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Friday, January 25, 2008
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City Council to consider residency restrictions for registered sex offenders
The Lewisville City Council on Monday will consider a proposed ordinance that would restrict where within the city registered sex offenders could live. The draft regulation would prohibit registered offenders from living within a fixed distance of schools, daycares, playgrounds and other public places where children routinely gather.
City staff prepared a draft ordinance at the request of City Council, but left the minimum distance blank. Documentation has been prepared for several possible distances, ranging upward from the 1,000-foot distance the state imposes on those offenders currently on probation or parole. That state requirement goes away when the probation or parole period ends; the city restriction would take effect at that time if adopted. At least 36 Metroplex cities have local restrictions, ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 feet.
Lewisville City Council meets at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28, at Lewisville City Hall, 151 W. Church Street. A workshop will be held at 6:30 p.m. to discuss items on the agenda, although no vote can be taken until the formal meeting.
For agenda information, please visit www.cityoflewisville.com.
Media contact: Community Relations & Tourism Director James Kunke, 972.219.3726
LLELA offering guided tour of bison range this weekend
Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area (LLELA) is offering a guided tour of the wildlife preserve’s bison range on Sunday, Jan. 27, starting at 2 p.m. Cost is $2 per person in addition to the LLELA gate fee of $3 per person.
Participants will meet herd owner Robert Vaughan at the gatehouse, then drive out for an opportunity to see the bison up close and learn more about bison natural history and husbandry. All ages are welcome, but reservations are required by calling 972.219.7980. The bison are normally off view in a secure area of LLELA, so this is a chance to visit a part of the preserve most people don’t get to see.
The Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area is 2,000-acre wilderness of prairies, forests and wetlands managed as a wildlife preserve by a group of agencies including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the University of North Texas, the City of Lewisville, Lewisville ISD and Texas A & M University. Its mission is to preserve and restore native ecosystems and to provide and promote environmental education and scientific research.
LLELA is open to the public every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for fishing, hiking, camping, bird watching, kayaking/canoeing, picnicking and other outdoor activities. For information, visit www.ias.unt.edu/llela or call 972.219.3930.
Media contact: LLELA Publicist Lisa Cole, 972.219.3930
Lewisville Municipal Court to participate in statewide warrant roundup
The Lewisville Municipal Court will be among dozens of agencies across Texas participating in a statewide warrant roundup on Saturday, Feb. 16. The court will mail notices on Feb. 1 to all people with outstanding arrest warrants, and police officers will visit known addresses of those people on Feb. 16 to make arrests.
No amnesty is being offered, but anyone with an outstanding arrest warrant is encouraged to contact the Lewisville Municipal Court before Feb. 16 to settled their obligations and avoid being arrested.
Great State Wide Warrant Roundup is an effort by courts across Texas to actively enforce warrants for individuals who either have not appeared in court as required or who have failed to satisfy a court judgment. Lewisville is participating for the second time.
Media note: A press conference announcing the program will be held Feb. 1 at North Central Texas Council of Governments in Arlington.
Media contact: Court Administrator Tracie Glaeser, 972.219.3437
Local bands being sought for 19th annual Summer Music Series
Dates have been set for the 19th “Sounds of Lewisville” Summer Concert Series, and this year’s series will feature four nights focused on local up-and-coming bands. The free concerts will be held on Tuesday nights, from June 3 through July 22, starting at 7:30 p.m. each night at the Vista Ridge Amphitheater, 3049 Lake Vista Drive.
The schedule includes four nights dedicated to local bands, with one or two bands performing at each concert depending upon the schedule. Established regional acts will perform on the other four concert nights. A selection committee will review submissions from local bands and will announce the performance schedule by the end of February.
Bands interested in being considered for the local-performer nights should submit a press kit, including an audio recording, to: Summer Concert Series, 606 W. Main Street, Lewisville, TX, 75057. For information, please call Melinda Stephens at 972.219.3712.
Vista Ridge Amphitheater is a city-owned outdoor performance facility with seating for about 850 people that is used for public events and is available for private rentals by calling 972.219.3550.
