South Belt-Ellington Leader, Thursday, March 7, 2019
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
4343 yearsyears ofof coveringcovering SouthSouth BeltBelt Voice of Community-Minded People since 1976 Thursday, March 7, 2019 Email: [email protected] www.southbeltleader.com Vol. 44, No. 6 Student garage/bake sale The Student Ministry of Sagemont Church is hosting a huge garage and bake sale on Satur- Lawsuit filed in controversial flood property day, March 16, from 7 a.m. to noon. The sale will be in the parking lot near Hughes Road By James Bolen the land’s owner and a developer that had inked was to occupy six of 50 acres at the site, with the mer Friendswood City Council Member Janis on the church’s main campus at 11300 S. Sam The Harris County Flood Control District’s a contract to utilize the land. possibility of later expansion. Lowe. “The city needed to rebalance and get Houston Pkwy. E. potential purchase of a controversial piece of Plans initially called for constructing a The development came to a halt this past sum- back in routine, and get houses back on the tax All proceeds from this sale will benefi t the property on Dixie Farm Road at Blackhawk has 60,000-square-foot shopping center at the south- mer, however, when it was determined that ele- rolls. It was a balancing act. They (City Coun- construction of a new building for Sagemont’s been placed on hold following a dispute between east corner of the area intersection. The project ments of the project were approved going by out- cil members) were trying to put the city back students, junior high through college, following dated fl ood maps. together, to try and return to a sense of normal- the loss of buildings due to Hurricane Harvey. Following Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Friends- cy.” A wide assortment of items will be available for wood City Council voted to revert to 1999 fl ood- Regardless of the city’s intentions, Friend- purchase, and the church welcomes the commu- Exxon to remove soil plain maps, rather than the later 2007 models. swood residents became vocal in their opposi- nity to come and support this effort for the teen- Some opponents of the vote suspect the de- tion this past June after learning about the pro- agers. cision was to aid the proposed Parkwood Plaza posed development, which they see as a fl ood Amanda Glen gate closing set development in moving forward. hazard to the already impacted city. If the proposal had been guided by the later “The intent wasn’t to dump a bunch of dirt,” The entrance security gate for the Amanda 2007 maps, the site would be located in a fl ood- said Don Johnson, husband of Galveston County Glen subdivision will be closed 24/7 beginning way, which would have posed several obstacles Tax Assessor and Tax Collector Cheryl Johnson, March 17. All those entering the subdivision to the development. who has been a strong opponent of the develop- will need to have security access. Going by the 1999 maps, however, the devel- ment. Beverly Hills Civic meets opment would not be placed in such a fl oodway, The dirt in question had been trucked there easing construction requirements. from a nearby site, where Harris County Flood The Beverly Hills Civic Club will meet Sources close to the city’s decision contend Control District crews are constructing a massive Thursday, March 28, at Beverly Hills Park the vote was aimed at helping Friendswood resi- detention pond. The fi ll dirt was to be used toward Recreation Building from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. dents recover from the historic storm, which left construction of the shopping center, per an agree- Knights hold fi sh fry none in the area unaffected. Had the city opted to ment the county made with the property owner. use the 2007 maps, many Friendswood residents The dirt dumpings ceased, however, when In honor of Lent, the Knights of Colum- would have been forced by federal guidelines to county offi cials realized that the agreement to do bus Council 9201 will host a fish fry on Fri- elevate their homes – something many couldn’t so was based on the 1999 maps. days through April 5 in the St. Luke Catholic afford at roughly $150,000-$200,000. In addition to the possible added fl ood risks, Church social hall, 11011 Hall Road, from 5 “It was a compassionate measure,” said for- Continued on Page 6A to 7 p.m. Each dinner includes a breaded USA catfi sh fi llet, fries, hush puppies, coleslaw, corn on the cob and iced tea or lemonade. The cost is $10, eat-in or take-out. Baked fish fillets are Morales defeats Noriega for House 145 available in limited quantities. All proceeds benefit local and community projects. All are Christina Morales