South Belt Leader (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 9, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 6, 1984 Page: 1 of 14
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: South Belt Ellington Leader and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the San Jacinto College.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
December 6, 1984
g>outh ffiett Ceaner
“The Voice of Community-Minded ”
Vol. 9, Number 43
PISD sets yule music programs
Music departments of all local schools will be giving Christmas concerts
during the next two weeks.
The Dobie High School band and orchestra and choir will team up in concert
on Thursday, Dec. 13, at 7:30 p.m. at the school’s auditorium. Dobie’s choral
departments will present a concert on Tuesday, Dec. 11, in the auditorium at 7:30
p.m.
The Beverly Hills Intermediate School band will hold its concert on Dec. 11,
and the school’s orchestra concert will be Dec. 13. The choirs will perform on Dec.
17.
The Thompson Intermediate School band will perform in concert on Dec. 13,
and the school’s orchestra will present its concert on Dec. 18. Thompson’s choirs
will close out 1984 with a performance Dec. 20. All Thompson performances will
be at 7:30 p.m.
In addition, musical programs have been planned at most elementary
schools. Atkinson’s will be at 3:45 p.m. Dec. 11. Burnett will have performances
at 1:45 and 7 p.m. Dec. 13, at 8:15 a.m. Dec. 14 and at 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. Dec. 18.
Frazier will have a concert at 7 p.m. Dec. 18, and Moore’s will be at 7:30 p.m,
Dec. 20. Stuchbery will have a concert at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18.
Jaycees sell Christmas trees
The South Belt Area Jaycees are once again operating a Christmas tree lot in
the Drugs for Less parking lot. Hours are from 6-9 or 9:30 p.m. on week nights
and from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. on weekends.
The lot is staffed with Jaycees who are volunteering their time, and proceeds
are earmarked for Jaycee projects, including the needy family projects and Easter
egg hunt for community children.
The trees are Douglas firs and range from 5 feet to over 8 feet.
4 file for PISD board
Both incumbents for the Pasadena school board have filed for re-election, and
one of them is being challenged by two opponents.
Incumbent Harvey Turner, 64, will seek re-election to Position 4. As of
Monday, no one has filed against him.
Position 5 incumbent Lamar Winebrenner, 51, is . being challenged by
Kirkmont’ s Bonnie Dimicelli, 39, and Pasadena’s Danny Barfield, 42.
All candidates, except Dimicelli, live in Pasadena.
Filing for the Jan. 19 election ends Dec. 19.
Filing continues in CCISD
Three candidates have filed for three positions on the Board of Trustees of
the Clear Creek Independent School District. The election will be held on
Saturday, Jan. 19. Positions 1 and 2 are for three years and Position 3 is for one
year to complete the term of Dr. W.W. Kemmerer Jr., who resigned in
September.
Ruth A. Walraven, currently serving as president of the board, is seeking
re-election to Position 1. She was first elected in 1966 and has served six terms on
the board. Walraven is a resident of El Lago and is a language instructor at San
Jacinto College.
Running for election to Position 2 is Judy Calvin, a former president of the Clear
Creek Parent Teacher Association Area Council. This position is being vacated by
Dr. Katie Youngblood who is not seeking re-election after serving two terms.
Calvin is a homemaker and resident of Taylor Lake Village.
Johnnie B. Puckett has announced his candidacy for the unexpired term of
Position 3. He is a longtime resident of League City and was principal at Webster
Intermediate School until he retired from that position three years ago.
Filing for the three positions will continue through Dec. 19.
Santa visits being scheduled
Santa visitations in children’s homes are being sponsored by the Sagemont
Civic Club Dec. 17 through 22.
The cost is $7.50, and all proceeds will go to the civic club. To schedule a
15-minute visit, call 481-3813 after 5 p.m.
Dobie yearbooks to go on sale
Students of Dobie High School may purchase yearbooks (which chronicle this
school year) at lunch periods Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 10 and 11, in the school’s
activity center. The cost is $30.
Incumbent SJC regents file
All three incumbents of the San Jacinto College Board of Regents have filed
for re-election and will run as a slate, each endorsing the other’s candidacy.
Original board member F.G. “Frenchie” Anders of Pasadena has filed for
Position 5. Dr. John Nichols of Galena Park has filed for Position 6, and Deer
Park’s Wayne Slovacek has filed for Position 7.
No other candidates had filed by Monday.
