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VOLUME 2, NO. 30 JULY 23, 2014 www.northchannelstar.com
Serving all of the North Shore -- Channelview, Sheldon, Galena Park, Jacinto City
NORTH CHANNEL✯STARYour News, Your Newspaper
Issue #30 of the STAR
CHANNELCHATTER
HCC Fall Classes, p. 8Carter Funeral Home, p.3
GALENA PARKAir quality report cites health dangers
North ChannelChamber eventsCOFFEE NETWORKING
The North Channel Area Cham-ber of Commerce will have a FreeCOFFEE NETWORKING event onTuesday, July 29, 2014.
At this Networking Togethermeeting, you will have 30 secondsto talk about yourself or your orga-nization. Also an opportunity tobuild business relationships andmeet community leaders.
Networking will start at 9:30a.m. at La Quinta Inn & Suites lo-cated at 5520 E. Sam Houston PkwyN., Houston, TX. 77015.
Register at 713-450-3600 [email protected] LUNCHEON
The North Channel Area Cham-ber of Commerce will hold their reg-ular monthly luncheon on Friday,August 8 starting at 11:30 a.m.
The location will be the Jacin-to City Town Center, 1025 OatesRoad. Speaker will be Harris Coun-ty Attorney Vince Ryan.
Reservations at 713-450-3600or [email protected] be-fore Aug. 5 at $20, otherwise $25at the door. Supreme Court to define
EPA “suit” for Waste Pits
See EPA SuitContinued on page 5
AUSTIN – The Texas Su-preme Court accepted certi-f ication from the FifthCircuit Court to decide if theEnvironmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) orders a com-pany to clean up something,is that a “suit.” This will de-termine who pays for clean-up of the waste pits in theSan Jacianto River.
The high court will hearthis case of whether an in-surer has to pay for lawsuitsthat are in fact administra-tive actions of governmentagencies in Texas law. Atpresent, a number of such de-cisions have been made inTexas and throughout then a t i o n . T h e d e c i s i o n sreached before have fallen
into three catagories: thosethat require a formal com-plaint by the governmentagency, others saying if a let-ter has been issued by theagency that is like a suit,while others have deter-mined that it may depend onhow coercive the action is tothe company before it is con-sidered a suit.
Presented to the courtsare documents that will al-lege that McGinnes Industri-al Maintenance Corporation,a waste disposal company,removed waste from a papermill and released it in threeponds adjacent to the SanJacinto River during the1960s and early 1970s.
About then McGinnes pur-
chased commercial generalliability policies from Phoe-nix Insurance Company andthe Travelers IndemnityCompany. The policies pro-vided that the insurer “shallhave the right and duty todefend any suit against[McGinnes] seeking damag-es on account of . . . propertydamage, even if any of theallegations of the suit aregroundless, false or fraudu-lent, and may make such in-vestigation and settlement ofany claim or suit as it deemsexpedient.”
The policies in no way de-fined the term “suit.”
GALENA PARKEPA to hold Aug. 5 public hearing
The EPA will hold hearingsin Houston on a key proposal tostrengthen emissions standardsfor refineries and improve airquality around them. As part ofa nationwide effort to get input,the EPA scheduled two hear-ings in heavily affected cities -one in Los Angeles, the other inHouston on Aug. 5.
EPA's proposal would, for thefirst time, require monitoring ofair concentrations of benzenearound the fence-line perimeterof refineries to assure that emis-sions are controlled and theseresults would be available to thepublic. When the proposed up-dates are fully implemented,the EPA estimates toxic airemissions, including benzene,toluene, and xylene, will be re-duced by 5,600 tons per year.Volatile organic compoundemissions would be cut by ap-proximately 52,000 tons peryear.
The Healthy Port Communi-ties Coalition will attend thehearing, providing testimonyand comment from physiciansand residents affected by heavy
Community, public health, and environmentaladvocates to provide testimony
pollution around refineries.HPCC includes Air AllianceHouston, Texas OrganizingProject (TOP), Texas Environ-mental Advocacy Services (TE-JAS), and Public Citizen's Texasoffice.
The hearing will be heldfrom 9 am to 8 pm on Aug. 5 atAlvin D. Baggett RecreationBuilding, 1302 Keene Street inGalena Park.
The current federal stan-dards fail to protect publichealth because they are weak,lack monitoring requirements,are outdated and have big loop-holes, like exemptions that al-low for far greater emissions ofhazardous pollution duringmalfunctions. Communitiesface unlimited, unmonitoredflaring, or waste gas burning,which is another way excessivepollutants get into the air.
Communities often have lit-tle or no information on whatthey are breathing. People liv-ing in these areas just see ex-treme flaring light up the sky,smell or learn of pollution
spikes, feel unexpected healthproblems, and fear accidentsand explosions. Studies haveshown that emissions andhealth risks are vastly under-estimated by as many as 100times what is being reported tothe EPA.
Communities of color aredisproportionately affected.Half of the people who are at thegreatest risk of cancer from re-finery pollution are black, Lati-no or Native American andthese groups have at least twicethe cancer risk from exposureto pollution from refineries thatwhite Americans face.
EPA was taken to court forfailing to comply with the CleanAir Act and now they must ad-dress these problems with amore protective standard. Thelaw requires EPA to preventunacceptable health risk andassure that all sources followthe best practices of the indus-try to reduce pollution.
See EPA MEETING, page 6
ASTRODOME PROPOSAL CRITICIZED BY EMMETT:
Demolition plan called “silly”
Texas Democrat Representatives:“No troops to theTexas-Mexico border”
HOUSTON, Texas – Gov.Perry announced last Monday,July 21, his plans to deployabout 1,000 National Guardtroops to the Texas-Mexicoborder since Obama’s admin-istration is still struggling todeal with the influx of morethan 50,000 unaccompaniedminors, most from CentralAmerica, who have crossedinto the United States in thelast year.
After Gov. Perry made theannouncement, several TexasDemocrat Representativesexpressed their disagreement.
“Our state leaders shouldnot be using the humanitari-an crisis along the border fortheir own political gamesman-ship. Children are fleeing vio-lence and abuse, and seekinga safe place. State leaders
have already requested $1.3million a week for the “bordersurge” of state troppers. Acti-vating the Texas NationalGuard and militarizing theRio Grande border does notadress the problem given thatthese immigrants are volun-tarily turning themselves inand accoording to local lawenforcement there has been noincrease in crime. Let’s contin-ue to work to find a substan-tive solution to this complexsituation and stop sendingpolitical messages,” said StateRep. Ana Hernandez.
Senator Sylvia Garcia stat-ed: "While I agree that the bor-der should be secure, today'sactions by the Governor are
See TROOPSDEPLOYMENT, page 8
The iconic “DOME” may be converted into a green area like the one shown in this diagram after Countyleaders recently expressed that they are open to consider a $66 million plan devised by the HoustonLivestock Show and Rodeo and the NFL’s Houston Texans to demolish the Astrodome and become agreen area like Discovery Green in downtown.
Photo courtesy of Gensler
See DEMOLITION PLAN CALLED SILLY story on page 8
GALENA PARK – BelindaVasquez-St. John spoke to thecity council at their last meet-ing on July 15, and summa-r i z e d a r e p o r t h e rorganization, Air AllianceHouston, had just issued onair quality issues in GalenaPark. A summary of the reportfollows:
“Galena Park, Texas is anenvironmental justice commu-nity of some 10,000 residentson the Houston Ship Channel.The community is surroundedby the ship channel; industry,particularly that associatedwith Houston petrochemicalindustry; rail lines; and hightraffic roadways, including I-10 to the north and 610 to thewest.
Air Alliance Houston hasbeen active in Galena Park forseveral years. It is a commu-nity in which concerns aboutpollution and public health
run high. However, a lack ofresources and knowledgeleads to very little public en-gagement on issues that im-pact environmental qualityand health. Although citizensare worried about their health,there is little sense that theycan personally affect change.
Air Alliance Houston andGlobal Community Monitorconducted a community healthimpact survey, and communi-ty mapping workshop, and acommunity air monitoringproject. Air monitoring wasconducted over the course of ayear for fine particulate mat-ter and elemental carbon, asurrogate for diesel pollution.The results of the yearlongcommunity air monitoringproject form the basis of this
report. An independent reportwas produced by a graduatestudent at the Rice Universi-ty Department of Statistics.
Diesel pollution presents anunacceptable health risk inGalena Park. Cancer risk dueto diesel pollution exposuremay exceed 1 in 10,000. Fineparticulate matter pollutionmay exceed federal healthstandards as well.
Galena Park must act nowto reduce diesel and particu-late matter pollution in orderto protect its residents’ health.We recommend aggressivesteps to limit diesel pollutionby banning older, dirty trucksand diverting trucks from Ga-lena Park roads. We also rec-ommend further testing todetermine the extent of air
pollution in Galena Park, andits impacts.
Galena Park recently elect-ed a new mayor and city coun-cil. This new administrationhas an opportunity to take afresh look at the pollutionchallenges their residentsface. It is our hope that Gale-na Park will work with thePort of Houston Authority,Harris County, and the City ofHouston to address these chal-lenges and protect the healthof the citizens of Galena Park,Texas.”
In an accompanying hand-out, Air Alliance had the fol-lowing recommendations toreduce pollution:
1. Truck Traffic should be
Networking withSen. Sylvia GarciaWEDNESDAY, JULY 30
State Senator Sylvia Garcia willhost a Networking Event at the Har-ris County John Phelps CourthouseAnnex, 101 S. Richey Road, Pasa-dena, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Join Senator Sylvia Garcia forthe East Harris Community PartnerNetworking Event. This event givesstakeholders, educators, and thecommunity partners a chance toshare ideas, voice concerns, andget to know the resources and pro-viders available in the community.
RSVP to Derek Darnell at 713-4 5 3 - 5 1 0 0 o r e m a i [email protected].
CIP MeetingTHURSDAY, AUGUST 7
The monthly meeting betweenthe Community and Industrial Part-ners will take place at the BaggettCommunity Building, starting at 5:45until 8:15. Contact Diane Sheridanfor additional information, at 281-326-5253. The public is welcome.
See AIR QUALITY, page 8
NORTH CHANNEL✯STARPage 2 WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014
COMMUNITY NEWS
281-328-4300
Cindy Griggs281-989-9676
Stacy Beard281-414-1966
Wendy Reed281-731-4182
Viola Risinger (Hablo Español)832-641-8175
14026 FM 2100 • Crosby
Mandy Darr713-248-7395
Penny Adams713-203-2089
Terry Haydon281-455-8595
JOIN USBAYTOWN BETTER HOME EXPO
Saturday, July 26 - 10 am - 2 pmBaytown Community Center
2407 Market St.Featuring VA loan program assistance
FREE TO THE PUBLICDOOR PRIZES
REFRESHMENTS
Motorcyclist dies in a head-on accident in Highlands
Students receive CPR kitsSeventh grade athletes at Baytown Junior School show off the CPR kits they received from LaurieTerry (back, third from left), vice president of Houston Methodist San Jacinto Hospital, and DonnaGares (right), chief executive officer and president, as they showed them the basics of CPR. Studentparticipants are (bottom, l to r) Miranda Rull, Brianna Velfling, Haleigh Carpenter,�Abigail Gomez,(top, l to r) Jaden Svboda, Breanna Moody, Faith Strope, Mariah Cortez and Eileann Avila. HoustonMethodist San Jacinto Hospital donated more than 100 CPR kits to Baytown Junior School students.
HIGHLANDS, Texas – LastSaturday night a motorcyclistdied and another ended in crit-ical condition after a head-oncrash.
The accident happenedaround 8:15 p.m. near the in-tersection of Barbers HillRoad and Danek Road.
According to police reports,a motorcycle driver was speed-ing eastbound on Barbers HillRoad and entered the west-bounds lanes to go around twoslower-moving cars.
As he was traveling in theoncoming lanes, another mo-torcyclist was driving towardhim and the two crashed head-on.
The motorcyclist passing
the cars was pronounced deadat the scene; the other driverwas taken by LifeFlight to
One of the two motorcycles laying on the groundon Barbers Hill Road after the head-on crash.
Herman Memorial HermannHospital in critical condition.
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Teachers honored at GCCISD educationfoundation students choice awardsBy Susan Passmore
Fifteen Goose Creek CISDteachers across the District werehonored at the recent fifth annu-al Goose Creek CISD EducationFoundation Students ChoiceAwards Banquet. The event tookplace at the Woodforest BankTower Club at Royal Purple Race-way Park and included dinner aswell as entertainment by theGoose Creek Memorial HighSchool Orchestra under the direc-tion of Reuben Chance.
Earlier in the year, seniorsfrom Goose Creek Memorial, IM-PACT, Robert E. Lee and Ross S.Sterling high schools submittedletters to the Goose Creek CISDEducation Foundation nominat-ing teachers who had made animpact on their lives. Fifteenteachers were selected to attendthe Students Choice Awards.Each teacher received a plaqueand gift card, along with a videoby Carrie Pryor-Newman in theGCCISD Communications De-partment commemorating theevent. The nominating studentsreceived gift cards and a video.
“This is one of my favoriteschool events every year,” saidSandra Bell, vice president ofmarketing/events for the GooseCreek CISD Education Founda-tion. “Teachers deserve to be rec-ognized for making a differencein the lives of their students.”
Many students nominatedtheir high school teachers, butseveral wished to honor elemen-tary and junior school teacherswho had helped them on the roadto success. Pablo Chavez, who re-cently graduated as salutatorianfrom IMPACT Early College HighSchool, receiving an associatedegree from Lee College his jun-ior year, expressed his gratitudeto Cedar Bayou Junior School’sCarlos Zelaya, former languagearts teacher at Lamar Elementa-ry School, for helping him over-come his language barrier andencouraging him to pursue his in-terest in math.
“He is one of the people whohas impacted my life the most.When I began his class, it hadonly been a year since I migratedfrom my home country, Mexico,”said Chavez. “He pushed me tothe limit some days where I want-ed to just quit and go back. Buthe was always there to help mefinish whatever I did not under-stand.”
Students from Goose Creek Memorial High Schoolhonor their teachers at the recent Goose Creek CISDEducation Foundation Students Choice Awards.Pictured are (front, l to r) Hiral Waghela, HannahAlfred, Lori Yarbrough, Connor Clegg, Scott Griffin,(back row, l to r) Sharron Carroll, ShelbySchlesselman and Tim Fox.
Jason Sartor, who graduatedfourth in the Class of 2014 fromRoss S. Sterling High School, nom-inated Candice Dotson, speechtherapist at Stephen F. Austin El-ementary School, for helping himovercome his speech problems.
“Speech was my constant bat-tle as an elementary student. Iwas able to be successful and over-come this struggle through thehelp of Mrs. Dotson,” said Sartor.
