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VOL 6 No. 5
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FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2013
P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County, Missouri City & Sugar Land
Baby with “heart outside” survives
Education Foundation banks on “Once upon a time” gala An enchanted evening awaits at the Fort Bend Education Foundation’s 2013 Gala “Once Upon a Time” on Feb. 23. Celebrate the 20th anniversary of this premier event featuring a royal evening of entertainment and fun dedicated to raising funds for the students, teachers and schools of the Fort Bend Independent School District. Wear your royal finery and hold court with friends and neighbors as you peruse the magnificent offerings of the silent auction. Proclaim your live auction bid - the higher, the better - to auctioneer James Patterson. Create a band of merry men and up it even higher! You will feast on fantastic fare and dance the night away with music by the band Password. Your emcee for the evening will be Emily Akin, consumer advocate for FOX 26 News and the “Take it to Akin” consumer hotline. PerdueBrandonFielderCollins& MottLLP are the title sponsors for the gala. The mission of the Fort Bend Education Foundation is to pro-
On Jan. 24, at Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston baby Audrina Cardenas was discharged after a 3 1/2 month stay in the hospital. Audrina was born with her heart outside her chest, a very rare diagnosis known as ectopia cordis. Dr. Charles D. Fraser (heart surgeon, surgeon-in-chief), Jr., Dr. Larry Hollier (plastic surgeon) and Dr. David Wesson (general surgeon) performed a life-saving surgery on her second day of life to repair her heart. Eight out of one million babies are diagnosed with this rare condition each year and 90 percent of those children will not survive, but Audrina has defied the odds and is doing very well. Audrina left the hospital with an external heart shield that she will wear moving forward to protect her heart as she grows. In a few years, Audrina will have surgery to place a more permanent protective shield inside her chest wall. She will be followed regularly by Dr. Carrie Altman and the cardiology team at Texas Children’s Hospital. Above, Ashley Cardenas (mom) prepares baby Audrina to leave Texas Children’s Hospital. Here she is seen putting on Audrina’s heart shield that will she wear moving forward to protect her heart as she grows.
Exhibition explores Lincoln’s struggles The exhibition, “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War,” will be on display at Fort Bend County Libraries’ George Memorial Library, 1001 Golfview in Richmond, beginning February 23, and continuing through April 4. An opening reception for the exhibit will take place on Saturday, Feb. 23, beginning at 2 p.m, in the library’s Bohachevsky Gallery. Award-winning writer and Civil War scholar John C. Waugh will be the guest speaker. Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War, a traveling exhibition, examines how President Abraham Lincoln used the Constitution
to confront three intertwined crises of the Civil War – the secession of Southern states, slavery, and wartime civil liberties. The exhibit is composed of informative panels featuring photographic reproductions of original documents, including a draft of Lincoln’s first inaugural speech, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Thirteenth Amendment. The documents are supplemented by letters, photographs, and images from Civil War soldiers and their families. Lincoln is widely acknowledged as one of America’s greatest presidents, but his historical reputation
Sitting: Wes Cowen, Cigna; Standing L-R: Mike Siwierka-Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins & Mott, LLP, Patty Godfrey-Gala Co-Chair, Pat Houck-FBEF President, Lina Sabouni-AUTOARCH Architects, Terrie Gorney-Gala Co-Chair, Don Kerstetter-Classic Chevrolet vide opportunities to enrich and enhance the quality of education for all students in Fort Bend ISD. Since its inception in 1992,
the Education Foundation has awarded over $3.8 million in grants to FBISD teachers and schools. The gala is the primary source of revenue to fund
these grants and programs. For table sponsorships, individual tickets or auction donations, visit our website at www. fortbendisd.com/foundation.
