Rare treat: Houstonians can watch as Space Station crosses Moon

A slice of Houston will have a chance to view a rare treat this evening.

Not only will the International Space Station make an incredibly bright, six-minute track across the sky tonight, some observers will be able to see the orbital laboratory blink across the moon.

Beginning at 6:28 p.m. the station will rise above the northwest horizon in Houston, and disappear just above the southeast horizon some six minutes later. Skies are forecast to be partly cloudy.

Along this path, for some parts of Houston all the way to Galveston, the station’s track will bring it across the face of the moon.

The following map, made by Steve Clayworth of Observable Universe, shows the approximate area from which this will be visible.

Humble woman arrested in screwdriver attack.

By STEFANIE THOMAS
In the heat of the moment, one may very well grab whatever weapon is handy. For Keilani Jean Wolfe, 27, of Humble, that weapon was a screwdriver.

Wolfe allegedly chased a male family member, tool in hand, and earned herself a spot in a Harris County Jail cell Dec. 12.

The object of her disaffection, Humble Police say, managed to escape and was not injured. Wolfe is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second degree felony that could result in 2-20 years in prison and carries a fine of up to $10,000. It is unknown what led up to the incident.

The family member in question was granted an emergency protection order against Wolfe. As of Tuesday morning, Wolfe remained jailed on a $30,000 bond.

Kingwood's "Mr. Love" - showered with love and respect after Facebook slur

Originally posted: Wednesday, November 23, 2011 2:24 pm | Updated: 2:29 am, Thu Nov 24, 2011.
By JENNIFER SUMMER

It was a shock for Doug Love as he walked out of his front door and was greeted by more than 80 students clapping, cheering and singing.

The Kingwood High School students showed the substitute love and respect at his home Nov. 20 after a couple of students made rude remarks to him last week.

“I heard what the student told Mr. Love, that ‘you’re old and you’re going to die any day’ through Facebook. Since I am the student president with the school’s Just About Kids Foundation, I called the parent sponsor and she suggested we visit Mr. Love’s house to express our respect and thanks,” Kingwood High School student Jason Dayvault said.

The students organized the event within 20 hours by setting up a Facebook page for the event and sharing their disgust with the remarks that were made on their respective Facebook pages.

Affectionately called Mr. Love by students and faculty alike, the 87-year-old has served as a substitute teacher at the school since he first decided to give it a try after being laid off in the early 1980s.

He celebrated 23 years of substitute teaching in the Humble Independent School District December 2010 and is well known for his crazy hats and elaborate ties.

“I received a call from the parent sponsor to make sure I would be home Sunday evening to drop something off. My doorbell rang, they asked me to step outside and that is when I saw all of the students; I was blown away,” Love said.

More than 50 students carried flowers, balloons and signs thanking Love for all of his years serving as a substitute and even gifted him a frame signed by the students including a picture of him in one of his crazy hats.

The students also downloaded the Beatles song “All You Need is Love,” which they played and sang for him outside of his house.

“I had no clue the students would step up to do something like this. It goes to show you they were not going to ignore what happened and this is a marvelous group of students. They really took offense to the comments and wanted to take a stand,” Love said.

The students also gathered Nov. 21 at Kingwood High School to share their stories about Love with other students and community members who were not able to attend the Sunday night event.
Videos taken from Nov. 20 went viral and spread through Facebook as current and former students who had Love as a substitute shared their opinions over the situation and funny stories.

This is not the first time the students are showing love for the sub. A group of students created a Facebook fan page for Love which currently has 3,882 fans and several pictures students have snapped of him throughout the years.

In addition to his fan page, a student of his created a drawing of him for a contest and then presented a copy to him which now hangs in his television room at home.
“I love the students and the staff. I like to think that I have some affect on their lives and make a difference; that is one thing that keeps you going from year to year,” Love said.

Humble Police Get Recognition

On Nov. 10, the Humble Police Department received a certificate of recognition from the Texas Police Chief’s Association.

Begun in 2007, the recognition program evaluates a police department’s compliance with over 150 best business practices for Texas law enforcement. These best practices were carefully developed over a 2-year period by Texas Law Enforcement professionals to assist agencies in the efficient and effective delivery of service and the protection of individual’s rights.

These best practices cover all aspects of law enforcement operations including use of force, protection of citizen rights, vehicle pursuits, property and evidence management and patrol and investigative operations.

“This voluntary process required a critical self-review of our agency’s policies, procedures, facilities and operations,” said Humble PD Lt. Quentin Sammon. “The department prepared proofs of compliance for each of the Texas best business practices for law enforcement and when complete, requested an outside audit and review.”

