By Mary Jane Farmer for the Van Alstyne News, Scene In Town

Van Alstyne Police made no arrests made this past week, but are investigating another theft of construction material, reported Police Lt. Steven Hayslip.

It was about 2 p.m. Friday (April 5, 2024) when officers were dispatched to 1556 Whispering Meadow in regard to the theft. They found that building materials, including 18 windows were stolen from a house under construction. At this time, Hayslip said, there are no suspects.

It was on March 27 that police investigated a similar theft in the 2000 block of Cuellar Way. There, too, construction materials were taken, including lumber and sheeting, also from a house under construction.

When asked if the police department has determined if the two similar thefts might be connected, Hayslip said, “At this time, there is a considerable amount of theft in construction materials all over the state. Therefore, it is really hard to determine.

“We document everything we can to help link potential crimes as well as step up patrol in all construction areas,” Hayslip added.

If anyone has information, that person is urged to call Van Alstyne Police at 903-482-5253.

 

 Photos and story by Mary Jane Farmer, many photos at bottom of this story.

Van Alstyne’s first cornhole tournament came and went Saturday (April 6) with many happy participants and their happy supporters .

Organized by the Van Alstyne Parks & Recreation Department, led by its Event Coordinator Kandi Hessel, the tournament involved 24 teams.  The cornhole sets were put to use at 11 a.m., with the finalists named and awarded about 3:15 p.m.

Taking first place were Justin Dyke and Arthur Ortega, both of whom seemed as happy with the plaques given them as they were with the cash prizes they earned. And coming in right behind them in second place were Dylan Halbardier and Hannah Halbardier.

Hessel said it was a timed double-elimination tournament, with participants ranging in age from 6 years old to senior citizens. “It’s a sport for all ages,” she said.

It was also a sport where most participants exhibited as much joy when their opponents beat them as they did when they won a set. Lots of handshaking and knuckle-bumping, laughter, and attaboys abounded.

Hessel said there will be future cornhole tournaments in “September and then in November.” The exact dates will be posted soon on the (click here) Van Alstyne Parks and Recreation Facebook page.

By Mary Jane Farmer for the Van Alstyne News, SceneInTown.com

NOTE: 4.2.24 — Correction is made on one of the March 31 arrest reports and the updates appear there in bold

Van Alstyne Police Lt. Steven Hayslip, public information officer, reported on several arrests and incidents of the past week.

Arrest — On March 27, at about 4:15 p.m., officers initiated a welfare check on an unknown individual later identified as a New Mexico resident. A check of his driver’s license revealed an outstanding warrant issued out of Sandoval County, N.M. The warrant charged him with Aggravated Assault w/Deadly Weapon. Police jailed the suspect on a charge of Fugitive from Justice/Sandoval County. The suspect has signed a waiver, which will allow him to be returned to New Mexico. As of Monday, the suspect remained in Grayson County Jail.

Theft — That same day, March 27, police were sent to the 2000 block of Cuellar Way in regarding a theft. Hayslip said that an unknown person stole building materials, including lumber and sheeting, from a residence under construction. At this time, Hayslip said, there are no suspects.

Arrest —On March 28, about 5:15 p.m., police made a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 75 at Farmington Road. The stop was made because the vehicle did not have a front license plate, which is required by the Texas Traffic Code, Hayslip said. Upon obtaining the driver’s name and driver’s license number, police discovered two outstanding warrants for her arrest. The warrants charged the Sherman woman with Possession of Marijuana under 2 ounces and Theft of items valued between $100-$750. The officers had her incarcerated in Grayson County Jail, and she posted bail in surety bonds of $1,000 for her release the following day.

Arrest — March 30, about 5:30 p.m., police were sent to the 1900 block of Peggy’s Cover regarding a disturbance. Their finding was that one person had assaulted his partner, leaving red marks on his neck and a small cut on his cheek. The victim declined medical attention. Police placed the suspect, a Dallas man, under arrest on a charge of Assault Causing Bodily Injury Family Violence. A magistrate at the jail set bail at $2,500, which the suspect posted for his release the following day.

