By BOBBY HORN JR.
HOUSTON The day that students returned to classes at Forest Brook High School an incident occurred which mirrored last summers vandalism which closed the school for an entire semester.
According to authorities, Houston fire fighters were summoned to Forest Brook around 4 a.m. between alarms were tripped.
Crews say that were able to walk right into the school because one of the doors was already open. Authorities say that fire fighters were able to get access to part of the building. During their investigation they found no evidence of smoke or fire. However they did notice that some of the fire hose cabinets were open.
North Forest Independent School District police officers say they checked the building and did not find anything missing or damage.
The district say that it would review surveillance tapes to see if any suspects could be identified.
The school closed last summer after vandals attacked the school, releasing water hoses which flooded a large portion of the school.
Two former Forest Brook students were arrested and charged with felony criminal mischief for the damage to the school. The two were charged with criminal mischief. One is a juvenile. The other, Demond Demouchet, is expected back in a Harris County courtroom on Jan. 14. with felony criminal mischief. The district was forced to spend about $1 million for repairs and renovations.
During the months that the school was closed Forest Brook students attended classes at Smiley High School. Jan. 3 was the first day back at their campus for Forest Brook students.
Posts published in “Day: January 1, 2008”
Dear Editor,
The article titled Former U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige Speaks at North Forest which appeared in the Vol. 16. No. 12, December 2007 edition and which dealt with the formation of a community-based group dedicated to helping NFISD meet the challenges currently facing the District raised some points that need clarification. While it is noted that the District welcomes individuals and groups who want to be of assistance to NFISD the following information should also be noted:
The North East Education First (NEEF) organization has no official ties to NFISD, nor has it been given any authorization to represent itself as an NFISD-affiliated group.
As the Vice-President of the NFISD, I did not receive a timely invitation to attend, the most recent meeting of the NEEF, however, several members of NEEF made reference to the fact that no Board members were in attendance, but did not mention that Board members have been present at several of the previous meetings. Additionally, it should be noted that the absence of the Board members was not a concerted action in response to the lack of an invitation, but that many were in attendance at other school-related functions and prior engagements within and outside of the District.
The aforementioned article also featured a photo of Dr. Rod Paige and other attendees. Some of the other attendees in the photo were concerned that the Board had not attended. However, after speaking with me, they realized that the promotions and sinage (sic) presented by NEEF was misleading. The Board is honored to see that Dr. Paige was visiting our community and that he voiced concern about our schools. We regret, however, that the organization which he addressed, inaccurately advertised its program, as an NFISD-sponsored function rather than as a community group-based event utilizing the Districts facility by request.
The Board is concerned that, if wee are to move forward as collaborators for the welfare of the community, it is important that each entity accurately defines its mission and role and clearly communicates these to all concerned.
Respectfully,
Allen Provost,
Vice-President NFISD Board of Trustees
Smiley High School basketball team was invited to play in the Houston vs. The Nation national tournament at Aldines Campbell Center over the Christmas Holiday.
Smiley played in two games, defeating Seven Lakes in Thursday nights game, 74-58. In their second game, played on Saturday, they lost to Kingwood 55-60.
Smileys Augustine Rubit was the leading scorer in Thursdays game, with 32 points, followed by Johnathon Simmions 14, and Benny Easter 12. For Seven Lakes, Brandon Provost scored 25, Jimmy Abraham 12.They had a strong second quarter, scoring 21 points and held the lead the whole game.
In Saturdays game against champion Kingwood, they scored well, and held on to a narrow defeat. Jonathan Simmons had 20 points, and Augustine Rubit 18.
The Academy National Tournament had a new name this year, but the quality of basketball play was as high a level as in the past.
Five top high school teams from around the nation, and 14 from around Houston, competed in the Houston vs. The Nation Tournament over the holiday weekend at Aldines Campbell Center.
Top seeds in the new pool format were Aldine High School and Oak Hill Academy, ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Area teams of interest besides Aldine included Kingwood, Bellaire, and Smiley. The venue was sponsored by Vision Sports, Nike and Foot Locker.
The Houston vs. The Nation tournament saw a big upset after Cy Springs knocked off Montverde Academy on Friday, and then Jack Yates Lions pulled the weekend double, beating Oak Hill on Friday, following the big win with an upset of No. 1 St. Patrick’s 66-60 Saturday night.
With upsets and action galore, the Houston vs. The Nation tournament exceeded all expectations for over 4000 fans.
Scores of local interest included Thursday:
Smiley 74 Seven Lakes 58
Kingwood 41 DeLaSalle 30
Aldine 62 Hastings 76
Fridays Scores:
Yates 82 Oak Hill 80
Kingwood 47 Seven Lakes 35
St. Thomas 81 Westfield 78
Madison 67 St. Patrick 79
Saturdays Scores:
Bellaire 59 Aldine 46
Kingwood 60 Smiley 55
Yates 66 St. Patrick 60
Texas Championship:
Kingwood 47 Hastings 38
Houston police are searching for clues to the reason for the kidnapping of a North Forest woman this week.
On Tuesday Jan. 8 several armed men grabbed a woman about 8:30 a.m. from Aguila Tire Service, located at 8520 Mesa. Another employee was tied up during the attack.
It (the kidnapping) may or may not involve drugs, said HPD Sgt. J.C. Padilla, who declined to elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation.
The woman taken was the owner of the tire shop. Police would not release her name.
As of press time, the police have said that no ransom demands have been made.