Early voting turnout light

Need more information before you cast your ballot in the Nov. 8 constitutional amendment election? Visit www.votetexas.org or http://scotthochberg.com/amends.html (a website maintained by Texas Rep. Scot Hochberg of Houston.
Two items will decide how Texas deals with future droughts.

U.S. 59 Bypass reopening momentarily

Lt. Matt Parrish of the Livingston Police Department said U.S. 59 should be reopening just after 5 p.m.
Traffic is backed up to the entrance off the U.S. 59 access road into the Wal-Mart/Chevron/Taco Bell parking lot.
Parrish said the closure was prolonged because officials had to call in a hazardous materials cleanup crew out of Lufkin.

Hwy 59 Bypass closed at U.S. 190

The southbound lanes of Hwy. 59 Bypass are closed due to a multi-vehicle crash at about 1:45 p.m. Monday. The collision is currently under investigation by Livingston police. Above, Livingston Police Chief Dennis Clifton and Fire Chief Corky Cochran talk with Street Supervisor Hec Long about strategy for reopening the roadway as quickly as possible.  Initial reports indicate only one person suffered minor injuries. Motorists can use Business 59 or the Loop 59 access road as an alternate route.
Watch for updates on the changing roadway conditions.

Point Blank resident Steve Watson took this photo of the massive blaze in 
Palmetto Pointe that reportedly involved mostly  waterfront mobile homes.

3 Point Blank homes destroyed in fire, explosion

Photo courtesy KHOU 11 News
A fire in the Palmetto Pointe Subdivision destroyed three homes and
several outbuilding at about 4:45 a.m. Wednesday. No injuries have been reported.

POINT BLANK — At about 4:45 a.m. Glenn Dickson said he was awoken by the sound of what he thought was a jet plane crashing. The noise was from several independent propane tanks exploding during a house fire in the Palmetto Pointe Subdivision near Point Blank in San Jacinto County. 

Dickson told reporters with KHOU 11 that he didn't believe anyone was injured or killed in the fire that destroyed three homes. 

Onalaska Fire Chief Jay Stutts said his department was called to assist Point Blank at 5:09 a.m. Onalaska Volunteer Fire Department dispatched an engine, two tankers and eight firefighters to supplement San Jacinto County crews already at the scene. 

OVFD was just returning to their station at 8:30 a.m. 

"Three structures were already on the ground when we got there," Stutts said. We were just trying to keep it from going further."

One homeowner woke up with his house on fire, but he got out fine," Stutts said. 

Other outbuildings burned in addition to the independent propane tanks were ignited from the actual structure fire.

Most of the homes affected were weekend residences, officials said. 

Spooktacular events at Texas State Parks

Spooktacular events at Texas State Parks

Get goose bumps at special Halloween themed events at state parks across Texas. Don't be afraid to pick one or two!

iWarrior Pathfinder retreat offers recovery from loss, help in overcoming life’s major obstacles

Robin Craig 

LIVINGSTON – Is your life out of balance? Do you feel overwhelmed with feelings of loss?  How are you doing with those resolutions you made in January to develop healthy habits like exercise, eating nutritious meals and keeping a positive state of mind?

Two unique Texans have paired up to help others bring physical, emotional and spiritual balance to your life.

Stanley Bronstein – a CPA, attorney and author from Galveston who now lives in Arizona – offers a simple solution.

“Life is simple. People make it complicated,” Bronstein said.

Stanley Bronstein

That may sound like an empty platitude, but no one has walked the walk more seriously than Bronstein has. After decades of battling weight issues, Bronstein stopped struggling and managed to lose well over 100 pounds.

Three-time Emmy award winner Robin Craig of Houston and Onalaska has her own mission to lighten a tremendous burden that many women carry.

Craig was suddenly widowed in 2005. She says the experience left her feeling like a “lost member of society.”

Her lakefront property adjacent to her family’s home offers a sanctuary and she feels a special affinity for residents of the Lake Livingston area who may be trying to face their own major life transitions.

 She turned her 25 years of experience in radio, television and film into a multimedia resource for other widows via “Today’s Widow,” her blog on the Houston Chronicle; a weekly web TV program that airs at 9 p.m. Tuesday nights at www.robincraigdirect.com, in addition to Facebook and Twitter feeds. 

