Arlington, TX

For the first time in more than 10 years, all Texas schools are going back to school on the same day. In recent years, the start date was August 21, but many districts received waivers to start as early as the first week in August. That all changes this year because of new state legislation that passed in 2006. The new law makes August 27 the earliest that any district can start and waivers are no longer being issued. The good news for most students is that they got an extra 2 weeks of summer vacation. The bad news is they probably won’t get out of school until early June, as most districts have made up for the late start by adding a week or two at the end of the year. 

Also new this year: (more…)

Police are asking for help in identifying the body of a young woman who was found in Lake Arlington on Sunday. She is believed to be Anglo or Hispanic and around 16 to 21 years old. She was 5-foot 2 to 5-foot 4, with a medium to heavy build, and medium-length brown hair. She was wearing gray sweat pants and yellow panties with the image of a chick and the phrase “Chicks Rule.” She was wearing a black string necklace adorned with a small black crucifix. She doesn’t have any tattoos, but she may have a navel piercing. Police have been unable to match her description to reported missing persons in the local area. If you think you know who the woman is, call Dr. Roger Metcalf with the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office at 817-920-5700, ext. 160, or Arlington police Detective Jim Ford at 817-821-3414.

The Mansfield school district has installed a new system that will require all campus visitors to scan in their driver’s license or a government-issued photo ID card when they arrive. The software matches identifying information against all states’ registered sex offender databases except Hawaii’s, which does not include identifiers such as age and date of birth. When the system flags someone, the system will send a text message or e-mail to notify Mansfield school police and the campus administration, who will monitor the visitor while on campus. As a MISD parent, I think this is a wonderful thing. Although I’m not sure how thrilled I am at having my drivers license picture on my badge…

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Southbound lanes of North Collins Street from Sanford to Rogers streets will be closed beginning Friday until August 20 for the replacement of sewer lines. Alternate routes are Center Street and Cooper Street.

Fire destroyed two apartments in a complex in the 2400 block of Windswept Way on Wednesday afternoon. Another fire destroyed a house in the 1800 block of Jubilee Trail about 2 p.m. No one was injured in either fire. Officials blame kids playing with a cigarette lighter for the apartment fire and a carelessly discarded cigarette for the house fire.

Two homes were damaged by lightning strikes during Wednesday’s rainstorms. Firefighters report that a tree caught fire in the 2600 block of Winding Oaks Drive after it was struck by lightning around 4 p.m. The fire then burned some shingles on the house’s roof. The chimney of another house was struck about 4:30 p.m., resulting in minor damage.

One of Arlington’s oldest private schools is closing it’s doors. St. Alban’s Episcopal School is closing because of financial problems, according to a spokesman for the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. It was unclear if parents would receive a refund of tuition that had been paid for the upcoming school year. School was scheduled to start August 21.

The Arlington, Kennedale and Mansfield districts had no schools rated unacceptable when the Texas Education Agency released its annual ratings Wednesday. Seven Arlington schools and three Mansfield schools saw their ratings drop. Six Arlington schools and five Mansfield schools improved their ratings. Kennedale schools had no changes.

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