VOLUME 3, NO. 04 (#57) www.northchannelstar.com

Serving all of the North Shore -- Channelview, Sheldon, Galena Park, Jacinto City

NORTH CHANNEL✯STARYour News, Your Newspaper

CHANNELCHATTER

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015

STATE CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS:

Governor Abbott, Lt. Gov.Patrick sworn into office

TOWN HALL MEETING:

Congressman Green hostssenior town hall meeting

Issue #57 of the STAR San Jac Classes, p. 6Carter Funeral Home, p. 3

Fire erupts at trash site in Cloverleaf area

Construction progressing for San JacintoCollege’s new Maritime Training Center at port

By Ed Sterling

AUSTIN — January 20 wasinauguration day for Gov. GregAbbott, successor to Rick Per-ry, who completed a record-set-ting 14 years as governor.Abbott is the 48th governor ofTexas.

Abbott expressed gratitudeto the people who elected himand promised to “promote pol-icies that limit the growth ofgovernment, not the size ofyour dreams.”

“Texas truly is the land ofopportunity, the place whereanyone can achieve anything,”Abbott said. “But as great asTexas is there’s more we mustdo: More for the families stuckin traffic. More for parchedtowns thirsty for water. Morefor parents who fear theirchild is falling behind inschool. More for employerssearching for skilled workers.More for our veterans who re-turn broken from battle.”

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, suc-cessor to David Dewhurst whoserved at the post for 12 years,also addressed the crowd atthe inauguration. “In my cam-

paign,” Patrick said, “I pledgedto secure the border, to lowerproperty and business taxes,prioritize, reform and improvepublic education, build our in-frastructure and protect life,family and the Second Amend-ment. That’s what I pledged todo as a candidate and that’swhat I will do as lieutenant See CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS, p. 3

governor.” Patrick is the state’s42nd lieutenant governor.

Patrick awardschairmanships

On Jan. 21, the Texas Sen-ate voted to cut the number ofstanding committees from 18to 14 and Lt. Gov. Patrick, as

GP/JC CIP MeetingFebruary 5, 2015-Building Plant

Awareness of the CIP CommunityHistory. Meetings take place at AlvinBaggett Recreation Building begin-ning at 5:45 p.m.

Sue Edwards, who was born ina log cabin on 2nd Street in GalenaPark, will share her knowledge ofthe history of that city. Lon Squyres,CIP member and city manager ofJacinto City will share his knowl-edge of that city.

And Dorothie Harding will talkabout the Harding Hotel that oc-cupied the site of what is now Mc-Donald’s.

North ChannelChamber luncheon

February monthly luncheon, Fri-day, Feb. 6, 2015, 11:30 a.m. at SanJacinto North in the Monumentroom of the Student Center, 5800Uvalde Rd. Guest Speaker Dr. Ger-ardo Kalife.

Two menkilledwhen carhits truck

Two men were killed earlylast Saturday when a ChevroletImpala crashed into the back ofparked flatbed trailer.

The accident happened atEast Sam Houston ParkwayNorth feeder road near TidwellRoad, Harris County Sheriff’s au-thorities said.

Samual Guana and Ha SaunCaston were both killed, depu-ties said.

Guana was driving at a highrate of speed and Caston wasin the front passenger seat,when Guana fail to avoid aparked semi-tractor trailer andstruck it around 3:00 a.m.

The driver of the truck hasstopped to verigy an address,reports said.

PASADENA, Texas – A recent ground-breaking of the Maritime Training Cen-ter was held to mark the beginning stagesof construction of the future home of allmaritime training at San Jacinto College.

At the site of 3700 Old Highway 146 inLa Porte, one can see the view of concretepiers that will support the 45,000-square-foot San Jacinto College Maritime Train-ing Center.

San Jacinto College Chancellor Dr.Brenda Hellyer explained how the rapidgrowth of the College’s maritime programover the course of four years has broughtthe program to this point of expansion.

“When we began envisioning what wewanted to see for our maritime trainingprogram, we knew we had to build a world-class facility,” said Dr. Hellyer. Since 2010,the College has awarded approximately3,200 U.S. Coast Guard-required certifi-cations and developed the state’s first as-sociate degree maritime transportationprogram. In 2012, the College purchased13 acres of land along the Port of Houstonto begin the process of building the Mari-time Training Center.

“We looked at a lot of different locations

along the water, and we keptcoming back to this property,”added Dr. Hellyer. “The Mari-time Training Center was de-veloped based on industryinput and leadership, and willallow us to put in place thetraining areas that are re-quired to make this programa success now and in the longterm.”

Maritime employment re-mains strong in Texas, as thestate leads the nation in ex-port tonnage and imports. Wellover 1 million jobs are relatedto marine cargo activity at thePort of Houston and privateterminals, according to a re-port by the Port of HoustonAuthority. Issues such as anaging workforce and expan-sion of the Panama Canal alsodrive the need to train andprepare more mariners for theindustry.

See MARITIME CENTER, page 8

Governor Abbott sworn in as Texas’ first new governor since 2000.

The 45,000-square-foot facility will prepare new mariners and serve as local training site

Cloverleaf Fire Department wascalled to the scene of a smoky trashfire last Tuesday afternoon, at thecorner of McNair and FrankieStreets in the Cloverleaf area.

Two firetrucks fought for sever-al hours to suppress the flames andsmoke, which kept burning due tothe way trash was piled and com-pacted on the site.

A representative of the familythat owns the property, Paula Neal,said that workmen were in the pro-cess of clearing the property whenthe fire was discovered. The prop-erty is for sale, with new construc-tion anticipated on the site.

At presstime, no cause for thefire was known. Witnesses saidthat some of the containers werebeing used as shelter for the home-less, but it was not known if thatwas related to the fire.

Construction equipment can be seen in the process of clearingthe site of debris and ship containers, but flames and smoke risein the background. A plume of smoke could be seen for mileson Tuesday.

Cloverleaf Fire Department responded to the fire with two pumpertrucks and other equipment, as Precinct 3 constables kept trafficaway from the site. In the photo above, a deluge nozzle was usedto reach fire in the interior of the property.

Continued on Page 8. SeeSENIOR TOWN HALL

Congressman Gene Green hosted the annual Senior Town Hall, andaddressed with audience with updates on legislation affecting them.Government officials, seated, also answered questions.

Congressman Gene Green,representing the Texas Dis-trict 29, was busy last week,hosting a Senior Town HallMeeting for his district onThursday morning at theNortheast Community Center,and a Health Fair at M.O.Campbell Center on Saturday.

At the Senior Town Hall,Green was accompanied bygovernment officials that an-swered questions and present-ed new information in theirrespective fields. These includ-ed Andy Hardwick, Social Se-curity Administration; PaulaJohnson, HC Area Agency onAging; and Michael Coulter,Medicare Outreach Centers.

NORTH CHANNEL✯STARPage 2 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015

COMMUNITY NEWS

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The Student Council fromRobert E. Lee High School iscollecting jeans for Teens forJeans, a national campaign inpartnership with Aéropostaleand DoSomething.org, thelargest not-for-profit organiza-tion for young people and so-cial change. Teens for Jeansencourages young peopleacross the country to run ajeans drive in their school orcommunity to help provideclothing for youth experienc-ing homelessness.

