2015 December Lakewood

SUPPORT IN TRAGEDY BEHIND THE MUSIC

TRUE GIFT A TRUE GIFT

They knew they had to help, and they did

SOLD FULL PRICE!

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DALLAS

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SUSAN BLACKBURN 214.912.2455 susan.blackburn@alliebeth.com

214.521.7355 | alliebeth.com

LAKEWOOD

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RICHARD GRAZIANO 214.520.8313 richard.graziano@alliebeth.com

| 2616 PASADENA PLACE

| 7223 WILD VALLEY DRIVE

| 10204 MAPLERIDGE DRIVE

cover Lean on me

These neighbors benefitted from the love of community support right when they needed it most.

Jeff and Tina Patterson. (Photo by Danny Fulgencio)

New View

Who cares about Casa View? Mike Nurre tells why you should care.

25

Earworm

The tunes from Ward Richmond are so East Dallas, they could be the new neighborhood anthem.

27

Paper dolls

Building critical water access through origami.

49

Music lessons

Take one iconic studio, add Edie Brickell to Andre 3000 and you’ve got a story to tell.

54

It’s a sign

One Dallas ISD police officer found a new way to communicate with students — sign language.

62

Life’s a stage

Woodrow Wilson High School’s dance teacher uses her art to teach life lessons.

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‘TIS THE SEASON OF SCOFFLAWS?

Rising above the bad behavior to seek peace

I know this is a season of peace and goodwill, that we’re supposedly inclined to be a little more tolerant and loving toward each other.

But down here at street level, where most of us reside because that’s our only choice, I’m not sure we can count on a quiet season of hope and charity.

Already, people are being terrorized on the Katy Trail. And we know for certain, even without having to wait for it to happen, that some of us are going to be victimized in mall parking garages this holiday season.

And what about that crusty Granbury car driver who decided recently — when two motorcyclists tried to pass him on a road clearly marked with a “no passing” zone that it was his right to veer into the motorcycles and run them into the pavement. Quite a few broken bones later, he was arrested.

Yes, the law is clear — we aren’t legally allowed to pass in a “no passing” zone. But lacking some legal authority in the vicinity (and when is a “legal authority” ever around when we need one?), this guy either went vigilante to enforce traffic laws or went rogue and broke one law while trying to enforce another.

Of course, this type of behavior doesn’t end with one stubborn dude. Throughout Dallas, it’s not hard to find people willfully disobeying the law, and it’s hard to find anyone doing anything about it.

It’s not uncommon to drive the 30 mileper-hour speed limit on one of our residential streets only to be tailgated by someone who feels the need for speed, regardless of the placid surroundings. Am I within my

rights to hold my lane, since I’m not breaking a law and the guy behind me clearly wants to, or am I dangerously close to engaging in a game of cat and mouse with a car often twice the size of mine?

Folks deliberately run red lights all the time. People jump lines in stores and check out 15 items in the 10-items-only line. People flip off other people for all kinds of real and imagined slights, none of which really seem worth the anger.

For years, the City Council has crafted city budgets designed to provide three police officers for every 1,000 citizens. In layman’s terms, that means that probably 30 of us are in danger of being watched by a legitimate officer of the law at any one time, while the other 970 of us pretty much have free run of the playground.

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editors:

RACHEL STONE

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Notwithstanding the threat of cameras everywhere, a lot of our neighbors simply have no problem breaking a law, insignificant or otherwise, if they think no one is watching.

There’s an old saying that applies to some extent: “Character is what we do when no one is watching.”

What concerns me these days is that someone is watching just about everything we do, but no one seems to care. That’s not a particularly good recipe for peace, goodwill or a happy life.

So I guess we’re left with two options: Go rogue like some, or do like the song says: “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”

Even if the other guy doesn’t want to play along.

BRITTANY NUNN 214.635.2122 / bnunn@advocatemag.com

ELIZABETH BARBEE

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contributing photographers: JAMES COREAS, RASY

RAN, JENNIFER SHERTZER, KATHY TRAN, ANDREW WILLIAMS, SHERYL LANZEL

are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the publisher’s viewpoint. More than 200,000 people read Advocate publications each month. Advertising rates and guidelines are available upon request. Advocate publications are available free of charge throughout our neighborhoods, one copy per reader. Advocate was founded in 1991 by Jeff Siegel, Tom Zielinski and Rick Wamre.

There’s an old saying that applies to some extent: “Character is what we do when no one is watching.”

Christmas at Wilshire

Special Advent worship

Every Sunday, Nov. 29 through Dec. 20 8:30 and 11 a.m.

Hanging of the Green celebration

Sunday, Dec. 6, 6:30 p.m.

Featuring choirs and orchestra

Christmas Pops concert

Tuesday, Dec. 15, 7 p.m.

Featuring Wilshire Wind Symphony

One Starry Night

An interactive Bethlehem experience for all ages

Friday, Dec. 18, 6 to 9 p.m.

Christmas Eve candlelight

Family worship at 4 and 5:30 p.m.

Liturgical worship at 11 p.m.

WILSHIRE BAPTIST CHURCH

Abrams at Mockingbird www.wilshirebc.org

$1,399,000

5717 Preston Haven Drive |$1,925,000 Angela Thornhill

5728 Swiss Avenue | $935,000 Anne Lasko 6426 Vickery Boulevard | $499,500 Kevin Sayre

3929 Buena Vista Street | Sold | Listed for $225,000 Leslie Donovan

Palo Pinto Avenue

SOLD | Listed for $474,500 Kevin Sayre 301 Dalview Court | $535,000 Bobby Fackler

WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Homicide victim identified as Zoe Hastings, a Booker T. graduate

Police seek ‘black male with bushy hair’ in Zoe Hastings murder

Make room for more Mexican food, Lakewood: Meso Maya on its way

Suspect in double homicide turned himself in ‘Attendance boundaries’: Words that strike fear into Lakewood, Stonewall parents

TALK TO

Email editor Brittany bnunn@advocatemag.com

Paul

Santa Barbara

La Vista

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

| 214-552-4972

10554 Wyatt St | $389,000 5/4/2 In Lochwood, great floor plan Lili Ornelas 214-808-0242

576 Aqua Dr | $225,000 2/1/1 | Under Contract in 5 days! Melissa McSpedden | 214-552-4972

4211 Rawlins #522 | $389,900 2/2.1/2 Palo Alto Townhomes, end unit Tom Sheshene | 214-604-9230

1820 Signal Ridge Place Lake View Condo with Downtown Views Lili Ornelas | 214-808-0242

10529 Lake Gardens | $ 349,900 3/2/2 | Gorgeous Pool Lili Ornelas | 214-808-0242

6345 Lakeshore | $849,000 4/4.1/2 Master and Study Down Lee Lamont | 214-418-2780

6407 Anita St | $499,000 3/2/2 Updated, Lakewood Elem Robyn Price | 214-793-8787

1535 Stemmons Ave. | $925,000 5/6/4 East Kessler Park Hills Darlene Harrison

DIGITAL DIGEST THE DIALOGUE

DALLAS RUNNING CLUB TO HONOR WHITE ROCK TRAIL MURDER VICTIM

“This just continues to break my heart. What a senseless loss of a good man. I have been bothered by this since I first heard about it. My husband was running at the exact same time, not far from that location. He’s the same age, and almost in the same field of work. He has seen this man several times out on the trail. I kept thinking, it could have easily been my husband, if that killer had been waiting at a different spot. It shouldn’t have been anyone’s husband!” K

IS DALLAS’ CITY DESIGN TO BLAME FOR PEDESTRIAN DEATHS?

“Yes, it is. The city is in serious need in updating the official engineering design manuals to reflect an urbanizing 21st century city. Until we officially update the design manuals, city engineers and consulting engineering and design companies will have their hands tied and be forced by law to chug out more of the same dangerous designs.” Dallasmay

‘ATTENDANCE BOUNDARIES’: WORDS THAT STRIKE FEAR INTO LAKEWOOD, STONEWALL PARENTS

“We are working toward choice, something which seems to escape the Dallas Morning News, more interested in negative stories about the district. They rarely even report a DISD high school football score above the banner on Saturday morning, it’s nearly always suburban scores.” WWW Mom

“I’m so happy that I moved my daughter into Lee from Lakewood. There is less crowding and more concentration on learning. There is no way that we would go back.” Jennifer Arianna Rutherford

EMERGENCY ROOM COMING TO THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF SKILLMAN AND MOCKINGBIRD

“Is there anything that can be done about this such as contacting our councilman to get some sort of zoning going that will limit the future building of these?”

DISD SEEKS VOTER SUPPORT ON $1.6 BILLION BOND

“Hefty price tag? The City of Dallas built one building for $500 million and it was a hotel that the city isn’t allowed to use. How many new schools, new rooms and improvements are they getting? $1.6 billion is a big number, but you have to look at how much it really costs to run a school district that serves so many.” Dawn

FOUR RULES FOR NEIGHBORLY SIDEWALKS

“Don’t forget shoveling your sidewalks of snow. Some folks have to use them to get to the DART station.” Nathaniel

I want to personally thank my family, friends & clients for all your support.

My desire is to exceed your expectations. I am so blessed with the many clients who have helped grow my business in the last 40+ years. Never Give Up & It Is Not By Accident all the many friends I have made in this incredibly exciting business. I am a Dallas Native and so grateful for every opportunity that comes to me everyday. Please never hesitate to call me and let me help you accomplish your real estate goals.

Have a blessed Holiday and Safe & Prosperous 2016.

Pam Nelms 214-789-4911 cell/text

pam.nelms@cbdfw.com

Q&A: Mike Nurre

Decades ago people moved to neighborhoods like Vickery Place, Junius Heights and Munger Place because the houses had good bones but needed a little TLC. Now those property values are skyrocketing. Even neighborhoods on the outskirts of White Rock Lake, like Casa Linda and Little Forest Hills, are quickly becoming unaffordable. What’s left? Plenty, actually. As people continue to move back to the urban core, our opinions of what areas make up East Dallas are expanding. Property in areas like Casa View, with their affordable $200,000 price tags, are starting to look more desirable.

Many of us don’t know much about the Casa View neighborhood, where it’s located or what’s happening — or not happening — there. For decades one of East Dallas’ best examples of 1950s architecture has been mostly under the radar, but now some say the area has reached new prominence, which made the neighborhood a hot topic during the recent city council election. Mark Clayton won the election for District 9, partially because he insisted that Casa View needs to be a top priority in his district.

So where is Casa View? It’s an area well east of the Home Depot/White Rock Marketplace shopping center (Garland Road at Jupiter) that straddles Ferguson Road from Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway to Oates Drive. Smaller, older homes and strip shopping centers dot the area, which is unofficially “governed” by Mike Nurre, founder of the Greater Casa View Alliance. Nurre often is referred to as the “Mayor of Casa View” because he has a knack for showing up at political events to advocate for his neighborhood. Who is Nurre? What does he have to say about Casa View? And why we should care?

Can you tell me a little about Casa View?

The epicenter is the shopping center at Gus Thomasson and Ferguson. Long ago [in the ’50s and early ’60s] there was a Sears, a JCPenney and the pre-cursor to Walgreens. Of course, you had a solid, middle-class neighborhood. We’re probably 20 years behind the rest of East Dallas because there was no combined effort to improve the neighborhood before. We’re at a tipping point. Now we’re trying to promote that there’s more to East Dallas. There’s a heck of a lot people out here. When someone says East Dallas, people think M Streets and Lakewood, but it’s bigger than that. That’s why we’ve created the alliance, to set up a spokesperson. I’ve made it a personal effort to give Casa View exposure.

Why was Casa View such a hot topic during city council elections?

A lot of people think East Dallas ends at the Arboretum or White Rock Lake. Some

people think it ends at Casa Linda. They forget there’s a whole lot of Dallas this way in Casa View and Greater Casa View. There hasn’t been a representative in the past 50 years from this side of the lake on city council. [The recent buzz] was an outbreak of a combined effort by me and others on the Greater Casa View Alliance and the individual neighborhood watches, to develop an identity and carry a message. Our mantra is: “Forgotten Far East Dallas no more.” So that was driven home.

[Mark Clayton] knows where his support came from. Just the other day at an economic summit Mark Clayton got up and spoke, and he said his first priority is Casa View Shopping Center and the Greater Casa View area, to improve relations with the center owner and to provide muchneeded infrastructure. He always makes the point that other parts of the neighborhood are OK and that we need to focus on Casa View. We’ve been a squealing pig and no one has listened to us until now.

So what are the strengths? Why should we care about Casa View?

Who covers your flank? We do. We keep talking about the infill happening. If we’re going to get the middle class to move back into Dallas, we need places like Casa View. Where else can you buy a house under $200,000 in Dallas that’s 15 minutes from downtown? There’s so much potential, and we’re right here inside LBJ. A lot of the houses are fixer-uppers, but the bones are there.

We have some sizable neighborhoods. In Greater Casa View, we have about 66,000 people. The medium income is coming up some. The younger generation is moving in here. We utilize the shopping centers and things around here. If you go to Good 2 Go Taco on any given day, it’s packed with people. We have a lot of people who work out of their homes — artists and such. So I think the time has come for a little change. It is an overlooked, underserved area.

What are some of the challenges Casa View is facing?

We don’t have any first-tier shopping. You know the saying, “Nature abhors a vacuum.” It’s a vacuum. There’s nothing here. We just need somebody to say, “Hey, we’re here, and here’s who we are.”

How can people like Councilman Clayton help?

He has met with the shopping center owners to establish a public-private partnership, like, ‘If you clean up your yard, I’ll paint my house,’ you see? Really just to do the things that anybody needs, like working on infrastructure and crime issues, which are really down, and we’re very excited about that. But the infrastructure is horrible. You couldn’t use a wheelchair down there. We’ve just screamed about it — the curbs and the light poles. What he plans to do is work with us on the infrastructure under a public-private partnership, and just to champion our cause. It’s an evolutionary, not a revolutionary, change. Brittany Nunn

Beadle D.D.S.

Slaughter D.D.S.

Lakewood Family Dental, Your Family Dental provider since 1947.

Neighbors give time and money to a family in crisis

In October several Lake Highlands and White Rock Lake communities joined in support of Lake Highlands couple Jim and Cheryl Hastings, whose eldest daughter Zoe, 18, was found murdered in the Dixon Branch neighborhood.

Ginger Greenberg, whose sister is Zoe Hastings’ aunt, estimated that 200-300 volunteers showed up at a Norbuck Park event, held a week after the homicide, to help Dallas police canvass the neighborhoods surrounding the crime scene.

Volunteers went door-to-door throughout the entire area surrounding the creek where Zoe Hastings’ body was discovered, and the Walgreens where police believe she was abducted, asking residents and homeowners for relevant information and homesurveillance footage. Greenberg said volunteers returned with a boxful of answered questionnaires that may have contained helpful leads for the five detectives working the Hastings case. Within a few days police arrested a suspect, Antonio Lamar Cochran, whose DNA matched that recovered at the crime scene. Witness testimony has been vital to the investigation, a police spokesperson said at the time. Oak Farms and Dean Foods offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. The company has been putting

up reward money in unsolved murder cases since the 1970s. More than 1,000 people contributed about $66,700 to the Hastings family (as of publication date) through online fundraisers. Local business LH Creamery donated proceeds from their booth at the Merriman Park Elementary fall carnival to the Hastings family. Another White Rock area company, New Leaf Construction, donated proceeds from a November home tour to the Hastings family. Donations have helped Jim Hastings, a teacher at Merriman Park Elementary in Richardson ISD, and his wife, Cheryl, afford funeral expenses, time off work to spend with their other four children and a new family vehicle after the family minivan was involved in the murder. In a video released by the Hastingses, Jim spoke about Zoe leaving a note for their mailman, inquiring about his favorite snacks. She planned to leave a care package for him the following week. “She was just interested in people, and wanted to make them happy,” he said, adding that she died before having the opportunity to leave the mail carrier’s gift. One neighborhood resident left a gift for the Hastings’ mailman on Zoe Hastings’ behalf. The social media hashtag #livelikezoe was created to inspire similar acts of kindness.

—Christina Hughes Babb

New music:

‘The Warden: East Dallas’

Ward Richmond’s passion for his neighborhood is apparent as soon as you hear his new honky-tonk album, aptly called “The Warden: East Dallas.”

Richmond, whom you might recognize from the band Boys Named Sue, wrote all the music in “The Warden,” which is a somewhat autobiographical look at Richmond’s life growing up in Lakewood, although he says he took plenty of “creative liberties.”

“My daughter was born last May, and for some reason that kind of got my creative juices flowing,” Richmond says. “As you watch your little girl come into the world and start to live life, you start to think about your own experiences and all of that. Mostly it’s the story of a kid going on the road, having some crazy times, learning from mistakes and settling down.”

To produce it he enlisted the help of sev-

eral other local musicians — John Pedigo from The O’s, Chad Stockslager from The King Bucks, Dan Phillips from True Widow and vocalist Madison King to name a few — all of whom can appreciate Richmond’s not-so-subtle nod to our neighborhood.

“We all live here and hang out here,” he explains. “We’re all in the local music scene and have been for a long time.”

East Dallas tattoo artist Oliver Peck, who has been friends with Richmond for upward of 20 years — “He gave me my first tattoo when I was 21 years old,” Richmond says

— designed the album cover.

There’s also a song in the line-up called “Living in the EDT,” which stands for “East Dallas Texas.” In it you’ll hear shout outs to local businesses, venues and landmarks such as Deep Ellum, Trees, The Green Room and others.

“Living in the EDT, I can plainly see, it’s my home and I’ll never be alone ‘cause I’ve got you here with me,” he sings.

It’s a love you’ve got to hear to believe.

—Brittany Nunn TO LISTEN, visit facebook.com/theeastdallaswarden.

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2535 Cambria Blvd. $599,000

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4631 Junius St. $185,000

5739 Morningside Ave. $399,000

Payne

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Searcy

Isabelle and Katherine Adams make ornaments to raise money for water wells. (Photo by Danny Fulgencio)

Into the fold

They aren’t even old enough to drive, but Isabelle and Katherine Adams already are successful entrepreneurs. In 2011, the sisters, who are now 12 and 9 years old, respectively, founded Paper For Water, a nonprofit that sells origami ornaments and uses the proceeds to build water wells in developing countries.

“We were just kind of looking through those catalogues with different charities,” Isabelle explains. “We came across the need for water but didn’t know much about it.”

The girls enlisted their parents to help research the issue, because they “were really little at the time — 5 and 8.” When the Adams sisters discovered children in other parts of the world often miss school in order to haul water, they want-

ed to help.

“We were just planning on doing a [one night] fundraiser,” Isabelle says, clearly surprised business took off the way it did. “We way overshot our first goal of

just got bigger and bigger.”

Since its inception, Paper For Water has raised nearly $700,000 and erected more than 90 wells in places like Ethiopia, Liberia, Ghana, Kenya and Mexico. In 2017, the girls plan to travel the world, visiting the sites where their wells stand and interacting with the people their charity has helped.

$500. We raised $800. We thought, ‘Maybe we can fund an entire well [by raising $10,000]’.… Then we funded two more wells, and then three more, and then it

But for now they spend a lot of time in our neighborhood. The sisters regularly invite their classmates to “folding parties” at their home in East Dallas. At the get-togethers, they provide snacks and teach their friends the art of origami, which they learned from their father. Katherine is in fourth grade, takes Latin and enjoys music, nature studies and art. Isabelle is in sixth grade, also studies Latin, and likes “almost everything ex-

Continued on page 28

When the Adams sisters discovered children in other parts of the world often miss school in order to haul water, they wanted to help.

We get it.

cept for English and math.” Both sisters enjoy riding horses in their free time, which is becoming increasingly scarce as their fundraising enterprise continues to grow.

“Lately we’ve been getting really, really busy,” Isabelle says. “It was too much for us to handle ourselves. We needed someone to help with the paperwork.”

They recently posted an advertisement on their website for an executive director and had no shortage of applicants.

“You had to do a video interview and then a face-to-face,” Katherine explains. “We watched, like, 20 videos.”

The girls eventually selected Jeff Miracle, a man with oodles of nonprofit experience.

“He worked at the Salvation Army for 19 or 20 years,” Isabelle says. “And then he worked for the American Lung Association.”

The Adams sisters had the final say on who got the job, but they sought advisement from their board of directors, a group composed of their dad’s close friends and people they’ve “met along this journey.”

The girls are full of enthusiasm for Paper For Water and have no plans to abandon the project, but they are nevertheless forward thinking.

“We might have to go to college or something,” Katherine says. “We have a little sister. She might be able to take over for us. Right now she is 5 She’s kind of interested in origami but after five minutes, she’s like, ‘OK, Mommy, got to go play.’ I don’t know. It might not work out.”

Elizabeth Barbee

FIND PAPER FOR WATER at Talulah + Hess in East Dallas

An ornament. (Photo by Danny Fulgencio)

Lisa Peters, 214.763.7931 lisa.peters@caliberhomeloans.com

Neering $429,900

Kilarney Drive SOLD

E. Mockingbird Lane $325,000

9725 Shadydale Lane $965,000 1066 N Buckner Blvd. $419,000

10104

Woodgrove $599,000 Marlis Rossetta

Collier

David Collier

David

Out & About

DEC. 4

Light Up Lakewood

At the 13th annual Light Up Lakewood, take pictures with Santa Claus, hang out at the petting zoo and enjoy performances by the Woodrow Wilson High School Variations choir, Lipscomb Elementary School choir and the Woodrow marching band. Lakewood Shopping Center, Gaston and Abrams, free

DEC. 2-5

Book sale

Find countless donated books, CDs, movies, magazines, cards, puzzles and games at this annual sale beginning at 7:45 p.m. Dec. 2; it runs 10 a.m.-5:45 p.m. the other days. Most items are priced between 50-cents and $2. Skillman Southwestern Library, 5707 Skillman, 214-670-6078, dallaslibrary.org, free

DEC. 2-19

Hanukkah and Christmas

One Thirty Productions presents “Romance in D,” a comedy about two apartments, two romances and two holidays.

Bath House Cultural Center, 521 E. Lawther, 214.670.8749, bathhousecultural.com, $12-$16

DEC. 5

Christmas Bazaar

Bishop Lynch High School celebrates the season with a festival day from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. featuring more than 60 craft vendors. From pottery and jewelry to candles and religious items, proceeds benefit the Brigade Drill Team.

Bishop Lynch High School, 9750 Ferguson Road, free

DEC. 6

German advent service

St. Paul’s Church, celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, presents the 25th-annual “Deutscher Weihnachtsgottesdienst.” The interdenominational all-German advent service begins at 6 p.m. St. Paul’s Church, 6464 E. Lovers Lane at Fisher Road, stpauluccdallas.org , 214.368.7788, free

DEC. 6

Deck the halls

Wilshire Baptist Church presents “Hanging of the Green: A Christmas Festival of Joy,” starting at 6:30 p.m. with several choir performances. The church also offers “Christmas Pops with the Wilshire Winds” starting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15. Wilshire Baptist Church, 4316 Abrams, 214.452.3100, wilshirebc.com, free

DEC. 12

Ricki Derek

Get into the swing of the holidays with the Frank Sinatra of Dallas. Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville, 214.824.9933, granadatheater.com, $25-$35

(Photo by Can Türkyilmaz)

Nature-Inspired Holiday

DEC. 19

Barn dance

Join a night of American folk dancing. No experience or partners necessary. A beginner’s lesson starts at 8 p.m. First United Lutheran Church, 6202 E. Mockingbird Lane, 214.821.5929, dallaslutheran.org, $3-$10

DEC. 19

Christmas choral music

The Orpheus Chamber Singers perform holiday music inside this 1940s neogothic church.

St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 6306 Kenwood, orpheuschambersingers.org, 214.821.3360, $10-$40

THROUGH DEC. 20 ‘Miracle on 34th Street’

This play based on the 1947 film classic sets the holiday mood with snow, holiday music and, perhaps, the real Kris Kringle?

Dallas Children’s Theater, 5938 Skillman, dct.org, 214.978.0110, $15-$28

THROUGH DEC. 23

Christmas mice

Kathy Burks Theatre of Puppetry Arts’

A Dallas Tradition Since 1951

“Not a Creature was Stirring” depicts the harrowing adventures of a family of mice who need to steal a pine branch from the farm house’s Christmas tree for their own celebration.

Dallas Children’s Theater, 5938 Skillman, dct.org, 214.978.0110, $15-$28

DEC. 26-JAN. 3

Lone Star Circus

Zingari is Dallas-based Lone Star Circus’ tribute to the old gypsy families associated with circus. It includes aerialists, acrobats, equilibrists, jugglers, clowns and animals.

Dallas Children’s Theater, 5938 Skillman, dct.org, 214.978.0110, $27-$48

Featuring the ‘Burton Blue’ Noble

Explaining... Caring...

DEC. 27

Shakey Graves

This one-man band from Austin found his way from Brooklyn coffee shops to sold-out shows performing blues, country and rock ‘n’ roll.

Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville, 214.824.9933, granadatheater.com, $27

DEC. 29

Le Cure

Let Dallas’ best Cure cover band put you in the mood for the New Year. The Thin White Dukes, a David Bowie tribute band, opens the show.

Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville, 214.824.9933, granadatheater.com, $20-$24

THROUGH JAN. 3

Holiday at the Arboretum

More than 300 créches are on display inside the DeGolyer House in the Artistry of the Nativity exhibition. More than 500 lights illuminate the buildings and tree canopies this year, plus 12 Days of Christmas and a 50-foot Christmas tree at the center.

Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland Road, dallasarboretum.org, $10-$15

Patient Quote of the Month:

“As a long-time patient (over ten years) of Dr. Slate’s dental practice, I continue to be impressed.

Dr. Slate and her dental assistants are meticulous about providing first-rate service in a relaxed, yet professional, environment.” —Mary

Ann Turner

DEC. 5

Winter art fair

Handmade crafts, food, a silent auction and children’s performances are on tap from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. for this fair, a 15-year tradition. Flamenco DNA will perform at 4 p.m.

Alex Sanger Elementary School, 8410 San Leandro, free

Fused glass and pressed tin milagro by Gail Roberts

Haute Sweets Patisserie on Northwest Highway smells exactly like you’d expect — sugary, spicy and way beyond nicely. The boutique bakery is the home base of Haute Sweets’ wholesale baking company, which is largely how co-owners Gianni Santin and Tida Pichakron make their livings. They make desserts for restaurants, hotels and catering companies, which usually pass off Haute Sweets’ works as their own, making Santin and Pichakron ghostwriters of baked sweets.

It’s a somewhat thankless job, but Santin says he doesn’t mind keeping a low profile, as long as his clients treat his desserts with respect by storing and presenting them correctly. Not to mention, Haute Sweets has received plenty of recognition on its own. This newly opened patisserie on Northwest Highway has quickly become a local favorite due to its most popular item — macarons. These sweet, colorful confections that line the display case are part of the reason why the location exists at all, Santin explains.

HAUTE SWEETS PATISSERIE

10230 E. Northwest Highway 214.856.0166

AMBIANCE: PICK-UP

PRICE RANGE: $1.95-$165

HOURS: MON-FRI 9 A.M.-7 P.M. SAT 10 A.M.-6 PM. CLOSED SUN

DID YOU KNOW?

HAUTE SWEETS HAS A LITTLE WINDOW WHERE CUSTOMERS CAN WATCH THE BAKERS IN ACTION.

—Brittany Nunn

Long before Haute Sweets had a retail location, neighbors would go to Haute Sweets to buy macarons and other goodies via the bakery’s backdoor. Eventually, creating a retail space for customers who simply wanted a treat or two, made sense. Santin and Pichakron change out their desserts to keep regular customers on their toes. They also offer gluten- free, vegan and even paleo options for neighbors with dietary restrictions; just a few weeks ago they rolled out several holiday items, such as holiday tarts, pumpkin latte mousse and, of course, gingerbread and chocolate peppermint macarons.

SEE MORE PHOTOS Visit lakewood.advocatemag.com

Holiday treats at Haute Sweets Patisserie. (Photo by Rasy Ran)

Unrefined Bakery

Unrefined is known among health-conscious crowds for its all-natural, glutenfree, organic offerings. If you need bread, cake or sweets for the holidays but also have to tiptoe around dietary restrictions, Unrefined has your back with two East Dallas locations.

3426 Greenville, Suite 150 214.826.2414

718 N. Buckner, Suite 154 214.414.2414

Society Bakery

There’s a reason Society Bakery has received national attention from the likes of Ellen DeGeneres, Nolan Ryan and William Shatner. Its treats can satisfy any sweet tooth, and the cakes and cookies are beautiful to boot.

Boulangerie by Village Baking Co.

clients have been rearranged but copy may need updating (I did pickups of the most recent ads for each of these)

3610 Greenville 214.827.1411

My Family’s Pizza

Let Us Cater Your Holiday Parties! Great Pizza, Pastas, Salads, Desserts and more!

Call Today!

Another Broken Egg Cafe

It’s our passion to create exceptional dishes for breakfast, brunch and lunch that are “craveably” delicious with an artisanal flair. Mon-Sun 7:00 -2:00 pm

Alfonso’s Italian Restaurant

• Celebrating 33 Years of Service!

• Newly Remodeled Dining Room

• Rustic Italian Cuisine

• 16-Seat Full Bar / New Wine List!

• Monday & Tuesday: 50% off glasses of house wine & $3-off pizza 12” or larger

Three words: adorable French bakery. Even though Boulangerie is kind of the new kid on the Lowest Greenville block, it already has neighbors fawning over its style and pastry perfection.

1921 Greenville 214.821.3477

Circle Grill

Enjoy home-cooked meals with family, friends & neighbors for breakfast, lunch & dinner.

Now serving “Light Lunches” Mon.-Fri. Breakfast & lunch 7 days-a-week Dinner, Thurs.-Sat.

Palapas Seafood Bar

Come see why Dallas voted us Best Seafood Dallas & Top Ten Best new restaurant 2014. Experience our special flavorings & recipes from Mexico’s seafood capital Sinaloa. Enjoy our Happy Hour 4-7pm on one of our Palapa patios.

Thai Opal

Happy Holidays from all of us at Thai Opal!!

We have infused the classical Thai cuisine with a modern ambiance.

• Take out • Lunch Specials

• BYOB

PERFECT PAIRINGS: WINE AND DESSERT

YOGA MART

O G A MA R T

WALTON ’ S

WALTON’S GARDEN CENTER

Shop Walton’s today to create a sizzling home for the holidays! Christmas trees, decorations, grills, and gifts for the indoors and out!

8652 Garland Rd. 214.321.2387

THE STORE IN LAKE HIGHLANDS

GHLANDS

HOLIDAY GIFTS Galore! Come see our incredible selection for family, friends, co-workers, teachers... and everyone on your gift list.

me see our s, co-workers, teachers... t

10233 E NW Hwy @ Ferndale (next to Gecko’s)

214.553.8850 Mon-Sat 9:30-5:30 TheStoreinLH.com

LITTLE THINGS

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Come shop at The Little Things for all your gifting needs.

Open Monday-Friday 10am-6pm Saturday 10am-5pm.

5207 Bonita Ave. (at Henderson)

214.821.3015 www.shopthelittlethings.com

Second Nature meditation pillows. 3 Styles, zippered, adjustable, buckwheat hull & cotton fillings, straps, solids, patterns, sleeping pillows too. 11” cube is awesome for more height! Made in Dallas. Gift certificates available. 6039 Oram (at Skillman) 214.534.4469 yogamartusa.com

d Na N ture medit ed

JEFF PATTON CHRISTMAS TREES

We provide a customized, hassle-free, award winning decorating experience that gives your property that special something for the holidays. Enjoy your holiday and leave the decorating to us! Call today for a free consultation. 214.232.7587 pattonschristmastrees.com

CURIOSITIES

Side show banners, medical devices, advertising signs, & more- Curiosities has honed the finding of weird and wonderful to a fine art. Packed with antiques and oddities, a visit here is not one you will soon forget. 214.828.1886 · getcuriosities.com

As the holidays quickly approach, wine and dessert are two of our favorite things. Although wines are usually paired with savory dishes and coffee paired with desserts, wine and desserts can find perfect harmony while livening up your seasonal soiree. So how do you know which wines are the best for your dessert selection? There are a few factors that you need to consider: acidity, intensity and sweetness. The rules are simple: wines pair with like colors; oaky wines go with simple flavors like vanilla bean, butterscotch and caramel; the sweeter the wine, the less sweet the dessert should be. With these easy rules and a list of wine and dessert pairings, step out of the box and try wine instead of coffee at your holiday table.

Sauvignon blanc originates from France, specifically Bordeaux and the Loire Valley. It’s a dry white wine and is very different than your average white thanks to its herbaceous notes. While you are sipping on a glass, expect to taste hints of lime, green apple and passion fruit as well as green bell peppers and jalapeño.

Dessert pairing: Lemon meringue tart

Riesling is one of the most aromatic grapes in the world, producing a highly acidic wine that originated in Germany. There are several varieties; dry, semi-sweet and sweet, and the flavor will vary depending upon the region that it was made. Some of the most common flavors that you will find while drinking riesling are lemon, apricot, peach, apple and honey.

Dessert pairing: Apple tarte tatin

Chardonnay is the most popular white grape in the world, originating in the Burgundy region of France. The fermentation process for this grape is traditionally done in oak barrels, which locks in its signature buttery flavor. Like a rich pastry you’ll taste notes of vanilla and

cinnamon as well as tropical flavors such as banana, mango, melon and pineapple.

