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Landen Vasquez of Forney, Tx recently earned his rank of Eagle Scout. He is a senior at Forney High School and has been active in the band all four years. He is a member of troop 1857. During his scouting career he has held the position of Patrol Leader, Assistant Patrol Leader and is a member of Order of the Arrow Brotherhood. For his Eagle project he built a picnic table for Wildcat Ranch Bike Trail.

Lee University congratulates Mansfield Yiu of Forney, TX, on earning Dean’s List honors during the Fall 2023 semester.

Trinity Valley Community College held fall 2023 Graduation Commencement at the Athens Independent School District (ISD) High School on Friday, Dec. 8, conferring Associate of Arts, Associate of Applied Science, Bachelor of Science in nursing degrees or certificate of completion to 238 graduates.

On Thursday, December 14, in Forney, TX, a public meeting was held concerning the proposal for the creation of Municipal Utility District (MUD) south of Forney. The meeting was requested by State Representative Keith Bell in a letter to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). A packed room for the meeting, those in attendance included Representative Bell, TCEQ officials, CoatsRose attorneys for the developers, the developer Bellagio 443, LLC, residents near the proposed development, Kaufman County sheriff’s office, Forney ISD, Kaufman County Judge Jakie Allen, County Commissioner Skeet Phillips. The proposed MUD, Kaufman County Municipal Utility District No. 15, would contain approximately 500 acres of land just south of Forney near the intersection of Markout Central and Quail Run. The land is in the City of Mesquite’s Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) and has requested to have eminent domain and road powers. The proposal includes 950 apartments and over 1,100 homes. It’s estimated that over 700,000 gallons of wastewater will be treated daily which led to concerns about a wastewater treatment plant and the disposition of the grey water, whether to a tributary to the Trinity River or sprayed on top of the floodplain.

New Year’s Eve is one of the most festive nights of the year. Despite its reputation for revelry, New Year’s Eve also can be dangerous, which underscores the need to celebrate responsibly when ringing in a new year.

I read a quote that resonated with me on multiple levels. Upon checking it out, it originated from someone known as MrsMopar on iFunny and it went something like this: “I admire those with hairstyles. I don’t have a hairstyle, but thankfully I have hair. Most days it has zero caterpillars in it. That’s about as good as it’s going to get.”

A federal grand jury in Greenbelt, Maryland, returned a superseding indictment, unsealed last week, charging a Maryland man and a Texas man with conspiracy to defraud the United States, filing false income tax returns, aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns and theft of government funds. The Maryland man is also separately charged with tax evasion, willful failure to file income tax returns and bank fraud.

Most people likely do not pause to consider they could be a victim of stalking. Stalking might seem something more out of the plot of a movie rather than real life. However, according to the Stalking Resource Center, approximately 7.5 million people are stalked each year in the United States. Many times the victims have been stalked by a current or former intimate partner.

The American Lung Association notes that respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a common respiratory virus that produces coldlike symptoms in adults and children. Though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that most cases of RSV go away within two weeks without intervention, the virus can be unpredictable. In fact, the ALA reports that RSV is the leading cause of hospitalization in all infants. In addition, most children have been infected with the virus by the time they are two years old. Such high infection rates understandably leads to questions about transmission of the virus, which the CDC reports can spread in the following ways.

Traditions are the glue that hold many celebrations together. Individuals and families embrace many customs that serve as the script for commemorating yearend holidays.

As the year ends, so does Texas State Parks’ Centennial Celebration, but the fun doesn’t stop when the clock strikes midnight. Kick off your resolution to explore the outdoors in 2024 with a First Day Hike at a state park, which will host ranger- guided and self-guided walks, bike rides, paddling trips and polar plunges in honor of the national initiative aimed at getting people outdoors.

The holiday season is officially underway, with lots of office parties, neighborhood open houses and family dinners. For the friends and families of the 1,246 people killed last year in Texas by drunk drivers, the holidays this year (and for many years to come) will be a time of grief and sadness.

It’s unlikely that anyone aspires to be a last-minute holiday shopper. Putting off holiday shopping until the last minute can make for a stressful home stretch to the season, and there’s no guarantee store shelves won’t already be picked clean or that gifts purchased online will arrive on time.