Katy Today MAGAZINE
Typhoon Texas good ol’ family fun p.6
MAY2017
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Katy Today MAGAZINE MARCH 2017
PUBLISHER Terry Schaub 281.391.3141 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 Galvan Dennis Silva II Trish Johnson CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Dennis Silva II Mark Goodman
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Katy Today is a Publication of the Katy Times Newspaper • Katy, Texas
Family Fun: Typhoon Texas preparing for second season By Jimmy Galvan
One of the main goals for Typhoon Texas is to maintain a Texas-friendly mentality in what they do ever day at the park.
Family Fun: Typhoon Texas preparing for second season By Jimmy Galvan
A
s Texas Typhoon prepares for its second season thrilling the families of Katy, one aspect remains consistent as the preparation gets going — Texas-friendly and Katy-friendly. “It is one of our highest priorities to be a part of this community,” said General Manager Evan Barnett. “We not only want to be a staple for Katy but bring people in all around Houston. We are bringing people into this community that we feel very thankful to be a part of as well. “Some people have never been to Katy but now because we have Typhoon Texas, they travel here and get to experience everything this community has to offer them,” Barnett said. “Katy represents a lot of what we feel, and that is family values, ethics and having a
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love of excellence.” Barnett is not a stranger to the waterpark business. In fact, he says it is in his DNA. “I started when I was 16 in park services so I am really looking forward to a second year of nonconstruction but getting to work with a really highclassed trained staff,” Barnett said. “I have been involved in many different projects but this project has that different feel to it. “And that is that Texas-friendly mentality that we strive to show every day,” Barnett said. “There is a big difference with that.” And with this area not possessing anything like Typhoon Texas nearby, it was just a perfect marriage to bring the two together.
“We want this to be a family fun facility,” Barnett said. “Our whole motto is making moments worth repeating. Our goal this year is to do that over and over again with our staff. One of our main goals is when families leave here, they loved the awesome rides but they felt really at home when they were here. “We want them to feel that their families are safe here and that the park was clean,” Barnett said. “At the end of the day, it really boils down to just family time.” Last year was the first year the park opened in Katy adjacent to Katy Mills Mall. The rain during the season really caused some growing pains, and Barnett said the staff had to learn early how to run the park. “Then the season ended so quick,” Barnett said. “The first year went by so fast and this second year, we really want to focus on doing the basics really well.” Barnett said during that first year of operation, it was learned early on of the need for family fun in the Katy area. “We knew we could help facilitate that by having more entertainment and more food options and have more family-available options for season passes,” Barnett said. “We had such an overwhelming response to the park from the staff and the patrons. We were blessed with a very, very good first year.” This coming year, Barnett noted that Typhoon Texas plans on having live band perform at the park throughout the summer months. Also Barnett said movie nights are planned for every Thursday night during the summer where a movie will be projected onto a screen near the wave pool so that people can sit back and watch a movie while at the waterpark. “We dabbled with a small screen last year, but this year we are going to Texas-size it and it is just another way we are going to facilitate fun for our families this year,” Barnett said. Barnett admitted that finding the right staff to man the park is a key element in Typhoon Texas’ success. “It is the core of what we do,” Barnett said. “We want our staff to not only learn life skills but love coming to work every day. We are looking for individuals that want to take initiative.” He said that this year the staff is being taught even
more to make the patrons of the park feel at home as well as taking the time to getting to know the families that frequent the park during the summer. In hiring seasonal employees, the challenge for Barnett and his staff is how many of last year’s employees return for another round at Typhoon Texas. “A lot of our kids graduate on to college and gain internships, and we are proud of them moving on,” Barnett said. “But we had 58 percent of our employees from last year return this year.” By running a Christmas event this year, it allowed Barnett and his staff to keep in touch with the core base of their employees and allow them to gain holiday hours this past year. One change this coming year is that the park will stay open an hour later this year. Last year, the park closed at 7 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. By extending the park hours by one hour, it allows those parents that get off work some time to come to the park with their kids in the evening hours.
