CLASSES HOSTED BY THE MD ANDERSON REGIONAL CARE CENTER IN THE BAY AREA OFFER INSPIRATION

TO WOMEN WITH CANCER

Upcoming Look Good…Feel Better and Reach to Recovery Classes

BAY AREA (January 17, 2012) – The University of Texas MD Anderson Regional Care Center in the Bay Area brings a personal touch to local classes created by the American Cancer Society.

Look Good…Feel Better is a monthly session where volunteer cosmetologists teach women diagnosed with cancer how to cope with skin changes and hair loss due to chemotherapy or radiation treatments.  Each woman attending the class receives a complimentary cosmetic kit selected to enhance her complexion type. All cosmetics and skin care products are donated by The Personal Care Products Council Foundation and are tested to be safe for women in chemotherapy treatment.

10 Gynecological Cancer Symptoms Women Shouldn’t Ignore

UT MD Anderson experts highlight warning signs that should send women to a doctor

BAY AREA— Pelvic pain and abnormal bleeding aren’t the only signs of gynecologic cancer. As part of Cervical Health Awareness Month in January, experts at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center share other symptoms that often are overlooked.

More than 80,000 women in the United States are diagnosed each year with a gynecologic cancer, such as cervical, endometrial (also known as uterine) or ovarian cancer.

“Unfortunately, because symptoms for these cancers are often vague, many women mistake them for other less serious conditions,” said Therese Bevers, M.D., medical director of MD Anderson’s Cancer Prevention Center. “So, it’s important to know exactly what to look for because gynecologic cancers are usually most treatable when found early.”

Clear Lake ER

Providing State of the Art Emergency Care

Faster, With More Choices, and that Individual Touch

by Betha Merit

You just ate dinner, cleaned up, and are settled down to watch an hour of the news before bed.  But you just cannot get comfortable.  Is that indigestion?  But why are you sweating?  You sure don’t feel like spending your night at a hospital emergency room, waiting in line for machines, tests, and the busy medical staff to determine if you need Pepto-Bismol or have something far more serious going on.  But it’s your life and your health.  You need to know.

Your son is at football practice and you get the call he’s had an injury.  His collarbone may be broken.  You have to get it x-rayed and diagnosed.  It is emergency room time, but your history with stitches, broken bones, and other emergencies reminds you that this will take hours waiting your turn for an available x-ray machine and then for a radiologist to read the scans.  You need an ER, but which local hospital do you choose?

By Cindy Harreld

President & CEO

Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce

As the United States was entering the space age and NASA had announced the home of our nation’s astronauts and Mission Control would be a region 25 miles south of downtown Houston, so it began. The business leaders of our then small community looked ahead at what was to come and decided that combining efforts and forming one strong organization to serve the entire area would be best. In 1962 the Seabrook Chamber of Commerce and the Kemah Chamber of Commerce merged, two years later the League City Chamber joined their efforts and we became the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce named for our lake. 

Over the next several years, as the community grew, so did the Chamber. By the late 1960s there was a Chamber staff in place in a portable building parked on NASA Road 1 in Webster. By the late 1970s our Chamber was named the Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce as we had begun serving all nine cities around the lake, plus portions of two counties making us an area Chamber with a regional impact.     

As the Chamber was the first business organization to form in the area serving both the business community as well as our fast growing population, many of our current local organizations, such as the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, Bay Area Houston Transportation Partnership, Bay Area Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, Crime Stoppers of Clear Lake, Lunar Rendezvous, and the Arts Alliance Center of Clear Lake started as committees within our Chamber.

As we celebrate our Golden Anniversary we are reflecting on our rich history as an organization with several projects commemorating our 50 years.

Kennedy Dance Theatre to Perform at the YAGP

The Kennedy Dance Theatre is excited to announce that for the first time, they will be competing at the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) in Dallas on February 3-5. The YAGP is the world’s largest student ballet scholarship competition, and is held annually around the world and in New York City. The YAGP’s mission is to provide extraordinary educational and professional opportunities to young dancers while exposing them to world-renowned dance professionals. 

KDT’s internationally acclaimed Ballet Mistress Milena Leben will be bringing three of her senior dancers to compete, all part of KDT’s Pre-Professional Company Ballet Jete’.  Michelle McKay, age 17, will be performing The Letter,  Madeleine Tao, age 13, will be performing Le Corsaire, and Cherilene Guzman, age 13 will be performing Sleeping Beauty, Blue Bird. All of their performances will be pointe solos and The Letter will showcase new original choreography by Leben. 

The Arts Alliance Center at Clear Lake Announces 2012 Printmaking & Art Furniture Exhibition

The Arts Alliance Center at Clear Lake (TAACCL) announces its call for portfolio submissions for its 2012 Printmaking & Art Furniture Exhibition. Scheduled for February 9-March 15, this show will feature original work from local artists, printmakers, furniture makers, woodworkers and designers.

