By Devin Hasson
Sachse completed the first half of the season undefeated, but the outcome remained in doubt heading into the fourth quarter in each of its last three games.
Coming off its bye week, the Mustangs made sure that trend did not continue.
In fact, Friday’s game was all but decided by halftime.
Christian McCaffrey threw five touchdown passes in the first half as Sachse built a 34-2 lead before cruising to a 58-2 victory over South Garland at Homer B. Johnson Stadium.
The Mustangs improved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in District 9-6A, tying Wylie East for first place in the standings. The Raiders claimed an impressive 42-27 win over crosstown rival Wylie on Friday.
Sachse added 21 points in the third quarter, putting any hope of a historic comeback to rest.
McCaffrey finished 18-of-28 for 257 yards and six touchdowns, connecting with four different receivers.
The Mustang defense was equally dominant, holding South Garland (2-4, 0-3) to 83 total yards and six first downs. Sachse also got a defensive touchdown when James Collis intercepted a pass and returned it 41 yards for a score in the third quarter.
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Fall festivities are filling the October calendar, with everything from trick-or-treating and costume contests to a drone show, Halloween parties and other seasonal activities.
Sachse has several events planned throughout the month, while neighboring Wylie will close out the season with one of the area’s largest Halloween traditions.
The city of Sachse’s third annual Fall-O-Ween event will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at Heritage Park. Children are invited to dress up and collect candy from vendors at the Trick-or-Treat Market.
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]]>Hill’s salary increased from $186,307.23 in fiscal 2026 to $191,539.17 in fiscal 2027, an increase of about $5,232.
Each of the four commissioners will receive $168,101.62, up from $160,816.24. Constables will receive $138,340.78, up from $131,049.44, while justices of the peace will receive $154,150.05, compared with $143,734.76 last year.
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]]>Trustees serve four-year terms and, although candidates run for numbered places, represent the district at large. Incumbents Stacie Smith, Virdie Montgomery and Jacob Day are seeking reelection in Places 1, 5 and 6, respectively. Place 2 is open because current trustee Mike Williams is not seeking another term. The five candidates, in ballot order, are Bonnie Tinsley, Brett Fagan, Brandon Thomas, Sam Satterwhite and Scott Johnson.
Place 1
Smith, the incumbent, has served on the Wylie ISD Board of Trustees since 2018 and was board president from 2021 to 2023. Her community involvement includes extensive PTA service, the Wylie ISD Education Foundation, school committees, mentoring and the City & School Partnership Committee. Smith studied business and marketing at Brigham Young University and said she originally ran for the board to advocate for students, teachers, families and taxpayers.
Place 2
Tinsley moved to Wylie in 2020 and has been involved with the Wylie Farmers Market and other community activities. She is president and founder of Skyrocket, a marketing consulting firm serving engineering and architecture firms, and has more than a decade of experience in marketing, strategic communications and technical writing.
Fagan is a Wylie-area business owner, U.S. Army veteran and founder of Ripcord Roofing, a roofing and home restoration company. His background includes more than eight years of roofing experience and 12 years of military service. This is his first campaign for the Wylie ISD Board of Trustees.
Thomas is a seven-year Wylie resident who said his candidacy builds on a lifelong commitment to service, with a focus on strengthening the community and supporting student success. He is a retired U.S. Army officer and former academic excellence director at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. His community involvement includes serving on the board of the Military Order of the Purple Heart and as a member of Congressman Keith Self’s Military Academy Selection Board for Texas’ 3rd Congressional District.
Satterwhite is a former Wylie ISD trustee who served from 2006 to 2009 and a longtime Wylie resident. He spent about 25 years leading the Wylie Economic Development Corporation before retiring in 2020. Satterwhite has cited his decades of community experience and the fact that his three children attended Wylie ISD.
Johnson, a Sachse resident and real estate broker, is also seeking Place 2. He has said his family has been part of the Wylie ISD community for about 20 years. Johnson also participated in CLAAS, a Wylie ISD community leadership program. His campaign emphasizes protecting excellence, preparing for the future and serving every student.
