County's early voters came out in droves - Page 3
Though it blends cuisines not typically mixed, Stafford's Best Burger maintained its hold on each classic during a recent visit. Read our review on Page 8. (Photo by Stefan Modrich)
WEDNESDAY • NOVEMBER 4, 2020
Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 44 • No. 11
Visit www.FortBendStar.com
Marshall mourning death of former track star By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
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Fort Bend ISD’s Marshall High School is mourning the death of a former track athlete who died in an apparent road rage incident Oct. 23. The Houston Police Department said Robert Mouton, 18, died Friday as the result of injuries
sustained from being shot Oct. 23. According to Harris County court records, 45-year-old Jorge Joya of Stafford has been charged with murder in connection with Mouton’s death. Dozens of mourners gathered outside the school on Saturday as an impromptu vigil for Mouton, who was on the Buffalos’ 2019 state championship track and
field team, and released balloons into the evening sky to celebrate his life. Mouton had graduated from Marshall in May and was set to walk on with Lamar University’s track and field team in the spring, according to a report from KPRC. “We love you, Robert
SEE MOURNING PAGE 2
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FBISD's Dupre extended through 2024 By Stefan Modrich SMODRICH@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
The Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees voted Oct. 28 to extend the contract of superintendent Charles Dupre by one year. It now runs through April 30, 2024. The board voted 6-0 in favor of extending Dupre’s contract after conducting its annual evaluation of the superintendent. Position 6 Board Member Addie Heyliger was absent. “The contract extension is a vote of confidence in Dr. Dupre,” Board President Jason Burdine said in a statement. “We are fortunate to have Dr. Dupre’s leadership as the District navigates the many challenges associated with teaching students during the ongoing pandemic.” The amendment to Dupre’s contract is the seventh since he was named FBISD’s superintendent in April 2013. Dupre’s annual salary has risen to $363,911 from $285,000 in 2013, an increase of $78,911. The most recent of four approved pay increases came in a 2019 amendment to his contract, which added $13,520 SEE DUPRE PAGE 7
Dupre
Cash English hugs DB Cooper, the German Shepher/Golden Retreiver mix his father adopted from the Fort Bend Animal Shelter on Oct. 24. (Contributed photo)
‘Big Dog’ campaign inspires families to adopt pets By Stefan Modrich SMODRICH@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Cliff English had a feeling the dog he was planning to adopt from the Fort Bend Animal Shelter was destined to be his. But the East Bernard resident didn’t feel certain until he moved up to third on the waiting list, and figured that since he had been the only one on the list who actually came to visit the year-old German Shepherd, that it was a perfect fit. Sure enough, the former paratrooper from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division brought home a puppy named DB Cooper to his wife and son, Cash,age 5, on Oct. 24. English is one of about 300 people to have adopted a “big dog” classified by Best Friends
Sydney Powers pets Cowboy, adopted from the Fort Bend Animal Shelter. (Contributed photo)
Animal Society (BFAS) as any dog 40 pounds or heavier, during the nonprofit organization’s
push in tandem with its partnering Greater Houston shelters, including the Fort Bend Animal
Shelter at the Fort Bend County Rosenberg Annex. Utah-based BFAS was
founded in 1984 and played a key role in reducing the number of animals killed in shelters nationwide from an estimated 17 million per year to around 733,000. However, there are about 2,000 dogs and cats killed every day in shelters, and the organization has a goal of implementing a no-kill policy in shelters by 2025. Kerry McKeel, the senior program manager for BFAS, said Texas has the second-highest number of shelter deaths, only trailing California. McKeel said a disproportionate number of the dogs killed in Texas shelters are 40 pounds or heavier. BFAS came up with its “Big Dog” campaign in an effort to try to appeal to a sense of shared appreciation for canines
SEE PETS PAGE 7
Sugar Land artist to debut ‘What Shapes Us’ By Stefan Modrich SMODRICH@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Tracey Meyer loves shapes — not only as an artist, but because she considers herself a historian. “I don’t know why that is (that I love shapes),” Meyer said. “They just resonate with me very strongly. And of course, staring out my window, everything is a shape. The leaves are a particular shape, the flowers are a particular shape, and I draw that inspiration from nature.” That resonance fueled her latest exhibition, “What Shapes Us,” a series of sculptures to be displayed Nov. 7-Dec. 3 at the Archway Gal-
lery in Houston. Meyer will be at the gallery on Saturday afternoons and is also available to provide private tours and small group visits. The exhibit, billed as a “sculptural exploration of the complexity of life,” is Meyer’s third solo showcase and first at the Archway Gallery. “One of the distinctive things about the gallery is that it is so international,” Meyer said. “There’s me, an Australian, there’s a lovely French lady, there’s someone from Pakistan, there’s a Taiwanese woman, there are many people from South America, we’ve got a Colombian and a Venezuelan. So I love that about the gallery, that it is a sort of a melting pot of dif-
ferent cultures, which they perhaps represent in their art, but it’s just nice to have that experience.” Between growing up in Australia and moving to London as a young girl, and traveling frequently in her adult life due to her husband’s work, with brief stays in Singapore and Thailand, Meyer has had the opportunity to bring a global perspective to her art. She graduated in 2012 from the Glassell School of Art in Houston, where she studied studio art and concentrated on painting and sculpting. She also earned a graduate
SEE ARTIST PAGE 7
Sugar Land resident Tracey Meyer stands with one of her "What Shapes Us" pieces, which are being featured in an exhibit at Archway Gallery in Houston. (Contributed photo)