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Neighbors at odds over street parking By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com
Oak Forest residents Greg and Emily Lambert have a spacious front yard, but they do not let their two young children play in it. They said their stretch of Fisher Street is often occupied by vehicles parked along the curb, which they see as a safety hazard. One day earlier this year, the Lamberts said the kids who live across the street were playing basketball in their driveway, when the ball bounced away from them and into the road.
The ball was promptly run over by a motorist who had just turned onto Fisher from Golf Drive, which is roughly 50 feet to the east. “Luckily the kids didn’t run after it,” Emily Lambert said. “That ball was run over by another car because they didn’t see it coming through, because of the other cars that are parked there.” Parking on their street has become a growing concern for the Lamberts and several of their neighbors on the 1000 block of Fisher. Twelve of them signed
an application for the City of Houston’s Residential Permit Parking Program, which was submitted July 15 and seeks to restrict non-resident parking on the eastern end of the block during a 12-hour period each day. Residents of four different houses on Fisher said most of the vehicles they’ve seen parked in front of their homes appear to belong to Jonathan Campbell, who lives on Golf near its intersection with Fisher. Those residents said they also are conSee Parking P. 5A
Contributed photo A Fisher Street resident recently photographed a group of vehicles parked along the curb on the Oak Forest street.
Planting Roots
By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com
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INSIDE.
Timber! An oak tree recently fell in Shepherd Park, where more trees will be removed.
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Photo by Adam Zuvanich A landscaper works on a rain garden in the ditch south of 1802 Harvard St., a historic and iconic Heights home. Owners John and Jan Rynda Greer have sought to improve the property since buying it in 2019.
New owners growing into Heights home By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com
New kid on the block. Cherry Block got some last-minute support to fund an area location.
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Sinking feeling. A sinkhole has reemerged in a Shepherd Park Plaza front yard.
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Heights product Gonzalez grilled by U.S. senators
Living in the most recognizable home in the Heights could be considered an honor and a privilege. Jan Rynda Greer has come to find out it’s also a lot of work and comes with a lot of responsibility. And because of its visibility in the neighborhood, the Victorian mansion at 1802 Harvard St. is a target of scrutiny. Since purchasing the historic house in March 2019 from the estate of prominent Houston preservationist Bart Truxillo, who lived there for nearly 30 years until his death in 2017, Greer said she and her husband, John, have worked to restore and upgrade the property that includes a guest house, basement, swimming pool and spacious lawn and gardens. The effort was temporarily derailed by Tropical Storm Imelda in September 2019, when Greer said the home flooded. Partly in response to that event, the couple is in the process of creating a rain garden on the south side of the property, in the ditch between the sidewalk and East 18th Street. Its aim is to beautify the ditch along with capturing stormwater runoff and slowing its flow to a gutter immediately to the west, thereby reducing flooding risks. “Everything on this property has been built with the idea of longevity,” Greer said. “Our eyes are open to the fact it’s going to be hotter and colder, more lightning, crazier storms, more hurricanes and how we have to adjust the landscape and the house itself to survive for another 100 years – without bankrupting us.” Even though the ditch along 18th was filled with vegetation when Truxillo owned the property, the City of Houston received complaints about the rain garden as it began to be constructed. Houston Public Works spokesperson Erin
Photo by Adam Zuvanich The Victorian mansion at 1802 Harvard St., the longtime home of late Houston preservationist Bart Truxillo, is now owned by John and Jan Rynda Greer.
Jones said a trio of 311 requests have been submitted since June, alleging that the rain garden impeded drainage and was a street hazard. Jones said property owners are required by city code to maintain roadside ditches and ensure they are clear of anything that could block or impede drainage as they are in the city’s right-of-way. Any modifications to them, including plants and soil, must be submitted to the Office of the City Engineer for review, Jones said. The Greers did not submit their plans to the City Engineer prior to beginning construction on the rain garden – Jan said she wasn’t aware she needed to – but a public works employee inspected the site Tuesday. According to See Garden P. 5A
The nation’s eyes were on Heights native Ed Gonzalez on July 15, when he faced questions from United States senators during a confirmation hearing to become to next director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Gonzalez, who has served as Harris County Sheriff since he first was elected to that role in 2016, was nominated to lead ICE in April by President Joe Biden. The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs peppered Gonzalez with questions during last week’s two-hour confirmation hearing in Washington, asking him about his law enforcement philosophy, his Gonzalez visions for ICE and his past criticisms of the organization, among other topics. ICE has not had a senate-confirmed director in more than four years. “If confirmed, I would welcome the opportunity and consider it the opportunity of a lifetime to work with the men and women of ICE,” Gonzalez said during the hearing. “I would like to see us become a preeminent law enforcement agency that works effectively.” Gonzalez touted his leadership skills, collaborative mentality and experience in law enforcement and public service, including his time as a homicide detective for the Houston Police Department, his stint on the Houston City Council and his role as sheriff, in which he manages an operating budget of more than $570 million and oversees one of the country’s largest jails. He was questioned about his decision a few years ago to end Harris County’s partnership with ICE under the 287(g) program, in which the ICE cooperates with state and local authorities to enforce immigration laws. Gonzalez cited budget concerns and resource allocation among his reasons, saying the Houston area has a diverse immigrant community and he wanted the sheriff ’s office “to remain focused to have the avenues necessary to arrest serious offenders in our community.” When asked if he would end the program altogether as director of ICE, Gonzalez said, “That would not be my intent.” Gonzalez said he would seek to strike a balance between upholding U.S. imSee Gonzalez P. 3A
Local swimmers help refugee kids learn to swim Creepy crawlers. Hammerhead flatworms are here and pose a threat to residences.
By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
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Recent Lutheran High North graduate Justice Wenz said he learned the power of community when he was asked by a family friend to give swimming lessons to some Houston kids. The children were not his typical students, but refugees from Kenya, Iraq, Rwanda and Sudan. The family friend who reached out to Wenz was Memorial resident Stacy Holden, who met the Sudanese Abdulaziz family through the nonprofit Houston Welcomes Refugees a number of years ago. In the time she has known them, she has also grown close to a few other families in the Southwest Houston apartment
THE INDEX. Church....................................................... 4A Classifieds.............................................. 5A Coupons. ................................................. 3B Food/Drink/Art................................... 7A Obituaries.............................................. 4A Opinion. ................................................... 3A Public Information......................... 8A Puzzles...................................................... 3A Sports. ....................................................... 3B
Contributed photo Members of the Blue Marlins Swim Team recently provided swimming lessons to refugees from Kenya, Iraq, Rwanda and Sudan.
complex where the family lives. It was on a camping trip to Inks Lake State Park that Holden and her family took with some of these kids when she realized that a number of them could not swim. She called around about getting the kids lessons but found that swimming lessons didn’t come cheap. Then she had a revelation. “I know a lot of swimmers,” Holden said. She reached out to Wenz, who will swim on his college team in the fall at Wabash College, and to Mary Beth Witt, who heads up the Blue Marlins Swim Team at the White Oak Conference Center pool. It turned out there were a number of teens who needed volunteer service hours and wanted to
help. One of those was Candlelight Plaza’s Flinn Burrell, who taught two of the youngest girls. “My favorite part was getting to know the kids,” Burrell said. “I looked forward to volunteering because I knew I would get to see the girls that I taught, and I was excited whenever they would show up. It was nice to bond with them through swim lessons.” The group swam at the Candlelight Oaks neighborhood pool and a pool in the Fountainview area. Lessons were on Tuesdays and Thursdays in June and July and Holden would transport the students for their lessons. “We kept the parents informed about what we were doing and I See Swim P. 3A