Category: Lake Conroe Area News

A Willis-based nonprofit community for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2025 with plans to expand its facilities to provide more affordable housing to future residents, additional classroom space, a community and recreational center and assisted living services. 
Mike Painter, president and CEO of New Danville, says the population in the city of Willis has exploded in the past several years. 
“And with that comes a population explosion of folks that have (intellectual) disabilities,” he said. 
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The Meadowbrook Community, which sits on 42 acre ranch off Shepard Hill Road and is owned by the nonprofit, already houses 36 residents with a waitlist of more than 80, Painter said. 
“We suspect the residential portion, even with the huge expansion that we’re doing…the need will start to grow again,” Painter said. “And the good news is that we have the space to do it. And as long as we have the community support for it, I’m all in.” 
What is New Danville?
New Danville has served the community since 2005, according to the organization’s website. It serves adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities, with both residential and day programs to maximize personal independence by offering an environment that allows opportunities to learn social and work skills.
Expansion project plans
The expansion project, also refereed to as Vision 2025, is broken up into three phases. 
The first phase includes 15 new homes to house an additional 35 residents. By the time construction is finished, the community will be able to hold about 90 residents, Painter said. 
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Phase two includes the building of the community and recreational center the will provide social, dining, and fitness areas for residents and clients, according to the organization’s website. Phase three includes assisted living facilities with space for six men and six women to start, the website states. 
Plans also include additional classroom space and a country-style, non-denominational church with a social hall that can be rented out for weddings and events.
While the construction for the additional residential homes is expected to take up to 18 months, construction on other facilities is dependent on funding from community members, Painter said. 
However, the organization plans to wait until phase one is finished before working on funding efforts for the other phases, he said. 
‘The need is out there’
New Danville isn’t the only organization to announce an expansion this year. 
In April, the long-standing Montgomery County community Bridgewood Farms, a community for teens and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, announced plans for a new $2.5 million building on the farm that would encompass all the programs and administrative duties of the group. 
According to a 2023 report by the nonprofit Providers Alliance for Community Services of Texas, approximately 475,000 Texans have an intellectual or developmental disability.
In Montgomery County, Painter said there’s about 17,000 people with these disabilities. 
“The need is out there,” he said. “If we can provide it, I want to be a part of the solution.” 

Texas grapes are being harvested mostly through the interior of Texas. Hybrid grapes along the Texas Gulf Coast were harvested in June and the first week in July before Hurricane Beryl came ashore. As the emerging Texas Wine Industry is blossoming, a Texas tradition of Grape Stomps is beginning to emerge at a variety of Texas wineries.
These Grape Stomps are either done in a small, three-foot-diameter plastic tub such as held at Messina Hof Winery or in a six-foot-diameter wood vat as found at Bernhardt Winery, similar to what was in the epic “I Love Lucy” television show. These Grape Stomps are fun, slippery, and produce a lot of purple grape stains on your feet, legs, clothing, and more. I suggest a clean set of clothes to change into after the stomping of the grapes and a towel and possibly WIPES to remove some of those purple grape stains. Those purple stains will eventually wear off in a few days. It does help to go online to find out more details on the Grape Stomp events, including timed stomping contests where the amount of juice from the stomp vat is measured to determine the winner.
