2016 February Lake Highlands

This

Radiation oncologist Dr. Michael Folkert and other members of our genitourinary cancer team are treating select prostate cancer patients with a technique that delivers a more potent dose of radiation in fewer treatments. Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy, SABR for short, is a technology that was pioneered at UT Southwestern and is now being adopted worldwide. It’s another example of the specialized care available at UT Southwestern—where scientific research, advanced technology, and leading-edge treatments come together to bring new hope to cancer patients.

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Up all night

The Advocate tags along with folks who work late at jobs in and around our neighborhood. Meteorologist Scott Padgett arrives at the CBS TV studio before 4 a.m. to prepare for the morning broadcast. (Photo by Danny Fulgencio)

16

Ron Howard in Lake Highlands

In 1978 the Hollywood icon directed his second-ever movie, and it was set at our neighborhood high school.

18

Out on the town Casino night with the Exchange Club and African American history exhibits top this month’s to-do list.

20

Healthy helping

Two sisters serve up fresh flavors at Nature’s Plate.

36

Long time cooking

This Highland Park Cafeteria staffer has fed generations of White Rock area diners.

47

Crime reports

A drug-deal murder and a gruesome discovery challenge Dallas police detectives.

ON THE COVER: Dallas Police officer Lacie Darnell (Photo by Danny Fulgencio)

Akin at the McCommas Bluff Landfill. (Photo by Danny Fulgencio)

LIFE MEASURED IN DUMPLINGS AND SUPER BOWLS

Making our dwindling time count

I’ve always wondered about the wisdom of scheduling Valentine’s Day less than two months after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

We’ve just completed one orgy of gatherings and good will, and then another similarly critical event is thrust upon us.

If we participated at all in the loving and gift-giving at the end of the year, and if we did it with the prescribed amount of gusto, what gift is left for those who mean the most to us on Valentine’s Day?

By the time most of us reach our mid-30s, he concludes, we’ve burned through 95 percent of our in-person parent time

I was thinking about this while doing my job, a good part of which involves endlessly scanning the Internet, other magazines and newspapers looking for ideas about how to make ours better. I prefer to think of it as multi-tasking, but I suppose you could consider it dereliction of duty since most of this personal “thinking” seems to occur during work hours.

Regardless, I stumbled across the enewsletter “Charlotte Agenda” published by a small crew in North Carolina and dedicated to covering the city of Charlotte (it’s similar to a free one we publish for our neighborhood that you can subscribe to at advocatemag.com/social).

I read the Charlotte Agenda from time to time not because it’s attractive or flashy, like so much of what catches our attention on the

Internet these days, but because the writing is unique: one of the three writers seems full of himself, one seems to revel in being a wordsmith and the third flashes the rare ability to think and write at the same time.

This day she’s talking about the Internet site “Wait But Why,” and she’s pondering a specific article there about “The Tail End” in which writer Tim Urban quantifies by diagrams exactly how far along most of us are in our journey through life.

He starts by calculating the projected number of pizzas and dumplings he has left to eat. And there’s discussion about the number of Super Bowls he’ll likely still live to see (he assumes 60) and the number of presidents he may yet survive (nine).

But then he tilts more seriously: By the time most of us reach our mid-30s, he concludes, we’ve burned through 95 percent of our in-person parent time, meaning well before the presumed middle of our lives, we have relatively little time left to spend with our parents, if we’re lucky enough that they’re still alive.

Same with siblings: We go from spending every day with them for the first 18 or so years of our life to seeing them occasionally or rarely or not at all.

And so he concludes that if these things matter to us, we should make it a point to live near and spend time with the people we love most. And if we truly are in the last 10 percent of time we’ll spend with these people who mean the most to us, we should treat that time as the precious commodity it is, rather than worry too much about spending money on roses, chocolates and expensive meals on a fairly artificial holiday.

So maybe the person who scheduled Valentine’s Day was thinking clearly after all, making a date regularly associated with love for others to follow so closely after a season that seems to have moved far from its intended meaning.

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BRITTANY NUNN

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Rick Stacy and his daughter, Dorian, have built a name for their furniture business by making customers feel at home. When they experienced that same style of service from LegacyTexas, they knew the right financial partner had been found. Because a business is more than its services, it’s the attitude of the people behind it that makes it a success.

WHAT’S YOUR LEGACY?

