Leader0208a

Inside Today: Oak Forest’s Luco has top jazzercize facility • 1B

Covering the Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest & the neighborhoods of North Houston

Saturday, February 8, 2014 • Vol. 60 • No. 14ABOUT US

3500 East T.C. Jester Blvd.Suite A

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The Timbergrove Manor Civic Club was scheduled to protest two separate variance requests that were put forth by InTown Homes, a Hous-ton-based company that’s looking to build between 80 and 100 town-homes in the neighborhood.

TMCC planned on making com-ments at a City of Houston Planning Commission meeting, at which the commission was reviewing the vari-ance requests. It is possible that the commission would postpone a deci-sion to its Feb. 20 meeting.

Follow theleadernews.com for up-dates on the results of the commis-sion’s decision.

“(InTown representatives) told us that nine times out of 10, we don’t get a community reaction like this,” said Super Neighborhood president Bill Morfey, who’s also the president of TMCC. “We’re No. 10.”

Between the two variances, the Su-per Neighborhood has gathered more than 100 signatures of residents op-posing the requests.

Morfey said InTown hasn’t met the element of a hardship to receive a variance request.

InTown Homes representatives declined to comment for the article. The developer is looking for a vari-ance change from the standard 25 feet to 15 feet at the intersection of Ella Blvd. and Grovewood Ln.

The other variance request is for W. 12th St., which would grant the developer an exception from follow-ing a city ordinance that requires a North-South street in order to meet street intersection requirements.

TMCC residents are concerned about public safety/traffi c access, in-cluding whether a fi re truck would be able to access the townhomes with narrow streets.

Given low water pressure in the

Every person asked at Marek Broth-ers has the same response to the ques-tion of why their company has done so well for so long – it’s the quality of their workforce.

“We’ve been really blessed with top fl ight people,” said Ralph Marek. “We try to make it a great place to work.”

Son and CEO Stan Marek said that even though he and cousins Bruce and Paul are still actively involved with the company, the emphasis during their 75th anniversary is the contribution of all their employees.

Still, the Marek story is a great, and uniquely American, one.

In the 1930s, Ralph Marek said that he and brothers John and Bill were “starving to death in Yoakum” during the Great Depression. Bill came to Houston and learned to do sheetrock, then sent word for his brothers to join him.

They formed Marek Brothers Sheet-rock and recruited more family to take part. Eventually they saved enough money for fi ve acres off of Blue Bell Road, near Stuebner Airline, where they set up shop.

As it did for most in 1941, Pearl Har-bor changed the course of their lives. Each brother served in World War II, eventually returning home to take part in a construction boom.

By the mid-1950s, they had all moved into management roles and were working to diversify their con-struction business to include real es-tate.

In 1960, the Mareks bought the Frank Sharp Lumberyard in Oak For-est for storage and then moved their offi ces nearby on Judiway and Piney Woods in the 1970s. By the ’80s, the company had evolved into the largest interior contractor in the Southwest. Today Marek offers a variety of com-mercial and residential construction

services including metal framing, ceil-ing acoustics, fl ooring, window treat-ments and specialty trims.

They have offi ces in Houston, Dal-las, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Harlingen, Oklahoma City and Atlan-ta. Their craftsmanship can be seen in such projects as the Anadarko Tower in the Woodlands, the Chick-fi l-A oper-ations center in Atlanta and the Devon Energy Corporation Headquarters in Oklahoma City.

In addition to their own employees, Marek also works with a number of trusted contractors and sub-contrac-tors to get the work done.

WHERE

WEWORK

Editor’s Note: This is the fi rst in an ongoing series of stories highlighting the industries that provide jobs in our community. Most times, these businesses go unnoticed. Their stories deserve to be told.

Marek BrothersFrom small sheetrockers to employee-conscious industry

Ralph Marek, 88, started the company with his brothers, John and Bill, in the 1930s. Today, Marek still works fi ve hours a day, mainly managing the family’s foundation. (Photo by Betsy Denson)

By Betsy [email protected]

See MAREK, P. 3A

The closure of METRO’s Pinemont Park & Ride has many Forest West residents disappointed, but they appear to have little re-course in the situation.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is re-constructing U.S. Hwy. 290 and demolishing the ramp to the HOV lane this weekend, which means METRO buses 216 and 219 won’t serve Pinemont any longer.

TxDOT has begun con-struction on Project I, includ-ing reconstruction of US 290 from approximately Pinemont to W. 34th Street, including the Pinemont Bridge over US 290.

The fi rst phase of construc-tion started on Monday with

the closure of the Pinemont bridge. Rebuilding the bridge is expected to take six months to complete. During the long term closure, motorists will be detoured to the US 290 east- or westbound frontage road and U-turn at Bingle or Hol-

lister to Pinemont.Multiple closures are sched-

uled throughout February for demolition of the bridge.

The Park & Ride closed on Jan. 24 with no plans of re-opening. There are no plans for METRO to sell or use it.

According to METRO spokesperson Carolina Men-doza, the Park & Ride has closed permenantly and “there was no cost-effective option to continue operating service from the Pinemont P&R.”

Mendoza said the Pinemont

Park & Ride was the third low-est in terms of usage with only about 20 percent of the park-ing spaces being used. Men-doza said the Park & Ride in Cypress had 93 percent of its spots fi lled.

METRO has encouraged commuters to use the North-west Transit Center at Loop 610 and 290, or the W. Little York Park & Ride, which is lo-cated to the north, along 290.

“It will defi nitely inconve-nience people in the subdivi-sion – everybody uses them,” said Forest West board direc-tor Kirk Waldron. “It’s not good. Anytime you have a civil service that goes away, it’s al-ways detrimental.”

Behind the inconvenience, Waldron and Forest West

Traffi c Update: Peeved on Pinemont, stay off 290By Michael [email protected]

See TRAFFIC, P. 3A

Residents who used the Pinemont Park & Ride no longer have a place to leave their cars and catch the bus to work. At right, US 290 will be closed this weekend while the Pinemont bridge is replaced.

VarianceConcerns

Timbergrove Manor residents discuss the protest of variance requests during a meeting on Monday night.

(Photo by Michael Sudhalter)

Residents fear loss of 1.6 acres of greenspace

By Michael [email protected]

HHA looks to add fi fth Constable deputy

The Houston Heights Associa-tion could have around the clock protection, courtesy of the Har-ris County Precinct 1 Constable by the end of 2014.

HHA added a fourth deputy this year and could be on their way adding a fi fth, which would ensure 24-7 patrols, accord-ing to HHA vice president Bill Baldwin.

The Harris County Constable Contract Program consists of a homeowner’s or civic associa-tion paying 70 percent and the County picking up the remaining 30 percent of the program.

STUDIO DUPLEX: Two bedroom, 1,045 sq. ft., hardwoods, nice architec-tural features, laundry room, shaded yard. $800 monthly. 281-733-5913.

FOR SALE - 2008 KIA SPECTRA: Blue, 67,000 miles. $5,000. 713-316-0923.

YARD SALE: Saturday, Feb. 8, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., 1532 W. 25th St., Houston, TX 77008.

