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Judge wants more input on plan for re-burying remains of laborers By Theresa D. McClellan THERESA@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
The James Reese Career and Technical Center is still under construction by the Fort Bend ISD, but it is already being haunted by the skeletal remains of 95 black "convict" laborers whose graves were discovered at the construction site last February. The school district, the City of Sugar Land, and other interested organizations and individuals have been discussing the fate of the remains and on Nov. 19 434th District Court Judge James Shoemake put the brakes on plans that would have re-interred the remains at a neighboring prison cemetery and allowed construction of the building to move forward. Swatara Olushola, a Houston mother of five, was pleased when Shoemake put the school on hold earlier this month and told the district he wanted more community input. The disOlushola trict petitioned the courts to remove the legal description of an abandoned historical cemetery from the property. They also wanted permission to re-bury the remains, which are still stored on the property in trailers. “I’m grateful we had a judge hearing the case that was pretty objective about the situation. FBISD has been pretty profit-minded the whole time and the judge didn’t share that,” said Olushola, a task force member who describes herself as a wife, mother, entrepreneur, activist, and musician. “I don’t have a lot of time but I needed to make the time because those remains don’t have a voice, they don’t have a say or anyone to speak on their behalf and they are my communal ancestors. Until we find bloodlines, I have the authority to speak for my communal lineage.” The bodies were found last February during construction of the James Reese Career and Technical Center, located at University Boulevard and Chatham Avenue in Sugar Land. “Forensics have since revealed that these bodies are those of African American men (and one woman), of an age consistent with victims of Sugar Land’s convict leasing system, circa 1878-1910. Chains and other artifacts
SEE CEMETERY, PAGE 9
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Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 43 • No. 15
County leaders map legislative priorities
School finance reform not always on top of the list By Joe Southern JSOUTHERN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Huddled inside a conference room at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa near Bastrop Nov, 15, Fort Bend County elected officials and community leaders held a powwow with Legislators representing the county to help prepare for next year’s biennial legislative session. County Judge Robert Hebert and the Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council hosted the event. It was an opportunity for mayors, commissioners, school superintendents, chamber of commerce representatives, and others to address and hear from local state representatives and senators. Although they were in agreement as to the top priorities for the Legislature, they often disagreed on the order of those priorities. “My top three priorities for this session are Harvey, Harvey, and Harvey,” state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, said. With Senate District 18 taking the brunt of the damage from Hurricane Harvey last year, Kolkhorst made is clear that helping communities recover will be her priority in the 86th Legislature. That will be followed by Medicaid funding and then public school financing. Sharing a panel discussion with her was District 13 Sen. Borris Miles, D-Houston. Not in attendance was District 17 Sen. Joan Huffman, RHouston. “I think in this 86th Legislative session the number one priority is going to be to fix school finance and to do it properly and to include pre-K and to make sure our third graders are reading at the right level,” Miles said. “I’m going to continue to fight for it as I have for the last 12 years.” In a panel following the senators, state Reps. John Zerwas, Rick Miller, and Phil Stephenson – all Republicans who represent parts of Fort Bend County – also discussed their priorities. Absent was the lone Democrat, Roy Reynolds, who is serving time in jail on a charge of barratry (ambulance chasing). Zerwas said his priorities are Harvey, school safety, and school finance. Miller said his issues included public education, healthcare, and taxes, in addition to child protective services and veterans issues. Stephenson didn’t give a list of priorities but instead spoke of fixing property taxes, which essentially meant restructuring the way schools are funded. “We can fix this easy,” Stephenson said. “We have sales tax. Everybody forgets the little things; we keep saying 58 percent of our state budget is sales tax, that’s only 41 percent of the total available. Fifty-nine percent is nothing, zero, nobody’s paying it. That’s $43 billion at the existing 6.25 rate. We could take about $30 billion and put it in the schools to fix the schools.” He said property taxes have become too high and need to come
State Reps. John Zerwas, left, and Rick Miller discuss legislative issues Nov. 15 during the Fort Bend County Legislative Conference. School finance, Harvey recovery, and Medicaid funding are among their biggest challenges going into the next Legislative session. (Photos by Joe Southern)
State Rep. Phil Stephenson
State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst
down. “Young people can’t get into a home. They cannot get into a home because of the property taxes. The escrow is bigger than the principal and interest and it’s growing at 6 to 7 percent a year, so they can’t afford the future payments,” he said. “We don’t talk about that; we just talk about the schools. It’s a problem; it’s a tremendous problem because education’s everything. None of this school finance is going to work unless we fix the revenue generator first.” School funding The lion’s share of the agenda for the legislative conference was taken up by discussion of school finance. Among the topics besides finding a way to lower property taxes, was doing away with recapture, also known as Robin Hood because it takes revenues from wealthier school districts and allegedly redistributes them to poorer ones. During a question and answer time with the senators, Fort Bend ISD Trustee Jim Rice asked what they would do to solve the financing issue. “The state of Texas has been living off of property tax growth for the past 22 years. … Recapture payments reached $2 billion last year. Com-
missioner of Education Mike Morath recently testified before the Legislative Budget Board that he needs $3.5 billion less going into this next biennium because property tax growth is going to be about 6.6 percent statewide. That implies an over-reliance on property tax growth and the Legislature is going to have to work very hard to solve that problem,” he said. “I have a chart here that shows recapture and, wow, that’s just living off of appraisals,” Kolkhorst said. “That’s really, really big. The number of school districts that are now in chapter 41 have grown exponentially over the last six years. So, we have a lot of work to do.” Zerwas was in agreement with Kolkhorst. “Finally, we’re going to push the property taxes down and put money back into your pocket by virtue of pushing that down. … We’re going to have to have the opportunity to talk about other ways that revenue can be provided to schools,” he said. In a later session, Rice moderated a discussion with Fort Bend ISD Superintendent Charles Dupre, Lamar Consolidated ISD Superintendent Thomas Randal, and Stafford MSD Superintendent Robert Bostic, in which school funding was discussed
State Sen. Borris Miles
in detail. “We’ve got to create some adequacy,” Dupre said. “When we talk about adequacy in education it means you have to put enough money into the system to meet the needs of all the students. The system we’re using today allocates money in ways that have been politically generated many, many years ago. There have been a lot of factors … including the cost of education index, and what that refers to is it costs more to education students in some communities than it does in others. “Anything that they put together needs to recognize the differential that a small town in East Texas is not an urban, suburban environment and you’ve got to have those factors to allow those students to have true equity. That’s a term we say in education to say that means every students gets what they need; not money that’s equally distributed but it’s allocated in a way that students get, and districts get, what they need. So putting enough into the system and doing it in a way that’s equitably distributed are factors that are important,” he said.
SEE LEGISLATURE, PAGE 2
Cowboy up! Black Cowboy Museum tells another side of the Old West By Joe Southern JSOUTHERN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Larry Callies paints the Old West with a different color than most historians do. Callies is the founder and operator of the Black Cowboy Museum in Rosenberg. His small, nonprofit museum at 1104 3rd St. highlights an often untold story of real cowboys and rodeo stars who didn’t look so much like John Wayne. The museum has a wide variety of artifacts, including guns, badges, saddles, posters, farm implements and more that help tell the story of black cowboys. Of particular interest is an enlarged photo of black cowboys working the Jones Ranch in Larry Callies, founder and operator of the Black Cowboy the 1880s. Today the ranch is Museum in Rosenberg, poses in front of a saddle once used known as the George Ranch by Frank James, brother of outlaw Jesse James. (Photo by Historical Park. Joe Southern) “White men didn’t want to
work with cows,” he said. Callies said whites initially detested the name “cowboy.” “You had house boys, yard boys, and cow boys,” he said. “People didn’t want to be called ‘boy.’” He said he started learning about black cowboys while he was working at George Ranch from 2011-2014 as the lead cowboy. Prior to that he was a mailman in Sugar Land from 1974 to 2011. His whole life, however, has been spent working cattle. His father provided stock to both black and white rodeos across Texas and he spent his boyhood summers traveling the rodeo circuit. The El Campo native got to watch and learn from the best in the business. His cousin, Tex Williams, became the first black to make it to the state rodeo finals in 1967 and again in ’68. Callies became the second in 1971. He rode barebacks
and bulls and roped calves. He still ropes today. As enamored as he was with the cowboy way, it wasn’t his first love. Callies was a country western singer. He had signed on with Erv Woolsey, the same manager as country music legend George Strait. Two weeks before he was set to move to Nashville, Callies lost his voice. That was 27 years ago and today he still speaks with a hoarse whisper. Over the years making his postal rounds and the rodeo circuit, Callies collected a lot of stories and artifacts pertaining to black cowboys. In 2016 he finally figured out what to do with it all. As a devout Christian, he said God placed it on his heart to share the stories and history of black cowboys.
