VOL 7 No. 47
Phone: 281-980-6745
email: editor@fbindependent.com
www.fbindependent.com
FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014
P.O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County, Missouri City & Sugar Land
The Best in the West returns
County Commissioner James Patterson conducts the auction in 2013 event. Christmas will come early to one lucky raffle ticket-holder. The Arc of Fort Bend County’s “Best in the West” 37th annual fundraiser will be raffling off a Club Car Utility Vehicle as part of their iconic evening. In fact, the sportsmen’s carryall, is just one of many luxury items that will raise monies for the nonprofit. “New this year is a week long trip to Costa Rica with a Pacific Ocean room view,” says Co-Chairperson, Jo Ann Stevens. But she is quick to add; “Returning is the ever popular King Ranch hunt, between our silent and live auctions we have
something for everyone.” Bring your shopping list and mark your calendar for Saturday, November 22, 2014 at 6 p.m at the George Ranch arena. Your ticket will include a BBQ dinner provided by the Swinging Door, the all time favorite musical hits by The Triumphs and the professional yet humorous auctioneering efforts of Co-chairman, Commissioner James Patterson. The evening benefits the Arc of Fort Bend County, a privately funded, non-profit organization that assists individuals with intellectual and related de-
velopmental disabilities. “With funding and finances being limited, families depend on the services and opportunities the Arc provides,” says longtime supporter Rick Cushenberry. Educational, housing, and referral services are just a few of the programs provided by the Arc of Fort Bend County. The Best in the West is being made possible by the generosity and underwriting of Prosperity Bank. Be part of this grand event that benefits great people! For ticket or table information visit http://www.arcoffortbend. org.
By BARBARA FULENWIDER An explosion and fire that occurred at American Materials on U.S. 90A in Missouri City left two workers at the company injured. One was critically hurt and taken by Life Flight to Memorial-Hermann Hospital in the medical center. The other injured man went to the same hospital in an ambulance. Neither has been identified. Missouri City Fire Chief Russell Sander said the cause of the explosion has not yet been determined but should be by the end of this week. Workers were transferring a material used in the manufacturing of asphalt when something caused the explosion and fire, according to information provided by the Missouri City communications department. Sander said, “The area of the
fire was inside a containment wall that protected the rest of the property. The fire started around 4:30 p.m. and was put out about an hour later.” Seven fire departments responded to the fire, which sent dense, black smoke across U.S. 90A and caused the highway to be closed for about an hour. The various fire departments came from Missouri City, Stafford, Pearland, Richmond, Sugar Land, Rosenberg and Houston. Stafford Fire Chief Larry Di Camillo said when he arrived at the scene of the fire, “It looked like the end of the world. Personnel from all the fire departments there put our heads together and got it put out. All the jurisdictions were on the same page and work well together. “After we got on the scene we had the fire blacked out in eight minutes and totally out in
about 15 to 20 minutes,” said Di Camillo, who was in charge of the operation. Stafford provided a 500-gallon foam tanker truck along with Richmond and that along with three tanker trucks that carried 1,500 to 3,000 gallons of water each killed the blaze. He also said that what burned at the plant was “asphalt additives and what American Materials considers road oil, which is extremely flammable.” Di Camillo said, “My last units cleared the scene at 7 p.m. Missouri City stayed until 9 or 9:30 p.m. to watch all issues because the temperatures on the tanks were elevated. They just wanted to take an abundance of safety measures.” Stafford had nine firemen fighting the fire, Missouri City had 14 and Houston, 28, Sander said. Houston brought a full alarm assignment, which in-
Two hurt in explosion in Missouri City
Colony Meadows Elementary ranks first in Texas Math Contest
CME Math Team (from left to right: Tonito Morales, Andrew Cai, Ashmit Bhatnagar, Mark Wang, Kishlaya Rastogi, Sreeja Thipireddy, Akaash Kolluri, Pratyushram Jayaramakrishna, Aditya Janan, Sidharth Rajesh, Poorva Phatak, Sriram Padmanabhan) The Colony Meadows (CME) math team competed in Texas Math and Science Coaches Association (TMSCA) Math Contest at Klein Collin on November 1, 2014. The CME team won the overall FIRST PLACE Sweepstakes and the TOP GUN Best Individual Award. Four TMSCA tests were included, consisting of Number Sense (mental math), Calculator, Mathematics, and Science. In addition to winning the overall sweepstakes, the team also ranked #1 in Number Sense, General Math, and Science. The following students ranked top five in at least one of the four subjects: Andrew Cai, Ashmit Bhatnagar, Mark Wang, Pratyushram Jayaramakrishna, Sidharth Rajesh, Sreeja Thipireddy, and Sriram Padmanabhan. Andrew Cai also received the TOP GUN Best Individual award.
