2016 March Lakewood

SEXY MOVES HELPING REFUGEES SCHOOL DIVERSITY?

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HOW HOBBIES CHANGED THEIR LIVES

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Play hard

Athletics is more than just a hobby to these neighbors. Jesús Chávez practices his punch. (Photo by Danny Fulgencio)

20

Smash hit

How a simple video project about boxing ballooned into a 14-year journey.

24

Who runs the world?

No, literally. Jerod Honrath has run marathons in 50 states and five continents.

26

Sexual healing

Burlesque helped neighbor Lisa Carmen get in touch with her body, and now she’s doing that for others.

28

Crossing the road

A family moved from The Village Apartments to Vickery Meadow to help refugees.

30

Happy days

Remember when Ron Howard filmed a TV movie in East Dallas?

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Behind the wheel

A neighbor refurbishes old medical equipment.

ON THE COVER: Michelle Chow swims at the Tom Landry Fitness Center. (Photo by Danny Fulgencio)

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

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

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

March 22

Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour

First African-American Female U.S Combat Pilot and Author of Zero to Breakthrough

VERNICE “FLYGIRL” ARMOUR went from beat cop to pilot in three years. Within months of earning her wings, she was flying over Iraqi deserts in her missile-equipped attack helicopter. She completed two tours overseas as America’s first African American female pilot. Now, Armour shares her breakthrough mentality message based on her own warp-speed success.

April 28

Keith Jenkins

General Manager, Digital and Social Media National Geographic Society

Award-winning producer, photographer and designer, KEITH JENKINS calls upon his experiences at NPR.org, The Washington Post and The Boston Globe in his current role as general manager of National Geographic Digital. Discover the behind-the-scenes strategy that has transformed National Geographic’s website into a truly digital organization and home to the Society’s global community.

Visit utdallas.edu/lectureseries for tickets and more information.

The Edith O’Donnell Arts and Technology building was dedicated on Nov. 7, 2013.

The 55,000-square-foot facility is home to the ATEC program and has been described as “one of the most innovative 21st century programs in The University of Texas System.”

Hosted by UT Dallas’ Arts and Technology (ATEC) program, the series features speakers from a wide range of backgrounds in science, technology and art. They present public lectures on topics aimed at exploring the evolving relationships among art, technology, engineering, and behavioral and social sciences.

FULL THROTTLE

Give it your all and don’t look back

For a long time now, we’ve been told that the younger generation reads less, leading those of us no longer part of the “younger generation” to long for the good old days when things were done right. (Hint: If you are reading this, I’m probably talking about both of us.)

There is some truth to that, particularly if you are one of those people who believe change is generally not good and that reading something in print is more valuable than reading something another way.

I honestly don’t know my answer to that thought any more. I still love print publications, and luckily for our business model, a lot of you still do, too. But everything you find here in print — our stories and the advertisers who make all of this possible also is available online at our website (advocatemag.com) in the same format as this magazine, as well as in other formats geared for mobile readership, too.

Those of us with the Advocate also spend an inordinate amount of time writing daily neighborhood news updates, most of which never appear in our print magazine: Instead, you have to visit advocatemag. com to find those tidbits every day, or subscribe to our Facebook or Twitter feeds, or sign up for our regular e-newsletters (advocatemag.com/social).

I bring all of this up today because one advantage of the Internet is the ease with which both damning and inspirational material can be found. Just the other day, I was looking at my LinkedIn feed (we’re on LinkedIn, too!), and I came across this quote from fellow Dallasite Mark Cuban: “Work like there is someone working 24

hours a day to take it all away from you.”

Cuban is right: Every day, no matter what we do or where we work, there is someone probably a lot of someones — who see our life and/or job as better than theirs and wouldn’t mind sliding into our shoes.

It’s a slippery time to be alive, because the plethora of information and opinion make it difficult to simply be happy; constantly looking behind us worrying about someone catching up isn’t exactly restful.

Self-styled entrepreneur Peter Voogd seems to see things the same way: “These days, the only security you have is the confidence in yourself and your ability to make things happen.”

He’s right, isn’t he? If we can’t be happy with ourselves, we’re probably not looking at a fun life.

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And then there’s this bit of wisdom from Yogi Bhajan, credited with introducing a certain type of yoga to the U.S.: “If you are willing to look at another person’s behavior toward you as a reflection of the state of their relationship with themselves rather than a statement about your value as a person, then you will, over a period of time, cease to react at all.”

I know a lot of people who are easily cowed into feeling badly about themselves simply because someone else acts negatively toward them. A lot of what happens to us in life doesn’t have anything to do with us; we just happen to be in a spot where someone else’s life is unfolding in a good or bad way.

Young or old, we can’t lose sight of our own path because of it.

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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.

Constantly looking behind us worrying about someone catching up isn’t exactly restful.

Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty

Senior Living Near White Rock Lake

6610 Nonesuch Ct. | Hip Pocket 5/4.1/3 | 3 living areas Lee Lamont | 214-418-2780

5520 Tremont St | $299,900 3/2 in Junius Heights Jorge Villalpando | 214-336-3060

7334 Craigshire Ave | $575,000 5/3.1/2/Pool, Merriman Park Elem. April Cope | 214-755-2063

5207 Denton Rd | $255,000 2/2/1 Excellent location Cece Gonzalez-Muir | 214-449-7111

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

2514 Converse | 5,910 SF Lease space, perfect for office space Near Dallas Design District Paige Whiteside | 214-549-2540

716 W. State St. | Available Suites Office, Studio, Conf Rooms Historic Downtown Garland Pam Nelms | 214-789-4911

10714 Palace Way | COMING SOON 3/2/2 In Lochwood Jill Carpenter | 214-770-5296

8239 Santa Clara Dr | $695,000 Lot in Forest Hills, build your dream home! Lee Lamont | 214-418-2780

6224 Oram #4 | SOLD Beautiful Condo in Lakewood Robyn Price | 214-793-8787

1243 Waterside Cir. | $695,000 4/3.1/2 Pool, Creek View Tom Sheshene

Landlord, not bankruptcy, may shutter Dixie House

“Dixie House is a long time neighborhood establishment, and [Lincoln Properties Company] LPC doesn’t give a flip about displacing landmarks that are located in the hearts of many Lakewood residents. If LPC cared about more than a few bucks, then Dixie House could stay no problem. Unfortunately, greed will take out yet another fine Lakewood restaurant. Lakewood is not the Lakewood I remember. Greedy companies like LPC are largely to blame.” — Informatio

“Lincoln Property Company is doing great things for Lakewood. Neighbors should send them regular thank-you notes. Hopefully, a better quality restaurant will replace the Dixie House.” — Spud

“Lincoln Property Company is destroying Lakewood. Neighbors need to take a stand!” — Mary

Artizone.com, the online farmers market, closes

“It was a cool concept but I always knew I could get the items at the farmers market for cheaper so I never used it.” — Brooke Carlock

“Yeah, I think I saw some promotional yard signs and the truck a few times and always assumed they sold sculptures or kitschy decorations not food.” — Pete Covell

“Sounds like there should have been a rebranding effort if she knew people were confused about what they offered. I had never even heard of the service.”

— Liz Jamar Palmer

The long follow

Neighbor Chris Howell documented a Dallas boxing gym for 14 years, and he’s not finished yet

Filmmaker Chris Howell thought he was just taking a break from the tedious editing process on his film “Old Man” when he decided to go shoot the Dallas Golden Gloves one evening in 2002.

There he met Greg Hatley of Oak Cliff Boxing Club, and he saw Hatley’s son, Greg Hatley Jr., win a fight.

It was love at first sight.

The younger Greg Hatley said, “Oh, you’ve gotta see my brother fight,” Howell recalls. At 16, Charles Hatley was fighting with his hands behind his back, stunting on opponents and knocking them out.

A protagonist was born.

Howell, who lives in Lakewood, has spent the past 14 years filming the long-follow documentary “Sweet Science.”

Even though a final cut of the movie was released at the Dallas International Film Festival in 2010, the story is not over. Charles Hatley, now 30, last year won the World Boxing Council super welterweight world title, defeating Anthony Mundine in Melbourne. Howell, who has never stopped filming the Hatleys, now is raising funds to re-edit the film or possibly produce a sequel.

Chris Howell poses inside a boxing gym. His “Sweet Science” documentary follows the boxing Hatley family. (Photo by Danny Fulgencio)

Many times over the years, Howell thought the story was finished.

After the Dallas Golden Gloves in 2002, he followed the Oak Cliff Boxing Club crew to the Texas Golden Gloves, where he thought the story would end. But then the Hatley brothers mowed through their competition and made it to nationals in Las Vegas.

“Then we were in deep,” Howell says. He thought the film was done in 2004 when the Hatleys lost at the Olympic Trials.

But then in December, 2004, Dominic Littleton, an Olympic hopeful and former foster kid from South Oak Cliff, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He left no note, and it’s still unclear whether his death was accidental. He had been like family to the Hatleys.

The loss broke everyone’s hearts, and the story continued.

By 2008, Howell and crew had 650 hours of footage for “Sweet Science.” East Dallas-based Post Asylum paid for the edit and editor Brian Hockenberry reduced it to about two and a half hours.

They held focus groups of friends who critiqued it. The Dallas Independent Film Festival board watched it several times and gave notes.

The editing process alone took two and a half years.

Meanwhile, Howell was still filming. He maxed out credit cards to fund his own travel costs for the film. Although he already was a professional filmmaker with a respectable dossier of short films, he took a job as a cable puller because it had flexible hours. His wife, Anne, is a teacher at Mount Auburn Elementary School and her salary kept them afloat.

Boxing drew Howell because he’d always been a fan of the sport. His father was as well. Howell had long wanted to make a film about Johnny Tapia, a champ from his hometown, Albuquerque, N.M. (Someone else made that documentary, “Tapia,” in 2013.)

After immersing himself in the sport for 14 years, he says he is less of a fan. Head injuries are “the elephant in the room that nobody talks about.”

Now, to see a kid who is great, a kid who has a promising boxing career ahead of him, can be gut-wrenching.

“The majority of these guys, they don’t get injured,” he says. “It’s just that the guys who do, they’re severely injured.”

That’s not to say he doesn’t believe in boxing as a way for impoverished kids from rough backgrounds to find a way up.

Boxing teaches fortitude, toughness and discipline. It changes lives.

“In a life that’s out of control, it’s something that they can control,” Howell says. “Inside the ring, it’s one against one. I think they find a measure of control.”

After his victory in Australia, Charles Hatley now is in line for Floyd Mayweather’s belt. During a welcome home party recently, Howell says the champ came up and asked, in his typical humble fashion, about Howell’s 2-year-old daughter, Evie, and his wife, who is expecting their first son in May.

Even though Howell’s feelings about boxing have changed over the years, he says he’ll always be Charles Hatley’s No. 1 fan.

“Those guys are my family now … I love those guys,” he says. “And I sure do miss Dominic.” —Rachel Stone

King of cuddle

Simon the Maine Coon mix is as smart as he is handsome. He spends his days at the top of his 5-foot condo, watching squirrels and birds out the window of his East Dallas home. Sometimes he uses his vantage point to tell his human, Tiffany George, what he needs. “Needless to say he’s the king and we are just his followers,” George quips. “Even though Simon can be a bit bossy, he does show his love and affection via cuddle and lap time.”

What gives?

Small ways that you can make a big difference for nonprofits

Hit the pavement … to benefit the North Texas Food Bank. Run (or walk) in the 21st annual St. Paddy’s Day Dash Down Greenville on March 19. Registration for the 5k and half marathon starts at 7 a.m. and the race begins at 8:30 a.m. Participate timed or untimed. (Must be timed to win an award.) The race begins at Central Market at 5750 E. Lovers. Pick up a race packet in the neighborhood at Run On Mockingbird at 5400 Mockingbird.

Pull on your gardening gloves … volunteer at the Dallas Arboretum. What’s a better way to enjoy the spring than with the tulips? If you have a green thumb, become a garden and greenhouse worker to help plant, trim, weed and many other tasks. If you don’t have a green thumb, don’t worry; there are opportunities for everyone. Volunteer in the gift shop, office or visitor services. For more, visit dallasarboretum.org or contact Sue McCombs at 214.515.6561 or smccombs@ dallasarboretum.org.

Put your high school diploma to the test … and offer GED tutoring for Alley’s House’s clients. Give a teen mom a couple hours a day, once or twice a week and help her achieve a life goal. For females 21 and above, year-long mentor opportunities are also available. Alley’s House also needs child care providers and someone to help organize the donated goods room. You also can organize a diaper drive or donate baby items such as strollers, car seats, or baby food and toddler snacks. Go to alleyshouse.org to download an application. Email program.director@alleyshouse.org for more.

KNOW OF WAYS

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

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Jerod Honrath has run marathons in all 50 states and is close to hitting all seven continents. (Photo by Rasy Ran)

Oh, the places you’ll go

Neighbor Jerod Honrath is running out of things to put on his bucket list.

