20 years ago…
April 13, 2006
WRIGHT NAMED CISD SUPERINTENDENT FINALIST
Collinsville ISD interim Superintendent Dr. Wayne King announced earlier this week that the search firm utilized by the district had settled on one lone finalist for the superintendent vacancy left when Randy Mohundro resigned earlier this year.
King said that Rio Vista High School principal Tim Wright was that finalist and that he felt sure that at the end of the 21-day mandatory waiting period that the CISD Board would extend a contract to him. That shoould put Wright in office sometime after the end of the current school year.
Wright has been the principal at Class 2A Rio Vista, located south of Fort Worth near Cleburne, for about a year. Prior to that, he served as Maypearl High School principal for four years and Dawson Secondary School for 7 years prior to that for a grand total of 12 years of experience as such.
COLLINSVILLE EXPLORERS FARE WELL IN 2006 FIRE GAMES IN DALLAS
The Collinsville Explorers competed in the 2006 Fire Games last Saturday at the Dallas Fire Training Center off Dolphin Road in Dallas.
There were a total of 23 teams competing including Dallas, Plano, Garland, Lewisville, Richardson, Royce City, Fate, McKinney, Anna, Gunter, North Richland Hills, Pflugerville and Wylie.
Each team consists of four Explorers and all events are based on scenarios that last about 45 minutes. There were seven team events, each of which was sponsored by an agency with considerable expertise in the respective event subject. There were also two optional events.
Events included cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and movement; spinal immobilization and move; bunker gear and self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) relay; room search; make and break and ladder raise. Optional events included a physical agility test and a written examination.
Collinsville Explorers competing included: Derek Stewart Brook McKee, Haley Cox, Matt Roberts, Ethan Williams, Calab Elliott, Jessica Blake and James Blake.
The Collinsville Explorers won second place in CPR and movement and fourth place overall in the physical agility exam. The Gunter Fire Department Explorers won first place in the room search.
30 years ago…
April 11, 1996
JELLY BEANS PROMOTE READING
Christy Craig, kindergarten teacher at Collinsville Elementary School, knows about jelly beans. The 23-year veteran teacher and mother of three daughters estimates that she has bought bushels of them over the years. Jelly beans have numerous uses in the lower elementary classes. The tiny candies may be used in teaching counting, grouping sets, sequencing and estimation exercises.
So on a recent trip to the Whitesboro Library when Mrs. Craig noticed a huge jar filled with the brightly colored little sweets, her interest was immediately piqued.
The month-long promotion at the Whitesboro Library entitled, “At the End of the Rainbow is a Good Book,” was a suggestion made by employee, Sabrina Quillin, according to librarian Ginger Garvin. The concept was simple: guess the number of jelly beans in the jar and win two free, award-winning children’s books.
Patrons were invited to submit a guess along with their name, address and phone number. During March, 482 guesses were submitted in the contest.
Mrs. Craig went through a mental estimation exercise in order to formulate her guess.
“I thought about all the jelly beans I had bought. I thought about the size of the bag and how many jelly beans were in a bag, and then I estimated how many bags it would take to fill that big jar.”
Apparently, she is a fairly accurate guesser, as her answer was only 23 jelly beans over the number which the large plastic jar contained.
The grand total was 6,775 jelly beans. Mrs. Craig’s guess was 6,798. The next closest approximation was 430 jelly beans more.
Craig said that approximation is a process which she instructs with her kindergarten class.
In addition to the jelly beans, Mrs. Craig received a John Newberry Award Book, The Giver, by Lois Lowry, and a Caldecott Medal book, Grandfather’s Journey, by Allen Say.
“My class was so excited when they learned I had won,” Mrs. Craig said. “They were hoping that I could bring back the jelly beans, as well as the books.”
An avid reader herself and a strong proponent of reading for children, Mrs. Craig said that she will probably donate the two books to the Collinsville Elementary Library.
40 years ago…
April 10, 1986
FLOWERS RECEIVES THIRD PLACE MEDAL
Robby Flowers, a senior at Whitesboro High School, brought back a third place medal from the Texas Leadership Skill Olympics conducted by the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America (VICA) in San Antonio on April 4.
Flowers is the first state winner in Extemporaneous Speaking in VICA in the history of Whitesboro High School. He competed against all VICA chapters in Texas.
Robby’s topic was “Preparing for Leadership in the World of Work.” He was given five minutes to prepare his speech after bring presented the topic. The speech had to be at least three minutes, but not more than five minutes in duration.
Flowers won first place in district contest and first in regional contest in order to advance to state competition.
He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Flowers of Whitesboro.
LAKE KIOWA VOLUNTEERS OPEN NEW FIRE STATION
It’s been a long time coming, but Lake Kiowa residents finally saw their dream come true two weeks ago when the Lake Kiowa Volunteer Fire Department (LKVFD) moved into its new facility, practically debt-free.
With the exception of a few minor bills which are expected to be paid in the near future, the new building and contents are paid for and are valued at approximately $300,000 according to LKVFD Fire Chief Keith Wyatt.
The success of the department comes at the heels of a big heart displayed by Lake Kiowans who have made generous donations during the past two years when the project planning began.
When enough funds were realized, construction for the 3,000 square foot fire station began around October 1985 at 100 Foxland just off Kiowa Drive West following groundwork which began in August 1985, on the one-acre site.
Although the construction of the metal building was contracted out, volunteer members continued with a giving spirit by donating their labor and time to complete the inside, as well as landscaping which is still underway.
“We moved out of a 900 square foot building to a 3,000 square foot building,” said Wyatt, who in the past has always served as a volunteer but is now in a paid position, on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The former site was located at 107 Kiowa Drive South, Wyatt noted.
The new building, 50x60 feet, features three bays with two bays double deep and one bay single, as well as an office, restrooms and showers, and a conference room/kitchen combination with a seating capacity of about 50. The kitchen features a dishwasher and microwave in addition to necessities, much of which has been donated.
The LKVFD normally makes around 130 fire and medical calls a year.
The department has 37 volunteer firemen whose responsibilities not only cover the approximate 1,300 full time Lake Kiowa residents, but also a 65-square mile area in Cooke County.