The Colony Leader (The Colony, Tex.), Vol. 11, No. 50, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 3, 1993 Page: 1 of 37
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THE
HARTE
HANKS
mI ZOEOEHEEPELLPDANY
Impact Player
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True HnnLnal-r
defense
Wednesday
November 3,1993
‘Vol. 11- No. SO
50 cents
The Colony, Texas
Page 14A
‘It’s getting
Community voices concerns
at forum on youth violence
really
Teen-age girl
shot at party
16-year-old in fair condition; 2 arrested
By CINDY INGRAM
Assistant news editor
A small but concerned group of
area residents turned out Thurs-
day for a community forum about
youth violence, seeking ways to
understand and combat a nation-
wide increase in criminal activity
among teens.
The Friday shooting of a 16-
year-old in The Colony — barely
more than 24 hours after the
forum ended — underscored the
urgency felt by many who
attended the meeting.
“It’s getting to the point where
it’s really scary,” said one teen-
age member of the audience who
declined to give her name. “It’s
not that I’m afraid to go out some-
where or to go to school, but it
(violence) is something you have
to think about now. You can’t just
go to a party somewhere and have
fun, because something could al-
ways happen.”
Her words proved prophetic
when a Mesquite teen-ager
attending a party Friday in the
5300 block of Rice Street was
struck by a bullet. The shot was
fired following an altercation be-
tween party-goers and a group of
individuals who were turned away
from the gathering.
Although the shooting was not
gang-related, police said the man
arrested and charged with the
crime, Albert Castano, 18, is a
known gang member who lives in
The Colony. Police say his pre-
sence, and that of numerous gang
associates and gang “wannabes,”
indicates a growing problem fac-
ing area residents.
“There are documented street-
gang members in our commun-
ity,” said Investigator Leslie
Smith of The Colony Police De-
partment. “We have ’em. We
have had at least three gang-
related shootings in the last 18
months, along with numerous
burglaries and auto thefts.”
Smith said street gangs cross
all lines when it comes to mem-
bership — rich, poor and in be-
tween. He also said gangs know
no racial or gender boundaries.
Smith said a gang member cannot
always be identified by appear-
ance or clothing, since gang signs
can vary widely and may not be
readily apparent.
By the same token, Smith
cautioned that kids who appear to
be clad in gang attire actually may
have no affiliation with a street
gang.
“That’s who these kids are —
Turn to FORUM, Page 5A
Robbey Lantz/Staff photo
Students “with an attitude” show off examples of gang attire to
area residents last week during a community forum about
youth violence hosted by The Colony High School, the cham-
ber of commerce, the police department and the school’s pa-
rent-teacher-student association. From left are Jason Ellis,
Natasha Crupko and Gracie Glendenning, who assisted in a
demonstration of how members of street gangs often dress.
By CINDY INGRAM
Assistant news editor
the party, and arrest warrants for
two suspects were issued late
A 16-year-old Mesquite girl was Friday.
listed in fair condition at Parkland Albert Castano, 18, was arrested
Hospital Tuesday after being shot at Saturday evening at his home in the
a party in The Colony on Friday. 4900 block of Woodruff and charged
Police have arrested two men with aggravated assault in the shoot-
from The Colony in connection with ing. Mathew Ledermann, 17, also
the shooting, was taken into custody at Castano’s
According to police, the shooting house. Ledermann, who police say
took place at about 9 p.m. Friday in stole the handgun used in the shoot-
the 5300 block of Rice Street when a ing, was charged with theft over
group of about eight individuals $200.
attempted to crash a party in prog- Wintle said Castano is known to
ress at that location. After being be a gang member, but the shooting
turned away from the party, one of was not gang-related. Both men
the individuals made loud com- were transferred Sunday to Denton
ments, then pulled out a .380-caliber County Jail, where they remained in
handgun and began firing at the resi- custody Tuesday. Castano’s bond
dence. was set at $50,000; Ledermann’s at
The Mesquite teen-ager, a for- $3,000.
mer student at The Colony High In an unrelated incident, police
School, was struck in the back by a also arrested Ashkan Darakhshan,
bullet that tore through the front 17, of The Colony after responding
door of the house. Police said the to a “shots fired” call at about 1:30
bullet lodged in her chest. a.m. Oct. 24. Police stopped a car,
An attempt to take the girl to the driven by Darakhshan, that was be-
hospital by CareFlight helicopter lieved to have been involved in the
was unsuccessful, due to extremely incident.
high winds Friday night. She was In a search of the vehicle, police
rushed by ambulance to Parkland found a 9mm semiautomatic machine
Memorial Hospital in Dallas. gun, also called a Tech 9, in the
Sgt. George Wintle of The Colony trunk.
Police Department said investiga- Darakhshan was arrested and
tors were able to identify members charged with unlawful carrying of a
of the group that attempted to crash weapon, a third-degree felony.
SH 121 project nears completion
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Finishing of 6-mile
stretch awaits
break in weather
By CINDY INGRAM
Assistant news editor
Area commuters may find the
answer to their prayers this week
if the opening of a widened section
of State Highway 121 between
Lewisville and The Colony hap-
pens as planned.
