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Inside Today: Check out this season’s football previews • 1B
Covering the Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest & the neighborhoods of North Houston
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Saturday, August 30, 2014 • Vol. 60 • No. XX
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Bring It On High school varsity football gets started. See scheduling and team info inside 1B
Heights CVS store robbed at gunpoint The Houston Police Department is investigating an armed robbery that took place at a 24-hour CVS Pharmacy store on West 20th Street on the morning of Aug. 21. Just before 1:30 a.m., three men dressed in black and armed with guns ordered a security guard out of her vehicle in front of the CVS store located at 110 West 20th Street, officials said. The robbers ordered the guard to go into the store with them where they held her and other employees at gunpoint. The robbers took an unspecified amount of money from the store’s registers before fleeing the scene, officials said. No injuries were reported. Investigators have acquired footage from surveillance cameras inside of the store, however it is not being released at this time.
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THE BRIEF.
Thanks to contributions from participating companies, The Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce Education Committee provided iPad covers to students of Garden Oaks Montessori Magnet School Aug. 21. The contributions also led to the purchase of a new scoreboard for the athletic fields at Waltrip Senior High School. Last year, the Chamber awarded $10,000 in scholarships and teacher awards as part of its initiative to foster stronger student and teacher relationships at local campuses.
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INSIDE.
Contributed Photo Glen Putman, lifelong Heights resident and owner of Malone Printing company, died last week.
Sheperd Park Plaza officials push for Community more Citizens on Patrol volunteers remembers beloved Heights business owner, icon By Jonathan Garris
jgarris@theleadernews.com
Coupons
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Food/Drink/Art Obituaries
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Opinion
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Public Information Puzzles Sports
2A 4A 1B
Chesire Ln.
Shepherd Park
Chantilly Ln. Thorton Curtin St. Chamboard Ln.
Dunsmere Rd.
7A
Richeleu Ln Martin Rd.
Golf
7B
Classifieds
Brian Haven Dr.
Church
Candlelight Ln.
Apollo St.
THE INDEX.
Bethlehem St.
Ella
David Weekley Home has begun selling in two new communities located in the Heights - Byrne Estates, located at 927 Byrne Street, and The Heights at Yale, located at 818 Yale Street. The company is seeking to take advantage of a strong local housing market and to attract a broad demographic. See 5A
Houston,” Blesener said. “I attend PIP meetings every month and they tell us that crime is high to people who have felt it or have been victimized, but on a city-wide basis it’s way down.” During the training event, residents learned from the Houston Police Department Alba
David Weekley Homes begins work on two new Heights developments
Officials with Shepherd Park Plaza say they need volunteers for their Citizens on Patrol – and fast. The group hosted a recruitment and training event Aug. 26 at the Near North Storefront, SPP representative Chuck Blesener said. The citizens group recently joined with Candlelight Estates to cover costs for an extra deputy to patrol the neighborhood, bringing the total count to two deputies, patrolling between day and night. Blesener said the community has been wanting to partner with SPP for a “long time.” “The guidelines for the county is to provide one deputy for 500 homes,” Blesener said. “We had about 750 homes so we didn’t think we could cover the costs for it.” SPP has also maintained a Citizens on Patrol program for about 25 years, and originally the program attracted about 100 volunteers. However, times have changed, and some of the younger population hasn’t been coming out to volunteer. “We’re down to 15 to 20 people,” Blesener said.
“Most of our volunteers have gotten older or moved away and we’ve really been having trouble getting the young families to come on board.” Blesener noted the group hasn’t had a concerted recruiting effort, but it’s something the residents are look-
Despite recently joining hands with Candlelight Estates to hire a second deputy to patrol both communities, Sheperd Park Plaza representatives say they are in dire need of volunteers for its Citizens on Patrol Program to help with patrolling hundreds of homes within the community.
ing to change with this new volunteer drive. He said it’s important that residents understand that deterrence as simple as a car or two driving through the neighborhood can be enough to help knock down crime. “Over time, crime changes, but our crime rate is still extremely low compared to a lot of neighborhoods in
how to properly patrol for crime and spot it effectively. During patrols, residents use a magnetic emblem on the side of their vehicle and report suspicious activity during their set patrol period. “The patrollers are the eyes and the ears of the HPD,” Blesener said. “They teach you, very strictly, to
not get out of your car or handle it yourself. The training is about an hour long, you get a manual and you have to fill out an application.” Blesener said volunteers are asked to contribute at least one hour a week to help out with patrols. He said the once “core group” of volunteers has continued a steady decline. Some have gotten older, others have died, however there are a few younger people helping out with the group’s program. Blesener stressed the iniatitive isn’t aimed at putting the volunteering focus purely at young people – on the contrary, the program will take anyone who is willing to lend their time and energy to patrolling. He did note that younger people do appear to be more career minded and tend to donate their money rather than their time. “We certainly appreciate donations, but some of them feel they can’t donate their time,” Blesener said. “We still need those living here to participate.” For more information, visit www.shepherdparkplaza.com or email ccbles77@gmail.com
By Christina Martinez cmartinez@theleadernews.com
Those who knew Glen Putman best will remember the late Heights resident as a business man, a father, a husband and, most importantly to some, a dear friend. Putman died Aug. 18 at the age of 72. Born on Sept. 30, 1941, Putnman spent his entire life in the Heights, attending Harvard Elementary School, Immanuel Lutheran, Hogg Middle School and was a graduate of Reagan High School. After graduation, Glen worked for Malone Printing Company and later purchased the company and operated it until his death last week. A long-time customer and friend, Debbie Markey, shared some fond memories about her time spent with Glen. Markey says she met Glen in the early 1990s when she was a board member for the Heights Association. “I was in charge of membership and my first task was doing a membership See Putman, P. 2A