2015 March Lake Highlands

FRESH AIR? TIMES SQUARE? THE DALLAS ARBORETUM IS BOTH. AND NEITHER.

How the city’s top attraction keeps neighbors on opposite sides of the fence.

WHO CARES?

Just a few reasons to really take notice of local elections

We’re going to write about something during the next two months in print and online that most of us care little about.

Local elections. Specifically city council elections.

How do I know we don’t care?

Generally, not much more than 20 percent of us decide it’s worth the trouble to vote in city council races. And heaven forbid there’s a council runoff election on a rainy day — then we’re looking at school board-election turnout numbers, with a few thousand voters making the decision.

We also know what happens when we write a story on our advocatemag.com daily news website about politics or education: Readers scroll on by.

Maybe a comparison would help: If we write about both a new neighborhood restaurant opening and a city council policy initiative on the same day, it’s likely that 10 or even 15 times the number of people will read the story about the restaurant.

Think about that: 10 times the readership for a story about food, while only a fraction of us care about the latest shenanigans at city hall, most of which cost us a lot of money.

Just as an example, how many of us know the council will be handing about $270,000 of our tax dollars to six protestors because it voted to approve (with the exception of councilmen Griggs, Kingston, Davis and Medrano) an ordinance so illegal that a judge wrote a 62-page opinion ridiculing it?

How many of us know the Dallas Convention Center is angling for another $250 million or so in expansion money, even though it has tens of millions of dollars in outstanding debt from the last couple of expansions?

How many of us know a quasi-govern-

mental agency has basically said that even if the city council votes to block the Trinity Toll Road, the agency may just go ahead and build the billion-plus-dollar road anyway?

And speaking of the Toll Road, how many of us have any idea how close it is to becoming a reality, even though no one — not even the mayor or council members — can honestly tell us what is going to be built and how much it’s going to cost?

What about the horrible condition of city streets (nearly $1 billion in deferred maintenance)? Shouldn’t we be concerned about how that type of negligence will eventually affect our home or business property values, not to mention our vehicles?

During the next couple of months leading up to the May 9 elections, the candidates will be talking about whatever we as neighbors ask them, and they’ll be filling the mailboxes of the few of us identified as likely voters with mailers telling us how great they are. (If your mailbox isn’t full of candidate boasting, you’re considered an unlikely voter whose opinion doesn’t count.)

There are a lot of great things happening in Dallas these days — the economy has improved, home values are increasing, and people are finding jobs again. But in order to keep the momentum going, we need to be smart about our next moves, and we need to start reinvesting in our city’s infrastructure to benefit the people already living here, rather than spending hundreds of millions more trying to impress the people who don’t.

Candidates have talked about repairing our streets since I moved to Dallas 17 city elections ago. The streets are worse today than ever, and no elected official has paid any price for promising action and then hiding the ball.

The least we can do is make them show us the ball during the election and then keep an eye on it after they’re elected.

The three-card monte hustle needs to end one of these days, and it can end only if enough of us keep our eye on the ball. Every day.

Rick Wamre is president of Advocate Media. Let him know how we are doing by writing to 6301 Gaston, Suite 820, Dallas 75214; or email rwamre@advocatemag.com.

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EDITORIAL

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editor-at-large: KERI MITCHELL

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BRITTANY NUNN

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contributors: ERIC FOLKERTH, ANGELA HUNT, GEORGE

MASON, KRISTEN MASSAD

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contributing photographers: JAMES COREAS, JACQUE

MANAUGH, SCOTT MITCHELL, RASY RAN, JENNIFER SHERTZER, KATHY TRAN

copy editor: LARRA KEEL

Workers removed a 170-year-old tree at White Rock by mistake

Lake Highlands victim warns neighbors after parking lot mugging

Drive-by: Former Albertsons is Minyard Fresh Market

Signing Day in Lake Highlands

White Rock-area woman breaks ultra-running record

THE DIALOGUE ON LAKEHIGHLANDS.ADVOCATEMAG.COM

ADAM MCGOUGH AND HIS RESIDENCY ‘FIASCO’

About 24 hours after the mayor’s former chief of staff Adam McGough announced his bid for the District 10 city council seat, questions arose about his family’s residency and his children’s recent enrollment at a Highland Park ISD school. The issue spurred a lively discussion among our online readers:

“I’m concerned because it sounds like the community of LH wasn’t good enough for the family until he realized he was politically ambitious. I hope I’m wrong.”

—Jennifer Carrasco Whitaker

“Even more unfortunate is that this issue, while unresolved, may dominate the race and force the real issues we confront to the back seat.”

—Focus on real issues – please

“McGough is going to be too busy apologizing to people that outwardly support him and explaining his sleeping arrangements because he apparently wanted to send his kids to the wealthier school district. On the bright side, McGough made the decision very easy for this voter.” —Mind Made Up

“At the end of the day, I can’t imagine that decisions made in the McGough household regarding their children could completely erase his body of work.” —Body of Work

JUST HOW BIG OF A DEAL IS THIS?

Get the full context of the story and follow all our election coverage at lakehighlands.advocatemag.com.

Launch

A window to the past

The home of Lake Highlands residents Jack and Beverly Wilgus is like a shrine to photography.

It resembles a mixture of a museum, an old-timey general store and your grandma’s house. Various collections of knickknacks and vintage cameras are arranged

neatly inside display cases; others are lined up along tables or shelves. Blackand-white photographs cover every inch of wall space.

When house shopping, the couple specifically requested a home with plenty of white wall space and as little natural

Collectors Beverly and Jack Wilgus: Photo by Scott Mitchell

Retiring newsman George Riba: Photo by James Coreas. Photos of Riba at the WFAA news desk and lugging around camera equipment are courtesy of George Riba.

That’s a wrap

Old Lake Highlands resident George Riba has been a familiar face on Channel 8, where he has worked as a sports anchor, executive sports producer and sports director since 1977. He remembers when WFAA made the switch from film to digital. He remembers when major sports teams like the Texas Rangers, the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars first signed on in this city. But now, after 37 years Riba’s colorful career draws to a close.

Riba is retiring this month, and his reason for doing so is simple: “I can’t do it forever,” he says with a shrug. He had a good run and has produced or co-produced more than 10,000 stories during his career. From here on out, Riba has one objective for how he’ll spend his time: “If it’s not fun, I’m not doing it,” he insists.

Riba’s career began while he was still attending the University of Texas at Arlington. He originally started in radio before he found out TV pays better. He worked a couple of different TV stints while still in school, and he was hired on at Channel 8 after he graduated.

For the first few years he did half radio and half TV, and he loved it. “I still think radio is very cool,” he says. He never planned to cover sports full time, but it fit him well.

In 37 years, Riba says, it’s hard to pick a favorite story; there are too many. But Riba says he usually enjoyed stories that involved trips, and he has especially fond memories of a trip to Tokyo to cover SMU playing Houston in the 1983 Mirage Bowl. Spring training and football training camp stories also hold a special place in his heart.

Since the late ’70s, if Riba wasn’t in the newsroom, you could find him running or cycling at White Rock Lake — often with his wife, Maggie, who works as a personal trainer. He has run 29 marathons and completed the Dallas Marathon 21 times. “I try to do one every year,” he says. “That’s one of the reasons why I moved over here to the lake area.”

He says he plans to keep running after retirement and maybe work or volunteer somewhere part time, or possibly learn an instrument or two — or who knows, maybe none of that. The point is: He can do whatever he wants.

—Brittany Nunn

SEE MORE photos of Riba’s early career at lakehighlands.advocatemag.com

Out & About

March 2015

Through April 12

Dallas Blooms

This year’s flower fest celebrates all things Texan. The show includes more than 500,000 spring-blooming bulbs and life-size Texasthemed topiaries, plus food and special activities celebrating the Lone Star State. Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland Road, 214.515.6615, dallasarboretum.org, $10$15

more LOCAL EVENTS

or submit your own

LAKEHIGHLANDS.ADVOCATEMAG.COM/EVENTS

THROUGH MARCH 25

Pollinators and predators

This photography show from Bob Curry depicts “the enchanting environment of small creatures.” A reception for the artist is from 7-9 p.m. Saturday, March 14. Bath House Cultural Center, 521 E. Lawther, 214.670.8749, bathhousecultural.com, free

THROUGH MARCH 28

‘Nobody’s Perfect’

This comedy tells the story of a feminist publisher who has a run-in with a crossdressing talent.

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

MARCH 12

Cool Thursday concerts

This annual concert series kicks off with ’80s cover band The Molly Ringwalds. Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland Road, 214.515.6615, dallasarboretum. org, $10-$27

MARCH 12 AND 18

National Theatre Live

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Katherine Boo spent three years in Annawadi, a Mumbai slum, to write her book, “Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity,” which won the National Book Award in 2012. David Hare turned the book into a play, the performance of which will be broadcast live from the National Theatre in London. Angelika Film Center, 5321 E. Mockingbird, 214.841.4713, angelikafilmcenter.com, $8.50-$11

March 18 and 22

‘The Wizard of Oz’

See this 1939 classic on the big screen at 7 p.m. March 18 or 2 p.m. March 22.

Studio Movie Grill, 11170 N. Central Expressway, 214.361.2966, studiomoviegrill.com, $3

MARCH 13-APRIL 5

‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’

The Beatrix Potter classic comes to life in this puppetry performance, which is appropriate for children ages 4 and older. Dallas Children’s Theater, 5938 Skillman, 214.740.0051, dct.org, $22$28

MARCH 18

Existential comedy

ShelbyJames_twothrds_3-15 Page 1

6301 Gaston Avenue Suite 820 • Dallas, Texas 75214 PH: 214.823.5885 FX: 214.823.8866

Please proofread carefully: pay attention to spelling, grammar, phone numbers and design. Color proofs: because of the difference in equipment and conditions between the color proofing and the pressroom operations, a reasonable variation in color between color proofs and the completed job shall constitute an acceptable delivery.

The Existential Comedy Improv Lab is a “live improvisational experiment which explores the world of improv and clown performance.” They perform at 7 p.m. Bath House Cultural Center, 521 E. Lawther, 214.670.8749, circusfreaks. org, donations accepted

o Approved as is

o Approved with corrections

o Additional proof needed Signed

Thank

March 28

Hoops in the Highlands

The neighborhood three-on-three tournament for boys and girls grade 1-8 features friendly competition, food and entertainment, and activities for the whole family, from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Run by volunteers, the event has raised more than $300,000 in 11 years to support athletics at Lake Highlands Junior High, Lake Highlands High School, Northlake, Wallace and White Rock elementary schools. Early registration ($84 per team) deadline is March 13, and the last day to sign up ($100) is March 18.

Highland Oaks Church of Christ, 10805 Walnut Hill, hoopsinthehighlands.net, free to spectate

“I KNOW YOU HAVE A CHOICE WHEN BUYING OR SELLING REAL ESTATE IN LAKE HIGHLANDS. I LOOK FORWARD TO HELPING YOU

Delicious

THE MERMAID BAR

NorthPark Center

8687 N. Central

Suite 400

HOURS: 10 A.M.-9 P.M. MON-FRI

10 A.M.-8 P.M. SAT

NOON-6 P.M. SUN

AMBIANCE: NOSTALGIC

PRICE: $6-$20

DID YOU KNOW?

THE MERMAID BAR FEATURES WHIMSICAL MURALS

BY DANISH ARTIST BJORN WIINBLAD COMMISSIONED BY STANLEY MARCUS IN THE 1960S.

In1965 NorthPark Center hosted its grand opening — as did Neiman Marcus, the upscale clothing store in its southwest corner. Inside Neiman Marcus was a small coffee bar, The Mermaid Bar, where daytime shoppers could grab a bite to eat. The Mermaid Bar was surprisingly popular, and a few years later it expanded to accommodate larger crowds. Fifty years later, Neiman Marcus and The Mermaid Bar are the only originals left at NorthPark. The café has survived on excellent service and reliably good food, says Chad Boyle, the general manager of restaurants at Neiman Marcus. The nostalgia effect doesn’t hurt, either. “This is the destination of ladies’ lunches in Dallas,” Boyle says. “The grandmothers brought the mothers, and the mothers brought the daughters, and that’s how it’s been for 50 years. It’s not well publicized. You have to know that it’s here, but everyone just knows that The Mermaid is here.” Boyle looks across the room and points out a diner who has been eating at the café for upward of 42 years. Staff member Paul Arenas boasts that he’s been working at The Mermaid since ’85, and that’s not unusual. Several of the kitchen staff have been there at least that long. Customers are treated like family, and some of the regulars bring the staff Christmas presents during the holidays. The menu is made up of “simple American recipes,” Boyle says. The Mermaid Sampler, which includes a cup of soup, a cup of fruit and half a chicken salad sandwich, is by far the most popular dish. “There’s nothing fabulous or fancy about what we serve,” Boyle says. “It’s the consistency that brings them back.” But if you have a chance to order the fried calamari, you won’t regret it.

