VOL 4 No. 26
Phone: 281-980-6745
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FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2011
P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County, Missouri City & Sugar Land
Recount confirms one-vote victory for Mitchell
SUGAR LAND HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Summer Volunteer Work Days. The summer is off to a busy start for the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation. Dozens of SLHF volunteers have gotten a rare opportunity to work behind-the-scenes at the Imperial Redevelopment site. The Foundation is collecting historic bricks and other architectural remnants from the demolition zone and preserving them for future use in their planned museum facility at Imperial. In addition to outdoor work, volunteers have also had a chance to see some of Sugar Land’s most interesting historical artifacts and documents. These items, many of which were retrieved from buildings at the refinery site prior to demolition, are being organized and catalogued so that they can be exhibited at the future Sugar Land Heritage Museum. The Sugar Land Heritage Foundation’s next Volunteer Work Day is scheduled for Saturday, July 16th from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. For additional information or to sign up, please email Eleanor Barton at ebarton@ slheritage.org or call 281-494-0261. To learn more about the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation, visit www.slheritage.org. Above, volunteers take a well-deserved break after rummaging through debris piles. (Photo by Randy Kozlovsky)
Christmas in July Sale
Mitchell An official recount of the Sugar Land City Council District 3 runoff election on June 11 confirmed Amy Mitchell’s victory over Howard Paul by a vote of 791-790. Mayor James Thompson appointed a Recount Committee comprised of Sugar Land residents Mary Von Tungeln, Kathy Huebner, Steve Porter, Joe Zimmerman and Stephen Ip to conduct a manual count by hand of the printed ballot images. The recount was completed on June 22 at the Fort Bend County Election Administration Office in Rosenberg. Mitchell will be sworn into office on June 28 at Sugar Land City Hall.
July 4th will be blast of fun, fireworks
Lisa Galloway, left, Resale Shop volunteer; Kirk Johnson, Resale Shop employee; Vickie Coates, Exec. Director-EFBHNM; Pat Chandler, Shay Horton, Sonny Butts and LaJeanne Butts, Resale Shop employees. Experience the spirit of the holiday season at the “Christmas in July” sale at Tri-City Churches Resale Shop on Saturday, July 9 from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. TriCity Churches Resale Shop, at 425 Stafford Run Road in Stafford, is overflowing with beautiful Christmas merchandise and decorations, both new and gently used, so they have decided to hold a special “Christmas in July” clearance sale to help raise funds for East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry, Inc. Tri-City Churches Resale Shop has been a mainstay in the community for over 35 years, and for the past 20 years the Resale Shop has been the primary source of financial support for East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry. All of the proceeds from the Resale Shop are used to fund the programs and services provided by the Ministry, such as the food pantry, financial assistance program and back to school supplies.
State Rep. Reynolds defaults on payment of fines By SESHADRI KUMAR State Rep. Ron Reynolds, (Dist. 27-D) of Missouri City owed more than $10,000 to the Texas Ethics Commission in fines for failing to file the required financial disclosure reports required of candidates for public office and officeholders. The Texas Attorney General’s Office took Reynolds to court to collect the fines, and the lawmaker now owes the AG $2,500, plus interest, and court costs, the investigation
shows, according to a report aired by KXAN TV, an NBC affiliate in Austin. The outstanding debt has prompted the Texas Comptroller’s Office to issue what’s called a “warrant hold” on Reynolds, which effectively means the state is garnishing the expense reimbursement checks related to his service as a lawmaker. Since March, the state has been able to recover only $2,151.40, the report said. Reynolds, an attorney and a
former municipal judge, also failed to submit his annual Personal Financial Statement to the Texas Ethics Commission. Since Reynolds first ran for office in 2008, he’s missed numerous financial disclosure deadlines, KXAN’s investigation showed. He failed to submit his Personal Financial Statement for 2008, 2010 and 2011. Failure to file a Personal Financial See FINES, PAGE 3
Despite drought conditions in the area, Missouri City’s 27th annual Fourth of July Celebration at Buffalo Run Park, will be a blast of fun and fireworks. The event will take place on Monday, July 4 at 1122 Buffalo Run Blvd., from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. In addition to a fireworks extravaganza that will explode into a spray of amazing colors over the park’s lakes, free entertainment will include Laser Tag, video games, Bounce Houses, a Rock Wall and other activities. For more information, please call 281-403-8637. Although the City display will go on, residents are advised that Fort Bend County has placed a ban on the sale or use of fireworks. The City of Sugar Land’s 26th annual Red White and Bluefest will set the skies ablaze over Oyster Creek Park on Monday, July 4, from 5-10 p.m. Celebrate America’s 235th birthday with family, friends and fellow residents while enjoying new main stage performances, delicious county fair-type goodies and numerous children’s activities. Celebrate America’s independence with the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra during a free, indoor concert at the Stafford Centre on Monday, July 4 beginning at 7 p.m. Freedom Rings is sponsored by the City of Stafford and the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra in association with Impact a Hero. For more information, please visit www.fbso.org or www.staffordcentre.org
Commuter rail study pushed out
Union Pacific wants to double the track By BARBARA FULENWIDER For years now the fear of Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) laying a second track along U.S. 90A through Fort Bend County has loomed large in the east end where most of the population lives and freight rail has increased exponentially in recent years. A second track, and up to as many as five more tracks, could go on UPRR’s 100 feet of right of way and would increase freight rail on that vehicle/rail corridor to the maximum. A U.S. 90A commuter rail route built in the 100-foot right of way UPRR has along that corridor has been in the talking/ analysis/planning stage for some years but is now off the table. Rail traffic brings vehicle congestion, noise and safety issues to the area, even with quiet zones, because train engines pulling multiple cars piled high with containers rumble loudly. With Port of Houston authorities tied closely to Panama Canal authorities, freight port traffic and then rail traffic out of Houston will increase substantially thanks to the widening of the canal to accommodate the largest of container ships. As of June 2011 Gulf Rail Coast District board members approved a resolution to use $2 million in federal funding for a Hempstead (Hwy. 290) commuter rail feasibility analysis, a Union Pacific Railroad capacity analysis, a Galveston commuter rail feasibility analysis, Palestine-Navasota preliminary engineering and nothing for commuter rail in Fort Bend. Stafford Mayor Leonard Scarcella and Missouri City Mayor Allen Owen have been at the forefront of trying to get commuter rail to their towns for nearly a decade. Sugar Land has come on board more recently but Fort Bend County Judge Bob Hebert supports a bypass route. The mayors’ best bet on getting commuter rail for Fort Bend was the Gulf Coast Rail District (GCRD), which was created in 2007 by Harris County, the City of Houston and Fort Bend County by authority of the Texas transportation code. A board of 12 directors appointed by various entities govern the district. While the mission of the Gulf Coast Rail District is “safety and security, particularly safety at grade crossings and homeland security; mobility and access for vehicles, pedestrians and trains, including commuter rail, and quality of life, air quality improvements, noise reduction, natural hazard mitigation and other neighborhood enhancements where trains travel,” so far, Fort Bend County has been left out when it comes to commuter rail. Last week, Scarcella said, “Union Pacific began pursuing information about double tracking through Stafford. On Friday their civil engineer called our public works department about getting a permit and drainage requirements for a section from FM 1092 to Kirkwood Road.” Scarcella described UP’s throwing down this gauntlet as “a declaration of war.” He said U.S. 90A is off the rail district’s plans because UP wants to preserve it as their freight corridor, which runs from Florida to California. “This is the only viable route they have. Right now they are using 12 feet of their 100foot right of way so they can put in up to five more tracks if they want to. “They not only don’t want a commuter rail line in that right of way they don’t want it even adjacent to their right of way,” Scarcella said. “This route is UP’s money maker and Stafford is smack dab in the middle of it from San Antonio to Beaumont, not to mention all the way to California from Florida.” As for the bypass that would cost an estimated $1 billion to build and add 21 extra miles to UP’s route, Scarcella said UP “has not only said no to it, they’ve said hell no.” He also said UP has no intentions to negotiate. “The bottom line,” Scarcella said, “is there have been evaluation, analysis and studies. The simple fact is it will take some cooperation from UP and they see no benefits, advantages and have no desire whatsoever to cooperate to provide commuter or passenger rail in or around 90A, period.”
10701 Corporate Drive, #282, Stafford, TX 77477 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, TX 77487 Seshadri Kumar Publisher & Editor
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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.
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