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Covering the Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest & the neighborhoods of North Houston Saturday, July 23, 2022 • Vol. 67 • No. 30
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City partnering with local commissioner for gun buyback By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews. com
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Residents of local neighborhoods will have a chance to take part in an initiative aimed at combatting violent crime in the city next weekend. On July 30, residents from all around the city can exchange firearms for gift cards as part of a gun buyback event that will be held at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, 3826 Wheeler Ave. according to
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INSIDE.
a news release from the city. The program is the first gun buyback program as part of One Safe Houston, the city’s $53.1 million initiative aimed at combatting gun violence in the city, which kicked off in February. It is a partnership between the Houston Police Department, city of Houston, and Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis. “All across Precinct One, from the Houston Heights to Sheldon, peo-
ple are worried about the increase in gun violence, especially in our schools,” Ellis said Wednesday. “We simply cannot wait around for the federal or state government to act. We have to take action on a local level, right now.” The buyback, he said, is part of that action. Those who turn in their guns will receive a $50 gift card for every non-functioning gun, $100 for a rifle, $150 for a handgun, and $200 for an assault rifle according to the city. All guns
The final ride
must be unloaded and inside the vehicle’s trunk, the city said. “If we get one gun off the street that may have ended up being used in a violent crime, it’s worth it,” he said. It is open to all residents no questions asked, the city said, including residents of local Precinct 1 neighborhoods such as Independence Heights, parts of the Greater Heights, and Acres Homes See BUYBACK P. 8
Redistricting to impact area council districts By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
Under the sea Star Sailor and Cofffe was a perfect hit for this week’s food reviewer, Sonia Ramos.
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Market roundup The home sales market has continued to cool, and local areas are not immune, according to recent HAR data.
Page 4 Photo from HISD website Waltrip High School automotive teacher Kris Killam, second from right, is retiring after 31 years teaching at the school. He left a lasting impact on many people at the school, students and colleagues alike
Retiring Waltrip auto teacher leaves lasting legacy By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
Garden Guru In this week’s column, Amy Williams provides some tips on using your harvest to create delectable tastes.
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THE INDEX. Church........................................................... 3 Classifieds................................................ 7 Coupons....................................................... 6 Food/Drink................................................. 2 Opinion......................................................... 3 Public Information............................. 8 Puzzles.......................................................... 3
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As a student at Waltrip High School in the early 1990s, Derek Lang had a rudimentary understanding of how cars worked. But it was really Waltrip automotive technology teacher Kris Killam’s simple piece of encouragement that served as one of the most significant springboards for his future. “The biggest thing is that he gave me confidence to do what I’m doing,” said Lang, a longtime auto tech worker who has owned and operated Kar Hospital at 3419 Ella Blvd. next to the school since 2010. “He told me that day ‘you’ve got a knack for this.’” While it may seem simple, Lang said that piece of advice gave him more self-confidence than he could’ve imagined or had ever possessed. And such an anecdote was common when it came to Killam, who has retired after teaching automotive technology at Waltrip for the past 31 years. Killam first came to the school during the 1990-
1991 school year, and said he has cherished every bit of the last three decades. “When I first came to Waltrip…I had no idea I would spend half of my life here teaching the kids of this community,” he said. “…Since I have been at Waltrip, it has been a family to me for quite some years.” The love, it appears, is mutual. One member of that family is former Waltrip band director Jesse Espinosa, who is now the head band director at Klein Forest High School. He had served as Waltrip’s head band director since 2012 before leaving at the end of the 20212022 school year. Espinosa, 44, has had a longstanding connection with Killam, first as a student at Waltrip in the mid-90s and then as a colleague starting when he rejoined the school as assistant band director in the early 2000s. Killam has also been Waltrip’s senior class sponsor since 1992, which overlapped with Espinosa’s senior year in 1995 when Espinosa was the school’s senior class president.
His longtime friend and colleague called Killam a pillar of the Waltrip community in many aspects, and characterized him as one of the most “honest, caring, and hard-working” teachers Espinosa has ever known. “Mr. Killam is truly a throwback to what teachers were for many years at Waltrip. I absolutely call him one of my strong mentors,” Espinosa said. “He was always a great listener and offered tremendous advice…I was already going to miss him since I was leaving, but this takes it to another level.” Lang echoed that sentiment, saying that Killam was always ready to lend an ear, hand, and anything else to his students and go the extra mile. Even during Lang’s senior year in 1994, when the automotive class was stuck working out of a sweltering temporary building as the school built a new auto shop, he said Killam never lost his passion for the students or his community. “He always supported all of us no matter what,” Lang said. “Never judged
us no matter what, and stuck with us through all the good times and bad.” So too, did 2002 graduate Clinton Holland. “Despite his intimidating presence, he was always jovial and easy to talk to,” Holland said. “But he also wasn’t afraid to let you know when you screwed up or needed a kick in the pants.” That, Killam said, is what his job is all about. “I have learned a lot from how a school can work together as a whole for the best interest of the students,” he said. “I want to thank the parents for allowing me to not only teach your children, but also to get to know them after they have graduated and have become successful individuals in our society.” Some of Killam’s former students, such as Lang, have gone on to work in the automotive industry. Others are now engineers and Marine Corps attorneys. Still another, he said, is an occupational therapist who mentored Killam’s own daughter in following that same path. See LEGACY P. 8
Some local neighborhood residents could soon find themselves voting in new city council districts, depending on what happens with the latest redistrict effort. Houston, like many other communities across the state, must redistrict its council boundaries based on the latest census data. And city demographer Jerry Wood last week presented the initial proposal for how the city’s districts might change, reflecting the fact that Houston’s population has risen by nearly 10 percent from the 2010 census, up to 2,304,580 according to the city. A March presentation from the city said redistricting is needed to keep with the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which says each of the city’s 11 council districts must be relatively equal in population and have identifiable geographic boundaries while not breaking up voting precincts and avoiding demographic population or dilution. “It was my aim to provide a point from which the public could react to the changes proposed and council can examine the ways in which the changes would affect both their districts and the city as a whole,” Wood said. If the proposed changes shown on July 13 were approved, District C represented by Abbie Kamin – which currently includes Greater Inwood, Central Northwest, Lazybrook/Timbergrove, the Heights, and Washington Avenue – would see its population reduced by annexing areas that are west of Antoine and north of Highway 290 into Council Member Amy Peck’s See REDISTRICTING P. 8
Kamin
Cisneros
Man accused of child sexual abuse in Independence Heights By Landan Kuhlman landan@theleadernews.com
Santos (Photo from Crime Stoppers)
Houston authorities are asking for the public’s help locating a man who is accused of sexually assaulting a child for five years in Independence Heights, according to Houston Crime Stoppers. Jose Santos, 58, is charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child, according to Crime Stoppers. A news release from Crime Stoppers said that in February of 2021, the Houston Police Department received a report of sexual abuse
that occurred in the 4400 block of Oxford Street, according to Crime Stoppers. During the investigation, Crime Stoppers said the child victim made an outcry alleging sexual abuse by Santos from Oct. 25, 2014 to Oct. 25, 2019. Santos is a man, about 5-foot-6 and weighing about 250 pounds, with brown eyes and salt and pepper hair, according to Crime Stoppers. He drives a red 2004 Ford Explorer with the license plate number KXN8445, according to Crime Stoppers.
“We’re asking the public to step up to the plate like they have so many times and give us that one tip,” Crime Stoppers victim advocate Andy Kahan said. “We know somebody out there knows who he is.” Crime Stoppers will offer a reward up to $5,000 for information leading to Santos’ whereabouts, according to Kahan. Information can be reported by calling Crime Stoppers at 713-2228477, online at www.crimestoppers.org or by using the Crime Stoppers mobile app.