4141 yearsyears ofof coveringcovering SSouthouth BBeltelt Voice of Community-Minded People since 1976 Thursday, May 18, 2017 Email: [email protected] www.southbeltleader.com Vol. 42, No. 16 Gulf Freeway to close There will be a total closure of the north- bound main lanes of the Gulf Freeway from Dobie ninth-grade center opening postponed FM-518 to El Dorado Boulevard from 9 p.m Friday, May 19, to 5 a.m. Monday, May 22. The opening of the new Dobie ninth-grade the new campus to January 2018.” In the fall of 2014, Dobie was named one of mary campus to approximately 3,100-3,200 stu- All traffi c will be diverted to the northbound center has been postponed until early 2018, ac- To be located at the southeast corner of Fuqua the 100 largest high schools in America. With a dents, with a capacity for enrollment at the ninth- frontage roads. cording to Pasadena Independent School District and Monroe, the campus was approved by voters reported 3,452 students, Dobie ranked No. 88 on grade center of 1,000-1,100 students. At least one northbound and one south- offi cials. in November 2014 as part of a $175 million bond the list. The facility will house only fi rst year bound main lane and frontage road lane on the Originally scheduled to open in August 2017 package. According to PISD officials, however, Dobie’s ninth-graders. Students will have the same aca- Gulf Freeway from FM-528/NASA Road 1 to for the 2017-2018 school year, the campus is The new facility is needed to alleviate over- enrollment at the beginning of the 2014-2015 demic and extracurricular opportunities as stu- Fuqua will be closed daily from 9 a.m. to 3 now expected to open in January 2018. crowding at the area school, as Dobie has been at school year was actually 3,708 students (1,005 dents on the main campus. p.m. and nightly from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. through School offi cials sent a letter to parents notify- its maximum capacity for more than a decade. freshmen, 994 sophomores, 887 juniors and 822 School offi cials are confi dent the postpone- Thursday, June 1. ing them of the delay. When the new Blackhawk campus was con- seniors). Using this figure, the school would ment is in the students’ best interest. The closures are associated with an ongo- “The building will be fi rst class, state of the structed as part of a 2000 bond issue, it was de- have been ranked No. 56 on the list. “We certainly understand that this is not ideal, ing construction project to widen the freeway art and beautiful,” said Dobie Principal Franklin signed to accommodate 3,000 students. A subse- By 2018-2019, enrollment at Dobie is expect- but be assured that we will still be able to keep from three to fi ve lanes in each direction and Moses and Dobie Ninth-Grade Campus Princi- quent bond issue in 2004 increased student ca- ed to reach 4,200. PISD offi cials expect the pro- our three promises to each incoming freshman the frontage roads from two to three lanes in pal Mike Van Essen in the joint letter. “Construc- pacity by 525, bringing the total to 3,525. posed campus to reduce enrollment at the pri- Continued on Page 2A each direction. tion crews have been working diligently the past Campus enrollment, however, topped 4,000 14 months. We want to make sure that all parts of students at the beginning of the 2015-2016 Beamer closure planned this campus are in pristine condition and ready to school year. HPD officer charged with DWI be utilized for your student’s arrival. Factors out Last school year, the campus had 14 portable Beamer Road will be completely closed at of our control, such as weather conditions and buildings, including 12 double-classroom build- Beltway 8 from the evening of Friday, May 19, other circumstances have delayed the opening of ings and two quad-classroom buildings. after annual South Belt cook-off to the evening of Saturday, May 20. This will be a full closure of the northbound A Houston police offi cer has been relieved the scene. Ayala reportedly admitted to drinking and southbound lanes of Beamer under the of duty after being charged with driving while four beers and two shots of whiskey between 8 beltway. Both U-turn lanes will also be closed. Ellington holds groundbreaking intoxicated after leaving the annual South Belt and 11:30 p.m. and agreed to take a blood test. Alternate routes include Sabo Road and Spectacular Cook-off on Saturday, April 29. Ayala joined the force in 2013 and works in Blackhawk. Offi cer Jose Ayala was offi cially charged on the Southeast Patrol. He will remain off duty un- The measure is to ensure driver safety, as Tuesday, May 10, after