COMMUNITY: Farmers Market wraps up for another year
SPORTS: Arena Ice Work
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Enrolment shocks schools By Jackie Lieuwen Houston Today
CHARGING Up
Houston’s school administrators are shocked to find enrolment very similar to last year. “Schools are running very similar to last year,” said Scott Jackson, Principal of Houston Secondary School and Twain Sullivan Elementary. Braced for a significant drop in population due to the closure of Houston Forest Products last May, Jackson said “numbers are better than we feared.” With 220 students at HSS, enrolment is down seven from last September but pretty similar to last year, he said. “We’re running at full capacity.” At Twain Sullivan, enrolment is down as well, with 173 this year and 190 last September. Jackson says
Jackie Lieuwen/Houston Today
Mike Fritts from Herkimer, New York, charges his Tesla Model S at Houston’s electric charging pump. Fritts is headed south from Hyder, Alaska and wants to be the first person to drive an electric car in all 52 states of the USA. He started August 20 and only has Hawaii left to hit, he said. His Tesla takes 8 to 10 hours to charge on public stations like the one at Steelhead Park, and goes for 400 kilometres on one charge. The car has a built in touch screen computer on the dashboard with maps, car controls for the sunroof and other features, links to sites to find charging stations, and a rearview camera. Fritts says all he has to do is speak the name of a song and it plays.
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Twain Sullivan Elementary enrolment leads to last minute additional class.
Twain scrambled to add a new class Monday because “numbers came in higher than expected.” E n r o l m e n t at Silverthorne Elementary School was up three, with 163 students total, said Principal Bev Forster. “It’s interesting with the concerns about the mill.” See CLASS on Page 2
Society to build more independent seniors housing By Jackie Lieuwen Houston Today
The Pleasant Valley Village of seniors housing on 11th Street and Avalon Avenue is expanding next spring. They are building another independent seniors housing complex in May 2015, an estimated $700,000
project, said Arnold Amonson, President of the Houston Retirement Housing Society. Twenty people have expressed interest in the units, and the new building will provide six new homes, four two-bedroom and two one-bedroom, Amonson said.
Construction to start in May 2015
It will have the same design as the other two buildings in Pleasant Valley Village and
- Arnold Amonson they hope to install geothermal heating again. With the $700,000
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project coming up and $15,000 saved so far, Amonson says their goal is to raise $100,000 by next spring. They are planning to hire a lead carpenter again but are looking for a lot of financial and voluntary help, both labour and equipment, he said.
The Retirement Housing Society is a charitable organization, and Bill Stad, past treasurer, says anyone with taxable income can get a 43 percent refund from the government for donations to the housing projects. Many seniors are enjoying benefits from
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living in the homes in Pleasant Valley Village. Stad is a resident in the homes, and says he enjoys savings in living costs, a beautiful view of Mount Harry Davis, and restful and quiet surroundings. “I’m very happy living here,” he said. See SENIOR on Page 3
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