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Home My WebLink About2009-09-04 Euless Articles DISTRIBUTED TO: PAGE / OF I MAYOR CITY CNCL CITY ATTNY CRIM MCKAMIE BROWN YOUNG ANIMAL CNTR McDONALD COLLINS� C. BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARY ADMIN LIBRARY REF DATE DISTRIBUTED q I"'7 /0 ` DATE OF ARTICLE F/ -3/0 NEWSPAPER FWST WORK FACES Moves G_hris Carker has accepted the position of director of plan= ning and development p. for Euless.He r will oversee the planning, permittingzT and code — enforcement Barker operations. He will also serve as staff sup- port for the Planning and Zon- ing Commission and the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Mike Col- - fins has ac- cepted c ce ted the P £ � D df position of economic development rau director for Collins Euless.Collins has served as director of plan- - ning and development for the past eight years. He will assist in the development of new busi- ness enterprises in the Euless market as well as work to retain existing businesses.He will also be the staff liaison for the Eu- less Development Corp.and the Industrial Development Au- thority. _ ■Euless has received four , awards from the Texas Festivals and Events Association.The awards are for: • Euless Today,Arbor Daze Kidz Zone,Volunteer Program and Arbor Daze Forestry Village.The association is the official state chapter for Texas and New Mexico of the International Festivals and Events Association. Festivals and special events promote community fellowship, encourage family interaction and maintain our rich and di- verse cultural heritage. DISTRIBUTED TO: PAGE / OF MAYOR CITY CNCL CITY ATTNY CRIM MCKAMIE BROWN YOUNG ANIMAL CNTR • McDONALD COLLINS (C BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARY ADMIN q LIBRARY REF — DATE DISTRIBUTED 9/ ! l v? A"?DATOF ARTICLE gS /0 J NEWSPAPER FWST Statemay 1ifl111y Funds are finally available If you go 111. to widen Texas 121 183 in A public hearing will brief •_ en. ___ . .mow �i+��............. Oe Ul l LIIC r1/Cl gC . ..+�ik .,. r....n. .. IYorYflealSL lallwit�.Oun�y�a, - - ` � " - � � project proposed in 1993. posed expansion of Texas 121/183 in Northeast of ex �� BY GORDON DICKSON Tarrant County. — n gdickson@star-telegram.com ■6:30 tonight r Sixteen years 'have passed •First Baptist Church, pi,' ® Freewayrt rp Transportation told dozens of 1000 Airport'Freeway Hurst residents that their •A brief open house will • homes were in the way of prog- be followed by a pre- ress and would be removed for sentation and an opportu- Airport Freeway expansion. nity for residents to sub- — The proposed reconstruc- mit oral or written coin tion of the six-lane highway, ments.Read more at also known as Texas 121/183, www.txdot.gov. ,_ has been delayed time and source Texas Department of Trans- again by,funding shortages. P"tat'°n Many residents have been left ; in limbo—unable to rest easy m Honkin'Mad NORTHEAST TARRANT COUNTY in their homes knowing that•,taffanA Keep up with the latest they would eventually be torn Metroplex traffic and Airport Freeway expansion down but also unable to sell transportation news at 117091 ' the property and move on with star-telegram.com/blogs — their lives. ' i But the state agency may fi- ly required environmental nally be on the verge of fulfill- study, which is expected.to Airpo' ing its promise to homeowners be completed by fall. Then rt z47's ® ® in Hurst and commuters the Transportation Depart- across Tarrant County— and wentcan begin buying all ,1 get the project under way. the necessary rights of way The proposed expansion of and moving utility lines. �,g401 �. ®E81kiR6EkHIiIAI{07RB$6®, -' mapped.... the busiest freeway in Tarrant After more than a decade Noah East 1 County, which -also cuts of funding delays; a break- through Bedford, Euless and through came this year N CP.,„,... 10 3 ,6, Forth a North.Richland Hills, will.be when the department i ..;-,4,.4.;:',,, , , discussed during ahearing to- awarded the project to NTE - � _-��-ry,. ' night in Eutess'Residents are Mobility Partners, a private An 11-mile stretch of Texas 121/183,also known as Airport Freeway,could invited to attend and submit developer. That group, be expanded beginning next year.Existing free lanes would be rebuilt and comments. which is headed by the U.S. new toll lanes would be open by 2015. - -- "The hearing will give inter- arm of Spain-based Cintra,. ested citizens an opportunity agreed to build the first $2:. to provide input in this highly billion of the'estimated $5 — anticipated highway project," billion project. agency spokesman Michael Cintra plans to pay for its. Peters said. "Ultimately,it will part of the project by corn _ -include the three main lanes biasing $570 million in gas- and three toll lanes in each di- tax revenue from the state rection, improved frontage with$300 million in equity roads and added auxiliary: and $1.1 billion in debt lanes." ' and recoup that investment The'possibility of building by collecting tolls on the noise walls in neighborhoods new lanes for 52 years. will also be discussed. — Environmental study The hearing is part of a federal- DISTRIBUTED TO: PAGE OF MAYOR CITY CNCL CITY ATTNY CRIM MCKAMIE BROWN YOUNG ANIMAL CNTR McDONALD COLLINS C.BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARY ADMIN LIBRARY REF DATE DISTRIBUTEDWc2 5 10? 