The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 28, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 8, 2012 Page: 4 of 10
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When bringing up names with
local links to fame, the discus-
sion is open-end.
There’s always more to say
and, with the help of readers,
this broad subject can be
approached time and again with
revisions and add-ons.
In response to the most recent
column about local celebrity
connections, Marian Ashley
reminded me about Jennifer
Gamer the movie star. Married
to another famous actor, Ben
Affleck, Jennifer Garner hap-
pens to be one of my favorites.
She’s a major talent, in my opin-
ion, and a lot prettier than most
of her peers. Her dad, Billy
Gamer, is a 1956 graduate of
Robert E. Lee High School, and
stays in touch with his former
classmates. Billy's mother, who
lived on New Jersey Street, was
an active member of St. Mark’s
Methodist
By Church. About
JH|fg|fH| four years ago,
after Jennifer
■*, {H attended her
grandmother’s
LJBBl funeral here,
she thrilled the
wait staff and
customers alike
at El Toro’s
restaurant where she dined with
her family.
Jerry Strickler, whose parents,
Bill and Lucille Strickler, man-
aged the Greater Baytown
Credit Bureau, once starred on
Broadway in the musical,
“Mister President.” A 1958
graduate of Robert E. Lee High
School, Jerry also has a number
of TV roles on his resume.
Bobby Thompson, who grew
up on Utah Street, made his
WANDA
ORTON
mark in the dance, world, per-
forming in shows in Las Vegas
and in a number of movie musi-
cals, including “Hello Dolly”
and “West Side Story.” Bobby’s
biggest claim to fame, however,
was as a sought-after choreogra-
pher, and his most prestigious
gig was directing the musical
numbers one year for Oscar
night on TV. At the time of his
death, Bobby was the top assis-
tant to famed choreographer
Jerome Robbins.
Bev Bergeron and his sister,
Meredith Tyer, reminded that
dancer Ann Miller had a
Baytown connection. She used
to visit her cousin, Mrs. Gordon
Jennings Sr., who lived on
Nebraska Street, and neighbors
said she looked a lot like her
famous cousin.
Lea Shehee remembers the
time when Ann Miller, as a
young girl, performed in a pro-
gram at Cedar Bayou.
In the wide, wide world of
sports, Dave Marr Jr. won
recognition on TV as a golf
commentator. His dad, old-
timers will recall, was the golf
pro at the old Humble Oil &
Refining Co. golf course near
the Baytown Docks. Marr the
Younger won the PGA champi-
onship in 1965 and later had a
career on TV, first as the golf
analyst for ABC, then for BBC
and NBC. I read that his best
buddy was Arnold Palmer,
whose dad also had been a golf
pro.
Tennis, anyone? The most
famous player from Baytown
has to be Sherwood Stewart,
whose professional winnings
circled the globe. Sherwood’s
first taste of fame came as a
Little League baseball player on
Hap Marshall’s All-Star team
that almost beat Monterey, the
team that went on to win the
Little League World Series.
Another player on that team was
Bill Broyles Jr., known now as
an award-winning screen writer,
author and the founding editor
of Texas Monthly. And - lest we
forget - a former Baytown Sun
carrier in Lakewood.
Bill received his REL diploma
in 1962, same year that another
author and magazine editor/wri-
ter, Rosemary Kent, graduated.
The following year, yet another
famous writer from Baytown
emerged from REL. Novelist
Alan Erwin is a member of the
REL class of ’63.
That’s not all, folks, but all for
now. There’s more where these
famous people came from.
Wanda Orton is a retired
managing editor of The Sun.
TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is the 39th day of 2012 and the
49th day of winter.
TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1587, Mary,
Queen of Scots, was beheaded.
In 1910, the Boy Scouts of America
was incorporated.
In 1915, D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of
a Nation" premiered in Los Angeles with
the title "The Clansman."
In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed
the Telecommunications Act of 1996
into law, leading to a drastic overhaul of
U.S. media regulations.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: William
Tecumseh Shennan (1820-1891), U.S.
general; Jules Verne (1828-1905)-,
writer; Lana Turner (1921-1995),
actress; Jack Lemmon (1925-2001),
actor; James Dean (1931-55), actor;
Nick Nolte (1941- .), actor; John
Grisham (1955-), writer; Gary Coleman
(1968-2010), actor; Seth Green (1974-),
actor.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1998,
Finland beat Sweden 6-0 in the first
women's Olympic ice hockey game.
TODAY'S FACT: The first movie
ever to be screened privately at the
White House was "The Birth of a
Nation," which Woodrow Wilson
viewed in 1915.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "War is hell." -
attributed to William Tecumseh Sherman
TODAY'S NUMBER: 2.7 million -
membership of the Boy Scouts of
America in 2010.
TODAY'S MOON: Between full
moon (Feb. 7) and last quarter (Feb. 14)
CYCLING'S FIRST DRUG-USE INCIDENT...
To flush or not to flush? That’s not a question
Last Friday, Alan Hudgins system and
called to ask if I could come deposited it on
down to Ferry Road to take some the grass and in
pictures of trash in the roadside the ditch some
ditch and some other debris. I B£jp§|H distance from
met with him at the entrance to this manhole.
