By Karen Chaney

The annual Murphy State of the Parks Tour was held November 19th. Attending this event were seven members of the Parks board, seven members of the 4B board, City council representatives and Kim Lenoir, Director of Parks and Public Works.
In previous years the tour went to each Murphy Park but this year the group focused on three exciting projects. Timbers Nature Preserve Park (Bunny Run), which is connected to City Park in The Timbers neighborhood, was one stop on the tour where future building plans were discussed. Another stop was a tour of the Murphy Community Center, slated to open its door in the spring of 2012. Rounding out the tour was a hike down by Maxwell Creek at the Preserve at Maxwell Creek Trails which is located behind Kimbrough Stadium and Murphy Middle School.
Murphy resident and City Council member Dennis Richmond provided an onsite status report of the Preserve at Maxwell Creek. This past summer his Wylie based company RiverValley Eco Services became Friends of the Parks and undertook the goal of making the preserve “look like it was intended (to look).” Richmond said that he wants to make the signs that list what is growing there a reality. A five foot apron of Buffalo grass and Blue grama surround the interior of the walkway which is intended to have short vertical growth leading into the area’s center of native Blackland prairie mix. Bluebonnets and other wildflowers have been planted and are starting to pop their heads out of the soil (note: this might be a good place to check out in the spring for bluebonnet photos). The drought experienced this past summer was tough on germination; Richmond anticipates replanting a portion of the grass and flowers. Even though an irrigation system is in place at the Preserve at Maxwell Creek, Richmond states that is a poor substitute for rain. In addition to the drought obstacle, Richmond and his team fought a battle with Bermuda grass. Richmond enjoys sharing his knowledge of native grasses and flowers coupled with the manpower to enhance the beauty of Murphy’s parks.
Accompanying the growing Blackland prairie grass area is another successful Murphy resident volunteer project. Parks board member Brian Jones pioneered a trail that would allow closer access to Maxwell Creek. Growing up in Pennsylvania and Colorado, Jones fondly recalls childhood nature hikes. He has three children and wanted a nearby place to go hiking with them. Seeing the potential that Maxwell Creek offers he approached Kim Lenoir and the parks board with his dream and was given the go ahead. Jones, with the help of Richmond and members from Richmond’s church The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints Plano Fifth Ward, cut a trail that leads to an adventurous nature walk.

Arriving at the Preserve at Maxwell Creek Trails you will find plenty of concrete parking, listening you will hear quite a bit of traffic noise travelling along Murphy Road. However, traverse this new trail into the preserve, down by the creek and your audible senses will be steeped in rustling leaves, flowing water and bird song. Visually enjoy the lack of concrete and abundance of nature. This is a great place to explore, jump the creek and explore some more. (Note: wear rain boots if you have them and bring newspaper to place your boots on when you return to your car.)

Looking into 2012, Kim Lenoir enthusiastically points out that Murphy Central Park will begin bidding in the spring, park trails are continually being expanded to connect to each other and Liberty Ridge Park in Rolling Ridge will undergo improvements. The revisions are slated to begin in January with a three month estimated completion time. Included in the change are a new pavilion, larger playground, a grade down to the water’s edge and the addition of a fishing pier. (Liberty Ridge Park is located at 201 Rolling Ridge.)

Santa! Fire Chief Lee’s friend from up north is coming for a visit! Starting on December 12th Santa Claus will be touring our town! He will be riding on top of the Murphy Fire Department fire engine waving to all of his friends and passing out candy. The tour will begin in the Northwest section of Murphy in the Rolling Ridge neighborhood and travel south east until he has had a chance to see all of Murphy. Santa anticipates taking about five nights to tour Murphy, however, if the fire truck and firefighters are needed for an emergency he might take a little longer. Start listening between 5:30 and 8:00pm for the toot of the fire truck’s siren and horn, then come on out and see Santa in your very own neighborhood. (Santa’s nightly schedule will be updated on the City of Murphy’s facebook page)
Fire Department Drive-Thru Toy Drive

Christmas Fire Safety
The top three Christmas fire safety issues concern candles, decorations and cooking. Chief Lee cautions to keep candles away from decorations and other flammable items. Some things that are beautiful, such as a candle in a bowl surrounded by potpourri can lead to an ugly disaster. Always verify that candles are put out before going to bed or leaving your house.
Regarding Christmas lights make sure they have the label of an independent testing laboratory on the box before buying or using them. Never connect more strands of lights beyond the recommended label on the lights package.
Always stay in the kitchen when you are using the stove.
First Rate Fire Fighters Attributes
Integrity is the descriptive Chief Lee affirms as the paramount characteristic a fire fighter must possess. Along with integrity, which by definition means an “adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty” comes the ability to distinguish the right action and the ability to perform that action under difficult times. Chief Lee gives the example of a grandparent handing a fire fighter their grandchild to take care of at a house fire – in that instant the grandparent must trust that the fire fighter has a history of integrity.
Another attribute of a successful fire fighter is a servant’s mentality, Chief Lee explains, “this is a service occupation.” Jokingly Chief Lee shares a quote “People who are sane run out of a burning building, firefighters run into burning buildings.” Chief Lee summarizes the mentality of a fire fighter by saying, “Fearing the dangerous power of fire triggers the courage to fight the fire.”

