Volume 25 Issue 46

December 13, 2020

GREATER HOUSTON EDITION

Vol. 25, Issue 46

“Our vote and our money are the two most powerful things we have. Be careful who you give them to.” - Roy Douglas Malonson

“Addressing Current & Historical Realties Affecting Our Community”

VACCINES ON THE WAY, ARE THEY SAFE?

By: N.L. Preston

RS DEER RANCH PURCHASES THE REFUGE DEER HERD By: Ginny Grimsley

Whitetail deer in the wild don’t migrate; they remain in an area about the size of seven square blocks all year. But, this year, some of the most prestigious of the species in the country are making a move south about 250 miles this December 2020. The Refuge Herd—an old, established herd from which 90% of the Whitetail deer herds

in Texas can claim a pedigree—will be transported by air-conditioned blackout trailers from Glenn Sodd’s “The Refuge” ranch in Corsicana to the RS Deer Ranch owned by Roy Douglas and Shirley Ann Malonson in Waller County, Texas as a result of a full sale of the herd. These 380 deer that make up The Refuge Herd have been in development since the

late 80’s. Glenn Sodd, a lawyer with a love for the outdoors and a piece of land near Corsicana along the Trinity River began breeding Whitetail deer when there were only a handful of breeders in Texas. He was interested in creating strong bucks with trophy antlers in order to attract hunters to his land in order to sustain it. When he began consistently turning up bucks with

over 200-inch scores in the early 2000’s, it became a true familyowned business, and his son-in-law Chris McSpadden took on the operation. Chris did everything from marketing and sales to feeding and caring for The Refuge Herd of Whitetails and has done so for the last 20 years. “It’s high maintenance, and it’s not a

Deer cont’d page 4

HOUSTON – Texans may soon start breathing some cautious sighs of relief as the first shipment of the coronavirus vaccine, which includes 224,250 doses to 109 Texas hospitals in 34 counties, are set to arrive on Dec. 14, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Those amounts are barely enough to scratch the surface, with 30 million people in the state of Texas alone, so who will be among the selected to receive the first shots, and many are wondering if they are safe to take. State officials have decided that health care workers will be vaccinated first, followed by nursing home staffers, emergency medical ser-

vice drivers, paramedics and home health aides workers in an effort to “protect those caring for COVID-19 patients and preserve the health care system’s ability to function.” “The State of Texas is already prepared for the arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine and will swiftly distribute these vaccines to Texans who voluntarily choose to be immunized,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a release. “As we await the first shipment of these vaccines, we will work with communities to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.” The vaccine will be spread across 21 hospitals in Harris County, four in Montgomery County, one in Galves-

Vaccine cont’d page 5