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Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 43 • No. 48
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FBCSO responds to Roberts' harassment claim By Landan Kuhlmann
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New England Patriots linebacker Elandon Roberts claims he was harassed by a Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office deputy during a March traffic stop in front of his Richmond home. The sheriff’s office
responded Friday, apologizing to Roberts and saying an edited video of the incident helped spur a controversy that has made national headlines. According to a USA TODAY report that included dashcam footage of the stop, Roberts, 25, was stopped March 10 shortly before 10 p.m. in the Pecan Grove subdivision in
Richmond and complained of harassment. The report said the deputy, Adam Watkins, referred to Roberts as a “big black man” when calling for backup. The FBCSO said Roberts was given a citation for allegedly driving 59 mph in a 35 mph zone and not being able to provide proof of insurance. During the stop, Sheriff Troy Ne-
hls said Roberts was told to get back in his car, and complied immediately. Roberts’ attorney has requested an investigation into the traffic stop, according to USA TODAY. “Unfortunately, these types of things are happening all too often to
SEE FBCSO, PAGE 7
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Efforts now underway to reduce E. coli in Big Creek By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Big Creek in Fort Bend County has long been a popular spot for recreation, with its 222 square miles servicing 414 miles of waterways. State and local officials are responding to a threat to its public safety – elevated levels of fecal matter – with a large-scale waterquality project that could begin within a year. Representatives from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) gathered July 11 with Fort Bend County stakeholders and a few residents to discuss water-quality issues impacting the Big Creek watershed and provide an opportunity to give feedback on potential paths forward. “Some of these issues have risen to the point of triggering a need to address those issues,” H-GAC senior planner Justin Bow-
SEE CREEK, PAGE 7
Ibrahim Ali takes a swing during practice for the Sugar Land Youth Cricket Club on Monday at the Four Corners Community Center. The organization stands to benefit from Fort Bend County's first public cricket field, which was unveiled earlier this month. (Photo by Landan Kuhlmann)
County's first public cricket field caters to diversity By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Since 2013, the Sugar Land Youth Cricket Club has taught kids ages 7 and up the skills and training for cricket. The organization did so consistently despite rarely knowing the site of an upcoming session, making it an uphill battle. “Without a dedicated ground, we had no idea when we were going to practice next,” said assistant manager Ajay Bhora, whose son plays with SLYCC. But such uncertain-
ty is no more, as the SLYCC is among many organizations and community members that stand to benefit from the recent culmination of an initiative aimed to serve a culturally diverse county. Earlier this month, Fort Bend County Judge KP George and Precinct 4 Commissioner Ken DeMerchant inaugurated Fort Bend County’s first public cricket field at the Four Corners Community Center in Sugar Land. "Many members of our diverse community have approached my administration about recreational facilities that meet their needs,” said George,
who is Indian-American. “Cricket is one of the most widely played sports in Fort Bend County. From starting this conversation last November, to seeing children play on it this week, this was a vision and now a fulfilled promise. I encourage all to use this field for many years to come.” Barely a week later, the impact of access to the sport already has been felt among the community’s Aarnav Gopinath prepares to throw during a Sugar Land youth population. Sugar Youth Cricket Club practice. (Photo by Landan Kuhlmann) Land Youth Cricket Club has begun practicing and will begin playing league practice here. He knows of his son Aarnav, who games next month. the importance of hav“He’s much more en- ing something like this,” SEE CRICKET, PAGE 8 thusiastic about coming to Praveen Gopinath said
Residents recall moon-landing memories near 50th anniversary By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
When Neil Armstrong took that first step off Apollo 11 onto the surface of the moon July 20, 1969, it was a seminal moment for the United States. Events around Fort Bend County, such as the
50th anniversary festival from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at the George Memorial Library in Richmond, will commemorate the event. It also holds a special place in the memories of some of the county’s residents. Ralph Youngblood, a 75-year-old Sugar Land resident, watched the landing on an old black-
and-white TV given to his family as a gift. “Our kids were very young at that time, but we sat them in front of the TV, too,” he said. “We thought the modern times had come, and that science had reached the ultimate peak.” Fellow Sugar Land resident Jack Daniels, a native
Texan who was teaching at the University of Southern
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Mississippi at the time of the landing, said the space program represented a beacon of hope in a dark time for the U.S. after the 1968 assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. “There was a spirit of optimism here with the space program – at that time, we were exhilarated
by it,” he said. “Amidst all of that was the success of the space program. In spite of the tragic happenings, we could still see reason for optimism, which was big.” As he remembered watching live with his
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