Cobb

Sales tax allocations for February were up in Denton by 3 percent compared to the same month last year and up 5.47 percent above budget, according to city financial records.

Fiscal year-to-date records, beginning in October, show the city is about 2.26 percent above budget projections and about 2.7 percent above the first five months of the last fiscal year.

Auto sales were down in March for dealerships in Denton County, according to the Freeman Auto Report. Total year-to-date sales for this year stands at 6,017, down from the 6,619 sold during the same period in 2007, and from the 6,504 sold in 2006.

A total of 910 automobiles and 942 trucks were sold in March this year. Last March, a total of 1,390 autos and 1,430 trucks were sold at the county’s more than 27 dealerships.

Records from the State Comptroller of Public Accounts show the first quarter of 2008 up 23 percent in Denton County for revenues received by cities for mixed-beverage sales. With $2,792,437 in tax revenues from mixed-beverage sales for the quarter, Denton County cities received $299,190, up 23.3 percent from the same time last year at $242,720.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Denton County’s average weekly wage for the third quarter of 2007 was $716, ranked at 222 among the nation’s counties. The national average wage was $818 per week in the third quarter of 2007.

Collin County’s average weekly wage was $981, and Dallas County was listed at $1,002 — both among the top average wages in the U.S. Among the lowest in the state were Lubbock County at $616 per week and El Paso at $593 per week.

In the same quarter, the number of jobs in Denton County totaled an estimated 166,100.

In May, DATCU will open a branch in Aubrey. The credit union’s eighth branch at 919 S. U.S. Highway 377 will include drive-through teller service, real estate loans, insurance, an ATM and other services.

Don Richmond, a resident of the Aubrey-Pilot Point area, will serve as branch manager. He has worked in the banking industry for more than 20 years and has served as a former director of the Pilot Point Chamber of Commerce, member and past president of the Kiwanis Club, and former treasurer with the Youth Sports Association.

Justin Hess, currently at DATCU’s south Denton branch, was promoted to assistant branch manager. The bank will have a total of seven employees at the Aubrey branch.

DATCU also hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the grand opening of its Wise County branch in Decatur on April 3. The new 4,400-square-foot branch, at 600 W. Ford St., is a full-service facility.

DATCU is a member-owned, not-for profit financial institution in business for 72 years with branches in Denton, Cooke, Wise, Montague and Clay counties.

For more information, visit www.datcu.org or call 1-866-387-8585

Denton Regional Medical Center recently announced the opening of the final phase of its Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, which will offer oncology (chemotherapy) services, radiation oncology, comprehensive diagnostic imaging and breast diagnostics, inpatient surgical services and integrated nutrition, education and cancer rehabilitation, according to a news release.

Phase I occurred last year with the opening of Denton Regional Radiation Oncology, which offers image-guided radiation therapy with on-board imaging. Phase II of the project began last October and consisted of the first addition of the Center of Cancer and Blood Disorders.

The center opened in January and is located in the Denton Regional Profes­sional Office Building, across the hall from Denton Regional Radiation Oncology facility.

For more information, visit www.dentonregional.com.

A new Dollar Tree store opened Wednesday in Little Elm at 2590 FM423, inside Little Elm Towne Crossing Center.

Headquartered in Chesapeake, Va., Dollar Tree Inc. offers basic items including health and beauty products, housewares, grocery items, apparel, seasonal items and more for $1.

Dollar Tree has more than 3,400 stores in 48 states.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn met with Denton County business leaders and elected officials in Washington this past week to discuss various priorities for the area.

Among those attending were Flower Mound Mayor Jody Smith, Lewisville Mayor Gene Carey, and representatives from the Flower Mound and Lewisville Chambers of Commerce, the city of Highland Village and Presby­terian Hospital of Denton.

Topics on the agenda included economic growth and job opportunities, transportation and immigration reform, according to a news release.

Congrats

Darlene Turner, a Jazzercise instructor in Denton for 11 years, received the President’s Club Award — platinum status — for being one of the top money earners in the Jazzercise franchise operation.

She received the recognition in March at a meeting in Dallas, according to a news release. Turner’s studio is located at 5800 N. Interstate 35, Suite 220A, in the Stonehill Center.

Staff writers Karina Ramírez and Shae Martinez contributed to this report.