Wylie ISD trustees approved the district’s 2026-27 budget during their June 16 meeting, adopting a spending plan that projects a nearly $15 million deficit while providing pay increases for teachers and staff and maintaining the current tax rate.
Proceedings began with several recognitions, including the introduction of Leslie Dodson as director of secondary curriculum and career and technical education, Jennifer Temesvary as director of career and technical education, Heather Beaty as director of special education and Morgan Power as principal of Tibbals Elementary School.
Following the recognitions, trustees heard public comment on non-agenda items, many of which centered on the World Hijab Day incident at Wylie East High School in February. Several students spoke about their concerns regarding former Principal Tiffany Doolan, who resigned in the months following the incident, and the district’s response.
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]]>Health officials said all blood types are currently needed, with particular demand for O negative and O positive donations. O negative blood is especially critical because it is the only blood type used to treat premature and unborn babies, while O positive is often used for patients experiencing severe trauma and life-threatening bleeding injuries.
Wylie residents will also have an opportunity to help locally during an upcoming blood drive hosted by Wylie ISD in partnership with Carter BloodCare. The drive is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, June 24, aboard the Carter BloodCare bus at Wylie ISD, 951 S. Ballard Ave. Donation appointments are planned throughout the morning and early afternoon.
According to Carter BloodCare, donations help a wide range of patients, including individuals injured in serious traffic accidents, children undergoing cancer treatment, new mothers, burn patients, organ transplant recipients and older adults facing age-related health concerns.
Individuals may begin donating blood at age 16 with parental consent, while those 17 and older can donate independently. Donors also must weigh at least 110 pounds and be feeling well at the time of their appointment.
As an added incentive, everyone who donates blood with Carter BloodCare during June will receive an official 2026 beach towel while supplies last.
For additional information or to schedule an appointment, visit Carter BloodCare’s donor scheduling website.
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]]>Six projects by Plano ISD students advanced this year to the 76th annual International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world’s largest international pre-college science competition.
Four projects captured category grand awards. One student placed first and three placed fourth. In addition, four projects received special awards.
Ana Spiride of Plano East Senior High School placed first in Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics and won $6,000 for her project, Handtalk: A Translation System for American Sign Language.” She also won a Third Award of $2,000 from Qorvo technology.
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]]>A closing reception is planned from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, June 10, in the gallery. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.
The featured artists are students from the Spring 2026 Photography Portfolio class taught by Collin College Professor Lisa Means. The advanced studio course requires students to create a cohesive series of works while preparing for careers in commercial photography.
In addition to coursework and instructional guidance, students completed portfolio reviews with professional advisers from the Dallas-area photography industry, including creative directors, art directors, publishing editors, photographers and designers. Students also conducted mock client interviews and presented their work to potential clients.
Means assisted students in creating a personal website for their work, advised them on effective use of social media and collaborated with the Art Gallery at Collin College to curate and install the final exhibition.
Featured student artists include Josh Corley, Katherine Coronado, Lisa Dorman, Bernadette Dorzier, Macy Lucero, Brendan Murphy, Lydia Nitz, Joseline Ochoa Mazariegos, Yuridia Pedroza, Ayden Perez, Zoe Simons, Catherine Stewart, Ann Tigler, Vo Tran and Cole Webb.
The gallery is located at the Collin College Plano Campus, Room A175, 2800 E. Spring Creek Parkway. More information is available at the college’s website.
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]]>Downtown Wylie will once again fill with music, chrome and festival activity when Bluegrass on Ballard returns Saturday, May 30, for a full day of free entertainment in the city’s historic downtown district.
The annual event, presented by the Wylie Downtown Merchants Association, City of Wylie and Bluegrass Heritage Foundation, combines nationally recognized bluegrass performers with arts and crafts vendors, food, shopping opportunities and instrument-jamming sessions throughout the day. Organizers encourage musicians to bring their instruments and join impromptu jam sessions happening around downtown.
Adding to the festivities is the Bluegrass on Ballard Car, Truck and Motorcycle Show, hosted by East Fork Masonic Lodge No. 650. Running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the show invites classic and custom vehicles to line downtown streets while spectators browse an array of cars, trucks and motorcycles at no cost. Organizers describe it as a chance to enjoy “sweet rides, bluegrass tunes and good vibes” all in one location.
