“Zombie Prom” is set at Enrico Fermi High School, located near an unstable nuclear power plant. After bad boy Jonny falls into a nuclear reactor, dies and is brought back to life, he sets off to win back his ex-girlfriend, Toffee. Throughout the play, the couple will struggle with the high school principal, Delilah Strict.

For the full story, see our Aug. 11 issue or subscribe online.

Deputy Superintendent for Leadership and Operations Selenda Anderson presented the district’s back-to-school plan during the Tuesday, Aug. 2 meeting.

For the full story, see our Aug. 11 issue or subscribe online.

The board of trustee election is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 8, and there are four seats — Place 1 held by Stacie Smith, Place 2 held by Mitch Herzog, Place 5 held by Heather Leggett and Place 6 held by Jacob Day — that will appear on the ballot. 

Board members are elected to four-year terms, with elections conducted every two years. The first day to file for a place on the ballot was July 25.

Both Smith, who is the current board president, and Day filed their paperwork to appear on the ballot for their respective seats.

Sachse resident and former Wylie East Principal Mike Williams has filed to run for Place 2. Williams has lived within Wylie ISD boundaries for 24 years.

Additionally, longtime Wylie ISD principal Virdie Montgomery filed for Place 5. He was recently appointed as the principal of Wylie Prep.

Both Herzog and Leggett have indicated they would not seek re-election.

“When I ran for office four years ago, I told my family, friends and district administration that it would be my last term,” Leggett said in a social media post. “Wylie ISD is the best district in the state, and it has been my honor to be a small part of that.”

Smith, a Sachse resident, has served on the board since 2018. Day was also first elected in 2018.

To be included on the ballot, school board candidates must file their paperwork at the Wylie ISD Educational Service Center, located at 951 South Ballard Ave.

Along with the Wylie ISD board, Wylie residents will vote in county, state and federal elections.

Trustees are elected at large therefore they represent the entire district and registered voters cast a ballot for all four places.

To be eligible to run for trustee, a potential candidate must be a U.S. citizen and be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the term to be filled at the election. Additionally, they cannot be determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.

Potential candidates must not have been convicted of a felony and must have resided in the state for 12 months and live within Wylie ISD boundaries for six months.

The last day to file for a place on the ballot for the Wylie ISD board of trustee election is Monday, Aug. 22.

Trustee candidates do not run by political party affiliation.

In addition to the school board election, Murphy residents will vote on 15 amendments to the city’s charter. The amendments were recommended by the Charter Review Committee and approved by city council.

The last day to register to vote in the November general election is Tuesday, Oct. 11, the first business day after Columbus Day.

Early voting begins Monday, Oct. 24 and ends Friday, Nov.

The average market value for a home in Murphy increased by $123,000, according to figures released by the Collin Central Appraisal District (CCAD).

Certified value summaries were released to taxing entities and the public by CCAD July 18 and the city’s taxable property values grew 12.14%. Taxing entities, including the city and school district, will use the certified values to help calculate revenue from property taxes and adopt the tax rate in September when they approve the budget for the next fiscal year.

For the full story, see our Aug. 4 issue or subscribe online.

Proper Wing Kitchen and Bottle Shop serves up chicken wings and local bottled beers, plus a whole lot more, to diners who appreciate creative, non-chain food options.

Seasoned restauranteur, chef and Proper Wing Kitchen owner, Jonathan Thompson, 43, said he’s been doing fine dining more or less exclusively his whole career.

For the full story, see our Aug. 4 issue or subscribe online.

The first public hearing was to amend the Murphy Marketplace planned development to permit a grocery store.

Director of Community and Economic Development Jared Mayfield said the planned development states that if a land use, such as a grocery store, is not specifically listed, then it is prohibited. However, Sprouts exists within the Murphy Marketplace development despite the use being prohibited and without an amendment.

For the full story, see our Aug. 4 issue or subscribe online.

Counseling Coordinator Amy Andrews said there are five tips the district offers parents to help with first-day jitters their children might have.

For the full story, see our July 28 issue or subscribe online.

Public Relations Specialist James Black said that Wylie United Methodist Church, Bozman Farms and New Hope Church each will hold a blood drive in August.

Black said Carter BloodCare’s mission is to save lives by making transfusions possible.

“We are able to do that through volunteer donors,” Black said, “who step up at our blood drives and donate to help people throughout the area.”

Black said Carter BloodCare covers a little more than 50 counties throughout North, Central and East Texas and helps more than 200 hospitals and healthcare facilities.

“It’s a big need and big demand,” Black said. “We are always grateful to everyone who takes the time to donate.”

The organization is localized to Texas, Black said, adding that it is one of the largest blood programs in the state.

“The advantage to that is that people who donate locally, the blood stays local,” Black said. “If you’re donating in Wylie, that blood is going local.”

Many people like that when they donate with Carter, they are helping their neighbors in need, Black said.

“It’s important for everyone who is eligible to donate whenever they can because when emergencies happen, the need for blood is critical,” Black said. “We have seen locally and globally the need for blood donations, but there is also the point that we need blood on a daily basis.”

When there are emergencies, a higher awareness of the need for blood is increased, Black said.

“Every day, the need for blood is nonstop,” Black said. “Whether it’s somebody who has been injured, people receiving cancer treatments or children who need blood treatments because of anemia. Every single day, someone in our area needs blood.”

Black said that someone in the United States needs a blood transfusion every two seconds.

Donating blood is easy to do, said Black, adding that it doesn’t take much time with the average donation time taking 45 minutes to an hour.

“A big part of that is just going through the health screening,” Black said. “The actual donation itself can take as little as eight to 15 minutes. It’s something that has a huge impact for very little time.”

In addition to being in good health, donors must be at least 16 years old or older and weigh at least 110 pounds.

Most health conditions are acceptable for donation, except for cancer, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, diabetes, lung disease, heart disease and pregnancy. Some medications, exposure risks and recent travel will also disqualify donors.

“During the summer, that is a critical time for us in terms of getting folks to come out and donate,” Black said. “High school kids are on summer break and a lot of people are on vacation and they are out of town, but a lot of people are surprised to learn that high school blood drives account for 25% of the community blood supply.”

During the three months of summer when students are out of school, that greatly affects Carter BloodCare ‘s community supply.

“That goes back to the daily need we have for emergencies and surgeries,” Black said. “It has a ripple effect. One of the things we want to remind people of is that the need for blood doesn’t take a vacation so we need everybody, when they can, to put us on their to-do list.”

The first blood drive will be held from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 8, at Wylie United Methodist Church, located at 1401 FM 1378.

Bozman Farms, located at 1700 Wildwood Lane, will be the site of the second blood drive from 10:15 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13.

The third blood drive will be held from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, at New Hope Church, located at 1100 West Brown Street.

Those interested in donating can sign up at carterbloodcare.org. 

Each donor in August will receive a card for a free appetizer at Cotton Patch Cafe and a Give for Texans beach towel.

Lauren Plunk and Vernon Gibson, engineering and robotics teachers at Wylie East, said STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

For the full story, see our July 21 issue or subscribe online.

Amy Hillin, health services coordinator for the district, said she expects cases throughout the school year, however, guidance and directives from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) have not changed.

For the full story, see our July 21 issue or subscribe online.