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WEDNESDAY • AUGUST 23, 2023 JEANNE GREGORY REALTOR®, CRS, GRI, ABR
Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 48 • No. 37 • $1.00
VFW Post 942 to honor World War II hero Macario Garcia on Aug. 27 Staff Reports
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American Legion Post 942, based in Sugar Land, will host a reception honoring the late Macario Garcia, a former Sugar Land resident and a World War II recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, on Sunday, Aug. 27 from 2-4 p.m. at the post, 311 Ulrich. Garcia was the first Ameeican of Mexican origin to receive the medal.
Two FBISD “Mr. Garcia passed away several years ago but we to honor his life and students choose service to the country,” the said in a press release. removed for post “The public and all veterans, having guns in backpacks By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Fort Bend ISD experienced two incidents of students bringing guns to separate campuses last week. Both incidents remain under investigation.
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active and inactive, are invited to attend.” According to the Texas State Historical Association, Garcia was born on Jan. 2, 1920, in Villa de Castaño, Mexico, to Luciano and Josefa García, farm workers who raised ten children. “In 1923 the family moved to Texas; they eventually settled in Sugar Land. Like the rest of his brothers and sisters, he contributed to the family’s support by picking crops. He was working on the Paul Schumann Ranch near Sugar Land when he was drafted into the army on
November 11, 1942. García distinguished himself on the battlefield. He was wounded in action at Normandy in June 1944, but after his recovery he rejoined his unit, Company B, First Battalion, Twenty-second Infantry Regiment, Fourth Infantry Division,” the TSHA’s profile states. “On November 27, 1944, near Grosshau, Germany, he singlehandedly assaulted two German machine-gun emplacements that were blocking his company’s advance. Wounded in the shoulder and foot, he crawled forward alone towards the
President Harry Truman awards the Congressional Medal of Honor to Sugar Land resident Macario Garcia in 1945. VFW Post 942 will host a reception honoring Garcia on Aug. 27. National Archives and Records Administration, via Wikipedia
machine-gun nests, killed six enemy soldiers, captured four, and destroyed the nests with grenades. Only after the company had secured its position did García allow himself to be evacuated for medical treatment. He was awarded the Medal of Honor with twenty-seven other soldiers at a White House ceremony on August 23, 1945, by President Harry S. Truman. García also received the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, as well as the medal of Mérito Militar,
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Fort Bend County holds party for Epicenter grand opening
On August 23, two students at Crawford High School and Dulles High School were found to have weapons and were removed from the schools.
The floor of the Epicenter is seen from one of the upper levels. Photo by Ken Fountain
Kids shoot hoops on the floor of the new, massive Epicenter. Photo by Ken Fountain
A large fountain greets visitors to the new Epicenter in Rosenberg. Photo by Ken Fountain
Gabby Veasey, 13, and Zoey Crawford, 14, pose beside the 2022 World Series Trophy at the Epicenter. Both girls are players with the Houston Volleyball Academy. Photo by Ken Fountain
“An unloaded handgun was found at Crawford High School on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, inside a student’s backpack. When the report was received, school administration and the campus officer immediately removed
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Fort Bend ISD experienced two incidents of students bringing guns to separate campuses last week. Fort Bend Star file Photo by Ken Fountain
Officials hold the official ribbon-cutting for the new Epicenter. L-R: Brenda Patton, Director of Community and Government Relations for Precinct 2 Commissioner Grady Prestage; County Auditor Robert Ed Sturdivant; Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers; Precinct 1 Commissioner Vincent Morales; Kevin Matocha, president of Stonehenge Holdings; County Judge KP Georg; Precinct 4 Commissioner Dexer McCoy; SFC parnter Eric Sullivan, and SFC general manager Toby Wyman. Photo by Ken Fountain
By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Fort Bend County last week held a two-day opening celebration of the opening of the Epicenter, a brandnew multipurpose center in Rosenberg. The long-ingestation facility is owned by the county but operated by a private company in what is known as a “public-private partnership.”
Dulles High School student Travios Slater, 18, is charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon in a prohibited space. He is being held in the Fort Bend County Jail on a $20,000 bond. Courtesy Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office
The festivities began with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony and a gathering for invited guests and media, where officials and others connected to the facility gave remarks from a stage in the center of the 230,000-square-foot arena’s massive floor.
On Saturday, the general public was invited to get a first look at the modernistic building located onA a 1.75-acre site at 28505 Southwest Freeway at State Highway 36, adjacent to the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds. While owned by the county, the facility is managed by the for-profit The Sports Facilities Companies. Stonehenge Holdings served as the developer of the project. The facility will host special events (including next year’s Fort Bend ISD and Lamar CISD graduation ceremonies, sports, and entertainment offerings. Several Houston-area youth sports organizations, including Houston Volleyball Academy, have already con-
tracted to use the facility. The approximately $120 million venue has not been without controversy. When Fort Bend Commissioners Court in 2022 approved spending up to $26.78 million on the facility’s operating expenses during its first years of existence, Precinct 3 Commisoner Andy Meyers, long known as a deficit hawk, raised concerns, according to previous coverage in the Fort Bend Star. On Friday, however, Meyers was among the beaming county officials who took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony and other festivities. Others included Fort Bend County Judge KP George and the other members of Commissioners Court (ex-
cept Precinct 2 Commissioner Grady Prestage, who was on vacation), and representatives of SFC and Stonehenge. To a person, the speakers said the Epicenter represents a new era for both Fort Bend County and Rosenberg, the small community that is expected to be one of the fastest-growing places in the county in the coming decades. A major aspect of the Epicenter’s business model is the growing industry of “sports tourism,” in which smaller sports organizations hold their events at specialized facilities across the country. In recent months, the facility’s management has announced a string of partnerships with sports and entertainment promoters that it says will
put the facility on firm financial footing going forward. On Saturday, hundreds of people turned out over an hours-long open house to check out the facility, which includes a large arena encased by a soaring, modernistic outer shell. A large fountain greets visitors to the entranceways, and large murals (designed by Houston artist Reginald Adams) depicting both the agricultural heritage of Fort Bend County and its modern, diverse population are seen inside. Children (and others) shot hoops on the arena f loor while other visitors checked out the booths from several
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