BALTIMORE (WJZ) The Office of Inspector General has found that Baltimore City Comptroller Joan Pratt had a conflict of interest when voting to give city-owned lots to a church in the Upton community.

In 2017, the Board of Estimates voted to sell 15 vacant lots, valued at $1,000 each, for $1 apiece to Bethel AME, a church that Pratt has been a member of since 1976.

The lots, which had been vacant for over a decade, are situated between 1301 and 1325 Etting Street and 505 and 509 West Lafayette Street in the Upton community, the report said.

The complaint alleges that Comptroller Joan Pratts vote to approve the sale to the church was a conflict of interest because of her membership with the church.

It went on to say that Bethel AME doesnt let residents use the lots for additional parking as they had done before the sale.

The OIG found that the comptroller voted in favor of approving the sale of City property to the church. They also found that administrative oversights of the Office of the Comptroller during the pre-BOE process led to Comptroller Pratts vote in favor of the deal, and found a reliance by the comptroller on her staff to properly vet BOE items for recusal.

The comptroller did acknowledge that she should have abstained from the vote because it was a conflict of interest.

Inspector General Report: Comptroller Joan Pratt Conflict Of Interest by WJZ on Scribd

It was an administrative oversight, Pratt said.

Representatives of Bethel AME said in interviews with OIG that access will remain for residents to use the lots for additional parking, except on Sundays when the lot is needed for church members coming to services.

This all began when the Department of Community and Housing Development received an application from Bethel AME to buy the properties through the Vacants to Value program in May 2017, though none of the lots the church applied to were posted on the DHCD website when they submitted the applications.

The OIG said they got conflicting information about why the church had applied if the City was not offering to sell the properties. The church had said the City inquired with them if they would be interested in buying the land, but DHCD employees said the church came to them.

A DHCD official said the agency doesnt approach private parties to sell the vacant lots, which Comptroller Pratt confirmed to the OIG.

The lots had been used as auxiliary parking for community residents and members of Bethel AME.

The baseline value for a vacant lot in Baltimore City is $1,000; however, the lots were sold to Bethel AME for $1 each, costing them $15 total.

Bethel AME submitted that the church had assumed a custodial role of the lots for 20 years and performed upkeep services, incurring over $35,000 in expenses.

DHCD and the Department of Real Estate did confirm to OIG that its not unusual for the City to sell property for less than the assessed value, especially when the proposed buyer has paid expenses directly related to the property before they buy it.

The church proposed to develop the lots by changing them from unpaved, unofficial parking into formal spaces with pavement and fencing.

That construction was set to begin 90 days after the sale, but when the OIG visited the lots on October 15, 2019, they found the construction hasnt started- to which the church responded they couldnt start construction until ground rent issues are resolved.

DHCD offered no explanation why the church has kept the land after two years of having it, and failing to satisfy the agreement.

The OIG then found that the Real Estate Committee approved the proposal without any community meetings.

When the OIG looked at Comptroller Pratts involvement in the sale, they found that she is a member of the churchs board of trustees, and her personal business, Joan M. Pratt, CPA & Associates, has prepared the churchs tax returns before.

The report noted a Baltimore Fishbowl article from July 2019, which had Comptroller Pratt speaking about the vote, stating, I always abstain on things that relate to Bethel because thats my church.

Comptroller Pratt told the OIG that she relies on her staff to make sure she properly abstains from BOE items that present a conflict of interest and that her staff should recognize items on which shes conflicted based on previous meetings.

She told Fishbowl that her vote was an oversight because of her staffs failing to search on the abstentions list for Bethel A.M.E. with periods in the name. But several Office of the Comptroller employees told the OIG that even when the abstentions list was used, the comptroller and he rstaff went page-by-page through the agenda during pre-BOE meetings.

The OIG learned that she would verbally announce items she planned to abstain from during those meetings, which she confirmed.

Pratt ultimately agreed the responsibility for the voting oversight rests with her, though she told the OIG she verbally announced her intention to abstain when employees in that meeting do not recall that proclamation.

They also found the allegation that Bethel AME would ban residents from using the lots for personal parking to be inaccurate. Community leaders and church officials told the OIG that there was no ban and residents still use the parking lot when it is available.

The OIG recommended a central list of abstentions be maintained for members of the BOE.

Link:
City Comptroller Joan Pratt Voted Yes To Sell City Lots To Church Shes A Member Of, Baltimore OIG Finds - CBS Baltimore

Daily News staff

FridayFeb7,2020at3:30PM

The Newport Lodge of Elks #104 announced that Thomas Nasser has been selected 2020 Citizen of the Year. Nasser, a lifelong Aquidneck Islander, was born in Newport graduated from Rogers High School in 1985 and has resided in Middletown since 1987. A family man he has been married to Kristina for over 21 years; has two children Hannah, a freshman and tennis Player at Colby Sawyer College, and Max a freshman and golfer at Middletown High School.

