2013 May Lake Highlands

out of darkness

Five high school seniors collectively overcome tragedy, abuse, learning disabilities, culture shock and even felony probation to graduate with honor

Be LocaL IN lake

FREE STROKE SCREENING close to home

Anyone can have a stroke whether you’re young or old, man or woman. When the first stroke symptoms appear, it’s important to seek prompt emergency medical care. Fortunately, award-winning stroke services are nearby at Doctors Hospital at White Rock Lake.

Learn about your personal risk factors for stroke at a free screening on Saturday, June 15 from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. Call 800-887-2525 today to make your reservation.

On the cOver: Hannah Willard. Photo by Danny Fulgencio

She wrote the book

Photo by Danny Fulgencio

A me A sure of hA ppiness

Purpose is an ongoing journey, not a final destination

We spend enough time looking for happiness that it makes perfect sense to work at

the task, maybe hard enough to burrow a trail in the road of life.

As we all know, though, living your life and loving it don’t always go handin-hand.

But it happens, and that’s why, when I met this particular woman a few months ago, I thought she was one of the lucky ones. She was confident. She walked with authority. She seemed happy.

Turns out she grew up in a small town, went to school nearby and then, for reasons not entirely clear even to her, she came to Dallas to live the dream. She didn’t have a job, an apartment or even any friends here — she just decided she wanted to live in Dallas, and so she did.

It was great, she says of the beginning, full of opportunities and excitement. Anything seemed possible, and trying to make it so was part of the fun.

Her story is a lot like the stories you’ll read in our magazine this month. The high school seniors we’re profiling worked hard to dig out of holes not always of their making to earn a high school diploma and, hopefully, a ticket to a better life.

As you’ll notice from the seniors’ stories, these students are filled with optimism and enthusiasm. Why wouldn’t they be? They’re young, and they have every reason to expect their lives to unfold according to their plans.

Perhaps their dreams will be realized. Then again, perhaps not. Most of us have already been there, right? We may be living the dream, but it’s likely not the dream we had in high school.

After many years of doing essentially the same thing, the woman I met says “fun” and “excitement” don’t pop into many of her sentences or weekends. Life is fine, she says. It’s just not what she thought it would be.

So much promise and so many plans when she first arrived. Now it all seems so long ago.

“I was so brave back then,” she says wistfully. “I wasn’t afraid of anything.”

She’s doing fine, so no need to worry. She just wishes things were different. Not specifically different. Just different.

And she’s using her younger self as the ultimate measuring stick.

That’s not what I wish for our graduating seniors. Instead, to measure their success, I hope they use one of those

To measure their success, i hope they use one of those long, retractable tape measures that can be extended and snapped back with a flick of the thumb. That’s what success and happiness are anyway, just quick flicks that can leave as quickly as they arrive.

long, retractable tape measures that can be extended and snapped back with a flick of the thumb.

That’s what success and happiness are anyway, just quick flicks that can leave as quickly as they arrive.

Better than just hoping for success is remaining brave enough to keep trying new things. It’s hard to be bored or unhappy when you don’t allow yourself time to look back at the ruts in your road.

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publisher: CHRISTINA HUGHES BABB

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senior editor: KERI MITCHELL

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editors:

MONICA S. N AGY 214.292.2053 / mnagy@advocatemag.com

RACHEL STONE 214.292.0490 / rstone@advocatemag.com

B RITTANY N UNN 214.635.2122 / bnunn@advocatemag.com

senior art director: JYNNETTE NEAL 214.560.4206 / jneal@advocatemag.com

designers: JEANINE MICHNA-BALES, L ARRY OLIVER, KRIS SCOTT, JESSE DIAz

contributing editors: JEFF SIEGEL, SALLY WAMRE, WHITNEY THOMPSON

contributors: GAYLA BROOKS, SEAN CHAFFIN, GEORGE MASON, BLAIR MONIE, ELLEN RAFF

photo editor: DANNY FULGENCIO

214.635.2121 / danny@advocatemag.com

photographers: JE ANINE MICHNA BALES, MARK DAVIS, ELLIOTT MUñOz

interns: RACHEL C ARTER, ETHAN HEALY, HILARY SCHLEIER, VICTORIA HILBERT

Gaston, Suite 820, Dallas 75214; or email rwamre@advocatemag.com.

reader. Advocate was founded in 1991 by Jeff Siegel, Tom Zielinski and Rick Wamre.

Advocate

Did

April 2013

The Advocate is more than a magazine you can find daily breaking news at lakehighlands.advocatemag.com

DUE

April 10

Here’s a snippet of what you missed last month if you weren’t reading us. Search “rapist” for full articles. Enter your email in the “newsletter signup” box to receive weekly Lake Highlands news summaries.

Feb. 22

Early morning, man breaks into a home on Ferndale and rapes resident at knifepoint.

March 1

Police arrest 33-year-old Fernando Munoz, who they believe is a “strong suspect” in Feb. 22 attack.

March 15

Late evening, man breaks into home on Ferndale, through a window, and rapes the resident. At the time, Munoz, the suspect in the February case, is in custody.

March 19

Early morning, man breaks into home, a block away from previous rapes, and attacks woman in her shower. She scratches him, and he runs. Schools in the area go on precautionary lockdown.

March 20

Record number of neighbors turn out at the quarterly Northeast Police Crime Summit seeking answers about the series of attacks.

March 20

Police clear Fernando Munoz in the Feb. 22 attack, through DNA testing.

March 20

Police host community meeting and self-defense demonstration for concerned neighbors. City Councilman Jerry Allen vows police will get this “punk.”

March 22

Police verify that Dna evidence connects all three attacks. With help from anonymous donor, Dallas Crimestoppers announces $25,000 reward for capture of the lake highlands Rapist.

March 24

lake highlands women organize “prayer walk,” asking for justice, relief for the victims.

April 2

Police arrest Benitez Cesar, 32; they eventually charge him in all three aggravated sexual assaults.

April 3

lake highlands businesses join to sell “Community. lake highlands” T-shirts to benefit The Dallas area Rape Crisis Center. several shoppers buy T-shirts as gifts for northeast division police officers.

April 3

lake highlands residents discuss with advocate reporters feelings about the serial rape saga. “i don’t open the door for anyone that i’m not familiar with anymore,” says resident Judy Evans.

April 4

a minor brouhaha breaks out in the comments section when the prayer-walk organizer is quoted saying prayer resulted in the capture of the alleged rapist. “What makes the prayerwalk people think it was their prayers that did the trick,” queries reader Wilson! another reader, samlam, counters, “i see no one taking credit, rather someone giving credit to a higher power.”

April 5

Police positively match Dna collected in all three crimes to Benitez Cesar’s Dna samples.

April 10

lake highlands residents turn out by the hundreds to thank police for their service. “i feel lucky to live here,” says Carrie hill, who works for nathan Grace in lake highlands. “in the last couple of months, with the officers stopping in regularly, i’ve gotten to know these guys. Before, when i saw them, it was like: ‘Oh, i’d better slow down,’” she jokes. “now, i have such a sense of gratitude. We just want them to know we appreciate them.”

Talk to us. Visit lakehighlands. advocatemag.com to read and comment on stories and daily blog updates. Comments may be printed in the magazine.

Email EDiTOR ChRisTina

chughes@advocatemag.com

Remodeling Talk...

7 Steps for Keeping Your Renovation on Time

You’ve been dreaming of expanding your home and finally being able to enjoy the space your growing family needs. Whatever you envision, you deserve to have your project completed on time and on budget. These suggestions should ensure a finished result you’ll love when you hire a qualified remodeling company like BellaVista:

1)

Have a Written Proposal

Once you have decided on which remodeling company to use, request a written proposal that includes all the key details of your discussions. This establishes your need for accountability, since often, two people remember conversations differently.

2)

Get a Fully-Detailed Contract

Successful projects begin with a good contract, but many contracts leave out important details. Make sure yours covers the scope of work, project timetable, payment schedule, project closure procedures (including how to address warrantable items), and detailed specifications for all products and materials. Be sure it includes insurance and permit information, procedures for handling change orders, lien releases, and details on home access and cleanup.

3)

Make Your Selections on Time

5)

Request the Schedule in Writing

Ask for the schedule and milestone details you discussed at the kick-off in writing. This will hold both you and your remodeler mutually accountable.

6)

Give

us your OwnerProvided items

If you have appliances and fixtures or any items that are to be installed in the remodel, be sure to provide them promptly when requested by your Project Manager.

7)

Be Flexible

There is no way around this fact: remodeling will cause an interruption of your normal life. Remember to be flexible and attentive in discussions with your Project Manager. A reputable company like BellaVista respects that it is your home, and choices from material selection to structural options should be yours. Your timely cooperation and decision-making will help to expedite the building process.

Following the contract, you’ll be provided a list of selection items ranging from fixture options to paint colors and wood stains. These items must get from the distributor to the job site in a logical order, must be properly selected, and must be fully compatible with adjoining materials. Any delays in making selections could cause a chain reaction of construction setbacks.

Have a Kick-Off Meeting

This is the time to talk about your big picture ideas, your needs, and expectations. Get a firm agreement on the schedule of your project and the key milestones involved. Learn what times of day crews will be working, when you and your family can and cannot be present, and how access, cleanup and protection of your property will be handled.

by: Alan Margulis

No matter which remodeler you choose, we at BellaVista wish you all the satisfaction you deserve during the process, and with the final result. As always, please feel free to call and consider us for your dream project. 4)

Lance Tyler and Darin Breedlove, CR, CGR, CGP, CAPS

Q&A: Mark Barnett

This Memorial Day, people around the nation will walk through the day and night carrying a load, both physically and symbolically. While it started as an esoteric and personal event, Carry the Load — a 20-plus-hour walk to honor veterans, police and firefighters — has gained recognition. Lake Highlands resident Mark Barnett says that the event has been on his radar for a couple of years but that this year he decided not only to get involved but also to bring others along with him. The Lake Highlands CrossFit instructor so far has recruited about 20 people to his team, but he’s not satisfied. He wants you.

How did you become interested in Carry the Load?