easily defeated Melissa for Green’s seat, leav- invited and welcome. Noriega in the March 5 special runoff elec- ing her state Senate tion to select the state representative for House seat vacant. Fun Run at Life Church set District 145. Alvarado then In the contest which was to fi ll the seat be- claimed Garcia’s for- Texas Oral and Facial Surgery is holding the An ExxonMobil contractor is shown above as he prepares to operate an excavator at Dobie High ing vacated by Rep. Carol Alvarado, Morales mer position in De- sixth annual Ima’s Home for Children 5K Run/ School. The permanent remediation work began this week. received 60.76 percent of the vote (1,824 total cember, prompting a Walk & Kids 1K March 23 at 8 a.m. at Life votes) to Noriega’s 39.24 percent (1,178 total special election for her Church, 9901 Windmill Lakes. Ima’s Home votes). seat in the state House. for Children, in Manila, Philippines, became The race marked the latest in a string of Morales is the pres- the vision of Jim Kilgore, lead pastor, after rid- Dobie-Exxon remediation ramps up elections triggered by former U.S. Rep. Gene ident of a Houston ing through Manila and seeing a portion of the As part of its ongoing remediation efforts at tions into its plans. Green’s retirement from Congress last year. area East End funeral 400,000 street children hungry and homeless. Dobie High School, ExxonMobil will be remov- The work will be divided into two phases. Former state Sen. Sylvia Garcia won the race home. Christina Morales His passion led to the creation of this facility ing impacted soil from the fi eld in front of the Phase 1 named for his mother, Imogene Kilgore. It is in campus and replacing it with clean soil. The fi rst phase of excavation will involve re- its sixth year of operation and houses more than These measures are being taken to remove re- moving impacted soil located north of the pipe- Beverly Hills incident revealed as a hoax 87 children who are clothed, educated and cared sidual hydrocarbons in the ground from the inci- line right of way. for medically. To learn about Ima’s Home, visit dent fi rst reported in early January. Air and soil monitoring stations will be in The Pasadena Independent School District Pasadena ISD police, we reacted quickly to se- www.imashomeforchildren.com. Previous cleanup efforts at the school were place on all sides of the excavation area. Police Department is investigating how a ru- cure the student in question. After a thorough To register for the 5K run, visit imas5k.it part of an emergency response, while these will While a vapor control plan will be in place mor spread on social media that claimed a investigation, we found no credible evidence syourrace.com. Registration is $35. The Kids focus more on long-term safety. during excavation, some neighbors in the area Beverly Hills Intermediate student had brought to this rumor. 1K is $25 and will follow the 5K in the Life The remediation will begin over spring break, may occasionally smell an odor similar to gaso- weapons to campus and planned to shoot up “We are aware of a misunderstanding between Church parking lot. If unable to participate, one as to limit student interference. Some elements line. the school. Continued on Page 4A may make a donation, at www.life.cc. Ima’s of the cleanup will take place over the summer A temporary road will be constructed in the Beverly Hills Principal Stacey Barber told Home for Children is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt break to also limit any inconvenience to students. fi eld in front of Dobie and will allow construc- the Leader the rumors were 100 percent false organization and is 100 percent funded by pri- The majority of remediation activities are ex- tion traffi c to bypass the majority of school and that the student in question is a model pu- Ellington incident vate donations. pected to be complete before classes resume in traffi c. ExxonMobil offi cials expect a fl ow of pil with no disciplinary problems. the fall. ExxonMobil continues to provide reg- approximately one dump truck every 30 min- Rumors suggested the boy had brought a A NASA jet airplane failed to take off from Spring break scheduled ular updates to Pasadena ISD, members of the utes through the excavation site during daytime gun and a machete to class on Friday, then Ellington Airport on Tuesday, March 5, after experiencing a malfunction with its landing Pasadena Independent School District stu- community and appropriate agencies. It has in- hours. planned to return on Monday to launch an at- gear. dents will be off Monday, March 11, through corporated their feedback, requests and sugges- The worksite will be fenced in, and students tack.