Houston News

Monday, December 17, 2012

METRO president George Greanias plans to resign

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- METRO has confirmed that its president and CEO is resigning.

METRO has not said what prompted Geoorge Greanias to resign, only that he is expected to hand in his letter of resignation on Monday.

Greanias took over on an interim basis in May 2010 after former President and CEO Frank Wilson resigned over a scandal involving alleged misuse of money and document shredding. The interim tag was dropped in September of that same year.

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Wrong-way driver killed after slamming into big rig

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- One man is dead after driving the wrong way on the South Loop and crashing into a big rig Saturday morning.

It happened around 3am near Main Street in southwest Houston.

The driver of an 18-wheeler says a Cadillac Escalade was traveling about 90 mph the wrong way on the South Loop when it clipped her big rig and then slammed into another semi.

The SUV burst into flames and the 36-year-old driver was killed at the scene. No one else was in the vehicle with him.

Police do not believe the drivers of the big rigs were injured. It's unknown if the driver of the SUV was impaired at the time of the crash.

The accident caused the interstate to be shut down for hours while crews cleared the scene. It remains under investigation.

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Houston Zoo cheetahs get workout at Sam Houston Race Park

HOUSTON -- Two cheetahs from the Houston Zoo usually confined to cages have been allowed to run through part of a horse track when the regular racers weren't around.

The 5-year-old male siblings name Kito and Kiburi were allowed to roam this month at a grassy fenced part of Sam Houston Race Park in Houston.

The Houston Chronicle reported Sunday that the zoo officials, starting in August, took the big cats to the park twice on leashes. Curator Beth Schaefer says the cheetahs were calm and with their regular trainers.

The cheetahs in early November were allowed off their leashes at the race park, with no problems. The second off-leash excursion was Dec. 11 but will be the last for a while.

Horses return to Sam Houston Race Park next week.

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Texans players give away bikes to low-income kids for an early Christmas gift

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The Houston Texans helped Santa Claus deliver early Christmas presents for hundreds of local children.

After the Texans finished up practice Friday in preparation for Sunday's game with the Indianapolis Colts, the team gave away brand new bicycles to more than 200 children. The kids are from low-income families and were very excited to get the new bikes and spend some time hanging out with Texans star players DE J.J. Watt, WR Andre Johnson, and QB Matt Schaub.

"It's great to see how happy they are and how excited they are and to come out and be a part of this its just great," said Schaub.

J.J. Watt told us, "It's awesome. These kids are hilarious, they're great. It's really cool to have them out here and obviously it's great to see they're gonna get exercise with their new bikes so we're really happy we can do this."

All of the kids also received free helmets.

houston texans, nfl, local

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Horror of Connecticut shooting reminds of local tragedy

NEWTOWN, CT (KTRK) -- Friday's events in Connecticut bring back memories of a devastating attack on a local elementary school more than 50 years ago. A father detonated a bomb at Poe Elementary School, killing himself and five students and teachers.

It's been more than five decades since Houstonians dealt with the horror and disbelief of an attack against the most innocent of victims in what should have been the safest of places, students at an elementary school.

It was September 15, 1959, when an ex-convict, 49-year-old Paul Orgeron showed up on Poe's campus, his five-year-old son in one hand and a suitcase packed with dynamite in the other. He was angry that he couldn't enroll his son in school because he didn't have the proper paperwork.

When he detonated the homemade bomb, it killed Orgeron and his son, along with two other students, a teacher and a custodian. Eighteen others were hurt, including two students who lost limbs.

On the 50th anniversary of that dark day, a ceremony was held at both Poe and Kolter elementary, a school named for teacher Jennie Kolter, who died trying to protect her students.

We spoke with her son on that day. William Kolter was chief resident at Hermann Hospital the day of the bombing and remembers having to pronounce his mother dead.

"By the time I got over there, the kids that needed to go to the hospital had already gone and that when I found mama on the ground with a sheet over her, so I had to pronounce her," he said.

It was a lasting and terrible memory for a man who lost his mother to the actions of a madman. And those who survived that horrific day at Poe Elementary so long ago are among the few who understand how the victims and their families in Connecticut are feeling right now, as this unthinkable nightmare plays out.

And they are no doubt wondering again how anyone could target the most defenseless among us with such evil abandon.

national/world, melanie lawson

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Monday, December 10, 2012

Alvin teacher wins prestigious award

ALVIN, TX (KTRK) -- A local school teacher has won a major award and a big check for her work in the classroom.

Governor Rick Perry surprised Alvin ISD teacher Kristi Plummer with the 2012 national Milken Educator Award. Plummer is one of 40 teachers in the country who will receive this award.

The California-based Milken Family Foundation issues the award based on what teachers have already achieved, as well as the promise of their future accomplishments.

Passmore Elementary School teacher Kristi Plummer said, "I'm in shock. I had no idea. I love being a teacher. I love my job. I love coming to work every day all because of you kids."

Plummer did not know that she was under consideration for the Milken award because the selection process is carried out in a confidential manner. Plummer is the only Texas educator to receive the 2012 award.

Plummer began teaching in the 2007-2008 school year and has now taught fourth, fifth and sixth grade math and fourth grade science. Beginning this year, she is working as a math interventionalist, which means she works with at-risk students to help them develop stronger math skills.

This award is considered the Oscar of teaching and comes with an unrestricted $25,000 cash prize.

Since the award's creation 26 years ago, the program has honored more than 2,500 educators and issued more than $63 million in cash prizes. To date, 44 Texas educators have been named Milken Educator Award recipients and have received a total of $1.1 million in prizes.

in the classroom

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Iranian man living in Houston gets prison for mail, ID theft

HOUSTON -- An Iranian man living in the Houston area has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for stealing mail, setting up fake identities and financial fraud.

Prosecutors in Houston say Hassan Ali Pejouhesh took advantage of the U.S. postal system and about 500 people were affected by the scheme.

A jury in April convicted Pejouhesh of four counts of bank fraud, one count of possession of stolen mail and three counts of aggravated identity theft. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced him to a total of 247 months behind bars. The court also ordered payment of nearly $218,000 in restitution.

The 63-year-old Iranian national has been in custody since 2010 when authorities discovered stolen mail, fake credit cards and cash in his apartment.

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Monday, December 17, 2012

Monday, December 10, 2012

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