01-12-2022 Edition of the Fort Bend Star

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Fort Bend

HOME & GARDEN

January 15-16 • Ft Bend County Fairgrounds

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New COVID-19 testing site opens in Sugar Land - Page 2

WEDNESDAY • JANUARY 12, 2022

Crews to work overnight on median project By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM

Construction crews in Missouri City can now work through the night to finish a $2.4 million project to install medians along FM 1092. The city council last week gave permission to a contractor to work on the median project afterhours, because the existing noise ordinance would have prevented it otherwise, according to city documents. Contractors working for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) are in the midst of a $2.4 million project to add medians on FM 1092 between State Highway 6 and State Highway 59, a distance of about 5.8 miles, according to department documents. While state officials argue the project will reduce traffic delays and reduce congestion, some elected officials and residents in Missouri City have raised concerns about whether medians are needed on the road, and what other measures might help the area more. “A number of people will be watching you,” Council member Floyd Emery said of the project managers. “But I’m sure you’ll do well.” TxDOT gave the contractor, Richmond-based SCR Civil Construction, a condition in their contract to perform construction after peak traffic hours, in an effort to reduce congestion on the busy stretch of road. Work on the project began this month in Stafford and will continue until reaching Missouri City later this year, according to city documents. Construction should last about seven months, according to the state.

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Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 46 • No. 21

Districts adjust quarantine rules for new semester By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM

Just days after school resumed for many Fort Bend County students, administrators at districts across the county found themselves in a familiar position – forced to adapt guidelines in response to a growing number of corona-

virus cases. Fort Bend ISD, for instance, shortened the recommended time that people who test positive for the virus should stay home from 10 to five days, in re-

sponse to new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said Sherry Williams, spokesperson for the district.

“Fort Bend ISD is shortening the recommended isolation time for individuals who test positive for COVID-19 from 10 calendar days to five calendar days if, by day five, the individual has no fever, no other symptoms or mild symptoms that are improving,” Williams said. “Mask wearing is strongly encouraged upon return.”

The district’s change in directive did not pass without some controversy, amongst parents. “Due to the fact that we’re not mandating masks (which I’m OK with) they should have left the quarantine timeline at 10 days,” wrote one parent on social

SEE QUARANTINE PAGE 9

Big league lift

Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, left, recently helped Richmond resident Caroline Bordelon, center, pay for a new car and apartment after meeting her while volunteering at a Houston-area holiday toy drive last month. At right is Bregman's wife, Reagan.(Contributed photo)

Astros star helps make holiday special for Fort Bend woman By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM

Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman was volunteering at a Houston holiday toy drive with his wife, Reagan, last month when in walked Caroline Bordelon, of Richmond, Bregman said. The event was supposed to include a meal for all attendees, but Bordelon, who had taken an Uber there, was in a hurry to get back to Fort Bend County,

she said. Little did she know, but the volunteer who helped her carry presents back to the Uber was Reagan Bregman, Bordelon said. “We were fortunate to meet an amazing human being in Caroline,” Alex Bregman said in a phone interview last week. “She’d had a really tough go of it recently, but the one thing she’d made sure to do was take an Uber across town to make sure her kids were taken care of during the holidays.”

A rough go of it might be an understatement. Bordelon, 39, a Zambia native who had been raised by an older sister ever since her parents died when she was young, had lost her car, apartment and full custody of her three children in the U.S. in 2021, said Darla Farmer, CEO of Sugar Land-based Hope for Three Autism Advocates – a group that works with Bordelon. Bordelon’s older sister had also died recently, Farmer said.

The Fort Bend County woman’s story, combined with her dedication to her children, so moved the Bregmans that they decided to pull off a Christmas like no other for her. They helped set her up with a new car as well as a new apartment in Richmond. “Alex texted me the day after the toy drive and said, ‘Darla, this is Alex Bregman, and I’d like to help Caroline,’” Farmer said. The fact that someone who’d been through so

much strife would still take time to get to a toy drive across town to make Christmas special for her children moved the Bregmans, Alex said. “We were so moved by how amazing she is,” he said. “We wanted to see her smile and be happy. When she’s Uber-ing across town to make sure her children enjoyed Christmas, that meant the world to us. We saw a mom who was will-

SEE HELP PAGE 9

Ridge Point’s Ford Jr. aims to carve own path By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM

T.J. Ford Jr. knows many immediately zero in on his name and think he might be on a predetermined route. However, Ridge Point High School’s junior point guard has long been determined to make a name for himself on his own merits – not riding the coattails of his

father. He’s the son of T.J. Ford, a Willowridge graduate who starred at the University of Texas before playing eight seasons in the NBA – but Ford Jr. is quickly letting the area know he’s a unique player on the basketball court. “It’s a blessing to have that knowledge I can gain access to that not many people have, and he does help me along the way," the younger

Ford said. "But really it’s about how to make my own way. (My dad) is helping me get on my own way and forge my own path.” Ford Jr. has been racking up both points and accolades so far this season. He is averaging about 13 points per game along with about six rebounds per contest in helping the Panthers (15-7, 3-0 District 20-6A) back to a familiar perch

Ridge Point's T.J. Ford Jr. prepares to cross over during last Saturday's game against Dulles. The son of former Willowridge star and NBA point guard T.J. Ford, Ford Jr. is looking to carve out his own path in basketball. (Photo by Landan Kuhlmann)

at the top of District

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JERRY FLOWERS

Real Estate Agent, MBA, CNE, ABE Army Veteran (RET) • 832-702-5241 Jerry@dreamhomesbyjerry.com

4500 Highway 6, Sugar Land, TX 77478


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