Leader March 19

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Historic Heights church selling property

By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com

Heights Christian Church, a community gathering place for more than a century, is selling its historic property and merging with another congregation.

Rev. Amber Mattingly, the pastor at the church at 1703 Heights Blvd., said Tuesday that dwindling membership and financial resources prompted church leaders to vote in early Febru-

ary to merge with First Christian Church, which operates across from Rice University.

Mattingly said the decision also was made to move out of the property on Heights Boulevard, which includes educational buildings as well as Lambert Hall, a 95-year-old performing arts venue that is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The 42,600-square foot property, which covers the block between 17th and 18th streets on the west side of

Heights Boulevard, was listed for sale about two weeks ago, according to Mattingly, who said the church brought in a grief counselor to help its 14 members cope with the development.

“Even though it was a good decision, there’s a lot to be mourned,” she said.

Leonard Wilkin, the board chair for Heights Christian Church, did not immediately Contributed photo respond to a Tuesday voice- Heights Christian Church, 1703 Heights Blvd., is selling its property See Church P. 4A

and merging with another church near Rice University, according to its pastor.

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INSIDE. Contributed photo Young children test their drumming skills during a previous Heights Kids’ Day of Music celebration. The 2022 event, the eighth annual HKDM, is set to take place from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, March 26 at Love Park, 1000 W. 12th St.

Heights Kids’ Day of Music set for next weekend Kudos for Carol. A city administrator from Timbergrove received a public service award.

By Landan Kuhlmann

Page 4A

An annual event celebrating music and the arts and bringing that passion to young Houstonians is right around the corner.

The 8th annual Heights Kids’ Day of Music (HKDM) is set for March 26, according to a news release. It will be from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Love Park, 1000 W. 12th St., in the Heights.

The event is free and open to the public. Interested attendees can go online and print admission wristbands beforehand at tinyurl.com/HKDM2022-wristbands.

Wristbands also will be available at the gate on the day of the event.

“Families get to meet people from organizations like Houston Grand Opera and MECA and hear about the programs they have specifically for kids and families,” HKDM president Christi Gell said. “Our goal is for families to start attending these organizations’ events, bringing younger audiences to arts performances, and

North stars. A new set of sculptures decorates Heights Boulevard as part of True North.

Page 7A

landan@theleadernews.com

Contributed photo The Heights Kids’ Day of Music will feature activities such as hands-on experiences with local musical groups, including the Joy of Djembe Drumming group.

See Kids’ Day P. 5A

Local band rocks out for charitable cause

By Adam Zuvanich On the move. Central City CoOp must relocate and is searching for a new home.

Page 1B

THE INDEX. Church....................................................... 4A Classifieds ............................................. 5A Coupons .................................................. 3B Food/Drink ............................................ 1B Obituaries.............................................. 7A Opinion .................................................... 3A Public Information......................... 4B Puzzles ..................................................... 3A Sports ........................................................ 8A

Gonzalez: Allegation of domestic abuse ‘all politics’

azuvanich@theleadernews.com

Bruce Godzina is an immigration attorney by day.

For one night last week, the Heights resident got to be a rock star.

The principal of Godzina Law Firm, PLLC, 965 Pinemont Dr. Suite 1000, also is the drummer for a local band called The Wonderfolk. They performed March 10 at White Oak Music Hall as part of the second annual Law Rocks Houston, a battle of the bandsstyle competition in which lawyers put on a concert for charity.

“It was really cool,” Godzina said.

“We did not win this year, but I’d say we came pretty close.”

Godzina and his seven-piece cover See Wonderfolk P. 5A

Contributed photo The Wonderfolk, a local cover band that includes a Heights resident and four Oak Forest-area residents, performed March 10 at White Oak Music Hall as part of Law Rocks Houston.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez and his wife both have pushed back against a years-old, unsubstantiated allegation of domestic abuse that surfaced last summer and was brought up last week in the United States Senate, which is considering whether to confirm Gonzalez as the director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

A planned vote on Gonzalez, a Heights product who has twice been nominated to lead ICE by President Joe Biden, was Gonzalez scrapped last week by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at the request of fellow U.S. Sen. James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma.

Lankford made the request in a letter that cited an affidavit filed last July in an employment discrimination lawsuit against Houston Community College. In the affidavit, a former campus police officer claims to have interviewed Gonzalez’s wife, Melissa, a former vice chancellor at HCC, about her husband “allegedly becoming physical or violent with Mrs. Gonzalez because of her romantic relationship with the Chancellor (Cesar Maldonado),” a defendant in the lawsuit.

Melissa Gonzalez disputed the allegation in a March 7 statement posted to Twitter by a Bloomberg reporter, saying, “Any suggestion that I filed or made a complaint against my husband is false and defamatory.”

Added Ed Gonzalez in a Tuesday text message to The Leader: “It’s false, all politics.”

The affidavit was filed July 30, 2021, about two weeks after Gonzalez, a Democrat, answered questions during a confirmation hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The committee voted along party lines to confirm Gonzalez, but the full Senate did not hold a vote on his nomination last year, allowing it to lapse, and Gonzalez was re-nominated in early January by Biden.

A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. A White House official told the Houston Chronicle last week that Biden stands by his nomination of Gonzalez, saying he “should be confirmed without delay.”

No civil or criminal allegations have been made against Gonzalez, and no charges have been filed, according to the Chronicle.

Lankford nonetheless asked for the vote to be delayed, reportedly writing in his letter, “It would be irresponsible for the Senate to vote on the confirmation of Sheriff Gonzalez to be Director of ICE until we determine See Gonzalez P. 3A

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THE TOPICS. The Leader • Saturday, March 19, 2022 • Page 3A

Ukrainians need refuge, so don’t pull up gangplank THE FRONT PORCH – My nextdoor neighbor is standing here, holding her iPhone and trying to tell me something. Apparently the instrument doesn’t work, but I can’t understand her. She says, I think, that she is trying to call her daughter, who is a doctor and works in a local hospital along with her husband, who is also a doctor.

“I speak not gut Hinglish, but speck French.” OK, my neighbors across the street are French Canadians.

Maybe if the truck convoy from Ottawa will let me through, I can solve this problem, but the lady with the phone says, I think, that the daughter comes by every evening to take her to supper, so that problem should be solved shortly.

As Strother Martin said to Paul Newman in “Cool Hand Luke,” “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” It is also a quick reminder that Houston is the nation’s most diversified city. And if history is any guide, we are about to get even more diversified, so learn how to speak Ukrainian. Unless you are still trying to vote in the Texas primaries and haven’t been following the news (thanks, Gov. Abbott), there has been an awful invasion of Ukraine by the Russians. More than a million Ukrainians have been fleeing their country, currently to Poland, Moldavia and Romania. It is safe to assume that (1) the Ukrainians don’t want

Gonzalez

LYNN ASHBY Columnist

to stay there, but may not want to return to a country destroyed and occupied by an enemy and (2) the Moldavians & Co. really can’t handle all those refugees. So where do they go? Houston!

For a look at the future, let’s look to the past – the Afghan evacuation.

Over 76,000 Afghan evacuees have been brought to the U.S. Hundreds others are awaiting security clearance elsewhere and may soon arrive. Number of Afghans who may be eligible for some sort of U.S. visa: As many as 265,000.

Funds obligated for the evacuation and resettlement of the Afghan refugees: More than $3.3 billion.

