See who came out on top in contested local softball races - Page 6
German Doner Kebab impressed during a recent visit. See our review on Page 2 WEDNESDAY • APRIL 26, 2023
Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 48 • No. 31 • $1.00
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Stafford Juneteenth proposal fails on split vote By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
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SPACE COWBOYS MAY CALENDAR
Page 3 JEANNE GREGORY REALTOR®, CRS, GRI, ABR
Mayor Cecil Willis
The City of Stafford's proposed Stafford Centre concert celebrating this year's Juneteenth holiday foundered last week with a split City Council vote that effectively put the idea on indefinite hold. Mayor Pro Tem Don Jones,
who had been spearheading the effort since last year, was visibly upset after the vote, suggesting that other members were not sufficiently engaged with the Black community. But Mayor Cecil Willis, who had been the most vocal member about his misgivings about the proposal, said after
the vote that his reasons centered on the $51,680 budget and the start time, which had shifted from the afternoon to the evening since it was last discussed. Jones is the chair of the ad hoc committee that was formed last year after the Council voted to proceed with an annual event celebrating
Juneteenth, which marks June 19, 1865, after the end of the Civil War, when a U.S. Army general announced in Galveston that all formerly enslaved people in Texas were free. The event known as Juneteenth was celebrated by Black Americans in Texas SEE STAFFORD PAGE 6
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Early voting for the May 6 local elections continues through May 2 at polling places across Fort Bend County, including the Missouri City Visitors Center. (Photo by Ken Fountain)
Early voting in local elections to continue through May 2 By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
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Early voting in local elections in Fort Bend County and across the state kicked off Monday and continue through Tuesday, May 2, although voters were fairly sparse at at least one polling
place. Poll workers at the Missouri City Visitors Center said that there had been only a trickle of voters by midday. Election Day is May 6, but with few marquee races on the ballot in Fort Bend, turnout may be low, despite some fairly consequential items on the ballot.
Perhaps the single largest item is Fort Bend ISD's $1.3 billion bond referendum, the largest in the district's history. The referendum is split into three three separate items, and includes rebuilding older schools, constructing new campuses, and making major repairs at existing campuses,
plus replacing older buses and adding a Smart Tag System to allow parents to track bus riders. The bond also includes IT systems and devices, campus security and a natatorium in the southeast area of the district. While there has been little in the way of organized opposi-
tion to the bond, the district is still smarting from last November's failure of a voter approval tax rate election that would have allowed the district to use extra tax revenues to reduce a $47 million budget shortfall. SEE VOTING PAGE 6
Local animal shelter reopens dog operation after distemper case By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
After closing earlier this month after the discovery of a case of distemper the Sugar Land Animal Shelter will reopen "Barksburg", its operation for dogs, on Monday, April 24, according to a news release. The shelter was closed on April 8 due to a recent intake of a dog that tested positive for distemper, a highly contagious disease. Dr. Carolyn Bender, the shelter’s veterinarian, rec-
ommended the closure to minimize exposure, treat affected animals and monitor the animal shelter’s dog population. Canine distemper can’t be transmitted to humans or cats. Bender approved the reopening of Barksburg after several quarantine procedures were implemented and several rounds of tests were conducted. “The measures we implemented were effective and prevented the spread of this dangerous disease,” Director of Environmental
and Neighborhood Services Dawn Steph said in the release. “We would like to thank the city employees and public who have helped us through donations, fostering and off-site volunteering to make the quarantine run as smoothly as possible. We have learned a great deal, and while we hope to avoid future cases of positive disease, this experience has proven that we are able to effectively and safety care for our city’s animals," Steph said.
The Sugar Land Animal Shelter, with an ambassador shown during an event at Constellation Field, is reopening following a brief closure due to a distemper case. (Photo from Facebook)