blood test results deter- til the case is resolved. work on the beltway overpass is expected to mined he had a blood alcohol level of 0.082. He The charge comes just four days after another cause debris to fall onto the Beamer thorough- had initially been detained for suspicion of drunk Houston police offi cer was charged with DWI. fare below. driving. In that incident, Offi cer Ronald Gilbert, 27, According to police, Ayala left the cook-off in was found passed out in his patrol vehicle while CBM holds annual sale a white Corvette shortly after midnight and was on duty in the 15400 block of Galveston Road in Clear Brook Meadows will hold its annual stopped by Precinct 2 deputies after he was wit- the Clear Lake area around 12:30 a.m. on Satur- spring garage sale on Sunday, May 21. Each nessed driving recklessly, almost hitting an offi - day, May 6. participant will hold his or her own sale. cer who was directing traffi c. A fi ve-year veteran of the department, Gilbert Once detained, Ayala identifi ed himself as an was also relieved of his duty until the case is re- LSA holds summer camps HPD offi cer, and Houston police were called to solved. Registration is open for summer camps at Lu- theran South Academy. Camps are available for art, baseball, boys basketball, girls basketball, CCISD Robonauts create a Ruckus book creator, football, forensic science, Lunch Bunch, physical education, Pioneer Power Camp, photography, Pride Camp, scuba, soccer, tennis and volleyball. For students interested in weights, strength and agility, Pride Camps are available for stu- dents entering grades 6-8 and 9-12 in the fall. The Pioneer Power camp is for students entering grades 9-12 and is great for students in football, boys soccer, basketball, baseball and volleyball. Camp length varies depending on the camp. A groundbreaking ceremony was recently held at Ellington Airport for the facility’s new Go to www.lutheransouth.org for more de- state-of-the-art air traffi c control tower. The $12.4 million project will replace the airport’s tails and camp registration. existing tower, which suffered structural damage in 2008 during Hurricane Ike. Shown above at the event are, left to right, Keith Graf, director of Aerospace and Aviation, Offi ce of the Governor of Texas; Bob Mitchell, president, Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership; JFD cheer holds car wash Dave Martin, District E City Council Member, City of Houston; Mario C. Diaz, director of Avi- Dobie cheerleaders will hold a car wash ation, City of Houston; and Arturo Machuca, general manager, Ellington Airport and Houston Saturday, May 20, at Snowie’s, at Beamer and Spaceport. (See related story on Page 4A.) Photo submitted Scarsdale, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is $5. Beltway 8 closures set Both the Blackhawk exit and Monroe en- Chamber honors top-10 graduates trance on Beltway 8 will be closed through Sat- Community leaders and elected offi cials gath- where the luncheon was held and applying for urday, July 8. The closures are associated with ered Tuesday, May 16, at a luncheon hosted by a job while still in high school. He was forced widening Beltway 8 from Beamer to Highway the South Belt-Ellington Chamber of Commerce to look elsewhere, however, when he was told 288 from two to four lanes in each direction. to honor the top-10 2017 graduates from Do- he would have to purchase three white shirts – Students from the Clear Creek Independent School District’s robotics team, The Ro- bie High School, Lutheran South Academy and something he could not afford at the time. bonauts, recently placed second in the world at a competition held at Minute Maid Park. Brook cheer holds clinic Clear Horizons High School. Phan told the students that life will not be For its entry, the team designed a shooting robot named Ruckus. Shown above at the event The Clear Brook High School cheerleaders Dr. Victor Van Phan, an orthopedic surgeon without its challenges. with Ruckus are, left to right, Coach Justin Ridley, Reed Blanchard (Clear Lake), Ryan will hold a spring cheer clinic Saturday, May from Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital, “You will fail,” Phan said. “Your parents hav- Stockton (Clear Springs), Ethan Reed (Clear Springs) and Brennan Butcher (Clear Brook). 20, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the school gym- once again served as the featured speaker at the en’t taught you that. Whether in college or your Photo submitted nasium. Houston Texans Cheerleader Natalie event. career, you will fail. It’s what you do during that will make a special appearance.