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“We adjusted our hours to what people were giving us feedback to do,” Barnett said. “What the community told us overwhelmingly was to do more of what we are doing.” The park was the brainchild of three Katy businessmen that decided that this area was in need of a family-type park. “These guys really wanted to make a big impact and this is the epicenter of future family entertainment for Katy,” Barnett said. “At the end of the day, these businessmen wanted to do something like this in Katy, and this land was available. It was perfect and just happened that way.” In doing so, the waterpark is the only locally owned waterpark in the state of Texas in the past 10 years, according to Barnett. “That gives us a lot of control over what we want to do,” Barnett said. “The main difference between us and a corporate owned facility is that we can listen to the community and make changes really fast.” This year, Barnett believes the park can make an even bigger statement in the area as a viable option for those who chose to vacation at home this year. “People understand that we are here now,” Barnett said. “Now, people can stay home and have a lot of fun here at the waterpark. It is really cool to see families make us a part of their summer traditions. I hope we become very ingrained in the DNA of the families in Katy.” Barnett said he really hopes that 10 years from now, the waterpark has expanded and grown beyond where it
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is now. “The management and ownership of this place is dedicated to excellence so I think in 10 years you will see the same value but more to do here,” Barnett said. “We have big appetites to do fun things. “We are always looking to improve and just having the chance to be open all of May is a big step for us,” Barnett said. “Our hours are longer so hopefully we will offer more fun to our families this year.” In fact, Typhoon Texas owns the 18 acres next to the existing park so patrons should get ready for an expansion at some time in the future. “We are always exploring new ideas, and we are hoping that Katy will embrace us so that we can make this park even larger,” Barnett said. “This facility has the potential to grow, and every year we want to introduce new attractions in order to keep the waterpark on the front end of fun.” And his message to the residents in the Katy and surrounding areas? “Experience Typhoon Texas is our motto so I would encourage everyone to give us a try and come and experience what we have to offer,” Barnett said. “You will be surprised that this is so much more than just a waterpark. The waterpark is just a medium that we provide, but when you leave you will have so much more laughs, smiles and memories.” Typhoon Texas will open Memorial Day weekend and run through Labor Day weekend. Their website is located at www.typhoontexas.com.
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No Myth, All Legend: Katy’s Johnston built success at katy high By Dennis Silva II (Photos by Dennis Silva II)
M
ike Johnston arrived at Katy High in
1981 as the football program’s fourth head coach in five years. For his first handful of seasons, he had to do everything he could to not ask himself, “Why?� The fieldhouse only suited 150 kids, there was no weight room, and many community members made it loud and clear to Johnston that Katy could produce basketball and baseball players, but not football players. “The only thing that got me through was my faith, knowing God brought me here for a reason,� Johnston told The Katy Times in March. “We’ve come a million miles from where it was.� Eventually, Johnston built the program from scratch. It went from a landmark regular season win over thenTop 10 program Klein in 1985, to an appearance in the
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state championship game in 1994. “Getting there in ’94 was good for me,� Johnston said. “I had opportunities to look at other places, some pretty attractive places. But when we got to state in ’94, I’m standing on the sideline, thinking to myself before the game starts, ‘You know, we can win championships at Katy. You don’t have to make a move somewhere else. This ought to prove to our community and kids that we can win a state championship.’ That meant a lot to me.� The rest is Katy Tiger history. The Tigers made five more appearances in the state championship game to complete Johnston’s 22-year tenure at the helm. Katy won it all three of those times. Johnston finished with a 200-76 record at Katy High, or a winning percentage of 72.5. Eleven of his former assistants are head coaches at programs around the state.
