About Us
The Hilltop Reporter is a full-service, weekly newspaper covering the communities of Bulverde, Canyon Lake and Spring Branch in Western Comal County.
Staff
Karen Russell Holmes
Publisher/Owner
Karen Russell Holmes has been in the journalism business for 27 years, either as a journalist, newspaper publisher or a teacher. Writing is one of her passions. She believes that personal opinions or agendas have no place in journalism and that a true newspaper reflects its readership and local.
Holmes has been married for 23 years to Don Holmes and came to Hill Country after living in Dallas for 18 years. She grew up in West Texas near El Paso and in Los Fresnos in South Texas. Don and she have two children.
A graduate of Baylor University, Holmes holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, Political Science and Education. She formally owned a weekly newspaper, The Crandall Chronicle, in Crandall, TX, in her 20’s and spent several years teaching journalism.
“Without Jesus Christ, I know I would not be able to do what I do. Running a weekly newspaper is daunting at times, but drawing from His strength gives me the ability to keep up. He is the reason I do what I do” – Karen Russell Holmes
Michael Varhola
Editor
Michael J. Varhola is an author, editor, and lecturer who resides in Spring Branch and loves Hill Country in general and the Canyon Lake area in particular. He specializes in non-fiction and travel-related subjects.
Books he has written include Ghosthunting Maryland, Ghosthunting Virginia, Shipwrecks and Lost Treasures: Great Lakes, and Fire and Ice: The Korean War, 1950 – 1953. His current book projects include Texas Confidential: Sex, Scandal, Murder, and Mayhem in the Lone Star State and a revised and expanded edition of his popular Everyday Life During the Civil War.
Varhola studied in Denver and Paris before earning a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Don Homes
Sports Editor
Sports Editor Don Holmes is a passionate sports fan. Dating back to early childhood he has kept up with teams like the New York Yankees and Texas Longhorns. A fanatic about statistics, he is a numbers man and wants every story to reflect “the numbers”.
Holmes has been married to Karen Holmes for 23 years and has two daughters. He grew up in the West Texas town of Van Horn.
Holmes holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from Angelo State University.
Aside from writing for The Hilltop Reporter, he is a travel agent with High Point Travel, Inc., who organizes ski trips and mission trips for churches. He has worked for High Point for 23 years. Prior to that he was a Methodist youth director for 13 years.
“Sports is a passion not a job.” – Don Holmes
Phil Owen
Sports Writer
Phil Owen is a transplant to the Texas Hill Country by way of East Tennessee. A die hard Volunteers fan, Phil has parlayed his passion for college football into an avocation – covering Smithson Valley High School sports for the Hilltop Reporter.
Phil is married to Mandy Owen who is the Director of Admissions at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, TX. Phil graduated from Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City Tennessee in 2004 with a degree in Philosophy. He is currently the Project Manager for On Trac, Inc. who installs fiber-to-the-home services for GVTC.
Phil is 2nd Vice-President on the board of directors for the Bulverde-Spring Branch Chamber of Commerce where he serves on the Economic Development Committee. He and Mandy are members of Hillside Fellowship Church in Spring Branch. They live with their three year old Labrador Retriever, Lola, in New Braunfels.
“I believe that my wife’s Mass Communication vicariously qualifies me to be a journalist” – Phil Owen
Caroline Turney
Contributing Writer
After receiving a first place award and publication in a student magazine for her first short story, Caroline Turney fell in love with the written word. She went on to become an assistant feature editor for her high school newspaper and then completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State. Later, Turney conducted qualitative human-subject research and wrote a published a thesis in the field of second language acquisition to complete her Master of Education degree at the University of Houston.
For the past several years, Turney has been an enthusiastic resident and print journalist in Western Comal County. She is honored to now call The Hilltop Reporter her newspaper home.
Married to the man of her dreams, Turney believes that she is called to put her husband and three beloved children above her writing aspirations. Living in the Bulverde/Spring Branch community is a privilege to Turney who shows her gratitude by volunteering on several local boards and committees.
“Everything falls into place when I work hard, pray hard, and leave the rest to God,” –Caroline Turney
Sharon Pinkston
Contributing Writer
Sharon Pinkston was born and raised in Belvidere, Illinois. After graduating from high school, she married Robert Pinkston, who was in the army. They were raising two children, Tony and Christina, and living in Killeen, Texas when Robert was killed in Vietnam in 1968.
