Inside Today: Waltrip High School has a world champion team • Page 4A
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SATURDAY | July 20, 2013 | Vol. 59 | No. 38 | www.theleadernews.com | @heightsleader
THE BRIEF. sponsored by
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Know of a historical preservation project worthy of acknowledgment? Preservation Houston is now accepting nominations for the 2014 Good Brick Awards for excellence in historic preservation. Updated guidelines and nomination forms may be downloaded at www.preservationhouston.org/awards/. The deadline for entries is Sept 9. To qualify, preservation projects must be located within Harris County and must have been completed within the last three years. Residential, commercial and institutional projects all qualify for awards, and anyone may submit a nomination. In the case of building projects, the nominee must be the property owner who carried out the project. Nominating yourself will not affect your chances for receiving an award. For additional information, e-mail contact@preservationhouston.org. The 2014 Good Brick Awards will be presented during Preservation Houston’s Cornerstone Dinner in February 2014.
Local hero harassed due to his war injuries
Years & Counting
by Michael Sudhalter michael@theleadernews.com U.S. Marines Ret. Cpl. Nathan Kemnitz, who grew up in Oak Forest and Candlelight Plaza, garnered national headlines recently when security workers made things difficult for the injured soldier. Kemnitz, 29, was being honored as California’s Veteran of the Year at the State Capitol in Sacramento. Due to the significance of the honor, Kemnitz was wearing his dress uniform. Kemnitz, who was awarded a Purple Heart and lost vision in his right eye and use of his right arm in a 2004 IED blast in Fallujah, Iraq, was told by a security officer that he was wearing too much “metal.” Another security guard stepped in, quick patted Kemnitz down and let him through. On the return trip to Burbank, Calif., Kemnitz faced extra scrutiny at the Sacramento airport for about 15 minutes. He later received a formal apology from the deputy director of the TSA, who told
see Hero • Page 6A
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What
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Can Find Inside Here’s a sample of what you can find inside today’s Classified section. SUNBELT A/C AND HEATING: Repair, replace. Financing available. 713681-5575. JOHN KUENSTLE ELECTRIC, LLC: Licensed. Insured. Angie’s List. 832425-2152. ADULT CARE: Private duty in your own home. 290/Heights area. 832366-6588. MOVING ON UP MOVERS: Apartment, home, office and storage units. Specializes in antiques. Contact Nathan, 713-922-7505.
THE INDEX.
Public Safety Hipstrict Topics Obituaries Coupons Puzzles Sports Classifieds
2A 7A 3A 7B 4A 3A 4B 4B
Forensic anthropologist Sharon Derrick examines the swim trunks carried by the last known victim of the 1970s Heights mass murders. She’s hopeful the trunks, along with a recreation of how he might have appeared (shown at top of page), his boots and other evidence will jog someone’s memory and lead to an identification. (Main photo by Charlotte Aguilar)
This is the actual photo of U.S. Marines Ret. Cpl. Nathan Kemnitz being patted down by security on his way to being awarded California’s Veteran of the Year. Kemnitz grew up in Oak Forest. (Submitted Photo)
Can you help identify a victim 3 , 3 of the Heights mass murders? Durham PRINCIPALS
parents are livid
by Charlotte Aguilar charlotte@theleadernews.com
Certainly someone remembers the teenage boy, recognizes his distinctive clothing, recalls him vanishing –– likely during a sticky summer of 1971 or 1972 when he might have thought he was joining other young men for a swim –– never to return. That’s the hope of Dr. Sharron Derrick. Attaching a name to the scraps of evidence from the last known yet unidentified victim of the “Candyman” mass murders in the Heights has become her passion, her mission. And now she’s taking her investigation to Waltrip and Reagan high school reunions and the pages of The Leader, thinking that’s where she’s most likely to find a lead that will close the case. With both schools holding 40-year reunions for the class of 1973 this year – a class the victim might have been part of – she’s hopeful. “He’s very likely to be from the area, unlikely to be from someplace else,” she said. Derrick, a Garden Oaks resident, is a forensic anthropologist with the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences – known more commonly as the county coroner’s office. Since joining the office in 2006, Derrick has had uncanny success through a blend of specialized science, her own detective work – and her devotion to the cases. She’s “given closure” to five more families
YEARS
The victim was wearing a beige colored shirt with blue buttons at the neck with this distinctive USA-peace symbol logo on the back. Derrick is hoping someone may recognize it and the handwritten letters – possibly ‘L84MF’ – at the bottom. (Submitted photo) whose young men disappeared, identifying them as victims of the late Dean Corll and his two surviving and incarcerated accomplices, Elmer Wayne Henley and David Brooks. She’s met with both men in prison and calls them “helpful.” Here’s the information that Derrick thinks could jog someone’s memory: •The victim was probably between 1618 years old. •He had dark brown hair. “It wasn’t real
by Michael Sudhalter michael@theleadernews.com
long, but it was probably over his ears,” according to Derrick. •He was 5-feet-5 or -6 inches tall. •He had “beautiful teeth, no fillings, well cared for.” •He appears to have had some kind of developmental problems with his lower spine that would not have been visible to the casual observer but may have resulted
Durham Elementary School parents and teachers expressed their disappointment and frustration during a meeting with Houston ISD trustee Anna Eastman and two district administrators last Thursday. The emotionally-charged meeting took place at Oak Forest Elementary because Durham, a 500-pupil school in Shepherd Park Plaza, is being renovated. Durham has had three principals in three years, and the school’s parents and teachers made it clear during a two hourplus meeting that they wanted an experienced principal who would have a longer tenure at the school. The new principal will have 14 new staff members as many of the teachers left to go to other schools or districts, according to parents.
see Unsolved • Page 6A
see Durham • Page 6A