Eighteen years ago, the late Past District Governor Lion Don Buckalew and Past District Governor Lion Glen Starr presented the club with a vision that completely changed the dynamics of our fundraising efforts. Area businesses have always provided Conroe Noon Lions Club with tremendous support. They were often asked to give at every fundraising event throughout the year. The Community Partners Program was created to allow businesses the opportunity to sponsor the club once a year, eliminating the constant request for money and donations, while participating in all the events. Since 2006 we have gone from 80 community partners to 150.
Last Wednesday was our annual Community Partners Appreciation Luncheon. It’s always a pleasure to see so many of our sponsors and have the opportunity to celebrate them, show them a little bit about what we do, how we use our donations, and how they contribute to our community.
The lady VPs were on hand to lead the meeting while incoming president Lion Bryan Rennell was enjoying his time at the International Lions Convention in Melbourne Australia. Second VP Tracy Irvine welcomed our community partners and third VP Sharene Carr presented a slideshow summarizing our Lions year by the numbers.
Last year Conroe Noon • gave away 35 Christmas baskets to the community,• hosted 15 kids at our annual kids on the lake event for children with special needs and disabilities,• purchased over $10,000 worth of Montgomery County Fair auction items,• gave $5000 to the Benevolent Missions International organization, providing eyeglasses and eye exams in Belize,• Hosted 8 clients from Bridgewood Farms and providing them with stylish outfits, hair, and make up for our annual Spring Style Show,• Provided 1735-man hours at the Texas Lions camp in Kerrville,• Donated $12,000 to Lions Clubs District & International Charities,• Hosted 7 Service Saturdays projects,• Continue our adopted school program with 1 school, Reaves Elementary,• Sorted and processed 8000 pounds of eyeglasses, sunglasses, and cases in our eyeglass center,• Sponsored 1 US Army communications specialist as our Hometown Military Hero,• Donated 1200 pairs of underwear to recent flood victims,• Distributed $34,000 of college scholarships through our yearly contests and scholarship programs,• Provided 650 Vision screenings through area pre-schools, health fairs, and the Community Assistance Center,• And fulfilled our commitment of $300,000 to build one bunkhouse at the Texas Lions Camp.
The Community Partner Program helps fund all of these projects and more. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of our Community Partners.
Meredith Jurica, entrepreneur and founder of Make Up Junkie Bags, a nationally known Conroe business, was our special guest last week. Meredith started as a one-man show, creating her patented flat make up bag with a continuous variety of styles and patterns. The business quickly grew, achieving over $1 million of business before taking her concept to the popular show Shark Tank. She continues to grow her business, even after setbacks from Covid, and features her products in boutiques nationwide. Meredith was on hand to remind us about the importance of community involvement through business in a systemized way. She shared her story of how perseverance has led to her success. When the business was depleted during the Covid epidemic, Meredith’s business shifted to making hospital gowns for rural towns in need, allowing her to pay her staff and business expenses, while making no profit. If you ever have the opportunity to meet her, ask her about the guacamole dress. She is a shining example of hard work and success, and we are proud to have her as one of our Community Partners.
For more information, please visit our website, www.conroenoonlions.org, or call the local club office at 936-760-1666. You may also call 936-760-1666 for additional information on any area Lions Club.
A $34 million Lone Star College center being built in Magnolia is one of the college system’s last projects from its nearly $500 million bond in 2014.
Expected to open its doors in 2026, the new center recently broke ground along FM 1486 on June 27.
BIRD RESCUE: Sparky the bird went on a Lake Conroe adventure. An 8-year-old boy and his family brought him home.
Lone Star College-Montgomery President De’ Reese Reid-Hart said she was excited for the 51,000 square-foot center to be near the finish line.
“It’s been in the making for 10 years,” Reid-Hart said. “We’re just excited to finally be here and realizing the promise that we made to the community.”
The center will offer regular transfer courses while also offering two workforce programs — heating, ventilating, and air conditioning and EMS.
The college has partnered with Magnolia ISD to offer dual-credit courses and college prep activities, Reid-Hart said. The center also will have a community space that people can rent for meetings and other activities.
