2015 December Lake Highlands

A TRUE GIFT A TRUE GIFT

They knew they had to help, and they did

This is where lung cancer patients are beating the odds.

Radiation oncologist Dr. Robert Timmerman and colleagues changed the standard of care for lung cancer when they demonstrated that patients with inoperable disease could still be effectively treated with a newer, more potent form of radiation. Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy 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 | UTSWmedicine.org/radonc.

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cover Everybody hurts, sometimes

When a neighbor faces tragedy, many share the pain. Here are three stories of people collaborating to bring light to others during their darkest days.

Guitar belonging to pediatric cancer patient Hannah English. (Photo by Rasy Ran)

51 Opinion

Angela Hunt writes Dallas’ recommended New Year’s resolutions.

‘TIS THE SEASON OF SCOFFLAWS?

Rising above the bad behavior to seek peace

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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RACHEL STONE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

3 ways to help murdervictim Zoe Hastings’ family Homicide victim identified as Lake Highlands teenager Zoe Hastings

Man killed on White Rock Creek Trail

Photos: Hundreds show up to help find Hastings’ killer

Neighbor voice: Could quicker police response have saved David Stevens? WANT

FOLLOW US. Lake Highlands Advocate @Advocate_lh

TALK TO US.

Email editor Christina chughes@advocatemag.com

Christmas at Wilshire

Special Advent worship

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

Hanging of the Green celebration

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

Featuring choirs and orchestra

Christmas Pops concert

Tuesday, Dec. 15, 7 p.m.

Featuring Wilshire Wind Symphony

One Starry Night

An interactive Bethlehem experience for all ages

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

Christmas Eve candlelight

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

Liturgical worship at 11 p.m.

WILSHIRE BAPTIST CHURCH

Abrams at Mockingbird

www.wilshirebc.org

DIGITAL DIGEST THE DIALOGUE ON

MEMORIES OF LITTLE EGYPT

I enjoyed Christina Hughes Babb’s article on Little Egypt so much. I haven’t thought about this area in many years. I’m a Dallas native who married a Dallas native in 1959. My husband was from a large family and his mother had an “ironing lady” named Corinda. After our first daughter was born I gave in and asked if Corinda had a free day. My husband’s oldest brother, who drove a huge Cadillac, offered to show me where Corinda could be picked up. I remember him driving down Northwest Highway, turning and driving up to the top of Flag Pole Hill and winding back to an area with what can only be called shacks where he pulled up in front of one and laid on his horn. I was mortified and said, “Can’t we go to the door and knock?” He said “No, it would embarrass her if you saw into her home.” He told me she had no electricity or running water, while I was 20 years old

THE OLD KBOX RADIO STATION

Thank for the article and the “Wonderful K-Box” pictures. I believe the picture of the exterior of the KBOX-KTLC studio may be the only one in existence that shows the building with the call letters signage. It probably was taken in the very early ‘70s before they changed the roof design on the building. I remember Jay’s voice well as I was a K-BOX groupie during its Top 40 days. Would love to see his memorabilia, but alas, I now live in Jersey

Gary McBrayer

I used to deejay mornings at KBOX, went by Dan Patrick, and worked with Jay Ward during the late ‘60s. Loved your mag’s article on KBOX. Great memories!

Dan P. McCurdy

—Brenda Merritt

and owned a three-bedroom, two-bath ranch-style home with both. I picked up Corinda once a week for about a year. She required that the ironing board and iron be set up facing the TV, set to her channel, and she wanted a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich prepared and left on the kitchen counter for her lunch. She ironed for $2 a day, all day. I tried to give her more, but she would not accept it. I tried to give her other things and she refused. She would on occasion accept a jar of honey to take home. Corinda’s home could only be described as a tiny, maybe two-room shack, unpainted. Her granddaughter lived with her, I’m not sure if anyone else did. I never got over having to honk when I went to pick Corinda up. I really never got over Corinda. Before the year was up, she let me hug her goodbye. Wish I remembered more, loved the article.

SUSPECT IN HASTINGS KILLING HAD CRIMINAL PAST

“One would hope that there would be a system for police departments to share information on troublesome individuals who move from one jurisdiction to another. While this individual was declared not guilty by the jury in the Texarkana case, this could have been from a flawed prosecution case or the make-up of the jury. If the Dallas police had received a heads-up that a bad guy from Texarkana had moved to Dallas, the DPD could have been able to apply some resources to monitor this high-risk individual.” – Dormand

WHITE ROCK TRAIL MURDER VICTIM IDENTIFIED

“What about the reports that someone called 911 approximately 30 minutes before the murder to report a large man acting erratically on the White Rock Trail right of way? If that’s true, apparently the Dallas Police Department declined to respond.” – Ribit

RISD PROPOSES INDOOR PRACTICE FACILITIES IN 2016 BOND

“Great. They won’t be able to read the Constitution of the Untied States, nor the Bill of Right, nor the Declaration of Independence, because teaching cursive is out, but whatever. Sports!” – David Fisher

“The new athletic facilities portion is roughly 16 percent of the bond (based on information from a draft of the bond cost from risd.org). The largest expenses are facilities and technology upgrades/expansion, which will be approximately 70 percent.” –LH82

“Do they intend, at some point, to address the disastrous overcrowding at Lake Highlands-area elementary schools that will soon hit the junior high? We are overflowing kids who live near Northwest Highway to schools at least as far north as Belt Line at present.”

Colin1497

Beadle D.D.S.

Reid Slaughter D.D.S.

WANT

Don’t stop believing: Q&A with Stan Garinger

Santa Claus is on vacation right now. During his offseason — approximately January through November — you can call him Stan Garinger. At home in Lake Highlands, he wears casual khakis under a blue T-shirt, his bushy grey-white beard grazing the collar. When he shakes your hand and smiles, you’ll swear that, behind wire-rimmed spectacles, there is a twinkle in his eye. During December, when he sports the familiar red and white suit, you might spot him at the St. Pat’s Shamrock Jingle Bell Run, J.J’s Café, Top Golf or Whole Foods, with eager tots on his knees and in line at his feet, waiting to spill their holiday wishes.

How did you become Santa?

It started a few years ago. I had always had a beard. In the past several years it went greyer and lighter. I also became slowly more robust in the midriff in recent years. It was before Christmas and I was at the shoe store in Preston Center, DSW, and my wife (who has no desire to explore her inner Mrs. Claus and is known year round as Sue Garinger), was shopping, and I was hanging out. And there was this little girl, about 4, hiding from her mom between the pillars. She gets right near where I am standing, looks up at me, looks over and sees her mom looking around for her, then she pops out of her hiding place, looks back at me and says, “Santa Claus!” I just kind of smiled, and thought, “Ho! Ho! Ho!” That’s the one that got the idea going.

