Houston Area Flu Cases Spike!

THE CHRON: If you've been putting off your annual flu shot, don't delay any longer: Texas is already being hit hard this flu season.

Houston-area hospitals have seen a spike in the number of emergency room visits for flu-like symptoms, said Porfirio Villarreal, spokesman for the Houston Department of Health and Human Services. During the week of Nov. 18, about 1,580 visits to emergency rooms were attributed to flu-like illnesses, compared with just 249 visits during the same week last year, Villarreal said.

Influenza is a serious disease that can lead to hospitalization or even death, the CDC says.

Every flu season is different, and even healthy people can get very sick from the disease and spread it to others. From 1976 to 2007, estimates of U.S. deaths each year due to flu ranged from 3,000 to 49,000.

"Flu is predictably unpredictable," said Dr. Gail Demmler-Harrison, pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Texas Children's Hospital and pediatrics professor at Baylor College of Medicine. "There's no cause for alarm but cause for action. People should get themselves vaccinated so it doesn't get any worse."

National Influenza Vaccination Week, a campaign established in 2005 to counter the notion that December is too late to get a vaccination, ends Saturday. Once a vaccine is administered, it takes about two weeks to develop immunity.

Although the influenza season usually peaks in February, 48 states and Puerto Rico have reported cases, with rates rising quickly nationwide, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week.

Along with Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee are also reporting high levels of activity.

In Houston, Texas Children's Hospital has seen an early start to the season with 123 confirmed cases of Type A influenza and 32 cases of Type B, compared with just two Type A cases in the same span last year, Demmler-Harrison said.

Everyone who is at least 6 months old should get a flu vaccination, but the CDC says it's especially important for these groups:

» People at high risk of developing serious complications like pneumonia if they get the flu, including those with medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes and chronic lung disease.

» Pregnant women.

» People 65 years and older.

» People who live with or care for others who are at high risk of developing serious complications.

Truck smashes into post office

by KHOU.com Staff

khou.com

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas – Troopers said last Wednesday the driver who smashed his truck through the wall of a post office may have suffered from some kind of medical condition.

It was around 7:30 p.m. when rescuers were called to FM 1486 and Highway 105 in Montgomery County. They found a blue Chevrolet pickup truck inside a U.S. Post Office.

Witnesses told troopers the driver was heading west on 105 when he left the roadway and went through a grassy median and parking lot before hitting the post office.

The driver, identified as William Joachim Bailey, 36, was sent to a hospital in College Station in stable condition, troopers said.

No other vehicles were involved in the incident, but the post office suffered extensive damage. The impact took out a wall, electrical lines, and water pipes.

According to DPS Trooper Campbell, investigators spoke with the driver. He said it appeared a medical condition was the cause of the incident.

The damage was boarded up overnight, and the post office planned on opening for business on Thursday

Video catches burglars in the act ...

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Tex. (KPRC) - Authorities in Montgomery County, Texas are hoping security camera footage will help them nab two burglars.

Surveillance video showed the first burglar walk through a home's open garage door and bust through the kitchen door.

The second one was not far behind as he casually strolled in the home and covered his face.

The homeowner came home to find the broken door and her jewelry missing.

"I think you feel extremely violated," she said. "Because you lose not only your monetary things but your memories. The Christmas gifts. The things you picked up on family vacation. Things that my late mother and law had."

On surveillance tape, one man casually walked out, again covering his face.

The second man strolled out carrying a cardboard boot box full of priceless jewels.

The Montgomery County Sheriff office is asked for help finding the burglars.

Execution blocked for man condemned for the 2000 abduction, rape and strangling of a 12-year-old girl.

HOUSTON -- A federal judge has blocked this week's scheduled execution of a Montgomery County man condemned for the 2000 abduction, rape and strangling of a 12-year-old girl. U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas ruled Monday that attorneys for 44-year-old Jonathan Green weren't properly allowed at a state competency hearing to present testimony from mental health professionals who treated him. The hearing was two years ago. Atlas also says a judge who found Green competent for execution relied on an order drafted by prosecutors, that Green's lawyers had no opportunity to object and that at least one legal standard in the ruling was incorrectly applied. Green was set to die Wednesday in Huntsville for the slaying of Christina Neal. Green lived near Neal's family in Dobbin, about 45 miles northwest of Houston.