A Navy Seal named Clint Bruce started the event in 2011 as a way to honor American soldiers, law enforcement officers, firefighters and their families, especially those who have died or were wounded in service. Participants would walk 20 hours wearing a 40-pound backpack—the approximate weight of a military load— to symbolize the load that these people have carried and the sacrifices they have made for their country and fellow man. Clint came and spoke with the CrossFit group that first year and I thought it sounded great, but I didn’t do anything about it. The next year I heard about it again and I decided, next year I am really going to do this thing. So this year I — and others at CrossFit Lake Highlands — organized a team.

Is the team just for members of CrossFit Lake Highlands?

No. Anyone can join our team and come to our practice walks, which we have every Saturday morning until the event beginning at the CrossFit facility in Lake Highlands. So far we only have about 20 members.

That sounds like a lot.

Well, yeah, but I want to show up with 40 or 50.

What about people who can’t walk that far or carry a heavy load?

The event really isn’t about walking the whole 20 hours — actually it is 20 hours, 13 minutes this year — but about walking a little, in recognition of those soldiers and first responders, and carrying whatever you can, even if it’s a water bottle.

Hilary Schleier

Are you planning to walk 20 hours and carry a 40-pound backpack?

I am going to try.

Since you are into CrossFit, does that qualify you to meet the physical demands of walking 20 hours in May in Texas?

Being a CrossFit member does put you a little ahead of the game as far as fitness, but, you know, the first practice walk, the first three or five miles was pretty easy, but after about 6 and 7 miles, it got hard. I practice by walking and wearing the weighted vest as much as possible, like when I take the dog out for a walk. People look at you a little weird, but that’s OK. In the end, the event is a physical test, but it is more a time of reflection rather than a contest of strength.

Why is Carry the Load important to you?

The cause is important. Within the CrossFit community there are a lot of service men and women. My grandfather fought in World War II, and I have other family members who have served. Overall, I have a great amount of respect for the group of people Carry the Load is dedicated to. In addition, I want to promote fitness — getting out and walking every day — to the community. Walking is a great way to start your day.

What’s the best way to join your team? Event details?

Come out to a walk. We start at 6 and go in loops. You can come at 6, 6:45, 7 or 7:45, for example. We post the exact times on our site and Facebook page a day or two before. You can also just participate in the event by visiting Carry the Load’s website and signing up. The actual walk begins Friday, May 26, at 4 p.m. at Reverchon Park near the Katy Trail. It ends at 12:13 p.m. Memorial Day. —Christina Hughes Babb Answershavebeeneditedforbrevity.

Visit carrytheload.org and click dallas MeMorial March. There, you can register and, if you wish, choose to join team CrossFit Lake Highlands. Registration is free, but the average participant, according to the website, raises and contributes $200-$300 in donations. You can also donate $5, $500 or whatever you wish in person at CrossFit Lake Highlands, 9850 Walnut Hill, when you attend a practice walk any Saturday morning in May.

Danny Fulgencio

Write stuff

Publishing a book is no small feat, particularly at age 93. But Lake Highlands resident Beatrice Oldfield, or “Bee,” as friends and family call her, has done it. Oldfield’s father and grandfather were published authors, but until recently Oldfield’s only writing aspiration was to pen newsy letters to her close friends. Her buddies cherished the letters and urged her to write a book, but Oldfield stuck with letter writing. Everything changed once Oldfield began her tenth decade of life. “In your nineties you lose your sense of smell, and then your balance goes too. Just putting on your house slippers starts to look like a Riverdance audition,” Oldfield says. Her book, “Brace Yourself: a letter to those approaching 90 with coping clues from one who’s been there,” is full of practical advice and personal anecdotes that Oldfield says she wishes she knew when she turned 90. Topics included in the book run the gamut from personal hygiene and gardening to foolproof recipes and tutorials on safer ways to get into a car. Oldfield will donate a percentage of her book sales to the nonprofit White Rock Center for Hope. “Now that I’m this old,” she says, “I just pray for three things every day: to be useful, to be cheerful, and not to be a nuisance.” Oldfield and her 94-year-old husband, Charlie, have been married for 64 years and share their Lake Highlands home with two kittens, Winnie and Pooh. Order “Brace YOurself!” via amazon.com or by contacting the White Rock Center of Hope at 214.324.8996

Out & About

May

Wine on the Roof Fundraiser

Wine and dine at the 12th annual Wine on the Roof fundraiser starting at 7 p.m. Activities include a pet fashion show and silent auction. Raffle prizes will also be available for those in attendance. Proceeds to benefit animals at the East Lake Pet Orphanage. East Lake Veterinary Hospital, 10101 E. Northwest Highway, 214.342.3100, wineontheroof.com, $65 in advance, $85 at the door

May 1, 4, 8, 11, 15, 18, 22, 25, 29

Dance the pounds away

Attend a Zumba workout class hosted by J.C. Fitness; their motto is: “We don’t work out. We party.” Dance to hip-hop, Latin beats and more 6–7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday nights.

J.C. Fitness, Lake Highlands North recreation center, 9940 White Rock Trail, 214.670.7794, jcfitness.info, $5 per class or $30 for the month

May 2, 7

Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me! Live

Watch the National Public Radio show come to life as it is beamed live to the movie screen at 7 p.m. on Thursday with an encore showing at the same time the following Tuesday. Hosts Peter Sagal and Carl Kasell will be up to their usual antics as celebrity guests answer silly questions and panelists Paula Poundstone, Mo Rocca and Tom Bodett chime in. United Artists Galaxy Theatre Stadium 10, 11801 McCree, 214.343.9622, regmovies.com, $22

May 10-25

The Musical a dventures of Flat s tanley

In this musical based on Jeff Brown’s book “Flat Stanley,” a regular boy named Stanley transforms into a flat boy when a poster above his bed falls on top of him. Audiences watch as Stanley travels the world by envelope in his quest to become three-dimensional again.

Dallas Children’s Theater, 5938 Skillman, 214.740.0051, $14-$40

May 30 s atisfaction at the a rboretum

Bust out some moves like Mick Jagger for the Rolling Stones cover band Satisfaction at Dallas Arboretum. This month’s concert series lineup also includes performances from Downtown Fever, Brave Combo, Cuvee, Kraig Parker, The Molly Ringwalds, Tuxedo Junction, Pardi Gras, and The Coppertones. Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland, 214.515.6500, dallasarboretum. org, $10-$25

May 3

Children’s Cancer Fund luncheon and fashion show

Lake Highlands first-grader Valeria Renteria will participate in a live fashion show and have her artwork featured in a book for sale at the 25th annual Children’s Cancer Fund Luncheon and Fashion Show at 11:30 a.m. Co-chaired by Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach, the event will raise money for pediatric cancer research.

Children’s Cancer Fund, Hilton Anatole’s Chantilly Ballroom, 2201 Stemmons Freeway, 972.664.1450, childrenscancerfund.com, $150 per person

May 17

Thunderduck Spring Golf Classic

The Richland College-associated golf tournament tees off at 8 a.m. at Riverchase Golf Course. The low entrance fee includes green fee, cart, range balls and a hamburger lunch buffet, plus each entrant receives a $5 golf shop gift card and a month of free golf. 700 Riverchase (Coppell), 972.462.8281, $47

May 27

Memorial Day Concert at Flagpole Hill

Grab some lawn chairs and go listen to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra perform at 8 p.m. The performance concludes with a celebratory fireworks display.

Flag Pole Hill Park, 8007 E. Northwest Highway, 214.515.6500, dallassymphony.com, free

eCLeCtiC gaLLeries

Unique gifts and decor from 200 artisan studios. glass, jewelry, pottery, turned wood, and more! meet the artist receptions on may 3rd 5:30-8pm and may 4th 11am-2pm. 6725 snider plaza 469.759.6501 eclecticgalleries.com

BrUmLeY gardens

give mom roses she can enjoy all year with the beautiful photography in this coffee table book, empress of the garden. a perfect gift sure to please. Brumley gardens - Lake Highlands: 10540 Church rd. 214.343.4900 & Bishop arts: 700 W. davis 214.942.0794 brumleygardens.com.

artistik edge

give your friends something to talk about...your hair! all redken and pureology products are 15% off every Friday! We would love to help you solve your hair problems! 8420 abrams #208 @ royal 214.349.3888 artistikedge.com

adVoCate goods

more than 200,000 sets of eyes are checking out these items right now. get your specialty items or featured products in front of your neighbors that love to shop local for unique items.

tHe store in Lake HigHLands

Happy everything! it’s a party may 9-11! purchase a base or 3 attachments, get the beach ball free… spend $75, get a tervis cup free! 10233 e nW Hwy @ Ferndale (near albertsons)

the advocate Foundation’s limited-edition, numbered, and hand-painted ornament; perfect gift for the new home owner or dallas transplant. sales benefit neighborhood organizations. 214.292.0486 foundation.advocatemag.com

Delicious

Good food, al fresco

Drive by too fast along upper Greenville and you might miss Roma’s Pizza & Italian Restaurant. Despite its slightly off-the-radar location, Roma’s has been in business nine years owned and operated by husband and wife Jimmy and Adriana Rruka. Throughout spring, the mature trees surrounding Roma’s spacious outdoor patio deck are dense with vibrant green leaves. When it’s nice outside, Jimmy Rruka says, “the whole restaurant moves outdoors.” Their menu includes traditional Italian staples such as chicken parmesan and spaghetti, but Jimmy Rruka says regulars keep coming back for specialty items such as the Margherita pizza and the salmon salad. The Margherita pizza is hand-tossed and topped with fresh basil, garlic, tomatoes, mozzarella and extra virgin olive oil. Everything on the menu, Jimmy Rruka stresses, is made — with the freshest ingredients he can buy — from scratch.

—Whitney Thompson

Roma’s Pizza & italian RestauRant

7402 Greenville Avenue 214.373.0500 romas-italia.com

AMbiAnCe: CAsuAL iTALiAn

PriCe rAnGe: $6-$15

Hours: TuesDAy-sunDAy, 10 A.M.11 P.M.

DiD you knoW? Diners AT TAbLes overLookinG THe Creek oCCAsionALLy sPoT TurTLes, rACCoons AnD oTHer AreA WiLDLife.

Above: Chicken capri.

Left: Grilled salmon salad.

Photos by Mark Davis

Half Horizontal

| Three more spo Ts To ea T al fresco |

1 Park Tavern

The upstairs patio of this gastropub boasts its own bar with 20 beers on tap and happy hour specials to boot. Pair your beverage with beef carpaccio, or a footlong grilled cheese for more traditional pub fare.

