Month: April 2024
Employment Opportunity: Parks Maintenance Worker – Part Time
The City of Van Alstyne is now accepting applications for Parks Maintenance Worker – Part Time. Applications may be submitted to City Hall.
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Open in new tab Forrest Moore Park Gets a Facelift With the Help of CDC
Forrest Moore Park is our most south park in Van Alstyne located just off Hwy 5 near the Georgetown neighborhood. This is one of the City of Van Alstyne’s most used parks and includes ballfields, basketball, tennis & pickleball courts, pavilions & picnic tables, playgrounds and walking trails.
With this long list of ammenities, this is a very highly trafficed park on a daily basis for Van Alstyne. Forrest Moore Park is also used by many sports organizations that bring out not only Van Alstyne residents, but surrounding communities as well. For some people, this will be their first reason to visit Van Alstyne. With this high use, over time the parking lot and the sign for the park “needed attention and repairs to ensure quality of use for our residents,” said David Sileven, President of the Van Alstyne Community Development Corporation. He said “the condition of the park reflects upon our city and we wanted to ensure that we are sending a positive message of how our community cares for the assets that we manage and reflect a positive image of Van Alstyne.”
Van Alstyne Parks & Recreation, with the assistance of the CDC, repaved and restriped the parking lot which not only looks so much nicer, but provides a far better experience for all visitors when the parking lot is being heavily used on sports days. The marquee sign in front of the park is also being rebuilt to better represent the park as well.
“The vote by the board was unanimous to direct the funds to assist our Parks Department and we are eager to see the results when the work is completed,” said David Sileven.
Crystal DeBacker
Media Coordinator
City of Van Alstyne
cdebacker@cityofvanalstyne.us
903-357-1088
Pique Boutique in Downtown Van Alstyne
Marshall Street is a picturesque street in our historic downtown that is lined with shops, restaurants, studios and more. On this soon to be renovated street, you’ll find Pique Boutique who was the first to jump on the opportunity by our CDC to offer their billboard to local businesses. Founded by Mandy and Donald Bacco in 2022, Pique Boutique is the result of Mandy’s passion for fashion and their shared desire to provide an exceptional boutique experience in Van Alstyne. You’ll find women’s and girl’s clothing and accessories including bags, shoes and jewelry, all of which are individually selected by Mandy. Mandy says, “we believe that fashion is a means of self-expresssion” and that the day is just better when you like what you’re wearing.
Pique Boutique also offers a loyalty program called Pique Perks that allows customers to earn 1 point for every dollar spent, and each 150 points is $10 off a future purchase. Follow Pique on your preferred social platform and stay up to date on the new items and events or visit their website at www.mypiqueboutique.com to shop their current items today.
Address: 245 E. Marshall St., Van Alstyne, TX 75495
Hours of Operation: Mon – Sat 10:00 – 6:00 Sunday 12:00 – 4:00
Facebook: Pique Boutique
IG: @mypiqueboutique
TikTok: @pique_boutique
Crystal DeBacker
Media Coordinator
City of Van Alstyne
cdebacker@cityofvanalstyne.us
903-357-1088
Scoggins Funeral Home Recognized for 100 Years of Service!
On March 4, 2024, the Van Alstyne Historical Museum Directors, Teddie Ann Salmon and Jo Bell, presented Tommy Scoggins and the Van Alstyne Cemetery Association the Texas Treasure Business Award for the Scoggins Funeral Home. This award was sponsored by the Van Alstyne Historical Museum and given to this business because it has served the community continually for over 100 years.
In 1873, Dave Lewis built a blacksmith shop in Van Alstyne at the southwest corner of Main and Marshall Street. It was replaced by a larger building just south of that location. The building also housed the undertaking establishment of Mr. C.C. McCorkle. Mr. McCorkle, the first undertaker, merged with S.L. McKinney. This was in 1885. Later, the Van Alstyne Undertaking Company became the co-partnership of S.L. McKinney and Lee McKinney. The business sold on September 17, 1925, to R.R. Waldo and O.S. Yoder. Mr. Waldo sold his interest to A.R. Hill and then Mr. Yoder bought out Mr. Hill.
