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BOY FULLER SCOUTS, RETURNS A K9 AND MEMORIES CONSTABLES FOR TAYLOR PAGE 2 Katy Times PAGE 6 VOLUME 108, ISSUE 49 THE GREATER KATY AREA'S NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1912 n katytimes.com THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020 HARRIS COUNTY ‘PAYDAY’ Reward of hard work, culture earns Tompkins district title KAT WILCOX By DENNIS SILVA II SPORTS EDITOR Harris County Sheriff’s Office investigators are investigating a likely murder-suicide after a Tompkins senior defensive back Colby shooting in the northeastern portion of the Huerter stood alongside head coach Todd Katy area last night. McVey after the Falcons’ 52-0 rout of Seven Lakes on Friday, Nov. 27, at Legacy Stadium that secured the outright District 19-6A title. “We’ve still got some more work to do,” Deputies Huerter said as he basked in the celebra- tory atmosphere near the team’s locker room. “Yes, we do,” McVey responded. look into But for that night, Huerter, McVey and Tompkins High took time to admire what they had accomplished. murder- The last time Katy High was not Katy ISD’s district champion in football, Barack Obama won the presidential election to become the first African American in that suicide capacity, The Dark Knight was the high- est-grossing movie, and Flo Rida’s “Low” By R. HANS MILLER featuring T-Pain was the top song. NEWS EDITOR It’s been 11 years, a dynastic run of DENNIS SILVA II supremacy that was halted as Tompkins Harris County Sheriff’s Office Tompkins players celebrate with a ‘District Champs’ banner and the 19-6A championship trophy following their win over spokesman Jason Spencer See FALCONS, page 8 Seven Lakes on Nov. 27 at Legacy Stadium. announced at a press briefing Nov. 24 that HCSO investigators are looking into an apparent murder-suicide in the 19,400 block of Cypress Arbor Drive. Two men in their twenties lost their lives in the situation which Katy City Council witnesses say may have involved a love triangle. “When deputies arrived, they discovered that two adult men hears CARES Act – both in their twenties – were shot and deceased in the front yard … subsequent investigation revealed that one of the men update at meeting had come to the home to con- front the other over a relation- By R. HANS MILLER ship that they were having with NEWS EDITOR the same woman,” Spencer said. Spencer said witnesses were In a brief special meeting Monday afternoon, Katy City cooperative and indicated that Council awarded a contract to Tidal Construction Inc. for the initial confrontation had upgrades to one of the city’s water plants and received an begun a physical altercation update from Mariga, PLLC representatives regarding its efforts to claim reimbursement for expenses related to the which led to the man who came R. HANS MILLER to the home pulling out a fire- COVID-19 pandemic. arm and shooting the other man Waller County Judge Trey Duhon delivers opening remarks at the Waller County Justice Center ribbon “Today what I wanted to do was really go over the twice before turning the gun on cutting Nov. 21. Coronavirus Relief Fund and particularly what we’ve done himself. in terms of working with the city in order to maximize what Other people were at the they’re able to receive in terms of reimbursement for the home where the incident fund,” said Susanne Mariga with Mariga, PLLC, the city’s occurred at the time of the consultant that is assisting in monitoring CARES Act funds. Waller Co. officials hold Mariga explained that the CARES Act was a $150 billion shooting, including at least one woman. He did not indicate if relief package passed by Congress to assist with the econom- the woman was the individual ic impact of COVID-19 and that Katy had been allocated the two men were fighting over, ribbon cutting for new funding from the three counties it overlaps – Harris, Waller but did say that no other indi- and Fort Bend. Those counties each have reporting require- viduals were harmed. ments and deadlines for reimbursement requests which “(Investigators are) inter- criminal justice center begin on Dec. 8 for Harris County, Dec. 15 for Waller County viewing witnesses; they’re and Jan. 15 of next year for Fort Bend County. talking to neighbors, review- By R. HANS MILLER Mariga said the city had submitted its spending plan as ing surveillance video – home NEWS EDITOR required by Waller County Nov. 10 and anticipated turning security video – from neighbors’ in the requisite reimbursement claims to all three counties homes,” Spencer said. Waller County officials had a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the county’s Dec. 8 rather than waiting until the separate deadlines for new criminal justice center Nov. 21. While the facility is still pending