CenterPoint Energy Incentive(front, from left) Michael Sciortino, account manager for CLEAResult, and Kristi Hardy, program managerfor CenterPoint Energy, present Goose Creek CISD with an incentive check for $81,305.87 at a recent meetingof the Goose Creek CISD Board of Trustees for energy efficiency accomplishment in the CenterPoint EnergySCORE/CitySmart Program. The program helps participants reduce energy operating costs, and the incentivechecks are to help motivate energy efficiency upgrades within organizations. Also pictured are Brenda Garcia(front, second from right), project inspector; David Fluker, executive director of facilities; (back, from left)Randal O’Brien, GCCISD acting superintendent; Agustin Loredo III, GCCISD Board of Trustees vice presidentand Ray Brown, senior project inspector.

Culinary Arts Students HonorGCCISD Board of TrusteesCulinary Arts students from Stuart Career Center prepared dinner for members of the Board of Trustees andpresented them with cutting boards made at SCC in honor of School Board Recognition Month. Pictured are(front, l to r) Tina Andrade, Culinary Arts teacher; Vicky Melo, GC Board of Trustees, Board secretary;Jenice Coffey, Board member; Alyssa Curiel, Goose Creek Memorial; Natassja Davis, Sterling; (back, l to r)Rex Miller, Meat Processing teacher at SCC; Agustin Loredo III, Board vice president; Randal O’Brien, GCacting superintendent; Ken Martin, Board assistant secretary; Joe Ayala,GCM; Noe Ramos, GCM; and PedroMartinez, GCM.

REL Student CouncilSponsors Teens for Jeans

Over a million young peo-ple experience homelessnessin the United States everyyear, and one of the most re-quested items that young peo-ple in homeless shelters askfor is a pair of jeans. In thepast seven years, young peo-ple across the country havecollected over 4.3 million pairsof jeans through Teens forJeans. This year, the top col-lecting high school, middleschool, elementary school, andcollege will each win a $5,000school grant. In addition to the

school grant, the school thatcollects the most jeans will wina private school concert by popband The Vamps and Aéro-postale t-shirts for the entireschool.

Members of the communitycan support the drive by drop-ping off their gently used den-im of any size at Robert E. LeeHigh School, 1809 Market St.,Baytown, TX 77520. For moreinformation, please visitTeensForJeans.com or contactLee High School at 281-420-4535.

(from left) AmandaEssoh, Trenton Carrand Sierra Moody,

Goose Creek MemorialHigh School Band

members, were selectedto perform with the

Texas All-State Band inSan Antonio Saturday,February 14, 2015, atthe Henry B. GonzalezConvention Center as

part of the 2015 TexasMusic Educators

Association Clinic/Convention. They areunder the direction ofRichard Lewis at GCM.

GCM Students Chosen for All-State Band

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Either way, we can help! Call for a free assessment of your home’s value.

Page 3WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015 NORTH CHANNEL✯STAR

SCHOOL NEWS

JANUARY

North ChannelLibrary events-Thursday, Jan. 29, 10:30 am, BabyTime.CLASES DE COMPUTACION:-Intermedio Excel, Práctica, Jan.29, 10 am - 12 pm.*Se require registrarse.

Library is located at 15741 Wal-lisville Rd., Houston, TX. 77049. Call281-457-1631 for more informationon other classes.

JANUARY

Galena ParkLibrary events-Wednesday, Jan. 28, 11 am, StoryTime.Please call the library at 713-450-0982 for more details.

The library is located at 1500Keene St. Galena Park, TX. 77547.

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president of theSenate, named committeechairs and members of eachcommittee.

Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Grape-vine, was named chair of thebody’s 15-member Committeeon Finance and will managethe writing of a state budgetto be melded with a versionoriginating in the TexasHouse. Nelson served as chairof the Committee on Healthand Human Services for sev-eral legislative sessions. Ear-lier this month, TexasComptroller Glenn Hegar saidsome $113 billion is availablefor general-purpose spendingin the state’s 2016-2017 fiscalbiennium. For comparison,Texas Comptroller SusanCombs’ revenue estimate forthe current 2014-2015 bienni-um was $92.6 billion.

Other standing committeechairmanships assigned bythe lieutenant governor in-clude: Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills,Committee onAdministration; Sen. CharlesPerry, R-Lubbock, Agriculture,Water and Rural Affairs; Sen.Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, Businessand Commerce; Sen. JohnWhitmire, D-Houston, Crimi-nal Justice; Sen. Larry Taylor,R-Galveston, Education; Sen.Charles Schwertner, R-Geor-getown, Health and HumanServices.

Also, Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, Higher Education;Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, Intergovernmen-tal Relations; Sen. Troy Fraser,R-HorseshoeBay, Natural Re-sources and Economic Devel-opment; Sen. Joan Huffman,R-Houston, State Affairs; Sen.Robert Nichols, R-Jackson-ville, Transportation; Sen.Donna Campbell, R-NewBraunfels, Veteran Affairs andMilitary Installations. Sen.Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury,was named chair of the Bor-der Security Subcommittee ofCampbell’s committee.

‘Three-fifths rule’adopted

On Jan. 21, the Texas Sen-ate voted on procedural rulesfor the current legislative ses-sion.

Notably, the body dispensedwith the traditional “two-thirds rule” requiring that atleast 21 members of the 31-member body agree to bringup a bill before it could be de-

CAPITALHIGHLIGHTS,Continued form page 1

bated on the Senate floor. All20 Republican members of theSenate and one Democrat,Sen. Lucio of Brownsville, vot-ed in favor of adopting a“three-fifths rule” so that asfew as 19 members of the bodyneed agree on whether tobring a bill to the Senate floorfor debate.

In the course of a two-hourdebate opponents said, in ef-fect, that the rule changewould give too much power tothe majority party and erodethe body’s history of bipartisancooperation and consent. Sen.Eltife said the “three-fifthsrule” would help the Senate “togovern in regular session andcomplete our work in a timelymanner.”

Unemployment ratefalls

Job growth continued withan upward trend in Decemberand Texas saw an increase of457,900 seasonally adjustedtotal non-farm jobs over calen-dar year 2014.

December was the fifthstraight month of record-breaking annual job growthfor the Lone Star State “andover the month, the stategained 45,700 jobs, marking51 straight months of employ-ment growth,” the Texas Work-

force Commission reported onJan. 23.

In addition, the seasonallyadjusted unemployment ratefell to 4.6 percent in Decem-ber, down from 4.9 percent inNovember and down from 6.0percent a year ago. This wasthe lowest Texas unemploy-ment rate since May 2008,Texas Workforce Commissionsaid.

Andres Alcantar, chairmanof the state agency, said, “Ev-ery major industry added jobsover the year, benefiting froma strong business climate anda growing, competitive andhigh quality Texas workforce.”

The answer is… CardTricks! We’re talking creditcard tricks. The expensivekind, in which over-limit fees,residual interest, defaultAPRs and other surprises sud-denly appear as if by magic onyour credit card statement. Ineach instance, they are with-in their rights to take yourmoney, thanks to the often in-scrutable terms of your card-holder agreement. But justlike Three-Card Monte, thesetricks can clean out your wal-let faster than you can pick acard, any card. Some of thesetricks may soon be outlawedby the Federal ReserveBoard’s proposed Unfair orDeceptive Acts or Practicesreforms.

