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As the City of Mesquite announced its new Clean City Initiative, Mayor Bruce Archer proclaimed, “This is a new day in Mesquite, Texas to raise the level of civic pride in our city when it comes to keeping our community clean, free of litter and looking beautiful.” The plan is focused on an array of enhanced efforts including more public education, regularly scheduled litter programs, stronger enforcement tools and new beautification projects. The city has provided www.cityofMesquite.com/CleanCity for the public to learn about the initiative and to get involved.

Nine Forney High School students recently qualified for the UIL Texas State Solo & Ensemble Competition which is usually held in June in Austin. This year’s competition will be a video submission to be adjudicated in late May.

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been discovered in deer breeding facilities in both Hunt and Uvalde counties. This marks the first positive detection of the disease in Hunt County.

“I would ask God for more space because my brother won’t leave me alone a lot of times,” says Jenny, 10.

Texas Republicans have long taken pride in the state’s reputation as a bastion for gun ownership — but time and again they’ve stopped short of passing a law allowing handguns to be carried without a permit.

Music is a mood booster and can help promote mental health. This past year has been particularly challenging, inspiring many people to reap the many benefits of bringing more music into their homes. Here is how you can too:

Being named a valedictorian or salutatorian is a significant achievement. Some students may not fully understand what these titles represent. Every school has its own qualifications, but in general, valedictorians and salutatorians are those individuals who have reached the very highest levels of academic success.

While the rollout of the vaccine has been a relief for the nation’s teachers, many of whom have been working in-person on and off since the start of the pandemic, the reality is that not everyone will get the vaccine. What’s more, being in the school building all day with children who are not yet approved for immunization leaves many educators and school staff vulnerable to COVID-19, no matter how many precautions they take while off the clock.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens has partnered with Fishing’s Future and the George H.W. Bush Vamos A Pescar Education Fund to provide convenient fishing education opportunities for families throughout Texas.

If you drove down South Bois D’Arc Street this weekend and passed the Forney ISD administration building, there’s a good chance you saw the giant box crate out front. It’s massive, and stamped prominently in vibrant green hues are the words, The OC.

It was a Friday night in June, the 7th of June, specifically. The year, even more specifically, was 1996. Twenty-five years later, I still remember it was a Friday. I’m not sure how this event popped onto my radar. I was rushing around through life with 3 kids: 10, 7, & 6. This would’ve been deep into our sports years, though June usually meant baseball was all but over. Still, school was out, and summer was in full swing. But there it was, a news story to top all news stories. I wasn’t even paying attention to the television, until I heard my then husband say, “Hey, look at this. I framed that house.” With my mom hypnosis broken, I abruptly stopped thinking about the dishes I was washing and the price of avocados and looked at the TV. The on-scene reporter was rapidly talking – murder blah blah, children blah blah, Darlie Routier blah blah, Rowlett blah blah. I think I may have dropped the plate I was drying. The world stopped spinning.

“We should get it because it is good, and it is God,” says Chandler, 8.

The beauty that is Spring lies in the promise of new growth seemingly occurring overnight; trees are leafing out, flowers are pushing up through the soil, bees and birds and butterflies are fluttering in the sunshine. And, even after the difficulties of this year, teachers and students are working hard to finish the school year in a strong fashion.