Department News

Department News

Affirmative Action

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Aviation

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Building Services

Norman Robinson worked overtime to make
sure the City Hall Annex sustained no flood damage.

Building Services employees pumped water out of the City Hall Annex garage after the Nov. 17 flood.

Norman Robinson, an apprentice engineer in property management, worked Nov. 17, then after eating dinner, returned and worked all night at the annex. Because the department had ordered a 6-inch pump to handle large volumes of water, and Robinson, Samkutty Abraham and Paul Marro had installed hoses and primed the pump, the annex had no flood damage. They also directed drivers on level P-2 to move their cars higher, hired a wrecker to remove four unattended cars, and then began pumping.

Touch Pen has exhausted all her sick and vacation time due to an extended illness, and employees may donate their accrued leave on her behalf. Call Kathy Vaughn, (713) 437-6564.

BS earned Health & Human Services’ Partners in Quality award for their help with lease and landlord issues in 2003.

Kudos to Colleen McNeese and her two sons who served elderly Houstonians on Thanksgiving morning for the Mayor’s Office HOME project. – Mignette Dorsey

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City Council

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City Secretary

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Controller's Office

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Convention & Entertainment

The grand opening for the George R. Brown expansion and Hilton Americas-Houston Hotel was held Dec. 3, 2003.

With the expanded George R. Brown Convention Center open, C&EF administrative offices have moved to the ground floor at the south end of the building. Department support services have moved from the Wortham Center to the GRBCC’s second floor and convention center sales and operations headquarters are on the third and fourth floors.

Welcome new employees Lily Arce, Stephanie Bell-Williams, Mitch Miszkowski, Corey Pitts, John Silva and Pamela Walko. – Pete Radowick

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Finance & Administration

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Fire

HFD hosted the second annual Houston Firefighter’s Safety and Survival Symposium, Nov. 6-9, providing firefighters from around the country with two days of hands-on training and presentations.

More than 100 trainees graduated from the Val Jahnke Training Facility in ceremonies Nov. 13 and 17.

HFD’s emergency medical services division honored cardiac arrest survivors and their rescuers at the Lives Saved Heroes Made event Nov. 20 at the John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science.

More than 250 fire employees were honored Nov. 20 for reaching their 20- and 25-year milestones.

Twenty citizens graduated after the 12-week Citizens’ Fire Academy course Dec. 4.

Firefighters and Citizens’ Fire Academy alumni installed smoke alarms in homes in the Hawthorne Place neighborhood Dec. 6. – Alicia Whitehead

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Health & Human Services

The 20 Women, Infants and Children nutrition centers served a record monthly average of 77,380 people in 2003. In all but three years in the last two decades, the number of people has risen. WIC provides nutritious foods, health screenings and education for pregnant women and mothers of children 5 and younger to reduce premature births, low birth-weight babies, fetal deaths and long-term medical expenses.

Three teams of nurses, counselors and educators from the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention program and the Lead Based Paint Hazard Control program canvassed a Fifth Ward neighborhood near an EPA Superfund cleanup site, screening children for lead poisoning. The team members leave their clinic or office monthly and walk the neighborhood blocks two miles east of downtown. They educate families about lead dangers and testing children. So far, the teams have provided education to more than 560 families, screened 49 children and identified 22 houses that need dangerous lead-based paint removed. Twelve of the 22 homes identified by the teams qualify for abatement.

Three days after the Nov. 17 storm, 10 H&HS teams quickly assessed a 1.2 square mile area in Third Ward for flood damage. They used a questionnaire similar to the one distributed after 2001’s Tropical Storm Allison. Of the 151 households surveyed, 33 percent sustained some damage. Most residents surveyed reported no illness either on the day of the storm or the three days immediately after it. Six people reported injuries from falls, cuts and crushes or emotional distress on the day of the storm. – Porfirio Villarreal

Housing & Community Development

Human Resources

After 30 years, Al Reeves, safety division manager, is retiring at the end of January. HR employees wish him the best and thank him for his great service.

With 19 1 percent givers, employees donated more than $21,000 to the 2003 Combined Municipal Campaign, exceeding their goal by nearly $7,000. Two percent givers are Ted Low and Veronica Rodriguez.

Jim Davis, training, was HR’s bimonthly customer service award winner for November and Maria Irshad is the winner for January.

