2016 February Preston Hollow

Rick Stacy and his daughter, Dorian, have built a name for their furniture business by making customers feel at home. When they experienced that same style of service from LegacyTexas, they knew the right financial partner had been found. Because a business is more than its services, it’s the attitude of the people behind it that makes it a success.

WHAT’S YOUR LEGACY?

RICK STACY Founder, Stacy Furniture DORIAN STACY SIMS President

In December, one of our neighbors was found stabbed to death in his home. A teenager was arrested for the crime.

Dallas Police officer Lacie Darnell (Photo by Danny Fulgencio)

LIFE MEASURED IN DUMPLINGS AND SUPER BOWLS

Making our dwindling time count

I’ve always wondered about the wisdom of scheduling Valentine’s Day less than two months after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

We’ve just completed one orgy of gatherings and good will, and then another similarly critical event is thrust upon us.

If we participated at all in the loving and gift-giving at the end of the year, and if we did it with the prescribed amount of gusto, what gift is left for those who mean the most to us on Valentine’s Day?

By the time most of us reach our mid-30s, he concludes, we’ve burned through 95 percent of our in-person parent time

I was thinking about this while doing my job, a good part of which involves endlessly scanning the Internet, other magazines and newspapers looking for ideas about how to make ours better. I prefer to think of it as multi-tasking, but I suppose you could consider it dereliction of duty since most of this personal “thinking” seems to occur during work hours.

Regardless, I stumbled across the enewsletter “Charlotte Agenda” published by a small crew in North Carolina and dedicated to covering the city of Charlotte (it’s similar to a free one we publish for our neighborhood that you can subscribe to at advocatemag.com/social).

I read the Charlotte Agenda from time to time not because it’s attractive or flashy, like so much of what catches our attention on the

Internet these days, but because the writing is unique: one of the three writers seems full of himself, one seems to revel in being a wordsmith and the third flashes the rare ability to think and write at the same time.

This day she’s talking about the Internet site “Wait But Why,” and she’s pondering a specific article there about “The Tail End” in which writer Tim Urban quantifies by diagrams exactly how far along most of us are in our journey through life.

He starts by calculating the projected number of pizzas and dumplings he has left to eat. And there’s discussion about the number of Super Bowls he’ll likely still live to see (he assumes 60) and the number of presidents he may yet survive (nine).

But then he tilts more seriously: By the time most of us reach our mid-30s, he concludes, we’ve burned through 95 percent of our in-person parent time, meaning well before the presumed middle of our lives, we have relatively little time left to spend with our parents, if we’re lucky enough that they’re still alive.

Same with siblings: We go from spending every day with them for the first 18 or so years of our life to seeing them occasionally or rarely or not at all.

And so he concludes that if these things matter to us, we should make it a point to live near and spend time with the people we love most. And if we truly are in the last 10 percent of time we’ll spend with these people who mean the most to us, we should treat that time as the precious commodity it is, rather than worry too much about spending money on roses, chocolates and expensive meals on a fairly artificial holiday.

So maybe the person who scheduled Valentine’s Day was thinking clearly after all, making a date regularly associated with love for others to follow so closely after a season that seems to have moved far from its intended meaning.

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Senior Living Near White Rock Lake

Analysis: What our schools lose — and Texas schools gain — with Mike Morath’s departure

Man found dead in home off Walnut Hill Lane

Teenager arrested in connection with murder on Hurley Way

Governor taps Dallas ISD Trustee Mike Morath to assess assessments Using

worth

Radiation oncologist Dr. Michael Folkert and other members of our genitourinary cancer team are treating select prostate cancer patients with a technique that delivers a more potent dose of radiation in fewer treatments. Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy, SABR for short, is a technology that was pioneered at UT Southwestern and is now being adopted worldwide. It’s another example of the specialized care available at UT Southwestern—where scientific research, advanced technology, and leading-edge treatments come together to bring new hope to cancer patients.

To learn more, contact: Radiation Oncology at 214-645-8525 or visit utswmedicine.org/radonc

This is where prostate cancer can be eradicated in just five treatments.

Launch

Modern fairy tale

Although her first book, “Cinderella Has Cellulite: And Other Musings from a Last Wife,” is in its second printing, Donna Arp Weitzman hesitates to call herself a writer.

“I’ve always been in the business world,” she says. “I’ve never worked in the English area. I’ve just always loved anything having to do with literature.”

But in the early 2000s, Arp Weitzman’s life changed dramatically. After 25 years of marriage, she went through a divorce, moved to Dallas and met Herb Weitzman. The commercial real estate mogul would become her second husband — they now live in our neighborhood. Dating later in life proved challenging.

Cu Cututllilin i e goes he h re. (PPhoto by b Da D nny nn n Fulgencio)

“I can’t remember [dating] in my 20s because I was married so long,” she laughs. “I think I didn’t like it then and I certainly didn’t like it the second time It’s hard to discern honesty sometimes. And it’s very time consuming.”

She coped by cracking jokes and sharing humorous stories about the process with her girlfriends. Their conversations were so funny, she decided to write them down. Pretty soon she had a few chapters worth of content. In a serendipitous moment, Arp Weitzman met “a young book editor” at a party.

“I said, ‘You know, I’ve got these little chapters about dating when you’re older and all the things that happen,’” she remembers. “‘Will you take a look at it?’”

The editor specialized in biographies, but agreed to give Arp Weitzman’s anecdotes the once over — they left her in stitches.

“She said, ‘If you decide to do a book, I’ll edit it,’” the author explains. “So she became my accidental editor.”

The self-published book sold more than 1,000 copies in its first two months on Amazon and was eventually picked up by Greenleaf Book Group, a publishing house based in Austin. Arp Weitzman now has a three-book deal with Greenleaf. “Prince Charming has a Migraine” and “Sex and the Siren” are two of her upcoming titles. The author, though she’s still reluctant to call herself that, possesses seemingly boundless energy. She’s currently busy collaborating with a group of TV writers to develop “Cinderella Has Cellulite” into a network series.

“I’m not a TV writer and I’m not a screen writer,” Arp Weitzman admits.

She’s fine with relinquishing some creative control, but she insists upon having the final say when it comes to the show’s portrayal of Dallas women.

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www.. -469-909-8246

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“The women here are phenomenal smart, attractive, hardworking,” she says. “I think some TV shows in the past have made them look much less intelligent. I don’t want it to look like we are all about money and big hair and plastic surgery. I will not have that. We have an unusually intelligent community of women in Texas.”

Elizabeth Barbee

Opposite: Donna Arp Weitzman. (Photo by Rasy Ran)

Out & About

February 2016

Feb. 14 – June 5

In the Meadow

Two exhibits open on Valentine’s Day at the Meadows Museum. “Between Paris and Texas” features the work of Marie Cronin. The Texas-bred artist studied in Paris and then returned to the Lone Star State in the early 1900s to paint portraits of Texas statesmen that now hang in the Capitol. The other exhibit, “Process and Innovation,” shows the work of two mid-20th century Texas artists, Carlotta Corpron and Janet Turner, side-by-side. Meadows Museum, 5900 Bishop, 214.768.2516, meadowsmuseumdallas.org, $4-$10

FEB. 5

Whodunnit

Catch a midnight showing of “Clue” at the Inwood Theatre. The 1985 cult classic is inspired by the popular board game of the same name and takes a comedic approach to crime solving.

Inwood Theatre, 5458 West Lovers, 214.353.5085, landmarktheatres.com, $8.25-$10.50

FEB. 6 Volunteer

Interested in volunteering at the Park Forest Branch Library? Learn what it entails at this 4:30 p.m. orientation. Kids as young as 14 years old can volunteer, but a parent or legal guardian must accompany them.

Park Forest Branch Library, 3421 Forest Lane, 214.670.6333, dallaslibrary.org, free

DISCOVER THE BEST KEPT SECRET IN DFW

FARMERS BRANCH

COMMUNITY

FEB. 12

Ellis Paul

Spend the night listening to Ellis Paul’s poignant songs. His lyrics have been compared to those of Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, by some critics. Jaime Michaels, a regular at the Kerrville Folk Festival, opens at 8 p.m.

Uncle Calvin’s Coffee Shop, 9555 N. Central Expy., 214.363.0044, unclecalvins.org, $15-$18

FEB. 15

Educational choices

Exploring preschool options? The Sherry and Ken Goldberg Early Childhood Center (GFECC) will host an open house at 9:30 a.m. for curious parents. To RSVP, email Tara Ohayon at tohayon@jccdallas.org.

