December 12 Section A

Inside Today: There’s a problem with the PPP loan program • Page 3A GIFT IDEAS Final Live Facebook Sale Before Christmas 12/15 6:00 Join us!!!

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School stakeholders want safer crossing at 43rd

By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com

Lauren Miranda-Abehary said she could shave about 10 minutes off her walks to and from Frank Black Middle School if she crossed West 43rd Street at its intersection with Chantilly Lane, which is at the north end of the Houston ISD campus.

But the eighth-grade student prefers taking a longer route that’s a little bit out of her way. So instead of heading directly toward her home

to the northeast, MirandaAbehary first walks south down Piney Woods Drive, then turns east on Lamonte Lane before proceeding north on Oak Forest Drive, where there is a traffic signal that makes it easier to cross 43rd.

There is no light and no crossing guard at Chantilly and 43rd, and therefore not much to discourage drivers from barreling down the road.

“The cars zoom by,” Miranda-Abehary said. “It’s not

safe.”

Safely crossing 43rd Street, the four-lane thoroughfare that borders the campus at 1575 Chantilly Ln., has become a significant concern for parents, administrators and community stakeholders at Frank Black, where in the last decade enrollment has ballooned from fewer than 500 students to more than 1,300.

The student population figures to continue growing in See Crossing P. 5A

Photo by Adam Zuvanich Three Frank Black Middle School students stand near the intersection of West 43rd Street and Chantilly Lane on Tuesday afternoon.

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INSIDE.

‘Tis the season. Multiple holiday-themed events are upcoming in the community.

Page 4A

Dogs in flight. Houston has the nation’s first air ambulance program for K9 police officers.

Contributed photo Heights resident Don Broman, right, and his daughter, Bianca, were excited to see a Rolling Stones concert together in 2018.

This year they recorded songs together and made an album called “Tribute.”

Collaboration hits all the right notes

By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com Bianca Broman said anyone who knows her dad, Don, knows he lives to play rock ‘n’ roll. So their recently released collaboration, an album called “Tribute,” won’t come as a surprise to their friends and family.

“I believe people who know him and remember him playing music over the years will be excited,” she said.

Retired from his 35-year role as CEO at Broman Design and Construction and now a consultant for Quickwood Construction, Don Broman

has made a living renovating homes in the Heights. He also has spent most of his life playing with various bands and musicians.

A gift of a drum set when he was 14 and the experience of watching his own parents making music together and at church kindled his own performing bug. Don started playing the drums with his first garage band, the Golden Weasels, at 15. He plays guitar, too.

“I have countless memories of my dad playing the guitar and singing old classic rhythm and blues and rock ‘n’ See Broman P. 5A

When the Heights Bulldogs pulled on the pads for their season opener against Westbury on Oct. 10, head coach Stephen Dixon knew on one hand that some order had been restored.

“When UIL decided they were going to have a football season, I pretty much turned a backflip,” he said.

“Football is something that a lot of these young men live for and keeps them motivated.”

However, one constant since moving to the 6A classification in 2014 has been the Bulldogs’ search for a district title. And considering they had yet to capture one, it was sense of normalcy to which they didn’t wish to return.

This season, though, Heights bucked the status quo by winning the District 18-6A championship with an unblemished league record. The Bulldogs (61) will kick off the Class 6A Division II playoffs against Cypress Creek at 1 p.m. Saturday at Delmar Stadium.

“That first game (against Westbury), everyone was so hyped to be back on the field,” senior linebacker Nathan Alonzo said. “Right when we hopped on that field in the first half and were dominating, right there in that moment we knew we were going to go pretty far in hunting down district.”

The Bulldogs secured the district crown, upsetting the norm, with a 3520 win over Bellaire last Friday, Dec. 4.

See Bulldogs, P. 5A

Contributed photo Pictured is the cover of an album made by Heights resident Don Broman and his daughter, Bianca.

Photo by Landan Kuhlmann Heights’ Patrick McDowell runs the football Oct. 16 against Fort Bend Travis.

City amends plan for 11th Street Bikeway project

Page 1B

By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com

THE INDEX. Church....................................................... 5A Classifieds.............................................. 6A Coupons................................................... 8A Food/Drink/Art................................... 3B Health........................................................ 1B Opinion..................................................... 3A Public Information......................... 4B Puzzles...................................................... 3A

Bulldogs buck status quo in atypical year

Photo by Adam Zuvanich A woman on a bicycle waits to cross 11th Street at its intersection with Nicholson Street in the Heights on Tuesday.

The last time the City of Houston held a public engagement meeting regarding its 11th Street Bikeway project, in May of last year, Heights residents saw a plan for a road diet that would reduce the thoroughfare from four vehicular lanes to three while adding protected bicycle paths on the outside of the road.

The vision for the street has

since gotten even leaner, at least in some spots.

Lauren Grove, a transportation planner for the Houston Planning & Development Department and co-project manager for the 11th Street Bikeway, said the plan now calls for a two-lane traffic configuration for most of the stretch between North Shepherd Drive to the west and Yale Street to the east. She said city-enlisted consultants have determined part of 11th Street is too nar-

row to accommodate the threelane configuration – one lane in each direction with a center left-turn lane – which will still be implemented between Yale Street and Michaux Street to the east.

Grove said the revised plan will be among the changes discussed at a virtual public engagement meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 16. Community members See 11th St. P. 5A

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THE TOPICS. The Leader • Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020 • Page 3A

Government must fix the gaping PPP problem

O

ne of the most effective tools implemented by the federal government in the fight against this enemy called COVID was the Paycheck Protection Program.

If you haven’t followed the specifics, this program allowed small businesses to apply for a “forgivable” loan that would offset payroll and other operating costs, and it was a raging success. Businesses were able to pay employees during the worst 5-month span since the Great Recession. Expenses such as rent, utilities and telephone were offset with proceeds from the loan.

There are different analyses on the topic, but the Small Business Administration estimates 51 million jobs were spared thanks to the dissemination of PPP funds. I will openly admit that our company’s ability to secure PPP funds saved the jobs of nearly half of our employees.

That’s the good news, and anyone who reads this should understand how important the Paycheck Protection Program was to millions of small businesses across the nation.

