Fun Run Thanks

by Andrea Sharp, Fun Run Chair

I would like to give a BIG round of applause to all of the volunteers who helped with the Fun Run! The 2010 5K Fun Run was a great success, but none of it could have been done without the hard work and dedication of the volunteers. We are lucky to be part of a community where people understand the importance of giving back.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[Thank you, Andrea, for putting it all together! We’ll have more information in next month’s issue, including results and more thanks. Links to standings for those wearing timing chips and to a company offering runner photographs are available through the Fun Run web page now. -Editor]

HHA Loses Longtime Volunteer Bob Pearson

Bob Pearson, an HHA volunteer for over twenty years, died on Saturday, June 5. Bob has been the only manager of the Fire Station for the Association. As a volunteer, he kept up the maintenance of the facility and managed its rental. As the editor of the “Heights Highlights” column in the Leader newspaper, Bob wrote about the activities of the Heights community. He will be missed.

In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to the Heights Fire Station Endowment Fund, P.O. Box 70735, Houston, TX 77270.

Houston’s New Temporary Historic Preservation Ordinance

The following is a message from the City of Houston regarding the temporary historic preservation ordinance. If you have further questions, and especially if you have questions about a certain property or address, please call the City’s Historic Preservation Department at 713-837-7963.

The City is developing amendments to the Historic Preservation Ordinance in an effort to strengthen the ordinance.

City Council approved an ordinance Wednesday, June 9, 2010, temporarily discontinuing the issuance of a 90-day waiver certificate for demolitions, relocations, and new construction in City of Houston Historic Districts when a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) is denied by the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission (HAHC). The ordinance included language that allows the issuance of a 90-day waiver certificate for new construction where the applicant has demonstrated the expenditure of funds in preparation of construction by entering into a contract with and paying money to an architect or builder, or otherwise expending funds on such items as a survey, soils test, clearing, or other related improvement to the property prior to the passage of the ordinance. The property owner may appeal a denial of a COA to the Houston Planning Commission. If the HAHC approves a COA for demolition, relocation or new construction, the project may move forward.

During this period, applications for the designation of historic districts will not be accepted. The discontinuation applies until the historic preservation ordinance is amended or December 31, 2010, whichever is earlier. The discontinuance does not affect existing provisions for applications for a COA for the alteration, rehabilitation, or restoration related to existing buildings within designated Historic Districts and for individual landmarks and protected landmarks outside the boundaries of designated Historic Districts.

Community meetings are planned this summer for comments on amendments to the Historic Preservation Ordinance. In addition, public hearings will be held by the Houston Archeological and Historical Commission, Houston Planning Commission, and City Council Committee on Development and Regulatory Affairs before consideration by City Council.

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At its June 21 meeting, the Board of the Houston Heights Association voted to take no position at this time on the temporary discontinuance or any of the changes that have been informally proposed. The Board continues to gather information on the various proposed changes and to follow the process carefully.

Constable Patrol Program News

Officers Muñoz and Le have reported that they have stepped up patrols in our area parks. They have focused on enforcing the “no alcohol and no loitering” laws so that our parks are a safe place for our neighborhood to enjoy. Thanks, Officers!

May statistics for the east side: 2 arrests, 50 citizen contacts, 3 criminal offenses, 3 disturbances, 46 vacation watches, 30 park checks, 22 suspicious vehicles, 879 miles patrolled. On the west side in May: 6 arrests, 82 citizen contacts, 2 criminal offenses, 5 disturbances, 46 park checks, 16 suspicious vehicles, 26 vacation watches, 1022 miles patrolled.

North Side Update

The Houston Heights Association, in conjunction with the Sunset Heights Civic Association and the East Sunset Heights Association, decided to implement the constable patrol in the new North Side area even though there are not yet enough subscribers to fully support the cost of the contract for the rest of the year. A constable patrol officer was being hired to begin patrolling the North Side in July. We do not know the days or hours as we went to press, but we will send an email to subscribers when we receive the information.

