The 06-28-23 Edition of The Fort Bend Star

Mathews sworn in as new Stafford mayor

By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM

The city of Stafford saw one of the most significant changes in its civic leadership with the swearing-in last week of new Mayor Ken Mathew, the first Indian-Amercian and the first person of color to lead the small city in its history.

Mathew, who narrowly defeated the incumbent mayor, Cecil Willis, in a run-off election on June 10, leads a virtually brand-new City Council after this year’s municipal election saw the election of four new members. Willis, who had served on the Council for a total of 36 years, was elected mayor in a special election in 2020 following the death of the previous mayor, Leonard Scarcella, who had headed the city government for 50 years.

In a standing-room-only special meeting on June 20, Mathew, surrounded by his family members, was sworn

Meyers touts accomplishments during Chamber of Commerce talk

By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM

Longtime Fort Bend Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers outlined his view of the county’s future while making a case for his own reelection during a talk at the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce last week.

Meyers, a Republican, had already announced his intention to run for an eighth term in the Commissioners Court seat he has held since 1999.

Long known for his fiscal conservatism, Meyers represents perhaps the most prominent representative left of the GOP-led guard that had held sway in the county for decades before Democrats led by County Judge KP George took charge in 2018.

Meyers’s bid for reelection will be a bit more challenging in 2024. His precinct was redrawn in a map introduced by the Democratic majority in 2021 following the 2020 census to favor a Democratic

candidate, with his longtime Sugar Creek home being removed from the precinct. A recent attempt by Meyers to change that failed at Commissioners Court, forcing him to move to another residence in order to run again.

Meanwhile, he is facing an intra-party challenge from Sugar Land businessman Mike Khan, and two Democrats, Taral Patel and Zeeshan Isaac, have

Fourth of July being celebrated across Fort Bend County

With outgoing mayor Cecil Willis looking on, new Stafford Mayor Ken Mathews is sworn in by Missouri City Mayor Robin Elackatt. Screen capture from Stafford Municipal TV

By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM

In politically divisive times, holidays have the ability to bring people together to celebrate common values, such as community and togetherness. Independence Day, or July 4th, which celebrates the official beginning of the United States, is perhaps the country’s purest example of such a holiday.

In Fort Bend County, there will be no shortage of opportunities to celebrate this Independence Day, which falls on Tuesday, July 4. Below is a listing of many of them.

Sugar Land

The city of Sugar Land’s

Red, White and Boom Celebration is scheduled for Tuesday, July 4, from 5-9 p.m. at The Crown Festival Park, 18355 Southwest Freeway. Fireworks will close out the event at approximately 9 p.m.

Attendees will be able to enjoy an evening full of patriotic fun with activities for all ages and a main stage area featuring a variety of local talent.

Live entertainment and activities will take place throughout the event, including a children’s zone with photo opportunities, face painting, airbrush art, trackless trains, rock walls, carnival inflatables and games along with a variety of information stations. A large variety of food and drink op -

tions will be available at concession areas.

This event is free and open to the public, and no tickets will be required. Those planning to attend are encouraged to arrive early due to limited onsite parking and shuttle capacities. Gates will open promptly at 4 p.m. Once all parking is full, access to the event will be closed and remaining late comers are encouraged to park and watch the show from their homes or from the shuttle parking lots.

Due to limited onsite parking, attendees are encouraged to take the free shuttle to avoid traffic delays. Shuttle services are available at University of Houston-Sugar Land and Smart Financial

Centre. All shuttle traffic will halt for the launching of fireworks from 8:30-9:30 p.m.

A clear view of the fireworks show will be available via livestream on Sugar Land Parks and Recreation’s Facebook page at www.facebook. com/SugarLandParks. Full information can be found at sugarlandtx.gov/915/RedWhite-and-Boom.

Meanwhile, on Monday, July 3, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys will hold an Independence Day Celebration during their game against the Oklahoma City Dodgers at Constellation Field featuring a Replica Patriotic Jersey giveaway for the first 2,000 attendees, presented by Vivaldi Music Academy, spe -

cialty Patriotic Jerseys to be auctioned off in-stadium and a postgame fireworks extravaganza, the venue’s largest show of the year. Gates open at 5 p.m., and the first pitch is at 6:35 p.m.