Sartor has had the opportuni-ty to serve as a delegate to theNRA’s Texas Youth EducationSummit (YES) at the State Capi-tol, presenting speeches and de-bates. He is an ambassador forYES and has spoken before morethan 500 people.
“This is quite a feat, accom-plished only with Mrs. Dotson’shelp, for a boy who did not reallyspeak at all until age eight,” saidSartor.
Over the past five years, 75teachers have been celebrated atthe Students Choice Awards. Forthe 2013-2014 school year, GooseCreek Memorial High School stu-dents and their teachers wereHannah Alfred and teacher LoriYarbrough from GCM, ConnorClegg and teacher Scott Griffinfrom GCM, Shelby Schlesselmanand teacher Tim Fox from GCM,and Hiral Waghela and teacherSharron Carroll from Lorenzo DeZavala Elementary School.
Students from IMPACT EarlyCollege High School and their
teachers were Pablo Chavez andteacher Carlos Zelaya from CedarBayou Junior School, formerlyfrom Lamar Elementary; ShelbySylvester and teacher Susan Hil-lin from Stephen F. Austin Ele-mentary School; Gicela Trejo andteacher Ashley Mehrens from IM-PACT, and April Watkins andteacher Wendy West from IM-PACT.
Robert E. Lee High School stu-dents and their teachers wereRosa Dominguez and teacher Jen-nifer DeHart from Lee and Asuce-na Melendez and teacher SherryBurr.
Ross S. Sterling High Schoolstudents and their teachers wereAlfredo Guerrero and teacherSandra Cole from David CrockettElementary School, SavannahMcDaniel and teacher AnissaCantin from Cedar Bayou JuniorSchool, Karli Ramirez and teach-er Kelley Start from Sterling, Ja-son Sartor and teacher CandiceDotson, and Eric Valverde andteacher Betty Benskin from Ster-ling.
“Teachers play an importantrole in the lives of their students.We appreciate the Goose CreekCISD Education Foundation forallowing our students to honorthese deserving teachers whohave helped prepare them for thefuture,” said Dr. Salvador Cavazos,GCCISD superintendent.
Five Reasons to start your chiropractic care1. Genuine concern, care and comfort for our patients is our highest priority2. The source of your condition is treated, not just your symptoms3. Most advanced, gentle chiropractic technology4. We open bright and early at 7:00am and stay as late as 6:00pm5. Experience counts. Over 32 years and thousands of patients and over500,000 patient adjustments. Why trust anyone else.
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Crosby Chiropractic Center
Page 3WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 NORTH CHANNEL✯STAR
COMMUNITYCALENDAR
JULY
North ChannelLibrary events-Thursday, July 24, 10:30 amB a b y t i m e ; 4 p m T e e n s -Bollywood dance moves.-Monday, July 28, 2:30 pmMonday Movie Madness (ticketsrequired)-Tuesday, July 29, 10:30 amToddler time; 1:30 pm Preschoolstory time; 4 pm teens-TheMarshmallow Project.-Wednesday, July 30, 2:#0 pmPuppet P izzazz! ; 4:30 pmTween-Time Skins and skulls.-Thursday, July 31, 10:30 amBaby Time; 4 pm Teens-MoleculeBuild.Library Hours: Sunday: Closed;Monday 1-8 pm; Tuesday-Thursday 10 am - 8pm; Friday 1-6 pm; Saturday 10 am - 5 pm.Library is located at 15741Wallisville Rd., Houston, TX.77049. Call 281-457-1631 formore information.
JULY
Galena ParkLibrary events-Thursday, July 24, 11 am Babyt ime; 3 pm Mrs . F r i zz le ’ sExtraordinary Bees.-Monday, July 28, 3 pm Teentime Game Day.-Tuesday, July 29, 1 pm InternetBasico II; 4 pm Internet Basics II.-Wednesday, July 30, 11 amChildren’s Story Time.-Thursday, July 31, 11 am BabyTime; 3 pm Paleontology (pleaser e g i s t e r f o r c l a s s e s a tcirculation).-Monday, August 4, 3 pm TeenTime Tangle in Art & Zentagle artmaking.
Please call the library at 713-450-0982 for more details.The library is located at 1500Keene St. Galena Park, TX.77547.
SATURDAY NIGHTS
The BuckshotJamboreeEnjoy Classic Country musicevery Satutday night from 7 pm- 10 pm with The BuckshotJamboree at 7414 Hartman nearOld Beaumont Highway. Moreinfo, call 281-458-0729 or 832-444-5000.
CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS
Carter Funeral Home13701 Corpus Christi St.
Houston, TX 77015
(713) 455-5100*Funerals *Cremations *Pre-Arrangements
Family Owned and OperatedSince 1992
www.CarterFuneral-Houston.com
SUBSCRIPTION RATES by Mail
6 months .................................... $25.0012 months .................................. $45.00
Complete the form below, and return with payment to:
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Now is a good time tosubscribe to the
NORTH CHANNEL✯STAR
JULY 23, 2014JULY 23, 2014JULY 23, 2014JULY 23, 2014JULY 23, 2014
PICK-UP LOCATIONSPICK-UP LOCATIONSPICK-UP LOCATIONSPICK-UP LOCATIONSPICK-UP LOCATIONS
FOR THE NORTH CHANNEL STARFOR THE NORTH CHANNEL STARFOR THE NORTH CHANNEL STARFOR THE NORTH CHANNEL STARFOR THE NORTH CHANNEL STAR
NORTH SHORE
North Channel Chamber Office, I-10 inWoodforest Bank Bldg
Pineforest Jewelry, Uvalde Rd
San Jacinto College North, Student Center &Library
Fonteno Court House, Wallisville Rd
East Houston Hospital, I-10
Foodtown, Uvalde Rd
Sellers Brothers Market, Uvalde Rd
YMCA, Wallisville Rd
Fiesta Market, I-10
HPD Substation, I-10
Federal Road Barber Shop, Uvalde @ Halifax
Panera Restaurant, Beltway 8 @ Wallisville
CiCi's Pizza, Uvalde @ Woodforest
Kroger's, Woodforest @ Beltway 8
Fuddruckers, Normandy Rd
Walgreens, Maxey Rd @ Woodforest
Senator Sylvia Garcia office, in Woodforest BankBldg
North Channel Library, Wallisville Rd
North Shore High School, at Wallisville Rd
Walgreens, 155111 Wallisville Rd
United Comm. Credit Union, Normandy
United Comm. Credit Union, Wallisvilleß
CHANNELVIEW
K&T Western Wear,Sheldon Rd
Channelview High School, Sheldon Rd
Woodforest Bank, Sheldon Rd
Channelview Admin Bldg, Sheldon Rd
Food Fair, Sheldon Rd @ I-10
Flukinger Comm Ctr, Lorenzo St
Holiday Inn, I-10 E
SHELDON
Sheldon ISD Admin Bldg.
C. E. King High School, Tidwell Rd
Kroger’s, Normandy at Woodforest
Parkway Feed, CE King Blvd
Community Bank of Texas, Tidwell Road
CLOVERLEAF
HC WCID #36, Hollywood St
Grayson Community Center, Corpus Christi St
Galena Park Admin Building, Beltway 8 atWoodforest
CommunityBank of Texas, I-10 E @ Freeport
Gatti's Pizza, Uvalde
North Channel Assistance Ministries, Bonham @Freeport
JACINTO CITY
City Hall, Main Street
El Ahorro Market, Main Street
Community Center/Senior Center, Oates Rd
Capital Bank, I-10 E
Jacinto City Branch Library, Akron St
State Rep Ana Hernandez office,Mercury Drive
Sellers Brothers Market, Market St
JC Police Dept., Market St
Market Street Feed Store, Market St
GALENA PARK
Baggett Community Center, Keene St
Galena Park High School, Keene St
Galena Park City Hall, Clinton Drive
Galena Park Library, Keene St
United Comm. Credit Union, 16th St.
