WEDNESDAY VOLUME XXX NUMBER 18 Section 1 8 pages
May 7, 2025 Home of the ‘Lone Star Flag’ and Jayhli Talley
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
Called Texas Doolittle Addresses Walden Being A Bird-brain
Weekly Men's club; Speaks on Road Just Might Be Gas Prices Rage Incident in Magnolia
Average gasoline prices in Texas have risen 2.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.70/g today, according to GasBuddy's survey of 13,114 stations in Texas. Prices in Texas are 14.5 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 56.2 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has increased 0.2 cents in the last week and stands at $3.501 per gallon. According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Texas was priced at $2.29/g yesterday while the most expensive was $3.50/g, a difference of $1.21/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.29/g while the highest was $3.50/g, a difference of $1.21/g. The national average price of gasoline has risen 2.0 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.12/g today. The national average is down 12.0 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 49.6 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: May 5, 2024: $3.27/g (U.S. Average: $3.62/g) May 5, 2023: $3.04/g (U.S. Average: $3.53/g) May 5, 2022: $3.92/g (U.S. Average: $4.27/g) May 5, 2021: $2.64/g (U.S. Average: $2.94/g) May 5, 2020: $1.50/g (U.S. Average: $1.78/g) May 5, 2019: $2.59/g (U.S. Average: $2.89/g) May 5, 2018: $2.57/g (U.S. Average: $2.81/g) May 5, 2017: $2.19/g (U.S. Average: $2.35/g) May 5, 2016: $1.99/g (U.S. Average: $2.22/g) May 5, 2015: $2.40/g (U.S. Average: $2.63/g) Neighboring areas and their current gas prices: Midland Odessa- $2.59/g, down 14.8 cents per gallon from last week's $2.74/g. San Antonio- $2.57/g, down 17.4 cents per gallon from last week's $2.74/g. Austin- $2.61/g, down 14.1 cents per gallon from last week's $2.75/g. "Last week was another mixed bag at the pump for many Americans, but there may be some promising short-term news from OPEC+, which has agreed to increase oil production starting in June," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. "Here in the U.S., slightly more than half of the states saw gas prices rise, while many others saw modest declines. We continued to see price cycling in states prone to such movements, including much of the Great Lakes region, as well as in Maryland, Florida, and parts of Texas. However, the most notable development is OPEC+'s decision to raise production next month, as oil prices hover near their lowest levels since the pandemic. While gasoline inventories have been tightening due to ongoing refinery maintenance— which has limited how much gas prices have fallen in response to lower oil— refinery output is expected to rise soon. As maintenance wraps up, we could see an increase in gasoline supply and a national average that may soon dip below $3 per gallon." SOURCE GasBuddy
Index Community................2, 3, 8
Commentary...............2, 3, 4, 5 Church Directory..............5 Legals.............................6, 7 Business Directory.............8
by Ruben Borjas, Jr Speaking to the Men’s Association of Walden this past Friday, May 2nd, Montgomery County Sheriff Wesley Doolittle gave a general talk about the current issues that the Montgomery County Sheriff ’s Office faces. Being a career law enforcement officer, and with a family history in the county dating back well over 120 years, Doolittle is committed to the safety of Montgomery County citizens. The Walden Men’s C lub, headed by lo cal businessman Pete Livingston, meets the First Friday of each month at Walden’s Lakeview Dining restaurant, inviting influential speakers of interest to the men, and women, who wish to attend the breakfast meeting. Guests range from elected officials to people who are experts in different fields. Sheriff Doolittle is very involved in getting to know the citizens of Montgomery County and their concerns. He worked the room, going around to
each table and introducing himself, shaking the hand of each person in the room, w h i c h i n c l u d e d approximately three ladies, who were most welcomed to the event. The Sheriff spoke on different topics, but downplayed the recent road rage incident in Magnolia in which he apprehended a suspect who displayed a gun in a fight with another motorist at an intersection in the town. Doolittle’s outlook in regards to getting to know people started when he was stationed in Victoria, along the coastline. He worked in a five county area, and he didn’t know anyone at first. It was in 2009 he solved his first capital murder case in Yo a k u m . T h e S h e r i ff appreciates talking to people and especially clubs, because he understands that members chat amongst themselves and form a community within a community; helping each other on the smaller issues. It goes along with his commitment to ensure that Our County is safe for all citizens to live, work, and workshop as they so please.