SEE COWBOY, PAGE 4
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PAGE 2 • Wednesday, November 28, 2018
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Randle said recapture and the over reliance on property taxes is hurting more than just the school districts. “Our public schools are the economic engine in a lot of places, so why would you want to put sugar in the tank of your economic engine?” he said. Bostic noted that among the many problems with the current school funding formula is it doesn’t take inflation into account. “They need to build in something that would take into account the inflation … As the economy, whether it grows or slows, there’s no real adjustment. What happens is the cost of those things still continues to grow regardless of whether the revenue does or doesn’t,” he said. Dupre said the state must overhaul the school funding system and not continue to patch it up each session. “We need to fix the whole system and not keep tinkering with the components,” he said. “My whole issue with the school finance system is it’s been cobbled together with clothes pins and bobby pins and pieced together with rubber bands for year, over year, over year going back to the ’60s, frankly, to bridge from one lawsuit to the next. If there’s a lawsuit, there’s a fix, if there’s another lawsuit there’s another fix. The whole system needs to be refined and redesigned so it’s not as complex, it’s not as challenging, because our taxpayers need to understand how their public schools are funded.” School safety A lot of suggestions have been made in recent months and years about how to make schools safer. Everything from arming teachers to installing metal detectors has been
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discussed. The school superintendents, however, have a different perspective. “We need more counselors,” Randal said. He said while metal detectors might work in small school districts, they would put students at risk in large districts where some schools have thousands of students and potentially hundreds could be exposed at a time in lines each morning trying to enter a building. All three said they need the state to provide funds for school safety but to let local districts decide how to best administer those funds. “It’s a matter of local control,” Dupre said. “We don’t need our legislators telling us how to solve this problem or earmarking funds for specific solutions. We need support, we need the resources, but we need the local control.” He said the focus needs to be on the mental and emotional health of the students. “There’s not one solution that would solve or prevent all of these shootings, so what that tells us is that we have to pull back to the preventive, we’ve got to come back to the solutions and that is getting kids healthy and having assessment systems in place to identify the threat that a student may consider harming himself or somebody else,” he said. “That’s where we’ve got to put our resources and we need the state to support us in that. We don’t want to be in the response mode, we want to be in the preventative mode.” “This is all a mental health issue,” said Zerwas, who is a medical doctor. “This is where, ultimately, the problem is and there are existing programs and other programs that I’ve been educated about that are going to be very helpful as school districts start to address this issue… But we need to make sure, as a state,
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that we don’t dictate how you’re going to create a safe school environment. But we had better put the money out there for you to use and use in a way that you think is most beneficial.” Medicaid funding The state is mandated to manage its share of Medicaid funding, which is the largest and fastest growing segment of the budget. “If we don’t find a way to control the biggest portion of our budget that is growing at a rate that is almost unsustainable, which is Medicaid … which is the biggest shortfall, $2.5 billion in Medicaid, we are not ever going to have enough money,” Kolkhorst said. “As the senators have noted, we’ve created a $2.5 billion hole in Medicaid,” Zerwas said. “That’s not an unusual effort by us to balance the budget, in fact, it’s more the norm. I do think this is one of the larger shortfalls we’ve created in the budget.” Harvey The legislators agreed that funding for Harvey recovery is going to be important. Most all of them were favorable to a proposal floated earlier by Joe B. Allen, the retired managing partner at Allen Boone Humphries Robinson LLP, who came out of retirement to bring his extensive expertise in water and drainage systems to help the state with recovery from Hurricane Harvey. He proposes using local funds to match state funds to help match federal funds. He recommends taking $3 billion out of the state’s rainy day fund to help provide grants to recovering communities that provide a 25 percent match. Revenue cap Gov. Greg Abbott has proposed a 2.5 percent property tax revenue cap, which nearly everyone in the room opposed. “Two and a half percent, I’m kind of scratching my head, I’m not sure where that number came from. It was never talked about in the session,” Kolkhorst said. “How can we have a 2.5 percent property tax cap without finding an additional revenue stream?” asked Rice. It was the hot topic on a panel of mayors from across the county, all of whom said it would have detrimental impacts on their budgets. Hebert, who is leaving office after losing his election earlier this month, also spoke against it. So did the school superintendents. “We would lose about $25 million annually and maybe a little more than that,” Dupre said. “We would be impacted in a
SEE LEGISLATURE, PAGE 4
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THE STAR
PAGE 4 • Wednesday, November 28, 2018
See us online www.FortBendStar.com
Fort Bend County mayors make introductions at the Fort Bend County Legislative Conference. (Photos by Joe Southern)
H LEGISLATURE, FROM P. 2 similar manner if they put a cap on it,” Randle said. “It would cause us to have to make some very serious decisions about personnel and a lot of services that we currently provide.” At the end of the retreat, Jeff Wiley, president and CEO of the Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council,
felt the event led to a healthy discussion that will help guide priorities for the county when the Legislature meets in January. “This initiative is about quality growth,” he said. “We know growth is coming to Fort Bend County, the question is, what kind of growth will it be and how will it be channeled to the benefit of the community? That’s what this legislative conference is
all about. It’s to express from the school districts to the cities to the county to the quality growth and development of the county; how we do that best and keep what has made Fort Bend County continue in the future… Our legislators understand from this session what our interests are and why we have those interests and that helps us to engage them when the legislative sessions starts.”
and bridle used by Frank James, the older brother of outlaw Jesse James. It’s a big draw for the tiny museum that depends on admission fees and donations to get by. Each picture and artifact has a story and Callies is eager to tell it. “It’s something that needed to be said. It’s something that needed to be known,” he said. As far as Callies knows, his is the only black cowboy museum in the world. As such, it has been attracting busloads of visitors, one
even coming from Chicago. “We’ve had 47 busloads of people come so far,” he said. On Dec. 7 he will be spreading some Christmas cheer by holding a Cowboy Christmas event at the museum. The Larry Callies Bronco Band will perform, there will be cowboy demonstrations, and movies will be shown from the 1920s and ’30s. For more information, stop by the museum at 1104 3rd St. in Rosenberg or visit www.blackcowboymuseum. org.
H COWBOY, FROM PAGE. 1 “I heard God speak to me,” he said. “I had never stepped out in faith before.” In May of 2016 he opened the museum at the corner of First Street and Avenue H, but relocated it just a few months later. Donors of all races have submitted artifacts for display. One of the most prized items in the museum’s collection has nothing to do with black cowboys. He has a saddle
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5
Public school financing must be Legislature’s top priority To those of you who managed to read my story on the front page about the Fort Bend County Legislative Conference all the way through, I congratulate you. You have just discovered a pretty decent sleep aid or at the least a cure for insomnia. Actually, I hope you did get something out of it. Covering the event was like drinking from the proverbial fire hose. Throughout the course of the day on Nov. 15 at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa near Bastrop there were more than two-dozen speakers and numerous topics with each person trying to get about 10 of their 100 most important talking points across to the assembly. I realize the story was long and rambling, but trust me, that was the Cliffs Notes version of the conference. In order to get the key points across I had to leave out numerous speakers, including Texas Comptroller Glen Hager, higher education representatives, and the mayors of each city in the county, to name a few. It’s not that they didn’t have anything important to say – they did – it’s just that there is only so much you can write about from a conference that lasted a day and a half. Rather than bore you with the details, I want to share
FAITH, FAMILY & FUN JOE SOUTHERN EDITOR
some general thoughts and observations about the conference. The conference was the eighth and last biennial conference for County Judge Bob Hebert. The conferences were his brainchild and he and the Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council hosted it with the very generous underwriting from a laundry list of local businesses. The reservations for the conference were made back in August, long before the Nov. 6 election. I had the distinct feeling that attendance would have been very different had the election not been washed over by the Blue Tide. Still, it was an excellent opportunity for elected officials new and old to come together and strategize key items they want to see the 86th Legislature address next year. I tried to highlight the key components in my story and I hope that came across. From the legislative side, we had Sens. Lois Kolkhorst and Borris Miles and Reps. Rick Miller, John Zerwas, and Phil Stephenson
Letters to the Editor
there. Notably absent were Rep. Ron Reynolds, who is in jail, and Sen. Joan Huffman. Rep. Miller didn’t call her out by name, but clearly expressed disappointment in Huffman's absence. “I would have liked to have seen another senator here, personally, but she wasn’t. But that’s her decision. Fort Bend County is a big part of her district and Fort Bend County helped get her elected,” he said. I checked with her office and they said she had a scheduling conflict that prevented her from attending. She did respond to my request to know her top three priorities going into the session. “My three priorities for the upcoming session are public education, Harvey recovery and resiliency, and public safety,” Huffman said in a statement Monday. “I will be advocating for a pay raise for our teachers, real property tax and school finance reform, improved flood mitigation and preparedness, and tougher anti-human trafficking laws. As Chair of State Affairs, Vice Chair of Criminal Justice and a Senior Member on Finance, I’ll use my leadership positions to ensure that these issues are front and center when the Legislature reconvenes in January.” In my mind, the top priority of the 86th Legislature is overhauling public
school finance. It should have been the top priority in the last session, but it was barely discussed as lawmakers dealt with a budget shortfall. School finance and healthcare make up the two largest pieces of the budgetary pie. They’re the foundations upon which the rest of the rest of the funding priorities rest. Of those two, school funding is the most complex and has the most direct impact on the people of Texas. That is because the current funding formula called for a 50/50 split between state and local revenues. Local funding comes from property taxes. Over the years, the state has let that get way out of balance and has forced school districts to rely on increased property tax revenues to cover the lion’s share of local school budgets while the state shifted its share of school funding to other areas. While that oversimplifies a much more complex issue, it basically illustrates why our taxes are so high and the state gives so little to public education. It’s the reason why almost half of my monthly mortgage goes to taxes. If the Legislature can get school funding in order first, the rest should fall into place. But if they go after the low-hanging fruit first and put off the hard job, they will once again fail to get it done.
