r: Pape t Ads s ’ y da en In To ploym Em Than ! e r 29 o ns gM Fillin sitio
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EC Ballplayers Claim Victories Over Needville
ECHS Tops In UIL Competition Page 3-B
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Countdown under way for 2014 youth fair
Volume 130 Number 5 • Saturday, March 29, 2014
Copyright ® 2014
14 Pages, 4 Inserts
75¢
Farming Generations
By SHANNON CRABTREE scrabtree@leader-news.com
With the theme “One Great County, One Great Fair,” the upcoming Wharton County Youth Fair celebrates education with an agricultural theme while offering a salute to several standout groups. Fair Week runs Thursday, April 24 through Saturday, May 3. Wharton County’s children and their animal projects have earned respect not only locally, but in major city competitions as well, volunteer Jodie Socha told attendees at the annual media day Thursday. “That’s a pretty big honor when you go to San Antonio and Houston and compete against the big boys,” he said. Wharton County poultry projects have earned numerous honors in recent competitions along with larger animals. New at the fair this year is veterans salute on Tuesday, April 29. Not only will those who served the nation be admitted for free, they will be honored during the (See WCYF, Page 6-A)
Glenn Riha (center) and his two sons (l-r) Todd and Toby farm 3,000 acres of land, producing cotton, rice, sorghum, corn and soybeans and raising 500 to 600 cattle in West Wharton County. The Riha farm started in the early 1900s and has sustained itself through all the technological changes and stress through hard work and dedication. Tuesday was National Ag Day and this past week National Ag week, time set aside to give consumers an opportunity to thank farmers for all they contribute.
L-N Photo by Jody Larimer
Saucy Event Raises Funds For 100 Club – See Page 8-A ALSO INSIDE: VIEWPOINT......................................Page 4-A OBITUARIES.....................................Page 7-A SPORTS.............................................Page 1-B LIFESTYLE.........................................Page 3-B CHURCH LISTINGS..........................Page 4-B CLASSIFIEDS & REAL ESTATE........Page 5-B
LOCAL WEATHER Saturday Sunny DAY: 0% NIGHT: 0%
HIGH: 77º LOW: 52º
Sunday
Sunny DAY: 0% NIGHT: 0%
HIGH: 74º LOW: 56º
Monday
Mostly Cloudy DAY: 0% HIGH: 74º NIGHT: 0% LOW: 62º
Family tradition growing With crops, Cattle By JODY LARIMER reporter@leader-news.com
P
ulling into the driveway Thursday, there wasn’t a lot of action at the Riha farm as it was a gloomy day with the threat of rain looming. Glen Riha, his wife Kathy and their sons, Todd and Toby, gathered in the kitchen and talked about how their farming life began – almost 100 years ago. “Grandpa Lawrence (Riha) started farming in Lavaca County in 1918 or 1919, raising cattle and farming corn,” Glenn said. Lawrence married Tonie Hanslik and they lived in Hallettsville. In 1923, the second generation of farmers was born in a son, Louis. Before Louis settled into the farm life, however, he served in the military. He was a World War II Navy veteran and was on a PT boat when they raised the flag at Iwo Jima in February of 1945. After the war, Louis returned home and married Joyce Hilscher and they continued ranching and farming and started a family. Glenn was born in 1952, the younger brother of two sisters, Carol (Turner) and Susan. There were two other siblings who
didn’t survive. When Glenn was just five years old, the family packed up everything they owned and moved to Pierce in search of better opportunities, as land was somewhat scarce in Lavaca County. “All they owned was 400 cage-layers (chickens),” Glenn said, and turned away for a moment. “They ended up with 520 acres. That’s saying something.” Once set up in Pierce, the family survived by selling eggs and began farming milo and cotton and raising cattle. Glen’s love of farming started when he first sat behind a tractor at the age of 8, he said, little knowing how much work it would eventually entail. He and his sisters attended Pierce elementary and then El Campo ISD, where Glenn met his future wife, Kathy Bubela. Glenn joined the national guard after graduation, where he dedicated six years of his life, and, in 1973, he took Kathy as his bride. He and Kathy worked alongside his parents as partners, ranching and farming for the next 30 years.
