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Home My WebLink About2016-05-10 Euless ArticlesEuless Officer Gets a Puppy Named Hofer By Elvira Sakmari Dog lovers get your tissues out, this story of puppy love will tug at your heartstrings. Corporal Ray Hinojosa with the Euless Police Department lost his brother in blue, when Officer David Hofer was killed during a shootout in March. Hinojosa, who has been with Euless for 28 years, worked with Hofer for the last two years. Hinojosa was on the scene when Hofer was shot and killed. "It's truly tough on these officers to see a buddy die in front of their eyes," Hinojosa's wife Carol told us in an email. Recently a litter of dogs was born in Virginia and each puppy was named after a fallen officer. Hinojosa applied to adopt a dog named "Hofer" for his fallen colleague. Unfortunately, potential adopters were required to appear in Virginia in person to be approved for adoption. Hinojosa was heartbroken but moved on. Fast forward a few weeks and Kamilia Murphy found some golden retriever puppies abandoned by the side of the highway with just a bowl of food. Murphy and Hinojosa's daughter, Lauren, "schemed" and worked out a plan to get that puppy to Cpl. Hinojosa. The pair took the golden retriever puppy to the vet for shots and worming, they even bought him a blue collar (back the blue) and a name tag that says "Hofer." And at 5 p.m. on Thursday, the pair surprised Hinojosa at work, handing over the golden bundle of joy named Hofer. "These officers have had such a tragic time dealing with the death of their friend, this little bit of happiness and tribute will bring some joy," said Carol Hinojosa. "It's been very tough on the whole department and especially those who were on the scene." #ForHofer indeed. Published at 1:50 PM CDT on Apr 29, 2016 http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Euless-Officer-Gets-a-Puppy-Named-Hofer-377608701.html HURST-EULESS-BEDFORD NEWS MAY 2, 2016 3:02 PM Two Euless council seats are up for grabs Saturday Places 1 and 3 are up for grabs Challengers say city needs to curb spending and incentives for developers 1 of 2 BY ELIZABETH CAMPBELL liz@star-telegram.com EULESS Council incumbents Tim Stinneford and Eddie Price are facing challenges from political opponents who say that the city is overspending and needs to stop giving economic development incentives to companies and developers. Election day is Saturday. The Place 1 race pits Stinneford, a senior property manager, against Tim St. Clair, 46, who has run for office in the city previously. In Place 3, Price must defeat Aaron Lindeman, a security systems designer, to win a second term and his first full one. A closer look at the two races: Place 1 Stinneford, 62, is seeking his fourth term on the council and said he was first elected in 2007 as the Great Recession hit. At that time, Euless chose to keep its tax rate low when other cities increased theirs, he said. Stinneford said that during his time on the council, the city has built a senior center and an aquatics center without going into debt. The Glade Parks development is booming, and the Midtown development is getting underway, he said. “The work is not finished yet, and I want to see it through,” he said. Stinneford said his background in development has been instrumental in helping the city move forward with projects. “I feel that I can bring a lot to the table that others can’t because of my background,” he said. Stinneford said he is impressed with the city government and how employees care about the residents. “The only platform I run on is, ‘Do the right thing. What is best for Euless citizens.’ ” St. Clair, who is self-employed, said he is not happy with how he and other small businesses are treated by city management. He also said oversight is needed to make sure that projects are done in the best interest of taxpayers. He gave an example of sidewalks and wheelchair ramps that were built in areas where people in wheelchairs would have a hard time using the ramps. “There is a weak structure in leadership. The city needs new leadership to look out for the benefit of the taxpayer,” he said. St. Clair was also critical of Midtown Express property negotiations, saying that Euless “gave away” land for the project. Place 3 In Place 3, Price is running for his first full term on the council, as he was elected to serve the remaining term of Linda Martin when she was elected mayor in 2014. Price, a consultant, said things have gotten better since the recession but that there are still challenges. During the recession, there were staff cuts, and Price said the need for city services, including fire and police, is growing. Another concern is the rising cost of water and wastewater passed on to the city by the Trinity River Authority, Price said. “I know we had relief this year because of rain, but there are going to be conservation issues. How will we pay for it,” he said. Price has lived in Euless for over 25 years and said he is “sensitive to families and their needs.” Lindeman said he decided to run for office after he began attending council meetings and wasn’t happy with decisions on how Euless is spending money. He said Euless needs to focus on projects that will improve infrastructure such as roads and water lines and said he did