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Saturday, April 9, 2016 • Vol. 62 • No. XX
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Autism Awareness Month As April marks Autism Awareness Month, The Leader profiles the journey of the Madrid family in Garden Oaks who are dealing with their sons’ autism diagnosis. Turn to this month’s Our Health for more about the family and the importance of education when it comes to issues facing those on the autism spectrum.
By Jonathan Garris jgarris@theleadernews.com Things might have been tense for 9-year-old Stephen Hernandez when he completed his first drive Sunday at the 2016 Drive, Chip and Putt Championship at hallowed Augusta National. The youngster sent his first drive out of bounds for zero points initially. “I was watching him closely,” Stephen’s father, Robert Hernandez, said. “He took his time for his second drive and I could tell he made the adjustments he needed to make.” Calm and collected, Stephen patiently walked up and hit his second drive. The 9-year-old golfer sent the drive 187 down the fairway. Robert Hernandez said the crowd went crazy. “At that moment I knew he had his confidence,” Hernandez said. That confidence paid off with Stephen finishing above all other boys in his age group, winning the championship for the 7-9 year old group. The major win comes after wins at local and regional tournaments, culminating with a trip to Augusta National Golf Club. The youngster traveled with his immediate family, including his father, mother and sisters. From the beginning, Hernandez told his son to not worry about any pressure.
Contributed Photo Eileen Montgomery (kneeling) has had a storied career at Houston High School for the Performing Arts.
“I told him that regardless of what he did to just have fun,” Hernandez said. “If anyone was nervous there, it was me. I didn’t sleep a wink but he slept well and was so pumped up.” In the chipping portion, Stephen chipped just over 4 feet away from the hole. The next closest boy was 8 feet away. In the putting portion, he knocked his first putt within 2 feet and the next one within 5 feet. Hernandez said Stephen didn’t realize he won at first and See Golf P. 3A
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SPX Softball off to strong start It’s an exciting time for St Pius X High School softball, as the team continues its strong start under rookie head coach Armando Tello. Check out how the Panthers are coming out on top in this week’s Sports section.
Contributed Photos (Top) Robert Hernandez lifts his son up in victory after 9-year-old Stephen Hernandez claimed victory in his age group at the 2016 Drive, Chip & Putt Championship in Augusta, GA. (Bottom) Stephen, seated second from the left in the orange shirt, said the event was “awesome” and got to meet with major names in golfing. He says he will keep on playing golf and that the hard work for him “ never ends.”
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Heights HSVPA teacher bids farewell with retirement By Kim Hogstrom For The Leader In the early 1980s, Heights resident Eileen Montgomery started teaching visual arts part-time at Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Montrose. Here, Montgomery soon discovered a love – one might even say, a gift – for teaching that has had an impact on hundreds of the most talented youth in Houston. Still, it’s Montgomery who remains “grateful for the experience.” According to the HSPVA’s mission statement, the school exists “because the arts are a central and vital component of the human experience.” Unlike any other school in the Houston Independent School District, HSPVA is dedicated to educating artistically talented students in multiple artistic disciplines while maintaining an equal focus on academics. Soon after Montgomery joined the staff, she added a full-time teaching load to her schedule. Then she was awarded the position of chairperson of the Visual Arts Department where she remains until the end of this school year, when she will retire. “Eileen Montgomery is an amazing See Teacher P. 2A
FIND IT. MEDIA/ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT (PART-TIME): Fairbanks UMC in Northwest Houston is seeking a part-time (20 hours per week) Media/Administrative Assistant. This person will prepare video and print media presentations for worship, marketing materials for ministries and events, electronic newsletters, maintain church database, website and social media accounts. Strong computer/webmaster skills and experience with Publisher and Pro Presenter necessary. Send resume to: revyoungdm@ fairbanksumc.org. No zip files, please.
The INDEX.
Speed cushions coming to Rice Military area By Jonathan Garris jgarris@theleadernews.com
Contributed Photo HISD administrators and community members officially broke ground on the new Booker T. Washington High School campus Tuesday morning.
Booker T. Washington High School breaks ground on new building For The Leader
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Booker T. Washington High School celebrated a big milestone Tuesday morning with a festive groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction on a new $51.7 million campus. More than 100 parents, students, staff, alumni, and community members attended the event and were joined by HISD Trustee Rhonda Skillern-Jones, State Sen. John Whitmire and Houston City Councilwoman Karla Cisneros. “This is a wonderful occasion and the beginning of amazing things to come for these students and the community,” Skillern-Jones said. “This neighborhood has a rich history. I
think the new building will be a great addition and hopefully attract kids back to their neighborhood school.” As part of HISD’s $1.89 billion bond program approved by voters in 2012, Washington will receive a new 180,000square-foot building that will accommodate up to 1,300 students. The building will showcase the school’s engineering program with 21st century technology, specialized engineering and science labs, and flexible learning spaces to support project-based learning and encourage collaboration. “The new building embraces the engineering program that the school has had for many years,” said architect Jim See School P. 3A
Rice Military may soon be joining other communities in The Leader area in regards to certain traffic mitigation elements, as an upcoming community meeting will address proposed locations for a number of speed cushions that would be spread out throughout the community. Representatives with Public Works & Engineering will be meeting with the Rice Military Civic Club and community members 7 p.m. May 2 at DePelchin Children’s Center. The city completed a traffic study for the area after repeated calls for traffic calming devices in the area were made by concerned residents. The potential cushions come on the heels of a recent change to the traffic process that was completed in See Cushions P. 2A
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