FOR SALE - TROY-BILT 2550 PSI PRESSURE WASHER with hose and spray nozzles. Needs new pump. Mtd. chipper-shredder. Needs carb. Repair. $75 each or $125 for both. 713-864-2201.

Waltrip grad helping lead new D1 basketball program to top of the standings. Page 5B

See VARIANCE, P. 3A

Company info - Residential/commercial interior constructionCurrent ownership – 100% privately ownedRevenue: Marek is private and does not publish fi nancials. Commercial Division President Mike Holland estimates they are the largest specialty interior contractor in Southwest and near the top nationally.#of employees: 1,100 in Houston, 1,000 elsewhereAverage salary: $16-$17/hour median, full benefi ts and 401KLongest serving employee: Pat Trojanowsky, the Division President of the Residential Branch at Marek who has worked there for 53 years.

About the Company

THE PUBLIC.Saturday, February 8, 2014 • Page 2A

JAN. 24Assault 3:45 AM 5000-5099

YALERobbery 11:52 AM 5100-5199

YALETheft 12 AM 4000-4099 34TH Theft 4:40 PM 4200-4299

MAIN STRobbery 9:10 PM 3800-3899

CORTLANDT STTheft 4 PM 2800-2899 T C

JESTER BLVDTheft 9:15 PM 1700-1799

SHEPHERD DR

JAN. 25Theft 11:40 PM 1400-1499

SHEPHERD DRRobbery 8:40 PM 2000-2099

18TH STTheft 11:30 PM 2600-2699

CENTER STRobbery 7:30 PM 2100-2199

MAINRobbery 8:47 PM 5100-5199

ELLA BLVDBurglary 2 PM 10500-10599

NORTHWEST FWY SERTheft 10 PM 1100-1199 SHEP-

HERD DRBurglary 10 PM 500-599 SPELLTheft 11 PM 1100-1199

BRASHEAR ST

JAN. 26Theft 2 AM 2500-2599 WHITE

OAK DRTheft 2 AM 4800-4899 WASH-

INGTON AVETheft 10:15 PM 2700-2799

MANGUMBurglary 11:39 AM 3700-3799

CORTLANDT STTheft 3 PM 900-999 NORTH

LP WBurglary 4 PM 900-999 HIGH-

LANDTheft 9:30 AM 0-99 CROSSTIM-

BERSTheft 12 AM 4500-4599 WASH-

INGTON AVETheft 12 AM 4700-4799 WASH-

INGTON AVERobbery 6:30 AM 1500-1599

WHITE OAK DRAssault 1:20 AM 1900-1999

WASHINGTON AVETheft 11:45 AM 2700-2799

NORTH LP W SERTheft 7 AM 4500-4599 SHER-

WOOD LNTheft 1:15 PM 2600-2699

SHEPHERD DRTheft 10:15 AM 5200-5299

34TH STTheft 7 PM 4800-4899 DE MILO

JAN. 27Theft 11 PM 3400-3499 ELLA Theft 11 PM 5600-5699 LARKIN

Theft 5:30 PM 4800-4899 WASHINGTON AVE

Theft 12 PM 1800-1899 WASH-INGTON AVE

Robbery 6 PM 1300-1399 CROSSTIMBERS

Robbery 8:50 PM 3500-3599 MANGUM

Theft 9 AM 4800-4899 LAMONTE LN

Theft 12 AM 800-899 32ND STTheft 2:40 AM 800-899 CROSS-

TIMBERSTheft 4:30 PM 1100-1199

MAIN STAssault 3:30 PM 3400-3499

MANGUMTheft 10:45 AM 700-799

WORTHSHIREAssault 8 PM 5200-5299 FOUR

RIVERS CT

JAN. 28Theft 9:30 AM 400-499 THORN-

TONTheft 2 AM 2800-2899 WASH-

INGTON AVETheft 1:15 PM 600-699 SAWYERTheft 7:37 PM 6500-6599

APOLLO STTheft 9 PM 5000-5099 YALEAssault 12 AM 600-699 CROSS-

TIMBERS

JAN. 29Theft 6:47 PM 1800-1899 YALETheft 6 PM 600-699 19TH STTheft 6:30 PM 1900-1999

SHEPHERD DRTheft 1 PM 400-499 27TH STTheft 6 PM 700-799 19TH STTheft 6:30 PM 700-799 11TH STRobbery 6:45 PM 3800-3899

SHEPHERD DRTheft 7 PM 3600-3699 KATY

FWYTheft 10:12 PM 4400-4499

SHEPHERD DRTheft 7:45 PM 100-199

HEIGHTS BLVDTheft 9 PM 1200-1299 43RD STTheft 7:15 PM 1200-1299

43RD STTheft 6:50 PM 1900-1999

WASHINGTON AVETheft 6:40 PM 9700-9799

HEMPSTEAD HWYTheft 10 PM 800-899 RAL-

FALLENTheft 2:58 PM 1400-1499

THOMPSONBurglary 8 PM 5200-5299

FOUNDERS WAY CT

JAN. 30Robbery 8:25 PM 900-999

NORTH LP W SERRobbery 2:20 PM 4700-4799

MAINTheft 7:10 PM 3100-3199

WHITE OAK DRTheft 8 PM 900-999 DURHAMTheft 6 PM 3000-3099 NORTH

LP WRobbery 9:01 PM 1800-1899

43RD STTheft 12 AM 5300-5399 DAR-

LING STTheft 9:30 PM 3200-3299

MANGUMTheft 7 PM 1800-1899 SHEP-

HERD DRTheft 8 AM 1600-1699 MAN-

SFIELD

JAN. 31Theft 6:25 PM 500-599 PECORETheft 4:15 PM 5600-5699 YALETheft 5:30 AM 4000-4099

WATONGA BLVDTheft 8:05 PM 200-299 20TH STRobbery 10:30 PM 3200-3299

MANGUMBurglary 4:20 AM 4600-4699

DACOMA STTheft 2:30 PM 2000-2099

EDWARDS ST

FEB. 1 Burglary 11 AM 3700-3799

CORTLANDT STTheft 10:30 AM 1000-1099

STUDETheft 2:30 AM 1900-1999

WASHINGTON AVEAssault 9:50 AM 1300-1399

CROSSTIMBERSTheft 3 PM 900-999 USENER

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Police Reports • Jan. 24 - Feb. 1

The Houston Police Department responded to a shooting at 3:45 a.m. on Jan. 24 in the 5000 block of Yale.

A 24-year-old victim was shot by a black male suspect and taken to Ben Taub Hospital where he was treated for non-life threatening gunshot wounds. The Homicide Division is investigating the case.

Texaco robberyFour or five black male suspects

robbed the Texaco Gas Station in the 3500 block of Mangum at 8:50 p.m. on Jan. 27. The Robbery Division is following up on the case.

Robbery on YaleTwo black male suspects

robbed a 31-year-old female at knifepoint at a washateria at

11:52 a.m. on Jan. 24 in the 5100 block of Yale. No arrests have been made.

Robbery at ValeroThree individuals at a Valero

Gas Station (2000 block of W. 18th St.) -- a 54-year-old female, a 19-year-old female and a 19-year-old male were robbed at gunpoint at 8:40 p.m. on Jan. 25. The Robbery Division is investi-gating the case.