If you would like to be a PICK-UP LOCATION, let us know.281-328-9605 or [email protected].
ASK DIAMOND JIM
Diamond Jim... My future mother-in-lawgave me a beautiful string of pearls towear on my wedding day. I waswondering why pearls are so oftenassociated with weddings. Is there anyhistory behind this? And why are pearlsconsidered lucky?
According to the CulturedPearl Information Center,pearls were most likely discov-ered thousands of years ago bypeople searching for food alongthe seashore. And thanks totheir fabulous shimmering ir-idescence, this organic gemhas been prized ever since.
In one legend, Cleopatra issaid to have dissolved a pearlin a glass of wine before drink-ing it, simply to win a wagerwith Marc Antony that shecould consume the wealth ofan entire country in just onemeal. But in a variation of thattale, the dissolved pearl wasintended to help her seduceAntony.
In ancient Rome, the pearlwas the ultimate symbol ofwealth and social standing,while the ancient Greeks as-sociated the pearl with loveand marriage, and unrivaledbeauty. The Greeks also be-lieved the pearl would pro-mote marital harmony (Areyou listening, guys?) and pre-vent newlywed brides fromcrying. During the Dark Ages,knights wore pearls on thebattlefield, believing they hadthe magic to protect them fromharm.
During the Renaissance,pearls were so highly regard-ed that several Europeancountries passed laws forbid-ding anyone outside the nobil-ity from wearing them. Andduring European expansion inthe New World, discovery ofpearls in Central American
waters meant that pearls, likegold, added to the wealth ofEurope.
In the early 1900s, the ad-vent of culturing pearlsbrought prices down to main-stream levels. But even today,pearls are still worn by royal-ty, especially at weddings.Queen Elizabeth II wore themat her wedding in 1947, as didSarah Ferguson. And here inthe United States, JacquelineBouvier wore a strand the dayshe became Mrs. Kennedy.From “The Knot”magazine…www.TheKnot.com.
As to the folklore concern-ing pearls and luck… Cul-tured or freshwater pearls areconsidered to offer the powerof love, money, protection, andluck. Pearls are thought togive wisdom through experi-ence, to quicken the laws ofkarma and to cement engage-ments and love relationships.They are thought to keep chil-dren safe.
Early Chinese myths told ofpearls falling from the skywhen dragons fought. Ancientlegend says that pearls werethought to be the tears of thegods and the Greeks believedthat wearing pearls would pro-mote marital bliss and preventnewlywed women from crying.
If you have questions per-taining to jewelry, watches,diamonds, precious stones,precious metals, and otherquestions related to the jew-elry industry, [email protected].
NORTH CHANNEL✯STAR5906 STAR LANE, HOUSTON, TX 77057
(713) 977-2555 FAX (713) 977-1188email: [email protected]: www.northchannelstar.com
Gilbert Hoffman .................................................Editor & PublisherMei-Ing Hoffman ...............................................Associate PublisherLewis Spearman .............................................. Advertising DirectorJulieta Paita ................................................................. Staff ReporterLuis Hernandez ................................................................ ProductionPedro Hernandez .....................................Circulation/Mail Director
Published each Wednesday by GrafikPress Corp. Any erroneous statement which mayappear will be corrected when brought to the attention of the publisher. Liability forerrors is limited to the reprinting of the corrected version. Submissions are encouraged,in person, by mail, by Fax, or by email, to: [email protected]
Member Texas Community Newspaper Association Member North Channel Chamber of Commerce
Member Texas Press Association
French Limited Site under reviewCROSBY– The U.S. Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency(EPA) and the Texas Commis-sion on Environmental Quali-ty (TCEQ) are in the processof reevaluating the groundwater remedy chosen in the1988 Record of Decision for theFrench Limited Site based oninvestigation and performanceof the former selected remedy.
A Public Meeting is to beheld August 4 from 6:30 p.m.until 8:00 p.m. at the Harris
See French LimitedContinued on Page 5
County Public Library, Cros-by Branch at 135 Hare Road.EPA and TCEQ representa-tives will participate and themeeting will be followed by aquestion and answer session.
This re-evaluation is onlyabout changes to the groundwater remedy and not aboutchanges to lagoon sludges andsoil remedy selected in the1988 Record of Decision.
A Proposed Plan recom-
mends preferred remedial al-ternatives for the Site groundwater and identifies steps tobe taken for continual protec-tion of health and the environ-ment. The idea is to containground water contaminantplumes into two ground waterzones, and prevent exposureto contaminated ground waterby implementing restrictionson
HOUSTON - At the regularly scheduled meeting of the San Jacinto College Board of Trustees on Monday,July 7, 2014, the North Shore Rotary Club Foundation presented $25,000 to the San Jacinto CollegeFoundation to set up an endowed scholarship, with plans to add to the endowment in the future. Thoseattending the check presentation include, from left, San Jacinto College Provost and North Shore RotarianDr. Bill Raffetto; San Jacinto College Chancellor Dr. Brenda Hellyer; Dr. Allatia Harris, San Jacinto CollegeVice Chancellor of Strategic Initiatives and North Shore Rotary Club President; Ruth Keenan, San JacintoCollege Foundation Executive Director; San Jacinto College Board Chairman and North Shore RotarianDan Mims; and Kevin Morris, San Jacinto College South Campus Dean of Business and Technology andNorth Shore Rotarian. Photo by: Rob Vanya.
North Shore Rotary supports College
NORTH CHANNEL✯STARPage 4 WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014
OPINION PAGE
The Highlands Star Founded 1955The Crosby Courier Founded 1958
Consolidated with the Star 1961SERVING HIGHLANDS, CROSBY, HUFFMANAND NORTHEAST HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS
Editor & Publisher .......................................Gilbert HoffmanAssociate Publisher ............................. Mei-Ing Liu HoffmanAssoc. Editor/Advertising Manager ............. Lewis SpearmanAssistant Editor ..................................................Julieta PaitaProduction Manager .................................... Luis HernandezIT Technical Manager ............................... Pedro HernandezAdvertising Representive ...................... Richard HernandezEntered as Periodicals Class at Highlands Post Office, Highlands, TX 77562. Under the Act ofCongress of March 3, 1879. Published 50 weeks per year, on Thursday, by Grafikpress Corp.,5906 Star Lane, Houston, TX 77057. Opinions in this paper are those of the authors, and notnecessarily this newspaper’s. Any erroneous statement which may appear will be corrected whenbrought to the attention of the publisher. Liability for errors is limited to the reprinting of thecorrected version. Submissions are encouraged, in person, by mail, by Fax, or by email, [email protected].