GFECC at Aaron Family Jewish Community Center, 7900 Northaven, 217.239.7157, jccdallas.org, free

FEB. 22 –

27

Engineers week

The Frontiers of Flight Museum celebrates National Engineers Week with activities, demonstrations and presentations from science, technology, engineering and mathematics professionals every day. Frontiers of Flight Museum, 6911 Lemon, 214.350.3600, flightmuseum.com, $3-$10

FEB. 27

Cluck cluck

John and Emily Ramos of Urban Chicken Inc. host a free class at 4 p.m. for those interested in starting a chicken coop. Learn to care for hens so they stay happy and your fridge stays full of fresh eggs. North Haven Gardens, 7700 Northaven, 214.363.5316, nhg.com, free

Feb. 10

Lovey dovey

Margaret Clauder is a ventriloquist, puppeteer, comedian, storyteller and magician — whew! To get your little ones in the Valentine’s Day spirit, she’ll don a giant heart costume, go by “Lovey Dovey” and show off her many talents at 10:30 a.m. Bookmarks in NorthPark Center, 8687 N. Central Expy., 214.671.1381, northparkcenter.com, free

Jacqueline

Landry’s life has changed significantly in the last two years. She moved from Las Vegas to Dallas, became a mother and quit her job as an energy and utilities consultant.

“As a consultant, I was on a plane Monday through Thursday,” she explains. “I knew I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my life.”

In November 2015, she opened Frost Gelato in Preston Hollow Village.

“[My husband and I] think this shopping center is going to be the next big thing,” Landry says. “We like being surrounded by restaurants and we like that [Preston Hollow Village] is in a family-oriented neighborhood.”

Swing by the minimalistic shop on your way to Trader Joe’s — it’s right across the parking lot. Flavors change monthly but strawberries and champagne, salted caramel, Guinness, chai tea and pistachio are all within Frost’s repertoire. Everything is made fresh onsite daily.

Feeling decadent? Go ahead and order a large, or the “grande.” Landry says gelato is made using considerably less butterfat than American ice cream, meaning it contains considerably fewer calories. But still beware of the brain freeze. Elizabeth

FROST GELATO

7859 Walnut Hill Lane, Suite 160 469.778.1788

frostgelato.com

AMBIANCE: CASUAL

PRICE RANGE: $2-$6

HOURS: SUNDAY-SATURDAY, 11 A.M.-10 P.M.

DID YOU KNOW?

JACQUELINE LANDRY HAS BEEN TO MORE THAN 26 COUNTRIES. SHE’S TASTED GELATO IN ITS BIRTHPLACE, ITALY

A trio of treats at Frost Gelato. (Photo by Kathy Tran)

Barbee

THIS BARK IS ALL BITE

As you prepare for one of the most chocolate filled months of the year, when everyone is trying to buy or make something extra special for their loved ones, a no bake recipe will be your new best friend. Chocolate bark is not only one of the most beautiful chocolate treats you can package, but it is also so decadent with its pure flavors. As you prepare to make chocolate bark, it’s imperative you select a high quality chocolate, whether it be white, milk or dark. Once you have decided on the chocolate you would like to use, you need to decide how to top it. For dark chocolate, I prefer nutty and dried fruit such as cranberries, almonds, candied ginger, pumpkin seeds, pistachios, dried figs and dried apricots. The options are endless for chocolate bark, you can add nearly anything your taste buds desire.

No-bake Chocolate Bark

GROCERY LIST:

1 pound dark chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 cup almonds, lightly chopped

1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped

1/4 cup pistachios, shelled

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup dried figs, chopped

1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped

2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare a half-sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Place three-fourths of the dark chocolate in a microwave safe glass bowl.

3. Microwave chocolate on high for 30 seconds, remove bowl and stir chocolate.

4. Place chocolate back in the microwave for 30 second intervals until the chocolate is melted.

5. Remove the bowl from the microwave and add the remaining one-fourth of chocolate into the melted chocolate and stir until fully melted.

6. Pour chocolate onto prepared sheet pan and spread until even in thickness.

7. Sprinkle dried fruit and nuts all over chocolate (add as much or as little as you like).

8. Allow the chocolate to cool and harden at room temperature or refrigerate if you want the chocolate to set quicker.

9. Once the chocolate is cooled, crack the bark into medium size pieces.

10. Keep in an airtight container or package for gifts.

One90 Smoked Meats

Offering

Hours: Mon. Closed , Tues.-Sat. 11am-8pm Sun. 11am-5pm

Kristen Massad writes a monthly column about sweets and baked goods. The Preston Hollow resident graduated from the French Culinary Institute in New York City and owned Tart Bakery on Lovers Lane for eight years. She blogs about food and lifestyles at inkfoods.com.

When the night grows dark and the moon glows bright, most of us cuddle between the sheets. But for some, the day begins when everyone else is asleep. They say it never feels quite normal staying up all night, but their jobs in police stations and hospitals require them to keep vampire hours.

PHOTOS BY DANNY FULGENCIO

While you were sleeping, they were hard at work

DEEP NIGHT SHIFT, DALLAS POLICE

AM12:00

About 40 uniformed officers gather in a classroom at the Northeast Substation of the Dallas Police Department. They are rookies. Most appear to be under 30. Our tour guides are officers Lacie Darnell, 26, one of two females in the room, and Scot Ansley, 30. A sergeant takes roll call and warns, “The call load is crazy.” There was a drug-related shooting at an East Dallas apartment complex. “We expect some sort of retaliation.” Dallas is a few days away from implementing new open carry gun laws, which will allow citizens to openly carry holstered handguns. “Watch the video,” the sergeant says, directing the officers to an informational video on the police website. They take up a collection to buy a Christmas present for Cecelia the custodian.

AM12:15

Darnell and Ansley check their squad car for damages incurred during the previous shift. They stop at their respective personal vehicles to grab gear — gas mask, rain jacket, rain hat, for instance. “I hate the rain hat,” Ansley says. “It looks dumb.”

AM12:23

They head north on Audelia toward their assigned patrol area, sector 105, beat 213, which includes what they call “5 Points,” also known as Vickery Meadow. The assigned section is like home base, but they travel all over the subdivision — which includes Lake Highlands, East Dallas and Preston Hollow — answering calls as needed.

AM12:24

There is a non-emergency disturbance near Casa View — yelling and a loud bang. They turn around.

AM12:26

Darnell says she had a pretty rough childhood. “I wanted to do something no one else in my family could or would do,” she says. She majored in criminal justice at University of North Texas.

AM12:29

The caller, a middle-aged woman with dark hair pinned atop her head, answers the door. The noises came from the neighbors, she says, pointing. Next door, a man, woman and Doberman pinscher materialize from the shadows. The man says he’s car-

rying a gun and raises his arms so Ansley can pat him down. He shows his Concealed Handgun License. Darnell scratches the dog’s head. The officers separate the couple and hear their stories, which coalesce. Back in the car, Darnell says, “There’s nothing, really, that we can do. We had to make sure there was no family violence, because we would have had to make an arrest.” But both parties assured officers the fighting was over, that the loud noise was simply a truck door slamming.

AM1:04

Darnell lives in North Dallas and has always been a night owl, she says. She can’t imagine patrolling days, with all the traffic. Ansley spent a year on days and wanted to come back to nights. “I like the sense of camaraderie. There are more people my age range. I just like it,” he says. They get off at 8 a.m., unless they are in the middle of something and have to work later. Darnell kind of enjoys shows like “Law and Order.” Ansley says he thinks all those cop shows are ridiculous. Darnell says she especially likes SVU. “I might have named my dog Benson,” she adds, smirking.

AM1:15

Darnell and Ansley respond to a non-urgent call that came in 90 minutes earlier. A woman who lives on Fair Oaks says someone is shining bright lights into her front window. They peruse the perimeters of the residence in question, a spacious two-story abode with big bay windows — it sits mid-street, at the top of a hill, facing a stop sign and three-way intersection. Because it’s late, Darnell calls the complaintant in lieu of knocking. But the caller wants the officers to come inside — she thinks she saw a shadow in the backyard. Wearing a bathrobe and slippers, she tells Ansley and Darnell she doesn’t sleep much. Spends most nights sitting on her upstairs deck, smoking. She says she has cancer. Darnell hears the woman’s concerns about the cars driving up and down the street that intersects her property, and their god-awful lights. Ansley suggests the blackout curtains he installed in his own home. They help him sleep during daylight hours, he offers. The woman snaps at him. “I do not want blackout curtains! I want people to stop shining their lights in here.” Ansley inches backward, letting his partner reclaim the conversation. “OK, ma’am, he is just trying to offer a suggestion,” Darnell says. “Because there isn’t anything we can do right now.” The woman relaxes. They remind her that her neighborhood association has its own paid patrolman who is parked right up the street. Leaving, we pass his cruiser.

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Parked at the stop sign, its headlights illuminate the caller’s living room.

AM1:38

Red Bulls are purchased at QT on Skillman at Northwest Highway. “I’ll only use the bathrooms at QT or Race Track,” Darnell confides. Her other public-bathroom options are gross.

AM1:44

En route to the site of a reported theft at an apartment on Whitehurst, Darnell, who weighs maybe 115 and looks like she could be a high school student, coolly recounts her recent encounter at a neighborhood apartment complex with a man’s mutilated body. “They cut his throat and pulled his tongue through the wound. He was so bloody, I didn’t know that was what it was until later,” she says. “It is a thing the drug cartels will do.”

AM1:46

A tenant of the Las Brisas apartments says a man she hired on Craigslist to help her move stole some of her clothing, including a dress. Her one-bedroom apartment is stuffed floor-toceiling with boxes. The hired man helped her pack and wound up staying for a month, she says. She let him borrow her car yesterday, she says, which is when he removed the shopping bags containing a $200 dress. Darnell listens to the whole story, nods and asks questions. She explains that the theft is a civil case now, because the man was living with her. “He did not live with me,” the woman barks. “I barely knew him.” Darnell asks, “You say he slept on your

couch since Thanksgiving, right?” That’s right, the woman admits. Darnell explains that this constitutes cohabitation in the eyes of the law. The woman rants that Texas is the worst place she has ever lived. Her laundry has been stolen three times from the apartment’s laundry room. The officers listen and nod and tell her to call them if the man comes back. “Do not let him back in,” they say. Before leaving, Darnell asks the woman about the other man, the one who was here last time she came. The woman says she doesn’t know what Darnell is talking about.

AM2:21

Back in the squad car Darnell says she is positive she was there recently and that the caller had a similar story the last time.

“We see a lot of repeat customers on nights,” Ansley adds. Sometimes her job is simply to lend an ear or to comfort someone who is anxious, Darnell says. Sometimes, if the caller seems especially troubled, these types of visits lead to contacting Adult Protective Services.

AM2:25

As we pass The Haven apartments at Lake Highlands Town Center, Ansley says he found a naked guy sitting in his car there the other night.

AM2:34

The security guards at Valencio apartments in Vickery Meadow need assistance — trouble with a belligerent drunk. The complex is silent and dark, aside from impressive holiday light displays on several porches. The guards explain that they found a man sleeping in the passen-

ger side of a car. When they attempted to wake him, they say, he began swinging. “When you startle a drunk person, that tends to happen,” Darnell says. Ansley approaches the vehicle containing the unconscious man and attempts to stir him. The man is disoriented but calm, at first — but a language barrier breeds confusion and soon he is yelling things in Burmese, and people emerge from nearby apartments. When the man begins howling and hitting, Ansley cuffs him and escorts him to the backseat of the police car. That’s when his bawling wife comes running from a downstairs apartment. A youngster from upstairs translates. The couple fought earlier, we learn, which is why the husband was sleeping in the car. Through the teenaged interpreter, Darnell explains to the woman that her husband will not be locked up for long. She hands her a piece of paper with the number and address to the Dallas Marshall’s office, where he will spend the night in the drunk tank. A back-up cruiser drives away with him.

AM3:13

Idling at Vickery Meadow park, Darnell types the report. She can’t do it while the car is moving — she gets carsick. If needed somewhere, they would switch places so she could drive and he could type, but things are quiet now.

AM3:45

The young officers agree that the worst parts of the job include any crime involving children. Just last week they discovered a deceased infant. The caregiver reportedly had rolled on top of the baby, who suffocated. Ansley recalls the recent case of a 13-year-old impregnated by her own father. Darnell lies awake some nights thinking of a kid she picked up walking down a residential street in his pajamas. It was a nice neighborhood and he was just wandering alone. No one knew who he was. Finally they found his house through the homeowners association. Inside they discovered a filthy, chaotic mess of a living situation and the boy’s father naked and inebriated inside a closet. “He was the sweetest kid,” Darnell recalls. “He drew me a picture that I still have. Thing was, inside that house, there were photos that had been taken maybe a year earlier, and the dad looked OK. They looked happy and OK. What had gone so wrong?” It all brought her own dysfunctional childhood to mind, Darnell concedes. It’s also hard because, once her part is done, she leaves the case behind. She doesn’t know what happened to that little boy after leaving him with Child Protective Services. “We don’t get closure,” she says.

— Christina Hughes Babb

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NIGHT S HIF T

COOPER HOTEL

PM11:49

Rooms here start at $199 a night and it’s easy to see why. The lobby, decorated in shades of blue and grey, is ritzy yet comfortable. Not only is Tamuka Gwatidzo, the night auditor, wide awake, he’s dressed impeccably in a suit jacket and alligator boots. For him, this is typical. When he’s not on the clock, he’s busy working on an organization he founded called Distinguished Gentleman of Dallas (DGD). DGD teaches young men to take pride in their appearances and engage in chivalrous behavior.

PM11:51

office. It displays security footage, so he can keep an eye on the front desk. Things are pretty quiet from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., the shift he works five days a week, but Gwatidzo doesn’t mind. In fact, he enjoys the solitude.

He began working as a night auditor in 2009, because “it made it easier to have a fulltime job and go to college.” He’s approaching his final semester at Fisk University, in Nashville, Tenn. Living in Dallas is no problem, thanks to online courses. Gwatidzo majors in political science for reasons that are deeply personal.

“I’m from Zimbabwe,” he explains. “When I started college, the political atmosphere back home was hectic. [There was an election going on]. We’d had the same president since the 1980s. He wouldn’t let

go of power … I wanted to see how [politics] worked.”

If everything at the hotel is in order and all of his school assignments are complete, Gwatidzo turns to Netflix. “How I Met Your Mother” is his favorite show and he’s seen almost every episode.

AM

12:13

After about 15 minutes of inactivity, two things happen in rapid succession — the phone rings and a man delivers a stack of newspapers. Gwatidzo greets him fondly. “We see each other everyday,” he says. “He always comes around the same time.” Human interaction is rare during Gwatidzo’s shift. Most of the hotel guests are asleep by

A TV is mounted on the wall of Gwatidzo’s

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Z ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Z ZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Z ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Z ZZZZZZZZZZZZ

“As a night auditor, you’re the front desk agent, the manager, the housekeeper — you’re basically everything.”

the time he arrives. Some emerge around 5:30 a.m. to work out and he points them toward the adjacent Cooper Aerobics Center. But before Gwatidzo got this job, he worked in Nashville at the second largest Holiday Inn in the country and things occasionally got hectic.

Once, a group of guests hung their clothes on the in-room fire sprinklers and water gushed everywhere.

“It was one of my first weeks there and it was just me,” Gwatidzo says. “As a night auditor, you’re the front desk agent, the manager, the housekeeper — you’re basically everything.”

Luckily, he had volunteered as a firefighter and knew how to shut off the sprinklers. The crisis was resolved messily but quickly. He

remembers another time, at the same hotel, a long-term guest was arrested for making counterfeit money in his room.

“It was very interesting,” Gwatidzo says diplomatically. “It’s a different experience at Cooper. It’s smaller — there are only 61 rooms.”

AM12:32

For purposes of this story, Gwatidzo leaves his post to walk around the grounds. There’s a heated pool outside, surrounded by lights. Since it’s after midnight and dark, you can see the steam rise. It’s objectively beautiful.

Crossing the breezeway, Gwatidzo bumps into a security guard. He introduces her as

AM12:45

As Gwatidzo walks around the property, he mentions that he’s stayed in one of the suites before, during an ice storm, free of charge. His room, like all the others, had a coffee maker, but he didn’t use it.

“I don’t drink coffee,” he says without jest.

Considering his schedule, this is the most shocking revelation of the night.

— Elizabeth Barbee

Marian Green. She’s funny. Seeing Advocate photo editor Danny Fulgencio lift his camera, she says, “I would be wearing my old jacket.”