The college is also expected to begin construction on a 20,000 square-foot addition to its north Houston Victory location, which will provide additional instructional and common space as part of the 2014 bond.
BIOTECH BOOM: The Woodlands approves tax abatement for California-based Bionova’s new $56M facility
Newly elected Magnolia mayor Matthew “Doc” Dantzer called the center a reflection of the growth that the city is experiencing “that Lone Star is willing to come out here and put a programming like this to help our youth.”
“So many kids…just don’t want to go to college,” Dantzer said. “They want to work, they want to enter a vocational type atmosphere. This school is going to work with Magnolia ISD to prepare kids to graduate high school and either graduate and come out with an education, a vocation and or have at least some place local to go to get that after high school — and not accrue four years of student loans. I think it’s an amazing asset to the community.”
As of 2022, the college had an enrollment of more than 85,000 students, according to its website. And Reid-Hart said she doesn’t see it slowing down anytime soon.
“We continue to maintain our enrollment,” she said, noting that the spring semester was one of the institutes largest enrollments ever. “We’re definitely feeling the impact of the growing community at our different locations. And we’re pretty psyched we’ll continue to have growth in terms of enrollment, because of the growth in both the Magnolia and Conroe area.”
The community of Bentwater is just that. Though it has a population larger than most towns in our corner of Texas, it’s a community. It’s Americana the way it used to be. And never is that more evident than during Bentwater’s 4th of July celebration. It’s a place and time for friends and neighbors to come together for too much food and drink, to enjoy one another, to honor tradition and soak in the satisfaction of belonging. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the entire POA and country club staffs, Independence Day is one of the highlights of our year with the best fireworks show anywhere around the lake, and a parade that gets more and more creative each year. Whether you’re a participant or a spectator, the parade shows off a deep sense of pride. Pride in our country. Pride in our state. Pride in our community. Pride in our heritage. When we consider our heritage, our mind often wanders to tea parties in Boston or Independence Hall or the Liberty Bell, and it certainly is all those things. But, in fact, we’re creating heritage for others even today, every day. Ready or not, consciously or not, our simple actions can leave indelible impressions on others for generations to come. Case in point, my grandmother had a hand-embroidered tapestry (actually just a piece of framed cloth) on her parlor wall that read like this. Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. I’m sure most of you have read or heard those words at different times throughout your life. But, since I’d watched her spend weeks stitching those words on that white cloth, I naturally assumed the words were hers. I mean, I was a kid so what did I know? But my assumptions were mostly based on the fact that Gramma seemed to know things that others didn’t and she actually lived by those words for nearly 100 years, just a few months shy of a century. I was blessed to be part of her life for about half of those years. That’s one example of heritage in the making, but it isn’t limited to events of yesteryear. Because, as of today, the first half of 2024 is officially in our rearview mirror. And as we look forward to this Independence Day celebration week, it’s perfectly okay to show your pride. After all, America enjoys a quality of life that much of the rest of the world can’t even imagine. By the way, that didn’t just happen by accident and it won’t continue by accident. Freedom isn’t free, so may we all work for the serenity and courage and wisdom to celebrate, and keep, our heritage. Happy Independence Day, Bentwater.
Send Bentwater fun news and social tidbits to Bruce at Bruce@TheLakeConroeGroup.com
I read something last week that blew me away. Not literally. That would be stupid. No, it was about an odd brain defect that is scary as all get out. The mental defect is Prosopagnosia. I’m thinking it has six syllables.
The brain disease prevents you from remembering the faces of people, or even your own face. Kay told me that Brad Pitt has it. He doesn’t enjoy being in a room with many people, some of whom he’s supposed to know.
I read about one case where after someone with the disease saw a person crying, he would recognize that person the next time he saw him, but only if he was crying. I suppose someone who couldn’t quit crying would make a good friend of person with Proso infection. Weird as all get out.
