What’s Happening in Copper Canyon – November 2010

By Sue Tejml

Mayor of copper Canyon

CONTENTS: (Hope this helps you find information that interests you. Sue)

Santa Party for Copper Canyon Kids

Council Chamber Roof in danger of Caving In

Various ways to Learn of Matters Concerning Copper Canyon

Recent Mail Thefts in Copper Canyon and Surrounding Area

Calling 911 for Dispatch of Law Enforcement Officers

Small 4 inch Silver “CC” bumper stickers identify vehicles of Town residents

Dani Beavers selected for Emerging Athletes Program for Hunter-Jumpers

Kim Cumings resigns after volunteering for 3 years as ESD#1 Secretary

Commissioner Bobbie Mitchell is Master of Ceremonies for FM 2499 Opening

Various Copper Canyon Road Construction Updates

Railroad “Quiet Zones”

Town Residents request Temporary Light at Jernigan & FM 407

Copper Canyon’s First Telephone Directory

Copper Canyon’s First Vendors Guide (limited ad space available)

Gift Certificates for Block Captains who first verify Accuracy of Resident

Data on public Directory Forms and confidential Watch Forms

Annual Santa Party for Copper Canyon Kids – Saturday December 11th, 5-7 p.m.At Town Hall.

Last year we had one of the best attended Copper Canyon Santa Party’s ever, with approximately 50 children plus their parents coming! Chairman Evangeline Farrar of the Woodlands and Co-Chairman Nita Humphreys of Chinn Chapel North subdivision did a wonderful job with the party – and with only ten days advance notice! We expect a delightful repeat performance this year. And residents can enjoy previewing our newly expanded space, which incorporates the recently renovated unused fire bay.

However, the unexpected multitude of children last year devoured the cookies and candy provided early on. So this year Evangeline and Nita are urgently requesting contributions of cookies or candy from ANY Copper Canyon residents who would like to generously help with the refreshments. You can bring the cookies and candy to Town Hall on Friday December 10th between 8:30 and 4 pm or to the party itself after 4:30 pm on Saturday. The Town will be providing hot cocoa, hot apple cider, and coffee for the parents.

The party this year will again have the very popular Christmas crafts for the children, souvenirs, and game prizes.

Rides atop the Fire Engine for Copper Canyon Children:

Argyle Fire Chief Mac Hohenberger will again be providing an initial ride for Santa (aka Larry Boltz) to ride atop the fire engine through all of the Woodlands Subdivision. Santa will be throwing candy to all our children who eagerly await him! Be ready to greet Santa around 5:00 p.m. on all the Woodlands streets Saturday, December 11th!

Afterwards at Town Hall, our volunteer firefighters Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Mangum, Brad Kokoran, and Will Travis will assist with loading our Town children atop the fire engine for multiple trips through the Woodlands. Rides atop the fire engine are always the MOST popular event for our Town kids! As a parent, please be sure your child has a warm jacket. On the rides up on top, the children are exposed to cold winds – even if the speed of the fire engine is necessarily somewhat “glacial” for the safety of the children. Chief Hohenberger confines the fire engine route to the interior streets of the Woodlands subdivision. For the safety of the children,the fire engine does not venture out onto our arterial roads where vehicle traffic is denser.

Many thanks again to the patience of our Town residents in the Woodlands, who good-naturedly do NOT complain about all the siren-blowing during the multiple fire engine trips through their neighborhood. (Maybe we should provide gratis ear plugs for these very kind and understanding adult residents.)

We would greatly appreciate any physically fit Copper Canyon Dads who would volunteer to lift kids and accompanying parents atop the fire engine. Please call Town Hall if you can help for 30 minutes to an hour from about 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Thanks to Volunteers for Again Decorating Town Hall for Christmas:

Many thanks to the Copper Canyon Women’s Club for again decorating Town Hall for Christmas and also assisting again at the Kids’ Santa Party. The “elf helpers” are Suzanne Boltz,Jean Chaka, LeeAnn Jernigan, Tina Lattanzio, Socie Lemke, and Rose Vickery. And thanks to Steve Koehler and his crew for setting up the indoor and outdoor Christmas trees and for putting our Christmas lights around Town Hall’s roof and porch columns.

A sincere “Thank You” to Copper Canyon Resident Mark Powell for Discovering and Correcting Structural Defect in Roof over our Council Chambers.

The Staff and I had wondered why the tiles in the suspended ceiling in the Council Chambers kept dropping out of the grid and why the front wall of the Chambers appeared to be leaning outward and creating a small crack at the ceiling. We run into a lot of surprise problems in a small town. But having the roof over the Council Chambers cave in was NOT one we had anticipated.