Photo Credit here

Stan Garinger (Photo by Rasy Ran)

So then you had a year to prepare?

Around May of that next year, I did start to let the beard grow — but without any real plan. Our friends and neighbors own Scott Exteriors, a local construction-material store, which also is where Sue has a job. I walked into the store that November and Christine Scott looked at me and said, “You have to be our Santa Claus.” I told her I didn’t have a suit. She had one. In return for being their Santa, she let me borrow it, and I picked up a couple more gigs. Since then, each year, I’ve gotten a few more jobs. At the St. Patrick’s event, I walk around and hand out candy. At JJ’s Café, the second weekend of December, kids sit in my lap and tell me what they want, and we have our pictures taken.

What did it feel like to become Santa?

It was fun. I like kids. We have four of our own, all between the ages of 25 and 35 now, but no prospects of any grandchildren any-

time soon. So maybe this is my grandkid fix? I don’t know. Before retirement, I spent more than 30 years as a computer programmer. This is a chance for me to do something different. Creative, imaginative — that was something I had never really been.

What do the kids ask you for?

It’s funny, because I do not keep up with the latest trends and technology or the hot new toys of the season, so a lot of times the moms have to help me out, by explaining what the kids are talking about. Sue thinks I should brush up more on the trendy toys. But I usually just nod and say “uh-huh” and smile, and the kids don’t catch on to my lack of knowledge. They are just happy and excited, and I go along. That’s the fun part.

What’s the not-fun part?

That would be when Mom hands me a baby that is terrified of me — when the child is screaming and she says, ‘It’s OK, just let me get this picture.’ Also the suit —

it’s made of polyester and fleece — can get pretty warm. And traffic seems to get worse the closer it gets to Christmas, though the longest I’ve ever traveled for a job is to the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff.

Screaming, excited kids tend to lose control of their bladders — has that ...?

No, that hasn’t happened. Yet.

Any atypical encounters?

Well, this one wasn’t unpleasant, but unexpected. The first year at JJ’s Café, the morning of my appearance, there was a group of ladies meeting at the restaurant — about 20 of them, all with, like me, grey or white hair — and they all wanted a picture with me. Another time, Sue and I were on a cruise, and I was down getting coffee one morning when a woman in her 50s and her mother, who had to be in her 70s, tapped me on the shoulder and asked to take a photo with me. They wanted to show the grand-

kids that Santa was on their cruise. Around Christmastime, more people recognize me as Santa, but it happens year round, even in July.

Do the children ever question your authenticity?

I’ve had kids ask me if I am the real Santa. I invite them to pull the beard. A little boy at church knows me as Stan during the year and Santa at Christmastime — he just says, yeah, he’s Stan now, he’s on vacation. It’s just better to believe. If you don’t believe, you won’t receive!

Is there some kind of special Santa training?

There is, and there are Santa organizations. In fact, I was at the Balloon Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico recently and I ran into a man with a beard like mine and he was wearing a Santa T-shirt and we struck up a conversation. He said, “I see you’re getting ready for the season.” And we laughed and he asked me if I was in a Santa group and he invited me to join and to a seminar he was teaching.

Will you join?

I don’t think so. They are like Santas unions, and I would rather keep it fun and stick to the neighborhood. I am not looking to make a second career or a full-scale money making business out of this.

What is your favorite Christmas movie?

“White Christmas.”

What other holiday traditions do you have?

I am part of the men’s chorus at Lake Highlands United Methodist Church. Our pageant is Dec. 6.

Any other hobbies you have that we should know about?

Gardening. I have loved gardening all my life. I have some okra, bell peppers and eggplant out there now, and if the ground would dry a little, I would be able to have a fall garden. — Christina Hughes Babb

*This interview was edited for brevity and clarity.

Caught in the web: Conor and

Mason Puckett

seepuckhike.wordpress.com

Two brothers. Four months. One 2,650mile hike.

Conor, 22, and Mason Puckett, 20, both Lake Highlands High School graduates, embarked on the hike of hikes last summer from the Washington-Canada border through California to Mexico.

Conor, the instigator of said hike, documented the entire journey on the blog seepuckhike. wordpress.com — all from his phone.

“It’s been a journey for all of us living vicariously through all of them,” says his dad, Pete Puckett.

“Less people have finished the PCT than have climbed Everest,” Conor points out, and although most people hike this trail, called Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), from Mexico to Canada in six months, the Puckett brothers did it “the hard way” from Canada to Mexico in 4.5 months.

So why did they do it?

“I’m hiking for me. To figure me out,” Conor explains. “Throughout my high school and college career, I have gone

and struggled with the relationships with those closest to me.”

He has high hopes the journey will help him grow ‘‘into who I am supposed to be.”

Months before the hike, Conor graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in mechanical engineering. The time between school and his first big job seemed like an ideal time to take a soul-searching journey. His parents insisted he take a companion, so he roped his brother, Mason, who is a student at Texas State, into his coming-of-age tale.

They started at the end of June and wrapped things up in early-November.

through crippling self-esteem issues, moderate depression, felt true loneliness

“They’ve had a great time, but it hasn’t been without its you know, just imagine two brothers,” Pete says. “But they haven’t killed each other, yet.”

Brittany Nunn

Neighbors give time and money to a family in crisis

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

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

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

The company has been putting up reward

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

—Christina Hughes Babb

Jean and Paul Francis go door to door in the 11200 block of Lanewood Circle. Jean Francis, 24, says she mentored Zoe Hastings at church camp. (Photo by Danny Fulgencio)

PAWS & CLAWS

A ruff life

This 4-year-old shepherd mix Bailey had it tough her first few years, but she’s been blossoming “in leaps and bounds” since meeting her human, Lake Highlands resident Teresa Gant, who rescued her two years ago. “When I first laid eyes on her I immediately fell in love, and she’s been my girl ever since,” Gant says. In her new secure and loving home, wide-eyed Bailey has changed from skittish and frightened to happy and affectionate, Gant says. “She has learned to trust, protect and just be a dog again.”

