Category Archives: local news

local news, military news, national news

Ready to receive long-awaited thanks

September 10, 2026 kanelis2012 Leave a comment

My day today was spent doing something I didn’t think I would do … which was think about a brief trip to the nation’s capital to receive thanks for my service to the nation.

The Honor Flight about which I have written on this blog is at hand. The Honor Flight is the 63rd such venture from the Dallas/Fort Worth area to Washington, D.C. We depart early tomorrow from Love Field. Our plane will carry 45 military veterans and “guardians” assigned to assist with anything under the sun that we might need on our whirlwind visit.

We’re going to hit the ground in a full sprint when we arrive in D.C. I don’t know the precise itinerary, but I am aware it will include the major memorials and monuments along the National Mall. We will see the World War II memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the FDR Memorial, the MLK Jr. Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery (including the changing of the guard).

I need to mention the Reflecting Pool, the one that’s been in the news after Donald Trump messed it up by trying to dye the water blue, only to have it turn out green.

I am anxious to see it all and to share some of my not-very-exciting military story with fellow vets.

We’re going to get lots of thank you greetings from strangers, or so I have been told. They will deliver thanks for our service, much of which we didn’t get when we returned home when we were so much younger. The nation was not used to “losing” a war and many Americans blamed soldiers like me for the failed policies we were ordered to carry out. Don’t misunderstand: I didn’t get spit on when I got home, but I did get a wide range of indifference from strangers when I informed them of my then-recent history, which involved a brief tour of duty in Vietnam.

The good folks who arranged this Honor Flight assure us that’s all about to change. I am ready to accept all the love I expect to receive.

local news, military news

Ready to accept ‘honor’ of grateful nation

September 5, 2026 kanelis2012

Fewer than seven days to go and soon it will be flaps as 44 fellow veterans and I take off from Love Field for an “Honor Flight” designed to thank those who wore the uniform while serving our great land.

Please accept my brutal candor here. It took me some time to consider this a trip worth making. Why is that?

Well, I wasn’t sure a brief sprint through some of our nation’s hallowed memorials and monuments was worth the effort. Time also was a factor. Honor Flights leave in the morning of Day One and return the evening of Day Two.

As time marched on, I kept hearing reports from other veterans who have declared the event one of the highlights of their lives. Hmm, I thought: Well, if it means so much to so many of these veterans, then perhaps there’s more than meets the eye on these honor flights.

The vets who return talk of the immense respect they collect from strangers they encounter while touring the DC Mall memorials. You know, this might be all that it is cracked up to be.

The older veterans on this trip saw service in the Vietnam Era. Many of us actually reported for duty in the war zone. I will exempt myself from in any discussion of combat experience in Vietnam. I was a REMF. The acronym stands for Rear Echelon … you can assemble the rest of what the letters spell out.

And although I didn’t get the “baby killer” epithet or other hostile language, I did receive the cold shoulder from strangers –and, yes, even a few friends — when I mentioned my time in the war zone.

These Honor Flights are an effort to tell us that the nation is sorry for the way it treated us when we got home and to thank all those who wore the uniform that the nation is proud of them.

Six more days of prep — emotional and physical — are on tap for this ol’ geezer. I am looking forward to this whirlwind.

economic news, local news

TxDOT proposes huge project for Lavon Lake

September 3, 2026 kanelis2012

You could’ve knocked me over with a feather duster when I saw the headline in this week’s issue of the Princeton Herald that said, “TxDOT proposes widening Lake Lavon Bridge.”

This, boys and girls, is the kind of news that tells me the government gurus in Austin actually take what is happening in Collin County seriously enough to commit — at least in writing — to improving our transportation infrastructure that is becoming almost a one-eyed monster for those of us who have to travel on our roads and highways.

The Texas Department of Transportation is proposing a $230 million expansion of Farm-to-Market Road 3286 and FM 546. It would replace an existing two-lane bridge that most days becomes a scenic parking lot as vehicles inch their way across the lake in either direction. The Herald reported that TxDOT plans to “widen nearly five miles of roadway between Lucas and the Princeton area.”

Here’s part of the deal, though, and it gives me a bit of a hint of concern. TxDOT says the project is years away and it has designated zero money for the work that will be required.

That makes me wonder how TxDOT can propose and then stand behind the $230 million figure it hopes to spend on this enormous project.

I’ll tell ya, however, TxDOT has gotten a lot of people’s attention. TxDOT had a hearing at Southfork Ranch in Parker and a resident who lives on the Peninsula said, “We need just another way to get off the Peninsula because it’s so much traffic. It starts like at 5:30 in the morning.”

So … TxDOT plans a rescue mission to give some relief to those of us who grumble daily about getting caught in traffic. It’ll be a while, but damn, this is good news!

local news, military news

What if Trump shows up … ?

August 29, 2026 kanelis2012

Two weeks from takeoff from Love Field and I am beginning to run some things through my noggin and I should vanquish them … because none of them could actually take place.