The Council Chambers were originally a thirty year old bay for fire engines. Six years ago the large, high ceilinged bay was converted into much needed meeting space. Apparently a necessary metal column for the support of the roof was inadvertently removed. Thus the unanticipated downward thrust from the now inadequately supported weight of the roof, the suspended ceiling, and insulation added under the roof to accommodate the additional heating and air conditioning equipment. The unsupported roof peak over the Council Chambers was creating downward thrust that had pulled allthe rafters loose from the supporting roof cross joists. The rafters were suspended 4-6 inches above the joists and totally unattached to the joists.

Fortunately, the Town had conservatively under spent its budget in this depressed economy. So, we had sufficient funds on hand to pay for the unexpected structural repair from the past fiscal year that just ended September 30th.

All is rebuilt and the engineers believe that the roof is now adequately supported by the massive new reinforced ceiling cross beam. Thank you, Mark, for discovering the serious structural defect before a disaster happened. And thank you for a lovely and professional renovation of the old fire bay. The additional space should receive a lot of community use, and the freed up space of the old conference room can be used for much needed on site file storage and work space.

How to learn of matters concerning Copper Canyon, including Road Openings and Closings in Town due to Construction.

(a)Email Alert: The fastest way to be informed is to log in to the Town Website: click on the icon “Email Alerts” on the left hand side of the homepage. You will be prompted to enter your email address. And you will be sent an email confirming your participation. Over 110 residents have asked to be emailed an alert of serious matters such as road closings and openings and the recent rash of mail thefts in Town.

(b)Town Website: Similar alerts are posted on the Town Website at Look at the top right of the home page for these updates – especially for road construction schedules.

(c) “What’s Happening in Copper Canyon”: Mayor Tejml’s article on Town specific news always begins on page 6 of the Cross Timbers Gazette. This 30 page monthly newspaper is delivered free to 25,000 homes in the area, including all homes in Copper Canyon. The monthly articles are also archived on the Town’s website under the “Mayor’s Corner” (top left side of the home page.) The current “What’s Happening in Copper Canyon” article is also posted monthly on the web site.

Mayor Tejml has been writing these lengthy monthly articles for the last five years. The Gazette does not charge Copper Canyon for the newspaper space nor pay Mayor Tejml for the article.

(d)Neighborhood Watch: If you have provided your Block Captain with your email address and preferred telephone number, they will alert you to any unusual event pertaining to safety or criminal activity in Town. The Block Captains for each street in Town are listed on the website under Neighborhood Watch. Or you may call Town Hall (940) 241-2677 and ask for the contact information for your specific Block Captain.

(e)Electronic Road Signs: One option for notifying residents of the imminent opening and closing of roads is an electric on-site portable billboard. However, these signs are very expensive to rent – approximately $3,000 to $4,000 for a week’s use. Some signs are battery powered, but some require a nearby source of electricity. To maximize road construction from our bond funds and minimize extra costs, contractors were not required to provide electronic sign boards in any of our currently awarded road bids. The contractors are required to put flyers at the front door of affected homes to notify homeowners in advance of any construction on their street.

Recent Thefts from Mailboxes in Copper Canyon:

Susan Christy first noticed a lot of mail thrown randomly into Poindexter Creek from the Hidden Creek Bridge. The mail could not be seen from a vehicle passing over the bridge, but it is readily apparent to someone walking over the bridge. Many thanks to her husband Councilmember Dan Christy for climbing down into the creek bed and retrieving many of the first class soggy envelopes.

The next two Wednesdays, mail was found thrown away again. (Wednesday is the day that many commercial flyers are included with the first class mail. We don’t know if this is just co-incidental or part of the pattern of mail thefts.) Two of the Copper Canyon residents with mail in the creek were out of town. Dave and Susan Mullins had an unsolicited credit card, received in the mail, activated while they were out of town. Over $300 of unauthorized charges were made in their name on that card in Carrollton. So, if you are leaving Town, please have your mail held at the post office. Otherwise, please remove your mail from your mailbox as soon as possibleafter it is delivered.

Mail was evidently taken from mailboxes at three homes on East Woodglen Drive, three homes on Copper Woods Drive, and a home on Jernigan Road. Several pieces of mail were addressed to Carruth Estates residents in Double Oak. We’re not sure how long the mailbox thefts have been going on, but some residents have noticed that on some days they receive no mail at all – which is in itself unusual. And some residents have discovered that regular monthly bills are missing. To date, most the mail thefts appear to be on the routes in the south and east of Town that are serviced by the Flower Mound/Lewisville post office. So far, the Town has received few complaints from the north and west sides of Town that are serviced from the Argyle post office. Mail was found at the bottom of a dumpster being used by a clean-up crew for the home that burned north of Orchid Hill.

