Jeff Avery has a couple of pickup trucks parked at his Sachse home, though he doesn’t drive them much.

Instead, he shows them at competitions where vehicles are judged on craftsmanship and appearance. On May 9, Avery’s dedication paid off when he received a prestigious national honor during a ceremony at Texas Motor Speedway.

Competing against approximately 3,300 entries, Avery earned Truck of the Year honors with his 1969 C10 Chevrolet pickup. The event, C10 Nationals, features 1947-2026 Chevrolet or GMC trucks.

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Bitter cold, ice and a bit of snow paralyzed much of North Texas last week, but it stirred a Lavon resident into action.

With neighbors and essential workers in need of assistance, 39-year-old Bryan Stephens rallied a group of fellow Jeep owners to help those coping with the dangerous weather that battered the region.

“It became clear to me that folks needed help,” Stephens said. “So that motivated me to act.” Stephens put the word out via social media that his fellow Jeep club members were available to assist. The phone started ringing — and it didn’t stop for several days.

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Ezra Pratt, principal transportation planner for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, stood before the Farmersville Rotary Club and stated what everyone likely already knew.

The greater Dallas-Fort Worth region, he said, is in the middle of a growth explosion — and the NCTCOG is planning ways to maintain the mobility of a population expected to continue expanding through 2050.

Pratt made his remarks Tuesday, Oct. 28 at the Farmersville Rotary Club’s regular meeting.

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Princeton is now one of several Texas communities where residents can obtain free Narcan to have on hand for the emergency treatment of opioid overdoses from drugs such as fentanyl.

Princeton Police Chief James Waters and newly hired Princeton Fire Chief Shannon Stephens were on hand March 19 to dedicate a vending machine at Princeton Pharmacy, 100 W. Princeton Drive.

The machine dispenses 4-milligram containers of naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray for the rapid treatment of life-threatening opioid emergencies.

The drug forms a block on receptors in the brain to which the opioids bond. The treatment only lasts about 30 minutes, so health officials say it’s imperative that the person suffering from the effects of an opioid episode go a hospital immediately after taking the antidote.

The over-the-counter drug is available free from the machine without prescription.

Officials at the ceremony said anybody who may encounter or know somebody at risk for an opioid overdose should have a Narcan dispenser handy for fast treatment, just as first responders do.

“People die quickly from these episodes,” said Charlise Lee, head of PTX Diverse, a nonprofit LGBTQ+ advocacy group.

The vending machine was designed by a Dallas-area children’s book author Terria Willis and local artists, who decorated the machines with a brightly colored scheme of flowers and assorted garden critters.

Isaac “IZK” Davies of Princeton designed the dispenser in use at Princeton Pharmacy.

Lee offered thanks to the artists who “turned these machines into works of art.” She also thanked Anthony Delabano of the Texas Opioid Response Coalition for sponsoring the program.

Delabano said the machines had already saved lives in Dallas and San Antonio and more are planned in the DFW area. 

“Bringing awareness to it and being able to provide free Narcan is just providing that growth,” Willis told KERA-TV, adding that one of the goals of providing the antidote is to “destigmatize conversations around addiction.”

Lee said the dispenser, originally designed to dispense pantyhose, contains about 15 doses of Narcan.

“Let’s hope we don’t use these too quickly,” she said, adding that the group was raising money to restock the machine.

Lee noted the dispenser has QR codes that customers can scan to obtain needed information on how to use the antidote. The code also provides contact information for customers to seek out if they need more guidance.

“I think the Princeton Pharmacy is the first one in Collin County” to get the dispenser with the free Narcan doses, pharmacist Praveen Daida said.

Lee also said she received a bit of resistance from the community when she proposed installing the Narcan dispenser in Princeton. “People told me they thought it would bring more drug addiction to the city,” Lee said, adding that she responded by saying, “Honey, we already have drug addiction here. This is designed to fight it.”

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, opioids make up about 70% of drug-related deaths nationwide and fentanyl is the deadliest of the drugs. Texas has the third-greatest number of drug-related deaths of any state, with 5,000 reported cases, the DEA said.

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An election is slated to occur no later than Dec. 15, at which time the CCAD will seat the board members, who then will serve staggered terms under a new law approved by the Texas Legislature.

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Self, speaking on a telephone town hall Dec. 12, from his Washington, D.C., office to constituents in the 3rd Congressional District he has represented since January, said evidence is building against the president and his dealings with international companies that Self said have “sold access to Joe Biden.” He said Biden’s conduct since before he was elected president in 2020 has compromised national security.

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Webb delivered the sobering news to Commissioners Court on Monday, Oct. 23 at its regular meeting. He spoke of a recent meeting of the Regional Transportation Council in which he said the county’s traffic fatality count increased by 51% from 2021 to 2022. Meanwhile, Webb said, the North Texas region witnessed a 6% decline in traffic deaths during the same period.

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The meeting began at 6 p.m. and Mayor Scott Bradley adjourned the session at 10:30 p.m.

Allen Barnes has been serving as interim city manager since former City Manager Mike Castro resigned in August.

According to Barnes, the city will discuss the city manager finalists at the Tuesday, Nov. 7 council meeting.

The Monitor http://murphymonitor.com will update information, online and in print, regarding the matter as it is released.

Commissioners will meet Monday, Sept. 11, to conduct a public hearing on the budget and the tax rate before casting their votes on both items.

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As a result, conservation and caution are being advised by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT). Both groups issued a Voluntary Conservation Notice to communities around the state last week.

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