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Saturday, April 15, 2023 • Vol. 68 • No. 15
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Precinct 1 Constable warns of jury duty scam
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INSIDE.
Photo from Facebook Young students help put the finishing touches on the Garden Oaks Montessori School art car. The school is one of several from the area whose creations will be on display during the Houston Art Car Parade this weekend.
Man arrested A man has been accused of shooting another man after a car accident last week
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On the rise The Heights Lady Bulldogs are rising in regional rankings.See our weekly recap for more on how they’re doing it.
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Local schools gearing up for annual Art Car Parade
O
By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
ne of the largest expressions of art in the Houston area is coming back this weekend with the Houston Art Car Parade, and it’s creating excitement around the area as several local schools have put the finishing touches on their creations for the showcase. This Saturday, the 36th annual Houston Art Car Parade will once again make its way through downtown Houston – and there will be several local cars on display among the hundreds of creations that will be shown off for the Houston community. Hosted annually by the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art – one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the country dedicated to the preservation, documentation and exhibition of visionary and outsider art – the parade will run from 2-4 p.m. Among those submitting entries will be 21 campuses from Houston Independent School District – including area schools Garden Oaks Montessori, Heights High School, Harvard Elementary, and Frank Black Middle School. And district officials say having a chance to put their creativity on display is Photo from Facebook more than just sticking a few drawings and stickers The Garden Oaks Montessori art car is decorated with on cars. stars, a rocket, and more to be on display Saturday. See Art Car P. 6
here is a jury duty scam now circulating around Harris County that local law enforcement officials say has caused victims to lose thousands of dollars as a result. According to Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen, there is a scammer who has been calling victims around the area claiming to be a lieutenant from the office’s Warrant division and saying that a warrant is out for the victim’s arrest because of an outstanding jury duty. Rosen R o s e n said during a press conference Tuesday that to date there have been at least 60 victims, many of them from the medical community, which Rosen said the scammers have begun specifically targeting. “They’re calling doctors and saying their medical license is going to be revoked because they have an outstanding warrant for jury duty,” Rosen said. “It is imperative that we get this message out to the entire community, so nobody falls prey to this.” How the process works, Rosen said, is that the caller asks the victims to go purchase prepaid gift cards from MoneyPak, then put thousands of dollars on them and then give them the gift card number on the back of the card. The number that pops up on the screen, Rosen said, is the Precinct 1 Warrant division number. “Now they’re targeting a community that we all care so deeply about. And doctors are working so hard now that they don’t have time to vet the source of this,” he said. It causes fear for the victim, Rosen said, causing them to send the caller the money and fall prey to other demands in efforts to avoid going to prison. “The scammer is so good, in many cases he has the victim disrobe for him via camera phone to show they are not carrying any weapons are contraband,” Precinct 1 wrote on Facebook. However, Rosen said that neither Precinct 1 nor any law enforcement entity will ever call someone up on the phone telling them there is a warrant out See Jury Duty P. 6
New T.C. Jester Park playground open to community By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
Made with love See our story on the rise of Daddy’s Chicken Shack, which opened in the Heights about five months ago
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THE INDEX. Public.............................................................. 2 Sports............................................................. 3 Church........................................................... 4 Coupon......................................................... 2 Classifieds.................................................. 7 Food/Drink...............................8
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t long last, a new amenity at a local park is available for the community and its families to enjoy. Late last month, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department cut the ribbon on the new “stateof-the-art” playground at TC Jester Park. It is the culmination of work that has been taking place for a little over a year, and is now open to the public. When the park was first introduced to the public in early 2022, officials had said the hope was to have it ready by that fall, but that was pushed back earlier this year to late February and then late March due to supply chain issues and inclement weather. But the wait is now over. There are amenities for all dif-
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ferent age groups at the new playgrounds, including swing sets, climbers, freestanding play components and a boulder water play element. There have also been sidewalk upgrades made and decorative fencing put up, as well as new picnic tables, benches, trash receptacles and a drinking fountain for parents and their children to utilize. “The playground provides cognitive, social, physical, and emotional benefits which speaks to our goal of making parks more inclusive and inviting to individuals of all abilities,” Parks and Recreation director Kenneth Allen said. And social media reaction generally veered towards being excited that work on the park was finally Photo from Facebook finished after waiting in anticipation Houston Parks and Recreation director Kenneth Allen, center, cuts the for more than a year. See Playground P. 6
ribbon to the new T.C. Jester Park playground on March 29. The playground is open to the public.
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