The only tolerable symptom of the malady is that an inflicted person can still remember the sound of your voice. He couldn’t pick you out of a lineup, but if you say, “Hey, I’m over here.” That would work. Unfortunately, there’s another strain of the disease that blocks one’s memory of a person’s face and the sound of the person’s voice. That is beyond cruel.
Scientists have yet to come up with a cure for “Proso”. If you’re born with it, it means a small portion of your brain near the back is missing, and as of today, it’s been impossible to duplicate it. You can also get it from a knock on the lower portion of the back of your head. That can cause a lesion that turns off your ability to read faces. Certain illnesses can also cause it.
Everyone with Alzheimer’s will get it. My sister, Lynda, knew me fine from the beginning of her Alzheimer’s. Two years later she couldn’t pick me out of a lineup. If I saw her in the hallway of the hospital, she would smile as if she knew me, but she did that to anyone who took a moment to stop to say “hello”. Too soon, her smile vanished. Alzheimer’s must cause a lesion at the back of your skull that hampers you from recognizing faces.
I was in a fairly good mood before finding out about this hideous defect. I felt particularly sad after reading that one lady with the disorder said, “I can’t recognize people’s faces because I can’t remember them. But I know me. I just don’t know my face.”I about cried after reading that. It makes me recall a passage from one of Thomas Gray’s few poems. I’m sure you’ve heard and recited it multiple times. — “Where ignorance is bliss, ‘tis folly to be wise.” — In my case, it would read, “‘tis folly to learn stuff.” I choose now to leave depression and enter the world of wonderment. I’m going to take us on a short ride into infinity and eternity. Hey, we’re already in both of them at this very minute. Last night I found some of my notes on the two subjects. Simply put, eternity deals with limitless time. That’s easy to note. Infinity relates to the endless universe or the never-ending negative and positive numerals. That may have been mathematically proved, just not in any way I could discern. In eternity there is no beginning and no end. It’s like infinity in the sense that it goes on forever. The mind of most humans tells us that everything has to start somewhere!” If you’re dealing with time, you generally think, “Well what was going on before time?” In infinity, there is no ending of distance in space or of energy. If there is a heaven for people who lived a bazillion, trillion years ago, you might ask if they’re still happy. And if they’re not, ask them how long it took for them to get that way. I’m thinking that most of us are hoping for a place in heaven. If we’re welcomed into such a place, you might find others who are literally not of this world. I’m assuming we’re not the only planet with somewhat intelligent beings. Of course, we know the saying about what happens when you “assume”. I can’t remember, but you might. If the Universe never ends, how can God occupy an eternal position everywhere at the same time? To the human mind, time and space cannot be determined in infinity, because there is no starting point or ending. It’s the same with eternity. — If only our brains were capable of at least imagining such a thing. I guess Einstein came the closest. He may not have understood it, but he probably came up with an equation for no beginning and no end. As far as I know, I have never seen God or heard Him speak. I will need evidence of at least one of those events before I can toss away my faith, trust, and belief. Right now all three are bound by hope. Hope is a dear gift.As a teenager, I was in a Sunday morning class at church, and the preacher was the teacher. I remember asking him a question. I can’t recall the question, but at the time it was really weighing on me. After hearing my question, he said, “Mark, if God wanted us to know about that kind of stuff, He would have told us.” Obviously. However, next Sunday, I’m going to ask our new preacher – “Jake, would you explain to me why God introduced Prosopagnosia to the world? – Between now and then, I’ll have to learn how to pronounce it.
Mark Hayter may be reached at hayter.mark@gmail.com
U.S. Navy veteran Haley Burgess is making life sweeter on Lake Conroe this summer.
In August 2023, Burgess opened Montgomery County’s first location of The Paleta Bar in Waterpoint Center on Lake Conroe. The center is lakeside and filled with restaurants and shops and includes a waterfront boardwalk along the property.
She’s also bringing popularity to the paleta, which is Spanish for “ice pops.” The rectangle-shaped popsicle that is cream or water based is a summer staple in Hispanic culture.
NEW NIKO NIKO’S: Popular Houston gyro shop Niko Niko’s opens its newest, largest location in former Woodlands Luby’s
“It’s a popsicle but it’s made with fresh fruits and fresh ingredients,” she said. “Everything is fresh and made in house.”
