Beginning our 40th year of covering the South Belt community Voice of Community-Minded People since 1976 March 5, 2015 Email: [email protected] www.southbeltleader.com Vol. 40, No. 5 Knights sell fish dinners Knights of Columbus at St. Luke the Evan- gelist Church, 11011 Hall Road, will serve Former resident lost at sea during kayak trip fi sh dinners Fridays through March 27. Din- ners consist of breaded USA catfi sh fried fi llet, A former Dobie student went missing the Alex Gallant, 23, was kayaking with his ly grabbed onto Curacas’ kayak, also tipping it again Monday evening, saying it had exhausted hush puppies, cole slaw, corn-on-the-cob, fries morning of Saturday, Feb. 28, after his kayak childhood friend Brandon Curacas, 21, when, over. all options. and iced tea or lemonade. overturned during a fi shing trip near South according to Curacas, Gallant tipped over into Curacas managed to grab on to a nearby buoy, Both kayaks have been located with the life Baked fi sh fi llets will be available in limited Deer Island, roughly three miles offshore from the choppy, 53-degree water and began to panic. while Gallant was last seen around 10:30 a.m. vests still attached to them. quantities. Dinners will be served between 5 Galveston Bay. In an attempt to save himself, Gallant reported- drifting away, holding onto his overturned kay- Gallant, who graduated from Dobie in 2011, and 7 p.m. All money raised will benefi t local ak. Curacas was rescued by a good Samaritan is the father of a 4-month-old baby boy. His fam- and community projects. Dine in or take out around 1 p.m. and taken to a pier, where he was ily and a team of volunteers continued to search dinners are $10 each. treated for mild hypothermia and released. for him at press time. The U.S. Coast Guard launched a search for Anyone with information on this incident is Frazier offers scholarships Water blowout causes flooding Gallant by helicopter and boat around 4 p.m. asked to contact the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Saturday but was forced to suspend its mission Houston-Galveston Command Center at 281- Frazier Elementary is offering scholarships around 11 p.m. due to inclement weather. The 464-4854 or on the radio at VHF Marine Chan- to seven graduating seniors at Dobie High Coast Guard later resumed its search but halted it nel 16. School who attended Frazier in third and fourth grades. Applications and requirement information are available in the Dobie Dual Highland Meadow settlement made public Credit offi ce in Portable 16. Applications must be returned to Nancy Carlton in that offi ce by Formerly confi dential details involving a set- Acting on the advice of its legal counsel, the Friday, March 13, to be considered. tlement in the lawsuit of Haywood Management board opted to settle out of court for $70,000 – Services against the Highland Meadow Home- $20,000 of which was paid by its insurance com- Weber carnival March 7 owners Association were recently made public. pany. According to recently obtained documents, Weber Elementary School, 11955 Black- In the suit, Haywood alleged its three-year board President Rudy Alafa was the only board hawk Blvd., will celebrate its annual PTA contract was breached in April 2013 when the member who wished to pursue a trial in the case. Carnival on Saturday, March 7, from 11 a.m. HOA board voted to relieve the company of its Had the suit gone to trial, the HOA’s legal to 3 p.m. Wristbands are $15 pre-sale ($12 per management duties. Continued on Page 2A sibling) or $20 on carnival day. A wristband includes all games and rides. Join in on the fun, entertainment and more. Martin holds town hall meeting Houston City Council Member Dave Martin Begun in summer 2013, the $13.5 million Kirkmont meets March 11 and several other local representatives spoke South Shaver reconstruction project includes Kirkmont Association Inc. Section 1 Home- about ongoing and future District E projects at widening the street from four to six lanes, while owners Association will meet Wednesday, a joint Capital Improvement Project (CIP) and simultaneously making underground drainage March 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the Kirkmont MUD town hall meeting Tuesday, March 3. improvements. building at 10102 Blackhawk. Meetings are Held at Space Center Houston, the proposed Overall completion of the South Shaver re- the second Wednesday of each month and all spaceport at Ellington Airport was a hot topic construction project is currently targeted for late Kirkmont residents are welcome to attend to A blowout in a water main near the intersection of Scarsdale and Beamer caused extensive of the evening. Originally proposed in 2012, the spring 2015. share comments or concerns. fl ooding Tuesday, March 3. The blowout was reportedly caused by pressure from a storm project was approved by City Council in July Similar drainage and paving projects are sewer line that runs under the main. The damage, which took more than an hour to repair, 2013. scheduled to take place in the Arlington Heights Highland Meadow to meet affected roughly two-thirds of the Clear Brook City Municipal Utility District, according City offi cials fi led for approval to construct and Freeway Manor subdivisions, with construc- to MUD General Manager Chris Clark. Photo by Dean Baier the facility with the Federal Aviation Admin- tion set to begin in fi scal years 2017 and 2018, The monthly meeting of the Highland istration earlier this year and expect an answer respectively. Meadows HOA will be held on Wednesday, by June of this year. If approved, the spaceport Attendees were also reminded of a battery, March 11, at 7 p.m. at the Parker Williams would be the 10th in the country. oil, paint and antifreeze (BOPA) mobile collec- Library, 10851 Scarsdale Blvd. Homeowners The facility, which would occupy roughly 550 tion event Saturday, March 28, at Ellington Air- are encouraged to attend. Questions prior to Local warrant roundup to begin acres on the southeast side of the Ellington site, port/Clear Lake Neighborhood Recycling Center the meeting may be directed to Deniece Reyes The City of Houston’s Municipal Courts De- ing warrants whose parked vehicle has been would be designed for horizontal takeoffs, al- from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event is free, open to with C.I.A. Services Inc. at 713-981-9000 or partment and Houston Police Department (HPD) documented multiple times at specifi c locations lowing for the launching of satellites, astronaut all city of Houston residents and will be held rain at [email protected]. will be among 300 jurisdictions across the state through a License Plate Recognition program. training, zero-gravity experiments and space or shine. that will engage in the 2015 Great Texas Warrant “The License Plate Recognition program has tourism. Martin further urged those in attendance to Police, firemen appreciated Round-Up (WRU), which is set to begin Satur- been in force since September of 2011 and has Houston Public Works and Engineering Dep- utilize the city’s 311 helpline with any questions The Rainbow Valley Neighborhood Civic day, March 7. Neighboring jurisdictions joining been extremely helpful in allowing us to locate uty Director Dan Menendez spoke on the ongo- or concerns. Club invites all law enforcement offi cers and this statewide initiative as regional participants scoffl aws,” Hartle said. ing repairs to South Shaver Street and the future The meeting was fi lmed to air on HTV Hous- fi refi ghters who work that area (Rambling include Harris, Galveston, Fort Bend and Waller Houston Municipal Courts offered an am- repairs to the Arlington Heights and Freeway ton TV. The airing date, however, was not known Trails, Green Arbor, Overlea and White Clover) counties. nesty program in November 2014 to encourage Manor subdivisions. at press time. to an Appreciation Day on Saturday, March 14, “We do everything possible to encourage indi- individuals to clear delinquent court matters at from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 10403 White Clover viduals to resolve their court matters well before considerable cost savings. At that time, certain Drive. Food, drinks, music and desserts will be they become delinquent, but when all else fails, cases in delinquent status were discounted by the Tylka selected SVFD chief, again provided. For more information, contact James we turn to law enforcement to execute outstand- dismissal of the Failure to Appear fi ne. The 2014 Gums, civic club president, at 832-867-2762. ing warrants,” said Director and Presiding Judge, amnesty program assisted in clearing more than Chuck Tylka was re- members. Barbara E. Hartle. “Participating in the statewide 9,000 outstanding Municipal Court warrants; cently re-elected by his “I feel like he’s been an excellent chief,” Ter- WRU program simultaneously with other juris- however, there will be no amnesty offered during colleagues to serve an- rell said. “He’s accomplished a lot. He was a PLT celebrates 60 years dictions helps bring about greater public aware- the Warrant Round-Up period. Individuals are other term as chief of the driving force in getting the new fi re station, and Join the fun and celebrate 60 continuous ness, which will hopefully encourage people to being urged to resolve cases to avoid arrest. Southeast Volunteer Fire he’s extremely active in progressing the fi re de- years of entertainment on Thursday, March resolve their case or cases before they are arrest- Notices are being mailed to all Houston Mu- Department.