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Authorities team up on apparent drug raid By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com
Law enforcement officers from local, state and federal agencies, some of whom specialize in handling hazardous materials, spent much of Nov. 21 at a business on West 34th Street as part of an apparent drug raid. Connor Hagan, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Houston Photo by Adam Zuvanich office, said his agency as well Hazardous materials units were among the law enforcement agenas the Texas Department of cies at 6103 W. 34th St. on Nov. 21.
Public Safety, Drug Enforcement Agency, Houston Police Department and Houston Fire Department participated in a search that began in the morning and extended into the evening at 6103 W. 34th St. Hagan said they were collecting and processing evidence but declined to be more specific. Some of the authorities on scene were from HPD’s Special Hazardous Materials Unit and HFD’s High-Hazard Clandestine Lab Team.
“We understand it’s alarming to the community when they see guys in hazmat suits walking out of a building nearby,” Hagan said. “We can assure you the scene is secure, there is no threat to public safety at all and we’re taking our time processing the evidence at the scene.” Hagan said no arrests were made at the scene but that arrests had been made in connecSee Raid P. 4A
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The heroes featured in “Our Veterans,” the new book by The Leader that highlights area residents who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, will participate in a booksigning reception on Dec. 7 at American Legion Post 560 in Garden Oaks.
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“Our Veterans,” the book recently published by The Leader, honors the community members who have served their country in the United States Armed Forces. The rest of the community has an opportunity to meet many of those heroes, and learn even more about them and their service, at a book signing reception scheduled for next Saturday in Garden Oaks. American Legion Post 560, located at 3720 Alba Rd., is hosting a “Meet The Heroes” event from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 -- the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Many of the veterans featured in the book served in World War II, which is the conflict that ensued. Some of the veterans profiled in the 120-page book, or their relatives, will be on hand to autograph copies of the book and share stories. Snacks and refreshments also will be provided at the free event. Copies of the book are $39 and will be available for purchase at the event. They also are available at The Leader office, located at 2020 N Loop W, Suite 220, or online at theleadernews.com.
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INSIDE. Photo by Adam Zuvanich Candlelight Estates resident Stephanie Koteras drops off canned food last Saturday at Eleanora’s Market at 2120 Ella Blvd.
Eleanora’s Market collects donations for food bank By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com Tee it up. Avid golfer Jonathan McElvy reviews the revamped Memorial Park Golf Course.
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The Houston Food Bank serves more than 1 million people in the 18 counties across the region, having provided Southeast Texas with more than 100 million meals last year. The holiday season is the most critical time of year for the non-
profit, which sees a spike in food requests during November and December. So it’s the worst possible time for the bank’s supply to shrink, which is what happened two weeks ago. Houston Food Bank employee Sabrina Bosiacki said a broken fan caused a leak in its ammonia refrigeration system Nov. 12, contaminating all of the produce the
food bank had in stock as well as some dairy products and bulk grains. All told, the food bank had to dispose of 1.8 million pounds of food – 62 truckloads’ worth. “It was so sad, right before Thanksgiving, that they lost all their food and had to throw it out,” Candlelight Estates resident See Market P. 4 A
Area middle schoolers combat youth hunger By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com Cool beans ... or not. We answer an age-old question: Should chili contain beans?
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Local loot. Shopping local is the best way to shop for the holiday season.
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THE INDEX. Calendar.................................................. 4B Church....................................................... 4A Classifieds.............................................. 5A Coupons. ................................................. 2B Food/Drink/Art................................... 3B Opinion. ................................................... 3A Public Information......................... 8A Puzzles...................................................... 3A
When Candlelight Plaza resident Adriane Schultea was looking for a volunteer activity that her family could do together, she found Kids’ Meals, an organization on Garden Oaks Boulevard that delivers free healthy meals to the doorsteps of Houston’s hungriest preschool-aged children. “It was in our own backyard,” Schultea said. It was after Schultea joined its advisory board that she learned of the organization’s efforts to
Contributed photo Aaron Ruiz, left, and two local students pose with the Kids’ Meals mascot.
start a kids’ ambassador program to bring more awareness among area youth about what Kids’
Meals does and how it could help. She had the idea to have middle school students as ambassadors because older students tend to be busier with other commitments. Katherine Greig, who is the outreach and finance coordinator for Kids’ Meals, said the organization was excited that Schultea had the initiative to get the group started. “(The kids) have been an amazing resource for us,” Greig said. “They have helped engage their school communities and other parents. We’re very lucky to have See Meals P. 4 A
Drink beer while throwing axes at new business in Sawyer Yards By Zarah Parker zarah@theleadernews.com Krista Paton was in Toronto, Canada, drinking wine and throwing axes when she thought to herself, “This is amazing. Why don’t we have these kinds of places in America?” Two years later, in 2016, she and her business partners opened the first axe-throwing venue in the United States, Urban Axes. Having previously lived in Philadelphia, Paton opened the first Urban Axes location there. “I instantly knew people in Philly would love axe-throwing and needed it in their
lives,” Paton said. Urban Axes now has eight locations across the U.S., including the newest one that opened Friday in Sawyer Yards at 1201 Oliver St. Paton said people are hungry for something to do with their friends that isn’t just going to a bar. People want to be entertained while having a beer instead of just having a beer. “Axe-throwing is this thing that feels delightfully forbidden, something you never knew you wanted to do, and maybe you feel like you shouldn’t be doing, but in a totally See Urban Axes P. 4A
WE PUT UP
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS & DECORATIONS Home Hands Group
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Contributed photo Urban Axes, which recently opened at 1201 Oliver St., allows customers to socialize and compete in axe-throwing events.
