News About Town:

Grapevine is a vibrant, active city with exciting events happening every day. And our lifestyle and many events in Grapevine are covered weekly in our favorite local papers - the Grapevine Sun, the Grapevine Courier, and in special Northeast Tarrant County sections in the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. Below, we offers brief, up-to-date community news to help keep you in touch.                 ________________________________________________________________

City Welcomes 'Patch'

The Nash Crows, smiling ear-to-ear in the corn field at Nash Farm, seem more than happy to show-off the arrival of their new babycrow—'Patch.' Tucked safely in a wicker basket, mom and dad hold up their babycrow for all to see. Patch, born around the first of May, has been the subject of conversations at board tables, talked about at coffee, and even written up in newspapers! For a closer look, stop by and visit the Crows at 626 Ball Street.

Grapevine Chamber Board of Directors Elect New President May 6

The Board of Directors of the Grapevine Chamber of Commerce announced May 6 that they have unanimously elected RaDonna Hessel as the Chamber's new president. Hessel, former president of the Grand Prarie Chamber for the past six years, will take office in mid-June to oversee membership of more than 850 Grapevine area businesses. "Ms. Hessel is one of the top three Metro area chamber executives in Texas," shares Art Roberts, senior vice president of the Texas Chambers of Commerce, "and she is an outstanding choice for this Grapevine position." Roberts, who recently navigated the Grapevine Board of Directors through their annual on-boarding leadership retreat, also served the Board in the selection process. Hessel was honored by the City of Grand Prairie with the Athena International Woman of the Year Award in 2003 and Citizen of the Year in 2002. In addition, the Grand Prairie Chamber recognized her in 2003 with the Director's Award. Prior to serving in Grand Prairie, she was also president of the Cedar Hill Chamber of Commerce and served on many civic boards, including the Texas Association of Business, the Texas Chamber of Commerce, the North Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives Association and the Grand Prairie Rotary Club.

General Election for City Council/GCISD Candidates: Saturday, May 10

The General Election for City Council Places 5 and 6 will be on Saturday, May 10, 2008. Four individuals are vying for Place 5, while incumbent Roy Stewart runs unopposed for Council Seat Place 6. All of the contenders for Place 5 are purposefully involved in the life of Grapevine, support ongoing community events, and are very active in their children’s activities and sports in the community. The resolve among all of the City Council candidates is to preserve the city’s positive business climate and maintain our quality of life:      Place 5: Chris Coy has been a resident of Grapevine for more than 19 years, and is a District Sales Manager with American Airlines. With an MBA in Finance, he has served on the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission for the past 12 years and has a strong interest in purposeful development. Phil Lang has served in the Graphic Arts field for more than 25 years, and is an Account Rep and Salesman for Nieman Printing in Dallas. Lang, involved in printing, marketing and direct mail on a daily basis, brings development skills to the table for establishing Grapevine as a ‘destination city.’ Becky St. John, working now at home, previously served eight years as a Park Ranger for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers at Lake Grapevine and on the Roanoke City Council for two terms. She is a graduate of Leadership Grapevine, a past member of Grapevine’s Planning and Zoning Commission, and currently serves on GCISD’s District Excellence Committee. Traci Wilkinson, in private practice as an attorney, specializes in real estate law and finance. Also a graduate of Leadership Grapevine, she wants to address the city’s complicated fiscal and legal issues, support managed economic growth and insure the integrity of Grapevine’s park system.    GCISD Board of Trustees has two contested seats: Place 6 Leon Leal, owner of a professional employment staffing company, has lived in Grapevine for more than 17 years. Leal, who lives in Grapevine, co-chaired the 2005 GCISD Bond Program and now serves on the Baylor Regional Medical Center Board, the Grapevine Parks and Recreation Board and Grapevine Youth Wrestling Board. Vince Rosen, incumbent, has recently served one term on the school Board since retiring from a career in technology. He is past president of the GCISD Council of PTAs, and now serves as a board member on GCISD's Education Foundation and PTA treasurer for Bransford Elementary.Rosen lives in Colleyville and currently serves on the Colleyville Parks and Recreation Board. Place 7 Mia J. Green, is director of a locally-based non-profit organization—Fourth Quarter Ministries. A resident of Colleyville, Green also owns PeopleFace2Face Consulting and serves as chair of the GCISD Diversity Advisory Council. She also is an avid volunteer at Glenhope Elementary. Jorge Rodriguez has lived in Grapevine for 13 years and is active in the Dad's Club at Timberline Elementary PTA. Working in the telecommunications industry, he has served as block captain for Grapevine's neighborhood watch program and is very involved in church youth programs. For more information on the elections, contact the City Secretary’s Office at 817 410-3182.

Two Boat Ramps Remain Closed on Lake Grapevine

The Grapevine Parks and Recreation department still has the following boat ramps on Lake Grapevine temporarily closed: Katie's Woods high water boat ramps and Lakeview South. Please check back for current updates on conditions at the lake; normal elevation is 535.00 feet, but the lake remains 2 feet above normal level, near 536.99 feet this week, which depends daily on the week's rain fall.