Today, however, the federal government seems destined to ruin the very businesses it rescued seven short months ago.

If you are a small business owner, or if you work for a small business (under 500 employees), or if you know someone who fits in that category, which means all of you, please

Jonathan McElvy Publisher

take the time to understand how this piece of federal legislation, known as the CARES Act, could completely backfire on small businesses. Please make sure you are educated on how the same government that sought to prop up businesses now could force the same businesses to lay off millions of people.

You’ll have to excuse this brief lesson on business finances, but there’s no other way to explain it.

You own a business called Barry’s Boxes. Obviously, you sell boxes.

Unfortunately, you don’t have a contract with Amazon.

In 2019, before the world came crashing down, you had a good business bringing in $1 million a year in revenue. You had 10 employees (including yourself) each earning a $40,000 salary, and your total expenses for the year (payroll, rent, boxes, etc.) were $900,000.

That means your business showed a profit of $100,000 in 2019, and you

had plans to open a second location in 2020. Except that never happened because of COVID. When the federal government passed the CARES Act, and when banks said they were finally accepting PPP loan applications, you did all the calculations, which were fairly simple. Your total salaries in 2019 were $400,000, and if we avoid all the math, it means you were eligible to receive a PPP “forgivable” loan of $83,300.

Within a week of your application, your bank deposited $83,300 into your account, and you breathed a huge sigh of relief. While your business was still open, you only had 70 percent of the customers you had in 2019, and you projected revenue to drop to $700,000. Before getting the loan, you considered laying off five of your employees just to make it through the year.

Immediately you put a plan in place to spend the money the right way. You kept your employees paid.

You caught up on your rent checks.

You paid for the power and your internet connection.

Today, most of those PPP funds are long gone, and you used the money exactly as the government told you to use it. That’s a good thing, because the government promised the loan would be forgiven if you played by the rules.

As Barry’s Boxes nears the end of this year, the business made some

Needle in a hayseed THE FRONT DOOR – Someone is ringing my doorbell. A man is standing there in a trench coat with the collar turned up, dark glasses (it’s 10 p.m.) and what looks like a clipon beard. “Apples rot in the Iowa sun.” Huh? “Justin says he’s sorry.” Lordy, it’s Grassy Knoll, the neighborhood conspirator, again. Before I close the door, I say, “Go away. I’m too busy sorting my socks to put up with your paranoid propaganda.” He chuckles. “You know that Trump really won by a landslide. It must be true.

I got that straight from Rudy Giuliani. Bill Gates had threemillion Trump votes shredded in a blender in Philadelphia.

And I suppose you’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19, and will soon die from it.”

I close the door, but he got me to thinking. How many blenders does it take to shred 3-million ballots? And there is a lot of misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccinations that are being tested. What if Grassy Knoll is right? I remember reading an op/ed piece by Dr. Peter Hotze. (He’s the Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology and Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. By the time he introduces himself, the disease has been cured.)

We’ve all seen him on TV, the go-to guy for expert advice on the pandemic, but what does he know? He wrote that, when it comes to the pandemic, Texas is in terrible shape, having just chalked up more than 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases.

That’s more than in any other state. We’re Number One! If Texas were a nation, in confirmed virus cases, we would rank 11th globally in between Colombia and Mexico, both of which have larger populations.

On the other hand, I can’t believe stats from Colombia and Mexico. Dr. Hotze also wrote that at the current pace, an estimated 15,000 more Texans will lose their lives between now and Feb. 1 -- just 10 days after the inauguration.

This means less traffic on the West Loop. It also means he capitalizes all the letters in COVID, but I still needed to check out the situation. First, I discovered that in August, 44 percent of Americans said they would get a governmentapproved vaccine, 22 percent said they wouldn’t, and 32 percent said they weren’t sure.

Another survey found that one third will get vaccinated, one third will wait to see the results among those who got vaccinated early, and one third won’t get vaccinated, believing that the disease has been hyped and that it isn’t as serious as the media says. Ah, yes.

When you are in an ICU with tubes running it and out of you, a priest is giving you Last Rites and relatives are reading your will, blame the press. The number of doubters is growing.

Today surveys show that half – which is almost 50 percent --

Lynn Ashby Columnist

of Americans are worried that the forthcoming vaccines were approved too quickly or before their safety and potential side effects were known.

Why do a growing number of Americans not trust the vaccine? We can trace this suspicion to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. Seventy-three million Americans voted for President Trump and many believe what he says, including about Covid (or COVID)-19. Our President keeps telling us not to trust the FBI, the CIA, Dr. Tony Fauci, voting results and almost everything and everyone else.

Trump called the pandemic “a hoax.” (Maybe we should refer to our local expert as Dr. Hoaxy.) Obviously, Trump’s warnings are working, so even when a vaccine is available, there probably won’t be long lines to get vaccinated because half of us won’t trust it. You can find out who that half is by reading their obits in the newspaper.

We must now look at why Texas is leading the nation in the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19. This is traditional. We have long led the country in the number of unvaccinated children and in those with no health insurance. Actually, Texans don’t seem to care much about their health, including vaccinations. Two decades ago, 14 of the state’s 254 counties had no doctor. Today, that number has jumped to 35.

More than 20 other counties have just one doctor. Here are some facts that will make you proud to be a Texan. A survey commissioned by the North Texas Regional Extension Center provides some details. It found that: • 185 counties in the Lone Star State with a combined population of more than 3.1 million people, equal to or greater than 21 states, have no psychiatrist. That explains a lot.

• 158 Texas counties with a combined population of 1.9 million, equal to or greater than 14 states, have no general surgeon.

• 147 Texas counties with a combined population of more than 1.8 million people have no obstetrician/gynecologist.

• 80 counties have five or fewer physicians.

• Texas ranks 41st among 50 states in physicians per 100,000 residents.

• In comparison, Texas has nearly 8,000 bars. (This is not to be confused with those who passed the bar. As of 2018, membership in the Texas Bar stood at 103,342. Obviously we prefer lawyers and bartenders to doctors.)

As for not taking a COVID-19 inoculation, we also don’t like to wear masks or keep a 6-foot social distance.