Since her husband’s death she has won three daytime Emmys for her “day” job as a television producer. 

During the second week after her husband’s death, Craig said her body jolted forward and she heard her inner voice say, “I have to help the widows.”

Her focus is on helping people find new meaning and purpose to their lives after personal loss.

“Losing a spouse is like losing half of your body. You have to learn to live again as a single and it can be very frightening and alienating. I want people to know that they are not alone and there are those who truly understand what they are going through,” Craig said.

Making problems smaller

At 5-feet, 8-inches tall, Bronstein weighed 325 pounds when he applied a principle he embraced in his law practice to his own health habits. He had no trouble simplifying complicated problems for his clients, so he used that skill to his own benefit.  He had to find a method to exercise with minimum risk of injury, so he we went to a local pool and walked for 50 minutes in chest-deep water.

The water took a lot of the stress off his joints (including a previously ruptured Achilles tendon.

During earlier attempts to reach a healthier stature, Bronstein focused on losing weight. This time he focused on walking daily and eating better. That’s it. Soon he logged 17 days in a row.

As his 50th birthday approached, Bronstein decided he wanted to commemorate the half-century mark by walking five hours. He reached that goal and has never looked back.

He makes walking a priority. He doesn’t shoot for setting speed or distance records, he just makes sure he walks at least an hour and a half every day. He’s logged 7,946.55 miles since July 1, 2009, and lost well over 100 pounds.

In addition to “The Path of the Warrior Walker,” Bronstein penned “50 Questions Only We the People Can Answer” after walking five hours a day in all 50 states and talking with residents there.

Just one of the issues that have to be addressed is the obsession with fast food.

“We need to make a statement to these marketing people that we’re not going to eat this garbage. If we stop eating it, they will go out of business,” he adds. 

“The fatter we get the more we want these unhealthy foods. That creates more health problems and we begin a spiral of pills and procedures instead of changing habits.”

“America is a sick country, but it’s still America and America has proven time and time again that when it makes up its mind and wants to do something, there’s no limit,” Bronstein said.

Craig and Bronstein have joined forces to offer two iWarrior Retreats at the Miraval Resort in Tucson, Arizona (which Craig quickly adds is “Oprah’s favorite spot”). 

The goal is to help others regain balance in their own lives.

Each day of the retreat will begin with a walk and move into educational programs and one-on-one work with Craig and Bronstein. 

Participants will enjoy delicious healthy meals and luxurious spa treatments and a one-hour consult with a Miraval nutritionist. Guests will also be able to participate in other various programs and lectures at Miraval.

The first of the iWarrior Pathfinder Retreats is set for Nov. 13 through 17. A second event is planned Jan. 8 to 12 to help get your New Year off to a great start.

While you consider whether to join Bronstein and Craig for these retreats, you can find additional details at each of their websites. 

At www.robincraigdirect.com, you can find links to retreat information, recent episodes of Robin’s web broadcasts and links to her blog. You can also make your reservation and download free copies of Bronstein’s latest two e-books.

At Bronstein’s site, www.iwarriorwalk.com you can get loads of information on how Stanley achieved his remarkable weight loss, his motivation for becoming a lawyer as well as a CPA and how to start your own walking program and chart your progress. 

The retreat will take you four days into your journey to regain balance in your life, but if you just can’t attend there is plenty of support from both websites to get you moving in a positive direction. 

Each retreat event is limited to 25 participants, so book your reservation now. 

Officials widen search for missing Chester teacher, her son

John Fisher Sr. appeals for helping in finding his family.

LIVINGSTON — Detectives from the Polk County and Tyler County Sheriff’s Offices held a joint press conference in Livingston Tuesday issuing a public plea for help in finding Lettie Fisher and her son John Fisher Jr., who were last seen Sept. 19. 

The search effort began on Sept. 22 when John Hensarling, an employee with the Corps of Engineers at Dam B  (also known as B.A. Steinhagen Lake) found their abandoned gray Toyota Four-Runner. 

John Fisher Sr. was flanked by family members and fellow church members at Tuesday’s event and joined in the plea for information about the whereabouts of his wife and son. 

Lettie Fisher

John Fisher

Of all the possible scenarios for what happened to his family, Fisher said he believes someone abducted his wife and son as they scouted out potential fishing holes on Sept. 19.

