News

Meant for History Buffs and Other Inquisitive Readers!

The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (TFFC) is excited to announce the 2024 Texas division of Wildlife Forever’s Fish Art Contest is open for submissions. The Fish Art Contest, which is accepting entries until Feb. 28, is part of an international conservation education program designed to foster youth interest in fisheries and fishing.

Caught My Attention!

Corey Graves from Jackson Middle School was honored at the October Board of Trustees meeting. Last spring, Mr. Graves was selected as 1 of only 30 teachers to receive the Music Teacher of Excellence award from the Country Music Association Foundation. In September, he attended the official awards ceremony in Nashville. Congratulations, Mr. Graves!

The Pride of Falcon Nation is proud to announce that on Saturday, October 14th, they earned second place out of 24 bands at the Royse City Marching Contest, narrowly missing first place by two points. The Pride Of Falcon Nation Colorguard earned outstanding 6A colorguard, and the POFN Drum Majors (Owen Whisenant, CJ Ganal & Makayla Gutierrez) earned Outstanding drum majors in both preliminary and finals competition. The POFN would like to especially thank our band boosters and parents. Thank you for your constant support and encouragement, for feeding us throughout the day, and for being the very best cheering section! The Pride of Falcon Nation also competed in UIL Region competition on Tuesday, October 17th at Mesquite Memorial Stadium at 5:00 pm. Our potential UIL Area C prelims performance will be this Saturday, October 21st at Mesquite Memorial Stadium at 4:15pm. We hope that you are able to see our production of “Dream World” during our competitive season.

Many people will say that no movie marathon is complete without a big bowl of popcorn. Movies and popcorn have been linked for decades, but popcorn is more than just a must-have on movie night.

1) No family should be without a potato sticks or “French fries” cutter– makes 25 at the same time with the right potato inserted. (also builds muscles!)

District Attorney Erleigh Norville Wiley announced today that a Kaufman County jury found JACKIE ALLEN EASLEY, 68, guilty of two counts of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child. After a three-day trial before Honorable Judge Casey Blair in the 86th District Court of Kaufman County, a jury found Easley guilty, and the Honorable Judge Blair assessed punishment at Life in Prison due to a prior conviction for sexual assault of a child. JACKIE EASLEY’s victim was only 11 years old when he began sexually abusing her.

Interest rates have been headline news for well over a year. In an effort to tame inflation, the Federal Reserve has increased mortgage interest rates with regularity over the last year-plus. While the cost to borrow money has increased, individuals likely noticed that the reward for saving money has not increased along with it, as interest rates for savings accounts have remained low. In fact, the annual percentage yield (APY) as of February 2023 was 0.24 percent, while the average fixed mortgage rate in September 2023 remained well north of 6 percent. An assortment of variables have combined to lower savings account interest rates, but numerous analysts point to banks having more deposits than they require to issue loans. When that happens, banks do not need to attract additional deposits, which they typically do by offering higher savings account interest rates. Without that incentive, savings account interest rates have remained low, meaning account holders will continue to pay considerably more to borrow money than they will earn when they save it.

Those who want to make the most of Halloween can include travel plans in their schedules. North America boasts plenty of locations that have scary-sounding monikers, are supposedly haunted, or have attractions that will appeal to those looking for a few extra chills and thrills.

The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden Board of Directors voted today to approve San Antonio Botanical Garden CEO Sabina Carr as the organization’s incoming president and CEO. Carr will begin her role as Dallas Arboretum president and CEO at the end of November. “After an international search of exceptional nonprofit and public garden leaders, the Dallas Arboretum is thrilled to welcome Sabina Carr as our new president and CEO,” said Will Mc-Daniel, chair of the Dallas Arboretum Board of Directors. “Sabina has an incredible track record of growth and innovation – skills that will benefit the Dallas Arboretum as we build on our legacy of excellence.”

Nancy Townsend is a retired Forney ISD art teacher. This week we congratulate this long time Forney resident receiving an Honorable Mention in the State Fair of Texas Photo Competition. Nancy is the second photographer recognized from Forney who proves the best camera you have is the one you have with you at the time. Nancy took the picture with her iPhone. A grandmother knows to be prepared when a grandchild is near. You never know when an award winning photo will present itself. Her image placed in the Children/Preschool Color Category.

Colin A. Ballard, son of Donald and Jennifer Ballard of Forney, recently earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He is a freshman at Forney High School and a member of Troop