8166 park lane 214.446.0710 parktaverndallas.com

2 Offshore’s Next Door

It’s easy to pretend you’re by the bayou at this casual Creole spot. Offshore’s fenced-in beer garden and picnic tables provide the perfect relaxed ambiance to balance the exciting flavors of Cajun fried asparagus or spicy crawfish étouffée.

9660 audelia road 214.503.1012

3 Goodfriend Beer Garden and Burger House

Since opening in 2011, Goodfriend’s ample covered patio has rarely had an empty seat, and for good reason. Grab the pooch or the kids and join the crowds for a pint of craft beer and their gourmet grass-fed burgers.

1154 peavy 214.324.3335 goodfrienddallas.com

food and wine online

Visit lakehighlands.advocatemag.com/dining

thai mexican

Don’t miss out on Cinco De Mayo, Mothers Day Brunch and More all Month Long! We cater and deliver great tasting, quality food at a value that can’t be beat. Join us on twitter today! @EnchiladasTX

enchiladasrestaurants.com

214.691.1390

2 DFW Locations, Citywide Catering

Torchy’s Tacos

This hot spot is complete with a grand patio for a Torchy’s-inspired picnic. Have a taco (or four!), then wash it down with a specialty cocktail from our Firewater Menu.

• BYOB

• Vegan / Gluten Free

• Everything made from scratch

• Sakhuu family has been serving

since

• Call for takeout

• SW corner of Bryan and Fitzhugh near Jimmy’s

Momo Italian Kitchen

Momo Italian Kitchen is a family owned and operated restaurant since 1986. We feature traditional Italian food made from scratch. We are an BYOB establishment. Check us out at www.momoitaliankitchen.com

The coop burger at Goodfriend Beer Garden And Burger House comes with an over-easy egg, grilled bacon and brie. Photo by Mark Davis

May

Art Scavenger Hunt 10 am – 2 pm

Children’s Art Activity

10 am – 12 noon

Art in Action Sculpture Demo

10 am – 12:30 pm

Family Tours

Hourly from 10:15 am – 12:15 pm

Yoga in the Garden 11:30 am

Presented by YogaSport (weather permitting)

Creative Writing with The Writer’s Garret 12 pm

Storytime with Dallas Public Library 12:30 pm

NasherKids Live! 1 pm New York International Children’s Film Festival Kid Flix Mix

NasherKids Meal at Nasher Cafe 11 am – 2 pm

NasherSculptureCenter.org

Mamma mia!

Hess Treo [$17] California

One of the many facts the wine business sloughs off is that women buy most of the wine in the United States — as much as 60 percent, according to some surveys. From reading wine writing, you’d assume that men dominated the market, and that everyone wanted to drink big, heavy red wines.

So what better way to mark Mother’s Day than by acknowledging how important women are to the wine business? Here are three wines to give Mom for a gift or to enjoy at Mother’s Day brunch:

• Estancia Pinot Grigio ($9): Estancia, part of the multinational Constellation Brands, produces some of the most interesting and best-priced grocery store wine. Look for flowery aromas, soft lemon fruit, and an Italian sort of minerality on the back.

• Goats do Roam Rosé ($10): This South African wine has strawberry fruit that becomes more cranberry and is more European in style. Very nicely done and a fine value.

• Hess Treo ($17): This California red blend is balanced and fruity, but the red fruit is just one part of the wine and doesn’t overwhelm it. A good example of what can be done to make wine that appeals to someone other than critics.

—Jeff Siegel

Jeff Siegel WRiTeS abouT Wine and neighborhood dining news every Friday on lakehighlands.advocatemag.com

Ask the wine guy

What’s a blind tasting?

That’s when you taste the wines without knowing what they are. It’s actually quite common, especially in wine competitions, and is something everyone should do at least once. If you don’t know what the wine is (except for the varietal and color), then you won’t be influenced by the label, the price or where the wine is from. —Jeff

ASK The Wine Guy taste@advocatemag.com

Siegel

with your wine

Red velvet brownies

Remember all the times Mom made you brownies? Why not return the favor with this dessert? And if it doesn’t exactly pair with wine, so what — it’s Mother’s Day.

Grocery List

1 c unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 ½ c granulated sugar

1 ½ c brown sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

2 oz red food coloring

4 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 ½ c all-purpose flour

6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

½ tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9x13 clear glass baking dish.

2. Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then stir in food coloring and vanilla, and mix until the color is fully incorporated. Mix flour, cocoa and salt in a separate bowl. Slowly add in the flour mixture, and don’t over-mix. The batter will be very thick.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, 35 minutes for a thin crust on top and gooey underneath. Set aside to cool, cut into bars and serve.

Makes about two dozen, takes about an hour

Alligator Café

Angelo’s Italian Grill

Bangkok City

Barbec’s BG’s Classic Subs

Good-2-Go-Taco

Lake House

Supporting White Rock Lake Since 2006

TEN MEALS FOR TEN BUCKS

Taste ofWhite Rock is a Buy One-Get One Free Coupon Book* for local family operated restaurants that support White Rock Lake.

A $10 donation allows you to economically experience a wide variety of East Dallas’ finest restaurants, while also supporting groups committed to improving White Rock Lake Park.

Proceeds help fund White Rock Lake Park focused non-profits and participating neighborhood associations.

For more information or to purchase www.tasteofwhiterock.org or call 214.886.3332 *Some

Story by Christina Hughes Babb //

kids these days

Throughout May, commencement speakers everywhere beseech young graduates to embrace opportunity as they step into a bright future. Each graduate has a story about his or her journey to this day. Some have traversed dark and challenging terrain ...

For those, the light is especially brilliant.

Alittle before midnight on a dark, mostly quiet summer night in 2008, police rolled up on a violent crime in progress near the corner of Forest and Lovers lanes. A dark-haired male of average height and build pointed a gun at two other men. Police promptly arrested the would-be robber, charged him with aggravated armed robbery and locked him up in Dallas County jail. The detainee, Jonathan Garza, didn’t stand apart from

the other inmates. Though physically mature, he was notably younger than the other men in custody at Lew Sterrett Justice Center; Jonathan was 13 and an eighth-grader at Lake Highlands Junior High.

Garza got involved with a gang, he says, because he felt a painful disconnect from his family.

“My dad was a drinker, mom worked all the time, and I had a brother in jail,” he says. “I wanted a family. I got in-

A hardened criminal by age 14, Jonathan Garza — supported by people who saw something good in him — barely avoided a long-term prison stint and turned his life around.

Photos by Danny Fulgencio

kids these days

volved with drugs, [both] selling and doing I smoked [marijuana], did coke, a lot of ecstasy and codeine — and gangs. I was lost, confused and I felt like these people [all of them older] were my family.”

Jonathan describes a progressive downward spiral that preceded the armed-robbery incident.

In eighth grade, for “showing up to school high,” LHJH disciplinarians assigned him a temporary transfer to Christa McAuliffe alternative school, from which he was booted for possessing weed on campus. He left home to live on a series of friends’ couches, in cars and, sometimes, in laundry mats.

“Home was bad. There was always arguing about bills, parents fighting, stress. I didn’t go home. Ever. Out here [the streets] is where I belonged. I was angry, full of complete darkness. I felt nothing. Only a need for basic survival.”

He and his older buddies carried guns — which are easy to acquire in his circles, he says — and they broke into cars and homes around our neighborhood for money.

The armed robbery, he says, came after his drug inventory was confiscated, and he was in “a tight spot” and owed money he couldn’t pay back. He says that day in 2008, which he says included multiple crimes, marked the first time he pointed a gun at someone.

Jonathan spent two weeks in jail before authorities transferred him to a juvenile facility. There, he learned he would be sentenced to a minimum of three years in a Texas prison, and Jonathan says he deserved it.

However, late one night, the judge sent for him.

“She wasn’t even wearing judge clothes when she spoke to me,” he recalls, “but she told me I was going to be released. That I was on probation.”

Jonathan suspects certain members of the LHJH community were working behind the scenes on his behalf, though he doesn’t know for sure, and he chalks the prison deferment to, officially, “a miracle.”

“I guess someone saw something in me that was worth saving,” he says. “But I couldn’t find it yet.”

The gratitude and attitude-change the judge and whomever were hoping for didn’t take hold of Jonathan immediately.

“I got high again. Went to my first proba-

“Home was bad. There was always arguing about bills, parents fighting, stress. I didn’t go home. Ever. Out here [the streets] is where I belonged. I was angry, full of complete darkness. I felt nothing. Only a need for basic survival.”

tion appointment and flunked my drug test.”

Lake Highlands Junior High football coach Zachary Garza’s first impression of Jonathan was of a “kid who just didn’t care”.

“His first eighth grade year, he was on the football team and in one of my classes,” Zachary says, “but he often didn’t show up, if he did he was late, and he was always in and out of suspension.”

If there was such thing as a lost cause, the coaches concurred, Jonathan embodied it.

“It was shocking to hear about his arrest. Not surprising that he had been arrested, but we were not aware of the extent of his problems,” Zachary says.

But on the first day of his second eighthgrade year, Jonathan visited the coaches.

“He came to our office wearing a shirt and tie and told us he’s changed and that he wanted to play. Of course, we were suspicious,” Zachary says.

After failing the drug test and being threatened with prison for a probation violation, Jonathan says he stopped using drugs and worked up the nerve to implore coaches Garza and Gibson to put him back on the team.

“Through all the mess, I always loved football,” Jonathan says. “And those coaches they gave me a chance. They became like dads to me.”

Jonathan’s turnaround floored his coaches.

“I have never seen anything like it. He went from a gang-banger flunkie to a straight-A leader, hard-working team member,” Zachary says. “He spent a ridiculous amount of time working out. He later told us that spending tons of time at the gym was his way of staying safe.”

Jonathan went back home, too, and through sober eyes, he saw a family that needed a savior.

His dad was sick, diabetic and hadn’t worked in years. Mom and Dad fought and even separated temporarily. Jonathan took a job working alongside Mom at a factory.

“I was an able-bodied 14-year old now, a big kid — always been big. Always had this [touches beard on chin] — and the work at that factory almost killed me.

