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A topsy-turvy 2008 tour
Triumphs, tragedies take area on rollercoaster ride
By Penny Rathbun, Staff writer
With the end of the first decade of the second millennium fast approaching, Little Elm is poised to meet the future with optimism. City officials are preparing to greet 2009 proactively with plans in the works for the new Town Center that will radically change the look of Little Elm, but that project will see steelwork complete beyond this year.
The Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge was 50 percent complete in May. Its completion in the summer of 2009 will likely boost businesses but pose a major challenge to maintaining Little Elm traffic flow as it funnels more drivers onto Little Elm streets.
Oak Point’s mayor Tom Kanuch resigned, and its City Council tackled a revolving door of city managers. Lakewood Village approved its first comprehensive plan.
Here is a look back at 2008 as reported in The Little Elm Journal.
January
Representatives from 14 fire-related statewide agencies unanimously selected Little Elm Fire Chief Joe Florentino as the first state coordinator of the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS). He beat out six other candidates for the job. TIFMAS is an annex to the state’s emergency management plan. It sets guidelines for responding to fire-related disasters that require more assistance than a locality can provide.
Oak Point City Council rejected a substantial water rate increase proposed by Midway Water Utilities. The company asked for an increase of 34 percent to 47 percent. The council voted after a dozen residents spoke against the rate hike. Then-Mayor Tom Kanuch said that the city had received 234 letters against the rate increase. Midway Water Utilities services only the Crescent Oaks subdivision in Oak Point. Midway officials said they plan to file an appeal with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Three hotels seriously considered Little Elm for new locations. The Town Center project attracted at least one of them. Council and Economic Development Corp. member David Hillock said that a hotel would be a big boost for tourism, because the hotel would not primarily target people coming to visit families.
Little Elm resident Shirley Mancia, 28, was killed in a car accident near the Frisco and Little Elm border. She died after her Honda Accord was hit by a Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Rene Rodriquez. One of Mancia’s dreams was to open a restaurant in the strip mall near where she died at King Road and Farm-to-Market Road 423.
Little Elm police arrested 60-year-old Gary Grissom of Little Elm after reportedly discovering about 300 images of child pornography in his possession. He was taken to Denton County jail after a two-month investigation and charged with possession of child pornography, with bond set at $10,000.
February
Little Elm Town Council approves amendments to an ordinance that will allow for the establishment of a year-round farmers’ market in Little Elm. Also craft and personal items can be sold at the market.
The Trivia team from Schmitty’s Restaurant won first place in the 10th annual Little Elm Friends of the Library Trivia contest at Lakeside Junior High School. They competed with 46 other teams for the trophy and bragging rights for a year. Proceeds from the event go to the Little Elm Public Library.
Oak Point Mayor Tom Kanuch resigned because he and his wife Brenda were in the process of moving to Dallas. The commute to her Dallas job would be much easier. Kanuch served four years on the City Council before running unopposed for mayor. He was elected in 2007 and had another year on his term to serve. He and his wife had lived in Oak Point for 14 years.
Denton County officials dedicated the 22,000-square-foot Steven E. Copeland Government Center in Cross Roads. County Commissioner Cynthia White was a driving force in having it named after the Denton County road and bridge employee who died of a serious illness a few years ago.
March
Voters turned out en masse for the Democratic and Republican primaries. About 2,500 people voted at the Little Elm Town Hall. Voters had to wait in line in traffic and then wait in line to vote in the primaries. Button Memorial United Methodist Church made its parking lots available to Town Hall employees who were asked not to park at Town Hall on the day of the primaries. Police officers and firefighters directed traffic along Eldorado Parkway that reportedly stretched as far east on the thoroughfare as the Wynfield Farms subdivision.
A storm dumped several inches of wet snow on Little Elm on a Thursday afternoon. Though the storm slowed down traffic, and the Little Elm police and fire departments were prepared to deal with accidents, there were none. Instead, everyone who could went out in their yards to build snow people. An extra fireman made of snow appeared in front of Fire Station No. 2 on Walker Lane.
The Little Elm Town Council approved increases in water rates at the March regular meeting. Residents in single family housing that use 2,000 gallons per month or less pay $12.60. The new rate will be $13.60. Those using 2001 to 10,000 gallons will pay $3.19 per 1,000 gallons. Those using 10,001 to 20,000 gallons a month will pay $3.97 for every 1,000 gallons. Anyone using 20,001 gallons or more will pay $4.97 for every 1,000 gallons.
Former Little Elm resident Rhonda Orr began her first-degree felony arson trial after five years of delays. She was charged in connection with a fire in her Little Elm residence that killed her husband James Orr on May 14, 2003.