Music begins at 11 a.m. and continues into the evening with a lineup featuring Bobby Giles & Texas Gales, Randy Collier & Grassland, Riley Gilbreath & Lone Star Blue, Kristy Cox, Dave Adkins & Mountain Soul and headliner The Grascals.
The Grascals, who take the stage at 5 p.m., are among bluegrass music’s most decorated acts. Formed in Nashville in 2004, the group earned early acclaim after being selected by Dolly Parton as an opening act and backing band. Since then, the group has collected multiple International Bluegrass Music Association awards, Grammy nominations and performances around the world.
Also drawing attention is Dave Adkins & Mountain Soul. Adkins, a Grammy-nominated vocalist known for his hard-driving style and powerful delivery, has built a reputation as one of bluegrass music’s most dynamic performers.
Australian bluegrass artist Kristy Cox will also take the stage. Cox recently released the Billboard-topping album “Let It Burn” and has earned multiple honors, including six Bluegrass Recording of the Year awards through Australia’s CMA Awards.
The free festival runs throughout the day with no admission required.
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]]>Longer days and lighter schedules make summer perfect for relaxing, having fun outdoors and spending time with loved ones. However, more physical activity and time spent in the sun can also translate to increased health and safety risks.
As you and your family enjoy the warmth and sunshine while swimming, biking, grilling, playing on the playground and more this summer, remember these precautions from the experts at the American Heart Association.
On hot summer days, be alert for signs of heat illnesses, such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Even when it doesn’t seem extreme, heat and humidity can take a toll. Some signs of heat-related illness include muscle pain, cramps or spasms, heavy sweating, paleness, dizziness, headache, nausea or vomiting, confusion, fainting or unconsciousness, high body temperature (greater than 100 F) with dry skin and rapid pulse.
If you experience any of these symptoms, take a break, drink some water and find shade or air conditioning to cool off. If symptoms worsen or vomiting occurs, seek medical attention.
Staying hydrated is important for optimal body functioning, especially during the hot and humid months. If you plan to spend a lot of time outdoors, frequently consuming water and foods with high water content — melons, lettuce and cucumbers, for example — can help replace fluids lost through sweat.
Be aware of the signs and symptoms of mild dehydration, including a dry or sticky mouth, dry cool skin, headache or muscle cramps. More severe symptoms may include dry, shriveled skin, irritability or confusion, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, rapid breathing, fatigue and unconsciousness.
As summertime activities expose people of all ages to risks, it’s important to be trained in CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, an emergency lifesaving procedure performed when the heart stops beating.
If performed immediately, CPR can double or triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival, according to the American Heart Association. However, only about 40% of people who experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest receive help before professionals arrive.
Because about 74% of adult and 87.5% of child out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen in homes, you will likely be trying to save the life of someone you love — a child, spouse, parent or friend — if called upon to perform CPR.
Hands-Only CPR is recommended for members of the general public who see someone suddenly collapse. Call 9-1-1, or send someone to do so, then push hard and fast in the center of the person’s chest until medical assistance arrives. Use an AED, if available, following the prompts.
While it’s easy to get caught up enjoying activities outdoors, remember to protect your skin from the sun’s damaging rays. Limit your time in the sun, especially during midday hours when rays are strongest, and wear sunscreen to help reduce the risk of sunburn, skin cancer and premature skin aging.
Experts recommend sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher. Wearing sunglasses, a hat and cool, long-sleeved clothing can further limit exposure when outdoors for long periods of time.
Each year, emergency departments treat more than 200,000 children under age 14 for playground-related injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Choose age-appropriate parks and playgrounds and keep precautions like these in mind: teach children to take turns, discourage pushing or roughhousing, check metal slides before use to prevent burns, remind children to be careful near moving swings and encourage one child at a time on slides.
Also use proper protective gear for activities like biking or watersports and keep a first-aid kit on hand with bandages, gauze pads, medical tape, antibiotic ointment, antiseptic wipes or spray and aspirin.
Whether enjoying a pool, beach, lake or river, bodies of water can be dangerous if precautions aren’t taken. Drowning is among the top five causes of unintentional injury death in the United States, according to the CDC.
