WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018, THE ALVIN ADVERTISER
Education d Healthcare d Religion
At Alvin ISD, growth leads to more opportunities to learn By David Rupkalvis Publisher For decades Alvin Independent School District was a small, lazy district with just a handful of schools. That is certainly no longer the case. With rapid growth in the district, especially along the Highway 288 corridor in Manvel, Pearland and Iowa Colony, the district is now among the fastest growing in the state. With approximately 1,200 new students entering the district every year, the biggest change has been a nonstop need for new schools. Since 2000, voters have approved six bonds, and the district has built 22 new schools. The building boom includes Manvel High School, Shadow Creek High School and the JB Hensler College and Career Academy for high school students. At the junior high level, five news schools — Ryan, Fairview, Manvel, Rodeo Palms and McNair — have been built. The fastest growth has been at the elementary school level as the following schools have been opened — Jeter, Marek, Wilder, Savannah Lakes, Hasse, Meridiana, Brothers, York, Mark Twain, Duke and Pomona. In addition, two schools are slated to open next year, Nelson and Sanchez. Alvin ISD Superintendent Buck Gilcrease recently put the growth into figures easier to understand. Gilcrease explained when he was hired five years ago there were 20,195 students. In those
five years, close to 6,000 students have been added to the district. “To put that into perspective, we’ve grown Angleton ISD in five school years,” Gilcrease said. “We’ve grown Friendswood ISD in five school years.” While new students are coming every year, Gilcrease said the district has deliberately been slow to build. He explained the goal is to open every new school near capacity. Gilcrease explained the district opened McNair Junior High this year, and it is already at capacity. “Our philosophy is we build just in time,” Gilcrease said. “We don’t build a school so it will sit there a quarter full. We want to open it at or near capacity.” While the growth has led to new schools, it has also led to new opportunities for students. One of the biggest changes over the last few years was the opening of the J.B. Hensler Academy. At the Hensler Academy, high school students from either Alvin, Manvel or Shadow Creek can go much further in education. With classes in specialized fields ranging from auto mechanics and welders to nursing and vet techs, students can graduate with a high school diploma and a certificate that could help them immediately get a job in dozens of industries. One student was recently hired as a nurse at 18 after graduation and another received a job paying $60,000 a year as a welder. “It was always the priority of
Students learn how to work on air conditioners at the JB Hensler Academy. Students who complete the HVAC program will graduate from high school with a certificate that could get them hired quickly. (Photo by David Rupkalvis) the Alvin ISD board to expand career and technology opportunities, but it was constrained,” Assistant Superintendent Daniel Combs said. He explained state law requirements made it difficult for districts to offer much more than the core subjects. But when House Bill 5 passed in 2013, it
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gave districts more freedom to incorporate career and technology classes, and Alvin ISD moved quickly. Immediately, the district turned the old Manvel Junior High annex into a career and technology center, and when voters approved bonds in 2013 and 2015, the Hensler Academy was built.
“The focus of the district is to meet the needs of each individual student,” Combs said. “This provides a pathway for students to explore a career field and to gain a valuable skillset.” Combs said the vision of the Hensler Academy is twofold — to provide a way for students to start a career immediately upon graduation, but also to provide
basics for students who might want to move on to more advanced training after high school. “We have seen a great interest in career and technology courses,” he said. “We’ve also been excited as a district to offer new offerings.”
See LEARNING, page 2A
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LEARNING Continued from page 1 Combs said one big benefit of the Hensler Academy is an increased partnership with Alvin Community College. “There’s been a tremendous partnership between Alvin ISD and Alvin Community College in light of the opening of the Hensler Academy,” he said. Combs explained that ACC is waiving the costs for some students to continue their education after receiving career
and technology training in high school. The district is also letting ACC use the Hensler Academy at night for some of its classes. In addition to all the new schools that are completed or nearing completion, the growth is not slowing down which will lead to the need for more campuses. Last week, Alvin ISD voters approved a bond package that
At the JB Hensler Academy, one area where students can get hands-on training is in welding. Students who graduate with a welding certificate can easily find jobs that pay well and offer good benefits. (Photo by David Rupkalvis) will build a fourth high school, one more junior high and two elementary schools. It will also rebuild two more schools to help the district manage the growth and upgrade sercuity measures at schools
across the district. Over the last decade or so, the district has also used bond money to upgrade existing facilities and build new ones that are not directly tied to school campuses.