“We did it all our lives. It’s in your blood, I guess,”
–Toby Riha
(See SURVIVING THROUGH, Page 8-A)
Tuesday
Chance of Thunderstorms DAY: 20% HIGH: 76º NIGHT: 0% LOW: 67º Last Week: Avg. High: 70º • Avg. Low: 56º
R ain G auge
Last 7 Days............................... .65 In.
Last 30 Days........................... 1.33 In. Same Time In '13........................ .14 In.
Year To Date........................... 4.42 In. Year To Date '13....................... 5.28 In. Data Collected by LCRA at El Campo Memorial Hospital
B urn B an : LIFTED COUNTY’S MEAN KBDI: 213 Burn Ban is put into effect when the mean KBDI reaches or goes above 500.
State testing starts next week for local students By JODY LARIMER reporter@leader-news.com
El Campo and Louise school districts are preparing students for state testing which starts next week at some campuses with the goal of improving scores. “Our teachers and instructional coaches are experts in their content areas,” High School Principal Rich DuBroc said. “We have taken our own best practices and begged, borrowed and stolen others to put our students in the best position possible to be successful on their tests.” Ensuring what is taught not only educates, but also prepares students for required state testing is sometimes a challenge. “At middle school, we made some changes ... and built time in for teachers to plan together,” Principal Mark Freeman said. “We feel that this change alone allowed us to be more uniform in our presentation of class content and has allowed us to better prepare students for the rigors of the STAAR test. We hope that the performance of students
on the tests provides evidence that this change was successful.” Hutchins Elementary doesn’t take tests until later in April with third-grade math on April 22 and third-grade reading on April 23. “We are better prepared this year and always expecting better results,” Hutchins Principal Mauri Couey said. “Every decision we make, on a day-to-day basis, is focused on how it will impact students’ academic performance.” Northside Elementary educators have also been preparing the students and have included parents in the preparation. “We feel our students have worked really hard to prepare for (See SCHOOLS FOCUS, Page 7-A)
Page 4-A
El Campo Leader-News • Saturday, June 7, 2014
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Viewpoint
lettertoeditor@leader-news.com
‘Battle’ boy just one wonder found by roving writer What’s the phrase? “Will wonders never cease?” Hopefully not. Otherwise I might never again encounter a Hispanic family who enriches their children’s lives with wonderfully meaningful Aztec names. Or, spot a kilt-clad, non-Scottish local man and his wife, both fierce competitors in the Houston Highland Games. I literally bumped into Jose and Yvonne Salas and their four children in the dining area at Prasek’s. Escaping without injury or dumping food, introductions followed. The Salas hail from Corpus Christi. Jose is a construction company su-
pervisor while Yvonne works at UPS and they were on their way to New Orleans and the National Youth Basketball tournament. Mr. Salas then brought each child over and formally introduced them from youngest to oldest beginning with 2-year-old Moises Camatzli Salas. “Camatzli means god of war and hunting,” announced Salas. Next up: 4-year-old Luis Necalli Salas. “Necalli means battle,” he intoned. Then came 8-year-old Phoenix Metzli Garza. Metzli translates to god of moon. Ten-year-old Tizoc Allan Garza then presented himself. “Tizoc was
Jerry Aulds
the last emperor of the Aztec empire,” advised Salas. When asked about the why of the children’s Aztec names: “Each of those names mean something and it connects each child to their history,” Salas proudly pronounced. The encounter with Nathan and Holly Schroedter occurred when a
kilt-clad muscular young man attracted my attention and caused a general stir among the onlookers as he raced from his vehicle, legs pumping and colorful kilt swirling, from the gasoline pumps to the underconstruction El Campo Speedy Stop. Intrigued, I hot-footed it over to his vehicle before he could pull away. “Are you a Scot?” “Nope, not with a name like Nathan Schroedter,” he said with a grin. Nathan went on to explain that his dad Duane Schroedter “used to drag me around to all the Highlander Games competitions and I got hooked. Hooked pretty good, too. “Fin-
ished second in the B&L. That’s Big and Large class competition.” For those unfamiliar with the Highland Games, one part involves grabbing hold of the base of a huge pole, racing forward and underhanding it downrange. Longest throw wins. Schroedter, urged on by his bride announced, “Holly took first in the non-traditional category.” “Come again?” “I won for my baked cookies. Everybody loved how they looked and tasted! For the record, Holly did not attempt to see how far she could pitch one of those cookies down field. Now that’s a wonder!