GRAFIKPRESS is publisher of community newspapers, including Highlands STAR-Crosby COURIER;Barbers Hill Dayton PRESS; Northeast NEWS; North Forest NEWS, North Channel STAR. Combinedcirculation of these newspapers exceeds 50,000, Readership exceeds 110,000 according to in-dustry standards. We also print dozens of school, ethnic, and government publications on con-tract. Call for information to 713-977-2555.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In-county, $25.00 per year. Out of county, $35.00 per Year. POSTMASTER:Send address changes to Star-Courier, P. O. Box 405, Highlands, TX 77562
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Star✯CourierStar✯Courierand the
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C R O S B YH I G H L A N D S
Barbers Hill✯Dayton PRESS
STATE CAPITALHIGHLIGHTS
By Ed Sterling
✯
AUSTIN — Lt. Gov. DavidDewhurst on July 17 ap-pointed Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, as chair ofthe powerful, state budget-writing Senate FinanceCommittee. The two-yearstate budget totals close to$200 billion.
Nelson, the first woman inthe history of the state tochair the committee, calledthe appointment “a tremen-dous honor and responsibili-ty” and pledged that underher leadershipthe committeewould “keepthe Texasmiracle movingfull steamahead.” Shehas served as amember of thecommittee forseven legisla-tive sessions,including thecurrentsession. Thecommitteesoon will be atwork, as stateagencylegislativeappropriation requests pourin.
Dewhurst, who presidesover the Texas Senate, alsonamed additional membersof the committee: Sens.Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury;Kelly Hancock, R-NorthRichland Hills; RobertNichols, R-Jacksonville; andSen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown. Those senatorsreplace Sens. TommyWilliams, R-The Woodlands,who resigned to take aposition with Texas A&M;Bob Deuell, R-Greenville,who was defeated in theMarch Republican primaryelections; Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, who resigned tobecome chancellor of TexasTech University; and GlennHegar, R-Katy, who isrunning for state comptrol-ler.
Dewhurst also appointedNelson and three senators toanother powerful panel, theLegislative Budget Board.The three are Sens. KevinEltife, R-Tyler; Craig Estes,R-Wichita Falls; and Juan“Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen.The board is a body of fivemembers of the Senate andfive members of the House ofRepresentatives. The bodysets the constitutionalspending limit and developsthe draft appropriations bill.
Dewhurst’s term of officeends Dec. 31. Sen. DanPatrick, R-Houston, and Sen.Leticia Van de Putte, D-SanAntonio, are vying to be thestate’s next lieutenantgovernor. Whoever wins willhave the power to appoint allSenate committees.
Election law case isheard
A state House redistrict-ing plan passed by the 2011Texas Legislature waschallenged in a San AntonioU.S. district court last week.
The lawsuit, brought byminority voting rightsplaintiffs and joined by theU.S. Department of Justice,alleges the Texas Legislatureintentionally diluted thevoting strength of minoritiesin several districts. Also inquestion is whether Texasshould return to the federalvoting rights law’s “preclear-ance” requirement that thestate had been subject tosince the law was passed in1965 — until 2013 — whenfederal preclearance ofelection laws passed bycovered entities such asTexas was struck down in a5-4 decision by the U.S.Supreme Court in ShelbyCounty (Alabama) v. Holder.
Later this summer, thecourt will hear other casesover the Texas Legislature’s2013 House redistrictingplan and 2011 and 2013congressional redistrictingplans. A decision by thethree-judge court panel is tobe rendered after all of thecases have been heard.
What’sHappeningto OurSchools?It’s notgood
Dear Editor,My name is Dickie
Woods. I came to thedelightful little town ofHighlands about 30years ago. I saw goodpeople, a great schoolsystem, little trafficand awesome land-scape. I bought someproperties and gotinvolved in the commu-nity and started somebusinesses. I tookleadership roles inRotary, the Chamber ofCommerce, and WaterDistrict # 1. I havebeen a supporter of theVolunteer Fire Depart-ment and the SchoolDistrict with donationsand participated inPartner’s In Educationand the Goose CreekEducation Foundation.
At one time, I hadfour grandkids inGCCISD. Now, I havetwo. One graduatedand is in college (myoldest) and one movedaway because of a jobchange by her dad. Inever took time topersonally get involvedin the schools otherthan with the Chamberor Rotary. I didn’t seethe need until this pastyear. I was asked acouple of months ago,as a chamber director,to represent the High-lands Community onthe Citizens BondAdvisory Committee. Ifilled out the applica-tion and was accepted,so that began myinvolvement with theadministration. Now, Iam hearing more aboutwhat is happening inthe District and it isdisturbing.
A couple of yearsago, the Board made achange in uppermanagement thatbrought about a differ-ent philosophy andleadership style. Whathad been a casual,community oriented,family atmosphere hasbecome one ofuncertainty andbullying (akin to whatwe have in Washing-ton). Teachers andadministrators whohave spent their livesin this district, build-ing programs forstudents and in manycases their own fami-lies, are being shovedaside or forced out tomake way for staff withoften times less qualifi-cations and little or noinvestment in thedistrict. Why? No onewill answer thisquestion. The Boardneeds to look closely atwhy these changes aretaking place? What arethe benefits to thedistrict here? And theanswer is not newyoung talent in manycases.
GCCISD may havebecome a victim ofsynchronicity. I thinkthe Board shouldaddress this and nowwould be the best time,not after we have lostmore of the great talentwe have remaining.
Dickie WoodsJuly 21, 2014
Dewhurst appointsSenate Finance chair
Texas adds jobs in JuneTexas Workforce Commis-
sion on July 18 announcedthe state economy added19,100 seasonally adjustedtotal non-farm jobs in Junefor a total of 371,000 jobsadded since June 2013.
Texas’ seasonally adjustedunemployment rate in Junewas 5.1 percent. In June2013 the rate was 6.4percent. Nationally, theunemployment rate for June2014 was 6.1 percent, an
improvementof 1.4 percentover theprevious year,as calculatedby the U.S.Bureau ofLabor Statis-tics.
Rangerreaches highrank
TexasDepartment ofPublic Safetyon July 17announced the
promotion of Texas RangerWende Wakeman to the rankof lieutenant, making her thehighest-ranking woman inTexas Ranger history,according to an agency newsrelease.
The promotion is effectiveAug. 1. Wakeman joined theDPS as a highway patroltrooper in 1998. She becamea DPS narcotics sergeant in2003 and moved to the TexasRangers in 2008.
Council rejects pro-posed ban
Denton City Council, at itsJuly 15-16 meeting, voteddown a citizen-drivenproposed ordinance to banhydraulic fracturing by theoil and gas industry withincity limits. A citizen petition,however, gained enoughsignatures to put the propos-al on the November electionballot.
Court OKs admissionspolicy
The U.S. Fifth CircuitCourt of Appeals, in a 2-1decision on July 15, ruled theUniversity of Texas’ methodof achieving racial diversityin selecting incomingfreshmen did not violate theconstitutional rights of awhite student who did notgain admission to theinstitution in 2008 and sued.
Heard by the U.S. Su-preme Court in 2012, thecase was remanded to theFifth Circuit for “strictscrutiny,” that is, to deter-mine if the university’spolicies were necessary andeffective toward enrolling a“critical mass” of minoritystudents.
LETTERSTo the Editor
✯
MEDICARE COLUMNBy Toni King
To My Readers of the ToniKing Medicare Column: Thisis a national alert to warneveryone about the largestscam of its kind which istargeting everyone nation-wide. The scam is the IRSphone scam. It does notmatter what age, if you areover 65 or a business owneror a stay at home mother.These false taxmen trickstersare calling everyone all daylong. Below is what to lookfor and please inform yourelderly family members orfriends what to do.
Governmental authoritiesare surprised that the bogus(fake) IRS agent phone scamhas continued long after theApril 15th tax filing season islong over. This scam isworking for these evil con
Reader alert… IRS phonescam targets everyone!!
artists because if they werenot receiving money frominnocent bystanders, thenthey would stop doing this.