“If you have my family in captivity, please just set them free … put them out on the road and we will get them home,” Fisher said. 

Polk County Sheriff Kenneth Hammack said there is no indication that the pair were abducted and  Tyler County’s Chief Investigator A.R. (Bud) Sturrock  said no one should fear for their safety in the Chester community where the Fisher’s live. 

“I believe whatever happened to them, happened in Tyler County near Dam B,” Sturrock said. 

Sturrock and Polk County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Craig Finegan laid out a time line that law enforcement agencies have developed during the two-week investigation.

Lettie Fisher, 79, and John Edward Fisher Jr., 32,  left their home on Hwy. 287 in Polk County four miles from the Tyler County line and drove to Memorial Medical Center in Lufkin for an appointment where detectives observed the two on security video leaving the hospital at about 11 a.m. 

John Fisher Sr. told reporters his wife is a breast cancer survivor and the appointment was for an X-ray to ensure a port-a-cath device that had been implanted as part of her cancer treatment remained stable.

Another witness reported seeing the Fishers’ vehicle traveling west on Hwy. 287 in Polk County around 12:30 p.m., which leads detectives to believe the pair went home where they changed clothes and loaded fishing equipment into the vehicle.

The clothes the Fishers were wearing in the hospital security video were found at their home and some fishing tackle is missing.

At about 1:25 p.m. a vehicle fitting the description of the Fishers’ was seen on security video from a convenience store at the intersection of U.S. 190 and Hwy. 92 traveling in the direction of Magnolia Ridge State Park where the vehicle was later found.

An employee of Magnolia Ridge State Park called the Tyler County Sheriff’s Office the morning of Sept. 22 and reported the vehicle had been parked near the entrance since the previous Monday. 

TCSO deputies accessed vehicle information and determined it belonged to John Edward Fisher Sr., and deputies contacted him. 

During that meeting, Fisher Sr. told deputies that Lettie and John Jr. came to the area to fish the creeks. 

After an extensive three-day search of the area by TCSO, with the assistance of Texas Equusearch, nothing was found that indicated the Fishers had been in the area. No fishing equipment was found. 

Lt. Finegan said during the press conference that the Fisher vehicle was to be processed by technicians from the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab and it has remained sealed at the Polk County impound yard since it was towed from the park. 

Until technicians unseal the vehicle, detectives could not answer the question as to whether they may have had some sort of car trouble. 

Fisher Sr. said Lettie, a retired Chester schoolteacher, would never have stopped to assist someone on the side of the road. 

One witness statement indicated John Jr. was driving that morning. 

“He definitely wouldn’t stop for someone. He probably wouldn’t even stop for me,” Fisher Sr. said. “If someone stopped to talk to her, Lettie would speak to them, but she would never pick someone up.”

The couple has been married for 40 years. 

The two sheriff’s departments and the Texas Rangers are expanding the search area to include other favorite fishing locations and south to Houston. 

Finegan said he will contact law enforcement officers in Kinder and Shreveport, La., two destinations where Miss Lettie enjoyed playing slot machines. 

“We are asking everyone to talk to her friends and their friends. If you have seen or heard anything that could help in this investigation, please contact the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 936-327-6810 or Tyler County at 409-283-2172,” Finegan said. 

He specifically asked if anyone found unattended fishing equipment in the area around Dam B, to please contact investigators. 

“We’re certainly not here to prosecute someone picking up abandoned equipment in the woods. We’re just hoping for a positive outcome and saying our prayers for Lettie and John Jr.’s safe return,” Finegan said.  “If you have a hunch about something, I’ll sit down and talk to you, or just call me.”

Sturrock also cited the importance of sharing details, even if they seem trivial.

“I’ve seen a case that a thimble made a difference,” Sturrock said. 

“So far this case is an ‘incident.’ It’s like they fell off the face of the earth. It’s very suspicious as to what has happened to them,” Sturrock said.

Mr. Fisher doesn’t know,” he added.

“I lay in bed at night and just pray and cry that they will be brought home,” Fisher said. “I can’t even go to church. Every Wednesday night, my son is sitting on one side of me, and my wife on the other. My friend here always counts attendance, but my son always leans over and tells me first, ‘Daddy, there’s 17 tonight’.”

“I’ll never give up hope until something is found.”