Volume 62, Number 41
Azle News
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
THE
www.azlenews.net
Lady Hornets win showdown with Brewer Page 9A
Spring Approaches Page 1B
Silver Creek Elementary makes Final Four School to compete for $100K PE prize BY CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN locked me and our PE teacher, Trey Shearer, in a room and said we weren’t First they made the top 50. coming out until we wrote that grant.” Then the top 25. Grant writing was something neiThen the top 6. Now, don’t stop holding your breath ther had ever done, Nelson said. “We ended up having the best time – Silver Creek Elementary has made doing it – and we learned so much the Final Four! After weeks of essay writing, multi- about our school in the process,” Nelple interviews, and waiting to fi nd out, son said. Silver Creek Elementary had alSilver Creek Elementary, its Principal ready implemented its Healthy Hornet Heidi Nelson and Coach Trey Shearer have been named one of four North Council – a group of fourth graders Texas schools who will compete for a who talk to the other students about $100,000 physical education grant in making healthy choices. And Coach Shearer had brought in a LG’s Coaches Cook-Off competition during the NCAA Men’s Final Four third party to train teachers and other employees who began working out toweekend in Arlington. Shearer and the other three coaches gether after school. Already having those programs in – teamed up with Baylor head coach Scott Drew and Texas A&M head place made the grant more meaningcoach Billie Kennedy – will be cook- ful to everyone involved, Nelson said. Evidently it was meaningful to the ing their hearts out during halftime at the annual culinary showdown on Sat- panel that reviewed the grants and urday, April 5 in the Infi niti Tip-Off narrowed them down to the Final Four, as well. Tailgate at AT&T Stadium. “One lady from the grant program The Final Four schools – Cesar Chavez Elementary School (Fort said she cried when she read what Worth), West Elementary School Trey wrote,” Nelson said. “And one (Fort Worth), and Central Elemen- man from LG said he’s never had a tary School (Seagoville) in addition grant application that touched him to Azle’s Silver Creek Elementary – like ours did. It was such a team efwere selected through a grant applica- fort for us – we’re really just beside tion process implemented by Project ourselves.” Nelson said another aspect she’s reFit America. ally looking forward to is the trip from Silver Creek Elementary to AT&T How it happened Heidi Nelson can barely contain Stadium for the Final Four. “They’re actually sending a limouher excitement when asked about her sine to pick Trey and me up!” Nelson school making the Final Four. “(AISD Curriculum Director) Tan- said. “We’re just so pumped!” ya Anderson emailed the information, to our nurse, Kelley Whitehead. She The competition Each team will have 30 minutes to looked at it, took it on, and said ‘we’re doing this,’” Nelson said. “Then she PLEASE SEE SCHOOL, PAGE 8A.
Azle Police Lt. Bill Russell handcuffs Gary Ricky Paul Underwood, right, while getting information from Officer J.D. Ravenscroft (with his back to the camera) and a Reno Police officer at left. Photo by Carla Noah Stutsman
Azle PD dents burglary ring Dramatic pursuit, two arrests may hinder thieves BY CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN A police pursuit that began in Azle Friday afternoon, March 21, wound through Reno and back into Azle, and ending in a fi ery crash, caught a lot of attention. So have numerous daytime residential burglaries that have occurred across a wide area including Tarrant, Parker, and Wise Counties – and, of course, Azle. Something that hasn’t gained much attention is the tremendous amount of both work and cooperation among and
Viral video: AHS grad and husband showcase talents singing Frozen song BY CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN Wherever you go, it seems someone is singing music from the soundtrack of the hit Disney animated fi lmFrozen. But a 1999 Azle High School graduate and her husband are making big waves with their own version of Love Is An Open Door. A self-made video of the couple is approaching 290,000 hits after just one week on YouTube, and on Monday, it appeared on MSN.com, as well. Emily Hefl in Baker says her old friend Cassandra Scullin Weaver posted a video of a couple who lip-synced the same song on Facebook and challenged Emily and her husband, Eric, to do the video. “We just did it for fun, and never had any thought about making money or being famous,” Baker said. “But if Ellen or Jimmy Fallon called, we’d go – it would be really fun, and my mom Emily and Eric Baker love making music together and a video of them singing Love Is An Open Door from Disney’s Frozen has gone PLEASE SEE AHS GRAD, PAGE 3A. viral.
Follow us on Twitter @TheAzleNews
This Week in Azle History
between law enforcement agencies in those areas in efforts to put a stop to the ring of thieves committing the burglaries. Wednesday evening, March 19, Azle police executed a Decatur Police Department arrest warrant for burglary of a building at a residence in the 300 block of Shady Lane in Azle. Following some tense moments, Azle offi cers arrested the subject of that warrant, Desmend Leon Sage, 35. One of Sage’s cohorts in the burglary ring was apprehended just two
days later. On Friday afternoon, Azle Offi cer Richard Lukowsky was patrolling in the 1500 block of Southeast Parkway when he noticed a car similar to one captured on security camera footage from a burglary that occurred a few days earlier on North Stewart Street in Azle. The driver of the maroon Oldsmobile Alero appeared to have the same characteristics as the man captured on PLEASE SEE PURSUIT, PAGE 2A.
City eyes ‘refi ’ on water/sewer bonds Move could save more than $100K in interest BY CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN Saving money isn’t easy for most people, but when the opportunity arises, we all jump on it. Azle’s city council is no different. During its second regular monthly meeting Tuesday, March 18, the council heard from Finance Director Renita Bishop about an opportunity to save an estimated $13,543 annually for the next 10 years – a total of more than $118,000 in interest that would be off the taxpayers’ shoulders. First Southwest Company, the city’s fi nancial advisor, the council learned, has contacted Bishop about refunding the outstanding Series 2004 Waterworks and Sewer System Revenue Refunding and Improvement Bonds. The bonds, with a balance of $2,165,000, become callable on Aug. 1. According to Bishop, First South-
west provided preliminary numbers for the council’s consideration based on a private placement sale. Due to the size and maturity dates of the refunding bonds – and certainly due to the decline in interest rates – the company advised a private placement sale would be economically and administratively less costly than other methods, and would allow the city to maximize debt service savings. While the new interest rate won’t be known for sure until it’s all done, First Southwest offi cials believe the bonds can be refunded at a rate near 2.5 percent. The current interest rate is 4 percent. Although there was no need for the council to take any formal action on the matter, staff was instructed to pursue the refunding of the bonds. PLEASE SEE CITY, PAGE 3A.
Like The Azle News on Facebook
15 Years Ago
In March 1999, the Azle school board picked former AHS star/graduate Gary Rushing to be the Hornets new head football coach.
Coming next week ...
22 pages plus supplements
$1 Azle, Texas 76020
Our 6th Annual Special Section
Area Guide