Commercial Roofing Contractors in Wylie, TX

Law enforcement authorities have in the last six weeks in North Texas arrested 59 people in connection with child sex crimes involving the internet.

The arrests were announced on Friday by the North Texas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the FBI Dallas Division’s Child Exploitation Task Force.

The arrests made by law enforcement agencies across the region under Operation Janus began on Jan. 16 and ended on Feb. 10.

The suspects trafficked illegal images of children forced into sex acts, authorities said.

The authorities said that they seized terabytes of data and electronic devices used in crimes. The evidence is being examined forensically and may lead to the investigation of others.

Twenty-eight children who were victims of online sexual abuse were identified during the operation.

The suspects who have been charged are:

▪ Mickail Dukes; Manifestation of Prostitution; Dallas PD

▪ Justin Peters; Possession of Child Pornography; Garland PD

▪ Noah Craver; Possession of Child Pornography; Plano PD

▪ Vincent Hammack; Possession of Child Pornography; Plano PD

▪ Joshua Drake; Possession of Child Pornography; Wylie PD

▪ Michael A. Newhouse, Jr.; Possession of Child Pornography Possession of Lewd Visual Material; Texas DPS

▪ Michael W. Newhouse, Sr.; Possession of Child Pornography; Texas DPS

▪ Michael Sinnreich; Possession of Child Pornography; Wylie PD

▪ Ernest Martinez; Possession of Child Pornography; Abilene PD

▪ Isaac Hernandez; Possession of Child Pornography; Irving PD

▪ Marcus Lugo; Possession of Child Pornography; Abilene PD

▪ Juan Juarez; Promotion of Child Pornography; Wylie PD

▪ Jesse McFall; Possession of Child Pornography; Dallas PD/Denton PD

▪ Eduardo Ramirez; Receiving/Possession of Child Pornography; Plano PD

▪ Jesse Giesbrecht; Receipt and Distribution of Child Pornography; Seminole County Sheriff’s Office/FBI

▪ Ubaydah Fadel; Possession of Child Pornography; Plano PD

▪ Ivan Hernandez; Sexual Assault of a Child; Dallas PD

▪ Ralph Brooks Brown; Possession of Child Pornography; Plano PD

▪ Anthony Johnson; Possession with Intent to Promote with Prior Conviction; Dallas PD

▪ Nathan Abramovich; Possession of Child Pornography; Wylie PD

▪ Corey Smith Shaw; Possession of Child Pornography; Plano PD

▪ Nathanel Black; Possession of Child Pornography; Irving PD

▪ Steve Martin; Possession of Child Pornography; Plano PD

▪ Tracey Couey; Possession of Child Pornography; Dallas PD

▪ Ramiro Mendoza; Lara Possession of Child Pornography; Irving PD

▪ Charles Stanfiel; Possession of Child Pornography; Abilene PD

▪ Edward Rodriquez; Online Solicitation of a Minor; Abilene PD

▪ Shemar Green; Possession of Child Pornography and Transportation of Child Pornography; FBI-Lubbock/Snyder PD

▪ Cassidy Lush; Distribution of Child Pornography; FBI – Lubbock

▪ David Espinoza; Possession of Child Pornography; FBI – Lubbock

▪ Jonathan Paige; Kidnapping/Sex Assault of a Child; Plano PD

▪ Christopher Berger; Promotion of Child Pornography; Dallas PD

▪ Justin Wyly; Possession of Child Pornography; Hopkins County SO

▪ James Wilborn; Indecency with a Child; Dallas PD

▪ Thomas Dobbs; Possession of Child Pornography; Abilene PD

▪ Craig Schamberger; Online Solicitation; Fort Worth PD

▪ Jason Till; Production of Child Pornography; Homeland Security Investigations

▪ Pipino Alfredo Castelan Diaz; Solicitation of Prostitution of a Minor

▪ Irving Woods; Online Solicitation; Fort Worth PD/Alaska State Troopers/US Secret Service