In addition to paletas they have Aguas Frescas, a Mexican-style drink that translates to “fruit waters” made with fresh fruits and Horchata which is described as a sweet rice milk beverage.
What to know about The Paleta Bar
The Paleta Bar was introduced by a trio of friends with restaurant experience. The first location opened in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2017. There are now 43 locations across New Mexico, California, Colorado, Texas, Arizona, Utah and Nevada.
There are six Texas location with a new store coming soon to Amarillo. The other Houston-area store is in Memorial City. The Lake Conroe location is at 15258 Texas 105 West.
Burgess frequented the Hollywood Boulevard location when she was stationed near Los Angeles.
She grew up in Spring and is a 2014 graduate of Klein Oak High School. After high school, she served in the U.S. Navy from 2016 to 2020.
She was stationed roughly two hours from Los Angeles and she and her Navy friends would spend time in Los Angeles during their leaves.
“We’d go to the one on Hollywood Boulevard all the time. Sometimes twice in one day,” she said.
Sweet and colorful treat
At first she was intimidated by all the colors and flavors.
She stuck with fruit and a sprinkle of Tajin a chili/lime seasoning until one day she took a bite of her friend’s watermelon paleta with chili spice.
“Ironically I’m not big on sweets. I tried a bite and it was so good,” she said. “I had no idea of the creative things you can do with it.”
Fast forward to her return to Texas with her family now living in the Montgomery area.
PHAT EATERY OPENS: New Phat Eatery Woodlands builds on chef-owner Alex Au-Yeung’s legacy of showcasing Malaysian food
She was picking up take-out food one day from Akashi Asian Bistro & Sushi Bar in Waterpoint Center and saw the sign seeking a franchisee for The Paleta Bar in the center.
“I knew what it was and I was curious,” she said. Not long after, she bought the location. “It was a really strange God-led situation.”
Unique flavors
The paletas come in fruit flavors but also unique tastes like avocado and taro a root vegetable with a purple color.
“The taro has an almondy, coconut type flavor,” she said. “It’s one of our best sellers but I really have to convince people to try it.”
Despite the green color, she said the avocado paleta does not taste like guacamole.
“It’s sweet and sugary and also a big seller,” she said.
After picking out a paleta, the bar can be dipped in milk, dark or white chocolate or powdered in chile powder or Chamoy a sweet or spicy liquid or paste.
Then the paleta is coated in a variety of nuts, candy, cookies or cereal.
She said their Cookies N Cream bar is a summer favorite. For fall they’ll have pumpkin flavors and at Christmas they have peppermint flavors.
Getting to share the different flavors and the culture behind them is one of Burgess’ passions and favorite things about the store.
Her shop also has savory snacks like “elotes” or corn in a cup covered with Parmesan cheese, mayo and spices and their signature Dorinachos, Doritos chips with nacho cheese sauce.
First-time visitors
The Kim family experienced their first paletas as they visited Lake Conroe recently.
Johnny Kim, of The Woodlands, said it was their first time to the The Paleta Bar. He appreciated that it was something cool and different as they were visiting the lake.
He chose the Oreo Lovers combo with and Oreo paleta, white chocolate and Oreo crumbs.
Not only was it tasty he said a six-pack was a good deal for his family of eight.
When asked if he was a fan of paletas, he said “I am now.”
We get questions from time to time regarding how to handle or what to do with a damaged tree. “Should I cut it down? What can I do to save the tree?” I ran across a publication that our Texas Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) published. It was a publication called the “Tree Care Kit.”