SHIFT

MEDICAL CITY EMERGENCY ROOM

AM

2:49

Kelly Wiggins is a couple hours into her shift at Medical City Emergency Room in Preston Center. She’s wearing scrubs, which feel like pajamas, a blessing at this time of night. Thanks to a few cans of Diet Dr. Pepper, she’s upbeat and alert.

“I’m trying to cut back [on soda],” she swears. “I’ve been trying to drink more water.”

When she gets hungry, around 6 or 7 a.m., she’ll probably eat chicken nuggets or “supper” food. For her, it actually is suppertime.

Wiggins is accustomed to this schedule and this diet. She works overnight five times a week, sometimes here and sometimes at Medical City’s main campus on Forest Lane. Though her hours are strange, she loves being a nurse.

“I think it takes a very strong person to see people at their worst and comfort them and convince them you are trying to help,” she says. “It wasn’t a question of if I’d go to school for nursing but when.”

Wiggins, the youngest of four girls, grew up in North Carolina, near Fort Bragg. Both her parents are altruistic to a fault and clearly inspirational figures in her life.

“My mother was the first female EMT [Emergency Medical Technician] in our town many years ago,” she explains. “And my dad was a volunteer firefighter. He’d get calls during the night and if [my sisters and I] didn’t have school the next day we could go with him … I never lived a sheltered life and I always saw people helping people.”

Wiggins is a travelling nurse and has been for four years. Most of her contracts last about 13 weeks, meaning she’s lived in a lot of cities.

“I usually sign a three month lease and that’s expensive [to do],” she admits. “But you get so many opportunities to see places you wouldn’t ordinarily see and meet a different variety of people.”

AM

3:18

In a room down the hall, you’ll find Amin Bayat, a laboratory technician. He has the same positive attitude about his crazy schedule as Wiggins and also splits his time be-

tween this satellite building and the main campus. He tests specimen for “pretty much everything,” including kidney, heart and liver health. Notably, he isn’t wearing a lab coat.

“There are hard procedures we have to follow,” he explains. “The policy says you don’t have to wear a lab coat unless you are working with specimen.”

At the moment, Bayat isn’t working with specimen because it’s 3:18 a.m. and there are no patients.

AM3:27

Two women take a break at the nursing station. They are Angie Cagle, a radiology technician, and Rachel Armstead, another nurse on duty. Their conversation revolves around medical TV dramas like “Code Black” and “Chicago Med” — funnily enough, “The Night Shift” doesn’t come up.

“I like to watch [the medical dramas] and criticize them,” Armstead says, laughing. “They’re all wrong!”

Cagle agrees that most of what you see on T.V. is inaccurate. Then she excuses herself to retrieve a Monster energy drink.

AM3:33

Cagle returns with said energy drink.

“I have to hunt this flavor down,” she notes. “I can’t find it anywhere but QT.”

AM3:50

The conversation turns, gradually but significantly, more somber. Like the rest of the staff on duty, both ladies also work at Medical City proper. Though the Preston Center location is relatively quiet this time of night, they say the main campus can get intense. They discuss what it feels like to see someone in excruciating pain. Cagle has shed tears out of empathy for patients, but she always holds it together while she’s at work, operating the computerized tomography (CT) scanner.

Armstead takes a deep breath and nods. She’s had similar experiences: “Sometimes you have to put your big girl panties on and do what you need to do to get the job done.”

— Elizabeth Barbee

Top: Rachel Armstead; Bottom: Angie Cagle

CBS DFW MORNING NEWSCAST

AM3:08

It’s almost too quiet for a newsroom. Only the clacking of keyboards can be heard as anchors, producers and news writers prepare the lineup for the morning broadcast.

“Was she the passenger in the car? The woman who died?” asks one news writer who is reporting on a fatal traffic accident.

“Last we heard, she was the driver,” responds senior producer Brenda Lawson, barely looking up from her screen. The mood is subdued, like almost any office toward the end of the workday. By this time, much of the team has already been at work for five hours chasing stories and writing copy for the 4:30 a.m. newscast.

A small news team works out of the CBS headquarters in our neighborhood on Northwest Highway; this particular broadcast is filmed in a studio in Fort Worth.

“As long as stupid people keep doing stupid things, we’ve always got work,” laughs field photographer James Pultz, keeping one ear on the police scanner. “You know the codes that make you stand up because they’ve found a dead body or something.”

It’s one of many tricks of the trade he’s learned from more than a decade spent pursuing news stories. He reads between the lines of chatter on the scanner like some people read tealeaves. “You can always tell when the cops shoot someone because it gets really intense, and then it’s quiet,” he says, adding that there is usually no mention of the shooting, just an officer saying, “confirm.”

“It took me years to figure that out,” he says.

AM3:20

All those stories are filtered to Karen Borta, who at this moment is wrapped up in a parka with wooly Ugg boots looking more like a sorority sister than the lead anchor of a major network news market. When the cameras roll, she’ll shed her winter-wear in favor of a sharp white dress and sleek stiletto heels, which matched with her authoritative voice make this hometown girl one of the more popular anchors in the metroplex. But at this early hour, it’s all about comfort and staying awake, which explains the station’s extensive coffee offerings.

The morning shift doesn’t bother Borta –in fact, she prefers it. After 18 years on the nightly news, she was sick of missing family dinners and her teenagers’ sporting events. When CBS offered her the morning slot, she jumped on the opportunity, paying little mind to the 2 a.m. wake up call.

“For me, I have a husband and three teenage kids. I was never with them,” she says. “This is ideal for me.”

She is one of the few who seem to have no complaints about the schedule this news team is forced to keep. She gets home in the late morning after her broadcast, takes a nap, then enjoys the evening with her family, catches a couple more hours of sleep before heading to the studio from her Arlington home. Compared to the other producers and news writers huddled at their desks, Borta oozes peppiness, making it clear why she’s an on-air personality.

AM3:47

With a flurry of fresh verve, meteorologist Scott Padgett enters the studio, already dressed in a crisp suit and a deep red tie. His energy is almost startling at this early hour as he beelines for his weather forecasting station in the corner of the television studio, a series of monitors displaying real time conditions that he studies to determine the forecast.

One has to ask, in an era where every smartphone tells you the weather by the hour,

are television weathermen becoming passé?

Not at all, Padgett says.

“Those [weather] apps work off an algorithm,” he says, which explains why it sometimes predicts rain when you go to bed, but you wake to sunny skies. “My challenge is to interpret those algorithms so you can understand the variables.”

It’s a challenge he doesn’t take lightly. He has a pet peeve when it comes to “shock value” news that makes mountains out of meteorological molehills.

“I’m not here to scare anyone,” he says. “I just want to make sure you and your family are safe.”

His own interest in weather was born from fear. As a child growing up in Illinois, he was petrified of the robust storms that sweep across the Midwest. To help him overcome that anxiety, Padgett’s father painstakingly explained weather phenomena to him, from the classic counting the number of beats between lightning and thunder, to watching the same daily forecasts Padgett now conducts. He was hooked. That, paired with his natural stage charisma, made his career choice easy.

“You never get used to the hours,” he laughs. “At this point, my friends all know not to call me after 8 p.m.”

AM

4:05

You hear Chelsey Davis before you see her.

The clack of her heels reverberates brightly on the long hallways toward the studio. Her wide smile and clear charisma give her the essence of a warm breeze, a clear byproduct of her years as a cheerleader for the Arizona Cardinals.

If you want to know the status of Dallas’ notoriously gridlocked rush-hour traffic, you want Davis in your phone contacts. Traffic is her specialty and she is used to getting early morning check-ins from friends or family asking whether Highway 75 is backed up.

“Even viewers email me, and I always email back,” she laughs.

She’s dressed like Mrs. Claus this morning in cherry red with a big black belt. In addition to traffic, Davis also produces feature segments. Today’s has her presenting a shark-loving 7-year-old cancer patient a slew of surprises since he was stuck in the hospital for Christmas.

“It’s going to be the most amazing day,” she beams.

AM4:10

With its high-tech studio, you might imagine there’s a behind-the-scenes team of stylists who beautify the on-air talent before each broadcast, but Borta, Padgett and Davis share a sparse room lined with mirrors, where they handle their own hair and make-up. Borta and Davis twirl curling wands through their hair as

they discuss Steve Harvey’s major Miss Universe flub when he named the wrong winner, which just happened the night before.

Padgett swings by to check his already perfectly quaffed hair one last time. Then it’s time to head to the studio, where Borta positions herself behind the anchor desk to review the story list one final time, Padgett heads to his weather station and Davis scans the traffic patterns. Surrounded by a bevy of screens and teleprompters under a canopy of bright lights and wires, the anticipation builds as it gets closer to show time.

