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Katy Today MAGAZINE

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JULY2017

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Katy Today MAGAZINE JULY 2017 PUBLISHER Terry Schaub 281.931.3141 tschaub@katytimes.com MANAGING EDITOR Jimmy Galvan 281.391.3141 news@katytimes.com LAYOUT & GRAPHICS Sandra Boyer 254.220.6498 sandra@april-mariedesign.com ADVERTISING 281.391.3141 sales@katytimes.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Jimmy Glavan Trish Johnson CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Trish Johnson

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A Hug Away Healthcare

Hug Away Healthcare is a godsend for those fulfill our patients’ needs. families wanting to retain a quality lifestyle for “Our goal is to leave a legacy. We boast on our ability to their loved ones who need medical care at home. help doctors heal patients and to comfort families and friends. Located at 1203 Avenue D, Suite A, in Our census stays small because we assign ‘Hospice families are very close to our Old Town Katy, A Hug Away Healthcare is nurses and therapist who help get patients hearts as we help comfort and educate owned by sisters Marisa Frasier and Tikisha back to a full time lifestyle that they can them concerning the grieving process. Johnson. embrace.” This is a very delicate time for all Marisa is the Administrator and Tikisha is The business is truly a one-stop shop for involved.’ ~Marisa Frazier Alternate Administrator. anyone who needs home health care services. “Our heart is in Katy, but our care has no limits,” said Included among its services are: infusion care, wound care, Marisa. “We are licensed to service all of Texas, including the skilled nursing, hospice care, IV therapy, physical therapy, Fulshear area, and we’ll go as far as we have to in order to medical equipment, social services and companionship services

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— all offered within the convenience of one’s own home. • Dietician services; But that’s not all, A Hug Away also provides full-time • Family bereavement counseling; hospice care, occupational therapy, speech therapy, intravenous • Physical, speech and occupational therapy services; injections, intramuscular injections, catheter insertions, blood • Frequent medical status updates; pressure and glucose level checks and other vital checks for • Psychological consulting; and body temperature, pulse rate and rate of breathing. A Hug • Explaining medical conditions (for family and patient). Away is also expanding its services to include pediatrics and “We always encourage volunteers to help with our hospice psychiatry. program,” said Marisa. “Interested parties can contact us at “Our licensed physicians, registered nurses and other 832-437-1983 for training and assignments.” medical professionals work in collaboration with family Another major offering by A Hug Away is its respite service physicians to deliver the best home health care available,” said that is available hourly, daily or weekly. “Even though many Marisa. “It’s all about giving our patients the families take great joy in providing care to their loved quality lifestyle they want and deserve.” ones so that they can remain at home, the physical, “We are about the business Most of the home health care referrals come emotional and financial consequences for the family of healing and returning from doctors who have knowledge of A Hug caregivers can be overwhelming without the right you to the lifestyle you enjoy Away or have personally experienced “our high support,” said Marisa. “Our respite service offers you and love.” ~Marisa Frazier level of care,” said Marisa. Word-of-mouth the much-needed temporary break from the oftenadvertising drives about three-fourths of their exhausting challenges faced by the family caregiver.” business, she added. Respite services include, but are not limited to: doctor A major focus of A Hug Away is hospice care and that’s visits with an assistant; supervised maintenance; nutritional understandable, as it was this issue that actually launched the services; sitter companion services; “planned” emergency care; idea for the business. When Marisa worked at a previous job, medication reminders and reading assistance. A Hug Away the wife of one of her employees was suffering from brain offers respite care for both hospice and sitter services to allow cancer. Marisa started hospice care in an effort to ease his mind the family a time to rest. In addition, A Hug Away offers a while at work, allowing him to maintain his job and be at wide array of medical equipment to assist in the care of a loved peace with the hospice process. one, including wheelchairs, hospital beds, oxygen, walkers and After that successful effort, Marisa and Tikisha “went at hospice full time.” Hospice care focuses on improving the quality of life for patients and their families faced with a life-limiting illness. The primary goals of hospice care are to provide comfort; relieve physical, emotional and spiritual suffering; and promote the dignity of terminally ill persons. Hospice care neither prolongs nor hastens the dying process. Hospice services provided by A Hug Away include, but are not limited to: • Spiritual counseling; • Medical social worker assistance; • Skilled nursing assistance;

