2017 February Lake Highlands

15% hike in murders

LAKE HIGHLANDS

THE 11k; biggest Facebook following

4 schools at or near capacity

13 restaurants failed inspection

66.2% rent

ISSUE

Our neighborhood, by the numbers page 26

Heart Health

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Learn more about why gender, race, lifestyle and age can affect your chances of developing heart disease, so you can take steps to improve your heart health.

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At C. C. Young we are Raising the Bar

OPENING REMARKS

By RICK WAMRE

Real-life love

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Frank McClendon

The whole point of Valentine’s Day is to honor someone we love, or hope to love, or hope can love us unconditionally.

For the most part, we only need to find one such person to live a happy life, yet we all know how hard that can be.

One of the ways we show someone we care this time of year is treating them to more expensive food and drink than we typically can afford.

Getting all dressed up is another way of saying how much the person sitting across the table, or next to us at the bar, means to us.

Buying a dozen roses, even at triple-the-normal-pricing, is just part of the deal. Boxes of candy, painstakingly home-cooked meals, elaborate videos they’re all ways of showing we care to someone we feel the burning need to impress.

I confess to a certain amount of trepidation every February. I’ve written about this before — my history of over-thinking, over-spending, over-trying and just plain not being very good at proving I can be romantic at least one day each year.

In baseball, they call it squeezing the bat too hard. In television, it’s called jumping the shark. In business, it’s trying to pound a square peg in a round hole.

Some of us just aren’t cut out to be romantics in any sense of the word; it boosts my blood pressure sitting here thinking about it. That doesn’t mean we’re bad at romance or destined never to find someone who will love us; it just means that big, dramatic gestures aren’t something we’re good at.

That’s why a recent email I received from a friend gave me something to think about when it comes to romance and love.

Her parents had been married 68 years, and even though Valentine’s Day was months away, they were getting ready for a big moment together.

Her dad was living at a hospice, a variety of ailments leaving him confused most of the time. Her mom was living in a different hospice, a major heart attack leaving her bedridden and threatening her future.

The daughter sensed time was short, and with the blessing of doctors monitoring each parent, she arranged to bring dad to see mom. And when each learned about the planned visit, it wasn’t enough just to show up.

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Dad insisted on wearing his best shirt and jacket to impress his wife. And mom refused to let her husband into the room until she had finished applying his favorite shade of lipstick.

The email included a photo of two frail people, both knowing their time together was nearing an end, holding hands and sharing the kind of look that no grand gesture of roses or wine can generate.

My friend’s mom died a few days later, her heart failing for good this time, but not before they had those final few moments together.

No expensive food. No pricey wine. No flashy new clothes.

They just said goodbye to each other simply, and they each knew how much the other one meant it.

Rick Wamre is president of Advocate Media. Let him know how we are doing by emailing rwamre@advocatemag.com.

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It can make those elaborate gifts and pricey dinners seem silly

No expensive food. No pricey wine. No flashy new clothes.

L A UNC H

FEB. 11

Shoreline spruce-up

Show White Rock Lake how much you care before Valentine’s Day by joining For the Love of the Lake and Adopt-A-Shoreline’s clean-up efforts. Volunteers meet at 8 a.m.

For the Love of the Lake, 1152 N. Buckner Blvd., 214.660.1100, whiterocklake.org, free

Out & About

FEB. 4-MAR.4

FROM THE HEART

For 23 years, the “El Corazon” art exhibition has showcased local artists’ work at the cultural center. Although the exhibit is eclectic in style and medium, each piece was inspired by the heart. Bath House Cultural Center, 521 E. Lawther Drive, 214.670.8749, bathhousecultural.com, free

FEB. 5

BECOMING A

GAME WARDEN

Martin Oviedo, of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, speaks about his career as a game warden. Learn about his daily responsibilities and experiences at 2 p.m. Audelia Road Library, 10045 Audelia Road, 214.670.1350, dallaslibrary2.org, free

FEB. 10-19

EATING DISORDER

DIALOGUE

“Eat: It’s Not About Food” explores the causes and signs of eating disorders in boys and girls through candid and satirical scenes. After the production, Dallas experts will lead a discussion about these disorders and how best to help children and teens.

Dallas Children’s Theater, 5938 Skillman St., 214.978.0110, dct.org, $16

FEB. 14

CELEBRATE YOUR SWEETHEART

The Singapore Slingers will serenade couples during this fanfavorite dinner and show. Reservations in advance are recommended.

Pocket Sandwich Theater, 5400 E. Mockingbird Lane, 214.821.1860, pocketsandwich.com, $25

FEB. 19

FILM CONTEST

This annual student film contest raises money for the North Texas Alliance to Reduce Unintended Pregnancy in Teens. After a sponsor reception at 4 p.m., films will be screened from 5-6:30 p.m.

Angelika Film Center, 5321 E. Mockingbird Lane, 214.717.6477, info@ntarupt.org, $5-$50

FEB. 25-APRIL 9

DALLAS BLOOMS

Peace and love blossom from the Dallas Arboretum’s largest floral festival, Dallas Blooms. The flower powerthemed fest features topiaries built on top of classic Volkswagen Beetles and vans. Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland Road, 214.515.6615, dallasarboretum.org, $5-$15

4 Private Rooms

3 Bathrooms

Housekeeping

Laundry Service

On Call Physician

Medication Management Incontinence Care

3 Daily Meals

Social and Recreational Activities

Exercise Programs

Personalized Care

Home-like Environment

DIDN’T MISS A BEAT

A relatively modern medical device — and staff who appreciate its importance — is saving lives at neighborhood schools

BY CHRISTINA HUGHES BABB

In racing, every second counts. It was especially true one afternoon last December at Lake Highlands Junior High, when track coach Craig Titsworth assigned his sixth-period runners a relatively benign offseason workout — a few 100-, 200- and 400-meter intervals.

As the first group barreled toward its destination, 13-year-old Joe Krejci hit the ground.

It’s an old cinder track, so trips and falls are not uncommon, the coach explains, and for a second, no one thought much about it. But then Joe didn’t get up.

“Coach T” was some 90 meters away from the incident, he says, when he saw concerned looks cross the other boys’ faces, and they motioned for him to come.

“I sprinted, and I saw him, unconscious. I called 911.”

Titsworth handed the phone to a student, who briefed the operator, as the coach sprung into action.

“I checked his head, stabilized his neck, felt for bumps or blood ...”

He had a slight pulse, but he was not breathing.

“I looked up to see the two fastest kids in the district standing over me,” Titsworth says. “I mean, I’m thinking, God’s provision, right? These guys, Max Orvik and Blessed Divounguy, are not just our two fastest eighth-graders — they were first and second in the last citywide track meet these are the fastest [middle school] runners in all of Richardson ISD.”

Find the school nurse, Coach T told them. They tore toward the building — which sits several hundred yards from the track, the nurse’s office at the opposite

Top, Blessed Divounguy, Craig Titsworth, Annie Young and Max Orvik surround Joe Krejci, whose life they teamed up to save. Just above, A.E.D. devices in RISD schools are highly visible and accessible.

