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Saturday, August 1, 2015 • Vol. 60 • No. 39
Local senior and die-hard Astros fan gets gift of a lifetime By Jonathan Garris jgarris@theleadernews.com
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It’s hard to beat the Mother’s Day gift that Barbara Dobson’s 10 children and 29 grandchildren got the Candlelight Plaza resident and die-hard Astros fan – a trip to Cooperstown to watch Craig Biggio’s induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, along with former 1998 Astro Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz. “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be in Cooperstown,” said 82year old Dobson, who made the trip with grandson Sean Everson. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.” Always a supporter of Houston’s major league baseball team, Dobson went to games at Colt Stadium when the team was
named the Colt .45s. She also attended games in the Astrodome and later Minute Maid Park. Married to Stan Kurtin until his death, Dobson married Al Dobson and his enthusiasm for the Astros was contagious. “That’s when I really got into the baseball scene,” she said. “I’ve been following them for a long time.” After Al’s death, Dobson continued to keep close tabs on the Astros. When the trip to Cooperstown was gifted, Everson was selected by the family to go too because he had always rooted for the Astros and he could really swap stats with his baseball savvy grandmother. Last Friday, the two enjoyed a VIP experience with guests Dan Schlossberg, author See Biggio, P. 8A
Contributed Photos (left) Barbara Dobson met with MLB Umpire Al Clark during her trip to Cooperstown.
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With filing underway for candidates in this year’s mayoral election, check out our quick reference guide for a brief rundown on this year’s candidates!
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Heights Theater: Reborn The Heights Theater on 19th Street cemented itself further as a piece of history after city officials voted on granting the site its designation as a protected landmark. What might be in store for the iconic theater and its likely new owners?
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By Jonathan Garris jgarris@theleadernews.com
A new sidewalk project in Candlelight Plaza, prompted by a letter from a child living in the community, has been stalled pending the outcome of ongoing disputes with neighbors who say they don’t want it. Michelle Constantin is one of the residents who is against the sidewalk and takes issue with having a busy road connected into the community. The sidewalk would begin at Pinemont and extend south into the community via Golf Drive before turning west on Del Norte Street which bends south into Candletree Drive and ending at the corner of Lehman Street. “We already have crime issues and loitering in our neighborhood and this sidewalk only invites more unnecessary loitering and possibly crime into our neighborhood,” Constantin said. “I have had to pay extra for the constable program through our neighborhood already. My property already backs up to Pinemont and I have had to be aware of people walking and loitering behind my fence but now I am going to have to be even more concerned for watching the front of my house even more so. This sidewalk serves no benefit to our neighborhood and only further compromises our security.” Curtis Hazel had similar thoughts. While he wishes the community did have sidewalks, perhaps like those in communities like Shepherd Park Plaza, he said the neighborhood wasn’t initially planned for sidewalks when it was first built. Hazel, who would be living directly across the street from a stretch of the proposed sidewalk, said he isn’t too keen on easier access from Pinemont on foot. “Some people are going to come into the neighborhood regardless of whether or not a sidewalk is there, but I don’t
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Photo by Jonathan Garris (Top) A worker tapes off sections of the sidewalk running from Pinemont Drive south onto Golf Drive and into Candlelight Plaza. The city recently halted work on the sidewalk after some voiced their opposition to the amenity. The sidewalk had first been petitioned in 2012 when a young child wrote a letter to Mayor Annise Parker asking for easier access to a nearby charter school. (Bottom) According to city records, the pathway was slated to be finished in several months.
When the school year ended, the principals of three Leader-area elementary schools announced their resignation, but now those positions are filled. Amy Poerschke will be the new principal at Durham Elementary and Dr. April Williams will take the top spot at Oak Forest Elementary. Laura Alaniz is Harvard Elementary’s new principal. Profiles on Williams and Alaniz will appear in subsequent weeks. “Each school has a different history, different needs, and different opportunities,” said Poerschke, who has been learning about Durham by talking with parents, community members, teachers and students. “Listening to each perspective has been valuable in developing a solid understanding of the Durham culture as well as setting priorities for the upcoming school year,” she said. Poerschke previously served as Assistant Principal of Garcia Elementary. Prior to that, she taught primary school in London, England as well as reading language arts in HISD at Dodson Elementary and Garcia Elementary. At Garcia, she was awarded the Kinder See Poerschke, P. 2A
like having a safe way for them to do it,” Hazel said. However, Heidi Skiff, president of the community’s civic club and officials with the Public Works and Engineering Department say more information is needed on whether or not to proceed with the sidewalk. Uncertainty Skiff said the civic club is currently in the process of surveying the neighborhood to find out how most of the residents in the area feel about the sidewalk. “When the sidewalk construction began, we had two or three neighbors voicing some concerns but we heard a lot of people who were excited about it,” Skiff said. “I didn’t See Sidewalk, P. 8A
Contributed Photo Amy Poerschke will be taking over as principal of Durham Elementary beginning this year.
Historic Preservation Ordinance revisions draw praise, ire for new voting methods jgarris@theleadernews.com
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Residents debate sidewalk petitioned by child in Candlelight Plaza in 2012 Ella Blvd.
One of the biggest events in the Heights is this weekend and The Leader has all you need to get prepared for the festivities. Inside you’ll find an event map, an entertainment guide and a special guest column by Art Valet contributor Mitch Cohen.
While the mood at the public hearing for the revised Historic Preservation Ordinance July 22 was positive, the Houston Archaelogical and Historical Commission still has some tweaks to make. Among some of the more contentious items on the long awaited list of revisions to the ordinance is the process for applying for designation of an historic district. According to the new text, after the final public meeting for the application, survey forms will be mailed to all owners of property within the survey area in the district. The director will then determine if survey forms “were returned for more than 50 percent of the tracts within the survey and also whether
67 percent of tracts for which survey forms were returned indicate support for the designation. Paul Lucia, a resident of Heights East for 16 years, had an issue with the change in the voting process, as it essentially requires support from 67 percent of the responding properties once the 50 percent margin is met. “What this allows is for a clear minority of property owners to control the rights of the majority,” Lucia said. “Those that think a certain project is a cool idea without doing any research will sign it and send it in. Once that 50 percent margin is met then if 67 percent of them say yes the whole thing is through without the rest of property owners to do their research.” Lucia opined that an option to “opt out” of a district should be presented. He said 90 percent of local
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homeowners near his property were against the ordinance and were “roped into” the district. “If something goes wrong, heaven forbid, we should as a group be able to opt out and reduce the size of the district for those that don’t want to be in it anymore.” Heights resident John Sullivan agreed on the voting percentage issue, saying a 50 percent return does not necessarily mean a majority. “One of the issues I had is that these districts can now be expanded as opposed to having new districts,” Sullivan said. “I don’t think that that’s right. I think that if new properties are going to be part of a new tract in a historic district then it needs to be its See Ordinance, P. 8A
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