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Passing the baton

After 10 years in public office, Hughes reflects, prepares for new phase of life

By Jimmy Galvan

fter more than a decade of service for the city of Katy, Fabol Hughes is hanging up his public servant boots and taking to a life of a Katy businessman again. “We had a 10-year run at it, and I think we are leaving on a high note,” Hughes said from his insurance office in Katy. “We have done a lot of positive things and have had a lot of positive growth.” One issue that Hughes was particularly proud of was the slogan “In God We Trust” being placed on all of the city’s vehicles as well as a banner at city hall stating “God Bless America Again.” “I am very proud that we brought God back into this equation again,” Hughes said. During his term in office, Hughes is proud of the many accomplishment attained by the city council. “We knew the growth was coming and the council and mayor were all on the same page when it came to that growth,” Hughes said. “We all knew we wanted to protect our city so we annexed anything that we could legally annex, and that was how we could keep out the unwanted types of businesses. “We set out to annex as much as we could to the west because we knew it would be commercial development,” Hughes said. “We knew of three master planned development of homes that wanted land to the west of Katy so we wanted to ensure the developments were for the better of the city of Katy.” Ten years ago, Hughes ran for the city council and served three terms in office on council. Hughes admitted he was asked to run for public office and thought about it for a year and half before decided to run for city council. “I finally decided that I think I will just do it,” Hughes said. “We make a run at it and see and I was successful. I had a

good time serving on city council and got some good things done.” In 2013, Hughes term limit as councilman had run out as had Don Elder’s term limits as mayor of the city. “My seat on council was ending so I decided to run for mayor,” Hughes said. “I was luck enough to be elected by 24 votes. The sad thing was that we had more than 8,000 voters but only 1,400 showed up to vote in that election. “I just figured that I could do the job,” Hughes said. “And I think I showed people that I could handle it.” Hughes could have served two more terms as mayor for the city of Katy but health issues caused to him to back out of running for the office. “I could see that I was going to have to actively campaign for the office, and I am not up to doing that,” Hughes said. “When I decided to drop out, I went to Chuck Brawner and asked him if he would consider running for the office and that hit him by surprise. He signed up with an hour to go in the process. “It was not anything that was planned,” Hughes said. “When another candidate signed up, I knew it was not going to be a campaign that I wanted to run in. I ran in a campaign four years ago, and it wasn’t a good one at all with a lot of negativity. I knew this mayoral campaign was going to be negative and I didn’t want to face that again.” Hughes admitted that he would have liked to stay on a see some of the current projects come to its fruition, but he knew his health was going to stand in the way. “I don’t have any regrets with my time in office,” Hughes said. “We had a good run at it, and we have the opportunity to go down a road that a lot of people don’t get the opportunity to do it. They only dream of going down the road of public service. “We have made a lot of friends since we moved here 46 years ago,” Hughes said. “Some people say that when you get into politics, you lose your friends but we haven’t lost any

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friends. We actually gained supporters and friends here.” As he prepared to leave office, Hughes said there are 28 projects still underway in the city of Katy. Projects such as the Katy Boardwalk are scheduled to begin shortly. “The Boardwalk, with private money investment, will probably have more than $500 million invested in it, and we have investors that are ready to put $100 million into the downtown area as well,” Hughes said. “There is no city money at risk with these projects. All of the projects that are underway as I leave office are all funded by Metro dollars and not city dollars.” Hughes said the Metro tax dollars are collected by the city of Houston and then passed on to Katy and spent entirely on mobility projects within the city limits. “During the recent election, you might have heard that the city’s spending was up 44 percent but that was mobility money that has to be spent on mobility projects,” Hughes said. “Yes, spending was up, but it is not the city’s money that is being spent. “I’m very proud of the mobility project that are being done because you have to get people from point A to point B,” Hughes said. “Some people might travel through the city and might not live here, but they are going through the city.” Hughes pointed to the Amazon Distribution Center as a prime example of positive commercial growth for the city.

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“That project is going to bring a lot of tax dollars into this city,” Hughes said. “We have really been focusing on bringing in more retail business to the city because retail brings you sales tax.” Businesses such as Typhoon Texas, Buc-ee’s, Amazon and Bel’s Furniture are examples of retail businesses that have entered the Katy retail sales tax boon. “When more sales tax comes in, we are going to lower the tax rate for the citizens of Katy,” Hughes said. “They will vote on lowering the tax rate again when the budget comes up again.” Hughes said that as Brawner steps into his mayoral shoes, the city of Katy is in great financial shape and ready to move forward into the future. “We have $17 million in the bank in the general fund and $6 million in the enterprise fund,” Hughes said. “We built the new city hall a year ago, and it is fully paid for. We didn’t raise taxes, didn’t bond it but used our reserves to build it. I am so proud that we built it and it is paid for and the citizens of Katy own it.” Hughes also knows that under the direction of Brawner, the city of Katy will continue to thrive in the coming years. “He has been at every strategic meeting that we have had, and I am very comfortable with him taking over,” Hughes said. “He can take the ball and keep running with it and keep the

momentum going and he has a good, conservative council to work with as well.” Advice for Brawner? “Just stay with your convictions,” Hughes said. “He is not one to be easily swayed on things either. And now that Hughes prepared to re-enter the private sector as a Katy resident and businessman, he said he is looking forward to that portion of his life as well. “I am looking forward to devoting more time to my insurance agency,” Hughes said. “I may decide to retire in three or four years but who knows? The one thing I am going to miss is the people that I met while in office. The workers for the city are great people as well that have the city in their heart.”

