At the September 14 Crosby Fair & Rodeo Membership Meeting voting members repeated Gene HIcks, Jr., Justin George, Michael Niemtschik, Ronny Erlich, Roger Boblick, Jr., Jared Prescott and Bradley Orn as board members. There are 21 board members elected on a three year cycle.
CROSBY – The Crosby Fair & Rodeo hosted themselves at the covered pavilion last Saturday and held a raffle draw for a John Deer Gator XUV590M, a Savage Bersa Thunder .380 pistol and a 6.5 Creedmoor rifle.
On Monday the membership turned out to vote back in the same guys to be one third of the board.
The raffle was done on Facebook without physical tickets being issued but each entry had their name placed on a poker chip, the poker ship placed in a drum and local newpaper guy, Lewis Spearman, draw out and announce the lucky winners.
HIGHLANDS – The Highlands Rotary Club held their regular weekly meeting last Tuesday, observing all COVID protocols. The featured speakers were District 5890 Asst. Governor Bryan Clements and Governor Scott Rainey. District 5890 is the Houston area Rotary group, with about 33 clubs and 3000 members.
Governor Rainey spoke on worldwide Rotary programs, including Polio Plus and clean water. He also complemented the Highlands club for their community accomplishments.
CROSBY ISD, GOOSE CREEK CONSOLIDATED ISD – Schools began face-to-face locally here last Tuesday under circumstances that are less than ideal, unprecedented and likely a logistical nightmare.
This week is an intensive experiment involving limited school bus occupancy, changed pick-up locations, new procedures in arrival, a bevy of new props like masks, shields, sanitizers, distancing and new rules to be enforced all in an effort to educate without infecting people with a virus that is undetected in nearly half of the cases that contract it.
A new phone application is ordered to better explain the bus situation. My Stop App from Versatrans is designed to notify parents of their child’s bus location and the estimated time of arrival at bus stops, allowing parents to plan accordingly, in Crosby ISD.
“With all the carefully prepared plans the district has put together, everything is new, most likely we will be adapting as we go,” said Crosby ISD Superintendent Scott Davis at a meeting.
There will be lightweight, portable sanitizer stands, desks divided by plastic partitions, plastic bagging for personal items, disinfectant spray as well as the required instruments to learn to write. Parents are asked to check for signs of illness and temperatures. Behavior monitoring on campus will need to be more strict. Every individual at the campuses will be asked to social distance.
Social Distancing in the Auditorium
Apart from all this, there will be differences from campus to campus in the same district dictated by circumstances. (more…)
A map of Precinct 2 shows the extent of population density, and location of parks as indicated by colored dots.
Harris County Pct. 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia held a Zoom meeting last Monday night, to get the public’s input and ideas on how to develop a Comprehensive Plan for Parks and Trails in Precinct 2.
About 100 persons participated in the session, which lasted about an hour, exceeding the time planned because of the enthusiasm of the callers and the commissioner.
Adrian Garcia said that he wants Pct. 2 to have a reputation for outstanding parks, that attract people and publicity, and where people can have a good time. He noted that good parks also increase property values.
Garcia revealed that he has an experienced architectural landscape and urban planning firm working on the project. This is Asakura Robinson, headed by Keiji Asakura.
Also participating in the Zoom meeting and the planning for the parks are representatives from Pct. 2 and also the Harris County engineering department. Another consultant is Jose Eduardo Sanchez, a community engagement specialist.
Athletic physicals at Crosby ISD this year have undergone policy changes related to the COVID 19 outbreak, UIL has modified the requirements for students who are involved in extracurricular activities to the following:
All incoming 7th graders who are interested in athletics are required to get a physical.
All incoming 9th graders who are interested in band are required to get a physical.
All students who did not have a physical for the 2019-2020 school year are required to get a physical.
All students who have a physical on file with the Athletic Trainers for the 2018- 2019 (band only) and 2019-2020 school year are only required to complete a medical history form.
In addition to the requirements listed above, Crosby ISD and UIL have additional steps that must be completed by students to be eligible for participation in extracurricular activities.
HIGHLANDS – Dr. Bernie Mulvaney, is the new principal at Highlands Junior School. Mulvaney began his career in education in 1997 as a U.S. History teacher and coach at Furr High School. His experience at Channelview, Houston Christian, Clements, George Bush and Alief Taylor high schools further established him as an instructional leader focused on student success, teaching AP Economics and AP Government and serving as Social Studies Department Head and Senior Team Leader. He also was selected by his teaching peers as leader of the Campus Based Leadership Team. At Aldine MacArthur High School, he served as summer school principal, athletic coordinator and head football coach and was honored by the Aldine ISD Board of Trustees for exemplary leadership.