Coming to America is a well-worn path, because the U.S. always takes the lion’s share of United Nationsreferred refugees accepted for permanent resettlement. According to U.N. data, between 2010 and 2014, the U.S. alone resettled 71 percent

of all refugees.

I’ll break that down: Out of every 1,000 resettled U.N. refugees, more than 700 come to America.

And 75 of those 700 find their way to Texas. More of those come to the Houston area than to anywhere else in Texas: Nearly 40 percent of Texas’ refugees land in Harris County. This means that Harris County alone welcomes about 30 of every 1,000 refugees that the U.N. resettles anywhere in the world -- more than any other American city, and more than most other nations. If Houston were a country, it would rank fourth in the world for refugee resettlement. Incidentally, Fort Bend County is the most ethnically diverse county in the country with 20 percent Asian, 24 percent Latino, 22 percent African American and 34 percent Anglo.

In the past, not all refugees have been welcomed, at least not at the Texas Governor’s Mansion. In 2020 Gov. Greg Abbott announced that Texas would not accept new refugees that year, making Texas the first state to reject resettlements under a new rule from thenPresident Donald Trump. He had signed an executive order saying that states and municipalities must give written consent before refugees can be resettled there. Gov. Abbott wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, “Texas has carried

from P. 1A

whether the allegations outlined in the attached affidavit are true.”

Fredrick Portis says in the affidavit that he worked as an HCC police officer from 2014-17 and at one point was called to the office of Maldonado, who “spoke up and said that Mrs. Gonzalez wanted to file a complaint against her husband, Sheriff Gonzalez, because of suggested violence she had experienced at her home at the hands of the sheriff.”

Portis also says in the affidavit that Maldonado refused a request to leave the room during an interview with Melissa Gonzalez, whom Portis says was coached on what to say by Maldonado.

Melissa Gonzalez said in her March 7 statement that the “assertions referenced

in the affidavit … are completely false.”

Oak Forest resident Jason Spencer, a former spokesperson for Ed Gonzalez, wrote on Twitter last week that a story about the domestic abuse allegation was pitched to “every news outlet” in Houston in the days leading up to Gonzalez’s July 15 confirmation hearing and that none decided to publish it.

“No one in a city with a competitive news market where anyone would love to be first to report allegations of domestic violence against the sheriff,” Spencer wrote. “They spiked the story because it didn’t pass minimal journalism standards. Let that sink in.

“And yet,” Spencer continued, “our U.S. Senate is

on the verge of letting Republicans torpedo a true servant leader’s appointment to a post that’s critical to our nation’s health, based on a weak allegation that journalists in newsrooms across our city determined wasn’t fit for publication. I have no idea what happens next with (Gonzalez’s) nomination. But I do know that his family deserves better than this ugly process.”

Local

business is our business.

Send your story of interest

azuvanich@theleadernews.com

The Houston Fire Department, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and Houston Arboretum & Nature Center will seek to minimize the risk of wildfires at the arboretum by intentionally setting fire to approximately 3 acres of the meadow area in the western portion of the sanctuary.

HFD and the arboretum, located at 4501 Woodway Dr. on the west side of Memorial Park. announced Wednesday that a prescribed fire will be conducted on one day between March 21-April 21, depending on weather conditions. The date of the burn had yet to be determined as of Wednesday.

A previous prescribed fire was conducted in March 2021 on 7 acres of the savanna area, according to the arboretum.

“Prescribed fires are precisely planned endeavors which safely mimic the essential fire cycle and are a common land management technique for improving resiliency and diversity of native habitat,” the arboretum said in a news release. “Periodic burns also mitigate the risk of destructive wildfires by reducing the ‘fuel load’ in the designated

area - dead trees, leaf litter and other flammable vegetation.”

The meadow area to be burned, near the intersection of Woodway Drive and West Loop 610, will be closed to visitors during the prescribed fire. The fire department asked residents not to call 911 if they see smoke or other signs of fire near the area on the day of the planned burn.

HFD asked drivers to reduce speeds and use headlights when smoke is present, and said fire and police personnel will be present during the fire.

The fire department also said it will be coordinating with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Houston Health Department to monitor air quality during the burn.

“We can assure the community that the prescribed burn will be conducted within predetermined boundaries and prioritizes the safety of the public and the firefighters,” Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena said in a news release. “The plan we are following also minimizes the effect of smoke in any residential and smokesensitive areas.”

For more information, visit https://houstonarboretum. org/prescribed-fire/.

Contributed photo A prescribed fire is planned for the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center in Memorial Park.

Club of Houston and a Ukrainian Honorary Consulate. (If you really want to help, there is an algorithm to join the Foreign Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine.) Our new arrivals will enjoy comfort food. Going online, I find “30 Best Ukrainian Restaurants in Houston,” if they haven’t already been invaded by “10 best Russian Restaurants in Houston.” However, officials with Refugee Services of Texas said they are not sure whether Texas will see a similar influx of refugees from Ukraine. Over the years, many were directed to settle in North Dakota. To this day that state has towns named Ukraina and Kief. Between 1992 and 1997, a total of 107,916, or an annual average of 18,000 people, who had been born in Ukraine, immigrated legally to the U.S. By 2019, there were 1,009,874 Ukrainians or their descendants, 0.3 percent of the American population living in the U.S. So be prepared to welcome scads of Ukrainians to Houston.

On TV they seem like nice, hardworking people, and will fight, except for the Ukrainian soldier who deserted. He is now known as “Chicken Kiev.” Oh, as for my next-door neighbor? She says she’s a translator. I think.

Ashby communicates at ashby2@comcast.net

THE READER. Analysis of primary election is flawed according to reader Dear Editor: Regarding 3/12/2022 article by Adam Zuvanich: Primary problems suggest …

Your analysis of the Harris County primary election process is somewhat flawed. Your article for the most part takes the typical head-inthe-sand approach. You conclude by suggesting a “Capable, qualified political independent” be appointed to the administrator role. I suggest that there is no such thing. Anyone desiring the position wants it either for the money, as a political stepping stone, or, news flash, to influence the process. You quote spokesperson Leah Shah as she criticizes the law passed by the Legislature. Do you really believe it is the prerogative of the office of administrator to publicly criticize the law rather than administer it? The same can be said of Isabel Longoria who has been very vocal opposing any election integrity legislation. The voters elect representatives, the representatives hear the pros and cons and decide on the laws. The administra-

tors are responsible for carrying out the laws.

We now live in a time where the administrators (bureaucrats) feel they are the ones who should run the show. After all, they hold themselves up as the experts.

The 2020 election was seriously manipulated (I didn’t say stolen) using Covid as a pretext for allowing Zuckerbucks funded experts into what is by law a government process. Search “Zuckerbucks” and you will see it spelled out in many of the mainstream news feeds (Wall Street Journal, Belo, New York Post, Washington Examiner, et al.). Heaven forbid that you would look deeper in such horribly tainted publications such as the Federalist, The Spectator, and Real Clear Politics. This is what is being attempted in the Texas urban counties so that the cities can overwhelm the rest of the state. This is why the laws must now prevent administrators from altering the election laws by unauthorized fiat.

I have faith that even with these election integrity laws, Lynn Ashby will still somehow figure out how to vote!

Robert Talley

Email us your letters: news@theleadernews.com

news@theleadernews.com

Prescribed fire planned for Houston Arboretum

By Adam Zuvanich

more than its share in assisting the refugee resettlement process.

Since FY2010, more refugees have been received in Texas than in any other state. In fact, over that decade, roughly 10 percent of all refugees resettled in the United States have been placed in Texas.” And, in the 2018 fiscal year, he wrote, apprehensions included people from China, Iran, Kenya, Russia and Tonga. This makes us sort of special because more than 40 other governors of both parties had said they were willing to continue accepting refugees.

Some disagreed with Gov. Abbott. Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, wrote: “Turning away those seeking safety and opportunity isn’t just disheartening — for Texas, it’s bad business.” Citing a 2015 study

by New American Economy, he wrote that refugees in Texas “had a combined spending power of $4.6 billion and paid a total of $1.6 billion in taxes” that year. Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, a refugee resettlement group, said in a statement, “This is a shameful decision

by Gov. Abbott which is unworthy of the great state’s reputation for being big, bold and hospitable.”

Assuming Gov. Abbott allows Ukrainian refugees to land in the Lone Star State and specifically in Houston, they will find we have the Ukrainian American Cultural

THE LEADER PUZZLERS. Answers found in this week’s Classified section

SUDOKU

ACROSS 1. __ blache: Freedom 6. Plan 12. A jolt 15. ÒDoonesburyÓ character 16. Inspiring with love 17. Blood type 19. Anno Domini 20. Janet Reno held this post 21. Arab Republic of Egypt 22. Midway between south and east 23. Sodium 24. Twitches 26. Not loud 28. Hindmost 30. Be quiet!

31. This gives you money 32. Check 34. Short-term memory 35. Askew 37. Platforms 39. Towards the mouth 40. Copied 41. Emerges 43. Menial laborer 44. Chinese sword 45. Energy unit 47. Unhappy 48. The Golden State (abbr.)

50. External 52. Strayed 54. Liquid body substances 56. Plutonium 57. Truckers use this 59. Largest English dictionary (abbr.)

60. Beloved British princess Lady __ 61. The Bay State (abbr.)

62. Thallium 63. Rebuilt 66. Element 67. The law of retaliation 70. Cuts 71. Mexican monetary units

DOWN 1. Mothlike insect 2. Equally 3. Flightless birds 4. Grilling tool 5. When you plan to arrive 6. Thoroughfare 7. Philosophical life force 8. Birds 9. Anxious 10. ManÕs title 11. Issued

13. Prayer leader 14. Edible red algae 15. Hitters need this 18. Froths on fermenting liquors 25. A two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle 26. Amount (abbr.)

27. Small amount 29. Fundamental quality 31. Cubage unit 33. Bleated 36. No longer is 38. Initial public offering 39. Hard to interpret 41. Highly skilled 42. The woman 43. A bachelor has one 46. Trial prints 47. Passover feast 49. Military forces 51. Plant part 53. Remake 54. Flanks 55. Swiss river 58. Ottoman governors 60. Vale 64. Encountered 65. One track circuit 68. Opposite of yes 69. Hello (slang)

WORD SCRAMBLE

Page 4A • Saturday, March 19, 2022 • The Leader

Memorial Hermann, BlueCross BlueShield reach agreement

By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com

The Houston region’s largest hospital system and Texas’ largest health insurer ended their contractual standoff March 11, announcing they had reached an agreement for a four-year contract renewal that will keep healthcare costs lower for their mutual customers.

A previous agreement between Memorial Hermann Health System and BlueCross BlueShield of Texas (BCBSTX) had expired March 1, meaning Memorial Hermann patients with BCBSTX insurance had to pay out-of-network costs or find new doctors in order to pay in-network prices for medical services. Memorial Hermann has more than 3,000 physicians in its system and operates more than 265 healthcare facilities, including Memorial Hermann

Church

Greater Heights Hospital at 1635 N. Loop W. Now that the two parties have reached a new agreement, Memorial Hermann said in a statement on its website that in-network access has been restored for patients with “BCBSTX commercial PPO/POS, EPO, Blue Essentials HMO and Medicare Advantage HMO/ PPO health plans.” BCBSTX said in a statement that the agreement also will expand “future access to Memorial Hermann providers for our Blue Advantage HMO members.”

“We have great respect for Memorial Hermann,” BCBSTX added. “The health system has an important and vital role in delivering care to our members and patients.

We are happy to continue our longstanding relationship with the health system.”

For Memorial Hermann patients and BCBSTX cus-

tomers who might have received out-of-network services during the 10-day period when a contract was not in place, Memorial Hermann said those patients should call the member services phone number on the back of their BCBSTX member identification cards. The hospital system also said HMO patients who switched primary care providers during the break in in-network coverage, who wish to transfer back to their previous provider, should call the BCBSTX member services number as well.

“We are reinstating members/patients with no lapse in effective date; and most, if not all, the claims will be reprocessed,” BCBSTX spokesperson Carrie Kraft wrote in an email.

Although their monthslong negotiations did not produce a new agreement before the previous one ex-

del, an artist and arts teacher who died in February at age 87.

“We would like to carry out her wishes and our passion.

However, we’re facing this new dilemma,” Knapp said.

“No one has a home any more (at the church). We’re trying to find a place.”

Mattingly said the last Sunday service for Heights Christian Church is scheduled for May 15, and her future with the congregation also is unclear after that point. Because of the impending merger with First Christian Church, which she said has about 30 members and an interim pastor, she said she has not been guaranteed a job once the merger is complete.

Heights Christian Church plans to use the money from its property sale to help with its new ministry, Mattingly said, and also to support charitable causes.

Mattingly, who joined Heights Christian Church

about a year ago, credited her congregation with trying to keep the church going and find new members. It held virtual services during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed in-person services last Easter, and she said the hope at the time was that membership would start to increase again.

But that did not happen, Mattingly said. And when the need arose to do maintenance work on the property, she said it became clear that the church did not have the required resources.

“The pandemic really kind of took the wind out of them,” Mattingly said. “They worked really hard to continue meeting online and keep up the mission of the church. They just are really exhausted.

They thought in coming back together and meeting together, ‘Things will be different and we’ll have more life and energy to do things.’ But that has not been the case.”

File photo Memorial Hermann Greater Heights Hospital, located at 1635 N. Loop W., serves Heights-area neighborhoods as well as the Garden Oaks and Oak Forest areas.

pired, both the health system and the insurer both said they had remained committed to working out a deal.

“BCBSTX’s commitment to the sustainability of our health system, our physician

said. “It is our distinct honor and privilege to continue delivering these services as in-network providers, for all those who need us, for many more years to come.”

from P. 1A

mail seeking comment. Mattingly said the leadership at the church, founded in 1912, intends to find a buyer that will continue to use the property in service to the community.

As for the fate of the tenants of the property, including a Spanish-speaking congregation, an art studio, a ballet studio and a nonprofit opera company, that remains unclear. Mattingly said the organizations that rent space at Heights Christian Church have been asked to vacate by the end of July.

Opera in the Heights, which has conducted performances at Lambert Hall since 1996, did not immediately respond to a Tuesday email seeking comment.

Lori Knapp, the office administrator for Art Studio on the Boulevard, which has operated on the church campus for nearly 30 years, said it hopes to continue in honor of founder Naomi Smulian Men-

Contributed photo The 42,600-square foot campus at Heights Christian Church, which is for sale, includes educational buildings as well as Lambert Hall, a 95-year-old performing arts venue on the national register of Historic Places.

