Fort Bend Independent

8
East Fort Bend County’s first museum, The DeWalt Heritage Center, opened to the public on Sunday, Jan.9. Once sat nestled among the Live Oaks and Cottonwoods on Highway 6, now located at the back of Kitty Hollow Park, the old Dew House, had a for- mal grand opening ceremony. The previous evening a spe- cial preview party was held for Dew family relations who trav- eled from all parts of Texas to get a sneak peek of their fam- ily’s history displayed through out the house. Exhibits, photographs and displays of artifacts highlight- ed the Dew Family’s promi- nent role in area history. The area along Texas 6 South, where the DeWalt, Dew and Palmer families once raised sugar cane and other crops, formerly was known as DeWalt, made up a significant section of what would eventu- ally become Missouri City. The DeWalt Heritage So- ciety, formed as a partnership between Fort Bend County and the Fort Bend Museum Asso- ciation, is working to preserve the historic Dew Home. One male relation said that when Sue Alston, the grand- daughter of Dr. Hugh Saunders Dew, who built the house with his brothers, first told he and his wife about the idea of the house becoming a museum, he thought she was full of hot air. The dream indeed has be- come a reality, much to the amazement of many and the hard work and determination of Team Dew. This group includes the Dale Dacus family, the Fort Bend Junior Service League, the Woman’s Club of Missouri City (WCMC), several Quail Valley organizations, FBISD Schools in the Dropping Pen- nies Campaign, and local busi- nesses. It also includes those who sponsored bricks; and the concentrated efforts of Fort Bend County Museum Associ- ation Special Project Historian Diane Ware with her own team of dedicated volunteers. Missouri City Mayor Allen Owen and County Commis- sioner Grady Prestage urged those gathered to support this project not only financially, but with spreading the word to oth- ers and volunteering their time at a work day or as docents when the museum opens with regular hours. At the opening ceremonies, Scanlan Oaks Elementary School music teacher Jaci El- liott played the antique Bird- cage Piano. Thomas Tristram Dew was Missouri City’s first Justice of the Peace while his son George served on the Missouri City School Board for decades and was one of the founders of the Fort Bend County Fair. The museum will be open by appointment only until the Fall. —LISA GLENN F ORT B END FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. ww ww w.fbindependent.com .fbindependent.com P.O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2011 VOL 4 No. 2 Phone: 281-980-6745 Seshadri Kumar Publisher & Editor 10701 Corporate Drive, #282, Stafford, TX 77477 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, TX 77487 www.fbindependent.com 281-980-6745 Fort Bend Independent, (USPS 025-572) is published every Wednesday (for a subscription rate of $20 per year) by Fort Bend Independent, LLC., 10701 Corporate Dr., #282, Stafford, Texas 77477. Periodicals Postage Paid at Stafford, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Fort Bend Independent, P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, Tx 77487. Official newspaper of Fort Bend County, Missouri City & Sugar Land STUDENT ARTISTS. Two Lamar CISD student artists have their works featured in the 2011 cal- endar from one of Texas largest architecture and engineering firms. George Ranch High School’s Isabelle Antes, right, drawing of her school re- ceived an Award of Excellence and appears in the May section of the calendar. The drawing of Frost Elementary by fifth-grader Garbriela Ben- itez, above, is featured in the Honorable Mention section of the calendar. More than 50 schools participated in this year’s calendar art contest. Historic Dew House opens to public as museum The Dew Plantation House, built around 1900 by Dr. Hugh Saunders Dew, is one of the last remaining buildings of its kind in Fort Bend County. By SESHADRI KUMAR Fort Bend ISD board of trust- ees on Monday decided to delay tough decisions and suggested some minor tweaking of the at- tendance zones. A majority of the board was not in favor of “re-purposing” the Colony Bend Elementary, Christa McAuliffe Middle or Willowridge High campus. Thus no campus is likely to be closed this year. The administration said by closing Colony Bend Elemen- tary, the district would save $1.1 million annually. The board’s initial enthusi- asm to save costs by “optimum utilization” of buildings and re- sources fell by wayside as a ma- jority of the trustees was not in- clined to do any drastic change. The idea of converting McAuliffe Middle School into a Technical Education Center and making Marshall and Willow- ridge High Schools into 10th, 11th and 12th grades also did not gather support. The administration is yet to estimate the cost of establishing the tech center. The board wants the administration to explore the plan for possible implementa- tion next year. The board, barring Trustee Laurie Caldwell, did not want to make drastic changes and want- ed to postpone any decision by a year. Board President Sonal Bhuchar began the meeting by highlighting the funding crisis and reiterated that the rezon- ing’s main goal was to ensure optimum utilization of buildings and resources. Later, Trustee Daniel Menendez, and Bhuchar said the administration had no plan yet on what to do with the elementary campus after its clo- sure. Also, there is uncertainty about state funding and its impact on the school budget. Hence, they wanted a year to keep the Colony Bend campus open. The board had five work- shops so far over the past few months and the administration had provided tons of informa- tion requested by the board. Caldwell said, based on the information provided by the administration, to convert the middle school into a tech center and augment the enrollment at Marshall and Willowridge is the only fiscally responsible deci- sion. “It is easy to put off the deci- sion and we need to decide what is in the best interest of the en- tire district,” Caldwell said. Basically, most neighbor- hoods seem to be getting what they wanted, leaving the under- utilized campuses as they are now for another year. The trustees referred to the rally held by supporters of Wil- lowridge High School on Sun- day to keep the campus open. Superintendent Timothy Jen- ney said he would bring “some kind of a middle line” recom- mendation to the board based on what he heard from the trustees. School board puts off decision to close campuses Family Practice of Fort Bend A TRADITION OF CARING FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY Now accepting new patients; Most major insurance plans accepted 14825 Southwest Freeway, Sugar Land, TX 77478 281-265-3456 Robert L. McClendon, M.D. Brent W. Galloway, M.D.

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Transcript of Fort Bend Independent

East Fort Bend County’s fi rst museum, The DeWalt Heritage Center, opened to the public on Sunday, Jan.9.

Once sat nestled among the Live Oaks and Cottonwoods on Highway 6, now located at the back of Kitty Hollow Park, the old Dew House, had a for-mal grand opening ceremony.

The previous evening a spe-cial preview party was held for Dew family relations who trav-eled from all parts of Texas to get a sneak peek of their fam-ily’s history displayed through out the house.

Exhibits, photographs and displays of artifacts highlight-ed the Dew Family’s promi-nent role in area history.

The area along Texas 6 South, where the DeWalt, Dew and Palmer families once raised sugar cane and other crops, formerly was known as DeWalt, made up a signifi cant

section of what would eventu-ally become Missouri City.

The DeWalt Heritage So-ciety, formed as a partnership between Fort Bend County and the Fort Bend Museum Asso-ciation, is working to preserve the historic Dew Home.

One male relation said that when Sue Alston, the grand-daughter of Dr. Hugh Saunders Dew, who built the house with his brothers, fi rst told he and his wife about the idea of the house becoming a museum, he thought she was full of hot air.

The dream indeed has be-come a reality, much to the amazement of many and the hard work and determination of Team Dew.

This group includes the Dale Dacus family, the Fort Bend Junior Service League, the Woman’s Club of Missouri City (WCMC), several Quail Valley organizations, FBISD

Schools in the Dropping Pen-nies Campaign, and local busi-nesses. It also includes those who sponsored bricks; and the concentrated efforts of Fort Bend County Museum Associ-

ation Special Project Historian Diane Ware with her own team of dedicated volunteers.

Missouri City Mayor Allen Owen and County Commis-sioner Grady Prestage urged

those gathered to support this project not only fi nancially, but with spreading the word to oth-ers and volunteering their time at a work day or as docents when the museum opens with regular hours.

At the opening ceremonies, Scanlan Oaks Elementary School music teacher Jaci El-liott played the antique Bird-

cage Piano. Thomas Tristram Dew was

Missouri City’s fi rst Justice of the Peace while his son George served on the Missouri City School Board for decades and was one of the founders of the Fort Bend County Fair.

The museum will be open by appointment only until the Fall. —LISA GLENN

FORT BEND

FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE.

wwwww.fbindependent.com.fbindependent.com

P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2011

VOL 4 No. 2 Phone: 281-980-6745

Seshadri KumarPublisher & Editor

10701 Corporate Drive, #282, Staff ord, TX 77477Mailing Address: P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, TX 77487

www.fbindependent.com281-980-6745

Fort Bend Independent, (USPS 025-572) is published every Wednesday (for a subscription rate of $20 per year) by Fort Bend Independent, LLC., 10701 Corporate Dr., #282, Stafford, Texas 77477. Periodicals Postage Paid at Stafford, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Fort Bend Independent, P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, Tx 77487.

Offi cial newspaper of Fort Bend County, Missouri City & Sugar Land

STUDENT ARTISTS. Two Lamar CISD student artists have their works featured in the 2011 cal-endar from one of Texas largest architecture and engineering fi rms. George Ranch High School’s Isabelle Antes, right, drawing of her school re-ceived an Award of Excellence and appears in the May section of the calendar. The drawing of Frost Elementary by fi fth-grader Garbriela Ben-itez, above, is featured in the Honorable Mention section of the calendar. More than 50 schools participated in this year’s calendar art contest.

Historic Dew House opens to public as museum

The Dew Plantation House, built around 1900 by Dr. Hugh Saunders Dew, is one of the last remaining buildings of its kind in Fort Bend County.

By SESHADRI KUMARFort Bend ISD board of trust-

ees on Monday decided to delay tough decisions and suggested some minor tweaking of the at-tendance zones.

A majority of the board was not in favor of “re-purposing” the Colony Bend Elementary, Christa McAuliffe Middle or Willowridge High campus.

Thus no campus is likely to be closed this year.

The administration said by closing Colony Bend Elemen-tary, the district would save $1.1 million annually.

The board’s initial enthusi-asm to save costs by “optimum utilization” of buildings and re-sources fell by wayside as a ma-jority of the trustees was not in-clined to do any drastic change.

The idea of converting McAuliffe Middle School into a Technical Education Center and making Marshall and Willow-ridge High Schools into 10th, 11th and 12th grades also did not gather support.

The administration is yet to estimate the cost of establishing the tech center. The board wants the administration to explore the plan for possible implementa-tion next year.

The board, barring Trustee Laurie Caldwell, did not want to make drastic changes and want-ed to postpone any decision by a year.

Board President Sonal Bhuchar began the meeting by highlighting the funding crisis and reiterated that the rezon-ing’s main goal was to ensure optimum utilization of buildings and resources. Later, Trustee Daniel Menendez, and Bhuchar said the administration had no plan yet on what to do with the elementary campus after its clo-sure.

Also, there is uncertainty about state funding and its impact on the school budget. Hence, they wanted a year to keep the Colony Bend campus open.

The board had fi ve work-

shops so far over the past few months and the administration had provided tons of informa-tion requested by the board.

Caldwell said, based on the information provided by the administration, to convert the middle school into a tech center and augment the enrollment at Marshall and Willowridge is the only fi scally responsible deci-sion.

“It is easy to put off the deci-sion and we need to decide what is in the best interest of the en-tire district,” Caldwell said.

Basically, most neighbor-hoods seem to be getting what they wanted, leaving the under-utilized campuses as they are now for another year.

The trustees referred to the rally held by supporters of Wil-lowridge High School on Sun-day to keep the campus open.

Superintendent Timothy Jen-ney said he would bring “some kind of a middle line” recom-mendation to the board based on what he heard from the trustees.

School board puts off decision to close campuses

Family Practice of Fort BendA TRADITION OF CARING FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

Now accepting new patients; Most major insurance plans accepted

14825 Southwest Freeway, Sugar Land, TX 77478281-265-3456 Robert L. McClendon, M.D.

Brent W. Galloway, M.D.

A motor vehicle accident took the life of John David (J.D.) Norsworthy, Fort Bend County Sheriff deputy, who died Jan. 4, after sustaining life-threatening injuries in the Dec. 27 crash.

