SUNDAY IN DENTON
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State poetry society will gather in Denton / Arts & Community, 3D
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Two storefronts closed by fire are back in business Business, 1D
A couple storms possible Weather, 2A
A look at the area’s top wide receivers returning this fall Sports, 1B
Sunday, July 7, 2019 || Denton, Texas || Vol. 115, No. 339 || DentonRC.com
28 pages, 4 sections || $2.00
$86K in taxes owed on Oak St. property Buildings at risk of condemnation if not improved, now for sale By Dalton LaFerney Staff Writer dalton.laferney@dentonrc.com
A “FOR SALE” sign now stands at the corner of Oak and Fry streets, where inside apartment buildings some
people still live despite owner Bahram “Bobby” Naderi having given out eviction notices. The property at 1226 W. Oak St. comes with $85,727.88 in delinquent taxes including fees, racked up from 2012 to 2017. Part of the reason the tax bill hasn’t been paid is because officials did not ask the owner to pay it until last year, according to records obtained by the Denton Record-Chronicle. Local government officials have
shown great interest in either demolishing the buildings or forcing Naderi to fix them, because living conditions in some of the units there are unsafe, officials have said. In February, the Denton Health and Building Standards Commission ordered Naderi to make needed improvements for the buildings or risk having them condemned and demolished.
A “FOR SALE” sign is posted on a property at the intersection of Oak and Fry streets. The property at 1226 W. Oak St. comes with nearly $86,000 in delinquent taxes, including fees, racked up from 2012 to 2017.
See TAXES on 4A
Jeff Woo/DRC
Sally officials unshaken by dip
State living center residents often walk off campus, records show
Despite Amazon news, local company says it has an edge By Jenna Duncan Staff Writer jduncan@dentonrc.com
the campus of the El Paso State Supported Living Center. There was a convenience store next to the campus, Mann said. Of the 63 known times the El Paso center logged an “unauthorized departure,” a staff member accompanied the residents on their walk 62 of those times, Mann said. In all, 60 percent of the time a resident has walked off a state center campus in the past nine months, a
While beauty industry news has shaken the stock market for beauty companies in recent weeks, Sally Beauty Holdings representatives and industry experts aren’t concerned about implication for the company. When Amazon announced a new professional beauty store for industry professionals, stock in Denton-based Sally Beauty and competitors such as Ulta lost value. However, the announcement doesn’t signal direct competition for Sally, said Jeff Harkins, vice president of investor relations and strategic planning. “All of those brands are found in retail stores and they have been for a while, but they’re not what we consider pro brands,” he said. “Their definition of professional beauty isn’t the same as ours.” Instead, the brands Amazon is rolling out are already readily available for customers, both professionals and consumers. Lines like Rusk and OPI are available at retailers such as Walgreens and CVS in addition to beauty stores. Sally Beauty’s stock dipped more than $2 a share June 24. It started the day at $14.79 a share, and closed at $12.30. More than a week later, the stock closed at $12.50 Friday. Industry analysts wrote throughout the week about how the stock didn’t rebound, with Yahoo Finance saying the stock “looks bleak.” While the company will not comment on stock prices, Harkins said Sally is not going to change its plans for the coming year and that this
See CENTERS on 11A
See SALLY on 13A
Jeff Woo/DRC
A security employee works Friday at the front gate of the Denton State Supported Living Center, which added security at the campus entrance this past week. Resident Kevin Lewis’ body was found Thursday behind the campus kitchen, five days after he was reported missing from the grounds.
‘Unauthorized departures’ aren’t uncommon
By Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe
Staff Writer pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com
Residents frequently walk off the Denton State Supported Living Center campus and Texas’ 12 other institutions for people with developmental disabilities, state records show. LeCarvin DeKevin “Kevin” Lewis, 41, was reported as walking off the Denton campus midafternoon Saturday, June 29. Instead, however, he was found dead behind the campus kitchen on Thursday.
Data released this past week from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission showed that residents made an “unauthorized departure” from the Denton State Supported Living Center or one of Texas’ other centers 143 times so far this fiscal year. “Often an individual may start to leave our campus in plain sight,” state spokeswoman Christine Mann wrote in an email. “We do not have locked centers and we do not restrain people for merely walking away, so staff will accompany them to ensure their safety.” Several years ago, a few residents frequently left
Lack of high-speed internet disrupts Denton neighborhood Modern-day problem affects at least 14 homes at the Preserve
Preserve at Pecan Creek residents attend a neighborhood meeting Monday about the lack of highspeed internet in their section of the subdivision.
By Ryan Higgs For the Denton Record-Chronicle
Three years ago, Ashley and Daniel Barkley were the first homeowners on their street at the Preserve at Pecan Creek, a subdivision in southeastern Denton. When moving, Ashley Barkley said, it was never a consideration that
Ryan Higgs/For the DRC
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ALSO INSIDE
their access to high-speed internet, a service their family enjoyed at their previous residence at the Preserve about a mile away, would not move with them. An informal staff report to the Denton City Council on the availability of high-speed broadband internet in Denton identified areas that are without access. Broadband is defined as internet access via methods such as digital subscriber lines, or DSL, fiber optic, cable and satellite services. Listed in the report includes Section B of the Preserve at Pecan Creek.
Dave Lieber: How real property tax reform died State, 3A
The affected area consists of at least 14 homes in the 6400 block of Crapemyrtle Drive, the 4800 block of Crossvine Court and the 4900 to 5000 block of Swisher Road, according to an updated report to the City Council from May. Ashley Barkley is a licensed mental health counselor for children entering the Texas foster care system and provides evaluations remotely from her home via video chat services, she said. Without access to high-speed internet, See INTERNET on 13A
ARTS & COMMUNITY 3D BUSINESS 1D CLASSIFIED 2C COMICS & PUZZLES 4C-5C DEAR ABBY 5C
OBITUARIES OPINION REAL ESTATE SPORTS WEATHER
13A 12A 1C 1B 2A