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Posts published in “Day: August 15, 2019”

School sales tax holiday doesn’t make the grade

August 15, 2019
Near capacity parking lots were visible all weekend.

NORTHEAST HARRIS COUNTY– Last weekend’s sales tax holiday found concurrence in nine out of ten respondents that it isn’t measuring up, with the other 10% either very much in favor of the tax break or didn’t know or care about it.

However, stores in Crosby were packed as parents endeavored to get ready for school to start today.

Shoppers and store workers in Crosby and Baytown were asked about what their reaction to the Back to School Sales Tax Holiday was, and their response was educational. Few wanted to be responsible for their opinions or photographed.

One store worker volunteered that the notebooks she was standing near for $2.48 had been $2.20 regular price last week. On the other hand, notebooks that were regular 79¢ were on sale for 50¢. “They move prices, locations and stuff around a lot,” she said.

A grocery store manager in Crosby said, “What do I care about a sales tax free weekend, anymore? We used to carry items for each school in packages, specific to every school, but now only big box stores do that. It encourages their monopoly.”

TxDOT changes US 90 / FM 2100 signal timing

August 15, 2019
Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) personnel work on the signals at Beaumont Highway and FM 2100 that had traffic southbound backed up for miles before Tuesday afternoon. The signals were changed after numerous complaints from drivers headed North, starting when the IH-10 bride was stopped and later slowed. Complaints were that few could turn left onto US 90 from FM 2100. Later, complaints were from Crosby residents trying to go anywhere that the change had backed up traffic.

CROSBY – Soon locals here are going to get fed up with roadways north and south, east and west, that have stopped functioning as they once had and now result in traffic jams.

A couple of horrible accidents on the IH-10 bridge over the San Jacinto pointed out that there is not enough signal time for very many, if any, to turn left onto US 90. Complaints went to TxDOT and they changed the signal times for the intersection of the Beaumont Highway and Main Street in Crosby.

In turn, the traffic began to back up for miles into Crosby at the intersection for southbound vehicles. These things are hard to regulate.

EPA sets community meeting Sept. 24

August 15, 2019
Map from EPA shows a green dot where the semi truck landed off the I-10 bridge, and the blue area is where the agency took readings to determine if the accident damaged the cap. I-10 railing is the line at bottom.

HIGHLANDS – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in cooperation with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), Federal, State and Harris County agencies, local officials and industry, plan to hold a Community Meeting for the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund site. During the meeting an update will be provided on current site activities and the cap inspection data.

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 24, 2019 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Highlands Community Center, 604 Highland Woods Drive, Highlands, Texas 77562.

WASTE PITS: Did Semi crash damage cap?

HIGHLANDS – This month’s meeting of the THEA/San Jacinto River Coalition dealt with potential threats to the integrity of the cap over the waste pits, as the community waited for the slow process of removing the toxic waste to go forward.

Jackie Young announced that she had learned that the Pelican Asphalt Permit, wanting to dredge areas near the Waste Pits, had been approved on July 3 without any further public notice.

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

August 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.”