In the meantime, keep youreye on your statement, yourhand on your wallet and watchout for these five sneaky cred-it card tricks.

This is the second in aseries of 5.

2. The over-limit limboAt the other end of your

minimum payment is the cred-it limit on your card. Whathappens to those Icarus-likecardholders whose spendingflies above their credit limit?They get burned by an over-the-limit fee that not only typ-ically exceeds $35, but keepsrecurring every cycle that theyremain out in the blue. It’s thecredit card fee that keeps ontaking.

There are numerous waysto accidentally soar over yourlimit. You can charge over it,of course. A stray automaticpayment for an annual orsemi-annual insurance billcould do it. If you’re closeenough already, an annual fee

How can so many stores offercredit with no

payments for months,even years? What’s

the catch?or even additional interest onpurchases could exceed theceiling.

Some card companies alsouse this clever trick: They sud-denly lower your limit belowyour balance and then dingyou with an over-limit fee.

Weston says the practiceruns counter to what thosecredit card TV ads would haveyou believe. “Everybody hasseen the commercial wherethe guy is taking his boss outto dinner and his card getsturned down,” she says. “Well,typically, they won’t turn youdown because they can chargeyou that fee. The time you getdeclined is when you’ve reallyscrewed up and it has gone tocollections. You can wind uppaying these fees to infinity.”

Solution? Weston suggestsusing online personal financeprograms such as Wasabi,Mint or Quicken to monitorclosely your available credit.

Flying a little lower finan-cially may be your best option,however. “Try to stay underhalf your limit,” says Hille-brand. “It helps avoid the prob-lem, it’s better for your creditscore and it also leaves somereserve if you have to get yourcar fixed.”

If you have questions per-taining to jewelry, watches, di-amonds, precious stones,precious metals, and otherquestions related to the jew-elry industry, emailjmills@pineforestjewelry.com.

Diamond Jim is a dia-mond dealer and preciousmetals broker of NTRMetals. See more at:www.pineforestjewelry.com.

GALENA PARK

Science Survivor Series- Science Gets Serious

GPISD held its first Ele-mentary Science Survivor Se-ries (S3) on Friday, January16th at the AdministrationBuilding. To showcase skills inproblem solving, critical think-ing, and STEM (Science, Tech-nology, Engineering andMath), all 15 GPISD elemen-tary school sent a team of sixto represent their campus tocompete in three challenges -academic, building, and cre-ativity. The teams and theirsponsors have been workingtogether all year in prepara-tion for this event; however,they did not know what thechallenges would entail untilthe day of the competition.

For the academic portion,teams were asked to showcasetheir science content knowl-edge. In a game called PictureIt, a team member was select-ed to sketch up to 21 scienceterms while their teammatesguessed as many as they couldin five minutes. To showcasetheir building and writingskills, one student described apre-built creation to a team-mate, who then used a pre settub of materials and theirpartner’s written notes to rep-licate the creation as closely aspossible. Creativity was dem-onstrated with a Texas appro-priate task - students werechallenged to determine howto best insulate an ice cube to

Drawing depictions of science terms on the board, the sketcher’steammates had five minutes to guess as many as they could.

keep it from melting.Judges from local partners

with Texas STARBASE, Hous-ton Museum of Natural Sci-ence, Harris CountyDepartment of Education, andUH STEP Program carefullyevaluated each team’s project.The teams displayed some se-rious strategizing, teamworkand determination, so thecompetition was intense. But,three teams outlasted all oth-ers to take a trophy back totheir campus:

First Place Team: Nor-mandy Crossing Elementary,coached by La’Tandra Hicks &Jimmy Giacona

Second Place Team: Ci-marron Elementary, coachedby Priscilla Diosdado & Mar-geaux Fisher

Third Place Team: SamHouston Elementary, coachedby Isaias Cerda

All students had a memora-ble experience and received adelicious breakfast donated bythe United Community Cred-it Union, colorful shirts fromMunchie’s at New ForestCrossing, and gift certificatesfor Menchie’s and Peter PiperPizza. The top three teamsalso got a bonus pizza party tocelebrate their success!

Rep. Gene GreenTown Hall meeting

Congressman Gene Green ishosting a Town Hall Meeting:

•Thursday, February 5 at 6:30p.m. at the North Channel BranchLibrary, 15741 Wallisville Road,Houston, TX. 77049.

FREE PARENTTECHNOLOGYTRAINING!

Galena Park ISD is offering FREEtechnology training for parents whohave children in one or more GPISDschools!

Registration: Call 832-386-1038Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. -4:00 p.m.

Training Topics include WordProcessing and Internet Tools.

There will be snacks and FREEbabysitting for children under 12.

Training is being offered in bothEnglish and Spanish. Training willtake place at Joyce Zotz EducationCenter, 13801 Holly Park, Houston

Training Dates/Times: Selectone training week (Monday-Thurs-day)

February 9-12 (5:30 p.m. - 7:00p.m.)

February 23-26 (5:30 p.m.-7:00p.m.)

Black HistoryMonth celebration

HOUSTON – San Jacinto Col-lege will celebrate Black HistoryMonth with an array of events.This year’s events offer a rangeof entertainment and educationfrom traditional African musicand dance, panel discussions,lectures, guest speakers, filmshowings, and a talent show fea-turing performances from localacts and students. Below is a listof activities going on through-out February in commemorationof Black History Month.

North Campus•Feb. 5: Black History Month

Kick-off Celebration- 11:30 a.m.to 1:30 p.m., N-12 lobby

•Feb. 10: Community Lead-er Panel Discussion- 6:30 p.m.,N-1.103

•Feb. 11: Bingo and Trivia-11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., N-12lobby

•Feb. 25: Media and the Mis-representation of Blacks- 11:30a.m. to 1:30 p.m., MonumentRoom

For more information, visitsanjac.edu/events.

Affordable Care Actsocial gathering

Save the date, Feb. 5, 2015for a Native American gatheringsocial dinner event at no chargeat The United Way, 50 WaughDr., Houston, TX, 77007 from 7pm - 9 pm. Food will be served.For more information, pleasecall 281-686-1462 or 281-384-5922. Vis it nativeamericanhealthcoalition.org for more in-formation.

NORTH CHANNEL✯STARPage 4 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015

OPINION PAGE

The Highlands Star Founded 1955The Crosby Courier Founded 1958

Consolidated with the Star 1961SERVING HIGHLANDS, CROSBY, HUFFMANAND NORTHEAST HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS

Editor & Publisher ....................................... Gilbert HoffmanAssociate Publisher ............................. Mei-Ing Liu HoffmanAssoc. Editor/Advertising Manager ............. Lewis SpearmanAssistant Editor ..................................................Julieta PaitaProduction Manager .................................... Luis HernandezIT Technical Manager ............................... Pedro HernandezAdvertising Representive ...................... Richard HernandezEntered as Periodicals Class at Highlands Post Office, Highlands, TX 77562. Under the Act ofCongress of March 3, 1879. Published 50 weeks per year, on Thursday, by Grafikpress Corp.,5906 Star Lane, Houston, TX 77057. Opinions in this paper are those of the authors, and notnecessarily this newspaper’s. Any erroneous statement which may appear will be corrected whenbrought to the attention of the publisher. Liability for errors is limited to the reprinting of thecorrected version. Submissions are encouraged, in person, by mail, by Fax, or by email, tografikstar@aol.com.

