Coppell Chronicle Vol. 1, No. 31

Takis Take Coppell’s Name Nationwide • Trial Scheduled on Meth, Gun Charges • Want to Work Closer to Home? • Let’s Keep School Board Meetings Civil

Good morning to the hundreds of intermittent readers who have given me their email addresses but have not yet purchased a subscription. Since I last invaded your inbox, the Coppell Chronicle has covered the following topics:

• The campuses with the most and least exemptions to Coppell ISD’s latest mask mandate

• Carport owners being told to tear down their beloved shade structures

• The scope of the intersection improvements along Denton Tap Road

• A temporary injunction regarding the lawsuit that Coppell and other cities filed against the Texas Comptroller

• A local leather business being featured on Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network

If these articles sound intriguing, consider joining the ranks of my well-read, well-fed, and well-dressed subscribers. You’ll be able to read those articles and many others on my website.

---

Takis Take Coppell’s Name Nationwide

Did you know the company that makes Takis snacks is based in Coppell? I might not have known that if my son weren’t a baseball player. The batting cages at Wagon Wheel Park are accessed via Northpoint Drive, where Barcel USA’s headquarters has been located off the beaten path for 10 years.

If you’re not familiar with Takis, then you probably don’t have children living with you. The spicy tortilla chips, which are rolled tightly to resemble taquitos, are extremely popular with kids. One group of “kidzz” even recorded a hit song about them.

I’ve been trying to write an article about Barcel and Takis for months. Phone conversations with two employees of a Pennsylvania-based PR firm led to an email exchange with a group of Barcel staffers. They said a tour of their Coppell facility wasn’t possible due to COVID protocols, so I submitted a few simple questions in writing. Then resubmitted them. Then resubmitted them again. In between those emails, I left a few voicemails.

I eventually got tired of waiting to see if they’d get back to me. Here are the simple questions I asked, followed by the answers I was able to find via online research and with the help of some far-flung friends.

How many people work at your Coppell facility, and what types of work do they do?

A trade magazine called Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery published an article last year that said Barcel employs more than 200 people. The hook for that article was the magazine bestowing the title of “Snack Producer of the Year” upon Barcel. The article was published in February 2020, right before the pandemic hit, and it said the company was going to be honored the next month at an annual expo known as Snaxpo. (Note to self: Make plans to attend the next Snaxpo; sounds like fun.)

As for what types of work those people do, here are the seven job opportunities currently available at Barcel’s Coppell facility:

• CPFR Manager (CPFR stands for “collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment.”)

• Distribution Center Administrator

• Junior Brand Manager (Maybe they’re looking to replace the person who was supposed to get back to me.)

• Logistics Supervisor

• Production Supervisor

• Raw Material Supervisor

• Supply Chain Transportation Manager

Does any part of the production of Takis and other Barcel snacks happen in Coppell, or are they made elsewhere but marketed and distributed from Coppell?

That Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery article said Barcel — which is associated with the Mexican conglomerate Grupo Bimbo — manufactures “a high percentage of its Takis products for the U.S.” in its Coppell plant, which had three production lines when that article was published.

I wonder if they’ve added another production line or two since then. An article published last May by a website called Food Dive said the company was branching out into popcorn, chips, and other salty snacks via a series of offshoots called Takis Waves, Takis Watz, Takis Pop, and Takis Stix. The same article said Barcel introduced Takis Hot Nuts last October.

Back in July, Barcel was looking to hire a local “Seasoning Operator” – an important job, given the spicy flavors in the various forms of Takis. Here’s the first line of the ad for that since-filled position: “Responsible for operating the seasoning equipment on the production lines within the specified guidelines to meet safety, efficacy, efficiency, and quality.”

Would it be accurate to say that every bag of Takis sold nationwide passes through your Coppell facility?

Here’s where my far-flung friends come in. The pictures below were taken in (clockwise from top) Colorado, Michigan, New York, and California. If you click the collage and zoom in, you’ll see Barcel’s Coppell address on each bag.

(Shout-out to my friends who sent me similar photos from Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Ohio; I couldn’t figure out how to fit those pics in the collage.)

As you can see in the fine print, many of these bags of Takis were made in Mexico. But they were all distributed from right here in Coppell. The next time you’re traveling and feel like you need a taste of home, now you know which product to buy at the nearest grocery or convenience store.