a few The Harris County Institute See CARES, page 5 for Forensic Science was expect- finishing touches before opening county leadership wanted to give the ed to perform autopsies on both public an opportunity to tour the facility before it opens soon. The facility is one of two that will affect those living in southern Waller See MURDER, page 5 County directly to be nearing completion. The county’s Precinct 4 Annex between Brookshire and Katy on the south side of Highway 90 is also essentially complete. “Not only have we delivered these projects on time and on budget, but this year, we were able to set a tax rate that was not only lower than the tax HAVE A NEWS TIP? rate when (Waller residents) voted on (the bond that paid for the build- [email protected] ings), but it was the lowest tax rate in Waller County in 32 years – since 1988,” County Judge Trey Duhon said during a speech at the ceremony. SUBSCRIBE TODAY The new justice center will host the Waller County Sheriffs Office, (979) 885-3562 Waller County Jail and district court and was funded by bonds approved by voters in 2017. December 3, 2020 The jail has enhanced safety features in comparison to the old jail 10 pages | $1 which county officials have said was outdated and falling apart, leading to safety concerns. Cameras are located throughout the building and a “eye Katy City Council met virtually Nov. 30 as they have since the pandemic began. From in the sky” setup allows guards to look into cells from an elevated catwalk top-left: City Secretary Becky McGrew, City Attorney Art Pertile III, Council Member to keep an eye on prisoners and ensure they are safe. Visitation booths Dusty Thiele, Council Member Rory Robertson, Council Member Jennifer Stockdick, have phones at hand to allow clear communication and visitor’s conver- Mayor Pro Tem Chris Harris, Mayor Bill Hastings, City Finance Director Andrew sations with inmates can be recorded if necessary. Phone interactions Vasquez and City Administrator Byron Hebert. Robertson was elected Nov. 3 and Thiele was appointed to council by Hastings upon the resignation of former Council See CENTER, page 5 Member Frank Carroll III, who had moved out of city limits and thus resigned. Pattison hires grant consultant in final 2020 meeting By R. HANS MILLER be pro bono if no grant funding is NEWS EDITOR received or would be a portion of the overall grant funding if a grant is Pattison’s city council adopted awarded to the city, she said. an agreement with GrantWorks to “There is a match that’s involved assist the city with obtaining Com- with this grant,” Davila said. “(Patti- munity Development Block Grant son) is about, I believe, at 5% match funding to aid in the city’s develop- for the grant.” ment and adopted Ordinance No. For a grant award of $350,000 the 135 related management of rights of city’s matching portion would be way on public streets during its Dec. $17,500. 1 meeting. Mayor Joe Garcia said the city The CDBG agreement with had reached out to several organi- GrantWorks will assist the city in zations involved in applying for the obtaining funding, possibly as much CDBG program, which is run by the Texas Department of Agricul- as about $350,000 for improvements ture, but GrantWorks was the only in the city related to water, wastewa- company to respond, though he felt ter, flood mitigation and drainage confident in their ability to do the CITY OF PATTISON/ZOOM said Sylvia Davila, a representative job well for the city. with GrantWorks. She added that “Their proposal to us was re- Pattison City Council, like most local municipal governments, held its meeting via Zoom there may be some matching fund ceived in a timely manner and they Tuesday evening. From top-left to bottom right: City Secretary Lorene Hartfield, Katy Times requirements for the grants, how- were the only ones who responded placeholder, Council Member Robert MacCallum, Council Member Wayne Kircher, City ever the grants would still represent as to date,” Garcia said. Attorney Lora Lenzsch, Council Member Fred Branch, GrantWorks Representative Sylvia savings overall for the city. The cost Davila, Council member Seth Stokes, Mayor Joe Garcia. Not pictured: Council Member Frank of the GrantWorks proposal will See PATTISON, page 5 Cobio who was absent from the meeting. THE KATY TIMES 2 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020 COMMUNITY KATYTIMES.COM UPCOMING EVENTS Boy Scouts, a K9 and constables The events below offer the opportunity for some fun while practicing social distancing. Given the pandemic and weather conditions this time of year, readers are encouraged to call ahead to ensure that no cancellations or reschedulings have occurred. Storytime with Santa at LaCenterra Texas Children’s Hospital is sponsoring this each Saturday through Dec.