Inside Community and Education

Inside

Commun ty

TEAM UP WITH COR INTH

Edu at onInside Did you know you could team up with the City of Corinth to help make sure city events are continued and special? There are several levels of sponsorships you or your business could register for. Events like Fish ‘N Fun, Pumpkin Palooza, the Christmas Tree Lighting, and more! Register online, www.cityofcorinth.com and click on Community Events to find the Event Sponsorship tab.

LA KE DALLAS AN IMAL SH ELT ER

This past year the Lake Dallas Animal Shelter cared for over 660 dogs and cats in their facility. With the help of the shelter and the community, over 98% of these furry pets found new homes! To learn more about volunteering, email animalservices@lakedallaspd.org.

REFLECTIONS

Congratulations to the four Guyer High School students who have advanced to the PTA Reflections at the state level! Outstanding Award of Excellence is presented to Macy Kanekkeberg- Visual Arts, Avery Parker-Photography, Cindy Tran-Film Production, and Ashton Cartwright-Music Composition. Texas State PTA will announce students advancing to the national level on March 15. logo courtesy of Guyer PTSA

READ ACROSS AM ERICA

Mon., Mar. 2 is National Read Across America Day, held on the birthday of Dr. Seuss. This reading initiative began in 1997 and encourages students of all ages to grab your red and white hat and celebrate the joys of reading!

GOD OF CARNAG E

Fri., Feb. 21- Sun., Feb. 23 | Fri. & Sat. at 8pm, Sun. at 3pm Greater Lewisville Community Theatre 160 W Main St. • Lewisville, TX 75057

This dark comedy by Yasmina Reza and translated by Christopher Hampton is a 2009 Tony Award winner, and a performance of the tension between civilized surface and savage instinct. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for 65 and over, and 18 and under. For tickets, call the box office at (972) 221-SHOW (7469).

BINGO AND DOM INO ES

Every Tues. | 10am-noon Lake Dallas City Hall 212 Main St. • Lake Dallas, TX 75065

Senior citizens 65 and older are invited to spend every Tuesday morning in the community room at City Hall for games and a potluck lunch. Bring whatever you’d like for the lunch. You’ll be glad you came!

FAL CON BASSOON IST EARNS SPOT IN ALL STAT E BAND

Congratulations, Lake Dallas High School senior Michael Minassian for your incredible performance at the area audition, earning a spot in the All-State Band. This is the most prestigious honor a student can receive. Michael represented Lake Dallas in the All-State 5A Symphonic Band Feb. 12-15 in San Antonio.

KIND ERGART EN REGISTRAT ION OP EN

Kindergarten registration for Shady Shores Elementary and Corinth Elementary is now open. Visit the districts website to start your online enrollment and schedule a campus tour, www.LDISD.net/ Page/1643. Welcome, Class of 2033!

Lake Dallas Police Gettin Fit by Steve Gamel

Lake Dallas Police Lieutenant Alan Sawyer had no idea that a chance meeting at a local selfdefense class would spark a department-wide initiative to help his officers get in shape and feel great doing it. But here we are, and everyone — including Sawyer — is eager to see what the scales say next. Beginning in February, the Lake Dallas Police Department partnered with local personal trainer, Rachel O’Connell of Honeycomb Health & Wellness, to kick-start the department’s first-ever in-house physical fitness program. The program, which runs three times a week and strategically covers as many shifts and demanding schedules as possible, incorporates interval training, nutritional counseling, an additional virtual boot camp, and more amazing perks. This is far from a short-term fix or Biggest Loser format. The holistic approach is meant to be a permanent fixture moving forward to help officers lose weight, increase strength, decrease stress, and have healthier choices at their fingertips. “Our officers have a high-stress job,” Sawyer said. “They are in and out of cars going from call to call and working a lot of night shifts, so you find yourself eating out all the time — and there are not a lot of healthy options sometimes. You can go to gyms, but it’s not really geared to what you do, and you become embarrassed about being overweight. Bringing someone in allows it to be more personalized, and when you get into a routine, you feel better about yourself.” He added, “Initially, we had maybe five or six officers wanting to do it. Now, we’re getting close to it being everyone.” Lieutenant Sawyer said he and Police Chief Daniel Carolla had been working hard for some time to put an allencompassing program in place. Their goal was to help their officers with physical fitness, mental well-being, and financial success. It wasn’t until he met

O'Connell during a police-led women’s self-defense class at Legacy Boxing Gym in Lake Dallas that the physical fitness piece fell into place. O'Connell has been holding classes every Tuesday and Thursday at Legacy Boxing Gym since December. She has years of experience diving into areas where clients feel most vulnerable Our fficers have a highstress j b

what they are d ing t keep their fficers healthy

and then working with them to achieve a better version of themselves through highend accountability coaching, elite topicspecific trainings, and nutritional support.

On that particular day, however, she happened to be a participant in the selfdefense course.

eager t see what the scales say next

“I remember asking him what they are doing to keep their officers healthy,” O'Connell said. “He was honest and said, ‘Nothing yet, but we need to do something. Let’s talk.’ I believe their hearts are all about caring for their community, and I think this will be huge for them to do their jobs better, have more energy, and be stronger. I used to be 40 pounds overweight, so I know what type of difference it makes on a person when you are fit and feel good about yourself. It’s my passion to give that same freedom to other people, especially our first responders.”

Sawyer agreed.

Bringing s me ne in all ws it t be m re pers nalized

“We want our officers to know that we are thinking about them. We want them to be in the best physical shape,” he said. “To do something like this was a nobrainer. She knew exactly what we needed, and we can’t wait to share our progress.”

To learn more about Honeycomb Health & Wellness, visit www.facebook.com/ honeycombyourlife/. Please check back with us in a future issue to hear fitness success stories from the Lake Dallas police department.