Despite TI’s exit, 2013 looks promising for Stafford By BARBARA FULENWIDER This year Stafford Mayor Leonard Scarcella began his annual state of the city address by reminding his audience that a year ago in January there was much uncertainty and concern regarding TI’s plan to leave Stafford by the end of 2012 after 45 years as the city’s largest taxpayer. A year later, the mayor said Stafford and TI are collaborating on a master plan to enhance the redevelopment of the 192 acres of prime land TI owns in Stafford. He said various other signs also “point to a most promising 2013” for the city and include increased sales tax revenues, improved employment opportunities and growing economic activity. Significant commercial entities in Stafford also expanded their facilities last year, the mayor noted. The list was headed by OMB Valve and includes Pentair Valves and Control (formerly Tyco Valve), Puffer Sweiven,
Kitz Corp. of America, Neway Valve and Hunting Corp. (formerly National Coupling). Stafford companies expanded more than $26 million on improvements last year, Scarcella reported. Two new entertainment companies that will be opening in Stafford soon are APEX Cheer Academy on South Main and the Main Event, which will be in The Fountains. A newly constructed speculative building is on Pike Road and is part of the $72 million in building permits that Stafford issued in 2012. The mayor said, “These expansions and additions were also a major factor in the increase in sales tax, which escalated more than nine percent (in 2012) over the previous year.” Scarcella also praised the Stafford Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) for having built the Stafford Centre’s Performing Arts Theatre and Convention Centre. He also pointed out that the SEDC was a prime mover in
is contested. Was he a calculating politician willing to accommodate slavery, or a principled leader justly celebrated as the Great Emancipator? This exhibition provides no easy answers. Rather, it encourages visitors to form a nuanced view of Lincoln by engaging them with Lincoln’s struggle to reconcile his policy preferences with basic American ideals of liberty and equality. Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States in 1860, at a time when the nation was on the brink of war. Seven states had already seceded from the Union. Lincoln struggled to resolve the basic questions that divided Americans at the most perilous moment in the nation’s history: Was the United States truly one nation, or was it a confederacy of sovereign
and separate states? How could a country founded on the belief that “all men are created equal” tolerate slavery? In a national crisis, would civil liberties be secure? President Lincoln used the Constitution to confront these three crises of war. “We are delighted to have been selected as a site for this exhibition,” said Library Director Clara Russell. “As a new president, Abraham Lincoln was faced with enormous challenges. This exhibition shows how Lincoln struggled with issues of secession, slavery, and civil liberties – all questions our country’s founding charter left unanswered. The traveling exhibition for libraries was organized by the National Constitution Center and the American Library Association Public
Scarcella arranging financing for the underpasses on US 90A and amenities on the corridor. He said the SEDC constantly looks for ways to upgrade quality of life, activities and the appearance of Stafford and “has been a leader in those efforts.” The mayor applauded the city’s zoning and pointed out that 18 out of 51 acres in the southern part of the Promenade subdivision was rezoned from commercial to residential and Programs Office. The traveling exhibition has been made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War is based on an exhibition
will result in 70 new homes in Stafford. Scarcella also said that by now he thought the city’s buying of most of Regal Ranch’s 30 acres from the county would have gone through but is still on hold thanks to some unfinished business the county has with the tenant. One thing that isn’t on hold is an ordinance regarding smoking in Stafford. There will be a public hearing on the issue in two weeks to get the public’s input on the specific proposals before council makes it the law. Because the state of the city is basically a report on progress and city finances, the mayor pointed out that the Stafford Fire Department got two new pumpers and a brush truck and added eight more firefighters while the city’s police and emergency management departments also got more vehicles, equipment, technological enhancements and personnel in 2012. See STAFFORD, Page 4 of the same name developed by the National Constitution Center. The exhibit is free and may be viewed during regular library hours. For more information, call 281-3412677.
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Fort Bend Independent, (USPS 025-572) is published every Wednesday (for a subscription rate of $20 per year) by Fort Bend Independent, LLC., 10701 Corporate Dr., #282, Stafford, Texas 77477. Periodicals Postage Paid at Stafford, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Fort Bend Independent, P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, Tx 77487.