and Nominations.  His home office is in Wichita Falls.

Rep Phillips and Sen Estes (if able to attend) will give an overview  of bills passed, bills considered, and those vetoed by Governor Greg Abbott.  There will be time for Q&A.

Both the Lamar St door (across from Knight Furniture) and the Crockett St door will be open (handicap accessible).

The doors will open at 6:30.  After 7:30, you will have to call the number on the door to attend the meeting.

Everyone is welcome and there is no charge to attend.

The old church on the corner of Denny and O’Connell Streets is going through the first steps on renovation.  The foundation is being repaired starting today.  The repair should be finished in four days.  Jean Norman, Carrie Waller and others of the former Howe Historical Society donated the money that was left from the former organization to be used for this first stage of renovation.  Howe Mercantile owner Dr. Georgia Caraway also contributed a substantial amount for the project.  The foundation repair is being done by AAA Guardian Foundation Repair of Sherman.

Beyond the foundation repair will come a community fundraiser to help completely restore the building.

On July 2, 2015, Frederic Gerald Hartman, 51, of Denison, was sentenced to 28 years in prison for Possession of Methamphetamine With Intent To Deliver in a Drug Free Zone.   Hartman pled guilty to the charge and was sentenced by 59^th District Court Judge Rayburn Nall in accordance with a plea agreement reached with the Grayson County District Attorney’s Office.

On March 1, 2015, Denison Police were called to a home on College Boulevard in Denison at approximately 2:25 am when a 33 year old woman called 911 to say that she had locked herself in the bathroom at the home because Hartman, her boyfriend, had assaulted her and was trying to break into the bathroom.   When police arrived they found the woman in the bathroom and another woman, age 51, in the living room.  Both of the women had injuries consistent with being assaulted.    Hartman was in the house but ran from police and was caught as short distance from the home.

Denison narcotics officers responded to the house due to Hartman’s lengthy history.   Upon being questioned by officers, Hartman’s girlfriend told officer that he kept drugs in a lock box in his room.   Upon searching the lock box, officers found over 4 grams of methamphetamine.    In Hartman’s pockets officers found a key to the lock box and over $4,000 in cash.

“This is a guy with a long criminal history – more than 20 arrests and he had been to prison before for Burglary and multiple drug offenses,” said Grayson County District Attorney Joe Brown.   “He was a drug dealer who had been a problem for the Denison police for a long time.”

The penalty range for Hartman’s case was increased based on his prior convictions.   Hartman faced a minimum of 25 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison.   The Denison Police Department seized the money found on Hartman and, as part of the plea, the funds were awarded to the department as proceeds of a felony drug transaction.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Britton Brooks.  Hartman was represented by Dallas attorney Jason Niehaus.

Howe’s own Garrett Fulenchek has been traded from the Atlanta Braves to the Tampa Bay Rays in a deal tonight.  Fulenchek gave up three runs on three hits today in 1.2 innings.  He walked four and struck out one.  The Braves received the Rays’ 73rd and 103rd slots, valued at a total of $494,200, according to Baseball America. The deal gives Atlanta more to spend on international players before facing penalties.

“I want to thank the Braves organization for giving me the opportunity.” said Fulenchek.  “I also want to thank the Rays for giving me a chance to continue my career.  I’m looking forward to pitching in Arlington.”

His agent Craig Rose stated that this is a positive move for Fulenchek.  He says the Rays wanted him in the draft last year so they have traded their international picks for him. The Braves have moved a lot of players at the major league level for prospects, which has created a surplus in the farm system.

“He can move faster in the Rays’ system and they have a stellar track record on developing pitchers in house.” said Rose.

Fulenchek is already ranked 10th on the prospect list in the Rays’ organization.

Since the 2006-07 school year, Norman Dickey has put to use some of his spare time by keeping up with district standings in each major sport and computing them to a final total on how all of the schools perform over each year in those particular sports. Each year, one district school will sit at the top of the standings. He calculates the girls sports as well as the boys. We’ll call this, “The Norman Dickey District Cup.”

In order to explain how all of this works, we’ll go back to 2006-07, With Howe finishing sixth in district in football, fifth in basketball, fifth in track and third in baseball, those ranking numbers totaled to 19 (6+5+5+3). That put them finishing fourth overall in the final standings. Whitewright finished with eight points overall as they were first in football, first in basketball, second in track and fourth in baseball.

