Coppell Chronicle Vol. 5, No. 36
Coppell’s Plunger Boys Keep Tradition Flowing • Town Center Decision Expected on Monday • Passengers Pack Trains for Silver Line’s Debut • Cops Advise Caution Around Cameraman
Coppell’s Plunger Boys Keep Tradition Flowing
The opening passage of Judah Mullican’s college application essay mentions opening passages, but in a different sense of that phrase:
“Plunger (noun): a common bathroom tool used to unclog a toilet. This may seem like an odd introduction, but this tool holds a much greater significance in my life.”
Mullican is the latest in a long line of Coppell High School seniors to hold the unusual title of Plunger Boy. To hear him tell it, his main duty is to lead the student section’s chants during sporting events, but he said the Plunger Boy also leads the student body as a whole. According to his application essay, the key trait of a Plunger Boy is passion.
“Whether I’m praising the Lord at church, developing an intentional relationship with someone, learning a new skill, or starting chants in front of the student section, I am passionate about everything I do,” he wrote. “My hope is that this passion is contagious and can spur on others around me to show that same type of passion.”
His Plunger Boy experience provided Mullican with practice for applying to colleges. He secured the role after filling out an application and being interviewed by Coppell High School Principal Laura Springer and Benjamin Stroud, the English teacher who advises the Student Council.
The formality of the modern-day selection process was news to many former Plunger Boys who passed on the title without any adults’ input.
“Are you serious?” said one of the first Plunger Boys, Luke Pierson, who graduated in 1999. “I guess it’s come a long way. That’s pretty wild.”
Craig Gipson and Kyle Thomas, who shared the role during the 2000-2001 school year, were equally surprised.
“The fact that it runs through an application process really cracks me up,” Thomas said. “I would expect that Craig and I are part of that selection committee moving forward.”
Stroud said the Plunger Boy is a member of the Student Council these days, just like each grade’s elected officers. He said each Plunger Boy can recommend potential successors to him, Springer, and the cheerleading coaches.
I was not able to pinpoint when the Plunger Boy process was formalized, but it was definitely a recent development. Leo Swaldi, who was the Plunger Boy during the 2019-2020 school year, said his experience aligned with his forebears: Each Plunger Boy — or set of Plunger Boys — chose the next one or pair. Swaldi recalls meeting Nathan Payan at Whataburger to take possession of his plunger, a set of coveralls, and a booklet about Plunger Boy history.
Trevor Inman, who was the Plunger Boy during 2012-2013, said he was chosen by his immediate predecessor, Teddy Croft. Inman ended up playing college baseball at Tarleton State, but he was a self-described “spare” in football.
“I’d heard Teddy was going to choose me if I quit football, and I thought, ‘OK, that’s the push I needed,’” Inman said. “I could have been one of 50 on the sideline or been one of one on the sideline.”
Last school year’s Plunger Boy, Jake Chew, said he endorsed Mullican to succeed him because “he has a silly, goofy personality, which fits the role really well.” Chew, who is a freshman at Baylor University, said the Plunger Boy portion of his resume is a great talking point that comes up whenever he’s applying for a job or to join one of his school’s clubs or special programs.
“They’re always so intrigued about it,” Chew said. “It’s given me a great story to tell.”
Like a lot of Plunger Boys, Chew and Mullican both heard a story that says the tradition stems from a time when Southlake Carroll was among Coppell’s district rivals, and an unnamed Dragons fan made a comment about Cowboys fans being a bunch of blue-collar workers, such as plumbers. But that may be a suburban legend. Pierson, one of the original Plunger Boys, remembers it differently.
Pierson said he and a friend, William Key, had a lot of pals on the Coppell boys basketball team, which made it to the Class 4A state tournament during his senior year, and they wanted to inspire them during a pre-district game at Jesuit. “We just decided to dress like complete morons and go out there and support our buddies,” Pierson said. In his case, that meant donning a hard hat and a pair of cutoff overalls with a hammer hanging on a belt loop. But a Jesuit security guard pointed at the hammer and said, “Yeah, you can’t bring that in here.” So Pierson brought a different tool to the next basketball game.
“A plunger seemed to be a thing we couldn’t get in trouble for,” he said. “It morphed into a thing that kind of stuck. Just a couple of goofball kids, and next thing you know we’re having to do it at every game.”
As I delved into Plunger Boy lore, I’d hoped to learn that a single plunger had been handed down through the years, like the NHL’s Stanley Cup. When Caleb Gottlich assumed the role in 2008, he took possession of a plunger autographed by every prior Plunger Boy. But the whereabouts of that particular plunger are unknown. Mullican said the one Chew gave him bore only two signatures.
