2023
READERS’ CHOICE
Celebrating Texas Independence Day - Page 3
65 713.370.3600 $
WEDNESDAY • MARCH 6, 2024
Meadows Place police chief marks three decades with the city By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Driving a reporter around Meadows Place, it’s obvious that Police Chief Gary Stewart knows his community like the back of his hand. And well he should, having served the small Fort Bend County city for the entirety of his law enforcement career, now clocking in at 30 years.
Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 49 • No. 10 • $1.00
.00
Visit www.FortBendStar.com
Missouri City author creates ways for children to engage with their communities By Dayna Worchel NEWS@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Newly published Missouri City author Jessica Young’s toddler-aged daughter is fascinated with potholes, sidewalks, busses, and just about anything else that is a part of city life. When out driving with her mother, the youngster, named Harper Lee, would point to a pothole and ask “Why is there a hole in the road?” Or she would ask why a sidewalk ended so abruptly. Young, who works as the communications director for a Harris County
county commissioner, and has held other communications positions in governments, is a self-described “storyteller at heart.” She would answer Harper’s questions as they drove and the two began to connect over their shared interest of the role of government and how it works in the community. Young quickly saw an opportunity. Why not write a book that a parent or caregiver could read with a child that teaches about how things get done in a city? The book could also discuss ways for citizens to express their ideas to their
elected officials. Young’s first children’s book, “Millie the Mayor Baby,” published in late 2023, is the result of that idea. And she’ll be reading it at several Fort Bend County libraries on weekends in March to mark the celebration of an initiative created by the National Education Association, called Read Across America Week 2024. The NEA created the Read Across America program in 1998, and is the largest celebration of read-
SEE CHILDREN PAGE 2
Missouri City author Jessica Young holds a copy of her recently published first book for children, “Millie the Mayor’s Baby.” The book is designed to help young children learn about their local government. Photo by Dayna Worchel
Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai visits FBISD school that bears her name
‘Over the moon’
Meadows Place Police Chief Gary Stewart has seen the small city change a lot in his 30 years with the department. Photo by Ken Fountain
Wedged between Stafford and the most southwestern edge of Houston, Meadows Place (population approximately 5,000) doesn’t often get a lot of attention. In fact, growing up in nearby Alief (he graduated from Elsik High School in 1986), Stewart didn’t know that the community, originally known as Meadows, even existed. But in the late 1980’s, Stewart - then working as a firefighter with the Stafford Volunteer Fire Department had a girlfriend who lived in Meadows Place. He’d been on a few ride-alongs with a fiend who was a sergeant in the Houston Police Department, and the law enforcement bug bit. (That girlfriend, Laura, ultimately became his wife. The couple wed in 1989 and celebrated their 35th anniversary in February. They have three adult children, all of them living in the Houston area.) “The fire business kind of got me excited, I liked the adrenaline from it. And then after riding with (his HPD friend), I decided that’s, yeah, the career path I want to take,” Stewart said in a recent interview at his sparsely decorated office. The Houston police department wasn’t doing a lot of hiring then, so Stewart working both the Stafford VFD and another job - put himself through the police academy at Wharton County Junior College, graduating at the top of his class. That’s when the Meadows Place Police Department came calling. “I did an interview and started here, and never left,” he said. At the time, that part of Fort Bend was much smaller, and police agencies had fewer officers. Meadows Place itself was little more than a neighborhood sitting by itself, and the police force had just six officers, Stewart said. “There were stop signs, of course, but there were no lights. Businesses weren’t really here. There was still plenty of stuff going on to keep you busy, but not like today,” he said.
SEE CHIEF PAGE 2
Nobel Peace Prize winner and international education advocate Malala Yousafzai pays her first visit to the Fort Bend ISD school that bears her name on Sunday. Photos courtesy Fort Bend ISD
Community Reports Nobel Peace Prize winner and international education advocate Malala Yousafzai said she “was over the moon to finally to see this incredible school,” during a special visit and tour Sunday of the Fort Bend ISD campus in Richmond that bears her name. It is the only school in the nation named for Malala, the youngest person ever to win a Nobel Prize, according to a story from the district. “I could stand here for hours and hours because I don’t want to leave this school,” she said during a special program where she addressed an audience of about 400 invited students, teachers, parents, district leaders, elected officials and school board members – past and present. “I want to be a student again and learn with you all. I want to be part of the choir.” When Malala entered the school auditorium with her father and local
education, human rights and community leaders who arranged her visit, she received a prolonged standing ovation. The school’s inaugural principal, Lisa Langston, said that since Malala Elementary opened in January 2020, “we began to empower our students to understand they were not too young to change the world.” Malala became a champion for educational access for girls when she was just11 years old in Pakistan, defying the Taliban which attempted to assassinate her when she was a teenager. She recovered and courageously continued her mission, winning the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 17. “I am in awe of your incredible achievements,” current Malala Elementary School Principal Donald Lam told her. Superintendent Dr. Marc Smith told Malala, “Your story is astounding. Words cannot express what it
Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai is pictured with the Malala Elementary School choir.
means to us for you to be here today.” Board President Judy Dae presented Malala with a charm bracelet with a book, alphabets, and state of Texas charms attached, asking her to “think of us when you wear it.”
The school’s namesake vowed to return one day for another visit. She took a moment for a giant group photo with the entire audience behind her, and took several pictures with children who performed during the program.
Before departing, she told the students, “I want you to believe in dreams, believe in yourself and see yourself as a change-maker of today and tomorrow. You can do it. I can’t wait to visit this school again, and again, and again.”