PHOTOS BY DANNY FULGENCIO

The emergency response team at Wallace Elementary — including Kendra Smith Worthey, Shannon Young Domizio, Lauren Bolack, Audrey Clary and Jessica Haas — surround cardiac arrrest victim Sarah Maupin.

end — while the coach debated whether to start CPR. Trained in first-aid, he knew he was not supposed to if the patient was breathing. But was this breathing? Still unconscious, Joe imparted these strange deep shaky gasps.

“I later learned this was agonal respiration, death breath, and he wasn’t actually breathing, not really. His pulse was what my EMT [emergency medical technician] brother would call thready, he was turning blue, and drawing these labored breaths every 15-20 seconds.”

Then the runners were back. Alongside them hurried an out-of-breath nurse Annie Young, carrying an A.E.D., an automated external defibrillator designed to shock an arresting heart back into rhythm.

In 2007, Texas passed a law requiring an A.E.D. in every Texas school.

“Something just told me to grab it,” Young says. “It was the looks on the boys’ faces and the way they said ‘collapsed’.”

The team, Young, front office administrator Syreeta Love and God, all are to thank for Joe’s survival, Titsworth says. But if not for that small piece of medical technology, which staffers at every Richardson ISD campus are trained to use, he knows things could have been devastatingly different.

The coach hurdled the chain-link fence surrounding the track, grabbed the A.E.D., leapt back over and put the pads on Joe’s chest and left side.

The device registers, checks for an unsynchronized heart rhythm (the cause of most sudden cardiac arrests, according to the American Red Cross) and displays instructions.

“Shock advised,” it read. So Coach pressed the machine’s “shock” button, delivering an electric volt through Joe’s chest to his heart.

By then Love and Young were assisting, the nurse administering chest compressions.

The track coach, by profession a stickler for time, notes that Joe dropped to the ground at 3:04 p.m. He delivered the shock at 3:12 p.m. The ambulance arrived at 3:15 p.m.

As the ambulance pulled away, the coach and the boys who ran for help all worried that they hadn’t acted fast enough, they all say days later.

“I wondered, what if I didn’t run fast enough,” Max says.

At the hospital that night, while Titsworth visited, doctors told Joe and his parents that the shock saved him — that

Love Your Garden

he could have died if they’d waited even a couple more minutes.

In fact, a victim’s chance of surviving this type of cardiac arrest “drops by 10 percent for every minute a normal heartbeat is not restored,” according to the American Heart Association.

1/2 page, vertical 4 5/8” x 7 3/8” +cafe box

Doctors outfitted Joe with a pacemaker, the teen was back at school before Christmas break.

“I don’t remember anything, really,” Joe says. His friends filled him in when he returned to school.

Coach Titsworth, nurse Young and administrator Love are part of their school’s emergency response team. At every Richardson ISD campus, teams of five-to-10 staffers, usually front office personnel and coaches, are specifically trained for critical situations, explains Richardson ISD special assignments nurse Alicia Whitehead, who has coordinated CPR and first aid training for district employees for 11 years.

“We take it very seriously,” she says of the emergency response program, “because we want our students to be safe.”

When the A.E.D. rule went into effect, it wasn’t easy to implement.

“They made the law, but did not provide the funds,” she says. She points to one model that costs about $1,400, explaining that price varies for sizes (the A.E.D.s in elementary schools are smaller, for example).

Still, the district allocates money not only to place and maintain the requisite A.E.D.s in every school (five high schools, eight middle schools and 41 elementary schools) but also to add multiple devices in the bigger campuses and even more at the high schools.

In district sports, team managers carry portable A.E.D.s. Choir and band directors carry them when the groups travel.

“We are required by law to check each once a month, but we check them daily,” Whitehead says.

The devices are stored in recessed, reachable cabinets, usually in school hallways, outside a nurse station or the gym. Bright, visible signs, posted around campuses, advertise A.E.D. locations.

Though several employees at each school are trained to use an A.E.D., the machine is user friendly even for a layperson in an emergency.

“It talks to you. It tells you what to do,” Whitehead says. “We want them to be accessible, even if it’s at an event after hours and the nurse is not around.”

Considering that sudden cardiac arrest is by far the leading cause of death in student athletes, one would think every school in the nation would take A.E.D.s and training as seriously as RISD.

But that isn’t the case, according to an article last April in the New York Times:

“Many [A.E.D.s] are locked up in an office and not accessible, or only the school nurse knows how to use it,” Fort Worth mom Laura Friend tells the paper. Friend lobbied for the A.E.D. law after losing her daughter to cardiac arrest in 2004, and she created a nonprofit that has donated A.E.D.s and provided training throughout Texas.

Dr. Jonathan Drezner, director of the Center for Sports Cardiology at the University of Washington, told the Times

2016 Highlights

that, “During the academic school year 2014-15, there were 55 cases of cardiac arrest among [student athletes], and 57 percent died. I can’t believe we don’t have universal access to A.E.D.s in schools; they should be like fire extinguishers.”

The decision to invest in A.E.D.s and training several years ago was good planning, says RISD communications director Tim Clark.

A.E.D.s have been used as an emergency response on at least five occasions that he can recall. And most importantly, “we have never lost anyone as a result of cardiac arrest, at least in the 15 years I have been around.”

Nurse Whitehead recalls that two years ago in February, “I remember because it was American Heart Month, a trainer with a portable A.E.D. saved a Richardson High School football player who collapsed after practice.”

Remarkably, it was just two weeks prior to Joe Krejci’s near-death experience that an equally dramatic incident unfolded at Wallace Elementary, less than a half-mile away from the LHJH track.

“A victim’s chance of surviving this type of cardiac arrest drops by 10 percent for every minute a normal heartbeat is not restored.”

Darin Breedlove, CR, CGR, CGP, CAPS, Sara Haley, & Lance Tyler

OLD LAKE HIGHLANDS HOLLYWOOD SANTA MONICA

THE CONVENIENCE YOU NEED THE CARE YOU DESERVE

Wallace’s nurse, Jessica Haas, who also is a parent, was leaving a parent-teacher meeting when her husband saw a woman collapse on the sidewalk in front of the school.

“He knew right away that it was something bad,” Haas says, “because he saw her go right down, didn’t try to catch herself or anything.”

The woman, Sarah Maupin, who also was leaving conference with a teacher, had suffered a cardiac arrest.

Haas rushed to help Maupin, who was unresponsive and without a detectable pulse.

Even though it was late, five members of Wallace’s emergency response team — executive assistant Shannon Young Domizio, assistant principals Lauren Bolack and Kendra Smith-Worthey, Audrey Clary and Haas — for various reasons happened to be at the school.

“Therein lies the miracle,” Haas says. Haas instructed the nearest of them to grab the A.E.D.

Within minutes Haas was delivering a salvaging shock to Maupin’s heart.

Though Maupin doesn’t remember it, thanks to the device and the well-trained responders, she had regained her steady heartbeat and consciousness before the ambulance arrived.

Maupin’s doctor told her how rare it was for someone in her situation to receive such quick and apt attention, and how lucky that made her.

