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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-04-26 Euless ArticlesHURST-EULESS-BEDFORD NEWS APRIL 13, 2016 1:33 PM H-E-B Happenings More closures are coming for Midtown Express Bedford ArtsFront opens Saturday Ramp closures and traffic switches are commonplace along the Midtown Express project in Euless. Paul Moseley Star-Telegram archives MIDTOWN EXPRESS UPDATE: CLOSURES COMING More closures are coming along the Midtown Express reconstruction in Euless, including: • April 18 to May 2: The U-turns for eastbound and westbound Texas 183 at Ector Drive will be closed. • April 21 to May 5: From 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily, the westbound Texas 183 exit ramp to Industrial Boulevard will be closed. • April 22: From 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., the eastbound Texas 183 frontage road at Ector Drive and Industrial Boulevard will switch to a new traffic pattern. The project, which will widen and increase capacity for Texas 183 from Euless to Interstate 35E in Dallas, is expected to continue for two years. More information at drivemidtown.com. BEDFORD ARTSFRONT OPENS SATURDAY AT CENTRAL PLAZA An art exhibit will open Saturday at unused storefronts at Bedford Central Plaza, southwest corner of Central Drive and Harwood Road. The opening of the exhibit at Bedford Artsfront will be from 3 to 7 p.m. The free event, sponsored by Crazy Cowboy restaurant and the Bedford Cultural Commission, will feature live music featured by local performers, artisan shopping and more. Information: 817-952-2317. RAPE SELF-DEFENSE CLASSES TAUGHT BY EULESS POLICE The second of four self-defense classes for women is from 7 to 10 p.m. Wednesday with more classes scheduled for April 20 and 27. Taught by the Euless Police Department, the Rape Aggression Defense class includes verbal instruction, the teaching of defensive techniques and a practical exercise. The classes are being held at the Police Department, 1102 W. Euless Blvd. Information: 817-685-1686 or jgordon@eulesstx.gov. Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/hurst-euless- bedford_news/article71592487.html#storylink=cpy Slain Euless Police Officer’s Sister Posts Touching Tribute Online April 21, 2016 4:17 PM Filed Under: #DavidHofer, Annie Potasznik, BLOG, Community, Euless, NYPD, Police Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter (CBSDFW.COM) – The sister of Euless Police officer David Stefan Hofer, 29, who was killed in the line of duty in March 2016, posted an emotional blog post about her loss. “My Brother Was Killed Because He Wore A Uniform” details the actions of a “deranged young man” (Jorge Brian Gonzalez, 22) who ambushed Officer Hofer, fatally shooting him the head. Meret Hofer’s post gives insight into her brother’s life, who was born into a liberal, academic family, attended private school in Brooklyn Heights (where he was a puppeteer, poet and Chinese language student), and later New York University. Like many Americans, the September 11 terror attacks forever changed Hofer’s life, leading him to join the NYPD after college. NYPD officers line up as the the ashes of former NYPD officer David Hofer, who served in Manhattans Ninth Precinct for five years, are carried into Saint Patrick’s Cathedral by officers of the Euless, Texas Police Department. (credit: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images) The post calls out people who were “tempted to mourn Hofer’s loss as an “exceptional officer in an otherwise problematic institution.” Boris writes that that is a mistake and explains: “There are countless reasons why my brother should be alive today, chief among them to give lessons to us all about how to care for one another. Yet, in that regard my brother is not an exception. There are many caring police officers who do good in an incredibly challenging profession. Unfortunately, we tend not to honor these officers. Rather, what makes the news out of the millions of positive interactions officers have with people daily are the very small number of these interactions that devolve into an abuse of power. Most officers want to and do do their jobs well. They want to keep our streets safe. They want to help those who need help. They want to solve problems in their communities. However, instead of becoming teachers or social workers or psychologists, they chose to make a difference as a first responder, navigating the acute emergencies and difficulties that crop up in each of our lives.” Meret Hofer wrote about what made her brother “remarkable” and stressed the importance of dedicated first responders who protect our communities. The post cautions about being led astray by “negative assumptions about what it means to wear a uniform, just as we cannot allow ourselves to be guided by assumptions about what it means to come from a certain zip code or have a certain skin color.” My Brother Was Killed Because He Wore A Uniform, while no doubt inspired from tragedy, offers hope and gives the reader a sense of healing and hope that just as Hofer believed, one person can bridge worlds. (©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.) 