Norsworthy, 39, was on the way to back-up a fellow deputy who had made a traf-fi c stop when the accident occurred. Norsworthy was life-fl ighted to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Hous-ton’s Medical Center where he remained in critical con-dition with head injuries and internal bleeding.

On the evening of Jan. 5, The Fort Bend Deputy Sheriff’s Association held a candlelight vigil in honor of Norsworthy outside the near-by Peace Offi cers Memorial Monument at the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s offi ce. The vigil was attended by several hundred people. Fort Bend County Sheriff Milton Wright, Chief Deputy Craig Brady and Rosenberg Police Chief Robert Garcia each spoke at the ceremony.

Norsworthy worked for the Rosenberg Police Department prior to joining the sheriff’s department in 2008. Garcia said, “J.D. was our friend and

our brother. May his life be remembered as a testament of what it means to be a fi ne po-lice offi cer and a fi ne man.”

Sgt. Wayne Hastedt, presi-dent of the deputy sheriff’s as-sociation and one of Norswor-thy’s supervisors, said at the vigil that while Norsworthy’s fellow deputies were griev-ing that “in time their anguish will lessen and be replaced with cherished memories of J.D. and how he affected each of them.”

One of Norsworthy’s bu-reau commanders, Capt. James Pokluda praised the deputy as a “loving, compas-sionate husband, a great fa-ther, a man adored by his fam-ily and an employee who was professional, courteous and loyal.”

Norsworthy is the fi rst Fort Bend County deputy to die while on duty since 1990. He leaves behind Melissa, his wife of 19 years, Kaitlyn, his 13-year-old daughter, and Ja-cob, his 16-year-old son.

A statement from the family says: “Our hearts are so deep-ly broken and our lives will never be the same. John was a happy, tender, kind, coura-geous and honorable husband, father, son, brother, grandson, uncle, friend…and so much more. John truly loved being an offi cer and he would do it all over again with no regrets.

“Our family is broken but we will rejoice in sweet pre-cious memories and the as-surance that John is beside the Lord who loves him more than we ever could.

“Throughout this past week, the loving kindness and support has been amazingly beautiful and has forever humbled our family. John was a good man who lives a good life, so we consider our fam-ily blessed. John loved and was dearly loved -- that is his legacy we will carry.”

Funeral services were held Saturday morning at First Colony Church in Sugar Land and interment followed at Da-vis Greenlawn Cemetery in Rosenberg.

A benefi t account has been established at the Brazos Val-ley Schools Credit Union for the John Norsworthy family.

The account will help de-fray any expenses the family incurred.

Donations can be made mailed to the John Nors-worthy Fund (Account No. 0358570300) c/o Brazos Val-ley Schools Credit Union, 4911 Mustang Ave., Rosen-berg, TX 77471.

People who have an ac-count with Brazos Valley and wish to make a transfer dona-tion may do so by calling 281-342-8245.

Newmark Homes, where the late deputy and his fa-ther worked for a number of years, has made a gift to The 100 Club Survivors Fund in honor of John Norsworthy. All funds given to the club’s Survivors Fund provide fi nan-cial support to dependents of law enforcement offi cers and fi refi ghters killed in the line of duty.

Any witnesses who may have seen the vehicle accident that resulted in Norsworthy’s death are requested to contact Sgt. Holtz at the Rosenberg Highway Patrol Offi ce, 281-633-5401.

Page 2 • INDEPENDENT • JANUARY 12, 2010

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Former U.S. House Major-ity Leader and Sugar Land Congressman Tom DeLay was sentenced to three years in prison at a court in Austin for a scheme to illegally infl u-ence Texas elections.

DeLay was accused of approving the transfer of $190,000 in corporate funds to the Republican National Committee’s coffers in Wash-ington and a return of the same amount in checks to state can-didates.

The sentence came after a jury convicted DeLay in No-vember.

DeLay’s attorneys claimed during the trial that, because the funds were sent to one account in Washington and replenished from a different account, the transfers did not meet the criminal defi nition of money laundering.

DeLay told the judge before his sentencing that the politi-cally motivated case against him had affected his wife’s health, forced him to raise and spend $10 million in legal fees and cost him everything he had worked for — includ-

ing the second-highest post in the U.S. House.

DeLay said it was a se-lective prosecution as both Democrats and Republicans engaged in money swaps dur-ing the 2002 elections.

“I can’t be remorseful for something I don’t think I did,” DeLay said.

Senior Judge Pat Priest dis-agreed with DeLay and sen-tenced him to three years in prison.

Former House speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), the sole witness presented Mon-day on DeLay’s behalf, spoke

about his 20-year friendship with DeLay and called him “honorable in the things he was trying to do” for his con-stituency and the country.

DeLay posted a $10,000 bond and will stay out of jail until his appeal is decided.

After the sentencing, De-Lay’s attorney Dick DeGuer-in said that the case would not stand on appeal.

“Tom DeLay did not steal. He did not rob. He did not line his own pockets. He did what he did because he believed he was doing right,” DeGuerin said.

Lead prosecutor Gary Cobb said there was nothing political about DeLay’s pros-ecution and called the former congressman “arrogant” for not taking responsibility for his crime.

The Wall Street Journal opined that the elation of campaign-fi nance advocates at DeLay’s conviction merely “shows how desperate they are now that the Supreme Court is dismantling their de-cades-long quest to regulate campaign speech.”

DeLay sentenced to three years

DeLay

Bank robbers abducted a pregnant woman and her young son to rob a bank in Missouri City last week.

On Friday, January 7, at approximately 12:14 p.m. Missouri City Police Offi cers responded to a bank robbery, which just occurred at the Wells Fargo Bank located at 2440 Texas Parkway.

Offi cers were informed that the suspect was a pregnant fe-male wearing a gray dress.

As offi cers were investigat-ing the robbery, the Missouri City Police Department dis-patch center received a 911 call from an unknown female stating she was involved in a robbery at the bank and was now at the intersection of

Eastfi eld and Meadowview. Upon Missouri City Po-

lice Offi cers speaking with the female, she said, she and her young son were abducted from the Fiesta grocery store parking lot, where she was then forced at gunpoint to drive to the Wells Fargo Bank

and commit the robbery. The female was then told

to drive to the area of Quail Valley where she was guided to the intersection of Mead-owview and Eastfi eld, where the suspect got out of the car and ran off in an unknown di-rection. Offi cers also discov-ered the female was 8 months pregnant.

The suspect was described as a black male, 6 ft. tall with a stocking cap on his head and wearing a white and black checkered shirt. (See the ac-companying sketch)

Anyone with information regarding this abduction and bank robbery is asked to call the Missouri City Police De-partment at 281-403-8700.

Woman kidnapped to rob bank

JANUARY 12, 2011 • INDEPENDENT • Page 3

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News

STATE REPRESENTATIVE

DORA OLIVO

DISTRICT 27, SAYS

Thank YouI want to thank everyone who supported me ever

since I was first elected in 1996 to serve you asyour state representative in District 27. Manythanks, also to those of you who contributed to mycampaign through volunteer work and/or dona-

tions You have have given me the opportunity of a lifetime and quite a privilegeo ce a d e co u y o e ssues o g s a es es g a d o eeducation matters, the environment, the mentally challenged, and so many otherissues, too numerous to mention them all. I also want thank my husband, Victorand my family for being so supportive of me. Through these years of service,there were many of you always praying, not only for me and the work I did, butalso for my family. For this I thank you. Your prayers and your support helpedme to stay focused on the issues and the needs of our community. With the helpof my staff and so many others, we didn’t always reach all of our goals, but wenever stopped trying and the work continues. I thank God for all His blessingsand for those of you who were with me all these years. May God bless you andyour family. Pol. Adv. Paid by Dora Olivo Campaign Sharon Heldt, Campaign Treasurer.

I want to thank everyone who supported me ever since I was first elected in 1996 to serve you as your state repre-sentative in District 27. Many thanks, also to those of you who contributed to my campaign through volunteer work and/or donations. You have have given me the opportunity of a lifetime and quite a privilege to serve you in the Texas Legislature. For me, it has been quite a powerful journey that has allowed me to meet and work with won-derful people both in office and in the community on the issues of high stakes testing and other education matters, the environment, the mentally challenged, and so many other issues, too numerous to mention them all. I also want to thank my husband, Victor and my family for being so supportive of me. Through these years of service, there were many of you always praying, not only for me and the work I did, but also for my family. For this I thank you. Your prayers and your support helped me to stay focused on the issues and the needs of our community. With the help of my staff and so many others, we didn’t always reach all of our goals, but we never stopped trying and the work continues. I thank God for all His blessings and for those of you who were with me all these years. May God bless you and your family.

Pol. Adv. Paid by Dora Olivo Campaign Sharon Heldt, Campaign Treasurer.

Providing fee-only services

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Don Smithers, a veteran Sugar Land City Councilman for District 1, announced that he will run for re-election to the Sugar Land City Council in May of 2011. He is seeking a second term since his elec-tion to Council in 2009. Pre-viously, Smithers served as a Sugar Land Councilman from 1997 to 2003 and was in-volved in many of the strate-gic actions that helped Sugar Land achieve recognition as one of the premier small cit-ies in the U.S.

Smithers stated, “I have been very involved in the growth of the City of Sugar Land, both through service on City Council and as a Com-munity Volunteer for many years. I was able to play a part in making the Sugar Land Town Square a reality, helped to bring the University of Houston to Sugar Land and was instrumental in improv-ing the amenities in Dist. 1.”

Specifi c projects in District 1 for which Smithers provid-

ed critical leadership include the beautifi cation of Eldridge Road, the creation of Imperial Park (girls softball), develop-ment of Eldridge Park and the Imperial Redevelopment Project, including providing oversight in the development of a baseball stadium planned as part of the project.

According to Smithers, “The next two years are go-ing to be challenging. With an uncertain national economy,

it’s very important that we manage our resources wisely and in the best interest of our citizens. My experience and understanding of critical is-sues related to managing the City will make me a valuable asset, especially since two current Councilmen are term-limited and we will have new members of Council in 2011.” The leadership positions that Smithers has held as a Coun-cilman include:

•Sugar Land Develop-ment Corporation (4A Corp.) – (President as of December 2010)

•Sugar Land 4B Corpora-tion – Vice-President

•Intergovernmental Affairs Committee

•Compensation Committee•Houston-Galveston Area

Council (H-GAC) Transpor-tation Policy Council – Alter-nate

•H-GAC Board of Direc-tors – Alternate

•Fort Bend County Mobil-ity Task Force

His community activity in-cludes being a founding mem-ber of the Sugar Land Cul-tural Arts Foundation, Past President of the Rosenberg Rotary Club, Former Director of the Fort Bend Boys Choir, Life Member of the Fort Bend County Fair Association, and Vice Chair of the Fort Bend Chamber Government Rela-tions Committee.

He and his wife Merle are members of Sugar Creek Baptist Church. They have raised four children in Sugar Land and been residents of Covington Woods since 1976. He retired from Southwestern Bell Telephone as Manager of Engineering Design after 33 years of service, retired from the Texas Air National Guard as Command Chief Master Sergeant for Texas, was a Telecommunications Consultant for Cobb, Fendley & Associates, and has worked with Fort Bend County in the Public Transportation Depart-ment as Project Coordinator.

OakBend Medical Center opens the doors of a new se-nior care center, now making the leading Richmond medi-cal facility a full-service fam-ily care center within the Fort Bend Community.

The new OakBend Senior Care Center is received its fi rst patient January 1, 2011 and celebrated its opening with an open house on Dec. 29 at 1705 Jackson Street in Richmond.

The 16-bed facility is equipped not only with the latest technology and a spe-cialized medical team, but also the warmth and sup-portive environment associ-ated with family care giving. Physicians specializing in the psychological, physical and emotional disorders and con-ditions many seniors face to-day work together to establish a plan back to better overall health. Geriatric and Psychi-atric physicians will be avail-able at all times to serve the needs of the patients.

According to OakBend Se-nior Care Center Unit Director Judy Storms, the center is de-signed with seniors and their specifi c needs in mind – and guided by the goal to achieve optimal well-being for each and every patient.

