2014 September Lake Highlands

ARCHIE

Have Fun AT OUR FREE WOMEN’S HEALTH EVENT

Doctors Hospital at White Rock Lake is hosting a fun and informative evening on Tuesday, September 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. so women can learn more about the latest health treatments. The free event at 9330 Poppy Drive, Suite 207 will include topics such as endometriosis, gallbladder disease, heart disease, ovarian cysts and uterine fibroids. Several physicians will serve in a Q&A panel, and there will be refreshments, bra-fitting compliments of WACOAL and Macy’s, and relaxing chair massages. Basic Zumba lessons with an exercise instructor from White Rock YMCA will be offered for the first 25 registrants.

Registration is required. Call 800-887-2525 to reserve your seat today.

Meet our neighborhood pets.

providing support :

Run with the hounds

A neighborhood entrepreneur turned her love for dogs and marathoning into a business that is taking off.

16

Making some easy green

A Lake Highlands gardener invented a product that makes growing easy for anyone.

18

Historic B.B. Owens Park

Before disc golf, when Walnut Hill was Kingsley, the Owens family donated some land.

22

Food for thought

A pet-friendly patio near White Rock Lake and the neighborhood’s best breakfasts

Barbara Sanders and Chili: Photo by Kim Leeson

ON THE COVER: Archie, photo by Kim Leeson

SNAP JUDGMENT

I knew that the woman who owns the three-story, multimillion-dollar closet in Houston was an idiot, especially when it was reported that a thief made off with $1 million in luxury goods from her closet one evening. My opinion was confirmed when I saw her crying on TV after the theft; her lips seemed a little artificially plump to me.

Same with whoever decided to bring a couple of Americans with Ebola to Atlanta to treat them — what kind of American brings people with an incredibly contagious disease into our country, risking the health of the rest of us? The 30-second clip didn’t go into details, but I don’t have time to think about Ebola longer than that anyway.

How about Beyonce’s sister, who started beating on Jay-Z in that elevator video clip? He was just standing there looking at her, so she must have been drunk or on drugs or just messed up. The video was kind of grainy, but I could see enough to decide.

That football player, Ray Rice, who turned up on hotel security cameras dragging his girlfriend (now wife) out of a hotel elevator when she appeared to be unconscious? What a bozo. He looked pretty guilty in that black-and-white video.

And the NFL commissioner who only suspended Rice for two games — when that other player who was smoking marijuana was kicked out for a whole year I mean, what was the commissioner thinking? I could tell all I needed to know from the TV news report teaser — there’s no question Rice should be spending time in prison instead of cooling his heels for a couple of Sundays.

That’s the greatest thing about life these days. Thanks to TV news, internet video clips and 10-second sound bites, it’s really easy to condemn, hate, repudiate and dismiss people I’ve never met and never talked with, all based on a few seconds of video or a single photo (celebrities without makeup!) or someone’s 140-character Twitter post.

It’s so much easier to be judgmental now. I don’t have to get my hands dirty with newsprint or books, and I don’t have to depend on friends telling me how to think. Thanks to the internet, I can think on my own and draw conclusions in just a couple of seconds.

Oscar Pistorius? Guilty! Vladimir Putin? Scary! Congress? Dummies!

There’s no longer any need to understand the background of an issue. No need to spend time researching complicated stories. No reason to consider what others with first-hand information about situations might have to say — I can be the judge, jury and executioner without breaking a sweat, leaving my home or even having any real knowledge about what I’m talking about.

And if I’m really lucky, I can take care of all of my thinking before breakfast while watching the morning news on TV.

Thank you, Al Gore, for inventing the internet. You should really run for office someday and straighten out those guys in Washington!

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contributing editors: KERI MITCHELL, SALLY WAMRE

contributors: GAYLA BROOKS, SEAN CHAFFIN, ANGELA HUNT, GEORGE MASON, BLAIR MONIE, ELLEN RAFF, KRISTEN MASSAD, WHITNEY THOMPSON

photo editor: DANNY FULGENCIO

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photographers: JAMES COREAS, MARK DAVIS, DESIREE

ESPADA, DAVID LEESON, KIM LEESON, JENNIFER SHERTZER

copy editor: LARRA KEEL

Dallas 75214; or email rwamre@advocatemag.com.

Within 30 seconds, or 140 characters, we confidently shape our wildly under-informed opinions

The 30-second clip didn’t go into details, but I don’t have time to think about Ebola longer than that anyway.

Digital Mammograms

You know you should get a mammogram, but do you know when to start? Is it at age 40 or 50? Should you start sooner? Or later? At Texas Health Resources, we’re here to clear up the uncertainty because when you should start getting mammograms depends upon, well, you. We don’t just look at age, we look at factors like family history, physical activity and lifestyle so you know when the right time is for you and how often you should schedule them. And if you are at risk, we offer comprehensive breast care from diagnostics to support. Let us help you take the guesswork out of breast care. Go online to take the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment and schedule your digital mammogram today.

Sprouts may not plant a grocery store in Lake Highlands

Ten ways to get ticketed for a city code violation

A massive tortoise wandered White Rock Lake

How dangerous is Lake Highlands? It’s not that simple

—Advocate editor Keri Mitchell, who recently updated readers on Sprouts’ waning interest in Lake Highlands

“So

grocery

that

been ‘off the charts’ in DFW over the last four years.”

Radiation oncologist Dr. Ramzi Abdulrahman leads a dedicated team of health care professionals who specialize in delivering extremely precise cancer treatments that allow our youngest patients to continue their journey into adulthood with fewer long-term side effects. UT Southwestern is the No. 1 referral center for Children’s Medical Center, and the only local facility that regularly treats children with advanced radiosurgical tools such as the Gamma Knife and CyberKnife. This is UT Southwestern—where scientific research, advanced technology, and leading-edge treatments come together to bring new hope to cancer patients.

To learn more, contact:

Radiation Oncology at 214-645-8525 | UTSWmedicine.org/radonc

This is where we’re helping young patients put cancer behind them.

Launch

Go, dog, go

For several years, White Rock-area resident Erica Upham has spent a large chunk of her time exercising, as one must when aiming to qualify for (or preparing to compete in) the world’s most famous footrace, the Boston Marathon. Training for marathons while working full time and managing life’s daily responsibilities is doable but difficult. Upham, who possesses both an entrepreneurial and animal-loving spirit, figured out a way to do it all — run regularly, spend quality time with her dogs and

other fleet-footed training partners, and earn a respectable income.

Until a few months ago, Upham worked at University of Texas at Dallas in the career center, where she gave students advice about their resumes and interviewing skills. “It was cool to see them go off to do things they love to do,” she says. Unfortunately, she was not as enthusiastic about her own career.

A few weeks after her May 31 wedding, she set up a website for Out of the Kennel,

Erica Upham started a dog-running (walking when it is too hot) business: Photo by Kim Leeson

hoping to get a few pet-related jobs here and there. Having done plenty of unpaid pet sitting for friends and family, she knew she would enjoy the work.

“I thought it would be a hobby,” she says. But it quickly became difficult to manage everything. She received an offer for another position at UT-Dallas. When she didn’t feel particularly excited about the opportunity, “that was a real clue” that she should think about following her dream, she says. After just a few weeks in business, Upham quit her job to devote all her time to Out of the Kennel. With her wedding paid for and no big financial responsibilities on the horizon, she says, “I thought, it’s now or never It was a great time to take a risk.”

Among other services, she offers dog running for pets that need a little more exercise than a standard walk (except when it is too hot). Upham has been a runner since she was in the ninth grade. She’s run six marathons the most recent was fast enough to gain her entry into the 2015 Boston Marathon. She trains with the Dallas Running Club two days a week, and the responsibility of running with her high-energy canine clients motivates her the rest of the time, she says.

“I love dogs. I love the outdoors, running and walking,” she says. She also appreciates her clientele: “Everyone I work with is a huge animal lover.”

Her own canine family — Samson the schnoodle and Winston the Airedale terrier — have it good at the Upham house. “We treat our dogs like children,” she says. “We even make food and dog treats for them.”

So today Upham is among those lucky people who love their jobs. “Being around dogs and cats is so enjoyable,” she says, “I don’t feel like I’m working.”

—Larra Keel

FOR MORE INFORMATION, visit outofthekennel.com or call 972.364.7019.

EXPLORING YOUR CONSTRUCTION CHECKLIST

KNOWLEDGE OF YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

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(214) 823-0033

6318 Gaston Avenue Suite 202 Dallas, Texas 75214 www.bellavistacompany.com

CGR, CGP, CAPS, Sara Haley & Lance Tyler

What gives?

Small ways that you can make a big difference for nonprofits

Support Lake Highlands High School football …

when you buy a Black Out T-shirt from a LHHS cheerleader for $12. A portion of the proceeds will go to a local charity (at time of publication, still to be determined).

Lake Highlands-based business Herb’s Paint and Body sponsored the T-shirt project. Black Out shirts are designed for wear at this season’s Wildcat football games, especially the fan-designated Black Out game versus rival Berkner Rams Sept. 26. To purchase a shirt, contact Glenda Gerteisen at 214.912.3278 or glenda9920@swbell.net. For a complete Wildcat Football schedule, visit lhwildcatclub.org.