—Brittany Nunn

One

most requested entrees, the

of The Mermaid Bar’s

Mermaid Sampler, features a half-sandwich with tuna, bacon and pecans, along with chicken salad, tomato soup, fruit salad and chips. Photo by Rasy Ran

And the winners were

Best Pizza: Primo Brothers Pizza, a timehonored, family owned neighborhood eatery. “Traditional, with a focus on quality,” is how owner Luan Vraniqi describes it.

Best Breakfast: JJ’s Café, whose popularity is a result of “very hard work and attention to service,” according to owner Jose Ramirez, especially on the part of his wife Josefina Orozco. That, and irresistible huevos rancheros.

Best Coffee: Café Silva, where owners Masoom and Suraiya Khan produce sweet, eye-opening Cuban or Mexican espressos and fruity, mouth-watering scones in their no-frills park side coffee bar.

Best Burger: The Varsity Grill, a 1950s-esque diner with a cutting-edge approach to food and service. Owner Thom Turnock shared his secrets: a great staff, all of who care deeply about quality, and delicious bread — choose jalapeno-cheddar, sweet sourdough or whole wheat.

Best Dessert: Unrefined Bakery, where mother and daughter duo Taylor Nicholson and Anne Hoyt bake scrumptious sweets sans the wheat — gluten-free vanilla caramel apple “unbutter” cream cupcakes, spicy snack mixes, and everything inbetween.

Best Gift Shop: City View Antiques, home to 65 dealers. An antique purist, co-owner Joan Williams (with sister Ellen Paulsen and their mom Joan Paulsen) enforces a fairly strict policy requiring that vendors at her mall stick to antiques, with a few fun clearly labeled exceptions. Outdoor markets each spring draw dozens of additional sellers and an array of unique treasures.

NEXT UP IN ADVOCATE’S 2015 BEST OF CONTEST:Vote for your favorite patio at lakehighlands.advocatemag.com/bestof

FINGER FOOD THAT POPS

A table covered in gourmet appetizers provides the perfect setting for a spring gathering. At the beginning of this new season, freshen up your menus with bite-size finger food, ideal for sharing or passing. With only five ingredients, herb goat cheese poppers keep it simple and small but full of flavor.

GROCERY LIST

1 (8 ounce) log soft herb goat cheese

1 large egg

½ cup flour

½ cup panko breadcrumbs

2 cups canola oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Place flour, whisked egg and panko breadcrumbs each in individual bowls (do not mix together). Roll goat cheese into 24 balls (1 heaping teaspoon each).

2. Dip each goat cheese ball in flour, dip in egg and roll in panko; place each ball on a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.

3. Heat oil in a small deep saucepan until it reaches 350 degrees F. Drop goat cheese balls into oil in batches of

4-6 at a time until golden and crisp on the outside. Remove balls with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain.

4. Serve goat cheese poppers immediately with your choice of dipping sauce.

OPTIONAL DIPPING SAUCES: Blackberry honey (pictured)

Marinara sauce

Balsamic reduction

Sweet chili sauce

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.

BOTANICAL

THE ARBORETUM’S MANICURED GARDENS SHARE A FENCE WITH

S

NATURAL

Story by Keri Mitchell — Photos by Danny Fulgencio

PRISTINE PARKLAND PROTECTED BY NEIGHBORS. CAN THEY COEXIST?

PEOPLE WHO LIVED NEAR WHITE ROCK LAKE WERE FED UP.

The arboretum was supposed to be a nature sanctuary for all of Dallas, but instead, they argued it was environmentally insensitive, discriminatory against low-income residents, and a traffic and parking nightmare.

“There is a great deal of concern from many people who don’t want a botanic amusement park at one end of the lake,” said one resident of the Peninsula Neighborhood Association.

Botanic amusement park. Mini convention center. Little Disneyland. Six Flags Over White Rock. These were among the epithets the arboretum’s neighbors hurled at the gardens.

It’s a scene that hearkens back to 2012, when neighbors took the arboretum to task over its plan to turn a portion of White Rock Lake’s Winfrey Point into an overflow parking lot. The above scenario, however, actually happened three decades ago when the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society barely had begun to take root.

History tends to repeat itself, so perhaps these parallel circumstances shouldn’t come as any surprise. But it raises the question: What is it about the Dallas Arboretum that, even after all these

years, continues to provoke the ire of a vocal group of neighbors?

Today the arboretum encompasses 66 acres on the southeast shore of White Rock Lake on property valued at $21.5 million. It boasts 35,000 members, and attendance in 2014 nearly reached one million visitors.

This year, it has a $20.5 million budget for its manicured grounds and event venues. The gardens are expected to host nearly 300 weddings this year, many of them in the spring, when 500,000 tulips burst into color during the 31st annual Dallas Blooms festival. The eight-acre Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden will reopen during Blooms, and a recently opened 1,150-space parking garage directly opposite Garland Road should accommodate the visitor uptick.

Accolades continue to roll in, with the arboretum landing on nearly every list of where to visit and what not to miss in Dallas. It draws visitors not just from around the country but the world, too.

So why can’t it seem to earn the respect of so many people right in its backyard?

The Texas Skywalk at the arboretum’s Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden

THE ESTATE THAT BECAME AN ARBORETUM

Halfway through a recent tour of the Dallas Arboretum’s DeGolyer home, a docent mentions that the estate was a bit worse for the wear when the city purchased it in 1976. After Nell DeGolyer’s death in 1972, she bequeathed the home to Southern Methodist University, which used the estate the DeGolyers’ retirement home for 30-someodd years — as an occasional event venue but little else. It needed hundreds of thousands of dollars in maintenance to return it to its former glory.

Everette DeGolyer was the epitome of a selfmade man — he was born in a Kansas sod house, educated himself in geology and made millions as an oil tycoon. His fortune was amassed by the time he and Nell moved to Dallas in 1936. Their first address was a Park Cities mansion on Turtle Creek Boulevard before they purchased 44 acres on the banks of White Rock Lake and lived there from 1939 until their deaths.

The DeGolyers’ love of flora and arboreta was evident on their property. They hired Dallas landscape architect Arthur Berger to create their fourand-a-half-acre formal gardens, and the property included a magnolia allée, a wisteria arbor, a rose garden and more than 200 species of plants. Even their home’s name, “Rancho Encinal,” paid homage in Spanish to the live oak trees on the land.

“I think they would both be very pleased with how the house and grounds are used because they loved gardening,” the docent says.

The home, which looks today much as it did when the DeGolyers lived in it, reflects their love of travel, books and art. The DeGolyers not only were collectors but also benefactors, with Rancho Encinal often playing host to galas and cocktail parties benefitting the Dallas arts organizations.

A marker notes the home was listed on the National Historic Register in 1978 — a rarity in Dallas. Fewer than 30 homes have this honor, and less

than 20 are protected by the City of Dallas’ landmark designation status, as the DeGolyer house is.

“It’s good that someone had the foresight,” the docent says, “otherwise this would probably be condos or apartments.”

ONE ‘PLANT MAN’S’ DOGGED VISION

Before Nell DeGolyer died, both the City of Dallas and SMU jockeyed for the estate, according to Sid Stahl, a past president of the Dallas Park Board. The DeGolyers “had strong feelings” toward both the university and the city, and they figured out that SMU, if given the land, would likely sell because it wanted the cash, he says.

“They cut a deal,” Stahl says, that the property would be left to SMU, which would in turn sell it to the city.

“That way, SMU would end up with the money, and the City of Dallas would end up with the property,” Stahl says.

When the city had the land appraised, the report showed its value to be $2 million and suggested that the “highest and best use” for the house was to remain a three-acre estate mansion, and the “highest, best and most profitable” use of the remaining acreage would be a “subdivision development of luxury homesites.”

Instead, as the DeGolyers intended, the land was sold to the City of Dallas for $1.076 million.

A couple of mentions about a Dallas arboretum appear in news stories from the ’20s and ’40s, including a Dallas Arboretum Foundation chaired by none other than Everette DeGolyer. The facility itself didn’t materialize, however, until Ralph Pinkus arrived on the scene. He had spent several years leading the New York Botanic Garden and found it troubling that Dallas was the largest U.S. city with no special area for displaying trees and shrubs.

Pinkus, who founded North Haven Gardens,

HOW MOSS PARK ALMOST BECAME THE DALLAS ARBORETUM

In a February 1974 Dallas Morning News article, Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society president Ralph Pinkus pressed the Park Board for land at the old Moss estate near Greenville and Royal, which was slated to become a city park. Final drawings indicated that 50 acres would be set aside to exhibit various types of trees — one of the last areas left in Dallas with enough room for such a display, the article notes — and Pinkus wanted more. Before any formal steps were taken, however, the DeGolyer estate came into play. Assistant park director Phil Huey “saw the DeGolyer property and said it would take Moss Park 50 to 75 years to look that good,” former Park Board president Sid Stahl said in a 1976 meeting. Neil Sperry, who was part of the society at the time, says he favored Moss Park and was the “lone dissenting vote about 8525 Garland Road” because of his concerns about the property’s “incredible amount of bamboo.” But the DeGolyer site had “pizzazz,” Sperry says, and that’s what won over the rest of the society, including Pinkus.

ARBORETUM HISTORY:

1938: On 22 acres of White Rock Lake’s southeast shoreline, Alex and Roberta Camp’s 8,500-square-foot home, designed by famed Texas residential architect John Staub, is completed.

1939: Everette and Nell DeGolyer take up residence in “Rancho Encinal,” a 21,000-squarefoot, 13-room Spanish Colonial Revival designed by Schutt & Scott, the architects of Hotel Bel-Air in California. The house sits on 44 acres of the lake’s southeast shoreline, adjacent to the Camp estate.

1944: Everette DeGolyer is named president of the Dallas Arboretum Foundation, whose goal is “a planting of trees, shrubs and flowers under scientific control and for the benefit of industry, commerce and public enjoyment.” The arboretum was to be incorporated into the city’s park system, part of a master plan for post World War II improvement.

1951: Ralph Pinkus opens North Haven Gardens on what was then a country lane. In those days, when Pinkus was out watering plants, he could hear the traffic on Northwest Highway — two miles away.

1956: Richard Howard, director of Harvard’s 400-acre Arnold Arboretum in Boston, travels to speak to the Dallas Garden Forum and encourages members to launch the first arboretum in Texas to try out plants. Even a single acre would be “of inestimable value to the whole city,” he says.

1962: The Dreyfus Club, one of White Rock Lake’s last private clubs, is sold to the city’s Park and Recreation Department.

1972: Nell DeGolyer dies and deeds the DeGolyers’ 44-acre estate to Southern Methodist University.

1973: Roberta Camp dies and leaves the Camps’ 22-acre estate to several charities.

1974: The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society, a joint venture of the Dallas North Garden Forum and the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce parks committee, becomes officially incorporated.

1975: During a Designer Showhouse preview party in the DeGolyer Estate, co-chair and future arboretum president Mary Brinegar stations herself in the library and shows partygoers the hidden doors.

1976: The City of Dallas purchases the DeGolyer estate from SMU for $1.076 million with bond money approved in 1975.

1977: The Park Board approves “development of a $200,000 arboretum and botanical garden” at the city-owned DeGolyer estate, based on the recommendation of a 12-member committee that includes Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society president Ralph Pinkus.

1978: The DeGolyer house and gardens are listed on the National Historic Register.

1980: The society purchases the 22-acre Camp estate, the DeGolyers’ neighbor to the northeast, for $550,000 with money loaned from society chairman Ralph Rogers.

1982: The city and society sign a contract allowing the development of the arboretum on the combined DeGolyer and Camp estates.

1984: Jones & Jones of Seattle complete their master plan for the arboretum, including a sculpted-hedge maze, a six-story conservatory, a festival marketplace, privately owned restaurants, an auditorium, an outdoor amphitheater, dormitories for research students and an observation tower with views of the grounds and the downtown skyline. The Park Board approves the $50 million plan with no public hearings, and the society agrees to come up with $20 million if the city comes up with the rest.

1985: Billionaire Ross Perot pledges $8 million to the Dallas Arboretum, $2 million up front and $2 million each consecutive year as the arboretum meets certain demands, such as planting thousands of flowering and foliage trees along the White Rock Lake shoreline and giving the Perot family naming rights to the arboretum.

The society hosts the inaugural Dallas Blooms festival, with 130,000 tulips enticing 40,000 people to visit the property.

A spring sunset at the Dallas Arboretum began recruiting support for an arboretum and botanic garden soon after he moved here in 1951, and he later was named the first president of the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society.

Neil Sperry became a Dallas County horticulturist in 1970 and worked with Pinkus on the society board in its early days. Sperry, widely known as a local gardening guru, describes Pinkus as “the best plant man I have known in the state of Texas.”

“There are people who can give the lyrics of every 1950s song, and then there are people who know every plant they have ever come across, and Ralph Pinkus was one of those,” Sperry says.