Family Dollar robberyA male suspect robbed the Fam-

ily Dollar, 5100 block of Ella, at gunpoint at 8:47 p.m. on Jan. 25. The Robbery Division is following up on the investigation.

Cortlandt Robbery/Assault

A 50-year-old female was walk-

ing on a trail to an apartment complex at 9:10 p.m. on Jan. 24 in the 3800 block of Cortlandt when a black male suspect walked up to her, pushed her down and stole her cell phone.

The victim confronted the suspect, whom she knows as an acquaintance, and he punched her in the face, knocking out a tooth.

The victim told police she’d seek medical treatment on her own. Police have a lead on the identity of the suspect.

Subway robberyTwo black male suspects, ap-

proximately 20 years old, robbed the Subway Restaurant, 3806 North Shepherd, at 6:45 p.m. on Jan. 29.

The armed suspects stole cash as well as wallets, purses and cell

phones from customers inside the store. The Robbery Division is investigating the crime.

White Oak robberyA 21-year-old female told police

she was robbed at gunpoint by two black male suspects at 6 a.m. on Jan. 26 in the 1500 block of White Oak. The victim said the suspects, who stole her cell phone, fled the scene. She was not injured.

Mangum robberyA 28-year-old female victim

said a suspect approached her and pointed a gun at 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 31 in the 3200 block of Mangum.

The suspect robbed her of purse and phone before fleeing. There were no injuries.

Garden Oaks Montessori Magnet stu-dents helped Adolf Hoepfl & Son Garage owner Kathryn van der Pol organize care packages for a local U.S. Army Reserve unit that was recently deployed to Af-ghanistan.

The students packed snacks -- includ-ing cookies they baked, Valentine’s Day cards, toiletries and other items for the 64 soldiers, who are working on rebuilding infrastructure in Afghanistan.

Harper Alternative School students also baked cookies and contributed to the project.

Hoepfl employees purchased most of the goods after sponsors for the garage’s

Classic and Custom Car Show on Jan. 24 made donations to the project, which began when Army Specialist Aaron Mays

of North Houston, a member of the unit, spoke to van der Pol about putting togeth-er care packages for the deployed troops.

On Jan. 30, it was the students’ turn to participate in the project, and they were all excited about it.

“It was very heartwarming, and we hope the 64 soldiers will appreciate it,” said fourth grader Isabel Hugetz.

Fourth grader Akira Miller said he en-joyed the opportunity to do something nice for the troops.

“I like it because you don’t get to make cards and give them cookies very often,” Miller said.

Said third grader Mark Mendoza, “You get to do stuff for other people. It makes you feel proud of what you’re doing.”

Garden Oaks students give back to the troops

Garden Oaks Montessori Magnet students pack boxes to send to U.S. Army reserve soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. (Photos by Michael Sudhalter)

By Michael [email protected]

24-year old victim of shooting on Yale

Carl NossekNative Houstonian

Always Actingin Your Best Interest.

[email protected]

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Timbergrove area in recent months, residents are also concerned about the fi re de-partment having adequate wa-ter pressure to put out a fi re.

They’re also concerned about increased traffi c and a potential loss of 1.6 acres of green space.

Morfey said he’s communi-cated with InTown represen-tatives, but they haven’t been specifi c about their plans re-garding traffi c and safety. He said they plan to re-confi gure their plans if the variance re-quests are denied.

Morfey said the TMCC and the Super Neighborhood 14 aren’t against the construction of townhomes in the neigh-borhood. They just want to see responsible growth.

“The simple fact is they’re

asking for additional land to build on, while everyone else is living there as the city re-quires,” Morfey said.

If the residents hadn’t pro-tested the variance requests, it would have become a “con-sent item,” or in layman’s terms, would have been rub-ber stamped by the commis-sion.

Pam Spayde, one of the residents contesting the vari-ance request, said this is just the beginning of monitoring InTown’s developments in the area.

“InTown Homes owns quite a bit of land – they own the land south of Ella and Green-wood,” Spayde said. “They’re going to become a presence. We would like it to be respon-sible and as safe as possible.”

Small to BigDivision President Mike

Holland, who grew up in Gar-den Oaks, got a job pumping gas at a Marek warehouse as a boy. Now he’s been with the company for 43 years.

“The vast majority of our workers report to a job site,” he said. There are also many employees who come to the warehouse to gather materi-als fi rst. “From 5 to 5:30 in the morning, this place is hop-ping.”

He said that while the single family home used to be their bread and butter, today the ratio of work is close to 75 percent commercial and 25 percent residential. About 35-40 percent of the commercial business comes from Hous-ton.

“We started out sheetrock-ing little industrial warehouse spaces and now we are a niche player for big, complex proj-ects,” he said.

What differentiates Marek in the market is that they pay well for ‘blue collar’ work – in addition to benefi ts and 401K for employees – because they want a skilled, loyal work force and because they believe it’s the right thing to do.

As a result, they are not the lowest price bid for a job, but Holland says that in perfor-mance and results they are a top player.

The fi delity of their work-force, and the fi nancial savvy of the original Mareks who be-lieved in building a war chest for bad times, has gotten them through the ups and downs of the business.

“We believe that fi nancial strength and ability are valu-able to our customers,” said Holland.

Finding WorkersHowever, there is work to be

done, especially in the areas of work force development and immigration.

To recruit and train new

workers, they established Marek Employment Manage-ment Company (MEMCO), a staffi ng and payroll fi rm. Hol-land said that many of the people who enroll move from a day laborer to a highly skilled worker, and gain permanent employment with Marek.

“You don’t compete with low benefi ts and no clear path,” said Holland. “That’s a road to nowhere.”

They also are a key player in the Construction Career Collaborative (C3) which taps into the commitment of own-ers to maintain standards in the workplace and to meet the needs of their workers.

The most important part of a fair playing fi eld is immigra-tion reform, according to both

Stan Marek and Mike Holland who educate and lobby to re-store construction to a middle class occupation.

“We believe in a reasonable immigration policy,” said Hol-land. “(That workers) should be here legally and be paid by the hour. The current system doesn’t work.”

“Day laborers don’t pay tax-es, we’re not going to do that, it’s not right,” said Marek.

In addition to the non-pay-ment of taxes from undocu-mented workers, thousands of workers are abused.

“Most people stick their head in the sand and wait for change,” Marek said.

The desire to do what is right, for their industry and for others, is deeply rooted in the values of the company’s founders.

Ralph Marek, who will be 89 in April, still comes in fi ve hours a day to manage the as-sets and grant distribution of their family foundation.

“Ralph was tithing when he wasn’t making money,” Hol-land said. “He always believed that giving should focus on hunger and poverty and looks for ways to address those needs.”

president David Ojeman is concerned that the closure of the Park & Ride could lower property values. They claim many newer residents decided to move to the area with the nearby Park & Ride as an amenity.

“I believe that METRO has been talk-ing about closing that park and ride for some time, it just never happened,” Oje-man said.

Carol Caul, the advocacy chair for the Citizens Transportation Coalition, said there was a 180 day window in 2011 for residents to fi le a lawsuit regarding the closure of the Park & Ride, but she be-lieves there’s no recourse at this time.