Arrest — About 4:30 p.m. Easter Day (March 31), police were called to a home in the 700 block of Nash Street because of a disturbance. They determined that the suspect has assaulted two family members, leaving them both with minor injuries. One had bleeding from a ear after being kicked in the head and the second had a swollen eye, also from being kicked, Hayslip reported. Police called Van Alstyne EMS to the scene, but neither victim accepted medical attention. Police arrested the suspect on two charges of Assault Causing Bodily Injury/Family Violence with previous conviction. Bail was set at a total of $40,000 and the suspect remains in Grayson County Jail, according to jail records. 

Arrest — Also on Easter Day, about 11 a.m., police were dispatched to a reckless driver call on U.S.75 and County Line Road. Hayslip said that the reporting party said that a vehicle was weaving all over the roadway and nearly struck several vehicles. Police located and stopped the vehicle. While talking with the driver, a Sherman man, they could smell the odor of an intoxicating beverage and conducted Standardized Field Sobriety Tests. After conducting the tests, Police placed the driver under arrest on a charge of Driving While Intoxicated. Following protocol, police searched the suspect and found a small clear plastic bag containing Cocaine in his front pocket, which added a second charge against him,  that of Possession of Controlled substance (Cocaine) under 1 gram.

Bail was set on those two charges at a total of $9,000. However, once at the jail, the Sheriff’s Office added an ICE detainer on the suspect, which does not allow for bail, and he remains incarcerated.

An ICE hold is for violation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is one of the key tools ICE can use to apprehend individuals who come in contact with local and state law enforcement agencies and put them into the federal deportation system.

 

By Mary Jane Farmer for the Van Alstyne News, Scene In Town

Sherman Police Lt. Steven Hayslip reported on a Driving While Intoxicated arrest made on March 20. He said that police were called to the drive-through at a fast-food diner on Van Alstyne Parkway. It was about midnight, he said, when they were called because of a welfare concern. The reporting party said that someone was passed out behind the driver’s seat.

Police knocked on the car’s window and woke the driver up. They reported that the car was in drive and the motor running, and that, once awake, the driver began moving his vehicle and it hit the curb.

Police determined, through a Standardized Field Sobriety Test, that the driver, a Van Alstyne resident, was intoxicated. They jailed him on a charge of Driving While Intoxicated. The suspected posted bail, in the amount of $1,500 paid in surety bonds, later that day for his release.

Hayslip also reported on a theft that is still under investigation. He said that about 2:15 p.m. on March 20, police were called to the new Van Alstyne High School, currently under construction, in regard to a theft. The complainant said that, while he was working inside the building, someone stole a portable speaker from inside his vehicle. The speaker is valued at $349.  If anyone has information on this theft, he/she is encouraged to call police at 903-482-5251.

The Grayson County Grand Jury indicted two Van Alstyne residents during its most recent session. An indictment is a formal charge and not an indication of guilt. The first indictment resulted from an April 9, 2022, police contact. Hayslip said that. They were called to the 1700 block of Waco Street regarding an injury.

The victim said a family member had pushed him/her, causing him/her to fall and hit his/her head. The suspect had left the scene. Police filed a charge of Assault Causing Bodily Injury against the suspect, and the Grayson County District Attorney asked the Grand Jury for its instruction. After the indictment on the charge, Van Alstyne Police arrested the suspect on a warrant carrying that charge. She was jailed in early March.

The other indictments resulted from arrests made by other agencies, neither of which complied with requests for details.

 

This article first appeared in Texoma Farm & Home, in its first issue, February/March 2024.  Go online to (click here) https://texomafarmandhome.com/ to read the complete issue.

By Mary Jane Farmer

It can take a long time to be an overnight success. Musician Austin Michael (Robinson), at age 21, is in his 6^th year, and says, “This is not a marathon, this is a sprint.” The Van Alstyne native is now living and working in Nashville, with some of its most successful professionals in his corner.

His childhood dreams had always been along the rodeo line. He received a guitar before he was a teenager and taught himself to play. But music, for him, was still just a diversion, a way to unwind at the end of his busy days. That is, until a family friend sent a cell-phone video of him singing “Fly Away” to the TV competition series, “American Idol.” He didn’t even know about that, until he got word that he’d been accepted.

Of it, Austin Michael said, “I enjoyed it. I didn’t walk into it with the same mind set as others did. I thought through it all that I very blessed to be here. Not… ‘this is my future…’ But when I got back home and it aired, I realized from the many calls and messages that it had touched people. It kinda made me go, ‘Well, if they believe in me, and if they want me to do it, well I can.’”