9/410 9 DATE OF ARTICLE NEWSPAPER FWST First phase The first phase of the project includes expansion of 11 miles of Airport Freeway, and Northeast Loop 820 in Haltom- City and North :Richland Hills.The plan is to add two toll lanes in each di- rection initially and a third lane by 2030.= NTE will also create a master plan for expanding other area highways by 2030,possibly including In- terstate 35W in north Tar- o rant County by 2018. About 83 acres from nearby property owners are needed for the project,state officials say, including .0.7 acre of the L.D.Bell High School campus. In all, land from 128 homes, 27 busi- nesses and a church is need- ed. In Hurst,60 homeowners havealready qualified for medical hardships, .-and their land has' been pur- chased,Peters said.But un- der state law,the Transpor- tation Department cannot buy real estate from proper- ty owners without a medical hardship until after the fed- eral environmental study period is concluded. The plan calls for existing lanes on Texas 121/183 to remain free,`but the new lanes will have tolls. Begin- ning in 2015,it could cost up to $6.50 to drive;`the' full length of the toll lanes. GORSON DICKSON,817-390-7796 DISTRIBUTED TO: PAGE / OF / MAYOR CITY CNCL CITYATTNY CRIM MCKAMIE BROWN YOUNG ANIMAL CNTR McDONALD COLLINS/ C.BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARYADMINLIBRARY REF DATE DISTRIBUTED 9 / "7 /0 DATE OFARTICLE U �a( / 0 NEWSPAPER FWST DISCOUNT GROCER A 11/-1; 1•NI- f- L LItJI 1 V i.J Iall By SCOTT NISHIMURA snishimUra@star-tel egram.com • Seelzs trainees A two-day job fair to find manager trainees for — Aldi, the discount grocer that's entering Texas with about 30 stores early next year,will contin- to run stores ue today in Arlington. .The company,which plans to open 30 stores in the Metroplex between March and May, is Manager trainees for the company taking applications for trainees at Arlington's must be prepared to move to another city Crowne Plaza Suites hotel. _ for"on the ground"training. Chris Daniels,director of operations for Aldi, said at midday Tuesday that he expected about 500 applicantsto move through the fair for the day. He said the chain wants to hire 20-25 trainees from this fair, the second Aldi has held-in the area. New hires must commit to moving to anoth- er city, such as St.Louis;Chicago;Kansas City, Mo.;or Indianapolis,to train for six months be- fore moving back to the Metioplex. Aldi wants to "get them on the ground, get them that real-world training, and then come back in the first quarter next year,"he said Trainees make_$20 per hour,with full bene- fits. The lure: If promoted to store manager down the line, trainees could make $65,000- $85,000 per year,Aldi said. Besides hiring trainees,Aldi is also moving some experienced store managers from other markets to.North Texas to help run the new stores,Daniels-said. The North Texas market is attractive to other — Aldi managers because of its cheap cost of'iv- ' ing,housing stock and warm weather, Daniels ` said. Once Aldi opens its first 30 stores here next year,it plans to open eight to 10 more a year in North Texas for the next three or four years, Daniels said. Aldi, based in Germany, has its U.S.headquarters in Batavia,Ill. Daniels, who was hired as an Aldo district manager himself straight out of college four years ago,said the fair is attracting a good num- ber of job-seekers who still have jobs.. "We're getting a lot of people who are pas-, sively looking,"he said."It catches their.eye." The fair is from Z a.m.to 1 p.m.and 3 to 6 p.m . — SCOTT NISHIMURA,817-390-7806 DISTRIBUTED TO: PAGE / OF MAYOR CITY CNCL CITYATTNY CRIM MCKAMIE BROWN YOUNG ANIMAL CNTR McDONALD COLLINS C. BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARY ADMIN LIBRARY REF C DATE DISTRIBUTED / / l DATE OF ARTICLE 9/a /o 9 NEWSPAPER FWST 4.1 IP ll 0411 ' 0 A �.. OU 4 Tit e .t Lb I - Fee-based revenue has (C Most people don't tend to shop for posed on'the back end, after the apparently become a new ' purchase. And their average banks and credit cards by looking at the business model. amount is often more than the value of what the customer overdraft fees and late fees?' — Death,taxes and fees? bought in the first place. Rebecca Borne, Center for Responsible Lending - Fees used to be an occa- Credit-card companies have t sional expense, an additional been dangling low interest rates Fort Worth Airport.The quote to always clear. charge in exchange for an ad- andthen'making up the differ- rent a midsize car for three days: "Consumers have to be much — ditional service.But in recent ence with higher fees for balance was$54-plus$35 in taxes,sur- more engaged on the front end years,they've