The Bellaire Texan (Bellaire, Tex.), Vol. 25, No. 9, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 5, 1978 Page: 1 of 24
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Bellaire Teacher
Honored By HISD
Ila Wiklund, a teacher and
instructional coordinator at
Maude Gordon Elementary
School in Bellaire, was
honored recently as the first
runner up in the Houston
Independent School District
selection of best teacher of
the year. Renaldo Maldan
ero was chosen by HISD as
the best teacher.
Wiklund was chosen from
among 10,000 teachers in the
district after a rigorous
screening procedure. The
first step involved voting by
Gordon teachers.
Wiklund was chosen as
one of 15 finalists before the
final selection and award to
the best teacher of the year.
Each teacher submitted a
resume, a list of professional
achievements and an essay
on his or her philosophy of
education. These were
scrutinized by a board of six
judges.
Beth Turner, principal of
Gordon Elementary, said
she thought Wiklund's
philosophy of education
especially impressed the
board. The board question
ed her closely about it in a
question and answer ses
sion.
Wiklund said she wants to
teach her students a “sense
of responsibility for them-
selves and others. I think
that’s where children and
society are lacking today,”
she said.
Wiklund has taught at
Gordon for eight years. She
has taught every grade, and
now teaches fifth graders.
She also is a part-time
student at the University of
Houston in graduate studies
in administration. Turner
said she ». grooming Wik
lund for principalship.
A member of
Suburbia Reporter
Newspaper Group
Bellaire •
A Community Weekly Newspaper
Meyerlond • Willowbend • WesIbury • Robindell • Brae Burn
Sharpstown
VOL. 25 NO. 9 15 CENTS 657 9311 WEDNESDAY. JULY 5. 1978
»4 YEAR BY SUBSCRIPTION
Residents Express Opinions
On Street Barricades Again
ILA WIKLUND
Bellaire Grad Performs
InMoscow Competition
By Nedland-Pedersen
Gayle Martin, a 1970
graduate of Bellaire High
School, is the only American
pianist to reach the finals of
the International Tchaikov-
sky Musical Competition
held in Moscow, Russia.
Martin gave her final
performance of the competi-
tion last Saturday morning.
It will be later this week
before each of the eleven
other finalists has played
and a winner is determined.
In Martin’s recital Satur-
day she played Tchaikov-
sky’s Concerto for Piano, a
mandatory selection, plus a
work of her choice, Chopin’s
Concerto No. 1. The pian-
ist’s father, E.K. Martin of
Bellaire, said Sunday he’d
received news by telephone
that his daughter had “never
played better" in the opinion
of Eugene List, her instruc
tor at New York University.
List accompanied Martin to
Moscow.
“Gayle said she’s pleased
with her performance,” said
Martin, careful to qualify,
‘‘but the other finalists are
all very good, too. If Gayle
does not win, whe will not
have to blame herself."
Martin was one of 28
Americans who entered the
three-round competition
which started two weeks
ago. Twenty-five of these
hopefuls were eliminated in
the first round and two more
were cut in the second
Martin grew up in Bel-
laire. She attended Horn
Elementary where she used
lo accompany the school
chorus on piano. In those
days, she was known to
classmates and teachers as
“Linda Gayle”. She attend-
ed Pershing Junior High
before Bellaire High School.
At the conclusion of the
competition, Gayle Martin
returns to New York Uni-
versity to resume study
toward her own master’s
degree. Martin is an assis-
tant instructor of piano at
the University.
By Susan Hutson Jones
Calling the occasion "the
first of the final steps before
council takes action”, Mayor
Louise Ware called to order
a special town meeting last
Wednesday night for the
purpose of hearing out resi-
dents concerned about the
future of street barricades in
Bellaire.
The controversial barri-
cades are located across
Tamarisk at the West Loop
service road, the west inter-
section of Elm with First St.,
the east intersection of
Chestnut with Second St.
and 180 feet west of First on
Palmetto. They were erect-
ed last December as part of
an eight month traffic con-
trol experiment and unless
the city council decides in
favor of the barricades,
Ware said the project will
self-destruct.
Friends and foes of the
barricades came with some
definate ideas about the
‘success’ of the experiment
and also with some ques-
tions.
Responding to the request
of one resident, Mayor Ware
read the results of some
‘before and after’ traffic
counts. The traffic counts
taken include to counts on
Tamarisk (west of Ander-
son-693, before the barri-
cades and 536 with the
barricades and east of An-
derson-694, before; 228,
after), Anderson-525, before
and 586, after; Palmetto
(between Second and Rice)
549, before and 336, after
and on Second (between
Chestnut and Beech)-592,
before ad 220, after.
