Citizens' Advocate (Coppell, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 9, Ed. 1 Friday, February 28, 2003 Page: 1 of 20
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COPPELL PUBL IC I TRRSBV
PO BOX 478 LIBRARY
02/94
COPPELL TX 75019-0478
1996708746
6105
BUCKRATE MASOD
ZIGASRN ZPD
Advaan 00T91R47Z99
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So 35 cents
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----------------------------------------------- / _ TEAS PRESS ASSOCIATION MEMBER
February 28,2003 Serving Coppell, Valley RANCH and Hackberry Creek Since 1984__________VOLUME XIX, No. 9
Along the Sam Houston Trail...
Houston’s Visit to ’Grape Vine Springs’ Chonicled
In commemoration of Sam
Houston's birthday and Texas
Independence Day May 2, Bell
chronicles Sam Houston's tie
to 'Grape Vine Springs,' 49
years before the area became
known as Coppell.
By Matthew Ward Bell
Citizens' Advocate
Texas, 1838: A cold wind
blew through the prairie. In
the fall of the year, Waco
Indians had murdered civil-
ians in the hamlet of Bastrop
and participated in numer-
ous horse raids. Serving as
the first president of the Re-
public of Texas, Sam Hous-
ton, who had lived with Indi-
ans in earlier periods of his
life, desired to open the north-
ern portion of Texas to per-
manent settlement for
Anglos, implementing a six-
point program dedicated to a
spirit of peace between
Anglos and Native Ameri-
cans.
"from Bird's Fort on the west
to Grape Vine Springs on
the Elm fork, about six miles
above us, we turned off to
the right and soon reached
the camp, where we spent
some five or six days rather
monotonous...”
Edward Parkinson's Diary
General Edward H.
Tarrant had given Jonathan
Bird orders to establish a mili-
tary post in the area, which
was called Bird's Fort, east of
present-day Fort Worth.
Bird's Fort soon became an-
other attempt at taming the
wilderness frontier we now
call the State of Texas. A
stout and hardy stock of pio-
neers drifted down from the
Red River to settle the wild
prairie. Along their arduous
journey, they suffered from
hunger and conflict with Na-
tive Americans.
To resolve the persistent
conflict between Whites and
See Houston on page 20
'Sam Houston's Camp Ground,' an oil painting by Marjorie
Jones, depicts General Sam Houston, his emissaries and guard
at 'Grape Vine Springs' camp, now an historic Coppell site.
City Updates Website,
Increases User Options
By Jane Moore
The City of Coppell is get-
ting a major make-over—on-
line, that is.
About two
weeks ago, the City
website, www.
ci.coppell. tx.us, un-
veiled its new look,
New customizing
feature
including new Coppell blue and
gold colors, a search engine,
frequently asked questions, and
links to several interactive ser-
vices.
“It’s been completely rede-
signed,” said City Manager Jim
Witt, who said more changes
are coming, including a new
custom feature called “My
Coppell."
My Coppell, which is set to
debut March 5, will allow
website users to create custom
profiles with quick links to as
many as 10 chosen sections of
the City website. It will also
allow users to sign up for a cus-
tomized version of the email
newsletter, Coppell Clips, and
receive only in-
formation that re-
lates to designated
areas of interest.
Users can change
the preferences
for My Coppell links and the
newsletter at any time.
Creating a My Coppell pro-
file, which includes a user’s
name, address and telephone
number, also allows automatic
identification when requesting
City services online. Service
requests can also be submit-
ted anonymously. Service re-
quests or complaints go directly
to the appropriate department.
“Every department has a
person who manages com-
plaints,” Witt said.
see WEBSITEon page 19
Newsflash
Suhy to Seek
Herring's Seat
By Jean Murph
Thom Suhy, an agent with
RE/MAX DFW Associates who
was named the group's 2002 Re-
altor of the Year, has entered the
race for Coppell City Council
Place 6, challenging incumbent
Dave Herring.
Suhy and his family moved
to Coppell in 1999, drawn to the
community "because of its repu-
tation for great schools and small
town atmosphere. The commu-
nity has a wonderful foundation
to build upon, and I would like to
be part of shaping the future of
the City," said Suhy.
Suhy is a member of the
Coppell Regional Transporta-
tion Task Force, Coppell Base-
ball Association, Coppell Cham-
ber of Commerce, is a sports
coach, and is currently in Lead-
ership Coppell.
Filing extends through
March 19.
Weather Waylays School
District Boundary Decision
Closings Mean Makeup Days in April, June
By Jane Moore
Monday night’s ice storm
put the big chill on a sched-
uled school attendance
boundary presentation for
School Trustees, who post-
poned the issue until March
10.
The School District had
reserved the Coppell High
School auditorium for the Feb-
ruary 24 meeting, anticipating
a big crowd in response to sig-
nificant proposed changes in
elementary attendance zones.
But the icy rain that closed
schools and businesses on
Tuesday and Wednesday kept
many from venturing out Mon-
day night and Board members,
hoping for better weather, de-
cided to reschedule in order
to give residents a fair chance
to attend and voice their opin-
ions to the Board. The pro-
posed changes are available
via the District’s website,
www.coppellisd.com.
Trustees met in a work-
shop prior to Monday night’s
meeting to discuss some of the
proposals with members of the
boundary assessment commit-
tee, a group of parents who
studied the issue and made the
final recommendation. A
small group of residents
braved the weather to attend
the meeting, but Board mem-
bers felt postponing the bound-
ary presentation and vote was
fairer to the majority of resi-
dents. Since the High School
auditorium may not be avail-
able on March TO due to an
open house that night, a defi-
see CISD on page 19
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Citizens' Advocate (Coppell, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 9, Ed. 1 Friday, February 28, 2003, newspaper, February 28, 2003; Coppell, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1687232/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Cozby Library and Community Commons.