The America@250 special section is scheduled for publication in the Murphy Monitor on July 2 and will highlight the nation’s semiquincentennial celebration ahead of Independence Day on July 4, 2026. The section will feature content focused on American history, patriotism, trivia, activities and educational features designed for readers of all ages.
The publication aims to recognize the nation’s founding and the spirit of community as the country marks 250 years since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Businesses, organizations and community partners have the opportunity to participate through sponsorships and advertising packages available in both print and digital formats.
Advertising options range from full-page placements to smaller display advertisements.
The deadline to reserve advertising space and submit copy is June 19. The special section will be published July 2.
For additional information or to reserve advertising space, interested participants may call 972-442-5515 x22 or email [email protected].
]]>The Murphy Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Foundation has awarded scholarships to six local students, bringing to $174,000 the amount given since the program began 20 years ago.
“We reviewed the candidates based on scholastics, work history, community involvement, need and an essay component as well,” said Luke Trahan, co-chair of the Foundation. “It is a very competitive process.”
He and co-chair Steve Dault presented the winners to the Tuesday, June 2, meeting of the Murphy City Council.
Maci Hatzenbuehler has lived in Murphy entire life, attended Wylie High School and will be going to Southeast Missouri State University, where she will be playing soccer while majoring in nursing.
“Her favorite memory in Murphy is playing sports at the PSA or attending Murphy Maize Days with her family and her friends,” Trahan said.
Maha Rizvi, another lifelong Murphy resident, attended Plano East High School and will be attending the University of Texas at Dallas with a major in healthcare studies on a pre-med track.
“Maha’s favorite memory in Murphy is rolling down the hill at Murphy Central Park with friends at Sounds of Sundown with the Emerald City Band,” Dault said.
Sevy Wang is a resident of Murphy for the last 11 years, a graduate of Wylie High School and will study engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.
“His favorite Murphy memory is participating as a young entrepreneur twice at Murphy Maize Days to raise money for endangered animals,” Trahan said.
Suri Wang has also lived in Murphy for 11 years, graduated from Wylie High and will attend Texas A&M University to pursue a major in mechanical engineering.
“Her favorite memories of participating as a young entrepreneur in Murphy Maize Days and volunteering at local summer camps with her friends,” Dault said.
Dyan Tecuatl has lived in Murphy for nine years and attended Plano East High School. She will attend Purdue University and hopes to pursue a degree in chemical engineering.
“Her favorite memory of Murphy is going on morning runs with her cross-country team through Murphy Central Park and the preserve at Maxwell Creek,” Trahan said.
Roheemat Olaiya Mohammed has lived in Murphy for seven years, attended Plano East and will attend Texas A&M University to major in biology on the pre-med track.
“Her favorite memory in Murphy is performing with the Plano East Marching Band for football games and competitions in Tom Kimbrough Stadium,” Dault said.
“Thank y’all so much for your support,” he told councilmembers. “Without it, we definitely would not have been so successful at handing out these scholarships.”
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]]>Operation Soteria Shield 2026 was conducted in March and April by FBI’s North Texas Child Exploitation Task Force and the North Texas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
The operation was jointly managed by the FBI Dallas Division, Dallas Police Department, Plano Police Department, Wylie Police Department and Garland Police Department. More than 90 other law enforcement agencies participated including the Collin County Sheriff’s Office and the Princeton Police Department.
“It is an honor for the Wylie Police Department to partner with our local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in Operation Soteria Shield,” said Anthony Henderson, chief of the Wylie Police Department. “Through the coordinated efforts of all participating agencies, hundreds of predators have been identified and removed from our communities.
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]]>As the school year ends, so do school-provided breakfasts and lunches for many families. That can put a strain on household budgets and increase demand at local food pantries, but several area organizations are stepping up to help fill the gap.
In Sachse, 5 Loaves Ministries is hosting a cereal drive while celebrating America’s 250th birthday.
The Stars, Stripes & Cereal Drive runs through July 6. Unopened cereal donations can be dropped off at 4401 Williford Road or purchased through the organization’s Amazon wish list available at 5loavesministries.org. Residents can also organize cereal drives through neighborhoods, workplaces, churches and civic groups.