Take five … miles, that is. The Dallas Running Club hosts the annual Breakfast Bash run at Winfrey Point at White Rock Lake Sept. 6 at 8 a.m. The Dallas Running Club is a nonprofit group that promotes good health. Membership is $30 per annum (discounts are available for families, students and seniors) and includes a free race the first Saturday of most months. DRC races are $10 each for non-members. Register for the race or membership at dallasrunningclub.com. Race day registration also is available at Winfrey Point from 6:30-7:30 a.m.

Confirm fall’s arrival …

… by plucking the perfect pumpkin. Yes, nothing says autumn in Lake Highlands like the late-September appearance of the annual pumpkin patch at St. James Episcopal Church on Audelia Road at McCree. Pumpkin purchase proceeds benefit the church’s youth group. Look for the pumpkins the last Sunday in September through Oct. 31. St. James is located at 9845 McCree.

KNOW OF WAYS

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

A lifelong athlete, Patty Heitz found herself sidelined by shoulder problems. She went to her local Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas when pain lingered after rotator cuff surgery at another hospital. Tests revealed a serious staph infection that went all the way into the bone. Surgery to remove the affected bone and tissue plus antibiotic implants and injections cleared the way for a reverse shoulder replacement procedure. She regained full motion in the affected shoulder, but twinges of pain in the other shoulder sent her back to Baylor Dallas for a second rotator cuff surgery. With both shoulders back on track, Patty returned to the course. “Now if I don’t play well,” she jokes, “I can’t blame it on my shoulders.”

For a physician referral or for more information about orthopedic services, call 1.800.4BAYLOR or visit us online at BaylorHealth.com/DallasOrtho

Two new shoulders led to a hole-in-one.

CITY VIEW ANTIQUE MALL

The kids are back in school! Indulge in a little shopping relaxation for yourself! Start planning for the holidays with antiques & accessories from our 65 dealers! Open daily. 6830 Walling Lane (Skillman/Abrams) 214.752.3071 cityviewantiques.homestead.com

T.HEE GREETINGS

Happy fall y’all. It’s tail gate time! T. Hee Greetings-9661 Ste.110, Lake Highlands. 214.747.5800 t-heegifts.com

THE STORE IN LAKE HIGHLANDS

HAPPY EVERYTHING...Start a collection with just one platter and collect a different attachment for eveyr holiday & special occasion. It’s a functional piece & decoration.10233 E NW Hwy @ Ferndale (near Albertsons) 214.553.8850 Mon-Sat 9:30-5:30

TheStoreinLH.com

PAINTING WITH A TWIST

Express your inner artist! Instructors lead attendees in creating paintings with a featured piece of art. Bring your imagination and beverage. Perfect for private parties and complimentary valet parking. 5202 W. Lovers Lane 214.350.9911 paintingwithatwist.com/dallas

THEgoods

ADVOCATE ORNAMENT

Call 214.560.4203

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. Read online at advocatemag.com/digital

Easy green

Stacie Bon has always enjoyed gardening. It’s a love passed down from her mother and her grandmother (who is 100 years old now). Bon has a vivid childhood memory of one of her grandmother’s plants — some hen and chicks succulents potted in a metal container on her back steps.

Bon took the name of that plant for her gardening blog, henandchix.com. She started the blog to share information with her friends and family. But while Bon has a green thumb and an interest in landscape design, she realizes that many people aren’t so plant-savvy. “I love gardening, and I wanted to show people you don’t have to be a horticulturist to have a nice garden,” she says. “It doesn’t have to be complicated.”

30 WORD ON BODY TEXT IS ABSOLUTE LIMIT ON TEXT. WE WILL NOT COUNT ADDRESS, ETC.

That’s one of the reasons she came up with Hen and Chix Growers. The Growers are all-in-one kits for growing herbs or wildflowers. Each kit includes a small pot and saucer, a soil wafer and a seed bomb. The planting takes just a few minutes, and germination takes a couple of weeks. “This is simple — it’s everything all in one,” she says. “All of us have so little time.”

That definitely applies to Bon herself. As an advertising professional and mother of two young children, the Lake Highlands Estates resident (who also serves on the board of Feed Lake Highlands) isn’t exactly swimming in downtime. But that didn’t stop her from launching Hen and Chix Growers as a business earlier this year.

Right now she’s concentrating on selling locally through her blog and Facebook page. The growers have been featured at T. Hee Greetings and Gifts, and she hopes to get them in additional local stores soon.

The growers make great gifts, she says, because “they’re educational, interactive and fun.” They can open conversations with children about how plants grow, healthy eating and being environmentally friendly — the materials are recycled and biodegradable. Adults love them too; Bon has sold several as hostess gifts and thank-you gifts. “Even people who aren’t gardeners enjoy it,” she says.

—Larra Keel

Stacie Bon invented Hen and Chix Growers growing kits: Photos by Desiree Espada

B.B. Owens Park

As told to Keri Mitchell by Sally Rodriguez, retired Dallas Park and Recreation Department historian. All photos are courtesy of the Dallas Municipal Archives and curated by Rodriguez. She authored the books “White Rock Lake” and “White Rock Lake Revisited,” available at area bookstores and through arcadiapublishing.com.

The east-west road coming from the bottom left corner of this photo is what is now Walnut Hill (it was Kingsley back in those days) intersected by Plano Road, and at the top is 635. The area north of 635 was open farmland. I remember the stable that was at the corner of Kingsley and Plano roads where the park is now. It belonged to the Owens family, who donated the land.

New streets have been added to this area, as evidenced by the white concrete. The curved street extends Mapleridge from the west side of Plano Road to the east and travels down to Kingsley, forming an outline of the park. The new street on the south side of 635 similarly extends Estate Lane east across Plano Road. There still is no development in the park, but east of the park, Highland Oaks Church of Christ is under construction. In the upper left corner is Wallace Elementary School.

Out & About

September 2014

Sept. 19

Carrie Newcomer

Folk musician Carrie Newcomer performs at 8 p.m. Her latest album is accompanied by Newcomer’s first book, “A Permeable Life: Poetry and Essays.” Twangtown Paramours open the show. Uncle Calvin’s Coffeehouse, 9555 N. Central, 214.363.0044, $20 advance/$25 door

more LOCAL EVENTS or submit your own

LAKEHIGHLANDS.ADVOCATEMAG.COM/EVENTS

SEPT. 6

Dallas Elks Ladies garage/craft sale

More than 50 families participate in this gargantuan parking lot sale, which also features a coffee bar, cake wheel, bakery, jewelry and more. It all benefits the Lake Highlands area Elks Lodge, which supports neighborhood education and community improvement. Open 8 a.m.-2 p.m. 8550 Lullwater Drive (near Northwest Hwy. and Plano Road), free

SEPT. 10

‘Father of the Bride’

Revisit this ’90s classic starring Steve Martin and Martin Short on the big screen at 7:30 p.m.

Studio Movie Grill, 11170 N. Central, 214.361.2966, studiomoviegrill.com, $2

SEPT. 13

Parent party

Join the Lake Highlands Area Early Childhood PTA at the 2014-2015 kickoff party. Open to the public, this event is an opportunity to learn more about the organization while the kids enjoy bounce houses, train rides, music and more. It runs from 10 a.m. – noon. If you can’t make it, learn more about membership at lhaecpta.org.

Highlands Christian Church, 9949 McCree, free

SEPT. 17

Tonier Cain signs ‘Healing Neen’

For two decades Tonier Cain was caught in the cycle of crack addiction, chronic incarceration and abuse. Meet the author as she signs copies of her book chronicling her source of inspiration and road to recovery.

Barnes and Noble, 7700 W. Northwest Highway #300, 214.739.1124, barnesandnoble.com, free

Sept. 20

Children’s ball

Dallas Children’s Theater is convening its royal court of knights and princesses for a Dream Ball. The ball will follow the season opener for “Rapunzel,” where kids can try their hands at swordplay, play dress up in the beauty room and enjoy a meal fit for nobility before everyone takes to the floor for a stately dance.

Dallas Children’s Theater, 5938 Skillman, dct.org, 214.978.0110, $50 per person

Autumn at the Arboretum

Every year, the Dallas Arboretum uses more than 50,000 pumpkins, gourds and squash to form its nationally acclaimed storybook pumpkin village, which is on display through Nov. 27. Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland, 214.515.6500, $10-$15, plus $10 for onsite parking and $5 for offsite parking.

SEPT. 20- OCT. 26

‘Rapunzel’

Dallas Children’s Theater hosts its hilarious musical take on the classic fairy tale, “Rapunzel.” The princess must find a way to escape the wicked Lady Za Za. The handsome Sir Roderick is ready to help Rapunzel take her rightful place as ruler of the kingdom.

Dallas Children’s Theater, 5938 Skillman, dct.org, 214.978.0110, $17-28

THROUGH SEPT. 27

Art exhibit

Visit the Bath House Cultural Center and peruse, “Split Seconds,” an exhibit presented as part of the center’s Curate+Collaborate Exhibition Series. Marilyn Waligore and Emily Loving are the co-curators of this exhibition, they hope the exhibit will encourage audiences to “rethink the emphasis on a single moment in time.”

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

URBAN VINES

9219 Garland 214.328.9463

urbanvinesdallas.com

Delicious

Hours: Mon.Sat. 11am-8pm

AMBIANCE: RELAXED

PRICE RANGE: $7-$28

HOURS: 11 A.M.- 10 P.M. SUN.-THURS.; 11 A.M.-11:30 P.M. FRI.-SAT.