Along with school finance, the Legislature has a $2.5 billion gap in Medicaid funding it will have to fill. There is also the need to provide funds to help rebuild from Hurricane Harvey. Those were almost everyone’s top priorities. For the cities and county, another priority is stopping the governor’s proposed 2.5 percent property tax revenue cap. It’s arbitrary and it takes local control away from local governments. Most, including our school districts, would suffer significant loss of revenue with property tax caps. That would just force them to make up the difference elsewhere, usually by cutting back on services and/or having layoffs. We really don’t want that. Another key issue the Legislature is going to have to address is school safety. Legislators need to understand that there is no one-size-fits-all program that will work across the board. Ideas like arming teachers or installing metal detectors won’t work in most cases. What our local districts want is more funding for school counselors and computer programs that search social media for warning signs of potential violence. The schools would rather be proactive than reactive when it comes to the safety of the students. Rather than mandate a school safety
program, the Legislature needs to allocate funds to the districts and trust that they know best how to secure their campuses and assure student safety. Of all the things that were discussed at the legislative conference, there was one little nugget that I latched onto. Sen. Kolkhorst said she wants to see more funding for state parks. Hallelujah! I’ve been a volunteer at Brazos Bend State Park for six years and I see first hand the negative impact on our parks from the lack of funding from the last few legislative sessions. The parks are suffering from neglect and band-aid fixes. They need a lot of attention or we’re going to start losing them. We’re at the point it will cost more to repair buildings and infrastructure than it would have cost to properly maintain them in the first place. We can’t keep deferring maintenance and cutting personnel. Our parks are important and we need more equipment and people to meet the demands that are being placed on them. Anyway, I could keep going on, but the point is, the Legislature has a revenue surplus to work with and a lot of problems it needs to fix. We need our Legislators to step up and take care of the big problems first and allow the smaller ones to fall into place after that.
Your opinion matters! Share your perspective of local news by emailing editor@fortbendstar.com
Is requiring clairvoyance Constitutional? Dear Editor, I attended the Texas Supreme Court on Nov. 1 when the red light camera issue was orally argued. I am the white haired gentleman directly behind the speakers in this 44-minute video: http://www.texasbarcle.com/CLE/SCPlayer. asp?sCaseNo=17-0713. The legalese of the discussion was truly mindboggling. The only thing that was clear to me was a question posed by one of the justices at time 07:50. Apparently this justice is of the opinion that red light camera violations are probably either deliberate or the result of unaccept-
able carelessness. Attorney Bowman tried to correct the biased nature of this question, but the fact was not driven home that these red light cameras punish vehicle owners for allowing many drivers in Texas to be entrapped by a red light camera for inadvertently violating a red light by a fraction of a second. There are two underlying issues here. The first is why punish the vehicle owner when he or she may not be the offending driver? The second was punishing the inadvertent violation of the red light law by a fraction of a second. Is this technical violation of the red light
reasonable? Automated red light camera enforcement does not permit leniency. No allowance is made for the inability of humans to make a precisely correct stop-or-go decision every time a green traffic light turns yellow. Because the yellow period is loosely defined by the signaling regulations, clairvoyance is required for drivers to know exactly how long the traffic light will remain yellow, whether or not the light will turn red before the vehicle will enter the intersection and what the stopping distance is going to be. This second question was not addressed during these
Landfill complaints hurting small communities Dear Editor, This has gone on for some time now and I’ve heard from the Shadow Creek Ranch residents in Pearland complaining over our own concerns in Fort Bend regarding the Blue Ridge Landfill. Some folks can’t afford to pay more for their trash, and the moment they speak up, they are criticized by the very people forcing this upon us. The average home price in Shadow Creek Ranch more than doubles that of many communities in Fort Bend despite the fact that it is located next to a landfill. Yet, people are still buying homes in the
area. Are they not being told of the landfill? Are the odors less disturbing than before? Why are folks still buying homes in the area and forcing us to pay for their negligence? Where are our elected officials on this matter? More interesting, if this is such a problem, why are the only the folks complaining about this in Shadow Creek Ranch? Arcola and Fresno have communities that live directly across the street from the landfill and instead of sewing it out of existence, their city council stood up for local businesses and allowed TCEQ to
do their job. This whole dilemma is a mess. If the Blue Ridge Landfill is not acting in accordance with their permit, TCEQ should correct the situation. Period. However, it is difficult for me to believe that the landfill is the only culprit here either. Shadow Creek Ranch is also in close proximity to Lone Star Disposal, Azkzo Nobel, Pearland’s own water treatment facility, and a multitude of other industrial plants. After the landfill is shut down, what’s next? Jonell Vaculik Rosenberg
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what juries are for and no juries are allowed by the red light camera statutes. Hopefully the Supreme Court will find them unconstitutional.
BAPTIST CHURCH
HERITAGE BAPTIST CHURCH • 281-403-4994 2223 FM1092 • Missouri City, TX 77459 Ed Byrnes, Senior Pastor Sunday Bible Study 9:30 am • 6:00 pm Sunday Worship 10:45 am • 6:00 pm Wednesday: 7:00 pm Bible Study / AWANA “A Place To Call Home” - www.hbctx.org METHODIST CHURCH
CHRIST CHURCH SUGAR LAND • 281-980-6888 A United Methodist Community 3300 Austin Parkway • Sugar Land, TX 77479 Sunday Worship in the Sanctuary Simple Service / Prayer & Communion: 8:15 am Contemporary: 9:30 am / Traditional: 10:55 am Sunday School for all ages available at 9:30 & 10:55 am. www.christchurchsl.org
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That decision should be rendered within the next six months. H. F. Van Der Grinten Sugar Land
CHURCH OF CHRIST
MISSOURI CITY CHURCH OF CHRIST • 281-261-8944 2019 Bright Meadows Dr. - Missouri City, TX 77489 www.mocitycoc.org Sunday morning services: 10:15 am
(includes separate youth, bible hour and nursery services)
Sunday evening services: 5:00 pm Last Sunday 1:30 pm Bible Study (all ages): Sun 9:00 am & Wed 7:00 pm Iron Mens Bible Study 1st Monday 6:30 pm
STAFFORD CHURCH OF CHRIST • 281-499-2507 402 Stafford Run Rd. -Stafford, 77477 SUNDAY: Bible Study: 9:30 a.m. Worship: 10:30 a.m. Afternoon Worship 5:00 p.m. WEDNESDAY : Bible Study 7:00 p.m. www.staffordchurchofchrist.org
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH • 281-499-3502
SOUTHMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH • 281-499-2310
3900 Lexington Blvd., Missouri City, TX 77459 8:00 am: Chapel Worship 9:15 am: Sunday School For All Ages 10:30 am: Open Skies Worship in the Fellowship Hall 10:30 am: Sanctuary Worship For more information, please visit www.fumcmc.org
4200 Cartwright Road, Missouri City, 77459 Sunday School 9:00 am Fellowship & Coffee 10:00 am Worship 10:30 am www.southminpres.org
SUGAR LAND METHODIST CHURCH • 281-491-6041
JONATHAN McELVY
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proceedings, but it is clear that automated enforcement is incapable of taking into account the frailty of human judgment. That is
431 Eldridge Road, Sugar Land, TX 77478 Worship @ 8:30, 9:45 and 11:00 am Bible Study, all ages, @ 9:45 am www.sugarlandmethodist.org
LUTHERAN CHURCH
FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH, LCMS 281-242-7729 800 Brooks St., Sugar Land Sunday: 8:00 am Traditional Worship 9:15 am Sunday School 10:30 am Contemporary Worship (Nursery Available) 4:00 pm Spirit of Life Worship
Scripture of the week
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. - Deuteronomy 33:27
THE STAR
PAGE 6 • Wednesday, November 28, 2018
FOOT FACTS by Dr. Eric Tepper
BOARD CERTIFIED PODIATRIST, ACCPPS
POOR DECISIONS People often regard minor foot injuries as temporary inconveniences. Although they may self-diagnose their injuries, it is important to understand that self-diagnosing and self-treatment can be dangerous. The wrong treatment can make an injury or infection worse and can slow down the healing process. The longer the foot problem goes without proper podiatric care, the harder it may be to correct. Favoring an injured foot over a period of time creates issues with the alignment of other bones in the body. What was once a foot problem then becomes a more serious gait issue that results in pain in other areas of the skeletal frame. Icing and bandaging are appropriate temporary treatments that should be followed up by a podiatric evaluation. HINT: The Internet can be used as an informational tool, but it does not replace a visit to a podiatrist. Self-diagnosis and treatment for foot problems may not always be in your best interest. Whatever problems your feet encounter, give them professional attention while the problems are still in their minor stages. It’s much better, easier, and less costly to deal with problems early on than to face major treatment at a later date. Remember, foot problems usually don’t just disappear on their own. Remember, too, that we are here at 3143 Hwy. 6 South to help when your feet hurt. Call us for an appointment at 281-980-3668.
