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ARTIST ADMIRES ZELENSKY’S STAND AGAINST RUSSIAN INVADERS
By Rachel Snyder
rachel.snyder@peoplenewspapers.com
Vladimir Grygorenko came to Dallas from his native Ukraine in 2000 to paint the iconography that adorns the Saint Seraphim Orthodox Cathedral – a process that took nine years.
Grygorenko, 56, grew up in Dnipro, Ukraine, in the south-central part of the country, when it was part of the old Soviet Union and trained in mechanical engineering.
Through his painting and religious iconography, his faith grew.
“Eventually, I found God,” said Grygorenko, who was baptized in 1991 around the time Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union.
His work as a professional iconographer in the traditional Byzantine style eventually brought an invitation in 2000 to decorate the Dallas cathedral. The artist lived
Vladimir Grygorenko was hired to paint the iconography at Saint Seraphim Cathedral around 2000.
(PHOTOS: COURTESY VLADIMIR GRYGORENKO, AND RACHEL SNYDER)
close to the cathedral located on Wycliff Avenue, near Oak Lawn Avenue, for 14 years and continues to attend services there. He’s gone on to work for various other churches around the country.
The Saint Seraphim congregation is decades old and remains the hub of devotional life for more than 300 Christians, many of Ukrainian and Russian descent.
Grygorenko is among at least 15 congregation members with relatives and friends in Ukraine. Some of his have joined the war efforts during the Russian invasion that began on Feb. 24. He phones Ukraine every day.
Ukraine has “become extremely united,” said the artist, who, like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, is of Jewish descent and speaks Russian as his first language.
Grygorenko had reservations after Zelensky’s election in 2019 but now praises the Ukrainian president’s leadership.
“He is not going to give up,” Grygorenko said. “He stays in the war zone. I know that people are united around him.”
The Orthodox Church in America, of which Saint Seraphim is a part, has collected donations for Ukrainian refugee relief. The donations go to a humanitarian agency of the Polish Orthodox Church, which is registered with the Polish government and assisting with the refugee crisis.
“None of it’s good,” Bishop Gerasim of Saint Seraphim said of the war. “It’s all painful. it’s destructive to our church community as well. … Right now, our focus is on helping the faithful from Ukraine.”
‘Ukrainians Are Very Brave’ But Need Our Help
Olena Jacobs bustled around Ukie Style on a recent Saturday afternoon, fielding questions from shoppers and BETHANY ERICKSON others at her increasingly busy store in Preston Valley Shopping Center.
The store, catering to all things Ukrainian culture, has drawn new attention in recent weeks.
Many come to buy yellow and blue signs of support and pick up photocopied lists of medical supplies Jacob and other Ukrainian immigrants are collecting. Her fellow Ukrainians, some Americans, and “even some Russians” come to help pack everything up for shipping.
As Jacobs spoke with Dallasites eager to help, her friend Oksana Toporina also fielded calls and questions.
Toporina has anxiously watched the news and social media and talked to family and friends back in Ukraine when she can.
“I couldn’t get a hold of a couple of my aunts for a couple of days, and that worried me a lot,” she said. “I have friends all over Ukraine — some are on the move, and some are afraid to come out. Ukrainians are very brave.”
An Airbnb host in Ukraine echoed that sentiment when we spoke about renting his spare room. I had no intention of staying there but, like many others, wanted to support Ukrainians directly.
“We are stronger every day,” Andrey said. “Believe in us. This war will end someday, and you are welcome any time here.”
Iryna Fedorets, another Ukrainian I reached, had to take down her crochet stuffed animals from her Etsy shop, HandmadeByIrynaToys, when the war began because shipping from Ukraine became impossible.
She pivoted to offering digital prints that buyers can download. Her daughter, Anastasia, created a painting before the war that she felt embodied the “free and independent” Ukraine she loves.
“There are many people here in Ukraine who have suffered from the war,” Fedorets said. “They lost their homes, relatives, children, friends — everything they had. All that is left is a backpack with documents and essentials.”
Ukie Style owner Olena Jacobs has been collecting medical supplies to send back home. Ukrainians remaining in their country have praised American efforts to help, including
purchasing their artwork online. (PHOTO: COURTESY UKIE STYLE,
UKRAINIAN ART: ANASTASIA FEDORETS/HANDMADEBYIRYNATOYS)
She said her family was OK, “but the situation is very unstable and changing very quickly.”
“Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow,” she added. “I just start crying when I see how much people are trying to support our country and our people. I hope this awful war ends soon and everyone can come here and see our beautiful country and people.”
In the meantime, Jacobs and Toporina continue collecting medical supplies.
“It’s very fluid right now — but for right now, it’s only medical supplies that can be shipped,” Toporina said. “We’re overwhelmed, but American people are good people. We’re doing what we can to help, and I think it’s great that people are coming together on this side of the world.”
From Finland With Love
As our kids age and start their own lives, we’ve decided we need a bigger pool of playmates. So, a year ago, when asked to join a group of middle-aged Harvard graduates on a journey to the Arctic Circle, we leaped at the chance. Truth is, we fancy ourselves MICHELE VALDEZ pseudo intellects and figured we could handle the schmoozing in mixed company (Ivy Leaguers vs. state schoolers). Just to be sure, my husband studied up on the World Bank, Federal Reserve, and financial markets. I took on the classics, beginning with Anna Karenina.
After a month and little progress, I found a film version of the best novel ever written and watched that. Then, to round out my preparation, I watched Pride and Prejudice, and The Great Gatsby. We were ready for brainy banter.
At this point, you may be wondering what dummies (college alma mater aside) go to the Arctic Circle in the middle of winter? These “Vardians” had their sights set on snowshoeing in Sweden and Finland, with the highlight being a night at the Ice Hotel, all the reindeer we could eat, and dog sledding.
We were all in and, like a Rose Ceremony on The Bachelor, dripping with desire to be a part of the group. So, with paper, digital, and screenshot copies of vaccine cards and every other piece of ID (including my Costco membership card), we ventured north to a deep freeze.
Donning battery-powered hand warmers and socks, balaclavas, thermal unmentionables, and Michelin man snow pants (they are black, so somewhat slimming), I never doubted our reasoning in spending thousands to sleep on an ice bed.
And, as it turns out, Sweden and Finland have a simple but palpable beauty in winter and are cultural treasures. Sure, it was as cold as a gold digger’s heart, and one night in the Ice Hotel is plenty for most anyone.
But, it was for a good cause, expanding our circle of friends. After all, we need more friends as we age, and when it comes to friends, smart friends are better than the alternative, right?
And, the best part, the Ivy Leaguers are humble and funny. They told bad jokes and never mentioned the Federal Reserve or Leo Tolstoy. When the trip ended, I came home feeling good about our new friends and our state school pedigrees.
Michele Valdez, a slightly compulsive, mildly angry feminist, has been an attorney and volunteer. She has four demanding adult children and a patient husband.
UP Celebrates Murzin Family Coffee Park playground named to honor special needs advocacy
University Park built the recently named barrier-free Murzin Playground at Coffee Park in the
mid-2000s. (PHOTO: RACHEL SNYDER) The late Chris Murzin, known for special needs advocacy, was often seen with his son Jack.
(PHOTO: CHRIS MCGATHEY)
By Rachel Snyder
rachel.snyder@peoplenewspapers.com
University Park’s first barrier-free playground has a new name, one honoring a family’s legacy of advocacy for children with special needs.
The unanimous vote by the University Park City Council naming Murzin Playground at Coffee Park came on March 1, just more than a year after Chris Murzin, 53, was fatally shot while driving on I-20 before the S. Polk Street exit ramp at 1 p.m. Feb. 11, 2021.
“After he was killed, and some of the initial shock wore off, I knew that there should be some way to honor Chris,” said UP resident George Chandler, who requested the naming.
“His advocacy of the playground was where most people first learned about Chris and got to know him,” Chandler said. “So, some connection to the playground seemed like an obvious possibility.”
Chris, a medical salesman, his wife, Christina, and their children – Caroline, Dutch, and Jack – moved to University Park in 2006. Chris quickly became known as a champion for people with special needs, including their son, Jack.
Christina said the family was honored that Chandler wanted to name the playground for their family and that the city council agreed.
“Naming the playground Murzin Playground is the perfect tribute to all the work Chris did to help make our city more accessible and inclusive for everyone,” she said. Chandler, who has a daughter with Down syndrome, got to know Chris shortly after the city unveiled the playground. “He and I had sev-
His advocacy of the eral telephone discussions and exchanged playground was where emails about the efmost people first fort that he had to put into getting the learned about Chris playground built,” and got to know him. Chandler said. “We loved the playground George Chandler but at that time had concerns because it was relatively open to Hillcrest Avenue. At the time, my daughter was about 8 years old and very mobile.” Chris and Chandler discussed the matter with city officials, and eventually, a fence and bushes were added to the Hillcrest Avenue side of the park. On an application form asking the city to name the playground, Chandler wrote: “Chris was known as a fierce advocate for children with special needs and was actively involved with anything and everything that supported the lives of those children. Chris was strongly involved with the local school district and the community. “In the mid-2000s, during a renovation of the park now known as Coffee Park, Chris began a movement, spending countless hours, to have the children’s playground designed for all children, regardless of physical or intellectual abilities.”
Ellen Lee (PHOTO: DAVID RUBIN)
Tyler Beeson (PHOTO: COURTESY WPA FAMILY OFFICE, LLC) Spencer Siino (PHOTO: HAYNESWORTH PHOTOGRAPHY)
Jae Ellis (PHOTO: DAVID RUBIN)
Pick Two Four vie for HPISD board seats
By Rachel Snyder
rachel.snyder@peoplenewspapers.com
After the May election, the Highland Park ISD board of trustees will have at least one new face.
With Place 5 trustee Edward Herring not seeking re-election, district volunteer Ellen Lee and insurance executive Spencer Siino are vying for the open seat.
Lee, 48, who is involved with the Highland Park Education Foundation, served on the district’s boundary rezoning committee in 2019, the district’s parent education committee in 2019-2021, and on the high school literature review committees from 2016 until 2020.
Siino, 41, is a co-founder of Park Cities Parents Unite, a 501c4 organization established last fall that has called for the district to phase out mask wearing and other COVID-19 restrictions. In spring 2021, he filed a court petition asking for pre-suit depositions from staff and school board members about the mask policy before the HPISD announced masks would be optional for the 2021-2022 school year.
In Place 4, Tyler Beeson, 44, who works in wealth management, is challenging incumbent Jae Ellis.
Beeson serves on the board of Interfaith Family Services and as chairman of the agency’s annual Charity Golf Tournament. He’s also a member of the Dallas Foundation’s Advisory Council and the Dallas Estate Planning Council.
Ellis, 50, has served on the board since 2019 and as secretary since 2021.
A legal consultant by trade, he has served the Highland Park Education Foundation as a director and board secretary and in various other roles, including on its Finance/Investment and Strategic Planning committees. He also served the Highland Park Alumni Association as vice president, treasurer, membership chairman, director, and class representative. Ellis co-chaired the Highland Park ISD Centennial Celebration in 2014.
Before becoming an HPISD trustee, Ellis served as board chairman for Project Unity.
GO VOTE
Election Day: May 7 Early Voting: April 25-May 3.
Where Does Tyler Beeson Live?
An anonymous letter and an email from a Highland Park ISD mother to Park Cities People raised questions about a Place 4 trustee candidate’s residency.
On his ballot application, Tyler Beeson, 44, listed a duplex owned by the school district in University Park, but he has a homestead exemption in Henderson County on a property listed as owned via a family living trust.
“It’s just a lake house,” Beeson said. “It’s irrelevant to the school board.”
HPISD Chief of Staff Jon Dahlander confirmed that all candidates met the district’s residency requirements, including: • Living in the state for a year and the district for six months before the filing date, which was Feb. 18; • Registering to vote within the district. Texas Secretary of State records show Beeson registered to vote using his University Park address. As for the home-
It’s just a lake stead exemption, Texas Comptroller’s Ofhouse. It’s irrelevant fice website says only a to the school board. homeowner’s “primary residence” qualifies.Tyler Beeson That’s the technical requirement, real estate attorney Lauren Cadilac explained. “However, if there is only one homestead on file (such as when a resident rents a second place), then there probably isn’t an issue.” The homestead on file in Henderson County is the only one confirmed for Beeson. – By Rachel Snyder