Timbergrove’s Haddock earns public service award from UH

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

A local resident and City of Houston administrator recently won an award for public service from the University of Houston.

Carol Haddock, a Timbergrove resident and the director of Houston Public Works, was one of five honorees named as the University of Houston Master of Public Administration Program’s public officials of the year, according to a news release from the city.

The program is meant to recognize those who “exemplify strength in ethical decision making; a commitment to the welfare of citizenry by reaching beyond personal, professional and political motives; and an innate ability to encourage and maintain supportive re-

lationships across jurisdictional boundaries,” according to the release.

Haddock has worked for the city for 17 years, according to the announcement, and was promoted to Director of Public Works in 2017. She worked with almost 4,000 employees to provide services to the community during last February’s winter storm, the city said, while implementing new safety protocols throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, among other changes.

“Carol is very much deserving of this award,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said.

For more information on the city’s Public Works department, visit the department’s website at HoustonPublicWorks.com or follow it on social media Photo courtesy City of Houston @HouPublicWorks.

Houston Public Works director Carol Haddock, a Timbergrove resident, recently received a public service award from the University of Houston.

3 THINGS TO ALWAYS DO

By Pastor Will Cover

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

R

network, and our Accountable Care Organization is integral to the health and wellbeing of the many communities we have proudly served for more than a century,” Memorial Hermann

ejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks. These three statements found in 1 Thessalonians chapter five give us things we are to be doing always and all of the time. Yet, these three things seem impossible to do all of the time.

How can you rejoice evermore?

How can you pray without ceasing? How can you give thanks in everything? The ability to always rejoice, to continually be in prayer, and to give thanks in everything can only come out of a correct understanding of God and His plans for your life. Many people struggle with their relationship with God because the demands that God places on a person’s life can sometimes see unreasonable or unnecessary.

To better understand these commands, it is important to read

the phrase that comes immediately after. The Bible says, “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” When you understand that God is perfect, has all power, and His ways are best you can rejoice evermore. When you understand that God listens and answers prayer and that He truly wants what is best for you it is possible and desirable to pray without ceasing. When you understand that God is in control of every situation and He is bringing things together for good to those who love Him and obey Him, you can give thanks in every situation knowing God has allowed it and will help you through it for your good and His glory. Always rejoicing, always praying, and giving thanks in every situation are impossible things to do if we don’t have a personal relationship with God and choose to walk closely with Him. I hope you will consider what you should be always doing and how you can have these things in your life!

LEGAL NOTICE Application has been made with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission for a Mixed Beverage Permit by Juan M Fukuda DBA Pacha Nikkei LLC, to be located at 10001 Westheimer Rd. Suite 1040, Houston, Harris County, TX 77042. Officer of said corporation is Juan M Fukuda, Chief Executive Officer.

LEGAL NOTICE Original application has been made with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission for a WINE & MALT BEVERAGE RETAILERS ON PREMISE CERTIFICATE with a FOOD & BEVERAGE CERTIFICATE by SBR RESTAURANT GROUP LLC d/b/a Chilosos Taco House, located at 701 East 20th St., Houston, Texas 77008. Officer of said company is Samantha Farias Contreras, Owner/Manager.

CHURCH D I R E CTO RY

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Sund Ministries for All Ages www.fbcheights.org www.lazybrookbaptistchurch.org for the following: Home of Johnson Memorial School for Little Children Rev. Nathan Lonsdale Bledsoe, Pastor 4215 Watonga Blvd. • 713-681-9365 Wed Sunday Services: @ 11 AM 2003 W. 43rd St. 713-686-8241 s t s u m cIn-person .org Houston, TX 77092 (Live stream during service) Bible Studies: From Homepage, click on 1822 W. 18th • 713-864-1470 Connect/Small Groups Sunday Worship 10am & 5pm Sunday Bible Classes 9am Wednesday Bible Study 7pm

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Online services can be reached through the website below at 9:00 am. www.gethsemanelutheran.org

OV

t goes with made mista err is huma this the next t must learn fro to repeat them it can be hard can sometime We sometimes we’ve done, a for years, or e addition, some our past. And them, we mus we should forg the coming da as well as our them; that is, repeatedly mu the phrase “for the only way t more divine, is the offense. S vindictive, sha it! Corrie ten prison camp s to realize that

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The Leader • Saturday, March 19, 2022 • Page 5A

Kids’ Day from P. 1A thus starting that lifelong engagement.”

Heights Kids’ Day of Music aims to inspire kids to have a lifelong love of and engagement with music and the arts, the release said, by introducing them to the talents of local musicians and arts organizations.

According to the release, the annual event draws more than 3,200 attendees to the Heights each year from more than 60 different zip codes in the Houston area.

Back this year, the release said, is the Creative Zone, with 35 Houston-area organizations. Musical guests such as Uncle Jumbo, Steel Vibrations, Bayou City Drum and Bugle Corps, and Blaggards will be among the main stage performers. They will also be joined by organizations and artists such as Bach to Rock Memorial, Ahiri Indian Music Academy, Houston Youth String Orchestra, Opera in the Heights, MECA, Open Dance Project, Cass-Barrington Irish Dancing, HITS Theatre and The ARTZ ariel dancing.

Among the other attractions available to attendees will be the Instrument Experience Zone, where attendees can see and hear different types of instruments. There will also be a “Joy of Drumming” tent with performances and hands-on experiences with the Joy of Djembe Drumming group, and the “Just Add Beats” tent where attendees will learn about music production technology and how to record and mix sounds.

“I love watching families experience new styles of music and dance at our festival,” HKDM Board member Megan Jackson said. “They walk away with a new connection to the arts in our local community.”

Visit www.heightskidsdayofmusic.org for more information, or follow the event on Twitter @HKDMHouston and Facebook at facebook.com/heightskidsdayofmusic/.

Contributed photo Young dancers perform for the crowd during a previous Heights Kids’ Day of Music celebration.

Contributed photo Kids will get to have hands-on musical experiences during the Heights Kids’ Day of Music on March 26.

Contributed photo HKDM will feature more than 30 local groups and musical artists.

Wonderfolk from P. 1A band – which includes Oak Forest-area residents Andy Bost as a bass player; Cameron Clark on the banjo and keyboard; Nick Karam on guitar, mandolin and backup vocals; and Frans Sluiter on lead guitar – played six songs during a 30-minute set in front of about 100 of their family members, friends, neighbors and coworkers. They performed their own rendition of “Wagon Wheel,” along with popular songs by Brandi Carlile, Dolly Parton, Fleetwood Mac, Radiohead and The White Stripes.

The Wonderfolk also raised more than $12,000 for Houston-based nonprofit BakerRipley, their charity of choice. The five bands participating in the Houston event combined to raise more than $100,000 for charitable causes, Law Rocks director Omi Crawford said in a news release, with Pro Hac Vice repeating as the event winner.

Law Rocks started in London in 2009 and has since raised more than $4 million for nonprofit organizations around the world. The concert in Houston will be followed by seven additional Law Rocks events this year, with the next two shows scheduled for San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The participating bands, which must include at least one attorney, are judged based on donations collected, sponsorships, ticket sales and musical performance. Members of The Wonderfolk said they started their fundraising effort in late January, with supporters making online donations through the Law Rocks website (lawrocks.org).

“I think every one of us had different avenues to find donations,” Sluiter said.

“We have to credit a lot of friends, family and neigh-

bors as well that contributed … also colleagues in our companies.”