This is how the scamoperates and knowing thesigns can stop you, yourfriends or an innocent lovedone from being takenadvantage of financially.
These fraudsters pose asagents of the IRS (who reallylikes to talk with the IRS) orthe U.S. Treasury Depart-ment in “live” phone callsthat threaten arrest ordeportation, including theseizure of property, business-es and drivers license.
Now these villains haveincorporated robocalls(automatic phone dialers) inthis widespread attack onyour money.
Let me explain the ways inwhich these criminals tryand swindle your hardearned money from you.
-Scammers claim that thephone call recipients owemoney for back taxes.
-The call has the IRS toll-free phone number of 1/800-829-1040. You see the IRS iscalling; you will answer thephone immediately. Insteadof letting your answeringmachine screen your calls.
-The scammers all haveAmerican names such asJohn Smith, Sean White etcand many of the callers haveforeign accents.
-Beware…because theirbiggest ploy is that they mayaccurately cite the last 4digits of your Social Securitynumbers. Public officialshave no idea how thesecriminals are able to obtain
your last 4 number of yourSocial Security card.
-Hanging up on the lowlife’s only causes them tofollow up with an email withsimilar threats.
-You might receiveanother phone call with thesame or another imposterusing a different Americanname threatening arrest forfailure to pay the supposedlyowed money.
-They are asking you topay them with Green DotMoneyPak or a wire trans-fer… Payment methods thereal IRS does not use. TheIRS does not take creditcards by phone.
If you receive a call likethis, then call the IRS at 1/800-829-1040 and reportwhat hashappened.Currently over$1million dollars have beenscammed and this is growing.
-The IRS will send a letterif they need to contact youabout back taxes or an IRSproblems.
-Call the IRS or creditbureau if your last 4 or yourSocial Security card aremade public, to help reduceidentity thief.
-Remember do not giveanyone any personal infor-mation about yourself overthe phone.
-Confused about Medicareand Social Security workshopTuesday, July 29nd at 2:00-4:00 pm. Join Toni King ather new Toni Says Houstonoffice at 10998 S. WilcrestDr, Suite 120, Houston, TX77099. RSVP 832-800-4674.Reservations are requiredbecause seating is limited to20.
What’s Happening atour Schools?
7-22-2014Open Letter to the Public
“A Call To Arms”Our school district is in
trouble and it is up to you tosave it. Yes, you. A few bravesouls have talked to, written,called, or emailed the sevenBoard members recently toask for action regarding thecurrent Superintendent. 400or more expressed their opin-ion by personally attendingthe Board meeting on July 14.Now, the Board membersneed to hear from the rest ofthe thousands of you who careabout the future of GCCISD.You need to demand that theystop the damage that is beingdone by the Superintendent’spersonnel actions, as it is neg-atively affecting our schools,our principals, our teachers,our administrators, our coun-selors, our operations andsupport staff, and most im-portantly our children. Very
LETTERSTo the Editor
✯
simply, we made a mistakewhen we hired SalvadorCavazos and then allowedhim to dismantle the veryfabric and soul of our district.You need to demand thatyour school Board do theright thing, right now, andterminate this Superinten-dent’s employment with GC-CISD immediately.
Dr. Cavazos recently toldthe Baytown Sun that he andthe Board were going to “as-sess the concerns” that theyheard at the July 14 Boardmeeting. This is such a ridic-ulous and condescendingstatement for him to makesince what the people saidwas that they want a “changein the position of Superinten-dent of GCCISD”, not ananalysis of their concerns.The assessment” has beenmade by the people of Bay-town and Highlands.
Now, to those who receivetheir paychecks from the Dis-trict, it is clear to us that thevast majority of the currentand past employees of GC-CISD believe that the districtis going in the wrong direc-tion but cannot speak up forfear of retaliation from theSuperintendent. Our input toyou is “we have your back”.So, please immediately sendan email to the Board mem-bers and tell them what is inyour heart and on your mind.If all you guys that have thepersonal knowledge of thedamage that is being inflictedby Dr. Cavazos will speak up,then no one can be singledout for retaliation. There isindeed power in numbers andespecially when you are rightand righteous. Finally, wewould like to see 1,000 folksattend the next Board meet-ing scheduled for next Mon-day, July 28, to reinforce tothe Board that we want ac-tion now. The meeting startsat 6:30 PM- please get thereby 5:30 PM.
Mike Wilson
A Call toArms
Page 5WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 NORTH CHANNEL✯STAR
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I can do everything through himwho gives me strength.
Phillipians 4:13
Once more the humble will rejoicein the Lord; the needy will rejoice
in the Holy One of IsraelIsaiah 29: 10
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Be alert. Continue strong in thefaith. Have courage and be
strong.1 Corinthians 16:13
Pride only breeds quarrels, butwidom is found in those whotake advice. Proverbs 13:25
Rise in the presence of the aged,show respect for the elderly and
revere your God.Leviticus 19:32
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All of them were filled with theHoly Spirit and began to speak
in other tongues as the Spiritenabled them. Acts 2:4
St. Timothy’sEpiscopal Church
All Invited to Worship with Us
SUNDAY Holy Eucharist Rite II 10:00 amSUNDAY School & Coffee Hour 11:30 amSpanish Service/Holy Eucharist 1:00 pm
13125 INDIANAPOLIS ST., HOUSTON, 77015
sttimsinhouston.com
Yard of the MonthCongratulations to Brian and Chrissa Teel for Yard of the Month for July! This photo was takenWednesday July 9th at the Teel Home on East Canal in Highlands. What beautiful hard work theyhave put in!
Call GRAFIKSHOP for printing jobs713-977-2555
contending that it hadcontributed to the hazardouswaste contamination at thesite.
The EPA demanded thatMcGinnes make reimburse-ment, prevent further con-tamination, and that thecompany fund a Remedia-tion/Investigation/Feasibili-ty Study.
When the company per-sented this to their insur-ance companies, insurersindicated these were not law-suits but government suits.McGinnes then filed a de-claratory judgment actionseeking a ruling. They con-tended that a defense wasowed to them based on thepolicy as well as payment formore than $2 million in at-torneys’ fees from the startof the action.
A federal district courtjudge granted summaryjudgment for the insurers,determining that the EPACERCLA Action was not asuit triggering the duty todefend. So the company ap-pealed to the Fifth CircuitCourt with the arguementthat “suit” was ambiguous inthis contest but insurers ar-gued a “suit” was a court pro-ceeding.
EPA SuitContinued from page 1.
access or use of contami-nated water within the de-fined boundary. Finally,more monitoring wells andshort-term monitoring toverify the proposed DefinedBoundary; conduct long-term monitoring to ensurethat the contaminant plumesare not expanding. Alongwith those two steps comesthe promise of an extensiveevaluation of data periodical-ly and then take appropriatecontingency measures asneeded.
Located near the San Ja-cinto River at Old BeaumontHighway and Gulf PumpRoad, the French LimitedSite was a sand quarry in the1950s and 1960s that left a6-acre sand pit. The locationthen accepted industrialwaste material from 1966until 1971 taking in an esti-mated 90 million gallons ofchemical waste, transform-ing it into a lagoon. This siteis within the San JacintoRiver flood plain in a flood-way subject to potentialflooding. PCBs, arsenic, vol-atile organic compounds,benzene and DNAPLs havebeen found in the soil.
