The Lewisville Texan Journal

Lewisville Expected to Have Mandatory Water Restrictions this Spring

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:45:17 -0000

Lewisville City Council members were told at the February 4th Council retreat that Stage 2 mandatory water restrictions would likely be implemented this coming April. Residents should keep this in mind when making their Spring nursery purchases for their lawns and gardens.

The City of Lewisville has no water rights of its own in area lakes, but instead must purchase water from Dallas Water Utilities, which owns the water rights to the City's namesake Lewisville Lake. Part of that water contract requires that if Dallas requests it, Lewisville must implement Stage 2 restrictions.

Lewisville has two primary sources of water, both from DWU: drawing raw water from Lewisville Lake to treat in the city's own water treatment plant, which is rated for a treatment capacity of 20 million gallons per day (MGD), or treated water from Dallas, which is subscribed to at a capacity of 9 MGD, for a total capacity of 29 MGD.

In 2011, Lewisville reached and temporarily exceeded its supply capacity to provide water, hitting a peak in August of 29.9 MGD, which was met partially by drawing down elevated storage. Lewisville's pumping system has a daily capacity of 39 MGD, which is what it could pump with current equipment if supply was increased.

Links and Open Thread for Wednesday Morning

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:19:01 -0000

Parker County District Judge Trey Loftin (R) ordered a homeowner whose water well was contaminated with methane to pay Range Resources $4.2 million for exercising their first amendment right to video tape the methane burning out of a water hose attached to the well head's vent.

Yet another tough-talking Republican with a gay scandal. The staunch anti-immigration sheriff turned out to have a Mexican national as a lover, whom he threatened to have deported if he revealed their relationship.

Random works of art turn up in libraries. (Very cool)

Wow - in Austin, don't get caught babysitting while white. Cops there overreacted in a pretty big way to a white grandfather walking his black granddaughter home. Someone called the police and reported a kidnapping. Unfortunately, they didn't use a lot of discretion in investigating the complaint. Be sure to read the followups, because they're instructive in how people recall things under intense stress. When 6 police cars roll up on you, snatch away your grand daughter, and roughly cuff you, will you remember that the officer's hand hovered over his taser, or will you remember that he pulled it on you? Maybe the real suspicion here was babysitting while male?

Santorum leads the pack among Texas Republicans.

Dallas Morning News says Rick Perry has been phoning it in since returning to Texas after his failed Presidential campaign.

More squatters kicked out of a $380,000 Flower Mound home.

No idea if this is real or not, but these Japanese scrolls are pretty amusing.

Local volunteers are helping to monitor water quality in creeks and streams. Here is how you could become involved. You can also join the Lewisville Texan Journal clean stream team for Keep Lewisville Beautiful, and join us the next time we do a creek cleanup.

Austin Taylor - Lewisville High School Student of the Month - February 2012

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:50:00 -0000

(Left to right: Mr. Brad Burns, LHS Principal; Mr.Keith Long, Student of the Month Co-Chair; Mr. Austin Taylor, Student of the Month; and Ms. Mary Jennings, Club President

Lewisville Rotary recognized Austin Taylor as its Student of the Month for February 2012 at a recent meeting. Each month during the school term, Lewisville Rotary recognizes an outstanding student from the Lewisville High School campus as selected by teachers and administrative staff at the school. The student is normally accompanied by family and the school’s principal, Mr. Brad Burns, to Rotary’s regular lunch meeting on the third Wednesday of the month to receive a plaque and recognition before the club. Austin is the son of Lisa and Lee Taylor of Lewisville.

