By Mary Jane Farmer. NOTE: Names are not furnished until/when a suspect is indicted by the Grayson County Grand Jury.

Between Jan 10 and Jan. 19, Van Alstyne Police answered 133 calls for service, which resulted in eight police reports, six offense reports, and one arrest, reported Police Sgt. Steven Hayslip. They also worked the scene of five motor vehicle crashes, none of which resulted in injuries.

Arrest — A cooperative investigation between the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office and Van Alstyne Police resulted in four warrants being issued for the arrest of a 23-year-old Denison man, each on sexual assault of a child. Hayslip provided the initial information, and included that each victim was under the age of 17 years, saying that the suspect was taken to jail on the warrants and jail records show that he was booked in on Jan. 21. Bail has been set at $250,000 on each count for a total bail required of $1,000,000. Those jail records also show that the suspect remains in jail in lieu of bail, which is payable with surety bonds with conditions listed in them.

Jail records also show that this suspect went to Grayson County Jail in May 2019 on one count each of the crimes of attempting to commit sexual assault on a child and indecency with a child by sexual contact. He posted bail in surety bonds on those charges. Then, a few months later, August 2019, he was jailed on a count of theft of property between $2,500-$30,000; again, he was freed on a surety bond.

One other media source reported that these new four “crimes were reported in Van Alstyne.”

Vandalism continuation — On Jan. 14, police were called to the Boy Scout Park at 145 Grays Trail regarding more vandalism. Police arrived, about 3 p.m., Hayslip said, to discovered more playground equipment vandalized.

This is similar to the three other incidents already under investigation, all of which involved spray paint on the equipment.

The first three were, as this one was, on city-owned property, including playground equipment at McKinney Wilson Park, the railcars at the corner of South Main and East Jefferson, and a culvert in the 200 block of West Jefferson.

Again, anyone with information is urged to call Van Alstyne Police Detective Ingram at 903-482-5251.

Police Reports  — These types of incidents often include calls to police because of reckless drivers or other offenses on the roadways. On Jan. 19, for example, officers investigated a reckless driver report at Lincoln Park Road and FM 121 about 9:30 a.m. with that caller telling dispatch it seemed ‘urgent to him/her; and then about 8:25 p.m., another caller reported a reckless driver on U.S. Highway 75 near the Sanford Circle area, again stressing it seemed ‘urgent.’

Indictments — There were no Van Alstyne people indicted for crimes during the most recent Grand Jury session.  There were, however, two other suspects indicted for sexual assault charges. One of those was a Gunter man, one one county of sexual abuse of a child under 14 and three counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact. The other was a Denison man, on one count of sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency of a child by sexual contact.

Photo by Mary Jane Farmer

By Mary Jane Farmer for The Van Alstyne News / Scene In Town — Jan. 18, 2022

A Tuesday afternoon incident could have turned into a calamity, but for the immediate and good work of people well trained for their job. Plus some other positives.

A semi truck delivering gravel across the street from the newly-developing Central Social District Park when it struck an electric wire while the bed was up high. That caused several transformers in that area, North Preston near East Van Alstyne Parkway, to blow, said City Manager Lane Jones.  He was in a meeting at the time, which started at 3 p.m. and it was about 3:10 or 3:15 p.m. when the mishap happened.

Oncor, which handles maintenance for TXU Electric, was quickly summoned to the scene and began their work between the park area and the police station’s parking lot. Two fire department vehicles, with overhead lights on, guarded the Oncor truck during this first repair, turning traffic away and keeping the Oncor truck and the men on the job safe.

Multiple posts on local Facebook pages said that several people saw the transformers blow.

Photo by Mary Jane Farmer

Jones said, and posted on those Facebook pages, he said, that they expected to have the repairs completed before 6 p.m. In fact, electricity was restored about 5:40 p.m., off a total of about 2.5 hours.

Another positive about this situation is that no one was injured, Jones said, as did several people watching the repair work from afar.

Another positive is that the day’s temperatures were the best they have been lately, especially considering it is the 18^th of January. In many parts of the United States, Online news reports state, people are being slammed by ‘significant icing’ and treacherous travel conditions, and ‘bitter cold.’ Temperatures Tuesday during this power outage were between 60 and 73 degrees.

And, Oncor conducted its repairs in record time, long before the nighttime temperatures dropped into the 40s.

Photo By Mary Jane Farmer

From Tim McAlavy, with Texas Department of Transportation’s Paris District, which includes Grayson County.

McAlavy askes motorists to be aware of these ongoing projects around Van Alstyne,

US 75 full depth concrete repair: Crews will be working on US 75 each week from Sunday night through Thursday night. Lane closures will be present at night for crews to replace failed concrete. Lane closures will begin at 7:30 p.m. each night and should be reopened to traffic by 6 a.m. This work will extend from the Collin-Grayson County line to the Oklahoma State line.

