progress - townnews · 2019-07-29 · struction ongoing and the levee project forthcoming, along...

EAST WHARTON COUNTY

PROGRESS2019

Wednesday, July 31, 2019Thursday, August 1, 2019

WCJC NAMES GYMNASIUM AFTER LEGENDARY COACH, GENE BAHNSEN.

2 Wharton Journal-Spectator • East Bernard Express • Progress 2019 journal-spectator.com 3journal-spectator.com Wharton Journal-Spectator • East Bernard Express • Progress 2019

On the CoverJust a small portion of the hundreds of athletes coached by Gene Bahnsen gather for a photograph with the coach and his wife during a ceremony earlier this Spring marking the naming of the Gene Bahnsen Gym. Bahn-sen has coached at WCJC for 60 years.

Courtesy photo by WCJC

1944 N. Fulton St.Wharton, Texas

www.whartonedc.com

979)532-0999

Chad OdomExecutive Director

[email protected]

Maximizing the potential Wharton has

Even with the setbacks our homes and businesses have faced during the floods of Hurricane Harvey and the more recent June 5 deluge we are on a track that with perseverance, focus, and adaptivity can propel our city toward the success and progress that has been anticipated for generations. To achieve this progress, we must stay focused not on our own individual goals and visions but instead remain steadfast on adapt-ing to the opportunities and sequencing of investments as they develop.

Since before the Harvey floods WEDC and the City of Wharton were working to maximize the planning resources for

the City of Wharton. Since the flooding, WEDC and the city, along with other lo-cal foundations such as the Gulf Coast Medical Foundation, and the Mary Louise Dobson Foundation working to-gether, have garnered over $250K in outside resources to assist in planning for the future. The Urban Land Institute

performed a corridor study that looked at how to best direct traffic toward our beautiful downtown and how to revital-ize our West End in the process. The American Planning Association Foun-dation Granted WEDC a connectivity study that sent a team of five planners from around the country to Wharton for five days to study our city and receive public input on ways to connect our city. The team helped compile our commu-nity vision of connectivity with walking and biking paths and the future oppor-tunities for using the open space of our federally funded U.S. Army Corps of En-gineers hazard mitigation system will provide. This study is in the final editing phases and should be released before the

summer is over. In the aftermath of the Harvey flood-

ing along with seeking planning dollars, WEDC informed and assisted both lo-cal and regional multi-family housing operations about the GLO multifamily program where we currently have 45 new units of workforce housing funded and conditionally funded and should be beginning construction by year’s end.

The opening of Oak Bend Medical Center at the freeway and their success ushers the way for Wharton to develop our demonstrated need for senior hous-ing. We are seeing this in the acquisition of assisted living facilities and the plat-ting of new patio homes.

With the full federal funding of the Army Corps of Engineers hazard miti-gation project that will build levees and sumps to protect us from river flooding and supply places for rain runoff to go,

Chad OdOm

WhartOn ECOnOmiC

dEvElOpmEnt

OakBend has introduced telemedicine to usDo you remember when you first

heard the word telemedicine? Was it in a movie or a far out idea about the fu-ture? Or could it possibly be happening in a big city hospital or a medical experi-mental laboratory? Wow! It is happening right here at OakBend Medical Center – Wharton campus. OakBend has always expected and achieved the goal of being on the cutting edge of procedures that bring the best medical care to patients. When telemedicine became available to OakBend, Wharton hospital became the first because of distances to specialists at all hours.

Telemedicine is the latest technology and an innovative way of caring for pa-tients using a combination of telecommu-nication and information technology. This provides patients clinical healthcare even when the specialist is not in the same room. This allows Dr. Long Cao, a pre-ventive cardiologist, to see the patients via telemedicine if they need to be admit-

ted to the hospital or if there is another plan of action. The patient sees the doc-tor without going to his office. It can also help EMS understand the patient’s needs while being transferred to a hospital if needed.

The telemedicine cart is on wheels and can be moved around the hospital to be at a patient’s bedside. If the patient is not hospitalized it can be in an area where

the patient can be seen in private. The cart allows the doctor, with the help of a technician to see the patient via camera.

The doctor can access the patient’s chart and with the telemedicine listen to the heart, view the heart’s rhythm. The machine has attachments for viewing other parts of the body, such as eyes, ears, and skin issues. The doctor has access to the patient records, there is no lag time in care.

OakBend Wharton has been using telemedicine since the first of July and during the first month saw 20 patients. While it is currently focused on cardio telemedicine, plans are to move into other specialties. While telemedicine is first be-ing used in Wharton, plans are to begin using on the Richmond and Williams Way campuses.

The patient can have a telemedicine appointment with the doctor, just like they would have for an office visit. Most insurance companies are viewing tele-medicine visits as they would any doctor’s visit.

I suppose the best way for me to un-derstand this new telemedicine technol-ogy is to know if I needed my cardiologist, Dr. Long Cao, I could go to our hospital. A technologist would put me before the camera on the cart, Dr. Cao could see me, have access to my chart and check my heart for whatever the need. It would save time fighting traffic. This doesn’t mean I cannot have an appointment to see him in his office here, it could save critical time.

Billie Jones is a former executive diriec-tor of the Wharton Chamber of Commerce.

Editor and PublisherBill Wallace

Managing EditorAlbert Villegas

Advertising Manager and GraphicsJessica Hartman

ProductionDeborah Goad

115 W. Burleson St.Wharton, TX 77488

979-532-8840www.journal-spectator.com

This publication is owned and published by the Wharton Journal-Spectator and the East Bernard Express. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form, whole or part without consent is prohibited.Copies of this section will be available throughout the year while supplies last at the Wharton Journal-Spectator, Wharton Economic Development Corp. and Whar-ton Chamber of Commerce.

East Wharton County Progress 2019

See WEDC Page 3

—WEDCContinued from

we have the opportunity to redevelop our existing flood prone areas and look to de-velop previously undevelopable land in the future. These facilities will also sup-ply green space to be developed for recre-ational purposes preserving our beauti-ful riverfront and connecting our city.

The expansion of I-69 toward Whar-ton is opening up opportunities for us to leverage our planning and financial ca-pacity. WEDC and the city are working to leverage these opportunities so that we can develop local plans to expand into the green spaces between current Whar-ton and the future I-69 corridor including the extension of FM 1301. Public-private partnerships will need to develop to en-able these infrastructure investments to come to fruition in a timely manner. Fi-nancial planning and phasing/sequenc-ing of build-out are of utmost importance as we prepare to expand.

WEDC continues to work with local businesses to retain and expand the em-ployee and tax base so that Wharton con-tinues to grow on all fronts. We are also continuing to work to attract new busi-ness partners to come grow with us in our city. We also honor our strong agriculture economy by monitoring policy and trends

that can help our ranchers and farmers take advantage and continue to grow our already robust ag footprint.

Our future today is more exciting than ever with the opportunities we have at hand. It is my belief that we can accentuate who already are (charming, welcoming, historic, hardworking, faith-ful, honest) to attract the enhancements on quality of life we seek (more retail, recreational and entertainment options) while we grow and welcome newcomers to join us here in wonderful Wharton, Texas.

Chad Odom has been the executive di-rector of the Wharton Economic Develop-ment Corporation since 2017

The future is bright here in

Wharton!


Alicia Rodriguez

(979) 531-06781501 N. Fulton St.

Wharton, Texas 77488

Alicia’sBeauty Salon

Thank you Wharton for another successful year!

Special to the Journal-Spectator/EB Express

With the opening of two new business-es in Wharton in April and May 2019, city officials have hopes of further growth this year and in 2020.

WEDC Director Chad Odom said he sees a trend in business growth.

“We see tremendous interest in in-vesting in Wharton with the school con-struction ongoing and the levee project forthcoming, along with increased traf-fic counts along our major corridors,” he said. “WEDC makes contacts and main-tains relationships with developers, re-tailers and site selectors to keep ongoing awareness of our progress to them. This stage of our recovery is only the begin-ning to the possibilities for recruitment and expansion. As we invest in infra-structure and planning, we will continue to see increased interest and subsequent investment into our community.”

Odom has shown an economic impact analysis related to the school bond issue to prospective business people. The study projects $194.8 million in total revenue increase for Wharton County businesses.

Both new businesses, Tractor Supply Co., which is at 115 East Boling Highway, and Zapata’s Mex Bar and Grill, which is at 1406 North Richmond Road, bring something special to Wharton.

Zapata’s owner Eliud Zapata, who has 20 years of experience as a chef and opened the restaurant while also owning a gas station, KFC and Checkers, noted that it brings authentic Mexican food and everything the restaurant produces is homemade every day.

Zapata’s Mex Bar and Grill opened in early April.

Tractor Supply is an in-town resource for agriculture equipment and industrial products.

Odom said that it took more than a

year of negotiations to bring Tractor Sup-ply to Wharton, helping facilitate the pro-cess through the city. Tractor Supply re-ceived a 50 percent sales tax for up to five years capped at $150,000. That means the agreement ends as soon as WEDC has rebated $150,000.

Jack opens January 2019Not even Hurricane Harvey could

keep Jack out of the box. Jack in the Box reopened in Wharton

on Friday, Jan. 25 at noon, this, after be-ing closed for over a year due to flooding damage from Hurricane Harvey.

“Recovery has been extremely diffi-cult. We obviously have insurance, but we still haven’t received all the proceeds from all the problems that we had,” Jack in the Box owner Atour Eyvazian said. “It’s been a very difficult time. “I love Wharton. We have a footprint there, and we have been there for a long time. We love the city of Wharton. I had emails and texts and Tweets asking when we were coming back. The city officials were asking when we were coming back. The feeling that you get when you see people telling that they miss your tacos and curly fries and having the restaurant in the city is a warm feeling.”

After the flooding, all of the employ-

ees at Jack in the Box in Wharton had a choice to work at different Jack in the Box locations, or to begin to work else-where.

McDonald’s opens June 2018The brand new, state of the art Mc-

Donald’s open on a Wednesday at 5 a.m. “Everything is all brand new. It’s a

20/20 state of the art building. There’s a lot more windows, and it’s brighter,” said Wharton McDonald’s Director of Opera-tions Cindy Sanchez of the new facili-ties. “We will be giving our community of Wharton a fresh look.”

McDonald’s first opened its doors in Wharton in 1984. The last remodeling job happened in 2006, but only covered

the lobby area. “The Wharton McDonald’s employed

52 people from the Wharton area when it opened again.

Beer:30 opened November 2018Beer:30, a new sports bar in Wharton,

was a way to give back to the community. Most people may not think of a sports

bar as a place for charity, but that’s what owner Jason Villarreal wanted his new business to be.

“I’ve been here in Wharton for 40 years, and I wanted something different here” Villarreal said. “I know a lot of peo-ple in town. I’ve coached a lot of baseball, I’ve coached select ball, so I wanted to do something with sports. I coached my son through all, and after he turned 18 I was done. I had a group of kids I coached from six until they were 18. These kids are 21 now I want them to have a safe place to come out.”

Villarreal wanted Beer:30 to be a place that people can enjoy and a place to host events, he said.

“Sooner or later we want to bring in live music and washer tournaments and cook offs,” Villarreal said. “I want to be able to have stuff like that so I can give back to the community. I want to give scholarships. I’d love to give scholarships to all five schools in the county eventu-ally.”

Wharton businesses opened in 2018 and 2019

File photoEliud Zapata is joined by his employees following a ribbon cutting earlier this year.

Special to the Journal-Spectator and EB Express

The Wharton ISD Board of Trustees approved a design plan for the baseball/softball complex at a cost of $2.8 million in May 2019.

Wharton ISD Superintendent Tina Herrington told trustees that conversa-tions between staff, RWS and the City of Wharton’s Engineering Department had been held following passage of the bond in November 2018. Those conversations have centered on city easements, flood plains, a mitigation pond, among others.