Avoid swimming alone, especially in natural bodies of water that may present strong currents or underwater obstacles, and don’t overestimate your swimming ability.
Designating an undistracted “water watcher,” wearing life jackets, ensuring someone in your group knows CPR and avoiding alcohol consumption are also safe practices.
Firing up the grill and lighting fireworks are often synonymous with summertime, but open flames pose safety hazards.
Never leave a grill unattended, always grill outdoors and keep children and pets away from the grilling area.
When using fireworks, keep a safe distance once lit, don’t point fireworks toward anyone’s face or body, never allow young children to play with them, avoid relighting fireworks that do not function properly and keep a bucket of water or fire extinguisher nearby.
For more tips on CPR and first aid, visit cpr.heart.org or download the Knowledge Booster app.
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]]>In the early 90s, there was a self-help, relationship book called, “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus.” The goal of publishing this was for the author to show how differently men and women communicate.
Anyone who grew up in the South doesn’t need a book for this.
Now, technically, men and women are both speaking English. But if you’ve ever sat in a kitchen in East Texas or in Ashdown, Arkansas, and listened to a husband and wife discuss curtains, directions, or supper plans, you realize one side is communicating while the other side is simply trying not to get blamed for something.
Southern women notice everything. Southern men notice if something is on fire.
A Southern husband walks into Lowe’s and says, “We need white paint.”
His wife replies, “No, not white. Antique pearl linen.”
He wonders why somebody invented fourteen shades of eggshell.
To men, there are only about seven colors total. Red, blue, green, yellow, black, white, and truck primer.
Southern women also know every emotional event affecting every child in the family.
They know which child cried after prom, which one got their feelings hurt in third grade, and which one is “going through something right now.”
Men are vaguely aware that several smaller humans live in the house.
A Southern father can usually identify his children correctly if they are standing still and wearing a baseball cap with their school name on it.
Mothers know allergies, shoe sizes, favorite foods, best friends, and dating history.
Fathers know one child “plays an instrument or something.”
Women also remember conversations with terrifying accuracy.
Not just the topic.
The exact date.
The weather.
What shirt you were wearing.
And the tone of voice.
The husband claims, “I never said that.”
His wife answers immediately: “Tuesday after supper, while unloading groceries from the GMC, you said, ‘I guess that’s fine,’ and you rolled your eyes afterward.”
Southern men don’t remember conversations. They remember fragments.
One wife asked, “Did you hear anything I just said?”
Her husband replied, “Sure did.”
She asked, “What did I say?”
He answered, “You were talking about… somebody.”
Then there are directions.
Southern women provide directions using landmarks and family history.
“Turn where the old Piggly Wiggly used to be before it burned in 1987. Pass Aunt Trudy’s first house, not the double-wide she moved into after the divorce, and if you get to the fireworks stand, you’ve gone too far.”
Southern men give directions like military commanders.
“Go north.”
Women also understand decorative towels.
Men do not.
A Southern woman may have towels for guests, towels for decoration, and towels nobody is allowed to touch under any circumstances.
Men believe towels exist because people occasionally get wet.
That misunderstanding alone has caused more tension than SEC football rivalries.
Women notice when furniture has moved two inches.
Men can miss an entire kitchen remodel for six months.
Wife: “Did you notice anything different?”
Husband: Looks around nervously like a hostage negotiator.
“You got a haircut?”
Wrong.
Always wrong.
Southern women also possess supernatural hearing.
They can hear a child whisper “stupid” from three rooms away while vacuuming.
A husband can stand beside a chirping smoke detector for three weeks without noticing a thing. “Has that battery been beeping long?”
She answers, “It’s been doing that since Easter.”
Another communication problem involves the word “nothing.”
When a Southern woman says “nothing,” she absolutely does not mean, “nothing.”
She means there is definitely something wrong, but you are now expected to figure it out yourself.
Most Southern men fail this test instantly.
Husband: “What’s wrong?”
Wife: “Nothing.”
The husband smiles with relief like he had just escaped a tornado.
Three hours later he was sleeping under a quilt his grandmother made in 1972 wondering what happened.
But somehow, Southern couples make it work.