Place 5
Montgomery has served as the Place 5 trustee since 2022. Before joining the board, Montgomery spent many years in Wylie ISD, including serving as Wylie High School principal from 2012 to 2020. He holds degrees in education from Texas Tech University and Sul Ross State University and has decades of experience in education and athletics. The district named its Wylie High School multipurpose facility the Montgomery Center in his honor.
Place 6
Day, the incumbent Place 6 trustee, has served on the board since 2018. A former Wylie ISD engineering and dual-credit teacher, Day holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from Texas Tech University. He works as a test engineering manager and has emphasized bringing a former teacher’s perspective and a data-driven approach to board decisions.
The Wylie News’ Voters Guide, featuring information on all eight candidates, will be published Oct. 15.
Early voting runs from Oct. 19 through Oct. 30, and Election Day is Nov. 3.
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]]>Council members heard from Assistant City Manager Logan Thatcher, who presented a list of potential bond projects that a citizens committee will review and possibly recommend for a May 2027 bond election.
City Manager Gina Nash said the citizens committee will meet three times this fall and winter and could recommend that council call a bond election. Or, it might recommend other funding sources for municipal infrastructure and program improvements.
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]]>By David Wolman
Sachse junior middle linebacker Wille Palomo didn’t feel like he was playing with the normal energy and aggression that he usually does.
He felt that he was getting pushed around by players on the opposing team and wasn’t making the tackles that he normally makes.
With Sachse trailing L.D. Bell 11-0 during the third quarter of a Sept. 11 home game, he knew that something needed to change.
While on the sideline, Palomo heard the voice of his late mother, Judy, in his head.
“I heard my mama’s voice, and she told me, ‘I never raised you to be a quitter. I raised you to be a fighter,’” he said.
Those words helped Palomo refocus.
With L.D. Bell facing third-and-5 with five minutes remaining in the game, Palomo recorded a sack for a loss of seven yards, forcing the Raiders to punt.
That play changed the outlook of the game.
Sachse scored 12 points over a span of four minutes to rally for a 15-11 victory against L.D. Bell.
“It was one of the greatest moments that I’ve had in a game since her death,” Palomo said of the sack.
Judy passed away in February after a long battle with scleroderma, a rare autoimmune disease that causes the body to produce too much collagen, leading to the hardening and tightening of the skin, blood vessels and internal organs.
She was first diagnosed with scleroderma in 2016 and became gradually more ill over the next decade before succumbing to heart failure earlier this year.
Palomo honors her during games by wearing black eye strips with the words “Long Live Mom” and his favorite Bible verse, Psalm 23:4, both written with a white marker.
“I miss her every day,” he said. “There is not a quantity on it, just infinite. Losing your best friend is not easy. I know that I am slowly trying to become the person that she wanted me to be. I want to make her proud. No one can describe how much I miss her.”
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By John Moore | TheCountryWriter.com
It was the 1970s, and my uncle was behind the wheel. His 1969 Cadillac Convertible was a true land yacht. Long and red, it easily carried eight of us through the streets of downtown Detroit.
Not one person noticed us.
Drive down the street today in a 1969 Cadillac Convertible and everyone notices. Do it in downtown Detroit today and you likely won’t make it home.
Cars used to be fun to drive. They had their own identity. And their identity rubbed off on your own.
If a Chrysler came down the road, you knew it was a Chrysler. The same was true for a Ford, Chevy, or Oldsmobile. Now, all cars look the same. Boxes with wheels.
On a hot summer day in 1978, the back half of me was hanging out of the passenger side of my 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, while the front half was wedged under the dash. I’d saved enough to put new 6×9 speakers in the back deck and was hooking them up to my new, in-dash 8-track AM/FM radio.
My sister came out of the house and, for whatever reason, took a picture of me. Whenever I run across it, I remember what cars were like then.
In Ashdown, Arkansas, every teenager was known for what they drove. I was an Oldsmobile guy. Doug drove a Pontiac. Scotty had a Ford. Kirk preferred Chevrolets. You spotted each of them from a long way away.
Flashing your lights meant, “Meet me in the Pizza Hut parking lot.” For those who’ve never known a world without a cell phone, there was a time when people found ways to communicate without them. Blinking your headlights was one of those options.
