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WEDNESDAY • JANUARY 19, 2022
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Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 46 • No. 22
Area couple raising HOA protection awareness By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
I t’s a new twist on a tale as old as suburban Texas. A Sugar Land couple are mad at their local homeowners’ association in First Colony, not because they think the organization is being overly restric-
tive, but because they say it’s not doing enough to protect their view from a construction project next door. While the issue, at least at first glance, would appear to be one between two neighbors, Rick and Cathy Bayles both acknowledge that their neighbor hasn’t done anything wrong, and
there’s nothing they can do to halt the project. Instead, the Bayleses say they are working to increase awareness about homeowners’ associations in general, and wish the First Colony Community Services Association had done more to stick up for them, and not just their neighbor’s property rights.
Rick Bayles points to a neighbor's property where construction is ongoing. (Photo by Matt deGrood)
Not everyone agrees with the Bayleses, however. The neighbor,
SEE HOA PAGE 7
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Fort Bend, Justice of the Peace Judge Patricia David
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Lady Bulldog hoops proving to be among area's elite By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Gabby Johnson has become accustomed to being the chaser every year as the Austin Lady Bulldogs’ basketball team has usually been closer to the cellar than the ceiling of District 20-6A. It’s a different story this season, however, and the Lady Bulldogs are out to prove they deserve to be part of a conversation about the area’s elite squads. Austin was 21-4 overall and 7-0 in 20-6A competition entering play this week, having already secured their first 20-win season in 10 years. “It’s a huge change (being the one chased)," said Johnson, a senior and four-year starter who is the Lady Bulldogs' second-leading scorer with 16.7 points per game. "The last few years, people viewed us as an easy win. Now I hear people coming up to us and being amazed that we’re undefeated (in district).” And for one of the first times in her career, Johnson is not just a one-person show. Freshman Andrea Sturdivant has burst onto the scene alongside the established star, pacing the
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A physician speaks with a blood donor at a Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center drive. The organization is encouraging people in the Houston region to donate blood twice this year. (Contributed photo)
Demand for blood donations prompts surge of pop-up drives By Stefan Modrich SMODRICH@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
In response to a surging demand for blood donations, pop-up collection events are springing up across Fort Bend County. Cameron Palmer, spokesperson for the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center (GCRBC), said there has been an increase in hospital usage for blood and blood products now that elective surgeries that were postponed in the earlier stages of the COVID-19 pan-
demic have mostly returned, as well as surgeries for trauma patients. “Overall, we’ve seen about a 10 percent increase from our blood products and about an 8 percent increase just for red blood cells alone,” Palmer said. Sarah Goodman, another spokesperson for GCRBC, said the organization needs to collect 1,000 units (roughly a pint in volume) per day to meet the demand to supply the Houston region, which is anchored by the largest medical center in the U.S. The organization typi-
cally receives between 800 and 1,200 units per day in donations - enough to supply enough blood for a day's supply, according to Palmer. But the donations wouldn't be enough to sustain demand for several days, he said. Organization administrators hope to generate enough donations to maintain a reserve capacity of more than three days-worth of blood, in case a power outage or other disaster shuts down collections for any period of time, Palmer said. Goodman added the blood shortages some facilities are
experiencing are in part due to a reluctance of many at-home workers to venture out into the community. "Going in and having some kind of medical procedure taking place is scary enough,” Goodman said. “From having a swab shoved up your nose (for COVID-19 testing) it's scary to go then maybe have a needle put in your arm (for a vaccination). But from our experience, the majority of our donors come from people in the workplace and our high schools, and those were the two places that shut down over
the last two years.” And with many adults still working from home because of the pandemic, Palmer said the GCRBC is encouraging athome workers to donate blood twice in 2022. Palmer also said all GCRBC staff members are vaccinated and wear masks, donors are socially distanced whether they are at a brick-and-mortar donor center or at a mobile donation site. “We're trying to get the
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FBISD advances on Sugar Land 95 exhibit By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Austin Lady Bulldogs point guard Andrea Sturdivant passes the ball during Saturday's game against the Clements Lady Rangers. Sturdivant is the leading scorer for the Lady Bulldogs, who are 21-4 overall and 7-0 in District 20-6A. (Photo by Landan Kuhlmann)
F ort Bend ISD is moving forward with its plans to build an exhibit and cemetery to honor the 95 people whose remains were discovered on school district property, known as the Sugar Land 95, and could have an exhibit ready for the public as soon as this spring, according to the district.
Unmarked graves like this outside the James Reese Career and Technical Center in Sugar Land are currently the only onsite evidence of the Sugar Land 95. (Photo by Matt deGrood)
Chassidy Olainu-Alada, the district’s community and civic engagement coordinator, unveiled FBISD’s plans for the site at a meeting earlier this month. The remains of the Sugar Land 95 - who were believed to be Black people who were part of a state-convict leasing program to farm sugarcane more than a century ago - were discovered in 2018 during the construction of FBISD's James Reese Career and Tech-
nical Center. The district will open an exhibit to the public sometime later this year – likely when the current omicron wave of the coronavirus subsides, she said. It will feature two exhibits that teach students about the history of the leasing program, and the scientific process that led to the identification of the
SEE SL 95 PAGE 7
JERRY FLOWERS
Real Estate Agent, MBA, CNE, ABE Army Veteran (RET) • 832-702-5241 Jerry@dreamhomesbyjerry.com
4500 Highway 6, Sugar Land, TX 77478