Through Nassers employment and sports interests he has developed a strong attachment to the community and interest in helping people. Nasser has been in the automobile business on Aquidneck Island as service and parts director for 28 years and is currently the facilities manager for Aspire Dermatology. Nasser an avid baseball and softball player has played on such teams as Strike Zone Lounge, Billy Goodies, Neil Swift Construction and has played for the Taylor Rental softball team for 20 years.

Nasser has been involvement in community service for a long time. Nasser coached in Middletown Little League for 20 years, was president from 2015-2017 and worked with the Middletown Town Council in renovating the baseball and softball fields. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and was Grand Knight in 2014. He is member of Jesus Savior Church and is the chairman of the Holy Ghost Feast, co-chair of the church bazaar and a member of the Parish Council, Finance Committee and is a Church Usher. Nasser is also a member of the Vasco Da Gama, 7 Castles Scholarship Fund and 3 Angles Fund. Nasser is the founder and chairman of the Aquidneck Island Charity Golf Tournament, which benefits children with life-threatening illnesses. The tournament has raised $225,000 over the last 13 years.

It is for these reasons that the Newport Elks Lodge has picked Tommy Nasser as its 2020 Citizen of the Year. A Dinner will be held in his honor at the Newport Elks Lodge on May 2, 2020. For more information please contact Ron Cudworth at (401) 841-5746.

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Thomas Nasser chosen Newport Lodge of Elks Citizen of the Year - newportri.com

In the mid-19th century, one of the most important writers and historians of the Yucatan Justo Sierra OReilly, said: The Cathedral of Merida speaks to us in a language that perhaps the understanding does not understand, a statement that is still valid today.

The Yucatecan Cathedral has its own architectural characteristics, which have been pointed out since the 20th century by various specialists. In 1929, the architect Federico Mariscal, pointed out that: The facade of the Cathedral of Merida, impossible to be confused with others, has no resemblance to those of other regions of the country.

The towers of this temple are an architectural element, of which some observations have also been made. Federico Mariscal indicated: The towers, seen from the front and from its second body, are not in proportion to the first and appear off-centre.

About this, the specialist Manuel Toussaint, emphasized that: The towers, seen from the front, in the distance, seem cross-eyed, because their tops offer an inexplicable strabism.

The Cathedral was built in a 36-year period, from 1562 to 1598, under the supervision of four bishops: three Franciscans and one Dominican. This Franciscan predominance in the constructive vigilance, is what could explain the aspect of strength that the Cathedral has, since the Franciscan architecture in America, during the colonial time, was characterized by having that appearance of fortification, one of the results of its apocalyptic theology, that aspired to build in the New World, the New Church of Christ, a spiritual construction with a material expression in its convents and churches, made in the likeness of the heavenly Jerusalem, described in the Apocalypse.

The colonial Mayans intervened in a decisive way in the building of the cathedral as laborers, it is known that 300 workers came from a community near Merida: Uman, as well as carpenters from Yucatan.

Beyond the physical participation in the construction of the Cathedral, the link of this temple with the Mayan existence can be observed in the indigenous colonial literature, and it is in this way that it is possible to read in the Mayan books of Chilam Balam, diverse references to the Cathedral.

In the Chilam Balam of Chumayel, some of the most important references to this Catholic temple can be found, in spite of the chronological errors, the quotes are related to the mythology and cosmogony of the pre-Hispanic Maya.

Some of them are: In Ichcaansih (Mrida) the foundations of the Holy Major Church were founded, the palace of God, the virtuous open house of God. Woe to the faces of the Great Figures when the owner of the House of Worship arrives in the middle of the city of Ho (Merida) In Trece Chen, Eb, the foundations of the Great Church were laid, the House of Learning in the Dark, the Great Church of Heaven. In the middle is the city of Ho, the Main Church, the house of all, the house of good, the house of the night, which is of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.

Thus, bearing in mind these brief historical, architectural, documentary and anthropological observations, we can begin a general observation of the Cathedral, as well as tours of its interior, courtyard and roofs, discovering in this Catholic temple, the trace of the Mayan symbols. A trip that we will start next week.

ForThe Yucatan Times,Indalecio Cardea Vzquez

Merida, Yucatan February, 07 2020

Indalecio Cardea Vzquez. Anthropologist, researcher and writer.He has collaborated with theUnidad Yucatn de la Direccin de Culturas Populares,Instituto Nacional Indigenistaand was the director of the Pinacoteca Juan Gamboa Guzmn of the INAHAmong his anthropological works are the iconographic analysis of the colonial sacred art of the Yucatan Peninsula; the symbolisms in the facade of Conquistador Montejoshouse, in Mrida; the Mayan symbolism in the Yucatan Cathedral and the archaeoastronomy among the Mayans.

Professor Cardea has written several books and articles since the mid 1980s to this date.

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Original post:
The Mayan symbolisms of Merida's cathedral - The Yucatan Times

The names of Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King likely sound familiar. But what about Lewis W. Pinkney, Joseph Taylor, and Calvin Simmons? The last three lived right here in Southeast Minnesota, and they too made history.

As we celebrate Februarys black history month, we should honor contributions by early black settlers in Rushford and its nearby communities.

Lewis W. Pinkney Rushford, Minn.

Casting a long silver shadow over Highway 43 in the late afternoon this time of year is the Rushford Lutheran Church. The steeple silhouette touches the property of the original high school, bonding the two buildings together. Both were built in 1906, and one of the construction workers was Lewis W. Pinkney.

The Rushford Lutheran Churchs 150-year anniversary book mentions an African-American man was also hired as part of the construction crew....he also worked on the schoolhouse construction before moving south again.

Pinkneys contributions to Rushfords landscape remains today. Take a stroll from the Church steps in any direction and you will find his other structures, including the Episcopal Church and Rectory House. His construction career, spanning from 1899 to 1907, is one of the many threads in Rushfords tapestry.

While still a young man Pinkney, a son of former slaves, achieved his dream of receiving an education, and was listed a student in the 1905 Minnesota census. During his youth in Florida, Pinckney was denied an education due to black code laws.

After Rushfords building boom, Pinkney moved back to Jacksonville, Fla., and became a gardener. He married and had several children. In the 1930s, some of his offspring worked at St. Vincent hospital in Jacksonville. Currently, St. Vincents has mutual collaborations with Jacksonvilles Mayo Clinic.

Joseph Taylor Brownsville Minn.

Before Minnesota was a state, Joseph Taylor resided in Brownsville, Minn., where he worked as a newspaper pressman. Taylors journey to our corner of the state was accelerated when, in 1837, he witnessed the murder of his employer, the Rev. Elijah Lovejoy in Illinois.

Lovejoy owned an anti-slavery newspaper. One night a violent pro-slavery mob set fire to his office and killed the reverend. Watching from afar was Taylor, who saw where the crowd threw the printing press into the river. He later assisted with its retrieval. The infamous printing press and Taylor settled in Brownsville, Minn.

Taylor was considered the best pressman along the Mississippi River from Dubuque, Iowa, to St. Paul, Minn. Often, he would stop at a nearby river hamlet to give the local printer a rest. Given his generous personality, Taylor added to Brownsville prominence along the river corridor. Taylor must have found a deep satisfaction as he was able to join the Minn. Union Army during the Civil War. Sadly, his dream of helping others find freedom was short-lived, as he died from disease during the last days of the war.

Calvin Simmons Houston, Minn.

Finding information on Calvin Simmons proved more difficult, compared to Pinkneys buildings and Taylors life documented in the History of Houston County book. To learn about Simmons I visited where he used to live in Houston, Minn. My tour guide and gracious host to the property was Mark Witt. The farm resides with the Witt family and after many years, one gets to know the lay of the land and its history.

In a document discovered just this past year, there is a description of Houstons founder, W.G. McSpadden, hiding escaping slaves in a cave during the 1850s. Witt heard about the cave and his attempts to find it remain elusive, a testimony to it being a safe hiding spot. Witt shared a dark moment when the McSpadden residence burned to the ground. When helping the owner of the time with cleanup, Witt found a hidden room under the kitchen and Witts first thought was that of a secret room for the Underground Railroad. When I shared the document of McSpadden aiding slaves, it all seemed to come together.

When the Civil War started, McSpadden enlisted for several years. Upon his return to Houston, a young black man from the south, Calvin Simmons, accompanied him.

McSpadden was determined to turn Houston into a destination community and built a three-story mill, snug against the steep, deeply folded bluffs on the narrow ribbon of Silver Creek. Once a massive structure, the mill featured an imposing dam that was so large it created Silver Lake.

Today as you approach the beautiful Silver Creek, evidence of the mill remains. The hand-hewn sluice chiseled out of dense limestone can be traced to its lengthy journey that rotated the mighty mill wheel. The enormity of work, determination and grit, it took to make this mill a contender in its day is breathtaking. McSpadden faced his share of floods and fires, yet each time he would always rebuild bigger and better.

Simmons, his reliable friend and worker, likely shared McSpaddens vision; that one day the mill would secure Houston as the largest community in the area. The aspiration eventually dissipated as other cities outgrew the town.