Man killed in bar fight over cell phone

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TX (KTRK) -- A man was killed early Saturday after intervening in a fight at a Montgomery County night club.

 It happened around 12:45am at the Good Fortune Club in the 25100 block of Interstate 45 North in south Montgomery County.

When Montgomery County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived, they found Christopher A. Dillon dead inside the club and several witnesses blaming the same person for his death -- 30-year-old Toriano Renauld Freeman.

According to witnesses, Freeman entered the club sometime after midnight and asked a customer to use his cell phone. 

The patron allowed Freeman to use his phone, but then he did not want to return it.

Deputies said a fight broke out and Dillon intervened. Freeman reportedly assaulted Dillon, punching him several times. Witnesses told deputies the victim fell to the floor unconscious and died.

Freeman fled the scene on foot. He was arrested around 10:30am at a convenience store at the intersection of Sawdust Road and I-45, near where deputies believed he lives.

Officials said Freeman was charged with murder. He was also wanted for an outstanding misdemeanor theft warrant.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

Child predator jailed

Thanks to the persistence of an East Montgomery County mom, and the determination of members of the Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office, a child predator with multiple known victims is behind bars. Not only have they saved the children he was pursuing and victimizing through social media, his young daughter’s 2008 outcry of sexual abuse has been reexamined resulting in an indictment.

An in-depth multi-agency investigation led by Montgomery County Precinct 4 Capt. Mark Seals and Sgt. Art Looza produced damning evidence sent to preteen girls he befriended through Facebook, including not only messages that were sexual in nature, but also webcam video of 49-year-old Duane Charles Parker of Lafayette Louisiana masturbating while discussing what he would like to do to his victims.

Precinct 4 Constable Kenneth “Rowdy” Hayden, who at one point had five men working on the investigation, said Parker was every parent’s nightmare.

“He’s the person you warn your kids about, and the reason we have to teach our children not to talk to strangers in person or online, even if they seem nice.” Constable Hayden said. “At almost 50 years old, Mr. Parker managed to befriend well over a dozen little girls without their parents’ knowledge with the intention of using them for his own twisted sexual gratification.”

So far, Duane Parker (a.k.a. Parker Duane, a.k.a. Johnny Pepper), is charged with 2 counts of second-degree felony Online Solicitation of a Minor Under 14 (Montgomery County); and 1 count of first-degree felony Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child (Galveston County). Parker’s bond is set at $300,000 ($100,000 for each charge).

His request for a bond reduction on the first two charges was denied in a Montgomery County court last Thursday. The same day, a Galveston County grand jury returned an indictment on the third and most serious charge, which was the result of a CPS investigation launched after Parker’s then 6-year-old daughter claimed he was sexually abusing her. That complaint was filed in 2008 by the child’s then 24-year-old mother. Records indicate the girl was born when the mother was 17 and Parker was 39.

The couple split up but Parker retained parental rights to the now 10-year-old girl, who was with him at the time of his August 13 arrest. That child’s mother has a 6-year-old daughter by a different father and the 6-year-old was also with Parker when he was arrested. The mother lives in Kingwood, but the girls had been with Parker in Lafayette. His business, “            1-800-CRAWFISH      ” or “Crawfish Unlimited” involves frequent trips between south Louisiana and southeast Texas.

Capt. Seals and Sgt. Looza believe there may be many more victims who have not come forward or who never knew Parker’s true identity.

Parker lived in Texas in 2008 when his daughter’s mother contacted Child Protective Services. He was convicted of Indecent Exposure in Galveston in 2010 after exposing his penis to a 17-year-old Starbucks employee as he sat in his vehicle at a drive-thru window. It is unclear exactly when Parker moved to Lafayette because he kept his Texas Driver’s License, which has the address of what is now a parking lot and was once a UPS store where he rented a mailbox.

“Every address connected with Duane Charles Parker was bogus,” Capt. Seals said.

