2016 December Lakewood

SOLD

WESTLAKE PARK 6861 LAKEWOOD BOULEVARD

$1,249,000 | 3 Bed | 3.1 Bath | 4,160 Sq.Ft.

Annamari Lannon | 214.558.1224 | annamari.lannon@alliebeth.com

VICKERY PLACE 5226 VICKERY BOULEVARD 3 Bed | 2.1 Bath | 3,396 Sq.Ft.

John Brosius/Debi Berg | 214.475.3896 | john.brosius@alliebeth.com

SOLD

M-STREETS EAST 5918 MERCEDES AVENUE

$710,000 | 3 Bed | 2 Bath | 2,441 Sq.Ft. .

John Brosius/Debi Berg | 214.475.3896 | john.brosius@alliebeth.com

LAKEWOOD 6127 TREMONT STREET

$649,000 | 4 Bed | 3.2 Bath | 2,549 Sq.Ft. | Lakewood Elementary

Tim Schutze | 214.507.6699 | tim.schutze@alliebeth.com

214.521.7355 | alliebeth.com

OPENING REMARKS

By RICK WAMRE

Let there be peace … in our general vicinity

“Let there be peace on earth” is a great line from a popular holiday song you probably know by heart. In fact, it’s a theme in lots of holiday songs.

Peace on earth is a great concept. Too bad it’s never going to happen.

There are just too many egotistical political leaders who enjoy lighting fires and then running from the blaze, leaving the rest of us to deal with the fallout.

There are just too many countries with superiority complexes, ours probably included, for peace to take hold everywhere spontaneously. Even when we have the best of intentions, we seem to get in our own way trying to make the world “safe for democracy” while some other world leaders are doing their best to make the world bend to their own often-twisted wills.

Even locally, peace in our time is unlikely.

Some of us won’t accept the fact that every cop isn’t a criminal. Some, rightly or wrongly, see conspiracies lurking at Fair Park, in every real estate development project, in “signature” bridges and in “world-class city” aspirations.

Most of us mouth the idea that we want what’s best for the city and for the country, but then we drill the guy next door on social media for having her/his own thoughts on one matter or another.

Is it really true that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely?

Not having much power, not being a politician and not being overly concerned about what’s happening on the other side of the world, these are all questions I feel confident asking but not so confident answering.

So what about the other part of that

“peace on earth” holiday song: “And let it begin with me?”

How can peace on earth begin with us when, for the most part, it takes just a couple of seconds for us to become cranked up about idiot drivers or online baiters?

Well, we have to recognize that everyone on Facebook, everyone with a TV microphone, everyone with a thought we don’t agree with … all deserve to be heard without being shouted down, online or in person. If the only voice we ever hear

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EDITORIAL

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Nichole Osinski

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senior art director: Jynnette Neal

is our own, reflecting back to us over and over again through our choice of solely like-minded media, we’re going to become intolerant. It’s inevitable.

One thing I’ve learned in this job over the years is that there are lots of people in our neighborhood who think differently than I do. And guess what: They aren’t all crazy, and they aren’t all wrong.

Won’t it make our neighborhood stronger if people are willing to consider the fact that, individually, we don’t always have a corner on wisdom and knowledge?

Yeah, peace on earth isn’t going to happen. But peace on our block should be achievable. And desirable. And necessary.

And just maybe it will radiate out from there.

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

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contributors: Angela Hunt, Lauren Law, George Mason, Kristen Massad, Brent McDougal

photo editor: Danny Fulgencio

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contributing photographers: Rasy Ran, Kathy Tran

Advocate, © 2016, is published monthly by East Dallas – Lakewood People Inc. Contents of this magazine may not be reproduced. Advertisers and advertising agencies assume liability for the content of all advertisements printed, and therefore assume responsibility for any and all claims against the Advocate. The publisher reserves the right to accept or reject any editorial or advertising material. Opinions set forth in the Advocate 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.

Is it really true that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely?

10551 Silverock Dr.-SOLD RileyRice 214.392.6934 2421 Garrett Ave. #1-SOLD/Buyer Rep TeresaCosta 214.695.5555

HOLIDAY BLESSINGS FROM 16+ Years Top Producing DFW Realtor International President’s Circle Award Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

“So,

“I think change is good. And makes for a more urban community.”

FORREST CAIN

of the in for ma tion. Real estate agents affilia ted with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.

Thank you for another great year of continued referrals & for the trust you have in me to help you achieve your real estate needs! Looking forward to your next call or email!

May you have a Wonderful Holiday Season!

Darlene Harrison 214-893-7547

DarleneHarrisonHomes@Gmail.com

“That’s absurd and very much not welcomed. If this developer gets through, then everyone else wants a piece too and there goes the beauty of Lakewood.”

TERESA BIEDERMAN

if this makes you angry, then oppose the rezoning publicly by contacting your council person, and attending the rezoning hearing in opposition. Junius Heights scored a small victory against overdevelopment on Gaston recently.”

MARCIA PHILLIPS

L A UNCH Out & About

NOV. 1-JAN. 8

SISTINE CHAPEL

You won’t need to buy a plane ticket to Rome to experience “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition.” The display includes 34 life-sized reproductions of the Renaissance artist’s ceiling frescoes.

Fair Park, 3800 Parry Ave., 214.426.3400, chapelsistine.com, $10-$45

DEC. 6-7

‘WAR HORSE’

The Angelika Film Center will show a performance of “War Horse,” a tale chronicling life in the trenches during World War I. The drama uses life-sized puppets created by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company.

Angelika Film Center & Café, 5321 E. Mockingbird Lane, suite 230, 972.943.1300, angelikafilmcenter.com, $20

DEC. 10

WORD SLAM

Join the Union Coffee House’s December Spoken Language Arts Movement geared toward local teens. The 7:30-9 p.m. event is an opportunity for apsiring poets to showcase their talent of the spoken word.

Union Coffee House, 5622 Dyer St., #100, 214.242.9725, uniondallas.net

DEC. 11, 18

FARMER’S MARKET

This month is your last chance to stop by the Greenville Avenue POP Market, hosted by Promise of Peace Community Gardens. The farmer’s market features family friendly activities and local vendors from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Granada Theater parking lot, 3524 Greenville Ave., 214.824.9933, promiseofpeace.us, free

DEC. 27-JAN. 1

LONE STAR CIRCUS

Celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Lone Star Circus with performances by aerialists, jugglers and clowns. The Dallasbased circus fuses music and poetry with agility and acrobats.

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

DEC. 17

COMEDY SHOWCASE

If you need a break from over-the-top Christmas jingles, this comedy showcase may be the perfect

PTA, the event kicks off at 6:30 p.m. before seven local comics take the stage at 7:30 p.m.

Contemporary Theatre of Dallas, 5601 Sears St., 214.828.0094, contemporarytheatreofdallas.com, $32

DEC. 31

NEW YEAR’S EVE

Dallas-based musician Jonathan Tyler headlines this New Year’s Eve concert that also features Nikki Lane, Paul Cauthen and Red Shahan. The celebration is for ages 14 and older.

Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., 214.824.9933, granadatheater.com, $24-$80

PHOTO BY DANNY FULGENCIO

PHOTO BY DANNY FULGENCIO

FIRED UP OVER DIABETES

Christopher Row is the 11-year-old philanthropic entrepreneur you need to know

By EMILY CHARRIER

MADE IN EAST DALLAS

THE STORE IN LAKE HIGHLANDS

214 560 4203 G A

Holiday Gifts Galore! We are stocked full of an incredible selection for family, friends, teachers and everyone on your list!

Mon-Sat 9:30-5:30 p.m. Open Thursdays until 8 p.m. thru Christmas! 10233 E. NW Hwy@Ferndale 214.553.8850 TheStoreinLH.com

2SHEA BABY BOUTIQUE

2Shea baby offers a wide variety of holiday clothing for your little ones. Come early to pick out the perfect outfits or holiday gifts.

6224 La Vista Drive · 469.914.6769

(Between Bank of America & Lakewood Post Office) Facebook.com/2sheababyboutique

FLEECE

Free Grinch Pattern for the month of December at “FLEECE” your new local yarn shop right here in East Dallas. Knit this fun gift just in time for the holidays. Located in Medallion Center6464 E Northwest Hwy., Ste 330 214.238.3820 fleeceboutique.com

WALTON’S GARDEN CENTER

WALTO W A LT O N S E N ONS N’

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

YOGAMART

Whether you are shopping for yourself or others there is always something different at YogaMart. From prayer cloth to hot yoga mat to books and Zafu stop by soon for best selection.

6039 Oram (at Skillman) 214-534-4469 yogamartusa.com

ADVOCATE ORNAMENT

Call 214.560.4203

Precocious doesn’t begin to describe Christopher Row. The Eastwood 11-year-old has a maturity that’s almost startling until his silly side emerges, betraying his true age. He’s just always been this way, even before he became responsible for managing his diabetes, a task that requires four blood tests a day along with regular insulin shots. But responsibility has always been a part of his constitution; he started his first company when he was all of 8, picking up dog poop for neighbors.

“I called it the ‘Business Business,’ ” he smiles. He’s a planner, who’s already saving for his first car.

But then came the summer that changed everything. Christopher was 10 and at camp when he first noticed something was off. “I was eating tons of candy at summer camp, but I still lost 10 pounds,” the St. John’s Episcopal School student says.

He then went on a road trip to the family’s vacation home in New Mexico, where no matter how much water he drank, he couldn’t quench his thirst. His father took him to urgent care.

“At first we went to a doc in a box, and they didn’t know what it was,” Christopher explains in a story he’s clearly told more than once. After he was transferred to a hospital, a blood sugar test showed soaring levels and he was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. During the five days he spent in the hospital, he immediately took charge of his own care, learning how to check his blood and administer his medication.

“In the hospital, they were teaching us what to do. My mom and dad were

Christopher Row has his own candle studio at his White Rock area home.

PHOTO BY DANNY FULGENCIO

standing there looking at each other like, ‘OK, you do it,’ ” Christopher says with a laugh. “I just started doing it myself. I very much like being in control.”

Like any chronic condition, it was a transition that was hard to get used to. Christopher learned to carry a bag of gummi bears everywhere in case his blood sugar drops, and is diligent about always testing on schedule to keep his body in balance. It’s no big deal now, he says, and he even came up with an analogy that his doctor now uses when talking to other kids about diabetes.

“He told the doctor, ‘It’s kind of like having an imaginary dog. You have to feed it. You have to take care of it,’ ” his mom, Kathy Row, says.

Soon after Christopher settled into life as a diabetic, he wanted to give back. Sitting in a German restaurant in New Mexico, he was entranced by the candle on the table and an idea was born. He

decided to make and sell candles to raise money for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). When asked what drew him to candles, he offers a perfect kid response: “I like fire. Fire is fun to watch. It’s just a boy thing.”

But Christopher approached his second business venture of his young life like a seasoned professional, spending hours researching how to make candles, what products to use and what scents are most popular. He even used his money from his “Business Business” to fund his next venture. He decided to go with soy, the cleanest-burning wax, which he put in simple tins and scented with citrus, spruce, lavender and lilac. There was some trial and error there — he wanted to be sure not to over perfume his product so it could only be smelled when burning. Then there was the issue of the wick.

“The hardest thing in my entire business? The wick,” he sighs. Always a perfectionist, he tinkered until he got just the right height, so it keeps the candle burning easily.

“They say the height of the flame should match the dent in the wax,” he explains. “Mine are perfect.”

He began slowly selling the candles to family friends and neighbors, which is when Leon Banowetz took notice. As the president of the advertising firm

Robert Schrickel

“I like fire. Fire is fun to watch. It’s just a boy thing.”