The sunset details of McSpadden life culminated with his eventual move to South Dakota. There he fulfilled the last item on his bucket-list; building and operating a grand hotel. Joining McSpadden was Simmons, who fulfilled his dream of having his own farm. Born a slave, Simmons ownership of his 80-acre plot was a tremendous achievement.

Later Simmons would marry and have four children and his was the only black family in the county. When he passed away Simmons was laid to rest in the McSpadden family plot. His headstone is engraved with an outline of his beloved farm home.

Reflection

At Silver Creek, catching the last golden rays of the day, one can admire the mills remaining graceful archway and its proud tumbled down walls. The water of the creek seems timeless as it unites the present to the past. This flowing water also ties where they lived, worked and dreamed, thus connecting, Pinkney, Taylor and Simmons. Their accomplishments are among us today; some dreams to see and others to envision.

See the rest here:
The surprising black history of Southeast Minnesota - Bluff Country Newspaper Group

ST. LEO, FL Saint Leo University broke ground Thursday, February 6, for a Wellness Center located on the west end of campus by Lake Jovita. The 59,000-square-foot facility will create an environment for holistic health and well-being that integrates student recreation, fitness, health services, counseling services, and campus ministry.

Focusing on the body, mind, and spirit, Saint Leo's new Wellness Center will provide space for group exercise, spinning and yoga classes, and a large community fitness center. In addition, there will be two indoor basketball courts, a healthy smoothie bar, and a recreational pool with a lakeside infinity edge, as well as a relaxation terrace and garden. There also will be several multipurpose rooms, which could be used as space for meditation, specialty classes, and gaming.

As the university has grown, there has been increased student demand on the current spaces. Saint Leo officials also wanted to provide a facility that will provide for students' physical and emotional well-being. Many of the services now offered in DeChantal Hall will move to the new facility.

Construction tentatively will begin in April, and university officials hope to open the Wellness Center in Fall 2021.

"This day is finally here; praise God," said D. Dewey Mitchell, chair of the Saint Leo University Board of Trustees. "This is a wonderful amenity for the university and the community."

Creative Contractors of Clearwater, FL, is serving as the construction firm for the project while S3 Design Inc. of Braintree, MA, is handling the architectural design; and JLL of Tampa will provide project management services.

Fundraising is taking place for the Wellness Center, and the university is in discussion with several health care providers that potentially could serve the community by delivering medical services on-site.

Mitchell, chair of the Saint Leo University Board of Trustees, welcomed everyone to the Wellness Center groundbreaking while Dr. Melanie Storms, senior vice president, served as the emcee for Thursday's ceremony. Sister Roberta Bailey, prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Florida, provided those in attendance with a historical perspective on the property, and University President Jeffrey D. Senese made remarks about the benefits of the Wellness Center. Prior to the groundbreaking, Abbot Isaac Camacho, OSB, a Saint Leo alumnus, blessed the site.

"You stand on sacred ground," Bailey told the crowd gathered for the groundbreaking. She reminded everyone about the founding of the university by the Benedictine sisters and monks. They sunk "their roots deep into Florida's oldest incorporated town," she noted.

Saving a tree

While the land that Saint Leo occupies once was home to orange groves, a different type of tree was found growing on the property as clearing began. The Saint Leo Abbey Church is known as "the church that orange juice built," as the Benedictine monks traded oranges and grapefruits to Saint Meinrad Abbey in Indiana for sandstone, which was used to construct the church, consecrated in 1948. As work began on the site for the Wellness Center, an original olive tree was discovered while clearing the overgrowth on the property.

The olive tree will be transplanted during construction for safekeeping, and then replanted into the meditative gardens of the Wellness Center, tying the history of Saint Leo to its future.

Looking ahead

Emphasizing the impact the Wellness Center will make, University President Senese said, "We are creating an iconic building for Pasco County, Tampa Bay, and Florida. It is our vision that this building will take your breath away."

See the rest here:
Saint Leo University Breaks Ground For Wellness Center - Patch.com

One of the most anticipated museums in the world at least according to Smithsonian Magazine is moving closer to opening its doors this summer. And it's right here in New Jersey.

The Harriet Tubman Museum in Cape May will honor the abolitionist and Civil War heroine who spent a summer in Cape May in the early 1850s to raise funds for her efforts to transfer slaves from the South up north above the Mason-Dixon line.

Tubman spent her summers in Philadelphia and Cape May from 1850 to 1852 working as a cook and other jobs to raise money for herself and trips to help slaves escape.

Trustees of the Harriet Tubman Museum and Members of the Macedonia Baptist Church Committee pose for a picture in front of the museum, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

The museum will be at the site of the old Howell House, an older building on Lafayette Street that served as the parsonage for Macedonia Baptist Church.

