National Night Out award given to Coppell

By Mary Whitfill Features Editor The Coppell City Council accepted the “Target National Night Out 2011 Award” first place trophy from the Coppell Police Department on Tuesday. The award was given to Coppell by Town Watch for being selected as the best program in the country in its designated population category. This year, the city held 59 block parties in neighborhoods across Coppell.  2011 marks the 20th year that Coppell has receives this top honor for its National Night Out (NNO) program. In other important Coppell news, current mayor Doug Stover will not be seeking reelection May, stating that his required  travel as a business man has begun to interfere with his work as mayor….

Coppell police, high school to offer safety courses and workshops

By Kristen Shepard Staff Writer Even though the Coppell bubble may seem like the happiest place on earth, there are still dangers that many students face. To combat this, Coppell is offering several oppurtunities to become more safe. First off, the Coppell Police department is accepting applications for the police academy. This is a workshop that will help citizens learn police techniques to keep safe in the event of an attack. If you are unable to attend, there are several tips that simply keeping in mind can make you more safe on a day to day basis. Statistics prove that women are far more likely to be attacked then men, and oftentimes, do not defend…

Coppell police double up for holiday theft

By Kristen Shepard Staff Writer For many, the holidays mark a season filled with celebration, cheer and family. However, for many people, holidays are a tough reminder of how hard it can be to make ends meet financially. Because of this, it has become a repeating trend that theft increases dramatically during the holidays. Not only are people trying to provide for themselves and their families, commercial spending leads to more people carrying around nicer things. Let this serve as a reminder to follow the national campaign “Hide, Lock, Take“. This campaign reminds drivers to hide their belongings in their car to where they aren’t visible through windows, lock their car and take their keys…

Land owners ready to mess with local off-road drivers

By Ben Cowlishaw Online Copy Editor A look around the student parking lot reveals many students sport Jeeps, trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles. While many seldom use their car for anything other than day-to-day driving, there are some who enjoy taking them off-roading to push their vehicle to the limit. Most are unaware that, especially in one of the more popular locations for off-roading in Coppell, the practice is not only dangerous – it’s illegal. At the u-turn bridge under State Highway 121 near N. Coppell Road, one can often see a Jeep bouncing around the terrain. However, the location is private property and anyone caught on the property, both the driver and passengers, can…

Teenager arrested in local flag burnings, vandalism

Mary Whitfill Features Editor Editor’s note: This blog has been updated as it originally incorrectly identified Nicolas Morehart as a Coppell High School student. Nicholas Morehart, 17, of Coppell was arrested Friday in connection for more than 50 counts of vandalism, U.S. flag burnings and criminal mischief. After trying to evade arrest, Morehart was caught in a foot pursuit at about 3:30 a.m. as he walked on the 700 block of Allen Road. Morehart was charged with evading arrest, two counts of destruction of a flag (misdemeanors) and one charge of criminal mischief that totaled over $20,000, a third degree felony. In one instance of flag burning, the fire reached an out of control point…

City gears up for National Night Out celebration

By Mary Whitfill Features Editor As Coppell prepares for the 20th celebration of National Night Out (NNO) in October, the organization has begun to gear up for their participation in local events. From St. Ann Carnival to the annual homecoming parade, NNO uses widely attended events to spread the word about what they consider to be the best social event of the year. “National Night Out is probably one of the most important events that the City annually hosts,” Coppell Community Information Officer Sharon Logan said. “Coppell residents really care about each other and they care about their community.  This event encourages and fosters that hometown feel by bringing neighbors together for a dual purpose, fighting crime and…

Coppell man found dead in Trinity River

Thomas Hair Staff Writer The search for missing Coppell resident Hwanyeo Park ended on Sunday May 8 when a squad from numerous local police departments found his body in the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. Park was a eighty-four years old at the time of his death and had been missing since May 3 for a total five days. The death has been confirmed as an accidental drowning, as the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office could find no evidence that any wrongdoing had occured. Park’s family reported him missing to the Coppell Police Department at 9:30 p.m. after three hours had passed since he usually returned to his Rockcrest home from his daily walk. After a few days of…

Crimestoppers, how it works

Mike Pankonien Staff Writer Crimestoppers: stopping crime one tip at a time. Crimestoppers: snitches get stitches. These are the two slogans dominating the news surrounding the Coppell Crime Commission’s recent program, Crimestoppers. Whether you believe the program will help clamp down on crime in Coppell or think that the policy of paying off tipsters is unethical, it is certainly evident that the program has made waves in the community. Advocating the collection, use, and rewarding for tips on criminal activities, the Crimestoppers program has lead to at least nine arrests in the past six months. So how exactly does it work? The Crimestoppers program is run under the jurisdiction of the Coppell Crime Commission inc.,…

CHS parking lot: behind the scenes shenanigans

Chase Porter Staff Writer Most of you students get to the parking lot from around 7:45 to 8:10. At 3:50 you hop in your car and wait in the line but what happens for those good 7 to 8 hours when your not there? Being an afternoon duel credit student I have the exclusive privilege of seeing what goes on while most of you are still in classrooms learning. Today, as I walked outside to get to my car I noticed a large number of unusual things. First off, Mr. Lopez, the parking lot security officer was no where to be found. As a matter of fact his golf cart was not in sight either….

Coppell Police Department’s stolen funds

By Thomas Hair Staff Writer A lockbox containing at least $1,500 disappeared from Coppell Police Headquarters earlier this month. The money was reportedly to be used for undercover drug operations the CPD was conducting. The famed Texas Rangers will be investigating the crime. On October 4, the Texas Rangers started by examining the police station and interviewing various police offers. Coppell and the Department of  Safety have confirmed that the actual investigation has not yet begun. This is a very interesting case and is obviously quite a big deal to the Coppell Police Department-having enlisted the assistance of the Texas Rangers. On October 11, another tidbit of information was announced that raised eyebrows. Deputy Police…