VOL 7 No. 10
email: editor@ĩindependent.com
www.fbindependent.com ww .fbindependent.com
Phone: 281-980-6745
FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014
P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County, Missouri City & Sugar Land
Spaghetti cook-off winners
Exchange Club of Sugar Land Spaghetti Dinner Cook-off Winners – Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Gerald Wells, left, Head Chef Sgt. Audrey Lopez, Deputy Jennifer Arriaga, Deputy Rizkallah Ayoub, Sgt. Nadine Sutton, Lt.. William Boehnemann, Sgt. Angel Rader and Lt. Cheryl Hillegeist. Photo by Larry Pullen. The Exchange Club of Sugar Land’s 27th Annual Spaghetti Dinner was a spectacular success raising $115,000 for Fort Bend non-profits. Over 2,000 people from the local community attended this family oriented dinner which included a live auction, silent auction, kid’s area and a spaghetti sauce cook-off. Local law enforcement agencies and firefighters competed in a Spaghetti Sauce Cook-off. Their eccentric costumes are always a hit. The best sauce winners were First place – Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office, second place – Sugar Land Police Department, third place – Fort Bend Regional Council on Substance Abuse. Best Presentation was won by FBISD Police Department who dressed like The Village People, danced and sang to YMCA! Visit www.ecsl.com .
8 candidates enter FBISD election to replace 3 incumbents By Barbara Fulenwider More candidates filed to run for city and school board seats before the Friday deadline arrived so there will be elections in the largest east Fort Bend towns for city councils and school board seats. Sugar Land is the exception because only the three incumbents up for city council re-election filed to be on the May 10 ballot. Fort Bend ISD and Stafford Municipal School District along with Stafford and Missouri City will all have elections. Sugar Land Mayor Jimmy Thompson, and at large council members, Himesh Gandhi and Joe Zimmerman, have no opponents. In Missouri City Mayor Allen Owen and the two incumbent councilmen at large each has an opponent. Noel Pinnock, who has opposed Owen
in some past mayoral elections, has filed to run again for mayor. He is 40 years old, lists his occupation as public servant and has lived in Missouri City for 15 years and in Texas for 35 years. Former Missouri City Council Member Cynthia L. Gary has filed to run for the Position 1 at large seat now occupied by long-time Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Wyatt. Gary, 56, is an educator who has lived in Missouri City for 34 years and in Texas for 55 years and is a former Missouri City council member. Wyatt, 66, is a retired director of occupational health and safety, and has lived in Missouri City for 37 years and is a native Texan. Chris Preston filed to run for the Position 2 at large seat now filled by incumbent Danny Nguyen. Preston, 28, is a busi-
ness owner who has lived in Missouri City for 10 years and in Texas for 26 years. Nguyen, 47, is also a business owner who has lived in Missouri City eight years and in Texas for 18 years. In Stafford incumbent councilmen, Cecil Willis, Ken Mathew and Robert Sorbet, all filed to keep their seats and have no opponent. The council seat vacated by Felicia Evans Smith now has two candidates vying to fill the unexpired term. So far candidates who have filed for the one-year term are Virginia Rosas and A.J. Honore. Rosas, 60, is currently vice president of the Stafford Municipal School Board. Her occupation is court coordinator and she has lived in Stafford for 34 years and in Texas all of her life. See ELECTIONS, Page 4
UH to direct and deliver programs at Sugar Land campus University of Houston will soon be the sole institution delivering programs at the University of Houston-Sugar Land campus. In effect, the Sugar Land campus will de-affiliate with the Victoria campus and come under the direct control of the main UH campus. Currently, University of Houston-Victoria delivers programs at the Sugar Land campus. University of Houston System Regents approved a University of Houston Sugar Land Task Force report on Feb. 26 setting in motion plans to implement a major change in the delivery of off-campus instruction to make the University of Houston the sole UHS institution delivering programs at the Sugar Land campus. To that end, the University is planning to expand or launch 22 programs in Sugar Land and relocate a large segment of its College of Technology to the campus. Welcome Wilson Sr., task force chair and former chair of the UHS Board of Regents, said the eight-member Task Force established five recommendations to guide the planning and implementation of this initiative: •In fall 2014, the UH System should begin implementing a multi-year plan (two to five years) through which the University of Houston will become the exclusive provider of baccalaureate and graduate programs at the Sugar Land campus, consistent with the UHS Board of Regents’ decision to transfer campus administration to UH. UH will continue to rely on its community college part-
