High school football returns - Page 4
During a recent visit to Larry's Original Mexican Restaurant in Richmond, the area staple proved to be a timeless classic. Read our review inside on Page 8. (Photo by Stefan Modrich)
WEDNESDAY • OCTOBER 7, 2020
Visit www.FortBendStar.com
Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 44 • No. 8
Smart Financial Centre to be polling place By Stefan Modrich SMODRICH@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
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Fort Bend County residents looking to vote in person in this year’s general election will be able to do so in one of the county’s largest public venues. County Judge KP George held a news conference outside Smart Financial Centre in Sugar Land last Thursday,
The Smart Financial Centre in Sugar Land will be available to voters in the upcoming election. (Photo by Stefan Modrich)
during which George declared the facility would be an early voting and Election Day polling site. Early voting is scheduled to take place from Oct. 13-30, and Election Day is Nov. 3. The 200,000 square foot arena opened in 2017 and seats 6,400 people. It has also been used as a coronavirus testing site during the COVID-19 pandemic. George said the Cen-
Center Stage
Markowitz, Gates in District 28 rematch SMODRICH@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Wen Guerra Silvia Salazar
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Christopher Caldwell
Don Jones
Star working through website transition
AJ Honore
By Adam Zuvanich AZUVANICH@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Delivering timely news online is essential for media outlets in the digital age, and we take pride in doing so at the Fort Bend Star. Our website and print editions are extensions of each other, complement each other and help keep our community informed – whether you’re someone who enjoys flipping through the newspaper or would prefer getting your neighborhood news on a computer or smart phone. Unfortunately, in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, fortbendstar.com was infected with a digital version of the coronavirus several weeks ago. As our online readers may already know, that forced us to put our site under selfquarantine for a period of time while we diagnosed the problem and worked toward recovery. It's been a bit of a long road back, much like some of those affected by COVID-19 have had to deal with lingering effects. We have streamlined our website and started the process of creating a new website on a new hosting platform that will be better than ever in terms of presentation and user friendliness. We look forward to unveiling the upcoming website and will keep our readers posted when it is set to launch. In the meantime, we have gotten fortbendstar.com free of viruses and back in working order, so we can once again update you with the latest information about the community and share those stories on our social media pages. If you don’t follow us already, please check us out on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @FortBendStar. And please keep reading our print edition, which we have continued to deliver without a hitch. We value those who pick up our paper each week, and we hope you value us just the same. Thank you for reading.
SEE POLLING PAGE 3
By Stefan Modrich
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ter for Tech and Civic Life, a non-profit group, provided the county with $500,000 to be used during the 2020 election cycle to improve accessibility for voters. “This location is an amazing place,” George said. “That’s the very reason why I am excited about it. This is going to give access to thousands
Jacqueline Jean-Baptiste
Adam Sanchez Jim Narvios
Just 260 days separate Oct. 13, the first day of early voting, from the Jan. 28 runoff election that saw Republican Gary Gates win decisively over Democratic nominee Eliz Markowitz for the Texas House of Representatives seat in District 28. They are competing again for the right to represent part of Fort Bend County in Austin, with Election Day scheduled for Nov. 3. Gates is the Richmond-based owner of Gatesco Inc., which employs about 500 people across the 8,500 apartments he owns throughout the Greater Houston area. He is a member of the Appropriations Committee and Pensions Committee. As a business owner, Gates said he emphasizes the importance of vocational training as one of the key components of his platform. “Throughout the state and really throughout this country, we have the mindset that every kid is going to go to college,” Gates said. “And the reality is that’s not the situation. And we’re neglecting the vast majority, 70 percent or so who never go to college. And they’re coming out of
SEE DISTRICT 28 PAGE 6 Clint Mendonca
Ken Mathew
Cecil Willis
Chamber forum hosts Stafford candidates By Stefan Modrich SMODRICH@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
For the first time in more than 50 years, Stafford is preparing for a municipal election without Leonard Scarcella, the late former mayor. The current group of candidates made their cases to voters at the Stafford Civic Center, and without an in-person audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce hosted the candidate forum last Thursday for the upcoming local
elections for positions on the Stafford Municipal School District board of trustees, city council and mayor. Early voting is scheduled for Oct. 13-30, with Election Day on Nov. 3. The forum was broadcast on Facebook Live and Stafford METV and featured a media panel of journalists from the Fort Bend Star, Houston Chronicle and Fort Bend Independent. The night kicked off with the three school board candidates, who are vying for two seats on the sevenperson board. Incumbents
Jacqueline Jean-Baptiste and Christopher Caldwell shared the stage with challenger Clint Mendonca, who sharply critiqued the fiscal responsibility and the educational standards of the board. Jean-Baptiste cited the board’s passing of a $62 million bond, the largest in SMSD history, as a notable accomplishment. She added the board has a bond oversight committee that ensures the bond funds are spent responsibly. “We are very fiscally sound,” Jean-Baptiste said.
“We have a great amount of money in our fund balance. We even put money back into our fund balance every year. We’ve passed a balanced budget for the last seven years. The bond package helped lead to the construction of a new middle school, which was completed in August, and a new administrative building opened in June. The existing middle school was converted into a STEM campus.
SEE FORUM PAGE 6
Gates
Markowitz
George Ranch Historical Park loses icon in 'Uncle Bob' By Stefan Modrich SMODRICH@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Bob Beringer, known affectionately as “Uncle Bob” by the thousands of children and visitors of all ages to the George Ranch Historical Park in Richmond, died Saturday at age 63. Beringer came to the George Ranch in 2010 as a tram driver, and not long after found his calling playing the role of an 1890s sharecropper. He is survived by 14 grandchildren and was known for his easygoing personality. “Bob Beringer was such a kind and genuinely
good man. He encouraged everyone, always had a positive attitude and made us all feel as if he truly was our Uncle Bob,” Claire Rogers, executive director of the Fort Bend History Association, said in a statement. “He will be greatly missed by all the staff and certainly by a large following of regular guests to the George Ranch Historical Park.” Visitors to the ranch shared an outpouring of support and condolences for Beringer and his family on social media. “We spent some time with Uncle Bob just two weeks ago,” Lindsay
George Ranch Historical Park's Bob Beringer died Saturday at age 63. (Contributed photo)
Shepard of Pearland wrote on Facebook. “My eldest son, Alfie, and him struck up quite the friendship and
I’m sure Alfie would have loved to stay there all day with him. He is heartbroken with the news of Bob’s passing. Sending all our love to his family at home and at the Ranch. A sad day indeed.” Like many who met Beringer, Richmond resident David Hobbins claimed “Uncle Bob” as an adopted member of his family. “My youngest daughter thought he was her actual uncle and looked for him at family get-togethers,” Hobbins wrote in a Facebook post. “We got to have a good visit with him a few weeks ago. We are very sad
to hear of his passing and are praying for his family.” Beringer’s colleagues said he would be remembered for his warmth and his dedication to his job. He embodied the role so well, said JR Thomas, the site lead at the 1830s Jones Stock Farm, that he was always in character. “In the museum business, you’re only as good as the last person you saw,” Thomas said. “He was just enthusiastic and personable and happy. He was made for that place. He was absolutely made for it.” SEE BOB PAGE 6