“If somebody can fi gure out a way to sue (METRO or TxDOT), more power to them,” said Caul, who is representing sev-eral Oak Forest and North Houston resi-dents in a lawsuit to ensure TxDOT fol-

lows federal noise abatement regulations.Houston City Councilmember Ellen

Cohen said she’s disappointed to see the Park & Ride close, as transportation is a major issue in the city, but she said METRO, not the city, has control over the operation of the Park & Ride.

N. Shepherd projectTxDOT has begun a major project at I-

45 and North Shepherd To alleviate traffi c congestion where the N. Shepherd turnoff goes to I-45 north, a $2.9 million ramp project is under way.

The contract shows 449 working days, so there could be a bit of disruption there for some time.

Because the public knows little about this project, TxDOT held an informa-tional meeting informational meeting on Tuesday at the Acres Home Multi-Ser-

vice Center to discuss schematics, draw-ings and information about the connector ramp and the construction timeline.

Entrance ramp from W. 18th StreetMike Zientek, Senior Public Involve-

ment Representative with the US 290 Program, offered one correction to the item about future plans for the I-610 southbound entrance ramp from W. 18th Street. It is a left, not a right, that drivers will make on the southbound I-610 front-age road to access the mainlanes.

My290

If you want to keep up with the news and traffi c updates from US 290 keep www.my290.com bookmarked or follow on Twitter, @my290houston.

Betsy Denson contributed to this story

Variance, from P. 1A

Traffi c, from P. 1A

Marek, from P. 1A

Saturday, February 8, 2014 • Page 3A

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Bill, John and Ralph Marek started a com-pany that is still thriving 75 years later.

The Harriet & Joe Foster Family YMCA kicked off its Annual Campaign on Friday, Jan. 24 to help raise funds that will provide scholarships to local youth, teen, families and seniors. Each of the 37 YMCAs across the greater Houston area work together to meet the $6.9 million goal.

Last year, YMCA of Greater Houston as-sociation volunteers united to gain the trust and charitable support of more than 10,000 individual, corporate and foundation donors. They raised more than $6.5 million to support eff orts at the Harriet & Joe Foster Family YMCA and the other communities through-out the Houston area. In 2013, more than $350,000 was given to youth, families and seniors in this area through the Harriet & Joe

Foster Family YMCA.One hundred percent of the money raised

for the Harriet & Joe Foster Family YMCA stays within the local community. Last year, over

$125,000 went to help provide children a safe place afterschool, $95,000 help provide youth summer activities, and $145,000 helped our community live a healthier life regardless of income.

“Every gift to the Annual Campaign is an investment in the children in our community,” said Rosemary Lengefeld, Community Execu-tive Director. “Your gifts make our community stronger and give community members, regardless of their ability to pay, the op-portunity to participate in our programs and achieve their greatest potential.”

To pledge a gift, volunteer, or to fi nd out more about the YMCA Annual Campaign, contact Faye Gould at 713-869-3378 or visit ymcahouston.org/donate.

YMCA kicks off 2014 annual support campaign

Rosemary Lengefeld and Billy Hartman are leading this year’s campaign.

ACROSS

THE PUZZLES.Solutions in this issue’s classsi ed section.

1. Sorli’s Tale hero 2. A musical master 3. Speech 4. Swiftest 5. Opaque gem 6. Origins 7. Proceed from a source 8. Rechristened 9. Liquorice avored seed 13. Small amount 14. Mineral aggregate 17. Pre x for wrong 18. Point midway between E and SE 20. A single instance 21. French river 26. Undeveloped blossom 27. One pip domino 28. Fled on foot 30. Sheep bleat 31. One point N of due E 32. Father 36. A projecting part 37. Improved by editing 38. Made melodious sounds 39. Treatment 40. Agreeableness 41. Bell sound 42. Tennis contests 43. Furnace vessels 46. Sirius Satellite Radio (abbr.) 47. Licensed accountant 48. Crude potassium bitartrate 50. Insert mark 51. Election Stock Market (abbr.) 52. A health resort 54. So. Am. Indian people

organization 35. Most thick 40. Sleeve indicator of mourning 44. Far East housemaid 45. Hmong 46. With three uneven sides 49. Tempts 53. Jewelry nding 55. Showed intense anger 56. Black tropical American cuckoo 57. Sculpture with a head 58. A single entity 59. What part of (abbr.) 60. Before 61. Con ned condition (abbr.) 62. Hurrah 63. Transport faster than sound

1. Type of health plan 4. Atmospheric haze 7. A period of time 10. Auricle 11. Copycat 12. Manpower 13. Delicate fern genus 15. Diego, Francisco or Anselmo 16. Zanzibar copal 19. Jackie’s 2nd husband 22. Calci ed tooth tissue 23. Conjoined twins 24. Mythological birds 25. This (Spanish) 26. Lowest hereditary title 29. Pre-transplant plot 33. Fiddler crab genus 34. Professional legal

SUDOKO

DOWN

THE TOPICS.Saturday, February 8, 2014 • Page 4A

Those who read this column with any regularity know I’m an Alabama native. The first

decade of my journalism career was built in small towns in an area of the state called the “Black Belt.”

Originally, Black Belt referred to the rich, dark soil that was home to bountiful cotton fields. Today, the name has stuck, but the reference now is to demographics rather than dirt. This is largely an African-Ameri-can region of Alabama, and I’m proud of the time I spent learning my trade there.

You didn’t ask for a history lesson, but some context is important today. Most of my work in Alabama was done in two separate cities: Selma and Demopolis. Selma, as most know, is considered the home of the Civil Rights Movement. Demopolis is a small town west of Selma on U.S. 80, and its claim to fame was once its Christmas on the River celebra-tion and a New Era hat factory, where all Major League Baseball hats were produced.

Why am I telling you about these two cities? Because they are less than an hour apart in distance, but are worlds apart in education. And together, these cities and their

schools serve as a wonderful civ-ics lesson in what we’re seeing in schools in the Heights, Garden Oaks and Oak Forest areas of Houston.

Selma’s city school system never fared well during my time as editor of the newspaper. In fact, the school system was as segregated in the early 2000s as it was in the early 1960s. White, private schools were an industry unto themselves, and while one private school worked to bring diversity, the reality was that whites attended private schools and blacks went to public school.

Here’s what happened: In the 1970s, when school integration began in earnest, there were wild protests in the Selma city schools – especially at Selma High School. The protests weren’t started by

whites, but they were frightening enough that white parents snatched their children out of the schools and started two private schools (which later became three schools).

This fragmentation in Selma’s schools was evident in the quality of education for the young people in that city. Real-world lessons of diver-sity were absent, because the young people didn’t go to school with the other race. I haven’t been back to Selma in a long time, but I have a friend who recently taught there, and he says nothing has changed.

Over in Demopolis, less than an hour away, the public schools are fully integrated, and the one private school that also opened in the 1970s closed about eight years ago. Mean-while, public Demopolis High School is as fine an institution as you’ll find in small-town Alabama, and the community supports that school like few I’ve ever seen.