Banowetz + Company, whose clients include Stephan Pyles’ Floral Street Café and Floss Dental, he knew he could help Christopher’s emerging business.

“I told him to come down and present his concept to our business team,” Banowetz says. He helped make sure Christopher was prepared down to the financials, which included figuring out the cost per candle, the target sales price and how much would go toward JDRF.

Christopher describes the process as “long and mathy,” but worthwhile. The Banowetz team helped him find his name, Row Candles, along with a professional logo and packaging. They also built him a website where he can sell his candles online.

“I picked this look because it’s modern and very clean,” Christopher says, “like my candles.”

The project did require him to up his prices slightly to cover the cost of packaging his candles (design services were provided pro-bono by Banowetz). Candles retail for $10, much lower than the industry average, Christopher points out, of which $2 goes to JDRF.

“Just because our candles are cheaper doesn’t mean they’re of lesser quality,” he assures, calling mainstream candle companies “criminal” for what they charge.

Currently, he makes up to 20 candles at a time, most of which are crafted to order. He is eager to make his first contribution to the JDRF this fall. It’s a business he plans to stay in for a while.

“I’d like to retire doing this,” he says.

Find spruce, lavender, citrus and lilac candles for sale at rowcandles.com.

Row’s candle-making process incorporates soy wax and four scents.

PHOTO BY DANNY FULGENCIO

LIGHTING UP LIVE OAK

It was 1954 when the city first flipped the switch on a new set of streetlights for Live Oak, part of a citywide effort from 1949-68 to light up the dark corners of Dallas for added safety. The photo at left, from the Dallas City Archives, taken at the corner of Haskell, shows the bright new mercury-vapor streetlights on 28-foot poles. At right, you can see the block hasn’t changed too much today, although in 2008 the city launched efforts to replace all of the antiquated mercury lights.

Elizabeth Mast Vice President 214-914-6075

emast@briggsfreeman.com

Robby Sturgeon Vice President 214-533-6633

rsturgeon@briggsfreeman.com

maststurgeongroup.com

ALMOST FAMOUS

Lakewood’s John Pedigo grabs a banjo and takes on the folk circuit with The O’s

By ELISSA CHUDWIN

record each album how it would be performed live, but they also have a knack for multi-tasking with multiple instruments.

The O’s never set out to be a local band, but that doesn’t mean their hometown hasn’t been instrumental to their indie circuit success.

Before Lakewood native John Pedigo picked up a banjo and began writing rock-inspired folk tunes with fellow Dallas guitarist Taylor Young, their resumes included stints in several Dallas-based bands like Polyphonic Spree and Young Heart Attack. Since then, Pedigo and Young have traded high-intensity alternative for a raw, low-key sound that’s often compared to folk sensations Mumford & Sons or The Avett Brothers.

But the duo says they weren’t intentionally hopping on a bandwagon when they formed in 2008. It just was the most pragmatic way to continue recording and touring without watching their bank accounts rapidly dwindle from the high cost of tour buses and elaborate equipment.

While their sound has been simplified, The O’s are a culmination of the band’s previous projects, Pedigo says. He and Young make a conscious effort to

For Pedigo, the only difference between performing in the duo and with their past projects is instead of “everybody having a piece of the pie, we have the whole pie,” he says.

“It’s like our legs and our arms are other individuals,” Young explains. “We really have a 10-person band with both legs and arms and brains included.”

Young and Pedigo’s lifelong interest in music is a typical tale fueled by MTV music videos, cassette tapes and Deep Ellum’s thriving music scene during the late 1990s, when Pedigo was a student at Woodrow Wilson High School and Young attended Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas.

“If you look up a little video — ‘Here I Go Again’ by Whitesnake — that’s when I was like ‘Man, I think I want to be a part of this,’ because there was loud music and cars and girls,” Young says. “I was stuck at home with a babysitter watching MTV a lot, and I think that guided what I wanted to do with my life.”

Pedigo and Young never outgrew their aspirations of becoming rock stars, although Young jokes being a rapper might have been more lucrative. During

their teenage years, they spent their free time in Deep Ellum watching local bands like the psychedelic rock outfit Tripping Daisy.

But the neighborhood’s music-laden glory days came to a halt around 2003, and it wasn’t until recently that Pedigo noticed the scene’s resurgence there.

“It’s a pretty cool time in Dallas, because the city is growing incredibly fast,” he says. “Deep Ellum is basically a Starbucks away from being the coolest place in town.”

The duo has watched Dallas progress in between national and international tours. Pedigo never thought he’d see Manny’s Uptown in Lakewood or Deep Ellum thrive beyond its music and bar scene, but he’s content with the area’s ever-changing dynamic.

“I think everybody expects that these days,” he says. “It’s a certain thing people want. They want craft beer and artisan bread and local chickens.”

The support and praise they’ve received here is exactly what makes them inclined to stay, they say, and Pedigo subscribes to his father’s philosophy about growing up in East Dallas.

“I grew up on a farm, and it turned into a golf course, and now it’s a city. And I never moved,” he says.

Deep Ellum’s music scene has influenced the duo’s present-day songs.

TONGUES OUT

Ricky is lucky to be alive. The little guy ran back and forth across busy Garland Road before he was scooped up by a couple of good Samaritans who stopped to save him. They couldn’t keep him, so they brought him to the Memorial Day Parade in Forest Hills in 2008, where he met his mama, Molly Mandell . A birth defect makes his tongue perpetually hang out of his mouth, giving him a goofy grin. “He

and has had back surgery. These

stops Ricky,”

BEEMAN And the first family of White Rock

It’s been 175 years since John Neely Bryan launched the city’s first encampment on the banks of the Trinity River. During that first winter in 1841, he envisioned a town.

Recognizing the land’s economic potential, Bryan laid out the townsite of Dallas and set out to attract families to settle the burgeoning city with permanent residents. He eyed the closest settlement, Bird’s Fort, now in the area of Haltom City. One of the families he befriended there was the Beemans.

John Beeman must have been impressed with what he saw in that Texas settlement. He had moved his family from Illinois to Bowie County in 1840, then to Bird’s Fort the next year.

Bryan then brought the Beemans to what is now Dallas in January 1842 and, seeing its potential, John and his

half-brother James moved the family to the area. They first camped at a place they named Turtle Creek, but

soon moved on to White Rock Creek. James hunted buffalo in the vicinity. The family farm was on the southern branch of White Rock, where they built a blockhouse and later a homestead. The Beeman Family Cemetery is the last remnant of the south end of the farm, just south of Haskell Avenue, off Dolphin Road, at the end of Osage Street, north of the Jewish Cemetery Shearith Israel.

John Slate is the city archivist for Dallas who pens pieces on local history for the Advocate.

James Beeman, half-brother of John Beeman, was one of the first to settle White Rock Creek in 1842. This undated photo shows him in a canvas apron, likely used to protect his clothes while he butchered the bison he hunted in the area. (Photo courtesy of the MC Toyer Collection)

Twin Tree Ln $799,000

Santa Clara Dr. $799,000

THE TOWNHOME NICHE

One builder could transform a pocket of Old East Dallas

By RACHEL STONE

rounding Jimmy’s Food Store. It’s a neighborhood with a lot to offer in the way of urban life; there are neighborhood bars and restaurants, and it’s close to Downtown, Uptown and Lakewood. But it also has a lot of crime and run-down apartments. EKO’s new townhomes could add about 300 new middle-class residents there.

“It’s an opportunity to have a positive impact on a neighborhood that we’ve had a vision for since 2014,” Winters says.

EKO also has a townhome project near the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff and one near the Farmers Market Downtown.

Miles Durham’s small company built 100 custom homes, from Kessler Park to Interstate 635, over the course of 10 years.

They were luxury homes built when it seemed like practically anyone could buy a big fancy house. But then the housing market crashed. So Durham changed focus.

“I looked around and said, ‘I’m not comfortable building spec houses for a million dollars,’ ” he says. “I don’t have the intestinal fortitude for that.”

Durham partnered up with Brad Winters, a guy he’s known since second grade, to start EKO Builders. If you haven’t seen EKO’s name in our neighborhood, you’re not looking very hard.

The company has about 25 townhome projects underway in East Dallas.

Empty lots and teardowns in Lakewood now fetch at least $200,000. In some parts of Dallas, they sell for upwards of $500,000. Add a custom home, and the buyer’s price could approach $1 million.

Instead, EKO started buying up land in Old East Dallas — on Live Oak, Fitzhugh, Ross, Bennett and Bryan — to build luxury townhomes.

Imagine that same $200,000 lot with six townhomes selling for nearly $400,000 each.

Construction began last month on the first of the company’s planned 217 townhome units.

They’re three stories (some with rooftop decks), about 1,500 square feet each and have two bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms and two-car garages. They’re priced around $370,000.

“We want to keep it affordable,” Winters says. “Our buyer is someone who is priced out of Uptown or Lakewood.”

Durham and Winters began their venture in August 2014. They cash-flowed the company for a year, training employees, designing their buildings and interiors, working out their construction plans and nabbing investors. The company started buying land in June 2015, and this past August, they bought 4.5 acres in the Bryan/ Fitzhugh area.

Their projects are three-story homes, so they weren’t designed with downsizing Baby Boomers in mind. EKO expects young buyers who have busy work lives. They’re city-dwellers who want to walk to dinner or ride bikes to the movies.

The company is adding about 148 townhomes in the area sur-

They essentially are a design/build company, and they’re small. Durham lives in Lake Highlands; his dad is an architect who does some work for EKO. Winters flies into Dallas frequently from his home in Denver (he’d logged 80 flights through October this year). His background is in finance. The rest of the company consists of an office manager and a construction manager. They’re a small shop with the ability to take on unusual projects. Their farmers market property, for example, is on an odd, semi-circular lot that other builders had overlooked. But they put pencil to paper and made it work.

“We pride ourselves that we have a good handful of investors who trust us with their money. We have to make people money, and we have to do it in a way that doesn’t put them at risk,” Durham says. “We’re doing that by delivering projects that we believe in.”

Top: Brad Winters and Miles Durham.

Above: Construction at Bennett and Ross avenues.

PHOTOS BY RASY RAN

Dr. Michael McGuiness

Karen Adams PA-C

Dr. Natalie Wright

DELICIOUS

Don’t hold the bacon

Fresh ingredients, many bought locally, and a welcoming atmosphere are what keeps the customers of Sugarbacon Proper Kitchen coming back for more.

By NICHOLE OSINSKI

DID YOU KNOW: When it comes to views, table number 29 is the best seat in the house, according to Carros.

Talk to the people who are behind the scenes at the new Sugarbacon Proper Kitchen in Lakewood and the message is clear: it’s all about the food.

Though the original Sugarbacon is in McKinney, adding a second location close to the heart of Dallas means more people get to indulge in what the restaurant’s chef Andrea Maricichi describes as “New American cuisine with Texas undertones.” But what is that exactly? It’s a little bit of everything.

“We’re not particularly trying to rewrite the culinary bible but what we do, we really try to perfect,” Maricichi says. “It’s straightforward comfort and things that people can really embrace.”

For Maricichi, this is the restaurant’s pulled Berkshire pork chop that is brined and grilled to order.

Johnny Carros, one of the restaurant’s three partners, has a few recommendations of his own. His favorite dishes include the shrimp and grits, enchiladas and burger as well as the pork chop. Getting that food to the table

and making sure it will be something patrons enjoy isn’t the result of a few quick decisions — it’s a process.

