09-15-2021 Edition of the Fort Bend Star

Page 1

County fair to limit events because of COVID-19 - Page 5

Two local high school football teams remained unbeaten last week. Read about how they kept their early season streaks alive inside on Page 4. (Photo by Landan Kuhlmann)

WEDNESDAY • SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

Nicholas causes widespread power outages By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM

Despite predictions that much of the region could be at risk for flooding from Hurricane Nicholas, Fort Bend County officials awoke Tuesday morning to find the worst effects so far were widespread power outages. More than 450,000 customers across the Houston region had power outages as of about 9:15 a.m., according to Centerpoint Energy’s outage tracker. While strong gusts of wind throughout the night knocked out power across the region, the county’s ditches, bayous and rivers largely didn’t rise much, according to Fort Bend County officials. “Thank God, we could give this good report this morning,” County Judge KP George said Tuesday morning at a press conference. “And thank you to the residents who stayed back and did not create chaos on the roadways.” Nicholas made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane just after 1 a.m. Tuesday in Matagorda County. The storm then continued to inch along the Texas coast, largely bringing with it strong wind gusts and steady rain. Residents in Fort Bend County awoke Tuesday morning to leaves and other foliage scattered across the roadways, and many had lost power, according to the outage tracker. Wind gusts of 51 mph were reported near Sugar Land, according to Space City Weather. “We are blessed it didn’t hit as hard as we thought,” Sheriff Eric Fagan said. County officials on Tuesday declined to give a specific number for how many residents were still without power, arguing it was a fluctuating number, and they hoped power would be restored to most residents sooner rather than later. Both Stafford MSD and Fort Bend ISD didn’t hold classes Tuesday, because they closed ahead of time amid reports that Nicholas could bring flooding to the region through Tuesday and into Wednesday. Some forecasts called for between 8 and 16 inches of rain in total, with maximum amounts of 20 inches in some places. But the rain was not as severe as predicted, and local creeks, streams and bayous handled the flow well, according to the Fort Bend County Drainage District. Forecasters now predict another inch of rain to fall through the rest of the week – an amount the creeks should be capable of handling, according to the district.

FBISD board attorney defends legal decisions By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM

In the weeks since Fort Bend ISD instituted a mask mandate, filed a brief with the Texas Supreme Court opposing the local health department’s ability to do so,

and then revoked the mask mandate in the course of days, district officials have been largely silent about what led to the decisions. But in a series of email exchanges with the school board’s legal representative, the attorney defended the decision to

withdraw the mask mandate, and acknowledged that Dave Rosenthal, president of the district’s board of trustees, was responsible for the decision to file a brief with the Texas Supreme Court. The attorney’s defenses are the latest news in

a battle over Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order banning mask mandates – a dispute featuring several counties and school districts across the state - that has wound its way through the courts and

SEE FBISD PAGE 7

Morris

Craving competition

Sugar Land resident Derek "Tank" Schottle, a Special Olympics athlete, competes in an in-person meet before the COVID-19 pandemic. Special Olympics athletes are anxious to return to in-person events after an extended layoff. (Contributed photo)

Special Olympics athletes, supporters await return of in-person events By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM

Through most of the ongoing pandemic, the name of the game for Special Olympics in the greater Houston area has been wait and see. The organization managed to hold two events over the summer – when coronavirus cases were at their lowest – but aside from that, the more than 8,000 athletes in the Houston area have gone almost a yearand-a-half without

in-person athletic competitions, according to Aaron Keith, a program coordinator with Special Olympics Texas. But now, in-person events are again temporarily shuttered, and

athletes and families are yearning to return. “I was really looking forward to competing again, and doing all the things we love to do in life,” said Derek “Tank” Schottle, 32, of Sugar Land. “But with everything with COVID and delta, it’s starting to feel like 2020 again.” Schottle competes in softball, basketball, bocce, volleyball, track, golf and soccer with Special Olympics and has been doing so for 20 years, he said. While the organization has worked to keep

families engaged with virtual events, the athletes are excited to go back in-person, Keith said. “We do our best to keep them socially and physically engaged, but nothing replaces in-person,” Keith said. “Our goal is to go back in-person as soon as possible this fall.” The return of in-person events was actually set to begin sooner rather than later, but those plans came before the fall spike in cases of the delta variant of coronavirus across the region.

As of Monday, Fort Bend County had 76,142 confirmed cases of coronavirus, according to the county’s dashboard. More than 833 people have died. A special mitigation team comprised of doctors and epidemiologists have been meeting with Special Olympics officials to give them guidance on the best steps to take, and the organization still has several events tentatively scheduled,

SEE ATHLETES PAGE 7

Sugar Land man among those honored for WWII service By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM

Fort Bend County crews work to clear debris after Hurricane Nicholas. (Photo from Facebook)

Visit www.FortBendStar.com

Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 46 • No. 4

A Fort Bend County resident was one of four veterans recently presented with the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal for their role as Chinese-American service members during World War II. Lewis Yee, 99, of Sugar Land, was honored earlier this month as part of a group of Chinese-Ameri-

can service members who were recognized as unsung heroes. Attendees at the event included former U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, who represented Fort Bend County while in office, and said he thought it was an important event to attend. “May God bless the Chinese-American heroes of World War II,” Olson wrote. Family members for Yee did not respond to a request for comment as of

Monday afternoon. "I am really honored to serve my great country," Yee told Houston TV station KTRK. But Yee’s honor was something years in the making. Lawmakers in late 2018 voted to approve the Congressional Gold Medal to Chinese-American veterans in World War II, Olson said. The honor is Congress’ highest award and has previously been given to individuals such

as Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King Jr. and groups such as members of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders and the Native American code talkers, among others. The coronavirus pandemic and the time it took designing the medal delayed the veterans in the Houston area being honored for it. Yee grew up in the

SEE SERVICE PAGE 7

Yee

JERRY FLOWERS

Real Estate Agent, MBA, CNE, ABE Army Veteran (RET) • 832-702-5241 Jerry@dreamhomesbyjerry.com

4500 Highway 6, Sugar Land, TX 77478


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.