In October he finished his goal of running a marathon in all 50 states, and he did it with an average finishing time of 3:08 hours and a top speed of 2:50.

Today he has run marathons on five continents, and he’s running a marathon in Cape Town, South Africa, this month to make six, with plans to run another in Antarctica — because that’s a thing — as soon as possible.

He didn’t originally set out to run marathons in all 50 states, until one night a friend asked him how many states he’d already run, and he realized it was almost half. When she asked if he was going to run all 50 he figured, “I might as well,” he recalls. “So I really cranked the last 26 states out in about two and a half years.”

He ran a marathon almost every other weekend in 2015, he says. At that rate, he never had to prepare for a race; he just used each marathon as practice for the next one.

Honrath, who runs with White Rock Running Co-op, is a criminal intelligence officer with the Dallas Police Department, and he credits his first patrol officer with introducing him to running.

“He encouraged me to run, trained with me and we completed my first marathon together in 2002,” Honrath explains, and now he tries to pay it forward by doing the same for other newbie runners.

In total Honrath has run 120 marathons and ultra marathons. He ran his first 100mile race in November and finished in less than 30 hours. He plans to run more 100-milers, although he says it’s an entirely different beast than regular marathons.

“It’s very mental,” he explains. “You have to be very strong-willed. It’s going to be painful, and you have to fight through it.”

In 2016, he hopes to complete enough 100-milers in order to gain entry into the Badwater Ultra 135 mile race in 2017.

Sure, there are Dallas neighborhoods that would feel right at home in Austin, and we know where to find them all. Artists, musicians, designers, writers, chefs–we’re proud to be the Realtors-of-choice for our city’s most creative residents. If you’re looking for a more imaginative way of life here in Dallas, call 214.526.5626 or visit davidgriffin.com.

He’d also like to run the 2017 World Marathon Challenge, which is seven marathons in seven days on seven continents, in order to raise awareness and funds for the Dallas Police Department Assist the Officer Foundation, which helps officers and their families during times of need.

—Brittany Nunn

9725 Shadydale Ln. $899,000

9825 Ash Creek $229,900

509 Hoel Dr. SOLD

10104 Woodgrove Dr. $545,000

6706 Vada Dr. SOLD

David Collier 214.536.8517

Paul Kirkpatrick 214.724.0943

Brandon Stewart 214.450.8285

David Collier

Neighbor Lisa Carmen has taught burlesque to hundreds of women in Dallas. (Photo by Danny Fulgencio)

David Bush

Bush

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$699,900 6015 Gaston Ave. $699,000

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Long

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Burlesque for body-empowerment

Lisa Carmen felt like a floating head for the first 40 years of her life.

“I was just living up in here,” says the East Dallas resident, tapping her temple. “I’d become disembodied. I wasn’t really in my body, enjoying my body and my sexuality — my nerves, my skin, my curves. Like a lot of women, I’d look in the mirror and just criticize my body and say it wasn’t good.”

Then she went to a burlesque show. There was art, theatrics, storytelling, beauty and glamour. “I saw women using their sexuality and their sensuality as a way to express themselves, and I was really attracted to that,” she explains. She knew she wanted to be a part of it.

She started learning burlesque and at first it was terrifying and emotionally painful. “I didn’t feel safe being sexy,” she says. But as her focus shifted, she discovered sides of herself she never knew were

there — confidence, sensuality, pleasure and power.

She formed a burlesque troupe and before long they were invited to showcase their skills on Halloween in front of 500 people. It was her first performance.

“I got up on stage one person, and I left a different person,” she remembers. “It’s hard to even put words to the exhilaration and the access that I had to courage. You just move differently in the world after that. I was suddenly strong enough to do some very difficult things in my life that I’d been avoiding.”

She and the other women in the group began making big changes in their personal lives. Some of them made dramatic relationship changes by opening themselves up to love, or by finally ending relationships. Some of them made muchneeded career changes.

“And I realized there’s something here,

something potent,” Carmen says. “I wanted to do that over and over again with a new group of ladies every time.”

Out of that desire she created The Burlesque Experience, a six-week course for newbies, in which Carmen and her team strive to help other women tap into the same inner power they found in burlesque.

In five years, Carmen has taught more than 200 women in Dallas. Often the participants in her class are just as nervous as she was the first time, but that’s OK, she says. Actually, it’s kind of the whole point.

“It includes two of the most vulnerable things you can do with your body — dancing and being naked,” she says. “It definitely pushes women out of their comfort zones. It lets them reconnect with their inner badass.” – Brittany Nunn SEE MORE photos at advocatemag.com.

6223 McCommas Blvd. $625,000

6255 W. Northwest Highway Unit#116 $285,000

6038 Revere Place $525,000

1001 N Fitzhugh Ave. $235,000

2535 Cambria Blvd. $3,250/Lease

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10452 Coleridge St. $425,000 Zena Tsvetkova

Phyllis Pastre

Thompson

Amanda Searcy

Stephan Schrenkeisen 214.587.5433

Cristina Trejo 214.777.2788

Refugees wrestle with issues we don’t think much about

The Village Apartments is a sojourn for countless Dallas dwellers en route to the house and white picket fence of the archetypal American dream. It was for Jason Clarke and his wife, Tess, founders of Seek The Peace, though they are no typical couple. They’ve traveled the world volunteering in embattled areas. They found the staggering contrast between life at The Village — with its country club, pools and thriving 20-somethings and that in Vickery Meadow, on the other side of Northwest Highway. “Walking literally across the street, realizing there are people here from all over the world fleeing conflicts, that was the beginning of our experience,” Jason says. There are more than 40 armed conflicts going on in the world right now, he adds. “And we only hear of two or three of them on the news.” It struck him that, for many people, escaping war was but the beginning of their plight. “That [insight] propelled us to do something.” They were robbed at

Seek the Peace founders Jason and Tess Clarke, with children Roman and Hilton, reconnected with Daniel, a refugee, when they moved into Vickery Meadow. (Photo by Rasy Ran)

gunpoint during one of their first visits to Vickery Meadow. Despite that, in 2008, they moved in. There already were several organizations and churches working here — the Vickery Meadow Improvement District, Vickery Meadow Learning Center and the International Rescue Committee, to name a few. The Clarkes invited their Vickery Meadow neighbors to dinner, and listened to their stories, seeking gaps in existing services. What was missing, they decided, “is help dealing with the pain and brokenness that the past has caused,” Jason says. He hopes his master’s degree in international affairs and bachelor’s in law and society, as well as his continued training in conflict resolution, makes him an effective mediator of problems prevalent in refugee communities. “The effects of trauma often include secondary violence, where you see destructiveness like alcoholism. Crime can be a byproduct of trauma ... Healing benefits the refugee, the neighborhood they live in, and [beyond].” The

idea is to work with individuals or small groups to empower them to become leaders in their communities, Jason explains. For example, Tess leads an “identity/worth-building” program for women and teens. Theirs is a micro, grassroots effort that requires loads of patience. The goal is to foster widespread peace, beginning with one person (“be the change you wish to see ...” as Mahatma Gandhi put it). Seek’s office is inside the Ivy Apartments (where Ebola patient Eric Duncan resided before his 2014 death). There we meet a smiling, soft-spoken and polite 19-year-old Congolese refugee named Daniel. He dropped out of high school, and due to some misdemeanors, he can’t acquire a driver’s license. His life is thorny right now, but nowhere near as desperate as it was months ago, after he fell in with a gang and barrelled down a destructive path too often taken by young male refugees. High school graduation rate for refugees is in the low 30 percent range, Jason says, which leads

to a loss of opportunity and an increased sense of despair. There is no quick fix for Daniel. “People aren’t projects,” says Jason, who calls Daniel his “good friend.” Daniel spends several hours a day at Jason’s office studying for his high school equivalency tests. Jason and Tess own a remodeling business. They had two children and have moved into a house. Still, they refuse to take the safe or easy path, though. When Jason talks publicly about accepting refugees into our country and city, a frequent calling these days, he contends that we cannot deny people help in the name of perfect safety, “something we can never achieve anyway.” He takes the same approach in his own life. “We have to either engage or ignore,” he says. “Ignoring isn’t right. There is real fear, on both our side and theirs. So we must engage in a way that transcends that skepticism and builds trust, by spending a lot of time with people. Then they go back and build peace within their own faith, language and culture.” —

Christina Hughes Babb

Behind the scenes of ‘Cotton Candy’

Remember when Ron Howard made a movie in East Dallas?

In the late 1970s, at the dawn of his directorial career, Ron Howard — popularly known as his sitcom character Richie Cunningham rolled, along with his actor brother, Clint, and much of his “Happy Days” production crew, into East Dallas to shoot a movie about rival teenage rock bands. The finished product premiered Oct. 26, 1978 on NBC. Dallas residents held watch parties and thrilled at the sight of familiar faces and places — Town East Mall, scene of the climactic Battle of the Bands; Annex Avenue in East Dallas, where the fictional garage band Cotton Candy rehearsed; the Granada movie theater on Greenville, site of the main characters’ first date; and Lake Highlands High School, which was to “Cotton Candy” what Rydell High was to “Grease.” That year, Scott Patterson was one of about 140 seniors chosen to play extras in scenes filmed on campus.

Patterson says he and his peers revered

Ron Howard. The TV star shook the kids’ hands, hung out with them after filming and answered questions about his career, Patterson says.

“We knew him as Richie Cunningham. He seemed like Richie. Not bossy, but in command. He was personable, down to earth, and, in real life, he was smaller than he ap-

peared on ‘Happy Days.’”

Mark Ridlen, a musician and DJ from East Dallas was in Quad Pi, a local act whose members portrayed bullying bandmates.

“I was young and skinny and cute then. I was a rock star,” Ridlen reminisces. Grinning wistfully, he recalls auditioning for Howard. “We did one song. We nailed it.”

Tad Painter, Morgan Ferguson, Mark Wheeler, Mark Ridlen and John Painter portrayed members of the band Rapid Fire in Ron Howard’s 1978 TV movie “Cotton Candy.” In real life, their band was called Quad Pi.

Ridlen, Morgan Ferguson and John and Tad Painter, alongside actor Mark Wheeler, portrayed Rapid Fire, the popular, evil nemesis of the hero-underdog Cotton Candy.

Ridlen didn’t have any speaking lines, but he and his curly, shoulder-length locks appear in several scenes.

“They gave Tad the only speaking line, but I managed to get in front of the camera a lot. On the last day, I decided to be punk, a sad attempt in my Patty Hearst T-shirt and dog collar,” he says with a laugh.

Ridlen dined out with Wheeler and other cast members at Campisi’s on Mockingbird one night. Without naming names, he says several of them shared a joint after filming that day. “I don’t think Ron Howard was at that dinner,” he adds.

“Cotton Candy” was a far cry from Howard’s many Oscar-worthy flicks (“Apollo 13” and “A Beautiful Mind,” for example) that followed.

According to an article by The New York Times entertainment writer and Dallas na-

tive Mark Allen, it originally was intended as a pilot for a TV series.

“And it shows,” Allen writes. “Every line of the film is shouted, every action overhashed, every sequence directed for maximum, squishy, melodramatic exploitation,” he notes.

Maybe that’s part of the reason why, when Lake Highlands alum Greg Van Dine wrote to Ron Howard Productions requesting a copy of the movie, he received this response: “That film is deep in the vault and will never, ever, let me say again, never see the light of day again.”

But “Cotton Candy” would not go quietly into obscurity. Allen cites the film’s cult appeal. It’s part of a “sub-genre of made-for-TV movies about high school teens embroiled in rock-band drama that holds immeasurable hypnotic powers over a lot of my generation,” he notes.

Patterson finally scored a copy of “Cotton Candy” in 2008, when Ridlen hosted a

“Cotton Candy” anniversary screening and party and distributed “Cotton Candy” DVDs to guests.

Those parting gifts did not come easily, Ridlen says. Back when the Quad Pi parents found out their kids would be in a TV movie, they all bought VCRs so they could tape it. But the recordings that survived were of barely watchable quality. Years ago, however, Ridlen met a guy who had a perfect copy converted to DVD.

“It has the commercials and all. It’s a total time machine to Dallas in that era,” he says. They made copies for all the attendees. He says that anyone who wants to see it will have to attend the next anniversary celebration in 2018.

“I’m not putting it on YouTube,” he says. You’ll have to come to the party, which he promises will be a blast. A low-quality but watchable version of the film is available on YouTube.

Christina Hughes Babb

THE goods

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION to advertise call 214.560.4203

Out & About

Send events to editor@advocatemag.com

March 2016

GECKO HARDWARE

Roma Boots keep out rain and help others. Local owner gives a pair away for each pair sold. Save $10 on adults, $5 on kids with ad in March. Colors vary.

