VOL 11 No. 32
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FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2018
P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County & Missouri City
Fort Bend pastors break ranks with local community, NAACP and Democrats on “Single member districts for FBISD”
Rudolph White, Hr., senior pastor at the Christian Bible Church, Missouri City and president of the Fort Bend Pastors Association, speaks at a town hall meeting on Single Member Districts for Fort Bend ISD at the church premises on Aug. 2.
Stock’s four decades of service in Sugar Land epitomizes excellence The city of Sugar Land’s longest serving employee hit 40 years of service last month. Born and raised in Sugar Land, Public Works Utilities Operator Randy Stock was 17 years old when he took a job with the city’s water division in 1978. At that time, the city consisted of a handful of neighborhoods north of U.S. Highway 59. The city’s population was just under 8,800. Stock has been part of a team that has helped ensure quality city services during a period of rapid growth. His contributions have been directed toward the city’s most precious resource -- a safe, reliable water supply. Stock helped provide seamless services during a number of annexations, including the most recent annexation of New Territory and Greatwood. The annexation increased the city’s population by more than 30 percent from 87,367 to approximately 117,000. The additions of Covington Woods, Sugar Creek, First Colony, RiverPark and Avalon also occurred on his watch. “Employees such as Randy are the reason we are continually able to keep our commitment to excellence in the delivery of public services for current residents, as well as future residents,” said City Manager Allen Bogard. “Randy is an excellent example of the many front-line employees who selflessly serve our citizens day in and day out.” Sugar Land’s most recent Citizen Satisfaction Survey showed high levels of satisfaction for services provided by employees like Stock. Even higher marks were given for contributions during disasters.
Randy Stock Saves Deer: Stock arrived at the Riverstone Water Plant early one morning and found a fawn trapped inside the plant. The mother deer was watching from a nearby levee outside the fence. The fawn ran from Randy when he got close, but he eventually caught up and carried the fawn to the other side of the fence. When he let go, the fawn ran to its mother watching from the hilltop. Stock was on the front lines during Hurricane Harvey making sure Sugar Land’s water supply remained safe. His work throughout the historic storm was a continuation of previous efforts that began with Hurricane Alicia in 1983. He also served during Hurricanes Ike and Rita, as well as Tropical Storm Allison. Following a tornado that hit First Colony Mall in 1998, he operated a backhoe to remove unstable, structural debris. During Stock’s 40-year career,
he’s seen the transformation of a sleepy bedroom community into a progressive full-service community that offers the highest levels of services. It’s a change that’s been marked by careful planning, extensive community input and selfless public service from employees like Stock. A lot has changed since he began working in Imperial Sugar’s “old John Deere Building.” According to Stock, the company allowed the city to use the building as a base for water operations. Since that time, the Public Works Department has moved into a more modern facility at U.S. Highway 90A and Gillingham Lane, a location Stock remembers was previously occupied by a barn and horses. Since those early days in 1978, Stock has seen his department grow from one water plant and expand to meet the needs of the city’s residents. The city now operates 12 groundwater plants and five elevated tanks. The addition of a state-of-the-art surface water treatment plant in 2013 was the largest capital improvement project in the history of the city at the time. A Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System was developed and implemented for groundwater facilities, enabling Stock and others to monitor and control the groundwater plants remotely. “I couldn’t be more proud of employees like Randy,” said Bogard. “He’s proof that we are consistently able to develop and retain quality employees committed to the highest levels of public service. He is among the many tenured employees who go above and beyond every day to serve our citizens.”
By SESHADRI KUMAR The campaign to establish single member districts for electing Fort Bend ISD trustees, spearheaded by the “Rise up for representation community forum,” including Democratic State Rep. Ron Reynolds, other local Democratic elected officials and civil right groups, suffered a setback last week when the Fort Bend Pastors Association, comprising predominantly ecumenical black churches, announced that the Association does not support a single member district concept for Fort Bend ISD. The association made its position public at a town hall meeting held at the Christian Bible Church on Texas Parkway in Missouri City on Aug. 2. The town meeting was advertised as a forum for presenting the pros and cons of single members districts for FBISD. Organizations like the National Association for Advancement of Colored People, Missouri City and Vicinity Branch as well as the Fort Bend County Republican Party urged their members to attend the forum. That the pastors association decided to declare its “onesided” position, instead of allowing a debate disappointed the proponents of the single member district campaign. While the pastors association strongly drove home its opposition to the single member district concept, the lack of any representation to the other view was disconcerting to many in the audience. State Rep. Ron Reynolds, was in attendance, just as Republican State Rep. Rick Miller, and FBISD trustees Kristin Tassin, Dave Rosenthal and K.P. George. George, a proponent of the single member district, left the meeting early. Reynolds said he was totally disappointed with the meeting.
