The first week of school is in the books for the 2024-25 school year! Time to relax and enjoy what Conroe has to offer while getting ready for fall!
I found a few things coming up this week and next week you may enjoy.
Texas Red Fest featuring the Lacs, Justin Champagne, REHAB, Cypress Spring and Austin Tolliver will be at Heritage Place Park Saturday, Aug. 24 with gates open at 2:00pm. The show begins on stage at 3:00pm. TexRedFest.com for information and tickets.
The High Caliber Gun Show is both Saturday, Aug. 25 and Sunday, Aug. 25 at the Lone Star Convention Center. Entry is $10 and kids under 12 are free.
Get ready for the first game of the Fall Football Season at Conroe High School Friday, Aug. 30 at Moorhead Stadium against Alief Elsik. Kickoff is 7:00pm. Get pumped up for the Conroe Tigers!
Family Promise of Montgomery County will hist their Annual “Rise Up” Luncheon Thursday, Aug. 29 at 11:00am at Lone Star College, Maverick Center to celebrate families that have graduated from their 90-Day program to independence and to raise funds to assist their mission of helping homeless families with children to become self-sufficient and stable. Get tickets and information at www.FamilyPromiseofMC.org.
Our community theatres start their new 2024-2025 season on Friday, Sept. 6. The Crighton Theatre will premiere “The Play That Goes Wrong” and over at the Owen Theatre “Rock of Ages” will take the stage. Both shows will be for three weeks through Sunday, Sept. 22.
Stay safe. Shop local.
Margie Taylor may be reached at margie@taylorizedpr.com.
Conservation is one of the best solutions to reduce your water bills and reduce problems with your landscape plants and turfgrass during our current dry spell. Watering, fertilizing and maintaining your landscape properly can reduce your water bill by as much as 30 percent. Rather than going to extreme measures and not watering, try another approach that will give desired results and save water. I am sure there are some of you that have looked at your water bill with eyes wide open and said “OUCH!”. Now let’s see if we can help you not make some of the mistakes and save water and money.
The first thing is learning to identify symptoms of drought stress. Look for discoloration and wilting. Leaves can also roll up or close in the heat of the day. This can be true for both turfgrass and landscape plants. With turfgrass, a step test help in predicting moisture need. Grass blades that have adequate water will spring back up. If there is a lack of water, the blades of grass stay compressed from the compaction of walking across the lawn.
Walk across the lawn for about ten paces. Turn around and see if your footprints are still visible. If your footprints are visible from the starting point, water within 24 hours. With landscape plants, temperatures above 98 degrees can cause wilting during the heat of the day. If the plants look fine in the morning and again later in the evening (not wilting), then the plants are getting enough water from the soil.
Watering too little too often or too much can increase susceptibility to insects, fungus and root problems. Watering small amounts with more frequency causes turfgrass to develop shallow roots. With landscape plants, shallow watering will only impact the roots for a short period of time and then evaporates with the heat. Thus, causing permanent damage to the plants systems and ultimately resulting in dieback or plant death. On the other hand, excessive watering will result in run-off (especially with clay soils) or excessive soil moisture that leads to lack of oxygen for roots. Regardless, both methods can increase susceptibility to insects, fungus and disease. So, watering deeply and infrequently is your best and most productive option. On another note, use irrigation devices that produce large drops or heavy streams of water. Fine mists and small drops of water have a greater chance of evaporating and not making their way down into the soil.
So, how much water do you apply and for how long do you set the timer? Research shows that turf requires 1 inch of water per week to sustain healthy vigorous growth. With that said, if it rains 2 inches on any given day, we technically should not have to water for 2 weeks. You will notice I said “technically”. Other factors include evaporation, wind, soil type and plant water-use requirements just to name a few. Now back to the initial question. An easy way to determine how long you will need to water is to perform an irrigation audit. This can be done with an irrigation system or with hose-end devices.