After his stint with American Idol, Austin Michael’s Van Alstyne family home burned down. The family moved to Westminster and lived with his

grandparents for a while. Then, they found land that could accommodate the livestock the family maintains that was in Pottsboro.

“We had a ranch with 50 acres and horses and cows and a few ponds. It was a good four years, but there were issues that went with the good fortune – plumbing, electric.” Again, back to the grandparents’ house in Westminster, where the family still resides.

Nashville had to fit into the picture. His first trip out there happened after he got a text from his dad’s friend, golf pro John Daly. “Listen here, where are you? You need to get to Nashville yesterday.” Austin Michael said he packed up and headed out. There, he slept in his car outside motels and used their bathrooms to clean up. Through Daly’s understandable influences, Austin Michael received the chance for one co-writing session, and that then turned into 3 sessions or “writes” as he said they are called. After the third one, he was invited to stay one more day. He said he spent the rest of that day wandering the streets, trying to figure it all out.

“I didn’t understand the industry. I thought it was like it used to be,” he said. “I decided I wouldn’t be going back here.”

But, Austin Michael, being the Christian that he is, gave credit “100% to God for every step along the way. No question in my mind, I believe everything happens for a reason.”

He said he texted Daly again, asking, “Is there anybody you want me to meet while I’m here? He (Daly) had 3 others and I met with all of them.” One was nice enough to let Austin Michael crash on his couch. His roommate, who worked with L3 Management, stayed there, too. He walked in.

“’Who are you?’ I asked.

“’I live here,’ the roommate answered.

“’Oh, nice to meet you,’ I said.

“’Why are you here?’ he asked.

“’I’m another country artist trying to make it,’ I replied.

“’Well, if you want to be serious, come with me tomorrow,’ he suggested.”

Austin Michael did, and it went uphill from there.

Before he’d left Nashville on that trip, Austin Michael had an offer from a management company, a publishing company, and a label opportunity.

Austin Michael was all set to go back to Nashville, and this time, management told him, “You aren’t sleeping in your car.” “They had me set up. And from then on I was booked solid.”

After that, Austin Michael would travel to Nashville about every other month or so until it seemed more sensible to make a geographical move. First, he moved to an Alabama town, staying with a buddy of his there. It was a 2-hour drive to Nashville, and he made that 2-way trek every day. And then it happened — Austin Michael moved to Nashville in August of last year.

“It simplified and it complicated my life,” he said. “I am so family-oriented, it’s hard to be away from family. But, it has allowed me to be more accessible. I play a lot of writers’ rounds and meet people. I’m always writing and always recording and always meeting people.”

One thing is for certain, he said. “I have done a lot of growing up here, but not going to let the town change me. It’s a slippery slope and I know I have to adapt to my surroundings.

“I still wear my cowboy hat, it keeps the hair out of my face while working. And, in this concrete jungle, it seems genuine knowing it’s about where I came from.”

When he answered the inevitable question all musicians get — Who is your idol? — It was a simple answer for Austin Michael. “Cody Johnson has always been my idol. I love his authenticity, respect, attitude, his moral compass. It all comes across in very obvious ways.”

Nowadays, Austin is releasing singles about every 4-6 weeks, but moved it up to 3 releases in January. It’s not genuine choreographed videos he and his team are producing, they call them ‘visualizers.’

“Most people don’t understand, a video costs about $50 grand to produce. My management team has one guy who is pretty good with a camera. We just finished a recording and a visualizer for ‘Whiskey In The Dirt.’”

That and other visualizers, along with the first video made those many years ago, “Country Cred,” are available on YouTube.

And another question songwriters get — “Where do you get your ideas for new songs?” Austin Michael said it can come from recurring issues, conversations. “There’s really no way to go about it. Sometimes during relaxing times, maybe wake up in the middle of the night, or somebody sparks an idea, and some kind of emotions hit me.”

So, where is it all going for this young talented man?

“I could go either way. I could sit back and complain as to why I’m not a superstar. But, I am a firm believer that God opens doors. People pray for strength and God gives them ways to overcome weaknesses. I know I am not going to be an overnight sensation.

“I have a lot to learn. I’m extremely grateful for every step of the way.

“Give us a few years. We’ll have a number one.”