Plant collecting and trialing was Pinkus’s passion, which is why he so desperately wanted to see an arboretum in Dallas. As reported in a 1974 Dallas Morning News article, Pinkus speaks before the Park Board and tells board members that with so many people moving to Dallas, it’s “vital that the city expand its outlook.”

Then he twists the knife a bit: “We don’t even have a botanical garden on the scale of the one in Fort Worth.”

Part of Pinkus’s challenge was educating Dallas residents, including the Park Board, about what an arboretum is and why the city needed one. He described it as “a teaching tool,” a collection of all sorts of plants that would be labeled so people could see how they fare in this particular climate any day of the year.

“Our conditions are different from each other part of the country, yet we have no testing ground currently,” Pinkus said in a 1976 Dallas Morning News article.

The society looked at various sites — the old Moss Farm estate in present-day Lake Highlands, Samuell Park along East Grand, and the Trinity River area, among others. But when the DeGolyer estate became an option, with its already established gardens and mature trees, the society seized on it.

Stahl called the land “a priceless treasure to share with many generations of Dallasites.” He appointed a citizens advisory committee to examine possible uses for the 44-acre estate; Pinkus was one of his appointees.

At that point, Stahl says, “I didn’t know what the hell an arboretum was. I couldn’t pronounce it; I couldn’t spell it.”

But he and the Park Board wanted the land to be “something special and unique that will be in keeping with the living of the DeGolyers, something that we don’t already have in our city.”

Stahl imagined that the society, with its roughly 200 members, could enter into a public-private partnership with the city to make this happen, similar to the way Old City Park, the Dallas Museum of Art and the Dallas Zoo operated.

Just a few months later, the committee recommended that “the long-range development of an arboretum would be an appropriate use” of the DeGolyer land, and the Park Board approved.

A ‘WORLD-CLASS’ ARBORETUM OR A ‘BOTANIC AMUSEMENT PARK’?

Nothing much changed for a few years, except that the DeGolyer estate was now a city park open to all Dallasites.

In 1980, the society purchased the neighboring 22-acre Camp estate; as past arboretum chairman Brian Shivers tells it, that purchase was all due to the late Virginia Belcher, a Lakewood commercial real estate broker.

She received a tip that the Camp estate land was about to be sold to a high-density condo developer and was told, “if you can come up with $550,000 in a hurry, they’ll sell it to you instead,” Shivers says. Another board member, Ralph Rogers, lent the money to clinch the deal.

The DeGolyer and Camp houses were the only structures on the site for some time. It wasn’t until 1985 that the society hosted the first Dallas Blooms festival. Around the same time, the society began charging admission — $2 per adult and $1 per child. It also began soliciting annual memberships, which climbed from 764 in 1984 to more than 3,000 in 1987. The society had a $50 million master plan, and its goal was to raise $20 million over the next 10 to 15 years, with city officials pledging to kick in $30 million.

“Let me remind you, we are not just in the plant business — we are in show business.”

Image courtesy of David Austin® Roses.

1987: In response to flaring tensions between the arboretum and residents who live around White Rock Lake, East Dallas Councilman Craig Holcomb appoints a task force to find a resolution.

The 1984 master plan is toned down with a revised master plan that contains fewer buildings, more native plants and a lower price tag.

1988: City council approves the arboretum’s Planned Development District 287 and the society’s 15-year master plan. Longtime Dallas Morning News architecture critic David Dillon calls the new plan “simpler, clearer and more reasonable” than the previous version, “which was so overdesigned that it would have sent the Arboretum sliding into White Rock Lake under the weight of its own architecture.”

Perot demands the return of the $2 million donated for expansion of the Dallas Arboretum, then later withdraws his demand, but says he won’t give the additional $6 million he pledged for the project.

1989: The society opens its first designed garden, the Lay Ornamental Garden, funded by a $1.7 million gift from Amelia (Mimi) Lay Hodges, in memory of her late husband, Herman Lay, co-founder and chairman of the board of FritoLay Inc. “Mimi’s Garden,” as it became known, was the first of 17 new gardens proposed in the arboretum’s 1987 master plan.

1992: The arboretum proposes to build a 6-foot-high 1,000-foot-long stucco wall with $500,000 in both private and public funds to shield the gardens from Garland Road traffic noise. Neighbors oppose, claiming that the wall would bounce noise into their neighborhoods, block views of the gardens from Garland Road, and would give the publicly funded arboretum “an exclusive, country club atmosphere.” The arboretum forgoes the wall and instead agrees to build a metal fence lined with shrubs.

1994: Roger Clinton, brother of President Bill Clinton, is married at the arboretum, which by now hosts more than 100 weddings a year.

1996: Robert L. “Bob” Thornton III, grandson of former Dallas Mayor R.L. Thornton, becomes chairman of the society board the same year his cousin, Mary Brinegar, another of the mayor’s grandchildren, is hired as arboretum president and CEO.

But at $2 a head for admission and $50 a pop for a family membership, it was slow going. The society’s real bread and butter was philanthropic fundraising spearheaded by the charismatic Rogers, who by then was board chairman.

To this day, the mention of Rogers engenders reverence among arboretum devotees and incites scorn from detractors. He was known as a visionary who wouldn’t take no for an answer, which worked to his advantage in both business and philanthropic pursuits. Rogers founded Texas Industries (now TXI) and turned it into a multi-million dollar company, and he also is credited with saving both local KERA Channel 13 and the entire Public Broadcasting System during his six-year PBS chairmanship in the ’70s.

No one disagrees that when Rogers took over as chairman of the arboretum society, he defined its trajectory. Shivers recalls a board meeting in those early days when the directors “got off on a esoteric rant” trying to determine: Was the property a botanical garden? An arboretum? Or what?

Rogers gave this admonition to the board: “Let me remind you, we are not just in the plant business we are in show business.”

He was right, Shivers says. At the time, the property wasn’t much more than “a glorified dog park,” he says. The Camp estate was covered in bamboo that wound up taking years to unearth. The DeGolyers’ historic gardens were gorgeous, but they needed a lot of work — “expensive work,” Shivers says — that the city couldn’t afford. The city’s budget for the DeGolyer property when the society took over as manager in 1982 was “not enough to mow the grass,” Shivers says.

At the time, Shivers scrounged up enough money to conduct a public awareness survey “to see if anybody knew who we were,” he says. Of the people who said they knew of the arboretum, when asked where it was, most mentioned the garden center in Fair Park.

“They really didn’t know who we were, where we were, what we were,” Shivers says. “We settled on the idea that for this to be successful, we had to generate our own operating funds, and a display garden was what we needed to be. We weren’t going to survive as a research organization.

“We realized we needed to go on the expansion program that would build new gardens and draw new people out.”

Rogers started casting out nets to prominent Dallas donors. In 1985, he caught a big fish — businessman Ross Perot agreed to pledge $8 million to the cause. Perot’s gift hinged on several requirements, including that the city plant tens of thousands of blossoming trees along the lake’s shoreline. Perot’s gift doubled the other $8 million in donations and pledges Rogers had drummed up, leaving the society only $4 million short on its end of the bargain. It was full speed ahead to what Rogers described as a “worldclass” venue “for the city of Dallas, for North Texas, for the world.”

Soon afterward, people who lived near the arboretum — who didn’t have millions of dollars to throw around, but whose tax dollars had helped purchase the land — began questioning the arboretum’s grand plans. A bond program proposed the same year as Perot’s $8 million pledge included almost $40 million for Dallas parks and recreation centers, $7.5 million of it for the arboretum.

Society members were caught off guard when their master plan, drafted by a “nationally prominent consulting firm,” came under fire from some of their neighbors. The mudslinging began, with opponents referring to the society’s “world-class” vision as a “botanic amusement park.”

“The facility we’re proposing would provide the missing piece for Dallas — a place of natural beauty that everyone is proud of and can go to enjoy nature,” society president Robert Tener protested in a 1988 Dallas Morning News Sunday magazine (Dallas Life) story “Feud among the Flowers” by Glenna Whitley.

Opponents weren’t swayed. They began urging defeat of the bond program’s entire $40 million in parks funds to block the arboretum’s city cash flow. They also suggested the arboretum’s $7.5 million be voted on individually. The city council refused, however, deciding Dallas citizens weren’t familiar enough with the arboretum for it to stand on its own at the ballot box.

Ultimately, the bond proposition passed.

Residents lost that fight, but it turned out the battle wasn’t over. It raged on until a city council vote stopped the society in its tracks.

THE 1987 ‘BATTLE OF THE ARBORETUM’

The puzzle, both then and now, is what is so odious about botanical gardens?

The problem, both then and now, is not only what but who. As residents around the lake caught wind of the giant flower garden about to be constructed in their backyard, they grew increasingly

concerned that the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society was more society than botanical.

The master plan was the kicker.

The arboretum so long championed by Pinkus — one that would be a “teaching tool” and “testing ground” — had morphed under Rogers’ leadership beyond plants and trees to include a sculpted-hedge maze, a six-story conservatory, a festival marketplace, privately owned restaurants, an auditorium, an outdoor amphitheater, dormitories for research students and an observation tower with views of the grounds and the downtown skyline.

This was no ode to nature, residents argued. It infuriated them that the plan had received the Park Board’s stamp of approval without input from neighbors. When they voiced their fears and frustrations with Rogers, Tener and the rest of the society, they felt no one listened or cared.

So they turned to the city council for an audience.

Winfrey Point

1997: The first “Cool Thursdays” concert series launches on balmy summer evenings, and A Woman’s Garden opens in the fall.

2001: The arboretum breaks ground on the $20 million Trammell Crow Visitor Education Pavilion at the Dallas Arboretum, funded partially with bond money approved in 1995. Brinegar calls it “the beginning of a new era in botanical education and enhanced visitor experiences at the arboretum.” Thornton, leading the private fundraising charge, agrees that “it ratchets the arboretum up to the next level.”

2006: The arboretum debuts a pumpkin house at its renamed Autumn at the Arboretum festival, launching a new tradition that evolves into a pumpkin village with crowds that outnumber its visitors during Dallas Blooms.

2012: White Rock Lake preservationists receive word of the arboretum’s plans to use the grass field of Winfrey Point, just northwest of the arboretum in White Rock Lake Park, for overflow parking during the Chihuly exhibit. They also acquire documents revealing the arboretum and park department’s conversations and preliminary plans to incorporate Winfrey Point into the arboretum property, with part of the field becoming a permanent parking lot. Protestors descend on Winfrey Point with picket signs, and plans for both temporary and permanent parking are scrapped.

The Chihuly blown-glass exhibit opens at the arboretum, attracting 300,000 visitors and increasing attendance by 42 percent from 2011.

2013: The $63 million 8-acre Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden opens on the last of the arboretum’s undeveloped land.

2014: The arboretum opens a 1,150-space parking garage across Garland Road from the children’s garden.

2015: The 31st annual Dallas Blooms festival featuring 500,000 tulips is expected to attract 140,000 visitors before the end of April. The redesigned Lay Family Garden will open as part of the festival.

Sources: Dallas Morning News historical archives, City of Dallas Municipal Archives, Dallas Arboretum, interviews

In May 1987, Tener approached the city with a request to use $100,000 of the $7.5 million in bond funds to renovate the DeGolyer estate’s garage into a gift shop. Asking for a fraction of the funds taxpayers had already granted to a master plan-approved project was not a controversial request, or so the society thought. It wasn’t expecting a dozen people from six different neighborhoods to voice their dissension at the microphone, and it certainly wasn’t expecting the council to vote 6-5 in favor of residents.

It was a pivotal moment in the relationship between the arboretum and its neighbors. Suddenly, the society was no longer beholden only to the donors forking over their millions, but also to neighbors holding no more stake in the arboretum than any other Dallas taxpayer.

Craig Holcomb, the East Dallas councilman at the time, convened a task force with neighborhood and arboretum representatives to hash out some sort of truce. The group included Michael Jung, who was then vice president of the Dallas Homeowners League and lived near White Rock Lake. Jung believed the arboretum was in cahoots with Perot to take over the lake’s shoreline.

The thrust of the task force’s resolution, he says, was that the arboretum could develop the Camp and DeGolyer estates the way they wanted, subject to city review and approval, “but they had to keep their hands off White Rock Lake Park.”

In other words, Jung says, “they stay on their side of the fence, and we stay on our side of the fence.”

Decades later, Jung says people are still miffed at him for signing off on such an agreement. The arboretum “proceeded to develop in a very, very highly cultivated way,” he says, much to the chagrin of many environmentalists and recreationalists who live around the lake.

Even with this agreement, though, the society remained in a precarious situation. It had spent $550,000 to purchase the Camp estate, and an agreement with the city required the society to deed over the estate. The city would own all 66 acres, and the society would manage it. But the 6-5 vote and task force discussions opened the board of directors’ eyes to the fact that they were at the whim of city politicians, and a single election could change everything. They needed a planned development district to safeguard their plans.