GRAFIKPRESS is publisher of community newspapers, including Highlands STAR-Crosby COURIER;Barbers Hill Dayton PRESS; Northeast NEWS; North Forest NEWS, North Channel STAR. Combinedcirculation of these newspapers exceeds 50,000, Readership exceeds 110,000 according to in-dustry standards. We also print dozens of school, ethnic, and government publications on con-tract. Call for information to 713-977-2555.

SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In-county, $25.00 per year. Out of county, $35.00 per Year. POSTMASTER:Send address changes to Star-Courier, P. O. Box 405, Highlands, TX 77562

News and Ad Phones....281-328-9605FAX Line....713-977-1188email: grafikstar@aol.com

Member Texas Press Association

Star✯CourierStar✯Courierand the

USPS 244-500

C R O S B YH I G H L A N D S

Barbers Hill✯Dayton PRESS

WASHINGTON, January22, 2015 - When filing your2014 federal income taxreturn, you will notice somechanges related to theindividual shared responsibili-ty provision of the AffordableCare Act.

The individual sharedresponsibility provision in theAffordable Care Act calls foryou to have qualifying healthcare coverage for each monthof the year, qualify for a healthcoverage exemption, or makean Individual Shared Respon-sibility Payment when filingyour federal income taxreturn. Individuals areresponsible for themselves andanyone they can claim as adependent. Taxpayers whohave coverage for the entireyear will simply check a box ontheir tax return and won’tneed to do anything else whenthey file.

However, if you don’t havequalifying health carecoverage and you meet certaincriteria, you might be eligiblefor an exemption fromcoverage. Most exemptions areavailable on your tax return,but some must be claimedthrough the Marketplace. Ifyou or any of your dependentsare exempt from the require-ment to have health coverage,you will complete the new IRSForm 8965, Health CoverageExemptions and submit it

WASHINGTON, January27, 2015 - The Internal Reve-nue Service today warned tax-payers to be on the lookout forunscrupulous return prepar-ers, one of the most common“Dirty Dozen” tax scams seenduring tax season.

The vast majority of taxprofessionals provide honesthigh-quality service. But thereare some dishonest preparerswho set up shop each filingseason to perpetrate refundfraud, identity theft and oth-er scams that hurt taxpayers.That’s why unscrupulous pre-parers who prey on unsuspect-ing taxpayers with outlandishpromises of overly large re-funds make the Dirty Dozenlist every year.

“Filing a tax return can beone of the biggest financialtransactions of the year, sotaxpayers should choose theirtax return preparers careful-ly,” said IRS CommissionerJohn Koskinen. “Most tax pro-fessionals provide top-notchservice, but we see bad actorsevery year that steal fromtheir clients or compromisereturns in ways that can se-verely harm taxpayers.”

Return preparers are a vi-tal part of the U.S. tax system.About 60 percent of taxpayersuse tax professionals to pre-pare their returns.

Illegal scams can lead tosignificant penalties and inter-est and possible criminal pros-ecution. IRS CriminalInvestigation works closelywith the Department of Jus-tice (DOJ) to shutdown scamsand prosecute the criminalsbehind them.

Choosing ReturnPreparers Carefully

It is important to choosecarefully when hiring an indi-vidual or firm to prepare yourreturn. Well-intentioned tax-payers can be misled by pre-parers who don’t understandtaxes or who mislead peopleinto taking credits or deduc-tions they aren’t entitled to inorder to increase their fee.Every year, these types of taxpreparers face everythingfrom penalties to even jail

TWC warnsTexans to beaware of falseunemploymentbenefitsWebsites

AUSTIN, January 27,2015 - The Texas Work-force Commission (TWC)warns Texans’ seekingunemployment benefits tobe aware of third-partyvendors offering assis-tance. Unemploymentinsurance (UI) claimsshould be filed throughthe TWC website or byphone, and never througha third-party.

Individuals in Texashave reported receivingemails soliciting personalinformation from a third-party vendor who is notaffiliated with TWC calledthe UnemploymentAdvisory Department,with an email addresssupport@us-benefits.org.Emails stated the claim-ant’s initial benefitsapplication was received,but not complete, andprovided links to completethe filing process. TWCadvises claimants toignore these emails. TWCdoes not send these typesof emails and would neverrequire confidentialinformation be sharedwith a third-party toobtain unemploymentbenefits.

Claimants should bewary of online third-partyUI benefits resourcecenters who usuallycharge a fee for providingadvice and job services toapplicants in the U.S.Websites typically requestpersonal identifiers andcredit card informationthat could be used foridentity theft. Thesewebsites are not associat-ed with TWC or any otherstate workforce agency.

In a related incident,one Texas claimant wasasked to purchase a creditreport and to get a healthinsurance quote beforefiling a claim. TWC doesnot require individuals topurchase anything or paya fee to file for unemploy-ment benefits. Thesewebsites are sellinginformation and servicesprovided for free by TWCand other state agencies.

Individuals havingattempted to apply for UIbenefits using a third-party website need tocontact TWC at 800-939-6631 or 512-463-2236 tosubmit their claim.

Confidential informa-tion given to a third-partywebsite could be used foridentity theft. An onlineIdentity Theft InformationGuide from the TexasDepartment of PublicSafety provides usefultips, if you believe you area victim of identity theft.

TWC administers UIbenefits to workers whobecome unemployedthrough no fault of theirown and are activelyseeking work. To file aclaim or to find out moreabout unemploymentbenefits go towww.texasworkforce.org/unemploymentbenefits.

To avoid becoming avictim of scams, visit theTexas Office of the Attor-ney General online atwww.oag.state.tx.us/consumer/scams.shtml orwww.onguardonline.gov,managed by the FederalTrade Commission, formore information.

Return Preparer Fraud Hits IRSAnnual “Dirty Dozen” List

time for defrauding their cli-ents.

Here are a few tips whenchoosing a tax preparer:

•Check to be sure the pre-parer has an IRS Preparer TaxIdentification Number (PTIN).Anyone with a valid 2015PTIN is authorized to preparefederal tax returns. Tax returnpreparers, however, have dif-fering levels of skills, educa-tion and expertise. Animportant difference in thetypes of practitioners is “rep-resentation rights”. You canlearn more about the severaldifferent types of return pre-parers on IRS.gov/chooseatax-pro.

•Ask the tax preparer ifthey have a professional cre-dential (enrolled agent, certi-fied public accountant, orattorney), belong to a profes-sional organization or attendcontinuing education classes.A number of tax law changes,including the Affordable CareAct provisions, can be complex.A competent tax professionalneeds to be up-to-date in thesematters. Tax return preparersaren’t required to have a pro-fessional credential, but makesure you understand the qual-ifications of the preparer youselect.

•Check on the service feesupfront. Avoid preparers whobase their fee on a percentageof your refund or those whosay they can get larger refundsthan others can.

•Always make sure any re-fund due is sent to you or de-posited into your bankaccount. Taxpayers should notdeposit their refund into a pre-parer’s bank account.

