The Colony Courier-Leader (The Colony, Tex.), Vol. 37, No. 20, Ed. 1 Sunday, June 18, 2017 Page: 4 of 10
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4A starlocalmedia.com
The Colony Courier Leader
Sunday, June 18, 2017
EDUCATION / GOVERNMENT / VOICES
TO SUBMIT YOUR
STORY IDEAS
OR PHOTOGRAPHS,
EMAIL CROARK@
STARLOCALMEDIA.
COM
VOICES
Summer
fun at the
library
It’s summertime in The Colony - a time to
explore all of “THE Fun” that our community
offers. The Colony Public Library
(TCPL) provides lots of free, fur
Nelson touts state budget
Education, health and human services included in SB 1
STAFF REPORT
combines local and state
funding. Considering
to allow for greater transpar- projects
ency; and
• $30M to maintain and add
options for all ages, including
those that help parents fend off
the “summer slide.”
As we all know, developing
and strengthening any skill
involves practice; studies have
shown the critical impact of
summer reading on maintaining
and strengthening a child’s
reading skills. TCPL’s Summer
JOAN
SVEINSSON
Library Director
Reading Club offers reading incentives for all
ages; register online at thecolonypl.org or in per-
son at the Library, 6800 Main St. Log your reading
to earn special gifts between now and July 28.
Older siblings may count hours reading aloud
to their younger siblings while parents set the
tone by modeling the reading habit. Family read-
ing time not only strengthens reading skills, but
also provides powerful shared experiences.
Classes and events for all ages are offered at
the Library throughout June and July, including:
early literacy classes (Toddler Times, Toddler
Sensory Play Date, Music & Movement Story
Time, and Preschool Story Time); special pre-
sentations on Wednesday afternoons for children
entering grades K-5; a Teen Art Contest; and the
FOTCPL PRESENTS! Family Fun Night featuring
Wild Things ZOOfari on July 20.
For additional reading encouragement of
children entering grades K-5, TCPL is hosting
Paws for Reading on Tuesday afternoons when
children can practice their reading skills by read-
ing to Toby the Dog (space is limited; register by
email to jyu@thecolonypl.org), as well as Fired
Up About Reading at 2 p.m. Thursdays when The
Colony Fire Department’s firefighters read stories
to children (participants may enter to win a ride
to school on a firetruck).
Headed out on a family trip? Don’t forget to
stop by the Library to pick up some family-friend-
ly audiobooks and music to enliven your travels.
Stay-cationing? Add some variety by checking
out some movies, a science kit, a Story Time
backpack, or a Music & Movement backpack.
Stop by for a game of chess or checkers; bring
your family team to our LEGOmania events at
2 p.m. June 24 and July 22. Stop by one of our
Little Free Libraries (LFL) for the “take a book,
return a book” free book exchange experience at
Bill Allen Memorial Park, Lion’s Club Park, and
Ridgepointe Park. Park visitors are encouraged to
take a book, to share it with a friend, or return it
to an LFL, and to give books to an LFL - shar-
ing the love of reading and promoting literacy
throughout The Colony.
TCPL’s online offerings include Tumblebook
Library’s animated picture books, read-alongs,
ebooks, games, puzzles and more. North Texas
Libraries on the Go (Overdrive) has a large
collection of downloadable ebooks for all ages,
including young adult and children’s comic and
graphic novel ebooks. Freading offers over 50,000
downloadable ebooks, including juvenile and
young adult fiction and nonfiction titles. All three
of these resources work well with mobile devices
so you can take the fun with you wherever you go.
TCPL’s Tutor.com service is available year-
round daily from 3 to 10 p.m. Aspiring writers
of all ages may get feedback by selecting “Write
Tutor;” strengthening writing skills goes hand-in-
hand with strengthening reading skills.
Click on Adult Online Learning at thecolony-
pl.org to find many options for expanding your
knowledge and skills, to take a course, or to get
live help with your job search - including resume
assistance and interview preparation.
Joan L. Sveinsson is the director of The
Colony Public Library. She may be reached at
jsveinsson@thecolonytx. gov.
The opinions that appear in the “Voices”
section are not necessarily those of Star
Local Media. Send your letter to the
editor to lmcgathey@starlocalmedia.
com.
Texas State Senator Jane Nel- both local and state
son, R-Flower Mound, issued the funding sources, ag-
following statement about Mon- gregate funding for
day’s signing of Senate Bill 1, the public education in-
General Appropriations Act. creases by roughly
“All Texans will benefit from $5.2 billion over
the budget signed into law today, the current
This is a smart, responsible fiscal biennium, or
roadmap for the next two years, a 5.7 percent
It stays within our means and ad- increase.
dresses key priorities - protecting • $350M Texas State Senator Jane Nelson
children, improving education, ex- for the Teach-
panding our highways and securing er Retirement System to continue
our border,” Nelson, who authored healthcare benefits for retirees;
SB 1, said.