By Karen Chaney

On Sept. 2nd Murphy Police Chief Cox, Lieutenant Adana Barber, Officer Aaron McCarty and (ACO) Animal Control Officer Tammy Drake took an educational tour of In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue & Educational Center. Under the direction of Chief Cox, the police department is undergoing extensive research in preparation for any future wildlife trappings in Murphy.

While on the tour, guided by In-Sync Exotics volunteer Ricki Hart, the important role of the Wylie wildlife rescue facility was explained. Hart discussed the heartbreaking stories of abuse that hide behind each set of gorgeous eyes gazing back at visitors. She also described known active animal abuse cases that they can do nothing about at the moment.

Animal Control Officer Tammy Drake asked about the amount of animals that have come to In-Sync Exotics via calls from the area, and Hart replied there have been about five or six. Chief Cox inquired as to what happens to the animals that are brought to In-Sync Exotics from the community. Hart replied that the founder/president/owner, Vicky Keahey, may choose to put the animal through rehabilitation and then relocate it, or of the rehab does not work, the animal may stay at In-Sync or be sent to a different safe place. The sentiment imparted from Hart in reference to future wildlife trappings in Murphy was, “Call us and we’ll come get them.”

Chief Cox’s current stance on his relationship with In-Sync Exotics is as follows: “Whether we notify them (In-Sync Exotics) will depend upon the type of animal trapped and the experience level of the ACO. I believe that ACO Drake can handle most common wildlife that we may encounter; however, we will not hesitate to ask for help if we need it.”

Taking into consideration the Plano Animal Control policy of not setting traps for wildlife but “relying on professional trappers to bait and trap wildlife” as an option for Murphy, Chief Cox stated that, “We have utilized trappers I understand in the past, and I am sure, given the right set of circumstances, we would do so again.”

The touring group from the Murphy P.D. also visited the Plano Living Materials Center. Chief Cox summarized this tour by saying “They (Plano Living Materials Center) do not come into the field to help people. That is good to know. They gave great advice and offered whatever assistance they could if we needed them.” Chief Cox also reports that the Murphy Police Department representatives were given “… a good tip about calming a trapped bobcat: put a blanket over the cage, if possible – if a cat thinks it is in the dark and can’t be seen, it will calm down. Nice to know.”

A temporary policy has been put in place by Chief Cox: “Until I can finalize the procedures that we will follow in future situations, we will not utilize a firearm to euthanize a caged animal unless there are serious, obvious, justifications for it and then only after at least one member of the command staff has been consulted. The only exception to this temporary policy is that the ACO may euthanize a high risk animal, such as a bat or skunk, on scene, utilizing the most humane method of euthanasia. Any other means of putting an animal down, will require command staff input.”

Pictured left to right: In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue & Educational Center volunteer Ricki Hart, ACO Tammy Drake, Officer Aaron McCarty, Lieutenant Adana Barber and Police Chief G.M. Cox.

By Karen Chaney

Two months ago Andrew and Christine Smith started seeing a bobcat going back and forth through their Starlight Drive back yard in Murphy. They typically saw it around sunset. The Smith’s own a small dog which they never let into their backyard without supervision because their backyard is fenced on only three sides and they didn’t want Pugsly to run away.

The day Mrs. Smith saw the bobcat in their backyard she was watering her tomato plants, Puglsy was outside with her. She saw the bobcat in the corner of the yard and he appeared to be stalking her dog. She called for her dog to come to her, he wouldn’t come to her because he thought he was in trouble. She had to walk to him, consequently walking towards the bobcat. Mrs. Smith said she felt panic and “irrational fear for herself” while doing this. She had heard there had been bobcat  sightings in her neighborhood and when she saw the bobcat this close it made her nervous.

Mrs. Smith called 911 and was eventually transferred to the Murphy Police Department. A police officer came to their house and told them if the bobcat was trapped, it would be taken to East Texas and released. Animal Control Officer (ACO) Tammy Drake came out with a  tranquilizer dart gun. Unsuccessful with the dart gun she left a trap in the Smith’s backyard about two or three weeks ago.

Over the previous two to three weeks multiple animals have been trapped in that trap – an armadillo, possum and raccoon. Officer Drake came to their house, asked if they would like the animals removed from their property or just let out. Each time The Smith’s said to let them out.

Officer Drake confirmed the fact that if/when the bobcat was trapped they would release it somewhere in East Texas. So with thoughts of the bobcat no longer “stalking” their Pugsly and other neighborhood small pets they continued baiting the trap. In their minds the bobcat would be going to a nicer home in East Texas when it was trapped, so that would be good for all creatures involved.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith frequently checked the trap because with the hot summer we have been having they did not want an animal trapped without shade or water. Wednesday, August 17th at approximately 9:30am the Smith’s were surprised to see the bobcat in the trap. They had used a whole fish as bait on Tuesday night. They called animal control, but there was no answer (because Officer Drake was on vacation) so they called the non-emergency police number. Surprise that the bobcat was caught was expressed by the police.

Within forty-five minutes the stand-in Animal Control Officer (ACO) arrived at the Smith’s house. The ACO told the Smith’s on arrival that Murphy cannot relocate the bobcat since the city was not licensed to relocate through the Parks and Wildlife Dept. The ACO said that she would try to sedate and euthanize the bobcat and if that didn’t work they might have to shoot it.

Mrs. Smith said they had “never, ever been told that euthanasia was an option.” If they had been told that, they would not have agreed to the trap.  They pictured trapping the bobcat and it being transferred to a nice place in East Texas.

The stand-in ACO was trying to sedate the bobcat when a Murphy police officer arrived. Mrs. Smith went outside to direct him to the bobcat and ACO. Then Mrs. Smith went back inside with her husband and continued to watch from a window.

The ACO was on the left side of the trap with a syringe trying to sedate the bobcat. The police officer was on the other side kicking the cage, yelling and stomping the ground. At that time the bobcat became aggressive – inside the cage.

The Smith’s watched the officer pull his gun in and out of his holster repeatedly. The Smith’s speculate that the ACO couldn’t sedate the bobcat.  The officer pulls his gun out, puts it near the cage and pulls the trigger. He killed the bobcat with one shot.

Mr. Smith believes the shot went through his head because he saw no other holes in the body and blood was coming from the bobcat’s nose.

The ACO and officer carried the trap through the yard, (the blood stain is still visible), and over the driveway leaving a blood trail that Mr. Smith cleaned up himself. The trap containing the body of the bobcat was loaded into the truck and the officers left, never coming back to talk to the Smiths about what just happened.

The Smith’s feel that if Officer Drake had been on duty the day the bobcat was trapped that this entire event would have had a different ending. They believe that the bobcat would have been brought to East Texas and released to live another day.

If they had this day to do over Mrs. Smith says she would call In-Sync Exotics (972-442-6888) to come and pick up the bobcat. Mr. Smith says he would have loaded the trap into the back of his truck and brought it to a safe place and released it himself. They both said that the trap was a humane trap and they felt like they could have easily picked it up without any danger to themselves.

Mrs. Smith expressed having feelings of guilt, sadness and anger after the bobcat was shot in her backyard. She now has hope that the City of Murphy will change their policies and that this will never happen again.

Murphy Police Department, Chief GM Cox takes full responsibility for what happened. He reports that the stand-in ACO is an experienced and certified ACO. He says, “We make no excuses – we could have done a better job, period.” He says that he does not believe the ACO “acted out of any malice or ill intent. She explained to me her decision-making process. She felt that it was the correct thing to do.” He also says, “clearly there were other things we could have done that did not get considered.”

Chief Cox continued to say, “As of right now there is not a policy that dictates to the ACO what to do in this type of situation. Rather we have relied on the ACO’s experience and the circumstances to dictate the actions to take. We will be evaluating whether this needs to change.” He also says that, “We should have contacted a local group or another wildlife coalition to assist us with the relocation prior to taking the action we did.”

When Officer Drake returns from her vacation there will be a meeting to discuss present policy and protocol. Chief Cox says that, “I can tell you now that our policy, written or not, will not include shooting a caged animal unless there is imminent risk to humans or other animals. We will try everything before we decide to euthanize, by any means, an animal such as a bobcat. Gets a bit murky when dealing with rabid animals, skunks and the like though.”

There is  a plan for a police department tour of In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue & Educational Center in Wylie.

Also planned is a citizen information program regarding wildlife that will be held September 8th at City Hall, 7 p.m.,  pending approval from the City. 

Photo provided by the Smith family

By Karen Chaney

The once quiet, dead end street of Moonlight Drive in Skyline Acres has become a convenient cut through road for people in surrounding neighborhoods. Along with the increase of traffic has come the increase of speed used by these short cut commuters. Moonlight Drive residents have noted cars going up to 45 MPH by the time they reach the end of their street.

The neighbors have complained to the city of Murphy which resulted in the Murphy Police department stepping up the amount of patrols they provide to Moonlight Drive. However, the police are only effective when they are there and once they are gone the speeding resumes. 

Another obstacle to law enforcement in this issue is that there is not a concealed place for police to hide, so they are not getting a true representation of what is occurring on a day to day basis. The police have monitored the speed and quantity of traffic on Moonlight Drive. Residents on Moonlight Drive are not opposed to speed bumps being added as a deterrent to this ongoing problem.

Custom ordered, 25 MPH speed limit signs were put in the front yards on Moonlight Drive on the weekend of April 9th.  Moonlight Drive residents request that drivers respect their neighborhood, and the law, and drive the speed limit. They are fed up with the speeders, many repeat offenders. Murphy citizens on Moonlight Drive have noticed more people slowing down since they have had the signs posted in their yards.

Moonlight Drive was once a coveted place to live because it was a quiet, dead end road. Today, neighbors feel that the value of their homes has lessened because of the traffic. Some residents are fearful that someone will be killed or injured on their street if something is not done.

By Karen Chaney

The Murphy Police Explorers (MPS), under the direction of Sgt. Jim Hermes, earned numerous awards from the 2011 State Competition held in Justin, TX on April 2nd.  Eleven Explorers represented Murphy in three events.  There were 96 Explorer teams competing at this annual event. 

There are approximately 20 events that each team prepares for all year. The teams do not know which event they will be competing in until they are at the competition. The Murphy team’s three events were, Officer Down, Crime Prevention and Accident Investigation. 
In the Officer Down event the Murphy team received 2nd place.  They were judged on their first aid skills, calling for medics, officer safety and talking with the victims.
In the crime prevention event the Murphy team brought home 3rd place.  This contest consisted of presenting a prepared speech in front of a panel in which they had to illustrate how to prevent a certain crime in a neighborhood.
Murphy received 3rd place in the Accident Investigation event.  During this event the participants were taken to the parking lot where they were faced with a two car collision scenario.  There were actors representing the crash victims and witnesses.  The judges critiqued their interaction and problem solving skills. 
This year MPE Captain Shaun Joynt, was chosen to go to the U.S. Marshals Service Leadership Academy. Only 25 Explorers are chosen from across the nation.  Capt. Joynt has been a member of the MPE for five years.  He is a graduate of Wylie High School.  He is currently working full time as well as attending the University of Phoenix online. 
Joynt recommends joining the MPE to everyone.  He says that this experience has taken him from a shy teen, lacking in self-confidence, to someone who enjoys talking to others.  His career goals are focused on federal or local law enforcement.
Since 2005 the Murphy Police Explorers has taken a group to the State Competition.  Every year they return victorious.  To join the MPE an applicant must be 14 (completed 8th grade) - 20 years old.  An explorer must pass a criminal background check, be of good moral and ethical standing and pass a peer led (advisor supervised), oral panel interview.  Sgt. Hermes requests that candidates interested in the program attend 4 meetings to show their commitment level as well as give applicants a clear understanding of what the Police Explorers encompass. 
 
PLEASE NOTE:
The Murphy Police Explorers are holding a fund raising yard sale from 8:00 am to 12:00pm on May 21st.  The sale will be held at 206 N. Murphy Road (City Hall).  If you would like to donate items to the sale please call Sgt. Hermes at 972-468-4208 to arrange a drop off time

By: Karen Chaney

Signage that was posted for several weeks in front of Murphy Crossing on FM 544 regarding Blockbuster space becoming available was incorrect. Bill Saulsberry, Blockbuster District Manager, said that he does not know why First Allied Corporation set “available” space signs there with the Blockbuster store specifically mentioned.
Saulsberry said, “The Wylie Blockbuster is scheduled to close, but the Murphy store has no intention of closing.”
The Murphy Blockbuster has been open since December 1, 1999 and currently employees 10 full time and part time team members. Blockbuster, as a corporate entity, has installed movie rental kiosks at the QuikTrip at 3459 FM-544 and area Tom Thumb stores. A movie rental from these kiosks is $1 a night with no additional charge for Blu-ray movies. Blockbuster also offers movies on demand, mailed to your home or in-store rental.
 A liquidation sale will be held at the Wylie Blockbuster, 1125 W FM 544 # 100, through April 12th when doors will be closed for business at that location. 
On February 23rd First Allied Corp. removed the incorrect signage offering the Murphy Blockbuster space for lease.