“The results could have been detrimental,” Maupin says. “After 4 minutes [of unconsciousness following an attack] you can have brain damage. It could have been that, or even worse.”

Nurse Haas says she heard activist Laura Friend’s story a few years ago during a district first-aid training workshop.

“Her daughter died at a swimming pool, where there was an A.E.D. but no one knew about it or knew what to do,” she recalls. “We’ve all heard these accounts of people collapsing and dying even though an A.E.D. is on site.”

That nothing like that ever happens at an RISD property or event, she and her team members agree, is the goal.

President Lyndon B. Johnson declared the first American Heart Month in 1964. Ever since then, the month of February has been dedicated to cardiovascular health. Learn more about Heart Month, related events, local CPR classes and A.E.D.s at heart.org

WHAT GIVES? SMALL WAYS THAT YOU CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE FOR NONPROFITS

RUN WITH HEART

Love the Loop, a Dallas Running Club 15k at White Rock Lake, is Feb. 4, beginning and ending at Winfrey Point. Also wanted: 5k runners and volunteers. Dallas Running Club is a Lake Highlands-based nonprofit that benefits various local causes, including providing yearly college scholarships to high school senior cross country runners. An annual membership fee of $25 is good for eight free club races, held the first Saturday of each month (except November and December) at 8 a.m. Non members can register for $10 at dallasrunningclub.com.

SHOP AND PURGE

Buy books, DVDs and CDs for as little as $1. Proceeds benefit Richardson ISD’s council of PTAs Scholarships in memory of Dr. J.J. Pearce, which are available to all RISD students. The sale takes place Feb. 16-18, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and noon-6 p.m. Also on Saturday, Feb. 18, from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. take advantage of the council’s recycling fundraiser, where you can rid you life of unwanted old cell phones, cameras, office equipment, entertainment electronics, clothing and accessories, video games, sporting goods and garden supplies, to name a few. It all takes place at the RISD Professional Development Center, 701 W. Beltline Rd.

CELEBRATE MUSIC AND ARTS

On Feb. 26 White Rock area dweller

Erykah Badu appears at Deep Ellum’s Bomb Factory (owned and run by Lake Highlands’ Clint and Whitney Barlow) for her annual Badu Birthday Bounce , featuring live performances and special guests. Badu’s nonprofit B.L.I.N.D. aims to create social change through economic, artistic and cultural development. The all-ages show kicks off at 8 p.m. at 2713 Canton St. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets run $43-$58 at thebombfactory.com.

FOUR WAYS TO MAKE DIVORCE EASIER FOR YOUR CHILDREN

Divorce has been around a long time. But when it is your divorce and your children, it really doesn’t matter how many other people have been through the same situation; you just want to know that your children are going to be okay. So how do you  make sure your kids feel safe and unconditionally loved during your divorce?

#1. CLARITY: Divorce is a huge change in a child’s life. Clarity on a  possession schedule and/or their living situation is very important for them.  Structure in their life is something they want and need.  Now there is no guarantee they are going to be happy with what you and your ex have decided to do, but at  least have a clear understanding of what the plan is.

#2. CONSISTENCY: Minimize the disruptions in daily routines. Continuing schedules, rules, and structure as best you can, as it will help your children cope with the many changes happening around them. Whether it is doing chores, family fun night, or even discipline, children thrive in environments with regularity.

#3. CONFLICT CONTROL: Ending a marriage can put you and your spouse in a constant state of conflict, frustration, and, sometimes, feelings of hate. When children are involved, finding ways to manage and keep conflict at a minimum are essential. The  last thing you want to do is to make  them feel like they are caught in the middle of your ongoing war. Putting the animosity aside while co-parenting promotes your children’s best interests. Mediation, creating boundaries, mutual respect and compromise are all useful ways of doing this.

#4. COMMITMENT: Commit to positive co- parenting during your divorce. Reaffirm with your ex that your child’s emotional health is your mutual priority. Show up no matter what is going on with your ex and be there when your kids need to talk. Make sure your kids understand that the end of your marriage is not the end of the parent-child relationship.

Gregory Beane, a Lake Highlands resident, is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and an attorney at Verner Brumley.

4311 Oak Lawn Ave, Suite 450 · Dallas, TX 75219 214·526·5234 · www.vernerbrumley.com

KNOW OF WAYS that neighbors can spend time, attend an event, or purchase or donate something to benefit a neighborhood nonprofit? Email your suggestion to launch@advocatemag.com

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ROASTING’S ROYALS

As Starbucks moves in on its turf, White Rock Coffee stands, and expands, its ground

By CHRISTINA HUGHES BABB

News of a Starbucks moving to the corner of Ferndale and Northwest Highway has many in the neighborhood defensive on behalf of their beloved, locally owned White Rock Coffee, located just a couple doors down from where the java giant’s dirt and building materials are flying. The recently razed Backus Shell station that occupied the spot more than 50 years seems all but forgotten.

But Starbucks isn’t alone in new construction here along the 10100 block of E. Northwest Highway. White Rock Coffee owners Nancy and Robert Baker are erecting a training center for WRC baristas in between their “mothership” and the incoming Starbucks.

“Our baristas undergo thorough training, some are certified at [the highest

30 WORD ON BODY TEXT IS ABSOLUTE LIMIT ON TEXT. WE WILL NOT COUNT ADDRESS, ETC.

levels],” Nancy says. “We have outgrown the original building — it’s so busy, they are hopping from training to customers, too much.”

The training facility, which will inhabit an extensively renovated former cash-lending store, is slated to open sometime this spring. It will include office space and a conference room and will be equipped with the latest gadgets and state-of-the-art espresso machines, “so the baristas can stay on the cutting edge of espresso/coffee technology,” Nancy says. Who knows, she adds, she and Bob might even launch classes for the public.

Parking conditions at this Northwest Highway locale, about the only regular complaint, should improve.

“We are aware it’s a little treacherous, parking, which is one reason we didn’t put another retail location there. We

Nancy and Robert Baker in front of their first coffee shop, which opened 12 years ago in Lake Highlands

plan to maximize the lots for parking.”

Since opening 12 years ago White Rock Coffee has been steadily and mostly quietly expanding, launching the high-traffic double drive-thru location at Mockingbird-Abrams five years ago, and, more recently, a location inside Children’s Medical Center’s Bright building.

The Bakers own three additional operations in Lake Highlands — a commercial bakery, a commercial roaster and a warehouse, which makes stocking the retail outlets convenient. These are not open to the public, but Nancy suggests she could conceive of an eventual catering arm.

The humble family coffee company with its addictive elixirs and pastries — where the Bakers’ kids Lindsey McMullen, now a married lawyer, and William, now a junior at the University of North Texas, cultivated their barista and hospitality-business skills — is growing and developing, in major ways.

But Starbucks at last count in 2016 had more than 25,000 stores worldwide and 11,600 or so in the United States.

Of all the vacant lots in all the towns, why did Starbucks have to come to this one? That is what some neighborhood residents wonder.