Randomly place a couple of coffee cans or rain gauges in the yard (or irrigation station) and measure how much water is accumulated in a predetermined amount of time. This will allow you to gauge how long to water each time you irrigate. Established grasses with good root systems should be able to survive at least three days between water events.
After performing an irrigation audit you should be able to increase your conservation effort without sacrificing your lawn.
Cutting back on fertilization can also reduce water consumption. Applying fertilizer in the spring and fall will generally keep things healthy and attractive. Fertilizing during the heat of the summer or during droughts, especially with high nitrogen fertilizer, will increase growth but increases water consumption. However, with the current stress level in plants, fertilizing will only increase stress and ultimately result in more susceptibility to problems.
Lastly, avoid cutting back landscape plants until temperatures cool down and normal rainfall relieves plant stress. Hopefully plants will start to see some reprieve soon and can start the recovery process.
How to preform an irrigation audit
An irrigation audit involves inspection of all irrigation heads to determine that all function properly. Check each nozzle to make sure they are not clogged or that grass or other obstructions do not impede the distribution of water. After inspecting the nozzles, set out a series of cups in a grid pattern over the field or a specific zone of the irrigation system. Next, turn on the sprinklers for a specified amount of time. After the irrigation is off, measure the amount or depth of water in each cup or can. When all cups are collected, find an average amount or depth of water in each cup and use that to determine the application rate per hour.Example: 5 measuring cups were used and the irrigation system was run for fifteen minutes. All cups were measured as follows:0.25″ + 0.3″ + 0.27″ + 0.22″ + 0.3″ = 1.34″ ÷ 5 cups = 0.268″ avg. in fifteen minutes.0.268″ per 15 minutes = x”/60 minutes, x = 1.072″ per hour.
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.
Montgomery voters soon will decide whether elected officials will serve four years, instead of the current two-year term, as the city continues to grapple with growth.
For nearly a year, officials have been debating extending the term for council members and mayor to three or four years from the current two-year term. During a workshop meeting in October, council members said they find it hard to get a lot of work done with the growth the city has experienced.
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Term lengths debated
As the city of more than 2,000 residents continues to grow, officials said not enough work is accomplished within the two-year term.
“Residents and officials alike were seeing that you can’t get a whole lot accomplished,” said Mayor Sara Countryman. “We needed congruency just in a two-year term.”
On Aug. 13, council members moved forward with including an ordinance that would allow voters on Nov. 6 to choose whether to extend terms for elected officials to four years from two years.
Other Houston-area cities such as Friendswood, Manvel and Dayton have a term length of three to four years, officials said.
“In four years, there’s not as much change on the council side, so (any) initiatives can be seen through,” Countryman said. “And when somebody new gets on the council, there’s still some legacy there that will help guide them.”
‘It’s really hard to get things done’
Previously, council members aired their frustration on serving a two-year term.
“We swap out half the council every year, basically,” said council member Casey Olsen during the October 2023 meeting. “It really throws a (wrench) in agendas. You get a plan going and then, all of a sudden…we got three new members that have a whole new idea. It’s really hard to get things done.”
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Countryman said she expects a record turnout at the polls due to the presidential election this year. And it is “definitely up to us to get the word out and educate voters on what the city has on this ballot.”
“There’s a lot of education that needs to take place before they get to that ballot,” she said.
Montgomery residents will also be voting on whether to reallocate sales tax revenue toward a district to help support law enforcement by funding a new state-of-the-art facility, salaries and equipment.
While it has been nearly two years since Magnolia created a temporary moratorium on building permits for new residential and commercial projects, officials say that hasn’t slowed developer interest to build in the city.
Since 2022, officials have suspended applications for new building permits, with the exception of ongoing projects. This was to address a water capacity shortage caused by growth in the community.
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Booming growth from building
At the time, officials said they thought they could provide the needed water as demand for development spiked.The city of 2,800 residents is projected to increase by 600 percent in 2039 to a population of 53,000.