AM4:29

Producer Brenda Lawson scurries around the studio, checking in with each person and making sure they are ready to go live in a matter of moments.

“Fifteen” she yells.

“Seconds?” Borta asks, dashing to her place behind the desk.

A voice counts down, the cameramen take aim and the script starts rolling as Borta’s authoritative voice booms over the studio, welcoming the morning viewers to the day’s news.

“It all comes down to the teleprompter operator,” aptly notes CBS spokeswoman Lori Conrad. He has the challenge of staying up to speed with Borta, not moving too fast or too slow as she reads the words that scroll across the lens of the camera, so she can speak directly to the camera. Her voice is velvety smooth, growing brighter for light stories, and more subdued when the coverage moves to more somber topics.

Davis and Padgett don’t rely on teleprompters but instead improvise their broadcasts using the data they’ve compiled that morning. Padgett stands before a green screen, the monitor in front of him displaying a mirrored version of the weather map viewers see at home. His hands seamlessly slide up and down as he points out different weather patterns and temperatures expected across the city.

Both he and Davis have mastered the precision of the “broadcast dance,” in which they effortlessly move toward and away from the camera. Watching it in person, it looks somewhat strange but on screen it gives them that friendly approachability that people expect from their morning news.

This cycle will repeat for the next two-and-ahalf hours. News, weather, traffic, as the team greets each new segment of viewers waking for their day.

By 11:30 a.m., they’ll be home and in bed, right about the time the rest of us are starting to consider lunch. —

Emily Charrier

People

Preston Hollow resident Dirk Nowitzki recently surpassed Shaquille O’Neal as the No. 6 scorer in NBA history. On Dec. 23, during a game against the Brooklyn Nets, Nowitzki scored 22 points, bumping his career score to 28,609. For comparison’s sake, O’Neal’s is 28,596. Laura Roberts, a graduate of Lamplighter and Hockaday, will head to the United Kingdom in October 2016. This is no casual vacation — she was recently named a Rhodes Scholar and given the opportunity to study at the University of Oxford. Roberts, a senior at Duke University, was one of 32 students selected from a pool of 869 for the honor.

Education

There’s a recycling bin in the teachers’ parking lot of Nathan Adams Elementary ready to accept your gently used clothing, shoes, toys, household items and more. For every pound of goods collected, the World Wear Project will donate 12 cents to the school’s PTA. Preston Hollow resident Eileen Birnbaum is a vice president at the World Wear Project, which she says sells the donated items to “customers in developing countries.” Those customers sort through the goods and re-sell them to locals. This does two things — it creates jobs in places where jobs are scarce; and it makes high quality, necessary items affordable to impoverished individuals Find out at worldwearproject.com.

Nonprofits

Councilman Lee Kleinman, Glen Neal and a handful of other neighborhood volunteers picked up hammers and built two new kiosks on the Northaven Trail. They’re located, respectively, at the Edgmere and St. Michaels intersections. Both kiosks feature park benches and bulletin boards, upon which Friends of Northaven Trail (FoNT) will post flyers announcing special events and volunteer opportunities. For now, to avoid violating city code, trail goers should refrain from posting flyers of their own. FoNT board members will determine shortly what sorts of posters are acceptable.

HAVE AN ITEM TO BE FEATURED?

Please submit news items and/or photos concerning neighborhood residents, activities, honors and volunteer opportunities to editor@advocatemag.com. Our deadline is the first of the month prior to the month of publication.

HIGHLANDER SCHOOL

9120 Plano Rd. Dallas / 214.348.3220 / www.highlanderschool.com

Founded in 1966, Highlander offers an enriched curriculum in a positive, Christian-based environment. By limiting class size, teachers are able to build a strong educational foundation to ensure confidence in academics, athletics, and the creative and performing arts. Highlander offers a “classic” education which cannot be equaled. Monthly tours offered; call for a reservation.

KESSLER SCHOOL

Pre K – 6th Grade / 1215 Turner Ave, Dallas TX 75208 / 214-942-2220 / www. thekesserschool.com The Kessler School offers an innovative academic environment that gives students a solid foundation, confidence, and a love of learning. Located just minutes from downtown Dallas; The Kessler School’s mission is to “educate the whole child,” and provides an individualized approach to teaching – meeting the student where their needs are. Students are educated socially through community time, physically through daily PE, academically through a wellrounded curriculum, and spiritually through a fostering of awareness and individual growth.

LAKEHILL PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Leading to Success. 2720 Hillside Dr., Dallas 75214 / 214.826.2931 / lakehillprep.org

Kindergarten through Grade 12 - Lakehill Preparatory School takes the word preparatory in its name very seriously. Throughout a student’s academic career, Lakehill builds an educational program that achieves its goal of enabling graduates to attend the finest, most rigorous universities of choice. Lakehill combines a robust, college-preparatory curriculum with opportunities for personal growth, individual enrichment, and community involvement. From kindergarten through high school, every Lakehill student is encouraged to strive, challenged to succeed, and inspired to excel.

SOLAR PREPARATORY SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

SPANISH HOUSE

Four East Dallas Locations / 214.826.4410 / DallasSpanishHouse.com Spanish Immersion Program in East Dallas! Nursery, Preschool, Elementary and Adult Programs available. Our new K-5 Dual-Language Elementary School will be opening in August 2016 at 7159 E. Grand Avenue. Please visit our website (DallasSpanishHouse.com) or call 214.826.4410 for a tour.

ISCOPAL SCHOOL

848 Harter Rd., Dallas 75218 / 214.328.9131 / stjohnsschool.org

Founded in 1953, St. John’s is an independent, co-educational day school for Pre-K through Grade 8. With a tradition for academic excellence, St. John’s programs include a challenging curriculum in a Christian environment along with instruction in the visual and performing arts, Spanish, German, French, and opportunities for athletics and community service.St. John’s goal for its students is to develop a love for learning, service to others, and leadership grounded in love, humility, and wisdom. Accredited by ISAS, SAES, and the Texas Education Agency.

WHITE ROCK NORTH SCHOOL

9727 White Rock Trail Dallas / 214.348.7410 / WhiteRockNorthSchool.com

6 Weeks through 6th Grade. Our accelerated curriculum provides opportunity for intellectual and physical development in a loving and nurturing environment. Character-building and civic responsibility are stressed. Facilities include indoor swimming pool, skating rink, updated playground, and state-of-the-art technology lab. Kids Club on the Corner provides meaningful after-school experiences. Summer Camp offers field trips, swimming, and a balance of indoor and outdoor activities designed around fun-filled themes. Accredited by SACS. Call for a tour of the campus.

ZION LUTHERAN SCHOOL

6121 E. Lovers Ln. Dallas / 214.363.1630 / ziondallas. org Toddler care thru 8th Grade. Serving Dallas for over 58 years offering a quality education in a Christ-centered learning environment. Degreed educators minister to the academic, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of students and their families. Before and after school programs, Extended Care, Parents Day Out, athletics, fine arts, integrated technology, Spanish, outdoor education, Accelerated Reader, advanced math placement, and student government. Accredited by National Lutheran School & Texas District Accreditation Commissions and TANS. Contact Principal Jeff Thorman.