10233 E. Northwest Hwy @ Ferndale

214.343.1971 GeckoHardware.com

March 19

St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Things may get rowdy at Greenville Avenue’s 37th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade —more than 125,000 people are expected to attend — but that’s part of the fun. The lively procession begins at the Corner of Greenville and Blackwell and ends near SMU Boulevard. Wear green or be shunned. dallasstpatricksparade.com, free

3/16

LW 1/3 V

THE STORE IN LAKE HIGHLANDS

JELLYCAT! The softest toys you ever hugged! Irresistibly cuddly, sophisticatedly silly, a perfect gift for all ages! Great selection of animals and books! Perfect for Easter.

10233 E. NW Hwy @ Ferndale (near Gecko) 214.553.8850 Mon-Sat 9:30-5:30 TheStoreinLH.com

CITY VIEW ANTIQUE MALL

Transform, re-purpose or refresh old furniture with color choices from Annie Sloan Chalk Paint®. A full range of paint products are available. Our 65 dealers offer great, quality, affordability & selection.

6830 Walling Ln. (Skillman/Abrams)

214.752.3071 cityviewantiques.com

THROUGH MARCH 19 Triangles

As the saying goes, two’s company but three’s a crowd. “Triangles” certainly drives that point home. It’s a collection of three humorous one-act plays about trios, written more than 30 years ago by Pocket Sandwich Theatre co-founder Joe Dickinson.

Pocket Sandwich Theatre, 5400 E. Mockingbird, 214.821.1860, pocketsandwich.com, $12-$25

THROUGH APRIL 10 Dallas Blooms

More than 500,000 spring-blossoming bulbs have burst at the Dallas Arboretum and there are massive topiaries shaped like Texas. Basically, it’s an Instagrammer’s dream.

Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland Road, dallasarboretum.org, 214.515.6500, $10-$15, plus $15 onsite parking

THROUGH APRIL 15 Tax assistance

YOGA MART THE STORE

GEKO HARDWARE

Tax returns can be tricky. Get help from AARP Tax-Aide and the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program on Thursdays from 12 to 4 p.m. Make sure to bring your W-2, a photo I.D., last year’s tax return and Social Security cards for all dependents. Hey, it might not be fun, but it’s useful.

Lakewood Library, 6121 Worth, 214.670.1376, dallaslibrary.org, free

THROUGH APRIL 30

Silent Witness

See what White Rock Lake looks like through Kathleen Wilke’s eyes. The Dallas-based photographer, known for her underwater snaps, stayed on dry ground to create this series, which documents life at the lake.

Bath House Cultural Center, 521 E. Lawther, 214.670.8749, bathhousecultural.com, free

MARCH 3

First Lady

In celebration of Women’s History Month, local raconteur Alfreda Rollins tells the story of Michelle Obama. What issues are important to this First Lady? Find out in the Black Box Theater at 6 p.m. Lochwood Library, 11221 Lochwood, 214.670.8403, dallaslibrary.org, free

MARCH 3-5

New fairy tale

The kiddos of White Rock Theater Project present “Holly Abel and the Case of the Missing Mothers.” Watch some of your favorite fairy tale characters — Snow White, Cinderella, etc. — go on a quest to find their mamas, whom they believe have been imprisoned by the evil Brothers Grimm. Performances start at 7 p.m. The Mix at White Rock United Methodist, 1450 Oldgate, whiterocktheatreproject@gmail.com

MARCH 4-APRIL 3

Hansel and Gretel

You know the story. An elderly woman living in a house made of candy captures a brother and sister and attempts to fatten them up. This time its told by puppets and accompanied by the music of Engelbert Humperdinck. Most appropriate for kids 4 and up.

Dallas Children’s Theater, 5938 Skillman, 214.740.0051, dct.org, $2226

MARCH 13

Karaoke

Feeling brave? Belt out your favorite tune on the first floor of Crown and Harp. If you bomb, just head upstairs for the Sunday Night Dance Party and boogie your cares away.

Crown and Harp, 1914 Greenville, 214.828.1914 thecrownandharp.com, free

MARCH 24

Celebrate!

Help fund the Stone Tables restoration project at White Rock Lake by participating in the third annual Celebrate! event. Run a 5K or 10K or just show up for the beer, provided by Lakewood Brewing Company and Oak Highlands Brewery. Winfrey Point, White Rock Lake Trail, whiterockdallas.org, $10-$24

MARCH 31

Sarah Jaffee

Conclude the month at Granada Theater with local favorite Sarah Jaffee. Though Jaffee’s sound is delicate and soft, a rap artist will open the show. Sam Lao, also of Dallas, takes the stage at 8:15 p.m. Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville, 214.824.9933, granadatheater.com

$25-$69

OnRotation is kind of like a coffee shop, but for craft beer. The room at Gaston-GarlandGrand is long and narrow and littered with tables and chairs waiting to be filled by enthusiasts. At the bar 40 taps line the back wall, and the menu above lists the brews, most of which are made in Dallas or Texas. On Rotation is what’s called a nano-brewery. So it’s bigger than a home brewery, but smaller than a microbrewery. Rather than distributing to other bars in the area, On Rotation sells their craft beers on site. Owners Jacob and Lindsay Sloan operate On Rotation like an overblown hobby. “We were just home brewers and we started to run out of space in our guest bedroom, so we realized we either needed to have a second room in the house devoted to home brewing or we needed to do something outside the house,” Jacob explains. They both kept their day jobs (Jacob works in marketing and Lindsay in accounting), but opened On Rotation in 2014. The jalapeño saison and raspberry sour have both been big hits, and you can often find those two beers on tap at the shop. —Brittany Nunn

ON ROTATION

on-rotation.com

7328 Gaston, Suite 110 972.807.2588

AMBIENCE: CASUAL, LAID-BACK

PRICE RANGE: $5-$12

HOURS:

MON-THURS 4 P.M.- 10 P.M.

FRI 4 P.M.-12 A.M.

SAT 12 P.M.-12 A.M.

SUN 12 P.M.-10 P.M.

DID YOU KNOW?

ON ROTATION FEATURES PHOTOGRAPHY OF WHITE ROCK LAKE AND THE LAKEWOOD AREA TAKEN BY NEIGHBOR AUSTIN LEWIS.

On Rotation taps 40 beers. (Photo by Rasy Ran)

Goodfriend Package

Love Goodfriend but want it to go? You’re in luck. Matt Tobin and Josh Yingling, the duo behind The Blind Butcher and Goodfriend Burger Bar, opened a brand new package store on Peavy, across the street from Goodfriend, where they sell sandwiches and beer.

1155 Peavy

972.870.2899

facebook.com/goodfriendpackage

ITALIAN

The Bottle Shop

The Bottle Shop is both the best and worst place for indecisive people. It has a staggering selection of more than 300 beers, but it also allows guests to mix-and-match their six-packs for those who can’t pick just one beer.

2116 Greenville 214.828.2873

wbcbottleshop.com

dining SPOTLIGHT

Andrea’s Italian Restaurant

Premium Organic Quality Ingredients make up the menu for an Italian dining experience

Special Tuesday: Buy One Entree, Get Next Entree Free Wednesday BYOB Wine

Hours: Mon-Fri 5pm-9:30pm Sat & Sun 5pm -10pm

7260 Gaston Ave

AndreasItalian.com

214.321.8800

BREAKFAST/LUNCH

Another Broken Egg Cafe

It’s our passion to create exceptional dishes for breakfast, brunch and lunch that are “craveably” delicious with an artisanal flair.

Mon-Sun 7:00 -2:00 pm

andreasitalian.com

214.321.8800

7260 Gaston Ave Dallas 75214

Dallas Beer Kitchen

This local beer joint almost went under in January, but with support from neighbors and a financial boost from Nora Restaurant down the street, they managed to continue serving beer on Lowest Greenville.

1802 Greenville

214.484.2481

facebook.com/DallasBeerKitchen

One90 Smoked Meats

Offering bbq combo plates, sandwiches, tacos, sides, desserts & a wide variety of locally smoked meats, including Brisket, Bison, Turkey, Chicken, Pork, Salmon, Duck, Lamb & Tenderloins.

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

10240 E. Northwest Hwy. one90smokedmeats.com 214.346.3287

The Pour House

Sat. March 19th:Come Enjoy the 14th Annual St. Patrick’s Parade Day Bash Live music starting at 1pm with Woodrow’s own Boys Named Sue Serving Food-All Day

Great Beer Specials-All Day

1919 Skillman St. Dallas, TX 75206 214.515.9009

La Bodega’s Authentic Latin Cuisine

214.560.4203 to advertise in this section.

Put your restaurant in the minds of 100,000+ HOMES month after month

Opening Soon! A great dining experience that combines the Caribbean Soul food of Puerto Rico & Cuba w/ the bold flavors of Argentina, Peru and Panama. Enjoy perfectly charred Churrasco, Crispy Chuletas Cancun, Corvina a la Criolla & traditional Mofongo.

1905 Greenville Ave. labodegas.com 214.916.0326

SMOKED MEATS

LATIN

AMERICAN

CRUNCHING UP GAME DAY

Whether you are keeping cozy watching your favorite team or burning calories on the field, it is always best to choose high-energy snacks that will keep you on your toes. Popcorn is not only easy to make, it’s one of the most popular snacks for kids and adults alike. It can be pepped up with natural ingredients full of protein and a touch of sweet. Sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, coconut and honey are just a few ingredients that will give you a game day boost.

Granola popcorn

INGREDIENTS:

8 cups popcorn

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup pumpkin seeds

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

6333 E. Mockingbird @ Abrams Tom Thumb Shopping Center Ste. #275

Ellis Orthodontics has created hundreds of fantastic smiles like mine.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Measure 8 cups of popped popcorn in a large bowl and add almonds, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries and shredded coconut.

In a small bowl, whisk together honey, brown sugar and coconut oil and then stir it into popcorn mixture.

Fully coat popcorn mixture and spread onto the lined baking sheet.

Bake popcorn for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to keep coating it in the honey.

Remove popcorn from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle granola popcorn with chocolate chips and gently toss to combine.

Serve popcorn for your favorite game day snack or store in an airtight container.

Eve Wiley’s pregnancy went from easy to scary when a sonogram showed the umbilical cord wrapped four times around her baby’s neck, posing a serious threat. “Our world turned upside down,” says Eve. The doctor checked her into a high-risk pregnancy unit at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas for 24/7 monitoring and immediate access to the delivery room. “Just in case,” adds Eve. She credits the nurses with being her “calm in the storm.” Then, 17 days into her hospital stay, the storm clouds cleared as her baby managed to unwrap himself. Eve spent the rest of her pregnancy back home, returning to Baylor for the birth of what she calls her “miracle baby.”

For a physician referral or for more information about women’s services, call 1.800.4BAYLOR or visit us online at BaylorHealth.com/DallasWomen

3500 Gaston Ave., Dallas, TX 75246

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

My high-risk pregnancy had a happy ending, thanks to Baylor.

REAL PATIENTS. REAL STORIES.

tPhysical activity is critical for health, but for these East Dallas neighbors, their obsession runs deeper. They feel most alive with the pounding of footsteps, the beads of sweat and the competitive drive that comes with athletic prowess. So lace up, stretch out and read up on how fitness changed these local residents’ lives.

“If I didn’t have running, I would either be dead or in jail — probably both”

yStory: Brittany Nunn ••• Photos: Danny Fulgencio

Ron McCracken

Run for your life

Ron McCracken has run more than 6,000 consecutive days. To him, it is therapy, and also kind of an addiction. He runs because he can’t stop.

“It’s no exaggeration to say that running saved my life many times,” he says.

You might’ve seen him at White Rock Lake, jogging along the trail in a once-white shirt with the words “Boston Strong” handwritten in pen on the front, holding a tattered American flag in his right hand.

People often salute the flag as he passes by, he says. His favorite encounters are when Marines give him a traditional “OohRah!”

He plans to run his 16th consecutive Boston Marathon next month, even though he still carries emotional scars from the 2013 bombing.

McCracken became enamored with running when he was just shy of 10 in the summer of 1972. While watching the Olympics, he saw Frank Shorter, an American longdistance runner, take the gold medal.

“I was just riveted,” McCracken says. “I still remember when he entered the stadium just thinking, ‘This is the coolest thing ever.’ He inspired a lot of people.”

The very next day McCracken asked his mom to measure a mile around the neighborhood, and he started running. A year later his mom bought him a stopwatch, and he pushed himself to run faster and faster.

As a freshman he was involved in basketball, but he “was having a miserable time,” he says, because the coaches weren’t the mentor-type figures he wanted. “They had their favorites, and I wasn’t one of them,” he explains. “On my own I would practice probably 40 hours a week, and I could see where it was going; it was tearing me up.”

He left the basketball team to pursue running. His dream was to become a worldclass miler, but he soon realized he’d never run a 4-minute mile.

“No matter how bad I wanted to, my body wasn’t designed that way,” he explains. “I realized early on that the longer I ran, the

better it was for me.”

But the real difference was the mentoring he received from his coaches. His parents had separated a couple years earlier, and he was desperate for a father figure.