Since that initial season, the Howe boys athletics have never finished first in the final district standings to receive the “Norman Dickey District Cup,” however the girls athletes of Howe are a totally different story. From 2006-07 through 2008-09, the Howe girls finished first each of those years. The strong track and basketball programs for the girls have kept them competitive with each district school by finishing in the top two for five straight years.

So what do these numbers look like recently? The Lady Bulldogs finished seventh in volleyball and their track fell to fifth. However, we all remember that they were really good in basketball and softball finishing second and tied for first in those categories, respectively. So that brought The Lady Bulldogs total to 15 1/2 points (when a tie occurs, Dickey gives each team equal share and that’s where the 1/2 comes in to play). The Pottsboro Lady Cardinals finished first overall with 11, 1/2 points. They finished first in basketball and track which offset their poor showing in softball.

Howe’s boys finished sixth this year with 20 overall points. The Bulldogs finished third in football, third in basketball, eighth in track and sixth in baseball. Howe was sitting pretty until the year changed to 2015.

Dickey says that these sports are chosen because of their ability to easily research. He is not undermining the value of other sports.

This is what happens when an athletic director/math teacher retires.

The history of Howe restaurants that start closing at different times has been a precursor to an eventual closing, however, Abby’s Restaurant owner Lillian Avila says that’s far from the case with their new summer hours. Abby’s is now closed at 3pm on Mondays and Wednesdays and have removed their dinner hours from those nights.

“I thought about it, but at the same time most people understand that I’m constantly changing things.” said Avila. “I’m constantly doing things differently. I don’t do the same things all the time.”

Avila, who opened Abby’s Restaurant in April of 2014 has become the anchor of the renewed spirit of downtown Howe. This is not the first time that this has happened.

“When I was in Pilot Point, downtown was dead. The buildings were collapsing. It was just terrible.” said Avila. “Now you look at it and it’s beautiful. We were the first ones bringing people in to downtown Pilot Point when they were getting started.”

Avila says that the new hours are for the summer only because Mondays and Wednesday evenings have slowed down severely. Closing on those slow nights will allow her to have more flexibility with the payroll and waitstaff. She says that she’ll re-evaluate a good time to open back up on those two evenings when people get back into their routines a few weeks after school starts.

Having two nights off a week also gives her time to spend with her family, which includes a junior daughter in high school. Her normal workday is 7am to 9pm in which she’s done for the past 10 years.

“I’m used to the work.” said Avila. “The third week of being at home on those nights, I felt tired because my body is not used to resting.”

Avila’s oldest child has already graduated and out of the house, but the 16-year-old is very active in extracurricular performances at McKinney ISD.

“Time is going to fly and I want to spend time with her a little bit.” said Avila. “She’s going to the Rose Bowl this year (for a performance). After she graduates, I’ll have all the free time to work.

Abby’s Restaurant is known for the chicken fried steak and general home style cooking. The restaurant has been the economic driver for downtown for the past 16 months. During lunch hours, there’s hardly a place to park in downtown. This also has an effect on other downtown businesses that see foot traffic from patrons that haven’t been seen in the historic district in quite some while. The Howe Mercantile has mirrored Abby’s hours due to the amount of traffic.

It’s that time of year where we prepare to celebrate the birth of our great country and Texoma is filled with many opportunities to get your pyromania fix. Lights on the Lake at Pecan Grove Park in Sherman will kick off the festive weekend on Thursday, July 2 with a festival starting at 5:30. The annual Sherman event attracts around 5,000 annually and kids can enjoy themselves with bounce houses while adults can enjoy the food vendors.

Denison’s July 4 Fireworks Extravaganza will take place a Munson Stadium at Forest Park. The free event also pulls a large audience from all over the area. Howe has chosen to be the region’s finale by closing out the show on Sunday night (which is not kind to a Monday morning publication). Last year, Howe Fire Department’s fireworks show lasted 47 minutes which had music accompanied by New Beginning Fellowship. Just as a year ago, HFD plans to have live music, hot dogs, hamburgers, dunking booths and vendors to create a festive atmosphere to celebrate Independence Day.

Other area firework shows include Cedar Mills Marina on July 4 from 7-10:30. Tanglewood will have their annual fireworks show on Sunday, July 5.

 

 

 

Photos of the 2014 Howe Fireworks Festival