Dessert pairing: Butterscotch pot de creme

Prosecco is a sparkling wine that comes from Italy and is known for its crisp flavor. While sipping it, you’ll likely taste a hint of green apple, honeydew, pear and cream as well as some floral notes. This wine can be enjoyed on its own or added to freshsqueezed juice or other refreshing cocktails.

Dessert pairing: Fresh berries and whipped cream

Pinot noir is known for its subtle hints of berries, cherries and cranberries that can stand up to a sweeter flavor profile. This grape is grown in cooler climates and, despite being a delicate grape that is fairly hard to grow, is competitively priced compared to other red wines.

Dessert pairing: Creme brûlée or chocolate mousse

Merlot originating from Bordeaux in France, this grape has an intense color that gives off flavors of plum, blackberries and leafy greens. Its earthy profile pairs nicely with rich flavors.

Dessert pairing: Dark chocolate truffles or double chocolate chip cookies

Port, a dessert wine, is most commonly enjoyed after dinner. This sweet red wine comes from Portugal and is known for its rich flavors of berries, chocolate, caramel and nuts. This wine should be paired with something not too sweet, maybe something with a pinch of salt.

Dessert pairing: Assorted cheese platter

Kristen Massad writes a monthly column about sweets and baked goods. The professional pastry chef 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.

CHRIS PRESTRIDGE, NATHANIEL KENDRICKS AND RUSS McMILLAN, PAGE 46

A TRUE ift

We hear it on the local news and see it on our social media feeds every day — people, all around us, are in pain. But members of our community refuse to sit idly by and allow a neighbor to suffer. No material gift or dollar amount can make up for the loss of life, health or security, but those on the receiving end of a collaborative gift say the kindness behind the offering was elemental to the healing process — that the thought really did mean everything.

STORY | Brittany Nunn

PHOTOS | Danny Fulgencio and Rasy Ran

AFTER LOSS, THESE ACTS OF KINDNESS MEANT THE WORLD TO SUFFERING FAMILIES

Trial by fire

FIREFIGHTER

Patterson, a firefighter for Dallas Station 44, had become trapped inside the house after the roof collapsed, but someone caught a glimpse of him through a window and pried it open to pull him out.

“I knew I was hurt, but I didn’t know how bad it was,” he says. “I thought I was going to die at one point in the house, but once I was out, I thought if I could keep breathing, I was alive.”

He barely remembers being loaded into the ambulance in May last year, and taken to the burn unit at Parkland, where he was in a coma for the first 42 days. Doctors determined he had third-degree burns across 45 percent of his body. He spent 107 days in intensive care, the majority of the 140 days he was hospitalized, during which his wife, Tina, rarely left his side.

Tina was at a party when men from

Station 44 showed up to tell her Jeff had been injured. “My husband always told me, ‘If the suburban comes and the man with the white shirts come to you, it’s not going to be good,’” she says. “So I started to panic.” She left her two children, Bryce and Georgia, then 5 and 2, with her friends at the party, and headed straight to Parkland.

“The doctor told me, ‘It’s not the burns that will kill him; it will be the fungus [on the skin grafts], the bacteria or pneumonia,’” Tina recalls.

Throughout his time in Parkland’s

JEFF PATTERSON WAS LUCKY TO BE ALIVE WHEN HIS CREW DRAGGED HIM HALF-CONSCIOUS FROM A BURNING HOUSE.

ICU, Jeff had all those things. “He had the trifecta,” she says. “He had everything that could possibly go wrong. He kind of teetered, and then he would normalize.”

For months Tina lived in constant fear of knowing her husband could die any day.

Word of Jeff’s accident spread quickly throughout Dallas, and the Lakewood community came out to help the family however possible.

The first thing Tina did was go to her

son’s school at St. Thomas Aquinas to tell the principal, Lauren Roberts, about the accident. Roberts sent out a school-wide letter, explaining Jeff’s condition and urging parents to be careful about what they said around their children.

“I was really afraid that Bryce might get information [about his dad] from other children,” Tina explains. “I wanted to create as normal a situation as possible for my kids.”

Roberts then created a volunteer babysitting schedule for the Pattersons, so that each day a different family was scheduled and available to care for Bryce and Georgia. If Tina wanted help, all she had to do was call the scheduled volunteer.

“St. Thomas was insanely awesome,” she says. “Our deacon would come to Parkland to pray with us, and the families created a meal train that lasted for nine months. Their help was huge.”

Jeff underwent several skin grafts. When the original skin grafts became infected after a couple weeks, Parkland staff had to scrape them off and start over.

“One day my sister was crying, asking, ‘Where do you live? Who are these people coming to your house everyday giving you money and food?’ She was so touched by it.”

To make matters worse, Tina was diagnosed with colon cancer in the middle of everything. Without telling anyone, her family included, she started radiation and chemo.

“I didn’t even know,” Jeff says.

“I thought he was more sick than I was,” she explains. “When people found out [about the cancer], it brought a whole new wave of support.”

That support took many forms, but the financial outpouring kept the family out of debt. The insurance provided by the City of Dallas didn’t cover all of their medical expenses, but money was coming in from everywhere.

A family friend set up a GoFundMe page that raised more than $58,000. Families at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church and school offered financial sup-

port, as did families at the First Presbyterian Church, where Georgia attended daycare.

Several businesses hosted fundraisers, including The Truck Yard, Studio Movie Grill, Fit Body Boot Camp and Angry Dog, to name a few. The Dallas Fire Department hosted a firefighter’s ball at the harbor in Rockwall. Casa Linda Estates in East Dallas hosted an event in December called Casa Linda Lights, during which they lit thousands of luminaries throughout the neighborhood to raise funds for the Patterson family. The Exchange Club of Lake Highlands also took up a collection.

On top of that, neighbors would leave money at the Patterson’s house or slip bills in Tina’s pockets when they saw her.

“People couldn’t help enough,” Tina remembers. “Eventually I had to start telling people, ‘We’re OK. We’re covered.’”

“People couldn’t help enough. Eventually I had to start telling people, ‘We’re OK. We’re covered.’”

She used the money to help pay for medical bills and living expenses, and to purchase necessary additional expenses like airplane tickets so her family could travel from New York. They’d come to Dallas for weeks at a time to help her navigate the chaos, and were blown away by the generosity of the East Dallas community.

“One day my sister was crying, asking, ‘Where do you live? Who are these people coming to your house everyday giving you money and food?’ She was so touched by it,” Tina explains.

After months of battling lung damage, multiple rounds of skin grafts, and two bouts of pneumonia, Jeff was finally allowed to go home on Sept. 19.

“I thought I was just going to sneak out and go home,” he says, but the fire department coordinated a more formal homecoming with St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church and First Presbyterian Church.

“They picked me up on the fire truck and took me by there,” he says, tearing up at the memory. “We drove right by the school, and all the kids were out there with signs. It was awesome. When we went by the house, we had a bunch of family and friends there.”

Of course, his homecoming wasn’t the end of his trips to Parkland for surgery and rehab.

“I could barely walk,” he says. “With the scaring, I couldn’t put a fork in my mouth.”

“I was wiping his nose, brushing his teeth and shaving him,” Tina says. “And I was having to do wound care. I’m the most squeamish person in the world, so that was tough for me.”

“So we still needed that continued support,” Jeff says.

It has been a slow process, but Jeff has come a long way in a year. Even still he has routine surgeries to release the scars on his body to give him better mobility.

“It’s getting better,” he says. “I’m getting stronger. I just recently started going back to work and doing some light duties.”

“Now it’s the, ‘OK, what now?’” Tina says. “Just figuring out what’s next for him.”

Life after loss

AFTER RUSTY HENDRICKS’ LIFE WAS CUT SHORT IN A FREAK ACCIDENT, HIS WIFE AND THREE CHILDREN FACED A GRUELING ROAD BACK FROM DESPAIR. THE GENEROSITY OF FRIENDS AND STRANGERS HAS HELPED FUEL THEIR JOURNEY.

Rusty Hendricks’ funeral drew a standing room only crowd. Guests filled the pews, lined the walls, herded in doorways and shed an ocean of tears. He wasn’t famous, just a kindhearted man who amassed friends during his 36 years.

Rusty died quickly when a jack collapsed while he was working under the family Ford. Rusty’s little girl heard the crash, called out to him and cried for help when he did not respond. His wife and sons came running, but there was nothing they could do to save him. The idea of their helplessness, both then and in the aftermath, accelerated the overwhelming public sadness.

Rusty’s widow Teresa says the day of the service was a blur. “I just remember feeling very scared.”

She and Rusty met as students at Bryan Adams High School, when she was growing up in Old Lake Highlands.

“We were just friends for a long time. We were very different,” she remembers with a

smile. “He was a skater, and then a cowboy. I guess he was figuring out who he was. He was quiet, until you got to know him, but always sweet — the kindest person I ever met.”

They started dating after high school, at 19, and Teresa says she knew instantly that she wanted to marry him. It took him a little longer, she says. They broke up for a while, but then one night he left a note on her car. “Call me,” it said.

They married in 1999. Teresa looked forward to building the kind of family she had wanted since her own childhood.

“My mom was a single mom raising me, and I was so grateful to have someone to share my life and a family with,” Teresa says. “So sure he was always going to be there.”

Rusty and Teresa lived modestly. He worked fulltime as a roofing supply salesman. He sometimes offered the kids commission for delivering sales fliers to neighbors. They giggle today about it being a waste of time. He probably fretted about finances, Teresa says,

but afterhours, he was always 100-percent present. Teresa was a stay-at-home mom, a role she relished. They saved for family vacations — Port Aransas, Galveston, Colorado. Rusty loved fishing, camping and the outdoors. Most Sundays, they went to church. They had a mortgage and one car, the brokendown one that would end Rusty’s life.

After the accident, Teresa’s overwhelming grief was intensified by the thought of supporting three children on her own. Two sleepless nights after the accident, Teresa finally succumbed to exhaustion on a guest bed at her mother’s house. Hours later, her mom roused her with relieving news.

“I woke up to my mom saying, ‘They are helping you. You are going to be OK!’ And we both just sat there and cried.”

They learned that church members were collecting enough to help Teresa continue house payments, which would buy her time to look for a job.

And classmates from Bryan Adams an-

ATRUEGIFT

nounced an auction to raise enough for a new car. The organizers petitioned auction items from local sports teams. When 2011 Dallas Cowboys teammates Terrence Newman and Bradie James heard the story, they bought a car, a new Chevrolet Aveo, and had it delivered.

Grinning, Teresa says she had no idea who the players were, but 15-year-old Samuel was a diehard fan. His dad knew and loved the players too.

“I was shocked and surprised, and really glad to have a car,” Samuel says.

“It was surreal,” Teresa says. “I couldn’t comprehend that someone was just buying us a car. I wanted nothing to do with that other car — in the end I donated it — but I certainly didn’t have the money for a new car. That Aveo, it meant everything. We love it. It will be in our family forever, as long as it’s puttering along.”

ESPN radio and TV personality Tim Cowlishaw publicized the fundraising efforts in his Dallas Morning News column.

“We write a lot about the dumb, and sometimes criminal things NFL players do. The good things deserve a mention too,” he wrote of the Cowboys’ gift.

Friends and strangers alike gave generously, Teresa says.

A local businessman, Kenny Johnson, purchased thousands of dollars worth of auction items — an autographed football, a Marc Jacobs purse, tickets to a Rangers game — and gave them to the Hendricks children.

Sara says she still has the purse. She remembers other kindnesses, too.

“I expected my family to help us, but I was really surprised by all the people we didn’t know helping us,” she says. “Like, someone went to the book fair at school and brought us a whole bunch of books.”

When they returned to their house, after two weeks with Teresa’s mom, the refrigerator and pantry was stocked, the children remember.

“Everyday, food would just show up,” Samuel says.

It’s been four years. Thanks in large part to those fundraising efforts, the Hendricks family kept their home, located just north of Lake Highlands.

They all chip-in to tackle the things Rusty used to handle. Samuel and Matthew mow the lawn, Teresa learned to make the pumpkin pancakes her husband had perfected (not quite as good as his, she admits) and, last December, she climbed a ladder to her roof and strung holiday lights.

“I am proud that we have learned to do things, but I am sad that we have to,” Teresa says.

Late on a Tuesday night — after a day of classes, band and sports — Sara, now 12, is still wearing her cheerleading uniform, and everyone is eating pizza while discussing Halloween plans.

When the conversation turns to Rusty, Teresa tears up, and soon they all are crying. Sara moves from her seat at the kitchen table to her mom’s lap.

They hired therapists, joined support

groups and slowly began to accept and adapt to this new life.

“You don’t ever get over it,” says Matthew, 11, the quietest of the children. “You learn to live with what happened. You don’t have to get over it.”

The children are witty — frequently cracking jokes that leave Mom perplexed. “Right over my head,” Teresa will say. Overly mature for their ages, they speak of futures filled with college, careers, adventures and family.

“I am going to get a full ride to TCU, go to Baylor med school, become a dentist, hire Mom as a receptionist,” Sara says. They all laugh.

Teresa believes loss has made her children more sensitive to others’ struggles. Last summer Samuel went with the church on a mission trip to New York City, one of his many ventures in volunteerism.

Teresa works for a mortgage company and recently bought a new car.

Samuel is learning to drive in the Aveo.

“We already call it his car,” Teresa says.

The family Rusty left behind is, most of the time and all things considered, happy and healthy. Teresa is not sure how they got here. It’s a combination of help from others, faith and grit, she supposes.

car.”

“Rusty was my partner and friend. I have loved him for so many years, and it has taken me almost five years to simply accept the life I have been given,” she says.

Though she sometimes still feels slighted, she also is filled with gratitude — for her children, for everyone who has supported her and for the gifts her husband gave her.

“He made me a wife and mother and for that I will always be grateful for his life.”

Sunday, December 20, 6:30 pm

Sunday, December 20, 6:30 pm

Sunday, December 20, 6:30 pm

EDCC Chancel Choir & Handbell Choir

EDCC Chancel Choir & Handbell Choir

EDCC Chancel Choir & Handbell Choir

Guest Soloists

Guest Soloists

Guest Soloists

Alfrelynn Roberts, Coretta Smith, Paul Mason, Bobby Tinnion

Guest Choir

Alfrelynn Roberts, Coretta Smith, Paul Mason, Bobby Tinnion

Alfrelynn Roberts, Coretta Smith, Paul Mason, Bobby Tinnion

Guest Choir

Guest Choir

Booker T. Washington High School Treble Choir

Booker T. Washington High School Treble Choir

Booker T. Washington High School Treble Choir

Musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

East Dallas Christian Church

East Dallas Christian Church

Daniel Pardo’s From A Land Far Away

Daniel Pardo’s From A Land Far Away

Daniel Pardo’s From A Land Far Away

629 N. Peak Street ♦ Dallas, TX 75246

629 N. Peak Street ♦ Dallas, TX 75246 www.edcc.org

www.edcc.org

Concert Series

Concert Series

Free admission and open seating Donations accepted for EDCC Concert Series

Free admission and open seating

TX 75246 www.edcc.org Concert Series

Free admission and open seating Donations accepted for EDCC Concert Series

Donations accepted for EDCC Concert Series

Reception following with Christmas Cookies

Reception following with Christmas Cookies

Reception following with Christmas Cookies

“It was surreal. I couldn’t comprehend that someone was just buying us a

Merry Christmas, Mr. Ken

HIS BADGE READS “NATHANIEL KENDRICKS,” BUT THE CHILDREN AT LAKEWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KNOW THE 78-YEAR-OLD CROSSING GUARD AS “MR. KEN.”

Every school day, hundreds of students and their parents greet “Mr. Ken” warmly as he helps them safely cross the street.

His job isn’t complicated, but Kendricks says he “just enjoys being here and helping everyone across the street and back” — and Lakewood Elementary returns the sentiment. After 14 years as a crossing guard, Kendricks has become a fixture at the school.

During the holidays, the students usually give Kendricks cards, candy and other small tokens of appreciation, he says. But last year something different happened.

Kendricks’ car was repossessed last November, so his wife had to drive him to work from Lancaster every morning and pick him up every night. His wife, Patricia,

was healing from a knee replacement and other health ailments, which financially kept the couple from being able to retrieve their much-needed vehicle.

When the dads of Friends of Lakewood (FOL), the “fathers’ organization” at Lakewood Elementary, learned Kendricks had been without a car for more than a month, they decided to scrounge up the funds to give him a holiday surprise.

Originally the plan was to buy Kendricks’ car back, says FOL vice president Chris Prestridge, but they soon learned that wasn’t an option. Instead, they elected to internally collect enough funds to buy him a new car, which they quickly did.

“We started a GoFundMe and only sent it to the dads,” he explains. “We weren’t sure if it was a sensitive subject, so we didn’t want to spread the word around.”

They found a friend who worked in the car industry and told him what they were looking for: a car that was completely ready for daily use and didn’t need any immediate maintenance. They found a good option and bought it, and from there they figured the handoff would be as low-key as the purchase.

“The intent was to keep this completely under the radar,” Prestridge says. “We didn’t want to make a whole production out of it. We planned to basically just go up and hand him the keys, although we did want to have a little fun.”

Kendricks takes his job very seriously and

doesn’t let anyone park on the crosswalk.

“He flips out,” Prestridge explains, which made for a perfect set-up.

They planned to park the car on the crosswalk, and when Kendricks inevitably told them to move the car, they’d tell him it was all his. It was sweet, simple and to the point, but when the time came for the handoff to happen, others at the school had heard about the upcoming exchange.

“We drive it around the corner and there’s

I don’t even know how many people. There had to be 30 or 40 people out front with camera-phones,” Prestridge says.

People in the crowd filmed as FOL dad Russell McMillan stopped the car on the crosswalk, and Kendricks played his part perfectly by instructing McMillan to move it.

“Do you want to move it?” McMillan asks, holding out the keys.

“No,” Kendricks said.

“It’s your car,” McMillan told him.

“My car?” Kendricks questioned, clearly confused.

“It’s your car,” McMillan repeated, and the crowd began to cheer.

Kendricks doubled over when he realized what was happening, and the FOL dads patted him on the back and hugged him as he smiled through happy tears.

It didn’t take long before the videos hit the internet and the gesture went viral. From California to New York, people heard about the gift and started sending notes of encouragement and even checks for Kendricks.

“In the end, I’m kind of glad it happened that way,” Prestridge says, explaining that the reaction to the act of kindness was truly inspiring.

“Of course it’s nice to be able to hand someone the keys to a car when they need it. That part was a given,” he says.

“But when you do something you think is small and it resonates with so many people, it puts it in a different perspective. The outpouring of thanks and support from across the country was overwhelming and amazing. I was a changed person for being part of this."

The feeling is mutual. Kendricks says it’s comforting to know he’s part of a community that treats him like family.

“Everyone is so good,” he says, and smiles when he adds that he has thoroughly enjoyed the car.

John Painter and Jim Billinglsy.

MAKING MUSIC ON GARLAND ROAD

THE BEGINNING

“So I was in the shower with John Denver, who’s naked and freaking out, but that wasn’t as good as the time Slash [from Guns N’ Roses] knocked me out cold and dislocated my nose.”

This is what it’s like to hang out with Jim Billingsly, who’s brimming over with larger-than-life stories from his work during one of the most tawdry eras in music history. He can drop names like Van Halen, Led Zeppelin and Michael Jackson without missing a beat.

“It’s at least twice as bad as you’re picturing,” he says with a smile when asked about the drug-addled backstage antics he witnessed when he worked for Dallas’ Showco, one of the largest concert production companies in the world. While some of his stories may seem too good to be true, there’s no way to say what really happened backstage with the vinyl icons of the ’70s and ‘80s, so we’ll tell them like we hear them.

A lifelong musician who won two talent shows while attending Reinhardt Elementary School, Billingsly paid the bills by building cabinets as a young adult in the late 1970s. Someone at Showco decided if he could build cabinets, he could build speakers and offered him a job.

It was the birth of stadium rock with high production values, and demand for Showco went through the roof with everyone from AC/DC to Bob Dylan clamoring for its services.

Story by Emily Charrier | Photos by Danny Fulgencio

“To be honest, the star-struck part fades pretty quickly,” he says. “It becomes just a job.”

But a job that birthed 1,000 too-goodto-be-true tales, like the time John Denver panicked when his shower malfunctioned, which required Billingsly to burst in on the naked rocker to turn off the water.

Then there was the time Guns N’ Roses came to town when band members Axl Rose and Slash were famously feuding. Showco’s crew was told to keep the two musicians apart before the show, but Billingsly says that didn’t stop Slash from throwing a typical rock star tantrum, destroying his dressing room in the process. When Billingsly went in to try to calm the chaos, Slash punched him in the nose.

“He apologized later,” Billingsly laughs. “That’s just how those things went.”

Soon, however, Billingsly was over the rock star drama. He wanted to work for himself, and decided to take over a space in a strip mall on Garland Road with plans to build custom speakers. He eventually expanded the business by opening Diamond Night Recording Studios with partners George Geurin and Mary Lou Truelove.

“They had all the equipment, I built the studio,” Billingsly says.

When designing the space, Billingsly consulted studio legend Glenn Phoenix, who built Westlake Studios in Los Angeles, to ensure the acoustics of the space were on point.

The owners leveraged their myriad musical connections to bring big names to the little studio. Robert Lee Cobb and Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones spent time behind the mic, and Edie Brickell with her band the New Bohemians made the studio their de facto headquarters.

“She was like a little sister to me,” Billingsly says.

With the advent of MTV, the studio expanded to include music video productions.

Throughout the ’80s, the quintessential

“There were machine guns being pulled out and people coming and going in limos. It was exactly like the movies.”

rock star life continued on Garland Road. Recording sessions went late into the night fueled on alcohol and cocaine. “We had a hot tub out back with a grill where we drank a lot of Heineken,” Billingsly recalls with a smile. “When people threw up in the grand piano, it cost them $900 to clean it.”

As the decade drew to a close, analogue music equipment had been replaced by digital and the business was no longer on the cutting edge. Billingsly closed up shop, passing his keys along to local musician Rick Babb, who kept the space as his primary residence that doubled as a place to jam.

“I was always really, really annoyed because there were always people playing music in my house, which bugged me as a kid,” remembers his son Josh Babb, who was an eighth-grader when his dad moved him into what then became White Rock Studio. “Normally Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians were practicing there two or three days a week. That stuff all really happened.”

For much of the 1990s, the studio lay silent, but it wouldn’t be long before music would return to Garland Road.

A NEW ERA

Some know him as the “Godfather of rap in Dallas,” but it’s not a title he ever intentionally sought. In fact, almost nothing John “J.P.” Painter has accomplished seems to have been intentional. But somehow, he’s found himself at the helm at one of the most successful recording studios in the city, which has played host to local legends like Pimp C along with international superstars like Erykah Badu, Andre 3000 and Wiz Khalifa.

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“It’s all just word of mouth,” he smiles, swaying slightly in his chair behind the mixing board at East Dallas’ Kitchen Studios on Garland Road. “That’s how it’s always been for us. One guy likes what we do, he tells his friends and the business keeps coming in.”

Much of that good “word of mouth” came from East Dallas Grammy-winner Erykah Badu, who came calling one day to check out the local studio. She liked what she saw and began recording there occasionally, bringing her high-profile friends along.

“She helped me a lot in terms of getting those big names in here,” Painter says. He adds that her support landed him on the studio vendor list for Universal Music Group that represents everyone from Katy Perry to Keith Urban. He’s since recorded singles for Common, George Clinton, Roy Ayers and Betty Wright.

“Erykah is responsible for a lot of that,” he reiterates.

Born and reared in Dallas, music has always been prominent in Painter’s life. Like many who have worked the garage band circuit, Painter first picked up the guitar as a child, but quickly realized there were more options if he played the bass.

“Every band is looking for a bassist,” he smiles.

Later in his teen years, he became a fixture in the local punk rock scene, when he began to record his own tracks. He fashioned a makeshift studio in a tiny room off his kitchen that quickly became a local legend.

“Everyone sort of knew about it,” he says of the Dallas music scene. “People would come to me and say, ‘Let’s go to the kitchen to record.’”

And thus, the name Kitchen Studios was born. After five years and dozens of songs, it

became clear that there was a local demand for a proper studio. It was the mid-1990s and Deep Ellum still had a rough reputation, but the music scene was explosive, so Painter opened up shop. Rap had just gone mainstream, and artists were clamoring for time in Kitchen Studios with Painter behind the board.

“It really was a different time. There was so much money to be made back then,” he recalls.

He’s not one for spilling secrets, but said it was common to see a rapper’s entourage complete with “security guards” packing heat alongside a harem of scantily clad women. He learned to keep his head down and focus on the music, not the antics.

“That’s all you could do,” he says. “There were machine guns being pulled out and people coming and going in limos. It was exactly like the movies.”

It got old quickly, and Painter relocated to the more mellow Lakewood area in 2000, where he opened Kitchen Studio’s current location on Garland Road. It was an insurance office when he took it over; only later did he learn about the site’s lofty musical history under Billingsly.

“I heard all the stories of rock stars and the decadence,” he laughs.

With the digital age, the bottom fell out of the music industry, but Painter prefers the direction the business is heading.

“People are much more about the music these days,” he says.

The studio later expanded to include a video production studio, just like it’s former iteration, Diamond Night. It’s a history he’s proud to carry on, albeit a little bit more subdued.

“Unlike the old studio we close at 10 p.m., we don’t work all night,” he laughs. “We have families.”

Hand over fist

A Dallas ISD police officer at J. L. Long Middle School learned sign language so she could better serve Long’s 50 deaf students

Story by Brittany Nunn | Photos by Rasy Ran

It was Kimberly Stangarone’s first week on the job.

A Woodrow Wilson High School graduate, she had just finished school at Eastfield College and started her job as a police officer at J. L. Long Middle School. Now she was chasing a student who was blatantly ignoring her instructions.

“Hey, you can’t go that way!” she yelled, but he just kept walking.

Finally she caught up with him and caught his attention.

He looked at her wide-eyed, and her frustration immediately dissipated. As the student signaled his hearing, Stangarone realized he was one of the 50 students in Long’s deaf education program.

Embarrassed, Stangarone attempted to convey her apologies and let the student continue on his way.

It was her first run-in with a deaf student at Long, but it wasn’t her last.

Long is one of nine campuses within Dallas ISD’s Regional School for the Deaf, along with Stonewall Jackson Elementary, where the program originated. It serves 620 hearing-impaired students from across North Texas, most of whom attend class with hearing children, following the same curriculum and classroom structure as the general student body with accommodations such as an interpreter or a deaf education teacher.

The encounter made Stangarone think: What if a student faced an emer-

Dallas ISD police officer Kimberly Stangarone learned sign language to better serve deaf students.

poreptatemo

gency and wasn’t able to communicate it to her? They’d have to wait for an interpreter, killing what could potentially be precious time.

That thought didn’t sit well with Stangarone.

Then her fears were realized — a situation arose where two students needed

her help, but they had to wait for someone who could translate their need.

“It hurt me because they were waiting and waiting, and I think they felt like, ‘Oh we’re not important,’” she explains.

“They wanted to get the situation handled, and so I tried to write things out, but with ASL (American Sign Language),

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they don’t write things normally. So it’s even hard to write things down sometimes.”

The incident sparked a desire to learn how to communicate with deaf and hard of hearing students. She asked school interpreter Darryl Joubert about sign language. After noticing her genuine inter-

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Stangarone signs with her friend Ana Michel, who she works with at J. L. Long Middle School.

est, he eventually suggested she take a class to learn to speak with her hands.

So that’s exactly what Stangarone did. She started taking night classes in order to learn ASL, although that didn’t stop her from bombarding Joubert and the other interpreters at Long with plenty of questions.

“She’s very eager to learn,” Joubert explains. “She’d practice with me in the morning. I’d get to work early to practice with her or help her, if she didn’t understand a sign. Sign language became a passion.”

She has been learning and practicing American Sign Language for more than two years now, and the more she learns the more students open up to her in ways she didn’t originally anticipate.

“I’ve built up a such a rapport with the students that they’ve started to tell me their problems,” she says. “As a police officer there’s this idea that we’re just tough and we don’t care. I tell my students I’m not here to pick on them; I’m here to protect them, and if they ever need anything they can come to my office.”

“She’s very eager to learn.

She’d practice with me in the morning. I’d get to work early to practice with her or help her.”

Others at Long have noticed the positive effects of Stangarone’s effort as well. She has become good friends with Ana Michel, a teaching assistant at Long.

“The students are more comfortable to talk to her when they need help,” Michel observes. “It’s important that the deaf and hard of hearing kids do not feel like they are limited in communicating, especially at school where students should feel welcome to express their struggles at school and at home with a police officer.”

Not only does Stangarone speak English and sign, but she also speaks Spanish, so she has even been able to translate ASL into Spanish for some students.

It’s more than just a language, she points out. It’s a culture, and learning ASL has given her a unique glimpse into deaf culture from the perspective of someone who grew up hearing.

“In hearing culture it’s rude to point,” Stangarone explains. “Well in deaf culture, you have to point because you have to show what you’re talking about. And in hearing culture, it’s natural to look around while talking. In deaf culture, eye contact is really important, so it’s rude to look away.”

When Stangarone has questions, Michel, who is deaf, is quick to give her pointers. Their friendship has been a fun side effect of Stangarone’s decision to learn sign language — not to mention Michel lets her practice signing.

“When I first met her she could sign some words and often relied on the interpreter to tell her what was being signed,” Michel recalls. “Now, Kimberly and I can hold an entire conversation.”

And she doesn’t intend to stop there. She started the ASL interpreters program at Collin College in the fall to become a certified sign language interpreter.

“I think being in a program where I can better my sign language will help,” she says. “I’d be able to use it anywhere. I’m not going to stop being a police officer, but I just want to have my ASL interpreter license. So that’s my next goal.”

“The students are more comfortable to talk to her when they need help. It’s important that the deaf and hard of hearing kids do not feel like they are limited in communicating.”

KING OF THE DANCE

Lisa

King

High

built

Woodrow Wilson

School’s

dance program from the ground up, but her impact stretches far beyond fancy footwork.

Story by Brittany Nunn

Photo by Danny Fulgencio

Dance teacher Lisa King sits cross-legged on the floor in the dance studio at Woodrow Wilson High School, looking at the past and the future all at once.

“When I first came to Woodrow, I didn’t have anything,” she says, remembering the years when her students danced in a gym, an old auto mechanic shop, portables, and sometimes the school cafeteria, “which does not have the cleanest floor,” she points out.

“Who would have wanted to come to the Woodrow dance program back then?” she asks. “The dance program you see now was literally built on blood, sweat, tears and ketchup packets.”

Today, thanks to a $14 million school expansion package in 2013, she has a dance studio with sleek grey floors, a wall of mirrors and giant windows that flood the room with natural lighting. But more than that, she heads up a competitive dance company, one of the largest in Dallas ISD, which recently has begun attracting more seasoned dancers.

“The company is going to change this year,” she says, in a bittersweet tone that’s mixed with both excitement and nostalgia. “This is the first year that I’m seeing kids coming in who have been studio-trained for years.”

It’s a company she single-handedly built, says Woodrow principal Kyle Richardson.

“That’s totally her,” he says. “She built this program. She’s responsible for both the dance program and for revitalizing the drill team, which is at 100 members now. She’s just doing a ton.”

When she moved to Woodrow from Alex W. Spence Middle School in 2009, the Woodrow dance program was nonexistent. Lucky for Woodrow, building dance programs from the ground up is kind of King’s thing.

“There was no performing class. Nobody danced,” she says. “I’d tell kids, ‘I’m going to have rehearsal after school, and you’re all invited. Whoever comes, you’re in the piece no matter what.’ So that’s how I built it. I just gave everyone a shot.”

She carried that mindset through the years, and it worked for her.

“To study dance is very expensive, and most of my students were not given that opportunity,” she says. “So the kids that I got were raw. I could take those kids and mold them and expose them to this world of dance as therapy more than anything.”

In her mind everyone is a dancer because dance isn’t just about dance; it’s about movement, expression, hard work, experimentation, creativity and seeking a deeper understanding of oneself. In that same way, King is more than a dance teacher to her students. She’s also a coach, a mentor, an artist, a therapist and to many of them, a second mom.

“I always tell them, ‘I’m not here to prepare you for the stage. I’m here to prepare you for life,’” she says. It’s a sentiment she doesn’t take lightly.

Students aren’t allowed to dance unless they keep their grades up, which has been a driving motivation for more than a few of her students. She uses dance and drill team as a way to hold her students accountable and to teach them to work hard, she says.

“That work ethic is going to carry them throughout life,” she explains. “I tell all my classes, ‘It doesn’t matter if you ever dance again. That’s not what this class is about. It’s about learning to work really hard.’”

For Rogelio Martinez, who graduated in 2013, dance was the sole reason he stayed in school — both because of King and because of a love for dance.

“I saw her as a mom, because I never really had one,” Martinez told us back in 2013. “She took care of me and stuff. I danced everything, and I was a really fast learner. I put all my mind into it. People always see me as a quiet person, and when I would dance I would be different. I just love performing, just the way it feels. It’s like freedom.”

Her class is open to everyone, no matter their size, shape, experience or socioeconomic standing, and King treats every member of her dance company like family. It’s not uncommon for her to use dance as a way to counsel her students.

“Dance is a tell all,” she points. “From the way we sit, to the way we stand, to the way we move. It’s body language, so I notice instantly when there’s a change. So when a kid is starting to struggle, I’ll notice it in their movement. It shows up.

