A virtual public hearing will be held at 2 p.m. CDT Wednesday, July 29, and comments close at 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 3, TxDOT said.

Collin County Commissioner Darrell Hale says the current proposals do not include widening of any farm-to-market roads “and only a pittance of money” for state highways.

“While the UTP is not a final step prior to the start of project construction, members of the public do have multiple opportunities to engage with and provide comments to their local TxDOT districts during the pre-construction process,” TxDOT said. “Since each project must be awarded funding to proceed, local community engagement and support increases the likelihood of a project receiving funding in the UTP.”

“Contact the state and send them a comment about what you think about the inclusion or exclusion of different state roads (US, SH, and FMs),” Hale said. “Tell them what you are dealing with on what FM, SH, or U.S Highway. Tell them your desires. Nothing will change with no comments. Tell TXDoT what you support and what you need!”

There is an online comment form at surveymonkey.com/r/2027UTPOnlineCommentForm or residents may email [email protected]. Hale said that can also be used to send photos or videos.

To phone in a comment, call 800-430-2070.

The full public involvement link is https://www.txdot.gov/projects/planning/utp/utp-public-involvement.html.

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The county could seek $820 million in bonds to fund several projects, including  a major expansion of the county jail, which officials acknowledged is at or above capacity most of the time.

County administrator Yoon Kim said he considered a package totaling $1.2 billion but reduced the proposal to the $820 million total that is now under consideration. 

Read the full story in the July 23rd edition. Stay informed — subscribe to Murphy Monitor.

The school board will hold its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 4, and a work session on Tuesday, Aug. 18.

District officials are proposing to decrease the total tax rate for property within the Plano ISD by $0.0068 or less than one penny. 

The current total tax rate for 2025-26 is $1.03955 per $100 valuation and the district will consider a proposed 2026-27 rate of $1.03275 per $100 valuation, the voter-approved rate.

The proposed rate is made up of $0.79540 for maintenance and operations and $0.23735 for debt service (interest & sinking) tied to voter-approved bonds. Under the proposed rate, the M&O of $0.80220 would decrease but I&S would remain the same.

The district’s total taxable property value is estimated at $75.22 billion for the current tax year, down slightly from approximately $74.36 billion last year. 

New taxable property value is estimated at about $665.2 million, an increase of roughly 0.89% from the previous year.

Plano ISD’s total appraised property value is listed at approximately $105.76 billion, compared with $100.83 billion during the preceding tax year.

For homeowners, the district estimates taxes on the average residence would increase slightly. Based on a mean taxable home value of $368,605, taxes are projected at $3,807 annually, an increase of $54 from the previous year.

Meeting on June 23, PISD trustees adopted a $691.6 million general operating budget for fiscal year 2026-27 that projects a $44.8 million operating shortfall, reflecting continued pressure from declining enrollment, inflation and state funding formulas that district officials say have not kept pace with rising costs. 

The spending plan anticipates $634.6 million in general fund revenue and $691.6 million in expenditures, with the deficit to be covered through existing fund balance and other financing sources.

District officials said enrollment is expected to fall to about 41,830 students, continuing a multiyear decline driven by lower birth rates, changing demographics, rising housing costs and growing competition from charter schools, private schools and homeschooling. Because state aid is largely based on average daily attendance, fewer students translate directly into lower revenue. While House Bill 2 increased state funding, Plano ISD said the additional money does not fully offset enrollment losses, inflation and growing maintenance needs for aging facilities.

Instruction remains the district’s largest expenditure at about $340.8 million, followed by maintenance and operations at $55.6 million, school leadership at $32 million and guidance and counseling at $27.2 million. 

The budget also includes a 2% salary increase for eligible employees; market-rate pay adjustments and continued health care contributions to retain staff. 

Rising recapture payments, utilities, insurance and transportation costs were identified as major spending pressures, although the district plans to offset some increases through staff attrition tied to declining enrollment, payroll efficiencies and continued zero-based budgeting.

Revenue changes include higher Available School Fund distributions and proceeds from property sales, offset by lower local tax collections resulting from state-mandated tax rate compression, reduced investment earnings and lower reimbursements. 

District leaders said they will continue focusing resources on classroom instruction while seeking operational efficiencies to preserve long-term financial stability despite ongoing funding challenges.

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By Allison LaBrot | [email protected]

Wylie Acting Group (WAG), a nonprofit community theater organization, is gearing up for two weekends of performances of “Newsies.” The musical will be presented July 24-26 and July 31-Aug. 2 by a cast of 42 teenagers and a six-member crew. 

Co-directors Barb Holder and Melissa Johnson said many of the young cast and crew members have already gained experience through WAG or their schools. 

“Their passion and dedication shine in every performance,” the directors said. 

Read the full story in the July 23rd edition. Stay informed — subscribe to Murphy Monitor.

The store is open daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

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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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Time is running out for the Murphy Chamber of Commerce to gather enough signatures to hold a local option election on whether to allow the retail sale of liquor in package stores.

The petition drive to collect 2,698 registered voters began May 17 and runs through Friday, July 17. 

If enough signatures are collected by the deadline and validated by the city secretary, the Murphy City Council would have until Aug. 17 to put the issue on the November ballot.

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Located on the southwest corner of FM 544 and McCreary Road in Murphy, the store will include a barbecue restaurant with a drive-thru window, deli, bakery, pharmacy and sushi bar. It’s expected to employ 600 partners.

In a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation just before the Nov. 21, 2024, groundbreaking, H-E-B said the store would occupy 122,175 square feet and cost nearly $53.2 million to build. 

The facility also includes a fuel station and car wash of 5,640 square feet costing about $3.3 million, the filing said.

Until now, the closest H-E-Bs to Murphy were on U.S. Highway 80 in Forney, Interstate 30 in Rockwall, Preston Road in Plano, Exchange Parkway in Allen and Eldorado Parkway in McKinney.

Local shoppers have been sharing their excitement about the opening on social media.

“Just moved to Wylie from Houston last month and having shopped at ONLY H-E-B for the last 20+ years, cannot wait for our store to open,” said Cheryl DeLany.

“I’m from a border town down south, born and raised shopping at H-E-B,” said Jojo Guevara. “Now I can say it feels like being back home.”

In addition to the shopping experience, Murphy officials are looking forward to the sales tax revenue as H-E-B joins the Walmart Supercenter as the city’s second big box store.

“We expect the store will draw customers from all around our area,” said Mayor pro tem Scott Smith.

Basic, unprepared grocery items are exempt from state sales tax. But prepared meals, snacks, candy, soft drinks and non-food items are taxed. 

Each month, the city of Murphy gets an allocation check from the state comptroller’s office for two cents out of every taxable dollar spent in the city. The July check, for sales made in May, totaled nearly $450,000.

Based in San Antonio, H-E-B employs over 175,000 partners in Texas and Mexico and serves millions of customers from more than 455 stores. It has been in business for 120 years and has annual sales of more than $50 billion.

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City officials want parents to know that electric motorcycles are designed to be ridden off-road on private property — not on city streets, sidewalks, trails or parkland.

In a report to the Murphy City Council, Parks & Recreation Director Matt Foster said the battery-powered dirt bikes are prohibited on public land, but most riders and parents don’t know that. 

Foster said battery-assisted bicycles have pedals and are OK on trails and in parks, but the faster, more powerful e-motorcycles without pedals are prohibited.

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