Wylie Today

Well, City Councilman David Goss called it as the above picture was being taken by Anne Hiney of Troy Aikman and I on Wednesday evening. “There’s the lead-in picture for the Wylie Today story!”

Turns out he was right. I’m sure you will see plenty of pictures of this event in the next week or so as I couldn’t count the amount of cameras on-hand. I have a few from the event that I will post below, and I might just add a gallery here in the near future.  But to lead-in, yeah, that’s me and Hall of Fame quarterback, 3 time Super Bowl Champion, the greatest Fox Sports NFL analyst and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman. I like to mix it up.

City of Wylie Mayor John Mondy was completely jubilant this evening and with good reason. The people involved have been working on this deal for over a year and tonight was another step towards $600,000 in additional sales tax revenue for the city. It was another step towards a thousand newly created jobs in the city. It was another step towards keeping the citizens of Wylie shopping in Wylie. I’m really surprised we didn’t see Mayor Mondy break out some Riverdance moves.

Major kudos go out to Wylie’s Public Information Officer, Craig Kelly. Aside from seeing him run around picking up yoga flyers someone had left on the tables, the event went on without a hitch. Hundreds of people were in attendance for the groundbreaking ceremony and Dickey’s BBQ.

On hand to speak at the event was Wylie Economic Development Corporation’s Sam Satterwhite, Texas State Representative Jodie Laubenberg, Direct Development Sr. VP Don Bouvier, City of Wylie Mayor John Mondy and Troy Aikman.

Mr. Bouvier related the event to an Oscar speech as he mentioned so many people involved from the beginning that required accolades. He spoke further about four legs of a table and if one breaks or can’t support the weight, the table fails. He spoke very highly of the City of Wylie staff and administration and said they delivered on everything they said they would do. Now it was Direct Development’s turn to deliver on their promises.

Super Target Summer of 2009!

Some other players that need mentioning are the City of Murphy and the City of Sachse. Murphy made a small plot of land available to Wylie that was required for the development at the corner of 544 and McCreary. Sachse agreed to build a road to connect the back end of the development to Hwy 78. As Mayor Mondy said, “This has truly been a community effort”.

Troy Aikman talked about the special place in his heart for Wylie. You see, his wife was born in Wylie, though she didn’t stay very long. “I’m pretty sure if there had been a Super Target here, she would have stayed a bit longer.” he mused continuing on to talk about credit card statements and things I am so completely familiar with. He went on to talk about how great Direct Development is and how proud he is to be a part of such a great team. He knows that Direct Development isn’t a build and run type of company. They plan, build and maintain. Their developments are works to be proud of and that is why he chose them.

Overall, the event was a huge success and we can expect to see bulldozers out in the fields within a few weeks as road construction begins. This thing is moving forward quickly, people. And a ton of people were involved to make it happen. This is a fantastic day for the Great City of Wylie.

Look for more images soon and the small images above are clickable, leading to a larger image.

Photos © 2008 wylietoday.com (except for the lead-in photo of the 2 awesome dudes. Thanks, Anne!)

Below is the video from the Meet the Candidate Forum held on April 24th. It is separated into two parts to make sure no one passes out from excitement. The lighting is a little dark in the beginning, but that was fixed during the second question, I believe. One answer from mayoral candidate Eric Hogue was missed as I had to switch out tapes. Sorry!

I hope you enjoy the show and I hope this helps you decide for whom to cast your vote anytime this week, next week, or May 10th.

Part 1


Part 2

Dear Editor,

First, I want to thank the Wylie News for hosting the Candidate forum on last Thursday night.  I think many such forums are needed.  It is in such public settings that candidates’ feelings show best.  Web sites, prepared literature and even newspaper interviews insulate the candidate from the voter.

I saw one particular viewpoint that I hope to spotlight, in order that others may see it more clearly.  There were two questions that dealt specifically with ethics.  One was about a proposed “Code of Ethics”, the other about a demonstration of ethics.  The answers were interesting.  The incumbents were unanimous in stating that they didn’t have a problem with a code being developed, that such a code had been debated and dropped.  Many candidates expressed a willingness to abide by such a code, but most stated that they were pretty confident that they were ethical.

One candidate stood out in contrast.  Eric Hogue spoke resoundingly in favor of a Code of Ethics.  He likened standards to rules of the game.  He said that a clear statement of Ethics is commonplace in “Corporate America” (I was trained repeatedly in ethical decision making at the last Fortune 500 company I worked for).  Playing without rules leaves room for indiscretion.