“As we celebrate 250 years of American independence, we’re reminded that strong communities are built when neighbors care for one another,” Executive Director Rebekah Rodgers wrote in a newsletter.
In Wylie, Hope for the Cities is expanding its efforts to help families during the summer months.
Beginning June 15 and continuing until school resumes in August, the nonprofit will provide weekly summer lunches for families in Wylie ISD and Community ISD. Volunteers will pack lunches each Thursday and deliver them every Monday. The organization plans to provide enough meals to feed approximately 500 people each week while continuing its regular doorstep food box deliveries.
Hope for the Cities is partnering with 5 Loaves Ministries, Wylie Community Christian Care Center, Smith Public Library and Tango Charities to provide additional meals for students. Starting June 15, families can pick up food each Monday from 10:30 a.m. to noon near the entrance of Smith Public Library. Organizers said students will receive enough food for five lunches and five dinners each week.
“We will use this as an opportunity to get families connected to the food pantries and other community resources,” said Jon Bailey, executive director of Hope for the Cities.
Meanwhile, Wylie Community Christian Care Center is collecting hygiene products in addition to food donations.
Needed items include shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, diapers and baby wipes. The center is also seeking donations of jelly, crackers, Hamburger Helper, Pop-Tarts, condiments and cooking oil. Donations are accepted during regular business hours at 1310 W. Brown St. More information is available at wyliecommunitychristiancare.org.
This past school year, Amazing Grace Food Pantry delivered 7,760 weekend food bags to Wylie schools through its Food 4 Kids program.
The pantry’s work continues through the summer, providing approximately 500 food bags each week to families who visit the pantry.
Director Karen Ellis said the organization is collecting individual cereal cups, 8-ounce shelf-stable milk cartons, macaroni and cheese cups, breakfast bars and Pop-Tarts. Pop-top cans of ravioli, chicken noodle soup and SpaghettiOs are also needed. Donation information is available at amazinggracepantry.org.
Donations to Amazing Grace Food Pantry can also be made at Smith Public Library during June. The library is hosting a protein-themed food drive collecting canned tuna, chicken and chili, as well as protein bars. A collection bin is located in the library lobby.
In addition to supporting families through food donations, residents and councilmembers learned more about community hunger-relief efforts during Tuesday’s Wylie City Council meeting, where proceeds from the recent Taste of Wylie event was presented to four local food pantries.
Allison LaBrot and Sonia Duggan contributed to this story
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]]>“We’re currently waiting on a consensus from TxDOT to reject the bids, which time that allow me to come back to y’all to actually reject those bids,” Reese said at the Tuesday, June 2, Murphy City Council Meeting.
The bridge project has an estimated cost of $393,500 and will be funded by one-quarter cent of sales tax revenue and General Obligation bonds approved by voters in 2017 and issued in 2019.
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]]>By David Wolman
It was a banner year for Plano East.
The Panthers enjoyed success across the sports spectrum, including in winter sports.
The Murphy Monitor will take a closer examination of boys and girls basketball, swimming and wrestling.
Boys basketball
Matt Wester’s final season as Panthers head coach proved to be another successful one.
Despite losing the team’s all-time leading scorer and current Texas State forward, DJ Hall, to graduation, the Panthers fired on all cylinders.
Plano East won a share of the District 6-6A title and finished with a 27-8 record. It was the fifth straight season of at least 20 wins for the Panthers.
Defense was the catalyst for Plano East’s run to the district title. The Panthers held opponents to an average of 47 points per game.
Senior point guard Jayden Parker fueled Plano East’s defensive efforts, earning 6-6A Defensive Player of the Year for his efforts.
Plano East was unable to keep pace with Coppell in a 69-56 bi-district playoff loss.
Girls basketball
One year after Plano East made a historic run to its first-ever appearance in the state semifinals, the success continued for the Lady Panthers.
Fueled by a stingy defense that held opponents to an average of 48.4 points per game, Plano East finished 28-8 overall and perfect 16-0 in District 6-6A play to capture an undefeated championship.
Although the Lady Panthers’ season ended after a hard-fought 50-44 loss versus eventual Class 6A Division I state runner-up Flower Mound in bi-district, it was another big year on the court for Plano East.
Plano East had a total of eight players earn nods on the All-6-6A team.
