Montgomery County News Videos

By Jamie B. Nash November 15, 2009 An hour and 15 minutes after the UTMB Montgomery County Health Department began administering the H1N1 vaccine at Conroe High School on Saturday, all 1,000 doses were gone. The event was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., but started at 8:30 instead because hundreds of people were already in line, according to Emily Llinas, Montgomery County Public Health Preparedness director. Rebecca Bartlett was first in line, arriving around 12:45 a.m. to make sure the third time was a charm in trying to get her daughters vaccinated. The family was in line for the shots at Lone Star College, but the vaccinations were gone before they made it to the front. They tried again on Nov. 7, but that vaccination event was postponed. Finally, Bartlett s tenacity paid off. I m glad we got it done, she said. It s a good experience. Llinas said by 9 a.m. only about 150 tickets remained undistributed out of 1,000. She was pleased at how quickly the line moved, which she said was faster than the previous clinic partly because only the injectable form of the H1N1 vaccine was distributed. Llinas said the vaccine was becoming more accessible and there should now be at least 1,000 doses available at every clinic. Montgomery County received 3,600 doses last week and officials expect to receive similar amounts over the next several weeks. We re soon going to see huge numbers of vaccine everywhere, Llinas said. We re cautiously optimistic that we re coming to the end of the H1N1 wave. The traditional flu season officially started Oct. 1, but usually picks up in January and February, she said.

A man charged with setting one house on fire in the Heights is locked up and prosecutors now say he confessed on video tape to doing it. David Joseph Prince, 30, was in probable cause court Saturday night. He's facing a single arson charge. He's accused of starting one of the arson fires there. The arrest is for a fire on 12th Street, which is right in the middle of an area where there have been more than a dozen other fires. Prince was arrested Friday on one charge of arson. According to investigators, he apparently confessed to setting a fire on 12th Street back on September 17, 2009.

Just after 11 p.m. Friday night, Texas Department of Public Safety, Harris County Sheriff s Office and Rosehill Fire Department personnel responded to a motor vehicle collision at the intersection of Spencer and Sanders where they found a 2007 Chevy Diesel ton pickup nearly 100 feet off the road and into the woods. Robert Smith, Jr., 36, of Magnolia was pronounced dead on the scene. Realizing the location was just inside Montgomery County, they contacted Montgomery County. It might have been days before the wreckage was found, since the trees seemingly closed in around the crash obstructing the view from the road, but a woman heard the truck brake and then crash into the woods. It was noted that a stop sign at the T shaped intersection had been stolen and two other signs indicating the end of the road had been knocked down for what appeared to be a long time, since they were covered by brush that had grown over them. The only remaining warning that the road did not continue on the other side, was an arrow sign at the end of the road. Smith s family was on scene and said he traveled the road frequently, so there is no way of knowing if the missing signs played a role in his death. The truck was so mangled and so deeply buried that it took two hours to remove it from the woods and another hour for the Magnolia and Rosehill Fire Departments to cut Smith out of it.

A short time after 5:30pm Tuesday New Caney Fire Department was dispatched to a house fire on Roman Forest Blvd. in Roman Forest. A neighbor coming home saw smoke coming from the backyard, thinking iot was burning leaves until he saw flames. When the fire department arrived they were met with a two story home with heavy smoke coming from it. Chief Taylor called for a second alarm bringing in Porter, Splendora and Grangerland. Fire fighters were met with intense heat inside taking some time to knock the flames down. At one point fire was coming through the roof. The home was owned by Roman Forest Mayor Floyd Jackson. The mayor was not home at the time of the fire and his wife was visiting their son close by. Joe Manz with the Montgomery County Fire Marshal's Office said it appears the fire started in the kitchen area but the investigation would continue Wednesday morning. The two story home suffered extensive damage. Traffic in Roman Forest was at a standstill as fire trucks blocked Roman Forest Blvd. Residents returning home from work had the road gridlocked slowing additional equipment from getting to the fire. Constable Hayden and one of his deputies worked for quite some time getting cars off the main entrance so fire equipment could get in. Chief Taylor with New Caney Fire Department said by the fire happening this late in the evening was more men were available to fight the fire. Also by the fire department having a truck in Roman Forest allowed the first tanker to be at the scene within minutes. Mayor Jackson praised the firefighters for the work they did and risking their lives to save his property.

On October 08, 2009, around 10:00 P.M., Montgomery County Sheriff s Office deputies and detectives from the Major Crimes Unit