That includes a transportation facility for buses, Freedom Field complex for Manvel and Shadow Creek athletics and things like improvements to the Alvin High School Auditorium. Growth seems to be the key
for the district that educates 26,000 students over its 252mile area. But as growth continues, Alvin ISD is working hard to make sure students have the same — and more — opportunities as they ever have.
Current Alvin ISD campuses Primary Schools Alvin Primary 281-585-2531 Principal Karla Klyng 2200 Westpark Drive, Alvin R.L. Stevenson Primary 281-585-3349 Principal Kim Graham
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4715 Mustang Road, Alvin Elementary Schools Alvin Elementary 281-585-2511 Principal Tracy Olvera 1910 Rosharon Road, Alvin Bill Hasse Elementary 281-585-3397 Principal DeeDee Baker 1200 House Street, Alvin Don Jeter Elementary 281-245-3055 Principal Tina McCorkle 2455 County Road 58, Manvel Dr. Red Duke Elementary 281-245-3400 Principal Fulvia Shaw 2900 County Road 59, Manvel E.C. Mason Elementary 281-245-2832 Principal Dixie Jones 7400 Lewis Lane, Manvel Glenn York Elementary 281-245-2100 Principal Lisa E. Hicks 2720 Kingsley Drive, Pearland Hood-Case Elementary 281-585-5786 Principal Donna Reynolds 1450 Heights Road, Alvin Laura Ingalls Wilder Elementary 281-245-3090 Principal Stacie VanLoenen 2225 Kingsley Drive, Pearland Mark Twain Elementary 281-585-5318 Principal Brenda Vincent 345 Kendall Crest Drive, Alvin Mary Burks Marek Elementary 281-245-3232
Principal Roman Nieto 1947 Kirby Road, Pearland Melba Passmore Elementary 281-585-6696 Principal Rosemary Reed 600 Kost, Alvin Meridiana Elementary 281-245-3636 Principal Julie Weiss 9815 Meridiana Parkway, Iowa Colony Pomona Elementary 281-245-3670 Principal Rene Rives 4480 Kirby Drive, Manvel Savannah Lakes Elementary 281-245-3214 Principal Charles Bagley 5151 Savannah Parkway, Rosharon Shirley Dill Brothers Elementary 281-245-3660 Principal Krystal Hawks 2910 Half Moon Bay Drive, Pearland Walt Disney Elementary 281-585-6234 Principal Dale Tribble 5000 Mustang Road, Alvin Junior High Schools Alvin Junior High 281-245-2770 Principal LeRoy Castro 2300 South St., Alvin Ronald E. McNair Junior High 713-814-7200 Principal Craig Rhodes 2950 Kingsley Drive, Pearland Fairview Junior High 281-245-3100 Principal Greg Bingham
2600 County Road 190, Alvin G.W. Harby Junior High 281-585-6626 Principal JuanManuel Gonzales 1500 Heights Road, Alvin Manvel Junior High 281-245-3700 Principal Robert Ford 7302 McCoy Road, Manvel Nolan Ryan Junior High 281-245-3210 Principal Ashley Marquez 11500 Shadow Creek Parkway, Pearland Rodeo Palms Junior High 281-245-2078 Principal Aeniqua Flowers 101 Palm Desert Drive, Manvel High Schools Alvin High School 281-245-3000 Principal Dr. Johnny Briseño 802 S. Johnson Street, Alvin JB Hensler College and Career Academy 281-245-2160 Principal Elizabeth A. Garcia 7380 Lewis Lane, Manvel ASSETS Academy 281-245-2160 Principal Elizabeth A. Garcia 7380 Lewis Lane, Manvel Manvel High School 281-245-2232 Principal Bobby Martinez 19601 Highway 6, Manvel Shadow Creek High School 281-245-3800 Principal Kelly Hestand 11850 Broadway Drive, Pearland
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n Growth - Alvin ISD continues to see significant growth in student population. Enrollment continues to increase by about 1,200 students each year. n District Size - Alvin ISD covers 252 square miles in northern Brazoria County and serves the communities of Alvin, Manvel, Iowa Colony, Liverpool, Amsterdam and parts of Rosharon, Arcola, and Pearland. n Student Enrollment Approximately 26,000 students make Alvin ISD the largest
school district in Brazoria County.
employs approximately 3,197 people.
n Finances - The budget for 2018-19 is $294,066,662
n Teacher Salaries - A beginning teacher with a bachelor's degree earns $66,769.49 with salary, selffunded insurance, benefits and free lunch. Alvin ISD provides a comprehensive benefits package, part of which is paid by the district.
n Tax Rate - The 2018 tax rate is $1.450 per $100 assessed market value. n Campuses - The district has three high schools, one academic alternative school, one behavior alternative school, seven junior high schools, 18 elementary schools and a college and career academy. n Employees - Alvin ISD
n Ethnic Composition - The district's ethnic composition is 40.44 percent Hispanic, 27.38 percent White, 19.99 percent African American, 9.33 percent Asian and 2.86 percent other.