Sheriff Wesley Doolittle speaking at the recent gathering of the Men’s Association of Walden in Montgomery After assuming office, Doolittle released a statement that The MCSO will remain committed to the federal 287(g) program, which allows trained and certified sheriff’s personnel to ‘perform certain immigration enforcement
functions.’ “I think it is vitally important to remain committed to transparency in the community,” said Doolittle. “So that you the See Doolittle , page 2
“Redemption”
Jacob Riley and Brenner Kirklin were able to capture the TBF State Championship A r t i c l e b y M a r k have a chance to win The Bass Federation's version Hooker o f t h e Te x a s S t a t e This past Saturday at Championship, but also to Lake Belton there were qualify for the prestigious Anglers looking to not only T B F N a t i o n a l
Championship. Well, we had MISD Anglers accomplish both feats and also gained a little “Redemption” along the way.
The Anglers I am referring to are Jacob Riley and Brenner Kirklin, as well as Colton Hatzold and Jett Moore. Both of these Teams were still reeling from narrowly missing qualifying for the Texas High School Bass Association version of the State Championship at last week's Regional Championship. Well, in my humble opinion, all of Montgomery needs to tip their caps to how these young men responded to being knocked down. We should admire how they dusted themselves off and rose to the occasion to place First and Second at the TBF event, punching their tickets to the TBF National Championship. If you recall, this is the very event where Fallon Clepper and Wyatt Ford See MISD, page 2
A Compliment By Cheryl Conley Lake Creek Nature Preserve Board of Directors How would you answer the question: "What is the smartest bird on the planet?" Although measuring avian intelligence can be challenging due to the diverse ways birds solve problems and adapt to their environments, scientists and researchers all agree that the crow is the most intelligent bird in the animal kingdom. Before I get into the reasoning behind that decision, let's learn a little about the American crows. With a range covering nearly all of the lower 48 states, barring the southwestern deserts, the American crow is a familiar sight. They are very adaptable and you'll find them in urban, suburban and rural areas. Distinguished by its glossy black feathers that shimmer iridescently, it possesses long legs and a sturdy, straight bill. Adults typically measure between 16 and 21 inches in length, about 40% of which is tail, and weigh approximately one pound. These intelligent birds are omnivores with a remarkably broad diet, consuming natural foods like worms, insects, seeds, and fruit, but also scavenging trash and c a r r i o n , a n d opportunistically preying on baby birds from nests. Young American crows don't breed until they are at least 2 years old but most don't breed until they are at least 4 years old. They are territorial and will defend their nests and foraging areas. Crows are monogamous and their lifespan is between 7 and 15 years. Interestingly, they hold funerals for their dead. When a crow sees a fellow dead crow, it will send out a loud call to the other crows. The group will then perform aerial m a n e u v e r s a n d vocalizations at the “funeral”. Due to their intelligence, crows have demonstrated remarkable memory skills. They can identify and remember individual faces and associate them with positive or negative experiences. They effectively communicate these occasions to others in their murder (a flock of crows), who may then collectively react to the person involved. An experiment at the University of Washington proved this to be true. Wearing masks, researchers captured and banded 75 crows. No harm was done to the crows but the birds did not like being caught. For the next 3 years, the researchers would wear the masks outside to see if the crows would react. They certainly did. The researchers were scolded, mobbed, dive-bombed and pooped on by the crows. One 8-year-old girl in Seattle learned all about the intelligence of crows when her kindness to them was reciprocated. Gabi Mann would leave food out for the crows on a daily basis and soon the birds began to See Crows, page 3