As sent to the governor, SB 1
establishes a $107.8 billion budget
• Public Education grants:
• E-Rates - $25M;
• Creates a joint com- community purchased psychiatric
mittee to study this issue hospital beds;
during the interim and • $25M to maintain state hospi-
make recommendations tal service levels; and
for budget writers to in- • $10M to increase maximum
corporate in the next security capacity at state hospitals
budget.
• $300M from ESF to begin
• $44M for gradu- overhaul of our state hospital sys-
ate medical educa- tern
tion to continue our • Increases Early Childhood
medical residency Intervention funding by $22.4 mil-
expansion efforts; lion
• $71M to TEXAS Grant to fund • Restores 25 percent of the
92 percent of all eligible residents; therapy rate reductions
and Other
•$19M increase to fund com- • $56M to the Railroad Com-
• Student Success Initiative - munity colleges, including success mission for operational stability
for FY 2018-19, including General $12M; points (outcome-based funding), and pipeline safety
Revenue and approximately $990 • Communities in Schools - Health and Human Services • $87.8M to fund preservation
million from the Emergency Stabi- $31M; and • Increases funding to Child and updates to the Alamo
lization Fund for local grants, state • Boys & Girls Club (Texas Protective Services by over $500M, • $40M to support infrastruc-
hospitals, capital needs and other AIM) - $4.5M.
including nearly 600 new case- ture projects at Texas ports
one-time expenditures. I Higher Education workers (above the emergency • $800M for border security, in-
n all funds, the budget appro- Provides overall increase in appropriation); eluding 250 new troopers
priates $216.75 billion - up $352 funding; • Adds funding for prevention • $4.2M to eliminate current
million (0.16 percent) from FY Non-formula support: services by $33M; rape kit backlog
2016-17. All funds highlights of SB • Sunsets all non-formula sup- • Provides additional funding • $4.7M for pretrial diversions
1 include: port (formerly known as “special for mental health services, includ- • $25M for bullet proof vests
Education items”) by Aug. 31,2019; ing: • $12M for grants to local police
• Continues formula funding at • Reduces by 50 percent uni- • $63M to address capacity and departments
current levels with a versity special items categorized eliminate waitlists for community • $12M for border prosecution
• Adds $2.65B to cover enroll- as “start-up” or “formula generat- mental health services; grants
ment growth (80,000 students per ing” that have been in existence *$67.5M for community col- • $5M for a statewide guardian-
years);
The school funding formula
for longer than 8 years;
laborative grants for jail diversion ship program at the Office of Court
• Categorizes all special items and other local mental health Administration
Friends of the Family
looks to expand
Organization seeks to further help Little Elm, The Colony, Frisco
CHRIS ROARK
croark @ starlocalmedia.com
For years Denton County
Friends of the Family (DC-
FOF) has provided help to
victims of domestic violence
and sexual assault.
Now the organization is
planning expand its efforts to
focus more on the northeast
part of the county, including
Little Elm.
DCFOF will host a break-
fast meet-and-greet June
27 at Bella’s Cafe, 500
W. Eldorado Park-
way. The event is
designed to reach
out to the com-
munity about
its services
and how the
organization
is looking to
that indicate a growing need
for service in this part of Den-
ton County, has prompted the
organization leaders to look
for ways to bring its services to
Little Elm.
According to Skinner, there
are 145 Little Elm residents
served each year by the orga-
nization.
She said 11 percent of its
clients are from Little Elm and
the surrounding area - 398
people in 2016 and so far 249
expand into
the town.
Randi Skinner
people in 2017.
“We want to work
with counselors on site
in that area,” Skinner
said. “Now, we have
an outreach office in
Corinth, but that’s
A. not convenient
for a lot of peo-
ple. Also, trans-
_ portation can
= be a challenge
sometimes. So
“We’ve had a satellite
office at the Little Elm Police
Department where two days
a week we’ll have a counsel-
or there to help victims of
domestic or sexual assault,”
said Randi Skinner, director of
marketing and development
of DCFOF. “But a lot of times,
people don’t want to go to a
police department for initial
help.”
That, coupled with statistics
we think having a local office
will be a benefit.”
At the breakfast, Executive
Director Toni Johnson-Simpson
and other Friends of the Family
staff will discuss the organiza-
tion’s goals for expansion.
For $10 attendees can have
pancakes, bacon or sausage
and a drink, with all proceeds
going toward the organization.HEATHERGOODWIN/STAFF PHOTO
For more information, visit Donna Bloom, director of legal services for Denton County Friends ofthe
dcfof org Family, speaks at a recent DCFOF event.
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McGathey, Liz & Roark, Chris. The Colony Courier-Leader (The Colony, Tex.), Vol. 37, No. 20, Ed. 1 Sunday, June 18, 2017, newspaper, June 18, 2017; Plano, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1622425/m1/4/: accessed June 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The Colony Public Library.