Collin County Texas Genealogy

McKinney grows up but clings to its history

McKINNEY So many town squares in Texas are, sadly, full of vacant storefronts. Or the blocks are populated by little knick-knack stores that are very cute but don't really compel us to buy anything.

That's why McKinney, the seat of Collin County about 40 miles north of downtown Dallas, is so surprising. In this vibrant, beautifully landscaped courthouse square, historic buildings — some dating to the 1800s — are beautifully restored as shops with tantalizing offerings.

Add good food and an upscale boutique hotel (McKinney's square has both) and you've got a place ripe for a shopping sojourn.

This is not the sleepy McKinney I visited a dozen years ago, where the streets rolled up at 8:30 p.m.

"McKinney will always be small, and that's a good thing," says restaurateur Rick Wells , whose Rick's Chophouse was my first stop on a recent McKinney visit. "I knew it had become more sophisticated when I had to extend my hours to 9:30 p.m."

Rick's Chophouse is inside the Grand Hotel , the cornerstone of the new McKinney. With its original wood floors, pressed tin ceilings, big exposed limestone wall and mahogany all over the place, Rick's is a beautiful restaurant. Could the food measure up?

I tested it by ordering catfish. I'm a catfish fiend, but I usually encounter overcooked filets. At Rick's, though, the golden fish was perfectly cooked: Four crunchy, cornmeal-crusted, tender, non-greasy filets rested atop a piquant slaw. A vinegar dipping sauce completed the dish well. A friend's crab cakes looked good, too, obviously packed with crab. We all finished with a wonderfully gooey pecan pie.

Wells showed me around the restaurant, which has a huge amount of banquet space along with a clubby bar, and the Grand Hotel (both at 114 W. Louisiana St.) The hotel and restaurant were created four years ago from an 1885 building that previously served as a Woolworth's and an opera hall. The hotel has the same pressed tin ceilings, and owner Don Day didn't stop with period furnishings. He created bathroom vanities out of vintage furniture. Rooms start at $159.

Wells also has an Italian restaurant, Sauce (112 E. Louisiana St.) , on the square, and about the time you read this, he should be opening a little rock music bar called Grotto next to it.

There's more good food in town. I like the burgers at Square Burger, 115 N. Kentucky St. (The burgers aren't square; they're round, fat and juicy. But the place is on the square.) And I've heard good things about Aparicio's (216 E. Virginia St. ) Mexican food and the Pantry's (214 E. Louisiana St.) home cooking.

State Representative Jerry Madden Honored as Legislator of the Year

State Representative Jerry Madden Honored as Legislator of the Year

by American Legislative Exchange Council

(Austin, TX) The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) honored State Representative Jerry Madden with the prestigious “Legislator of the Year” award at the organization’s 38th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Friday, August 5, 2011.

“I am honored to accept this award which is a testament to the dividends being reaped by Texas in wake of adoption of progressive and cost-effective criminal justice policies over the last four years,” said Rep. Madden. “I am proud of the support from my colleagues in the Texas Legislature and appreciative of the work by the leadership and staff at ALEC which have helped foster and advocate creative and evidence-based programs and practices in the field of corrections.”

Representative Madden has been an ALEC member since first being elected to the Texas House in 1993. He was named Chairman of the House Committee on Corrections in 2005, and since then has testified before Congress and been invited by policy formulating organizations and/or various state legislators to explain reforms in both the adult and juvenile criminal justice systems implemented by Texas in a bi-partisan fashion under his and Senator John Whitmire’s leadership.

Owing to their joint success in changing the Texas tough “lock-em up and throw away the key” approach which didn’t deliver entirely constructive outcomes other than “construction” of more prisons, Whitmire (a Democrat) and Madden (a Republican) were named by Governing magazine as one of eight Public Officials of the Year in 2010. As a consequence of probation and parole changes and investments in substance abuse treatment and similar diversion programs which began in 2007, a state prison will be closed for the first time in Texas history by the end of August.

“As a state representative and committee chairman, Jerry has served his constituents and the state with a pragmatic determination and conservative approach to governing. I am proud to continue to support Jerry’s policy agenda for the state’s corrections program that has become an example for the nation to follow,” said former Speaker of the Texas House and Immediate Past National Chair of ALEC, Rep. Tom Craddick. “He has earned the respect of myself and his colleagues with his guided leadership and decision-making abilities that make him an excellent choice for ALEC’s 2011 Legislator of the Year. I am elated that my friend, fellow member and House chairman is being recognized with this prestigious award.

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