Pasture parties were the preferred way to spend time en masse with friends. Usually, it was a friend’s parents’ out-of-town property, and often they did not know we were using it. Few nefarious things went on. The worst was typically beer and cigarettes.
But the cars of the era were central to this type of American teen activity. Most of the vehicles we drove were over a ton of rolling Detroit steel. You could recline on your hood and windshield, stare at the stars, and discuss the virtues of the new albums by Led Zeppelin, The Doobie Brothers, Foreigner, or AC/DC.
Whoever arrived to the party first usually controlled the music. Their choices normally ruled the remainder of the evening.
If you wanted to start an argument, you’d claim your favorite band was the best. Often, the discussion would lead to someone sliding off the hood of their car, digging through the tape box in the back seat, inserting a different selection in their tape deck and cranking it up.
This is where those 6×9 speakers in the back became important. If their sound system was louder than yours, you lost. They could drown out what you had playing, which meant you lost your dominance, even if you’d arrived first and had been controlling the tunes.
If we were taking a road trip, vehicle selection boiled down to room and comfort. Whoever had inherited their grandmother’s station wagon, Chrysler Imperial, or Mercury Grand Marquis was almost always chosen as the driver. We’d all pitch in on gas, but the larger, more comfortable car was the winner.
Sure, we’d have preferred to be seen in a Cutlass, Firebird, Chevelle, or Mustang, but those held fewer friends and, with the exception of the Cutlass, never road as well as a car that was so long and heavy it almost had to be taken to an airport to turn it around. And, if you’re out of town, you almost never ran into anyone you knew, so you didn’t feel the need to be riding in a cool car.
Summer trips to Lake DeGray for swimming and boating, a drive to Hirsch Coliseum in Shreveport for a concert, or an excursion to the Dallas area to go to Six Flags were common. And the cars we drove were important to where we went.
Few foreign cars, save the occasional Volkswagen, were around. We all worked on our own vehicles, so even if they’d been available, it’s doubtful any of us would have selected one. They were metric. And all we knew about metric was that our third-grade teacher had told us we’d all be using the metric system by the time we were exiting high school.
What did happen is cars have changed. And in my opinion, not for the better. Cars today are small with little identity. You can’t tell one from the other when they’re coming down the road.
But you can a red 1969 Cadillac Convertible. And we still aren’t on the metric system.
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]]>While spring is often seen as peak planting season, experts say cooler weather and autumn rains provide ideal conditions for seedlings to retain moisture and establish their root systems gradually before winter dormancy, improving their future ability to adjust to summer heat and drier conditions.
According to the Arbor Day Foundation, planting trees offers many benefits for the planet, wildlife and humans alike. From an environmental perspective, they help filter air and water, remove pollutants from the soil, slow storm surge and nurture biodiversity. Plus, access to nature can reduce stress and increase opportunities for outdoor recreation, improving overall health and well-being in your community.
This autumn, use these expert tips from Eric North, program manager of urban forestry and ISA-certified arborist at the Arbor Day Foundation, to plan your fall tree planting and add a few new hues to your local landscapes.
Choose the Right Tree
Setting your trees up for success starts with choosing the right species. Before ordering seedlings, take time to identify species that are well-suited to your local climate, soil conditions and planting site. Also consider the tree’s mature height and how far the canopy will spread – it won’t stay small forever, so make sure you can give it space to grow.
Think About Timing
Although you can technically plant trees until the soil is too frozen to dig a hole, it’s best to schedule your fall tree planting at least six weeks before the ground freezes so the seedlings have time to adapt before winter. If you’re unable to plant your trees immediately after getting them, you can store them in a cool, dry place, making sure the roots stay damp, for up to five days before putting them in the ground.
Don’t Dig Too Deep
A tree planted too deep may develop root and trunk problems that can affect its long-term health. Instead of digging deep, go wide to encourage roots to spread outward. Dig a hole roughly 3-4 times wider than the root system but no deeper than the root itself. When you put the tree in the hole, the root flare (where the trunk meets the roots) should sit level with the soil or slightly above it.
Mulch with Care
Adding 2-3 inches of mulch in a layer around the base of the tree can help insulate the soil and roots, retain moisture and suppress weeds. However, be careful to keep the mulch a few inches away from the trunk itself so you don’t create a “mulch volcano” that traps moisture against the bark.
Water Frequently
Cozy autumn rainstorms might share some of the workload here, but when the forecast looks clear, it’s up to you to water your newly planted seedlings. Keeping the soil consistently moist allows a young tree’s roots to stay hydrated and continue growing. Precise care instructions will depend on the type of tree and your location but expect to thoroughly water your trees about once a week until the ground freezes.
Protect Against Wildlife
Small trees are vulnerable to damage from local wildlife like deer and rabbits, who may chew on bark or snap fragile branches. Installing a protective fence or breathable tree guard can help safeguard trees until they’re older and more capable of withstanding scavenging from hungry critters.
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]]>By David Wolman
Last season, Sachse won the boys’ and girls’ team titles at the district meet, marking the first time since 2016 that both squads had won district titles in the same year.
Sachse’s experience and depth could help lead the Mustangs to another district title Thursday morning in Wylie. The meet is scheduled to start at 8 a.m.
Defending boys’ district champion, junior Dominic Richardson, is having a strong season, as are seniors Ozzy Heredia and Samuel Ledbetter, along with juniors Grayson Redden and Sadiki Mburu. Ledbetter is a returning state qualifier.
On the girls’ side, juniors Arora Ngo and Alicia Payne are leading the way for the Lady Mustangs in meets.
Ngo ran a personal-best time of 19:29 at the Texas A&M Invitational, while Payne clocked a time of 18:23 the previous week at Crandall.
Ngo, Payne and junior Kaitlyn Herrera placed in the top 10 in last year’s district meet.
Juniors Adeline Moss, Brisa Morales and Colette Leonard, along with senior Brighton Cook and freshman Niki Richardson, have provided Sachse with great depth.
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By David Wolman
GARLAND — Sachse head volleyball coach Rikki Jones was eager to see how her Lady Mustangs would respond after losing a six-point lead in the first set of Tuesday’s match.
The Lady Mustangs responded with a strong finish to win the second set, but Sachse was unable to build on that momentum and fell to Garland 25-21, 17-25, 25-20, 25-23 at Garland High School.
Senior middle hitter Ella Smith carried the offensive load for Sachse early, recording nine of her 15 kills in the first set. Her eighth kill gave the Lady Mustangs a 12-9 lead.
Sachse appeared to be in control after a tip kill by junior Sarah Naidoo increased the advantage to 16-10.
However, Garland adjusted defensively and took advantage of off-target passes by Sachse to chip away at the lead.
Despite those struggles, Sachse remained in position to steal the opening set.
A kill from junior outside hitter Natallie Rainey gave the Lady Mustangs a 20-19 lead. But that would be Sachse’s last lead of the set. Garland countered with a 6-1 run to take the set. A service ace by junior Alexandria Bollinger-Clay clinched a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five match for the Lady Owls.
Sachse came out swinging in the second set.
A booming kill by junior Fallin Whitmore, followed by an ace from Smith, gave the Lady Mustangs an early 10-6 lead.
Garland rallied to briefly take the lead, but Sachse had all the answers down the stretch. A kill by Whitmore capped an impressive eight-point win for the Lady Mustangs in the second set.
Late in the third set, Garland appeared to have seized control. Senior Joy Ben finished off a free ball with a kill to give the Lady Owls a commanding 23-16 lead.
Sachse didn’t go down without a fight.
The Lady Mustangs reduced their deficit to 23-20 after a Harper Holt service and a Lady Owls hitting error, forcing Garland to call a timeout.
Garland responded well after the timeout, scoring the final two points of the set. A Crystal Cortes ace gave the Lady Owls a two-sets-to-one advantage.
In need of a spark, Naidoo recorded four straight service aces to begin the fourth set, giving Sachse a 4-0 lead.
The Lady Mustangs led for most of the set, but they were unable to force a deciding fifth set. A 12-5 run took Garland to the finish line, and a kill by junior Naomi Mukah on match point secured a 3-1 win for the Lady Owls on their home court.
Sachse dropped to 17-19 overall and 6-4 in District 9-6A, while Garland improved to 12-13, 5-5. The Lady Mustangs are back in action Friday night at South Garland. First serve is set for 5:30 p.m.
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