Schools Off To Great Start
Trevor Rizzo, a second-grader, and Trey Rizzo, a kindergarten student, walk into Blanton Elementary for the first day of school on Aug. 22.
Assistant Principal Jeff Smith gives directions to Sixth-Grader Megan Woods on her first day at Harpool Middle School.
School started smoothly on Aug. 22 for 2,342 students attending Lantana’s two elementary schools and one middle school.
Superintendent Ray Braswell, who personally visited many of the schools on the first day, said all the schools got off to a great start.
“It was a good first day. Everything is running smoothly throughout the district,” Dr. Braswell said.
In five years, the district has grown by more than 21 percent.
E.P. Rayzor became the district’s largest elementary school this year with 761 students on the first day. Blanton Elementary grew from 602 to 640 students.
Harpool Middle School counted 941 students on opening day, and Guyer High School had 577 freshmen, 559 sophomores, 462 juniors, and 502 seniors.
The district’s total enrollment count was 23,976, an increase of 632 students from last year’s first-day-of-school numbers.
Officials Warn of Roofing Hazard
The Lantana Building Inspections Department recently discovered that some water heater vent stacks are coming loose at the water heater during the process of reroofing homes, according to Kevin Mercer, General Manager of the Lantana Fresh Water Supply District.
“After your home has been reroofed, please check all vent stacks to water heaters and furnaces to make sure they have not been accidentally disconnected during the reroofing process,” Mercer said.
“Improperly vented gas fired appliances can be a fire hazard and/or cause carbon monoxide gas entrapment within your home.”
Mercer said that resident with any questions or concerns can contact the Lantana Building Inspections Department at 940-728-5050.
Garage Sale Sept. 10th
Lantana’s semi-annual Community Garage Sale will be held on Saturday, September 10, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Residents are encouraged to open up their garage or make room in the front yard for their very own garage sale.
The Association will run ads in area newspapers, provide directional signage and have a banner at the community entrances.
Residents should call the Association at 940-728-1660 by September 8th if they plan to participate in the Garage Sale.
“Everyone is responsible for their own sale in their front yards. No extra signage is allowed. The Association will provide directional signage to each area,” the HOA said in a press release.
The Lantana Community Association is partnering with Haltom Thrift to offer pick-up of any items after the garage sale and provide a tax-deductible receipt.
Proceeds from Haltom Thrift benefit Leukemia Texas, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting the life-threatening blood cancer through the funding of research and patient aid in Texas (www.LeukemiaTexas.org).
Residents interested in the pick-up service should contact Scott Roberts with contact information and home address by 6:00 p.m. Friday night, Sept. 9, at [email protected].
The post-garage sale pick-up service will begin at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Items such as large appliances, large furniture and mattresses cannot be collected.
Hail Storm Repair Guidelines
Lantana residents who are replacing their roof or windows with the same color and materials and meeting all of the below guidelines will not be required to submit repairs to the Architectural Review Committee, according to the Lantana Community Association. The Residential Design Guidelines Section III, Part B, Number 5, in part states:
All roof materials and colors are subject to Architectural Review Committee approval. Roof color should complement colors on the home. Concrete slate alternatives are the material of choice. Asphalt shingles shall be at a minimum a three-ply, 30-year architectural grade shingle, subject to ARC approval.
Reflective roofing materials are prohibited. Metal roofs shall be considered reflective unless they have been painted or otherwise treated to reduce or eliminate reflections.
Any resident who is changing the materials or color of their roof will need to submit this change to the Architectural Review Committee prior to installation. Turbine vents are allowed as long as they are painted to match the roof.
Lantana residents replacing windows should be aware that windows need to be of clear glass or a tinted glass of bronze, gray, green or smoke color. The use of reflective glass or reflective tinting is prohibited.
Vendor signage is not allowed in Lantana. Vendor signage in the front yards prevents the Association from being able to properly maintain the front yards. Any signs found in the front yards will be removed and discarded. The Association has already confiscated hundreds of roofer “bandit” signs from front yards in the community.
Building permits are not required for re-roofing. However, the contractor is required to be registered with the Lantana Fresh Water Supply District.
Click here for an updated list of roofing companies that have registered with the FWSD, or contact the Fresh Water Supply District Building Inspection Department at 940-728-5050.
Traffic Enforcement Petition Under Review
The two Lantana Fresh Water Supply District boards at their August meeting approved preliminary wording for a proposed petition to request traffic enforcement from county commissioners.
FWSD staff is planning to review the petition with county commissioners before the September meeting.
Once commissioners approve the wording of the petition, the FWSD boards will vote to implement a plan for gathering signatures from residents.
House Bill 2541, a new state law passed this spring, requires residents living in a FWSD to formally request traffic enforcement via petition to their county commissioners, since the roads inside water districts are considered private, according to a ruling last fall by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.
Residents can contact the Lantana Fresh Water District at 940-728-5050 or County Commissioner Andy Eads at 940-349-2801 with questions or concerns regarding this issue.
5K Benefits Children’s Advocacy Center
The Cross Timbers Gazette is once again a sponsor of the Run Lantana 5K Run and 1 Mile Walk on Saturday, September 24, at 8:30 a.m. with proceeds benefiting the Children’s Advocacy Center for Denton County.
The start and finish line will be at Blanton Elementary School, 9501 Stacee Lane, Lantana, TX 76226.
Visit www.runlantana.com to register or for more information.
Police Activity
Aug. 23 – Deputies were dispatched to a residence in the 800 block of Carolina Way (Wisteria) for a criminal mischief report. Someone used an unknown object to break the right rear side passenger window glass of a vehicle while it was parked on the street in front of a home sometime between 8/22 at 3:00pm and 8/23 at 11:30am. Nothing was taken from the vehicle and the damage was estimated to be approximately $500.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Denton County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-388-TIPS (8477).
Development Watch
Lantana had 2,426 occupied homes as of August 26, with an estimated population of 7,885.
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