TIP: SIT NEAR THE FIREPLACE AND SIP A GLASS OF MALBEC WITH A FOUR-LEGGED FRIEND ON THE PET-FRIENDLY PATIO

DID YOU KNOW? YOU CAN GRAB LEFTOVER WINE CORKS FROM A PILE NEAR THE PATIO’S WATER FOUNTAIN FOR CRAFTS, OR CONTRIBUTE YOUR OWN.

WhenOld Lake Highlands-area resident Jennifer Rodriguez opened Urban Vines with her co-owner and fiancé, Jon Sparks, she set out to create the ideal setting to unwind.

“Every time that I visited a wine bar, I always thought of what I would do differently if I was in charge, so I decided to create one of my own,” Rodriguez says. And despite the fact that Rodriguez was — and still is — busy as a full-time lawyer, Urban Vines opened just over a year ago.

“We needed something like this on this side of the lake,” she says (that’s the opposite side of the lake for Lake Highlands dwellers). “We have some great businesses on this side, but we needed some wine.”

Longtime bartender and White Rock area resident Paul Kissell serves as the bar’s wine buyer and general manager. He says that the wine list doesn’t include anything that you might find in the liquor or grocery store. Instead, there’s a nice assortment of Old World and New World wines from a number of regions available by the glass or bottle. Kissell also travels to wineries as much as possible to buy bottles directly from distributors. Last month he traveled to Sonoma for the task. He says that he takes pride in working at one of the only wine-driven concepts in the White Rock area. “Goodfriend has the beer, and we have the wine.” Urban Vines also has a full kitchen, which is pretty unique for a wine bar. There are the standards such as the meat and cheese board or flatbread pizza, but Rodriguez says customers request the salmon crostini the most. When Rodriguez isn’t busy carrying out plates of food to tables, she says she likes to sit at her bar and reflect.

“Those nights when the place is full, the employees are moving like a well-oiled machine, and people are laughing, it all falls into place,” she says. “It’s a lot of pride. It’s an amazing thing.”

Whitney Thompson

Meat and cheese board with crackers, grapes, cranberryCognac sausage, jellied fig, hard salami and assortment of cheeses: Photo by James Coreas

And the winner is JJ’s Café

In the three years since its inception, JJ’s Café (10233 E. Northwest Highway) has quietly developed into an exemplary breakfast and brunch destination. Advocate readers agree — you voted it the best in the neighborhood. Owner Jose Ramirez says his success is the result of “very hard work and attention to service” as well as boundless contributions from his wife, Josefina Orozco, who works behind the scenes. “She’s looking over everything,” Ramirez says. During every shift, Ramirez moves from one table

to another, chatting with diners and assisting his team. Huevos rancheros is the most popular item on his menu, he says, followed closely by crepes. Nutella or banana nut crepes are favorites, he adds. Pancakes come in a variety of forms — Hawaiian with macadamia nuts and pineapple, pumpkin and blueberry, to name a few. JJ’s also serves lunch — sandwiches, salads, burgers and even pork chops and steak — as well as dinner on Friday nights only. Before the couple bought the restaurant, the space housed an adequate if unexciting diner called Divine

QUESA-D-YAS

Looking for a great meal in Lake Highlands?

Come visit us where we take pride in making and delivering the best custom quesadillas using fresh ingredients and a variety of combinations that delight and satisfy.

Coffee Shop. Ramirez changed the name, improved the menu and, bit by bit, updated the interior. Just recently he replaced all the tables and chairs with newer, more comfortable ones, he says. JJ’s narrowly edged out neighborhood breakfast/sticky bun mecca Crossroads Diner for the win.

Runner up: Crossroads Diner

Third place: Another Broken Egg

Visit lakehighlands.advocatemag.com/bestof to cast your vote for next month’s category: best burger.

and comfortable place, enjoy brunch on the weekends, live music on Saturday nights and tasty Tex Mex food for all. Home of the Big E Margarita.

Three Sweet Pancakes: Photo by Mark Davis

MEXICAN GRILL

TIME FOR AN INDEPENDENT LOOK AT YOUR FINANCES

a sk yourself :

D o you feel like you ’ re being solD each time you call your aDvisor ?

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BACK-TO-SCHOOL SNACKS

For the start of a new school year, I’m sharing recipes for some of my favorite old-school snacks. These are homemade and portable, and they pack perfectly inside the kids’ lunch boxes.

1. Back to the basics: the fudge brownie (recipe below)

Nothing is better than the perfect fudge brownie with a crispy, glossy top. Treat the kids (and yourself) while getting back into the school-year routine.

2. A power packed bite: cherry chocolate chip oatmeal balls

This is a simple, easy, no-bake breakfast or snack — perfect for on-the-go.

3. Roll it up: mango-peach fruit leather Fruit leather is a clean-eating snack that will give the kids that perfect midday sugar boost without all the sugar.

The perfect fudge brownie

GROCERY LIST

8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper.

2. Melt butter and chocolate in a large bowl over boiling water and heat until just melted. Whisk eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla extract in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add melted butter and chocolate mixture into egg mixture. Slowly add flour and cocoa powder.

3. Mix until just combined, making sure batter is smooth. Pour batter into 8x8inch pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes (avoid over-baking so the center stays fudgy). Let brownies cool in the pan.

4. Cut into 16 2” squares. Serve or store in airtight container.

ALL OTHER RECIPES can be found at advocatemag.com or inkfoods.com or lakehighlands.advocatemag.com.

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

AnimAlPeoPle

And their people animals

WE CALL THEM PETS — those creatures who cohabitate and bond with humans. They tend to love their person, even one who is crotchety or crazy. Dogs don’t judge—they evidently love doctors and pastors, evil dictators and lunatics the same. Each summer, in anticipation of the September issue, we ask readers to tell us about their pets. Then editors are deluged with emails and letters. The photos are striking and funny. The stories, heartwarming. Your love of your pets is evident and something to which animal people in every cul-

ture and community can relate. While pets are no substitute for human relationships, they do offer a sort of unparalleled, unshakable and near-mystic camaraderie. Writer-naturalist Henry Beston explained it eloquently when he wrote, “They are more finished and complete [than us], gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other Nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time.”

ON THESE PAGES

You will find a cross-section of the pets that populate our neighborhood. To see submitted photos and anecdotes not featured here, watch the Advocate’s Pet Pause section, which appears near the front of the magazine most months and features our neighborhood’s most photogenic pets.

Story by Christina Hughes Babb // Photos by Kim Leeson

AGENT BAUER

The laid-back hipster

UNLIKE HIS NAMESAKE, a television protagonist who has just 24 hours to save the world, basset hound mix Bauer doesn’t really seem to have a care in it, and he is in exactly zero hurry to get anywhere, except perhaps when he is benignly pursuing one or more of the cats who live with him in a charming L Streets abode. He can build up some speed when he’s chasing the cats, say owners Andee Pittman-Clark and Colin Clark. He’s perfectly content sleeping all day. In the evenings he might move from napping in the house to relaxing in the front-yard

hammock. But he also is up for adventure. “Bauer loves to canoe, explore, play with other dogs and kids,” Andee says. He also happily rides in the sidecar of an antique bicycle taxi the couple refurbished after it landed in the bicycle shop they own. The shop, Switching Gears Cyclery near Fair Park, happens to be one of the very few things Agent Bauer, basset hound mix, does not like. “There are loud noises. People coming in and out. I guess it just makes him a little nervous,” Andee says. “We joke that he hates work.”

carrconner . com

CHILI JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED

AN UPPER FLOOR AT TEXAS HEALTH PRESBYTERIAN

HOSPITAL is sterile, bleached and serious. Men and women in scrubs and lab coats stride quickly, purposefully in and out of rooms. Grave-faced visitors sip coffee in the waiting area. It plainly is a model patient care unit, but it could use a touch of Chili.

Ding. The elevator opens and off steps an 89-pound black Lab. A pretty blond woman, Barbara Sanders, leads the dog down the corridor; the effect is profound. Nurses and techs stop midstride to greet the hound and scratch her head. If they pause long enough, the dog rolls over, inviting a belly rub. All the stern faces soften at the sight of Chili. A white-haired man on a gurney pops up, his eyes brightening, and he says, “I have a 91-pound lab at home.” He leans over and strokes Chili’s shiny ebony coat. “Hey, girl! What a good girl,” he coos. A young woman accompanying the older man drops to her knees and hugs the dog. After a moment she looks up at Sanders, eyes damp, and says, “Thank you.”

Chili is a registered therapy animal with Pet Partners. Known as the Delta Society until 2012, the organization’s animal-assisted activities program is rooted in the idea that animals can positively impact human health and well-being. Several studies evidence the physiological and psychological benefits of animal-human interaction, according to Pet Partners literature that Sanders presents: Pet owners on Medicare visit the doctor less (1990 Delta

Society study), pet owners live longer after a heart attack (1996 Delta Society study) and wounded veterans can benefit mentally and physically when partnered with dogs (2007 experiment), just to name a few examples. But anyone can see that the dog’s presence is a soothing balm in the stressful hospital environs. Sanders, a Lake Highlands resident and a producer at Fast Cuts media production company, adopted Chili about four years ago. Chili initially demonstrated her sweet temperment via her relationship with Sanders’ young son, Austin, now 7. “Austin lays on her like she’s a sofa,” Sanders says, “and in the pool, he just hangs on to her as she swims and pulls him along.” Sanders had a friend who joined Pet Partners with her golden Lab. Chili would be perfect for the volunteer job, she thought. After taking an online course and undergoing an evaluation, Sanders and Chili started visiting Presbyterian on Sundays. They see patients who request them. “We really like the maternity wing, and also the psychiatric unit, where the patients really flock to Chili and enjoy her.”

