Coppell Chronicle Vol. 5, No. 4
Authorities Investigate Thefts from Mailbox • Drive-Thru Dispensary Coming to Town • Legislation Threatens Coppell’s Revenues • Office Approved at End of Residential Street
This week’s edition begins with two big stories from a single intersection. Given the newsworthiness of these articles, I thought about sending this edition to my free subscribers. But those folks know the deal — they could easily become paid subscribers like you.
Authorities Investigate Thefts from Mailbox
Several checks have been stolen from the drive-up mailbox outside Coppell’s post office.
After seeing anecdotal reports of such thievery on social media, I contacted the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for concrete details. Postal Inspector Paul Ecker confirmed that his agency is working with the Coppell Police Department to investigate a series of thefts that began in 2024 and continued into the new year.
“Exact details of the investigation cannot be disclosed at this time,” Ecker said via email last week. “Fortunately, that’s because there have been some significant developments in the case we are confident will provide a resolution to these offenses.”
I also submitted an open records request to the Coppell Police Department, asking for all incident reports associated with the post office’s address (450 S. Denton Tap Road) since Jan. 1, 2024. I received 12 reports on incidents that happened between Dec. 20, 2024, and Jan. 26, 2025. The narrative sections were redacted on all but one of the reports.
The narrative on that unredacted report says a Coppell man used the drive-up mailbox to send a check to his insurance company on Dec. 20. The amount he wrote on the check was $537.60. Three days later, he received an overdraft notification because someone had altered the check’s amount to $4,800.60, which was more than the man had in his account. The thief had also replaced the insurance company’s name with the name of an individual, using a method known as check washing.
The offense on the unredacted report was fraud, which was also the offense on 10 of the 11 other reports. I made contact with seven of those victims, because their names and phone numbers were not redacted. These seven Coppell residents all confirmed that they had reported stolen checks and that they had placed those checks in the drive-up mailbox.
One man told me his $8,800 check to cover his property taxes had been stolen, and the Dallas County Tax Office declined to waive the late penalty he incurred. A woman told me her property-taxes check had also been stolen, but she discovered the theft — via the image of the cashed check on her bank’s website — in time to avoid a penalty.
“I write only two or three checks per year,” she said, “but I think I’ve written my last one.”
There are probably other victims out there, because this article was inspired by a Facebook post from a woman who said her insurance payment was stolen, and her name was not on any of the incident reports I received. Eckert said anyone who thinks they may have been affected should contact the Postal Inspection Service via 877-876-2455 or the agency’s website, which includes tips on crime prevention.
“While we can’t prevent every crime from occurring,” Eckert said, “postal inspectors will always provide complaints with investigative attention, and we value the tremendous help from our fellow law enforcement agencies.”
Drive-Thru Dispensary Coming to Town
Right across Bethel School Road from the drive-up mailbox, a new business is about to offer drive-thru service for a controversial product: hemp.
The former home of Pharmacy Plus will soon become the first brick-and-mortar location of Pine Park, a media company focused on cannabis and hemp. The City of Coppell issued a certificate of occupancy on Feb. 21. The application for the certificate says the business will be a “licensed retail hemp store.”
Three individuals’ names are on that application. One is Coppell resident Terry Holmes, who owns the building. The applicants are William Michael and Elijah Freitas of WE Consult, “a leading provider of comprehensive cannabis consulting services,” according to the company’s LinkedIn profile.
I chatted with Michael and Freitas on the phone for a few minutes last week. They told me Pine Park will sell hemp in a few different forms: flower, edible, and concentrate. Their official opening day at 420 S. Denton Tap Road will be April 20 (4/20, get it?), but they plan to offer drive-thru service beginning this Thursday, and their drive-thru window will be open around the clock, as promised in a video posted on Pine Park’s Twitter account.
The Texas Tribune recently published an article about legislative efforts to ban the sale of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. This was a key paragraph:
“Thousands of cannabis dispensaries have popped up across Texas since 2019, when the GOP-controlled Legislature authorized the sale of consumable hemp. That law, passed one year after hemp was legalized nationwide, was intended to boost Texas agriculture by allowing the commercialization of hemp containing trace amounts of non-intoxicating delta-9 THC, the psychoactive element in marijuana.”
