Delia Sellers is sworn in as the new District Clerk. She is using the Bible of former District Clerk Joy Kay McManus who passed away on Mar. 7, 2018. Joy Kays daughter is holding her mothers Bible for Summers.

Delia Sellers is sworn in as the new District Clerk. She is using the Bible of former District Clerk Joy Kay McManus who passed away on Mar. 7, 2018. Joy Kays daughter is holding her mothers Bible for

Photo: David Taylor / Staff Photo

Delia Sellers is sworn in as the new District Clerk. She is using the Bible of former District Clerk Joy Kay McManus who passed away on Mar. 7, 2018. Joy Kays daughter is holding her mothers Bible for Summers.

Delia Sellers is sworn in as the new District Clerk. She is using the Bible of former District Clerk Joy Kay McManus who passed away on Mar. 7, 2018. Joy Kays daughter is holding her mothers Bible for

A Year in Review: 2019 brought promised progress

Writers at The News Advocate take a look at some of the top stories in Liberty County

Liberty County

At the beginning of 2019, city and county leaders promised progress for 2019 as they eyed the coming growth for the county. What began as a trickle quickly became a tidal wave of changes and many of those projects are already underway.

The year began with a banner day in January for Liberty County Republicans as they installed newly elected officials to the top spots in the county. The Grand Old Party (GOP) swept the county-wide elections with only a lone Democrat being elected to office in the county.

County Judge Jay Knight was re-elected, and newly elected District Clerk Delia Sellers used the family Bible of former District Clerk Joy Kay McManus for her affirmation of office.

Sellers brought tears to the eyes of many when she invited McManuss daughter Brenda to come and hold the Bible for the ceremony.

Lee Haidusek-Chambers invited her mom to hold the family Bible that dated back to the late 1800s for her oath of office.

For decades in this county, she has sat on city councils in Kenefick and Devers, shes worked election after election, and shes one of those silent people that help keep our county moving, her daughter Lee said.

Shes my inspiration and the reason Im here before you today. I hope that I can live up to her standards.

County-wide elections werent the only ones drawing attention.

City of Dayton

The city of Dayton made history when they elected the first woman in office choosing Caroline Wadzeck to lead.

After the filing deadline passed at 5 p.m. on Feb. 15, Wadzeck was relieved to know she wouldnt have a competitor.

It means a lot, Wadzeck said after she heard the news. I dodged the bullet, and Im thankful, she said expecting a challenge.

The civic leader spent three years of her retirement researching and publishing a book entitled The Streets of Dayton, Texas: History by the Block. Now she will become an integral part of the history of the city with her election.

Wadzeck has faced some historic decisions that will change the face of the city particularly with the growth already showing signs in the area.

Being the first female mayor for Dayton wasnt a feminist ideal, Wadzeck said.

No, not at all. The fact that Im a woman has absolutely nothing to do with it, she said. She only ran because she wanted to be the mayor and work for the city. She will have a large part in changing the trajectory of the city.

Former mayor Jeff Lambright could have run again, but it would have meant giving up his job at the Liberty County Central Appraisal District. The CAD board adopted a policy on Dec. 14, 2017 that addressed any conflicts of interest in outside employment or activities, including political activity and holding office while employed by the district. Lambright and one other employee were grandfathered in to allow them to finish their current term.

For at least a decade, courthouse security was an issue. With more than a dozen entrances to the grand historic building, providing security was a difficult proposition. A plan to secure the building and close off all but one entrance was passed by commissioners in late 2018.

By March of 2019, Pct. 1 Commissioner Bruce Karbowski began the implementation of the new security measures including a single entry that had guards and metal detectors. The public has adapted to the changes and the building is more secure than ever.

Weve already caught several people with weapons coming into the courthouse, not that they meant anything, but they were still trying to bring them in, Karbowski said.

The identification badges for employees are done and the new, more secure locks is the final piece of the puzzle that has been completed. Karbowski was happy it was done, but is on to other projects.

The first of March brought a historic vote by the Houston-Galveston Area Council in Houston after the culmination of more than three years of hard work to help fund the relocation of the United Pacific (UP) railroad tracks at Highway 90. The move could well change the trajectory of the city of Dayton and Liberty County.

