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Michael Silva

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

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Saturday, February 28, 2015 • Vol. 60 • No. 17

Senior EXP

We’re just a couple weeks away from our second annual Senior Expo, set to take place March 18 at the SPJST Lodge (1435 Beall St.). The free event offers guest speakers, vendors and other services aimed at our local senior citizens. Find more information in our advertisment on 6A.

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

Why not ‘Just Ask?’

Questions still linger over HISD boundaries

AREA SPECIALIST

By Jonathan Garris jgarris@theleadernews.com

Ê , < 832.419.9969

INSIDE.

Scarborough boys basketball gets big win It may have been a long time coming for Scarborough High School’s basketball fans, but the wait is over. After its first appearance in the playoffs in 10 years, the varsity boys basketball team won their first playoff game in the school’s history Tuesday night, defeating La Grange, 68-64.

Find it on 4B “We Make Real Estate Simple.” Give Us A Call Today! Janet & Cecil Schmidt

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The Do-Over In this week’s edition of The Do Over, Leader contributor Cynthia Lescalleet looks at how a home renovation project turned a part-time interest into a complete passion for one local couple.

Find it on 1B

The INDEX. Church

5A

Classifieds

5B

Coupons

4A

Food/Drink/Art Obituaries

7A 5A

Opinion

3A

Public Information Puzzles Sports

2A 6A 4B

How one man is reshaping how others perceive him with one small question and one big heart By Kim Hogstrom For The Leader One of the joys of living in north Houston is the occasional Art Car tooling around, but many have noticed a curious, new addition to the local collection. A former school bus now sports soft gray paint and images of an odd looking fellow on its sides. This bus, which resides in the Heights, is called the “Just Ask” World Tour Bus. Naturally, The Leader “asked.” “We started the ‘Just Ask’ Foundation to promote awareness of neurofibromatosis or NF, and now we have a bus to do it,” said Reggie Bibbs, Founder of the nonprofit agency. Bibbs was diagnosed with disfiguring NF at age one. Now 50, Bibbs has spent much of his life in the shadows, but that’s changed. “NF is not rare,” Bibbs said. “We want to help people feel comfortable with themselves. It’s all about getting people to embrace who they are, and it’s so amazing and so rewarding when we do,” While often confused with the “Elephant Man Disease,” neurofibromatosis is in fact a genetic disorder which affects more than 100,000 Americans; making it more common than Cystic Fibrosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Huntington’s Disease and Tay Sachs combined. It also presents in varying degrees of severity. In Bibbs’ case, tumors encase one side of his head, and one of his legs. The tumors are such that removing them results in them returning, often more aggressively, and there is no cure. A British film crew produced two documentaries about Bibbs shown on The Discovery Channel. Both “My Brand New Face” and “Beauty and the Beast” have aired in the

Photos by Kim Hogstrom (Top) Reggie Bibbs stands outside of his customized bus in the Heights. Bibbs, who was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, or NF, travels around the city in his bus inviting people to ask about his condition and to educate others. (Bottom) While Bibbs said his childhood was difficult and struggled at times to even leave the house, Bibbs continues to travel and meet with others (and occassionally indulges with a lot of food, like a chili cook-off at Cottonwood).

US and internationally. As a result, Bibbs has fans around the world. “Yesterday, I got an email from someone thanking me. He told me I was an inspiration to him,” Bibbs said. “He told me he has NF too and that he lives in Russia. I couldn’t believe it. That gives me so much strength.” Things have not always been so rewarding, according to Bibbs. He says childhood was difficult. ”There were a lot of lunches at school sitting alone,” he said. As an adult, Bibbs spent years at home, hidden away. When his younger brother died of cancer, Bibbs decided “enough was enough” and started leaving the house. “I noticed people would stare at me, but often it was See Just Ask, P. 2A

Celebrating the Heights Fire Station By Kim Hogstrom For The Leader With 100 years and counting of history, spanning generations of Heights residents and counteless Houstonians who have passed through its doors, the Houston Heights Fire Station’s centennial will be a celebration of the community’s past, present and future. The 100th birthday party for the Houston Heights Fire Station, located at 12th St. and Yale St., will include two bands, Mayor Parker, several speakers and birthday cake with a free event beginning at 2 p.m. on March 8. All are invited to commemorate the building’s role in Heights’ history, which was once called the “heartbeat of the Heights.” “When the fire station was completed in 1915, it was the center of the Heights’ civic activity,” said Mark R. Williamson, President of the Houston Heights Association (HHA), the civic group acting as care-takers for the old building. There were five full-time firefighters at the station in 1915 and the station also housed the Heights City Council chambers, judges chambers, offices and even jail See Station P. 8A

Worried parents from across The Leader area had their loyalty to local elementary schools on full display this month as HISD held a public meeting at Waltrip High School regarding its proposed Samuel Sarabia boundary changes. Among some of the hot topics with parents at the Feb. 16 meeting at Waltrip included the decision to shift Love and Sinclair Elementary’s boundaries – a proposal that a number of parents of Sinclair students were ambivalent about. One Shady Acres resident also expressed frustration with the timeframe of the proposal, and said it was “disheartening” that the announcement came after the Magnet school application process had closed. He told HISD representatives that he had already completed the process for his son, who was slated to begin Kindergarten next year. Samuel Sarabia, Chief School Officer for Area III Elementary Schools, however said that HISD would be reaching out to parents about the process. “An exception would be provided for parents in those situations,” Sarabia said. See Boundaries, P. 4A

Photo by Christina Martinez Justin Engle (left) and partner Steve Malacelo will be joining the growing number of microbreweries aiming to call The Leader area their new home.

Town in City Brewing set to open in April By Christina Martinez christina@theleadernews.com

Contributed Photo A worker performs the final bouts of brick engraving at the Heights Fire Station as part of its restoration and centennial.

Imagine riding your bike to a neighborhood brewery where you can try the latest cask, play a game of cribbage with the head brewers, rub shoulders with fellow neighbors and grab a bite to eat. These are exactly the ideas of the microbrewery, Town in City Brewing, located at 1125 W Calvacade St., set to open at the end of March or early April. “Our capacity is about 90 people, so it won’t be like other breweries when you go and there’s about 400 people there,” Justin Engle, Founder and Head Brewer said. “But that’s not what we’re going for. We’re going for the neighborhood destination to where neighbors can come and have their meetings here or just hang out.” See Brewing P. 6A

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