The patient in 315, Carol Veach, has a shih tzu at home whom she misses terribly, she tells Sanders. She cradles a tiny stuffed puppy in one needle-poked arm and allows Chili to lick her opposite hand. Sanders listens and asks questions about the shih tzu, Princess, and Veach’s other pets. Sanders promises Carol that if she is still there on Sunday, she and Chili will visit again.

BARON

THE EQUINE EYE IS A DEEP DARK SEA in which man can glimpse not only his own reflection, but also the animal spirit — one of this horse’s eyes, the partially blue one, betrays his joy in the life he leads these days. “Baron has a half-blue eye. Every once in a while that blue eye gets really big and bright, usually when he’s excited … in that moment you just know he’s happy doing his job, and that he’s loving his life,” says his owner Nicole Foster. Pleasure driving is a fancy horsecompetition category during which old-fashioned carriages are hitched to ponies, who then prance around a ring. An American saddle-bred gelding called Frankie Flowers was supposed to be the next big thing in pleasure driving, explains Foster, a Lake Highlands resident who owns Foster Farm South, but Frankie Flowers “did not live up to expectations he just did not have enough pizazz to be a bigtime show horse.” The horse’s understated stage-presence turned into a win for Foster and her farm. In 2007, his original owners donated Frankie Flowers — since dubbed Baron — to the Hutchins-area ranch. Baron now spends his days carrying children who are just learning to ride, which clearly is his calling, Foster says. “He has surpassed all expectations as a beginner/intermediate show horse,” Foster says, “and has garnered championship ribbons for dozens of up-and-coming young competitors.” Baron is one of Foster’s seven horses, but Foster says Baron is her favorite pet and even calls him a part of her family. “Most trainers have one or two special horses they will keep forever. For me, that’s Baron. He is just an all-around amazing horse — fun to ride, nice to be around in the stall, a wonderful show horse and safe enough for just about anyone to ride. Horses like him don’t come around every day, and everyone knows he’s something special.”

Carriage carting was not his thing

AnimAlPeoPle

ARCHIE

LABRADOODLE ARCHIE is enormous and as silvery and fluffy as a cloud before a spring storm. If you are on the other side of his front window, he is just as bold. But upon meeting a new person face-to-face, this guy is super shy. He hides behind a chair and observes newcomers with suspicion and an unbearably sweet face. “If you sit down, he will warm up to you faster,” says his owner Nicholas Scott apologetically. On most evenings, Archie and Scott, along with Scott’s roommate Dustin Sherman and his dog Kennedy (whose unbridled friendliness more than makes up for her buddy’s standoffishness) run as a jubilant pack through their L Streets neighborhood. The thing about Archie is, he is up for just about anything. He runs wherever the others lead (even with that fluffy coat, even in the stifling heat), swims in White Rock Lake and never objects to donning costumes or funny hats on holidays or birthdays, because the humans seem to like that. Scott and Sherman concur that life without dog is just sad. Scott says that after his longtime canine companion Tucker died, which was “horrible,” he went about a year without a dog, mostly because his sales job required extensive travel. He adopted month-old Archie four years ago. Archie was ecstatic when Kennedy moved in, the humans say. “He isn’t always that crazy about people,” Scott concedes, “but he loves other dogs.”

makeSTATEMENT a

“Sure, I’ll wear a hat if that makes you happy”

without uttering a word

HOUDINI WOULD BE AN APROPOS NICKNAME for Lewis, the dark-coated canine whose breed his owner, Richard Feldman, assuredly defines as “something.” Richard and Sara Feldman married two years ago and live in a well-kept Lake Highlands abode for which Lewis exhibits a subpar level of respect — he ate the carpet, explains Richard, “so we had to put him in a crate during the day.” Somehow — they don’t know how — Lewis escaped the crate. “So we went and bought zip ties. Somehow — and we still don’t know how — he broke out of the crate, even when it was reinforced with zip ties.” Lewis, now pushing 3 years old, is an energetic pup — he loves to run and swim in the lake. “Actually, what he likes to do is run through the lake — run into the water and out of the water. Into the water and back out again. In and out ...” After a while, Sara and Richard realized Lewis, whom Richard adopted from Austin Pets Alive!, needed a compadre. The couple adopted Megan, a blonde (possible) Great Pyrenees-mix puppy, from the Collin County Humane Society. It quickly was clear that Megan was Lewis’ soul mate. The yin to his yang. “Lewis immediately loved her,” Richard says. “They are now inseparable.”

Photo by Claire McAdams

Game changer

Can youth football save a struggling neighborhood?

Story by Christina Hughes Babb | Photos by James Coreas

A few weeks ago, vague reports surfaced about the fatal shooting of a Hamilton Park man. Violent crimes in Hamilton Park don’t typically make front-page news; several are reported each year.

But the slaying of Gregory Callahan struck a nerve in the community. Callahan, a Lake Highlands High School graduate, was an integral part of the neighborhood. He was one of 12 coaches of the Hamilton Park Bobcats youth football team. A father and husband, he and his wife took nightly walks around the neighborhood, say friends — he had a lot of them and a few friendly rivals.

Losing Coach Greg was like losing a father to some Hamilton Park children, says Bobcats coach and president Tevar Watson.

“A lot of these boys, their fathers and big brothers are out of the picture, sometimes in prison. Greg played a large role in these kids’ lives. And our kids go through so much. The loss is massive,” Watson says.

Both Watson and Rasheed Aziz — coach of a rival Hamilton Park youth football organization called Legacy — spend most weekday nights working with little leaguers. But they took off the Tuesday following Callahan’s death to speak at a town hall meeting at Ham-

A Hamilton Park Legacy youth football player prepares for an evening scrimmage.

Advocate’s ongoing series about efforts to end poverty and related problems. To read more stories from the series, search “solutions series” at lakehighlands.advocatemag.com.

ilton Park’s Willie B. Johnson Recreation Center. A flier posted at Forest Lane and Schroeder advertised a discussion about “making Hamilton Park a safer, healthier community” but the assembly was in response to the Callahan murder, for which a neighborhood juvenile was arrested.

At the meeting, coaches Watson and Aziz sit side-by-side, though they are adversaries — Aziz broke from the Bobcats years ago to form Legacy. Affiliates of the respective teams compete not only for wins but also for resources in a financially wanting environment.

But as they separately take the podium and address about 200 neighbors and a few city officials, it’s clear they share similar feelings.

Both are angry about what happened to Callahan. And both blame themselves and the community for allowing violence to permeate the neighborhood.

“We let the neighborhood become the ’hood,” Aziz says. “We take the neighbor out of the neighborhood. We sat back and allowed this to happen.”

Both grew up in Hamilton Park and have watched crime increase over the years, and they agree a change for the better must start with the youth.

“I am talking about kids under 15,” Watson says. “Over 15, they have their minds made up. We have to reach the young.”

And both believe in the healing power of sports, so much so that each dedicates a large portion of his life to youth football, which each believes is a key component in repairing this hurting neighborhood.

Hamilton Park is located southeast of the Central Expressway/I-635 interchange, north of Forest Lane. Sections of Hamilton Park feed into Lake Highlands High School. Hamilton Park Elementary School, a Richardson ISD magnet school, serves students from Lake Highlands and other RISD neighborhoods.

The Hamilton Park subdivision was designed in 1974 as a black neighborhood with an elementary, junior high and high school, former District 10 Councilman Alan Walne said in a past Advocate interview. But the high school was shuttered as part of the desegregation effort in the 1970s.

“In my opinion, when they split them up, it was one of the worst things that could hap-

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pen to them,” Walne said. “The buses drove up and started taking them off to Lake Highlands High School — they said ‘we’re going to split you all up’ — which is unfortunate because, you talk about a sense of community, they had it.”

The change, he said, began to tear at the tight community bonds.

Another former District 10 Councilman, Bill Blaydes, has said that the neighborhood experienced changes over the years that led to problems.

“Families and professionals lived in the original Hamilton Park, raised their children, and when the children grew up, they moved away to other parts of Dallas in many cases ... but today you have a neighborhood in which the seniors are dying, the children are spread out, and now the majority of Hamilton Park is for lease … which equals less sense of ownership and pride in the neighborhood.”

The Hamilton Park Bobcats and Hamilton Park Legacy youth football teams scrimmaged at Hamilton Park Elementary.

Rasheed Aziz coaches the Hamilton Park Legacy youth football team.

At the time of integration, there were a couple of little league football teams in Hamilton Park. Many years ago, Watson says, the various teams merged into one, the Bobcats, which is also the Hamilton Park school mascot.

Little league football provided a distraction for youngsters tempted by examples of deviancy in a disenfranchised neighborhood and a skill to keep them motivated through high school and college, Watson says. Plus, he adds, “When I was a kid going down the wrong path, football saved my life.”