Submissions for the Printmaking & Art Furniture Exhibition are due to TAACCL by Tuesday, January 3 at 5 p.m. Information on the requirements for each medium (printmaking, furniture, woodwork and design) as well as submission rules can be found on The Arts Alliance Center’s website at www.taaccl.org or can be requested by emailing Debra Kendrick, TAACCL curator, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The Arts Alliance Center at Clear Lake is a non-profit organization that presents, enriches and promotes the visual, literary and performing landscape in Houston’s Bay Area. By engaging more than 50 non-profit arts organizations, including educational institutions, dance and drama theater, guilds of basket weavers and quilters, writers’ leagues, choral groups, musicians, photographers and artists using many different media, TAACCL brings the arts together. For more information, visit www.taaccl.org or call 281-335-7777.

U.S. Senator John Cornyn to be Honored with BAHEP's 2012 Quasar Award

The Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership will honor U.S. Senator John Cornyn with its prestigious 2012 Quasar Award for exceptional leadership in Economic Development presented during the organization’s Annual Quasar Award Banquet on Friday, January 20, 2012, at the South Shore Harbour Resort and Conference Center in League City.

The Quasar Award is presented each year to an outstanding individual who has contributed greatly to the economic wealth and diversity of the Bay Area Houston region.  In 2008, Texans overwhelmingly re-elected Senator John Cornyn to represent them for a second six-year term in the United States Senate.  Senator Cornyn was first elected to the Senate in 2002 and previously served in Texas as a district judge, a member of the Texas Supreme Court, and as Texas Attorney General. 

Since 2002, Senator John Cornyn has worked diligently in the U.S. Senate to protect and promote Texas businesses.  In June 2011, Senator Cornyn wrote EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson highlighting the dangers of unfairly sweeping Texas into the final Cross-State Air Pollution Rule program without due process and he continues the fight against government overreach in Washington. 

Channel Two News Anchor Bill Balleza To Be Guest Speaker For The Third Annual Pelican Ball

Mark you calendars now for the Third Annual Pelican Ball, Saturday, February 4 2012. The event is sponsored by the Seabrook Association and everyone in the Bay Area is invited to attend.

Bill Balleza of Channel 2 News is the honored guest speaker. Because the net proceeds go toward a Veterans Memorial, the Seabrook Association is especially pleased to have Balleza, a former Marine, attend and speak at the ball.

This evening of non-stop fun and entertainment will be held in the ballroom at Lakewood Yacht Club, 2425 NASA Parkway in Seabrook. Tickets are $60 a person and the  festivities include presentation of colors by the Clear Lake High School ROTC, dancing to the spectacular sound of the Pee Wee Bowen Band,  buffet dinner, cash bar, awards for volunteer, citizen and business of the year, silent auction and a special appearance by “Parkie Pelican and the Parketts”!

 Your check is your reservation.  Mail it to The Seabrook Association, P.O. Box 1107, Seabrook, Texas, 77586. This is a sell out evening so make your reservations now. Go to www.pelicanball.com for more information or contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , 281-291-7756 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , 281-532-2540. 

Take This Dog Home!

Second Chance Pets

Ziggy, a beautiful Australian Shepherd mix, was sadly left behind by his family when they moved out of town.  He is young, about a year and a half, loves to play and needs a home where the people have time to spend with him. He’s a working (herding) breed, so he will need lots of exercise to keep him balanced. Ziggy’s heritage makes him a very loyal, intelligent and intuitive dog.  Please consider adding him to your pack and giving him the fulfilling life he deserves. For more information call 281-286-3535. You can view additional pictures of him and all the SCP pets at www.secondchancepets.org.

SCP adoptions are held on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Petco on Bay Area Blvd. near Space Center Blvd. The adoption fee for dogs starts at $125. All pets are heartworm tested, on Heartguard, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, de-wormed and de-fleaed. ALL animals are microchipped.  SCP is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit animal welfare organization.  All donations are tax-deductible.

Experience South Shore Grille for the Right Reasons

by Rick Clapp

The South Shore Grille is owned and operated by local restaurant maven Mickey Wooten.  Most recently his establishment has deservedly received many accolades in and around the entire Houston Galveston area.  South Shore Grille serves traditional American dishes with a Cuban flair and is located at 2800 Marina Bay Drive in League City.

South Shore Grille’s food is what it’s all about!  Wooten’s chefs and cooks create some of the finest dishes in the Houston Bay Area region.  They serve everything made fresh daily—from tantalizing appetizers such as their Marina Bay dip, crab cake Duvalle, calamari de Havana and the award winning  flat-grille scallops, just to name a few.  The soups and salads are quite bountiful and favorites include the spicy Cuban black bean soup, tortilla soup, prime salad dinner, seafood salad, Louie and the petite Cobb salad.  The menu also features a wide range of select sandwiches such as the Hemingway’s favorite, “The Cuban”, deluxe gourmet burgers, and chicken and fish sandwiches.  A must try is their signature mouth watering original French dip sandwich made with certified Angus beef.  South Shore Grille provides daily lunch specials which are usually $10 or less.  The complete lunch menu runs $7 - $11.