April
Jurors sentenced Orr to 88 years in prison for first degree felony arson. Judge Bruce McFarling presided over the trial held in the 362nd Denton County Court. Orr must serve 15 years before she is eligible for parole. Depending on her behavior in prison, she could be eligible for parole in less than 10 years.
More than 275 athletes from Little Elm, Frisco, Keller, Sanger, Lake Dallas, and Pilot Point school districts participated in the second annual Little Elm Special Olympics Track Meet at the Little Elm Athletic Complex. Each Special Olympian was paired with a buddy from a local high school. City officials helped as flag carriers and huggers.
Lakewood Village Town Council held a public workshop to solicit opinions from residents about what they would like to see included in the town’s comprehensive plan for 2008. Generally, residents wanted to maintain a small-town feel.
Oak Point City Manager Richard Martin resigned. Oak Point DPS Chief Michael Shackleford said in a statement, “there is an open investigation into some accounting irregularities and it was brought to us by another city employee.”
May
Little Elm High School students learn the effects of impaired driving during the Shattered Dreams event staged before prom to illustrate the dangers of impaired driving more memorably than lectures and pamphlets.
The stork beats soldier back to the United States. Army Spec. E-4 Josh Miller was trying to get back home from Iraq in time for the birth of his daughter. He arrived at Medical Center of Lewisville about 1 p.m. two days after she was born to his wife, Samantha, of Little Elm. Samantha and the baby could have been dismissed on the morning Josh got home, but they remained in a hospital room till her husband arrived. Hospital personnel wanted Josh to have part of the hospital experience of the birth of his daughter. The hospital also provided a special lunch for the couple before they went home.
Little Elm Town Council member Brenda Mills retains Place 6 on the council in the May election. Council member Hillock runs unopposed for Place 1.
The Little Elm ISD board of trustees approved $1.5 million in raises for the 2008-2009 school year. Teachers, registered nurses, and librarians will earn between a 3 percent and 5.46 percent salary increase. The district will also award 4 percent midpoint raises to its non-teaching employees, such as assistant principals, counselors, maintenance workers, and groundskeepers.
Construction of the Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge is at the half way mark. The North Texas Tollway Authority broke ground in January 2007 on the bridge that is scheduled to open in summer 2009. The 1.7-mile bridge portion of the $220 million Lewisville Lake corridor project will cost the tollway authority $122 million. The bridge will connect Lake Dallas and Little Elm and will provide a new east-west connection between Interstate 35E and the Dallas North Tollway.
June
Little Elm’s new Fire Marshal Brian Roach fills the position left vacant by Marty Corn. Roach left the Allen Fire Department to take the job in Little Elm. The projects he has in mind include fire code development and maintenance.
Oak Point City Council unanimously approved an ordinance annexing right-of-way land along Farm-to-Market Road 720 at its regular meeting Monday. The annexed land begins north of Martop Road and is in Oak Point’s extraterritorial jurisdiction. The annexed right-of-way area will give Oak Point an opportunity for development agreements and limited or full-purpose annexations with property owners whose land is adjacent to the right-of-way, but not currently adjacent to city limits.
Colleen Cameron defeated incumbent Leslie Maynard in Oak Point’s runoff council election. The two were tied with 188 votes each at the May 10 election. In the June runoff election, 335 of the city’s 1,702 registered voters cast ballots. Maynard earned 153 votes and Cameron was elected with 182 votes (54 percent).
July
Gang rivalry boiled over into a Little Elm shooting. Five suspects affiliated with Tre’ Squad Clique, or TSC, and G-Shine gangs reportedly argued and shot at each other in Little Elm on June 22. One of the gang members fired a shotgun at rival gang members, hitting a subject in the head and back with pellets. In less than an hour, a juvenile suspect from the 2700 block of Sunbeam was taken into custody for deadly conduct and police recovered the shotgun. Four days later two other suspects were apprehended in Frisco. Lt. Greg Wilkerson of the Little Elm Police Department and four detectives spent more than 350 hours on this case. Wilkerson urged parents to be involved with their children’s lives and to be observant in their neighborhoods.
The Little Elm Town Council voted to task Town Manager Ivan Langford and Parks Director Tony Chrisman with cleaning Cottonwood Park and getting it open as soon as possible and to completely clean it by July 15. Council member Hillock formed a committee in March to look into the operation of the park, which is on land owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that it leases to the Town of Little Elm. The town, in turn leases part of the land to Cottonwood Creek Marina. Sections of the park had been closed since flooding the previous summer.
A 3-year-old Carrollton girl drowned at Little Elm Park during July Jubilee. Natalie Escobar was submerged in shallow water when she was discovered and pulled out. Adult bystanders reportedly initiated CPR on her. She was not wearing a lifejacket. Police Lt. Wilkerson said police and fire personnel were on the scene within seconds. They continued resuscitation efforts until CareFlite transported her to Children’s Medical Center of Dallas.
