Voice of Community-Minded People since 1976 February 6, 2014 Email: [email protected] www.southbeltleader.com Vol. 39, No. 1 Valentine Love Lines Valentine Love Lines to be printed in the Feb. 13 edition of the Leader are available for $10 for 25 words. Decorative larger ads with Risner trial leads to multiple arrests artwork will also be available. Call the Leader at 281-481-5656 for rates. Ads must be re- The ongoing lawsuit of Judge George Risner Irgoyen (the mother of Iris Irgoyen), 53, and her application included hundreds of fraudulent In the suit, Risner alleges that 380 of 447 sig- ceived by noon Tuesday, Feb. 11. against the Harris County Republican Party has David Basurto, 55, have also been indicted by petition signatures. natures turned in are fraudulent leaving the num- led to the arrests of two campaign workers, with a Harris County grand jury but had not yet been Olivares-Salazar, an Ashley Pointe resident, ber of signatures far short of the 250 required to warrants being issued for two others. arrested at press time. and her campaign manager, Daniel McCool, who for the candidate’s name to appear on the ballot. Dobie Financial Aid Night set Ralph Basil Garcia, 57, and Iris Irgoyen, 28, In the lawsuit, Risner, a Democrat, alleges started the South Belt Area Republicans, contend In a similar trial Tuesday between candidate Dobie High School will have its Financial were each arrested Tuesday, Feb. 4, and charged that the local Republican Party violated state that the candidate should not be removed from Julia Maldonado and the Harris County Demo- Aid Night information session in the cafeteria with engaging in organized criminal activity and election law by placing candidate Leonila Oliva- the ballot, as she was not personally responsible cratic Party, visiting Judge Bob Wortham of on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 6 p.m. All junior and tampering with a governmental record. Annette res-Salazar on its ballot after being notifi ed that for collecting the signatures in question. Beaumont ruled it was too late to alter the March senior high school parents are invited to at- Olivares-Salazar admits to hiring a third party, 4 primary ballot, as around 12,000 absentee bal- tend. The following week, on Feb. 13, parents Collonnade Marketing, to fi ll out the petitions. lots have already been mailed out. of seniors will have the opportunity to com- McCool said the company is also responsible for In addition to the Harris County Republican plete the FAFSA with their financial docu- Former school irks neighbors assisting in campaigns for such well-known local Party and its chairman, Jared Woodfi ll, Olivares- ments. The time will be from 6 to 8 p.m. in politicians as Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. Salazar’s name has also now been added to the Dobie Computer Classroom 109. Olivares-Salazar and Collonnade’s founder, suit, which will allow Risner to seek reimburse- Fred Blanton, have a working relationship, as the ment for legal expenses. Knights host Fiesta Dinner pair have started multiple businesses together, The case is scheduled to resume Tuesday, Feb. The St. Luke’s Knights of Columbus will such as Eventbrite and the Spring Tea Party. 18, at 9:30 a.m. host the Fiesta Dinner on Friday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. in the parish hall. The $7 dine-in dona- tion for the meal and drink will benefit the Fire ruins cause eyesore, hazard Knights of Columbus Parish Charities. Each Roughly one and a half years after the former tiple apartment complexes, as well as several dinner will consist of smothered chicken, rice First Christian Academy was destroyed by fi re, houses. Additionally, there is no barrier fence to and beans, and tea or lemonade. Tickets are its ruins have yet to be cleared, causing an eye- keep children away from the unstable debris. available by calling 281-922-7373. sore and safety hazard for surrounding residents. Precinct 1 offi cials said that the case is cur- The school/day care, located at 10950 High- rently in the hands of Harris County Public SBHLL/carnival vendors land Meadow Village, caught fi re on Friday, May Health and Environmental Services, which is 4, 2012. Ironically, the blaze took place at the trying to make the owner pay to have the site The Sagemont-Beverly Hills Little League same time as the annual South Belt Spectacular cleaned. Additional steps to clean the debris will is seeking crafts, food and merchandise ven- Cookoff, which was being hosted by the South- be taken, should the owner fail to cover the ex- dors to participate in the league’s opening day east Volunteer Fire Department, which was also penses. While First Christian Academy was al- carnival on Saturday, March 1. Booth spaces responsible for battling the fi re. ready out of business at the time of the fi re, it has are $100 per vendor. Those interested may Although the blaze, which was determined since reopened on Broadway in Pearland. email league offi cials at [email protected]. to have eight points of origin, was immediately The HCPHES, however, had not even begun ruled to be arson, no arrests have been made to work on the case until the Leader intervened last Spring Fair vendors sought date, despite initial reports stating there were week, offi cials said. Epiphany Lutheran Church of Pearland,will solid leads in the case. At the time of the blaze, the Harris County hold its Spring Fair and Handcraft Market on Multiple calls and an incident report request Fire Marshal’s offi ce was offering a $10,000 re- Saturday, April 5. There will be barbecue, a from the Leader to the Harris County Fire Mar- ward for information leading to the arrests and bake sale, plants, a raffle, and vendor booths. shal’s Offi ce Arson Department for an update on conviction of anyone involved. For booth information, call 281-485-7833. the investigation proved fruitless. It was unclear at press time, however, if the In the meantime, remains from the fi re have reward was still standing. Anyone with informa- Scholarships offered yet to be cleared, irking area neighbors. The tion on this case is urged to call 713-222-8477 academy was located directly adjacent to mul- (TIPS). Frazier Elementary Twenty months after fire destroyed the First Christian Academy, 10950 Highland Frazier Elementary will offer scholarships Meadow Village, the debris has yet to be removed, angering residents who see the struc- to seven graduating seniors at Dobie High ture as an eyesore and safety hazard. Photo by David Flickinger School who attended Frazier in third and Candidate debate set for Feb. 10 fourth grades. Applications and requirement information are available through the senior The South Belt Area Republicans will hold a March 4 primary ballot but not taking part in the counselor’s office at Dobie. Applications are candidate debate Monday, Feb. 10, at San Jacinto debate are Sheryl Berg, Briscoe Cain and Jeff due back to the Dobie counselor’s office by Leader celebrates 39 years College South for those seeking the House Dis- Larson. Friday, March 21. This week marks the 39th anniversary of the of local interest, such as fl ooding, civic groups, trict 129 seat being vacated by Rep. John Davis. John Gay is the lone Democrat running for the South Belt-Ellington Leader. road construction and the Brio Superfund site. Taking part in the debate are Republican can- position. Atkinson Elementary Originally called the South Belt Press, the fi rst In 1987, the newspaper changed its name to Atkinson Elementary PTO will offer $500 didates Mary Huls, Brent Perry, Dennis Paul and The debate is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. edition of the paper appeared on newsstands in the South Belt-Ellington Leader. In 1998, Griffi n scholarships to two graduating seniors at Chuck Maricle. in the Proscenium Theatre in the Marie Spence 1976. sold her interest to Flickinger and her son Davy, Dobie High School who attended Atkinson at Republican candidates appearing on the Flickinger Fine Arts Building. Begun by housewives Marie Flickinger and who had worked in the company’s print shop least two years, one being fourth grade. Appli- Bobby Griffi n, the newspaper initially focused since he was 16. cations and requirement information are avail- on youth sports. Griffi n continues to work part time for the pa- able through the senior counselor’s office at Later dubbed the South Belt Leader, the pa- per, and Davy Flickinger now serves as president Local sleuths make national news Dobie. The completed application must be per branched out and began to cover other pieces of the company. received by noon on Feb. 28 to be considered. A South Belt couple made national news this hands. past weekend after taking the law into their own Using the Find My iPhone app and Google Dobie baseball fundraiser hands to catch a pair of home burglars. Earth, Walden, who has a concealed weapons Deputies arrest burglary suspects The home of Carl Walden and his wife permit, loaded multiple guns and headed out to The Dobie High School Diamond Club, Kanidtha was broken into the morning of Friday, track the burglars down. the offi cial booster organization for Longhorn Deputies from the Harris County Precinct 2 On Monday, Feb. 3, deputies responded to a Jan. 31. The thieves reportedly got away with The app led Walden to an apartment complex baseball, will host a barbecue fundraiser Sat- Constable’s offi ce have arrested two suspects ac- call at roughly 1:30 a.m.