11-16-22 Edition of the Ft Bend Star

New Missouri City manager starts Dec. 5

By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM

Missouri City’s newest city manager will earn the same amount as her ousted predecessor when she takes over on Dec. 5, according to city docu ments.

The city council, one day before the election, approved a contract with Angel Jones, the former Portsmouth, Virginia

city manager, that would pay her $210,000 per year, according to city documents. In addition, she will receive $600 per month in vehicle al lowance and a $90 per month phone allowance, according to public docu ments.

Jones will begin her tenure in Fort Bend County on Dec. 5, according to city docu ments.

She will be the city’s

fourth full-time city man ager in three years.

She will replace former City Manager Charles “Tink” Jackson, who was fired in May after an investigation into allega tions about his hiring and firing practices with the city.

Jackson earned the same salary and benefits as Jones, according to city documents.

Jones was one of two finalists named for the

open position. James Palenick, the former city manager of Middletown, Ohio, was the other.

The city manager spot has been something of a revolving door in Mis souri City over the last few years.

The council in May opted to fire Jackson less than five months after his tenure began.

Survive and advance

Ridge Point, Hightower lead playoff advancers

By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM

On Thursday, the Pan thers outlasted Katy Tompkins 35-33 in double overtime in a Class 6A bidistrict playoff at Mercer Stadium to advance to the area round of the playoffs. Ridge Point (9-2) is set to square off with District 18-6A champion Houston Lamar (9-2) in the second round.

After the two teams

traded a pair of field goals apiece in the first half, both came to life in the second half. Austin Carlisle com pleted 20 of 33 passes for 300 yards for the Panthers, while also running for 73 yards and the game-tying touchdown in the second overtime. Running back Ezell Jolley struggled to gain traction for much of the game (52 yards), but

did punch in three short touchdown runs. Ashton Bethel-Roman paced the Panthers’ receiving corps with eight catches for 185 yards.

Elsewhere in Class 6A, the Hightower Hur ricanes are also on to the second round of the playoffs thanks to a 2914 victory over Morton Ranch last weekend. Jo

seph Stewart threw for three touchdowns in the game for Hightower (9-2), while Zion Kearney had 156 yards receiving and two scores. Junior run ning back Jeremy Payne also ran for 102 yards and a touchdown in the win.

The Hurricanes will tangle

Leaders look for cuts after rejection of FBISD tax rate election

get deficit.

“This is a time where we have to have action, but we must remain op timistic,” she said, days after voters

About 54 percent of voters, or about 66,000 voters, rejected a proposition that would have generated enough revenue to stem the district’s budget defi

cit, compared to about 46 percent of voters, or about 56,200 residents, according to complete but unofficial election results.

Whitbeck, in com ments released after the vote, honed in on the fact that 56,000 people would have sup ported the measure. But she said everyone’s voice was heard.

Proposition A, if ap

proved, would have allowed the district to keep its maintenance and operations tax rate the same as it was last year, at $1.21 per $100,000 of valuation, according to the dis trict.

While the rate would remain the same, homeowners would still pay more in taxes

the budget after voters rejected a request to use extra tax revenues to stem a bud

rejected the district’s tax rate election.

Jones

Members of the Ridge Point football team line up before a game against Hightower earlier this season. The Panthers won 35-33 las week to ad vance to the area round against Houston Lamar this weekend. (Photo by Bob Calbert)

The Ridge Point Panthers have run roughshod over many opponents, but have also proven adept at pull ing out the tight ballgames in recent years. And they did so again last week, winning a slugfest to ad vance in the UIL playoffs.

Whitbeck

because of rising prop erty values.

District leaders in the months leading up to the election argued it was necessary to elimi nate the district’s $47 million budget deficit, provide funding for new safety measures, in crease teachers’ starting

salaries up to $60,000 and provide supplemen tal pay to long-serving employees.

The measure gener ated some support from several Fort Bend Coun ty-area business groups. But some residents op posed the measure, arguing they shouldn’t be asked for more rev enues when they’re already dealing with in

flation.

District leaders blamed the size of the deficit on a combination of previous spending on new programming and a decline in the number of students attending the district and more.

Essentially, the dis trict spent about $40 million on new pro gramming and had been instituting teacher sal

ary increases to keep pace with the market, but a quickly-growing student population helped make that pos sible, according to the district.