Installing Now Lights Yard Ornaments Christmas Trees
Page 2A • Saturday, November 30, 2019 • The Leader
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THE TOPICS. The Leader • Saturday, November 30, 2019 • Page 3A
Feeling especially grateful on this Thanksgiving
I
pursued a career in journalism because I wanted to write about the Astros. Then, when an opportunity arose to cover the team on one of the biggest stages in sports, I didn’t even think about capitalizing on it. It never dawned on me to request a press pass for the World Series earlier this fall, which likely would have been granted since I write for a newspaper in the heart of Houston. But you know what? I don’t consider my absence an oversight and don’t feel like I missed out – and not just because the Astros struck out by losing to the Washington Nationals in Game 7 at Minute Maid Park. No, I just had too many other things going on, and too many other responsibilities, to worry about going to baseball games and fulfilling a childhood dream. I was too busy living out a more adult-like dream, and for that I am thankful. I’m grateful for the job I have
Adam
Zuvanich Editor
at The Leader, where one former sportswriter took a chance on another. Publisher Jonathan McElvy gave me the opportunity to return to my hometown a little more than a year ago, hiring me as editor, and I can’t thank him enough for doing so. I’ve enjoyed immersing myself into a vibrant slice of the city that I barely knew while growing up on the outskirts of town. Near Northwest Houston feels like home now, and sharing its stories has been an educational and exhilarating experience.
I’ve learned the ins and outs of real estate development, public education and city government while touching on hot-button topics such as homelessness, gentrification and the stray pet population. I’ve also gotten to write about food and beer, which are two of my personal passions, and I’ve even penned a little bit about the Astros from afar. I didn’t try to get an up-close look at the World Series because I was engulfed in covering my first election. Although it was technically my second if you count my second day on the job, which was Election Day in 2018. I also was in the process of purchasing my first home in October. That was one of my other big undertakings – and big blessings – during the last year. An even bigger life event – and a bigger blessing and much bigger responsibility – is on the horizon. Before the end of the year, I’m expecting
Lynn Ashby Columnist
p.m. on the Friday before a Labor Day or Guy Fawkes Day weekend. It’s jammed. When the Fourth of July falls on July 4th and it’s on a Wednesday, that presents a problem, just take off the whole week. Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday, so forget doing business on the following Friday. The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is a dead zone. I once had a newspaper job that began on Sundays at 6 p.m. -- 6 to 2 a.m. I was backing out my driveway at 5:30 on a Sunday afternoon while all the other fathers in the neighborhood were firing up their barbeques or coming back from a weekend at the beach. “Where you going?” they would ask. “Off to work.” But on the following days I would go to work earlier and earlier and by Thursdays I would leave work at 6, giving me almost a three-day weekend. Fire fighters and EMS workers often work straight through four days, so many of them don’t have to commute daily. They live five counties over and have an extra job. Here in Texas we have oil field hands who work offshore for a week, home for a week. If they work in Nigeria or Norway, it’s six weeks home and away. Actually, the five-day workweek is the spin-off of a six-day time in the trenches. In 1908, a New England mill expanded the one-day weekend to two days, Saturday and Sunday, to accommodate Jewish workers who observed the Saturday Sabbath. Less than two decades later, Henry Ford instituted a five-day workweek throughout his company and the idea caught on. Now we have pretty much settled on a fiveday, 40-hour schedule, although – facts stolen from other journalists’ research – there are a few examples of the shorter work period producing good results. In 2008, Utah switched most state employees to a workweek that consisted of four 10-hour days. An audit conducted before the state ended the practice in 2011 found that there wasn’t enough objective data to judge the effects on productivity. In Sweden, a two-year experiment found that nurses who worked 30-hour weeks spread over five days were happier and healthier than counterparts who worked a typical 40-hour week, although new workers had to be hired, so costs increased. Last year a New Zealand estate planning advisory firm with about 240 employees found that a trial four-day week had boosted performance. The two-month ex-
that she found out I’m becoming a father before she passed away. In a memorable moment of irony, my Grandmother made the following sarcastic comment about my beer belly when we visited her on Mother’s Day. “So how far along are you?” she asked with a sly grin, unaware that Christine was a couple months pregnant at the time. It made for a funny memory that I’ll always cherish, and it’s funny how things work out. I never set out to be a news reporter or a newspaper editor. And I never thought I would move back to Houston unless it was to take a job covering the Astros. But here I am, back home and writing about nearly everything except for baseball. For that, among many other things, I am thankful. azuvanich@theleadernews.com
THE READER.