“It was 120 degrees in that place, and the work was tough. It hit me that my mom had been doing that job for nine years. That motivated me.”

kids these days

At Lake Highlands High School, he joined AVID (a program to help kids prepare for college) and the football team. Dad stopped drinking, and father and son forged a relationship.

“He never was exactly the [traditional] father, but we became friends,” Jonathan says. Things became more peaceful at home. A sort of healing seemed to be taking place. Even Jonathan’s older siblings, who had bailed long ago, started coming around.

“We were finally the family I always wanted,” Jonathan says.

Jonathan was inducted into the National Honor Society. His dad attended the ceremony — a first.

“No, he had never come to anything before,” Jonathan says, “That was big.”

The end of felony probation and related drug tests came and went, without incident.

“Honestly, I had planned on smoking [weed] when I got off probation, but by the time it rolled around, I was too busy. And anyway, I had begun to enjoy getting attention for positive things. I knew that would go away with the first high.”

Things were looking up in all aspects when Jonathan’s father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The summer before senior year, Jonathan, his mom (who is 20 years his father’s junior) and older siblings took care of his rapidly deteriorating dad, who died several months later.

The Wildcat football team members and coaches kept Jonathan afloat, he says.

“I cannot say it enough. These people are amazing. I owe my life to them. They supported me. When I say they helped me, I mean they helped me. They gave us money. I just want them to know. Thank them ... ” His voice trails off.

The loss of his father was crushing, Jonathan says, but the people around him have, in no small way, empowered him.

And he, them.

His stunning reformation, for example, impacted coach Zachary Garza.

“When you see something like what happened with Jonathan, it gives you faith that anything is possible. It taught us to never give up on a kid.”

Jonathan’s mom has developed lung cancer, a result of cigarette addiction, Jonathan says. She had to quit the factory; it’s not a job one can do with a collapsed lung, the young

“I have never seen anything like it. He went from a gangbanger flunkie to a straight-A leader, hard-working team member. He spent a ridiculous amount of time working out. He later told us that spending tons of time at the gym was his way of staying safe.”

man notes. The development is bittersweet.

“Now she is a mom to me and my little sister (5). She packs lunches. She is the mom I always wanted. The mom my sister needs,” he says.

Jonathan needs to say something about his past.

“I don’t regret it. The crime that got me arrested. It was the best thing that happened to me... I became a man.”

He says he understands that people will hate him for what he did — the robberies, the break-ins. So he tries to give back, hold his head high and share his story to help others. He’s a living example, he told 700 RISD teachers at a pre-semester assembly, of what can happen when you refuse to believe in lost causes.

Now, he’s planning his high school graduation. With his football prowess, glut of extracurricular credits and straight As, he could have a pick of universities. Instead, he will enlist in the Marine Corps.

He has it all mapped out: “I will serve five years, then, using the GI Bill, I will attend Sam Houston State University, where I will study criminal justice, possibly become a probation officer, buy a house here in Lake Highlands for me and my mom and sister.”

As he told the teachers at that fall assembly, he realizes he has an important purpose. Not many embracers of gangs and drugs return to the world of the living, and he wants to be the breathing example of possibility.

“Those older guys I was running with are doing real time — decade-long and even life prison sentences.”

It is a life, he notes, that generally ends in prison or premature death.

“That is my plan, my goal — to change even one life — to do or say one thing that will turn it around for one person.”

kids these days

To say Nicole Alozie came from a rough neighborhood would be an understatement. Chaos ruled Lagos State, Nigeria, in the 1990s. Nicole doesn’t remember, but her parents tell the story of being robbed by a gang en route to the hospital the day she was born. In addition to rampant robberies, a religious war that threatened her Christian family was underway. Soon, Nicole’s father arranged for her and her mother to move to the United States. Because of immigration laws, he could not join them.

Mom struggled, working multiple jobs, to give Nicole and her brother, who came along after the relocation, a fulfilling life, and she became a U.S. citizen. Nicole worried about her father, and she endured bullying at school, but developed a thick skin. She blossomed into a girl of unique loveliness — as a high schooler, she’s athletically built and welcomes new acquaintances with a firm handshake. Her long braids are pulled into a thick bundle, and — donning a men’s Hawaiian shirt, a thick gold chain, jeans that snap above the ankle and orange Converse All Stars — her dress stubbornly strays from all known fashion trends. She says the teasing lasted through eighth grade. “Let me show you,” she says, pulling a pair of spectacles from her bag and putting them on; behind the lenses, her deep brown eyes swell. “Yeah,” she says. “Bug eyes.

“Kids made fun of these. They made me antisocial. I can’t see without them, and my eyesight is progressively deteriorating.” Then she removes the glasses, puts them back in the bag, and moves on to the next topic.

By the time she started Lake Highlands High School, she had made both social and academic progress, but things crumbled during sophomore year, she says.

Mom had wanted to start a business, but sensible Nicole had begged her not to do anything to jeopardize the job that paid the bills. Nonetheless, Mom came home one afternoon and announced she had quit the job and used her savings to buy equipment to start a catering company.

A constant fight to make ends meet ensued.

“For a year, we had no money for electricity bills, food, school supplies ... anything.”

Around this time, Nicole says, a male acquaintance of the family abused her. Nicole says that her mom cut contact with the accused, but had a hard time accepting the situation and became depressed. Nicole, too, battled depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.

“It’s OK. If I have to go to community college before I go to a university, I will.” Both will lead to the same destination, she says: medical school and becoming a doctor.

Nicole escaped the nerve-wracking environment at home by hitting the track. Track sports are in her blood, Nicole says. She dreams of the Olympics, because of how happy it would make her dad.

She spent hours training every day. But she had a job that sometimes interfered with track and school work. “I make all A’s and B’s,” she says. “I know it could be all A’s, but I get too sidetracked.”

As a teen, she began making her own clothes. “It is a cultural thing in a way — [Nigerian] women sew and make clothes. I made my prom dress,” she says. Not a burden, it brings her joy and a sense of accomplishment, she says. Last year, Nicole and a group of Lake Highlands students voluntarily sewed and shipped hundreds of dresses for Ugandan women.

Nicole and her mom have mended their relationship. “I see how hard it has been for her,” Nicole says. And Nicole has confided in her track coach and guidance counselor, both of whom she professes to “friggin’ love.”

The fondness is mutual, Paula Moore, Nicole’s counselor, says. Nicole often used Moore as a sounding board for both academic and personal issues, but was tough and always hid her troubles from the masses. “She is not afraid to ask for help,” Moore says. “And while she is facing a lot of stressful situations, she’s not going to let the people around her know what’s going on.”

Most of her peers probably don’t realize she faces problems with things they take for granted — she couldn’t afford to take the SAT when she wanted to, or driver’s education, for example; and when she finally took the SAT, she says, she didn’t test well. But, she assures, “It’s OK. If I have to go to community college before I go to a university, I will.” Both will lead to the same destination, she says: medical school and becoming a doctor.

“Maybe a neurosurgeon. I want to do something that will bring a lot of fortune to my family. As a neurologist or neurosurgeon I will move my dad here, travel and see the family I have never met ... I will open a hospital and shopping center [in Nigeria].”

Shopping center? Of course, “because the design career will follow the doctor career,” she says.

Anxiety and betrayal took Nicole Alozie down a dark road, but today she is sprinting toward the light.

kids these days

Paul Holden was troublingly mute during his early years, until his first word saved his life.

Paul’s parents were worried: Their 2-year old hadn’t spoken a word — not “mama” or “dada” or even “baba.” Was something wrong? Their previous two children “were babbling away by 10 months,” mom Anne Cameron says.

But when it counted, Paul spoke.

“Moke. Moke!” 2-and-a-half-year-old Paul said from his crib. Startled by the boy’s first verbalization, the babysitter hurried to the room. Paul was pointing at the ceiling, at a cloud of smoke creeping toward his tiny fingers. The story has been told time and time again, Paul warns, so there exists the possibility of embellishment for dramatic effect: The sitter scooped up Paul and hit the hallway at the exact time the home’s attic fan, all ablaze, came crashing through the ceiling, flames nipping at the sitter’s heels as she rushed the toddler to safety.

“I said my first words the night our house burned down,” Paul says.

The “expressive language delay” had worried Paul’s mom — a clinical psychologist who

later became the pastor of Lake Highlands Presbyterian Church — to the point that she and her husband, George Holden, nearly sought out a specialist to evaluate him. She believes it might have been a precursor to difficulties Paul experienced beginning a few years later with pronunciation and reading. With the help of a speech therapist and Montessori-school educators in Arkansas, where the family lived, Paul addressed his problems with words. When the family moved to Texas, when Paul was in seventh grade, the painfully shy young man says he had trouble making friends. He says he went a couple of years, actually, without a friend.

Some people read with effortless pleasure and make friends without trying; Paul, however, had to work diligently at both.

In ninth grade he made the tennis team and joined band and found friends. He plays the saxophone, enjoys band immensely, he says, and recalls the exact moment, playing in concert at a Richardson gym, when he realized he would for the rest of his life love

music and performing.

By his senior year at LHHS, the former speech- and reading-hindered, shy kid has become an admirable athlete, a musician, a motivator of classmates — 1,300 students voted in the mock election he and a fellow student of the opposing political party organized during the 2012 presidential election — and he ranks third overall academically in his class.

He says the teachers, coaches and staff at LHHS contributed to his success. The struggles he once faced, he says, “don’t even feel like part of this same life.”

Paul just learned he has been accepted to Yale, where he will follow in the footsteps of his two older siblings, and where he hopes to study science and possibly, thereafter, medicine, he says. He would like to be a doctor, he says, learn a foreign language and help people who need it free of charge.

“I am aware that I am privileged. I want to help people who don’t have those same privileges.”

kids these days

Unlike most of the 2013 graduating seniors, Bhupendra Karki didn’t grow up with a cell phone or a video game controller in his palm. In fact, until seventh grade, when he moved from a Bhutanese refugee camp to the northeast Dallas area, he lived with his family — parents, grandparents and younger brother — in a

He credits his parents with instilling not only scholarly motivation and expectations of success but also compassion for those who come from situations similar to his own.

Until eighth grade, Bhupendra Karki had never lived in a home with electricity or running water; now he’s a technology and social-media wiz kid.

thatched hut with no electricity or plumbing.

They relocated, Bhupendra says, with help from the International Organization of Migration. His new home in the Vickery Meadow area of Dallas had better accommodations, he says, but the social transition was tough.

“It was kind of depressing,” says Bhupendra, a young man of few words but frequent smiles. Through English as a Second Language (ESL) classes and Frisbee club at Sam Tasby Middle School, he was able to foster a few friendships, but for much of the time during the first few years, the soft-spoken, slight-statured Bhupendra says he felt alone in a confusing new world.

It wasn’t an entirely negative time, though. There were things about the new culture that excited Bhupendra. On an almost daily basis, for example, he discovered basic technology that he found “thrilling, surprising,” he says.

By his sophomore year, Bhupendra’s family had moved to an apartment complex

in the neighborhood, and he was attending Lake Highlands High School. He joined Wildcat International, a club for ESL students, and began tutoring others. “It made me feel good to help,” he says. He joined the Japanese Club and excelled academically.

Weeks before his high school graduation, Bhupendra is still quiet.

As he introduces himself to the Advocate team, an office staffer passes and reminds him to use his “loud voice” (the directive elicits a grin).

Initial shyness belies the self-confidence and determination driving Bhupendra’s achievement in school. He is an ROTC member and has completed a coveted health-profession internship as well as the driver’s education course. He is an A student — a member of the National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta — who has his future mapped out. He will attend the University of Texas at Arlington, he says, where he will study software engineering. His goal: to do something for humanity. To create something, through software and

technology — something like Facebook or Google — that will make a significant impact on the way we live.

For him, social networks are more than toys. Those who view Facebook and Twitter as time wasters “don’t fully understand the value of having a connection,” he says.

He credits his parents with instilling not only scholarly motivation and expectations of success but also compassion for those who come from situations similar to his own. His parents organized a Bhutanese Society in Dallas, to which he, too, has contributed time. He even taught English and civics classes to incoming immigrants, helping them to prepare for the U.S. citizenship test.

Teaching in front of a classroom is no small feat for someone who is by nature introverted, he admits, but he is grateful for his opportunities and therefore is pleased to do his part to advance communication among people. Anyway, he says, “They were not difficult to teach, because they are so eager to learn.”

Hannah Willard is the kind of girl other girls want to hate — pretty, bright, talented, impossibly perfect — but cannot, because she’s just too sweet.

She probably got her friend-to-all-shemeets personality from her dad. That’s how she describes him — “he never met a stranger,” she says of Al Willard, the gregarious jokester who had nicknames for all her friends.

One senses, even after knowing her just 10 minutes, that Hannah is the same way. Her smile is wide; a dash of freckles peppers her nose and cheeks. Her blond hair is, in a certain light, cherry-tinted. She answers tough questions with the poise of a good politician, but sincerely.

Al also was a hard worker, Hannah says, so when, in 2008, he was laid off from his full-time job, he picked up whatever work he could. Sometimes he had as many as three jobs at one time, Hannah says. “He didn’t complain. Ever.” Al did his part to keep Hannah, her little sister Rachel, and their mom Sharon, an art teacher at Northwood Hills Elementary, secure inside their pretty home near Wallace Elementary.

Heartbreak happened a week before Hannah’s senior year at Lake Highlands High School commenced. It was a Saturday, and Al had risen before dawn to deliver newspapers, one of his part-time gigs. Arriving home mid-morning, he crashed on the couch, which was normal. Doctors later would tell the family it was dilated cardiomyopathy — or heart failure — that took Al’s life while he napped in the living room.

Shock. Chaos. A Crowd. No, a community. This stands out about that day, Hannah says.

“First there were ambulances, and the neighbors were there, and we drove to the hospital, but it was too late then — there was nothing they could do,” she recalls. “But that day our home was filled with people. Fifty or 60 people. From that day until his funeral

Everything was in its right place for Hannah Willard, until an unexpected tragedy shattered her world.

“This community — Lake Highlands — has been completely amazing. I don’t know how we would have made it without them.”

that next Friday, our home was never empty. This community — Lake Highlands — has been completely amazing. I don’t know how we would have made it without them.”

Since senior year began, Hannah has stayed busy — singing in both the Espree pop choir and a capella choir, participating in church and the Girls Service League and volunteering with children. Her good grades earned her entrance into the National Honor Society and the Mu Alpha Theta math honor society. She played the lead role of Nellie in the spring high school musical “South Pacific,” a charge that required 15 to 30 or more hours of rehearsal a week for months. She admits that staying busy is one way of coping with the potentially paralyzing pain of loss. Despite the fact that the day we spoke with her was Al’s birthday, Hannah shows no signs of weakening.

More than one LHHS staffer, including counselor Pam Mitchell, uses the adage “she lights up a room” to describe Hannah. You can’t blame them. She does.

She feels uplifted by the people around her — her sister and mom and her friends and teachers at school — she says, and she anticipates a fulfilling future.

“I am going to Texas A&M,” she says, “and I am going to study elementary education.” No surprise — she loves kids and has years of nanny work and babysitting under her belt. Until summer, she is interning at White Rock Elementary, where she teaches fourth-graders.

“I love children, and my mom is a teacher,” she explains, adding that she hopes to return to RISD as an educator.

When asked, given her stage experience, if she wouldn’t prefer to give Broadway a shot, she says, in the mature manner of a person much older, that while she wishes to continue singing in college — adores singing and performing — she wants to be realistic. And the idea of teaching young children is expressed by Hannah with the same enthusiasm a less grounded person might use in announcing intentions to be a movie or pop star.

“There’s nothing better than working with kids and seeing that look in their eye, that light bulb sparking when they get something you are teaching. That is it. That’s where I want to be.”

Business Buzz

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

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Personal challenges prompt entrepreneur’s new venture

For the past 13 years, entrepreneur David Self and his wife, Rosemary, have raised their two children, Ryan and Brooke, in Lake Highlands. Ryan was born with Down syndrome and, as a child, underwent reconstructive surgery. As the boy recovered and participated in physical therapy, the Self family got to know other families and children who were dealing with physical impairments. Several years later, when David’s brother, Claiborne Self, told him about a company called Next Day Access — which provides easy-toinstall ramps, lifts and equipment to make the lives of physically impaired individuals easier he knew, first-hand, about the demand for such services in the Dallas area. Self, prompted by personal experience and confident about the business’s potential, was anxious to get involved. The Self brothers partnered and opened Next Day Access DFW, the outfit’s second franchise in the country. Self likes the idea that clients can call and have a stair lift that dramatically changes their lifestyle installed by the end of the next day at an affordable price. “You are always helping somebody in this business, whether it’s a family, caregiver or the physically impaired person,” he says. Recently they installed a ceiling lift for a wounded vet who needed it in order to independently get in the bathtub for physical therapy. It’s this type of thing, Self says, that makes him feel good about his entrepreneur-

Business bits

David Self, Next Day Access

DFW:

“You are always helping somebody in this business, whether it’s a family, caregiver or the physically impaired person,”

ial venture. He also is excited about the ways Next Day Access might help aging adults stay independent. “Looking back at my own family, I think getting some grab bars and ramps installed at home would have helped my dad stay independent longer and may have prevented some trips to the doctor.” The Self brothers plan to open another Next Day Access in Houston in early 2014.

—Whitney thompson

1 Lake Highlands Automotive will host a charity golf tournament to benefit the Lake Highlands YMCA on May 18 at the Waterview Golf Club in Rowlett. Entry is $90 per player and participants should register before May 1. 2 Tom Thumb at Skillman-Abrams will permanently close June 1. The Tom Thumb at Skillman between LBJ and Royal will get a major remodel, which will include the addition of a Starbucks. 3 Big Lots on Skillman-Abrams is negotiating its lease, says a spokesperson. If they renew, the location will undergo a makeover. 4 The Dallas Arboretum Children’s Garden will open September 21, according to a spokesperson, in conjunction with their annual Autumn at the Arboretum exhibit.

Photo by Wade griffith

DAY CAMP AT BETHANY LU

Dates: Monday, July 21st through Friday, July 26th

Times: 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM

Place: BETHANY LUTHERAN CHURCH 10101 Walnut Hill Lane, Dallas, TX 75238 214-348-9690

Ages: 4 – 10 years old (Kindergarten through 4th grade)

Cost: $50 per child! * scholarships available

Fun week studying FAITH IN ACTION! What happened after Jesus about the new Christians and their adventures bringing the story of

What to bring: Bring a sack lunch every day, sunscreen, and a mat provided.

Activities will include: Bible encounters, Singing, Skits, Games, Fun, Special Presentations!

BETHANY LU AN CHURCH!

DAY CAMP ETHANY LUTHERAN H!

DAY CAMP AT BETHANY LU CHURCH!

Registrations are due church office no later contact Terri in church office at 214-348-9690

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Dates: Monday, July 26th

Dates: Monday, July 21st through

Times: 9:00 AM

Dates: Monday, July 21st through Friday, July 26th

Times: 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM

Times: 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM

Place: BETHANY LUTHERAN CHURCH 10101 Walnut Hill Lane, Dallas, TX 75238 214-348-9690

Dates: Monday, July 21st through Friday, July 26th

Place: BETHANY LUTHERAN CHURCH 10101 Walnut Hill Lane, Dallas, TX 75238 214-348-9690

Place: BETHANY LUTHERAN CHURCH 10101 Walnut Hill Lane, Dallas, TX 75238 214-348-9690

Times: 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM

Ages: 4 – 10 years old (Kindergarten through 4th grade)

Ages: 4 – 10 years old (Kindergarten through 4th grade)

Cost: $50 per child! * scholarships available

Cost: $50 per child! * scholarships available

Cost: $50 per child! * scholarships available

Fun

Place: BETHANY LUTHERAN CHURCH 10101 Walnut Hill Lane, Dallas, TX 75238 214-348-9690

Fun week studying FAITH IN ACTION! What happened after Jesus rose from the dead? Learn about the new Christians and their adventures bringing the story of Christ to the world.

Fun week studying FAITH IN ACTION! What happened after Jesus rose from the dead? Learn about the new Christians and their adventures bringing the story of Christ to the world.

What to bring: Bring a sack lunch every day, sunscreen, and a mat or a towel. Drinks will be provided.

What to bring: Bring a sack lunch every day, sunscreen, and a mat or a towel. Drinks will be provided.