So the society launched a zoning process that required dozens of public meetings. Some turned into emotional confrontations, with neighbors accusing the society of “withholding information,” “having a secret agenda to take over the entire White Rock Lake Park,” and “being used by ‘North

“They stay on their side of the fence, and we stay on our side of the fence.”

Michael Jung sports his “Yapping Dog Club” T-shirt from 1987, which he wore to the 2012 Winfrey Point protests.

Dallas’ interests to manage a private country club,” the 1988 Morning News story reports.

At one point, Rogers reportedly referred to opponents as a “pack of yapping dogs.” Residents literally wore that moniker proudly when a Little Forest Hills resident made T-shirts emblazoned with “Yapping Dog Club.”

By the time it was over, the arboretum threw out plans for the observatory tower, dormitories and festival marketplace, and scaled back the rest of the building-heavy vision. Sculpture gardens gave way to more natural gardens, and mature trees were preserved. The concrete amphitheater became a natural concert bowl. The ostentatious master plan of 1984 was scrapped for a more sensitive master plan in 1987.

In her article, Whitley described it this way: “The 1987 Battle of the Arboretum, in future years, may be marked as the fight that gave New Dallas politics ascendance over the Old Dallas method of getting things done. Consultation, conciliation and compromise ousted lunch-with-the-mayor-atthe-City-Club deal making. For better or worse, the arboretum tussle proved that the days of big dreamers with good intentions and big bucks deciding what is best for the city are over.”

Robert Hoffman, who during the scuffle had replaced Rogers as society chairman, promised: “We’re not going to have this kind of intense public debate again. And we’ve made a commitment to have communications with neighborhood leaders on a quarterly basis — not an arboretum-bashing forum, but a constructive forum.”

The battle was over. It had ended in a ceasefire. For roughly 25 years afterward, all was relatively quiet on the eastern front of White Rock Lake.

Then, the peace was shattered.

PLANS TO ‘PAVE PARADISE AND PUT UP A PARKING LOT’

Chihuly was the biggest thing ever to happen to the arboretum. World-renowned blown-glass artist Dale Chihuly began creating sculptures for botanical settings in 2001, mostly in conservatories. The arboretum became the second all-outdoor host to Chihuly’s work, and the success of the first exhibit in Atlanta almost guaranteed massive

crowds the arboretum had yet to experience so large, in fact, that arboretum officials worried on-site parking and its overflow lot wouldn’t be enough.

As a solution, the arboretum asked the Park Board to use Winfrey Point, northwest of the arboretum in White Rock Lake Park, as a temporary overflow lot during the exhibit.

White Rock Lake residents were not consulted — neither the nearby neighborhood associations nor the White Rock Lake Task Force, a group of stakeholders. Jung chairs the task force, and “our first notice of the proposal for the arboretum to park at Winfrey Point came when it was presented to the task force a week after the Park Board had already approved the contract,” he says.

Soon after this news broke, White Rock Lake activists Hal and Ted Barker began uncovering documents, even drawings, that suggested the Dallas Park Department and the arboretum were planning to turn part of Winfrey Point into a parking lot the arboretum would construct and manage, and the city could use when weekend crowds and events overran the meager parking available at the lake.

The 25-year ceasefire suddenly ended. The arboretum had seemingly stepped outside the fence — with the blessing of the city —and it sparked an all-out revolt.

Residents and environmentalists descended on Winfrey Point with picket signs. Schoolchildren were summoned to comb the grasses for birds’ nests. Even East Dallas Councilman Sheffie Kadane donned a “Save Winfrey Point” T-shirt.

Jung, a self-described conservative Republican, dug through his closet, pulled out his yapping dog T-shirt from ’87 and wore it to his first-ever protest.

The arboretum, which had been slapped with a lawsuit to block the plans, remained mum for three days at its lawyers’ insistence, then released a list of myths and facts regarding Winfrey Point and the parking lot plans.

It was too late. Protestors singing Joni Mitchell’s environmental anthem “Big Yellow Taxi” drowned out everything else. Plans for both temporary and permanent parking on Winfrey Point were dead. Protesters were elated: David had beaten Goliath.

The two sides still disagree on some of the finer points — environmentalists in-

sist Winfrey Point is pristine Blackland prairie; the arboretum sees it as a field overgrown with invasive species. Detractors believe the arboretum intended to smother Winfrey Point in concrete; the arboretum defends its vision as “minimally invasive” parking on a small, obscure part of the field, and native plants and interpretive trails on the rest of the land.

Some neighbors argue the arboretum wants to act unilaterally with no regard for neighbors; the arboretum maintains that hundreds of people in the surrounding neighborhoods are arboretum volunteers and hundreds more are members, and the vocal minority doesn’t speak for the whole.

Skeptics accuse the arboretum of trying to conceal its plans; the arboretum says that concepts are not plans, and any changes to the planned development district will always require public input and city approval.

The underlying issue, though, is no different than it was in the ’80s — White Rock Lake.

The tensions and suspicions that simmered under the surface for 25 years were dredged up, and a new generation of lake lovers found themselves facing off against the arboretum.

“Inside the fence, you’ve got this highly cultivated illustration of humans’

“We’re not into eminent domain. We’re not into taking anything. We were in the early stages of ‘what if?’ ”

The 2012 Chihuly exhibit was a coup for Dallas Arboretum president and CEO Mary Brinegar: Photo by Ben Torres

manipulation of nature, still controversial to some,” Jung says. “Outside, the park is preserved in more or less its natural state with a pretty strong consensus behind that approach, and now come to find out the inside-the-fence people want to put a large additional chunk outside of the fence, inside the fence. You could see where that would inflame some passions.”

‘IT WAS JUST A DRAWING’

Mary Brinegar, the arboretum’s president and CEO for the past 19 years, wasn’t formally involved with the arboretum in 1987 when the first battle broke out, but she knows the history.

Brinegar, much like former board chairman Ralph Rogers, can be a polarizing figure. People seem to either adore or abhor her, depending on their views of the arboretum, because she is the driving force for what it has become.

And what the arboretum is not, Brinegar says, is a land grabber.

“We’re not into eminent domain. We’re not into taking anything,” she says of the Winfrey Point parking issue.

“We were in the early stages of ‘what if?’ To even have it be a consideration, there had to be a drawing, but it was just a drawing, and it was just the beginning of an idea.

“The fear that some people had is we would go forward with it without them having a chance to say anything about it,” she says. “It was never the intent. We were so far away from ever seeing it fly.”

The arboretum does nothing in a hurry, Brinegar says, because it wants to do everything with the utmost quality. The most recent example is the children’s garden, which took 17 years from the time it was dreamed up to the day it opened. Everything starts with plans and studies, Brinegar says, and “then you go back and say, ‘Now, how do you feel about it?’ ” Winfrey Point would have been no different.

“We’re sensitive to how people feel about the lake,” Brinegar says, “but we are not here to try to take over anything unless people want us to help.”

The arboretum thought it could improve Winfrey Point, just as it has spent the last three decades trying to improve everything in its care, Brinegar says. Pro-

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testors, however, believed neither Winfrey Point nor the rest of White Rock Lake Park needed improving. They seem to find the notion of “improving” nature insulting.

“If you read the press coverage from 2012, there’s a lot derisive statements by arboretum people, the theme of which is, ‘Our opponents don’t know what they’re talking about, and it’s really none of their business,’ ” Jung says.

“It’s an undercurrent of, ‘How dare you interfere with what we want to do? Don’t you know who we are?’ ”

‘MUCH MORE’ THAN A GARDEN

Current arboretum board chairman Bill Graue likes to point out that the arboretum has been the top Dallas attraction on customer review website tripadvisor.com for five years running. He pulls out his phone during the interview just to double check.

“No. 1 out of 110 Dallas attractions,” he confirms.

In recent years, “we really have vaulted into the group of premiere gardens in the nation,” one of only 14 in the “large garden” category, defined by a budget greater than $10 million. Officials from those 14 gardens recently convened at the arboretum and were given tours, one of which was led by Shivers. The president of another garden who was part of his tour later told Brinegar she would never let her board chairman lead garden tours because he didn’t have the competence to do so.

But that’s just the culture of the Dallas Arboretum, Shivers says. The directors know the gardens inside and out. They wear their nametags when they visit, answering tourists’ questions and picking up trash.

“You will not see litter because somebody with a nametag is going to spot it and jump on it,” Shivers says.

Compared to the nation’s other top gardens, the arboretum provides considerably more educational experiences for children, Graue says, and has much lower operating costs per visitor, even though it receives only a small fraction of what other gardens receive in taxpayer support — last year, Dallas contributed roughly $270,000 to the arboretum’s $18 million budget.

The city loves to praise the arboretum as its most successful public-private partnership, Shivers says, and he likes to needle, “Yeah, ’cause you don’t give us any money, and we give you all this.”

The arboretum staff and directors built their garden empire from the ground up. They see themselves as a flourishing nonprofit rather than a run-of-the-mill city park. They don’t understand why a beautiful landscape that receives international acclaim elicits complaints from its closest neighbors. Some directors attribute it to the not-in-my-backyard factor, or the fact that anything as prominent as the arboretum will have detractors.

They’re missing the point, Jung says.

Residents who take issue with the arboretum “want it to stay within its bounds — that’s the big one — and to a smaller degree, they want it to be a different kind of arboretum than it is,” Jung says.

The arboretum isn’t a nature organization, Jung says; it’s an arts organization. He gives the analogy of attending a concert at a symphony hall versus sitting outside and listening to birds sing.

“What does the symphony do? Humans manipulate musical instruments to create a performance. What does the art museum do? It displays objects where humans have manipulated canvas or stone to create a performance,” Jung says.

“I think the arboretum is a society devoted to the human manipulation of nature.”

Before it was the Dallas Arboretum, the land was simply a city park. And not just any park but dozens of acres along the

shore of White Rock Lake, long treasured as the city’s jewel. Dallasites could enjoy a picnic, toss a Frisbee, play catch and enjoy the view. Today, residents need to fork over $15 for admission and $15 for parking to visit arboretum land they technically own.

Perhaps the city’s contribution to the arboretum wouldn’t be so meager, Jung says, if it were a nature preserve or another not-so-highly cultivated place “where you weren’t constantly switching flowers out of flowerbeds and pitching tents for a festival and buying insurance for the Chihuly glass.”

Ultimately, the conflict lies with two groups of people whose perspective depends on whether they’re sitting inside or outside the fence. The grass is greener, the tulips or wildflowers prettier, on their respective sides. It’s been that way for 30 years.

Brinegar knows she has some enemies around the lake. She makes no excuses, however, for what the arboretum has become. It was the city’s intent to have a “world-class” arboretum and botanical garden, and that’s exactly what she believes that she and others have built.

“There were people at that time who didn’t want us to be here. Life was great before it became this,” Brinegar says. “They have the right to that opinion. Some have changed that opinion because they didn’t know what we would be.”

Nevertheless, she says, “here we are, and our role in stewardship is to do the best job we possibly can to make it worthy of the city’s name, to gain national attention for our city, and to be the best of the best.

“A lot of people use the words ‘world class’ too quickly,” Brinegar says, “but we’re really working at that level.”

Shivers says people have started asking what the board will do when Brinegar eventually retires (no retirement is planned at this time, Brinegar says). Will the board hire someone from another garden?

Maybe, Shivers says.

“But we’ll probably be just as likely to hire someone from Disney or something like that — someone who knows how to run a public attraction.

“Because while we are a garden, we’re much more than that.”

RALPH ROGERS AND MARY BRINEGAR: The arboretum’s moneymakers

TheDallas Arboretum is not often mentioned in the late Ralph Rogers’ extensive list of accomplishments.

Along with the acclaim he receives for founding Texas Industries (TXI) and saving PBS during the Nixon administration, Rogers also is credited with turning around both St. Mark’s School and the Dallas Symphony, turning Parkland Hospital into a top medical institution, and being instrumental in finding the cure for rheumatic fever, from which he almost died in his 30s.

The list goes on. People who knew Rogers describe him as an indomitable force who would not take “no” for an answer. It’s both the reason he was so successful in his many philanthropic endeavors, as well as the quality that garnered him enemies. As chairman of the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society, a role that lasted only from 1984 to 1986, Rogers set the tone for the garden’s future and was the driving force in fundraising efforts.

There would be no Dallas Arboretum if it weren’t for Ralph Rogers, said the late Robert Hoffman in Rogers’ 1997 Dallas Morning News obituary. Hoffman succeeded Rogers as society chairman.

“He had a vision for the garden, and he understood and appreciated how important it could become for Dallas,” Hoffman said.

Rogers had two natural connections to the arboretum. He was an avid gardener (the garden at his summer home in Maine earned a gold medal from the Massachusetts Horticulture Society as the nation’s best) and his wife, Mary Nell, was Nell DeGolyer’s niece. The Rogers family temporarily lived with the DeGolyers in 1950, when they moved to Dallas.

