By Mary Jane Farmer for The Van Alstyne News, Scene In Town.  Courtesy photos.

Van Alstyne Police Chief Tim Barnes and the City honored many of the department’s police officers at the recent (Tuesday, Feb. 13) Van Alstyne City Council meeting. Mayor Jim Atchison swore in two officers, and there were also awards given to those in the Fire Department, and those will be featured when information arrives. Police Chief Barnes stands at the left side in each photo.

The honorees are:

Lt. Steven Hayslip, for his 5th full year of service with the department.

Telecommunications Officer of the Year — April Culley

Several officers were honored for their life-saving measures that resulted in the saving of two lives in Van Alstyne and a third one out of town. Chief Barnes gave the following accounts of those rescue events.

Officer Dylan Groves receiving a Life-Saver Award.

Officer Dylan Groves — On Sunday, July 2, 2023, Officer Groves was at the lake with his father helping tow a disabled boat. The boat had several people on board including Aaron Sartin and his ten-year-old son, Gabriel Sartin. The boat capsized while being towed.

Gabriel was wearing a life jacket; however, it’s strap became entangled on something underneath the boat. That caused Gabriel to be pulled into the water underneath the capsized boat.

Officer Groves immediately jumped into the water. He was located Gabriel underwater, freed him from the boat, and pulled Gabriel to the water surface. However, the boy was still in danger, as he was no longer breathing once above water. Groves performed CPR, and, Barnes said, it was successful and allowed the boy o breath on his own.

It was Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office who contacted Chief Barnes after the incident. The Hopkins County deputy dispatched to the scene reported that if Officer Groves had not responded, the child would not have been able to free himself from underneath the boat.

Officer Jeremy Watts receiving a Life-Saving award

Sgt. Jeremy Watts — About 4:45 a.m. December 30, a reporting party called for help regarding a suicidal person who had taken pills and, according to the caller, done something that k. Watts was dispatched.

Upon arrival, Sgt. Watts entered her bedroom and saw a 16-year-old female lying on her bed with a cord wrapped twice around her neck, unconscious, not breathing, discolored, and bleeding from cuts on her face and wrist.

The cord was wrapped so tightly around her neck that Sgt. Watts couldn’t untie it with his hands. He had to use his knife to cut the cord away from her neck. After a firm sternum rub, she began regaining some consciousness, gurgled, struggled to breathe for a few seconds, then began to freely breathe on her own.

Officers Parker Johnson and Bob Barnes — On January 28 of this year, Officer Johnson and Officer Barnes II (no kin to the Chief) were dispatched to a welfare concern involving a female sending text messages

Officer Bob Barnes receives a Life-Saving Award

to her husband about committing suicide. They arrived at the house before the husband, but once he arrived on scene, he opened the residence for them to enter it.

Officer Johnson found the woman upstairs, lying on a mattress. He saw a deep cut on her wrist and blood all over the mattress. At the time, the female was also seizing. Officer Barnes II arrived and talked with her while Officer Johnson checked her eyes and immediately applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.

EMS arrived on scene. Both Officer Johnson and Officer Barnes II helped keep her calm while EMS evaluated her. After EMS completed their evaluation and had her loaded her into the ambulance, Officer Johnson rode in it with her to the hospital keeping her calm.

Van Alstyne Mayor Jim Atchison said, “We citizens of Van Alstyne are blessed to have these dedicated professionals serving our city. These men and women undergo rigorous training and continuing education, they work long and variable shifts and display acts of bravery on a daily basis. On behalf of of the city council, we congratulate those we recognize this week and all of the people who serve in emergency response.”

Officer Blake Jack — The Officer of the Year award went to Officer Blake Jack.

Mayor Jim Atchison swears in Officers Jon Schroeder and Bob Barnes.

By Dusty Williams. Reposted with permission.