Sunday, December 20, 6:30 pm

Sunday, December 20, 6:30 pm

Sunday, December 20, 6:30 pm

EDCC Chancel Choir & Handbell Choir

EDCC Chancel Choir & Handbell Choir

EDCC Chancel Choir & Handbell Choir

Guest Soloists

Guest Soloists

Guest Soloists

Alfrelynn Roberts, Coretta Smith, Paul Mason, Bobby Tinnion

Guest Choir

Alfrelynn Roberts, Coretta Smith, Paul Mason, Bobby Tinnion

Alfrelynn Roberts, Coretta Smith, Paul Mason, Bobby Tinnion

Guest Choir

Guest Choir

Booker T. Washington High School Treble Choir

Booker T. Washington High School Treble Choir

Booker T. Washington High School Treble Choir

Musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

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

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

Daniel Pardo’s From A Land Far Away

Daniel Pardo’s From A Land Far Away

Daniel Pardo’s From A Land Far Away

Concert Series

Concert Series

Free admission and open seating

Free admission and open seating

Free admission and open seating

Donations accepted for EDCC Concert Series

Donations accepted for EDCC Concert Series

Donations accepted for EDCC Concert Series

Reception following with Christmas Cookies

Reception following with Christmas Cookies

Reception following with Christmas Cookies

Out & About

Holiday home tour

The Lake Highlands Women’s League’s Holiday in the Highlands Home Tour includes four homes decked out to the nines with seasonal showcases. The tour is from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. Proceeds benefit Lake Highlands community organizations and scholarships for Lake Highlands High School graduates. Various locations, lhwl.org, $20-$25

THROUGH JAN. 3

The Trains at NorthPark

Mini trains traverse 1,600 feet of track in the exhibit benefitting Ronald McDonald House. The trains follow miniature cityscapes including Dallas, Washington, D.C., New York City and San Francisco, plus the Grand Canyon, the fall foliage of New England and more.

NorthPark Center, 8687 N. Central, 214.363.7441, thetrainsatnorthpark. com, $3-$7

THROUGH JAN. 3

Holiday at the Arboretum

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

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

THROUGH DEC. 20

‘Miracle on 34th Street’

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

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

THROUGH DEC. 23

Christmas mice

Kathy Burks Theatre of Puppetry Arts’

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

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

DEC. 4

Musgrave home on Windy Hill. (Photo by Carol Toler)

DEC. 2-5

Book sale

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

DEC. 2-19

Hanukkah and Christmas

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

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

DEC. 4

Acoustic Americana

Twangtown Paramours bring acoustic harmonies and top-notch singing in an 8 p.m. show. They’ll blend the sounds of Nashville and Austin in their Dallas showcase.

Uncle Calvin’s Coffee House, 9555 N. Central, 214-363-0044, unclecalvins.org, $15-$18

DEC. 6

Deck the halls

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

Wilshire Baptist Church, 4316 Abrams, 214.452.3100, whilshirebc.com, free

DECEMBER 17

Menorah lighting

Rabbi Dubrawsky from the Chabad of Dallas will celebrate Chanukah with the lighting of the menorah during the Festival of Lights at 6:30 p.m. Complimentary refreshments follow. NorthPark Center, 8687 N. Central, 214.363.7441, northparkcenter.com, free

DEC. 26-JAN. 3

Lone Star Circus

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

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

WORSHIP WITH US THIS WEEKEND!

PLANO CAMPUS 6801 W. Park Blvd., Plano, TX 75093 Saturdays 5:00 p.m.

A spectacular multimedia presentation that includes favorite Christmas songs followed by a breathtaking and powerful presentation that depicts the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ!

PERFORMANCES

S ATURDAY : D EC . 5 • 11:00 AM , 2:30 & 7:30 PM S UNDAY :

& 7:30 PM

7:30 PM

: D EC . 10 • 7:30 PM

F RIDAY : D EC . 11 • 7:30 PM

S ATURDAY : D EC . 12 • 11:00 AM , 2:30 & 7:30 PM

S UNDAY : D EC . 13 • 2:30 & 7:30 PM

All performances at Plano Campus

Purchase tickets: prestonwoodGOC.org

Performances in gold are sold out.

Sundays 9:15 and 11:00 a.m. En Español 2:00 p.m.

NORTH CAMPUS

1001 W. Prosper Trail, Prosper, TX 75078 Sundays 9:15 and 11:00 a.m.

Prestonwood Baptist Church prestonwood.org | 972-820-5000

Jack Graham, Pastor

Dr.

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

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

HAUTE SWEETS PATISSERIE

10230 E. Northwest Highway 214.856.0166

AMBIANCE: PICK-UP

PRICE RANGE: $1.95-$165

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

DID YOU KNOW?

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

—Brittany Nunn

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

SEE MORE PHOTOS Visit lakewood.advocatemag.com

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

Unrefined Bakery

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

718 N. Buckner, Suite 154 214.414.2414

Society Bakery

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

7777 Forest, Suite A066 Dallas, Texas 75230

dining SPOTLIGHT

Cafe Silva

This locally-owned cozy neighborhood nook overlooks the White Rock Creek Trail and serves up handmade scones, monkey muffins, mini cheesecakes and eye-opening Cuban coffee — and that’s just a taste of Silva’s ever-evolving menu.

8499 Greenville 214. 267.9836

Circle

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

Resident Taqueria

Now open in Lake Highlands, we boast fresh, made-to-order tortillas, slow-braised meats, seasonal & local produce, and a margarita that elevates the concept of Happy Hour.

Chef-inspired.

Another

PERFECT PAIRINGS: WINE AND DESSERT

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

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

Dessert pairing: Lemon meringue tart

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

Dessert pairing: Apple tarte tatin

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

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

Dessert pairing: Butterscotch pot de creme

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

Dessert pairing: Fresh berries and whipped cream

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

Dessert pairing: Creme brûlée or chocolate mousse

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

Dessert pairing: Dark chocolate truffles or double chocolate chip cookies

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

Dessert pairing: Assorted cheese platter

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

THESE ACTS OF KINDNESS

MEANT THE WORLD TO SUFFERING FAMILIES

A TRUEift

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

STORY | Christina Hughes Babb PHOTOS | Rasy Ran

Life after loss

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

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

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

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

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

“We were just friends for a long time. We were very different,” she remembers with a smile. “He was a skater, and then a cowboy. I

guess he was figuring out who he was. He was quiet, until you got to know him, but always sweet — the kindest person I ever met.”

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

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

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

Rusty and Teresa lived modestly. He worked fulltime as a roofing supply salesman. He sometimes offered the kids commission for delivering sales fliers to neighbors. They giggle today about it being a waste of time. He probably fretted about finances, Teresa says, but afterhours, he was always 100-percent present. Teresa was a stay-at-home mom, a

role she relished. They saved for family vacations — Port Aransas, Galveston, Colorado. Rusty loved fishing, camping and the outdoors. Most Sundays, they went to church. They had a mortgage and one car, the brokendown one that would end Rusty’s life.