Looping back to where this article began, Mullican told me he plans to study business in college. If so, he would follow in the footsteps of Pierson, who is the DFW-area president for a title company; Thomas, who lives in Idaho and works in sales; and Swaldi, who is employed at a Houston investment firm. But Mullican’s predecessors also include at least one attorney (Gipson practices intellectual property law in Oregon) and multiple doctors. Gottlich is an orthopedic surgeon in New York City, and Inman recently opened a chiropractic clinic in Coppell.
Hmm. I talked to a lot of Plunger Boys for this story, and not one of them grew up to be a plumber.
Town Center Decision Expected on Monday
Discussions about closing campuses aren’t unique to Coppell ISD. Last December, Lewisville ISD trustees voted to shutter five elementary schools. Last March, Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD trustees opted to close three elementaries and one middle school. And just last week, parents in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD were told to expect up to three closures.
In September of 2024, Coppell ISD trustees were given the option to close two elementaries: Pinkerton and Austin. They immediately rejected that option and eventually voted to close Pinkerton. One year later, the district’s administrators recommended closing Town Center Elementary.
A decision on that recommendation was expected during the trustees’ Oct. 6 meeting, but the vote was delayed until Oct. 27. My first article about that Oct. 6 meeting focused on the trustees’ comments, and the second article was based on things an administrator said. This one will be about what the audience had to say.
More than 40 people signed up to speak that night, and many of them thanked the trustees for delaying the vote. “Your decision reflects the thoughtful, measured leadership that CISD deserves, moving us away from the hasty, destructive path,” said Gautam Muralidhar, who also provided some comic relief with this comment: “As a great poet once said, ‘You only get one shot. Do not miss your chance to blow — this opportunity comes once in a lifetime.’ Lose yourself in finding the right way forward.”
Other speakers expressed gratitude for everything the trustees had done since receiving the recommendation on Sept. 22. Chris Bryan said the previous two weeks had been “absolutely crazy” but showed how committed the trustees are to their volunteer roles. “The amount of time you’ve spent with people and having feedback is wonderful,” he said.
Matching the tenor of the board’s Sept. 29 meeting and an Oct. 1 town hall meeting in the Town Center cafeteria, multiple speakers questioned the data and methodology that led to the administration’s recommendation. Christy Mitchell listed many of the points made in a 59-page response compiled by Town Center parents and neighbors. Among those points: Town Center has the district’s lowest number of bus riders, its highest teacher retention rate, and the easiest access to walkable field trips.
“A vote ‘yes’ would be easy to be done with this,” Mitchell said, “but a vote ‘no’ is to stand up for what’s right for our kids and consider all options based on sound data.”
Kara Goss asked the trustees to consider whether the recommendation to close Town Center aligns with Coppell ISD’s values. “New priorities such as regeneration, protecting the perimeter, and expandability were added,” Goss said, “and I don’t see these among the community priorities listed in the Community Dialogue Report.”
During his time as interim superintendent, Doug Williams said more than once that if Coppell ISD cannot slow its declining enrollment, then the district may have to start talking about closing a middle school. Without naming Denton Creek Elementary or Mockingbird Elementary — which are next to Coppell Middle School North and Coppell Middle School East, respectively — Goss suggested the district should be thinking in the long term and targeting a middle school’s neighbor for consolidation.
Cheryl Engler went a step further than Goss or any other public speaker I’ve heard since the Town Center recommendation was revealed. Engler said closing Austin Elementary would be a “common-sense option that is the least disruptive” because more than 40 percent of its students ride buses. She said those bus riders could be routed to another school, and Austin’s remaining students could walk or bike to Mockingbird, which is less than a mile away.
The trustees also heard from Town Center teachers during their Oct. 6 meeting. Ashlin Bowman has taught there for 12 years and described herself as a “proud product” of Coppell ISD.
“I have built my life, my career, and my family around this district, and I am thankful for every year that I’ve been able to invest in this district, and I want to keep believing in its future,” Bowman said. “Cowboy fight never dies, and I hope I can continue to say that with confidence in the years to come.”
A Brief Promotional Interruption
If this is the first edition of the Coppell Chronicle that you’ve received in October, then you missed articles about an abandoned Coppell mansion that may be demolished, a dogfight that led to filings in three Dallas County courts, and Oncor’s plans to build a 200-foot tower that will loom over a Coppell ISD subdivision. You also missed a link to an episode of a podcast called The Business of Content. Its host, Simon Owens, wanted to interview me because he believes I have the highest paid conversion rate on Substack.
As of this afternoon, 38 percent of this newsletter’s subscribers are paid subscribers. I’d like to boost that percentage even higher, so please consider upgrading your free subscription to a paid subscription for only $40 per year. That means you’ll get the Chronicle each Sunday instead of just once a month.
As I told Owens, I have a 20-year-old son who is mentally disabled and has been deemed unemployable by the Texas Workforce Commission. My long-term plan is that the Chronicle’s revenues will fund his adult life, while my wife and I continue to live off the money I make at my day job.
Speaking of my Special Olympian, he was my sidekick as I reported the article you’re about to read.
Passengers Pack Trains for Silver Line’s Debut
My son and I were among the passengers who rode DART’s newest trains on the day they debuted. If you were also on the Silver Line on Saturday, I apologize for not saying hi; I probably couldn’t find you in the crowds.
We took three short trips — from Cypress Waters Station to DFW Airport, from the airport to Downtown Carrollton Station, and then back to where we started at Cypress Waters Station, which is on East Belt Line Road, right outside Coppell’s city limits. People were standing in the aisles during all three trips because just about every seat was taken. The Silver Line trains will surely get less crowded once the novelty wears off, as this is DART’s first rail line that doesn’t go to downtown Dallas. Relative to the Green Line or the Red Line, there can’t be much demand for commuting along this route:
I commuted to jobs in downtown Dallas via DART trains for years. Here are my first impressions of how the Silver Line compared to those experiences:
• The cars on the Silver Line trains are longer than the cars on DART’s older trains. Consequently, if you’re trying to exit a crowded car, you’re going to have to fight your way through more people to get to a door before the train starts moving again.
• Each end of every car on a Silver Line train features eight seats around tables. Those tables are something the older trains have never had. Other new amenities include seatback trays and a charging station at each seat.
• If you want to switch cars on older DART trains (which I sometimes did due to questionable behavior by a fellow rider), you have to disembark and then get back on. But the Silver Line trains have longish corridors connecting the cars. These corridors are accessible to riders, but there are signs posted that urge you to keep moving and not linger. As someone who spent years observing people not following DART’s rules, I’ll say, “Good luck with all that.”
Anyone can enjoy complimentary rides on the Silver Line through Nov. 8. After that, the standard rates will be $6 for a day pass and $3 for a three-hour pass.
Finally, here’s what the view from an eastbound train looks like as the Silver Line goes across the Coppell-branded bridge over South Belt Line Road:
Cops Advise Caution Around Cameraman
Last week, two subscribers independently told me about a masked man recording videos in Coppell. One saw him documenting traffic near the intersection of Sandy Lake and Denton Tap roads. The other interacted with him as he recorded people going in and out of the post office.
The latter subscriber told me she asked the guy why he was recording videos of post office patrons. She said this was his response: “I’m going to go home and watch the video while eating popcorn.”
I’ve since seen comments online about people who call themselves “First Amendment auditors” or “frauditors.” These jokers are hoping you’ll be motivated to react in such a way that they’ll get content they can post on social media. You know, as opposed to getting a job that produces something useful, provides a service, or helps people in any way.
Coppell Police Department spokesperson J.J. Ceniceros said the cops are aware of this guy, who legally has the right to record videos on public property.
“If residents encounter this individual while he is recording, the Coppell Police Department strongly encourages residents to avoid any engagement with the individual, as that will only fuel clicks for his online content,” Ceniceros said.
While we were discussing suspicious individuals, I asked Ceniceros about a different guy who was supposedly stepping in front of vehicles on Sandy Lake and daring drivers to hit him. I’d seen reports on Facebook that this man was arrested by Coppell cops on Oct. 16, and Ceniceros confirmed that officers removed him from the scene and took him into custody for obstructing traffic.
Have You Voted Yet?
Early voting for the Nov. 4 election began Oct. 20, and it will continue through Oct. 31. Although Lewisville ISD residents are choosing a trustee, the ballots for everyone else in the Coppell Chronicle’s coverage area feature nothing but 17 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution.
I’m not going to bother trying to explain all 17 propositions, because so many of my media peers have already tackled that:
The Texas Newsroom, a collaboration between the public radio stations in Dallas, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio
KETR-FM, a public radio station based in Commerce
If you need some guidance on how to vote regarding those amendments, here are some recommendations:
One more important note about Election Day: Because many Coppell ISD campuses will serve as polling places, students will not go to school on Nov. 4.
(I bet at least one parent reacted to the previous sentence by saying, “Do what now?”)
Sports Flash!
• Coppell High School’s varsity tennis team, which captured the first regional championship in the history of the program, ultimately lost to Round Rock Westwood, 11-4, in the UIL Class 6A state semifinals in Waco on Oct. 22.
• Coppell High School junior Maya Easterwood finished second among the girls at the UIL’s Class 6A Region 1 cross country meet in Lubbock on Oct. 21. That means she’ll run in the state meet on Nov. 1 in Round Rock.