RICK STACY Founder, Stacy Furniture DORIAN STACY SIMS President

DIGITAL DIGEST

THE DIALOGUE

Is a park coming to 635 at Skillman?

“Can we defer discussion of an overlay park over LBJ until after the streets of Dallas are brought up to the standards set by the Dallas City Council and the Dallas Police and Fire Retirement Fund is solvent? I agree that more park and recreation space is needed, most particularly for more soccer pitches. One way to achieve this needed land is to identify those multi-family complexes that have been the most egregious in their failure to manage their units in maintenance and in vetting the background of prospective tenants. Those most egregious complexes could then be subjected to eminent domain and scraped to establish needed park space for the city.” —Dormand

“Like that interchange isn’t confusing enough as is.” —Loltehe

Shady’s Burger Joint coming to T. Hee’s old location

“My idea to turn the old barber shop into a growler filling beer bar is lost! Glad to see another nice restaurant option in that shopping center. Now if the updates can just continue in the shopping center across the street, we’d really be on a roll. We could use a yogurt shop and maybe some Thai or Chinese.” —Jason

“Sad to see T. Hee go, but happy to welcome this new business into our neighborhood. I think it’s a great sign that they already have three successful years under their belt at another location. We can’t wait to give them a try!”

—Kerry Slaughter

Senior Living Near White Rock Lake

Q&A: Landfill engineer Richard Akin

Most of us don’t think about our trash once it leaves the sidewalk. If we do, it’s probably not to contemplate the finer details of how the managers at McCommas Bluff Landfill keep the dump from overflowing or how it drains rainwater. But for Lake Highlands resident Richard Akin, it’s all he thinks about at work. Akin is the senior landfill engineer at McCommas Bluff. Sounds like a job that stinks, right? Far from it. “It’s a fun place,” he says. As long as he does his job right. “We like to know that we’re not leaking, that we’re not polluting and that we’re collecting as much as we possibly can,” he says — the rest of us can continue on our merry, oblivious way.

What’s the biggest challenge of your job?

From an engineering perspective, just making sure we don’t overfill. Landfills live

and die by what’s called ‘airspace’ — what we’re allowed to fill. As long as we don’t go over a certain height, everything is fine. So I have to make sure that doesn’t happen.

What does your day-to-day look like?

I’m responsible for drainage and roadways through the landfill and projects that we’re going to do on-site, that we’re not going to contract out. I’m also in charge of the environmental science section. I have an environmental coordinator and four [hazardous-waste] inspectors. We don’t accept [hazardous waste]. They’re looking for things that are not acceptable. They do random inspections on the loads of customers, so they’re looking for things like unused paint or materials containing

They’re also responsible for all the daily checks for our route site to look for what we call ‘leachate seeps.’ We have a big hill of trash and it gets rained on. Rainwater will percolate through the surface material, get into the trash, and it will matriculate down through the garbage, and it collects things as it goes to the bottom. If it decides it wants to come out on the side of the hill, it will form a wet area called a ‘seep.’ As long as it’s not running, it gives us a little time to get it fixed. The

Richard Akin is the guy in charge of making sure the landfill doesn’t overfill. (Photo by Danny Fulgencio) asbestos. Plus, we can’t accept liquids at the landfill.

way they fix it is they pack more dirt on top of it, which encourages liquid to stay back into the hill and not try to pop out. If it forms any type of a stream, those require immediate attention because we don’t want any of that stuff to escape the landfill. So environmentally, there are lots of things to look at and lots of things to do.

Was it hard to get used to working so closely with garbage?

Not really. It’s funny people always ask, ‘Well doesn’t it stink? It’s nasty.’ Actually it’s not as nasty as you think. It takes a little bit of getting used to, but at the landfill there are different odors that are created by different things. Landfill gas itself has a particular odor. Leachate has a particular odor. The garbage itself has a particular odor. We can use those odors if we’re around the landfill inspecting, if we smell something in a place we don’t expect it. Visually it’s easy to see if something is not where it’s

supposed to be, but if it’s something you can’t see but you can smell you go, ‘OK we shouldn’t be smelling this, why are we?’

Is your job dangerous?

The greatest danger to a landfill is fire. People ask about landfill gas. We’re con-

fill gas has an odor but methane itself does not.’ It is odorless and colorless, so you don’t know it’s there except that it burns nicely, although it’s not explosive.

