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7746 Highway 6, Ste H, Missouri City, TX 77459 MON-FRI: 9am-5pm | SAT: 10am-2pm | SUN: Closed
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Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 47 • No. 44 • $1.00
Missouri City officer shot during chase Armors Your Glass From Burglars, Storms & Heat
713-213-5080 info@ArmorGlass.com ArmorGlass.com
CUBIST/ABSTRACT ART EXHIBIT
7/30
SATURDAY 5:30 - 9:30
Acrylics on Canvas by Jack P. Backa
By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
A Missouri City police officer is in the hospital after she was shot during a chase early Saturday. Officer Crystal Sepulveda is in stable condition at Memorial Hermann after she was shot twice while pursuing a vehicle in connection to an
Sepulveda
aggravated robbery, according to police. “Please pray for one of Missouri City’s finest officers who was shot in the line of duty,” Missouri City Mayor Robin Elackatt wrote. “Currently being treated at one of our nearby hospitals.” Missouri City police at about 2:30 a.m. responded to a report of a stolen vehicle in the 800 block
of Buffalo Run, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said. The officers eventually stopped in front of a residence where they approached the man, who has not yet been identified, and Sepulveda was struck, Finner said. Responding officers from several agencies then set up a perimeter and found the man,
Finner said. After the man allegedly fired several shots, officers returned fire and struck him several times. Then man was then transported to the hospital, where he later died, Finner said. Sepulveda was transported to the hospital
SEE OFFICER PAGE 7
Like clockwork
14019 S.W. Fry. Ste.405 SL, TX HWY 59 @ Suger Creek Blvd
City of Sugar Land proposes 2023 budget By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Inflation, the pandemic and a slowdown of growth – city governments across Fort Bend County face a multitude of unprecedented challenges as they prepare for the next fiscal year. Sugar Land’s proposed $379.7 million budget attempts to thread that needle, and the unique challenges facing the city, according to City Manager Michael Goodrum. The proposed budget includes $280.7 million for operations and an additional $99 million for capital projects that would leave the tax rate unchanged, according to a news release. “We are going into this year cautiously optimistic,” he told the Fort Bend Star last week. “It’s a conservative budget with lots of security built into it.” The 2023 fiscal year will begin Oct. 1. Like so many cities across the country, the coronavirus pandemic changed much about Sugar Land’s finances, initially decreasing sales tax revenues, but increasing home values, Goodrum explained. After the first months of the coronavirus pandemic, those numbers reverted back toward normal, but continued uncertainty combined with high inflation led city staff to approach this budget season conservatively, he said. “Last year, when we filed the budget we put a lot of breaks on spending until midyear, so we’d have an idea of
SEE BUDGET PAGE 7
Paisley Tang, a Student Hero, calculates shift production numbers with Alexa Garza, a volunteer service representative, at the Houston Food Bank. (Photo by Benjamin Who)
Fort Bend students fight hunger at Houston Food Bank By Benjamin Who BENJAMINWHO@GMAIL.COM
Everything's bigger in Texas — even the food banks. The Houston Food Bank is the largest in America, and it runs like clockwork. Day after day, shift after shift, a throng of volunteers file in through the large double doors and join a project area. They sort and weigh frozen
meat at the cold dock, peer through donated foods and toss expired or mislabeled items at the cold dock, and, in Aisle 8 of the warehouse, pack food into boxes for Houston’s senior communities. These volunteers are the driving force behind the Houston Food Bank’s ability to service over 1,600 hunger relief charities in 18 counties and provide more than 150 million meals annually.
But unbeknownst to many, a group of high school students, including many from Fort Bend County, works tirelessly to ensure each shift runs smoothly. These are the Houston Food Bank’s Student Heroes — more affectionately known as purple-shirts — and they play a vital role in the food bank’s operational efficiency. Student Heroes work alongside food bank staff in each project area to
assist volunteers, especially those serving in the 308,000-square-foot facility for the first time. They provide guidance, share tips, answer questions and show others how to efficiently complete project tasks. “We work at different project areas in the food bank as leaders,” said Risha Sethi, 17, a member of the program from Sugar Land. “A Student Hero coordinates large service
projects, guides volunteers, and educates those around about food insecurity.” Before each shift, Student Heroes set up the project space, roll in hundreds of pounds of food using pallet jacks, then rush to greet volunteers as they stroll in. Alexa Garza, an adult volunteer service repre-
SEE PLANT PAGE 7
Former local tennis coach in state Hall of Fame By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
A former tennis coach who spent a decade of his coaching career at Fort Bend area high schools is being honored with one of the tennis coaching profession’s highest honors. Tim Calhoun, who spent seven seasons at Lamar Consolidated
High School and three seasons at Ridge Point, will be one of three coaches inducted into the 2022 Texas Tennis Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame during its annual convention on Dec. 9. After coaching in the college ranks at UTSA and Lamar University from 1988-1994, Calhoun spent 23 seasons at the high school level,
bookended by stints at two Fort Bend County schools. His first seven of those were at Lamar Consolidated from 19952001, while he ended his career with three seasons at Ridge Point from 2016-2018. He also spent time at Katy Taylor, Cy Ridge and Saginaw High School.
SEE TENNIS PAGE 7
Former Ridge Point and Lamar Consolidated tennis coach Tim Calhoun, above left, was recently elected to the Texas Tennis Coaches Association Hall of Fame. (Contributed photo)
JERRY FLOWERS
Real Estate Agent, MBA, CNE, ABE Army Veteran (RET) • 832-702-5241 Jerry@dreamhomesbyjerry.com
4500 Highway 6, Sugar Land, TX 77478