“Sometimes they’ll come in and they’ll just be on fire, dancing better than they’ve ever danced before,” she continues. “And then later I’ll find out that you know the kid’s grandmother is sick or something, and they’re using dance as a way to

She uses dance to challenge students to explore and breakdown internal boundaries. She chips away at stereotypes by having girls

lift girls or girls lift boys, and she pushes each student to be vulnerable and to tap into their emotions. She spends weeks teaching her students about art and helping them use creativity to solve choreography problems, explaining that there is no right or wrong way; there is only perspective.

“You’ll see I use minimal costumes,” King points out. “My dances are not about the costumes at all. My dances are about pure, raw movement and expression. Coming together. Working together, and doing something that some of these kids have never done before. It’s a way to kind of go inside yourself and discover who you are as a person.”

And like all good teachers, she worries about each of her students.

“I’ve found myself on the last day of school, closing the door and just feeling like, ‘Oh gosh, I taught them everything I could. Did I really prepare them for what’s really out there?’” she says.

“Because I think every kid deserves an education, and every kids deserves to learn.

So many kids think they’re not deserving, and they are. I tell them, ‘You deserve the best in life. Don’t settle.’”

For some students that means graduating high school with the best grades possible, and for others that means going to college or beyond.

College wasn’t even on the radar of King’s former student Mario Ramirez, who graduated in May, and is now a freshman on the dance team at the University of Texas in Austin.

Ramirez had very little dance experience when he started learning from King at Woodrow. He certainly wasn’t studio trained, but he had passion and talent, and that was enough for King.

“I was struggling to keep my grades up and I had no discipline. I have to thank Ms. King because she swept me up,” he explains. “She told me that if I didn’t pass my classes then I couldn’t dance. That was terrifying to me.”

He wanted to go to school at Texas Women’s University, where King received her degree, but she pushed him to apply to the dance

team at UT in Austin. He didn’t believe he was good enough, but King insisted.

Now King tells her other students about Ramirez, using him as an example of what they can accomplish in a short amount of time if they set their minds to it.

“The other students look at him and go, ‘OK, maybe I can do it, too,’” King says. “He’s really raised the level of the department.”

This year the Woodrow dance program is changing because it has become a draw to Woodrow for trained dancers.

“So now I’m going to merge these two worlds into one — basically the world of the haves and the have-nots,” King says. “How do I get them to come together? Easy. Through dance. They’ll learn from each other. I’m apprehensive, but I’m so looking forward to diversifying the dance program even more.”

WATCH LISA KING’S students perform in “Nutcracker: Short ’N’ Suite” on Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 8 and 9, at 7 p.m. in the Woodrow Wilson High School auditorium, 100 S. Glasgow. Tickets range from $6-$10 and can be purchased in advance at woodrowwildcats.org or at the door.

ANGLICAN

ALL SAINTS EAST DALLAS / allsaintseastdallas.org

Sunday worship service at 5:00 pm

Meeting at Central Lutheran Church / 1000 Easton Road

BAPTIST

LAKESIDE BAPTIST / 9150 Garland Rd / 214.324.1425

Sunday School 9:15am & Worship 10:30am

Pastor Jeff Donnell / www.lbcdallas.com

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 & 11:00am

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

CATHOLIC

UNIVERSITY OF DALLAS MINISTRY CONFERENCE / udallas.edu/udmc

Sept. 29 - Oct. 1, 2016 / Sponsored by Catholic Diocese of Dallas

Sessions on Faith, Scripture, & Ministry / Exhibitors / Music / Mass

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 Lane

SPEED IT UP, GOD

Christmas is a story of slowness

Most of us want God to work in a fast and flashy way. God tends to take the slow and subtle path most of the time.

Take the Christmas story. If you were God and wanted to save the world from the power of sin and the powers of Sin, wouldn’t you get right to it? Wouldn’t you send a scientist with a cure for misplaced desire that would stem the tide of trespassing? Wouldn’t you materialize as a man fully grown, gather up a coalition of the willing and march on Jerusalem to defeat Rome and plant the flag of God’s kingdom atop Mt. Zion once and for all?

days to come, the young men go out with their picks and shovels and turn the soil, digging deeply into the ground from one end of each field to the other. They find nothing and, bitterly disappointed, abandon the search. The next season the farm has its best harvest ever.

Christmas began with a seed being planted in a hidden place that grew in time

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

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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

PRESBYTERIAN

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.

ST. ANDREW’S PRESBYTERIAN / Skillman & Monticello

Rev. Rob Leischner. / www.standrewsdallas.org

214.821.9989 / Sunday School 9:30 am, Worship 10:45 am

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10:30 am Sunday - Celebration Worship Service

Instead we get the story of a God who comes at last only after a young girl RSVPs “Yes” to an angelic invitation. The divine would take on human form in what would “seem” the usual manner. Life is conceived within the womb of a woman quietly and secretly. The child within develops the same as always, gestating gradually. The woman gives birth in the regular way, albeit amid baaing sheep and braying donkeys while out of town.

Jesus grew up as any child would, learning to be a man and answering the call to serve God. Thirty years or so after all this began, his ministry gets noticed enough to stir “the hopes and fears of all the years.” It would lead him to a cross and a tomb. Even the resurrection takes place out of sight — the tomb like a womb giving new birth. His powerful Spirit ways in our lives still tend toward the gentle and gradual.

into a harvest of salvation. It didn’t happen suddenly. It still doesn’t, as the crop of every field is yet to ripen.

Christmas is itself a seed growing still. Proper Christmas hope aims for nothing less than the fulfillment of God’s created purposes for the whole world. We await a new creation, a peaceable kingdom, a just and equitable sharing of resources, and the restored dignity of all human beings to the image of God.

The season has been coopted by loud and commercial interests. It has been narrowed by believers to become a story only of Christian inheritance. But the angels sang of peace on earth, good will to all And we sing, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come,” not just joy to us.

used

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advocatemag.com/newsletter

Benjamin Zander tells this parable: Four young men sit by the bedside of their dying father. The old man, with his last breath, tells them there is a huge treasure buried in the family fields. The sons crowd around him crying, “Where, where?” but it is too late. The day after the funeral and for many

So until then, we wait patiently. We wait for ourselves and on behalf of our neighbors. We believe before we see. We believe in order to see.

And in the waiting, we sing.

The angels sang of peace on earth, good will to all. And we sing, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come,” not just joy to us.

George Mason is pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church. The Worship section is a regular feature underwritten by Advocate Publishing and by the neighborhood business people and churches listed on these pages. For information about helping support the Worship section, call 214.560.4202.

BUSINESS BUZZ

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

Send business news tips to livelocal@advocatemag.com

with Mike Mullen and Jason Pantenburg in the venture.

Raise a glass and toast the finale of one of the neighborhood’s most beloved watering holes. White Rock Sports Bar served up its last food and drink after 17 years in business. When it first opened in 1998, it was Shady Side Café, and quickly drew in a legion of loyal patrons. It’s not yet clear what will come in to the now-vacant Lake Highlands Village site on Buckner Boulevard. The center’s new owners, Highland Capital Management, seem to be revamping the space, changing the brick-red façade to a stark white with plans to rename it White Rock Center.

For the felines

Restaurants open, close and get revamped

Coffee addicts might have had the shakes for a week recently when beloved White Rock Coffee on Northwest Highway was closed for renovations. But fear not, caffeine addicts; the business re-opened quickly with sleek rustic industrial design elements.

Pluckers Wing Bar on Upper Greenville has also shut its doors with plans to overhaul the interior to double the space available, including the addition of a new patio. Last we heard, they were planning to reopen sometime in mid-December.

Sources tell us Meso Maya is making its way to the Southwest corner of Mockingbird and Abrams, replacing a dental office and a laundromat. The popular eatery has two other locations in Dallas; it is part of the Firebird Restaurant Group, which owns the Dallas Tex-Mex brands El Fenix and Taqueria La Ventana, as well as Snuffer’s restaurant chain.

Shawn Rao and Jonathan Serrano, the duo behind Social House, are said to be building a new restaurant with a 9,000-square-foot patio on Belmont and Greenville. Crews already have ripped out the concrete at the old Shell station that closed earlier this year to make way for the yet-to-be-named restaurant. Their plan is to offer food, drinks and games like ping pong, bubble soccer, giant Connect 4 and Jenga.

In July we announced Lakewood Smokehouse would replace Ali Baba in the Lakewood Shopping Center. The full-service restaurant with classic barbecue fare is set to open in mid-December. Jason Hall of Frisco’s 3 Stacks Smoke and Tap House partners

The East Lake Cat Care Center earned the distinction of being named a “cat friendly practice” at the “gold status” level by the American Association of Feline Practitioners. Karen Fling, DVM, opened the East Lake Cat Care Center in 2013. “We have worked very hard to create a facility that is entirely focused on cats,” she says.

What’s that under construction?

Construction continues at the 19-acre apartment complex at Sandhurst between Skillman and Amesbury, known as The Branch Developer JLB Builders plans to build almost 1,400 apartments and townhomes, replacing several blocks of older apartments built in the 1960s.

It’s been months since developer Moran Capital LLC bought the property at the Northeast corner of Skillman and Mockingbird where two gas stations once stood. Recently, they announced the space will soon house a two-story SKMK Emergency Room, which also has medical facilities in El Paso.

Local soap makers open retail shop

White Rock Soap Gallery‘s regular booth at Good Local Markets in Half Price Books’ parking lot has grown into a retail shop in Northlake Shopping Center on Northwest Highway at Ferndale. The company recently began renting space for manufacturing, shared with Gecko Hardware, and the retail front aims to be a “gallery of local artisans, all-natural body care and soaps, and good stuff for people,” says co-owner Keith Bailey. The shop is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

White Rock Coffee remodel

Lamplighter delivers serious education wrapped in the wonder of childhood.

Learn more. Join us for a tour. Contact the Office of Admission and Placement at 214.369.9201 ext. 347

www.thelamplighterschool.org

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the NEW has come!”

II Corinthians 5:17

Open House

Jan. 14th

Zion Lutheran School provides a quality Christ-centered education.

6121 E. Lovers Ln. (@ Skillman) Dallas, TX 75214 214-363-1630/ ziondallas.org

OPEN HOUSE

JANUARY 31 SCHOOL TOUR JAN. 13 &

SERVING AGES 3 MONTHS - ADULTS

4411 SKILLMAN Preschool & Elementary School

214-826-4410

5740 PROSPECT Nursery School & Adult Program

214-826-6350

DallasSpanishHouse.com

WHITE ROCK NORTH SCHOOL

214-328-9131 x103

njacobs@stjohnsschool.org

SJES admits qualified students of any race, color, religion, gender, and national or ethnic origin.

• Classic education

• Dedicated to the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual development of children

• 3 years through 6th grade

Highlander School

9120 Plano Road, Dallas, TX 75238 214-348-3220

www.highlanderschool.com

Since 1966 The Tradition Continues…

‧Infants-Elementary ‧Exemplary Tech Initiative ‧Low Class Ratios

‧Accelerated Academics

‧Student Garden

‧Fine Arts: Dance, Music, Art

‧Extensive P.E. Program: Skating, Swimming & Archery Call for a Tour: 214-348-7410

WhiteRockNorthSchool.com

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.

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.

