Anytime Fitness outside sign installed Monday evening, 3.28.22

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

Van Alstyne’s own Cage Sawyers is opening a gymnasium, the newest in the Anytime Fitness franchise. The local born-and-raised man is a 2017 graduate of Van Alstyne High School and soon will be going to the University of Texas law school, he said.

But, in the interim, Sawyers has been taking steps to nurture his dream of providing a gym and is nearing his goal. The store will open in April, but, he added, the exact date isn’t set in stone yet.

He has been working on it, in phases and stages, for about a year. “There was not a gym around when I was in school. And I always wanted one, here in Grayson County,” he said.

First, he had to decide on which franchise worked best toward his goals, and that search and perusal had him settle in on Anytime Fitness, and then he had to buy into the franchise. Next, of course, it was location, location, location. And he found a perfect one, 385 Henry Hynds Expy (U.S. 75 east side service road). That’s in the newer, small shopping center anchored by Dominos Pizza, and in plain sight for anyone going to Dollar General.

Although he’s the first user of this particular site, there was some construction necessary to adapt it for gymnasium use and that’s taken about three months, he said.

Sawyers lauded the help given to him by the Community Development Corporation team of Rodney Williams and Tiffany Chartier, “They were instrumental in helping, and also the entire city was helpful in things like getting my permits in place and in a timely manner. They were all very courteous to this local resident.”

Next up will be the certificate of occupation, which is a document given to a business to certify that it’s commercial, office, or other working space complies with local codes and fit for use.

About the offerings of Anytime Fitness, Sawyers explained that, “We are going to have standard equipment with tangible data available about how you are improving. It’s not supposed to be a body-building gym, but rather to be a place for those in the community to increase their health and wellness.

“Health is wealth,” he said.

“The facility will be available 24-7, and locked up, for safety, once a person or people is/are inside at night. “There will be a coach here for you at all times, and for those who want it, a personal trainer to help you on your wellness journey,” he added.

When Sawyers goes away to college, Kenneth Nelson will manage the gym.

“A lot of people have already signed up, there seems to be a lot of need for this,” Sawyers said.

There is a place on the parent company’s Website, AnytimeFitness.com, to sign up and receive more information. And that site shows the phone number shows to be 469-400-7634.

Plus, Sawyers and others will be on site Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, for questions and pre-sales.

“We are so grateful to have this opportunity,” said the young man who has already put heart, soul, and diligent effort into getting Anytime Fitness open for business.

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

In the month of February, 2022, Van Alstyne Police received 1,153 Calls for Service, reported Police Lt. Steven Hayslip. Officers also completed 76 training hours and dispatchers received 42 hours of training.

Traffic accidents

March 5 Fatality — About 3 a.m., police were called to U.S. Highway 75 about a pedestrian struck by a vehicle. Hayslip said the victim, a Van Alstyne man, had gotten off the highway, onto the service road, just south of the Van Alstyne Parkway overpass. He was walking in the roadway and wearing dark clothing when an oncoming driver struck him. The victim died of his injuries. Hayslip said the driver showed no signs of intoxication and does not face charges.

February 27 — A head-on collision sent both drivers to area hospitals in serious condition. Hayslip said this happened after one car got off of U.S. 75 and drove east on County Line Road, where it collided with a vehicle on Henry Hynds Road, aka the service road. Both drivers were flown by air ambulance to be treated for their injuries. And both, Hayslip said, are still hospitalized.

One of those two drivers said, Hayslip reported, that he believed he was in pursuit by Anna police because of outstanding warrants against him. Actually, Hayslip added, Anna police were in pursuit, but of another car. The driver also stated he had been driving up to 80 mph when he thought he was being chased.