With the geographic and demo-graphic closeness of Selma and Demopolis, you might wonder why the schools – and the communities, as a whole – are so much different. To me, the schools are the great-est of reasons. And the reason the schools are so different is because of

the communities that support them.When integration frightened white

parents in Selma, they all bailed. They started their own schools. When integration in Demopolis happened, a white attorney named Rick Manley – along with a number of other people – decided they were keeping their children in public schools. And they vowed to be involved in helping keep those public schools strong.

Last week in The Leader, we wrote a story about Hogg Middle School and how parents who don’t even have children attending that school are starting to get involved at Hogg. People like Emily Guyre want their children to have a wonderful middle school in a few years, but instead of standing around and hoping the school gets better, they’re getting involved right now.

You cannot imagine how cool I think this is – especially considering the background mentioned above. In terms of bettering a community, I do not believe there is a single thing more important than parents getting involved in public schools. And to see parents who have no immediate stake getting involved now gets me incredibly excited.

The same thing is happening at Frank Black Middle School, where a man named Tim Weltin left his work as an attorney and now works full-time at FBMS as the “Parent Involvement Coordinator.” Imagine that. A coordinator of parents.

As you might suspect, Tim doesn’t have children at Frank Black right now. He has a second grader and a 2-year-old. But instead of pointing fingers at standardized test scores, he’s helping lead a community revo-lution in the public schools here.

Over the past month, it seems we’ve had a lot of stories about how the transition of our neighborhoods is bruising egos along the way. But as younger families move into our area, and folks like Tim and Emily take a vested interest in improving our schools, we all win.

Private schools are great for some people, and they have an important place here. We have a couple of the best in the city right here in the area. But there’s nothing like having a strong public school system to lift a community. And we have folks turn-ing the propellors.

Email [email protected]

When parents get involved, our schools winJONATHAN

MCELVYPublisher

Hogg ElementaryFrom theleadernews.comIt’s a myth that kids who live in the Heights don’t

attend Hogg M.S. This year’s sixth grade class includes 18 graduates of Harvard Elementary and 18 graduates of Travis Elementary. More Harvard and Travis parents are planning to send their students to sixth grade at Hogg in the fall.

To learn why, tour Hogg and see for yourself the great things happening at our neighborhood school. Tours take place on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 1 p.m. Dates for upcoming tours: Feb. 4, Feb. 18, March 4.

Kat

Dear Editor:I’m disappointed that The Leader, in its front-page

story about all of the progress at Hogg Middle School, began by focusing on the old news. You printed a balanced story, and while most of it reported on positive developments at the school, this part of the story was almost entirely buried in the inside pages of the paper. Readers scanning the front page may have seen only the first part of the article, almost all of which is a rehashing of old news–the challenges facing our neighborhood school.

The news about Hogg is that community support for the school is growing among parents in the

Heights. Volunteers with Learn Local are encourag-ing neighborhood families to take a look at the new Hogg, tour the campus, and learn what the school has to offer instead of listening to rumors left over from years ago, when Hogg had a poor reputation in the community.

Applications to the magnet program at Hogg M.S. are up this year, with more than 300 received to date. Hogg’s students, teachers, and parents have worked hard and accomplished a remarkable turn-around at the school in the past several years under the leadership of Dr. Mina Schnitta, who became principal in February 2011.

Next time, please don’t bury the good news when reporting on a story that’s so important to our community. This is a disservice to Hogg’s students, teachers, and leadership, and to the volunteers who are working hard to get the word out to Heights-area families.

For more about Learn Local and Hogg Middle School, go to www.facebook.com/LearnLocalatHogg

Katherine Heinrich‘Learn Local.’ board member

Paul Carr From theleadernews.comMr. Paul Carr, since they are not grateful we will

be happy to take it and our 100 little guys and gals

will enjoy (the wooden train) every day and we will keep it in good repair. We will also assist in moving it. Let’s roll!

J.W. Hill

From theleadernews.comI wouldn’t be surprised if this is just a payback sim-

ply because Paul Carr spoke up about the craziness of the historical district and the nutty bungalow dwellers, most of whom are tenants anyway. Paul has done a stellar service of helping the Heights. He called out the “whiners” many times, those who didn’t want new construction, those who didn’t want the Walmart (we now have great shopping!!!), those who didn’t want the feeder roads (now we can finally access the freeway) and so on and so on. Paul, hold your head high...

New PaperDear Editor:Can you make the font smaller? Can still make out

print in paper. Guess I will need to get my magnify-ing glass in order to read “your” paper. Thanks for the change.

Very Disappointed “Original” Oak Forest Resident

[Editor’s Note: Dear Disappointed, sarcasm noted. However, we do appreciate your note. Tough thing

about making a paper-size change on a press is you don’t know how things will turn out until they print. We agree with you; one of the fonts we used was way too small. We’ve fixed it so it’s the same size as the prior one. The main font we use on all news stories is actually darker, which we hope appeased some of our readers.]

What is it?Dear Editor:Is there anyway I can persuade you guys to get us

an update on the delays at Berryhill’s (or whatever it will be) at Ella and 43rd?

Oak Forest Reader

[Editor’s Note: We can confirm the restaurant-look-ing building at the corner of Ella and 43rd Street will be a Berryhill’s, unless something crazy happens in the next couple of months. The delay, according to a source close to the business, came from some sort of dispute between a real estate management company and the restaurant. While the restaurant owner has not re-turned multiple calls, our source projects the restaurant to open in late March or early April, though there are no guarantees just yet.]

Got something to share?Email us at [email protected]

THE TV – There is Den-nis Rodman crooning “Happy Birthday” to North Korean dictator and the last person in-vited to a family reunion, Kim Jong Un. I hope the former NBA star took along his check-book. You see, the “Happy Birthday Song” is copyrighted, private property, and royalties are collected. I didn’t know that. Did you? Same situation when you sing the official song of the U.S. Coast Guard if you use any lyrics written after 1922. God Bless America gen-erates royalties but only for the Scouts.

As we can see, there is a lot going on in the music world, and we should know it, or get hit up by copyright (shouldn’t it be copywrite?) lawyers want-ing our money. Let’s start with Happy Birthday (and not use quotation marks around all these song titles – they get in the way). It reportedly started life as Good Morning to All or Good Morning to You, written by two Louisville sisters, Patty and Mildred Hill, in the 1890s.Eventually Birchtree Ltd., a small company with musical holdings, acquired the song. Warner/Chappell, the music publishing arm of Warner Mu-sic Group, paid $25 million in 1988 to acquire Birchtree Ltd. and began collecting royalties while the candles were still be-ing lit.

This is no small matter. Happy Birthday is the most frequently sung song in the English language, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Its usage surpasses the works of Bach, Beethoven and the Beatles, says the Songwriters Hall of Fame. It has been sung in 143 mov-ies – filmmakers of the 1994 documentary “Hoop Dreams” paid $5,000 to use the song – translated into at least 18 languages and used in ads to sell everything from insurance to margarine. Warner/Chap-pell collects approximately $2 million per year in licensing fees for the song, some of it going to a foundation set up by the Hill sisters. But a film company, Good Morning To You Productions, which made a documentary film about the song, recently filed a lawsuit arguing the copyright on the song expired in 1921, and that

the company should not have been forced to pay $1,500 for the rights to use the song. It now belongs in the public do-main, the suit says.

Don’t worry, Warner/Chap-pell lawyers are not going to sue you for singing Happy Birthday at home, but at a restaurant? Anyone who per-forms the song publicly risks a $150,000 fine if they don’t agree to pay a fee to the music group, so restaurant chains, in-cluding Red Lobster and Out-back Steakhouse, have written their own birthday songs to avoid having to pay for live music.

Speaking of royalties, Irving Berlin wrote God Bless Amer-ica in 1917 and never used it. Kate Smith popularized the tune in 1938, but Berlin made it strictly legal that all royalties would go to patriotic programs for impoverished youths. The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were first. Thus far the song has generated $10 million in royalties and they still roll in, but Berlin never took a dime.

Now about the aforemen-tioned public domain. In the U.S., no sound recording will enter the public domain until 2067, unless explicitly placed into the public domain by its composers. So you can sing the National Anthem, When Johnny Comes March-ing Home, most of Sousa’s marches, America the Beauti-ful, Yankee Doodle, the Battle Hymn of the Republic and Dixie. But be careful about military songs. The Marines’ Hymn is not From the Halls of Montezuma. The official title is The Marines’ Hymn. Anchors Aweigh is actually the fight song of the U.S. Naval Academy, but is considered the official Navy song.

In 1948, the Army con-ducted a contest to find an official song, but no entry re-ceived much popular support. In 1952, another contest was

held. Winner: The Army’s Al-ways There. It was played by an Army band at President Ike Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953. However, many thought that the tune was too similar to – get this – I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts, so the Army decided to go back to a popular tune which was origi-nally the Field Artillery Song, then the Caissons Go Rolling Along and now is The Army Goes Rolling Along. The of-ficial march of the U.S. Coast Guard is Semper Paratus (Lat-in for “Always Wet”). The U.S. Air Force song is called the U.S. Air Force Song, unfortu-nately dropping its original title: What Do You think of the Air Corps Now? Charles Ling-bergh was asked his opinion of the tune. He responded polite-ly but years later remarked in a diary, “I think it is mediocre at best. Neither the music nor the words appealed to me.” Nei-ther the Coast Guard nor Air Force songs are in the public domain.

At the very end of the mov-ie “Giant” there is small, not giant, print on the screen ac-knowledging the UT Students Association for the use of The Eyes of Texas. At that time the association held the copyright, then lost it to Wylbert Brown. It seems the UT Students As-sociation copyrighted the song in 1936 and it expired in1964. In the late 1970s a man living in Oregon claimed ownership of The Eyes and was receiv-ing royalties. Wylbert Brown, a former Fort Worth musician, had copyrighted the words in 1928, years before UT had. This brings up the question: how could the students copy-right the song if it was already copyrighted?

Anyway, in 1986, the presi-dent of Southern Music Com-pany in San Antonio, Arthur B. Gurwitz, wanted to honor his son, a UT grad, who had died. Gurwitz negotiated with Brown, then 91, who agreed to assign the copyright to UT-Austin, provided he would continue to draw some royalty until his death. He died in Feb-ruary 1987. On Nov. 14, 1987, in a special salute before a foot-ball game, UT-Austin honored Gurwitz returning the Eyes to their sockets till Gabriel blows his candles.

LYNN

ASHBY

Columnist

Couldn’t have sung it better myself

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LAUGHTERWhy do we laugh? To say that we laugh because we

nd something funny begs the question why we nd things funny. We may laugh for a variety of

reasons, and not always because something is funny, since we laugh sometimes when we are nervous or in other situations where we are essentially “breaking the ice.” Plato and Aristotle thought that we laughed because we felt superior in some way to the object of our laughter, whereas Kant thought that we laughed when something seemed incongruous. A good joke, according to Kant, raises certain expectations and then dashes those expectations at the punch line. Modern theories of humor tend to side more with Kant, some of them speculating that when social norms are violated in a way that isn’t overly threatening we nd it funny. And indeed, most jokes break some rules of propriety and if we don’t nd that violation too offensive, we’re likely to laugh. We are wise to think carefully before telling a joke, making sure it doesn’t make someone in the audience the object of ridicule. In any case, we ought not to take ourselves too seriously, and should take every opportunity to laugh.

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Sunday - Bible Study For All Ages .. 9:30am Morning Worship ............ 10:45am Age Graded Zones ...........6:15pmWed. - Prayer Meeting & Missions Organization .....................6:15pm

Dr. John W. Neesley - Senior Pastor

713-864-14701822 W. 18th

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Sunday School . . . . . . . 9:30 AMSunday Worship . . . . . 10:45 AM

Nursery ProvidedReverend Hill Johnson, Pastor

Grace UnitedMethodist Church

713 862-8883Food Pantry, Thurs. 2-4:30 PM

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Rev. Herschel Moore, PastorA House of Hope and Prayer in the Heart of Houston

• Bible Study: 9:15 a.m.• Morning:10:30 a.m.• Evening: 4:15 p.m.

1700 West 43rd at Rosslyn713-682-4942

Weekly Sunday Services

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1216 Bethlehemat Ella Blvd.

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Heights

Eva Marie Carlin, 81, born July 24, 1932, died Jan. 23. Carlin was a den mother for her children’s cub scout troop, a legal secretary for Sheraton Hotels, involved with the Houston International Trade and Travel Fair, co-owner of El Sol, the first English/Spanish newspaper in Houston, a member of the GI Forum, Lulac, Paso, the Hispanic Women’s Leadership Conference, and active in the march on Austin for Texas farm workers rights. She is survived by her children Robert Sanchez, Sandra Jensen, Michael Anthony Sanchez, Victor Garcia III and a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Genevieve Curtiss, 97, born Oct. 24, 1916 in Cuero, Texas, died Jan. 31. Curtiss graduated from Jeff Davis High School in 1934. She married William A. Cur-tiss on Nov. 22, 1946, in Lansing, Michigan. She was employed by Southwestern Bell for 37 years prior to retirement in 1980. She was a member at St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church. She is survived by her brother Harold W. Nelms. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Stephens United Methodist Church, 2003 W. 43rd St. Houston 77018.

Martha “Marty” Jean Den-

man, 65, born Oct. 31, 1948 in Los Angeles, died Jan. 27. Denman was employed by Oil and Gas Measurements Equipment, Inc. She is survived by her loving husband, Terry Denman, mother Lee Mast, brother Danny Beaver, sister Linda Friend, step-sister Sue Ellen Lesch, grandson Preston James, and step-granddaughter

Tara Lane Labeff.

Marjorie Gray Lander, 91, born Jan. 3, 1923 in the Houston Heights, died Jan. 29. She was a Reagan High School Redcoat, graduating with the class of 1939. Lander graduated from the University of Houston, class of 1961, with a Bachelor of Science in Education. For more than 20 years she taught second grade at Fisher Elementary School in Pasadena. Memorial contribu-tions may be made to a charity of one’s choice.

Ella Marie Cloyd Maguire, 94, born May 26, 1919 in Houston, died Jan. 31. She is survived by her daughter Georgia Dyer, son William Maguire Jr., four grand-children, six great-grandchildren, and three great-great grandchil-dren.

