VOL 10 No. 51
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FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2017
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County & Missouri City
Sugar Land’s Box No. 1: Who owns it? Jay Neal is the Chief Operating
Officer of UH at Sugar Land
University of Houston Provost Paula Short has appointed Jay Neal Associate Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the University of Houston at Sugar Land and the University of Houston at Katy. “I am delighted to offer this position to Dr. Neal,” said Dr. Short. “I am confident he will continue to work with the University and community to advance the shared vision of UH Sugar Land and UH Katy as integral parts of the University of Houston.” The move is effective Jan. 1, 2018. “It is my great privilege to lead the faculty, students, John ‘Punt’ Helmcamp, Pat Helmcamp Boatwright, & Pam Helmcamp Clark and former Executive and staff at UH Sugar Land,” Neal said. “I look forward to Director, Dennis Parmer. continuing the great work of The Sugar Land Heritage connecting with our Fort Bend Foundation has a new mailing County community, business, address! and government leaders that The SLHF is proud to anbegan with Bob McPherson’s nounce its new ‘historic’ mailgreat vision and collaborative ing address, thanks to a generspirit.” ous donation from the W. K. and McPherson was appointed Trudy Helmcamp Family. Interim Associate Provost The Helmcamp Family has a of Academic Affairs and long history in their home town, which began almost 100 years ago when W. K. ‘Boots’ Helmcamp came to Sugar Land as a young boy. Most old timers Governor Greg Abbott apwill remember him as a leader pointed Kristin Tassin, Fort in the banking and insurance Bend ISD Board President and business. Candidate for the Texas Senate In a display of remarkable District 17, to the Continuing foresight, Boots Helmcamp Advisory Committee for SpeW. K. ‘Boots’ Helmcamp in 1955 & Trudy Helmcamp in 1961 claimed Box 1, when it was ofcial Education for a two-year fered to him as a young man in Box 1 until 2016, when they of- mailing address is: Sugar Land term. The seventeen-member 1952. Box 1 was customarily fered their historic mailing ad- Heritage Foundation, Box 1, committee provides guidance reserved for the Post Mistress, dress to the Sugar Land Heritage Sugar Land, Texas 77487. And with respect to special education she offered it to Boots, and he Foundation whish is now ready the foundation thanks Boots and and related services for children accepted. to begin using it. Trudy’s children: John, Pam, with disabilities in Texas. The Helmcamps retained According to Nancy Porter, Now the foundation’s new and Pat. retired Fort Bend ISD Chief
Jay Neal Operations in 2015, while continuing to serve as dean of the UH College of Education. He will return to that post. Neal will be charged with academic and administrative leadership of both UH Sugar Land and UH Katy. That includes outreach to community agencies, government entities, school districts and community colleges. Neal has served as the Assistant Provost of Academic Affairs and Operations at UH Sugar Land since May 2016. He also served as an associate
Tassin gets governor’s committee appointment
professor at the UH Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management where he taught for more than 15 years. UH Sugar Land became an institute of the University of Houston in fall 2016. It is home to the UH College of Nursing, as well as programs from the Colleges of Technology, Education, Social Work, and Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. In the past year, enrollment has increased from 1,645 students to 2,365 students as the academic offerings grew to 10 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs. This includes programs unique to UH Sugar Land. Additionally, groundbreaking is expected soon for a new 100,000-squarefoot facility. The University of Houston System purchased 46 acres of land in Katy in 2016 and will break ground on the facility in spring 2018. It will house programs in nursing and engineering, as well as programs from UH-Victoria.
and feedback.
See Page 3
Communications Officer, Fort Bend ISD has made significant strides in serving children with disabilities over the past few years including increasing the number of students served by more than 24 percent, implementing a co-teach model that allows more children to be educated alongside their peers, and creating a Special Education Parent Advisory Council to increase transparency and allow for more parent involvement
In the list of candidates for 2018 party primary elections, published in these columns last week, incumbent Fort Bend County District Clerk Annie Rebecca Elliott was incorrectly described as having no opponent in the 2018 general election. Beverly McGrew Walker has filed for the seat as a Democtratic Party nominee.