From the L-N Facebook page In addition to coverage in Wednesday’s edition of the El Campo Leader-News, the following report was placed on the paper’s Facebook page. The posting reached almost 12,000 people, according to the website’s statistics. Here are comments readers shared about the anti-drinking event.
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lettertoeditor@leader-news.com Letters to the editor run as space is available in both the Wednesday and Saturday edition. To be considered for publication, letters must be received before 1 p.m. Monday for the Wednesday edition or 1 p.m. Thursday for the Saturday edition. Publication in a specific paper is not guaranteed. Please limit your letters to no more than 350 words. Letters must be signed by at least one person and a telephone number is required. An individual can submit a letter for publication once every eight editions (generally once a month) unless it is in direct response to another letter at the discretion of the newspaper. The Leader-News allows representatives of clubs or other fundraising organizations to thank up to five individuals or corporations by name in a letter to the editor. Please note that the LeaderNews will not publish letters advocating a specific choice on an election issue immediately before or during a balloting period.
THE EL CAMPO LEADER-NEWS (USPS 169520) is published semi-weekly on Wednesday and Saturday for $45 per year in Wharton County; $60 per year out of county; and $84 per year out of state; and $45 per year for the online edition by Wharton County Newspapers, Inc., 203 E. Jackson St., El Campo, Texas 77437. Periodical postage paid at El Campo, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the EL CAMPO LEADER-NEWS, P.O. Box 1180, El Campo, Texas 77437. © 2014 Wharton County Newspapers, Inc.
979-543-3363 Fax: 979-543-0097 Website: www.leader-news.com Email address: lettertoeditor @leader-news.com Opinions or views expressed by individual columnists or in Letters to the Editor are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper. Also, while the LeaderNews strives for accuracy, errors may occur, and will be promptly corrected once they are brought to the attention of the editor.
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SPORTS
El Campo Leader-News • Wednesday, November 26, 2014
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Page 1-B
sports@leader-news.com
Class 4A, 2A football playoffs
JAY T.
STRASNER INK BY THE BARREL
The night the lights go out in Navasota? It was about 7:15 p.m. Monday when Bob Gillis finally switched off the lights to his office at the Ricebird field house and headed home for supper. But his brain would remain switched on for the rest of the evening – thinking about the biggest test of the year Friday night against Navasota – the No. 1 team in Class 4A Division II. While most fans view Ricebird football as entertainment, behind the scenes a tight-knit group of El Campo coaches put in long hours to prepare their team. It’s fun, but it’s also a responsibility. “Really it goes back to the summer with our strength and conditioning in July,” EC Head Coach Bob Gillis said. “Our coaches are up here four days a week when they would normally be off and they’re working without getting any extra pay. That’s what it takes to have a successful football team. If we didn’t do that, we’d feel like we were cheating our kids. We want to give them every opportunity to be part of a special team that does big things.” When the season begins, Friday is not the only day of activity. Coaching suddenly becomes a 7-day a week job at El Campo. Ricebird coaches get back from games early Saturday morning, catch a few winks, then return to the field house and work for the majority of Saturday viewing film. After church on Sunday, it’s more intense gameplanning all day long, then the practice routine and additional film study returns Monday morning. “Our coaches work really hard,” Gillis said. “I know they get tired, but they never show it. I think working with these young kids kinda keeps you young at heart, ya know.” One strength of the Ricebird coaching staff is its continuity. The majority of the EC coaches have been together for the past seven years. Others have been here even longer. Middle school coaches Jesse Galvan and Matthew Schoener have been installing the El Campo running attack since 1992. “It’s hard to keep coaches together that long. Not a lot of schools have the luxury of that continuity that we have,” Gillis said. Another luxury the El Campo football program has enjoyed is the benefit of playing football after Thanksgiving. It’s a treat that shouldn’t be taken for