“Those were the men I needed,” he explains. “They were very positive. My freshman year, compared to other track runners, I was kind of in the middle. I was mediocre. After a tough race, my coach would come up to me and put his arm around me and say, ‘That was a tough race, wasn’t it?’ I needed that.”

As a teen, McCracken struggled with severe depression, which he still battles today.

“I’ve always been a very emotional person. Every single day I was angry as hell,” he says, “but running kept me out of trouble. If I didn’t have running, I would either be dead or in jail — probably both. I’m serious. There’s no doubt I’d have been dead a long time ago if it hadn’t been for running. I probably would have ended up killing someone. That might sound disturbing to some people, but that’s just the truth.”

Luckily, his coaches recognized his need for an outlet. Even though he wasn’t always the easiest student to coach, they stuck by

him.

He graduated high school and went on to study at the University of North Texas running cross-country, but he and the other players dealt with constant injuries because of the intensity of the team’s workout regiment. Even as a young man, McCracken knew he wanted to run for the rest of his life and he was afraid the injuries would ruin him. So halfway through the season, he left the team.

He never stopped running, but it wasn’t until 1992 that he explored his first marathon. Although he was warned by experienced distance runners to pace himself at the beginning, he underestimated how hard the last 6 miles of a marathon would be if he didn’t, which resulted in a disastrous finish. “It was so bad,” he remembers. “I couldn’t believe how badly I’d misjudged it.”

It shook him up enough that he didn’t run another marathon until 1998.

McCracken ran his first Boston Marathon in 2000, and he has run it every year since, even though the race is linked with more than one dark memory.

In 2005, his best friend died the day after the marathon.

“I left it at home one day and a couple different people I don’t even know asked me, ‘Where’s your flag at? We love seeing you run with the flag.’ I love that people get it. It’s a symbol of defiance that ‘You won’t stop us.’ ”

“I didn’t find out until I flew back,” he says as his eyes pool with tears. “The first call I got when I got back was that one. It was very sudden and unexpected. He was 40.”

Then in 2009, McCracken’s mother passed away, also suddenly and unexpectedly, while he was in the air on the flight home.

“I called her from the running store before I left for the airport,” he says. “She was at work and I asked her how she was doing — had a little conversation. So you can imagine, at 7 a.m. I get a phone call that mom’s dead. That can’t be right. I just talked to her.”

Combined, those two experiences gave him “a borderline phobia” about the Boston Marathon, he says. “The two biggest people in my life, I’m flying back from Boston and they die? I was unprepared in every way.”

But he kept running the Boston Marathon anyway, partly for himself and partly out of respect for his mom, who was his biggest fan and supporter and who adored the event, he explains.

Then he was there at the infamous 2013

Boston Marathon, which ended abruptly when two brothers set off a homemade bomb at the finish line, killing three people and injuring 264 others.

McCracken remembers that day vividly, how hundreds of emergency vehicles packed the street for miles and the National Guard wouldn’t answer his questions: What happened? Were people hurt? He remembers reaching out and touching an ambulance as it drove by.

“That was a really dark day,” he says. “For a lot of us that was a huge turning point in our lives. In the hours after it, even though I didn’t understand the full gravity of it, I remember wandering around Boston and I just thought, ‘This can’t be good for us. This can’t be good for our souls.’ ”

He returned home and a couple of days later, while running near White Rock Lake, an ambulance drove by him along Buckner. When the siren clicked on, McCracken was propelled into the throes of a panic attack, a classic sign of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

That’s when he started running with the American flag.

“I knew I needed something,” he explains. “When I’d run by veterans they’d salute the flag, and that really touched me. I left it at home one day and a couple different people I don’t even know asked me, ‘Where’s your flag at? We love seeing you run with the flag.’ I love that people get it. It’s a symbol of defiance that ‘You won’t stop us.’ ”

He knew he had to go back to Boston. Like thousands of others, he went back the next year to reclaim the finish line.

“It was extremely important — to everyone,” he says. “Leading up to it, people would always ask me, ‘Are you scared about going back?’ and I would say, ‘It doesn’t matter. We have to.’ ”

But it hasn’t been easy.

“I still cry about Boston every day,” he says. “I think I always will.”

“Do you ever just think about those moments that really define your life?” Kincaid Stringer muses.

He was 7. And, of all things, it was “Riverdance” that captivated the young boy’s imagination, and would ultimately define his life.

His parents, East Dallas neighbors Shannon and Allen, returned home from Ireland with a “Riverdance” DVD, and Stringer watched it obsessively. That was 20 years ago — the first year the now world-famous show began.

“‘Riverdance’ is what made Irish dancing globally famous,” Springer explains. “[Choreographers] Michael Flatley and Jean Butler made Irish dancing sexy.”

A year later, the show toured through Dallas, and Stringer watched wide-eyed from the audience as the dancers on stage, bodies rigid and heads held high, rapidly moved their feet to create a rhythmic percussion. Each dancer displayed beauty, grace and strength, and Stringer was hooked. He knew exactly what he wanted: to be in “Riverdance.”

He began taking Irish dance classes at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in Dallas. A natural athlete, Irish dance was everything Stringer hoped it would be.

“It’s right-brained and left-brained. It’s as mentally stimulating as it is physically challenging,” he explains. “There are a lot of technical aspects of it — the composure of your body combined with the speed of your legs, and then there’s the rhythmic musicality of what you’re performing. It’s so athletic but so artistic. I’m obsessed.”

Over the years he traveled back and forth from Dallas to Ireland to train and compete. While in Ireland, he lived with the family of “Riverdance” cast member Celine Hession, who became like a second mother to Stringer.

“I trained with them every year, and don’t think I realized until I was like 15 or 16 years old that we aren’t blood related,” Stringer says, in a distinctly Irish accent.

“Their daughters are like my sisters.”

By college he was one of the top Irish dancers in the world. He eventually moved to Ireland, leaving his studies at the University of Texas to study literature and business at National University of Galway in Ireland — all while competing in dance. He won more than 10 regional titles, the All-Ireland title twice, the All-Scotland and The Great Britain Championships. He almost won the World Championship, reaching fourth place in the world, before he retired from competing.

“I have one of those tragic ‘I-almostdid-until-I-didn’t’ stories,” he says dismissively.

“The year I was closest to winning the world title, I was leading. You do three rounds and I was leading after the first two. I danced really well, and at the very end I slipped and fell. There was a ridge in the floor, and afterwards they pulled up the floor and fixed it, but then didn’t let me go again. You win some, you lose most.”

Those near-misses all lead to his big break in 2011, when the official “Riverdance” troupe began a search for a new cast member. Out of thousands of people who sent in DVDs, he was selected for a live audition.

“It was what I always wanted to do,” he says. “So we went, warmed up and there were all kinds of world champions there. It was intimidating. We all knew each other, but this was going in for a potential job.”

The audition only lasted about 20 minutes and then he was dismissed. A few weeks later, while in Barcelona, Spain, for his sister’s 18th birthday, he received a call.

“They said, ‘Congratulations, you’ve passed the audition. We’re giving you a spot.’ They didn’t take anyone else,” Springer recalls. “It was my sister’s 18th birthday, I’m supposed to be this big brother and I’m like weeping in the hotel and my dad’s crying in the corner. It was cool.”

Not long into touring, “Riverdance” did a North America tour. After a six-weeks in California, Stringer found himself in the exact venue in Dallas where he first saw the show as a boy.

“That was nuts,” he remembers. “I was standing on the stage and I could see my mother, and I thought, ‘It was 20 years ago that I was sitting there watching this show, and now I’m here performing for them.’ It all came full-circle.”

Beyond North America, “Riverdance”

the speed of your legs, and

has taken him from South America to Europe to Asia to Africa. While glamorous, it’s a life that many of his friends don’t find relatable. He relishes the opportunities he’s had, “but I live out of a suitcase, I don’t have a mortgage and I’m definitely not getting married anytime soon,” he says with a chuckle. “So it can be hard when I come home to connect with people.”

However, the friendships he has made along the way have made up for it.

“When you go on tour your friends be-

come your family,” he says. “There’s this hodgepodge of people and you never get to be alone — ever. Everybody has rooms and all that, but you don’t just travel with people, you live with people 24/7. The best alone time you have is when you’re in the shower.”

When Stringer thinks about all the things he wouldn’t have if his parents hadn’t introduced him to Irish dancing as a 7-year-old, it’s staggering.

“I wouldn’t have a career,” he says. “I wouldn’t have the friends I have. I probably wouldn’t have gone to university in Ireland, although I might have. I wouldn’t have traveled and seen the world. If I wasn’t a dancer, I don’t know what my life would be.”

His home base is his parents’ house in East Dallas. On top of touring, he teaches Irish dance workshops to kids all over the world. He plans to always keep a foot in Irish dance.

“That way I can get my fix and do all the other things I want to do too.”

“There are a lot of technical aspects of it — the composure of your body combined with

then there’s the rhythmic musicality of what you’re performing. It’s so athletic but so artistic. I’m obsessed.”

Although Heather McRae has been dealing with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) daily for more than 20 years, she never connected with other people in Dallas with MS. Instead, they cycled up to her.

The first time McRae went to a Meat Fight event, which is an annual barbecue in Dallas that raises funds for the National MS Society, she was skeptical.

“The first year on the way to the event I remember telling my husband, ‘It’s really weird going to an event that’s about a disease I have,’” she says, “but when I got there it wasn’t like that at all. It was so uplifting and empowering. They want to help us find a cure, but not because they think

Pedal power

we’re sad people. It’s about drinking and barbecue. It’s about MS, but you don’t feel like it.”

That’s probably because the founder Alice Laussade created the event to help her own brother, Mike Laussade, who also has MS. Through mutual friend Marta Sprague of Noble Coyote the siblings met McRae and she was convinced to join their Meat Bike team.

Meat Bike, which is an offshoot of Meat Fight, provides people with MS with a brand new road bike from Richardson Bike Mart and a full cycling kit — Spandex, helmet, shoes and more. The purpose is to get active because cardio can lessen the symp-

toms of MS. In return, the participants agree to cross the start line at any bike MS event.

“I was like, ‘Oh wow, I haven’t ridden a bike since I was 14, so I don’t know,’” McRae remembers.

As McRae thought about it, she remembered how much she loved riding her bike as a kid, and she did need the exercise, so she figured, “Why not?”

She signed on, and she and Sprague began riding together at White Rock Lake. She also began riding with other Meat Bike team members, and for the first time met other people with MS.

“Before I wasn’t exercising and putting

myself out there,” she says. “I wasn’t even meeting other people with MS. I was just living with MS, so getting this bike was really some of the best medicine anyone has every prescribed to me.”

At first she only rode a few miles at a time because she was nervous about falling. MS affects balance, fatigue, nerve pain and sparks muscular symptoms like cramping, stiffness and difficulty with coordination.

“I was afraid it would make me feel worse,” she explains. “But it didn’t and I was able to ride more and more. It was exciting that I could even accomplish that, and it actually gave me energy and I’m stronger from it too.”

In 2015 McRae rode in her first longdistance ride, and she made it 77 miles — something she never dreamed possible.

“The most I’d ridden before that was 22 miles,” she points out. “I never would have even entered if it wasn’t for Meat Bike.”

She plans to race again and hopes to ride longer distances each year. McRae has made Meat Fight and Meat Bike two of her passions. As the team adds new riders, the older riders become mentors, she says. Although the focus is more on socializing and exercise, as a byproduct, she’s become more comfortable discussing MS.

“It’s a part of my life, and it’s healthier to have it out there and talk with other people who have MS,” she explains. “So as you’re riding and things come up, like if you can’t feel your feet one day, it’s easier to talk about it with people who also have MS. It makes me realize, ‘OK I don’t have to hide from this and keep it in the background.’”

“It’s a part of my life, and it’s healthier to have it out there and talk with other people who have MS.”

“I was just kind of like a bridesmaid, but it taught me a lot about finding meaning in where you are and at the level you are.”

Stroke of luck

When Michelle Chow was first introduced to competitive swimming, she was terrible at it.

Her parents immigrated to the United States from China under the quota system during World War II.

“So their whole life was very, very different,” she says, explaining that her mother pushed her toward the pool. “She really wanted us to be physically active, so she put us in a summer league swim team.”

Chow’s older brother and sister were both very gifted, and soon coaches noticed her siblings and tried to recruit them to USA Swimming, which was called AAU Swimming at the time.

“I remember [the coach] came to our house, and my mom said, ‘OK, we’ll join this year-round team, but you have to take Michelle,” Chow recalls with a laugh.

And lucky for her, he did. Over time she got better and better, and by 12, she was really good.

“As with any athlete, to triumph, you have to have the physical gifts, the drive and determination, the opportunity and the support,” she explains. “So I don’t know how it happened that they picked the right sport for me, and that I liked it so much that I was driven, but I was. Being on time was late to me.”