Raymond Dozier, HPD officer, praised customer service representative Elizabeth Rodriguez for her professionalism and compassion in helping him with paperwork and questions about his benefits.

The department bids a fond goodbye to Michelle Vu, who has accepted a position in HPD.

Employees collected Christmas gifts, clothes, coats, toys and food, including five turkeys, for the more than 80 orphan girls and the 10 nuns who care for them at Casa Amparo in Reynosa, Mexico. Janice Melton and Enrique Boulouf packed their vehicles with the goodies and drove across the border to deliver them.

Kudos to HR volunteers who worked weekends to repair and improve disadvantaged senior citizens’ homes in the Private Sector Initiatives –Homesavers Inc. projects during 2003: Jerry Chandler, Angela Davila-Caudell, Mack Eisenberg, Maria Irshad, Lois McAdams, Marina Mendoza, Monet Muse, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Jackie Sagers, Marie Sosa and Nicola Stanley. – Roger Smith

Information Technology

Julia Greer has joined IT’s project management office. Greer, a former manager in Andersen Consulting’s business division, specialized in technology projects. She is an expert in project management, change management, IT practices, training, communications and continuous improvement. – Bob Nowak

Legal

Congratulations to Arthur Crumpton, Mia Settle-Vinson and Altnette Guidry, Eagle Award recipients for September, October and November, respectively.

Legal hosted its annual holiday awards event Dec. 12. The department honored Katy Farley, outstanding attorney; Fabian Izaguirre, best team player; Drenda Wallace, most innovative; Cora Garcia, mentor; Martha Knobelsdorf, outstanding legal assistant; Carolyn Chaney, outstanding staffer; and Kuruvilla Oommen, winner of the Ed Cazares Award for excellence and professionalism in municipal law by an attorney employed by the city for five years or less.

The Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center congratulated Trudell Eldridge, who pledged to donate a pint of blood every quarter in the Commit for Life partnership program.

Then-Director Anthony Hall praised Calvin Curtis for handling contract negotiations with Reliant Energy; Gilbert Douglas for successfully co-defending the city’s sexual oriented business ordinance in appellate court; and Peter Addison and Jesus Machorro for organizing and copying pleadings for the Houston Police Officers’ Union’s legal division.

In September and October, Legal’s Combined Municipal Campaign activities included a pizza sale netting $166, benefiting the Houston Food Bank. Adana Elliott was the winner in a baby picture contest that yielded a $50 donation to Kujichagulia, a Christian girls’ organization and Elliott’s chosen CMC charity. Legal exceeded its goal, donating $9,187. Mary McKerall contributed 3 percent of her annual salary; Alberta Johnson, 2 percent; and Susan Taylor and Cheryl Cash, 1 percent.

At the November Eagle Award meeting, the department collected cash and 300 lbs. of food in the Thanksgiving food drive to benefit Star of Hope.

For the 10th year, Legal employees gave disadvantaged students at HISD’s Scroggins Elementary School gifts, candy and other goodies for the holidays.

Celebrating employment milestones are Laura Portwood, Avis Blunt and Millicent Samuel-Fletcher, 25 years; Barbara Pierce, 15 years; Peggy Walker and Jean White, 10 years; and Desiree Contravis, Ella West and Alice Kipple, five years.

Welcome to new employees Roxanne Cort, Diana do Carmo, Deborah Gross and Rico Davis. – Vachel Henry

Library

With the John P. McGovern-Stella Link branch scheduled to open in spring 2004, friends of the library can show their support by buying a brick, paver, bench or tree with the name of the donor or honoree displayed. Tax-deductible gifts will fund additions to collections, computer and software purchases and educational programs. For more information, call (832) 393-1368.

Director Barbara Gubbin presided over the Dec. 2 groundbreaking ceremony for HPL’s Edgar M. Gregory African-American Archival & Cultural Center, 1300 Victor St. Then-Mayor Lee P. Brown, City Councilwomen Carol Alvarado and Ada Edwards, Larry Baker, acting director of Building Services, and representatives from the offices of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson and Harris County Commissioner El Franco Lee witnessed the start of a renovation project in historic Fourth Ward’s Freedman’s Town that had been planned since former Mayor Jim McConn’s administration in the 1970s. The city acquired the Gregory School from Houston ISD.

