Principal John Threet and Bunkers in Baghdad President Joe Hanna with the flag flown by U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Photo by Michele Nevi Marvin.

Bunkers in Baghdad is a nonprofit charity that collects and sends new and used golf balls, clubs and equipment to our troops currently serving in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan and 17 other countries around the world.

Bunkers also supplies golf equipment to Wounded Warriors Programs to aid in the rehabilitation of our injured veterans.

As a thank you for their efforts, the president of Bunkers in Baghdad, Joe Hanna, presented the school with a flag that was flown in the skies over Afghanistan by US troops in the 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron.

The average price for a gallon of unleaded regular fell 6.5 cents in the past week to an average of $3.56 per gallon as of yesterday.

The local price compares with a national average that has fallen 2.8 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.70, according to gasoline price website HoustonGasPrices.com.

Senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan said he expects gas prices to continue its downward trend, at least for the short term.

“Average gasoline prices will likely continue to decline in the days ahead of Memorial Day, but folks will still say come next year that prices went up over the weekend this year. It’s a sign of how sensitive motorists become to gasoline prices around the holidays, nothing more, and most of the time, the myth isn’t true,” DeHaan said. “This year will be one of those years- unless you’re on the West Coast, prices have been slowly coming down.”

Including the change in gas prices in West U during the past week, prices yesterday were 17.8 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 25.7 cents per gallon lower than a month ago.

The national average has decreased 15.1 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 13.7 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago.

Burglary of a Motor Vehicle 

At 07:58 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the 5700 block of Simmons in reference to a burglary of a motor vehicle that had already occurred. The complainant stated an unknown person rummaged through his vehicle and removed some change and a laptop.

05-21-12

Burglary of a Motor Vehicle 

An officer was dispatched to the 4000 block of Browning in reference to found property. The officer met with the reportee that located the property. During a vehicle check of the area, the officer located a burglarized vehicle. The owner was notified and a report initiated.

05-21-12

Burglary of a Motor Vehicle 

An officer was dispatched to the 4200 block of Judson in reference to a burglary of a motor vehicle. Unknown person(s) entered the victim’s vehicle and removed money without consent.

05-21-12

Failure to Stop and Give Information

An officer was dispatched to WUPD in reference to a hit and run. The reportee advised his vehicle was hit and damaged in the 4100 block of Rice.

05-21-12

Theft 

An officer was dispatched to WUPD to meet with a reportee in reference to a theft. The reportee stated that an unknown person removed some jewelry from her home without permission.

The C-USA all-academic team consists of student-athletes with a 3.2 cumulative grade point average or better and are a starter or key reserve for their team. The members were voted upon by the league’s sports information directors. The announcement is two days before play begins in the 2012 C-USA Championship this week in Pearl, Miss. As Rice clinched the C-USA regular-season title, its 17th consecutive season with a conference regular-season and/or tournament crown, it placed two members on the league’s all-academic team.

Rathjen, who earlier this year was also selected to the Capital One Academic All-District Team, made a comeback from a season-ending injury in 2011 to start every game in 2012. The redshirt junior leads the Owls in home runs (9) and doubles (13) and he is second in hitting (.338) and RBI (39). A Houston native from Memorial High School, Rathjen maintained a 3.52 grade point average in Economics.

Reckling is also a Houston native who stayed in his hometown to help the Owls earn a No. 4 national ranking by Baseball America. He is tied for the league lead in victories with eight. He averages 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings and has held all hitters to a composite .178 batting average on the season, lowest in the league. He was named C-USA Pitcher of the Week three times, more than any other player this season.

The Rice baseball team is 39-15 overall this season. With the C-USA regular season title the Owls also clinched the No. 1 seed at the upcoming C-USA Championship Tournament, scheduled to get underway on Wednesday (May 23) in Pearl, Miss. The tourney features four days of pool play followed by a single Championship Final on Sunday (May 27). Rice’s opening game in the tournament will be Houston starting at 3 pm.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issued the watch as atmospheric conditions are expected to be favorable for producing high levels of ozone pollution in the area.

Elevated concentrations of ozone can act as a lung irritant. Individuals with chronic lung disease such as asthma and emphysema, as well as the elderly and small children, are particularly sensitive to ozone and should attempt to avoid exposure.

To minimize exposure, those who may be affected by the elevated ozone levels are urged to minimize exertion outdoors during the midday to early evening hours or stay indoors or in an air conditioned area during these times.

Ozone reaching excessive levels may occur at any location throughout the greater Houston region depending on wind direction and other factors. Excessive levels may linger until sunset.

