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Two white lionesses requiring urgent medical attention have found a new home in Wylie after being transferred to In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue and Educational Center.
The female lions, Kali and Nzuri, arrived late in the evening Tuesday, May 5 after concerns arose about serious mobility issues while they were housed at a roadside zoo in Pilot Point. The approximately 7-year-old sisters were transferred following intervention involving the Animal Legal Defense Fund after videos showing the animals struggling with instability and difficulty walking circulated online.
A specialized team from In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue & Educational Center, accompanied by the sanctuary’s veterinarian, traveled to retrieve and safely transport the lionesses to Wylie.
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]]>The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Administration Building Board Room, 2700 West 15th Street in Plano.
Residents are invited to attend and participate in the discussion regarding the proposed budget and tax rate before trustees adopt the budget.
Trustees reviewed anticipated savings along with significant projected expenditures — including the increased cost of utilities and McKinney Vento Transportation — at their Tuesday, May 5, regular meeting.
However, the staff proposed increasing the district’s total budget by just 0.17% or $144,601. That would raise the 2025-26 budget amount of $86,560,867 to $86,705,468 in 2026-27.
As a result, district officials are proposing to decrease the total tax rate for property within the Plano ISD by $0.0068 or less than one penny.
The current total tax rate for 2025-26 is $1.03955 per $100 valuation and the district will consider a proposed 2026-27 rate of $1.03275 per $100 valuation, the voter-approved rate.
The proposed rate is made up of $0.79540 for maintenance and operations and $0.23735 for debt service (interest & sinking) tied to voter-approved bonds. Under the proposed rate, the M&O of $0.80220 would decrease but I&S would remain the same.
The district’s total taxable property value is estimated at $75.22 billion for the current tax year, down slightly from approximately $74.36 billion last year.
New taxable property value is estimated at about $665.2 million, an increase of roughly 0.89% from the previous year.
Plano ISD’s total appraised property value is listed at approximately $105.76 billion, compared with $100.83 billion during the preceding tax year.
For homeowners, the district estimates taxes on the average residence would increase slightly. Based on a mean taxable home value of $368,605, taxes are projected at $3,807 annually, an increase of $54 from the previous year.
Under Texas law, the Plano ISD’s voter-approval tax rate is $1.03275 per $100 valuation. If the district adopts a rate above that threshold, voter approval would be required through an election. The proposed rate remains at that level.
Additional information regarding property taxes and proposed tax rates is available through the state’s property tax database at Texas.gov/PropertyTaxes.
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]]>With the toss of a cap, a chapter ended for nearly 1,300 members of the Plano East Senior High School Class of 2026.
Grinning broadly, waving to family and friends, gesturing to classmates or taking selfies, the PESH Panthers claimed their diplomas during the Thursday, May 28, commencement exercise.
In a series of video messages, the audience in the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco heard from Senior Class President Kareem Hassanien, Salutatorian Vedant Sundar and Valedictorian Haosu Sam Zhu.
“Whether you realize it or not, this place has prepared us for what’s next,” Kareem said. “I say that because to get here we had to survive some of the toughest challenges we could imagine, a snowstorm in Texas, math class, painting our senior parking spots in the dark and — worst of all — the cell phone ban.”
Vedant said the students had received a phenomenal education. “We’ve been taught to dream farther, to have ambitions that shape our first steps after tonight, beyond the Plano bubble and into the world,” he said.
Sam said the biggest lesson he learned at Plano East was to bet on himself. “We sometimes think too much about what’s probable and not enough about what’s possible,” he said. “Once in a while, maybe we should take more risks: to bet on ourselves. No on changed the world for the better by taking the path of least resistance.”
Principal David Jones, himself a PESH alumnus, said the Class of 2026 had traversed multiple challenging moments and had persevered to reach the summit. “You are now poised to be leaders and take on the challenges of our future,” Jones said. “Each of you have continued to represent our community, display East Side pride, and you have accomplished many great things.”
Jones recognized groups of students for their achievements, ending by having all members stand and provide an ovation for the family members who have guided and provided for students on their journey.
The principal added, “Winning with class should apply to each and every endeavor in your journey moving forward.
“Remember all you have accomplished with East Side Pride,” Jones said. “Remember one of the many strengths of our community lies in our diverse student body, varying perspectives, unique cultures and our shared experiences that have enriched us with empathy and understanding.”
Seniors entered the stadium to Sir Edward Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1” performed by classical pianist Julia Lee. The recessional was Felix Mendelsson’s “War March of the Priests.”
The Plano East Junior ROTC presented the colors, followed by the singing of the National Anthem by Addisyn Barron, Larina White, Christian Weeresinghe and Preston Le. The valedictorian led the Pledge of Allegiance.
In a departure from tradition, an artificial intelligence voice announced the graduates’ names during the presentation of diplomas.
The ceremony ended with remarks by Avleen Randhawa, the Student Senate president.
“As odd as it sounds, I will miss the crowded hallways during the rainy days, the smell of the pond at the beginning of the year and the construction that seems like it will never end,” she said. “They will always remind me of this school, and all the unforgettable memories I have made here with all of you. I’d like to think that 10 years from now, when we look back on our years at East, we will only remember the best of our memories. But I also realize that our moments of foolishness, the hardships and the struggles we have all experienced are what make us who we are today.”
Avleen then led the Class of 2026 in singing the Plano East Alma Mater, followed by the joyous flinging of mortarboards into the air.
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]]>City Manager Aretha Adams told council members the Wednesday, May 27, workshop was intended to provide a high-level conversation about the budget process before formal decisions are made later this year.
“Tonight is not intended for you to make any final budget decisions or direction at every step of the process when we’re talking about budget, so that we know for sure that staff is on the right track,” Adams said.
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]]>The state’s natural beauty and its history are a treasure waiting to be discovered in any of the 52 parks and museums in the Arkansas State Parks system, with seven National Park Service sites and three national forests covering more than 2.9 million acres of Arkansas, plus more than 200 campsites and recreational areas.
Crater of Diamonds State Park
Who doesn’t love diamonds and digging in the dirt? This park is an exercise in fun, being in the outdoors, and a good way to bond as a couple or as a family. At the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, visitors can dig for diamonds in a 37.5-acre plowed field, which in reality is the eroded surface of an ancient volcanic crater. The park is the eighth largest, diamond-bearing deposit in surface area in the world.
When you enter through the park’s Diamond Discovery Center on your way to the diamond search area, you’ll want to take a while to listen and read about the area. The interpretive center is engaging and serves as the gateway to the search area by offering an in-depth introduction to the unique adventure of searching for diamonds. Tour the exhibits and visit with the park staff. In the Center you will learn to recognize diamonds in the rough and the three different search methods used at the Crater of Diamonds. You will also have the opportunity to view the diamond hunters’ Hall of Fame, featuring photographs of the faces of successful diamond prospectors at the Crater of Diamonds.
After you’re finished digging, the kids will love the park’s mining-themed aquatic playground. Relax in the cool waters of the 4,166-square-foot wading pool featuring spray geysers, sprayers, water jets, animated waterspouts, cascades, two water slides, and waterfall hideaways. There’s plenty of room to relax on the deck that surrounds the pool.
The Crater of Diamonds State Park includes a tree-shaded campground featuring 47 Class AAA campsites (with water/electric/sewer hookups) The site states that most of the sites have tent pads. There are also five walk-in tent sites. The campground includes two modern bathhouses with hot showers; one bathhouse includes a laundry.
To learn more, visit craterofdiamondsstatepark.com
Queen Wilhelmina State Park
With panoramic vistas, this beautiful park located in the Ouachita Mountains is a must-see destination in Eastern Arkansas. While the park offers all types of activities, it is well-known for its beautiful lodge known as Queen Wilhelmina State Park Lodge. The original lodge was known as the “Castle in the Sky” resort over 100 years ago. The new lodge today is a 40-room establishment with a restaurant and a gift shop, known for its treasure trove of trinkets.
If you don’t want to stay in the lodge, relaxing in a campsite on Arkansas’s second highest mountain is truly unique. The campground at Queen Wilhelmina State Park offers home-away-from-home amenities where you’ll find peace and quiet, fresh mountain air, and unforgettable natural beauty on the 2,681-foot Rich Mountain. In the summer, cool mountain breezes keep the heat at bay. In autumn, it is ablaze with fall colors and in the winter the snowfall transforms the mountain to a winter wonderland. Visitors can go swimming, picnicking, canoeing, hiking, fishing, bicycling, museums, and art galleries all within a two-hour drive from the park. There are no rivers or streams in the park, but a short distance away there are opportunities at Cossatot River State Park.
A few upcoming activities include the Queen Wilhelmina Rod Run held at the Queen Wilhelmina State Park. It is an antique car show held the third weekend of August. An event called Hamfest is held the weekend following Labor Day Weekend and the Polk County Fair is the last week of August. For a full list of activities, information is available at visitmena.com or queenwilhelmina.com.
Cossatot River State Park Natural Area
Not far away from Queen Wilhelmina State Park is the Cossatot River State Park Natural Area. This scenic State Park and river is located in Wickes, AR. The park-natural area stretches for 12 miles along the Cossatot River. The river is a great place to experience Arkansas’s premier whitewater and it is renowned as the best whitewater float stream in mid-America. Located in southwest Arkansas south of Mena, the Cossatot River forms Cossatot Falls, a rugged and rocky canyon that challenges the most experienced canoeists and kayakers with its Class IV and V rapids. The river is a watershed basin with flow levels dependent on rainfall. When the water is high, it is a premium place for paddlers, however, much of the river’s whitewater is not recommended for casual canoeists.
The park’s information site states that the Brushy Creek Recreation Area at the Highway 246 bridge offers day-use facilities including picnic sites, a nature trail, restrooms, and river access. A walkway high above the river provides barrier-free access on the west side.
For those who want to camp, there are tent sites at the Cossatot Falls area, the Sandbar Area, and the Ed Banks Area (one site). All of the sites are self-pay and first come, first serve. Undeveloped camping space is available at the U.S. 278 Area. Primitive group camping (tents only) is available at the park’s River Ridge Group Camp. Call ahead to make a reservation.
For hiking enthusiasts, the park features the 14-mile River Corridor Trail and the 3.5-mile Harris Creek Trail.
The park includes a 15,000-square-foot $2.7 million facility visitor information/education center on U.S. 278 east of Wickes where the highway crosses the Cossatot. There is a large exhibit gallery, two classroom/lab rooms, a wildlife viewing area, gift shop, and park administrative offices. Make sure you take the opportunity to explore the interpretive exhibits of the story of “The Cossatot: A River for All Seasons.” Want more information about the area? There are three information kiosks that provide information about the Cossatot River, the park-natural area, and other parks and museums in Arkansas’s state park system.
Interpretive programs and workshops are offered in the park, teaching visitors about geology, flora, and fauna in the remote and protected river corridor. Special interpretive programs include guided kayak tours and snorkeling tours.
Want more recreation camping opportunities in the “Natural State?” Visit arkansasstateparks.com.
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]]>By John Moore | TheCountryWriter.com
In 868 A.D., according to Chinese historical records, a princess was said to have played a “leaf game.” One of the earliest known references to playing cards.
Since then, there have been a few more sessions of folks gathering with a deck to play.
In the small, red brick house on Beech Street in Ashdown, Arkansas, many a game of spades, hearts, bridge, and canasta went well into the night.
Games were an inexpensive way for adults to gather at the Formica dinette table in the kitchen, enjoy each other’s company, and drink copious amounts of coffee.
Children were relegated to a card table in the living room, where you’d find a game of Monopoly, Clue, Risk, or Sorry taking place.
Southern homes of the 1960s were rarely air-conditioned. We were lucky to have a swamp cooler (also called a water cooler) or an attic fan.
A swamp cooler cooled air by pulling hot outside air through water-soaked pads, while an attic fan exhausted hot air trapped above the ceiling in the attic. Together, they improved airflow, reduced heat buildup, and provided a poor man’s AC.
The attic fan also helped draw out the smoke emanating from the Marlboros and Pall Malls in the ashtrays on the Formica dinette set.
Each adult who smoked had their favorite ashtray. Dad’s looked like a Goodyear tire. Uncle Bill used one from a hotel the family had visited.
A complimentary ashtray, I’m sure.
Those were the sounds and smells of game night.
Oh, let’s not forget the RCA radio.
To complement the whirring of both the cooler and attic fan, a battery radio (pronounced bat-tree radio) played The Grand Ole Opry. I can still hear the distinct delivery of the Opry announcer. A booming, enthusiastic voice with a slow, deliberate delivery that made you feel like part of the family.
“You ain’t woman enough to take my man,” sang Loretta Lynn as you’d hear an adult in the kitchen ask their partner why they’d made the card bid they did.
“Six days on the road and I’m a gonna make it home tonight,” proclaimed Dave Dudley as one of the kids playing Monopoly begged a cousin not to charge them rent since they just paid to get out of jail.
Maybe not too dissimilar from situations that would lie ahead a few years later.
At the time, it was the family fun we knew. There were three channels on TV, but nothing on ABC, CBS, or NBC took priority over gaming with loved ones.
What has changed is how we now spend our time. Back then, entertainment wasn’t something delivered to us through a screen. We made our own. Family and friends gathered because there wasn’t much else competing for their attention. Nobody was checking text messages. Nobody was scrolling social media. If someone wanted to tell a story, everyone at the table heard it.
Hindsight, those card games were an excuse to spend time together.
The adults talked about work, church, family, and neighbors. The kids learned how grown-ups interacted. We learned when to listen, when to laugh, and when to keep our mouths shut. We learned that a disagreement didn’t mean a friendship was over. Two people could argue over a card game, laugh about it ten minutes later, and still be friends the next week.