The East Montgomery County mom who first alerted authorities, and whose identity is withheld to protect her family’s privacy, began noticing comments by an unfamiliar name on her daughter’s Facebook page. The person posting as “Parker Duane” was using a photo of a sports car as a profile picture, and listed no date of birth. The mom said her daughter, who turned 12 this year, accepted Parker’s friendship because they had several mutual friends, and all of them were schoolmates. It is unknown how Parker found and first connected with the circle of female friends (17 at last count), all of whom are now in the seventh grade. At first, the girl and her mother assumed with so many mutual friends, some of them must have known “Parker Duane” personally.

Parker began clicking “like” on the girl’s Facebook posts and when they frequently posted photos of themselves, as young girls do, Parker posted comments like “beautiful,” “I’m in love” and “XOX” using hearts and other flirtatious words and symbols typically used by preteens on one another’s pages. He also sent instant and private messages that became progressively inappropriate and the mom took control of her daughter’s account. Parker quickly confirmed the mother’s suspicions when he sent her daughter a lengthy private message that began, “hey Beautiful, omg ur so Beautiful ur a dream ur someone id love to be mine…” The message continued with Parker rambling, at one point writing, “I know I may scar(e) u but im safe loving and could only love you…” He also discussed wishing he were in her room lying on her bed, with her on top of him. The message was followed by a video that showed the trunk section of an adult male (now known to be Parker) in bikini underwear, exposing his genitals and masturbating.

Around the same time, the mother of another 12-year-old girl in the group contacted the reportee mom, saying “Parker Duane” was also sending sexual messages and pornographic video to her daughter and she had proof he was a grown man. Signed onto her daughter’s Facebook account, that mother searched through his page history and finally found a shirtless photo he posted of himself, sitting on a black leather sofa and making a peace sign. Comparing the photo to Parker when he was arrested, it appears to be around 20 years old, which would still make him around 30 when the photo was taken.

The reportee mom contacted law enforcement, but “Parker Duane’s” account was deleted.

Capt. Seals said his agency contacted the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children, or ICAC division because they had a lot of experience with child predators who used the internet.

All involved believed the unidentified predator had become paranoid and would probably move on to another group, using a different name. They were partially right. It was not long before Parker returned to Facebook using the name “Johnny Pepper,” and contacting the girls in the same ways as before. This time, however, law enforcement was on the receiving end of his messages and videos. They obtained permission from the mothers of both girls to take control of their Facebook accounts and continued communicating with Parker as though they were the girls.

Investigators were able to identify and ultimately apprehend Parker through his business on August 13 at a restaurant on I-45 in Webster where he arrived to deliver an order. Child Protective Services took custody of Parker’s daughter and her half-sister upon his arrest and both were interviewed. As of now, Parker has not been charged in connection with the younger girl.

READ THE REST OF THE STORY HERE

Why did the alligator cross the road?

MAGNOLIA, Texas, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Police and a truck driver rescued a four-foot alligator as it attempted to cross a Magnolia, Texas, road, and the gator got a ride in a patrol car, police said.

Tow-truck driver and experienced alligator handler Richard Wible reported seeing the alligator early Monday morning, and with the help of Magnolia police, confined it with a rope and taped its eyes and mouth shut with electrical tape, the Montgomery County (Texas) Police Reporter said Monday.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department was notified, and offered the suggestion that since the alligator was already captured and confined, it should be released in an undisclosed body of water in Montgomery County away from any threat to the public.

Wible, familiar with alligators from working with the nearby city of Anahuac, Texas, home of the "Texas Gator Fest," was slapped across the back by the animal's tail, which the newspaper said "sounded like a professional baseball player hitting a home run," but after the alligator was controlled it was driven in the back seat of a patrol car to the lake. An officer removed the tape and rope, and Wible tossed it in. The alligator spent a moment watching its captors, then swam away, the newspaper said.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2012/09/03/Texas-alligator-captured-released/UPI-95391346703444/#ixzz25Vhy72KU

Thousands of pot plant seized in Montgomery County

By From Community Reports Law enforcement seized approximately 5,600 live marijuana plants on a wooded property in far East Montgomery County early Wednesday, Aug. 29. Around 6:30 a.m., the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit served a search warrant in a heavily wooded and undeveloped tract of land. Thousands of marijuana plants and items used to cultivate the plants were seized. No arrests have been made but the investigation is ongoing, according to MCSO Lt. P. Cash. The marijuana was first identified by SIU during a flyover of wooded areas. SIU was assisted by Montgomery County ATTF and District 3 patrol, DPS Narcotics and DPS Air Wing, DEA and DEA Air Wing, ICE, Patton Village PD and Roman Forest Police.

