Home Care In Colleyville, TX

When Glenhope Elementary classmates found out that Jaron Casillas is color blind they secretly decided to donate the money needed for a life-changing gift.

COLLEYVILLE, Texas — A 5th grader in Colleyville has an entirely new view of the world today. And, also thanks to his elementary school classmates, he has a pretty sharp focus on the value of some very good friends.

When Jaron Casillas was very young, his parents discovered that he saw the world a bit differently: a Texas sunrise for example.

"I heard his voice in the backseat say, 'Mommy look a the beautiful green sunrise,'" Jaron's mom Lindsay Casillas recalled. "And I looked at it and I thought, oh dear."

Jaron, they discovered that day, is color blind. Purples, greens and blues, for example, he sees as just different shades of gray.

But now in the 5th grade, at Glenhope Elementary in Colleyville, his teacher and classmates were talking about their favorite colors. Jaron revealed to them that certain colors were difficult for him to distinguish: that he just sees the world differently. His teacher asked if he knew about special glasses that could help. Jaron said yes, but that he understood that they were expensive.

Two weeks later, after Jaron's classmates told the teacher they wanted to get him those special glasses, their pool of allowance money and other donations totaled enough to get him two pair, indoor and outdoor, with $88 left over to perhaps help someone else.

On Oct. 19, the teacher and students surprised Jaron with the gift.

"They donated their own allowances, happily, because they love you and they care about you," his teacher Christina Hayes told him.

"Wow," Jaron said as he scanned the classroom with its now sudden change in hue.

"My heart soars to see his face, and he's had a smile on the entire time. He's still smiling," said Hayes.

"I'm just like, is this what everybody else has been seeing the whole time," Jaron said as he looked around the room.

But then, an impromptu recess allowed Jaron to try the second pair of glasses, a darker pair, designed to compensate for bright sunlight.

"Yeah, pretty cool right?" Hayes asked him as they stood outside with his classmates.

"It's very exciting," she said. "That smile won't come off his face he's got a huge smile."

And Jaron's parents Tim and Lindsay Casillas, who attended the classroom presentation, hope their son's vision isn't the only change he will see.

"I think he sees a sense of what true friendship is and caring people around him, and I hope he just carries this with him and he remembers this day for a long time."

"I think today the world sometimes seems a little bleak. And when I got the call that these kids were doing this for Jaron, I think that's what this story is really about," Lindsay Casillas said. "The hearts of these children in a time like this is so inspiring."

"I'm just really excited because I know that my friends are really true friends for doing this for me," said Jaron.

So, whatever color friendship is, in Colleyville that friendship is now about as vibrant as it can be.

An outrageous take on the classic Bloody Mary began as a simple April Fool’s joke.

Chef Point Restaurant & Bar in Colleyville posted a photo of a Bloody Mary garnished with a corndog, a turkey leg, corn on the cob, a caramel apple and funnel cake. To the surprise of co-owners Franson Nwaeze and Paula Merrell Nwaeze, several customers tried to order the so-called State Fair Bloody Mary.

Six months later, the concoction is no joke. The restaurant will debut the State Fair Bloody Mary on Friday to coincide with the State Fair of Texas’ opening day.

“This is not your typical cocktail,” Merrell Nwaeze said. “It’s a work of art.”

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The concoction includes the restaurant’s signature Bloody Mary, served in a 16-ounce glass. Perched on top of the glass are a shimmery turkey leg, a crispy fried corndog, grilled corn on the cob, an apple coated with caramel and nuts and a powdered sugar-dusted funnel cake.

Perfecting the cocktail was a laborious process, the couple said. First, they had to make a corndog that could compare to the formidable Fletcher’s Corny Dogs, which required plenty of trial and error.

“We just winged it,” Merrell Nwaeze said. “It was definitely a challenge, but I think we got pretty close.”

Once they perfected recipes, staff turned to arranging all of the garnishes around a single glass. They tried to fit two more State Fair favorites — a fried Oreo and a fried pickle — without luck.

An Oreo and pickle could grace a future Bloody Mary, though. If successful, the restaurant hopes to make the drink an annual special with a different set of fair foods.

The State Fair Bloody Mary will cost $39 and includes a free beer while customers wait for a bartender to assemble it: Putting it all together takes roughly 15 minutes.

This is not the first time Chef Point has made headlines. The restaurant opened 20 years ago inside a Watauga gas station, northeast of Fort Worth, where it served upscale foods like duck à l’orange, chicken and waffles and blackened salmon.

Made famous by Guy Fieri’s Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Chef Point earned the nickname “calamari Conoco.” The restaurant closed its Watauga location in early 2023 to focus on the Colleyville spot.

The State Fair Bloody Mary will be available through Oct. 22, the last day of the fair.

Colleyville is looking to expand a park to honor its local heroes.

Council approved a services agreement with Freese and Nichols Inc. for the development of construction documents and bidding assistance to redesign Heroes Park on July 18.

“It’s so important that we pause, reflect and honor our fallen heroes,” Mayor Pro Tem Callie Rigney said.

The background

Heroes Park is located near City Hall on a small property behind the Aristide wedding event center. In January, council approved a citizens committee made up of residents with military backgrounds or relevant experience to create a park space for the community, Assistant City Manager Adrienne Lothery said at the July 18 meeting.

The group worked with design consultants and visited several veteran memorials across the metroplex to create a list of desired elements in a new memorial park, she said.