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

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

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

And classmates from Bryan Adams announced an auction to raise enough for a new car. The organizers petitioned auction items from local sports teams. When 2011 Dallas

Cowboys teammates Terrence Newman and Bradie James heard the story, they bought a car, a new Chevrolet Aveo, and had it delivered.

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

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

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

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

“We write a lot about the dumb, and sometimes criminal things NFL players do. The

good things deserve a mention too,” he wrote of the Cowboys’ gift.

Friends and strangers alike gave generously, Teresa says.

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

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

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

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

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

It’s been four years. Thanks in large part to

MAKERS CONNECT

those fundraising efforts, the Hendricks family kept their home, located just north of Lake Highlands.

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

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

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

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

They hired therapists, joined support

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

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

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

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

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

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

Samuel is learning to drive in the Aveo.

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

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

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

have been given,” she says.

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

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

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Trial by fire

AS BRAD AND MICHELLE MILLER WERE SETTLING INTO LIFE AS HOMEOWNERS AND PARENTS, A FIRE THREATENED THEIR CHILDREN’S LIVES AND COST THEM THEIR MATERIAL POSSESSIONS, INCLUDING THEIR HOUSE. THEN, GOOD THINGS BEGAN TO HAPPEN.

Brad and Michelle Miller are rabid fans of their respective alma maters’ sports teams, and Labor Day weekend 2014 was shaping into one epic day in sports. It was not necessarily about the games, but that the Millers — forty-somethings bound by the restrictions of parenting two small children would be there, in person, to root for their guys. Brad, donning purple and gold, flew to Houston to rally his Louisiana State University Tigers. Michelle lodged with family near University of Texas at Austin, where the Longhorns would face North Texas’ Mean Green.

Brad’s mom, JoAnn, came from Louisiana to look after Mitch and Quinn, then ages 5 and 3, the family dog, Roux, and the cozy L Streets home they all inhabited.

Because JoAnn doesn’t like traveling alone, Brad’s brother Jeff joined her.

They brought toys, including a miniature

fire engine for Mitch. They shopped at Albertsons and made pizzas for dinner.

After tucking in the kids, Jeff fell asleep watching television in an upstairs room; JoAnn slept near the children’s rooms in a downstairs master bedroom.

It was only a couple hours before all hell broke loose.

The fire started in the attic, ostensibly ignited by an aging kitchen can light.

Roux was the first to notice something askew. Her paws click-clacking on hardwood alerted JoAnn, who rushed upstairs to rouse Jeff.

It took several minutes to comprehend the magnitude of the situation, says Jeff, an exmilitary officer. His mom was crying, sure, but she was known to be sensitive.

“In the Navy, we trained constantly for fires. I know what to do in a fire, but this did not look serious at first. More like a melting light.”

But then a flame licked at the fixture’s edge, and he understood. Dialing 911, he instructed the others to move outside. A frantic passerby who had noticed fire shooting out the roof pounded at the door — “You need to get out, now!”

As the sirens’ wails closed in and bedheaded neighbors congregated, Jeff dialed his brother.

At a Houston bar, Brad and his buddies were basking in pre-game hype when he received the phone call, which brought his revelry — and life as he knew it — to a screeching halt.

“You talk about the needle skidding off the record,” Brad says. “Jeff says, ‘First, the kids are OK, but you’ve had a house fire.’”

Brad, who could hear his mother weeping in the background, remained in a state resembling shock until his next-morning flight landed in Dallas.

“The minute I saw Michelle, there at the airport, I lost it.”

Michelle, who did not learn about the fire until that morning, says she stayed surprisingly composed. “Usually I am not the strong one,” she says, but this time Brad was the one bursting into tears.

“I wasn’t thinking at all about the house at that point. I was only thinking about the kids,”

Michelle says. Brad finishes, “Yeah, all I could think of was wrapping my arms around them and squeezing them.”

As he drove home, Brad remembers wondering, “Geez, can’t we catch a break?” But that self-pity was fleeting. The Millers would soon discover that — even as their children stood dreary-eyed on the front lawn waiting for firefighters to extinguish the blaze —their neighbors were launching into helpful action.

Jennifer Wilcox, a local insurance agent with several clients in the neighborhood, walked toward the smoke in her robe. The Millers weren’t clients, but she knew them, and took the displaced family to her house for the night. “They gave us a place to sleep and washed our clothes. The clothes needed to be washed several times,” Jeff recalls. “That fire smell is something that doesn’t go away. My tablet that I was using that night still smells of it.”

Friend Laura Frazure collected salvageable clothing from the house and began laundering loads. Neighbor Laura Stead organized a donation drive.

Parents and teachers from Lake Highlands Elementary, where Mitch had just started school, and members of the White Rock Running Co-op (led by neighbor Paris Sunio) started collecting cash, clothing and gift cards. Brad was training for a marathon, and his running buddies that week presented him with a pair of new Brooks athletic shoes. An impromptu charity run brought in a few thousand dollars.

“I took about two weeks off running and then started up training again,” he says. “It was therapeutic.” Brad and Michelle’s employers, American Heart Association and Southwest Airlines, extended the couple extra time off with pay. Michelle’s coworkers took her on a shopping spree for new clothes and, before the holidays, held an ornament party to replenish destroyed decorations.

They spent a few weeks with the Frazures, whose porch filled with donations.

“Gift cards, clothes, groceries, toys, a dog bowl for Roux — and these were not just from friends, but strangers too — like an anonymous $100 gift card. It was unbelievable,” Michelle says.

The response solidified their conviction

that they did not want to live anywhere else.

“When we bought this house, our first house, we knew this was a good neighborhood. And if we ever had any doubts about that, they were gone,” Brad says. “The way people responded to our need completely cemented our belief in this neighborhood.”

Today the Millers’ home is a beautiful contemporary slate gray abode with wide windows and a spacious interior. The children, now 6 and 5, enjoy enviable upstairs bedrooms.

After spending weeks with their friends and then 13 months at The Haven Lake Highlands apartments, the Millers decided to turn the loss into an opportunity to rebuild.

The home, while intentionally “not a McMansion.” stands out in its size and beauty, which prompted one of Brad’s friends to jokingly imply he was lucky his house burned down. Brad did not like that joke.

“We love this new house, but we worked for it,” Brad says. “I would rather not have the experience and take back the old house.”

Same goes for his mom, who cried for three weeks, who still cries when she talks about that night and hasn’t visited since the fire.

“She blames herself,” Jeff says.

Brad adds, “She doesn’t understand that it could have happened to any of us, that she is a hero.”

The kids talk about the fire. It often shows up in their artwork. The Millers watch Mitch and Quinn for signs of fear, distress “… even pyromania,” Brad says, only halfway joking.

He believes it is “how you deal with something challenging that shapes you as a person,” and while the situation was not what he would have wanted for his family, he is proud of the way they, and the Lake Highlands neighborhood, responded.

“We are a strong family in a strong community, and that makes us really lucky.”

As the Millers built their new home, friends came by and wrote notes of love and encouragement on the bricks.

“Even though we all knew the brick would be painted over, their notes of hope, encouragement and love would forever be a tangible piece of our rebuilt home.”

“You talk about the needle skidding off the record. Jeff says, ‘First, the kids are OK, but you’ve had a house fire.’”

ATRUEGIFT

Girl, interrupted

ENERGETIC AND FUN-LOVING, HANNAH ENGLISH HAD ALWAYS BEEN THE TYPE TO JUMP AT THE OPPORTUNITY TO HELP OTHERS. THEN, ONE DAY, SHE WAS THE ONE IN NEED.

Hannah English’ dark pixie haircut amplifies her wide, expressive eyes and her ever-present smile. She loves her short hair. A few months ago she was bald, and she liked that, too.

Hannah buzzes about friends, camp and music. She seems like any 9-year-old girl — that is, except when she discusses chemotherapy. Then she becomes serious — not depressed or upset (as someone whose childhood has been interrupted by a life-altering illness might be), but just full of concentration.

“The biggest treatment comes in

a huge bag of methotrexate that I get through an IV drip,” Hannah says. “Then I have to stay in the hospital three days in case of side effects.” Those might include abdominal pain, nausea, fatigue, body aches or pancreatitis, which she has had twice.

Right after she was diagnosed, doctors placed a medical port under her skin, through which they administer medication. It will remain in place until she finishes treatment. On her waist, she wears a glucose sensor synced to an application on her parents’ cellphones. The chemo-

therapy has caused her to suffer from symptoms that mirror diabetes.

Despite setbacks, she is optimistic.

“If the results of that last spinal [tap] are good,” Hannah says, “my next spinal in February will be my last. My remission date is Feb. 18, 2016. That means if things go well, I could be through with treatment.”

Hannah was diagnosed with leukemia in October 2013.

It was during her brother Cole’s fifth birthday party that Hannah felt rocks in her stomach, she says.

She went upstairs, to her room in the English’s big Lake Highlands home, and changed out of her jeans, into something looser-fitting.

“We thought it might be my pants that

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were making my stomach feel weird,” Hannah says.

But it only worsened, and later that night, the Englishes were in the emergency room at Medical City.

“We went in thinking she probably had appendicitis,” her dad Jeff English says. “We came out with a leukemia diagnosis.”

Though her parents are weary, Hannah produces evidence — in the form of trinkets, photos and anecdotes — that the days since have produced magical moments.

A heavy necklace is made of densely threaded beads, each representing a hospital treatment. One, engraved with a smiling face, “represents the day you lose your hair,” Hannah says.

All told, Hannah has spent 79 nights in the hospital, her father says. But there are other children, many who be-

“We went in thinking she probably had appendicitis.

We came out with a leukemia diagnosis.”

came Hannah’s friends, who have longer chains. Some have several of them, notes Lisa English, Hannah’s mom.

The family acknowledges that others who entered the pediatric wing of the same hospital never came out.

Jeff shows photos of a grinning, hairless Hannah surrounded by friends at Camp I Hope.

Hannah says she’s been to three concerts. She’s obsessed with music and plays the guitar. Her favorite band is Foo Fighters. Jeff took Hannah to see them last time they came to town. “She

warned me that they might drop some F bombs,” he says, laughing.

Living with leukemia is tough, Hannah says, but it can prove a persuasive tool when talking your parents into taking you to rock concerts.

Most recently, she attended the Katy Perry show in Costa Rica, courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of North Texas. Though Hannah requested this, it was still a shock.

“The Make-A-Wish people told her Katy Perry is very popular,” Lisa says. “They asked if she wanted to choose anything else, but Hannah said, ‘No, I want to meet Katy Perry.’ She loves all her songs and she sings them and dances around in her room and has her posters all over her walls.”

Foundation representatives showed up at a recent Friday pep rally at Merriman Park Elementary, where Hannah is in the fourth grade, to tell her the wish had been granted.

The students were all cheering, Hannah recalls, and says she was stunned.

“We are so proud of Hannah as she

“We are so proud of Hannah as she has fought and battled this cancer. She’s our campus hero.”

has fought and battled this cancer,” Principal Katie Kirkpatrick Barrett told the children. “She’s our campus hero.”

The whole English family spent a long weekend at the beach, and Perry spent an hour chatting with Hannah, occasionally pausing to engage in one of Cole’s knock-knock jokes. At the end of the night, Perry plucked the hair scrunchie from her ponytail and handed it to Hannah, “For when your hair grows out,” she told her. The hair-tie remains wrapped around an autographed Perry poster.

The Merriman Park Elementary community has suffered its share of cancer illnesses. Longtime teacher Beth Lyons was diagnosed with leukemia in 2013. Hannah volunteered at a lemonade stand fundraiser for Lyons before her own diagnosis a few months later.

Hannah remembers having Lyons around to help when she felt nauseated or sleepy from the chemotherapy.

“She would let me rest in her classroom when I felt bad,” Hannah says.

Jeff says he and Lisa often checked with Lyons, since she was receiving the same medicines as Hannah.

“Hannah would never complain, so we asked Lisa how she felt as a way to gauge how Hannah might be feeling,” Jeff says.

Another student, Malik Little, who has since moved to another district, also learned he had lymphoma that year.

Each time someone is diagnosed with a serious illness, people unite financially and in spirit, offering time, money and even blood. Two years ago, Lake Highlands neighbors staged a blood drive for Hannah and others who need transfusions due to cancer-related illnesses.

Following the three diagnoses, Merriman Park students raised $15,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and news anchor Clarice Tinsley featured them in her Hometown Heroes segment early last year.

As her hair grows in and she anticipates the future, Hannah grapples with her love of music and desire to help others.

“I

want to be a doctor,” she says. “But maybe go on tour a few months out of the year.”

Story by Christina Hughes Babb | Photo by Danny Fulgencio

Four soldiers

along a dusty landscape. An explosion rings out. One of the men lies on the ground, covered in debris

Fotolanthropy founder Katie Norris.

groundbreaking scene crosses the line between reenactment and real life. The actors are the men who lived it. Lake Highlands High School graduate Katie Norris says producing this portion of “Travis: A Soldier’s Story” was one of the biggest risks she can remember taking in her relatively short, yet innovation-packed, filmmaking career. Travis Mills is one of five quadruple-amputees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to survive. “It was a lot to ask, taking these men back to their darkest place,” Norris says. “Travis was OK with it, but he wouldn’t let his guys do more than three takes. He was more concerned about them.”

