The Examiner (Navasota, Tex.), Vol. 120, No. 15, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 9, 2014 Page: 3 of 20
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April 9, 2014 ★ Page 3A
Johnson
continued from la
“I think it’s fun to see a
product and - when people
are looking at something -
try to understand what
they’re looking for and get a
message across,” Johnson
said. “It’s kind of like psy-
chology, in the sense that it’s
a puzzle. The biggest part of
advertising is getting your
message across, and the
product is either for them or
not for them. It either works
or it doesn’t work and, half
the time, you don’t know
until the public sees it.”
And when Johnson is
constructing the design, he
dreams big.
For the past two years,
the marketing director has
turned the mechanics of a
simple Christmas parade
into a “Home for the Holi-
days” winter wonderland -
full of free family activities,
including ice skating for the
young and old alike, a large
snow dome where children
enjoyed - what else? -
snow fights, and an enor-
mous, 40-foot snow slide to
play on.
Last month, the innova-
tive thinker transformed the
downtown area into a fam-
ily-friendly, outdoor concert
arena that drew a crowd of
over 6,000 people, of all
ages, from surrounding
areas and as far away as
Louisiana.
“A lot of times, I’ll try
and mold the solution into
the environment that we’re
in, like at Texas Birthday
Bash. We were looking for
an event that is natural to
this area. And when you
look at that, and Washing-
ton-on-the-Brazos and Fan-
thorp Inn, it lent itself to
doing an event that was not
so much historical - be-
cause that’s what Washing-
ton-on-the-Brazos already
has - but something much
more celebratory, with
music,” the director said.
Johnson, who is a music
lover himself, was able to
tap into his own passion by
selecting bands, from Ches-
nutt to contemporary coun-
try music headliner
Gloriana, which appealed to
different age groups.
“The (selection of bands
for the Texas Birthday
Bash) came from an appre-
ciation for our musical her-
itage. And the fact that
country music lends itself to
that Texas heritage,” John-
son said.
The director was able to
make it all happen with the
use of Hotel Occupancy Tax
(HOT) funds that are desig-
nated for projects and events
that attract tourism and
overnight stays in the city.
“It’s just our way to give
back and to get people to
Navasota to see what we’ve
got. It’s a unique city...you
don’t get that hometown
feeling (elsewhere) where
you can come down and
have a good time with
neighbors and people you
don’t know,” Johnson said.
Next year, he hopes to
draw in even more visitors
and bring in corporate spon-
sors at the third annual
event. Despite the chal-
lenges of designating a sole
venue for the popular event,
the director said the city
plans to keep it downtown,
as some have compared the
event to days of old when
the Chamber of Commerce
hosted Navasota Nostalgia
Days.
Speaking of nostalgia,
the director is also returning
the historic Horlock House
to its former glory.
While the city tried for
years to keep the historic
site, off Washington Av-
enue, as a draw for tourists,
a lack of volunteers to help
keep its doors open left it in
need of nurturing and, even-
tually, costly renovations.
As a result, the city recently
considered an offer to sell
the property to a potential
bed and breakfast owner,
but instead charged Johnson
to explore other options, in
hopes of maintaining the
historic building as a mu-
249,
continued from la
ceived applause as he said,
“Houston’s coming this way
and we’re not going to stop
it. They need to build it so it
benefits us and our county
commissioners - some of
y’all are my friends and I
like you - but y’all gotta get
some backbone. The way
this road is being built is not
for us; it’s for Houston and
people going elsewhere.”
Another resident ques-
tioned the rationale behind a
need for improved safety
when she claimed crash data
does not seem to support the
costly proposal.
“The total crashes for
2009 were seven, 15 in
2010, 2011 (there were) 11
crashes and, in 2012, it went
down to eight. How did this
become a priority? I want to
know,” she questioned.
TxDOT Transportation
Director Bob Appleton, P.E.
said since he didn’t have
“the crash data committed to
memory,” he was unable to
respond to that question.
