Inside Today: Bill King makes area campaign stop • Page 2A Are you Rodeo Ready?
See our ad page 7B MICHAEL SILVA
michael@michaelwilliam.com
713-725-8748 cell
Flower & Gift Shop
10570 NW Frwy 713-680-2350
Covering the Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest & the neighborhoods of North Houston
Saddle up Saturday, February 23, 2019 • Vol. 64 • No. 8
About Us 2020 North Loop West Suite 220 (713) 686-8494 news@theleadernews.com www.theleadernews.com Facebook/FromTheLeader
Avenue CDC hits pause on development By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
40 YEARS INSULATING!
GET $50 OFF
your purchase of $750 or more
Attics • Walls • Floors Noise Reduction • Removal
FREE ESTIMATES
713.868.1021 www.paylessinsulation.com
Photo credit: Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
Fun Facts Total Attendance
(last 5 years) • 2014: 2,485,721 • 2015: 2,483,193 • 2016: 2,462,030 • 2017: 2,611,176 (Record since tracking began in 1999) • 2018: 2,408,550
Jason Knebel (713)232-9712
jasonk@greenwoodking.com GREENWOOD KING
PROPERTIES
• Nearly 18,000 livestock and poultry for this year’s livestock show • 3,953 bags of feed and 4,728 bales of hay for feeding (for livestock show and rodeo stock) • 600 dump truck loads of dirt for the arena and service level of NRG Stadium • Food sold during 2018 rodeo (365,000-plus fried Oreos, 125,000plus turkey legs, 80,000-plus funnel cakes, 45,000-plus tamales and nearly 30,000 barbecue sandwiches)
Economic Impact
• Annual aggregate gross sales are increased by $475,403,000. • Annual gross regional product is increased by $320,221,000. • Annual personal incomes are raised by $290,710,000. • 7,265 full-time equivalent jobs are created.
CONCIERGE MEDICINE
Charity/Education Support Since HLSR began in 1932, more than $475 million has been committed to the Texas’ youth. The Rodeo has presented nearly 19,000 scholarships since the first scholarship was awarded in 1957. More than 2,300 students are on Rodeo scholarships, attending more than 80 different Texas colleges and universities.
Dr. Ana M. Torres Internal Medicine & Pediatrics
CLARIFICATION: A story in last week’s edition referred to Avenue CDC as a notfor-profit developer. It is a nonprofit.
713-863-9200
Submitted photo Dennis Talmage volunteers with daughter Beverly Marsh.
427 W. 20th St. Ste. 503 Houston, TX 77008 WWW.THETORRESCENTER.COM
inside.
Source: Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Graphic design by Martha Buhler
Family tradition
Volunteering doubles as father-daughter time By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
Walk the ... chicken? A senior citizen community in the Heights keeps fowl as pets.
Page 8A
Burger breakdown. Miller’s Cafe offfers a no-frills version of an American classic.
Page 7A
There are 108 volunteer committees for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Oak Forest resident and longtime rodeo volunteer Beverly Marsh had her eye on just one back in 2003 – the graphics and signage committee that already included her father, Dennis Talmage. “I had graduated from college and thought it would be a good way to get involved and to spend time with my dad,” Marsh said. Members of the graphics and signage committee are responsible for preparing signs for functions held year-round and during the rodeo, which runs Feb. 25-March 17 at NRG Stadium. Last year, it made about 14,000 signs for the other 107 committees, including the huge checks that rodeo winners are awarded. Marsh remembers the days of peel-and-stick vinyl letters, but the
More coverage and concert lineup
Section B signs are now made on high-end printers and mounted on plastic cardboard backing. Members print and mount the signs and also staff the room for signage pick-up. While most committee members work eight-hour shifts from January to March, there is a crew that works year-round. “The people on the committee are really fun and we’re inside, which is
Mary Lawler, executive director for Avenue CDC, issued a statement Tuesday saying the nonprofit developer is tabling its plan to build an apartment complex at the location of Doyle’s Restaurant at 2136 W 34th St. Avenue remains in the option period to purchase the property from the owner of Doyle’s. “Recently Avenue received a wealth of feedback from the Oak Forest community regarding our proposed affordable multifamily development, Avenue on 34th,” Lawler said. “In order to carefully consider all that we have heard, Avenue is pausing on plans for the development while we review the design parameters and continue collecting feedback from the community. Avenue’s goal is always to be a good neighbor that strengthens communities, so we look forward to continuing our dialogue with all the stakeholders in this process.” Peter Doyle, citing increasing costs and taxes as well as a competitive food-service environment, told the Houston Chronicle last week that his restaurant will relocate and downsize under a new name. The timetable for its closing is sometime in late 2019. There are no definite plans or location for the restaurant’s next incarnation, although Doyle told the Chronicle he expects it to be outside Houston. The current general manager will run the new venture with equipment from the old restaurant.
