WEDNESDAY VOLUME XXX NUMBER 52 Section 1 8 pages
December 31, 2025 Home of the ‘Lone Star Flag’ and Diane Lane
Montgomery County’s Only Locally Owned Newspaper
Established 1995
Montgomery County News
Montgomery, Texas 77356
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Start Texas All Aboard For A Circus-themed Kick 2026 With Weekly Model Train Display At The a First Day Hike at a Gas Prices State Woodlands Children's Museum Texas Park
Average gasoline prices in Texas have fallen 8.9 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.33/g today, according to GasBuddy's survey of 13,114 stations in Texas. Prices in Texas are 19.8 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 25.8 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has decreased 5.4 cents compared to a week ago and stands at $3.521 per gallon. According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Texas was priced at $1.89/g yesterday while the most expensive was $3.95/g, a difference of $2.06/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $1.89/g while the highest was $3.95/g, a difference of $2.06/g. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 4.0 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.75/g today. The national average is down 22.6 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 22.4 cents per gallon lower 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 five years: December 29, 2024: $ 2 . 5 8 / g ( U . S . Av e r a g e : $2.98/g) December 29, 2023: $ 2 . 6 6 / g ( U . S . Av e r a g e : $3.11/g) December 29, 2022: $ 2 . 7 4 / g ( U . S . Av e r a g e : $3.13/g) December 29, 2021: $ 2 . 8 4 / g ( U . S . Av e r a g e : $3.28/g) December 29, 2020: $ 1 . 9 3 / g ( U . S . Av e r a g e : $2.26/g) Neighboring areas and their current gas prices: Midland Odessa- $2.30/g, down 14.1 cents per gallon from last week's $2.44/g. San Antonio- $2.24/g, down 10.3 cents per gallon from last week's $2.35/g. Austin- $2.28/g, down 11.7 cents per gallon from last week's $2.40/g. “For the fifth straight week, the national average price of gasoline has declined, with all but a handful of states seeing prices move lower,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “Oil prices have remained relatively low even amid the U.S. blockade on Venezuela’s oil exports. With refineries running at seasonally high output and gasoline inventories building, most states— outside of pricecycling markets— have continued to see declines, with some stations in nearly a dozen states now dipping below the $2-per-gallon mark. That trend could persist a bit longer before prices finally bottom out sometime in January or February.” SOURCE GasBuddy
Index Community................2, 5, 8 Commentary...................3, 4, 5 Church Directory..............5 Legals.............................6, 7 Business Directory.............8
Celebrate the beginning of a new year and the start o f A m e r i c a ’ s semiquincentennial (America 250) with a First Day Hike at a Texas State Park. This annual tradition is a unique opportunity for people of all ages and skill levels to experience Texas’ wild places through rangerguided and self-guided walks, bike rides, paddling trips, polar plunges and more as part of the national initiative aimed at getting people outdoors.
THE WOODLANDS, TX – Start your new year with a bang and a whistle at The Woodlands Children's Museum, as we bring the excitement of the circus to
life with a miniature model train display during January 6-9, 2026. Created by the All Points North Model Railroad Association, children can
enjoy the greatest show on wheels with the vibrant HO-scale layout featuring a Ferris wheel, carousel, roller coaster, moving parade, and an animated
Last year, Texas once again broke the historical record for participation numbers. Texas State Parks hosted 178 events where 9,484 participants hiked a combined 18,932 miles. The number of events, participants and miles are all new records for the big top tent, complete with fourth straight year. Texas hundreds of miniature also outpaced the nation people enjoying the sights with the most sites, events and participants. See Train , page 2 “One of the many reasons that I love Texas is the nice weather that we can have even in the winter, and there is no better way to spend a beautiful January day than walking with friends and family at a Texas State Park,” said Rodney Franklin, director by Elaine Collings of Texas State Parks. “Each The Ladies of Rebel year, Texas leads the nation Joan Of Arc 2721, United as thousands of Texans turn D a u g h t e r s o f t h e out to a nearby state park to Confederacy, gathered ring in the new year and w i t h t h e i r g u e s t s t o celebrate with a First Day Celebrate “The Christmas H i k e . I a l w a y s l o o k forward to seeing the Season” and each other! photos of smiling folks The Party was enjoying parks on January MAXED-OUT! Party C o - C h a i r m e n : M Y R A 1, and this New Year’s Day LISTON and ELAINE is extra special as we also COLLINGS arranged for ring in America’s 250th Dining at Jose’s Italian birthday. Hope to see you Villa’s Private Dining on the trail!” Room, in Conroe. Trails at Texas State Committee extraordinaire: Parks range in length and DARLA SHARER difficulty. Some short, easy arranged for their trails are perfect for familyEntertainer: Rodney Sharer to croon his fabulous friendly scenic strolls, C h r i s t m a s s o n g s t o while more strenuous ones everyone’s delight! He can challenge experienced was a lovely addition and hikers. Trail maps for all was dubbed “The RJOA Texas State Parks can be found on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department See RJOA , page 2 (TPWD) website, the official Texas State Park app and individual park webpages.
RJOA Celebrates The Blessings Of Christmas And 2025!
Attending: Evelyn & Ken Miller, Jenny & Jeff Lehr, Jim and Anita Stevens, Lyn & Phillip Grey, Darla & Rodney Sharer, Mary Lee & Kathy Malek, Charlotte Belin, Danean Myers, Barbara Eddleman, Kathy Williams, Carl & Lyn Howard, Regina & Randy Riney, Jan Bednar, Cleve Doug & Elaine Collings, Myra & Ron Liston, Anna & Chris Greathouse.
“State parks across the country protect and provide access to the landscapes, stories and places that create the fabric of our country,” says America’s State Parks President Paul McCormack. “As our country starts to celebrate its 250th birthday in 2026, we invite you to start your year on a First Day Hike enjoying and celebrating our incredible public lands.” TPWD strongly
See Parks, page 5