Taylor Press

THRALL – Thrall Tigerettes freshman Reese Madsen earned Texas Sports Writers Association Class 3A All-State First Team honors after a standout debut season. Madsen quickly established herself as one of the top hitters in Class 3A, leading the Tigerettes with a .525 batting average while blasting 15 home runs. She also served as a team captain during her freshman campaign, a rare honor that reflected the leadership and impact she made throughout the season.

While Taylor held its Fourth of July bash at Murphy Park, other places in town and neighboring communities enjoyed their own celebrations to honor America’s semiquincentennial year. The Moody Museum offered a quiet tribute to the country’s 250th anniversary as the front walk and lawn were lined with U.S. flags. In nearby Coupland, attendees said they experienced a small but enjoyable afternoon of fun and games, including a bean bag toss and a giant Connect Four.

God is enough. More than enough. Far more than enough for the spiritual and physical needs of his children. Enough even for lesser created things, such as birds and flowers, to feed them and present them in beautiful splendor (Matthew 6:2534). Speaking of birds, we recently had an overwhelming infestation of flying critters under our recreational vehicle cover. You can imagine the noise and the mess.

MORE FOURTH OF JULY FUN Today, 10:00 PM The Coupland community gathered for a come-and-go afternoon of games and food to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. Photos by Emily Treadway While the band Rodeo and Juliet had yet to hit the stage, the Old Coupland Dance Hall opened its doors July Fourth to offer visitors air conditioning, free water and sausages on a stick provided by the city. The Moody Museum, 114 W. Ninth St. in Taylor, is all decked out to celebrate 250 years of American history.

AUSTIN – Hunters have an exciting lineup of opportunities and a chance to experience the beautiful scenery of Texas through Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) drawn hunt permits program. The drawn hunts program issues permits to hunters for drawn hunts on both public and private lands throughout Texas. Applications are now being accepted for a shot at nearly 9,800 permits in more than 60 high-quality hunt categories.

Tigerettes take on FFA Rodeo Today, 10:00 PM Thrall High School rodeo team members (from left) Kinley Hoffman, Demi Brooks and Baylee Killingsworth represented the Tigerettes in barrel racing at the Texas Future Farmers of America State Rodeo in Fort Worth. Killingsworth advanced to the finals after posting a 13.9-second run in the preliminary round, earning a chance to compete for a state championship and a $1,000 scholarship. She did not finish among the top six in the finals.

The Taylor Ducks are gearing up for the 2026 volleyball season after releasing their full varsity schedule, marking the beginning of a new era under first-year head coach Sarah Neal. Neal takes over the program after being hired earlier this year as Taylor’s girls athletic coordinator and head volleyball coach. She inherits a Ducks team looking to bounce back after finishing 9-24 overall last season. Taylor will begin preparations with scrimmages against Jarrell on Aug.

Gov. Greg Abbott is calling for a ban on data center construction in rural neighborhoods, according to the Houston Chronicle. Opposition to the facilities is growing because they require large amounts of electricity and water and can be noisy. The governor had previously touted Texas as “the epicenter of (artificial intelligence) development.” A recent poll by the University of Texas at Austin found that 62% of rural Texans, who vote heavily Republican, support the measure, the paper noted.

A Taylor city official issued a letter of apology Friday regarding an “untimely” online post about the data center zoning controversy. During a City Council meeting to discuss a resident-led petition asking for zoning changes to data center development, a prepared statement outlining the city’s postponement of a decision was released before the meeting was concluded.

City officials said Thursday state law prevents them from putting data center regulations on the Nov. 3 ballot, but they instead will allow public comment in July and approval of a possible ordinance in September. The notice came at a City Council meeting July 9 where residents wanted to learn the city’s next steps after submitting a petition a few weeks earlier with 1,400 signatures calling on Taylor to control or curb data center development growth.