Story and photos by Mary Jane Farmer — and stay tuned for an update when it’s OK to let everyone know what else is going on!

Austin Michael Robinson has not been idle since his time on TV’s American Idol ended. In fact, the Van Alstyne teenager

Austin Michael rides one of his horses during a video recording session this week at the family acreage in Westminster. The horse did well, without getting riled up at all, notwithstanding all the strangers and equipment surrounding him.

and his family have been quite busy on career-enhancing projects for the aspiring country artist.

He, along with Colton Gilbreath and Chris Romain wrote a song, “Country Cred,” he recorded it, followed by scripting and filming a video based on “Country Cred” lyrics.

When Austin Michael, 16, played an afternoon show recently at Tener’s Western Outfitters in Sherman, two of the people he met were Chris Romain and Tony Giarraputo, who had only a few weeks earlier opened their new recording studio, Split Window Studios, in Sherman. Austin and his mom and dad, Summer and Sheldon Robinson, checked the studios out, liked what they learned, and solidified that business relationship.

Austin Michael, now a recording artist, fans the campfire flame with his hat, supplied by Tener’s Western Outfitters, during a video shoot at the family property this week.

Austin, he admits, is not a full-fledged songwriter, yet, but got his feet wet when he worked on the new song with music industry veterans Romain and Gilbreath. When on American Idol, the panel of judges (Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, Luke Bryan) questioned the teenager about just how country was he, really. He explained it, saying the family had horses and other livestock, then showed them his skills not only in music, but also in using his lasso.

And that’s what he’s singing about in this new song—being country to the core.

Split Window Studios‘ Chris Romain and others video Austin Michael during scene of the video being produced of Austin Michael’s new song, “Country Cred.”

The Split Window Studios team strives to make the entire recording process as painless, as productive, and as much fun as possible, Romain said earlier, and for that they found the studio musicians that were the best fit for this song. That included Jake Cox on B3 organ, Gilbreath on guitar, Milo Deering on fiddle, and Nathan Brown on drums. That project is now in the process of being mastered, which is the final step of audio post-production, and balances the elements of a stereo mix to optimize playback across all systems and media formats — essential in these days of advanced technology.

Then came the video production. Again, it was Split Window Studios coordinating this—pleasant—work. They hired the film crew and spent last week documenting the country side of life at Lake Texoma. This week, they went to the Robinsons’ acreage in Westminster to take advantage of its lake, horses, and dirt bike trails—

Film crew members at the recent video shoot for “Country Cred.”

everything country that it offers, which is just about everything country can offer up.

Since his time on American Idol, too, Austin has been inundated with country apparel. Tener’s gave him a summertime straw cowboy hat, Wrangler supplied him with numerous jeans and shirts, Justin provided him with new boots, and BEX with sunglasses. And he sports them all in the video.

The friends his age at the video shoot were just that, friends his age, and willing to ride a few dirt bikes for the shoot. All through the day, his sisters, Trinity and Destiny, helped as they could; and when they couldn’t be of help, they took off on a dirt bike or a horse. Country runs in the family.

Giarraputo said their deadline for 100 percent completion of these two separate-but-related projects is May 16. And that’s when they’ll start the radio-promotion portion of the entire recording process. And, as the real country folks say, “This ain’t their first rodeo,” either. Split Window Studios drew from

Austin Michael herding cattle, one scene of the upcoming video for “Country Cred”.

their video shooting expertise a month earlier to complete one for Cole Ferguson, another North Texas country artist. And if it all goes as planned, fans can start calling their favorite country radio stations by June 1 and asking to hear “Country Cred.”

And Summer and Sheldon Robinson? Well, there’s no holding them back, no matter if it’s this project or one of their other children’s. They tackle each dream, each opportunity with equal determination and drive.

By Mary Jane Farmer

The Grayson County Sheriff’s Office arrested two people on April 3 on several charges, including felony drug charges.

GCSO Lt. Sarah Bigham, public information officer, said that on April 3, Sheriff’s Office investigators conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in Van Alstyne, at U.S. Highway 75 and FM 121. The driver, a 32-year-old man showing on jail records to be from Sherman, attempted to hide drugs he had on his person, but the officers found them, which were reportedly about 5 grams of methamphetamine. He went to jail on charges of possession of controlled substance between 1-4 grams and of tampering with physical evidence.

That same day, with information received with the suspect’s arrest, the Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant on a residence in the 500 block of Borrow Way, near Kelly Lane, near Van Alstyne. There, several deputies and investigators served that warrant and conducted their search. They found more than 300 grams of liquid methamphetamine inside the house.

Bigham said they arrested a 43-year-old woman at the house on a felony charge of possession of controlled substance more than 400 grams. Records show that she was already on bail from previous charges of assault causing bodily injury-family violence, filed in December by Van Alstyne police, and insurance fraud between $2,500-$30,000, filed in February by GCSO. The bond company of those charges revoked her bail and those were reset at a total of $7,500, in addition to the $20,000 set on the drug charge. This suspect posted the total in the form of surety bonds on April 12 and was released. She, too, shows to be from Sherman.