Residents once again told
TxDOT they believed a less
costly and less invasive
widening of existing road-
ways, State Highway 105
and FM 1774, should in-
stead be considered. They
pointed out that the lack of
sufficient interchanges (exit
and entrance ramps) defeats
TxDOT’s argument that the
State Highway 249 exten-
sion is intended for im-
proved safety. Residents
said the toll road’s connec-
tion to State Highway 105
and FM 1774 could cause
even more accidents.
“It will be designed with
safe methods for traffic con-
trol,” Appleton said.
Plantersville-Stoneham
Volunteer Firefighter Ed Bill
voiced concerns over what
he believes would be a lack
of sufficient access to emer-
gency response vehicles
since only three inter-
changes are proposed.
“We’re looking at 10 or
15 miles that this involves
so, if we gotta get on (State
Highway 249) in Magnolia
or Stoneham, that’s going to
limit our access to take care
of situations that may hap-
pen on the toll road. Espe-
cially if it’s going to be a
two-lane road with sharing
passing lanes,” Bill said.
‘This would also be an inter-
ruption for us trying to take
care of our neighbors.”
Residents also said the
design would force them to
pay a toll to access their own
properties, and stressed that
the influx of traffic on feed-
ers would create more safety
hazards.
“We can’t afford - in our
rural community - to pay for
a toll road. We’re going to
be using feeders. What this
means is that we’re going to
have additional traffic, from
north Houston, down FM
1774. And you’re saying we
need safety,” one resident
said.
As another resident ques-
tioned how railroad cross-
ings would be affected,
Appleton explained that
grade separations would
allow the extension to by-
pass them.
After a resident ques-
tioned the range in cost -
since TxDOT estimated the
cost of acquiring about 400
acres of right-of-way and
construction at approxi-
mately $95 million, last
Thursday, and $87 million,
one week prior (at
Plantersville Town Hall
meeting), Appleton said the
project would cost anywhere
between $80 million to $100
million.
“Because we haven’t de-
termined the exact route and
length of construction (ex-
pected to begin in 2015, and
be completed within 24 to
36 months) and the exact de-
tails on those interchanges,
we’re talking about a range
of $80 million to $100 mil-
lion,” Appleton said.
A retired engineer ques-
tioned why the exact speci-
fications are not readily
available.
“All I hear is maybe
we’re going to put one here
(interchange), we don’t have
this and we don’t have a
plan for that. I used to build
planes for Boeing and I can’t
imagine showing up at a
meeting and saying, “We
haven’t figured out the size
of the plane or how many
engines we got,” she said.
After the meeting,
Precinct 2 Commissioner
Randy Krueger, who is chair
of the local 391 Commission
and member of the State
Highway 249 working
group, told The Examiner
that the 391 Commission
would be planning a com-
munity meeting to get more
input from citizens.
**********
RE- ELECT
RANDY
KRUEGER
Commissioner Pet 2
REPUBLICAN
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Please consider the
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in the RUNOFF ELECTION on May 27.
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seum.
“We wanted to keep it as
a museum but not incorpo-
rate costs for personnel to
run it. And we had all these
different aspects - a need
for a museum and a want for
an art incubator and art
gallery, and a house that was
kind of just sitting there. So
I started talking to different
people and brought up the
idea to use it as an art
gallery space, have the
artists be the docents for the
museum and, in the process,
renovate this beautiful
house that we’ve had kind
of abandoned (on and off)
for the past 20-plus years,”
Johnson said.
Thanks to Johnson’s col-
laboration with the Arts
Council of Brazos Valley,
necessary HOT funds were
not only provided for the
current transformation of
the historic site - into an
eye-catching, colorful
tourist attraction and mu-
seum - but also a gallery
and workspace where resi-
dent artists are able to culti-
vate their wide range of
talents, while acting as tour
guides. The museum, under
construction on the backside
of the building, will feature
artifacts from Navasota his-
tory that will be changed out
every three months.
