Leader0628a

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Inside Today: A home makeover in Oak Forest • 1B

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Covering the Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest & the neighborhoods of North Houston

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10570 NW Frwy 713-680-2350

Saturday, June 28, 2014 • Vol. 60 • No. 34

It’s time to pick the best backyard in the area, and your vote is what counts.

Find out who our readers picked as the best businesses in town.

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ABOUT US 3500 East T.C. Jester Blvd Suite A (713) 686-8494 news@theleadernews.com www.theleadernews.com Facebook/THE LEADER.

By Betsy Denson

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832.419.9969

Those who have defended our freedoms July 4 is a relaxing day for most Americans, whether it’s enjoying a barbecue, watching fireworks or taking in a baseball game. But the reason we continue to live in a free country is due to the efforts and sacrifices 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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Paolo Castagnoli’s workday commute is getting ready to drastically improve. The Oak Forest resident, who for the last four years has been Dean of Students at East Early College High School in east downtown, has been named the new principal at Frank Black Middle School. Although he enjoyed his time at East Early which is a secondary charter school, Castagnoli pursued the job at FBMS after Meilin Jao’s resignation in

May. After meeting with a committee of teachers, faculty and community members at Black, Castagnoli moved on to additional interviews at HISD and was approved Castagnoli by the superintendent. It is his first job as principal. Castagnoli is excited to help continue the momentum at FBMS which he’d been a witness to over the last few years.

“We’ve been following it, and like many parents we were excited to see growth,” he said. “For years, there was no community interest. A school is only as good as the community buyin.” Now, he thinks Black is a school “on the rise” which is positioned to became one, if not the best, middle school in the city. Castagnoli cites the wide variety of programs FBMS has instituted and says he is committed to developing them further. A “huge proponent See Principal, P. 2A

Snakes Sssaved

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FIND IT. LOCAL COURIER SERVICE needs owner operator with fullsize pickup trucks. 12 immediate openings. 281-645-2196. JACKI SORENSEN’S FITNESS CLASSES now at Advent Lutheran Church, 5820 Pinemont Dr. New sessions June 30, Monday and Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. Call Anna at 713-817-0778. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: MAC Mechanical Inc. 713-864-5034, e-mail kschneider@macmechanical. net. Responsibilities include answering the telephone professionally, accounts payable, accounts receivable, general filing, organizational skills, skills in Word and Excel, effectively multi task. Start $15/hour. Benefits include medical, dental and 401K. 2007 KIA SPECTRA: 4-door, silver, 55,000 miles, A/C, CD, one owner. $5,400. 713-3060225.

THE INDEX.

Constable rescues neglected snakes from Heights home By Michael Sudhalter michael@theleadernews.com

On June 18, the Harris County Precinct One Constable’s Office rescued 15 snakes — including one as large as 14 feet — from a Heights home where they hadn’t received food or care for an extended period of time. “The snakes were in horrible, horrible shape,” Constable Alan Rosen said. “The conditions were deplorable. The snakes hadn’t been fed or housed properly.” Among the snakes were a boa constrictor and several pythons. Three of them have broken backs.

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Opinion

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Public Information Puzzles Sports

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Brittany K. Barrineau, the homeowner at 714 W. 21st St. in the Heights had been a snake breeder for 15 years but doesn’t currently live in the 1,934 square foot home, which was built in 1930. There was also a cat living in the home. Barrineau went to civil court on Tuesday and reached an agreement to transfer permanent ownership of the animals to the SPCA. As part of that agreement, Barrineau won’t face any criminal charges. The Constable received a tip from a neighbor, began an investigation and was able to secure a court order to reSee Snakes, P. 10A

Councilmembers receive funds to benefit district By Michael Sudhalter

Classifieds Food/Drink/Art Obituaries

As many as 14 snakes were rescued from deplorable conditions and are now being cared for in an undisclosed location. (Photo by Michael Sudhalter)

michael@theleadernews.com

Church

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Castagnoli named new principal at Black betsy@theleadernews.com

www.allenSOLDit.com

Photo Con

Ellen Cohen, Ed Gonzalez and Brenda Stardig will have $1 million to spend for their respective districts this year. The $1 million will be available to each of the city’s 11 district council member offices. At-large council members will not have any funds allocated. The three district council members in The Leader area are Cohen (District C), Gon-

zalez (District H) and Stardig (District A). Gonzalez, who represents District H, said he’s “cautiously optimistic” about the new program. “We need to make sure we work out the kinks and have the proper safeguards in place,” Gonzalez said. “Communities and needs are changing. Sometimes, (the 5-year-Capital Improvement Project) isn’t quick enough to respond to immediate needs.”

Cohen echoed those sentiments, emphasizing that it should be an asset to the district, provided that there’s “appropriate oversight” for the projects. “District Council Members become intimately familiar with the everyday problems their districts face, and each district has a unique set of concerns,” Cohen said. “The proposed discretionary fund creates an opportunity for Council Members to streamline

solutions for the neighborhoods they represent.” Said Stardig, “This additional money is going to be of great relief to our community. I plan to use this money on many smaller projects that, while are still necessary, are often overlooked by the city.” The funds will be available throughout the fiscal year 2015, but it’s expected that there will be strict See Funds, P. 10A

Milton Dailey

Waltrip mourns passing of Coach Dailey When it came to football, school or life, Milton Dailey was often the most optimistic person in the room. The entire Waltrip High community - and many others who knew the former Rams head football and track & field coach ‚Äì mourned his passing on Wednesday morning. Details of funeral arrangements were not available at press time. Dailey, who retired earlier this spring, passed away in his sleep after a courageous battle with Pancreatic Cancer. “He taught me and my younger brothers the value of hard work and perseverance,” said Tristan Massey, Dailey’s grandson and a senior at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. “His job was to get the job done and do it right.” Dailey did exactly that over the past two seasons. After 10 seasons as an assistant, he was named head coach before the 2012 season. He led the Rams to the UIL Class 4A playoffs in 2012 and 2013, respectively. A Houston native, Dailey graduated from Booker T. Washington High in Independence Heights and Prairie View A&M. He played running back during his years at both schools. In addition to working with Waltrip athletes, Dailey mentored his grandson, St. Pius X senior running back Micah Massey, who has received Division I attention in recent months. “Even when he was sick, we were still talking about football and preparing Micah for the next level,” Tristan said. Last fall, The Leader wrote a story featuring the relationship between Dailey and Micah. Waltrip principal Andria Schur said the WHS community was saddened to hear about Dailey’s passing. “He was very dedicated to Waltrip,” Schur said. “We recently celebrated his dedication to our campus. He had great vision to take our team to the next level.” Longtime WHS boys basketball coach Dan Kelly enjoyed working with Dailey, who had worked as the Rams’ freshman boys basketball coach before becoming the head football coach. “He was a tremendous teacher and coach and a great role model,” Kelly said. “He was more to these kids than a teacher and a coach. He was a stepdad to many of them. He got on them when they needed discipline. When they needed encouragement, he was there to pick them up.” Waltrip head football coach Todd Wright, who was hired last month, had never met Dailey but said he’d heard great things about him. Wright said the team hopes to honor Dailey with a helmet decal and a moment of silence, but plans to honor the coach haven’t been finalized yet. Wright said his staff will be there to talk to the players, and professional therapists will be made available, upon the players’ request.


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