Blog entries - October 2009

The First Kroger Marketplace in the State of Texas Opened on October 9 in Richmond.

Greg Rivera — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +0100

The town was chosen to host the Marketplace, a new concept since their Signature store rolled into Texas in 1993, because Richmond is a tremendous growth area. Bill Breetz, president of Kroger’s southwest division, jokingly described the newest Kroger – the Marketplace – as “the Signature store on steroids.”

It is definitely amped - The Marketplace is 125,000 square feet of space created to offer customers a “one-stop shopping” experience. Located near the Waterside subdivision at Grand Parkway and Mason Road in Richmond, the store is close to home for many and seeks to help people get everything they need for their family and home in one location. It offers the Signature style grocery section which comprises about ½ the store, a furniture and home section, a Fred Meyer Jewelry store, a health clinic staffed by a nurse practitioner and physician’s assistant, a pharmacy, and a toy section with more than 1200 toys to choose from.

“Kroger Marketplace is a “tremendous” super store concept, partly because the retailer is adept at finding good wholesale buys and passing them on to the customer,” said Burt Flickinger, a grocery analyst at Strategic Resource Group. But, as the newest Kroger store opens in Texas some may wonder if it is meant to compete with the other top stores, Wal-Mart and H-E-B. “It will be a Three-way war between Kroger Marketplace, H-E-B Plus and Wal-Mart, and all three will be winners,” Flickinger said. The models for each store are quite different and each has their own specialty.

Kroger’s niche is in part due to being able to offer well known brand names as well as consistent high quality merchandise. The Home section will include Ashley Furniture and HD Designs, as well as appliances from Oster, Black & Decker and Kitchen Aid. Kroger even delivers furniture to the customer’s home.

There is a “Chef on the Run” section that offers prepared foods, a salsa bar with fresh salsa and guacamole made daily, a sushi bar, a seafood department with live lobsters, and even the meat department is complete with fresh-cut buffalo.

Another point of departure from their competitor stores has been an emphasis on beverage selection which the store continues with 1,675 varieties of wine, 500 varieties of beer and a create your own six-pack of specialty beers. There is also a make-it-yourself milkshake machine for those with a sweeter tooth. All this is available from 6am to 1am – Kroger’s convenient-for-all store hours.

Not only is the store convenient for Richmond residents, it is also bringing more than 350 jobs to the area. Kroger has held several job fairs since the summer and has drawn hundreds of applicants for the full and part time jobs posted.

“At Kroger, we study the community and the potential offerings to develop our stores to meet and exceed the expectations of our shoppers," Breetz said. The store draws on community feedback and wants to offer the services, layout and items their customers want. It truly is a thriving Marketplace with a tremendous variety and selection, all in a central location to meet your family and home needs.

Lamar CISD Celebrates Red Ribbon Week

Cheryl Boe — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +0100

The Lamar Consolidated Independent School District, which serves children living in Lakemont, is celebrating Red Ribbon Week from now until October 30.

Promoting the drug free message to children at all levels, the district is featuring a food drive highlighted by the theme “Being Drug Free Comes in CANS – I Can, You Can, We Can”.

The district is encouraging everyone to donate a can and help fight hunger in our community. Donation barrels are located on every school campus in the district. Non-perishable donations collected will help fill the shelves at Helping Hands, the area’s local food pantry. For more information, contact Melinda Morgan, Safe and Drug Free Schools Coordinator at 832-223-0355.

Lakemont Launches Astronomy Club

Cheryl Boe — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +0100

The Lakemont Astronomy Club is the newest group in the west Houston area community. Known for its strong resident involvement and outreach, the Lakemont Astronomy Club is just one more example of how residents find common interests and common bonds with their neighbors.

The group celebrated its first “Star Party” on October 16, and enjoyed the scenic surrounds of the beautiful community as well as the outstanding fall weather. Open to all Lakemont residents the club welcome guests and members to its Star Party with a 10" Newtonian Reflector telescope, enabling everyone to enjoy wonderful views of Jupiter and it's moons, The Ring Nebula - M57, Hercules Cluster - Globular Star Cluster M13, Globular Star Cluster M22 in Sagittarius, Open Star Cluster M39 in Cygnus and Constellation Tours.

The event was enjoyed by residents of all ages who brought lawn chairs, blankets, binoculars and telescopes to the Lakehouse, one of the many amenities enjoyed by Lakemont residents.

