Humble ISD Hosts Biker & Bling Spring Fling

Community members, Humble Independent School District faculty and staff as well as special guests will make sure to don their best biker wear or bling for the ninth annual Humble ISD Education Foundation Gala April 3.

The “Bikers and Bling . . . hog wild for education” gala is welcome to the community and serves as a fundraiser for the Education Foundation which proceeds benefit the foundation’s Innovative Education Grant program.

“All the guests will be wearing some sort of biker gear and bling like a fancy dress and suit. The theme changes every year so when the committee sat down to decide the theme, it came up that Humble ISD superintendent Dr. Guy Sconzo had a motorcycle so we decided on that theme,” Carol Sutton, public relations for the gala, said.

The “Bikers and Bling” Education Foundation will be catered by Trigg’s Catering and guests will get to enjoy live music provided by the band, Fried Ice Cream.

There also a variety of different live auction items for the crowd including:

Astros Luxury Suite, donated by Administaff

Rolex Watch, donated by Thomas Markle Jewelers

An authentic Italian dinner with the Superintendent, prepared and donated by Dr. and Mrs. Guy Sconzo and Jo Greico

Party Bus to L’Auberge du Lac, donated by Club Works and Planet Ford

Sports Authority Box for the Astros, donated by Jess and Danell Fields

Lasik Eye Surgery, surgery performed by Dr. Brent McQueen, donated by Berkeley Eye Center.

Read the full story HERE.

Atascocita family mourns marine killed in accident

Cody Searway, 21, enjoyed restoring a friend's vintage airplane, dating back to the Korean War era, with his father Rick.

By STEFANIE THOMAS
Humble Observer
Updated: 03.29.09

Of all the mementos and photographs piled high on the coffee table, none moved Rick Searway as profoundly as the devastating symbolism of a simple, small yellow star centered on a plain white, rectangular cloth with a narrow red outline.

“My wife, Maureen, is a Blue Star mom,” Rick Searway explained, carefully pulling the fabric from its protective sleeve. “When Cody went to Iraq, the group gave her a banner with a blue star to hang in the window. When he died, they replaced the blue one and presented her with the gold star. That was tough.”

Cpl. Cody Searway, of Atascocita, would have celebrated his 22nd birthday in April. Instead, the young marine’s unexpected death on March 7 left Crisanta, Cody’s wife of only four months, a widow at age 19.

Read the full story HERE.

Humble Eagle Scout Honored.

Eagle Scout Nicholas Rashall had his Court of Honor on March 21at the First United Methodist Church in Humble, Texas.
United States Congressman Ted Poe presented him with an American Flag and addressed the audience on hand. Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia presented Rashall with a Commendation Letter. Rashall is an active member of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Junior Mounted Posse.

Local veteran works to overcome his injuries

While patrolling the streets of Ra madi in Iraq, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Rene Fernandez’s humvee ran into trouble.

"I don’t remember much about the attack, just what others have told me when I was in the hospital recov ering," the Atascocita resident said.

When the vehicle arrived at a choke point, it was struck by an im provised explosive device. Shrapnel hit Fernandez’s helmet and rock hit him in the face, which was fractured, as well as in his right arm and body. He also has neuropathic pain, right sided paresis, short term memory loss, back has two herniated discs

"I was sitting in the front seat and took 90 percent of the blast," Fer nandez said. "I was taken to the hos pital in Ramadi where I was resusci tated three times."

Once the doctors were able to sta bilize him, Fernandez was diag nosed with a traumatic brain injury. He was taken to a hospital in Ger many and from there to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. During his reha bilitation period, Fernandez was able to recover from most of his in juries but is still suffering from short-term memory loss due to the brain injury.

Dealing with his injuries, Fernan dez is enrolled in Lee College in Bay town and working to get a degree in social science. He hopes to get into the education field.

"I don’t want people feeling sorry for me or handing me anything in life. I have worked hard to recover and I plan to continue my college career at my own pace," he said.