Have you experienced a fire at McCommas?

cerned about it because it’s a greenhouse gas. It’s methane. People want to know what it smells like, but it’s like, ‘Well, land-

Yes, but typically the fires that we see out here are vehicles. An actual landfill fire, though, I have not had to be a part of one of those. I hope to never be a part of it because you don’t fight them the same way you fight a house fire. Water won’t put it out. It’s a smoldering fire, and it could burn for years. So how do I know that I don’t have one right now? We have over 500 gas wells on the landfill. We’ve been harvesting methane gas. If we see a spike in the temperature, then we know something is awry and we go start the investigation. You have to smother a landfill fire with dirt. Part of our permit is a requirement that we have to have enough dirt on hand to be able to

It’s funny people always ask, ‘Well doesn’t it stink? It’s nasty.’ Actually it’s not as nasty as you think. It takes a little bit of getting used to, but at the landfill there are different odors that are created

cover the entire working face within an hour with six inches of dirt.

Do you eventually expand the landfill or what’s next?

McCommas is as big as McCommas is ever going to be. There is zero desire to expand it. The permit modifications that would be involved would be such a hurdle that the city is not going to do it. The city decided that they wanted one single place to serve the needs of Dallas County, and that was back in the mid-’70s when they started the permitting process for McCommas. They figured that their longrange plan was that it would have a life of 50 years. The 1980s was when they finally started accepting trash at the landfill. McCommas was originally permitted to bring in 10,000 tons a day. We haven’t seen that kind of volume since the last big economic boom many, many years ago. We see between 5,000-8,000 tons a day

with the exception of Sunday because nobody brings us anything on Sunday. At the current rate of material coming in and at the rate that it’s settling, we have about

We have an absolutely panoramic view of downtown, and on a clear night it is a very beautiful sight. We have sunrises and sunsets that would blow your mind.

Interesting. What else would surprise people about the landfill?

45 years still left in McCommas. We have an old part of the landfill that you’d never know is a landfill because it’s covered in grass. It’s also one of the highest land points in the City of Dallas.

It has nothing to do with the landfill itself. It’s the wildlife. McCommas itself is about 2,200 acres. Only about 978 of that will ever be used for the landfill. The rest of it is nature. I recently took a picture of a beautiful stag. It was magnificent, and silhouetted by the sunset. While driving through part of the landfill one day, I counted 15 deer, but we also have about 300 feral hogs. That’s not as pretty. They get to be big. We can’t hunt them or hurt them. We cannot touch them. We have four nesting pairs of red-tailed hawks. We have vultures and seagulls by the thousands. We’re also on one of the migratory paths for pelicans.

—Brittany Nunn

At the current rate of material coming in and at the rate that it’s settling, we have about 45 years still left in McCommas.

Rock ‘n’ roll high school

That time Ron Howard made a movie in Lake Highlands

In the late 1970s, at the dawn of his directorial career, Ron Howard — popularly known as his sitcom character Richie Cunningham — rolled, along with his actor brother, Clint, and much of his “Happy Days” production crew, into Lake Highlands to shoot a movie about rival teenage rock bands. The finished product premiered Oct. 26, 1978 on NBC. Dallas residents held watch parties and thrilled at the sight of familiar places and faces — there was Town East Mall, scene of the climactic Battle of the Bands; Annex Avenue in East Dallas, where the fictional garage

band Cotton Candy rehearsed; the Granada movie theater on Greenville, site of the main characters’ first date; and Lake Highlands High School, which was to “Cotton Candy” what Rydell High was to “Grease.” That year, Scott Patterson was a senior at LHHS, one of about 140 chosen to play extras in scenes filmed on campus.

“They wanted the school to look smaller than it is, so, I don’t remember who decided, but honors students got to do it,” Patterson says. “They filmed all of the hallway scenes in C hall, and the graduation scene on the junior varsity field, all to make the

school seem smaller. It lasted, maybe, a couple of weeks. School went on as usual.” Patterson says he and his peers revered Ron Howard, who was just 24 years old at the time. The TV star shook the kids’ hands, hung out with them after filming and answered questions about his career, Patterson says.

“We knew him as Richie Cunningham. He seemed like Richie Cunningham. Not bossy, but in command. He was personable, down to earth and, in real life, he was smaller than he appeared on ‘Happy Days.’ His little brother, who stars in the movie, was always with him.”

Mark Ridlen, a musician and DJ from the White Rock area was in a band called Quad Pi, whose members also starred in the movie.

“I was young and skinny and cute then. I was a rock star,” Ridlen says. He recalls auditioning for Howard at a studio. “We did one song. We nailed it. Our competition all looked too old to play high school kids, so I knew we were in.”

He and bandmates Morgan Ferguson and John and Tad Painter starred alongside actor Mark Wheeler as the members of Rapid Fire, the popular, evil nemesis of the hero underdogs Cotton Candy. Ridlen didn’t have any speaking lines, but he and his curly, shoulderlength locks appear in several scenes.

“They gave Tad the only speaking line, but I managed to get in front of the camera a lot and to stand out. On the last day, I decided to be punk, a sad attempt in my Patty Hearst T-shirt and dog collar,” he says with a laugh.

Former Highlandette director Katha Black chaperoned students at the Holiday Inn where they filmed the prom scene.

“I served punch for 5 hours that night to get about 20 minutes of a prom scene,” she says. “I also appear in two of the hall scenes.”

“Cotton Candy” was a far cry from Howard’s many Oscar-worthy flicks (“Apollo 13” and “A Beautiful Mind,” for example) that followed.

According to an article by The New York Times entertainment writer Mark Allen, it originally was intended as a pi-

Tad Painter, Morgan Ferguson, Mark Wheeler, Mark Ridlen and John Painter portrayed members of the band Rapid Fire in Ron Howard’s 1978 TV movie “Cotton Candy.” In real life, their band was called Quad Pi.

lot for a TV series.

“And it shows,” Allen writes. “Every line of the film is shouted, every action over-hashed,everysequencedirected formaximum,squishy,melodramatic exploitation,” he notes.

Maybe that’s part of the reason why, whenLakeHighlandsgradGregVan Dine wrote to Ron Howard Productions a few years ago requesting a copy of the movie, he received this response: “That

film is deep in the vault and will never, ever,letmesayagain,neverseethe light of day again.”

But “Cotton Candy” would not go quietly into obscurity. Allen acknowledges the film’s cult appeal. It’s part of a “subgenre of made-for-TV movies about high schoolteensembroiledinrock-band drama that holds immeasurable hypnotic powers over a lot of my generation,” he notes.

Patterson finally scored a copy of “Cotton Candy” in 2008, when Ridlen hosted a “Cotton Candy” anniversary screening and party and distributed “Cotton Candy” DVDs to guests.

Those parting gifts did not come easily, Ridlen says. When the Quad Pi parents found out their kids would be in a TV movie, they all bought VCRs so they could tape it. But the recordings that survived were of barely watchable quality. Years ago, however, Ridlen met a guy who had a perfect copy converted to DVD.

“It has the commercials and all. It’s a total time machine to Dallas in that era,” he says. They made copies for all the attendees. He says that anyone who wants to see it will have to attend the next anniversary celebration in 2018.

“I’m not putting it on YouTube. You’ll havetocometotheparty,”whichhe promises will be a blast. A low-quality but watchable version of the film is available on YouTube. —

Christina Hughes

Babb

“He was personable, down to earth and, in real life, he was smaller than he appeared on ‘Happy Days.’”

THE goods

214.560.4203

Out & About

Send events to editor@advocatemag.com

February 2016

GECKO HARDWARE

Does your sweetie love local? We have the perfect gifts— “Red-Hot” Love Candles, Texas Honeybee Guild Honey, Noble Coyote Coffee and more. 10233 E. Northwest Hwy @ Ferndale 214.343.1971 GeckoHardware.com

THE STORE IN LAKE HIGHLANDS

Feb. 13

Casino Night

Las Vegas meets Dallas at this annual event, benefitting The Exchange Club of Lake Highlands — the dress code is “upscale western” but the theme is “casino.” Try your hand at blackjack, participate in a wine pull, munch on food or simply sit back and enjoy some live music. Arrive at 6 p.m.

