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Saturday, February 14, 2015 • Vol. 60 • No. 15
Proposed North Main music venue divides neighbors By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
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You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who didn’t think that the east side of Interstate 45 near North Main could use some major investment in development. It’s just not everyone is on board with what many are calling a game changer for the area – the multivenue development that is being planned by Pegstar Concerts in partnership with Cypress Asset Management. Pegstar Concerts currently has a lease at Fitzgerald’s on the corner of White Oak and Studewood, but they are looking for bigger digs. And although Will Garwood III with Cypress Asset Management said that there is no official capacity announcement, those who have seen preliminary plans report that the two indoor and one outdoor concert
venues currently planned at 2915 N. North Main, will seat 1,500. That’s precisely what makes Germantown resident Wendy Parker nervous. Parker, who lives in historic Germantown across I-45 from the planned venue, was the original applicant for making Germantown an historic district and is accustomed to being an advocate for her neighborhood of about 114 homes. “We found out about it in August, when the process had already started,” Parker said. Parker attended some of the meetings that the developers were having with Super Neighborhood #51, the Greater Northside Management District and other interested Photo by Betsy Denson While many in the area are excited about the proposed music venue complex, not everyone is on board.
See Venue, P. 7A
Heights Fire Station approaches centennial
Noisy neighbors
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Photo by Jonathan Garris Mark Carwile looks across Seamist Drive as a waste truck loads a dumpster at Goodman Manufacturing, which sits directly across from his home. Carwile has been at odds with the company for what he feels is excessive noise and traffic congestion caused by the manufacturing plant’s trucks.
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Manufacturing plant making headaches for Timbergrove resident By Jonathan Garris jgarris@theleadernews. com
A recent measles outbreak at Disneyland has people worried about vaccines for children, but what about adults?
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Mark Carwile says he understand the value of living in a quiet neighborhood. It’s also why his ongoing dispute with nearby Goodman Manufacturing is keeping him up at night, and it isn’t just the frustration – it’s the noise. “It’s a tough situation,” Carwile said. “I never hear the fire station, which is right behind my house, but I hear trucks going in and out of [Goodman Manufacturing] during all hours of the night it seems.” Carwile lives with his 87 year old mother at his home at the corner of Kury and Seamist Drive. Carwile has faced different health issues over the years, something he describes as being
“back and forth,” and both he and his mother sleep at odd hours compared to other neighbors because of these health issues. He claims to be facing a steady barrage of noise even during the early hours of the morning from both garbage trucks and trucks picking up materials at the Goodman’s manufacturing plant located directly across the street from him on Seamist. To make matters worse Carwile said he has also experienced varying degrees of property damage. Due to the location of the driveway on Seamist, he alleges that many trucks have had to make too wide of a turn to properly drive into the loading areas at the plant and have even struck his home once and damaged the sidewalk. His temporary solution?
Placing large rocks to help deter the trucks from going over the curb, but Carwile said it hasn’t had too big of an effect. “They actually began running over the rocks,” Carwile said. “These rocks are big enough that you can’t really pick them up on your own and we were finding pieces of bumpers laying out there. They even busted a gas line at some point, and really, the telephone pole on our street is the only thing that completely stops them in the end.” However, those walking up and down the street aren’t exactly thrilled with having to avoid boulders, Carwile admits. He also said some people have attempted to take the rocks, thinking they were on the side of the street for free. Beyond the damage,
Carwile also said trucks have routinely parked along Seamist Drive, something they simply aren’t allowed to do. He reiterated that he has had no problems with the neighboring Fire Station 62, but alleges Goodman has not exactly been the best neighbor in terms of traffic congestion and noise pollution. Rex Anderson, a representative of Goodman Industries, said his company is well aware of its place as a distribution plant in the middle of a residential area. “The plant has been there for 35 years and we’ve always remained cognizant that it’s in a residential neighborhood,” Anderson said. “We try to schedule all of our traffic in and out of there so it doesn’t interrupt See Noise, P. 7A
Excitement in the Heights is heating up as the 100th birthday of the Houston Heights Fire Station approaches. On Sunday, Mar. 8, between 2 and 4 p.m., all are invited to a celebration of the historic building and the remarkable community that surrounds it. Originally constructed in 1915 to serve the Heights municipality, the old structure sits at the corner of 12th St. and Yale St. In the years that followed its completion, the building acted as the original Heights City Hall and hosted city offices, as well as fire fighters and equipment, jail cells, and a courtroom until the Heights merged with the city of Houston in 1918. For many decades following the merger, the station functioned as the Houston Fire Department’s Station 14, until the Houston Heights Association leased it back from the city in 1995. The station underwent an extenSee Station, P. 7A
Contributed Photos Then and now - the Heights Fire Station may look vastly different now from when it was first built in 1915, but the building has always remained an important part of the community.
Dozens of animals seized from Greater Heights home By Jonathan Garris jgarris@theleadernews.com Officials with the Houston Humane Society called conditions at a Greater Heights home “appalling” as investigators seized dozens of animals including dogs and cats Tuesday afternoon. The group seized 21 cats, two dogs, two rabbits and a chicken from a residence at the corner of Dorothy Street and W. 10th Street following an ongoing investigation. While the outside of the woman’s home featured artsy paint and bright decorations, the inside was described as “absolutely filthy.” “The owner of the home had evidently been experiencing a lot of medical issues at this point in her life,” HHS Media Representative Monica Schmidt said. “There were lit-
ter boxes inside of the home, but there was also feces everywhere.” Several neighbors and other officials had tipped off HHS about the 1,200 square foot home, with complaints focusing mainly on the smell and number of feral cats in the area. Before investigators arrived, some neighbors also said they had been over to the woman’s home in an attempt to help clean the home. “That really spoke to how bad it was before we got there,” Schmidt said. Some of the woman’s medical issues had previously resulted in health workers attempting to gain access to the home but could only do so with great difficulty,
Photo by Jonathan Garris Dozens of animals were recovered from this home, and officials are now exploring possible criminal charges.
See Animals, P. 2A
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