Stephen E. Stewart, 62, born Sept. 10, 1951 in St. Louis, Mo., died Jan. 28. He attended Waltrip High School and later, The Teach-ing Ministry in Beaumont and had a passion for sharing the Gospel. Stewart served in the Vietnam War in the U.S. Navy receiving the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. He worked as a mechanic, sales engineer, sales manager and branch manager at S&N Pump Company for 12 years. He is survived by his mother Geral-dine A. Stewart, three children Daniel Stewart, Keith Stewart and Kristina Escamilla, their mother Melanie Mitchell Reddick, siblings Anne Helton, Karen Draper, Richard Stewart, Walter Stewart,

Cathy Robertson, Julie Jacobs, Mary Jones, Jimmy Stewart, Billy Stewart, and two grandsons. Memorial contributions may be made to Family Services of Greater Houston, 4625 Lillian St., Houston 77007.

Loraine Stone, 89, died Jan. 29. She is survived by her daughters Gale Erwin, Jeanne Miller, and two grandchildren.

Prepared as a public service to promote better dental health. From the office of: Chase Baker, D.D.S.,

3515 Ella Blvd., 713-682-4406.

Chase Baker, D.D.S.

D oes thumb-sucking or pacifier use lead to crooked teeth? If the habit is prolonged past the age of two,

this can lead to alterations in oral development which cause misshapen mouths and displaced teeth. Thumb sucking past the eruption of the first permanent teeth can cause an anterior open bite, where there is flaring of the anterior teeth. In this case the back teeth close together, while the front teeth show an open gap from the thumb obstruction. The effect on the bony support of the teeth is one of the largest concerns, as well as abnormal, deforming muscle activity. The habit can alter the child’s swal-lowing pattern furthering the protrusion of the upper front teeth, a narrowing of the upper dental arch, and an obvious malocclusion of the teeth. As long as there are infants, there will be thumb suckers and pacifiers. However, if the habit continues longer than usual, it’s best to have the child checked by a dentist before it causes any problems.

THUMB-SUCKING AND

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Dear Heart of Jesus, in the past I have asked for favors. This time I ask you this very special one. (Mention fa-vor). Take it Dear Jesus, and place it within your own heart where your Fa-ther sees it. Then in your merciful eyes it will become your favor not mine. Amen. Say this prayer for 3 days, promise publication and favor will be granted. Never known to fail. T.S.

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Alterations & Dry Cleaning

Chris’ Since 1978

THE OBITUARIES.

FROM THE PEWS.Family movie night at St. Stephen’s

All in the community are welcome to attend St. Ste-phen’s family movie night at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 7, in the fellow-ship hall. Families can bring their dinner. The church will provide popcorn and lemon-ade. Admission is free.

Students in the third through fifth grade will bake cookies for homebound members fol-lowing the 11 a.m. service on Feb. 9. For information, call 713-686-8241 or visit [email protected].

St. Stephen’s United Meth-odist Church is located at 2003 W. 43rd St.

Chocolate Valentine Fantasy at St. Rose

St. Rose of Lima Altar Guild will hold a Chocolate Valentine Fantasy featuring a chocoholic feast and games. The church is located at 3600 Brinkman. The event will be at 7 p.m. Feb. 7. The cost is $10 per person. Proceeds go towards the St. Rose ministry.

Scout Recognition Sunday at St. Mark’s

St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 600 Pecore, will hold a Scout Recognition Sunday service at 10:50 a.m. Feb. 9.

Scouting troops and lead-ers, both boys and girls, who meet at and are sponsored by St. Mark’s UMC, will dress in

their uniforms, be recognized, and participate in the church service. Boy Scout Troop 30 sponsored by St. Mark’s will celebrate its 89th anniversary next month.

Call 713-861-3104 or visit www.smumc.org for informa-tion.

All Saints Cultural Arts Series presents ‘Serata Lirica’

A free concert “Serata Liri-ca” will be followed by a light dinner at All Saints Catholic Church, 215 E. 10th St., at 5 p.m. Feb. 9. Italian tenor An-gelo Ferrari will be accompa-nied by Frankie J. Kelly on the piano and joined by soprano Priscilla Salisbury.

Call 832-641-6319 for infor-mation.

Spring semester begins at All Saints TALC

All Saints Third Age Learn-ing Center senior program is open to all seniors 60 years and older. The program is held at All Saints Catholic Church, 215 E. 10th St. The deadline to register for classes is Feb. 14.

TALC offers a variety of classes, seminars, birthday celebrations, day trips and monthly parties. A full course hot lunch is available at noon weekdays for $2. Reservations are recommended by 10 a.m. weekdays and can be made by calling 713-248-1277.

February events include a Valentine’s Day party on Feb. 14, a Mardi Gras themed party hosted by the All Saints Youth on Feb. 16, an AARP driver safety course Feb. 18 and a ca-sino day trip to Delta Downs on Feb. 28.

The AARP driver safety course is from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Feb. 18. The cost is $15 for AARP members and $20 for non-members. The Delta Downs Casino trip, scheduled for Feb. 28 still has space avail-able. The bus will leave All Saints Church at 8 a.m. and re-turn at 6 p.m. Cost of the trip is $20 per person.

Seniors interested in the AARP course or the Casino trip can call 713-248-1277 for information and reservations.

‘The Absurd Call of God’ series at St. Matthew’s

The Rev. Frank Coats will be starting a new series from the book of Matthew’s Beati-tudes, titled “The Absurd Call of God” beginning next week at St. Matthew’s United Meth-odist Church, 4300 N. Shep-herd.

For information, call 713-697-0671 or visit www.stmat-thewsmethodist.org.

MANNA to host a Food Fair at Temple Oaks Baptist

MANNA is reaching out to the community and will be

hosting a food fair from 10 a.m. to noon Feb. 15, at Tem-ple Oaks Baptist Church, 2101 W. 34th St. Must have ID.

Members from St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church will be volunteering to help with this event.

To volunteer for MANNA’s next food fair, please con-tact Patricia Dornak at 713-504-5486 or email her at [email protected] for in-formation.

Sweet Serenades Musical Valentine Celebration at St. Mark’s

St. Mark’s United Methodist Church Music Department will be presenting Sweet Serenades Musical Valentine Celebration at 4 p.m. Feb. 16, in the fellow-ship hall. Tickets are $10 and $5 for children and seniors (65 and older). There will also be desserts available at this fam-ily friendly event. Proceeds benefit the St. Mark’s Music Department.

St. Mark’s UMC is located at 600 Pecore. Call 713-861-3104 or visit www.smumc.org for in-formation.

Make plans to attend the Spring Bazaar at St. Andrew’s

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 1819 Heights Blvd., will have a Spring Bazaar from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. March 1. Ad-mission is free.

Chopped beef sandwiches

and fresh home-made desserts will be available as well as the wares of 40 local and regional vendors, artisans and craft-speople.

Call 713-861-5596 or visit saecheights.org for informa-tion.

Page 8A • Saturday, February 8, 2014

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Friday February the 14th, we are hosting an 80’s singles dance and drink out fest.