Mulvaney came to Goose Creek CISD in 2013, where he has served as director of athletics and physical education as well as interim principal. Among his responsibilities as director were overseeing the construction of 10 athletic turf fields, working with the Citizens Bond Advisory Committee and developing a walkthrough protocol for gathering data for physical education. He received the Joe Bill Fox Distinguished Service Award from the Texas High School Athletic Directors Association and has served as UIL District Executive Committee Chair. Mulvaney also has served as an adjunct professor at Lee College and the American College of Education.
PCT. 2 HARRIS COUNTY – Commissioner Adrian Garcia plans to hold a Zoom public meeting next Monday night, if hurricane weather allows. He is interested in the public’s ideas for further development of the precinct’s park system.
You can join him for the virtual kick-off of the Precinct 2 Parks & Trail Plan! The goal of the project is to develop a long-term vision and a near-term plan for priority investments in parks and trails based on YOUR FEEDBACK!
For more information on this project, visit: https:// www.pct2parksandtrails.com/
Commissioners vote $25 million; application info here
Harris County, Texas – Friday, August 14, 2020, The Harris County Commissioners and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo unanimously approved a $15 million emergency rental assistance program to help individuals in Harris County suffering economic hardships due to the effects of COVID-19. Due to the overwhelming demand for rental assistance in Harris County, Judge Hidalgo and the Commissioners subsequently increased the amount of assistance to be provided through this program to $25 million.
“Our community continues to suffer great economic damage resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, with many people unable to cover basic necessities, including rent,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. “This program will bring relief to those across our region who so desperately need it, allowing families to stay in their homes while addressing the collateral impact on property owners.”
The program will assist applicants with rent and associated expenses for payments and/or late fees occurring after April 1, 2020. Selected applicants will be eligible to receive up to a maximum of $1,200 in assistance. Landlord enrollment will begin on August 17th, with tenant applications opening for a 7-day period beginning August 24th. Applications will be available online at www.harriscountyrenthelp.org, and assistance will be available by phone.
Jackie Medcalf and protestors at the Waste Management Headquarters in Houston
Group wants higher standards for San Jacinto River Waste Pits
Houston, TX – August 6, 2020 – As part of the ongoing fight to remediate the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Jackie Young Medcalf of THEA is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to hold polluters to a higher standard of accountability through ensuring more integrity in the remediation process. On Thursday, August 6 at 10am a press conference was held at Waste Management Headquarters, and it highlighted the recent discovery of how omitted sample data and a skewed site analysis have slanted the outlook towards the site’s remediation and ultimately the disposal of the toxic waste material.
The Waste Pits Superfund Site is the result of dioxin and PCB contaminated paper mill waste that was disposed of along the San Jacinto River in the 1960s. The Waste Pits presented such a great danger to the environment and public health, they were listed for clean-up under the Federal Superfund program in 2008. Recently, the EPA released documents from the responsible parties consultants and our review of the 30,000+ pages of technical reports found that the samples collected for analysis of dioxin disposal classification were almost all collected from areas known to contain no dioxins, and that the consultants requested data be omitted from the lab reports. Joint community, advocate and governmental efforts have made profound progress in protecting aquatic life and public health within the region. However, now there is an overwhelming need for sampling and analysis which address all contaminants of concern and the EPA’s oversight to ensure this process is done with integrity.
What is at Stake?
The longer the waste remains the greater the potential for increased risks of cancer and autoimmune diseases among locals and further contamination to the environment. (more…)
On August 13 the first day of back to school was virtual for the students although teachers had to attend to put their classroom performances online. Students started virtual back to school and that process was aided by Crosby ISD offering “Park N’ Learn” or constant, secure WiFi access in the parking lots of campuses throughout the district using their laptops and the same accounts they would use in actual class.
CHAMBERS COUNTY – Parents in the Barbers Hill school district seem ready to send their children back to school, in spite of the threat of the COVID-19 virus rampant in the state.
Many parents are comfortable with the in-person option but the issue is causing tension between the superintendent and the Chambers County Public Health Department.
The department on Wednesday August 5th posted a letter saying it had “urged” local school boards to “take further action to protect their staff and students by delaying in-person instruction until September 8th at the earliest.”
Classes are scheduled to begin August 19 with parents having the option of starting kids online or at home, per TEA guidelines.
“With them giving the option to home school or send the kids to school, I think that eliminates a lot of the number of kids in school, which makes it easier for them to social distance,” said one parent.
The advisory applied to all school districts in Chambers County, but they have all chosen to open before the suggested date of September 8.
Barbers Hill teachers actually reported for training this week, on Monday August 10.
Other Chambers County districts include Anahuac, who will start on Wednesday August 13, and East Chambers starting on Monday August 17.