Then again …

I am leaving on Sept. 11 for an overnight trip to Washington, D.C. I will be one of 45 veterans taking part in an Honor Flight, an event devised to salute military veterans for the service they gave to the country. I served for two years in the Army, from 1968 until 1970. I was sent to Vietnam for a time to work on airplanes and then assigned to the tactical operations center in Da Nang.

I came home and was greeted mostly with shrugs from friends. I didn’t get any “thank you for your service” greetings from strangers. That’s all changed. No longer do we treat service personnel as being at fault for our planners’ failures.

Honor Flights are designed to demonstrate a nation’s gratitude. Some of us on this trip are old enough to remember how we were treated when we completed our service in S.E. Asia.

OK, now about those thoughts.

Our trip coincides with the 25th year since the 9/11 attack by terrorists. My thought involves the four former presidents of the United States, all of whom should be honored for the work they did to bring the terrorist in chief, Osama bin Laden, to justice.

Will any of these men be around to greet us, or to receive our thanks for their service to the country? That’s what I am hoping will happen. Furthermore, I have a bit shared history with one of these gentlemen. I met then Texas Gov. George W. Bush in a personal 90-minute session I had with him in the summer of 1995. I have been hoping to see him again and remind him of that meeting and hope he remembers me.

The 9/11 attacks occurred during the first year of his time as president.

Barack Obama was on duty when the SEALs found bin Laden in May 2011. I have seen viral videos of him greeting veterans on earlier Honor Flights. Maybe he can find some time to do it again. Bill Clinton felt bin Laden’s wrath in 2000 when al-Qaeda terrorists blew a hole into the Navy destroyer USS Cole. Joe Biden was in the Situation Room as vice president the night of the SEAL raid. The former 46th president is ill with cancer, so I don’t expect to see him … but I would love to shake his hand and thank him for his 50 years of public service.

That brings us to the current president. What if he makes an appearance? My gut struggles with my brain. I detest the guy who is in office now. I respect and revere the office he occupies. What would I do if were standing in front of me? I would shake his hand … and that’s all I will say about that.

Will any of this occur? Probably not. I just wanted to let you know once again that am taking part in this Honor Flight with great pride and thanks of my own.

local news, political news, State news

Here is a sure-fire political prediction

August 23, 2026 kanelis2012

A while ago I gave up trying to predict political tides … particularly in Texas, a place I have called home for the past 42 years.

I’m going to veer off that wagon for just a moment and offer this tidbit for you to ponder, which is that James Talarico doesn’t beat the stuffing out Ken Paxton their race for the U.S. Senate seat, the Texas Democratic Party might as well pack it in forever.

Talarico is the Democratic nominee; Paxton is running under the Republican banner. What is going to get plenty of play in the weeks to come is that Paxton well could be the weakest GOP candidate for statewide office in memory. I can think only of the late Clayton Williams, the GOP candidate for governor in 1990 as someone whose weakness rivals Paxton.

Let’s look for a moment at Paxton’s record. He served in the Legislature as a state representative from Collin County. Then he got elected AG in 2014. Almost immediately he got indicted by a Collin County grand jury on an allegation of securities fraud. Then several of his top lawyers resigned and then lodged a corruption complaint against Paxton. After that the GOP-dominated Texas House impeached Paxton on charges that he took bribes and cheated on his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton; Sen. Paxton then filed for divorce from her husband, citing “Biblical grounds.” He then gained amazing wealth on an AG’s salary and recently has been frolicking with a married woman.

Kind of a head-spinning record, ya know?

Talarico is campaigning as a goody two-shoes. He’s a former school teacher, a Presbyterian seminarian, a man of deep Christian faith. He leans heavily on his faith but understands that the Constitution of the U.S.A. is a secular document and that our founders were consciously keeping religion out of government’s nuts and bolts.

I just want this young man to take his message across the finish line ahead of the other guy. If he doesn’t, then we’re in deeper trouble than I ever imagined.

business news, local news

Hang on to your highway patience

August 16, 2026 kanelis2012

Well, kids, we have entered that phase of construction along US Highway 380 between Princeton and McKinney that is going to test everyone’s patience.

I am going to remind myself — and others who read this blog — that the time has come to draw heavily on our cache of patience. We also must remind ourselves constantly that this work has an end. It will be done eventually. When it’s finished, I suspect this well-traveled thoroughfare will be significantly more pleasant to motor along than it has been for some years.

The Texas Department of Transportation has launched an ambitious right-of-way improvement project that will take years to complete. It will widen US 380 from four lanes to six. As I drive west of Princeton along the highway, I notice several areas where concrete has been been poured and has dried. It’s intermittent. That means the sections that are done cannot be used.

No biggie, man.

The work along 380 is just part of TxDOT’s plans for the highway. Soon (at least I hope it’s soon), the agency will begin work on freeway loops around several cities along the highway. Princeton is one of them.

I have one fear to give me worry while the work trudges on. It’s the fear that we could lose some businesses along the right-of-way. I noticed, for example, that two burger joints have shuttered, a Dairy Queen along the south side of the highway and a Wendy’s along the north side.