The result of this review was sent to the Texas Police Chief’s Association’s Recognition Committee for final analysis and decision to award “recognized” status.
“The Humble Police Department has always considered itself to be one of the best in the area,” Sammon said. “This process allows an independent review of the department’s operations and will assure the citizens of Humble that its Police Department is conforming to the current state of the art in law enforcement.”

Search resumes for missing SHSU student

Authorities have stepped up their search for a Sam Houston State University student who went missing after visiting friends at a Montgomery County sports bar last week.

Texas EquuSearch is canvassing the area near I-45 and Sawdust road today, using all-terrain vehicles and conducting foot searches in wooded areas.

EquuSearch's Ken DeFoor said the search has not yet turned up new details.

Thomas Murray Jr., called "T.J." by family and friends, was last seen leaving On the Rocks sports bar on Sawdust Road just after midnight Oct. 19, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. Murray had just umpired a Little League baseball game and went to the club with his friends after the game.

Murray called his father on his cellphone about 12:30 a.m. to let him know he was leaving his father's truck at On the Rocks and was riding with friends to Rookies, another bar on Sawdust Road. He called his father again to let him know he had been separated from his friends but would leave the truck at Oak Ridge High School, investigators said.

Murray's cellphone was found in a ditch near the first bar, and his pickup was in the parking lot. Deputies said there appear to be no signs of foul play.

Murray is described as 5 feet, 6 inches tall, with blue eyes and weighing 140 pounds. He was last seen wearing shorts and a red T-shirt with white lettering.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Keith Funderburk at the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office at 936-760-5876 or the dispatcher at 936-760-5800.

Quake shakes South Texas ...

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A shallow, moderate earthquake struck southern Texas (TX) on Thursday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). It was the strongest earthquakes to hit the U.S. state in 45 years.

The 4.8 magnitude quake, upgraded from 4.6mb, occured at 07:25 AM local time (13:25 PM GMT) and was recorded at an extremely shallow depth of 3km (1.9 miles). It struck below Fashing, but was felt as far as Corpus Christi, San Antonio and Austin.

The epicentre of the quake was located 22 km (14 miles) NW (321°) from Pawnee, TX; 23 km (14 miles) SSW (213°) from Falls City, TX; 26 km (16 miles) WSW (249°) from Karnes City, TX; 60 km (37 miles) NW of Beeville, TX; 76 km (47 miles) SSE (154°) from San Antonio, TX; 92 km (57 miles) E of Pearsall, TX; 166 km (103 miles) SSW of AUSTIN, TX; and 463 km (288 miles) SSW (197°) from Dallas, TX.

The last time Texas experienced a tremor similar in intensity to Thursday’s quake was on July 20, 1966. The magnitude 4.8 earthquake was centred in the Panhandle, near Borger and Amarillo.

The most recent earthquake to strike the region hit on 25 April, 2010. The 4.0 magnitude earthquake was recorded 56 km west of Corpus Christi.

Assistant principal at Humble school accused of assaulting student

HUMBLE, TX (KTRK) -- The problem of bullying in schools has become a major issue over the past couple of years. We are hearing about a student at Humble Middle School who says he was being picked on by a bully. But he says it wasn't another student, it was the assistant principal.

Mother April Palmer said, "Well, he showed me. He just basically told me it was a push, like that, you know, unexpectedly."

Palmer is pretty upset right now. She says an assistant principal from Humble Middle School assaulted her eighth-grade child two weeks ago.

"His head was pushed into the table top, the cafeteria table top because he was talking," Palmer said.

The school district says the alleged incident happened during a lunch period on September 16. Palmer says she found out about the assault four days later when the school's principal called her home.

"He told me it was true, that the assistant principal was removed from the school, and that he wouldn't be there again," Palmer explained. "He apologized for what happened, and that he would look into it."

Palmer says her son didn't immediately tell her about the attack because he was afraid of that assistant principal. She says the boy claims it's not the first time the man has hit him.

"My son was explaining to me that he's been picking at him, pretty much bullying him for over the last year," Palmer said.

In a statement released by Humble ISD, spokeswoman Karen Collier says, "Whenever there is an allegation of a possible assault of a student by an employee, the accused is placed on leave with pay during the investigation. This is done to protect all parties until the allegation is thoroughly investigated and resolved."

Palmer says her son is still complaining of headaches. And she just wants to make sure it doesn't happen again.

For now, Humble ISD police are still investigating. No charges have been filed.