become a corn- transfers and even monthly ser- charges and fees. and not just focus on the new mon way for companies and vice.Mortgage loans have added That's a price increase of al- thing they're buying," Pettijohn governments to juice up neve- more fees since the housing bust, most 65 percent for facility charg- said. "It's easy to look past the . nue without raising the price and they already hada laundry es, concession fees, customer taxes and fees when they're excit- that everybody sees. " list of charges that could top 3 transportation charges, motor ed about a purchase. But they Consumers still pay more, percent of the mortgage amount. rental tax,vehicle license cost re- have to investigate the total costs, _ of course, and the extra fees Then there are government covery and a E.tees sports venue especially on things that will be make it harder to do compari add-ons imposed on all players, tax. used a lot." ,son shopping, which may be regardless of which cable compa- The same car-rental compa- This week,a new state law lets one objective.Last month,my ny, cellphone service, Internet ny's Plano location quoted $12 auto dealers charge a higher doc- electric retailer added a $5 provider or car rental agency is for taxes and fees. ument processing fee;dealers say monthly fee but kept the same selected. Retailers generally ad- Businesses have been adding the latitude is needed because variable-rate formula for cal- vertise one price, with a fine- fees for several years, often say- their paperwork has grown.Petti- culating the bill. Try figuring print reference to third-party tax-_ ing that lets customers pay for john's office will consider wheth- - out how that`affects kilowatt es and fees. what they value.A year ago,most er any increases are"reasonable," costs—and whether a switch But cut-rate deals on things of the big airlines survived a rec- and she expects to propose is warranted. like cellphone service are never ord run-up in fuel prices,in part guidelines in the fall. A 2006 study by the Pone- as cheap as the advertised price, by adding fuel surcharges and an The fee must be written on the mon Institute estimated that even if you manage to avoid ex- array of fees for checking bag- sales contract so customers will Americans were paying an cessive texting and Web surfing. gage, changing reservations, have the choice of.paying the average of almost$943 a year Mylatest bill added a state and ci- even selecting an aisle seat. expense or negotiating a lower in fees, with the' biggest ty sales tax,a special purpose dis- Fuel costs have fallen,but air- one-just as they do with vehi- amounts going to banks`and trict tax,a 911 service fee,a feder- line fees are going up,not away. des, auto loans, warranties and credit card companies. 1 al and; state universal service They've become even more valu- more. Not all fees are created charge and a regulatory cost re- able in a recession. Fees on financial services are — equal.In general,upfront fees covery charge. Leslie Pettijohn, the states often more complex and some are easier to stomach because None of those extras go to consumer credit commissioner, times buried in the fine print. customers see them early and AT&T,my cellphone service pro- says a new business model has Five years ago, most banks sim can always walk away(as I did vider,but consumers have to po- taken hold that depends on more ply denied a debit-card purchase — with my electric company).By ny up all the same. fee-based revenue.In this world, if the account didn't have enough 'contrast, overdraft protection A more extreme Txample is at it's not enough to just say buyer money.Today,most banks auto fees on debit cards are im- tle car-rental counttr at Dallas/ beware,because the costs are not matically enroll customers in. DISTRIBUTED TO: PAGE "R OF eR MAYOR CITY CNCL CITY ATTNY CRIM MCKAMIE BROWN YOUNG ANIMAL CNTR McDONALD COLLINS C.4-1 9BARKER /GETCHELL LIBRARY ADMIN� LIBRARY REF DATE DISTRIBUTED l I I / DATE OF ARTICLE / l o NEWSPAPER FWST overdraft protection so they cov- er the cost-and generate hefty fees. • According to a study by the Center for.Responsible Lending, consumers pay $17.5 billion in annual overdraft fees. The aver- age transaction that triggers an. overdraft is $20. The. average. -- bank feel$34. "Most people don't tend to shop for banks and credit cards by looking at the overdraft fees_and — late fees," said Rebecca Borne, policy counsel for the nonprofit research center in Washington. — What they compare, she says, are the monthly service fees for checking accounts and interest that's paid out.There's more coin- petition on those fronts because the numbers are easy to find and niore transparent. As a result,people get a better — deal. The center wants regulators to require that customers opt for overdraft : protection because they'll lie more likely to compare overdraft charges.And the center wants ATMs to inform people when they're about to trigger a fee so they can decide whether the cost is reasonable.