Our man Friday THE FREEWAY – Look at them, lined up like weary soldiers in a chow line, bumper to bumper, hundreds of wage slaves trying to get home from work, but going nowhere. It’s like this every afternoon rush hour and, I assume, every morning rush hour, too. I try to avoid rush hours like the flu, jury duty and people who keep saying “Quid pro quo,” but this afternoon I find myself stuck here in traffic. At least it’s not raining. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute found that the average Houston commuter spent 75 hours annually stuck in traffic in 2017 -- 22 hours more than 10 years prior in 2007. The Institute’s 2019 Urban Mobility Report ranked the Houston area seventh for most annual hours of delay with 247.44 million total hours in 2017. The study also determined that peak congestion times in Houston are Mondays and Tuesdays at 5 p.m. and Fridays at 4 p.m. – like right here right now. The annual cost of congestion in Houston is roughly $4.5 billion, which is calculated by combining time and fuel spent. The region also ranked fifth among all urban areas for most wasted fuel. But what if you could cut your commuting time by 20 percent? It’s the four-day workweek, which has been talked about, even tried, but never seems to gather steam. The idea is simple: cram 40 hours of work into four days at your assembly line at the pig rendering factory and take off Friday. (Obviously no one would take off, say, Wednesday but skipping Monday might appeal to some.) You work 10-hour days, then bug out Thursday afternoon, thoroughly beat, but you have a long three-day weekend ahead. There are obvious problems with this arrangement. If the wig store, muffler repair shop or tattoo parlor is closed on Fridays, so is income. Will customers squeeze their shopping into Monday through Thursday and maintain the same weekly cash flow? Remember when Texas had blue laws, keeping department stores closed on Sundays? That way Sears and Neiman’s didn’t have to staff their stores on Sundays. Now they do. Did the expanded workweek hurt business and/or income? A lot of beauty parlors and barber shops close SundayMonday. Most museums are closed Mondays. Today a lot of people already work only four and a half days a week. Try ringing up a doctor or lawyer on Friday afternoons. “We’re sorry, but the Stitch & Staph Medical Center is closed. Please call us on Monday.” This is particularly prevalent on Fridays before a Monday-off holiday. Everybody leaves at noon on Friday, and one poor secretary is left in the entire office to answer the phone: “Mister Twister is in a meeting and ….” For proof, look at any out-bound freeway about 1
my first child along with my beautiful, loving, smart, funny and absolutely charming partner Christine. I literally cannot say enough good things about her, because she and our budding family are that special to me. The past year also has been trying at times, because I lost two people who also are special to me. My cousin, Philip Zuvanich, who would have turned 21 years old on Nov. 22, died in a car accident in Connecticut over the summer. A couple months later, our beloved Grandmother, Barbara Zuvanich, passed away as well. It’s still difficult to cope with those losses, but I’m grateful for supportive family members who have helped to ease the burden. I’m also glad I got to spend more time than usual with my Grandmother during the last year, which would not have been possible had I not been given the chance to come back to Houston. And I’m thankful that my Grandmother got to know Christine and
Let the squirrels have their carports
periment was so successful that the business, Perpetual Guardian, made the change permanent. Microsoft Japan reported that, in a trial, shortened weeks had boosted productivity by about 40 percent. What if everyone started taking off on Fridays? You can’t go shopping because all the stores would be closed. TGIT. Maybe you leave Thursday afternoon to lay sewer pipe and paint the barn at your farm outside Bastrop. I went to college so I wouldn’t have to lay sewer pipe and paint a barn, but a lot of my neighbors seem to love it. The freeways are jammed because everyone is leaving, too. Meantime, guess I’ll just stay here until this expressway is my official voting address. It’s starting to rain. Ashby is stuck at ashby2@comcast.net
Dear Editor: Jonathan, thank you for covering this debacle. It really needed the Leader’s attention. I have to disagree somewhat about this particular issue vs HOA performance in general. Yes, small HOAs and condo associations can really get out of their league fast. But OFHA has over 4,000 homes and access to any number of attorneys, accountants, real estate specialists, etc. in our community that a small HOA would not. Also, it is not that hard to realize that a decision like requiring the removal of a carport will have an impact upon the entire community, which is full of carports. OFHA also lost its NFP status recently for failure to file its annual reports with the Feds for multiple years. While that can happen to any new NFP or one under novice leadership, there also are resources available to prevent that. As an example, when I first moved into OF in 2016, I offered my services as an NFP-experienced bookkeeper on a volunteer basis to several board members after the HOA meetings, including to the treasurer. I did so at least twice at these meetings and gave my card as well. And when they were looking for assistance with putting the old deed restrictions and agreements for each part of OF into Word documents, I volunteered again. Never did I hear back from anyone to help them. I also trained for HPD Citizen Patrol, and several weeks later it was disbanded in favor of total reliance upon SEAL. This is in great contrast to my experience in a 300 home HOA at my previous Houston community, where anytime I offered assistance, I was immediately “voluntold” to a leadership role for whatever needed attention when all I wanted to do was lick and stamp envelopes. I understand that you have attended and covered many more HOAs than I have. Perhaps my experience is unique, but it seems like OFHA wants to
Email us your letters: news@theleadernews.com shoot itself in the foot. This is not like what I saw in 2016 and 2017. And my understanding is that some experienced folk on the board were not at all in favor of undertaking the carport issue in the manner it was done. Thank you for keeping things as balanced and transparent as possible. You are appreciated. Mark Madeley Dear Editor: Good article, I agree with the writers comments. I have been watching this play out on Nextdoor for the past few weeks and it has been quite a mess. Time to focus on more important things. David
Port Authority: Oak Forest resident challenges HOA on carport issue