Norris’ nonprofit film production company, Fotolanthropy, also invested in expensive pyrotechnics for the reenactment. These sorts of emotional and financial leaps of faith define Norris’ career.

After graduating from Baylor in 2008, she became an interior designer, but a love of photography kept tugging at her. Her husband, Reece, a corporate attorney, decided around that time to pursue his own entrepreneurial passions. A declining economy and layoffs in the interior design industry forced Norris to do the same, so she launched Katie Norris Portrait Arts, a business that she parlayed into the pioneering, passion-driven projects she oversees today.

Fotolanthropy established quickly, following a heartbreaking phone call. It was a mother whose son had just been diagnosed with a deadly brain tumor. “She said, ‘I heard you could help me’,” Norris recalls. “She told me her baby had beautiful hair she wanted me to photograph before it fell out. I felt I had literally been called to do something.”

Norris photographed baby James Camden Sikes. She found a videographer willing to partner with her to turn the project into a short movie for the parents. James died about a year later. In a matter of days, Norris and a small team developed the Fotolanthropy brand. They launched the nonprofit along with that first film in 2011. Their work — short movies, photo stories and feature documentaries — often have deadlines imposed by subjects, many who have only a short time to live.

“It was two weeks before Andrew was about to pass away,” says Bailey Grey, who, with her husband who was battling termi-

Lamplighter delivers serious education wrapped in the wonder of childhood.

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

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9120 Plano Rd. Dallas / 214.348.3220 / www.highlanderschool.com

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

LAKEHILL PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Leading to Success. 2720 Hillside Dr., Dallas 75214 / 214.826.2931 / lakehillprep. org Kindergarten through Grade 12 - Lakehill Preparatory School takes the word preparatory in its name very seriously. Throughout a student’s academic career, Lakehill builds an educational program that achieves its goal of enabling graduates to attend the finest, most rigorous universities of choice. Lakehill combines a robust, college-preparatory curriculum with opportunities for personal growth, individual enrichment, and community involvement. From kindergarten through high school, every Lakehill student is encouraged to strive, challenged to succeed, and inspired to excel.

THE LAMPLIGHTER SCHOOL

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

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

SPANISH HOUSE

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

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

69%

ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL

848 Harter Rd., Dallas 75218 / 214.328.9131 / stjohnsschool.org Founded in 1953, St. John’s is an independent, co-educational day school for Pre-K through Grade 8. With a tradition for academic excellence, St. John’s programs include a challenging curriculum in a Christian environment along with instruction in the visual and performing arts, Spanish, German, French, and opportunities for athletics and community service.St. John’s goal for its students is to develop a love for learning, service to others, and leadership grounded in love, humility, and wisdom. Accredited by ISAS, SAES, and the Texas Education Agency.

WHITE ROCK NORTH SCHOOL

9727 White Rock Trail Dallas / 214.348.7410

nal cancer, was the subject of a project. “As excited as we were we. were really worried. The day Fotolanthropy came, the crew was so sensitive, compassionate and loving and we shared laughs and it was a sweet time for all of us.”

/ WhiteRockNorthSchool.com

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

ZION LUTHERAN SCHOOL

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

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

Today, with a team of professionals from around the world including director Jonathan Link, Fotolanthropy has produced two feature-length documentaries. They fund the work through grants, donations and Norris’ for-profit company, Fotostrap, which sells vintage-style, monogrammed camera straps for $85-$125. A socially responsible, made in the USA product, 100 percent of Fotostrap’s profits benefit Fotolanthropy, Norris says. In addition to “Travis: A Soldier’s Story,” which was so popular that Travis sold his book and movie rights, Fotolanthropy recently released “The Luckiest Man,” the story of Dallas businessman John Paine and his battle against ALS. When it premiered at the Angelika Film Center in October, it sold out. The theater added two extra screenings, which also filled the theater.

The Paine family attended the screeening. It was one of the top memories in Norris’ life, she says. The Paine’s also were touched by the enire experience.

“It was a very emotional time for us as a family,” John’s son Josh Paine says. “I’m a skeptic by nature I expected a transactional type of event, not the level of empathy and care. It ended up being a really therapeutic day for us.”

Norris has plenty of aspirations, both philantropically and professionally.

“One of the biggest goals was to have one of our documentaries made into a full feature film, and that is happening with Travis,” Norris says. “Now our goals are to get the word out about ‘The Luckiest Man.’ John Paine’s words and perspective are so important. Not getting those on record would have been a great loss, and now we want to make sure to put it in front of audiences.”

SEE MORE: Learn more about “Travis: A Soldier’s Story,” “The Luckiest Man” and Fotolanthropy at fotolanthropy.com.

A GIFT THAT GIVES: Buy Fotostrap at fotostrap.com

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 & 11:00 am

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

BIBLE CHURCHES

NORTH HIGHLANDS BIBLE CHURCH / www.nhbc.net / 9626 Church Rd.

Sunday: LifeQuest (all ages) 9:00 am / Worship 10:30 am

Student Ministry: Wednesday & Sunday 7:00 pm / 214.348.9697

DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

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

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

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

LUTHERAN

CENTRAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, ELCA / 1000 Easton Road

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

Pastor Rich Pounds / CentralLutheran.org / 214.327.2222

FIRST UNITED LUTHERAN CHURCH / 6202 E Mockingbird Ln.

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

METHODIST

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

LAKE HIGHLANDS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH / 214.348.2133

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

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

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

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

UNITY

UNITY OF DALLAS / A Positive Path for Spiritual Living

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

10:30 am Sunday - Celebration Worship Service

SPEED IT UP, GOD

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And in the waiting, we sing.

Christmas is a story of slowness

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

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

BUSINESS BUZZ

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

Send business news tips to livelocal@advocatemag.com

Local soap makers open retail shop

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

Restaurants close and get revamped

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

Raise a glass and toast the finale of one of the neighborhood’s most beloved watering holes. White Rock Sports Bar served up its last food and drink after 17 years in business. When it first opened in 1998, it was Shady Side Café, and quickly drew in a legion of loyal patrons. It’s not yet clear what will come into the now-vacant Lake Highlands Village site on Buckner Boule-

vard. The center’s new owners, Highland Capital Management, seem to be revamping the space, changing the brick-red façade to a stark white with plans to rename it White Rock Center.