• Coppell High School’s varsity volleyball team went 10-4 in district matches, which earned them a playoff berth. They’ll take on Allen at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 30 at Hebron High School. This will be a rematch, because the Eagles dispatched the Cowgirls in the first round of last year’s playoffs.
• Late last night in Bedford, Coppell High School’s varsity marching band won the UIL’s Class 6A Area B competition for the fifth year in a row, earning the musicians a trip to the state championships in San Antonio on Nov. 3 and 4. The community is invited to a free performance at Buddy Echols Field at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 27.
Chronicle Crumbs
• When I published last week’s edition, which prominently featured comments from Kristen Eichel, I did so assuming she was still employed by Coppell ISD as its Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services. I have since seen evidence to the contrary on the district’s website. Coppell ISD Director of Communications Amanda Simpson confirmed for me that Eichel has resigned, but she declined to say anything else related to a personnel matter.
• Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services is not among the job openings listed on Coppell ISD’s website, but Chief Financial Officer is. Diana Sircar, who has been in that position since 2019, told me she plans to retire at the end of January. She said the Board of Trustees has known about these plans since last January, but the district waited to post the opening until after Superintendent Leanne Shivers began her tenure this month.
• In last week’s edition, I reported that an engineer representing Johnson Management Company told the Coppell City Council that demolition of the McDonald’s on Denton Tap Road would begin in January, with a goal of rebuilding the restaurant by May. But a form subsequently filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation says the project will start in May and wrap up by September.
• Speaking of fast-food restaurants on Denton Tap, word on the street is that the staff of Jason’s Deli are targeting Nov. 4 as their opening date.
• On Oct. 20, the Lewisville City Council approved an alternative lighting standard requested by the owners of Vistara Sports. They plan to add 12 outdoor pickleball courts to their property straddling the border of Lewisville and Coppell, and they want those courts to be lit by bulbs as intense as 53 foot-candles; Lewisville typically caps the intensity at 20 foot-candles for non-residential uses. The motion approved last week included this language: “as long as the exterior lighting is used for a sport court or sport field.”
• On Oct. 22, the Dallas City Council approved an agreement with the City of Irving that I wrote about three weeks ago in an article called “South Haven to Finally Get Deceleration Lane.” That neighborhood of 200 homes is within the boundaries of Coppell ISD.
• My friends at the Coppell ISD Education Foundation are planning a November chili cookoff to mark the organization’s 25th anniversary. Click here for information about participating as a chili cook or connoisseur.
• Worried about your teen? The Assistance League of Coppell offers free drug and alcohol testing kits to parents. Just call or text 972-977-3105, or send an email to alcoppelldtk@gmail.com.
• The Coppell Alumnae Panhellenic Association will award $1,000 scholarships to three active sorority members this fall. The application deadline is Nov. 1.
• The Rotary Club of Coppell is touting a special deal on its annual flag leases. If you sign up for a 2026 lease before Nov. 2, Rotary volunteers will place a U.S. flag in front of your home for this year’s edition of Veterans Day.
• When I reported last May that the Bacon Brothers — Hollywood icon Kevin Bacon and his brother, Michael Bacon — had been booked to perform at the Coppell Arts Center, I made this wisecrack: “If that show doesn’t include a cover of Kenny Loggins’ ‘Footloose,’ what are we even doing here?” I was unable to attend their performance on Friday evening, but friends who were there tell me I correctly predicted the final song on the set list.
• Shout-out to the cashier who rang me up on Friday morning at Einstein Bros. Bagels. The screen on her register said I’d received a “senior discount,” but she called it a “handsome discount.” That’s how you earn a gratuity, lady!
Community Calendar
Coppell Industry Job Fair: The City of Coppell will host a job fair featuring local businesses between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Oct. 28 at the Four Points by Sheraton DFW Airport North.
Coppell Softball Halloween Tailgate: The Coppell High School softball program will host a tailgate party before the varsity football team’s game against Flower Mound on Oct. 31.
Caregiving Heroes: The support group for people who are assisting loved ones with aging or other concerns will meet at 10 a.m. on Nov. 1 at First United Methodist Church of Coppell.
Dracula — A Ballet With a Bite: The Ballet Ensemble of Texas will present the classic vampire story, with a few unique twists, at 7 p.m. on Nov. 1 at the Coppell Arts Center.
Coppell Senior & Community Center Craft Fair: You can get started on your holiday shopping between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Nov. 8.
Big thanks to Jenny Echols, Carol Lacey McGuire, May Olson, Todd Storch, and Brad Hunt for their help in tracking down former Plunger Boys.
Thanks for another informative edition. You forgot one noteworthy event, however. I know it’s not up there with Plunger Boys and school closures, but the CVS on Sandy Lake finally got their new front door.