Sen. Charles Perry, a Republican from Lubbock, carried the 2019 legislation, and he filed this year’s bill targeting THC. I told Michael and Freitas that I assumed they wouldn’t be preparing to open a dispensary if they were worried about Perry’s new bill. Freitas said my assumption was correct.
“The constituents of all these legislators have made it clear that they’re not interested in stepping back when it comes to cannabis,” he said.
He may have a point, because Coppell has several businesses specializing in products that are like marijuana but not quite. Jetstream Vapors has been on the south end of Denton Tap since at least 2016. In the past few years, it’s been joined by three others along Coppell’s main drag: CBD Pros USA, 121 Smoke Shop, and Kush Cigar-CBD-Vape.
A store on the southwest corner of State Highway 121 and MacArthur Boulevard that was formerly known as Urgent CBD has been rebranded as Trilogy. There are three others at the intersection of MacArthur and Belt Line Road: Sky Rise Vapor on the northeast corner, Vape & Smoke Mart on the southeast corner, and SmokeVille on the southwest corner.
None of those shops has a drive-thru window, and none stays open around the clock. To hear Freitas tell it, Pine Park’s “upscale vibe” will also set the dispensary apart from its competition.
“We want Coppell to be proud we’re here,” he said.
Legislation Threatens Coppell’s Revenues
State Rep. Morgan Meyer is bound and determined to pick Coppell’s pocket.
As he has in the past two legislative sessions, the Republican from University Park has filed a bill that would switch Texas’ policy on sales taxes from “origin sourcing” to “destination sourcing.” Here’s what his new bill, HB 134, says about orders that are not placed in person: “... the sale is consummated at the location in this state to which the item is shipped or delivered or at which possession is taken by the purchaser.”
Last December, Coppell and a few other cities won a lawsuit that prevented Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar from enacting a similar switch. Their suit estimated that Coppell would lose more than $19 million per year, or 16 percent of its annual revenue, if Hegar and Meyer got their way. That’s because Coppell would lose all of the sales taxes linked to the plethora of distribution centers and fulfillment centers on the west side of the city.
Back in 2021, a few months before the suit was filed, Meyer had strong words for a City of Lewisville employee who testified against that year’s version of Meyer’s legislation:
“You talk about your sales tax — ‘your’ sales tax — but what, in reality, you’re doing is you’re taking other tax from other parts of the state from someone who buys in Lubbock or someone who buys in Dallas or someone who buys in — that’s their tax money. If I’m there, and I’m spending and buying, as a sales tax, it should go back to my community.”
(See “Coppell May Lose Millions in Sales Taxes” in Vol. 1, No. 10)
Meyer’s new bill was filed on Wednesday, two days before this year’s deadline to introduce legislation. It’s been fast-tracked for a hearing on Monday afternoon before the Ways & Means Committee, which Meyer chairs.
Chambers of commerce in cities that would be impacted by this legislation are encouraging their residents to submit written testimony against the bill. Coppell Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Nevels also urged people to do so in a Facebook post that included these bullet points:
“This bill moves 100% of local sales tax collection from origin-based to destination-based sourcing, cutting vital funding from cities that have invested in responsible economic growth.”
“No fiscal impact study has been conducted – cities don’t even know how devastating this could be!”
“Cities like Coppell have invested in infrastructure to support businesses under the current laws, and this bill would wipe out those benefits.”
“Texas has over 1,600 different sales taxing entities – this change creates confusion, inefficiency, and hurts businesses.”
Office Approved at End of Residential Street
When the Coppell Planning and Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing on a proposal to build an office at the end of a residential street, several concerned homeowners passionately testified against it.
When the Coppell City Council conducted a public hearing on the same proposal, nobody signed up to speak.
The office for Graystone Construction will be built on the corner of Southwestern Boulevard and Howell Street. The people who testified at the Planning and Zoning Commission’s hearing last month didn’t like the idea of Graystone’s property, which has an official address of 192 Southwestern, being accessed from Howell.
(See “Residents Don’t Want Trucks on Street” in Vol. 5, No. 1.)