US 75 debris pickup: From Collin County line to Oklahoma State line. Watch for mobile lane closures as workers pick up debris from the roadway every Sunday and Wednesday during the nighttime.

FM 121 Road work continues: From Jim Jones Road to FM 3356. Watch for occasional daytime lane closures as crews work to complete the remaining work on the project. Watch for lane shifts and narrow lanes throughout the project as crews have moved traffic to a portion of the new concrete pavement. The ultimate roadway will be a five-lane section consisting of concrete pavement when the project is completed. There is no posted completion date as of this report.

By Mary Jane Farmer from Van Alstyne Police reports — No names provided until or unless the person(s) has/have been indicted.

Between Jan. 3 and Jan. 9, Van Alstyne Police answered 180 calls for service, resulting in eight police reports, seven offense reports, and four arrests. They also worked one motor vehicle crash in which no one was injuries, reported Police Sgt. Steven Hayslip.

Vandalism continued — Hayslip reported that there are two more incidents of vandalism to city property since the first one discovered in late December.

The two discovered since were similar in style to the first one, which was the defacement of playground equipment at Wilson McKinney Park on the east side of town, spray paint applied to property.

These next two locations were at the corner of South Main and East Marshall, where the renovated railcar receiving the vandalism, and to a culvert in the 200 block of West Jefferson.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact Detective Ingram of the Van Alstyne Police Department at 903-482-5251. The police station is located at 242 N. Preston Ave.

Arrest — On Jan. 3, about 10:30 p.m., police initiated a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 75 at FM 121. They discovered that the driver, a Denison man, as in possession of methamphetamine, an illegal/controlled substance, and that he was also carrying a handgun. They jailed the suspect on charges of possession of a controlled substance under 1 gram and of illegally carrying a weapon. There were also three outstanding warrants in place, which were served on the suspect.

Bail was set at a total of $896 cash fines on the warrants and $7,500 payable in surety bonds on the two new charges. The suspect was released on Jan. 8.

Arrest — About noon Jan. 4, police made a traffic stop in the 900 block of West Van Alstyne Parkway. The driver and only occupant of the vehicle, Carl David Griffin of Van Alstyne, was found to have been in possession of a controlled substance, Alprazolam, with no proof of prescription and packaged in the required prescription bottle, Hayslip said. Police also found seven outstanding warrants, charging Griffin with two counts of theft and five counts of theft by fraud, each over $500. Griffin had previously been indicted on these seven counts by the Grayson County Grand Jury and the 15^th District Court issued the warrants.

Bail was set a total of $114,000, which was paid with surety bonds for his Jan. 5 release from Grayson County Jail.

Arrest — About 7:30 p.m. Jan. 7, a traffic stop led to the arrest of a Leonard, Texas, man on an outstanding warrant issued by Dallas County and charging the suspect with a driving offense, enhanced because it wasn’t his first arrest on that driving offense. He was released to Dallas County on Jan. 10, Grayson County Jail records show.

Arrest — Jan. 8, about 7:30 p.m., police were called to the corner of U.S. 75 and Sanford Circle on a welfare concern. The caller said there was someone standing in the middle of the service road. Hayslip said police found and identified the person, a Dallas man, on a charge of parole violation and issued by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. As of Jan. 14, the suspect remains in Grayson County Jail.

By Mary Jane Farmer

This is a press release from Texas Department of Transportation.

AUSTIN – The Don’t Mess with Texas Scholarship Contest is now accepting applications for the 2022 school year.

Any Texas high school senior currently attending public, private or home school and planning to attend an accredited Texas college or university in the fall 2022 semester is eligible to apply. Judges will select winners based on the students’ proven results in leading projects or events focused on educating communities about the importance of keeping our state clean and litter-free.

Presented in partnership with Keep Texas Beautiful, the Don’t Mess with Texas Scholarship Contest will award a total of $9,000 in scholarships in May 2022. The 2022 scholarship contest awards are sponsored by Buc-ees and iHeart Media.

“It’s important that younger generations understand they have the power to create long-term solutions that can transform their environment into one that is litter-free,” said Becky Ozuna, program administrator for the Don’t Mess with Texas campaign.

Don’t Mess with Texas has been educating Texans about litter prevention since 1986. The program includes a grassroots partnership with Keep Texas Beautiful, annual “Trash-Off” community outreach event,s and the Adopt-a-Highway volunteer program.

To apply for the Don’t mess with Texas Scholarship, visit dontmesswithtexas.org. Applications must be received via online submission by 5 p.m. (CST) March 31, 2022.

For media inquiries, contact TxDOT Media Relations at MediaRelations@txdot.gov or 512-463-8700.