Fernandez is married to Jamie, a fifth-grade teacher at San Jacinto El ementary School in Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District, who is looking for a job closer to her home.

Fernandez grew up in Rosenburg. In 1994, he joined the Army as a pri vate and was working his way up to become command sergeant major before he was injured. In 2007, Fer nandez was retired from the mili tary. Prior to being retired, Fernan dez received two Purple Hearts, an Army Commendation Medal and two Global War Terrorism ribbons for his service in Iraq.

Read the full story HERE.

First Tee program teaches students about golf, life skills

By ROYCELYN BASTIAN
Updated: 03.12.09
Teaching elementary students important life skills is one of the main goals of the First Tee Houston/Redstone.

Located in Humble, the First Tee Houston/Redstone, under the umbrella of the Houston Golf Association, provides a place where youngsters not only learn to play golf, but also learn invaluable life skills.

“We use golf as a platform to teach children how to communicate with others, deal with emotions, make decisions and other specific skills,” said Dianne Overstreet, program coordinator of First Tee Houston/Redstone.

To help students on a local level, the program is in all 24 elementary schools in the Humble Independent School District. All physical education teachers are trained and certified in the First Tee Houston/Redstone Program. Once they are certified, it is up to them to decide how often they teach their students about the program. The program is also offered in Aldine ISD, Galena Park ISD, Dickinson ISD and Clear Creek ISD. By the fall, the organization hopes to install programs in Houston ISD.

Read the full story HERE.

Humble Police Association prepares for annual Crawfish Festival

The Humble Police Association will offer all-you-can-eat crawfish at its annual crawfish festival April 3, benefiting local scholarships.


By OBSERVER STAFF
Updated: 03.10.09
It’s that time of the year again!

The Humble Police Association 12th Annual Crawfish Festival is scheduled for Friday, April 3, at the Humble Civic Arena.

Festivities will begin at 5:30 p.m. and last until 11 p.m. All-you-can-eat crawfish will be served until 8:30 p.m.

Pre-order tickets are available now for $20. Admission at the door is $25 per person.

Two local vendors have been chosen to cater this year’s event, Crawfish Connection and Zydeclaws.

For those who do not like crawfish the entry fee is waived and the Humble Citizen Police Academy Alumni Organization will offer hot dogs for sale.

There will be a live auction from 7-8:30 p.m., a silent auction, and a DJ and dancing from 9-11p.m.

Read the full story HERE.

Michael Young Charged With Illegal Dumping

By Lee McGuire / 11 News
HUMBLE – Houston Police have arrested a man and charged him with two counts of felony illegal dumping.


Police say Michael Wayne Young, 48, has been talking to investigators about actions on his property along the San Jacinto River in Humble.

According to a spokesman for the department’s environmental protection unit, Young ran a waste-hauling company that collected tanks and equipment from abandoned gas stations around the Houston area. Instead of dumping the debris and contaminated dirt at an approved facility, police say Young buried the equipment alongside the San Jacinto River tributaries that ran alongside his Humble home.

On Monday, the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers examined what are they described as “illegal dikes” lining the river. A spokesman says those dikes have altered the flow of the San Jacinto and pushed contaminated water into Lake Houston, the main source of drinking water for the city of Houston.

Houston Police have arrested Michael Young and charged him with two counts of felony illegal dumping.
"We have found a lot of gas station-type equipment hoses, nozzles, things that can't be buried here buried in this self-made dam," said HPD Officer Steven Dicker.

Teams from the City of Houston and the EPA are testing the water by d igging trenches into mountains of burned and buried debris.

"We got some black sludgy material. It did not look naturally-occurring," Dicker said. "There are some things that are naturally occuring, but this had a hydrocarbon smell to it."

The dumping had been going on for years, police say, but has never resulted in unsafe drinking water because the chemicals were heavily diluted before reaching Lake Houston.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE!