CYNTHIA GARCIA
Deb Turpin, owner of Eagle Mountain Plaza at 300 E. Main St., has been trying for several years to preserve Ash Creek for generations to come.
Turpin has worked on the project for the last three years, but rainfall prevented work on the creek for about a year because cleanup must take place when the creek bed is dry.
Earlier this month, Turpin, alongside Joe Edwards from Edwards Construction and Property Management LLC and two volunteers, Josh Lassiter and Robert Key, resumed cleanup efforts along the portion of Ash Creek behind her property.
For Turpin, preserving the creek is personal. She remembers playing along Ash Creek while growing up in Azle and fishing there when the water was higher.
“I lived out nearly halfway to Weatherford, out off Newsom Mound Road, and when we come into town to visit my mother's parents, then I'd go to the dairy and I'd play on the creeks,” Turpin told The Azle News.
Turpin bought Eagle Mountain Plaza in 2021. According to a previous article in The Azle News, Turpin searched for answers for 18 months to find out who was legally responsible for maintaining portions of Ash Creek.
As previously reported by The Azle News, Turpin contacted the Tarrant Regional Water District, the city of Azle, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas Department of Transportation and other agencies while seeking answers.
Eventually, she found her answer through Parker County Environmental Deputy Mike Ingram, who told her Texas Water Code 11.086 prevents businesses and homeowners from changing the flow of water, but otherwise the section of the creek that borders her property is her responsibility, and she has every right to clean it herself.
“The first time I ever saw it, was so horribly different from what I had seen growing up, and I think that people (should) just have more respect for nature in general, and I think they (should) have more respect for heritage in general,” she said.
In the earlier stages of the effort, Randa Goode, who was the city of Azle’s mayor pro tem at the time and is now mayor, toured Ash Creek with Turpin to see what equipment and manpower would be needed to do a larger cleanup. At the time, Goode said the city’s newly created beautification board could potentially pursue grants for projects like the creek cleanup.
Since then, there have been no updates about a broader cleanup effort along Ash Creek, but Turpin has continued working on the portion of the creek along her property.
However, two years ago, the city hosted a fall clean up day in an effort to clean up the creek.
She said the work has already drawn positive comments from people who have noticed improvements to the creek, including the presence of small fish in the water.
“It's just aesthetically pleasing, like it is down by the back behind the library. People like that environment, and it could really add to what the city already has. I'm not asking them (the community) to spend a ton of money. I'm just asking for a little help, because I can't do this whole thing,” she said.
Ash Creek runs behind several business along Main Street. Turpin hopes other property owners will join the effort by cleaning and maintaining the portions of the creek along their properties.
“If somebody doesn’t correct what's been neglected, it's something that will be lost, and you won't have anything back there but a ditch,” Turpin said.