Rosenberg

The city of Rosenberg will hold its 24th annual Family 4th Celebration on Tuesday, July 4, from 6-10 p.m. at Seabourne Creek Nature Park located at 3831 Highway 36 S. The event is free and open to the public.

The event will feature activities for all ages including hit music from Corpus Christi’s

A girl waves an American flag during the city of Sugar Land’s 2019 Red, White, and Boom event, which has festivities for attendees of all ages. Municipalities around the county are preparing for the annual celebration. Photo courtesy City of Sugar Land

Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers speaks to the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce last week. Photo by Ken Fountain

Retired NASA physicist to discuss Apollo missions on July 1, 8

Retired physicist F. Don Cooper will share his experiences creating the technology that helped launch Apollo 11 in 1969, and the efforts that his team went through to successfully bring the Apollo 13 crew home safely in 1970. during a special program at Fort Bend County Libraries’ University Branch Library on Saturday, July 1, from 10:3011:30 a.m., in Meeting Room 1 of the library, located at 14010 University Blvd in Sugar Land, on the UH campus.

Cooper will also discuss the history of U.S. rockets, and his role in designing the Saturn V ascent guidance and trans-lunar targeting equations that would help make space travel possible.

The program will be repeated on Saturday, July 8, from 2-4 p.m., at the Mission Bend Branch Library (8421 Addicks Clodine Road).

An Oklahoma native, Cooper became fascinated with math and science while still in high school. He attended Oklahoma Baptist University, where he majored in physics and mathematics

with a minor in chemistry. His career after college took him to Huntsville, Alabama, where he worked at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center on NASA’s Apollo program, developing the targeting equations to guide the manned spacecraft from earth orbit to the moon. His career then led him to Houston’s Johnson Spaceflight Center, which would later become known as the Johnson Space Center. During his years there, Cooper worked on eight Apollo missions, the Atlas Centaur, the Air Force Dyna-Soar, and the Mars rocket NOVA. For the Apollo 13 mission, he provided the trans-lunar coast abort options to Houston Mission Control.

Cooper retired in 2002, and soon found a new calling – that of encouraging a new generation of students to pursue a future in the physical sciences. He enjoys speaking to youth groups, community organizations, schools and colleges, hoping to inspire the technology leaders of the future with his first-hand account of the events as they actually happened.

“Of the seven primary

people who did this, I am the last one alive,” says Cooper. “Students do not know much about Apollo since it all happened before they were born. My objective is to show them how it happened, emphasize that education is essential, and show how math and physics solve real-world problems.”

The program is free and open to the public. For more information, see the Fort Bend County Libraries website (www.fortbend.lib.tx.us), or call the University Branch Library (281-633-5100), the Mission Bend Branch Library (832-471-5900), or the library system’s Communications Office (281-633-4734).

announced their own candidacies for the Precinct 3 seat.

But, Meyers told the gathering at the chamber audience last week, he still has goals that he wants to accomplish in office.

Meyers touted his efforts in passing an ordinance imposing limits on sexually oriented businesses in the county in 1999. More recently, he said, he has helped lead a bipartisan effort to the Texas Legislature’s efforts to eliminate counties’ ability to regulate such businesses.

Meyers also said he has been at the forefront of a countywide effort to bring resources to increase flood mitigation efforts, particularly along the flood-prone Brazos River, and countering the rising insurance premiums that result.

Touting his AM talkradio-given nickname as “the taxpayer’s best friend,” Meyers noted that Fort Bend County’s ad valorum tax rate has fallen from 66 cents per $100 when he took office to 44 cents today. That makes the county more attractive to both businesses and homeowners to relocate, he said.

Meyers said he would like to create an industrial development district to help build the infrastructure to attract industrial businesses to the county. The district would operate along lines similar to municipal utility districts, he said.

The hard part of that process, he said, would be getting the enabling legislation passed by the Texas Legislation, where the vast majority of introduced bills usually die in committee. But, Meyers said, he has over his long political career formed relationships with legislators across party lines that will put Fort Bend

County in good stead.

Meyers said that since he has been in office, he has strived to help make Fort Bend a “family-friendly community.” That began with his efforts to limit sexually oriented businesses, and has continued with raising money for nonprofits that provide assistance to at-risk families, the homeless community, and other efforts.

