Author: Brandon Moeller

Today, the Tomball Potpourri published an article I wrote about my former high school principal, Michael McWhirter, who was arrested during an undercover sting operation at a local park for trying to pay for sex.

My photo of the bird-watching enclosure where McWhirter was arrested accompanies the story.

Here is the first three paragraphs of the story:

An administrative employee and former high school principal in the Tomball Independent School District has resigned after being arrested for soliciting prostitution on March 15. The arrest was part of an undercover sex sting conducted during Spring Break by the Tomball Police Department at a city park in an effort to reduce reported public sex acts.

Spring resident Michael McWhirter, 57, was arrested at Theis Attaway Park in Tomball after striking up a conversation with a male undercover officer. McWhirter allegedly solicited sexual favors in exchange for a “small amount of money,” according to TPD Sgt. Gary Hammond. The undercover officer was wearing a wire and the conversation was captured on audio tape, but Hammond would not reveal the amount of money McWhirter offered the undercover officer.

McWhirter was arrested at 3:12 p.m. March 15 and shortly after being booked at the department, a $500 bail was posted on his behalf. According to a TPD press release, McWhirter was charged with solicitation of prostitution, a Class B misdemeanor, and charges were accepted by the office of Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal. If convicted, McWhirter faces a maximum of six months in the county jail.

A story I wrote about Congressman Kevin Brady reading to a first grade class two weeks after being arrested on drunken driving charges appears in today’s Magnolia Potpourri newspaper.

It was first published in the Oct. 27, 2005 issue of the Conroe Courier, a daily paper that is part of the Houston Community Newspapers group of suburban Houston papers.

Here are the first five paragraphs of the story:

Last week when Magnolia’s Congressman Kevin Brady asked Stephanie Orlando’s Magnolia Elementary School class what law they would like to see passed if they were president, one student said he’d like to see a law that would prevent people from doing “dumb things.”

“Well, that’s a big job,” Brady, a Republican, responded. “I’m sure I fall in that category myself sometimes.”

Brady, who was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol after a South Dakota alumni party Oct. 7, was visiting the class Oct. 24 to read a 1996 book called “House Mouse, Senate Mouse,” by Peter and Cheryl Shaw Barnes. The book informs young readers of the legislative process and shows how a bill becomes a law.

Though Brady didn’t mention his DUI arrest to the first graders, many students said they would like to see laws that prevent people from drinking alcohol.

One young student said her parents drink too much beer, too often.

“That’s a good idea, it would probably help,” Brady said.

Download a PDF of the story.

The story “War hero comes home,” published in the Nov. 2, 2005 issue of The Tomball Potpourri, won an ASP Westward Excellence in Journalism Award: Third Place, for Best Enterprise Story 2005.

It is about a Tomball soldier who returns home after fighting in Iraq and the story chronicles his readjustment to civilian life.

Here is the first four graphs of the story:

Decorated Iraq war veteran Ben Brown has rejoined his family in the Pinehurst area and is spending as much time as he can with his 18-month-old daughter, Alison Leean Brown. Brown, who was injured in the war when a crudely-made bomb was detonated with a cell phone a few yards from where he was standing, received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with a V Device.

Brown, a 1996 graduate of Tomball High School, enlisted in the army for the second time soon after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. At that time, he was serving in the reserves after completing a three-year enlistment in the army soon after graduating high school.

But all of that is behind him now. He arrived home earlier this month after spending about six months at Fort Hood. He’s landed a new job in Ocean City, Texas — a two-hour drive — with a company that compresses natural gas and transports it to customers. He said the biggest adjustment to civilian life for him was the monotony of it all.

“It takes a little while to get used to,” Brown said. “In Iraq, everyday was an adventure. Here, you kind of get bored. But I didn’t have too much of a problem adjusting like other people I know.”

Today, a story I wrote about radio personality Dan Patrick entering the Texas Senate District 7 race appears in the Tomball Potpourri.

The story also features a photo of Patrick that I took as he announced his candidacy from a Tomball coffee shop during a live radio broadcast.

Here is the first four paragraphs from the story:

With a little help from his friends, radio personality Dan Patrick officially announced his candidacy in the Republican primary for the Texas Senate District 7 seat with a live broadcast from Tomball’s Main Street Crossing last week. Patrick, who owns KSEV 700 AM “The Voice” that has its radio transmitting tower located in Tomball, said he chose Tomball as his location for his announcement because of its personal meaning to him.

“This is where KSEV began,” Patrick said. “This is where Rush Limbaugh called me at a little station down the street and I took a big chance and introduced Houston — and the world — to conservative talk radio. Now, I want to change the mindset in Austin.”

Patrick — a born-again Christian, former KHOU Channel 11 Sports Director and restauranteur — bought KSEV
in 1988 and then later KPRC 950 AM.

“There was a transition in my life in the early ‘90s,” Patrick said. “In my early 40s, things began to mean more to me than the score of a ball game — but we do want this week’s (Astros) scores to be good.”

Download a PDF of the story.

A story I wrote about local youth petitioning their local government for a skate park appears in this week’s Raymondville Chronicle.

Here are the first three paragraphs of the story:

More than 25 young skateboarders snaked through the City Tuesday during the beginning of rush hour traffic with the Raymondville City Hall as their final destination. The young skaters came to complain about the new skateboarding ordinance that prohibits riding in certain areas and to request the City move forward on its previously planned skate park for the area’s youth.

“We’ve been getting in trouble for skating around town – we’d like for the City to build us a skate park,” the group’s representative Daniel Solis said, while wearing a T-shirt memorializing 1980s punk rock band The Clash. “Some of us have gotten tickets – and we can’t afford to pay it.”

Police Chief Uvaldo Zamora said that since the skateboarding ordinance has been passed, his officers have written a few tickets for offenses. One audience member with a skateboard spoke up and said they didn’t know where they could skate and where they couldn’t – and Zamora said he provided copies of the ordinance to some who complained. Zamora and City commissioners discussed the feasibility of building a skate park – Zamora said previous estimates put the cost at $32,000 to $35,000.

Download a PDF of this story.