Filing ends Dec. 19, and the election will be held Jan. 19.
Kirkmont I to meet Tuesday
There will be a general homeowners meeting for residents of Kirkmont I
Homeowners Association Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m. at Sagemeadow Utility District
Building, located at Blackhawk and Hall Roads.
Sagemeadow election Saturday
The Sagemont Maintenance Committee will hold an election Saturday, Dec. 8
from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Sagemeadow Utility Building on Hall Road.
The position held by Ray Kinzer, a three-year term, is up for election. Kinzer
is seeking re-election. Nominations will be accepted through the mail by writing to
11406 Sagewhite, Houston, TX 77089, and write-ins will be allowed.
No Beverly Hills meeting set
There will be no meeting of the Beverly Hills Civic Club during December.
The group will meet on Jan. 15 and elect officers for the following year.
Children’s drawing contest set
The South Belt Leader will sponsor a children’s Christmas card drawing
contest, and entries must be submitted by noon Dec. 14.
The children’s drawing contest is open to children in kindergarten through
fifth grade and will be divided into two categories. A $15 prize will be awarded to
the winner in the kindergarten through second grade category, and $15 will also
be awarded to the winner in the third through fifth grade category. In addition, an
overall winner will be selected. The overall winner will receive a $25 cash prize,
and the winning entry will be printed as the South Belt Leader and South Belt
Graphics and Printing Christmas card in 1985. Last year’s winning entry is
currently being printed.
All winners will be pictured in the Dec. 20 edition.
In this week’s issue
• The Calendar, page 2A, includes events with a seasonal flavor.
• Over the Back Fence includes special times in the lives of peole you know,
page 4A.
• A special hobby keeps this special man busy. See page 5A.
• Weddings and engagement plans are featured on page 7A.
• Student lunches may be planned in advance by using the school menus on
page 8A.
• The November Teacher of the Month is pictured on page 11A.
• The Thompson Intermediate football team is pictured on page IB.
• An area sports calendar is a feature of page 3B.
• Soccer club results are reported on page 5B.
• Sub-varsity girls basketball game results can be found on page 4B.
Weber meeting draws 500
Numerous representatives of state
agencies will be on hand at a meeting at
Weber Elementary Monday, Dec. 10, to
discuss the findings of air, water and soil
testing in aqd around the defunct Brio
Refinery site.
The meeting, sponsored by the Texas
Department of Water Resources, will
begin at 7 p.m.
In addition to representatives of the
TDWR (local and state-level), represen-
tatives from the Clear Creek school dis-
trict, Environmental Protection Agency
and a toxicologist will speak at the
meeting.
Lawsuit
A group of South Bend residents in-
volved in a potential lawsuit over the
hazardous waste met with their attorneys
Monday night—also at Weber Elemen-
tary. Going into Monday’s meeting, 90
families on Southorchard, Southhill and
Southvale Streets had joined in the law-
suit.
After the meeting, which an estimated
500 people attended, 170 families had
joined the potential lawsuit.
Attorneys Tom Pettiette and Marty
Akins are reluctant to disclose how much
money is involved in the suit and who will
be sued. The attorneys have sent Decep-
tive Trade Practice Act letters to most
builders in South Bend and to the subdi-
vision’s developer, Ayrshire. They have
30 days to reply before any suit could be
filed. Named in the proposed $23 million
suit are Pulte Homes, Richard Gill, Ry-
land Group, Travis B. Campbell, I.C.M.
Mortgage, Monsanto Oil, Monsanto Co.,
- Commonwealth, Ryland Mortgage,
Ralph Lowe and the Ayrshire Corp.
Pettiette said the value of the 170
homes alone could reach $11.2 million,
and he said that figure does not include
personal injury damages or mental
anguish damages—both of which he fore-
sees.
The attorneys are taking the case on
contingency. If there is an out-of-court
settlement, they will receive 33Vz per-
cent. For a court settlement, they would
receive 40 percent. If there is a settle-
ment and appeal, they would earn 45
percent.
While residents were working with the
attorneys throughout November, resi-
dents were told by the attorneys not to
speak about the case.
The case came to light publicly Friday
after attorneys alerted Houston’s three
major TV stations about the case.
At Monday’s meeting, South Bend
resident Donald Dutton said he did not
like the secrecy involved in the case.
“I’m not defending anybody, I just want
to get the facts out,” he said.
