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Server whose home was slammed by Beryl keeps positive outlook By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
When Hurricane Beryl took an unexpected turn early July 8 and slammed Fort Bend County and the greater Houston area, many weren’t prepared for what might happen. Among them was Erica Hinkle. Hinkle, who lives at the
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NEWS ANALYSIS Fort Bend recovers from Beryl's punch By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
It was a hard week for residents of Fort Bend County and the Greater Houston region, one few are likely to put out of their minds for years to come. A week after Hurricane Beryl, a relatively small storm, slammed into the Texas Gulf Coat near Matagorda and took an unexpected turn, thousands of residents across the county were still cleaning up debris, dealing with technology constraints and – perhaps most frustratingly – waiting for power to be restored to their homes. On Monday, as the Fort Bend Star’s print edition was
going to press, CenterPoint the major electricity provider for the region - was reporting on its online tracker that 1,500 Fort Bend households were still without power, joining about a quarter-million people across the Houston area. While that was a marked improvement over previous days, it was small comfort to those who were still sweltering without air conditioning during a particularly hot and humid week when temperatures often reached above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Beryl, which emerged quite early in the yearly Atlantic hurricane season and carved a path of destruction through the Caribbean and Mexico’s
Yucatan peninsula before reaching Texas, had been a downgraded to a tropical storm as it approached the Texas shore on Sunday, July 7. Forecasters still expected it to move in a somewhat westerly direction until right before it made landfall, when it gained strength and took a turn toward the northeast, aiming directly at the Houston area. The eye of the storm passed directly through Fort Bend County as it moved northward, with Sugar Land reportedly seeing winds up to 97 miles per hour. The devastation it left behind
SEE RECOVERS PAGE 2
Fort Bend County Judge KP George, center, conducts a press conference with Sheriff Ed Fagan and Greg Babst, emergency management coordinator, along with American Sign Language and Spanish translators, last week. Photo by Ken Fountain
Hurricane Beryl See page 8 - for more storm scene photos
Erica Hinkle, a bartender/server at the Toasted Yoke restaurant in Sugar Land Town Square, wraps up a shift a day after Hurricane Beryl severely damaged her Stafford home. Photo by Ken Fountain
boundary of Stafford and Houston, was back at her job as a bartender/server at the Toasted Yolk restaurant in Sugar Land Town Square the following day. The spot known for its huge breakfast dishes had extra popularity in the immediate aftermath of the storm because it offered something that was suddenly in short supply: a reliable Wifi connection. While being slammed by the increased clientele, the ever-cheerful Hinkle had to contend with concerns at home: the small house she shares with her partner and six cats had been hit by what she believes was a tornado during the earlymorning hours of the storm. “They haven’t confirmed that it was a tornado, but from the damage that was inflicted down the street, there was no way it was just like hurricane winds and rain,” she said after completing her shift on the Tuesday after Beryl struck. “On our garage we have a lean-to, with a roof. The whole lean-to was just ripped out of the garage, like siding. The top of it was made of metal sheeting, and it was blown all over the place. It was crazy,” she said, laughing despite the severity of the situation. “Our deck isn’t completely connected to the house, but the deck was shifted. It was wild. We have a power line in our back yard, and our tree was pulled from the roots and knocked over the entire power line. Yeah, it was wild,” she said. She saw the arcing of electricity emanating from the downed power line. “I kept seeing that and I was like really panicky, honestly. It was like five in the morning and I was like, ‘This can’t be happening,’” she said. Aside from the lean-to and deck, Hinkle said her house didn’t suffer much interior effects other than some leaking at one of the kitchen windows.
SEE POSITIVE PAGE 2
Contract electrical workers work on their truck parked in a staging area outside a CenterPoint Energy facility in Missouri City. Photo by Ken Fountain
Guest authors, musicians to join George Memorial Library’s ‘reading party’ on July 27 Community Reports The Fort Bend County Libraries’ next silent reading party, “Wandering Words: An Exploration of Stories Through Music, Art, & Movement,” will take place on Saturday, July 27, from 2-4 p.m., at George Memorial Library, 1001 Golfview in Richmond. Readers are invited to bring a book to read quietly to themselves for the first hour. Live, curated pop rock, indie, folk, and acoustic music by Garage Arts Project will play in the background. After the first hour, awardwinning authors Chitra
Divakaruni and Saborna Roychowdhury will read excerpts from their books, as they relate to the theme for the day: “Independence.” Attendees will have an opportunity to share their interpretations of the authors’ readings, as well as their own reading choices, in a small-group discussion. Originally from Calcutta, India, Divakaruni teaches creative writing at the University of Houston and resides in Sugar Land. She has won numerous awards for her writing, and has judged several prestigious literary awards, including the National Book Award and the
PEN Faulkner Award. Her writing has been included in more than 50 anthologies and has been translated into 20 languages. Two of her books have been made into movies. A chemistry professor residing in Houston, Roychowdhury is an accomplished novelist whose works have been recognized in publications in the U.S. and beyond. Her second novel, “Everything Here Belongs to You”, was a medalist in the Reader’s Favorite International Book Awards contest in 2022. This event will culminate with a short finale by the featured performing art-
ists: harpist Hope Cowan, Bharatanatyam classical dancer Sandhya Raghuraman, and Indian classical singer Mahalakshmi Krishnan. Similar to a book club, silent reading parties provide an opportunity for like-minded people to socialize - if they wish – and connect over their books as icebreakers. Silent reading parties also hold individuals -- who like to read but never seem to find the time – accountable for taking a break from their busy lives and committing to an hour of reading. Sponsored by the Friends of George Memorial Library,
The George Memorial Library in Richmond will host “Wandering Words: An Exploration of Stories Through Music, Art, & Movement’ on July 27.
this adults-only event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited, however, and reservations are required. To register online at the library’s website (www.fortbend.lib. tx.us), click on “Classes & Events,” select “George Memorial Library,” and find the program. Participants may also register by calling the library at 281-342-4455, or by visiting the library.