For nearly 40 years, the building remained vacant and its condition deteriorated over time so much so that Preservation New Jersey added the Howell House to the Ten most endangered historic properties list in 2012.

The founding trustees of the Harriet Tubman Museum signed a lease to rent the structure from the church, which is still active and owns the building.

Lynda Towns, a Trustee of the Harriet Tubman Museum and Macedonia Baptist Church liaison, told NJ Advance Media the museum would have a unique, small-town characteristic to it when it opens on June 19.

"It is very important for us to not only be able to have a museum, but have a place where others can come in and remember what the African American community in Cape May used to be and then also be able to learn about Harriet Tubman and Africa," Towns said. "It will ensure that our presence remains here and is memorialized. It is very important that it stays."

Returning the building back to a recognizable condition, including restoring the initial structure that dates to pre-1800 and building an addition for the museum, has required some help. The construction of the museum is being led by Zack Mullock, who serves as a museum trustee and its construction manager.

Volunteers, contractors and subcontractors have also been working at cost and offering their services for free.

Lynda Towns, Trustee of the Harriet Tubman Museum & Macedonia Baptist Church Liaison talks about the museum while standing in the Grand Gallery, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Towns has seen the former Howell House in different variations. She used to visit the house when Rev. Robert Davis was presiding over the Macedonia Baptist. Davis married several couples inside the parlor of the room. In another room, which will house the exhibit about Africa, Towns remembers spending a lot of time while listening to the pastor.

"We were in and out of this house a lot, and I babysat here because he had two sons," Towns said. "The room that will be our African room is where he often taught African American history classes to the kids in the community. He would have his African figures and teach us about African American history. It was very meaningful."

Construction inside of the Harriet Tubman Museum in Cape May, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020. Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The museum will house an early edition of a signed copy of abolitionist William Still's "The Underground Railroad." The book, first published in 1872, chronicles Cape May's efforts to help slaves escape to the north. Some of the other items to be that will be on display include artifacts from the slavery period, Davis's collection, newspapers, and abolitionist papers. The museum will also chronicle the role African-Americans played in the city in the 1920s through the present day.

While the museum has been getting financial assistance from the New Jersey Historical Commission, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and Cape May County, the surrounding community has helped bring the project to fruition.

Harriet Tubman Museum Executive Director Cynthia Mullock said volunteers have contributed to the museum, from Swains Hardware Inc., to Boy Scout Troop 73, who helped with the painting. Even a restaurateur from North Jersey wanted to assist with fundraising efforts.

The efforts of the Harriet Tubman Museum team were recognized by Cape May County Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton, fifth from left, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

"Yanick Ranieri from Papillon 25, who loves Cape May, contacted us and said she wanted to do a fundraiser," Mullock said. "There will be a gala event, and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the project."

The museum is targeting to open on June 19, or Juneteenth, the day that Texas abolished slavery, making it the last state to do so. The anticipated opening has not gone unnoticed. Smithsonian Magazine recently named the museum as one of the ten most anticipated museums opening worldwide in 2020. There have also been many groups and organizations that have expressed interest in visiting the locale.

"We have had so much interest from teachers who would like to bus students to the museum," Mullock said. "We have a biking community that wrote to us checking if we would be opening June 19 because they want to organize a 200-mile bike ride to the museum on the weekend of the opening."

People who would like to make a donation to the museum can do so by visiting http://www.harriettubmanmuseum.org

Construction continues on the Harriet Tubman Museum in Cape May, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Bob Mullock, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Harriet Tubman Museum, and Laurence Hogan, right, of the Macedonia Baptist Church, talk with Carolyn King Davis after meeting with Cape May County Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Construction continues on the Harriet Tubman Museum in Cape May, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Trustees of the Harriet Tubman Museum and Members of the Macedonia Baptist Church Committee Harriet Tubman Museum in Cape May, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Construction continues on the Harriet Tubman Museum in Cape May, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Construction continues on the Harriet Tubman Museum in Cape May, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020.

Trustees of the Harriet Tubman Museum and Members of the Macedonia Baptist Church Committee are recognized by Cape May County Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton, fourth from right, for their efforts, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Construction continues on the Harriet Tubman Museum in Cape May, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Zack Mullock, construction manager, left, and Lynda Towns, Trustee of the Harriet Tubman Museum & Macedonia Baptist Church Liaison, talk about the construction of the museum, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020. The Harriet Tubman Museum is located in Cape May. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

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One of the world's most anticipated museums is opening right here in N.J. - NJ.com

This story has been corrected from an earlier version.

HAWKINS Letters related to the still-unresolved saga involving the Jesus Welcomes You to Hawkins sign taken down last summer have been sent to municipal and state attorneys.

Meanwhile, several of the towns residents continue to protest the removal of the sign by the city, which subsequently built a street where the sign once stood.

The street named Ash Street is 30 feet wide and 75 feet long, or one-fourth the length of a football field.

Tyler attorney Alvin Flynn, who has represented Hawkins for 38 years, said the legal filings and efforts made by supporters of the Jesus Christ Open Altar Church LLC have been a strain on the city for the past five years.

I personally dont think that theres anything criminal that any city official has done anything that is of a criminal nature, Flynn said Thursday. Now, if its out there, Im not aware of it.

$650,000 for a 75-foot street?

Real estate agent Charlene Peoples, Jesus Christ Open Altar Church leader Mark McDonald and others say Ash Street wasnt needed, cost the city more than $50,000 in design, construction and attorney costs plus another $600,000 that is unaccounted for and poses a danger to drivers.

Peoples and McDonald called it a hate crime.

It is very dangerous, Peoples said, ... because if you try to cross it to get on (U.S.) 80 (and) theres another car up there (and) youre trying to decide whos going to go first, here comes an 18-wheeler over that hill. Somebody is going to get killed there.

When asked about McDonalds claim that Ash Street resulted in about $20,000 in attorney fees and more than $600,000 in unaccounted-for costs, Flynn responded with a laugh.

I wish. ... Mr. McDonald comes up with numbers and dollars that nobody knows where they came from. Theres always five zeroes in there. Thats not the truth. He has a propensity to stretch the truth, Flynn said.

In a letter to Attorney General Ken Paxton, Emory attorney William R. Power who represents McDonald claimed that the city of Hawkins violated the Texas Public Information Act and the Open Meetings Act.

According to McDonald, the city refused to hold public hearings on the matter and hasnt released public information and documents he has requested.

Briefly, I am informed that Wood County Sheriff Tom Castloo is aware of a few of many violations, but he cannot begin an investigation without authorization from your office, Power wrote in the Jan. 16 letter to Paxton. I also understand that Wood County District Attorney Angela Albers wrote you some three months ago to inform you that her office will pursue any violations. I spoke with Texas Ranger John Vance, and he is prepared to begin whatever investigation you believe is warranted.

The Attorney Generals Office confirmed Wednesday that its Open Records Division has received Powers letter and that a ruling is pending on the matter.

Religious expression

Also, the Center for Religious Expression of Memphis, Tennessee, has written Flynn, asking that the Jesus Christ Open Altar Church be allowed to place Christian-themed signs in an unimproved easement near U.S. 80.

That letter to Flynn states that, Banning the church from having noncommercial signs on its own property within unimproved easement violates the churchs rights.

Flynn spoke by phone Wednesday with a representative from the Center for Religious Expression, he said. Its the second conversation the two have had in the past year.

Were trying to get that resolved right now, Flynn said.

Last June, work crews with the city took down a sign that read Jesus Welcomes You to Hawkins. At that time, City Secretary Dona Jordan said the signs removal was in preparation for building a street between Blackbourn Street and U.S. 80.

The sign was created several years ago by shop students at Hawkins High School, McDonald said, and he hasnt been told of its whereabouts.

The city and the church have been roiled in litigation since 2015, Flynn said, adding that a trial court and a state appellate court have ruled in the citys favor on the easement matter.

McDonald disagrees, saying that the courts have ruled in his favor.

As for Powers letter to Paxton, Most of the things that McDonald has requested, hes not entitled to by law, Flynn said. He keeps requesting the same things.

We only provide documents that are on file. We dont have to develop documents, Flynn said. Mr. McDonald has complained to the AGs office two, maybe three times in the last three years, and the AGs office has ruled in our favor every time. Its not like hes not getting documents. Hes not getting documents hes not entitled to.

TxDOT documents

On multiple occasions in 2018, Flynn and a project assistant for the citys engineering firm, KSA Engineers of Longview, emailed Texas Department of Transportation-Tyler District Engineer Vernon Webb about the city of Hawkins desire to close Blackbourn Street and construct Ash Street on an easement at the Jesus Christ Open Altar Church, according to documents obtained from TxDOT.

In one email on Sept. 17, 2018, Flynn wrote, The use by Mark McDonalds church of the citys Ash Street dedicated easement was and is subject to the citys overriding governmental and police powers to construct a street for public use.

Webb wrote to KSA Project Assistant Siglinda West on Jan. 14 that TxDOT was waiting to hear from its general counsel before permitting the city to open Ash Street to U.S. 80.

