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Texas Inmates Have Donated Nearly $54,000 From Commissary Funds For Harvey Relief

Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon
/
KUT News
Hurricane Harvey brought record floods to the Houston Area in August.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: Prisoners in Texas pitch in to help Harvey victims; Boy Scouts will start accepting girls; Dallas Holocaust Museum to expand; and more.

More than 6,600 inmates in Texas donated $53,863 to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Harvey relief, according to The Dallas Morning News.

The money came from their commissary funds, accounts that inmates use to purchase things like paper and pencils, personal hygiene items and food that isn't available a regular meals.

The average donation was $8. Some have donated hundreds of dollars, Jason Clark, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman, told the Morning News.

About 7,000 people from five prisons, three treatment centers and two halfway houses had to be evacuated during Harvey. And hundreds of homes of prison employees were damaged or destroyed.

Texas prisoners first helped in the wake of a natural disaster after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005 and then post-Hurricane Rita that same year. [The Dallas Morning News]

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  • Major shift: Boy Scouts of America announced Wednesday plans to admit girls into the Cub Scouts starting next year. And the Irvin-based organization will establish a new program for older girls using the same curriculum as the Boy Scouts. [The Associated Press]

  • Deep dive: In April 2013, there were major explosions in two U.S. cities. Many Americans remember what happened at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The town of West, Texas was the “one you didn’t pay as much attention to.” [The Washington Post]

  • Museum expansion: The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum broke ground at its new location in the West End. The 51,000-square-foot building is slated to open in the summer of 2019 -- more than 40 years after a group of local Holocaust survivors set out to establish the current facility located just a few blocks away. [Art&Seek]

  • Avocado beat: Why are they so expensive right now? [Texas Monthly]

The High Five is KERA’s daily roundup of stories from Dallas-Fort Worth and across the state. Explore our archives here. And sign up for our weekly email for the North Texas news you need to know.