The Colony Courier (The Colony, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 4, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 2, 1998 Page: 1 of 10
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Proudly Serving The Colony, Texas ™ coionypubuclibrary
# rue nl, N COi°HY BLVD
THE COLONY TX 75^2,9
"Courier
Vol. 2, Num. 4
Wednesday, December 2, 1998
www.thecolonycourier.com
Gyrocopter crash kills pilot
By GREG REAM
Staff Writer
"We were all just sitting around here on
the porch when suddenly my grandchildren,
who were playing out in front of the house,
noticed a small helicopter flying overhead. It
seemed to be in trouble. They could see pieces
of the aircraft were falling to the earth, and
suddenly the roar of the engine had stopped,
and a few seconds later, 'Boom'!" This is how
Ramon Trevino described the first few mo-
merits of that fatal crash. The small gyrocopter,
a mail-order experimental kit, was piloted by
Dr. William George Blanton, 68, of Bowie TX.
The Frisco Police Department recieved no-
tification of the crash at approximately 3:07
p.m. on Saturday. The crash occured west of
FM 423 and just south of Hackberry Road
approximately 150 yards from the house of
Mike and Arigie Trevino on the Lone Star
Ranch.
He had just left from Caddo Mills with two
other pilots, Larry Neal and Brad King, fly-
ing similar aircraft enroute to his home in
Bowie, TX. According to friends, Blanton was
an excellent pilot, and had even built the air-
craft himself.
"We took off from Caddo Mills about 2:30,
and our plan was to fly along Highway 380.
We normally fly at an altitude of 800 feet, but
we wanted to fly through Denton so we could
avoid flying over all these lakes then go to
Propwash airport to refuel," Neal said. "But
when we were near the north part of Lake
Lavon, George veered off course, and started
flying straight for Propwash." Neal said he just
figured Blanton had changed his mind, and
wanted to fly straight through.
Neal added "It was pretty windy up there.
I remember some wind gusts got a hold of me,
and shook me around a bit." Once Neal ar-
rived at his destination, Bridgepoint, he called
Blanton's wife make sure he had made it home
safely. When she had told him he hadn't, Larry
called the Federal Aviation Administration.
Mike Castillo, one of the witnesses on the
scene, thought that maybe the pilot was try-
ing to direct the crippled aircraft towards the
lake. Castillo theorized that the pilot may have
known his aircraft was in trouble and he may
have a better chance of survival if he were to
crash into the water.
Another witness, Angie Trevino said
"Right after we heard the crash, we could see
pieces of the debris flying overhead. One
piece had even landed just a few feet from my
front door, right where my grandchildren were
playing!"
"Aircraft are always flying nearby, and you Photo by Greg Ream
can hear them kill the engines and restart them The wreckage above is from a gyrocopter that
(See CRASH, Page 3A) crashed just west of 423.
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Local citizen is Mix 102.9's 'Win a date
Furby fever hits
The Colony
Wal-Mart sees toy disappear
By CHRIS COFFIN
Staff Writer
The day after Thanksgiving is
traditionally the busiest shopping
day of the year. This year was no
exception with parents looking for
the new Furby, this year's "Got-To-
Have-It" toy. For those who don't
know, Furby is a small Gremlin-
like creature that responds to light
and sound, with a vocabulary of
over 200 words - 100 in English
and 100 in "Furbish". Wal-Mart in
The Colony had them. Seventy-
eight of them to be exact.
The key word is "had". In
roughly one hour, they were gone
and the only way to have pur-
chased one is to have stood in line
all night. Unfortunately, standing
sleepless all night long, people get
a little unruly. So much so that The
Colony Police Department was
called out to keep the crowd from
getting out of hand,
Wal-Mart tried to control the
"Furby Fury" by rationing them.
Posted outside the store is a notice
clearly stating that only one Furby
will be sold per person and only
one register was used for Furby
purchases.
Wal-Mart says they might be
getting a few more Furbys in but
don't know exactly how many.
In other police news:
Monday, a bomb threat was
called in to Albertson's in The
Colony, apparently by a juvenile.
Police responded but no bomb was
found.
At 1:30 am Thursday, four ju-
veniles were seen on the 5500
block of Squires and were reported
to police for suspicious activities.
(See JUVENILES, Page 2A)
0:1
Photo by Shawn Moore
Keith Lehman (center) was Mix 102.9's 'Win A Date' last
Wednesday. The radio station's morning team of U-Turn
Laverne (left) and Alan Kable (right) fielded questions with
Lehman from listeners who wanted to win the date.
By BRANDY MOORE
Associate Publisher
Keith Lehman is probably the
only person in The Colony who has
seen the entire face of Wilson Wil-
son, the advice giving neighbor on
Home ffflprovelnefli, played by Earl
Hindman. Keith has seen a lot of
things behind the scenes of Home
Improvement. The Colony's local
celeb' plays Cal Borlen, Al's brother,
on the popular television show.
Though Lehman has been quiet
lately, just last week he came back
with a bang. He shot a commercial in
Dallas for Public Supermarkets
(which will only air in Florida) and
last Wednesday was U-turn Lavern
and Alan Kable's "Win a Date
Wednesday" on Mix 102.9. A radio
version of the perenial "Dating
Game", Alan and U-tum had many
eager, starstruck ladies ready to win
a date with the lovable Lehman.