“Our fi rst priority is to as-sess their situation and deter-mine if current treatments and standard of care match their unique needs. Too often we fi nd that this is not the case,” said Storms.

“Unfortunately, we often fi nd that the wrong or unnec-essary medications are pre-scribed – resulting in adverse physical and psychologi-cal issues. For example, the early stages of Alzheimer’s can resemble depression and may be incorrectly diagnosed and treated as such. We fi rst determine the right diagnosis and adjust treatment accord-ingly. We then help our se-niors achieve a state of physi-

cal, mental and emotional well-being through therapy, exercise programs and nu-trition. Our team treats the whole person while also pro-viding families with valuable resources and support,” added Storms.

According to OakBend Medical Center Chief Execu-tive Offi cer Joe Freudenberg-er, the new senior care center now rounds out the compre-hensive care that OakBend Medical Center’s elite staff of specialists offers the Fort Bend Community from birth to adulthood. The center now provides seniors and their care givers easy access to a fully staffed medical psych

unit as well as geriatricians and physical and rehabilita-tion therapists specializing in senior care.

“We are pleased to be able to fi ll a void that has existed in our community. The senior care center offers valuable support to our seniors and their families. We are proud of the program offered at the center,” said Freudenberger.

In addition to the inpatient care the new OakBend Senior Care Center offers, senior-focused programs include Ac-tivity, Goals and Health Edu-cation Groups to help address and overcome challenges se-niors face.

Offi cially opening with 51 beds in 1950, OakBend is today one of the largest full-service medical facilities in Fort Bend County, ready to respond to growing commu-nity needs and a mission to achieve the highest quality of life, health and well-being for every patient for whom they have the privilege to care.

To learn more about the new Senior Care Center and other OakBend Medical Cen-ter services, log onto www.oakbendmedcenter.org. Or call, (281) 238-7880.

Joe Shull, Jody Jones-Noirot, Martha Shell

Don Smithers seeks re-election to Sugar Land City Council

Smithers

OakBend opens new senior care center

Missouri City Green meets on Saturday, Jan. 15New grass-roots group, Missouri City Green, aims to pro-

mote environmental benefi ts and beautifi cation efforts in Mis-souri City. The group will have a general meeting on Saturday, January 15 at noon at the Old Hickory BBQ Restaurant, located at 3334 FM 1092 Rd., Missouri City. Missouri City residents who are interested in recycling, green spaces and parks, trees and native plants or hiking and biking trails are encouraged to attend. For questions or more information, join the Missouri Green group on Meetup.com or email [email protected].

Fort Bend ISD will host its annual Band Bash Concert on Thursday, Jan. 27, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Hopson Field House, located at 3335 Hur-ricane Lane in Missouri City. The event is free of charge and will showcase the talents of beginner band students from all of the District’s K-6 schools, including Armstrong,

Blue Ridge, Briargate, Glov-er, Hunters Glen, E. A. Jones, Lantern Lane, Quail Valley, Ridgegate, and Ridgemont El-ementary Schools. Trombon-ist Andre Hayward will be the guest performer at the event.

Band Bash

By THOMAS J. PARR, M.D.Was your New Year’s Res-

olution to lose weight? If that is your goal, here is what re-ally does work to be success-ful, feel better, and get to buy new, smaller sized clothes this year.

How common is it to hear “I need to lose 30 pounds in the next 6 weeks before... (you fi ll in the blank)... my daughter’s wedding, my high school re-union, my trip to Hawaii?

The problem with these types of short term goals is that they do not change life-style habits.

They actually generate a boomerang effect because there is no lifestyle change. In the end, more weight will be regained than was originally lost.

Equally unhelpful is not defi ning any specifi c goals. A New Year’s Resolution of “I’m going to exercise more” will be broken almost imme-diately. What does “more” mean?

One very important rule is to not set a goal of “too much too fast.” Another is to make your weight loss goal be more long term, such as “I want to weigh 185 lbs by this time next year.”

Since a successful New Year’s Resolution requires lifestyle behavior changes, setting the proper types of goals is important.

They need to be long term, realistic, and measurable. Most of us have found that one of the cardinal rules of life is: Easy and fast does not last.

An excellent weight loss goal of losing 2 pounds a week for the year means you can potentially lose 100 pounds by this time next year! Losing just 1 pound a week means you will lose 50 pounds in

2011. If you take a full year to do it, you are close to making this weight loss permanent, provided you don’t slip back into bad habits in 2012.

The secret to losing weight permanently is not to buy stuff. Don’t get taken in by television ads.

There is no magic pill, no magic drink, and no magic pre-prepared meal. None of these works long term be-cause they do not create a permanent lifestyle change in your daily routine.

There are only two ways to lose weight: decrease the number of calories you take in each day and increase the number of calories you burn off each day.

Keep a diary of everything you eat or drink for a week, including the number of calo-ries, amount of fat, protein, sugar, and salt.

I keep my diary in my cell phone using a free app called Lose-It, but a small notebook or any of a dozen apps cur-rently available for your home computer can work well, too. That information is available on the package labels when you cook at home, and there are many resources (both online and in pocket sized books) for items on most of the national chain restaurant menus.

Also keep a record of how much you do to burn calories. A relatively inexpensive pe-dometer will help you keep track of exactly how far you walk each day. Most will also tell you how many calories you burned.

At the end of the week, total those numbers and study what you now know about your eating habits and your level of exercise. What can you do to lower your overall calories, increase your proteins, and decrease your fat, sugar, and salt?

Start looking for ways to change the way you cook, such as using broth to sautee instead of butter or margarine. Look for more healthy menu items before ordering in res-taurants. Watch out for sal-ads! They may taste good, but the dressings can be loaded.

Now weigh yourself and write that down. This is your starting point, and weigh yourself only once a week from now on to avoid discour-agement.

Do not set your goal to lose more than 2 lbs a week, no matter how much you eventu-ally want to lose.

Losing only 1/2 to 1 lb a week is excellent!

You have plenty of time, as real life long success depends on permanent changes in your behavior, and that often takes two years of consistent behav-ior to achieve.

Set your goals, measure your progress, change little things in your diet or exercise regimen, and you will make lifestyle changes that will keep that extra weight off for-ever.

By RUSSELL C. JONES The unemployment rate for

December was reported last week, with Democrats boast-ing about the “sharp” decline from 9.8% to 9.4%. Obama says that the numbers prove his policies are creating jobs.

What Obama fails to men-tion is that employers increased private sector payrolls by only 103,000. Most economists agree that is barely enough to keep up with the natural growth of the labor force. The unem-ployment rate dropped only because many people have given up fi nding jobs, and, ac-cording to the amazing logic of the Labor Department, were not counted as unemployed.

About 8.4 million jobs have been lost during the recession. In the entire year of 2010 only 1.1 million jobs were added. At the pace of job growth in December, it would take until late 2016 to completely make up for the remainder of the jobs which have been lost.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, the labor force fell by 260,000 in December. The labor force is now smaller than it was before the recession started. Over 4.4 million work-ers have either dropped out of the work force, or have simply not entered the work force dur-ing the past three years. As the economy improves, these missing workers will enter the labor force and will be counted as unemployed until they fi nd a job. The result will be that the unemployment rate will con-tinue high for the foreseeable future.

Even Obama’s Federal Re-serve Chairman Bernanke un-derstands the insignifi cance of December’s jobless rate de-cline. “If we continue on De-cember’s pace, we are not go-ing to see sustained declines in the unemployment rate.”

Although there have been some signs of economic recov-ery in recent months, including increases in stock prices, retail

sales and manufacturing, job growth has not followed. Some increase in January may result after the December defeat of Obama’s proposed tax increas-es, but substantial reductions in the unemployment rate should not be expected for years.

Let’s blame BushIn a recent interview with

CNN, former speaker Pelosi blamed George W. Bush for the Democrats’ loss in No-vember, two years after he left offi ce. According to her, the average unemployment rate of 9.5% over the fi rst two years of the Obama administration was Bush’s fault. Since the high unemployment rate was the reason for the Democrats’ loss, Bush caused the defeat. Con-sidering that the unemploy-ment rate in the last month of Bush’s presidency was 7.2%, her argument seems specious at best.

Entitlement gainsLast week, the new Repub-

lican House of Representatives began tilting at windmills by taking the fi rst steps toward a vote to repeal ObamaC-are. Democrats howled as the Congressional Budget Offi ce, using incredible accounting techniques, claimed that the revocation of the health care plan would actually cost the Government more than leaving

it in place.As pointed out by the Wall

Street Journal, it is preposter-ous to believe that a new, open ended entitlement program will reduce the budget defi -cit. According to Democrats, 32,000,000 more people will be insured at “government ex-pense” (a misnomer for taxpay-er expense), and money will be saved as well. Good luck with that one!

Richard Foster, Medicare’s chief actuary, has analyzed ObamaCare and determined that positive claims for the program “do not represent a reasonable expectation for ac-tual program operations in ei-ther the short range or the long range.” Foster points out that the Medicare “cuts” that Dem-ocrats wrote into ObamaCare exists only on paper and were written so that they could pre-tend to reduce the defi cit and perform the miracles which Democrats claim. Reduced costs of medical treatment, he says, will never really hap-pened in practice.

The most obvious fi ction is the 30% cut in physician payments over the next three years, which was included in the original bill. Shortly there-after, in another bill, Congress rejected the 30% cuts. The reductions will never happen, but the formal analysis by the Congressional Budget Offi ce and Democrat politicians con-siders only the ObamaCare bill itself, not other bills adopted separately.

With so much misinforma-tion circulated by Democrat politicians, it is surprising that this administration’s popularity has not fallen even more than it has already.

Jones is a member of the Sugar Land City Council, hav-ing been fi rst elected in 2003. He owns a law fi rm and a title insurance company in Sugar Land.

By JANICE SCANLAN I had never fully appreci-

ated the technology of living underground, until last year I researched a piece for this paper about homesteading in Okla-homa.

And how my grandparents lived in a dugout on his brother’s homestead before they home-steaded their own piece of land.

You think, other than not having it cave in, what’s the big deal—it’s just really a cave? It’s more about your neighbors.

Life in a dugout requires co-existing with the snakes, rodents, spiders, and centipedes that also live underground.

To form some barrier, news-paper and/or burlap was used to line the walls. The rattlesnakes and centipedes preferred their privacy as well and usually lived behind the walls.

However, one never got into bed without beating it fi rst or left bed without seeing what crea-ture might be sleeping with you. Feeling snakes crawling across in the night was quite common.

Of course you have to site the dugout properly on a hill for drainage and preferably away from the north wind. What this gets you thinking is what all we don’t know about our ancestors and their way of life.

While this was how the af-fl uent and established lived during the same era my grand-

parents were in a dugout, I was delighted that the dedication of the Dew House and DeWalt Heritage Center was attended by a capacity crowd on Sunday de-spite the ugly weather.

I attended with Mary Ash-more who has been a docent for the Fort Bend County Museum Association.

She introduced me to some of the interesting and dedicated women and men who have been volunteering and conducting tours at the Fort Bend Museum in Richmond, the George Ranch and helping preserve the Rich-mond Historical District as well as put on events such as Texian Market Days festival.

Now they have a presence on the eastside of Fort Bend Coun-ty. And we have a wonderful

new opportunity to get involved in preserving history . . . and learning about it.

When County Commissioner Grady Prestage asked for a show of hands how many people were born in Fort Bend County, there was only a hand full of people. So that means if you haven’t gone to either the Fort Bend or DeWalt museums, you likely know precious little about our county and its interesting past.

Mary and I enjoyed the tour, but we were equally excited about using the facility and how the history and grace of the home will enhance events.

The fi rst wedding is planned in February . . . so the Dew House is already becoming part of the fabric of our community. As Missouri City Mayor Allen Owen mentioned when he was being interviewed after Katrina and asked about what histori-cal was in Missouri City, other than the Freedom Tree, he didn’t have much else to say. A rare event indeed.

Lisa Glenn who has worked tirelessly on the project and Di-ane Ware who headed the proj-ect for the County have much to be proud . . . and we appreciate their efforts for our community.

