Donation At The Doorstep

Lake County Youth Center Supervisor Nick Logoteta shows off a PlayStation2... (The Record-Bee)
CLEARLAKE Lake County Youth Center Supervisor Nick Logoteta was happily surprised Monday when he left the facility for just a few minutes and returned to find a fun and entertaining donation. An anonymous donor, suspected to be an officer of the Clearlake Police Department, left a PlayStation 2 game system along with a Guitar Hero controller and more than a dozen games Monday afternoon.

"These kinds of donations mean so much to our local children," Logoteta said. "It lets them know that people in the community care about them."

The youth center, which is located on Golf Avenue in Clearlake, has a schedule of activities and snacks that are offered on a weekly basis. Mondays are reserved for board games and nachos. Tuesdays there is painting and chicken sandwiches. Wednesdays is a "free for all" with chili dogs or nachos. Thursdays are reserved for pool and ping pong tournaments with corn dogs or hotdogs and Fridays are movie days with popcorn and pizza.

Membership fees have been changed, Logoteta reported. "Instead of $10 a month per child or $20 for two or more children, we have changed the prices to $50 for entire year for one child or $75 for two or more children. But still, here at the youth center, we turn no child away for lack of funds. That's where the community really comes in with support for our sponsorship program," he said.

The sponsorship program enables the center to provide for all children of the community despite financial

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limitations of the family. For more information regarding donations to the program, contact the Lake County Youth Center at 994-7281.
According to Logoteta, the youth center is enjoying healthy participation. "We have a lot of kids who are into sports. We have a couple playing baseball and couple playing softball. We have a lot of kids here who are doing the right thing and staying out of trouble and we probably sign up a new kid each week," he said.

A field trip is being planned for youth center participants. "We are trying to plan a trip to Yogi Bear campground and amusement center," Logoteta said. "We are planning the trip for this summer. We are trying to start our fundraising now so as many kids who want to go can."

Operation hours, which are specific to meet requirements mandated by the state, are 2:15 to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 2:15 to 5:10 p.m. on Fridays. The center welcomes children age 10 to 16 years of age.

Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call her directly at 994-6444, ext. 11.

Realtors say area offers a lot

With the nation’s real estate slump having finally hit Houston, Clear Lake City Community Association president Roberta Toppin has been proactive.
“I’m just talking to people and telling them don’t run away,” Toppin said. “Just stay here.”

Even though home prices have fallen some in parts of Clear Lake City, it remains a seller’s market in the 46-year-old master-planned community, according to local real estate professionals.
“Home sales are doing great in Clear Lake City,” said Susan Johnson, a real estate agent. “We’re not hurting like some of these other places.”

Some homes in Clear Lake City are selling in five to 10 days, Johnson said.

“There’s no new construction that we’re really having to compete with,” she said. “Our resale homes are selling. There’s just not that much inventory on the market.”
Clear Lake City remains popular for home buyers because of its proximity to Johnson Space Center, aerospace companies and area chemical plants, Johnson said.

The nearby access to marinas also is ideal for boating enthusiasts, she said.
The Clear Creek school district also continues to be a major draw for buying a home in Clear Lake City, Johnson said.
“We have people that move here just to be able to put their children into our school system,” she said.

The four subdivisions and approximately 4,600 homes that comprise the Clear Lake City Community Association are “still healthy,” said Glenda Stroud, the association’s vice president. The association’s subdivisions are Camino South, Meadow Green, Oak Brook and Oak Brook West.

“I feel very comfortable with where we are,” said Stroud, who has lived in Camino South subdivision for nearly 41 years.

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TXDOT closing Nasa Road 1 For Study

By Lee McGuire / 11 News
On March 4, TxDOT will bring down the Nasa Road 1 overpass in Webster. At the same time, the City of Houston will launch a traffic study to measure what’s wrong in Clear Lake.

“I know it’s going to get ugly because they’re completely redoing the freeway out here,” said Forrest Gregg.

Gregg is a florist and said he spends at least four hours a day delivering flowers.

He said Clear Lake’s side streets are constantly clogged. Some city leaders agree.

“During the day it’s even horrible,” said Houston City Councilmember Mike Sullivan. “We’re getting complaints constantly about how bad traffic is -- congestion, road conditions, lights not being synchronized.”

Turn lanes and traffic lights are relatively easy to fix, say experts.

They say that the study should show city planners where the bottlenecks are located. Clear Lake isn’t the only target area.

The Houston Public Works Department is reportedly getting ready to launch similar studies across Houston. They're looking at areas where a lot of people have moved in over the last few years.

“A lot of the time, the people who set the signals don’t even live around here. They don’t know what’s going on,” said Gregg.

Houston’s traffic experts say the study should wrap up by late summer.