14 minute read
FORT BEND’S FINEST
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Name: Michael Petri Profession/Title: Police Officer for the Fort Bend Independent School District (ISD) Years of Service: 16 Years Fort Bend ISD Police Department; 12 Years Assigned to Clements High School Family: Wife Nelda, four children and four grandchildren ages 12, six, five and four and a cat named Beau.
Why public service? Working with the Fort Bend ISD Police Department has by far been the most rewarding decision of my career. I have been given the opportunity to meet and become friends with so many wonderful people in this community.
The greatest thing about your job? No matter where my wife and I go, we run into people, especially students or former students, who I have been blessed to know through contacts made in my job here. I especially enjoy meeting former students and hearing their stories of achievement after leaving Clements High School and hearing the positive influence I had on them.
What are your day to day duties? Monitoring and directing traffic at the school, along with enforcing the laws of the State of Texas in the educational environment. I am responsible for working with school administrators and faculty on developing comprehensive safety plans to ensure our schools are safe places for students to learn. One of my most pleasurable duties is working the many athletic and fine arts events at the campus. I enjoy watching and supporting the many students involved. I am always amazed at the many talents of the students at Clements High School.
Volunteer work: One of the events I volunteer for annually is the Brent Event held at Memorial Park in the fall. Knowing and working with the Weaver family, great members of this community, inspires me. It is a fundraiser that supports families who are currently or have battled cancer and celebrates the lives of cancer patients we love.
Inspiration: Coach John Furlow, Mr. Clements, who we recently lost. During his celebration of life service at Clements High School, while listening to the many stories of former students, family and friends, I truly felt honored to have been able to call him a friend. Also, my father who is still with us at 83 years of age and going strong. I credit him with teaching me the power of honesty, integrity and hard work.
Hobbies: I love fishing and boating with the family on Lake Palestine. Retiring to the lake has been a dream of mine. The only thing missing now is a dog to aggravate my wife’s cat!
Guilty pleasure? Snack foods! Chocolate, chips and Dr. Pepper.
One thing you want to share with the community: Slow down, enjoy life! It seems like everyone wants to be first in line, have the most, one up the next person. Slow down, enjoy family, friends and the blessings you have received. Be there for your kids and appreciate those sharing their lives and teaching your kids. My parents never missed the games and activities I was involved in growing up, and I have always appreciated it.
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HOT SHOT High School
Meet Allen Ting
As a senior at Clements High School, Allen Ting is a diligent student with a passion for science and music. He has achieved success in academics and extracurricular activities and is looking forward to a successful future through higher education.
Ting has taken Advanced Placement classes throughout his high school career. He is a member of the National Honor Society, Science National Honor Society and the Chinese National Honor Society. He received the Rotary Youth Leadership Award and the Fort Bend ISD Academic Excellence recognition. He also received the College Board National AP Scholar Award, the AP Scholar with Distinction Award and is a National Merit Semifinalist.
Ting’s favorite teacher is his Chinese teacher, Mrs. Annie Wang. “She has a down-to-earth, warm-hearted teaching style, yet she is also an experienced teacher who encourages growth and gives life lessons every so often. On top of that, Mrs. Wang cares deeply about each and every one of her students; she always welcomes a conversation, and she truly values the progress, achievements and experiences of everyone in her classroom. I had a lot of fun in the three years I was in her class, but more importantly, I learned the significance of appreciating Chinese as a language and as my own culture, and that’s all thanks to Mrs. Wang.”
Ting is a talented musician. He is a violinist for the Varsity Orchestra at Clements. As one of the top high school orchestras in the District, each year the orchestra has received the highest
Allen
score at the University Interscholastic League (UIL) contest full orchestra, solo and ensemble. Ting has earned All-Region violinist for the past three years, All-Area violinist for the past two years, and he is a leader with the Officer Council. “As someone who has played violin in the school orchestra since sixth grade, I find special meaning in now being part of the orchestra officer team at Clements. Having the opportunity to directly give back to the program is greatly fulfilling, whether it comes in the form of planning social events or organizing logistics that go on behind the scenes, I get a sense of accomplishment in being able to contribute to an organization that has already given me so many opportunities. The especially rewarding part of being a leader in orchestra is helping to shape the experience for underclassmen and being able to impact the future in a positive way. Overall, I’ve seen music influence so many people, including
myself, and I feel pride in expanding that influence through orchestra.”
Ting is also a member of the Varsity Mixed Choir. One value he lives by is open-mindedness. “I try to always listen to and consider other people’s ideas and perspectives, even if I might not have similar views. I believe it’s important to look at all sides of a situation and make reasonable, informed decisions. By learning from the unique perspectives of those around me, I strive to become a better person by being openminded and inclusive of others.”
Ting will treasure the support of his friends who have journeyed through high school with him every step of the way. “I’ll remember the diversity and sense of community among the people in my school long after I graduate, and I’ll cherish these memories for a lifetime.”