He said the reason for single member districts was not “race, but accountability.” Donald Burgs, Jr., senior pastor Alief Baptist Church and board member of the pastors association, presented the board’s position. “As a stakeholder in this community, I am a representative of not only my ethnicity, but the entire community. We are in a multiethnic district and we cannot allow an issue to divide our community. We will have to set example by living in harmony and unity,” Burgs said. “What problem are we trying to solve? To bring more racial division to the school board or are we trying to have more representation based on political minority, trying to maximize the power of that political minority? Does FBISD suffer from ‘identity politics?’ he asked. In FBISD, 28 percent of student population is African American. “We are in the majority. We must operate from our strength, not our weakness. True minorities here are the Anglos. “We are asking for redistricting based on race. Majority-minority districts are not sufficient reason for racebased redistricting and it may be unconstitutional. “ What if Anglos do the same? Everybody will be screaming. Single member districts may be good for communities of minority representation. “If demographics are not right, we can have single member districts, yet minorities can’t be elected because voters are spread out. There is a change of demographics every 20 years. “The current hybrid system is adequate for meeting the racial diversity of the district. “Single members may be interested only in their district, instead of the whole district.
HISD is trying to go back to at-large positions from single member districts.” The association in a prepared fact sheet said “Single member districts can lead to divided government, pitting trustees against each other as they fight to meet the demands of voters in their respective districts.” “There is no evidence that ‘minority voters’ do not have an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice.... More importantly, a person’s skin color does not make them a good or bad trustee. We, the parents, constituents and community leaders in FBISD, should elect the best candidates to work for and support our children’s education, without regard to race or ethnicity,” the association said. In this context, White said: Black representation does not mean real representation. Don’t live in the past. Everything is not racial. We did not put the black president all by ourselves (without the White voters). Racism is there, but everything is not racial.” State Rep. Reynolds while filing a bill in the Texas Legislature in 2017, said: “Fort Bend ISD student population is 32.08 percent African American, 27.22 percent Hispanic, 21.74 percent Asian/Pacific Islander and 15.29 percent white. “Currently, there is only one African American trustee, one of Indian descent and no Hispanics. Fort Bend’s antiquated at-large system is no longer beneficial to our students and families. Fort Bend County state representatives, county commissioners, constables and city council members are all elected from single districts. Strengths of single-member districts rest in close ties between representatives and constituents, the accountability of representatives to the voters, and constituency service,” Reynolds said. See PASTORS, Page 3
Update on Sam Houston Project A unique and special history program is returning to Richmond on Tuesday, Aug. 21 when a representative of The Sam Houston Project presents a new look at the project’s monumental and ongoing search for information and artifacts related to Texas’ greatest hero. Project executive Denton Florian of Spring is making his second presentation to the Fort Bend County Historical Commission in two years, but it won’t entirely be a repeat performance of his May 2016 appearance. This time Florian will recount the journey taken by himself and others while producing his organization’s 2013 documentary film on Houston.
His program will highlight the quarterly meeting of the historical commission, which takes place beginning 3 p.m. in the main assembly room of the Gus George Law Enforcement Academy, 1521 Eugene Heimann Circle. The event is open to the public and free of charge. Florian was the executive producer of “Sam Houston: American Statesman, Soldier, and Pioneer,” which has already been awarded classic status despite its youth. The threehour production was filmed in 31 locations in four states, Florian said, and features 200 re-enactors, roughly 300 restored archival images, 35 animated maps and a dozen
original paintings. Dr. Patrick Nolan, former director of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum in Huntsville, declared that the film, the accompanying website and accumulated assets -collectively dubbed The Sam Houston Project -- represent the largest cache of digital photos, video, and information on Sam Houston yet assembled. Florian, in his presentations to groups like the historical commission, makes liberal use of this unparalleled depository. DVD copies of the documentary and of a recent biography on Houston will be available for purchase. The Sam Houston Project is a private nonprofit educational entity.