The same group of supporters were part of the crowd on hand to watch The Wonderfolk perform. Karam said crowd response was a criterion considered by the panel of judges and that his band excelled in that regard.

The Wonderfolk were formed in 2016 by Bost, Karam and lead singer Heidi Kaim, all of whom at the time had children attending St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, 1819 Heights Blvd.

Kaim was a music teacher there.

Karam said the Americana and Indie Folk Rock band, which mixes in some 1990s hits as well, plays most of its gigs in the Greater Heights. The Wonderfolk have performed at Lights in the Heights and Platypus Brewing as well as at events hosted by the Houston Heights Association and local schools.

Their next show is scheduled for 10:30 a.m.-noon Sunday, March 27 at the Bayou City Arts Festival at Memorial Park.

The Wonderfolk also plan to play next year’s Law Rocks event, and they intend to win.

“It was a good learning experience,” Karam said.

“We definitely would do some things differently, getting people engaged earlier and fundraising earlier.

I think we felt very good about our performance. We did about as a good of a job as we could have done.

It felt really good, we had a lot of fun and were doing something good for the community, so that made it even more fun.”

For more information about The Wonderfolk or to book them for an event, visit thewonderfolk.com.

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The Leader • Saturday, March 19, 2022 • Page 7A

Art Valet: New sculptures on view along Heights Boulevard MITCH COHEN Art Columnist

There are eight new sculptures on Heights Boulevard if you hadn’t noticed. The contemporary sculptures by Texas artists are part of True North 2022. True North installs temporary sculptures each year and is currently on view through December.

True North is named for the compass bearing of Heights Boulevard and the sculptures are installed on designated spaces along the Paul Carr Jogging Trail that spans the tree-covered Heights Boulevard between Interstate 10 and 20th Street.

Always visible to passing motorists, according to a news release, many hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors to the Heights see the True North exhibits each year. The sculptures are best viewed up close, where people can often be seen snapping photos of the sculptures.

The eight 2022 participating artists are Houston’s Rachel Gardner (Heights), Guadalupe Hernandez and Israel McCloud. From elsewhere in Texas are Elizabeth Akamatsu of Nacogdoches, Art Fairchild of Dallas, Suguru Hiraide of Wichita Falls, Will Larson of Austin and Jim Robertson of Trinity.

For the unknowing passerby, the eye-catching sculptures often elicit intrigue to jawdropping comments ranging from, “Oh my gosh,” to blank

stares. That may just be me, but I love a good, “What the heck is that?” sculpture in my neighborhood.

In addition to True North’s mission of installing temporary sculpture exhibits, it is also to advance the accessibility, understanding and enjoyment of contemporary art for the community and general public.

Each sculpture has a story and inspiration behind it, of course. For the Heights artist Gardner, her oversized “Night Hare,” in the 900 block of Heights Boulevard, was inspired by the disconnect to nature in our modern world.

“Our modern world does not require physical interaction with the wild and its creatures,” Gardner said. “As city walls form around us, there is a loss of connection to the natural world and ultimately to ourselves as human beings. … I am challenging the viewer to journey beyond their concrete walls and connect to something greater than themselves.”

Art Fairchild’s “Sphericity” may be the jaw-dropper this year. Located in the 1300 block of Heights Boulevard, Fairchild’s sculpture “Sphericity,” is made of over 350 linear feet of 3.5” mild steel tubing and freely rotates on a vertical axis.

“The driving force behind my work is the interaction and intricacies of shape, form and balance: contrasting simplicity with complexity,” Fairchild said. “My designs range from simple forms to intricately detailed compositions. Familiar themes include repetition of elements and mathematical arrays. They are often kinetic,

Photo by Kolanowski Studio Rachel Gardner’s “Night Hare” watches traffic from 900 Heights Blvd.

Photo by Kolanowski Studio Art Fairchild’s sculpture “Sphericity” is made of mild steel tubing.

both apparent and virtual. I combine rigorous engineering, aesthetic intuition and selfimposed parameters to shape my works.”

True North is organized by an all-volunteer team.

The 2022 team members are Donna Bennett, Gus Kopriva, Dean Ruck, Chris Silkwood and Kelly Simmons. The team works in cooperation with the City of Houston Parks and Recreation and Public Works departments and the Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, along with the Houston Heights Association — its nonprofit sponsor and the longtime benefactor of the historic boulevard’s esplanade.

The project is underwritten entirely through private donations from art and communityminded individuals, businesses and professionals who wish to support the popular public

the sculptures on True North’s social media and website, www.houstonheights.org. Follow True North on Facebook @Tr ueNor thHeightsBlvd and Instagram @truenorthheightsblvd.

Woodland Heights Home Tour set for March 25-27

art project and its ongoing success.

Take a leisurely stroll down the historic Heights Boulevard and immerse yourself in nature and art first or after you read about all the artists and

Cohen is an artist and founder of the First Saturday Arts Market and the Market at Sawyer Yards. Find him at ArtValet. com for additional highlights and artist’s stories.

IN MEMORIAM

Charles Ridge Floyd February 5, 1963 - November 1, 2021

C

harles Ridge Floyd was born on February 5, 1963, to Norma Jean Hess Floyd and Rep. Paul Whitfield Floyd, Jr. in Houston, Texas.

He left us all too soon on November 1, 2021. Ridge graduated from Waltrip High School, where he was a Ram Handler, and from The University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Communications. A performer since birth, Ridge started taking piano lessons when he was 18 months old. He joined the Singing Boys of Houston as a child and performed throughout Europe. Ridge toured the world as a classical concert pianist, served as Music Director at Camp Stewart and headed the Hill Country Children’s Choir at Camp Waldemar (both in Hunt, Texas). Ridge released three CDs of his compositions — Japonica, FM 1340 and Live at the Alamo — and was profiled on the Texas Country Reporter feature Piano Across Texas. His artistry extended to landscape architecture, and through his company In the Garden, Ridge designed and installed some of the most stunning gardens in Texas. Friends and fans knew Ridge as wickedly funny, fiercely loyal, a musical prodigy and a living treasure. Ridge loved the Hill Country, Nurse Jean’s beef stroganoff, composing and performing his music, and making everything beautiful.

Music should whisper to your soul, stirring visual images like a brilliant garden blowing in the wind, color and emotion set to certain life-giving rhythms – C. Ridge Floyd

A celebration of Ridge’s life will be held at St. Philip Presbyterian, 4807 San Felipe Street in Houston at 11:00 am on March 25, 2022. Those attending are asked to bring a new pair of socks for collection and donation to displaced individuals, just as Ridge had done on his own throughout Houston. In lieu of sending flowers, please consider a donation to your local shelter. Ridge is survived by his brother James M. Floyd and his niece Lyla Kathleen Floyd and nephew Harris Edison Floyd. Ridge’s parents and older brother Paul W. “Chip” Floyd, Jr. predeceased him.

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

An annual event aimed at showcasing the restoration and renovation of homes in the historic Woodland Heights neighborhood is gearing up for its 2022 rendition after a year away.

After the event was scrapped last year due to COVID-19, the Woodland Heights Home Tour will be back later this month, according to a news release from the Woodland Heights Civic Association (WHCA).

Six homes in the neighborhood, which was originally platted in 1907, will be available to the public for viewing March 25-27. There will be a preview from 4:30-7:30 p.m. March 25 and tours from 12:30-5:30 p.m. March 26-27.