CALL 911 FIRST! If you notice anyone suspicious taking mail from a mailbox, call 911 first. This is the fastest most efficient way to dispatch the closest law enforcement officer in the area. That officer could be one of our dedicated Sheriff’s officers (if on duty), or a mutual aid response from apolice officer from a nearby town. Don’t hang up; stay on the phone; if possible provide any details.

Note Description of Vehicle, Driver and any Passenger. Note the direction the vehicle came from and goes; color; type (2 door, 4 door, hatchback, van, pickup, etc.). The most valuable observation is the licenseplate. Even a partial number helps or if the plate is from Texas or out of state. Note if the driver is male or female; white, black or Hispanic; teen, middle-aged, senior citizen; long or short hair, color of shirt or top; and any unusual characteristic. If there is a passenger, try to observe the same details.

Copper Canyon “CC” Silver Bumper Stickers. If you can see the rear bumper of the vehicle, note if it has the four inch square silver reflective bumper sticker with the Copper Canyon “CC” logo on it. These bumper stickers identify the vehicles of Town residents. You can get a bumper sticker for each of your vehicles and trailers from your Block Captain or from Town Hall. Present your driver’s license to verify the address of your home.

Then please call or email Town Hall and the Mayor.

After you complete your 911 call, it would be appreciated if you would then please call or email the Town Administrator Donna Welsh ( (940) 241-2677 Ext 3) and copy Mayor Sue Tejml (, (940) 241-2216.) This expedites the Mayor alerting all the Block Captains, especially ones in the immediate area of the apparent mail theft. And Town Hall will usually immediately post an alert on the home page of the Town web site. In addition, over 100 residents have also specifically asked Town Hall to send a special email alert of certain conditions, and a possible current mail theft in progress would be one of those conditions.

Neither 911 Dispatch, nor the responding law enforcement officer, is responsible for alerting Town Hall or the Mayor or the Block Captains of a possible crime in progress or after any arrest is completed. Nor should they be. The Town is responsible for alerting the Neighborhood Watch through the Block Captains. The Town Administrator can obtain a copy of the offense report later, but only if the TA knows that an offense has been committed.

Tampering with mail is a federal offense and the relevant United States Postal Inspector is investigating. However, Denton County Chief Deputy Lee Howell has been very vigilant in forwarding retrieved mail to the postalinspector, and we do appreciate all his efforts and that of the Sheriff’s deputies he has provided to help with the problem.

Dani Beavers selected for Emerging Athletes Program of the United States Hunter Jumper Association

Dani Beavers, age 19, has grown up in Copper Canyon with her parents Gary and Jan Beavers and sister Rachel Beavers. Dani’s equestrian passion is jumping and her goal is ultimately to qualify for the United States Olympic team. To this end, she has competed across the country and participated in intensive training sessions in Germany.

Dani is one of only twelve top riders to be selected for the National Level of the USHJA’s Emerging Athletes Program (EAP.) She was selected after two rounds of training clinics with over 200 riders contending for the honor. Melanie Smith Taylor, lead clinician of the EAP, shared the difficulty of determining what riders to move to the next level. “Whittling down the wonderful group of 2010 applicants for the EAP to only 12 finalists was a difficult task. But I look forward to watching as this select group continues to learn and grow in their pursuit of excellence as complete horsemen.” (USHJA E-Update, November 3, 2010.)

Congratulations, Dani, on an honor well deserved after all your dedication and hard work. May your Olympic dreams come true!

Town Resident Kim Cumings Resigns from the Board of ESD#1

Kim Cumings has been a member of the Board of our Emergency Services District #1, since the voters of Copper Canyon and Denton County approved ESD#1 three years ago. There are many ESDs in the State of Texas, but ours is the first in Denton County. The residents of Copper Canyon, Bartonville, Argyle, Corral City, Northlake, and unincorporated areas like Canyon Oaks realized that they had to band together to be able to afford effective fire and emergency medical services. There was a lengthy pre-election campaign to educate the affected residents, but it paid off with a sizeable majority of the eligible voters approving the creation of our ESD.

Kim has been the Secretary of our ESD#1 Board since its formation and volunteered countless hours to the requirements of that position. Our sincere thanks, Kim, for your personal contribution to the safety and wellbeing of your neighbors and others in our ESD area.

Ribbon cutting on Saturday, October 30th for Opening of four lanes of FM 2499 From FM 407 in Flower Mound to FM 2181in Corinth

Denton County Commissioner Bobbie Mitchell has worked diligentlyto relieve the traffic congestion resulting from multiple road construction projects in our area. The official ribbon cutting for the opening of all four lanes of FM 2499 from Flower Mound to Corinth was on Saturday October 30. A festive crowd attended with many reminiscing over the hurdles that had to be overcome before the road became a reality. The level of difficulty was great, considering FM 2499 has been in the planning stage for almost 25 years.