Twenty Peaceful Minutes

Welcome to Twenty Peaceful Minutes (20PM) - a community website for Forney, Texas. In addition to this blog, 20PM is home to the Forney discussion forums, which you may reach by clicking the Forney discussion forum link or going to http://20pm.net/forums; also, considering signing up for email or newsreader (RSS feed) notifications of new posts to the 20PM blog!

Just a quick reminder that the bake sale to benefit Hannah Kessner, the 4 year old suffering from Chari malformation, a congenital birth defect, will be tomorrow, Saturday, May 31st from 2PM to 8PM. The bake sale booth will be at the Celebration of Youth Sports, which will be in the parking lot east of Lowe’s, behind NTB and AutoZone.

In addition, make sure to stop by Chick-Fil-A in Forney all day Saturday and ask that your receipt be marked for the Hannah Kessner fundraiser as Chick-Fil-A will be donating a portion from all of the receipts marked for Hannah on Saturday.

I hope to see many of you at the bake sale, which many 20PM/Forney discussion forum members and their friends and family have been working very hard to put together. There’s going to be a lot of great baked goods in addition to raffles (I believe I’ve seen mention of a Coach purse as well as a couple of iPods, in addition to other items as potential raffle prizes!), cake walks and more - it should be a lot of fun!

• Help Hannah Bake Sale A Huge Success Thanks To You!

  I just wanted to take a second to thank everyone involved in the Help Hannah Bake Sale...

• Help Hannah - Fund Raiser at Chick-Fil-A For 4 Year Old With Chiari Malformation

  I wanted to pass this information on, which was recently posted to the Forney discussion forum here...

• Jaycees Hosting Kid’s Fun Day July 4th to Benefit Hannah Kessner

  The Richardson Jaycees will be hosting a Kid's Fun Day this Friday, July 4th, from 11AM to...

I wanted to pass this information on, which was recently posted to the Forney discussion forum here at 20PM.

Hannah Kessner, daughter of Danny & Michelle Kessner of Forney is a beautiful 4 year old that has been diagnosed with Chiari Malformation, a congenital defect (present at birth) in the area of the back of the head where the brain and spinal cord connect. Basically, what is happening is her brain is sinking into her spinal cord. The family just found out last week after an MRI. Hannah had been complaining of headaches and vomiting, which are symptoms; and now the family is overwhelmed emotionally and financially to say the least. They have also learned that medical insurance will only cover a portion of the brain surgery required to repair the defect, and they have an estimated $7000 out of pocket expense so far.

Please help Hannah and her family by stopping by the Forney Chick-fil-A on Saturday, May 31st and ask that your receipt go to the fund raiser for Hannah. For direct donations, an account has been established for the Kessner Family at First National Bank of Forney, which is located a quarter mile behind Starplex & Wal-Mart near FM-548 & Ridgecrest.

Members of the Forney discussion forum here at 20PM have been discussing plans for a bake sale and other fund raisers, as well, to help this family out during this challenging time. Make sure to drop by that thread for the latest about this situation and any planned fund raisers.

• Jaycees Hosting Kid’s Fun Day July 4th to Benefit Hannah Kessner

  The Richardson Jaycees will be hosting a Kid's Fun Day this Friday, July 4th, from 11AM to...

• Bake Sale and Chick-Fil-A Fundraiser for Hannah Kessner Saturday May 31st

  Just a quick reminder that the bake sale to benefit Hannah Kessner, the 4 year old suffering...

• Help Hannah Bake Sale A Huge Success Thanks To You!

  I just wanted to take a second to thank everyone involved in the Help Hannah Bake Sale...

This Saturday, May 17th, the Windmill Farms Community Watch is sponsoring a Family Safety Fair from 2-4PM. This event, which all of Forney, Terrell and the surrounding areas are invited to attend, will feature booths, information, games and characters from over 25 different organizations, including the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office, the North Texas Poison Center, the Kaufman County Master Gardener, the YMCA and the Department of Public Safety (complete list of participating organizations).

