Todd Baughman, pastor at Chase Oaks Church Woodbridge Campus, shared his vision for the public artwork “honoring the past and embracing the future” during the Tuesday, June 20, council meeting. Concept art shows a palette of bright, vibrant colors, “Sachse,” two children running and a train.

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The overall budget was presented by Scott Roderick, assistant superintendent of finance and operations, who provided three fund overviews and a proposed tax rate based on current statutes during the Monday, June 19, meeting. As required by law, a public hearing for the proposed budget was held.

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During its June 5 meeting, Sachse councilmembers approved an application for more than $2.71 million. Assistant to the City Manager Amanda Chi said the grant will cover all construction costs not only within Sachse, but Murphy and Wylie as well for the Maxwell Creek Landfill Trail Connection.

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This year’s event is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Monday, July 3, at Heritage Park, which is located at 4408 Hudson Drive. Jordan Beaulieu, leisure services coordinator for the city of Sachse, said participants will want to bring blankets, lawn chairs and a little bug spray as they indulge in the annual Fourth of July festivities.

“The Red, White, and Blue Blast brings the community together by providing a fun and festive family-friendly environment where people of all ages can gather to celebrate,” Beaulieu said. “We offer vendor booths and food trucks at the event for attendees to enjoy and to support local businesses in the area.”

She added that all food options at the event will be paid with around 15 food trucks total. Attendees are able to bring their own food and drinks, but cooking at the event and alcoholic beverages are prohibited.

Several vendor booths are also planned for the event in addition to the food options.

“This year we will have over 50 vendors to shop from, 15 food trucks and lots of fun and exciting games to play during your time at the event,” Beaulieu said.

Additionally, Sachse Fire-Rescue is scheduled to provide several splashdowns throughout the evening to help keep residents cool during the Red, White and Blue Blast. Beaulieu said splashdowns are scheduled for 6:15, 6:45, 7:15, 7:45 and 8:15 p.m.

Along with the splashdowns, a cooling and misting station sponsored by the homeowners association at The Station will be open to the public.

For music lovers, musical performances begin at 6 p.m. and will feature the Party Machine band, which is a popular staple of the event. The band features a library of songs that range from contemporary hits to those dating back to the 1950s.

According to the band’s webpage, it will keep an event moving “non-stop music, lights and motion” as soon as it starts its performance.

There will also be several games throughout the event, including the newest addition of a Ninja Nation obstacle course. There will also be carnival rides, a petting zoo and yard games, said Beaulieu.

“We are super excited for another awesome Red, White and Blue Blast,” Beaulieu said. “We expect it to be hot out so don’t forget to bring sunscreen and water for the whole family.”

For the full story, see the June 22 issue of The Sachse News.

The opening ceremonies for the 40th Annual ESFNA Tournament are scheduled for noon Sunday, July 2, at Wylie Stadium, which is located at 2550 E. FM 544. The tournament and surrounding culture festival will take place in and around the stadium complex along with two fields from Founders Park. The event schedule indicates the festival will last from noon to 10 p.m. from July 2 through Saturday, July 8.

Founded in 1984, the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA) is dedicated to promoting amateur soccer and cultural events within the United States’ Ethiopian community. The soccer tournament hosted by the nonprofit organization is dedicated to bringing not only Ethiopians from around the world together, but also promoting cultural exchange.

The first tournament was hosted in 1984 in Washington D.C. and hosted four clubs from D.C., Atlanta and Houston. Since, it has grown to over 25 different host cities and a total of 31 amateur teams representing 27 different cities.

The organization has also contributed to humanitarian efforts back in Ethiopia, according to its website.

During the May 30 Wylie City Council meeting, Abiye Nurelegne, president of the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America, said the organization has booked 85 hotel rooms at the city’s three hotels. He also projected millions of dollars in potential revenue for the local economy during the meeting.

As part of the event, several famous Ethiopians will be presented as guests of honor throughout the week. Among the guests of honor this year are 25-year-old forward for the Ethiopian women’s team, Loza Abera, retired long-distance runner and 1980 Olympics bronze medalist Eshetu Tura and former Ethiopian men’s team midfielder, Bekeri Adem.

Speaking back in March, Zewge Kagnew, a representative on the ESFNA, said that he projects the attendance for the event to total between 30,000 and 40,000 people.

“We expect attendance from local communities in addition to supporters across the United States, Canada, Africa and Europe,” Kagnew said.

In partnership with the ESFNA, the city of Wylie authorized $100,000 from its hotel and motel occupancy tax fund to cover costs of the event. The funds are being used to pay staffing costs for first responders assigned to the event.

Individuals interested in attending the event can still obtain passes for the event. There are daily, three-day and weekly passes that provide entry to all areas of the event July 2-8.

A daily pass costs $20 before any fees are added, a three-day pass will cover July 6-8 and cost $70 before fees and a weekly pass costs $110 before fees for entry to all days of the event. A 4% credit card fee will be applied to all transactions and only three-day and weekly pass holders will be allowed to enter and exit the event.

To sign up, attendees will have to provide a first and last name, email address, phone number and picture for the pass. A government-issued ID will be required to pick up passes during business hours at the stadium, and any sold passes are not transferable or refundable.