2617 N. Henderson Ave. / 972.925.3306/ dallasisd.org/solarprep An exciting new Choice School in Dallas ISD. Accepting student applications Jan. 6-29 for kindergarten, first and second grade in the 2016-2017 school year. The mission at Solar Prep is to prepare girls to become trailblazers in STEAM-related fields and equip them with a depth of knowledge, capacity for leadership, strength of character, and love of self. Solar Prep offers blended learning, project-based learning, tech literacy and coding, engineering, robotics, integrated art, and drama. Enrollment is open to all girls living within the Dallas ISD boundaries, there are no academic entry requirements, and transportation will be provided. Visit www.dallasisd.org/solarprep for more information and to submit an application. Call to advertise call 214.560.4203

BAPTIST

PARK CITIES BAPTIST CHURCH / 3933 Northwest Pky / pcbc.org

Worship & Bible Study 9:15 & 10:45 Traditional, Contemporary, Spanish Speaking / 214.860.1500

WILSHIRE BAPTIST / 4316 Abrams / 214.452.3100

Pastor George A. Mason Ph.D. / Worship 8:30 & 11:00 am

Bible Study 9:40 am / www.wilshirebc.org

BIBLE CHURCHES

NORTH HIGHLANDS BIBLE CHURCH / www.nhbc.net

Sunday: Lifequest (all ages) 9:00 am / Worship 10:30 am

Wed: Student Ministry 7:00 pm / 9626 Church Road / 214.348.9697

DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

EAST DALLAS CHRISTIAN CHURCH / 629 N. Peak Street / 214.824.8185

Sunday School 9:30 am / Worship 8:30 am - Chapel 10:50 am - Sanctuary / Rev. Deborah Morgan-Stokes / edcc.org

LUTHERAN

FIRST UNITED LUTHERAN CHURCH / 6202 E Mockingbird Lane

Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am / Call for class schedule. 214.821.5929 / www.dallaslutheran.org

METHODIST

LAKE HIGHLANDS UMC / 9015 Plano Rd. / 214.348.6600 / lhumc.com

Sunday Morning: 9:30 am Sunday School / 10:30 am Coffee

Worship: 8:30 am & 10:50 am Traditional / 10:50 am Contemporary

UNITY

UNITY OF DALLAS / A Positive Path for Spiritual Living

6525 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX 75230 / 972.233.7106 / UnityDallas.org

Sundays: 9:00 am Early Service, 11:00 am Celebration Service

WEATHERING THE TORNADOS

Faith not to command the winds but to endure them

Maybe I don’t have enough faith. Maybe if I just claimed my spiritual authority, I could do more good. After all, I am a pastor; I’m somehow supposed to be closer to the secret powers of the universe than mere mortals. I mean, what good is ordination if you can’t pray away the bad and pray in the good?

My golfing partners sometimes chide me for not using my powers to chase away the rain when it threatens our game. My standard response: “I’m in sales, not management.” I can’t control the weather; I can only weather it like everyone else.

Apparently, a Rowlett woman doesn’t share my reticence. On the night the illfated tornadoes hit just east of Dallas this past Dec. 26, she says she took charge of the storm in the name of God.

“We actually went outside and started commanding the winds, because God had given us authority over the winds, the airways. And we just began to command this storm not to hit our area. We spoke to the storm and said, ‘Go to unpopulated places.’ It did exactly what we said to do, because God gave us the authority to do that.”

Well, not exactly. The storm didn’t hit her house, but it didn’t miss populated areas altogether. It killed 12 people and damaged more than 1,000 buildings, including churches, by the way. So, the authority of all that spiritual command and control failed, unless it was only meant to divert the deadly funnel from her neighborhood.

But what of the claim that God has given us authority over the winds? It surely comes from the story in the Gospel of Mark where Jesus was on a boat out on the Sea of Galilee with his disciples when a sudden squall kicked up the waters and threatened to capsize them. Jesus was awakened from his nap by scared followers and commanded the winds and the waves “Peace,

be still.” And they were stilled. Then Jesus questioned the fear of the disciples and urged more faith instead.

Somehow, the weather-commanding woman took that to mean that God had given her the same powers as Jesus to direct the storm. If she had enough faith, she could tap into the power of heaven in order to bring peace on earth.

Let’s give her credit for wanting to maximize the power of faith and for wanting to divert the storm to unpopulated areas. These are not unholy impulses. But we ought to question the spiritual premise of whether one’s faith, if great enough, might grant such power over nature.

God is not a wonder worker waiting for us to say the magic words in order to break open the divine box of tricks to astound or advantage us. The day before the storm we celebrated Christmas, which recalls God becoming one of us and thus being subject to all the whims of winds and woes that we are. The Lord of nature took on the harness of nature in order to heal it from within, not in order to harness it for special privileges by the faithful.

Which leads to the question: What’s faith for, then?

Faith is not the power to command the world to serve our interest; it is the power to serve the interest of the world — whether the weather brings chaos or calm.

My golfing partners sometimes chide me for not using my powers to chase away the rain when it threatens our game. My standard response: “I’m in sales, not management.”

Young philanthropists

A group of middle school students at the Episcopal School of Dallas recently donated $400 to The Stewpot, a local charity dedicated to providing meals to the homeless. They acquired the funds by winning a school-sponsored T-shirt decorating contest. The kids painstakingly researched several non-profits before deciding on a charity.

CLASSES/TUTORING/ LESSONS

ART: Draw/Paint. Adults All Levels. Lake Highlands N. Rec. Ctr. Days: Mon & Wed. Students bring supplies. Nights: 1xt month workshop, supplies furnished. Jane Cross. 214-534-6829,

CREATIVE ARTS CENTER More than 500 adult art classes/ workshops from metal to mosaic! www.creativeartscenter.org

FARMERS BRANCH AQUATICS CENTER Visit our new natatorium. Begin swim, fitness classes & open swim. fbh2o.com

MAKERS CONNECT Craft Classes & Workshops. Led by & for Local Makers. Check Schedule: makersconnect.org/classes

EMPLOYMENT

PET SITTERS, DOG WALKERS reply to http://www.pcpsi.com/join

SERVICES FOR YOU

AT ODDS WITH YOUR COMPUTER? Easily Learn Essential Skills. Services include Digital Photo Help. Sharon 214-679-9688

SERVICES FOR YOU

CARGO BICYCLES Custom Built, Hand Crafted. For You/ Business In Oak Cliff. 214-205-4205. oakcliffcargobicycles.com

CONFUSED? FRUSTRATED? Let A Seasoned Pro Be The Interface Between You & That Pesky Windows Computer. Hardware & Software Installation, Troubleshooting, Training. $60/hr. 1 hr min. Dan 214-660-3733 / stykidan@sbcglobal.net

LEGAL SERVICES

A FREE CONSULTATION Wills/Probate/Guardianships. MaryGlennAttorney.com 214-802-6768

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

ACCOUNTING, TAXES Small Businesses & Individuals. Chris King, CPA 214-824-5313 www.chriskingcpa.com

BOOKKEEPING NEEDS? Need Help Organizing Finances? No Job Too Small or Big. Call C.A.S. Bookkeeping Services. Cindy 214-821-6903

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

MIND, BODY & SPIRIT

KELLY PRESTON Certified personal trainer. In-Home Training. 214-801-7503. FBK: Trainer Kelly P.

NEXGEN FITNESS Call Today For Free Session. 972-382-9925 NexGenFitness.com 10759 Preston Rd. 75230

UFC GYM WHITE ROCK Workout Blues? Train Different. Power/ endurance/results. 469-729-9900 ufcgym.com/WhiteRock

LocalWorks.advocatemag.com is online too!

Real troopers

After learning about the devastating effects of malnutrition, Lamplighter Junior Girl Scout Troop 4904 pledged to do its part to help the hungry in the Dallas area. So far, the young ladies have delivered 85 meals to those in need via Meals on Wheels, collected 227 pounds of food for the North Texas Food Bank and helped the Lamplighter Parents’ Association make sandwiches for Family Gateway. According to Girl Scout member Bennett Trubey, the troop plans to sell oodles of cookies and use the collected money “to further alleviate hunger in our community.”

community

REAL ESTATE PET SERVICES

AFFORDABLE HOME PET CARE Pet Sitting, Dog Walks. pawsitivestrolls.com 214-504-5115

DOGGIE DEN DALLAS Daycare, Boarding, Grooming, Training. 6444 E. Mockingbird Ln. 214-823-1441 DoggieDenDallas.com

POOP SCOOP PROFESSIONALS Trust The Experts. 214-826-5009. germaine_free@yahoo.com

In-Home Professional Care Customized to maintain your pet’s routine In-Home Pet Visits & Daily Walks “Best of Dallas” D Magazine Serving the Dallas area since 1994 Bonded & Insured www.societypetsitter.com 214-821-3900

214.560.4203

TO ADVERTISE

BUY/SELL/TRADE

FREE RANGE PORK & LAMB from local resident’s farm. Hormone & antibiotic free.Heritage Red Wattle pigs. Stock up now. Laraland Farms 214-384-6136 carlandlara@hotmail.com

SHARE FRONT ROW

Texas Rangers, Stars & Mavs seats. Tickets are available in sets of 10 games (sets of 2 or 4 tickets per game available). Participants randomly draw numbers prior to season to determine a draft order fair to everyone. Call 214-560-4212 or rwamre@advocatemag.com