Remaining members of the Dew family were there . . . and Commissioner Prestage prom-ised we would be good stewards of their wonderful gift to Fort

OpinionPage 4 • INDEPENDENT • JANUARY 12, 2011

Seshadri KumarPublisher & Editor

Email: [email protected]

www.fbindependent.com

Scanlan

The View from Sugar Land

Jones

Parr

Dr. Thomas Parr, an ortho-pedic surgeon in Sugar Land, can be reached at 281-491-7111.Visit www.tomparrmd.net for more information.

Simple Organization

Musings: Living in a Dugout

Playing games with numbers

Come and Experience the Diff erence!Come and Experience the Diff erence!

Salem International Salem International Christian CenterChristian Center14056 Southwest Fwy #118 14056 Southwest Fwy #118

(In the FedEx Bldg. in front of (In the FedEx Bldg. in front of Holiday Inn Express)Holiday Inn Express)

Sugar Land, TX 77478Sugar Land, TX 77478

www.salemic.orgwww.salemic.org

Services: Sunday

8:30 a.m.

Wednesday

7 p.m.

Bend, Missouri City and Kitty Hollow Park.

My check is written, stamped and will go to the Fort Bend Museum Association in today’s mail.

Visit www.fortbendmuseum.org or call 281 342-1256 and get involved.

Write to [email protected]

By this point in the year most people have made and began implementing their New Year’s Resolutions.

A common New Year’s Resolution is to lose weight, but most people only vaguely plan how this will happen. Other people will aggressive-ly sworn off all carbohydrates and vowed to hit the gym 5 days a week for 1 ½ hours each time.

The challenge is that this realistically may not happen. A better approach would be to start small and stay consis-tent.

For example: give up car-bohydrates one meal a day or only eat carbohydrates on Sat-urday and then you could go to the gym 3 days a week and work out for 45 minutes. This is a little more realistic.

By now you are wondering how losing weight and New Year’s Resolutions has any-thing to do with tax season. In fact it does in a couple of ways.

The fi rst most obvious is that January marks the begin-ning of the new fi scal year and the end of the last fi scal year.

The second is that many home based business owners fi nd themselves stressed and overwhelmed that they are un-able to locate the documents needed for their taxes.

They moan that they will get organized for their New

Year’s Resolution, but only vaguely plan or know how this will happen.

I discovered years ago that tax time is a great time to or-ganize your home offi ce and paperwork. It may be scary to get started, but it’s like taking off a bandage. It can be quick or slow.

I prefer my bandage to come off slow, but there is only a certain amount of time to prepare your taxes, so the quicker the better.

Here are some quick tips to help you organize your home offi ce and paperwork:

1. Consult your tax advisor and consultant as to which pa-pers you need to keep legally.

2. Toss obvious trash. Yes, in many offi ces and under piles of paper are lurking used nap-kins and empty snack wrap-pers as well as junk mail.

Please note that is there is a credit card offer that you would like to discard, it is best to shred. You don’t want any-one fi nding this in your trash and attempting to steal your identity.

3. Relocate non-offi ce items.

This would include cof-fee cups to go in the kitchen and your child’s toy to go into their room, etc.

4. Group paperwork into 3 possible categories:

a. Things to do & to follow-up on

b. Things to read and cou-pons

c. Things to fi leIf you have a fi ling system

already in place, then that is great. As you are fi ling you may want to discard or ar-chive old fi les.

If you do not have a fi ling system in place then here are some suggestions:

When you are preparing to fi le something, ask yourself, “What category will I think of fi rst when I need to retrieve this piece of paper again?”

Set up simple categories us-ing one or two relevant words. It must be easy for you to re-member so that you can fi nd the document later.

An example would be that instead of one folder for vi-sion, a second for dental, and a third one for prescriptions, create one folding using the word medical.

Another example would be instead of having a folder for the electric bill and another folder for the water bill and a separate one for the phone bill, you could create one folder for utility bills.

Also, don’t create words that may make it too diffi cult for someone else to locate at a later date.

For more free tips on or-ganizing your paperwork or for your organizing needs, contact me at [email protected].

Tax season and New Year’s resolutions

Blessings,Lisa Giesler is a Profes-

sional Organizer/ Speaker and owns A Time and Place for Everything. Author of the book, My Life is a Mess: Organizing 101, available on Amazon, she is also a Mem-ber of NAPO—National As-sociation of Professional Or-ganizers. She can be reached at 832-277-1745 or www.atimeandplace4.com.

Easily lose 50 or more lbs in 2011!

JANUARY 12, 2011 • INDEPENDENT • Page 5

News

Jobs & Educationfor Texans (JET)

Jobs & Educationfor Texans (JET)

Wharton County Junior College invites students who are majoring in or who intend to major in one of the following areas to apply for a JET Scholarship:

Automotive Technology AAS (CIP 47)Automotive Technology Certificate (CIP 47)PC Technical Support Certificate (CIP 11)Cisco Router Networking Certificate (CIP 11)Computer Programming AAS (CIP 11)Network Administration AAS (CIP 11)Dental Hygiene AAS (CIP 51)Engineering Design AAS (CIP 15)Architectural Design Certificate (CIP 15)Computer-Aided-Drafting Certificate (CIP 15)Electronics Engineering Technology AAS (CIP 15)Emergency Medical Services Certificate (CIP 51)Emergency Medical Services AAS (CIP 51)Health Information Technology AAS (CIP 51)Associate Degree Nursing AAS (CIP 51)

Vocational Nursing Certificate (CIP 51)LVN-ADN Transition AAS (CIP 51)Radiologic Technology AAS (CIP 51)Human Services AAS (CIP 51)Human Services Certificate (CIP 51)Nuclear Power Technology AAS (CIP 41)Nuclear Power Technology – Enhanced Skills Certificate (CIP 41)Process Technology AAS (CIP 41)Physical Therapist Assistant AAS (CIP 51)Surgical Technology Certificate (CIP 51)Welding Technology Certificate (CIP 48)Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Certificate (CIP 47)

JET Scholarship funds can be used for the payment of tuition, required fees, laboratory fees, and costs of certification or licensure.

Eligibility requirements for applicants for JET Program Scholarships: • Citizen or permanent legal resident of the United States and Texas. • Majoring in or declaring a major in one of the programs listed above. • Demonstrate unmet financial need. • Are not receiving any JET nonprofit funds.

Applications are available at any of the WCJC campuses as well as online at the WCJC Financial Aid website.For more information, please contact the Financial Aid Office at any one of the WCJC campuses.

Financial Aid Office (Wharton): 979-532-6345Financial Aid Office (Richmond): 281-239-1540Financial Aid Office (Sugar Land): 281-243-8431Receptionist (Bay City): 979-244-4552

Applications should be hand-delivered or mailed to:ATTN: JET Program ScholarshipWCJC Financial Aid Office911 Boling HighwayWharton, TX 77488

APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 21, 2011

SCHOLARSHIPSfor WCJC Vocational Students

Wharton • Sugar Land • Richmond • Bay City • El Campo • Palacios

wcjc.edu

WCJC is an EOE Institution.

CITY OF SUGAR LAND

Notice of Intent to File a Local Bill

This is to give notice of intent to introduce in the 82nd Texas Legislature, Regular Session, a bill relating to amending the enabling legislation of the Gulf Coast Water Authority (GCWA). Specifi cally, the bill will amend Chapter 712, Acts of the 59th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 1965, by converting two advisory board members for Fort Bend and Brazoria Counties to permanent board members on the GCWA. The bill will allow Commissioners Courts of Fort Bend and Brazoria Counties to appoint two respective board members from recommendations provided to the Commissioners Court by customers of the GCWA within respective counties. The newly appointed board members must reside in the County they are appointed represent.

CONSTABLE SALE

Under and by virtue of a Writ of Execution and / or Order of Sale issued on the 17TH day of NOVEMBER 2010 by the 268TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT Court of FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas in cause #09-DCV-170084 in favor of the Plaintiff - SIENNA PLANTATION RESIDENTIAL

ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff , for the sum of $4,974.00 +++costs as taxed on said Execution and / or Order of Sale and further the sum of executing the same.

I have levied on the 20TH day of DECEMBER, 2010 and will off er for sale on the 1ST day of FEBRUARY 2011 at the County Courthouse steps of Fort Bend County, Texas in the city of Richmond, Texas between the hours of ten o’clock a.m. and four o’clock p.m., any and all rights, title, interests, and claims which the said Defendant(s)- LANE OLSON had of, in or to the following described Real property situated in Fort Bend County, Texas; viz.:

LEGAL DESCRIPTION: LOT FIVE (5), IN

BLOCK TWO (2) OF SIENNA VILLAGE

OF ANDERSON SPRINGS, SECTION

FIVE A (5A), A SUBDIVISION IN FORT

BEND COUNTY, TEXAS ACCORDING

TO THE MAP OR PLAT THEREOF,

RECORDED IN VOLUME 2004, PAGE

84 OF THE PLAT RECORDS OF FORT

BEND COUNTY, TEXAS.

Terms: Cash Sale to held at or about 11 a.m.

Ruben Davis, CONSTABLEFort Bend County Precinct 2By Lieutenant G. Majors #73Deputy Constable

CITY OF SUGAR LAND

Notice of Intent to File a Local Bill

This is to give notice of intent to introduce in the 82nd Texas Legislature, Regular Session, a bill relating to the dissolution of the Fort Bend County Water Control and Improvement District Number 1 (“WCID No. 1”). Upon dissolution of WCID No. 1 the bill would transfer all rights, responsibilities, assets, and liabilities of WCID No. 1 to the City of Sugar Land, Texas. The bill would require the City Council of the City of Sugar Land to adopt a resolution accepting the transfer of assets and liabilities from WCID No. 1 to the City prior to the transfer becoming eff ective.

CONSTABLE SALE

Under and by virtue of a Writ of Execution and / or Order of Sale issued on the 2NDday

of DECEMBER 2010 by the JUSTICE

OF THE PEACE, PRECINCT 1, PLACE

2 HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS, in cause #CV12C0103929 in favor of the Plaintiff - DONIELLE CLEMONS, Plaintiff , for the sum of $2,261.18 +++costs as taxed on said Execution and / or Order of Sale and further the sum of executing the same.

I have levied on the 3RD day of DECEMBER, 2010 and will off er for sale on the 1ST day of FEBRUARY 2011 at the County Courthouse steps of Fort Bend County, Texas in the city of Richmond, Texas between the hours of ten o’clock a.m. and four o’clock p.m., any and all rights, title, interests, and claims which the said Defendant(s)- SERGIO AVILA had of, in or to the following described Real property situated in Fort Bend County, Texas; viz.:

LEGAL DESCRIPTION: BRIAR VILLA

SOUTH SEC 2, BLOCK 8, LOT 2

,(52X100) (BLUE RIDGE PARK) 16391

ANGEL ISLAND LANE, HOUSTON,

FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS 77053.

Terms: Cash Sale to held at or about 11 a.m.

Ruben Davis, CONSTABLEFort Bend County Precinct 2By Lieutenant G. Majors #73Deputy Constable

CONSTABLE SALE

Under and by virtue of a Writ of Execution and / or Order of Sale issued on the 16TH

day of NOVEMBER 2010 by the 240TH

JUDICIAL DISTRICT Court of FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas in cause #10-DCV-179010

in favor of the Plaintiff - CREEKMONT

COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff , for the sum of $3,207.69 +++costs as taxed on said Execution and / or Order of Sale and further the sum of executing the same.

I have levied on the 1ST day of DECEMBER,

2010 and will off er for sale on the 1ST day of FEBRUARY 2011 at the County Courthouse steps of Fort Bend County, Texas in the city of Richmond, Texas between the hours of ten o’clock a.m. and four o’clock p.m., any and all rights, title, interests, and claims which the said Defendant(s)- FRANCINA

LAUNETTE RUTLEDGE had of, in or to the following described Real property situated in Fort Bend County, Texas; viz.:LEGAL DESCRIPTION: LOT 17, IN

BLOCK 01 OF CREEKMONT, SEC

3A, AN ADDITION IN FORT BEND

COUNTY, TEXAS ACCORDING TO THE

MAP OR PLAT THEREOF, RECORDED

UNDER SLIDE NO. 20070035 OF

THE PLAT RECORDS OF FORT BEND

COUNTY, TEXAS, MORE COMMONLY

DESCRIBED AS 4706 LESSER CREEK,

FRESNO, TEXAS 77545.