•Make sure your prepareroffers IRS e-file and ask thatyour return be submitted tothe IRS electronically. Any taxprofessional who gets paid toprepare and file more than 10returns generally must file thereturns electronically. It’s thesafest and most accurate wayto file a return, whether youdo it alone or pay someone toprepare and file for you.

•Make sure the preparerwill be available. Make sure

you’ll be able to contact the taxpreparer after you file yourreturn – even after the April15 due date. This may be help-ful in the event questions comeup about your tax return.

•Provide records and re-ceipts. Good preparers will askto see your records and re-ceipts. They’ll ask you ques-tions to determine your totalincome, deductions, tax cred-its and other items. Do not relyon a preparer who is willingto e-file your return using yourlast pay stub instead of yourForm W-2. This is against IRSe-file rules.

•Never sign a blank return.Don’t use a tax preparer thatasks you to sign an incompleteor blank tax form.

•Review your return beforesigning. Before you sign yourtax return, review it and askquestions if something is notclear. Make sure you’re com-fortable with the accuracy ofthe return before you sign it.

•Ensure the preparer signsand includes their PTIN. Paidpreparers must sign returnsand include their PTIN as re-quired by law. The preparermust also give you a copy ofthe return.

•Report abusive tax prepar-ers to the IRS. You can reportabusive tax return preparersand suspected tax fraud to theIRS. Use Form 14157, Com-plaint: Tax Return Preparer. Ifyou suspect a return preparerfiled or changed the returnwithout your consent, youshould also file Form 14157-A,Return Preparer Fraud orMisconduct Affidavit. You canget these forms on IRS.gov.

To find other tips aboutchoosing a preparer, betterunderstand the differences incredentials and qualifications,and learn how to submit acomplaint regarding a tax re-turn preparer, visitwww.irs.gov/chooseataxpro.

Remember: Taxpayers arelegally responsible for what ison their tax return even if itis prepared by someone else.Make sure the preparer youhire is up to the task.

Changes to 2014Income Tax Returns

with your tax return.If you could have afforded

coverage for yourself or any ofyour dependents but chose notto get it and you do not qualifyfor an exemption, you mustmake a payment called theindividual shared responsibili-ty payment. You calculate theshared responsibility paymentusing a worksheet included inthe instructions for Form 8965and enter your paymentamount on your tax return.

Whether you are simplychecking the box on your taxreturn to indicate that you hadcoverage in 2014, claiming ahealth coverage exemption, ormaking an individual sharedresponsibility payment, you oryour tax professional canprepare and file your taxreturn electronically. Usingtax preparation software is thebest and simplest way to file acomplete and accurate taxreturn as it guides individualsand tax preparers through theprocess and does all the math.Electronic filing optionsinclude IRS Free File fortaxpayers who qualify, freevolunteer assistance, commer-cial software, and professionalassistance.

For more information aboutthe Affordable Care Act andfiling your 2014 income taxreturn, visit IRS.gov/aca.

AUSTIN — Lieutenant Gov-ernor Dan Patrick announcedhis list of Senate Committeeappointments for the 84th Leg-islative Session, naming Sena-tor Brandon Creighton(R-Conroe) to the following com-mittees:

·Senate Committee on Agri-culture, Water, and Rural Af-fairs

·Senate Committee on StateAffairs

·Senate Committee on Crim-inal Justice; and,

·Senate Committee on Busi-ness and Commerce

“I greatly appreciate Lt. Gov-ernor Dan Patrick for appoint-ing me to serve on theseimportant committees. Eachwill consider proposed legisla-tion to best address the needsof our state,” said SenatorCreighton.

“Water infrastructure andconservation are major issuesfor the families of southeastTexas. Knowing that SenateDistrict 4 prioritizes a long-term sustainable water supply,I am eager to be in an positionto advocate on their behalf forthe preservation and furtherdevelopment our natural re-sources.”

Senator Creighton was alsonamed the Vice-Chairman ofthe Senate Committee on Busi-ness and Commerce, which isthe committee tasked with over-

✯

OPINIONSen. Creighton receivesCommittee Assignments forthe 84th Legislative Session

Named Vice Chairman of Senate Committee onBusiness and Commerce

seeing thebus iness,insurance,and regula-tory indus-tries in ourstate.

“I lookforward tousing myfirst-handexperience as a businessman,rancher, and former House Rep-resentative to press ahead withour efforts to keep Texas thesuccess story of our nation,” con-tinued Senator Creighton. “To-day’s appointments are avictory for the citizens’ of south-east Texas, who will continue tohave a strong advocate servingthem in the Texas Senate.”

Senator Brandon Creightonwas elected to the Texas Senateduring a special election in Au-gust 2014. Prior to that, heserved as State Representativefor House District 16. Duringthe last legislative session, hewas elected by his peers to serveas Chairman of the TexasHouse Republican Caucus.

S E N A T O R B R A N D O NCREIGHTON represents District4, which encompasses parts ofMontgomery, Harris, Chambers,J e f f e r s o n a n d G a l v e s t o nCounties.

Page 5WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015 NORTH CHANNEL✯STAR

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OBITUARIES✯

Sometimes, they wouldeven spend nights with fami-lies of opposing teams due tothe long drive home. He was

honored his senior year by hispeers to be named Mr. RobertE. Lee of the class of 1940.

After graduating from RELHigh School, he worked vari-ous jobs helping to support hisfamily until joining the Unit-ed States Air Force in 1942.R.L. was honorably dischargedin November 1945. He re-turned to Baytown and beganworking at Ted’s Auto Supply.There he advanced to leadsalesman taking great pride inknowing the various parts bysite.

In November of 1945, hemarried the love of his life,Thelma Adams Creel. To thisunion was born five children,Sharon Lee, Robert Dwayne,William Reeves, Mark Allanand Mary Margaret. R.L. andThelma moved to Highlands,Texas in 1953 where theyopened their business, Creel’sAuto Parts and Service. R.L.’sbusiness endeavors includedseveral hats. While maintain-ing his auto parts businessR.L. began a career in real es-tate in 1958. This careerwould span 53 years and hewas recognized by the TX RealEstate Commission in 2010 asmaintaining his broker licensefor 50 consecutive years. R.L.was instrumental in develop-ing several subdivisions in theHighlands area, which provid-ed new homes for the growingcommunity. R.L. was proud ofhis community and was in-volved with various organiza-tions. He joined the HighlandsRotary Club in 1955 and re-mained an active member for55 years. He was awarded theprestigious Paul Harris Fellowin 1981. As his children gotolder and were able to helphim in his different business-es, R.L. put on another hat andbegan his 38-year career with

New York Life Insurance Com-pany. R.L. loved to work! Heenjoyed meeting and greetingand helping people. He wokeup every morning looking for-ward to what the day wouldbring. R.L. was able to contin-ue to work in the insuranceand real estate business until2010 when he changed hatsagain. He retired to be prima-ry caregiver for his wife dur-ing her battle with cancer.

