TxDOT Public Notice

Completion of FM 2551 from FM 544 to FM 2514 (Parker Road) is Summer 2013.

The purpose of this public notice is to provide an update on the status of the proposed project (FM 2551). On February 9, 2006, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) held a Public Hearing at the City of Murphy’s City Hall to discuss the proposed improvements to FM 2551. The proposed project is located in the Cities of Allen, Lucas, Murphy, and Parker. The proposed improvements would widen the existing undivided two-lane roadway into a divided six-lane concrete-paved roadway with a curb and gutter for a distance of approximately 6.4 miles. All public comments have been addressed and are part of the Public Hearing Summary and Analysis which will be available if a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is provided by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Once the anticipated approval from FHWA is received, the Public Hearing Summary and Analysis will be available for review at the TxDOT Dallas District Office located at 4777 E. Hwy 80, Mesquite, Texas  75150.

No design changes have been made to the proposed project since the Public Hearing. The southern portion of the proposed project, from FM 544 to FM 2514 (Parker Road), would be both locally funded and state funded.  Local funds would be provided by the 2003 Collin County Bond Program and state funds would be provided by SH 121 Regional Toll Revenue funds. FM 2551, from FM 544 to FM 2514 (Parker Road), would be built as a six-lane roadway which was the ultimate build-out described in the
environmental document and at the public hearing.

The northern section, from FM 2514 (Parker Road) to FM 2170, is currently unfunded. Construction would not occur on the northern section of the proposed project, from FM 2514 (Parker Road) to FM 2170, until funds become available. Staged construction (four lanes constructed initially followed by the additional two lanes in the future) is likely to occur for this portion of FM 2551 from FM 2514 (Parker Road) north to FM 2170.

The proposed project will be listed in the June 2010 Revisions of the 2008-2011 State Transportation Improvement Program prepared by the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Currently the environmental document and Public Hearing and other Public Involvement documentation are undergoing final review by FHWA and a FONSI (environmental clearance) is expected in Summer 2010. The estimated time of completion for construction of FM 2551 from FM 544 to FM 2514 (Parker Road) is Summer 2013.

LOST:  Nikon digital SLR camera on 6/8/10 around 5:15 pm at the stop sign of Hawthorne and Ridgeview. Please call me at 214-235-8569. $100
reward for the return of the camera. If you would like to keep the camera, please return the memory card in the mail box at 650 Kinney Dr. It has pictures from a religious event which can not be replaced.

The Murphy Police Department is proud to announce that it is starting a Volunteer in Police Services (VIPS) and Citizens on Patrol (COPS) program.  The two programs support both administrative and operational needs of the Murphy Police Department.  If you are a resident or business owner in the City of Murphy, this is an excellent opportunity to provide much needed assistance to the community.

The Administrative volunteers (VIPS) will be trained to work inside the department assisting the staff in a variety of duties i.e. filing, data entry, customer service and other related duties.

The Citizen on Patrol volunteers (COPS) will be trained to do the work that will help deter crime on the streets, support special events using police equipment.

If you are interested in volunteering, an informational meeting will be held on Tuesday June 22, at Murphy City Hall in the City Council Chambers at 7PM,  or you may request an application from the Murphy Police Department. 

If you have any questions, contact the VIPS/COPS Volunteer Coordinator, Jim Holden, at the 972-468-4202, or drop by the police department and visit with him on Tuesday or Thursday mornings.  You may also email him at jholden@murphytx.org.

July 26 through July 30, 2010 

Would you like to know what goes on inside the Murphy Police Department? Have you often wondered why we do the things we do? Then we have the program that will answer your questions and much, much more. Yes that\'s right; we are talking about Youth Citizen\'s Police Academy No. 2. Designed after a traditional police academy curriculum and teaching methods, citizens experience a rare look inside their Murphy Police Department.

The Youth Citizen\'s Police Academy will kick off with a welcome from Police Chief G.M Cox and City Manager James Fisher. Throughout the week, participants will experience classroom and hands-on orientation in the following law enforcement topics: criminal law, traffic stops, radar demonstration, DWI laws, and much, much more.

Participate in a mock crime scene and mock criminal trial!

Potential candidates for the Youth Citizen\'s Police Academy must meet the following criteria:

  Be between 12 and 17 years of age.
  A resident of Murphy.
  Clean criminal background
  The desire to have fun and make new friends.

Are you ready for the challenge? We are accepting applications for our upcoming summer academy starting July 26. Classes are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. All topics are taught by sworn police officers and other Departmental experts and are intended for informational purposes only.

The academy is free, so don\'t delay. Download the application packet on the Department’s website, or stop by the Front Desk of the Murphy Police Department. Class size is limited to 24 participants, and applications must be in by July 16, 2010.

Officer Kris Riebschlager
YCPA Coordinator
Murphy Police Department
Desk:  (972) 468-4259

“Radio Hams” from  Murphy, Texas  join in national deployment Public Demo of Emergency Communications June 26 – 27 in Murphy, Texas at Murphy Road and Tom Clevenger Drive (north of the fire department).

 Murphy’s “hams” will join with thousands of Amateur Radio operators who will be showing off their emergency capabilities this weekend. Over the past year, the news has been full of reports of ham radio operators providing critical communications during unexpected emergencies in towns across America including the California wildfires, winter storms, tornadoes and other events worldwide.

During Hurricane Katrina, Amateur Radio – often called “Ham Radio” - was often the ONLY way people could communicate, and hundreds of volunteer “hams” traveled south to save lives and property. When trouble is brewing, Amateur Radio’s people are often the first to provide rescuers with critical information and communications

 On the weekend of June 26 - 27, the public will have a chance to meet and talk with Murphy’s ham radio operators and see for themselves what the Amateur Radio Service is about. Showing the newest digital and satellite capabilities, voice communications and even historical  Morse code, hams from across the USA will be holding public demonstrations of emergency communications abilities.

This annual event, called "Field Day" is the climax of the week long "Amateur Radio Week" sponsored by the ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio. Using only emergency power supplies, ham operators will construct emergency stations in parks, shopping malls, schools and backyards around the country. Their slogan, "When All Else Fails, Ham Radio Works” is more than just words to the hams as they prove they can send messages in many forms without the use of phone systems, internet or any other infrastructure that can be compromised in a crisis. More than 35,000 amateur radio operators across the country participated in last year's event.

We hope that people will come and see for themselves, this is not your grandfather's radio anymore," said Allen Pitts, W1AGP, of the ARRL. "The communications that ham radio people can quickly create have saved many lives when other systems failed or were overloaded. And besides that – it’s fun!”

In the Murphy area, the Murphy’s Law Radio Group will be demonstrating Amateur Radio at Murphy Road and Tom Clevenger Drive north of the fire department  on June 26-27, 2010. They invite the public to come and see ham radio’s new capabilities and learn how to get their own FCC radio license before the next disaster strikes.

There are over 650,000 Amateur Radio licensees in the US, and more than 2.5 million around the world. Through the ARRL’s Amateur Radio Emergency Services program, ham volunteers provide emergency communications for thousands of state and local emergency response agencies, all for free. To learn more about Amateur Radio, go to www.emergency-radio.org. The public is most cordially invited to come, meet and talk with the hams. See what modern Amateur Radio can do. They can even help you get on the air!