“It’s just years of operations and eating out,” Carros says. “We really wanted to try a balanced menu to hit all the notes on what you might want when you come in a restaurant.”

As for the process that goes into those dishes, it all starts with fresh ingredients that are brought right to the prep kitchen. Maricichi points out they try to also keep what goes into the dishes local, like the grits that come from a farm right outside of Waco.

SUGARBACON PROPER KITCHEN

However, at Sugarbacon the food isn’t just served, it’s presented. Take the pork chops for example. It’s not just a smoked pork shoulder, it’s enhanced with a salad of granny smith apples, arugula and lime on top while roasted chili hominy sits underneath to create a combination that Maricichi describes as hearty and scrumptious.

Ambiance: Trendy dining

Price range: $15-$50

Hours: Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. 6400 Gaston 972.290.0731 sugarbacon.com

“You have to tie everything together, it has to smell delicious, it has to look delicious, it has to taste delicious,” Maricichi says. “But the first thing you eat with is your eyes, before you put the first bite in your mouth, so we really try to elevate some of the classics through presentation and perfection of execution.”

Enchilada’s ‘Tony’s Chicken’

Enchilada’s has been a Dallas staple since it first brought its signature style of TexMex to the city in 1979. For more than 20 years, it’s been under the leadership of Tony Waldrop, who cut his teeth working for the restaurant his family built on Northwest Highway. While that location has since closed, the restaurant is stilling serving up sizzling plates on Upper Greenville and Downtown.

Back in 1999, we shared the recipe for Waldrop’s signature dish, “Tony’s Chicken.” It remains a favorite with diners because of its tangy flavor topped with creamy cheese and crisp bacon. As Waldrop told us, it all comes down to the marinade — whatever you do, don’t skip that step.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

¼ pound bacon, cooked and crumbled ¼ pound Monterey Jack cheese, grated

MARINADE:

16 ounce bottled Italian dressing

1 cup fresh lemon juice

½ cup garlic powder

½ cup fajita spice (found on the spice aisle of most grocery stores)

Marinate chicken breasts for at least 24 hours, then grill over medium-high heat until done, approximately 15 minutes. Cover with bacon crumbles and top with grated cheese. Place under broiler until cheese melts.

dining SPOTLIGHT

Another Broken Egg Cafe

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Home for the Holidays

They say it’s the most wonderful time of the year, and here in East Dallas it sure feels that way. The neighborhood is brimming over with seasonal spirit — from Christmas concerts and Nutcracker performances to holiday markets and, of course, a visit to Scrooge at NorthPark Center, now voiced by a Woodrow grad. Here you will find the ultimate list of holiday celebrations, all within an easy 5-mile radius of Lakewood so you can enjoy the season without ever getting on a freeway.

Story by NICHOLE OSINSKI

The new in town

PHOTOS BY DANNY FULGENCIO

Wandering through airports, malls and crowded streets, Woodrow Wilson High School grad Will Schutze quietly judges people. He asks himself, “What would Scrooge think?” He then finds a way to mock them.

This may seem like cause for concern, but Schutze is busy preparing for his role as Scrooge at NorthPark Center this month.

“Everywhere I go, I’m constantly walking and insulting people in my head, in that playful way, of course,” he says.

Wearing all black, the 30-year-old puppeteer will walk into the puppethouse stationed inside NorthPark Center and put the Scrooge puppet on his hand for his second season. He’ll hurl insults at children and spray them with water as a warning to get off his property. He’ll sarcastically compliment families’ thrifty tendencies, using the raspy old-man voice he has practiced for months.

Schutze will transform into Scrooge 10 times a day for the next month, and each time, he will remember his longtime mentor and East Dallas legend John Hardman, who embodied Scrooge and his disdain of the holidays for nearly four decades. The character created by the longtime neighbor and puppeteer became a holiday icon in Dallas — it’s not Christmas until Scrooge’s sharp tongue begins to thrash, welcoming in the season as only he could.

When Hardman lost his battle to cancer in 2015, Scrooge’s future at NorthPark became murky, until Schutze was asked to take over the role. He already had done a one-week stint at Scrooge when Hardman was in the hospital with pneumonia, so he was familiar with the technical aspects of the show.

But taking on a 38-year legacy of trash talk is no easy task, especially when it’s a constant reminder of what’s missing.

“It’s bittersweet because when I’m doing the show, I’m constantly thinking of John,” Schutze says. “But I find myself laughing at his jokes, and I feel like I can do that.”

Schutze now lives in Charleston, S.C., with his fiancé and cat, but he returns

to Dallas twice a year for Scrooge Puppet Theatre and the “World on a String” show at the State Fair of Texas.

Although anxiety crept in before his performances as Scrooge last year, he’s looking forward to seeing the smiles — and maybe a few frowns — on shoppers’ faces this season.

“I think it probably should have been a whole lot of pressure,” he says. “But just the show itself is a lot of pressure when you have an entire audience staring at a puppet on your hand, and your job is to insult them and make them laugh.”

Schutze was first introduced to puppeteering after high school. Hardman’s wife, Patti, was his theater teacher at Woodrow who asked him to work at the “World on a String” show

at the fair, another one of Hardman’s projects. Seeing the marionettes hanging from the back room ceiling fascinated him, and Schutze found his niche without even realizing it.

“They didn’t even have to be performing. Just hanging there, they really spoke to me,” he says.

MORE SEASONAL CELEBRATIONS AT NORTHPARK

Hardman was the catalyst for Schutze’s career, which includes an appearance with his puppet show in Jon Favreau’s 2014 movie “Chef.” He initially moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting, but is now a full-time puppeteer in South Carolina. He even creates his own marionettes.

He’s memorized Hardman’s list of comebacks and insults, remembers his advice, but his larger-than-life personality has left the largest impression on Schutze. He says Hardman was performing around the clock, even if he was just sitting at the dinner table with his family and friends.

For the seventh year, Gingertown Dallas brings design, engineering and construction firms together to create a gingerbread village. The live build competition on Dec. 6 benefits the Children’s Craniofacial Association.

“I’ve always wanted to be like that. I’m more naturally shy when I’m not performing,” Schutze says. “And I always kind of think about John when I’m trying to channel that sort of energy and tell jokes and crack people up. He’s an inspiration in all ways.” —ELISSA

Scrooge at NorthPark

CHUDWIN

Monday-Saturday, through Christmas. See northparkcenter.com for dates and times.

Explore the United States, from Times Square to the Golden Gate Bridge, during the Trains at NorthPark. The Ronald McDonald House of Dallas fundraiser runs through Jan. 8. Santa Claus will share festive tales about the snowy North Pole at 10:30 a.m. Monday-Saturday and noon on Sunday until Dec. 23. In addition to Storytime with Santa, he will be available for portraits with kiddos until Christmas Eve.

CHRISTMAS IN CASA LINDA

When temperatures drop and shoppers begin to pick up the pace, it’s fair to say the area of Casa Linda already has begun preparing for Christmas. This year, some changes have taken place, but the East Dallas neighborhood still will be a place where locals can go to feel the holiday spirit and give back to others.

During past holiday seasons, residents flocked to the annual tree lighting at Casa Linda Plaza, but this year, the event will be a no-go. The tradition came to an end last year when new owners EDENS Real Estate nixed the celebration, seemingly to save tenants the $37,000 bill, although they did not officially comment on their decision to end the event. EDENS told the Advocate they will instead sponsor the nearby Casa Linda Lights. The holiday luminary event was started by Casa Linda Estates neighbors to raise money for first responders and their families. On Dec. 10 and 11, volunteers will light 7,000 luminaries throughout the Casa Linda Estates to raise money for the Guns & Hoses Foundation of North Texas, which provides financial support to the families of firefighters and police officers who died in the line of duty.

In 2015 the luminaries in Casa Linda raised $7,000 for Guns & Hoses.

“What started as our neighborhood’s hope to create a beautiful holiday tradition in East Dallas has evolved into a great way to build relationships within the community and show our great thanks to local firefighters and police officers in the doing,” says Kara Kennedy, one of the event organizers.

In 2015 the luminaries in Casa Linda raised $7,000 for Guns & Hoses. The year before, $5,000 was raised for a local firefighter, Jeff Patterson, who suffered third-degree burns while fighting a house fire.

Close by, everyone can walk among rows of Christmas trees ready to be taken home to decorate thanks to nieghbor, Jeff Patton who is once again putting up a Christmas tree lot at the Casa Linda Plaza, 9446 Garland Road. The Christmas tree lot is open from Nov. 25 through Christmas Eve from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. More information can be found at facebook.com/pattonschristmastrees.

Casa Linda Lights

Dec. 10-11, after dark, Casa Linda Estates casalindaestates.com

1

Not every holiday tradition is centered on shopping or Christmas treats. Sometimes the winter months means lacing up your sneakers, pulling on a warm hat and pounding the pavement with hundreds of other people. The BMW DALLAS MARATHON as well as the HALF MARATHON and BEHRINGER RELAY are celebrating 46 years of athletes running the city course. This year’s event happens on Dec. 11 with races stepping off at 8:05 a.m. F ind out more at bmwdallasmarathon.com

2 Though it takes place after Christmas, LA POPULAR TAMALE HOUSE will be ringing in the New Year by bringing back the black-eyed pea tamales. Why peas? Owner Jesse Moreno says they represent good luck and prosperity — a perfectly delicious start to 2017. The tamales will be sold Dec. 29–Jan. 3 at the restaurant, 5004 Columbia Ave Moreno warns that the wait for tamales can be up to two or more hours, so consider pre-ordering at 214.824.7617.

3 Christmas and local history are intertwined at the ALEXANDER MANSION, 4607 ROSS AVE., during the Dallas Woman’s Forum Holiday Celebration. The festivities also include an afternoon tea, the proceeds of which benefit local charities. The holiday celebration runs from Dec. 1–4, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The tea takes place Dec. 7–10 and 14-18 at noon. Call 214.823.4533 or visit dallaswomansforum.org for tickets.

4 BAD CHRISTMAS SWEATERS — the gaudier, tackier and more three-dimensional, the better, are all the rage thanks to ugly Christmas sweater parties. Thankfully there is The Ugly Christmas Sweater pop-up shop, which offers a concentrated inventory of tasteless Santa and snowflake emblazoned knits. It opens late November at 6333 E. Mockingbird, suite . Get more at uglychristmassweater dallas.com

Nutcrackers a plenty

The nutcracker has been a symbol of the Christmas season since they were first presented as gifts of luck and protection in Germany in the 15th century. The holiday ballet of the same name, however, didn’t become a holiday tradition until more recently. While it was first danced in St. Petersburg in 1892, it wasn’t until the San Francisco Ballet debuted the show on Christmas Eve in 1944 that it became an American holiday tradition. And here in East Dallas, there are two chances to see the classic Christmas show.

As always, the Woodrow Dance Theatre and dance students put a special spin on the tale of Clara and her adventure during the “Nutcracker Short ‘N Suite.” Dancers from kindergarten to 12th-grade take the stage, with a different cast of elementary children performing each night.

“The goal of ‘The Nutcracker’ is to expose children to dance and make it extremely family and community centered,” says Woodrow dance teacher Lisa Moya-King, adding she wants to “reach out so we can build the dance program throughout the community.”

Families also can join in for The Land of Sweets Breakfast where the Sugarplum Fairy and Santa mix and mingle with children and adults alike.

Performances take place on Dec. 8 and 9, at 7 p.m. with The Land of Sweets Breakfast happening Dec. 10 at 10 a.m. followed by the final dance performance.

