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Michael Silva 713.725.8748

Inside Today: See how restaurants fared in inspections • 5B

Houston Business Journal Top 25 Residential Real Estate Professional

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, December 13, 2014 • Vol. 61 • No. 6

60 and counting About Us

Where’s the line? Property disputes shed light on boundary issues in the Heights

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

By Kim Hogstrom For The Leader

AREA SPECIALIST

ĂŠ , < 832.419.9969

INSIDE.

Melody Dickerson chose nursing as a career in high school, after being hospitalized following a car accident. Today, she’s a master’sdegreed registered nurse, a certified professional in healthcare quality and Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) at Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital.

Find the story Our Health on 1B

h7E -AKE 2EAL %STATE 3IMPLE v 'IVE 5S ! #ALL 4ODAY +BOFU $FDJM 4DINJEU

janetschmidt58@yahoo.com PREMIER PROPERTIES

FIND IT. FOUR YEAR $500K LAND NOTE with 5.5% APR, secured by 31.3 acres in Austin County first position deed of trust. LTV less than 60%. Call for details. Summit Capital Partners, 832268-2100. ANTIQUE SHOP LIQUIDATION SALE: 1614-A W. 22nd (by Ella). Lots of glassware, figurines, chairs, tables and much more.

The Leader celebrates birthday with hundreds of local residents By Jonathan Garris jgarris@theleadernews.com Despite a looming threat of rain throughout Dec. 6, The Leader’s 60th Birthday Bash at Lutheran High North turned out to be a rousing success for the community and our local publication. The event was made possible by Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital. From visitors to volunteers and vendors, it’s estimated that more than 700 people came out for the bash for a day of winter fun with games, barbecue, free cupcakes, visits with local businesses and, perhaps most popular for the youngsters, a snow village. Children also took special note to be on their best behavior during the event as Santa Claus himself was there taking notes for this year’s holiday. Publisher Jonathan McElvy said the reception from attendees and vendors was positive, even though the See Celebrate P. 4A

On Dec. 6 The Leader celebrated 60 years serving local news. In celebration, a Birthday Bash was held at Lutheran High North where a community event took place for families to take photos with Santa, play in the snow, buy goods from local businesses, like Claudia Powell and her husband (above) and enjoy the day with family and friends.

In March 2012, Lydia Afeman was as happy as she could be. The recent transplant from Chicago had accepted a new job as medical sales rep, and bought a 4,500-square-foot empty lot in Houston Heights to build her dream home. The new Houstonian then hired an architectural firm for $12,000 to help make her dream a reality. All did not go as planned. Today, Afeman describes herself as “boundary line dispute survivor� in an effort to add humor to the nightmare that would unfold. “When I purchased my Heights property, I relied on the seller’s survey but when my builder started construction, he discovered that there was a neighbor’s fence on 550 square feet of the property,� Afeman said. “The fence line drastically changed the architectural plans.� Afeman said she was not aware that her neighbors had a faulty survey performed in 2003 when they purchased their home. “The error shifted mine and three other property boundary lines to the north,� Afeman said. The situation was a learning experience for Afeman. “I have learned that when buying a property in an older neighborhood or an area under re-development, hiring a skilled surveyor is very important, so I went on a search for a good one,� Afeman said. “I found Karl Bowles with B & B Surveyors who was referred to me due to his reputation as a historian and surveyor. He conducted a survey and confirmed that my property was 4,500 square feet, and that the fence was on my property.� Afeman also found her situation was not an isolated one. Diana Reyes, along with her husband and two children, recently suffered a similar situation. Their family woke up one morning to find the developer who purchased the property next door to their 1920s Heights bungalow had torn down the family’s fence on one side of their property. He claimed that he owned 10 feet at the side of their house. “The developer said he had a survey done and that he was sure the 10 feet were his,� Reyes said. “Then he said he was coming back the next day to remove our air conditioning-heating unit and water heater on that side of the house. He told me that the neighbor on the other side of our house actually had our ten feet, and that applied to the houses all the way down the block.� The house was originally purchased for Reyes’ mother, who was a housekeeper, by her employers as a home for the young domestic. The home had been in Reyes’ family for more than 60 years, See Dispute P. 6A

‘It’s not pain medication, it’s giving’

GENERAL CARPENTRY AND PAINTING: Small jobs welcome. Excellent references. 832-5230360, 281-743-8467.

Local resident, Army veteran turns craft into another form of service By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com

The INDEX. Church

7A

Classifieds

5B

Coupons

6A

Food/Drink/Art Obituaries

3A 8A

Opinion

5A

Public Information Puzzles

2A 8A

Chris McLean, a 40 year resident of Candlelight Plaza and Army veteran, says that people have been calling him Tree ever since he was a student at Our Savior Lutheran. As an adult he stands at 6’8’’, but some would say his stature isn’t the largest thing about him. “Tree is a tremendous individual with a heart as big as he is,� said Wayne Kyle, the father of American Sniper author Chris Kyle who was tragically killed in February 2013. “He believes in giving back, and that’s what our

Contributed Photo Chris McLean (left) said he was honored to meet Cindy Dietz recently.

Chris believed in as well — to serve those who serve us.� McLean is the owner of Lonesome

Tree Designs and in addition to crafting knives and leather goods for sale, he makes Patriot Knives, which are never sold, but donated to fundraisers or awarded to individuals who go above and beyond the call of duty. A recent recipient was Captain ‘Iron Bill’ Dowling of the Houston Fire Department who was seriously wounded in a 5-alarm hotel fire in May of 2013. “He found us,� said Bill Dowling’s wife Jacki. “He wanted to give Bill a knife and we graciously accepted.� Jeff Kyle, Chris’ brother, attended the presentation as did Scott Brown of the Scooter Brown Band. “[The knife] was done with such love – it was beautiful,� said Jacki Dowling, who noted that McLean personalized it with design elements that reflected Dowling’s service as a Marine and a Houston Fire Fighter.

“Bill is not very verbal, but he was emotional,� said Dowling. Since starting the Patriot Knife program four years ago, McLean has built 42 of them. The auction of the knives has raised $62,680 for organizations that benefit military families and veterans. Recently Cindy Dietz came to Houston to see McLean. Her son was Navy Seal Danny Dietz, who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, after he died during a reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan. The mission was portrayed in the recent movie “Lone Survivor.� McLean is crafting personalized knives for Dietz’s family members, using strips of his T-shirts in the resin of the knife handle. Dietz has also comSee Knife P. 10A

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