The details

The city is looking at transforming the park space south of City Hall into the new Heroes Park with space for community events. In its concept plans, the park includes the following:

The project’s price tag is estimated at $6.4 million and will be funded through the city’s capital improvement plan. This is split among costs for site preparation, construction of the Heroes Plaza and event space, road work, and additional project costs. About $500,000 of the project’s cost goes toward the design services with Freese and Nichols, according to city documents.

Lothery said the engineering firm has brought on a subconsultant to the team that designed the Bush Presidential Library.

“We’ve got some really neat experts that are coming to the table to help Colleyville do this in a really excellent fashion,” she said.

Next steps

With a set concept plan, Lothery said the next stage of the process is to do complete design engineering, which is expected to take nine to 12 months. Once the design is finalized, she said the project can be placed out to bid.

Throughout this process, Lothery said work sessions will be held with council once the design team reaches 30%, 60%, 90% and 100% of the design phase.

The city will also hold up to three public open houses throughout the planning process to receive feedback from residents.

“We want to make sure that we engage the community, share the excitement and hear their thoughts too,” Lothery said.

Education Reporter

Hannah covers education for Frisco, McKinney, Prosper and Celina ISDs. She joined Community Impact in June 2022 as the reporter for Grapevine, Colleyville and Southlake. Hannah holds a degree in journalism from the University of North Texas and began her journalism career at the North Texas Daily.

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What he did: Ullrich led Colleyville Heritage to a 38-34 win over area power Argyle in the regional semifinal round of the Texas high school football playoffs. The senior was 17-of-30 for 280 yards and three touchdowns. He also carried the ball 20 times for 140 yards and a touchdown. Two of Ullrich’s touchdown passes came with under five minutes to go in the game. The quarterback threw the game-winning score with 41 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

The stats: So far this season, Ullrich has thrown for 2,632 yards and 36 touchdowns.With 96 carries for 650 yards and 10 touchdowns, the senior is Heritage’s leading rusher. Ullrich took some snaps at quarterback during his junior season, finishing with 778 yards and nine touchdowns.

Who is he: A four-year member of Heritage’s varsity football team. Along with taking snaps at quarterback, he also played receiver in 2022 and had 52 catches for 869 yards and 12 touchdowns. During his junior season, Ullrich was Heritage’s fourth-best rusher with 47 carries for 126 yards and three touchdowns.

He said it: “It was a crazy game. We went down by 10 points with like four minutes left, and our team stayed resilient and we came out with the win. It felt great. ... I was just talking to the guys, trying to keep the guys’ heads up. ... We all did a great job. All the guys — I don’t think they had a doubt in their mind. I didn’t have a doubt in my mind either.”

Coach said it: “Luke is the ultimate competitor, and the team thrives off his leadership and passion for the game. His ability to extend plays and create opportunities makes him a true dual threat player.” — Colleyville Heritage head coach Jerry Edwards

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Did you know? Ullrich comes from a big family. He has five siblings because his mom had two sets of twins. Much of his family flew in and watched him play on Friday night. Members of his church went to watch, too.

There was anger and shouting at Monday night's Keller ISD school board meeting.

"We can't trust what you're going to say," said one parent to board members.

Most parents speaking Monday were strongly against Keller ISD's proposed policy to allow chaplains to work in Keller schools.

"You are going to see an exodus of students, families, and teachers," said one speaker.

The board president repeatedly ejected parents who spoke out of turn, sometimes even after asking them for clarification of what they were saying.

Board member Ruthie Keys, who was against the policy, walked off the stage, calling it her last straw and insinuating she was resigning her seat.

Keller ISD said they're working to determine if her words were official.

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The state required this vote. They passed a new law giving religious leaders more freedom and the ability to be paid for mental health services. But districts could opt out.

Grapevine-Colleyville ISD also took up this issue Monday night and opted in with different parameters.

A Grapevine-Colleyville ISD trustee said "just because you are a chaplain, that does not qualify you to be a counselor. We will hire counselors based on the certifications and requirements just as we always have."

GCISD shared their policy with NBC 5, which stated: "The Board of Trustees does not permit the district or its campuses to employ an individual to serve as a chaplain, but the district or its campuses are permitted to employ an individual considered a chaplain in an open position if the individual otherwise meets all criteria for the open position."

The Jewish community has been strongly opposed to this legislation across Texas, but Emily Bourgeois, for the Union for Reform Judaism said they consider the policy adopted by GCISD, to be one of the best they've seen, so far in Texas, especially since it reinforces the qualifications of school guidance counselors and is something they hope to continue to see.

The majority of speakers at both meetings were against any changes to current policies, but some were supportive of them.

"I'm just here to say if I had it my way. It would be God first and everything. I think it's a great compromise," said one speaker.

Some parents say the state and district would face lawsuits over violating the separation of church and state.

About 100 chaplains drafted a letter against the statewide law, saying it harms public schools.

"There is no requirement in this law that the chaplain refrain from proselytizing while at schools or that they serve students from different religious backgrounds.

The National School Chaplain Association told NBC 5 they supported the Texas law.

"School chaplaincy, just like chaplaincy in other U.S. institutions, is perfectly legal and consistently upheld by the Supreme Court. School chaplaincy programs follow specific regulations that prohibit proselytizing, offering services based on consent. Simply put, chaplains don’t represent religion or the church, they represent God."

Keller ISD board members insisted current counselors would not be replaced with chaplains, despite concern from parents that it would.

"While SB 763 allows a school district to employ chaplains if it chooses to adopt such a policy, that’s not what Keller ISD’s adopted resolution allows, and the Trustees were clear about that this evening," said a district spokesman.