Until about four years ago, when Aziz started Legacy, the Bobcats were the only Hamilton Park team. Aziz has been an organizer since his high school days, he says, when he started a Richardson ISD chapter of BASU (Brothers and Sisters United), an African American advocacy organization. He says students from Hillcrest, Richardson, Berkner and Lake Highlands high schools attended the meetings. “It was a big deal then,” he says. He’d been on a bad path until a girl and the movie Malcolm X made him want to do better.

“The girl, she cared about my grades and was going to cut me loose because I didn’t. I promised her I’d do better, and I did,” he says.

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“As for Malcolm X, I saw he was a bad guy who turned around and did something good. That motivated me. I learned that you could be cool by doing good things.”

Aziz’s father, who he says was in and out of jail all his life, was murdered. A few years ago, his aunt was gunned down by her estranged lover in a Greenville Avenue church parking lot. “I’ve seen death. I was bitter as a kid. I was mad at the world, mad at my dad. I was out here doing dumb stuff. Then one day, thank God, someone told me I was great it changed everything.”

Aziz does not know or share many details about the juvenile arrested for the Callahan murder (at time of publication, Dallas Police had not filled an open-records request for incident reports and 911 calls). Aziz says he knows the accused, who he says is a Hamilton Park teen whose family has a troubled reputation. “They almost seem cursed — this is a family whose name always comes up — generation after generation. In a way I want to reach out to them and help them. It has to suck being a kid from a family like this, knowing the reality is — you’re probably not going to make it.”

The Legacy Youth Sports organization will provide positive alternatives — to involvement in gangs or drugs, for example — for kids caught in negative cycles, Aziz says. Legacy is now a subcommittee of the nonprofit Hamilton Park Historic Preservation Foundation, and Aziz’s plans for the organization are ambitious. He says he hopes to broaden the reach of youth activities for ailing neighborhoods. The program, which is open to youth from Dallas and Richardson, offers football, cheerleading, track and basketball. Unlike the Bobcats, Legacy is not rooted in a specific religion (part of the Bobcats’ mission

is to “bring the kids to Christ,” Watson says). Aziz says he wants Legacy kids from different cultural or religious backgrounds to feel comfortable. “I’m not one to force religion on people,” he says. He eventually hopes to include non-sports activities — the arts, he says, and educational branches.

“Honestly, this is bigger than football,” Aziz says. Indeed, the Hamilton Park teams each yearn to beat the other on the football field, but mentorship and the provision of positive choices are fundamental goals shared by the coaches.

“We [the two football teams] are competing,” Aziz says, “but we are competing for good things for our kids. That is not bad.”

Hamilton Park benefits from having a distinct identity and, despite its problems, a heightened sense of pride compared with Lake Highlands’ other high-crime areas, such as high-density apartment communities. Blaydes says the neighborhood’s park and recreation center located along the White Rock Trail is a “true jewel” and “very much a part of the fabric of Lake Highlands.”

Nowhere is the neighborhood’s potential more evident than at a scrimmage between the Bobcats and Legacy, which took place a few nights after the town hall meeting.

Hundreds of people swarm Hamilton Park Elementary School’s athletic field — multiple football scrimmages are in progress. Coaches are bellowing. Moms are selling concessions. Little girls on a cheer squad are chanting. The playground is teeming with tots. Kids too young or too old for little league have their own games underway. At first blush, it looks

Hamilton Park residents such as Mike Bell volunteer many hours a week coaching the neighborhood’s youth football teams.

like an ultra-positive community gathering.

But the event belies some of the neighborhood’s heartache. For one, Coach Greg’s boisterous voice is missing.

“Everything has changed,” Watson says. “He was the mouth you would hear. The other coaches are out there yelling, but to us, there is a great silence.”

Aziz says it is beautiful that both teams are here together, providing a step toward strengthening the community.

“It took a lot of hard work to get this to-

gether. This is the first time we’ve all been together. This is what it’s all about,” he says, adding that, “This is the kind of thing Greg would have wanted to see.”

Unfortunately, Watson says, the turnout that night isn’t typical.

“Yes, everyone wants to see the Bobcats play Legacy,” he says. But in general, turnout to family-friendly events in the neighborhood is low. “When there is a block party … with drinking and smoking, there are a thousand people there. When we have family day

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at the park, the football families are the only ones who show up.”

Both the Bobcats and Legacy make sports affordable for every family. Both teams enjoy sponsorships and outside help — Aqib Talib of the Denver Broncos, a Berkner grad, bought $5,000 worth of helmets for the Bobcats, Watson says, and his boss at a mortgage lending business recently helped pay for a player who couldn’t afford registration. The Bobcats also are sponsored by a foundation organized by Wade Smith, a tackle for the

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Houston Texans. But Watson says he would like to see more participation — more players and more support from the community.

This echoes sentiments expressed by Aziz at the town hall meeting. If we want to stop the cycles of violence, he told the group, residents and local business owners must support, with their money and time, programs that benefit the next generation. We can’t take for granted, Aziz says, that troubled youth “should know better,” as the phrase goes. “Sometimes they do not know better, and we need to teach them better.”

More than just football coaches, Aziz and Watson — and the 25 or so other men and women who volunteer their time to little league and cheerleading — believe they are working on the root problems of a troubled community by giving disadvantaged children a chance to break negative cycles.

Playing little league sports doesn’t guarantee the players won’t eventually turn to drugs and crime. “There are guys I played with who are in prison now,” Watson says. But it does show players there is another way.

Greg Callahan’s death sent a shock wave through the Hamilton Park community, but will it spark true change, or will people forget about it in a few weeks?

“My hope, my goal, is that we turn it around,” Watson says.

Aziz says he will be “furious” if no action is taken to “honor Greg’s life.”

Aside from supporting youth sports, what are some of the immediate changes these community activists hope to see? Both say changing the vernacular is an essential start.

“We need to stop bragging about the bad,” Watson says. Aziz says that he hears people “bragging about HP being the ’hood, but when someone dies, all of a sudden it’s like: ‘community’.”

Watson says the entire community needs to pray for positive change.

Aziz says prayer is fine, but that without action and follow-through, it “equals another missed opportunity.” In a written message to his Hamilton Park neighbors on social media, he expounds: “... if all you want to do is hold hands and pray while misguided folks grab guns and prey, you are giving a pass to those that feel [murder] is acceptable.”

LEARN MORE about Legacy Youth Sports at youthlegacysports.org and the Bobcats at wadesmithfoundation.org.

BUSINESS BUZZ

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

Send business news tips to livelocal@advocatemag.com

Bye Bye BonChon, hello Ashwood

BonChon closed its Upper Greenville Avenue restaurant in August. The location opened last December. The Greenville store was the first Texas BonChon; the Korean chickenwing concept is popular nationwide. The Greenville Bonchon closed temporarily last winter, a couple of weeks after opening, due to an overwhelming volume of orders, a manager told the Advocate at the time. Despite the restaurant’s initial popularity, Mike Kim, who oversees BonChon franchising, told members of the media that the Bonchon concept “might have been premature for the Dallas market.” A former Greenville BonChon manager says that the location will reopen as a new concept called Ashwood, a bar and burger joint. 5500 Greenville, 214.346.9464

New school to open in Shops at Park Lane Fusion Academy, a private, for-profit, college-prep middle and high school with locations on the East and West coasts, will open its first two locations in Texas this fall. One of those schools will be located at The Shops at Park Lane. The school offers yearround classes and uses a one-to-one model of instruction. Students have access to tutoring, a homework center, and therapeutic services. Full-time tuition runs $35,000$42,000 a year per student. The school will host an open house Sept. 30. 8070 Park Lane, fusionacademy.com

City business

The $2.81-billion proposed budget calls for restoring some city services and seeks to cut a minimal number of police staff. The

property tax rate will not increase, although the city expects to receive $93.1 billion in property taxes — $6.3 billion more than the previous year — because of higher valuations. In 2015, the city expects to earn about $11.2 million more in sales taxes over the previous year. The city also is increasing revenues by hiking the residential sanitation rate by 67 cents. In August, Dallas City Council representatives held several public meetings to discuss the proposed budget and receive feedback from residents. This month, the council will vote whether or not to approve the budget or approve the budget with amendments.

Green House Market has truck, will travel

NorthPark Center-based restaurant Green House Market is back in the food truck business. The Green House food truck originally debuted a few years ago as one of Dallas’ first gourmet food trucks. Last December owners retired the mobile café and opened the NorthPark restaurant. The truck, powered entirely by electricity, will be

1 A new CiCi’s Pizza is open next door to Tom Thumb at Skillman and Royal. 2 A new retailer called PIRCH, which sells “premium lifestyle products” opens Aug. 23 in NorthPark Center. 3 Denver-based company CorePower Yoga opened a studio in Mockingbird Station. 4 Developers are seeking zoning to allow for the construction of an apartment community at Walnut Hill near Greenville, on Rambler.

Rambler Park was awarded LEED Platinum certifcation

back on the streets this summer, but for catering, special event and delivery purposes only. Meanwhile the Green House Market, with executive chef Ben Hutchison at the helm, will continue serving seasonal fare. 8687 N. Central Expressway thegreenhousemarket.com.