Del Taco will close almost all of its stores in Texas, including the TimberCreek location at Skillman and Northwest Highway, by Dec. 15.

First of many Town Center tenants moves in

It may just be a hair salon, but it’s a sign of bigger things to come to the $300 million Lake Highlands Town Center. Artistik Edge, owned by neighborhood businesswoman Terri Hoover, was the first tenant to open in the long-awaited development.

After relocating in the ground floor of the town center’s Haven Lake Highlands building, Artistik Edge began offering the same salon services it provided at its Abrams location. The salon’s new address is 7077 Watercrest Parkway, but its phone number remains the same at 214.349.3888.

It’s the first of many new businesses expected to open, especially since developers rejected $30 million in Tax Increment Financing in favor of developing the project with limited oversight from the city, allowing them to finish and populate the center more quickly.

White Rock Coffee remodel

REAL ESTATE REPORT

area home values

Education

Three Scofield Christian School students won awards at recent art competitions. Fifth-grader Brennan Boyd won first place at the State Fair of Texas’ creative arts competition in the children’s designer/craftsman contest. He made snowmen from glass and metal he collected while exploring with his family. First-grader Amelia Thomas received an honorable mention in the children’s shoebox float category at the State Fair of Texas. And third-grader Ronnie Satterfield received first prize in the Nasher Sculpture Center’s citywide art bookmark contest for the secondthrough fourth-grade category.

Sponsored by:

Ronnie Satterfield next to his awardwinning bookmark design

Students at Forest Meadow Junior High recently created art-glass sculptures, using recycled bottles donated by school staff members, based on the work of artist Dale Chihuly. Second-year teacher Maddie Evans chose the project for the beginning of the year because it requires teamwork and collaboration. Small pieces that students made over several weeks were worked into a chandelier that is now in the school’s cafeteria.

Lake Highlands High School alumnus Mike Cothern, a public safety officer for the town of Highland Park, recently visited his son’s school, White Rock Elementary, to talk to kindergarteners about fire safety and prevention.

People

The Longhorn Foundation at the University of Texas at Austin featured Lake Highlands’ own Brinkley Fields in an article and video sent out to donors and supporters recently. Fields, a senior defender on the UT soccer team, spoke about her tradition of baking to relieve stress before big games and tests and her role on the squad as “team cheerleader.”

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.

Third-grader

Remembering a runner

An estimated 150-plus gathered recently near White Rock Lake to honor the life of fellow runner David Stevens, who was killed while training on the White Rock Creek Trail in Lake Highlands. Most of those people did not know Stevens but felt a close bond with him nonetheless. Organizers said he would be mourned and remembered as a friend. (Photos by Rasy Ran)

CLASSES/TUTORING/ LESSONS

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

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

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

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

EMPLOYMENT

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

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

EMPLOYMENT

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

SERVICES FOR YOU

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

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

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

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

LEGAL SERVICES

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

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

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

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

BOOKKEEPING NEEDS? Need Help Organizing Finances? No Job Too Small or Big. Call

Diaper drive

Lauren Brunkenhoefer , a junior at Lake Highlands High School, organized a diaper drive recently benefitting Pamper LH, which provides diapers to needy families in our neighborhood; it also also offers English and parenting classes. She collected more than 5,400 diapers and 6,000 baby wipes, with the help of the Girls Service League and the National Honor Society. Pictured, from left to right, Lauren Urban , Megan Brady , Lauren Brunkenhoefer , Caroline Lewis and Emily Luedke

MIND, BODY & SPIRIT

NEXGEN FITNESS Call Today For Free Session. 972-382-9925 NexGenFitness.com 10759 Preston Rd. 75230

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

PET SERVICES

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

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

BUY/SELL/TRADE

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

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

SHARE FRONT ROW

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

Call 214-560-4212 or rwamre@advocatemag.com

ESTATE/GARAGE SALES

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

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

AC

CLEANING SERVICES

AMAZON CLEANING

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

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

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

WANTED: HOUSES TO CLEAN Windows, too! Great Prices / Refs. Family owned. 20 yrs. Reliable. Call Sunny 214-724-2555. grimestoppershere.com

WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM

Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS

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

BILL’S COMPUTER REPAIR

ELECTRICAL SERVICES

ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricofdallas.com

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

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

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

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

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

EXTERIOR CLEANING

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

FENCING & DECKS

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

2629

CABINETRY & FURNITURE

SQUARE NAIL WOODWORKING

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

CLEANING SERVICES

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

AFFORDABLE CLEANING Insd./Bonded. Move

In/Out. Routine Cleaning. Reliable. Dependable.

Residential/ Commercial. References. 28+yrs.

Delta Cleaning. 972-943-9280.

AFFORDABLE, PROFESSIONAL CLEANING

A Clean You Can Trust

Staff trained by Nationally Certified Cleaning Tech. Chemical-free, Green, or Traditional Cleaning. WindsorMaidServices.com 214-381-MAID (6243)

ALTOGETHER CLEAN

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

FLOORING & CARPETING

Restoration Flooring

Hardwood Installation

469.774.3147

FOUNDATION REPAIR

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

CONCRETE/MASONRY/ PAVING

ALL EPOXY COATINGS, CONCRETE Countertops, Stamping, Staining & Designs, Floor Demo and Overlays

Landscape Designs Call 214-916-8368

BRICK & STONE REPAIR

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

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

BRICK, STONEWORK, FLAGSTONE PATIOS Mortar Repair. Straighten Brick Mailboxes & Columns. Call Cirilo 214-298-7174

CONCRETE REPAIRS/REPOURS

Demo existing. Stamping and Staining Driveways/Patio/Walkways

Pattern/Color available Free Estimates 972-672-5359 (32 yrs.)

