JOIN US FOR

5 Organizations… Thousands of Opportunities

HOSTED BY

Tuesday, March 6th, 5:30-7:30

The Point & Pavilion at C. C. Young 4847 W. Lawther Drive

Mix and mingle with 300 or so East Dallas friends, neighbors, and business owners

Enjoy food generously donated by some of East Dallas’ finest eateries 24 Atoms Coffee Company 4833 Restaurant at C.C. Young

Nature’s Plate Pizza Getti Smoky Rose Times Ten Cellars

Raffle Prizes • Cash Bar

COMPLIMENTARY VALET SPONSORED BY

$5 at the door (cash only please)

All proceeds will be donated to White Rock Center of Hope

MEDIA SPONSOR

A silver anniversary

Lake Highlands High Wranglers mark quarter-century of country dance

By EMILY CHARRIER I Photo by RASY RAN

IN THE EARLY 1990s, an added emphasis on fine-arts education was a trend sweeping Texas. When Richardson ISD Assistant Superintendent Leonard Molotsky saw an impressive dance team at a Portland, Ore., high school, he imagined the program at Lake Highlands High School and unintentionally created a legacy.

Molotsky tapped former Highlandettes coach Katha Black, a lifelong dancer, with developing a dance program at the high school. She began with plans to build a multi-faceted fine-arts program that highlighted several styles of dance, but that concept did not inspire male students to join the ranks. In 1992, working with football coach Mark Pace, she rebranded the effort as a country-western dance team, and the Wildcat Wranglers were born.

High-profile performances always were part of the incentive. Teams soon were dancing at the State Fair of Texas and professional sporting events like Mavericks and Cowboys games. The chance to dance in front of crowds in the thousands quickly attracted students, and the Wranglers became one of the most competitive clubs to join on campus.

These days, students need a teacher recommendation and an essay to apply, and only juniors and seniors are allowed on the team, which is capped at 46 dancers to keep routines manageable.

“When you perform with the Wranglers, everyone knows who you are,” says Josh Klein, a current senior in his second year with the team. “You become instantly popular.”

Senior dancer Grace Cummins says there’s nothing quite like the roar of the crowd when the dancers flip, lift and twirl their way across a stage. “I like the reactions to our stunts, that’s my favorite part,” she says.

As of late, performing at President Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration was the pinnacle experience for the current team of Wranglers.

“I peaked in high school right there,” says senior Grayson Orr. “That’s probably the best thing I’ll do in my life.”

Morgan Fairchild

LAKE HIGHLANDS HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1967

WHILE SHE’S best known for her steely stares in 1970s soap operas like “Dallas” and “Search for Tomorrow,” Morgan Fairchild has managed to stay in the spotlight for more than four decades as an actress and host. But her roots stem to Lake Highlands, the daughter of a Richardson ISD English teacher.

Three things to know:

1 Morgan Fairchild is the stage name she adopted, but people who went to high school with her remember her by her birth name, Patsy Ann McClenny.

2 Her mother enlisted the youngster in acting class after she was too shy to read a book report at school. One of her very first television appearances was as a young child on WFAA’s popular “Mr. Peppermint Show” with host Jerry Haynes.

3 She was briefly kidnapped in New York in 1970 when two men grabbed her on the street and pushed her into a cab. “I was just damned if I was going to let them see how scared I was,” she said on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.” “So every time they said something awful, I just made a wisecrack. Eventually one turned to the other and said, ‘You know what, she’s funny, let’s let her go.’ ”

TEACHER ARRESTED Lake Highlands High School English teacher

Dante Pinto Schmidt, 41, was arrested in January for possession of child pornography. Schmidt, a three-year LHHS employee, resigned immediately after the arrest. Officials say the charges stem from an ongoing investigation by the Collin County Sheriff’s Office and Plano Police, which obtained information that Schmidt was downloading and sharing sexualized images of children. They executed a search warrant on his Allen residence and arrested him the next day. LHHS Principal Dr. Joshua Delich shared the information in a letter sent home to parents and noted that police indicated the charge does not involve Richardson ISD students. No criminal behavior has been alleged about Schmidt at LHHS, Delich wrote. Parents or students with information or concerns about Schmidt are encouraged to contact police or Delich at Joshua.Delich@risd.org.

Cheering For Wallace

It took the sixth-grade girls at Wallace Elementary just nine days to raise the $800 they needed to properly equip their new cheerleading team with uniforms. Team sponsors April Byrd, a counselor at Wallace, and Megan Williams, a third-grade teacher, say that this gives the international student body a chance to have a uniquely American experience. About 25 percent of the school’s students are refugees from Myanmar and Thailand, and 65 percent live in socioeconomically disadvantaged homes.

“They are the sweetest group of young ladies, and they love being cheerleaders. They cheer for basketball and soccer games, practice every other week, and work to be positive role models for the school,” says Byrd.

The sixth-grade cheerleaders at Wallace Elementary will soon have proper uniforms to replace their team T-shirts.