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Before excellence became tradition, Johnston had to scrap and claw just to help Katy find respect. And it’s largely because of his work and effort in doing so, along with making Katy a statewide high school football power, that Katy ISD elected to honor him by naming the field at new Legacy Stadium after him, Mike Johnston Field. “It is an honor,” Johnston said. “We don’t coach for those types of things, but it’s a blessing. It’s really an honor for my family, because to have your family name Custom Furniture and Fabrication
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attached to a facility in a school district like Katy ISD is a pretty awesome thing. I have a wife and two sons, and I know it means a lot to them. My brother and his family used to drive across Houston every Friday night to watch us play for 22 years. It means a lot to your family, and it’s a tribute to the great coaches I’ve had and the community of Katy.” Johnston’s impact went well beyond the gridiron. Wins and losses didn’t make him who he is. It’s the young men that grew up under his watch that are a testament to who Johnston is as a mentor and coach. “I was in the locker room when he lost his first state championship, and I was in the locker room when he won his first state championship,” Katy ISD board member George Scott said. “The common denominator was he talked about building young men. His influence went way beyond the football field. It didn’t stop there.” Indeed, Johnston is about culture and leadership. He learned to value those things playing football under Paul Smith at Galena Park High School. As a player at Stephen F. Austin and then coach at places like Nacogdoches, Beaumont and Abilene, Johnston took bits and pieces from coaches at those places and formed his own criteria for leadership. With Smith, for instance, Johnston admired his even-keeled nature and encouraging demeanor. Smith was a coach who allowed players to be who they were, and Johnston appreciated that. “Any competitor just wants to know that their coach believes they can get the job done, that they trust them,” Johnston said. “I wanted my players to know I believed in them and trusted them. I knew this: I knew when they dressed out on Friday night, they earned the right to put the red and white on.” Johnston was a big fan of former Nebraska legendary coach Tom Osborne, someone else whose leadership skills were admired. Johnston read many books on leadership and attended clinics on the subject. He liked the idea of players being responsible for the leadership on a team. He thought that allowed players to genuinely feel that it truly was their team. “The way the game was going, it seemed like more and more of the coaches were taking the game away from the players,” Johnston said. “I didn’t like how the
coaches were taking the administrative leadership from the team. So when I became head coach, I made sure to give as much of the leadership to the players within. I opened it up to anybody who ever wanted to be a captain.� Katy football is what it is today because of Johnston, though he had a great sidekick in current coach Gary Joseph. Joseph was Johnston’s defensive coordinator since those early 1980s until he retired after the 2003 season. “I worked with Coach for a long time and (the field name) is such a neat thing for his family,� said Joseph, who has since led Katy to four more state championships in eight more state appearances. “It’s a compliment for the things he did for Katy and Katy High School. I’m thankful the people saw to it to honor him in that way. His 20-plus years here were a big deal and helped change the culture of Katy High School and Katy. “When he came, he had to start from the ground floor. Everything had to be developed. I tell people anything is possible, you just need a little patience.� During a recent visit to Legacy Stadium, which is still under construction but on track to be completed by August, Johnston looked around in awe. He didn’t have to say a word. The wonder in his eyes spoke volumes. To Johnston, it wasn’t long ago when Katy High didn’t have a weight room until 1985. Now there’s turf practice fields on each of Katy ISD’s high school campuses and two premier stadiums. Katy ISD is on the map. The community and district largely has Johnston and his former coaches and players to thank for that. “There’s a winning tradition there that is so hard to build, as long as you’ve got a foothold on things and they know what it takes, then you still have a chance to compete at a high level,� Johnston said. “There’s a standard to live up to, a standard to perform to. The kids know there will be a challenge waiting for them, but will it be worth it? Well, yeah. There’s nothing like walking off the field knowing you’re the best team in the state.�
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PICTURED ARE THE MEMBERS OF THE KATY FIRE DEPARTMENT. FROM TOP LEFT: Assistant Fire Chief Kenneth Parker, Fire Chief Rusty Wilson, Joe Villarreal, Alberto Dominguez, Ben Crowell, Jacob Duke, Krysten Lerchbacker, Michael Ondruch, Tana Vallone, Student Intern, C Shift Battalion Chief Rick Payne. Bottom from left are Lieutenant Shane Hughes, Obayana Allen, Nick Bourdoumis, Kyle Fritsche.