Another question was asked which was telling about the apparent regard that each candidate places on ethics.  As reported in the Wylie News, and acknowledged by the candidates, only two of the candidates did the ethical thing by reporting their expenditures on time. (Kudos to Rick White, he submitted his early).  Particularly egregious to me was the fact that Mayor John Mondy gave as an excuse that his campaign treasurer (“Red” Byboth) was out of town.  This means that two currently serving officials have a lax attitude towards ethical rules.  (A side note: I know that it is old news, but these two men were also two of the main players in Mayor Mondy writing a letter, as Mayor, not as a private citizen, attempting to influence the outcome of a trial of one of Mr. Byboth’s employees, an accused sex-offender, a few years back.  This should have been a warning, then.)

Mr. Porter stated that we as voters have the right to remove those that act unethically.  We have that opportunity now.  I ask all concerned citizens to vote now for ethics.  Support Eric Hogue and Rick White.  I also call for an appropriate Code of Ethics to be written and adopted, with clear language and appropriate, enforceable results.  We shouldn’t have to wait until an election to see the same consequences expected when unethical behavior occurs in industry.

Sincerely,David Dahl

Letters to the Editor are personal opinions of the author listed and do not necessarily represent the views of wylietoday.com.

Have you ever visited the City of Wylie website? If you haven’t, I’d like to suggest that you do the next time you have a question about the happenings with Wylie administration. Or take a few minutes and browse the site right now. The website is very nicely put together and organized and contains a ton of information with just a few clicks.

For example, when the City Council decided to start planning for the potential railroad “quiet zones”, quite a few of my friends were upset that the city would consider spending money on a problem that wasn’t theirs. They feel that just because someone thought it was a good idea to buy a house within shoe throwing distance of the railroad, only to complain when they figured out the railway is full of failed musicians, their tax money shouldn’t be spent on other’s mistakes.

So I was curious about what percentage of tax dollars $200,000 is. I went to the City of Wylie website. I ran my mouse over the City Hall tab and clicked on the Finance link. And right there on the front of the Finance page was the following: 2007-2008 All Fund Summary adopted by City Council September 11, 2007.

The resulting page gave me my answer. It took me two minutes at the most to get this information (YMMV). Amazing by commercial standards, even more so by government standards.

End result, I decided that small of a percentage of overall tax dollars was worth it to make those groups of people who live within shoe throwing distance happy. The more happy people I run into at the store or share the road with, the better.

http://www.wylietexas.gov

My family has lived in Wylie for almost 5 years and have become well- acquainted with the Wylie Political arena. In the 2005 election, I set out on the mission to be an informed voter in our new town. I met with a couple of the candidates and saw first hand how Rick White handled himself in light of many untrue statements and accusations being made about him from the then-incumbent candidate.

Rick encouraged me to inquire and ask lots of questions and find out for myself what the truth was, and in the end, Rick got my vote…and my trust in the 2005 election season. That spoke volumes to me about Rick’s character, integrity, and openness as a person and as a future councilman. Rick White truly is a “what you see is what you get” guy and I can appreciate that in the political arena.

Regrettably during election season, voters get more smoke blown their way or too much rhetoric spoken with no real substance, promise or plan. I do not find that to be the case with Rick. His vision and track record while on council proves over and over he is for the future of Wylie with the best interest of the citizens in mind. I’m honored to call Rick White a personal friend that I would trust without question. He listens, he cares, and has always responded to my questions or concerns regarding our great City. I strongly encourage our citizens to ask questions of ALL the candidates in order to cast an informed vote. As an informed citizen, I will be casting my vote for incumbent Rick White and mayoral candidate Eric Hogue…for the Future of Wylie!

H. Glenn Bolton,
Wylie, TX

Letters to the Editor are personal opinions of the author listed and do not necessarily represent the views of wylietoday.com.

Dear Editor:

May 10, 2008 is a critical day for the Wylie Independent School District.  May 10, is Election Day for several seats on the school board.  Barbara Goss is running for Place One. I believe Barbara Goss is the right person for the job.

Barbara and I met five years ago when she became employed in the Human Resources Department of my company.   As a manager in the company, I had several opportunities to work with Barbara to resolve Human Resource issues.  Barbra was always very well organized and professional.  I know, with her professional experience, she can utilize those skills in being a successful School Board Trustee.

Barbara has children that attend Wylie schools. She has a vested interest in making the sure the schools perform, as well as spend our tax dollars wisely.

For the past several years Barbara has regularly attended school board meetings.  She keeps her friends and neighbors informed on issues at hand and communicates that information clearly.  I believe there is currently a lack of communication from the current school board.

The current school board needs a fresh perspective and fresh ideas. The school board needs to plan for future growth.  There is no reason children should have to switch schools years after year after year. The current school board is reactionary and fails to plan accordingly.

I encourage you and all your readers to speak with Barbara, and read about her ideas, and beliefs.  I believe if you speak with her, you will see the passion that I have seen.  Barbara’s website is http://www.barbara4wisd.com/.