Her dad, an engineer, built Chow a swim bench that allowed her to do dry land swim training at home, “and I just did that religiously,” she says. “I was one of those kids.”

It showed. In high school, she won the Pennsylvania State Championships every year she was eligible. During high school, swimmers can only set two individual events per year, so the maximum events swimmers can win is eight.

“So that’s what I did,” Chow says. “My claim to fame is that I set the eight-for-eight unbreakable record.”

And so far nobody has tied it.

“I was third in the nation in high school rankings, and that opened up a whole bunch of opportunities for me — just the highest that were available,” she says. “I didn’t appre-

ciate it at the time, but I got full scholarships from everybody. I wish I’d kept those letters.”

She decided on Texas A&M University with a full swimming scholarship. It was a time that challenged her perfectionist nature.

“I didn’t get all the things I thought would just happen,” she explains. “I always thought that equation of: work hard, train well and compete equals success. At the time, it was the most devastating thing when that didn’t happen.”

She qualified for the NCAA, which only about 30 women make each year, but she didn’t place individually. She also qualified for the Olympic trials, “but I wasn’t really a contender,” she points out.

“But I had some successes. I was one of those people who made the highest qualifications, but I didn’t actually place or make a national team,” she says. “I was just kind of like a bridesmaid, but it taught me a lot about finding meaning in where you are and at the level you are.”

Plus, all the hard work paid off when she was looking for a job and potential employers were looking for that extra thing that set her apart as a candidate.

“That helped me tremendously, especially once I went to business school and started interviewing at investment banks,” she says. “They wanted ultracompetitive people, and that’s what helped me get my job at Goldman Sachs, which back then was the best job you could get. So that’s the thing that I think really changed my life.”

After college she only took a year off before she started U.S. Masters Swimming. She was almost as fast as she was in college, so she set two world records right away.

These days, she doesn’t have as much time to train, so she’s intensely focused when she swims — always thinking about her technique and what she could do better.

Between work and raising her two daughters, swimming gives her extra balance and a sense of self, she says. “When you look at the clock, you know exactly who you are to a hundredth of a second.”

Radio star

As a teen, Allen Stone’s journey with sports was primarily intellectual. He liked all aspects of heady sports culture from history and statistics to humaninterest stories and its cultural underbelly.

Although he didn’t set out to become a sportscaster, his interest took him from radio to TV broadcasting to pubic relations and beyond.

He did the morning broadcast on WRR-FM, which is now The Ticket, but when the show lost its sports anchor, he was asked to step up to the plate while also doing the news.

“Since I had a sports background, it was so easy for me,” he explains. “I went to them and said, ‘I’d really rather be the sports director,’ so I did.”

From there Stone caught a lucky break and managed to land a job as the weekend sports anchor at Channel 4, even though he had no previous TV experience.

“Then I got hired by the Dallas Mavericks when the franchise first came together,” he says. “I was one of their original employees, which quickly moved me into public relations and broadcast. I went back on the air as the Dallas Mavericks’ main TV announcer for 13 years.”

He left the Dallas Mavericks in the early-‘90s to work for ESPN part-time, but he needed some extra work. As an SMU grad, he found out the school was looking for a play-by-play basketball announcer.

“I thought, ‘Oh that would be fun, my alma mater. I’ll do that for a while until I figure out what else I want to do longterm,’” he recalls with a chuckle. “My mindset was, ‘I’ll do this for a season.’ That was 23 years ago.”

He shuffled through other jobs, but he always kept the SMU basketball gig, he says — although he shifts back and forth between being a play-by-play announcer and the guy who adds color and trivia to the show. When he retired last

year, it freed up his schedule to allow him to spend even more time announcing games at home and away.

“Obviously getting into sports opened a ton of doors for me,” he says. “I got to do a lot of things, but I don’t see myself as a sports addict,” he says. He doesn’t want his life to be “dominated by sports,” but rather something he does for his own personal enjoyment.

“I’ll turn 70 in August, and I keep thinking SMU is going to get rid of me anytime now,” he says. “Or I’ll think, ‘Now that I’m retired I should probably give it up,’ but I’m having so much fun right now because SMU is doing so good. I did it for so many years when they were bad.”

And he figures since SMU’s basketball coach Larry Brown is 75-years-old, maybe that’ll buy him some extra time.

“Because I’m not that old,” Stone says.

“I’ll turn 70 in August, and I keep thinking SMU is going to get rid of me anytime now.”

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Body and balance

While many high school students were partying, Nick Chamberlain earned his black belt.

What started as a hobby soon became an obsession and a career that provided him with an identity, a culture and a family.

Chamberlain joined karate at age 15, shortly after moving to Boston from England because he didn’t know any other American sport. He liked that karate let him determine his own success.

“I enjoyed sports where you could make the difference yourself,” he says. “Karate is an individual sport. If you want to get better, you have to work harder.”

Once he started karate, it was “consuming,” he says. “I spent two or three hours most nights of the week at the karate studio, doing classes and private lessons, train-

ing with the other guys.”

Chamberlain started assisting the teachers long before he got his black belt. When he graduated high school he was faced with a decision of what to do next: he could go to school to study business or launch a karate studio.

He decided to continue teaching karate, so his parents sold their home and helped him open a franchise martial arts school.

“That’s how I got started,” he says, but he continued to search for new opportunities as well. He considered law school but then quickly became disenchanted with the idea when he realized practicing law wouldn’t afford him the work-life balance he wanted.

“I knew several attorneys who were working 80-90 hours a week, and their families

thought they were the guy who came over on Sundays to play baseball,” he quips. “I had two dads who brought their kids to karate — everyone else was brought by their moms. I asked those guys, ‘What do you do that allows you to bring your kids to karate?’ Both of them were chiropractors.”

So that settled it. He moved to Dallas to study chiropractic care, and he continued to study and teach martial arts to pay his way through school. He founded Chamberlain Studios of Self Defense in Lakewood, and today he teaches hundreds of kids and adults in East Dallas.

Through his education, he met Kimberly Jones, who was also studying chiropractic care in Dallas. They married shortly after graduation. While both sought a life that

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“That’s the beauty of martial arts ... You get wiser. You can keep practicing as long as you want.”

put family first, they were disheartened to learn that family would be difficult to build.

“We tried to have kids,” Chamberlain says. “We didn’t take extraordinary measures like going through IVF and all that, but we tried for a few years and it didn’t work out.”

Although martial arts doesn’t take the place of family, it helped fill the void in some way because “having time and family and community and all those things was important,” he points out.

“We’ve created a martial arts family where everyone cares about each other and cares about the success of others. I run the school as a family community,” he explains, and then jokingly adds, “and it is nice to work with some really cute kids and then send them home.”

In his studio he teaches Kenpo, a version of mixed martial arts, but over the years he has trained in various forms of martial arts. Last year Chamberlain received designation as Grand Master and the rank of 10th degree black belt at the Kenpo International Hall of Fame.

“That’s the beauty of martial arts. In most sports, once you hit your 30s or 40s you’re done, you retire,” he explains. “Whereas in the martial arts, as you get older, people are like, ‘Oh you must really be good. You must really know what you’re doing.’ You get wiser. You can keep practicing as long as you want.”

It has given him an opportunity to travel and learn by immersing himself in other cultures from Hawaii to China. He also realized more and more how much he loves teaching and helping people, and how much his work with martial arts spills over into his work as a chiropractor.

“For me being a doctor is the same,” he says. “It’s teaching people about diet, nutrition, stress-reduction and exercise routines. It’s very closely tied to the physical work you do in the martial arts. There’s a crossover.”

He and Kimberly both practice chiropractic care in a room above Chamberlain’s martial arts studio in Lakewood.

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Fighting for his life

By Elizabeth Barbee

Though he’s only 5-feet-5, Jesús Chávez is known in certain circles as “El Matador” or “The Killer.” It’s an appropriate name for a boxer, especially one of his caliber. During Chávez’s career as a lightweight fighter, he won 44 of 52 matches and garnered two world titles. But his rise to glory was far from smooth.

In the summer of 1990, when Chávez was 16 years old, he was arrested for armed robbery. He says he was an accomplice mixed up in the wrong crowd. It was his first offense, but he spent the next four years behind bars.

“When I was there I swore I was never going back to a prison or a jail cell,” he says. “But I knew about my immigration problem.”

The “problem” was that Chávez’s family moved from Chihuahua, Mexico to the United States when he was a child. They had been granted amnesty, but Chávez’s arrest meant he’d violated the terms of his immigration status. At the end of his sentence, he was immediately deported.

“There I was, with $50 in my pocket, in a place where I had never been — Mexico City,” he remembers. “I basically hitchhiked my way back to Chihuahua and lived with

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my grandparents.”

Mexico was unfamiliar to Chávez. The United States was the only home he knew. After a couple months he “walked straight through the line,” boarded a plane and flew to Illinois. He says it was easy, probably because his English was perfect.

Chicago proved difficult. Chávez got calls from former friends who had become bad influences. Not wanting to get embroiled back in crime, he decided to move, at the suggestion of his father, to Austin, Texas.

It was there that he met Richard Lord, who owned a local boxing gym. Lord recognized Chávez’s talent and let him train and live in the facility. Pretty soon he had a promoter and was fighting against some of the biggest names in the industry.

But then he applied for a driver’s license.

“I didn’t have the right documentation,” he explains. “The only reason they didn’t deport me right away was I had a major promotional contract in the US so I was conducting business here.”

Eventually, Chávez voluntarily deported himself. He figured he’d be in Mexico for six months tops. He was there for four years. During that time, he prepared for a fight against Julio Alvarez, one of Mexico’s top boxers. The men were friends but things turned ugly before the fight.

“His supporters paid off the chef where I used to eat,” Chávez says. “I was getting stomachaches and had to postpone the fight.… They were putting barbiturates in my food.”

The foul play was documented in “Split Decision,” a 2002 film that chronicles

Chávez’s struggle to return to the United States.

“I agreed to do [the documentary] for educational purposes,” he explains. “It’s educational for a lot of different people, like atrisk kids, and it has a lot of good information regarding immigration law.”

Chávez won his match against Alvarez. He says it was the only time in his career he was “intentionally trying to hurt someone in the sport of boxing.”

Then, in 2001, he secured an even greater victory. With the help of his attorney, he was allowed to return to Austin — this time, legally.

After four years of relative peace, his world would come crashing down again.

On Sept. 17, 2005 he fought Leavander Johnson, for the lightweight world title.

Chávez won. But after leaving the ring, Johnson collapsed in the locker room, and later died from a brain injury received during the fight.

“I felt horrible,” Chávez says, tearing up. “I blamed myself for a long time. The only people who could help me get out of that rut were [Leavander’s] family. They asked me to come to the funeral. I agreed and I flew out there. They understood the risks and they said, ‘Keep fighting. Do it for Leavander.’”

Chávez kept fighting another four years, but he also began exploring other interests. He volunteered with the Austin Police Department, teaching boxing to at-risk kids, and developed a passion for social work. In 2010, he met Arnie Verbeek, who owns Maple Avenue Boxing Gym, off Inwood Road. The two became close.

Verbeek offered Chávez a job managing the facility, so he moved to East Dallas. That’s how he discovered Café Momentum, a nonprofit restaurant that provides culinary training to teens who have served time in juvenile detention facilities. Chávez couldn’t resist putting in an application. He was hired immediately and now works as a case manager.

“The kids I work with are all really good kids in bad situations,” he says. “They ask me about my past. Some have seen the documentary and it’s interesting to them. They say, ‘You must have made a lot of money.’ They think I’m rich.”

Chávez tells them he’s experienced extreme highs and extreme lows and advises them to stay out of trouble and pursue their passions. He can’t imagine where he’d be without boxing.

“After all of the hardship — the incarceration, the deportation — I know I was great at something,” he says. “I was one of the best in the world. Not many people can say that. I’m proud. Now I’m a social worker and I’m proud of that too. I’m giving back.”

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A new life

One local group’s revolutionary approach to cutting medical costs while easing patients’ suffering

Story by Christina Hughes Babb | Photos by Danny Fulgencio

Recovering from hip surgery, a patient occupies a bed in a Parkland Hospital room. He is healthy enough to go home, with one exception. He needs expensive special equipment — a wheelchair and a tub transfer bench — in order to function on his own. So he remains hospitalized, at a cost of $2,000 per day, a bill footed in large part by Dallas taxpayers.

Another, diagnosed with inoperable stage-4 breast cancer, wants nothing more than to spend her last days at home with those who love her. But unless she can put a hospital bed in her room at home, her physician cannot release her.

As a doctor and chief of utilization management at Parkland, Dallas County’s public hospital, Stan Pomarantz saw such cases daily.

He recalls a patient who underwent an amputation.

“He needed a mobility device in order to be medically cleared. He wound up lying there for a week, taking up a bed in an overcrowded hospital, when he could have gone home if we could get him this device he needed.”

In that situation, the patient’s caseworker came to Pomarantz at a loss. He racked his brain for answers as he pulled into his driveway that night.

