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Mayor (Continued from page 2)
mit Hill filled with homes as some of his most proud accomplishments. “Nothing that’s been done is actually mine, it’s just one of those things where you look around and say, ‘how can we make this town better than it is?’,” said Stanley. “Today, this town is better than where it was 10 years ago.” Stanley says his family may be taking it harder than he is. His wife and granddaughter are a little uneasy about the departure of City Hall. He has six grandchildren, three of which have been born since he became mayor and three were babies when he became mayor. Two of them are now in high school and one is about to be in high school. “My youngest was a junior in high school when I became mayor and that will put it in perspective how long 10 years of being a small town mayor really is,” said Stanley who was fourth in tenure in Grayson County behind David Smith of Dorchester (2002), Frank Budra of Pottsboro (2004) and Sherry Howard of Tom Bean (2008). Two things Stanley says he didn’t get accomplished were landing a grocery store and getting out of
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Official state native shrub now blooming in Texoma area In the late 1820’s a botanist by the name of Jean Louis Berlandier described a shrub with silvery gray to green foliage which, after a good rain, opened its showy blooms of purple to lavender, pink, blue or white. It is Texas purple sage, Leucophyllum frutescens, and is also known as cenizo, Texas Rain Sage, barometer bush and silverleaf. Once established, it’s well suited for our area – drought and heat tolerant and maintenance-free (well, a little pruning in late winter or early spring will keep it looking its best). The name “barometer bush” comes from the flowering that appears after high soil moisture or humidity from rain in late sum-
mer into the fall season. You’ll see them around town in xeriscapes and along highways and in commercial landscapes. At maturity, they can be up to 8 feet tall and wide. It grows best in full sun (4 to 6 hours daily), very well drained alkaline soil and little to no fertilization. It will retain most of its leaves through the winter as it is hardy to 5 degrees F.
the wastewater contract with Sherman.
benefit from it is the City of Sherman.”
“The grocery store will probably work itself out within a short time, but the terrible contract with Sherman needs to be addressed really soon because if it’s not, they will absolutely suck this town dry of every dollar that we can bring in,” said Stanley. “We’re already paying Sherman $200,000 to $300,000 more a year than what we can budget for. That can’t continue. It’s bad business for us, the taxpayers, all around. The only people that
Stanley says the contract comes up in the next few months and he suggests that the city renegotiate the contract. “When you take $200,000 to $300,000 out of city services, you’re taking it out of park maintenance, police and fire funding,” said Stanley. Unlike former mayor Ray Bledsoe, Stanley says he has no intentions of baking cookies.
Texas purple sage’s native range is from Northern Mexico through the Rio Grande Plains and TransPecos, and somewhat in the Western Edwards Plateau into New Mexico. Growing “in the wild,” you’ll see it on rocky caliche slopes and stony, calcareous soils. It has been used as an herbal tea to treat chills and fever, to provide forage for cattle, and nesting places for birds. In 2005, the 79th Legislature designated the Texas purple sage as the official State Native Shrub of Texas. One of the declarations in the resolution states: “Texas purple sage has been described as a plant that can face droughts, freezes, high winds, salt spray, hungry deer and blazing heat and keep right on performing beautifully, and such fortitude is a quality highly admired in the Lone Star State….” Sounds perfect for my backyard. Written by Marigay Black, Master Gardener Grayson County Master Gardeners Association is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization sponsored by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Reach us by email at mastergardeners@co.grayson.tx.us, by phone 903-813-4204, our web page graysoncountymastergardeners.net, or our Facebook group.
