VOL 12 No. 7
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FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2019
P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County & Missouri City
Fort Bend ISD Spelling Bee champions named
Sahana Gade, a student at Walker Station Elementary, and Aarnav Gopinath, a GT Academy student at Quail Valley Middle School, were named the 2019 District Spelling Bee Champions. It took nearly four hours to name the 2019 Fort Bend ISD District Spelling Bee champions on Monday, Feb. 4. Aarnav Gopinath, a student at Quail Valley Middle School’s GT Academy, and Sahana Gade, a student at Walker Station Elementary, were named the two District champions. Yale Zhang, a student at Colony Meadows Elementary was named the alternate. This is Aarnav’s second time as a District champion, a title he also earned in 2017. The two champions advance to the regional Houston Public Media Spelling Bee, which will be held on March 23, 2019. The Houston bee is the largest regional bee in the nation, and Aarnav and Sahana will join students from across the greater Houston area in the competition.
Sheriff, Constable turf war turns into ‘street fight’
By SESHADRI KUMAR On Feb. 11, at 9:29 a.m., an audible alarm call came to the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s dispatch from the Cinco Ranch area in Katy where the Fort Bend County Pct. 3 Constable has a contract to provide security to the area. The sheriff’s dispatch kept the call on hold because no sheriff’s deputy was immediately available to dispatch to the area. After eight minutes, a sergeant from the Pct. 3 Constable’s office saw the call on his mobile data terminal and decided to respond. He reached the spot at 9:46 and cleared the call. In another incident, the same day, a sheriff’s dispatch received a call of suspicious activity in the Cinco Ranch area, under the Constable’s contract deputy surveillance. A constable’s deputy heard it on the police radio at 10:57 a.m. and went to the site. A sheriff’s deputy who happened to be in the nearby Grand Lakes area, also on a sheriff’s contract deputy program providing supplemental security to another area, rushed to the call site in the constable’s contract area at 11 a.m. and handled the case. On Feb. 5, a call complaining of a barking dog was received from an area under the Constable’s contract deputy
Historical cemetery in Sugar Land becomes a political campaign issue By SESHADRI KUMAR An abandoned and unverified historical cemetery, presumed to be part of a state prison operated from 1870 to 1911, discovered during the construction of Fort Bend ISD’s James Rees Career and Technology Center in Sugar Land, remains in a legal limbo even as its future is getting politicized. Following a court order, a team of archeologists hired by the District exhumed the remains of 95 individuals. The remains are currently being kept in storage boxes awaiting reburial. Texas Law requires that the remains be reburied in a county, municipal, or perpetual care cemetery. In October, the District and the City of Sugar Land agreed to a final resting place for the remains at the nearby Old Imperial Prison Farm Cemetery, an existing city-owned and maintained cemetery that has a shared history with the land where the remains were discovered. Both the Texas Historical and Fort Bend County Historical commissions participated in the planning discussion and supported the District’s plan, according to the school district. Fort Bend ISD has since requested that District Judge James H. Shoemake grant a
previously-submitted petition that would allow the bodies to be reburied as agreed by the District and the City of Sugar Land. (Fort Bend ISD awaits ruling of the appellate court, which has granted a stay of the order appointing a Master by Judge Shoemake, pending further review.) Meanwhile, on February 6, the Fort Bend Historical Commission unanimously voted to oppose the removal of the cemetery dedication. Fort Bend County Commissioners Court has been under pressure to get involved in the litigation. As recommended by the Fort Bend Historical Commission, Fort Bend County Commissioners Court was set to consider a resolution this week. The resolution “encourages the Fort Bend Independent School District to allow the 95 bodies currently buried at the cemetery to remain undisturbed. Additionally, it is encouraged that a memorial be constructed at the location to honor and recognize those negatively impacted by the Texas Convict-Leasing System.” It remains to be seen whether commissioners court will adopt the resolution unanimously or
vote on party lines, because some commissioners do not want to set a precedent by joining a litigation against another local, elected body like the school district. Sugar Land political candidates are also seeking to make the cemetery a campaign issue. The only demand aired in public is that the district should rebury the bodies at the same site. There is no discussion on the costs involved, who will pay for it or if the school district can legally maintain a cemetery. While construction of the center continues in areas not affected by the archaeological discovery, cost increases associated with the delays and potential redesign are rising each month. The District has already incurred an estimated $5.5 million in construction delays and for archaeological observation, investigation, exhumation, and historical analysis. It is anticipated that further delays will cause the District to spend an additional $7.5 to $8.5 million to ensure that other parts of the center can open as scheduled. If the court does not allow the bodies to be reburied at the city-owned cemetery, the center will have to be redesigned to a