not agree with a decision to create a public improvement district to fund the park/public plaza and parking garage in the Glade Parks development. The estimated cost of the improvements is about $3.2 million; property owners in the improvement district will pay half the cost via property taxes, and the city will sell bonds to pay for the other half of the costs. Lindeman said Euless also needs more businesses with unusual concepts such as TopGolf to attract people from outside the city. A lot of expensive homes are being build in Euless, Lindeman said, and he is concerned that the trend will lead to higher values for existing homes. Lindeman moved to Euless four years ago and serves on the H-E-B Teen Court board. THIS REPORT INCLUDES MATERIAL FROM THE STAR-TELEGRAM ARCHIVES. Elizabeth Campbell: 817-390-7696, @fwstliz Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/hurst-euless- bedford_news/article75167492.html#storylink=cpy NORTHEAST TARRANT MAY 7, 2016 4:09 PM Police trying to make a difference, sister of slain Euless officer says HIGHLIGHTS Euless officer was killed March 1 Officer was responding to shots fired at Euless park Sister shared essay about her brother on Internet Meret Hofer, sister of slain Euless officer, David Hofer, said her brother told her that efforts to help people were often overshadowed by people's negative perception of police officers. She wrote an essay about her brother to help inspire a better sense of cooperation between police departments and communities. Meret Hofer Courtesy BY DIANE SMITH dianesmith@star-telegram.com In the weeks that followed the fatal shooting of Euless officer David Hofer, his sister created a blog called “FORHOFER” to honor his memory. Meret Hofer recently posted an essay called “My Brother Was Killed Because He Wore A Uniform,” She said at a time when many people criticize police for their actions, it’s important to understand that most officers are trying to make a difference in the world — at whatever the cost. “It didn’t matter that he was out doing a dangerous job with the pure intention of helping people,” Hofer told the Star-Telegram. “The fact that he wore blue while doing his job meant that some people would immediately cast him in a negative light.” Her essay has been shared on social media, including Twitter. Follow Meret H. @msh258 My Brother Was Killed Because He Wore A Uniform http://forhofer.com/2016/04/20/my… 11:48 AM - 20 Apr 2016 Hofer was killed March 1 after he responded to shots fired at J.A. Carr Park by Jorge Brian Gonzalez, a 22-year-old Euless man who struggled with drug addiction and mental illness. Hofer approached the suspect and was shot at close range by Gonzalez. The 29-year-old officer died during surgery at a Grapevine hospital, and Gonzalez, who was shot multiple times by police, later died at a Fort Worth hospital. Hofer came to Euless in January 2014 after five years of service with the New York Police Department. “Dave was brilliant and hardworking and truly could have done anything he wished to do, and while we all worried about him on a daily basis, we supported him unconditionally and knew he could make a real difference in the world,” said his sister. Meret Hofer, who is a community psychologist, answered a few questions from the Star-Telegram: Did your brother ever talk about dealing with the mentally ill and addicts on the front lines of law enforcement? “Absolutely. In fact, my brother and I would frequently discuss these topics, he from the side of policing, me from the perspective of someone in training to become a community psychologist. … One of the conclusions we came to is that police officers encounter dangerous situations and are forced to make decisions on the street because of shortcomings in the larger system, where the mentally ill are not provided with the assistance they need.” The Star-Telegram recently found that Gonzalez had threatened to kill an officer 10 days before fatally shooting your brother. Were you aware of these details and other recently revealed issues? “It was public knowledge pretty early on that Dave’s killer suffered from a meth addiction. … The extent of his problems became clearer over time and in particular with your recent article focusing on this aspect of Gonzalez’s life. Unfortunately, police will always be required to deal with people who are experiencing substance abuse and mental health problems. There is no way around that. However, after the police officer does his/her job of protecting our community by detaining a person with these kinds of problems who engages in criminal or dangerous behaviors, we should seek to have a system in place that provides an addict or mentally ill person with the services he or she needs to straighten out their lives and become contributing members of our communities.” What do you hope people gain from your essay? “… Ultimately, the piece calls on each of us to examine our way of thinking about police/community relations. Many of us are guided by biases and stereotypes (some positive, some negative) that influence the way in which we see different groups of people, whether it’s the police, the poor, ethnic minorities or immigrants. These assumptions are sometimes tremendously detrimental to making any progress in healing the divide between law enforcement and