Laurren's Closet in downtown Forney is a new boutique, which opened on April 6, 2013, inspired by Brian and Patty Smith's love for their daughter. Their daughter, Laurren, was a well known and loved teenage girl in Forney. She passed away in December 2009 from osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. The new downtown business will serve as a way to honor her memory and raise funds for the non-profit organization the Smiths want to start.

Forney's 5th Annual Main Street Liberty 5K Race took place on Saturday, May 4. A record number of runners, 210, participated in the event. According to Forney EDC Director Kim Buttram, it was 20 percent more participants than last year.

On Thursday, April 25, those living within the boundaries of the Forney Independent School District had the opportunity to meet the FISD Board of Trustees' candidates at Forney High School. The Meet the Candidate Night allowed Keith Bell, Dr. John Taylor, and Kathy Hall to share their backgrounds and why they feel they are the right person to be an FISD Board of Trustees member.

Meet the Candidate Night, sponsored by the Forney Chamber of Commerce, was held on Thursday, April 25 in the Forney High School cafeteria. City Council candidates had the opportunity to introduce themselves to voters and to state their positions on local issues.

A crowded cafeteria full of voters wishing to get better acquainted with local candidates attended the Meet the Candidate Night event held at Forney High School on April 25. It was a chance to find out where the mayoral candidates stand on issues that are important to Forney residents. Newcomer John Carr is challenging Incumbent Mayor Darren Rozell in the upcoming election.

During a visit to the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Jeremy Mazur, the Director of Governmental Relations for the Texas Water Board, spoke with visiting members of the 2013 Leadership Forney class. Mazur warned that the 2011 Texas drought is still taking its toll on the state and 99 percent of the state is still currently in drought.

On April 22, 2013, Erleigh Norville Wiley was sworn in as the new Kaufman County District Attorney. Wiley's previous position had been as a Judge in the County Court at Law in Kaufman. She served in that position for 10 years before her appointment by Governor Perry as the new D.A. She also spent 14 years as a Supervising Attorney in the Juvenile Division for the Dallas County D.A.'s Office.

Nineteen members of the 2013 Leadership Forney class graduated on April 18. The graduates attended seven, daylong classes, beginning in September 2012 and ending in April 2013. This was only the second Leadership Forney class, and there are plans to continue with additional classes. The graduation was attended by some members of the previous class, as well as members of the Chamber of Commerce, the Forney ISD, Mayor Darren Rozell, and special guest speaker W. Herbert Hunt.

Being a teacher is a difficult and often thankless job, but Forney resident Whitney Rozell recently received much deserved praise for being a great teacher. Rozell teaches fourth grade at Porter Elementary School in Mesquite. The Dallas Mavericks and the UPS Store honored Rozell as part of their 9th annual Teacher Recognition Program.

The arrest affidavit for murder suspect Eric Williams gives great insight into how the investigators in the Hasse and McLelland murder cases put together the case against Williams and his wife Kim. The couple were both charged with capital murder in connection to the deaths of Mark Hasse, Mike McLelland, and Cynthia McLelland.