There was something comforting about that routine. Friday night or Saturday night would roll around, and somebody would bring a deck of cards. Somebody else would put on a pot of percolator coffee. Before long, the table would fill up.
Nobody knew they were making memories. They were just living life.
Years later, after many of those players are gone and many of those houses have changed hands, the memories remain remarkably clear. I can still picture the cards spread across the table, hear the laughter coming from the kitchen, and the shuffling of a well-worn deck as another hand was dealt.
Funny how something as simple as a deck of cards can dominate that much of a lifetime’s memories.
Maybe there’d be more harmony among family and friends if we spent time together today like we did then. Sans the cigarettes, swamp coolers, and attic fans, and adding some AC.
There are advantages to living today (medical advances for example) but there’s a reason most of us would move back to something more like Mayberry, if just given the chance.
Getting together for a simple evening of visiting and cards was a great pastime in times past.
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]]>By David Wolman
Plano East has made the decision to hire from within in its search for its next head boys basketball coach.
Michael Godwin, the lead varsity assistant during the last four seasons, has been promoted to head coach – a decision that was announced on the X account of Plano East athletics director Tony Benedetto on Saturday night.
Godwin takes over for Matt Wester, who announced his resignation on May 5 and was hired to the positions of JV boys basketball coach and varsity assistant for the Lake Highlands Wildcats.
Wester spent 15 years with Plano East. He joined the program as an assistant coach in 2012 and was promoted to head coach six years later. He turned around a struggling program that finished with just five wins in the year prior to him being promoted to head coach.
Godwin has been on the sideline for the most dominant run in Plano East history. The Panthers went 105-20 over the last four seasons, including a perfect 40-0 record and the team’s first-ever state championship in 2024. This past season, Plano East finished 27-8 and clinched a share of the District 6-6A championship.
Godwin has worked his way up the coaching ladder in Plano over the last decade. He guided the Otto Bobcats from 2014-18, winning a city championship in 2018, then was promoted to Plano East and served as the junior varsity coach from 2018-23.
Prior to his time at Plano East, Godwin worked as an assistant coach at Parish Episcopal School and was the head coach at North Dame Catholic High School in Wichita Falls.
As a player, Godwin was a four-year varsity letterwinner and a first-team, all-district selection at Rockwall High School. He went on to play at Midwestern State University and was a three-time Lone Star Conference champion.
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A closing reception is planned from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, June 10, in the gallery. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.
The featured artists are students from the Spring 2026 Photography Portfolio class taught by Collin College Professor Lisa Means. The advanced studio course requires students to create a cohesive series of works while preparing for careers in commercial photography.
In addition to coursework and instructional guidance, students completed portfolio reviews with professional advisers from the Dallas-area photography industry, including creative directors, art directors, publishing editors, photographers and designers. Students also conducted mock client interviews and presented their work to potential clients.
Means assisted students in creating a personal website for their work, advised them on effective use of social media and collaborated with the Art Gallery at Collin College to curate and install the final exhibition.
Featured student artists include Josh Corley, Katherine Coronado, Lisa Dorman, Bernadette Dorzier, Macy Lucero, Brendan Murphy, Lydia Nitz, Joseline Ochoa Mazariegos, Yuridia Pedroza, Ayden Perez, Zoe Simons, Catherine Stewart, Ann Tigler, Vo Tran and Cole Webb.
The gallery is located at the Collin College Plano Campus, Room A175, 2800 E. Spring Creek Parkway. More information is available at the college’s website.
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]]>Health officials said all blood types are currently needed, with particular demand for O negative and O positive donations. O negative blood is especially critical because it is the only blood type used to treat premature and unborn babies, while O positive is often used for patients experiencing severe trauma and life-threatening bleeding injuries.
Wylie residents will also have an opportunity to help locally during an upcoming blood drive hosted by Wylie ISD in partnership with Carter BloodCare. The drive is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, June 24, aboard the Carter BloodCare bus at Wylie ISD, 951 S. Ballard Ave. Donation appointments are planned throughout the morning and early afternoon.
According to Carter BloodCare, donations help a wide range of patients, including individuals injured in serious traffic accidents, children undergoing cancer treatment, new mothers, burn patients, organ transplant recipients and older adults facing age-related health concerns.
Individuals may begin donating blood at age 16 with parental consent, while those 17 and older can donate independently. Donors also must weigh at least 110 pounds and be feeling well at the time of their appointment.
As an added incentive, everyone who donates blood with Carter BloodCare during June will receive an official 2026 beach towel while supplies last.
For additional information or to schedule an appointment, visit Carter BloodCare’s donor scheduling website.
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