used for programming such as an animal shelter,” Mayor Allen Owen said. “Both residents and the City have a vested interest in seeing the continued growth and success of our animal services operations, and we look forward to our citizen partnerships growing in kind.” Owen also noted that volunteers are valued and animal populations have always been supported citywide. “When concerns regarding funding of Animal Services first came to light, my fellow Councilmembers and I discussed them at our special meeting with staff. The City has always been supportive of issues pertaining to pets and programs that contribute to animal initiatives,” Owen said. “Our conversation also focused on a current part-time employee request for the shelter and a number of other staffing requests that were made, and not approved, in the Fiscal Year 2018 budget process.” The Public Works Department, which oversees Animal Services, did
not submit a part-time position in its list of priorities. Due to limited budget resources, “there were also a number of citywide projects that were not fully funded, including public safety initiatives, fleet maintenance requests and IT infrastructure updates,” he added. “Our budget was built on City Council’s strategic visioning process that included input from all departments, a citywide survey and citizen engagement.” Snipes continued that “citizen partnerships, through City initiatives like the Municipal Volunteer Program, are essential to the overall success of operations. These strategic alliances help staff to meet its mission of providing outstanding customer service to members of our diverse community—including the City’s pet and animal populations.” He concluded that: “The City’s intent in requesting a state investigation is not punitive but an opportunity to educate both staff and volunteers for the betterment of animals throughout our community.”
Correction
Missouri City launches investigation into animal shelter activities
The city of Missouri City has launched an investigation into an incident at the animal shelter on Dec. 13. In addition to the Dec. 4 Special City Council meeting and the Dec. 13 incident at the Animal Shelter, City officials have been responding to inquiries about Animal Services operations and about the Municipal Volunteer Program. The inquiries involved the storage of prescription medications at the shelter by volunteers. Staff asked a licensed veterinarian to review the medications, and the veterinarian identified several expired medications and several alleged controlled substances, which staff turned over to Public Safety Officials. Included in this were a number of over-the-counter medicines. Law enforcement officers have possession of medications prescribed to individuals who are not municipal volunteers or employees and of alleged controlled substances; all of which were being stored in the shelter. Officials will continue to secure them while the investigation is
ongoing. “In light of this development, the City has contacted the Texas Department of Health and Human Services and requested that an investigator be assigned to conduct a review of policies and procedures at the Animal Shelter,” City officials said. The over-the-counter drugs were released from public safety investigators to staff at 3 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 18. Immediately thereafter, staff notified volunteers who have been in contact with the City about the medicines and let them know they would be available for pickup at 4:30 p.m. As of 6:11 p.m., staff had not received a response. “This is a very serious matter and my team is thoroughly reviewing Animal Services Operations and Municipal Volunteer Program policies at this time,” said City Manager Anthony Snipes. “As part of the process, I have instructed the Innovation and Technology Department to implement an Animal shelter software that will allow City staff to track and report animals that en-
ter and leave the shelter, document their welfare and medical requirements, publicize adoptable animals online, manage staff tasks and deal with complaints and licensing. The solution has been purchased and will require personnel to input all inventory and do a complete audit of all current pending items.” Snipes added: “It is in the process of installing additional security coverage throughout the Animal Shelter facility and is also identifying appropriate body-worn solutions for the Animal Control Officers.” Another MVP application policy that the City is reviewing involves the photographing and filming of pets in the shelter. “Staff will be amending the MVP application to make it clear that if an area that is being photographed or filmed is open to the public, that area may continue to be photographed or filmed,” Snipes said. Staff have also begun the process of reviewing current fees in relation to the Animal Shelter, which are below market average. They are reevaluating the
shelter’s fees and are identifying ways the additional funds may be used for staffing and programming in the future. While the investigation is under way, staff has identified a team solution to ensure that when volunteers are on-site, an employee be present in the Animal Shelter. At the Dec. 4 Special Meeting, City Council and staff discussed a part-time employee request for the shelter and a number of other staffing requests that were made, and not approved, earlier this year as part of the Fiscal Year 2018 budget process, which is already six months under way. Following this meeting, staff have received resident inquiries on new programs and initiatives, specifically the Visitor Center, and how the funding for it has been approved. “The Visitor Center and the still un-filled Visitor Center Manager position are funded 100 percent through Hotel Occupancy Tax funds, which the state mandates must be used for tourism initiatives and cannot be