|
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
WHEREAS, Residents from Collin County are gathering at the |
|
State Capitol on February 20, 2007, to celebrate Collin County Day, |
|
and this event provides an opportunity to pay tribute to this |
|
prosperous area in North Texas; and |
|
WHEREAS, Once inhabited by the Caddo Indians, the county is |
|
located almost entirely within the state's Blackland Prairie, and |
|
this prime farming land began attracting settlers in the early |
|
1840s; both the county and its seat, McKinney, were named in honor |
|
of pioneer resident Collin McKinney, a signer of the Texas |
|
Declaration of Independence; and |
|
WHEREAS, Today, Collin County encompasses a portion of the |
|
dynamic Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex; it has experienced one of the |
|
fastest growth rates in Texas in recent years, and much of its 886 |
|
square miles has been transformed into a bustling urban area; more |
|
than 700,000 people call the county home, with an average of 100 new |
|
residents arriving each day; and |
|
WHEREAS, The county seat, McKinney, is one of the county's |
|
many booming municipalities, boasting a population of 103,000; it |
|
offers a host of interesting attractions, including the Collin |
|
County Youth Park and Farm Museum, the Collin County History |
|
Museum, Bolin Wildlife Exhibit, Chestnut Square Historical Park, |
|
and the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary; |
|
adjacent to Lake Lavon, McKinney is also home to a number of |
|
beautiful outdoor recreation areas, including Wilson Creek Park; |
|
and |
|
WHEREAS, With a population of more than 253,000, Plano is the |
|
largest city in the county and a thriving business center; visitors |
|
to this community can enjoy shops and malls with pleasant amenities |
|
and a restored downtown square, which features brick sidewalks, |
|
turn-of-the-century lampposts, and numerous specialty stores, |
|
galleries, and restaurants; and |
|
WHEREAS, The city of Allen, home to two especially well-known |
|
residents, Olympic gold-medal-winning gymnast Carly Patterson and |
|
artist Amanda Dunbar, is yet another fast-growing town; Allen has a |
|
population of more than 70,000, and its citizens are dedicated to |
|
the development of a quality community with a top-ranked education |
|
system, family-oriented residential areas, innovative recreational |
|
facilities, and premier business developments; and |
|
WHEREAS, The site now occupied by the city of Frisco was once |
|
a campground for Native Americans, and a footpath that passed |
|
through the area became the "Texas Road," a route for pioneers |
|
traveling between the Red River and Central Texas; after the |
|
arrival of the railroad, Frisco became a commercial hub for farmers |
|
and ranchers in the area; it now has 85,000 residents and is the |
|
site of numerous corporate offices as well as minor league baseball |
|
and junior league hockey teams; and |
|
WHEREAS, Other communities add much to Collin County's |
|
allure; Wylie, with a population of 33,000, is a family-oriented |
|
town that is home to the Ballard Street Cafe, an eatery famed for |
|
its chicken fried steak; Celina has gained statewide fame for its |
|
Bobcats high school football team, which has claimed seven state |
|
titles; true to its name, the town of Prosper has grown larger in |
|
recent years, and its residents are especially proud of its skilled |
|
firefighters and paramedics, whose courage and quick action have |
|
saved lives; Princeton was the site of one of the county's |
|
interesting historical episodes, when it was the site of a |
|
prisoner-of-war camp for captured German soldiers during World War |
|
II; and |
|
WHEREAS, In addition, citizens from the communities of Anna, |
|
Blue Ridge, Fairview, Farmersville, Josephine, Lavon, Lucas, |
|
Murphy, Nevada, New Hope, and Parker, along with parts of Dallas, |
|
Garland, Richardson, Royse City, and Sachse, whose city limits |
|
extend into the county, have played an important part in preserving |
|
Collin County's proud heritage and contributing to its flourishing, |
|
diversified economy, and they may indeed look forward to a bright |
|
and promising future; now, therefore, be it |
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas |
|
Legislature hereby recognize February 20, 2007, as Collin County |
|
Day at the State Capitol and extend sincere best wishes to all those |
|
Collin County residents who have traveled to Austin for this event. |