Cleanup under way in 462,000-gallon oil spill off Port Arthur

CNN) -- Crews removed about 46,000 gallons of oil from waters near Port Arthur, Texas, on Sunday, roughly 10 percent of the oil spilled a day earlier when a tanker collided with two barges, a U.S. Coast Guard officer said.

An estimated 462,000 gallons of crude oil leaked from barrels aboard the tanker, forcing the closure of the port in southern Texas, Petty Officer Larry Chambers told CNN. The Sabine Neches Waterway near Port Arthur also was closed. It was unclear Sunday when the port, about 100 miles east of Houston, Texas, will reopen or when crews will finish the cleanup, he said.

"We certainly want it to be done as soon as possible, but with that said, safety is the main issue," Chambers said. "We're not going to open the port until it's determined that vessels can pass through cleanly, safely and not cause any further damage."

No injuries were reported when the Exxon Mobile-chartered tanker -- the 807-foot Eagle Otome -- collided Saturday with two barges being towed by a tug boat. The tanker was carrying about 570,000 gallons of crude oil to Exxon's Beaumont refinery when it crashed, Exxon Mobile spokesman Kevin Allexon told CNN. The cause of the crash was unknown, but is under investigation, he said.

"We are very concerned about how this could have happened," Allexon said. "We are very concerned about the impact to the environment, to the community. No one wants to see this happen."

The port is primarily for industrial use, but it is not far from wetlands. None of the nearby marshes or sensitive wildlife were adversely affected, Chambers said, but one heron was "oiled." The bird was alive and undergoing treatment, he said.

An evacuation order that was imposed in a 50-block area around the port after the collision was lifted. That area was evacuated Saturday out of caution, as the tanker was carrying a type of oil containing sulfide.

Fifteen skimming vessels sailed the area recovering the oil and workers dropped more than 45,000 feet of boom -- fencing-like material -- to keep the oil from spreading, Chambers said. More than 500 people were involved in containing and cleaning the spill, said Darrell Wilson, spokesman for Malaysia-based AET Tanker Holdings, the owner of the tanker.

The biggest oil spill in U.S. history occurred in 1989 when the Exxon Valdez ran aground on a reef in the Gulf of Alaska, resulting in the spill of 11 million gallons of crude.

Man, woman die in first two road deaths of 2010

By Nancy Flake 
Two people died in separate accidents Monday in the first Montgomery County highway deaths of 2010.

Around 8 p.m. Monday, a 33-year-old woman attempting to cross the southbound main lanes in the 700 block of Interstate 45 was struck by at least one vehicle and killed, Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Trey Spikes said.

“One eyewitness said she was dancing in the lanes,” said Spikes, who pronounced the woman dead. “She was initially struck by at least one vehicle and then hit by a couple more vehicles.”

The woman was dressed in dark clothing, Spikes said. Her name could not be released because next of kin had not yet been notified.

Traffic was blocked on the main southbound lanes from Texas 105 to South Loop 336 as Conroe Police worked to clear the scene. Traffic was diverted onto the southbound feeder for at least two hours.

In East Montgomery County, a single-vehicle accident took the life of a Houston man early Monday.

Lesley McDuffie, 43, was killed around 1:30 a.m. Monday while driving a 2001 Dodge pick-up. He was southbound on U.S. 59 near West Wallis, located south of FM 1314, when he left the roadway and entered the roadway between U.S. 59 and the west feeder, a Texas Department of Public Safety official in Conroe said. The accident occurred half a mile north of Houston.

“The vehicle struck the guard rail and then a concrete pillar,” the DPS official said.

McDuffie was not wearing a seatbelt, the official said. Weather conditions were clear and dry.

DPS Trooper Ryan Clendennen was the investigating officer. Clendennen did not immediately return phone messages seeking additional information.

Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace James Oren Metts pronounced McDuffie dead at the scene of the accident, a DPS official said.

No other details of the crash were available.

McDuffie’s death marks the first vehicle fatality in Montgomery County on 2010.

In 2009, The Courier reported on 66 motor vehicle accidents on Montgomery County roadways. The Texas Department of Transportation did not yet have data compiled on 2009 fatalities by county, but reported 46 fatalities in 2008, according to www.txdot.gov.

Conroe PD arrests four men during attempted burglary

By Nancy Flake

Updated: 01.11.10

Conroe police arrested four men who allegedly tried to disable the alarm at a Conroe jewelry Monday in a failed attempt to steal merchandise.

Alberto Carlos Escobar, 30, William Renee Vasquez, 29, Christian Javier Ramos, 25, and Santos Orlando Machados-Chicas, 34, all of Houston, were charged with burglary of a building and engaging in organized criminal activity in the alleged attempted robbery of Camillo’s Fine Jewelry at 2107 W. Davis St.

Officers responded to an alarm at the store around 2 a.m. Monday, according to a Conroe Police Department press release. When the officers arrived, they positioned themselves at the front and rear of the building. As officers checked the back of the store, the door opened and two men ran out.

Officers and captured the suspects about 100 yards from the building and located a third suspect near the rear of the store.

