Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 110, No. 174, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 23, 2014 Page: 1 of 34
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ALSO INSIDE
INSIDE TODAY
Year of dedication lands Davis starring role / Sports, IB
Jones finally comfortable in return from injury / Sports, IB
New York mayor: ‘More
could have been done’
National, 5A
Denton Record-Chronicle
An edition of ®lje |3aUas piortmttj DentonRC.com
Vol. 110, No. 174 / 34 pages, 4 sections Thursday, January 23, 2014 Denton, Texas 50 cents
Some Argyle ISD staff to have guns
School board OKs new
policy, district to put
up signs as a deterrent
By Britney Tabor
Staff Writer
btabor@dentonrc.com
ARGYLE — Some Argyle school
district employees will be armed with
guns and are authorized to use force if
necessary to protect students under a
new district policy approved this week.
Signs warning visitors that staff
members could be armed will go up at
the district’s three campuses beginning
Monday and the policy will take effect
next week, Argyle Superintendent Tele-
na Wright said Wednesday.
The school board late Tuesday
adopted a policy allowing employees to
carry certain firearms on district prop-
erty, at events sponsored or sanctioned
by the district and at board meetings.
“Armed staff answers the question:
What about the first one to two minutes
in [a] crisis situation where there’s an
armed shooter?” Wright said. “That
seems to be a horrific situation that all
schools across the nation are attempt-
ing to address.
“This is our answer to how we best
protect our students,” she said.
Wright said the signs that will be
posted should serve as a warning to
anyone who might consider entering a
campus with a weapon.
“It’s intended as a deterrent to some-
one who’s thinking of coming on cam-
pus with a gun,” she said. “It lets them
know that they will be in a situation
where others are armed.”
In a unanimous 7-0 vote, the school
board adopted the policy allowing
trustees to authorize specific district
staff who are selected from a pool of vol-
unteers to carry firearms. Those staff
members will not be identified, accord-
ing to district officials.
“I think the overwhelming factor for
us was response time to an emergency
situation,” board President Kevin Fa-
ciane said. “We wanted to do everything
in our power and resources to make cer-
tain that we had the fastest response
time to any emergency situation on our
campus.”
According to a statement released
by the district Wednesday, only district
employees who hold a license to carry a
concealed handgun would be consid-
ered for approval to carry a weapon on
campus.
Those selected to carry firearms on
district property must undergo and
pass “a rigorous interview process, a
complete psychological evaluation and
a comprehensive firearms and emer-
gency training course” prior to being
authorized by the board, according to
the statement.
District officials say they will not dis-
close the number or identities of em-
ployees authorized to carry on district
property, or whether the weapons will
be on the body of the person or locked
away, Faciane said.
Those selected to carry firearms will
be required to “participate in an ongo-
ing requalffication process” throughout
the school year and “ongoing, district-
wide emergency response and active
shooter trainings and exercises will be
held at each Argyle ISD campus
throughout the school year,” according
to the statement.
The school district held a pilot
See ARGYLE on 9A
TODAY
IN DENTON
Cloudy, windy and
much colder
High: 35
Low: 30
Weather report, 2A
INSIDE TODAY
Independent Ale Works
in Krum marks the
opening of its new tap-
room on Saturday.
Denton Time
PET OF
THE WEEK
Lucy, a 2- to 5-year-old
female bassett hound/
rottweiler mix, is avail-
able at the Denton Ani-
mal Shelter.
Page 2A
MOBILE
CONTENT
Keep up with the latest
news while on the go
at DentonRC.com.
The latest in sports,
business, entertain-
ment, lifestyle and
other local news is
available now through
mobile technology.
FIND IT INSIDE
CLASSIFIED
1C
COMICS
4B
CROSSWORDS
4B, 3C
DEAR ABBY
7A
DEATHS
9A
OPINION
8A
SPORTS
IB
TELEVISION
6A
WEATHER
2A
7
5
Dream work
Al Key/DRC
Shady Shores Elementary School fifth-graders work on a mural that depicts their dreams for the world after
studying about Martin Luther King Jr. on Wednesday in Shady Shores.
