Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 128, Ed. 1 Monday, December 8, 2014 Page: 7 of 18
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Denton Record-Chronicle
LOCAL
Monday, December 8, 2014
7A
From Page 1A
Preparing
any other time last year.
Officials with TxDOT said
they didn’t really have any “ma-
jor” repairs to do because of the
storm, besides some potholes
that were covered by their reg-
ular routine maintenance bud-
get.
LaFontaine said the district
is prepared to handle anything
Mother Nature throws this way
— especially after the purchase
of three new brine makers.
Brine is a salt solution to place
on roads before it freezes. One
brine maker will be housed in
Denton County, he said, and the
other two will be in Dallas and
Collin counties.
“The ability to make our own
pre-treating material will be
beneficial,” he said. “I know I
was asked many times last year
if I thought we were running
out.”
In other preparations,
TxDOT has 5,400 tons of salt
and sand, 36,000 tons of ice
rock, 185 pieces of equipment
and 350 employees readily
available for deployment at any
given time.
In October, LaFontaine said
TxDOT entered into a joint con-
tract with Amey Consulting and
Webber Construction to man-
age highways around Dallas.
This venture, he said, will help
free up staff to help in other ar-
eas of the district, such as Den-
ton County.
“This will increase our main-
tenance reserves in Dallas
County and frees up others to
begin roving in other counties
such as Collin and Denton,” La-
Fontaine said.
“I think we’re a whole lot
more prepared,” Gonzalez said.
“We were prepared [last year]
but not prepped for that
amount of ice accumulation,”
Gonzalez said. “The biggest
thing was getting on it quicker
and earlier, especially ice, before
it gets too solid.”
Last year’s storm cost
$900,000 in countywide infra-
structure damage. That number
doesn’t include the countless
home and auto insurance
claims filed by county residents
due to the winter weather.
Lindsey Baker, spokeswom-
an for the city of Denton, said
the city spent $216,294 in over-
time and supplies during the
storm that lingered for days.
Street crews worked more
than 1,900 man-hours to spread
624 tons of sand on streets,
bridges and overpasses during
last year’s storm alone, accord-
ing to a news release issued by
the city. They also provided mu-
tual aid to TxDOT through
sanding operations along 1-35
near Sanger from the evening of
Dec. 6 through the following
morning.
Baker said the state did not
receive a Federal Emergency
Management Agency disaster
declaration, so they did not re-
ceive any weather-related reim-
bursements. The governor
made an appeal that was also
declined, according to city offi-
cials.
It’s still early in the season to
guess whether Denton County
might see another crippling
bout of winter weather.
“It’s not something you can
Al Key/DRC file photo
A truck blocks U.S. Highway 77, going the wrong way in the eastbound lane, as
truck drivers either were stuck or parked seeking refuge from the ice storm on
Dec. 7, 2013.
LEFT: Work-
ers hook up a
snow plow to
the front of a
spreader
truck Thurs-
day at the
Denton Coun-
ty Road and
Bridge West
yard on
Masch
Branch Road.
David Minton/
DRC
forecast,” said Matt Stalley, a
meteorologist with the National
Weather Service in Fort Worth.
“Right now the climate predic-
tion center for the month of De-
cember has near-normal tem-
peratures with slightly above-
normal chances for precipita-
tion.”
That just means more
chances for wet weather, Stalley
added.
“These are still just forecasts,
not guarantees by any means.
Some of it plays into the El Nino
forecast,” he said.
The city has ordered snow-
removal equipment, Baker said,
but it might not be a saving
grace this season.
‘We have ordered additional
equipment, but it may not be in
in time for an event this winter,”
she said in an email about
weather preparations.
The cost of the equipment
bought, and exactly what kind,
wasn’t immediately available.
Denton County road and
bridge crews have equipment
on hand, including two pickups
equipped with bottom spread-
ers and three large dump trucks
with spreaders and 11-foot snow
plow blades. A couple of trucks
with spreaders are on order and
should arrive by the end of Jan-
uary.
Currently, 300 50-pound
bags of salt are available in the
county stock.