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018, THE ALVIN ADVERTISER
ACC uses innovation to meet educational needs of the region By Joshua Truksa Staff Reporter Alvin Community College celebrated its 70th birthday with Founders’ Day, and after seven decades, Alvin Community College President Dr. Christal Albrecht said the college continues to provide important educational resources to the community, and is even drawing students in from beyond American shores. Despite its age, innovation at ACC hasn’t slowed. The college will be introducing two new programs in the fall of 2019 — Health Information Technology and Electronic Medical Data. The college is also developing a cyber-security program. The advantages of technology are not lost at ACC, which has adopted high-tech training tools, many of which can be seen in
the college’s health science programs, where three simulation mannequins can be seen that mimic symptoms of real life patients. “The faculty member programs the patient to behave in such a way that’s consistent with a particular diagnosis, and so she’ll set the heart rate and the pulse, and maybe the patient will cough, maybe they’ll throw up, their chest rises and falls, and the students have to figure out — have to assess the patient and determine the course of action that they would take if it were a real person, and those things cost a lot of money,” Albrecht said. “Not only do we have simman, we have sim-baby and we have sim-momma giving birth, so that you can simulate labor See ACC, page 4
For more than 70 years, Alvin Community College has sent students out into the world with degrees that will help them find jobs or advance in their education. (Courtesy photos)
College has been a part of Alvin for many years The Alvin Community College District was approved by the qualified voters of the Alvin Independent School District on Nov. 2, 1948. From its inception until the 1971-72 academic year, the college was administered by officials of the Alvin Independent School District. The 1971-72 academic year marked the beginning of a new era in the history of Alvin Community College. A separate administration, tax district and
College Board were established to assume the management, control and operation of a newly created Alvin Junior College District. Initially, when the college and public schools were in the same system, the college was part of Alvin High School. The first classes began Sept. 12, 1949, in facilities which grouped grades 11 through 14 in one building and which placed Alvin under a system known as the 6-4-4 plan. One of the more
important changes in the program of Alvin Community College was the building of a separate physical plant for academic work at the college level and dropping of the 6-4-4 plan in favor of a 6-3-3-2 arrangement. The college program was strengthened by additional facilities, by an enlarged faculty and by successfully meeting the standards of the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools (1959).
Alvin Community College moved to its present campus in the summer session of 1963. By a vote of both the original district and voters of adjoining territories, the college district was enlarged to nearly twice its geographical size in 1974. Then, in the spring of 1975, an $8 million bond issue was approved, providing funds for the facilities necessary to meet an expanding enrollment. In 1998 the college expanded See HISTORY, page 4
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ACC Continued from page 3 with one of these,” Assistant to the President and Executive Director of Development Wendy Del Bello added. ACC has recently formalized an agreement with Western Governors’ University to allow the online institution to rent ACC’s medical simulation laboratories for the hands-on portion of its nursing program. Agreements with universities are a common thing for ACC to allow for a more seamless transition for students. The
college began a partnership with University of Houston-Clear Lake’s Pearland campus in the fall of 2017 in which ACC offers daytime and evening freshman and sophomore classes at UHCL-Pearland’s campus. Students can save money by taking ACC classes for their first two years. The classes offered by ACC at UHCL-Pearland are tailored toward the curriculum of UHCL-Pearland’s bachelor’s degree programs.
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During commencement at ACC, happy students receive diplomas in dozens of career fields. “So, we are basically like the first and second year of that UH-Clear Lake degree at that particular location,” Albrecht said. ACC also has agreements with universities across the state that allow for a process referred to as “reverse transfer.” If a student transfers to a fouryear institution before receiving their associate’s degree, the
credits from their new institution can be used to receive the associate’s. There are now three degree programs at ACC that can be taken completely online, and ACC continues to make its programs more available. Alvin Community College has been included in the top 150 community colleges across the nation in four out of the five
times the Aspen Institute has awarded its Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. ACC’s offers to the community are not limited to those seeking college credit. There are continuing education classes for those who want to learn something new and for personal enrichment, such as life writing, genealogy, and art classes.