“We’ve met to discuss drainage and mitigation needs, a proposed design of the complex, along with proposed alter-nates,” Herrington said.

Based on new conversations between Herrington and First Presbyterian Church leaders, the closing of Old Bol-ing Highway from John Knox Road to

Alabama Road, didn’t present any chal-lenges. The Wharton City Council agreed a few months later when some of the council members voted to abandon these streets, as well as some in and around the ag barn and athletic fieldhouse on North Abell Street.

Cheryl Lawrence, president with RWS Architects, said the scope of this project was also much smaller than a football stadium.

As a result of the proposed easement, the only building on the property will be the concession stand that measures 1,850 square feet and restrooms (with exhaust, no air conditioning), which will be located further into the property complex. The base will be one foot above the flood plain.

The ticket booth will be located where the complex will have a “pavilion” look. It will be different from the stadium for several reasons – the flood plain and pre-

sumed costs. The stadium will have an enclosed ticket booth building, but that’s because the flood plain is much different. Lawrence said the grade at the complex would have altered the plans in a ma-jor way and been much costly. The city would have told WISD to construct build-ings 2-3 feet higher that would require more costly fill dirt.

The creation of a “mitigation” pond would be needed for storm water to flow into and flow out of in an existing swale. Lawrence said the existing swales would be used to keep the pond small.

The pond, which would be 4-5 feet deep and include a “swale” and small pump, is expected to be dry. It would be in the southern portion of the complex.

City allows street closures to build WISD complex

Special to the Journal-Spectator and EB Express

The Board of Trustees with the Wharton Independent School District unanimously approved to name a major athletic edifice that is currently being constructed where Tiger Stadium once stood the Eddie Joseph Memorial Sta-dium.

The trustee decision through a 7-0 vote during a second special meeting on Tuesday, July 9 comes eight months af-ter voters approved a $59 million bond that paved the way for numerous facil-ity changes and upgrades district wide, including construction of a new stadium after 50-year old Tiger Stadium was re-portedly outdated and too costly to reno-vate.

Trustee Rachel Rust made the motion

to give the stadium its new name, with a second by Curtis Evans.

The decision resulted in immediate applause from the audience, which in-cluded family members and some play-ers who were coached by Joseph, includ-ing his son Gary Joseph, who is the head coach for the powerhouse Katy Tigers’ football program. He was accompanied by his wife, Sheila.

“The whole state is going to know this (stadium’s name),” said another WHS alumnus, Randy Hill, a former finance director for Wharton ISD, who shook hands with other visitors.

When the bond passed in November, Wharton ISD staff was then able to work with trustees about not only new stadi-um designs, but also providing the name of a new stadium.

Less than three months ago, Wharton ISD announced it was accepting nomi-nations for the naming of the newly-con-structed stadium on the previous site of Tiger Stadium.

Cost of the stadium goes upA few months before this decision was

announced, trustees had discussed with their architects the Guaranteed Maxi-mum Price (GMP).

Leading up to the bond election, trust-ees and district administrators had told the public it would cost $7.5 million to construct a new football stadium.

Trustee Steven Roberts was told by RWS Architects that the GMP was set at $10.9 million, which did not include locker rooms. This was for construction costs. RWS Architects then said it could

be up to $12.8 million.Trustee Chris Sparks asked how the

architects later came up with $12.8 mil-lion. RWS Architects and WISD Super-intendent Tina Herrington told Sparks the $10.9 million did not include costs for “architectural, geotechnical, survey, en-gineering fees, and testing lab services.”

Sparks continued to listen to what RWS Architects President Cheryl Law-rence was saying and crunched some numbers together, figuring it could cost $14 million to construct just a stadium, that might not include a fieldhouse.

“I’m flabbergasted, and I need to make sure that I am not unduly flab-bergasted,” said Sparks, who decided to shut off questioning altogether when he appeared puzzled.

Tiger Stadium changes name to Eddie Joseph

Serving all of Wharton County

Locally owned and operated since 1972

(979) 532-1512111 N. Fulton St • PO Drawer 870 • Wharton, Tx 77488

El Campo Closing Offi ce 207 West Jackson St., El Campo, TX 77437

(979) 543-6845 File photoJack in the Box reopens after a year of repairs.

Courtesy photoConstruction on Eddie Joseph Memorial Stadium preps for turf installation.



From completing new building additions to achieving accredita-tion, it has been a busy and success-ful year for Wharton County Junior College. College officials believe such achievements are the key to provid-ing students the resources needed to reach academic goals.

“We take our role in the com-munity very seriously and are con-tinually looking for ways to improve what we do and how we do it,” said WCJC President Betty McCrohan. “We want our students to be able to achieve their goals in the most effi-cient and beneficial way possible.”

In February, the college celebrat-ed the completion of a major project at the Johnson Health Occupations Center. The $6.5 million project in-cluded the construction of an 18,000 square foot addition and the renova-tion of the existing 34,000 square foot structure. The facility, located at the north end of the Wharton campus, houses the bulk of the col-lege’s Allied Health programs, in-cluding Associate Degree Nursing, Dental Hygiene, Health Information Technology, Human Services, Physi-cal Therapist Assistant, Radiologic Technology, Vocational Nursing and Pre-baccalaureate Nursing. The col-lege’s Emergency Medical Services program was also relocated to the

Courtesy photoGuests enjoy a reception held in the lobby of the newly refurbished Johnson Health Occupations Center. Located on the Wharton campus, the facility recently underwent a $6.5 million expansion and renovation project.

PROGRESS 2019: WHARTON COUNTY JUNIOR COLLEGE

Improvements made on facilities, WCJC achieve affirmation

—Students benefit from the decison WCJC trustees make

See Students Page 7

newly refurbished facility. The project was made possible

through Johnson Foundation and Gulf Coast Medical Foundation funding.

In April, WCJC officially dedicat-ed the Gene Bahnsen Gymnasium, located on the Wharton campus. The gym was named in honor of long-time Athletic Director and Coach Gene Bahnsen, who came to the college in 1959 and spent 60 years coaching everything from track and field to football and tennis. Bahnsen was named athletic director in 1965 and has held that post ever since.

