VOL 2 No. 51
Phone: 281-980-6745
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FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2009
P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
County to hold joint primary elections on March 2
HOLIDAY LIGHTING. Quail Valley Garden Club Holiday Lighting winners express the joy and good will of the season. First place: 3303 Deerwood: Lisa Yeager & Miguel Angel Ortiz is a child’s delight with multiple Santas and other characters. One of the Santas is pictured in this photo. Second Place, 3107 Holly Court: Glen Crawford; Third Place, 2507 Bermuda Dunes: Michael & Blanca Swatek. Honorable mentions in no order: 2911 Highland Lakes: Tamara and Michael Bailey; 3134 Stoney Brook, Denis & Sharon Menegaz; 3119 Stoney Brook, Paul & Beverly Combs; and 2919 Nancy Bell, Joel & Frances McCaulley. The Good Neighbor and Sense of Humor Award went to Robert Craig of 2931 Highland Lakes in his celebration of his neighbor Bryan Gardner’s spectacular lighting display at 2922 Highland Lakes. Drive by to experience all the winners and other homeowners who light up our lives.
Taxpayer sues law firm, taxing units and others By SESHADRI KUMAR A Sugar Land taxpayer, Gwen Ross, has sued Fort Bend County, Fort Bend ISD, City of Sugar Land, Tax Assessor/Collector Patsy Schultz, delinquent tax collector Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP and others alleging that the law firm illegally sold the property toward delinquent taxes. The litigation relates to the property at 307 Lakeview in Sugar Land. The owner was not living at this address and a mailing address had been given to the county. Ross claimed that the judgment and sale notices were not served on her but were served on the property occupied by tenants.
Linebarger by consistently using the property address instead of the owner’s mailing address denied the due process of law, Ross said. The first sale proceedings began in January 2005. Ross came to know about it through the painters working on the house. She attempted to pay the taxes and the proposed sale was canceled. Again in 2006 similar sale proceedings began and this time the tenant informed her about it. A Linebarger employee allegedly encouraged Ross to sell the property to a man whose card she always kept in her desk. “Nobody at or for the county could count from July 14, 2006 up 180 days to January
10, 2007 in order to determine the critical deadline for redemption of the property,” Ross said in the lawsuit. Because of the conflicting dates calculated by various entities, Ross, despite paying the amount to redeem her house, was told she was in default and the property had been sold. According to one version, the deadline was Jan. 10, 2007. Ross redeemed the property on Jan. 12 as per another advice. On Jan.12 Schultz allegedly told that Ross had redeemed her property, but on Jan. 16 “unredeemed” it. Were it not for the tragic consequences of acts, errors
By SESHADRI KUMAR The Fort Bend County Commissioners Court last week unanimously approved a resolution authorizing a joint election contract between the Republican and Democratic Parties and the Fort Bend County Elections Administrator. The election date has been set for March 2. The contract will allow the county to conduct one primary election rather than two. According to Fort Bend County Elections Administrator John Oldham this agreement is “good for the Parties, good for the county, and, most importantly, good for the voters.” Under the plan the Republican and Democratic Parties will share voting booths. There will be one team of election workers made up of representatives of both parties processing the voters. This would make things better for both the poll workers and voters, Oldham said. “Voters won’t be faced with the stigma of standing in one line versus another, or waiting in the wrong line. They can discreetly choose a party ballot when they check in,” Oldham said. After the court approved the agreement, Precinct 4
Commissioner James Patterson praised the political party chairmen and the Fort Bend County Elections Office for working together in the Primary process. “Republican Chair Rick Miller and Democratic Chair Elaine Bishop as well as our Elections Administrator John Oldham are to be commended for their initiative and cooperation,” Patterson said. Joint primaries are becoming more common in Texas. Parties have shared voting booths in Bexar County for years and joint primaries are the norm throughout most of the country. Also, early voting in Fort Bend has been conducted jointly in the past. The most significant impact of the joint election is that the election costs would be substantially reduced as the joint election would eliminate duplication of polling booths, equipment and personnel. While the county bears the cost of early voting, the respective parties share the election day costs and the runoff election, if necessary. Both the parties will be reimbursed by the Secretary of State. In 2008, the Republican and the Democratic Parties in Fort Bend spent about $95,000 and