So, after taking out con-
FrenchLimited
Continued from page 3
taminated ground water, re-maining contamination wasto weaken to levels below thefederal and state drinkingwater levels. From 1992 un-til 1996, a ground waterpump and treat system wasin place working on affectedwater bearing zones. Since1996 ground water monitor-ing has been performed todocument if residual groundwater contaminants canmeet drinking water levels.No, it is not as safe as drink-ing water.
Those parties named aspotentially responsible forthe pollution formed theFrench Limited Task Groupin 1988. The French Limit-ed Task Group has investi-gated and implementedremedies at the Site but haz-ardous substances remain inthe ground water at the Siteare addressed in the newplan.
The plan is waive drink-ing water levels in the twozones. Prevent installingwells nearby and do statuto-ry reviews every five years.The pump and treat remedypreviously used are not ca-pable of achieving resultssafe for drinking water.
The Queen and King of Barrett Station grace Saturday’s parade down MainStreet last Saturday there were three other queens for Barrett Station as well.
Royalty in the Barrett StationHomecoming Parade
PARADE UNITS in the Barrett Homecoming celebration. Here are the CrosbyMiddle School Cheer Steppers.
NORTH CHANNEL✯STARPage 6 WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014
COMMUNITY NEWS
NORTH CHANNEL BUSINESS DIRECTORYCall 281-328-9605 to Advertise YOUR Business
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South Drive Baptist Church15229 South Drive Channelview, TX 77530
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Greg Shaw
Arkema, an internationalleader in speciality chemicaland performance materials,invited six talented GPISDteachers to participate in theArkema Science Teacher Pro-gram, held July 8th through10th. The three day ArkemaScience Teacher Programpaired three sets of partnerteachers with Arkema scien-tists to explore a professional-ly-developed, grade-specificscience experiment kit. Eachkit contains up to eight weeks
Houston, TX, June 2014 -HCA Affiliated East HoustonRegional Medical Center(EHRMC) is pleased to wel-come Dr. Naveed Zafar, Gen-eral Surgeon.
Dr. Zafar completed his Sur-gical Residency at Seton HallUniversity, St. Francis Medi-cal Center in Trenton, NJ, andserved as Surgical Chief Resi-dent there as well. He followedup with a Fellowship in Mini-mally Invasive Surgery at theTexas Endosurgery Institutein San Antonio, Texas. Beforemoving to East Houston Re-gional Medical Center, he heldthe position of Vice Chief ofMedical Staff at South Texas
North Channel✯ STAR
Printing Department -
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GALENA PARK
Teachers attend training programwith Arkema scientists
Pictured (l/r): Kim Marak, Arkema Science Teacher Program Director, Leticia Alvarado, Thomas Hinckley,Arkema Training Specialist, Nemia Carpio, Cheryl Stapp, Arkema Logistics Clerk, Karen Bernal, Milagros DeLarrazabal, Amalia Torres, and Jessie Angelle.
of exciting and engaging class-room instruction material.
Teachers spent three daysalong side Arkema scientistsexploring their kits and gain-ing valuable insight as to howto apply the concepts of weath-er and environmental systemsto their classroom. At the con-clusion of the intense trainingprogram, the kits are donatedto the teachers' for their class-room use. Arkema also madea $500 donation to each of thethree selected campuses to
help enhance their scienceprogram.
Leticia Alvarado and NemiaCarpio from Jacinto City Ele-mentary (JCE), Karen Bernaland Jessie Angelle from Wood-land Acres Elementary (WAE),and Milagros De Larrazabaland Amalia Torres form Clo-verleaf Elementary (CLF) hadan amazing experience andfelt very fortunate with the op-portunities Arkema provided.
East Houston Regional MedicalCenter welcomes Dr. Naveed Zafar
Regional Medical Center.Dr. Zafar maintains sever-
al professional membershipsincluding American College ofSurgeons, American Society ofColon and Rectal Surgeons,Society of American Gas-trointestinal and EndoscopicSurgeons and Association ofPhysicians of Pakistani-de-scent of North America wherehe served as Secretary of theSouth Central Texas Chapter.
He brings a great deal ofprofessional medical trainingand surgical experience to theNorth Channel area and iscurrently practicing at Surgi-cal Associates: Greater Hous-ton, 1140 Westmont Dr,
Dr. Naveed Zafar
Houston. Please join with usin welcoming Dr. Naveed Za-far to East Houston RegionalMedical Center.
The EPA's proposed stan-dards
The agency has proposednew standards for refineriesthat would significantly limitexposure to these hazards byremoving 5,600 tons per year oftoxic air pollutants from com-munities' air, along with 52,000tons of volatile organic com-pounds, and 700,000 metrictons of greenhouse gases (car-bon dioxide equivalent). Theproposed standard would dra-
matically reduce the healththreats, including cancer riskfor at least one million people,while also reducing the pollu-tion all nearby communitiesmust breathe.
There are significantchanges in this rulemaking,including:
-Community fence-line airmonitoring and a fence-linebenzene standard for the firsttime, which would require refin-eries to measure toxic air pol-lution at the property line as itgoes into the local community'sair. Monitoring data will bemade publicly available for com-munities to use. If benzene lev-els exceed the fence-line
EPA MEETING,Continued from page 1
standard, EPA is requiring aplan for corrective action.
-New monitoring and com-bustion efficiency requirementsfor flaring (or the burning ofwaste gas) which is, too often,used routinely and which cre-ates harmful new pollution.
-Tighter control require-ments on emissions from vari-ous parts of refineries likedelayed coker units and storagetanks, which are major contrib-utors to the toxic air pollutionin communities near refineries.
-Removal of the unlawfulloopholes in the existing stan-dards, so that refineries can nolonger get away scot-free withviolations during startups,shutdowns, and malfunctions.
Page 7WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 NORTH CHANNEL✯STAR
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28-2
CrosbyIndependent
School DistrictInvitation for Bids
Sale of 23.918Acres of Land
The Crosby Indepen-dent School District(CISD) is solicit ingsealed bids from inter-ested parties for thesale of a tract of landcontaining 23.918acres, such propertybeing described asBlock 1, Restricted Re-serve B of Newport El-ementary, an addition inHarris County, Texas,according to the map orplat thereof recordedunder Film Code526050 of the MapRecords of HarrisCounty, Texas SAVEAND EXCEPT landdedicated to public forcut back corner asshown on the plat. Theproperty is located atthe southwest corner ofthe intersection of NorthDiamondhead Boule-vard and FM 2100( C r o s b y - H u f f m a nRoad) in Crosby, Texas.The bid documents maybe picked up weekdaysbetween 8 a.m. and 4p.m. beginning July 10,2014 at the CISD Su-perintendent’s office at706 Runneburg Road,Crosby, Texas 77532.Interested parties alsomay contact Fred Far-go at 713-455-0246 toobtain a copy of the bidpackage.All bids should be com-pleted in accordancewith the bid instructions,sealed and returned tothe Superintendent’s of-fice on or before 5:00p.m. (local time) on Au-gust 18, 2014 and willbe publicly opened andread aloud at that time.CISD reserves the rightto reject any or all bidsfor the above-describedproperty. Any questionsabout the propertyshould be directed to
Fred Fargo at 713-455-0246. Any legal ques-tions should bedirected to MaureenSingleton at 713-554-6750.