Green practices lead to award for local building

A year after Parmenter Realty Partners acquired and renovated a 14-story office building near Greenville and Walnut Hill, the U.S. Green Building Council recognized the upgraded building. Now called Rambler Park, the building was awarded LEED Platinum certification, which recognizes excellence in sustainability in ongoing building operations. The large number of tenant employees using alternative transportation such as the Walnut Hill DART station, which recently was connected to the Rambler Park building, helped the building earn the distinguished certification. Additionally, Rambler Park’s green practices during renovations including construction waste recycling, sustainable renovation product purchases, and indoor air quality management of construction activities —also increased the building’s sustainability score. Parmenter Realty Partners also requires the use of green cleaning and maintenance products for landscaping, window washing and pest control. 7557 Rambler, 214.373.9620, ramblerpark.com

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CLAIRE’S CHRISTIAN DAY SCHOOL

8202 Boedeker Dr., / (214) 368-4047 / clairesdayschool.com At CCDS, we encourage a child’s sense of exploration and discovery in a loving, nurturing, and safe environment. We offer a parent’s day out program with a play-based curriculum fostering socialization, motor skill development, and an introduction to academics for children aged 4mo

3yrs. Our preschool for children aged 3-5 further develops these skills, along with a more focused approach to pre-math and prereading. At CCDS, we have developed our own science, math, and reading enrichment classes to ensure kindergarten preparedness for every child. We make learning fun!

LAKEHILL PREPARATORY SCHOOL

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

SPANISH HOUSE

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

Spanish House is a Spanish immersion school with two Lakewood locations for children ages 3 months - Kindergarten. We offer half-day and full-day programs, with extended care available from 7:30am - 6:00pm. 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. John’s is an independent, co-educational day school for Pre-K through Grade 8. With a tradition for academic excellence, St. John’s programs include a challenging curriculum in a Christian environment along with instruction in the visual and performing arts, Spanish, German, French, and opportunities for athletics and community service.St. John’s goal for its students is to develop a love for learning, service to others, and leadership grounded in love, humility, and wisdom. Accredited by ISAS, SAES, and the Texas Education Agency.

THE WINSTON SCHOOL

5707 Royal Lane Dallas, Tx 75229 / 214691-6950 / www.winston-school.org If your bright child struggles with things like Attention and Concentration, Executive Functioning and Dyslexia, The Winston School may be able to help. The Winston School has a robust academic program which prepares a student for college while at the same time developing the whole child. We understand bright children who learn differently and recognize their unique gifts and talents. Celebrating and validating these assets with our students enables them to discover who they are, and empowers them to be consistently successful. The Winston School brings hope for today and a road map for tomorrow. Open House: September 21st from 2-4 pm.

WHITE ROCK NORTH SCHOOL

9727 White Rock Trail Dallas / 214.348.7410 / WhiteRockNorthSchool.com

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

WOODROW WILSON HIGH SCHOOL

100 S. Glasgow Dallas 75214 / 972-502-4400 / woodrowwildcats.org

Washington Post’s 2014 list of Most Challenging High Schools in America. A proven college preparation program and a true high school experience. Woodrow graduates attend, year after year, our state’s and country’s finest colleges, often with meaningful scholarships. With academic programs equaling the best private and magnet schools, Woodrow’s diverse student body also enjoys a traditional high school offering arts, music, dance, theater, math and science clubs, debate and writing competitions and a broad, inclusive and successful sports program, with cheerleaders and drill team. “It’s all at Woodrow and it works.”

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.

69%

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

ANGLICAN

ALL SAINTS DALLAS / 2733 Oak Lawn / 972.755.3505

Radical Inclusivity, Profound Transformation. Come and See!

9:00 & 11:00 am Sunday Services. www.allsaintschurchdallas.org

BAPTIST

LAKESIDE BAPTIST / 9150 Garland Rd / 214.324.1425

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

Pastor Jeff Donnell / www.lbcdallas.com

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

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

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

PRESTONWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH / “A Church to Call Home”

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

12123 Hillcrest Road / 972.820.5000 / prestonwood.org

WILSHIRE BAPTIST / 4316 Abrams / 214.452.3100

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

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

BIBLE CHURCHES

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

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

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

DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

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

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

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

LUTHERAN

CENTRAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, ELCA / 1000 Easton Road

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

Pastor Rich Pounds / CentralLutheran.org / 214.327.2222

FIRST UNITED LUTHERAN CHURCH / 6202 E Mockingbird Ln.

Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am / Call for class schedule.

214.821.5929 / www.dallaslutheran.org

METHODIST

LAKE HIGHLANDS UMC / 9015 Plano Rd. / 214.348.6600 / lhumc.com

Sunday Morning: 9:30 am Sunday School / 10:30 am Coffee

Worship: 8:30 am & 10:50 am Traditional / 10:50 am Contemporary

WHITE ROCK UNITED METHODIST / www.wrumc.org

1450 Oldgate Lane / 214.324.3661

Sunday Worship 10:50 am / Rev. George Fisk

NON-DENOMINATIONAL

LAKE HIGHLANDS CHURCH / 9919 McCree / 214.348.0460

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

Home groups meet on weeknights. / lakehighlandschurch.org

PRESBYTERIAN

LAKE HIGHLANDS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH / 214.348.2133

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

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

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

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

UNITY

UNITY OF DALLAS / A Positive Path For Spiritual Living

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

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

PUBLIC THEOLOGY

A quarter of a century is time long enough to take stock of some things.

I celebrated 25 years as pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church in East Dallas last month. It was a movable feast with activities at church and around town, with church friends and friends of the church. Lingering emotions: joy, gratitude and hope.

For most of these years (about 22 of them), I have written this column as a gift to the community. Thank you for receiving it so well and allowing me to speak to you, for you and with you. My thanks to the Advocate staff for their generous support as well.

A few reflections, then, on this monthly salvo

The column that lines up under the banner “worship” is an effort at public theology. How does faith intersect with civic life, with culture and commerce, with world affairs and family affairs, with education and entertainment, to name a few?

Public theology is God-talk aimed at the common good. It recognizes that we live in a religiously plural society, not one dominated by a single religion that is more or less tolerant of others. And yet a public theologian must speak out of his or her own tradition if there is any hope of connecting with others. I have tried with this column to challenge and chide, encourage and exhort neighbors of all stripes to draw upon the better angels of their nature and the highest ideals of their own faith traditions by doing the same from mine. I hope that has come through.

We live in a time without easy answers, albeit with no shortage of people willing to offer easy answers. Religion is one of the worst offenders in this regard. We tend toward grandiloquent rhetoric that inspires the faithful without adding reason to the debate. Faith does not depend upon rea-

son for its spiritual vitality, but it becomes a force for good in the world when it employs reason for the benefit also of those who do not share that same faith. Humility is a hallmark of genuine piety. It makes room for correction, gives space for other points of view, and celebrates truth wherever it is found. Any exercise in public theology should situate faith in the company

of reason and humility.

Religious leaders are often schooled more at criticism than praise; we are sometimes more at home with confrontation than collaboration. I have learned that preaching that way inspires fear more than love and division more than community. Faith sees what’s right in the world and in each other as much as what’s wrong. It points out paths of peace and contentment. It notices the noble. It acknowledges virtue wherever it may be found. Faith is no respecter of persons on any basis, save for the content of their character, as Martin Luther King Jr. so eloquently put it.

Finally, public theology assumes that faith is personal but never private. We live in the world together, and we take our faith with us wherever we go. How we carry our faith with us into the world makes all the difference. Jesus summarized the law and the prophets by saying: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

That about covers it.

‘God-talk aimed at the common good’

We live in a time without easy answers, albeit with no shortage of people willing to offer easy answers. Religion is one of the worst offenders in this regard.

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.

Remembered

Lake Highlands High School graduate and Baylor student Jack Stewart was killed, along with another student named Laura Onwudinanti, in a car accident in August while en route to a clarinet performance. Stewart was the 2013 LHHS Salutatorian and an all-state, multi-award-winning musician. The Lone Star Wind Orchestra has launched a scholarship fund in Stewart’s honor. He won the organization’s Youth Winds competition in its inaugural year. To contribute to the Jack Stewart Scholarship fund, visit lonestarwindorchestra.com. One-hundred percent of donations go into the fund, and donors will be invited to the presentation ceremonies held spring 2015.

Schools

Frank Miller, the former Sachse High School assistant principal, will serve as the new Lake Highlands High School principal. “My first goal is to get to know everyone, to build relationships,” says Miller, a Highland Park High School graduate. “I want to be at as many functions as possible — chamber events, football games, volleyball, choir, Wrangler performances — whatever is going on. The more you see a kid doing something, the more you can start a conversation.” Former LHHS principal Peggy Dillon was promoted at the end of last semester to a position at the Richardson ISD administration offices.

People

Lake Highlands 1993 graduate Leslie Collins is an actor and lives in New York City. She is gaining fame for her part in a funny, frequently run television commercial for dish soap, in which she plays the Cascade Kitchen Counselor, swooping in to salvage domestic disputes involving dirty dishes. Collins says she stays busy filming commercials, performing improvisational comedy and music, teaching, auditioning and producing an improvised radio podcast for children.

Parks

Dallas Park and Recreation maintenance workers have been prohibited from working in the historic caretaker’s cottage behind White Rock Lake’s Sunset Inn due to the potential of exposure to asbestos and black mold. Park and Recreation director Willis Winters says the city is working to remove the mold and stabilize the structure until they decide what to do with the building.