The town meeting follow-
ed on the heels of the release
of tabulations from a survey
conducted by Dr. George
Antunes of the University of
Houston Public Affairs Re-
search Council. The survey,
which shows that 61 percent
of the 198 households sur-
veyed in the affected areas
favor the removal of the
barricades, prompted some
proponents of the barricades
to bring the results of their
own surveys.
Mrs. Tom Dargis, 4905
Elm, saio she canvassed 41
homes in her neighborhood,
including 24 homes on Elm,
and found that 68% of the
residents favorer’ the barri-
cades.
"We feel the Elm Street
barricades help prevent
crime,” said Dargis.
Andrea Mansfield, who
lives on Tamarisk, said she
found overwhelming
support for the barricades or
other more attractive con-
trol methods from residents
on her street. She added
that many of her neighbors
would "advocate even fur-
ther control.”
Safety and "peace and
quiet” were sentiments ex-
pressed frequently in sup-
port of the traffic control
devises.
"Anyone who lives on my
street knows how much
traffic has decreased,” said
Wade Jones of Elm St.
Jones said he rides a bicycle
daily and finds his rides
much more pleasant and
safer now.
"I can get out of my
driveway without worrying
about from which direction I
will be assaulted,” said a
resident of Chestnut St.
Paula Kuehn of Tamarisk
said that four years ago
most residents along the
street “were begging for
traffic control.”
"Now that we know what
it’s like to have peace and
quiet, it would be terrible to
lose it," said Kuehn.
While some streets area
residents are apparently en-
joying the barricades, others
are experiencing the unplea-
sant side effects.
Ralph Childs, 809 Jaquet,
said, "Every time you close
one street, you put their dirt
on someone else’s street.”
Childs, who said that
Jaquet “has taken the
brunt", offered the council a
couple of possible solutions.
He suggested increased law
enforcement of speeding on
residential streets and the
construction of sidewalks Lo
make the streets safer.
E.L. Ludwig of Chestnut
St. said if he wanted to live
on a cul-de-sac, he would
have bought on one. He also
invited proponents of the
barricades to "drive down
Third St. and see what
shape that street is in."
Ludwig agreed with an-
other resident who told the
council that "If you allow the
barricades lo stay, you are
setting a precedence and
every other street will want
the same."
The council was reminded
several times by the oppo-
nents that several of them
had campaigned with the
promise that the barricades
would come down.
"I think the people are
basically opposed to the
barricades, as indicated by
the election of the present
council and the UH survey,"
said Pal McLaughlin.
A.J. Ford of Wedgewood
Street offered his realistic
views: "We cannot build a
fence around the city of
Bellaire and say ‘you can’t
come in’. I think it should be
each area that decides what
they want."
County Official Speaks
At Bellaire Tax Meeting
John Cummings, assistant
chief clerk for the Harris
County Tax Assessor’s Of-
fice, spoke on Tuesday, June
27 at a meeting on taxes
sponsored by the Bellaire
Civic Action Club.
Approximately 100 per-
sona gathered for the meet-
ing at the Bellaire Com-
munity Building.
Cummings said county tax
collections increased from 10
to 12 percent from 1976 to
1977. During a question and
answer period, he was asked
about the county’s methods
for assessing property.
Cummings said the asses-
sed value is 32 percent of
market value. Market value
is based on the current "as
is" condition of the property
and on sales in the area. If
there are no sales in the area
the county uses sales values
in an equivalent area, he
said.
Each year, the county
reassesses about one-seven-
th of Harris County proper-
ty.
Assessments are based on
physical inspections. Cum-
mings said Harris County
does not review automatic-
ally Bellaire’s assessment
values, although it does have
access to the information.
Cummings said he hopes
there eventually will be one
taxing authority to assess
property. This would mean
Harris County, HISD, and
the city of Houston would all
use the same assessed va-
lues.
Now, all three calculate
their own assessed values. A
bill which would have esta-
blished a single tax assess-
ing authority passed in the
Texas House of Represen-
tatives last year, but it failed
in the Senate.
The BCAC also had in-
vited the City of Bellaire and
the Houston Independent
School District to send re-
presentatives to the tax
meeting, but neither group
was present. HISD and
Bellaire officials did not
attend because of conflicting
meetings had been sche-
duled.
The Bellaire tax assessor’s
office was unable to attend
because the Board of Ad-
justment held a meeting at
the same time that night.
The BCAC voted at the
end of the meeting to invite
both groups to other meet-
ings in July and August.
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The Bellaire Texan (Bellaire, Tex.), Vol. 25, No. 9, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 5, 1978, newspaper, July 5, 1978; Bellaire, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth566447/m1/1/?q=green+energy: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Bellaire Friends Library & Historical Society.