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INSIDE TODAY
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ALSO INSIDE
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Denton Record-Chronicle
An edition of The Dallas Morning News
Vol. 106, No. 275 / 16 pages, 3 sections Tuesday, May 4, 2010 Denton, Texas

DentonRC.com
50 cents

Lone voter to decide on MUD
Man has sole say on forming taxing district
By Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe
Staff Writer Denton Record-Chronicle/Barron Ludlum

The official election notice for Denton County Municipal Utility District No. 7 hangs on a gate last week in front of Alan Lesselyong’s residence on FM1385 in northeastern Denton County. Lesselyong is the only person registered to vote Saturday on forming the new municipal utility district.

PILOT POINT — Alan John Lesselyong is the only registered voter in Precinct 101-24. For the general election Saturday, he’ll cast the sole ballot to form a new municipal utility district with eminent domain powers, issue nearly $400 million in bonds, set a tax rate of $1 per $100 valuation and name five other men to run the district. The cost of the election: $1,437.37.

The Texas Legislature authorized special taxing districts years ago to spark economic development for poor, rural counties. Rural landowners could create the districts and vote for infrastructure improvements. But in recent years, the districts have become a favored financing tool for developers of large tracts of land, particularly near Austin, near Houston and, increasingly, in Denton County. To comply with the law, developers must bring in at least one short-term resident to vote in the districts. The short-term resident, in turn, approves millions in bonds and See MUD on 3A

TODAY IN DENTON

Contemplation and action

Sunny High: 88 Low: 53 Weather report, 2A

Values down by a billion dollars
County’s preliminary figures show drop in property appraisals
By Bj Lewis
Staff Writer

OPEN HOUSE AT CLINIC
Health Services of North Texas will hold a Cinco de Mayo open house from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday to celebrate the grand opening and new location of its health center at 4310 Mesa Drive in Denton. Visitors can tour the facility and meet the staff and directors of Health Services of North Texas, which was formed when AIDS Services of North Texas and the People’s Clinic joined forces, said executive director Ronald G. Aldridge. Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served. For more information, call 940-381-1501.

Denton Record-Chronicle/David Minton

Calhoun Middle School student Caty Hassell makes her move against Strickland Middle School student Kyler Daniels, while behind them Strickland student Andrew Adams moves against classmate William Root on Saturday at Strickland. Strickland defended its title Saturday at the Denton school district’s fifth annual middle school chess tournament. Strickland finished with a combined score of 18.5 points with seven players, while Calhoun earned a combined score of 9.5 points with six players. Individual winners, all eighth-graders from Strickland, were William Root, first place; and Andrew Adams and Christina Glasschroeder, tied for second and third places.

VOLUNTEER EXPO TODAY
Interested in volunteering or serving on a nonprofit board? Stop by the volunteer and nonprofit board expo from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. today at Quality Inn and Suites, 1500 Dallas Drive. The Leadership Denton Alumni Association and United Way of Denton County’s Project Blueprint are hosting the event for people to learn more about nonprofits in the Denton area. For information, call 940391-5336.

Man indicted in daughter’s death
Blunt force trauma killed 15-month-old
By Donna Fielder
Staff Writer

A Denton man has been indicted on a murder charge in connection with the beating death of his 15-month-old daughter. Jeffery Jordan, 27, is free on $20,000 bail on the indictment issued Thursday. Bail was continued at the same amount from his Dec. 23 arrest on a charge of felony injury to a child. Grand

jurors chose to indict Jordan on the murder charge, though penalties are the same on each charge. The child’s Jordan mother, Shawna Rose Caldwell, 23, remains free on $20,000 bail issued after her arrest at the same time as her boyfriend. No trial date has been set. First Assistant District Attorney Jamie Beck said Caldwell’s case is still pending.

“Charges against her have not been dropped, and her case has not been presented to a grand jury at this time,” Beck said Monday. On Aug. 18, police responded to a 911 call about noon. The caller, an apartment manager, said a tenant’s baby was not breathing. Paramedics took the baby, Trinity Jordan, to a local hospital, and Jeffery Jordan rode in the ambulance. Caldwell, who had been shopping, also went to the hospital. The child was declared dead on arrival.

