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OHFA seeking to renew SEAL security patrol By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
About a decade ago, crime was soaring in Oak Forest, with a resident being held up at gunpoint in their driveway in one case, leading to the implementation of a contract security patrol to help deter potential crimes. The S.E.A.L. SECURITY patrol, which is renewed at the beginning of each year, is up for renewal once again.
And the Oak Forest Homeowners Association is asking for support from homeowners in order to keep the security contractors patrolling the neighborhood for another year. S.E.AL. began in 2013 after a group of volunteers began searching for ways to make the neighborhood feel safer amidst an uptick in crime in Houston. S.E.A.L. was selected in 2013, and patrols began that September.
“Residents are positive about having security patrol through SEAL, and told the OFHA Board why they want to keep it,” said Lucy FisherCain, the OFHA board’s treasurer. There are more than 5,500 homes divided among 18 sections in Oak Forest, with more than 23,000 residents living in the neighborhood according to the OFHA. S.E.A.L. See OHFA P. 4
Photo from Facebook The Oak Forest Homeowners Association is looking for support to renew its SEAL Security neighborhood patrol for 2023.
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City launches annual youth employment program By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
Tough year See how local markets fared in the last month of 2022 in our monthly market roundup.
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At long last SPX’s boys soccer team got a longawaited rivalry win last week. Read our recap to find out how it happened.
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Contributed photo UPS driver Ron Broussard, who drives and delivers packages to homes and businesses in the Heights, was recently recognized by the organization’s Circle of Honor for 25 years of driving without an incident.
Heights UPS driver earns national safety honor By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
Open invite Displaced Winter Street Studio artists will be welcomed to an event in the Woodlands this weekend
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Fond farewell Among other news, leading Nibbles and Sips is Don Teo’s closign in Oak Forest after 32 years in business
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THE INDEX. Public/Topics............................2 Sports............................................................. 6 Classifieds.................................................. 7 Food/Drink...............................8
If they have lived or worked in the Heights at any time over the last couple of decades, chances are that residents have had packages delivered to them by United Parcel Service driver Ron Broussard. And there’s also zero chance that any incidents occurring with area delivery drivers have involved Broussard. Earlier this month, Broussard – whose route includes many residential and business deliveries in the
Heights – was inducted in the national UPS Circle of Honor. In order to achieve the award, UPS spokesperson Becky Biciolis said drivers must go at least 25 years without an ac-
cident – even a scratch or minor dent. “It’s an honor to receive the award. As a driver it shows that it can be done if you use all of your safety methods,” said Broussard, who lives in Katy but spends his days delivering to the Heights and other area neighborhoods in Houston. “It’s important to me to be safe around the public at all times.” In total, Broussard has been driving for UPS for over 30 years and has logged a little over 707,000 miles delivering packages to homes and businesses
High school and college-age Houstonians looking for jobs could have an opportunity to work for the city of Houston as part of the city’s annual youth employment program. On Wednesday morning, Mayor Sylvester Turner and other city officials announced the return of the city’s eighth annual Hire Houston Youth young employment program. As part of the eight-week program, those ages 16-24 can apply for local jobs and internships in the city’s various departments in the public, private, and philanthropic sectors according to a news release from the city. The city initially launched the program launched in August 2016 as a means to “serve as a facilitator to connect youth, where they are empowered with an ‘earn and learn opportunity in Houston’s dynamic economy.” For more information on the Hire Houston Youth program, community members can visit the initiative’s website at hirehoustonyouth.org/
in Houston and the Heights. But he didn’t initially set out to become someone who is now regarded as one of the company’s safest drivers. Broussard graduated from Blinn Junior College with a degree in criminal justice several decades ago, and was working at Randall’s while he worked on his aspirations of being a police officer. Then one day, he said a coworker came to him with a proposition. “A friend I worked See UPS P. 4
Sylvester Turner
St. Thomas football named state finalist for national academic honor By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
A local private high school football team has been recognized as a finalist for a national athletic academic performance award that is the first of its kind. On Jan. 20, the Texas High School Coaches Association announced 53 state finalists for
the National Football Foundation’s inaugural National High School Academic Excellence Award, and the finalists include St. Thomas High School’s football team. The award is the first nationwide recognition honoring individual high school football teams for excellence in the classroom with
a team GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale, according to a news release from the THSCA. The state champions and national finalists will be announced at the beginning of February during Super Bowl Week. “Academic success is as important as athSee St. Thomas P. 2
Photo by Jack Potts Photography The St. Thomas High School football team was recently named a state finalist for a national team academic award.