It was Rogers who purchased the Camp estate on behalf of the society. He didn’t just hand it over, however; the society had to raise the money to pay for it. In a 1978 letter, then-Dallas Park Board president Sid Stahl details a conversation in which Rogers tells Stahl “he felt that if he just gave the property to the Arboretum Society, the society would never do what it needs to do in order to get properly on its feet.” At that point, the city had terminated its contract with the society on the arboretum land because the society had failed to raise the contingent $200,000. Rogers’ purchase of the Camp estate, which the city had been hoping to add to its arboretum land, was a way to get the society back in the game as well as a carrot to dangle in front of the directors.

During his years on the society board, Rogers helped raise $16 million in donations and pledges, half of which he personally solicited from Ross Perot (though

A crowd gathers for the grand opening of the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden in 2013, constructed with $63 million in funds raised mostly via private and corporate donations, the largest of which came from the Meyers family: Photo by Brandy Barham

Three

Quality.

$6 million of the $8 million never materialized). Then in the scuttle of the late ’80s, Rogers left the board.

“I feel very sad, because when they made me chairman, they did it not because of my horticultural ability; they thought I could raise enough money to make this dream come true,” Rogers said in a 1988 story in the Dallas Morning News former Sunday magazine, Dallas Life.

The arboretum survived without Rogers, but it wasn’t until 1996 that another visionary came along who would push the arboretum to greater heights. After cycling through four presidents in 12 years, the society board hired Dallas legacy Mary Brinegar, the granddaughter of Dallas Mayor R.L. Thornton, as the arboretum’s president and CEO.

Previous presidents had backgrounds in botany, engineering and business. Brinegar’s expertise was fundraising and managing nonprofits. She didn’t know much of anything about horticulture when she accepted the job, she says.

“When I came here, even the man who helped me with my garden was scared,” Brinegar says, laughing at the recollection.

It didn’t matter. What she didn’t know, she was determined to learn from the garden’s experts. And what she quickly learned is that the arboretum lived and died by its annual Dallas Blooms festival.

“If we had a rainy Blooms, we were in trouble,” says current board chairman Bill Graue.

Brinegar set out to make the arboretum a year-round attraction. A prime example is that the autumn festival that featured the fickle chrysanthemum gave way to a village of pumpkins — a much more dependable and enduring plant that has made the Autumn at the Arboretum festival even more popular than Dallas Blooms.

Brinegar’s aim to make the arboretum “beautiful all year long” created a domino effect of more visitors, more members, more wedding and event bookings, more publicity and more donors. When Brinegar was hired, the arboretum wasn’t known to many people outside of our neighborhood, says Graue, who grew up down the street on Garland Road.

“People didn’t really want to go east of Central Expressway,” he says. “This was kind

6011 Melody Lane, Dallas, TX 75231

Value. Pride.

Fountains Retirement Community

of a scary place for them. It really wasn’t scary, but it was difficult to get people to come over here. To a very large extent, we’ve given people a reason to see East Dallas. We’ve put East Dallas back on the map.”

The arboretum’s annual budget was roughly $3 million when Brinegar arrived. Nineteen years later, it’s $20.5 million. She attributes the success simply to quality.

“We know bad when we see it; we know exciting when we see it,” she says. “We’re not flip. We don’t do anything quickly here.

“If you wait around long enough, and you get it right, and the quality is just outstanding, people believe in you,” Brinegar says. “They renew their membership because it’s a place you can count on. It’s going to be impeccably clean and beautifully attended to.”

Her reputation among the staff and directors is someone who does everything with purpose and precision. They chuckle about receiving Brinegar’s middle-of-thenight emails and joke about the litmus test for new arboretum employees — take them into the arboretum’s Rosine Hall and ask them to “look around and tell me what Mary would see,” says longtime board member Brian Shivers. Brinegar would spot cobwebs in the corner, a light bulb out, a stain on the wall, “the little details, not just the big obvious stuff,” he says.

When asked directly about her accomplishments, Brinegar deflects the praise onto “the passionate love that people have for this garden and the way so many people have worked together to make it successful.”

Her board knows better.

She was hired the same year her cousin, R.L. “Bob” Thornton III, was elected chairman of the board and began leading the arboretum in restructuring efforts and in fundraising for the Trammel Crow Visitor Education Pavilion.

But Thornton’s most important legacy, Shivers believes, is Brinegar.

“Mary has really turned us all into grownups,” he says.

Brinegar has no plans to leave or retire in the near future, she says, as long as the board wants her to stay.

Graue is grateful she’s planning to stay: If the arboretum lost her, he says, “I’d be run out of the state.”

Here comes the neighborhood

A modern multiuse development, a new community center, bike paths and a vibrant retail scene around Skillman-635 — could it happen?

Story by Christina Hughes Babb | Photos by Danny Fulgencio

When it comes to development in Lake Highlands, most of us think of Lake Highlands Town Center. That is understandable, but the focus on central Lake Highlands has obscured a quieter but arguably more consequential undertaking near its northeast gateway: a total revitalization of one of our neighborhood’s most problematic areas, 635-Skillman.

In the February Lake Highlands Advocate, we reported on the effort to realign a major traffic trouble spot, Skillman where it intersects 635 (the story is also available on lakehighlands.advocatemag.com). The Skillman realignment is the “linchpin” for a broader initiative to reimagine and develop the surrounding area, said Lake Highlands resident Susan Morgan, a member of both the LBJ-Skillman Interchange Task Force and the LBJ (635)-Skillman Urban Planning Initiative committees, in last month’s report. This month we take a closer look at possible development around the Skillman-635 intersection.

TheDART station at Skillman and 635 includes work by local artists commemorating Lady Bird Johnson’s highway beautification project — station columns feature stylized tire-tread patterns, tables await picnickers, and native wildflowers line the parking lot and entrance.

Unfortunately, the station is isolated, underutilized and not very accessible.

But this DART station could be the centerpiece for a future transit-oriented, mixeduse development.

It is one of four pinpointed development opportunities in the 635-Skillman land-use

A VISION FOR LAKE HIGHLANDS: PART 2

study, adopted by the Dallas City Council last year as a guideline for development in the area, which includes approximately 703 acres bound by Forest Lane, Royal Lane635, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad tracks, and Arbor Park.

Based on a 2012 DART occupancy count,

of the 733 spaces in the Skillman station’s park-and-ride lot only 104 spaces are typically used.

Imagine a future in which this desolate DART station, on the fringe of Lake Highlands, is a hotspot for shopping, working, beauty treatments, and patio dining — a

The Skillman-635 DART station is the focus of a possible new development.

place where people live in second-floor apartments; walk along safe, wide pedestrian paths; ride the DART rail to destinations citywide; or pedal along a convenient bike path with access to the region’s extensive trail network.

The benefits of such a development could extend to other areas of northeast Dallas and Lake Highlands, says Tip Housewright, whose firm Omniplan worked on both the realignment plan and the Skillman-635 vision plan, which includes goals for each of the four corners of 635-Skillman.

“This is really trying to create a new future for this district, something and much better [than what exists now],” he told a group of Lake Highlands residents recently. “Higher quality developments that work off the DART station and take advantage of the new intersection. You’ll have four corners that are much more useable.”

The community-led Skillman realignment project (outlined in the February issue) was the catalyst for the Skillman-LBJ Urban Planning Initiative Study, which proposes the aforementioned land-use changes, says Morgan, who helped recruit Housewright and his firm to work on the realignment and land-use studies pro bono.

“Once we started getting somewhere with the realignment project, it was suggested that we do a land-use study, which

is what this is,” Morgan says. “Once you fix the transportation infrastructure, you will want to have some guidance on what you do with the land use around that.”

The realignment could free up about nine acres of valuable land. Developers will see it as a new opportunity, Morgan says.

are

“This is what you call infill development,” she explains.

“Anyone can build farther out, sprawl, but undeveloped land inside the city, infill property, is more valuable.”

Suggestions within the study include a community center on Whitehurst, complementing The New Room/Feed Lake Highlands center and Quest Care Clinic as well as redeveloping aging gated apartment complexes and turning them into modern multifamily communities with publically

accessible parks, trails and walkways.

This comprehensive land-use study, about 250 pages in all, was one of nine planning projects selected for North Central Texas Council of Governments funding in the amount of $44.8 million. It received an additional $9.6 million (20 percent of the grant) from the Skillman Corridor Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District because it aims to accomplish the same goals as a TIF district — identify redevelopment and transit-oriented opportunities, promote sustainable living and economic growth, and increase public safety.

Designs outline what the 635-Skillman area might look like in the future, Housewright says. The study takes into consideration copious research and data, including the results of a survey distributed to Lake Highlands and northeast Dallas residents, and public feedback from community meetings and workshops, as well as an analysis of existing conditions by a team that includes professionals in urban planning and design, city and Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) staff, architects, and all manner of representatives from Lake Highlands area organizations and businesses.

The Skillman realignment issue aside, the biggest obstacles in the 635-Skillman area, according to the study, are a surplus of outdated multifamily dwellings and retail that struggles to attract patrons.

The corners surrounding Skillman-635 are ripe for redevelopment, experts say.

“Higher quality developments that work off the DART station and take advantage of the new intersection. You’ll have four corners that

much more useable.”

Issues related to fragmented, congested and unsafe local streets run a close third.

“The predominant land use is multifamily and commercial. Most of the multifamily units are two-story apartment buildings that were built for single-use individuals,” according to the study. “These apartment buildings weren’t built with families in mind, so the area lacks infrastructure and basic community needs such as open space, parks and libraries.”

Though the majority of residents who responded to the survey indicated a desire for less density in the area, the land-use study allows for continued density. It does, however, recommend the elimination and redevelopment of older multifamily properties, in ways that “provide better access or quality open space.”

The housing vacancy rate in these north

Lake Highlands-area properties is significantly higher than the city’s, a condition that indicates they are ready for redevelop-

NOTE ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATIONS:

“These renderings are generic in nature and are intended to reflect the type of development, and redevelopment, desired in the area. These layouts reflect the vision of the community and represent what could potentially happen in the future if property owners desire to redevelop their properties,” according to the Urban Planning Initiative Study.

RECOMMENDED READING:

• LBJ Urban Planning Initiative Study, for a detailed look at the possibilities for 700 acres of land surrounding 635-Skillman. Available at lakehighlands.advocatemag.com, or purchase a printed volume at the office supply store My Office at 9660 Audelia (214.221.0011).

• The Death and Life of Great American Cities, by Jane Jacobs. Released in 1961, it revolutionized modern city planning and architectural design. 635-Skillman improvement advocate Susan Morgan says she “found the book extremely inspirational. It’s about New York and Jersey, but it was fascinating because I was reading, going, ‘That’s Dallas.’ The concepts in that book help you make sense of why urban planning is like it is.”

Existing businesses, like Denny’s and Taco Bueno at the southwest corner of 635-Skillman, would not be forced out.

“These buildings are shown in this vision as staying in place. If properties in the study area choose to maintain their current structures and uses, site planning for any adjacent new development should still encourage development patterns that can sustain a mix of activities.”

Segments of the plan focused on walkability and quality of life include more connectivity to the sprawling and attractive Richland College campus, north of Lake Highlands at Walnut and Abrams.

ment, according to the study.

Rather than gated apartment communities, the plan calls for mixed-use retail/residential communities with open, publicly accessible space.

The land-use study was approved and adopted by the Dallas City Council in October 2014. That means that heretofore the city will consult the recommendations of this plan when any action is requested that

“These apartment buildings weren’t built with families in mind, so the area lacks infrastructure and basic community needs such as open space, parks and libraries.”

Both sketches by Omniplan show imagined redevelopment near Skillman-635. The Skillman-635 DART station, top, is underutilized and offers an opportunity for a modern mixed-use space. An anticipated new bridge along Skillman could be the catalyst for improvement in the area, urban designers say.

would affect the 635-Skillman area.

“The fact is that we have this urban plan on paper, we have something to help us navigate this area. If you didn’t have it, someone could come along and build something you’d be stuck with the next 30 years,” Morgan says. “There are just so many positives about all of this that it’s hard to enumerate them all.”

This was the second installation of a multi-part series about the vision for Lake Highlands. We will explore more about implementation, as well as the details and timeline of the I-635 LBJ East Project, which is vital to the whole 635-Skillman vision, in future segments. Also look for stories about the upcoming District 10 City Council election and more. See the first installation, about the Skillman realignment and bridge project, in last month’s magazine or at lakehighlands.advocatemag.com.

THE market

FOSSIL RIM WILDLIFE CENTER

Tours

2299 County Road 2008 Glen Rose, Texas 76043 254.897.2960 fossilrim.org

Book a guided family tour to get the full experience on one of Fossil Rim’s open-air vehicles. Sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery of over 1000 animals on our 1800-acre preserve.

LAKE HIGHLANDS ACUPUNCTURE

Health & Wellness

10252 E. Northwest Highway 214-267-8636

lakehighlandsacupuncture.com

The World Health Organization recommends acupuncture for: chronic pain, high blood pressure, depression/anxiety, digestive problems (IBS, heartburn), common cold, allergies and more! Come see why! Now accepting insurance!