This fall, Ting is hoping to attend The University of Texas at Austin and will major in computer science. Congratulations Allen Ting for your undeniable talent and generosity. Good luck as you continue to make an impact in this world in your future.
Venardos Circus Performs for First Time in Houston Area
Venardos Circus (veh-NARR-dos), a Broadway-style animal-free circus, is thrilled to perform for the first time in the greater Houston area at Dry Creek Social Club, located at 3333 Farm to Market 359 in Richmond. There will be 16 shows over two weeks in the intimate red-andwhite striped tent, March 18th to 29th. This is Venardos Circus’ first stop in a multi-week tour through Texas.
Guests can expect to be transported back in time to the center ring of a centuries-old tradition, but one that has been reinvented for the next generation. An amazing assortment of performers includes a new cast featuring Guinness World Record holder Brad; juggling and sword-walking Derileisy Ramos; aerialists Manuel and Ilenay Acosta; duo rola bola and duo straps Chase Culp; comedy and Rachel Bell; foot juggling and roman rings. “Broadway” Brian Pollock, Flea Circus Ringleader, also will be returning with some amazing new content for the pre-show hour.
Venardos Circus proudly features its own custom-made big-top, a classic red-and-white striped tent, with an intimate feel and limited seating. The circus performers are also the crew in this traveling tour who are completely selfcontained, much like the original circus tradition.
General Admission tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for youth under age 12. Babies in arms are free with a paying adult (24 months and younger). Premium Reserved seating is from $35 to $45. Tickets available at www.Liveyourcircusdream.com
Free parking is available at Dry Creek Social Club. Festive preshow entertainment begins an hour prior to showtime. Concessions are available when doors open. The main event lasts approximately 90 minutes with a brief intermission. Complete show schedule available at www.VenardosCircus.com.
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Movies based on video games have a long and illustrious history. Not one to be proud of, however. Most of the films take a one-dimensional character, place them in a three-dimensional world and handicap the potential with a onedimensional script. It is expected that these movies are destined for Razzies (the industries anti-academy awards). Sonic the Hedgehog is based on a nearly forty-year-old franchise. The cuddly blue hedgehog was almost completely responsible for saving the Sega game system. At the time, Mario and Nintendo were dominating the console wars. Sonic may not have reversed the trend, as Nintendo remained a monster, but it did provide Sega with a substantial footprint in the industry.
In 2013 Sony Pictures purchased the film rights to the character, and after many years in development, the film was set to release in November of last year. That was not to be as months before the release, their initial trailer was met with concern and utter disdain from the very vocal fan-boy squadron that is endeared to the franchise. The movie was pulled, and the graphics representing Sonic redesigned to bring him closer to his game appearance.
With two strikes against it, the movie is running uphill. Luckily, they didn’t work too much on world-building and instead focused on a straightforward, linear script. James Marsden plays Sherriff Tom Wachowski, a small-town law enforcement officer dreaming of working in the big city. Ben Schwartz
By Christopher Hill
is the voice and motion capture of Sonic, another world alien unique to the planet that can achieve unheard-of speeds and wants to be part of a family. Jim Carrey is Dr. Robotnik, an over the top cartoon bad guy – even with his own Snidely Whiplash mustache.
Sonic, distraught about being alone, goes so fast that he knocks power systems offline. This action alerts the government who engage Dr. Robotnik to find the culprit. Sonic runs into the Sheriff, and the chase begins. That’s
Tika Sumpter, James Marsden and Sonic (Ben Schwartz) in Sonic The Hedgehog from Paramount Pictures and Sega. all you need to know. It is a straightforward story to follow with very few twists and turns to the end battle and resolution.
But is it good? That answer is much more complicated than the simplicity of the question would indicate. It depends on who is being asked the question. Watching the film, I was accompanied by my middle teenager and my pre-teen youngest. At my advanced age, I was concerned that my generally jaded opinion of the genre would bias the review.
For me, the film was okay. There were humorous parts, but the writing wasn’t particularly bright. Even Jim Carrey seemed unable to give joy to his role, and playing an over the top mad man is really in his wheelhouse. Thankfully, other than the intro, they did not try to world build too much and kept it pretty simple.
The girls both enjoyed it more. They especially liked Sonic and would have liked to see more interaction with the Sheriff’s young niece and Sonic. Sony may have missed the boat by having adults traveling with and against Sonic and not having a child going with them that kids could identify more with. However, don’t worry. As an annoying trend continues, they are already trying to set up a second film before the results of the first one. With the stumbles Sony had out of the gate, this may not have been the best strategy.
Kids will enjoy this more than adults, although it not without its charm. While the dialogue isn’t especially clever, it is not painfully bad. Similar to Angry Birds 1, the film is okay when compared against the other films in the industry, but if you compare it with its video game translation genre, it’s a step above . . . although that’s not a compliment.
Sonic the Hedgehog Now Showing: In Theaters February 14th Rated: PG Violence: Mostly cartoon level of violence, a potential loss of life is off-screen Language: Nothing of note Sexuality: None