Always appreciated for their hard work are delivery staffers Woodrow Barrett, Rodney Giles, Michael Henderson, John Mills and Rodney Scott.

Noelle Kanady, Heights Branch, and Cecilia Wong, Central Library, are the first recipients of the Mike Parsons Award for exemplary customer service.

Special thanks to Mona Ross, Denise Warren and Barbara Hall, who organized HPL’s first stress management training program … Kemo Curry, a force behind the virtual reference service InfoLive!, is helping the Fairfax County Public Library in Virginia set up a virtual reference service.

Welcome new employees Robyn Hernandez, Kristine Masserant, Alison Tyler, Sundar Gnanaoliva, David Hardin, Teresa Rodriguez, Dennis Moser and Cynthia Garcia.

Congratulations to Chanta George, Lisa Swan, Tamara Barnes, Robert Ha and Steven Bychowski on their recent promotions.

Kudos to these staffers for reaching employment milestones: Emma Phillips, 30 years; Annie Sharp, 25 years; Karen Austin, Patricia Jones and M. Araganbright, 20 years; and Beatriz Deangulo, Cynthia Potter, Leslie Reeves and Mary Rivas, 15 years. – Sandra Fernandez

Mayor's Office

Goodbye and best wishes to Rose Bener, who is retiring Jan. 30 after serving in the Mayor’s Office 24 years.

Welcome to Mayor Bill White, Chief of Staff Michael Moore, acting Director of Communications Myra Jolivet and staffers Terrence Fontaine, Christina Cabral, Louise Van Vleck, Katie Moses, Richard Lapin, Pam Rosenauer and Jose Soto.

Ruben Vela, community liaison in the Citizen’s Assistance Office, and Texas Children’s Health Plan hosted a fall fiesta Nov. 6 at the Denver Harbor Community Center, 6402 Market St. Police officers John Eixman and Jack Hanagriff helped children learn traffic, bicycle and pedestrian laws in the safety village. The SuperKids Mobile Unit provided free immunizations. – Roger Widmeyer

Municipal Courts Administration

Municipal Courts Judicial

Parks & Recreation

In October, Chinese delegates took a three-month course on economic and environmental issues, tourism, and working with government offices. Director Roksan Okan-Vick addressed the delegates before their tour of Hermann Park.

The opening ceremony for the First Tee of Houston Junior Golf Facility in F.M. Law Park, 8400 Mykawa, was Oct. 28. With less than half the $36,000 funds raised at the 2003 Father/Child Golf Tournament, P&R purchased lighting for the putting and chipping greens. The rest of the money will fund other projects for the First Tee facility and the Athletes Seeking Knowledge program.

A $139,446 grant from the U.S. Department of Education will fund Project KidFIT! fitness and nutrition programs for kids 5-12. Research shows more than 45 percent of Hispanic children and more than 42 percent of African-American youth are overweight. The programs will encourage kids to exercise and eat right. Shadston Pittman, recreation supervisor, leads the project in partnership with Texas Children’s Hospital. – Holly Beretto

Planning & Development

Congratulations to employees who reached employment milestones: Tommy Clay, Lee Pipes, Millard Wilson, Gloria Moellenkamp and Helen Villanueva, 30 years; Timothy Crowley, Nora Sailor, Roderick Giddens, Maria Guillen, Stella Mitchell, Rand White and Jack Mayer, 25 years; and Vernon Black, Doris Freeman, Patricia Johnson, Edward Lastee, Ellen Lopez, Mary McPhail, Stephanie Mingo, Kathryn Morgan, Charlotte Rutherford, Gary Bridges, James Gregory, Joseph Martino, James Matthews, Kenneth Porter, Benjamin Reed, Harold Sanders, Tony Vu, Ernest Tobar, 20 years.

Kudos to the neighborhood protection division. During Nov. 17’s flooding, the field inspection team assessed damage with amazing speed, providing the administration with critical information as city employees responded to the emergency.
– Suzy Hartgrove

Police

HPD helicopter pilot Greg Walsh, Officer Roberto Saenz and Mark Janson, dive team member, airlifted Mike Van Vo Nov. 17 when his truck was almost completely covered by floodwaters at White Oak Drive and Houston Avenue. For the first time, the officers used a maneuver they’d been practicing for months. All Houston news stations broadcast the rescue, and it appeared on the Weather Channel’s “Storm Stories” in early January.

