email: editor@fbindependent.com
VOL 12 No. 25
Phone: 281-980-6745
www.fbindependent.com
FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2019
P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County & Missouri City
County will get the grave site; 199 FBISD middle school students get Duke TIP recognition ‘The devil is in the details’
Fort Bend ISD is preparing the former burial site for re-burial and transfer of the land to Fort Bend County. By SESHADRI KUMAR State and local elected officials, Fort Bend ISD officials and community activists gathered Monday morning at the James Reese Career and Technical Center in Sugar Land to celebrate the signing of House Bill 4179 by Gov. Greg Abbott on June 7, providing Fort Bend County with the legal authority to own, operate, and maintain a cemetery. The so-called Sugar Land #95 unmarked burial ground with 95 unidentified skeletal remains, believed to be that of convict labor, is no longer an “abandoned cemetery,” as Fort Bend County will own it now. U.S. Rep. Al Green described the passage of the law enabling the county’s takeover of the cemetery as a “meaningful, historic event.” In getting the bill passed “We set aside the lines dividing us and rose above party affiliations. It is not a Democratic issue or Republican issue; not a conservative or liberal issue; it is a human rights issue and the right thing to do,” Green said. Green, a Democrat, thanked and appreciated the Republican Governor of Texas for signing this bill. He made special mention of State Rep. Rick Miller, who filed the House Bill which was coauthored by the Fort Bend delegation comprising State Rep. Phil Stephenson (R) and Ron Reynolds (D). On the Senate side, the bill was coauthored by Senators Boris Miles (D), Joan Huffman (R) and Lois Kolkhurst (R). Incidentally Fort Bend County’s Pct. 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers (R) testified in favor of the bill before the House committee in Austin, Miller said. Miller said the burial ground is in his district and they deserved to be commemorated the right way. The bill was amended to become effective on
the day the governor signed it instead of Sept. 1, he said. County Judge KP George referred to the bipartisan, community effort and said in carrying out the task of properly memorializing the 95 remains, the county’s mantra will be “human dignity.” “A lot remains to be done and an agreeable closure is needed to this discussion,” George said in reference to transfer of the cemetery from the school district to the county and its future maintenance. He also alluded to the efforts of Commissioners Grady Prestage and Ken DeMerchant with regards to the cemetery. Reginald Moore, founder and president of the Convict Labor Leasing Project, who fought for the cause of those buried in the unmarked cemetery, said “The recognition was overdue.” FBISD President Jason Burdine said the district was committed to preserving and honoring the Sugar Land #95. It is also an important piece of history for educating children and the district is actively pursuing efforts to incorporate the cemetery in the educational curriculum. Earlier, FBISD Superintendent Charles Dupre welcomed the gathering and gave a brief history of the project. On February 19, 2018, contractors at the construction site of the technical center discovered human bones. Upon further investigation, an abandoned and unknown cemetery containing the remains of 95 individuals was discovered. FBISD owns a 65-acre tract of the property at the intersection of University Boulevard and Chatham Avenue and the James Reese Career and Technical Center is nearing completion at this site. FBISD filed a lawsuit in the
434th Judicial District Court of Fort Bend County, seeking removal of the cemetery designation since the District is not legally authorized to own, maintain or operate a cemetery. Now the lawsuit is moot. The district has re-designed the building preserving about 3.5 acres, the original burial site, for re-burying the exhumed bodies. Conveyance of the cemetery to the County, as well as the other conveyances detailed in the proposed interlocal agreement will ensure preservation of the cemetery and will permit the creation of a memorial park and access to the park. The next step in the process is the acceptance of the agreement proposed by the school district to the county commissioners court. Once the school district discloses its proposed agreement, the total cost and the time frame for reburying the remains will be known. Meanwhile, the Texas Attorney General has given the opinion that the Texas Historical Commission has the right to order destructive DNA testing of the remains. Though Archeological experts have come to the conclusion that the remains belong to African-Americans, there has been no conclusive scientific evidence confirming that all the buried were African Americans. The school district is said to be preserving the remains at a private storage facility. Dupre said the preservation of the remains does not add to the costs. But, nothing can be said regarding the cost of reburying the bodies or about the cost of the land being given to the county until a final interlocal agreement is signed by the district and the county.
This year, 199 Fort Bend ISD middle school students have earned recognition in the Duke University Talented Identification Program (Duke TIP) for their scores on the ACT or SAT exams. Of the 427 FBISD students tested, 34 received Grand Recognition and 165 earned State Recognition. Duke TIP is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving academically gifted and talented students. Duke TIP works with students, their families, and educators to identify, recognize, challenge, engage, and help students reach their highest potential. Now in its thirty-ninth year, the 7th Grade Talent Search identifies bright seventh graders based on standardized test scores achieved while attending elementary or middle school. Candidates are invited to take the ACT or the SAT college entrance exams as seventh graders, which allows them greater insight into their academic abilities. In addition, they gain valuable benefits and have access to unique resources for gifted students. Grand Recognition is given to students who score at or better than 90% of recent high school graduates on the ACT or SAT. These students will be invited to Duke University for a reception, honoring them for their achievement. State Recognition is given to students who score at or better than the national average of recent high school graduates on the ACT or SAT. These students will be invited to a Texas university for a reception. The FBISD students receiving Grand Recognition
include: Dulles Middle School – Haley Burton, Justin Le Fort Settlement Middle School – Aryan Arora, Jie Dai, Anik Gulhati, Rohan Gummadi, Jeremy He, Nnamdi Ilochonwu, Jessica Ji, Diya Mantenia, Anh Vu, Maggie Yuan Missouri City Middle School – Jessica Garcia Quail Valley Middle School – Oluwabunmi Adesoba, Anusha Adusumilli, Anushka Aggarwal, Anantshri Asthana, Nathan Bund, Rishi Chava, Crystal Fu, Karthik Jakkampudi, Alexander Jun, Justin Lai, Tina Li, Krish Prabhu Sartartia Middle School – Aryan Bora, Anne Christiono, Rohan Dharia, Amanda Fu, Trisha Gurnani, Ryan Ji, Ryan Qiu, Alexander Song, Viola Xu The FBISD students receiving State Recognition include: Baines Middle School – Lillian Husbands, David Yancy III Bowie Middle School – Brooklyn Bulda, Jade Dauphine, Alexandra Hamilton,
SANDERSEN & SCHEFFER, PLLC Certified Public Accountants
12603 Southwest Freeway, Suite 165 · Stafford, TX 77477
Thank you Fort Bend for an excellent two years & looking forward to many more Sandersen & Scheffer, PLLC, conveniently located at the corner of the Southwest Freeway and Kirkwood Road, is a full-service Accounting firm, offering a broad range of services for business owners, executives, and independent professionals.
Alan K. Sandersen, CPA Sherri R. Scheffer, CPA (281) 242-3232
www.cpa-tx.com info@cpa-tx.com
Sponsored by Serving Fort Bend County for 28 years!
Alexis John-Olisemenum, Haider Mahdi, Melvin Opara, Jared Baron Panares, Yaretzi Perez, Kennedy Sanchez, Hendrick Siow Dulles Middle School – Haley Burton, Pablo Jonsson, William Lam, Jenna Lau, Lila Lawrence, Justin Le, Ariana Luo, Jason Nguyen, Benjamin Tri Nguyen First Colony Middle School – Mizuki Fukuda, Alivia-Rae Green, Rykin Harbin, Jasmine Lai, Victoria Liu, Liliana McCabe, Sophia Porecca, Reet Sinha Fort Settlement Middle School – Alisa Aitken, Alina Ali, Aryan Arora, Deven Bali, Tiffany Bian, Harekas Bindra, Sophia Bettina Cruz, Jie Dai, Sneha Dharmalingam, Faith Fong, Qimiao Gong, Anik Gulhati, Rohan Gummadi, Jeremy He, Zacharia Husain, Nnamdi Ilochonwu, Jessica Ji, Nevin Kalloor, Bushra Kausar, Ruhi Kelkar, George Kuo, Nicolas Lara, Jason Lin, Huimei Liu, Victoria Liu, Jayda Ma, Diya Mantena, Ruchi See DUKE, page 4