Oak Point authorities said they anticipate bringing their investigation into the city’s reported accounting regularities to a close in the next two months. In April, Oak Point DPS Chief Shackleford began investigating Martin, who resigned after accounting irregularities had been brought to light. Shackleford said he hoped to conclude the investigation within 60 days.
Sixteen-month-old Markus Anthony Lewis died from the results of being left in a van on a day when temperatures reached 105 degrees Fahrenheit. His parents, residents of a Savannah subdivision on U.S. Highway 380, inadvertently left him in the van after a family outing. They had taken their children to a water park in two vehicles. Each parent thought the toddler was with the other parent.
August
Police Chief Waylan Rhodes and the Little Elm Town Council honored nine Little Elm police officers in August. In June, officers solved a gang-related shooting. In July, detectives acted on a tip of excessive juvenile activities in the 1900 block of Peppertree. LEPD surveillance led to the arrest of Colby Mills for warrants and traffic violations. LEPD detectives were able to clear a dozen motor vehicle burglary offenses. Department employees spent about 75 hours on those cases.
The Jet/Ski Boat Adventure raises $14,568 for the Little Elm Area Food Bank. Lynn and Bill Hidell and Bill and Jolly Roebken hosted the event to raise funds for the food bank and to have fun in the process. Participants navigated their boats and jet skis to various stops on Lewisville Lake to have their game cards punched. This year a group of motorcyclists did the same thing on land as boaters and jet skiers did in the water to help raise funds. Food Bank Director Virginia Berney said the food bank will be able to operate through April 2009 using the proceeds from the jet ski event.
The Little Elm Town Council took the first major step toward the construction of the town center. The town council ratified the Little Elm Economic Development Corp.’s decision to purchase the land where the town center is to be located. The EDC is spending about $6.7 million to buy two pieces of land totaling 19.5 acres from Brett Cochran and Michael Shea on both sides of Eldorado Parkway just west of Beard Park. The Town Center is the planned location for a new library. The center will be designed so that retail shops and restaurants take advantage of a view of Lewisville Lake.
September
The Little Elm Planning and Zoning Commission faced vocal opposition at a public hearing at their regular meeting in September. The commission sought public comment on a request to rezone approximately 109 acres from agriculture, light commercial, single family, multifamily, light industrial, central business, patio home, and retail to Town Center interim district. Residents who spoke disapproved of the proposed changes and the Town Center. More than one said it would destroy his way of life and retirement. Little Elm Senior Planner Dusty McAfee told the audience that the only reason people would have to move out of their homes in the Town Center interim district was if they chose to sell to a developer.
A second drowning in 2008 takes place at the Little Elm Park swim beach area. Gregorio Cruz was trying to swim across the cove, became fatigued and submerged. When he didn’t surface, the friend he was swimming with called 911. Little Elm firefighters could not find him so they called in the dive team from the Lewisville Fire Department who found the man’s body in about 13 feet of water. Little Elm police officers did not suspect foul play or alcohol.
Police arrested 17-year-old Brandon Funches on reports he sexually assaulted a 7-year-old girl while she was at his mother’s house in Little Elm. He faces a charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child based on investigators’ interviews with a Little Elm mother and her daughter.
American Legion Post 182 holds ceremonies in Little Elm, Oak Point, and Lakewood Village to honor the victims of Sept. 11.
October
The body of 53-year-old Pamela Jane Christopher was found in a bed in a trailer near U.S. 380. Denton County Medical Examiner Investigator Dan Lintner said she had lived in Little Elm for several years and had been staying at the trailer for a long time. He said, when found, her body had been there about a month. He added that there was no indication of foul play or trauma. Her cause of death was listed at “atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.”
Hundreds of Little Elm area residents and visitors turned out for the annual four-day Autumn Fest. They enjoyed the Anything that Floats contest and the Ducky Dash among many other events. Except for the Fun Run, proceeds from Autumn Fest are used for improvements in Little Elm parks. Proceeds from the Fun Run are donated to the Little Elm Area Food Bank.
The National Association of Town Watch allowed Texas law enforcement agencies to hold National Night Out this year in October instead of its customary date in August to take advantage of the cooler autumn weather. Little Elm celebrated the 25th anniversary of National Night Out with about 18 block parties held all over town.
The Little Elm Fire Department held an open house at the Central Fire Station on Eldorado that included a performance by the Little Elm Fire Department clowns, opportunities for children and adults to hold and squirt a fire hose, and a blood drive.
Little Elm police officers will continue a rewards program begun in recent weeks, but with some changes. When the project started they would pull over drivers who were following traffic laws and reward them with a gift certificate from a local restaurant. People complained that they did not like being pulled over by the police. The Little Elm police will continue to reward people for good driving, but they will approach parked or idling cars to present drivers with reward certificates.
Oak Point City Council appointed acting City Manager Tamara Null to the position of city manager. Null was the city secretary and has been serving as acting city manager since Richard Martin resigned from the position in April. Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Ashenhart-Hawkins also resigned in April. She was arrested May 4 and charged with abuse of official capacity. She had stated in interviews with DPS Chief Shackleford that she tried to protect Martin who had made improper credit card charges and taken money from petty cash, Shackleford said.
The Little Elm Town Council approved an ordinance establishing new speed zones on parts of Walker Lane and Waterside Drive near Little Elm High School that will accommodate the school’s two afternoon dismissals at 3 p.m. and at 3:50 p.m. The speed limit will be 25 miles per hour on Walker Lane, and the Waterside Drive speed limit will be 20 miles per hour.
Scammers selling auto repair coupons targeted Little Elm, Frisco, and McKinney. Two people solicited door-to-door in the three cities selling fake $79 coupons for oil changes, brake checks, and other automotive work at Precision Auto, an auto repair business with locations in Little Elm and The Colony. Police Lt. Wilkerson cautioned residents to ask people selling at their door to see their sales permit. A Little Elm ordinance requires door-to-door sales people to obtain a sales permit for a $50 fee. They must apply for the permit and town staff members then do a background check on them. Children younger than 13 accompanied by an adult are exempt from needing the permit.
November
Republicans held strong in Denton County in the Nov. 4 election. Denton County Republican Party chairman Dianne Edmondson said that Denton County continues to be one of the most Republican counties in Texas, though she was disappointed in the results of the national election.
A Little Elm school bus began having engine problems, emitting smoke and exhaust fumes. The driver pulled the bus over, and all 39 students on the bus were safely evacuated from the vehicle. As a precaution, ambulances from Little Elm, Aubrey, The Colony, and Frisco took 24 students and the driver to four area hospitals. The remaining students were taken to school. By early afternoon, all students were released to a parent or guardian.
The Little Elm Town Council approved the rezoning of nearly 43 acres from light industrial to a planned development district at the southeast corner of U.S. 380 and Farm-to-Market Road 1385. The Holt Cat Co. plans to build a caterpillar facility on the property. It will be used for the storage and sales of heavy farm and construction equipment, including the equipment the company is most famous for, Caterpillar. The facility will bring at least 80 jobs to the Little Elm area, and will add about $1 million to Little Elm’s tax revenue.
Little Elm ISD’s newest school campus held a dedication ceremony. Oak Point Elementary School opened on Aug. 25, 2008. The new school is 84,243 square feet and sets on nearly 16 acres of land.
The demand for food baskets for Christmas will be greater than the demand for Thanksgiving food baskets at the Little Elm Area Food Bank, Director Virginia Berney said.
December
Little Elm Town Council established two tax increment reinvestment zones that will boost development in the heart of town and newer areas within its city limits along U.S. 380. The council also approved the issuance of a combination tax and revenue certificates of obligation for $16.7 million for constructing water and sewer improvements. These improvements and the cost of water will be paid for by an increase in water and sewer rates.
Little Elm resident Bill Roebken was awarded the 2008 Citizen of the Year award at Holidaze, the town’s annual Christmas season celebration. The award came as a surprise because Roebken considers many others equally as deserving, including his wife Jolly. Little Elm Awards Foundation, Autumn Fest and Holidaze committees are just a few of the organizations he has been involved with over the years.
A Little Elm woman was killed in an accident at Lobo Lane and Eldorado Parkway in front of Johnny Joe’s gas station. Brandy Norton, an employee of Johnny Joe’s, was reportedly attempting to direct traffic around a car in the ditch in front of the gas station. She was hit by 19-year-old Angelica Orozco of Frisco. The accident remains under investigation, but Little Elm Police Sgt. Brad Wilcox terms it a “tragic accident.”
The Little Elm Town Council approved water and wastewater increases. The current residential rate for an average use of 2,000 gallons a month is $13.86. The new rate will be $15.38 a month. Current residential base wastewater rate is $18. The new rate will be $21.60 for the first 2,000 gallons.
The Little Elm Chamber of Commerce names Kim Schumacher as Chamber Ambassador of the Year at the annual awards banquet. Officer Matt Mentemeier was named Little Elm Police Officer of the Year and Lt. Jason Small was named Little Elm Firefighter of the Year.
The Oak Point City Council rescinded a resolution designating English as the official language of the City of Oak Point. The resolution was passed in 2007 over several residents’ vocal objections at that council meeting. Council members Colleen Cameron, Judith Camp, and Mayor Pro Tem Jim Wohletz voted in favor of rescinding the resolution.
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