HEB awards Keep Alvin Beautiful grant

Members of KAB (Ron Mercer, Nelva Urick and Alice Sloan) joined with H-E-B employees (Misty Miller, Ronnie Duke, Mike Cashiola and Anna Bryant), Antoinette Kiechen (President of Manvel High School Senior Class), Manvel High School Special Education students, Diedra Hlinsky (IESI) and Manvel High School employee Peggy Howell in celebrating the grant that KAB recently received from H-E-B.

As part of its third annual Green Bag Grants program, H-E-B awarded Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB) $50,000. That grant money was then distributed by KTB throughout six regions across Texas. Individual grants awarded ranged in size from $1,500 to $3,000.

Through this grant program, Keep Alvin Beautiful was awarded a grant in the amount of $2,500. Presentation of the check was made recently at Manvel High School, where the Life Skills students, led by paraprofessional Peggy Howell were instrumental in Keep Alvin Beautiful receiving this grant. At the beginning of this school year, the students placed recycling bins throughout the cafeteria. Several contests were also held which helped to encouraged can and bottle recycling. The Manvel High School Senior class won one of the contests. Members of the National Honor Society and the Life Skills students helped to tally the number of cans and bottles that were donated. The grant money will be used to purchase more recycling bins that will then be placed throughout the school.

The Green Bag Grant Program was established on Earth Day 2008 after H-E-B introduced reusable shopping bags. The idea behind the program was to reward Texans for buying and using the bags. Since then, H-E-B has given back five cents from the purchase of each reusable H-E-B green bag to support the statewide grant program.

“Each year, we are honored to be able to assist recipients of the program as they strive to make a direct and lasting impact on the environment in the communities they serve throughout Texas,” said Susan Ghertner, H-E-B Director of Environmental Affairs. “With reusable bag sales fueling the Green Bag Grants program, it is rewarding for our customers to witness their efforts come full circle.”


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What's that smell?

TEXAS CITY, Texas — A smell similar to rotten eggs enveloped Texas City about 5 p.m. Monday afternoon after a leak from a subunit at BP’s Texas City refinery.

Workers were doing maintenance work on a sour water compressor on the refinery’s Power 2 unit when workers noticed a smell after a piece of equipment failed, company spokesman Michael Marr said. The odor, which forced some businesses on Palmer Highway about 13 blocks from the refinery to shutter their doors and close windows, lasted more than an hour.

The smell is believed to come from liquid in the subunit that contained hydrogen sulfide, which is a hazardous chemical that has a strong smell of rotten eggs, Texas City Homeland Security Director Bruce Clawson said. The Texas City Fire Department and BP industrial hygienists conducted ground-level air monitoring and did not find any readings of hazardous chemicals in the air, Clawson said.

Between one and two barrels of sour water — which is waste water that contains hydrocarbons and is pumped to an enclosed sewer system for disposal — spilled, causing the offensive odor, officials said.

There was not a shelter in place order for the city, but Clawson issued a phone and e-mail alert to residents notifying them of the situation.

There was a brief shelter in place order within the refinery for areas downwind of the leak, Marr said. BP set up an incident command center and the leak was contained at about 9 p.m.

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Lockdown lifted at Manvel School

by khou.com staff
khou.com
Posted on November 9, 2010 at 11:35 AM
Updated today at 11:35 AM


MANVEL, Texas -- Three Manvel schools were put on lockdown around 10 a.m. Tuesday morning while police searched for a gunman.
It started when a homeowner called police to report a trespasser on his property. Police spotted the armed suspect when they arrived, but he got away on foot.


The gunman disappeared near the schools and the Brazoria County Courthouse Annex. Officers also searched a nearby wooded area.


The lockdown was lifted around 11:30 a.m.
There's no word on whether police found the suspect.

Alert: Alvin child molester sought

by khou.com staff
khou.com
Posted on November 5, 2010 at 3:32 PM

HOUSTON – Authorities are on the hunt for a man they say sexually assaulted a 9-year-old girl, and they’re asking for the public’s help finding him.
Crime Stoppers and investigators with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office say Diamond Paul Croussaris, 37, raped a child while she slept.

After the assault was reported, detectives launched an extensive investigation and charged Croussaris with aggravated sexual assault of a child.

A warrant with a $40,000 bond was issued for his arrest.
Investigators say Croussaris is about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs 160 pounds.
He has brown eyes and black hair.

Houston murders may be work of a serial killer

by Michelle Homer / khou.com
khou.com
Posted on November 1, 2010 at 1:38 PM
Updated today at 1:42 PM


HOUSTON – Police are looking into a possible link between the strangulation murders of at least three women since June.
The most recent cases involved homeless women. The body of Carol Flood, 62, was found on Oct. 10 in a stairwell behind the old YMCA building. She was partially nude. On Sept. 30, Retia LaFaye Long, 52, was found dead behind the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart at 1700 San Jacinto.

Now police believe the same killer may have strangled Raquel Mundy last June 17, then dumped her body in a field in the 300 block of St. Charles.
Mundy, 24, was murdered after accepting a ride from a stranger when she was stranded downtown.

She had dropped her mom and two kids off at the Greyhound bus station downtown around 1:30 a.m. Thursday. She then discovered her car had been towed from a McDonald’s parking lot across the street.
Mundy tried to call friends and relatives, but couldn’t find anyone to give her a ride to the tow lot. Witnesses saw her get into a grey car with an unknown man, according to police.

Mundy later sent a text message to her mother saying she thought she was in danger and feared the man was going to hurt her.
Angela Collins was still on the bus to California with her two grandchildren when she got the disturbing message.

She tried frantically to reach Mundy. Collins then called several relatives and asked them to try to find Mundy.
By the time the bus arrived in California, there was still no sign of her daughter.
"Next call we got, they had found the body. It was my baby, Collins said as she choked back tears. "This man took away my baby."
An autopsy revealed Mundy had been strangled.

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