LAKE HIGHLANDS FLOWERS

Florist 9661 Audelia Road, Suite 118 214.340.9950

shopLHF.com

Do you know a woman who should be celebrated? We can help. We offer the finest floral arrangements in the neighborhood, so stop by today.

BEADS OF SPLENDOR

Bead Boutique & Gift Gallery

9047 Garland Rd. Dallas, TX 75218 214.824.2777 beadsofsplendor.com

Come visit us at our new, bigger & more beautiful location. Splendor offers introductory + advanced jewelry classes, jewelry co-design, + jewelry making supplies. Current class schedule: www.beadsofsplendor.com

TWINBOWS EMBROIDERY

Embroidery

10139 Shoreview Road (NW Hwy @ Ferndale) 214.340.9744

We offer quick turnaround, quality embroidery at competitive prices! We are located in Shoreview Shopping Center across the street from Kaycee Pool.

Call for a Tour

ITBS Test Scores

CLAIRE’S CHRISTIAN DAY SCHOOL

LAKEHILL PREPARATORY SCHOOL

your child’s academic journey close to home. Ave. Dallas TX 75208 • 214-942-2220 www.thekesslerschool.com

PreK - 6th Grades

Ratio Accredited Programs Care Grades Lessons offered weekly Computer Curriculum

PreK - 6th Grades

We educate the Whole child Low Teacher Student Ratio

SACS/CASI Accredited

We Educate the Whole Child

After School Enrichment Programs

Before & After School Care

Low Teacher Student Ratio

Art, Music, Library Time, Daily Spanish, Reading Lab

SACS/CASI Accredited After School Enrichment Programs

8202 Boedeker Dr., / (214) 368-4047 / clairesdayschool.com At CCDS, we encourage a child’s sense of exploration and discovery in a loving, nurturing, and safe environment. We offer a parent’s day out program with a play-based curriculum fostering socialization, motor skill development, and an introduction to academics for children aged 4mo – 3yrs. Our preschool for children aged 3-5 further develops these skills, along with a more focused approach to pre-math and prereading. At CCDS, we have developed our own science, math, and reading enrichment classes to ensure kindergarten preparedness for every child. We make learning fun!

DALLAS ACADEMY

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

SPANISH HOUSE

Before & After School Care

1215 Turner Ave. Dallas TX 75208 214-942-2220

TheKesslerSchool.com

Art, Music, Library Time, Daily Spanish, Reading Lab

The Kessler PumPKin PaTch anD arT Fair saT OcT 5

Build analytical skills, self-esteem and character... Just don’t tell the kids, they just think... CHESS IS FUN!

1215 Turner Ave. Dallas, TX 75208 214-942-2220

TheKesslerschool.com

Ages 7 to 14 on the UT Dallas campus. For Beginners, Intermediate or Advanced

Morning (9 am-noon) or afternoon (1-4 pm) sessions.

June 8-12, June 15-19, July 13-17, July 20-24, 2015 and extended playing classes.

972-883-4899

utdallas.edu/chess james.stallings@utdallas.edu

950 Tiffany Way, Dallas 75218 / 214.324.1481 / dallas-academy.com Founded in 1965, Dallas Academy’s mission is to restore the promise of full academic enrichment to students with learning differences in grades 1-12. A meaningful connection with each student is established to overcome barriers to success. Dallas Academy offers students an effective program and strategies to meet the special educational needs of bright students with learning differences, while including the activities of a larger, more traditional school. Classes are small, with a student-teacher ratio of 6 to 1 where students are encouraged, praised, and guided toward achieving their goals. Diagnostic testing is available to students throughout the community.

HIGHLANDER SCHOOL

9120 Plano Rd. Dallas / 214.348.3220 / www. highlanderschool.com Founded in 1966, Highlander School offers an enriched curriculum in a positive, Christian-based environment. Small class sizes help teachers understand the individual learning styles of each student. Give us a call for more information.

THE KESSLER SCHOOL

Pre K – 6th Grade / 1215 Turner Ave, Dallas TX 75208 / 214-942-2220 / www. thekesserschool.com The Kessler School offers an innovative academic environment that gives students a solid foundation, confidence, and a love of learning. Located just minutes from downtown Dallas; The Kessler School’s mission is to “educate the whole child,” and provides an individualized approach to teaching – meeting the student where their needs are. Students are educated socially through community time, physically through daily PE, academically through a wellrounded curriculum, and spiritually through a fostering of awareness and individual growth.

69%

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

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, nativeSpanish speaking teachers in an “all-Spanish” immersion environment. Call for a tour today!

ST. CHRISTOPHER’S MONTESSORI SCHOOL

7900 Lovers Ln. / 214.363.9391

stchristophersmontessori.com

St. Christopher’s Montessori School has been serving families in the DFW area for over a quarter of a century. We are affiliated with the American Montessori Society and our teachers are certified Montessori instructors. Additionally our staff has obtained other complimentary educational degrees and certifications, including having a registered nurse on staff. Our bright and attractive environment, and highly qualified staff, ensures your child will grow and develop in an educationally sound, AMS certified loving program. Now Enrolling.

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.

THE UT DALLAS CHESS TEAM HAS BEEN 1ST IN 10 PAN-AM INTERCOLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIPS!

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION UT DALLAS CHESS CAMP

800 W. Campbell Rd., Richardson 75080 / (972) 883-4899 / utdallas.edu/chess ) 2014

Summer Chess Camp Campers learn while they PLAY. Chess develops reading, math, critical and analytical skills, and builds character and self-esteem. Just don’t tell the kids…they think chess is fun! Join beginner, intermediate or advanced chess classes for ages 7 to 14 on the UT Dallas campus. Morning (9am-noon) or afternoon (1-4pm) sessions are available June 8-12, June 15-19, July 13-17, July 20-24 and extended playing classes. Camp includes t-shirt, chess board and pieces, trophy, certificate, score book, group photo, snacks and drinks. Instructors are from among UT Dallas Chess Team PanAm Intercollegiate Champions for 2010-2012!

THE WINSTON SCHOOL

5707 Royal Lane Dallas, Tx 75229 / 214691-6950 / www.winston-school.org If your bright child struggles with things like Attention and Concentration, Executive Functioning and Dyslexia, The Winston School may be able to help. The Winston School has a robust academic program which prepares a student for college while at the same time developing the whole child. We understand bright children who learn differently and recognize their unique gifts and talents. Celebrating and validating these assets with our students enables them to discover who they are, and empowers them to be consistently successful. The Winston School brings hope for today and a road map for tomorrow.

WHITE ROCK NORTH SCHOOL

9727 White Rock Trail Dallas / 214.348.7410 / WhiteRockNorthSchool.com

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

ZION LUTHERAN SCHOOL

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

BUSINESS BUZZ

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

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Books and sporting goods

The 34,000-square-foot REI on Northwest Highway across Shady Brook from Half Price Books is nearing completion. REI, which sells outdoor recreation gear, sporting goods and clothing, anchors a brandnew shopping center, which is a part of Half Price Books’ plans to develop the six acres across the street from its flagship store. The bookseller, which operates 113 stores in 16 states, spent several years buying the acreage. REI is moving an existing store from Farmers Branch to this location. The center will have an additional 13,000 square feet of retail space.

Home improvement

A new Habitat for Humanity Restore opened last month in the old Big Lots space on Skillman at Abrams. The nonprofit home-improvement store, which benefits Habitat for Humanity, sells new and gently used furniture, home accessories, building materials and appliances. The store also accepts donations of furniture, appliances and building materials.

JCPenney woes

Plano-based JCPenney announced last month it would close 40 stores and cut 2,250 jobs. The store at Timbercreek Crossing (Skillman and Northwest Highway) is one that’s not currently on the chopping block.

Indoor playground

The new Wildcat Fun Zone indoor playground opened last month inside the Lake Highlands North Recreation Center, 9440 White Rock Trail. Kids younger than 5 can climb, crawl and explore the indoor playground, which Dallas Park and Recreation officials say is the first of its kind in Dallas rec centers. The project was made possible in large part by the Lake Highlands Junior Women’s League, whose members raised more than $80,000 for the design, construction and installation.

REI on Northwest Highway

People

American Airlines’ first Boeing 787 Dreamliner rolled out last month to much fanfare, and its pilot was Lake Highlands High School alumnus Jim Dees. Dees flew the first leg of the threehour trip from Washington to Dallas, and Captain Bill Elder took the second. Reportedly, the Dreamliner is made of composite materials and is 20 percent more fuel efficient than previous planes.

Lake Highlands High School alumnus and neighborhood resident Brad Walker received an Academy Award in February, his second in five years. Walker is part of a team of current and former Texas Instrument employees the Academy honored as the inventors of the digital cinema projector using Digital Light Processing technology. Walker and his wife, Linda, attended the technical awards presentation dinner in Hollywood Feb. 7.

Runner Nicole Studer, who lives near and trains often at White Rock Lake, set an American record last month, clocking the fastest time ever recorded by a female in a 100-mile trail race. Studer finished in 14 hours 22 minutes in the 2015 Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile. The closest woman was more than an hour behind her. She won $2,000 — $1,000 for winning the race, and $1,000 for breaking the record.

Lake Highlands Junior High School teacher Nakenya Claiborne and 10 of her current and former students appeared on the “Steve Harvey Show” in February. Claiborne, who teaches eighth-grade English, appeared on the show as part of a matchmaking segment after her mother called the show. Claiborne knew she would be set up with several bachelors, but she didn’t expect to see her students. The show flew them into Chicago as a surprise.

Community

Save the date, Saturday March 7, for the Connect the Plots community garden tour. According to organizer A.L. Nickerson of the Lake Highlands Community Garden, “the goal is to get all the community gardeners and supporters together to share information, reliable suppliers, gardening best practices, war stories and probably pain remedies ...” It will be similar to East Dallas’ popular chicken coop tour, he says, but free. For more details, visit lakehighlands.advocatemag.com.

School

Adam Meierhofer, Richardson ISD school board member, Place 1, has decided not to run for re-election this May. Jean Bono from Lake Highlands is running to replace him. Eron Linn of Richardson has announced he will run for the board’s Place 5 spot. Kim Caston, board president, is expected to run again in Place

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 of the month prior to the month of publication.

BAPTIST

LAKESIDE BAPTIST / 9150 Garland Rd / 214.324.1425

Worship — 8:30 am Classic & 11:00 am Contemporary

Pastor Jeff Donnell / www.lbcdallas.com

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

All services & Bible Study 9:15 & 10:45. Trad. & Blended (Sanctuary),

Contemporary (Great Hall), Amigos de Dios (Gym) / 214.860.1500

PRESTONWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH / “A Church to Call Home”

Sundays: Bible Fellowship (all ages) 9:15 am /Service Time 11:00 am

12123 Hillcrest Road / 972.820.5000 / prestonwood.org

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 / THE TABLE Worship 9:30 am

Worship 8:30 & 10:50 am / 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

WHITE ROCK UNITED METHODIST / www.wrumc.org

1450 Oldgate Lane / 214.324.3661

Sunday Worship 10:50 am / Rev. Mitchell Boone

NON-DENOMINATIONAL

LAKE HIGHLANDS CHURCH / 9919 McCree / 214.348.0460

Sundays: Classes 9:30, Coffee 10:25, Assembly 10:45

Home groups meet on weeknights. / lakehighlandschurch.org

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

Summer Worship: May 25 - Aug. 31 / 10:00am / 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

CRITICISM THAT CONSTRUCTS

Do your critiques find faults or

Who we become in life is partly what we do with the gifts we are given by God. What we do with the gifts we are given is partly owed to the encouragement we receive along the way.

The film “The Last Quartet” recounts a moment in the life of cellist Peter Mitchell. Mitchell taught at Julliard but is battling Parkinson’s disease.

Mitchell tells about his relationship with the great Spanish cellist, Pablo Casals. Their first encounter found the 20-year-old Mitchell silent before the master.

“I was so intimidated I could barely speak. Casals must’ve sensed it because, instead of a chat, he asked me to play. He requested the prelude to the Fourth Bach Suite. I took a deep breath, I began, the notes started to flow, the music’s in the air, and it was the worst music I’d ever made. I played so badly, I got halfway and had to stop.

“Bravo,” he said, “well done.”

“Then he asked me to play the allemande. A second chance! I never played worse.

“Wonderful. Splendid.” He praised me.

“When I left that night, I felt terrible about my performances, but what really bothered me wasn’t my playing, it was Casals. The insincerity.

“Years later, I met him in Paris, and by then I was a professional, we’d played together. We became acquaintances, and one evening, over a glass of wine, I confessed to him what I thought was his insincerity all those years ago. And he got angry. His demeanor changed, he grabbed his cello.

“Listen!” he said. And Casals played a specific phrase from the Bach prelude.