Ages: 4 – 10 years old (Kindergarten through 4th grade)

Current Location: 5740 Prospect Ave. #1000 Dallas, TX 75206 BethanyLutheran_2x3_05-13

Cost: $50 per child! * scholarships available

Activities will include: Bible encounters, Singing, Skits, Games, Fellowship, Crafts, Worship, Fun, Special Presentations!

Activities will include: Bible encounters, Singing, Skits, Games, Fellowship, Crafts, Worship, Fun, Special Presentations!

How to Register: Registrations are due in the church office no later than Friday, July 12th For registration information, contact Terri in the church office at 214-348-9690 or see our website: www.bethany.net

Fun week studying FAITH IN ACTION! What happened after Jesus about the new Christians and their adventures bringing the story

How to Register: Registrations are due in the church office no later than Friday, July 12th For registration information, contact Terri in the church office at 214-348-9690 or see our website: www.bethany.net

H!

guide

ARC’s sUMMER DAY CAMPs

special Needs Day Camps / 214.634.9810 ArcDallas.org Summertime is a blast at the Arc’s SUMMER DAY CAMPS for kids 5-21 years old with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Arc’s themed camps provide recreation, crafts, games, and fun outings with a professional staff ratio of 1:4 campers, plus loving volunteers. Trusted care for all special needs. Summer slots also open in Arc Days, our year-round program for adults 15+. Download Arc’s summer camp brochure at www.ArcDallas.org. Registration deadline is May 15. Mention our ad in The Advocate to waive $25 application fee.

BEthANY LUthERAN ChURCh ChiLD DEvELoPMENt CENtER

LUTHERAN CHURCH!

10101 Walnut hill Lane Dallas, tX 75238 www.bethany.net Summer Education and Fun Opportunities Abound! Day Camp * July 22nd-26th * 9 AM-4 PM * Ages 4 through 10. Discover how to put your faith in Christ into ACTION! To register, contact Terri at 214-348-9690. Child Development Center Summer Program * Tuesdays and Thursdays in June and July * For children 18 months through Pre-K. Bethany Lutheran CDC is dedicated to nurturing the whole child within a Christ-centered environment. Register by contacting Barbara at 214-348-9691.

fiRst BAPtist ACADEMY

nity involvement. From kindergarten through high school, every Lakehill student is encouraged to strive, challenged to succeed, and inspired to excel.

sChooL of CoNtEMPoRARY BALLEt DALLAs

5400 E. Mockingbird Ln. Dallas / 214.821.2066 / schoolofcbd.com We’ve relocated to 5400 E Mockingbird Ln. 75206. Five new beautiful studios across from Mockingbird Station, servicing Lakewood, M Streets, Park Cities, Uptown, Downtown, SMU, and more! Adults and Children’s programs ages 2+ in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop & Contemporary. Morning, Afternoon & Evening classes available, Beginner thru Advanced levels! Adults get in shape with one of our Dance Fitness classes: Dance Workout, Just Barre, Zumba, Samba, Pilates Mat, Ballet Boot Camp, Ballroom, Let Your Yoga Dance & MORE! Private lessons and Studio Rental available! Professional Rates & SMU student discounts! Professional instructors in a positive environment! Schedule is online. Enroll Now!

sPANish hoUsE

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

WhitE RoCk NoRth sChooL

Jesus rose from the dead? Learn of Christ to the world.

mat or a towel. Drinks will be Fellowship, Crafts, Worship, later than Friday, July 12th For 214-348-9690 or see our website:

LUTHERAN CHURCH!

1606 Patterson st. Dallas / 214.969.7861 / fbacademy.com First Baptist Academy serves students PK-12th grade, and has provided a rigorous academic program and Christ-centered environment for 40 years. A platform for education and building a relationship with Jesus starts with the youngest students. During Interim Week, Middle School students attend a spiritual emphasis retreat and participate in mission projects, and Upper School students choose from mission and educational trips, both local and abroad. FBA also offers a Summer Camp program each summer as well as competitive sports and fine arts programs during the school year. Call today to schedule your tour!

LAkEhiLL PREPARAtoRY sChooL

Leading to success. 2720 hillside Dr., Dallas 75214 / 214.826.2931 / lakehillprep. org Kindergarten through Grade 12 - Lakehill Preparatory School takes the word preparatory in its name very seriously. Throughout a student’s academic career, Lakehill builds an educational program that achieves its goal of enabling graduates to attend the finest, most rigorous universities of choice. Lakehill combines a robust, college-preparatory curriculum with opportunities for personal growth, individual enrichment, and commu-

Jesus rose from the dead? Learn of Christ to the world.

5740 Prospect Ave. Dallas / 214.826.4410 / Dallasspanishhouse.com New location at 4411 Skillman opening in 2013! Spanish House is a Spanish immersion preschool for children ages 2 – 5. We offer half-day and full-day programs with extended day care available from 7:30am – 6:00pm. We offer a traditional preschool curriculum delivered 100% in Spanish. New Kindergarten program to begin August 2013. We also offer after-school and Saturday classes for PK and elementary-aged students, both onand off-site. Additionally, we have an adult Spanish program for beginning, intermediate and advanced students.

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.

9727 White Rock trail Dallas / 214.348.7410 / WhiteRockNorthschool. com 2 Years through 5th Grade. 45 years of successful students! 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.

WhitE RoCk RoWiNg

2810 White Rock Road off Lawther Drive 469.583.8522 / www.whiterockboathouse. com. Discover rowing with White Rock Rowing’s top-notch coaches. For middle and high school students. Learn safety and basic rowing skills the first week. Opt to return a second week for more advanced instruction. No equipment or experience necessary. $135/week (financial aid available). Snacks and camp t-shirt included. Weekly camps begin June 3 and run through July, Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Rain or shine! At the big boathouse on the southwest shore of White Rock Lake. Registration and details online. Join us June 1 for National Learn to Row Day!

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.

BAPTIST

ForeST Me Adow / 9150 Church Rd. / Welcoming the mosaic of cultures living in our neighborhoods / www.fmbcdallas.org

Worship 10:50 / Bible Study 9:30 / Tim Ahlen, Pastor / 214.341.9555

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

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

BIBL e CHU r CH eS

GrACe BIBLe CHUrCH / www. gracebiblechurch.org

Sunday Worship: Traditional 9:00 am; Contemporary 10:30 am

Adult Bible Classes both hours /11306 Inwood Rd./214.368.0779

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

dISCIPL eS oF C Hr IST

CeNTrAL CHrISTIAN CHUrCH / 4711 Westside Drive / 214.526.7291

Sunday Worship 11:00 am ./ Sunday School 9:45am

Wed. Bible Study 5:00 pm./ www.cccdt.org / ALL are welcome

eAST dALLAS CHrISTIAN CHUrCH / 629 N. Peak Street / 214.824.8185

Sunday School 9:30 am / THE TABLE Worship Gathering 9:30 am

Worship 8:30 & 10:50 am / Rev. Deborah Morgan / www.edcc.org

HIGHLANdS CHrISTIAN CHUrCH (Lake Highlands) 9949 McCree Rd. 214-348-2805 / www.highlandschristianchurch.com

Sundays: School 9:45 am / Worship 11:00 am / Rev. Paul Carpenter

L UTHerAN

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

Me THodIST

L AKe 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. George Fisk

NoN- de NoMINATIoNAL

L AKe HIGHLANdS CHUrCH / 9919 McCree / 214.348.0460

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

Home groups meet on weeknights. / lakehighlandschurch.org

PreSB yT erIAN

KING’S PArISH ASSoCIATe reForMed PreSByTerIAN CHUrCH

kingsparish.com / Rev. David Winburne / Worship at 10:00 am

Meets at Ridgewood Park Rec Center / 469.600.3303

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

NorTHPArK PreSByTerIAN CHUrCH / 214.363.5457

9555 N. Central Expwy. / www.northparkpres.org

Pastor: Rev. Brent Barry / 8:30 & 11:00 am Sunday Services

UNIT y

UNIT y oF dALLAS / A Positive Path For Spiritual Living

6525 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX 75230 / 972-233-7106 / UnityDallas.org

Sunday services: 9:00 am & 11:00 am

never forget

Veterans deserve our remembrance

Memorial Day is a time to remember.

Remembering soldiers who lost their lives in service of the country can be vague and vacuous if not personalized. If you know someone who died in the service — a family member or close friend — remembering is easier. Their absence gnaws on you as you miss them in all the places and at all the times you would have shared with them.

Veterans, and those who have lost loved ones in wars, feel a double hurt when people make no effort to remember the sacrifices of the dead or the families they left behind. Remembering starts with desire and requires work.

A lot of us are bad with names. Not Ron White. The former Navy Intelligence officer and memory expert decided this past year to memorize the name and rank of all 2,200 fallen American soldiers from the war in Afghanistan. Operation Enduring Memory took him 10 months. Mission accomplished.

“I just wanted to acknowledge Petty Officer Third Class Matthew O’Brien was an individual person. Bruno Del Sol was an individual person,” White said. “I just want them to grasp the fact that the sacrifice for our country is significant.”

Jews closely link memory and immortality. For God to “remember you no more” is tantamount to being deprived not only of life in the age to come but also of any significant legacy in the life left behind. It means to be blotted out, as if you had never lived. Conversely, for God to remember you means that you have a share in the age to come and remain a part of God’s redemptive work of healing this broken world.

Christians, too, link God’s memory and eternal life. Consider a computer analogy in the age of cloud technology. Our great fear in the computer age is that we will lose

everything we had done, that our backups will fail with a hardware breakdown, and all we have worked on will be lost forever. But now all our data can be uploaded to iCloud or its kin. It will be remembered there in perpetuity (password protected!), and then can be downloaded again into new hardware when the old machine wears out.

We may think of God’s memory of our

unique personality and life work as a Christian doctrine of immortality that awaits the resurrection of the body and the final act of new creation when we shall be restored and healed — body and soul.

To remember those who have fallen in sacrificial service is an act of spiritual likeness to God. It shows love and honor. To save a life in our memory is akin to God’s great act of salvation. To forget, on the other hand, is to fall a notch from godlikeness toward the abyss of self-centeredness. Forgetfulness due to apathy (not dementia) is a symptom of spiritual lostness.