“Sounds of Lewisville” also offers a Fall Concert Series with four more free performances held on Tuesday evenings from Sept. 16 through Oct. 7 in Old Town Lewisville. Both series are coordinated by the City of Lewisville Community Relations & Tourism Department with assistance from the Parks and Leisure Services Department.
For more information, please call 972.219.3401 or visit http://www.cityoflewisville.com.
Media contact: Events and Promotions Specialist Melinda Stephens, 972.219.3712
Visual Art League schedules exhibit by artist Michael Whitehead
The Visual Art League of Lewisville will present “Small Works,” an exhibition by artist Michael Whitehead, from Jan. 26 through March 1 at the VAL Gallery, 701 S. Stemmons Freeway. A concurrent members show is titled “Earliest Recollections.” The opening reception for both shows will be 7-9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26.
The gallery is located in the Lewisville West Shopping Center, on the west side of Interstate 35E between Main Street and Fox Avenue. Gallery hours are 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Whitehead remains committed to abstract painting and continues his exploration of the process through the physicality of materials. Dense layers of wax add a luminous, ethereal quality to the paintings, which share a common construction. A field of cursive calligraphic gesture applied over planes of paint, partially scraped and eroded into whitish grounds.
The longtime Dallas painter said his works “aspire to the condition of the natural object, and depict nothing in particular.” Within these predominately small abstract paintings, however, issues of life and death, the vulgar and refined, comfortably coexist.
Since coming to North Texas State University from England in the mid-eighties, Whitehead has exhibited in Houston, Dallas, Santa Fe, New York, Chicago, London, Paris, Cologne and now Lewisville.
The Visual Art League of Lewisville is celebrating three decades of bringing art to the Lewisville community. The members exhibit will reflect early memories or events that occurred in the year of each artist’s birth.
Visual Arts League (VAL) is one of six local groups receiving funding from the Greater Lewisville Arts Council through the City of Lewisville grant program designed to foster cultural and fine arts in the community.
For more information, call 972.420.9393 or visit www.visualartleague.org.
Media contact: VAL Publicity Chairwoman R’Lene Winters, 972.874.3919
Lewisville Lake Symphony program features “Stars of the Future”
Lewisville Lake Symphony will perform with Grand Prize winners from the Vernell Gregg Young Artists Competition at the “Stars of the Future” concert scheduled for Friday, Feb. 8, at 7:30 p.m. at Lakeland Baptist Church, 397 South Stemmons Freeway in Lewisville.
The concert will open with Rossini’s overture to Il Signor Bruschino and feature music selected by the Grand PrizeWinner. The competition, being held this month, will be judged by Maesto Adron Ming and professors George Papich and John Scott of the College of Music at the University of North Texas.
“The competition attracts talent from across Texas and surrounding states,” Ming said. “We do a first round where contestants submit an audio performance. We select the best performers and ask them to come in for a live audition.
“That’s when things get tough for the judges,” Ming added. “This part of the country seems to produce an extraordinary amount of young musical talent.”
Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and $10 for students. For more information on the Vernell Gregg Young Artists Competition, or the Feb. 8 “Stars of the Future” performance, please visit www.lewisvillesymphony.org or call 972.874.9087.
Now in its 24th season, the Lewisville Lake Symphony is one of Texas’ most respected, all-professional regional orchestras. It is one of six local groups receiving funding from the Greater Lewisville Arts Council through the City of Lewisville grant program designed to foster cultural and fine arts in the community.
Media contact: Marketing Chairman Ian Cleghorn, 817.490.0720
Musical Feast to present “Freedom Song” choral concert
Musical Feast Choral Society will present “Freedom Song” on Sunday, Feb. 10, at 4 p.m. at Episcopal Church of the Annunciation, 602 N. Old Orchard Lane. Tickets are $5 per person. The show will feature choral anthems, solos and guest musicians honoring Dr. Martin Luther King and American freedom.
Musical Feast Choral Society is one of six local groups receiving funding from the Greater Lewisville Arts Council through a City of Lewisville grant program designed to foster cultural and fine arts in the community. For more information, please visit www.musicalfeast.org.
Media contact: Musical Feast President Peter Ots, 972.874.7777