“We’ll focus on the her-
itage of the music of Nava-
sota, the industry which
Inquiries
Inquiries should be di-
rected to TxDOT’s Bryan
District Public Information
Office at 979-778-9764.
Written comments rela-
tive to the proposed project
may be presented at the
meeting or submitted to the
Director of Transportation
Planning and Development,
Texas Department of Trans-
portation, 2591 N. Earl Rud-
der Freeway, Bryan, Texas
77803, at any time on or be-
fore April 18. Comments
may also be emailed, on or
before April 18, to Bob. Ap-
pleton @ txdot. gov.
brought the town about, the
train aspect, and other
themes every quarter,”
Johnson said. “Now, we’ve
got this really unique piece
of property that showcases
the history and also culti-
vates art. We have three dif-
ferent artists that have
unique styles living there (at
Horlock House) and, with it
being an art gallery and mu-
seum, it really adds a unique
piece that we haven’t had
before.”
Johnson is also exploring
plans to have artists teach
art classes to local students,
as well as incorporate a
website where the artists can
not only showcase and sell
their art but also blog about
their experience.
“I think the Horlock
House gives the city a way
to preserve its heritage,
through the museum, but it
also gives you insight into
the future, with these artists
cultivating something
unique that hopefully brings
that unique art to Navasota
and keeps it here,” Johnson
said. “It’s a pretty unique
project and I’m glad the city
council decided to fund it
(via HOT funds.) They’re
very progressive and have
been the driving force be-
hind all the projects that we
have been able to com-
plete.”
This Saturday, Johnson
will be using his talents to
draw visitors to another
free, live concert, during the
city’s fifth annual Blues,
Bluebonnets and BBQ
event. The free event will be
held in the downtown area,
surrounding city hall, start-
ing at noon, and includes a
concert series, family fun
activities and a fundraiser
sponsoring the Navasota
Fire Department.
(Read more details about
the April 12 event in related
article on 1A. View more
details on the Navasota
Artist in Residency Program
at http://www.navasotaex-
aminer.com/ news/article_c2
29c224-9003-lle3-b475-
0019bb2963f4.html.)
Inquiries should be di-
rected to Johnson at 936-
825-6475.
/V—v
*WK toT<
for Keeping Navasota Beautiful!
Navasota's 13th Annual
Trash Off Litter Cleanup Event
on Saturday, April 5, 2014
123 VOLUNTEERS!
57 WERE YOUTH UNDER 18!
Baylor Lumber Company
Bert Miller
Cowgirl Collection Company
Entergy
Keep Texas Beautiful
KWBC 1550 AM
Miller Insurance Agency/RVOS
Insurance
PartiGipatmg Groups
Navasota Examiner
Navasota Garden Club
NOV Grant Prideco
Republic Services, Inc.
Texas Dept. Of Transportation
Zac and Judy Falkenbury
BBVA Compass
Boy Scout Troop 361
Edwin Sandoval Family
Entergy, Inc.
Ergogenesis
Gerdau
Greater New Hope Baptist Church
Jose Coronilla Family .
Jose Maldonado Family
Navasota Garden Club
Navasota Jr High Student Council
Navasota Kiwanis Club
Northwood Apartments
NOV Grant Prideco k
Contest (Dinners
H.U.B. CAP Award
‘Helps Us Best’
Group with MOST VOLUNTEERS!
Jose Coronilla Family
21 Volunteers
Oldest Volunteer
Ben Rodriquez - 50 ‘Something’
Entertainment
(Drum line Performance utilizing
Repurposed /Recycled items)
Trevin Pomier
Jeremiah Williams
Josiah Williams
Navasota High School Media Crew jl
Alec Chilton-- Videographer
Austin Espinoza - Videographer
Cleanup Results
117 bags of Litter covering
12 miles of roadway
V *
Tr*SH-0ff KNaPviota
Beautiful
Beautiful
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McDonald, Scott. The Examiner (Navasota, Tex.), Vol. 120, No. 15, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 9, 2014, newspaper, April 9, 2014; Navasota, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth807617/m1/3/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Navasota Public Library.