The Van Alstyne City Charter Commission, February 10. (Names, not in order) at the bottom of this article.)

Story and photo by Mary Jane Farmer, Van Alstyne News, Scene In Town

Texas cities are divided by population into two types of government — General Law for those cities and towns with fewer than 5,000 residents, and Home Rule for those who have more than 5,000 inhabitants. But the change doesn’t happen automatically. First, there is the development of a Home Rule Charter and then the approval of that Charter by the city’s electorate.

Van Alstyne has been declared a town of 5,000 population, and city leaders have now stepped up to the plate and begun the process of possibly making it a Home Rule city.

The National League of Cities defines a Home Rule Charter as being “comparable to the Constitution of the United States or a state’s constitution, therefore, the most important legal document of any city.”

The process began in 2021 when the City Council appointed a Charter Commission, which then began work in October with the Council Members being joined by 10 interested and willing-to-serve volunteers, joined by two consultants, the city attorney, and the city secretary. They met monthly, and with each meeting following a definite agenda designed to let them address every aspect of the proposed City Charter. And, officials said, each meeting was open to the public.

• Oct. 14 — Commission kickoff, election of its officers, and a charter process overview;
• Oct. 21 — Form of government, mayor and city council sizes and terms of office, and the members were given a representation model of a city charter;
• Nov. 11 — Council qualifications and compensation, powers and responsibilities of the council, the mayor, and council-appointed officers;
• Nov. 18 — Qualifications of city boards and commissions, duties, qualifications, term and compensation of the city manager;
• Dec. 9 — City budget and financial matters, planning & zoning, and direct democracy measures including initiative, petition, and recall;
• Jan. 27 — Various housekeeping matters and draft review of the charter to that point;
• Feb. 10 — Final draft of charter and the commission’s approval.

A typical City Charter includes the form of government, powers of the municipality, selection and responsibilities of the mayor and city council; city manager appointment, responsibilities and removal; defines the city departments, the financial administration; and the Planning & Zoning Commission.

This proposed City Charter, in its final form, went to the Council at a special called meeting Thursday night (Feb. 10), who, after hearing no one speak at the called public hearing, approved the charter as finalized. At that meeting, the Council also ordered a May 7, 2022, special election for the consideration of the proposed City Charter. If approved, it will go into effect immediately, according to its Chapter 15.

If the proposed City Charter doesn’t pass the May 7 vote, it will be two years before another one can be presented to the votes, a consultant explained.

The registered voters of Van Alstyne will receive a copy of the proposed charter, to be mailed a month before the election.

Charter proposals, finalized when/if the electorate approves it at the May 7 election, includes, among other changes, the addition of one City Council member for a total of six Council members, with 3-year terms, and provides the timeline to make that change. It also gives the seated mayor the right to vote, whereas now he/she only votes in case of a tie.

Also, the Charter determines that Van Alstyne will have a Council/Manager form of government. There are other changes in hiring, appointing, duties, and compensation of department heads, as well.

The Commission appointed Mayor Jim Atchison as its chairman. He was joined by Council Members Ryan Neal, Marla Butler, Bruce Dawsey, Lee Thomas, and Katrina Arsenault; and also by Commission volunteers Dusty Wells, Robert Jaska, Griff Servati, Jim DuBois, Mike Drynan, Steve DeLuna, Christy Allen Wilson, Larry Cooper, Bob Hendricks, and alternate Ryan Laing. Consultants were David Eisenlohr of Baker Tilly LLP and Mike Conduff of the Elm Group. City Attorney is David Ritter. The city staff involved were Lane Jones, City Manager, and Jennifer Gould, City Secretary.

TxDOT roadway truck — Courtesy Photo

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

Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Tim McAlvay said that TxDOT crews have been and will continue to keep Texas roadways as accessible as possible during this serious winter weather coming into Texoma.

