VOL 3 No. 39
Phone: 281-980-6745
www.fbindependent.com ww .fbindependent.com
FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2010
P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County & Sugar Land
Olson faces opponent who wants to impeach Obama
Wonton Bowl
Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Prior to joining the Chamber, Schmidt worked with a national bank for over 16 years as senior executive managing branch operations. Schmidt says, “I am honored, and truly excited to serve as the President of the Fort Bend Chamber. I look forward to working together with the community partners and cities to create value for our membership and our community.”
Schmidt Fort Bend Chairman Bridget Yeung officially announced that Keri Curtis Schmidt was unanimously approved by the Board of Directors today to assume the role of President of the Fort Bend Chamber. As one of Fort Bend County’s esteemed community leaders, Louis Garvin will retain the role and title of Chief Executive Officer with the 1,000 member chamber and continue to serve
e
pe s cia l! !
In a report “Texas schools get STAAR in place of TAKS,” published last week, for the question ‘In which container is the substance unable to transfer heat by convention?’ the answer given was air. But, alert readers said the correct answer is aluminium. FBISD Chief Communication Officer Mary Ann Simpson said: “In checking with our Curriculum Department staff that provided the questions and answers for the presentation, they have verified that they indeed did make a clerical error regarding that particular question. The correct answer is “aluminum.” We certainly regret the error and appreciate your reader bringing this to our attention.” The reader responded: “I would hate to have any of the FBISD students miss the question on the TAKS test based on the incorrect answer provided by the FBISD superintendent. This is somewhat similar to the incident years ago when then presidential candidate Dan Quayle read from a card handed to him at a school that the correct spelling of potato was “potatoe.” In this case however, Dr. Jenney committed the error and apparently no one in the audience realized the error nor did your newspaper before publishing the error as fact. Also, unless you have received a large number of emails from other readers it suggests that either there are not very many careful readers of your paper or that they are not very knowledgeable about physical principles. The state of Texas has determined that the answer to this question is part of the basic knowledge our school children are supposed to know to be able to graduate. If that is true then there are apparently a large number of our civic leaders who need remedial work on their basic scientific knowledge. It seems to me that this merits some space in your newspaper.”
The repeal of the Glass– Steagall Act of 1933 effectively removed the separation that previously existed between Wall Street investment banks and depository banks and has been blamed by some for exacerbating the damage caused by the collapse of the subprime mortgage market that led to the Financial crisis of 2007–2010. Both Republicans and Democrats have nothing to campaign on unless they pass the Glass-Steagall Act, she says. “My campaign will put space and scientific development back at the top of our nation’s list of priorities. A fullyfunded NASA energized by a
the Fort Bend business community. Yeung said that Keri Schmidt, who has more than ten years of experience with the Chamber and currently holds the title of Vice President, is well qualified for the job. Keri has directed several of the successful signature programs for the Chamber. She is a recent graduate of the United States Chamber of Commerce Institute of Organizational Management at
om
The wrong answer
Election 2010
Rogers serious manned Moon/Mars colonization project could spearhead a real economic recovery,” Rogers says. How do Democrats in her district react to her candidacy? “It is split,” Rogers says. There are a lot of Democrats who understand her position and would support her, she says. Similarly, she hopes to lure some independents as well who share her anti-Obama sentiments. Rogers believes the country needs a real “leadership.” People should stop thinking about elections as the selection of a “Prom King” or Prom Queen. It is crucial to under stand the issues, Rogers says. It is not a fight between the See POLL, Page 4
Fort Bend Chamber names new president
rS
announced by the district in March this year as a way to cut district costs and help eliminate an estimated $18 to $20 million deficit. Ben Copeland, chief auxiliary services officer, told trustees last March that changes to the district’s bus transportation service could save $2.2 million. He told the board then that increasing the number of students per bus run to 50 for high school and middle school students and 60 per run for elementary students would help reduce costs because overall bus route mileage would decrease while the distance students walk to a bus stop would increase. What that meant to the district is buses would make fewer stops to pick up and drop off students. Secondary students might have to walk up to a half mile and elementary students See BUS, Page 2
me
you will be stopped and asked to stay inside. In some cases they won’t let you leave the store during a bad storm. “I ask that FBISD take a proactive approach regarding the safety of our children,” Sitzman said. “Cluster bus stop are not a cut in transportation. They are really a cut in the safety of our children. I have three bullet points you need to remember: don’t bite the hands that feed you; you are cutting safety not transportation; a proactive approach is cheaper than a reactive one.” She also challenged board members to take the same 11-minute walk she said her daughter took that evening in a 101 degree heat index and carrying a backpack that was 16 percent of her total body weight with no significant food or drink since 10:50 a.m. Cluster bus stops were first
Olson
10701 Corporate Drive, #282, Stafford, TX 77477 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, TX 77487 Seshadri Kumar Publisher & Editor
www.fbindependent.com 281-980-6745
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.