When our thunder-browed commander of the lightning, Gov. Greg Abbott, whose indecisions make Hamlet look like Gen. George Patton, issued the lamest of decrees to slow down the spread of the pandemic, closing some establishments (bars), there were anti-Abbott demonstrations in front of the Governor’s Mansion in Austin. They were not demanding more doctors.

Wait. Someone is ringing my doorbell. It’s Bill Gates with a blender. Anyway, the solution to this problem is that it will solve itself. Those who flout common-sense precautions to prevent catching COVID-19 stand a better chance of dying. However, until then, they may cause us to die. I haven’t thought this out. Maybe there is a vaccination for stupidity.

Ashby tests at ashby2@comcast.net

needed adjustments, used the PPP money, and will still show a loss. You did $700,000 in revenue (down 30 percent), and you were able to cut almost every other expense in your company, allowing you to spend $730,000. In other words, you only lost $30,000 this year, which you offset with the money you made last year. So much for expanding your location, but at least you’re still in business.

I imagine if you surveyed 1,000 small businesses, that wouldn’t be far off from the reality of what has happened to most of them. They’re going to show a loss this year, but the government’s stimulus plan (PPP) allowed them to stay open and, hopefully, regroup once the world reopens.

Except that’s not what will happen. There’s a problem with the way the government defined “forgivable.”

You see, Barry’s Boxes is going to have to take the $83,300 it received from the government and, when Barry determines if he made money (thus paying taxes) or lost money (not paying taxes), he has to reduce his expenses by the amount of the loan.

Based on the language of this federal legislation, Barry has to reduce his $730,000 in expenses by $83,300, which means his actual expenses were $646,700. All of a sudden, Barry’s financials show he actually made a profit in 2020, even though

we all know he didn’t.

That’s right. The way the legislation currently reads, Barry now has to pay taxes on $53,000 in profit.

And while that doesn’t sound like a lot – maybe he only has to pay 21 percent – that means he has to write a check for $11,000. And guess what, Barry is like every other small business out there, and he only has $25,000 left in his business account.

The numbers get bigger as the companies get bigger, but the reality is the government is coming back to recoup a chunk of the money most small-business owners thought was forgivable. And I can promise there are thousands upon thousands of business owners who are at the end of their ropes, are considering closing down for good, and who will opt to throw in the towel if they have to part with much more of their remaining cash.

I know this seems technical, but it’s vitally important that politicians on both sides of the aisle fix this problem. If they saddle small businesses with a tax that goes against the intent of the legislation, the loss of jobs will impact the people you know and love.

Please consider emailing your U.S. Senators and Representatives. Ask them to fix this legislation before even more jobs are lost.

Email jonathan@mcelvymedia.com

THE READER.

Email us your letters: news@theleadernews.com

Meaningful, constructive conversation needed in the modern world

scattered throughout the world will return to their native country with joy.

Ruben Guia

Dear Editor: People from the other political party are stunted, bigoted, ugly, pugnacious little trolls.

Jemima Kelly of the Financial Times said ranting may be the balm the world needs.

The world may also need Betsy Denson’s column on table talk. We need to have meaningful, constructive conversation on the best way to survive in the modern world.

My suggestion is to join the Baker Institute at Rice. I plan to rejoin at the first of the year. Stay well.

Jimmy D. Schmidt

Help Oak Forest resident bring her dad home

Dear Editor: I am still in the country (Venezuela). but a proper government election will be held shortly. only as a symbol for the world that we are in a country with an enviable normality. but it is not like that and I regret to say the impotence that many like me feel. this country is full of many material and geographical riches. but this Castro-Chavista government destroyed it. We have 21 years in this survival and in the hands of God only whom I can trust. I only ask you not to be indifferent to this situation. I will repeat what I asked the US Government. arrest this government for its crimes and the Venezuelans

Review: Valencia’s Tex-Mex worth a try

Dear Editor: Zarah – you were so quick to point out petty mistakes of a brand new restaurant working out kinks you forgot to order your nephew food?

That’s embarrassing, I went to Valencia’s the first week it opened and experienced a few issues that will likely be worked out in due time but the place is really neat with great happy hour specials and daily specials. Parking is a little frustrating but it is definitely good to have this place join the neighborhood and will be visiting again.

David

Pathways to the Past: Ownership of Heights alleys may rest with heirs of neighborhood founder

Dear Editor: So the CoH paid the Carter heirs a six figure sum for something the heirs had never paid taxes on? And the heir’s attorney, surely involved in the quit claim paperwork, has no clue as to what alleyways the heirs owned or partially owned….those that would be identified in the quit claim itself ?

C.L.

the leader Puzzlers.

Answers found in this week’s Classified section

SUDOKU

aCrOss

1. Recesses 6. Slanderous defamation 12. Fruit phrase: Life is just ....

16. Undergraduate degree 17. A way of damaging 18. Indicates position 19. Equally 20. Manuscript (abbr.)

21. ___ Lanka 22. Thus 23. 4th tone of scale 24. Town or commune in France 26. Sharp inclination 28. Watering holes 30. 1st state (abbr.)

31. Cattle genus 32. Type of American Indian 34. Before 35. Hairless 37. Hosts film festival 39. African tribe 40. Loud crowd noise 41. Quarter 43. Swiss capital 44. Sandhurst (abbr.)

45. Golfer Snead 47. Bachelor’s of Applied Science 48. A radio band 50. Assist in some wrongdoing

52. SW German state ___: Wurttemberg 54. Rosary component 56. Expresses surprise 57. Hot Springs state (abbr.)

59. Soak flax 60. Atomic #73 61. Exist 62. Megabyte 63. Energy in the form of waves or particles 66. Farm state (abbr.)

67. WWII flyer’s phrase: On ______ 70. Store fodder for preservation 71. Lubed

dOwn

1. Lowered in prestige 2. Turin river 3. Moves through water 4. Disappearing shade trees 5. Standard operating procedure 6. A shrill cry 7. Japanese apricot 8. Emergency Response Notification System (abbr.)