Meyer said he is working to help improve the infrastructure in many of Fort Bend’s aging neighborhoods, many of whom are more than a half-century-old, that have deteriorated markedly.

“I am running for reelection,” Meyers said when asked about his plans. “ I still have a vision, a passion, I have a reason to run for office. There are things I still want to accomplish.” The legislation he hopes to push through in the 2025 session of the Legislature requires him to be reelected in 2024, he said.

Salt Lake stings Sugar Land on tough road trip

By Landan Kuhlmann

If the Sugar Land Space Cowboys were looking to get back on track, unfortunately last week was not the time for it to happen. The Space Cowboys struggled to a 2-4 series last week, dropping their record in June to 9-14.

Sugar Land lost four out of six games to the Salt Lake City Bees on the road last week, including losing in four of the series’ final five games. With the series loss, the Space Cowboys now sit at 33-42 overall and are currently in third place in the Pacific Coast League’s (PCL) East division. The Space Cowboys are set for a home series with division-leading Oklahoma City June 28-July 3 at Constellation Field beginning Tuesday.

The week was rough overall, but several hitters still shined for Sugar Land against Salt Lake. Pedro Leon led the way by going 9 for 18 with four extra base hits, seven RBIs and a 1.702 OPS in the series, including hitting for the cycle – the first in Space Cowboys’ historyduring Sugar Land’s 21-6 victory on June 21. Rylan Bannon was also on fire last week in hitting .350 (7 for 20) with a 1.058 OPS and reaching base in 11 of his 24 plate appearances, while catcher Korey Lee went 8 for 17 with two homers, five RBIs, and a 1.382 OPS in 18 plate appearances during the series.

Meanwhile, infielder Shay Whitcomb homered three more times in the series against Salt Lake, bringing his total to eight homers in just 18 games with the Space Cowboys so far this season, while recent minor league signee Jon Singleton – just signed last week – went 4 for 6 with a home run and four RBIs while reaching base in eight of his 10 plate appearances.

And though not much went right on the mound for the Space Cowboys last week, reliever Enoli Paredes had a solid week with two scoreless innings of relief including a strikeout while only allowing one runner to reach base.

Joe Record also had a pair of scoreless outings, including picking up his team-leading 10th save of the season in the Space Cowboys’ 12-11 win on June 20. Brandon Bielak had the best pitching performance of the week, going six innings while allowing just one run with five strikeouts in Sugar Land’s 21-6 victory on June 24.

Pedro Leon gets congratulations from a teammate after crossing home plate. Photo from Twitter

The Jam Band, a foam pit, paintball, a magician, bounce houses, horse-drawn wagon rides, petting zoo, face painter and balloon artist. There will also be a hair braid station and a hair tinsel station with services available for a fee, plus a kid’s vendor booth with various light-up toys available for purchase.

Many food and beverage options will be available for purchase from some of the area’s most popular food trucks. The grand finale of the evening will be the spectacular twenty-minute patriotic fireworks show which will begin at approximately 9:15 p.m.

There are two free parking options for the event. Fair-weather parking will be available immediately south of the event entrance and event attendees can walk across the footpath into the park grounds. Parking will

in by Missouri City Mayor Robin Elackatt, also an Indian-American. In the audience was a veritable who’s-who of Fort Bend County officials past and present, including Fort Bend County Judge KP George, Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers, Texas Rep. Ron Reynolds, Texas Rep. Suleman Lulani, former Missouri City Mayor Owen Allen, among others.

In public remarks, many of the officials gave effusive praise to Willis, the outgoing mayor, and well-wishes to Mathew. Before Mathew’s swearing-in, Willis, still presiding officer of the Council, gave remarks that served as a kind of benediction to his decades of service to the city.

“I am very much humbled by your selection of me as your mayor,” Mathew said in

also be available at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds along with a free shuttle service. The shuttle will run continuously from 5:30 p.m. until 10 p.m., taking attendees to and from the Fairgrounds and Seabourne Creek Nature Park. Full information can be found at rosenbergtx.gov/217/Family4th-Celebration.

Also, on July 7, from 6:30-9:30 p.m., Like Minded Community and the VFW Rosenberg will hold the third annual “Salute to Veterans and Military at the VFW Rosenberg hall at 1903 1st Street (Highway 36). The family-friendly event will celebrate veterans, current military members, surviving spouses and families.

The event will include a catered dinner, live entertainment, a DJ, a bucket raffle, door prizes and a silent auction. The organizers are seeking sponsorships that veterans, military, and

his own remarks. “This is a historical event.”

Mathews thanked Willis for their close association over 17 years on the Council.

Mathews, who is a Christian, noted that on the same day that he was being sworn in, his co-religionists in his home country of India were marking the holiday known as “The Procession of Saints.”

“I am so glad to be have taken the oath of office on this day,” he said.

Mathews paid homage to the legacy of Scarcella, the late mayor, who had emphasized fiscal prudence through his half-decade in office.

Mathews, a retired financial professional, said the “lifeline of this city,” known for decades for its disavowal of a property tax, is the sales tax.

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GILBERT

Hi there! My name is Gilbert and I am 14 yrs old!

Approximately 60 percent of Stafford’s revenues are derived from the sales tax from retail establishments, he noted.

He said the City Council’s responsibility was to pursue policies that would enhance and attract new retail business to the city.

“It is not impossible, but it will not be easy,’ he said. “And that is where I will be - pursuing and pushing. And I need all of the support of the Council to move forward so we can do better financially. It will not be easy.’

Mathews advocated enhancing the area known as “The Island” along the city’s major business thoroughfares.

“Let us have a frank discussion, and we will move accordingly and make this great city of Stafford greater,” he said.

spouses and attend free. To sponsor, call Tom Koppa at 281-652-6233.

Missouri City

The city of Missouri City’s MCTX Independence Day Festival will be held on Tuesday, July 4, from 4-9 p.m. at Houston Community College’s Missouri City Campus (1600 Texas Parkway). The event will feature live music, food, carnival games, and of course, fireworks. Free parking and shuttle service will take place at Thurgood Marshal High School, 1220 Buffalo Run.

Stafford

The city of Stafford is holding events on July 3 and July 4 at the Stafford Centre, 10505 Cash Road. On July 3, from 6:30-11:30 p.m., a concert will be held featuring Ram Herrera and the Outlaw Band. There will also be hayrides, kids’ activities, and food and beverages. On July

4, from 7-9:30 p.m., the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra will perform a free “Freedom Rings” concert, followed by a fireworks display beginning at 9 p.m. Full information can be found at staffordtx.gov.

Meadows Place

The city of Meadows Place will hold its 4th of July Food Truck Family Festival on Tuesday, July 4, from 6-9 p.m. at Mark McGrath Park. The event will feature food trucks, live music, and a fireworks show beginning at 9 p.m. Full information can be found at cityofmeadowsplace.org/4thof-july-food-trucks-2023.

More events will be added as we become aware of them. Visit fortbendstar.com.

Fort Bend library program will focus on Rome and Roman Empire

Fort Bend County Libraries’ “Ancient Civilizations Art & Architectures” series continues this summer with an educational program on Rome and the Roman Empire on Saturday, July 1, from 2-4 p.m., in the Meeting Room of the Sugar Land Branch Library, located at 550 Eldridge.

In this segment of the series, architecture professor Sheba Akhtar will talk about the Roman Republic and the assassination of Julius Caesar, the Roman Empire and Augustus Caesar, and Emperor Constantine and the rise of

Christianity. Learn about different Roman achievements, such as city-planning and government, art and literature, engineering and architecture, and military and cultural conquests.

Akhtar received her Master of Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania and taught art and architecture history for 20 years. She is the author of “Of Colour and Form” and numerous articles on art and architecture.

The program is free and open to the public. For more information, see the Fort Bend County Libraries website (www.fortbend.lib.tx.us),

or call the Sugar Land Branch Library (281-238-2140) or the library system’s Communications Office (281-633-4734).

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There are several opportunities to celebrate Independence Day in Fort Bend County this year. Photo by Ken Fountain

Sheba

Name that school

LYNN ASHBY Columnist

Stephen F. Austin is still with us. No, not “The Father of Texas” but the university in Nacogdoches up in the East Texas piney woods that is named for him. The reason we mention this is because of what did and didn’t happen. Stephen F. Austin State University (can we call it just SFA?) has become yet another school of The University of Texas System which already has nine academic institutions and five health–science centers. Why after an even 100 years is SFA changing its position? Money of course. Four of Texas’ major university systems

sought to acquire the East Texas school, and the UT System won out. As the school’s regents noted, by coming under the Burnt Orange Blanket SFA has access to the Permanent University Fund, or PUF. That’s the state fund that collects royalties from oil and gas leases on 2.1 million acres of land in West Texas that goes to the UT and Texas A&M University Systems. PUF is worth $48.3 billion (but it grows by $5 million a day), giving those systems an endowment that is the largest of any public schools in the nation.