ESTATE/GARAGE SALES

CLUTTERBLASTERS.COM ESTATE SALES

Moving & DownSizing Sales, Storage Units. Organize/De-Clutter Donna 972-679-3100

ORGANIZEANDREJUVENATE.COM

Declutter/Files/Feng Shui. 972-816-8004

MARCH DEADLINE FEB. 3

TACL-B01349OE

APPLIANCE

APPLIANCE REPAIR SPECIALIST

Low Rates, Excellent Service, Senior Discount. MC-Visa. 214-321-4228

JESSE’S A/C & APPLIANCE SERVICE

TACLB13304C All Makes/Models. 214-660-8898

CLEANING SERVICES

AMAZON CLEANING Top To Bottom Clean. Fabiana.469-951-2948

CINDY’S HOUSE CLEANING 15 yrs exp. Resd/Com. Refs. Dependable. 214-490-0133

MESS MASTERS Earth friendly housecleaning. 469-235-7272. www.messmasters.com Since ‘91

WANTED: HOUSES TO CLEAN Windows, too! Great Prices / Refs. Family owned. 20 yrs. Reliable. Call Sunny 214-724-2555. grimestoppershere.com

WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM

Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS

BILL’S COMPUTER REPAIR Virus Removal, Data Recovery. Home/Biz Network Install. All Upgrades & Repairs. PC Instruction. No Trip Fee. 214-348-2566

CONCRETE/ MASONRY/PAVING

ALL EPOXY COATINGS, CONCRETE Countertops, Stamping, Staining & Designs, Floor Demo and Overlays Landscape Designs Call 214-916-8368

BRICK & STONE REPAIR

Tuck Pointing / Crack Repair. Mortar Color Matching. Windows And Door Cracks Etc. Call Don 214-704-1722

BRICK, BLOCK, Stone, Concrete, Stucco. Gonzalez Masonry. 214-395-1319

823

2629

CABINETRY & FURNITURE

SQUARE NAIL WOODWORKING

Cabinet Refacing, Built-ins, Entertainment/ Computer Centers. Jim. 214-324-7398 www.squarenailwoodworking.com

CLEANING SERVICES

A MAID FOR YOU Bonded/Insured.Park Cities/ M Streets Refs. Call Us First. Joyce 214-232-9629

AFFORDABLE CLEANING Insd./Bonded. Move In/Out. Routine Cleaning. Reliable. Dependable.

Residential/ Commercial. References. 28+yrs. Delta Cleaning. 972-943-9280.

AFFORDABLE, PROFESSIONAL CLEANING

A Clean You Can Trust

Staff trained by Nationally Certified Cleaning Tech. Chemical-free, Green, or Traditional Cleaning. WindsorMaidServices.com 214-381-MAID (6243)

ALTOGETHER CLEAN

Relax ...We’ll Clean Your House, It Will Be Your Favorite Day! Bonded & Insurance. Free Estimates. 214-929-8413. www. altogetherclean.net

ELECTRICAL SERVICES

ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricofdallas.com

50 Yrs. Electrical Exp. Insd. 214-328-1333

LAKEWOOD ELECTRICAL Local. Insured. Lic. #227509 Call Rylan 214-434-8735

TEXAS ELECTRICAL • 214-289-0639

Prompt, Honest, Quality. TECL 24668

TH ELECTRIC Reasonable Rates. Licensed & Insured. Ted. E257 214-808-3658

WHITE ROCK ELECTRIC All Electrical Services. Lic/Insd. E795. 214-850-4891

EXTERIOR CLEANING

G&G DEMOLITION Tear downs, Haul. Interior/Exterior. 214-808-8925

FENCING & DECKS

#1 COWBOY FENCE & IRON CO. Est. ‘91. 214-692-1991 www.cowboyfenceandiron.com

4 QUALITY FENCING Call Mike 214-507-9322 Specializing in Wood, New or Repair.

AMBASSADOR FENCE INC.

Automatic Gates, Iron & Cedar Fencing, Decks. Since 1996. MC/V 214-621-3217

FENCING & WOODWORK oldgatefence.com charliehookerswoodwork.com 214-766-6422

HANNAWOODWORKS.COM

Decks, Pergolas, Patio Covers. 214-435-9574

KIRKWOOD FENCE & DECK

New & Repair. Free Estimates. Nathan Kirkwood. 214-341-0699

FLOORING & CARPETING

Restoration Flooring

Hardwood Installation · Hand Scraping Sand & Finish · Dustless

25+ Years Experience

469.774.3147

restorationflooring.net

Willeford hardwood floors

Superior Quality: Installation • Refinishing Repair • Cleaning & Waxing Old World Hand Scrape 214-824-1166

FOUNDATION REPAIR

• Slabs • Pier & Beam

• Mud Jacking • Drainage

• Free Estimates

• Over 20 Years Exp. 972-288-3797

We Answer Our Phones

GARAGE SERVICES

DFW GARAGE PRO Garage Organize/Reorganize. Painting, Shelving, Cabinets, Storage, Disposal. 303-883-9321

ROCKET GARAGE DOOR SERVICE -24/7. Repairs/Installs. 214-533-8670. Coupon On Web. www.RocketDoorService.com

BRICK, STONEWORK, FLAGSTONE PATIOS Mortar Repair. Straighten Brick Mailboxes & Columns. Call Cirilo 214-298-7174

CONCRETE REPAIRS/REPOURS

Demo existing. Stamping and Staining Driveways/Patio/Walkways

Pattern/Color available Free Estimates 972-672-5359 (32 yrs.)

CONCRETE, Driveway Specialist Repairs, Replacement, Removal, References. Reasonable. Chris 214-770-5001

EDMONDSPAVING.COM Asphalt & Concrete Driveway-Sidewalk-Patio-Repair 214-957-3216

FLAGSTONE PATIOS, Retaining Walls, BBQ’s, Veneer, Flower Bed Edging, All Stone work. Chris 214-770-5001

LONESTARDECKS.COM 214-357-3975

Trex Decking & Fencing, trex.com

UNITED GARAGE DOORS AND GATES Res/Com. Locally Owned.214-826-8096

Swimming Pool Remodels Patios Stone work • Stamp Concrete

972-727-2727

Deckoart.com

EST. 1991 #1

COWBOY

All Wood Decks, Arbors & Patio Covers 214.692.1991

FENCE & IRON CO.

SPECIALIZING IN Wood Fences &Auto Gates

cowboyfenceandiron.com

FLOORING & CARPETING

ALL WALKS OF FLOORS 214-616-7641

Carpet, Wood, Tile Sales/Service Free Estimates

DALLAS HARDWOODS 214-724-0936

Installation, Repair, Refinish, Wax, Hand Scrape. Residential, Commercial. Sports Floors. 30 Yrs.

FENN CONSTRUCTION Full Service Contractor. www.dallastileman.com Back Splash Specials! 214-343-4645

THE TEXAN FLOORING SERVICES

Wood, Laminate. Remodel Showers, Bathrooms. thetexanflooringservices.com 214-680-0901

GLASS, WINDOWS & DOORS

EAST DALLAS WINDOW CLEANING Power Wash. Free Est. Dependable. Derek. 214-360-0120

LAKE HIGHLANDS GLASS & MIRROR frameless shower enclosures • store fronts replacement windows • mirrors 214-349-8160

ROCK GLASS CO Replace, repair: windows, mirrors, showers, screens. 214-837-7829

HANDYMAN SERVICES

A R&G HANDYMAN Electrical, Plumbing, Painting, Fencing, Roofing, Light Hauling. Ron or Gary 214-861-7569, 469-878-8044

ALL STAR HOME CARE Carpentry, Glass, Tile, Paint, Doors, Sheetrock Repair, and more. 25 yrs. exp. References. Derry 214-505-4830

BO HANDYMAN Specializing In Historic Home Renovations & Pro Remodels. Custom Carpentry, Doors, Kitchens, Baths & more. 214-437-9730

HANDY DAN The Handyman. ToDo’s Done Right. handy-dan.com 214-252-1628

HANDYMAN SERVICES

HANDYMAN SPECIALIST Residential/ Commercial. Large, small jobs, repair list, renovations. Refs. 214-489-0635

HOMETOWN HANDYMAN All phases of construction. No job too small 214-327-4606

HONEST, SKILLED SERVICE With a Smile. General Repairs/ Maintenance. 214-215-2582

WANTED: ODD JOBS & TO DO LISTS Allen’s Handyman & Home Repair 214-288-4232

Your Home Repair Specialists

Drywall Doors Senior Safety Carpentry Small & Odd Jobs And More! 972-308-6035 HandymanMatters.com/dallas Bonded & Insured.