“Coach Bahnsen has been here for all of us over his 60-year career. He has coached some excellent teams,” McCrohan said. “We wish him well in his retirement.”

In June, the college received noti-fication from the Southern Associa-tion of Colleges and Schools’ Com-mission on Colleges (SACSCOC) that WCJC has been reaccredited. This is an important milestone as it ensures the college is compliant with high-level standards and that the degrees and course credits awarded by the college are viable and worthy of transfer to institutions of higher learning.

The accreditation process must be completed every 10 years and re-quires intensive information gath-ering on the part of college adminis-tration and staff.

“This is a significant accomplish-ment for the institution and under-scores what we already know – that WCJC is an exceptional institution comprised of dedicated faculty and staff who are steadfast in their pur-suit of student success,” said Dr. Amanda Allen, WCJC’s vice-presi-dent of planning and institutional effectiveness and SACSCOC liaison.

This past year, the college also began construction on a new base-ball park on the northeast side of the Wharton campus. Thanks to a generous donation from Houston resident Duncan Corbett, the $1.5 million ballpark – deemed Corbett Park – is nearly complete. The ball-park features batting cages, dug-outs, a beautiful field with under-ground irrigation, batting cages, a scoreboard, an air-conditioned press box complete with a conference room and seating for 440 spectators.

WCJC Baseball Coach Keith Case said the field will be a “game changer” for the Pioneers.

“It’s a very positive improvement for the baseball program as well as our college and the fans from the surrounding area,” Case said.

Corbett Park is expected to be completed sometime this summer, with scrimmages planned for Fall 2019.

The college is also in the process of implementing a host of security upgrades as part of a massive, sys-tem-wide effort to improve safety

at its Wharton, Richmond and Bay City campuses. So far, a new access card system has been implemented, video surveillance cameras have been installed, and an intercom sys-tem has been set-up in the Presiden-tial Suite on the Wharton campus.

Currently under way are the in-stallation of digital monitors for emergency notifications as well as emergency phones and a Public Address system. Total cost is more than $1.3 million.

“These improvements will make the campuses a lot more secure,” said WCJC Security and Public

Safety Director Danny Terronez. Wharton County Junior College

is a Texas public, two-year, compre-hensive community college offer-ing a wide range of postsecondary educational programs and services including associate degrees, certifi-cates, continuing education courses, cultural affairs and leisure-time activities for the benefit of the com-munity and a population of students that varies in age, background and ability. WCJC operates campuses in Wharton, Sugar Land, Richmond and Bay City with a student popula-tion of more than 7,000.

Courtesy photoWharton County Junior College nursing students practice treating a mannequin during a class exercise. The ADN pro-gram, along with most of the college’s other Allied Health programs, is housed in the newly refurbished Johnson Health Occupations Center on the Wharton campus.

Continued from Page 6

Courtesy photoWCJC Corporal Steven Fojtik uses a proximity keycard to access a dormi-tory on the Wharton campus. A new keycard system is just one of several upgrades employed by the college to improve safety and security.

Courtesy photoWharton County Junior College Director of Facilities Management Mike Feyen surveys the newly constructed Corbett Park. Located on the Wharton campus, the new ballpark has been built thanks to a donation from Houston resident Duncan Corbett.


WCJC19GRADTABWJcolor21x11Fo.indd 1 5/22/19 2:44 PM



In March 2019, the Matagorda Episcopal Health Outreach Program (MEHOP) hosted an open house for its Wharton location, which was six months after it opened here in Septem-ber 2018.

Dozens of people attended, and it gave MEHOP employees and officials the opportunity to educate visitors about family medicine and behavioral health, which were the two points of emphasis in promoting the Feb. 28 event held at OakBend Hospital’s caf-eteria.

MEHOP is located adjacent to Oak-Bend Medical Center in Wharton, which also opened last year.

According to MEHOP, the facility provides family medicine and behav-ioral health for those who are at the 200 percent mark of poverty or below.

MEHOP CEO Celeste Harrison spoke about the services that are avail-able at the Wharton location, which is 10141 US 59, Suite A.

A family medical physician and a physician’s assistant are available on site, as well as a licensed professional counselor for those inquiring about be-havioral health, she said. Another ad-

vantage that MEHOP – Wharton has is free transportation to the Bay City campus, Harrison added. Future ex-pansion may be another option in the future, Harrison said. Services that are currently only available in Bay City in-cluding women’s health, pediatrics and dental can come to the Wharton site as long as there is a demand for them. “We have been in the Bay City commu-nity for a long time, and we have a long history of providing quality care,” Har-rison said. “Coming to Wharton has been a great experience, and we have had a tremendous amount of support.”

MEHOP, which is a 501c3 nonprofit

organization, services can be accessed when an individual reaches the eligi-bility requirements at a much lower cost, Harrison said.

All forms of payment are still ac-cepted, she added.

The new MEHOP site within Oak-Bend, and the relationship between the two entities was described as “posi-tive” by Harrison.

“MEHOP and OakBend are working together to look at other ways to serve the Wharton community,” she said.

For more information, call 979-559-3550.

MEHOP opens in 2018, has seen success in Wharton


As school began for the 2018-19 year, Just Do It Now (JDIN) saw an enroll-ment increase, while the Boys & Girls Club of Wharton experienced a slight drop.

According to JDIN, increases were due to several successful programs dur-ing the summer.

The enrollment skyrocketed from 40 children to more than 120.

That was more than JDIN ever had, JDIN officials said in 2018.

Despite the current high numbers in the JDIN after school program, numbers did take a hit in 2017 after Hurricane Harvey.

In 2019, major structural changes came to the area around the Dawson Community Center, where JDIN is housed. Demolition began and concluded within months thanks to outside agen-cies coming in and assisting the city in these matters. The gymnasium, which was flooded during Harvey, eventually received upgrades and is still standing

and used.Last year, the Boys and Girls Club of

Wharton saw a lower head count despite average enrollment, Director Fred John-son said.