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Renaissance gold
The French knight creates a burst of golden glitter as he snares a ring from the hand of the Festival Queen Sunday afternoon at the Texas Renaissance Festival. The royal jousts are a popular attraction at the annual festival in Todd Mission, near Magnolia. Sunday was the end of the 44th annual festival, which runs nine weekends from late September through Thanksgiving weekend. This year saw a near-record 655,111 people in attendance. “We are honored to have served our faithful patrons for yet another year, featuring nine themed weekends, award-winning food, best-in-class entertainment and all of our brand new events and experiences,” said Texas Renaissance Festival General Manager Terre Albert. “We’re already looking forward to celebrating our 45th year together in 2019 – complete with lots of new surprises!” (Photo by Joe Southern)
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Pursuant to the provisions of the Texas Government Code Chapter 2269, Subchapter D, as amended, the Stafford Municipal School District is seeking competitive sealed proposals from qualified Contractors to provide Construction Services for a New Middle School. Responses are due in two parts: Part 1: Price proposal and required Forms, and Part 2: Small Business Participation Plan, Subcontractors and Alternates. Part 1 responses are due by January 08, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. CST. Part 2 responses are due January 08, 2019 by 4:00 p.m. CST. All responses must be provided in a sealed envelope/package with “RFP #18 – 0017” clearly printed on the face of the package and delivered to: Attention: Daniel Flores, CFO Stafford MSD 1625 Staffordshire Road Stafford, TX 77477
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Application has been made with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission for Wine and Beer Retailers Permit, Food and Beverage Certificate by Restaurant Caminos De Michoacan. LLC.DBA. Restaurant Caminos De Michoacan to be located at 716 Murphy Rd., Stafford, Texas, Fort Bend County, Texas, Managing Member Zyzlali Gutierrez
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING PROPOSED REZONING OF 50.309 ACRES FROM PLANNED DEVELOPMENT (PD) DISTRICT GENERAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN TO PLANNED DEVELOPMENT (PD) DISTRICT FINAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN - FLUOR CORPORATION SUGAR LAND CAMPUS City Council Public Hearing: 6:00 p.m., December 18, 2018, City of Sugar Land City Council Chamber, 2700 Town Center Boulevard North to hear all persons interested in the proposed rezoning of approximately 50.309 acres from Planned Development (PD) District General Development Plan to Planned Development (PD) District Final Development Plan for a corporate office campus project located along University Boulevard and Lexington Boulevard; further identified as being 50.309 acres of land located in the Alexander Hodge League, Abstract 32, Fort Bend County, and a portion of the residue of a called 326.826 acre tract conveyed to NNP-Keepsake, L.P. by an instrument of record under File Number 2003149525, Official Public Records of said Fort Bend County (F.B.C.O.P.R.). Details of the proposed rezoning may be obtained by contacting the City of Sugar Land Development Planning Office by email planning@sugarlandtx.gov or phone (281) 275-2218. The agenda item for this meeting will be placed on the City website at www.sugarlandtx.gov under “Meeting Agendas” City Council no later than Friday, December 14, 2018.
8:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M. 2502 Plantation Creek Court Need toys for Christmas? Boy and Girl bikes, scooter, roller blades, doll house, dolls, Dual Sport Canvas Catcher, princess vanity, games, hot wheels, legos, nerf guns, books and more. Some baby items -double stroller, booster seats, car seat, baby toys. Kids clothes, sneakers, sports cleats, sports bags. Also light fixtures, lawn mower, edger, weed-wacker, microwave. 807 Venice, Sugar land
Thurs, Fri, Sat Nov 29-20, Dec 1 8 am - 5 pm Household items, Holiday items
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STAFFORD MUNICIPAL SCHOOL DISTRICT RFP #18 - 0017 Issued: November 16, 2018 REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE SEALED PROPOSALS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL
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F ORT B END NEW LISTING
Wednesday, November 28, 2018 • PAGE
H OME S HOWCASE NEW LISTING
NEW LISTING
F ORT B END
OXFORD/COMMONWEALTH - Lovely 1 story 4 bed, 2.5 bath Home. Original Owner - Shows Pride of Ownership! Backs to Wooded Greenbelt. On a Cul de sac. No back yard neighbors! Upgraded Kitchen w/Granite counters,Appliances & Porcelain tile flooring w/huge island. Lg. Pavered Patio. Hardi-siding on Garage. Many Fruit Tress. $349,900 CALL VIRGINIA MACK 281-816-7827 (VM3811BS)
OXFORD/COMMONWEALTH – Wonderfully Updated/Upgraded Perry 2-Story home w/Master down located on a double culdesac street. Fresh Neutral Paint & Carpet 2017. Updated Kitchen w/SS appls. & re-finished darker style cabinets. Master Bath Upgraded w/Frameless Shower Enclosure, Granite Counter, Tile Walls w/Shadow box & Accent Tile. Updated Light Fixtures & Hardware. Formal Living room w/Gas Log Fireplace. Huge Gameroom Upstairs w/Double Bi-Folding French Doors to Study. No Backyard Neighbors. $369,900. Call Virginia Mack 281-816-7827 (VM3914BS)
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NEW LISTING
H OME S HOWCASE The Virginia Mack Team ABR, CBR, CRS, GRI, HALL of Fame, PLATINUM CLUB
THE ESTATES OF OYSTER CREEK – Hidden Jewel of Sugar Land. Semi-Custom Neighborhood w/Low Taxes! Det. 3 Car Garage & Porte-Cochere. Culdesac street. Beautiful Architectural Designed Home w/Juliette Style Balcony over Lg. Foyer. High-end Amenities Throughout. Rich 5” Slat Hardwood Floors. Real Wood Plantation Shutters Throughout! French Doors open to the For. Living Room which could also be a Library. Open concept style Kit. w/SS Appliances, Granite Counter Tops, Island, Built-in Desk Area, Butler’s Pantry, Walk-in Pantry & Abundance of Cabinet & Counter Space. Main Room features a Cast Stone Gas Log Fireplace w/Built-in Shelves & Cabinets on each side. Covered Balcony & Covered Back Patio. $499,900 Call Virginia Mack 281-816-7827 (VM919PS).
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in Desired Commonwealth. Well maintained, shows pride of ownership. Two large living areas & a study. Huge Island Kitchen with Double Ovens, Abundance Counter & Cabinet space w/walk-in pantry. Hardwood floors in Formal Dining. Plantations Shutters in front three rooms. Study w/custom built-ins. Over sized covered patio with extended pavered patio for more entertaining space. $359,900 Call Virginia Mack 281-816-7827 (VM4211AW).
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Governor appoints locals to boards From staff reports FOR THE FORT BEND STAR
Gov. Greg Abbott has recently appointed two Fort Bend County residents to statewide posts. Fort Bend County Commissioner Vincent Morales Jr. or Rosenberg was appointed to the Texas Juvenile Justice Board and Preston Johnson Jr. of Sugar Land to the Correctional Managed Health Care Committee. Morales’s term will expire on Feb. 1. The board is charged to develop and implement rules to govern the department, executive director, and staff and to establish the mission and set goals for the department to emphasize keeping youth in home communities while balancing rehabilitative needs with public safety. Morales was previously elected mayor of Rosenberg
and was vice president of GreenScapes Associates, LLC. He serves as president of Fort Bend PAWS, benefiting Fort Bend County Animal Services, and previously as a board member for West Fort Bend Management District, Child Advocates of Fort Bend, Lamar Education Awards Foundation, and Central Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce. Morales attended the University of Houston. “I am very honored to have been appointed to the Texas Juvenile Justice Board by Governor Greg Abbott,” Morales said in a statement. Johnson, whose term expires on Feb. 1, is on a committee that coordinates the development of statewide policies for the delivery of correctional health care within the criminal justice system. Additionally, Abbot named Dr. Rodney Burrow as chair of the committee to a term that expires in 20121.
Johnson is a former executive of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. He is member of the Society of Human Resource Professionals, Houston Human Resource Leadership Council, National Black MBA Society, and the Houston Hispanic Chamber Foundation Board of Directors. Additionally, he is a member of the President’s Council at the University of Houston Clear Lake City, and the Sam Houston State University Foundation Board of Directors, the Business Schools’ Advisory Board, and the President’s Council at Sam Houston. Johnson earned a bachelor of business administration in accounting from Sam Houston State University, a master of business administration in management from the University of Houston-Clear Lake, and certifications in executive development from Michigan University and Harvard University.