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

EDMONDSPAVING.COM Asphalt & Concrete

Driveway-Sidewalk-Patio-Repair 214-957-3216

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

#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

GARAGE SERVICES

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

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

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

Swimming Pool Remodels • Patios Stone work • Stamp Concrete 972-727-2727 Deckoart.com

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

THE TEXAN FLOORING SERVICES Wood, Laminate. Remodel Showers, Bathrooms. thetexanflooringservices.com 214-680-0901

GLASS, WINDOWS & DOORS

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

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

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

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

HANDYMAN SERVICES

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

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

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

HANDYMAN SERVICES

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

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

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

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

HONEST, SKILLED

General Repairs/

WANTED: ODD

Allen’s Handyman

Your Home Repair Specialists

Drywall Doors

Senior Safety

Carpentry

Small & Odd Jobs And More! 972-308-6035 HandymanMatters.com/dallas

HOLIDAY DECORATING

HOUSE PAINTING

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

VIP PAINTING & DRYWALL Int/Ext. Sheetrock Repair, Resurfacing Tubs, Counters, Tile Repairs. 469-774-7111

KITCHEN/BATH /TILE/GROUT

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS LLC

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

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

KITCHEN/BATH /TILE/GROUT

•

•

•

HOME INSPECTION

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

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

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

AYALA’S LANDSCAPING SERVICE

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

Winter Plumbing Tips: Rick Romero, Metro-Flow Plumbing

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

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

Metro-Flow Plumbing Rick Romero 214-328-7371

MetroFlowPlumbing.com

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

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

STONE AGE COUNTER TOPS

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

TK REMODELING 972-533-2872

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

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

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

CHUPIK TREE SERVICE

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

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

DALLAS K.D.R.SERVICES • 214-349-0914

Lawn Service & Landscape Installation

HOLMAN IRRIGATION

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

LSI LAWN SPRINKLERS “Making Water Work”

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

RED SUN LANDSCAPES • 214-935-9779

RedSunLandscapes.com

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

PEST

PLUMBING

A2Z PLUMBING 214-727-4040

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

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

ANDREWS PLUMBING • 214-354-8521

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

Sewers • Drains • Bonded 24 Hours/7 Days

*Joe Faz 214-794-7566 - Se Habla Español*

ARRIAGA PLUMBING: General Plumbing

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

HAYES PLUMBING INC. REPAIRS.

Insured, 214-343-1427 License M13238

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

NTX PLUMBING SPEC. LLLP 214-226-0913

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

SPECK PLUMBING

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

214-328-7371

MetroFlowPlumbing.com

POOLS

ADAIR POOL & SPA SERVICE 1 month free service for new customers. Call for details. 469-358-0665.

REMODELING

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS, LLC

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

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

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

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

RENOVATE DALLAS renovatedallas.com 214-403-7247

Bob McDonald Company, Inc. BUILDERS/REMODELERS

30+ Yrs. in Business • Major Additions

Complete Renovations • Kitchens/Baths

214-341-1155

bobmcdonaldco.net

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

Heath Chandler

214.938.8242

www.chandlerdesigng roup.com

ROOFING & GUTTERS

A&B GUTTER 972-530-5699

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

BERT ROOFING INC.

Family owned and operated for over 40 years

• Residential/Commercial • Over 30,000 roofs completed • Seven NTRCA “Golden Hammer” Awards • Free Estimates www.bertroofing.com 214.321.9341

Jeff Godsey Roofing

Roof Repair Specialist

• Exterior Repair & Re-Roofing

• Insurance Claims

• Custom Chimney Caps

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

Important note

A NEW, FRIENDLIER TACTIC FOR CRIME FIGHTING

Dallas Police Department’s Northeast Division is trying something new to combat crime in the Forest-Audelia area. Over the years, DPD has used warrant roundups and special operations, among other tactics, as means to address that troubled, crime riddled region.

Recently, the police threw a festival featuring a popular motivational speaker, a three-point free-throw contest and a rap battle in the Aldi parking lot. It was the first in a series of new community events and projects aimed at improving relationships between police officers and neighborhood youths in that northeastern sector of Lake Highlands, says Deputy Chief Andrew Acord.

“There are a lot of programs for kids, but not for teenagers,” he says, adding that crime in the region is “not just something you can arrest your way out of.”

While violence is an evident problem in the Forest-Audelia area, especially among young men, Acord says actual, organized gangs are not particularly problematic around here.

“You hear people talking about gangs over at Forest-Audelia,” Acord says. “Well, in my opinion, they are, maybe, kind-a, sorta, but not really. They are mostly just kids who are astray. They think they are gangs, but in the true sense of the word they are not.”

Most of the teens involved in Forest-Audelia crime are from Lake Highlands or Berkner High Schools. Sometimes it is that rivalry that sparks fighting, police say.

The first speaker was Lamont Levels. Levels, Acord says, is “the real thing” when it comes to gangs.

“Lamont is a former real gang member who started the Bloods in South Dallas. Lamont made hundreds of thousands of dollars, and one night, going in to collect $300,000, he’s met by one of his own people who shoots him in the face.”

Today, Levels is permanently blind, and he visits high schools to tell his story to students and, hopefully, nudge them in a different direction. His message is that “he lost his vision so he could see,” Acord says.

NUMBERS

of October when a car crashed into the walkway of a Lake Highlands building overnight, strewing bricks all around and apparently totaling the vehicle

Abrams, the Skillman Abrams Shopping Center, where the car crashed, probably due to rain, alcohol or both, police say

license plates were removed from the car before the driver took off. Police planned to identify the car by its vehicle identification number

A VERY RESOLUTE NEW YEAR

Some suggestions for the City of Dallas in 2016

Dear City of Dallas,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#3 Eat healthier: East Dallas has

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

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

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

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

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

Angela Hunt is a 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.

DALLAS 8620 FENCHURCH ROAD

$556,000 | 3 Bed | 2.1 Bath | 2,626 Sq.Ft.

JANE PHILLIPS | 972.733.8080 | jane.phillips@alliebeth.com

DALLAS 9149 DRUMCLIFFE LANE

$419,000 | 3 Bed | 2.1 Bath | 2,702 Sq.Ft.

SHELBY JAMES | 214.533.7650 | shelby.james@alliebeth.com

DALLAS

8704 LACROSSE DRIVE

$399,000 | 3 Bed | 2.1 Bath | 2,815 Sq.Ft.

SHELBY JAMES | 214.533.7650 | shelby.james@alliebeth.com

DALLAS 8043 MOSS MEADOWS DRIVE

$360,000 | 4 Bed | 2 Bath | 2,039 Sq.Ft.

SHELBY JAMES | 214.533.7650 | shelby.james@alliebeth.com

DALLAS

10204 MAPLERIDGE DRIVE

$349,000 | 4 Bed | 2 Bath | 2,584 Sq.Ft.

SUSAN BLACKBURN | 214.912.2455 | susan.blackburn@alliebeth.com

DALLAS

9026 STONE CREEK PLACE

$285,000 | 3 Bed | 2 Bath | 2,065 Sq.Ft.

TIM SCHUTZE | 214.507.6699 | tim.schutze@alliebeth.com

214.521.7355 | alliebeth.com

contained herein is believed to be correct, but neither agents nor owner assumes any responsibility for this information or gives any warranty to it. Square foot numbers will vary from county tax records to drawings by a prior sale or withdrawal without notice. In accordance with the Law, this property is offered without respect to race, color, creed or national origin.