“Enrollment has been a weird thing,” Johnson said. “We have a little over 300 kids that are registered, meaning that they are active members in our system, but the numbers that we’ve been see-ing so far in this first couple week so of school has been closer to about 200.”

The reason for the disparity between

Boys & Girls Club members enrolled and those attending activities is unclear, Johnson said at the time.

The year before, the club averaged 230 or 240 kids per day.

In 2019, the Wharton club became part of the Houston Boys and Girls Club. In September 2018, some Houston board members spoke to the Wharton Coty Council during a meeting to tell them of the improvements such a move would make.

JDIN has enrollment increase, Boys & Girls Club part of Houston

220 Maude St. Wharton, TX 77488979-532-1204

TECL#30904 TMEL#332052

Insured*

Residential - Commercial - Industrial


The OakBend – Wharton emergency room opened at 7 a.m. on Monday, June 4, 2018 and was put into use the same day.

“I can speak on behalf of the board and the staff that we are just thrilled to be a part of this community, and are excited to see this relationship come to fruition and that we’re up and operating and doing what we need to,” said OakBend Board Member Abby King the same day the facility opened. “Our motto is to provide healthcare to anyone regardless of their

ability to pay. OakBend has a strong sense of community and building a relationship in the community and I think having OakBend here and giving this commu-nity the relationship that it’s needed for so long is the biggest asset. OakBend are a family, and they’re bringing their family here and joining with the rest of us. It’s a unique opportunity to have that relation-ship and be able to build it in the upcom-ing years,” King said.

OakBend – Wharton had a grand opening in July, which featured a Whar-ton Chamber of Commerce and Agricul-

ture ribbon cutting and a visit from the board of executives.

“Our doors are open, we have doctors and specialists that are available to see patients for their specific needs and we’ve got the emergency room that’s open 24/7, so we just encourage the community to go and utilize the doctors and the hospital and the laboratory services and X-Ray services that are available,” said King.

At the time, OakBend had gone to the internet to let web users know about the Wharton hospital’s opening.

CEO Joe Freudenberger was shown in a video speaking about the occasion.

“The message I would send to this com-munity is that we are here to serve,” he said in a recent video from the OakBend Medical Center – Jackson Street Hospital Campus’ YouTube page.

The video, which is still available on-line today, discusses OakBend’s values as a community hospital. To watch the video go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7T_6zz9iEQ.

Community response was solidWithin the first 24 hours of opening,

the OakBend emergency room saw 21 pa-tients, beginning shortly after the doors opened for business.

The opening of OakBend was wel-comed by many in the community. As a small and new hospital, the capabilities of

OakBend were not yet fully realized. “Only minor patients would go to

OakBend. They have very limited capa-bilities. They have less than capabilities El Campo Memorial. 2/3 if not more of our patients go to OakBend - Richmond or the other hospitals there. We are not taking a whole lot of patients here,” said Wharton EMS Director John Kowalik. “We’re going to go to Wharton to try to get the patient stabilized so they can get help. If they can’t be flown, then we’ll go to Wharton.”

Heart attack and stroke victims would be seen at OakBend, but they could not be treated by the doctors there at the time.

“OakBend Wharton will be able to receive and stabilize heart attack and stroke patients, which is recommended as best practice for such conditions. A transfer to a facility for higher level of care subsequent to treatment in Whar-ton is probable for these conditions. Blood transfusions and seizures can be cared for at Wharton,” said Freudenberger.

The services that OakBend will pro-vide are the OakBend No Wait Emergen-cy Room with observation and Air Ambu-lance Transportation as needed, imaging (which would include CT, X-ray and ul-trasounds); Outpatient or Day Surgery Services and Endoscopy/Colonoscopies.

OakBend opened for local health needs June 2018


Eight weeks after opening OakBend Medical Center Wharton, the hospital was exceeding expectations.

From the opening on June 4 through July 30, the hospital’s signature No Wait Hospital Emergency Room had seen more than 1,500 patients. The radiology department had been busy as well, han-dling more than 1,300 patients with its CT, ultrasound and x-ray services.

When the Gulf Coast Medical Center in Wharton closed its doors in November of 2016, the sign on the front door direct-ed people to a hospital 20 minutes away.

After a long and sometimes bumpy ride, OakBend Medical Center took on the challenge to establish a hospital in the building that formerly housed Gulf Coast Medical Center and brought emergency and medical services back to Wharton.

“OakBend Medical Center was eager to open its doors in Wharton,” said Joe Freudenberger, CEO of OakBend Medi-cal Center, “We believed that the com-munity deserved exceptional healthcare

and we are making that happen. We are proud to include Wharton as part of our family and we look forward to a long lasting partnership.”

OakBend has been fortunate to have some of its cardiologists provide class-es to the EMS departments of Austin County, East Bernard, El Campo and Wharton. It was an opportunity to not only introduce OakBend to the area EMS departments, but to also begin a long term relationship.

When the hospital first opened, ser-vices offered included the emergency, imaging, inpatient and observation for short stays.

Since that time, the hospital had add-ed telemetry services to assist the nurs-es in monitoring inpatients’ vital signs.

OakBend began doing endoscopic procedures such as colonoscopy and up-per gastrointestinal studies on July 11, 2018.

In the near future the following would be available in Wharton at various inter-vals: outpatient surgical services such as eye, orthopedic, hernia repair, gall blad-der removal, foot procedures.

Message from Mayor Tim Barker:As the Gateway to the Texas Gulf Coast, Wharton has many thriving businesses and industry that secure a stable tax base. Founded in 1846, the City of Wharton is located along the I-69 corridor just 50 miles south of Houston. As a business owner myself, I believe that Wharton is the perfect place to grow your business and your family. I invite you to see just what Wharton has to offer.

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Playground equipment will be erect-ed for the Wharton City Pool after the Wharton City Council unanimously ap-proved to move forward with the $35,718 purchase during a May 2019 meeting.