Dear Editor: I’ve been in Oak Forest for close to 40 years, long before new people “discovered it” Back then it was a quiet, very low crime area. People did not try to dictate to their neighbors. They went to work and came home, minding their own business, you didn’t have a home owners association micro managing the neighborhood. It was peaceful and a hidden gem. Now, people who don’t want to live under the control of a suburban, tyrant HOA are buying into Oak Forest and bringing the same suburban HOA mind set with them. There are close to 5,000 homes in Oak Forest, longtime residents live here because we did not want to deal with the continuous hassle of being micro managed by people who think they know how to “improve” the neighborhood. We purposefully don’t live in suburbia for that reason. The roots and soul of this neighborhood are not founded on someone else’s idea of how they think YOU should live. Cynthia
the leader Puzzlers. Answers found in this week’s Classified section
SUDOKU
aCrOss 1. Employee stock ownership plan 5. Teaspoon 8. Type of IRA 11. Restore courage 13. Pet Detective Ventura 14. Discount 15. Where rockers play 16. Light Armored Reconnaissance (abbr.) 17. Computer manufacturer 18. Nomadic people 20. Liquefied natural gas 21. Steps leading to a river 22. Benign tumors 25. In an early way 30. Type of wall 31. Pop folk singer Williams 32. Greek Titaness 33. Expresses purpose 38. Type of school 41. Least true 43. Delighted 45. Church building 47. Replacement worker 49. A sign of assent
50. Semitic gods 55. Ancient kingdom near Dead Sea 56. Partly digested food 57. Fevers 59. Genus of trees 60. Midway between east and southeast 61. Jewish spiritual leader 62. Gallivant 63. Hideaway 64. Source
dOwn 1. Major division of time 2. Withered 3. Portends good or evil 4. Single sheet of glass 5. More long-legged 6. Scrutinized 7. Archway in a park 8. Oliver __, author 9. Ancient Greek City 10. Type of shampoo 12. __ King Cole 14. Adventure story 19. Satisfy 23. Disappointment 24. Evergreen shrub
25. Parts per thousand (abbr.) 26. Young snob (Brit.) 27. Midway between northeast and east 28. Chinese surname 29. Poplar trees (Spanish) 34. Electron scanning microscope 35. Actor DiCaprio 36. Equal (prefix) 37. Cartoon Network 39. Revealed 40. Remove lice 41. Supervises interstate commerce 42. Whale ship captain 44. Baited 45. Bleated 46. Swedish rock group 47. Air pollution 48. Carbonated drink 51. Swiss river 52. Ottoman military commanders 53. Type of job 54. One point east of southeast 58. Sex Pistols bassist Vicious
WORD SCRAMBLE
Page 4A • Saturday, November 30, 2019 • The Leader
Raid, from P. 1A
Meals, from P. 1A them.� The 10-member group is made up of sixth and seventh graders from St. Rose of Lima Catholic School, Frank Black Middle School and Hogg Middle School. Cooper Brown, Marcelle Crochet, Drew Davis, Ellis Derryberry, Isa Flores, Cameron Michels, Amelia Neiser, Connor Romero, Jackson Schultea and Nicolas Zamora recently served as greeters for the Kids’ Meals’ Annual Harvest Luncheon. They are also conducting an online toy drive for the four different Christmas parties that Kids’ Meals will host to accommodate all the families it serves. Derryberry, an FBMS student who is chair of the group, has been volunteering at Kids’ Meals since she was 6 years old. “It was important to me to become a Kids’ Meals ambassador because I have always enjoyed giving back to my community and helping those in
need,� Derryberry said. “Every day in Houston one in four preschoolaged children is unsure about their next meals.� Added co-chair Jackson Schultea, who attends St. Rose: “I didn’t know so many kids didn’t have food. Everyone deserves to eat.� Crochet, the group treasurer and a Hogg student, is going to help organize the upcoming Shipley Donuts run and fundraiser. “Childhood hunger is more of a problem than most people expect,� Crochet said. “Kids born with less money than others deserve food and happiness just as much as we do.� Davis, an FBMS student, is part of the events team. “We put together an Amazon wish list for the Kids’ Meals Holiday Party,� Davis said. “We are asking people to promote it and donate. We are also asking local schools and our families to promote it on social media.�
Davis has enjoyed making sack lunches at Kids’ Meals and taking photos with attendees at the Harvest Luncheon. “There is a lot of childhood hunger in Houston, especially the little kids that don’t go to school yet and can’t get any food,� Davis said. “I hope that through Kids’ Meals our team can help.� If you would like to help with the toy drive, visit https:// www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ ls/3DP2NBL3Q4THT?ref_=wl_ share. The ambassadors included items on the wish list for older children and teens, too, as many toy drives just focus on younger children. Adriane Schultea said the ambassadors are looking for ways to expand their circle and engage more helpers. “There’s no reason why other sixth- and seventh-grade students can’t help,� she said.
tion with the search. He deferred further comment about the arrests to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas. A spokesperson for the attorney’s office did not respond to multiple voicemails seeking comment and more information. “Because it’s part of an ongoing investigation, I’ve been instructed by the Department of Justice that I can’t go into details about what they’re collecting,� Hagan said. Employees at two nearby businesses said they did not know why authorities responded to the site. Karla Garcia, an
office manager at Jorden’s Air Conditioning & Heating next door, said she had not met the occupants of the building but noticed that sports cars had come and gone from the site during the last two months. Richard Salazar, an employee at Electron-x, an electronics store across the street, also said he had not had contact with the occupants of the building and had not seen anything suspicious. I’m really suprrised to see that,� Salazar said of the law enforcement presence. Follow Adam Zuvanich on Twitter @AZuvanich
Urban Axes, from P. 1A safe and controlled environment,� Paton said. “It’s got this primal appeal that is hard to substitute.� The sport of axe-throwing has seen a growth in popularity, due to its new accessibility. And because it’s usually something no one has ever done, the participants are usually on a level playing field. If you’re out bowling with friends and one or two have never played, it’s easy to guess who will win. But with axe-throwing, it’s more of a tossup. “Most people haven’t been axe-throwing before, and it’s really anyone’s game, which makes it appealing to everyone,� Paton said. The idea of throwing an axe and trying to hit a tar-
Local business is our business. Send your story of interest news@theleadernews.com
get can seem intimating to some, but Paton said that it’s easy to learn, especially since Urban Axes has what Paton calls “axepert� coaches who can teach anyone. To perfect the sport is more complicated. “For people that think they are going to be terrible, they are surprised at how much better they are than they thought,� Paton said. “That feeling of ‘Wow, I can actually do this.’ I think people are also surprised at how safe it actually is.� Paton recommends booking a group event for a twoand-a-half-hour window. That may seem like a long time, but with the training, playing and a tournament at the end, it flies by. Urban Axes is only for adults 21 and older.
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Photo by Adam Zuvanich Joe Socha, owner of L & L Seafood, a vendor at Eleanora’s Market, places canned food inside a donation box for the Houston Food Bank.