City Engineer Tim Robertson predicts the moratorium could end near the end of summer 2025 as developers are making changes to their planning.
“They’re not shutting down anything,” Robertson said. “They’re (just) slowing down.”
This comes after council members moved forward on Tuesday with plans to extend the moratorium on building applications for another 120 days, or until they lift the moratorium.
Shortly after, Developers of BCS Capital Group met with council members to try to create a partnership as a way to bring more restaurants into the city.
“They knew full well that we’re in a moratorium,” said Mayor Matt “Doc” Dantzer. “But it’s not stopping them from developing.”
Building more water infrastructure
To address the shortage, two water wells were planned to be built in 2023 as well as additional facilities, with plans to build additional wells each year to keep up with demand. Two wells have already been built with two other wells are in the process of being constructed.
An elevated water storage tank under construction and set to be built by summer 2025 and additional water infrastructure to build more capacity is planned. Currently, the city is in the process of building three ground storage tanks, two wells, two booster pump stations and the elevated storage tank, according to city documents.
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City officials will be holding public hearings between city council and planning and zoning, with a special meeting set for Aug. 21 to vote on a moratorium for 120 days. Council members met during a regular meeting Tuesday for a public hearing and planning and zoning met Thursday for its public hearing.
“We’re still currently in what I like to call ‘catch up mode,’ which is why we are still in a moratorium,” Robertson said. “We will continue to be until we have reached the level where we have regulatory compliance, (where) we have some cushion in there that we can handle the growth.”
Texas has a long history of growing grapes and making great wines. It started with the Spanish Monks successfully growing grapes in the El Paso area in 1682 in order to produce wine for sacramental use in the Catholic Mass. Others followed successfully producing grapes and wines, including the Qualia Family who established Val Verde Winery near what is today Del Rio. Nineteen wineries and vineyards flourished in Texas until the great social experiment called Prohibition began in 1920 and ended on December 5, 1933. Val Verde Winery survived Prohibition by making and selling Sacramental wine. It is in its fourth generation after 141 years of making wines. Their wines can only be purchased at the winery so the general public does not know much about the Qualia Family and Val Verde Winery.
Fast forward to 1968 when two Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University) tried a great experiment in planting vitis vinifera grapes on the Texas High Plains on 15 acres of land on the south side of Lubbock at what is now the intersection of 88th Street and Martin Luther King Blvd. These classic European grapes were planted by Clint “Doc” McPherson and Robert Reed, including the first Sangiovese grapes planted in Texas. This experimental vineyard succeeded in transplanting cuttings from an earlier vineyard on the college campus which were doomed by college construction to this remote country location which is now urbanized. Several hundred different vines were researched on this tract named Sagmor Vineyards. It had a small six-foot by 10-foot barn on the property that was used to host Lady Bird Johnson and guests while she tasted their wines on August 25, 1975. Robert Reed was the horticulturalist with McPherson being a Chemistry Professor being the winemaker. The two documented the results of their research with over 100 pages to re-start the Texas Wine Industry. This information has shown that Texas can grow outstanding grapes just like other parts of the world!
In 1972, “Doc” received permission from the College to use a basement to establish Texas’ first state-supported experimental winery. The requirements with this permission is that it could only be used for research. Their efforts showed that Texas could grow grapes and make great wines. Eventually McPherson and Reed along with several investors established the first new winery in Texas since the end of Prohibition 43 years earlier and called it Llano Estacado. These two Texas wine pioneers worked with others to change the State’s antiquated laws on making wines and selling wines. “Doc” told me that there were three generations of Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) personnel who had never permitted a winery so he ended up as their “professor” in teaching them how to permit wineries. In addition, “Doc” showed me the walls of the original winery building which house the large stainless steel fermentation tanks which were ten-inch thick cinder blocks. He told me that was protection for his fermentation tanks since Llano Estacado Winery was located in a “wet area” near the Hub of the Bible Belt. He was afraid someone would shoot and damage his tanks.