Wilson ready to pass on knowledge of fire department By Jimmy Galvan
R
ussell Wilson was not looking for a change but when he drove down the streets of downtown Katy, he knew this was a town he could serve and live in without any issues. “I just looked at Katy and it seemed like a very interesting community, and I liked the fact that it is a close-knit community and I live the values of the community,” Wilson said. “I was raised in a town very similar to Katy, and the small-town atmosphere is very attractive to me. “I had a great career from where I came from and
had come up through the ranks, but I knew it was time for a change,” Wilson said. “In the fire service, we pass on what we have learned over the years. I had heard about Katy’s opening but didn’t pay too much attention to it when the process was open. But I passed through Katy, and my wife and I decided to drive through Katy just to see it. I drove through and passed several parks and saw several families out playing, and it just seemed like a very homey community. I decided just from driving through town to put in for the process.” Wilson was sworn in as Katy Fire Chief May 2, 2016
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after serving with the Irving Fire Department for more than 27 years. “It has been great getting to know the members of this department,” Wilson said. “The strength here lies with the members of this department. The overwhelmingly majority of this department was so eager for change, and that made my job a lot easier. In fact, they have pushed me to for more change within the department.” Wilson admitted that he had no intention to come into the office and make changes when he took over in Katy. “My plan was to come in and evaluate the department and assess it, as I learned it and let my plan for change morph as it was going on,” Wilson said. “But they were pushing me and were so ready for change. They knew of the potential for change with the growth of this community, and this department needed to keep up with the growth in the community. “They told me that they were waiting for three
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years and didn’t want to wait anymore,” Wilson said. “The first four to six months, I just wanted to learn the culture of the organization and community and work with the leadership team at city hall and move on from there but their prompting was a little sooner than I expected.” The Katy Fire Department is made up of career firefighters. In its infancy, the department was made up of 14 volunteers in 1947. The department’s equipment consisted of an Army surplus crash truck purchased from Ellington Field with money donated by the citizens of Katy. The first fire chief was R.G. Fussell, and drivers were assigned and the chief telephone operator of the town was made an honorary member of the department. The fire siren was installed in historic downtown Katy. The Katy Volunteer Fire Department gradually increased in size as the city grew and developed. Today’s modern, professional fire department is founded on
the sacrifice, dedication and loyalty of those early volunteers and is sustained by the strong support of the community and the city council. As a career department now, Wilson said it allows for better control of the training of the firefighters as well as monitoring the amount of training that each firefighter receives. “It allows us to set the expectations for the organization better, and it allows us to fulfill the needs of the organization is a more positive way,” Wilson said. While many believe that firefighters are born and can’t be taught in a classroom, Wilson said the information gained in the classroom is invaluable to firefighters when they take to the field. “Firefighters have to have the personality to serve first,” Wilson said. “We see a lot of our candidates in the fire and police services come from a military background. Already they have that desire to serve and then tend to gravitate to these type of paramilitary type of organizations. “Even with that background, their talent has to be developed as a firefighter,” Wilson said. “We want our folks training optimally before we send them out into a burning building. There is a lot of training that we have to go through before they are sent out into the field.” The Katy Fire Departments services more than 52 square miles and provides primary fire and emergency medical services to the city of Katy and the surrounding areas. “It can challenge our response times,” Wilson said of the area that the department covers. “It creates partnerships so we have to work with our neighbors. When we get out to the rural areas where there might not be as good of a water supply in the city, then we might have to set up tanker operations.” Wilson said that would require the department to call in a tanker from a surrounding operation that would assist KFD in fighting the rural fire. Modern apparatus fill the fire station located at 1417 Avenue D including three Class A pumpers, heavy rescue and booster trucks, four ambulances and a ladder truck. Since he started in this career more than 28 years
