Posts published in “Community”

LyondellBasell to mobilize hundreds of volunteers for Global Care Day, Sept. 21

Sep 19, 2019

Volunteers from numerous LyondellBasell locations in the Greater Houston area will take part in this year’s Global Care Day, a community service program. Staff from LyondellBasell’s more than 100 sites or locations around the world will donate their time, effort and energy to support sustainability projects in the areas where they live and work.

LyondelBasell’s Global Day Care will be Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019 in Houston from 8 a.m. – noon. Locations include:

• Bayport Complex, Armand Bayou Nature Center – 8500 Bay Area Blvd.
Projects: Replace trail fencing, refurbish dip netting pond and set up nature library
Number of volunteers: 80

• City of Shoreacres – Shell Beach and Miramar Beach
Projects: Beach cleanup and removal of invasive vegetation to allow visitors to enjoy the beach area
Number of volunteers: 10

• Channelview Complex Adopt-A-Road – 8280 Sheldon Road, Houston, TX 77049
Projects: Cleanup along Sheldon Road in front of Channelview Complex
Number of volunteers: 20

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North Shore stuns Westfield with Hail Mary field goal, wins 24-21

Sep 15, 2019

North Shore’s field goal kicker John Villalobos split the goal posts defeating Westfield as the clock expired 24 -21.

By Allan Jamail
Friday, September 13, 2019 at the Galena Park ISD football stadium the North Shore Mustangs
came from behind late in the fourth quarter to tie the game 21 to 21. A Westfield fumble gave North Shore the ball with less than a minute. They moved the ball within field goal range for kicker John Villalobos who kicked the game winning 3 points in a thriller, beating the Westfield Mustangs 24 -21.

It’s not over till it’s over. In a similar game ending play North Shore won the Football State Championship over Duncanville from a Hail Mary Pass. 41 – 36

Manuel Escalante new Principal at GPISD’ Woodland Acres Middle Schoo

Aug 29, 2019

By Allan Jamail

The Galena Park Independent School District (GPISD) announced for the 2019-2020 school year Manuel Escalante as the new principal at Woodland Acres Middle School.

Serving as Assistant Principal with Escalante are Lakeisha Washington and Diego Merino, and Sandra C. Andrade-Reed as Counselor.

Principal Escalante has 20 years of experience as an administrator and educator. He’s been selected as Teacher of the Year, State finalist for the HEB Principal of the Year award, and numerous other recognitions.

Escalante said, “I served as an educator in the Channelview School District for sixteen years, and four years in the Laredo School District. My last two years there, I served as the principal of JC Martin Jr. Elementary School, in which the school became one of only thirteen schools to receive the prestigious 2019 National Blue Ribbon nomination for exceptional performance in closing the achievement gaps.”

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Jacinto City’s food distribution day brings out hundreds

Aug 29, 2019

Volunteers Oziel Salinas and his wife Irasema Salinas, Keep Jacinto City Clean Vice-President and Lupe Gomez handing out free food. (Photo by Allan Jamail)

By Allan Jamail

Jacinto City, TX. – On August 23rd, hundreds of area residents came to get free food at Jacinto City’s distribution point, the city’s Town Hall, located at 1025 Oates Road.

Adele Brady, Director of Marketing and Communications at Houston Food Bank (HFB), said their nonprofit organization supplies the food to their Jacinto City Community Partner (on the fourth Friday of every month) and a network of 1,500 other Community Partners.

“Last year we provided access to 104 million nutritious meals in 18 counties in southeast Texas that included food pantries, soup kitchens, social service providers, and schools,” Brady said.

Mayra Loera, Capacity and Operations Manager for the HFB, encourages anyone interested in setting up a new distribution point as a Community Partner or receiving food assistance help to contact info@houstonfoodbank.org.

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San Jacinto Pilot Club installs new leadership

Aug 29, 2019

San Jacinto Pilot Club’s recent officer installation. Pictured in the photo (L-R): Karen Westbrooks, Julie Fallin, Joan Van Fleet, Carolyn Roberts.

The San Jacinto Pilot Club installed their new officers for the 2019-2020 Pilot year in June. Co-Pilot Jerry Fallin was the installing officer for the evening’s banquet, held at Iguana Joe’s in Crosby.

Officers for the 2019- 2020 year, which begins July 1 are: Julie Fallin, President; Joan Van Fleet and Carolyn Roberts, CoSecretary; and Karen Westbrooks, Treasurer. We wish all these officers the very best of luck this Pilot year.

The San Jacinto Pilot Club meets on the second Tuesday of each month at noon at the Amegy Bank building on I-10 (near Federal Rd.). Membership is open to men and women in the community.

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Sheldon ISD holds ribbon cutting for new Sheldon Lakes Elementary

Aug 22, 2019

Sheldon ISD Superintendent King Davis cuts the ribbon to officially open the new Sheldon Lake Elementary campus. (Photo by Derek Moore)

SHELDON – The Sheldon ISD Board members, administrators, dignitaries, teachers, students and community members participated in a ribbon cutting at the new Sheldon Lakes Elementary, last Thursday, August 15, 2019 at 6:00 pm. All who attended enjoyed learning about the new 21st century learning opportunities at this new school.

The campus is located on the Beltway 8 feeder road, just south of Garrett Road.

The principal for Sheldon Lake Elementary is Christopher Dickson, formerly the principal at Sheldon Early Childhood Academy.

Architect’s rendering shows the exterior entrance of the new elementary that opens this fall. The building is just one of the new projects for this fast-growing district.

