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WEDNESDAY • NOVEMBER 8, 2017 Election Update
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Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 40 • No. 13
Killer bee invasion
More enter candidacy Man donates services to remove for 2018 Two more candidates have announced their candidacy for judgeships during the primary election on March 6. Lewis White is running for the new Fort Bend County Court at Law No. 6 and Jennifer Chiang is running for Fort Bend County Court at Law No. 3. Both candidates had previously announced their candidacies but were inadvertently left off a list of candidates published last week. Below is the revised list.
State Senate District 17
Kristin Tassin announced she is running for the Republican nomination for State Senate District 17, which covers portions of Brazoria, Fort Bend, and Harris counties. Republican Joan Huffman currently holds the seat. Now in her second term, Tassin serves as president of the Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees.
State House District 85
State Rep. Phil Stephenson announced he is seeking re-election to House District 85. He first won election to the seat in 2012. District 85 includes all of Jackson and Wharton counties and south Fort Bend County.
Fort Bend County District Attorney
With longtime district attorney John Healy announcing he will not run, two early contenders have surfaced for the post. Former Fort Bend County prosecutor Shawn M. McDonald announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for District Attorney. In 2006, McDonald started his own law firm and has continued to practice and try criminal juvenile, misdemeanor, and felony cases. Republican Cliff Vacek, retired judge of the 400th District Court, has announced his candidacy for the office. Vacek previously served over 10 years as District Judge before retiring in 2014.
hive from home in Missouri City By Joe Southern JSOUTHERN@FORTBENDSTAR.
Sometimes all it takes is a little buzz to generate an act of kindness. In this case it was the buzzing of tens of thousands of bees that had made their home in the side of an elderly woman’s home in Missouri City that led a local pest control company to act before anyone got hurt. Claude Griffin, owner of Gotcha Pest Control, said the swarm nested in the side of Marie Brown’s house on Maczali Drive appeared to be killer bees. “They had me from hello out in the street while I was putting my mask on,” he said. He said the bees were small and very aggressive. He estimated they had been there about five or six years. “It was rough, it was huge in there,” Griffin said. The only payment Griffin took for the job was the 90 pounds of honey he extracted from the hive. He said after discovering that the 79-year-old woman lives on Social Security and had recently undergone triple bypass heart surgery and had a pacemaker installed that there was no way she could afford his fee. Normally he charges $750 to remove bees and a job as complex as Brown’s would easily run $1,500. It took him four hours to complete the task.
(Photo by Joe Southern) Marie Brown stands by the side of the house where a swarm of killer bees was removed from her home by Claude Griffin of Gotcha Pest Control.
“I couldn’t afford it,” Brown said. “I’m so grateful. … They blessed me and they were so nice about it.” Brown said the hive was on a side of her house that she very rarely goes to. Over time the bees began invading her garage and then her home. They built their hive around the vent pipe for her water heater located in the garage. “I could see so many going into the side of the house,” she said. “Any light she turned on they’d go to it,” Griffin said. Griffin did the job
Stavinoha Bridge plans closures for repairs Staff Reports FOR FORTBEND STAR
Robert Serrett of the Katy area has announced his intent to run in the Republican Primary for Fort Bend County Treasurer. Bill Rickert announced he is running for the Republican nomination for Fort Bend County Treasurer.
Fort Bend County Clerk
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 8, Judge
District Judge Dibrell “Dib” Waldrip will seek the Republican nomination for Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 8 in the Republican Primary. Waldrip has presided over the 433rd Judicial District Court since his appointment by Gov. Rick Perry in 2007. Waldrip was re-elected in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
Fort Bend County Court at Law No. 3 Judge
Sugar Land Municipal Court Associate Judge Jennifer Chiang seeks election as Judge of Fort Bend County Court at Law No. 3. Chiang was unanimously appointed by Sugar Land City Council in 2015 as an Associate Judge of the Sugar Land Municipal Court. She regularly serves as judge of the Sugar Land Municipal Court and has presided over dozens of jury trials and bench trials. Democrat Juli Mathew has announced her candidacy for Fort Bend County Court at Law No. 3 judgeship. Throughout her 13 years of practice, she has gained experience in a wide variety of le-
SEE RACE, PG 6A
What Looks like your typical honey bee could actually be a killer
SEE BEES, PG 9A
Fort Bend County Treasurer
County Clerk Laura Richard has announced that she will seek her second term as Fort Bend County Clerk. She was first elected County Clerk in 2014 after serving as Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4.
(Photo Submitted) Pictured is the inside of part of the killer bee hive in the side of Marie Brown’s house.
Lighting the night sky A Tweety Bird balloon takes center stage last weekend at Constellation Field when the BalloonaPalooza Tour came to Sugar Land. The hot air balloon festival featured tethered balloon rides, nightly balloon glows, a carnival, live musical entertainment, arts and crafts, a food zone and more. (Photo by Donna Hill)
The Fort Bend Grand Parkway Toll Road Authority has scheduled closures of the Jodie Stavinoha Bridge on the Grand Parkway over the Brazos River to complete repair of the bridge and stabilization of the riverbank. The northbound lanes will be closed through Nov. 21 and the southbound lanes from Nov. 27 through Dec. 22. The Fort Bend Grand Parkway Toll Road Authority will continue construction on the north bound lanes of the Jodie Stavinoha bridge over the Brazos River located between Riverpark Drive and New Territory Boulevard. The total closure is required to complete the emergency repair that will stabilize the northern bank of the Brazos River and prevent any damage to the Grand Parkway/SH 99 bridge while ensuring the safety of the traveling public. Beginning Oct. 28, the northbound mainlanes between Riverpark Drrive and New Territory Boulevard will be closed continuously until Tuesday, Nov. 21, at 5 a.m. when one lane will reopen. Southbound traffic over the Jodie
Stavinhoa Bridge will remain open in one lane only during that time. Northbound traffic on Grand Parkway/SH 99 may detour by traveling north on the Southwest Freeway, turn left to proceed north on Highway 6, then turn left to proceed west on U.S. Highway 90A and proceed to Grand Parkway (SH 99). Traffic will be able to reenter the SH 99 mainlanes at the northbound entrance ramp from US 90A/ FM 1464. From Nov. 21-27, both northbound and southbound Grand Parkway/SH 99 traffic is scheduled to remain open in one lane only. On Nov. 27, the southbound mainlanes will be closed continuously until Friday, Dec. 22, at 5 p.m. All dates on the southbound traffic closure are tentative and subject to change. Southbound traffic on Grand Parkway/SH 99 will exit FM 1464/ US 90A, turn left to proceed east on US 90A, then turn right to proceed south on Highway 6. Traffic will be able to access the Southwest Freeway to proceed to their final destination. Local New Territory residents may continue to access New Territory Boulevard and Sandhill Drive using the SH 99 frontage roads and auxiliary lane. For more information, visit www. fbctra.com.
Skeeters ink Pete Incaviglia as new manager By Joe Southern JSOUTHERN@FORTBENDSTAR.
Sugar Land Skeeters President Jay Miller went deep to left field to find a replacement for manager Gary Gaetti, who stepped down after six years at the helm of the local baseball team. Pete Incaviglia, a leftfielder who played 12 years in the Major Leagues with six different teams – including two stints with the Houston Astros – has been named the second skipper in Skeeters history. “The Skeeters are one of the best organizations in independent baseball. I’m very honored and privileged to be their second manager,” Incaviglia said. He said his relationship with Miller and his respect for team owners Bob and Marcie Zlotnik made it an easy deci-
sion to come to Sugar Land. “The Zlotnik family is a baseball family,” he said. “They put their trust in me and I’m going to do my best to not let them down.” Miller, a former executive with the Texas Rangers, said he is pleased to be reacquainted with his old friend. “I have known Pete since 1985 when he was a first-round pick of the Texas Rangers,” he said. “I am very excited to work with Pete and know he will do an outstanding job of the manager of the Sugar Land Skeeters. We are lucky to have Pete with us. Great days are ahead for the Skeeters.” Incaviglia said he hopes to continue the championship tradition of Skeeters baseball. “I plan to put together a baseball team the fans and the city and the organization can really be proud of,” he said. “I like to play the game the way
Pete Incaviglia
it’s supposed to be played. We’ll be very athletic.” Incaviglia was an Oklahoma State University standout who was the eighth overall pick in the 1985 amateur draft by the Montreal Expos. What happened next led to the creation of what is called the Inclaviglia Rule in Major
League Baseball. Inclaviglia refused to play in the Expos minor league system, so he was traded to the Rangers. He made his debut on April 8, 1986, without ever playing in the minor leagues. As a result of the trade, Major League Baseball made a rule prohibiting a team from trading a drafted player until he has been under contract to the club for at one year. In 2015 the rule was changed to allow teams to trade drafted players after the World Series concluded. The leftfielder played for the Rangers from 1986-1990. He spent 1991 with the Detroit Tigers, 1992 with the Astros, 1993-94 with the Philadelphia Phillies and then spent a season in Japan with the Chiba Lotte Marines. He came back to the Phillies in 1996 but was traded to the Baltimore Orioles where he played into the
1997 season. He concluded the year with the New York Yankees. He split his last season in 1998 between the Tigers and Astros. Much like the legendary Babe Ruth, Inclaviglia was known for his power but also his tendency to strike out. He led the league in strikeouts in 1986 and 1988 and had 1,277 career strikeouts. He still owns single-season NCAA records with 48 home runs and 143 runs-batted-in. He began his coaching career at a hitting coach for the Tigers’ AA affiliate Erie Seawolves. In 2007 he was named the inaugural manager for the Grand Prairie AirHogs in the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. He left for a year to be the manager of the Laredo Lemurs and then returned to the AirHogs as the hitting coach.