Hurricane warning issued for Houston area

By Eric Berger, Houston Chronicle McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Aug. 27--Tropical Storm Isaac moved into the Gulf of Mexico late Sunday, setting the stage for a midweek rendezvous with the northern Gulf coast.

In response to the growing threat, the National Hurricane Center issued hurricane warnings for the coast from Morgan City, La., to Destin, Fla.

Forecasters said it remained difficult to determine the storm's most likely track, but New Orleans was in the middle of the hurricane center's "cone of uncertainty."

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal called a state of emergency on Sunday and suggested that people leave low-lying parts of the state. A voluntary evacuation of New Orleans began Sunday, and mandatory evacuations could begin as early as Monday.

An emergency declaration was also issued in Mississippi by Gov. Phil Bryant amid concerns of storm surge threatening low-lying areas.

By late Sunday Isaac remained a powerful tropical storm, with 65-mph sustained winds, and forecasters anticipated it would grow into a hurricane by Monday. The official forecast predicts Isaac will come ashore as a Category 2 hurricane along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast, although some forecast models strengthened it into a major hurricane before landfall.

Isaac could reach the northern Gulf coast by Wednesday -- the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

Passing through the Florida Keys as a tropical storm, Gov. Rick Scott said Sunday evening that only minor damage was reported in Florida.

In Tampa, Republican National Convention officials said they would convene briefly on Monday, then recess until Tuesday afternoon, when the storm was expected to have passed.

Offshore, energy companies were preparing for the storm, as they stepped up evacuation of workers from the Gulf and shut down some production.

By midday Sunday, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement reported 24 percent of the current daily oil production in the Gulf had been shut down, along with just over 8 percent of current daily natural gas production.

Satish Nagarajaiah, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University, said the evacuations and production shutdowns were routine. More platforms will be shut down by Monday, he said, most of them in the eastern Gulf. And once the storm passes, production will be restarted quickly unless the platform sustains damage, he said.

Drilling in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico accounts for 23 percent of domestic crude oil production and about 7 percent of natural gas production, according to U.S. government statistics.

More than 40 percent of the country's refining capacity is located along the Gulf coast, too. So far, refineries are continuing operations.

BP said Sunday it had temporarily suspended production at all of its operated production platforms in the Gulf. Apache Corp. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. both said they shut in some production. BP had begun evacuating workers Friday; by Saturday, Chevron, Murphy Oil, Shell, Exxon Mobil and other companies were evacuating nonessential workers.

On Sunday afternoon some forecast models suggests Isaac could move as far west as the Texas-Louisiana border before moving inland, possibly posing a hurricane threat to Texas.

But that scenario remained unlikely, forecasters said. "There's not a zero percent chance on Texas, but it certainly is still an outlier" that the state would get hit, said Bill Read, the recently retired director of the National Hurricane Center.

Depending how close Isaac moves to Texas, waters offshore Galveston could see some higher waves, and winds could rise over the region on Wednesday and Thursday. Some rain is also possible.

Staff writer Jeannie Kever contributed to this report.

2 women fight with officer, urinates in squad car

by Nakia Cooper / KHOU.com

khou.com

Posted on August 15, 2012 at 12:35 PM

Updated today at 1:37 PM

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas—Two women were arrested Tuesday after a bizarre chain of events involving road rage and a scuffle with an off-duty officer in Montgomery County.

It all started when a mother and four small children were traveling east on Rayford Road near Fuzzel Road when two women in another vehicle came up behind them, according to Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies.

The mom told Montgomery County Police Reporter Scott Engle that a woman driving the other vehicle continuously blared her horn, then intentionally ran into the back of the van.

The two vehicles stopped and all three women got out. The mom said the other two women got very confrontational and used foul language, but left when she threatened to call police.  It did not end there.

The mom said as she drove into the Creekside Village subdivision, the women ran past a stop sign, caught up with her and confronted her again.

An off-duty Harris County Sheriff’s deputy who was with his family witnessed the event and pulled over to help.