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NEW PRINCIPALS – A SERIES: Marcus Morrow is new principal at Joyce Zotz Ed. Ctr.

Aug 22, 2019

By Allan Jamail

The Galena Park Independent School District (GPISD) announced for the 2019/2020 school year Marcus Morrow as the new principal for the Joyce Zotz Education Center.

Principal Morrow brings to his new position 18 years of academic experience as a teacher, at-risk specialist and assistant principal at the Zotz Center. He has a Bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State University and a Master’s degree from the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

The Joyce Zotz Education Center (JZEC) specializes in the accomplishment of students being able to obtain their educational goals through non-traditional settings. GPISD’s goal is to provide students a valuable and worthwhile education in a caring but well disciplined surrounding that they may not be getting from their home campuses.

Morrow said, “Parents with children can attend our night classes, and we’ll provide child care while the parent is in class, much like a normal day-care center does.”

The center was named after Joyce Zotz, who joined GPISD as a business teacher in 1956. Over the next 47 years she held numerous positions ranging from teacher to campus principal. Ms. Zotz had a vision for better meeting the needs of students who did not seem to fit the mold of regular classroom. She advocated for those students who often “marched to the beat of a different drum.”

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Cody’s fundraiser Goes BIG

Aug 22, 2019

Dan Huberty welcomes the accolades for HB 76, the Cody Bill and HB 3, the school bill. His staff is weepy and he is supported by Carol Alvarado at left.

CROSBY – August 17, the Big Event for the Cody Stephens GBOGH Memorial Fund was a rousing success held at Southern Lace Estates for a night of big band, big auction and big celebration.

A catfish dinner started off a packed program beginning with recognizing this year’s youngsters saved from sudden death by the efforts of the foundation. Awards for those that contributed effort generally in the form of belt buckles.

It was especially a celebration of the passage of House Bill 76, the Cody Bill — also excitement at the passage of House Bill #3 for education — with special recognition of Representative Dan Huberty, R. 127, Rep. Briscoe Cain, R. 128, and State Senator Carol Alvarado, all instrumental in passing the bill that gives parents the right to choose a heart screening for their students.

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Crosby hero sets sights on raising $270,000 to save more young lives

Aug 15, 2019

Scott Stephens backs his volunteers at C.E. King High School where his charity organization, the Cody Stephens Foundation, scanned the hearts of 250 students with EKGs from throughout Northeast Harris County last Saturday, in concert with an organization dedicated to teaching C.P.R. Seated are U. Fonsera, a Precinct 3 Deputy, Elizabeth Bucio, Cynthia Galeano, Yanira Ramirez and Drake Hernandez all of C.E. King High School staff. Guarding the crowd was Precinct 3 Deputy Howard. Stephens is hosting the GBOGH Cody Stephens Memorial Fundraiser at Southern Lace Estates this Saturday, Aug. 17.

C.E. KING – Last Saturday, the Go Big Or Go Home Cody Stephens Foundation scanned the hearts of over 250 kids with the help of C.E. King staff and faculty, North Shore Rotary, San Jacinto Pilot Club, and the North Shore Anchor Club volunteers.

ReACT in a Heartbeat, a Baytown Non-Profit that teaches life saving C.P.R. instructed some 200 students how to perform Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation at the same venue. These were not certification classes but exposure classes and man of the students went from having their hearts tested to learning to save someone else’s life.

“We always try to teach C.P.R. training at our screenings we don’t usually do it at school screenings because kids are supposed to get C.P.R. certification from their school but anytime we have a community screening we try to team up with someone group and teach the basics.

Now Stephens says, “We are going to try to help put EKG machines in schools so that athletic teams can check out their own members.”

The Stephens fight to save young lives for the last seven years as Scott’s family has attempted to impress upon the Texas Legislature that young athletes dying of sudden death can hopefully be avoided with early detection by the new E.K.G machines that have not only gone from being the size of an ambulance to the size of a paperback book and ranged in ability from being only able to tell if someone was having a heart attack to being able to read rhythms and irregularities. It began with a personal note for Scott, his son Cody died in May of 2012 from sudden death. His last words to his father were “Go big or go home.”

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Flores speaks out against animal cruelty

Aug 15, 2019

Pet Lover Cinthia Flores holding Bella with Oso (Spanish for Bear).

Story & Photo by Allan Jamail

Jacinto City, TX. – August 12, 2019 – College Student Cinthia Flores, in a statement made to NC Star writer Allan Jamail, said, “In the first place, people should never get a pet if they don’t have the means for caring for it properly. But if they get one and then later realize they can’t properly care for it, they should give it to someone who will. I’m on a strict college student budget but I still manage to save enough to provide shots, food and a healthy place for my pets.”

Dogs kept outdoors are the most common pets to be mistreated, 70 percent of animal cruelty cases is dogs. With daytime temperatures in the 90’s and 100’s, it doesn’t take long before a pet can have a heat stroke.

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LULAC awards scholarships

Aug 15, 2019

Galena Park LULAC Council 4703 gave out $12,500 in scholarships to college-bound students from our local area this evening. Thank you to LULAC member Justice of the Peace Joe Stephens who came out to share his life story of success and words of encouragement to these students and Lt. Charles Brown from Constable Chris Diaz’s office. If you are an incoming senior in high school and you want to apply for the LULAC scholarship go to the LNESC.org website to get the application in February 2020. Pictured with the students are Judge Joe Stephens, Lt. C. Brown and LULAC President Cruz R. Hinojosa, Jr.