SUTTON FOREST/COMMONWEALTH - Grand Stately Hm w/Pool/Spa, Covered Patio, 3-Car Garage, Cul-de-sac lot. Hardwood Floors. High-end Granite Counter tops & Upgraded Kit. cabinets. SS Thermador Appliances. All full baths Upgraded (8/18) w/Quartz Vanity. Game Rm. Built-ins & Much More! $565,000 Call Virginia Mack 281-816-7827 (VM4714DC)
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Looking For Local Events? Find them on pg. 12 BONDED & INSURED
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THE STAR
PAGE 8 • Wednesday, November 28, 2018
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Marshall beats A&M Consolidated, Ridge Point loses to Cy Fair By Bill McCaughey FOR THE FORT BEND STAR
Marshall scored 35 points in the second quarter and went on to beat A&M Consolidated 49-31 last Friday at Tomball. The Buffaloes’ running back Devon Achane rushed 12 times for 75 yards and four touchdowns, caught five passes for 83 yards and one touchdown, and he returned a punt 58 yards for a touchdown. Quarterback Malik Hornsby completed 10 of 14 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns, and he rushed 12 times for 82 yards. Kacey Barnett caught one pass for 53 yards and a touchdown. Kicker Angel Martinez had five extra points. On defense, Norman Baker had seven tackles and Warren Baker and Dylan Sanchez had two sacks each. Avery Helm had an interception. The Buffaloes will play Port Neches Grove on Friday night in Baytown.
Ridge Point’s John Norman II attempts to turn the corner during a run in Friday’s game against Cy Fair. (Photo by Bill McCaughey)
the third quarter. On their first possession, running back LJ Johnson scored on a 31-yard run to make the score 17-0 with 8:40 to go in the third quarter. Ridge Point’s John Paul Richardson goes up for a catch during Johnson scored again on Friday’s playoff loss to Cy Fair. (Photo by Bill McCaughey) a 35-yard run as the Bobcats upped their lead to quarter, Cy Fair’s Christian Running back Jaelon 24-0 with 2:31 to go in the Richmond returned a punt Woods said the team was third quarter. to the one-yard line. The not happy with their first In the fourth quarter, Bobcats quarterback Ryan half performance. Woods scored on a 1-yard Nelub then sneaked in for “In the first half, we just run to make the final score the touchdown, making the laid an egg out there. The 31-0. score 7-0 at the end of the defense saved us out there. The Cy Fair defense first quarter. At half time we talked held the Panthers to just 52 The Bobcats added a about executing. Then in yards rushing and 80 yards field goal with 9:55 to go in the second half we came passing. the second quarter and the out and we smacked it on The Bobcats were led by half ended with Cy Fair up them,” Woods said. Johnson, who rushed 16 10-0. Cy Fair struck quickly in times for 137 yards and two
Cy Fair 31, Ridge Point 0 Cy Fair beat an undermanned Ridge Point team 31-0 last Friday at Katy. Due to injuries, the Panthers were without their first- and second-string quarterbacks and their starting running back, as they took on the 2017 6A Division 2 state champions. With 1:12 to go in the first
touchdowns. Woods had 13 carries for 41 yards and one touchdown. “LJ has done a tremendous job for us. He just keeps improving on a daily basis. He is doing a real good job for us. Jaelon did some good things too as well. It’s nice to have both of them,” Cy Fair Head Coach Ed Pustejovsky said. On defense, Thatcher Milton and Jaydon Harris had nine tackles each, and Joe Pustejovsky had two sacks. “Our defense played really well. The defense did what they are coached to do, and they played extremely hard,” Pustejovsky
said. Cy Fair will play Atascocita on Saturday. “We will need to improve on execution if we are going to win next week. We need to come out with a mindset that we are going to execute at the start of the game. We will have to play hard and do the things we do. We had some opportunities this afternoon that we didn’t take advantage of. As we go down the road, things are going to get a lot tougher. If we get good field position, we need to take advantage of it, or we won’t be playing another game,” Pustejovsky said.
Miller leads Texans past Titans 34-17 By Bill McCaughey FOR THE FORT BEND STAR
Lamar Miller rushed for 162 yards, including a 97-yard touchdown run, to lead the Houston Texans past the Tennessee Titans 34-17 Monday night at NRG Stadium. After the Titans took a 10-0 lead on their first two possessions, Miller jumpstarted the listless Texans with four consecutive runs moving the ball from the Houston 39 yard line to the Titans’ 12 yard line. From there, Deshaun Watson found Demaryius Thomas for a 12-yard touchdown pass, pulling the Texans to within 3 at 10-7. Later, Watson scored a touchdown to put the Texans up 14-10. In the second quarter, the Titans had a fourth down and one yard to go at the Texans’ 3-yard line. Luke Stocker tried a run up the middle, but Texans’ linebackers Zach Cunningham and Benardrick McKinney stopped the play for no gain, and the Texans took over on downs. On the very next play, Miller ran by the right guard for a 97-yard touchdown run to put the Texans up 21-10.
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Texans quarterback hands the ball off to Lamar Miller, who then ran 97 yards for a touchdown Monday night against the Tennessee Titans. The Texans won the game 34-17. (Photo by Joe Southern)
“I give all the credit to the offensive line. They did a great job at giving me, (Alfred) Blue and Deshaun (Watson) opportunities to run the ball. I just took advantage of the opportunity,” Miller said. The first half ended with a Ka’imi Fairbairn 43-yard field goal to make the score 24-10.
Obituary
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JUDITH ANN EMANUEL DECEMBER 9, 1942
E
Judith Ann Emanuel (“Judy/ Gram”) was born December 9, 1942 to Erna and George Kraus in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She married her grade school sweetheart and First Holy Communion partner, James Ralph (“Jim”) Emanuel, on June 29, 1963. Judy worked as an office assistant putting Jim through graduate school. Judy is survived by Jim and their four children and spouses, Deborah and Conley Rank, Sandra and James Emanuel, Barbara and Marc Patel and Kelly and John Emanuel. She had 3 siblings George Kraus (deceased), Erna Handyside and Ralph Kraus. The lights of “Gram’s” life were her eight grandchildren: Max and Abbey Rank, Kate and Jane Patel, Nick and Matt Emanuel and Blake and Kayley Emanuel. Judy’s little dog, Maggie, was a constant companion and source of joy in sickness and health. Judy adored her family and friends and showered them all with handwritten cards, cookies and kindness. She was a wonderful and devoted spouse, mother, grandmother, sister and friend who will never be forgotten by
NOVEMBER 16, 2018
In the third quarter, Fairbairn added a 47-yard field goal, and the Titan’s Marcus Mariota threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to Corey Davis to make the score 27-17 at the end of three quarters. In the fourth quarter, Thomas caught his second touchdown pass of the game, a 10-yard pass from Watson,
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to make the final score 34-17. “Thomas stayed on top of his game, studied his game plan, and did what the coaching staff asked him to do. He executed the game plan and each route. I gave him a chance, and he made sure that he capitalized on those opportunities,” Watson said. For the Titans, Mariota had a career night completing 22 of 23 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns. But the Texans’ defense sacked him six times for 43 yards of loss, and after the first six minutes of the game, the Titans never really threatened to win the game. The Titans were 4 of 12 on third down conversions for the game. “They did a good job on third down against us. To be able to continue to sustain drives, continue to sustain momentum, we’ve got to be able to be efficient on third down. And I think there were times where they came out, we might have had a big play, but we got kind of stalled. For us if we can be the offense we want to be, we’ve got to improve in that area and continue to get in a rhythm to continue to sus-
Obituary
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JANE M. JAKUBIK
SEPTEMBER 11, 1939
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NOVEMBER 17, 2018
Jane M. Jakubik, age 79, of Missouri City, Texas passed away on Saturday November 17, 2018. Jane was born September 11, 1939 in Houston, TX at St. Joseph’s Hospital.
those who were blessed to know her. In lieu of flowers, Judy’s family is requesting that donations be made to a charity of choice or to the scholarship fund for the American Nurses Foundation (“ANF”). The ANF is a philanthropic organization with a mission to transform the nation’s health through the power of nursing. Judy and her family experienced firsthand the extreme power of healing and comfort in the hands of dozens of angels on earth working as nurses and therapists. The link to donate to the ANA is https://ebiz. nursingworld.org/anfdonation?_
Preceded in death by her mother, Imogene Pyle Males, Father, Frank A. Males, Grandparents, H.B Pyle and Loreen Pyle. Survivors are husband, John T. Jakubik, son, John T. Jakubik III and wife Susanna Stringfellow Jakubik, Grandchildren, JT Jakubik IV, Ryan Bailey Jakubik, sister Betty Tieman Bosch and brother, Allen Males Jr., nieces and nephews. Graduated from Lamar Consolidated High School, Rosenberg, TX in 1957. Attended the University of Texas and was a member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority. At different times belonged to Quail Valley Country Club, Missouri City Woman’s Club where she held various offices, Vice President, Program Chairman, Chairman of Charity Ball, Publicity Chairman, etc., past President of Quail Valley Evening Garden Club, Pecan Grove Garden Club, Quail Valley Quails, and Texas Society of Professional Surveyors Auxiliary, Member of St. John the Divine Episcopal Church since 1960.