ners to deliver lower-division course work. •In the implementation of this change, it is of great importance that no current student be left stranded, that no existing faculty contract be violated, and that the University of HoustonVictoria be furnished with adequate funds to carry out its important mission to become a destination university in the city of Victoria. •The success of the UHV nursing program is highly dependent upon its facilities in Sugar Land. It is also important that these programs continue to be conducted in metropolitan Houston near the Texas Medical Center. For these reasons, and consistent with the Sugar Land Task Force Nursing Subcommittee’s recommendation, this Task Force recommends that the existing nursing program at Sugar Land be transferred to the University of Houston and made part of its newly organized UH Health Science Center. This does not preclude UHV continuing with certain nursing programs in Victoria or elsewhere. •Over the course of the implementation period, as the University of Houston expands program delivery in Sugar Land, UH-Victoria and UHClear Lake will incrementally cease program delivery at the campus and will have the opportunity to shift some of their programs to another UH System teaching center or deliver them fully online. •In addition to degree pro-
grams, the University of Houston should deliver select certificate programs at the Sugar Land campus to meet local workforce needs. Wilson said the changes envisioned in the recommendations will require careful planning to ensure that student access, degree completion, enrollment and revenue are maintained and that the end result of this initiative constitutes an improvement in services for the students, universities and communities involved. “These recommendations are pretty bold,” said Regent Roger Welder, a native of Victoria. “I agree that these guiding principles are imperative. I know there is some trepidation, naturally, among people currently operating there. It’s my expectation, and (the board’s) expectation that implementation of this plan be done in a very thoughtful and careful way. It’s clear to me that the city of Sugar Land and Fort Bend County really want this. They’ve been waiting a long time for it. So, the timing is appropriate.” The expansion of UH programs in Sugar Land and a corresponding transfer of some UH-Victoria and UH-Clear Lake programs to other locations or delivery modes must be timed and orchestrated in a way that provides continuity in course and program availability, faculty and staff resources, enrollment and revenue, the task force recommended. See CAMPUS, Page 3
Visit fbindependent.com for the latest party primary election results.
Fort Bend County continues to thrive By SESHADRI KUMAR Fort Bend County continues to grow and thrive, with the careful planning for the future by the commissioners court, County Judge Bob Hebert said in his State of the County address, hosted jointly by the Central Fort Bend Chamber and Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce at Safari Texas Ranch in Richmond on Feb. 28. The county’s latest acquisition of the Gordon Ranch on FM 359, a 112-acre prime camp site, worth $3.6 million, with donated funds, is a nota- The proposed pedestrian mall between William B. Travis Building and the historic court house at the county seat in Richmond. ble accomplishment. See COUNTY, Page 3
Quail Valley’s Yard of the Month title goes to Marie French, resident of Quail Valley since 1972. Marie has worked with every detail of her 2818 Carnoustie garden since 1978. It is about to burst with white blooms of India Hawthorne, multiple kinds of Azaleas, interesting containers, topiaries, and stone including an important boulder that enhances a Live Oak tree. A path between the patio homes curves gracefully to a birdbath and is full of healthy spring flowering hawthorns and azaleas. Marie received a Plant from Flowers by Adela and a Certificate of Appreciation by the Quail Valley Garden Club, which is expecting its annual shipment of Caladium Bulbs the week of March 7. A limited supply will be on sale to the public, but pre-orders are filled first. Contact Nancy Lindsay at 281 499-2047 or visit http://traction.typepad.com/QVGC