SFA will immediately receive $1 million more for annual scholarships and $5.5 million for faculty salaries. Tenured faculty will still remain tenured and tenuretrack faculty will remain on the tenure track. Students (12,969 of them) will also maintain their enrollment. That’s what happened. This is what didn’t happen: The school will retain its mascot (Lumberjacks), colors (purple and white) and – a roll of the Lumberjack band’s drums –its name. In the past schools that joined the UT System

had to add “at (wherever”) to differentiate them from UT at Arlington, Commerce, Tyler, Permian Basin, Dallas, San Antonio and on and on. (And, no, we don’t have a UTTrump.) SFA will not become The University of Texas at Nacogdoches.

What did they do with Texas Western? What about the Texas State University for Negroes? (The latter is now Texas Southern University.) And where is the CIA – College for Industrial Arts? Texas State University began as Southwest Texas State Teachers College, then they dropped the “teachers,” eventually changed “college” to “university” and became Southwest Texas State University. Then it became Texas State University. But the university retains its school motto: “The Only School in Texas That Produced a U.S. President.” My father said he always wanted to be a cheerleader at that school so he could lead a cheer: “Rah, rah, rah. Southwest Texas State Teachers College Bobcats!”

By the time he finished the cheer, the game would be over.

Texas A&M-Commerce started out as East Texas State Teachers College. One of its students, who made money

sweeping out classrooms and ringing the campus bell every 45 minutes, was Sam Rayburn. UT-Arlington got its name because of fearful Aggies. The school began as Arlington College in 1895 as a private school for 1st through 10th grades. It then became Arlington Military Academy and in 1923 changed to the North Texas Agricultural College. In 1949 the school became Arlington State College and joined the Texas A&M System. A&M President Earl Rudder resisted developing ASC into a university with graduate programs. Rudder and the Texas A&M Board of Regent saw ASC as a threat to the College Station campus, so it withheld construction funding and blocked degree development. The school switched to the UT System and changed its name once again, this time to The University of Texas-Arlington.

This renaming schools is practically a cottage (or college) industry. We started early. The very first venture by the state into higher education was not, as many think, The University of Texas, but theAgricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, which eventually became the Texas Agricultural and

Fort Bend libraries offer programs for aspiring writers

Fort Bend County Libraries will present a variety of programs, classes, and activities in July that encourage fledgling writers, or anyone who has ever wanted to write a novel, to take the plunge and pursue their dreams in a helpful, supportive environment.

Throughout the month, Fort Bend County Libraries will host programs that are intended to encourage new writers by providing tips and tricks, writing and publishing advice, and support from other aspiring novelists. These programs are free and open to the public.

Prose Pros Writing Group – Monday, July 3, 6-7:30 p.m., Cinco Ranch Branch Library (2620 Commercial Center Blvd, Katy)

During this monthly workshop, take advantage of the library’s space, quiet atmosphere, seating, power outlets, and snacks to kickstart your own literary masterpiece! Participants will have an opportunity to share their manuscripts with others and get constructive feedback.

FBCL’s Online Writer’s Corner Explained – Tuesday, July 11, 2-3 p.m., Sienna Branch Library (8411 Sienna Springs Blvd, Missouri City)

The “Writers’ Corner” on FBCL’s website includes three unique tools – PressBooks Public, the Indie Author Project, and the BiblioBoard Library – that enable writers, as well as readers, to create, publish, and discover digital content made by and for the local community. Library staff will demonstrate the different facets of this online resource and show how it can help writers. Registration required.

Story Spinners Writing Club – Thursday, July 20, 5:30-8:30 pm, George Memorial Library (1001 Golfview, Richmond)

From beginning blogger to

published novelist, writers of all genres and experience levels are welcome to write, share, learn, support, network, and critique each other’s work at this monthly meeting. Writing prompts, brainteasers, and brief exercises will be available to ignite the imaginations of any and all wordsmiths who wish to hone their craft. The topic for July is “Flow.” This program is recommended for adults and teens aged 14 and up.