granted, Gillis said. “That’s a big goal that we have every year,” Gillis said. “When I coached at Columbus, we won a lot of games but never played past Thanksgiving. My first stint at El Campo, we didn’t do it. But when I got back into it after 2003, we’ve been able to play that long a few times. When you look up and there’s only 16 teams left in your division, that’s really big to make it that far. There are no guarantees in football and we’re grateful to be where we’re at right now with everything in front of us.” Carthage learned firsthand last week that playoff opportunities can’t be taken lightly. The Bulldogs have a 33-4 playoff record the past 6 seasons and two of those losses have come to El Campo. This week, Ricebird coaches can finally talk about the opponent that fans and high school football enthusiasts have pointed to since the playoff brackets came out. “This week is a heckuva matchup,” Gillis said. “But if you look at it, all the teams left in our region are undefeated district champs. It doesn’t matter, all of us are really good teams that can win on any given night. And for us at El Campo, the (See HARD WORK, Page 6-B)
Regional EC vs Navasota has makings of State championship clash
By KAITLYNN BIANCONI sports@leader-news.com
The Ricebirds are looking to shake up the Navasota Rattlers on Friday night in Conroe, hoping to knock them out of their No. 1 state ranking and give them their first loss of the season. El Campo wants to take the regional title and secure another week in the playoffs. The Rattlers boast a 12-0 record and the district champ title after a 5-0 district run. Their pristine record secured them the top spot in Class 4A.
Sting Like A Dove
L-N Photo by Jon Elits
Ricebird running back Kevin Dove plows through the Brazosport Exporter defense during a regular season game. Dove and his teammates will face the No. 1 ranked Navasota Rattlers this Friday at Conroe.
SHOWDOWN
However, Navasota has played some different opponents. They played a school located in Monterrey, Mexico, Rogers Heritage in Rogers, Ark. and local schools including Sealy and Houston Furr. The Rattlers defeated Sealy 65-6 and Furr 85-0. “They’re a great football team. They’re undefeated and average 60 points a game and only give up 7 points a game,” EC Head Coach Bob Gillis said. “They’re a talented bunch of kids.” They were area finalists in 2013 and made it to the state game in
FRIDAY,
knocked Chapel Hill out of the area round with a 49-28 victory. OVEMBER Also similar to EC, the Navasota seniors have experience from the state run in 2012, when they were sophomores just moved up to varsity. That experience has come into play for both teams this season. 7:00 P.M. “On offense, they’re good at BUDDY MOOREHEAD STADIUM spreading out and throw and getting 2012, but fell to Gilmer 39-3. Much the guys in space. They’ve got fast relike El Campo, Navasota has a histo- ceivers that like to run,” Gillis said. ry of playoff runs, and this year is no “Like a lot of good teams, they’re goexception. They defeated Needville ing to run the ball. They’ve got a good (See RICEBIRDS, Page 6-B) 55-15 in the bi-district round, and
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Round 3 new territory for Hornets Louise game versus Bremond believed to be deepest run ever for LHS
By KAITLYNN BIANCONI sports@leader-news.com
The Hornet pride deepens in Louise as the team enters the regional round of the playoffs to face No. 1 ranked Bremond on Friday night in Bastrop. Louise took out D’Hanis last week in a 20-6 dominating win, but Bremond will be a bigger challenge for the Hornets. “They’re really good, and they’re pretty big and fast,” Head Coach David Lucio said. “They’re really aggressive man-to-man.” The Tigers enter the match-up with an 11-0 record, easily taking the district title with a 6-0 run. Bremond defeated common opponents Burton and Milano. The Tigers defeated Milano 38-0 and Burton 55-21. The Hornets beat Burton 28-20, and defeated Milano 25-6 in the bi-district playoff round. The Tigers are used to having a strong season after going 21-5 in the past two seasons combined. They finished 12-1 in 2013 and were state quarter-finalists. The Tigers have most of their skill positions returning for the 2014 season, along with defensive line startL-N Photo by Chris Filoteo ers and a strong offensive line. Dodging D’Hanis Running backs James Jones and Jacob Bill protects the ball while dodging some D’Hanis Cowboys on Friday in SeJosh Anderson are returning as a guin. The Hornets will play Bremond on Friday in Bastrop for the regional round strong backfield combo after each bein the playoffs, a game that’s believed to be the deepest playoff run for Louise. ing named All-District in 2013.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28