The equipment will be from Krafts-man Commercial Playgrounds and Wa-ter Park through Buyboard Purchasing Cooperative.

Bob Baker, who is the city’s facilities maintenance director, said the equip-ment was funded through the annual parks and pool maintenance allocation from WEDC, which is headed by Execu-tive Director Chad Odom.

Baker said once the equipment is ap-proved for purchase, it would take ap-proximately 12 weeks to receive it and begin installation.

The information that council had the chance to look over explains that Krafts-man is based in Spring and has been in the business of building playground equipment since 1981. The playground unit is aimed for children ages 5 to 12 years.

Wharton city pool will receive new playground



A few days after the state’s land com-missioner sent a letter to President Donald Trump about creating rules for mitigation funding, it was announced in February 2019 that the City of Wharton would be receiving millions of dollars for housing and mitigation.

City Secretary Paula Favors said news of the funding came on Monday, Feb. 4.

The City of Wharton would receive $2 million for housing and mitigation from a 2016 flood, she said.

Bush’s letter to Trump was aimed more at Hurricane Harvey and the af-fect it had on Texas and the subsequent slowdown of funding to victims, includ-ing Wharton once again.

Bush’s letter to the City of Wharton confirmed that the monies being award-ed were for 2016 floods and storms, which would assist in housing and in-

frastructure.The “conditional awarding” of $2 mil-

lion in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Communi-ty Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds to the City of Wharton are to assist homeowners with elevation, rehabilitation, and re-construction of homes to address exist-ing damage and mitigate future dam-age.

Following the 2016 flood, the city and the GLO encouraged residents to sub-mit applications for long-term recovery projects for funding consideration.

For years, Wharton leaders had maintained that eventually federal money would be awarded to Wharton, but they were never given an exact date. It has been early three years since the 2016 flooding occurred.

Flooding from the ColoradoThe Colorado River crested at its

fourth highest level ever (at the time) in the early morning hours of Friday, April 16, 2016 according to a Journal-Spectator article.

The river reached 48.29 feet that morning.

The water had begun to recede later in the day and by 2 p.m., it had dropped to 45.6 feet.

Domingo Montalvo was the Wharton mayor then and called for a mandatory evacuation the night before.

The evacuation order was for the area bounded by South Sheppard to the east, North Hendon to the north, U.S. 59 to the west and Camellia to the south, and from South Sunset from Bell Street to Cloud.

The San Bernard River had also reached dangerous levels, which con-tributed to the flooding and a subse-quent curfew for several days.

During a press conference the day be-fore, Wharton Police Chief Terry Lynch

had said the affected area was about one square mile with 350 homes affect-ed. Officials had made 30 rescues with nine refusals during the 2016 flood.

Funding backgroundHUD awarded Texas $238.9 million

in disaster recovery funds for 2016 in three separate allocations appropriated by Congress in September and Decem-ber of 2016 and May of 2017. Of those funds, HUD designated that 80 percent, or $160.8 million, must be awarded to the HUD declared “most impacted counties” of Brazoria, Fort Bend, Har-ris, Montgomery and Newton.

This $40.2 million was awarded for projects in the remaining counties not designated by HUD as most-impacted.

For more information regarding eli-gibility and application process, visit the following website: www.recovery.texas.gov.

Three years later, Wharton receives $2M from 2016 floods


The city’s West End and downtown area will be linked in ways they have never been if leaders have their way to improve infrastructure here. Informa-tion about making improvements to the city’s West End and using Spanish Camp Road as the corridor to link up downtown Wharton was shared during a Wharton Rotary Club in November 2018.

The West End Initiative’s Melissa Burnham was the guest speaker, and Chad Odom, executive direc-tor of the WEDC, was asked to chime in on what had been discussed.

It centered around what the Urban Land Institute (ULI) presented in a report that was released this month, Odom said.

The study and its findings will eventually be dis-cussed publicly.

Odom said having an outside group made up of in-dividuals who have no ties to the city helped greatly because they viewed this from a new perspective.

“We can rely on this study now and use it to help us, guide us; it can charter a path forward for the West End,” Odem said during the luncheon.

The ULI group, which was based in Houston, was given direction by those who have a stake in the city.

It is a 36-page study that focuses on the West End’s current layout and ways to can be improved. The study doesn’t focus on any other major artery like Richmond Road/Business 59 that lead into downtown.

“Imagine coming down the road on Business 59;

the view from that corridor is long, already commer-cial,” Odom said. “It would be an expensive endeavor and cost prohibitive.”

Redirecting traffic through FM 102 was a sound idea, he said, because many use Spanish Camp Road as a “shortcut” to get to downtown Wharton.

“It’s the shortest route to downtown; the land is not so valuable that you can’t do things with it with it,” Odom said. “We identified the corridor along those lines.”

Odom admitted that there weren’t things that ULI came up with that Wharton stakeholders couldn’t have come up with themselves.

“But, it helps to have a fresh and outside perspec-tive on what we should do and ULI had fresh ideas,” Odom said.

WEDC: Wharton’s West End, downtown area linked

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Landscaping improvements along Spanish Camp Trail and the reopen-ing of a grocery store building were just some ideas presented to revitalize Whar-ton’s West End during a Technical Assis-tance Program that was held during the summer of 2018 at the Wharton Civic Center.

The ULI Houston panel made up of seven people from outside of Wharton presented their expert opinions. They each had experience in urban strategies, real estate, housing and community de-velopment.

Hurricane Harvey and the fed’s $73.2 million Corps Hazard Mitigation Project (levee) were tied into the West End im-provement discussion by the panel. They also suggested shifting Wharton budget dollars that were still linked to Harvey

recovery to be made available to the West End. For example, local funds that had perhaps been budgeted for levee im-provements and related projects were not dwarfed by federal money.

“Make it nice” was one of the com-ments made by the panel, pointing to sidewalks, multiuse trails, wayfinding and signage and the reinforcement of ex-isting heritage.

The panel members felt Wharton needed to “capitalize on the community’s assets, inspiration and potential with the intention of creating public spaces that promote people’s health, happiness and well-being.”