That all changed with the start of the coro navirus pandemic in March 2020.

The district saw its first material deficit in the 2021 fiscal year and now the shortfall has grown to be about $49 million, according to the district.

The student enroll

H PLAYOFF FROM PAGE 1

with Houston Heights (8-3) in the area round.

In the Class 5A ranks, the Marshall Buffalos raced past Huntsville 56-0 last Thursday to advance to the area round, reach the 10-win mark for a sev enth consecutive season.

Quarterback Jordon Davis accounted for three total touchdowns (2 passing, 1 rushing) in the contest, for Marshall (10-1), while Jona than Haynes ran for two scores of his own. Will Mitchell also had a fumble return for a touchdown for the Buffalos’ defense, which secured its seventh shutout of the season. Mar shall will square off with University (6-5) in the area round.

Elsewhere in the 5A play offs, Fulshear ran past

FROM PAGE 1

MANAGER

H

The move came after an investigation into allega tions about Jackson’s hiring and firing prac tices with the city.

A whistleblower al leged that Jackson fired city employees in order to install his preferred candidates in those po sitions, and provided interview questions ahead of time to people he wanted to hire, ac cording to documents the Star received through a public information re quest.

Attorneys for the city sought to withhold a co py of that whistleblower complaint by filing an

ment the most recent school year was about 2,100 fewer children than expected, ac cording to the district.

District demographers estimated the enroll ment would be about 79,700, but the year started with about 77,500 enrolled stu dents, according to the district.

That number in creased to about 78,650 by the end of the school year – higher than the pre-pandemic enroll ment – but not enough

Houston Sterling 66-12 for the program’s first-ever playoff victory. The Char gers (10-1) will face District 11-5A champion A&M Con solidated (9-2) in the area round.

In Class 4A, the Stafford Spartans came away with a 50-6 win over Houston Furr last Thursday. The Spartans (7-4) are set to take on Lumberton (10-1) in the area round.

This week's schedule

Friday

Class 6A Division I

Area Playoff Ridge Point (9-2) vs. Houston Lamar (9-2), 7 p.m., Legacy Stadium

Class 5A Division I Area Playoff Fulshear (10-1) at A&M Consolidated (9-2), 7 p.m., Tiger Field

appeal with the Texas At torney General’s Office, but state officials eventu ally sided with the Star and required the city to release the document to the public.

Before Jackson’s hir ing, however, Missouri City also paid almost $1 million in severance pay ments to Jackson’s two predecessors, Anthony Snipes and Odis Jones, who were fired by the city council in February 2020 and May 2021, re spectively.

The Missouri City council named Angel Jones the newest city manager less than a week after she filed a lawsuit against Portsmouth, Virginia, that included corruption allegations

to reach where de mographers expected, according to the district. Whitbeck in com ments after the Nov. 8 election did not say ex actly how the district would find $47 million in spending cuts, but asked for feedback from teachers and residents.

Even before vot ers rejected the ballot proposition, the district had committed to mak ing about $23 million in spending cuts, she said.

Class 5A Division II

Area Playoff Marshall (10-1) vs. Waco University (6-5), 7 p.m., Giddings High School

Class 4A Division I

Area Playoff Stafford (7-4) vs. Lumber ton (10-1), 7 p.m.

Saturday Class 6A Division II Area Playoff

Hightower (9-2) at Hous ton Heights (8-3), 1 p.m., Delmar Stadium

Last week’s scores Ridge Point 35, Tompkins 33 (2OT)

Hightower 29, Morton Ranch 14 Fulshear 66, Sterling 12 Marshall 56, Huntsville 0 Stafford 50, Furr 6 Cinco Ranch 49, George Ranch 14 Katy 56, Clements 0

against former council members there after they fired her in May, accord ing to an article in the Virginian-Pilot.

She accused several councilmembers of tak ing bribes from a former member of council in exchange for them hiring him for the city manager position, according to the article.

Angel Jones was fired in May with a 4-3 vote from the Portsmouth city council, according to the story.

Sedrick Cole, Missouri City’s former IT manager, has been serving as in terim city manager while the council has advanced through a search for a full-time replacement.

It's not a goodbye - more of a 'see you later'

jobs before, but this time is different. This time, I get the chance to say goodbye in a column, to a community that has intrigued, impressed, in timidated and amazed me in equal measure in the year and a half that I’ve been in charge at the Fort Bend Star.

