In Dallas County, Zach Herbert leads Angie Chen Button in the race for Texas House District 112, according to election results reported as of 9 p.m.

Herbert has received 36,246 votes, or 55.20%, compared with Button’s 29,415 votes, or 44.80%.

In the City of Dallas Proposition A election, voters are rejecting the measure that would add $100 million in services to address homelessness via a tax rate increase. The proposition has received 119,980 votes in favor, or 44.04%, and 152,456 votes against, or 55.96%.

Results are unofficial until canvassed.

By Art Stricklin

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ROWLETT — Sachse’s volleyball season came to an end Thursday, but the Lady Mustangs showed the determination and resilience that defined their 2026 campaign.

Facing a powerful Rockwall squad in the Class 6A bi-district playoffs, Sachse battled throughout the match before falling 25-17, 25-7, 25-16 in straight sets.

Despite the loss, head coach Rikki Jones praised her team’s effort and refusal to give up.

“I’m really proud of their determination and fight in this game,” Jones said. “Even when they got down big in the second game, they came back and never quit in the third. That’s something to remember.”

Sachse, a District 9-6A representative, finished its season with a 20-21 overall record. Rockwall improved to 33-9 and advanced to the area round of the Class 6A playoffs.

The Lady Mustangs started quickly in the opening set, taking a 2-0 lead. It would be their only advantage of the match.

Rockwall responded with a strong run to build a 15-6 lead, putting Sachse in an early hole.

But the Lady Mustangs refused to fold.

Behind strong defensive play and timely offense, Sachse reeled off six consecutive points to cut the deficit to 15-12.

Although Rockwall eventually pulled away to win the opening set 25-17, Jones was encouraged by her team’s defensive effort.

“I thought we were a little off on ball control and that cost us some, but we played some good defense and had some nice blocks,” Jones said.

Jones singled out senior Amyah Davis for her performance in the middle, where she helped disrupt Rockwall’s attack with strong defensive play and blocks.

For Davis, the match marked the final appearance of her Sachse volleyball career.

While the Lady Mustangs will lose experienced players such as Davis, Jones also saw encouraging performances from younger members of the roster.

Sophomore outside hitter Khloe Ellis earned praise for her contributions, as did freshman Maddie Juarez, who filled multiple roles throughout the match.

Jones was particularly impressed by Juarez’s composure while playing libero.

“We threw her in as a freshman and I thought she was really steady at libero, which was really impressive.”

After Rockwall dominated the second set 25-7, Sachse continued to compete in the third.

Rockwall jumped out to an 11-5 advantage, forcing the Lady Mustangs to call a timeout.

Sachse responded with another rally, narrowing the deficit and keeping pressure on the Lady Yellowjackets before Rockwall closed out the 25-16 victory.

Throughout the match, a spirited Sachse crowd continued to encourage the Lady Mustangs inside the nearly full gym.

“Make them earn it” became a rallying cry from the stands as Sachse fought to extend its season.

Although the Lady Mustangs could not overcome Rockwall’s consistency, Jones said she was proud of the way her players responded to adversity.

“Rockwall is really tough, we already knew that, I thought they did a good job of controlling the ball and the serve, but we were able to take advantage of their defense a few time and never quit regardless of the score. That is the thing I’m most proud of,” said Jones.

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By David Wolman

[email protected]

A second-half rally by Sachse came up 45 yards and five points short in a hard-fought loss to Wylie East on Thursday at Wylie ISD Stadium.

Sachse fell to 8-1, 5-1, while Wylie East improved to 8-1, 6-0.

The Raiders clinched a second straight district championship while handing the Mustangs their first loss.

Wylie East appeared poised to take control of the game.

The Raiders’ defense set up their first touchdown when senior Bobby Davis recovered a fumbled exchange by Sachse at the Mustangs’ 15-yard line.