Kids will have an opportunity to meet McGruff the crime dog, Smokey Bear, Vince & Larry (the crash test dummies), Sparky the fire dog and the Chick Fil A cow! In addition, the Sheriff’s Office plans to bring several police cars as well as K-9 units, the Forney Volunteer Fire Department will be bringing a fire truck and the local ambulance service will have an ambulance – all for the kids to tour.

In addition to information and brochures about various safety related topics, free child identification kits, sponsored by Capital One, will be available (quantities limited). There will be a bounce house for the kids and the first 250 children to attend will be able to participate in the Safety Scavenger Hunt to win prizes sponsored by T-Mobile. Additionally, other prizes, including 8 free passes to the Forney Starplex movie theater will be given away to adults who register at the event.

Click ‘Read On’, below, for directions and more details about this fun event!
(Read on …)

• Sheriff David Byrnes Meeting With Windmill Farms Residents This Thursday

  The Windmill Farms Neighborhood Watch Association will be hosting Kaufman County Sherriff David Byrnes at their next...

• This Saturday: Register to Vote & 10,000 Easter Egg Hunt!

  Have you registered to vote since moving to Kaufman County? Or, are you a long-time Forney resident...

• County Commissioner Holding Town Hall Meeting This Saturday in Forney

  This Saturday, August 9, 2008 at 9AM Commissioner Ray Clark will be holding a Town Hall meeting...

The Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office is inviting the public to a Peace Officer’s Memorial Day ceremony to be held this Thursday, May 15th at 10:00AM at the Kaufman County Law Enforcement Center. Students from Forney will perform the National Anthem, Kaufman County District Attorney Rick Harrison and Assistant Chief Deputy Troy Graham will speak and the names of Texas Peace Officers who have died in the line of duty since January 2007 will be read, after which there will be a 21 gun salute by the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard.

I greatly encourage you to attend this event; I recently completed the Citizen’s Police Academy that the Sheriff’s Office routinely holds for citizens of Kaufman County to learn more about the various departments within the Sheriff’s Office and it was an eye-opening experience. The men and women of the KCSO and other law enforcement agencies throughout the state routinely put their lives on the line for us many more times a day than we ever realize, so I encourage you to take a moment out of your day on Thursday to show them that we appreciate their sacrifice as well as honor and respect those officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

The Kaufman County Law Enforcement Center is located at 1900 E Hwy 175, Kaufman TX 75142.

Discuss this post in this thread in the Forney discussion forums.

• Sheriff David Byrnes Meeting With Windmill Farms Residents This Thursday

  The Windmill Farms Neighborhood Watch Association will be hosting Kaufman County Sherriff David Byrnes at their next...

• Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office Recovers Nearly $150,000 in Stolen Property

  On February 4th, investigators from the Kaufman County sheriff's office were attempting to locate Brian Edward...

• Sheriff’s Office Shuts Down Vehicle Burglary Ring

  Reminds Citizens Not to Leave Valuables in Automobiles Thirteen victims suffered losses totaling $20,000 when their vehicles...

I’ve uploaded a video from Monday’s City Council meeting where Pate Transportation detailed plans for a new bridge to cross Highway 80 between CR-212 and Windmill Farms Blvd. This is actually our first video here on TwentyPeacefulMinutes.com and was shot rather spur of the moment using my digital camera, so I hope it is at least watchable so everyone has a chance to see the fly-through of the 3D rendering of what is planned for this bridge. This bridge is significant for a number of reasons, which I’ll detail below the video. In the meantime, check out the video - this is from the council meeting, so the voice you hear is a Pate employee describing what you’re seeing. If the video does not appear below (click on it to begin playback), simply visit this page to view it.

Click ‘Read On’, below, to read more about this bridge and the surrounding development and roadwork.
(Read on …)

• 2.2 Million Square Foot Regional Shopping Center Announced in Forney

  Today, Endeavor Real Estate Group, along with the City of Forney, have announced that Endeavor is now...

• Forney Regional Shopping Center Updates

  We originally broke the news of the 2.2 million square foot regional shopping center planned for Forney...

• Forney Regional Medical Center & Forney Medical Plaza Update

  This past Friday, Cirrus Health announced that the land on which Forney Regional Medical Center will be...