` Sounds like the least we could _ do.Americans.are already paying a_ton for fees they y don't know about. MITCHELL SCHNURMAN'S COLUMN APPEARS SUNDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS. 817-390-7821 DISTRIBUTED TO: PAGE / OF MAYOR CITY CNCL CITY ATTNY CRIM MCKAMIE BROWN YOUNG ANIMAL CNTR McDONALD COLLINS C.BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARY ADMIN LIBRARY REF DATE DISTRIBUTED 9/4//09 DATE OF ARTICLE 9/3 / 0 q NEWSPAPER FWST STATE GOVERNMENT Bedford na ctnr nicked as cn airman ofTYCbard: Scott Fisher is also a news media, hired as the agency's executive Other duties chaplain for the Euless Fisher, the new TYC chair- director Tuesday. Fisher, 51,is also chaplain for police and a member of the man, said a key goal will be In addition to the chair the Euless Police Department JPS board.. "regaining the trust" of the man, Perry also appointed and has served on the JPS public, the Legislature and Grayson County District At- Health Network board since By DAVE MONTGOMERY families of young inmates in torney Joseph Brown of Sher- May 2005. He is secretary of — dmontgomery@star-telegram.cam TYC prisons and halfwayman'Larry arry Carroll of Midland, the board's executive commit ,AUSTIN — The Texas Youth houses. "It's an agency that executive director of the tee. 3,ommission has moved into has had some very unfortu- Permian Basin Community Grapevine lawyer Neal Ad- ,another phase of its two-year nate things occur prior to the ' Centers for Mental Health and: ams said that as a JPS board — recovery from a devastating last two years,"said Fisher,se Mental Retardation; Manson member, Fisher has helped sexual abuse scandal with,the nior pastor of Metroplex Cha- B.Johnson of Houston,pastor the county's public' hospital appointment of a new govern- pel in Euless,which is affiliat- of Holman Street Baptist district through recent sweep- ing board headed by Tarrant ed with the Church of the Naz- Church; Rolando Olvera of ing changes.He also predicted — County minister Scott Fisher arene. "The families whose Brownsville, a state district that Fisher will guide the TYC of Bedford. The TYC oversees kids have been committed to judge in Cameron County in the right direction. the state's juvenile prison sys TYC need to have confidence and Beaumont'physician Da- "With an organization that tern. that it will be a very positive vid Teuscher, has had its' difficulty and Gov Rick Perry's office an- experience." All but Teuscher and Olvera needs some stable leadership, pounced six of the seven COM- The agency was placed in have served on a TYC advisory I think Scott will provide that Tmission members Wednesday, conservatorship after mem- board created in October, stability,and I think he will do ha day after they met for the bers of an earlier governing when Townsend was named the right thing for the kids _-first time to organize subcom board resigned at the outset of executive director. served by TYC," said Adams, rnittees and discuss priorities, the scandal in early 2007.Che Fisher said a seventh mem who has served on several to TYC officials said the Tuesday rie Townsend,who had served ber was appointed but with- cal boards with Fisher. .... meeting was posted but not as TYC's executive commis- drew That slot will be filled The TYC deals with the announced in a release to the sioner since October, was later,he said. state's most troublesome a a a a DISTRIBUTED TO: PAGE OF MAYOR CITY CNCL CITY ATTNY CRIM MCKAMIE BROWN YOUNG ANIMAL CNTR McDONALD COLLINS C. BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARY ADMIN LIBRARY REF DATE DISTRIBUTED 9/q/ °9 DATE OF ARTICLE 9/3/09 NEWSPAPER FWST young ottenaers,operating it iegisiauve session. prisons,nine halfway houses Fisher said the new board and 12 contract=care residen- will work toward "complete tial facilities that house youths openness and transparency" 10 to 19 who are involved in within the agency. "Our goal felony offenses. for each youth is to provide Two .facilities, in Vernon them with the tools and the _ and Pyote, are scheduled to training and the treatment to close in August. have a chance to succeed in life,"he said Remaking the.TYC The commission is re- The TYC underwent a radical. quired to meet four times a makeover by the Legislature in year,but Fisher said he wants 2007 after allegations that in- at least eight meetings to build mates as young as 11 were sex- on the progress he said the ually abused by adult supervi- agency has achieved since sors in prisonsand halfway 2007. houses. "There are a lot of good sto- The TYC scandal began un- ries about what is happening folding in February 2007 after in the TYC that have unfortu- a Texas Ranger accused TYC nately been lost in the scan- officials of covering up his in- dais of the past,"he said. vestigation into alleged sex 'abuse at a West Texas facility. Staff Writer Anthony Spangler contrib- Tllose and other disclosures uted to this article. sparked a public outcry that dominated much of the 2007 DAVE MONTGOMERY,512-476-4294