Mechanical College – they put the “Texas” part up front. Today it is called Texas A&M University. But do you know what the actual, official name is? Texas A&M University. No periods after either the A or the M because they no longer stand for words. Same for Texas Tech. It began life as West Texas A&M and was supposed to be in Abilene, but became Texas Technological College in Lubbock. Today it is Texas Tech University. There is no period after Tech.

Then there is UT-El Paso, now known as UTEP. It began as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy and for the first decade awarded one single degree: engineer of mining. For years it was called TexasWestern University. The school has a certain appeal because its buildings were modeled after temples in Bhutan. You don’t often see that in West Texas. We also have one university named after the president of another university, which is odd. Sul Ross was president of Texas A&M. Now we have Sul Ross State University, which plays lousy football but has one great rodeo team.

Our schools’ names can get very confusing. We have

the University of Houston (with four campuses and four different names) and Sam Houston State University. If you say, “My money and my kid go to Houston,” which one? Then there is Austin College which is in Sherman and Stephen F. Austin State University. Students say they attend “Georgetown,” which is in Washington, D.C., but some people think the student means Southwestern University, which is in Georgetown, Texas.

One name we can never get right is Texas Woman’s University in Denton. The school was opened in 1903 as the Girls Industrial College, then changed two years later to College of Industrial Arts or CIA. In 1934 it became the Texas State College for Women. In 1957 the name was changed to its present Texas Woman’s University, singular possessive, and no one ever gets it right.

As for Stephen F. Austin State University, it’s the only school I know of that has an initial in its name. (The F is for Fuller.) And “The Father of Texas” never married and was not a father.

Ashby is named at ashby2@ comcast.net

PUBLIC NOTICE

06-05-2023

TAKE NOTICE THAT: I Mariama Keita the real esh and blood woman is stating my claim for the Real Property stated below now and forever. If anyone has prior superior, equitable or legal rights of interest, please state your claim in, and come forward under the penalty of perjury of law within 30 days. With all legal documents stating all legal rights in/ to/for/of said Real Property located on,8810 Morning Glow Dr. Missouri City, Texas 77459 Instrument/Book# -Page# 2022064472. It is HEREBY REQUESTED to present your claim of witness in writing to: Mariama Keita at the following address 7820 Paragon Circle Apt#408 Elkridge, MD 21075 on (or) before 07-08-2023.

and whose telephone number is (208) 206-5485.

A copy of the Summons and Petition/Motion can be obtained by contacting either the Clerk of the Court at Bonneville County or the other party’s attorney Randolph B. Neal. If you wish legal assistance, you should immediately retain an attorney to advise you in this matter.

Date: 6/7/2023 Bonneville County District Court Penny Manning

Typed/printed name By: Deputy Clerk

SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION

MY PLACE STORAGE

OUR LOCATION IS HOLDING A PUBLIC

ONGOING

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE GRAND PARKWAY BAPTIST CHURCH

In conjunction with the Literacy Council of Fort Bend Bend County, GPBC ofers ESL classes on Tuesday nights 6-8:30 from August 22, 2023 through May 21, 2024. We are located at 12000 FM 1464 Richmond. Our students speak several languages and encompass many faiths. All are welcome. For more information call 281-277-2200 and ask for ESL information. You may also email ESL@grandparkway.org

FBJSL IS ACCEPTING CAF GRANT APPLICATIONS

We provide grants of up to $5,000.00 to charitable causes serving Fort Bend County with requests to fund a critical need, pilot a program, or expand a signifcant service to the community. If your agency or organization is interested in applying for a CAF grant, please visit the Request Support page of the FBJSL website (www.fbjsl. org/request-support). All applications should be submitted via e-mail to brccom@fbjsl.com

THE SANCTUARY FOSTER CARE SERVICES

We are a child placing agency that provides wrap around care support for foster children and foster families. We provide free therapy services, 24 hr. crisis intervention, respite/alternative care services and community-based support. For more info, www.sanctuaryfostercare.org

ALIEF AARP CHAPTER 3264

Meets the frst Thursday of every month at 10:00 a.m. at Salvation Army Church, 7920 Cook Road, Houston, TX 77072. Educational Program/Entertainment at each meeting. Bus Trips every month. The next Bus Trip is on April 26, 2023, to Painted Churches. Seniors 50 and above invited. Call 281-785-7372 for more information.