great when the weather isn’t,” Marsh said. Marsh is a captain on the committee this year, which means she leads a group of five or six. She still schedules it so she gets to work with her dad. The time is precious to the married mother of two boys who also works a full-time job outside the home. “We don’t get to see each other as much now,” Marsh said. “So it’s nice that after a shift we can go to Pappasito’s and grab dinner. We always try to get a work shift one day during the cookoff, too, so we can stay and enjoy the fabulous barbecue together.” Marsh is a lifetime rodeo member now and has many fond memories of her years as a volunteer. She’s excited to see George Strait this year and has enjoyed Jason Aldean, the Zac Brown Band and Reba McEntire – with her frequent costume changes – in past years. “We try to go once with the kids whenever we’re free and do the carnival, too,” she said.
SPJST approves plan for pool By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com
SPJST Lodge 88 is diving headfirst into a project that will bring a swimming pool back to its backyard. Members of the fraternal lodge in the Heights, founded in 1910 and rooted in Czech heritage and culture, voted to approve a pool construction plan at its monthly meeting Monday night. Vice president and board of directors member Aaron Rigamonti, who manages the lodge’s swim club, said the measure passed “overwhelmingly” and moves the pool project to the detailed design phase. “It’s a wonderful project for the lodge to build on,” said Brian Vanicek, president of the Temple-based Supreme Lodge, which oversees the Heights organization and had previously signed off on the plan. The lodge at 1435 Beall St. built a pool in the 1960s but filled it in three decades later. The new pool, with a target opening date of summer 2020, will be 25 yards in length, eight lanes wide and heated. Construction of the pool and accompanying facilities, along with a new playground See SPJST P. 6A
Memorial Hermann CEO talks needs, new initiatives Catch my Drift. A new bar is planning to open on 20th Street in the spring.
Page 7A
The INDEX. Calendar/Church............................... 5A Classifieds.............................................. 4B Coupons................................................... 6A Food/Drink/Art................................... 7A Obituaries............................................... 6A Opinion..................................................... 4A Public Information......................... 2A Puzzles...................................................... 4A
By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com
Paul O’Sullivan is not from around here, which becomes obvious as soon as he starts to speak. But the Irishman is no less a Houstonian, having worked in the Memorial Hermann Health System for nearly 20 years. In barely six months as the senior vice president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Greater Heights Hospital, he already has a keen understanding of
the community it serves. O’Sullivan has observed the development and demographic shifts throughout the area during the last decade or two and, like everyone else who lives or works in this part of the city, marvels at it. “It’s amazing what’s going on. We’re delighted to be a part of it,” O’Sullivan said. “As healthcare changes, frankly, and we’re kind of reimagining our mission, you know Memorial Hermann is more than just the bricks and sticks and
the big building. I think that’s important because it’s kind of a community anchor in some respects.” O’Sullivan intends to keep it that way at Memorial Hermann Greater Heights, which opened more than 50 years ago and now has 260 beds and more than 600 affiliated doctors. The hospital regularly examines the needs of the nearby community, gathering feedback from patients and residents, medical staff and demographic studies.
The results have shaped the hospital’s recent initiatives to focus on outpatient care for a population that by and large is young and reproducing. Its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was recently designated as a special care nursery for newborns by the Texas Department of State Health Services. Memorial Hermann Greater Heights operates a Convenient Care Center at 1431 See CEO P. 8A
Photo by Jonathan McElvy Paul O’Sullivan is CEO of Memorial Hermann’s area hospital.
Thinking about a career in real estate? With our marketing tools and resources, extensive training programs and offices throughout the Houston area, we can help you develop your real estate career. Contact us for more information. Vanessa Groves Recruiter
Call Vanessa Groves, Recruiter • 713-724-8207 vanessa.groves@preproperties.com
Stacy Mathews Broker
A NAME YOU CAN TRUST 713-686-5454
| www.preproperties.com
|
1803 W. 43rd • Houston, TX 77018
© 2013-2018 BHH Affiliates, LLC. Real Estate Brokerage Services are offered through the network member franchisees of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Most franchisees are independently owned and operated. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® Equal Housing Opportunity.