National Weather Service issued a Storm Warning to be “in effect from (about) 6 p.m. Feb. 2 (today) thru 6 p.m., Feb. 3. Travel may get hazardous… check road conditions often at DriveTexas.org. If you travel, keep flashlight, food, blankets, and water in your vehicle in case of emergency. Drive cautiously,” TxDOT posted on iTwitter.

TxDOT began laying brine on the major roadways, including U.S. Highway 75 running through Van Alstyne, Tuesday, McAlvay said. Motorists who traveling on these roadways may notice a temporary white line on the pavement, and McAlvay said that is the brine. If a major rain washes the brine away, he said, they will then switch over to a de-icing substance.

“Crews are monitoring the weather and the roadways for the next three days,” McAlvay said. “If a driver sees a TxDOT vehicle ahead of them, and it will have lights on,” he added, “Please stay back away from it.” At a press conference Wednesday morning, Governor Abbot said that there are more than 4,000 TxDOT employees keeping watch on all state roadways.

Better said in TxDOT language, “Don’t crowd the plow.”

McAlvay said that he and other TxDOT spokespeople will be using Twitter to keep everyone up-to-date. That Online address is https://twitter.com/TxDOTParis (Paris, Texas, being the main office for the North Texas Departments of Transportation, including the local office in Sherman.

Envy Saloon & Aesthetics’ ribbon cutting.

Photos and story by Mary Jane Farmer for the Van Alstyne News, Scene In Town

Saturday brought the formal ribbon cutting for Van Alstyne’s newest hair shop, Envy Salon and Aesthetics. But, it was more of a celebration for the owners, staff, and a warm welcome from the numerous attendees, many of whom are already steady customers. Formality replaced by fun and fellowship.

Those attendees included the Van Alstyne Chamber of Commerce’s Executive Director, Maria Hickson-Grimmett, and two of its current board members, Justin Inesta, Promo Lab, and Debra Pettit, Pettit Realty Group.

Owner Ashley Smith and Salon Manager Ashley McDaniel greeted every one with the charm also clearly welcoming in the upscale décor.

A table filled with delectable finger food was a first sight to attendees into the salon. Next to those confections were home-baked cookies especially created with the Envy logo atop each wrapped piece of art.

And, people lined up to sign the long blue satin ribbon, used to commemorate the actual ribbon cutting.

Ashley McDaniel

That was outside the salon’s balloon-trimmed front door, and it was Smith and McDaniel who wielded the scissors for the honor. They invited all the attendees to be in the major photo, and then posed for separate photos with Hickson-Grimmett giving them a framed plaque showing that they, too, are Chamber of Commerce members. Next was a photo with all the employees. Remembrances of the unforgettable day.

Back inside, Smith gave away raffle prizes, and the luck of the draw for the winner of the grandest prize, a smart television, was a salon customer, sitting in a chair getting a new hairdo at the time her name was drawn.

The salon offers everything needed or wanted in hair styling, make-up artistry, and lash extension, Smith said.

Envy Salon & Aesthetics is located at 190 North Main Drive. There’s plenty of parking across N. Main St. with the city’s newly concreted lot. It is open various hours Tuesdays through Saturdays. The phone number is 903-712-ENVY (3689).

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

During the week between Jan. 24-30, Van Alstyne Police answered 284 calls for service, resulting in nine police reports; seven offense reports; three motor vehicle crashes, two with minor injuries; and five arrests.

On Sunday, Jan. 24, Van Alstyne Fire Department answered a fire call on the east side of town, and had assistance from fire departments from Tom Bean, Westminster, Gunter, and Howe. And, while all VA firefighters are also paramedics, all on duty were at the fire when they also got a call of a motorcycle having turned over near that scene. Fire Chief Ryan Dockery said that Gunter EMS took that call and carried that victim to get him medical attention.

The fire, he said was on property which held several vehicles. Some agencies sent other fire engines, which directly battle fires, and others sent fire tenders — vehicles which carry a large capacity of water. At these scenes, the tenders transfer their water supplies to the engines, then return to their designated hydrants to fill the tenders back up again. An on-going process so that the fire fight never slows down. It is teamwork maximizing every firefighter and every piece of equipment available.

In all, Van Alstyne firefighters spent about three hours at the scene, Dockery said, before declaring it under control.

Van Alstyne Police Administrative Sgt. Steve Hayslip encourages that, if there are other victims of the suspect VA Police arrested 11 days ago on four counts of sexual assault of a child and three similar charges, that those victims contact police and bring the crime(s) against him/her/them to police attention. The suspect, a Denison man, remains incarcerated in Grayson County Jail in lieu of $1,500,000 bail. Hayslip said, “(The suspect) is also facing similar charges from other agencies in Grayson County as well.”

VA Police Detective Dale Ingram can be reached at 903-482-5251.

Hayslip also reported on the five arrests police officers made during the week.

Arrest — About 10:15 p.m., Jan. 26, officers were dispatched to a welfare concern on Henry Hynds (U.S. Highway 75 service road) and Sanford Circle regarding a welfare concern. There, they found a man lying on the ground and that he had been struck by a vehicle which then fled the scene. VA EMS transported the victim to a nearby hospital for treatment.

During the resulting investigation, police identified a Van Alstyne man as the driver, located the suspect and placed him under arrest on charges of accident causing serious bodily injury. The jailing was on Jan. 28, and the suspect posted bail of $10,000 in surety bonds for his release the same day.

Arrest — During that same time frame, while officers were working the crime scene, a vehicle drove around the police barricade. An officer caught up with the offending vehicle and made a traffic stop, then identified the driver as a Howe man, and soon determined the suspect was intoxicated.

The suspect was jailed on a count of DWI, 2^nd Offense. A magistrate at the jail set his bail at $3,000, with conditions attached, and the suspect paid that later the same day, Jan. 27, as his incarceration.

Arrest — On Jan. 28, about 10 p.m., a caller reported to dispatch of a reckless driver on U.S. 75, who in turn sent police to the scene. Hayslip said the officers located the described vehicle and got in behind it. They watched as the vehicle’s driver could not maintain it in a single lane and initiated a traffic stop. The driver, Hayslip said, was determined to have been driving while intoxicated and with an open container.

At the Grayson County Jail, the arresting officer charged the driver, a Pottsboro man, with DWI/open container. The suspect posted bail of $1,500 in surety bonds for his release the next day.

Arrest — On Jan. 29, about 7:30 a.m., officers were dispatched to a suspicious circumstance in the 500 block of Kelly Lane. There, they found the person, a pedestrian, described by the caller and, while talking with him, police could smell “a strong odor of an intoxicating beverage,” Hayslip said. “The subject was unsteady on his feet and almost fell several times.”

Police jailed the suspect, a Sherman man, on a charge of public intoxication. The suspect posted cash bail of $292 on Jan. 30.

Arrest — About 11 p.m. Jan. 29, police initiated a traffic stop on U.S. 75 at County Line Road, after the officer saw that the vehicle’s license plate was unreadable. The driver, a Dallas man, was found to be a convicted felon, yet in possession of a firearms and of marijuana. Police placed him under arrest on charges of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm and Possess of Marijuana less than two ounces.

The suspected posted a total of $11,500 bail in surety bonds for his release on Jan. 30.

Calls for Service — The calls for service to which Van Alstyne police responded this week, as shown on a public information daily report provided by Grayson County Sheriff’s Office, included other welfare concerns, harassment, traffic hazards on U.S. 75, loose livestock, reckless drivers also on U.S. 75.

GCSO dispatchers are the receivers of 9-1-1 calls placed for Van Alstyne fire, medical, and police assistance. In return, they relay the information to Van Alstyne dispatchers, who then notify the needed agency. Calls made directly to Van Alstyne dispatchers, (903-482-5251) go directly to the local agency.