FBISD Academies survive
By SESHADRI KUMAR A proposal to eliminate the academies in Fort Bend ISD has been withdrawn by the administration. About 700 people who gathered at a community meeting convened to discuss the proposal on Thursday received the announcement with a rupturous applause. The agitated audience, prepared for a long and hard fight to save the academies, greeted the news with awe. Academies are personalized, small learning communities that function within a larger high school with a mixture of career and academic classes offered to students, according to FBISD. Students attending academies generally take more advanced courses in their areas of specialization and have the opportunity to earn college credit. High school academies are in digital media, global studies, math and science, international business & marketing, engineering and health sciences. FBISD President Grayle James opened the meeting. “We believe strongly in community feedback. We ask the administration to get the comcludes three engines, two ladder trucks and several support units. Sugar Land brought the Hazmat truck. During the fire, some students at Missouri City Middle School were told to shelter in place and did for less than half an hour. Houston fire responders had air monitoring equipment and found no hazards so the students were allowed to leave. Even though the closest fire hydrant in the vacinity of American Materials was 3,000 feet away, Sander said that once the tanker trucks of water arrived there was no issue with water. “We had at least three tanker trucks there – one each from Pearland, Stafford and Rosenberg.” Asphalt is a hydrocarbon mixture that is heated until it has the same consistency as tar. The hydrocarbon material used to make asphalt is waste material that results from the manufacture of gasoline, kerosene and diesel fuels.
munity input while giving direction. We are listening to your feedback...You make thoughtful and thought-provoking question,” James said. Superintendent Charles Dupre said: “We care deeply about what you are going to say. That is the hallmark of FBISD over the last 18 months. “I have pulled back the recommendation (to phase out the academies). You have qualitative and quantitative data. We have both to justify changing the decision,” Dupre said. “It is abundantly clear how strongly the community feels. We could have thought more deeply. “We will introduce career pathways in every school which will be of high quality and feel like academies. We don’t have those in place today. Taking something away without something to replace it. Strong, robust academies and career pathways can coexist,” Dupre said. Some also felt the unique academy programs could not be fully replicated by other academic programs. While phasing out of academies is off the table, some more challenging issues remain, he said. In a prepared statement, Dupre said “The Fort Bend ISD leadership has been working hard to create a culture of transparency, community collaboration, and trust,” said Dupre. “Our discussions following this week’s community dialogue meetings have shown there is strong support for academies – as well as rigorous coursework for all students. It is now clear to me that the District has a place for both.” The District initially recommended phasing out the Digital Media, Engineering, Global Studies, International Business and Marketing, and Math and Science Academies over the next three years as it moves forward with the implementation of House Bill 5 and the expansion of course offerings throughout the District. The administration recommended phasing out the academies and providing career pathways currently offered at academies at all 11 campuses – something Dupre said the Dis-
trict still intends to do. Dupre said he will not again recommend the elimination of academies. “From the start, the District has been committed to meeting the needs of all students to reach their full potential. We are still committed to creating broad choices and opportunities for all of our students – regardless of which campus they attend,” said Dupre. “There is still much work to be done. We believe our current academies can be improved with minor changes to enhance their existing quality. Moving forward, we will continue to seek and rely on community input as we work to best serve the needs of all students,” said Dupre. A majority of the board of trustees was keen on disbanding the academies. The issue figured in the May school board election as well. At a candidates forum hosted by the Fort Bend County Tea party and Sugar Land Tea Party, the panel asked the candidates to justify the continuation of special academies that benefit a few, select students and cost a few million of dollars. What does one get out of these courses, the candidates were asked. The suggestion was that academies were a drain on taxpayers and not a wise expenditure of tax dollars. The academies have also been considered a hindrance to the clean feeder patterns and boundaries. For example, a section of Clements High School parents have been demanding the removal of the Global Studies Academy because students not zoned to Clements have joined the Academy as a back door entry. Academy students also affected the ranking of other students in the campus, according to critics. In the last election, Trustee K.P. George advocated the continuance of academies, while Trustee Jason Burdine opposed the academies. Trustee Kristin Tassin last week leaned towards phasing out of academies after ascertaining that the proposed career pathways will be as “rigorous” as the academies.