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From the desk of John Mayner with the City of Mesquite.
This is actually, pretty important regarding the big weekend music fest in Mesquite:
"Please note that due to weather conditions, free festival parking will be available ONLY at Mesquite’s Memorial Stadium, 2411 W. Scyene Road, near the festival grounds, with continuous free shuttle service provided to, and from, the festival. No general festival parking will be allowed adjacent to the festival grounds for Friday. No decision has been made yet regarding parking for Saturday. Please watch our festival website, www.realtexasfestival.com for parking and other festival updates, and we look forward to seeing everyone at this year’s event!"
Enjoy the shows this weekend!
-Marcus Out-
Please wait...
By Marcus Murphreemmurphree@neighborsgo.com
Surprise!
Notice anything different?
For the second time since I began editing the Garland/Wylie/Sachse edition of neighborsgo, we are going through a major facelift with our print product.
And for the record, this isn’t some elaborate April Fools prank.
Some of you may remember the changeover in December 2008, when we opted for a new cover design that stayed relatively static until today.
Through conversations with various members of the community and other feedback, we decided a shift to more traditional news coverage with a classic print design, more consistent with the design of The Dallas Morning News.
The issue still features Focus on Faith, Know Your Neighbor and Faces of the Military, but we have also bolstered our local content with more neighborsgo staff generated news stories and features. Content from The Dallas Morning News metro reporters also helps provide hyper-local hard news about Garland, Wylie and Sachse.
And the changes don’t stop there.
Last week, we began making the print version of neighborsgo available as a downloadable PDF. Personally, I think it’s a great way for readers to be able to get their hands on every issue of neighborsgo. Anytime one of your family, friends or neighbors is featured in the print issue, you can now visit neighborsgo.com, download the issue and begin sharing the news with people outside of the city’s distribution area.
We want to be the best part about your Friday morning, and, hopefully, this new presentation will give you what you want from a local newspaper.
This week, we are trying to show off the best of what our fresh model has to offer.
You can find examples here, our Easter cover story about the Rev. Robert Williams from Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Garland, or on an update about a nearby WingStop restaurant earning a special award for service to its customers.
But remember, these pages cannot truly come to life without you, the readers, and your contributions of stories and photos and submissions from your organizations.
Together, we can continue to grow neighborsgo into the best part of your Friday morning for a long, long time.
__________________________________________________________
By Marcus Murphree
mmurphree@neighborsgo.com
Spring break may have been a time for some Garland, Wylie and Sachse residents to relax, especially those with students in the family, but it seems all three communities hit the ground running as the calendar turned to spring (barring any more snowfall).
In the past week, we have been out at city hall meetings, high school hockey playoffs, grocery store openings and neighborhood block parties trying to give you, the reader, more local news coverage.
Our cover story this week shows the expansion of business in town, shining light on the new local grocery chain, Aldi and its grand opening in South Garland here.Aldi has shops sprouting up all over the Dallas-Fort Worth area and is set to have another store open on May 13 on
Even with our coverage of more “newsy” stories in our print editions of neighborsgo, we hope to continue seeing you and your best stories and photos online at neighborsgo.com. Our paper works because of team efforts between us and the community.
You have the ability to capture these events in the coming days and weeks at local occasions such as tonight’s continuation of the high school soccer playoffs for North Galrand High School or tomorrow afternoon’s special needs Easter egg hunt at 1 p.m. at Carter Softball Complex hosted by Orchard Hill’s Baptist Church.
Highlighting this weekend’s activities is tomorrow evening’s Garland Summer Musicals Roast of Mayor Ron Jones at the GranvilleArtsCenter. Community columnist Sue Watkins gives us some roast history in her column, which can be found here.
These local events and more are laid out in our new foldout monthly calendar in the print edition.
We look forward to seeing you out around town at these events, and as always, don’t be afraid to say hello — you might have the next great story waiting to be told.
It is refreshing knowing that with one phone call, I have the ability to reach a hospital representative, an insurance guru, an unofficial city historian or a photographer.
These personalities and more were present at last week’s Editor Meet and Greet at the Starbucks located in Firewheel Market in North Garland.
While at the two-hour meeting, I learned some of these readers’ likes and dislikes about neighborsgo and neighborsgo.com while trading business cards and enjoying good company.
