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Jolly Old Elf’s visit part of Fire Dept.’s annual toy drive  A special visitor will make the rounds of nine of Murphy parks on Saturday, Dec. 8 spreading cheer and accepting toy donations for the City’s annual toy drive, according to Fire Dept. Administrative Assistant Dawnelle Rounsavall.
“This year, we’ve made arrangements with Santa Claus’ schedulers to have the jolly old fellow visit nine of our parks for a short stopover to interact with kids and to help us gather donated toys for our annual push,” she said. Santa Claus’ schedule on Dec. 8 will include 30-minute stops at: Travis Farm Park at 10 a.m.; Timbers Nature Preserve at 10:45 a.m.; Waters Edge Park at Maxwell Creek at 11:30 a.m.; The Preserve at Maxwell Creek at 12:15 p.m.; North Hill Park at 1 p.m.; Liberty Ridge Park at 1:45 p.m.; Brentwood Park at 2:30 p.m.; Aviary Park at 3:15 p.m.; and Mustang Park at 4 p.m. Traffic and other considerations may alter the schedule slightly. “During the half-hour visit, children will be able to visit with Santa. And in a slight twist to the tradition, Santa will accept new, unwrapped toys from kids who wish to donate to our annual toy drive,” added Rounsavall. Those toys will be combined with the toys collected during the annual “drive-through” toy drop-off, which occurs on Monday, Dec. 10 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the fire station’s apron. Firefighters will be stationed on the fire station’s driveway on that day accepting new, unwrapped toys through donors’ car windows. “Once we have all of the toys collected, we’ll drop them off at the Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center in Plano on Tuesday, December 11. It’s a wonderful tradition that gives the children at the center a little of the magic of Christmas, and it provides our community an opportunity to share their blessings and good fortune,” she said. The Murphy Fire Station is located in the Municipal Complex, 206 North Murphy Road, about a quarter mile north of FM 544.
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Around Town
Lt. Col. Earl Bullock (Retired 1972) began service in the Air Force in 1952; he had served in the California National Guard for four years before enlisting, for a total of 24 years military service. Tours during the years of 1965 – 69, and 1971 he was involved in 150 combat missions in Vietnam flying a KC135 tanker which refueled airplanes. When he retired he was the Chief of Standardization Division, 97th Bomb Wing with 7,000 hours of flying time.
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When Keith Mantey and Wei Wei Jeang moved into their Parker home in 2002, the only animal restriction in place was no pig farming. They started with three dogs, and over the years added a peacock, peahen, peachicks and an emu.
Murphy’s nationally recognized Law Enforcement Explorer Post is hosting a fundraising pancake breakfast on Saturday, December 8, 2012 at the new Orchard Park Senior Living Facility in Murphy, extending an invitation to all Murphy and surrounding area residents to join this fun family event, according to Murphy Police Officer Sarah Ashmore. 
The June 2012 winners are: Mike and Judi Standley, 516 Lochwood, Murphy