From the May 17 edition of the Item: A City of Huntsville historical marker was dedicated at the Rawley Samuel Rather Memorial Park at the corner of University Avenue and 13th Street.
The park is located on the home site of Rawley Samuel Rather and his wife, Mary Caroline Henry — lifetime Huntsville residents — and their five children — Marian Leigh, Rawley Goss, John Henry, who died in infancy, Edward Seay and John Henry.
The Rathers’ oldest child, Marian Leigh, was the first woman elected to the local school board and served as the Walker County chairman of the women’s suffrage movement. Marian Leigh was a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. She taught math of Sam Houston Normal (later Sam Houston State University) and wrote the college song for homecoming in 1910.
The house was demolished in 1977, and the Rather-Powell family made the site available to the City of Huntsville for a downtown park in 1979.
Showing posts with label item. Show all posts
Showing posts with label item. Show all posts
Monday, May 19, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
Item: Regents OK Performing Arts Center
The May 2 Huntsville Item (as well as Today@Sam) reports that SHSU has been given the go ahead by the Texas State University System Board of Regents to begin construction on a $38.5M Performing Arts Center:
The Regents unanimously approved the project during a Thursday morning conference call. The project had been submitted for approval twice previously but withdrawn for further work.
Construction could begin as early as September 2008, pending approval of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Bond Review Board. The Coordinating Board meets in late July. Completion of the center is estimated in the fall of 2010.
The new building will be constructed on the parking lots just north of the Music Building and Theatre Center, uniting the three into a Fine Arts Complex.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Item: Regent - Best facilities possible wanted for SHSU
Reporter Kristin Edwards writes that Texas State University System Board of Regents member Dora G. Alcala gave a special presentation Friday afternoon [October 5] as part of the Grassroots speaker series at Sam Houston State University.
As she addressed the audience in the Olsen Auditorium, which more than filled the available seating, Alcala discussed the merit of higher education, family values and work ethic.
“We on the board always want to see our students getting a very good education,” she said. “I know that’s happening here because of the university’s enrollment.”
In the short term, Alcala said the board hopes to maintain the best facilities possible at SHSU. “We want to make sure the students have the best facilities and a good learning environment,” she said. “I’d like to see them have a new music building, because we have a lot of music makers and they deserve the best facilities.”
Alcala served two terms as mayor of Del Rio and has received several state awards during her career. She was appointed to the board in July 2004 by Gov. Rick Perry.
As she addressed the audience in the Olsen Auditorium, which more than filled the available seating, Alcala discussed the merit of higher education, family values and work ethic.
“We on the board always want to see our students getting a very good education,” she said. “I know that’s happening here because of the university’s enrollment.”
In the short term, Alcala said the board hopes to maintain the best facilities possible at SHSU. “We want to make sure the students have the best facilities and a good learning environment,” she said. “I’d like to see them have a new music building, because we have a lot of music makers and they deserve the best facilities.”
Alcala served two terms as mayor of Del Rio and has received several state awards during her career. She was appointed to the board in July 2004 by Gov. Rick Perry.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Item: Hotels Planned At SHSU Location
by Jay Ermis, Huntsville Item (August 23, 2007)
Construction of a project expected to benefit Huntsville and Sam Houston State University could start in early 2008.
The Texas State University System regents have agreed to sell the property housing the SHSU Agriculture Center off Interstate 45 to K Partners Hospitality Group of San Antonio.
K Partners will pay $2.7 million for 13.28 acres and plans to build two hotels and a conference center.
Raven Nest Golf Club will be accessible via a tunnel that runs under I-45 and connects the golf club with the agriculture center property.
The majority of the agriculture center’s operations has been moved from the I-45 location to the Gibbs Ranch off state Highway 75 North.
Frank Krystyniak, director of SHSU’s Office of Public Relations, said the regents have approved the property sale, but the deal will not be finalized until December.
Construction of a project expected to benefit Huntsville and Sam Houston State University could start in early 2008.
The Texas State University System regents have agreed to sell the property housing the SHSU Agriculture Center off Interstate 45 to K Partners Hospitality Group of San Antonio.