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ago, Wilson realizes that the fire services have changed in many ways. “The external environment is always changing,” Wilson said. “Modern construction these days are a lot more dangerous than it was years ago. We have to stay up with this technology and utilize different strategies and tactics when we fight a fire than we did in the past. “You have to change as the external environment changes,” Wilson said. “We have a lot of rooftops to cover here, but we are gaining more and more commercial development that we have to take care as well.” He said the two biggest changes in firefighting today are in the construction of buildings and with homes there are so any synthetics found in homes. “We are now dealing with a lot of lightweight construction in buildings, and it takes minutes for these buildings to give way and collapse and that has killed so many firefighters over the years,” Wilson said. “When you add in the response time to that fire, we don’t have a lot of time to put water on the fire. “The synthetics tend to burn a lot hotter, and it’s hard to put enough water on a fire that is burning hotter by the minute,” Wilson said. “Fires now are already burning a lot hotter and escalating in intensity much quicker, and it makes it harder for us. Time is of the essence more now that ever before.” For Wilson, he is at home in the firefighting business and knows this is where he is supposed to be. “I couldn’t imagine doing anything else,” Wilson said. “This has been my passion for more than 28 years. I enjoy what I do and I enjoy developing others and I like seeing young people come in here and develop into this career. “In the fire service, we are a lot about tradition, and we don’t ride off into the sunset and leave that experience that we have gained on the table. We try to pass our depth of knowledge on to the young firefighters coming up the ranks, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
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By Dennis Silva II, (Photos by Mark Goodman)
T
hough born only 22 months apart, Coy and Chloe Cobb could not be more different in personality. Chloe, Katy High softball’s star sophomore slugger and Texas Tech verbal commit, is bubbly, outgoing and welcomes anyone and everyone with a wide smile and open arms. As powerful as she is on the field, she’s as soft off it. Coy, Katy High baseball’s lights-out junior pitcher and Texas verbal commit, is intense. He works independently. “To me, Coy is the baseball pitcher that we grew up watching,” father Sean said. “The guy with the steely nature. From Chloe, she’s never met a stranger. Since she was a kid to now. It’s the same way at home, too. Coy’s quieter, but he’s got his goofy moments, and Chloe’s goofy moments hardly ever turn off.” But what makes Coy and Chloe who they are is they are, in fact, very much alike when it comes to their respective sport. Coy started playing baseball at age 2 when the Cobbs lived in Texarkana, Arkansas. Chloe started playing baseball, on Coy’s team, a year later. Chloe played baseball until she was 9. The Cobbs moved to Katy in 2008. “I think it helped her more than me,” Coy said. “She was playing baseball since she was 2, 3, and playing up a year older on my teams. Pretty much half her life, she’s played baseball. It’s helped her mature, the game is never too fast for her.”
Coy and Chloe quickly emerged into stars on the diamond. Though Coy is older, Chloe, who physically dominates her competition because of her height and power, started getting recruited earlier, since college softball teams begin the process sooner than baseball teams. Coy was able to go on a couple of campus visits with Chloe and see what it was like. He got an early first-hand look at how a recruit should be treated. Chloe committed to the Red Raiders in February 2016. Coy committed to the Longhorns six months later. “We both committed to our colleges before they could actually contact us in person because the date is Sept. 1 of your junior year and we both committed before that point,” Coy said. “So we had to go to their campus to initiate conversation and you kind of have to do it on your own to start everything off and get the conversation going.” Since then, the two have been athletic wonders for their teams. Chloe had almost 20 home runs for the No. 2 state-ranked Lady Tigers by the time playoffs rolled around in late April. Coy had to deal with an elbow injury that cost him three weeks, but it’s no coincidence that as soon as he returned to the field in March, the Tigers went on a six-game winning streak to first place in District 19-6A. Both Chloe and Coy pitch, play first base and hit in the meaty part of the lineup. “If one had an off-game hitting, but had a great
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pitching day, and the other had the opposite, they’d pick on each other,� mother Courtnee said. “It’s usually pretty light-hearted, and in a way I think it helps. Chloe’s always looked up to Coy. She’s seen his success. Though they have different personalities, they’ve benefited from each other.� And each has things they wish others knew about them. Chloe, for instance, is a fighter on the field. Sometimes she thinks that people take her fun-natured personality and mistake it for a pushover. That’s far from true. “I’m super outgoing, but once I’m on the field, I’m super focused,� she said. “I feel like a lot of people see me as a crazy girl, but on the field is where I want to be. On the field is my getaway from all the stuff off it. I love playing the sport and it gets me in my zone.� Coy agrees that he can be intense and withdrawn at times, but not to the extent many think. In fact, he is a sweetheart, according to his parents.