Those small juice tubes at the bottom of the vat get plugged so use a wire or pipe cleaner to assure your grape juice bucket get ALL of the juice from the vat in these contests. Most Texas wineries will have commemorative Tee Shirts so you can implant an impression of your “purples piggies” on the back of the Tee. In additional, several Texas Wineries have “Lucy Look-A-Like” contests. Several Texas Wineries also host LIVE Concerts. Of course, wine tastings are available at all Texas Winery Tasting Rooms. This is all fun in celebration of a great Texas Harvest of Texas grapes.Below is a partial listing by date with these Grape Stomps occurring on the weekends when the public can stomp those grapes:
Aug. 3
•    Messina Hof Winery in Bryan with “Blessing of the Grapes” on August 2nd•    Lost Oak Winery near Burleson 17th Annual Grape Stomping Event from, 6-9pm with Lucy Look Alike Contest•    Barons Creek Vineyards near Georgetown•    Wildseed Vineyards near Fredericksburg •    Hye Meadow in Hye •    Enoch’s Stomp near Harleton
Aug. 10
•    Bernhardt Winery near Plantersville noon to 5pm•    Hye Meadow in Hye•    Messina Hof Winery in Bryan •    Texas Wine Collective near Fredericksburg•    Wildseed Vineyards near Fredericksburg
Aug. 17
•    Wildseed Vineyards near Fredericksburg•    Texas Hills Vineyard near Fredericksburg •    Messina Hof Winery in Bryan•    Pedernales Cellars near Stonewall•    Hye Meadow in Hye
Aug. 24
•    Texas Hills Vineyards near Fredericksburg•    Messina Hof Winery in Bryan •    Hye Meadow in Hye•    Wildseed Vineyards near Fredericksburg
Aug. 31
•    Wildseed Vineyards near Fredericksburg •    Becker Vineyards near Fredericksburg•    Texas Hills Vineyards near Fredericksburg•    Messina Hof Winery near Fredericksburg
Sept. 12-15
•    Grapevine Annual Grapefest
It is imperative that you plan ahead to visit the winery’s website. We are in the middle of hurricane season so weather is always a factor. In most cases, tickets will need to be purchased ahead of the event to help defray the costs of the stomped grapes. Please plan ahead for an enjoyable day of celebrating the Texas Harvest!
Ron Saikowski may be reached at rsaikowski@comcast.net. 

Two kinds of mysteries dominate the literary world. In every medium, we encounter stories of crime and detection — a dead body in the library; an old woman who deduces the murderer; the kind of thing Sherlock Holmes investigates, declaring, “The game is afoot!”
But another sense of mystery involves manifestations of the inconceivable — manifestations as varied as a Houdini underwater escape and the resurrection of Christ. This is the kind of thing St. Paul refers to when he writes, “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed….” Both mysteries–and more–put in an appearance in a gem of a production currently on stage at Houston’s Alley Theatre: Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None.”
Christie is most usually linked to the first kind of mystery: one where Hercule Poirot solves the “Murder on the Orient Express.” But in her 1939 novel that is the source for this play, a book published just two months after England entered World War II, she manages to take up mystery in both forms. In the book and the theatrical adaptation made by Christie herself in 1943, plenty of corpses litter the stage; almost every weapon in a “Clue” game does its work, and the audience tries to find “who-dun-it.” The plot set-up is devilishly simple: ten strangers are brought together on an isolated island only to find themselves falling prey one-by-one to an unknown killer.
But within her crime plot, Christie sets off another mystery: the realization that subtraction leads to addition. The more the victims succumb to their grisly fates, the more the play adds to the suspense and anxiety of the characters and the audience, the deeper it plunges into the psyche and history, mirroring — the war anxiety that British subjects on their island in 1939 must have felt as the invisible threat of the Luftwaffe began to manifest itself in nightly terror from the skies. This plunge into mystery leads to another: how could this writer’s imagination be so prescient?
Such thoughts may seem strained and overly abstract for a play that the Alley is using to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its “Summer Chills” productions, but in achieving a multiple immersion into mystery this production and the Alley’s cast and crew merit unambiguous praise. We are given our cake and something of substance to chew on, too. This happens because the production sticks closely to the script, returning to the original story line of Christie’s plot that is marked by bleakness and despair for an England trembling on the edge of World War II. It gives us a killer-thriller, a psychological portrait of living at the margins of national disaster, and also reminds us of the depths that can lurk in popular entertainment.
Director Elizabeth Williamson deserves a huge slice of the credit. She allows the play to have its slow, wooden start — the arrival of stereotyped characters the audience can’t help but give twitters of laughter. She keeps the exposition simple, using Christie’s device of a mysterious phonograph recording to explain the “crimes” that lie behind the stereotypes: the greedy servants, the careless surgeon, the reckless driver, the unethical judge, the self-righteous biddy, the cad of a military man, the jealous old general. And she gets the murders started, staging the action to give the audience no clue of who the killer is, slowly strangling the play’s early giggles and using sound and lighting effects for maximum benefit.
The large cast, mostly Alley regulars, play their roles well, and whether their characters are fated to be on stage for most of the show or make early “unplanned” departures, they make them breathe with life. Susan Koozin as the spinster Emily Brent is a prime example. She makes her every moment on stage matter, even if she’s only yawning and knitting in the background. She doesn’t eat the scenery; she defines it, enriches it —something her fellow cast members echo as they bicker, debate, drink, and wonder who will die next; “how can I avoid the victim being me?”