HPD’s truck enforcement unit inspected 1,651 trucks during a three-month period in late 2003, writing nearly 1,400 citations, arresting 106 drivers and taking 849 dangerous trucks and trailers off Houston’s streets and highways. In October and November, City Council members Gordon Quan and Carol Alvarado joined officers for inspections near Wallisville and Mesa roads. Because overloaded trucks cannot stop or turn safely, they damage pavement. Drivers carrying excessive weight can be fined up to $1,000.

HPD was busy with charity efforts in late 2003, launching the 18th annual La Comida Food Drive Dec. 1. Also, acting Executive Assistant Chief C.A. McClelland announced the teddy bear campaign Nov. 26, underwritten by Craig’s Cleaners, 5795 Woodway. The Woodway location collects teddy bears and other stuffed animals police officers use to calm traumatized children. For more information, call Tommie Allen, (713) 308-9104. Meanwhile, Blue Santa brought HPD, 21 other law enforcement agencies and Sports Radio 610 together to collect 500 kids’ bicycles for Christmas. NFL Hall of Famer Elvin Bethea, honorary Blue Santa chairman, helped cap off the drive at Gallery Furniture. Blue Santa has provided thousands of gifts, toys and holiday cheer to needy children and their families since 1984. For results of their drive call Fred Pyland at (713) 731-5102. And Northeast Command Center’s differential response team, led by Lt. Glen Fuhs, collected $1,291.26 in cash and 200 lbs. of nonperishable food for the Houston Food Bank.

Thanks to HPD and Sociedad Mutualista Obrera Mexicana, about 300 seniors and low-income families enjoyed a hearty meal at Thanksgiving in the Barrio in the society’s Community Center, 5804 Canal St., and Dec. 6, HPD officers shared holiday spirit with 2,000 children through “Navidad en el Barrio” at Reliant Arena. The officers entertained and handed out more than 7,000 presents, and “Pancho Claus” appeared for the 15th straight year.

Cadet Class #183 graduated 73 new officers who accepted their badges from acting Chief Joe Breshears Dec. 12 at Houston Police Academy’s L.D. Morrison, Sr., Memorial Center.

At HPD’s Promotions and Awards Ceremony Nov. 19, Panfilo Galvan, Eddie Gonzalez, Joseph Smith, Martin Skeen and John McGalin were promoted to sergeant. Officers Brandon Burgess, Javier Calvillo, Peter Caro, Carlos O’Brien and Patrick Siddons, Sgt. Randall Cedeno and probationary Officer Gerald Robertson accepted Life Saving Awards. Officer Karl Hibchen received a Blue Heart Award; Officer Emma Rodriguez, a chief’s commendation; and westside division’s tactical team earned a unit citation.

During the 2003 National Night Out awards ceremony, Officers John Beauchamp and Jason Countryman accepted honorable mention and Officer Roy Thompson, northeast division, received special recognition for their work in the Looking Beyond the License Plate program underwritten by 3M Corporation and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. – Alvin Wright

Public Works & Engineering

In November, Director Jon C. Vanden Bosch joined Michael Brown, homeland security undersecretary, and Texas Medical Center representatives to announce the receipt of a major flood protection grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The city applied for Hazard Mitigation Program grants after Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. FEMA’s 75/25 percent grant means the federal government will provide 75 percent of the cost, or $45 million, and the other 25 percent will come from local sources, including the city’s drainage capital improvements program and private contributions from TMC institutions. The grant will create new storm drainage systems along Kirby Drive, MacGregor Way and Hermann Drive, new water retention basins and larger storm water inlets. The improvements will prevent the kind of costly damage to hospitals and medical research storage areas that Allison caused. – Gary Norman

Affirmative Action

Aviation

Building Services

City Council

City Secretary

Controller's Office

Convention & Entertainment

Finance & Administration

Fire

Health & Human Services

Housing & Community Development

Human Resources

Information Technology

Legal

Library

Mayor's Office

Municipal Courts Administration

Municipal Courts Judicial

Parks & Recreation

Planning & Development

Police

Public Works & Engineering

Solid Waste Management