What do we do about any of this? Hah! Not much can be done. I am looking for alternative routes to travel. I’d feel OK about that except if I’m looking for Plan B routes, so are thousands of other North Texans. The message, then, for all of us is as clear as it can get.

Just be patient.

local news

Community ralllies to save a huge event

August 6, 2026 kanelis2012

A marvelous event has just taken place in a community that sits about seven miles east of my house in Princeton along U.S. Highway 380.

Citizens rose rallied to bring back a long-standing event that has become an attraction of sorts in North Texas. Old Time Saturday had been put on the far back shelf in Farmersville when organizers decided they could no longer do all the work needed to keep it going.

The Farmersville community said, in unison, “Not so fast.” So, the Chamber of Commerce, the school district, the Farmersville Rotary Club, the City of Farmersville, Farmersville Centennial, Farmersville Parks and Rec., and the Farmersville Community Corp., cobbled together a partnership to revive Old Time Saturday.

So, an event thought to be possibly a thing of the past has become very much an event for the present — and hopefully for the future. Old Time Saturday will occur on Oct. 3. Visitors will be able to shop, consume lots of good food, watch a parade through downtown Farmersville, enjoy entertainment and all told just a hell of a good time.

I’ve covered a number of these community events during my many years in local journalism. This is a rare event to see a community rally the way Farmersville has done to preserve a long-standing event that pumps a lot of money into the region. Old Time Saturday will get a chance to pour even more funds into Farmersville.

Too often I have watched communities throw up their hands when organizers grow weary and then announce the event for which they toiled was going away. The Farmersville Centennial group had taken the lead on organizing Old Time Saturday for many years. I found out that many of the volunteers upon whom Farmersville Centennial depended on for help had other things to do. Planning and execution of the event fell on just a handful of folks. They, too, grew tired.

The collection of agencies, though, demonstrates to me that Farmersville, a rapidly growing community in eastern Collin County, wasn’t going to let an event that draws thousands of visitors to Farmersville every year was not going to throw dirt on the event and bury it forever.

Old Time Saturday is back. Farmersville has done itself proud.

local news, State news

Talarico’s time has come?

August 4, 2026 kanelis2012

James Talarico has gotten the attention of a lot of politicos far outside Texas’s vast borders … and with good reason.

The young man stands a decent chance of wresting the Republicans’ vise grip on statewide office in Texas. It’s not necessarily that Talarico is an immensely strong candidate. His strength lies in the weakness of his GOP rival, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Paxton is being called the “most corrupt politician in the country.” He might be all of that.

He was indicted in his first year (2015) as AG by a Collin County grand jury for securities fraud allegations. What has gotten little play in the national media is that Collin County is Paxton’s home county. He represented the county — where I now live, by the way — when he served in the Legislature. For a hometown grand jury to decide the charges brought against Paxton merit a trial, well, that’s a big …. deal. You know what I mean?

Then he got impeached by the Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives. The GOP-laden Senate didn’t convict Paxton. Why? Beats the stuffing out of me.

He’s been accused of taking bribes, of doing favors for political contributors — and of cheating on his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, who’s divorcing her hubby on “Biblical grounds.”

I’d be willing to write Paxton off. Except for one thing. He is a Republican and GOP voters in this state have shown a remarkable loyalty to their party over the actual qualifications of candidates who run under that party flag.

local news

Princeton takes key step toward maturity

August 1, 2026 kanelis2012

Princeton has made a significant turn to becoming a grownup city in North Texas, and its new city charter, formed in a November 2022 election, illustrates a key point I want to make with this brief blog post.

It is becoming a hybrid community of sorts, with part of its expanded City Council representing the entire city with the rest of the council representing those who live within certain voting precincts.

The charter states: Seats 1, 2, and 3 shall be elected by the qualified voters of the City at large. Seats 4, 5, 6, and 7 shall be elected by the qualified voters residing in assigned single-member districts, which shall be implemented for the election of Council Members for those seats held in 2030, but shall be elected by the qualified voters of the City at-large until districts have been implemented.

With that pronouncement, Princeton joins other growing communities in recognizing the desire — and the need — recognize the issues raised by certain neighborhoods.

To be sure, there’s a bit of risk involved with this kind of governing framework. One of them involves the potential for turf battles. City council members might argue that their community’s project is more needed than those sought for another project on the other side of the city. This is where at-large members can step in and cool whatever rancor might develop.

The mayor, of course, will be elected at-large, so we could get a feel for the kind of leadership Eugene Escobar Jr., is able to muster as he leads an expanded governing council. The charter expands the council from five members to seven.

All in all, though, I am delighted to see the city take this important step. My wife and I came to Princeton after living 23 years in Amarillo, a city of 200,000 residents. Amarillo is governed by five council members who all represent the city at-large. We argued at the newspaper where I worked that the a-large system worked for Amarillo. I didn’t agree with that editorial policy, so I spoke out against it when I left the paper in August 2012.

Princeton is taking an important step toward a modern recognition of the huge diversity that exists among its population, which now is estimated to be well north of 40,000 residents.

Welcome to the new world, Princeton City Hall. I wish you all the success you can muster.

High Plains Blogger