As much as he loved hiswork, he loved his family more.R.L. was a devoted son, be-loved husband, father, grand-father, great grandfather,loving uncle, brother andfriend. R.L. was preceded indeath by his parents, his wifeof 67 years, Thelma AdamsCreel, brothers Lemuel (J.L.),Cullen Bryant (C.B.) andGeorge Dennis; sister, KarenWhite; and his youngest son,Mark Allen Creel. He is sur-vived by five sisters, Jimmyr-tle Rogers, Daris Galloway,Jeanette Haddox, Coya Eddle-man, and Loretta Moreau; andby two sons and two daughtersand their families; Sharon Bie-hle of St. Louis, MO, RobertDwayne and wife Patty of Bry-an, TX, William R. and wifeCindy of Dayton, TX, andMary Margaret Creel of Hum-ble, TX. R.L. was “grandpa” toeight grandchildren, BlakeSpanier and wife Bonnie of St.Louis, MO; Coady Creel andwife Ty of Budapest, Hunga-ry; Casey Creel and wife Jen-nifer of Humble, TX; BlairBiehle and wife Sarah of St.Louis, MO; Hillary Armstrongand husband Luke of Dayton,TX; Alex Creel of Baytown, TX;Jana Creel of Pensacola, FL;and Mary Catherine Creel ofBryan, TX. In addition, R.L.was “grandpa” to five greatgrandchildren: Colin and Lila

Creel, Randy and Ryan Arm-strong, and Brooklyn Biehle.

R.L. enjoyed a long and suc-cessful career, a wonderful lov-ing family, but his top prioritywas living for the Lord. R.L.and Thelma raised their chil-dren attending Peace Taberna-cle Church and later HarvestTemple. He was a devotedChristian, living his life by ex-ample for others to witness. Hemaintained his faith through-out, both good and bad times.He will be missed by all whoknew him, but he is in a betterplace today, resting in the armsof his lord, reunited with Thel-ma, enjoying all the rewardsGod has promised.

The family wishes to ex-press gratitude to the staff andresidents at Remington Park,who helped make R.L.’s latteryears both enjoyable and ful-filling. Additionally, the fami-ly appreciates the caregiversfrom IPR Home Health Careand the staff at Magnolia PlaceSkilled Nursing Facility fortheir compassionate care dur-ing his final days.

Services were held at 10:00a.m., Monday, January 26,2015 at Navarre FuneralHome with Rev. Orin Flynnofficiating. R.L’s nephew,James (Buddy) Creel and wifeJeannie from Casper, Wyomingprovided music for the service.Burial followed at White Cem-etery in Highlands.

Honoring the family as pall-bearers were Coady Creel, Ca-sey Creel, Luke Armstrong,Alex Creel, Rocky Creel andWeston Cotten.

In lieu of usual remem-brances, donations in R.L.’smemory can be made to theHighlands Rotary Club, POBox 892, Highlands, TX 77562.

To view his online obituary,or post a tribute to his family,go towww.navarrefuneralhome.com.

Arrangements were underthe direction of Navarre Fu-neral Home & Cremation Ser-vices, 2444 Rollingbrook drive,Baytown, Texas 77521, (281)422-8111.

Bless you! These aretwo very powerfulwords, words that wetoo often underestimateor even use carelessly.When was the last timeyou really thoughtabout what happenswhen you bless some-one?

Consider just oneincident that took placeduring the three yearsJesus was ministeringon this earth. In Lukenine’s account of thefeeding of the 5,000, Hefaced a multitude ofpeople who had beenwith Him for hours.They were hungry andfar from the market; Hedetermined that theywould not stay hungry.What did He do? Hegathered together thefood they did have, fiveloaves of bread and twofish, and He blessed it.After this, He gave it toHis disciples and thefood was multiplied sogreatly that they hadtwelve baskets of left-overs.

We also know, fromScripture, the impor-tance of the father’sblessing upon his child;it could quite literallymake a man’s future!Luke 6:28 tells us tobless those who curse

THOUGHTS FROM MARANATHA CHURCH

By Dr. Mark Trice Maranatha Church

us, which is a super-naturally powerfulthing that can mightilychange situations andeven people. Over andover throughout theBible, you find super-natural power accom-panying the blessing.

I encourage you tobear this in mind asyou go through yourdays. Bless the peopleyou come in contactwith. They don’t neces-sarily have to hear youdo it, but you can speakblessings over themjust the same. Blessyour spouse, bless yourchildren, bless the manwho cuts you off on thefreeway… Sometimesyour first instinct maybe just the opposite,but knowing the powerof the blessing as youdo, you should realizethat God can workmighty miracles in theheart of that person.Maybe tomorrow hisactions will be differ-ent.

“Bless you.” They’retwo very simple wordsthat bring far fromsimple results. Let’suse them!

In Loving Memory ofRobert Lee Creel

September 11, 1922– January 20, 2015

Robert Lee Creel, known asR.L. to all his friends andrelatives, passed away January20, 2015 with his family by hiss i d e . R . L w a s b o r n i nLivingston, Texas, the 2nd childof 10 children born to Jim andLeora Creel. The familymoved to Pelly, Texas whereR.L. went to school andworked. R.L. learned his workethics at an early age. Hedelivered ice into customershome during the depressionyears in the early morninghours before school. Imaginethat today. R.L. enjoyed histime at Robert E. Lee HighSchool making friends thatwould last a lifetime. Heexcelled in sports and was theco-captain of the 1939 Ganderfootball team. He stated hel iked football because i tenabled him to travel and seeother towns and places.

“Bless You!”

Been There,Done That

A recent Little Biddy Bits,about how auto correct whensending a text can get you introuble, drew the following re-sponse from a lady namedNancy:

“I can relate! I was driving,so I used my voice option tosend a text to Bob. I thought Iwas saying, ‘I’m going to Sal-ly’s, and then we’re going toSam’s. I’ll be home later.’ Well,what came through was ‘I’mgoing sailing with Sam; behome later!’”

“There is no temptationovertaken you except thatwhich is common to all, butGod who is faithful, will makea way of escape.”

(1 Corinthians 10:13)

✯LITTLE

BIDDY BITSBy Danny Biddy

Sadie Priutt has thebirthday of a Century

CROSBY – Last Satur-day at Sacred HeartChurch a 100 year oldHighlands resident wasblessed by FatherO’Connor, friends, her chil-dren, grandchildren andgreat-grand children forbeing such a delightfullypleasant person to en-counter.

Sadie Marie BroussardPruitt was born January20, 1915 on a Lorriville,Louisiana farm. One of sixchildren of EdmundBroussard and MathildaBernard Broussard.

She grew up in NewIberia, Louisiana and as ateen she worked as a car-hop at Delaware’s Burgerswhere she would meet thelove of her life– Bill Pruitt.She and Bill would enjoyroller skating together.She would graduate atNew Iberia at midterm asValedictorian. Her beauBill worked in the oil fieldsand told his friends whenhe first saw Sadie he wasgoing to “marry that girl.”And he was right, theymarried in Humble at thePruitt home in 1935.

Sadie with her four children remembering the funat Sacred Heart Church.

They would buy a home inCrowley, Louisiana and livedthere for 10 years. They wereblessed with 4 children. The oilbusiness took them far and wide.Rosemary was born in Houston.Pat was born in New Iberia. Hen-ry was born in Corpus Christi andDavid was born in Houston. Thefamily had lived in such exotic lo-cations as Maracaibo, Venezuela;Trinidad, Morocco; Kuwait and

Nigeria but mostly on the Tex-as Louisiana coast.

Concerning turning 100years old she says, “Just fine,as long as I can get around andhave a good mind. I neverthought I would live this long.”