Nutcracker Short ‘N Suite Dec. 8-10, various times Woodrow Wilson High School woodrowwildcats.org/performing-arts

The Kathy Burks Theatre of Puppetry Arts also is taking on Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s classic and spinning the tale with an age-old art form: puppets. This year also will be the 20th anniversary of the family friendly event being performed at the Dallas Children’s Theater Nov. 18–Dec. 21. For deaf viewers, a special performance will be held in sign language on Dec. 4 at 4:30 p.m. Both performances are at the Rosewood Center, 5938 Skillman.

‘The Nutcracker’ puppetry Nov. 18-Dec. 21 Dallas Children’s Theater dct.org

WAYS TO SHOP LOCAL 3

1 If Christmas is about giving, then the WINTER ART FAIR is the perfect place to do just that.

On Dec. 10, 1-7 p.m., the fair brings together handmade art to benefit Alex Sanger Elementary. It happens at The Mix in the basement of White Rock United Methodist Church, 1450 Oldgate Lane. For more information call 214.650.4750 or visit facebook.com/ WinterArtFair

2 School may not be the first place you go to shop but there’s a reason to give it a try this Christmas. The holiday season has come to BISHOP LYNCH HIGH SCHOOL meaning families can stop by for the school’s Christmas Bazaar on Dec. 3, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. at the school, 9750 Ferguson Road. For more information, visit bishoplynch.org

3 THE CANDLELIGHT WALK on Henderson Avenue is an event that’s about more than just sightseeing during the winter. Businesses will break out their best holiday offerings, bringing music, treats and beautiful lights to the retail district for all to see. This year’s walk happens 6–9 p.m. on Nov. 30. Visit candlelightwalk. wordpress.com for past event details.

‘The Nutcracker’ puppetry at Dallas Children’s Theater

1 Woodrow Wilson High School’s show choir has joined up with East Dallas Christian Church for the “SING WE NOW OF CHRISTMAS” concert. The event will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 18 at the church, 629 N. Peak St. For more information call 214.824.8185.

2 Be a part of the re-creation of Mary and Joseph’s search for a place to stay during the LAS POSADAS CELEBRATION at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 17 at Emanuel Lutheran Church, 4311 San Jacinto St. For more information call 214.824.8613.

3 Carols will be sung at 10:15 a.m. on Dec. 18 in addition to a CHRISTMAS CONCERT at 7 p.m. on Dec. 2 at Lakewood United Methodist Church, 2443 Abrams Road. For more information call 214.823.9623.

4 It’s not the holidays without food. A CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION DINNER will be served at 6 p.m. on Dec. 18 at St. Stephen United Methodist Church, 2520 Oates Drive. For more information call 972.279.3112.

5 A Christmas concert with a STRING QUARTET AND CAROLING will take place at 10:45 a.m. on Dec. 11 at White Rock Community Church, 9353 Garland Road. For more information call 214.320.0043.

6 To remember Mary and Joseph’s search for a place to stay, a LAS POSADAS CELE-

LAKEWOOD LIGHTS UP

The festive Light Up Lakewood, happening on Dec. 2 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lakewood Shopping Center/Harrell Park, is sponsored by Lakewood Neighborhood Association as well as a number of neighborhood businesses. It started small back in 2002 as a simple customer appreciation event by Talulah and Hess owner Elizabeth Mast. Within a couple of years, most of the surrounding businesses joined the holiday effort. The focus of the event is not on shopping, as you might expect, but on community. There’s something for everyone, including a visit from Santa, a petting zoo, face painting, a balloon artist, a marionette show, toy soldiers on stilts and more. Hear the choirs from Lipscomb and Woodrow Wilson sing carols, along with the Woodrow marching band. But be sure you don’t miss the huge tree lighting at 7 p.m. —PATTI

Light Up Lakewood

Dec. 2, 6-8 p.m.

Lakewood Shopping Center, Gaston at Abrams lakewoodserviceleague.org

14

HOUSE OF WORSHIP HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS

BRATION will take place at 6 p.m. on Dec. 11 at Greenland Hills United Methodist Church, 5835 Penrose Ave. For more information call 214.826.2060.

7 An afternoon of sharing CHRISTMAS SONGS in the form of caroling is set for Dec. 11, hosted by Northridge Presbyterian Church. It will be followed by a SUNDAY SCHOOL PAGEANT at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 24 at the church, 6920 Bob O Link Drive. For more information call 214.827.5521.

8 Join ST. MATTHEW’S IN CAROLING at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 18. The singers will be out again at 10 p.m. on Dec. 24, after the children’s Christmas pageant at 5 p.m. that day at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, 5100 Ross Ave. For more information call 214.823.8134.

9 Take in the HANGING OF THE GREEN with vocal and instrumental performances at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 4 and listen to portions of HANDEL’S MESSIAH sung by the church choir at 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Dec. 18 at Wilshire Baptist Church, 4316 Abrams Road. For more information call 214.452.3100.

10 Get your latkes and a whole host of other treats when HANUKKAH HOOPLA hits the Jewish Community Center on Dec. 11. From noon-4 p.m., the festival includes a holiday market, craft fair and games for the kids. Get all the details at jccdallas.org.

VINSON

11 The younger members of the MUNGER PLACE CHURCH, 5200 Bryan St., will be putting on their own Christmas pageant at 3 p.m. on Dec. 24. Then on Christmas day the church will hold a pancake breakfast at 11 a.m. For more information call 214.823.9929.

12 Warm up with a soup dinner at the CENTRAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, 1000 Easton Road, at 6 p.m. on Nov. 30 before taking in the live nativity at 7 p.m. The church’s choir, along with a jazz ensemble, will be performing at the MUSEUM OF BIBLICAL ARTS on Dec. 11 at 3:30 p.m. For more information call 214.327.2222.

13 Within 5 minutes of our neighborhood you can take part in a richly traditional HANUKKAH SHABBAT service and dinner at CONGREGATION SHEARITH ISRAEL , 9401 Douglas Ave. As Hanukkah runs Dec. 24-Jan. 1 this year, the event is set for Dec. 30 at 6 p.m. Email organizer Katie Venetsky at kvenetsky@shearith.org for more details.

14 FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, 1928 Ross Ave., will bring to life the classic opera, AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS. The production will take place at 7 p.m. on Dec. 3 and 4. For more information call 214.220.2727, ext. 218 or send an e-mail to rotundatickets@fumcdallas.org.

5

MUSICALLY WHIMSY CELEBRATIONS

1 After a long run at the Lakewood Theater, RICKI DEREK and his orchestra are back for a live performance at the Granada Theater. “A Merry Little Christmas Show” is an old-fashioned holiday revue that always drums up nostalgia. It takes place at 8 p.m., Dec. 16, at the Granada, 3524 Greenville Ave. Get tickets at granadatheater.com or call 214.824.9933.

12 Days of Christmas

The beloved carol “The 12 Days of Christmas” was first printed in England in 1780 but didn’t become the classic song we know today until 1909 in an arrangement by English composer Frederic Austin, who added the iconic “five golden rings.”

Over at the Dallas Arboretum, they take the traditional tune to new heights. Want to see nine ladies dancing or seven swans swimming? The botanical garden sets up fanciful scenes with painstaking attention to detail, right down to the rhinestone-encrusted pears surrounding a rotating partridge.

2 Christmas collides with pop rock when the POLYPHONIC SPREE concert is performed this month. The annual “Holiday Extravaganza” takes place Dec. 10 at 6 p.m., but is moving from East Dallas to downtown at the Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St. Visit theholidayextravaganza.com or call 214.670.3687 for details.

3 When Liz Simmons’ house is lit up, you know it’s Christmas. This year the ELECTRIC LIZZYLAND CHRISTMAS light display on Newell Avenue promises to be just as big and maybe just a bit brighter. The light show, timed with music, will run Dec. 17 through New Year’s Eve, setting the neighborhood aglow when the sun drops down. Get all the details at facebook.com/theelectriclizzyland

4 THE LONE STAR CIRCUS marks its 10th year of bringing its festive holiday “La Fête” showcase of acrobats and aerialists, music and mimes. You’ll want to get there 45 minutes early to take in the pre-show with music, poetry and more. The show runs Dec. 27-Jan 1, during which showtimes vary by day. Get tickets and more at lonestarcircus.com.

5 Even more music is coming to the Granada this winter in the form of “LOCAL HONEY’S HOLIDAY MIX” on Dec. 18. The band, led by Kelly Brown, lives up to its name by bringing an eclectic roundup of different artists and a slew of songs. Times will be posted on the theater website: granadatheater.com

Called “12 Days of Christmas at Night,” the event offers a rare chance to tour the arboretum after dark. The expansive gardens glow with the twinkle of more than 500,000 holiday lights, which are paired with classic carols for a festive holiday evening. Tickets are $12.

The historic DeGolyer House will be open on select nights, serving up robust meals like roast pork with raspberry chipotle sauce in a merry setting. The entire home is expertly decorated for the season, and this year will feature Claus Collection Santa Exhibit, a display dedicated to St. Nick in his many iterations. Dinners are $55 a person and reservations are a must by calling Emily Gavin at 214.515.6511. Tours of the home are available during normal garden hours.

—EMILY CHARRIER

12 Days of Christmas at Night

Nov. 9-Dec. 30, 6-9 p.m. (except Christmas Eve and Christmas) dallasarboretum.org

3 HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS WE MISS

THE CASA LINDA TREE LIGHTING was like a party for residents. It was a chance to gather the neighborhood and give good cheer, and it is sorely missed. Talk around the Casa Linda Plaza water-cooler is that merchants are hoping to bring it back, or perhaps launch a new holiday tradition.

For years, the stately TREE ON LAKESHORE at Boulevard Drive has been a holiday bright spot for residents. The tree long stood aglow with the twinkle of hundreds of lights, but this year will remain dark. The new property owner, however, says it might happen again in the future.

Nothing brings about nostalgia like watching the 1954 movie, “A WHITE CHRISTMAS.” And while the Lakewood Theater’s tradition of showing the musical may have discontinued, that doesn’t mean we can’t still sing the songs so many have grown up listening to during the holidays.

SPACE INVADERS

Dallas ISD’s magnet schools promise a hand up to our city’s most talented students. Why are so many of those students from the suburbs?

Story by KERI MITCHELL

“What makes the arts magnet special?” asks a headline in the fall 2016 Highland Park Village magazine.

The publication, crafted for the well-heeled customers of the Park Cities shopping center’s highend stores, showcases Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts with artistic images of dancers in motion and paint-splattered artist smocks. The story lauds the “renowned” school “founded in 1892 for African-American students” that evolved into the “anchor location for what would become Dallas’ burgeoning Arts District.”

“It should be noted,” the story continues, “that earning accep-

tance into the school is an astonishing feat in itself. ‘There are roughly 900 applicants for only 220 places in each incoming freshman class,’ ” school spokeswoman Sharon Cornell tells the publication.

“While preference is accorded students residing in the DISD, jaw-dropping merit can also win a place among the ‘fortunate few’ who live in surrounding areas,” the story says.

This year, the “fortunate few” numbered 71 out-of-district students at Booker T.’s campus. That’s a drop from a high of 207 out-of-district students in 2009-10, when Parkies and suburbanites comprised more than one-fourth of the school.

Talk with Dallas ISD’s trustees, administrators and faculty, and there are a variety of responses to the issue of suburbanites blocking deserving Dallas ISD students from Booker T. and

PHOTO BY DANNY FUGLENCIO

Pegasus sculpture at Booker T. Washington High School

the other TAG and magnet schools in the district.

They all know the issue. They all have their opinions. There just doesn’t seem to be any real will or enough concern to do anything about it.

