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Posts published in “Day: June 4, 2020”

KMCO acquired from bankruptcy by ALTIVIA

June 4, 2020
Parking lots almost empty as announcement of sale of KMCO LP from bankruptcy is made. The plant is to be back in operation later this year.

CROSBY– ALTIVIA Oxide Chemicals, LLC, an affiliate of ALTIVIA Petrochemicals, Monday announced that it acquired KMCO LP on Friday and its associated chemical ethoxylation manufacturing assets, according to the company in a June 1 press release.

KMCO LP was bought from bankruptcy and the price was low except for over $600,000 of property taxes and millions of dollars in liabilities to creditors.

“ALTIVIA plans a $25 million process safety and control systems upgrade to the facilities and will start production in two new oxide reactors by the end of this year.” the release stated.

“We have completed a detailed evaluation of these assets and are looking forward to starting production by year end. The reaction chemistries in Crosby are complementary to ALTIVIA’s current product offerings and will provide our customers important sourcing options,” said ALTIVIA’s Chief Executive Officer J. Michael Jusbasche. “The market for oxylation tolling and custom manufacturing services will now have available a state-of-the-art facility in the U.S. Gulf Coast.”

The facilities, located on 160 acres near Houston, include 31 reaction and distillation trains with capacity for Ethylene and Propylene Oxide reactions as well as a broad range of organic reactions including polymerization, neutralization, and condensation. Products include surfactants, lubricant additives, fuel additives, and a variety of ethoxylation and propoxylation based intermediates. Its products service the coatings, automotive, fuels and lubricants, and surfactant industries.

An explosion April 2, 2019 killed one worker and injured dozens of others, two critically. That following a series of renovations to make the plant more safe and neighbor friendly including putting generators atop telephone poles and other seemingly excentric safety measures. None of those measures stayed the hand of Harris County and individuals that filed suit. A previous fire related mishap killed an OSHA worker. (more…)

Statement from Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on George Floyd and Protests in Harris County

June 4, 2020

Harris County, Texas – May 31, 2020 — County Lina Hidalgo today issued the following statement in response to the death of George Floyd and ongoing protests occurring in Harris County:

“I join the millions of fellow Americans and people across the world in condemning the brutal, senseless murder of George Floyd. The sight of yet another black American having their life stolen by a law enforcement officer whose mission was to protect and serve their community is heartbreaking, and stands as just the latest painful reminder of the deep, systemic flaws that continue to break the bonds of trust between many of our residents and our criminal justice system.

For generations, black and brown people in America have suffered grave injustices at the hands of institutional power in this county. That is one of the reasons I ran for office and why so many patriotic residents across our county and cities across our nation are choosing to exercise their first amendment right to speak out and demand meaningful change. I wholeheartedly support their rights to do so and join Mayor Turner and others in urging those who speak out to do so peacefully, safely, and with the ultimate goal of driving meaningful change, not more violence. It is also true that today, the threat of COVID-19 continues to linger in our community, and close contact with others can be potentially deadly and lead to an outbreak. That is why I urge those who join in demanding change to wear a face covering, practice social distancing, and mitigate potential exposure as much as possible or by participating virtually.

Each and every member of our community, regardless of their race, background, or economic status deserves to be treated with dignity and respect during encounters with police. When we lost George Floyd, we lost a fellow Houstonian and someone whose legacy will forever remind us of the work that remains to build a more just equal society for the most vulnerable among us. (more…)

Highlands Horizons awards 20 scholarships

June 4, 2020
Scholarship winners, and Miss Highlands: 2018 Kaitlyn Rolin; 2019 Haley Maxey; and 2016 Anna Keyes.

HIGHLANDS – This year the Highlands Horizons club was able to award 20 scholarships to graduating seniors, the most they have ever given out.

In addition, 3 of those scholarships were awarded to former and current Miss Highlands.

Each year the Horizons hold an awards reception, but due to the pandemic they were not able to do this event. So instead, the organization placed a congratulatory ad in the Star-Courier, “Wishing All of Them Success in their Future Plans!”

Recipients of the scholarship awards included:

(more…)

Local events knocked around – rescheduled Zydeco and Livestock sale

June 4, 2020

CROSBY – COVID -19 has certainly put local venues to the test of late.

The Crosby Fair and Rodeo had to cancel the Cook-Off, including a gig with Bag of Donuts (a variety act), Northeast Harris County’s largest party and parade. The rodeo board reluctantly put off their livestock sale until June 12. The auction will still be held that Friday with the Buyer’s Dinner beginning at 4:00 p.m. as does Buyers Registration. The awards portion begins at 5:30 p.m. The auction itself begins at 6:00 p.m.

The Livestock show lasts all week as the kids vie for education assistance through the sale of livestock at the auction. Cages will be allowed in starting next Sunday after 7:00 a.m. Then a week of showing and judging will begin culminating Friday. All the animals are to be released on June 13.

This year the Zydeco Festival under producer Troy Barrett has been postponed until August.

(more…)

Baby left at Crosby fire station #1

June 4, 2020

An infant was found left outside the Crosby Fire Station #1 on US 90 at Kennings Drive shortly after 3:00 a.m. Monday. The mother notified authorities that she was leaving the child thus the incident falls under “Baby Moses laws.” The mother will not be prosecuted for endangerment. Seen above, ambulance crews confer with volunteer firefighters.