Westin Dallas Park Central, 12720 Merit Drive, 214.732.6767, lhexchangeclub.org, $50

THROUGH FEB. 13

Hard-boiled

FEB. 5

‘Snail and Hummingbird’

choices and sizes Can W @ y Ferndale (near Gecko) r 2

CORKCICLE canteens and tumblers! Keep beverages cold for 25 hours, or hot for 12. Easy-grip, triple-insulated, fun color choices and sizes. Can personalize, too! 10233 E. NW Hwy @ Ferndale (near Gecko) 214.553.8850 Mon-Sat 9:30-5:30 TheStoreinLH.com

CITY VIEW ANTIQUE MALL

Transform, re-purpose or refresh old furniture with color choices from Annie Sloan Chalk Paint®. A full range of paint products are available. Our 65 dealers offer great, quality, affordability & selection. 6830 Walling Ln. (Skillman/Abrams) 214.752.3071 cityviewantiques.com

Film Noir detective Dirk Spatula is called out of retirement to help find a space alien on the run. Mix in a host of vixen spies, teleportation, shape shifting, voodoo and a werewolf. Don’t forget to throw popcorn at the stage.

Pocket Sandwich Theater, 5400 E. Mockingbird, 214.821.1860, pocketsandwich.com, $12-$25

THROUGH FEB. 28

‘Frog and Toad’

This whimsical musical, “A Year with Frog and Toad,” follows two best friends and their quirky egos from hibernation to planting, to swimming, to sledding.

Dallas Children’s Theater, 5938 Skillman, 214.978.0110, dct.org, $15-$28

Teatro Dallas brings a show to the Dallas Children’s Theater for one night only, at 7:30 p.m. “Caracol Y Colibri (Snail And Hummingbird)” tells the story of two characters that take time to listen to each other and create their own music and dreams. Dallas Children’s Theater, 5938 Skillman, 214.740.0051, dct.org, $15-$20

FEB. 10

Lovey Dovey

Margaret Clauder is ventriloquist, puppeteer, comedian, storyteller and magician — whew! To get your little ones in the Valentine’s Day spirit, she’ll don a giant heart costume, go by the moniker “Lovey Dovey” and show off her many talents at 10:30 a.m.

Bookmarks in NorthPark Center, 8687 N. Central Expressway, 214.671.1381, free

FEB. 13

Shoreline Spruce-Up

For the Love of the Lake invites neighbors to join its monthly Second Saturday Shoreline Spruce-Up at White Rock Lake. They meet at 8 a.m. For the Love of the Lake, 1152 N. Buckner, whiterocklake.org

214.660.1100, free

FEB. 17

African American History

In honor of African American History Month, learn about George Moses Horton, the first African American poet to publish work in the southern United States. After you hear his inspiring story, Audrey Turner of the Writer’s Garret will help you pen some verses of your own. The event begins at 3:30 p.m. Audelia Library, 10045 Audelia Road, dallaslibrary.org, 214.670.1350, free

FEB. 26-28

Ballet and Bach

Neighborhood-based Contemporary Ballet Dallas premieres “Untold Tale of the Chevalier” with the New York Baroque Dance Company, guest Marcea Daite and music from the Dallas Bach Society.

Montgomery Arts Theater, 2501 Flora, 214.821.2066, contemporaryballetdallas.com/season

FEB. 27-APRIL 10

Dallas Blooms

Get ready for the Dallas Arboretum’s biggest floral festival, Dallas Blooms. The garden explodes with color as more than 500,000 spring-blossoming bulbs burst, and life-size bronze sculptures of American’s “great contributors.” Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland Road, dallasarboretum.org, 214.515.6500, $10-$15 plus $15 on-site parking

Feb. 6

Works of heart

“El Corazon” art exhibition at the Bath House Cultural Center is now in its 22 year. The show allows local artists to offer their interpretations of the human heart. It opens with a reception for the artists from 7-9 p.m. Feb. 6 and runs through March 5. Bath House Cultural Center, 521 E. Lawther, 214.670.8749, bathhousecultural.com, free

Delicious

NATURE’S PLATE

10233 E. Northwest Highway 469.307.4217

AMBIENCE: MEAL PLAN PICK-UP

PRICE RANGE: PLANS FOR $19-$200 PER WEEK

HOURS:

MON, WED, THURS 10 A.M.-7 P.M. CLOSED TUES

FRI, SUN 10 A.M.-6 P.M.

SAT 10 A.M.-5 P.M.

DID YOU KNOW?

ALL MEALS ARE BAKED AND PREPARED ON SITE. NATURE’S PLATE IS ALL-VEGAN, AND MOST OF THEIR PRODUCTS ARE ORGANIC AND GLUTEN-FREE.

Sisters

Annette Baker and Marianne Lacko never set out to become small business owners; it just kind of happened.

“Neither of us have a culinary background,” Baker says. Instead, their health food concept called Nature’s Plate simply “grew out of our interest and what we were doing for ourselves.”

Both became interested in plant-based food, health and fitness. Six years ago Lacko received a request from a co-worker.

“She said, ‘Would you cook for me if I pay you?’” Lacko remembers. “I had just had a baby, so I was like, ‘No way. I can barely keep up.’ ”

But Baker, whose kids are older, offered her services instead.

“At the time I didn’t want to make money with it because she was trying to lose weight, and so I thought that would make me feel good to do that on the side,” Baker says. “I had no idea what was involved in something like that.”

It didn’t take long before others caught on and asked Baker to cook for them, too. Eventually she drummed up enough interest to justify starting a business. She got Lacko on board, quit her job and threw herself into her new-found passion.

In August Baker and Lacko opened Nature’s Plate at Northwest Highway and Ferndale, where they offer a variety of soups, salads, sandwiches, entrées, breakfast items and treats. Neighbors can pick up meals in-store or have them brought to their doors through the local delivery service Artizone.

The menu is entirely vegan — Baker and Lacko are vegans but “not the preachy kind,” they say — but Baker points out that most of their customers are not; they just want to eat healthier, she says. —Brittany

Nunn

Spicy black-eyed peas and greens soup (Photo by Rasy Ran)

Snap Kitchen

Snap Kitchen is another food service that caters to health nuts on the run. It offers tossed-to-order salads, cold-pressed juices, specialty elixirs, high-energy snacks, diet-friendly desserts or other ready-made meals for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

4115 Skillman

214.613.4503

snapkitchen.com

D’Vegan

Located inside Hong Kong Market, this Vietnamese eatery serves a variety of veggie-centric fare, such as bun bo xao xa ot (spicy lemongrass noodle) and rice paper spring rolls. They also offer fresh lemonade, pennywort leaf and other juices. Don’t forget to pick up a bag of veggie jerky at the checkout counter.

9780 Walnut

972.437.3939

Green Spot Market

It looks like a gas station. And that it is. But it’s more. The White Rock Lake area ecovenience store stocks fresh produce and frozen yogurt and serves up healthy breakfasts, lunches and dinners in the form of tacos, burgers and sandwiches.

702 N. Buckner

214.319.SPOT

greenspotmarket.com

Thai Opal

Happy Valentines Day from all of us at Thai Opal!!

We have infused the classical Thai cuisine with a modern ambiance.

• Take out • Lunch Specials

• BYOB

• Delivery Available (5 mi. radius)

Resident Taqueria

Another Broken Egg Cafe

It’s our passion to create exceptional dishes for breakfast, brunch and lunch that are “craveably” delicious with an artisanal flair. Mon-Sun 7:00 -2:00 pm

One90 Smoked Meats

Offering bbq combo plates, sandwiches, tacos, sides, desserts & a wide variety of locally smoked meats, including Brisket, Bison, Turkey, Chicken, Pork, Salmon, Duck, Lamb & Tenderloins. Hours: Mon. Closed , Tues.-Sat. 11am-8pm Sun. 11am-5pm

SMOKED MEATS

THIS BARK IS ALL BITE

As you are preparing for one of the most chocolate-filled months of the year, when everyone is trying to buy or make something extra special for your loved ones, a no-bake and no-recipe treat will be your new best friend. Chocolate bark is not only one of the most beautiful chocolate treats you can package up, but it is also so decadent with its pure flavors. As you prepare to make chocolate bark, it’s imperative you select a high quality chocolate, whether it be white, milk or dark. Once you have decided on the chocolate you would like to use, you need to decide how to top it. For dark chocolate, I prefer nutty and dried fruit flavors such as cranberries, almonds, candied ginger, pumpkin seeds, pistachios, dried figs and dried apricots. The options are endless for chocolate bark, you can nearly put anything your taste buds desire.

No-bake Chocolate Bark

GROCERY LIST:

1 pound dark chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 cup almonds, lightly chopped

1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped

1/4 cup pistachios, shelled

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup dried figs, chopped

1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped

2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare a half-sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Place three-fourths of the dark chocolate in a microwave safe glass bowl.

3. Microwave chocolate on high for 30 seconds, remove bowl and stir chocolate.

4. Place chocolate back in the microwave for 30 seconds intervals until the chocolate is melted.

5. Remove the bowl from the microwave and add the remaining one-fourth of chocolate into the melted chocolate

and stir until fully melted.

6. Pour chocolate onto prepared sheet pan and spread until even in thickness.

7. Sprinkle dried fruit and nuts all over chocolate (add as much or as little as you like).

8. Allow the chocolate to cool and harden at room temperature or refrigerate if you want the chocolate to set up quicker.

9. Once the chocolate is cooled, crack the bark into medium size pieces.

10. Keep in an airtight container or package up for gifts.

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.

While you were sleeping, they were hard at work

When the night grows dark and the moon glows bright, most of us cuddle between the sheets. But for some, the day begins when everyone else is asleep. They say it never feels quite normal staying up all night, but their jobs in police stations and hospitals require them to keep vampire hours.

NIGHT SHIF T DEEP NIGHT

Photos by Danny Fulgencio

PHOTO ON OPENING PAGES:

Officers respond to a call at Valencio apartment community in the Vickery Meadow area of Northeast Dallas. Two security guards work the night shift at Valencio, but they asked for police assistance in dealing with an intoxicated resident who they say caused a disturbance. Neighbors served as interpreters between police and the drunken man and his distraught wife.

SHIFT, DALLAS POLICE

AM12:00

About 40 uniformed officers gather in a classroom at the Northeast Substation of the Dallas Police Department at Northwest Highway at Audelia. They are rookies. Most appear to be under 30. Our tour guides are officers Lacie Darnell, 26, one of two females in the room, and Scot Ansley, 30. A sergeant takes roll call and warns, “The call load is crazy.” There was a drug-related shooting at an East Dallas apartment complex. “We expect some sort of retaliation.” Dallas is a few days away from implementing new open carry gun laws, which will allow citizens to openly carry holstered handguns. “Watch the video,” the sergeant says, directing the officers to an informational video on the police website. They take up a collection to buy a Christmas present for Cecelia the custodian.

AM12:15

Darnell and Ansley check their squad car for damages incurred during previous shift. They stop at their respective personal vehicles to grab gear — gas mask, rain jacket, rain hat, for instance. “I hate the rain hat,” Ansley says. “It looks dumb.”

AM12:23

They head north on Audelia toward their assigned pa-

trol area, sector 105, beat 213, which includes what they call “5 Points,” also known as Vickery Meadow. The assigned section is like home base, but they travel all over the subdivision — which includes Lake Highlands, East Dallas and Preston Hollow — answering calls as needed.

AM12:24

There is a non-emergency disturbance near Casa View — yelling and a loud bang. They turn around.

AM12:26

Darnell says she had a pretty rough childhood. “I wanted to do something no one else in my family could or would do,” she says. She majored in criminal justice at University of North Texas.

AM12:29

The caller, a middle-aged woman with dark hair pinned atop her head, answers the door. The noises came from the neighbors, she says, pointing. Next door, a man, woman and Doberman pinscher materialize from the shadows. The man says he’s carrying a gun and raises his arms so Ansley can pat him down. He shows his Concealed Handgun License. Darnell scratches the dog’s head. The officers separate the couple and

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hear their stories, which coalesce. Back in the car, Darnell says, “There’s nothing, really, that we can do. We had to make sure there was no family violence, because we would have had to make an arrest.” But both parties assured officers the fighting was over, that the loud noise was simply a truck door slamming.

AM1:04

Darnell lives in North Dallas and has always been a night owl, she says. She can’t imagine patrolling days, with all the traffic. Ansley spent a year on days and wanted to come back to nights. “I like the sense of camaraderie. There are more people my age range. I just like it,” he says. They get off at 8 a.m., unless they are in the middle of something and have to work later. Darnell kind of enjoys shows like “Law and Order.” Ansley says he thinks all those cop shows are ridiculous. Darnell says she especially likes “SVU.” “I might have named my dog Benson,” she adds, smirking.