“I got home, bone-tired after this long day, I pull into the garage and there’s a wheelchair. It had been my mother’s. I’d forgotten it was there,” he says.

It was the solution he’d been seeking.

He approached the hospital board of directors with the idea of refurbishing dis-

carded Durable Medical Equipment, what’s called DME in the business, for hospitals and patients in need.

“We went around the [boardroom] table — turned out every hospital executive sitting there said they had some piece of medical equipment, from wheelchairs to crutches, at home gathering dust.”

That was the genesis of DME Exchange of Dallas. Pomarantz says some 25,000 to 50,000 people a year in Dallas suffer because they cannot afford DME.

DME Exchange is the only organization in Texas responding in a significant way to this problem.

“We need more volunteers — people who like to fix things, who are good with their hands, they can help in the warehouse, and people who can clean the equipment”

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“There are informal collections and distributions of equipment at local nonprofits and churches, but the Department of State Health Services has safety and cleanliness requirements, and no other [nearby] organization meets those,” he says.

The operation started out small, functioning three days a week out of an East Dallas warehouse. Dr. Pomarantz, a few volunteers, including longtime White Rock area resident Jim Waldorf, and a staffer named Rigo Rodriguez, who is licensed to repair and inspect DME, managed things at first.

To deliver equipment, they used a handicap-equipped van that belonged to Waldorf’s wheelchair-bound late father (it remains their only vehicle).

Certain equipment, such as hospital beds, must be delivered and set up by qualified technicians, thus the van is essential.

“When I read about what DME Exchange of Dallas was doing, I had to get involved. It was personal,” says Waldorf, a staunch DME Exchange advocate who recently retired from its board.

Because of his own father’s impaired mobility, and because he cared for his terminally ill spouse, Miriam, before her death two years ago, Waldorf understands how essential DME is to quality of life.

“If the person has the right equipment, it amounts to a level of human dignity,” he explains. “And it is a great relief for the caregiver.”

Executive director Betty Hersey of Lake Highlands and founder Stan Pomarantz at the DME Exchange in East Dallas.

A group of faith-based outreaches called Dallas Area Interfaith (Temple Emanu-El, St. Rita Catholic Church and Temple Shalom), after researching and uncovering Dallas’ drastic need for DME, directed resources toward DME Exchange Dallas, which opened as a nonprofit in 2012.

The financial assistance provided by Dallas Area Interfaith helped launch the program, the founders say.

Thanks to DAI and other early supporters, DME Exchange was able to hire an experienced executive director, White Rock area resident Betty Hersey, who is the backbone of the operation today.

Hersey, who is trim and energetic, despite exhibiting a limp and using a cane, leads a brisk warehouse tour. She fractured a bone while playing with her grandchildren.

“I guess I am a walking advertisement for DME,” she quips.

She takes several phone calls in between showing various rooms of the 2,400 squarefoot DME Exchange facility.

There is the back area, a concrete garage where new equipment comes in. It includes a wall of tools that specialists use to repair, adjust and inspect donations. Next is the receiving room, where gloved volunteers armed with Microban Antimicrobial sanitizer disinfect equipment. Every piece of gear, every stage of refurbishment and each transaction is meticulously recorded in a database, partly in preparation for a twice-yearly state inspection. There are two clean rooms filled with hundreds of fully refurbished and sanitized items including walkers, crutches, canes and chairs, ready to be dispersed to clients who meet the criteria.

They must show a doctor’s prescription, poverty at 200 percent below the national level, and a gap in insurance coverage or no insurance, Hersey says.

Like Waldorf, Hersey has been the caregiver for a loved one with special needs. Her adult daughter Jenny has Down Syndrome. Lately Jenny has been refusing to speak, Hersey says, which is frustrating. But Jenny

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loves dining out, so Hersey forces Jenny to order the food she wants when they go to a restaurant. Jenny, who really wants to eat, reluctantly communicates.

It’s this sort of anecdote that offers insight into Hersey’s tough, pragmatic style of supportiveness and kindness.

She prefers to talk about the DME’s needs: “We need more space, at least 5,000 square feet. Right now we are renting a storage unit across the street. If we had more space we could help more people,” she says. “We need more volunteers — people who like to fix things, who are good with their hands, they can help in the warehouse, and people who can clean the equipment.”

They need a new vehicle, too. When Waldorf’s van was in the shop for repairs, equipment deliveries and set-ups had to wait.

They need hospital mattresses, wheelchairs and other medical equipment. And money. They really need money.

DME Exchange makes a positive environmental impact, too, she points out.

“Recycling equipment reduces waste from discarded items that would go into landfills, and it saves resources used to manufacture new equipment.”

DME Exchange has been recognized by WFAA TV station’s Project Green, which

financially rewards environmentally responsible nonprofits.

“We are small, but we are doing big work,” Hersey says, noting that they have served 1,247 individuals and provided 1,868 pieces of durable medical equipment to patients since opening three years ago.

“The hospital and social workers and the people we help are so grateful for what we do for them,” Hersey says.

Before heading off to a DME Exchange fundraising event, she shares a letter from a recent customer:

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” it reads. “The donation of medical equipment to me has made my life and my transition from the hospital an amazing journey. I did not know how I could manage – but y’all made it possible. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!”

HOW TO HELP:

Donate tax-deductible, durable medical equipment including wheelchairs, walkers, canes, bedside equipment and crutches Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. to 12015 Shiloh, Suite 130 (near Northwest Highway). For pickups of larger items such as mattresses or scooters, schedule pickup by calling 214.997.3639.

Donate cash through dfwdmeexchange.org or mail a check to DME Exchange of Dallas at P.O. Box 25575, Dallas, TX, 75225-5575.

Volunteer. Schedule volunteer training by calling 214.997.3639.

Licensed DME technician Rigo Rodriguez.

General ContraCtor

arry o’B rien

What’s the whitest, richest public school in Dallas? Lakewood Elementary

And one neighborhood resident and DISD employee is doing everything he can to make sure no other district school winds up like this

Story by Keri Mitchell | Photos by Rasy Ran

East Dallas is known for being a staunch supporter of its public schools. In a city where families with means often opt out of the school district, many affluent neighborhood families choose public.

As a result, our neighborhood has some of the most socioeconomically integrated schools in Dallas ISD. Woodrow Wilson High School was the first school in Dallas to racially integrate in the ’60s, even before DISD’s court-ordered desegregation, and it remains diverse to this day.

Over the last decade, several neighborhood schools have successfully attracted more middle- and upper-class families, often as a core group of parents tests the waters and then beckons others to jump in. Even with these recruiting efforts, however, some parents find it hard to get excited about their options, or lack thereof.

That’s how Dallas winds up with a school like Dan D. Rogers Elementary, which is situated in a wealthy area of the city and even has a cutting edge “personalized learning” curriculum, but more than

80 percent of its students come from families who make less than $44,123 a year — the line between affluence and poverty, according to the state of Texas.

Perhaps this actually benefits Dallas ISD. Homeowner families pay property taxes to the district on top of the tens of thousands they shell out for private school, so it’s a win-win, right? Rich families can send their children to whatever school they deem best, and the school district can still educate poor kids on these families’ dime.

But if that’s the case, why is DISD spending so much time and effort creating more educational options for parents who are opting out?

The key lies in a seven-minute YouTube video that appeared on Dallas ISD’s website last fall, somewhat hidden in a drop-down menu on the Public School Choice page and watched by relatively few. “The Case for Socioeconomic Diversity” was created by the district’s Office of Transformation and Innovation (a fancy description

DISD’s new lottery-based

IDEA High School is more diverse than most district campuses.

of choice schools). It argued that the merits of socioeconomic diversity are “almost entirely overlooked, despite decades of strong evidence that it’s one of the most powerful strategies available to us to improve student achievement.”

In other words, if we mix rich kids and poor kids in schools and classrooms, the poor kids perform better, studies show, and rich kids fare just as well, studies also show. Both groups also enrich their educational experience by attending school with each other.

The man at the helm of the choice school movement is Mike Koprowski, a Vickery Place resident and father of three hired by former Supt. Mike Miles two years ago. Koprowski didn’t need his Harvard graduate school degree to realize “we have a very economically segregated school district. No matter what map you look at, it tells the same story.”

Much of the segregation in our schools can be attributed to our segregated neighborhoods. When the Pew Research Center analyzed the concentration of low- and upper-income residences in the nation’s metro areas, Dallas ranked near the top in both categories. The Urban Institute also named Dallas the worst offender in terms of neighborhood inequality.

In other words, in Dallas the rich are much more likely to live among the rich and the poor among the poor.

But as Koprowski’s data shows, our school district is even more segregated than our city. Despite the high median incomes in pockets of East Dallas, only two neighborhood schools can be labeled “socioeconomically diverse,” meaning their student body make-up is right around 50/50 rich and poor. One of those is Woodrow; the other is Hexter Elementary, another diversity success story that earned a coveted Blue Ribbon distinction as middle-class families began filtering back into the school.

Our neighborhood also has two of the district’s five predominantly affluent schools. Stonewall Jackson Elementary is 76 percent affluent, and Lakewood Elementary is 96 percent, making it the wealthiest and least-diverse school in the district and the only Dallas ISD school with more than 80 percent affluent families.

Other schools are inching toward diversity — J.L. Long Middle School, Mata

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BENEFITING BLUE RIBBON HEXTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

The Lake by Arienne Lepretre

The advantage of being disadvantaged

Next fall DISD’s Solar Prep, a girls-only science and technology school for kindergarteners through eighth-graders, welcomes its inaugural classes to the former Bonham Elementary campus on Henderson Avenue. It’s a unique curriculum approach, but Solar will be unique in another way — it will be the first Dallas ISD campus to use socioeconomic status in its admission process.

The district’s ideal is 50/50 — half of students from affluent families and half from disadvantaged families. An “affluent” family in the state of Texas is, for example, a family of four with an income of at least $44,123. And Mike Koprowski and his team in the district’s office of transformation and innovation will go one step further: Their hope is to ensure that at least a quarter of Solar’s students are among the most disadvantaged.

What they’ve done is analyze census data, block by block, to look at more than simply the dividing line of income. They’re also considering homeownership, singleparent households and adults’ education levels — three other data points that have strong indications as to how students will fare in school.

“Income matters, but it’s also your neighborhood that matters,” Koprowski says, noting the vast difference between a family just under the poverty line and a family living on welfare.

Their analysis results in four groups of

students, not just two. And their goal for Solar, and all of the district’s lottery-based choice schools, is to help ensure 25 percent of students are in the bottom two tiers — those most at risk who are facing the biggest challenges.

So is it working? “There’s no ‘there’ yet,” Koprowski says, but he’s encouraged by the current make-up of IDEA High School, which launched last fall in the former Fannin Elementary campus on Ross Avenue. It has proportionally more affluent students than nearby high schools Lincoln, Madison and North Dallas, and also draws in more at risk students than Woodrow Wilson High School. Mata Montessori, also in East Dallas, is another integration success story, attracting substantially more affluent families than nearby Mount Auburn Elementary and also substantially more low-income families than Lakewood and Stonewall Jackson Elementaries.

“You’ve still got to have quality instruction. It’s not like magic,” Koprowski says. But he’s hoping to see better results at Dallas schools with “a strong core of middleclass kids and a strong core of low-income kids.”

“There are mountains of national research that shows why this matters, but there’s nothing like having a local proof point,” he says.

Montessori, and Sanger and Robert E. Lee elementaries all have campuses hovering around 40/60 rich and poor.

In the rest of our neighborhood schools, however, and across most of the district, more than 80 percent of students live below the $44,123 poverty line.

“We’re silo-ed off,” Koprowski says. “Those who have means have largely opted out of the district, and those without means are largely in the district.”

To learn how this happened, he leaned on Dallas Observer columnist Jim Schutze’s 1987 book “The Accommodation,” which tells the story of Dallas ISD’s desegregation in the ’70s. Around the same time, he read “All Together Now” by Richard Kahlenberg, which focuses on bringing together kids from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.

“I thought, ‘This can be a core component of school choice,’ ” Koprowski says. It hasn’t been featured prominently in the effort, but “I kept it in the back of my mind,” he says.

Integration is a more succinct description of what Koprowski is trying to accomplish, but there’s a reason he’s not using that term.

“There’s nothing magical about putting a white kid next to a black kid,” Koprowski says. “The socioeconomic piece is really the powerful component.”

He’s not enough of an idealist, however, to think that altruism alone will “bring back an entire socioeconomic group.” The genius of choice schools is that although they are designed to impact the most at-risk Dallas ISD students, they also appeal to the segment of families drawn to private schools.

International Baccalaureate (IB). Montessori. Bilingual. Personalized learning (which has been described as “high-tech Montessori”). All of these in-demand curriculum approaches are now available to Dallas ISD families — sans the magnet-like academic entry requirements — and the needle is beginning to move.