Maybe Southern women understand men better than men understand themselves.
And maybe Southern men provide balance by not over-thinking everything.
If Southern women ran the whole world, every pillow would match, every casserole dish would have a lid, and every child would feel emotionally supported.
If Southern men ran it alone, somebody would repair a lawn mower with duct tape and a butter knife while asking if leftover catfish was still safe after sitting in the truck all afternoon.
Together, though, it somehow evens out.
That’s probably why Southern marriages last.
One side remembers the location of a dusty book from the early 90s.
The other side remembers where the jumper cables are.
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By John Moore | TheCountryWriter.com
]]>By Carrie Dunlea
A good night’s sleep can make all the difference between starting the day energized and focused or dragging through it feeling irritable, distracted and exhausted. Yet for many people, quality sleep has become harder to achieve.
Between packed schedules, stress, late-night scrolling and endless screen time, modern life often works against healthy sleep habits. Even people who technically spend enough hours in bed may still wake up feeling tired if their sleep is interrupted or inconsistent.
That growing struggle with sleep is one reason the topic has become such a major focus in health and wellness conversations. Sleep trackers, white-noise machines, blackout curtains and “sleepmaxxing” trends have all gained popularity as people search for ways to improve rest and recovery.
And health experts say the attention is warranted.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke notes that sleep is as important to survival as food and water. While the body rests, the brain remains active, performing critical tasks that support both physical and mental health.
Researchers have found that sleep affects how nerve cells communicate with one another and may even help clear toxins that accumulate in the brain during waking hours. That behind-the-scenes work helps explain why people often feel sharper, calmer and more productive after a good night’s rest.
Sleep also plays a major role in memory, mood and concentration. A lack of quality sleep can make it harder to focus, solve problems and regulate emotions. Over time, chronic sleep deprivation has also been linked to more serious health concerns, including high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and depression.
Even the immune system can suffer when sleep is consistently poor, leaving people more vulnerable to illness.
Despite understanding how important sleep is, many people unknowingly sabotage their rest through daily habits.
One of the biggest culprits is screen time. Phones, tablets and televisions have become nightly companions for countless adults and teenagers alike. Whether scrolling social media, answering emails or binge-watching shows, many people remain mentally stimulated long after they climb into bed.
Experts say the blue light emitted from screens can interfere with the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle by suppressing melatonin, the hormone that helps regulate sleep. Some people also turn to blue light-filtering glasses or device settings designed to reduce blue light exposure in the evening. The goal is to help signal to the brain that bedtime is approaching instead of tricking it into thinking it is still daytime.
At the same time, stressful news, work messages or emotionally charged social media content can make it difficult for the brain to fully relax.
Irregular schedules can create problems as well. Staying up late on weekends and trying to “catch up” on sleep may sound harmless, but constantly shifting bedtime and wake-up schedules can disrupt the body’s internal clock.
Fortunately, improving sleep often starts with relatively small lifestyle adjustments.
Health experts recommend maintaining a consistent sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up at roughly the same times each day, including weekends. Consistency helps train the body to recognize when it is time to wind down and when it is time to wake up.
Regular physical activity can help as well. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke recommends at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week, though intense workouts should generally be avoided too close to bedtime.
Creating a calming bedtime routine may also improve sleep quality. Reading a book, taking a warm bath, stretching or listening to calming music can help signal to the body that it is time to rest.
Experts also advise limiting caffeine and nicotine later in the day and avoiding alcohol before bed. While alcohol may initially make people feel sleepy, it can interrupt sleep later in the night and make it harder to stay asleep.
The sleep environment itself matters, too. A cool, dark and quiet bedroom without televisions, smartphones or other electronic distractions can make falling asleep easier.
And if sleep simply will not come, experts suggest avoiding the temptation to lie awake staring at the ceiling. Instead, getting up briefly to do something relaxing — such as reading or listening to calming music — may help the body naturally become sleepy again.
In a culture that often celebrates staying busy, sleep is sometimes treated like a luxury instead of a necessity. But health professionals continue to stress that quality rest is one of the most important foundations of overall well-being.
A consistent bedtime routine and a few intentional changes may be enough to help people sleep better, feel better and function at their best each day.
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