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Inside Today: High school graduation coverage • Page 1B
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Saturday, May 30, 2020 • Vol. 65 • No. 22
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New trail could help area cyclists ride west By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com
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Contributed photo Representatives from the Spring Branch Management District and Houston Parks Board study a route for a trail in West Houston.
Fred Zapalac rides his bicycle from Oak Forest to the Heights and back on a daily basis, utilizing the White Oak Bayou Greenway to commute from his home to the cycling shop he owns on Yale Street. In a few years, some of his neighbors might be able to commute by bike all the way to Houston’s Energy Corridor. Or perhaps they’ll ride out west just for fun. Construction began last
week on a new hike-and-bike trail in Spring Branch, which has been a missing link in the city’s growing system of interconnected paths for cyclists and walkers. The long-term goal of the project, which is being funded by the Spring Branch Management District and executed by the Houston Parks Board, is to connect the White Oak Bayou trail to the east with the Addicks Reservoir trail to the west. “I think it’s a game-changer for our city,” said Zapalac, the owner of Blue Line Bike Lab
at 1504 Yale St. “Not only does that open it up for recreational riding, but if it gets out to Addicks, it opens it up for safer cycling commutes for people inside the loop who want to commute out to the Energy Corridor. Right now, there’s no way to get out to the Energy Corridor.” Such a multi-modal future is a shared vision between the Spring Branch Management District (SBMD) and the parks board, which collaborated afSee Trail P. 8A
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Contributed photo John and Dorothy Artz were surprised to be recognized by their neighbors for their recent 66th wedding anniversary.
INSIDE.
Oak Forest couple celebrates 66th anniversary Super Tex-Mex. We review Superica, the Heights restaurant with its own spin on Tex-Mex.
By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
Page 7A Photo by Adam Zuvanich U.S. Army veteran James Williams, foreground, stands at attention during Monday’s Memorial Day celebration at the Heights World War II Memorial Plaza.
Veterans’ service, diversity celebrated at Heights war memorial By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com Online art. The Archway Gallery’s annual juried art exhibition is going virtual this year.
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Spruced up. The Rainbow Lodge recently updated its interior and exterior.
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Summer fun. What can your kids do this summer? Lots. We provide a rundown.
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THE INDEX. Church....................................................... 4A Classifieds.............................................. 5A Coupons. ................................................. 3B Food/Drink/Art................................... 7A Obituaries.............................................. 4A Opinion. ................................................... 3A Public Information......................... 4B Puzzles...................................................... 3A
When he joined the U.S. Army in 1950 – at 15 years old – Sgt. Maj. James Williams said he was not allowed to eat in the same mess hall or sleep in the same barracks as most of his fellow soldiers. His superiors did not even refer to him by his military title, even though his rank already was the lowest it could be. “I was not called ‘Private Williams.’ I was called ‘N—– Williams,’ ” he said. “We did not have the same privileges the whites had.” Williams, 84, said he is the last surviving member of the Buffalo Soldiers, which is what the Army called its group of black soldiers who trained and served separately from their white counterparts from 1866 until around the time that Williams joined. He eventually moved up within the ranks of the 101st Airborne Division, serving four years in the Korean War and four combat tours during the Vietnam War. And 70 years after being treated
Photo by Adam Zuvanich U.S. Army veteran Charles Williams acknowledges the crowd during Monday’s Memorial Day celebration at the Heights World War II Memorial Plaza.
like a second-class soldier, Williams was the guest of honor in a Memorial Day celebration hosted by his representative in the United States Congress. The Third Ward resident received a proclamation from U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee during her Monday morning ceremony held at the World War II Memorial Plaza in
the Heights, where about 50 community members gathered in observance of the holiday. Williams provided one of the most rousing moments during an event that also included Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and State Rep. Anna Eastman, prompting the
The suggestion for a 60th anniversary gift is a diamond. The Internet just stops giving suggestions for ways to mark the years after that – but that didn’t stop John and Dorothy Artz’s family from celebrating the occasion. On May 21, the 66th anniversary for the Oak Forest couple, their children collaborated on a sign and drive-by parade of neighbors and well-wishers outside their home on Du Barry Lane. “They were surprised,” daughter Emily Wilkins said. “They kept asking who that was that was honking. We just told them ‘the neighborhood.’” Wilkins said her parents’ house has flooded four times since they have lived there. “(With) the last flood (from Hurricane) Harvey (in 2017), several neighbors they had never met came to help get their house back together,” she said. “So they are well aware of how awesome our neighborhood is.” Heights natives and graduates of Reagan High School, John and Dorothy met on a blind double date – with other people. Dorothy left her purse in John’s car so he would have to bring it back to her. They got married at St. Michaels Episcopal Church, now Hope Episcopal, on Chantilly Lane and West 43rd Street. “In the parish hall as the sanctuary was not yet built,” Wilkins said. When asked what the secret was for a long-lasting marriage, John said that first you have to have a good wife. “And you have to live long enough,” he added.
See Veterans, P. 8A
Heights student surprised with much-needed scholarship By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com
Alexis Villarreal already has made plans for college, but she’s not quite sure how she’s going to pay for it. She has been unable to log hours at her two jobs, because they were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, so the Heights High School senior has been especially strapped financially. Thankfully for Villarreal, who plans to attend Texas State University in San Marcos in the fall, she got some much-needed help Wednes-
day morning. She is one of 10 recipients of Houston ISD’s Superintendent Scholarship and received a surprise home visit from interim superintendent Grenita Lathan, who presented Villarreal with a giant check for $5,000. Almost an hour later, Villarreal had yet to put it down. “I can’t work right now, so it’s been so stressful,” she said. “But this kind of helps me keep going. It gives me a boost just to start off with. Once I start working, I think I can do it.” Villarreal’s family has faith in her, and so does Heights
principal Wendy Hampton. She nominated the young Oak Forest resident for the scholarship because Villarreal already has persevered through adSee more versity that graduation most high coverage on school students could Page 1B not imagine dealing with. Villarreal said she was sexually abused when she was younger, and about three years ago she became mostly See Scholarship, P. 4A
Photo by Adam Zuvanich Heights High School senior Alexis Villarreal, left, received a $5,000 scholarship Wednesday morning from Houston ISD interim superintendent Grenita Lathan.
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