(Courtesy photo) Communication coordinator John Tompkins said the pottery classes are very popular. There are also clubs on campus that are open to community members. “We have a community choir, we have a community band and we have our drama productions” whose auditions are open to anybody in the community, Del Bello said.
HISTORY Continued from page 3 into its service area with the establishment of the Pearland Center in the former C.J. Harris
Elementary School in Pearland and was in operation until 2013. The college has continued its longstanding partnership with Pearland Independent School District by offering credit and non-credit courses at Robert Turner College and Career High School beginning in Fall of 2013. In Spring 2005, a $19.9 million dollar bond issue was approved, providing funds for a new Science/Health Science Building to meet the needs of expanding health programs and overcrowded classrooms and to
ACC presidents
During its 69-year history, Alvin Community College has had only six presidents, with each serving at least five years. The president with the longest tenured president was A. Rodney Allbright, who served from 1976 to 2014. The ACC presidents have been: n A.G. Welch 1949-1954 n A.B. Templeton 1954-1964 n D.P. O’Quinn 1964-1971 n T.V. Jenkins 1971-1976 n A. Rodney Allbright 1976 -2014 n Christal M. Albrecht 2014 to present provide up-to-date technology and simulation labs. The enrollment of Alvin
Community College has grown from 134 students in 1949 to a record high of 5,296 in 2010.
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018, THE ALVIN ADVERTISER
Once a small-town district, Alvin ISD has changed a lot By David Rupkalvis Publisher Alvin ISD has come a long way since it unofficially began in 1881. That year, the first school opened in Alvin — a one-room building on Gordon Street. Over the next few decades, as Alvin was just starting to grow as a city, new schools were built in a church building and on Sealy Street. The first major school building was built in 1896, a white frame building with six rooms. Each room contained two grades, except for first grade and high school, which contained three grades each. Alvin High School opened in 1894, with the first graduating class receiving their diplomas in 1897. In 1910, the six-room school was torn down and $22,000 in bonds were issued to build a larger, two-story brick building on House Street. Over the next decade, even that proved to be
too small as several additional buildings were constructed on the property to house students. In 1925, Alvin ISD was officially created, with the passage of Senate Bill 250. In 1936, construction began on what is now Alvin High School. For a short time, Alvin Junior College, now Alvin Community College, was part of the district. The college opened in 1949 and became independent of Alvin ISD in 1963. For most of the early years, students who attended Alvin schools could start and end their public school education on the same tract of land as all the schools were located on the land that now houses Alvin High School. For many years, Alvin ISD was a small, sleepy district, but that slowly began to change in 1923. A series of petitions approved by voters added Alvin Heights Common District in 1923, Fairview District #6 in 1924, the
Alert District in 1927, Parker School District in 1945, Mustang School District in 1947 and the Chocolate Bayou-Liverpool District in 1955. The biggest change came in 1973 when Manvel School District, facing serious economic problems, approached Alvin ISD about absorbing the district. With the approval of voters in both districts, Manvel became a part of Alvin ISD, extending the district lines to what is now the Shadow Creek area in Pearland. The fast growth we see now starting in 2000 as voters approved bonds in 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2009 to build new schools, improve existing schools, purchase buses and, believe it or not, add things like air conditioning to existing schools. Future bond elections continued the growth as the district climbed from a district with all the schools on one piece of property to one with dozens of schools in three cities, covering 255 square miles.
For generations, Alvin ISD was a simple, small-town district with most of its schools in Alvin. Fast growth in recent years has added many campuses in Alvin, Manvel and Pearland. (Photos by David Rupkalvis)
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THE ALVIN ADVERTISER, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018
Alvin — A great place to learn for generations
SAVE THE DATE! JOIN US ON
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Alvin ISD Education Foundation Turtle Race & Family Fun Run 5K & Kids 1K National Oak Park - Alvin Fun Run starts at 9 a.m. Booths open at 10 a.m. / Turtles race at Noon To adopt a turtle(s), be a sponsor, or rent a booth contact the Alvin ISD Education Foundation office at 281-331-2586 mpurcell@alvinisd.net www.alvinisd.net/educationfoundation Advertisement sponsored by TDEC, Inc. Electrical Contractor
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018, THE ALVIN ADVERTISER
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With more than 50 churches, religion is strong in Alvin By Joshua Truksa Staff Reporter There are dozens of churches in Alvin, ranging from small congregations to hundreds of parishioners. A quick glance at the Church Directory in The Alvin Advertiser reveals nearly 50 churches just on that page, not including the ones in Rosharon, Manvel and other surrounding areas. Church leaders in Alvin say that religion in Alvin is strong. Justin Gatlin is the pastor at
Alvin Missionary Baptist Church, a congregation of 200 people. “One of the interesting trends in religion, not just for us but generally, is that people who are considered active in church are less active than people who were considered active 30 years ago,” Gatlin said. Demographic studies in past decades considered people active in church if they attended services every week. Modern studies have reduced that number to three times a month.