I hope the following information will help you assess a trees properly before writing off a damaged tree as a “goner.” Homeowners should evaluate their trees by asking the following questions:
• Other than the storm damage, is the tree basically healthy and vigorous? If the tree is basically healthy, is not creating a hazard, and did not suffer major structural damage, it will generally recover if first aid measures are applied immediately after the storm.• Are major limbs broken? The larger a broken limb is, the harder it will be for the tree to recover from the damage. If most of the main branches are gone, the tree may have little chance of surviving.• Has the leader (the main upward-trending branch on most trees) been lost? In species where a leader is important to upward growth or a desirable appearance, saving the tree may have to be a judgment call. The tree may live without its leader, but at best it would be a stunted or deformed version of the original.• Is at least 50 percent of the tree’s crown (branches and leaves) still intact? This is a good rule of thumb on tree survivability. A tree with less than half of its branches remaining may not be able to produce enough foliage to nourish the tree through another season.• How big are the wounds where branches have been broken or bark has been damaged? The larger the wound is in relation to the size of the limb, the less likely it is to heal, leaving the tree vulnerable to disease and pests. A 2- to 3-inch wound on a 12-inch diameter limb will seal over with new bark within a couple of years.• Are there remaining branches that can form a new branch structure? The remaining limbs will grow more vigorously as the tree tries to replace its missing foliage. Look to see if there are branches that can eventually fill out the tree’s appearance.• Is the tree of a desirable species for its location? If the tree is in the wrong location (such as a potentially tall tree beneath a power line) or is an undesirable species for the property (messy fruit, etc.), it may be best to remove it if it has serious damage.
Then, make the decision
In general, the answer as to what to do about a particular tree will fall into one of three categories:1. It’s a Keeper If damage is relatively slight, prune any broken branches, repair torn bark or rough edges around wounds, and let the tree begin the process of wound repair.2. Wait and See If a valuable tree appears to be a borderline case, resist the temptation to simply cut the tree down and be done with it. It may be best to stand back for a while and think it over. Remember that time is on your side. After careful pruning of broken branches, give the tree some time to recover. A final decision can be made later.
An Easy Call: A mature shade tree can usually survive the loss of one major limb. The broken branch should be pruned back to the trunk. In the months that follow, large wounds should be closely monitored for signs of decay.
Minor Damage: Although the tree has been damaged, enough strong limbs may remain on a basically healthy tree to make saving it possible.Too Young to Die: Young trees can sustain quite a bit of damage and still recover quickly. If the leader is intact and the structure for future branching remains, remove the damaged limbs and allow the tree to recover.
Easy Does It: Resist the temptation to prune too heavily. Remember that the tree will need all the foliage it can produce in order to make it through the next growing season. Remove only the damaged limbs, then wait and see what happens.
Hold Off: A healthy, mature tree can recover even when several major limbs are damaged. With large trees, a professional arborist should be brought in to assess damage and to safely accomplish needed pruning and branch removal.
3. Say goodbye
Some trees simply can’t be saved or are not worth saving. If the tree has already been weakened by disease, if the trunk is split, or if more than 50 percent of the crown is gone, the tree has lost its survival edge.
Don’t Try to Do It All Alone: Some of your trees may have damage that’s too close to call, or they may have hidden damage. If that is the case, you’ll need a tree professional to help you decide what to do. Don’t hire just anyone who shows up at your door.
Tree Tragedy: This otherwise healthy young tree has lost too much of its crown-the leafy head that is vital for survival. It will probably not be able to grow enough new branches and leaves to provide needed nourishment and will never be able to regain its former beautiful shape.
Hopeless Case: About all that’s left of this tree is its trunk. The few remaining branches can’t provide enough foliage to enable the tree to make it through another growing season.
Farewell to a Friend: A rotten inner core in the trunk or structural weakness in branching patterns can cause a split trunk-the tree equivalent of a heart attack. The wounds are too large to ever mend, and the tree has lost its sap lifeline between roots and leaves. This tree is all but dead.
Hope this will help you make a more informed decision regarding damaged trees.
Don’t forget to send your garden questions to Plant Answers at 9020 Airport Rd., Conroe TX 77303 or e-mail me at mpotter@ag.tamu.edu. You can also contact our Master Gardener Help line at 936-539-7824.
