Williams Middle school students remembering Justin Acevedo

Students at Williams Middle School in the Rockwall ISD have been remembering their friend Justin Acevedo and saying good-bye to him this week with posters and other remembrances.

A small display has been set up at the school, according to administrative officials.

Grief counselors have also been made available to students at the school as early as this past Monday by RISD.

Photos of the remembrances are not currently available, since the family has asked us not to show them at this time.

Justin was killed by his father Roberto Acevedo Jr. in a murder-suicide last Friday night near Lake Lavon. They were residents of Rowlett and Rockwall County.

According to a confusing note left behind, the father wrote that he feared his son would go to jail for something he did, but that the family would not be able to obtain the needed defense for him.

According to school officials and police, Justin was a fine young man and good student with plenty of friends, who did not have any outstanding warrants or problems with the law, as best as can be determined.

We send our deepest condolences to Justin’s mother and two brothers for this tragedy.

Defending girls Class 4A state champion Lincoln defeats Rockwall, 53-35

In a battle of state-ranked teams, defending Class 4A state champion Lincoln used a big third quarter to pull away from Rockwall and win, 53-35, on Tuesday in a 4A Region II quarterfinal at Mesquite.

The loss ends Rockwall’s highly successful season.

Lincoln, ranked No. 5 in the last state rankings, led, 26-23, at halftime before outscoring No. 10 Rockwall 13-2 in the third quarter. Lincoln advanced to play fourth-ranked Waco Midway, which beat Forney, 88-29.

Baylor signee Kimetria Hayden, Texas Tech signee Chynna Brown and Brittney Gowans scored 12 points apiece to pace Lincoln.

Rockwall’s boys basketball team loses playoff game to Sherman, 68-54

The Sherman Bearcats ended the Rockwall boys basketball team’s season last night by beating the Yellow Jackets in their first playoff game, 68-54, at McKinney’s Boyd High School gymnasium.

Kyle Sandlin led Rockwall with 28 points, 15 of them from the free-throw line.

Rockwall High’s Peyton Adamson led nation with 116 3-pointers in early Feb.

Peyton Adamson

Rockwall High School sophomore basketball player Peyton Adamson is one of the nation’s leaders when it comes to making three-point baskets.

As of the first week in Feb, after 30 games, she had 116 three-pointers, which was first in the nation according to maxpreps.com.

The 5-6 sophomore is also the leading scorer in the DFW Metroplex, averaging 20.3 points per game, while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range and 89 percent from the free throw line.

For her efforts, she was also named the Player of the Week by the Dallas Morning News Feb. 4.

Read the story here.

Rockwall boys b-ball team plays Sherman High tonight in first bi-district playoff game

Fresh after defeating Rockwall-Heath last Friday night, 53-45, the Rockwall High School boys basketball team takes on the Sherman Bearcats today in their first bi-district playoff game at 6 pm at McKinney Boyd High School.

The Yellow Jackets (15-14) have won their last four games in a row.

Kyle Sandlin leads Rockwall with his 17.8 points per game and is the team’s top 3-point threat along with Hunter Jorgensen (9.8 points, 4.4 rebounds).

Study says sex education ‘shockingly poor’ in many Texas school districts

An overwhelming majority of Texas school districts do not give students any sexuality education beyond abstinence, and even the quality of abstinence-only programs in many districts is “shockingly poor,” according to a new study by researchers at Texas State University.

The study released on Tuesday found that more than 94 percent of school districts teach only abstinence when it comes to sex education and 2 percent ignore the topic altogether. Just 4 percent teach students about responsible pregnancy and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.

Read the rest of the story printed today in the Dallas Morning News

Guilty plea expected in former Royse City pastor’s child porn case

Former Royse City pastor Steve Richardson from his MySpace. com site

Former Royse City pastor Steve Richardson is expected to plead guilty next month to federal charges that he possessed and trafficked in child pornography on his church’s computers.

According to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas , Richardson entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors Feb. 11, and agreed to plead guilty to two federal counts of transporting and shipping child pornography, plus possession of child pornography.

Richardson is now set to be rearraigned, and is expected to enter the guilty pleas March 19, at 9 am, before Magistrate Judge Irma C Ramirez in Dallas.

The former pastor of United Methodist Church in Royse City is facing a maximum sentence on the transporting count of between five and 20 years in prison, restitution, plus a possible term of supervised release of from five years to life following any term of imprisonment.

A fine of up to $250,000 is also possible.

For the possession charge, he is facing a maximum of up to 10 years in prison, a fine, supervised release and restitution.

His attorney, Roger E. Haynes of Dallas, could not be reached for comment.

Richardson, 36, was arrested last Sept. 24 by agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Under the plea agreement, Richardson has agreed to relinquish his rights to computers which were seized from the church.

He told prosecutors that other church officials were unaware of his use of the computers.

According to a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s office, Richardson used Google “Hello” software to view and distribute the pornography, using the name  “cowboyspades.”

Memorial service for Kristian Escobar Feb. 28 at Rest Haven

A memorial service for Kristian Escobar, who was killed Feb. 19 when he was thrown from his motorcycle in Dallas, will be Saturday, Feb. 28, at 2 pm, at Rest Haven Funeral Home in Rockwall.

Kristian was a 2003 graduate of Rockwall High School.

He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in electrical engineering from the University of North Texas and was working on a Master’s Degree while employed by Texas Instruments.

He obtained the rank of Eagle Scout from the Boy Scouts of America, and was a member of the Holy Trinity By The Lake Episcopal Church in Heath.

For more details visit the Rest Haven website here

Rockwall County father kills self, 14-year-old son near Lake Lavon

A Rowlett man shot and killed himself after killing his 14-year-old son, who attended Williams Middle School in Rockwall, Friday night near Lake Lavon.

Police said Roberto Acevedo Jr., 38, called police after shooting his son, Justin Acevedo, before turning the gun on himself.

Police found the bodies near an abandoned vehicle at Elm Creek Park, as Acevedo had told a Collin County 911 operator.

Both bodies received one gunshot wound to the head from a 12-gauge shotgun that was found near the scene. Acevedo told dispatchers that the gun was on the ground near the bodies.

Collin County Sheriff’s Office investigators believe that the incident was a murder/suicide, but they will not give a confirmation until the Medical Examiner’s Office makes an official ruling.

Investigators found a note in the abandoned vehicle that led police to believe that Roberto Acevedo Jr. believed his son would be sent to jail and would not be able to defend himself, and that he did not want his son to go to prison.

Collin County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. John Norton said there were no warrants out for the son’s arrest. He also said he does not know why the father and son were at Elm Creek Park.

RISD’s Director of Communications Sheri Fowler said the district sent a letter home to all families with students at the campus and provided additional counseling resources at school.

“Several of his close friends were very upset by the situation, but our counselors were doing their very best to comfort the students and answer any questions,” Fowler said.

“Our main concern is just being there for those students, and we were definitely prepared for that this morning.”

Costco now hiring, will open in Rockwall April 8

The huge Costco store, under construction at the intersection of Highways 276 and 205 in Rockwall

Costco, the huge box discount store, will open April 8 in Rockwall on Highway 276, just southeast of the Hwy. 205 intersection.

The store is currently hiring employees, age 18 and over.

For employment info and job applications, see costco.com and click on either “Locations” or “Employment” and follow the links.