To purchase passes, visit esfna.org/tournament/week-pass-registration.

In Sachse, there is still time for individuals to register their child for its upcoming VBS. The program will run from 9 a.m. to noon Monday, July 10, through Friday, July 14, at Chase Oaks Woodbridge Campus.

Chase Oaks refers to its VBS as Summer Jam, which will have a theme of “Stellar” this year, said Darby Ridgway, children’s ministry pastor at the church. It will focus on shining Jesus’ light through a variety of activities.

“We want to show kids that no matter how they feel we can always shine for Jesus,” Ridgway said. “It gives us an opportunity to spend time with the kids and to grow their relationship with Jesus and their friends who attend too.”

The registration deadline for Summer Jam is Sunday, June 25, which will ensure participants receive a t-shirt as part of the program.

Ridgway said planned activities this year include daily Bible lessons, games and craft time. Snacks, daily worship sessions and skits. 

The Stellar curriculum also includes talking points and ways to help volunteers and staff reinforce the daily Bible lessons focused on the shining of Jesus’ light in the world.

Todd Baughman, pastor at the Woodbridge Campus, said music will also be integrated into the daily lessons.

“We’ll have people themed out and acting out those different roles,” Baughman said. “It’s fun and engaging, but it also speaks truth.”

He added that Summer Jam is also enjoyable for individuals who are not necessarily religious.

“A big part of the fun in this is seeing people from the community get involved,” Baughman said. “Our volunteers also get as much out of this as anybody; they absolutely love it.”

Ridgway continued, saying that a fun time will be had by attendees too.

“We want the kids to have a fun time while learning about God,” Ridgway said. “We want as many kids as possible to experience Jesus’ love and to know Him.”

At Wylie United Methodist Church, children attended VBS from Monday, June 12, through Friday, June 16. Sessions lasted from 9 a.m. to noon and corresponded to an overall “Marketplace Jerusalem” theme.

Sandy Donovan, who has volunteered with the Bible story time with her husband Don for around seven years, said it was important to continue impacting children despite changes at the church.

“We think it is a top priority,” Donovan said. “Our church has gone through some transition recently and we weren’t going to give up on reaching the children.”

This year, around 100 children attended the weeklong session filled with activities including the Bible story time. There were also different vendors set up in the church that captured trades of the time, such as jewelry making, basket weaving and a bakery.

Each day, children would have dedicated group time, which was called “tribe time,” said Donovan. There were also periods they would spend in the synagogue, music sessions or recesses on a playground.

“We at Wylie United Methodist Church are trying to do this as a service to the community,” Donovan said. “We feel that it is an important service where we can welcome everyone into the church and learn about Jesus walking through Jerusalem.”

For the full story, see the June 21 issue of The Sachse News.

Trustees in the Tuesday, June 13, Bond Committee Meeting recommended an action item to establish the parameters for a first debt issuance not to exceed $150 million, a yield rate no more than 6% and a 25-year maturation period.

Debbie Cabrera, a former interim chief financial officer of Garland ISD, presented an overview of the first sale that will allocate $129.2 million for Proposition A projects, $14 million for Proposition B projects and $6.8 million for Proposition C projects.

Javier Fernandez, director of facilities, planning and construction services, presented a timeline of projects broken into five phases. The first phase is set to be completed in early 2027 with the fifth phase finishing by late 2028.

Phase one projects include the multi-program activity centers at all seven high schools — the entirety of Proposition B — playground replacement at 15 campuses and baseball and softball field turf replacements. 

“I wish we could do every elementary playground replacement right out of the gate,” Fernandez said. “The way we’re doing the work is breaking the work up in three different phases.”

Portable removal and several security upgrades are also planned for the first phase.

Additionally, the district is also working on a plan to create an online platform to monitor ongoing and future construction projects relating to the bond, said Fernandez. 

“The district can gain a lot of reporting and dashboarding that we will work with our communication and IT departments to start showing our community so it can go to the website and see the work taking place,” Fernandez said. 

Some work has already been completed on the turf replacements for baseball and softball facilities, which will serve as a model on how to move forward when further architect and engineering firms are selected in August.

“We want to make sure that when we do this work, that our citizens can be very proud of the work that’s being done,” Fernandez said. “The work today is going to establish us for the future as we move forward with some of our facilities.”

To manage the bond projects, job postings for a bond management team have been created with more scheduled to go online in the summer months. Fernandez and his team are also working on selecting a new office location for the management team and a software to help manage the funding and construction contracts.

The district’s financial advisor from Hilltop Securities, Erick Macha, said he thinks the bonds will sell competitively because of an early entry into the school district bond market and the district’s high credit rating. There is also a dedicated fund, which has $50 million earmarked for repaying the first $150 million in issued principal. 

“A large portion of the $150 million will be repaid within the first year,” Macha said. “It’s very favorable for the overall plan of finance. It will allow us to shorten the term of repayment that we’re proposing, which will save around $6 million in interest.”

For the full story, see the June 22 issue of The Sachse News.

