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Saturday, November 28, 2015 • Vol. 60 • No. 56
About Us 3500 East T.C. Jester Blvd Suite A (713) 686-8494 news@theleadernews.com www.theleadernews.com Facebook/THE LEADER.
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Stevens Elementary celebrates with ‘SPARK’ Stevens Elementary hosted the dedication for their SPARK Park on Thursday, November 19. Kathleen Ownby, executive director for the SPARK Park Program, said it was one of seven SPARK events planned at Houston area schools throughout the week. Certificates, which were personalized with student drawings, were handed out to all who have helped the park become a reality. Look for an official opening in January.
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By Jonathan Garris jgarris@theleadernews.com (Clockwise from top left) Among some of the recent developments in the Heights medical landscape include the rebranded Memorial Hermann Greater Heights and its planned entryway redesign, urgent care centers like SignatureCare and MedSpring, the UT Phyisicians at the Heights which opened earlier this year, the planned Heights Central medical facility and the soon-tobe-opened Methodist Primary Care Group physician center on Studewood.
Heights area sees substantial growth in medical industry Time to change for a clock tower What happens when it’s time to renovate an enormous clock tower into a multi-use building? Cynthia Lescalleet looks into the preservation and repurposing of Clock Tower Studios at 611 22nd St, just east of North Shepherd.
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events
ART MARKET @ Houston Vineyard Cafe Several local artists will be featured in an Art Market at the Houston Vineyard Cafe, 1035 E. 11th St. COMMUNITY BLOOD DRIVE The Foster YMCA and Heights Rotary Club are teaming up to help strengthen the community by doing a community blood drive at the Foster YMCA
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Face painting, games and plenty of food and refreshDr. awaited local famiMemorial ments lies at Saturday’s Fall Family Fun Day at Memorial Hermann Greater Heights. Check out plenty of fun photos from the event in this week’s edition.
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By Jonathan Garris jgarris@theleadernews.com Between the expansion and re-branding of Memorial Hermann Greater Heights, a new facility with Heights Central, numerous urgent care clinics and now a new family practice opening courtesy of Houston Methodist, the healthcare industry in the Heights is taking on a new shape. Chris Dray, part owner of the Heights Central development, a proposed 15,000-square-foot medical office building, said new facilities like these have been a long time coming. Dray has lived in the Heights area since the early 2000s and has raised two boys here. Over that time, there has been plenty of change in the area but primarily in the form of restaurants and bars. “We’ve been driving to the West U area for pediatric care and physicals for the kids and my wife also goes to the OBGYN there,” Dray said. “If you live in the Heights you have to drive to West U, the Medical Center or other parts of Houston to get a lot of different kinds of specialty care.” Dray pointed to the lack of healthcare specialists and centers in the community as being a prime opportunity for facilities like Heights Central to fill in a healthcare gap.
While the area has its share of urgent care and hospital options, Dray says finding family care has been a challenge. “These days you also have to think of driving across town to find those kinds of services,” Dray said. “It used to not be so bad [but] with all of the traffic the way it is, you’re talking 45 minutes to an hour each way. It really clicked a light bulb for us that those services need to come to the Heights in a better capacity than in the past.” Crowded horizon Dray isn’t the only one who believes there is a gap in family healthcare options in the Heights area. Sharon Rice, marketing manager for Houston Methodist Primary Care Group, said their new family practice physician moving in at 1001 Studewood above the Black & White Mediterranean Restaurant is a perfect fit for the community. The medical group has a strong footprint throughout other parts of Houston but saw a lack of physician care in the Heights area. “It’s a very residential neighborhood and very heavy with restaurants and other establishments but there’s reSee Healthcare P. 5A
As a longtime business owner along North Shepherd, Kathryn van der Pol knows there is a long list of challenges towards revitalizing and solving many of the issues facing other businesses along the corridor. While it might not have been as active as before, van der Pol is seeking to reinvigorate the North Shepherd Area Business Association as the area heads into the new year. The group recently secured a sponsorship from Nundini Chef’s Table at 500 N. Shepherd Dr., and the group See Shepherd P. 8A
Photo by Jonathan Garris Greater Heights Chamber of Commerce president Jacob Millwee speaks during a North Shepherd Area Business Association meeting last week.
Fighting hunger with help from Kids’ Meals By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com The statistics are sobering – almost 90,000 children under five years old in Houston don’t know where their next meal is coming from. For more than 2,000 of them, the answer is Kids’ Meals, working out of their location at 330 Garden Oaks Blvd. Executive Director Christina Vetrano said that Monday through Friday, between 20 and 40 volunteers make lunches from 9 a.m. to noon that are then delivered directly to pre-school age students who are at home with parents or caregivers and don’t have access to free lunch programs. “For about a third of them, it’s the only meal they’ll get all day,” said Vetrano.
During the summer, kids 18 years and younger get lunches too and Vetrano said that about six times a year, like at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, they provide additional food to families. Who makes the meals? You do, if you’re willing. “We get a lot of stay at home parents, school groups, and retirees,” said Vetrano. “It’s very family friendly.” There is no age requirement for volunteers. If kids can’t reach the table to make lunch, they can decorate lunch sacks. The fact that children could volunteer was what drew Candlelight Estates resident See Meals P. 5A
Photo by Betsy Denson Girl Scout Troop #28014 makes meals on a recent Saturday. All age volunteers are welcome according to the organization’s director.
810 Ralfallen St. | Heights
$1,250,000 • 4/5 Bedrooms • 4.5 Baths • 3,708 sq. ft. Living
Featuring open design, versatile spaces, loggia with gas fireplace & bar and energy-efficient solutions. For a Private Showing: 713.862.1600 | bill@yourblvd.com
Contemporary American Farmhouse