Astros have hometown support in Washington – Page 12
WEDNESDAY • OCTOBER 23, 2019 SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN PARTY 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
STOP BY FOR A
FREE
HALLOWEEN
COOKIE
Expires 11/1/2019
Rustika Rustika
Café & Bakery Café & Bakery 3227 Hwy.6 NOW OPEN281-494-4230 Sugar Land, TX 77478 NOW OPEN Next to Corelli’s Italian CUSTOM CAKES + PASTRIES + COOKIES Next to Corelli’s Italian + COFFEE + SOUPS + SANDWICHES
CUSTOM CAKES + PASTRIES + COOKIES + COFFEE + SOUPS + SANDWICHES
Visit www.FortBendStar.com
Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 43 • No. 62
Political shift could continue in District 28 race By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Though the candidate pool is largely Republican, the race for the District 28 seat in the Texas House of Representatives could be won by a Democrat. Democrats all over the state and even across the country are trying to push Eliz Markowitz to victory in a district historically controlled by Republicans, with Richmond's John Zerwas having held the Fort Bend County seat since 2007. He
stepped down in August after being named Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs for the University of Texas system. Markowitz is the only Democrat in a seven-candidate field vying to replace Zerwas in a special election on Nov. 5, with early voting having begun Monday. The former schoolteacher who was raised in Sugar Land has received nearly $62,000 in campaign contributions and gotten donations from all over the United States with the help of ActBlue, an online fundraising plat-
Markowitz
form that connects donors to Democrats, progressive groups and nonprofits. In the 2018 election for the District 28 seat, which serves Fulshear, Simonton
and part of Sugar Land, Zerwas beat Democrat Meghan Scoggins by fewer than 7,000 votes in a race in which nearly 82,000 ballots were cast. "I believe in representation that is bigger than politics or political parties, and I believe we can work together to find commonsense solutions that work for all Texans," Markowitz said in a statement released by her campaign. "Whether it's expanding access to healthcare, improving disaster management or making sure our kids are
safe in school, there's so much work to be done and so much we can all agree on." A group of Republicans is trying to stop the Democratic wave that rolled through Fort Bend County last November. And if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote this November, the top two will compete in a runoff in December. The Republican can-
SEE SEAT PAGE 8
Wave of opportunity
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
Road work to continue through at least Friday From Staff Reports
A minor roadwork project may cause slight delays and detours around Missouri City through the end of this week. City officials say work involving enhancements on southbound University Boulevard at Highway 6 near Missouri City, which began Monday, could take the road down to one lane through at least Friday. According to the city, delays are expected in this major intersection during this period. Anyone traveling has been advised to avoid the area and take alternate routes if possible, or use extreme caution if travelling through the intersection.
A swimmer from the First Colony Swim Team slices through the pool during the U.S.A. Swimming Futures Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, in August. First Colony is a year-round swim team serving Sugar Land and other Fort Bend County communities. (Photo by Chris Pose Photograpy)
Area team cultivating passion, perseverance through swimming By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
For 14-year-old Kayla Fu, swimming – and life – has become all about developing mental toughness, but still letting fun in along the way. That mindset, she says, is largely due to the First Colony Swim Team, for which Fu has been swimming competitively for four years. “My coaches and teammates have made things really fun for me, and that’s
really what made me start to love swimming,” she said. Fu, a Sugar Land resident and Fort Settlement Middle School student, is one of roughly 600 registered youth swimmers with the First Colony Swim Team, which has served First Colony, Sugar Land and the surrounding areas since 1981. About 450 of its swimmers, who are as young as age 5, regularly compete in events sanctioned by the Texas Swimming Association (TSA). The team will begin
evaluations and accepting registrations for its winter season in mid-November. Aside from cultivating a competitive environment that will push swimmers forward in the sport, head coach Adrian Gomez said there also is a focus on merging a person’s passion for swimming with a mindset that can be applied well beyond the pool. “We know that one day,
SEE SWIMMING PAGE 11
The First Colony Swim Team has more than 600 registered swimmers, 450 of whom swim competitively. (Photo by Chris Pose Photography)
Missouri City Marine among veterans at annual reunion By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Retired Marine Ray Williams of Missouri City looks back on his time serving in the military, in particular Desert Storm, with relative fondness. He also acknowledges that many Marines face myriad challenges, related to war and otherwise, upon returning home. There are also so relatively few in the world who understand such a plight, he said, thus the need for camaraderie with fellow Marines. An annual gathering for retired Marines, which Retired Marine Corps veteran Ray Williams of Missouri City and has been held around the his wife Theresa were among those at an annual gathering of country, now provides that Desert Storm veterans in Stafford last Friday. (Photo by Landan outlet. Kuhlmann) The 50-year-old Wil-
liams joined about 40 other retired Marines from Echo-211’s First Marine Division inside Main Event Entertainment in Stafford last Friday night as the group bowled, laughed, ate and generally appeared to have no cares in the world. It was part of a weekend reunion for the group that included a dinner Saturday night at the Westin Hotel in the Galleria. “The whole purpose is camaraderie – getting together to see where we are in life and what’s going on to try to keep with the health and maintenance of one another to understand what we’re going through,” said Williams, whose service in Marines lasted from 1990-93. “It’s a comparison of similar events that go
on in life. Some of us have things that happened where it’s the same thing happening with somebody else. We compare these stories and work with each other to resolve, or find how to resolve, certain issues that we go through in life.” The gatherings are comprised solely of retired Marines who served during the first Gulf War from 1990-91, shortly after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. Gregory Price has taken on the role of organizing the gatherings of those who served together in the first Desert Storm – a codename for the Gulf War. The group’s first reunion was held at Califor-
SEE REUNION PAGE 11
W.A. Parish
Generating Station
TexianMarketDays.com • Discount tickets available at your
Business Center
Lida D. McNeill Mary Catherine “Polly” Shouse