Dallas ISD Trustee Edwin Flores, who represents the North Dallas area, is an exception. One of his daughters attended Booker T., he has seen the problem firsthand, and he’s angry about the situation.

“If for every kid that Highland Park sends to Booker T., I could send one of my poor kids to Highland Park — do an even exchange — I’d be OK,” Flores says.

“If we had some kind of reciprocity. But this is not a county school— this is a DISD school, and it bugs me that we knock out kids with potential just because those kids didn’t have the access to the piano teachers, the dance teachers.”

THAN ZAW OO: NOT JUST A STATISTIC

A few years ago, Janet Morrison-Lane took her first tour of Booker T. She was there on behalf of students who live in

Vickery Meadow, a vast apartment community in Northeast Dallas populated with refugees from throughout the world.

“I work as a parent advocate to do what I know a parent would want to do if they knew their options,” says Morrison-Lane of her role as director of the Eagle Scholars at Vickery Meadow Youth Development Foundation.

The tour was led by one of Booker T.’s elite students. The young man introduced himself, telling the group he lived in Richardson while offering a few other personal details.

Morrison-Lane didn’t hear anything after “Richardson.”

“He said it nonchalantly, and I kept

OUTSIDERS IN THE INNER SANCTUM

This chart pinpoints suburban students’ annual enrollment at five of Dallas ISD’s most sought-after magnet schools. To determine these numbers, we analyzed enrollment figures provided to us by DISD directly and through Freedom of Information Act requests for the years 2000 to 2016, inclusive, which were then confirmed by the school district.

thinking about it,” she says.

She wondered: What deserving Dallas ISD student had he displaced?

On Morrison-Lane’s mind that day was a young Burmese refugee, Than Zaw Oo, a gifted artist with no formal training who, as a sixth-grader, created an exact likeness of President Barack Obama in pencil. Morrison-Lane knew Booker T. and its acclaimed art instruction would change his life.

But Zaw Oo was new to this country, having learned English in only a few years. That translated to test scores and grades that were on the low-end of the top tier magnet school’s acceptability scale. Plus, he was painfully shy, a characteristic that didn’t bode well for the interview portion of the application process.

“His academics weren’t there, but his artistic talent was,” she says, “and he could’ve risen up to that [academic level].”

Than Zaw Oo was denied the opportunity to attend Booker T.

Yet somehow, Morrison-Lane thought, this Richardson student had elbowed

The year Than Zaw Oo’s application was denied, 89 outof-district students attended Booker T.

George B. Dealey Montessori

Harry Stone Montessori

Zaw Oo aside to become one of the fortunate few. The year Zaw Oo’s application was denied, 89 out-of-district students attended Booker T.

Something else Morrison-Lane eventually learned: It’s common knowledge that parents from the suburbs sign shortterm leases or even forge Dallas addresses to get their children into Booker T. and other select Dallas ISD schools.

As we scoured enrollment figures between 2000 and 2016, the data confirms it’s not unusual for suburban students to claim a sizable chunk of spots in Dallas’ most sought-after magnet schools.

The question is: Why?

WHAT’S THE GOAL: MAINTAINING TOP RANKINGS OR HELPING KIDS UP?

In a district without enough accomplishments to brag about, the magnet schools are an exception.

Booker T. has a long string of accolades and famous alumni. Townview’s Talented and Gifted as well as Science and Engineering magnet high schools (better known as TAG and SEM) annually are atop the lists of “best high schools in America” from Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report. Altogether, these three schools are educating 145 out-of-district students this year.

At Dallas ISD’s Montessori magnets, George B. Dealey in Preston Hollow and Harry Stone in southern Dallas, suburban students are sprinkled among the pre-kindergarten to eighth-grade mix. They’re even at Travis, the district’s TAG fourth- through eighth-grade campus, where preference for siblings and long waitlists led to a recent board policy change. The waitlist wasn’t exhausted, yet three non-Dallas ISD students still were admitted last year.

All of these schools have waitlists. All have policies that require qualified Dallas ISD students to be admitted before outof-district students, even if those suburban students’ scores are off the charts.

Yet none of them follow their own rules.

Booker T., which didn’t respond to interview requests for this story, is the worst offender, both presently and historically.

When Booker T. reopened as an arts magnet in 1976, suburban students weren’t just welcomed with open arms, they were recruited. It was year five of the district’s court-ordered desegregation efforts, and to say that busing wasn’t popular with certain sectors of the community would be an understatement.

The district had seen some success mixing races at the then-new Skyline magnet school, which enticed white, black and brown students with its air-conditioned building (the only one in Dallas ISD at the time) and a chance to be part of something historic. Then-superintendent Nolan Estes thought the success could be replicated, so he proposed four new, career-focused magnet schools in 1976 that would be centrally located downtown.

Booker T. had been the only Dallas school for black children until 1939, and it was still essentially segregated when the district turned it into an arts magnet for dissimilar black and white students who shared an interest in the arts. The other original downtown magnets have faded into history, but 40 years later, Booker T. still stands.

At the time, the district’s goal for creating the magnets was explicit: They were “designed to achieve desegregation by attracting students of different ethnic backgrounds to schools where unique academic and vocational programs will be offered.”

And when it came to students who lived outside district boundaries, Dallas didn’t discriminate.

A September 1977 Dallas Morning News story laments that only 17 suburban students had enrolled in the district’s magnet schools. The story notes that then-trustee Brad Lapsley, a Woodrow Wilson High School graduate, “saw the magnets’ specialized curriculum as a way to lure Anglo students from the suburbs into Dallas’ voluntary desegregation program.”

Total number of slots claimed by students from outside of DISD for the past 14 years, after desegregation ended in 2003:

BOOKER T. WASHINGTON

SPREA DING CHRISTMAS

T hen as now, though, Dallas ISD’s trus tees weren ’ t in agreement about tha t g oal. T he southern Dallas cohor t of t ru s te es b eli e ve d i f pa re nt s w a nte d their s tudents to a ttend the magne ts, “they should buy houses inside the school distric t.”

By 1989, 17 percent of Book er T.’s s tudents were suburban transfers, despite a waiting list of almost 400 Dallas ISD -resident students. The board wasn ’ t happy about so many outsiders taking up seats, according to a September 1989 Dallas Morning Ne ws stor y Some trustees wanted to “pre vent outside enrollment until all DISD students interested in the school were ser ved.”

“We weren ’ t created for them; we were created for DISD s tudents,” said thenschool board member Rene Castilla.

Ultimately, the decision came down ace. Booker T. was 60 percent white tha t time (compared to 17 percent tric t-wide), and the board opted to a d m i s s i o n ( o n e - t h i r d e a c h ) at i t s magne ts be tween white, black and Hispanic students.

he board left the door to the suburbs open, perhaps because white s tudents were leaving Dallas ISD too quickly By 2003, whites made up only 6.7 percent Dallas ISD enrollment. hen desegregation ended.

COUR T-ORDERED DESEGREGATION SHACKLES OFF

year, Dallas ISD was legally required admit students to its magne t schools mee t race quotas. T he ne xt year, that tice became illegal when the cour t released the dis tric t from its desegretion order

s par t of the terms of its release, Dallas ISD made promises to the cour t about how it would manage the magnets going for ward. T he schools had led the distric t out of segregation. What would become of them now that the cour t had declared Dallas desegregated?

T he answer is in the “Declar a tion of Commitments and Covenants” Dallas ISD made to the cour t in 2003:

T h e m a g n e t s w o u l d n o w e x i s t t o “ o ff e r u n i q u e e d u c a t i o n a l o p p o r t u n i t i e s through specialt y c urric ula tha t cannot be found within the neighborhood s ch oo ls ” T he d is tr ic t al s o p l ed g ed t o “be diligent in its e ffor ts to identif y all e l i g i b l e o r q u a l i fi e d s t u d e n t s ” a n d t o “care fully monitor the selec tion process so tha t no s tudent or e thnic group is unfairly e xcluded.”

By 2005, an internal review of these commitments showed that 110 new outof-district students were admitted to magnet schools, while 446 district students were left on a waiting list. This “excluded about 25 percent of DISD students from the program,” the report notes.

“The selection process should be reviewed to determine if a limit is needed.”

Board policy at the time welcomed out-of-district students. In general, it still does. The district receives state funding for each student who attends its schools. With private schools abounding

and charter schools ramping up efforts, Dallas ISD typically doesn’t turn away volunteer recruits. In fact, its new collegiate academies at eight high schools are an explicit effort to attract students from charter and suburban schools.

That’s not the case at the magnets, however, where board policy dating back to 2010 gives Dallas ISD students precedence over out-of-district students.

So why are there still eye-popping numbers of students at some of the district’s most elite magnet schools?

For starters, parents “flat-out lie” on their applications, says Flores, the North Dallas trustee and former Booker T. parent. The fact that parents give false addresses, with their kids participating in the deceit, is “the part that really irks me,” he says.

What exacerbates the problem at Booker T., he says, is that some of the adults conducting the auditions required to gain entrance to the school also are being paid as tutors by parents in places such as Coppell and McKinney.

“To say that the auditions are rigged is being kind,” Flores says.

Dallas ISD is 70 percent Hispanic. Booker T. Washington is 27 percent Hispanic — a drop since 2003, when desegregation ended.

“Are you telling me there’s no Hispanic arts talent in DISD?” Flores asks.

Booker T.’s percentage of black students also has decreased in the 13 years since desegregation, down to 21 percent. But the school is significantly whiter (48 percent) and is 76 percent

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Eye Injuries

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Major Burns

Stroke Like Symptoms

Allergies

Allergic Reactions

Bites

Colds and Coughs

Cuts

Earaches

Fevers

Flu

Sore Throat Rashes

For starters, parents “flat-out lie” on their applications, says Edwin Flores, the North Dallas trustee.

affluent in a district that is 90 percent low-socioeconomic.

DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL?

The fact that Dallas ISD’s top magnets are peppered with suburban students is fairly common knowledge among trustees, at least anecdotally.

“I’m perplexed by that,” says Trustee Dustin Marshall, who was elected in June to represent East Dallas and Preston Hollow. “There seems to be more than sufficient demand within the boundaries of DISD.”

Audrey Pinkerton, the new Oak Cliff trustee whose daughters attended Booker T., also acknowledges the “concern that has been expressed by some parents and community members [whose] perspective is, ‘We have kids coming from cities who are not paying taxes to DISD, and we are, so our kids should get first preference.’ ”

This topic came up at a recent town hall meeting Pinkerton hosted. A mother in the audience said she knew two Highland Park families who rented apartments in Dallas ISD so their children could attend Travis.

“I’m offended by that,” the mother told the crowd. “Is there any way to police that?”

Administrators, too, seem aware of the problem.

Keisha Crowder-Davis, Dallas ISD’s director of postsecondary success who has overseen the magnet schools since 1999, says that “our programs have always been for our in-district students. We triple check when they submit.”

“The funny part is parents tell on each other,” she says. “They’ll call and say, ‘This student got in, and I know he doesn’t live in the district because he lives across the street, and we used our real address.’ ”

The district’s policy requires students to show a utility bill, lease or mortgage agreement, or a notarized proof of residency to enroll at a magnet school. If something “looks abnormal,” Crowder-Davis says, Dallas ISD police are sent to the student’s purported place of residence.

However, Dallas ISD’s own numbers show that suburban students are still finding loopholes, and not just by the ones and twos but by the dozens.

Crowder-Davis says Dallas ISD has made “a concerted effort for the past several years to only accept in-district students.” That seems to have made an impact at Booker T., where the number of suburban students has been reduced by more than half since 2009-10. At TAG and SEM, however, out-of-district enrollment

saw an uptick during the past few years.