Kristy Ladner and her husband moved to a house in Ridgewood Park two blocks from Dan D. Rogers Elementary a decade ago and were “definitely the youngest by about 20 years,” she says. Over time more young couples moved into the neighborhood, but as they had children, they moved away. The Ladners, too, assumed that when it came time for kids, they would either move or choose private school. This was “based on no research — just the perception of DISD,” she says.

After the birth of their now 3-year-old son, they would drive past the school and think, “It’s such a shame we can’t go there.” Slowly, that turned into, “Really, how bad could it be for kindergarten?” And then the Ladners attended a Rogers open house that showcased the personalized learning curriculum.

“I just fell in love with [Principal Lisa] Lovato and the passion of her whole team talking about that concept and thought, ‘OK, this is something worth paying attention to,’ ” Ladner says. Her interest evolved until

“somehow, I became the founder of the Rogers Early Childhood PTA.”

Four families showed up for the first playgroup at Ridgewood Park last fall, and three attended when Lovato opened the school library to families on a recent Saturday. Right now, Ladner doesn’t know of any homeowners from Ridgewood Park, University Meadows, Fisher Heights or Northill who send their children to Rogers.

But in fall 2017, when her son is ready for kindergarten, her family will begin reversing

THE market

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that trend.

“I’m absolutely looking at it for the greater good of the neighborhood, but I’m also selfishly looking at it for me,” she says. “Then we can get that experience to tell other parents this is great, other than just sounds great in theory.”

One of the main reasons integrated schools are effective is the middle- and upper-class parents who have more time to volunteer and pull in community resources, and the know-how to advocate for their cam-

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puses, while low-income parents often are “working the third job to pay for gas to the second job,” Koprowski says.

There’s also the “peer effect,” as he calls it. For example, low-income children come to school with about half of the vocabulary of their of peers, and much of that vocabulary is shared in informal settings, such as cafeterias and playgrounds. Data also shows that the most experienced, effective teachers are drawn to more socioeconomically diverse schools, he says.

All of this adds up to low-income students in mixed-income schools being able to perform two grades ahead of those in impoverished schools, Koprowski says.

And for parents worried about the reverse effect, Koprowski insists it’s an urban myth.

“Look at the research — that’s not what happens,” Koprowski says. “Middle-class kids do just fine academically. They have the ultimate wraparound service, which is affluent parents.”

And on the flip side, he says, “If you’re going to prepare your kid to succeed in a diverse society, think of all the social and moral things you gain by opting into the public enterprise.”

If integration happens, it will happen school by school. The outlook is bleaker on the district level — even if all of Dallas’ middle- and upper-class families re-enter public schools, the district’s socioeconomic stats wouldn’t be 50/50.

And that’s “perfectly fine,” Koprowski says, because diversity is not the “be-all endall” of choice schools or even academic success.

“This city has a painful history with race and class relations,” Koprowski says. “These problems didn’t happen overnight; they’re not going to get solved overnight with my choice initiative.”

He sees signs of hope, however. More than 60 years after Brown v. Board of Education and 45 years after Dallas’ own courtordered desegregation, Dallasites may be starting to naturally integrate.

“It’s all voluntary. This isn’t the days of desegregation where it was forced busing,” Koprowski says. “Parents are opting in.”

READ MORE about Dallas ISD’s efforts toward diversity at lakewood.advocatemag.com.

Education.

Lakehill Preparatory School has looked about the same since it was constructed in 1949. But that’s about to change. Dallas City Council recently approved the school’s zoning request for a planned development district and new facility enhancements. The building is currently L-shaped, but the new construction will add 16,000-square-feet to make it square-shaped. A courtyard will fill the center. The expansion will add classrooms, meeting rooms and some much-needed office space. With these new additions, the school will be equipped to educate an additional 100 students — it currently serves 400.

Nonprofits

A handful of neighborhood preservationists, including Lisa Marie Gala, Virginia McAlester, Jim Rogers and Neil Emmons, are forming a nonprofit called Dallas Endowment for Endangered Properties (DEEP.) The Dallas Morning News reports that once the organization “has funding in place, it will buy [historic] properties that may be at risk of being changed or demolished. It will place restrictive easements on them and resell them.”

Ferguson Road Initiative (FRI) was honored at the Dallas Historical Society’s annual Awards for Excellence in Community Service Luncheon. The organization was founded in 1998 to combat the continuing degradation of the East Dallas area by partnering with local law enforcement agencies and training community members on safety. Thanks to the FRI’s efforts, there have been significantly reduced crime rates in the area. Additionally, programs initiated by the group in conjunction with local schools have increased involvement among parents and volunteers and attracted more funding to the neighborhood education system.

In an effort to help recent tornado victims, Friends of Lakewood (FOL) recently hosted a night of music, food, drinks and fun. The event took place at the Barley House in East Dallas and featured performances by WhiteCollar, George Dunham and the Bird Dogs and Ronnie Fauss. FOL raised more than $1,500 for relief efforts.

HAVE AN ITEM TO BE FEATURED?

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

education GUIDE

DALLAS ACADEMY

950 Tiffany Way, Dallas 75218 / 214.324.1481 / dallas-academy.com

Founded in 1965, Dallas Academy’s mission is to restore the promise of full academic enrichment to students with learning differences in grades 1-12. A meaningful connection with each student is established to overcome barriers to success. Dallas Academy offers students an effective program and strategies to meet the special educational needs of bright students with learning differences, while including the activities of a larger, more traditional school.

Classes are small, with a student-teacher ratio of 6 to 1 where students are encouraged, praised, and guided toward achieving their goals. Diagnostic testing is available to students throughout the community.

HIGHLANDER SCHOOL

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

LAKEHILL PREPARATORY SCHOOL

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

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

SPANISH HOUSE

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

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.

UT DALLAS CHESS CAMP

800 W. Campbell Rd., Richardson 75080 / (972) 883-4899 / utdallas.edu/chess ) 2016

Summer Chess Camp Campers learn while they PLAY. Chess develops reading, math, critical and analytical skills, and builds character and self-esteem. Just don’t tell the kids…they think chess is fun! Join beginner, intermediate or advanced chess classes for ages 7 to 14 on the UT Dallas campus. Morning (9am-noon) or afternoon (1-4pm) sessions are available June 13-17, June 20-24, July 18-22, July 25-29 and extended playing classes. Camp includes t-shirt, chess board and pieces, trophy, certificate, score book, group photo, snacks and drinks. Instructors are from among UT Dallas Chess Team Pan-Am Intercollegiate Champions for 2010-2012!

WHITE ROCK NORTH SCHOOL

9727 White Rock Trail Dallas / 214.348.7410 / WhiteRockNorthSchool.com

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

ZION LUTHERAN SCHOOL

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

ANGLICAN

ALL SAINTS EAST DALLAS / allsaintseastdallas.org

Sunday worship service at 5:00 pm

Meeting at Central Lutheran Church / 1000 Easton Road

BAPTIST

LAKESIDE BAPTIST / 9150 Garland Rd / 214.324.1425

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

Pastor Jeff Donnell / www.lbcdallas.com

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

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

WILSHIRE BAPTIST / 4316 Abrams / 214.452.3100

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

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

CATHOLIC

UNIVERSITY OF DALLAS MINISTRY CONFERENCE / udallas.edu/udmc

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

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

DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

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

Sunday School 9:30 am / Worship 8:30 am - Chapel

10:50 am - Sanctuary / Rev. Deborah Morgan-Stokes / edcc.org

LUTHERAN

CENTRAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, ELCA / 1000 Easton Road

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

Pastor Rich Pounds / CentralLutheran.org / 214.327.2222

FIRST UNITED LUTHERAN CHURCH / 6202 E Mockingbird Lane

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 & 10:50 am Traditional / 10:50 am Contemporary

PRESBYTERIAN

NORTHRIDGE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH / 6920 Bob-O-Link Dr. 214.827.5521 / www.northridgepc.org / Welcomes you to Worship

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

ST. ANDREW’S PRESBYTERIAN / Skillman & Monticello

Rev. Rob Leischner / www.standrewsdallas.org

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

UNITY

UNITY OF DALLAS / A Positive Path for Spiritual Living

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

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

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

A CASE FOR INTEGRATION

How faith can — and should — inform our school choice

The theologian Karl Barth interpreted the biblical command to love one’s neighbor as oneself in a curious way. He said it means to act as if we ourselves are our neighbor.

Since reporter Keri Mitchell is spotlighting Dallas public schools this month in several editions of the Advocate, allow me to offer some thoughts I hope will make for a better future for our community, regardless of what attendance boundaries one lives in.

First, public schools are not just a means of education for underprivileged and economically disadvantaged students; they are for everyone. And yet, urban school census statistics say otherwise. Dallas schools are severely segregated for two reasons: school zones have traditionally been drawn by neighborhood boundaries, and neighborhood subdivisions are clearly marked by wealth divisions; and those with greater resources often choose to send their children to private rather than public schools.

Since the 1954 Supreme Court decision on Brown vs. Board of Education, legal challenges to segregated schools have focused primarily on race. But race is an elusive and deeply-charged way of addressing the problems. It is true that Anglo citizens make up about half the population of Dallas but less than 5 percent of DISD enrollment. This means that the vast majority of white Dallas students attend private schools. DISD is 70 percent Hispanic and 23 percent African American. But data make clear that socioeconomic diversity in schools — that is, a fair mix of rich and poor — is an even better and less polarizing way of addressing the matter of improving student academic outcomes.

Second, many urban school districts are coming to understand this and are creating experiments in public school choice. These non-geographical innovations avoid the privatizing-voucher approach that undermines public education in the name of choice. They benefit students poor and rich alike — in educational outcomes, and also in improved social and cultural intelligence.

Wealthy parents do not want to send their kids to public schools merely to participate in a social experiment at the expense of educational achievement. But the truth is — and this is where the narrative has to change in our neighborhoods and churches — it’s not an either/or; it’s a both/and.

The bonus for America would be enormous if our public schools were more socioeconomically diverse. We would be pulling some up without dragging others down, the dragging down part always being the lingering fear. But we would also create relationships and mutual under-

standing from a young age across class and cultural divides that would begin to restitch the fraying national fabric.

Third, there are legitimate reasons for parents who can afford it to send their children to private schools. They may do so because they want explicit religious instruction that reinforces teaching at home and in church/synagogue/mosque. Children may have learning challenges and need more personalized attention than they will get in some public schools. But this doesn’t account for all the reasons the vast majority of Dallas’ wealthier families send their kids to private schools. Many think of it primarily in terms of gaining or maintaining a generational socioeconomic edge. Sadly, the consequence to that is perpetual hope for a few and despair for many.

I wonder what we would decide about where our children go to school if we made the first criterion what we would do if we ourselves were our neighbor?

Public schools are not just a means of education for underprivileged and economically disadvantaged students; they are for everyone. And yet, urban school census statistics say otherwise.

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

BUSINESS BUZZ

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

Send business news tips to livelocal@advocatemag.com

Craft Beer Cellar, a Massachusetts-based franchise, has already signed a lease. Expect a rotating selection of 18 craft brews on draught, an extensive bottle selection and beer education programs. Owners Stan Nauman and Jim Waskow say they hope to open early this summer, after an extensive remodle by Dallas’ planBgroup.

Costco is coming

Goodbye Dixie

Questions still remain over what will occupy the expansive Gaston Avenue location that housed Dixie House for more than 35 years in the Lakewood Shopping Center. Lincoln Property Company, which owns the space, severed the restaurant’s lease, causing them to close Jan. 29. This was perhaps due to the fact that Dixie House’s parent company, Restaurants Acquisitions I, LLC., filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in early December — no one from Lincoln returned our calls to confirm. Need a glimmer of hope? Scott Pendleton, manager of Dixie House, says the restaurant’s team is scouting other East Dallas locations, like Casa Linda Plaza.

False alarms

Two businesses on Lowest Greenville announced they were closing in January, but both wound up sticking around. Green Grocer swore it’d be gone by Jan. 18. After much neighborhood outcry, the shop decided to downsize and rebrand itself as GG Micro Market instead. Dallas Beer Kitchen actually did close on Jan. 24 — for five days. According to media reports, the owners of Nora couldn’t bear to say goodbye to their neighbor, so they rescued the eatery. Changes include a new kitchen staff and updated menu.

Pizza and beer

The Papa John’s Pizza at 6324 Gaston will relocate to Greenville and Vanderbilt. Its former location won’t be empty long.

Costco has been looking to enter the Dallas market for some time but has been holding out for the best deal. The company recently asked the City of Dallas for zoning to turn a roughly 13-acre piece of land between Coit and Central Expressway just north of Churchill Way, into a Costco Warehouse with fuel stations. The buildings on the property currently, just east of the Medical City Hospital complex, are unoccupied. The land was most recently used as a transit station park and ride, according to the zoning request. Costco’s hearing before the City Plan Commission took place recently.