---

Trial Scheduled on Meth, Gun Charges

Longtime subscribers will recall the articles in Coppell Chronicle No. 17 and Coppell Chronicle No. 18 about the June 17 raid on an Ashford Drive home. Some neighbors were awoken by flash-bang grenades that day, and others saw federal agents using the Lakeside Elementary parking lot as a staging area.

Thanks to a source who pointed me to a treasure trove of court documents, I can finally report that the people arrested that day were Michael Gaston Feathers and Marissa Patrice Gonzales. Their arrest warrants list the following charges:

• Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances

• Conspiracy to possess controlled substances with intent to distribute

• Distribution of controlled substances

• Possession of controlled substances with the intent to distribute

• Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime

On June 23, U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee Harris Toliver released Gonzales to her mother’s home, which is in a small town near College Station, until a trial can be held in the case styled as “USA vs. Feathers et al.” On June 28, U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Horan ordered that Feathers be held in federal custody until the trial.

On July 8, the pair were indicted on two counts:

• Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance

• Possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime

The indictment says Feathers and Gonzales had conspired since June of 2018 to distribute more than 50 grams of “a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.” The indictment also says a Glock pistol, a Bulldog revolver, an FN Herstal pistol, ammunition and assorted magazines, and $7,796 in cash were seized from the Ashford Drive home on June 23. That’s the same day a neighbor snapped this photo of three vehicles being towed from the property.

On July 12, Gonzales waived her right to an arraignment hearing and entered a plea of not guilty. Feathers did the same on July 19.

The trial was originally scheduled to begin on Sept. 13, but the attorneys for Feathers and Gonzales — Juan L. Guerra Jr. of Houston and Paul T. Lund of Dallas, respectively — each requested a delay so they could have more time to review the evidence. Joseph Andrew Magliolo, the assistant U.S. attorney overseeing the case, had no objection to those requests, so U.S. District Judge Karen Gren Scholer rescheduled the trial to begin at 9 a.m. on Jan. 24.

If you’re inclined to head downtown that day and watch the proceedings, Scholer’s courtroom is in the Earle Cabell Federal Building at 1100 Commerce St. in Dallas. Maybe I’ll see you there.

---

Want to Work Closer to Home?

Perhaps you’ve noticed that a new commercial property is being constructed on State Highway 121. Dirt is being turned to create an office park that will be called Highlands at Coppell. This image from a promotional brochure should make the exact location of the “SITE” abundantly clear.

Highlands at Coppell will be comprised of two one-story buildings, each of which will be about 13,000 square feet. The building on the east side of the 5.5-acre property is due to be finished in January, and the brochure I obtained from a firm called Wynmark Commercial says two tenants are already under contract. An attorney has secured 5,000 square feet on one side of that building, and a dentist has called dibs on another 2,800 square feet on the opposite side.

The brochure says the building on the west side of the property, which should be finished by April, is completely available. It also says the allowed uses for either building are “medical & office.” However, when the Coppell Planning and Zoning Commission approved the site plan back in November 2019, the city staff’s report said, “The parking would also allow some retail potentially.”

Here’s what the finished product is supposed to look like.

This project is due south of the Coppell Greens neighborhood. During that 2019 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, the then-president of the Coppell Greens Homeowners Association was in the room to discuss a separate matter. He seemed annoyed by the fact that he was learning of the plans for Highlands at Coppell right then and there, but the city staff and commission’s chair pointed out that notices are sent to surrounding homeowners only when a zoning change is proposed. This land has long been zoned “highway commercial,” so no notices were necessary.

The same is true of another site plan that the Planning and Zoning Commission approved this month. This one is for a development called Northwest Gateway Plaza, which will be built on 4 acres due west of the Highlands at Coppell buildings. The plans for Northwest Gateway Plaza call for six buildings. The largest one (11,500 square feet) will be two stories tall. The five others will be one-story buildings ranging in size from 4,480 square feet to 7,420 square feet.

The city staff’s report on Northwest Gateway Plaza said all six buildings are proposed to contain a mix of medical and professional offices, but retail stores would be allowed in the two buildings closest to the highway. Here’s what the developer envisions the plaza will end up looking like.