Kris Hundt, a new Garland arrival, told us about her photography work and several of the publications she has been featured in before, and I can tell you all right now, I am hoping that a neighborsgo cover shoot will be in the cards in the coming weeks and months.
She found our invitation to the meet and greet in the March 5 issue and came out bright and early to have a cup of Joe with us the following week.
Dee Dee Bates from State Farm Insurance in Garland came by to see us and network with some of the other local connections and pitch a couple unique stories to us.
Bates has been familiar with our publication as she helped us with the Martin Luther King, Jr. commemorative flag story that ran recently in neighborsgo.
Topics discussed at the meeting ranged from publicity pitches for local business to the forthcoming redesign of the print versions of neighborsgo. Just a hint, we will be changing the fonts somewhat in the near future, so be on the lookout.
The meet and greet gave us a chance to meet some of our readers face to face, but don’t think that is the only way you can be in touch with the neighborsgo editors and staff. We can be found online at neighborsgo.com or even the old fashioned way with a phone call — we try to answer right away.
We look forward to seeing you and your stories and photos at neighborsgo.com.
INFO BOX:
GUIDE TO SUMMER
Does your club, church, neighborhood association or school have special activities planned for the summer? Post your events at neighborsgo.com by April 2, for a chance to be included in our Guide to Summer on April 9.
History seems to be happening every day in Garland, Wylie and Sachse.
Just this year we have had record snowfall, an interview with the Garland’s first African American City Councilwoman, pantries receiving record donations from Scouts and now, two more potential history-making moments.
For Garland ISD boys basketball, a trip to the UIL basketball state championships is now a reality as Lakeview Centennial, a school open since 1976, became the first Garland team to make it to Austin for the crown jewel of Texas high school hoops.
Led by a coach with three state championships under his belt and squad with several three and four-year lettermen, the Patriots are poised to make their mark on Texas sports.
“It feels special with the district,” said Toddrick Gotcher, who is averaging 17.3 points per game. “It’s a renewal at Lakeview Centennial and everyone in the hallway is there congratulating us.”
That renewal came just two years after a painful 8-20 season in 2007-08. Learn more about the school’s playoff run here.
Across town at Memorial Preparatory School, eighth grade students experienced a living piece of history Monday at Axe Memorial United Methodist Church.
The Axe Awesome Adults meeting featured guest lecturer Max Glauben, a holocaust survivor from the Warsaw ghetto.
Glauben’s story moved the students and their teacher, Kate Walker, as he shared the experience of losing his family while enduring the German takeover in the 1940s.
See his story here.
Become a part of Garland, Wylie and Sachse history by posting your stories to neighborsgo.com for a chance to be featured in print in an upcoming issue.
One staple in every school district across Texas is yellow buses.
These 40- to 50-foot long people-moving machines are vital to the success and transportation of students in any city, and Garland ISD is no different.
With a fleet of about 300 buses, plenty of fuel is burned picking up and dropping off students across Garland, Sachse and Rowlett. But the district’s transportation department has found a way to help clean up the atmosphere while running these diesel-powered monstrosities.
Grants to the district over the last five years have helped the GISD transportation department build a clean fleet and improve the quality of air and life for students and families in the area.
We have the story about Garland ISD’s efforts online here, and interviews with the district’s transportation director, Brian Abbett, and the assistant director of fleet operations, Tom Vaughan, the man behind the effort.
Despite February’s passing, the influence of Black History Month continues with our feature about Maria Ross from Plano, who turned an act of racial prejudice into something positive for all people year round.
She created a Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative flag to present at high schools around Garland ISD during Black History Month and across the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
See Ross’ story on here.
March is here and spring break is fast approaching, so be sure to submit your stories, photos and videos to neighborsgo.com for a chance to be featured in print.
MEET YOUR EDITORGarland/Wylie/Sachse neighborsgo editor will be hosting a community meet and greet from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Starbucks located at 4280 Lavon Drive in North Garland. Feel free to come by, have a cup of coffee and voice your questions, comments, concerns and curiosities about neighborsgo and neighborsgo.com.
Marcus Murphree is the Garland, Wylie, Sachse editor. He can be reached at mmurphree@neighborsgo.com or 469-330-5638.