9. Sparta’s ancient rival city 10. The Ocean State 11. Jack-tar

12. Sleeveless Arab garments 13. Abstains from food 14. Waxed finish 15. Conditions of balance 25. Cloud of interstellar dust 26. Turf 27. Political action committee 29. Repentant act 31. B.B. King sang them 33. Salesman’s items 36. Every 38. Neither 39. African nation 41. Hindu’s creator god 42. The bill in a restaurant 43. Edict 46. Maritime 47. Small bright tropical fish 49. Cockered 51. Mountain lakes 53. No longer alive 54. Unoriginal 55. Costly 58. Finger millet 60. Aaron Spelling’s child 64. Dekaliter 65. Initial public offering 68. Not out 69. Thou

WORD SCRAMBLE

Page 4A • Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020 • The Leader

Blue Line still spreading cheer amidst holiday hardship

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

Blue Line Bike Lab owner Fred Zapalac got an unwanted surprise last week.

But he’s not letting a recent break-in prevent his and Blue Line’s annual efforts to give back to their community during the Christmas season.

Located at 1504 Yale St. in the Heights, the popular local bike shop was broken into last week, with a U-Haul truck smashing through the front glass during an apparent burglary attempt. Zapalac said nothing was stolen, and the Houston Police Department said the U-Haul was found abandoned in the 1000 block of Bennington Street a short time later – though it still did about $10,000 worth of damage smashing through the front of the store, according to

Zapalac.

However, he said he believes there is a purpose bigger than material replacements, and in a Dec. 3 Facebook post reiterated that the store’s annual Toys for Tots toy collection drive is still on.

“We’re ultimately going to be taken care of, but there’s no safety net out there for those who aren’t getting presents for Christmas,” he said. “I think that’s just a little more important than us getting glass back into the front of our store.”

Community members can still come by the shop and drop off unused toys through the end of the day Dec. 13.

The toys will be donated to Houston-area families and children in need.

“The organization told us they needed toys more than ever before because of the effects of COVID-19 this year.

We’ve been working hard to fill up the boxes,” Zapalac said. “So far we’ve got one box almost full – but we’ve got another full box to go, and we could definitely use another 40-50 new unwrapped toys.”

HPD spokesperson John Cannon said officers went to Blue Line around 1:15 a.m.

Dec. 3 in response to a burglary call. Witnesses told police that three male suspects wearing ski masks were seen entering the store after driving a U-Haul truck through the glass in the front of the store, according to Cannon.

Zapalac, who lives in Oak Forest, said he got the call shortly after that and made the short drive over to see the damage.

“When the phones rings at 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. now, I automatically assume it’s my alarm going off,” he said, noting last

week’s incident is the fourth time the store has been broken into since moving to the Heights location in 2018. “It’s just become a regular part of our lives to be broken into once every six months or so.”

With everything going on, some might understand if the Toys for Tots effort was put on the backburner as the store cleans up. But Zapalac said the community’s need is greater than his own, and that the break-in won’t deter it.

Prior to its collaboration with Toys for Tots, which is in its third year, the business had previously collected donations for the Brenham State Supported Living Center.

“Everything we have, we owe to our community,” Zapalac said. “And if there’s a way to give back to it, we definitely want to be involved in that.”

Photo from Facebook An early morning break-in last week left Blue Line Bike Lab, 1504 Yale St., with a broken front window. The Heights business does not have a broken spirit, though, and is continuing its Toys for Tots drive.

St. Ambrose hosting inaugural ‘Winter Lights’ event Saturday

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

Contributed photo Area residents can send letters to Santa Claus by utilizing a mailbox outside the Houston Dance Works studio in Oak Forest through Dec. 16.

A local church is trying to provide an interactive dose of holiday cheer leading up to Christmas.

St. Ambrose Catholic School will deck out its campus at 4213 Mangum Rd. with more than 20,000 lights as part of its inaugural Festival of Lights beginning Saturday, Dec. 12 from 6-10 p.m. and subsequently running Dec. 18-23.

“In a time when the past nine months have been a difficult time for most families, the purpose is to bring happiness and Christmas spirit to families in and around the Houston area,” the church said in a news release.

The church will provide a

Contributed photo St. Ambrose Catholic School, 4213 Mangum Rd., will feature a Christmas light display during its Festival of Lights beginning Saturday.

map for a free one-way walkthrough or drive-through experience, and masks will be

required of anyone walking through due to COVID-19 protocols.

and Stevens Elementary, 1910 Lamonte Ln. Visiting families should remain in their vehicles to ensure social distancing.

“The main emphasis is we want everybody to come and enjoy the spectacle and wish 2020 a fond goodbye,” said Tim Weltin, a Houston ISD wraparound specialist who has worked at both schools.

Weltin said the Winter Wonderland events are a collaboration between local churches, community members and nine area schools whose students will take part in the performances. The participating

campuses are Scarborough and Waltrip high schools, Clifton and Frank Black middle schools and Benbrook, Durham, Kate Smith, Stevens and Wainwright elementary schools.

Weltin said food and toy distributions will be made to visiting families in need at Frank Black, while gift-filled backpacks donated by the Oak Forest Elementary parent-teacher association will be offered at Stevens.

For more information, email northwestcommunityresources@gmail.com.

Oak Forest dance studio Area HISD schools to hold taking letters for Santa ‘Winter Wonderland’ events

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

A local dance studio is attempting to help the community get in the Christmas spirit with a conduit to the North Pole.

Through Dec. 16, residents of Garden Oaks, Oak Forest and surrounding neighbor-

hoods can drop off letters to Santa at “Santa’s Letter Station” outside Houston Dance Works at 3500 E. T.C. Jester Blvd., Suite G. Drop-off times will be posted daily on the studio’s social media pages (@ houstondanceworks).

Letters must be sent with an empty, self-addressed and stamped envelope in order to

receive a special return message from Santa. Families can also snap a photo in front of the Christmas mailbox.

When dropping off the letters, community members are asked to observe COVID-19 guidelines such as wearing a mask and social distancing.

Follow us on social media @ FromTheLeader

4th Wall debuts holiday story time

By Zarah Parker zarah@theleadernews.com

4th Wall Theatre Company, 1824 Spring St., is hosting an online holiday story time that began last week.

Eboni Bell and Juan Sebastian Cruz are bringing two of O. Henry’s Christmas stories to life, including “The Gift of the Magi” and “A Chaparral Christmas Gift.”

The story times will be released in four in-

stallments on Thursday nights in December from 7:30–8 p.m. The first one premiered last week but is still available to view on YouTube and Facebook.

