2024
brought both unrest and joy to the Ranch Cities area. Residents throughout the U.S. 377 and U.S. 380 corridors have served one another while experiencing continued growth and changes throughout the region.
Here is our annual review of some of the biggest news from the past year.
January
A routine traffic stop for officer William Tinkle of Krugerville Police Department turns into a high-speed chase and brief manhunt the day after Christmas.
Ray Roberts Lake Isle du Bois Unit has 117 people for the second one of three hikes for the new year.
The town of Cross Roads and Denton ISD are working together to include a 32-acre town center owned by the two governmental entities.
Tioga Police Department K9 Unit Joga helps turn a routine traffic stop for the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office into a drug and guns bust.
Around 100 people attend the 19th Century Club’s annual Community Workers Luncheon at the Pilot Point Community Center.
New staff means a new space and new operating procedures for the development services department at Pilot Point City Hall.
Subject matter experts experienced with funding tools for development help give an overview of the components of a public improvement district to the Providence Village council.
For the first time in nearly 50 years, The Post-Signal has changed ownership.
Isle du Bois, Region 6’s Park of the Year, is home to its Park Interpreter of the year as well in Mindy Shumate.
The Aubrey FFA braves the impending freeze for an opportunity to get some preseason work for its kids at the local show.
Pilot Point adopts new historic district guidelines.
The Aubrey 380 Area Chamber of Commerce provides not only its state of the Chamber address but also an opportunity to recognize outstanding businesses and volunteers who are part of the organization.
The prides of Pilot Point and Aubrey ISD will both advance students to the state level once again, with the 3A school to the north advancing one and the 4A school sending four.
The Texas Education Agency is requiring Tioga ISD to call a bond election that would restructure the debt for the high school.
February
The city of Pilot Point is launching its master plan update, and it wants participation from the community.
An industrial accident Jan. 25 results in the death of 29-year-old Jesus Gustavo Perez Vazquez, the injury of another Acadia worker and the loss of water that affected Providence Village residents.
The fine arts programs at Aubrey ISD are breaking in their new auditorium with an ambitious collaborative production.
The Pilot Point Chamber of Commerce celebrate a year of successes at its annual banquet held at Lone Star Lodge and Marina.
In light of the Pilot Point School board’s recent vote to move DAEP and other special programs out of their portable and into a mostly unused wing of the Early Childhood Learning Center, several parents voice their discontent.
Makayla King of the Aubrey Middle School Junior Beta Club draws the audience in during her finals performance that won her a state championship.
Mayor Elisa Beasley kicks off the Feb. 8 council meeting with a recognition of the Black founding families in Pilot Point.
Dr. Shannon Fuller has been named the lone finalist for the Pilot Point ISD superintendent position.
Tioga City Council approves a contract with All American Dogs to serve the city.
The city of Aubrey begins the comprehensive planning process by finding a partner for the Aubrey 2045 Comprehensive Plan.
Pilot Point ISD is searching for a new athletic director and head football coach, which Athletic Director Chase Adams discussed in his letter of resignation dated Feb. 9.
Around 150 people attend the second-annual Emerald City Gala at Ranch 82 to raise money for the Tioga ISD Parent Teacher Organization.
The Tioga ISD school board calls a $26,305,000 bond election set for the May 4 ballot.
The Pilot Point Educational Foundation approves over $43,000 in local grants for teachers across all four campuses this year.
March
The Denco Area 9-1-1 District is asking residents to register the AED locations on a free app or the district website.
Construction is moving forward on Fire Station No. 3 for the Aubrey Fire Department.
The Pilot Point City Council receives a report about the state of the pair of dilapidated buildings on the north side of the Square on Feb. 22.
After a year of changes at the district level, the Pilot Point Educational Foundation looks to continue raising money for Pilot Point students the way it knows how.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality finds that several of the applicants who asked to be considered affected persons in regard to the White Oaks Ranch Municipal Utility District have a right to a contested hearing.