Even at Barack Obama Leadership Academy, a new all-boys school in southern Dallas that opened five years ago, outof-district students make up 10 percent of the small campus. In the academy’s first graduating class of 12 young men, the valedictorian was a transfer from DeSoto ISD.

The district will accept transfers if no qualified Dallas ISD students are on a waitlist, Crowder-Davis says. Part of the challenge, she says, is seeking out and recruiting those qualified students.

That’s not a problem in neighborhoods such as East Dallas. Woodrow Wilson

and Bryan Adams high schools sent 104 students and 109 students to Booker T. this year, respectively — each claimed about one-eighth of the school’s seats.

The magnets admit the highest-ranking 30 percent of applicants, regardless of Dallas ISD home high school; the remaining spots go to the top applicants from each of the district’s 21 high schools. If a particular high school doesn’t have enough qualified students to fill its seat allotment, however, those leftover spots go to the next highest-ranking students overall.

That’s how hundreds of students from Bryan Adams and Woodrow gain admittance to Booker T. while other schools send only a tiny fraction. Conrad High School, which serves the Vickery Meadow community and where Than Zaw Oo attends, has only 11 students at Booker T.

It’s not for Morrison-Lane’s lack of trying.

“My goal is to get a kid where they need to go,” she says. “I want them to be where they can completely excel.”

She advocates for students from Conrad and Tasby Middle School, which feeds to Conrad.

“It’s not about Tasby and Conrad being bad schools. They truly want the best for the kids,” Morrison-Lane says.

Each year, the district sends letters to families whose children have qualified to

Question:

I have noticed my parents need more support. Where do I begin?

Answer:

You can begin right in your neighborhood! Conveniently located in the heart of East Dallas, Fowler offers all phases of senior living. We will work alongside you to find the best answers for your family. You are not alone and we welcome you! For further information, go to www.fowlercommunities.org or call 214.827.0813.

Dallas ISD’s own numbers show that suburban students are still finding loopholes, and not just by the ones and twos but by the dozens.

Celebrate the season & symbolize great thanks to our local first responders.

DEC 10 * *

community

learn

On December 10th, beginning at dusk, pile in with friends & family, and drive on over to see *every street in Casa Linda Estates lined with luminaries* Enjoy a simple, beautiful tradition and help raise funds for the families of our Police Officers & Firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Local first responders will be collecting donations big and small for Guns & Hoses Foundation of North Texas. Check out the great work they do at www.gunsandhosesnorthtx.org

apply for a magnet school, but in a community filled with families who may not speak English or are not knowledgeable about Dallas ISD’s educational options, that’s not enough, she says.

“If you speak Farsi, and you receive a piece of paper that says something about a magnet school, and you have no idea what a magnet school is or does, what does that mean?” Morrison-Lane says.

“A parent in our community, you have to hand that paper to them and translate it and tell them that this opportunity exists.”

That’s part of her role as a stand-in parent advocate. Morrison-Lane even works with Tasby’s counselors to identify students at the middle school whose GPA and test scores make them magnet candidates.

It doesn’t help that there is pressure, whether implicit or explicit, on administrators at neighborhood schools with high poverty rates and low test scores to hold onto their best students, Morrison-Lane says.

Crowder-Davis acknowledges this, too. Every year, she sends a stack of printed magnet school applications to each school to distribute.

“Some schools send them back, and they hadn’t even taken them out of the shrink wrap,” Crowder-Davis says. “In this high-stakes, academically driven arena that we’re in, they see magnets as creaming off the top.”

She also looks over a list of students each year who qualify to apply to magnets and compares it to actual enrollment. She says she uses it for “targeted recruitment.”

“We look at where we have not seen applicants [and] schools that did not invite us over to speak,” she says. “The next year, you become a focus for us because we’re coming to get your kids.”

WHAT’S THE POINT OF MAGNETS?

NOSY NEIGHBORS LOVE US. SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY EMAILS. ADVOCATEMAG.COM/SOCIAL 48 lakewood.advocatemag.com DECEMBER 2016

SUBURBAN INVASION

dents — no matter where they live — who want access to more options?

“When you hear ‘TAG,’ a visceral reaction is to go to the best of the best,” says Dallas ISD trustee Miguel Solis. Same for a school such as Booker T., he says, “the best of the best musicians,” and so on.

What’s “perplexing,” Solis says, is “trying to identify a way to ensure all children have fair and equal access to those schools from across the district,” Solis says.

“The idea of out-of-district kids bypassing Dallas ISD until they get into a magnet school and taking the slot of a DISD student is inequitable,” Solis says.

Hundreds of students from Bryan Adams and Woodrow gain admittance to Booker T. while other schools send only a tiny fraction.

“If we are robbing some of our children and boxing them out to the credit of others, that needs to change.”

Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa calls it “an issue of concern for us, but it’s a complex issue … There’s not going to be a silver bullet on this.

“One thing we don’t want to do is poke a giant in the eye,” he says. “We don’t want to mess up our magnets that are really successful, but at the same time, all of our students deserve to have access to all of those programs.”

He mentions the district’s new collegiate academies, which garnered 2,000 applications for 800 spots at “some very tough high schools,” and the district’s new public school choice offerings that “we are really ramping up.”

“Don’t be surprised if we see a way to address the issue from that regard, not from a deficit but from an abundance,” Hinojosa says. “There’s a great appetite by the board to offer more programs like this.”

It won’t be in time, however, to make a difference for Than Zaw Oo. After being passed over by Booker T., he stayed at Conrad, which houses one of the new collegiate academies. Turns out, he was a year too old to enroll in the collegiate academy, too.

Instead, Zaw Oo has taken up an interest in film, says Morrison-Lane, and he’s being mentored by a professional in the community.

“Now, will he become an artist? I don’t know,” she says.

Every year, as she guides her students through the magnet application process, she witnesses their disappointment when the rejection letters are delivered. They’re “devastated, embarrassed, ashamed,” she says. “I think they feel like they’re not worthy of it.”

Morrison-Lane is convinced the system is broken. All she can do is navigate the nuances, crack the codes and hope that, maybe next year, she can help some of her deserving students find their way into the “fortunate few.”

“Now does that help the other hundreds of kids who are in Tasby? No,” she says. Nor does it help the other hundreds of thousands of kids in Dallas ISD.

“I wish every other kid could get that shot,” she says.

The barriers, though, are as high as the stakes. Morrison-Lane wrote an op-ed piece for the Dallas Morning News this past spring on “how to navigate the DISD application maze,” which was less of a how-to and more of a scathing review.

In it, she wrote: “I have to wonder what we are really trying to achieve with magnet schools. Are they truly an opportunity for our poorest students to move forward?

“Or are they designed for middle-class parents in the Dallas district to access a high-quality education for their children?”

DISCOVER DALLAS ISD

Saturday, Dec. 3, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Ellis Davis Field House, 9191 South Polk dallasisd.org/discoverdallasisd

Historically, the school district has hosted an annual fair featuring all of its magnet schools so that families could peruse the options. Last year, the fair was expanded to include the district’s new “choice” schools, which are similar to magnets but don’t have admission requirements.

This year, not just magnets and choice schools, but all 228 DISD campuses will be represented, showcasing information on their pre-kindergarten and dual-language programs, collegiate academies, International Baccalaureate, Montessori curriculum, career and technology, and more.

Admission is free and because the event attracts thousands of people, the district requests that families attend according to their student’s last name, either 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (A-L) or 12:304 p.m. (M-Z).

HIGHLANDER SCHOOL

9120 Plano Rd. Dallas / 214.348.3220 / www.highlanderschool.com Founded in 1966, Highlander offers an enriched curriculum in a positive, Christian-based environment. By limiting class size, teachers are able to build a strong educational foundation to ensure confidence in academics, athletics, and the creative and performing arts. Highlander offers a “classic” education which cannot be equaled. Monthly tours offered; call for a reservation.

HOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC SCHOOL

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

LAKEHILL PREPARATORY SCHOOL

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

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

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

Four East Dallas Locations / 214.826.4410/ DallasSpanishHouse.com Spanish Immersion Program in East Dallas! Nursery, Preschool, Elementary and Adult Programs available. Our new dual-language elementary campus is now open at 7159 E. Grand Ave. Please visit our website at DallasSpanishHouse.com for more information.

ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL

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

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

WHITE ROCK NORTH SCHOOL

9727 White Rock Trail Dallas / 214.348.7410 / WhiteRockNorthSchool. com 6 Weeks through 6th Grade. Our accelerated curriculum provides opportunity for intellectual and physical development in a loving and nurturing environment. Characterbuilding and civic responsibility are stressed. Facilities include indoor swimming pool, skating rink, updated playground, and stateof-the-art technology lab. Kids Club on the Corner provides meaningful after-school experiences. Summer Camp offers field trips, swimming, and a balance of indoor and outdoor activities designed around fun-filled themes. Accredited by SACS. Call for a tour of the campus.

ZION LUTHERAN SCHOOL

6121 E. Lovers Ln. Dallas / 214.363.1630 / ziondallas. org Toddler care thru 8th Grade. Serving Dallas for over 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.

The Dallas Police Department can’t seem to figure out how 63-year-old Jon Pappas died. The Oregon native was found unconscious in the 4400 block of Greenville Avenue near Mockingbird Lane in mid-October. He was transported to Presbyterian Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. “At this time, there is limited information in regards to this unexplained death,” law enforcement said. As of press time, police had not provided any updates in the investigation, but anyone who saw Pappas between 3-9 a.m. on Oct. 18 is asked to call Detective Isom at 214.671.3701.

BIZZ BUZZ

WHAT’S UP WITH NEIGHBORHOOD BUSINESSES

apartment building near the intersection of Gaston and Abrams. The developer has requested a zoning change for the current site of Teter’s Faucet Parts Center on Oram. If approved, the zoning change would double the existing density allowed at the site.

Commercial real estate firm Shop Cos. sold a two-story pawnshop at the intersection of Greenville and Sears to Greenway Investment Co., who plans to transform the building into a boutique and loft-style office space. The pawnshop, EZ Pawn , has relocated to Ross and Fitzhugh.

The building located at 10801 Garland Road that Lucky Dog Books once occupied will be revamped by Jeff Brand of Brand Capital Partners . New landscaping, seating areas, wall murals and a “clean crisp exterior” all are part of Brand’s agenda. Meanwhile, Lucky Dog Books owner John Tilton has yet to decide the used bookstore’s fate.

WE’RE IN LAKEWOOD BECAUSE LAKEWOOD IS IN US.

NOW OPEN

Dr. Thai-An Nguyen and her sister opened the new optometry office EyeVenue at 2714 Greenville Ave. The business also offers a wide selection of frames to choose from. Find out more at eyevenuedallas.com.

Frontline ER clinic recently opened at 7331 Gaston Ave. Serving as a full-service emergency room, the clinic joins a growing chain of free-standing ERs in East Dallas.

NEW DEVELOPMENT

Senior living center The Vista broke ground on Lawther Drive and is slated for completion in summer 2018. The $84 million, 10-story, 325,000-squarefoot senior living center will connect to the Blanton Assisted Living Center, and nonprofit senior living community

C.C. Young is coordinating the project.

Nashville-based Southern Land Co. is seeking approval to build a six-story

Constructed in 1947, Fire Station No. 31 at 8385 Garland Road made Dallas Fire and Rescue’s priority list for replacement. Paid for with 2017 bond funds, the new fire station would cost $9.8 million. The fire department also hopes to renovate offices and classrooms and replace a burn building and drill tower at its training campus on Dolphin Road, which would cost $10 million.