K Partners will pay $2.7 million for 13.28 acres and plans to build two hotels and a conference center.
Raven Nest Golf Club will be accessible via a tunnel that runs under I-45 and connects the golf club with the agriculture center property.
The majority of the agriculture center’s operations has been moved from the I-45 location to the Gibbs Ranch off state Highway 75 North.
Frank Krystyniak, director of SHSU’s Office of Public Relations, said the regents have approved the property sale, but the deal will not be finalized until December.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Item: $30M project heads SHSU construction
Rachael Gleason reports in the June 2 edition of the Item of some of the upcoming changes to the campus. Some of the highlights:
- The renovation of the mall area started December 2006 with the demolition of the Wilson-Frels complex. Construction in the area began May 2007. The projected completion date of the $2 million mall area renovation is September of this year.“We hoped that we would finish before school started, but we had a late start due to rain,” [Physical Plant Assistant Director John] McCrosky said.
- He [McCrosky] also said the school is in the planning stage for a $35 million performing arts center for the music, dance and theater programs as well as a new $7.5 million dining facility.
- A 300-space parking lot is also in store for the campus.
- Construction on Academic Building V, which will be one of the largest buildings on campus, started several weeks ago with the prep work for the building’s foundation on land east of the Lee Drain Building. The Board of Regents have yet to choose a name for the new building, but McCrosky said the name will likely be called the humanities & social sciences building. The expected date of completion for Academic Building V is September 2008. According to McCrosky, the building will likely be open for classes in Spring 2009.
- In addition to the construction projects that are already under way, SHSU plans to revise a 10-year master plan for future undertakings.
Saturday, December 2, 2006
Item: Report targets SHSU, downtown
Stewart Smith
Staff Reporter
December 01, 2006 11:58 pm
----------
Judging by the input from consultants, Sam Houston State University and Huntsville’s downtown will be the epicenter of the city’s growth.
During Thursday evening’s Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee Expanded (CPAC(X)) meeting, consultants continued their declaration of the importance of downtown and the university as vital resources for economic development and as driving forces behind transportation improvements and modifications.
Tom Stellman, president and CEO of Austin-based consulting firm TIP Strategies, described SHSU as “an economic priority.”
“We’re not telling you anything you probably don’t already know, but it needs to be said. Having a university of the caliber of Sam Houston State ... is your biggest economic asset,” said Stellman.
Stellman said economic development leaders should support SHSU-generated entrepreneurship and recommended the development of a university/business alliance that would leverage university faculty and institutional expertise in assisting existing employers, startups and entrepreneurs in Huntsville.
Stellman also recommended creating job placement programs for current students and recent graduates to find local career options in an effort to retain and attract the university’s alumni population.
As for downtown, Stellman recommended it become established as an entertainment and cultural district, capitalizing on downtown’s “authenticity” to set it apart from other communities.
He also suggested downtown be promoted as a destination for business services and even entrepreneurial startups.
“View the downtown as your business park, in a sense,” Stellman said. “Sell it as a destination for folks who are going to bring in and employ people.”
As for transportation, Gary Mitchell, a principal with Kendig Keast Collaborative Inc., began his discussion of transportation strategies with the eyebrow-raising statement that traffic is a “good thing.”
“We’ve worked in a lot of communities that would love to have the traffic and parking problems that you have,” Mitchell said, indicating that said problems are representative of a growing community.
However, with traffic and parking comes the burden of finding ways to relieve them.
Several of these solutions, Mitchell said, are not going to be desirable.
“Take a look at 11th Street ... road widening, or in some other downtown areas, take out the parking so we can get more lanes and get rid of that conflict of cars pulling in and out,” Mitchell said. “TxDOT has recommended going to parallel parking versus angled parking.
“Some of these solutions are worse than the problem, so you’ve got that challenge also.”
However, Mitchell did say Huntsville is in decent shape in terms of overall traffic circulation but with a few specific “choke points” that need to be addressed.
A transit system and improved bike and pedestrian amenities was also recommended as a viable solution to traffic and parking congestion, especially because of the market demand created by university students.
Transportation, Mitchell said, also ties directly into other areas of the comprehensive plan such as economic development and land usage.