To watch the first story time and the upcoming ones on YouTube, visit 4th Wall’s YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCFWBQdUVWqN780Pl9eoztFw/. To watch on Facebook, go to the organization’s page @4thWallHouston.

By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com

Two Oak Forest schools will host Winter Wonderland events on Saturday in which community members are invited to drive through the campus parking lots and see holiday lights, decorations and artistic performances by students.

There will be giveaways as well.

The free events will be held from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday at Frank Black Middle School, 1575 Chantilly Ln., IF I COULD WALK...

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The Leader • Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020 • Page 5A

Crossing, from P. 1A the coming years, according to HISD Wraparound Specialist Tim Weltin, who works at the school, lives in the area and sees more and more young children in the neighborhood.

In June there was a fatal traffic accident one block northwest of the campus, where 46-year-old Karen Yager was struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver as she tried to cross 43rd at Cheshire Lane – in a vehicle.

Many Frank Black students who live in nearby Oak Forest either walk or ride their bicycles to school. “All you have to do is stand out here for 30 seconds to know how dangerous this is,� Weltin said Tuesday afternoon as multiple passing cars and trucks appeared to be exceeding the 35 mph speed limit on 43rd. “It’s a tragedy waiting to happen, and there’s no reason for us to wait for the tragedy to happen.�

Motivated in part by a September report by The Leader that examined the dangers of 43rd Street – there were at least 211 traffic accidents and 584 speeding tickets issued between Ella Boulevard and Rosslyn Road from January 2015July 2020, according to City of Houston records – a group of parents and nearby residents is pushing for traffic-calming measures at 43rd and Chantilly. An email distributed late last month

by Oak Forest resident Josh Frey, at the request of PTO president Ruth Mendez, provided a synopsis of the issue, a link to The Leader story and asked community members to submit traffic signal requests for the intersection through the city’s 311 system at https://www. houstontx.gov/311/traffic_ streets_drainage.html.

A spokesperson for Houston City Council member Abbie Kamin, who serves the neighborhood as part of District C, said Tuesday that at least one 311 request has triggered an investigation by Houston Public Works, which will study the intersection and determine whether traffic-calming measures are warranted and, if so, what type should be implemented.

Mendez and Weltin, who serves on the PTO’s executive board along with Frank Black principal Rhonda Honore, said they hope a traffic light can be installed at the intersection to regu-

Broman, from P. 1A larly stop motorists who are traveling on 43rd. There currently are stop signs for drivers traveling on Chantilly on either side of 43rd. “Public Works has been fantastic in working with my office on safety improvements, but it’s important to remember that with things like traffic lights, stop signs and even crosswalks, the department is constrained by the state regulations for where these safety devices can be installed,� Kamin said in a statement provided to The Leader. “We’re now waiting on the results of the department’s investigation for 43rd and Chantilly, and we hope that this intersection will meet the state’s requirements.�

Weltin said the school is requesting a crossing guard from HISD, which did not immediately answer related questions submitted to its press office. Another trafficcalming measure that would be welcome, Mendez said, is a hybrid pedestrian beacon like the one the city installed at 10th Street and North Shepherd Drive after a man in a wheelchair and a good Samaritan trying to help him were struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle as they attempted to cross Shepherd in 2019. Such beacons are flashing yellow lights that turn red when activated by a pedestrian who wants to cross the street. “Student safety is the top priority for the PTO and, frankly, for the schools,�

Mendez said.

Melissa Murray, who lives on 43rd Street and has two children who attend Oak Forest Elementary just to the southeast of Frank Black, said she will not let them cross 43rd by themselves. She also said Tuesday that she already had submitted a 311 request for a traffic signal on 43rd.

Frey said installing one should be a “no-brainer� for the city. Weltin called it a “teed-up, softball-of-ajudgment call,� especially if more community members chime in and make requests.

If there were a traffic light at 43rd and Chantilly, Miranda-Abehary said she would cross the intersection instead of walking all the way around campus to avoid it. “Anybody who doesn’t think we need one should stand out here for 10 minutes,� Weltin said, “and they’ll change their mind.�

roll songs,� Bianca said. “As early as I can remember, I was jamming out to his covers of many famous songs and listening to him recount concert performances he had proudly attended. He would get together with his friends every Thursday night and they would play their music and joke about how they were keeping their day jobs, but it was apparent to anyone who watched them that they knew what they were doing, and that they practiced.�

A few years ago, Don was diagnosed with prostate cancer and Bianca realized she didn’t have high-quality audio recordings of his songs. “I’ve always felt honored to have a rock ‘n’ roll dad, so it bothered me to think of myself in the future living in a world where I didn’t have access to his music somehow,� she said.

First, she enlisted audio engineer Solomon Garcia to make the unpublished album “One Take Wonders: A LIVE Acoustic Recording Session with Don Broman,� in which Don performed 14 of his favorite cover songs while recovering from surgery. “They were single takes unedited, so they were raw and authentic,� Bianca said. “This was the first time he’d heard himself played back in a high-quality audio, and his joy at realizing his own talent was infectious.�

Although by day she is a geologist, Bianca was inspired by the experience to begin to record her dad on her own. She bought a

Contributed photo Don Broman, a 70-year-old Heights resident who works in the construction business, started playing music as a teenager.

recording microphone on Amazon and learned GarageBand, a digital audio workstation. This resulted in the album “Maiden Voyage,� also unpublished. “Maiden Voyage was equally as raw as ‘One Take Wonders,’ but it was huge for us because of how personal it was, and it sounded really good,� she said. “We saw this voyage as an embarkment on a journey (that was) a lifetime in the making for my dad – recording his own music.�

The effort cemented their desire to continue recording. “I became obsessed with the music recording and the editing and engineering process, and he became obsessed with making improvements and adding track layers for higher music

quality,� she said.

Don played all the instruments, including guitar, drums and piano. Bianca invested in better studio recording equipment. “We started playing duets once in a while,� she said. “He’s the true talent, and it was most important to me to document his music.�

The culmination of this work is the album “Tribute,� which will be offered to friends and family as a CD, and to everyone else on Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud and Music App for stream or download. The CD art has photos of Don with almost all his bands over the years. “We are humble in the presentation of (the music),� Bianca said. “It’s all licensed. We really did the research on it.�

street.