Homes at 404 and 420 Bayland Ave., 505 Byrne St., 628 Omar St., 3524 Pineridge St., and 729 Redan St. will be part of this year’s tour, which will benefit the WHCA. The theme of this year’s tour is “Past Meets

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Page 8A • Saturday, March 19, 2022 • The Leader

SOCCER ROUNDUP

Waltrip girls clinch second straight district crown

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

The road to the District 23-5A girls soccer crown continues to run through the Oak Forest area.

Waltrip High School beat Milby 5-0 on March 9 to clinch the district title, then defeated Northside 7-0 on Saturday to cap the regular season. It is the fourth district title in the last five seasons for the Lady Rams, and the program’s eighth consecutive playoff appearance.

Waltrip finished the regular season with an 20-4-2 overall record and 14-0 mark in 235A and will await their firstround playoff opponent out of District 24-5A. Five different players scored goals for the Lady Rams against Milby, while goalkeeper Kimberly Flores made five saves to secure the shutout. Joselin Cardentey had a hat trick against Northside, while Triniti HymesRichardson found the back of the net twice.

Over the course of the regular season, the Lady Rams piled up 16 shutout wins out

of their 20 victories. They were even better in district competition, shutting out 13 of their 14 opponents while outscoring teams by a cumulative total of 81-1.

And while the goalkeeper Flores might get attention for the final shutouts, head coach Adam Ramirez said one of the biggest reasons for their defensive success is the Lady Rams’ strong back line.

He credited fullbacks Isabel Saldana and Aydis Avilez as well as center backs Katherine Luna and Ally Cole for consistently shutting down opponents.

“Most teams don’t get very many shots off, let alone good shots,” Ramirez said. “… I strongly believe we have a pair of center backs that are extremely elite. I’d put them up against anyone.”

Other girls action Scarborough’s Lady Spartans are also on top of their district once again, taking down Yates (via forfeit) and local rival Booker T. Washington to clinch the program’s sixth consecutive district championship. They finished the regular season 11-6 over-

all and 11-1 in District 23-4A. The Lady Eagles’ loss to Scarborough was their only game last week.

Meanwhile, Heights’ Lady Bulldogs played second-place Lamar to a 1-1 tie in their only match of the week on March 8.

Boys The Heights Bulldogs beat Chavez 3-1 on March 7 before finishing their season with a 1-1 tie against Westside on March 12. Heights ended their season with a 5-9-1 overall record and a 5-6-1 mark in District 18-6A. Waltrip has secured a playoff berth for the third consecutive season, courtesy of a 2-1 win over Houston Sterling on March 8. The Rams finished the regular season 8-101 overall and 8-5 in District 23-5A, good for the district’s fourth and final playoff slot.

Scarborough (11-2, 7-1) has already clinched its second consecutive District 23-4A crown, but had its scheduled regular-season finale – originally slated for last Friday – rescheduled to next Monday, March 21 due to inclement weather.

Contributed photo Waltrip’s Joselin Cardentey tries to control the ball during a match earlier this season. The Lady Rams clinched their second straight District 23-5A title with two more wins last week.

BASEBALL/SOFTBALL ROUNDUP

Lady Eagles continue strong start

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

The Booker T. Washington High School softball team continued its hot start last week, bouncing back from a March 5 loss to Furr by recording a pair of victories.

The Lady Eagles won by forfeit over Worthing on March 9, then blasted past local rival Scarborough 23-2 last Friday, March 11 to move to 5-1 on the season. It is already the second time this season that the Lady Eagles have scored at least 20 runs, and they’re averaging better than 16 runs per game when they take the field.

Washington is next scheduled to play Yates in a district contest next Wednesday, March 23.

Heights’ Lady Bulldogs split a pair of District 18-6A games last week, dropping a 4-1 decision to Lamar on March 9 before doubling up Chavez 2010 on March 12. Four players had multiple hits for Heights (16-7, 4-2 district) in the win over Chavez, led by freshman Helen Maddux’s four hits and Laila Robins’ 3-for-5 performance with a double, a triple and five RBIs. Ava Martinez went 3 for 5 with two doubles and four RBIs, while Kennedy Hill had two doubles and three RBIs. In private school action, St. Pius X’s Lady Panthers went 3-3 at the Rattler Tournament in San Marcos on March 1012, moving to 7-10 this season. The Lady Panthers will be back in action March 22 against Bellaire Episcopal.

Scarborough, meanwhile, dropped to 0-3 with the loss to Washington.

Baseball The St. Thomas Eagles had an up-and down week, going 2-3 at the Brenham tournament March 10-12 to drop to 7-7-1 entering play this week.

Jacob Cueva, Luke Edgecomb and Billy Theroux each had two hits in an 8-7 win over Cedar Ridge on March 11, while Jaden Dashautelle drove in two runs. Edgecomb also had two hits and Cueva had two RBIs in a 13-11 loss

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against Willis earlier that day, while Jack Mathis threw a complete game in the Eagles’ 9-1 win over Katy Morton Ranch on March 10.

St. Pius X ran its unbeaten streak to four games with a 10-0 win over Houston Math, Science, and Tech on March 10, improving to 6-41 as pitchers Cason Evans, Kyle Winkler, Trent Caram and Carson Hintz combined to strike out 11 Tigers in the shutout. Austin Brown had three hits and two RBIs, while

Jackson Mobley had three hits and Ethan McMinn added two.

The Panthers and Eagles were scheduled to meet Tuesday night in the TAPPS district opener for both teams.

In public school action, the Heights Bulldogs went 1-1-2 at the Fort Bend ISD tournament last weekend. They defeated Huntsville 5-4 and tied Fort Bend Dulles 2-2 on March 10, then dropped a 9-2 decision to Katy Taylor on March 11 before tying Katy Jordan 4-4 on March 12. Darien Cantu and

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Charlie Maddux each homered against Huntsville for the Bulldogs (5-5-2), while Lukas Gillen had two hits against Dulles and R.J. Robinson homered against Taylor.

Heights was scheduled to play Chavez both Monday and Tuesday to open up its District 18-6A slate.

Waltrip is 5-4 this season following an 11-1 win over Austin on March 9, improving to 2-0 in District 23-5A play.

Booker T. Washington (1-12) was idle last week.

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The Leader • Saturday, March 19, 2022 • Page 1B

Central City Co-Op relocating brick-and-mortar store

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

When Central City Co-Op opened its brick-and-mortar store at 420 E. 20th St. in the Heights in July 2020, shortly after the local onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jessica Wilt said she and her husband, Erick, knew the terms of their lease meant a fairly abbreviated stay.

“We knew at any time we would have a 60-day window where the landlord would move us out of that space (if they found somebody else who wanted to move in),” she said, adding the co-op had a license agreement during the pandemic. “My feeling was that we would have until about June, so we were working on contingency plans.”

That time to move has come quicker than initially anticipated. In a recent newsletter, the Wilts announced the co-op must be out of their Heights location by April 14. So now they are looking for a new location.

“The possibility has always existed, but in the current climate we didn’t think it would be so abrupt,” Jessica Wilt said.

The organic co-op has existed for 23 years, serving as a place where co-op members as well as other members of the community can find farm-fresh produce and other food items. For a time, it operated out of Ecclesia Houston just north of downtown, and then Grace Lutheran Church, which later became Kindred church in the Hyde Park area.

Ever since moving into the Heights

Photo from Facebook Central City Co-Op, which provides farmers and members of the community a place to buy and sell organic produce, must move out of its 420 E. 20th St. location by April 14 and is looking for a new home.

spot in July 2020, Wilt said the endeavor was meant as a “proof of concept,” that a co-op could not just survive, but thrive - and it has. Whereas it used to be open just once a week, Central City Co-Op is now open six days per week and has about 400 members and up to 90 purveyors and farmers – with more applying to work with them on a daily basis.

“There are lots of pop-up markets, but there are very few markets that can really support farmers,” Wilt said.

“It’s the premiere way for small and micro farmers to get their food sold.”

She and her husband, she said, are looking at properties – both potential rentals and purchases – for the relocation. And because the co-op is a labor of love for her and her husband, they are dedicated to continuing serving the community and its organic food environment as best they can no matter where they end up.

“We have done this because we feel Houston needs this and our farmers need it,” she said. “Our members want to support that type of ecosystem.

We’re supporting a hyperlocal system.

We’re here for the long haul.”

Moving forward, Wilt said the goal is for the co-op to be taken out of its incorporated conservatorship and restructured back into the tried and true, member, employee, farmer, rancher, maker-owned co-op and grocery that it began as more than two decades ago.

Wherever they land, she said, See Co-Op P. 2B

Review: Pappa Geno’s offers flavors of Philly

By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com

I have never set foot in Philadelphia and therefore have never eaten a cheesesteak sandwich in the City of Brotherly Love. So I cannot claim to be an expert about how they are made or how they should taste.

But I am otherwise wellversed in Philly’s well-known culinary export, having tried a variety of different cheesesteaks from a variety of places that make them.

And, oh brother, let me tell you about the ones I’ve eaten at Pappa Geno’s Steak & Cheese, the small, counterserve shop in a strip center at 1801 Ella Blvd. They’re hot, melty, oh so flavorful and, if the folks in Philadelphia do them any better, I’d be surprised.

I’d eaten a couple times before the pandemic at the Tim-

bergrove/Lazybrook location, one of six in the Houston area, and decided to return earlier this week for the purposes of putting together this review.

Pappa Geno’s specialty is the aforementioned Philly cheesesteaks, and it also serves cheesesteak-style fries, burgers, other hot sandwiches and “chicken choices,” including a chicken Philly, a grilled chicken salad and a chicken tender basket.

I of course got one of the seven Philly cheesesteak options, which all come with sliced, seasoned and grilled steak with cheese on a big, soft, slightly toasted hoagie roll. There’s a classic Philly made with Cheez Whiz, others that come with melted provolone or white American cheese, a Texas version made on Texas toast, a “works” with all sorts of toppings and two kinds that come topped with brown gravy.

I opted for the “Wicked Philly,” which was spicy and made me go “Wow!” The hoagie roll was filled with steak, sauteed onions and white American cheese - standards on a Philly - as well as what Pappa Geno’s refers to as Italian hot oil peppers. They were spicy pickled vegetables such as carrots, celery, red bell pepper and jalapeno, similar to giardiniera, the condiment that is common in Chicago.

The peppers provided a pop of flavor but were not overbearing, perhaps because the sandwich also has mayonnaise mixed in. And it was hot in terms of temperature from the moment it was set in front of me until I polished it off a few minutes later.

The bread was among the best I’ve had with a Philly cheesesteak - fresh, soft but solid and toasted just enough to be warm.

I also was a big fan of the

fries, which you can order plain or topped with cheese, steak, gravy or all of the above. My plain fries were hot and cooked to perfection, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and I dipped them in a mixture of ketchup and the hot sauce that Pappa Geno’s sets on every table in its small dining room.

It was not the healthiest lunch I had eaten as of late, and Pappa Geno’s is not a place to go if you’re looking to eat on the lighter side, although the chicken salad might make a decent option in that regard.

But if you’re looking for a hot and filling Philly that’s ready in a flash, there might not be many better places to go - at least outside of Pennsylvania.

Pappa Geno’s Steak & Cheese Address: 1801 Ella Blvd.

Photo by Adam Zuvanich The Wicked Philly at Pappa Geno’s Steak & Cheese, 1801 Ella Blvd., comes with sliced and seasoned steak, white American cheese, onions, mayonnaise and Italian hot oil peppers.

Dining Options: Dine-in, takeout, DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates, Favor Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday Entree prices: $5.99-$12.99 Kid-friendly: Yes

Senior discount: No Alcohol: No Healthy options: Chicken salad Star of the show: Wicked Philly Rating: 4.5 out of 5 bites

Nibbles & Sips: Heights eateries to take on margarita taste-off

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

Several bars and restaurants in the Heights will be vying for the title of “best margarita” in a competition that will take place next month.

Candlelighters’ Young Professionals Group will host its 14th annual Margarita Taste-Off on April 14 at Kirby Icehouse, 3333 Eastside St. Among the 17 competitors will be Harold’s Restaurant, Bar & Rooftop Terrace (350 W. 19th St.) along with Kin Dee Thai Cuisine (1533 N. Shepherd Dr. Suite 160) and Studewood Cantine (1111 Studewood St.).

As guests sip, sample and vote and the local restaurants vie for the title of “Best Margarita,” there will also be a DJ, silent auction, a photo booth and more. Event tickets include margarita and appetizer samples from each competitor and can be purchased up until noon April 8 at us.givergy. com/MargaritaTasteOff. Eureka Heights, Flying Fish to host crawfish boil March 26 Two neighboring businesses in the Heights will host a crawfish boil next weekend.

Eureka Heights Brew Co., 941 W. 18th St., and Flying Fish, 1815 N. Durham Dr., will host the Ultimate Crawfish Boil and Parking Lot Party from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, March 26. Crawfish will be boiled in the Flying Fish’s signature seafood seasonings, according to a news release, while Eureka Heights will be on site to offer its Buckle Bunny Cream

Photo from Facebook Community members enjoy green beers at the Wakefield Crowbar.

The loal bar is offering St. Patrick’s Day deals through Saturday.

Ale, Mini Boss IPA, Wow Factor Pils and Fruity Hazy Haze Juice IPA for purchase.

Texas’ own RancH20 Spirits will also be there offering samples of its canned cocktails.

There will be live music from a DJ, and crawfish will be $6 per pound.

Local bars getting into St. Patrick’s Day spirit Wakefield Crowbar, 954 Wakefield Dr., and Urban South-HTX, 1201 Oliver St., are among the local bars and brewpubs serving up special drinks in recognition of St. Patrick’s Day. Urban South-HTX is releasing two new beers to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day that will be available on draft and in cans while supplies last. One is the Sur Urbano Verde, a green Mexican Lager and a St. Patrick’s Day version of the Sur

Urbano Mexican Lager. The other is Green Light, the St. Patrick’s Day edition of the Blue Light stout series, Green Light is Urban South’s take on the iconic Irish stout, according to a news release from the company.

Through Saturday at Wakefield Crowbar, customers can get $1 jello shots, $2 green beer, $5 Guiness pints, $6 Jameson and Green Tea shots and Baby Irish Bomb shots, and $7 Irish Bombs. There will also be a Shamrock Showdown sand volleyball and cornhole tournament hosted by the Houston Sports and Social Club on Saturday.

For more information or to sign up for the tournaments, community members can visit houstonssc.com/sport/Event.

