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Covering the Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest & the neighborhoods of North Houston
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Saturday, June 6, 2020 • Vol. 65 • No. 23
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Aggressive owl causing havoc
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At least one Eastern Screech Owl has been combative with area residents.
By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com Candlelight Estates resident Kelly Hansen, who lives on the 1800 block of Bethlehem Street, first became aware of some puzzling activity about a week ago, when her brother and his family, who live across the street, came over for a night swim. “My nephew thought that maybe a pigeon hit him in the head,” Hansen said. “It happened again on his way home. He got scratched.”
Last Ride
A day or so later, neighbor Wayne Gabrysch asked Hansen what would have been an odd question any other time: “Has anything hit you in the head lately?” It turns out that both Gabrysch and his wife had been hit in the head after dark by something. “It felt like somebody slapped the back of my head and kept walking,” Gabrysch said. Determined to discover the culprit, he and his daughter went outside with a spotlight after an incident and saw an owl,
maybe about 8 or 9 inches tall, he estimates, sitting in a tree. It was all innocuous until Patrick Hansen, Kelly’s brother, got hit when he took out his recycling on the night of Memorial Day. He said he thought he was being vigilant. “I was scanning left to right and (one time) when I scanned right, I got a blind side to the left,” he said. “I reached up to grab my eye and felt blood.” A talon had scratched the corner of his eye. See Owls P. 8A
Feds close to finalizing guidelines for bullet train By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com
There are lots of moving parts in the plan to move Texans between the state’s two largest cities, by train, at a rate of approximately 200 mph. Texas Central needs enough money to construct a 240-mile, highspeed railway between Houston and Dallas, and it needs to acquire all of the land along its proposed route. The Dallas-based company Aguilar also needs approval from the federal government, which would be charged with regulating the operation and ensuring it is safe, before proceeding to its final destination. The contentious bullet train project is on the verge of checking off one of those boxes after the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued its final environmental impact assessment for the planned high-speed railway last Friday, May 29. Two months earSee Railway P. 4A
Jason Knebel (713)232-9712
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INSIDE.
Fresh fish. We review Flying Fish, which serves up fresh fried seafood in the Heights.
Page 7A Photo by Zarah Parker A Heights High School senior hangs out the window of an SUV while recording community members with phone last Friday, May 29. The school’s recent graduates took part in a parade in lieu of a commencement ceremony.
High schools celebrate seniors with parades Outdoor art. The First Saturday Arts Market is back after a pandemic-induced hiatus.
Page 7A
Sign of the times. A local couple has found a creative way to honor parent teachers.
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On the mend. Constable Alan Rosen is back at work after a bout with COVID-19.
By Zarah Parker zarah@theleadenews.com The cars that lined East 13th Street were decorated with posters congratulating the outgoing Heights High School class of 2020. The sidewalk was lined with the seniors’ family and friends who were standing or waiting in chairs to cheer on the graduates as they paraded by in their vehicles. Heights’ parade, organized by the school, the PTO and the seniors’ parents, took place last Friday, May 29 and was put together to recognize the graduates who didn’t get to walk across a stage in their caps and gowns. Houston ISD replaced traditional commencement ceremonies with virtual ones because of safety concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was a good way for the students to come together in a safe way,” said Ryan Petit, whose youngest daughter graduated from the school. The parade began in front of the
THE INDEX. Church....................................................... 4A Classifieds.............................................. 5A Coupons. ................................................. 3B Food/Drink/Art................................... 7A Obituaries.............................................. 4A Opinion. ................................................... 3A Public Information......................... 4B Puzzles...................................................... 3A
Area residents among those calling for social change Contributed photo Graduating seniors from Heights High School participate in a parade near campus last Friday, May 29.
high school’s campus and weaved west on 13th Street before turning south on Arlington Street, west on East 12th Street, north on Harvard Street and east on East 14th Street before ending near the school’s practice football field. “The energy inside that parking lot was electrifying. I can say without a doubt that this event was the
highlight of many kids’ and parents’ quarantine,” graduate Connor O’Guynn said. “All I saw were smiles on the other seniors’ faces, and all I heard was that chatter of everyone catching up and laughing like they hadn’t laughed in a very long time. Also judging by the sheer
By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com Katy Fenton and Morgan Shields do not know what it’s like to be discriminated against because of the color of their skin. They do not sense that others might feel threatened by their presence, and they do not fear for their safety during encounters with law enforcement officers. But both area residents, who are white, realize that everyday life might be different for their friends who are black. “We don’t necessarily understand what it’s like to have their plight in life or bear that bur-
See Parade, P. 8A
See Protest P. 4A
‘Adopted’ local graduates enjoy special support By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com
Page 4A
Contributed photo A protester holds up a sign during a Black Lives Matter demonstration downtown last weekend.
Walking across a stage at his high school graduation was a longtime dream for Michael Medina, who at one point could not walk at all. His mother said Medina was diagnosed with brain cancer at age 11 and, after surgery to remove his tumor, it took him about two years to regain his ability to walk, talk and see. Mary Medina said her son still has physical and cognitive disabilities, but he also remains determined to overcome them, so
he earned a diploma from Scarborough High School and was prepared to receive it during a commencement ceremony with his classmates. That did not happen, though, because the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the last two months of in-person classes this year as well as traditional graduation ceremonies, with Houston ISD holding them virtually instead. “It kind of sucks,” Michael Medina said. Fortunately for Medina, the generosity of his community helped make graduation a spe-
cial occasion nonetheless. The Pine Forest resident is one of 23 area seniors to benefit from an “Adopt-A-Senior” initiative started by Kylie Carrasco, whose son, Alfred, is a recent Waltrip High School graduate who also was part of the program. The seniors were given gifts and congratulations by individuals or businesses that decided to “adopt” them based on student biographies that were shared by their families in a Facebook group. Medina was sponsored by CookieBossHTX and recentSee Adopted, P. 8A
Contributed Photo Recent Scarborough High School graduate Michael Medina, left, receives a gift basket from CookieBossHTX co-owner Cass Gaytan, who sponsored him as part of an Adopt-A-Senior program.
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