Locals appointed by Governor to boards: Page 7
Stafford MSD re-names baseball field after late coach Michael Mesa. See page 5.
WEDNESDAY • FEBRUARY 20, 2019
Jack’s
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(1) LARGE & (1) MEDIUM PIZZA Pick-up or Deliver Open 7 days a week
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Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 43 • No. 27
Visit www.FortBendStar.com
FBISD, county reach deal
County will manage Sugar Land 95 cemetery, but lawsuit remains By Theresa D. McClellan THERESA@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
In a unanimous decision Monday night, the Fort Bend Independent School District Board of Trustees authorized Superintendent Charles Dupre to negotiate an inter-local agreement with Fort Bend County regarding a memorial for the Sugar Land 95. “This mirrors the action taken last week by the Fort Bend County Commissioner’s Court,” said school board president Jason Burdine. “We agree that the state-sanctioned convict leasing program was
an oppressive system and we remain hopeful that an agreement will lead to the preservation and memorialization of the individuals discovered at the site of the James Reese Career and Technical Center,” said Burdine. The Sugar Land 95 are the remains of 95 victims of the state’s convict labor leasing program who were buried in an unmarked cemetery between 1879 and 1910. The district’s action, however, does not mean they will necessarily drop the lawsuit currently before Judge James H. Shoemake in 434th District Court. “It won’t affect the court case at this point,” said the board president.
The school board meeting was still going on well past the Fort Bend Star’s deadline, but Burdine took a moment to text the Star following the 6-0 unanimous decision to approve negotiations. The seventh board seat was vacated last month by former school board member KP George, who won election as county judge. It was George’s decision to ask the county’s historical commission to advise the county commissioners court on how it should respond to a lawsuit filed by the school district seeking removal of the cemetery designation and allow relocation of the bodies found there. George said he got involved be-
cause he felt the school district was not listening. “The FBISD acted as if they were the only party in the discussion. As the top county elected official, I am responsible for all, alive and dead, and they are citizens of Fort Bend County. The Sugar Land 95 never were served justice,” said George. “As a civilized society, we have an obligation to serve justice.” The district has stated all along that they are not equipped to maintain a cemetery. The county has that authority. Now the county and the
SEE CEMETERY, PAGE 6
George Ranch Rodeo
Rustika Café & Bakery NOWOPEN
Filing period closes for elections
Next to Corelli’s Italian
By Joe Southern
CUSTOM CAKES + PASTRIES + COOKIES + COFFEE + SOUPS + SANDWICHES
Senate Finance Committee wraps up first round of hearings
JSOUTHERN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Carol Montgomery races her horse around a barrel Saturday evening during the barrel racing competition at the inaugural George Ranch Rodeo. (Photo by Joe Southern)
Rodeo a success right out of the chute By Joe Southern JSOUTHERN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
By Richard Lee FOR THE FORT BEND STAR
After four weeks of hearing agency requests for funding, the Senate Finance Committee will now move on to the next phase of developing the Senate proposal for state spending in 2020 and 2021. Since Jan. 22, the committee met 13 times publicly to consider the advice of the Legislative Budget Board and question agency representatives, offering praise for a job well done in many cases but in others, demanding answers on why long-term problems go unsolved. Hearings were broken down by budget article, with Articles II and III taking up both the most hearing time and the most proposed funding. Those are the sections of the budget that fund health and human services and public education, respectively, and together they make up about 85 percent of total proposed state spending. In keeping with priorities laid out by the Governor and Lt. Governor earlier in the session, the Senate budget as
If Debra Greenwood-Sharp could harness her excitement for the outcome of the inaugural George Ranch Rodeo, she might be able to outride the best competitors on the meanest of bulls Saturday night. “If you could see the smile on my face right now,” she said. “It was fantastic! It was fantastic and also very successful. I couldn’t sleep that night because I was so excited and thrilled.” Greenwood-Sharp chaired the committee that spent the last two years planning the rodeo and setting into place an event they hope will become an annual affair. It was hosted by the Fort Bend History Association in the arena at George Ranch Historical Park Saturday evening. “For this first event – our first rodeo, literally – it went the way of the vision that was given to me,” Greenwood-Sharp said. She said early estimates put attendance at around 1,000 people – nearly double what was anticipated. The rodeo honored the history and legacy of black cowboys and rodeo riders, highlighting her uncles, James and Willie Thomas. The Thomas brothers grew up at the George Ranch and, from a young age, rode anything they could – including pigs. Both brothers went on
SEE SENATE, PAGE 9
SEE RODEO, PAGE 8
Joe Walker launches a mutton bustin' competitor Saturday night during the George Ranch Rodeo. Several local youngsters competed in the event. (Photo by Joe Southern)
SOUTHWEST
FORT BEND’S TOP SELLING AGENTS
Most of the election filing deadlines have passed for the May 4 municipal and school board elections and the races are set. The only deadline that hasn’t passed is for the special election to the Place 5 seat on the Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees. The seat was vacated by KP George when he won election as county judge. The deadline to file for the seat is March 4 at 5 p.m. Anyone else entering the race after this point, however, faces a crowd of contenders. Five people have already filed for the seat. The following is a list of candidates who have filed for election locally: Fort Bend ISD Position 3 Jim Rice Sam Popuri Ashish Agrawal Deirdre S. Williams Position 5 Cynthia Lenton Gary Jason A. Dobrolecki Pam D. Sutherland Lily Q. Lam Allison Drew Position 7 Christine (Tina) Michie Rudy Sutherland, Jr. Ferrel Bonner Nadine B. Skinner Monica Riley Holland Poulsen Dave Rosenthal City of Sugar Land District 1 Steve R. Porter Mohammad “Jazz” Aijaz District 2 David Gornet Nabila Mansoor Naushad Kermally District 3 Stewart Jacobson District 4 Carol McCutcheon William Ferguson Stafford Mayor Arthur “AJ” Honore’ Leonard Scarcella Adam “Bob Sugar” Sanchez Council Position 1 Esther de Ipolyi Auturo Jackson Alice Chen Position 2 Wen Guerra Position 3 Virginia Rosas
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