Bigham said this case is still under investigation and could result in additional charges being filed.

Photo by Mary Jane Farmer

NOTE: I’m posting this press release from TxDOT because of all the construction workers we have in the downtown area right now. 

TxDOT Promotes Safe Driving in Conjunction with National Work Zone Awareness Week–

AUSTIN — In spite of a decrease in work zone crashes in Texas last year, 161 people still lost their lives and another 684 were seriously injured. The majority of those fatalities — 84 percent – were motorists and/or their passengers.

As National Work Zone Awareness Week gets underway today (April 8), the Texas Department of Transportation highlights its “Be Safe. Drive Smart” campaign, reminding motorists to stay alert and use caution when driving through work zones.

“Work zones present a different environment for drivers to navigate with concrete barriers, slow-moving heavy equipment and vehicles that may make sudden stops,” said TxDOT Executive Director James Bass. “That’s why we’re urging drivers to pay special attention in work zones on Texas roadways, for their protection and the safety of highway work crews.”

In 2018, a total of 25,162 work zone traffic crashes were reported, an average of nearly 70 crashes per day. Fatalities in Texas road construction zones fell 20 percent between 2017 and 2018.

At any given time, Texas has as many as 3,000 active work zones across the 80,000 miles of road TxDOT maintains. Since the leading causes of work zone crashes in Texas are speeding and driver inattention, TxDOT asks motorists to avoid distractions and put their phones away, obey road crew flaggers, slow down and follow posted work zone speed limits. Traffic fines double in work zones when workers are present, and fines can cost up to $2,000.

To safeguard roadside crews and first responders, the state’s Move Over/Slow Down law also requires drivers to move over a lane or reduce their speed to 20 mph below the posted limit when they see flashing blue or amber lights on a TxDOT vehicle, emergency vehicle, tow truck, or law enforcement stopped on the roadside or shoulder. Not doing so can result in a fine of up to $2,000.

The Texas Mutual Insurance Company is joining TxDOT to promote work zone safety by sharing campaign materials and providing speakers for safety-related events. Part of Texas Mutual’s mission is to help employers prevent workplace incidents and minimize the consequences, which aligns with TxDOT’s work zone awareness safety efforts.

By Mary Jane Farmer

Skimmers found — Howe Police Chief Carl Hudman reported that, on January 24, police were called to a convenience store/gas station on U.S. 75 service road in reference to skimming devices having been found on three of its gas pumps. Skimming devices are defined online as “used by criminals to capture data from the magnetic stripe on the back of an ATM card.”

Hudman said the Howe PD recommends following these guidelines before using a credit or debit card to reduce the risk of having your information compromised.

• Before inserting your card, (1) Inspect the pump and see if the security tape is in place across the dispenser door. If it is broken, don’t use the pump. (2) Use the pumps closest to the store entrance, within sight of its security cameras or the store clerk, (3) When possible, use only those gas pumps you are familiar with and use regularly without issue. (4) Use a smart phone app designed to detect credit card skimmers. (5) Pay with cash or use your card inside the store.

“The thing to remember about the skimming devices used today is that they are using blue-tooth technology. The bad guys can sit inside their vehicle anywhere from three feet to 100 yards away and remotely download debit card information gleaned from skimming devices,” Hudman said, adding that skimming devices can be installed on pumps within seconds. “Day or night, thieves install skimming devices on gas pumps at stations which can be either open or closed… and return to re-install new skimmers after the original ones have been discovered.” To that end, this current skimmer crime followed similar ones discovered on December 10 of last year at the same station.

Van Alstyne PD

Van Alstyne Police Chief Tim Barnes said that the Van Alstyne officers “frequently check all our pumps in the city, and management at each filling station are very diligent about checking things also.” He, too, advised it’s better to use a credit card than a debit card, one that doesn’t connect to your checking account. “And keep an eye on your bank accounts and statements. If you see anything fraudulent, contact your bank.”

There are several skimmer-detection apps available to be downloaded onto phones.

In other activity this week, the two departments reported:

Gas drive-off — At about 11 a.m. January 25, Van Alstyne police were called to the Quick Check convenience store at East Van Alstyne Parkway and Waco Street. Barnes said someone had driven off without paying for the gasoline he put in his vehicle’s gas tank. Barnes identified the suspect as an 18-year-old Van Alstyne resident.

Criminal mischief — Someone caused damage to property in the 200 block of West San Antonio in Van Asltyne on January 27, Barnes reported. The damage was done by spray paint, which was applied to items in the yard, onto the house, and a vehicle.

Arrest — At 7:11 pm, January 24, Howe police Cpl. Morris and Officer Kilbourne arrested a 36-year-old Howe man on a Felony C assault/family violence charge and two outstanding Van Alstyne PD warrants. Those charged him with not having paid his fines on previous convictions of having an animal at large and a seat belt violation. He sat those fines out, and paid $4,000 bail in surety bonds for his January 28 release. Howe Hudman said, too, that they cited the arrestee’s spouse on a charge of assault/family violence.