“Dear Starbucks going in around the corner,” notes a fan of the WRC Facebook page, “you don’t stand a chance against the best coffee and crew not just in Dallas, but all of Texas.” That one set off a series of similar praises. “I would never choose Starbucks if a WRC is anywhere within a 5-mile radius. The House Blend remains the best coffee I have ever had, anywhere. I stopped putting cream and sugar in my coffee when I started drinking this blend years ago because it’s too good all by itself.”

“Starbucks may look nice but it’s just for the uninformed masses flying down Northwest Highway, and those in the

know coming down Ferndale will get their award-winning WRC,” notes Advocate reader Brian Maupin. “I think it will make WRC even cooler as the independent local with the contrast.”

Others add optimistically that the Starbucks might draw more morning commuters to the area, thus boosting WRC’s bottom line.

Nancy says she just “can’t put into words what that [love] means to us. Lake Highlands has been, since the beginning, a wonderful, intensely loyal neighborhood that has supported small local business.” This is home, she continues, the neighborhood where she attended Lake Highlands Elementary, Junior High and High schools; where her children graduated from the same high school; where she and Robert live today, in the L Streets; where her father, on the shore of White Rock Lake, proposed to her mother.

So what does she think about the coffee empire that added some 1,600 locations in 2016 coming to home turf, competing with her family’s business?

It would be disingenuous to blow it off or say she isn’t bothered, she says. “You know, as a business owner it is concerning that a large, deep-pocket chain is going in two doors down,” she says. “But you’ve seen the comments. Everyone is loyal.”

She can’t help but think a little about some locally grown operations squeezed out, she says, when chains moved in nearby.

“I don’t take it personally though. They don’t know. Just someone in Seattle or somewhere looking at an empty lot and the surrounding demographics. They probably don’t count on us being here or impacting them.”

Rather than dwell on what might happen, she and Robert and the 45 employees of White Rock Coffee will keep focusing on top-tier customer and wholesaler experiences and the fine art of coffee roasting and baking pastries from scratch, she says. They plan to bloom — sturdy and robust in patiently tilled soil, nurtured by fans and friends and lord knows how many cups of that WRC House Blend— and see a bright future for their business.

“We’re in expansion mode,” Nancy says, “Always looking at new locations within our orbit, the White Rock area.”

A version of this story first appeared on Jan. 12 on advocatemag.com.

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Finding the right flavor

Pho

By ELISSA CHUDWIN

Beef meatball noodle soup

DID YOU KNOW: In Vietnam, pho typically is served for breakfast.

onsistency is key at Pho Hanabi, so Eric Ton spent years searching for a practical and flavor-filled recipe.

He constructed a kitchen in his backyard reminiscent of a mad scientist’s laboratory to experiment with seasoning and cooking methods. He traveled to 10 states across the country to sample the Vietnamese noodle soup, too.

“The culture of eating pho is so different from not just stateto-state but city-to-city,” he says.

takes longer, and it doesn’t bring out all the flavors.”

Besides the quality of the menu items, Ton is focused on providing his staff with a positive experience, which he believes will translate into customer service.

“The most exciting part is my employees,” he says. “They are young and energetic and willing to learn. I feel like I can share more with them than making pho or working at a restaurant.”

Ton — a consultant who launched the Northwest Highway restaurant — embraces the unconventional. The engineer and culinary enthusiast is not a restauranteur, but he has a business-savvy mind and years of pho-making experience that he hopes will make the eatery a permanent neighborhood fixture.

His process is under wraps, but the soup contains an array of spices, including cinnamon and cardamom, and is served with bean sprouts and basil leaves.

“As a science and engineering guy, it does not make sense if we do it the traditional way,” Ton says. “It

PHO HANABI

Ambiance: casual eatery

Price Range: $4-$12

Hours: 10 a.m.- 8 p.m. Sunday-Saturday 10675 Northwest Highway, suite 1635 214.221.0903 phohanabi.com

Grilled-chicken fried rice

The Advocate typically aims to highlight our neighborhood’s personality by way of narratives, news and profiles, and that will continue — around here, the well of fascinating finds is bottomless. But on the next few pages, numbers, percentages and statistics tell the story of who we are, where we live, what struggles we face.

By Advocate editors

CRIME CULTURE

WE BROKE our neighborhood down to its most simplistic terms: How many we are, by sex and race, our collective education level, our household income and other data drawn from Census data (2010 being the most recent year available) and the American Community Study of 2015. To find these numbers, we pulled from the five zip codes to which the Lake Highlands Advocate covers completely: 75243, 75231, 75238.

122,941

36,602 are foreign-born (29.8% of the neighborhood population)

31.5

29.3% of people age 25 and up living in 75231 do not have a high school diploma, compared to 13.5% in both 75243 and 75238.

RACIAL MIX IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD VERSUS CITY OF DALLAS

REAL ESTATE

LAKE HIGHLANDS REAL ESTATE prices hit an all-time high in 2016. After taking a dip in 2008 following the housing-market crash, prices climbed quickly to new heights. Here is a look at home prices in the Lake Highlands zip codes 75243, 75231 and 75238. Real estate agent Doug Selzer of Ebby Halliday Realtors pulled these statistics for us from the Multiple Listing Service.

MEDIAN HOME PRICES IN 75231, 75238 AND 75243

$1.02 million

The most expensive house sold in zip code 75238 in 2016

MOST-EXPENSIVE HOMES IN LAKE HIGHLANDS

Our neighborhood’s two most expensive homes in 2016 cost $1 million or more. All five of the most expensive homes in zip code 75238 cost close to $1 million.

$1,000,000

In Lake Highlands Estates

$935,000

In Lake Ridge Estates

$932,950

In Lake Ridge Estates

$900,000 In Lake Ridge Estates

The median home price for zip code 75238 has increased about 45 PERCENT since 2006.

The next priciest neighborhood in Lake Highlands falls into the 75231 zip code.

$844,500 In Moss Meadows

$798,587

In Alexander’s Village

$792,942

In Alexander’s Village

$769,330 In Alexander’s Village

TOTAL HOUSING UNITS 59,737 3 3. 8%owners

66.2%rente r s

CRIME

WE LOOKED at local crime to see which are most prevalent in our neighborhood and how it has shifted from 2015 to 2016. We asked the Dallas Police Department for violent and non-violent crime data in Lake Highlands, as defined by the department’s Crime Analysis Unit. The 2016 numbers encompass all crimes from Jan. 1-Nov. 30.

VIOLENT CRIMES

%

Unsolved homicides in Lake Highlands as of December 2016.

VICTIM: Deangelo Golphin

DATE OF DEATH:

Feb. 12, 2016

At 28 years old, Golphin was found at 9230 Skillman St. with gunshot wounds. He later died at a local hospital.

VICTIM: Gonzalo Rodriguez

DATE OF DEATH:

June 26, 2016

Rodriguez died three days after he was shot at 2780 Royal Lane. He was 44 years old.

VICTIM: Christian Ramirez-Hernandez

DATE OF DEATH:

July 14, 2016

Hernandez, 25, died from gunshot wounds.

VICTIM: Cassandra Subi

DATE OF DEATH:

July 27, 2016

Subi died after being shot at 9200 Skillman St.