▪ Demon Driver; Possession of Child Pornography; Dallas PD

▪ Joseph Sterle; Possession of Child Pornography; DPS-Texarkana

▪ Stephen Benzenhafer; Online Solicitation of a Minor; Plano PD

▪ Silvestre Diaz; Indecent Assault; Wylie PD

▪ Juan Blaylock; Possession of Child Pornography; Dallas PD

▪ Maximillian Arya; Possession of Child Pornography; Dallas PD

▪ Gary Mathis; Promotion of Child Pornography; Dallas PD

▪ Anthony Garza; Misdemeanor Charge; Lubbock PD

▪ Haseeb Memon; Possession with Intent to Promote Child Pornography; Wylie PD

▪ Sierra Hendry; Bestiality; Dallas PD

▪ Rit Tran; Distribution of Child Pornography; FBI – Dallas

▪ Javier Montano; Sex Abuse of a Child; Fort Worth PD

This story was originally published February 17, 2023, 5:36 PM.

The leaders of some of the best school districts in Texas actually don't like the tests their students are acing.

Frisco, Plano, and Wylie ISD are just some of the districts asking the state to come up with a better way of labeling schools on how they're performing.

"I'm not a number, I'm not a score," said Julian Williams, senior at Plano West Senior High School.

It's no secret that most students or educators dislike the STAAR test.

"It doesn't reflect the work in our classrooms and the soft skills, creativity leadership and problem-solving. It doesn't consider family engagement," said Lauren Kessel, a 7th-grade teacher at Wylie ISD.

Teachers, students, and superintendents met before our cameras asking you to ask your lawmakers to come up with a better way of evaluating schools.

"When you see students stressed physically sick to their stomachs, I don't think anyone ever intended accountability to put that kind of stress on our children and our educators as well," said Theresa Williams, Superintendent, Plano ISD.

The Texas Education Agency said the department has heard the complaints and has worked to make STAAR better. This year, there's less multiple choice, and more writing and charting out answers. Texas teachers will also grade the tests. It's all based on requests from inside the classroom.

"Texas educators are at the heart of the STAAR even before this redesign and their feedback is crucial to us to have appropriate items on the test," said Lily Laux, Deputy Commissioner, of School Programs, Texas Education Agency.

These educators say the STAAR should be just one part of a complex grade and not put so much pressure on teachers.

"We're not afraid to test kids when it's used for the right reasons, we're just asking the legislature to take a look at this because it is one of the reasons, this accountability system is one of the reasons teachers are leaving the profession," said Mike Waldrip, Superintendent, Frisco ISD, a district that aces the STAAR every year.

They want a system more like what the credit bureaus use. Just like how much you owe and if you pay your bills on time matter to your credit score, they think test scores should be one part, and grades another, then leadership skills and growth to measure a school's accountability.

Williams said colleges use more than his class rank and GPA to admit him, Texas should use more tools to grade how schools perform.

The Wylie East girls soccer team is gaining national attention with one of the best starts in the state.

Ranked No. 6 in all of Texas 6A soccer, the Lady Raiders are 12-0 early in the regular season, but they’re dominating opponents in a way never seen before. Their current record is one of the best starts in school history, compared to 2016 when they went 14 matches unbeaten with two draws and 2021, when the Lady Raiders opened the season 17 matches unbeaten with one draw.

Head coach Kody Christensen has seen plenty of success during his time in charge of the Wylie East soccer program but felt early on this year could be special.

“We started thinking this could be a pretty special year early on, but I don’t think anyone quite expected something like this,” Christensen said. “We’re finding ways to put the ball in the back of the net with multiple players and we thought we’d have a pretty special offense.”

The offense has scored 71 goals in 12 games this season, with everyone chipping in for offensive production. There might have been questions about replacing starting striker Ramani Neal heading into the season, but the Lady Raiders have answered in a big way with everyone chipping in for goals.

“We’ve had a lot of great strikers and when you have that you try to facilitate getting them the ball in space,” Christensen said. “We’re now utilizing the spaces in the field that allow us to attack our opponents strategically. When you have players that are confident and can fulfill the gameplan it makes the game free-flowing and easy.”

Wylie East suffered a close 1-0 loss in the playoffs last season to Frisco Wakeland in the first round. From there, the Lady Wolverines went on to win the state championship with not many teams coming as close as Wylie East did to beating them.