HOME INSPECTION

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

MELROSE TILE James Sr., Installer, Repairs. 40 Yrs. Exp. MelroseTile.com 214-384-6746

STONE AGE COUNTER TOPS Granite, Marble, Tile, Kitchen/Bath Remodels. 972-276-9943.stoneage.dennis@verizon.net

TK REMODELING 972-533-2872

Complete Full Service Repairs, Remodeling, Restoration. Name It — We do it. Tommy. Insured. dallas.tkremodelingcontractors.com

TOM HOLT TILE 30 Yrs Experience In Tile, Backsplashes & Floors. Refs. Avail. 214-770-3444

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

A BETTER TREE MAN Trims, Removals, Insd. 12 Yrs Exp. Roberts Tree Service. 214-808-8925

AYALA’S LANDSCAPING Firewood for Sale! Call the Land Expert Today! Insured. 214-773-4781

CHUPIK TREE SERVICE

Trim, Remove, Stump Grind. Free Est. Insured. 214-823-6463

DALLAS GROUNDSKEEPER Comprehensive services designed to meet your needs. 214-504-6788 dallasgroundskeeper.com

DALLAS K.D.R.SERVICES • 214-349-0914

Lawn Service & Landscape Installation

Tips for preventing outside water damage

1. Remove vegitation from behind the downpipes

2. Use a hand mirror to check for cracks or splits that are not easily noticed

3. Install an underground drain (French drain)

4. Create a berm or pond to redirect waterflow

LAWNS,

YOUR

HOUSE PAINTING

1 AFFORDABLE HOUSE PAINTING and Home Repair. Quality work. Inside and Out. Free Ests. Local Refs. Ron 972-816-5634

#1 GET MORE PAY LES Painting. 85% Referrals. Free Est. 214-348-5070

A+ INT/EXT PAINT & DRYWALL Since 1977. Kirk Evans. 972-672-4681

ALL TYPES Painting & Repairs. A+ BBB rating. Any size jobs welcome. Call Kenny 214-321-7000

BENJAMIN’S PAINTING SERVICE Quality Work At Reasonable Prices. 214-725-6768

MANNY’S HOME PAINTING & REMODEL Int./Ext. Sheetrock. Manny 214-334-2160

RAMON’S INT/EXT PAINT

Sheetrock, Repairs. 214-679-4513

TOP COAT 30 yrs. exp. Reliable, Quality

Repair/Remodel Phil @ 214-770-2863

VIP PAINTING & DRYWALL Int/Ext.

Sheetrock Repair, Resurfacing Tubs, Counters, Tile Repairs. 469-774-7111

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS LLC

Complete Kitchen And Bath Remodels. Tile, Granite, Marble, Travertine, Slate. Insured. 214-563-5035 www.blake-construction.com

FENN CONSTRUCTION Full Service Contractor. www.dallastileman.com Back Splash Specials! 214-343-4645

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

HOLMAN IRRIGATION

Sprinkler & Valve Repair/ Rebuild Older Systems. Lic. #1742. 214-398-8061

LIGHT IT UP DALLAS

Your lighting specialists. 972-591-8383 Parties, Weddings, Patios, Landscape.

PEST

• Tubs, Tiles or Sinks

• Cultured Marble

• Kitchen Countertops

214-631-8719

WE REFINISH! www.allsurfacerefinishing.com

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

#1 WHITE ROCK TREE WIZARDS Professionals, Experts, Artists. Trim, Remove, Cabling, Bracing/Bolting. Cavity-Fill Stump Grind. Emergencies, Hazards. Insd. Free Est. 972-803-6313. arborwizard.com

LSI LAWN SPRINKLERS “Making Water Work” Irrigation system Service & Repair. Specializing In Older Copper Systems. LI #13715. 214-283-4673

RED SUN LANDSCAPES • 214-935-9779

RedSunLandscapes.com

TRACY’S LAWN CARE • 972-329-4190

Lawn Mowing & Leaf Cleaning

U R LAWN CARE Maintenance. Landscaping. Your Personal Yard Service by Uwe Reisch uwereisch@yahoo.com 214-886-9202

WALTON’S GARDEN CENTER

Plan now for spring. Call us for your Design Work, Bed Prep, and Tree Plantings. 8652 Garland Road 214-321-2387

PLUMBING

ANDREWS PLUMBING • 214-354-8521

# M37740 Insured. Any plumbing issues. plumberiffic69@gmail.com

Sewers • Drains • Bonded 24 Hours/7 Days

*Joe Faz 469-346-1814 - Se Habla Español*

ARRIAGA PLUMBING: General Plumbing

Since the 80’s. Insured. Lic# M- 20754 214-321-0589, 214-738-7116, CC’s accepted.

HAYES PLUMBING INC. Repairs.

Insured, 214-343-1427 License M13238

M&S PLUMBING Quality Work & Prompt Service. Jerry. 214-235-2172. lic.#M-11523

NTX PLUMBING SPEC. LLLP 214-226-0913

Lic. M-40581 Res/Com. Repairs & Leak Location

SPECK PLUMBING

Over 30 Yrs Exp. Licensed/Insured. 214-732-4769, 214-562-2360

214-328-7371

MetroFlowPlumbing.com

Lic.# M16620

POOLS

ADAIR POOL & SPA SERVICE

1 month free service for new customers. Call for details. 469-358-0665.

REMODELING

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS, LLC

Complete Remodeling, Kitchens, Baths, Additions. Hardie Siding & Replacement Windows. Build On Your Own Lot. Insured. www.blake-construction.com 214-563-5035

BO HANDYMAN Specializing In Historic Home Renovations & Pro Remodels. Custom Carpentry, Doors, Kitchens, Baths & more. 214-437-9730

FENN CONSTRUCTION Full Service Contractor. www.dallastileman.com Back Splash Specials! 214-343-4645

O’BRIEN GROUP INC. Remodeling Dallas For Over 17 Years www.ObrienGroupInc.com 214-341-1448

RENOVATE DALLAS renovatedallas.com 214-403-7247

Bob McDonald Company, Inc. BUILDERS/REMODELERS

30+ Yrs. in Business • Major Additions Complete Renovations • Kitchens/Baths

214-341-1155

bobmcdonaldco.net

ROOFING & GUTTERS

A&B GUTTER 972-530-5699 Clean Out, Repair/Replace. Leaf Guard. Free Estimates. Lifetime Warranty

BERT

TRUE Crime

ADVOCATE PUBLISHING does not pre-screen, recommend or investigate the advertisements and/or Advertisers published in our magazines. As a result, Advocate Publishing is not responsible for your dealings with any Advertiser. Please ask each Advertiser that you contact to show you the necessary licenses and/or permits required to perform the work you are requesting. Advocate Publishing takes comments and/or complaints about Advertisers seriously, and we do not publish advertisements that we know are inaccurate, misleading and/or do not live up to the standards set by our publications. If you have a legitimate complaint or positive comment about an Advertiser, please contact us at 214-560-4203. Advocate Publishing recommends that you ask for and check references from each Advertiser that you contact, and we recommend that you obtain a written statement of work to be completed, and the price to be charged, prior to approving any work or providing an Advertiser with any deposit for work to be completed.

is online too! LocalWorks.advocatemag.com

MAN FOUND DEAD IN HOME OFF WALNUT HILL LANE

Marcos Andres Jimenez, 17, was arrested for capital murder on Dec. 21. A couple weeks earlier, the high school senior convinced “witnesses” to take him “to a medical facility to treat a deep laceration to his finger,” according to police reports. Initially, Jimenez said the injury was from a fence. He later admitted to killing a man.

The witnesses did not take Jimenez’s confession seriously until Dec. 18 when he asked how long a person could live after being stabbed in the neck. He proceeded to show “one of the witnesses a bag that contained prescription medication.” That individual snapped a surreptitious picture with a cellphone and drove, with the other witnesses, to the address printed on the medicine bottles.

NUMBERS

block of Walnut Hill Lane. A vehicle is burglarized on Dec. 16 and the offense is caught on camera. The suspect flees the scene on a bicycle.

10 a.m.

The Northwest Crime Response Team (CRT) begins investigating the crime.

60 minutes. Approximate time it takes the Northwest CRT to apprehend the suspect after reviewing video footage and visiting the offense location. He was found behind a dumpster in the 3000 block of Webb Chapel Extension, just a few miles from the burglarized vehicle.

— Elizabeth Barbee

Inside the home, located in the 9900 block of Hurley Way, they discovered a puddle of blood and a man who appeared to have been stabbed to death. They immediately called 911. The victim’s identity has not been released, as of press time.