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A Class Act – on and off the field Katy football player recognized by local TV station for actions on gridiron and in community By Tom Behrens

aty High School senior football player Hayden Howerton recently earned a pizza party sponsored by CW 39 for being the 2016-17 Class Act of the Year. NewsFix featured Howerton back in October and his story was viewed the most times on CW39.com, winning a social media competition. The 6’4”, 265 pounds offensive tackle/center is headed to Southern Methodist University to play football this coming football season He was recruited by Nebraska, Indiana, Baylor, TCU and California-Berkley but chose SMU. “Being close enough to still have my family come to the games, big time football in the Dallas area, being able to play competitive football, hopefully early in my career, was all very positive for me,” said Howerton. The Class Act of the Year award is not just about students who have been great athletes. There’s more to it. Nominees’ grades, their everyday life in school and community are just some of the things that come into play. “I knew there was a contest for Class Act of the Year, but I did not know I was one of the finalists, that I even won it until they (Channel 39) showed up,” Howerton said. Howerton was presented a plaque during football practice on the practice field. “The guys who were still in the football period, the underclassmen, as well as a bunch of seniors come out as well to support me,” said Howerton, and enjoyed the 39 pizzas Channel 30 brought along. “I would like to say thank you to everyone who supported me the last two years. It’s such a blessing to be a Katy Tiger. I’ll never forget anything about this.” Hayden is more than a great football player; he’s also a standout individual off the field. He was in the National Honor Society this last year and was always volunteering for projects, helping people who needed help. He helped out at the Ballard House, Katy Christian Ministries and would help the teachers at school. “I always seemed to be the guy that the teachers would call if they needed help in moving their classrooms. I was always happy to help them with that. My mom is a teacher, and I

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knew how it was when they were moving things, how much time and effort it was to change classrooms or to pack it all up at the end of the year,” Howerton said. “I just try to be the best person I can be, everyday, try to influence people’s lives for the better.” Howerton worked with students who were subjects of bullying. He shared that he was actually bullied as a youngster. This was long before he grew into the big man he is now. “I hadn’t had my growth spurt yet. I was smaller, picked on,” Howerton said. “I was made fun of, called names, some physical things as well. I didn’t let it bother me, tried my best to ignore this certain person. Eventually I had to confront him, not in a fighting way, talk to the other person. I talked to my parents first about it and they helped me through it.” If he sees another student having a rough time, he tries to be their friend, be there for him. “If they are not having a good day, I’ll let them talk about it, hear them out, what’s going wrong, do my absolute best to try to get them back to where they are feeling good. Just hear them out, give them some advice, or some encouragement,” Howerton said. He’s also in a program called PALS (Peer Assisted Learning Strategies). Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) is a classwide peer-tutoring program. Teachers carefully partner a student with another student. In Katy ISD some students go around to all the elementary schools during the week. “We have assigned students that we mentor,” Howerton said. The elementary students could be in PALS for a variety of reasons. Maybe they just need a friend or they just moved here. Maybe they need help with a certain subject. They could be in trouble or a trouble-maker. A high school girl or boy is paired up with them to talk and help them sort things out. “We just do our best to make an impact in their lives, more of an impact than the kids let on. It’s one of the greatest rewards at the end of the year when the kids say thank you, ‘we’re so thankful for you. You made a difference in my life,’” Howerton said. Howerton and other PALS spend about 45 minutes every week with kids who could use some help. He has been doing this in his junior and senior years. “I had a couple of kids who were troublemakers. In the classroom I would hear from their teacher some of the things

they had done. Then the student would get with me, and they would be like a saint,” Howerton said. “I would talk to them about what I heard from the teacher, and they would admit it. It wasn’t like they were denying it. I would tell them that’s not how you are supposed to do things. It’s kind of like being a big brother … helping them out, telling them right from wrong. It wasn’t like telling them, ‘Oh you’re doing this all the wrong way,’ but as in ‘Hey, don’t do that anymore. Here is another way you could have handled it,’ or something like that.” He believes continuing his education and football career at SMU is best for him. He can continue doing service work. “At SMU I will be doing tons of things like going to a

children’s hospital three times a year, hang out with the kids. They need some smiles, need some friends in their lives. I’m really happy that I’ll get to be a part of that next year,” Howerton said. “SMU also does kids camps. It’ll be really cool to still be able to make a difference in other peoples’ lives. The fact that they do things like that is a huge positive for me. I love doing things like that.” Howerton was both a great football player for the Katy Tigers, but also is a shining example of help others off the field.

