Kanakuk Kamp’s ex staffer Pete Newman plead guilty to 8 felony charges related to the sexual abuse and enticement of campers. The sentence could range anywhere from 5 to 171 years. April 30 is sentencing day.

Do you think he should get the max? I’m OK with 100 years.

On March 6, Highland Park DPS will be participating in the statewide Texas warrant roundup. Marty Nevil, spokesperson for Highland Park, wants to let you know that the HP Municipal Court is open 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m, Monday through Friday, so that you can take care of those outstanding warrants and avoid the embarrassment of getting arrested.

It has become known as “the white van story” and the topic has taken community dialogue hostage and filled my inbox. With rumors on the rise, I went searching for one solid version of events in hopes of providing some rational perspective and a little bit of peace. Because you know, being a totally level headed and super fact oriented kind of girl, this is right up my alley.

So on Monday I met with 4 members of the UPPD; Chief Gary Adams, Sergeant James Savage, Captain Greg Spradlin and Captain Leon Holman. Later that day, I spoke with ...read more

Steve Mace sends word to us from UPPD’s report on last night’s wreck: 

The accident yesterday afternoon on Preston Road occurred at approximately 4:10 p.m.   Both vehicles were northbound on Preston Road. The driver of the Honda, who was transported to Baylor, actually saw a car coming up behind her at a very fast speed.  She attempted to take evasive actions by pulling over into the next lane but the heavier Cadillac, which was traveling at an unknown speed, but obviously very fast, struck the Honda in the rear.  The original point of contact was at Preston and Windsor.  The speed ...read more

The theme of the week is obvious. Several readers have asked about the history of actual abductions in the Park Cities. I shared part of the answer in today’s podcast.

In a meeting yesterday with UPPD’s Captain Leon Holman, he told me that in University Park there have been 3 non-parental abductions (one of them was a young adult, the other two were children). All of them happened in the 1970s.

A young child was abducted by his grandmother and to Holman’s knowledge, the child was never found. A Snider Plaza shop owner’s daughter (Holman thought she was about 16 at the time) was kidnapped and returned ...read more

That’s the subject line of the latest mass e-mail. It’s flat out alarming and has a number of people in full panic mode . So I checked in with Marty Nevil and Captain Mike Miller of  the Highland Park DPS.

Here’s the timeline: The incident occurred Saturday 2/20 at 2:15 in the afternoon. The mass e-mail with the subject line “ATTEMPTED ABDUCTION” was sent at 12:54 a.m. on Sunday 2/21. The police were not called until Sunday 2/21 at 5:35 in the evening.

Nevil said, “Time is of the essence.” She encourages area residents to call 911 immediately if such an event occurs. And, while obviously very concerned ...read more

 

I’ve had a bajillion people ask me about the latest rumor. It originated with a blast e-mail by a very nice area mom with the best of intentions. This isn’t her fault. But it got a little out of control and now even children are hearing it at school and we’ve got a little mass hysteria kind of thing going on.

The rumor has blossomed to this: There’s a bearded kidnapper in University Park riding around in a white van trying to snatch kids. Specifically, he attempted to grab a child on ...read more

OK, so everything I said about jumping the shark, I take it back. I just asked UPPD Chief Gary Adams if the guy gave any explanation for wearing the surgical glove to the park.

He said he suffers from a rare skin condition.

I must admit, when I hear about a creepy guy with a glove, I can’t help but go here. And the visions of Michael Jackson and O.J. aren’t far behind. But it takes awhile for my mind to leap to images of an old guy lurking around Caruth Park with a surgical glove then fleeing in a gold Jaguar to his $500,000 home.

But that’s where we are with the latest blast e-mail about suspicious activity in the area.

Before the old ...read more