One play later, sophomore quarterback Victor Young connected with senior wide receiver Amir Porter for a 15-yard touchdown pass, giving Wylie East a 7-0 lead with 1:17 remaining in the first quarter.

The Raiders doubled their advantage late in the second quarter.

Senior running back Victor Ekpo capped Wylie East’s best offensive drive of the game with a patient 4-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0.

Sachse answered before halftime when senior kicker Jonathan Fuentes connected on a 34-yard field goal with 25 seconds remaining, cutting the deficit to 14-3.

The Mustangs carried that momentum into the second half.

Senior running back Brendon Quinn scored on touchdown runs of 5 and 4 yards, with a 15-yard touchdown run by Ekpo for Wylie East coming between those scores.

Quinn’s second touchdown brought Sachse within five points, but the Raiders’ defense prevented the Mustangs from completing the comeback.

Wylie East junior defensive back Jordan Oshideko tackled Sachse junior wide receiver DJ Doyle at the Raiders’ 45-yard line on the final play of the game to help the Raiders secure the victory.

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Construction of Collin College’s new Workforce Education Center at its Wylie Campus reached a milestone Friday, Oct. 23, with a topping-out ceremony celebrating progress on the facility, scheduled to open in fall 2027.

Wylie Mayor Matthew Porter, mayor pro tem Gino Mulliqi and Councilmember Todd Pickens joined representatives from Collin College, Wylie ISD, Skanska, Stantec and AECOM for the ceremony.

Attendees signed the final structural beam before crews raised it into place, marking a significant step toward completion of the building.

The new center will expand workforce training opportunities in several high-demand fields, including welding, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), electronic engineering technology and vocational nursing.

Health professions programs will include certified nurse aide, phlebotomy technician, electrocardiograph technician and patient care technician training. The facility will also accommodate additional skilled trades programs as workforce needs evolve.

The project represents a continued investment in workforce development and reflects the partnerships among Collin College, Wylie ISD and the city of Wylie.

Located at 391 Country Club Road, the Wylie Campus opened in fall 2020. The nearly 100-acre campus includes approximately 300,000 square feet of facilities and has capacity for up to 7,500 students.

The Workforce Education Center is expected to open for the fall 2027 semester.

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Eight candidates are seeking four seats on the Wylie ISD board. Five candidates — Bonnie Tinsley, Brett Fagan, Brandon Thomas, Sam Satterwhite and Scott Johnson — are competing for Place 2, which is open because current trustee Mike Williams is not seeking another term.

Incumbent Stacie Smith is seeking re-election to Place 1, Virdie Montgomery is seeking re-election to Place 5, and Jacob Day is seeking re-election to Place 6.

Trustees serve four-year terms and represent the district at large, allowing voters across Wylie ISD to vote in each of the four races.

Campaign finance reports filed for the election as of Oct. 22 show differing levels of reported fundraising and spending. Fagan and Satterwhite, both Place 2 candidates, reported campaign financial activity, while Smith and Montgomery filed reports showing no contributions or expenditures.

Fagan filed a report covering July 20 through Sept. 24. He reported no contributions and $3,104.66 in total political expenditures, including $348.04 in un-itemized political expenditures. 

Satterwhite filed a report covering Aug. 3 through Oct. 3. He reported $2,750 in political contributions and $2,767.86 in political expenditures. His report also listed a remaining political contribution balance of $140.20 and $700 in outstanding loans.

Campaign finance reports were not listed among the candidate documents provided for review for Tinsley, Thomas or Johnson, who are seeking Place 2, or Day, who is seeking Place 6. 

The absence of a report from the documents reviewed does not establish whether a report was filed separately or whether a filing was required at that time.

Texas Ethics Commission rules require candidates with opponents on the ballot, who expect to accept or spend more than $1,140 during the 2026 election, to file pre-election campaign finance reports. Those reports are due 30 days and eight days before the election and must be received by the appropriate school board clerk or secretary by the deadline.

