VOL 7 No. 49
Phone: 281-980-6745
email: editor@fbindependent.com
www.fbindependent.com
FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2014
P.O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County, Missouri City & Sugar Land
exhibit of Fortopens Bend at Fort Bend Cares annual ‘Road Trip’ Crystals of IndiaBirds HMNS at Sugar Land Dec. 12
Seated: Brittney Bailey with Fairmount Santrol (Diamond Sponsor), Paula Foulk with The PUB at the Fountains (Diamond Sponsor), Bruce Gingrich with Spectra Specialty (Presenting Sponsor). On bicycle: Greg Haralson with Memorial Hermann Sugar Land (Presenting Sponsor). Missing from photo: Grant Thornton LLP (Diamond Sponsor). Photo credit: Furman-Perry Fort Bend Cares proudly announces Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital and Spectra Specialty as presenting sponsors for its February 7, 2015 annual Road Trip fundraiser. Joining them as diamond sponsors for the event are Grant Thornton LLP, The PUB at the Fountains, and Fairmount Santrol. This year, Fluor will be transformed into the French Coun-
tryside where guests will enjoy a variety of food items from local restaurants, music, casino games, a wine pull, silent and live auctions, and some French inspired entertainment that’s sure to elicit some oh là là’s! Sponsorships are available from $1,000 to $15,000. Individual tickets are $75.00 and, new this year, young professionals aged 35 and under can purchase a ticket for $50.00.
For more information or to become a sponsor, call 832819-2005, email angie@fortbendcares.org, or visit www. fortbendcares.org. Fort Bend Cares, a charitable foundation, has raised over $1.2 million dollars over the last 10 years to support nonprofit organizations that serve disadvantaged children and youth in Fort Bend County.
Splashes of color add an element of playfulness to the natural setting of Riverstone’s Big Adventure Park
Discover the Crystals of India at the Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land, on exhibit from Dec. 12, 2014 – May 5, 2015. Originating from India’s Deccan Plateau, a large geologic formation that comprises most of the southern part of the country, the exhibition features a never-before-seen collection of almost 50 of the most beautiful and most perfectly formed natural mineral crystals ever found anywhere in the world. The beds of basalt rock, within which these crystals were formed and found, were created by massive lava flows from enormous volcanic eruptions that occurred more than 65 million years ago. Some paleontologists speculate that these massive volcanic eruptions may have even accelerated the extinction of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period. For this exclusive engagement, the temporary exhibition hall at the HMNS at Sugar Land will be transformed into a jewel box that will highlight these exquisite mineral masterpieces in a setting more befitting an installation of the crown jewels—made complete with dramatic lighting and custom display cases.
The pieces on display in Crystals of India represent the “best of the best” and were high-graded from a collection that has been painstakingly assembled over the last several decades. These beautifully crystallized, natural mineral specimens (fittingly dubbed “The Flowers of the Mineral Kingdom”) were carefully excavated from quarries throughout India over the last half century. It is safe to say that tens of thousands of quarry workers blasted apart—and picked through—billions of tons of rock, by hand, in order to pre-
A playful space designed to spark the spirit of discovery in its young visitors, the newly opened Big Adventure Park in Riverstone stays true to its nature theme in more ways than one. Built along a nearly 2-acre area of The Club at Riverstone, Big Adventure Park is a shady expanse of colorful pathways, imaginative play structures and wooden benches. The benches, however, are unlike typical playground seating areas. Instead, they were carved from trees that had to be removed to build the park. “We kept as many trees as possible, but there were several that were in poor condition due to the drought,” said Meade Mitchell, principal for
landscape architect firm TBG Partners. “There were two old-growth trees that we particularly wanted to keep, but they were on the perimeter of the playground and were in the worst condition of the remaining large trees. It was questionable if they would survive.” The pecan trees — one of which had a 42-inch diameter and was estimated to be more than 80 years old — were cut into six-foot lengths and stored on-site by the contractor to be reused as benches and stools for the park. Crews with park contractor D. L. Meacham cut out any diseased areas of the trees and then used chainsaws and simple wood tools to give the benches
a natural, rather than milled, look. The seats were then sanded smooth for comfort. A natural stain is being used to seal the benches and stools, doubling their longevity. “We created four different patterns for the benches and then the contractor made them even more unique,” Mitchell said. “One tree was so large that we were able to carve out seating on both sides to give parents a 360-degree view of the park’s toddler area.” Ten benches and stools have been placed within Big Adventure Park while remaining segments will be used in other areas of The Club at Riverstone. Mitchell says See PARK, Page 4
The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office and partners in the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) concluded special operations this month that led to the arrest of nine suspects. The objective of the operation was two-fold. One component was to identify and arrest individuals engaging in the solicitation or online sexual exploitation of children through social media sites. The second objective was a focus on subjects who are involved in the possession and promotion of child pornography in and around Fort Bend County. Besides the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office, other agencies included the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office, Sugar Land Police Department, Rosenberg PD, the FBI, Missouri City and the Harris County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office. Task force agents engaged in communications with suspects using social media websites that are accessible to adults as well as children. Through communi-
cation with suspects online, officers were able to direct suspects attempting to engage in sexual contact with children to another location where officers were waiting and made arrests in three cases. A fourth case involved a chase that started in Rosenberg and concluded on the outskirts of Richmond on U.S. 90A. In the second component of the operation, agents used filesharing clients to identify persons participating in the possession or promotion of child pornography on the Internet. The four men facing charges of Attempted Sexual Assault of a Child and Online Solicitation of a Minor and their bond amounts include: Joshua Nelson, 28, from Rosenberg, $35,000; Dustin Sabatini, 26, of the Sugar Land area, $35,000; James Paul Goates, 46, of Rosenberg, $30,000; and Abdallah Darawsha, 26, of Houston, $60,000. Darawsha also has been charged with Evading in a Vehicle. Facing charges of Possession or Promotion of Child Pornography, a Third Degree Felony
for possession and a Second Degree Felony for promotion of Child Pornography and their bond amounts are: Peter Huang, 49, of Houston, $60,000 ; Stevan Solis, 49, Houston, $80,000; Adalberto Torres, 36, Houston, $20,000; Guadalupe Quezeda, 54, Richmond, $15,000; and Timothy Rodriguez, 24, Richmond, $40,000 . Solis, Goates, Torres, Quezeda, Darawsha and Huang have bailed out. The rest remain in the Fort Bend County Jail. These cases follow up on a similar case in October when a teenage girl made an outcry to her mother that she had been contacted through social media and was assaulted during the summer. The girl’s mother contacted the Sheriff’s Office and deputies assumed the child’s identity online. A meeting with the suspect was arranged and that led to the arrest of Christopher Nichols, 41, of Houston. Nichols had a $240,000 bond and he has bailed out of the Fort Bend County Jail.
serve these breathtaking mineral treasures for our visitors to enjoy. Crystals of India is organized by the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Local support is provided by the City of Sugar Land, and Sudha Chittaluru, M.D (Internal Medicine) - First Colony Primary Care. Tickets for Crystals of India are now on sale and may be purchased online. For more information, visit the museum’s web site at www.hmns.org or call (713) 639-4629.
Riverstone builds environmentally sensitive new adventure park
Nine held on child pornography charges