Kinds of Kindness
Rated R for strong sexual content, language, full nudity and strong violent contentRotten Tomatoes Score: 75%In TheatersHot off his highly successful Oscar run with Poor Things, writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos returns to theaters with this triptych of stories, all with the same revolving cast which includes Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Hong Chau and Margaret Qualley. The stories each revolve around control in relationships, however the interconnection is very much up to the interpretation of the viewer. The first tale revolves around Plemons, who is asked by his boss (Dafoe) to commit a senseless act of violence or be out of his good graces. The second finds Plemons distraught when his wife goes missing on a work trip only to find that he doesn’t think it’s actually her upon her return. The third finds Plemons and Stone as colleagues working for a sex cult led by Dafoe, looking for a prophesied messiah. I’m not saying The Favourite and Poor Things weren’t weird, as they absolutely were, but compared to his earlier works like the Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, they were quite normal narratives. Here he seems to be going back to a world that is left up to the audience to decide on its meaning and value. Is it about relationships? Is it about religion? There is nothing given easily here. At first I even thought he was messing with us as the story was just that odd and elusive. But once I got into it, it didn’t make more sense, but it certainly was entertaining. It helps that the acting is top-notch, but it helps more that all three stories serve as grand dark comedies. If you are like myself and much of the audience I saw it with, you will find yourself laughing out loud (many time out of pure discomfort) at scenes that you feel you shouldn’t be laughing at. In this, its sense of humor is both perverse and pervasive, making the film rather enjoyable when maybe it shouldn’t be. Will we be circling around this project again come awards season? Probably not. While the acting and production are definitely worthy, I doubt the reception will be strong enough to bring home any trophies. But for fans of either Lanthimos or absurdist movies in general, this should find itself a popular enough film in certain circles. B+
Daddio
Rated R for language throughout, sexual material and brief graphic nudityRotten Tomatoes Score: 83%In TheatersThis low-budget indie stars Dakota Johnson as a New Yorker returning from a trip who gets into Sean Penn’s cab going from the airport to her apartment in Manhattan. When the cab gets stopped in traffic, the two get into an intense conversation about relationships where Penn gets a load off his chest while serving as a pseudo-therapist doling out wisdom to a young woman in great need of receiving it. What should be a dull, real-time story, turns out to be an interesting movie that circles around ideas that go mostly unsaid in polite society, as two people, who both know they won’t see each other ever again, open up in ways they could never do with a more familiar party. Definitely not a date movie nor a project that will find a big box office, but it will be interesting to see who the audience will be, if it finds an audience at all. But for the lone person who finds it, there a worth-while 100-minute journey to be enjoyed here. B
Danny Minton may be reached at danny@dannyminton.com.
Six Texas country music artists took the stage in New Caney to help raise funds for residents in east Montgomery County whose homes were affected by May floods.
The concept of the “Flooded with Love” disaster relief concert held June 22 started with a question.
BOND ELECTION: New animal shelter could be part of possible $450M May bond in Montgomery County
“Why doesn’t east Montgomery County not have some type of flood fund since it floods there so often?” asked Joshua Mason, development director for the H-Town Dream Center, a nonprofit that has served the community since 2010.
Using music to help with flood recovery
So the Splendora-based organization, alongside Porter musician and 2016 “The Voice” winner Sundance Head, set out to raise $100,000 in relief funds at the concert held with 400 in attendance at A.V. “Bull” Sallas Park off McCleskey Road.
The nonprofit raised roughly $70,000 and plans to continue to raise money for the rest of the year.
“It was amazing to have $70,000 come in with the short time that we had, but you can imagine what we can do in a year,” said Shannon Nelson, co-founder of the nonprofit, alluding to plans of raising twice as much for a future event or potentially more.
The goal for the next event is $250,000 to $500,000, said Shawn Nelson, the nonprofit’s other co-founder and husband to Shannon.
“The sky is the limit,” Shawn Nelson said. “We’ve got about a year and four to five months to put it together.”
Region recovering from May floods
Head helped organize the disaster relief concert after the county saw heavy rainfall in May for several days, resulting in 1,500 flooded homes, according to a Houston Chronicle report. Head took to Instagram after touring his home, which was also affected by flooding, to announce a potential relief concert — stating he really wanted to help the community.
