April 23RD - April 27th, 2014
SugarLandWineandFoodAffair.com VOL 7 No. 11
email: editor@ĩindependent.com
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FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014
P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County, Missouri City & Sugar Land
Incumbents get nomination in local primary races By SESHADRI KUMAR In the March 4 local party primary elections, all the incumbents retained their seats. In the Republican Party primary for County court-at-law no.1, an open seat, Chris Morales won without a runoff. In the statewide races, David Dewhurst and Dan Patrick are in the runoff for Lt. Governor. Sen. Glen Hegar has won the Republican nomination for the Texas Comptroller of Accounts. David Newell of Missouri City, a former Fort Bend County Assistant District Attorney, now Harris County Assistant DA, won the Republican Party nomination for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9. David Bradley, incumbent member of the State Board of Education, Dist.7 won. In county races, incumbent 268th district judge Brady Elliott won the Republican Party nomination, defeating Roxie Roll. Elliott received 17,753 votes and Roll 5,495 votes. In the District Attorney
race, incumbent John Healey won with 71.83 percent of the votes. His opponent ,Dawn Zell Wright got 28.17 percent. Healey got 17,581 votes against Wright’s 6,895. In the County court-at-law no. 1 race, Chris Morales had a straight victory with 12,110 votes, (51.53 percent) , while Rick Forlano received 6,085 votes (25.89 percent) and Maggie Jaramillo 5,304 (22.57 percent). Incumbent County court-atlaw no. 4 judge Sandy Bielstein retained the party’s nomination with 14,277 votes (59.59 percent), while his challenger Warren Diepraam got 9,683 votes (40.41 percent.) Incumbent District Clerk Annie Rebecca Elliott won with 14,183 (62.55 percent) votes against challenger Candace Cagle, who got 8,490 votes (37.45 percent). In Justice of the Peace Pct. 1, Place 2 race incumbent Mary Ward won. She got 4,136 votes (62.15 percent), while her opponent Billy Guerrero received
2,519 votes (37.85 percent.) In the contested precinct chair races, in Pct. 1076 Karen Vannerson won with 195 votes against the incumbent, write-in candidate Chris Bounds, who got 80 votes. In Pct. 1085 Brenna Wright won with 80 votes against Sam Rodriguez who got 72 votes. In Pct. 4046 Howard Paul won with 199 votes against Bruce Bond who got 148 votes. In Pct. 4124, Danielle Settles with 105 votes defeated Travis Jowell, who got 82 votes. In the Democratic Party primary, in Pct. 2 JP race, incumbent Joel Clouser retained his seat. He got 1,981 votes against the challenger Tanisha Green’s 1,736 votes. Former Fort Bend County Democratic Party Chairman Steve Brown won the party’s nomination for Texas Railroad Commissioner. Donlad Bankston was elected chairman of the Fort Bend County Democratic Party in the March 4 primary.
Fairy tales featured in FBSO concert
Fort Bend Symphony musicians Amanda Thompson Reilly, English horn; Gloribelle Kelly, violinist reading fairy tale book; and David Flores, trombone; are ready for Once Upon a Time, a musical representation of some of the most beloved fairy tales, on Saturday, March 29 at 7 p.m. at B.F. Terry High School in Rosenberg. The Fort Bend Symphony Waltz by Pyotr Ilyich Tchai- The Story of a Darning Needle, Orchestra will present a magi- kovsky, Billy the Kid by Aaron Dance of the Twelve Princesses cal musical representation of Copland, Paul Bunyan Suite by and The Ride of Koschei the some of the most beloved fairy William Bergsma and selec- Deathless, which features a tales when it takes the stage for tions from Frederick Loewe’s character from Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird. Once Upon a Time on Saturday, Camelot. General admission tickets to FBSO will also perform March 29 at 7 p.m. at B.F. Terry High School’s Graeber Audito- Once Upon a Time: 5 Fairy this concert are $10 each and rium in Rosenberg. The concert Tales for Orchestra, by Bernard are available at fbso.org, by is under the direction of associ- Rogers, which delightfully il- calling 281.276.9642 or at the ate conductor Dr. Dominique lustrates some of the classic An- door. Children 12 and under drew Land and Brothers Grimm are free when accompanied by Røyem. Concertgoers will fall into fairy tales. Among the featured an adult and need a ticket. B.F. a fairy tale state of mind when selections are The Tinder-Box Terry HS is at 5500 Avenue N in they hear Sleeping Beauty Soldier, The Song of Rapunzel, Rosenberg.
SUMMER MUSICAL THEATRE CAMPS. Does your child want to be a movie star when they grow up? Then take steps in that direction by enrolling them at Award-Winning Fort Bend Theatre for their Summer Musical Theatre Camps, where your child can become a competitive edge star by receiving acting, voice, and dance training at a theatre that has a legacy of training actors who have become professional movie, commercial, and even Disney Stars! Each camp is one week long and works toward putting on a musical showcase on the last day of class for friends and family.. Registration is now open to FBT members, and will open to non-members beginning April 15. You can become a FBT member and gain access to early registration for as little as a $25 tax-deductible donation at www.fortbendtheatre.com. To register your child call (281) 208-3333.
FBISD hosts community meetings for new schools, major renovations A planning team of the Fort Bend ISD including several community members, has developed recommendations as a part of the district’s new Facilities Master Plan. Some far-raching, long-term proposals involve building several new schools, renovate older schools, additions to the existing campus and redrawing boundaries for some schools. One of the proposals suggests two elementary schools in one campus, with one common administrative building. In preparing the recommendations, the team studied the district’s enrollment, growth patterns, future residential development, building capacities, and the condition of each school building. It also considered community input. In developing the Facilities Master Plan, the district commissioned Jacobs Engineering to assess the condition of all district facilities. Based on their assessment, the plan will identify major maintenance items to be addressed at all campuses during the coming years. This list of items could include preventative maintenance work or the replacement of major operational systems. Examples include, but are not limited to, roofing, mechanical, plumbing, paint, car-
pet, and ceiling tiles. The recommendations will be presented to the Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees for approval in April. Once a plan has been approved by the Board of Trustees, the recommendations will be enacted during the coming years. Before the Board of Trustees considers the recommendations, the district is hosting two community meetings to share this information with the community. March 18, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Austin High School Cafeteria 3434 Pheasant Creek Drive, Sugar Land, 77498 March 20, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Elkins High School Auditorium 7007 Knight’s Court, Missouri City, 77459 The key elements of the draft recommendations are: Additions at Oakland and Seguin Elementaries| New Elementary School @ Aliana (850 Prototype)| New ES on site TBD (850 Prototype) To address over-utilization among these schools, FBISD recommends a strategy combining both additions to existing schools (Oakland & Seguin) and new construction (Aliana & TBD) Build additions to Holley & Oyster Creek | Rezone Holley to New ES @ Aliana Add 12 Classrooms to Cor-
nerstone | Rezone Walker Station (West of Grand Pkwy) to Brazos Bend. In the Bowie, Crockett, Garcia, Hodges Bend, Sartartia MS area deficiency and life cycle investment is proposed. Austin, Bush, Travis area: Build Addition to Austin | Rezone Cornerstone ES to Austin HS. Moving Cornerstone Elementary into the to Austin High School feeder pattern will reduce the number of high schools fed by Sartartia Middle School from three to two. Austin High School is projected to have the need for more students with area development in and around Aliana. Deficiency and Life Cycle Investment at Barrington & Meadows ES | Replace Townewest on Site (850 Prototype) Renovations @ Austin Parkway & Commonwealth | Build 1,200 Capacity Elementary School (2 Schools of 600 Capacity with Shared Amenities) at Riverstone Site | Relieve Utilization at Commonwealth ES with Rezone to New ES @ Riverstone | Possible (TBD) relief for Colony Meadows into Commonwealth ES. Deficiency and Life Cycle Investment to Facilities | Rezone Lexington & Austin Apts to Colony Bend | Rezone See SCHOOL, Page 3