“...They need some smiles, need some friends in their lives. I’m really happy that I’ll get to be a part of that next year...” 1 4 / K a t y To d a y / J u l y 2 0 1 7

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A career in the books Longtime library assistant Donatta Clarke set to retire

By Trish Johnson

ost folks find it difficult to bid farewell to their friends in the workplace, making the onset of retirement a bittersweet time. Donatta Clarke’s friends include the two-legged kind who range from head to toe, but her other friends number in the thousands and range from cover to cover. As assistant branch manager of the Harris County Katy branch library, located on Franz Road in Katy, Clarke is set to step down from the post she’s held for 10 years when she retires July 31. “This job is, by it’s nature, a helping profession,” Clarke said. “I’ve really enjoyed seeing and helping people, especially our

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regular customers. A big part of this job is helping people, and I’m going to miss that the most, I think.” Originally from Victoria, Clarke, 66, is the divorced mother of two: 33-year-old daughter Cassandra of Katy, and 31-yearold son Charlie of Victoria. Both Charlie and Cassandra are married, and Clarke said she’s looking forward to the time when she’ll be a grandmother. Meanwhile, proving the adage the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree, daughter Cassandra is the “parent” of two science fiction novels. “She wrote ‘The Mad Scientist’s Daughter’ first,” Clarke said, smiling at the notion she’s passed along her love of the written word, “and that book has been nominated for an award. Her latest book is ‘Star’s End,’ which was just recently

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published.” A long time resident of Hickory Creek in south Fort Bend County, Clarke said she was happy to land the job in Katy. “I’d interviewed in libraries as far away as Tomball,” she grinned, “But I got lucky with this library. It’s been good to be here.” Although admittedly coming to the world of books and literature later rather than sooner, Clarke said she finally found her niche when she returned to the University of Texas (after first earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology) at age 39 to obtain her master’s degree in library science, and then settling into her first job as a librarian in Victoria in 1993. “When I was growing up, I spent a lot of my time in the library,” Clarke said. “In the summer, it wasn’t unusual for me to spend hours a day reading books and reference materials. My mom took us to the library all the time. “My favorite book, which I discovered when I was a child, was ‘Heidi’,” she added. “My parents were readers, and I read everything I could find, even the Encyclopedia Britannica my parents bought for us.” Clarke came to the Katy branch library after spending 14 years as a librarian in Victoria, ultimately serving a total of 21 years of her 24-year-long career as a children’s librarian. “It’s amazing to watch the kids grow up, having them go

FITNESS

through story times with me and helping them learn the library. “I think one of the best things I’ve had happen to me was when a woman who was bringing her child to story time here in Katy told me she remembered coming to my story time when she was a child in Victoria,” Clarke said. One of the most exciting things she’s been able to witness, according to Clarke, has been the rapid change in the role of the library in people’s lives. “When I went to library school, there was no internet in the library, just word processors,” said Clarke. “But libraries were on the cutting edge when they got computers. Libraries had computers before very many people had them in their homes. “Now, libraries are more than just books,” she continued. “We have learning centers and learning activities, we have movies and documentaries, even e-books and streaming movies (through the Hoopla system) you can check out in addition to regular books. There are summer fun activities at your neighborhood library and lots of family-centered activities. I think the way libraries are growing is a lot of fun. “Flipster is a magazines-online site for a lot of your favorite magazines; there’s just so much in your library now,” she added. When it comes to the Harris County Library system, the Katy branch is kind of an odd duck, branch manager Angel

