Announcing the WHCA September General Meeting & Candidate Forum! /  by Lori Bigler

The next WHCA General Meeting of members will be Tuesday, September 10th at 7pm at a location yet to be determined.

The highlight of the agenda is a Candidate Forum moderated by WH resident and long-time political writer Charles Kuffner. Confirmed forum participants include; Karla Cisneros, Cynthia Reyes-Revilla, Isabel Longoria, and Gaby Salcedo. All four are running for Houston City Council representing District H, which includes Woodland Heights.

Residents attending the Candidate Forum will be able to submit written questions, to be asked by the moderator, and answered by each of the candidates.

Also on the agenda:

The usual suspects will be on-hand to present the current state of WHCA activities. We may also have some news from the Lights in the Heights Committee.

Be watching your inbox for further details about this most interesting and timely event.

About those campaign signs.... /  by Lori Bigler

Election seasons is upon us, as you can tell from the campaign signs appearing in yards around the neighborhood. David Scott recently started a thread on NextDoor with some good information about the legalities of these signs.

If you place a sign in your yard, be sure that it's actually in your yard. It should be located on the near* side of the sidewalk, closer to the home. The far* side of the sidewalk, closer to the street, is the public right-of-way, where placement of such signs is actually illegal.

It's also illegal to place campaign signs on any public property or telephone poles. If you see such signs, you can report them to 311. To file such a report requires that you have a street address as a point of reference.

*Should you have any questions about near vs far, I refer you to this classic 1975 routine from Sesame Street. Grover handles the subject monsterfully.

Bike To The Beach /  by Lori Bigler

Bike to the Beach Texas Ride Logo.png

On September 28, my husband Cory and I will once again join hundreds of other cyclists in the 4th annual Houston to Galveston edition of Bike to the Beach. This year we will pedal 62 miles in an effort to raise funds and awareness for Autism, the most prevalent developmental disability in the world. If you’d like to support this important cause, you can make a tax deductible donation here: https://my.biketothebeach.org/MelissaMcKee

MM1.jpg

My goal is to raise $1,000, while this event as a whole will raise more than $250,000 to be used both locally and throughout the state of Texas.

Bike to the Beach is not just the host of charity bike events, but a community made up of individuals, cyclists, local organizations, advocates, philanthropists, corporate companies, and national partners, on a mission together to promote bicycle riding, raise funds, and make an impact on the community affected by autism.

- Melissa McKee, Former WHCA Treasurer

Lights in the Heights 2019 Logo Unveiled /  by Lori Bigler

As the end of August approaches, all of us are wilted. We are dreaming of cool breezes, color in the trees and the spicy aromas of Fall. The holidays are just around the corner, and the Lights in the Heights Committee is already hard at work.

Before summer vacation, the LITH Committee began working on the 2019 Lights in the Heights logo with Hogg Middle School art teacher Connie Sulewski and students in the Graphic Design Program. The Graphic Design Program at Hogg offers students comprehensive graphic design from conceptual-development through production, using digital technologies. Graphic design students address a variety of design problems while gaining confidence and proficiency working with digital media.

Ms. Sulewski brought over 100 student designs to the LITH Committee and they were all fantastic! The Committee was greatly impressed with the student submissions, and choosing just one logo design was really hard. After much deliberation, the Committee chose a beautiful logo of Holiday Bells wrapped in lights designed by Oli Bayse, who was in 6th grade when she designed the logo.

LITH 2019_RGB black banner registered trademark.png

Congratulations Oli Bayse!
Olivia’s 2019 LITH logo design will be on signs, posters, letters, T-shirts and tree ornaments. The Merchandise sub-committee is organizing pre-sale dates and online orders for all Lights in the Heights merchandise. Melissa McKee and Beth Allen-Brock will be at the WHCA September General Meeting and the November General Meeting to take pre-sale orders for LITH merchandise.

Online orders will be through the WHCA website at www.woodland-heights.org, and plan to start September 10th, closing at midnight, Sunday December 8th. All merchandise will be delivered at Friday Night Lights on Friday, December 13th at the Norhill Esplanade, to take advantage of tax-free savings. Alternate pick-up dates will be the week of December 16th.

