Inside Today: Ertman, Peña remembered 20 years later • Page 7
Ad # 37449
PREMIER PROPERTIES
Your Neighborhood Full Service Real Estate Office
713-686-5454 www.preproperties.com
SATURDAY | June 29, 2013 | Vol. 59 | No. 35 | www.theleadernews.com | @heightsleader
6 cars, still no successful crossings
THE BRIEF. sponsored by
Drivers continue to run their cars over train tracks at Cottonwood by Michael Sudhalter michael@theleadernews.com
s ’ e n e l r a D
������������������
10570 NW Frwy • 713-680-2350
Deadlines change; still want your pictures
In order to give our employees and carriers time with their families over the July 4th holiday, The Leader will have a revised publication schedule next week. The newspaper will be delivered before the Thursday holiday, which also means advertising and news deadlines are a bit earlier this week. Advertising deadlines for next week’s edition are 5 p.m. on Friday for both regular and classified ads. The news deadline is also 5 p.m. on Friday. In next week’s edition, we’ll also take some time to honor those who serve in any of the branches of the U.S. military. If you have a loved one who is currently serves, and you’d like to have us honor that person, there is no charge to you. Simply drop off a picture before Sunday at The Leader at 3500-A E. T.C. Jester Blvd. You can also email your submissions to news@theleadernews.com.
FREE BURGER
MONDAY DRAWINGS Come by for your chance to win a FREE Combo meal. Drawings every Monday.
M-F 11am-9pm Sat 11am-5pm
3401 W. T.C. Jester 713-957-1100
What
Can YFindOUInside
FAIR PRICES ON CARPET/FLOORING SALES, INSTALLATION AND REPAIR: Thirty-five years experience. Carpet, hardwoods, vinyl, ceramic tile. Carpet shampoo and restretch carpet. Dry cleaning now available. 713-5825500. (TF) WILKINS REMODELING: Painting and texture, fences, roofing, wood and tile floors, water heaters, faucets, disposals, dishwashers, leaking shower pans. 281-706-2236. TEXSCAPE TREE SERVICES: Tree trimming, tree removal, stump grinding. Credit cards accepted. Fully insured. 281-846-3779.
See Pages 11-12
THE INDEX.
Public Safety Hipstrict Topics Obituaries Coupons Puzzles Sports Classifieds
2 3 4 8 6 7 13 11
Cottonwood, a popular restaurant/bar at 3422 N. Shepherd Drive, has experienced problems with patrons getting stuck on railroad tracks to the north of it. That’s not an exit from the bar, but misguided patrons sometimes think it is, much to the frustration of Cottonwood owner Charles Bishop.
“It’s happened six times in the past seven months,” Bishop said. In February, the BNSF Railway Company installed cement blocks near the tracks, but motorists continued to drive over them because they apparently aren’t visible at night. Each time, either the Houston Fire Department or a tow truck has come out to the tracks and removed
see Tracks • Page 5
Six cars have gotten stuck on the train tracks, north of Cottonwood restaurant and bar, in the past seven months, according to the owner. This is one of the failed attempts, caught two weeks ago. (Photo by Ivee Sauls)
The real honor of Scouts Sackett learns, teaches character of Boy Scouts by Michael Sudhalter michael@theleadernews.com
by Charlotte Aguilar charlotte@theleadernews.com
When Oak Forest resident Michael Sackett was born, his parents, James and Gloria Sackett, weren’t sure if he’d live past his third birthday. Sackett turned 15 in March and lives the life of an average teenager, although he must deal with the challenges that being born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) has presented him. Most people are born with four chambers of their heart, but those born with HLHS only have two. As a child, Sackett underwent several surgeries, including three open heart procedures, so he would survive. Those surgeries included reconnecting major blood vessels, and at one point, putting Sackett under hypothermia while they cut off his oxygen for 32 minutes. “He’s pretty much a medical miracle,” Gloria said. It was only a few years earlier that children diagnosed with HLHS didn’t survive. The most well-known case was Baby Fae, who received the heart of a baboon in experimental surgery in California in 1984. Sackett is a member of Boy Scout Troop 924, which is based in the Heights, and he’s an active member of St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church on West 43rd Street. Last week, Sackett and his 11 fellow troop members traveled to Los
1-2 Oak Forest resident and Boy Scout Michael Sackett, 15, and his father, James Sackett, traveled to California by train with the rest of his troop last week. Michael Sackett was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, and the rest of the troop decided to travel by train because it’s medically advised that Sackett shouldn’t fly, due to the condition. (Photos by Michael Sudhalter)
see Scout • Page 5
Taxes may go up to fund HISD projects, raises by Charlotte Aguilar charlotte@theleadernews.com Houston ISD trustees voted 6-3 Monday night to approve a $1.62 billion budget for 2013-14 that calls for a 2-cent tax rate hike – at the moment. But with five of the nine board members facing reelection in November, a lot could change between now and the final budget vote in October. In their comments throughout the 21/2-hour meeting, Supt. Terry Grier and trustees seemed more attuned to recent concerns of a number of constituencies than they had been.
Burge tapped to lead Chamber
There had been grousing by employee groups about no pay increases for teachers and staff in the budget proposal, and with minimal fanfare, board members voted a 2 percent wage hike. Many parent activists at recent meetings had complained about Grier’s proposal to use much of his proposed 2-cent tax increase to fund the controversial Apollo 20 program for lowperforming schools. In a surprise, over the weekend, he and aides tweaked the
Apollo allocation and proposed to provide $14 million to non-Apollo schools throughout the district – about $350 per pupil – to help those who failed reading and math on the state STAAR exams. The projected tax increase is based on the current tax roll from the Harris County Appraisal District, which will be adjusted and certified in August, after appeals are determined. Three board members – including Leader-area Trustee Anna Eastman, who serves as board president, Mike Lunceford and Juliet Stipeche – were the “nay”
see HISD • Page 5
Terry L. Burge – for more than four decades the owner-publisher of The Leader before selling it a year ago – took over the reins of the Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce Monday. He said he aspires to make the Chamber “a partner in our members’ prosperity.” Burge, who was the unanimous selection of the board, was a co-founder of the 26-year-old chamber and served in a number of leadership Terry Burge positions. He was also vice chair of a neighboring chamber and a board member of the Houston Heights Association, for which he organized the Heights Fun Run. “The Greater Heights area is a treasure, a thriving small town in the middle of a big city,” Burge said. “I’ve been blessed to work here my entire career and have a deep affection for its people. It will be a privilege to serve them in this new role.” Burge grew up helping his father, Lee, around The Leader, and at the age of 19, when his father died, he took over as publisher.
see Burge • Page 5
Inside • It’s Food Time