VICTIM: Wilbur McClure

DATE OF DEATH:

Aug. 7, 2016

McClure was 36-years-old when he became the victim of a fatal shooting at 8550 Park Lane.

VICTIM: Adan Zavala

DATE OF DEATH:

Oct. 24, 2016 Dallas police found Zavala, 48, in the breezeway of an apartment building at 9748 Forest Lane, where he had been shot.

At 19 years old, Subi was the youngest, and only female, victim of an unsolved homicide in 2016.

NON-VIOLENT CRIMES

AVERAGE PER DAY 1

In 11 MONTHS, 419 CARS were stolen in Lake Highlands

SCHOOLS

HOW AND WHY we choose the schools our children attend is difficult to quantify, but the results of our choices are evident from Richardson ISD’s 2015-16 enrollment data. These numbers come from the district’s reports to the Lake Highlands Reflector Committee and from Templeton Demographics’ January 2016 projections.

All Lake Highlands students are assigned to a neighborhood school, but between voluntary transfers, space limitations and programs unique to certain campuses, such as bilingual education, they may end up elsewhere. Here are the transfer/ overflow numbers at Lake Highlands elementary schools in spring 2016, compared to students who overflow or opt to attend elsewhere.

Merriman Park Elementary is one of the most ethnically diverse schools in Lake Highlands, with a population that closely resembles Richardson ISD’s diversity.

329

seats at Hamilton Park Pacesetter, a magnet elementary school in Lake Highlands, are projected to be available during the 2019-20 school year.

students too many are projected at White Rock Elementary by the 2019-20 school year, with Aikin, Stults Road and Wallace also on track to be near capacity.

Studies show that a school’s socioeconomic diversity can be a strong indicator in how its students perform academically. How do Lake Highlands schools stack up?

72% of Moss Haven Elementary’s campus is used by its 462 students, the roomiest of Lake Highlands’ schools.

54% affluent

65% affluent

65% disadvantaged

80% disadvantaged

81% affluent

85% disadvantaged

88% disadvantaged

89% affluent

96% of White Rock Elementary is full, and 78 students assigned to the school overflow to other campuses.

CULTURE

FACEBOOK is not just for sucking your valuable time. It’s a place where, if utilized correctly, you can become as informed as you want to be about our neighborhood, get to know your neighbors, boost your safety and security and conveniently buy and sell things, to name a few. Here are a few pages that help our editors stay in the loop. FIVE

Facebook pages where neighbors go to stay in the know

1,630

Lake Highlands residents belong to “Lake Highlands Forum,” a closed group for residents of Lake Highlands and area business and property owners. If you fit the bill, request to join. It is a group for discussion of all things Lake Highlands. The rules are, stay on topic and civilized. Plug your business, but not obnoxiously so, suggests the group’s admin.

2,273

folks follow the Facebook page of “Adam McGough, Dallas City Council, District 10” where the Lake Highlandsrepresenting city counselor interacts with users and answers questions when he can. He shares information about public input meetings, charity fundraisers and developments at City Hall.

4,317

members belong to the “You Know You’re From Lake Highlands If,” a public group featuring nostalgia, vintage photos and lively discussions about current events. It’s a page for “anyone who grew up in Lake Highlands and remembers the good old days,” admins note.

10,328

members belong to the “Lakewood, Dallas” group. It is a closed group, but, as evidenced by the large membership, the admins aren’t all that discriminating. Though it’s called “Lakewood, Dallas,” much of the fodder involves the greater White Rock area. Discussions frequently lean witty and amusing, while informative just have a thick skin if you inject yourself into said conversations.

10,993

Facebook users belong to the “Lake Highlands Online Garage Sale” page, a closed group that is easily accessible by requesting to join. There are many good Facebook pages for buying and selling locally. This is the one created specifically for Lake Highlands residents. The first rule of these types of pages, which will save you much grief, shame and possibly eviction: Read. The. Rules. They are pinned at the top of the page.

Facebookers follow the “Lake Highlands Advocate” page, where readers can see the stories of the day. Remember, every week the Lake Highlands Advocate posts 10 or more stories that you will not see in the printed magazine. They all show up on our Facebook feed, where you can comment and see what other readers have to say.

CLEAN EATING?

In some big cities, such as New York and Boston, restaurants’ food inspection grades are posted in windows. In Dallas, diners have to dig a bit deeper for the details of an establishment’s latest food inspection scores. If this snapshot isn’t enough, dive into the city’s database, where you can search by restaurant name or address, at dallascityhall.com/departments/codecompliance/restaurantandbar.

TWO of those who failed did not pass upon re-inspection (.09% of all LH- area inspections).

FIFTY-FOUR

neighborhood establishments received passing, but not good, scores (2.5% of all LH-area inspections).

2,139

food service inspections — out of some 20,000 citywide — were recorded in the Lake Highlands-area zip codes 75231, 75238 and 75243, January 2015 through November 2016 (includes routine, follow-up and complaint-related inspections, all conducted by a licensed sanitarian from the City of Dallas Consumer Health Division).

resulted in failing scores (.6% of all LH-area inspections).

formally dog-friendly food establishments exist in the Lake Highlands vicinity; proprietors of these restaurants, of which there are 74 citywide, have obtained a requisite permit that allows them to welcome pups to their patios (Starbucks, Crisp Salad and Grub Burger).

2,061

inspections ultimately resulted in “good” or “very good” grades (96% of all LH-area inspections).

AND HOW THEY FARED*

WORSHIP

ANGLICAN

ALL SAINTS EAST DALLAS / allsaintseastdallas.org

Sunday worship 5:00 pm / Live in God’s Presence. Live Out His Love. Meeting at Central Lutheran Church / 1000 Easton Road

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 / nhbc.net / 9626 Church Rd.

Sun: LifeQuest 9:00 am / Worship 10:30 am / 214.348.9697

Wed: AWANA and Kids Choir 6:00 pm / Student Ministry 7:00 pm

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

CENTRAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, ELCA / 1000 Easton Road

Sunday School for all ages 9:00 am / Worship Service 10:30 am

Pastor Rich Pounds / CentralLutheran.org / 214.327.2222

FIRST UNITED LUTHERAN CHURCH / 6202 E Mockingbird Ln.

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

METHODIST

FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH RICHARDSON

503 N Central Exwy / fumcr.com / 972.235.8385 / Dr. Clayton Oliphint

8:45, 9:45, 11:00 am sanctuary / access modern worship 11:00am

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 & 11:00 am Traditional / 11:00 am Contemporary

NON-DENOMINATIONAL

LAKE POINTE CHURCH – WHITE ROCK CAMPUS

Classic Service at 9:30 & Contemporary Service at 11:00 am lakepointe.org / 9150 Garland Road

PRESBYTERIAN

LAKE HIGHLANDS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH / 214.348.2133

8525 Audelia Road at NW Hwy. / www.lhpres.org

9:00 am Contemporary, 9:55 am Christian Ed., 11:00 am Traditional

NORTHRIDGE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH / 6920 Bob-O-Link Dr.

214.827.5521 / www.northridgepc.org / Welcomes you to Worship

8:30 & 11:00 am / Church School 9:35 am / Childcare provided.

Bottom-up religion

What works for the Cowboys also works for faith

Have you thought about why the Dallas Cowboys are winning this year? (Since I am writing this at the beginning of January, I can’t say how much success they have had. But moving from a 4-12 season to a 13-3 campaign in 2016 was a remarkable transformation.)

The easy answer is to look no further than the drafting of Ezekiel Elliot and Dak Prescott. Both were spectacular in their rookie seasons. But the real difference is the play of the offensive line. Winning football teams are built from front to back or, said another way, from the inside out. The patient drafting of sturdy and steady soldiers up front has paid off.

A solid spiritual life is similarly built from the inside out. Or, as the Franciscan monk Richard Rohr puts it, from the bottom up. “It seems to me we need to rebuild our whole notion of religion from the bottom up. All too often religion — and Christianity in particular has focused on continually re-icing a collapsed cake rather than baking the bottom layers properly.”

Baking the bottom layers of faith properly begins with setting the right base. Start with God, not yourself. Commit to an understanding of God that will give you strength within to endure whatever challenges may come from without.

God is love. Nothing is more foundational than that. But saying “God is love” is easier to ascribe to as a doctrine than it is to live up to day by day. Notions like “God is power,” for instance, tend to sneak ahead of “God is love.” But look what happens when that happens: Since we all created in the image of God, if our image of God is power ahead of love, the love of power will feed our ambition instead of the power of love.

To say that God is love means that God

By GEORGE MASON

is relational at heart. God will therefore always and only act in the interest of the wellbeing of those whom God loves (which, incidentally, is everyone). When we live into that vision of God, love will guide all our ways. If God is primarily power personified, our tendency is to fall in love with the ambition to be like God and assert our will above all else.

What does that mean for your spiritual life?

It means asking yourself daily whether love guides your attitudes and actions. Love isn’t judged by individual experiences where you feel all warm and fuzzy

on the inside after hearing a stirring song from the praise band or even the promise of eternal life after you die. Love is measured by your capacity to share the joys and sorrows of others and to work to see them flourish.

Whether you are building a football team, baking a cake or solidifying your spiritual life, getting the basics right first makes all the difference. Since “love never fails,” as St. Paul says, when love is at the bottom of all things in your life, you will never fail.

George Mason is pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church. The Worship section is underwritten by Advocate Publishing and the neighborhood businesses and churches listed here. For information about helping support the Worship section, call 214.560.4202.

Whether you are building a football team, baking a cake or solidifying your spiritual life, getting the basics right first makes all the difference.

NEWS & NOTES

EDUCATION

Controversy erupted when homeowners learned Dallas ISD planned to use eminent domain to tear down local businesses on Walling and Skillman to construct a school. Because of the overcrowding at Jill Stone and Hotchkiss elementaries , the voter-approved 2015 bond package included $29.51 million to replace Stone. The district initially intended to build the school where City View Antiques, Jake’s Hamburgers and Merriman Park Automotive now are located, but public backlash led them to rethink the decision. “I have asked and recommended to the superintendent that we take this proposed site on Skillman Avenue off the table and go back and look at other alternatives,” DISD trustee Dan Micciche said.

Richardson ISD trustee Kris Oliver announced his resignation, effective in May, at a January school board meeting. He stepped down after six years so that his daughter can apply to work for the district after she graduates from college this spring.

CITY

It may not be difficult for Adam McGough to retain his District 10 seat on the Dallas City Council. No one has filed paperwork to run against him in the election on May 6, as of the Advocate’s press time. McGough announced his intentions to run for a second term on social media, stating saying he is “prepared to continue service to #D10 and the City of Dallas. This has already been an amazing journey serving alongside so many inspiring people, and we are #JustGettingStarted.”

PEOPLE

Mark Salling , Lake Highlands resident and “Glee” TV star, is preparing for trial after he requested that his November hearing be postponed. Salling was charged with receiving and possessing child pornography in 2016.

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.

HOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC SCHOOL

3815 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas 214-526-5113, htcsdallas.org For more than 100 years, Holy Trinity Catholic School, has been committed to the religious, intellectual, emotional, social and physical growth of each student. This commitment is carried out in a nurturing atmosphere with an emphasis on social awareness, service to others, and religious faith in the Catholic tradition. The Immaculate Heart Program at Holy Trinity School was initiated to fully realize our school’s mission of developing the whole child by meeting the needs of one of the most underserved and underperforming groups in catholic schools, children with dyslexia.

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.

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 dual-language elementary campus is now open at 7159 E. Grand Ave. Please visit our website at DallasSpanishHouse.com for more information.

ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL 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. Characterbuilding and civic responsibility are stressed. Facilities include indoor swimming pool, skating rink, updated playground, and stateof-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 65 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.

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

VOICE TEACHER with 40+ years experience. M.M. LSU www.PatriciaIvey.com • trilletta@msn.com • 214-769-8560

EMPLOYMENT

AIRLINE MECHANIC TRAINING Get FAA certified. Approved for military benefits. Financial aid if qualified. Job placement assistance. Aviation Institute of Maintenance 866-453-6204

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

TEXAS BAR CARD? Part-time lawyer wanted. Evidence review. Court appearances. Draft pleadings. Call Attorney Q. Lynn Johnson. 214-552-1349

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

FINANCIAL CONSULTANT Five Rings Financial has part-time opportunities! JR@FiveRingsFinancial.com 214-702-0033 x502

SERVICES FOR YOU

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

COMPUTER HELP! Viruses, Data Recovery, Upgrades, WiFi Problems, Onsite Tech. 214-533-6216 WebersComputers.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

TREATED TO TECH

Students at Conrad High School, which serves Vickery Meadow, collectively received some 250 free smartphones and tablets, part of an effort by Sprint to distribute one million such devices, which research shows can help students succeed. Conrad was one of just 11 schools selected for the program’s pilot year, and the only Texas school.

SERVICES FOR YOU

FLAWLESS DETAIL Mobile Car Cleaning. 3M Paint Protection Film (Clear Bra). Established 2009. Exp/Insd. flawlessdallas.com 214-280-5920

NEIGHBORHOOD ENERGY EXPERT Helps you earn rewards for free energy, travel points & more. Call Elaine today for a free electric bill review. 214-500-3667 Make the Switch & Save!