With downtown becoming more and more active with businesses and commerce, traffic will increase there creating parking issues which ultimately becomes an issue of land use.
Other significant goals, objectives and notable points made at the meeting include the following:
• Leverage the presence of TDCJ in Huntsville to support the expansion of existing businesses and attract new businesses to the community.
• Encourage TDCJ to evaluate its presence in the downtown area.
• Establish a formal incentives policy that recognizes the value of existing businesses in Huntsville.
• Support the development of attainable housing to ensure area employees can live inside the community.
• Promote the development of higher-end housing in the Huntsville area.
• Promote development patterns that are pedestrian friendly and encourage transit use.
• Implement access management and other transportation system management measures to help increase capacity along constrained roadways and maintain capacity in the community.
Staff Reporter
December 01, 2006 11:58 pm
----------
Judging by the input from consultants, Sam Houston State University and Huntsville’s downtown will be the epicenter of the city’s growth.
During Thursday evening’s Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee Expanded (CPAC(X)) meeting, consultants continued their declaration of the importance of downtown and the university as vital resources for economic development and as driving forces behind transportation improvements and modifications.
Tom Stellman, president and CEO of Austin-based consulting firm TIP Strategies, described SHSU as “an economic priority.”
“We’re not telling you anything you probably don’t already know, but it needs to be said. Having a university of the caliber of Sam Houston State ... is your biggest economic asset,” said Stellman.
Stellman said economic development leaders should support SHSU-generated entrepreneurship and recommended the development of a university/business alliance that would leverage university faculty and institutional expertise in assisting existing employers, startups and entrepreneurs in Huntsville.
Stellman also recommended creating job placement programs for current students and recent graduates to find local career options in an effort to retain and attract the university’s alumni population.
As for downtown, Stellman recommended it become established as an entertainment and cultural district, capitalizing on downtown’s “authenticity” to set it apart from other communities.
He also suggested downtown be promoted as a destination for business services and even entrepreneurial startups.
“View the downtown as your business park, in a sense,” Stellman said. “Sell it as a destination for folks who are going to bring in and employ people.”
As for transportation, Gary Mitchell, a principal with Kendig Keast Collaborative Inc., began his discussion of transportation strategies with the eyebrow-raising statement that traffic is a “good thing.”
“We’ve worked in a lot of communities that would love to have the traffic and parking problems that you have,” Mitchell said, indicating that said problems are representative of a growing community.
However, with traffic and parking comes the burden of finding ways to relieve them.
Several of these solutions, Mitchell said, are not going to be desirable.
“Take a look at 11th Street ... road widening, or in some other downtown areas, take out the parking so we can get more lanes and get rid of that conflict of cars pulling in and out,” Mitchell said. “TxDOT has recommended going to parallel parking versus angled parking.
“Some of these solutions are worse than the problem, so you’ve got that challenge also.”
However, Mitchell did say Huntsville is in decent shape in terms of overall traffic circulation but with a few specific “choke points” that need to be addressed.
A transit system and improved bike and pedestrian amenities was also recommended as a viable solution to traffic and parking congestion, especially because of the market demand created by university students.
Transportation, Mitchell said, also ties directly into other areas of the comprehensive plan such as economic development and land usage.
With downtown becoming more and more active with businesses and commerce, traffic will increase there creating parking issues which ultimately becomes an issue of land use.
Other significant goals, objectives and notable points made at the meeting include the following:
• Leverage the presence of TDCJ in Huntsville to support the expansion of existing businesses and attract new businesses to the community.
• Encourage TDCJ to evaluate its presence in the downtown area.
• Establish a formal incentives policy that recognizes the value of existing businesses in Huntsville.
• Support the development of attainable housing to ensure area employees can live inside the community.
• Promote the development of higher-end housing in the Huntsville area.
• Promote development patterns that are pedestrian friendly and encourage transit use.
• Implement access management and other transportation system management measures to help increase capacity along constrained roadways and maintain capacity in the community.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Item: SHSU hosts town hall meeting
Extending hours of operation for local bars and transportation in and around the city took center stage during Tuesday evening’s forum in the Lowman Student Center theater on the university campus.
