Kevin Fowler Announces Candidacy for Rockwall County Judge
Rockwall, Texas – October 26, 2009 – Today Kevin Fowler announced his candidacy for Rockwall County Judge. 
Fowler, Vice President of Commercial Lending for American National Bank of Texas, said he is uniquely qualified to handle the issues the county must address due to recent rapid growth in the area. “I believe with my financial background, proven ability to lead and strong community involvement I can build consensus throughout Rockwall County and lead our county to the next level.” Fowler said he will work with the Commissioner’s Court and the community to address Rockwall County’s biggest challenges, including roads. He also stated that the county could benefit from strong financial planning and would like to see short and long term financial forecasting.
Fowler cited his work as Chairman of the Rockwall County Building Better Roads Bond Committee as evidence of his ability to build community support for important county projects. But, he said, there is more work to be done. “The recent road bond package is just one piece of the puzzle toward solving Rockwall County’s long-term road needs.” Fowler said the county, and the county judge in particular, must continue to be active at the state level to obtain funding for other construction projects. “The county judge plays a critical role in obtaining state funding for local road projects, and the county judge must be able to work well with our state elected officials.”
Fowler has a long history of community involvement. Currently serving as a Director of the City of Rockwall’s Economic Development Corporation, he is also a member and past-president of the Rockwall Rotary Club, secretary and past chairman of the Rockwall Chamber of Commerce and treasurer of Rockwall County’s Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). Fowler also serves as Chairman of the Rockwall Business Education Council, and has served as Treasurer of the Rockwall Alliance for the Arts.
Fowler received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Louisiana State University, and is a graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University. Fowler has two children. Jake, his son, attends Rockwall High School while his daughter Grace attends Utley Middle School. Fowler is also a member of First Baptist Church, Rockwall.
Rockwall Helping Hands in dire need of food
The Pantry is Bare
The shelves are again pretty bare at the Food Pantry of Helping Hands in Rockwall Texas, and they need your donations to help feed residents in critical need.
Although our non-profit agency has had a record number of food drives to fill pantry shelves with non-perishable items, Rockwall Helping Hands is serving a record number of clients – almost 15,000 bags of food were given away in 2008 and, through September of this year, we had distributed almost 14,000 bags of food to the residents of Rockwall County.
Our only food reserves are green beans and corn. Our greatest needs are for Hamburger, Tuna and Chicken Helper; sugar and flour; cooking oil; salt and pepper; peanut butter and jelly; cereal and oatmeal; rice and pasta; spaghetti sauce and soups; and snacks for kids.
“People have been wonderful bringing us food and holding food drives,” said Sherry Hamm, director of Assistance and Referral, “but it is going out almost faster than it’s coming in to Helping Hands. This is a tough time for people, and providing them with food allows them to pay utility bills and make shelter payments.”
Food donations can be dropped off at 950 Williams St. Suite A, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until noon and from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. The building is closed on Wednesday afternoons. If your church or organization is interested in holding a food drive, please call 972-771-HELP or visit the website at www.rockwallhelpinghands.com.
Culpepper’s Wins Rockwall’s “Chef’s Shoot Out”
The inaugural Rockwall Chef’s Shoot Out was held last night (October 14th, 2009) at Culpepper’s Steak House in Rockwall, Texas. This event was the brain child of Joel Johnson (Culpepper’s General Manager) and was a benefit for Helping Hands. The Event was attend by over 400 people and was a smashing success. The event started at 6:30 and when I arrived at 6:00 there was already a line out the door.
The Shoot Out was a competition of Local Rockwall Restaurants and their Chef’s showcasing various dishes. Participating Restaurants were Culpepper’s Steakhouse, The Oar House, Zanata’s, Ava’s, Blue Canyon, Koyoto’s, and Bin 303. Texas Roast was not in the competition but did provide tasty deserts for the crowd. Each participating restaurant had a station and served guest small portions of two dishes. The event was judged by Mark Davis of WBAP and a others. Each attendee was given a bullet and voted for the fan favorite by placing that bullet in a boot with the name their favorite restaurant.
The judges pick, and the pick of the attendees was Culpepper’s Steak House. Blue Canyon was picked second and Restaurant Ava was third according to the Judges. I ate almost everything and I did not have anything I did not like. It was a great event and I look forward to the annual competition.
This event benefited Rockwall Helping Hands. Margo Nielsen was quoted as saying ” this is a great event and the turnout exceeded expectations.”
As a side note Helping Hands is in dire need of food for the food bank. If you can help call Helping Hands at 972-771-4357 or go to their website at www.rockwallhelpinghands.com.
Snake Invades Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall
A Red Tail Boa Constrictor was captured recently in the parking lot of Lake Pointe Church In Rockwall, Texas.
I live in Rockwall and feel like I am up on what is happening in the City of Rockwall. However I knew nothing about this until I received an e-mail second hand from a friend in Houston. I e-mailed Jeffery Widmer, The director of Animal Services for the City of Rockwall and he responded with this:
Animal Services received a call at 12:09pm on 9/21/09 informing us there was a snake in the parking lot of Lake Pointe Church. When our Animal Officer arrived, he found an injured red tail boa (non-poisonous) and not really a danger unless you let it wrap around you. It could pose a risk to small children and as you can see from the photos, to small animals. We have no idea where it came from how it got in the parking lot. Someone could have dropped it there or maybe close by, or, it may have been someone’s pet and escaped. These snakes are not native to this area. Our Animal Ordinance does prohibit Boa Constrictors being kept as pets within the City.