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Michael Silva 713.725.8748

Inside Today: Straightening and strengthening an 1890s home • 1B

Houston Business Journal Top 25 Residential Real Estate Professional

Great Gifts for the Holidays

Established 1967

michaels@johndaugherty.com johndaugherty.com

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

Flower & Gift Shop 10570 NW Frwy 713-680-2350

Saturday, November 22, 2014 • Vol. 61 • No. 3

Forgotten greenway

Shhhh...

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

AREA SPECIALIST Contriubted Photo Holiday decorations are a hit during Lights in the Heights.

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Find It. 2011 MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER SPORT: Clean, runs great, good on gas. Mileage 16,174. $12,500. 832-6774307, 713-862-6096. GENERAL CARPENTRY AND PAINTING: Small jobs welcome. Excellent references. 832-5230360, 281-743-8467. CALL CENTER REPRESENTATIVES AVAILABLE to work second shift. Please call 713866-4499. GARAGE SALE: 6431 Granite, Saturday, Nov. 22, 8 a.m. Microwave, refrigerator, Christmas decorations, toys, miscellaneous. Several families.

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Hot, hot ‘hoods

Photos by Jonathan Garris Shady Acres Civic Club President Nancy Wilcox looks out over the creek running through Little Thicket Park. The area has a substantial amount of litter washing up into the water from the nearby highway, and aside from support from residents, the park has seen little in the way of substantial help from Houston officials, Wilcox says.

Shady Acres residents set sights on revitalizing Little Thicket Park for area use

By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com

By Jonathan Garris jgarris@theleadernews.com As Nancy Wilcox makes her way around Little Thicket Park at West 23rd Street, she can’t help but shake her head at the condition the local greenspace is in. “This is in a really unique location and so much wildlife calls this place home,� Wilcox said. It’s that uniqueness that has residents like Wilcox, who also serves as the president of the Shady Acres Civic Club, frustrated with Little Thicket Park’s current state. While city officials have helped make some minor improvements in the last few weeks, such as cutting away branches from the main sidewalks and clearing an entrance on West 22nd Street, Wilcox said there is still an enormous amount of work that needs to be done in preserving the 10.6 acre park and promoting its use among local residents. “As ugly as the entrance is on West 22nd Street, it’s still an improvement,� Wilcox said with a laugh. “The help from the city has been as minimal as you can get and we’re hoping to get that changed.� Officials have helped remove graffiti and garbage in the immediate area near West 23rd Street, however much of the park has languished and suffers from an abundance of littering, invasive plant species and little to no upkeep of a walking trail, Wilcox said. “There are plenty of people who want to be able to use this park, but it’s simply not in a useable state,� Wilcox said. In a rut According to the Houston Parks and Recreation Department’s website, the city first acquired Little Thicket Park in

A violation notice hangs from the fence at the West 22nd Street entrance to Little Thicket Park. Wilcox claims the notice came after the city cited itself for its failure to maintain the entrance to the park and the nearby drainage ditch, which she said had been all but buried by overgrowth.

1957 for $1 from Hugh January and Leslie L. Appelt. The park, which extends north from the edge of E. TC Jester Boulevard to the edge of West 26th Sreet, had previously connected to the White Oak Bayou. However, flood control issues caused the bayou to be rerouted into another channel and lined with concrete in 1957. Despite the attention Memorial Park has received with its own Master Plan, and the Bayou 2020 Program which seeks to revitalize trails along White Oak Bayou, Wilcox said it has been up to residents and other local organizations to help foot the bill and provide the manpower necessary to keep the park together. Rosemary Montana, a resident who lives next to the park, said she does her best to help keep the park clean and walks around the area near the basketball courts generally on Mondays collecting trash discarded over the weekend. “A lot of the kids are really good about picking up after themselves, but there are some people who aren’t exactly wholesome,� Montana said. The area has faced issues with See Thicket P. 2A

Residents, HPD pursue area coyote in wake of local animal mulitations In last month’s real estate section, The Leader profiled three area neighborhoods which are making a name for themselves in the real estate market – both because of their location and affordability. This month’s neighborhoods – Forest West, Mangum Manor and Germantown near Woodland Heights – are also areas sought out by buyers who feel priced out of the Heights, Garden Oaks and Oak Forest. Find the full story in Leader Listings on 1B.

