ROBERT (BOB) GILBERT

On Saturday September 6 and Sunday September 7 2008 the Kay Fall Home & Garden Show will be held at the Merrell Center. On stage on Saturday only will be Carter Oosterhouse who is host and construction expert from HGTV's hit show " Carter Can". There are going to be over 250 exhibits on 2 floors. The exhibits include Remodeling, Decorating, Kitchens & Baths, Appliances, Windows, Siding, Home Builders, Blinds & Shutters, Pools & Spa's, Furniture and a lot more. There will be a Green Products Showcase which will have a whole selection of new green products. Seminars will be conducted on stage. The show includes a Pet and Outdoor Pavilion which will be one stop shoping for fun pet and outdoor projects. Tickets are $8.00 for adults, $6.00 Seniors and children 12 & under are free. Parking is free!

DIRECTIONS TO MERRELL CENTER: When going west on i-10 from houston, take the PinOak rd exit onto the feeder. Stay on the feeder and go through Pin Oak Rd. interection. Turn right on FM 1463 and the Merrell Center will be one block on the left.

See you there as this should be a really good event to attend if you are or plan to be a homeowner!!!

Week one found the following:

North Shore 10 Katy 6 - Tough game for either team to lose as these teams are two of the best in the whole state. Look for Katy to rebound big this week

Cinco Ranch 21 SA Reagan 17 - Cinco wins a big game on the road but not committing any turnovers.

Mayde Creek 17 Brenham 10 - Chronicle predicted Mayde Creek would not have a good team but they are already in the win column. so much for the Chronicle.

Morton Ranch 41 Tomball 22 Morton Ranch plays a good game and wins BIG...

Cypress Springs 20 Katy Tayor 3 Cypress Springs may have areally good team. We will see..

Seven Lakes BYE - What an excellent idea to schedule a bye in the first week? ( Not) This reminds of the wonderful schedule these poor kids had picked for them during their two initial years of varsity football. Let me see if I remember correctly ... first year program two years ago with no seniors and the schedule included 8 out of the 10 games played against playoff teams. WOW... What genius picked that schedule? I know it made them tough... However, by the end of the season a huge number of starters and replacements were hurt. We wonder why Seven Lakes has only won 1 varsity game in two years???? Please ..Good talent, great kids and its a real shame...

Week two has some really excellent games coming your way:

Cinco Ranch plays Cy-Springs Friday 9/5 7:30 PM at Berry Center.

Katy plays Woodlands Friday 9/5 7:30 PM at Wood Forest Stadium. This should be good game... Look for Katy to bounce back from last week.

Mayde Creek ( Homecoming) plays Foster Friday 9/5 7 PM at Rhodes. Good luck with your Homecoming game.

Morton Ranch plays Ft. Bend Tarvis Friday 9/5 7:30 PM at Mercer Stadium. Morton Ranch now has its first 2 game winning streak in their varsity football history. Good luck Morton Ranch!!!!!

Seven Lakes Plays Dulles Thursday 9/4 ( tomorrow) 7 PM at Rhodes Stadium. My spies say that the offense looks good and defense can not tackle Granny. ( Not my opinion as I haven't seen this group play yet). Lets hope that the play calling is not like the last two years where the Moms and Dads in stands could with high percentage of accuracy predict the play as the team came up to the line. Unfortunately, there is no reason to believe it will be different......

Katy Taylor plays Ft. Bend Austin Saturday 9/6 at 7 PM at Rhodes.

GO SEE A GAME AND HAVE A GREAT TIME.... THESE GAMES ARE MORE FUN AND EXCITING THAN STAYING HOME AND WATCHING THE TUBE...

On August 1, 2008 the Texas Education Agency for the second time in the last three years ranked the Katy ISD as "Recognized" in its preliminary accountability ratings with final ratings to be relesed in October. If you want to see other area schools go to the TEA web site at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/account/.

Similar to other school districts, Katy ISD has more higher rated schools this year versus last year.

The TEA bases the ratings on Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test scores of students in grades third through Eleventh, dropout rates and high school completion ratings.

Katy's 45 traditional campuses listed in this report found 16 are "exemplary", 19 are "recognized" and 10 are "academically acceptable". No KISD school received the lowest rating of " academically unacceptable".

"Exemplary" rating is very difficult to obtain and all student groups including subgroups, must score 90% or better on the TAKS test. Subgroups are broken down by race and economic status.

The fifteen elementary schools with "exemplary" ratings are: Alexander, Creech, Exley, Fielder, Griffin, Hayes, Hutsell, Katy, Kilpatrick, Nottingham Country, Pattison, Rylander, Williams, Winbon and Woodcreek. The only "exemplary" rating secondary school was McMeans which boosted its rating from "recognized" to "exemplary".

Seven Lakes High School in only its third year of existence and with graduating its first class of Seniors this past June moved up from "acceptable" to "recognized" while at the same time Taylor fell from "recognized" to "acceptable".

The TAKS test is one tool for measuring school and student progress and there is a constant debate in all circles ( education, family, community) about whether this is the best.

Does anyone out there have comments one way or the other regarding ratings, TAKS tests, or KISD? Please respond

As part of the "Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008" which was recently signed into law, Congress has created a new temporary Tax Credit as an incentive for first time home buyers. This is really a good deal and should assist numerous First Time Home Buyers to start the American dream of home ownership. Major components of this new law are:

* To qualify new or resale Homes must be purchased on or after April 9, 2008 and before July1, 2009

* Tax Credit is available to first time Home Buyers only.

* The maximum amount of tax credit is $7,500. Remember a tax Credit reduces dollar for dollar the FIT a family or individual owes to the US Treasury.

* The tax credit works like a 15 year interest-free loan and must be repaid over the 15 year period.

* Single Taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married taxpayers with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit. There are more income tests which are beyond the scope of this blog.

* A " First Time Home Buyer" is a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. Married couples tests the homeownership history for both the home buyer and his/her spouse.

* The credit will be claimed on your Federal Income Tax return.. So its easy with no preapprovals or required forms.

* Generally the tax credit is equal to 10% of the qualified home purchase price but the credit amount is capped or limited to a maximum of $7,500.

This is big news for first time home buyers and gives many an opportunity of a lifetime.

Call me if you want additional data about this tax situation or if you want to start looking for a home so you can take advantage of this great tax credit