Mr. Burns provided the following information regarding Austin to the club’s members:

Rotary Announces 4-way Contest Winners

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:30:00 -0000

(Left to right: Mr. Eyad Saloum, Speech Contest Chair; Ms. Lauren Park, 3rd Place Winner; Mr. Durwin Green, 2nd Place Winner; and Ms. Haddy Badjie, 1st Place Winner)

Lewisville Rotary announces the winners of its annual 4-Way Test contest at its regular Wednesday meeting held at The Grotto Restaurant, 2300 Highland Village Rd, on February 15, 2012. Rotary awards cash prizes to the top three places with the winner advancing to a regional meet later in the spring. Contestants for the annual contest are speech students at the Lewisville High School. This year’s participants are Ms. Haddy Badjie, Mr. Durwan Green, Ms. Lauran Park and Mr. Fairooz Adams.

THE ROTARY FOUR-WAY TEST
Of the things we think, say or do:
- Is it the TRUTH?
- Is it FAIR to all concerned?
- Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
- Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Students delivered five-minute speeches, the subject of which was "What the 4-Way Test means to Me".

Lewisville Rotary awarded cash prizes to the top 3 winners.

Vaughn Delivers "State of the City Address" for Lewisville

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:10:00 -0000

At a luncheon today sponsored by the Lewisville Area Chamber of Commerce, Flower Mound Chamber of Commerce and Highland Village Business Association, Lewisville Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Leroy Vaughn delivered the State of the City address for Lewisville. Vaughn was filling in for Mayor Dean Ueckert, who had a last-minute scheduling conflict.

Here is the full text of Vaughn's State of the City Address:

Thank you for giving me the opportunity today to do one of my favorite things – talk about the many successes Lewisville has enjoyed and the extremely bright prospects ahead of us.

I want to start this report by focusing on topics that I know are very important to you as business leaders – taxes and development. In both areas, the news from 2011 is good and the forecast for 2012 is even better.

In the past three years, we have been able to reduce our tax-supported debt by more than 10 percent without increasing the property tax rate; while also building a healthy reserve to protect against economic downturns. In fact, our current property tax rate is the lowest it has been in 24 years, and we’ve only had one rate increase in the past 18 years.

Steve Hill Makes Third Try for Lewisville Council Seat

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:40:00 -0000

Today, two weeks into the filing period for the May 12th election, Steve Hill filed again for a seat on Lewisville City Council. Hill will be running for the Place 2 seat currently held by Neil Ferguson - a rematch of the December 10th election.

Hill is 38 years old, married with two daughters and has lived in Lewisville for nearly 13 years. He is a co-founder and VP of Blue Data Partners Inc., a company that provides monitoring solutions for storage area networks.

Hill ran unsuccessfully twice in 2011, the first time for Place 3, losing to T.J. Gilmore with just 42% of the vote. When Councilman David Thornhill passed away, Hill ran for his place 2 seat, and was defeated by Neil Ferguson in a three-way race where he garnered just 34%.

The Lewisville Texan Journal endorsed TJ Gilmore and Neil Ferguson in those races.

In his previous campaigns, Hill ran for the non-partisan office on the Tea Party platform with these issues:
- "National Sovereignty"
- Local enforcement of Federal immigration law
- Assertions that Lewisville has "too much debt".

Texas Blog Roundup - Week ending 2/19/2012

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:29:27 -0000

The Texas Progressive Alliance will never be able to say the word "surging" again with a straight face as it brings you this week's roundup.

Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones resigned her position to run in the GOP primary for SD25 after finally coming to the realization that her argument that we can't really know where the capital of Texas is located was completely lame. Off the Kuff provides the commentary.

BossKitty at TruthHugger is really getting worried at how America’s religious culture and the GOP are pushing America backwards, into the previous century, with barbaric personal intrusions. Virile GOP – American Women Are Property Again and Population Control, Climate Change and Zealots describe how these are taking place.

Nothing will change with school finance in Texas until we change our elected officials. That's what WCNews at Eye On Williamson tells us in this post, We must "Re-Fund" public education in Texas.

Neil at Texas Liberal wrote about Houston right-wing talk show host and former Houston City Councilmember Michael Berry. Mr. Berry is alleged to have been involved in a hit-and-run incident outside a Houston gay bar. In the recent past, Mr. Berry has said things relating to gay people that did not seem very nice.