The Vineyards Campgrounds Reopens to the Public for Spring Camping

The Grapevine Parks and Recreation staff recently hosted a festive Open House at The Vineyards Campground and Cabins. Located on the south side of Lake Grapevine at 1501 N. Dooley Street, the family-friendly campground showcases a new state-of-the-art playground, Texas landscaping, and a new boat ramp and fishing pier. Last year, summer rains closed The Vineyards Campground and kept it under water for several months. Now, the newly planted park allows campers to enjoy refurbished campgrounds, rental cabins, and walk on fresh nature trails. For more information about the campgrounds, visit http://www.vineyardscampground.com.

GRACE Voted Best of the Best Places to Volunteer

For the second year in a row, Grapevine Relief And Community Exchange was voted "Best Place to Volunteer" by local newspaper readers of the Grapevine Courier, Southlake Journal and the Colleyville Courier this Spring. "We'd like to thank all of our wonderful staff and faithful volunteers for their dedication," says Shondra Schaefer, executive director of GRACE. "Volunteers play a vital part of the organization's operations." In the year past, volunteers logged-in more than 40,000 hours of service. Because of the large client base in North East Tarrant County and limited budget, GRACE relies heavily on our volunteers to fill in the gaps. There are a variety of volunteer opportunities available for those interested in serving GRACE through time or talents. for more information, call 817 488-7009.

News Releases:

Record Crowds Enjoy Spring Into Nash Farm

The Grapevine Heritage Foundation opened the doors and unveiled Nash Farm's historical renovated look to the public at it's annual Spring Into Nash Farm celebration. Visitors were lined up at the doors to tour the newly restored, painted and wallpapered farmhouse.   The late 1800's steel windmill also was a welcomed new addition to the historic property. Families toured the barn, played with farm animals, rode on hay wagons around the property, watched tractors till the garden, ate food and clearly enjoyed a wonderful spring day at the farm!

GCISD High School Ambassadors Named Top Texas School Program

Texas School Business, an independent publication for educators and school administrators, chose GCISD’s new parent-run initiative—the Community Scholar Ambassadors Service program—as one of the top 12 innovative programs in Texas public schools this year. “The winning districts and their success stories were the subject of our magazine’s special issue, Bragging Rights 2007-2008,” says Editor Mary Gordon Spence.   Texas school administrator Kay Waggoner was asked to nominate a program that had resolved a problem or improved operations in the district. The Ambassador program has helped adolescents look beyond their everyday routines and find purpose in performing 100-hours of community service during four years of high school. “Our program operates at both area high schools, and has nurtured excellence in academics as well as citizenship,” says Wagoner. For more information about the program, contact GCISD Public Information.

GCISD Schools Named Best in Texas

Nine GCISD schools have been included in Texas Monthly magazine's list of the top public schools in the state. The list, which appeared in the December 2007 issue, ranks the top public elementary, middle and high schools in the state based on student performance and/or improvement on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) for the past three years. Click here to view information. GCISD schools included in the list are: Bransford Elementary Glenhope Elementary Heritage Elementary O.C. Taylor Elementary Colleyville Middle Cross Timbers Middle Heritage Middle Colleyville Heritage High Grapevine High

D Magazine Names Grapevine Tops in 'Best Cool Spots in the Burbs'

D Magazine, a popular lifestyle publication covering the community and culture of the Dallas/Fort Worth area, has selected Grapevine as one of the top places to visit when looking for big-city culture in the suburbs. In a recent issue, Grapevine was listed as the first of five Best Cool Spots in the Burbs!           "A vibrant, bustling center filled with sophisticated shops, galleries, music clubs,                          boutiques, and wineries. Shocking, but true."  Magazine editors also selected the best of the best places to see and be seen at in Grapevine: Best Eating: Bob's Steak & Chop House - City worth revisiting as many more restaurants plan to build new locations. Best Drinking: Off the Vine...Into the Glass - You can buy and sample great wine here. Best Shopping: The Red Shed Cottage & Antiques  - A great place to find shabby chic "trash-to-treasure" creations. Best Entertainment: Tin Spirits - Live blues and jazz rule the entertainment calendar in a place the owner calls the "new Deep Ellum" with largest outdoor patio in town.

Local News Sources:

The Grapevine Sun

The Grapevine Sun has anchored the center of town for more than a century with stories about the people who have made Grapevine what it is today — a great place to live. From the beginning in the 1890's, the newspaper made a commitment to print "only factual information and wholesome news about activities in the community." So when it comes to reporting local stories online,  ilovegrapevinetexas.com will follow this example set by the early publishers when reporting news. The Grapevine Sun, which now operates as a subsidiary of The Denton Record-Chronicle—a sister to the The Dallas Morning News—continues to cover the Grapevine area news. The building that houses the news office is a recognized historical downtown landmark at 332 Main Street. Please contact Managing Editor Les Cockrell for more information.

The Grapevine Courier

The Grapevine Courier, part of the Alliance Regional Newspaper publications group, is owned by The Fort Worth Star Telegram. The Courier specializes in the local news of citizens that reside in the Grapevine/Colleyville Independent School District area. Contact Executive Editor Charles D. Young for publication information.

ilovegrapevinetexas.com Our team will post news online about events that are open to the whole Grapevine community. Please feel free to put us on your media mail list for publication consideration. At least two weeks before your event, please send an e-mail or mail your news release to: P.O. Box 7, Grapevine, Texas 76099.