FBISD officer detained after shooting - Page 2
Team names and the player pool for the Sugar Land Skeeters' Constellation Energy League have been revealed. Read more inside on Page 6. (Contributed photo)
WEDNESDAY • JULY 8, 2020
Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 44 • No. 98
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District 22 tussle highlights area runoffs By Landan Kuhlmann NOW OPEN Sign up for Summer Camp www.fireitup-pottery.com
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Kathaleen Wall has gone all out to try for the District 22 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, self-funding much of a campaign that has raised nearly $7.5 million, according to data from the Federal Election Commission. Her campaign still had nearly
$1.03 million remaining in cash on hand as of the last reporting date, June 24. That is far more than Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls, who is Wall's opponent in the runoff from the Republican primary in March. Nehls has spent about $457,000 of more than $490,000 in contributions, leaving him with a little more than $33,000 left to spend. “I have accomplishments.
Her accomplishments are trying to buy their votes. But it’s not working in District 22,” Nehls said. Nehls' claim adds another layer to the runoff election, which concludes Tuesday, July 14. Early voting started June 29 and continues through Friday. In the crowded Republican
SEE RUNOFFS PAGE 4
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FILL OUT YOUR BALLOT ON PAGE 2 Abbott orders masks to be worn statewide By Adam Zuvanich AZUVANICH@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Fort Bend County residents are required to wear nose and mouth coverings when in public, according to a statewide executive order issued last Thursday by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. The order requires all Texans in counties where there are at least 20 COVID-19 cases to wear masks “when inside a commercial entity or other building or space open to the public, or when in an outdoor public space, wherever it is not feasible to maintain 6 feet of social distancing from another person not in the same household.” There are some exceptions to the mask mandate, such as when eating, drinking, exercising, voting or when wearing a mask would exacerbate a medical condition or disability. Abbott’s order says firsttime violators can only receive verbal or written warnings, but subsequent violations by the same person are subject
SEE MASKS PAGE 8
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Wood carver James Phillips works on a sculpture made from a dying tree in Quail Valley on June 26. The recently completed carving, shown in finished form below, has been a binding symbol of community camaraderie for the neighborhood amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photos by Landan Kuhlmann)
Ornate yard sculpture brings spark to Quail Valley By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Allen and Linda Barron's decision to make lemons out of lemonade began as a simple yard improvement and beautification project. In just over a week, their wood sculpture morphed into a creation that all of Quail Valley can now enjoy, bringing the neighborhood some joy amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. “With everything going on, it was refreshing,” said 15-year Missouri City resident Angela Lee. “One thing I always say about art is that it’s the one thing that lifts your soul. It definitely lifted my spirits, and I know that’s what art can do.” The creation, an intri-
cate, three-dimensional design of butterflies and hummingbirds carved by Galveston-based wood sculptor James Phillips, may look simple in nature. But it has brought camaraderie to the neighborhood residents who stop to admire the work. “There’s not enough of (spreading joy) anywhere in the world,” Allen Barron said. “It makes us feel good we can contribute a little bit to people’s uplifting.” The sculpture, he said, is essentially a dead tree rising from the ashes on their property. About five years ago, the nearly century-old tree was struck by lightning during a storm. Eventually, the aftereffects of the lightning strike began to manifest with dead leaves and other signs –
culminating in the need to cut it down to a seven-foot stump. But in the spirit of survival, Barron said he and his wife, Linda, decided they could not simply leave it there to wither away. So leading up to chopping it down, they searched out wood sculptors on the internet and came across Phillips. “We just figured it was horrible to lose that tree, because it had no disease or anything,” Barron said. “It originally was just about not losing a prominent tree here on the property and deciding do something with that. It was just to have a carving that we would like to see.” As soon as Phillips beSEE SCULPTURE PAGE 6
Missouri City community removing 'plantation' from name By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
A Fort Bend County neighborhood is dropping part of its name in an attempt to become more inclusive. The Sienna Plantation master-planned community in Missouri City is in the process of removing the word “plantation” from all signage in the neighborhood. As of Tuesday, there were still signs that included the word. The process of changing the name, which began last year, is ex-
pected to be complete by the end of this year, according to a recent report by KHOU. The change comes amid increased attention to racism and racial injustice throughout the United States. The neighborhood, built by Houston-based real estate developer Johnson Development Corp., is now known simply as “Sienna.” “While the name change was initiated in May 2019 to give our decades-old community a modern refresh, now more than ever, removing language that could be hurtful to others is the
right thing to do,” reads a June statement on the neighborhood’s website. Johnson Development Corp. did not respond to requests for comment. According to a 2019 post in a Facebook group called “Change the name of Sienna Plantation,” the neighborhood where Sienna now stands was a sugar and cotton plantation called Arcola Plantation in the 1800s. The neighborhood had Sienna Plantation is in the process of removing the been called Sienna Plan- "plantation" from all of its signage. (Photo by Landan Kuhlmann) tation since the 1930s. “Calling this neighbor- as a nice place to live from the group read. hood ‘Sienna Plantation’ while obscuring the true both glorifies slavery history of the atrocities SEE SIENNA PAGE 4 and depicts a plantation committed here,” a post