The deputy displayed his badge and approached the two confrontational women. That is when the driver, 21-year-old Robin Scott, allegedly hit the deputy’s vehicle and ran over his foot.

The deputy drew his weapon and removed Scott from the vehicle, but she began to struggle with him. While those two were scuffling, the passenger, 23-year-old Renee Rose Williams, hopped out with her camera phone and began recording. Williams then jumped back into the vehicle and drove off as the deputy called for backup.

More officers and emergency responders arrived, took Scott into custody and checked the deputy’s injured foot.

Deputies then searched the area and found the abandoned vehicle nearby. Witnesses told them which house the driver was seen going into.

Deputies went to the home, but were told that Williams had already left with a male companion in a Scion.

Deputies quickly located Williams and the man at the front of the subdivision.

She was then taken into custody.

Scott and Williams were both given – and failed – field sobriety tests, according to deputies.

Deputies said Scott got combative with officers once more and it took at least four of them to put her into the squad car. She then urinated in the back of the patrol car.

Scott was charged with DWI, assaulting a peace officer and criminal mischief. Her bond was set at $5,600.

Williams was charged with DWI and evading. Her bond was set at $2,500.

Both women were booked into the Montgomery County Jail.

The Montgomery County Police Reporter was on the scene at the time of the women's arrest.  Click here to see more exclusive images and footage.

Historic rainfall drenches Houston and vicinity

CBS/AP) HOUSTON - Historic rainfall levels that drenched the Houston area this week flooded dozens of homes and caused widespread street flooding, but the rain also is likely to result in the end of drought conditions in Southeast Texas, officials said Friday.

Officials estimated that fewer than 100 homes were flooded after Cypress Creek, located in the northwest part of the Houston area, rose above its banks after getting about 14 inches of rain over the past couple of days, said Francisco Sanchez, a spokesman for the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

County officials were still trying to reach flooded neighborhoods oan Friday to better assess the damage, but initial reports had homes affected anywhere from a few inches to a couple of feet of water, Sanchez said.

"Some areas along Cypress Creek got more rain in the last 24 hours than in Hurricane Ike (in 2008) or from major flooding in 1998," Sanchez said.

CBS Affiliate KHOU reports it will be mostly dry Saturday morning, but there is a 60-percent chance of rain beginning in the afternoon.

A flood warning is in effect until 8:50 a.m. Sunday for northwest Harris County and Montgomery County. A flood warning is in effect until 10 Sunday night for the Spring Creek area of Harris County.

In northwest Harris County, a good portion of the subdivision called the Enchanted Valley Estates was only accessible by boat. Homeowners could be seen using canoes, pontoon boats and even a jet ski to navigate around the area.

Firefighters rescued several families from the Norchester subdivision near Cypress Creek Friday when two to three feet of water seeped into their homes overnight.

Several people also had to be rescued early Friday morning after driving into high water.

Gary Whitaker Jr., who lives in one of the areas affected by Cypress Creek, said street flooding in his neighborhood had started to recede on Friday but a nearby subdivision still had streets that were impassable. Water from the creek was flowing "like a waterfall" across one street and into a golf course, he said.

"Quite a few people in our subdivision couldn't go to work today. They couldn't get out (due to flooded streets). It was pretty risky," he said.

Whitaker, 36, who lives in Cypress, an unincorporated area in northwest Harris County, said there were no reports of flooded homes in his neighborhood.

The American Red Cross in Houston sent out workers Friday to affected neighborhoods to assess the flooded homes, said spokesman Cameron Ballantyne. The agency had not opened any shelters.

In Montgomery County, located just north of Harris County, officials reported seven to eight flooded homes.

A shelter had been opened in Montgomery County at Living Stones Church in Magnolia, but church secretary Linda Arnold said no residents had used the facility.

Victor Murphy, a climate expert with the National Weather Service, said one rain gauge on the border of Harris and Waller counties recorded 10.3 inches of rain in a 10 hour period.

Murphy said that amount of precipitation within that short period of time suggests that area experienced a "100-year rainfall event," which caused Cypress Creek to overflow.

Other areas in Southeast Texas also got large amounts of rain, including just west of Bay City in Matagorda County, which received about 18 inches this past week.

"Rainfall in the entire (Southeast Texas) area this week was in the 8 to 10 inch category," he said. "The average weekly rainfall for this time of year is about 1 inch or so."