It will be just like your dances in high school where you did not have a date either. The big diff erence will be the addition of alcohol that you don’t have to sneak in

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This is why we are having our single by choice dance and

refuse to let ourselves be tortured by these commercials and ads that are at every turn.

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Corkscrew we say “look at them holding hands and kissing in

public, someone should slap them.”

FOOD, DRINK & ARTSaturday, February 8, 2014 • Page 9A

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Cavatore’s offering free carriage rides, for Valentine’s Day

Cavatore Italian Restaurant will be offering free carriage rides for those having dinner for Valentine’s Day. There will be a special menu for the evening that will include a Cavatore label red blend wine. Cavatore Italian Restaurant is located at 2120 Ella Blvd. For more information, visit http://cavatores.com/ or call (713) 869-6622.

Valentine’s Day at CrispEnjoy Valentine’s Day din-

ner at a Heights favorite for wine, beer and food! There will be a specialty menu as well as the regular menu so there will be plenty of deli-cious options to choose from to make it a very special din-ner. Seating is limited, so book your reservations as soon

as possible by emailing [email protected] or by calling 832-801-6906. Crisp is located at 2220 Bevis. For more information, visit www.crisphouston.com.Celtic’s Garden of Sin-gles

If you’re not excited for Valentine’s Day this year, don’t worry. Celtic Gardens will be holding

the Garden of Singles with $5 Pretty in Pink cocktails and DJ Kyle Berg will bringing the tunes to get you going. For more information about Celtic Gardens at 2300 Louisiana St., visit www.celticgardens-houston.com or find them on Facebook.

Valentine’s Day at FEDERAL American Grill

The Federal Grill will have two seatings for Valentine’s Day. The first seating is from 5 to 6:30 p.m. for $65 per per-son and the second seating is from 7 to 9 p.m. for $75 per person. The menu will feature the chef ’s three course Pre Fixe Menu. For menu details, visit http://www.thefederal-grill.com/. To make reserva-

tions, call 713-863-7777. The Federal Grill is located at 510 Shepherd Dr.

Anti-Valentine’s Day Dance

The Corkscrew will be hold-ing an Anti-Valentine’s Day Dance at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 14. No one hates Valentines more than the Corkscrew. The Anti-Valentine’s Day Dance at

The Corkscrew is a Houston tradition filled with fun, drink-ing, and dancing. “This is the premier singles event in the history of the world and is not to be missed.”

The legendary DJ GSpot will be spinning all of the fa-vorite 80’s dance songs and admission is FREE! The Cork-screw will even allow couples

in, but they have to act like they met at The Corkscrew. The Corkscrew is located at 1308 W. 20th St.. For more information, visit http://www.houstoncorkscrew.com/.

Green Flash Beer DinnerOn Monday, Feb. 10 at 7

p.m., Crisp will be holding the Green Flash Beer Dinner. Din-ner guests will have the oppor-

tunity to enjoy the first tasting of “Little Freak in Texas,” plus take home a bottle of exclu-sive Belgian Coast IPA. The five course meal is $65 per person. To make reservations, contact [email protected]. Crisp is located at 2220 Bevis. For more information, visit www.crisphouston.com.

Concert Aiding Rebuilding in Philippines

On Saturday, Feb. 8, The Phoenix on Westheimer will be holding a free concert to support the rebuilding ef-forts in the Philippines. Do-nations will be accepted or you can donate directly to http://gk-usa.org/. There will be performances by Kawehi, https://www.facebook.com/iamkawehi, Jay Musica, www.facebook.com/pages/Jay-Musica/250687778640, and Pete Lippincott

www.facebook.com/petes-imple.

Follow Ivee Sauls on

Twitter @ThirstyExplorer. To submit an event, email [email protected].

Thirsty Explorer

Thirsty Explorer

Pictured are members of the Heights Young Professionals Organization (HYPO) at their monthly networking event. This month the group participated in “The World’s Most Dangerous Wine Tasting” directed by Owner Andrew Adams at The Corkscrew. (Submitted photo)

Leader Nibbles

A new candy store is opening in the Heights at 833 Studewood in the same building as Tu-lips & Tutus and Oolala. Heights Candy Bar is hoping to be in business before Valentine’s Day but check their new Facebook page to be sure. As sweets lover Tracy Brandon wrote on the Oak Forest Facebook page, “Heights Candy Bar” will offer fun, traditional candy, an all natural section, lovely gift chocolates, and loads of other yummy sweetness!”

Boomtown and Catalina Coffee are two establishments participating in Houston’s own Caffeine Crawl. The event which has already been held in Boston and San Fran-cisco will be Feb. 22. Sponsor InterAmerican Coffee and several local coffee lovers lobbied to bring the crawl to H-town so get ready to caffeinate.

http://www.caffeinecrawl.com/houston--february-22.html

It’s a food truck lovers paradise. The 4th Annual Haute Wheels, THE Food Truck Festi-val is set for Mar. 22-23. Benefitting the HCC Foundation, this 2-day festival will feature gourmet and fun food trucks.

Haute Wheels takes place on the HCC Southwest West Loop Campus, 5601 West Loop South. Hours are noon – 5 p.m. both days. Tickets are $16 for adults, which include $5 worth of drink concession tickets, music and $1 donation to the HCC Founda-tion. Children 12 and under are free.

Art a la Carte: Let the Double Entendres commence

The opportunities to find art this week-end is enormous, starting Thursday eve-ning at Catalina Coffee, featuring artist Marsha Glickman’s Playing With Man Things, a mixed media exhibit.

I found two fun ways to get out of your inner loop comfort zone. First Friday night at Da Vinci Gallery in Tomball, where of all places, a Heights artist is being fea-tured - congrats to Meredith O’Neal. On Saturday, the Purple Elephant has open studios starting at 5 p.m.

Friday night there is also a middle school student art show hosted by the Art Colony Association. These are the same folks who put on the Bayou City Art Festival. It seems with school budget cuts this age group is largely ignored in most student art competitions and that encouraged the Association to initiate this program to promote fine art and es-tablish educational programs to the local area. They hope to eventually transform

this program to a year round project. I like that!

A third artist studio will have its grand opening this Saturday at Silver Street Stu-dios, 2000 Edwards, joining sister studios, Winter and Spring St Studios. There are hundreds of artists now at all three stu-dios. Tell them I sent ya!

SATURDAYCraftacular 2nd Saturday, Noon- 4

p.m.1025 Studewood in the Heights at Hello-Lucky.

Winter & Spring Street Studios, 2-5 p.m., 2101 Winter St. and 1824 Spring St.

Aurora Street Open Artist Studios, 2-8 p.m., 129 Aurora St.

Exhibition Tour with Fernando Ca-sas, 9:45-11 a.m. G Gallery 301 E. 11th St.

Art Studio Opening Reception with Angela Obenhaus, Olga LaMont and Paige Woodring, 2-5 p.m., 2101 Win-ter St. #20

Chris Hedrick Open House, 6-9 p.m. Koelsch Gallery, 703 Yale St. Wood sculp-ture, with a twist.

For more listings and details about Playing With Man Things, visit www.the-leadernews.com.

Mitch CohenArts Columnist

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