Terms: Cash Sale to held at or about 11 a.m.

Ruben Davis, CONSTABLEFort Bend County Precinct 2By Lieutenant G. Majors #73Deputy Constable

Sugar Land Garden Club

presents Jamie Gonzalez

On Tuesday, January 18, the Sugar Land Garden Club will host Jamie Gonzalez present-ing “Prairie Rescues”. Jamie is the Community Education Manager for the Katy Prairie Conservancy. He received a Bachelors of Science Degree in Biology and a Masters of Education in Science Educa-tion from the University of Houston. The program is free and open to the public. Re-freshments start at 9:30am and the program begins at 10am in the Sugar Land Community Center, 226 Matlage Way, in Sugar Land. For more infor-mation call 281-937-7075 or visit www.sugarlandgarden-club.org.

Come out for an enchanted evening of “Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice, a night of fun, fashion, and food.”

Parents and students with Kempner High School Project Graduation 2011 will entertain you with a dazzling Fashion Show, Dinner, and Auction on February 5, starting at 6 p.m.

The “sweet” event will be held at the Great Hall at the Sugar Land First United Methodist Church on 431 Eldridge Road. The evening will start with silent and live auctions.

The auction will include baskets with a “sweetheart” theme, a round of golf at Sweetwater Country Club, a hand-made quilt, and items perfect for taking to college.

Following the silent auction, Telfair by Newland Com-munities is sponsoring a tasty Italian dinner, and Imperial Johnson,LLC and Chambers Painting Company are sponsor-ing the delicious dessert, all catered by Teresita’s.

Senior students will model formal fashions from Men’s Wear House, Als’s Formal Wear, Cache, The Wardrobe, the Formal Gallery, Parvani Vida, Urban Rendezvous, Banana Republic, and David’s Bridal. The evening will be topped off with the raffl ing of beautifully decorated jars of candy!

Tickets for the event go on sale January 18, 2011 at Kemp-ner High School during lunch in the Commons Area.

For presale tickets contact Wanda Sdao at 281-242-2496 [email protected] or Karen Daly at [email protected] 281.330.2166.

The cost for this full evening of entertainment is only $20.00. Come and show your support for the Senior Class of 2011.

As you go about your day, there is constant activity in your brain — even when you’re asleep. Brain cells communicate with each other by producing tiny electrical impulses. These brain waves come in frequencies and cre-ate patterns that can be mea-sured by a test called an elec-troencephalogram (EEG). An EEG can detect problems in the electrical activity of the brain.

“EEGs are most often used to help diagnose and monitor seizure disorders, such as epi-lepsy or convulsions,” states M. Faisal Khan, M.D., board certifi ed neurologist with Methodist Sugar Land Neu-rology Associates. “They also may be used to fi nd causes of confusion and to evaluate head injuries, tumors, infec-tions, degenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer’s disease) and abnormal changes in body chemistry that affect the brain. EEGs may also be used to evaluate sleep disorders.”

Abnormal results on EEGs may be produced by a variety of conditions, including:

•A brain tumor or other ab-normal structure in the brain

•Attention disorders•Tissue death due to a

blockage in blood fl ow•Drug or alcohol abuse•Head injury•Infl ammation of the brain•Abnormal bleeding in the

brain caused by a ruptured blood vessel

•Migraines•Seizure disorders•Sleep disorder, such as

narcolepsyAn EEG causes no pain

or discomfort. A technician applies 16 to 25 electrodes in different positions on the

scalp. “The electrodes are connected by wires to an am-plifi er and a recording ma-chine. This machine converts the electrical impulses into patterns that can be seen on a computer screen,” Dr. Khan says.

Patients undergoing an EEG may be asked to do cer-tain things during the record-ing, such as breathe deeply and rapidly or look at bright fl ashing lights. “Sometimes the lights and altered breath-ing trigger a seizure in those with seizure disorders. The technician performing the test is trained to take care of the patient if this happens,” Dr. Khan emphasizes. Some EEGs are done while the pa-tient is asleep.

Call 888-225-3482 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Khan or for a referral to another neurologist in your area, call the physician refer-ral line at 281-274-7500.EEG AT METHODIST SUGAR LAND HOSPITAL:•Outpatient — Adult and pe-diatric EEGs (for children as young as 5 years old) are of-fered on an outpatient basis. A routine outpatient EEG takes 30 minutes and is typi-

EEGs offer a glimpse of activity in the braincally scheduled with a referral from your primary physician or your child’s pediatrician.•Ambulatory Outpatient — Ambulatory-EEG (aEEG) monitoring allows prolonged EEG recording outside the hospital or clinic. An aEEG uses portable technology al-lowing the patient to go home and can take place over 48 to 72 hours. •Inpatient — Routine EEGs take 30 minutes and are avail-able 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for hospital patients. Di-agnostic reports are generated within 24 hours.•Inpatient/Critical Patients — The use of continuous EEG monitoring (cEEG) in the In-tensive Care Unit and Emer-

gency Department for critical patients with acute brain inju-ries is available 24/7.

Khan

2011 ProGrad fashion show and dinner event Losing weight takes team-

work. That’s why Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital is kicking off the year with a fi rst ever Girls’ Night Out that is open to spouses on Tuesday, Jan. 18 from 6 to 8 p.m.

National author, lecturer and popular psychotherapist Mary Jo Rapini, LPC, will present “Why Weight? Los-ing weight takes teamwork” to help couples work together to develop healthy lifestyles. Rapini is sure to motivate at-tendees as she shares the dif-ferences in why and what men and women eat and how their weight loss differs. She will also impart 10 tips to begin a healthy lifestyle with the one you love. In her always dynamic and engaging style, Rapini promises to impart what contributes to successful weight loss, including intima-cy and sex.

The evening begins with complimentary appetizers and

refreshments and free blood pressure checks from 6 to 6:30 p.m. Rapini’s presentation fol-lows and will include time for questions.

As always, Girls’ Night Out is a free event, but pre-regis-tration is required. Women may attend without spouses. Please call 713-222-CARE (2273) to register.

Memorial Hermann Sugar Land helps couples lose weight

Rapini

LEGAL NOTICEINVITATION TO BIDDERS

Sealed Bids will be received in the Of-fi ce of Gilbert D. Jalomo, Jr., County Purchasing Agent, Fort Bend County, Rosenberg Annex, 4520 Reading Road, Suite A, Rosenberg, TX 77471 for the following until THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2010 at 1:30 P.M. (CST). All bids will then be publicly opened and read in the Offi ce of the Purchasing Agent, Rosenberg Annex, 4520 Reading Road, Rosenberg, TX 77471. Bids received af-ter the specifi ed time will be returned unopened.1. BID 11-027 – TERM CONTRACT FOR VOICE AND DATA CABLING;2. BID 11-028 – VEHICLES.Lump sum pricing is required; payment will be by check after products/services are rendered. Bonds are required.Fort Bend County reserves the right to reject any or all bids. Signed: Gilbert D. Jalomo, Jr., Purchasing Agent Fort Bend County, Richmond, Texas

Page 6 • INDEPENDENT • JANUARY 12, 2011

NOTICE OF CONSTABLE SALENOTICE OF LEVY

Under and by virtue of a Writ of Execution and / or Order of Sale issued on the 17TH day of NOVEMBER, 2010 by the 434TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT Court of FORT BEND County, Texas in cause #09-DCV-172040 in favor of the Plaintiff – PARK AT MISSION GLEN HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATION Plaintiff , for the sum of $6,551.77 ++++costs as taxed on said Execution and / or Order of Sale and further the sum of executing the same. I have levied on the 14TH day of DECEMBER, 2010 and will off er for sale on the 1ST day of FEBRUARY, 2011 at the County Courthouse steps of Fort Bend County, Texas in the city of Richmond, Texas between the hours of ten o’clock a.m. and four o’clock p.m., any and all rights, title, interests and claims which the said Defendant(s) – NGOZIKA NGONADI had of, in or to the following described real property situated in Fort Bend County, Texas; viz.:Property is sold with all encumbrances and liens affi xed thereto. All sales are fi nal.LEGAL DESCRIPTION:PROPERTY DESCRIPTION: LOT 06, BLOCK 02, OF PARK AT MISSION GLEN, SECTION ONE, AMENDING PLAT NO. 1, AN ADDITION IN FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS, ACCORDING TO THE MAP OR PLAT THEREOF RECORDED UNDER SLIDE NOS. 2164B AND 2165 A&B OF THE MAP RECORDS OF FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS, AS MODIFIED BY ANY ADDITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS THERETO OR REPLATS THEREOF.ADJUDGED/MARKET VALUE: $143,660.00

Terms: CashSale to be held at about 10:00 A.M.

ROB COOK, CONSTABLEFort Bend County Precinct 3Deputy Juan Diaz, #1306

NOTICE OF CONSTABLE SALENOTICE OF LEVY

Under and by virtue of a Writ of Execution and / or Order of Sale issued on the 16TH day of DECEMBER, 2010 by the 268TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT Court of FORT BEND County, Texas in cause #09-DCV-176564 in favor of the Plaintiff – MISSION BEND NO.5 HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC Plaintiff , for the sum of $2,665.85 ++++costs as taxed on said Execution and / or Order of Sale and further the sum of executing the same. I have levied on the 28TH day of DECEMBER, 2010 and will off er for sale on the 1ST day of FEBRUARY, 2011 at the County Courthouse steps of Fort Bend County, Texas in the city of Richmond, Texas between the hours of ten o’clock a.m. and four o’clock p.m., any and all rights, title, interests and claims which the said Defendant(s) – CARMEN DONIS had of, in or to the following described real property situated in Fort Bend County, Texas; viz.:Property is sold with all encumbrances and liens affi xed thereto. All sales are fi nal.LEGAL DESCRIPTION:PROPERTY DESCRIPTION : LOT TWENTY TWO (22 ), IN BLOCK THIRTY FOUR (34 ) OF MISSION BEND, SECTION EIGHT (8), A SUBDIVISION IN HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS AND IN FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS, ACCORDING TO THE MAP OR PLAT THEREOF, RECORDED IN VOLUME 22, PAGE 13, OF THE PLAT RECORDS OF FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS. ( PROPERTY LIES WHOLLY WITHIN FORT BEND COUNTY ), MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS 15511 RIO DEL SOL DRIVE, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77083.

ADJUDGED/MARKET VALUE: $89,290.00

Terms: CashSale to be held at about 10:00 A.M.

ROB COOK, CONSTABLEFort Bend County Precinct 3Deputy Juan Diaz, #1306

NOTICE OF CONSTABLE SALENOTICE OF LEVY

Under and by virtue of a Writ of Execution and / or Order of Sale issued on the 16TH day of DECEMBER, 2010 by the 434TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT Court of FORT BEND County, Texas in cause #09-DCV-170767 in favor of the Plaintiff – MISSION BEND NO. 5 HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC Plaintiff , for the sum of $3,590.78 ++++costs as taxed on said Execution and / or Order of Sale and further the sum of executing the same. I have levied on the 28TH day of DECEMBER, 2010 and will off er for sale on the 1ST day of FEBRUARY, 2011 at the County Courthouse steps of Fort Bend County, Texas in the city of Richmond, Texas between the hours of ten o’clock a.m. and four o’clock p.m., any and all rights, title, interests and claims which the said Defendant(s) – ROSA G. SALINAS had of, in or to the following described real property situated in Fort Bend County, Texas; viz.:Property is sold with all encumbrances and liens affi xed thereto. All sales are fi nal.LEGAL DESCRIPTION:PROPERTY DESCRIPTION : LOT NINETEEN (19), IN BLOCK TWENTY SIX (26), OF MISSION BEND, SECTION SIX (6 ), A SUBDIVISION IN HARRIS AND FORT BEND COUNTY COUNTIES, TEXAS, ACCORDING TO THE MAP OR PLAT THEREOF RECORDED IN VOLUME 264, PAGE 97, OF THE MAP RECORDS OF HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS AND VOLUME 21, PAGE 26 OF THE MAP RECORDS OF FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS, SAID LOT LYING WHOLLY WITHIN FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS AND MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS 15610 SIERRA VALLE DRIVE, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77083

ADJUDGED/MARKET VALUE: $89,720.00

Terms: CashSale to be held at about 10:00 A.M..

