ALMA
Alma’s City Council meeting this week included a discussion of the proposed property Tax Rate for fiscal year 26-27.
BARDWELL
Bardwell is preparing for its official City Cleanup event scheduled for Saturday, July 25 from 9 a.m. to noon at City Hall. A DCI Sanitation roll-off dumpster will be available, though the city notes strict prohibitions against dumping items like electronics, batteries, tires, or appliances still containing Freon.
CEDAR HILL
The Cedar Hill Senior Senate took the road recently and took the Cedar Hill flag along with them showing city pride on their Massachusetts adventure, making stops in Provincetown, at the John F. Kennedy Memorial, and in Plymouth.
ENNIS
The Stars of Texas Music Festival, a massive country music event featuring Aaron Watson, Brad Paisley, and Travis Tritt is set for Oct. 8–11, 2026, at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis.
FERRIS
Ferris’ food pantry is the third Thursday of the month. Starting in July, the Mobile Food Pantry will transition to a new software system that will allow you to visit ANY participating food pantry in the area using the same registration and check-in process.
What to Expect in July:
• Returning customers who are already registered should complete registration in less than five minutes.
• New customers should complete registration in less than 10 minutes.
• After your initial setup, future check-ins will take approximately two minutes.
GARRETT
Garrett City Council meetings are on the third Thursday of every month at 5:30 p.m. at 208 North Ferris Street, Ennis.
GLENN HEIGHTS
Glenn Heights’ summer watering schedule permits residents to water their grass by hand with the use of a water hose, no watering hard surfaces, no watering during precipitation, no water waste through runoff, or through missing, misaligned or broken sprinkler heads and irrigation IS NOT permitted between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Restrictions are in effect until Oct. 31.
ITALY
Italy holds its city council meetings the 2nd Monday of the month at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 161 West Main Street.
MANSFIELD
The city will be conducting an emergency water main repair on W. Debbie Lane due to a water main break. Crews will begin the emergency water main repair and subsequent pavement replacement 400 W. Debbie Lane.
To safely complete the repairs and restore the roadway, the following traffic impacts will be in place:
• The right westbound lane on W. Debbie Lane will be closed.
• The right-turn lane to northbound FM 157 will also be closed.
Expected Duration: Approximately 3–4 weeks
MAYPEARL
Over the weekend emergency agencies responded to a major two-vehicle accident with serious injuries on FM 157 near Madison Wilson Road, located between Venus and Maypearl
MIDLOTHIAN
Midlothian’s annual water conservation requirements are in effect from June 1 through Sept. 30. Except for hand watering or the use of drip/subsurface irrigation or properly working soaker hoses, Midlothian residents and businesses are required to refrain from irrigating their lawns and landscaping with hose-end sprinklers and/or automatic spray systems between the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
MILFORD
Milford ISD has officially named Coach Houston as the new Head Boys Basketball Coach for the upcoming season
OAK LEAF
CWD will begin servicing Oak Leaf at 6 a.m. beginning June 1st through the end of August. They ask everyone to have their trash and recyclables (every other week) out by 6 a.m. on Fridays.
OVILLA
The Ovilla Police Department together with Carter BloodCare will be having a blood drive on Monday, July 27 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Ovilla Police Department, 105 S. Cockrell Hill Road. Walk-ins are welcome and there will be $25 eGift Cards given away while supplies last.
PALMER
Palmer is hosting its Back-to-School Bash on Saturday, July 25 and the city is currently accepting donations. Donations help local students start the school year strongly by providing school supplies, fun activities, and a chance for families to connect before classes begin. To make this event a success, school supplies on the wish list for donation include paper towels, Kleenex, disinfecting wipes, and Ziploc Baggies as well as monetary donations to help purchase supplies.
PECAN HILL
The City Council of Pecan Hill has officially rescheduled its upcoming municipal meeting. Originally set for July 21, the meeting will now be held on Tuesday, July 28 at 7 p.m. at the Pecan Hill Municipal Building.
RED OAK
The Pearson Park Splash Pad is now open in Red Oak. Earlier this month residents joined Mayor Stanfill, City leadership, Councilmembers, Parks Board representatives, and the design and installation team to celebrate the grand opening of the splash pad located at 200 Lakeview Pkwy.
VENUS
Venus is welcoming its new police chief, David McGinty at a welcome reception Monday, July 27 at 3 p.m. at the Venus Civic Center, 210 S. Walnut Street.
WAXAHACHIE
The new City of Waxahachie website includes a Notify Me feature that lets you sign up to be notified when new information is added to the public meetings and events calendars! You can also choose to be notified when an important alert is added to the website.
Sign up to receive email and/or text notifications for:
• Public Meetings Calendar
• City Events Calendar
• City News Flash
• Animal Services Events Calendar
• Parks & Recreation Events Calendar
• Police Department Events Calendar
In addition to 19 cities/towns in Ellis County (five of which straddle two counties that include Ellis), there are also 18 unincorporated towns; Alsdorf, Auburn, Avalon, Boz, Bristol, Britton, Crisp, Five Points, Forreston, Ike, India, Ozro, Rankin, Reagor Springs, Rockett, Sardis, Telico and Trumbull.
If you have news briefs for any of these cities/towns (resident, business or city) please send to rcook13@earthlink.net so we can share the news.