Commercial Roofing Contractors in Krum, TX

A young girl in the care of a babysitter and a pregnant woman were among the people airlifted to safety in Krum on Sunday, after they were stranded in their homes by torrential downpours that gave way to flash floods.

"It was scary. It really is, to know you've got to be airlifted because there's no other way to get to you, it's scary." said Danette Blanchard, who was babysitting when flood waters from North Hickory Creek rushed into the home.

Denton County Emergency Services Chief Jody Gonzalez said Sunday that multiple rescues had been performed from flooded streets and homes in the small town located about 50 miles northwest of Dallas.

Chopper 5 witnessed the Texas National Guard perform five rescues from one home, including a woman holding a 5-month-old girl.

"To be harnessed and spinning in the air, it's a nightmare," said Blanchard, who was babysitting Melissa Cronce's daughter.

Cronce was also trapped, unable to get to her baby, watching the rescue unfold.

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"I was really scared and then trying to come down here to get her, all the roads being blocked off," said Cronce. "I was scared, but I knew she was going to be OK."

Blanchard said last time the creek rose she and her family were able to get out by boat, but not this time.

Texas Guard Rescues Family in Krum

Blanchard's pregnant granddaughter was also rescued. Blanchard's mother suffered some minor injuries as she was being lifted through the trees.

Along Duck Creek in Sanger, two men were stranded on the top of a maroon pickup with water rushing around them. Rescuers first tried to make a ground rescue but moved in quickly with a helicopter to pluck them to safety.

Members of the five-man crew responsible for the two rescues said Monday they don't want to be known as heroes.

"I think that word gets used a little too often. We are just doing a job," said rescue swimmer Wayne Twiner, of Texas Task Force 1. "I am just very thankful we were able to get all those victims to safety."

As Twiner was lowered down into the water to rescue the two stuck on top of the truck, he slammed right into a fence.

"It was an 'oh heck' moment for sure," said Twiner.

But he kept going.

"It happened so quick. All I remember is coming up and the fence being there and I worked my way over. Then I got on the truck. I was more worried about those two guys on the truck," said Twiner.

Texas Army National Guard Lt. Col Troy Meuth was the pilot. He explained he was concentrating on keeping the aircraft steady and did not see the people in back. It was not until later he found out they had rescued a family.

"My wife said, 'You know you weren't here with me on Mother's Day, but you saved some moms and a grandmother, and you rock,' so that was very special," said Meuth.

National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Staley said there were numerous road closures in North Texas after storms dumped six to seven inches of rain on some places over the last four days.

Chopper 5 showed showed some vehicles nearly submerged.

Your Storm Photos - May 10, 2015

Updated at 2:45 p.m. Saturday: with additional information throughout.

Students and parents gathered before Krum High School's football game Friday, not to support the team but to denounce the school’s administration after a beloved assistant principal was let go under mysterious circumstances.

Krum High School administrator Bernard Lightfoot was asked to resign by Monday — and threatened with firing if he didn't — after he confronted administrators whose relatives saw sudden and unprecedented improvement in their class rankings, students and parents say.

Parent Ruth Pierson said that several students, including one of her children, were called out of class to sign nondisclosure waivers without their parents’ knowledge or consent.

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Krum Mayor Ron Harris, who has a child enrolled at the school, began to read a statement on the matter at Wednesday's board meeting but was interrupted by the board president, he wrote in a Facebook post.

“With no nepotism policy present in the KISD employee online handbook, it appears that the current daily operations could better be described as a family reunion,” Harris wrote. “There is the perception of myself and other members of this community ... that the children related to high-ranking district employees and school board members are being placed in positions that have been unrightfully gained.”

Neither Krum High principal Michelle Pieniazek nor assistant principal Shanna Orsi could be reached for comment, but the superintendent released a statement saying the allegations have prompted a review of district policies.

“While we do not believe there have been any unethical uses of administrative power, we will be conducting an audit of our procedures and policies and how they are being applied,” Krum ISD Superintendent Cody Carroll said in a written statement.

Students say ranking discrepancies reflect unprecedented weight given to certain extracurricular activities, effectively penalizing students for choosing band or sports.

The rankings are a key component of college applications, showing how seniors stack up against their peers. Tuition waivers cover public-college tuition for freshman students who graduate at the tops of their classes.

But even if the allegations of grade tampering are false, the board violated the Texas Open Meetings Act by voting on Lightfoot's dismissal behind closed doors, Harris said. Harris contacted the Texas Education Agency about the possibility of an investigation but has not yet filed a formal complaint.

The board said their concern had to do with Lightfoot's application, which reportedly did not accurately reflect which degrees he had earned at each of the higher education institutions he had attended.

Lightfoot, who attended West Point, taught social studies and coached soccer and football at Sam Houston High School in Arlington before moving to Krum High in Denton County in 2016. In addition to his work at the school, he coached several children's sports teams. He could not be reached for comment.

Several students backed Lightfoot on Twitter, posting memes tagged #bringbacklightfoot, sharing memories of the administrator and telling classmates that the nondisclosure agreements some signed shouldn’t be legally binding.

“The compassion and love that he showed me was insane,” senior Michael Cater said. “He came my sophomore year and after that, I had no [disciplinary] issues.”

Michael's mother, Kasie Cater, said she steered clear of the principal at Krum High.

“I generally just did everything I could not to have to deal with [Pieniazek] and to deal with Mr. Lightfoot instead,” Cater said.

A follow-up news release from Krum ISD asked community members to refrain from "increasingly hostile and hurtful" social media posts as they wait for the audit's results.

Over 200 people now sport #SAVELIGHTFOOT shirts, organizer Stephanie Powell said, and community members plan to rally around the school when classes begin again Tuesday morning.