Market, from P. 1A Stephanie Koteras said. Fortunately for the hungry in the Houston area, people like Koteras helped the food bank restock its supply in time for Thanksgiving. Last Saturday she brought a bag full of canned goods to Eleanora’s Market, located in the parking lot of Cavatore Italian Restaurant at 2120 Ella Blvd. Eleanora’s Market, an artisan and farmers market that operates every Saturday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., placed four cardboard boxes among its 40 or so vendor tents to allow visitors to donate nonperishable items to the food bank. The market also posted a sign telling visitors how they could make monetary donations through their phones. Federico Cavatore, owner of the market and the restaurant where it is held, said he and market manager Amy Williams wanted to help at a time of need for the food bank. They already were exploring the possibility of becoming a regular collection
site for the Houston Food Bank, an arrangement they intend to finalize by next year. Grocery store chains H-E-B and Kroger also made large donations to the food bank after the ammonia leak. Bosiacki said United Airlines has pledged to match individual monetary donations. “Thank God the big companies stepped up and did it,â€? Cavatore said. “If we can do something to help, as little as it might be in the grand scheme of things, every little bit helps. ‌ So many families depend on these donations to celebrate the holiday.â€? The Houston Food Bank distributes goods to about 1,500 partners in the region, including food pantries, soup kitchens, social service providers and schools. About a dozen of those partnering organizations are in the area, including the food pantries at Heights Interfaith Ministries, Ministries of the Near Northwest Alli-
ance (MANNA) and St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. In an attempt to help those local organizations and the citizens they serve, along with the region at large, some of the vendors at Eleanora’s Market last Saturday made their own pledges. Third Born Ginger Beer, owned by Oak Forest resident Erin Simpson, donated $1 for every fourpack it sold. OTM Blades donated $10 for every custom knife it sold and $1 for every knife it sharpened. About two hours into the market Saturday, owner Theresa Morris said she had sharpened 34 knives. According to the food bank, it can provide access to three meals for every $1 donated. “With everything that they do and everyone they help out in the Houston area,� Morris said, “it’s one of those things where it’s hard for us to stand by and not do something to help out.�
DIRECTORY
Sunday Bible Studies For All Ages ... 9:30am t 8PSTIJQ &OHMJTI BN BN Morning Worship ............... 10:45am t -FBSOJOH )PVS BN QN MANNA Wednesday Bible Studies For Youth, Children t 8PSTIJQ 4QBOJTI QN QN 4QPOTPS and Adults............................ 6:15pm 8FTU SE 4U t )PVTUPO 5Y t
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By Pastor Willit Cover t goes without saying, but I’ll say anyway: “we have all Arise Baptist Church made mistakes.â€? As Alexander Pope so aptly put it: “To 803 Houston 77018 err is human, to Curtin forgive,St. divine.â€? WeTX should remember 713-659-9697 • www.arisebaptistchurch.org 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 e are entering a timeothers of holidays andmistakes, celebrations it can be hard enough to forgive for their it for many people in our country. can sometimes feel almost impossible to forgiveThanksgiving ourselves. is acannot holidaybring thatourselves we as Americans enjoyed We sometimes to forgivehave something for generations. Many forward to time we’ve done, and we maypeople punishare andlooking harangue ourselves spent with time off over fromyouthful work, a big feast, watching for years, or family, even decades, indiscretions. In addition, of usthe may not besales ableoftothe forget the and sins probof football,some catching biggest years, our past. Andothers although thatduring may prevent us from repeating ably many things this Thanksgiving weekend. them, must be charitable and will forgive ourselves, Therewe will be some people who struggle duringjust theasthis we should forgive others. we should make real effort time of holiday as theySo,remember loved aones who in they the coming and weeks to forgive theare offenses of to others have lost, days or close companions that unable be toasgether well as our own. helps just forget about because of Sometimes, the scheduleit or theto logistics. Either way, them; that is, towill try be to aput them outpeople of ourare mind andthinking stop Thanksgiving time when either repeatedly mullingorover Oneabout of the reasons we use happy thoughts sad them. thoughts something. the phrase “forgive anda forgetâ€? is because sometimes is When I was boy, I remember my motherthat saying, the only way to forgive, i.e., by forgetting. But far better, and “Don’t forget to say thank you.â€? She was reminding me to more divine, istotomy be able to forgive even while remembering be thankful grandmother for the wonderful Thanksthe offense. go of that those unforgiving, giving meal,So, or towemyshould familylet member gave me a special vindictive, aboutme thetopast, get over gift, or to shameful my friendfeelings who invited theirand birthday party. it!Most Corrie ten Boom, who survived incarceration a Nazi I people want to teach their children to beinthankful. prison “Forgiveness is tothat set abeing prisoner free, and think camp most said, people would agree thankful is imto realize that the prisoner was you.â€?
W
portant, it is also true that it is not always to be thankful
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depending what wewill are not going Bible says Judge not,on and you bethrough. judged;The condemn innot, Ephesians 5:20 “Giving thanks always for all things and you will not be condemned; forgive, unto God and the and Father in will the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.� you be forgiven...
I would encourage you, no matter how you feel during this holiday season toR.S.V. remember that you can be thankful to Luke 6:37 God. He gave up His only Son to die a cruel death on the cross so that anyone who trusts him can be forgiven of their sins and have eternal life. Don’t forget to say thank you!
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The Leader • Saturday, November 30, 2019 • Page 7A
Memorial Park Golf Course Review
Renovated course becomes a prize By Jonathan McElvy
Hole-by-Hole Review
jonathan@mcelvymedia.com When the city of Houston, the Houston Golf Association and the Astros Golf Foundation announced plans in May 2018 that they would move the Houston Open to Memorial Park, I bristled at the idea. For that matter, I wrote about my displeasure with an angry keyboard. “I’m a golf nut. I love the game, and I love it when I get the chance to play (PGA) Tour courses,” I wrote that same month. “I’m not sure Memorial Park should become one.” Last week, for the first time since the course was renovated by famed architect Tom Doak and player consultant Brooks Koepka, I had the chance to play Memorial. By-and-large, I was completely wrong when I questioned the decision. When the grass takes root, when the greens settle, and when the sand packs and the clubhouse is leveled and rebuilt, Memorial Park Golf Course will become one of the most prized possessions inside the walls of the 610 Loop. Good for Mayor Sylvester Turner for giving his endorsement. Good for the Houston City Council for approving the project. Good (and thanks) to Jim Crane, the Astros owner, for providing the cash. And, more than anything, good for Doak and Koepka for creating a golf course Tour players will enjoy and average golfers like me will stand in line to play. No, the course is not perfect, and some of the changes required to host a Tour event diminished wonderful characteristics of the 83-year-old course, but for those Houston residents who love the game and accessibility of Memorial Park, we’re the winners.
The Good
Tom Doak, who has designed courses like The Renaissance Club in Gullane, Scotland, Pacific Dunes in Bandon, Oregon, and Streamsong (Blue) in Florida, had to keep the public and the PGA in mind while renovating Memorial. He had to make the course more viewer-friendly, which meant galleries needed a place to observe. To do that, Doak had to remove a lot of trees, which will make the huggers angry. But what Doak really did is remove the rubbish and leave the prodigious trees that shape the 600-acre tract. And what he did even better was use those powerful oaks and pines to shift shot shapes, subtly change holes and create frames to holes that didn’t exist before. Above all else, Doak’s use of the trees to create a better course was utter genious. Where one oak got lost in a forest of saplings on No. 2, now that powerful tree stands guard over a revamped green. And speaking of greens, the complexes Doak created have drastically changed the course for the better. Gone are many of the greenside bunkers that are minced meat to professionals and nightmares for the amateurs. Instead, Doak (with Koepka’s advice) created run-off areas of shaved grass that test the top players and allow amateurs two or three options to recover from a missed green. Doak also must have taken a page from Pinehurst when he rebuilt the greens, where some of the edges (not all, like Pinehurst No. 2) are turtle-backs that penalize short or long shots. But what I found most wonderful about the revamped greens was that the entries to nearly every green allow for run-up shots, while the backs of the greens are more penal. It’s a brilliant decision because most amateurs are going to leave approach shots short, and more pros will be aggressive toward pins and tend to miss shots long. For the pros, that means they’ll either back off of approach shots, leaving longer birdie putts, or they’ll face all sorts of contours, uneven lies and some thick rough behind the greens. Meanwhile, amateurs can take a putter, 7-iron, hybrid or wedge and still have a chance at saving par. Another drastic change Doak made – for the good of the playing public – was removing water hazards that caught the shots of amateurs but would have fazed professionals not a single bit. On No. 1, there is no water to the left of the fairway. On No. 6, it’s bombs away down the fairway, where there are more contours in the earth, but no water forcing a layup. Other than the third shot on No. 16, I don’t think there’s a forced carry anywhere on the course (excluding the par 3s), and that will make Memorial a better course for amateurs. Last, Doak used streams and new water features to greatly enhance the aesthetics of Memorial Park. While I don’t like what he did on No. 15 (more on that later), he changed No.
No. 1
There are no drastic changes on this par 5, except the removal of the pond left of the fairway. The tee shot looks largely the same, and the second shot is whatever you have in the bag. The best change in this hole comes if you stand at the back of the green and take in the rest of the course. You can see holes, and terrain and the rest of the course right in front of you. Assuming you don’t card a snowman on the first and stomp off in anger, it’s quite a wonderful view.
No. 2 Dramatic change here with the green built to the left of the
ravine. The ravine needs a makeover (some strategically placed rocks will do the trick), but everything else is perfect. There’s an area to catch short shots to the right, including a fairly deep bunker. A left pin requires carrying a bunker. Behind the green is trouble, especially if the pin is cut in the back. One of those Pinehurst-like turtle backs, tight-cut grass and a swale to keep the ball from bounding into the rough will make this tough for the over-aggressive.
No. 3 This is where they used the trees perfectly. The tee box has been shifted about 20 yards to the left. By doing that, two old trees now force your drive out to the right. The hole is easier for those who play a draw, and it’s gettable in two, but most amateurs will find this a fairly easy hole while still a decent par 5 (it was formerly a longish par 4). No. 4 The tees were shifted to the right and backed up, and this once driver-low iron hole is now a monster, especially if the prevailing south wind is blowing. Before the renovation, it played around 375 yards from the white tees. Now it’s an absolute bear at 457 yards with an index of 1. The green now slopes from front to back, it’s been shifted a little to the right, and it has really neat pockets of small dunes behind the green. No. 5
This hole once had a shoot of trees (think Augusta’s 18th) from the tee, but they rarely affected the shot. Those trees, including the ones on the left side of the fairway, are gone. The hole isn’t much different, and it’s not difficult by any stretch, but this one lost some character in the redesign. I assume the trees were taken out to make room for a gallery.
No. 6
Besides filling in the pond that once forced a lay-up from the tee and a carry on the approach, the hole hasn’t changed much. I do like what Doak did down the left side of the fairway by creating almost a small valley short of the green.
Kevin Trimm hits a tee shot on No. 2 at the renovated Memorial Park Golf Course, which will host a PGA Tour event next year. Architect Tom Doak succeeded in making this a great public course tough enough for pros.
2 from a flip par 3 into a gorgeous hole where a ravine gives a rugged appearance. His use of water on No. 16, cutting in front of the green, forces players to make a tough decision, because even the layup is difficult. And the best use of water came on No. 17, where I’m assuming the pros will get forward tee boxes on a couple of days and have a chance to drive the par 4. Doak converted this hole into a winding snake around a lake, with the fairway sloping toward the water. In comparison to the old hole, this one now has a charming personality.