ROB COOK, CONSTABLEFort Bend County Precinct 3Deputy Juan Diaz, #1306

NOTICE OF CONSTABLE SALE

NOTICE OF LEVY

Under and by virtue of a Writ of Execution and / or Order of Sale issued on the 3RD day of DECEMBER, 2010 by the 268TH

JUDICIAL DISTRICT Court of FORT BEND County, Texas in cause #09-DCV-176748

in favor of the Plaintiff – THE WOODS

COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, INC Plaintiff , for the sum of $1,942.50 ++++costs as taxed on said Execution and / or Order of Sale and further the sum of executing the same. I have levied on the 28TH day of DECEMBER, 2010 and will off er for sale on the 1ST day of FEBRUARY, 2011 at the County Courthouse steps of Fort Bend County, Texas in the city of Richmond, Texas between the hours of ten o’clock a.m. and four o’clock p.m., any and all rights, title, interests and claims which the said Defendant(s) – NIKKI MCCRAY had of, in or to the following described real property situated in Fort Bend County, Texas; viz.:Property is sold with all encumbrances and liens affi xed thereto. All sales are fi nal.LEGAL DESCRIPTION:

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION: LOT 26, BLOCK

04, OF THE WOODS SUBDIVISION, A

SUBDIVISION OF FORT BEND COUNTY,

TEXAS, ACCORDING TO THE MAP OR

PLAT THEREOF RECORDED AT CLERK’S

FILE NO. 1176060, SLIDE NO. 692B IN

THE MAP OR PLAT RECORDS OF FORT

BEND COUNTY, TEXAS.

ADJUDGED/MARKET VALUE: $106,170.00

Terms: CashSale to be held at about 10:00 A.M..

ROB COOK, CONSTABLEFort Bend County Precinct 3Deputy Juan Diaz, #1306

NOTICE TO BIDDERS

EAST AND WEST INTERCEPTOR REHABILITATION PHASE II

The City of Sugar Land seeks bids for furnishing all labor, material, and equipment, and performing all work required for the following project in the City:

CIP PROJECT NAME: East and West Sanitary Sewer Interceptor

Rehabilitation Phase II Improvement Projects

CIP PROJECT NUMBER: WW0904

LOCATION OF WORK: From Industrial Boulevard South to U.S. 59

Feeder Road; along U.S. 59 Feeder Road to

the North Waste Water Treatment Plant; from

Ulrich, south on Brooks Street and State

Highway 6 to North Waste Water Treatment Plant

Plans, specifi cations, and bidding documents may be obtained from HDR Claunch &

Miller, 4635 Southwest Freeway, Suite 1000, Houston, Texas, 77027, Telephone

(713) 622-9264 with payment of $70.00:

Sealed bids shall be delivered to the City of Sugar Land City Secretary Offi ce,

2700 Town Center Boulevard North, Suite 122, Sugar Land, Texas, 77479, on or before 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 03, 2011, at which time bids will be publicly opened and read. Bids received after the opening date and time will not be accepted or considered.

A non-mandatory pre-bid meeting for all interested parties will be held 10:00 a.m.,

Tuesday, January 18, 2011, Brazos Rooms 154 and 155, 2700 Town Center Boulevard

North, Sugar Land, Texas, 77479.

The City Council will award the bid to the lowest responsible bidder that complies with all requirements of the Request for Bids. The City of Sugar Land will give notice of the contract award within sixty (60) calendar days after the bid opening date and time.

Glenda Gundermann, TRMC, CMC, AAECity Secretary

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT AUTOMOTIVE DETAILING CENTER

4129 STATE HIGHWAY 6

REQUEST FOR A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO OPERATE AN AUTOMOTIVE DETAIL CENTER ON PROPERTY LOCATED ON STATE HIGHWAY 6 IN THE GENERAL BUSINESS (B-2) DISTRICT, BEING FURTHER DESCRIBED AS 0.505 ACRES ON THE EAST SIDE OF STATE HIGHWAY 6, BLOCK 1, TRACT C, OF THE REPLAT AND EXTENSION OF GFR ENTERPRISES, INCORPORATED 6.061 ACRES OF COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT.

PURPOSE: ONE (1) PUBLIC HEARING SHALL BE HELD AT WHICH ALL PER SONS INTERESTED IN THE PROPOSED CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT SHALL BE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD.

WHERE: CITY OF SUGAR LAND CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER 2700 TOWN CENTER BOULEVARD NORTH

WHEN: PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING 6:30 P.M., JANUARY 27, 2011

DETAILS OF THE PROPOSED CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT MAY BE OBTAINED BY CONTACTING THE CITY OF SUGAR LAND PLANNING OFFICE (281) 275-2218 OR EMAIL [email protected]. THE PLANNING OFFICE IS OPEN MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY FROM 8:00 O’CLOCK A.M. TO 5:00 O’CLOCK P.M., AND IS LOCATED IN CITY HALL, 2700 TOWN CENTER BOULEVARD NORTH, SUGAR LAND, TEXAS. PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU WISH TO SET UP AN APPOINTMENT TO GO OVER ADDITIONAL DETAILS IN PERSON.

Vicinity Map:

CITATION BY PUBLICATIONDIVORCE

The State of TexasTO: Kamala Antoinette Evins 701 W 66th Street Los Angeles CA 90044, and to all whom it may concern, RespondentGREETINGS:You have been sued. You may employ an attorney. If you or your attorney do not fi le a written answer with the clerk who issued this citation by 10:00 AM on the Monday next following the expiration of twenty (20) days after you were served this citation and petition, a default judgment may be taken against you. The Petition For Divorce of Patrick Junior Kayondo, Petitioners, was fi led in the 387th Judicial District Court of Fort Bend County, Texas on the December 30, 2010 against Kamala Antoinette Evins, Respondent, being numbered 10-DCV-186688, and entitled In the Matter of the Marriage of Patrick Junior Kayondo and Kamala Antoinette EvinsThe suit requests Petition For Divorce.The court has authority in this suit to enter any judgment or decree dissolving the marriage and providing for the division of property which will be binding on you.Issued and given under my hand and seal of the said Court at Richmond, Texas, on this the 5th day of January, 2011.

Petitioner’s Attorney:Patrick Junior Kayondo15806 Mission Terrace CtHouston TX 77083

Honorable Annie Rebecca ElliotFort Bend County District Clerk

Deputy District Clerk Beatrice Padilla281-341-4522

301 Jackson StreetRichmond, Texas 77469

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICEThe Commissioners Court of Fort Bend County, Texas has set a public hearingon Tuesday, February 1, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. for acceptance of the traffi c con-trol plan for Creekstone Village at River-stone, Section 5, Precinct 4.The hearing will be held in the Commis-sioners Courtroom, 309 South Fourth St., Suite 700, William B. Travis Bldg., Richmond, Texas. You are invited to at-tend and state your approval or objec-tion on this matter.

Submitted by,Dianne WilsonFort Bend County Clerk

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICEThe Commissioners Court of Fort Bend County, Texas has set a public hearing on Tuesday, February 1, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. for acceptance of the traffi c con-trol plan for Sienna Village of Water Lake, Section 14, Precinct 1.The hearing will be held in the Commis-sioners Courtroom, 309 South Fourth St., Suite 700, William B. Travis Bldg., Richmond, Texas. You are invited to at-tend and state your approval or objec-tion on this matter.

Submitted by,Dianne WilsonFort Bend County Clerk

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICEThe Commissioners Court of Fort Bend County, Texas has set a public hearing on Tuesday, February 1, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. for acceptance of the traffi c con-trol plan for Cinco Ranch Southwest, Section 33, Precinct 3.The hearing will be held in the Commis-sioners Courtroom, 309 South Fourth St., Suite 700, William B. Travis Bldg., Richmond, Texas. You are invited to at-tend and state your approval or objec-tion on this matter.

Submitted by,Dianne WilsonFort Bend County Clerk

NOTICE OF SALE OF REAL PROPERTYSTATE OF TEXAS §COUNTY OF FORT BEND §By virtue of an Order of Sale dated NOV 08, 2010 delivered pursuant to a Judgment issued out of the COUNTY COURT AT LAW 3 of Fort Bend County, Texas, said judgment rendered in favor of THE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, OF THE HIGHLANDS plaintiff , and against ALEEN T. WALKER, defendant, in Cause No. 09-CCV-040237 for the sum of ONE-THOUSAND-FIVE-HUNDRED-EIGHTY-ONEAND 33/100’s ($1581.33), plus fees for posting notices, publishing, and all costs of executing sale. I did on the 6TH day of DEC, 2010, at 11:00 Am, levy upon the following described tract of land in Fort Bend County, Texas, as the property of ALEEN T. WALKER, defendant(s), to-wit: LOT THIRTY (30), (LESS W. 1.5’) AND LOT THIRTY-ONE (31) (W1)IN BLOCK FOUR (4), OF THE HIGHLANDS, SECTION III CITY OF SUGAR LAND, IN THE COUNTY OF FORT BEND, STATE OF TEXAS MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS 3026 PECAN POINT DR., SUGAR LAND, TEXAS 77478.( THE PROPERTY) and on FEB 1, 2011, being the fi rst Tuesday of said month, between the hours of 10:00 o’clock a.m. and 4:00 o’clock p.m., at the north entrance of the Fort Bend County Courthouse, in Fort Bend County, Texas, I will off er for sale and sell at public auction for cash, all the right, title and interest of ALEEN T. WALKER, defendant, in and to said property.LOCATION: FORT BEND COUNTY COURTHOUSE, RICHMOND, TX. 77469DATE: FEB 1, 2011TIME: APPROX. 10:00 AMBY: SERGEANT M. KUTACH

TROY E. NEHLS, Constable Pct. 4

Fort Bend County, Texas

CONSTABLE’S

NOTICE OF SALENotice is hereby given, that by virtue of a certain WRIT OF EXECUTION issued by the clerk of the 190TH District Court of HARRIS County, Texas on NOV 10, 2010 in cause numbered 2009- 63908 styled AMERICAN BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS SUPPLY CO, INC. vs. CUSTOM CONSTRUCTION CO, INC AND LONG T. CHAU JOINTLY AND SEVERALLY, in which a judgment was rendered on MAR 9, 2010 in favor of AMERICAN BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS SUPPLY, CO. INC, for the sum of ONE-HUNDRED-FIFTY-THREE THOUSAND SIX-HUNDRED-TWENTY- SIX DOLLARS AND NINE CENTS (153626.09)Dollars; plus fees for posting notice of sale, publishing, costs of suit rendered by the court, legal fees, and all costs of executing this Writ.I have levied upon the below listed property on DEC 20 , 2010 and will on FEB 1, 2011, Tuesday, between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. proceed to sell for cash to the highest bidder, all the Rights, Title, and Interest of LONG T. CHAU in the following described Real PropertyTHE SURFACE ESTATE ONLY OF A 9.5205 ACRES,BEING LOTS THIRTY-SIX (36),THIRTY-EIGHT(38), AND FORTY-TWO (42) OF OYSTER CREEK FARMS, AN UNRECORDED SUBDIVISION IN FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS, MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED BY METES AND BOUNDS AND RECORDED UNDER FILE NUMBER 9681585 OF THE OFFICIAL RECORDS OF FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS. , The above sale to be made by me to satisfy the above described judgment in favor of AMERICAN BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS SUPPLY,. INC. .Plaintiff , and the proceeds applied to the satisfaction thereof.LOCATION: FORT BEND COUNTY COURTHOUSE, RICHMOND, TX 77469DATE: FEB 1, 2011 TIME: APPROX. 10:00 am

BY: SGT. M KUTACH

Notice Public Hearing Staff ord Municipal School District will hold a public hearing on the proposed application for Optional Flexible School Day Program at the August 9, 2010 School Board meeting beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Staff ord Municipal School District Administration Building in the boardroom, 1625 Staff ordshire, Staff ord, Texas, 77477.