However, one of the obstacles that has faced West End residents is title/deed is-sues. City officials already know this and it was introduced by the panel.

Members of the panel, some who were from out of state, admit this is one chal-

lenge, as is housing, a declining popula-tion, income levels, communication dis-connect and the perception of the West

End to the rest of Wharton’s community.The panel agreed it can take up to 15

years to see a notable difference.

ULI Houston panel of outsiders provided Wharton input


Kent Hill, one of the founders of the Wharton Economic Development Corpo-ration (WDEC), knows very well what it’s like to start something from the ground up. The idea of creating an economic de-velopment organization at the end of the last century was met with much opposi-tion, even from some elected leaders at the time, he said.

When he spoke to a group of people dur-ing a Wharton Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture (WCC&A) monthly Business Breakfast in May of this year, Hill started by sharing his thoughts on where WEDC was and is.

Some of the topics discussed ranged from the federally-funded levee, Wharton ISD school bond passage, and neighboring Fort Bend County.

“We’re on the cusp with growth (and) we have land,” said Hill, when answering a question about where he sees WEDC in 10 years. “Fort Bend County seems to con-tinue to grow. There’s going to come a time where the economics of living in Fort Bend

County as opposed to Wharton is going to work for us. I think we need to be ready for that.”

Billie Jones, a former WCC&A execu-tive director, said some in Fort Bend Coun-ty are just receiving news of a levee system in Wharton and have asked about poten-tial recreational areas in the West End.

“Word is getting around. People are asking,” Jones said.

It’s not all good news when it comes to the levee as Wharton Mayor Tim Barker directed his comments to Hill. When asked what is the biggest opposition, Barker said “landowners” who live outside of the city. They are concerned. Although he didn’t go into detail, the flow of water will be redi-rected once the levee system in completed, which Barker has reportedly said would take at least half a decade.

“There’s going to be lots of dirt hauled out, and trucks are going to cause dam-age to city streets,” Barker said. “We have street projects. I know what dump trucks will do to a road. Bigger trucks will cause serious damage.”

The City of Wharton is just now in the

process of hosting meetings with those af-fected from the flood reduction project.

“The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers – it’s might a great organization but it is slow responding. It’s not anything that we con-sider quick,” he said to Hill. “The city is just now getting direction of what is going to happen, so we can tell people what is go-ing to happen to move forward.”

He said the $59 million bond passing overwhelmingly can be credited to voters were paying attention to the information that was being distributed by administra-tors during public meetings.

Hill said it’s important that people know what is happening with the levee, too.

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Several months after the federal government announced multi-billion funding projects for areas affected by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Wharton leaders wanted to make an official an-nouncement of their own.

So in February of this year, elected officials signed an agreement that “pro-pels” Wharton’s flood reduction project.

This was regarding the $73.2 mil-lion levee project that the federal gov-ernment last year announced would be funded and be built in Wharton to combat continued flooding.

The agreement signed by Mayor Tim Barker on Jan. 14 came during a city council meeting.

“The City of Wharton received no-tice in July 2018 that their Flood Re-

duction Project had been fully funded through the Fiscal Year 2018 Supple-mental Appropriations Act, Public Law 115-123,” a Wharton press release read. “The city’s flood reduction plan that first began in May of 1999, be-came possible when it was announced as part of nearly $5 billion in funding for disaster recovery projects in Texas.”

The project would make the city more resilient to future storms and flooding, according to the city.

Wharton leaders said up until then, they had been working closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the last seven months and with the sign-ing of the agreement with every coun-cil member present, was now entered into a Project Partnership Agreement.

“The signing of the agreement was a historic moment for the City since

it will now be able to move forward alongside the USACE, to see the proj-ect completed for the safety and better-ment of its citizens,” the press release said. “While the project is just in the beginning stages, the hopes are for con-struction of the levee to begin in 2020.”

A few days after the agreement was signed, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush addressed a letter to President Donald Trump about rules that would be placed for Texas Com-munity Development Block Grant-Di-saster relief mitigation funding.

Bush said it had been a year since funding was approved by Congress, and added that “federal bureaucracy is slowing recovery in Texas.”

When asked if this had an effect on the City of Wharton, Secretary Paula Favors said it would not.

“It hasn’t delayed the city’s process with the levee but if the shutdown (continues) it could delay any future applications for grants that the city may apply for,” Favors said.

The government was partially shut down 35 days from Dec. 22, 2018 until Jan. 25, 2019, which was the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

On Jan. 25, Trump agreed to en-dorse a stopgap bill to reopen the gov-ernment for three weeks up until Feb. 15 to allow for negotiations to take place to approve an appropriations bill that both the Republican and Demo-cratic parties could agree on.

The shutdown stemmed from an impasse over Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion in federal funds for a border all along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Wharton officials signed levee project agreement in 2019

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Based on a Boling ISD Board of Trustees’ decision to improve the educa-tional environment for its Iago students, a new junior high school was approved in late 2017.

By April of the following year, a new classroom and office building at Iago Junior High School were being con-structed.

With a contract totaling $1,882,050, Bass Construction, a previously employed company by Boling ISD, received the duty to take over the con-struction project. The project was com-pleted in the fall of 2018.

This will be the second year that Iago JHS will be using the new facilities.

“The focus of this project is to broaden campus capacity, upgrade portions of the original building, and install new safety features,” Boling ISD Superintendent

Wade Stidevent said in 2018. “The new building will be located just in front of the original building, so the only obsta-cle was to relocate the student pick-up zone.”

The process commenced at the end of 2017 while the next phase began at the beginning of spring 2018.

According to Boling ISD, the scope of the project included a new building com-prised of an office area, secured entry system, restrooms, four classrooms, and more; a renovation scope designed to transform the office area into a nurse’s station and teachers’ lounge; revamping the restrooms in the original building; and extending a new fire alarm system from the new building to all other cam-pus buildings.