Central City Co-Op hosts Ukraine benefit brunch

A local food co-op recently took the time to support relief efforts for the Ukrainian people amidst Russia’s invasion of the European country.

Central City Co-Op, 420 E. 20th St. Suite A, hosted a benefit brunch last Sunday from which all proceeds will go toward helping to relocate the families of 30 scientists working with the Laboratory of Electromagnetic Innovations (LEMI) in Ukraine. Central City Co-Op co-owner Jessica Wilt said Houston-based KMI Technologies president Kurt Strack is a member of the co-op, and the company has a joint venture with LEMI. Wilt, whose great grandfather was born in the Ukraine capital of Kyiv, said it only felt right to help given the spirit of the co-op. She said last weekend’s event raised at least $500 that will go toward relief efforts for the families,

and the co-op is planning to host a bake sale in support of Ukraine from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

March 27.

“It’s difficult for people to feel how they can make a difference - we want to help others and do what we can in that spirit of service,” Wilt said. “This was a way for us to help 30 families directly. It’s all about supporting someone else. It’s easier to understand

how to help when you’re helping families directly. We know where that money’s going to go.”

For those who were unable to make it to the brunch or can’t make the bake sale, there is also a GoFundMe page set up where donations can be made at gofundme.com/f/humanitarian-support-for-lemiteam-in-ukraine.

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Page 2B • Saturday, March 19, 2022 • The Leader

Co-Op, from P. 1B they’re all one family – the farmers, the vendors and every member of the community who supports the co-op.

“We’re in this together,” she said. “…It’s about building community and sharing the amazing bounty of local organic produce that we have and growing that ecosystem. We want to be part of that growth.”

That community, Wilt said, has always been a cornerstone of the co-op. And it is the part that she said has been the most gratifying aspect of their tenure so far in the Heights. In addition to their everyday business, she said it has also served as a social boon for the community during the pandemic.

And though their time is

coming to an end at the current location, Wilt said she is thankful to both the landlord and Heights community for welcoming them with open arms over the last year-anda-half. The property at 420 E. 20th St. is owned by an affiliate of Asana Partners, a real estate investment company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, according to the Harris County Appraisal District.

Throughout the upcoming move, people can still order produce online as well as instore, and the Wilts are hopeful to avoid a shutdown of any kind once the April 14 deadline looms. And whatever comes their way, she knows Central City Co-Op and those who sup-

port it will find a way to provide for the community as well as its farmers and purveyors.

With the ongoing pandemic as well as the abbreviated timeline on which the move must be made, Wilt knows the near future might not be perfect. But she said it doesn’t have to be perfect – it just needs the spirit of their mission behind it.

“We’ve got a resilient team, and a resilient community.

We’re hoping to be somewhere as soon as humanly possible,” she said. “The co-op, we’re scrappers. We’ll take what we can get, and make it work.”

For more information on Central City Co-Op, visit its website at centralcityco-op. com/.

Local graduating classes hosting high school reunion

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

The 1970, 1971 and 1972 graduating classes from Heights High School, then called Reagan High School, will be hosting their 50th reunion from 4-10 p.m. Saturday, April 9 in the upstairs ballroom of the VFW Hall at 1560 Foley St. in Houston.

All graduates from the 1960s and 1970s are also welcome to attend the event, which will feature dinner from New Seasons Catering,

dancing, door prizes and more. There will also be a silent auction and two cash bars.

Tickets are $60 if bought on or prior to March 28, and $80 if bought after that date, including at the door the day of the event. Those planning to purchase tickets at the door are asked to make it known prior to the reunion.

For more information or with questions about the event, those interested in attending can email Sheila Hoza-Cunningham at jhr50th@ gmail.com.

Staff file photo The Heights High School classes of 1970, 1971 and 1972, who attended the school when it was called Reagan, will host a 50-year reunion April 9. Graduates from the 1960s and 1970s are welcome to attend.

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The Leader • Saturday, March 19, 2022 • Page 3B

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Dear Tabby, Now that we’re two years into the pandemic, it’s become increasingly obvious that my dog (and, I’ll be honest, myself, too) has gained weight. I’m feeling optimistic that the worst of COVID is behind us and now my dog and I are ready to shed this quarantine weight and get back on track. Any tips for helping my dog to shed the weight?

Feeling Fluffy in Forest West Dear Feeling Fluffy, The COVID pandemic had huge impacts on just about every aspect of our lives and weight gain was definitely one of those impacts that many experienced. With humans spending so much more time at home, pets got very used to having their people nearby – and with humans at home and boredom at play, a lot of us did the only thing we could think to do to bring comfort …eat.

Now that life is (seemingly) getting back to normal, many people are ready to get back into their old routines and get back to better eating and exercise. These same goals apply to the world’s pets as well.

Here are a few ways that you can help your dog to shed the COVID weight and get back

Rein in the treats Dogs love treats and humans love treating their dogs, but too many treats can add up to major weight gain in no time. An easy way to keep your dog’s calories in check is to offer fewer treats. Perhaps make treats more of a “treat” instead of a habit. You can also give your dog pieces of his kibble instead of high-calorie treats if you can’t bear the thought of denying him that which he loves most.

Low-calorie treats Look for other treat options that don’t include the high-calorie treats to which your dog has grown accustomed. Green beans are a good treat for dogs (look for frozen green beans or no-salt-added canned green beans), as are carrots or small bites of plain chicken.

Be strict with portion control Have you ever looked at the recommendations for how much you should be feeding your dog based on his weight?

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I’m sure you and your dog will be back in “fighting shape” in no time! With a little care and attention, you can help transition your pet back to his new, post-COVID normal and usher in the beginning of a healthier lifestyle.

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Suspected car thief shot by police dies in hospital

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

A man who was shot by police officers after allegedly leading them on a chase through the area on Feb. 27 has died, according to the Houston Police Department.

HPD said the man, 24-year-old Marcelo Suarez, was pronounced dead

March 6 at Ben Taub General Hospital.

One officer had a minor injury in the incident, HPD said, while two other officers and K-9 dog Nate were uninjured. Nate is a Belgian Malinois, and the same police dog who was stabbed while pursuing a suspected criminal on Jan. 22.

HPD said Suarez allegedly

stole another man’s vehicle at gunpoint in southwest Houston before allegedly leading police on a chase that wound up at 7800 W. Tidwell Rd. around 8:40 a.m.

Feb. 27.

When police attempted to stop the stolen vehicle on Tidwell, they said, Suarez allegedly refused and got out of the car to flee on foot, ac-

HFD investigating apartment fires on Pinemont

By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com

The Houston Fire Department says it is investigating after extinguishing two fires in the span of about two hours last Sunday at an apartment complex on Pinemont Drive.

Firefighters from 10 dif-

ferent stations responded to the afternoon incidents at the Pineforest Park Apartments, 5959 Pinemont Dr., according to HFD, which said the fires caused an estimated $45,000 in damages.

No injuries were reported.

The fire department said it initially arrived at the apartment complex to find smoke

coming from a second floor of a two-story building, with firefighters using a pump can to extinguish the blaze. Upon returning to the same location about two hours later, HFD crews quickly put out another fire, according to the department.

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cording to HPD. During the pursuit, he allegedly fired shots toward Nate and the three officers chasing him.

The officers returned fire, police said, and hit him.

HPD said the incident is under investigation by its special investigations unit and internal affairs division as well as the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

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1214 W 43rd Ste 300

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713-682-7939