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He has a “big heart,� Sean and Courtnee said, and a soft spot for special needs kids. “When I was little, I had a couple of friends in Arkansas that were like that and I didn’t look at them any differently,� Coy said. “I always have a saying, ‘Play for those who wish they could, but can’t.’ It’s important to me to never take anything for granted, especially in sports. There’s a lot of people who would kill to be my situation, especially to be successful at it. So I kind of use that whenever I get mad or upset, to not get too far down because there’s a lot of people who’d wish they could be exactly where I’m at.� Courtnee said Coy’s dream since he was a kid was to play in the major leagues. That’s nothing new for young boys, of course, but when he got there, she said, his goal was to donate a $1 million to a special needs organization or create one of his own. His favorite player is Albert Pujols. Yes, that’s because of Pujols’ bat and skills, but also because of Pujols’ endearing personality and the fact he has a
special needs stepdaughter. “He’ll see a special needs kid and throw the ball with them and play catch, just really talk and interact with them,” Sean said of Coy. “That’s when you see him the most relaxed, really.” At this time next year, Coy and Chloe will be closing a big chapter of their lives. Coy will be on the verge of graduation from Katy High, looking forward to Austin, while Chloe will still be launching bombs with a year left to play for the Lady Tigers, the only Cobb representative left at Katy High. Next year is something they don’t want to think about. They know it looms, but it’s something they can afford to hold off wondering about. “There’s pressure, but it’s fun,” Chloe said. “Brother and sister, known throughout the school. It’s pretty cool and I enjoy it. We’re just in the moment right now, trying to enjoy everything while we can.”
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Sam Pyka, left, works with his father Kenny Pyka in their alligator removal business.
Katy PD officer works to rid area of nuisance alligators By Trish Johnson
N
ot only do fellas’ toys get bigger when they grow up (big boys, big toys), but remember those lizards they were always
catching? Katy Police Officer Kenny Pyka has taken what was once a youngster’s fascination with reptiles to the extreme. Owner and licensed operator of Texas Gator Control, Pyka spends his off hours chasing nuisance alligators (technically not a lizard at all, but a member of the order Crocodilia), removing them from places where they present a danger. “Most of the time, we take them to one of the alligator refuges in the area,” Pyka said. “We really don’t like to kill them unless their sick or injured. When we get them, they’re usually looking forward to a long life of eating, soaking up the sun and making baby alligators.” The police officer, who has packed 27 years of law enforcement service into his career so far including 21 years serving the citizens of Katy, has also served on the Houston Police Department and is currently the assistant chief of the Pattison Area Volunteer Fire Department. “I left the KPD for a while to work in a Houston steel plant,” Pyka remembered, “but when Buddy Frazier became chief of police, he asked me to come back. I kept telling him I wasn’t ever putting on a uniform again, but he kept after me. “Obviously,” Pyka laughed, “he won, and now I’m glad he did. You need to do what makes you happy.” Working in rice fields when he was in high school, Pyka learned the art of alligator catching from “the cajun guys I worked with.” According to Pyka, the Texas alligator population slowly grew out of control when the animal was granted protection as an endangered species.
“The state just couldn’t keep up with it,” Pyka explained, “so they started issuing licenses. You have to submit an application for a license, you have to have experience handling alligators, and you have to take a class. “At the end of the class, you have to catch an alligator. There’s a pen with several alligators of all different sizes, and we were supposed to catch and release. The instructor had a bunch of small gators, and one seven-footer, one eight-footer. Everyone was grabbing small gators and having a hard time, but I knew I wanted a big gator because -- like me – they’re old, fat and slow, so I grabbed a seven-footer.” There are seasons for hunting alligators, in the spring for “non-core” counties like Katy’s Waller, Fort Bend and Harris Counties, and primarily in the fall for “core” counties, low-lying coastal counties like Galveston, Brazoria and Victoria. According to Pyka, land owners are allowed to take no more than one alligator each year, and the alligator must be caught by hook-and-line, not shot. Nuisance alligators, however, can be taken anytime by a licensed hunter such as Pyka, except nesting alligators. “We’re not allowed to relocate a nesting gator,” Pyka said. “You can see their nest -- a big mound -- and she’s easy to find because she’ll be right by it.” A nesting alligator also will not run away, Pyka noted; she’ll stay by her nest, unlike most alligators in the wild. “I like to use a three-prong grappling hook and a 100-pound test shark line,” Pyka said, “and I like to catch them alive. Alligators have tough skin, but their skin is sensitive, and as soon as they feel the line across their backs they begin rolling, wrapping themselves up in the line.