“It was the fourth time for my home to be flooded,” Head said, noting that he and his family had lived in the area since the 70s. “I know how difficult it is to have to figure out everything on your own and come up with the resources to get your house back in order.”
A disaster relief concert is something he and his father, singer Roy Head, had talked about for a while before he died in 2020, Head said.
“He always wanted to know how we could do it,” he said, noting that the he wanted to find a way to honor his father as well.
After his Instagram post went viral in the community, Head met with Montgomery County Precinct 4 Commissioner Matt Gray and Montgomery County Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace Jason Dunn to organize the event and connected with the nonprofit, he said.
A day after the event, he announced on Facebook that he had plans for another concert in October 2025.
During the concert, several performers took the stage, including three-time Grammy award winner Sunny Sauceda, Texas Female Artist of the Decade Bri Bagwell and Texas Country singer Ryder Grimes. But next year, Head hopes to book a national headliner, he said.
“We’re gonna try to get a real major name in here to get people to come out and support the event,” Head said.
Although nothing is set in terms of musicians for the next disaster relief concert, that didn’t stop Shawn Nelson from fantasizing about next year’s lineup.
SINGING WITH LIZZO: Woodlands Walmart employees win nationwide talent search to sing alongside Lizzo, Imagine Dragons
“A dream on would be Blake Shelton, who was the winner with Sundance in The Voice in 2016,” he said. “That would be off the charts. Luke Wilson would be great. (But) listen, the four people that were there put on an amazing show. All great artists. These are pretty much local people that we had. But it was an amazing show.”
As for the recent event, Mason called it a “beacon of hope for the community.”
“The overwhelmingly generosity and support from attendees, sponsors and the community was more than inspiring,” he said. “We’re just blessed and grateful to be a part of it.”
Head shared the sentiment.
“I support the community,” he said. “I love the community. I’m from the community. All of my family have been born and raised, and passed here. This is where my roots are. And just really proud to have been able to see this come to fruition.”
For those that wish to donate to the disaster relief fund and buy a T-shirt from the event, visit floodedwithlove.com.
Conroe’s third Chick-fil-A restaurant will open Thursday on North Loop 336 as a newer concept for the chain.
This drive-thru-focused location will serve guests through a drive-thru and a walk-up window for carry-out.
The restaurant opens at 6 a.m. Thursday at 612 Loop 336 North across from Conroe’s eastside H-E-B grocery store. The Loop 336 and North Frazier Street restaurant joins more than 130 other Chick-fil-A restaurants serving the wider Houston market.
BOND ELECTION: New animal shelter could be part of possible $450M May bond in Montgomery County
Eddie Kober is the independent franchised local owner-operator of the new store.
He began his career with Chick-fil-A while working for his father, who owned a mall location in his hometown of Laredo.
Kober also serves as the local owner-operator of Chick-fil-A Lake Conroe Parkway and Chick-fil-A Willis, which he will continue to operate alongside Chick-fil-A Loop 336 and North Frazier Street.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue serving the Conroe community with care, and I look forward to greeting our guests with the signature Chick-fil-A hospitality they have come to know and love,” Kober said.
Kober has been working for Chick-fil-A for more than 45 years.
He originally planned to go to medical school after graduating college, but instead he decided to pursue the path of one day opening his own Chick-fil-A restaurant.
In 1999, he relocated to Houston to become the local owner-operator of his own restaurant.
A few years later, Kober relocated to Conroe, where he still resides with his wife, Angela, and their two children.
REAL ESTATE: The Woodlands takes first steps to potentially sell property once earmarked for city center
“My mindset is ‘ready for whatever happens’ – I like to think that flexibility has led me to a successful career and given me the opportunity to make a positive impact on my neighbors here in Conroe through my restaurants,” said Kober.
The new location brings 100 jobs to the community according to a release from Chick-fil-A. The store will be open for outdoor dining, drive-thru and carry-out from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
“Designed for speed and efficiency, this drive-thru-focused location offers added convenience to serve guests through its drive-thru and a walk-up window for carry-out. The new restaurant will also feature Mobile Thru, a fully dedicated lane in the drive-thru where guests can pick up orders placed ahead of time on the Chick-fil-A app,” according to the release.