vs
7:30 P.M. CEDAR CREEK MEMORIAL Among the defensive players are Evan Sargent (6-2, 180), who ended the 2013 season with 74 tackles and 9 interceptions, and Jarvis Jones (510, 210). “They play a 3-4 defense, and on offense they run a spread, and they’ll power through and run right through,” Lucio said. With a No. 1 ranked team, they are sure to have stand-out players. “Their quarterback (Roshauud Paul) is pretty good, and RayAndre Browning and Jacobly Davis are outstanding ball players,” Lucio said. “They just have a lot of good ball players. But they’re kind of young, they have a lot of sophomores and juniors.” Paul has completed 54 of 78 passes for 1,033 yards, with 11 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He also has 103 carries for 1,064 yards and 17 touchdowns. Browning has 30 catches for 565 (See HORNETS, Page 5-B)
Lifestyle
El Campo Leader-News • Wednesday, April 23, 2014
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Page 1-C
lifestyle@leader-news.com
“Being a mother is the best thing I have ever done, why shouldn’t I give someone else that same opportunity?”
9 Weeks
– Keri Jones
19 Weeks
35 Weeks
Being a surrogate mother, after having three children of her own, was something Keri Jones of Louise considered and did a lot of soul-searching before she and her husband Jarret decided it was the right thing to do. As a surrogate mother, the baby is not genetically related to the one carrying the baby. For Keri, her faith played a major role in deciding to help a couple become parents of their own biological child. “I believe God led me to this path in life. Being a mom is by far my greatest accomplishment. Keri delivered a healthy baby boy on March 19 and the “intended mother” was there to experience its arrival. Contributed Photos by Keri Jones
The Vessel of Life Surrogate mother delivers healthy baby boy
QUALA MATOCHA lifestyle@leader-news.com
For Keri Jones, mother of three, the idea of becoming a surrogate mother conjured up a multitude of emotions. The thought of “I could do that,” Jones said, was one reason she considered being a surrogate mother. Wanting to help a couple unable to conceive their own child was another reason. And the joys of motherhood was another reason she chose surrogacy. But the idea all began when Jones read an online advertisement. “I came to surrogacy in a very round-about way,” Jones said. “I was online and saw a pop-up ad for a surrogacy agency. I thought to myself ‘I could do that.’ Days later I was still thinking about it. I felt as though I was being called to do this. Being a mother is the best thing I have ever done, why shouldn’t I give someone else that same opportunity?” But to proceed, she wanted her husband Jarret’s support. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even consider surrogacy. “After some soul-searching on my part, I decided to bring it up to my husband and see how he felt,” she said. “I knew from the beginning there is no way I would, or could, do this without his full support.” With his approval, the couple started doing some research and found an agency they felt comfortable with. “I choose Growing Generations for a variety of reasons, but most of all because when I spoke to them I did not feel as though I was just another person,” she said. “I felt very important to them and very respected.” The first step was the application process in September 2012, followed by a phone interview and then medical screening in mid-November 2012. “Both my husband and I were screened for general health and a bunch of other things such as STDs, nicotine, drug use, etc. and I had to undergo a physiological test and we both interviewed with the physiologist as well,” she said Once they met those qualifications, they received the profile of a couple in late November and decided to accept it. The Jones’ profile was then sent to the couple for their approval. “They accepted us and we scheduled a match meeting,” she said. “Normally this is done in person, but since the intended parents were international, we decided to do a conference call instead. During this call we were led through some talking points by Growing Generations staff. We made sure we were all in agreement over all the big issues that could come up during a pregnancy.” Both couples agreed on the match in early December. The next step was for the intended mother to meet the Jones family in person. That happened right after Christmas in 2012. “This was a great opportunity to get to know each other and she was able to meet our children too,” she said.