Sadie with her female decendants cutting birthday cake.

NORTH CHANNEL✯STARPage 6 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015

SPORTS

On Saturday, January 24,2015, Galena Park High Schoolswimmer, Sebastian Reyna,won both the 100 Fly and the500 Free at the District 21-5ASwimming Championships.Reyna, a junior, is a talentedswimmer. His coach, AngieFain said, “From what recordsI have, Sebastian is the fast-est boys swimmer in GalenaPark High School history, andhe is on pace to beat his ownrecord.” He will have a good op-portunity to shine once againwhen he enters the regionalmeet on February 6th & 7th atVictoria High School.

The Super Bowl willcelebrate its big “50” in 2016,but No. 49 might be one of thebest matchups ever as thedefending champs will betaking on a team that will belooking to win its fourthLombardi Trophy and leave itshead coach and quarterbackwith a legacy few have attaintedin the NFL.

Much will be at stake whenNew England and Seattle tee itup at around 5:30 p.m. onSunday from Glendale, AZ.

The Seahawks will belooking for their second straightSuper Bowl win, which willmake them the eighth franchiseto accomplish that feat (Seattlewould join back-back winnersGreen Bay, Miami, Pittsburgh(accomplished twice), Dallas,Denver, New England and SanFrancisco), while the Patriotswill be looking to become afour-time winner (Pittsburghhas six, Dallas and SanFrancisco have five each, andGreen Bay and the Giants havefour each).

If the Patriots win, headcoach Bill Belichick would joinSteeler great Chuck Noll as theonly head coaches in thehistory of the NFL who haveguided their teams to fourLombardi Trophies, whilequarterback Tom Brady wouldjoin Pittsburgh’s TerryBradshaw and San Francisco’sJoe Montana as the onlyquarterbacks to lead theirteams to four Super Bowl titles.

A Seattle victory would givehead coach Pete Carroll hissecond straight title, and hewould join the ranks of headcoaches (Noll (4), Joe Gibbs(3), Bill Walsh (3), Tom Landry(2), Jimmy Johnson (2), VinceLombardi (2), Bill Parcells (2),Tom Flores (2), Mike Shanahan(2), Tom Coughlin (2) andGeorge Siefert (2)) who haveone two or more crowns.

A Seattle win would alsomove quarterback RussellWilson into elite company andmake him one of 12 NFLquarterbacks who have two ormore Super Bowl title undertheir belts (Bradshaw (4),Montana (4), Troy Aikman (3),Brady (3), Bart Starr (2), BobGriese (2), Roger Staubach (2),Jim Plunkett (2), John Elway(2), Ben Rothlisberger (2) andEli Manning (2)). That’sdefinitely an elite list!

With so much at stake foreach team and individualplayers, there will be plenty ofside stories to report on duringSuper Bowl week and the game

This Super Bowl could be one for the agesitself will pit the top seeds fromtheir respective conferences.

Both teams took differentpaths to get to Glendale.Seattle struggled early and was6-4 after 10 games and lookedlike they may not even makethe playoffs, but in earlyNovember, Carroll addressedthe team’s leaders and themessage was well received asSeattle ran off six straightregular-season wins and thenadded two more in the playoffsto enter this game riding aneight-game winning streak. Thedefense was downrightdominant the last half of theseason, allowing 39 pointsduring Seattle’s six-gamewinning streak (6.5 points pergame).

Seattle righted the ship andtook care of Carolina in theDivisional round of the playoffs,before coming through with amiraculous rally in the NFCConference game againstGreen Bay.

Trailing 19-7 with less thanfive minutes left to play, Wilsonshook off what had been one ofhis worst performances as apro (four interceptions and asubpar passing day) and ralliedhis team to 15 points to take a22-19 lead with just seconds togo. We all know what happenednext. Green Bay’s AaronRodgers drove his team to thegame-tying field goal, but inovertime, Wilson threw thegame-winning touchdown passon Seattle’s first possession toreturn the ‘Hawks to theirsecond straight Super Bowl.

Many experts were writingoff the Patriots after suffering ahumiliating 41-14 loss atKansas City on Sept. 29. Somebelieved Brady was washed upand it was time for him to hangit up. Well, all Brady did waslead the Pats to seven straightwins after that debacle in KCand 10 wins in their last 12games to quiet his critics.

In the first-round of theplayoffs, NE fell behind by 14points twice to the Ravens, butbehind Brady, they rallied for a35-31 win, and then blew outIndianapolis in the AFC titlegame, 45-7, as Brady andrunning back LeGarrette Blountled the way. Brady threw forthree touchdowns and 367yards, while Blount ran overand around the Indy defensefor 148 yards and threetouchdowns.

In two playoff games, Bradyhas thrown for 593 yards andsix touchdowns, but he’ll facehis sternest test of the season

on Sunday when he facesSeattle’s celebrated “Legion ofBoom” secondary, which ischock full of All-Pros.

Two of those All-Pros,cornerback Richard Shermanand safety Earl Thomassuffered injuries in the GreenBay win and might not be at100 percent come Sunday.Sherman suffered a hyperextended elbow, while Thomassustained a dislocatedshoulder. Both plan on playingin the Super Bowl.

You can bet Brady will testboth of them early to see whateffect their injuries have onthem and look for tight end RobGronkowski to get plenty oflooks early as Brady looks toestablish the pass first to set upBlount and NE’s host of otherrunning backs.

The Seahawks will do justthe opposite. They’ll poundMarshon Lynch (157 yards, onetouchdown in the NFC titlegame) at the New Englanddefense and also look to getWilson going in the running

Yellow Jacketswims to wins

Sebastian Reyna demonstrates his “fly” stroke that won him one oftwo district championship titles.

As district champion in twoevents, Sebastian Reyna is nowpreparing for the regional meeton February 6th and 7th.

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KEENEY’SKORNER

By Mike Keeney

Cell phone storerobbed twice

A new cell phone store wasrobbed last Monday morningfor the second time in twoweeks.

Two suspects wearingmasks entered the A Interna-tional store located in the14500 block of Woodforest de-manding cell phones and mon-ey.

Authorities said one sus-

pect acted as a looked whilethe other robbed the clerk atgunpoint; they got away withan iPhone and some cash.

Two suspects were found ina nearby house and appre-hended but later release with-out charges; employees of thecell phone store could not iden-tify them; the robbers werewearing masks.

game as well. The Seahawksdon’t have a game-breaker atwide receiver, but they haveguys who make plays whencalled upon.

While Seattle will enter thegame with the more celebrateddefense, the Patriots can play abit of defense themselves, andhave their own shutdowncorner in Darrell Revis. I expectRevis to clamp down on SeattleWR Doug Baldwin (the team’sleading receiver) and forceWilson to beat them by going tomore inexperienced wide outs.

I don’t expect a blow out likewe had last year when Seattledecimated Denver, 43-8. NewEngland’s offensive line is solidand Brady looks like his oldself. He knows his legacy willbe determined by a fourthSuper Bowl win, and it sayshere he will be the one whomakes the crucial play downthe stretch to put him andBelichick on the MountRushmore of NFL headcoaches and quarterbacks. Mypick, New England 33, Seattle30

Page 7WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015 NORTH CHANNEL✯STAR

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NOTICE TOCREDITORS

Notice is hereby giventhat Original Lettersof Administration forDocket No. 433757; Es-tate of BEVERLY IRENENEWBERRY, De-ceased; In ProbateCourt No. 3, of HarrisCounty, Texas, De-ceased, were issued onJanuary 21, 2014

Aubrey Ann Echolsand Aaron Benjamin

Newberry

The residence addressof the administrator is inHarris County, Texas.The mailing address is:

c/o Weston Cotten5223 Garth Rd.