tain drives and score points,” Mariota said. For the Texans, Watson was 19 of 24 for 210 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran nine times for a career high 70 yards and one touchdown. “There’s a lot of football to be done. Nothing’s solidified, nothing is set in stone. We have a lot more football to go and we have to continue to play Texans football. Each and every week is very important. Each and every week, especially now, November, December, is a playoff game. So, we’re trying to put ourselves in a position to be where we want to be at the end of the year. We left a lot of opportunities out there on the field in all three phases, and we have to come back in tomorrow, watch the film and correct those mistakes. We still haven’t played a complete football (game) on all three phases yet. We have an opportunity to do that next week and we try to continue to improve each and every week,” Watson said. Miller rushed 12 times for 162 yards and one touchdown, and Alfred Blue had 13 carries for 49 yards. DeAndre Hopkins had five receptions for 74 yards and Thomas had four receptions for 38 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, McKinney had 10 tackles, and J.J. Watt had nine tackles and 1.5 sacks, giving him an American Football Conference leading 11.5 sacks for the season. “Yeah, obviously it (the game) didn’t start out the way we wanted it to, but I think the way everybody responded speaks volumes about the
guys we have out there. Cov (Christian Covington) had an unbelievable night, very happy for him, the way that he played, just guys all over. I mean, again our defense is all about guys making plays. Never know where it’s going to come from, but someone’s going to make a play. Tonight, was another example,” Watt said. Whitney Mercilus had five tackles and 1.5 sacks, and Christian Covington had four tackles and 2.5 sacks. The Texans honored Bob McNair, their founder and owner, before the game and at halftime. McNair passed away last Friday. “Yeah, it was a great night. I give credit to our players. We talked a lot about Bob (McNair), what he meant to the city of Houston, obviously bringing football back to the city of Houston. Just the type of man that he was. He was a very honest man. He was a very Christian man. He would tell you the truth. He’d tell you when he thought you weren’t doing well, and he would tell you when he thought you were doing real well. I think these players, even the younger guys who really didn’t have a chance to know him very well, I think everybody understood from the veteran players what Bob meant to this organization. They handled it the right way. That was a good win and a tribute to Bob McNair. We gave the game ball to Cal (McNair), because we felt like as a team that win was for Bob,” Head Coach Bill O’Brien said. The Texans play the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at NRG Stadium.
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Divine Church, 2450 River Oaks Blvd., Houston, TX 77019 on Friday, November 30, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. The Reverend Louise Samuelson officiating. Reception to be held following at St. John the Divine. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Church of St. John the Divine (2450 River Oaks Blvd., Houston, TX 77019), or Poodle Rescue of Houston (13302 Schroeder Rd., Houston, TX 77070).
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www. forestparkwestheimer.com for the Funeral to be held at St. John the Jakubik family.
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Pertussis: Attack of “Whooping Cough”
Pertussis is a coughing illness cause by a bacteria called Bordatella pertussis. It is most often seen in young children, although teens and adults may also develop this condition. The first phase of the infection includes one to two weeks of a mild cough, low-grade fever, and watery eyes. The second phase is characterized by more frequent bursts of up to ten violent coughs, the last cough ending in a “whooping” sound as a result of the individual breathing in to catch their breath. A person may feel tired after the coughing episodes, and may also experience fatigue due coughing attacks interrupting sleep. Coughing episodes can also interfere with eating, leading to possible weight loss. Hacking up mucous and vomiting may also be present. If untreated, pertussis can progress to pneumonia, an inflammation of the lungs and a more serious condition. Pertussis vaccines (Infanrix, Daptacel, Tripedia, Pediarix, Pentacel, Boostrix, Adacel), are combination vaccines that also provide protection against other contagious diseases. Some of these vaccines can be given early as 2 months of age. If a person does become infected with pertussis, it may be treated with the antibiotic erythromycin (EryTab). Erythromycin is also prescribed if a person has been exposed to pertussis, but is not immunized.
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H CEMETERY, FROM PAGE. 1 associated with this prison labor system were also discovered,” according to the Woodson Research Center at Rice University. The victims in the prison farm include teenagers as young as 14. Community advocates, some who served on the city’s task force, are pushing for the remains to stay on the site and for DNA testing to learn the identity of the victims. But they are thwarted by questions of where the money will come to pay for testing. “The (Fort Bend Independent School) District has consistently stated that the most appropriate and logical location to reinter the human remains is in the Imperial Prison Farm Cemetery owned by the City of Sugar Land. This position has been reiterated in all discussions regarding the re-interment and memorialization of these 95 individuals. The district’s representatives on the task force shared this position repeatedly and has never changed from its position or the timeline,” said Chief Communications Officer Veronica Sopher. “Again, the city manager’s task force was convened to advise the city manager and we appreciated and participated in the process to better understand all viewpoints, but the district stayed firm in our position that the most appropriate and logical location to reinter the human remain is in the Imperial Prison Farm Cemetery,” Sopher said. According to various reports, an estimated $170,000 is needed to identify the bodies. A similar amount has been mentioned as the monthly cost to the school district for construction delays.
Sopher said she has heard and seen those numbers in the media but does not know where they come from. “We have not been given an estimate of costs for DNA testing. We asked an educational institution for a quote and we’ve been told between $10,000 and $100,000 per person,” said Sopher. Sopher said construction continues at the part of the site not impacted by the cemetery while higher powers determine the status of the bodies. She and other members of the task force and community activists said they felt as if it’s a foregone conclusion that the bodies will be removed. “When the judge called the docket, FBISD council stood up and said what they would do would not take more than 15 minutes and we were not sure the advocates and stakeholders would be able to say anything,” said Olushola. Olushola and other advocates, however, spoke and presented the judge with a petition of 1,700 signatures from Houston area residents opposed to moving the bodies. They told the judge how they felt left out of the process and that an agreement had already been made between the school district and the city of Sugar Land. “FBISD got before the judge and there is no way to sugarcoat it, they lied about a lot of things. They lied about not being able to do DNA and they said they consulted with community stakeholders who led them to their decision. But they left out the part that the task force voted to leave the bodies where they were, it was unanimous except for those from the board, “ said Olushola. For the advocates pushing to leave the bodies on site, a series of encounters with officials left them with a bad
taste. Sam Collins III served as a mediator trying to raise the expectations of Sugar Land officials and lower expectations of a wary Reginald Moore, who has been trying to bring attention for years to the prison and the bodies he told the district were buried on the property. Moore, who is also head of the Convict Leasing and Labor Project (CLLP), and his board questioned the district’s sincerity in pursuing education while resisting efforts to identify the remains. They said the discovery beneath the new school of technology, “presents an unprecedented opportunity for STEM education about archaeology, genealogy, engineering, and mortuary science including an opportunity to participate in what the National Park Service calls ‘Teaching with Historic Places.’ ...Hopefully, FBISD will not be guilty of sweeping the area clean of its past as the nation watches.” Moore said the bodies were found in a segregated cemetery and moving them to the integrated Imperial cemetery erases history. “The maintenance of FBISD’s control over the remains of these emancipated slaves and where they want them buried not only obliterate the Sugar Land Task Force vote of 19 to 1 but exercises the same level of control over the bodies that the State maintained over its convicts. At issue, is a refusal to protect and preserve an unprecedented historical site, which the Old Imperial Cemetery is not,” he said. Collins and others said they felt insulted and ignored and then learned that their task force was disbanded and leadership moved to the school district following the city vote to approve moving the bodies.
