Dulles holds off Clements for first district victory - Page 6
WEDNESDAY • OCTOBER 16, 2019 SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN PARTY
Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 43 • No. 61
Area native tells personal story through short film By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Sat. Oct. 26th 8pm-2am COSTUME CONTEST LIVE MUSIC & DANCING FEATURING THE JEFF MAXIMUM BAND
Jack’s NEIGHBORHOOD PUB!
281-498-3410
11720 Wilcrest Houston, Tx. 77099
FREE
SLICE OF CAKE WITH ANY PURCHASE Expires 11/1/2019
Shown is the boy depicted as Mark in "Ghosts of Sugar Land," which premieres Wednesday. (Contributed photo)
An award-winning film set in Sugar Land is premiering worldwide on Netflix this week. Directed by Sugar Land native and Kempner High School graduate Bassam Tariq, "Ghosts of Sugar Land" follows a group of Muslim Americans in the Houston suburb as they trace the disappearance of "Mark," a friend who is suspected of joining ISIS.
According to the film's plot summary, Mark was a social misfit as a teenager and converted to Islam before entering college, where his beliefs took a turn when he began alienating his friends and leaving cryptic notes on social media before disappearing. Tariq said the documentary is based on true events for himself and his friends in their hometown, where the group of young Muslim Americans discuss the disappearance
and radicalization of their friend. According to Tariq, he formulated the idea for a short film in 2017 as an outlet for him and his friends to talk about a topic that is difficult to broach. So, Tariq said the group dons masks while deconstructing what possibly happened to Mark as well as where the friends now are in their lives. "One of my friends has
SEE FILM PAGE 8
Ready to reunite
Must present this ad at this location below.
Not applicable with other offers.
Visit www.FortBendStar.com
Rustika Rustika Café & Bakery Café & Bakery
NOWOPEN 3227 Hwy.6 281-494-4230 NOW OPEN to Corelli’s Italian Sugar Land, TXNext 77478 CUSTOM CAKES + PASTRIES + COOKIES Next to Corelli’s Italian + COFFEE + SOUPS + SANDWICHES
CUSTOM CAKES + PASTRIES + COOKIES + COFFEE + SOUPS + SANDWICHES
auto - home - life
Thad Olive 1716 Dulles Ave. Suite 102 Sugar Land, TX. 77478 832-999-4292
www.agentolive.com
PAINTING Interior Painting Exterior Painting Sheetrock Textures Power Washing
100 OFF 713-298-8393 $
of any job $500 or more!
Insured • References www.smart-improvements.com
Richmond resident Carlos Añez participates in a march in honor of the Citgo 6 on Sunday at Candlelight Park in Houston. Añez is the son of Sugar Land resident Jorge Toledo, one of six Citgo engineers who has been jailed in Venezuela since 2017. (Photo by Adam Zuvanich)
Fort Bend families plea for return of detained loved ones in Venezuela By Adam Zuvanich AZUVANICH@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Milena Añez is old enough to remember her grandfather but too young to understand why she no longer sees him. Richmond resident Carlos Añez tries to provide an explanation to his 5-year-old daughter, who hasn't hugged Jorge Toledo since before Thanksgiving in 2017. Añez's youngest daughter, 3-year-old Arya,
has no recollection of her grandfather. Nearly two years ago, Toledo and five other Citgo executives were summoned from Texas and Louisiana to Venezuela, where state-owned oil and gas company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) exerted control over its Houston-based subsidiary. Toledo and the other men -- Gustavo Cardenas, Jose Pereira, Tomeu Vadell and brothers Alirio and Jose Luis Zambrano -- have yet
to return. They were arrested in Caracas, Venezuela, and remain jailed by the regime of Nicolas Maduro for reasons their families and government representatives in America do not fully comprehend. "It's a terrible situation, because they are innocent men," said Toledo's wife, Carmen. "They are suffering. Their families are
Star's Expo for seniors SEE CITGO6 PAGE 11 a big success Sugar Land youngster lives out football dream at Texans game From Staff Reports
U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, left, holds up a sign while participating in in a march for the Citgo 6 on Sunday. Olson represents four of the six Citgo executives who have been jailed in Venezuela since 2017. (Photo by Adam Zuvanich)
By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Another year of The Star’s Boomer and Senior Expo has come and gone with positive results once again. Nearly 70 booths spanned the giant meeting hall at the Stafford Centre last Wednesday, and they were visited by a steady stream of more than 700 boomers, seniors and their loved ones seeking information on topics such as healthcare and retirement
SEE EXPO PAGE 8
For a few fleeting seconds, 12-year-old Kyler Scheiffele fulfilled a dream of booking it across the grass at an NFL field. Despite its brevity, his mother said the moment will be imprinted in his mind for life. On Oct. 6, the young Houston Texans fan from Sugar Land waited with bated breath to sprint out and retrieve Ka’imi Fairbairn’s kicking tee following his opening kickoff for the Texans in their home game against the Atlanta Falcons Kyler Scheiffele of Sugar Land runs off the field at NRG Stadium after picking up the tee from the at NRG Stadium. opening kickoff of the Houston Texans' Oct. 6 home game against the Atlanta Falcons. Galvan’s “I was really excited,” name was drawn as a winner of the Ashley HomeStore Kickoff Kid program. (Contributed photo) Scheiffele said. “I know that
not many people get the chance to do that.” Each season, randomly drawn winners get the opportunity to run out on the playing field and retrieve the tee after either the opening or second-half Texans kickoff at each of the team’s eight home games. Scheiffele's family also got four tickets to the game, a Texans jersey, a $500 gift card for Ashley HomeStore and recognition on the NRG Stadium scoreboard during the game. "It was cool to see the players and be on the field where everyone at the stadium was watching me," Scheiffele said.
SEE TEXANS PAGE 10