"Michelle" called in saying she
(See DATE, Page 3A)
Humphrey makes Ethridge exemplary
Part 2 of a monthly series profil-
ing local principals
By SUSAN CHINIEWICZ
Staff Writer
"I was excited about coming to
Ethridge," says Linda Humphrey,
who became principal there in 1997.
"I guess it all happened so fast I didn't
have time to become nervous about
it." It could also be that her four years
as assistant principal at Milliken
Middle School and two years at Lake-
land Elementary gave her the experi-
ence needed to feel comfortable tak-
ing the helm.
"I came in with the intention of
making no major changes," she said.
Her first priority was to increase the
communication between parents,
teachers and the administration. "I
wanted the parents to know that my
door is always open." Her second
priority was to know the students.
The former principal, Phyllis White,
had left behind a 1996/1997 year
book and she spent much of the sum-
mer getting to know names and faces.
She may not have intended to
make major changes, but changes
were made. Ethridge had been a Rec-
Tis' the season
Santa on Safari
The Colony's 18th Annual
Christmas Parade will be held
on this Sunday, December 6th at
2:00 p.m. with lineup beginning
at 1:15 p.m. at the Little League
Complex. The theme of this
year's parade is "Santa on Sa-
fari". All local groups and orga-
nizations are encouraged to
participate in the parade. Reg-
istration forms may be picked
up at the Recreation Center.
The annual Christmas Tree
Lighting will be held that
evening at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.
Plan now to attend both events!
With the holiday season upon
us, families have already begun
to put up lights and decorations
throughout the city. This past
weekend Tom and Kim Mladjen,
along with son Peter, try to pick
out the best looking tree for their
home.
Photo by Greg Ream
Landmark closes
Pizza Inn calls it quits
Linda Humphrey, principal
lieves in communication so
ognized school under White. In the
first year of Humphrey's guidance,
the school earned an Exemplary rat-
ing. She's not eager to take credit for
the increased rating, however. She
credits the teachers and an enrollment
Photo by Susan Chiniewicz
at Ethridge Elementary be-
her door is always open.
in a very special program.
The summer of 1997, Ethridge
was one of only three schools to take
part in a special TAAS training pro-
gram. An all day Saturday class, the
(See HUMPHREY, Page 3A)
By SUSAN CHINIEWICZ
Staff Writer
As of Tuesday, one of the few The
Colony landmarks has closed their
doors.
Pizza Inn opened 20 years ago as
one of the first two businesses in
town, but the current owners, Lee and
Janet Smith, have only been operat-
ing it for nine months. Nine months
of working the restaurant themselves
day and night with the help of their
children.
"We're simply not making any
money," says Lee Smith.
INSIDE
Calendar
Opinion
Schools & Youth
Community
Colonial Times
Classified
2A
4A
5A
6A
8A
9A
10A
COLONIAL TIMES
THE. HISTORY OF THE COLONY
Politics in a small town can cre-
ate quite a stir. The Colony is
no exception. From MUD,
through the liquor store situa-
tion, and golf course debate,
politics have always weighed
heavily on the city.
Page 8A
So what's next for the building at
the East end of South Colony?
Smithsays there is a possibility of a
new Mexican restaurant taking then-
place.
Restaurants have had a tough time
of it lately in The Colony. Boston
Market closed a couple months ago
due to corporate bankruptcy, the once
Zydeco's Cajun restaurant will soon
become The Cove and Fresh 'N' Lite
was closed and re-born as Street Talk.
On the brighter side, Angelina's will
soon begin construction of a large
free standing building of their own
on Main Street.
BINGO
Senior citizens enjoy play-
ing bingo to get away from
the hectic holiday grit. From
left to right, Frank Hada, Ema
Hada, Helene Rooney, Jerry
Rooney, Jackie Wanninger
and Dot Creedon. Wal-Mart
offers Senior Bingo in thrir
Radio Grill every Wednesday
from 10-11.
Photo by Greg Ream
LISD forum
An open public forum, with
Lewisville Independent School
District Board representatives,
will take place oh Wednesday"
December 2 at 7:00pm. The
forum will be held at The
Colony Municipal Building,
6301 Main Street, The Colony.
The forum, which is spon-
sored by The Colony Lions
Club, will allow the opportunity
for parents and community
members to offer input and
feedback to the school board.
Three LISD board mem-
bers will participate in the fo-
rum. Anne Lakusta school
board President of Flower
Mound, Mark Shaw school
board secretary of The Colony
and Fred Placke of Highland
Village will be present. Lions
President Ray Reyes will mod-
erate the forum.
The forum is the first at-
tempt at any such venue.
Placke, an ex-government
teacher, pushed for the public
forums in his campaign. "The
healthiest thing in our type of
government is open dialogue,"
said Placke, who hopes to con-
duct the next forum in either
Flower Mound or Highland Vil-
lage. "I'm optimistic, but I think
people will show up with legiti-
mate questions."
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Sorter, Dave. The Colony Courier (The Colony, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 4, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 2, 1998, newspaper, December 2, 1998; The Colony, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth403422/m1/1/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The Colony Public Library.