STAFF REPORT
The Ellis County Press
GLENN HEIGHTS - Maintained lawn. Check. Safe neighborhood. Check. A massive 12-lane toll road?
Amy Self didn’t factor Loop 9 into her plans when she bought it from a local Century 21 Judge Fite agent, but when she closed the deal on her house in Glenn Heights, the project highway of the controversial Trans-Texas Corridor – one of only six highway plans saved from a toll road moratorium bill passed in Austin last year - was planned right for her new front yard.
Self, along with her husband, have retained a Waxahachie defense lawyer to fight what other neighbors and area residents in Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Ovilla, Oak Leaf and southern Dallas County are finding out: that Loop 9 is headed right for them.
Lawsuit Coming in Loop 9 Fight?
July 13th, 2009Beer, Wine Forces Gear Up in DeSoto Again
July 11th, 2009You know, the new town center on Hampton Road should provide a perfect backdrop for beer and wine sales. With Glenn Heights able to sell liquor, it’s going to be a surprise if this election doesn’t pass.
They’re using the Duncanville beer/wine arguments, too…
From Focus Daily News:
Residents call for beer, wine sales
After slim defeat in 2007 supporters cite $6K budget shortfall to bolster claims
By JOSHUA C. JOHNSON
Focus Daily NewsDESOTO—Once again a group of DeSoto residents are working to get beer and wine sales legal within city limits. And with the recent legalization of alcohol sales just three miles south in Glenn Heights supporters think chances are better than ever.
“Right now we are trying to raise the money for our consultant for the petition drive,” said Supporter Van Stripling. “We got a lot of people excited about this.”
In November 2007, two alcohol related propositions were on the ballot for DeSoto voters. Proposition 2 which called for an end to the uni-card system in area restaurants passed by an overwhelming count. 62-percent (3,177) of voters agreed that mixed beverages should not be hampered by membership-only facilities.
Ironically Proposition 1 on the same ballot which called for the off-premises sale of beer and wine failed by a slim margin, 393 votes. Seven percentage points are what many supporters are saying kept at least $400,000 in sales tax revenue out of DeSoto.
Find Your Republican/Democratic Precinct Chairmen
July 11th, 2009Added to the sidebar down below:
1) Links to all of the available Dallas County Republican precinct chairmen, and the Democratic precinct chairmen, as well as political party links.
Craigslist Crime Alert in Glenn Heights/RO
July 11th, 2009Thanks to a reader who passed this along from a local Yahoo! Discussion group:
Editor’s note: this was edited for clarity and style.
There have been several robberies that generated from Craigslist. The suspect will call people who have items for sale and arrange a meeting with them to purchase their item. When they show up he will rob them. The meeting locations have all been in Dallas, DeSoto, Lancaster and Glenn Heights. The only suspect information we have at this time is a black male. I am working on getting additional information on the suspect and/or his vehicle, and will make that available to you as soon as I have it. Watch the business parking lots for this type of activity. The suspect is armed with a hand gun now, as he took one in one of the robberies.
For more information, contact Sgt. Nick Flores at the Red Oak Police Department by calling 972-617-7632 or e-mailing nflores@redoaktx.org
GOP Primary Ballot Initiatives
July 11th, 2009Look at what the Debra Medina for Governor campaign is hoping gets put on the March 2 primary ballot next year:
Source: MedinaForTexas.com
The Petitions
Life
BE IT RESOLVED, The Republican Party of Texas should adopt a rule that adds to the content of the “Application for Place on the Primary Ballot” the requirement that the candidate signs the following pledge: “I solemnly swear or affirm on my honor to support or do no harm to Pro-Life Legislation and oppose intrusions of the Federal Government upon the authority of the citizens of Texas to determine the legal limits of the State with regards to Life.”Spending
BE IT RESOLVED, The Republican Party of Texas should adopt a rule that adds to the content of the “Application for Place on the Primary Ballot” the requirement that the candidate signs the following pledge: “I solemnly swear or affirm on my honor to support the adoption of zero-based budgeting for all items included in the State of Texas’ bi-annual budget, limit government spending, and stop encumbering future generations with debt.”Property Rights
BE IT RESOLVED, The Republican Party of Texas should adopt a rule that adds to the content of the “Application for Place on the Primary Ballot” the requirement that the candidate signs the following pledge: “I solemnly swear or affirm on my honor to support or do no harm to private property rights in Texas by working to eliminate property taxes and strengthening protections against eminent domain seizures.”
Best Southwest Voting Precinct Maps
July 10th, 2009Have you ever thought to yourself, “what’s a precinct chairman do?” Or “I wonder what my voting precinct looks like?”
I’m obsessed. I’m obsessed with numbers, strategy and maps. Lots of maps. So, I cleaned out the Dallas County Elections Department maps off their Web site (figuratively) and re-arranged a few things and posted them, linked them and studied them into the sidebar. Scroll down.
I’ll start the process of figuring out who the Precinct Chairmen for both parties are, as well as make a contact list for all the political parties.
Here’s the list in full form for the blog:
Suburban Newspapers to Make Comeback?
July 10th, 2009The Ellis County Press received a phone call tipping off about the Best Southwest area getting ready to accept Suburban Newspapers once again. If not the entire Best Southwest area, it will be in Duncanville, from what little information I’ve been privvy to.
BestSouthwestBlog.com Poll: Paul Ford for Mayor
July 9th, 2009Unfortunately, Councilman Paul Ford lost re-election on May 9, but fortunately, sources in Duncanville say he’s giving a mayoral contest against David Green some serious thought…
The rules for voting are one vote per every 14 days per I.P. address.
Libertarian Recruitment in Best Southwest Dallas County
July 9th, 2009Since there are several partisan posts up for 2010’s election, the Libertarian Party of Ellis County is seeking to coordinate with candidates in the Best Southwest to file for county judge (countywide), state rep and state senate.
There is no filing fee to run under the LP banner.
For more information, contact:
Bobby Copeland
State Libertarian Executive Committee
Senate District 22 Representative
copeland.bobby@gmail.com
or
Megan Gray
SLEC
SD-12 Rep
flowerchildtoday@gmail.com
Duncanville’s Tim Miles should be a county judge candidate. He’d be on the ballot in every city and precinct. The two major parties have primaries on the first Tuesday in March, whereas the minor parties have nominating conventions (twice) in March.
Second Messianic Congregation in BSW
July 9th, 2009A second Messianic Jewish/Gentile congregation is coming to the Best Southwest, this time in DeSoto (Bat Zion is located in Duncanville, directly across from the prison known as Duncanville High School.)
While the name and exact location (in DeSoto) of this congregation is still not known, the “planters” are out of Waxahachie, also home to Olive Tree Ministries, a Messianic congregation that Megan Gray and I attend (whenever I’m visiting; I have been a member since 2002.)
For more information about the congregation, e-mail Megan at mgray@elliscountypress.com or megan@bestsouthwestpress.com.
So what do Messianic people believe?
It’s Time to Attack ‘Parens Patriae’
July 9th, 2009When parents send their kids to government-run schools, that triggers a Latin phrase called, parens patriae. In a rough definition, it basically means, “The State as the Parent.”
This is why there is so much controversy over events and incidents that parents will never know about, or at least wait weeks to find out. Recent case in point: the allegations that a Waxahachie High School drill team captain had a sexual relationship with a coach. The Waxahachie ISD knew about the allegations on May 22, but neglected to tell anyone about them until this blog and later, WISDBlog.com, published the details. The coach later resigned, according to The Ellis County Press story several weeks ago.
What parents are ignorant of could cost them their kids’ at-home education. When they send their kids to government-run schools, the State (teachers, staff, principals are nothing more than state employees) assumes responsibility, oversight and replacement of the parent.
Hence, parens patriae.
We need to attack this idea, this Latin phrase and this “movement” that says the school district and the employees that work for them become the guardians once the kids enter the door.
When parents get outrageously mad at the elected school board, it’s not the trustees’ fault. It’s the parents’ fault because they were not educating themselves to this parens patriae idea.
And it’s time that we start asking our school board candidates - should they get elected - where on the spectrum they fall when it comes to parens patriae.
See Also: TeamLaw.org
GOP Won’t Challenge DeSoto’s DA Craig Watkins
July 8th, 2009I’m a Republican, and I absolutely love Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins, a Democrat from DeSoto. The Dallas Morning News reports that the Dallas County GOP won’t field a candidate against him, which is actually good, because how can one stand on a platform that says, “well hey, we had a conviction at all cost mentality and platform, so really, these DNA tests that are freeing inmates sound good, but our platform is to be ‘law-and-order.’”
BestSouthwestBlog.com wholeheartedly endorses the re-election of Craig Watkins.
Where Should The Ellis County Press Be Sold?
July 8th, 2009Readers, help The Ellis County Press out by telling us where you’d like to see a news stand placed. Near City Hall? In a library? At your favorite grocery store? In front of a police station? Where?
Let’s start the westward expansion into former Today territory by generating public areas where the paper - you think - would do well.
Duncanville
DeSoto
Cedar Hill
Lancaster
Many in Duncanville already want the paper sold, but we’ll need businesses who will agree to allow a news stand and/or being sold inside.
What’s more, each city’s police/arrest reports should be published each and every week as well.
How Well Do You Know the Police?
July 7th, 2009It’s no secret that right-wingers and military veterans are being subjected to intense media scrutiny and Homeland Security profiling and all sorts of things…but how well do we really know our local police?
Hell, it’s no secret that those who have sex with consenting adults can’t do it in their own house with other people watching or participating without the Duncanville PD and Cedar Hill PD busting down the doors with battering rams (that actually happened. Google “the Cherry Pit raids.”)
It’s been said that the Department of Homeland Security issued its terrorism watch-list (on right-wingers) to every police department in the land. Even if they didn’t, I wonder how many agencies have manuals and policy books that say to look for right-winger/Constitutionalist types?
There’s a trend that has a load of agencies setting up checkpoints and going door-to-door looking for guns and ammo. In Shreveport, the mayor and police there are reportedly pulling people over and confiscating guns.
One way to find out how “loyal” the police are to their oaths is to copy and paste this Open Records Act request and send it to your local police department:
TEXAS PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT Request
Date: _______________________Attn: Public Information Officer
Dear Officer for Public Records:This request is made under the Texas Public Information Act, Chapter 552, Texas Government Code, which guarantees the public’s access to information in the custody of governmental agencies. I respectfully request a copy of the the following information:
1) Any manual, directive, memo or other identifying information codified or posted policy that mentions the word “suspect,” “profiling” or “Constitution,” or “terrorism” or any combination thereof for the express purpose of targeting, trailing, tailing, profiling, questioning, stopping, confiscating or any other law enforcement procedure of citizens involved in certain political parties, organizations, gun-rights groups, “militias,” etc.
2) Any manual or written communication from the Department of Homeland Security issued within the Calendar Year 2009 mentioning any of the above;
3) Any manual or written communication from any other law enforcement agency at the local, federal or state level mentioning items/lists in No. 1;
In the interest of expediency, and to minimize the research and/or duplication burden on your staff, I would be pleased to personally examine the relevant records if you would grant me immediate access to the requested material (exception due to traveling conflicts). Additionally, and since time is a factor, please communicate with me by telephone and e-mail rather than by mail. My telephone number is: _________________________ or _______________________________.
Disclosure of this information is in the public interest because providing a copy of the information primarily benefits the general public. I therefore request a waiver of all fees and charges pursuant to Section 552.267 of the act.I shall look forward to hearing from you promptly, as specified in the law. Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