Legal contracts, which were drawn up by a firm specializing in international fertility law, were signed by both parties with the option to revise until both were in agreement. “By early February we were legally cleared and ready for a calendar from the fertility clinic we would be using in Los Angeles,” Jones said. “The calendar came along with a giant box of
into Jones’ uterus with a small tube inserted through the cervix. “None of it hurt and was over very quickly,” she said. “I spent the rest of the day in bed resting and returned home the next day.” Two weeks later blood work was done to confirm the pregnancy. “It was negative and we were all a little heartbroken,” she said. “After some discussion on the intended parents part, along with the fertility clinic, we decided to try again.”
because I had taken a whole lot of at-home pregnancy tests already and they were all positive,” she said. Blood tests were conclusive too. In midAugust, Jones had her first ultrasound and was six weeks pregnant. “They told me it was twins, two confirmed heartbeats. Wow! Everyone was a little surprised, but not shocked, and very excited,” she said. The next follow-up ultrasound revealed she was carrying triplets. “Triplets? What? How? Why? We were all in shock and very scared and overwhelmed,” she said. “No one expects that to happen. One embryo of the two had split into identical twins.” Now the pregnancy became high risk with a chance the twins would not survive. “They shared a sac and a placenta,” she said. “Nature did eventually inter-
Jarret and Keri Jones with their three kids: Alyssa, 8, Hayden, 6 and Canyon, 4. “I got to teach my children that sometimes you do things for other people that are not easy, and that giving is not just making a monetary donation or helping out somewhere for an hour. Sometimes it’s more.”
medications by late February.” In early March 2013, those medications started the process of preparing the lining of her uterus for the embryo transfer which was to take place around March 21. “The process of preparing for an embryo transfer is complicated,” she said. “I began taking estrogen by pill and by injection every third day along with lots of vitamins. Each week I was monitored by blood test and ultrasound to make sure my body was reacting like it should to the medication. They were watching the thickness of the uterine lining. One week before transfer I started adding daily progesterone shots to the med regimen.” She then flew out to Los Angeles, Calif. a day prior to the embryo transfer. “The process of implanting the embryos is relatively simple,” Jones said. From the intended parents six frozen embryos, two were thawed and implanted
The same process of medications began in May 2013, but was halted because her uterus was getting thinner instead of thicker. Trying once again, she began the third cycle of medications the end of June with an anticipated transfer of July 19 or 21 “depending on how the embryos thawed and how good they were growing. The embryos were growing well after being thawed so we waited until July 21 to transfer. The embryos were five days old at this point, so on the day of transfer I was technically two weeks and five days pregnant. The intended mother was there and it was decided that we should transfer two embryos once again.” The same follow-up of blood tests 14 days later revealed good results. “I knew we would have a good outcome
vene and I lost the identical twins around 12 weeks. The singleton remained and was growing perfectly and all looked to be healthy with that baby.” By mid-October 2013 they discovered the intended parents were having a baby boy. “Everyone was thrilled,” she said. “The loss of the twins was believed to play a part in some unexpected bleeding that put me in the hospital for several days in November, at 21 weeks.” And the baby didn’t show any signs of stress or problems. “Because of these issues I had more ultrasounds than most pregnancies and was also monitored by a maternal fetal medicine specialist in addition to my regular obstetrician,” she said. The pregnancy went as planned and by Monday March 17, she felt delivery was nearing. So she called the intended parents to let them know they should come soon. (See BLESSED, Page 3-C)