May 10, 2008 is a crucial day for the WISD.  Let’s move WISD forward by voting for Barbara Goss, Place One.  She has earned my vote.
Jeff Cox

Letters to the Editor are personal opinions of the author listed and do not necessarily represent the views of wylietoday.com.

First of all, I want to apologize. I took video of this event, but have run into technical difficulties getting the video downloaded. Old software, new computer. :/ I’m going to be away from the “machines” for the weekend, but I will get it resolved and get it uploaded for your viewing enjoyment. That is, if you are into an hour and eighteen minutes worth of talking.

As a quick recap slash opinion, here is what I liked about each candidate’s performance or values.

Rick White

City Councilman Rick White did a fantastic job communicating with the audience about his passion, drive, motivation and proven experience with success. He was cordial and concise and seemed very comfortable speaking to the group. His direct involvement with the Fire and Police Departments let me know that he is in tune with everything happening in the community.

Chris Trout

I like the fact that Chris Trout is a community friend and a dedicated parent. His daily interaction with people in the community is a great asset. From personal conversations, I believe he is quite the intelligent man.

Carter Porter

City Councilman Carter Porter also did an excellent job speaking to the group. He is available to the community whenever the need is present and has been open and honest about his first three years on City Council. He is an elected member to the NCTCOG and while I don’t know exactly how that has benefited us to this point, I’m sure it couldn’t hurt going forward.

Bennie Jones

Bennie Jones has a definite message and goal. I believe that he believes in what he is saying. He seems frank and honest , speaking from the heart about his vision. He spends time interacting with the teenagers in the City of Wylie, providing a positive adult presence.

John Mondy

Mayor Mondy has a certain swagger about him that makes me feel confident he can get anything done. While he did leave the military long ago, I’m not sure if the military ever left him. He is proud of his accomplishments and is confident in a future vision of Wylie that is larger than anyone could expect. I think he has put a lot of time and effort into city affairs over the last decade. His knowledge and experience is certainly valuable.

Eric Hogue

As I mentioned before, Eric Hogue is a natural public speaker. I believe in his ability to make and secure contacts at any level. His desire and enthusiasm to serve the community is unrivaled. His past tenure on the City Council is valuable in terms of experience and knowledge of city affairs.

Everyone did an excellent job last night and whenever you get a minute, you should let these guys know you appreciate what they are doing for us. Let them know you support them and what their families are enduring right now. Their email addresses can be found on the Wylie Today Voter Guide.

BUMP for this weekend. April 25th is the event date.

The following is taken from the American Cancer Society - Relay For Life^® web page.

Each year, across the nation, one event brings together entire communities to take part in the fight against cancer. That event is the American Cancer Society’s signature fundraising event, Relay For Life^®. It offers everyone in our community an opportunity to participate in the fight against cancer. Teams of 8-15 people will camp out at Shaffer Stadium and take turns walking or running around the track. Relay for Life is how we fight back against cancer-both symbolically and literally. The steps we take represent the battle a cancer patient faces on the path to recovery, and the donations we collect ensure that the American Cancer Society’s mission to eradicate cancer through research, education, advocacy, and service can continue. Relays are an overnight event set in a carnival like atmosphere.

There is a team captain meeting on February 12th at 6:30 pm at American National Bank in Wylie.

REMINDER -

Camp is free and is open to ALL athletes ages 5–12 (ages as of August 1, 2008)Grades Pre K - 7.

No pads will be needed for camps.
Please wear shorts or athletic pants, t-shirt, and football or running shoes.
Please bring water!

If you are interested in attending camp/s please complete the mini camp registration form under the online forms tab.
Also…please complete the MINI CAMP WAIVER (found under the “Handouts” tab) and bring to camp with you!

If you have already registered for a 2008 mini camp you do NOT have to register again.

ALL Participants must check in at the table.

Camp will be held at Community Park,
Field 7 (this is the field directly behind the library)
Camp will be held from 2:00 - 3:30PM

Mini-camps are hard work but lots of fun.

Success destined for 2008 is just beginning.
Lets get prepared for the upcoming season as there is only one goal ahead!!!!!

Thanks,
WCYFA

You can visit our site at www.leaguelineup.com/wyliepirates.

Don’t forget about the Meet the Candidates Forum tomorrow night! I hope to see you all there.The Wylie News is hosting the 2008 Meet the Candidates Forum on Thursday, April 24th at 7pm. The event will be held at the Bart Peddicord Community Center on 100 W. Oak street in downtown Wylie. All City Council candidates have been invited to attend.

The forum will be moderated by the League of Women Voters. The public is invited to attend and questions will be accepted for the candidates to answer.

For more information, contact news@wylienews.com or call 972.442.5515 x29.

Download this flyer and pass it out to your friends and neighbors!