I want to be clear that TxDOTs position is that we are removing the existing connection to U.S. 80 and permitting a legal drive to improve safety. We do not want to get drug into the political issues that surround this matter, Webb wrote in the Jan. 14 email.

Fifty minutes later, Webb told West, I believe we are OK to proceed with the permit.

The city then refused to hold an open hearing on abandoning the easement, despite multiple requests from the church and from Mark Mangini with the Center for Religious Expression, McDonald said.

They never informed us of this closed meeting. They had a closed meeting where they voted, which is illegal, where they voted to build a road and remove the sign, McDonald said. They voted that with full knowledge that (TxDOT) had sent them three emails denying access at that location because it was an extremely dangerous blind-hill road intersection.

An email request to TxDOT by the News-Journal yielded no letters in which the agency denied access for Ash Street at U.S. 80. A subsequent information request was sent to TxDOT on Wednesday.

What a stupid thing to do, Peoples said of Ash Streets construction. They wanted to take down that sign. This is truly a hate crime. They wanted that sign down because they just didnt like the sign there.

Flynn said the city exercised its governmental rights in constructing Ash Street and that the Jesus Welcomes You to Hawkins sign sat right in the citys easement.

Theres been an ongoing dilemma with people from the city trying to do their job and Mr. McDonald objecting strenuously and coming out to the site, Flynn said. This guy has taken a personal vendetta against the city secretary and anybody else that challenges what hes doing.

Jimmy Daniell Isaac covers the city of Longview and Gregg County. Follow him on Twitter: @jimmyisaaclives.

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Letters sent to attorneys over former 'Jesus' sign in Hawkins - Longview News-Journal

Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere revealed plans for Plano 4.0, a concept for Plano's future development as part of his State of the City address at the Plano Chamber of Commerce 2020 annual meeting. (Liesbeth Powers/Community Impact Newspaper)

LaRosiliere highlighted the downtown area's future Feb. 6 as part of his annual State of the City address. LaRosiliere envisioned these changes as part of a new stage of the city's development, which he termed, "Plano 4.0."

Who will we be [as] Plano 4.0? LaRosiliere said. You will be in a city where you not only live, but you thrive.

The Collin Creek Mall redevelopment project will serve as a catalyst for reinventing downtown, he said. Starting in 2022, the DART Silver Line will allow for travel directly to and from the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to downtown Plano. By 2030, this will lead DART riders to the finished Collin Creek development, which will have restaurants, entertainment, housing and 1.5 million square feet of office space, LaRosiliere said.

The city has also approved roughly 4,000 housing units in the downtown area, including the First Baptist Church of Plano, Plano Marine and Collin Creek Mall projects. This will possibly bring 7,000 more people to the area, as well as retail, amenities and services to provide for them, LaRosiliere said.

Make no doubt about it: downtown Plano will still have its same funky character [and] the sense of historic preservation will be there, LaRosiliere said. ...Downtown will be the catalyst for the entire [US] 75 corridor. I call that the new frontier. ... Thats where it all started for us and thats where its going to happen over the next decade and beyond.

This, in turn, will encourage development further along US 75, he said, including more investment in the city's Oak Point area, where the Collin College Spring Creek Campus and Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve are.

We need to do it [Plano 4.0] with you as a community, LaRosiliere said. The decisions we make today will impact our children and our grandchildren.

The concept also includes integrating smart features into the city in areas including transportation, education, public safety and green infrastructure. These technologies will be added as various parts of the city need infrastructure updates, he said.

City projects may include the integration of smart light poles with built-in Wi-Fi hotspots, emergency command centers or charging stations.

Plano public safety currently uses technology like license plate readers, drones, broadband in police vehicles and pet facial recognition. By the end of 2020, emergency location registration will be available to Plano residents, allowing 9-1-1 dispatchers to know your location when you call in an emergency, LaRosiliere said.

The city will also focus on building its GoLink Uber-partnership travel option and other mobility solutions. Last year, the ridership of the program grew by 8,000, he said.

Our foundation is firmly in place and our values will be our guide, LaRosiliere said.

The State of the City was held in conjunction with the Plano Chamber of Commerce 2020 annual meeting, where Lissa Smith was inducted into her role as 2020 board chair by 2019 chair LaMonte Thomas. Smith spoke on her outlook and goals for the year and announced new board members for the Chamber.

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Plano mayor reveals plans for downtown expansion and smart-technology integration at State of the City - Community Impact Newspaper

Their prayers have finally been answered. After having spent more than a decade and a half borrowing space for its Sunday services, the St. Albert Canadian Reformed Church now has a church building to call its own.

Rev. Ken Wieske was quick to thank the graciousness of the Red Willow Community Church for offering room to his substantial congregation of nearly 400 members for so long. It might have seemed like cramped quarters but they persevered.