Today, Endeavor Real Estate Group, along with the City of Forney, have announced that Endeavor is now under contract to purchase 200 acres of what has been known as the Meadow Ridge Farm site with the intention to build a major regional shopping center. This site, which is located on the north side of Highway 80, roughly between the CR-212 and Windmill Farms Blvd exits, is planned to become over 2.2 million square feet of retail space, with phase 1 making up 500,000 to 750,000 square feet.

The landowners of the Meadow Ridge Farm site, Meadow Ridge Farm LP, have also announced plans to develop the remaining portion of the Meadow Ridge Farm site into a mixed use development with the potential for offices, hotels, motels and other entertainment and sports facilities. These developments, when combined with the 2.2 million square feet of shopping space that Endeavor is developing, will turn this site into a regional commercial center for the east side of Dallas and many of the surrounding communities.

Endeavor is currently in active negotiations with a number of top tier tenants, with specific tenants to be announced in the future.

Endeavor has expressed their appreciation and thanks to the entire City of Forney and specifically Mayor Grooms and the rest of the City Council for their enthusiastic support of the new thoroughfare plan and the highway interchange work that will be done in this area, including the creation of a new bridge over Highway 80. Endeavor has committed themselves to working hand in hand with the City of Forney to bring this project to fruition at the earliest possible date.

Please stay tuned to this story, as I will be updating it more this afternoon with more information as well as some of my thoughts on this development…in the meantime, I’ve setup this thread in the Forney discussion forum for everyone to discuss this announcement of a regional shopping center in Forney.

For now, I will say that when I began investigating the rumors I was hearing about this development many months ago, I had the opportunity to get a feel for the sheer scope of this project as well as the excitement and commitment of the companies involved; I am truly excited about this development and especially the forthcoming announcements of specific tenants - this development will be a top-notch destination that will draw people from throughout the eastern half of the Metroplex and even from as far as East Texas, in my opinion, to come shop and relax in Forney.

Update - check the discussion forum thread here for maps and some more information, including info on the bridge that will be built as part of this development. I’m working on gathering more information and incorporating it into another post here to the blog, which should be online later this evening.

• Forney Regional Shopping Center Updates

  We originally broke the news of the 2.2 million square foot regional shopping center planned for Forney...

• New Video and Maps Regarding Regional Shopping Center Planned for Forney

  I've uploaded a video from Monday's City Council meeting where Pate Transportation detailed plans for a new...

• Target, Best Buy and Barnes & Noble Among Prospective Tenants for Forney Marketplace

  I have some exciting updates concerning Forney Marketplace, the 2 million square foot regional shopping center coming...

Planning a big appliance purchase soon? If so, you may want to wait a few more weeks - unbeknownst to most Texans, the state has declared Saturday, May 24 through Monday, May 26 (Memorial Day) an “Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday”. During this time, no sales tax will be collected on purchases of air conditioners (room units as well as central units, but must be priced under $6,000), clothes washers, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers, dishwashers, light bulbs, programmable thermostats or refrigerators (priced under $2,000) as long as the have the Energy Star logo, indicating they use less energy than comparable non-Energy-Star products.

This means Memorial Day weekend will be a great time to swap out a few of the incandescent light bulbs in your home that you use the most with Energy Star rated compact fluorescent bulbs, which, on average, last 10 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs and use 75% less electricity. If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star rated bulb, the US would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year and would eliminate more than $600 million in annual energy costs.

I’m excited to see the state encouraging consumers to purchase Energy Star rated appliances - in my opinion, this is one of the more creative, inventive responses to rising oil prices and our dependence on foreign oil that I have seen. What do you think? Share your opinions about this Sales Tax Holiday in this topic in the Forney Discussion Forum.

For more information about the Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday, see this page on the Comptroller’s website.

• March Sales Tax Receipts Report - Forney Growth Still Going Strong

  Another favorite local blog of mine is 'The Ruminations of OLDnFEEBLE'; ONF focuses on Terrell and the...

• Voters Approve All 16 Amendments; Beer & Wine Sales in Surrounding Communities

  With a fairly low 8.5% turn-out of all registered voters, voters in Texas approved all 16 amendments...