Pilot Point Fire Department Assistant Chief Bryan Cox celebrates 25 years of service at the department’s annual banquet.
Nestled into a shopping center along U.S. 377 in Aubrey lies a culinary gem that has captured the hearts and taste buds of locals and visitors alike at Giulia’s Café.
One Pilot Point group, City Center Churches, is hoping to inspire generosity from 100 Hearts.
Pilot Point ISD’s new Superintendent Dr. Shannon Fuller addresses the district and community at the board’s March meeting.
Tioga ISD is on the road to reopen its eight-classroom wing of the elementary campus by August.
The Johnson Branch Unit of Ray Roberts Lake State Park hosts its annual Spring Fling event.
Morale in the Pilot Point Police Department has been in question for months, punctuated with the formal complaints filed in November and again highlighted by a video created and released by a former officer in mid-March.
The Aubrey ISD school board gives the district’s impending fourth elementary campus an official name— Pete and Myra West Elementary School.
Dawn Waye, a Krugerville resident, will be Denton County’s next tax assessor/collector.
PPISD hires alumnus Chad Worrell as the new Bearcat athletic director.
April
The governance subcommittee is a key point of discussion at the March 28 Pilot Point City Council meeting.
When the solar eclipse darkens the sky on Monday, a local eye doctor wants viewers to be prepared.
The Aubrey City Council rounds out its meeting with an in-depth rebuttal in recent allegations posted online by the Elm Ridge Water District regarding fire services.
All three of the open seats on the Pilot Point ISD school board are contested for the May election.
The 23rd Aubrey Education Foundation gala is held at the Lone Star Lodge and Marina on Saturday, earning $70,000 for Aubrey ISD students and teachers.
Students from all over Denton County, Pilot Point ISD included, will represent the county at the state level as ambassadors for 4-H.
The school board and city council of Aubrey meet to update one another on current project and field specific topics regarding continued growth and how to manage it.
Tioga ISD, while trying to be as competitive as possible on teacher, counselor and nurse salaries, is “not in a position to readjust [raises] year after year,” Superintendent Josh Ballinger said.
Mayors Elisa Beasley and Chris Rich invite their respective communities to Bebo’s Café on U.S. 377 for an informative forum regarding growth.
Chief Rex Marks of the Pilot Point Police Department opens the city’s meeting with an overall evaluation of the department.
The Pilot Point school board authorizes new Superintendent Dr. Shannon Fuller to approve employee contracts during hiring season.
An explosion at a residence along FM 455 leaves three men being burned.
A head-on collision on U.S. 377 results in the death of an Aubrey woman, 27, and the hospitalization of a Cross Roads woman, 29, and her young child.
Pilot Point voters have 27 charter ballot amendments on the May 4 ballots.
The school board at Aubrey ISD takes a long look at the district’s upcoming fieldhouse renovation.
May
The Pilot Point Police Department is again an opening concern for the city council.
Twelve teachers at Tioga ISD make up the first class of Tioga Education Foundation grant winners.
The Aubrey City Council award a bid of $669,263.71 to ALCC for park improvements for Leslie Park.
After the May 4 elections, most of the Ranch Cities will see changes and additions to their councils and school boards.
Pilot Point residents could be seeing more Aubrey Police Department cruisers making the rounds in town in coming months.
The three members of the Pilot Point governance subcommittee share the research they have done regarding other cities’ governance policies.
The Pilot Point Community Library has a fresh face behind its head desk with Jenna Glass.
Charles “Chuck” Kimble will step into the role as interim police chief for Pilot Point.
Tioga ISD becomes a Project Adam Heart Safe School.
Krugerville City Council joins with Planning and Zoning, City Engineer Kevin Ware and Industrial Reserve LLC for a conversation on plating specifics.
An hour-long workshop regarding the updated international building codes presented by the permitting and inspections staff starts in advance of the Pilot Point City Council meeting.
The Pilot Point ISD school board approves the transportation center name as the Pilot Point ISD Don Holly Transportation Center.