Dr. Clint McPherson’s son, Kim McPherson of McPherson Winery in Lubbock, continues his father’s legacy in making wine. He has provided to the Texas Historical Commission this wonderful story on the re-start of the Texas Wine Industry in an eleven-page historical narrative. The Texas Historical Commission has recognized this great history and is bestowing a historical marker commemorating the re-birth of the Texas wine industry at Sagmor Vineyard in Lubbock. This is the first Texas Historical Commission marker honoring the Texas wine industry which has grown into a $20.35 billion industry and employing over 100,000.
I encourage the Qualia Family to seek historical recognition for their family’s winery with a Texas Historical Commission marker. In order to receive such recognition, there must be fifty years of history. This means that in the next few years that Llano Estacado Winery, Fall Creek Vineyards, and Messina Hof Winery will also qualify for this distinction. Texas has a proud history!
Ron Saikowski may be reached at rsaikowski@comcast.net.
Alien: Romulus
Rated R for language and bloody violent contentIn TheatersAdding to the Alien franchise this week is this new tale from writer/director Fede Alvarez (Don’t Breathe). Taking place sometime after the beginning of Aliens (our only clue is a destroyed Nostromo spacecraft and a mentioning of their being one survivor), the story begins with a young girl and her synthetic brother (Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson) as they find out that are stuck on their sunless mining planet while dreaming of traveling to a far-off location for a fresh start. When a friend in need of a synthetic gives her the opportunity to maybe make this happen, she agrees to a quick salvage trip to the Romulus, a giant ship that has been seemingly abandoned near their planet. But while there, they encounter our favorite xenomorphs who trap and hunt them. Although it seems that most of the films in this franchise are mediocre to bad, the first two films are so good that most fans hold out a lot of hope for the next one. While this one can’t hold a candle to Alien and Aliens, it manages to be both horrifying and entertaining, providing thrills and scares that are both expected and delivered. The narrative is strong enough to be effective, providing good back story with Weyland and a rationale for taking the risks these young men and women are willing to take. Production is also top notch with terrific creature effects, both CGI and practical. Where the film suffers a bit is in its character. The characters from 1 and 2 (and even 3) are vibrant and interesting. Here there is a group of frustrated kids who want a better life, but aside from the main two, there is nothing compelling going on there. That being said, I especially loved David Jonsson as the synthetic. He is a well-written character, and the performance capitalizes on this. The good news is that I wasn’t expecting great, but I was hoping for good, and I got it. I’ve always loved the claustrophobic horror that Alien provides, and this one uses that to its advantage big time. Once you get off the mining planet, the movie is a fast-paced nail-biter that jumps right into the fray and even has an unexpected and thrilling third act that will have audiences freaked out and spoiling it for their friends. So, with that in mind, see it early so that you’re not the friend who gets that ruined for you. B
Jackpot!
Rated R for pervasive language, violence and sexual referencesStreaming on Amazon PrimeIt is the near future (2030) and California has instituted a Grand Lottery where you can win a lot of money, but if you do, anyone can kill you for your winnings for 24 hours. Here, Awkwafina has just moved to Hollywood to try to kickstart an acting career when she inadvertently wins the lottery, triggering violent mobs to start chasing her down. Setting out to help her survive is John Cena who wants a mere 10% to help keep her alive. Directed by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, Spy) the film has a high pedigree and a big cast. So why is it going straight to streaming? I would blame the awful premise. While it creates a space for lots of action, it is difficult to get past the basics of the story. That being said, they really go for it hard without flinching. While the action is certainly there in spades, the one thing missing is comedy. There were a couple of giggles, but no real laughs, not that there was really any attempt at comedy made. I’m not even sure if comedy was any part of the goal here. C
Danny Minton may be reached at danny@dannyminton.com.
This year’s Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival returns in October featuring a Montgomery native, one of Houston’s most popular tribute bands and local up-and-coming acts in the music lineup.
