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Tyess Korsmo, Editor-in-Chief

Tyess Korsmo, Editor-in-Chief

Tyess Korsmo moved to Sharpstown in 2019 to earn his Master of Liberal Arts at HCU, where he now teaches English and history. He also teaches English in a maximum-security prison.

Climbing off the Streets, Part 5: One Step Closer

Climbing off the Streets, Part 5: One Step Closer

"I was here earlier and I needed one more document to get my stuff done," says Dale Malone, 59, to a male employee inside the front door of the Rosenberg DPS. Dale is trying to get a replacement copy of his driver's license—his gateway to

Weather Update: Get Warm at Bayland Community Center

Weather Update: Get Warm at Bayland Community Center

Power quit? Heater break down? Need somewhere to stay warm in the below-freezing temperatures? Harris County Precinct 4 announced that Bayland Community Center in Sharpstown (6400 Bissonnet St) will be open 24 hours as a warming center through Wednesday morning, 1/17/24. See this Houston Landing article for a

Climbing off the Streets, Part 4: How Hard Can It Be to Get an ID?

Climbing off the Streets, Part 4: How Hard Can It Be to Get an ID?

"I'm never gonna get a license. I knew it." Dale Malone bends forward in the plastic chair, hands flat on the edge of the DPS desk. The black-haired woman behind it has just told him that management wouldn’t accept his METRO disability ID card as

Offensive Coordinator to Head Coach in a Year: the Swift Rise of HCU’s Jason Bachtel

Offensive Coordinator to Head Coach in a Year: the Swift Rise of HCU’s Jason Bachtel

When Jason Bachtel followed Braxton Harris to Houston Christian University’s football program a year ago, he didn’t know he would be replacing Harris as head coach. Harris and Bachtel (as offensive coordinator) transformed HCU’s struggling Division I team—which only won two games in 2022—and led

Blue Leads for the Sharpener's Logo Color. Last Chance to Vote!

Last year, 108 people voted on the logo color for the Sharpener, Sharpstown's free source for hyperlocal news. Currently, blue leads with 30 "ballots," while purple-green comes at a close second with 23. Didn't get to vote yet? Just subscribe to the Sharpener for

Climbing off the Streets, Part 3: Acceptance and Rejection

Climbing off the Streets, Part 3: Acceptance and Rejection

Running late, I pull up to a Sharpstown tattoo shop at 11:40 AM on the first Tuesday of 2024. Dale Malone and Leroy Conner—who both slept under the nearby freeway bridge for months until they changed locations a week or so ago—are waiting for me. Fortunately, they’

Climbing off the Streets, Part 2: Catch-22?

Climbing off the Streets, Part 2: Catch-22?

Last time, I said that it was “difficult” for a homeless person to get housing or a job without a photo ID. That was an understatement. It’s more like a Catch-22. Or, as Barbara Allen—executive director of Houston nonprofit Main Street Ministries—says a homeless man told her,