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THE TUSSLE OVER TOPIARIES
Can a statue-loving Beverly Drive resident fight town hall?
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Jane Benedum hangs out with her dog outside their Beverly Drive home in Highland Park. (PHOTO: RACHEL SNYDER)
By Rachel Snyder
rachel.snyder@peoplenewspapers.com
Citations from the town of Highland Park thus far have failed to prompt Jane Benedum to remove any statues, sculptures, pots, or planters from her yard in the 4500 block of Beverly Drive.
However, she has added a decoration: a handmade sign asking people to “please help save my yard” and call Highland Park code enforcement.
“You go, girl!” shouted a passerby recently as Benedum stood outside, answering a reporter’s questions about this tussle over topiaries.
And go is what Benedum plans to do. “All the way to the Supreme Court” if necessary. “I’ve got time, (and) I’ve got gumption,” she quipped. “It’s still America; it’s still Texas.”
Benedum said she was first notified in September that her yard ran afoul of a new ordinance passed in August. It stipulates that decorations like those displayed in front of her home must occupy 5% or less of the yard area.
She appeared at municipal court on Dec. 7 and requested a jury trial, but no date was set as of our publication.
The daughter of J. Claxton Benedum and great-niece of wildcatter Michael Benedum, Jane, who grew up in East Texas, accumulated the collection of potted topiaries, statues, fountains, and more in various ways. Some she acquired herself; some were passed down from family members.
Minutes published from a July study session discussion of the ordinance, though, note “town staff has recently received several complaints regarding the excessive number of decorative items, such as landscape receptacles, planters, topiaries, and statuaries, located in the front yards of residential properties.”
Highland Park Mayor Margo Goodwin hadn’t returned calls requesting comment before press time.
Some support Benedum’s efforts to keep her yard decor, while others see the ordinance as helpful for maintaining attractive landscaping in the neighborhood. Here are a few examples: • “The town should be able to create an ordinance or regulations that create consistency and protect the value of all landowners,” one respondent to an unscientific poll conducted by People Newspapers wrote. “Personal taste and preferences are difficult to regulate. The town should have a responsibility to protect and maintain the traditions and values that are best for all members of the town.” • “Though I don’t live in HP, I drive by or walk by this home on Beverly multiple times a week. I appreciate the whimsy and would hate to see it go. If the immediate neighbors are OK with the display, then I don’t see why it should be anyone else’s business,” another responded. “And if the immediate neighbors are not OK with the display, I believe they should speak with Ms. Benedum directly – I bet a compromise could be reached. The ordinance is clearly targeting this particular yard, and that’s not how legislation is supposed to work. I wish Ms. Benedum good luck on her lawsuit to become ‘grandfathered’ in as a nonconforming use.” • “I like the ordinance going forward, but she should be grandfathered by existing rules,” another responded.
SMU Moves a Little Earth, Begins Graduate School Construction
SMU’s eighth degree-granting school, which began operations in 2020, doesn’t have its fancy new home yet, but December dirt piles signal one is coming.
The school’s dean, James Quick, along with SMU Provost Elizabeth Loboa, President R. Gerald Turner, trustee Frances Anne “Francie” Moody-Dahlberg, board chair Robert Dedman Jr., and Vice President for Academic Affairs Brad Cheves did the dirty work with the ceremonial shovels at the groundbreaking.
The new Frances Anne Moody Hall, expected to open in the summer of 2023, is named for Frances Anne Moody-Dalberg.
The class of 1992 graduate serves as executive director of the Moody Foundation, which contributed the $100 million gift – the largest in SMU history – to create the Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies.
“We’re announcing the next stage in SMU’s development — a significant and unprecedented investment in the university’s graduate and doctoral programs and faculty research programs, which will propel SMU to even greater heights of national prominence,” Turner said at the time of the Moody Foundation gift.
The Moody School brings doctoral and master’s degrees in four schools under one institutional umbrella and already supports more than 75 Ph.D. students across these schools with competitive fellowships.
The investment in the Moody School and Frances Anne Moody Hall supports the SMU’s research mission by attracting outstanding graduate students who are the workforce behind the University’s doctoral and research ecosystem university officials announced.
The expansion of research is a strategic priority that fuels the steady ascent toward achieving the Carnegie R1 status awarded to only the nation’s highest-level research institutions. – Staff report
FROM LEFT: James Quick, Elizabeth Loboa, R. Gerald Turner, “Francie”
Moody-Dahlberg, and Robert Dedman Jr. (PHOTO: COURTESY SMU)
CELEBRATE 2022 WITH A NEW HOME
Maria Reis Habito and other religious leaders meet with Pope Francis to discuss the state of our shared earth. Maria Reis Habito with Hsin Tao, founder of the Museum of World Religions. (PHOTOS:
COURTESY MUSEUM OF WORLD RELIGIONS)
Dallas Woman Meets with Pope
Scholar, Pontiff seek global harmony through climate action
Daniel Lalley
Special Contributor
Dr. Maria Reis Habito has long worked to help bring about a global consensus of peace, unity, and understanding among some of the most diverse populations on the planet.
The philosophy and religious scholar’s most recent interfaith efforts – addressing climate change – prompted a fall 2021 meeting with Pope Francis.
Born Catholic in Cologne, Germany, and raised in Saarbrücken, Habito has lived an international and ever-evolving life, working and studying throughout some of the most incredible places in Europe, Asia, and right here in the Park Cities.
Habito has been a Dallas resident since moving to be with her husband Ruben Habito, who was offered a professorship at SMU in 1989.
“I never imagined with all my Asian studies, I’d end up in Texas,” she said. “The SMU and Perkins School of Theology community has provided a place of belonging to us.”
As the international program director for the Museum of World Religions in Taipei, Taiwan, her work spans the globe bringing about a neo-Buddhist concept of encouraging interfaith dialogue to establish understanding and peace.
“The museum really wants people to develop respect, understanding, and love for other religions, and that’s what we’ve been working on for the last 20 years,” Habito said.
The MWR was founded by Buddhist monk and Habito’s long-time associate, Master Hsin Tao. Over the years, its mission, rooted in a desire to create a healthier global home for all, has continued to evolve.
“Now, with the environmental crisis, we’re focusing more on respect and love for the earth,” Habito said. “We want to train young people to look at ecology from a spiritual point of view but also from a scientific standpoint as well.”
In her capacity with the MWR, Habito is charged with finding scholars and spiritual leaders from across the globe to facilitate international forums focused on faith, science, and the state of our earth.
The museum’s interests have matched those of Pope Francis, who is appealing for global harmony through immediate climate action.
During the COP26 summit in November, in which the MWR and a vast network of religious leaders participated, Francis warned. “Time is running out. This occasion must not be wasted.”
WHAT IS IT?
Founded November 2001 in Taipei Taiwan, the Museum of World Religions is celebrating its 20th anniversary fostering global religious diplomacy under Venerable Hsin Tao, Buddhist monk and founder. This museum presents multiple exhibits on major world religions while also working to bring about unity in all belief systems. Visit mwr.org.tw/mwr_en.