The 35th annual festival is set for Oct. 11-13 on the downtown Conroe square. Josh Ward and William Clark Green are the headliners with returning favorites including Wayne Toups, Geno Delafose and Bayou Roux.
Here’s what to know about the festival’s music lineup and changes for this year’s event:
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What is the festival?
The nonprofit group the Friends of Conroe puts on the event every year. Proceeds from the event support student scholarships and the annual Friends Feeding Friends Thanksgiving meal.
Inspired by Cajun music and the common desire to bring a festival to downtown Conroe, the 15 founding members first came together in 1990 to organize the first Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival. Co-founder Charles Tullos said it all began when he and Sandra Walker were talking. They were reminiscing about when the Lions Club Carnival took place on the downtown square in the 1950s and 1960s.
The first festival was held in mid-November in 1990. In 1995, the 74th state Legislature designated the Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival as the official Cajun Catfish Festival of the state of Texas.
Music lineup
There will be two stages for entertainment with one on North Thompson near the Owen Theatre and the other on Main Street near Texas 105. Devon Stevens, vice president of the Friends of Conroe, said the stage with Cajun acts will return to Main Street this year based on feedback from last year’s event.
The carnival with free admission opens at 6 p.m. Oct. 10 at the corner of Texas 105 and Texas 75. Music kicks off at 6 p.m. Friday.
The stage previously known as the Texas Stage will be the Xfinity Stage this year. Friday’s music line up on this stage includes Matt Castillo, Jesse Raub Jr. and Josh Ward. Saturday brings Payton Riley, Payton Howie, The Wilder Blue, William Beckmann and William Clark Green. Sunday’s lineup is The Fab 5, Escape, Zach Jones and the 45’s and the Allie Rae Band.
On the stage with Cajun music the Friday lineup includes Double Trouble Zydeco, Geno Delafose and French Rockin Boogie. Saturday is Double Trouble Zydeco, Keyun and the Zydeco Masters, Wayne Toups and Bayou Roux.
The Payton Riley Band, the Allie Rae Band and Zach Jones and the 45’s band were selected after the nonprofit’s Catfish Got Talent show at the Table at Madeley July 14.
The Mr. and Mrs. Catfish Pageant will take place Sunday afternoon at the stage on Main Street.
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Need to know
The vendors have expanded for this year. Visitors can expect more than 50 vendors on festival weekend. Two new food vendors include Poly Wog’s Cajun and Midnight Cravings dessert spot.
Shuttles will continue this year. Conroe Connections buses will pick festival visitors up from the Park and Ride spot under Interstate 45 at FM 2854 and drop them off at the festival.
The shuttle rides are free and will continue throughout the festival’s run.
Early bird ticket pricing continues through Aug. 18. Discounted tickets continue from Aug. 18 through the opening of the festival. See the festival website for ticket options and more details about the event.
Conroe ISD’s newest elementary school will open on the city’s northwest side Wednesday, celebrating the legacy of a 30-year educator in the district.
Students in pre-kindergarten through fourth-grade will attend Janet K. Bartlett Elementary at 11255 Cielo Drive. The new school is off FM 1484 within the new Cielo community that is scheduled to have more than 830 single-family homes.
Here’s what to know about the school and Bartlett as school begins this week. Conroe ISD resumes classes at its 71 campuses Wednesday morning.
About the school
Bartlett Elementary— originally Flex School 23 for the Caney Creek High School feeder zone — was part of the 2019 Conroe ISD bond referendum and cost approximately $39.4 million to build, according to district data.
It will have a capacity of 950 pre-kindergarten through fourth-grade students and will bring overcrowding relief to Caney Creek and Conroe feeder elementary campuses.
The school colors are maroon and gray, and the bobcat is the mascot. The school will relieve some overcrowding at Austin and Anderson campuses and is situated between the two attendance zones for those schools.
The Bartlett Elementary attendance zone is bordered by FM 1484 on the north side and runs south of Texas 105 on the southern side. The students at Bartlett Elementary will eventually attend Timber Mill High School on Conroe’s east side when it opens in August 2027.
Early passion for teaching
Bartlett was two when her family moved to Conroe so her father could work in the Conroe oil field. She’s familiar with the land around Bartlett Elementary because her father worked on wells in the area and some Saturdays she’d tag along.
She knew she wanted a career in teaching at age 6, she said.
“I would line my little stuffed animals up and I would teach away,” she said. “My friend across the street, Jimmie, we would play school. She would go in her room and I would go in mine and we’d meet in the street and have recess (for their play classes.) It’s a gift that God gave me and I’m so glad he gave me this gift. There is nothing else I would have done.”
She was also inspired by her teacher Martha Jones a longtime teacher at Anderson Elementary.
Bartlett went on to graduate from Conroe High School in 1971 and then Sam Houston State University.
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Always in the classroom
Her first teaching assignment was at Runyan Elementary in 1975. A few years later she moved on to teach at the school she attended Anderson Elementary and her final assignment was at Giesinger Elementary School working with principal Bonnie Wilkinson, who also has a school named after her.
She retired from full-time teaching in 2006 but continued on at Giesinger as a long-term substitute teacher. She said the staff of Giesinger continues to remain a family and they still get together often.
She also volunteers with Conroe ISD’s Project Mentor and was the Conroe Education Association’s 1993-94 Elementary Teacher of the Year.
“I still have that urge to be in the classroom,” she said. “Kids are kids and they come with this thirst and they’re like little sponges and they need love and need to be loved back.”
She looks forward to being involved at Bartlett Elementary and especially wants to work with students that need a little extra help.
On Wednesday, she looks forward to the smiles and young wide eyes she expects to meet as they come to school the first day.
“I just think so many of them have never seen anything like this,” she said of the beauty of the new school.
A dedication ceremony for the school will take place in October. Bartlett lives in Conroe and has three children and eight grandchildren. Her daughter and daughter-in-law are teachers as well.
‘It takes a team’
When she first learned a new Conroe ISD school would be named after her she had mixed feelings. She wanted to ensure that the community knows her success in the classroom was a team effort.
“To say a school is named after you is hard to accept. It wasn’t about me it’s about everybody. It takes a village. It takes everyone,” she said. Therefore the glass case at the front of the school contains pictures of her classes and the teachers and staff there with her. She wanted it to be about them, too.
Conroe Mayor Duke Coon is one of the many in the community who nominated Bartlett for the honor.
“I was so proud and honored to put her name forward along with many others in the community,” he said. “I have watched her over the years give everything she’s got to this school district and the children within it. She’s an amazing testament to the love and compassion a teacher can bring into a student’s life.”
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Back to school
More than 74,000 students are expected at the 71 Conroe ISD campuses Wednesday. The district will see new principals at more than a dozen campuses and 82 buses have been added to the fleet for the new year.
This year also includes the opening of the district’s new transportation facilities. A $16.5 million project expanded the district’s transportation hub on Gladstell Street in Conroe and adds a new facility to its Caney Creek High School location off FM 1485.
Catherine Dominguez contributed to this report.
Since being established as a national forest by the Texas Legislature in 1933, Sam Houston National Forest has been home to bird watchers, glampers and Bigfoot aficionados.
The national forest, about 50 miles north of Houston, spans nearly 200,000 acres between Conroe, Cleveland, Huntsville and Richards, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. With land in Montgomery, Walker, and San Jacinto counties, the Sam Houston National Forest is intermingled with privately owned timber lands and small farms, the agency’s website states.
And as the forest nears its most popular seasons, which tends to be winter and spring, there are several things visitors should know before planning a trip.
Here are three things to know before traveling to Sam Houston National Forest:
Lone Star Star Hiking Trail spans 128 miles
The Lone Star Star Hiking Trail, which spans 128 miles, winds through the national forest and has gained National Recreation Trail status, the agency’s website states. The trail consists of three sections — the Lake Conroe, Central Area and the Winters Bayou/Tarkington Creek Area sections.
While the Lone Star Hiking Trail can be hiked all year round, winter and spring are the most popular seasons due to the mild southeast Texas climate. During deer hunting season in November and December, hikers are encouraged to wear highly visible clothing. The trail, typically, isn’t crowded and is home to several native trees, plants and wildlife.
There is also 86 miles of of single-track multi-use trails. These trails are accessible to hikers, cyclists, equestrians and motorized users. It’s the only national forest in Texas that offers a motorized accessible trail system, according to information from the Sam Houston Trails Coalition.
Hikers can also get views of several rivers, creeks, lakes and streams throughout the nation forest.
Popular place for Sasquatch sightings
Visitors may be unaware of the rumors of a giant that may lurk in the forest, which allegedly attacked some explorers in 2015.
Bigfoot hunters have made their way to the national forest, which is an apparent hotspot for sightings of cryptids (animals whose existence is debated) that attracts hunters from across the Gulf Coast region and beyond.
With 254 square miles of wilderness, a suitable climate and close proximity to reliable water supplies, the woods north of Houston offer a perfect spot for roaming mystery creatures — which might explain the more than two dozen reports the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization has logged in the area. Bigfoot aficionados told the Houston Chronicle in 2017 that Montgomery and Liberty counties may boast more Bigfoot sightings than anyplace else in Texas.
One quick Facebook search will show that some members of the Texas Cryptozoology Network and BFD Bigfoot Discovery Ops of Texas are still inquiring about Sasquatch sightings while also trying to find like-minded individuals.
Home to North American birds
The national forest is also home to several North American bird species, including a couple of endangered birds such as the bald eagle. Lake Conroe and the surrounding National Forest lands provide wintering habitat for the endangered bald eagle.
During the winter months, the eagle is not an uncommon sight soaring over the lake, perched on a flooded snag or in a tall pine along the shoreline.
Another endangered species, the red-cockaded woodpecker, is found throughout the Sam Houston National Forest and frequently spotted by observant visitors. The small black and white woodpecker with distinctive large white cheek patches is slightly larger than a bluebird. The male has a single streak of red feathers on each side of his head. Its unique high-pitched, squeaky call can be recognized at considerable distances.
Magnolia resident Charles Lee was frustrated at the lack of entertainment options for kids that live outside of Conroe and The Woodlands, so he decided to open his own venue.
Roller skating, paintball and arcade
Ultimate Arena, which opened in June off Hardin Store Road, was something “that the community needs,” Lee said — a family-owned venue that offers indoor roller skating, outdoor paintball and virtual reality arcade machines.
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“Most of the kids these days are on the iPhone and iPad too much,” he said. “And this creates activity, some exercise, some sort of workout for them to do, having…fun for the community is good.”
This comes after several venues recently announced openings, bringing more entertainment choices to Montgomery County.
Although the venue is marketed for families, Susan Rozell said the company is also trying to bring in companies to do team building through paintball.
Looking for ways to expand events
Rozell, who runs the social media page for the venue, said she’s already seen a lot of positive feedback from the community, stating that a lot of people give them ideas for events such as 80s Night or Teen Night. There are plans to add skate lessons in the future, she said.
“Everybody loves it,” Rozell said. “I think it’s great for the community. It gives families something to do during the week or on the weekends.”
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Tickets prices vary depending on activity.
For roller skating, tickets range from $12 to $15, depending on if a person rents skates at the venue or brings their own. For paintball, the venue can accommodate for 20 players with the price of $40 per person, which also includes a face mask, paintball gun, vest shield and paintballs. For a single ticket of admission, it costs $5.
The venue also offers membership plans up to $90 monthly and $30 for additional members up to 10 people.
Lee said he anticipates business to increase as the 2024-25 school year gets underway.