Coppell Gazette (Coppell, Tex.), Vol. 30, No. 28, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 1, 2012 Page: 1 of 8
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VOLUME 30, NO. 28
COPPELLGAZETTE.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012
Local CHAMPS
Coppell crime rates (all
Knights of Columbus crown
free throw champions
Health EXPO
Biggest Loser to speak
at CHS Health and
Education Expo
_JAMES ROTH_
jroth@acnpapers.com
Even though the Coppell Police Department
has warned residents throughout the year of
spikes in certain crimes, the yearly crime report
for 2010-2011 shows that the city of Coppell con-
tinues to be a safe community for families.
During that time, the city saw a decrease in
almost every category. Sgt. David Moore of the
Coppell Police Department said this was a suc-
cessful year for the city as far as crime goes.
“We are very pleased with our numbers and
we hope they continue to go down every year,”
Moore said. “We are going to keep trying to do
what we can to make Coppell a safe community.”
According to the report there are seven of-
fenses that were tracked over the year:
murder/manslaughter, forcible
rape, robbery, assault, bur-
glary, theft and motor vehi-
cle theft. Of those offenses
only assault and theft in-
creased from the year be-
fore, 12.1 percent and 14.
86 percent, respectively.
Moore said there could be
various reasons why these
two offenses increased over
the past year.
“It always varies from year
to year, but it could be a result of
the economy,” he said. “People fall
on tough times and do what they
have to do to make ends meet, or it
See REPORT, Page 2A
All-Region honors
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Coppell Middle School West students traveled to Red Oak for this year’s All-Region Choir Audition last week and at the end of the day,
16 students had earned All-Region honors and will be participating with this year’s All Region Band. Congratulations to Maha Haque,
Lillie Saunders, Sajani Raja, Esther Cha, Andrea Arce, Maggie Theel, David Nguyen, Anand Singh, Riya Mahesh, Sai Hardicker, Bharthi
Caldwell, Jade Rodriguez, Tori Kennedy, Macy McCready, Laurel Parsle, and Prayusha Pandey. Choir director is Allison Hartzell.
Sum OF THE CITY
Cowboys crush Fort
Worth Southwest
Tunnell discusses accomplishments, future
BREAKING NEWS
24/7 Online at
StarLocalNews.com
If it’s happening in your
community, it’s on your
community news website
Index
Fire Log.....................................................4A
Classifieds......................................................5A
Police Reports...........................................4A
Sports.............................................................8A
CoppellGazette.com
_JAMES ROTH_
jroth@acnpapers.com
City officials, school board mem-
bers and other figures throughout the
city gathered at the Coppell Senior
Center for the Coppell Chamber of
Commerce’s monthly luncheon. At the
luncheon, guest were given a state of
the city address
Mayor Pro Tern Marsha Tunnell
filled in for Mayor Doug Stover who
was not able to attend due to business.
Tunnell spoke on the various accom-
plishments Coppell achieved last year
as well as the multiple plans the city
will continue to strive for in the fu-
ture.
She started by saying that the city
of Coppell has 45,000 people working
in the city everyday, which is higher
than the actual population of the city.
“I have lived here for 30 years and
this has not hap-
pened,” she said.
“It is great for our
local businesses
and retailers and
it is something to
be proud of.”
Tunnell spoke
about the multiple
construction proj-
ects that are tak-
ing place in the
city, most notably the recreation cen-
ter, Deforest Road, Old Town and Kid
Country.
Tunnell sad the rec center will be
open this spring with multiple im-
provements. The city has added more
than 11,000 square feet to the facility
and has renovated 23,000 square feet.
In addition, the pools are being reno-
vated as well to add a new slide.
“The grand re-opening will be tak-
Marsha
Tunnell
ing place this spring and we are ex-
cited for that,” she said.
Next she spoke about the construc-
tion on Deforest Road and how it has
been a long time coming for residents
in that area. Construction will take
300 days to complete but did warn res-
idents that it will get worse before it
gets better.
“Once everything is done it will be
great,” she said. “For part of the con-
struction traffic will be one way. They
have also installed speed bumps.
While it might be a bit of a hassle for
residents who live in that area the end
result will be much better than it was
before.”
Tunnell also talked about the
highly anticipated Old Town that has
just begun construction on the roads
around the area.
See MAYOR PRO TEM, Page 3A
Air Force vet suspends senate campaign
coppell
gazette
GENERAL OFFICE CLASSIFIED ADS CIRCULATION
972-398-4200 972-422-SELL 972-424-9504
i
Serving the
Coppell
Community
for 20 Years
BILLCONBAD
bconrad@acnpapers.com
Former U.S. Air Force
fighter pilot and current
Frisco resident Scott O’-
Grady has suspended his
campaign for state Senate
District 8.
In July, O’Grady an-
nounced his intention to
seek what was then called
state House District 33,
which included the Collin
County portion of Frisco,
and then wrapped around
the county’s northern and
eastern borders and went
south to include Rockwall
County. However, several
months later when Florence
Shapiro announced she
would not seek re-election in
Senate District 8,
O’Grady decided
to seek that seat
instead.
In a Facebook
post on Monday,
O’Grady thanked
his supporters be-
fore announcing
the campaign sus-
pension.
“At this time,
due to the uncertainty of a
primary election date from
redistricting, I am suspend-
ing my campaign for the
Scott
O’Grady
Texas State Senate ... I just
need to regroup and reassess
things,” he wrote. “I appreci-
ate you all.”
New district
maps for the Texas
House and Senate,
as well as the U.S.
House are stalled
in federal court
after lawsuits by
civil rights groups
claimed the maps
unfairly discrimi-
nated against mi-
nority voters.
Interim maps drawn up by a
court in San Antonio were
thrown out by the U.S.
Supreme Court, and replace-
ment maps have not yet
been approved.
As a result of the maps
dispute, the Texas primary
has been moved from March
6 to April 3 and could be
moved back further if new
maps are not decided by Feb.
6.
O’Grady is a 12-year Air
Force veteran who was shot
down over Bosnia in 1995
and evaded capture for six
days before being rescued by
U.S. forces. In July, he said
running for public office was
the next step in his life and
something he was ready for
See O’GRADY, Page 2A
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Mann, Rick. Coppell Gazette (Coppell, Tex.), Vol. 30, No. 28, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 1, 2012, newspaper, February 1, 2012; Plano, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth851997/m1/1/: accessed June 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .