WEDNESDAY VOLUME XXIX NUMBER 13 Section 1 8 pages
April 3, 2024 Home of the ‘Lone Star Flag’ and Pete Blaydes
Montgomery County’s Only Locally Owned Newspaper
Established 1995
Montgomery County News
Montgomery, Texas 77356
50 Weekly PBOX Magnolia, TX 77353
Texas Knowledge Point Network Weekly Secures Grant Funding for Gas Prices Average gasoline prices in Texas have fallen 5.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.09/g today, according to GasBuddy's survey of 13,114 stations in Texas. Prices in Texas are 16.4 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 5.6 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has declined 2.9 cents in the last week and stands at $3.99 per gallon. According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Texas was priced at $2.49/g yesterday while the most expensive was $3.99/g, a difference of $1.50/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.49/g while the highest was $3.99/g, a difference of $1.50/g. The national average price of gasoline is unchanged in the last week, averaging $3.51/g today. The national average is up 16.1 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 0.9 cents per gallon higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country. Historical gasoline prices in Texas and the national average going back ten years: April 1, 2023: $3.15/g (U.S. Average: $3.50/g) April 1, 2022: $3.80/g (U.S. Average: $4.20/g) April 1, 2021: $2.62/g (U.S. Average: $2.87/g) April 1, 2020: $1.71/g (U.S. Average: $1.94/g) April 1, 2019: $2.46/g (U.S. Average: $2.69/g) April 1, 2018: $2.41/g (U.S. Average: $2.65/g) April 1, 2017: $2.13/g (U.S. Average: $2.33/g) April 1, 2016: $1.89/g (U.S. Average: $2.06/g) April 1, 2015: $2.21/g (U.S. Average: $2.41/g) April 1, 2014: $3.36/g (U.S. Average: $3.55/g) Neighboring areas and their current gas prices: Midland Odessa- $3.22/g, up 7.4 cents per gallon from last week's $3.15/g. San Antonio- $2.92/g, down 15.1 cents per gallon from last week's $3.07/g. Austin- $2.99/g, down 12.4 cents per gallon from last week's $3.11/g. "No April Fools' joke: the national average price of gasoline has finally slowed a bit after four weeks of notable increases, stalling in the mid$3.50s for the last week or two, while the average for diesel fell back below $4 per gallon—not a bad week for motorists as rising demand would normally put solid upward pressure on prices," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. "For now, motorists have a bit of a reprieve from the constant big weekly price jumps. While we seem to be nearing a short-term peak, one word of caution for those in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast: you haven't yet finished the transition to summer gasoline, so you may experience some sticker shock in a few weeks. Be prepared for somewhat of a punch. For the rest of the nation, so long as we don't see extenuating circumstances, we're likey close to a top in prices. Let's hope it pans out and sticks!" SOURCE GasBuddy
Index Community................2, 3, 4 Commentary...................3, 4, 5 Church Directory..............5 Legals.................................6 Business Directory.............8
Child Suicide Prevention
Members of the Lone Star Honor Flight Veterans Group, stand with KPN Founder Ed Ponikvar, right, and the new skid-steer that will enhance trails in and around Montgomery
b y R u b e n B o r j a s organization's new Dozer J r. M C N c o n t r i b u t i n g Dog, at a recent breakfast writer gathering of the Lone Star Honor Flight Veterans Knowledge Point G r o u p t h i s p a s t Network, U.S.A., a local Wednesday. The skidcharity dedicated to the steer loader is designed to suicide prevention of e m p o w e r Ve t e r a n s i n Combat Veterans with e n g a g i n g i n t r a i l PTSD and their children, m a i n t e n a n c e u s e d b y recently unveiled a new participants in the program piece of equipment to to build value in their lives assistance them in the and help them heal from maintenance of the area self-harm tendencies. The initiative, also trails used in their program. KPN Founder, a i m e d a t p r e s e r v i n g Ed Ponikvar, unveiled the Montgomery County’s
natural beauty with the improvement of trails in and around Montgomery, for the use of PTSD Veterans and their kids, in off-road vehicles such as electric motorcycles, and track chairs. The original experiment started back in 2006 by Pennsylvania campground owner Brenda Fitch and her Veteran husband, in an effort to acquire properties for installing trails for Veteran and family use.
Knowledge Point Network, which started in 2007, concentrates on the use of electric motorcycles and track chairs to allow for participants to talk and heal while on the trails themselves. They offer necessary and challenging work to Veterans with the use of a skid-steer to clean up the trails for program participants to enjoy the use of electric motorcycles and track chairs. Some gas See Funding, page 2
Local Community Organization Traveled for District Meeting
pictured left to right...Beckie Endebrock, Linda Brill, Carolyn Jamail, Sherry McKey, Nelda Shippey-McGuire, Michele Scanlin and Lou Ann Rubel Thomas Jefferson Stubbs 2523 Conroe Chapter Members Attend District III Meeting. On Saturday, March 23, 2024, six members from the Thomas Jefferson Stubbs
2523, Conroe Chapter, Texas Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy, traveled to Dayton, Texas, to attend their District III Meeting. District III Chairman Dena Lambert brought the
meeting to order and welcomed everyone. L o u a n n R u b e l , Te x a s Division President also brought greetings. Other state officers attending were...Sandra Giarrusso
(Recorder of Military Service Awards), Clara Malak (Recording Secretary), Jane Ranck
Meeting, see page 2
This Ad Space Available 4 column x 1.5 inch 936-449-NEWS
PRE-SRT POSTAGE PD #80 MONTG. TX
One Guitar, Two Voices with Perfect Harmony By: James M. Rankin Galveston, Texas: The Simon and Garfunkel story opened Saturday in the historic Grand 1894 Opera House on Galveston Island to a seasoned audience ready to hear the magic from their memories with the music of this dynamic due Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. The Simon and Garfunkel Story is a chronology of the careers of these gifted musicians produced by Ruckus Entertainment and directed by Dean Elliott, some fans remember him in the role of Buddy Holly in the musical, The Buddy Holly Story. The production was multifaceted with historical pictures on a large screen, full band and narrative about the formation and development of these iconic artists. It was interesting that the show featured two (2) characters for Paul Simon, the younger and the older versions were played by Jonah Bobo and Elliot Lazar. Brendan Jacob Smith and Maxwell Pinson played younger and older versions of Art Garfunkel. Each of the pairs performed impressively and harmonized beautifully. The joy of experiencing one guitar, two voices in perfect harmony was great. In fact, the band had some outstanding musicians starting with Jay Hemphill who blasted out the beats on the bass along with Zach Kamins on the keyboard with Billy Harrington and Josh Vasquez on the back up guitars. Each musician was able to perform a solo that lit up the auditorium with the rich acoustic sound of the Opera House. Despite the lackluster response of Simon and Garfunkel's initial attempt to as the Tom and Jerry band, the duo persevered and reached heights that they never dreamed possible. The duo sold more than one hundred million copies of their albums, won over 10 Grammy's for their music. Paul and Art received the Grammy's Lifetime Achievement Award. The classic lyrics of the Sound of Silence, “Hello Darkness, my old friend,” the song was awarded the Grammy's Hall of Fame Award. Many of their songs would take you back in time with the fondness of an old friend. One of my personal favorites was the song Homeward Bound. Here is a sample of the lyrics from that song that captured and inspired an entire generation. “Tonight, I'll sing my s o n g s a g a i n ; I'll play the game and p r e t e n d ; But all my words come back t o m e ; In shades of mediocrity;
See Guitar , page 2