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Elkins '18 grad part of elite military escort for President Jimmy Carter Community Reports Elkins High School graduate Rudolph “Rudy” Anderson, III helped provide a funeral escort for former United States President Jimmy Carter as a member of the elite U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard, according to a story on the Fort Bend ISD website. Only one member from each branch of the service was selected as a casket bearer. Anderson was selected to represent the U.S. Navy. Anderson, who holds the rank of airman, completed an intensive 10-week training program last year to become a U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guardsman. Sailors are chosen to serve in this duty while they attending boot camp. They are experts in the art of close order drill, coordination and timing. According to the Navy’s website, the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard is the official honor guard of the U.S. Navy and is based in Washington, D.C. Their primary mission is to represent the naval branch of service in Presidential, Joint Armed Forces, Navy and public ceremonies in and around the nation’s capital. The Navy’s Ceremonial Guard is comprised of the drill team, color guard, casket bearers and firing party. Anderson attended Austin Parkway Elementary and First Colony Middle School before graduating from in 2018 from Elkins High School, where he played football and baseball. He continued playing football at the collegiate level for Blinn Junior College, North Texas University and Texas Southern University before enlisting in the U.S. Navy.
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Whitbeck lawsuit set for January '26 trial By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
The breach of contract lawsuit by former Fort Bend ISD superintendent Christie Whitbeck against the district has been set for a jury trial next January, more than a year after it was filed. On January 23, 434th District Court Associate Judge Angie Brame signed a docket control order in the case setting a trial date of January 20, 2026. Whitbeck’s Houston-based attorney, Christopher Tritico, had earlier requested that 434th District Judge Christian Becerra grant a jury trial in the case. In the lawsuit, filed December 3. Whitbeck alleges that the district and three trustees – Sonya Jones, David Hamilton and former trustee and board president Judy Dae – made numerous disparaging public and social media comments about her, in
violation of the voluntary retirement agreement which ended Whitbeck’s two-year tenure in December 2022. The agreement includes a clause stating that the district and board members would refer all third-party inquiries to a press release that praised Whitbeck’s accomplishments during her tenure, which began in September 2021 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. But beginning almost immediately after the agreement was signed, the three trustees made numerous disparaging remarks about Whitbeck and her performance in public, social media, and media appearances, the lawsuit alleges. Since the lawsuit was first filed, Whitbeck and Tritico filed a motion of non-suit dropping the defamation claims against Jones, Hamilton and Dae. The motion stated that the district, in its own motion to dismiss Whitbeck’s claims, had effectively
admitted those claims under Texas tort law. In the district’s official answer to the lawsuit, filed December 30, it makes a general denial of all of Whitbeck’s claims against both the district and the individual trustees. It also offers several affirmative defenses against the allegations, including governmental immunity, professional immunity, and that Whitbeck failed to exhaust some of her claims. The docket control order has a December 12 deadline for mediation in the case. Should the case go to trial, the status of the parties may be very different. Dae, the board president at the time of Whitbeck’s departure, chose not to seek reelection in 2024. Hamilton, the current board secretary, has not publicly indicated whether he plans to file for election to a second term by the February 16
The breach of contract lawsuit by former Fort Bend ISD superintendent Christie Whitbeck has been set for a January 2026 trial. File photo
deadline. And Jones, who was elected in 2023 and whose term expires in 2026, has stated in social media postings that she may be ready to move on to other things.
New coalition to battle human trafficking, aid survivors
Rhonda Kuykendall, of the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office, at podium, speaks at a press conference announcing the new Fort Bend Anti-Trafficking Coalition, which she will co-lead. Also present are Missouri City Police Assistant Chief Jazton Heard, left, Fort Bend County Sheriff Eric Fagan, Kellye Turner from Gov. Gregg Abbott's office, FBCDA special victims division chief Traci Bennett, District Attorney Brian Middleton, Timeka Walker, CEO of United Against Human Trafficking, and Elaine Andino, also of UAHT. Photo by Ken Fountain
By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
U.S. Navy Seaman Rudolph “Rudy” Anderson, III, a 2018 graduate of Elkins High School, was a member of the elite military funeral guard for the late President Jimmy Carter. Courtesy U.S. Navy
The Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office and a local nonprofit dedicated to helping victims of human trafficking on Monday announced the formation of a new task force to combat the problem in the county. The effort, called the Fort Bend Anti-Trafficking Collective, is being funded by a $600,000 grant (with a matching grant of $300,000) from the
U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime and will address what participants called the “scourge” of human trafficking from both the law enforcement and victims’ assistance ends, Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton said at the press conference at the Fort Bend County Justice Center. Traci Bennett, special victims division chief with the prosecutor’s office, said that there are currently 21 defendants with pending felony cases
related to human trafficking. The alleged offenses include compelling prostitution of adults and children, sexual assault of a child, aggravated kidnapping, trafficking from a shelter, and aggravated promotion of prostitution. There are also approximately 30 pending solicitation of prostitution cases, she said. That number is expected to double in upcoming days as a result of local law enforcement operations, she said. She said the fel-
ony solicitation offenders are the ones that create the demand for trafficking, “which perpetuates the problem in our county and in our state and in our country,” she said. Bennett noted that Fort Bend County is “growing exponentially. This grant from the Department of Justice will make it possible to take the fight against trafficking to the next level.” She said that any person under the age
SEE TASK FORCE PAGE 2
Poncik named president of 2025 Fort Bend County Fair Community Reports The Fort Bend County Fair recently named Robert “Bobby” Poncik as its new President. Poncik is a longtime supporter of the Fair, which is now celebrating its 89th year, according to a press release. “For over 30 years, Bobby has been a constant presence at the fair, volunteering and taking on leadership roles across multiple committees,” the release states. “From his involvement in the Creative Arts, Culinary, and Livestock Committees to his time as Livestock Superintendent, Bobby’s contributions span the fair’s entire scope. In 2014, he joined the board,
and since then, he’s played a pivotal role in Livestock and areas like Credentials, Beer Ticket Sales, PRCA Rodeo, and Livestock Auctions, among many others. “Being part of the Fort Bend County Fair and Rodeo has been a rewarding journey for me and my family. This fair isn’t just an event; it’s a tradition that brings people together and gives back to our youth, our families, and our community,” Poncik, a former bareback rider and youth rodeo participant, said in the release. His wife, Jana, a Life Member of the fair, has volunteered on numerous committees, and their sons, Trebor and
Taylor have exhibited lambs, steers, broilers, turkeys, scramble heifers, and open heifers. His sons now have been active on the Livestock Committee for more than 20 years. The family’s legacy at the fair continues with Poncik’s granddaughters, including Trulee, who has been participating in the Bucket Calf Show for several years; and Avery Mae in open or prospect shows. Poncik has also been involved in the Boots and Buckles Fishing Tournament alongside his sons, Go Tejano Valentines Dance, Summer
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Robert "Bobby" Poncik, Jr., has been named president of the 2025 Fort Bend County Fair. Courtesy Fort Bend County Fair