Saying goodbye is never easy, but saying goodbye to a community might be even harder.

By the time you read this column, I will no longer be the manag ing editor of the Fort Bend Star. Some of you might already know that, but for many readers, I imagine that will come as news. I’ve left journalism

My favorite part of working in journalism is the opportunity to meet people from many dif ferent walks of life and try to understand where they’re coming from. And Fort Bend County offered interesting char acters in spades.

The elected leaders get much of the press coverage, but in my ex perience, some of those

that escape many stories are perhaps the most in teresting to me. From those like Jeffrey Hoff man, who volunteers his time helping recent arrivals to Fort Bend County understand their new homes and also on recognizing local histo ry, to pastors like David Sincere and John Strad er – in some sense, I’ve come to see these people not just as sources, but as friends.

For all of the good people and interesting stories I’ve covered in my time in Fort Bend County, I’m not sure I’m quite ready to leave. Rather, there’s still so much to learn about this place.

The test of a great journalist is how well they know the commu nity they cover – its ins and outs, its peculiarities and who to turn to to get the story behind the sto ry. And by that standard, I think Fort Bend County provides some unique challenges.

From its many immi grant communities to a wide array of civic groups and dedicated individu als seeking change, we tried to bring you the stories readers might want to read. But there’s always room for im provement.

The person who’s tak ing over for me, Ken Fountain, has a long ca reer in journalism across

the greater Houston re gion. And he has called Fort Bend County home for several years.

I have no reason to doubt that he’ll be more than up to the task of re placing me. And digging deeper into stories that matter.

But I hesitate to call this a true goodbye. Be cause it isn’t, really.

I’ll be going up the road to the Houston Chronicle, where I’ll cover breaking news and whatever else comes across my desk.

It won’t be in the pag es of the Fort Bend Star anymore, but rest as sured I’ll still be around, eating at some of the best restaurants this region

has to offer and catching up on the latest news and intrigue.

Perhaps my work in journalism will bring me back from time to time.

One thing is certain. I have so enjoyed my time writing about Fort Bend County. I’ve grown as a person and I’ve learned much as a journalist in my time here. And I have each and every one of you to thank for that.

Here’s hoping I provid ed something of value to you all over the time I’ve been here.

And here’s to us meet ing again.

JALEPEÑO

Jalapeño came to us from a cruelty case seizure. In the shelter he was so scared of all of the loud noises and other components of shelter life. One of our amazing volunteers saw this and realized she could help! Jalapeño went on a doggy day out with this amazing volunteer and he BLOSSOMED. He showed her how playful, sweet, and cuddly he can be! He got along great with her resident dog, walked good on a leash, and was a HUGE fan of fluffy blankets! Help uncover another deserving dog's true personality on a doggy day out & sign up here: https://www.houstonhumane.org/volunteer/doggy-day-out

FORT BEND-HARRIS RETIRED EDUCATORS TO MEET DECEMBER 8TH

Meeting Thursday, December 8th, from 11 a.m.- 2 p.m. at Sugar Land Methodist Church, 431 Eldridge Rd. in the Great Hall. Pot Luck Luncheon; Entertainment provided by Grandma's Boyfriends, Barbershop Quartet. Ongoing community service project: bring peanut butter or monetary donations for East Ft. Bend Human Needs Pantry. Arrive earlier to socialize, sign in and pay dues if you haven't already. Pick up your directory. All Fort Bend and Harris County I.S.D. retired public educators are invited. For more information, call 713-206-2733.

ONGOING

FT. BEND ACCORDION CLUB Meets on the 4th Sunday of every month from 2:pm - 4: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: 281-204-7716 vincer.music@ gmail.com

PROPEL SOCCER ACADEMY

Fall recreational teams practice with a Propel Soccer Coach every Monday and Wednesday. Practice Time: between 5:308:00 Weekend Games! Season: September 7th- November 13th Who: 6-12 year oldsWhere: Practices- Sienna. Games at Hickory Slough Sportsplex in Pearland. When: Practices Monday and Wednesdays Games will be Saturday mornings before noon (U8-U10) or Sunday afternoons before 6pm (U12). Practice Time: between 5:30-8:00 For more information, please email us at info@ propelsocceracademy.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 281-240-8181 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 offer 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 offers a Thursday Morning Bible Study For Men. This group is ongoing and uses a variety of studies throughout the year. The breakfast, coffee and donuts are free. Join us any time! Thursdays, 6:30-7:30 am in Wesley Hall. Call the church office at 281-491-6041 or Mike Schofield at 281-2175799 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 at First Presbyterian of Sugar Land (502 Eldridge Rd.). For more information call 281-240-3195