Worth a shot

Students from Tasby Middle School in the Vickery Meadow area of Dallas in August presented to community leaders, volunteers and media the results of the Photovoice project in which they participated this past summer. Photovoice is part of a partnership between the Injury Prevention Center of Greater Dallas (at Parkland Hospital) and the Vickery Meadow Youth Development Foundation. Photovoice participants learn from professional photographers and then take photos of their community. Often those images highlight structural, criminal and/or safety-related problem areas. Among other things, organizers aim to prompt neighborhood improvements.

EVENTS

STAMP COLLECTING!!

Remember the fun of stamp collecting? Dallas Philatelic Society meets the 2nd and 4th Weds at 7:30 pm at Edgemere Retirement Center. 8523 Thackery St Call Joe Baker 972-390-2648

CLASSES/TUTORING/ LESSONS

ALL AGES: LEARN PIANO WITH WADE COTTINGHAM LakewoodPianoLab.com Since 1998. 214-564-6456

ART: Draw/Paint. Adults All Levels. Lake Highlands N. Rec. Ctr. Yearly fee. 18-59 yrs-$15, 60+$10 Mon-1-3: Wed 10:15-1:15, Jane Cross, 214-534-6829.

ARTISTIC GATHERINGS

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

GUITAR OR PIANO Fun/Easy. Your Home. 11 Yrs Exp. Reasonable rates. UNT Grad. Larry 469-358-8784

LEARN NEW TESTAMENT GREEK

Beginners intermediates; Rice, TCU, DTS ex; John Cunyus 214-662-5494 www.JohnCunyus.com

MUSIC INSTRUCTION Especially For Young People Aged 5-12. Guitar, Piano, Percussion. ChildPlayMusicSchool.com. 214-733-1866

CLASSES/TUTORING/ LESSONS

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

Visit

Classes

www.PerceptionDrawing.com

Brenda Catlett Certified Instructor (972)989-0546

CHILDCARE

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

EMPLOYMENT

AIRLINE CAREERS Begin Here. Get Trained As FAA Certified Aviation Technician. Financial Aid For Qualified Students. Housing & Job Placement Assistance. AIM 866-453-6204

PET SITTERS, DOG WALKERS Email Recruiting@pcpsi.com

SERVICES FOR YOU

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

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

DISH TV RETAILER Starting at $19.99/month (for 12 months) & High Speed Internet starting at $14.95/month (where available) Save. Ask about Same Day Installation 1-800-615-4064

GRAPHIC DESIGN BY SOZA DESIGN Logos, Brochures, Posters & More. wsoza@yahoo.com 214-287-6499

OCT. DEADLINE SEPT.10 214.560.4203 TO

Photos by Danny Fulgencio

After exhibiting their work at Tasby Middle School, participants in the Photovoice project gave visitors a tour of the Vickery Meadow neighborhood. Vickery Meadow is a densely populated area near Lake Highlands. Students photographed problematic or potentially dangerous situations in the neighborhood. Photos by Danny Fulgencio.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

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

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

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

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

REED & RIORDAN PLLC Dallas Family Law Attorneys 10000 N Central Expy Dallas. 214-570-9555 reedriordan.com

TRAVEL

CRUISEONE DALLAS Doug Thompson bigDcruises.com Plan your cruise vacation today! 214-254-4980

JOURNEY WITH JANE for a unique travel experience. Travel dreams become reality. 469-662-5212. journeywithjane.com

PET SERVICES

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

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

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

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

In-Home Professional Care

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

“Best of Dallas” D Magazine

Serving the Dallas area since 1994 Bonded & Insured www.societypetsitter.com 214-821-3900

BUY/SELL/TRADE

GROUND FLOOR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY Unique Opportunity for Residual Income. A Legacy Company Which Affords You and Your Family Guaranteed Income. 401-741-7596 healthandwealthct@gmail.com

>>

BUY/SELL/TRADE

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

TEXAS RANGERS AND DALLAS STARS

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

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

ESTATE/GARAGE SALES

CLUTTERBLASTERS.COM-ESTATE SALES

Moving/DownSizing Sales, Storage Units.

Organize/De-Clutter Donna 972-679-3100

ESTATE LIQUIDATORS DALLAS Prof service since 1981 Call Ruth. 972-818-3000. 214-566-3861 estateliquidatorsdallas@yahoo.com

ESTATE SALES & LIQUIDATION SERVICES

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

TACL-B01349OE www.SherrellAir.com

APPLIANCE

APPLIANCE REPAIR SPECIALIST

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

JESSE’S A/C & APPLIANCE SERVICE

TACLB13304C All Makes/Models. 214-660-8898

972-523-3996 WWW AROTX COM

Serving your Neighborhood Since 1993 Repairing: Refrigerators •Washer/Dryers

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

BLINDS, SHADES & DRAPERIES

SMARTLOOKS WINDOW & WALL DECOR

Window Treatments & Repair. 972-699-1151

CABINETRY & FURNITURE

SQUARE NAIL WOODWORKING

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

THE CABINET CONCIERGE

The Art of Storage. Call 214-821-5900

Email jin@thecabinetconcierge.com

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

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

CUSTOM CARPENTRY BY RON 214-674-1604

Trim Specialist - Mouldings, Cabinets, Hardware. Misc. Projects & Repairs. No Job Too Small

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

CARPENTRY & REMODELING

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

KITCHEN AND BATHROOM SPECIALISTS

JCI Remodeling: From Simple Updates to Full Remodeling Services. Competitive Pricing! 972-948-5361

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

RENOVATE DALLAS

renovatedallas.org 214-403-7247

TK REMODELING 972-533-2872 Complete Full Service Repairs, Remodeling, Restoration. Name It- We do it. Tommy. insured. http://dallas. tkremodelingcontractors.com

BRIAN GREAM

RENOVATIONS LLC

•

WWW.BGRONTHEWEB.COM

BRIANGREAM@YAHOO.COM

TK Remodeling

Your neighborhood remodeler

•Repair •Remodeling •Restoration

•Complete full service

Name it— We do it

http://dallas.tkremodelingcontractors.com

Tommy 972-533-2872 INSURED

Unique Home Construction

- Design, Build, Remodel

- Kitchens & Baths

- New Construction or Additions

Many references available

- Licensed, Insured, Member of BBB www.uniquehomebuild.com 214.533.0716

CLEANING SERVICES

AMAZON CLEANING

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

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

IINGRID CLEANING SERVICES Reliable, Affordable. Habla Español 214-395-9629

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

WANTED: Houses to Clean, Windows to Wash. Free Estimates. Low Prices! Expert and Proficient! No Crews. Call Sunny 214-724-2555. Thank you.

WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM

Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

YOU HAVE IT MAID SERVICES 972-859-0287 bonded/insured. Youhaveitmaidservices.com

CLEANING SERVICES

COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS

ALL COMPUTER PROBLEMS SOLVED

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

BILL’S COMPUTER REPAIR

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

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

CONCRETE/ MASONRY/PAVING

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. Stamping and Staining Driveways/Patio/Walkways

Pattern/Color available Free Estimates

972-672-5359 (32 yrs.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

TEXAS ELECTRICAL • 214-289-0639

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

EXTERIOR CLEANING

G&G DEMOLITION Tear downs, Haul.

Interior/Exterior. 214-808-8925

FENCING & DECKS

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

4 QUALITY FENCING Call Mike 214-507-9322

Specializing in Wood, New or Repair.

AMBASSADOR FENCE INC.

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

HANNAWOODWORKS.COM Decks,Doors, Carpentry, Remodeling 214-435-9574

KIRKWOOD FENCE & DECK

New & Repair. Free Estimates.

Nathan Kirkwood. 214-341-0699

LONESTARDECKS.COM 214-357-3975

Trex Decking & Fencing, trex.com

All Wood Decks, Arbors & Patio Covers 214.692.1991

EST. 1991 #1

COWBOY FENCE & IRON CO.

SPECIALIZING IN Wood Fences &Auto Gates

cowboyfenceandiron.com

FIREPLACE SERVICES

CHIMNEY SWEEP Dampers/Brick & Stone

Repair. DFW Metro. Don 214-704-1722

FLOORING & CARPETING

ALL WALKS OF FLOORS 214-616-7641

Carpet, Wood, Tile Sales/Service Free Estimates

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

DALLAS HARDWOODS 214-724-0936

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

FLOORING & CARPETING

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

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

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

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

WILLEFORD HARDWOOD FLOORS 214-824-1166 • WillefordHardwoodFloors.com

Restoration Flooring

HANDYMAN SERVICES

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

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

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

WANTED: ODD JOBS & TO DO LISTS

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

Your Home Repair Specialists

Drywall Doors

HOUSE PAINTING

INTERIOR DESIGN

WALLPAPER AND MORE

Serving Lakewood For Over 15 Years. Upholstery, Custom Draperies & Shutters. References Available Upon Request. 214-718-7281

25+ Years Experience

469.774.3147

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

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

DOVETAIL CUSTOM SHUTTERS Louis Wiggins 214-342-0889 dovetailshutters.com

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

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

HANDYMAN SERVICES

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

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

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

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

HOME INSPECTION

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

BATHTUB, COUNTERTOP & TILE Resurfacing: Walls, Tub Surrounds, Showers. Glaze or Faux Stone finishes. Affordable Alternative to Replacement! 972-323-8375. PermaGlazeNorthDallas.com

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

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

STONE AGE COUNTER TOPS

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

HOUSE PAINTING

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

#1 GET MORE PAY LES

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

A+ INT/EXT PAINT & DRYWALL

Since 1977. Kirk Evans. 972-672-4681

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

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

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

BENJAMIN’S PAINTING SERVICE Quality Work At Reasonable Prices. 214-725-6768

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

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

ROMEO’S PAINTING Int/Ext. Drywall, Damage Repair. Prep House To Sell. 214-789-0803

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

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

• Tubs, Tiles or Sinks

• Cultured Marble

• Kitchen Countertops

214-631-8719

www.allsurfacerefinishing.com

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

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

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

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

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

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

CHUPIK TREE SERVICE

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

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

COLE’S LAWN CARE • 214-327-3923

Quality Service with a Personal Touch.