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Hill explained. “The city of Katy and Harris County manage this library together,” Hill said. “The city owns and maintains the building, while the county staffs and stocks the library. “Out of the 26 libraries in the system, there’s only a small handful that operate jointly like that,” she said. Considering Clarke’s upcoming retirement, Hill is quick to say Clarke will be missed. “She can do anything,” Hill said of Clarke. “She can be the reference librarian, children’s librarian, there’s almost nothing she hasn’t done. “I’m a little bit in denial she’s leaving,” Hill admitted. “She’ll be leaving a really big gap.” One of Clarke’s best traits, Hill said, is her ability to connect with any age group. “She can get along with all of our customers, no matter their age,” Hill said. “Donatta is really easy to get along with, and that’s so important in libraries. Nowadays, it’s about customer service.” Hoping for a smooth transition, library system administrators are expected to begin the search for Clarke’s replacement sometime shortly after the first of July. “She’s one-of-a-kind,” Hill grinned. “She may be hard to replace.” Clarke admitted to having a sense of loss when she thinks of retirement, but she also said she has plans. “I have mixed feelings, it’s true,” she said. “I’m so used to going to work every morning. But I’m looking forward to having more time to do things I never seem to have time to do while I’m working. I’ll have more time to go to the YMCA five days a week, and I’ve taken up square dancing. I’ve also thought about becoming a Master Gardener, and I know I want to do a lot more volunteering than I’ve had time to do – I just don’t know where yet.” Until she retires, Clarke plans to continue her current job with teen programs, including summer crafts and activities. “We’ve had some good things here,” she said. “The fun part is thinking up new activities and fun events and things for the kids,” she said. “The administrative branch of the (Harris County) library system selects the books, that’s one thing which is different here in Katy. In Victoria, I got to make the book selections.” It’s fair to say, Clarke admitted, her library friends may find her in any or all of the places she’s mentioned. But it’s also fair to say they’ll still be able to find her, from time to time, in one of her favorite places among her oldest friends – the library and it’s books.

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Third time is a charm for Katy resident Mike Peyton Artist Mike Peyton wins top award at Southwest Gourd Fine Art Show in Kerrville

aty-based artist Mike Peyton’s unusual work transforming gourds into pieces of sculpture has been recognized by the National Society of Artists, the Visual Arts Alliance, the Art Center of Corpus Christi, the Lone Star Art Guild and Katy Area Artists. He recently added to his tally by winning best in show at the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center Southwest Gourd Fine Art Show. This was the third time he received this award in Kerrville, out of the seven years he has participated in the event. Peyton transforms snake gourds – a long vegetable that twists like a serpent as it ripens – into a variety of sculptures, covering the surfaces with elaborate designs he creates freehand with acrylic paints and Sharpie markers. His work can be labor intensive, which is exactly how Peyton likes it. “Not everyone has the patience to do what I do, but I love it,” he said. “I’m doing exactly what I want to do. For me, the creative process is therapy.” The award-winning sculpture from this year’s show is titled “Feathers of a Rainbow,” and the piece is a creature right out of Peyton’s imagination. “It’s just one of those wild ideas that comes out of my head, just like all the other ones sitting in front of me at home waiting to be done,” he said. “This one simply happened to be at the front of the line.” Peyton said he was surprised how many visitors to the Southwest Gourd Fine Art Show connected to the sculpture. “People were really drawn to the piece,” he said. “It’s colorful and a bit mystical looking, with a big feather

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headdress. So many people were getting their picture taken with it, even before it won best in show. I was very happy, but I honestly had not expected it, not to that degree.” With work that differs from the pieces one traditionally finds at gourd fine art shows, Peyton finds it gratifying to be singled out. “It feels really good, especially since I consider myself to be something of an outsider, because of the style and size of my pieces,” he said. “For the judges and everyone else to accept my work at face value is really nice.” He keeps coming back each year for the people, not the accolades. “I’m very different than most people at this sort of show,” he said. “I come in with all my earrings, tattoos and a big goatee, and you know what, right away they accepted me lock, stock and barrel. They’re sweet, open people. I like going to the show each year, because I get to see them.” For more information about Mike Peyton and his art, visit www.mikepeytoncreations.com. Peyton is an award-winning artist with a signature style, transforming gourds into elaborate sculptures. He often cuts and recombines the gourds into new shapes, then decorates the surfaces with stains, acrylic paints, and intricate designs made with Sharpie markers, before finally embellishing his pieces with gems, beads, antlers and found objects. The result is surprising and imaginative art that has been recognized by entities including the Art Center of Corpus Christi, Lone Star Art Guild, Katy Area Artists, the National Society of Artists and the Visual Arts Alliance.

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IT’S GOOD TO BELONG Join the Katy Family YMCA The Y offers the support you and your family need to learn, grow and thrive.

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Legacy Stadium

Katy ISD’s new football stadium

Photos Courtesy of Katy ISD Katy ISD’s new football stadium — Legacy Field — is almost complete. The school district provided these photos that show the recent progress made on the stadium, which is scheduled to host its first games next month. One of the photos shows what the area will look like with two stadiums — Rhodes Stadium and Legacy Stadium — when the stadium project is complete.

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