The idea behind the road reconfiguration is to improve safety on a stretch where 516 crashes were reported to the Houston Police Department between 2010 and 2019.

The project is being funded as part of the Houston Bike Plan, which was adopted by the city council in 2017 and allocates $1.1 million per year to projects aimed at making Houston safer and more accessible for cyclists.

Ultimately, this is a street safety improvement project,�

Grove said. “What’s going to be the safest for everybody is what we’re designing currently.�

The project will mostly consist of restriping the road, which now has two lanes going in each direction without

a center left-turn lane. Grove said a center lane, which serves to limit speeding, sudden lane changes and other forms of aggressive driving, can still be implemented on some parts of 11th Street between Shepherd and Yale.

The plan also continues to call for a median refuge island, where cyclists and pedestrians can safely stop while crossing the street, at the crossing of the Heights Hike and Bike Trail at 11th and Nicholson Street. That intersection was identified as one of the most dangerous spots in the city for cyclists.

Grove said refuge islands also could be constructed at other intersections on 11th, such as where it crosses Heights Boulevard. “I am extremely relieved

Songs include “To Love Somebody,� “I’ve Got the Blues,� “Paint It Black,� “Just My Imagination,� “Under the Boardwalk,� “Wild Horses,� “Sylvia’s Mother,� and “Cover of the Rolling Stone.�

Bianca’s favorite is “To Love Somebody� by the Bee Gees because it reminds her of riding to school in her dad’s Crown Victoria listening to Eric Burdon and the Animals do a version of the song on cassette. “He’d play it over and over,� she said.

The album was timed to coincide with her father’s 70th birthday. “I’ve always enjoyed watching my dad perform and seeing his energy,� she said. “He’s unapologetic.�

For Don, now cancer free, the experience of recording with his only child was priceless. “I love doing things with my daughter,� he said. “And this was really special to me.

She knows music and has almost a photographic memory. She also knows more songs from my era than I do and she’s so good on the computer.�

He loved having Bianca as a backup singer. Because she sometimes added backups of her backup vocals to a song, Don liked to think of her as the Bee Threes. “I don’t think this will be the last thing we do,� he said.

Music and download links can be found at donbroman. hearnow.com.

11th St., from P. 1A can participate by visiting https://houstonbikeplan. org/planned/11th-street/. “That’s the biggest change,� she said. “It’s something we want to be really clear and up front about before we move any further with design.�

Grove, who is leading the project along with Managing Engineer Ian Hlavacek of Houston Public Works, said the design phase is 30 percent complete. The city decided early this year to move forward with the project after holding two community engagement meetings during the first half of 2019, when residents offered mixed reviews, with some saying a reduction in lanes for vehicular traffic would increase congestion on an already-busy

that some of the most dangerous intersections, such as the hike-and-bike trail crossing at 11th Street and Nicholson, will be addressed through this plan,� Houston City Council member Abbie Kamin said in a statement provided to The Leader.

Grove said there is no definitive timeline for completing the design phase – which will consist of at least three stages with public engagement at each step – or implementation of the plan.

So there remains plenty of time for impacted residents to weigh in. “We’ve taken this design slow in knowing we’ve got to work with the community on it,� Grove said. “I think we’ll know more after this meeting.�

Bulldogs, from P. 1A It’s the first district title for Heights since 2013.

But the Bulldogs will remember the season for much more than the title, despite the elation it brought.

Because before it came a delayed start due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then a constant apprehension of practices or games getting cancelled. “Nothing is going to be guaranteed, so treat the day like it’s your last – no excuses and don’t settle for nothing,� senior running back Patrick McDowell said. “Take advantage of what you have for that day, because COVID came out of nowhere and made us go through

all of these problems just to be able to play football.�

It was especially jarring for players such as Alonzo and McDowell, both of whom are in their final high school seasons as the pandemic continues to impact the daily lives of many Houstonians. “We didn’t know whether we’d play our next game, whether our families and players are going to be OK and if we’re going to be able to enjoy the next day peacefully,�

Alonzo said. “It’s just scary right now, because we don’t know what’s ahead. All we can do is just pray for the best.�

However, that uncertainty – and

the tight-knit group of players who pushed through it – made the 2020 season that much more special for Dixon. “I knew going into the year that this was going to be a pretty special group – there was a little more leadership and accountability,� he said. “When you’ve got that off the field, those things are going to translate on the field. I think this group’s a little closer, and it bodes well for us.�

Ironically, both Dixon and McDowell said the Bulldogs’ lone regular-season defeat – a 41-28 loss to Fort Bend Travis – was a precursor to the final results as Heights went

CHURCH D I R E CTO RY

I

In light of theSunday COVID-19 outbreak, please check with church below for updated St.each James Lutheran Church, ELCA Bible Studies For All Ages ... 9:30am Morning Worship ............... 10:45am • Worship (English) ..... 10:00 am - 11:00am information Wednesday about services and events.

In-person services are temporarily restricted.

Bible Studies For Youth, Children • Learning Hour........... 11:00am - 12:00pm MANNA

toe-to-toe with a perennial playoff contender. “Yeah we had a few plays that cost us some points, but we all felt the chemistry was all the way there already,� McDowell said. “And as the year went on we learned how to play together with one another.�

However, a new season has begun, and Heights will be looking to again break a mold of normalcy when it takes the field against Cypress Creek on Saturday. Though the Bulldogs have made the playoffs every season since 2010 – and all but three seasons in Dixon’s 13year tenure – they have failed to advance past the bi-district round

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GET O Come OVER IT! Emmanuel

t goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: “we have all made mistakes.� As Alexander Pope so aptly put it: “To err is human, to forgive, divine.� We should remember this the next time we make a mistake. Most certainly, we must learn from our mistakes, and hopefully not continue to repeat them, but we should also forgive ourselves. While it can be hard enough to forgive others for their mistakes, it can sometimes feel almost impossible to forgive ourselves.