The project to move the railroad tracks on US 90 further south closer to SH 99 with four grade separations, two eastbound and two westbound, is not completely funded but will receive an initial $45,016,157 from H-GAC towards the project.

This is just the first of many more progressive steps, but its a big one and were moving in the right direction, said a beaming Liberty County Judge Jay Knight who was on hand for the vote in March.

Knight estimated that with the first $45 million-plus that comes from the federal funds, they would still need about another $150 million to get it done.

Knight said no matching funds were required for this particular grant.

I think this can be done with the federal, state funding, and the Rural Rail District who could offer bonds to pay for some of the work as well, he said.

Alan Clark, aptly nicknamed the highway guru for his years of knowledge with working on developing transportation in the region for H-GAC, said it would not only cure the bottleneck of traffic, but provide the impetus for economic growth for Dayton and the county.

US 90 has been recognized as a critical route. When theres an issue on Interstate 10, US 90 is the only east/west corridor, he said.

Later the same month, more history was made when neighboring Crosby hosted the leader of the free world to their small farming town. Along the thousands of people lining FM 2100 were plenty of Liberty County residents greeting President Donald J. Trump.

The president was present to sign executive orders at the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) International Training and Education Center in Crosby.

The union-run facility is spread over 265 acres of previous farmland on Foley Road that was sharecropped by two families many years ago.

Memorial Day weekend in Dayton was special as veterans and residents celebrated the completion of significant repairs to the Dayton Wall of Honor monument area.

During Hurricane Harvey, like many structures around the city and county, raging flood waters did considerable damage.

The area retained a lot of water around the wall and seeped in behind the bronze plaques that bear the names of our heroes, said Dayton city manager Theo Melancon.

The damage not only applied to the plaques, but the mural and marble was coming off the structure including some cracks.

Entergy Texas donated $7,700 to cover the costs of refurbishing the wall.

The celebration was combined with a solemn ceremony to remember those who had given their lives for this nation.

Let no storm, no wind, no rain, diminish what this wall and its beauty represents to this community, state and nation, said Frank Shannon, director of customer service, East region for Entergy Texas.

City of Cleveland

Cleveland ISD hired a new superintendent Chris Trotter in April to replace Darrell Myers after he announced his retirement.

It wasnt an easy start for Trotter. When tropical storm Imelda hit, Trotter and his staff stayed at school with students until the next morning due to high waters.

Trotters biggest accomplishment this year was to convince voters to approve a $198 school bond. A previous offering was rejected.

Trotter hit the city of Cleveland and attended many meetings to let the community know to vote on the future for the district.

The bond was necessary to allow the fastest growing school district in the state to support its students with new facilities, Trotter said. Bond projects include a renovation of Northside Elementary, two new elementary schools, one new middle school, softball and baseball renovations, new staff development and administrative offices. School board President Chris Wood said the bond will provide support for the Cleveland areas growing population.

The bond can be funded without a tax increase because of increased property valuations in Liberty County thousands of single-family homes will soon be added to the tax rolls in new developments, such as 1000-home community Grand Oaks and the conversion of timber and cattle land exemption areas to homestead property areas.

A May 29 shooting spree in Cleveland left the county in shock.

Three died in the shooting at B Dependable Plumbing along FM 321 in Cleveland.

The accused gunman Pavol Vido, 65, reportedly took his own life as police closed in on him after identifying his vehicle a few miles down the road from the crime scene.

Another employee at the business, 61-year-old Toni Kelly of Hockley, also died in the incident at the company and David Grubbs died three days later at a hospital in Conroe.

Liberty County Sheriffs Deputy Robert Whitten was also shot and was in critical condition for several days. He continues the long road to recovery.

Vido was reportedly served with eviction papers 48 hours prior to the shooting and officials believe it might have been the motive that sparked the shooting.

With Clevelands growth came new business opening up. La Costa, a seafood restaurant, arrived to Cleveland in Feb. The new emergency hospital opened up in the HCA Houston ER 24/7. Also, the Health Center of Southeast Texas opened in Cleveland as well.

