South Belt-Ellington Leader Thursday, January 21, 2021
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4444 yearsyears ooff ccoveringovering SSouthouth BBeltelt Voice of Community-Minded People since 1976 Thursday, January 21, 2021 Email: [email protected] www.southbeltleader.com Vol. 45, No. 51 COVID numbers continue As of Wednesday, Jan. 20, a total of 96 South Belt residents had been confi rmed dead from Construction begins on Beamer Road ditch widening COVID-19, according to Harris County offi - Work has begun on the Harris County Flood tion Basin. Road-eastbound). cials – up one from the previous week. Report- Bridge closures and detours will be im- Control District project to make drainage im- Construction is expected to take approxi- Funding for the $10.7 million project is to be ing of deaths related to COVID-19, however, plemented when channel construction is be- provements along Beamer Ditch. mately two years. Phase 1 construction will take low a bridge (Scarsdale, Astoria and Beamer Continued on Page 8 may be delayed by local offi cials. Construction, however, got off to a rocky start place from early 2021 to fall 2021; Phase 2 con- Of the 3,983 confi rmed cases in 77089, 807 when crews accidentally broke a city water main, struction will take place from fall 2021 to spring remain active, while 3,132 have recovered from causing residents to have a signifi cant drop in 2022; and Phase 3 construction will take place the virus. To date, 44 from the ZIP code have pressure. from spring 2022 to fall 2022. First day on the job woes died from the disease, one more than the previ- The project will provide concrete lining on County offi cials said the precautions will be ous week. the area ditch from Sagerock to near Dixie Farm taken to limit traffi c congestion along the busy In 77075, 529 of the 2,906 confi rmed cas- Road. The endeavor will be broken down into thoroughfare. es remain active, while 2,352 have recovered. A three phases. Phase 1 will run from Sagerock There will be no lane closures from 7 to 9 a.m. total of 25 from the ZIP code have died. to Scarsdale; Phase 2 will run from Scarsdale and 4 to 6:30 p.m. One lane of Beamer will re- Of the 3,076 confi rmed cases in 77034, 493 to Astoria; and Phase 3 will run from Astoria to main open in each direction during the majority remain active, while 2,556 have recovered from Beamer near the South Belt Stormwater Deten- of construction. the disease. To date, 27 residents from ZIP code 77034 have died from the disease. According to Harris County Public Health offi cials, the vast majority of the fatalities suf- Meeting on Riverstone school fered from pre-existing health issues. State Rep. Dennis Paul will host a public meet- for a specifi c date and time. Countywide, there are 287,753 total con- ing in the upcoming weeks to address the future Paul has also asked offi cials from the TEA to fi rmed cases. Of those, 234,719 have recov- status of the controversial charter school in the Riv- attend the meeting. ered, while 50,234 cases remain active. A to- erstone Ranch subdivision, which has remained Under construction for approximately fi ve tal of 2,783 deaths have been reported in Har- half-constructed for several years, causing many years, work on the new charter school in the River- ris County. Statistics are updated daily and in- complaints from residents who view the proper- stone Ranch subdivision has once again come to a clude numbers from within both the Houston ty as an eyesore. The date should be released next standstill, frustrating many residents that have long city limits and throughout Harris County. To week, when attendees from the school have been opposed the project. view an interactive map, visit publichealth.har confi rmed. Located on a nine-acre site on Riverstone Ranch riscountytx.gov/Resources/2019-Novel-Coro The function is currently set to take place at Road at Kirksage, the property was set to house the navirus. Melillo Middle School, at a time to be announced. Elite College Prep Academy - Riverstone, a branch Pasadena ISD Superintendent Dr. DeeAnn Powell of Houston Gateway Academy. Beltway closures planned has given Paul use of the campus any Friday night At press time, it was unclear why construction At least one eastbound and one westbound through Feb. 12. See future editions of the Leader Continued on Page 2 Beltway 8 frontage road lane will be closed from the Gulf Freeway to SH 288 daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Thursday, Feb. 11. At least Education board election time nears one northbound and one southbound Beltway Filing for the upcoming May 1 school board trict offi ce, 4624 Fairmont Parkway Suite 200, 8 frontage road lane