Wylie Today

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New Trash and Recycling Service Begins September 1

More Services, Same Low Price:

• - Weekly Recyclables Collection on Trash Day
• - Call-In Brush and Bulk Item Pick-Up
• - Household Hazardous Waste Collection at
•   Clean Up Green Up Events
• - Curbside Christmas Tree Recycling
• - Excellent Customer Service
• - No Increase in Basic Fees

The City of Wylie is pleased to announce that Community Waste Disposal (CWD) has been selected as the City’s solid waste and recycling provider beginning September 1. Please continue to use the Allied Waste carts through August 29.

CWD was selected based on their reputation for excellent service; overall low cost; strong recommendations from the cities of Frisco, Allen and Little Elm; and a unanimous recommendation from the Solid Waste Citizens Advisory Committee made up of Wylie residents.

Delivery of your new grey trash cart and blue recycling cart began July 15. In order to ensure a smooth transition from Allied Waste to CWD, be sure to read the Trash and Recycling Guide attached to your new trash cart. The guide contains information on pick-up schedules, brush & bulk call-in details, pick-up guidelines and recycling guidelines.

Allied Waste will pick up your old carts after your last scheduled pick-up.

CWD is committed to providing excellent customer service. Please contact CWD, 972-392-9300, option 2, if you have questions concerning the transition or services. Additional details can also be found at CommunityWasteDisposal.com. You may also contact the City of Wylie Utility Billing Department at 972-442-8130.

Dear Friends, Supporters and Citizens of Wylie,

I hope you and your family are having a great Summer! We have been busy at our house with planning our vacation, attending summer camps, visiting with family and friends and supporting our community. I wanted to write to you again this month and share with you some of the activities that are happening in and around our city.

I hope you all have taken advantage of the Summer Concert’s at Olde City Park , as well as movie night last Friday evening. The concerts have been great and it has been so much fun to get out and visit with our citizens at these events. These activities really help Wylie keep that “hometown” feeling. I hope you and your family are planning to attend the Wylie Independence Day program (Fireworks) at Founder’s Park this evening at 9:30pm.

I had the opportunity to attend the June Chamber of Commerce luncheon and listen to Chamber President, Mike Agnew, talk about the State of the Chamber, and all the things they are doing to support our community.

Many of our new businesses are also attending the Business Card Exchange on Wednesday mornings at Woodbridge Golf Club, and this has been a good way to connect with our small business owners and support them as they grow their business here in Wylie.

Also, as you may have noticed, dirt is beginning to be moved at the location of our new shopping center, Woodbridge Crossing. Soon you will have more shopping options available to you right here in Wylie , Texas !

This year’s high school graduation once again highlighted our outstanding Wylie students and their parents, It was an honor for Tammie and I to be able to attend that great event and represent our city.

This past month I also had the opportunity to speak at the Wylie Rotary Club luncheon and share with them our plans for the future of our city.

I have also had the opportunity to visit with Congressman Ralph Hall and Congressman Sam Johnson about our city. They are anxious to support us as we grow forward.

A lot of great things are happening in our community. In the coming weeks, you will start to see activity on the expansion of FM 1378. We will soon be holding a ground breaking ceremony for our new City Hall, Public Library and Recreation Center . Additionally in the coming month’s we will be continuing with our neighborhood revitalization program in some of our older parts of town. It is truly an exciting time to be in Wylie , Texas .

Please mark you calendars for our first Wylie Town Hall on August 11, 2008 at the Bart Peddicord Community Center at 7:00 pm. More details will be forthcoming about this event. We had hoped to schedule this sooner but with all the Summer vacations, we had to hold off until August.

Also in the planning stages is a meeting with our Home Owners Associations to get feedback from them on issues, concerns and ideas within their neighborhoods; and the Mayor’s Quarterly Breakfast. This breakfast will serve as an informal meeting with 15 to 20 citizens to come in and visit with the Mayor and staff on a quarterly basis. Citizens will be randomly selected to attend from our list of people who receive the eWylie Newsletter.

And, check out my updated web site with information about the office of the Mayor and upcoming events at www.erichogue.net

I believe in Wylie and my goal is to promote and grow our city in a positive way. When our citizens think of Wylie, I want them to think, “It’s good to be home.”

Until next time, may God bless the great city of Wylie , Texas as we continue to grow forward!

Your Mayor,

Eric Hogue

Rick and Alicia White are special citizens of Wylie, Texas. They are a unique couple that spend vast amounts of personal time and money helping and contributing to the world class Wylie Fire Department. They are always found on a fire scene early, documenting the events not just for themselves and Wylie citizens, but for the Wylie Fire Department itself.

Alicia said, “We are privileged to be allowed to get up close and personal on the scene of an incident. We capture scenes no one sees but a few. We see the intimate expressions on faces and the compassion these guys and gals give. But more importantly, we feel that we are part of a unique and loving family. The fire and police departments have let us become an integral part of them.”