Crews also make use of a
modified aggregate/salt mix for
sanding the roads. Bulk salt,
which is preferred and easier to
mix with the aggregate, has
been unavailable since Septem-
ber.
“Last year was our first year
to use our winter equipment,
and we noticed the bags were a
bit time-consuming and decid-
ed to go with what TxDOT had
switched to, which is the bulk
salt this year,” said Robin Davis,
project coordinator for Denton
County’s Precinct 2. “That is
when we realized it is so scarce
right now.”
AGL Constructors has coor-
dinated with Denton County
and cities along the project lim-
its, as well as with first respond-
ers and other agencies, on how
to handle weather-related prob-
lems on I-35E.
“Our team continuously
monitors weather conditions,”
said Kimberly Sims, spokes-
woman for the 35Express ex-
pansion project. “If a winter
weather advisory is issued, we
will deploy scout vehicles to as-
sess the roadways and deter-
mine the appropriate course of
action.”
All materials and equipment
needed to respond to icy weath-
er conditions are in place and
AGL stands ready to respond,
Sims said, with salt/sand
spreaders, plow trucks, motor
graders, support equipment for
loading the trucks and more
than 200 tons of salt and over
2,500 tons of sand on site.
BJ LEWIS can be reached at
940-566-6875 and via Twitter
at @BjLewisDRC.
MEGAN GRAY-HATFIELD
can be reached at 940-566-
6885 and via Twitter at
@MGrayNews.
From Page 1A
OBITUARIES
Church
The new St. Mark Catholic
Church isn’t a church yet, not in
the structural sense. The church
building won’t be built until the
$6 million to $8 million can be
raised by parishioners and
church leaders. Once construct-
ed, it will be centered between
the religious education center
and the multipurpose center, a
larger building that temporarily
houses the parish hall where
people crowd to get a glimpse of
Bishop Olson offering his bless-
ing.
The future parish hall will be
able to accommodate between
1,200 to 1,500 people, said Bret
Curran, a member of the
Knights of Columbus, a men’s
fraternal organization of the
church whose members were di-
recting traffic and guiding peo-
ple into the new building Sun-
day.
Curran said it could take
three to eight years to raise the
money needed to build the third
building, completing the trian-
gle — a religious symbol seen
throughout Christianity, from
the Trinity, God in three divine
persons, to the nails used to
hang Jesus from the cross.
Before St. Mark moved,
about 400 people would gather
for Mass at the Denton location
near Teasley Lane, a place of
worship since the mid-1990s.
But today is a special day for
Catholics in North Texas.
“Our bishop is here,” Curran
said. “That’s why we have more
than 1,200 people here, but we
have seating only for 800.”
St. Mark first broke ground
on its new 30-acre property, at
the comer of Crawford and John
Paine roads, in August 2013.
The church wanted to expand
and found property in far south-
west Denton, at the border of
Argyle. It’s a prime location in an
area where an estimated 6,000
homes will be built along Inter-
state 35W corridor.
The multipurpose center
looks modern rather than tradi-
Christian McPhate/DRC
After funds are raised, St. Mark Catholic Church will build a church building between its new
religious education center and multipurpose center.
tional — the tradition comes
from the ceremonies.
Other services Sunday at St.
Mark’s new site included 2 p.m.
Mass celebrated by the Rev.
George Pullambrayil, the par-
ish’s pastor. He discussed the im-
portance of compassion for the
second Sunday of Advent.
Advent comes from the Latin
adventns, defined as “coming,”
and encompasses the Sunday
nearest the feast of St. Andrew
the Apostle and the Sunday be-
fore Christmas. During Advent,
according to The New Catholic
Encyclopedia, Catholics are
asked to prepare themselves
worthily to celebrate the coming
of Jesus.
Curran said Bishop Olson’s
dedication of the altar is the only
blessing he’ll conduct at this
time because the church hasn’t
been built. Once the building is
constructed, the bishop will re-
turn to bless the walls of a struc-
ture that will have more room to
accommodate the North Texas
Catholic community.