Incoming junior guard Arianna Robinson claimed individual MVP honors after averaging 26.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals.
Swimming
Plano East incoming senior William Prasetyo outlasted a tough field at the Region II-6A meet at the Lewisville ISD Westside Aquatic Center to earn second place in the 200 free with a personal-best time of 1:41.99.
At the state meet, Prasetyo finished 20th in the 200 free preliminaries with a 1:42.77.
Prasetyo was one of several Panthers who swam at the regional meet. He, Ben Tran, Paul Chu and Winston Le placed seventh in the 200 free relay and eighth in the 400 free relay. Le added an eighth-place finish in the 100 fly and 11th in the 200 individual medley, while Chu took fourth in the 100 breast and 14th in the 100 free.
On the girls’ side, Emma Looney placed seventh in 1-meter diving. Skylar Garris finished in 11th. Abby Wesneski placed seventh in the 100 backstroke and teamed with Kaitlyn Vo, Christine Bui and Purbaaz Chahal to earn 11th in the 200 medley relay, while Malini Mulford placed 11th in the 500 free.
Wrestling
After missing the cut for the state tournament by one win during his freshman and sophomore seasons, Plano East incoming senior Bilal Habib earned fifth place at 106 pounds at the Class 6A state tournament at the Berry Center in Cypress.
Habib finished his junior season with a 30-5 record and won both the District 6-6A and Region II-6A titles at 106 pounds.
Cameron Tran (113 pounds), Ian Garcia (165), Andy Santamaria (190), Jacob Caranfa (138) and Daniel Hartai (150) also qualified for the regional tournament.
On the girls’ side, Jessica Mathew won the district tournament title at 155 pounds. Natahlia Iztep took third at 115 pounds and Sania Kasturi captured fourth place at 125.
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By John Moore | TheCountryWriter.com
As a kid, I often heard the saying, “You probably wouldn’t eat the sausage if you saw how it was made.”
That literally applied to making sausage, but it was applicable to lots of things in life.
Both sides of my family lived in or near Ashdown, Arkansas, for many generations. The work they did on their homesteads sustained them. Any extra also brought in some of the money needed to buy the items they couldn’t create or manufacture themselves.
My generation was the first who didn’t have to raise and prepare everything on their plate. But there was still some of that when I was young.
I can recall going to my grandparents from church on Sunday and watching my grandmother catch and then take the necessary steps to turn a chicken from a backyard animal to the main course at lunch.
Today, this would likely turn most folks into a vegetarian. But I believe it taught my sister, cousins, and me the value of what we ate.
The amount of work it takes, farm to table, is significant. It’s why my wife and I grow a significant amount of our groceries.
My mother’s family grew up on a small farm in an area called Hopewell, Arkansas. It was near Fomby, which was close to Ashdown. The first two were and still are unincorporated, and inhabited by hardworking, proud people.
When you hear about people chopping cotton, you think of the 1800 and early 1900s. But my mother’s family was still chopping cotton in the 1940s and 50s. I never did it, but the tales my mother tells of how hard it was for the little money it brought are eye opening.
Chopping cotton, not even their own cotton, was just one of the ways the family made the extra money for flour, sugar, sorghum, and kerosene. Their home had no electricity. It was lit with kerosene lamps.
People today talk about living off the grid as if it is some new trend. My grandparents and their neighbors did it because they had no choice. If they wanted water, it had to be drawn. If they wanted heat, wood had to be cut. If they wanted supper, someone had to grow it, gather it, or hunt it.
There was no calling a repairman when something broke. There was no grocery store open late at night. There was no delivery service bringing necessities to the front porch. The family relied on their own labor, ingenuity, and determination.
They also raised cows. Molly was the family milk cow. There were a couple of other cows that were used for extra milk production.
My grandfather did anything he could to make a dollar. The extra milk was churned to make cream and butter. All was then sold on his ice route.
My grandfather was one of the few in the area who owned a truck. He got paid to take ice into homes for family iceboxes. While there, he’d offer milk, butter, and cream for sale.
Nothing was wasted. Every animal, every crop, and every byproduct had a purpose. If something could be repaired, it was repaired. If it could be repurposed, it was repurposed. Folks didn’t throw things away because replacing them wasn’t always an option.
