The Colony Leader (The Colony, Tex.), Vol. 14, No. 51, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 8, 1995 Page: 1 of 41
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Fhe Colony Leader
HARTE
HANKS
T. 9
Do or Die
Cougars need
win against
Rider to get
playoff spot
Wednesday
November 8, 1995
Vol. 14 No. 51
50 cents
The Colony, Texas
Sports
Downing upset in wake of teachers indictment on indecency charges
By TIM PARETI Texas. “I would have liked to have
And K. LEE DAVIS According to prosecuting attor- known he was indicted,” Downing
Staff writers ney Sharon Curtis, Nish testified said. “Had the officer not called
When The Colony teacher on the stand that God selected his us, he would have been tried and
John Nish was indicted on virgin teen-age future wives. Two convicted and we would have nev-
charges of indecency with a child teen-agers also testified they were er known it until he was finally in-
last March, no one notified the engaged to Nish, and several oth- carcerated and couldn’t come in
Lewisville ISD. District Superin- ers claimed he fondled them, Cur- to work.
tendent Clayton Downing re- tis said. Friends of Nish say some “Our teachers geteight person-
mains upset about how the events girls testified on his behalf. al absence days a year and his tri-
transpired. Downing is upset that the LISD al only lasted three. He could
Nish, 36, was convicted in a wasn’t notified of Nish’s problems have used those personal days
Collin County courtroom last when he was indicted in March, and we would not have known he
month on one count of indecency The district found out about Nish was in any kind of legal trouble,”
with a child after he was accused three weeks before his trial only Downing added.
of dating several teen-agers while because an alert The Colony po- Nish was not charged in con-
he held positions in both schools lice officer recognized his name nection with any incidents involv-
and churches throughout North on a court docket. ing The Colony students.
What Downing said really dis-
turbs him is how Nish appears to
have been passed through the
system, particularly at Melissa
ISD. And, according to Downing,
no one did anything to notify fu-
ture employers that Nish had a
problem.
Don Hankey, superintendent at
Melissa, would not comment on
why his district had not renewed
Nish’s contract in 1993, and de-
nied LISD ever contacted him
about Nish.
“I don’t recall a phone call or
anything,” Hankey said. ‘To my
recollection, I wasn’t contacted.
Turn to LISD, Page 5A
By K. LEE DAVIS with a child after it came to light
Staffwriter that he was engaged to two fe-
Lewisville ISD Superinten- male teen-agers. Nish testified
dent Clayton Downing said the God selected his future teen-age
district strives to hire the best wives, according to prosecuting
teachers they can find, and attorney Sharon Curtis.
when someone like John Nish Nish was certified to teach
slips through, he and the rest of any math or science course from
LISD staff try to figure out how grades six through 12, “a rare
Nish, 36, was convicted last bird,” Downing termed him.
month of one count of indecency Turn to NISH, Page 5A
Breaking barriers
14-year-old girl first
to play on Griffin’s
football team
By TIM PARETI
News editor
Manon Rheaume was the first
woman ever to play for a professional
hockey team. Nancy Lieberman-Kline
was the first woman ever to tryout for
a professional NBA team.
And Lori Buchanan of The Colony
was the first woman ever to play on
the Griffin Middle School football
team.
The 14-year-old has blazed a trail
for herself and other women in her
school after winning a position on the
eighth grade A team football squad
this fall at Griffin Middle School. As a
result, the 5-foot, 8-inch tall, 125-
pounder gained the respect of her
coach, teammates and family.
“It was really fun,” Buchanan said.
“Don’t give up on something you real-
ly want to do.”
Buchanan’s desire to play football
began when she was in fifth grade.
The athletically inclined elementary
student started playing football with
the guys during recess at school, and
she quickly caught on.
By the time she reached eighth
Council approves
plats, pavi
or develot
Vincent Frost/Staff photo
Lori Buchanan plays catch on the sideline with a teammate last Tuesday on the Marcus High School
grade, Buchanan was fast enough, football field in Flower Mound. Buchanan is the only girl on the Griffin Middle School football team,
strong enough, and, by golly, deter- 2 6
mined enough to put on the pads and thing new to me and I didn t know ex- Buchanan was faster and bigger than
play with the big boys. actlyhowto handle it.” half of the other tryouts. But more im-
So, she approached Coach Michael Milton reluctantly let her tryout; portantly, she was “determined” to
Milton, and calmly told him she want- not because she was a woman, but be- make the team, giving “110 percent”
ed to tryout for the football team. cause she could get hurt. So he in 100-degree weather, Milton said.
“I was shocked,” Milton said. “I thought. “I didn’t think she would last in the
had to think about it. It was some- It soon became apparent, weather,” Milton said. “I didn’t think
she would stick it out. She didn’t
quit.”
While picking her daughter up
from school one day, Buchanan’s
mother, Christi Buchanan, got word
Lori was on the practice field trying
Turn to FOOTBALL, Page 4A
way
nt
By TIM PARETI
News editor
The Colony moved one step closer toward the
commerical development of more than 40 acres of
land at the intersection of Main Street and State
Highway 121 after the City Council approved a pre-
liminary plat for 42 acres and a final plat for one
acre.