While the current U.S. Drought Monitor shows some parts of Southeast Texas as being abnormally dry, that does not include this week's rainfall totals.

"When the next U.S. Drought Monitor comes out Thursday, there will not be any drought in Southeast Texas," Murphy said. Most of the rest of the state was expected to remain in drought conditions.

Even if Southeast Texas only experiences average rainfall or dry weather the rest of the summer, drought conditions should be kept at bay until at least the fall, Murphy said.

Sanchez said officials were hopeful Cypress Creek, which was still rising Friday, would eventually recede if the area was not inundated with more rain. Water levels at two other nearby creeks which had also flowed out of their banks, had started to fall.

Rain was forecast for this weekend but the chances of showers were expected to be lower than earlier this week.

Kingwood/East Montgomery County 4th of July events slated

THE CHRON: Fourth of July celebrations will soon blast off in Kingwood and surrounding areas.

Organizers promise a full schedule of events to commemorate the nation's birthday, culminating in one of the largest firework displays in the Houston area.

There are several options for neighborhood celebrations, complete with parade, fishing rodeo and bicycle-decorating contest.

1 The Kingwood Civic Club is hosting a Fourth of July Parade on Wednesday. Lineup for the parade begins at the corner of Feather Lakes and West Lake Houston Parkway at 7 a.m.

Float judging starts at 9 a.m. and the parade kicks off at 10 a.m. from Creekwood Middle School on Sandy Forks. Parade participants must register and complete an application. Applications may be requested online at www.kingwoodcivicclub.org or picked up at the Kingwood YMCA.

For more information, email kingwoodcivicclub@yahoo.com.

Several activities are scheduled before the parade begins. A fishing rodeo begins at 6 a.m. at the Foster's Mill ponds, located on the corner of Kingwood Drive and Forest Garden. Children younger than 15 are invited to bring their fishing gear and compete for trophies in different categories. No registration is required.

A bike-judging contest begins at 8:30 a.m. at Kingwood Bible Church, located at 3610 West Lake Houston Parkway. Children are invited to decorate their bicycles to impress the judges and compete for a trophy. The decorated bicycles will then join the parade. No registration is required.

Organizers encourage residents to park at the Kingwood Park and Ride.

The July Fourth Festival will be held from 2 to 9 p.m. Wednesday. Residents can gather at Town Center Park, located at the intersection of Kingwood Drive and West Lake Houston Parkway, to enjoy live music and shop for arts and crafts. There will also be activities and bouncing castles for kids.

Music will be provided by "DJ KW" Mark Linabury from 2 to 6 p.m. There will be live music from 6 to 9 p.m. The event will culminate with a fireworks display.

Residents can enjoy a free concert from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday at Kings Harbor.

A classic rock band, the Acoustic Villains, will perform in the plaza. Guests are invited to bring blankets and lawn chairs. Kids are invited to cool off and play in the fountain.

1 Atascocita Community Improvement Association will hold its annual children's parade, beginning at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 4, at the parking lot of the Atascocita Library, 19520 Pinehurst Trail Drive, Humble.

Registration begins at 9 a.m., and entry numbers will be assigned to all participants before the parade steps off at 10 a.m.

The parade will proceed down Pinehurst Trail toward Incredible Delights, the site of the former Country Club, 20114 Pinehurst Drive. The event will end with prizes and refreshments for children.

Murder suicide in the Woodlands

THE CHRON: A veterinarian was shot and killed by her estranged husband, before he turned the gun on himself Monday afternoon at the family's home in The Woodlands, authorities said.

The shootings occurred about 4 p.m. in the backyard of their home on West Greenvine Court, as the couple's two children were nearby, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. After the shooting, the couple's daughter ran to the home of a neighbor, who called 911.

A neighbor confirmed the deceased as Karen Hamilton Gunn, 44, and her husband, 56-year-old Graham Gunn, an employee of Logoworks by HP. The couple, married since May 1997, had recently separated. She filed for divorce on Nov. 8, 2011, according to Montgomery County court records.

Nurse charged with capital murder and abduction of newborn

SPRING, Texas — A registered nurse has been charged with capital murder in the shooting of a young mother and the abduction of her newborn son at a pediatric clinic near Houston, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that Verna McClain was charged early Wednesday in the killing of Kala Marie Golden.

Witnesses say an argument broke out between Golden and another woman as Golden left Northwoods Pediatric Center in Spring on Tuesday afternoon with her 3-day-old son, Keegan.

The woman repeatedly shot Golden then snatched the baby from her arms and went to drive away in a blue or light green Lexus, according to witness accounts. The dying woman leaned into the vehicle and tried to take Keegan back, screaming “My baby!” but her attacker sped away.

Ligon said McClain’s statement to investigators indicates that she shot the mother as part of a wider plan to kidnap any child and that Golden was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“There were statements as indicated in the arrest record that were made by Ms. McClain that led us to believe that, in fact, this was an intentional act on her part,” Ligon said. “Not that Ms. Golden was targeted specifically, but that this was part of a plan to kidnap a child.”

He made no mention of a man whom witnesses said they saw in the Lexus that was blood stained on the driver’s side.

Keegan was found unharmed Tuesday evening. Ligon said Child Protective Service officials were looking after him but that they expected the baby to soon be reunited with his father.

Authorities have not said where Keegan was found. Ligon stressed that the infant was not found at a nearby apartment complex that was raided by officers wielding guns and riot shields Tuesday evening. Spring is about 20 miles north of Houston.

READ THE REST OF THE STORY HERE

Water - but for how long?

Originally posted in The Chron:

While winter and spring rains have brought some relief to a thirsty Lake Conroe - its recent historically low water levels are a constant reminder of last year's unforgiving weather.

But as people flood Montgomery County in record numbers, its water woes will only get much deeper.

The county was among the top 25 fastest-growing areas in the nation during the past decade, according to 2010 U.S. Census data.

And as the state's regional water planning group for the Houston metropolitan area enters its fourth cycle this year, it expects the population to more than double by the year 2060.

Despite its recent troubles, all eyes are on Lake Conroe to meet a growing need for water.

Montgomery County will tap its prized lake for municipal use starting in 2016; the plan is to reduce reliance on groundwater and find alternative sources.

But will it keep the well from running dry?

Watching the water

Lake Conroe experienced record thirst pangs in 2011 thanks to a severe drought and emergency withdrawals.

It came up approximately 8.2 feet short of its normal 201 feet by the end of last year, said Jace Houston, deputy general manager of the San Jacinto River Authority. It's currently around 3 feet below normal. The lake was last full in March 2010, Houston said.

"It's just been going down gradually ever since then because of the drought," he said.

Low water levels were a pain for many business and property owners, whose waterfronts slowly became withered vegetation and exposed soil.

"Having very limited access to the lake isn't good for the local businesses or recreational use," said Mike Bleier, president of the Lake Conroe Association.

Consumer purchases from businesses around the lake decrease if lake use goes down, Bleier said. And the county loses out on sales tax revenues.

Limited access to the lake also drives down property values and tax revenues for the county, he said.

Record-setting summer temperatures and little rain were only partly to blame for the low water levels.

The city of Houston withdrew Lake Conroe water between September and late November to replenish Lake Houston's treatment plants.

This marks only the second time Houston has taken the emergency step to withdraw water from Lake Conroe. The last time was in 1989 when Lake Conroe dropped to its record low.

Lake Conroe lost more than a foot of water each month from evaporation and municipal release, Houston said.

Still, he maintains that Lake Conroe is built to survive a seven-year drought. And even though no one can estimate what's going to happen in the next five years, Houston expects the lake to fill back up before it's tapped for municipal use.

Groundwater plan

Where will Montgomery County get its future water supply? The answer is likely from several sources, according to the county's groundwater reduction plan.

Aside from a few small irrigators and a power plant in Willis, all municipalities currently use water from the ground - mostly from the Gulf Coast Aquifer.

But the county will soon start tapping Lake Conroe, which was originally built as a water supply, to reduce dependence on groundwater; it's mandated to reduce consumption by nearly a third before 2016.

Groundwater levels started dropping in the 1980s, according to the San Jacinto River Authority.

A growing population's demand for water exceeded the aquifer's ability recharge by 30 percent in 2009. In the next 30 years, the authority expects demand to be two-and-a-half times the recharge rate.