Grand Prairie Reporter

Ben Barber, an amateur radio operator with the cub and the church, said the only cost for the classes is the required $15 FCC license exam fee.

Continue reading "Amateur Radio License Classes Announced" »

Posted by Editor at 11:27 AM | Permalink

Labor Day hours for other city services are as follows:

Continue reading " Grand Prairie City Services Labor Day Schedule" »

Posted by Editor at 12:03 AM | Permalink

Stephen Douglas, who in 2011 set the American Association record for hits (160), hitting streaks (34) and on-base streaks (56 and counting), earned another honor Tuesday, as he was named to the league's postseason All-Star team, along with his teammate and Grand Prairie AirHogs closer Jon Hunton, who led the league with 25 saves in 2011 and earned the title of Relief Picher of the Year.

Continue reading "Douglas, Hunton Named to Postseason All-Star Team" »

Posted by Editor at 05:38 PM | Permalink

Grand Prairie police said Monday it has received over a dozen complaints since January where suspects try to sell bogus Apple iPads or MacBooks.

In a press release, Detective John Brimmer said usually a car with two or three males pulls up to someone at a convenience store or shopping center parking lot offering to sell the victim an iPad or MacBook for $300 each or both for $500.

Continue reading "Police Investigates Apple iPad Scam" »

Posted by Editor at 06:32 AM | Permalink

Former Texas Ranger Manager Frank Lucchesi meets with the umpires at home plate prior to Monday's ballgame between the AirHogs and the Amarillo Sox. Lucchesi was the AirHogs honorary manager for the game. © 2011 - Bob Fitch/Grand Prairie Reporter

By Josh Hirsch

John Brownell set a Grand Prairie AirHogs' season-high in the regular season finale, striking out 12 Amarillo Sox hitters, but his offense failed to find a big hit against five Amarillo pitchers, as the Sox shut out the AirHogs 3-0 in front of 2,278 at QuikTrip Park.

Brownell (11-5) worked eight innings, gave up six hits and two walks, and was charged with one run on a second-inning RBI hit by Josh Banda. The AirHogs' righty struck out every batter in the Amarillo lineup at least once, and threw 129 pitches in his final playoff tuneup.

Matt Elliott started for Amarillo (44-56) and went two innings, giving up a leadoff hit in the first and a leadoff walk in the second, but stranded both runners.

Justin Garcia (9-5) was up next, and gave up two hits and a walk in his two innings, but also struck out four AirHogs hitters. Ryan Mitchell hit a batter and also gave up two hits, but he survived the sixth and seventh innings. Chad Povich worked a scoreless eighth, working around one hit, while the Sox got two more runs off Bo Schultz in the ninth, on another Banda RBI hit.

In the ninth, Povich got the first two men out before walking Danny Figueroa and allowing a hit to Stephen Douglas. But German Duran flied out to Banda in left as the Sox finished off their 2011 campaign on a high note.

Posted by Editor at 06:30 AM | Permalink

The National Weather Service in Fort Worth said today it expects the summertime weather pattern to change by late week. The persistent upper level high that has brought the excessive heat shows signs of weakening, bringing a chance of rain to the region along with high temperatures cooling into the 90s this weekend.

Continue reading "Cooler Temperatures are Really Ahead" »

Posted by Editor at 04:58 PM | Permalink

A fourteen year-old Grand Prairie girl became the city’s twelfth traffic fatality Sunday afternoon when the car she was a passenger in collided with an 18-wheeler on Highway 161.

Sergeant Eric Hansen, Grand Prairie Police Traffic Division, said the accident occurred at about 1:15 p.m. at northbound Highway 161 and Mayfield Road.

Continue reading "Teen Killed in Car/Truck Crash" »

Posted by Editor at 10:00 AM | Permalink

The National Weather Service in Fort Worth said a weak upper level disturbance and old storm outflow boundary over southwest Oklahoma will drift southeast toward North Texas bringing a slight chance of rain today.

With atmospheric moisture on the increase today, isolated showers and thunderstorms will be possible across all of North Texas through this evening.

Continue reading "Chance of Rain, But Still Hot" »

Posted by Editor at 06:54 AM | Permalink

Grand Prairie AirHogs pitcher Josh Rainwater tied two other pitchers for a league record in wins in a season, virtually clinching the league wins crown for 2011 with seven innings of two-run ball, helping the AirHogs to a 5-2 win over the Amarillo Sox in front of 2,695 at QuikTrip Park.

Rainwater (14-6) retired eight of the first nine and finished the first three innings by facing the minimum. He worked around two hits in the fourth before another perfect frame in the fifth.

Meanwhile, the Airhogs (64-35) got a run in the first on a leadoff double by Stephen Douglas and a two-out single by Greg Porter against Austin Chambliss (1-6). The game remained 1-0 until Grand Prairie struck for four in the fifth, getting another RBI from Porter along with run-scoring hits by Douglas, Danny Figueroa and Greg Porter.