Helping Hands comes Home

Greg Rivera — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Rosenberg Richmond Helping Hands, Inc. is a non-profit organization formed by area churches over twenty years ago that helps people in crisis by providing basic needs on a short term basis. Their goal is to provide assistance until an individual or family can become self sufficient. Until recently their ‘home-base’ had been, well, in a home.

Their location on Morton Street had limited space, but the location was sufficient to serve people in need. However, clients often had to walk between two buildings to get their food and clothes. Helping Hands Director, Nancy Brown expressed, “We were thankful for (the first location), but the organization needed more space and an updated facility to meet the demands of its clients.”

So, about a year ago they decided to start planning relocation to a bigger facility. In order to make the move possible they needed to raise a good deal of money. Thankfully the City of Richmond and Richmond’s Development Corporation came to their aid, each providing $55,000 and $100,000 respectively. The City of Rosenberg and their Development Corporation contributed another $12,500 and $50,000 respectively, and they were well under way. Soon they attracted the attention of the George Foundation which guaranteed a $45,000 matching grant, and Helping Hands did the rest of the work to get donations to meet this goal, raising the remaining $90,000 needed.

“It’s been a long, tough, tedious and tiresome journey,” Brown said. “But every single step was worth it.” The new Helping Hands center sits at 902 Collins Road in Richmond, TX. It is one large facility which opened in August, and on October 14 held an open house with guided tours, an event that brought Brown to tears.

The new facility was able to serve a record number of clients on Wednesday as they helped 48 families. Normally they serve anywhere from 30 to 35 clients, but they can now more efficiently serve more clients all under one roof. The move is one for which Richmond residents can rejoice and know they are helping to serve their community.

“Isn’t this fabulous?” she said, “We worked hard for this… And here we are. We made it. We made it here on angel’s wings.”

For information on how you can take part in the work of Helping Hands please visit www.roserichhelpinghands.org or call 281-232-4904. You can even make a donation online via PayPal by following the link on their page.

And if you’re looking for a way to help in the coming Spring mark your calendars with the Hearts and Hands Gala. This event will take place on Saturday March 6th, 2010, from 6:00 - 11:00 p.m. at Safari Texas, 11627 FM 1464, Richmond, TX 77406-1268.

Source: www.fbherald.com

60 Years and Running Strong

Greg Rivera — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +0100

On September 22, 2009 Hilmar Moore celebrated a 60 year run as Richmond Mayor. The choice that started on September 22, 1949 to fill an unexpired two-year mayoral term turned into a lifelong venture as Moore won 29 consecutive mayoral elections over the years. His loyalty to office is a quality that Richmond residents can be proud to have on their side.

The secret to his success lies not in his own efforts but in “extremely good” city staff, particularly city managers that Moore has worked with. His time in office, believed to be the nation’s longest-tenured position currently in service, has been one of team work and success. Moore said of his team, “I just let them do what they know how to do which is run the city.”

To celebrate his time in office he was honored in 2008 with a statute in front of City Hall. Of the statue he said “I thought it was for dead people, I may look dead, but I am not.” His sense of humor and straightforward attitude have kept him in honor and respect in the community. He is very much alive and plans to run again in 2010. When asked if he could be a mayor at the age of 100, he pondered and answered, “Now that, is a long time.”

Source: www.chron.com, www.khou.com

Fort Bend County Fair Well Under Way

Greg Rivera — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +0100

From mutton-bustin' races to cook-offs to rodeos, the Fort Bend County Fair is under way. The 9 day event started things off last Friday and is finishing off this weekend. There is still time to get in on the fun for the remaining days of the fair, including the Calf Scramble & Mutton Bustin' event this Friday and Saturday.

This weekend will also host a barbecue cook-off, Bucket Calf Show, concerts, dancing, tractor pulls, and more.

"I think there is something for everybody, you can come out and entertain your family and have some good wholesome fun, whether you are walking through and seeing all the art work the kids have done or you go to the carnival or rodeo or if you just want to walk around the grounds and eat whatever your heart desires," Fort Bend County Fair President Claudia Wright said of fair.

As always, the fair will raise funds for scholarships youth of Fort Bend County, so you can feel good knowing that money spent is going to a good cause.

"It is about these kids and giving back to the community and education is the answer and the more scholarships we can give, the better off our world will be," said Wright.

For directions and information on the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds visit the fair's official site at www.fbcfa.org

Image courtesy of The Fort Bend Sun

Source: Fort Bend Sun and fbcfa.org