Although those residents were not at Tuesday’s hearing, City Council Member Jim Walker was familiar with their concerns because he faithfully reads this newsletter. He asked Senior Planner Mary Paron-Boswell to confirm that three houses at the south end of Howell are zoned for commercial uses, and that the businesses occupying those houses use Howell to access their properties — “which is the same thing they’re asking in this application,” Walker said.
Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Nevels asked Greystone partner and co-founder Danny Didyk what types of vehicles might use Howell to access the property at 192 Southwestern. Didyk said he drives a Ford F250, as do two of his colleagues, and another employee drives a Chevrolet Traverse. In other words, no commercial vehicles.
The council unanimously approved the zoning changes requested by Graystone. They also took unanimous votes on these items:
• They approved zoning changes requested by a firm that plans to build a 24-hour pickleball facility along the westbound service road of State Highway 121, on the vacant lot west of L.A. Fitness. The facility’s design had been updated since the Coppell Planning and Zoning Commission considered the requests last month.
• They approved a $715,000 contract with Fast General Contracting for the majority of the work on a veterans memorial in Town Center Plaza and a $1.4 million contract with FM Constructors to build the memorial’s six towers representing the branches of the military. These contracts will be covered by the Coppell Recreation Development Corporation, which is funded by sales taxes. The goal is to unveil the finished memorial on Veterans Day.
• They approved an ordinance that says anyone who wants to offer charity housing or transitional housing in Coppell will have to apply for a permit and go through a couple of public hearings, just like anyone who wants to offer short-term rentals. City Attorney Bob Hager told the council, “We’ve had people that when we approach them about registering their STR or registering their long-term rental, they said, ‘Well, we’re running a charity house.’ It was a loophole, and we want to close that loophole.”
Sports Flash!
• Solomon Thomas, who once played for the Coppell Cowboys, will soon play for the Dallas Cowboys. The former San Francisco 49er, Las Vegas Raider, and New York Jet signed a contract with America’s Team last week, and a short video posted on the franchise’s Instagram account was captioned “From a Coppell Cowboy to a Dallas Cowboy.” By making that transition, Thomas is following in the footsteps of high school teammate Connor Williams.
• The Coppell Cowboys varsity soccer team is the top ranked Class 6A boys team in the area, according to The Dallas Morning News, which says the varsity Coppell Cowgirls are the area’s fourth-best Class 6A girls squad. Both teams are scheduled to wrap up the regular season on Monday against Marcus; the boys will be in Flower Mound, and the girls will play at Buddy Echols Field. The playoffs will begin this weekend.
• When I coached my son’s teams in the Coppell Baseball Association, one of my favorite aspects of that experience was the season-opening parade at MacArthur Park. We haven’t had one of those parades since 2019, but I’m happy to report that one has been scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on March 29. See you there?
Chronicle Crumbs
• TRAFFIC ALERT: The contractors working on DART’s Silver Line project have big plans for spring break. Freeport Parkway will be impassable on Tuesday, Royal Lane will be impassable on Thursday, and MacArthur Boulevard will be impassable on Saturday. Adjust your commutes accordingly.
• As documented in a February article called “City Prepares to Demolish Busted Fence,” the Coppell Building and Standards Commission set a deadline of March 14 for a dilapidated fence on Willow Springs Drive to be repaired or demolished. I can report, based on evidence I’ve seen with my own four eyes, that the deadline was not met.
• As previewed in a May article called “City to Explore Digital Signage Along Roads,” Coppell recently activated a two-sided digital sign on South Belt Line Road. The initial messaging urges motorists to connect, learn, and shop in Coppell. A fourth image touts the city’s Vision 2040 strategy.
• A leasing flyer maintained by The Shop Companies says the Coppell location of The Biscuit Bar is available.
• A leasing flyer maintained by Edge Realty Partners says a Quik Trip will be constructed on the northwest corner of Sandy Lake Road and Interstate 35E.
• I recently reported that online provocateur Alex Stein has wasted everyone’s time by speaking at three Coppell City Council meetings since August. Last week, a federal jury ruled that Dallas County officials did not violate Stein’s free speech rights in 2022, when they had him removed from a commissioners court meeting. The Dallas Morning News has more details.
