Councilmembers meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 4, did not vote on the increases, but City Manager Aretha Adams won preliminary approval for increasing the city budget by $4.3 million to $67.4 million.

Adams proposed adoption of the voter approval property tax rate of $0.361832 per $100 of assessed valuation, an increase of $0.004318 or 1.2%. 

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Within 24 hours, a tiny hole in a buried copper pipe sprayed more than 15,000 gallons of water into the dirt 4 feet below the sidewalk in a Murphy neighborhood.  

Once the leak was detected, it took more than two hours for a four-man crew from the Murphy Public Works Department to dig down and fix it.

The aging copper service lines that connect water mains with meters are a big reason that Murphy lost 13% of water in the municipal system, more than 168 million gallons, Public Works Director Donald Reese says.

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Trustees of Collin College have called for a November bond election to raise $600 million for expansion including three new facilities.

The board voted unanimously to place Proposition A on the Tuesday, Nov. 3, general election ballot.

The proposition would authorize $600 million for workforce and academic expansions at the McKinney Campus, the Technical Campus located in Allen, the Frisco Campus, the Wylie Campus, the Farmersville Campus and the Courtyard Center located in Plano. 

The proposition also includes funding for new facilities, including an Aviation Academy in McKinney, a new campus in Anna and a new campus in Royse City.

“Based on current financial projections, the college does not anticipate an increase in the tax rate if voters approve the bond proposition,” the college said in a release on Friday, Aug. 7.

“The Board of Trustees has always believed in planning for the future while honoring the commitments we’ve made to our community,” said Jay Saad, chair of the Board of Trustees. “The projects completed through our previous bond program have strengthened the economic impact of our region, while providing accessible and affordable pathways for our students.”

The release said the proposed bond package is the next step in implementing Destination 2030, the college’s long-range master plan designed to expand educational access, strengthen workforce training and modernize facilities to serve one of the nation’s fastest-growing regions.

The college said credit enrollment over has increased by more than 31% over the past decade, and the pace of growth is expected to continue. As enrollment and workforce demand continue to rise, the college developed Destination 2030 as a three-phase roadmap to expand capacity to address this growth.

Phase I prioritized projects addressing near-term enrollment growth, workforce shortages and aging learning spaces. Most Phase I projects are complete, with the remaining work scheduled for completion in 2027. 

Phases II and III focus on expanding educational opportunities in the county’s fastest-growing communities, increasing capacity in high-demand workforce and academic programs and modernizing existing facilities.

Collin College said it serves more than 62,000 credit and continuing education students annually and offers more than 200 degrees and certificates.

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For more than 30 years, the annual rodeo has been a community tradition, with the Wylie Area Chamber of Commerce partnering with Wylie ISD for the past 20 years to host the event at the F.O. Birmingham Agricultural Facility and Rodeo Arena.

Earlier this year, Wylie ISD began renovations to the facility as part of improvements intended to better serve students. In response, the Chamber and the City of Wylie spent several months exploring alternative locations for this year’s rodeo.

According to the Chamber, none of the sites considered could provide the space, infrastructure and safety needed to host the event while remaining logistically and financially feasible.

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Qualifying items can be purchased tax free from a Texas store or from an online or catalog seller doing business in Texas. 

The three-day sales tax holiday begins Friday, Aug. 7, and runs through midnight Sunday, Aug. 9.

The comptroller’s office says the sales tax exemption applies only to qualifying items bought during the period. Items purchased before or after the sales tax holiday do not qualify for exemption, and there is no tax refund available.

The exemption applies to each eligible item sold for less than $100, and there is no limit to the number of qualifying items you can buy.

Computers, software and textbooks are not included. Jewelry, handbags, purses, briefcases, luggage, umbrellas, wallets, watches and other accessories are also not exempt.

However, delivery, shipping, handling and transportation charges by the seller are part of the item’s sales price. If the delivery charge is a flat rate per package, and the amount charged is the same regardless of how many items are included in the package, the total charge can be attributed to any one of the items in the package.

A complete list of school supplies covered by the tax holiday is available at: https://bit.ly/3RkCnpL.

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Sometimes the passenger is a woman carrying little more than a purse and a few belongings. Other times, it’s a father traveling with children. Some rides last only a few miles; others stretch across state lines.

The circumstances are always different, but the mission never changes.

Discreetly and often urgently, Families to Freedom staff and volunteers help survivors put distance between themselves and the people hurting them — one ride, one flight, one bus ticket and one tank of gas at a time.

For founder and CEO Sarah Nejdl, the organization grew from understanding a difficult truth: leaving abuse is rarely as simple as walking out the door — and no single charity offered flights for domestic violence victims.

“We started as an all-volunteer organization focused on helping sheltered survivors get to family by road trip or by private flight,” said Nejdl, a private pilot.

Within a year, Families to Freedom expanded beyond private flights, adding transportation to rural shelters, bus and commercial travel, and fuel assistance. During the pandemic, the organization broadened its mission again, helping survivors reach any available shelter regardless of distance.

Today, the nonprofit operates offices in Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston and is expanding into East Texas, helping connect rural victims with resources in larger cities while also guiding metro-area survivors to available shelters in smaller communities.

Funding support has also transformed the nonprofit’s reach.

“Those funds help us afford frontline personnel so donations go directly toward victim travel,” Nejdl said.

Since 2015, Families to Freedom has coordinated more than 1.7 million transportation miles through local and regional rides, cross-state travel, bus transportation, fuel assistance and commercial flights.

For Nejdl, a few stories still stand out.

“There are many survival stories that remind us that sometimes our services are literally saving lives,” she said.

One involved a mother and her children fleeing an ex-partner who pursued them from state to state.

“She got a ride from us to a secure facility in another state where she could completely change her identity to disappear from him,” Nejdl said.

Another call came through a sheriff’s office requesting transportation to an emergency shelter in another county. One of Families to Freedom’s volunteer drivers transported the woman to safety only minutes before her abuser returned.

“The sheriff later shared that the abuser came home within 10 minutes of our driver leaving with her, and he had shotguns in the truck,” Nejdl said.

Roberta “Robbie” Chandler has seen the mission from behind the wheel.

After volunteering for 12 years with a McKinney nonprofit, Chandler attended a meeting where Nejdl spoke about Families to Freedom’s need for volunteers.

“I just automatically put my hand up,” Chandler said. “It just seemed like there was a desperate need.”

Four years later, Chandler dedicates 20 to 25 hours each week to the organization, handling North Dallas outreach and public speaking while reminding audiences that abuse can affect anyone.

When people ask why victims don’t simply leave, Chandler said those questions usually come from people who have never experienced abuse firsthand.

“Before they come to us, they have probably exhausted what friends and family they have,” she said.

Families to Freedom staff handle intake calls, develop individualized safety plans and assign one staff member to remain with each client throughout the process, coordinating transportation and working directly with volunteers.

Volunteers never pick people up at front doors and are never placed in unnecessary danger. Drivers are tracked from pickup through drop-off, receive descriptions of suspected abusers and remain in constant contact with staff.

“We know at all times, if we’re driving, that we’re being watched,” Chandler said.

Volunteers also provide small comforts. Survivors receive purses stocked with essentials, gift cards and toiletries, while children receive backpacks, books, toys and snacks.

“Anything that would make them feel like they have something to call their own,” Chandler said.

Staff continue checking on survivors for up to a month after they reach safety and will arrange additional transportation if another shelter becomes necessary.

The work, Chandler admitted, can be emotionally draining.

“You never cry in front of the client when you hear their story,” she said. “You wait until you get them safely delivered.”

Afterward, volunteers check in with office staff to talk through the trip.

“They’ve got nothing but our best interest at heart,” Chandler said.

The past decade has brought tremendous growth for Families to Freedom, though Nejdl said she wishes there were no need for the organization at all.

“Sadly, we won’t run out of work to do,” she said.

Still, she remains hopeful.

“I dream of a future when all Texas victims have access to arrive to safety … no matter how far away,” she said. “With more volunteers, grant funding and donations, we’ll see that become a reality soon enough.”

To volunteer, donate or learn more about Families to Freedom, visit familiestofreedom.org or call 833-903-SAFE (7233).

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Thousands of Plano ISD students and their families swarmed the Plano Center for the district’s annual Back to School Fair.

Working in triple-digit heat, Plano police officers controlled access to the Wednesday, July 29, event — funneling cars to park on the grass. Overflow crowds parked across Jupiter Road at the Oak Point Recreation Center.

PISD students could pre-register for a free Trailsport backpack and there were a variety of other services available including Toni&Guy haircuts, Constant Eye Care vision screening and dental screening by Family Smiles.

Lovepacs and Minnie’s Food Pantry had food boxes and Passport Health/Staying Healthy Medical Services operated a vaccination clinic with immunizations for chicken pox, diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis (whooping cough), mumps/measles/rubella, polio, pneumonia, meningitis and hepatitis.

District resources on site provided school enrollment and registration, food and nutrition services support, language services, transportation information about bus routes and eligibility, and help with school details or programs like the Head Start Early Childhood Campus. There was also a PISD recruiting booth for jobseekers.

Titan Robotics club students set up displays in the courtyard so visitors could operate robots that threw balls and Toyota had an inflatable soccer goal for students to practice free kicks. 

Community vendors manned tables offering information about health, wellness, social services, sports and after-school programs and enrichment opportunities. 

There was a long line for Cane’s chicken fingers; Bed Start, a local ministry of sharing, asked, “Do you need a hand up?” and a playful squirrel puppet enticed young readers to sign up for a Plano Public Library card.

Plano ISD campuses serving Murphy students include Boggess, Hickey, Hunt and Miller Elementary Schools, Murphy Middle School, McMillen High School and Plano East Senior High School.

Most campuses have “Meet the Teacher” events on Monday, Aug. 10, prior PISD’s first day of school on Tuesday, Aug. 11.

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Murphy police officials say the department’s four Flock Safety automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras have become a valuable investigative tool, helping detectives recover stolen vehicles, identify suspects and develop leads in criminal investigations.

But Detective Kris Riebschlager, who manages the program for the Murphy Police Department, said they capture less information than many residents believe. He emphasized that the cameras are designed to photograph license plates rather than people.

“They are literally nothing more than a still picture of a license plate,” Riebschlager said. “They don’t identify pedestrians. It doesn’t do bicyclists but can capture a license plate on a motorcycle.”

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After receiving a report on July 24, the officer was placed on administrative leave while the department conducted an internal investigation, the release said.

“Following the completion of that investigation, the officer’s employment with the city of Murphy was terminated effective July 29,” the release said. The Texas Rangers were then asked to conduct an independent criminal investigation.

“Protecting our community and maintaining the public’s trust are among our highest responsibilities,” Gibson said “We take these allegations extremely seriously and are committed to ensuring they are addressed thoroughly, fairly and with full accountability.”

The release said, “The city made an employment decision based on its findings and applicable personnel policies. The Texas Rangers are responsible for the criminal investigation, and any determination regarding criminal charges or guilt will be made through the criminal justice process.”

No additional information about the alleged misconduct was released.

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“The overall value of the county increased by 4.43% while the average home value decreased from $603,190 in 2025 to $588,119 in 2026,” Swanson said as CCAD released 2026 certified taxable values as of July 23. 

“We continue to see significant growth in the northern part of the county with Celina and Melissa, and now more in the east side of the county in Lavon, Nevada, and Princeton,” he said.

CCAD said Collin County certified taxable values increased to $280.17 billion, with $7.7 billion in new property added to tax rolls as of July 23, 2026.

In the city of Murphy, CCAD data shows a 3.25% increase in total certified taxable value, up from $3.95 billion to $4.07 billion with $32 million in new construction. 

The 2026 average market value of a home in Murphy is $615,856. Last year’s figures showed the value of a home at $611,297.

Murphy residents pay property taxes to the city, county, Wylie or Plano Independent School District and Collin College.

Wylie Independent School District had a 0.35% decrease in taxable value to $10.7 billion with $174.6 million in new construction. The average value of a home within WISD is $471,442, compared with $484,637 in 2025.

Plano ISD showed a 1.91% increase from $74.36 billion to $75.77 billion with $700.5 million in new construction. The average value of a home in the PISD is $614,707, compared with $613,290 in 2025.

The numbers for Collin College show a 4.68% increase to $251.2 billion, with $7.4 billion of new property added to the tax rolls.

In nearby Parker, the certified taxable property value was $2.3 billion, a 9.47% increase with $67.3 million of new property. The average value of a home in Parker in 2026 is $1,183,182, compared with $1,133,599 last year.

Certified values in Lucas increased by 7.74% to $2.9 billion with $71.9 million in new construction. The average market value of a home in Lucas increased from $1,140,526 in 2025 to $1,180,774 this year.

Lovejoy ISD saw a 5.55% increase to $4.9 billion, with $101.5 million in new construction added to the tax rolls. The average market value of a home in the Lovejoy ISD is $1,090,233 compared with $1,076,142 in 2025.

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