Kober’s restaurant will also participate in the Chick-fil-A Shared Table program, an initiative that redirects surplus food from the restaurant to local soup kitchens, shelters, food banks and nonprofits in need.
To date, more than 25 million meals have been created from Chick-fil-A Shared Table donations from over 2,000 Chick-fil-A restaurants throughout the U.S. and Canada.
The grapes in Texas vineyards are showing that 2024 will be another outstanding year for Texas grapes. Texas is unique since we have two distinct grape harvests. Hybrid wine grapes are grown along the warm, humid Texas Gulf Coast with the Classic vitis vinifera grapes further inlands. Grape hybrids like Blanc du Bois do exceptionally well with the Gulf Coast warm nights and humid days along with the widespread Pierce’s Disease.
Blanc du Bois grapes will be harvested this week and next week since the bud break on these grapes is as early as February providing four months of development in the Texas Gulf Coast sun. If you want to experience a grape harvest, sign up at Wild Stallion Vineyard on West Rayford Road in North Harris County for their Saturday morning harvest, beginning at 8 a.m. this Saturday.
Bernhardt Winery will be having their harvest of Blanc du Bois on Saturday, July 6th starting at 8 am with a grape crush afterwards. These grapes should have about 20% sugars in the juice, compared to 8 or 9% sugars in store-bought grapes. Haak Winery in Galveston County will also be harvesting their Blanc du Bois grapes, but they have had more rain and need further development. Messina Hof in Bryan will be harvesting their Lennoir grapes in July for their Port wine.
Further inland, the classic vitis vinifera grapes have bud break two months after the Blanc du Bois. Those inland grapes provide a wider variety of grapes and hence grape characteristics evolve for the timing of the harvest. Some grapes are slower to evolve as their fruit develops. From Kuhlken Vineyards comes this report, “This spring and summer have been full of intense storms and heavy rains in the Texas Hill Country, and throughout most of the state. They may be scary to drive in, but our vines couldn’t be happier with all the extra water. Coming out of the drought of the last few years is like a breath of fresh air. However, with heavy spring rain comes every vineyard manager’s nightmare: golf ball sized hail. Hail can cause major devastation to young green shoots and clusters.
Thankfully our vineyard is located in the Bell Mountain AVA on higher elevation, so we made it through hail season unscathed. Of course that isn’t always the case, but we’re grateful that it was this year. We have hail nets on most of the vineyard and plan to finish putting the rest of them out this coming winter. We are just beginning the veraison stage of the growing season which is always an exciting time because it’s when we can really see how much fruit we will be able to harvest in July and August. For now, our early ripening varieties like Temperanillo and Alicante Bouschet are turning purple and developing a little sweetness. The Mourvedre will take a little longer since it’s a late ripener, but it won’t be far behind. As we move closer to harvest I hope the rains slow down a bit because too much moisture can lead to increased risk of disease and bursting berries, however I don’t see that being an issue knowing how Texas summers are. It’s been a great growing season thus far, and we’re excited to watch our vines continue to thrive”
Brian Heath of Heath Family Brands (Owners of Grape Creek Vineyards near Fredericksburg) told me, “We’ve had an excellent growing season so far for our vineyards in the Hill Country as well as in the Texas High Plains. The regular rains this season have afforded good canopy development and most of our vineyards were fortunate to avoid the destructive hail that came with the spring thunderstorms. Our vineyard teams have been diligently tending to the vines to promote excellent quality in the vines and fruit. To open up the fruit zone we have leaf pulled and have also hedged the vines to contain vigor. The shoots and clusters have been thinned allowing the fruit to better develop and mature. At this point in the growing season, we anticipate the harvest timing to be about average, which would mean beginning to harvest white grapes in late July or early August and reds late August or early September.”
It certainly looks like another great year for Texas grapes and hence Texas wines.
Ron Saikowski may be reached at rsaikowski@comcast.net.