The $1,140 threshold applies to transactions made in 2026. Candidates who choose modified reporting but later exceed the limit may face additional filing requirements, depending on when the threshold is exceeded.

Unopposed candidates are not required to file pre-election campaign finance reports for that election. Candidates generally must continue filing semiannual reports, even if they have no campaign activity or lose the election, until they cease campaign activity and file a final report to end their filing obligations.

Additional election information and candidate documents are available on the Wylie ISD Board Elections webpage. Campaign finance forms and guidance are available through the Texas Ethics Commission.

Voters can find polling locations, voting hours and other election information through the Collin County Elections Department.

Garland ISD’s next trustee election is May 1, 2027

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Under a nearly full moon, Sachse Cemetery became the setting for an evening of mystery, mischief and a little history Saturday, Oct. 24, as the Sachse Historical Society hosted Aunt Matilda’s Wake.

The Halloween-themed event combined theatrical storytelling with a presentation on Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, giving visitors a glimpse into funeral traditions and the lighter side of mourning.

The evening began at the Sachse Museum, where guests enjoyed a meal before making their way to the cemetery. Attendees were encouraged to dress in Victorian mourning attire, period clothing or Halloween costumes.

Among those embracing the theme were Eugene Hauptmann, dressed in Civil War-era clothing, and his granddaughter, Chelsie Hargis, and great-granddaughter, Delilah Bartlett, who wore black. Bartlett completed her outfit with a traditional-style bonnet.

Former Sachse Mayor Mike Felix, dressed as an undertaker, mingled with guests before the historical society’s vice president, Rebekah McDonough, led them from the museum to the cemetery’s committal shelter for the evening’s main attraction.

There, members of the North Texas Civilian Historians joined local participants Ed Brown, the historical society’s secretary, and Matina Newsom, a senior librarian at Sachse Public Library, to bring the fictional Aunt Matilda’s questionable reputation to life.

The roughly 16-minute performance featured bickering mourners, accusations over a poorly constructed casket and speculation about hidden gold coins that might attract notorious outlaw John Wesley Hardin.

Brown portrayed a hardware store owner with a soft spot for Matilda, while Newsom defended the deceased against those who spoke ill of her.

But Aunt Matilda wasn’t about to let others have the last word. Fed up with the arguing, she rose from the dead to voice her displeasure with her funeral arrangements.

Following the performance, McDonough guided visitors to one of the cemetery’s columbaria, where Lucy Massey presented information about Día de los Muertos and its cultural and religious traditions.

Massey, originally from Mexico, explained the symbolism of skulls and La Catrina, an elegantly dressed skeletal figure representing the idea that death comes for everyone, regardless of wealth or social standing. She also discussed the importance of remembering deceased loved ones and praying for them.

The evening’s storytelling continued as guests returned toward the museum, encountering two soldiers whose conversation revealed more about Matilda’s colorful past.

Their exchange brought the fictional tale full circle, leaving visitors to draw their own conclusions about Aunt Matilda’s reputation.

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There had been 214,742 in-person voter check-ins after seven days of early voting, from Oct. 19 through Oct. 25, said Collin County Elections Administrator Kaleb Breaux.

That compared with 501,190 during the first week of early voting for the 2024 general election and 352,294 in 2022. 

Breaux also said his department had received 15,560 requests for ballots by mail that have been processed and mailed. 

Early voting ends Friday, Oct. 30, at 42 locations. 

Breaux said Gay Library in McKinney, Davis Library in West Plano and the Allen Public Library had been three of the busiest locations during the first week.

Breaux said Collin County had 795,752 registered voters eligible to cast ballots in the election. But because the county now uses hand-marked paper ballots printed on demand after check-in, voters may vote at any of the 90 polling locations open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day.

The elections administrator encouraged voters to plan for where to vote and perhaps consider voting at another location close to them that may not be quite so busy. Voting locations and wait times may be found under polling locations on collincountytx.gov/elections.