Mr. Yoder and his son, Howard, conducted this business located on Marshall Street, along with their Chevrolet business, until 1935. The sold to L.K. Fox (their mortician), Inez Fanning Fox, and Mr. Albert Fanning. It was renamed Fox-Fanning Funeral Home in 1936. Shortly thereafter, the business moved. They converted the Slaughter residence, located at 226 Dallas Street, into a funeral home. Mr. and Mrs. Fox operated the business until January 1, 1953, when they sold the business to Don S. Flesher. On February 1, 1973, Flesher Funeral Home moved into their new building, located at 637 West Van Alstyne Parkway. On November 1, 2011, the Flesher Funeral Home was sold to Tommy and Bobbie Kay Scoggins. It is now known as Scoggins Funeral Home and Crematory. It is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to serve the needs of the community.
Article by: Teddie Salmon
Pictured L-R Back-Front: Mayor Jim Atchison, Zach Herring, Dusty Williams, Dora White, Kitty Alexander, Casey Scoggins (VP Van Alstyne Cemetery Association), Billy Turner (Secretary VACA), Jo Bell (VP Van Alstyne Historical Museum), Teddie Salmon (Pres. VAH Museum), Linda Hynds
Van Alstyne Public Library Continues to Add More Offerings
The Van Alstyne Public Library is located in downtown Van Alstyne at 151 W Cooper Street. From seed catalogs to video game consoles, our public library has something for everyone. Here is a quick highlight of the offerings you can check out (pun intended):
Books: Bestselling fiction and nonfiction for all ages: – children, teens, and adults. Ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines- all free.
Technology: – Mobile hotspots, fully loaded desktop PC’s, 24/7 wifi from either of our parking lots
Digital resources: Remote printing, Texshare Databases, online Van Alstyne Leader Archive
In-house services & equipment: Microfilm printer and reader, scanning, color or b/w printing or photocopying, die cut machines.
Other cool stuff: Local history section, study carrels, local newspaper, hang out with one of our Ipads or MS Surfaces. Gaming Center in our teen area.
Take a STEM kit or Discovery pack home for gardening, bird watching, exploring your backyard, a telescope or astronomy binoculars to star gaze,
Programs:
Ongoing:
2 Preschool story time and a Spanish story time on Wednesdays
Book Club for adults
Game night for families every other Tuesday
Stand alone:
8 week Summer Reading Program
Santa’s Workshop
Jr. Gardening series
Adult Gardening classes
Meet the Author
For information on upcoming programs and service, like and follow the Library Facebook page here or visit the library posts on our website here. Click here to reference the City Leader Interview with Judy Kimzey as well!
April is National Poetry Month and the Van Alstyne Public Library is celebrating with a month long display and they invite you all to join in celebrating on April 13th at 5pm for a meet the author night with award-winning author and poet, Ron Wallace. Bring your own work to share and discuss after his presentation as well.
Crystal DeBacker
Media Coordinator
City of Van Alstyne
cdebacker@cityofvanalstyne.us
903-357-1088
Beautiful New Gazebo for the Community
McKinney Wilson Park is one of the most beautiful of our 5 parks. Located less than a mile east of downtown Van Alstyne on Jefferson St. this park has beautifully maintained green space and old growth shade trees, making it a perfect spot to enjoy being outside throughout the year. Some of the amenities of the park include a large playground that a wide age range of kids can enjoy, the open green space, 2 softball fields with a concession stand and public restrooms, and now a brand new gazebo.
The old gazebo had served the community for many years and had seen better days. The city decided it was time for an upgrade and has replaced the gazebo with a 20′ x 23’ pavilion that will serve park goers for years to come. In addition to this gazebo, there are multiple picnic tables to utilize as well.
Use rec desk to reserve this brand new gazebo for your next gathering, or swing by to have lunch and enjoy one of our beautiful parks this Spring.
Crystal DeBacker
Media Coordinator
City of Van Alstyne
cdebacker@cityofvanalstyne.us
903-357-1088