According to the medical examiner, she died of blunt force trauma to the abdomen. According to police, Jordan was baby-sitting the manager’s three children, ages 14, 8 and 6. The children said he arrived about 9:30 a.m. carrying the child as though she were an infant. They told police that she could not hold her head up, though she normally could and was beginning to walk. They said Jordan told them the baby was sick. See DEATH on 5A

The value of property in Denton County has dropped by a little more than $1 billion since last year, according to preliminary numbers from Denton Central Appraisal District. While many city and county officials have seen the numbers, preliminary tax appraisals will be sent out to county residents starting Wednesday. The appraisal district’s preliminary estimates value the property countywide at $54.4 billion, not including mineral property. Rudy Durham, deputy chief appraiser, said formal protests from residents will affect the final numbers from the appraisal district. “It probably will go down from this point,” he said. Residents will have 30 days from the day notices are mailed out to protest their appraisals. The due date is June 4 for the first batch. In each notice, there is a form for residents to fill out and send back to the appraisal district if they wish to protest their appraisal. Officials review the form and notify the resident of the time and date of the hearing. If a resident doesn’t agree with the appraisal review board’s final decision, the matter could go to arbitration or district court. Durham said residents can See APPRAISALS on 3A

FIND IT INSIDE
CLASSIFIED COMICS CROSSWORDS DEAR ABBY DEATHS OPINION SPORTS TELEVISION WEATHER 1C 6C 3C, 6C 3A 5A 4A 1B 4B 2A

Modest spending continues in Denton campaigns
By Lowell Brown
Staff Writer

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Most Denton City Council candidates continue to spend modestly on their campaigns, according to the latest campaign finance reports. Five candidates for three council places combined to spend about $15,000 in the latest reporting period, which covered most of April. The other three candidates failed to file reports by the Friday deadline but had spent little or nothing

May 8, 2010
in the prior reporting period. The city election Saturday could decide races for mayor and two at-large council places. Early voting ends today. In the latest finance reports, most of the spending was reported by James King, one of four active candidates for the

Place 6 seat Joe Mulroy is leaving because of term limits. King, an insurance agent, reported $10,673.67 in spending at a local marketing and promotions company. Place 6 candidate Hatice I. Salih, a meat market owner, outspent her opponents in the prior reporting period, which covered activity from Jan. 1 to March 29. She reported the secondhighest spending total in the Place 6 race in April, with just more than $2,500. Place 6 hopefuls Eric Mach, a rental

property owner, and Phil Kregel, a real estate buyer’s agent, did not file reports before the Friday deadline. Reached by phone Monday, both candidates said they still planned to file. Kregel said he’d probably spent less than $1,000; Mach said he’d spent about $20, on name tags and paper. In the mayor’s race, first-term incumbent Mark Burroughs, a lawyer, reported See SPENDING on 5A

Denton Record-Chronicle

LOCAL/ENTERTAINMENT
TAXABLE VALUES
Here is a comparison of the 2009 and 2010 preliminary net taxable values for several Denton County cities and school districts. Property owners have 30 days after they receive their appraisals to protest. Final values will be released in July. The 2010 figures includes partial oil/gas totals. TAXING ENTITY 2009 PRELIM. 2010 PRELIM. CHANGE Denton $7,045,603,825 $6,633,555,472 -6% Argyle $417,390,892 $418,682,452 0% Aubrey $134,986,531 $128,467,328 -5% Bartonville $244,962,994 $243,740,421 0% Copper Canyon $168,264,391 $170,586,062 1% Corinth $1,456,205,385 $1,390,325,582 -5% Cross Roads $179,691,745 $161,942,814 -10% Dish $13,136,399 $30,061,337 129% Double Oak $347,617,137 $341,230,586 -2% Hickory Creek $324,887,446 $313,031,096 -4% Highland Village $1,743,560,226 $1,702,541,235 -2% Krugerville $104,438,291 $100,852,978 -3% Krum $191,574,911 $205,964,766 8% Lake Dallas $345,047,546 $329,295,325 -5% Little Elm $1,617,611,308 $1,565,519,425 -3% Pilot Point $200,776,688 $200,035,068 0% Ponder $75,871,449 $112,271,035 48% Sanger $374,586,179 $379,590,472 1% Shady Shores $213,846,546 $210,245,004 -2% Oak Point $259,609,477 $261,390,660 1% Prosper $18,033,235 $34,423,601 91% Denton County $55,132,454,342 $54,433,689,845 -1% Denton ISD $10,305,171,084 Argyle ISD $1,059,200,271 Aubrey ISD $573,722,397 Krum ISD $401,438,412 Lake Dallas ISD $1,351,981,413 Little Elm ISD $1,821,572,604 Pilot Point ISD $427,572,423 Ponder ISD $292,286,708 Sanger ISD $735,921,470 Prosper ISD $56,375,311 $9,986,185,886 $1,088,996,574 $548,513,636 $621,160,249 $1,280,323,353 $1,773,531,661 $432,524,091 $791,350,417 $743,098,071 $57,362,073 -3% 3% -4% 55% -5% -3% 1% 171% 1% 2%

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

3A

From Page 1A

Appraisals

BRIEFLY
IN THE AREA
Krum

come at any time to talk to appraisal district officials informally, but that process could take some time depending on how busy the office is. Calling ahead will help, he said. Residents can call ahead and get placed on a list. If they arrive at the district office and their name has been called, they will be moved to the top of the list. “It doesn’t speed up the process, but at least they don’t spend idle time in here,” Durham said. The Denton Central Appraisal District protest line is 940-349-3850. The district is mailing 236,000 notices this month and 100,000 more in the next 30 days. Of these, 50.2 percent of the appraisals went down while 16 percent stayed the same and 33.8 percent rose by a dollar or more. While most residents are looking to lower their appraisals, in some cases the appraisals are increased due to district errors. “For every one that comes in to raise the value, there’s a 100 who want to lower it,” Durham said. Though the district does not have this year’s oil and gas valuations yet, officials did some guesswork using oil and gas numbers from last year. If the actual numbers come in higher, the county total could increase or decrease. “It’s so volatile, we’re not even sure yet,” Durham said. He said the numbers indicate so far that the market is flat to down, with commercial property suffering the most. Durham did say that officials were hearing from real estate brokers that the market appears to be in a slight rebound. The question is how much of that was due to the income tax credit that expired Friday. “It may have been a little bubble; we’ll know that in 30

Registration set for kindergarten today

The Krum school district will register for kindergarten chil-

dren who will be 5 years old by Sept. 1. Registration will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. today at the Krum Early Education Center, 1513 Sequoia Drive. For enrollment packets, visit more than $198 million in road bonds. Lesselyong offered few specifics on what was planned for the district, which incorporates more than 1,000 acres of the Shiney Hiney ranch, less than a mile north of the FM428 and FM1385 intersection. “I assume the development to be like others in the area,” he said, naming Savannah and Providence Village. Providence Village residents have their own proposition Saturday whether to become a city. Organizers say problems with “government by developer,” including inadequate public safety provisions and an undue tax burden, spurred their desire to incorporate. Lesselyong was not sure whether he would live there after development began. “As of yet, that’s undetermined,” he said. Proposition 4 provides for a levy of $1 per $100 property valuation in the district. Angela Stepherson, a lawyer working the election for the Dallas firm Coats/Rose, said the development would likely contain homes with “some light commercial.” The district was created through legislation sponsored by state Rep. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, and state Sen. Craig Estes, RWichita Falls, citing the county’s fast growth as a need for the district. Population growth has flattened in the past two years, particularly in northeastern Denton County, with many cities seeing falling property valuations this year. Some are planning on decreases for the foreseeable future. Denton County Commissioner Hugh Coleman said he opposed new special taxing districts for Precinct 1 during the last legislative session. He questioned the prudence of more tax-supported development.

www.krumisd.net/ecc. Parents must provide immunization records, two forms of ID and proof of residency. For more information, visit the EEC website or call 940-482-2605. “The last thing we need to do is subsidize homebuilders,” Coleman said. Five men are on the ballot for the MUD’s board of directors — Keith E. Koop, Truman M. Wolf, David A. McGee, Gary Ray Lee Jr. and David Keith Bennett — although Lesselyong has the option to write in another name for five slots. The ranch was not in any city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction when Gov. Rick Perry signed the bill forming the district in June 2007, Stepherson said. SHDC Partners Ltd. was on the agenda for the city of Pilot Point on Monday night, asking that the property be annexed into Pilot Point’s extraterritorial jurisdiction. Pilot Point entered into a similar agreement with the developers of Talley Ranch, spurring a long-running dispute with Celina. That city claimed Pilot Point’s development agreements were too lax, and would adversely affect orderly growth in the area. City Attorney Andy Messer said the city’s basic agreement with SHDC Partners includes the city’s subdivision regulations, which were not in the Talley Ranch agreement. In addition, “any sales tax generated in the district goes to the city,” Messer said. Area cities have been increasing their demands on developers using special taxing districts in their ETJs in recent years, but many of the agreements inked in 2006, or earlier, remain on paper only, including special taxing districts planned for Sanger and Argyle, and Talley Ranch. In 2006, Talley Ranch representatives said development of that 4,000-acre property would begin in its southern sector in 2008. PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-5666881.

From Page 1A

MUD

days. If the market keeps going up, it wasn’t just tax credit,” Durham said. “It’s one of those deals we’ll know when everyone else does, when the market switches around.” County Judge Mary Horn held her usual stance on the preliminary numbers and cautioned against figuring tax rates with such numbers, as some do. “I don’t start computing until the real numbers come in,” she said. Horn did say that the picture county officials are getting is not pretty. “It’s going to be pretty dis-

mal,” she said. “We all see the big picture coming down the line, but we don’t know how bad it’s going to be yet with the value of most everything gone down, especially commercial. Our gas and oil values are way down, which will hurt the school districts.” The information is interesting, Horn said, but it’s still too early to make assumptions — “other than it will be another tough year,” she said. “It seems like they all get tougher every year.” BJ LEWIS can be reached at 940-566-6875.

