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Inside Today: Kojak’s diner brings it back • Page 1B
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Covering the Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest & the neighborhoods of North Houston Saturday, April 28, 2018 • Vol. 63 • No. 16
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Annual Reader’s Choice voting begins
OF resident chases crooks, flees gun fire By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
$
A natural human response to seeing someone in need is the desire to spring into action. But one attempted act of help nearly turned deadly for one local resident last week. Per the Harris County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office, an Oak Forest resident saw two suspects allegedly breaking into his neighbor’s vehicle. After the suspects, now
identified as Ryan Garza, 23, and his brother Johnathon, 18, saw they were being recorded, they allegedly attempted to leave the scene. But initially unbeknownst to them, the suspects had a tail – the resident himself. As it turned out, the resident had followed the suspects in his own vehicle equipped with a Go Pro camera. According to the Precinct 1 Constable’s Office, the suspects alSee Gunfire P. 2A
Staff Report news@theleadernews.com It has been a busy year on the northwest side, with new shops popping up and in some cases replacing the old. So this is a perfect time for our readers to begin selecting their favorites for our annual Reader’s Choice Awards. Beginning in today’s edition, readers will be asked to choose the best of all the businesses in the area. Starting today in The Leader (on Page 8A) and on our website, www.thelead-
Finishing Touches
ernews.com, we’re asking you, our readers, to select everything from the best doctor to the best restaurant; the best pet care to the best real estate agent. The list won’t be accurate if readers don’t participate and we also encourage businesses to ask their customers to support them. Voters are welcome to make copies of the ballot and submit them either by mail, in person, or online. See Ballot and Info Page 4A
New Editor, Maxwell, joins Leader
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inside.
Photo by Zach Maxwell Joe Alsandor finishes on the exterior of remodeled JROTC building at Scarborough High SChool this past Tuesday. The upgraded facility was just one of numerous recent renovations at Scarborough as the result of a 2012 bond package.
Scarborough caps off historic renovations By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
Making their move. Branché Boutique to move to Revive
Page 1B
Flower & Gift Shop 10570 NW Frwy 713-680-2350
In 2012, voters approved a nearly $2 billion bond which set the tone for renovations and upgrades across HISD -- and six years later, one of our local schools is celebrating the final benefits of its passing as the school commemorates a milestone years in the making. Last March, Scarborough High School broke ground on upgrades approved under that 2012 bond pro-
gram, officially accepting $12.6 million for improvements to existing facilities to bring the campus into the modern era, and throngs were set to gather Thursday afternoon for the official unveiling of completed renovations. “We have a future generation of Spartans that are going to be proud to call this their home,” HISD Area Superintendent Steven Gutierrez said at the 2017 groundbreaking. As evidenced by numerous state-of-the-art remodels, renovations and nuances,
that message rang through loud and clear. Among upgrades are a new 13,000 square-foot JROTC building – with additional band lockers, administrative offices and additional dressing rooms – serving both JROTC and the band. Several classrooms received facelifts or were converted, while technology upgrades, improvements to athletics fields and a tennis court accompany the new secure welcome
Zach Maxwell has joined The Leader as its new editor. He joins The Leader after a brief stint at the Durant (Okla.) Democrat and the Johnston County (Okla.) Capital-Democrat, where he served as the 115-yearold paper’s last editor. Zach is a native of Houston and attended Aldine schools. He studied journalism at Stephen F. Austin State University and SoutheastZach Maxwell ern Okla. State University. He has been a staff writer at the Lufkin Daily News and Texarkana Gazette before taking editorial roles in Hugo and Tishomingo newspapers in Oklahoma. “I’m really excited to have Zach join our team,” said Jonathan McElvy, president and publisher of The Leader. “He’s a true journalist, he understands the importance of The Leader in this community, and my expectation is that we’re going to see added depth and improved journalism in our publication.” Maxwell’s background includes public relations work for two governmental agencies: The Little Dixie Community Action Agency in Oklahoma and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Zach is a member of the Choctaw Nation, the third-largest native American tribe in the U.S. During Hurricane Harvey, Zach and his fiancée were living in north Houston and their home flooded. While recovery is ongoing, they are getting back into hobbies and passions including stray animal rescue, disc golf and volunteering at the Hobby Center.
See Scarborough P. 10A
After 60 years, Baham still teaching By Betsy Denson For The Leader Camp sight. Camper gets a make over.
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The INDEX. Church....................................................... 5A Classifieds.............................................. 7A Coupons. ................................................. 6A Food/Drink/Art................................... 9A Obituaries.............................................. 6A Opinion. ................................................... 3A Public Information......................... 2A Puzzles...................................................... 3A
When lifelong educator Nell Baham started teaching in the late 1950s, pantyhose was a requirement and your jacket had to be the same color as your bottoms. An employee of HISD for more than 40 years, she later moved on to the University of Houston’s education school where she mentored countless teachers until she retired in December. As she says, “It was time.” But she’s still at it - as a volunteer. Currently Baham is at Oak Forest Elementary reading Charlotte’s Web to first graders. When she enters the classroom, the students greet her with salutations as Templeton the rat does in the story. Baham volunteers at Dur-
See our profiles of Teachers of the Year from the area. PAGE 3B ham Elementary, and Sinclair Elementary too, where she started in HISD and where she finished up in 1999. There’s an award named for her at Sinclair, called the Nell Baham Achievement Award, which was established in 1999, and has been awarded each year since to a fifth grader who receives money, both from Baham and the Sinclair PTA. Baham was an elementary school
teacher at Durkee Elementary for 10 years and Whittier Elementary for 10 years in between her time at Sinclair. After Sinclair, she also taught at St. Ambrose Catholic School for free when they had a sudden teacher vacancy. She said she likes the elementary school age because of the opportunity to engage the students. Baham has taught the children of her former pupils and treasures the bonds she’s been able to create. “If you make a positive impression, they never forget you,” said Baham. For a time, Baham served as a Teacher Induction Specialist for HISD. At the University of Houston, Baham taught the last course that teachers See Teacher P. 10A
Contributed photo Nell Baham at the Delta Kappa Gamma convention. As a member of DKG, Baham continues to support the professional and personal growth of women educators.
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