Ozone warnings will be issued if air pollution levels are detected at unhealthy levels.

The strong showing on the Washington Post High School Challenge rankings and Newsweek’s America’s Best High Schools of 2012 are the result of HISD’s Advanced Placement initiative that began with the 2009-2010 school year.  That was the year Superintendent Terry Grier called on all high schools to expand student access to college-level AP courses and the district agreed to pay the exam fees for all students in those classes.

“This is great recognition of the hard work being done by teachers and students at high schools across the Houston Independent School District,” Grier said.

Today, all HISD high schools offer a minimum of 10-15 AP classes, and the number of exams earning a score of 3 or higher, which is the score most colleges require for course credit, is up 35 percent.

HISD’s strong AP progress is one reason the district is among four finalists for the Broad Prize for Urban Education, which recognizes the top urban school district in America. This week, a Broad Prize panel of experts is touring HISD schools as part of the evaluation process.

Twenty-one HISD high schools earned recognition in the Washington Post High School Challenge, a list of 1,800 schools representing the top 9 percent in the nation when it comes to preparing graduates for college. Only 125 Texas high schools made the list, and HISD campuses – Carnegie Vanguard, Eastwood Academy, and DeBakey High School for Health Professions – represent three of the national top 100.

HISD high schools that made the Washington Post list include:

2012 Rank         School Name

10                    Carnegie Vanguard

23                    Eastwood Academy

96                    Challenge Early HS

114                  DeBakey HS for Health Professions

153                  Bellaire

161                  High School for the Performing and Visual Arts

168                  East Early College

194                  Furr

228                  High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice

267                  Lamar

275                  Westside

548                  Westbury

553                  Lee

833                  Chavez

1,001               Milby

1,062               Reagan

1,121               Scarborough

1,158               Washington

1,205               Davis

1,377               Waltrip

1,571               Austin

HISD high schools also occupy 9 out of 1,000 positions on Newsweek’s list of America’s Best High Schools.  Only 86 Texas high schools made the Newsweek list. HISD schools on the list are:

2012 Rank       School Name

13                    Carnegie Vanguard

72                    Eastwood Academy

75                    DeBakey HS for Health Professions

162                  High School for the Performing and Visual Arts

439                  Bellaire

446                  Challenge Early College

685                  High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice

883                  Lamar

957                  Mount Carmel Academy

Burglary of a Motor Vehicle 

At 4:42 p.m., an officer was dispatched to the 5300 block of Mercer in reference to a burglary of a motor vehicle. Upon arrival of the officer, the complainant stated that an unknown person smashed his rear window and removed two items.

05-18-12

No crimes reported.

05-19-12

No crimes reported.

05-20-12

Traffic Violation 

An officer observed a vehicle make an illegal turn in the 4100 block of Judson. The vehicle also had an expired registration. A traffic stop was initiated, and the officer discovered the driver had a suspended license and no insurance. The driver was arrested.

05-20-12

Criminal Mischief 

At 10:10 a.m., an officer arrived in the parking lot of WUPD and discovered a red fender placed on the hood of a police car. The police vehicle sustained minor damages. This case is under investigation.

The campaign kicks off today in an effort to help save lives by cracking down on those who don’t buckle up.

“The goal of HISD’s Police Department is to ensure the safety of all our schools, but we need the help of the community when it comes to seatbelt safety,” HISD Police Chief Jimmy Dotson said.  “Drivers need to ensure that they wear a seatbelt at all times for their own safety, and our officers are committed to enforce seat belt laws at all times.”

Seat belt use saves thousands of lives across America each year and HISD’s Police Department is helping spread the word.

NHTSA statistics show that in 2010 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 12,546 lives nationwide.  However, in that same year 22,187 passenger vehicle occupants were killed in motor vehicle crashes, according to NHTSA, and 51 percent of them were not wearing seat belts at the time of their fatal crashes.

“School will be out for the summer very soon so it’s important we are aware of more children playing in neighborhood streets,” said Dotson.  “We ask that all drivers take extra precaution when driving in their neighborhoods to ensure the safety of all our students during the summer break.”

While this year’s Click It or Ticket enforcement mobilization runs from May 21 through June 3, motorists should know that officers are out enforcing seat belt laws year-round.

After posting three dominant relief appearances, including two that helped secure the regular season Conference USA title over the weekend at UCF, Duffey has been named the league’s Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career. In his three outings the Owl right-hander totaled 5.1 innings pitched and did not allow a run nor a hit. More impressive, he struck out 13 of the 17 batters that he faced, including nine in a row at one point.