Rick and Alicia post many of the photos they take on their website, http://www.wyliephotos.com. Here, one can see just what kind of quality photographs are taken and provided to the Fire Department. One can also get a feel for exactly how early and often they arrive on a scene.

So how does the Fire Department feel about Rick and Alicia? I was able to speak to Fire Chief Randy Corbin about them and not surprisingly, he had only good things to say. “I’ve been here for 18 months now and our arrangement is that Rick and Alicia are reserve members of our Fire Department. They arrive early on a scene, even in the middle of the night and their photographs are timely and professional. They help us with training, investigation and documentation photographs which really help us. ”

Cheif Corbin continued, “Rick is very technical in the communication business and we’ve really been able to tap into his knowledge bank. We’ve turned to him quite often as a technical consultant before and during our planning of an overhaul of our communications systems. Whether he is sharing his knowledge or pointing us to the right contacts to talk further, he has just been so extremely helpful and knowledgeable.”

Rick and Alicia White are special members of this great community and city in which we all live. They put a tremendous amount of time and effort to be of service to the community and the departments that make Wylie special. Wylie is lucky to have such fantastic and involved people living within it’s limits.

I hope Wylie Today can continue to bring readers some of the fantastic photographs or as some might say, “works of art”, that Rick and Alicia White produce.

Photos © 2008 Rick and Alicia White - click images for larger photos

The City of Wylie continues making the Summer events one to remember for ages to come. There is no concert tonight as tomorrow night is movie night at Olde City Park! The flick starts at 9:30, kind of late, I know, but you can’t watch a movie in the sun. You just can’t do it.

The first movie of the series is Bee Movie! We rented this movie a while back and the kids absolutely loved it. It’s good for the parents, as well. I’m not going to tell you about how it brought a tear to my eye. Because it didn’t. I’m cold and a man and I just don’t tear up during animated kid flicks. I don’t care if dreams are realized after long and traumatic journeys, I don’t tear up. So I won’t tell you about that part.

Wait…

Yeah, anyway. Tomorrow night, June 27th, 9:30 pm at Olde City Park. Bring your blankets or chairs, snacks and drinks and enjoy a movie with your neighbors in the park. Shrek 3 will be the feature presentation on July 25th.

Cheers!

Thank you Mayor Mondy,

I have and will always support you in your leadership of Wylie. I feel that Wylie has grown in a way that is unlike several other small towns in our area. Wylie is growing in population but not in its feel of “Small Town America.”

In Wylie our kids still can play outside without parents having to fear all the evil things happening to them. Our Police Department is very proactive towards reducing crime. To explain, near Rush Creek Street my three sons asked if they could go and ride there bikes on the jump ramps. I, not knowing what they were talking about, followed them to see. When we got to the “jump ramps” it was a vacant lot near the old Rush creek, shaded by large trees, between several houses. Several boys’ ages 5-14 were riding bikes jumping and being KIDS. This was great to see! Kids will in all situations find a way to have fun wherever they are. While we were there a Wylie Police Officer drove by and saw the kids riding bikes and he waved at them. At that moment all the kids playing knew that he was there and he was watching over them.

This type of area for kids to play is great! Every man can remember those special places from childhood where they played, made plans and dreamed. I saw for myself that this little spot is great for my children to play and grow outside; I am so excited to see that my sons have found their special place in our wonderful city. I know that they are being watched by not only me but protected by my/your Police Department.

This is only one little snapshot in the big picture of Wylie but it is the future of Wylie and the only real legacy we as parents will leave behind (our children). I as a resident of Wylie would like to say thanks for giving my sons, my neighbors, and me the peace of mind and comfort of living in this great “small town.” Thanks John, I support you and appreciate all you do to keep Wylie my hometown.

Carrol Clore

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

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!)

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

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!

“As an elected county official, I have tried to stay out of municipal races.  But when a man of Eric Hogue’s talent and character offers his service, I just can not stay on the sideline.  Wylie has a wonderful opportunity to elect a great leader in Eric Hogue!”  Joe Barton, Collin County Constable, Precinct 2

I want to thank Mr. Barton for his kind words and his support. I am very excited about the opportunity to serve the citizens of Wylie as your next Mayor. I believe we have so many good things ahead of us; but in order for us to be successful, we must have the support from our county, state and federal officials. As I have said many times before, Wylie is the forgotten city of Collin county, and we need to be in front of these officials to promote our plans for the future of our community. We must have a good, positive relationship with these officials for the betterment of Wylie.  They need to know what is happening in Wylie and we need to use our “political muscle” of being the eighth fastest growing city in the nation to get the services and resources needed to enhance our city.

As mayor, I believe my primary focus should be on building a strong network with each and every group and organization that interacts with our city. The Mayor needs to be a positive force in moving Wylie forward.

Thanks again to Constable Barton for his kind words.

For The Promise of Wylie,

Eric Hogue

Early voting begins April 28 - May 6, 2008 at Wylie City Hall and Election Day is May 10, 2008