Archive for August, 2008

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Exotic Parrot Stolen from Pet Village

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

Duncanville Police are investigating the theft of a rare parrot from The
Pet Village located at 200 N. Main St in Duncanville. 

On Tuesday morning, an unknown suspect broke into Pet Village and stole Max, a blue and gold macaw that has been a local fixture at the pet store for 28 years.

According to Pet Village owner Stephanie Roberts, Max is a local
celebrity.

“(Max) has become the store mascot, and we have many people
that come here just to visit him,” said Roberts who added that they are offering a $1,000 reward for his safe return.

Duncanville Police urge anyone that has information about Max’s theft to 972- 780-5037. For more information on Max, visit
<http://www.thepetvillage.net/> , call Stephanie
at (972) 709-7387, or send an email to savemaxtheparrot@yahoo.com.

To view video surveillance from the burglary, visit
http://www.duncanville.com/police_video.shtm

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Posted in Duncanville | 1 Comment »

Duncanville Wellness and Safety Fair Coming

Tuesday, August 26th, 2008

The event  will be October 4th from 10 a.m.- 2p.m. at the   Hopkins Senior Center, 206 James Collins Blvd.

The Fire Department and Duncanville Citizen Fire Academy Alumni Association  will have an information booth about joining the citizen’s academy and furnish information on fire prevention & safety. They will also explain about their “Lock Box” program. The “Ride for Riffe” from Corpus Christi TX will officially end at our event around high noon.  The Police Department and Duncanville Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association will provide an information booth about joining their citizen’s academy and furnish information on safety and crime prevention and finger printing children.

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Posted in Duncanville | 3 Comments »

Plano, BSW Cities Lock Horns Over Radio Signals

Friday, August 22nd, 2008

Feel free to insert a Tim Allen reference here. The blogosphere is buzzing about a powerful new communications system being tested at DeSoto’s Southwest Regional Communications Center. Seems it’s got so much kick that it’s affecting radio-controlled sprinklers the City of Plano uses. The two systems operate on the same frequency and aren’t playing well together.

Plano wants the BSW Cities to delay launching their new system until January. The Dallas Morning News reports SRCC was only willing to wait until November so Plano will now take its chances by appealing to the Federal Communications Commission.

The quote by SRCC Director Tim Smith seems to hold a lot of weight:

“Which comes first: Watering plants or protecting police and fire?” Smith asked.

I realize the debate is a little more complex than that but I don’t know if Plano officials know (or care) how they’re coming off here. Public safety communications in South Dallas County be damned! We can’t water our begonias!

Between potential cuts to TMRS and slap-in-the-face situations like this radio signal thing, one couldn’t rightfully blame local police and fire employees if they’ve got some Rodney Dangerfield “No Respect” feelings.

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Posted in BSW, Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville, Opinion | No Comments »

TMRS Plagues Duncanville Budget Cycle

Thursday, August 21st, 2008

It’s not unusual for a number of angry citizens to storm Duncanville council chambers to debate an important issue. But at the Aug. 19 city council meeting many of the people crammed into City Hall had already spent most of the day there. That’s because they were city employees protesting potential cuts to their retirement benefits.

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Posted in Duncanville | 4 Comments »

Lancaster Library Reading Club Winners

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

 Lancaster Veterans Memorial Library awarded prizes to the top readers in each of three age groups at the Summer Reading Club wrap-up parties held the last week in July.  Readers and preschool listeners kept track of the number of minutes they read each day from June 1- July 24.  A total of 131 reading logs were turned in.

Winners in the preschool through first grade group are Cauryn Ferguson, first place, with 3,135 minutes.  Cauryn won an educational toy and books.  Camryn Ferguson took second place with 3,100 minutes.  Third place, with 3,040 minutes, went to Ceniyah Powdrill.

The second through sixth grade winners are Irvin Ortega with 15,444 minutes, first place; Maria Lara, 4,318 minutes, second place; and Cedric Smith, 3,868 minutes, third place. Irvin won an MP3 player.

The top teen readers are Rolando Bradford, 6,620 minutes, Jacob Fikes, 5,630 minutes and Suzy Hawkins, 5,202 minutes. Children may continue to turn in reading logs for small prizes through the end of August.  So far, 575 prizes have been given to young readers and listeners.

All library events are free and open to the public. The library is located at 1600 Veterans Memorial Parkway, in the Lancaster Community Park.  For more information, visit the library’s website or call the library at 972-227-1080.

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Posted in Lancaster | 4 Comments »

Basic Car Loans: Simple and Convenient

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

Basic Car Loans provides valuable services for those in need of new or used vehicles. They offer low and competitive interest rates and can finance almost any credit situation. Those situations could include first-time buyers or people with bad credit.

You don’t have to run all over town and get the runaround from heavy-handed salesmen. With just a couple of mouse clicks, you can find the deal that’s right for your budget. Their credit specialists are available 24 hours a day to answer any questions you might have.

There are no application fees or obligations for applying online so don’t wait to drive the car of your dreams! Car loans are all this company does, so expect their prompt and courteous service to put you in the right car.

Read our disclosure on advertising here.

Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments »

Duncanville Apprehend Man in Standoff

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

Duncanville Police, assisted by DeSoto, Cedar Hill and Lancaster departments, at approximately 10:30 a.m. Monday brought into custody Erich Maza, 35, who been at a stand-off with police since last night in the 600 block of Woodhaven St.

On Sunday, Maza called police at 10:30 p.m. complaining about the
brightness of a neighbor’s outdoor lighting. Duncanville Police made
contact with neighbors who agreed to turn off the light. Police left the
scene but returned when shots were fired.

Duncanville Police attempted to make contact with Maza who was believed to have fired the shots. Initially, he communicated with police but returned to his home and refused to cooperate further. 

Negotiators were called to the scene to speak with the subject but
negotiations were unsuccessful. Eventually, SWAT Team made entry into the residence and apprehended Maza who was located in a crawl space. He was treated at the scene for minor injuries and transported to Parkland Hospital for evaluation. Investigators are still gathering information to determine what charges, if any, will be filed.

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Posted in BSW, Cedar Hill, Dallas County, DeSoto, Duncanville, Lancaster | 2 Comments »

Visual Expressions Holding Artist Reception Tonight

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

Visual Expressions Art Gallery is holding an artist reception tonight from 7-10 p.m. Visual Expression offers custom framing services and art classes.  The gallery is located at 1425 N. Hwy 67. For more info on their offerings, call 972-293-1117 or visit www.veartgallery.com.

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Posted in BSW, Cedar Hill | 2 Comments »

Ford: The Most Controversial Man in Duncanville

Friday, August 15th, 2008

Paul Ford Image There’s been a lot of talk about “rules” on our comment boards, so I’ll throw out one I got from a blogging mentor. If people respond to a topic, keep blogging on it.

The numbers on Allen Conley’s post about Duncanville District 3 Councilman Paul Ford are a still-growing record for this site. It used to be that if you wanted a reaction in Duncanville, either positive or negative, you mentioned Grady Smithey. And to be honest, that still gets a pretty good reaction. But at least right now, Ford is the hottest topic in town.

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Posted in Duncanville | 55 Comments »

The Worst School Board Meeting Ever?

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

The July 28 Lancaster Independent School District Board of Trustees meeting (the term meeting being used in its loosest sense) is still making headlines. Texas Education Agency conservator James Damm told the DMN it was the “worst school board meeting he has ever attended.” Not that I or anyone else that has watched this group for the past several years would disagree, but let’s really take a look at that statement.

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Posted in Lancaster, Opinion | 9 Comments »

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