CrosbyIndependent
School DistrictInvitation for BidsSale of 115 Acres
of Land
The Crosby Indepen-dent School District(CISD) is solicit ingsealed bids from inter-ested parties for thesale of a tract of landcontaining approxi-mately 115 acres ofland in the ThomasToby Survey, A-784, lo-cated on the south sideof Kennings Road inCrosby, Harris County,Texas and adjacent toand north of the BarrettPrimary CISD. The biddocuments may bepicked up weekdaysbetween 8 a.m. and 4p.m. beginning July 10,2014 at the CISD Su-perintendent’s Office at706 Runneburg Road,Crosby, Texas 77532.Interested parties alsomay contact Fred Far-go at 713-455-0246 toobtain a copy of the bidpackage.
All bids should be com-pleted in accordancewith the bid instruc-tions, sealed and re-turned to theSuperintendent’s Officeon or before 5:00 p.m.(local time) on August18, 2014 and will bepublicly opened andread aloud at that time.CISD reserves the rightto reject any or all bidsfor the above-de-scribed property. Anyquestions about theproperty should be di-rected to Fred Fargo at713-455-0246. Any le-gal questions should bedirected to MaureenSingleton at 713-554-6750.
CrosbyIndependent
School DistrictInvitation for Bids
Sale of 2.4 Acres ofLand
The Crosby Indepen-dent School District(CISD) is solicit ingsealed bids from inter-ested parties for thesale of a tract of landcontaining 2.4 acres outof the Restricted Re-serve “A”, in Block 1 ofNewport Elementary, anaddition in Harris Coun-ty, Texas according tothe plat recorded underFilm Code No. 526050of the Map Records ofHarris County, Texassuch property being lo-cated at the northwestcorner of N. Diamond-head Boulevard and FM2100 (Crosby-HuffmanRoad) in Crosby, HarrisCounty, Texas. The biddocuments may bepicked up weekdays be-tween 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.beginning July 10, 2014at the CISD Superinten-dent’s office at 706 Run-neburg Road, Crosby,Texas 77532. Interest-ed parties also maycontact Fred Fargo at713-455-0246 to obtaina copy of the bid pack-age.
All bids should be com-pleted in accordancewith the bid instructions,sealed and returned tothe Superintendent’s of-fice on or before 5:00p.m. (local time) on Au-gust 18, 2014 and willbe publicly opened andread aloud at that time.CISD reserves the rightto reject any or all bidsfor the above-describedproperty. Any questionsabout the propertyshould be directed toFred Fargo at 713-455-0246. Any legal ques-tions should be directedto Maureen Singleton at713-554-6750.
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NORTH CHANNEL✯STARPage 8 WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014
Inside - Outside - Your Pets evenyour neighbors yard
TROOPSDEPLOYMENT,Continued from page 1
not only misguided, but also ared herring. We know thatresources for border patrolagents are stretched due tounaccompanied children andfamilies surrendering to bor-der patrol agents in an at-tempt to seek asylum in theUnited States. This is not anexample of a weak borderneeding military support.This is a humanitarian crisis.Our resources should be goingtoward addressing the currentproblem at hand. What weneed are more blankets, notbullets.”
“Putting military troops onthe ground is the exact oppo-site of what we should be do-ing. We should be asking thePresident and Congress to putpolitics aside to help our bor-der patrol agents deal withthis unprecedented refugeesituation and to put resourceson the ground for the peoplewho are actually tasked withsecuring the border and thosewho are sheltering the unac-companied minors.”
“By militarizing the situa-tion, we are going to encour-age these children andfamilies to avoid the authori-ties and cause more deaths
and confusion."Rep. Armando Walle said
“Today's announcement fromthe Governor is a cheap at-tempt to militarize the border.Despite today's lip-service in-sinuating otherwise, GovernorPerry said just days ago thatthese National Guardsmenare to 'push forward a show offorce,' in dealing with the in-flux of Central American ref-ugee children.
The contributions and sac-rifices made by our militaryand their families are onesthat our country cannot repayin our lifetimes. Sending Na-tional Guard troops in tomerely 'send the message andpresent a 'visual' to kids,whom Guardsmen cannoteven apprehend under feder-al law, is an insult to the spir-it of our armed forces, not tomention a misuse of our re-sources.”
“Sending troops in to scarechildren is only the latestchapter in Governor Perry'spandering to resurrect hisfailed presidential run. Gov.Perry's inappropriate, simple-ton, and heavy-handed rheto-ric and decision-making inthis crisis showcase an abilityand willingness to appeal tofringe elements of his partywhile also serving as analarming showcase of bad pol-icymaking,” Walle concludedin his statement.
ASTRODOME:Demolition plancalled “silly”
HOUSTON, Texas – LastThursday, July 17, 2014 JudgeEd Emmett called “silly” a newproposed plan to demolish theAstrodome and replace it witha design for a park-like greenspace with structures.
The Houston Texans andthe Livestock Show and Rodeohave proposed to convert theiconic “Dome” into a greenarea, which they say will belike Discovery Green in Down-town Houston. The design wasshown with renderings by thearchitectural firm, GenslerAssociates.
Even though there is not aspecific proposal nor is oneunder consideration by HarrisCounty Commissioners Court;Judge Emmett said that de-molishing the dome could bea waste of a valuable taxpay-ers asset. He noted that thepartners that proposed thisnew scheme did not say howmuch money they were willingto put into its construction,and did not have a real use inmind for the space. They saidthe preliminary cost of thisscheme was $66 million.
Most importantly, they pro-posers did not say how longthe “park” would remain, andwhether there were any guar-antees that it would not some-day be removed in favor ofparking or other uses.
“The Astrodome is the onlybuilding in the world that’s350,000 square feet of column-free space,” Judge Emmettsaid. “There are a lot of cre-ative people in the world whowould love to figure out waysto use the space if we just keepit and make it an option forthem.”
Judge Emmett also men-tioned that his plan last yearfor a $217 million bond sale toturn the Astrodome into anevents center was poorly man-aged and presented, and vot-ers turned down the plan lastfall. Nevertheless, his com-ment about the new schemeempahsized that “It’s just asilly plan.”
removed from Clinton Drive.2. The Port of Houston
should provide trucks withappropriate Waiting Areas.
3. Increase Planting specif-ic trees and vegetation in ar-eas between the Port and thepopulation.
4. Paving and using roadswithin the Port rather thanClinton Drive for major trucktraffic.
5. Reducing truck and shipemission idling by providingpower through electrification.
The monitoring activity onwhich the report is based, wasconducted for one year in2012, according to Vasquez-St.John.
Monitors were placed on theGalena Manor RecreationBuilding, Galena Park Re-source and Training Center,Galena Park Police Depart-ment, City Hall, and the Ga-lena Park ISD Early HeadStart building.
Y o u r c o m m e n t s a n dthoughts on this subject arewelcome. Please send a Letterto the Editor, 5906 Star Lane,Houston, TX 77057 or email [email protected].
You may also want to at-tend the EPA meeting on Au-g u s t 5 a t t h e B a g g e t tCommunity Center, to expressyour views or share your en-vironmental health experienc-es with the governmentrepresentatives that will be atthe meeting. See details onPage 1.
AIR QUALITY,Continued from page 1
NEW EQUIPMENT
New ambulance forGalena Park FD
FROM THE NEWEST EQUIPMENT in the Galena Park Fire Department,to the Oldest, the department prides itself on being fully equipedand trained to safely protect the citizens, according to Fire ChiefPaul Gregory. Gregory has been chief since July 2013, and duringthat time added personnel and equipment to bring the departmentup to date. Above, MEDIC 1 is a new ambulance put into service thelast few months, and below, a classic ENGINE that only sees paradesthese days.