“Didn’t you play that fingering? You did, and it was novel to me. It was good! And here, in this passage from the allemande, didn’t you attack it with an up-bow like this?” Casals played the passage.

“Casals emphasized the good stuff. The

point out strengths?

things he enjoyed. He encouraged. And for the rest leave that to those who judge by counting faults.

‘’I can be grateful,” he said, “and so must you be, for even one singular, one transcendent moment.”

Parents and grandparents, teachers and preachers, bosses and coaches are positioned to influence young people for good or ill. We all want to coax the best from them,

but how we do so can make all the difference.

Criticism that only finds faults tends to build a mentality in the young person that focuses on avoiding mistakes. It breeds caution. It makes one tentative. Criticism (not a negative word) that points out strengths tends to build confidence in the young person that breeds courage and risk-taking.

That’s not to say that discipline never involves addressing bad behavior or poor decisions. But people tend to grow in the direction of the guidance they receive.

St. Paul commanded children to obey their parents, but then he added this caution: “Fathers, do not provoke your children, or they may lose heart.” Provoking can happen in many ways, but always focusing on what they are doing wrong is surely one of them.

Discouragement means losing heart. Conversely, encouragement puts heart into someone. Whether in the home, on the playing field, in the office or school, those in authority want to bring the best out of their charges.

Focusing on the good stuff is good mentoring.

“Casals emphasized the good stuff. The things he enjoyed. He encouraged. And for the rest ... leave that to those who judge by counting faults.”

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.

to make lines of copy be close to each other — use “shift return” instead of just return between lines

Musical heroine

The Lake Highlands Exchange Club honored Jeri Johnston as an “unsung hero” this morning for her work as creator of the Artists of Christian Talent program at Lake Highlands Methodist Church. More than 2,500 students have participated in the program’s Broadway-style musicals since Johnston started it in 1976. From left to right: Greg Duval , Bob and Jeri Johnston , Larry Engel , Paula Davis , Sabrina Hancock and Jill Jackson-Sears.

Local Resources

TO ADVERTISE 214.560.4203

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,

ARTISTIC GATHERINGS

Casa Linda Plaza. Art Classes & Drop In Pottery Painting For All Ages. 214-821-8383. Tues-Sat 10am-6pm

GUITAR OR PIANO Patient Teacher. Your Home. 12 Yrs Exp. Reasonable rates. UNT Grad. Larry 469-358-8784

MATHNASIUM has a new Math Learning Center at 7324 Gaston mathnasium.com/dallaslakewood 214-328-MATH (6284)

MUSIC INSTRUCTION Especially For Young People

Aged 5-12. Guitar, Piano, Percussion. ChildPlayMusicSchool.com. 214-733-1866

Learn to draw this summer with Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain ®

Visit

Classes

www.PerceptionDrawing.com

Brenda Catlett Certified Instructor (972)989-0546

Local BULLETIN BOARD

CHILDCARE

LOVING, CHRIST-CENTERED CARE SINCE 1982 Lake Highlands Christian Child Enrichment Center Ages 2 mo.-12 yrs. 9919 McCree. 214-348-1123.

EMPLOYMENT

AIRLINE CAREERS Get FAA Approved Maintenance Training At Campuses Coast To Coast. Job Placement Assistance. Financial Aid For Qualifying Students. Military Friendly. AIM 866-453-6204

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

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

EARN RESIDUAL INCOME learn how to earn income on Energy and Mobile Service. Call Jay 214-707-9379.

SERVICES FOR YOU

AT ODDS WITH YOUR COMPUTER? Easily Learn Essential Skills. Services include Digital Photo Help. Sharon 214-679-9688 CONFUSED? FRUSTRATED? Let A Seasoned Pro Be The Interface Between You & That Pesky Computer. Hardware & Software Installation, Troubleshooting, Training. $60/hr. 1 hr min. Dan 214-660-3733 or stykidan@sbcglobal.net

SERVICES FOR YOU

DISH TV RETAILER Starting at $19.99/month (for 12 months) & High Speed Internet starting at $14.95/month (where available)

Save. Ask about Same Day Installation 1-800-615-4064

FUNCTIONAL ART BY MD SOLIS

Metal & Wood Artworks for the home or office. 214-727-7957

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

LEGAL SERVICES

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

A WILL? THERE IS A WAY Estate/Probate matters. Free Consultation. 214-802-6768 MaryGlennAttorney.com

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

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

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

DALLAS INSURANCE SERVICES

Life, Health, Medicare Specialist. Jim. 30 Yrs. Exp. dis2insurance.com 214-507-3304

Have a ball

Students from about 20 Dallas-area high schools, including several from Lake Highlands High School, attended the 56th annual Junior Symphony Ball at Gilley’s Entertainment in February. Proceeds will go toward education and community outreach programs of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Pictured from left to right: Jack Cronin, Matthew Johnson and Mary Lea Phillips.

Local

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

EAST DALLAS CPA Tax and Accounting

For Small Businesses And Individuals

Ragan McCoy, CPA 214-202-6525 ragan@eastdallascpa.com

FARMERS INSURANCE CALL JOSH JORDAN 214-364-8280. Auto, Home, Life Renters.

MIND, BODY & SPIRIT

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

PERSONAL FITNESS TRAINING To Suit Your Specific Training Needs. Terry 214-206-7823. terryrjacobs@outlook.com

APRIL DEADLINE MARCH 11

MIND, BODY & SPIRIT

Obesity Research Study

Candidates must be:

Women (Age 65-75) or Men (Age 20-45 or 65-75) Healthy, Non-smokers, without Asthma or Diabetes Includes either a weight loss program or an exercise training and weight loss program. Compensation will be provided for participant’s time. Please call 214-345-6574 or email IEEMLUNG@texashealth.org

PET SERVICES

DEE’S DOGGIE DEN Daycare, Boarding, Grooming, Training. 6444 E. Mockingbird Ln. 214-823-1441 DeesDoggieDen.com

HOMEGROWN HOUNDS DOG DELI / BAKERY Healthy homemade dog food/treats. 100% goes to rescue. hghdogs.com

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

SKILLMAN ANIMAL CLINIC Is Your Friendly, Personal, Affordable Vet. 9661 Audelia Rd. #340. 214-341-6400

In-Home Professional Care

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

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

BUY/SELL/TRADE

TEXAS RANGERS AND DALLAS STARS

front row seats. Share prime, front-row Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars tickets (available in sets of 10 games). Prices start at $105 per ticket (sets of 2 or 4 tickets per game available) Seats are behind the plate and next to the dugouts for the Rangers: seats are on the glass and on the Platinum Level for the Stars. Other great seats available starting at $60 per ticket. Entire season available except for opening game; participants randomly draw numbers prior to the season to determine a draft order fair for everyone. Call 214-560-4212 or rwamre@advocatemag.com

TOP CASH FOR CARS Any Car, Truck. Running or Not. Call for Instant Offer. 1-800-454-6951

ESTATE/GARAGE SALES

ALL POINTS PROPERTY SERVICES Estate / Moving Sales. Cleanouts. Moving organization. We Can Help! 972-686-7919

CLUTTERBLASTERS.COM-ESTATE SALES

Moving/DownSizing Sales, Storage Units.

Organize/De-Clutter Donna 972-679-3100

APPLIANCE

JESSE’S A/C & APPLIANCE SERVICE

TACLB13304C All Makes/Models. 214-660-8898 Serving

Since 1993

Repairing: Refrigerators •Washer/Dryers

• Ice Makers •Stoves • Cooktops • Ovens 214✯823✯2629

BLINDS, SHADES & DRAPERIES

SMARTLOOKS WINDOW & WALL DECOR Window Treatments & Repair. 972-699-1151

CABINETRY & FURNITURE

SQUARE NAIL WOODWORKING

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

CARPENTRY & REMODELING

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

FENN CONSTRUCTION Any Tile Anywhere. 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.org 214-403-7247

BRIAN GREAM RENOVATIONS LLC

• 1 & 2 Story Additions

• Complete Renovations

• Kitchens/Baths

• Licensed/Insured 214.542.6214

CLEANING SERVICES

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

AMAZON CLEANING

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

CALL GRIME STOPPERS • 214-724-2555

Wanted: Houses to Clean • 20 years experience. Dependable. Efficient. Great Prices. Excellent Refs.

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

DELTA CLEANING Insd./Bonded. Move In/Out. General Routine Cleaning. Carpet Cleaning. Refs. Reliable. Dependable. 28+yrs. 972-943-9280.

MAID 4 YOU Bonded/Insured. Park Cities/M Streets Refs. Call Us First. Joyce.214-232-9629

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

WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM

Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS

ALL COMPUTER PROBLEMS SOLVED

MAC/PC Great Rates! Keith 214-295-6367

BILL’S COMPUTER REPAIR

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

IT SOLUTIONS/SUPPORT For Home & Small Business. Parental Controls Speciality. 8 Yrs. Exp. Husband & Wife, Licensed Minister called to His Work. Texas Tech Guru. 214-850-2669

CONCRETE/ MASONRY/PAVING

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 Swimming

972-727-2727

Deckoart.com

R&M Concrete

Concrete Retaining Walls Driveways Stamped Concrete 214-202-8958

Bonded

ELECTRICAL SERVICES

ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricofdallas.com

Family Owned/Operated. Insd. 214-328-1333

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

GOVER ELECTRIC Back Up Generators. New and Remodel Work. Commercial & Residential. All Service Work. 469-230-7438. TECL2293

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

PayPal ®

WWW.BGRONTHEWEB.COM

BRIANGREAM@YAHOO.COM

TK Remodeling

Your neighborhood remodeler

•Repair •Remodeling •Restoration

•Complete full service

Name it — We do it

http://dallas.tkremodelingcontractors.com

Tommy 972-533-2872 INSURED

Unique Home Construction

- Design, Build, Remodel

- Kitchens & Baths

- New Construction or Additions

Many references available

- Licensed, Insured, Member of BBB www.uniquehomebuild.com

214.533.0716

CONCRETE/ MASONRY/PAVING

BRICK & STONE REPAIR

Don 214-704-1722

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

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

CONCRETE REPAIRS/REPOURS

Demo existing. Stamping and Staining Driveways/Patio/Walkways

Pattern/Color available

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

EXTERIOR CLEANING

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

FENCING & DECKS

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

4 QUALITY FENCING Call Mike 214-507-9322

Specializing in Wood, New or Repair.

AMBASSADOR FENCE INC.

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

HANNAWOODWORKS.COM Decks, Fences, Pergolas, Patio Covers. 214-435-9574

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

LONESTARDECKS.COM 214-357-3975

Trex Decking & Fencing, trex.com All Wood Decks, Arbors & Patio Covers

FENCING & DECKS 214.692.1991

EST. 1991 #1

COWBOY

FENCE & IRON CO.

SPECIALIZING IN Wood Fences &Auto Gates

cowboyfenceandiron.com

FIREPLACE SERVICES

CHIMNEY SWEEP Dampers/Brick & Stone Repair. DFW Metro. Don 214-704-1722

FLOORING & CARPETING

ALL WALKS OF FLOORS 214-616-7641 Carpet, Wood, Tile Sales/Service Free Estimates

CLIFTON CARPETS 214-526-7405 www.cliftoncarpets.com

DALLAS HARDWOODS 214-724-0936

Installation, Repair, Refinish, Wax, Hand Scrape. Residential, Commercial. Sports Floors. 25 Yrs.

FENN CONSTRUCTION Any Tile Anywhere. www.dallastileman.com Back Splash Specials! 214-343-4645

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

LONGHORN FLOORS LLC 972-768-4372. www.longhornflooring.com

N-HANCE WOOD RENEWAL. No Dust. No Mess. No Odor. nhance.com. 214-321-3012.

WILLEFORD HARDWOOD FLOORS

214-824-1166 • WillefordHardwoodFloors.com

CARPET HARDWOODS CERAMIC Quick, Reliable Installation John: 972.989.3533

john.roemen@redicarpet.com

REDI CARPET

Reinventing the Flooring Experience

Restoration Flooring

25+ Years Experience

469.774.3147

GARAGE DOORS

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

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

GLASS, WINDOWS & DOORS

A FATHER, SON & GRANDSON TEAM Expert Window Cleaning. Haven 214-327-0560

GREENGO WINDOWS & DOORS 903-802-6957, 214-755-6258

LAKE HIGHLANDS GLASS & MIRROR custom mirrors • shower enclosures store fronts • casements 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

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

GROOVY HOUSE Is A Different Handyman Experience! Find Out Why At www.groovyhouse.biz

214-733-2100 • 19 Year Lakewood Resident

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

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

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

WANTED: ODD JOBS & TO DO LISTS

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

Handy Dan

handy-dan.com Your Home Repair Specialists Drywall Doors Senior Safety Carpentry Small & Odd Jobs And More! 972-308-6035 HandymanMatters.com/dallas Bonded & Insured. Locally owned & operated.