Memorial Day is about us, then, too. Whether you remember by visiting a national cemetery, welcoming home troops at the airport, walking the Katy Trail in the Carry the Load effort, or simply naming a name to God in prayer, take time to remember and be grateful.

There is no greater love, Jesus said, than to lay down your life for a friend. He ought to know. And we ought to know enough and love enough to at least remember.

Veterans, and those who have lost loved ones in wars, feel a double hurt when people make no effort to remember the sacrifices of the dead or the families they left behind.

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.

schools

Nathan Bucki, Kenton Cozart, Dallas Crotty and Austin Curnutt of Lake Highlands High School were named National Merit Finalists, ranking them in the top 1 percent of national high school students. William Ash, Michael Bonahoom, Siobhan Kelley, Patrick Mahurin, Luke Mason, Stefan Oddsson, Isabel Pask, Michael Schantz, Sara Shaw, Emily Siegers, John Stewart and Elisabeth Wall earned Commended status. The National Hispanic Recognition Program honored Lars Frederiksen, Stefan Oddsson and Isabel Pask.

philanthropy

Supporters of Healing Hands Ministries traveled to Austin to be recognized by the State of Texas for the work the charity medical and dental clinic does for the needy in and around Lake Highlands. State Representative Jason Villalba was on hand to present a resolution honoring Healing Hands as a “faith-based program that relies solely on volunteers and charitable donations.” The resolution singled out Healing Hands as “meriting special recognition for its exceptional humanitarian service,” and it “commended all those associated with the organization,” including donors and volunteers. The ministry was founded in 2007 by Janna Gardner, at the time an elementary-school nurse, and is located at Royal and Greenville.

people

ED LH

Lake Highlands-based Cameron Ernst debuted his new CD, “Always Always.” In recent years Ernst has given presentations at numerous DISD and RISD schools about curbing violence and adolescent bullying with the Love is Louder movement. He continues to infuse his music with optimism and love, and his catchy tunes have been featured commercially.

Several members of the White Rock area-based Dallas Running Club and White Rock Running Co-op ran the 2013 Boston Marathon, where a bomb near the finish line killed multiple people and injured hundreds. Two members of the WRRC Allyson Gump and Brent Yost were done running and near the finish line when it happened. They reported much devastation and chaos. Yost says that at one point people started sprinting from the finish line. “It was scary and sad,” he says. Lake Highlands’ James Ayers says he had left the race site when he heard what happened. He echoes Yost, “Just so sad.” Lake Highlands High School swim coach Kyle Horne was among the Dallas runners. Horne finished the race before the bomb exploded and is OK. The finish line was closed and the race canceled after the bomb went off, about four hours into the race.

HAVE AN ITEM TO BE fEATurEd?

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

health & wellness

optometrist

DR. ClinT MeyeR www.dallaseyeworks.com

80% of our perception is processed through our visual system. It is estimated that one in four school age children has an undiagnosed vision condition. Regular vision exams will ensure that your child’s eyes and visual system are helping them gain the most from their school experience. Call Dallas Eyeworks to schedule a convenient exam with Dr. Meyer.

dallas eyeworks

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

neUro mUsCUlar massaGe therapy

lUZ a. loPeRa www.luzsnmtandbodywork.com

Massages not only reduce stress, pain and muscle tension but considerably reduces anxiety, insomnia related to stress, digestive disorders, headaches, and much more. Give yourself the opportunity to enjoy the caring, comfort and empowerment that is only given by a talented therapist. Call Us today for a healthy life style.

luz’s nmt & BodyWork 4230 LBJ Freeway., ste.216 Dallas, TX 75244 214-978-7050 214-607-7565

CosmetiC and family dentistry

Dena T. Robinson, DDs, FaGD www.drdenarobinson.com

Four Steps to a Terrific Dental Experience

1. Call and ask us about sedation dentistry options

2. Come to your appointment in our comfortable office setting

3. Take a nap

4. Awake to a beautiful, healthy smile fellow of the academy of General dentistry 8940 Garland Rd., Ste. 200, Dallas, TX 75218 214.321.6441

General and CosmetiC dentistry

ashly R. CoTheRn, DDs, Pa www.drcothern.com

Dr. Ashly Cothern has a passion for life, faith, family and dentistry. As a patient, you are welcomed by a team of professionals that understands the direct link between your oral health and the rest of your body’s well being. Excellent Dentistry, Comprehensive Care and an Exceptional Experience — They love what they do… Now that’s something to SMILE about! 9669 N.Central Expwy., Ste. 220 Dallas, TX 75231 214.696.9966

4.625X2.25

10.40 sq. in

It’s raining eggs, hallelujah

Holy Saturday was cloudy with a 100-percent chance of candy. Families gathered at Lake Highlands North Park for a helicopter Easter egg drop of massive proportions courtesy of Prestonwood Baptist Church.

Classes/TuToring/ lessons

ART: Draw or Paint. All Levels. Lake Highlands N. Rec. Ctr. Jane Cross, 214-534-6829. Linda, 214-808-4919.

ARTISTIC GATHERINGS

Art Classes For All Ages. Casa Linda Plaza. 214-821-8383. www.artisticgatherings.com

DRUM & PIANO LESSONS Your location. UNT Grads, Betty & Bill. View BucherMusicSchool.com or call 469-831-7012

GUITAR OR PIANO Fun/Easy. Your Home. 9 to Adult. Prof Musician. UNT Grad. Larry 469-358-8784

JEWELRY Making Parties at Art Gallery. BYOB & creativity. All else included! jewelrymakingparty.com or 1-855-254-6625

LOCAL TEACHER WHO TUTORS Algebra 2, Pre Cal, Calculus. Your Home/Mine. Melissa-MS. 817-988-0202

MATH TUTORING Elementary through High School

Sari Bahl, MS Ed 25+ years exp. 214-357-8680

VOICE TEACHER with 38 years experience. MM, NATS www.PatriciaIvey.com 214-769-8560

ChildCare

LOVING, CHRIST-CENTERED CARE SINCE 1982

Lake Highlands Christian Child Enrichment Center Ages 2 mo.-12 yrs. 9919 McCree. 214-348-1123.

ChildCare

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. $50/hr. 1 hr min. Dan 214-660-3733 or stykidan@sbcglobal.net

employmenT

AIRLINE CAREERS Begin Here. Become an Aviation Maintenance Tech. FAA Approved. Training. Financial Aid, if qualified. Housing available. Job placement assistance. AIM 866-453-6204

CREATE INCOME From The Internet. One On One Coaching & Group Support. www.MonthlyResidual.net

PET SITTERS, DOG WALKERS Email Recruiting@pcpsi.com

Business opporTuniTies

I’M LOOKING FOR A PART-TIME ASSISTANT Must be a Go Getter. Computer Wiz. Call BJ Ellis 214-226-9875

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

profeSSional ServiceS

ESTATE/PROBATE MATTERS Because every family needs a will. Mary Glenn, J.D. maryglennattorney.com • 214-802-6768

HOLLOWAY BENEFIT CONCEPTS Benefit strategy for area businesses. www.hollowaybenefitconcepts.com 214-329-0097

Legal Services for Individuals and Small Businesses Wills & Probate, Real Estate, Contracts

Initial Office Consultation $125 for Advocate Readers (applied to future fees if matter or case accepted)

REAGAN MCLAIN LEE & HATCH, LLP 6060 North Central Expressway, Suite 690 Dallas, Texas 75206

214.691.6622

www.reaganmclain.com

Dollars for scholars

Recipients of Lake Highlands Junior Women’s League scholarships included Damanta Adhikari , Jose Barbosam , Jose Barbosam , Makayla Burnham , Keshanda Carraby , Erika Carrillo , Salha Faki , Lucina Garcia , Tha Hnem , Stella HrangLung , Cynthia Ibarra , Gennesis Jimenez , Reginald Marshall Jr. , Theresa Mendoza , Misha Montfort-Mills , Kelsey Munoz , Diep Ngo , Laura Leigh Oualline , Mason Puckett , LaSchastia Stegall , Hunter Stephan , Olivia Tawi , Wayne Taylor , Natalie Von Sternberg , Madison Wieters , Hannah Willard , Rodger Williams , Ebenether Wondaferew and, pictured, Katie Bott , Adam Morrissey , Brian Boos , Sharon Sequera [top] and Bhupendra Karki and Samuel Agabi [below]. ReAd moRe about Willard and Karki on page 24.

BULLETIN BOARD B

Mind, Body & Spirit

ADULT SWIM TO FIT NOW! All levels, Open 2 public. Learn 2 Swim, Kidswim, Tri, Masters • kcsharks.com • 214-226-5422

pet ServiceS

POOP SCOOP PROFESSIONALS Trust The Experts. 214-826-5009

Buy/Sell/trade

MAvS/DALLAS STARS TICkETS Neighborhood group needs partners for great Dallas Mavs/Dallas Stars seats — tickets are priced at our cost; 2 seats for each game. Mavs seats are in Platinum Level Section 204, front row; Stars seats are Section 123, Row B (second row from the glass).

E-mail rwamre@advocatemag.com or call 214-560-4212. We have great Rangers seats available, too!