10 days before ‘assassinating' officer, Euless addict talked of killing cop Diane Smith, Star-Telegram , WFAA 7:28 PM. CDT April 22, 2016 (Photo: Courtesy - Family) CONNECT TWEET LINKEDIN GOOGLE+ PINTEREST EULESS -- Jorge Brian Gonzalez claimed he was God and told a police officer he wanted to kill him. He was high and acting crazy as Euless police officer W. Tice rode with Gonzalez in an ambulance to a Fort Worth hospital. He talked to cameras he thought were hidden in the interior lights. He said he could control helicopters that he believed were flying overhead. As he was rolled into John Peter Smith Hospital on a stretcher, Gonzalez’s behavior became more threatening, according to a Feb. 21 police report obtained by the Star-Telegram. Tice wrote that he saw Gonzalez “looking at a police officer’s pistol who had his back to Brian as he passed. “I moved the stretcher wide of the officer,” Tice wrote in the report. “Brian looked at me and said, ‘You saw me looking at this gun. I was going to take it.’” A doctor at JPS diagnosed Gonzalez with having homicidal thoughts and numerous drug-related disorders, according to discharge papers. He was released from the hospital on Feb. 23, one day before he turned 22. Eight days later, Gonzalez fatally shot Euless officer David Hofer in a neighborhood park, and then was killed by other officers responding to the March 1 shooting. Officer David Hofer Police Chief Michael Brown wrote in the Euless Citizens Police Academy April newsletter that Gonzalez was a “cold- blooded killer” who was going to take out as many people as possible. “I don’t think we will ever know the motivating force that drove the suspect to kill Officer Hofer,” Brown wrote. “I do believe that his intent was to inflict even more death, damage and destruction in the park than he did.” Brown said police continue to conduct separate investigations into the shooting. One delves deep into the shooting and will be turned over to the Tarrant County district attorney’s office. The other looks at police procedures to determine if policies were followed. Because those investigations are active, Euless police have declined to discuss Gonzalez’s case. But police reports and other documents provided by his father detail his son’s dark life, scarred by sexual abuse, steady drug use and petty crimes — leaving behind more questions than answers. “This was a tragedy for the officer’s family, for the law enforcement community and a life so young that is lost,” said Alex del Carmen, a criminologist and executive director of Tarleton State University’s School of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Strategic Studies. “What could we have done as a society to prevent that?” And at no time was Gonzalez’s self-destructive path more clear than on Feb. 21. HURST-EULESS-BEDFORD NEWS APRIL 22, 2016 11:52 AM H-E-B happenings HIGHLIGHTS Arbor Daze is Saturday in Euless Bedford butcher wins meat-cutting contest Grocer closes Bedford’s Alex Marroquin. H-E-B News ARBOR DAZE IS SATURDAY AT MIDWAY PARK IN EULESS If it’s spring in Euless, it must be time for Arbor Daze. Because of the ongoing Midtown Express construction project, this year’s festival moves to Midway Park, 300 W. Midway Drive. That’s practically its birthplace. While the festival has been held at the City Hall campus in recent years, it started almost 30 years ago at the Midway Recreation Center. It grew to a three-day festival that drew more than 100,000 visitors before being scaled back to a community event. This year’s festival will include a kids zone, carnival rides, food vendors, live music (including Escape, a Journey tribute band) and, of course, free tree giveaways. Information: arbordaze.org. BEDFORD BUTCHER WINS $20,000 IN MEAT-CUTTING CONTEST A Bedford butcher is a one man meat-cutting dynasty. For the second consecutive year, Alex Marroquin was named Meat Cutter of the Year at the National Meat Cutting Challenge in Orlando, Fla. Marroquin, a butcher at the Bedford Texas Roadhouse eatery since it opened in 2005, won $20,000 for his elite carvings. He is married and has a 6-year-old son. “Alex is a highly respected member of the Texas Roadhouse family, and we’re thrilled to see him win for the second year,” said Michael Smith, managing partner of Texas Roadhouse. The competition, which started with 200 butchers, requires entrants to cut sirloins, filets and rib-eyes from 30 to 40 pounds of meat. Butchers are judged on quality, yield and speed, and the cutting is done in a room chilled to 38 degrees. SUN FRESH MARKET CLOSES BEDFORD LOCATION The number of grocery store options in Bedford has been reduced by one. The Minyard Sun Fresh Market in Harwood Hills Village, 3300 Harwood Road, is no longer open. The store opened in February 2015, replacing a Tom Thumb that had long been a staple at the location just east of Texas 121. The store was among a dozen Tom Thumb and Albertsons stores acquired by Associated Wholesale Grocers of Fort Worth and Minyard Food Stores of Richardson as part of divestments tied to the merger of Albertsons and Safeway, Tom Thumb’s parent company. Another Sun Fresh Market remains open in Grapevine, also just off of Texas 121. Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/hurst-euless- bedford_news/article73324247.html#storylink=cpy HEB ISD News & Family Spring 2016