Breaux said total Collin County turnout was 69.19% in the November 2024 election and 52.56% in November 2022. 

“I think we are on pace for a possible 65% to 70% turnout for this election,” he said. “As voter participation increases and the window of opportunity to vote closes, I would just encourage voters to remain patience and vote with grace as they interact with our election officials.”

This year’s early voting got off to a shaky start on Oct. 19, Breaux said.

“We had 10 polling locations that experienced some printer outages in the first hour or so of voting,” he said. “We were able to resolve most issues by 9:30 a.m.”

Collin County switched last year from ballot marking devices (BMDs) to paper ballots that are marked by hand.

“Most voters that we hear from feel like this process takes longs a little longer and liked the ballot marking device’s help in the marking process,” Breaux said. 

But he added it was only a small fraction of voters who commented. “Honestly, it’s probably the same amount that we heard from when we had BMDs, and those folks wanted hand-marked ballots,” he said.

Proposition D on the ballot is a County proposal to issue $40 million in bonds “for the purpose of designing, developing, constructing, and equipping a new County elections and storage facility, including election department offices, election training, election storage, County records, historical documents and equipment storage.”

Breaux said the switch to hand-marked ballots added to the need for more space but was not the only factor. 

“We were part of a space study a few years ago, and the study concluded that we were in about half of the space that we should be in,” he said. “We currently have 25,000 square feet of space (give or take). The study concluded that we should be in about 55,000 square feet of space.”

The elections administrator said the hand-mark ballot equipment is taking up a larger footprint in warehouse space, but growth was also playing a part in his department’s needs. 

“We trained more than 900 workers for this election, and our training space only allows for about 40 participants at a time,” Breaux said. “This is another huge need for us also. We are just out of space here.”

Dallas County voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to approve a 2.4-cent property tax increase that county officials say would help fund efforts to reduce homelessness, address encampments and expand access to mental health and housing programs.

Dallas County commissioners approved an election order Aug. 11 calling the voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE, for the 2026 tax year.

If approved, the higher tax rate is expected to generate about $102.9 million in additional revenue, according to the county.

Officials say the money would be used for programs focused on reducing homelessness and resolving encampments, increasing access to mental health treatment and supporting programs that provide stable housing.

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By David Wolman

[email protected]

Sachse has continued its streak of playoff appearances under head coach Rikki Jones, although the Mustangs did not secure their 23rd consecutive postseason berth until the final week of the regular season.

A hard-fought 25-18, 21-25, 25-23, 25-18 road victory over Rowlett on Oct. 20 clinched Sachse’s playoff spot.

Senior Ella Smith led the offense with 27 kills and also contributed 19 digs. Junior Natallie Rainey added 11 kills, while senior Laney George distributed 26 assists and recorded five service aces.

The Mustangs capped a nine-win district campaign with a 25-14, 25-15, 25-21 sweep of Lakeview Centennial on Friday.

Sachse will face Rockwall in the Class 6A Division I bi-district round at 6 p.m. tonight at Rowlett High School.

The Mustangs will look to avenge a three-set loss to the Yellowjackets in last year’s playoffs.

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By David Wolman

[email protected]

Sachse will send two runners to the Class 6A state cross country meet.

Senior Samuel Ledbetter placed third at regionals with a time of 14:58.3, while junior Dominic Richardson finished ninth in 15:23.5.

Richardson credited the training partnership he has developed with Ledbetter for helping him improve.

“We do all kinds of stuff outside of cross country,” Richardson said. “We go cycling. It’s nice having someone there with you. He paces me.”

The state berth was particularly meaningful for Richardson, who missed qualifying last season by just 0.3 seconds.

“Last year, it was just really bad for me, knowing that I could have done more,” he said. “That was something that I was looking forward to all season and to come up just short was heartbreaking. Now that I’ve come here and PR’d and did what I need to, it feels really good.”