Knowing his team was that close, coach Christensen and his staff noticed some differences between his team and Wakeland’s he could adapt. He wanted to build a positionless soccer team in the offseason, where any single player could succeed at any position on the field.

“We wanted to train a little bit differently this season and so far, it’s working,” Christensen said. “We noticed some things against Frisco Wakeland in the playoffs last season and felt like that could’ve been us. We wanted to take what we saw and evolve our team into training every player the same technically and teach them the movement off the ball to help everyone succeed at any position on the field.”

The team is off to a blistering start on offense, averaging 5.9 goals per game, but it can only truly be matched by Wylie East’s defense to start the season, which has held opponents to zero goals in 12 games.

Between a deep, experienced and confident backline of defenders and senior goalkeeper Breanna Wooten, Wylie East has been a fortress this season, allowing very little pressure or goalscoring opportunities. Wooten has 54 shutouts as the goalkeeper for the Lady Raiders, as she’s set to break the school record with her performances this season.

“The ability to trust our goalkeeper is, in my opinion, one of the best in the state, it helps our defense play with confidence,” Christensen said. “There’s a lot of trust back there and that is most important for a good defense to succeed.”

Wylie East continues its season on the road Friday against Lakeview Centennial before hosting Rowlett next Tuesday, Feb. 14. As the team approaches the halfway point in district play, conversations about how far this team can go this season have started to pop up. Coach Christensen and his team are embracing that challenge.

“When you add our depth and talent, the fact that any one player can have an awesome day for us, it’s sort of the recipe for success,” Christensen said. “I’m not saying it’s going to be a state championship year, but I’m not saying it’s not going to be either. This year feels like we’re clicking on all cylinders at the right time of the calendar year.”

For additional sports coverage, subscribe to our newspaper here.

For additional sports pictures, see here.

Two local full-time moms with a passion for women’s headwear are making their presence known in Wylie despite being a young business.

A little over one month old — celebrating the mark Sunday, Feb. 5 — the Turquoise Feather Hat Company already has a busy schedule, being booked for private and business events through April, according to its co-owners Jacqueline Grayczyk and Pam Kovar. Just ahead of its one-month anniversary, the company held a special event at Landon Winery in downtown Wylie Friday, Feb. 3.

Both women said they have a passion for attending hat trade shows and honky tonks in the area, but noticed a market opening in Wylie.

Entirely female owned and operated, these two entrepreneurial women decided that they wanted to sell hats that bring flair while being unique to an outfit or individual. Initially, the fedora-style hats are exclusively made for women, although that may change in the future, said Kovar.

“It can go with any season: fall, spring, summer or winter, but they’re all unique to the lady that creates it,” Kovar said. “We’ll help them with ideas and what might look good together, but everyone is one of a kind so there is not one single Turquoise Feather hat that’s going to look like another. They can go with any outfit or a specific outfit.”

Grayczyk said the company recently designed a set of hats for a bride and bridesmaids that were custom-made to their outfits.

The creative process also involves getting together with friends to make hats that will eventually be sold in the community. They also wanted to be trend setters in the community after noticing private hat bars’ popularity in other Texas towns.

“We like to get together with our friends and hang out as girlfriends,” Kovar said. “We saw that there were some other boutiques several hours away from here that were starting to get with the hat bar thing, so we wanted to bring it here to Wylie because nothing like that existed around here.”

Additionally, both Grayczyk and Kovar said it is important to them to be involved in the community and give back.

“Being transplants not from Texas, community is super important, and if you don’t put yourself out there and get involved in the community, you won’t meet anybody,” Kovar said. “We want to be out there helping the community; eventually I would love for our business to grow and give back.”

The company has priced its hats for what is affordable for the Wylie community, said Grayczyk.

On its website, hats can be purchased for between $125 and $135 with a hat box available for $15. Aptly, the hats also include feathers that protrude at varying lengths.

Grayczyk also said the company hopes to partner with the food pantry at The Cross Church, Hope for the Cities, and host an event where 10% of the proceeds are donated. The company has also contributed hat packages to the Wylie Fire-Rescue Banquet Saturday, Feb. 11, and the Wylie ISD Education Foundation Boots N’ Barbecue Gala March 18.

Kovar, herself starting her second business, said she has been amazed at the reception the Turquoise Feather Hat Company has received from the community. Grayczyk shared the sentiment, thanking the local support.

“I will say Herman Marshall gave us an amazing platform that we may not have necessarily had, but Wylie has a great appreciation for honoring the local Wylie businesses,” Grayczyk said. “Coming in here [Landon Winery], this was a connection based off of Facebook and the local Wylie groups we’ve been plugged into. We both love Wylie and are invested in Wylie…and we are Wylie residents.”

For more information about the Turquoise Feather Hat Company, visit tfhatco.com.

For more stories, such as this, subscribe to The Wylie News.

Here’s a look at the latest new projects registered in North Texas commercial real estate with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, a list of new construction, renovations and alterations in Dallas, Fort Worth and elsewhere. All projects listed are public records.

The Dallas Business Journal’s definition of North Texas comprises 15 counties: Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Grayson, Hill, Johnson, Kaufman, McLennan, Navarro, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant and Wise. If a county is not listed below, it did not have any projects registered yesterday.

To update information that was not submitted correctly to TDLR, please contact Real Estate Editor Anna Butler at abutler@bizjournals.com.

COLLIN COUNTY

Project Name: Kroger #568 Remodel 2023 (Artisan Decor)

RELATED: Kroger, Albertsons execs make case for mega-merger before Senate subcommittee

Project Name: Visiquate

Project Name: Crunch Fitness Plano TX

Project Name: Hollywood Feed #038 Park at Preston Plano TX

Project Name: NexGen Fitness - Allen

Project Name: Tuscany Meadows Park

Project Name: U-Haul Princeton Self Storage- UBox and Driveups

Project Name: Elevon Phase 1 Hike and Bike Trail

Project Name: Liuyishou Hotpot

Project Name: Jack in the Box Custer Road

Project Name: Masjid nour Al Quran

Project Name: Wylie Crossing

Project Name: T-Mobile Frisco 1 EVC

Project Name: Elevon Phase 1 Amenity Center

RELATED: Taylor Morrison buys land to build hundreds more rent houses in Lavon, Saginaw

Project Name: DW Energy Group, LCC Downsize

Project Name: RISD Rochell Elementary School Replacement

Project Name: BLP Coppell

Project Name: Proeses Bio- Dallas Tx

Project Name: Providence Towers Capital Improvements

Project Name: Allied Universal

Project Name: R2 Gate America

Project Name: Capstone Expansion

Project Name: Spanish Creek Apartments Club House Interior Remodel

Project Name: 9th Floor Corridor & Restrooms

Project Name: Bachman Lake Skate Park

Project Name: Pollo Regio - CF Hawn

DENTON COUNTY

Project Name: Red River Spec Suites

RELATED: CenterPoint Properties acquires 900,000-square-foot business park in Lewisville

Project Name: Sky Rocket Burger

Project Name: Denton County Bar Association Building Remodel

Project Name: Feng Cha

Project Name: Ponder Veterinary Hospital

Project Name: Madero Phase 2

Project Name: Shipley Do-Nuts (Providence Village)

Project Name: Baylor Scott & White Health - Frisco Hospital

RELATED: Baylor Scott & White gets OK for 47-acre rezoning effort for new medical center in Frisco

ELLIS COUNTY

Project Name: Community Med Family Urgent Care - Midlothian

KAUFMAN COUNTY

Project Name: Forney ISD | Forney High School Expansion - Phase 2

Project Name: Forney ISD | North Forney High School Expansion - Phase 2

MCLENNAN COUNTY

Project Name: Clinic Construction

Project Name: W. Risinger Rd. & Garden Springs DR Traffic Signal Project

RELATED: Behind the design of TCU's $62M Burnett School of Medicine facility

Project Name: Speculative Suite 150

Project Name: 2021 Residential Rebuild - Shenandoah Dr.

Project Name: Shops at Basswood

Project Name: 2022 Bond Year 1 Contract 1

Project Name: Eastside YMCA Renovation and Expansion

Ranked by Value of deals 2021