The Sox (43-56) struck back for two in the sixth on back-to-back RBI hits with two outs by Lee Cruz and Tim Alberts, but Rainwater got out of that frame as well as a two-runner jam in the seventh, ending his night with eight strikeouts, no walks and seven hits allowed.

Jon Fulton worked a 1-2-3 eighth, while Jon Hunton escaped a hit and a walk in the ninth by inducing a grounder to short to pick up his league-best 25th save of the season.

Posted by Editor at 12:01 AM | Permalink

"As we expected, this weekend’s temperatures and electricity usage have been record-breaking. ERCOT broke a new record yesterday for peak weekend usage and it’s likely that we’ll hit a new all-time peak demand record on Monday or Tuesday. We can’t stress this enough; we need everyone to conserve electricity from 3-7 p.m. If every person in ERCOT does a little, it makes a huge difference."

Posted by Editor at 02:21 PM | Permalink

The upper high continues with its grip on North Texas. High temperatures will continue to be well over the century mark with records threatened at Dallas-Fort Worth today and Monday.

Record highs for D/FW are 108F today set in 1901 and 105F on Monday set in 1943 and 1951.

Continue reading "Very Hot Conditions Through Monday" »

Posted by Editor at 08:50 AM | Permalink

By Josh Hirsch/Bob Fitch

On Saturday, the Grand Prairie AirHogs held a special tribute to honor the many thousands that played during the Negro League Baseball period.

Eighty-nine year old former Negro League pitcher William Blair, Jr. who played with the Indianapolis Clowns from 1946-51 threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Continue reading "Five-run Eighth Helps AirHogs Clinch Best Record" »

Posted by Editor at 01:22 AM | Permalink

AirHogs Manager Ricky VanAsselberg and Annie Malott married Saturday evening at home plate at QuikTrip Park prior to the game between the AirHogs and the Amarillo Dillas.

Posted by Editor at 12:49 AM | Permalink

South Grand Prairie’s new head football coach Brent Whitson made his coaching debut in a dramatic fashion Friday night with a come from behind, fourth quarter field goal for a 26-24 win over Arlington Lamar at the Gopher-Warrior Bowl.

Continue reading "Fourth Quarter Field Goal Gives Warriors Win" »

Posted by Editor at 01:48 AM | Permalink

Jason Jennings threw a three-hit shutout on Friday night, as the Grand Prairie AirHogs completed a four-game sweep of the Shreveport-Bossier Captains at Fair Grounds Field, beating the defending champions 4-0 to finish their road schedule at a league-best 31-19.

Continue reading "Jennings Dominates as AirHogs Complete Sweep" »

Posted by Editor at 11:22 PM | Permalink

“Our information indicates this weekend will be one of the hottest on record in some areas of Texas,“ ERCOT CEO Trip Doggett said. “Electric demand and usage will be extremely high and we need every person to help us conserve electricity between the hours of 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.”

To help keep the power flowing to every Texan, ERCOT urged everyone to turn up your thermostats a few degrees, if able, turn off unnecessary lights and appliances and do dishes and laundry in the morning or after 7 p.m.

Continue reading "ERCOT Issues Conservation Appeal for This Weekend" »

Posted by Editor at 04:23 PM | Permalink

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has issued a level red air pollution watch for the Dallas-Fort Worth area for Friday.

Atmospheric conditions are expected to be favorable for producing high levels of ozone air pollution in the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Friday. Ozone levels could reach the level red "unhealthy"category.

Continue reading "Air Pollution Watch - Level Red" »

Posted by Editor at 09:23 AM | Permalink

Stephen Douglas set another American Association record on Thursday, adding the league record for consecutive games to his league-record hitting streak, as he picked up six hits across both games of a doubleheader sweep, helping the Grand Prairie AirHogs to 12-0 and 4-3 wins over the Shreveport-Bossier Captains at Fair Grounds Field.

Continue reading "Another League Record Falls as AirHogs Beat Captains Twice" »

Posted by Editor at 06:44 AM | Permalink

Thanks to their playoff sponsors, Texas Trust, the City of Grand Prairie, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, Grand Bank of Texas and UT Southwestern Sports Medicine, all tickets at QuikTrip Park during the playoffs will be just $7.

Continue reading "AirHogs Playoff Tickets Now on Sale" »

Posted by Editor at 11:20 PM | Permalink

Isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible across north Texas today as an upper level disturbance slides southwest across the region.

Locations east of interstate 35 will have the best storm chances. Brief heavy rainfall, gusty winds and occasional cloud to ground lightning will accompany the thunderstorms.

Posted by Editor at 07:01 AM | Permalink

It took Grand Prairie firefighters a few hours to put out a grass fire Wednesday afternoon near the intersection of Timber Oaks Lane and Prairie Hill Lane.

Firefighters were hampered by the high heat and dense woods fighting the fire that approached the Colonnade Apartments.

Continue reading "Firefighters Battle Heat and Dense Woods to Contain Grass Fire" »

Posted by Editor at 05:43 PM | Permalink

“Interruptible loads – large customers paid to be dropped in a level 2 emergency are being deployed,” said Kent Saathoff, vice president of system planning and operations. “At this time, we feel the risk of needing the last step of our emergency procedures – rotating outages – is low.”

UPDATE: 3:30 p.m. - ERCOT at EEA 2A - reserves below 1750 mw. Load resources are being deployed. There may be a need for rotating outages.

Consumers asked to conserve 3-7 p.m. today

Continue reading "ERCOT in Level 2 Emergency" »

Posted by Editor at 03:15 PM | Permalink

Two batters into the game on Tuesday, Stephen Douglas had already extended his on-base streak to 50 straight games, one away from tying the American Association record, and German Duran's two-run home run gave the Grand Prairie AirHogs a 2-0 lead. Righty John Brownell allowed an unearned run in the bottom of the inning, but the AirHogs got three more in the top of the second. Brownell gave up one more in the bottom of the second but then allowed three more baserunners the rest of the night, pitching his first complete game to give the AirHogs an 8-2 win over the Shreveport-Bossier Captains at Fair Grounds Field.

Continue reading "Brownell Makes Early Runs Stand Up" »

Posted by Editor at 12:05 AM | Permalink

(L-R)Tracy Parker, Brent Rogers, Patrick Jackson and Richard Whitman pickup computers from GEEP Texas for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center in Dallas.

Richard Whitman and Brent Rogers with Dallas Children’s Charities and Patrick Jackson, Manager of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center in Dallas picked up twenty-five refurbished computers Monday from GEEP in Grand Prairie to replace the outdated computers at the MLK Center's Community Technology Center.

Continue reading "GEEP Provides Computers to Help MLK Center in Dallas" »

Posted by Editor at 12:02 AM | Permalink

An informational meeting will take place on Monday, Sept. 12, at 6 p.m. in the city of Grand Prairie’s Emergency Operations Center inside the Charles England Public Safety Complex, 310 W. College St.

Continue reading "City Asks for Amateur Radio Operators Help" »

Posted by Editor at 12:01 AM | Permalink

Grand Prairie AirHogs catcher Zane Chavez had his first two triples of the season, scoring three times on a 4-for-4 night with a walk, while his pitcher Lance Janke pitched eight innings of one-run baseball as Grand Prairie won the rubber match of their three-game series with the El Paso Diablos at Cohen Stadium on Sunday night, taking the game 10-1.

Continue reading "Chavez and Janke Lead AirHogs to Series Win" »

Posted by Editor at 12:38 AM | Permalink

Grand Prairie United Charities (GPUC), a non-profit organization that provides Grand Prairie residents experiencing financial setbacks with immediate and emergency assistance, hosted its 4th annual Mayor’s Tools for School Saturday at Inglewood Baptist Church.

Continue reading "Mayor’s “Tools for School” Gets Students Ready for First Day" »

Posted by Editor at 12:02 AM | Permalink

With two tons of Hatch Chile peppers on hand for roasting, Market Square kicked off its second annual Hatch Chile Festival Saturday morning. Added to this year’s event was the Association of Grand Prairie Artists’ Art Walk that featured benches hand painted by Grand Prairie artists and art displays from local artists. The benches sat in Market Square and outside the Thorne building at 123 W. Main St.

Continue reading "Market Square Hosts Hatch Chile Festival" »

Posted by Editor at 12:01 AM | Permalink

Righty Tim Brown had perhaps the most efficient start of any pitcher in the American Association this season, throwing 80 pitches in eight innings to get his first win as a Grand Prairie AirHog, as his club beat the El Paso Diablos 4-2 on Saturday night at Cohen Stadium to set a new franchise record for wins in a season.

Brown (9-6), allowed six hits and no walks, struck out two, went to a total of six two-ball counts and just one three-ball count (on his last hitter). He faced 28 batters, threw 56 strikes, and had six three-batter innings.

However, Brown did fall behind early, as the AirHogs (57-35) gave up the game's first run for the ninth straight time - all in the first or second inning - when Nelson Teilon hit an RBI double in the first, followed up by Uriak Marquez's two-out RBI single to make it 2-0 El Paso.

Reymond Cruz (4-7) held Grand Prairie off the scoreboard though the first three frames, facing just one over the minimum. But he walked Guillermo Martinez leading off the fourth, and after a David Espinosa single and a passed ball, John Alonso's two-run double to right-center tied the game.

It was another leadoff walk that gave the AirHogs the lead in the sixth, this time to Espinosa. The Grand Prairie second baseman went to second on a wild pitch and to third on another passed ball, and after Alonso grounded out, Joey Gomes's hot smash off the glove of third baseman Martin Parra brought in Espinosa with the go-ahead run.

Espinosa touched home for the third time on an RBI single by David Thomas in the eighth, and Brown departed after getting Maikol Gonzalez on a comebacker to end the eighth.

Jon Hunton allowed a leadoff single in the ninth before striking out the dangerous Teilon. Javier Brito then singled to put the possible tying runs aboard, but Hunton induced a 4-6-3 double play from Marquez to end it and pick up his 22nd save of the year.

Posted by Editor at 12:00 AM | Permalink

Police Chief Steve Dye speaks at the Grand Prairie Chamber of Commerce monthly membership luncheon that was held Wednesday at the Ruthe Jackson Center.

New Police Chief, Steve Dye, was the guest speaker at Wednesday’s Grand Prairie Chamber of Commerce’s monthly membership luncheon held at the Ruthe Jackson Center.

Introduced by City Manager Tom Hart who said of the former Colleyville Police Chief, “You go out and look literally all over the country and find somebody pretty close.”

Continue reading "Police Chief Speaks at Chamber Luncheon" »

Posted by Editor at 12:02 AM | Permalink

Sergeant Eric Hansen, Traffic Division, said as many as eight additional officers, funded by a Texas Department of Transportation (TxDot) grant, could be out on any given nigh fromt now through September 5.

Continue reading "Police Begin DWI Crackdown" »

Posted by Editor at 11:00 AM | Permalink

The National Weather Service in Fort Worth said hot conditions will continue across North Texas today.

The combination of triple digit temperatures, afternoon relative humidity’s below 30 percent, southerly winds of 5 to 15 MPH and the ongoing drought will result in elevated to high fire weather conditions across the entire region.

Continue reading "Heat Continues, Elevated Fire Danger" »

Posted by Editor at 08:30 AM | Permalink

The Grand Prairie AirHogs broke out of their recent slump, crushing three home runs and batting around in each of the first two innings en route to a 12-5 win over the Fort Worth Cats, salvaging the final game of their four-game series in front of a big crowd of 5,248 at QuikTrip Park.

The Cats (41-47) did score first, as they did in all four games of the series, getting an RBI fielder's choice by Marcos Rodriguez in the first off Josh Rainwater (13-6). But Grand Prairie (56-34) answered with four in the bottom of the inning against Aaron Cunningham (4-9).

After Stephen Douglas struck out to start the inning, German Duran hit his first homer in a Grand Prairie uniform to tie the game. David Espinosa walked and Joey Gomes then singled, before John Alonso's RBI double gave the AirHogs the lead. A two-run single by David Thomas capped that inning, before the AirHogs went right back to work in the second.

Douglas led off with a triple this time, and scored on Duran's pop-fly single over the drawn-in infield. A single and an error put runners at second and third, before Cunningham was lifted for James Brandhorst, who promptly walked Joey Gomes to load the bases. Up stepped John Alonso, and he unloaded them with a grand slam to left-center, his team-leading 12th home run of the season.

Rainwater allowed three runs in the third but only one baserunner after that, as the righty working on three day's rest finished six frames, allowing six hits, four runs (three earned) and a walk with four strikeouts.

Grand Prairie got one more run on an Espinosa sacrifice fly in the third and their final two on Thomas's 11th homer of the season, a two-run shot in the fourth.

Posted by Editor at 08:18 AM | Permalink

“I think it is about time we put a step towards making our chamber as nice as we have a lot of other buildings we’ve got in Grand Prairie,” said Deputy City Manager Tom Cox Tuesday at the City Council Briefing Session.

Continue reading "City Plans to Renovate Council Chamber" »

Posted by Editor at 12:07 PM | Permalink

Christopher Dejuan Kennedy	Christopher Emmanuel Williams

Officers from Grand Prairie and Arlington Police Departments recently arrested two suspects in connection with the armed robberies of at least ten convenience stores in Grand Prairie and Arlington since May.

Christopher Dejuan Kennedy, 28 of Irving and Christopher Emmanuel Williams, 25 of Grand Prairie, were arrested and charged with multiple counts of aggravated robbery.

Continue reading "Police Arrest Two in String of Convenience Store Robberies" »

Posted by Editor at 08:07 PM | Permalink

Mr. Vernon Jackson, long time resident, civic leader and husband of Deputy Mayor Pro Ruthe Jackson, was given the key to the city at Tuesday night’s City Council Meeting.

Continue reading "City Council Recognizes Mr. Jackson" »

Posted by Editor at 12:02 AM | Permalink

After losing his first three starts of 2011 to the Grand Prairie AirHogs (pitching very well in two of them), Fort Worth Cats righty Wade Mackey finally solved the AirHogs on Tuesday, as he shut them out through seven innings at LaGrave Field in a 10-3 Cats win.

Mackey (7-4) allowed the leadoff runner to reach in each of the first two innings, and pitched around two hits in the fifth in his only real jam of the night. Other than the first-and-third situation in the fifth, the righty did not allow any other AirHogs runners to get to third base. In seven innings, he gave up four hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

James Brandhorst relieved Mackey in the eighth and held the AirHogs (55-33) to a leadoff walk, while lefty Greg Denton gave up three runs in the ninth to break up the shutout - walking five in the process - before closer Nick DeBarr was summoned to get the final out.

Will Calhoun's double over leftfielder Joey Gomes's head started things for the Cats (40-46) in the first against Lance Janke (4-3). After a wild pitch and a lineout, Marcos Rodriguez beat out an infield single as Calhoun scored the first run of the game. Kelly Gulledge followed with his 13th home run of the season to make it 3-0, before a walk, double and Aljay Davis single gave Fort Worth a 4-0 lead.

Janke was able to keep the Cats off the scoreboard for the next four innings, but he allowed a sac fly and an RBI single before being chased with one out in the sixth, and another sac fly by Gulledge made it 7-0.

Posted by Editor at 12:01 AM | Permalink

When Sunday dawned, a possibility existed that the Grand Prairie AirHogs could have clinched a playoff spot before finishing the first game of their twinbill against the El Paso Diablos. But the Shreveport-Bossier Captains took the first game of their doubleheader against the Gary SouthShore Railcats, before losing the nightcap 5-2 to reduce the AirHogs' magic number to one. That meant Grand Prairie needed one win against El Paso to clinch the South Division championship.

Continue reading "AirHogs Split Doubleheader, Clinch Playoff Berth" »

Posted by Editor at 12:02 AM | Permalink

Sergeant Eric Hansen, Traffic Division, said Taja Deweese, 22, of Arlington was driving a 2000 Honda Accord westbound on I-20 when she crashed with a barrier causing her car to become disable in the lanes of traffic.

Continue reading "One Killed, Two Injured in I-20 Crash Sunday Morning" »

Posted by Editor at 04:57 PM | Permalink

Founded in 1901 in Abilene, Kansas, Duckwall-ALCO Stores, Inc. has 213 stores across 23 states.

Continue reading "New ALCO Store to Open in October" »

Posted by Editor at 12:02 AM | Permalink

In the first inning on Friday, the hottest team of late in the American Association played like it, as the El Paso Diablos, winners of 10 of 11 coming into play, got three straight hits with one out to grab a 2-0 lead. But the team with the best record in the league all year turned things around from the third inning on, as the Grand Prairie AirHogs scored the final 12 runs to win 12-2 in front of 2,538 at QuikTrip Park.

With the win and the Gary SouthShore RailCats' victory over the Shreveport-Bossier Captains, the AirHogs (54-30) reduced their magic number to clinch the South Division to two - meaning the playoff berth can be clinched as early as Saturday.

John Brownell (10-3) rebounded from the rough first to pitch into the eighth, and did not allow another run, scattering 10 hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

Diablos starter Luis Montaño (1-4) allowed two hits and faced one over the minimum through two, the AirHogs (54-30) took the lead for good in the third. With one out in the inning, German Duran hit the first pitch of his Grand Prairie tenure for a double down the leftfield line.

Danny Figueroa then hit a fly ball to center, and centerfielder Kory Drew slipped trying to get it, turning it into an RBI double. Stephen Douglas and David Espinosa followed with walks, before Montaño balked in the tying run. Cesar Nicolas then hit a sacrifice fly to give Grand Prairie the lead.

In the fifth, Joey Gomes singled with two outs and two on to bring in a run, and Drew bobbled the ball to let another run score. A walk to David Thomas chased Montaño, but reliever Gilbert Tussey walked Chris McMurray and Duran to force in the AirHogs' sixth run.

John Alonso hit his first home run at home this season and his 10th of the year overall leading off the seventh, and after a pair of hits, McMurray and Duran hit sacrifice flies to make it 9-2. Gomes capped the scoring an inning later with a long three-run homer, his first of the year with the AirHogs.

After Brownell left with one on and two outs in the eighth, Matt Sartor retired the final four Diablos hitters to finish the game off.

Posted by Editor at 12:01 AM | Permalink

At a press conference held Thursday at the Public Safety Building police spokesman Detective John Brimmer asked the public for assistance in identifying two suspects in connection with six armed robberies of convenience stores in Grand Prairie since May 21. The two are believed to be involved in two additional robberies.

Continue reading "Police Ask For Public’s Help in Identifying Robbers" »

Posted by Editor at 12:02 AM | Permalink

The Grand Prairie AirHogs continued their success in 2011 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark and against the Central Division of the American Association, as Stephen Douglas, David Espinosa and John Alonso all homered to lead the AirHogs to an 8-3 win over the Kansas City T-Bones on Thursday, taking three of four in the series.

After Trent Lare (3-4) retired the first 10 AirHogs hitters, Douglas pulled a 1-0 pitch down the rightfield line, just over the wall and just inside the foul pole, for his second home run of the year and his first with Grand Prairie (53-30) to break the scoreless tie.

Six pitches later, Espinosa pulled a full-count offering over the leftfield wall to make it 2-0, and after a Kala Ka'aihue solo homer in the bottom of the fourth, Espinosa's two-run single with the bases loaded in the next inning gave the AirHogs a 4-0 advantage.

Professional debutant Frank Abbl worked around a first-and-third, no-out jam in the first inning, and two walks in the second, before Ka'aihue's homer in the fourth became his first professional run allowed and snapped the AirHogs' 22-inning shutout streak.

The rookie from Northwood (Texas) University then walked two more in the fifth and was pulled with one out for Bo Schultz (3-3). The righty threw 80 pitches and finished with one run allowed on three hits and five walks with no strikeouts.

Schultz worked 2 2/3 innings and allowed one more run, but Grand Prairie got four more runs in the sixth to put things away.

Alonso homered after Cesar Nicolas reached on an error starting that frame to make it 6-1, and Douglas had a two-run infield single on the 11th pitch of his at-bat with new reliever Drew Graham.

Kyle Gunderson went the final two innings as Kansas City (39-44) got its final run on Aharon Eggleston's two-out, eighth-inning solo shot. But Gunderson came back to strike out three of the final four batters to end things.

Posted by Editor at 12:01 AM | Permalink

At a ceremony held August 4 at the National Boy Scouts of America (BSA) headquarters in Irving, Congressman Kenny Marchant (TX-24) recognized more than 60 Boy Scouts from the 24th Congressional District of Texas, including seven from Grand Prairie, for attaining the highest rank of Eagle Scout in the past year.

Continue reading "Congressman Marchant Recognizes New Eagle Scouts" »

Posted by Editor at 10:05 AM | Permalink

Since May 21, Grand Prairie has experienced a string of convenience store robberies with the suspects’ description and mode of operation similar in each case.

The suspects have acted both as a team and independently during the course of these robberies.

Continue reading "Police Search for Suspects in Convenience Store Robberies" »

Posted by Editor at 12:02 AM | Permalink

Grand Prairie AirHogs righty Lance Janke had his best outing of the season, as he pitched eight brilliant shutout innings against the Kansas City T-Bones, helping Grand Prairie post its second straight shutout win, as the AirHogs took the third game of their four-game set 3-0 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

Janke (4-2) held the T-Bones (39-43) to just three hits and a walk through the first seven innings, extending the AirHogs' shutout streak to 16 innings.

Meanwhile, Grand Prairie (52-30) was kept off the board through the first four by Devin Anderson (6-7), who allowed three hits and no walks while facing two over the minimum.

But with one out in the fifth, David Thomas launched his team-leading 10th home run over the leftfield fence, giving Grand Prairie a slim 1-0 lead. Anderson held the AirHogs at bay after that, until Stephen Douglas singled on the first pitch of the eighth to knock him out.

Reliever Steven Stewart came in and promptly allowed an RBI triple to David Espinosa, who in turn scored on a John Alonso sacrifice fly to give the AirHogs a 3-0 advantage.

Janke came back out for the eighth inning, and got Johnny Bowden to fly out, but Gerardo Caceres and Keanon Simon both reached on infield hits. After Aharon Eggleston grounded out to send the runners over, Rico Washington just missed a game-tying home run down the leftfield line, and eventually walked to load the bases. Cleanup hitter Ray Sadler was up next, and worked the count full before Janke reached back and blew a high fastball by him to end the threat with the righty's 125th and final pitch of the night.

Jon Hunton came on in the ninth and worked around a two-out single by Jimmy Mojica by striking out Bowden to end the game, picking up his league-leading 21st save.

Posted by Editor at 12:01 AM | Permalink

The National Weather Service in Fort Worth said today that it sees a slight change in the current weather pattern that could bring some rain into the area and a temporary relief from the record heat as early as Thursday night.

Continue reading "Rain Possible Thursday Night" »

Posted by Editor at 08:02 AM | Permalink

After going down in order in the first inning, the Grand Prairie AirHogs began the second inning with a double by Cesar Nicolas to left. John Alonso then singled up the middle to bring in Nicolas and the floodgates opened after that, as the AirHogs scored seven times in the frame to take a commanding lead and cruised to a 8-0 win at CommunityAmerica Ballpark on Tuesday.

Continue reading "Big Second Inning Sends AirHogs by T-Bones" »

Posted by Editor at 06:55 AM | Permalink

Under the brutal Texas sun and the area in the grip of a record heat spell, high school football players took to the field Monday to begin practice for the tradition revered by many Texans, Friday night high school football.

Continue reading "High Schools Begin Football Practice" »

Posted by Editor at 08:30 AM | Permalink

The National Weather Service in Fort Worth said a cold front stalled out near the Red River early this morning is expected to cause winds to shift around to the southwest at about 10 mph for Grand Prairie.

This will likely bring record heat to much of North Texas today with the hottest temperatures just south of the front.

Continue reading "Record Heat Expected Today" »

Posted by Editor at 08:29 AM | Permalink

Kansas City T-Bones lefty Kris Johnson shut down the Grand Prairie AirHogs offense and out-dueled Josh Rainwater on Monday night, getting some timely hitting and some great defense to beat the AirHogs 4-1 in the opener of their four-game series at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

Rainwater (12-5) had only one blip on his radar, when he allowed three straight two-out hits to Kala Ka'aihue, Jimmy Mojica and Johnny Bowden in the bottom of the second which gave Kansas City (39-41) a 2-0 lead. After that, Rainwater got around a two-runner jam in the third and a two-out single in the fourth, and then retired the T-Bones in order in the fifth, sixth and seventh.

But in the eighth, Keanon Simon led off with a double down the first-base line, and Aharon Eggleston singled, and then went to second when centerfielder Danny Figueroa missed the cutoff man. Matt Sartor then came in and allowed a two-run single to Rico Washington to make it 4-1, before giving up another hit and then getting out of the subsequent jam with three strikeouts.

Johnson (4-2) allowed a leadoff walk in the second (erased on a lineout double play), a two-out double in the third and a leadoff double in the fourth before the AirHogs (50-30) found a way to get on the board. The run came on Jake Taylor's fifth-inning sacrifice fly, but the T-Bones' lefty stranded another leadoff walk in the sixth, and got help from his defense to get out of the eighth.

With two outs, David Espinosa was hit by a pitch in the left leg, before Cesar Nicolas's single to right-center gave the AirHogs runners at the corners. Johnson left in favor of righty Andy Shipman, and John Alonso almost gave the AirHogs the lead with a soft liner to the right side, but second baseman Jeff Hulett snow-coned the ball at the top of his leap and held on to it on the dive to the ground to rob Alonso of a two-run single.

Grand Prairie got two more runners on in the ninth, but Taylor grounded out and Figueroa struck out as Kyle Dahman held on to get his fifth save of the year.

Posted by Editor at 06:32 AM | Permalink

Last Sunday, the Grand Prairie AirHogs got a run off the Lincoln Saltdogs' closer P.J. Zocchi on a bases-loaded walk to help complete a comeback win at QuikTrip Park. This Sunday, it was the Saltdogs doing it to AirHogs closer Jon Hunton, as he walked four in the bottom of the seventh inning, including the game-winning free pass to Rafael Alvarez, as Lincoln came back to beat Grand Prairie 5-4 to avoid a sweep at Haymarket Park.

Continue reading "Wild Seventh Costs AirHogs Sweep" »

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Continue reading "Pedestrian Dies After Being Struck by Vehicle" »

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Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is a measurement defined by the No Child Left Behind Act that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing academically according to results on standardized tests.

Continue reading "School District Fails to Meet Adequate Yearly Progress Standards" »

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Continue reading "Consumers Are Urged to Conserve Electricity Today and Next Week" »

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The National Weather Service said the current heat wave is expected to continue for Grand Prairie this weekend and into next week. The current string of days over 105 degrees could reach or break the all-time record that was set in the summer of 1980.

Continue reading "105-Degree Plus Heat Streak to Continue" »

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Continue reading "Sox Avoid Sweep Beat AirHogs" »

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Pitching for the fourth straight day, Grand Prairie AirHogs closer Jon Hunton did not have the same dominant stuff that saw him allow one hit and strike out six in four innings the previous three days. But the big closer had enough to let the AirHogs hold on to a 5-4 win over the Amarillo Sox in front of 1,195 fans at QuikTrip Park on Wednesday.

Continue reading "Hunton Holds on to Give AirHogs Fourth Straight Win" »

Posted by Editor at 12:03 AM | Permalink

ERCOT expects to hit another all-time peak demand record today surpassing the one it set Tuesday. Consumers and businesses are being asked to reduce their electricity use during peak electricity hours from 3 to 7 p.m.

Continue reading "Electricity Conservation Needed – ERCOT Initiating Emergency Procedures" »

Posted by Editor at 03:31 PM | Permalink

McCuller said that since August 1 the city has exceeded its wholesale supply of water by two million gallons per day thus drawing on its reserves.

Continue reading "City Begins Stage 2 Water Restrictions" »

Posted by Editor at 11:07 AM | Permalink

In a presentation to the Council, City Attorney Don Postell said there are State laws that restrict the city from banning handguns in city facilities during normal business. But, the law does provide for cities to prohibit handguns from council and council committee meetings.

Continue reading "Council Bans Handguns from City Council Meeting" »

Posted by Editor at 01:20 AM | Permalink

John Promise (left), North Texas Council of Government Director of Enviornment and Development, presents Mayor Charles England with the CLIDE award recognizing the city for its Downtown/Main Street redevelopment plan. © 2011 - Bob Fitch/Grand Prairie Reporter

At Tuesday’s City Council Briefing Session, the North Central Texas Council of Government awarded Grand Prairie with its Celebrating Leadership in Development Excellence (CLIDE) award for the city’s Downtown and Main street redevelopment plan.

Continue reading "City Recognized for Downtown Redevelopment Plan" »

Posted by Editor at 12:01 AM | Permalink

John Brownell got his ninth win of the year as the Grand Prairie AirHogs held the Amarillo Sox to five hits for the second straight night, winning 5-2 in front of 1,195 fans at QuikTrip Park.

Brownell (9-3) was effectively wild, throwing 49 balls and 54 strikes, but he only allowed five hits and two runs through eight innings, walking four and striking out two.

Stephen Douglas extended his league-record hitting streak to 32 with a one-out single through the left side in the bottom of the first, and moved to second on the next pitch when David Espinosa lined a single. Douglas and Espinosa then executed a double steal, and both scored on Joey Gomes's two-out single to center.

Grand Prairie (47-27) added a run in the third on Cesar Nicolas's sacrifice fly, while the Sox (35-40) got their first run off in the top of the fourth when Matthew Tucker knocked in Lee Cruz with a single to right.

In the bottom of the inning, the AirHogs got that run back and one more against starter Matt Elliott (7-4), helped by a big two-out error by third baseman Van Pope that kept the inning alive for Jake Taylor. The Grand Prairie shortstop then made the Sox pay by hitting his fourth homer of the year, a two-run shot to left-center.

Brownell allowed a run in the eighth on a groundout by Adam De La Garza and then allowed a double and a walk, putting the potential tying run at home plate. But the righty got out of his only jam of the night by inducing a Tim Alberts flyout, and Jon Hunton worked around a leadoff error to record his league-leading 18th save of the year.

Posted by Editor at 11:59 PM | Permalink

"The ERCOT region is continuing to experience record high temperatures throughout the state which is causing high electricity usage,” said Kent Saathoff, vice president of system planning and operations. “We expect to break our all-time peak electricity demand Tuesday and Thursday, depending on weather conditions.”

Continue reading "Consumers Asked to Conserve Electricity This Week" »

Posted by Editor at 05:12 PM | Permalink

In its latest update, the National Weather Service in Fort Worth said the ongoing heat wave Grand Prairie is experiencing is expected to continue and become potentially dangerous this week. Several records are in jeopardy of being tied or broken.

Multiple days of 105 to 110 degree heat is expected for Monday through Thursday. This combination of very hot afternoon temperatures, high humidity, and little relief during the nighttime will lead to a very high risk of heat-related illnesses.

Continue reading "Dangerous Heat Possible This Week" »

Posted by Editor at 07:25 AM | Permalink

Stephen Douglas's first hit on Sunday night was an infield single to first base, giving him a 30-game hitting streak, tying him for the all-time American Association record. His second was a base hit up the middle, giving the Grand Prairie AirHogs a come-from-behind 4-3 win over the Lincoln Saltdogs in 11 innings in front of a crowd of 1,864 at QuikTrip Park.

The AirHogs (45-27) forced extra innings with a ninth-inning run against Saltdogs closer P.J. Zocchi, as newcomer Joey Gomes and John Alonso led off with singles, before Zocchi's throw to third on a bunt by David Thomas was too late to get pinch-runner Jake Taylor. With the bases loaded and no outs, Chris McMurray bounced the first pitch to third, and Brandon Jones's throw was up the first-base line, but catcher Jeff Howell dove to make the play and kept a foot on the plate for the first out.

Up came pinch-hitter Tyler Henley, who took ball one before fouling off the next two pitches. Zocchi then filled up the count with his next two deliveries, and Henley fouled off the first 3-2 pitch. Henley took the next one just below the knees to force in the tying run. Zocchi then made a nice recovery to force extras, by striking out Danny Figueroa and getting a groundout from Douglas, who was just barely out on a throw by shortstop Vance Albitz.

Jon Hunton (5-1) threw six pitches to get a 1-2-3 10th inning, and Zocchi worked around a one-out single in the bottom half to keep the game going. The AirHogs closer came back for the 11th and got a double play from Albitz after a one-out walk to Joe Ramos, while Grand Prairie got the winning run off Jordan Stern (1-2) in the bottom of the inning.

Thomas singled to center to start the frame, and McMurray bunted him to second. Pinch hitter Zane Chavez struck out, but Stern hit Figueroa to bring up Douglas, who took ball one before his second hit gave the AirHogs their first win of the year when trailing after eight innings.

The Saltdogs (35-38) got their 3-2 lead when Curt Smith welcomed Jon Fulton with a first-pitch single in the seventh to score Albitz, putting AirHogs starter Lance Janke on the hook despite 6 2/3 strong innings. Janke did fall behind 2-0 on a Smith RBI groundout in the fourth and a Jones double in the sixth, but Grand Prairie tied it with their only runs in six innings against Alex Maestri in the sixth when Gomes singled in a pair of runs.

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