Whip it good

The Whippersnapper, AKA “The Whip,” opened recently off Henderson, in Slip Inn’s former location. Owners Brandon Hays and Phil Schanbaum are also behind High Fives, Wayward Sons and So and So’s. The Whip focuses on drinks, music and dancing — there will be DJs Wednesday through Saturday — but guests can order off High Fives’ menu, since it’s right next-door.

The bar area at Dixie House

Swimming champs

The girls swim team at Woodrow Wilson High School placed first at the recent Dallas ISD All City Meet. They competed against 17 teams and broke the All City records in the 100-, 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays.

community

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

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

EMPLOYMENT

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

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

SERVICES FOR YOU

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

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

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

MY OFFICE Offers Mailing, Copying, Shipping, Office & School Supplies. 9660 Audelia Rd. myofficelh.com 214-221-0011

LEGAL SERVICES

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

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

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

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

NEED A NEW WEBSITE? AdvocateWebDesign.com 214.292.2053

MIND, BODY & SPIRIT

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

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

PET SERVICES

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

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

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

PET SERVICES

In-Home Professional Care

Customized to maintain your pet’s routine In-Home Pet Visits & Daily Walks

“Best of Dallas” D Magazine Serving the Dallas area since 1994 Bonded & Insured www.societypetsitter.com 214-821-3900

BUY/SELL/TRADE

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

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

OLD GUITARS WANTED Gibson, Fender, Gretsch, Martin. 1930s-1980s. Top dollar paid. Toll Free 1-866-433-8277

SHARE FRONT ROW

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

ESTATE/GARAGE SALES

CLUTTERBLASTERS.COM ESTATE SALES

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

ORGANIZEANDREJUVENATE.COM

Declutter/Files/Feng Shui. 972-816-8004 APRIL DEADLINE MARCH 9

SUBMIT YOUR PHOTO. Email a jpeg to editor@advocatemag.com.

AC & HEAT

CLEANING SERVICES

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

CALL GRIME STOPPERS NOW! 214-724-2555

Wanted: Houses to Clean. Windows to Wash. Super Service. Killer Refs. GrimeStoppersHere.com

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

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

TWO SISTERS & A MOP

972-274-2157

TACL-B01349OE www.SherrellAir.com

APPLIANCE

APPLIANCE REPAIR SPECIALIST

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

JESSE’S A/C & APPLIANCE SERVICE

TACLB13304C All Makes/Models. 214-660-8898

ELECTRICAL SERVICES

ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricofdallas.com

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

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

TEXAS ELECTRICAL • 214-289-0639 Prompt, Honest, Quality. TECL 24668

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

FLOORING & CARPETING

HASTINGS STAINED CONCRETE

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

THE TEXAN FLOORING SERVICES

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

Restoration Flooring

Move in/Out. Reliable/Dependable 20 Yrs Exp. 214-242-9885

WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM

Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS

BILL’S COMPUTER REPAIR

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

CONCRETE/ MASONRY/PAVING

ALL CONCRETE RESTORATION & Decorative Designs. Staining 214-916-8368

BRICK & STONE REPAIR

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

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

BRICK, STONEWORK, FLAGSTONE PATIOS

823✯2629

CABINETRY & FURNITURE

SQUARE NAIL WOODWORKING

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

CLEANING SERVICES

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

AFFORDABLE CLEANING Insd./Bonded. Move

In/Out. Routine Cleaning. Reliable. Dependable.

Residential/ Commercial. References. 28+yrs.

Delta Cleaning. 972-943-9280.

AFFORDABLE, PROFESSIONAL CLEANING

$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

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

CONCRETE REPAIRS/REPOURS

Demo existing. Stamping and Staining Driveways/Patio/Walkways

Pattern/Color available

Free Estimates 972-672-5359 (32 yrs.)

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

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

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

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

EXTERIOR CLEANING

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

FENCING & DECKS

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

4 QUALITY FENCING Call Mike 214-507-9322

Specializing in Wood, New or Repair.

AMBASSADOR FENCE INC.

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

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

HANNAWOODWORKS.COM

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

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

LONESTARDECKS.COM 214-357-3975

Trex Decking & Fencing, trex.com

Swimming Pool Remodels • Patios Stone work Stamp Concrete

972-727-2727

Deckoart.com

EST. 1991 #1

COWBOY

All Wood Decks, Arbors & Patio Covers 214.692.1991

FENCE & IRON CO.

SPECIALIZING IN Wood Fences &Auto Gates

cowboyfenceandiron.com

FLOORING & CARPETING

ALL WALKS OF FLOORS 214-616-7641

Carpet, Wood, Tile Sales/Service Free Estimates

DALLAS HARDWOODS 214-724-0936

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

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

25+ Years Experience

469.774.3147

Hardwood Installation · Hand Scraping Sand & Finish · Dustless restorationflooring.net

Willeford hardwood floors

Superior Quality: Installation • Refinishing

Repair • Cleaning & Waxing Old World Hand Scrape 214-824-1166

FOUNDATION REPAIR

• Slabs • Pier & Beam

• Mud Jacking • Drainage

• Free Estimates

• Over 20 Years Exp. 972-288-3797

We Answer Our Phones

GARAGE SERVICES

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

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

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

GLASS, WINDOWS & DOORS

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

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

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

HANDYMAN SERVICES

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

HANDYMAN SERVICES

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

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

G & P HANDYMAN Plumbing, AC, Electrical, Painting, Roofing, Fix Appliances. 214-576-6824

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

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

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

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

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

Your Home Repair Specialists

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

HOME INSPECTION

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS LLC

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

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

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

Stone Age Counter Tops

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

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

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

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

CHUPIK TREE SERVICE

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

When looking to install Granite, Marble, Quartz make sure it is done by a fabricator who is insured and has the proper facility to do the work.

-Dennis Chitty, Stone Age Counter Tops

HOUSE PAINTING

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

#1 GET MORE PAY LES

Painting. 85% Referrals. Free Est. 214-348-5070

A+ INT/EXT PAINT & DRYWALL

Since 1977. Kirk Evans. 972-672-4681

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

BENJAMIN’S PAINTING SERVICE Quality

Work At Reasonable Prices. 214-725-6768

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

RAMON’S INT/EXT PAINT Sheetrock, Repairs. 214-679-4513

TOP COAT 30 yrs. exp. Reliable, Quality

Repair/Remodel Phil @ 214-770-2863

VIP PAINTING & DRYWALL Int/Ext.

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

Stone Age Counter Tops Dennis Chitty 972.276.9943 stoneagegranitedallas.com

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

TK REMODELING 972-533-2872

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

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

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

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

DALLAS K.D.R.SERVICES • 214-349-0914

Lawn Service & Landscape Installation

HOLMAN IRRIGATION

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

LIGHT IT UP DALLAS

Your lighting specialists. 972-591-8383

Parties, Weddings, Patios, Landscape.

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

WE REFINISH!

• Tubs, Tiles or Sinks

• Cultured Marble

• Kitchen Countertops

214-631-8719

www.allsurfacerefinishing.com

PEST

ORTIZ LAWNCARE Complete Yard Care. Service by Felipe. Free Est. 214-215-3599

TRACY’S LAWN CARE • 972-329-4190

Lawn Mowing & Leaf Cleaning

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

PLUMBING

ANDREWS PLUMBING • 214-354-8521

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

Sewers • Drains • Bonded 24 Hours/7 Days

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

ARRIAGA PLUMBING: General Plumbing

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

HAYES PLUMBING INC. Repairs.

Insured, 214-343-1427 License M13238

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

NTX PLUMBING SPEC. LLLP 214-226-0913

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

SPECK PLUMBING

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

214-328-7371

MetroFlowPlumbing.com

Lic.# M16620

POOLS

ADAIR POOL & SPA SERVICE

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

REMODELING

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS, LLC

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

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

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

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

RENOVATE DALLAS renovatedallas.com 214-403-7247

Bob McDonald Company,

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

214-341-1155 bobmcdonaldco.net

APRIL

DEADLINE MARCH 9

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.

TRUE Crime

COYOTES IMPERSONATING KINGS

Some furry, four-legged vermin are infiltrating the neighborhood, and they’re here to stay. After a spike in coyote sightings, neighbors have been blowing up the phones at 911 Wildlife, which humanely relocates encroaching wildlife. Coyotes are more prone to coming out during the daylight hours in winter, and they’re extra bold this year — trotting down the streets in the middle of day, taking naps in neighbors’ backyards and hanging out by runners on local trails. Wildlife expert Bonnie Bradshaw says humans might be to blame. “What’s happening is that the coyotes that have been living here for years are even more comfortable here because nobody challenges them,” Bradshaw says. “When people see a coyote in an urban environment lying in someone’s front yard in the middle of the day, they typically do one of two things: they run away or they pull out their phone and take pictures. That teaches the coyotes that they’re king.” Luckily, that can be reversed because coyotes naturally have a fear of people, she says. Neighbors simply need to trigger that fear. “All it takes is stepping towards the coyote, shouting and clapping your hands,” she says. “Pick up a rock or a stick and aim to hit. One of the most effective tools you can use — people think it’s a joke — is to carry a loaded super-soaker because those things will shoot 30 feet, and if you make physical contact, it changes their behavior.”

— Brittany Nunn

CRIME NUMBERS |

911

The number you shouldn’t call if you see a coyote. Seriously, there’s nothing they can do to help you.

214.368.5911

The number you should call if you want to set up a meeting with a wildlife expert to learn more about urban coyotes.

A PARK TO NOWHERE

Will anyone ever find a palatable solution for Trinity?

Like a nervous public speaker uncertain of what to do with her hands, the City of Dallas doesn’t quite know what to do with the parkland between our Trinity levees. Since voters approved the original Trinity River Project bond proposition nearly two decades ago, the city has been fidgeting and fiddling, regularly revising its plans for the Trinity Park, never seemingly comfortable with the result.

In 1998, supporters of the proposed Trinity River Project regaled voters with fantastic watercolors promising a transformed flood-

and technical realities. We witnessed a bizarre new vision for the park last year that included a juggling French mime (is there any other kind?), zip lines and rings of fire (among other odd extravagances).

Now, at Mayor Mike Rawlings request, the park is undergoing yet another update. The problem is, every time we try to impose some worldclassiness on the Trinity, we end up mucking it up.

proposes to revisit the design of the Trinity Park.

Instead of redesigning the park for the umpteenth time, why not refocus our energies on something more tangible, like creating park access?

way with grand lakes and jaunty sail boats. In 2003, this fantasy was further defined when then-Mayor Laura Miller brought in nationally renowned designers to create the Balanced Vision Plan, which included an elaborate park scheme.

That plan was revised a few years later when we learned that the enormous lakes had to be significantly downsized to accommodate financial

Last month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — which has the final word on what transpires between our levees — chastised the City of Dallas for navigation problems on the river due to the so-called Dallas Standing Wave. The Standing Wave is a whitewater kayaking course the City of Dallas built five years ago at a cost of $4 million. It’s been plagued with problems from the get-go (but to be fair, who could have guessed that cramming a bunch of rocks and concrete into the Trinity River was a bad idea?)

The Standing Wave was supposed to be a “quick win” for the Trinity River Project, but it has proven to be neither quick nor winning, and we ended up with an impassable and arguably unsafe water feature. The corps is now demanding a fix, and taxpayers are on the hook for another $4 million to get us out of this mess.

Throw in the clear-cutting debacle at the Trinity golf course, the animalcruelty scandal at the Trinity Horse Park, the improper draining of a Trinity pond and, well, it’s not unreasonable to get nervous when the city

That’s the singular problem with the park, after all — that it’s nearly impossible to get into, absent boat or bike. So why not make access the number one priority? Not the toll road, not a park redesign, not extravagant park features. Just something plain and simple, like accessibility? If we design too far beyond that, I fear we risk damaging our most significant natural asset.

We must come to terms with the fact that the parkland lying in our Trinity River Floodway will never be a manicured, Versailles-like garden, a bustling river-walk or a thrilling amusement park. Our Trinity Park doesn’t need to be. It shouldn’t be. I suspect the City of Dallas continuously seeks new plans for the Trinity Park because it just can’t wrap its head around the fact that our park is just fine the way it is: a vast swath of green space in the heart of our city, home to myriad wildlife, a beautiful respite from the bustle of urban living — all of which resulted from the unlikely but serendipitous combination of a river relocation and real estate rush in the 1930s.

I fear that the City of Dallas sees a natural beauty like the Trinity Park and immediately begins planning where to nip and tuck, augment and adjust. Here we would do well to stop plotting an extreme makeover and simply appreciate what we’ve got.

But to be fair, who could have guessed that cramming a bunch of rocks and concrete into the Trinity River was a bad idea?

Angela Hunt is a neighborhood resident and former Dallas City Councilwoman in East Dallas. She writes a monthly opinion column about neighborhood issues. Her opinions are not necessarily those of the Advocate or its management. Send comments and ideas to her at 6301 Gaston, Suite 820, Dallas 75214; FAX to 214.823.8866; or email ahunt@advocatemag.com.

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

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

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