The INDEX. Church

7A

Classifieds

7B

Coupons

5A

Food/Drink/Art Obituaries

9A 7A

Opinion

4A

Public Information Puzzles Sports

2A 4A 5B

By Kim Hogstrom For The Leader Residents of Timbergrove Manor and Houston Police Department Officers engaged in a different kind of chase this past weekend after some citizens spotted a coyote – and the possible culprit of the recent cat mutilations in the area. “My husband and I were headed home after church and saw the coyote walking down Droxford Dr. as we turned off Seamist Dr., so we backed up our car and took photos of it,� stated Nikki Condon Williams, resident of Timbergrove Manor. “Then I posted the photos (on the Timbergrove Manor Facebook page) to notify our neighborhood to be aware,� Williams said. “We weren’t afraid, but still, the idea that it was 1 p.m. on a Sunday and we usually take walks with our one-year-old daughter around then, was scary.� In a matter of hours, many members of the Timbergrove Manor community were involved in the coyote sighting. By 5 p.m. Sunday, there 134 posts on Facebook regarding the coyote. “I saw the photo and realized they were taken on my street,� stated Timbergrove Manor resident, Kim Comer. “I have lived here for 50 years, and have never seen a coyote, so I got in my car and drove down to see it.� In short order, the coyote ran past Comer, who was now joined by other residents on the look-out. “We got back in my car and started following it, and I called 911,� Comer said.

Publicity not priority for Lights in the Heights

Contributed Photo Photos of this coyote spotted near Timbergrove Manor spread quickly online among residents.

According to Comer, the coyote traveled up and down streets at quite a clip, stopping on pouches and in the front yards of many homes. Comer and others residents were in their cars and on a close tail. “One of my neighbors was walking his German Sheperd on a leash and looking for for the animal. The dog saw it and went nuts, so the coyote hid on a front porch. I called 911 again,� Comer stated. “Finally, a police officer arrived while the coyote was sitting on a porch on Willowby Dr. and Greengrass Dr. The officer said, ‘Oh my gosh, that is a coyote’ and he See Coyote P. 2A

Want to know when Lights in the Heights is this year? You’re not alone. The web link for the event on the Woodland Heights Civic Association web site is no longer active, and people who call the Heights Chamber of Commerce have been referred to The Leader. But we didn’t know either, and now that we do we’re not going to tell you. OK, that’s a joke. Sort of. For the past five years, Glen Sementelli has been one of the co-chairs for the annual event which has been going on for 25 years. It’s a chance for the folks in Woodland Heights to show off their holiday decorations to their friends and neighbors. The street party is free and festive. Five years ago it was getting a little too festive – about 60,000 to 70,000 people came out when the area could only accommodate half of that. “The city said it was getting too big,� Sementelli said. “They said it needed to be in the 30,000 range.� And so, with the exception of the Woodland Heights area, where they do advertise it to their 2,000 residents, they publicize it as little as possible. “We’re not trying to be elitist or keep anybody out,� Sementelli said, who gets at least 30 emails and numerous phone calls a day about the event. “We have no problem with people coming but we have to walk a thin line. It’s a public safety issue. We just want to be able to continue.� For Heights resident Jenna Taylor the event is one of her family’s traditions for the past 10 years. “We love seeing the elaborate light displays, hearing the bands and choirs and spending the evening walking with friends and family,� Taylor said. “Now that we live in the neighborhood, it’s wonderful to be able to load the kids in the wagon and walk on over. While the event has grown and the crowds are larger, the community feel of the event remains.� There are plenty of non-Heights residents who attend as well. Oak Forest’s Hazel Salihbasic said they went last year and are planning to go again. “Wish we had something like that here,� she stated. Isela Venecia has several friends who have Lights in the Heights parties, so they usually go. “I have noticed some people coming off of [private] buses and have no idea where they are coming from that they need to ride a bus to the event,� she said. Lots of buses coming in are exactly what the organizers want to avoid. “You don’t have to tell anybody to get 30,000 people,� said Sementelli. Last year, the event was held the second Saturday in December. The year before that it was also held the second Saturday in December. But don’t tell anyone we told you.


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