EXCHANGE

EXCHANGE, America’s Service Club, always welcomes guests and is in search of new members! Various Fort Bend clubs exist and can accommodate early morning (7 a.m.), noon and evening meeting time desires. For more info, contact Mike Reichek, Regional Vice President, 281-5751145 or mike@reichekfinancial.com We would love to have you join us and see what we are all about!

MISSOURI CITY AARP CHAPTER 3801 Meets the second Monday of every month at 11:30 a.m., at 2701 Cypress Point Dr., Missouri City Rec Center. Lunch, education, and entertainment. All seniors over 50 invited. For more information, call 713-859-5920 or 281-499-3345.

daughter and granddaughter by her side. She is survived by her dog Scooby Ham as well as her granddaughter and great granddaughter Lea Ham and Hailey Carter; granddaughter and great grandsons Regan Speck and Connor, Dillon, and Luke Speck as well as Ryan Carter and Ryan Speck who were like sons to her. She is also survived by her

loving daughter and son in law, Rebecca and Kevin Ledkins and granddaughter Olivia Ledkins.

Review: Brandani’s Burgers, Tacos & Brews great for A fun afternoon

By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM

There are few greater pleasures in life than a fish taco, a good beer and a soccer game on the TV.

Such was the condition I found myself in when visiting Brandani’s Burg ers, Tacos & Brews in Missouri City last week.

Several readers reached out to me after I reviewed the nearby Brandani’s Restaurant & Wine Bar earlier this year, saying I had messed up by ordering takeout instead of dining it. So, I decided to attempt a cor rection by eating at the sister restaurant.

And boy, is the interior nice.

It’s not that Brandani’s destination for burgers and tacos is a wowing environment, but that it seems the perfect destination for a lazy af ternoon watching sports on television.

Luckily for me, Werder Bremen and Bayern Mu nich helped me achieve that exact condition with an afternoon match early last week.

The burgers looked good and I might have opted for one, if not for the fact that last week’s review was of In-N-Out. So, wanting to keep things fresh, I decided a fish taco plate might make for a good alterna tive.

The meal itself was full of highs and lows. To start, the side of beans and rice came in one bowl and the two were somewhat combined into a tasty mixture. It could have been a healthy dose of salt, but something about those beans and rice were especially deli cious.

Meanwhile, the fish itself tasted fresh and wonderful. When combined with a bit of tortilla, I was quite pleased with the result.

Something about the

mango relish and salsa verde that came on the taco didn’t quite work for me, though. It could have been that the rel ish leaned a little too far into the relish part of its name, and less on the mango side? In any case, I almost would have giv en this an extra star if I’d tasted the fish by itself.

Of course, no after noon of sports and tacos would be complete with out a refreshing beer to accompany it. And Brandani’s offers beer se lections in spades.

One could always or der from a long list of canned beers, but feel ing somewhat festive, I decided to pick from the more limited draft menu

and ordered an IPA, called Back Pew Tanuki.

It was solid, but it’s quite possible the menu has better options for your particular taste.

All in all, a solid combination for a solid afternoon.

Brandani's Burgers, Tacos & Brews

Address: 3340 FM 1092 Suite 180, Missouri City Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 11

a.m.-9:30 p.m. FridaySaturday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday Entrée prices: $9-$15

Kid-friendly: Yes Alcohol: Yes Senior discount: No Healthy options: Spin ach and chicken salad ($13)

Star of the show: Grilled fish taco

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Nibbles & Sips: BB Italia opens in Sugar Land Town Square

By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM

A new Italian restaurant has opened its doors in one of Fort Bend County’s bustling shopping centers.

Earlier this month, B.B. Italia Bistro and Bar opened its doors in Sug ar Land Town Square at 16250 City Walk.