• Speaking of Stein: If you take elected officials and city/school district employees out of the equation, Dave Schauf is probably the only person in Coppell who attends more public meetings than yours truly. Schauf spoke during the “Citizens’ Appearance” portion of Tuesday’s City Council meeting, and he seemed to have Stein in mind at the time. I thoroughly enjoyed his commentary, due to both his intentions and his vocabulary. Give him a listen.
Community Calendar
Reputation: A Tribute to Taylor Swift: Swifties will gather in Old Town Coppell for a show at 7 p.m. on Friday that will be augmented by lawn games and four food trucks: Kona Ice, Lupe Tortilla, Pizza ISD, and Waffle O’licious.
Coffee With a Cop: Coppell police officers will hang out at Local Diner from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Soap Making: The Biodiversity Education Center in Wagon Wheel Park will host a 90-minute workshop starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
Neighbors Helping Neighbors: This one-day service project, scheduled for April 12, seeks to connect volunteers with Coppell residents who need assistance with home maintenance and repairs. March 24 is the deadline to submit a project request.
Assistance League of Coppell: Martha Thomas of The Defensive Line will speak at the meeting scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. on March 27 at Valley Ranch Baptist Church. Members are invited to gather at 11 for social time and also to go out for lunch after the meeting.
Funding the Future: The State of Public Education Funding in Coppell ISD: A group called Communities United for Public Education will host a forum at 6:30 p.m. on March 27 at the First United Methodist Church of Coppell. The speakers will include Coppell ISD Superintendent Brad Hunt and Board of Trustees President David Caviness. Registration is requested.
Disenchanted: Your favorite storybook heroines are tossing out their tiaras and coming back to life in a new musical comedy featuring adult content. Two performances are set for 8 p.m. on March 28 and 29 at the Coppell Arts Center.
Almost, Maine: Theatre Coppell will stage nine performances of the play about a place that’s not quite a town, because its residents never got around to getting organized. The first show is scheduled for 8 p.m. on March 28 at the Coppell Arts Center.
Perennial Pass Along Plant Sale: The volunteers who maintain the Helping Hands Garden next to Coppell Town Center will sell perennials between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on March 29. Prices will range from $5 to $20, and buyers must bring cash. Expert gardeners will also be prepared to answer questions.
Parent University - Suicide Prevention: Martha and Chris Thomas of The Defensive Line will be at the Cozby Library and Community Commons at 2 p.m. on March 29 to discuss how to recognize warning signs of a mental health crisis, how to have difficult conversations, and how to formulate an informed plan of action.
We Are The Music Makers: The Coppell Community Chorale’s Coppell Chamber Singers will join forces with choir members from Dallas Baptist University, Festival Orchestra, special guest soloist Sabatina Mauro, and Coppell High School choirs at 3 p.m. on March 30 at the Coppell Arts Center.
Train and Help Babies Organization Fund Raising Event: The Train and Help Babies Organization was founded by Coppell residents Dr. Prakash Kabbur and Dr. Sumana Nanjundachar. Its annual fundraiser is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on March 30 at Atithi Venue in Plano.
Youth Pop-Up Market: The Jacaranda Gift Shop in Old Town is inviting young artists, artisans, bakers, and entrepreneurs to showcase their talents between 9 a.m. and noon on April 5.
Kaleidoscope: Coppell’s festival of color, culture, and music will happen from 3 to 7 p.m. on April 5 in Old Town.
Dan, Thank you as always for your outstanding journalism by sharing Dave Schauf's prepared remarks delivered to the Coppell City Council. His comments and instructions remind me that All Communication Comes with Responsibility and Accountability. This is exactly what our Constitutional Framers intended behind our First Amendment Right to Free Speech. It is always good to see and hear others such as Citizen Dave remind and encourage us to properly exercise our Right to Free Speech. Dan, to post this comment, I experienced your verification checkpoint function for the first time. I understand your intent behind this checkpoint. But I wished it was not necessary: I wish all citizens had more self-restraint, understanding and practicing every day what Citizen Dave reminded us in this video.
When I interviewed the Pine Park duo, they proposed a partnership: What if Coppell Chronicle subscribers could get a discount on hemp by mentioning the phrase “Coppell Chronic”? Although their offer made me laugh, I had to decline.