When thinking about the beginnings of our quaint little town, Van Alstyne, we are reminded of the railroad and the migration of residents from the nearby town of Mantua. When the iron giant came through in 1873, it bypassed the flourishing town of Mantua, bought land from an orphan boy, William L. McKinney, and created a railroad depot and a new town, Van Alstyne. The town was named for a widow railroad stockholder, Maria Van Alstyne. In January of 1873, the new station was ready to receive freight and according to a February 1, 1873, article in the Dallas Herald, the station had received 300 bales of cotton by the second day of it having been in operation.

As was the case with almost all towns in Texas that the railroad bypassed, the once-blooming Mantua quickly turned into what we now call ghost towns. Residents of Mantua, and some from other nearby communities such as Pilot Grove, began packing up and moving to the new settlement of Van Alstyne, which was situated halfway between the county seats of Grayson and Collin counties. Among the first to move their establishments were Dr. James L. Leslie, and Oscar Riddle.

Dr. Leslie opened his medical practice, and Mr. Riddle became the first merchant in Van Alstyne, supposedly having arrived a few days before Dr. Leslie. The story of Mr. Riddle that has been passed down for generations is as follows.

Mantua had passed ordinances against the selling of alcohol in its town, so in the late 1860s Oscar Riddle opened a saloon southwest of town on the Foster Land. Mr. Riddle promptly moved his establishment to Van Alstyne after the railroad tracks were complete and set up a tent northeast of town along a small creek on the east side of the railroad tracks.

He had not obtained his license to sell liquor, so, it is said that he sold a stick of candy for $1 and would include a quart of whiskey in the bag, along with the candy. Over the next couple of years and throughout the 1870s, Van Alstyne became home to five saloons and two wholesale liquor houses. In 1881, the town voted by local option to go dry, and all establishments still in operation were closed.

So, there you have it. Oscar Riddle, candy and whiskey, a tent, and the first store in Van Alstyne. But there’s more…who was Oscar Riddle? What do we know about this pioneer of Van Alstyne’s businesses? The name should be easy on which to find basic information. After all, it is no John Smith or Mary Williams. However, Oscar Riddle appears to be just that…a riddle. So I’ll ask again; Who was Oscar Riddle?

I (Dusty) am in the final stages of solving this “riddle” of the elusive Oscar Riddle. The mysterious man credited with opening the first business in Van Alstyne. The man who seems to have left no trace of himself in Van Alstyne. A man whose name seems to only first appear in our town history in a 1920 article. Stay tuned for the full story and who knows, you might be surprised with the outcome.

Dusty Williams, 9th Generation Grayson County Resident, Author, Teacher, and local Historian. Alderman for the City of Van Alstyne and Chairman for the Grayson County Historical Commission.

The Grayson County Grand Jury returned the results on its latest indictments, one of which includes that of a Van Alstyne resident whose arrest was made by Van Alstyne Police.

Arthur John Hudson has been indicted on a charge of Evading Arrest/Detention with a Vehicle, with Deadly Weapon. An indictment is not proof of guilt, only that the Grand Jury found enough evidence to have authorities continue with the case.

The offense reportedly happened on November 11, 2023. Van Alstyne Police Lt. Steven Hayslip said that, about 9:45 p.m. that Friday, officers on duty saw a vehicle almost cause a collision while leaving the Casey’s parking lot. Police got behind the vehicle, and as they were attempting to get the driver to stop, the vehicle’s headlights were turned off and the vehicle sped up, Hayslip added.

Eventually, the driver did stop and police identified him as Hudson, he said.

They jailed the suspect on charges of Driving While Intoxicated, Evading Arrest or Detention with a Vehicle, and Reckless Driving.

According to the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office Website, Hudson posted bail on all the charges for his release. However, he again remains incarcerated, since Dec. 3, 2023, on a charge of Assault Family/House Member by Impeding Breath. The bail bond company has taken off bail on the previous charges.

There were also numerous people indicted on drug charges at this Grand Jury session, include 5 for Cocaine, 27 for Methamphetamine, and 1 person each for Psilocin, Tetrahydrocannabinol, and Fentanyl. And even others indicted on charges including Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, Bail jumping, Cattle Theft, Assaults, Stalking, Rape, Driving While Intoxicated with 3 or more previous convictions; Robbery.

The Grayson County meets every other Wednesday.