CONSTABLE SALE

Under and by virtue of a Writ of Execution and / or Order of Sale issued on the 17TH

day of NOVEMBER 2010 by the 240TH

JUDICIAL DISTRICT Court of FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas in cause #10-DCV-180977

in favor of the Plaintiff -RIDGEMONT PUD

HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff , for the sum of $3,284.00 +++costs as taxed on said Execution and / or Order of Sale and further the sum of executing the same. I have levied on the 16TH day of DECEMBER, 2010 and will off er for sale on the 1ST day of FEBRUARY 2011 at the County Courthouse steps of Fort Bend County, Texas in the city of Richmond, Texas between the hours of ten o’clock a.m. and four o’clock p.m., any and all rights, title, interests, and claims which the said Defendant(s)- JUAN A. MONTEZ

and MIRNA MONTEZ had of, in or to the following described Real property situated in Fort Bend County, Texas; viz.:LEGAL DESCRIPTION: LOT 9, IN BLOCK 3, OF AN UNRECORDED SUBDIVISION OUT OF RESERVE “D” AND “G” OF RIDGEMONT, SECTION TWO, A SUBDIVISION OF FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS, ACCORDING TO THE MAP OR PLAT THEREOF WHICH RIDGEMONT, SECTION TWO IF RECORDED IN VOLUME 10, PAGE 11, IN THE MAP OR PLAT RECORDS OF FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS, ALSO KNOWN AS 15841 RIDGEROE LN., HOUSTON, FORT BEND COUNTY,

TEXAS 77053.

Terms: Cash Sale to held at or about 11 a.m.

Ruben Davis, CONSTABLEFort Bend County Precinct 2By Lieutenant G. Majors #73Deputy Constable

CONSTABLE SALEUnder and by virtue of a Writ of Execution and / or Order of Sale issued on the 17TH day of NOVEMBER 2010 by the 400TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT Court of FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas in cause #09-DCV-169910 in favor of the Plaintiff -RIDGEMONT PUD HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff , for the sum of $4,013.00 +++costs as taxed on said Execution and / or Order of Sale and further the sum of executing the same. I have levied on the 16TH day of DECEMBER, 2010 and will off er for sale on the 1ST day of FEBRUARY 2011 at the County Courthouse steps of Fort Bend County, Texas in the city of Richmond, Texas between the hours of ten o’clock a.m. and four o’clock p.m., any and all rights, title, interests, and claims which the said Defendant(s)- JUAN MANUEL HERNANDEZ AND ALICIA HERNANDEZ had of, in or to the following described Real property situated in Fort Bend County, Texas; viz.:LEGAL DESCRIPTION: LOT 10, IN BLOCK 15 OUT OF RESERVE “G” OF RIDGEMONT, SECTION 2, A SUBDIVISION IN HARRIS COUNTY AND FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS ACCORDING TO THE MAP OR PLAT THEREOF, RECORDED IN VOLUME 10, PAGE 11 OF THE MAP RECORDS OF FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS, AND BEING MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED BY ,METES AND BOUNDS ATTACHED HERETO AND MADE A PART THEREOF (THE PROPERTY) ALSO KNOWN AS 4925 E. RIDGECREEK DR., HOUSTON, FORT

BEND COUNTY, TEXAS 77053.

Terms: Cash Sale to held at or about 11 a.m.

Ruben Davis, CONSTABLEFort Bend County Precinct 2By Lieutenant G. Majors #73Deputy Constable

CONSTABLE SALEUnder and by virtue of a Writ of Execution and / or Order of Sale issued on the 17TH day of NOVEMBER 2010 by the 268TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT Court of FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas in cause #09-DCV-176741 in favor of the Plaintiff -RIDGEMONT PUD HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff , for the sum of $3,793.00 +++costs as taxed on said Execution and / or Order of Sale and further the sum of executing the same. I have levied on the 16TH day of DECEMBER, 2010 and will off er for sale on the 1ST day of FEBRUARY 2011 at the County Courthouse steps of Fort Bend County, Texas in the city of Richmond, Texas between the hours of ten o’clock a.m. and four o’clock p.m., any and all rights, title, interests, and claims which the said Defendant(s)- GERALDINE L. COTTON had of, in or to the following described Real property situated in Fort Bend County, Texas; viz.:LEGAL DESCRIPTION: BEING A TRACT OR PARCEL CONTAINING 0.1703 ACRE OF LAND BEING TRACT 10, BLOCK 14 OF RESERVE “G” OF RIDGEMONT, SECTION 2, A SUBDIVISION OF RECORD IN VOLUME 10, PAGE 11 OF THE FORT BEND COUNTY PLAT RECORDS, FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS, AS BEING THAT SAME TRACT OF RECORD IN VOLUME 1353, PAGE 695 OF THE FORT BEND COUNTY DEED RECORDS (F.B.C.D.R.) FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS, (THE PROPERTY) ALSO KNOWN AS 4845 E. RIDGECREEK DR., HOUSTON, FORT

BEND COUNTY, TEXAS 77053.

Terms: Cash Sale to held at or about 11 a.m.

Ruben Davis, CONSTABLEFort Bend County Precinct 2By Lieutenant G. Majors #73Deputy Constable

CONSTABLE SALE

Under and by virtue of a Writ of Execution and / or Order of Sale issued on the 4TH

day of NOVEMBER 2010 by the 240TH

JUDICIAL DISTRICT Court of FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas in cause #07-DCV-155975

in favor of the Plaintiff - QUAIL GREEN

WEST HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION,

Plaintiff , for the sum of $7,943.25 +++costs as taxed on said Execution and / or Order of Sale and further the sum of executing the same. I have levied on the 20TH day of DECEMBER, 2010 and will off er for sale on the 1ST day of FEBRUARY 2011 at the County Courthouse steps of Fort Bend County, Texas in the city of Richmond, Texas between the hours of ten o’clock a.m. and four o’clock p.m., any and all rights, title, interests, and claims which the said Defendant(s)- KWAME OSEI BONSU had

of, in or to the following described Real property situated in Fort Bend County, Texas; viz.:LEGAL DESCRIPTION: LOT 52, IN

BLOCK 11 OF QUAIL GREEN WEST,

SECTION ONE, A SUBDIVISION

IN FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS

ACCORDING TO THE MAP OR PLAT

THEREOF, RECORDED IN VOLUME

22, PAGE 56 OF THE MAP RECORDS

OF FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS, AS

MODIFIED BY ANY SUPPLEMENTS

THERETO OR REPLATS THEREOF

(THE PROPERTY) ALSO KNOWN AS

2006 FEATHER RIDGE DR., MISSOURI

CITY, TEXAS 77459.

Terms: Cash Sale to held at or about 11 a.m.

Ruben Davis, CONSTABLEFort Bend County Precinct 2By Lieutenant G. Majors #73Deputy Constable

CONSTABLE SALE

Under and by virtue of a Writ of Execution and / or Order of Sale issued on the 4TH

day of NOVEMBER 2010 by the 240TH

JUDICIAL DISTRICT Court of FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas in cause #09-DCV-170579

in favor of the Plaintiff - QUAIL GREEN

WEST HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION,

Plaintiff , for the sum of $4,935.14 +++costs as taxed on said Execution and / or Order of Sale and further the sum of executing the same. I have levied on the 20TH day of DECEMBER, 2010 and will off er for sale on the 1ST day of FEBRUARY 2011 at the County Courthouse steps of Fort Bend County, Texas in the city of Richmond, Texas between the hours of ten o’clock a.m. and four o’clock p.m., any and all rights, title, interests, and claims which the said Defendant(s)- WILLIS N. WHYTE had of, in or to the following described Real property situated in Fort Bend County, Texas; viz.:LEGAL DESCRIPTION: LOT 09, IN

BLOCK 02 OF QUAIL GREEN WEST,

SECTION ONE, A SUBDIVISION

IN FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS

ACCORDING TO THE MAP OR PLAT

THEREOF, RECORDED IN VOLUME

22, PAGE 56 OF THE MAP RECORDS

OF FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS, AS

MODIFIED BY ANY SUPPLEMENTS

THERETO OR REPLATS THEREOF (THE

PROPERTY) ALSO KNOWN AS 1835

FRESHMEADOW DR., MISSOURI CITY,

TEXAS 77459.

Terms: Cash Sale to held at or about 11 a.m.

Ruben Davis, CONSTABLEFort Bend County Precinct 2By Lieutenant G. Majors #73Deputy Constable

CONSTABLE SALE

Under and by virtue of a Writ of Execution and / or Order of Sale issued on the 17TH day of NOVEMBER 2010 by the 268TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT Court of FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas in cause #10-DCV-178921 in favor of the Plaintiff - SIENNA PLANTATION RESIDENTIAL

ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff , for the sum of $4,935.14 +++costs as taxed on said Execution and / or Order of Sale and further the sum of executing the same. I have levied on the 20TH day of DECEMBER, 2010 and will off er for sale on the 1ST day of FEBRUARY 2011 at the County Courthouse steps of Fort Bend County, Texas in the city of Richmond, Texas between the hours of ten o’clock a.m. and four o’clock p.m., any and all rights, title, interests, and claims which the said Defendant(s)- TIFFANY HICKS had of, in or to the following described Real property situated in Fort Bend County, Texas; viz.:LEGAL DESCRIPTION: LOT 22, IN

BLOCK 01 OF SIENNA VILLAGE OF

ANDERSON SPRINGS, SECTION

THREE A (3A), AN ADDITION IN

IN FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS

ACCORDING TO THE MAP OR PLAT

THEREOF, RECORDED IN PLAT NO.

20040030 OF THE PLAT RECORDS

OF FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS,

(THE PROPERTY) ALSO KNOWN AS

5907 BUFFALO GAP, MISSOURI CITY,

TEXAS 77459.

Terms: Cash Sale to held at or about 11 a.m.

Ruben Davis, CONSTABLEFort Bend County Precinct 2By Lieutenant G. Majors #73Deputy Constable

Losing weight through diet and exercise is easy for some people. But for the 9 million Americans classifi ed as morbidly obese, eating right and working out may not be enough.

Safer than gastric bypass, Lap-Band® surgery, a laparoscopic weight loss procedure, may be an effective option for some adults diagnosed as clinically obese.

The Lap-Band procedure is appropriate for people with a body mass index (BMI) over 30. Most insurance plans will cover the procedure for patients who have a BMI of: •35 with medical conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure or sleep apnea. •40 or greater.

The average body mass index for men and women is between 25 and 30.

“The key things about this procedure are that the Lap-Band is adjustable and the procedure is reversible,” says Guillermo Ponce de Leon, M.D., a general surgeon on staff at Methodist Sugar Land Hospital.

“Because the size of the stom-ach is smaller after surgery, pa-tients feel full longer. They ba-sically eat very small meals that keep them full.”

Dr. Ponce de Leon, along with general surgeons Kulvinder Ba-jwa, M.D., and Sheilendra Meh-ta, M.D., are board certifi ed by the American Board of Surgery and are specifi cally trained to perform the FDA-approved Lap-

Band surgery as a safe, long-term solution for weight loss.

The procedure is performed through fi ve tiny incisions into the stomach.

Using laparoscopic instru-ments, the physician places a band around the stomach creating a small adjustable pouch where food is stored.

This procedure offers a variety of advantages over stomach sta-pling and gastric bypass surgery.

“Patients recover more quick-ly, it is an outpatient procedure and less expensive than the other alternatives,” Dr. Bajwa says.

While complications are mini-mal, the Lap-Band isn’t a “magic pill” to cure obesity. “It is a tool to help patients lose weight,” says Dr. Mehta.

“Patients also need to follow a good diet plan and exercise. The

band is successful when patients are motivated to make a lifestyle change.”