The Dallas Police Department also is seeking a $10-million upgrade of the Central Division headquarters. The division is located in Deep Ellum but serves our neighborhood.

For three decades now, Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate agents have not only represented buyers and sellers seeking to deepen their family’s Lakewood roots, but have put down roots here as well.

If you’d like to leave your own legacy in Lakewood, call us today to learn more about our properties of distinction.

BOOMING BUSINESS

Times Ten Cellars purchased Lakewood Family Dental Care on Oram Street, but the dental office is not going anywhere. Times Ten co-owner Kert Platner said the purchase was strategic and allows the wine shop to maintain its parking. “They’re staying in the neighborhood,” Platner says. “They’re going to be there as long as they want.”

#1 residential broker in Lakewood & East Dallas

Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate, Lakewood 2311 Abrams Road, Suite 100 214.522.3838

Building rendering of The Vista courtesy of D2 Architecture.

EyeVenue staff Tami Nguyen, Thai-An Nguyen and Jessica Escobar.

Lakewood Family Dental Care.

By GEORGE MASON

Get woke

Preachers traffic in words. And because language changes, it’s fun and challenging to keep up with new words and new meanings of words that appear in our cultural lexicon. Like “woke.”

Being woke is a way of talking about becoming newly aware of circumstances you once were asleep to. Being woke has its roots in the Black Lives Matter movement. Usually it refers to a white person who awakens to the realities of racial, gender or sexual inequalities that exist in the structures of our everyday lives. Most of us who get woke have an encounter with some injustice that sparks a new or fresh or changed understanding of our previous thinking. The Twittersphere is full of hashtags on the subject, such as #getwoke or #staywoke.

Christians know the verse from Romans 12 that calls us to a different way of seeing: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

The “world” St. Paul talks about is the way things are organized that is contrary to the divine intent for human flourishing. If we want to participate in the redemption of all things, we need to get woke to God’s desires for the world. We need to be able to discern what is good and acceptable and perfect. And that takes having our minds renewed.

As a pastor, I have been amazed at walking beside people with brain injuries. A young adult friend who had a mountain biking accident suffered a severe head injury. Two young children were in a recent car accident and suffered head trauma. In each case, the brain went to sleep for a time while it tried to heal. Doctors sometimes induce a coma in order to give it the necessary rest to recover. When they wake it up, there is

work to be done to connect new neuropaths that will allow the mind to work again. The brain needs to be retrained to do the things necessary for the person to walk and talk and function normally. Similarly, we are called to a lifelong practice of mind renewal that allows us to see how asleep we have been to God’s will for the world. When we awaken spiritually, we are not immediately healed. We still want to return to the patterns of seeing and conceiving the world that keep injustice in place. Getting woke and

WORSHIP

ANGLICAN ALL SAINTS EAST DALLAS / allsaintseastdallas.org

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

BAPTIST

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

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

WILSHIRE BAPTIST / 4316 Abrams / 214.452.3100

Pastor George A. Mason Ph.D. / Worship 8:30 & 11:00am Bible Study 9:40 am / www.wilshirebc.org

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

METHODIST

GRACE UMC / Diverse, Inclusive, Missional Sunday School for all ages, 9:30 am / Worship, 10:50 am 4105 Junius St. / 214.824.2533 / graceumcdallas.org

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

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

Worship: 8:30 am & 11:00 am Traditional / 11:00 am Contemporary

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

UNITY

staying woke takes deliberate attention. We have to relearn what it means to be human and to be neighbors who look out for one another.

Right after those words from Romans, the apostle tells us not to think of ourselves so highly, but instead to “love one another with mutual affection and to outdo one another in showing honor.” To be woke, then, is not to insist on our own privilege, but rather to look out for the welfare of others.

Let’s get woke and stay woke.

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

UNITY OF DALLAS / A Positive Path for Spiritual Living

6525 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX 75230 / 972.233.7106 / UnityDallas. org / Sundays: 9:00 am Early Service, 11:00 am Celebration Service

UNITY ON GREENVILLE / Your soul is welcome here!

3425 Greenville Ave. / 214.826.5683 / www.dallasunity.org

Sunday Service 11:00 am and Book Study 9:30 am

Rub the specks from your eyes and take a good look around

Getting woke and staying woke takes deliberate attention. We have to relearn what it means to be human and to be neighbors who look out for one another.

SCHOOLS

The Dallas Arboretum’s early childhood programs, Bilingual Initiative and Growing Together, are expanding to include area children who are economically disadvantaged. While the preschool programs were designed to prepare children for kindergarten, the Bilingual Initiative established in 2014 provides science lessons, parent education and develop-

ment discussions. More than 90 percent of children within Dallas ISD qualify as at-risk, according to a press release statement from Allyson Marbut, Dallas Arboretum vice president of education. After serving as headmaster for 34 years, Dallas Academy’s Jim Richardson will retire at the end of the 2016-17 school year. The Eastwood-area school serves 200 students in grades 1-12 with learning differences. “I don’t know of another headmaster willing to coach the teams, drive the bus, chaperone the dances and conduct the tours,” says Sarah Jayroe, public relations director. “He’s been the face of the school for all these years. His will be tough shoes to fill.”

PEOPLE

R&B superstar and White Rock Lake native Erykah Badu sang and performed at the Lone Star Circus and even displayed her skills as an aerialist during a fundraising event for the nonprofit circus, which brings interesting fitness offerings to the community.

Bilingual Initiative at The Dallas Arboretum.

CLASSES/TUTORING/ LESSONS

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

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

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

EMPLOYMENT

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

OFFICE ASSISTANT NEEDED for Lakewood Residential Real Estate Co. Peachtree/Quickbooks knowledge preferred, will train. Flexible. 15-20 hrs. Depending on experience. Salary $10-15/hr w/90 day probation. Email resumé: hegwoodjamie@gmail.com

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

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

GREAT PUBLICATION BUSINESS FOR SALE

Well-established, Central TX, glossy, lifestyle magazine. Circulation 10,000 & growing: Hill Country, Waco & beyond. Huge potential. Email graceTX1030@gmail.com.

SERVICES FOR YOU

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

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

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

MCCLELLAND GUN SHOP Clean, Repair, Restore. New/Used Guns. 214-321-0231 McClellandGun.com

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

LEGAL SERVICES

A WILL? THERE IS A WAY! Estate/Probate matters. maryglennattorney.com 214-802-6768

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

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

BOOKKEEPING NEEDS? Customized To Your Needs. Payroll, W-2,1099. C.A.S. Bookkeeping Services. Cindy. cascastle@sbcglobal.net 214-577-7450

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

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

Perfect Holiday Host

The pressure can be unbearable, so entertain and enjoy with these tips.

1. Don’t buy the hype. Life is never the way TV portrays, so focus on being present, not perfect.

2. Celebrate your own way. Who says you need a full turkey dinner when Chinese take out is what you crave?

3. Be selective and attend the events you really love, don’t feel pressured to go to everything.

4. Alcohol isn’t needed to make the holidays merry — it can fuel tensions.

5. Know that family and friends don’t change, and you can’t make everyone happy. Take a deep breath and enjoy the season!

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Mobile. SEO Friendly. Maintainable.

PET SERVICES

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

HOUSE CALLS OF DALLAS Personalized Care For Your Pet/ Home. Everything from Traveling/or away for the day. Insured. 214-704-6621.housecallsofdallas.com

BUY/SELL/TRADE

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

RANGERS, STARS & MAVS

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

ESTATE/GARAGE SALES

CLUTTERBLASTERS.COM

Estate Sales, Moving & DownSizing Sales. Since 2001. Ph/Txt Donna 972-679-3100

ORGANIZEANDREJUVENATE.COM

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

OVERWHELMED? CALL All Points: “A Solutions Company” AllPointsEstateServices.com • 214-802-2781

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

LocalWorks.advocatemag.com

AC & HEAT

CLEANING SERVICES

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

CLEAN FREAKS Winter Special 20% Off! DallasCleanFreaks.com Call Today! 214-821-8888

Family Owned & Operated

Serving

We

972-274-2157

www.CrestAirAndHeat.com

TACLB29169E

APPLIANCE REPAIR

JESSE’S A/C & APPLIANCE SERVICE

TACLB13304C All Makes/Models. 214-660-8898

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

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

$100 off 1st clean for new weekly/bi-weekly clients. 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

AMAZON CLEANING

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

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

TWO SISTERS & A MOP

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

WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM

Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS

BILL’S COMPUTER REPAIR

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

CONCRETE/ MASONRY/PAVING

BRICK & STONE REPAIR

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

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

BRICK, STONEWORK, FLAGSTONE PATIOS

Mortar Repair. Straighten Brick Mailboxes & Columns. Call Cirilo 214-298-7174

CONCRETE REPAIRS/REPOURS

Demo existing. Stamping and Staining Driveways/Patio/Walkways

Pattern/Color available

Free Estimates 972-672-5359 (36 yrs.)

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

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

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

ELECTRICAL SERVICES

ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricofdallas.com

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

ELECTRICAL SERVICES

BRIGHT LIGHT ELECTRIC • 214-553-5333

TECL 31347 Brightening Homes and Businesses

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

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

TEXAS ELECTRICAL • 214-289-0639

Prompt, Honest, Quality. TECL 24668

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

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

EXTERIOR CLEANING

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

FENCING & DECKS

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

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

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

FENCING & WOODWORK oldgatefence.com 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

Trex Decking & Fencing, trex.com

All Wood Decks, Arbors & Patio Covers

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

EST. 1991 #1

COWBOY FENCE & IRON CO.

214.692.1991

SPECIALIZING IN Wood Fences &Auto Gates

cowboyfenceandiron.com

FLOORING & CARPETING

DALLAS HARDWOODS 214-724-0936

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

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

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

GARAGE

ROCKET

UNITED

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

GLASS, WINDOWS & DOORS

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

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

LAKE HIGHLANDS GLASS & MIRROR

frameless shower enclosures • store fronts replacement windows • mirrors 214-349-8160

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

HANDYMAN SERVICES

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

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

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

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

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

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

WANTED: ODD JOBS & TO DO LISTS

Allen’s Handyman & Home Repair 214-288-4232

Your Home Repair Specialists

Drywall Doors

Senior Safety Carpentry

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

FENN CONSTRUCTION Full Service Contractor. dallastileman.com 214-343-4645

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

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

TK REMODELING 972-533-2872

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

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

WE REFINISH!

• Tubs, Tiles or Sinks

• Cultured Marble

• Kitchen Countertops

214-631-8719

www.allsurfacerefinishing.com

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

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 469-346-1814 - Se Habla Español*

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

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

NTX PLUMBING SPEC. LLLP 214-226-0913 Lic. M-40581 Res/Com. Repairs & Leak Location

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

We Residential/Commercial · Licensed/Insured

HUNTER

POOLS

Small & Odd Jobs And More! 972-308-6035

HandymanMatters.com/dallas

HOUSE PAINTING

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

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

RAMON’S INT/EXT PAINT

Sheetrock, Repairs. 214-679-4513

TOP COAT 30 yrs. exp. Reliable, Quality Repair/Remodel Phil @ 214-770-2863

VIP PAINTING & DRYWALL Int/Ext.