The restaurant’s origi nal location in the Energy Corridor closed last Feb ruary due to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new B.B. Italia Bis tro & Bar serves comfort food dishes like whipped ricotta, chicken parmi giana, house-made pastas including a 20-layer lasa gna, and New York-style pizzas to the table. B.B. Italia Bistro & Bar will of fer inside dining as well as a patio area as part of its 6,770-square-foot space in Sugar Land.

The restaurant will tem porarily be open for dinner only, Monday through Thursday from 4-10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4-11 p.m. Its website said lunch hours will be released soon.

For more information on

the restaurant and what it offers, visit bbitaliabistro. com.

Brett’s BBQ moving closer to new Katy location opening

A popular barbecue res taurant in the northern portion of the county is hoping to open soon.

Brett’s BBQ Shop looks to be in the final stages prior to the opening of its new spot at 25220 King sland Blvd., according to a series of posts on the res taurant's Facebook page, though an exact date has not been set.

It was originally planned for an August opening, but has faced various de lays over the last several months.

Brett’s BBQ Shop out grew its 600-square-foot digs on 606 S. Mason Road in Katy and is head ed to the new Boardwalk Crossings in Katy. Owner Brett Jackson started the oak-smoked, Central Tex as style barbecue joint in October 2018, and Texas Monthly named the res taurant to its 2021 “50 Best BBQ Joints” list.

The Grilled Fish Taco, pictured here, was the highlight of a rewarding trip to Brandani's Burgers, Tacos & Brews last week. (Photo by Matt deGrood)

HIRE LOCAL

LEGAL NOTICE

Application has been made with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission for a Wine and Malt Beverage retailer’s On-Premise Permit(BG) by Mijia888, LLC dba Sushi Monster, to be located at 4225 Sienna Parkway Ste150, Missouri City, Fort Bend, Texas.

Officers of said corporation Owners are: Yana Xiao Manager

Lingling Zheng Assistant Manager Hui Zhen LIn. Assistant Manager

LEGAL NOTICE

Application has been made with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission for a Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer’s On-Premise Permit (BG) by Dough Tally, LLC dba DoubleDave’s Pizzaworks - Sugar Land, to be located at 4875 Highway 6, Suite C, Missouri City, Fort Bend, Texas. Officers of the said corpora tion are Alex Sowell, Lauren Sowell, Patrick Sowell.

Notification is given that Wallis Bank, 6510 Railroad Street, Wallis, Texas. 77485 has filed with the Texas Department of Banking on November 08, 2022, for per mission to establish a branch of Wallis Bank at University Blvd. & U.S. 59 Frontage Road, Sugar Land, TX 77479.

“Any person wishing to comment on this application, either for or against, may file written comments with the Texas Department of Banking, 2601 North Lamar Boule vard, Austin, Texas 78705-4294 on or before the 14th day after the date of this publication. Such comments will be made a part of the record before and considered by the banking commissioner. Any person wishing to formally protest and oppose this branch opening and participate in the application process may do so by filing a written notice of protest with the Texas Department of Banking on or before the 14th calendar day after the date of this publication accompanied by a protest filing fee of $2,500. The protest fee may be reduced or waived by the banking commissioner upon a showing of substantial hardship.”

Notice is hereby given that original Letters Testamen tary for the Estate of Robert Delgado, Deceased, were issued on August 1, 2022, in Cause No. 22-CPR037605, pending in the County Court-At-Law No: THREE (3), Fort Bend County, Texas, to: Elsa Gutierrez. All persons having claims against this Estate which is currently being administered are required to present them to the following person within the time and in the manner prescribed by law: Elsa Gutierrez, c/o Liza A. Greene, Laura Dale & Associates, P.C., 1800 St. James Place, Suite 620, Houston, Texas 77056.

Notification is given that Wallis Bank, 6510 Railroad Street, Wallis, Texas 77485 has filed with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on November 08, 2022, for permission to establish a branch of Wallis Bank at University Blvd. & U.S. 59 Frontage Road, Sugar Land, TX 77479.

Any person wishing to comment on this application may file his or her comments in writing with the Regional Di rector of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation at the appropriate FDIC office 600 North Pearl Street, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75201 not later than 15 days after the date of this publication. The non-confidential portions of the application are on file in the regional office and are avail able for public inspection during regular business hours. Photocopies of the nonconfidential portion of the applica tion will be made available upon request.