With the start of every new baseball season there are familiar sights and sounds. The recognizable pop of a four-seam fastball hitting a catcher’s mitt and the hollow “ping” of aluminum bats meeting a batting practice pitch are signs that spring is near.
And, for high school ballplayers in North Texas, practices and exhibition games have been taking place for most of the month.
However, at GarlandHigh School, baseball season draws in a different set of feelings. There are snickers from fans and opponents that the oldest school in Garland ISD also has one of the district’s weaker baseball programs.
The Owls, notorious for smash-mouth football and dominant softball, have not made the baseball playoffs in 37 years, and the monkey on the team’s back seems to be growing every spring.
But in 2010, an optimistic squad led by a core of seniors and enthusiastic alumni are looking to change the longstanding curse in Owl country.
This week, we look deeper into the history of Owls’ baseball in our cover story that focuses on a team that is set to reverse the curse and put GarlandHigh School back in the playoffs.
Our cover art shows the heart of the Garland batting order for this season, and if you follow this link, look for interviews with alumni ranging from Homer B. Johnson to Rick Clompton.
Teams like this show how tradition and support exist beyond one winning season. While some alumni have moved away from town, their ties and dedication to the home club exist to this day.
Marcus Murphree is the Garland/Wylie/Sachse neighborsgo editor. He can be reached at mmurphree@neighborsgo.com or 469-330-5638.
You can never be too young to lend a helping hand at a time of need.
Students from HickmanElementary School in Garland showed this with their generosity by taking part in a “penny war” to raise money for victims of the Haiti earthquakes.
The fundraising idea was proposed by fifth-grade teacher Laurie Toben, who had organized the same kind of cash drive to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Katrina while teaching in Indiana.
The dedicated efforts of Toben and the entire student body at the Title I school have brought in more than $3,200 after only five days of competition.
“It’s very rewarding to see the students and hear their comments and see the heart they have for others,” assistant principal Disa McEwen said.
After speaking with fifth-grade students Leyla Siraj and Christian Benevides, I was amazed at how much they longed to help those whom they did not know.
“My dad and I were watching the news and I felt bad seeing how some of the kids’ parents died,” Siraj, 11, said. “I saw them struggling and I’m glad we’re helping.”
Last Saturday, the school hosted a chili cook-off to continue raising money that will go directly to the American Red Cross.
Stories like this show the strength of a community and how anybody can take time to lend a hand to a neighbor in need, just ask any student at Hickman.
Marcus Murphree is the editor of Garland/Wylie/Sachse neighborsgo and can be reached at 469-330-5638 or via e-mail at mmurphree@neighborsgo.com. Got a story, photo or video you'd like to share? Post them directly on neighborsgo.com. Got a story idea? Send it to me directly. For more about how neighborsgo.com works with our neighborsgo print editions, please visit neighborsgo.com/help.
FRESH PICKS AT NEIGHBORSGO.COM
Fresh Picks features the top stories posted by our contributors at neighborsgo.com for and about Garland, Wylie, Sachse and the surrounding communities after deadline for this Friday’s print edition.
>>GARLAND/WYLIE/SACHSE
The Heights moves job fair dateFirewheel women’s golf preps for 2010 season Heights youth participate in iBlastVisiting Nurse Association hosts Meals on Wheels trainingYoga Center opens in Garland neighborhoodSachse High presents ‘Peter Pan’Proposed textbooks open for reviewGarland native helps raise awareness for child soldiers in Uganda
>>DALLASNEWS.COM
National League of Cities highlights Garland council memberGarland mayor slated to visit White House with dozen other Texas MayorsPublic Improvement Districts raise questions at council meeting >>GO BLOGSGarland history and your town newsFinancial health advice
The Heights moves job fair dateBook discussion group to meetFriends of the Library to host winter book saleSpringPark Women’s Club to host concertFour-year-old wows audiences at assisted living centerToy drive brings in more than 400 bearsDashing Debs host dance clinicCity of Garland offers green living coursesGarland resident runs for Justice of PeaceGarland library survey open to the public
Texas commit from Garland HS injures wrist in all-star gameGarland schools find online fundraising tool a bit of a letdownCity takes aim on realistic development goals
>>GO BLOGSGarland history and your town newsFinancial health advice
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