We sometimes cannot bring ourselves to forgive something we’ve done, and we may punish and harangue ourselves for years, or even decades, over youthful indiscretions. In addition, some of us may not be able to forget the sins of our past. And although that may prevent us from repeating them, we must be charitable and forgive ourselves, just as we should forgive others. So, we should make a real effort in the coming days and weeks to forgive the offenses of others as well as our own. Sometimes, it helps to just forget about them; that is, to try to put them out of our mind and stop repeatedly mulling over them. One of the reasons we use the phrase “forgive and forget� is because sometimes that is the only way to forgive, i.e., by forgetting. But far better, and more divine, is to be able to forgive even while remembering the offense. So, we should let go of those unforgiving, vindictive, shameful feelings about the past, and get over it! Corrie ten Boom, who survived incarceration in a Nazi prison camp said, “Forgiveness is to set a prisoner free, and to realize that the prisoner was you.�

By Pastor Will Cover

Arise Baptist Church 803 Curtin St. Houston TX 77018 713-659-9697 • www.arisebaptistchurch.org

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his year has been less 1602 West 43rd St. • Houston, Tx 77018 • 713-686-1577 1822 W. 18th • 713-864-1470 than stellar for most First Church St. James Lutheran Church, ELCA Weekly Sunday Services Gethsemane Lutheran Church people. A beautiful t 8PSTIJQ &OHMJTI

BN BN We invite you to worship with us! song that cries out for 1700 West 43School at Rosslyn Sunday ........9:15 am MANNA t -FBSOJOH )PVS BN QN 713-682-4942 Emmanuel is “O Come, O t 8PSTIJQ 4QBOJTI QN QN Sunday Worship......10:30am 4QPOTPS Ad # 32285 Come Emmanuel.â€? In this Wednesday Bible Study 8FTU SE 4U t )PVTUPO 5Y t & Prayer 6:00pm Candlelight Church ofService Christ carol the Messiah is bid to Join us for Services FC Heights Family and Staff in English or Spanish come and to bring hope and Sunday Morning Worship 8:30 and 11:00 201 E. 9th St. • 713-861-3102 Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn Sunday Worship 10am & 5pm Sunday School for Children, Youth and Adults at: 9:40 Please visit our website Sund not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, Sunday Bible Classes 9am www.fbcheights.org Ministries for All Ages salvation to the world. This and you will be forgiven...

Wednesday Bible Study 7pm www.lazybrookbaptistchurch.org Home of Johnson Memorial School for Little Children Rev. Nathan Lonsdale Bledsoe, Pastor Christmas focuses 4215 Watonga Blvd. • 713-681-9365 R.S.V. Luke 6:37 carol Wed for the following: 2003 W. 43rd St. 713-686-8241 stsumc.org Houston, TX 77092 on different ways in which Sunday Services: Live Stream at 11:00am Say a Bible Studies: From Homepage, click on the coming of Jesus Christ Prayer 1822 W. 18th • 713-864-1470 Connect/Small Groups would fulfill the prophecies Today of the Old Testament. The name Emmanuel means Gethsemane Lutheran Church God with us. When God Pastor Jerry McNamara 4040 Watonga • 713-688-5227 came down to dwell among We invite you to worship with us! men he came to bring hope Weekly Worship Services 9:00a.m. and salvation from sin. One Online services can be reached particular verse of this song and Adults............................ 6:15pm

since 2013. “We can’t get big-headed and got to stay humble through the whole process,� McDowell said.

But players said the mindset hasn’t changed from the regular season. They’re on a mission to make the season’s final result atypical once again. “District’s no longer here,�

Alonzo said. “Every game on now, it’s our new best opponent. If we win this game, it’s the one after that.�

that I have been thinking about this week is the verse that says, “O come, O king of nations, bind in one the hearts of all mankind.

Bid all our sad divisions cease and be yourself our King of Peace.�

In a country divided politically, I am thankful to know that as a believer my hope is in the King of Peace. While there is much to push us apart this year, if you will trust in Jesus Christ you can know the King of Peace. He is your Creator and He wants to be your Savior. His kingdom is forever.

Page 6A • Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020 • The Leader

New children’s boutique opens on Yale Street From Staff Reports Heights-based Radom Capital’s newest tenant, Petite Re Modern Child, is now open across from the Heights Mercantile.

Located at 707 Yale St. Suite 103, the boutique offers chil-

dren’s clothes for newborns through age 6 as well as keepsake toys and accessories, according to a news release. “We couldn’t find cool things for our kids, so we decided to do something about it,� said owners Skye and Lindsay Vila, who also own the

Saint Lo boutique at Heights Mercantile.

For more information and to see what Petite Re Modern Child has to offer, community members can call the store at 713-485-5906.

Follow us on social media @ FromTheLeader

City launches internet voucher program

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com The City of Houston announced Dec. 3 that an internet voucher program is available to Houstonians to help them stay connected to the internet for school, work and personal health reasons for a calendar year.

Funded by nearly $625,000 from the city’s CARES Act funding, Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Health Equity Response (H.E.R.) Task Force has partnered with Comcast for the program, which will provide approximately 5,000 vouchers to qualified appli-

cants through Dec. 20. “This pandemic has highlighted the importance of quality internet service particularly for those vulnerable populations who must stay at home to stay safe,� Turner said in a news release from the city. “This program will provide a lifeline for citizens that have struggled through the pandemic without internet access and a way to stay informed, connected and safe during these challenging times.�

In order to qualify for the voucher, community members must live within the city limits at an address within Com-

cast’s service area and demonstrate their total household income (prior to February) was lower than 80 percent of the area median income. They must also fall into one of the following groups: - Over 65 years of age - People with disabilities - Households with children younger than 5 years old - Opportunity youth – people age 16-24 not currently enrolled in school or working Residents will receive vouchers on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information or to apply, visit houston.comcast. com/2020/11/30/cohiepp/.

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www.primeroofing.com When you want results, advertise in The Leader.

APPLIANCE & TV REPAIR

GENERAL HOME IMPROVEMENTS

RIO GRANDE FENCE CO.

ROOFING

FENCES & DECKS

713-849-9000

www.royaltypetcenter.com

IT’S NOT JUST A FENCE

w w w. houst onhei ght s ro o f e rs . c o m Find it in The Leader.

