Volume 63, Number 50
Azle News 2015 THE
May 20 15
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Wednesday, May 27, 2015
It’s Azle vs. Aledo again! Page 9A
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Azle Valedictorian
Azle News ement
A Special Suppl
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Kayaker drowns in Trinity River Lake Worth man found in EML discharge pool BY CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN One of six kayakers who set out on the West Fork of the Trinity River near Eagle Mountain Lake Saturday evening, May 23, drowned after the group was overtaken by water being released from the lake. The body of Joshua James Reed, 29, of Lake Worth, was recovered Sunday, May 24, at 2:49 p.m. by lake patrol officers with Tarrant Regional Water District and game wardens with Texas Parks and Wildlife. According to a report filed by TRWD officers, they were dispatched to a missing persons/possible drowning incident at about 10 p.m. Saturday night in the area of the EML main dam’s discharge. They learned that six individual kayakers, who had entered the Trinity near a bridge on Ten Mile Bridge
Road sometime around 7 p.m., had paddled upstream to the discharge apron when the water being released overtook their kayaks. It’s believed all six ended up in the water; Reed, however, never resurfaced. TRWD police and TPWD game wardens, along with Eagle Mountain Fire, Fort Worth Fire, and Fort Worth Police Air One helicopter conducted shoreline and aerial searches. Five of the six kayakers were located and several victims were taken to area hospitals with minor injuries and hypothermia, including a 6-yearold girl. All were treated and released. The report says that at the time of the incident, Eagle Mountain’s main Thousands gathered at Azle High School Thursday, May 21 for the Azle ISD’s annual Showcase, where dam was releasing out of two 48-inch students from every campus and every grade demonstrate their best work of the school year. Above, AHS teacher Andy Zapata encourages a student demonstrating a roller coaster. PLEASE SEE BODY, PAGE 3A. Photo by Carla Noah Stutsman
Enhancing Azle’s future BY MARK K. CAMPBELL Caitlin Glenn likes to trumpet Azle – and its potential. That's her job as the city's economic development director. And she's plenty passionate about making Azle more attractive to outside interests. When voters approved the creation of a municipal development district, Tarrant County taxpayers began contributing one-half cent sales take on Oct. 1, 2013. Speaking to the Azle Rotary Club, Glenn added that improvements will be made to the Parker County side of town, too.
Caitlin Glenn
Good on paper Azle looks super when examining the hard numbers. With a population of 11,040, traffic counts rose projections of actual visitors to town – the “primary trade area”
Plans in place to attract more businesses here
economic growth here, the director – to 129,225. That's the number of people that said. “We need businesses; we're strug“will come to Azle” for some reason, gling with retail,” Glenn said. Glenn said. Azle is lacking in almost every busiThe average household income in ness, according to a Azle is $81,028 with “retail analysis.” a median income of The only area where $67,395. “That's an the city has an “overattractive number” to supply” is in “health entice business, Glenn and personal care said. stores. Glenn said, One proof that Azle “We have enough is growing comes pharmacies.” through new home Caitlin Glenn What Azle lacks – starts. In all of 2014, Economic Development which forces “leakthere were 46 starts; in Director age” where money the first half of this fisgoes outside of town cal year, that number for purchases – are grocery stores; is already at 88. “We are building like crazy,” Glenn building material and supply dealers; furniture and home furnishing stores; said. electronics and appliances; full-service restaurants; limited-service resA problem Retail is the problem hampering taurants; and clothing and clothing
“
We have enough pharmacies.
accessory stores. Not having the tax income from such businesses being located in Azle causes a greater burden on property taxes, Glenn said. Sales taxes from new businesses will ease that, she noted, adding that Azle is at “the center of Northwest Tarrant County” and in a prime location to attract businesses. How bad is local leakage? Right now, city services are funded mainly by property taxes at 44 percent. Sales tax covers 22 and the other 34 percent is taken care of by other means, one of her reports noted. When locals shop outside of Azle, citizens are actually funding other cities' services, Glenn noted. Development hurdles We need a shopping center in Azle, PLEASE SEE AZLE, PAGE 2A.
A Rare May Respite
The storms just keep a-comin’ this May. There was a break in the action briefly over the city library May 19. But soon the clouds returned and the nearrecord-setting rainfall for the month returned. Eagle Mountain Lake is beyond full and so are local tanks. So much rain has fallen that not only has the years-long drought been banished, but even Lake Bridgeport – which feeds into EML – has reached its normal level after being down more than 24 feet as recently as last month. Water stands in parks and low-lying areas – and more rain is predicted for the month. Photo by Carla Noah Stutsman
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15 Years Ago In May 2000, Azle High School Principal Allen Roberts, after two years at AHS, resigned abruptly to accept the same post at Haltom High School.
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