Patients seeking the procedure should discuss it with their physi-cian. Come and meet Drs. Ponce de Leon, Bajwa or Mehta, board certifi ed general surgeons; as they host free weight loss semi-nars about the latest information on LAP-BAND ® and Gastric Sleeve procedures and answer your questions.

Seminar dates include Jan. 19, Feb. 16, March 16, April 20, May 18 and June 15. Each seminar starts at 6:30 p.m. in Conference Rooms A-D at Methodist Sugar Land Hospital. Seating is lim-ited.

Call 281-274-7500 to reserve your seat.

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JANUARY 12, 2011 • INDEPENDENT • Page 7

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We’ve been waiting on “Country Strong” because the rumor mill was very loud in touting Gwyneth Paltrow as Best Actress.

For me, this movie was the missing piece in making fi nal decisions for Best Actress and Picture.

Well the mystery is over; Paltrow is not country strong and neither is “Country Strong.” So much for ru-mors.

Paltrow (age 38) plays Kelly Canter who has had too many vodkas and is in the proverbial treatment cen-ter for stars. She probably needed to stay in rehab a little bit longer, but her husband (Tim “Don’t call me Tug”

McGraw) needed her more to get back to the stage so he could con-tinue gravy train-ing off her.

Every come-back superstar needs an opening act so they hire her sponsor who is a young, new talented C&W singer who claims he’d rather be true to his music than chase the big bucks.

Beau Hutton (Garrett Hedland) is the hunky open-ing act that is sup-

posed to help keep Kelly away from alcohol while also under the very watchful eye of hub-by. Throw in another young former beauty queen (Leigh-ton Meester) from Dallas who has written enough of her own music to make an album and we now have four crazies that make the love triangle take on an additional side.

If I was Paltrow’s agent, I would have pushed this movie on her and told her that this was going to be the role that would bring her a second Os-car (Shakespeare in Love – 1998).

How could this movie not be a big winner?

Drunken superstar singer attempts comeback with Tim

Spirit of Freedom Republi-can Women PAC will be cel-ebrating 25 years of being a Republican Women’s club in Fort Bend County. The club meets on the third Friday of the month beginning in Janu-ary at Sugar Creek Baptist Church Chapel at 13213 SW Freeway, Sugar Land. Their next meeting is Jan. 21. Meet and greet at 11 a.m., and the meeting begins at 11:30. A light lunch is available for a nominal cost. Sharon Rob-erts will be sharing her story of grassroots activism. In 2003 Roberts took an early retirement after working 20+ years in the technology in-dustry. With more free time, she began to notice what was happening in Washington, D. C. It was clear Washington had confl icting agendas, re-gardless of the nation’s laws or founding principles. She began blogging and writing articles for independent news sources and think tanks about two years ago. Since then she has recorded and watched each session of the house and senate. Her work has been featured in 17 publications worldwide. In 2010, she co-founded a National Grass-roots Election Committee with a few old friends. In her spare time, she became a pre-cinct chair and election judge this year in Fort Bend County. Her fi rst book has recently been completed and will be published in 2011. For more information contact President Cindy Bond at 281-980-5719 home, 281-435-3547cell, or [email protected]

(Sitting L/R) Sharon Roberts , guest speaker, Cindy Bond, president, Debbie Fancher, v.p. pro-grams, (Middle row L/R) Lynette Dye, chaplain, Shirley Doyle, hospitality, Mitzi Cestero, tele-phone, Barbara Gibson, treasurer; (Back row L/R) Babs Miller, past president, Tina Thompson, recording secretary, Valerie Bryan, v.p. membership, Barbara Rosell, corresponding secretary, Tina Gibson, past president, Lynelle Eddins, hospitality.

Spirit of Freedom Republican Women celebrates 25 years

By BARBARA FULENWIDERWhile the minivan doesn’t

get a lot of respect in Ameri-ca they are everywhere. This past year the Toyota Sienna LE actually not only got some respect but quite a lot.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) included the Toyota Sienna among 66 winners of the Top Safety Pick awards for 2011. It was also among the three Toy-ota models ranked in the top 10 for lowest insurance claims for stolen vehicles and was among four Toyota products named by Edmunds.com as the Lowest True Cost to Own.

What’s new for the 2011 Toyota Sienna includes its fi rst four-cylinder engine, seven standard airbags, avail-able pre-collision system and a complete redesign that in-cludes more interior space.

Since 1997 the Toyota Si-enna moved people and car-go comfortably. The all-new third-generation Sienna drives more like a sedan, conforms to more personal comfort and can handle big loads. It con-tinues to be the only minivan with an all-wheel-drive option.

The Sienna has a new vi-sual direction and features high shoulders and distinct fender fl ares, which visu-ally emphasize the wheels.

Dimensionally, the new Sienna rides on the same wheelbase as the prior gen-

eration, but it is wider and slightly shorter overall.

A choice of two DOHC en-gines are available: a 3.5-liter V6 or 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine. Both engines offer Dual Variable Valve Tim-ing with intelligence (VVT-i), roller rocker arms and an Acoustically Controlled Induction System (ACIS) that changes the length of the air-intake pipe to sup-ply more torque on demand.

The 3.5-liter V6 gener-ates 266 horsepower at 6,200 rpm gets an estimat-ed 19/24 miles to the gal-lon in city/highway driving.

It also has a 3,500-pound towing capacity. The four-cylinder engine makes 187 horsepower at 5,800 rpm, and gets an estimated 19/26 mpg.

The suspension uses front MacPherson struts, combined with rack-and pinion steer-ing for a smooth, linear steer-

ing feel. Electronic Power Steering and a wider stance help deliver a more solid direct on-road feel. The Si-enna rides on 17-inch tires.

The Sienna comes in fi ve grades: Sienna grade, LE, SE, XLE and Limited. All-wheel-drive is available with the V6 on LE, XLE and Limited models. All oth-ers are front-wheel drive.

The test drive LE model is available with either the 2.7-li-ter four-cylinder engine or the 3.5-liter V6. The LE’s standard features include cruise control, daytime running lights with manual on/off feature, tri-zone air conditioning, six- or eight-way-adjustable driver’s cap-tain’s chair, power windows with auto up/down and jam protection, AM/FM CD player with four speakers, XM com-patibility, auxiliary jack, pow-er door locks, remote keyless entry and three 12V outlets.

The cabin is more than two inches longer and the front seats have more rear-ward travel and in seven-seat cabins the second row cap-tain chairs slide 23 inches.

On eight-passenger models the second-row center seat can be removed and stowed in the left side of the rear-storage area.

The 60/40 split and stow third-row seat folds fl at with one motion. With the third row seat stowed and the second row seat removed, the cargo area is approximately eight feet long and four feet wide.

A rear-seat Dual View Entertainment Center is a fi rst for North America.

It is an innovative option that uses two displays side-by-side to create a seamless 16.4-inch widescreen im-age from a single source.

When two separate en-tertainment options are called for, the system can split the screen into two in-dividual screens, each with input from separate sources.

Used as a single screen, it can be easily seen from the third row, and it can be operated from any seat via remote control.

Used as two screens, the system can accommodate the preferences of two sepa-rate passengers who might want to play a video game or watch a second DVD simulta-neously via auxiliary inputs.

Other technological up-

grades on the 2011 Toyota Sienna include a panorama camera rear monitor with a 180-degree view, and

on-screen back-up guides.The Toyota Sienna

LE with the 2.7-liter en-gine retails for $25,345.

McGraw as husband and two young stars that idolize her. It’s got forgiveness, redemp-tion, love, tears, beauty, a big stage, and the back stage.

I blame Director Shana Fes-te. I never heard of her either (The Greatest 2009) but only a director can make a movie which doesn’t work that has a great story with great actors. I could tell that it was made by a chick and the chicks will like it and therefore it is a chick fl ick for three reasons.

First, the insight into the character and heart of Kelly Canter was poignant; second-ly, Garrett Hedland is super sexy (not that I know about those sorts of things) and the audience was full of chicks.

Paltrow will not miss a beat because at times she was bril-liant, so she will win a secondOscar; just not for a perfor-mance in 2010.

Her performance wasn’teven number one in this mov-ie. Hedlund and Meester arethe big winners and will getthe big bounce. And McGrawstarred last year as SandraBullock’s husband in “TheBlind Side” so he’s on a rollfor playing opposite hot super-stars; way to go Tug; I meanTim. I’m glad I saw this mov-ie but I don’t care if I ever seeit again.

Rock ‘n Roll.Grade 83. Larry H. larryhmoviereviews.com

Page 8 • INDEPENDENT • JANUARY 12, 2011

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AWARD WINNING CAREAt OakBend Medical Center, our Senior Care Center was designed for older individuals experiencing mental, emotional or behavioral problems. Our goal is not only to treat these problems but to also help their families understand and learn to cope with these health issues. Our physicians and staff are dedicated to assisting older adults in maximizing their ability to function independently and enhancing their quality of life.

The Senior Care Center is dedicated to maintaining every patient’s self-respect and dignity during all phases of treatment. The staff places much emphasis on restoring the patient’s optimal level of functioning through diagnosis and treatment of medical and psychiatric conditions and patient and family education.

At OakBend, we place great value upon family involvement in the treatment process by urging family members to participate as much as possible in the program we provide. We believe that a patient’s recovery is enhanced when the family participates in the process.

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PHYSICIAN OF THE YEAR. Dr. Sue Dandona, fl anked by Douglas Thibodeaux, left, chief medical offi cer and Joe Freudenberger, CEO, was named OakBend Medical Center Physician of the Year for 2010. Dr. Dandona has served the community and cared for her patients at OakBend Medical Center for over 20 years. “Always kind and considerate of others, even in diffi cult times, caring and compassionate and a dedicated patient advocate.” These are words the staff used to describe Dr. Dandona. “OakBend Medical Center is fortunate to have physicians like Dr. Sue Dandona on our medical staff and we are pleased that our staff has chosen to honor her this way,” said Freudenberger.

Lorena Morales’ contem-porary art exhibit can be viewed until Feb. 28 at Art-ists Alliance of Sugar Land at 104 Industrial Boulevard, Suite Q, Sugar Land, TX 77478 weekdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment on weekends @ 281-565-0957.

There will be a reception for the public and art col-lectors on Saturday, Feb. 5, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Mo-rales is a Houston-based art-ist who was born and raised in Venezuela.

Daughter of a painter/gal-lery owner and an engineer, Lorena had the opportunity to develop her visual artistic talent under the guidance of well known Venezuelan

artists. Lately, Lorena has embraced the circle as a sig-nature in her artwork. The circle is the remnant of the sun that she used to recreate in her earlier landscapes as an emblem that character-izes her native city.

Mrs. Vivian Burley, center, of Missouri City was honored by the Offi ce of State Rep. Dora Olivo, left, recently for over 25 years of service as a dedicated volunteer with the Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS) with Fort Bend ISD. Burley was hon-ored at the education conference on Nov. 6 at the University of Houston Sugar Land Campus. Betty McCrohan, right, Presi-dent of Wharton County Junior College and Chair of the Fort Bend P-16 Regional Council and then State Rep. Dora Olivo, Vice Chair of Policy of the P-16 Council, made the presentation to Burley. Her contributions to public education have included membership on the Community Based Leadership Team Com-mittee, the Missouri City Middle School and Marshall High School Superintendent Parent Advisory Boards and the boards of the Parent Teacher Organization. A native of Weimar, Burley graduated from Yates High School and attended Houston Com-munity College and has devoted much of her life to serving her community, sharing her time with her church, the Houston and Fort Bend Independent School Districts and a number of other worthwhile endeavors.

Burley, volunteer in public schools, honored

The Friends of the Arts Committee, First United Methodist Church, Mis-souri City, presents in concert the Kemper Crabb Ensemble, left. Recently, Kemper has recorded Down in Yon Forrest: Christmas from the Middle Ages, a collection of medieval Christmas songs and hymns captured live for broadcast on PBS. The concert is on Saturday, Jan. 29, at 4 p.m. in the Chapel of the Resurrection, First United Methodist Church at 3900 Lex-ington Blvd., Missouri City. It is free and open to the public. For details, call 281-499-3502 or by email at [email protected].