The chickens, cows, and pigs on my mother’s family farm provided the protein. The garden offered the vegetables and fruits. The pecan trees bore the nuts for desserts. Pecan pie was a favorite.
The changing seasons dictated the work schedule. Spring meant planting. Summer meant tending crops and harvesting vegetables. Fall brought pecans, preserving food, and preparing for colder weather. Winter was spent maintaining equipment, repairing fences, and planning for another year.
Every member of the family had responsibilities. Children learned early that work wasn’t punishment. It was simply part of life. Feeding animals, gathering eggs, shelling peas, snapping beans, and helping in the garden were expected. Nobody asked if they felt like doing it.
The flour was bought in tow sacks, which were used to make clothing. Manufacturers eventually realized women were reusing the sacks, so they began printing them with colorful floral patterns, checks, and stripes. Some even included sewing instructions on the sack itself. A typical 100-pound flour sack provided enough fabric for a child’s dress, while several sacks could be sewn together to make an adult dress, aprons, shirts, curtains, or quilts.
Today, most of us are upset if we lose WiFi. Imagine losing your milk cow or all of your chickens.
That generation faced challenges most of us can barely imagine. Yet they rarely complained. They simply did what needed to be done.
I always remember that when I’m plowing, planting, or harvesting. And I tip my hat to my family and the others who came before. They did it all.
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]]>By David Wolman
Dasan Harris and the Oklahoma Sooners baseball team have already knocked off No. 2 seeded Georgia Tech and No. 15 Kansas in the NCAA Tournament.
Harris and the unseeded Sooners will look to continue their postseason magic in the NCAA World Series. Oklahoma draws No. 7 Alabama in the opening round at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 13 from Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska. The game will be televised on ESPN.
The Sooners are making their 12th all-time appearance in the World Series and second appearance in five years.
Oklahoma advanced to the World Series after crushing Kansas 13-2 Monday in Game 2 of the Super Regional in Lawrence, Kansas.
With the score tied 1-1 in the second inning, a six-run bottom half of the second fueled the Sooners’ offense and turned what was a close game into a rout. Harris, a 2023 graduate of Plano East, broke the deadlock with an RBI single through the left side of the field. Harris later punctuated OU’s dominant efforts with a two-run home run in the sixth inning for a commanding 12-1 lead.
Harris delivered in clutch situations at the plate for the 38-22 Sooners throughout the Super Regional.
In OU’s 8-1 Game 1 win on Saturday, June 6, Harris plated the game’s first run with a fielder’s choice in the fourth inning. Harris finished the series with three hits and four RBIs. The Sooners’ next six runs came courtesy of three home runs. Brendan Brock increased OU’s lead to 8-0 with an RBI single in the seventh.
Harris has driven in 10 runs during the NCAA Tournament and has 23 RBIs this season.
Oklahoma rallied from deficits of 8-2 and 7-2 to stun Georgia Tech 15-8 and 8-7 (10 innings) in the final two games of the Atlanta Regional. In the June 1 winner-take-all game, Harris lined an RBI single into center field to give the Sooners a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Tech rallied with seven unanswered runs to take a 7-3 lead in the top of the sixth.
However, OU refused to see its season end. The Sooners rallied with three runs in the seventh before tying the score at 7-7 on Jaxon Willits’ RBI single in the bottom of the ninth. Dayton Tockey capped off the wild comeback with a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the 10th.
Harris has appeared in 55 games for Oklahoma during his junior year, making 31 starts. The Plano native has an impressive .362 average and .986 OPS with four homers and 23 RBIs. He’s also a weapon on the basepaths for the Soooners, as he is third on the team with 18 stolen bases. At Plano East, Harris was an All-District and All-State talent.
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Two white lionesses requiring urgent medical attention have found a new home in Wylie after being transferred to In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue and Educational Center.
The female lions, Kali and Nzuri, arrived late in the evening Tuesday, May 5 after concerns arose about serious mobility issues while they were housed at a roadside zoo in Pilot Point. The approximately 7-year-old sisters were transferred following intervention involving the Animal Legal Defense Fund after videos showing the animals struggling with instability and difficulty walking circulated online.
A specialized team from In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue & Educational Center, accompanied by the sanctuary’s veterinarian, traveled to retrieve and safely transport the lionesses to Wylie.
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