WEDNESDAY VOLUME XXX NUMBER 28 Section 1 10 pages
July 16, 2025 Home of the ‘Lone Star Flag’ and Justin & Karina Blaydes
Montgomery County’s Only Locally Owned Newspaper
Established 1995
Montgomery County News
Montgomery, Texas 77356
50 Weekly
PRE-SRT POSTAGE PD #80 MONTG. TX
PBOX Magnolia, TX 77353
Meet Your Montgomery Historical Society Texas New Unpaid Weekly Plans For Fall, Christmas; MCMLS Employee Gas Prices Genealogy Making Great Strides By: James M. Rankin
Average gasoline prices in Texas have risen 9.0 cents per gallon in the last week, a v e r a g i n g $ 2 . 7 4 / g t o d a y, according to GasBuddy's survey of 13,114 stations in Texas. Prices in Texas are 2.9 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 37.8 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has increased 3.2 cents in the last week and stands at $3.676 per gallon. According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Texas was priced at $2.34/g yesterday while the most expensive was $3.99/g, a difference of $1.65/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.34/g while the highest was $3.99/g, a difference of $1.65/g. The national average price of gasoline has risen 2.0 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.11/g today. The national average is down 0.5 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 37.9 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 ten years: July 14, 2024: $3.12/g (U.S. Average: $3.49/g) July 14, 2023: $3.15/g (U.S. Average: $3.53/g) July 14, 2022: $4.08/g (U.S. Average: $4.57/g) July 14, 2021: $2.84/g (U.S. Average: $3.15/g) July 14, 2020: $1.90/g (U.S. Average: $2.19/g) July 14, 2019: $2.49/g (U.S. Average: $2.79/g) July 14, 2018: $2.65/g (U.S. Average: $2.88/g) July 14, 2017: $2.05/g (U.S. Average: $2.25/g) July 14, 2016: $2.04/g (U.S. Average: $2.22/g) July 14, 2015: $2.56/g (U.S. Average: $2.78/g) Neighboring areas and their current gas prices: Midland Odessa- $2.74/g, up 13.4 cents per gallon from last week's $2.61/g. San Antonio- $2.57/g, up 2.3 cents per gallon from last week's $2.55/g. Austin- $2.59/g, down 3.4 cents per gallon from last week's $2.62/g. “With oil prices posting a modest uptick last week, the national average price of gasoline also inched slightly higher, with just over half of U.S. states seeing increases, while nearly two dozen saw declines,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “As we approach the midpoint of the summer driving season, gasoline inventories remain just below average, while diesel inventories are considerably tighter—keeping upward pressure on diesel prices. While renewed tariff discussions could weigh on oil markets due to concerns about economic growth, absent any major developments, we expect the national average to remain rangebound in the low-$3 per gallon area, where it has spent much of the summer.” SOURCE GasBuddy
Index Community..............2, 3, 10
Commentary...............2, 3, 4, 5 Church Directory..............5 Legals......................6, 7, 8, 9 Business Directory...........10
by Ruben Borjas, Jr The Montgomery Historical Society recently held their July General Membership Meeting at the Old Baptist Church this past Saturday, where good things are in the works that will have Historic Montgomery Bluesing, Voicing, and Celebrating Christmasy things in the latter part of 2025. Representatives from The G e n e a l o g y a n d Preservation Center at the Montgomery County Memorial Library in Conroe, were also on hand to update The Historical Society on the great things that are at the genealogical center on the second floor of the Central Library. Genealogy Librarian Laura Politte, and her assistant Cindy Amburgey, briefed the attendees to the meeting of the changeover that center is undergoing, in regards to new and modern equipment, new volumes of material that
have been or are being ordered, all in an effort to make searching for one’s ancestors and increasing easier activity in the future. The Montgomery Historical Society is pleased to announce a Blues Festival in Honor of Local Blues Legend, A l g e r n o n ‘ Te x a s ’ Alexander, is scheduled to take place on September 6th, at the Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall in Historic M o n t g o m e r y. C o y Prather, the author of ‘A Tombstone for Texas: Texas Alexander and the Blues Pioneers of Texas,’ along with MHS President Billy Ray Duncan, and former Montgomery City C o u n c i l m a n T. J . Wilkerson, have combined efforts to bring a Blue Festival to light in Historic Montgomery. Being the first year of the event, the B l u e s s o n g o f Te x a s Alexander will be played, along with possibly a Blues act or two, along with some vendors, and facts about
Members of the Montgomery Historical Society standing in front of the Nat Hart Davis Museum in Historic Montgomery the life of Texas Alexander, and the importance of his role is disseminating Blues in and around The State of
See Historical , page 2
Carriage Inn Residents Raise $1300 for Assistance League of Montgomery County
Carriage Inn resident and Resident Council Member, Carolyn Heacock, with Assistance League Member, Phyllis Weisbrook, and Chapter President, Jane Atwell. A group of Conroe special donation to a local to their hearts. In the spirit seniors recently had the M o n t g o m e r y C o u n t y of gratitude and giving pleasure of presenting a organization near and dear back, residents of Carriage
Inn proudly donated $1300 in proceeds collected from spring fundraising events to the Assistance League of Montgomery County, an organization committed to transforming the lives of children and adults through community programs. Members of the Conroe senior living community raised funds during their 7th Annual Carriage Inn Days Car Show and Vendor Fair and Community Garage Sale. The Carriage Inn Days event, held on April 12, was open to the public and welcomed the Conroe Cruisers, local vendors, friends, and neighbors in the Conroe community for an afternoon of family fun. Every year at the annual See Carriage Inn, page 2
It is a perfect time to discuss incorporating AI into your life. The purpose of my article is to dispel all the myths and fears about AI, and to equip you to put this powerful force to work in your life. AI is not science fiction, rather it is grounded in human achievement and fueled by our desire for a better life anchored by our creativity and curiosity. First, let us look at its creation and the r a p i d e v e r- e x p a n d i n g technology. It was one man's brilliant question that launched this tremendous advancement named Alan Turing who asked a simple question, “Can machines think? It was John McCarthy, who is credited with the term, Artificial Intelligence.' I would have preferred 'Automated Intelligence.' However, after the conference in Dartmouth in 1956 the wheels were in motion to fuse all the great disciplines of m a t h e m a t i c s , neuroscience, computer science, philosophy and even psychology. It took great minds to create machine learning and neural networks and systems to deliver this feat. AI has impacted all phases of our lives from healthcare to transportation, from e d u c a t i o n t o entertainment. One of AI's greatest attributes is its ability to process information at lighting speed, solve difficult challenges. This is not accomplished by replacing human beings' cognitive abilities, rather by assisting and augmenting our choices to make correct decisions. I have constructed an acronym to assist you in working with AI that I have been using with success. I have entitled it, 'EXCEL'. Each letter stands for learning pillar for you. With that in mind, E stands for Ethics. In order to use AI ethically, it is important to cite it when you are using it in your work or paper. I quote it as I would with any other source of information. X stands for X-Ray. This is a straightforward way to remind you that AI is not the final authority, rather it is a source of information that still needs to be verified and documented. The C stands for C O L L A B O R AT I O N . Whenever you use AI, view it as a partner collaborating with you to solve your challenges, answer your questions and to open your mind to all the possibilities. I like it when AI prompts me into diving deeper into a subject. E s t a n d s f o r E X P L A I N A B I L I T Y, which means fully understanding the content that you are receiving from AI. Also, you should be well versed in explaining it to others. In other words, See AI, page 2