Boling ISD Superintendent Wade Stidevent said there was an unwaver-ing excitement as a structure formed by Bass Construction was created.

“I remember the pride and excite-ment that our high school students expe-rienced when they were able to begin utilizing a new science, technology, and

art building,” Stidevent said. “Our junior high students acquired a similar experi-ence at this campus.”

G L E N F L O R A • E A S T B E R N A R D • B O L I N G

Boling ISD made Iago Junior High School improvements

Water Control District, East Bernard worked on FM 1164 sewers

Last year, East Bernard entered an intergovern-mental agreement between it and the Wharton County Water Control and Improvement District #2.

This agreement stated that the City of East Ber-nard and the water district would be able to act on each other’s behalf regarding a 2019-2020 Texas Community Development Block Grant Fund totaling the $350,000.

The money would go to further the development of sewers on FM 1164.

The agreement basically allowed East Bernard to see a grant, and the Water District would service the infrastructure and assure the design is right.

The 2019-2020 Texas Community Development Block Grant Fund is the fourth grant for the sewer sys-tem on FM 1164.

“We completed phase one in 2015 or 2016,” East Ber-nard Secretary Audrey Scearce said. “All of the homes in that area have water, but we want to complete the sewer system on FM 1164 as there is a pretty dire need there.”

The City of East Bernard continued to apply for the Texas Community Development Block Grant.

According to the Texas Department of Agriculture website, the goal of the Texas Community Development Block Grant Program was to develop viable communi-ties by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment, as well as by expanding economic op-portunities, principally for persons of low-to-moderate income.

EBISD spent $16M on building construction

Last summer, the East Bernard Independent School District Board of Trustees approved the SZH Design development plans for new campus structures.

The new buildings, including a new bus canopy, a new elementary school and additions to the Naiser building on the campus of East Bernard High School

would cost $16 million for the construction. “This is really going to change the look of these struc-

tures,” said SZH Architecture Architect Wade ZimmerSchool safety was another issue that was addressed

with the new plans. According to the EBISD website, the School Facili-

ties Bond 2017 was set for $18,470,000. Bids for the construction began a year ago. Phase

one of the project was the construction of the structures that began in 2018.

The structures on EBHS and East Bernard Elemen-tary School began construction this summer.

Phase two included renovations on all campuses, as well as East Bernard Junior High School

According to the EBISD website, all construction on EBHS campuses is proposed to end summer 2020.

Historical marker erected in Glen Flora

On Saturday, May 19, 2018 Glen Flora had a new state historical marker on the grounds of the U.S. Post Office on Bridge Street.

Wharton County Historical Commission member Margaret Sue Scheller was the inspiration for the marker. She died before her dream could be fulfilled.

The ceremony was open to the public and held at 10 a.m. at Glen Flora Emporium.

Glen Flora is located on a land grant issued to John C. Clark and Robert H. Kuykendall, members of Ste-phen F. Austin’s original colony, in 1824. Around 1890, C. H. Waterhouse moved here from Pennsylvania and purchased large pieces of land, brought in German families from his home state, and established a sugar mill, pumping plant, and a cotton gin. After the Cane Belt Railroad was constructed in 1898, Glen Flora was officially established. The railroad enabled crops to be transported easily, and the town flourished.

At its height, Glen Flora had many businesses, in-cluding mercantile stores, two cotton gins, a meat mar-ket and drugstore, a hotel, bank, gristmill, lumberyard and, later, a movie theatre and telephone company.

The history is well documented in numerous places

and is filled with interesting stories. Learn more at the marker dedication Saturday.

Prior to the dedication, the Wharton County Com-missioners Court recognized Glen Flora and its histori-cal impact on the county during a regular meeting, May 14.

Patricia Blair, chairman with the Wharton County Historical Commission, accepted a Glen Flora Day proclamation from Wharton County Judge Phillip Spenrath and the Commissioners Court during the meeting.

The proclamation, which was dated May 19 read in part: “The community benefited from the leadership of many families who established homes and business in Glen Flora and especially those who documented its history and those who made history, such as Thomas Lane Pink, principal of T.L. Pink High School...”

Blair said in a statement that Glen Flora may seem like a sleepy little town – one still recovering from a devastating hurricane last summer – but it is a town with a long and colorful history.

FIRM LOCATION PRODUCT NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES1. Leedo’s Cabinetry East Bernard Cabinets 405 2. Wharton County Junior College Wharton Education 3753. Wharton ISD Wharton Education 3394. Wharton County Foods Boling Egg farm 2355. Wharton County Wharton County Government 2436. Nan Ya Plastics Wharton Rigid PVC 2267. Walmart Super Center Wharton Retail 1888. Pepco Lane City Specialty 80-140*9. H-E-B Wharton Retail 14410. Boling ISD Boling Education 151 11. J-M Eagle Manufacturing Wharton PVC pipe 147 12. East Bernard ISD East Bernard Education 132 13. Hlavinka Equipment East Bernard Retail 12514. Memorial Herman Group Wharton Health care 10215. Buc-ee’s Wharton Retail 10016. City of Wharton Wharton Government 10017. King Ranch Wharton Turfgrass 9018. Lamberti Hungerford Fluids 7219. Dorian Tool Co. East Bernard Machine tool 68 20. Exelon Wharton Power plant 30 21. Helena Chemical East Bernard Fertilizer 2522. Maxim Production Boling Fertilizer 3023. Glen Flora Farms Glen Flora Agricultural 3024. Texas Dept. of Transportation Wharton State agency 2625. Fun Town RV Wharton RV dealer 50026. Prime Eco Group Wharton Chemicals 2527. Don Elliott Autoworld Wharton/East Bernard Auto dealer 21228. Genco Wharton Tire recycling 929. Von-Wil Ford Wharton Auto dealer 14 30. Traditions Chevrolet East Bernard Auto dealer 14*

MAJOR EAST WHARTON COUNTY EMPLOYERS

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* Seasonal Source: Wharton Economic

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16 Wharton Journal-Spectator • East Bernard Express • Progress 2019 journal-spectator.com

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