Two of the men climbed a ladder to gain access to the roof of the store, according to the Conroe Police Department, and had cut a hole in the roof to gain access inside. The third suspect was believed to be the lookout and was responsible for disabling the alarm.

That didn’t happen, however, according to police and Maryanne Camillo, one of the store’s owners.

“I guess the alarm maybe scared them off,” she said. “The alarm company called us at 2 a.m., so we went to meet the police.”

The alarm apparently wasn’t disarmed, the CPD stated, and the alarm company notified the police.

The fourth suspect, believed to be the getaway driver, was located less than a quarter-mile from the store sleeping in a 1998 Chevrolet Lumina.

Evidence at the store and inside the Chevrolet connected the driver to the three men at the store, police said.

Burglary of a building is a state jail felony, punishable by 180 days to two years in state jail and a fine up to $10,000. Engaging in organized criminal activity is a third-degree felony, punishable by two to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000, according to the Texas Penal Code.

All four men were in the process of being booked into the Montgomery County Jail Monday afternoon.

Camillo and her family returned Sunday from a cruise, and the welcome back to her store wasn’t quite as warm because of the damage to the roof.

“It was 28 degrees outside, and it was freezing in the store,” she said.

Home Invasion Suspects Arrested After Chase

intersection of Imperial Valley Drive and East Richey Road in north Harris County | KRIV-TV


HOUSTON -

Authorities have arrested one of two suspects involved in a car chase with Montgomery County deputies who is accused of taking part in a home invasion.

Investigators say the two suspects entered a Montgomery County home, handcuffed a man and woman, and robbed the couple before stealing their car.

The handcuffed man was somehow able to contact 911 on his cell phone.

The two suspects traveled southbound on Interstate 45.

A group of law enforcement agencies including Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Harris County Sheriff's Office and Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office surrounded the stolen car which crashed after 12 p.m. Tuesday on Imperial Valley Drive near East Richey Road in north Harris County. One of the suspects, who wore a blue uniform, allegedly ran into a wooded area nearby.

The Houston Police Department helicopter, Texas Department of Public Safety plane and K-9 units assisted in the search and investigation.

Co-owner of Brother's Pizzeria shot during attempted robbery in The Woodlands

by Kevin Reece / 11 News

Posted on January 4, 2010 at 9:42 AM

Updated yesterday at 4:51 PM

******

THE WOODLANDS, Texas—The man wounded during an attempted armed robbery in The Woodlands Sunday night has been identified as Manny Bekiri, 40, operator and co-owner of a chain of Brother’s Pizzeria restaurants throughout the Houston area.

Montgomery County Sheriffs Deputies responded to a call of shots fired at the Parkside Apartments at 10600 Six Pines Drive at 9:30 p.m.  They said they found Bekiri with a single gunshot wound to the abdomen.

He told deputies that a gunman approached his car as he arrived with a female friend at the apartment complex.  The gunman fired and then fled on foot in the direction of N. Millbend Drive.  Bekiri was taken to Memorial Hermann in the Texas Medical Center.  As of 9 a.m. Monday, the hospital listed him in fair condition.

Deputies did not reveal if the gunman escaped with money, if he was waiting to attack Bekiri as he arrived at the apartment complex or if he had followed him to Parkside after Bekiri closed a nearby pizza restaurant.

SEE VIDEO AT KHOU

Gala Raises $215K for MCWC and Community Clinic

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Two worthwhile local charities got a delicious taste of humanitarianism when Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar in The Woodlands hosted a Black Tie Dinner and Auction Fundraiser on Nov. 8 to benefit The Montgomery County Women's Center and The Community Clinic.

Committee organizers created a Community Outreach Fund to benefit the two important non-profit organizations, whose services often go hand-in-hand, and were delighted when the event quickly became well sponsored and sold out. Dozens of guests filled the elegant restaurant to help raise $215,000 through a delicious steak and seafood dinner paired with fine wines along with a live and silent auction and a raffle, according to Shelli Moran, Operating Partner of Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.

The Community Clinic is a non-profit health care center that provides free medical, dental, mental health and social services to those who are uninsured and on a limited income. Established in 1996 by Dr. Joel Kerschenbaum, it is donation-funded and staffed by licensed physicians, nurses, dentists, dental assistants, dental hygienists, social workers as well as translators and support people, all who volunteer their time and services to run the Clinic, located in Oak Ridge North.

The Montgomery County Women's Center is a nonprofit organization serving victims of family violence and/or sexual assault or abuse with several locations in Montgomery and surrounding counties, including The Woodlands. All services are free of charge, and include safe shelter, counseling, legal assistance, educational programming, educational scholarships and other supportive services.

"Simply, this level of involvement shows our clients that there are people who care and people who want to make a difference," said Rebecca C. Jones, Executive Director of The Community Clinic. "Our clients are very often the unnoticed populace of our community and these types of events give them a sense of hope and a feeling of satisfaction to know that so many people care about them. As always we could not do this without the folks at Fleming's, especially Shelli Moran, but also her staff who were so willing to help and do whatever needs to be done to make this event a true success. And we thank those who participated in the event, planned the event, and to the many companies, wineries, jewelers and others that were involved in making this event such as success."

READ THE FULL STORY HERE