Program to offer Civil War focus
enealogist Nancy Calhoun will vis-
■ h it Denton’s Emily Fowler Central
Library at 3 p.m. Saturday for a
Civil War-era genealogy program.
She will discuss how to find out if
someone served in the war and how to lo-
cate information about the person’s expe-
riences. Calhoun dresses in period cos-
tume for her presentations and brings
homemade cookies made from Civil War-
era recipes.
Calhoun is the genealogy librarian at
the Muskogee, Okla., public library and is
a 40-year veteran of genealogy research.
Her previous experience includes 20 years ing,” Calhoun stated in a press release. “In www.dentonpl.com/hncoln.
in newspaper work, teaching, publishing addition to finding the facts, we will dis- -
and photography. cuss how to flesh out the bones of those See COCKRELL on 9A
Les Cockrell
OUT & ABOUT
“Civil War research can be challeng-
facts.”
She will explain how to obtain Union
and Confederate service and pension re-
cords and other resources with informa-
tion about Civil War veterans and their
family members.
The library is at 502 Oakland St. The
program is part of a comprehensive series
of exhibits, lectures and other program-
ming that looks at Abraham Lincoln’s
presidency and the lasting impact of deci-
sions he made during the Civil War. More
information about the series, titled “Lin-
coln, the Union and Crisis,” is available at
DISD
picks 2
to lead
schools
District names principals
for elementary under
construction, Pecan Creek
By Britney Tabor
Staff Writer
btabor@ dentonrc.com
The principal of Pecan Creek Elemen-
tary School has been named the principal
of the new elementary that the Denton
school district plans to open in August in
the Lantana area.
Emily McLarty was
named the principal of
the still-to-be-named
school Tuesday by the
Denton school board.
Lacey Rainey, assis-
tant superintendent for
curriculum/ instruction
with the Community In-
dependent School Dis-
trict in Collin County,
has been named McLar-
ty’s successor at Pecan
Creek Elementary.
The moves are effec-
tive for the 2014-15
school year, said Sharon
Cox, district spokes-
woman.
Both positions were approved by the
school board in a 6-0 vote Tuesday. Also
approved was the naming of Joey Flor-
ence as the district’s new athletic director,
succeeding Ken Purcell, who retired in
December.
McLarty said she looks forward to
McLarty
Rainey
See PRINCIPALS on 10A
Local family escapes injury in fire at home
By Megan Gray
Staff Writer
mgray @ dentonrc.com
A Denton family lost its home to an
early morning fire that sent flames shoot-
ing up to 30 feet high, officials said.
Family members were able to escape
the blaze, although some got out without
shoes or a coat, according to neighbors.
The American Red Cross is helping the
family of six adults and three children with
temporary placement.
Firefighters with the Denton Fire De-
partment were dispatched to the one-sto-
ry brick home in the 1700 block of Oak
Tree Drive shortly after 4 a.m. Wednesday,
said Kenneth Hedges, a fire department
spokesman.
The one-alarm fire started in the attic
above the garage and melted some shin-
gles on a neighbor’s home that was closest
to the fire.
“We could see flames as
tall as the trees."
— neighbor Dwight Skinner
Family members could not be reached
for comment, but Winn and Dwight Skin-
ner live across the street and one house
down from the fire and said they could feel
the heat from the massive flames.
‘You could feel the heat on our window
and when we walked out, even though we
had freezing temperatures, you couldn’t
tell because it was so warm from the fire,”
said Dwight Skinner, a resident of the
neighborhood for 30 years. “We could see
flames as tall as the trees.”
Winn Skinner said it was just an awful
thing to see, but luckily everyone made it
See FIRE on 9A
Winn Skinner/Courtesy photo
A fire shot flames as high as 30 feet in the air at a home in the1700 block of Oak
Tree Drive in Denton on Wednesday morning.
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Cobb, Dawn. Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 110, No. 174, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 23, 2014, newspaper, January 23, 2014; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1108682/m1/1/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .