The Ferris Forum

The Ferris Forum to Launch Jan. 1, 2011

2010-12-06T15:19:00.000-06:00

Ferris, Texas will get its very own newspaper starting Jan. 1, 2011. The Ferris Forum has been in the planning stages for about a month. It is a publication under the 18-paper Freedom of the Press Group that 29-year-old Joey G. Dauben of Palmer started earlier this year.

"The Conservative Voice of Ferris is going to be popular, judging by just the Ferris stories I've published on The Ellis County Observer," Dauben said, referring to his blog that he also plans to turn into a newspaper. "We're marching in these small towns and will publish what the powers that be don't want published, and I believe there's a market big enough for that type of content, in fact, I know there is. The demand for this paper in Ferris has been stronger than my more-established papers."

Dauben plans to turn the bulk of the news gathering duties over to Editor Shay Tabor, the first time Freedom of the Press Group has named an editor for one of its 18 papers.

"It won't be the last editor I appoint, because my Midlothian paper will belong to Sarah Scott and the Waxahachie paper will be under the direction and guidance of Brannon Bridge," Dauben said. "We'll be appointing Brandy L. Owen the editor of the Rice paper, as well, with more team members being locked into place."

Find Us on Facebook! The Ferris Forum

2010-12-06T14:56:00.001-06:00

The Ferris Forum newspaper - one of 18 papers under Joey G. Dauben's Freedom of the Press Group umbrella - is on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ferris-Forum/160207544021802

Our plans are for the first-ever issue of The Ferris Forum to hit streets and news stands Saturday, Jan. 1, the same day Jackie Kimbrell and supporters are planning to throw a prayer vigil and block party at her home on 409 S. Wood St. Details here.

Jihad Jane was From Ferris, Texas of All Places

2010-03-11T01:01:00.000-06:00

Jihad Jane was from Ferris, Texas, and my question is: did local law enforcement know about her? That will be a worthwhile question to ask.

Link to the video on Fox and other sources: http://www.infowars.com/neocon-bloggers-celebrate-indictment-of-crazy-patsy-jihad-jane/

Flashback: FBI Investigates Bribery Allegations on Billy Don Dunn

2009-10-25T18:17:00.001-05:00

Billy Don Dunn is a former mayor? Had no idea...but he currently serves on the Ferris City Council.

Dallas Observer FBI Probes Bribery Allegations in Ferris
http://www.dallasobserver.com/1994-11-10/news/fbi-probes-bribery-allegations-in-ferris/

Dallas
Observer The Trashing of Ferris, Texas
http://www.dallasobserver.com/1994-11-10/news/the-trashing-of-ferris-texas

Ferris Police Policy OKs Shooting of Wild Dogs

2008-12-27T11:45:00.004-06:00

As a constant archive source, the story that has now reached global media outlets will have a permanent fixture on The Ferris Observer.

The Ellis County Press broke the story online Tuesday morning, then filed the story for press that afternoon in the paper. Since an e-mail to CBS 11 shortly after the ECP broke the story, this memo has grown and grown and grown.

Fox News. Yahoo News. The Miami Herald. The China Post. WorldNetDaily.com.

How'd Joey Dauben get this story? He explains it from a behind-the-scenes look over here.

[Click Here to Read That Controversial Memo Re: the Dog Shooting Policy]

Ferris ISD: Dad Fumes Over 'Failure' Remark

2008-10-13T17:49:00.001-05:00

One Ferris ISD taxpayer and father is upset over his allegations that a Ferris High School principal suggested that he allow his child to "fail." To make this easier, I saved his three-page letter to the editor in the following format:

Also Available on The Ellis County Observer Web site and The Ellis County Press Web site...

[[[To Download Adobe's PDF Reader for FREE, Click Here]]]

PDF - Page 1: Ferris Dad Fumes Over 'Fail' Remark
PDF - Page 2: Ferris Dad Fumes Over 'Fail' Remark
PDF - Page 3: Ferris Dad Fumes Over 'Fail' Remark

New Councilwoman Carol Wright Sworn In

2008-09-19T10:22:00.002-05:00

Thanks to The Ellis County Press' Megan Gray for this footage:

Wright replaces Place 5's Fred Pontley, who resigned earlier this summer when City Manager David Chavez fired Lt. Mike Zaidle in the Ferris Police Department.

Ferris Chief Resigns, Floodgates Open

2008-05-23T21:15:00.000-05:00

Ferris' police chief resigned Monday, and like I told folks on this site a few days ago, The Ellis County Press put out more than the Waxahachie Daily.

The same effect happened when Dale Holt left the Ennis marshal seat. People started coming out of the woodwork with what they knew (and they still leak stuff to me). Unfortunately for Ferris, they're going to be losing a very good chief of police who was very open and forward with the media, especially us.

Also: There will be a press released issued by the City of Ferris to go over the alleged "inaccuracies" of my article, but if I've learned anything in this business, it's "know the answers before you ask the questions."

The buzz around town today was "Who told Joey Dauben this stuff?"

Ah, the good 'ol days of Ferris...

My next target: the Ferris City Council. They shoulder most of the blame for the conditions still at FPD.

Note: This article was submitted to press before the City of Garrett responded via e-mail. Robert McCumsey said his list of citations (below) were for all citations, not just moving violations, though The Ellis County Press requested for moving citations.

Ferris
Police chief resigns

JOEY DAUBEN
The Ellis County Press

FERRIS – Chief Michael Braly abruptly resigned Monday night after reportedly complaining about micromanaging by the city council, sources at City Hall said.

Braly, who said he would be seeking a job at the Irving Police Department, could not be reached for comment as of press time, but sources allege numerous incidents in the past several weeks of driving the former south Texas-area cop to leave when he reportedly couldn’t get help controlling the department.

Among those allegations listed in documents The Ellis County Press submitted open records requests for, the FPD reportedly had an officer:

Searching Internet prostitution ads on the popular Craigslist site;

Scanning pornography sites using city computers;

Viewing said Web sites for long periods of time;

Allegedly bragged about taking a photo of a woman topless as he patrolled the neighborhood and then showing fellow officers and supervisors;

This newspaper also requested dozens of documentation regarding separate incident reports about Ferris dog catcher Robert McCumsey, who was alleged to have written citations to motorists when his job de scri ption did not call for that; one councilman said he questioned why McCumsey’s animal control vehicle reportedly had city decals stripped in exchange for light bars and police scanning equipment, the sources said.

As of press time, the Ferris, Garrett and Ennis police departments did not return requests for information about unrelated and separate incidents allegedly involving McCumsey, but a search for moving violation citations written by McCumsey produced statistics the licensed peace officer wrote 15 tickets since October of last year.

Because McCumsey’s job de scri ption does not stipulate writing moving violation tickets, it is unclear whether fines and fees collected off those citations would be rendered null and void. McCumsey’s citation record is as follows:

October 2007: 8 (citations)
Nov. 2007: 1
Dec. 2007: 2
Jan. 2008: 3
Feb. 2008: 1

2008 Precinct 1 Opinion Polls

2008-01-21T23:29:00.001-06:00

The Taxpayers Alliance for Good Government is sponsoring these 2008 Primary Polls:

About our polls: One vote per IP address every 30 days.

2007-07-23T01:17:00.001-05:00

Readers, please refer to http://www.elliscountyobserver.com for the new Observer site.

The features are being added from this blog to the main site daily, and we welcome your patience during this transition. Keep sending your comments and news tips, though, to elliscountyobserver@hotmail.com!

Joey Dauben
Publisher

2007-06-26T15:43:00.000-05:00

The Ellis County Observer Forum
Debate & Discuss all things Ferris:
http://eco.informe.com/forum/

Look for the link on the top-left hand sidebar!

Barton Voting Record - June 25

2007-06-25T17:10:00.000-05:00

Recent Senate Votes

CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (65-27, 7 Not Voting)
The Senate passed the first energy bill under the new Democratic majority.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison voted NO......send e-mail or see bio
Sen. John Cornyn voted NO......send e-mail or see bio

Recent House Votes

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations, FY 2008 - Vote Passed (241-178, 13 Not Voting)
The House passed this $34.2 billion bill that would fund State Department operations and foreign aid for the 2008 fiscal year.
Rep. Joe Barton voted NO......send e-mail or see bio

Ennis Reporter Appointed to City Board

2007-06-19T12:11:00.000-05:00

I'm having a hard time understanding this: so the Ennis City Commission appoints an Ennis Daily News reporter to one of their city boards or commissions. And we see why the newspapers don't watch the government as they should. However, if the platform of said appointee were say, "I'll still question the decisions with little or no regard to my employment or city role," then I could buy this arrangement. However, it's obvious that with publishers and editors of our county newspapers sitting on boards of very influential organizations -- chambers, YMCAs, etc. -- the purpose then becomes that of padding agendas and not watching out for what's best for the citizenry.

I have no problem whatsoever in a reporter being appointed to anything, but when that directly conflicts with the newspaper's mission of reporting what goes on, then it becomes a problem. Makes me wonder how the Waxahachie Daily Light got so much free access to the county attorney and district judge. Or better yet, the inside scoop from the Department of Public Safety. Either someone's being appointed, bought off, or people are sleeping with each other...maybe a combination of all three. I'm still a fan of the EDN, though, over the Ennis Journal. The Journal doesn't report anything worth anything. Kinda like all of the WDL-owned papers.

Commission appoints new board members
Matt Cook, Reporter
06-19-2007

Ennis Daily News staff writer Randy Bigham and Ennis City Commissioner Byron Walker were appointed to City boards at last night’s City Commission meeting.

Both men were, according to Mayor Russell Thomas, chosen for appointment because of their experience and interest in the various fields.
The City Commission carried motions appointing Bigham to the Ennis Arts Commission and Walker to the Ennis Airport Board. In a letter to the other commissioners Mayor Russell Thomas stated, "Both of these gentlemen will provide insight to their respective boards."
The Commission also carried a motion suspending the July 30, 2007, effective date of a proposal from Atmos Energy Corp. to increase gas rates. Howerton explained the adjustments would affect the monthly rates for residential sales by increments of 59 cents per measurement, commercial sales by $1.48 and industrial sales by $28.90.
He told the Commission the City doesn't believe the adjustments are appropriate and requested the City Commission approve the request that a study be made of the GRIP rate by the Railroad Commission of Texas.
In other new business, the Commission accepted three parcels of land during executive session related to the Ensign Road right-of-way project.
Two items requested by Sam Ventura were approved during the meeting. The Commission approved an annexation of 14.6441 acres located on the east side of the 800 block of the Hwy. 287 Bypass.
The commissioners also amended the zoning of a tract of land 15.1841 acres in size also located in the 800 block of the Hwy. 287 Bypass. The zoning was amended from "T" Transition District and "A" Agricultural District to "C-PD" Commercial-Planned Development.
A new drought contingency ordinance was approved repealing a previous ordinance. The new ordinance is a response to new state regulations addressing the need to conserve the available water supply and protect the integrity of water supply facilities, with particular regard for domestic water use, sanitation and fire protection, and to protect and preserve public health, welfare and safety and minimize the adverse impacts of water supply shortage or other water supply emergency conditions.
Absent from the meeting were Mayor Pro-tem Bob Taylor and Commissioners Byron Walker and Lola Searcy.
The City Commission meets every other Monday at 7 p.m. in the City Commission Chambers at City Hall. The meeting is open to the public.

2007-06-15T19:16:00.001-05:00

Readers who weren't able to catch The Ellis County Observer radio show today can download the podcast by clicking here...

Still not sure when the next ECO Show will be, but rest assured, I'll let people know about it...

http://boss.streamos.com/download/blogtalkradio/show_30539.wma

2007-06-13T19:05:00.001-05:00

Comment Policy Reversal
Readers can now post comments anonymously again. I missed the arguing.

Send news tips to elliscountyobserver@hotmail.com or contact me directly at 972-891-2135

2007-06-11T18:24:00.001-05:00

The Ellis County Observer Policy Comment Changes
Effective immediately, if you don't have a registered username with Blogger.com, then you will not be able to post comments. Hundreds and hundreds of comments are posted weekly on all of our blogs, but 97% of them are anonymous.

When you go to register a username, you don't have to actually "blog" to post comments. This is simply a way for the editors - and me - to moderate comment-posters better. This might cut the number of active-posters, but with a 2-minute registration, readers can post comments on any of our blogs. The identity of the comment-posters will still not be known unless a specific username is registered with a real name.

Sorry we had to do this. I encourage all participants to register at www.blogger.com and continue posting, but now you'll need a username to do it.

-- Joey

Joe Barton's Voting Record - 6/9/07

2007-06-11T17:36:00.001-05:00

Recent House Votes

Ethics Committee Investigations - Vote Passed (387-10, 15 Present, 20 Not Voting)
The House adopted this resolution directing the Ethics committee to begin an investigation within 30 days of a lawmaker's indictment.
Rep. Joe Barton voted YES......send e-mail or see bio

Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act - Vote Passed (406-10, 16 Not Voting)
This $6.4 billion Afghanistan aid bill would cut off funds to local Afghani governments with ties to criminals, drug dealers or terrorists.
Rep. Joe Barton voted YES......send e-mail or see bio

Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act - Vote Passed (247-176, 10 Not Voting)
The House voted to expand federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.
Rep. Joe Barton voted YES......send e-mail or see bio

2007-06-10T15:22:00.001-05:00

Arrests
May 28
Clinton Northcutt, w/m, 29, assault family violence
Bryner Pineda, w/m, 24, no driver’s license
Jereny R. Glover, b/m, 23, Dallas Sheriff’s Office TCIC warrant, Corsicana PD warrant, Lancaster PD warrant
May 30
Victor Gorostieta, w/m, 19, no driver’s license
May 31
Donna Tooley, w/m, 37, Ferris PD warrants
June 1
Jimmy Vines, w/m, 22, theft of firearm by public servant
Levi Alan Morin, w/m, 17, possession of marijuana
Daniel John Anthony, w/m, 35, Dallas County TCIC warrant
June 2
James Ray Heggar, b/m, 57, public intoxication
June 3
Jessica Shaw, w/f, 18, Dallas County Sheriff’s Office warrant

2007-06-08T15:57:00.001-05:00

The Ellis County Observer Show
"The ECO Show"
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/eco

Friday, June 15 @ 6 p.m.
Guests: TBA

Listener Call-In Number:
646-478-5811

If you thought the blog was controversial, you haven't seen anything yet. Callers are not screened, guests will receive the itinerary beforehand so as to not feel "ambushed." We'll start this June 15 and continue every Friday at 6 p.m. until/unless the show warrants a daily audience. For now, this will be done on Fridays at 6.

Be sure to bookmark http://www.blogtalkradio.com/eco so as to listen live, or download the podcasts. Suggestions for guests or topics should be sent to: elliscountyobserver@hotmail.com.

Note: I don't check the ECO e-mail account, my webmaster does, so anything that is sent will be forwarded to me.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Race - GOP
	Dennis Robinson - Incumbent
	Bob Polley
	David Land

Taxpayers Alliance for Good Government Poll

Precinct 1 Commissioner Race - Democratic
	Broderick Sargent
	Rodney Paige
	Michael Heard

Taxpayers Alliance for Good Government Poll

GOP Primary - Constable Precinct 1
	Ben Fry - Incumbent
	Jim Pharr

Taxpayers Alliance for Good Government Poll