will be closed from Red elections began Wednesday, Jan. 13, and will Pasadena, TX 77504. Offi ce hours are week- Bluff Road to Pasadena Boulevard continuously continue through Friday, Feb. 12. days, from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Work crews from Complete Concrete working for the Harris County Flood Control District through 4:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1. Both Pasadena ISD and the San Jacinto Col- Applications may also be emailed to elec- Tuesday broke a city water main, as they began construction on drainage improvements along The closures are associated with the ongo- lege District will hold elections that date. Clear [email protected] or faxed to 281-998-6324. Beamer Ditch. The incident took place between Highland Meadow Drive and Sagedowne. ing project to widen Beltway 8 from two to four Creek ISD held its board election Nov. 3. Pasadena ISD The $10.7 million project will make improvements from Sagerock to near Dixie Farm Road. lanes in each direction. San Jacinto College Up for grabs in Pasadena ISD are the Position Work on the project is expected to take two years to complete. Photo by Marie Flickinger Three positions are up for election on the San 1 seat, currently held by Fred Roberts; the Po- Gulf Freeway closures set Jacinto College District San Jacinto College Dis- sition 2 seat, currently held by Mariselle Quija- At least one northbound and one south- trict board. Up for grabs are the Position 5 seat, no; the Position 3 seat, currently held by Nelda A look back at the year 2020 bound lane on the Gulf Freeway will be closed currently held by John Moon Jr.; the Position 6 Sullivan; and the Position 4 seat, currently held Continued from last week’s issue take the individual into custody for a mental from FM 517 to FM 518 in League City daily seat, currently held by Dan Mims; and the Posi- by Jack Bailey. At press time, only Quijano and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and nightly from 9 p.m. Aug. 6 evaluation. tion 7 seat, currently held by Keith Sinor. Sullivan had fi led to maintain their positions. With the Dobie Class of 2020 graduation tak- Aug. 20 to 5 a.m. through Wednesday, March 31. Clo- All three board members had fi led to maintain Roberts, who has held the position since 1993, sures may intermittently affect two lanes of ing place Thursday, July 30, the area high school Tuesday, Aug. 18, marked the start of the their positions. Terms are six years. told the Leader he does not plan to run again. offi cially ended its most unique year on record. 2020-2021 academic year for Pasadena ISD. traffi c and include alternate entrance and exit All candidates must fi ll out an application and Terms are four years. All candidates must fi ll out ramp closures. Pasadena ISD students were on spring break in Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the return it by email, mail, fax or in person. All ap- an application and return it by email, mail, fax or mid-March when the ongoing COVID-19 pan- school district provided all instruction virtually At least one northbound and one south- plication forms must be returned by 5 p.m. Feb. in person. All application forms must be returned bound lane on the Gulf Freeway will be closed demic fi rst made its local presence known, forc- until Sept. 8. At that time, students who selected 12. To view candidate eligibility requirements by 5 p.m. Feb. 12. ing area schools to close as a safety precaution. face-to-face-instruction returned to their home from FM 2004/Camp Wallace Access Road to or receive an application, visit www.sanjac.edu/ To view requirements or receive an applica- FM 519/Main Street in La Marque daily from As the virus continued to spread, students never campuses, while the remainder of students con- about-san-jac/board-trustees/election-informa- tion, visit www1.pasadenaisd.org/school_board/ returned to their physical campuses, forced to in- tinued to distance-learn until they felt comfort- 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and nightly from 9 p.m. to 5 tion/board-election-may-2021. election_information/election_-_may_1__2021. a.m. through Wednesday, March 31. stead learn virtually from home. able enough to return to school. Potential candidates may also receive an ap- Potential candidates may also obtain an appli- Longtime South Belt resident and member of Aug. 27 The closures are associated with an ongo- plication by visiting the San Jacinto College Dis- Continued on Page 8 ing construction project to widen the freeway the Southeast Volunteer Fire Department Karen A fatal crash took place early Wednesday, from three to fi ve lanes in each direction and Smith died from COVID-19.