“So, if you’ve got the same number of parishioners as you did before, but they come half as often, your average attendance is cut in half,” Gatlin said. Gatlin said there have been a lot of developments in religion over the past few decades that have affected the way people view church. He said Generation X created mega-churches that were “like concerts,” competing for attendees by having the best show in town with things like bands, fireworks and live lions. “I think that turned off a lot of
people who were raised in church. Millennials, and now Gen Z, because they saw it as just salesmanship. They saw it as a constant pitch, instead of being — the buzzword’s authentic,” Gatlin said. Gatlin said millennials aren’t interested in these types of churches and compares it to the trend on where the younger generation likes to shop. “Our grandparents went to Bob’s Hardware Store, whatever — Patco. Then our parents went to Home Depot and Lowe’s, so you go from super warehouse to
Walmart. There’s the big box stores become the trend, the switch. Our generation has moved not back to Patco, but not to Home Depot either, but to, like, McCoy’s,” Gatlin said. Despite Alvin having many similarities with communities across the country in the realm of religion, Gatlin said there are peculiarities. “Alvin is obviously a very culturally diverse place and compared to some other places that I’ve seen, there’s less
overlap between the different groups, and I think that’s true — we have a somewhat diverse congregation here — but I think that that’s true socially and religiously and just in general. I think that you’ve got almost two or three Alvins that live on top of each other, but don’t have much interaction with one another, and so I think that there is less interconnection between the different religious groups than I’ve seen elsewhere,” Gatlin said.
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THE ALVIN ADVERTISER, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018
Need a hospital? More than two decades after Alvin's last hospital closed and more than a decade after the emergency room at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center shut down, the facility on Medic Lane remains for sale. While medical care in Alvin is strong in many ways, the absence of a hospital remains a glsring hole. (Photo by David Rupkalvis)
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In the middle of thriving medical field, lack of a hospital a concern By David Rupkalvis Publisher When it comes to healthcare, there is no better place to be than the Gulf Coast region. If you have cancer, some of the best doctors in the world are nearby. If you have diabetes, no problem. If you are in a dangerous accident, some of the best trauma surgeons in the world are within an hour. But what about Alvin and Manvel specifically? There are certainly good doctors in Alvin. There is no doubt about that. And things are getting better. Thanks largely to the Memorial Hermann and UTMB offices in Alvin, specialists of all kinds practice
“We continue to network with several of the major hospital groups and keep them informed of our growth and the need. There is definitely a need. We have developed the area and are still marketing the land. We have the presence of Memorial Hermann and their specialists and UTMB.” Larry Buehler Economic Development Director, City of Alvin in Alvin. They may not be here every day, but they regularly see patients without much wait.