If you have been waiting to see if this would actually happen, it is. Please go ahead and make a payment via credit card here or mail a check today!

If you are already a subscriber, please talk to your neighbors about joining. We really need your help! We also need people to help contact businesses on 20th, Shepherd, Durham, Main, and 610. Please contact heightspatrol@houstonheights.org to find out how you can help.

For more information, please see the flyer on the Sunset Heights web site.

Reagan Teacher Honored with H-E-B Excellence in Education and Houston Chronicle Crystal Apple Awards

At the H-E-B Excellence in Education awards banquet in early May, Dr. Timothy Daponte, a physics teacher at John H. Reagan HS received a Lifetime Achievement award - a prize of $25,000 for both himself and his campus. Daponte, a Fulbright Scholar who has been with HISD since 1982, has built a reputation for using unusual teaching methods to capture the attention of his students and to help them understand physics principles.

Earlier in the year, Daponte was awarded a Crystal Apple Award by the Houston Chronicle Education Department. This award honors teachers who “stand out from the crowd” through their outstanding teaching techniques - and for going far beyond the norm in their classroom. Along with the prize money, Daponte received a beautiful crystal apple paperweight for his desk.

During his Fulbright semester in New Delhi, India, Daponte was able to successfully use his hands-on teaching methods. He taught at the central government school, the largest school system in the world with over a million students and 10,000 schools.

“Most of the teaching there is based on rote memorization so even though students could recite every physics formula, they couldn’t even explain gravity,” he recalls. In the end, his students had a 95% passing rate on the national tests because, for the first time in their lives, they actually understood the physics concepts they had been memorizing.

Now in his third year back at Reagan, Daponte’s physics classes include the magic tricks he used in India to demonstrate gravity and momentum, propelling watermelons off the three-story school roof to measure the height of the school, building water-powered rockets to demonstrate Newton’s laws of motion, and his most famous, “bed of nails” class, to demonstrate conservation of energy.

[left] Reagan senior Nick Rogers takes careful aim at the cinder block placed on Dr. Daponte’s chest while he lies on a bed of nails during physics class.

“The bottom line is, I enjoy what I do and I think how you enjoy your job comes out in the quality of your work,” Daponte said. His plans for the upcoming school year include teaching an AP physics class that may give Reagan students college credit.

Daponte’s attitude has made a memorable impact on students over the years and resulted in a student and fellow teacher nominating Daponte for the H-E-B award. Reagan’s Life Skills teacher, Cynthia Stang nominated Daponte for including her special needs students when the physics classes have labs.

While details are still being worked out, Daponte and Reagan administrators would like to use the school prize to set up a scholarship fund for one or more deserving Reagan students based on financial need.

Daponte and 7 other Houston area teachers were among 40 educators who were finalists for Texas’ largest monetary recognition program for educators and one of the largest in the nation. The awards celebrate and recognize the contributions of public school professionals whose leadership and dedication inspire a love of learning in students of all backgrounds and abilities. H-E-B seeks to pay tribute to those educators who go the extra mile each and every day to serve their students and their communities and who inspire others to do the same.

Calendar of Events for July-August 2010

HHA headquarters: The Fire Station is on the corner of Yale and 12th Streets.

Community Calendar

Events planned by other community organizations.

Every Wednesday to Saturday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Historic Houston’s salvage warehouse is open. See www.historichouston.org.

Every Monday, 7:30 to 10:00 PM, Houston International Folk Dancers introductory lessons at Oddfellows Hall, 115 E. 14th.

At The Fire Station

Events at the Historic Houston Heights Fire Station, 12th and Yale

Every second Monday, 5:00 to 7:00 PM, and every fourth Monday, 8:00 AM to noon, the City Council District H Satellite Office is open at the east door.

Future History

October 3, Bicycle Rally

December 3-4, Holiday Home Tour

February 27, 2011, Awards Dinner

April 1-3, 2011, Spring Home Tour

June 4, 2011, Heights Fun Run