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NORTH FORNEY HIGH SCHOOL BAND
NORTH FORNEY HIGH SCHOOL BAND

NORTH FORNEY HIGH SCHOOL BAND

This past weekend North Forney High School Band showcased their talents in the 11th Annual March-A-Thon. Over 100 students took to the streets in the Windmill Farms, Travis Ranch and Devonshire neighborhoods, performing at lawn concerts and entertaining the community. The 2022-2023 school year saw the band move to a 6A division class, under the direction of Head Band Director Mr. Jim Gist and Assistant Directors Mr. Mason Jocoy, Mr. Ryan King, and Mr. Kohei Sakai. These students and directors have been back honing their skills and getting ready for their upcoming marching season since July. They are looking forward to an awesome school year and would greatly appreciate the community coming out to support them at football games and UIL Competitions.

Forney ISD Names Mr. Cary Griffin Media Suite at City Bank Stadium

Forney ISD Names Mr. Cary Griffin Media Suite at City Bank Stadium

Cary Griffin, a community leader, business owner and avid volunteer, took his pursuits to heart as he connected the Forney community through his writing and volunteer work. In 1972, Cary and his wife, Judy, became the owners of the Forney Messenger. With a degree in English from UCLA, Cary spent the next 46 years using the newspaper as a conduit to write and inform readers of the local news. He and Judy were involved in all aspects of the community, which created rich content for meaningful local stories.

Busy as a Bee

Busy as a Bee

The first week of school has been completed, and the busyness of the new school year and the extracurricular activities that are already happening resembles a bee hive in full swing. Just like the bees all have their specific roles in the hive, so do all of the teachers, students, and administrative staff. How appropriate that August 20th is National and International Bee Day (the 3rd Saturday in August) as well as, this year, the 9th day of the school year. The calendar itself always plays a large part in how school learning and activities happen since it is helpful for teachers to facilitate learning among their students based on what the day/date of the calendar is. National Bee Day could be used in biology, horticulture, mathematics, art or music.

Monarch Butterflies Facing Battle Royal for Survival

The monarch butterfly has been placed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List as endangered. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Laura McKenzie)

Monarch Butterflies Facing Battle Royal for Survival

Monarch caterpillar on a milkweed plant. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo courtesy of Aggie Horticulture.)

Monarch Butterflies Facing Battle Royal for Survival

Monarch populations are especially susceptible to significant environmental changes when they are gathered together in large numbers. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo)

Monarch Butterflies Facing Battle Royal for Survival

By Paul Schattenberg

Cornbread

By Sean Dietrich

Cornbread
Cornbread

Cornbread

My friend’s mother, Miss Sylvia, is making cornbread. Her house is alive with the smell. The 72-year old woman cooks cornbread the old-fashioned way. An iron skillet in the oven. Lots of butter.

Forney ISD Names 4 New Facilities:
Forney ISD Names 4 New Facilities:

over the last 25 years.

Forney ISD Names 4 New Facilities:
Forney ISD Names 4 New Facilities:

Forney ISD Names 4 New Facilities: Elementaries #10 & #11, Intermediate #4, Middle School #4

As one of the fastest growing school districts in Texas, Forney ISD is preparing to open several new campuses over the next few years. The community submitted nominations for facility names during June, and the board of trustees tasked a community facilities naming committee with reviewing and forming a recommendation.

Mesquite Approves Construction 235-acre

Mesquite Approves Construction 235-acre Retail and Business Development

The City of Mesquite has approved a 235-acre retail and business development. Located on the north side of IH-20 between Lasater and Lawson Roads, the development will offer approximately 180,000 square feet of retail and ultimately 3.2 million square feet of industrial, business and logistics space. IH 20 IP, LLC, an entity which includes the principles of 42 Real Estate and SLJ Company, anticipates breaking ground in early 2024. Sergio Izquierdo of 42 Real Estate said, “Our team is extremely excited about the opportunity to work in the City of Mesquite. We see such potential for this area as the one premier industrial/business park in Mesquite along IH-20 in Dallas County. There is great potential retail for the growing population.” Scott Rohrman added, “we are very excited about the high-profile location and the growing workforce in this area of Mesquite as a draw for new employers to enter this market. We also are impressed with the number of housing units being built in this area.”

The Spock of Ages

By Dina Moon

The Spock of Ages

The Spock of Ages

Since I’m fluent in meme, I’d like to start this column with one of my favorite mad libs style memes currently floating throughout social media outlets. Surely, you’ve seen this one. It goes a little something like this. “Some of y’all _____ and it shows.” Typically, you would insert a common element of your childhood that today’s kiddos have never been subjected to, using the gooey center of humor wrapped in the sarcasm of barbed wire. For instance, to showcase the unfair ease of the cellular telephone in this modern age, I might pen this meme. “Some of y’all never cut off the circulation to your torso by winding your body into a 25 ft curly phone cord while standing in the hallway talking to your best friend for 2 hours and it shows.” See, it’s not something you use for a belly laugh. I was hoping for a side smirk and an internal heck yes. If you’re one of those individuals who feels that today’s youth have sub-par consequences for bad behavior, you might enjoy this one that I did not author but found on the interwebs just now. “Some of y’all never heard your Dad’s belt slide out of 6 loops in 2.6 seconds and it shows.” Easy. Remember, the messenger shan’t be executed. This is just a sly way to say, to the masses, let me show you how lucky you are by showcasing how difficult things were back in the day – a modern twist to the uphill both ways in the snow speech. And, isn’t that the way child rearing goes? Things change. Technology pushes normalcy to the edge on a regular basis. There are so many peculiarities that shift to a polar opposite action, sometimes in relatively short spans. When I had my first baby in 1986, you were a horrible mom unless you had plush bumper pads that matched the crib quilt/sheets/pillows/ wallpaper/car seat cover/high chair/walker. We don’t use bumper pads anymore. They’re dangerous. Babies only slept on their stomachs in ‘86. When my next kiddo was born, it was side sleeping only with a wedge to hold your baby in place. By ‘91 when my daughter was born, those little babies had to stare at that ceiling fan on their backs. Nowadays, we strap their arms down to their sides. And, that brings me to the actual matter at hand. Today, I can peruse the internet and research multiple ideologies on all topics of parenting. Hopefully, I would use this to piecemeal together the perfect strategy to nurture my children. But, back in the day, we only turned to one man for all things baby and child related. His name was Spock. Dr. Spock, that is.

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Forney Messenger

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 936, Forney, TX 75126
Physical Address: 201 W. Broad St., Forney, TX 75126
Phone: 972-564-3121
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