Schools & Sports

Teachers are a really determined group of people, always working to improve their students’ education. Not only do they have a passion for the knowledge they have learned, they also want to share this information with the students that come into their classrooms. And when the school year begins, there is a fresh bunch of faces waiting to learn from their new teacher. Even though the 2020-2021 school year is different from any that have come before it, the teachers in Forney ISD have risen to the challenge, as they did in the spring when every class went to a virtual learning style.

September 2020 marks the 4th Annual National Shooting Sports Month, as designated by the National Shooting Sports Foundation. To commemorate the month, which is on the cusp of the fall hunting season, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is highlighting agency programs aimed at providing participants of all ages and skill-levels the opportunity to safely hit the range or the field.

There’s lots to do in the outdoors, even during what many of us refer to as the ‘Dog Days’ of summer. The striped bass bite is going strong up on Lake Texoma says my buddy Bill Carey with Striper Express and catfish guides on Tawakoni have been butting their clients on limits of tasty catfish. Crappie fishing at Fork has been red hot one day and ‘iffy’ the next, common for this time of year.

I am sitting here today, moving back and forth between the computer and the television—working on stories for The Forney Messenger and watching the Texas Rangers playing the Los Angeles Angels in front of “fake fans” and listening to “fake crowd noise.” The “Babe” and “Mick” and “Yogi” and “Whitey” are probably “rolling over in their graves” and asking Casey for the next game off!

Forney ISD Athletics welcomes Kadrian Bryant as the new North Forney High School Head Men’s Basketball Coach. Bryant comes to us from Crockett High School where he served the last 5 years as Head Men’s Basketball Coach. Under his leadership, the Bulldogs were Regional Finalists and backto-back District Champs. In addition to a successful tenure at Crockett, he also led Nacogdoches Central Heights to a district title and was selected as district Coach of the Year.

Forney ISD is proud to announce an expanded partnership with Dallas College and Texas Tech for the 2020-2021 school year. Now, Forney ISD community and staff will receive in-district tuition rates for Dallas College courses offered at Forney ISD.

What with the political scene, the Covid Virus, the shortened season, my regret at the desertion of a “young park”, and no fans in the new park, I said: “I am not going to watch the opening game for the Rangers and their new stadium!”

High school football in the state of Texas is religion. And, like many people of faith who have or are waiting for their places of worship to reopen, football coaches, players and fans alike have been waiting to see what would happen with the 2020 season. Earlier in the month, state sanctioning bodies around the country began declaring their intentions: some states would delay a few weeks; some were moving the season to spring. One state, Alabama, announced they would begin “on-time.”

I can remember several years ago, hearing my boys and their friends talking about a baseball player named “Jason Jennings.” Periodically, I would hear more about him, read about him in the Dallas paper, see him on television, or hear his name mentioned when discussions about “local” players came up among us “Forney baseball fathers” and other local experts!

Part of a successful fishing trip with kids is knowing which fish to target. That’s especially true when taking kids on their first fishing trips. Exactly what to target depends on certain factors, including where you live. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources notes that using the right bait also can help kids catch a fish. The following are a handful of types of fish to target when taking youngsters fishing.

Only two players in the entire history of the National Basketball Association have ever won both above honors during the same season—Wesley Sissel Unseld (1946—2020) and Wilton Norman Chamberlain (1936—1999)! And now both of them are gone, and we will probably never see this “double deal” accomplished again!

During the past several years, I’ve had the opportunity to fish with my friend Trey Schmidt many times. Trey has a coveted ‘fin fish’ licenses on the Texas coast. He spends 3 nights each week ‘gigging’ for flounder, the majority he sells to Nates West End Bar and Grill, a popular ‘off the beaten path’ restaurant near just west of Jamaica Beach on the road heading from Galveston to Freeport. Trey can also harvest sheepshead (a great eating but often overlooked saltwater fish) stingray, crabs and a few other species.

My all-time favorite Dallas Cowboys players, in no certain order, are the following: Don Meredith, Don Perkins, Bob Hayes, Craig Morton, Danny White, Herschel Walker, Harvey Martin, “Crazy Ray.” And not one of these uttered my all-time favorite football quote. That was done by a man, who played a very short Dallas Cowboys career—DUANE THOMAS!