the communities they serve.” How important was it for your brother to treat people with dignity? “I think Dave always interacted with people with the goal of making a given situation better. He saw himself as a problem-solver.” What do you think your brother would tell Jorge Brian Gonzalez’s family? “That’s a tough question. I’m not sure what he would say, but generally, Dave believed in taking responsibility and accepting the consequences of one’s actions. More importantly, he believed in the betterment of people.” Have Euless police officials kept you and your family updated on developments in the investigation? “The investigation is ongoing, and we expect to receive a full report upon its completion. The Euless Police Department has been incredibly supportive of our family.” Diane A. Smith: 817-390-7675, @dianeasmith1 Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/northeast- tarrant/article76312287.html#storylink=cpy Saturday’s latest election results in municipal and school races Rodger Mallison Star-Telegram Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/election/article76362742.html#storylink=cpy Euless Council Place 1 Tim Stinneford (i) 726 77.1% Tim St. Clair 216 22.9% Precincts reporting: Complete results Unofficial results as of 8:37 p.m. Saturday, May 07, 2016 Council Place 3 Eddie Price (i) 687 72.0% Aaron Lindeman 267 28.0% Precincts reporting: Complete results Unofficial results as of 8:38 p.m. Saturday, May 07, 2016 = winner, (i) = incumbent, R = Republican, D = Democrat, L = Libertarian, G = Green, (w) = write-in Percentages may not add up to 100 percent because of rounding. ..L WEDNESDAY APRIL 27 2016 r STAR· TELEGRAM .COM 1 i U.S. NEWS I WORLD REPORT RANKINGS said. Tarrant County schools Arlington, among the top 100 in Texas include: •Harmony Science Academy in Euless (No. I rr Westlake 28 in Texas, No. 155 in ,, U.S.) I: ··Fort Worth Harmony I; schools place School of Innovation in Fort Worth (No. 43 in ' ~ I< Texas, No. 284 in U.S.) • Colleyville Heritage I high on list High School (No. 71 in Texas, No. 653 in U.S.) :~ •Grapevine High ·~ School (No. 75 in Texas, No. 674 in U.S.) ....................................................... account the number of •Fort Worth Academy Eight Tarrant County students who take and of Fine Arts (No. 79 in L schools make top 100 In pass APtests. It also in-Texas, No. 702 in U.S.} " the state eludes graduation rates. •Keller High School ~ ....................................................... The list includes public School (No. 100 in Texas, Three Keller schools high schools, including No. No. 885 in U.S.) among the state's top 150 charter and magnet Two other Keller district ....................................................... schools. high schools, Timber I> Sixteen Fort Worth-area Summit International Creek and Central, ranked schools among state's top Prep, which is part of the 137th and 149th in Texas, 200 Uplift Education charter respectively. Both were ······················································· system, has a 100 percent unranked in 2015. AP testing participation "We encourage all of rate, a 97 percent gradua-our students to take rig- tion rate and a 94 percent orous courses that are BY AZIA BRANSON minority rate. designed to prepare them abranson@star-telegram.com Uplift Education CEO for the [AP] assessment," Yasmin Bhatia said the said Jeff Bradley, director FORT WORTH system's campuses are of college and career read-· Charter schools in Ar· strategically placed in iness for Keller schools. lington and Westlake are low-income, high-minority "Our teachers put a lot of I• among the top 60 high areas to encourage college time and effort in for the schools in the nation, and readiness. kids to help them be sue- six other Tarrant County "We're proud of open-cessful and showing in- · schools made the top 100 ing up acccess to stUdents crease in our participa- in Texas, according to who historically haven't tion." annual rankings in U.S. had access to this path Tarrant County-area News & World Report. before," Bhatia said. "Sev-schools among the top ,. Summit International enty-two percent of this 200 in Texas include: Preparatory in Arlington is year's graduating seniors •Aledo High School ranked 22nd in the nation are first-generation col-(No.122) and fourth in the state, lege students with a 100 •Trophy Club Byron I and Westlake Academy iii percent college accep-Nelson High School (No. ,1 Westlake ranks 58th na-tance · rate." 129) tionally and ninth in the Mechelle Bryson, exec-•Mansfield High School state. utive principal/ director of (No.161) Two Dallas-based education at Westlake •Arlington Martin High schools are ranked No. I Academy in N~rtheast School (No. 165) and No. 4 nationally. The Tarrant County, calls the •Hurst Bell High School top ranking went to the national ranking a "work (No.167) ,,, School for the Talented in progress." •Euless Trinity High and Gifted, and the School "Our greater aim has School (No. 179) of Science and Engineer-been to build a school ing is fourth. culture where educators Azia Branson, 1; The 2016 Best High use data continuously, 817-390-7547, Schools rankings are collabora~ively and effec-@aziabranson 1 .. based on college read-tively to improve teaching ll iness, which takes into and learning," Bryson ~ ---