!! se rry Hu hine ul a ll C - P Ca oy wb Co
By BARBARA FULENWIDER The new cluster bus stops Fort Bend ISD instituted this year in an effort to cut costs were opposed by some parents who spoke to board members at their Sept. 13 meeting. Sherri Sitzman was the first parent at the microphone and told board members that she has two children attending district schools and has voted for every single bond referendum. Then she went on to say that she doesn’t like the new cluster bus stops because she believes they jeopardize her children’s safety and put an unfair burden on students who have to walk as much as a half mile sometimes in inclement weather while lugging heavy backpacks. Sitzman said she’s “afraid for my child’s personal safety. We do not live in a society that allows children such freedom. Please do not pretend we do so your budget will balance. We value safety and we don’t mind paying for it.” What truly riled Sitzman up occurred on Aug. 24 when her daughter and eight other middle school students were dropped off at a bus stop in a rainy, windy storm. “We were under a severe thunderstorm warning and she was a half mile from her home in heavy winds, rain and lightning.” She said her son walked to the bus stop to help his sister and a helping parent insisted he get out of the storm and into his car while they waited for the bus to arrive because the parent “was afraid my son would be struck by lightning.” She said her daughter told her how scared she was to get off the bus and that later that evening she “noticed two trees had come down near the bus stop. If weather is very bad and you are at Wal-Mart
Ne m wH
Parents say “cluster bus stops” unsafe
Su
Created in 2006 at the Langham Place Street Art Festival in Hong Kong, Tracy Lee Stum’s “Big Bowl of Wontons” invited visitors to grab a pair of chopsticks and dig in. Amazingly, the work took only seven hours to complete. Stum will again invite audience members to become part of the 3-D illusion when she creates chalk art in a multi-million-dollar estate home by Sterling Classic Homes in Riverstone Oct. 6-8. The artwork will continue to be available for viewing Oct. 9-17. Tickets for both time periods are $5 each, with proceeds benefiting various charities. Realtors can see the artwork and tour the home compliments of Riverstone Oct. 13. All visitors will have the opportunity to interact with the artwork by posing with the finished piece and becoming part of the 3-D illusion. The Grand Soiree spotlights Houston and Fort Bend’s finest in 10 events hosted from Sept. 25 through Oct. 27. Activities include champagne bus tours to the Houston Design Center’s fall market, The International Risotto Festival at the Houston Design Center, an art gallery exhibit in Riverstone showcasing the work of Kathy Womack, a Women and Wine art dinner with Kathy Womack at Aura restaurant, a Fire & Ice jewelry dinner at Post Oak Grill in Sugar Land, and Mix It Up at the M Lounge, a bartender’s challenge. Ticket prices to the individual Grand Soiree events, sponsored by Johnson Development’s Riverstone and Sienna Plantation, vary. For more information, visit www.TheGrandSoiree.com.
By SESHADRI KUMAR She is a Democrat on the Nov. 2 ballot for Texas Dist. 22 Congressional seat and she wants to impeach President Barack Obama. She won the Democratic Party’s nomination with 53 percent of the votes in the party primary last March, but the state party disowned her. That is Kesha Rogers, a supporter of Lyndon La Rouche. So much so, the Texas Democratic Party has “Resolved, that the Texas Democratic Party will have no relationship with the campaign of any person identifying him or herself as aligned with the LaRouche Movement or Lyndon LaRouche.” Rogers is not deterred in her campaign to wrest the seat from the incumbent Republican Pete Olson. How does Rogers differ from the conventional Democrats? She claims to be a Democrat in the tradition of Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. She is opposed to the bail out of Wall Street and a staunch proponent of the Glass–Steagall Act, the Banking Act of 1933, a law that established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and introduced banking reforms, some of which were designed to control speculation.