$105,000 respectively. The joint election 2010 may bring down the total cost to $138,000. The county may spend another $130,000 on early voting. The county is also expected to spend $25,000 on training election workers. Both Miller and Bishop expressed confidence in the election administrator. The mutual faith and spirit of cooperation between the two party chairs also expedited the joint election agreement. Miller said “The Joint Election process requires an Election Judge representing each Party at each of the voting locations. This makes the process fair to both Political Parties.” “Our decision was based first on ensuring the process would be fair and respectful to the voter. It will be essentially the same as early voting. The only difference is that we have to provide a record of the early and election day voting to the Precinct Conventions, which occur roughly 30 minutes after the polls close. So this record will be taken for each Party as people check in to vote,” Miller said. The other consideration was that the process would See ELECTION, Page 3
Santa’s Exchange comes to town
See LAWSUIT, Page 3
Sugar Land redefines standard of living The extension of the Southwest Freeway to Sugar Land cleared the way for the growth of residential development during the 1960s. The state’s highway project extended the freeway through rice fields in Sharpstown to U.S. Highway 90A, a milestone that spurred the development of Sugar Creek and other areas. The Imperial Cattle Ranch sold about 1,200 acres to a developer to create what became Sugar Creek in 1968. The area’s first master-planned community introduced country club living near Sugar Land. It had the feel of rural estates with upscale amenities that included a Robert Trent Jones golf course. Prior to the development of Sugar Creek, the Kempner family set the stage for up-
scale residential communities in Sugar Land with the development of Venetian Estates. They dredged canals in family-owned farmland and swamp to build the neighborhood. The development served several purposes – nice, new waterside homes, the elimination of a swampy area inhabited by alligators and continued flood control protection. Venetian Estates greatly benefited from the extension of the Southwest Freeway, which improved access and sparked renewed interest in the rural neighborhood. Also during the early 1960s, a new subdivision development called Covington Woods introduced contemporary affordable housing in Sugar Land for the first time. Based on the success of
Seconds can save lives
Covington Woods, Venetian Estates and Sugar Creek, developers began looking for new opportunities in the Sugar Land area. In 1972, the Kempner family sold 7,500 acres to Gerald Hines Interests for the development of First Colony. It was one of the largest land sales in Texas history. Development of 10,000 acres began in 1977 by Sugarland Properties Inc. and would follow the next 30 years. The master-planned community offered homebuyers formal landscaping, neighborhoods segmented by price range, extensive greenbelts, a golf course and country club, lakes and boulevards, neighborhood amenities and shopping. The rest is history.
At First Colony Church of Christ on Dec. 19 Sugar Land Exchange Club, Fort Bend Exchange Club, Sugar Land Rotary, and Project Smile worked together to be Santa’s Exchange to 719 families by distributing over 10,000 toys to 2721 kids. At least 988 families received special red and green invitation letters to participate. They were chosen through Project Smile and Fort Bend County’s social service programs. There were over 400 student volunteers from area schools and countless Exchangites, Rotarians, and other service organizations members on hand to welcome the guests and help them select their toys. A month of collection and special bargain shopping preceded four days of sorting over 10,000 toys by thirty student volunteers, Exchangites, and Rotarian volunteers each night. Project Smile began 26 years ago when Carolyn Tarver sought to turn her grief from the loss of their only son Stan into something that was positive. She chose to make a few families in need smile at Christmas with gifts for their children that they did not expect. The remaining toys will be distributed at Bethel Ministry Monday morning to an additional 575 families who were on the Santa’s Exchange waiting list and other needy families in Fort Bend County. The Smiles just continue to go around the county thanks to good people doing good things. Above, Kate Olson in the green top, Congressman Pete Olson, the Olsons’ nephew, Parker Garland, in plaid, and Betty Baitland distribute the toys.—Photo by Larry Pullen
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