Baytown, TX 77521

All persons havingclaims against thisEstate which is current-ly being administeredare required to presentthem within the time andin the manner pre-scribed by law.Dated this January 21,2015.

by WESTON COTTEN Attorney for the Estate

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Education, Intergovernmen-tal Relations, Transportation,Veteran Affairs and MilitaryInstallations

AUSTIN - January 23,2015 - Lieutenant GovernorDan Patrick announced theSenate Committee appoint-ments for the 84th Texas Leg-islative Session. SenatorGarcia is honored to serve onthe Senate Committees of Ed-ucation, Transportation, Inter-governmental Relations, andVeteran Affairs. These ap-pointments will allow SenatorGarcia to serve the constitu-ents of Senate District 6 andall Texans in a wide capacity,and encompass some of themost pressing issues facingthe state today.

“As this new session begins,I am eager to serve my constit-uents and the Latino commu-nity across the state, and mynew committee assignmentsallow me to represent them atthe highest capacity.”

“There is nothing more im-portant than securing our fu-ture, and serving on the

Sen. Garcia receives CommitteeAssignments for the 84thLegislative Session

Education Committee will al-low me to ensure that ouryoungest and most preciousconstituents will have all ofthe resources they need to livefull and enriched lives. Mywork on this committee will beespecially important this ses-sion, as school finance and oth-er education reform mattersare top priorities for the 84thsession.”

“As more people move intothis great state and we expe-rience unprecedented growth,addressing transportationfunding and infrastructuredeficits are a top priority forthis legislative body. If wecan’t move goods and peopleacross this state in a safe andeffective matter, we will not beeffective in serving our citi-zens.”

“Having served as a HarrisCounty Commissioner, andwith full knowledge that localgovernments are imperativeat executing the functions andprograms that are vital to theday-to-day lives of our constit-uents, I relish the opportuni-ty to serve a second term onthe Intergovernmental Rela-tions committee.”

“I have the utmost respectand gratitude for the men andwomen that take the ultimaterisk in protecting the freedomsand rights that we so all en-joy, and look forward to serv-ing the nearly 27,000 veteranswho live in my District. It ismy turn to return the favor fortheir ultimate service to thiscountry.”

Senator Sylvia Garcia

Gene Green Senior Town HallContinued from Page 1

Left to right: Stephen H. DonCarlos, Commissioner, Port of Houston Authority; State Representative MaryAnn Perez, District 144; Roy Mease, Commissioner, Port of Houston Authority; Jack Morman, Commissioner,Harris County Pct. 2; Brad Hance, Member, San Jacinto College Board of Trustees; John Moon Jr., Secretary,San Jacinto College Board of Trustees; Dr. Ruede Wheeler, Member, San Jacinto College Board of Trustees;Bob Fry, Mayor, City of West University; Mr. Dan Mims, Chairman, San Jacinto College Board of Trustees;Larry Wilson, Vice Chairman, San Jacinto College Board of Trustees; Keith Sinor, Assistant Secretary, SanJacinto College Board of Trustees; Rick Moses, Mayor, City of Shoreacres; Dr. Brenda Hellyer, Chancellor,San Jacinto College; John Kennedy, Commissioner, Port of Houston Authority; Mike Sullivan, Tax Assessor-Collector, Harris County; Roger Guenther, Executive Director, Port of Houston Authority. Photo by: JeanniePeng-Armao, San Jacinto College marketing, public relations, and government affairs department.

will serve as an aquatic train-ing facility for sea survival andlife raft training, completewith men’s and women’s lock-er rooms.

There will be 15 classrooms;engineering simulators totrain maritime engineers forhydraulic, electric, pump con-trol, motor control, heatingand air conditioning, and re-frigeration; and a multipur-pose space for industryconferences and corporatepartner meetings.

“This facility is going tomake a big impact and helpmariners stay competitive ina global industry. I believe itwill become a center of excel-lence,” said Rear Adm. WilliamW. Pickavance, Jr., who servesas a consultant to the San Ja-cinto College maritime pro-gram.

Highlights of the new facil-ity include three full-missionship bridge simulators, ac-quired from the Houston Pi-lots in 2013. These room-sizedreplicas of ship control bridg-

es will become a part of a 3,748square-foot simulation suite,complete with instructor sta-tions, debrief classrooms, anddevelopment stations. A full-mission engine room simula-tor also is planned for thefuture and will interact andinterconnect with the bridgesimulators to allow vesselmanagement exercises to ac-commodate deck and engi-neering officers and crew atthe same time, in the samescenario.

“We’re excited to be part-ners with San Jacinto Collegeand to be on board with theMaritime Training Center,”said Capt. Mike Morris, pre-siding officer of the HoustonPilots.

Tellepsen Builders serve asthe general contractor for thedevelopment of the MaritimeTraining Center. Texas IBIGroup is the architect; Brooks& Sparks is the civil engineer;and Rizzo & Associates is theprogram manager.

MARITIMECENTER,Continued from page 1

Send aLove Letter

to your

Valentine

The San Jacinto CollegeMaritime Training Center, setfor completion in approxi-mately one year, will providecertificate, associate degree,and incumbent worker mari-time training, and will includeU.S. Coast Guard-requiredand approved deck and engi-neering coursework to preparemariners for work commercialvessels, from deckhand on aninland towboat to captain of anoil tanker.

The building will sit 14 feetabove ground. The ground lev-el will showcase a trainingdock with lifeboats, davits, andfast rescue craft, and a sepa-rate industry dock for crewchanges. This also will allowfor vessel specific training forlocal maritime companies and

Green had some good newsfor Social Security benefits,that they have been extendedby Congress to 2030 for Medi-care, and 2033 for Social Se-curity.

He also said that the PartD drug “donut hole” will bereduced over the next 10years. He reminded attendeesthat full Social Security bene-fits are available after the ageof 66 yrs.

In Social Security news,Hardwick noted that they nowfigure life span at 85 yrs. It ispossible to establish and main-tain your account online,avoiding waiting rooms at theSocial Security office.

Johnson said that the AreaAgency on Aging runs manyprograms for seniors, includ-ing Meals on Wheels, legal as-sistance, daycare center (foradults), health maintenanceprograms, home repair, non-emergency transportation,and fall-prevention surveysand construction.

Many Seniors from all over the 29th District attended the Town Hallmeeting at the Northeast Community Center, as Congressman Greengave a talk on programs and benefits for seniors citizens.

Coulter reminded the audi-ence that the annual enroll-ment period for Medicare wasending on February 15. Heurged seniors to sign up for aMedicare Advantage program,and get a “wellness” exam freeevery year. He said that if youare on Medicare, you do not

need to sign up for ACA(Obama Care).

Green spoke about veteransprograms and help from hisoffice. Anyone can contact himat 713-999-5879 or 713-330-0761 for assistance with VA orother problems.