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Inside Today: After 50 years, Aztec Rental is moving. • Page 1B
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Saturday, March 4, 2017 • Vol. 62 • No. 9
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LADY LIONS SOAR
Destiney Deleon goes in for a layup. See more photos inside section B
The Lutheran High North girls’ basketball team brought home their first state championship this weekend. Complete coverage, including photos and team interviews in today’s edition.
Photo by Craig Martens, LHN
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Rosslyn woes
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inside.
Sure, traffic is bad on Rosslyn. But who’s complaining?
& LINES & LINES
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By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com Waltrip High School hosts ‘Games Robots Play’ event. The event was intended to be a learning opportunity instead of a competition.
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Find it. DANIEL’S PLUMBING & DRAIN EXPERTS: Free Estimates. $299 Garbage disposal special. MPL#37341. 832-4419683.
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The INDEX. Church....................................................... 7A Classifieds.............................................. 7B Coupons. ................................................. 8A Food/Drink/Art................................... 9A Obituaries.............................................. 6B Opinion. ................................................... 4A Public Information......................... 2A Puzzles...................................................... 4A Sports. ....................................................... 4B
Rosslyn
A new center on Pinemont has a new look and some new tenants.
Rosslyn Road has long been a significant through street for those making their way over to the shops on 43rd Street, but the headaches caused by the conglomeration of several different factors – accommodating school zones, new development and the area’s natural rush – have become unbearable for some. As Oak Forest continues to grow, the narrow twolane road appears to be reaching its breaking point during rush hour, as drivers must often sit idly by with traffic reaching nearly all the way back from Saxon (near Stevens Elementary) and 43rd Street waiting to go along their way. “It’s a series of 43rd. St. bottlenecks beSaxon Dr. tween the LancastStevens er folks who have Elementary no other way out Lamonte Ln and the congestion Gardenia Dr caused by Stevens Althea Dr Elementary,” said Wakefield Dr Oak Forest resident Nancy Reuter, who Chippendale Rd lives off Rosslyn 34th St. and Chippendale. The largest issue in Reuter’s eyes is the fact that the road is two lanes across (one in each direction) from Du Barry to West 43rd Street, yet it must accommodate the drop-offs and pick-ups of more than 700 students at Stevens Elementary as well as the Lancaster Homes subdivision, which began in the mid to late 90s and is still under construction. At the time that Rosslyn was configured, Lancaster did not exist, making the two-lane road a plausible solution. However, Reuter said the residents of Lancaster Homes now have no other way to exit their area to go to work, and thus pour out onto Rosslyn — adding to an already treacherous situation. What can be done? Reuter did not come empty-handed, offering several suggestions to alleviate the situation. • A traffic light somewhere along the road (but careful consideration to Stevens would have to occur for this) • A third lane which would go south in the morning and north in the afternoon (similar to the arrangement on Studewood Street in the Heights)
Photos by Landan Kuhlmann Those traversing Rosslyn Road in Oak Forest contantly encounter road-rage inducing traffic jams in the morning and afternoon, especially around Stevens Elementary, and some have had enough.
• Full widening of the street to four lanes as far as 43rd street. According to Reuter, there was a movement to widen Rosslyn back in the mid-90s when Lancaster Homes was still just an idea. However, she said the neighborhood struck down the proposal on the basis that such an act would make it a major thoroughfare, and thus cause traffic among other nuisances. But in the years since the momentous decision, the situation has only deteriorated, and immediate action is necessary. “It’s just gotten worse, and unless you leave extremely early, you just can’t move out there,” she said. “It’s a mess, and I can’t be the only person who feels that way. That (freeway exit) has been here ever since I moved to Houston — this has always been a major thoroughfare, they just don’t want to admit it.” Houston City Council member (District C) Ellen Cohen told The Leader that in going back through two years of emails, no complaints had ever been sent to her office – but she seemed eager to help where she could in attempting to alleviate the situation. The next step will be to sit down with the specific civic club and see what the issues are, then bringing in someone from Public Works to meet,” Cohen said, almost immediately after receiving Reuters’ email to her office Monday morning. “That’s what we do, and I’m happy to do it. We’ll talk with her, see who we need to have at a meeting and what the issues are.”
By Kim Hogstrom For The Leader The Houston Heights Woman’s Club has been serving the needs of the community since its founding in 1900. As the club grew, members constructed their clubhouse at 1846 Harvard Street in 1912, and continue to this day in their resolute commitment. In 2017, children, veterans, elderly and homeless folks, and many local schools enjoy the benefits of the programs offered. This, however, was not always the case. Business, social and civic clubs across America played a significant role in American culture from the early 1900s through WWII. Like many in the nation, the HHWC was vital and active, hitting its peak in the 1930s through the 1950s, then started to fade. As women entered the workforce in larger numbers, the club’s membership plummeted. By 2007 there were only 20 or 25 women. In 2006, Houston’s Mayor Bill White eliminated tax exemptions for nonprofit clubs. Members of the HHWC were facing the first property tax bill for the clubhouse ever presented. Where would 25 women who paid $26 each in annual dues, find $6,000 to pay taxes? Heights author and historian Anne Sloan had an idea. She and a handful of visionary women like her founded the HHWC’s new “Evening Group.” What is an Evening Group? For a century, members met in the clubhouse in the afternoons for potluck luncheons and camaraderie. Sloan realized that to remain relevant in modern life, members needed the option of meeting in the evenings. Sloan wrote to every woman she knew and asked them to join. About 30 responded. Together, the women raised enough money to save the clubhouse, but it was a close call. As a historian, Sloan also thought it wise to highlight the HHWC’s place in Heights history. In essence, she and her friends rebranded the club as modern and relevant, by reaching into its past. “There were three elements we knew we wanted,” Sloan remembers. “We wanted a Victorian Tea, which has become one of our biggest annual fundraisers. We relaunched a literary club, which is how the club originally started, and we started the ‘Hortense Ward Appreciation Award,’ in honor of the great woman who founded the club.” Today, these are three of the club’s most popular programs. The Evening Group has about 210 members and the afternoon See Sloan P. 3A
Photo supplied Former and current leaders of the HHWC - Leah Braden (Founding Member) Anne Sloan (Founder and Founding President) Hilary Parr Cobb (Past President), Shea Sanderfer Hill (Past President) Kelly Caraway (Current President) and Anna Gay (Founding Member)
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