Todd Baughman, pastor at the church, made his case for the mural during the Tuesday, June 20, meeting, describing how the mural would highlight the city’s past while looking ahead to the future. Concept art shows a palette of bright, vibrant colors, “Sachse,” two children running and a train.

Councilmembers Michelle Howarth, Brett Franks and Mayor Jeff Bickerstaff said they liked the project, but thought it should proceed through a mural ordinance within the city’s zoning regulations. Director of Development Services Matt Robinson said the proposal was a variance because murals are not allowed under the city’s sign ordinance.

The four remaining councilmembers seemed comfortable with allowing a variance, which will likely apply to the land indefinitely. Council passed the item with councilmembers Frank Millsap, Chance Lindsey, Lindsay Buhler and Matt Prestenberg voting in favor and Howarth, Franks and Bickerstaff against.

In other business, councilmembers approved a special-use permit for a gas station at the corner of Merritt Road and the President George Bush Turnpike, authorized the city manager to execute a $2.7 million contract for the construction of infrastructure and Alexander Street in the Fifth Street District and received updates on annual recycling and bond projects.

For the full story, see the June 29 issue of The Sachse News.

Over the years, Bluegrass on Ballard has evolved from a weeklong celebration known as the Wylie July Jubilee to a street dance and, ultimately, a daylong event with music, arts and a car show. This year’s event runs from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, June 24, at Olde City Park and along Ballard Avenue in historic downtown Wylie.

Public Information Officer Craig Kelly said the roots of Bluegrass on Ballard can be traced to the Wylie July Jubilee that began in 1978 and ran for a week. That event included a rodeo, boat races on Lake Lavon, square dances, “fiddle music” and art shows.

“It’s our Wylie Fourth of July event and has been ever since it was an ice cream social and barbecue event for our volunteer fire department,” said Jeremy Meier, president of the Wylie Downtown Merchants Association. “We see a lot of families come out for the bluegrass music, the car show, ice cream competition or arts and crafts. The event is a way for our local community and people outside the community to see what Wylie is about.”

Declining attendances at the jubilee led to the creation of a street dance that was replaced in 2013 by Bluegrass on Ballard. Kelly said he has enjoyed learning about the evolution of summertime events in Wylie that help make Wylie the place it is today.

“We jumped from an event that went from being attended by 200-400 people to an event attended by 6,000 people,” Kelly said. “These events are always mentioned when we are mentioned as a best place to live and best place to raise a family.”

This year, planners expect around 10,000 attendees that come from across the city and nearby surrounding communities. In some cases, Bluegrass on Ballard may even be the first time an individual visits Wylie’s historic downtown area.

“Bluegrass on Ballard is a great event for introducing visitors,” Kelly said. “The event is usually a 50/50 with visitors and residents. The goal is to introduce the restaurants, shopping and great opportunities to come into downtown Wylie. The hope is that they’ll come back in the future and make it a morning or evening.”

Beginning at 10 a.m., over 130 vendors will set up booths in Olde City Park to sell their wares. At the same time, other crafts, fair food and children’s activities will be set up.

Kelly said all vendor fees from the booths erected in Olde City Park are managed by the Wylie Public Art Program, which has raised over $300,000 to date. Proceeds are used to help pay for public art projects, saving taxpayer dollars.

For the full story, see the June 15 issue of The Sachse News.

One month after the event Tuesday, June 6, the Wylie ISD Education Foundation announced it would form a scholarship endowment fund in honor of Daniela and Sofia Mendoza. 

“They lived their lives The Wylie Way and left a legacy of love and kindness that will continue through their families, friends, Cox Elementary, and the larger Wylie community,” the news release said. “They were quick to

make their friends giggle and were known to share the funniest jokes. They were loved by many and will not be forgotten.”

The girls were also well regarded within Cox Elementary, by setting an example of good character traits for others.

“Daniela and Sophia Mendoza were beautiful sisters who left us too soon,” said Krista Wilson, principal at Cox Elementary. “Daniela was kind, generous, and had a smile that would light up a room. Sofia was enthusiastic, funny and loved to entertain her classmates.”

Additionally, Executive Director of the Wylie ISD Education Foundation Windi Fuller said creating the scholarship will ensure the Mendoza sisters are not forgotten within the community, even if they are no longer part of it.

“The Mendoza family are a part of the fabric of Wylie and always will be,” Fuller said. “Establishing a scholarship in their memory shows we have hope for the future and will always remember the beauty of their lives. Everyone we have spoken to has said nothing but the best about Daniela and Sofia.”

To fully fund the endowment, the foundation is looking to raise at least $10,000 from the community. Initially, the award would be $500 on an annual basis with the amount increasing to $750 if $15,000 is raised.

Fuller said any additional $5,000 increases in funding will correlate with a $250 increase in the overall yearly award for the scholarship.

Criteria for the award have not been identified, she added, but remains a work in progress.

“We are still finalizing the specific criteria for this grant and know it will at least be a Wylie ISD student,” Fuller said. The Mendoza family and Cox Elementary will help us identify any additional criteria that best honors Daniela and Sofia.”

For the full story, see the June 15 issue of The Sachse News.