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A North Carolina company is estimating it will invest hundreds of millions in Denton and Wise counties with a new solar farm project breaking ground this month.

Porter Solar, one of the first Texas projects by national renewable energy company Pine Gate Renewables, will bring about 200 jobs to the area for the erection of the 245-megawatt solar farm. The 1,700-acre project will represent a roughly $265 million investment in Denton and Wise counties, in the form of construction jobs, building materials from local suppliers and taxes over the life of the project.

Pine Gate identified the site, about 12 miles northwest of Krum, as a potential location for their first North Texas project in 2019. Former agricultural grazing land, its proximity to the Metroplex — and commercial energy consumers — made it an ideal spot.

“It’s really close to a population center and a large load of electricity usage — it kind of functions as a hub for workforce, for amenities and for getting materials to site,” said Jay Linke, vice president of product development for Pine Gate.

Texas has become a mecca for renewable energy because of its low production costs, leading the country in wind, solar and energy projects last year. The state has also drawn in major energy consumers like cryptocurrency miners, whose need for power has been a boon for cities including Denton. The city and Denton Municipal Electric expect to bring in nearly $20 million in combined revenue from Core Scientific, which took up residence last year.

A lack of federal regulations on the energy sector, thanks to Texas establishing its own power grid, has also made the state attractive for producers.

“A common configuration for some of these renewables projects in the state is you’ll have a solar project, and you’ll have a Bitcoin facility right next door, and there’s kind of a bilateral agreement between the two,” Linke said. “Anything excess goes to the grid, then there’s this supplemental agreement with Facebook or Google, large companies like that, for a smaller portion. But the idea is that the Bitcoin facility is the one purchasing from the solar project rather than the utility.”

Linke has not given any indication that will be the case for Core Scientific’s Denton mine. Pine Gate does have a purchase agreement for the power Porter Solar will produce, but details on who the purchaser is and what that agreement will look like have not been made public. Besides, Core Scientific has a standing power purchase agreement with Denton Municipal Electric, which will help offset the debt incurred during the February 2021 winter storms, according to city officials.

Regardless of the purchaser, Linke says the goal is community investment. Partner Blue Ridge Power, which facilitates construction, will recruit and train local contractors though its PowerUp Workforce Development Program. The Pine Gate team has had conversations with Denton County commissioners and the county engineer as well as leaders from the Denton Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Partnership, Linke says, to get feedback about the solar farm.

“We want to make sure we’re connected to the community as closely as we can to be supportive and answer any questions and challenges that may come along the way,” Linke said.

County commissioners could not be reached for comment about the project by Tuesday afternoon.

It has taken about two years to clear the land, which includes working with Texas Parks and Wildlife to make sure no sensitive species are being affected, having the Army Corp of Engineers verify independent studies performed on the land and coordinating with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality before getting local permits. What sets Porter Solar apart from some other solar farms, Linke says, is the company’s experience in producing projects in areas with stricter regulations, meaning aesthetic considerations like native plant buffers are an inherent part of the build.

Porter Solar is expected to be operational by the end of next year, after which it will be mostly self-sustaining, run remotely via computers. The project is one of six in the state, representing a $1 billion investment in Texas.

“This is a long-term partnership between Pine Gate and the community, so past construction we will have a presence here and look forward to continued growth,” Linke said.

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AMBER GAUDET can be reached at 940-566-6889 and via Twitter at @amb_balam.

A storm survey team with the National Weather Service confirms Thursday two weak tornadoes touched down in Krum and Saginaw Wednesday.

The survey team said the tornado in Krum was an EF-0 with a maximum wind speed of 75 mph while the Saginaw twister, also an EF-0, had winds up to 80 mph.

Most of the damage in Krum, the NWS said, was restricted to trees.

In Saginaw, the NWS said the tornado initially formed near the Villages of Eagle Mountain neighborhood where it pulled bricks from the facade of one home. The tornado tracked east from there between Bailey Boswell Road and WJ Boaz Road, where mostly tree damage was found. The tornado moved over to North Saginaw Boulevard where several business signs were damaged and power poles were built. It continued to move east before dissipating.

Earlier in the morning, NWS survey teams confirmed a brief EF-1 tornado touched down in North Fort Worth, where severe winds caused roof damage in the Heritage Trace area. The National Weather Service said the tornado left a path of damage reaching about a half mile with maximum winds of about 90 mph.

The tornadoes were part of a larger outbreak of twisters that swept through parts of northern and eastern Texas Wednesday, leaving scattered reports of damage but only one minor injury.

The National Weather Service said in a statement that strong low-level instability allowed some of the thunderstorms to become severe and that it has received numerous reports of wind damage, hail and a few tornadoes.

The weather service said crews would continue surveying areas of damage on Thursday before providing official confirmation on tornadoes and wind speeds.

Twisters were reported near Rockwall, Greenville and Canton between 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Dozens of funnel clouds that didn't reach the ground were also sighted, with many people sharing their storm pictures to NBC 5 through iSee@nbcdfw.com.

On the northern shore of Cedar Creek Reservoir, about 50 miles southwest of Dallas, a reported tornado caused significant damage in a lakeside subdivision. Steve Howie, emergency management coordinator for Kaufman County, said one person suffered minor injuries in the Cedar Creek Country Club subdivision. He also said many downed trees are making roads impassable in the area.

In Canton, about 55 miles east of Dallas, a tornado caused major damage to the exterior of a gas station and convenience store. The Texas Thunder Truck intercepted the twister as it crossed Texas Highway 19, just moments after it swept through the central core of the town.

Pictures of Funnel Clouds on May 29, 2019

Storm Damage Photos - May 29, 2019

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Read the latest forecast information from NBC 5's team of Weather Experts here.