As a single parent, Sharon completed college under the GI Bill and went on to earn masters degrees in social work and public administration. She worked for the State of Texas in various positions and retired in 1997 with almost 24 years of service.
After moving to Bulverde in 2000, Sharon worked part-time as a social worker in private practice for several years. She developed her interest in writing while volunteering at the Bulverde/Spring Branch Library and self published her memoir, “Writing My Story and Finding My Self,” in 2007 and her brother’s memoir, “Bunker,” in 2010. Sharon began writing for The Hilltop Reporter in May 2009.
“My co-workers once called me ‘the girl who likes a challenge’ and I’ve had plenty of
those in my lifetime.” — Sharon Pinkston
Bailey Holmes
Receptionist
Receptionist Bailey Holmes is a high school student at Katherine Ann Porter School in Wimberley. She is in the process of working toward becoming a professional singer, but brings considerable typing and organizational skills to The Hilltop Reporter.
Holmes has been a willing and able receptionist to help her parents with their startup business. For the summer she will be the first voice callers hear and will pleasantly direct their calls.
“I love music, rain, stars, swingsets and movies.” – Bailey Holmes
Kimberly Dean
Contributing Writer
Kimberly Dean was raised in San Antonio and moved to the Hill Country to complete her last two years of High School at Smithson Valley. Dean studied at the University of Texas in San Antonio and San Antonio College as a Sign Language Major.
She married a friend from high school, John Dean Jr., and has been married 13 years. They are raising a fourth generation on the family ranch where her husband has lived for more than 30 years.
Dean was a stay-at-home mom for eight years. During that time, she volunteered with local charities and helped charter a support group for mothers of pre-school age children. She studied journalism and began to work as a Freelance Journalist. Dean has been a journalist for ten years. After working as a field leader for three years with an International Charity, Dean began working as an Outreach Coordinator for the Bulverde Senior Center. After six months, Dean was hired as the Director of the Senior Center.
In 2009, Dean was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder, and in Apr. 2010, needed to step down from her position. Dean is blessed to be able to continue working as a journalist from her home.
Brad Ingle
Teen Contributing Writer
Carroll Allison
Advertising Sale Representative
Carroll Allison, as the sales representative for The Hilltop Reporter, is following his lifelong career in sales. He first began selling while attending Texas A&I University in Kingsville, Texas, where he earned a degree in Business Administration. He was a salesman for several major companies, eventually owning his own wholesale art distribution company. In later years, he sold ATMs to private businesses. For the past two years he worked for Natural Bridge Caverns as a tour guide.
He has been married to Toni Allison for 18 years, and they share six children and 17 grandchildren. They moved to Canyon Lake in October 2005, from San Antonio. Carroll’s hobbies are landscaping, gardening and is a “wanna be” fisherman.
“Life has carried me to a lot of different and interesting places, but the consistent things in my life have always been my faith in God and my love of family and community.”
Carol Walker
Photographer
Hallie Davis
College Intern
Hallie Davis graduated from Smithson Valley High School in 2009 and attends Texas Tech as a part of the Honors College, where she works toward a degree in mass communications.
During the school year, she writes for Tech’s newspaper, The Daily Toreador, as a features writer. This is her second summer working with The Hilltop Reporter. Davis began journalism in high school, where she occasionally wrote for the SVHS paper and SchooLife. She also edited The Ranger, the SVHS award-winning yearbook, her senior year.
When she isn’t writing articles, Davis enjoys baking cakes, watching Disney movies or playing Wii with her family.
Deborah Petty
Columnist
Born and raised on a farm in Western Canada with a family of 16, Deborah Petty fell in love with a big bouncy orange ball that ended with a basketball scholarship to a Christian college in Big Sandy, TX. She completed college with a bachelor’s in education and a health diploma. She taught high school biology, chemistry and health.
Petty Married an American from Washington State and lived in Hawaii and Arizona and now in “amazing” Texas. Deborah has a wonderful daughter attending Canyon Lake High School.
Petty is currently finishing a book titled Healthmometer: what level of healthy are you? Tips and devices for feeling fantastic, bright eyed and bushy tailed.
Diane K. Varhola
Diane K. Varhola is a 32-year veteran of the U.S. Army, retiring in December 2008 as a Military Police Lieutenant Colonel. A native of Minnesota, she settled in Texas in the hopes of never seeing snow again. She is married to Assistant Editor Michael J. Varhola, with whom she has two daughters, Lindsey, 25, and Hayley, 24, and one grandson, Carter, 4.
