That’s after the district selected three semifinalists the week before but refused to release their names when asked.

Given Lancaster’s history in this area with superintendents, I think the district would want to take a different tack.

In 2006, when Cedar Hill ISD wound up hiring Horace Williams, the district not only named all three semifinalists by name, but, had open meet-and-greet times for the public with each of the three.

For a school district that, from where I sit, pretty much inflicted its previous superintendent, Larry Lewis, on the public as a lone finalist, the public relations on this looks bad even if it isn’t illegal.

And, given that Board President Carolyn Morris had the most acrimonious relationship with that former superintendent, Lewis, of anybody on the board, you would think that she, if anybody, would know better.

So, there you go, Lancaster residents, especially parents of school children. Your board, more than five years after a hiring disaster, and with the example of another local school district on how to do things right, has given the impression it still doesn¹t care about you.

Police officers from both Grand Prairie and Duncanville will be working for tips for Special Olympics and its torch run from 5:30-9 p.m.

The Cedar Hill City Council took care of that business at its May 26 meeting, extending its contract with American Traffic Solutions by 15 years.

That said, the state senate’s version of TxDOT renewal has no such restrictions. The two different bills will have to go tp conference committee. With this year’s Lege almost done, such conference negotiations will have to be brief.

That said, I thought Royce would be interested in being the first chancellor, or president, or whatever of UNT-Dallas School of Law, if it is indeed lifting off the ground.

Also, I’ll guess that Royce wants to see who would be running for governor, and otherwise getting the details of the statewide political lay of the land, before jumping in. (Right now, though Houston Mayor Bill White should be a great candidate for the Senate seat that Kay Bailey Hutchison is expected to vacate, I can’t for the life of me think of anybody jumping off the radar screen as a Democratic candidate for governor.)

Bailey’s is the latest, and greatest, of “north of the Trinity comes south” to hit our area. Steaks run $24-$45. Appetizers are creative and varied, as are side items and desserts. And, if you’re an oenophile, you’ll get an eyeful at Bailey’s glass-encased wine “cellar” just inside the entrance.

A more detailed story is in this week’s paper, with further details in the May 7 edition.

For people who have wanted to comment on this post, first, note our new comments policy at the top right of the page. We require a legitimate e-mail address, among other things.

Second, an oenophile is a lover of wine. Third, if you compare prices at Bailey’s to, say, a place like Old Warsaw or Bob’s Steak and Chop House, they’re actually pretty darned reasonable.

This land was not yours before. If you could not peacefully dwell on the land of the Wichita in our own style, without your European crops, you did not have to stay here. And your European livestock scared away the deer, overgrazed the grass and eroded the stream banks.

And this phrase “eminent domain.” It does not exist, nor any equivalent to it, in our language, not even if emphasized by one of our bows and arrows or even one of your guns. But, we know what the phrase really means, especially when emphasized like that.

However, our prophets have long foresight, far distant into the future.

They foretell that you will continue to use this “eminent domain” against the Wichita and others you lump together as “Indian” until you have all the land, and then use this same tool on one another.

By this tool of eminent domain, you will build large parkways called U.S. 67 and I-35 on the land of others to travel in speed and ease to a place called downtown Dallas.

But, with their foresight, our prophets also utter a curse.

As you now live by this eminent domain of taking land from the Wichita, some day it will come back to haunt you. And while our nation does not have a word or phrase for “eminent domain,” we have heard of a word of one of your tribes on the other side of the Great Sea, a word called “schadenfreude.”

And so, our prophets speak.

Chief Loop-Nine of the Wichita Nation

Let me put it this way.

When you get the normally mild-mannered, low-key Cedar Hill Mayor Rob Franke so riled up he shows his anger to you, and tells you that you need to learn some respect …

If you know Rob, you know you’ve crossed a line. If you don’t, you need to learn.

Other than that, we had, in my guesstimate, about two dozen of the 225-300 or so attendees who stayed for much of the Texas Department of Transportation presentation who regularly talked over TxDOT representatives attempts to answer their questions. (Reportedly, more than 600 people signed up, BUT, the number in actual attendance when I showed up shortly after 7 p.m. and TxDOT folks were speaking was far below that. And, since it was billed as an informational meeting, not a “rally the troops” meeting, my crowd count goes by the people there for the actual TxDOT presentation.)

We had other people broaching conspiracy theories, like the person who got Franke upset in part by claiming local officials were nothing but “moles,” or pawns under the control of the North Central Texas Council of Governments.

So “congratulations” to the Ellis Countian now in New Hampshire, Joey Dauben, for stirring up some of these people.

And all for a road that, as Cedar Hill ISD Boardmember Valerie Banks noted, won’t be built for several years. (If it’s built at all.)

As for the Trans Texas Corridor tie-in, it’s true that TxDOT still has TTC -style concepts for some local toll roads. But, Loop 9, as one of those toll roads, was proposed long before the TTC was around. And, given that Loop 9 is, in essence, the southern parallel to the Bush Turnpike, if it is built, and built as a toll road, it could well be run by the North Texas Tollway Authority, if anybody.

If you want a better target for your anger, tell Gov. Perry and the Lege to stop diverting gas tax money to the general fund. And tell both of them to do more with long-term bond indebtedness rather than toll roads.

Beyond this, and in response to Dauben and Megan Gray, over the five years of more of meetings, many of these questions have been asked and answered.

Also, despite residents’ worries that TxDOT might lowball them on housing values because of slumping prices, prices are actually UP 6 percent in Cedar Hill and 8 percent in Ellis County in the first quarter of this year.

That said, it was interesting to see Dallas County Judge Jim Foster in south suburban Dallas in the flesh for pretty much the first time since he got elected.

Try us, you might like us, judge.

It was just as interesting, if not more so, to see him and his nemesis, County Commissioner John Wiley Price, at the same table.