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

KITCHEN/BATH/

TILE/GROUT

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS LLC

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

www.blake-construction.com

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

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

AYALA’S LANDSCAPING SERVICE

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

CHUPIK TREE SERVICE

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

DALLAS K.D.R.SERVICES • 214-349-0914

Lawn Service & Landscape Installation

HOLMAN IRRIGATION

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

LSI LAWN SPRINKLERS “Making Water Work”

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

RED SUN LANDSCAPES • 214-935-9779

RedSunLandscapes.com

TRACY’S LAWN CARE • 972-329-4190

Lawn Mowing & Leaf Cleaning

PEST CONTROL

A

Keeping

MCDANIEL

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

REMODELING

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

FENN CONSTRUCTION Full Service Contractor. dallastileman.com 214-343-4645

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

RENOVATE DALLAS renovatedallas.com 214-403-7247

ADVOCATEMAG.COM/SOCIAL FOR LOCAL UPDATES JAN. DEADLINE DEC. 7

TO ADVERTISE CALL 214.560.4203

Wanda Marie Sims was born January 7, 1928 in Royce City, TX and died October 20, 2016 in Dallas at age 88.

Her generous spirit, heart, and love of family, friends, and life define this lovely lady. She leaves a legacy of fond memories with all whose lives she touched.

OBITUARIES

HONORING NEIGHBORS

She was devoted to her husband, children and grandchildren her entire life and always available for her friends. She led a full and fruitful life with love for God and family coming before all else.

Wanda never met a stranger and always got to know the people around her. Even while sitting in a waiting room, she would leave with the life story of the person sitting next to her.

Never one to hold back, she had passionate strong opinions. Proud to be an American, she sincerely loved her flag and her country and installed a flag pole in the yard. She was extremely concerned when they moved to a gated community which did not allow flags to be flown.

She and husband Joe loved to travel the United States and had almost visited each of the 50 states. They loved to work in their yard and always had the most beautiful landscaping in the neighborhood. People would always

stop their cars to tell them how pretty the yard was.

She is preceded in death by husband of 66 years Joseph Sims and brother John Wesley Hayles; survived by children Joseph P. Sims of Grand Prairie and Deborah Brown of Dallas; grandchildren, Blake Sims of Dallas and Allyson Sims of Los Angeles; sister, Anna Jo Baxter of Cooper TX.

Memorial service was held 11AM Monday, October 24, 2016 in the Chapel of Sparkman/Crane with a reception to follow at the funeral home. Please visit www.sparkman-crane for additional information. Memorials may be made to the charity of your choice.

REMEMBER AND HONOR YOUR LOVED ONES WITH THOSE WHO KNEW THEM BEST—OUR NEIGHBORS.

To learn more call 214-292-0962 or email obituaries@advocatemag.com.

WANDA MARIE SIMS

Festive Fashions For The Holiday Season

ECHO BOUTIQUE

Upscale resale & unique gifts

9020 Garland Road (Between The Arboretum & Casa Linda) Dallas, TX 75218 214.370.4444

Upscale Resale - Unique Gifts - Women’s Designer Consignment

Hand Picked Vintage - Work By Local Artists

SUNSTONE FIT

Yoga, Pilates, Barre, Cardio

1920 Skillman Live Oak Dallas, TX 75206 214.764.2119 x 113 sunstoneFit.com/slo

Arrive 30 minutes before any class to earn your One Free Class, become acquainted with our studio and staff, and receive exclusive special offers for our first-time students.

ELLIS ORTHODONTICS

Making your beautiful smile perfect

6333 E. Mockingbird @Abrams Suite #275

Tom Thumb Shopping Center 469.478.2670

At Ellis Orthodontics, we know that having a fantastic smile makes all the difference in your world. Ellis Orthodontics provides exceptional orthodontic treatment for children, teens and adults. Serving the neighborhoods of Lakewood, Lake Highlands, Highland Park, and East Dallas.

ADVOCATE ORNAMENT

Home decor email: foundation@advocatemag.com or call 214.292.0486

Own the Advocate Foundation’s limited-edition, numbered, and hand-painted ornament; perfect gift for the new home owner or long time resident.

DUTCH ART GALLERY

51 Years of Custom Framing & Fine Art

10233 E. Northwest Hwy Dallas, TX 75238

214-348-7350

dutchartgallery.net

Now on Exhibit through January: “Masters of the Fall” Owners, Hans & Pam Massar are passionate about presenting art as well as quality framing. Stop by to view the 7,000 square foot showroom, featuring array of original oil paintings. Don’t forget to get those Christmas framing orders in!!!

Above: “Sunflowers, Hydrangeas & Grapes” 40x40 by Artist Kay Wyne

ROB WATKINS

Residential Mortgage Lender

BancorpSouth Mortgage Cell 214.926.5836

rob.watkins@bxs.com

whiterockmortgageguy.com

NMLS 1403412

Rob can give you freedom, comfort, and happiness by helping you acquire the home of your dreams. If you already own your dream home, take advantage of Rob’s complimentary mortgage consultation. Either way, call the White Rock Mortgage Guy today!

URBAN THRIFT

Thrift store

9850 Walnut Hill Ln. 214.341.1151

Facebook.com/UrbanThriftStore

New stuff & sales everyday! We accept ALL donations! You’re welcome to come drop them off or schedule a FREE pick up! We give back to our community!

DAN “THE COMPUTER GUY”

Computer Repair

972.639.6413

stykidan@sbcglobal.net

Don’t panic! Let a seasoned pro be the interface between you & that pesky windows computer. Hardware & software installation, troubleshooting, training, $60/hour — one hour minimum.

By ANGELA HUNT

Suburban swindle

Why are we building highways and rail lines to nowhere?

On the surface, regionalism sounds like a reasonable, noble pursuit: neighboring cities working together towards common goals that benefit the larger area, affecting outcomes that none could achieve alone.

But in Dallas there has been a significant downside to regionalism that is more than just a trade-off between small sacrifices at the local level in pursuit of a greater good that will nonetheless benefit our city. No, we’re getting the short end of the stick compared to our suburban neighbors and the fault lies squarely at the gates of Dallas City Hall.

Regionalism in Dallas is all about transportation planning and spending, and here is what transportation regionalism has wrought for our city: Dallas neighborhoods have been bifurcated and torn asunder by bloated, steroidal highways that carry mostly flow-through traffic. Our regional transit system is one of the least efficient in the country. Dallas’ population remained flat between 2000 and 2010 while the region grew exponentially. Dallas’ working poor are forced to choose between enduring hours of labyrinthine, inefficient bus routes to get to work or investing in cars that swallow up a huge chunk of their paychecks.

I discussed these problems with Patrick Kennedy, a young, smart urban planner who agrees that regional transportation policies are choking Dallas. He said part of the problem is that the folks who dole out federal money for the region have created a self-fulfilling prophecy that encourages more and more sprawl.

Regionalists detest a “fix it first” policy, where they improve the deteriorating infrastructure that already exists. Instead, they like to build new, multi-billion dollar

highways. This requires them to anticipate where future population growth will occur. They don’t know. They can’t know. But they pick an enormous cow pasture north of Dallas as a growth center because that will mean they’ll have to build a huge, billion-dollar highway to it.

So they build a huge, billion-dollar highway to it, and lo! A city arises from the flaxen fields! The regionalists pat themselves on the back for their remarkable prescience, when in fact, they ensured the fulfillment of their prophecy through their highway construction.

because DART relies on sales-tax revenue as its primary funding source (instead of fares), they have no incentive to increase ridership through better, more frequent transit service.

Additionally, DART is prioritizing the suburbs to the detriment of Dallas, putting inefficient projects like Addison’s Cotton Belt rail line ahead of Dallas’s “D2” subway line downtown. Addison argues that they’ve waited patiently for years to get rail. But if we’re being real about this (and let’s be real, shall we?), Dallas contributes more to DART in one year than Addison has in three decades. D2 would dramatically improve the capacity and efficiency of DART’s larger light rail system, while few people are projected to ride the Cotton Belt line. We can still do the Cotton Belt, but let’s do D2 first.

As the regionalists’ population projections keep moving farther and farther from Dallas, our city loses residents, jobs, industry, corporate headquarters and good schools to our northern neighbors.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit — or DART — is equally culpable. DART builds and operates light rail and bus routes. It’s a regional system funded through a onecent sales tax from Dallas and a dozen other nearby cities.

The problem with DART is that it has prioritized the size of its system over its ridership. More DART riders would mean we’re taking more cars off our roads, improving our air quality and making our streets and highways more efficient. But

The fundamental problem with regional transportation planning in North Texas is that the needs of our suburban neighbors have taken precedence over the needs of our city and its citizens. Regional cooperation is no doubt necessary. But if we want to keep Dallas strong, if we want to grow and flourish as a city, we need our mayor, our city councilmembers, and those representing Dallas on the DART board and Regional Transportation Commission to commit to putting Dallas first, without question and without equivocation.

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 ahunt@advocatemag.com.

They pick an enormous cow pasture north of Dallas as a growth center because that will mean they’ll have to build a huge, billiondollar highway to it.

Properties of Distinction. Agents for Life.

It’s not just a hashtag or a slogan. It’s a mission with each and every home we list. Throughout life’s seasons, we want to be right beside you, guiding you through some of the most exciting and significant transactions individuals and families experience. Visit DavePerryMiller.com to find out more about our properties of distinction and to find your Agent for Life.

6812 Casa Loma $689,000 Skylar Champion, Heather Guild Group 214 695 8701

6915 Wildgrove $899,000 Amy Malooley 214 773 5570

5806 Birchbrook #106 · $250,000 Susan Nelson Wheeler & Wes Wheeler 469 878 8522

9669 Covemeadow · $599,900 Marissa Fontanez 214 789 9187

6137 Oram · $539,000 The Jackson Team 214 827 2400

7125 Meadow Lake · $1,299,000 Nancy Johnson 214 674 3840

7121 Greenbrook $949,000 Judy Garrett & Rob Elmore 214 755 1927

6202 Sudbury · $479,000 Marissa Fontanez 214 789 9187

7109 Wildgrove · $879,000 Matthew Edwards 214 704 3333

8335 Santa Clara · $743,900 Peggy & Dave Millheiser 214 616 9720

5726 Vickery · $879,000 Christine McKenny 214.662.7758

2464 Worthington · $499,900 Amy Malooley 214.773.5570

5000 Mission · $460,000 Marissa Fontanez 214.789.9187

6643 Yosemite · $1,119,000 Kim & Taylor Gromatzky 214.802.5025

8371 San Leandro · $795,000 Harry Morgan 214.769.3303 & Justin Moore 469.730.4850

11708 Tuscany · $249,900 Mary Rinne, RHD Group 214.552.6735

6815 Vivian · $415,000 Skylar Champion, Heather Guild Group 214.695.8701

6780 Lakefair · $625,000 Kim & Taylor Gromatzky 214.802.5025

5819 Ellsworth · $665,000 Harry Morgan 214.769.3303 & Justin Moore 469.730.4850

6722 Santa Maria · $865,000 Amy Malooley 214.773.5570, Nancy Johnson 214.674.3840

#1 residential broker in Lakewood & East Dallas with more than double the sales of any competitor.

2526 Loving · $949,900 Nancy Johnson 214.674.3840

6726 Lake Circle · $1,395,000 Kim & Taylor Gromatzky 214.802.5025

6527 Anita · $1,150,000 The Jackson Team 214.827.2400

7039 Coronado · $1,195,000 Heather Guild, Heather Guild Group 214.563.2385

6301 Mercedes · $975,000 Susan Nelson Wheeler & Wes Wheeler 469.878.8522

5025 Rexton · $485,000 The Jackson Team 214.827.2400

5931 Mercedes · $850,000 The Jackson Team 214.827.2400

7243 Tokalon · $949,900 Nancy Johnson 214.674.3840

2531 Winsted · $2,199,000 Nancy Johnson 214.674.3840

6019 Velasco · $799,900 Mysti Stewart 214.213.3537