Now, add an entry to your calendars to order 2019 Lights in the Heights merchandise!

Happy Fall, Y’all!!

Yard-of-the-Month: 3540 Pineridge /  by Lori Bigler

Our September Yard of the Month has seen many changes over the 38 years its owners Tim Calk and Leigh Owen have lived there. When purchased in 1981, it had one front flower bed of cannas and two hackberry trees in back surrounded by weeds three feet tall. Since those days the owners have seen trees come and go. They discovered after a few years the silver maple and weeping willow they planted didn't prosper, but a 35-year-old magnolia and three-story red oak anchor the front yard.

The current plantings reflect their love of green foliage and colorful flowers, but are showing the effects of summer and will be transitioned to fall when cooler temperatures arrive. Today's plantings in the front and back yards and along the drive include:

  • loropetalum

  • sago palms

  • boxwood

  • crossandra orange marmalade (a favorite!)

  • variegated hostas (another favorite)

  • sedum

  • golden creeping jenny

  • verbena

  • lantana

  • firebush (hummingbird bush, Hamelia patens)

  • vitex

  • sweet olive

  • banana trees

  • elephant ear

  • ficus pumila

  • magnolia

  • red oak

And while these plantings are all fine and lovely, it's really about the tomato.
This special tribute to Leigh's hometown occupies the curb at the driveway. Surrounded by a low ground cover of golden creeping jenny, their tomato weighs in at an impressive 660-lbs of solid concrete! A surprise gift from Leigh's sister and brother-in-law, it has more than 300 "twins" occupying sidewalks and lawns in Jacksonville, Texas, the one-time "Tomato Capital of the World."

"We love the Heights and how near we were to the Gulf Publishing Company building on Allen Parkway where we both worked together for more than 25 years," said Tim Calk.
And there are more stories! The tomato may have been what made me stop at first, but if you pause there for a picture and find Tim or Leigh on their porch, ask about the decoration on their door!

Thank you, Leigh and Tim, for sharing the tomato story and your yard.
- Stephanie Riceman, WHCA Director of Beautification

Open House: September 7, 2019 Houston Heights Woman’s Club with the Heights Public Library /  by Lori Bigler

WC.PNG

The Houston Heights Woman’s Club welcomes all our Greater Heights Area neighbors to an informal Open House on Saturday, September 7 from 10 am to 12 noon.

Visit our historic clubhouse, learn about our neighborhood community service activities, social events and 119 year old Literary Club. View the latest updates to our beautiful rental venue. Take the opportunity to also learn about the many services offered by our Heights Neighborhood Library who is sponsoring a table at this open house.

What: Houston Heights Woman’s Club’s Open House

When: Saturday, September 7, 2019; 10:00 am – 12 noon

Where: HHWC Clubhouse, 1846 Harvard Street

Wear: No need to dress up - this is a come as you are event

Questions? info@houstonheightswomansclub.com

Or visit our website http://www.houstonheightswomansclub.com

Upcoming I-45 Workshops /  by Lori Bigler

The City and its technical team are gathering input to develop alternative designs and make recommendations to TXDOT and has developed an interactive map that can be accessed here. Please join Council Member Cisneros for the upcoming COH Planning Department Workshops on the IH-45 project. More info here. Additional workshops are being scheduled for late Sept./early Oct. (TBD).

Tuesday, 8/13/19, 6 pm - 7:30 pm, Optional intro at 5:40 pm
Harris County Dept. of Education, 6300 Irvington Blvd.
Accessible by METRO 79
Focus on Segment 2 & 3-North (I-610 to I-10 & I-10 to US-59)

Thursday, 8/15/19, 6 - 7:30 pm, Optional intro at 5:40 pm
Aldine Ninth Grade School, 10650 North Freeway
Accessible by METRO 56, 59, 99
Focus on Segment 1-North (Beltway 8 to N. Shepherd)

Saturday, 8/17/19, 10 am - 11:30 am, Optional intro at 9:40 am
Burrus Elementary School, 701 E. 33rd St.
Accessible by METRO 44 & 56
Focus on Segment 1-South (N. Shepherd to I-610)