Hayslip said that the police will file a charge at large against the offending drive, and that charge would be aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Arrests

February 12 — Police were called to domestic assault in progress in a vehicle at U.S. Highway 75 and Van Alstyne Parkway. The victim, a Sherman woman, said that the suspect, also of Sherman, had left. After taking the report and beginning to search for the suspect, the victim left for her Sherman home. Once there, Hayslip said, she called and said that he was at her house and that the suspect had taken her phone while she was to call for help. Van Alstyne Police enlisted the aid of Sherman police, who went to the address and detained the suspect. Van Alstyne Police went to Sherman and made the arrest.

Jail records show the suspect is charged with assault/family violence impeding breathing and with interfering with an emergency call. Bail was set at a total of $6,500, which the suspect paid with surety bonds the following day.

February 15 — Hayslip said police were patrolling U.S. 75 when, at Farmington Road, they saw a speeding vehicle going southward. They driver, Fort Worth woman, did not stop immediately for their overhead lights and sirens, but a short while later, she did pull over. At first glance, police saw what turned out to be ½ pound of marijuana on the passenger side/front seat, and detained the driver. A probable-cause search uncovered more narcotics and a firearm as well.

The driver went to jail on charges of Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon, Possession of Marijuana between 4 ounces-5 pounds; Possession of Controlled Substance Penalty Group 2; Possession of Controlled Substance, Penalty Group 3; Possession of a Dangerous Drug; and Tampering with Physical Evidence with Intent.

Bail was set at a total of $25,000, which the suspect paid with surety bonds for her Feb. 16 release.

February 23 — Another assault inside a resident also resulted in the arrest of the suspect. Haylsip said that, in this report, the suspect, a Van Alstyne man, is accused of hitting a female resident in the head twice. She sustained visual injuries, he added.

The suspect went to jail on a charge of Assault Causing Bodily Injury/Family Violence, with bail set at a total of $3,000. The suspect paid that with a surety bond and went free later that same day.

February 23 — Someone called police to a house in the 1300 block of East Jefferson. Officers were told, upon arrival, that the suspect had assaulted his boyfriend. While the boyfriend was leaving, the suspect picked up a chair and threw it on the victim. The victim showed signs of the assault with a bloody mouth and some missing teeth.

Police arrested the suspect on charges of Assault Causing Bodily Injury/Family Violence, and also warrants in place charging him with Driving While License Invalid and Riding Not Secured by Seat Belt.

Bail on the warrant arrests were set at $443.90, which the suspect paid those fines, and of $3,000 on the assault charge. He paid that with a surety bond to which an emergency protective order attached to it. He was released on February 26, but then went back to Grayson County Jail on March 1 for violation of the protective order.

Hayslip said that all officers knew about the protective order. They spotted a vehicle being driven without a front license plate and made a traffic stop. The officer also recognized the vehicle which both the suspect and the victim occupied.

They took the suspect back to jail that night on a charge of Violation of Protective Order. The Bail of $2,500 was paid, this time with another surety bond and he went free on March 2.

Hayslip said the Protective Order is still in place against the suspect.

February 26 — Police smelled the strong odor of marijuana coming from inside a motor vehicle after stopping it on a traffic violation. They then conducted a probable-cause search and found three ounces of marijuana inside it. The suspect, a resident of Durant, Okla., was incarcerated on a charge of Possession of Marijuana between 2-4 ounces. Bail of $2,500 was set, and as of March 10, the suspect remains in Grayson County Jail.

March 2 — A McKinney man went to jail on a charge of Evading Arrest/Detention with a Vehicle with bail set at $5,000.  Hayslip said that police clocked a car going 98 mph and got behind it with their lights and sirens on to get it stopped. That was near the Farmington Road overpass. As the car kept going toward Anna, that city’s police department assisted in helping stop it. Eight and one-half miles later, the driver pulled over. He posted his bail of $5,000 later the same day.

March 3  — Police were sent to U.S. 75 about a reported reckless driver. They found the described vehicle and watched as it moved in and out of lanes, Hayslip said, and the officers made a traffic stop. The driver smelled of alcohol and spoke with slurred speech and so the officers conducted a driving test, and then jailed the Denison woman on a charge of Driving While Intoxicated. She posted bail of $1,500 in surety bonds on March 4.