program. While the constable’s deputy in the area went to the site, the dispatch pulled the sheriff’s deputy from another area and sent to the same site. What does this all mean? Pct. 3 Constable Wayne Thompson cites these examples caused by a recent change in policy instituted by Sheriff Troy Nehls, whereby the dispatch sends a sheriff’s deputy from far away to respond, though a constable’s deputy is available in the call area. The constable’s deputy could reach the spot immediately, whereas the sheriff’s deputy would be delayed by several minutes. Thompson referred to an email sent by the sheriff : “Beginning 1-1-2019 calls for service in supplemental patrol areas covered by Fort Bend County Constables will be dispatched to a SO (Sheriff’s Office) patrol Deputy and not the contract constable as is currently the practice.” Prior to this Jan. 1 memo, which stopped dispatch to local constable’s offices, even when the calls were in the constable’s contract patrol area where they can respond faster than the Sheriff’s deputies, things were working normally, according to Thompson. See TURF, Page 3
different area of the property. The cost to construct the redesigned center would add an additional estimated $18 million in costs to the $58 million-dollar bond project, which could push the project an estimated $25 million over budget. In short, Fort Bend ISD taxpayers have to pay for it. “Fort Bend ISD understands that some members of the community may prefer to reinter at the site of the CTE center. However, as a public school district, we are charged with educating children and the feasibility of becoming a perpetual care organization is beyond the District’s expertise and means.” The FBISD advisory committee serves in an advisory capacity. It is considering memorialization and ceremonial activities to honor the individuals discovered at the site. Members have also been asked to advise on DNA fundraising with the intent to identify the individuals, and also consider how Fort Bend ISD can expand educational opportunities regarding convict leasing and this discovery. “Fort Bend ISD is committed to memorializing and honoring the individuals. We are also committed to educating future generations about this forgotten piece of history, and are working with an advisory committee to determine what that will include,” according to the district.
Exchange Club’s Student of the Month
Abhijith, left, with Sugar Land Exchange Club President Dennis Dowell. Abhijith Venkat, a Clements High School senior, was recognized as the student of the month for February by the Exchange Club of Sugar Land. Anuradha Nigam, Counselor, at Clements High school, in her recommendation letter said “Abhijith Venkat has shown tremendous motivation and determination to succeed in all aspects of his life. He is a well-rounded student athlete. His curiosity, enthusiasm and creativity has impressed me. He has his own ideas and is quite independent. He is detailed oriented and has put forth quality work. “He prepares himself well for all of his challenges. He had openheart surgery in 8th grade. However, that did not deter him. He worked hard on his recovery and was selected on Clements high school basketball team and continued to excel in this sport for 4 years. He also achieved immense academic success. He was on the five-person National Science Bowl team in 2016 and received third place. He was part of the UIL number sense team and placed first nationally. His resume is full of other such accolades. Along with athletic and academic achievements, he is also musically inclined. “Privately he has been playing Viola, Mridangam, a classical Indian percussion instrument and also has learnt Bharatanatyam, a Classical Indian dance. “He has a wonderful volunteer spirit. His leadership is evident in his intense involvement in various clubs. His sustained commitment to his community is evident by many hours he contributes to SEWA International and tutoring students in need. His work with refugee students is remarkable.”
Missouri City ranked fifth safest among big Texas cities Missouri City has once again been ranked among the top safest municipalities in Texas by the Home Security Advisor, an online resource website. The “Show Me City” was listed at No. 42 among all cities rated in the report and at No. 5 among cities with a population of 50,000 or more. Other Fort Bend cities on the list are: Sugar Land (rated No. 43 overall and No. 6 among cities with a population of 50,000+) and Rosenberg (ranked No. 50). In its “2019 List of Texas Top 50 Safest Cities” report, HSA noted that MCTX and all of the Lone Star cities featured “have done an outstanding job keeping crime rates down and communities safe.” Data for the rankings was compiled utilizing statistics from the 2017 FBI Uniform Crime Report for towns and cities with 10,000 residents or more, who recorded their crime data. “This latest recognition is another nod to our first-rate police officers who work tirelessly to serve the citizens and businesses in our safe, scenic City that is rated one of America’s ‘BEST’ places to live, work and play,” said City Manager Anthony J. Snipes. “Public safety is a top priority for City Council and staff and we will continue to go above and beyond in assuring there are effective measures in place to protect our residents.” MCTX also earned another public safety nod this month from Alarms.org, earning the No. 30 rank in a list of 136 Texas cities rated the official site of the National Council for Home Safety and Security—an association of licensed alarm companies, installers, contractors and trade groups. Alarms.org also completed its 2019 “Safest Cities in Texas” rankings by reviewing the FBI’s latest “Uniform Crime Report” statistics for 7,639 communities with populations ranging from 7,639 to 4,007,147. Stafford is the other Fort Bend city, ranked No. 87.