Austin County
THE
BUSINESS GUIDE INSIDE
Serving Sealy and Austin County, Texas since 1887 • Home of Tami King Volume 129 Number 4
THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016
20 pages, $1
SUPER STARS Opponents in the Super Bowl have local ties
www.DenverBroncos.com
Emmanuel Sanders of Bellville is headed to Super Bowl 50 as a wide receiver for the Denver Broncos. He graduated from Bellville in 2005.
www.Panthers.com
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton leads his team to Super Bowl 50 after winning the NFC championship game. He led Blinn College to a junior college national championship in 2009.
Sealy ISD students meet state standard Texas Academic Performance Report is good news for district By JASON B. HOGAN reporter@sealynews.com
The Sealy News/COURTESY PHOTO
The new Austin County Tourism Commission received a $20,000 tourism grant through the Houston First Matching Grant Program on Jan. 21 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Pictured left to right are John Moore, Bellville Chamber vice president, Karla Kitterman, tourism ambassador program director, Nancy Doron, Bellville Chamber president, Sealy Mayor Mark Stolarski, Denyce Treybig, co-owner of the Yellow Brick Road Winery, and Tammy Hall of the Sealy Chamber of Commerce.
Austin County receives $20,000 Houston First grant for tourism By JASON B. HOGAN reporter@sealynews.com
On Thursday, Jan. 21, the newly formed Austin County Tourism Commission received its funding through the first ever Houston First Matching Grant Program, an initiative launched in spring 2015 and enacted as a campaign in September to increase partnerships that will skyrocket tourism for all of southeast Texas. Houston First held a press conference at the Houston Museum of Natural Science and awarded 14 large-sized checks totaling approximately $250,000 to programs that submitted applications for grant money dedicated to tourism. Members of Houston tourism agencies were on hand to present the checks, including Jorge
Franz, senior vice president of Tourism for Visit Houston, Mike Waterman, president of Visit Houston, and Jonathon Glus, co-chair of Houston First Corporation and Visit Houston Joint Tourism Committee. “This is the ground floor of Houston tourism. Other cities have been doing this for years what Houston is doing now,” said Denyce Treybig, a member of the tourism commission. Treybig and six other community members were in Houston to receive the grant: Gerry Math, co-owner of Yellow Brick Road Winery along with Treybig; Karla Kitterman, ambassador program director for the tourism commission; Nancy Doron, Bellville Chamber of Commerce executive director; John Moore, Bellville Chamber of Commerce vice president;
Tammy Hall of the Sealy Chamber of Commerce; and Sealy Mayor Mark Stolarski. The commission was awarded $20,000 in grant funding, among the top six in recipients. The smallest award amount was $10,000 and the largest was $25,000. The commission’s award amount is on par with the famed Tony Award-winning Alley Theatre, Treybig said, an amazing feat to her. The commission was spearheaded by the City of Sealy because some form of a governmental agency or nonprofit was required to cosign for the grant. City manager Larry Kuciemba is the grantee of the program, although it’s a collaborative between government and business, one team and one commu■ GRANT, page 15
Sealy Independent School District met standard at each of its campuses for the 20142015 Texas Academic Performance Report, which was presented to the school board at its Jan. 20 meeting. Asst. Superintendent Nicole Poenitzsch said TAPR primarily looks at STAAR performance, or State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, for the overall district by population and testable areas, such as reading, writing, math, science, social studies, English I and II, Algebra I, biology and U.S. History. Math scores were not reported in 2015 as it was only field tested this year due to newly revised Math TEKS, or Texas
Essential Knowledge and Skills, according to the report. The district achieved distinctions in science for the intermediate and high school levels, and Algebra I, biology, U.S. History and postsecondary readiness for high school. TEKS standards have been changing for a number of years. Teaching in the district has adapted most in regard to reading and writing. Reading is a huge focus in the kindergarten through fifth grade levels since it used to be lacking in alignment and consistency in approach. Foundational skills hold as much power as content when it comes to reading. Now the district uses a ■ SCHOOLS, page 15
SISD school board changes attorneys By JASON B. HOGAN reporter@sealynews.com
At a Jan. 20 meeting, the Sealy Independent School District board of trustees hired a law firm and will eventually drop one that it currently retains. Presently, the district keeps the services of two law firms, one being Powell & Leon, LLP, out of Austin and
Thompson and Horton, LLP, from Houston. “Thompson and Horton, that we use primarily for Special Ed, does not have the phone-a-friend service,” Superintendent Sheryl Moore said. That option is available for Powell and Leon when the board has simple questions ■ ATTORNEY, page 16
The Sealy News • 193 Schmidt Road • P.O. Box 480 • Sealy, TX 77474 • phone: (979) 885-3562 • fax: (979) 885-3564 • www.sealynews.com
BIBLEQUOTE
INDEXINSIDE
Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Luke 6:30
Church...............11 Classifieds...13-14 Community....8-10 News Bits.............2 Obituaries.........10 Opinion................4 Sports..............5-6
This week's weather
Tigers beat Columbus PAGE 5
Day/High/Low/Rain Thursday 65/38/0% Friday 70/48/0% Saturday 74/57/10% Sunday 77/59/10% Monday 76/58/10% Tuesday 69/40/0% Wednesday 61/36/0%
This week's weather art is by Jessie Spurrier, 6, a student at Selman Elementary School.