The discussion was part of the sixth and final forum dedicated to gathering community input regarding the proposed Huntsville Comprehensive Plan. This forum was specifically aimed at university students, staff and faculty.
City Planner Stan Hamrick said all the data collected at these six forums will be taken into consideration and discussed by consultants who will then present the information to the Comprehensive Plan Advancement Committee. The CPAC will then make initial drafts of a comprehensive plan to present to the city council for consideration.
-
Stewart Smith
Staff Reporter
The discussion was part of the sixth and final forum dedicated to gathering community input regarding the proposed Huntsville Comprehensive Plan. This forum was specifically aimed at university students, staff and faculty.
City Planner Stan Hamrick said all the data collected at these six forums will be taken into consideration and discussed by consultants who will then present the information to the Comprehensive Plan Advancement Committee. The CPAC will then make initial drafts of a comprehensive plan to present to the city council for consideration.
-
Stewart Smith
Staff Reporter
Saturday, October 7, 2006
Item: Gaertner pitches SHSU at forum
Thursday night’s Economic Development Forum was remarkably similar in tone and content to the previous four Ward Congresses, though the evening’s discussion veered more toward the city’s economic future.
SHSU President James Gaertner urged Huntsville to use to the fullest one of, what he believes to be, its largest existing assets.
“We don’t need to create new assets in Huntsville to have successful economic development,” Gaertner said. “There are places all over the United States that are trying to get a university in their city ... and we have one that is thriving. Corporations and businesses pick up and leave, but I’ve never seen a university pick up and leave.”
SHSU President James Gaertner urged Huntsville to use to the fullest one of, what he believes to be, its largest existing assets.
“We don’t need to create new assets in Huntsville to have successful economic development,” Gaertner said. “There are places all over the United States that are trying to get a university in their city ... and we have one that is thriving. Corporations and businesses pick up and leave, but I’ve never seen a university pick up and leave.”
Friday, September 8, 2006
Item: Ward 1 residents sound off
As part of the Huntsville Horizon Plan, city residents and university students met Thursday, September 7, 2006 to discuss about the future of the city and the people that live and work there. SHSU Student Body President Christopher Whitaker was in attendance, according to a portion of this Item article:
---------
Ward 1 residents sound off
Huntsville comp plan garners interest from community
by Kelly Prew with Ben Bell
The Huntsville Item
Thursday, September 8, 2006
In an issue spurred from how Sam Houston State University will grow in future years and how it will become “seamless in the community,” several citizens spoke about the need for sidewalks, better driveway access to businesses on major roadways and city services.
Transportation issues were discussed, from both the perspective of local residents and Sam Houston State University students in attendance. Then folks began discussions on what provisions would be made for pedestrians.
Christopher Whitaker, SHSU student body president, spoke for the students.
“There are serious pedestrian issues at Sam Houston Avenue and intersections with Avenue J and Avenue I,” he said. “My worst fear is a student being killed crossing these busy intersections.”
Residents concurred with Whitaker, naming a number of problem pedestrian areas citywide.
SHSU student life chair Justin Berry mentioned how a shuttle service could better improve quality of life for students.
“I agree with the shuttle service idea,” he said. “It would help a lot of local residents too. Sometimes our cars break down and money is tight, and a shuttle service could help out.”
Berry also brought up the issue of traffic lights and student access to the downtown area.
“There is a courthouse traffic light that never changes (University and 11th Street), and eventually backs up. Timing on lights is a little bit off.”
Karl Davidson brought up the possibility of a grant already in existence that would implement an attractive pedestrian system between SHSU and the downtown square, via University Avenue.
If the shuttle system were an option, talk swirled around who would pay the bill. SHSU senior Evan Dierlam suggested the city look to grant funding for a shuttle service.
Berry suggested possible satellite parking and shuttling.
The issue of affordable housing also grabbed residents and students, who agreed Huntsville has a variety of people who need different levels of housing.
“As the student population grows and the state continues to reduce funds, it is more difficult to build dormitories, and students quickly fill these spaces and professors and students alike are commuting because of this,” Whitaker said. “This hurts Huntsville revenue and growth.”
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