OLD GUITARS WANTED Gibson, Fender, Gretsch, Martin. 1920s-1980s. Top dollar paid. Toll Free 1-866-433-8277

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

eState/GaraGe SaleS

CLUTTERBLASTERS-ESTATE/MOvING SALES

De-Clutter/Organize www.ClutterBlasters.com

Donna@ClutterBlasters.com 972-679-3100

ESTATE SALES & LIQUIDATION SERvICES

Moving, Retirement, Downsizing. One Piece or a Houseful. David Turner. 214-908-7688. dave2estates@aol.com

“Best

appliaNCe repair

APPLIANCE REPAIR SPECIALIST

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

JESSE’S A/C & APPLIANCE SERVICE TACLB13304C All Makes/Models. 214-660-8898

CarpeNtry & remodeliNg

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

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

HANDY DAN “The Handyman” To Do’s Done Right! www.handy-dan.com 214-252-1628

RENOVATE DALLAS

renovatedallas.net 214-403-7247

SQUARE NAIL WOODWORKING

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

www.squarenailwoodworking.com

• Bathrooms & Kitchens

• Handyman Service

CleaNiNg ServiCe

WANTED: HOUSES TO CLEAN

20 yrs. exp., Reliable, Great Prices, Excellent Refs., Free Estimates. No Crews. Sunny 214-724-2555

WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM

Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

Serving your Neighborhood Since 1993

Repairing: Refrigerators •Washer/Dryers

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

CarpeNtry & remodeliNg

ATLANTIS DESIGN-BUILD, LLC Complete Remodeling. 40 Yrs Exp. Additions. 1 & 2 Story. Kitchens, Baths. Small Jobs To Entire House. Renovation & Design. Full Time Supervision. Licensed/Insured. Free Estimates. 281-761-4648

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS, LLC

Complete Remodeling, Kitchens, Baths, Additions. Hardie Siding & Replacement Windows. Radiant Barrier, Insulation. Bonded & Insured. www.blake-construction.com 214-563-5035

• Tile/Wood Flooring

• Fences & Arbors

• Outdoor Living Space

''You dream it, we create it''

DAVIS CREATIVE SERVICES

daviscreativeservice.com 214-223-0478

BRIAN GREAM RENOVATIONS LLC

• 1 & 2 Story Additions

• Complete Renovations

• Kitchens/Baths

• Licensed/Insured 214.542.6214

WWW.BGRONTHEWEB.COM

BRIANGREAM@YAHOO.COM

WWW.MODERNCRAFTLLC.COM

COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL

RENOVATION & REPAIR

214.341.1448

WWW.OBRIENGROUPINC.COM

Residential Commercial Construction Remodel Cleans make-readys windows carpet

CleaNiNg ServiCe

A CLEANING SERVICES

mcprofessionalcleaning.com 469-951-2948

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

CLEANING BY LT General House Cleaning Linda 214-566-7743

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

THE MAIDS Angie’s List Award! Deep cleaning specialists, Eco-friendly supplies. 972-278-6000

214.750.4888 20 years in business!

$25.00 Off – 1st Full Detail Clean Complimentary quotes! lecleandallas.com

ComputerS & eleCtroNiCS

BILL’S COMPUTER REPAIR

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

COMPUTER PROBLEMS SOLVED Great Rates! Keith 214-295-6367

IQUEUE MEDIA COMPANY 214-478-8644 TV Installation, Computer Repair, Security.

CoNCrete/

maSoNry/paviNg

BRICK & STONE REPAIR

Don 214-704-1722

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

BRICK, STONEWORK, FLAGSTONE PATIOS Mortar Repair. Call George 214-498-2128

CONCRETE REPAIRS/REPOURS Demo existing. Driveways/Patio/Walks

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

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

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

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

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

Deckoart.com

ElEctrical SErvicES

4 U ElEctrical SErvicE, llc We will be there 4 U. 972-877-4183

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

MaStEr ElEctriciaN Lic #TECL 55703. Resd/Comcl. Bonded. Contr Lic# TECL23423. Trinity Electrical Services. David 214-802-0436

MOriN ElEctric New/Remodel.Com/Res. Panel Changes/Full Services. All Phases. All Service Work. 469-230-7438. TECL2293

TEXAS ELECTRICAL • 214-289-0639

Honest, Quality. TECL 24668 CCs accepted.

tH ElEctric Reasonable Rates. Licensed & Insured. Ted. E257 214-808-3658

WHitE rOcK ElEctric All Electrical Services. Lic/Insd. E795. 214-850-4891

FEncing & DEckS

#1

EST. 1991

COWBOY

FENCE & IRON CO.

214.692.1991

SPECIALIZING IN Wood Fences &Auto Gates

cowboyfenceandiron.com

Northlake Fence and Deck

Locally owned and operated by the Mccaffrey family since1980

214-349-9132

www.northlakefence.com

FirEplacE SErvicE

FounDation

rEpair

• Slabs • Pier & Beam

• Mud Jacking • Drainage

• Free Estimates

• Over 20 Years Exp. 972-288-3797

We Answer Our Phones

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

CLEARWINDOWSANDDOORS.COM

Replacement Windows & Doors Free Estimate 214-274-5864

HanDyman SErvicES

HONESt, SKillED SErvicE With a Smile. General Repairs/ Maintenance. 214-215-2582

tW SErvicES Home Repairs and Yard Care. Contact 214-531-1897

WANTED: ODD JOBS & TO DO LISTS

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

Your Home Repair Specialists

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

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

’09, ’10, ’11 CONSUMERS CHOICE AWARDS

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

LAkE HIGHLANDS GLASS & MIRROR custom mirrors • shower enclosures store fronts • casements 214-349-8160

rOcK GlaSS cO Replace, repair: windows, mirrors, showers, screens. 972-907-0944

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

TECL20502

972-926-7007

ExtErior

clEaning

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Exterior & Attached Garage Quotes for Other Services 214-328-2847

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NATIONWIDE ROOFING,FENCING,GUTTERS

Someone grabbed the bench.

The Victim:John Gaither

The Crime: Theft

Date: Monday, March 18

Time: Between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Location: 8300 block of Lullwater

John Gaither has a small courtyard area in the front yard of his Old Lake Highlands home. The metal bench there was nice for sitting and relaxing — perfect for a chat with neighbors and friends on a spring day. Gaither had an unfortunate surprise recently when he discovered his bench had been stolen.

In recent years, Gaither hadn’t experienced any crime at his home, but had noticed more burglaries and car break-ins in the area of late. The recent theft was annoying, but he is glad that the thief did not try to take more or break into his house.

“The bench has been out there 10 years,” he says. “I’m disappointed it’s gone. I guess the thing to do now is to lock things down with a heavy chain.”

Despite the loss, he is trying to keep a positive outlook and still enjoy the greenery in his front yard — hopefully on his new bench soon.

Dallas Police Sgt. Keitric Jones of the Northeast Patrol Division says the theft of patio furniture is not a common offense. But items that are not secured can always be a target for thieves looking for easy loot. Making yourself less of a target will make a thief think about looking elsewhere.

“To try to prevent lawn and patio furniture from being stolen, the persons should purchase a small steel cable or chain, and secure the furniture to a tree or other immovable object,” Jones says. “Please keep in mind that any precautions taken to secure your property will help to reduce the chance of you becoming a victim of a theft.”

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer and author of “Raising the Stakes”,

Finding homeS

Understanding the public housing situation and how it impacts Lake Highlands Comment. Visit lakehighlands.advocatemag.com and search MaryAnn Russ to tell us what you think.

MaryAnn Russ has been head of the Dallas Housing Authority for about three years. After spending more than an hour with Russ at a Citizen Action Team (CAT) meeting held at the Lake Highlands Public Improvement District office, attendees were dazzled by her encyclopedic knowledge of public housing and her no-nonsense approach to making sure everyone follows the rules

DHA employees, people receiving assistance, landlords, everyone.

We were surprised to learn that 60 percent of homeless people are veterans. “Post-traumatic stress disorder didn’t originate with Iraq and Afghanistan,” Russ says. As homeless Vietnam veterans age, behavioral issues such as alcohol and substance abuse create roadblocks to public assistance. “That’s why we work so closely with the Bridge [a central Dallas shelter], because they help people get stabilized, and they refer them to us when they’re housingready.”

On the other end of the spectrum are foster children who become homeless when they turn 18. “They are the youngest people we serve,” Russ says. “In some cases they’ve never lived on their own. We try to set them up in a roommate situation, so they can help each other.”

Families with children present a different set of problems. “A lot of homeless families are doing their best to conceal their status from the state, because they don’t want their kids to be put in

foster care,” Russ says. “They’re couch surfing from one place to the next. We have had to create a safe place for them where it’s OK for them to say, ‘Yeah, I’m actually homeless.’” Examples of safe places are the Housing Crisis Center, Family Gateway, Nexus and the Bridge. Russ says that with referrals from these agencies, DHA has a retention rate of more than 87 percent.

That retention rate is key. “We really want people to succeed in housing,” Russ says.

DHA briefly considered permanent supportive housing in units on Forest Lane west of Abrams, but high crime statistics in the area eliminated that possibility. Ultimately the DHA approved permanent supportive housing for families with children in Trinity Palms apartments, now re-named Jackson Branch.

“We assist about 20 percent of the units there,” Russ says. The supportive services are provided on-site by the Housing Crisis Center.

“Awarding project-based vouchers is a competitive process,” Russ says. “You’re not going to get to the stage of us talking to you seriously until the property passes an inspection. The last time we went out, we had 600plus apartments applying, but we only awarded 370.”

Russ delivered good news concerning Hidden Ridge, located at Whitehurst and Ferris Branch. “It’s an ugly multifamily property that [DHA] acquired,” she says. “In this case the ugliness is compounded by actual deterioration. We’re about to begin a half-million-dollar project for exterior improvements there, including taking care of erosion along that stream.”

Many attendees of that night’s meeting live near the Skillman-LBJ intersection. They were concerned about crime

and other perceived problems connected with public housing. Ultimately, resident Dormand Long was impressed with Russ’ presentation. “What I had thought was a liability to our society I found to actually be a valuable asset, serving to help those who have stumbled in life bootstrap themselves and re-enter the mainstream.”

Steve Wakefield, a neighbor who serves on the DHA advisory board, says, “We’ve made some strides in Lake Highlands, especially when you think about where we were ten years ago.” But he also thinks it’s important to remain vigilant and continue to voice concerns, and that’s why he attended the meeting. “I think there was initially distrust between the DHA and neighborhoods in general,” Wakefield says. “But I think with MaryAnn [Russ], there’s more confidence that the DHA properties and programs won’t be looked upon as a detriment, and in some cases could even be positive.”

Author’s note: Since the above-mentioned meeting, federal sequestration cuts went into effect. Regarding said cuts’ impact on DHA, Russ notes via e-mail that the organization has “been able to secure additional funding that will take us through the year without cutting rents to landlords or increasing tenant rents. Wewillfinishtheyearwith very low reserves, but we will not have to dropanycompliantfamiliesfromthe program.” However, she added, DHA will not be able to admit new families from the existing waiting list. Unless Congress funds the program in 2014, it will shrink.

For inFormation on Future Cat meetings, watch for announcements on lakehighlands. advocatemag.com, or contact organizer Patrick Sanders, Northeast Division community prosecutor, patrick.sanders@dallascityhall.com

EllenRaff, a neighborhoodresident,writes a monthlyopinioncolumnaboutneighborhoodissues. 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 editor@advocatemag.com.