Wednesday, November 28, 2018 • PAGE
Collins has served on the National Texas Historical Preservation Board of Advisors for more than 10 years and worked in several communities. “This experience has been one of the worse experiences I have had in my 10-plus years of preservation work. What was discovered in Sugar Land is one of the most significant historical finds in America. The entire country is watching to see what will happen in Sugar Land and the City of Sugar Land and FBISD continue to treat it as a problem and not an opportunity,” Collins said. Sopher disagrees with that assessment that they are ignoring the community. “The advisory committee will be invited to meet as a group and our intention will be to interview each person one-on-one prior to the December group meeting so we can obtain information from your point of you. The December meeting is planned to share the feedback of everyone with the entire group so we can do the important work of healing any anger and resentment from the district’s decision to pursue the strategy it adopted prior to the creation of the task force, listening to all opinions and allowing every voice to be
heard and honored,” she said. Earlier this year, school district officials received approval to exhume the remains. Now they want the courts to rule that the location where the bodies were found, on a portion of the 65 acres the district bought from Sugar Land, is not an abandoned cemetery. And they want court approval to re-bury the remains elsewhere. “We petitioned for the judge to grant permission to re-inter a previous grant to exhume and to lift the legal designation on that small portion as a historical abandoned cemetery. By statute, we cannot construct on an abandoned cemetery,” Sopher, the district spokesperson, said. “The court said come up with a plan and it will be considered.” She said the district recognizes emotions are high on this issue. “It’s an emotional thing. We have to be respectful. We want to be sympathetic and we want what everyone wants. We only exist to educate students,” Sopher said. “The judge opted to not make a decision. In a practical sense, he did not grant us nor did he deny us. He said I want you to engage a bit more and threw out March as a possibility. But in talking with his
office later, that is up for consideration,” said Sopher. She said the district hopes to complete construction of the facility in August. “Our plan has always been toward interring those bodies in the Imperial Prison Farm Cemetery. It was all one camp; there was not a division. It was all the same property,” said Sopher. We make sure we treat them with dignity and respect and find an appropriate re-interment. If there is room and the city is agreeable, it will be at the old Imperial Cemetery,” said Sopher. “We envision a final resting place for the 95 where it is quiet, an opportunity for learning and reflections, an opportunity for people to quite easily access. We don’t believe that (accessibility) is on a campus.” Collins wants the district to modify the building so the bodies can remain on site. “Figure out a way to do a land swap, deed a piece of the property back to the city to take care of the cemetery and create a connection between the old prison farm with some kind of walking trail. That would cost more, but would also create an opportunity to bring in more to study that history. But I don’t think the city or school want that kind of tourism,” said Collins.
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality NOTICE OF APPLICATION AND PRELIMINARY DECISION FOR TPDES PERMIT FOR MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER RENEWAL
PERMIT NO. WQ0012003002 APPLICATION AND PRELIMINARY DECISION. Fort Bend County Municipal Utility District No. 25, P.O. Box 2847 Sugar Land, Texas 77487, has applied to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for a renewal of Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) Permit No. WQ0012003002, which authorizes the discharge of treated domestic wastewater at a daily average flow not to exceed 1,000,000 gallons per day. TCEQ received this application on June 4, 2018. The facility is located at 10347 Clodine Road, in Fort Bend County, Texas 77407. The treated effluent is discharged to Red Gully Tributary No. 2; thence to Red Gully; thence to Upper Oyster Creek in Segment No. 1245 of the Brazos River Basin. The unclassified receiving water uses are minimal aquatic life use for Red Gully Tributary No. 2 and limited aquatic life use for Red Gully (upstream of Appendix D* reach) and intermediate aquatic life use for Red Gully (Appendix D* reach). The designated uses for Segment No. 1245 are intermediate aquatic life use, public water supply, and primary contact recreation. This link to an electronic map of the site or facility’s general location is provided as a public courtesy and is not part of the application or notice. For the exact location, refer to the application. http://www.tceq.texas.gov/assets/public/hb610/index.html?lat=29.662777&lng=-95.676111&zoom=13&type=r The TCEQ Executive Director has completed the technical review of the application and prepared a draft permit. The draft permit, if approved, would establish the conditions under which the facility must operate. The Executive Director has made a preliminary decision that this permit, if issued, meets all statutory and regulatory requirements. The permit application, Executive Director’s preliminary decision, and draft permit are available for viewing and copying at the Sugar Land Branch Library, 550 Eldridge Road, Sugar Land, Texas. PUBLIC COMMENT / PUBLIC MEETING. You may submit public comments or request a public meeting about this application. The purpose of a public meeting is to provide the opportunity to submit comments or to ask questions about the application. TCEQ holds a public meeting if the Executive Director determines that there is a significant degree of public interest in the application or if requested by a local legislator. A public meeting is not a contested case hearing. OPPORTUNITY FOR A CONTESTED CASE HEARING. After the deadline for submitting public comments, the Executive Director will consider all timely comments and prepare a response to all relevant and material, or significant public comments. Unless the application is directly referred for a contested case hearing, the response to comments will be mailed to everyone who submitted public comments and to those persons who are on the mailing list for this application. If comments are received, the mailing will also provide instructions for requesting a contested case hearing or reconsideration of the Executive Director’s decision. A contested case hearing is a legal proceeding similar to a civil trial in a state district court. TO REQUEST A CONTESTED CASE HEARING, YOU MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING ITEMS IN YOUR REQUEST: your name, address, phone number, applicant’s name and proposed permit number; the location and distance of your property/activities relative to the proposed facility; a specific description of how you would be adversely affected by the facility in a way not common to the general public; a list of all disputed issues of fact that you submit during the comment period; and the statement “[I/we] request a contested case hearing.” If the request for contested case hearing is filed on behalf of a group or association, the request must designate the group’s representative for receiving future correspondence; identify by name and physical address an individual member of the group who would be adversely affected by the proposed facility or activity; provide the information discussed above regarding the affected member’s location and distance from the facility or activity; explain how and why the member would be affected; and explain how the interests the group seeks to protect are relevant to the group’s purpose. Following the close of all applicable comment and request periods, the Executive Director will forward the application and any requests for reconsideration or for a contested case hearing to the TCEQ Commissioners for their consideration at a scheduled Commission meeting. The Commission may only grant a request for a contested case hearing on issues the requestor submitted in their timely comments that were not subsequently withdrawn. If a hearing is granted, the subject of a hearing will be limited to disputed issues of fact or mixed questions of fact and law relating to relevant and material water quality concerns submitted during the comment period. TCEQ may act on an application to renew a permit for discharge of wastewater without providing an opportunity for a contested case hearing if certain criteria are met. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ACTION. The Executive Director may issue final approval of the application unless a timely contested case hearing request or request for reconsideration is filed. If a timely hearing request or request for reconsideration is filed, the Executive Director will not issue final approval of the permit and will forward the application and request to the TCEQ Commissioners for their consideration at a scheduled Commission meeting. MAILING LIST. If you submit public comments, a request for a contested case hearing or a reconsideration of the Executive Director’s decision, you will be added to the mailing list for this specific application to receive future public notices mailed by the Office of the Chief Clerk. In addition, you may request to be placed on: (1) the permanent mailing list for a specific applicant name and permit number; and/or (2) the mailing list for a specific county. If you wish to be placed on the permanent and/or the county mailing list, clearly specify which list(s) and send your request to TCEQ Office of the Chief Clerk at the address below. All written public comments and public meeting requests must be submitted to the Office of the Chief Clerk, MC 105, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, TX 78711-3087 or electronically at www.tceq.texas.gov/about/comments.html within 30 days from the date of newspaper publication of this notice. INFORMATION AVAILABLE ONLINE. For details about the status of the application, visit the Commissioners’ Integrated Database at www.tceq.texas.gov/goto/cid. Search the database using the permit number for this application, which is provided at the top of this notice. AGENCY CONTACTS AND INFORMATION. Public comments and requests must be submitted either electronically at www.tceq.texas.gov/about/comments.html, or in writing to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Office of the Chief Clerk, MC-105, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, Texas 78711-3087. Any personal information you submit to the TCEQ will become part of the agency’s record; this includes email addresses. For more information about this permit application or the permitting process, please call the TCEQ Public Education Program, Toll Free, at 1-800-687-4040 or visit their website at www.tceq.texas.gov/goto/pep. Si desea información en Español, puede llamar al 1-8oo-687-4040. Further information may also be obtained from Fort Bend County Municipal Utility District No. 25 at the address stated above or by calling Mr. Christopher Munson, P.E., at Ardurra Group, at (346) 666-5092.
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Missouri City swears in two new council members From staff reports FOR THE FORT BEND STAR
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Two new members were sworn in as city council members at the Nov. 19 meeting of the Missouri City City Council. Vashaundra Edwards was sworn in as the new At-Large Position 1 Councilmember following her election on Nov. 6. She defeated Councilmember Jerry Wyatt, who was thanked at the meeting for his 33 years of service. The council also appointed Reginald Pearson as the new District A Councilmember replacing Yolanda Ford, who is in a runoff election for mayor against Allen Owen. The council had interviewed six candidates during a special meeting prior to the regular session. He was sworn in by Owen at the end of the meeting. On Saturday, Dec. 8, Mis-
souri City voters will decide two runoff elections – one for mayor and one for city council at-large position 2. The mayor’s race has Owen, the incumbent, against Ford. The council race has incumbent Chris Preston against Susan Soto. The election is nonpartisan. Registered voters in Missouri City subdivisions located in Fort Bend and Harris counties are eligible to vote in the runoff election. Early voting began Monday and ends Tuesday, Dec. 4.
Reginald Pearson (right) is sworn in my Mayor Allen Owen as the new District A Councilmember in Missouri City. (Submitted photo)
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THE STAR
PAGE 12 • Wednesday, November 28, 2018
See us online www.FortBendStar.com
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COMMUNITY CALENDAR FORT BEND COMMUNITY CALENDAR IS FOR NON-PROFIT EVENTS.