Duffey fanned three batters in 1.2 innings in a shutout victory on the road at Southland Conference champion Sam Houston State on Tuesday (May 15). The Houston native then turned in a pair of brilliant performances in the two Owl wins at UCF. In the game two win on Friday he struck out all five batters he faced. On Saturday, Duffey struck out the side in the eighth and fanned the first batter in the ninth to give him nine-straight strikeouts of nine batters over a two-game span. The streak was snapped with a base-on-balls, and after an Owl fielding error on a fielder’s choice play, UCF suddenly had two men on base and the potential tying run at the plate. Duffey was able to get the Knights to fly out, and he then fired a game-ending strikeout to preserve the 5-2 victory to help Rice take the regular season conference championship. The 2012 C-USA title is the program’s 17th- consecutive conference championship going back to 1996.

Duffey’s Owl teammates who have won or shared the league’s weekly hitting/pitching honor include Matthew Reckling (pitcher, three times), Michael Fuda (hitter, Feb. 27), Jordan Stephens (pitcher, Mar. 12) and Ford Stainback (hitter, May 13).

Jacob Wilson batted .381 on the week as the Tigers went 4-0. He hit .412 and collected four doubles and seven RBI for a C-USA series sweep lastweekend. For the week, he had eight hits, eight RBI and five runs scored, while adding two steals. He also blasted his league-best 16th home run against Tennessee-Martin last Tuesday.

Rice is 39-15 overall this season. With the C-USA regular season title the Owls also clinched the No. 1 seed at the upcoming C-USA Championship Tournament, scheduled to get underway on Wednesday (May 23) in Pearl, Miss. The tourney features four days of pool play followed by a single Championship Final on Sunday (May 27). Rice’s opening game in the tournament will be Houston starting at 3 pm.

Officer John Guerra

Officer John Guerra was arrested by the West U Police Department in April and charged with breach of computer security after he reportedly hacked into his estranged wife’s computer.

According to court documents, Guerra covertly installed a program on his wife’s computer to track her Internet use. Guerra and his wife are reportedly in the process of getting a divorce.

In an e-mail to City Manager Michael Ross on Wednesday, Police Chief Ken Walker said that Guerra had been demoted to police officer.

“An internal review found that he had failed to act in a manner consistent with the job description of a police sergeant,” Walker said. “Also, his behavior violated several police department general orders.”

Guerra has been assigned to non-police duties until his case is resolved. If he is convicted, his employment status will be reevaluated, Walker said.

Guerra has been with the police department since 1994.

HISD’s non-teaching staff last received a pay raise in 2009-2010, and some, but not all, teachers received a raise in 2010-2011. No employees received raises this school year. Superintendent Terry Grier asked the board to consider the pay increases in an effort to remain competitive with surrounding Houston-area school districts that have already proposed doing so.

The teacher pay issue is especially critical as HISD seeks to compete with other school districts who are attempting to fill teaching vacancies caused by resignations and retirements. Each year, HISD loses about 1,000 teachers through attrition.  Under the proposal, teachers with 10 years or less of experience would receive a 2.25 percent pay raise, which would increase beginning teacher pay in HISD from $44,987 to $46,000.  Teachers with more than 10 years of experience would receive a 1.75 percent pay raise.

Other employee groups would receive the following salary increases under the compensation proposal:

• School bus operators, hourly food services employees, and salaried departmental employees on the lower end of the pay scale: 2.25 percent
• Substitute teachers, hourly employees, principals, assistant principals, and deans: 2 percent
• Professional employees and upper-level administrators: 1.75 percent

HISD began the budgeting process facing a $43.6 million shortfall caused primarily by the Texas Legislature’s decision last year to reduce public education funding by $5.3 billion.  HISD is among many Texas school districts that have filed a lawsuit seeking to force the state to fund schools at the constitutionally-mandated level.

The budget proposal includes maintaining HISD’s current tax rate, which is the lowest among all Harris County school districts.

The district would pay for the $20 million compensation proposal in part with $8.9 million from the district’s savings account, which currently stands at about $257 million.  About $17 million of the shortfall would be covered by reducing the amount of general fund money that is normally transferred to HISD’s debt service fund to help repay loans.  This reduction is a one-time option that will not be available in future years.

HISD has also identified several areas of potential savings for the upcoming school year. These include:

• $3.5 million in reduced employee healthcare costs through increased efficiencies that should not impact quality of service.
• $1.7 million less in special funding for six unique schools.
• $2.5 million in non-campus departmental cuts, primarily through eliminating positions and layoffs.  Last year, HISD eliminated 221 non-campus positions.

The Board of Education is expected to adopt the 2012-2013 budget at a public meeting in June.