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By John Moore | TheCountryWriter.com

Broadcasting on Sundays was once a sea of sermons. If you turned on your radio or television, you’d hear or see a minister delivering his weekly message. From sunup (when stations signed on) until at least noon, it was solid preaching.

Today, depending on where you live, it’s still a lot like that. But the once unthinkable programming decision to air something other than a church program eventually crept into our Sabbaths.

Unless you grew up during the mid-20th Century, it’s hard to understand how many different church programs there were. We only had three television channels (ABC, CBS, and NBC affiliates), but there were lots of different radio stations. And for every broadcasting outlet, there were sometimes dozens of preachers.

Most were local ministers, but some had regional followings. A select few had national ministries. When I got into the radio business in the late 1970s, I learned about all of them.

Today, almost every radio or television station is on-the-air 24/7. That’s a fairly recent thing. When I got started, we signed on KMLA, the radio station in Ashdown, Arkansas, at 5:30 a.m. and signed off at midnight. I suspect the reason this was done was money. If you turned off the station for six hours, that was one guy you didn’t have to pay.

Maybe there were other reasons, but that always seemed to be the most logical.

If you were the new guy on the air staff, you almost always began your career working Sunday morning sign-on. This meant that you had to have the radio station on the air by 5:30 a.m. so that you could begin airing all of the church-sponsored programs.

While the rest of the fellas were sleeping off a Saturday night hangover, you and Mr. Coffee were at the station cueing up and playing the different church shows. They ranged from God’s News Behind The News (a syndicated message that interspersed the latest news with scriptural interpretation) to Powerline with Brother John Rivers. Powerline was a music countdown show that included current pop songs that could be played in mixed company. Most of the tunes were generic and soft rock ballads.

The most unique thing about working Sunday morning sign-on was that many of the local preachers did their shows live. Meaning, they actually came to the radio station in their suit and tie and sat behind a microphone and preached for their 15 minutes or half-hour.

Since ministers are used to having a congregation to preach to, a radio station presented somewhat of a unique situation. Their congregation was still getting ready for church. So, the only person they had to preach to was me.

Now, I was not in a suit and tie, and wasn’t exactly what you’d call presentable on Sunday morning. I usually rolled out of bed at 5:10 a.m., shoved a stick of Juicy Fruit in my mouth, put a ball cap on my head, and pulled on a pair of pants and T-shirt to go to work.

In other words, I represented a pretty good sinner. It was Sunday, I wasn’t at church, and I was underdressed. So, the ministers who came to preach live (including my pastor) always stared right at me when they preached.

The radio station control room sat at the front of the building, but between the front door and the control room was the newsroom. And the newsroom was where the pastors sat in front of a microphone to deliver their sermons.

It went something like this:

Me: “We now join Brother Jackie Adams from Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Ashdown, Arkansas, for today’s sermon. And now, Brother Adams.”

Brother Adams: “If you’re not in church today, let me encourage you to turn away from being backslidden and come visit with us.”

He looked right at me every time he said it. I don’t think it helped that I had a Marlboro Red dangling from the corner of my mouth and the smoke was wisping through my eyebrows and long hair.

There were at least five ministers who did their shows live, and each must’ve listened to the previous preacher, because they almost always seemed to include a rebuttal or retort for what the guy before them had to say.

Not a surprise when you had Church of Christ, Pentecostal, Baptist, Methodist, and other assorted faiths.

But it kept me on my toes, and they got the word out for their side of things.

Where I live now, Sunday still includes radio and TV preachers, but not nearly as many as it did years ago. This week, tune in the radio and TV preachers. They’re fading from the dial.

If you really want to feel like they’re talking to you, throw on a T-shirt and ball cap. But leave out the Marlboro Reds. They’re bad for you.

© 2026 John Moore

John’s new book, Write of Passage: Volume 3, is available on Amazon. Write to John at TheCountryWriter.com.

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