The Not-So-Good
Nearly every negative thing about Memorial Park has nothing to do with the redesign or the new concept of the course. But let’s go there first. The signature hole – the one they put on scorecards and websites – was the 15th, a reasonable par 3 that could require a difference of three or four clubs based on pin position and the wind. The lake in front of the green, with a brick bulkhead harassing shots just short, paralyzed amateurs in the most placid way possible. From the back tees, this hole was a monster. Gone, now, is that lake, replaced by a stream that seems to serve no purpose. I assume the Houston Open tournament director will shave the mound in front of the green, repelling short shots into the stream, but this hole lost its allure in the redesign. It’s now a benign par 3 that no one will mention when they leave the course. The other ho-hum design change was No. 13, once a boring par 5 that is now a boring par 4. This hole will be driveable for the pros, no matter which tees they use, and it’s always fun to have a short par 4 (the course now has at least two of them). But what makes the best short par 4s (like No. 17), is there’s a defined risk to go with the reward. I didn’t find any risk in No. 13. In terms of pace-of-play, Memorial used to be a course that could be had in just under four hours. Those days may be long gone for two reasons. First, the change in the green complexes (removing bunkers and adding more run-offs) may have taken the headaches of sand away. However, amateurs are going to struggle with the new way of playing chip shots. Many are going to have balls rejected back to their feet. Others are going to pull out a lob wedge and skink it across to the other side. That’s going to add more time to rounds. Second, three of the four – if not all four – par 5s on the course are reachable for the decent golfers, and there are a lot of those who play Memorial. What Doak did in this renovation is tempt a whole bunch of amateurs to sit in the middle of the fairway from 240 yards thinking
they can reach the par 5s in two, when they really have no chance of doing so. That means groups are going to wait on tees, and other groups from the previous hole will be in their carts, waiting on the group that hasn’t hit, which is waiting on the group in the fairway that will probably chunk a 3-wood 150 yards and still have a 140-yard third shot. That design change has likely added 20 minutes to most rounds. Every other negative takeaway from Memorial has absolutely nothing to do with the design. For starters, the course should not be open to the public right now. The grass is thin, and only getting thinner with the number of amateurs hacking up the place. The reason the course is open is because the PGA Tour requires tournament courses be open for a year before playing an event. So the Astros Golf Foundation and the city had no choice but to open the course for play. I think it’s going to make for a bad experience next year when the pros arrive, with thin grass and normal wear-and tear. The greens, naturally, need another year to settle before they’re true, but that will happen, and it shouldn’t be a negative. Next, one of the things Doak boasted about was the layer of sand underneath the grass now, which will help the course drain from normal rains in Houston. But I don’t think they sanded under the rough, where there was standing water from the morning sprinklers still there late in the afternoon. There are likely more projects to be completed, and it’s a sure bet the fairways will be fast and dry, but the new runoffs may be muddy long after the rains have passed. For amateurs, the tee time process is no better than before, and even a little worse. Tee times can now be obtained through an online system that opens at 6 a.m. three days in advance. We played on a Wednesday afternoon (don’t most people work?), and we logged onto the tee time website at 6 a.m. on the Sunday before. By 6:03 a.m. (a full three minutes), there wasn’t a tee time before 4 p.m. remaining. Maybe that’s not a negative, but it will still be difficult to play Memorial. And last, golfers or Beck’s Prime customers now have to pay $1 for every three hours of parking. I guess that’s not the end of the world, but I kind of left with a “why?” look on my face with the automated toll booths. Guess they need to pay for the course somehow. If the worst part of the course is the tee times (hello capitalism) and the parking lot, that means Doak, Crane and the city of Houston hit a home run. Memorial Park, when it grows and settles and gets its last coat of lipstick, will be the prize of the city. Well done.
No. 7 The second longest par 3 on the course still carries a ravine, but like many of the holes, a lot of trees down the left have been removed. The green is smaller, and a new bunker guards the ravine, but I actually think this hole will play harder. There are no more trees to save the wayward shot, a large dune short and right of the green will repel some balls, and a lot more folks will go looking for balls now that the trees are gone. This one is fun but still tough. No. 8 This is a real par 5 now – unlike before. The tee shot looks the same, though the tee boxes have been moved up to bring the trees on the right more into play. You can’t take the ball over the trees anymore, which forces you to play left. The greatest change was the shift of the green back some 60 yards into what was the old No. 9 fairway. There are two trees that frame the green, which you can really notice once you make it to the green and look back toward the fairway. No. 9 This former dogleg par 4 is now a 143-yard par 3 from the whites. What was one of the smallest greens on the course is now one of the biggest. From the back tees, they’ll be able to stretch it to almost 200 yards. It’s just too bad there’s a cart shed to the right, which isn’t the prettiest thing in the park. For the tournament, I assume they’ll have grandstands hiding the shed. No. 10
It’s still the same hole, with a prevailing crosswind. The bunker to the right of the fairway has been replaced by a large dune that will impact shots that just miss the fairway. There’s still a big bunker to the left of the green, but open chipping area to the right, where a lot of players miss. Getting up-and-down will all depend on your lie.
No. 11 I’m not sure why, but this long par 3, which will play nearly 240 yards for the pros into the prevailing wind, seems easier now. There’s still a tough bunker to the right of the green, but the redesign of the green makes it more accepting, and there’s still plenty of run-up in front.
No. 12
Like No. 8 earlier, this hole has only really changed with its green complex. Doak again used existing trees to form a shoot into the hole. Otherwise, there’s little that has changed, and it’s still a tough par 4.
No. 13
This one is the runt hole of the course. It’s like they built the course and realized they only had 17 holes, so they had to add one more. This is a straight, drivable par 4 with no risk and a lot of reward. Of course, when I played, I blew it in the trees right and made bogey. The good players won’t do that.
No. 14 While the shape of the hole hasn’t changed a lot, it has become a par 5 that will give even the amateurs a chance at birdie. They added 80 yards of distance by moving tees and the green back, but this one is a nice break before getting to the last few challenging holes. No. 15
If you read the accompanying story, you know how I feel about this hole. The former signature hole of the course is now a bland par 3. Doesn’t mean it’s a bad hole, and the elevated green is a change, but it won’t get you talking when you leave the course. I hope, during the Houston Open, the hill in front of the green is shaved so pros have to land on the hard green and try to hold it. Anything short is in the creek.
No. 16 The tee shot looks the same, and so does the second shot, until you realize there’s a stream cutting across the fairway about 30 yards in front of the green. What I love is that Doak made the layup a challenge by sloping some of the fairway toward the water. It’s not a huge slope, but it’s just enough to make you bail a little left. The peninsula green is a great change, and folks are going to love this hole almost as much as they love the next one. No. 17
For some reason, I think this is the best work of the whole course. With a sloping fairway and water jutting out in front of the slight dogleg right, Doak created all kinds of opportunities and challenges here. Miss a tee shot right and you’re swimming. Keep it in play, and you don’t have a long shot, but you’ve got a tough one. If you miss the green left, you’re chipping almost down a hill, and you can’t stop the ball close to a left-cut pin. If your approach is long, you’re chipping back toward water on a green that slopes that way. Good luck.
No. 18
I have to be honest. We were racing daylight on the last hole and we didn’t see much of a change, except for an elevated green and a tough bunker to the left. The tee shot, once a new clubhouse is built, will be scenic, but it’s a wide-open fairway, and a second shot that won’t create a ton of drama on the final hole.
THE PUBLIC. The Leader • Saturday, November 30, 2019 • Page 8A
Runoff for vacant Texas House seat set for January By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com
Anna Eastman and Luis La Rotta, the top two candidates in a crowded race for the area’s vacant seat in the Texas House of Representatives, have nearly two months to gear up for a runoff election.
Gov. Greg Abbott recently announced that Jan. 28 has been set as the runoff date for three special elections for open Texas House seats, including the District 148 seat vacated by Democrat Jessica Farrar in September. Fifteen candidates campaigned to replace Farrar, with Eastman and La Rotta re-
ceiving the most votes in the Nov. 5 election. Eastman, a Heights Democrat, led all candidates by receiving 20.3 percent of the 20,659 votes cast. La Rotta, a Republican, received 15.8 percent of the vote. Early voting for the runoff begins Jan. 21.
Legion post taking donations From Staff Reports American Legion Post 560 in Garden Oaks is collecting toys for the Houston Blue Santa program, an annual initiative by the Houston Police
Department to provide toys to children in need during the holiday season. Legion members and supporters, along with community members, are encouraged to drop off new, unwrapped
toys for children who are infants through age 14 at the post’s Blue Santa Depot Box at 3720 Alba Rd. The box will be available for dropoffs from noon-8 p.m. every day through Friday, Dec. 13.
Another break-in at St. Rose From Staff Reports Five months after collection money was stolen from a safe at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, it is dealing with the aftermath of another break-in. In an email to parishioners, Father Rafael Becerra said a break-in attempt was made at about 9 p.m. Nov 20 at the church, located at 3600 Brinkman St. He said administrators arrived afterward to find broken glass in the window of the chapel’s exterior door. “Thankfully no entry was made and nothing was stolen,” Becerra wrote in his Nov.
21 email. “... We were blessed that no members of our St. Rose family were affected in last night’s incident.” The church was burglarized in June, when according to the Houston Police Department, one or two males gained entry through a window and stole an undisclosed amount of cash from a safe that contained collection money. “Plans are already in discussion for additional security measures that can be implemented in and around our campus,” Becerra wrote in his latest email to parishioners. In the meantime, Becerra
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Holiday home tour Dec. 6-7
Heritage Classical Academy, a proposed tuition-free public charter school, plans to open in your neighborhood in the Fall of 2021.
JOIN US FOR INFORMATION MEETINGS TO LEARN MORE! TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3 · 6 - 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY, JANUARY 11 · 9:30 - 11a.m. WHITE OAK CONFERENCE CENTER 7603 Antoine Dr., Houston, TX 77088
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Harvard St. and the Wright home at 440 Heights Blvd. Tickets are $25 and available online at http://stores. houstonheightsstore.org/ products.php. They can be picked up on either day of the tour at the Heights Fire Station, 107 W. 12th St. Shuttles to and from the homes will be available at the fire station.
P R O P E R T I E S
Five festive homes in the Heights will be showcased next weekend during the 30th Annual Houston Heights Association Holiday Home Tour. According to a Facebook post by the Houston Heights Association, this year’s tour is scheduled for 6-9 p.m. Fri-
day, Dec. 6 and 3-9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 and will feature a restored Victorian home, a quirky original cottage and three renovated craftsman bungalows. They are the Deisch home at 525 W. 18th St., the Kirksey home at 1133 Arlington St., Sara’s Bed and Breakfast Inn at 941 Heights Blvd., the Starr home at 1811
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From Staff Reports
721 Sue Barnett, $500s Jason Knebel, 713.232.9712
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PLEASE RSVP hcawhiteoak.eventbrite.com or call us at: 713.914.9778 Like Us on Facebook: Heritage Classical Academy Houston HERITAGE CLASSICAL ACADEMY admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, athletics and other school-administered programs.
1717 Gardenia, $800s Amanda Anhorn, 713.256.5123