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WEDNESDAY • JUNE 14, 2023 JEANNE GREGORY REALTOR®, CRS, GRI, ABR
Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 48 • No. 34 • $1.00
Mathew edges out Willis to become Stafford mayor By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
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Shooter in apparent road rage incident identified By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Fort Bend County Sheriff’s deputies have identified the shooter in the shooting death of a Missouri City woman in an unincorporated area near Stafford on Tuesday night, according to a spokesperson.
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In a squeaker of a runoff election, former Stafford City Position 6 Councilman Ken Mathew defeated incumbent Mayor Cecil Willis by 16 votes on Saturday, marking a significant change in the city’s leadership. In still-unofficial results, Mathew received 500 votes to Willis’s 484 votes, or 50.81 percent to 49.19 percent. It was a very low turnout election, with 10.72 percent of
the city’s 9,207 registered voters participating either in person or by mail ballots. Mathew and Willis were vying for the post after being the two vote-getters in a four-person May 6 race that also included former Position 4 Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Don Jones and former Position 2 Councilman Wen Guerra. Mathews, Jones, and Guerra stepped down from their respective positions on Council in order to run for mayor, with each seat now held by new members. Mathew, a n India n-
American, becomes the first person of color to lead the seven-square-mile city since it was incorporated in 1956. He served on Council since first being elected in 2006, and served on the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission for several years before then. Willis, a San Antonio native and retired president of the Quail Valley Homeowners Association, served on the Council for a total of 36 years. He became mayor after winning a special election following the death of longtime mayor Leonard
Scarcella, who had held the office for five decades. Mathew immigrated to the United States in the 1970s after earning a degree from the University of Bombay (now the University of Mumbai). Since his wife was attending the University of Detroit, he also decided to go there, eventually earning an MBA. He worked as an accountant and financial executive for several corporations, including Toshiba in the Houston area. He has lived in Stafford since 1982.
Former Stafford City Position 6 Councilman Ken Mathew defeated incumbent Mayor Cecil Willis in a runoff election Saturday. Courtesy City of Stafford
Sugar Land airport makes room for bees - on purpose
According to the statement, deputies responded to a report of a shooting at approximately 9:37 p.m. in the 3000 block of 5th Street. “Upon arrival, deputies began their investigation and determined this is a homicide investigation related to a road rage incident which resulted in the death of Deena Neal, a 57-year old female resident of Missouri City, Texas. There were no other injuries reported and the only parties involved were the drivers of both vehicles,” the statement said. “The shooter has been identified and is cooperating with Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office investigators. At this time, this remains an ongoing investigation, no further information is available for release,” the statement said. According to a story from ABC-13, Neal was married and an employee of KeyseySeybold in the Texas Medical Center.
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Deena Neal, 57, of Missouri City, was shot to death in an apparent road rage incident on Tuesday, according to the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s office.. Photo from LinkedIn
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Pictured are a few of the beehives now in place in an undeveloped area of Sugar Land Regional Airport. Photo by Ken Fountain
By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Many people are afraid of bees, and perhaps for good reason. Being stung can be a very painful experience, one that sticks in your mind for a long time. But bees also have a lot of benefits, not least of which is the honey they produce which people and fauna like bears find so tasty. After reports of bee colonies began happening at the Sugar Land Regional Airport several years ago, the leadership first thought about simply having them removed by specialists. But after some thought, they’ve made a new home for them in a remote part of the airport property, where thousands of the insects now live. Ken Durbin, assistant director of operations and maintenance for the cityowned airport, said that he and his fellow managers think about how they can best use
the airport’s resources, including manpower. To that end, they often share articles and other items about best practices at airports. “We’re always sharing best practices in order to move forward. If you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind. A few years ago, Durbin received the first reports of bees gathering at the airport’s control tower. When he arrived, he found there were only a few left, later learning that drones move with the queen as she moves. Later, bees were discovered inside the wall of a hangar, which required them being removed by an expert who ripped open the wall. Last fall, bees were found resting on the wing of a jet. Beth Rosenbaum, the director of aviation, had previously shared an article about bees that had rested on a passenger plane at an airport in the
northeast. The airport hired a staff beekeeper. In 2016, the airport had purchased 95 acres of property called “Smithville,” which had previously served as the housing for guards at the former state prison complex making the airport approximately one square mile. Most of that property remains undeveloped. “After reading that article I thought, what if we put hives here?,” he said. If they provided a permanent home for the bees, that might keep them from gathering in the active areas of the airport, he thought. After doing a Google search, Durkin found the Fort Bend County Beekeepers Association to ask for advice. Ultimately, he was put in touch with Brent and Denessa (or “Nes”) Yaschuk, owner-operators of SweetNes Honey Apiaries & Beetique in Needville.
“They were very excited,” Durkin said. It turns out that airports have a lot of advantages for beekeeping. They are large properties that are very secure, and there are secluded areas without a lot of human activity. They also have a lot of grassland that is wellsuited for providing nutrition for bees. Since the airport is federally regulated, it couldn’t simply give property away, Durbin said. So the airport purchased the beehives and registered the Yaschuks as volunteers to manage them. The eight original hives were installed in April, and the Yaschuks have added to them since. They expect to harvest the honey in mid-to-late July. Reached by phone, the Yaschuks said the Smithville property is particularly attractive since it consists largely of old foundations from the former housing units, so they don’t have to do any mowing as
at other apiaries they manage. Typically, beekeepers harvest honey only once a year, in the summer months, they said. They visit the airport periodically to make sure the bees are healthy. Besides providing honey, the Yaschuks said, bees serve as pollinators, serving an important role in protecting the environment. Durkin said it’s too early to say what the impact of the apiary has had on keeping bees away from the more active parts of the airport. After the 2021 February freeze caused the loss of landscaping hedges around the airport terminal, Rosenbaum asked that the replacements consist of pollinators, Callistemon Citrinus or Bottle Brush, according to a city press release. Since then, visitors have been able to get an up-close view of bees collecting pollen and nectar.