Chemical Investigation
Stennie Meadours, an investigator for
the state’s department of water re-
sources, however, said she has not been
contacted by the attorneys.
Attorney Pettiette said he mistrusted
EPA findings ‘‘because they’re pro busi-
ness.”
Meadours said she would attempt to
squelch the residents’ fears because soil
and water samples show no contamina-
tion. Her department is testing soil, and
the South Bend Utility District has tested
the water. She said she has also found
that the styrene tars buried at Brio have
surfaced and become hard, like asphalt,
but have not migrated in the past 18
months.
The Center for Disease Control has
sent the TDWR a letter stating there is no
health threat with the current levels
emitted from the site.
The EPA could authorize an immediate
cleanup of the facility if there was evi-
dence of an immediate health hazard, she
said. As of this month, no immediate
health hazard has been found.
“We want to know where waste is so it
can be cleaned up,” Meadours said.
Those with indications of chemical
contamination in their yard are asked to
call 479-5981.
Superfund
The Brio site was recently selected for
the “Superfund,” which provides gov-
ernment funds for cleanup of toxic waste
sites.
One reason the site was selected for
the Superfund was because no one party
could be charged with the financial re-
sponsibility of the cleanup. Another-rea-
son is the construction of homes in South
Bend, adjacent to the dump site.
Previous owners of the chemical com-
pany have reportedly included Hard
Lowe Chemical, Lowe Chemical, Phoenix
Chemical, Intercoastal Chemical, Ar-
Continued on page 3A
Escapes ditch landing
The driver of this vehicle barely escaped crash landing in the Beamer Road
ditch [at Hughes Road] when the car was hit at 10:30 p.m. Thursday by a
hit-and-run driver. No injuries occurred. Witnesses were not able to find the
hit-and-run car. Photo by Gregg Gelmis
CCISD approves tutor program
Clear Creek school trustees at last
week’s regular monthly meeting estab-
lished a tutorial program for district
students who are failing in one or more of
four subject areas.
The program is mandated by HB 72 for
students whose grade average is below
70 (failing) in language arts, math, sci-
ence or social studies at the end of each
six-week reporting period.
The tutorial sessions will be held im-
mediately before or after school and will
not be less than 30 minutes or more than
45 minutes.
Teachers who serve as tutors will be
paid $10 for a 30-minute session or $15
for 45 minutes and will not be allowed to
tutor more than 90 minutes a week.
All classroom teachers who are quali-
fied in the four academic areas will be
Christmas decorating
contest set by Leader
The South Belt Leader will sponsor its
third annual Christmas outdoor contest
again this year. Judging will be the
nights of Dec. 14, 15 and 16, and nomina-
tions must be made in writing by noon
Dec. 14.
To be considered for the judging,
contestants must be nominated in writ-
ing. Nominations may be made by the
contestants themselves or by anyone who
wishes to include a residence for consid-
eration.
The written nominations should also
include a map to the residence and
special instructions, such as times a live
scene or character will be available for
viewing.
Judges will select a first place winner
in these three categories: Best Religious,
Most Unusual and Most Beautiful. There
will be one grand prize winner also.
The first place winner in each category
will receive a $50 gift certificate from
Domenic’s restaurant. The grand prize
winner will receive an evening for two in
a jacuzzi suite at the Hobby Airport
Hilton with a complimentary dinner for
two.
Residences to be included in the judg-
ing area will be bounded by Almeda-Ge-
noa on the north and by Dixie Farm Road
on the south. With the exception of
Sycamore Valley, the Gulf Freeway will
be the eastern boundary of the judging
area.
The following subdivisions will be con-
sidered: Beverly Hills, Highland Mea-
dow, Kingsplace, Kirkmont, Kirkwood,
Kirkwood South, Sagemont, Sagemea-
dow, Sagemont Park, Sageglen, Scars-
dale, Sycamore Valley, South Bend and
Wood Meadow.
All winners will be pictured in the Dec.
20 issue of the Leader. All nominees’
addresses will be listed.
SJC South auto shop
will open in January
given the opportunity to tutor on a
voluntary basis, with tutoring time dis-
tributed equally among those who volun-
teer.
If there is not a sufficient number of
volunteers, the remaining qualified
ieachers will be required to tutor on a
rotating basis.
Academic Decathalon
In other action, the board approved
establishing academic decathalon teams
at each of the high schools. The teams
will compete in statewide competition.
Funding of $10,000 was approved for the
program.
Board members also approved district
recommendations for honors courses,
formerly listed as premium courses.
These courses count toward receiving the
academic honors transcript at the com-
pletion of the program.
Honors courses are available in all
levels of English, American history,
world history, government, Biology I and
II, Chemistry I and II, Physics I and II,
Algebra I and II, geometry, trigonometry,
analysis, precalculus, Latin III, German
III, French III and IV and Spanish III and
IV,
District Gets Graded
The Southern Association of Schools
and Colleges presented a favorable re-
port on the district following a review of
all schools in October.
Commendations included (1) A well
developed program of community rela-
tions; (2) Educational leadership dis-
played in the district from the superin-
tendent to teachers with all personnel
cognizant of quality education; (3)
Development of curriculum guides and
all support that teachers and principals
have in carrying out strong program of
instruction; (4) Evidence of a high morale
among teachers and all levels of admin-
istration, and the positive attitude exper-
ienced by the visiting staff was commen-
dable; (6) Needs for the gifted and
talented are being met; (7) PE facilities
have been upgraded; (8) Commendation
was given to the guidelines for language
skills and the curriculum, the continuity
in preparing and writing research papers,
outlines and test-taking skills.
The committee recommended (1) The
need to develop procedure for acquisition
of computer software and hardware; (2)
The district should continue to evaluate
and improve the counseling programs to
better serve the needs of all schools; (3)
Principals should continue to study their
identified priorities for the next five years
and develop a plan of implementation.
Board approval was given on three
other proposals as mandated by recent
legislation. The policies include provi-
sions that counselors are properly pre-
pared to counsel students and parents on
new provisions for graduation; provides
that parents be informed as to new
graduation requirements; and the third
proposal restricts the time for announce-
ments and provides for alternate sche-
dules for class meetings and assemblies.
Logo Picked
A district logo, designed by Clear Lake
High junior Karen Williams, was chosen.
Other finalists were Sang Yoo, Webster
Intermediate eighth grader; Reuben
Webster, League City Intermediate; Paul
O’Neal, Clear Lake High; and Stephanie
Johansen, Armand Bayou Elementary.
The board authorized the administra-
tion to seek bids estimated at $30,000 for
77 additional band uniforms for Clear
Creek High because of an anticipated
growth at the school.
The December board meeting has been
rescheduled to Dec. 18.
Construction of a proposed 60,000-
square-foot student center at San Jacinto
College’s South Campus was given third
priority of construction projects at the
college district’s three campuses by re-
gents at Monday’s meeting.
The first priority project is a district
building to house district offices. Con-
struction is slated to begin soon.
The next priority is the addition of
10,000-square feet to the bookstore at the
Central Campus.
The student center for the South
Campus is in the architectural planning
stages right now.
Constractors and representatives of the
college made a walk-through of the newly
constructed auto-body shop at the South
Campus Tuesday, and that building is
expected to open in January. - '
In personnel matters, resignations
were accepted from South Campus PE
department chairman Denni Barrios, who
is moving to California, and from nursing
department chairman Marie Bueshcher,
who is switching from chairman to in-
structor. In addition, the district has
hired consulting psychiatrist, Gustav R.
Schmiege Jr.
An IBM Education Affiliate program
which would offer 30 percent discounts to
faculty members was discussed.
The next board meeting was set for
Jan. 7, and on Jan. 11 bids for the sale of
property adjacent to the North Campus
will be opened.
Local church schedules
Christmas extravaganza
With already 4,000 sold tickets, Sage-
mont Baptist Church anticipates more
than 5,000 persons will see its major
production of ‘‘A Christmas Pageant”
Dec. 15 and 16 in three performances
featuring mainly local church members.
We want this to be an outreach to the
community, to this part of Houston. We
want the people of the community to
celebrate with our people the meaning of
Christmas,” said Charles Mathews, min-
ister of music.
Mathews said it is the first time this
church has ever attempted something
like this, but they hope to make this an
Continued on page 3A
Family tradition
Sagemont residents Irene Herrada and son, Michael, load up their newly
purchased Christmas tree. The Herradas will decorate the tree in the German
tradition with many of the ornaments bought in Germany. Although in the
U.S. for 23 years, Irene enjoys the traditions of her homeland at Christmas
time.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
South Belt Leader (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 9, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 6, 1984, newspaper, December 6, 1984; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth912810/m1/1/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting San Jacinto College.