FORT BEND COUNTY LIBRARIES’

ONLINE BOOK CLUB

Online meetings on the fourth Wednesday of every month. Free and open to the public. Registration is required; to register online www.fortbend.lib.tx.us, “Classes & Events,” select “Virtual Programs,” fnd the program on the date indicated. Participants may also register by calling George Memorial Library (281-342-4455).

SUGAR LAND ROTARY CLUB

Sugar Land Rotary Club, the nation’s oldest community service organization, wants you to be its guest at a meeting that could turn out to be the best ft for getting involved with a local, non-political, humanitarian service organization with a global presence to satisfy your passion. We’re on a quest for new members! Call or email Dean Clark, 469-850-2424, dean7351@gmail.com. We’re a friendly group that meets once a week for lunch.

FT. BEND ACCORDION CLUB

Meets on the 4th Sunday of every month from 2:pm4:pm at: CHRIST CHURCH SUGAR LAND (in the Chapel) 3300 Austin Parkway, Sugar Land, TX 77479 FREE and Open to the Public! We welcome everybody! If you play accordion, beginners to professional and would like to play Call, Text or email: Vince Ramos Cell: 281-2047716 vincer.music@gmail.com

FORT BEND JUNIOR SERVICE LEAGUE RECRUITING NEW MEMBERS FOR 2022-2023 YEAR

To join, the membership application can be accessed at https://www.fbjsl.org/join/how-to-become-a-member/.

FBJSL will also be hosting multiple virtual and in-person recruitment events over the summer where potential new members can learn more about the League. Information regarding attending these events is available at www.fbjsl.org or on the FBJSL Facebook page at www. facebook.com/FortBendJuniorServiceLeague/.

LITERACY COUNCIL OF FORT BEND COUNTY

We enhance lives and strengthen communities by teaching adults to read. We need your help. Literacy Council is actively recruiting Volunteer Tutors to provide instruction for English as a Second Language (ESL) Levels 0-5, three hours a week. For more information, call 281240-8181 or visit our website www.ftbendliteracy.org

JAM WITH SAM

Join Sam Grice Tuesday evenings at 6:30 for a casual evening of music. We play a variety of music including bluegrass, country, gospel and some western. We request acoustic instruments only please. We welcome both participants and music lovers who enjoy listening to good live music. There’s no charge and we welcome beginners and gladly ofer gentle assistance. We meet at First Presbyterian Church, 502 Eldridge Rd, Sugar Land. Please call Sam at 832-428-3165 for further information.

THURSDAY MORNING

BIBLE STUDY FOR MEN

Sugar Land First United Methodist Church, 431 Eldridge Road ofers a Thursday Morning Bible Study For Men. This group is ongoing and uses a variety of studies throughout the year. The breakfast, cofee and donuts are free. Join us any time! Thursdays, 6:30-7:30 am in Wesley Hall. Call the church ofce at 281-491-6041 or Mike Schofeld at 281-217-5799 for more information.

GIVE A GIFT OF HOPE

Give a Gift of Hope one-time or monthly. Your help provides access to therapies and services children with autism might otherwise go without. Please consider Hope For Three in your Estate, Planned, or Year-End Giving. Register now, or learn more about exciting events: www.hopeforthree.org/events

DVD-BASED ADULT SUNDAY

SCHOOL CLASS WITH NO HOMEWORK REQUIRED

Weekly class designed to help you understand and appreciate the Bible by giving you a better sense of the land and culture from which it sprang. The class meets at 9:30 am every Sunday

Take a geek out to the ballgame OPINION

By Ken Fountain

Usually in this space, I write a restaurant review, occasionally a review of a cultural event. This week, I’m going to stretch myself a bit and write about ... a sporting event. Please bear with me.

You see, I’ve never been much of a sports fan. Don’t get me wrong - I’ve never hated sports, just never had the gene to follow them very closely. I did play baseball in my suburban youth league for three years. Being a skinny, uncoordinated kid, I was perpetually assigned to right field, where presumably I could do the least harm. I did receive the “Good Sportsmanship” award a couple of times, so there’s that. During my junior year in high school, my P.E. coach also happened to be the head track coach, and he encouraged me to go out for track and cross country the next year. I was better at cross-country, less out of raw talent than sheer endurance.