OBITUARIES
Mary Janet "Jan11 Sheehan McGee
(04/14/31 to 11/23/14)
A Memorial Requiem Mass will be
celebrated in thanksgiving ot Jan's life on
Thursday, December 11, 2014, at 4:00 p.m. at
the Church of Saint David of Wales, 623 Ector
Street, Denton, Texas 76201, with the
Reverend Canon H.w. Herrmann, SSC,
officiating. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you
make contributions lo the charity of your choice, or where you
see need in your community during this Holiday Season, in
Jan’s memory. Cremation has taken place.
CHRISTIAN McPHATE can
be reached at 940-566-6878
and on Twitter at @writeron
theedge.
Please recycle
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FUNERAL HOME
Jack, Schuutz, &, Son
Cremation
Monuments
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Pre-need Funeral
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705 N. Locust • Denton • 382-6622
Ruby Helen Handley
Ruby Helen Handley, 101, of Denton, died Thursday,
December 4, 2014, at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of
Denton.
Mrs. Handley was bom on April 6, 1913, in Denton, to
William and Ann (Ewan) Linden. She was married to Harold
Lee Handley on December 24, 1937, in Denton; he died on
May 4, 1991. She was a homemaker and a school teacher
and was a member of Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
She is survived by her daughter, Ann Stults, and her
husband, Ronnie, of Denton; three grandchildren, Alicia
Schwarze and her husband Charles, Kelli Holdsclaw, Brian
Stults and his girlfriend Amy Moore; two great- grandchildren,
Trace Holdsclaw and Tanner Holdsclaw; one nephew.
A visitation will be held from 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Sunday, December 7, at the funeral home. The funeral
service will be held at 10:00 A.M. Monday, December 8,
2014, in the chapel of Mulkey-Mason, Jack Schmitz and Son
Funeral Home, 705 N. Locust, Denton. Rev. Kristi
Lounsbury-Lombard will officiate the service. Interment will
follow at Jackson Cemetery in Krum.
Pallbearers will be: Charles Schwarze, Brian Stults,
Brandon Galbreath, Donnie Stults, John Linden, and Jim
Steen. Honorary pallbearers will be Kenny Morgan and Toby
Thomason.
Memorials may be sent to any charity or organization of
your choice.
Online condolences may be made at
www.mulkeymasondenton.com
MULKEY
MASON
FUNERAL HOME
jack, kAwxtz, &, &H-
Salvatore P. Russo
Salvatore P. Russo, 84 of Denton, Texas
passed away in the hospital on 12-5-14. He
was a Mason, a Shriner, a Member of the
International Royal Order of Jesters, a
member of the Denton Elks Lodge, the
Denton Shrine Club, Moslah and Aleppo
Temples as well as a member of many other
fraternal and civic organizations. He was a friend to anyone
and everyone who met him. Sal served proudly in the Air
Force where he met and married the love of his life, Mary, at
Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio. He was a first
generation American born to Italian Immigrants who were so
proud that he was the first in the family to obtain a college
education and ultimately achieved a PhD in education.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Wednesday,
December 10, 2014 at 3 p.m. at Good Shepherd Catholic
Church in Colleyville, Texas. Friends are encouraged to
gather for the Holy Rosary which will commence at 5:30 in
the Chapel of Bluebonnet Hills Tuesday, December 9, 2014.
A visitation will follow until 8 p.m. Dr. Russo will be laid to rest
at Bluebonnet Hills Memorial Park following the Mass on
Wednesday.
Salvatore is preceded in death by his loving wife, Mary
Lee. He is survived by his two sons, Barry Russo of
Southlake, Texas and Brian Russo of Coldspring, Texas and
their wives Carol and Betty. He is also survived by 4
grandchildren, Kyle and Kourtney Russo of Southlake, Kenny
Russo and wife Missy of West, Texas as well as Michael
Russo of Coldspring.
Thank you to the staff at Dancing River as well as Kelly at
Sunrise Home Health for her tremendous caring and
kindness. Also special thanks to his work family at ReMax
North Associates...he loved y’all dearly._
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Parks, Scott K. Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 128, Ed. 1 Monday, December 8, 2014, newspaper, December 8, 2014; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1108822/m1/7/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .