Conversations

MPD busts pharmacy burglary ring

Bill Spinks wspinks@cherryroad.com The Midlothian Police Department announced Monday it had made two arrests and has warrants out for five additional suspects in a burglary ring that had hit pharmacies in Midlothian and other cities at least four times since July. On July 8 and again on Sept. 21, patrol officers from the Midlothian Police Department responded to a report of a burglary at All Care Pharmacy located at 1441 South Midlothian Parkway. Upon arrival, they found that unknown suspects broke the window and entered the building. Once inside, the suspects took controlled substances from the location. On Sept. 25 and Sept. 26, Ropheka Pharmacy at 340 Hawkins Run and Midlothian Pharmacy at 2021 South 14th Street were burglarized in a similar manner. Investigators determined that comparable pharmacy burglaries had occurred around the same dates in other cities. Working with those other agencies, officers arrested Demetrius Wines for his involvement in the burglaries. After interviewing Wines, a second suspect, Alfred Echols, was identified and arrested by a partner agency. “Our officers were able to identify five additional suspects, but only by their nicknames,” MPD stated in a release. “Investigators utilized social media, cell phone and cell tower records, FLOCK cameras, and facial recognition software to accurately identify the additional suspects.” MPD has obtained warrants for the following men for their involvement in the pharmacy burglaries: Jerry Collins, 35; Christopher McCoy, 30; Kaylon Roland, 31; Remond Williams, 27; and Bradford Wines, 23. The warrants are for multiple counts of Burglary of a Building Where a Controlled Substance is Stored (3rd Degree Felony) and Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity (2nd Degree Felony). A total of 26 warrants were issued with a bond amount of $2.6 million. If you see any of the listed individuals, please call 911 immediately. If you have any […]

Read MoreMPD busts pharmacy burglary ring

Commissioners approve new tax abatement

Bill Spinks wspinks@cherryroad.com The Ellis County Commissioners’ Court last week approved a tax abatement request from AREP for another data center in Red Oak, following a public hearing. AREP is located on a 43.75-acre property in the southeast corner of State Highway 342 and FM 664. It is located diagonally across from the other two data center providers in the city, Google and Compass. Red Oak economic development director Lee McCleary said the project would create a total of 64 jobs, both directly and indirectly, and the average salary of $80,368 would be 131 percent above the Ellis County average. The total capital investment expected is more than $2.7 billion, of which 70 percent of the county’s building and improvement taxes and 100 percent of business personal property taxes would be abated for seven years. Upon investment of more than $300 million, the 70 percent would increase to 75. County Judge Todd Little said the clock on the abatement would not begin until a certificate of occupancy is issued. Red Oak city manager Todd Fuller told commissioners the start of the project depends on the availability of enough electricity not only for AREP, but also a larger area including Midlothian, southern Dallas County and Kaufman County. County assistant attorney Greg Wilhelm noted that Red Oak’s abatement agreement with Red Oak is for a 10-year period, but that Ellis County is limited to a maximum of seven years. Wilhelm also went through a number of changes to the language of the agreement. Wilhelm said the county would have the option to ratify any assignment to a company that AREP provides, which alleviated Little’s concern about a potential bad actor getting an assignment. All members of the Commissioners’ Court were present.

Read MoreCommissioners approve new tax abatement

MISD gets top financial grade again

Bill Spinks wspinks@cherryroad.com The Texas Education Agency has given Midlothian ISD its financial report card, and there was some very good news: The district has achieved a Superior rating from the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) program for the 22nd year in a row. During a public hearing on the School FIRST program at Monday’s regular monthly meeting, Dr. Rebecca Metzger, assistant superintendent of business and operations, informed MISD trustees that the district received a score of 94 out of a possible 100 in its latest evaluation, which involved the 2022-2023 school year. All school districts in the state are rated in 21 areas of school finances. Metzger said a number of categories are pass-fail, meaning if districts failed the area, they either failed the entire rating or were docked up to as much as 30 points. Of course, MISD passed all of these areas. The only areas where the district was dinged were in assets-to-liabilities ratio, where MISD slipped under the 3-to-1 recommended ratio and earned only six of a possible 10 points; and in correlation between future debt requirements and the district’s assessed property value, where MISD was given eight of 10 points. The district also met all School FIRST disclosure requirements, Metzger said. At the conclusion of the meeting, board president Gary Vineyard remarked on how extraordinary the 22-year MISD streak of being rated Superior is. “That doesn’t just happen,” Vineyard said. “I want to give credit to our admin, our boards over the years. It’s a combination of the hard work that we do here at the board, the hard work that our admin has done and has done over the last 22 years to put us in this position. It’s a very, very big deal, and I hope we can continue that trend […]

Read MoreMISD gets top financial grade again

MISD leaders react to VATRE defeat

Bill Spinks wspinks@cherryroad.com Midlothian ISD faces some difficult budgetary decisions going forward following last Tuesday’s rejection of a voter-approved tax rate election, or VATRE, that would not have changed property tax rates in the school district. MISD voters turned down the proposed school funding proposition to authorize the district to access three “golden pennies” that would have generated an additional $4.7 million in revenue for the district’s operating budget. The additional revenue was slated to defray the district’s projected $5.6 million budget deficit and preserve budget priorities. According to the Ellis County Elections Office, the final unofficial results were 12,298 for and 16,530 against the proposition. The MISD Board of Trustees will canvass and certify the vote at its next regular meeting this Monday. “We are disappointed with the outcome,” MISD Board of Trustees President Gary Vineyard said in an MISD news release. “We’ve got some tough challenges ahead.” Superintendent Dr. David Belding added in the release, “The district will begin evaluating the next steps and developing a contingency plan to deal with budget shortfalls, rising inflationary costs, unfunded state mandates and the need to preserve student programming and experiences while still attracting and retaining high-quality staff. There’s a lot to consider going forward into the next budget year. We know we can’t keep dipping into our reserve for day-to-day operations.” The estimated $4.7 million in revenue included $1.8 million in untapped state funding that MISD cannot access without voter approval of the additional three golden pennies. The district said it will pull revenue from its 90-day reserves (fund balance) to cover the projected $5.6 million 2024-2025 fiscal year deficit. “We put forth what we considered to be the most fiscally responsible approach to access and maximize local and state funding,” Vineyard said in the release. “Our stewardship in paying […]

Read MoreMISD leaders react to VATRE defeat

MISD VATRE fails; GOP carries county

Bill Spinks wspinks@cherryroad.com Midlothian ISD voters sent a message on Tuesday that their school district’s proposal to cover a budget shortfall didn’t appear to be “golden” enough. In an environment where voters’ senses were hyper-tuned to spending, MISD patrons flocked to the polls to reject the only significant local measure on the ballot — a voter-approved tax rate election, or VATRE, that would have moved three cents from the “interest and sinking” portion of the school’s property tax rate per $100 taxable valuation to the “maintenance and operations” part. The final vote was 16,530 in favor of the measure, and 12,298 against it. The referendum failed in all three modes of voting — absentee, early voting and Election Day. Even if approved, the MISD portion of residents’ property tax bills would have stayed unchanged at $1.1069 per $100 taxable valuation. This shift in funding would have allowed the district to access so-called “golden pennies” that will result in an additional estimated $4.7 million in funding. District funding priorities in the lead-up to the election, according to MISD, were teacher and staff compensation, lower class sizes, student programming and experiences, and safety and security enhancements. No county offices were contested in Tuesday’s election, but two prominent Republican locals will continue to represent the Cement City in Austin and Washington. Incumbent GOP Rep. Jake Ellzey, whose residence is near Midlothian, was re-elected to a second full term easily, defeating Democrat John Love III. Texas House Rep. Brian Harrison, who lives in Midlothian, was unopposed on the ballot with only a smattering of write-in votes. “I’ve been honored to fight for the freedom and liberty of all Texans since getting elected in 2021 and am proud to be one of the most effective conservatives in the Texas Legislature,” Harrison said in a statement […]

Read MoreMISD VATRE fails; GOP carries county

MISD funding vote amid heated races

It’s finally time for Ellis County and Midlothian voters to show their cards — not only on a massively-consequential U.S. presidential election and Texas Senate race, but also on a meager-but-important request for Midlothian ISD voters to keep funding the district's overall excellence in the face of lesser state dollars.

Read MoreMISD funding vote amid heated races