It’s an intentional plainness that the production pulls off at every turn. Nick Vaughan’s scenic design stresses this. At first look, it appears boringly art deco: uncomfortable furniture, concrete walls and banks of windows looking out on a vague horizon. But eventually, audience eyes will notice a startlingly white bear rug, splayed in front of a dead fireplace like the chalk outline of a murder victim — an ever-present reminder of what this place is all about. Similarly, Isabella Byrd’s lighting grows richer and darker as the play progresses, ending in Rembrandt-like blacks and shadows — the perfect arrival point for this plot.
Go to “And Then There Were None” for the usual escape of an intriguing murder mystery, but don’t be surprised if something more sneaks up on you. This is a delightful summer show none should miss.
“And Then There Were None” is at Houston’s Alley Theatre through Sept. 1.
Robert Donahoo is a professor at Sam Houston State University and writes theater reviews for The Courier. 

To make the most of farm-fresh produce grown in Montgomery County, farmers markets have sprouted in multiple locations across the county. 
The longest-established one is The Woodlands Farmers Market at Grogan’s Mill which has been in operation since 2008. Others have thrived in Montgomery, Conroe, New Caney and Magnolia. 
Here’s what to know about some of Montgomery County’s various farmers markets:
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Main Street Market 
Location: Conroe, 301 N. Thompson Street in front of the Montgomery County Courthouse 
Time and date: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays 
Farralyn Withrow launched the Main Street Market in Conroe in April 2021. It was first in the juror parking lot in downtown but moved to North Thompson Street where the street is closed off Saturday mornings. 
Withrow said the market has grown this summer with the new shaded location in the shadow of the courthouse. The market is made up of smaller, locally owned businesses with most being located in Montgomery County. The market features artisan and hand-crafted items along with local produce and food items like olive oil, coffee, honey, bakery items and meat vendors. 
Deep Roots Farm 2 Table is a regular produce vendor. However, Hurricane Beryl had deep impacts to their crops and they will supplement produce at the market from PEAS Farm also in Montgomery County. PEAS Farm has tomatoes, squash, onions and bell peppers year round. 
Farmers Market at Grogan’s Mill
Location: 7 Switchbud Place, The Woodlands in Grogan’s Mill Center 
Time and date: 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays (summer hours)
This long-time farmers market started in 2008 as a project of the the Grogan’s Mill Village Association. It’s a year-round market featuring more than 60 vendors including prepared foods, produce, pet items, farm-fresh meats, beverages, health and beauty items, food trucks, beverages and artisan goods. 
Fans can sign up for a weekly newsletter that shows the vendors featured that Saturday. Market profits go back to the community through Grogan’s Mill Village Association’s charity projects. 
New Caney Community Market 
Location: 11985 Grand Parkway, New Caney in the Valley Ranch Town Center 
Time and date: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. the first and third Sundays of the month 
In August, the market will only be on the first Sunday. In September, markets will resume the first and third Sunday schedule. The market features 60-to-65 vendors with fresh local produce, honey, fresh-baked bread, artisan items, candles, clothing, flowers and plants, pet items, food trucks and more. 
Montgomery Farmers Market
Location: 19785 Texas 105 West at the KOA Holiday Campground 
Time and date: 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays 
This farmers market launched in October 2021 with a mission of providing pure and nutritious foods to the local community. Featured vendors offer baked good, grass-fed beef, pasture-raised chicken, raw milk, free-range eggs, produce and microgreens, honey and organic foods and beverages. 
Vendors also host events for kids, health and homestead classes and cooking classes. There’s a place on the website to sign up for weekly vendor lists and pre-ordering options. 
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Farmer’s Market on Tamina 
Location: 32907 Tamina Road, Magnolia 
Time and date: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays 
This market has on-site restaurants including Victory Pie Co. Café, Brick & Brews, Wing Nuts Express and Magnolia Eats & Treats. Each Saturday brings 40 to 50 vendors including micro-green farmers, grass fed/pasture raised meat and egg farmers, specialty food producers, bakers and cookie makers, soaps and body care products and handmade goods. 
Lazy M Farms Farmers Market 
Location: 33310 Lois Lane, Suite No. 2, Magnolia
Time and date: Open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays. Featured items include bakery items, produce, fruits, juices, breads and cheeses. Blueberries are currently in season. 
The farm also offers free delivery seven days a week within a five-mile radius on orders over $15.