LEGAL SERVICES

A WILL? THERE IS A WAY! Estate/Probate matters. 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 preparing books for CPA? No job too big or small. 22 Yrs. Exp. C.A.S. Bookkeeping Services. Cindy. 214-577-7450 cascastle@sbcglobal.net

LEGAL ISSUES? The Law Office Of Lauren C Medel, PLLC. LaurenMedel.com. 972-773-9306

LICENSED PHYCHOLOGIST Academic, behavioral, ADHD, emotional testing. Children, adolescents, adults. Therapy. Dr. Katherine Pang 214-531-7624 lighthousepsychtesting.com

PARADIGMFAMILYHEALTH.COM Affordable Family Medicine. Healthcare you deserve! 214-810-3553

MARCH DEADLINE FEBRUARY 8

PET SERVICES

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

HOUSE CALLS OF DALLAS Personalized Care For Your Pet Or Home. Everything from traveling or away for the day. Insured/ Bonded.214-505-2525.housecallsofdallas.com

BUY/SELL/TRADE

CARS/TRUCKS WANTED!!! All Makes/Models. 2000-2016. Any Condition. Running Or Not. Top $$$ Paid. Free Towing. We’re Nationwide. Call Now. 1-888-985-1806

RANGERS, STARS & MAVS

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

ALL POINTS ESTATE SALES and Property Services. Call Pat 214-802-2781 - AllPointsEstateServices.com

WANT TO MAKE MONEY? Richardson Mercantile is looking for dealers who want to join one of the best antique malls in DFW. Need details? Go to richardsonmercantile@gmail.com

PHOTO BY DANNY FULGENCIO

AC & HEAT

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

Family Owned & Operated

Serving the Dallas area for over 30 years

We raise our kids here, too!

972-274-2157

www.CrestAirAndHeat.com

APPLIANCE REPAIR

JESSE’S A/C & APPLIANCE SERVICE

TACLB13304C All Makes/Models. 214-660-8898

USED APPLIANCES FOR SALE Washer $125. Dryer $89.1 yr. Warranty. Repair. 972-329-2202

CONCRETE/ MASONRY/PAVING

BRICK & STONE REPAIR

Tuck Pointing / Crack Repair. Mortar Color Matching. Windows,Doors, Cracks Etc. Don 214-704-1722

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

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 (36 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

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

A PROFESSIONAL CLEANING SERVICE

4th Clean Absolutely Free for new Weekly and Bi-weekly clients. Mention this ad for $25 off first one-time, move in/out or post construction clean. WindsorMaidServices.com 214-381-MAID (6243)

AFFORDABLE CLEANING Insd./Bonded. Move In/Out. Routine Cleaning. Reliable. Dependable. Residential/ Commercial. References. 28+yrs. Delta Cleaning. 972-943-9280.

ALTOGETHER CLEAN

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

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

TWO SISTERS & A MOP

Move in/Out. Reliable/Dependable 20 Yrs Exp. 214-283-9732

twosistersamopmaidservice.com

WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM

Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

ELECTRICAL SERVICES

ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricofdallas.com

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

BRIGHT LIGHT ELECTRIC • 214-553-5333 TECL 31347 Brightening Homes and Businesses

EXPERIENCED LICENSED ELECTRICIAN Insd. Steve. TECL#27297 214-718-9648

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. EST. 96 Automatic Gates, Fences/Decks, ambassadorfenceco.com 214-621-3217

FENCING & WOODWORK oldgatefence.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

LONESTARDECKS.COM 214-357-3975

Trex Decking & Fencing, trex.com

All Wood Decks, Arbors & Patio Covers

FLOORING & CARPETING

Restoration Flooring

CONSUMERS CHOICE AWARDS 2007-2016 Making Homes Safer

EST. 1991 #1

FENCE & IRON CO.

NORTHLAKE FENCE Locally owned and family operated. Celebrating 36 years of service. 214-349-9132 northlakefence.com 214.692.1991

SPECIALIZING IN Wood Fences &Auto Gates

cowboyfenceandiron.com

FLOORING & CARPETING

DALLAS HARDWOODS 214-724-0936

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

HASTINGS STAINED CONCRETE New/Remodel. Stain/Wax Int/Ext. Nick. 214-341-5993. www.hastingsfloors.com

25+ Years Experience

469.774.3147

Hardwood Installation · Hand Scraping Sand & Finish · Dustless 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

GARAGE

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

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

GLASS, WINDOWS & DOORS

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

JIM HOWELL 214-357-8984 Frameless Shower Enclosures/Custom Mirrors. Free Estimates

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

PRO WINDOW CLEANING prompt, dependable. Matt 214-766-2183

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

HANDYMAN SERVICES

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

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

Proudly serving DFW since 1999 Install · Refinish · Repair · Wax · Clean 214-543-7404 · dfwwoodfloor.com

WOOD FLOORING SPECIALISTS 214.560.4203

HANDY MANNY PAINTING/HOME REPAIR Int./Ext. Manny 214-334-2160

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

HOME REPAIR HANDYMAN Small/Big Jobs + Construction. 30 Yrs. Exp. 214-875-1127

HANDYMAN SERVICES

HOMETOWN HANDYMAN All phases of construction.

HONEST, SKILLED General Repairs/ WANTED: ODD

Allen’s Handyman

Your Home Repair Specialists

Drywall Doors

Senior Safety

Carpentry

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

RED SUN LANDSCAPES • 214-935-9779

RedSunLandscapes.com

TRACY’S LAWN CARE • 972-329-4190

Lawn Mowing & Leaf Cleaning

WALTON’S GARDEN CENTER

Stop in for home decor, candles, house plants, succulents and more. It’s time to plan for spring. Call us for design, prep and plantings! 8652 Garland Road 214-321-2387

WE REFINISH!

• Tubs, Tiles or Sinks

• Cultured Marble

• Kitchen Countertops

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

IRISH RAIN

Small & Odd Jobs

And More! 972-308-6035

HandymanMatters.com/dallas

Bonded & Insured. Locally owned & operated.

HOME INSPECTION

214-631-8719

www.allsurfacerefinishing.com

2017 is the year to declutter and simplify

Minimalism is all the rage in 2017, so get on trend and simplify your life by removing the clutter with these tips:

1. Clothes — Haven’t worn it in 12 months? Give it away.

855-349-6757 • 7 Days a Week • 8:00am – 8:00pm GreenWorksInspections.com

HOUSE PAINTING

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

A+ INT/EXT PAINT & DRYWALL

Since 1977. Kirk Evans. 972-672-4681

BENJAMIN’S PAINTING SERVICE Professional

Work At Reasonable Prices. 214-725-6768

RAMON’S INT/EXT PAINT

Sheetrock, Repairs. 214-679-4513

TONY’S PAINTING SERVICE Quality Work

Since 1984. Int./Ext. 214-755-2700

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. dallastileman.com 214-343-4645

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

2. Kitchen - Only keep a gadget if you use it at least five times a year.

3. Toiletries — Get rid of the ones that you don’t use or like.

4. Under the bed — If it’s under there you’re probably not using it.

5. Storage closet/garage — Think of all the contents. The items you remember keep, but toss the ones you forgot you had.

Get ready to enjoy the simple life.

AM

PEST CONTROL

A BETTER EARTH PEST CONTROL Keeping the environment, kids, pets in mind. Organic products avail. 972-564-2495

MCDANIEL PEST CONTROL

Prices Start at $85 + Tax

For General Treatment.

Average Home-Interior/Exterior & Attached Garage. Quotes For Other Services. 214-328-2847. Lakewood Resident

PLUMBING

A2Z PLUMBING 214-727-4040

All Plumbing Repairs. Slab Leak Specialists. Licensed & Insured. ML# M36843.

AC PLUMBING Repairs, Fixtures, Senior Discounts. Gary Campbell. 214-321-5943

LocalWorks.advocatemag.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

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

BURRIS TREE SERVICE | 469-939-3344

Expert tree service. | Prune. Stump grind. Plant.