Students of Tioga ISD’s burgeoning theater department continue to succeed as students place in first, second and fifth at the state UIL design competition.
The Aubrey Fire Department breaks ground on its second fire station in seven months.
An area nonprofit, Hearts for Homes, makes an indelible impact on the Hessel family in Pilot Point.
The second community forum for the Comprehensive Plan for Pilot Point is held on the Square.
Tioga ISD will need to have its auditor re-evaluate the audits from two previous fiscal years in addition to the upcoming 2024 audit.
Kainos Community Cross-Fit hosts its annual Murph Fundraiser.
The Pilot Point City Council accepts a recall petition that aims to remove council member Elizabeth Jones.
The tornadoes that devastated Valley View and Celina on May 25 caused chaos and damage in Pilot Point.
June
Pilot Point and neighboring areas continue to pick up the pieces from recent storm damage.
The Pilot Point Municipal Development District processed a pair of grant applications— one of which is from LizzyGator and the other from GM Construction.
The community got soggy for a good cause during Equi-Hope’s first EquiFest event at its new home on Friendship Road.
Tioga ISD’s budget trajectory is on the right course, TEA Conservator Dr. Karen Wiesman said at the budget meeting May 30.
In a public community forum attended by a small number of Pilot Point residents, the Governance Subcommittee takes a look at the work it has done.
The Collinsville Pirates baseball team brings home the state championship after defeating Centerville and Hawley in the semi-finals.
Drainage is again the primary topic at the Tioga City Council meeting.
Sgt. Daniel Huerta of the Aubrey Police Department and EMS Cpt. Cliff Brooks of the Aubrey Fire Department share some tips with Providence Village kids and their parents about minors staying home safely on their own.
The Hawthorn campsite, along with several others, is still under water at the Isle du Bois Unit.
Ruby Conway wins first place in Savannah, Georgia, at the National Junior Beta Club Convention.
Pilot Point’s drainage study, requested by Public Works Director Trent Vandagriff, will cost far less than projected.
The Pilot Point ISD school board moves forward on increasing district security during its June meeting.
Joined by several parents from the ag program as well as her husband, Jennifer Gilbreath addresses the board regarding her and other teachers’ departure from Aubrey ISD during the school board’s June 19 meeting.
An ever-flowing crowd turns out to see Marilyn Pelzel off on June 19.
Tioga ISD approves its roughly $11,250,000 budget.
After more than two years of work and delays, the construction zones on the bridges east of Pilot Point on FM 455 are cleared, allowing traffic to flow smoothly again.
Krugerville enjoys its fifth Park Fest with more cars, food and music.
July
With the recall petition of council member Elizabeth Jones on the agenda, many members of the community speak on one side of the question or the other during the June 27 Pilot Point City Council meeting.
The city of Krugerville moves forward with the purchase of the police department building by authorizing the sale of certificates of obligation.
Aubrey updates its zoning ordinances to allow applicants to request a Special Use Permit within multiple zoning districts except the industrial areas.
Public employee compensation was the primary focus of the Tioga City Council’s budget workshop on July 8.
Nine Tioga Bulldogs across three teams compete at the national level in FCLA competitions this year.
Human trafficking, particularly that of children, is a growing issue throughout Texas.
The Providence Village Town Council said no to a request for a Special Use Permit that would allow a third gas station to be built in town.
The Pilot Point ISD school board receives crucial district demographic updates during its July 10 meeting.
Despite the hurricane in Houston, Pilot Point ISD students return from the State FFA Convention with high honors and ready for another year of academic leadership.
Tioga ISD receives good news from Financial Adviser David Webb regarding the bond sale.
PointBank turns 140 with a celebration and commemorative ribbon cutting.
As of July 1, a new privacy law in Texas gives consumers more control over their data and businesses more to consider when keeping personal data.
August
For 20 years, Trent Vandagriff has been a crucial component of the Pilot Point Public Works Department.
Aubrey is closer to con-
Abigail Allen/The Post-Signal