March 5 — A traffic stop on U.S. 75 resulted in the arrest of a Wylie man on a charge of Possession of Marijuana between 4-25 ounces. As the officers spoke with the driver, a Wylie, Texas, man, they smelled marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. They got the driver out and conducted a probable-cause search and discovered the marijuana, plus several items of drug paraphernalia. At the jail, bail was set at $5,000, which the suspect paid with a surety bond on March 7.

Report from Howe Police Department, with Mary Jane Farmer also contributing. For Scene In Town, Van Alstyne News. Names are not given until/unless a suspect is indicted.

Howe Police Chief Carl Hudman reported that\ they booked a 21-year-old Howe woman into the Grayson County Jail on a number of charges for her role in the theft of a marked Howe Police patrol vehicle Friday morning (March 4, 2022)

At about 9:20 a.m., an investigator with the Texas Office of the Attorney General called Howe police to request assistance with a woman in her care who was experiencing a metal health crisis. The Howe officer met with the investigator at the Dollar General store on L.B. Kirby Avenue in Howe. The investigator said she was transporting the woman from Howe to an area hospital for evaluation when the woman became combative and delusional.

The Howe police officer and a local constable detained the woman and sat her in the rear seat of the officer’s patrol vehicle, a 2018 Dodge Charger. The woman was able to maneuver her handcuffs to the front of her body, climb through a narrow window in the partition separating the front and rear seats of the patrol vehicle, and drive away.

The suspect drove north on U.S. Highway 75 and eventually drove onto the highway’s east service road. The vehicle became disabled when the woman ran over a number of curbs, which destroyed the Charger’s four tires, and it came to a stop on the east service road of the highway several blocks north of FM 1417.

Officers from surrounding agencies responded to the call and detained the suspect until Howe officers arrived and arrested her on charges of Escape from Custody, Evading Arrest with a Motor Vehicle, and Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle. She was booked into the Grayson County Jail. As of press time, no bond had been set for her release.

No other vehicles were damaged during the woman’s flight and she admitted to officers that she had recently used methamphetamine, Hudman said.

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

UPDATE, The voting polls (at Grayson College) will be open from 7. a.m. to 7 p.m. on May 7.

Local voters will be urged to return to the polls in April or May to not only decide on the proposed City Charter, but also to select Van Alstyne City Council members for the upcoming term.

Van Alstyne ISD’s Lawanna Merriman said that there will not be an election for the VAISD School Board, as no one filed to challenge the incumbent board members, Place 1 (Kurt Himmelreich) or Place 2, (Beau Williams), and that both incumbents filed to remain on the Board.

There are three seats coming open on the City Council, Places 1, 2, and 3. And three challengers for two of those seats. Confusing? Well, here’s more information.

Place #1 is currently held by Council Member Ryan Neal who is returning to the Council unopposed.

Place #2 is currently held by Council Member Marla Butler, who is being challenged by Ryan Laing, who served on the City Charter Committee, as did Neal, Butler, and Dawsey.

Place #3 is currently held by Council Member Bruce Dawsey, who is running for County Judge and so not also for his seat on the City Council. Asking for the chair are former City Council Member Robert Jaska, and Dusty Williams, President of the Van Alstyne Historical Society.

According to Van Alstyne City Secretary Jennifer Gould, early voting will be at the Grayson College South Campus from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. April 25-29, and from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. May 2-3. May 7 is the final election day and polls will also be open that date from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

A printed copy of the proposed City Charter will be mailed to all registered voters in early April. This Charter, if approved, will change the city from its current General Law status to Home Rule status, add a 6^th chair at the City Council table, and provide for several other changes to city government.

So far, no word on any “Meet the Candidates” forums being held.

Anyone wanting to read that proposed Charter in advance can do so Online at the this (Click here) link.  https://cityofvanalstyne.us/draft-city-charter-available/

And those early voting dates and times are on the Van Alstyne City Calendar here on SceneInTown.com