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Covering the Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest & the neighborhoods of North Houston
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Saturday, June 14, 2014 • Vol. 60 • No. 32
Heights runs for fun
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Competitive runners and those who just want to take a nice morning stroll down Heights Blvd. enjoyed the annual Heights Fun Run event last Saturday. The top two runners in the event were visiting the Heights from the southern suburbs – Maximo Mendoza of Pearland was the top male runner with a time of 15:07, while Kaytlynn Welch of Alvin was the top female runner in
18:44.2. Other winners were Laura Bennett (Female Masters), Luis Armenteros (Male Masters), Female 14 and Under (Heather Welsch), Male 14 and Under (Pierce Ederle), Female 15 to 19 (Kelsey Clayton), Male 15 to 19 (Chris Rodriguez), Female 20 to 24 (Grace Howard), Male 20 to 24 (Colin Slattery), Female 25 to 29 (Pacharee Chaitonosri), Male 25 to 29 (Zach Cater-Cyker),
Female 30 to 34 (Christin Heghes), Male 30 to 34 (Omar Moore), Female 35 to 39 (Katherine Marshall), Male 35 to 39 (Joe Oviedo), Female 40 to 44 (Cathleen Equale), Male 40 to 44 (Carlo Deason), Female 45 to 49 (Juka Smits), Male 45 to 49 (Jacobo Behar), Female 50 to 54 (Melissa Hurta-Crites), Male 50 to 54 (Sim Chevas), Female 55 to 59 (Suzy See- A young athlete celebrated as he crossed the finish line last Saturday See FUN RUN, P. 7A
at the annual Heights Fun Run. (Photo by Michael Sudhalter)
Finding Voice Garden Oaks residents are hoping that the city makes some adjustments to the intersection at W. 43rd St. and Alba. (Photo by Michael Sudhalter)
Those who have defend our freedoms July 4 is a relaxing day for most Americans, whether it’s enjoying a barbecue, watching fireworks and taking in a baseball game. But the reason we continue to live in a free country is due to the efforts and sacrifice of the brave men and women of the United States military. The Leader is honoring our active duty military personnel with photos and biographical information for the July 4 edition. We will run all of the personnel submitted, provided they have some type of connection to The Leader area. Please e-mail all of this information to michael@theleadernews.com.
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Residents push city for changes at 43rd and Alba By Michael Sudhalter michael@theleadernews.com
Brooke Smith resident Angelica Schaefer, left, and her husband, Zac, moved into the neighborhood last year and they quickly became active in the neighborhood’s Montie Beach Civic Club. Mrs. Schaefer, 26, is the civic club’s vice president. (Photo by Michael Sudhalter)
Young homeowners get involved in civic clubs, HOAs By Michael Sudhalter michael@theleadernews.com
Angelica Schaefer wanted a chance to get familiar with the Brooke Smith neighborhood that she and her husband, Zac, moved into last year. After attending the neighborhood’s Montie Beach Civic Club meeting, she quickly decided to turn her interest into action. “I was drawn in by my neighbors and wanted to do something that would benefit the neighbors and benefit my family,” Schaefer said. “You keep the neighborhood safe if you know who’s living in the homes around you.” Schaefer, a 26-year-old sales professional, was elected vice president of the Montie Beach Civic Club and has organized monthly social events for the club. Schaefer is one of several civic club or homeowners association board members who are in their 20s and 30s. Many people from Generation Y and the Millennial Generation have the perception that neighborhood government is boring and tedious. “It’s our job to make it exciting and fun, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Schaefer said.
Fatherhood isn’t the only new thing in Timbergrove resident Campbell Sasser Sr.’s life. The 26-year-old, pictured holding his 2-month old son, Campbell Jr. as his wife, Virginia, looks on, was recently elected treasurer of the Timbergrove Manor Civic Club. (Photo by Michael Sudhalter)
As she became acclimated to the civic club, Schaefer started getting involved in Chapter 42, which allows residents to gather signatures from neighbors to restrict lot sizes and maintain the character of the neighborhood. “She has already become a presence downtown and the neighbors
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are beginning to take her up on her mission to preserve the look and feel of our neighborhood,” Montie Beach president Marcus Jasso said. Schaefer said it’s the collaboration between the new, young residents and longtime neighborhood leaders that equals a successful formula. “They understand what works and what hasn’t worked,” Schaefer said. “They have the passion about this area that gets you going. Both (old and new residents) want to foster growth, but preserve the area.” Just a few miles to the northwest, fellow 26-year-old Campbell Sasser is the treasurer of the Timbergrove Manor Civic Association. Sasser and his wife, Virginia, bought a home in Timbergrove, last year. He decided to put his interest in politics and his business skills to use. Sasser works full-time for a private equity Oil & Gas firm, in a job that can mean long hours and working on the weekends. Sasser enjoys contributing to the civic club, even if it means sac-
The intersection of W. 43rd St. and Alba has been a site of several accidents over the last year. “People blatantly run that light often,” said local resident Christopher Maricano. “If I am on Alba, and I have a green light, I wait until I see cars slow down.” Local resident Stella Stevens said she’s seen her fellow motorists drive as fast as 40 miles over the speed limit, headed toward Shepherd Dr. “43rd curves right there as you are heading east bound, so people don’t always notice the light,” Stevens said. “Also, it is not yellow long enough, and people want to make the light, so they speed up, which is easy to do since they were speeding to begin with.” Luckily, there haven’t been any fatal accidents at the intersection, but Terry Jeanes and Martin Parr of the Garden Oaks Civic Club hope the city of Houston acts on some requests they’ve submitted before the problem gets worse. “We need to do this before someone gets injured or hurt,” Jeanes said. Jeanes has requested a flashing warning light due to the curve at 43rd and Alba. The speed limit is 30 mph but cars are often traveling much faster than that. Colin Lupold of the city’s Traffic Operations division responded to the request by saying it “determined warning lights are not warranted based on the observatory sight distance.” “We have investigated the intersection in question and have found the current sight distances of the signalized intersection both meet and exceed minimum requirements,” Lupold wrote in an e-mail to Parr. “The evaluation takes into consideration both intersection and road geometry, obstructions and posted speed limits.” However, Alvin Wright, spokesperson for
test
Photo Con
Even though Spring has said “so long” to Houston, that doesn’t mean we all stay inside waiting for the daytime mercury to dip below 80. Houstonians are a resilient breed, and we find ways to get out of the dim fluorescent lights and enjoy the outdoors while managing the oppressive heat. And many of us go to ridiculous lengths to transform our backyards into sanctuaries suitable for the weather. It’s about time we took a look behind the fences of our neighbors,
don’t you think? Beginning today, The Leader is launching the Best Backyard contest, and we’re totally dependent on you – our readers – to take a camera out the back door and show us what you’ve got. The rules are pretty easy and the prizes will be worth the effort: From today until Monday, June 23, send us at least one (and preferably three) pictures of your backyard. One of those pictures needs to be a general picture of the yard, encompassing as many details as
possible. The other two pictures can be of specific details or “accoutrements” that make your backyard unique. We’ve actually decided to have two categories for this contest. Category 1 will be of yards with a pool; Category 2 will be of yards without a pool. If you have a yard that you’d love to show the rest of the neighborSee BACKYARD P. 7A