Back in the ‘80s, when all of Houston’s professional teams were at various times doing really well, I tried very hard to get into the spirit of things, and to some degree

succeeded. Alas, it didn’t take, and my sports-following ever since has been rather sporadic.

But a couple of weekends ago, I attended my first-ever Sugar Land Space Cowboys game at Constellation Field, against the Sacramento River Cats. It was a group occasion, and it seemed like a perfect opportunity to get a feel for both the place and the experience of a minor-league game.

While not a sports fan, I am a great movie buff, and there are a lot of baseball movies that I have loved, especially a spate of movies that came out in the ‘80s and ‘90s: The Natural (I even read Bernard Malamud’s novel, which has a much more muted ending than Robert Redford’s fireworks-filled triumph), Bull Durham, Field of Dreams (again, I read the source novel, W.P. Kinsella’s Shoeless Joe). Probably my favorite from that era is John Sayles’s Eight Men Out, his seriocomic take on the 1919 Chicago White Sox scandal.

All of those films harken back to an earlier era of baseball, or in the case of Bull Durham, the less glamorous world of the minor leagues, when fans were closer to the action and a trip to the ballpark was more of a community activity than the

massive spectacle you find at the big stadiums today. I’ve been to Minute Maid Park several times, and even once to Camden Yards in Baltimore, the first of the modern-era stadiums to be built in the “retro” style. Both are excellent venues and do have something of that earlier feel (at least in my imagination), but Constellation Field is a lot closer.

My group was seated in the front section behind the firstbase dugout, a lot closer to the field than I’ve usually been at Minute Maid. With the Texas heat wave in effect, I was glad to have the roof overhead and the stadium facing the setting sun (massive props to the designers for the siting).

I appreciated the pre-game tribute to Deacon Jones, the former Astros player who played a key role in bringing the team (in its earlier incarnation as the Skeeters) to Fort Bend, who died in May. (My colleague Landan Kuhlmann wrote an excellent piece about him.)

I’m also a lifelong space geek (which may or may not be related to my lack of a sportsfan gene), so I appreciate the whole spacey ambiance of the ballpark. Walking toward my section, I saw some folks dressed in full spacesuits posing with people for pictures.

I thought perhaps they were actors or people employed by the team. Later, not long before gametime, they were out on the field playing catch (I thought that the suits might be cumbersome for that, especially in the heat). Turns out they were actual NASA engineers who work on the suits, which astronauts use for launch and re-entry. A couple of them sat near me during the game for a bit, and I went to snap a couple of pictures and talk to them. With all due respect to the players, that made my night. I also enjoyed the brief playing at one point of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”

Settling into watching the game with a couple of hot dogs (which were, ahem, generously priced), I began to have that feeling of watching the leisurely play, punctuated by bouts of adrenaline-filled excitement. When Justin Dirden popped an early homer over the left-field fence, and I could track it the whole way, I felt that same rush that nearly everyone else in the ballpark did. Later, a stray ball bounced off the deck above us and landed a few rows ahead with a very satisfying thunk. I was actually getting into it.

About midway through the game, I decided to walk around the whole perimeter

of the field and really take in the place for the first time. I’d been one other time, in January to cover a special event, but this was my first time to see it up close during a game. There’s so much going on. Kids with gloves gathered on the deck hoping to catch a stray ball. A “Kiddie Korner” park complete with water sprinklers. “The Grasslands,” where people can watch both the game and pitchers warming up in the bullpen. Families gathered at picnic-style tables.

As much as the game itself, this is what makes a trip to the ballpark special. After spending the better part of three years interacting with

the world mostly through screens, I have a better appreciation for that. Being among people, watching something happening before your eyes, in real time and space - there’s no real substitute. I’m not saying I plan to become a regular ballpark attendee. It’s something I’ll go back to doing on occasion. I’m more of a live performance guy, and a fairly regular museum-goer.

But I did have fun, and at the ballpark, that’s really all that matters. That, and the fact that the Space Cowboys won.

Fountain can be found geeking out at KFountain@ fortbendstar.com

The lights shine down on Constellation Field during Saturday’s game between the Sugar Land Space Cowboys and the Sacramento River Cats. Photo by Ken Fountain