The six-mile stretch of highway
that runs east and west from
Lewisville to Legacy Road is
scheduled for a limited opening
this week. But Tim Massey of the
Texas Department of Transporta-
tion said plans may be delayed un-
til next week if Tuesday’s rainy
weather does not clear up.
“If we could get a good day’s
work, we could get it ready,”
Massey said. “But right now, we
can’t finish laying asphalt when the
road is wet. It all depends on the
weather.”
According to Tom Cravens,
city engineer for The Colony, the
highway’s initial opening will offer
two eastbound lanes but only one
westbound lane. Cravens said the
completion of the westbound
lanes is still about two weeks
away, weather permitting.
“They’re going to have one lane
open at a time so they can lay
asphalt on the other lane,”
Cravens said. “They’ve told us
when that’s done, they’ll be ready
ROAD
CLOSED
YO.....TA
Turn to SH 121, Page 4A
Lee Baker/Staff photo
Andy Doucette, left, and Joe Schwartz, both ern- Road. The eastbound lanes are scheduled to open
ployees of Lane Construction Company, upright a this week, but traffic will continue to flow in one lane
“road closed” sign that blew over in the high winds on the westbound side as another surface and mark-
Friday afternoon on State Highway 121 at Paige ings are added.
- inA 1, 1c
1,400 volunteers goal for
playground construction
By CINDY INGRAM
Assistantnews editor
in the film “Field of Dreams,” Kevin Costner’s
character is told, “If you build it, they will come.”
A group of area residents are hoping that state-
ment will hold true in The Colony next week when
construction begins on a massive community play-
ground, Kid s Colony.
“It’s sort of like, ‘If you build it, they will come,’ ”
said Cheryl Kuether, part of the 24-member commit-
tee in charge of the immunity project. "Only in our
Turn to PLAYGROUND, Page «
Council sends season pass
issue to fees committee
By CINDY INGRAM solved
Assistant news editor At the heart of the matter is a
The Colony City Council voted request made by Meg Harrison,
Monday to table a controversial chairman of the Sail Fair Committee,
proposal that would prohibit holders to discontinue the free admission
of season passes to Stewarts Creek normally granted to season pass-
Park from gaining free admission to holders during the two-day Sail Fair
special events there. event. Harrison said approval of the
The matter was referred to the proposal could increase the revenue
council’s fees committee for further generated by the annual event,
research. Mayor Bill Manning saidThe next Sail Fair is scheduled for
the matter will return to the council Sept. 17-18, 1994.
on the first available agenda after
certain questions have been re-
Turn to COUNCIL, Page 4A
On the Inside
Births..............
Business Forum
Calendar..........
Classifieds........
Driving............
Engagement.....
Opinion............
Real Estate......
Religion...........
Sports..............
....11A
2B
......2 A
.8-14B
...5-7B
......3A
......6A
...3-4B
....10A
12-14A
■ With one game to play in the high
school football season, The Colony
Cougars have one mission. To finish
the year with a winning record —
Page 14A.
Two sought
in robbery
or grocery
By CINDY INGRAM
Assistant news editor
Police in The Colony are searching for two white
males who escaped with more than $800 after robbing a
local grocery store at gunpoint.
Police said the incident occurred at about 6 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 24, after the suspects entered the Food
Lion store at 6800 Main St. and began looking through
magazines near a checkout counter. When a clerk asked
the men if they were ready to be checked out, police said
one of the suspects opened the magazine he was holding
and showed the clerk a small automatic handgun con-
cealed within the pages of the magazine.
According to police, the clerk was ordered to summon
the store manager. The suspects then told the manager
to give them all the money inside the safe.
The men then took the money and exited the store,
heading in the direction of Blockbuster Video, located
nearby. Police believe the men may have left a “get-
away” vehicle parked in the cul-de-sac of Chowning
Circle.
Police are looking for any witnesses who may have
seen the vehicle.
Turn to ROBBERY, Page 5A
municipal cl
i n ’93
By CINDY INGRAM
Assistant news editor
Those who work with City Secretary Patti Hicks say
they have known for a long time what others in the state
are discovering only now: Hicks is tops in her field.
At an awards luncheon Thursday
in San Antonio, Hicks will be hon-
ored as Municipal Clerk of the Year
for 1993, an award bestowed by the
Texas Municipal Clerks Associa-
tion. The presentation will take
place during the Texas Municipal
League Annual Conference & Ex-
hibition.
“The individual selected must be
Patti Hicks
of the highest caliber in his or her professionalism and
dedication to the role of the city secretary in local gov-
ernment,” explained Jean Phillips, president of the asso-
ciation. “It’s the kind of professional we all aspire to be.
In our organization, it’s absolutely the ultimate award.”
Phillips said Hicks was among 14 nominees put forth
by membership chapters throughout the state. She was
singled out for recognition on the basis of her outstand-
Turn to HICKS, Page 5A
SEE FANTASTIC SAVINGS FRISCO AUTOMOTIVE PAGE 5A
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Epperson, Wayne. The Colony Leader (The Colony, Tex.), Vol. 11, No. 50, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 3, 1993, newspaper, November 3, 1993; The Colony, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1666772/m1/1/?rotate=90: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Colony Public Library.