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Saturday, December 14, 2019 • Vol. 64 • No. 49
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Heights residents seek traffic calming By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
Heights resident Cara Drake, who lives at Oxford Street and 4th Street, has seen a big increase in traffic since a new Courtyard by Marriott hotel opened nearby. More recently, her concerns were heightened when she said her middle school son took a header off his bike into a ditch in an effort to get out of
the way of a speeding car on the street and ended up in the emergency room. “This is an adult-sized human being who can’t even ride his bike safely to school,” Drake said. “I’ve seen cars go nose first into the ditch by the hike and bike trail because they don’t know it’s there.” Drake talked to others in the area with similar concerns about vehicle traffic and pedestrian safety.
In a November letter to Houston Public Works, Harvard Street resident Aimee Woodall said that since the construction on the Yale Street Bridge and the addition of an exit between Studemont Street and Heights Boulevard, traffic had increased exponentially and cut-through was occurring at unlawful speeds. Woodall related an incident in which a driver was speeding See Traffic P. 7A
Photo by Adam Zuvanich A pedestrian crosses 11th Street through traffic earlier this year.
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Photo by Melissa Larriviere Wolfe prepares to land in the water while catching a competition stick thrown by his owner, Oak Forest resident Steve Scholtes, during a dock-diving competition earlier this year in Brookshire. Wolfe was adopted from Friends For Life Animal Shelter.
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Heights lights. A popular holiday event is happening this weekend in the Heights.
Page 2A
Spicy. A restaurant serving Nashville-style hot chicken is coming soon to the Heights.
Page 3B
Area dog takes remarkable path to national competition By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com His adoption profile at Friends For Life Animal Shelter said he had “off the charts potential.” But not even the people who wrote that about the pup could have imagined how far he would go, especially so fast. The progression of the dog they called Duke – who was later renamed Wolfe by the Oak Forest couple who adopted him in July 2017 – is out of this world. So is his jumping ability. Wolfe arrived at the no-kill shelter in the Heights along with his stray mother and five siblings. He was there for nearly a month before being adopted on a whim by Steve and Judith Scholtes, who wanted a fuzzy, cuddly companion during a trying time for their family. Two-and-a-half years later, the Scholtes have helped the black Shepherd mix become one of the best dock-diving dogs in the United States. Wolfe was invited to compete in the 2019 North America Diving Dogs/American Kennel Club National Championships this weekend in Orlando, Florida, where the springiest pooches in the country
Contributed photo Oak Forest residents Judith and Steve Scholtes are taking their dog, Wolfe, to Orlando, Florida, this weekend for a national dock-diving competition.
will dart down a runway and soar 20 feet or more into a pool of water. “For him to make that arc from abandoned stray puppy to dockdiving champion is pretty fantastic,” said Pam Newton, adoption manager at Friends For Life. “It’s very unusual.” Their experience with Wolfe (pronounced Wolfie) has been just as remarkable for the Scholtes, who were not looking for a competition dog and didn’t know they had one until about seven months ago. Training Wolfe to be a therapy dog was the initial objective of Judith Scholtes,
See Wolfe P. 7A
See District H P. 7A
Candlelight Lane’s annual dinner knits neighbors together By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
THE INDEX. Calendar/Church. ............................. 5A Classifieds.............................................. 4B Coupons. ................................................. 6A Food/Drink/Art................................... 3B Obituaries.............................................. 5A Opinion. ................................................... 4A Public Information......................... 2A Puzzles...................................................... 4A
who said her pup had been working with Stephanie Bennett of Believe in Dog Training since the fall of 2017. After seeing Wolfe fetch a ball thrown into a pool at a dog park, Bennett suggested the Scholtes try dock diving. So they took Wolfe to the Houston Dog Ranch, where dock diving instructor Michele Scarantino quickly realized the Scholtes had a natural on their hands. That was in the spring, when Wolfe started competing in dock
Karla Cisneros and Isabel Longoria, who are competing for the District H seat on the Houston City Council, are worlds apart in terms of their styles and campaign strategies. But while they are political opponents for the first time, their worlds have been colliding for decades. Cisneros and her husband, Tim, were architecture graduate students at Rice University in the early 1980s when L o n g o r i a ’s Cisneros father, Rafael, also was studying the subject at the school. Rafael Longoria now is a professor at the University of Houston, and over the years he has periodically invited Tim Longoria Cisneros to architectural events and to be a guest lecturer. “It’s kind of funny,” Isabel Longoria said. “She knew me when I was a very little girl.” The current relationship between Karla Cisneros and Longoria, who are both Democrats, is more of an acquaintanceship than a friendship. They are opponents in a runoff election Read about the that will be decided runoff candidates Saturday, Dec. 14, for District A when polling places across Houston Page 7A will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Cisneros, the incumbent, did not receive enough votes on Election Day Nov. 5 to avoid a runoff but still led a four-candidate field by receiving 38.2 percent of the 13,200 votes cast. Longoria was second, receiving 27.2 percent of the vote. “It’s hard to get a majority,” Cisneros said. “I’m really pleased that I was the top vote-getter. Actually, I was the top vote-getter for mail-in ballots and early voting and for the day of, so I feel
Photo by Betsy Denson From left to right are Liz Manchester, Dorothy Pickens and Whitney Davis, with baby Grier Davis.
When Candlelight Lane started its inaugural progressive dinner in 2006, Oak Forest resident Karin Poulos had to ask what a progressive dinner was. Thirteen years later, as one of the organizers of the roaming community feast, she knows the tradition very well. “We do the flyer for it right after Halloween to remind everyone that it is the second Sunday in December,” Poulos said.
The flyer not only is a savethe-date but also a request for hosts for either the appetizer, the salad, the main course or the dessert. Participants walk from home to home for each course of the meal. “The easy courses go fast,” Poulos said with a laugh. Poulos, who has lived in her house since 1978 – and bought it because she said it was “cheap” – is not the most tenured Oak Forest resident on her street. Not by a long shot. That honor goes to 91-year-old Dorothy Pickens,
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who is one of the two so-called “Oak Forest originals” on the street along with Bill Price. Pickens has lived on the street for 69 years, long enough to remember when it was gravel and residents had to pay $50 each to get the street paved in front of their house. The progressive dinner was her idea. Pickens was noticing all the new people moving in, along with all the children. Her husband, Thomas, died in 2010 and her See Dinner P. 6A
Installing Now Lights Yard Ornaments Christmas Trees