Deadline is noon every Friday. Please keep wording to a minimum. Answer the “5 W’s” Who, What, When, Where, and Why. Email to Editor@FortBendStar.com or mail to: Fort Bend Star, 3944 Bluebonnet Drive, Stafford, Texas 77477.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 28 HOLIDAY ORNAMENTS WITH 3D PRINTING
Learn to make ornaments on a 3D printer at Mamie George Branch Library, 10-11 a.m, 320 Dulles Ave in Stafford. Use Tinkercad and the library’s 3D printer to create holiday-themed ornaments that can be personalized and unique! Free and open to the public. Registration required, visit www.fortbend.lib.tx.us click on calendar, select Mamie George Branch Library, and find the program, or call 281-238-2880.
THURSDAY, NOV. 29 HOPE FOR THREE GIVERS UNITE!
Kendra Scott Sugar Land and Hope For Three Autism Advocates, partner to create a community of generosity by giving back. 6-8 p.m. A portion of all sales benefit local families and children living with autism. Can’t attend but want to support? Call the store, 832-532-8521 between 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Nov. 29 and place your order with free shipping. Twenty percent of all proceeds are donated to Hope For Three. Visit hopeforthree.org or call 281-2450640 for more information.
DECEMBER YOUTH ACTIVITIES AT THE LIBRARY
Fort Bend County Libraries offer programs for teens in grades 9-12. Programs are free and open to the public. For more information, call the Sienna Branch Library at 281-238-2952, or 281-633-4734 or visit the library at 8411 Sienna Springs Blvd in Missouri City, or call the University Branch Library at 281-633-5100 or visit at 14010 University Blvd in Sugar Land, on the UH campus.
FRIDAYS IN DECEMBER BYOC: BRING YOUR OWN CRAFT
Sugar Land Branch Library, 550 Eldridge, 1-3 p.m. Share tips, get ideas and inspiration, and enjoy fellow crafters. All experience levels and all crafts welcome. Bring your own project and crafting supplies. Free and open to the public. For more information, call 281-238-2140 or 281633-4734.
SATURDAY, DEC., 1 GREAT OUTDOORS DAY
Brazos Bend State Park, 21901 FM 762, Needville, will have a day packed full of fun programs and something for everyone. Programs start at 9 a.m. and we wind down at 5 p.m.
BARGAIN BOOK SALE
At the First Colony Library, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2121 Austin Parkway. Donations of good condition books, CDs, and DVDs are accepted during the sale. Any proceeds from the sale benefit the library and its programs.
SUNDAY, DEC. 2 WASSAIL
The Dewalt Heritage Center/Dew House will hold its annual Wassail from 1-4 p.m. Donald J. Leonetti Elementary and Jan Schiff Elementary students will perform seasonal carols and Santa will be on the front porch to visit with kids of every age. Cookies and hot wassail will be served.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 5 SEABOURNE PARK MONTHLY BIRD HIKE
All ages and levels of birders are welcome; meet in the parking lot at 8 a.m. Seabourne Creek Nature Park, 3831 Texas 36 South, Rosenberg. The hikes are led by members of the Coastal Prairie Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists. Free and open to the public.
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THURSDAY, DEC. 6 ALIEF AARP CHAPTER 3264 MEETING
a.m. featuring the Golden Heirs Choir from the Calvary Baptist Church in Rosenberg. We will be collecting cake and brownie mixes and cake frosting for Helping Hands. Reserve a spot by calling 281-238-4002 or 281-342-8575. Reservation deadline is Dec. 7. The program is free; lunch is $15.
FORT BEND-HARRIS RETIRED EDUCATORS LUNCHEON
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 12 CULINARY BOOK CLUB MEETS
At The Abbey at Westminster Plaza, 2855 Westminster Plaza Blvd., Houston. The doors open at 11 a.m. for the Christmas program. Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m. ($9). Program starts at 12:30 p.m. Call 713-838-7383 for more information and reservations.
“Have a Souper Holiday” Luncheon and meeting at 11 a.m., social at 10:30 a.m. at the Sugar Land United Methodist Church Great Hall, 431 Eldridge Road. Bring a crock pot of soup, salad, appetizer or dessert to share. Entertainment by the SLMS Choir. Project: Decorate bags for Lunches of Love. All retired public school educators are invited. For more information, call 281-499-5885.
FORT BEND- HARRIS RETIRED EDUCATORS MEETING
All retired school personnel are invited to Lunch at Sugar Land United Methodist Church, 431 Eldridge Road, 11 a.m. Have a Souper Holiday (appetizers, soups and desserts); Program: Sugar Land Middle School Choir; Project: Decorate bags for Lunches of Love. For more information, call 281-499-5885.
SATURDAY, DEC. 8 HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE AT THE SUGAR LAND BRANCH
The festivities take place from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 550 Eldridge. Music and singing by Sherry Woodruff and her group of carolers, along with refreshments and holidaythemed craft activities for all ages. Free and open to the public. For more information, call 281-238-2140 or 281633-4734.
SNOW FEST AT JORDAN RANCH
Families will enjoy 70,000 pounds of snow and holiday cheer — not to mention a chance to meet Santa and the missus, noon to 3 p.m. Winter happens at 2422 Sandhill Crest Lane, with fun that includes a three-lane slide, DJ, performing elf, ice carvers, face painters, a trackless train, 76-foot obstacle course and more. A giant snow globe offers the perfect spot for holiday photos. Hot chocolate and cookies top off the day! Free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.jordanranchtexas.com/ snowfest.
JORDAN RANCH FORECASTS SNOW!
Families can enjoy 70,000 pounds of snow and holiday cheer — not to mention a chance to meet Santa and the missus — during Snow Fest, noon to 3 p.m. The winter salute happens at 2422 Sandhill Crest Lane, with a threelane slide, DJ, performing elf, ice carvers, face painters, a trackless train, 76-foot obstacle course and more. A giant snow globe offers the perfect spot for holiday photos. Hot chocolate, cookies will keep everyone warm. Free & open to the public. For more information visit www. jordanranchtexas.com.
SECOND ANNUAL BLACK TIE GALA
Join us for an evening of dancing, dining, and a $500 raffle to support Liberty Christian Center’s 2019 graduates at the Mamie George Community Center, 1111 Collins Road, Richmond, from 7-10 p.m., $25/person. For more information, call 281-804-8119.
TUESDAY, DEC. 11 PECAN GROVE WOMEN’S CLUB
Will meet at the Pecan Grove Plantation Country Club at 9:30 a.m. for coffee and visiting. The program begins at 10
Alief
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SIENNA ART CLUB MEETS
At the Sienna Branch Library, 4-5:30 p.m., 8411 Sienna Springs Blvd. in Missouri City. Bring-your-own-craft holiday social. This monthly program is for people who enjoy all kinds of crafts. People of all ages and experience levels. Free and open to the public. For more information, call -238-2900 or 281-633-4734.
SATURDAY, DEC. 15 ART & CULTURE: GOTHIC CATHEDRALS
The Sugar Land Branch Library begins the series 2-4 p.m., 550 Eldridge. Learn the characteristics of the Gothic period, including urbanization, economic prosperity, professional guilds, the crusades (1095-1291), and the veneration of the Virgin Mary. The series will continue in January and February with programs on Renaissance Art and Impressionism. Free and open to the public. For more information, call 281-238-2140 or 281-633-4734.
WINTER WONDERLAND CARNIVAL: TRANSITION AND DISABILITY RESOURCE FAIR
Fort Bend ISD, along with The Arc of Fort Bend, will host the fair, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Clements High School, 4200 Elkins Road, Sugar Land. Free and open to the public, the event is geared toward children with special needs, but is open to all children in the community. The Clements High School Honor Society will be helping to provide games, music, arts and crafts and other fun activities. Parents will also have an opportunity to listen to speakers and talk to vendors in Fort Bend County that provide services and resources for children with special needs.
SATURDAY, JAN. 19 HOPE FOR THREE JIGSAW PUZZLE COMPETITION
Put your puzzle building skills against other teams in this two-hour competition to benefit Hope for Three Autism Awareness. Join others at Constellation Field, 1 Stadium Dr., Sugar Land. Teams of four can pre-register for $100. Awards, prizes and bragging rights guaranteed. Sponsorship and Underwriting opportunities available. Call 281-245-0640 or visit www.hopeforthree.org/jigsaw for information and to register.
ONGOING BINGO AT THE VFW
Help support our veterans! Play bingo at Post 3903 every Tuesday and Saturday night at 7:15 p.m. 1903 First St, Rosenberg. All prizes paid in CASH!! Pull Tabs, $200 Bonanza, $300 Coverall, $750 Coverall, kitchen & bar service.
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At the University Branch Library will meet, 1:30 p.m., 14010 University Blvd in Sugar Land, on the UH campus. This month, is a cookie exchange. Bring and share holiday treats and recipes. The club meets on the third Wednesday of every month, different cooking genres are explored. Free and open to the public. For more information, call 281-633-5100 or 281-633-4734.
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