If you live in Coppell, have a long commute, and have heard your boss express dissatisfaction with that location, you may want to make him or her aware of these opportunities for you to work much closer to home.

---

Let’s Keep School Board Meetings Civil

A few years ago, when I was thinking about running for a seat on the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees, I went to lunch with one of my best friends to discuss the idea. After I laid out my plan to win the hearts and minds of enough voters to win the election (a plan that would end up failing miserably), my friend asked me how much the job would pay.

“Nothing,” I replied. “It’s strictly a volunteer gig.”

My friend then laughed at me for a solid minute.

Keep school board members’ lack of compensation in mind as you consider what a tumultuous week it’s been for area trustees:

• On Monday, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD trustees unanimously voted to not renew the contract of Heritage High School’s principal, who had been placed on leave amid accusations that he promotes critical race theory.

• On Tuesday, a slim majority of Plano ISD’s trustees voted against extending that district’s mask mandate, which expired on Friday. Four trustees voted against the extension, and three voted for it.

• On Friday, the president of the Richardson ISD board, whose term was set to expire next May, immediately resigned without an explanation. Richardson ISD is one of several districts being sued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over mask mandates.

That’s just a brief roundup of what’s happening here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. School boards across the state are feeling the heat from their constituents; that heat is being stoked by politicians on the left and the right.

The Coppell ISD trustees’ regular monthly meeting will happen on Monday. One of the first items on their agenda is a discussion of the district’s mask mandate, which is set to expire after classes on Monday.

That discussion will happen after the “open forum” portion of the agenda. The “open forum” speaker lists have been lengthy during recent Coppell ISD board meetings, but these sessions have been largely civil. Audience members have occasionally made snide comments in response to speakers’ remarks, but those particular speakers were often speechifying in the audience’s direction, rather than properly addressing the trustees.

During the board’s Aug. 30 meeting, Trustee Leigh Walker said she has been impressed by “our community that is able to come into a room with two very differing opinions and listen to each other. When I think about Coppell and Coppell ISD and what we’re about, I think that’s a piece of it.”

Once the issue of the mask mandate is settled, the trustees will move on to the rest of their agenda, which includes approving the district’s improvement plan and signing off on a $2.2 million contract to install artificial turf at the baseball and softball stadiums behind CHS9. I presume they will also hear about how bathrooms around the district have been damaged by students caught up in the “devious licks” challenge on TikTok; Coppell ISD’s latest Informed newsletter included an article on that topic.

If you have a tween or teen at home, please take a few minutes to advise them that idiotic behavior they see online should not be emulated in the real world.

If you’re thinking about signing up to speak during Monday’s “open forum,” please offer that same advice to the person you see in the mirror.

---

Chronicle Crumbs

• The Coppell Parks and Recreation Department has won the highest honor in the National Gold Medal Awards. Coppell competes in a category for cities with populations between 30,001 and 75,000; it was a finalist in 2019 and 2020 before winning the top prize last week.

• Speaking of awards, the Texas Association of School Boards just gave its first Advocate of the Year award to Coppell ISD Trustee Tracy Fisher.

• With the Takeoff Arts and Music Festival completed, Alex Hargis has resigned from his job managing the Coppell Arts Center. He’s taken a job with a consulting firm called TheatreDNA.

---

Community Calendar

DogFest Texas: This Oct. 2 event at The Sound at Cypress Waters supports the mission of Canine Companions — to enhance the lives of people with disabilities by providing expertly trained service dogs free of charge.

Coppell Chamber Golf Classic: The 28th annual golf tournament is scheduled for Oct. 5. If you’re not a golfer but still want an opportunity to network, the event will also include cornhole, giant Jenga, and washers competitions.

Mental Health Presentations: The Cozby Library and Community Commons will feature counselor Chris Guzniczak twice in October. He will explore strategies for harnessing negative feelings, managing and identifying emotions, and maintaining a sense of self. The Oct. 7 session is for adults; the Oct. 21 session is for teenagers.

Kaleidoscope: Coppell’s annual celebration of art, music, and diverse cultures will return to Andrew Brown Park East on Oct. 16. The deadline to become a vendor in the Kaleidoscope marketplace is Oct. 1.

Coppell Women’s Alliance Healthcare Panel: On Oct. 21, a group of medical doctors will answer questions via Zoom regarding “strategies for putting health first.”