The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 94, No. 252, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 31, 2014 Page: 1 of 8
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31,2014
Vol. 94, No. 252 © 2014 • Since 1922
Covering East Harris County, Chambers
Vol. 94, No. 252 © 2014 • Since 1922 ^ ^
aytown oun
Chambers JCounty and Southwest Liberty County_www.baytownsun.com
The Year in Review
A look back at the greater Baytown area’s top stories of 2014
A s Father Time
/\ closes the door
XJLon 2014 and
Baby New Year steps
through to begin 2015,
it is only fitting that the
we look back at some
of the top stories that
captivated the greater
Baytown area this year.
BY MARK FLEMING,
ELESKA AUBESPIN
AND MATT HOLLIS
GCCISD
Boardroom drama at
Goose Creek CISD domi-
nated the news during the
summer of 2014 as com-
munity members and school
district faculty and staff
unleashed protests directed
at Superintendent Salva-
dor Cavazos and the school
board, leading to Cavazos'
resignation in August.
The firestorm started in
June, just short of the su-
perintendent’s two-year
anniversary in the district,
when Cavazos announced
a broad re-shuffling of prin-
cipals, leading to new cam-
pus leadership at 10 schools
(in addition to the two new
campuses).
That followed the nam-
ing of 10 new principals
the previous year. With the
two years’ reassignments,
all three traditional high
schools got new leadership. -
Initially, concerns fo-
cused on the high turnover
in principals, and, especially
the reassignment of GCM
principal Michael Wahl to
Gentry' Junior School. The
move from a high school to
a junior school, while tech-
nically ia reassignment, was
widely seen <is a demotion
and came the same week
Wahl was named secondary
principal of the year for the
district. He has since left the
district.
At the next board meet-
ing. July 14, several hun-
dred people showed up for a
meeting that usually draws
only a" handful of.specta-
tors. Not only was the board
room lull, but audience
members filled much of the
building’s lobby as well.
The ' board suspended
its usual rules limiting the
number of speakers, and
heard 18 citizens speak for
a combined hour and a half
V
\
Ps
The Barbers Hill Lady Eagles softball team BtereToteraS
dents. She eventually resigned
Most were unhappy with
the superintendent's lead-
ership. In addition to the
administrative turnover,
major concerns were staff
and faculty morale and the
non-extension of several
administrative contracts.
Less than a month after
that meeting, the board ne-
gotiated a ‘•voluntary' sep-
aration agreement” with
Cavazos under which he
was paid nearly $550,000.
Deputy Superintendent
Randal O’Brien was named
acting superintendent, a
post he still holds as the
board begins a search for a
permanent replacement.
Cavazos is now' superin-
tendent for East Austin Col-
lege Prep, a two-campus
charter school in Austin.
Industrial
expansions
Three of the main chem-
ical plants within the;
Bavtovvffarea experienced
major expansions in 2014,
increasing jobs and helping
the local economy along
the way.
In June, ExxonMobil be-
gan a multi-billion dollar
expansion that will help
to create 10,000 construc-
tion jobs and an additional
4.000 related jobs. It also
provided local community
colleges with $ 1 million in
workforce training.
ExxonMobil began con-
struction on an ethane
cracker at the Baytown
Olefins Plant, and an as-
sociated premium product
facilities in Mont Belvieu.
The steam cracker has a ca-
pacity of up to 1.5 million
tons per year and provides
ethylene feedstock for
downstream chemical pro-
cessing. This includes pro-
cessing at two new- 650,000
tons per year high perfor-
mance polyethylene lines at
the Mont Belvieu plastics
plant.
The project is expected
to also add about 350 per-
manent jobs at the Baytown
complex and increase re-
gional economic activity
by about $870 million per
year. It will also generate
more than $90 million per
year in additional tax reve-
nues tor local communities.
The expansion, along
with ExxonMobil’s glob-
al sales and technology
support network, permits
ExxonMobil Chemical to
economically supply a rap-
idly growing demand tor
high-value polyethylene
products. These premium
products deliver sustain-
ability benefits such as light-
er packaging weight, lower
energy consumption and
reduced emissions, Exxon-
Mobil Chemical estimates
exports could increase sig-
nificantly; as a result of the
expansion. Production ot
these high-quality petro-
chemical products used in
a w ide range of consumer
and industrial applications
SEE 2014 • PAGE 3
HICU liuui aim a ncui.
p stories according to website readers
RVMRKFIFMING Kroger." (March 18).....5°','it Uprising al Goose Creek."
BY MARK FLEMING
iark.fleming@baytownsun.com
of the challenges any editor
is finding out what readers
torn a newspaper - which Sto-
ll actually be read,
advent of the Internet has
hat task easier, producing hard
jout which articles readers (at
nline readers) click through to.
it this reveals, though, is bad
In fact, it is overwhelmingly
i news stories that get read,
he positive side, the most-read
if the year was a good-news ar-
bout a new retail store.
: are the top-20 most-read
tvn Sun article for 2014:
1: “Mayor announced new
Kroger.” (March 18)
No. 2: "BH softball coach sus-
pended for ‘inappropriate texting,’”
(May If
No. 3: “Teen killed, woman in-
jured in crash,” (July 17)
No. 4: “Accused killer hangs self
in cell: Man charged in slaying ot
72-year-old Highlands woman.
(April 9)
No. 5: "Man killed in accident at
ExxonMobil BOP.” (Nov. 21)
No. 6: “Woman succumbs to inju-
ries in 3180 crash. (July 20)
No. 7: ‘“Quick and quiet and
cone,’” (Aug. 3)
~ No. 8: "Two killed in late-night
crash," (Feb. 15)
No. 9: “Goose Creek. Cavazos
parting ways,” (Aug. 5)
No. 10: "Uprising at Goose Creek.
(July 15)
No. II: “19-year-old gunned
down,” (Dec. 12)
No. 12: "Baytown woman killed in
Alabama crash,” (July 8)
No. 13: “Three charged with mur-
der in McNair.” (Jan. 10)
No. 14: "Wreck puts spotlight on
3180 speed,” (July 18)
No. 15: "Bay town man dies in MB
crash." (March 7)
No. 16: “GCCISD principal shake-
up still making waves,” ( June 22)
No. 17: "Baytown man dies in
head-on collision thanksgiving
night.” (Nov. 30)
No. 18: "Woman killed in wreck.
l^rTcrwMi
SEE WEBSITE • PAGE 3
"Bavtown Lions Club.......................,Sl Ai)0
airy & Keitha Maeon.......................S’0<J
Ronald & Patricia Woolcock........... .....;M
Ervin & Karen Stansbttry.....................S100
James & Stephanie Zucha....................>1 00
David Jentho of Ratliff „& Jentho..........MOO
Black Women’s Awareness Club..........,.S\W
Robert Carrizales..............................S('1'
JoseSoli/-........................................yfoo
Anonymous.....................................
Donations can be-mailed to Goodfellows C. 0 BJP.
P0 BOX 8116, Baytown TX 77522. _
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Bloom, David. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 94, No. 252, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 31, 2014, newspaper, December 31, 2014; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1066018/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.