They couldn't fit there any more and they really wanted to have their own space so they can be there with the community and also just interact with the community with their own building, he said.

The new church is now located at 54203 Range Rd 261 in Sturgeon County. It sits on a 15-acre lot located along Villeneuve Road, approximately 5.5 km west of St. Albert Trail. You cant miss it, Wieske said, although they are still working on getting the signage up.

Australian-born Wieske is still in his first six months with this congregation, having spent the last 20 years with a church in Brazil. Its an exciting time for him and for everyone, he suggested, especially with all of the doors that are being opened, literally and metaphorically speaking. Having a building of their own provides for a lot of possibilities to come true.

The church first established itself nearly 20 years ago when it sprouted off of the fertile roots that the Providence Canadian Reformed Church provided for it. Many of the congregation attending services and programs there in Edmontons Sherbrooke neighbourhood still lived in St. Albert at the time. It seemed like the right time to branch off on their own.

Doing so, however, meant the hard reality of facing the burdensome costs of construction and finding a suitable parcel of land for the church. In St. Albert, space is always at a premium. Thankfully, the fine folks at the Red Willow Community Church had room to spare.

In a fine stroke of irony, the new building for the St. Albert Canadian Reformed Church isnt actually located in the city, but Wieske says his flock is still committed to the community it serves.

They did want to be more in town. We're a little bit on the edge, he said, suggesting the citys future growth might bring the border closer to them. What it comes down to, we actually had a property closer ... that was more in town, but space is tough. We're hoping that as the city grows, we can reconnect, and that it wont be too long.

Still, the flock put a lot of work and a lot of love into the project, especially with Ralph Smeding who spent more than a year running the construction. In turn, they received a special gift in the form of stained glass from the Knox Metropolitan United Church that was recently demolished from its longstanding home on Edmontons southside. Local artist Brenda Malkinson also contributed new stained glass works as well.

Its not only a beautiful space but its well designed to lift the voices up.

Im a preacher, so it preaches well. The acoustics are great. The singing is awesome.

The public is invited to the opening ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 8, starting at 1:30 p.m. Along with the ribbon cutting, Rev. Wieske will start the program that will include the churchs history plus a presentation on the highlights of the design and construction of the building, after which attendees can feel free to look around. Regular services commence on Sunday at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. For more information, visit its website at stalbertcanrc.com.

The hope is to eventually save up enough money to add on to the main structure with a fellowship hall and a large kitchen. The good news is they now have the space to grow and do such things.

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The new church on the block - St. Albert Today

Vice President of Capital Construction John Rhone spoke about the Silver Line project at the Feb. 6 meeting. (Makenzie Plusnick/Community Impact)

The 26-mile passenger rail will span from Shiloh Road in Plano to TEXRails DFW Airport North station in Grapevine. Construction of the line, which will run through seven cities, is expected to be complete by December 2022. In addition to the Grapevine stop, the Silver Line will stop in Terminal B at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

In the first quarter of this year, crews are working to relocate wet and dry utilities and construct retainer walls, DART Public Relations and Communication Officer Marvin Jackson said at the Richardson meeting.

It is industry practice to begin work on a project this size while design is still underway, according to DART spokesperson Gordon Shattles. The final design for the Silver Line is expected to be delivered during the third quarter of 2021.

Vice President of Capital Construction John Rhone spoke about the new self-propelled diesel multiple-unit vehicles that would be used on the Silver Line. The vehicles will be more environmentally and community friendly, he said.

We considered different types of diesel vehicles; we considered electric vehicles similar to light rail, and this is the vehicle that we chose, Rhone said.

The trains will have 230 seats as well as room for 250 standing passengers. They will also have automatic passenger counters and closed-circuit television systems, Rhone said.

DART police will be present on every train and strategically stationed at different stations along the line, Rhone said.

The transit agency is attempting to mitigate sound emitted by trains through the use of heating, ventilation and air conditioning closures, which Rhode said is one of the noisier components of existing DART vehicles. New wheel skirts should also reduce noise, he added.

Residential neighborhoods will be designated as quiet zones, or areas where trains will not activate their horns. However, Rhone said horns will be required during the testing phase.

A 26-mile hike-and-bike trail along the rail is at 10% design completion, Rhone said. DART is still in negotiations with Archer Western Herzog, the company contracted to design and build the trail, Rhone said. The project is funded through an interlocal agreement with the North Central Texas Council of Governments.

I really can't get into a lot of details outside of that because we are in negotiations as far as pricing, but know that we are working very hard to deliver this trail, Rhone said.

For dates of upcoming Silver Line community meetings, visit this link.

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Citizens hear update on progress of $1.2 billion Silver Line project - Community Impact Newspaper