Cedar Bayou United Methodist Debris from a
Church. What he showed me sanitary sewer
was alarming to say the least. CHRIS is immediately
Yes, there was trash in the BUCKNER identifiable by
ditch just before it entered the .•-■_____sight, not to
major drainage channel leading mention odor. It is also a health
into Cedar Bayou which was concern. The city is required to
maybe 150 yards away. Some of report these “excursions” of
that trash, mostly foam cups, had untreated sewage to the state
been there long enough for the environmental folks. I am told
color to fade from exposure to the January 9 incident was
sunlight. That was not the worst reported at 12,000 gallons going
if it. directly into the bayou.
Directly across from the Later on Friday and into
church entrance on the west side Saturday, we got a good rain,
of the road is a sanitary sewer maybe 1.5 inches. I got another
manhole. Alan pulled out a pic- call Saturday morning about this
ture showing a massive overflow same problem. This time, the
of sewage which occurred on overflow was so great it was lit-
January 9 with the big rain, erally floating the cast-iron man-
There was also lots of sewer hole cover, which weighs about
debris on the grass where the 100 pounds, several inches over
overflow had carried it out of the its seat. That cover looked like a
hovercraft. The water, which
appeared to be mostly rainwater,
was gushing over a foot out of
the manhole. This time, the
reported “excursion” was
231,000 gallons, again right into
the bayou.
This has all been reported to
the city, and we have their prom-
ises this situation will be investi-
gated and remedied. I believe
the city will keep its word and
Public Works is already investi-
gating. According to Mark
Fleming’s Sun article yesterday,
they might have already found a
problem with a Raccoon Drive
sewer line. All this sewage is
destined for the East Wastewater
Treatment on the Bayou off
Hayes. This massive inflow
could easily exceed the plant’s
capacity for treatment.
There are several ways storm
water can get into a sanitary sys-
tem to cause a surcharge which
means the sanitary system can-
not handle the increased amount
of water and that water will look
for an escape hatch. Many years
ago, it was an accepted practice
to build “cross-connects”
between the storm sewer system
and the sanitary system to give
this increased flow that path of
escape. Environmental laws
have outlawed that practice, but
some old crosses still exist
because they haven’t been found
yet. According to Fleming, one
has been found and eliminated
near Ward Road.
Another cause is the illegal
method of connecting down-
spouts and yard drains into the
sanitary system. This causes
surcharges in both the sewer
lines and at the treatment
plants where our utility dollars
are spent on treating storm
water which shouldn’t be there
in the first place.
Lastly, stoppages in sanitary
systems are caused by what we
put into them. Despite warn-
ings on packages of disposable
diapers, disposal does not
mean flushing. These diapers
are meant to absorb water.
Inside a sanitary sewer is
water. When they expand, can
you spell “stopper?”
Additionally, these modern dis-
posables do not go well in
older systems consisting of
concrete or clay pipe, most of
which are in backyard ease-
ments in the older sections of
town.
From a standpoint of Public
Works experience, be careful
what you flush or allow to
infiltrate your sanitary sewer. I
can absolutely promise that if it
comes back for a visit, you will
not be a happy camper.
Chris Buckner, a Baytown
native, is a former radio broad-
caster and a retiree oj
Houston’s Public Works
Department. He is a profes-
sional in both Emergency and
Disaster Debris Management
planning. He can be reached
by e-mail at chris.buckn-
er51@gmail.com. -
Barack Obama
President
202-456-tm
Fax:202-466-2461
president®
vMehouse.gov
JoeBkfen,
Vice President
202-456-232J
Fax:202-4562461
vcejaresident®
wtitehousegov
Kay Baley Hutchison,
Senator
202-224-5922
713653-3456
Fax:202-2246776
Rax 713209-3459
hutchisonsenalB.
£w6maihtm
JohnCornyn,
Senator
202-224-2934
713572-3337
Fax:202-2262856
Fax:713572-3777
ccnwtsenate.
goufconlact/
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STATE
Rick Party Governor
8068435789
806252-9600
Fax: 512-46318$
TedPoe.Dist.2Rep.
8664256565
8664470242
wwwhous>wpoe
RonPautOstttFtep.
202-2262831
9762860231
wwwhouse.gcwbaul
Gene Green, Dist 29
Rep.
202-2261688
7133360761
281-4260502
wwwhouse. govgreen
HOW TO REACH US
Janie Gray, Publisher
janie.gray@baytownsun.com
Angie Pagel, Advertising Director
angie.pagel@baytownsun.com
Adam Yanelli
Managing Editor
adam.yanelli@baytownsun.com
Sandy Denson, Business Mgr.
sandy.denson@baytownsun.com
Joshua Hart, Circulation Manager
joshua.hart@baytownsun.com
NEWSROOM
sunnews@baytownsun.com
WRITE TO US
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1301 Memorial Drive, P.0. Box 90
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E-mail: surmews@baytown8un.com
Web site: wwwbsytownsun.com
The Baytown Sun, 46180 is published five days
a week by The Baytown Sun, 1301 Memorial
Drive, PO Box 90, Baytown Texas 77522.
Periodicals postage paid at Baytown, Tx.
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! FRED HARTMAN
Publisher Emeritus
1950-1974
EDITORIAL
BOARD
JANIE GRAY
Editor/Publisher
Angle Pagel
I Advertising Director
Adam Yanelli
I Managing Editor
Jim Finley
Former Managisg Editor
M.A. Bengtson
: Community member
Jay Eshbach
| Community member
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Yanelli, Adam. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 28, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 8, 2012, newspaper, February 8, 2012; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1063555/m1/4/: accessed July 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.