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According to the readers of The Alvin Sun and The Alvin Advertiser, the best general practice doctors in the area are Dr. Kerry McCarrol, Dr. Dale Messer and Dr. Grant MacDonald. Dr. Keith Schauder was named the best orthopedist, and Dr. Syeed Kalim Kazmi and Dr. Shari Jackson were the best pediatricians. So, yes, there are some very good doctors in the region — men and women who go above and beyond to serve patients every day. But there are also holes in our healthcare system. The biggest hole is obvious — there is no hospital in Alvin. Alvin’s last hospital, Clear Lake Regional Medical Center, closed in 1996, and it closed its emergency room just a few years ago. Larry Buehler, the economic development director for the city of Alvin, said the city has made it a priority to attract a hospital. Through the years, rumors of hospitals coming to town have become almost as common as rumors of Chickfil-A. Some have reached the point of formal announcements, but despite the intentions, Alvin still has no hospital. But Buehler said the city is still working to fill the need. “We continue to network with several of the major hospital See HOSPITAL, page 9
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018, THE ALVIN ADVERTISER
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HOSPITAL Continued from page 8 groups and keep them informed of our growth and the need,” Buehler said. “There is definitely a need. We have developed the area and are still marketing the land. We have the presence of Memorial Hermann and their specialists and UTMB.” To show the need, Buehler said in 2017, the city of Alvin EMS service responded to 5,000 ambulance calls. Of that, more than 3,000 patients were transported. The majority, 1,800, were taken to Clear Lake Regional and 400 to Memorial Hermann. While Buehler's primary job is to attract new industry to Alvin, he said a hospital not only fills that need, but also the needs of many residents. He explained that along with faster emergency care and the ability to stay at home for medical treatment, a hospital would bring many highpaying jobs. Buehler said while there is nothing on the horizon for sure, he is confident Alvin will at some point get a hospital. “We’re on a lot of radars, and I think it’s a matter of time,” he said. “Our population continues to grow. We continue to build homes. People are moving here, the infrastructure is here. It’s one of our focus points.” To fill the need for life-saving care, the First Choice Emergency Room has become the first stop in emergencies. While the 24-hour emergency room plays a vital role in Alvin’s healthcare, it is often just the first stop in a real emergency. In a crisis, the ER serves to stabilize patients before they are moved to a full hospital elsewhere.
Years after Clear Lake Regional Medical Center closed Alvin's hospital, the community still waiting for another hospital to open up. Several times in the last two decades, hospitals have shown an interest only to pull out. (Photo by David Rupkalvis)
in Alvin, EMS calls soar, leading to occasional need for backup By Albert Villegas Staff Reporter
Alvin EMS has seen a rapid increase in calls. In 2017, more than 5,000 calls were responded to and more than 3,000 patients were transported. With no hospital in Alvin, EMS either takes patients to the First Choice Emergency Room, below, or to a hospital out of the city. (File photo)
If Alvin residents happened to see a Santa Fe EMS ambulance operate through the city several times recently, they were seeing what happens when the city’s own emergency medical services operates at a “record” level. The day this occurred was Jan. 10, and the reason – 31 calls into Alvin EMS within a 24-hour period, said Director Ron Schmitz. If Alvin EMS didn’t show up, a neighboring agency did as backup. Schmitz said Alvin typically staffs three ambulances during peak times, but, on this day, a third ambulance was out of service, leaving the two remaining Alvin trucks and a paramedic supervisor to handle the extreme number of calls. “On an average day, Alvin EMS responds to 14 calls in a 24-hour period, with our busiest days typically falling on Friday and Saturday,” Schmitz said. “Fortunately, the city maintains mutual aid agreements with surrounding agencies that allows neighboring agencies to respond when needed to assist each other.” Among the agencies that responded in place of Alvin within the city limits were Santa Fe Fire/EMS, Manvel EMS, Pearland EMS and Danbury EMS.
“There does not appear to be a specific cause for the increase,” Schmitz said. “There were no significant weather issues, and the types of calls ranged from respiratory distress, chest pain, falls and general medical complaints. Two of the patients treated exhibited general flulike symptoms, but no confirmed cases have been reported.” Schmitz was thankful for the neighboring agencies. “All of the calls were responded to quickly and appropriately,” Schmitz said. Alvin’s elected officials were told about this during the Alvin
City Council meeting Jan. 18. Schmitz wasn’t present during the meeting, but former City Manager Sereniah Breland felt it was important to make the councilmen aware of what had occurred. It also allowed Breland to give kudos to Alvin’s emergency personnel during “Iceageddon of 2018,” as she called it. “While we were inside drinking hot cocoa, we had many crews out and working, and we had police officers and first responders out in pretty low temperatures for our South Texas region,” Breland said.
CONGRATULATIONS
AMANDA HICKS
OCTOBER BEAR WINNER
Amanda is 15 years old & the daughter of Tom & Cathy Hicks. Amanda's favorite hobby is Piano & Reading.
Amanda Hicks
W. Clay Wright, D.D.S. 412 W. HOUSE ST. • ALVIN
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Parks Restaurant ~ ALL YOU CAN EAT ~
Breakfast Buffet: 7 AM - 10:30 AM - Sat. & Sun. Lunch Buffet: 10:30 AM - 3 PM - Sun. Lunch & Dinner Buffet: 10:30 AM - 9 PM Mon.-Sat. ...and Don’t Forget...we also have Senior Discounts on Mon. - Thurs. - 4 pm-close
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THE ALVIN ADVERTISER, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018
Schools and churches help unite Alvin and Manvel
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