HOUSE PAINTING

1 AFFORDABLE HOUSE PAINTING and Home Repair. Quality work. Inside and Out. Free Ests. Local Refs. Ron 972-816-5634 or 972-475-3928

#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

A1 TOP COAT Professional. Reliable. References. TopCoatOfTexas.com 214-770-2863

ABRAHAM PAINT SERVICE A Women Owned Business 25 Yrs. Int/Ext. Wall Reprs. Discounts On Whole Interiors and Exteriors 214-682-1541

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 & REPAIR Int./Ext. Sheetrock. Manny 214-334-2160

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

TEXAS BEST PAINTING • 214-527-4168

Master Painter. High Quality Work. Int/Ext.

TONY’S PAINTING SERVICE Quality Work

Since 1984. Int./Ext. 214-755-2700

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

BRIAN GREAM

PAINTING & RENOVATIONS LLC

• Interior/Exterior • Drywall • Rotten Wood • Gutters All

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

STONE AGE COUNTER TOPS

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

TK REMODELING 972-533-2872

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

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

WE REFINISH!

• Tubs, Tiles or Sinks

• Cultured Marble

• Kitchen Countertops

214-631-8719

www.allsurfacerefinishing.com

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

A BETTER TREE COMPANY • JUST TREES Complete tree services. Tree & Landscape Lighting! Mark 214-332-3444

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

A&B LANDSCAPING Full Landscape & Lawn Care Services. Degreed Horticulturist. 214-534-3816

ALL YARD SERVICES Fertilization, Trim, Edge, Color. Com./ Res. 30 Yrs. Exp. Call Brooks. 972-279-3564, 214-923-5439

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

PayPal ®

General Contracting Needs 214.542.6214

Exterior

FENN CONSTRUCTION Any Tile Anywhere. www.dallastileman.com Back Splash Specials! 214-343-4645

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

CHUPIK TREE SERVICE

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

COLE’S LAWN CARE • 214-327-3923 Quality Service with a Personal Touch.

DALLAS K.D.R.SERVICES • 214-349-0914

Lawn Service & Landscape Installation

GREENSKEEPER Winter Clean Up & Color. Sodding, Fertilization. Lawn Maintenance & Landscape. Res/Com. 214-546-8846

HOLMAN IRRIGATION

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

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

RONS LAWN Organic Solutions. Not Environmental Pollution. Landscape & Maintenance 972-222-LAWN (5296)

PLUMBING

POOLS

ADAIR POOL & SPA SERVICE

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

LOCK’S

PEST CONTROL

A BETTER EARTH PEST CONTROL Keeping the environment, kids, pets in mind. Organic products avail. 972-564-2495

MCDANIEL PEST CONTROL

Prices Start at $85 + Tax

For General Treatment.

Average Home-Interior/Exterior & Attached Garage. Quotes For Other Services. 214-328-2847. Lakewood Resident

Pest-Free · Hassle-Free

• Careful methods

• Respectful service

214-340-6969 safehavenpest.com

• State-of-the-art applications 4-340-6969 fehavenpest.com

PLUMBING

A2Z PLUMBING

214-727-4040

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

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

JUSTIN’S PLUMBING SERVICE

For All Your Plumbing Needs. ml#M24406 972-523-1336. www.justinsplumbing.com

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

REPAIRS, Fixtures, General Plumbing, Senior Discounts. Campbell Plumbing. 214-321-5943

SPECK PLUMBING

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

UPTOWN PLUMBING. Serving Dallas 40 + Yrs. 214-747-1103. M-13800 uptownplumbing.com

469-235-2072

ROOFING & GUTTERS

A&B GUTTER 972-530-5699

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

health & wellness

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION For more information call 214.560.4203 or email jliles@advocatemag.com

OPTOMETRIST

DR. CLINT MEYER

www.dallaseyeworks.com

Blue light has the most energy of visible light and constant exposure with hand held devices and computers may be causing damage. Children are more susceptible to this exposure due to the fact that older eyes filter out the blue high-energy light more that younger eyes. At Dallas Eyeworks we recommend a lens treatment called Recharge by Hya Vision. This allows a clear spectacle lens to filter out the high energy blue light and protect the eye. Call for an appointment today!

Dallas Eyeworks

9225 Garland Rd., Ste. 2120, Dallas, TX 75218 214.660.9830

COSMETIC AND GENERAL DENTISTRY

DENA T. ROBINSON, DDS

www.drdenarobinson.com

Dr. Robinson is a Preferred Invisalign provider in the White Rock Lake/Casa Linda area. Give us a call to see if you are a great candidate for Invisalign.

FAGD - Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry

8940 Garland Rd., Ste. 200, Dallas, TX 75218 214.321.6441

FEATURE YOUR OFFICE IN

CONVENIENCE STORE CRANKS CLASSICAL MUSIC TO DETER CRIME

If you find yourself in the Country Forest/Jackson Meadow or Woodbridge neighborhoods of Lake Highlands — or shopping at Aldi or DD’s Discounts on Forest Lane on a given afternoon, you are likely to hear the sounds of Beethoven, Mozart or Strauss wafting through the air.

Follow the music; it is emanating from an unlikely source — the EZ Mart convenience store, known dealer and prostitute hangout and the site of several violent crimes over the years. Used to be, any music coming from that property usually came from loitering vehicles and involved anything with enough bass to rattle the take-out window at Big Mama’s Chicken and Waffles across the street.

But no more.

The EZ Mart started blasting classical music as part of a police, merchant and landowner collaboration to combat crime. Turns out, this is a thing. Pumping classical music into public venues is a tactic that has been used by cities all over the world to deter loitering. Some municipalities have even tried to force public transit stations to employ the so-called “classical music strategy.”

Deputy Chief Andrew Acord says EZ Mart has been using classical music as a tool to reduce issues related to loitering, drug dealing and prostitution.

“The tactic doesn’t fix all the problems, but it does have an impact,” Acord says.

After the drive-by shooting of a teenager last summer, the Dallas Police Department placed the Forest-Audelia property the whole strip where the EZ Mart lives in its S.A.F.E. program, Acord says.

This police program, officially, “forges vested partnerships with cooperative property owners to combat common and public nuisances.”

In other words, Acord says, “It’s where we hold property owners’ feet to the fire to ensure they are doing everything in their power to discourage crime.”

Since the drive-by, the property has had very few calls related to serious crime, Acord says, “only a couple of abatable calls meaning violent-crime calls.”

The troublemakers aren’t the only ones who seemingly wish to avoid classical music; a few Woodbridge residents have complained, according to HOA leaders. But others say they sit out on their porches and enjoy it. —Christina

Hughes Babb

OFFICER SHOT IN SUSPECTED MURDERSUICIDE

When police responded to a 911 call at the Lake Highlands Landing apartments on Feb. 7, they found two dead bodies and a 6-year-old child, who was alive and physically uninjured.

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The deceased included the apartment’s resident Dallas Police officer Larry Tuttle and Otto Machelle Thomas, a 42-year old woman who police say called 911 twice after she shot Tuttle and before killing herself.

Early that evening, Thomas reported that she had just shot and killed her “boyfriend,” whom she identified as Tuttle. “He was getting ready to hit me again and I just went off,” Thomas told the dispatcher during the initial 911 conversation.

As Northeast police patrol officers surrounded the apartment, Thomas shot herself, assistant chief Randy Blankenbaker says.

During a second 911 call, patrol officers can be heard instructing the woman, from outside the apartment, to put the gun down, he says. After officers heard a shot, Dallas SWAT was called to the scene, where, one room away from the carnage, they found the child hiding in a bedroom. She was transported to a hospital for an examination and then to Child Protective Services. The incident is still under investigation, Blankenbaker says. —Christina Hughes Babb

12th Annual 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament benefiting Lake Highlands area schools

For Girls and Boys in grades 1-8

Everyone is invited to come watch the competition and enjoy entertainment.

Saturday, March 28th Highland Oaks Church of Christ 10805 Walnut Hill

$84 per team, 4 players per team

online at hoopsinthehighlands.net

On-time registration closes March 13. Late registration with fee of $100 is open until March 18.

MISSED CONNECTIONS

Why doesn’t the Dallas Arboretum provide better access for cyclists and pedestrians?

COMMENT. Visit lakehighlands.advocatemag.com and search Last Word to tell us what you think.

I heard a wet smack as my front bicycle tire sank into fresh mud, unexpectedly stopping me in my tracks.

My husband was up ahead, navigating the muddy ruts and puddles and finding patches of dense grass to support his bike. Our two young daughters sat asleep in the trailer behind him, their heads lolling, oblivious to the obstacle course their parents were maneuvering through on our trek to the Arboretum.

We’d set out from our M Streets home an hour earlier, winding our way through Lakewood to White Rock Lake’s shoreline trail, then to the edge of the spillway to the trail abutting Garland Road. We suddenly found ourselves at an impasse. The wide trail had narrowed to a sliver of a sidewalk, then abruptly ended outside the walls of the Arboretum, a good thousand feet from the entrance.

A soggy, green expanse lay ahead of us. We weighed our options: Venture into the six lanes of traffic whizzing past us on Garland Road or risk trekking through the mud that yesterday’s rain had left behind. We forged on.

Now stuck, I straddled my bike on tiptoe, gingerly hunting for firmer ground among the spongy muck. Ahead of me, my husband had

stopped, anchored by the weight of the girls’ trailer now moored in the mud.

After excavating the trailer, we trudged our way to the Arboretum’s entrance, our shoes and bikes caked with wet soil. Our day to be spent among the roses had taken an unexpectedly earthy turn.

The Dallas Arboretum is one of our city’s most magnificent assets, and we’re fortunate that it sits in the heart of East Dallas. But why are there no sidewalks to its entrance? With all the kerfuffle over adequate parking, wouldn’t they want more pedestrians and cyclists to visit sans car?

“Of course,” Mary Brinegar, president and CEO of the Dallas Arboretum told me when I called to ask her about the lack of sidewalk access along Garland Road.

Historically, one of the reasons the Arboretum had no front sidewalk was due to concerns by nearby residents that sidewalks would encourage Arboretum visitors to park in their neighborhoods, and then walk over to the gardens. More recently, however, some residents have expressed support for a sidewalk, and Mary said she would welcome the city’s investment in a concrete path along the perimeter.

With that issue out of the way, and since I had Mary’s ear, I took the opportunity to question her about another matter that had been on my mind. Every time I visit the Arboretum or White Rock Lake, I wonder why there isn’t an entrance to the Ar-

boretum from the lake. It seems odd to me that these two great natural assets sit side-by-side, yet are in no way connected to one another.

Imagine walking around the lake, then taking a stroll through the Arboretum or spending the day at the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden, then stepping through a back exit to witness the sunset from the lakeshore.

So while I had Mary on the phone, I asked her. She explained that the Arboretum is very sensitive to the concerns of nearby residents who worry that a lakeside entrance might encourage more traffic and parking within White Rock Lake Park by those seeking to avoid parking fees at the Arboretum.

No doubt this is a legitimate and reasonable concern, and one I might have if I lived next door. But it seems like there should be a way to address those concerns while still providing a connection between these two great destinations.

I’m not sure what the answer is, but I’m certain we should have the conversation.

Something magical happens when we begin connecting our city for pedestrians and cyclists. Our city shrinks and expands at the same time: Diverse destinations no longer feel like distant, disparate experiences, but begin to meld into each other, creating new recreational opportunities that are much more than the sum of their parts.

And it’s a heck of a lot less muddy.

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.

8012 Deer Trail | $600,000

6859 Westlake | SOLD | Listed for $1,285,000

OAK HIGHLANDS ESTATES | 9209 WESTWIND COURT

$764,000 | 4 Bed | 4.2 Bath | 4,820 SqFt

ALEXIS COLLARD | 214.893.3038 | alexis.collard@alliebeth.com

Sold!

LAKE HIGHLANDS | 8031 ABRAMSHIRE AVENUE

$500,000 | 3 Bed | 3 Bath | 3,126 SqFt

JENNIFER WOLFMAN | 972.381.6822 | jennifer.wolfman@alliebeth.com

WHITE ROCK NORTH | 9650 ESTATE LANE

$499,000 | 4 Bed | 3.2 Bath | 4,072 SqFt

ASHLEY GOMEZ | 214.693.9970 | ashley.gomez@alliebeth.com

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HIGH MEADOW | 9055 MAPLE GLEN DRIVE

$450,000 | 4 Bed | 3 Bath | 2,930 SqFt

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

MERRIMAN PARK | 6211 BERRYHILL STREET

$349,000 | 3 Bed | 2 Bath | 2,244 SqFt

JERRY McCOMBS | 214.402.3895 | jerry.mccombs@alliebeth.com

LAKE HIGHLANDS NORTH | 10429 ROYALWOOD DRIVE

$339,000 | 3 Bed | 2 Bath | 1,885 SqFt

SABRINA BELL | 214.707.1780 | sabrina.bell@alliebeth.com

For More Information on These and Other Listings: 214.521.7355 | Alliebeth.com