Complaint triggers firing
Dear Abby: My wife was hired for an administrative position. On her first day of work, they called her into the human resources director’s office and told her she was being “let go” because of her website. The site has photos of her when she worked as a model for a large department store. They are in no way provocative or overly revealing. Photos of our children are also on the site. The HR director told her that one of the other (internal) applicants had Googled her and had seen the site. An image so upset the other applicant that she made a formal complaint, which caused my wife’s dismissal! We consulted a lawyer and contacted the local Equal Employment Opportunity Commission only to be told that North Carolina is an “at will” employment state and that the employer did nothing wrong. We feel their actions were wrong. Is there anything that can be done? Yankee in Confederate Country Dear Yankee: I’m sorry, but the answer is no. In most states there is a presumption of “at will” employment unless you have a written contract to the contrary. However, the employer cannot terminate an employee for an illegal reason — such as age, religion, gender, sexual orientation or a disability. It does not appear from your letter that your wife was terminated for an illegal reason, but what happened stinks anyway. Dear Abby: My mother got drunk at a family function and started a fight with me. I ended up leaving before it could escalate, but I feel I ruined the host’s day. Would it be appropriate to send an “I’m sorry” note, and how would I word it? Making Amends in Tennessee Dear Making Amends: The person making the amends should be the person who created the scene — your mother. If you feel something needs to be said by you, and apparently you do, then write your host and say, “I feel terrible about what happened at your party and would like to apologize for

HOROSCOPE
BY JACQUELINE BIGAR
ARIES (March 21-April 19) #### Don’t assume it is business as usual. Some have put on war paint. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) ##### Detach, especially if you feel that someone might be tripping you up. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) #### Refuse to get into a “told you so” conversation. CANCER (June 21-July 22) ##### Others could make commitments involving you. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) #### Dive into work knowing that things will be changing. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) #### Think of yourself as full of creative solutions. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) ### Remain in your comfort zone. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) #### You are forceful. Maintain a quiet sense of humor. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) ### Be aware of the push and pull of a key situation. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) ### You have a lot to think about. Investigate your options. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) ### Handle a personal matter that could be tossed into your lap. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) #### Use the daylight hours to the max. Tonight: Think “rest.” — King Features Syndicate

the future taxation of thousands of homeowners. Lesselyong, 30, moved into a trailer home on FM1385 in northeastern Denton County about a month ago, he said. According to county election records, he registered to vote on March 29. Since 2006, he was registered to vote at an apartment on Forest Park in Dallas, where Lesselyong said he’s kept a mailing address. He’s using the quiet time in the trailer to work on his website for a new bio-banking business, he said. Until recently, Lesselyong was pursuing a doctorate at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. He is interested in stem cell research for people with psychiatric disorders. “I ran into funding difficulties,” Lesselyong said, adding that he believes there will be alternate funding for his work at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he hopes to complete a Ph.D. in neuroscience. Lesselyong declined to offer specifics on how he was presented with the opportunity to be involved in the election needs of Denton County Municipal Utility District No. 7 — only that when it was, he took advantage of it. For Proposition 1, Lesselyong will vote either “for” or “against” the measure simply described as “district.” Lesselyong said he understood the election to be about funding. “The election is for the [developer’s] right to fund the municipal utility district until development begins,” he said. Proposition 2 provides for nearly $173 million in bonds to pay for water and sewer lines, as well as organization and administration of the district. Proposition 3 provides for

Dear Abby
my mother’s behavior. I left before she could create a scene, but I’m afraid it cast a shadow on your day, and for that I would like to apologize.” Sign it with love. P.S. You’ll lead a happier life if you stop feeling that you have to apologize for your mother’s behavior. You are responsible only for your own. Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
— Universal Press Syndicate

TO SALUTE YOUR HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR
in the Denton Record-Chronicle’s annual Graduation section which contains over 1,700 photos of graduating seniors from 13 high schools in Denton and surrounding area.

LAST CHANCE

Published Friday, May 28

Deadline: May 7, 2010
Only $42.50!
Chris Johnson
Ryan High School

Prayer on the Square Noon – 1 pm Family Festival (N. TX Fairgrounds) 6:30 – 8 pm

We are so proud of you and we wish you the best life has to offer.
Love, Mom, Dad and Jackson

ACTUAL SIZE (Larger sizes available upon request)

To Salute Your High School Senior, contact Linda Horne at 940-566-6851 or [email protected]

Denton Record-Chronicle
www.DentonRC.com
ED
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