The Cleveland Emergency hospital also is providing the community with Lubys, Fuddruckers, and Starbucks.

The Grand Oaks reserve subdivision is now open and people can start purchasing hoses on the land that plans to continue to grow in the next several years.

Liberty & Dayton

In June, Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 717 authorizing a new County Court of Law, No. 2 for Liberty County. The move accelerated plans to move the county tax office out of the courthouse into their own free-standing facility to make room for the new court.

The news wasnt unexpected for county officials who have been lobbying for a new court to help relieve the stress on the dockets that already exist.

The move meant an exit for the County Tax office and sent County Tax Assessor-Collector Rick Brown seeking a new location.

The move was completed in early October and the new facility on US 90 is much more accessible to the public with ample parking.

The facility also has more room for employees inside to grow into and provide better service for customers.

I applaud the county for making the move and it will allow the courthouse to be a true judicial facility, he said.

Now that the tax office has moved out, the demo work on the area has just been completed this week and now buildout of the new courtroom can begin.

Karbowski said the furniture has already been ordered and construction will begin on Jan. 4, 2020.

In September, the growth for Dayton was no longer at the doorstep but had officially arrived with the groundbreaking of the River Ranch community. At one of the largest ground-breaking ceremonies in the countys history, more than 200 people crowded under a large tent set up off SH 146 to hear Developer Eddie Gray and his partners proclaim the beginning of the project.

It really thrills me to hear these bulldozers behind me knowing that weve really started, said owner and development manager Eddie Gray.

The 7,000-acre project, one of the largest in east Harris County, will rival Cinco Ranch on the westside near Katy and is expected to have between 14,000 and 20,000 lots at buildout.

Gray said it would take them approximately 12 months to build the infrastructure, that would include a one-acre water plant, five acres for a wastewater treatment plant, and develop a 12-acre site for an elementary school, and another 135 acres for commercial real estate. The plans also include a trail system throughout the development.

Well also build the large boulevard coming off SH 146. We already have those plans approved by the city of Dayton, he said.

Once the infrastructure is completed, the first community to be built will be River Ranch Meadows. The lots will be standard home 60-foot by 120-foot and there will be 141 lots in the first section.

On the northside of the boulevard, the River Ranch Estates will be built with lots at 90-foot by 300-feet with 56 lots. He estimated that it would take approximately a year or more to build those out and then work on Sections 2, 3, and 4 in both subdivisions would follow and once completed would finish Phase I. There are an estimated 1,026 lots in Phase I and Gray anticipated it would take four to five years to complete.

About a week later on Sept. 17, Tropical Storm Imelda dumped nearly 40 inches of rain in some parts of Liberty County. Unlike Hurricane Harvey which spread its watery damage over a four-day rain, most of Imeldas fury was done and gone within 48 hours. The damage, nonetheless, was still extensive.

One city of Liberty neighborhood, Oak Forest, had all 44 homes receive flooding except for one lucky home. Fortunately, there was a federal disaster declared clearing the way for residents to get help.

For some, they were still finishing up repairing the damage done by Hurricane Harvey. The heartbreak was real for residents who were displacedagain.

For one Liberty volunteer firefighter, it was a call to service.

Ruben Olvera jumped into action when he saw his neighbors homes being flooded.

I got the pontoon boat out of my backyard and thats when I just started helping people (in our neighborhood) out of their homes, he said.

Residents can now add 2019 to the list of floods from 1994, 2000, 2005, 2015, and 2017 that have brought despair and heartache to homeowners.

In November and December, Dayton residents were surprised to see signs closing CR 1413 as SH-99 contractors Grnad Parkway Infrastructure, LLC (GPI) announced plans to pour concrete bridge beams and ramps for the new highway. While the construction began last year and most of it is visible in the Cleveland and I-10 East area, there is progress already being made with the construction of 90 some odd bridges in the remaining segments of the project.

GPI officials say they remain on target for an opening in the spring of 2022.

Additional reporting by Marcus Gutierrez

dtaylor@hcnonline.com

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A Year in Review: 2019 brought promised progress - Chron