Willis, Jones announce runs for Stafford mayor - Page 4
WEDNESDAY • JANUARY 18, 2023 JEANNE GREGORY REALTOR®, CRS, GRI, ABR
Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 48 • No. 16 • $1.00
Missouri City native named Miss Universe By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
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Suspect arrested in Sugar Land fatal shooting By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Authorities have arrested a suspect in the shooting death of Sugar Land resident and Alief ISD teacher Wendy Duan last weekend. The Western District of Louisiana Violent Offenders Task Force arrested Charvas Thompson, 26, of Houston, Wednesday for the murder of Duan, 28, according to a press release from the Sugar Land police department. Sugar Land police responded to a shooting Saturday at 9:50 p.m. in the 1100 block of Oxford Mills Lane. Neighbors told police they heard shots fired. When officers arrived, they found Duan dead in the backyard with multiple gunshot wounds. Duan lived alone at the house, and no one else was inside the house when police arrived, according to the release. Detectives quickly identified Thompson after interviewing witnesses at the scene, reviewing nearby video and confirming his vehicle from license plate recognition cameras in the area, according to the relesae. An arrest warrant was issued early Sunday morning charging Thompson with murder and setting his bond at $500,000. Sugar Land police worked closely with the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force and the Western District of Louisiana Violent Offenders Task Force and located Thompson in Shreveport, according to the release. The investigation is ongoing. Thompson is expected to be transported to the Fort Bend County jail in the near future. Duan began dating Thompson a week before she was shot and killed, according to the release. Witnesses told police an argument led to the shooting, and Thompson drove away in his vehicle. Duan was a reading teacher at Alief ISD's Boone Elementary School. She had been employed by the district since 2017. Anyone with additional information about the case should to contact the Sugar Land Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at (281) 275-2540 or report anonymous tips to Fort Bend County Crime Stoppers at 281-342-TIPS.
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Missouri City native R'Bonney Gabriel, center, was named Miss Universe this past Saturday night. (Staff file photo by Ken Fountain)
Missouri City native R'Bonney Gabriel was named Miss Universe Saturday night at the pageant held in New Orleans. Last year Gabriel became the first Filipino-American to be named Miss USA. According to a report from CNN, Gabriel won over runners-up Amanda Dudamel from Venezuela and Andreína Martínez from the Dominican Republic. "In the final question and answer segment of the competition, the Top
3 contenders were asked how they would work to demonstrate Miss Universe as an empowering and progressive organization if they won the title," reports CNN. "Gabriel said she would use the platform to be a 'transformational leader' and emphasized her passion as a force for good in the fashion industry by cutting down on pollution and using recycled materials in making clothing pieces," the network reports. "'I teach sewing classes to women that have survived from human
trafficking and domestic violence. And I say that because it is so important to invest in others, invest in our community, and use your unique talent to make a difference,' Gabriel said, according to the network. "We all have something special and when we plant those seeds for other people in our life, we transform them and we use that as a vehicle for change," she said. Read the full CNN report here. Gabriel grew up in Missouri City and attended Lake Olympia Middle SEE UNIVERSE PAGE 6
Together as one
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX Bruce Miller of Christ Church Sugar Land helps a student assemble a bed frame during the MLK Day of Service on Monday. (Photo by Ken Fountain)
Students break barriers during MLK Day of Service By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
On the day marking the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, more than 100 teenagers of many diverse faiths and backgrounds came together at Christ Church Sugar Land on Monday to participate in the MLK Day of Service sponsored by the Fort Bend Interfaith Community. The annual event invites
teenagers from the member faith communities of the FBIC, as well as anyone else who might be interested, to meet each other, learn about each others' respective faiths, and participate together in several service projects. Afterward, they share a lunch while having a guided discussion about differences and how to overcome them. Monday's event had about 113 registered participants, but about
20 others came without pre-registering, said Valerie Tollman of the Thoreau Unitarian Universalist Congregation and one of the event organizers. After signing in and sitting at tables in the church's spacious community center, the students watched two brief videos about the King's life and legacy. Next, they participated in an activity called Human Bingo, where they moved to different tables
to ask each other questions about their lives and interests, what they liked about their own faiths, and what they liked about other people's faiths. The students then heard from Pastor David Lee Sincere, Jr. of Fort Bend Transformation Church. Sincere noted to the students that the date that King was assassinated, April 4, 1968, might seem like ancient history to them. But that date happened to be the very day
he was born, he told them. Referring to King's seminal "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington in 1963, Sincere told the youngsters that they could "actually actualize the dream. We're depending on you on to lead the way." "We must invest in you," Sincere said, speaking on behalf of the older generation. "You have the power SEE MLK DAY PAGE 6
Whitbeck discusses FBISD priorities for legislative session By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
As the Texas Legislature began its session January 10, Fort Bend ISD Superintendent Dr. Christie Whitbeck laid out the district's legislative priorities to reporters. And at the top of her list is raising teachers' salaries and other incentives to attract and retain them. "We really need ways to get people into the profession," she said in a briefing at the district's adminis-
tration building, noting that there is currently a nationwide shortage in teachers. "We've got to make teaching more attractive, so the young folks come out and they're excited." The starting salary for teachers in Fort Bend ISD is $59,500, Whitbeck said. Ideally, she like to be able to raise it to $65,000, she said. Right now, the district is short about 175 teaching positions, she said. "In a school district it takes a lot of money to
make it all happen. It's not just the teachers. The teachers are amazing. But it's also our custodians and our nurses and our counselors. Mental health is another piece to this. If they could fund the social workers, the mental health counselors that we do have. Maybe just earmarking funds. I'm fine with that. Just ask us where we need it, though. That's the critical piece," she said. Whitbeck acknowledged the concerns of taxpayers. But she noted that the dis-
Thompson
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trict's current ad valorem tax rate is $1.13 per $100 in valuation, an historic low. Just three years ago, she said, the rate was $1.83 per $100. Whitbeck said that with the state heading into the next biennium with a projected $33 billion surplus, as calculated by the state comptroller's office, now is the time to make investments in teachers. "It's unprecedented. Never have we entered a legislative session with SEE FBISD PAGE 6
Whitbeck