THE LAMPLIGHTER SCHOOL

11611 Inwood Road Dallas TX 75229/ 214-369-9201/ thelamplighterschool.org

Lamplighter delivers serious education wrapped in the wonder of childhood. The Pre-K through fourth grade years are fleeting, but filled with pure potential. What we, as parents and educators, ignite in these primary years establishes the trajectory of a child’s future. Lamplighter helps set children on a path toward rewarding lives as forever learners. The independent, co-educational school promotes academic excellence through innovative curriculum that merges fine arts with language arts, math, environmental science, social studies, physical education, and Spanish

SPANISH HOUSE

4411 Skillman 214-826-4410 / 5740 Prospect 214-826-6350 / DallasSpanishHouse.com

Spanish Immersion School serving ages 3 month - Adults. We offer nursery, preschool, elementary and adult programs at two Lakewood locations. Degreed, native-Spanish speaking teachers in an “all-Spanish” immersion environment. Call for a tour today!

ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL

848 Harter Rd., Dallas 75218 / 214.328.9131

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.

/ stjohnsschool.org

Obituaries

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.

of our 200,000+ readers with average income of $146,750 want more info about private schools. 69%

Dallas mourns the death of John Hardman, who delighted generations as the voice of craggily-faced Scrooge puppet that teased shoppers for decades as part of the Christmas display at the NorthPark Center. He died Nov. 4, 2015, surrounded by family and friends, after a battle with cancer. He was 80. Hardman began his beloved Scrooge character in the 1970s, and also oversaw the World on a String exhibition at the State Fair of Texas.

Marvin Stelzer, the Lakewood neighbor who founded a movement to clean up Tietze Park in the 1990s, died Oct. 29 at age 94. Stelzer made a lasting impact by assembling a team of volunteers and received support from local officials and police to keep the park free of drugs, graffiti and litter.

People

Specialized Bicycle Components gave injured cyclist Deb Culbertson a brandnew bike. Culbertson, 26, was crossing the Santa Fe Trail at Munger a while back when a driver ran a red light and slammed into her, causing a concussion and serious injuries to her leg and neck.

Education

Bishop Lynch High School senior Michael Gao is a National Merit semi-finalist. He scored in the top 1 percent of PSAT test-takers in Texas. New private school La Aldea Montessori hosts a Winter Wonderland family party and open house Thursday, Dec. 31, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at White Rock United Methodist Church, 9125 Diceman. The school plans to open in fall 2016 with a first- through third-grade dual language Montessori program. Find more information at laaldeamontessori.com.

Business

Doctors Hospital at White Rock Lake recently named David Bittner as associate administrator/director of business development. Bittner has worked in healthcare management for more than 11 years; he previously served Spalding Regional Hospital and Sylvan Grove Hospital in Atlanta.

Culbertson, center, with friend Grady McGahan of RETREET (left) and Mark Manson of Richardson Bike Mart. Photo via Facebook.

Winner, winner

The Woodrow Wilson High School volleyball team, lead by coach Jim Harris , advanced to the area playoffs in November.

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,

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

GET READY, GET SET Get Ahead With Mathnasium. 214-328-MATH (6284) mathnasium.com/dallaslakewood

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

EMPLOYMENT

AVIATION GRADS Work with JetBlue, Boeing, Delta and Others. Start Here With Hands On Training For FAA Certification. Financial Aid If Qualified. Aviation Institute Of Maintenance. 866-453-6204

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

EMPLOYMENT

SEEKING OFFICE MANAGER for Lakewood Residential Real Estate Co. Peachtree/Quickbooks Knowledge, People Skills Preferred. Flexable 15-20 hrs wk. Depending on Experience Salary $15-$18 hr. w/ 90 day probation. Email resume: hegwoodjamie@gmail.com

SERVICES FOR YOU

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

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

DISH TV Starting at $19.99/month (for 12 months) Save! Regular Price $34.99. Ask About Free Same Day Installation. Call Now. 877-477-9659

LEGAL SERVICES

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

A SIMPLE WILL. Name a Guardian for Children. Katherine Rose, Attorney 214-728-4044. Office Dallas Tx.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

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

NEED

A NEW WEBSITE?

Sleepy Hollow

White Rock Theater Project performed “Legends of Sleepy Hollow” at The Mix at White Rock Methodist Church. Grayson Lesley Milburn, Dominique Castanheira, Danijela Prege, Audrey Hunter, Jaden Lesley Milburn, Samantha Thompson, Emma Taylor, Beckett Nichols and Grimsley Hunter. The children’s theater project is the brainchild of Renae Lesley and neighborhood resident Andra Hunter , who also directed the production. The pair co-authored the adaptation of the script performed.

Lesley)

MIND, BODY & SPIRIT

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

PET SERVICES

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

BUY/SELL/TRADE

BEST TASTING PORK & LAMB from local farmers, no chemicals, hormones or antibiotics. Pasture raised. Heritage Red Wattle.Time to fill your freezer for the holidays. Laraland Farms 214-384-6136

DONATE YOUR CAR FOR BREAST CANCER Help United Breast Foundation education, prevention, support programs. Fast free pickup. 24 Hour response. Tax deduction. 855-403-0213

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

(Photo by Renae

972-274-2157

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

ALL COMPUTER PROBLEMS SOLVED MAC/PC Great Rates! Keith 214-295-6367

BILL’S COMPUTER REPAIR

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

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

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

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

LONESTARDECKS.COM 214-357-3975

FLOORING & CARPETING

Restoration Flooring

Hardwood Installation ·

469.774.3147

FOUNDATION

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

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

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

Trex Decking & Fencing, trex.com

All Wood Decks, Arbors & Patio Covers 214.692.1991

EST. 1991 #1

COWBOY

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

GREENGO Replacement Windows & Doors. 214-755-6258. 25 Yrs Experience.

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

HANDYMAN SERVICES

FRAME RIGHT All Honey-Dos/Jobs. Crown mold install $125/rm. Licensed. Matt 469-867-9029

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

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

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

HONEST, SKILLED

General Repairs/

WANTED: ODD

Allen’s Handyman

Your Home Repair Specialists

Drywall Doors

Senior Safety

Carpentry

HOUSE PAINTING

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

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

AYALA’S LANDSCAPING SERVICE

Call the Land Expert Today! Insured. 214-773-4781

Small & Odd Jobs

And More! 972-308-6035 HandymanMatters.com/dallas Bonded

HOLIDAY DECORATING

Winter Plumbing Tips: Rick Romero, Metro-Flow Plumbing

• Help keep outdoor faucets from freezing and bursting by disconnecting your water hoses.

• On pier and beam structures, cover up exterior vents to help keep the cold away from pipes under your home.

HOME INSPECTION

Metro-Flow Plumbing

Rick Romero 214-328-7371

MetroFlowPlumbing.com

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

CHUPIK TREE SERVICE

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

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

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

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

RED SUN LANDSCAPES • 214-935-9779

RedSunLandscapes.com

TRACY’S LAWN CARE • 972-329-4190 Lawn Mowing & Leaf Cleaning

PEST

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

ANDREWS PLUMBING • 214-354-8521

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

Sewers • Drains • Bonded 24 Hours/7 Days

*Joe Faz 214-794-7566 - 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

Chandler Design Group Design / Build / Renovate we'll turn your vision into reality

Heath Chandler 214.938.8242

www.chandlerdesigng roup.com

ROOFING

A&B GUTTER 972-530-5699

Clean Out, Repair/Replace. Leaf Guard. Free Estimates. Lifetime Warranty

BERT ROOFING INC.

Family owned and operated for over 40 years

• Residential/Commercial • Over 30,000

roofs completed • Seven NTRCA “Golden Hammer” Awards • Free Estimates www.bertroofing.com 214.321.9341

Jeff Godsey Roofing

Roof Repair Specialist

• Exterior Repair & Re-Roofing

• Insurance Claims

• Custom Chimney Caps

• Licensed & Fully Insured

Jeff Godsey 214-502-7287

SKYLIGHTS

Installing Since 1995

Residential • Commercial (214) 503-7663

www.scottexteriors.com

972-263-6033

www.skylightsolutions.com

A VERY RESOLUTE NEW YEAR

Some suggestions for the City of Dallas in 2016

Dear City of Dallas,

As 2015 draws to a close, I thought it would be helpful to suggest a few New Year’s resolutions you ought to consider for the coming year.

#1 Get in shape: Dallas has a weight problem. We consistently rank as one of the fattest cities in the country. It’s a serious health issue, and you need to make a change.

It’s true that we Dallasites love our cars. But we also love walking, running and cycling (witness the extraordinary popularity of the Katy Trail and White Rock Lake). So encourage that. Invest in connecting

saying you’re not fat, you’ve just got big roads. No one’s buying it.)

We’ve got an excess of right-ofway on many of our streets that could be used for separated bike lanes. You think nothing of taking away hundreds of acres of parkland for a massive Trinity Toll Road, but when it comes to taking a teensy bit of concrete from cars, you break out in a sweat. Stop making excuses and just do it.

an embarrassment of riches when it comes to grocery stores. We’ve got a flagship Kroger, multiple Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, an enormous Central Market, Tom Thumbs on every other corner, Green Grocer, Aldi’s, the list goes on. You can’t throw a rock in East Dallas without hitting a grocery store.

our off-street trails with new onstreet protected bike lanes. Make a web of safe trails to connect neighborhoods with transit, parks, schools and business centers. It will transform our city.

You’re balking. The thing is, you talk a lot about getting fit, but when push comes to shove, you refuse to do anything that would actually slim down your wide roads. (And stop

#2 Be smarter about money: Quality of life investments don’t come cheap, but you need to be smarter about the things you invest in. You see bright shiny things and you want to spend, spend, spend. But you’ve got to stop throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at things you don’t need. Fancy bridges are lovely to look at (I guess?) but our streets and basic infrastructure need some serious attention. Focus your energies on doing the basics really well this year.

The problem is, your spend-thrifty ways are catching up with you. Dallas’ bond rating just got downgraded, meaning our interest rates will likely go up and we’ll have to pay more interest on our $1.7 billion in outstanding debt. The downgrade was based on several things, including our significant infrastructure needs and the city’s unfunded pension liabilities. So get the Police and Fire Pension Fund under control. There’s no excuse for letting the fund make questionable investments that end up putting taxpayers at risk.

#3 Eat healthier: East Dallas has

We’ve got great options when it comes to eating well, but that’s not the case in other parts of Dallas, particularly south of I-30. People in southern Dallas have to drive for miles to get to a grocery store, and then it’s often slim pickings. There’s no excuse for food deserts in a city of wealth like Dallas, so you need to do something about it in the coming year.

You’re crazy about tax abatements and such when wealthy folks come knocking, so use those same tools to get grocery stores to southern Dallas. Have a private meeting with a bunch of executives from the top grocers, ask them what it would take to get them to southern Dallas, and then make it a priority to make it happen.

#4 Travel: You talk a lot about world-classiness, but sometimes I don’t think you’ve ventured farther than Frisco. Visit other cities across the country that are known for having a great quality of life. What are they doing right and what can we learn from them? Bring back some best practices for making our neighborhoods safer, building better parks and creating a city we all love to live in.

It all starts with the first step. Happy New Year!

You talk a lot about world-classiness, but sometimes I don’t think you’ve ventured farther than Frisco.

Angela Hunt is a neighborhood resident and former Dallas City Councilwoman in East Dallas. 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 at 6301 Gaston, Suite 820, Dallas 75214; FAX to 214.823.8866; or email ahunt@advocatemag.com.

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