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“I’ve had gators bite through the line, though, so I also have a steel cable line I use,” Pyka added. Most of the time, said Pyka, calls come for alligator removals when the animals have lost their fear of humans and human environment. “That happens when people feed alligators [it is illegal to feed free-roaming alligators in Texas], or when we’ve encroached on their natural environment. I get a bunch of calls from the Weston Lakes area, for instance. “But sometimes the gators move into a pond they haven’t been in before, like the Simonton pond alligator that killed two of the land owners calves before he called me.” With his wife, Kathy, a registered nurse, Pyka has reared his daughter Catie, 27 and engaged to be married, and their son and daughter, Sam, 18, and Sarah, 17, a senior and a junior, respectively, at Royal High School. Sam, a slender, soft-spoken young man, is Pyka’s assistant gator catcher. “He’s been my sidekick since he was a baby,” said Pyka. “It just seemed natural he’d come along and be
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my assistant.” “Dad says if you’re able to do something you should do it,” said Sam, admitting there’s an adrenalin rush associated with alligator catching. Confessing his wife “had her concerns” when he started taking Sam out on alligator calls, Pyka said she wasn’t overly worried. “She knew I’d never put him out there in a dangerous situation,” he said. “There was a time, though, when we had to remove a gator from a front porch in Fulshear,” Pyka remembered. “Sam got just a little too comfortable with that gator and he got whopped right across the face with an alligator tail.” Heading for Blinn Junior College this fall, Sam expects to transfer in two years to Stephen F. Austin State University where he plans to major in agricultural engineering. An active member of his family’s church, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, the young man also helps with the Lion’s Club and with civic projects. Also a member of the Pattison Area Volunteer Fire Department, Sam says he likes working with his dad but admits the relationship can sometimes be “bumpy”
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and even competitive. “But we get our problems solved,” he smiled. “We get the job done. Dad kept asking me to go with him when he got called out (for gators) until I finally went with him and we became a father/son team. I like working with dad, and I like serving the community,” Sam explained. “It’s part of what you should do. “There are times when I’m afraid, but I don’t think dad would put me in a bad spot,” he added. “It also gets me out in the community and expands the circle of people I know.” “Sam’s grandfather was all about helping others,” Pyka said, “and I am, too. His grandfather said you should help others because you never know when you might need help yourself. It rubbed off on our family and I guess it’s rubbing off on my kids.” It also affects the way in which Pyka sets his fees. “I set my fees according to the circumstances,” Pyka explained. “The most I ever got was $325 for catching a 12-footer. A lot of trappers have a flat rate, but I don’t. If the state calles me to a house, I can’t charge the homeowners because that just wouldn’t feel right. They weren’t the ones who called me. “And if I don’t catch the gator, I don’t charge at all,” Pyka said. “I have 10 days to catch a nuisance gator, and I have never not been able to catch a gator in 10 days. If that same homeowner calls me back, they get a discount. “This is not a big money-maker. Some people out there trying to make a living out of this are bending the rules and making the rest of us look bad,” Pyka noted. And yes, Pyka said Sam gets half the money. “Alligators are not naturally aggressive,” Pyka said. “They’ll normally run from you. If they come towards you, it’s because they think you’re going to feed them,” said Pyka. “And they’re not just killing machines, which is their reputation. If they’re not hungry, they won’t kill. They also don’t like moving water. Last year’s floods drove them all over the place; I was really busy -- I caught 27 gators in two months, compared to catching 12 in all of last year. “To me, they’’e just fascinating. I’ve always thought they were fascinating.”
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