During a regular meeting Monday night, council
members took little time in approving the plats,
which are expected to pave the path for commercial
and retail development at the intersection. The
Council is expected to vote on a finalized site plan
for both plats if the Planning and Zoning Commis-
sion approves the site plan.
Developers are on the verge of building a 123,000
square foot shopping center — The Colony Plaza —
at the intersection, which includes an Albertson’s
grocery store. In addition, developers have closed
on a deal that is expected to land a Mobil station at
the northeast corner of the intersection.
“We’re ready to go and hopefully it will spark oth-
er development in the area,” said Bill Winkelmann,
who was hired to survey the land. ‘We’re here to
help out and be neighbors in the community.”
The development of The Colony Plaza, however,
hinges on the Josey Lane extension. City leaders
are currently negotiating a settlement to purchase
land south of The Colony in order to connect Main
Street with Josey Lane in Carrollton.
If all goes as planned, The Colony Plaza will prob-
ably be the first commercial development along a
12-mile stretch on State Highway 121, extending
from Plano to Lewisville.
After the development of the shopping center,
which will also net a Burger King, the First State
Turn to COUNCIL, Page 5A
Applicants sought for council seat
accepted for the Place 4 City tion form, which is available Council will interview each
Council seat which was vacat- at City Hall. qualified applicant and ap-
ed ^ 18 by former CouncilPlace 4 is a single member point one sometime in De
man Rob Burchard, district that covers areas west cember.
The application will consist of Main Street and north of The new council member
of a letter of introduction and Lake Ridge Drive, will serve on the Council until
a complete resume. In addi- The deadline to submit ap- Burchard’s term expires in
tion, applicants must also sub- plications is 5 p.m., Friday, May 1996.
_
State awards grant to TC fire department
By TIM PARETI TDH for giving us money for bad- teers before the training program
News editor ly needed training,” Morrison begins, he said.
The Texas Department of said. “It’s just giving us a higher ‘We have them here and ready
Health recently awarded a $2,475 level of medical training for our to go,” Morrison said. ‘We’re just
grant to The Colony Fire Depart- fire personnel.” . waiting for the money.”
ment under the state depart- Once the department receives Two other Denton County
ment’s emergency medical ser- the money in several months, The cities received emergency med-
vice program. Colony volunteer firefighters will ical grant money from the state as
After applying for the grant in begin a three-month emergency well, according to Denton County
August, the fire department re- medical training class through Commissioner Kirk Wilson,
ceived the good news in late Oc- Metrocrest Medical Services, Aubrey was awarded $9,000
tober, according to The Colony Morrison said. and Lake Cities Fire Department
Fire Chief Van Morrison. Currently, the fire department received $3,600, Wilson said.
The grant money will help pay has 18 volunteer firefighters, 13 of ‘We are pleased that the Bush
for emergency medical training whom already have basic emer- Administration saw the county’s
for nine volunteer firefighters in gency medical training, Morrison applications as warranted and
the department, Morrison said. said. The department expects to these purchases will mean more
“We’re just real grateful to hire at least four additional volun- Turn to GRANT, Page 4A
Inside Today
Vincent Frost/Staff photo
‘Jeopardy’ expert
Whitney Bolds, 10, confidently answers a question during a Morningside Elementary
School ‘Jeopardy’ game Wednesday at the school.
Births .
Briefs .
.....8A People ....
....6B
.8A Police Reports ...
.3A
Calendar
Education
.....2A
Real Estate.........4-5B
. . . .6B
Religion
.6B
Obituaries
Opinion
.2A
. .6-7A
Second Front
Sports
. .1B
7-8B
Halloween vandalism, robberies leave many residents furious
By TIM PARETI Three churches and numerous the early morning hours of Nov. 1. Probably the most noticeable
News editor vehicles and homes were spray “Of the 16 years I’ve been here, vandalism during the night oc-
Halloween night in The Colony painted, tires were slashed, win- this has been the worst as far as curred when vandals spray paint-
this year apparently was not cele- dows were broken and several criminal mischief, and there’s no ed the words “GWAR” on vehi-
brated in the traditional sense. trick-or-treaters were actually explanation why,” said The cles, homes, churches, stop signs
Along with the robberies of robbed of their candy. Colony Police Lt. Mike Carroll. “It and fences throughout the city,
several trick-or-treaters, the night Police still have no explanation was totally untraditional. It’s usu- police said.
attracted vandals who damaged for the onslaught of vandalism ally a mild night, considering it’s Police are not sure what the
dozens of homes, vehicles, build- that caused thousands of dollars Halloween. We usually don’t have words GWAR mean.
ings and other property, leaving in property damage throughout much criminal mischief occur- Some think it might be a refer-
homeowners furious. the city on Halloween night and ring.” Turn to VANDALISM, Page 4A
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Watterson, Tim. The Colony Leader (The Colony, Tex.), Vol. 14, No. 51, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 8, 1995, newspaper, November 8, 1995; The Colony, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1680804/m1/1/?q=music: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Colony Public Library.