DALLAS K.D.R.SERVICES • 214-349-0914

Lawn Service & Landscape Installation

FOREVERLAWNTEXAS.COM George Berre. Quality Synthetic Grass, Free Est. 214-263-0828

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

HOLMAN IRRIGATION

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

IRRIGATION SYSTEM REPAIR Call Carl. 972-948-4335.Texas Irrigation Lic # 8708

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

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

SPRINKLER REPAIR SPECIALIST $25Off. 972-226-1925 www.rainmakertx.com LI#7732

TAYLOR MADE IRRIGATION Repairs, service, drains. 30+ years exp. Ll 6295 M-469-853-2326. John

THE POND MAN Water Gardens

Designed & Installed. Drained & Cleaned. Weekly Service. Jim Tillman 214-769-0324

TRACY’S LAWN CARE • 972-329-4190

Lawn Mowing & Leaf Cleaning

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

WATER-WISE URBAN LANDSCAPES www.TexasXeriscapes.com 469-586-9054

WHITE ROCK TREE WIZARDS Professionals, Experts, Artists. Trim, Rmv,

PEST CONTROL

A BETTER EARTH PEST CONTROL

Keeping the environment, kids, pets in mind. Organic products avail. 972-564-2495

McDANIEL PEST CONTROL

Prices Start at $85 +Tax for General Treatment Average Home, Interior, Exterior & Attached Garage Quotes for Other Services

214-328-2847

Lakewood Resident

PLUMBING

A2Z PLUMBING 214-727-4040

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

ANDREWS PLUMBING • 214-354-8521 # M37740 Insured. Any plumbing issues. plumberiffic69@gmail.com

Sewers • Drains • Bonded 24 Hours/7 Days

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

ARRIAGA PLUMBING:

Faucet, Sewer, Sink Repairs. Water Leaks. Water Heaters, Gas Testing. Remodels, Shower Pans, Stoppages. Insured. Lic 20754. Since the 80’s 214-321-0589, 214-738-7116,CC’s Accptd

HAYES PLUMBING INC. Repairs. Insured, 214-343-1427 License M13238

JUSTIN’S PLUMBING SERVICE

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

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

NTX PLUMBING SPEC. LLLP 214-226-0913

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

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

SPECK PLUMBING

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

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

POOLS

ADAIR POOL & SPA SERVICE

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

LEAFCHASERS POOLS

Parts and Service. Chemicals and Repairs. Jonathan. 214-729-3311

LOCK’S POOL SERVICE - 469-235-2072 40 years experience. Pool Electrical TICL #550

ROOFING & GUTTERS

A&B GUTTER 972-530-5699

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

ACE ROOFING Residential/Commercial Roofing & Repair. Call Tom. 972-268-4047

MEDRANO ROOFING Resd/Comm. Quality Service & Craftsmanship. Free Est. 469-867-2129

ROOFING

ADVOCATE PUBLISHING does not pre-screen, recommend or investigate the advertisements and/or Advertisers published in our magazines. As a result, Advocate Publishing is not responsible for your dealings with any Advertiser. Please ask each Advertiser that you contact to show you the necessary licenses and/ or permits required to perform the work you are requesting. Advocate Publishing takes comments and/or complaints about Advertisers seriously, and we do not publish advertisements that we know are inaccurate,

misleading and/or do not live up to the standards set by our publications. If you have a legitimate complaint or positive comment about an Advertiser, please contact us at 214-560-4203. Advocate Publishing recommends that you ask for and check references from each Advertiser that you contact, and we recommend that you obtain a written statement of work to be completed, and the price to be charged, prior to approving any work or providing an Advertiser with any deposit for work to be completed.

TWO ARRESTED ON HUMANTRAFFICKING CHARGES

A woman who was arrested a couple of years ago in a bizarre kidnapping incident at NorthPark Center was arrested again in August in connection with a Northeast Dallas child-sex-trafficking case. Michelle Jenene Tortora, 19, and Arthur Lee Waters, 30, both were charged with compelling prostitution (child) and trafficking in persons (child) after a 15-year-old victim appeared on backpage.com, a classified advertising vehicle that New York Times columnist Nick Kristof once called a “front for human trafficking.” A tipster led Dallas Police Department’s child exploitation unit and Lake Highlands-based Northeast patrol officers to a northeast Dallas location where the victim was rescued and where Tortora and Waters were arrested, police say. Waters and Tortora are being held on $50,000 bond in Dallas County Jail. Tortora was arrested in 2012 for her accompanying role in the carjacking, beating and kidnapping of a woman who was idling in the NorthPark Center parking lot. She was accused of helping a man named Tommy Eugene Simmons commit that crime Simmons is serving a 30-year sentence for it.

Hughes Babb

Age of Jeri Anderson, a woman who was stabbed to death during a fight in the Lake Highlands area

39

Age of suspect, Kreneshia Mashunti, who turned herself in to police a few hours after Anderson died at Medical City Hospital

3:39 a.m.

Time on Aug. 10 that Mashunti was officially charged with murder and booked into Dallas County Jail

SOURCE Dallas Police Department

TEEN MOMS

When high school students are parents

Young Life youth group, a strong presence in the Lake Highlands area, promotes a nondenominational, faithbased message via social activities. An offshoot called YoungLives is tailored to address the various challenges teens face when they become parents.

At Lake Highlands High School, girls who are pregnant or who have given birth are encouraged to take an elective class called Life Skills. On Valentine’s Day 2013, Lake Highlands resident and mom Anne Beller visited the class. She offered pizza and an invitation to join Young Lives.

“I knew it was happening in other cities,” Beller says. “I thought, why not here?”

PTA organizations, teens often are isolated and without transportation. “The reality is, many of them aren’t at the school anymore,” Beller says. “Lots of them have gone non-traditional. They do everything online; it’s like night school.” Typically the mother will spend the day with her baby, and then when a family member comes home later, the girl attends classes virtually from 4-6 p.m.

Though the teen parents are not all enrolled in Lake Highlands schools, Lake Highlands YoungLives has managed to reach and involve a diverse group throughout the community, Beller says. Many of them are in dire need of both emotional and practical support.

least once a week.” Most of the girls don’t have a car, so mentor-moms keep extra car seats in their vehicles so that they can pick up mom and baby for club meetings, which are held every other Wednesday.

That said, Beller continues, “They are not our projects.”

Regarding a girl she mentors, she explains, “I’m not trying to fix her. I can’t make her problems go away. My role is to love her and support her and answer my phone when she calls, and pick her up if she needs to be somewhere. And to set boundaries and tell her if she’s being inappropriate [example: language] around my kids.”

On that first day, Beller felt painfully aware of having very little in common with the girls, other than the fact that they were all moms. “But it was amazing how much we did have in common,” she says. “We were just chatting and sharing labor stories.”

Unlike adult parents who connect at the local playground or early childhood

Some of the girls have been assaulted. Some are going through legal battles, Beller explains. “One of them is involved in a custody battle with her assaulter.” And there are others — Burmese immigrants, for example — whose culture encourages them to marry older men at a very young age. They are teenagers but they live in traditional households with their husbands. “They’re not playing house,” Beller says. “They are raising a family. It just starts a lot earlier.”

In YoungLives, each teen mom is matched with a mentor-mom who commits to becoming a significant part of the girl’s life. Like the teens, the mentormoms come from a diverse pool. “I’ve got one mentor-mom that’s 25, married with no children, and another who is 65 with ten grandchildren — and everything in between,” Beller says.

She explains what mentor-moms do, and just as important, what they don’t do:

“Our goal is to build a relationship and be moms together. Talk to her at

So what does this group of teens, moms, grandmas and babies do when they get together?

One time they had a scrapbooking session. Once, they visited the Arboretum, where a volunteer photographed moms and babies. Later mentors presented each girl with the framed photo for Mother’s Day.

Recently they discussed family traditions.

“Whether it’s something you do on Christmas morning, or maybe the way you celebrate birthdays, the idea was to give them a vision for doing family with intention,” Beller says. “Because they did not get pregnant intentionally. And so now they’re in survival mode. They do very little intentionally. It’s reactionary.

“But we tell them, ‘You’re a mom now. It’s your family. You get to choose.’”

TO LEARN MORE about YoungLives in Lake Highlands, contact Anne Beller at annebeller@ sbcglobal.net. Information about the Young Life program is available at younglife.org.

“They’re

not playing house. They are raising a family. It just starts a lot earlier.”

Ellen Raff, a neighborhood resident, writes a monthly opinion column about neighborhood issues. Her opinions are not necessarily those of the Advocate or its management. Send comments and ideas to her at 6301 Gaston, Suite 820, Dallas 75214; FAX to 214.823.8866; or email editor@advocatemag.com.