CHUPIK TREE SERVICE

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

DALLAS K.D.R.SERVICES • 214-349-0914

Lawn Service & Landscape Installation

HOLMAN IRRIGATION

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

LSI LAWN SPRINKLERS “Making Water Work”

Irrigation system Service & Repair. Specializing In Older Copper Systems. LI #13715. 214-283-4673

MAYA TREE SERVICE Tree Trim/Remove. Insd.

CC’s Accepted. 214-924-7058 214-770-2435

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*

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

THE PLUMBING MANN LLC

All Plumbing! Since 1978. Family Owned. RMP/Master-14240 Insured. 214-FAST-FIX/ 214-327-8349

POOLS

LEAFCHASERS POOL SERVICE Parts/Service. Chemicals/Repairs. Jonathan. 214-729-3311

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

FENN CONSTRUCTION Full Service Contractor. dallastileman.com 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 214-341-1155 bobmcdonaldco.net

Bob McDonald Company, Inc. BUILDERS/REMODELERS

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

ROOFING & GUTTERS

GUARDIAN ROOFING & SOLAR

Roof Repair & Solar Installation. Project Mgr. John Beasley 214-772-7362 guardianroofingandsolar.com

ROOFING & GUTTERS BERT

Jeff Godsey Roofing

Roof Repair Specialist

• Exterior Repair & Re-Roofing

• Insurance Claims

• Custom Chimney Caps

• Licensed & Fully Insured Jeff Godsey 214-502-7287

MARCH DEADLINE FEB. 8

503-7663

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.

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MY OFFICE

Sometimes Love is all you need! Come and see our cute collection of all things Valentine. From decorative candy jars to cards to tokens of love, we’ve got you covered. Don’t forget you can mail here too. Step into My Office, you’ll always find something you need.

REAL ESTATE REPORT

area home values

TRUE CRIME

A BLOODY NEW YEAR’S MORNING

by:

Dallas native and college student Christian Dawson, 19, is dead from gunfire that erupted in the Skillman Commons parking lot early New Year’s day.The incident marks one of several times violencehas erupted at the same address, 9220 Skillman St., just north of I-635 and home toAzure Banquet Hall,Cuzco Latin Cuisineand several other businesses. Dawson, a sophomore at Langston University, was visiting his hometown over winter break. Based on public items on his Facebook profile, he was a graduate of Hebron High School who just a few months ago was studying for his college midterm exams. He seemingly had a tight-knit family who frequently encouraged and expressed pride in him. According to Dallas Police public information officers, they first responded to theshooting call at 1:04 a.m. They say Dawson was shot outside the venue and transported to a local hospital where he died from his injuries. At the scene, paramedics treated several other injuries. Despite witnesses, police have yet to make an arrest. Last summer, a Skyline High School graduate, 19-year-old Cassandra Subi, was killed in approximately the same place. Her murder also remains unsolved. Anyone with information related to either crime should contact the Dallas Police Department’s homicide unit at 214.671.3682.

CRIME NUMBERS

Of the several people in the room stayed behind in an attempt to save the victim’s life, calling 911 and applying pressure to the bullet wound; the rest of the witnesses immediately fled the scene

$250,000

Amount Louisjean needs to bond out of jail on the murder charge

Source: Dallas Police Department

Sponsored

*Statistics are com piled by Ebby Halliday Realtors, and are de rived from Dallas Mul ti ple List ing Service (MLS). Numbers are believed to be re li able, but are not guar an teed. The Ad vo cate and Ebby Halliday Realtors are not re spon si ble for the ac cu ra cy of the in for ma tion.

By ANGELA HUNT

Why won’t the city fix the potholes?

Idon’t know what to make of this.

For the last two years, the Dallas City Council has been developing a bond program to present to voters in 2017, primarily to fix our crumbling streets. The bond election was set to coincide with the biannual city council elections this May, but suddenly, the mayor and several other councilmembers are fighting tooth and nail to kill the bond vote this spring. They want to move it to November, for some vague reason, and I am flummoxed.

Like most cities, Dallas borrows money at low interest rates to pay for major infrastructure improvements. That’s how we get our streets rebuilt, along with major fixes to our parks, libraries and police stations. We generally have bond elections every three-to-six years, and spend the in-between times undertaking the major maintenance.

It’s been five years since our last bond program. The council has been in general agreement that we need a bond program now to address our aging infrastructure, but strangely, the mayor has led the charge against a bond vote in May.

Why? Well, the primary reason, according to the mayor, is that the rich folks who typically open their pocket books and write checks to promote the bond just aren’t inclined to open their pocket books and write checks right now. I’m not clear on why. Maybe the stuff on this bond program isn’t exciting enough not enough pomp and circumstance, fancy bridges and horse parks.

If that’s the case, that means the mayor is hunting for something fancy to attach to the bond in November. Something that

he can get his well-heeled friends excited about. (I fear it’s something related to the Trinity Toll Road, but I think that about most things.)

Having been actively involved in the last three city bond programs, I can tell you: The marketing campaigns that rich people have historically paid for, I’m not convinced they’re necessary. Their checks hire consultants to come up with slick brochures and colorful yard signs

bond, and if they want more streets and less of everything else, then the council can simply make it so.

Councilmember Lee Kleinman also voiced his opposition to a May bond vote, grumbling something about borrowing money always being bad. So I guess the residents of District 11 can take comfort in the fact that their streets are in perfect condition (at least according to their council member).

The mayor also blamed the police/fire pension fund crisis as a reason to delay the bond vote, but I don’t buy that either. The pension problem won’t be fixed by November, and it’s already resulted in a lowering of the city’s credit rating several times over the last year, making debt more expensive. Waiting will just increase the cost to the city.

to convince voters to support the bond. I think one year we even had a song.

But this upcoming bond program isn’t a tough sell, not at all. Like Councilmember Philip Kingston said, this bond sells itself: Do you want your streets fixed? We don’t need a crafty jingle or snazzy logo to convince Dallasites to vote to fix the damned potholes.

But then Councilmember Jennifer Staubach Gates chimed in that she, too, didn’t care for the proposed bond program because too many of the projects included were not just about fixing streets. Some were about fixing parks and repairing police stations.

To this, Councilmember Scott Griggs reminded her that the city council gets to decide what projects make it onto the

Pushing the bond vote to November makes me itchy and suspicious. So let’s keep it on the May ballot. The council can make the bond program a little bit smaller — more focused on the meat and potatoes to improve our streets, parks, and city facilities.

And if they mayor’s worried about a catchy jingle, here’s one for free:

If you’re tired of potholes, But hate big toll roads, Don’t delay!

Vote for the bond in May Done and done.

Angela Hunt is a former Dallas city councilwoman. She writes a monthly opinion column about neighborhood issues. Her opinions are not necessarily those of the Advocate or its management. Send comments and ideas to her ahunt@advocatemag.com.

There’s no reason to delay the inevitable, but big donors think otherwise

We don’t need a crafty jingle or snazzy logo to convince Dallasites to vote to fix the damned potholes.