• Grooming • Boarding • Pet Supplies 9900 N. Houston Rosslyn

electric

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3308 Ella Blvd • (713) 680-3530

FREE estimates

Since 1976

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Royalty Pet Center

cc accepted

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832-731-3866

ROOFERS

Mr. Handyman has been in business for over 20 years, and are committed to serving homeowners with old-fashioned, friendly, reliable service.

We are locally owned and operated. We can fix issues with Attics, Bathrooms, Bedrooms, Decks and Patios, Kitchens, Living & Dining Rooms, Garages and more! One simple call provides easy scheduling, on time arrival, job done right the first time, fully insured, fully guaranteed, full clean up after work completed. Please call 832-699-4008.

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• Patios • Decks • Driveways • Brick Columns

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Page 8A • Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020 • The Leader

Secrets in the saliva: Testing your dog’s DNA

Dear Tabby, We’re giving our mixed breed dog a DNA test for Christmas!

What kind of information can we expect to find out from it?

I just took a DNA test in Timbergrove Dear I just took a DNA test, DNA tests are all the rage for humans and even pets these days. These genetic tests are basically the same for both humans and pets.

Just like the human version, you retrieve a saliva sample from your dog (sounds easy enough!) and send it to a lab, which will analizy your dog’s genetic material and send back a report, telling you what breeds make up your fourlegged best friend.

Poodle or pug?

Like humans, who secretly hope their genetic report will reveal an ancestral lineage linking them to Cleopatra or Benjamin Franklin, pet owners also tend to hope to find out that their mixed breed is a combination of the heartiest, healthiest breeds of dogs.

Dr. Gus Cothran, professor emeritus at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (CVM), explains some of the drawbacks of such tests.

“Pet owners should always be cautious as these tests do not actually address specific health issues but rather indicate a breed,” Cothran said.

“Members of the same breed may carry a specific genetic disease that is known to be in the breed, but not all will have it. Tests for specific genetic diseases may be available for use if there is concern.”

Cothran said, “Most breed tests are based upon probability so that even though a particular breed is indicated, there is always a possibility that the result is not correct.

“The physical traits of the animal should be compared to the breed standard and, if they match, then the probability is that the test’s assignment is correct,” Cothran added.

Use results for guidance It is recommended that you take the results the next time you visit your vet so he or she can determine if there might be any health issues in the breeds found in your dog that could present in the future and help guide you through ways to prevent them. And, most importantly, remember these tests should be taken as entertainment instead of scientific data and are only designed to give you a fun glimpse into the DNA of your special pet.

Don’t take results as gospel While these tests can be useful in explaining why your dog has a blue spot on his tongue or a curly tail, they’re not always 100 percent accurate.

Do you have a question for Tabby? Email her at deartabby questions@gmail.com.

Photo by Adam Zuvanich Community members met virtually Wednesday to discuss potential improvements to Love Park.

Community provides feedback on Love Park improvements

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

A local city park is getting a facelift, and the Heights community recently provided input on how it should look.

New nonprofit organization Friends of Love Park, along with the Houston Parks Board and Houston Parks and Recreation Department, hosted a virtual community meeting on Wednesday night to discuss potential improvement projects for Love Park at 1000 W. 12th St.

in the Heights.

The Love Park improvement meeting was part of the city’s 50/50 Park Partners initiative, which challenges 50 businesses to join a citywide coalition of volunteers and donors in providing money and ideas for improving Houston’s neighborhood parks.

For more information on the Love Park project, community members can email info@ houstonparksboard.org or visit houston5050parkpartners.com.

Pet of the Week Meet Hamish This 2-year-old boy was dropped off at the shelter and is hoping to find a home for the holidays. Hamish is surely on Santa’s “good” list and is excited to get toys in his stocking because, for Hamish, toys are LIFE! Hamish is heartworm positive, but is undergoing treatment (paid for by the shelter) and is expected to be fully recovered soon. Don’t you have a place for sweet Hamish under your tree and in your heart this holiday season? If so, go to www.friends4life.org.

A Reputation of Integrity since 1946 Give us a call

Stuff the Bus Toy Drive!

Bring an unwrapped toy to Liberty Hoepfl Garage between now and Dec. 11th

Toys will be donated to Houston Impact Church of Christ and St. Rose Catholic Church

713.695.5071

$19.95 Fall Readiness Check

Liberty Hoepfl Garage is offering a • Battery Check • Coolant Check and we’ll even throw in a FREE alignment check!

Call 713-695-5071 today to set a reservation.

It’s the change of the season! Finally, we are getting some relief from the heat. With the temperature change, it is a must to have your battery checked to avoid being surprised by a dead battery.

4610 N. Shepherd

Mon - Fri 8:00 am - 5:30 pm, Sat 8:00 am - 4:00pm

Tia Maria has 32 oz. Margaritas to go for $15 with a food order.

Frozen or rocks.

If you are hungry, let us cook for you!

4618 Dacoma

TheLibertyGarage.com

(Between Hwy. 290 and Mangum)

(713) 680-0825

Like us on Facebook/AdolfsGarage Expire 12-24-2020. Must present Coupon at time of service. Cannot combine with any other offer. Limited time offer.

Coupon Special Purchase a Christmas Tree and receive

A little piece of country in the heart of the city.

10% Off

Now Open In New Home!

Inside of Thompson’s Antique Center Of Texas

9950 Hempstead Hwy. Houston, Texas 77092

on all Christmas related items

4537 N Shepherd Dr, Houston, TX 77018

(713) 863-8322 Expires December 23, 2020

HERBERT’S WATCH REPAIR

wabashfeed.com

Watches • Service & Repair 70 Years In Business • 5 Star

High Grade & Vintage Rolex Repair

713-494-4895 Mon. - Sat. 1-5 pm SATISFACTION GUARANTEED

ESTABLISHED 1936

FREE DONUTS FREE KOLACHE Buy a dozen glazed donuts, get 6 glazed free.

Buy a dozen donuts, get a kolache free.

Good at this location only. One coupon per visit. Tax not included. Not valid in conjunction with other coupons.

3410 Ella Blvd. at 34th St.

(713) 682-4343

The Leader • Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020 • Page 9A

Open till 4pm. Christmas Eve!

Sale ends December 24th

Page 10A • Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020 • The Leader

Open till 4pm Christmas Eve! Sale ends December 24th