Santorum -- the man, not the substance -- is surging, and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs gathers the evidence.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants you to know that Nueces County Republicans screwed with redistricting, too.

Ken Judkins' column at the Lewisville Texan Journal asks: Why are otherwise good people so uncivil when it comes to politics?

Flower Mound Backyard Chicken Advocates Propose New Ordinance

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:10:00 -0000

The group, ‘Chicks 4 Flower Mound’, has drafted a proposed backyard chicken ordinance for the keeping of backyard chickens in Flower Mound. The Town of Flower Mound is considering amending the current ordinance, based on requests of several citizens that want to keep a few pet hens in their backyards.

Citizens want chickens for a variety of reasons according to Regina Fierke who is involved with the effort. “Fresh organic eggs, insect control, natural fertilizer, and entertainment are just some of the reasons people want chickens”, according to Fierke. “Hens are entertaining, have a lot of personality, put themselves to bed at dusk, and provide a great breakfast in the morning”, according to Mark Glover who legally has them on his larger lot. "And if you think chickens can't be a pet then try telling my family that," says Jennifer Paul, an 11 year Flower Mound resident. "We love our chickens. We love watching their different personalities, we love watching them scratch at the earth and eat bugs, we love collecting and eating the fresh eggs they graciously leave for us."

The Paul family is raising chickens on a 20-acre property they are leasing for their cows. "I'd love to move them to my backyard if the town would allow it. Changing the ordinance is the right move for our town and will help to promote 'Go Green Flower Mound' and our continued dedication to offering a family friendly quality of life."

The Animal Services Board will hear more about the benefits of having backyard chickens at a meeting on February 21, 6:30 pm, at Town Hall. The measure will be voted on by the Animal Services Board at a later meeting and then will have to be approved by the Planning & Zoning Commission and Town Council.

“Our proposed ordinance is the result of careful consideration of dozens of ordinances from other cities across America, direct experience of backyard chicken owners, and several research studies on owning backyard chickens”, according to Fierke. "I became involved with 'Chicks for Flower Mound' after reading an article about the Fierke family losing their pet chickens," said Paul. "I think this group has come up with the best possible ordinance for our town after thoroughly researching other city ordinances all over the country."

Lewisville ISD to Hold Online Town Hall About Strategic Plan

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:21:53 -0000

On March 1st, at 6 p.m., the Lewisville Independent School District will host its first online town hall meeting to update the community on its transformation effort.

The event will be live, online from 6 p.m. - 7 p.m., and can be accessed at http://townhall.lisd.net.

Community members will have the opportunity to share thoughts and ask questions live via Facebook and Twitter beginning February 27th.

Video from LISD Superintendent Dr. Steve Waddell inviting the public to join the meeting:

Municipal Elections, 2012

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:50:00 -0000

Municipal elections this year will be on Saturday, May 12th. Numerous local cities and school boards will elect council members and trustees. The Lewisville Texan Journal will provide coverage for City of Lewisville, Lewisville ISD, Flower Mound, and Highland Village.

Here are links to our coverage so far in this year's races:

Lewisville ISD
- Trustee, Place 2 - Vernell Gregg, Trisha Sheffield
- Trustee, Place 1 - Kathy Duke, Paige Shoven

City of Lewisville
- Mayor - Dean Ueckert
- Place 2 - Neil Ferguson

Town of Flower Mound
- Mayor (coverage soon) - Tom Hayden, Alan Cloud, Melissa Northern*
- Place 2 - Bryan Webb, Al Filidoro*
- Place 4 - Steve Lyda* (No filers yet)
- Place 5 (Unexpired Term - coming soon)
- Charter amendments (Coming soon)

* Incumbents who have not yet filed

We will update the articles above as more information comes in, and we'll post polling locations and times as we get closer to the election. Look for opinion polls here after the filing period closes in early March.