AM1:15

Darnell and Ansley respond to a non-urgent call that came in 90 minutes earlier. A woman who lives on Fair Oaks says someone is shining bright lights into her front window. They peruse the perimeters of the residence in question, a spacious two-story abode with big bay windows — it sits mid-street, at the top of a hill, facing a stop sign and three-way intersection. Because it’s late, Darnell calls the complaintant in lieu of knocking. But the caller wants the officers to come inside — she thinks she saw a shadow in the backyard. Wearing a bathrobe and slippers, she tells Ansley and Darnell she doesn’t sleep much. Spends most nights sit-

AM1:46

ting on her upstairs deck, smoking. She says she has cancer. Darnell hears the woman’s concerns about the cars driving up and down the street that intersects her property, and their god-awful lights. Ansley suggests the blackout curtains he installed in his own home. They help him sleep during daylight hours, he offers. The woman snaps at him. “I do not want blackout curtains! I want people to stop shining their lights in here.” Ansley inches backward, letting his partner reclaim the conversation. “OK, ma’am, he is just trying to offer a suggestion,” Darnell says. “Because there isn’t anything we can do right now.” The woman relaxes. They remind her that her neighborhood association has its own paid patrolman who is parked right up the street. Leaving, we pass his cruiser. Parked at the stop sign, its headlights illuminate the caller’s living room.

AM1:38

Red Bulls are purchased at QT (QuickTrip) on Skillman at Northwest Highway. “I’ll only use the bathrooms at QT or Race Track,” Darnell confides. Her other public-bathroom options are gross.

AM1:44

En route to the site of a reported theft at an apartment on Whitehurst, Darnell, who weighs maybe 115 pounds and looks like she could be a high school student, coolly recounts her recent encounter at a neighborhood apartment complex with a man’s mutilated body. “They cut his throat and pulled his tongue through [the wound]. He was so bloody, I didn’t know that was what it was until later,” she says. “It is a thing the drug cartels will do.”

A tenant of the Las Brisas apartments says a man she hired on Craigslist to help her move stole some of her clothing, including a dress. Her one-bedroom apartment is stuffed floorto-ceiling with boxes. The hired man helped her pack and wound up staying for a month, she says. She let him borrow her car yesterday, she says, which is when he removed the shopping bags containing a $200 dress. Darnell listens to the whole story, nods and asks questions. She explains that the theft is a civil case now, because the man was living with her. “He did not live with me,” the woman barks. “I barely knew him.” Darnell asks, “You say he slept on your couch since Thanksgiving, right?” That’s right, the woman admits. Darnell explains that this constitutes cohabitation in the eyes of the law. The woman rants that Texas is the worst place she has ever lived. Her laundry has been stolen three times from the apartment’s laundry room. The officers listen and nod and tell her to call them if the man comes back. “Do not let him back in,” they say. Before leaving, Darnell asks the woman about the other man, the one who was here last time she came. The woman says she doesn’t know what Darnell is talking about.

AM2:21

Back in the squad car Darnell says she is positive she was there recently and that the caller had a similar story the last time.

“We see a lot of repeat customers on nights,” Ansley adds. Sometimes her job is simply to lend an ear or to comfort someone who is anxious, Darnell says. Sometimes, if the caller seems especially troubled, these types of visits lead to contacting Adult Protective Services.

AM2:25

As we pass The Haven apartments at Lake Highlands Town Center, Ansley says he found a naked guy sitting in his car there the other night.

AM2:34

The security guards at Valencio apartments in Vickery Meadow need assistance — trouble with a belligerent drunk. The complex is silent and dark, aside from impressive holiday light displays on several porches. The guards explain that they found a man sleeping in the passenger side of a car. When they attempted to wake him, they say, he began

swinging. “When you startle a drunk person, that tends to happen,” Darnell says. Ansley approaches the vehicle containing the unconscious man and attempts to stir him. The man is disoriented but calm, at first — but a language barrier breeds confusion and soon he is yelling things in Burmese, and people emerge from nearby apartments. When the man begins howling and hitting, Ansley cuffs him and escorts him to the backseat of the police car. That’s when his bawling wife comes running from a downstairs apartment. A youngster from upstairs translates. The couple fought earlier, we learn, which is why the husband was sleeping in the car. Through the teenaged interpreter, Darnell explains to the woman that her husband will not be locked up for long. She hands her a piece of paper with the number and address to the Dallas Marshall’s office, where he will spend the night in the drunk tank. A back-up cruiser drives away with him.

AM3:13

Idling at Vickery Meadow park, Darnell types the report. She can’t do it while the car is moving — she gets carsick. If needed somewhere, they would switch places so she could drive and he could type, but things are quiet now.

AM3:45

The young officers agree that the worst parts of the job include any crime involving children. Just last week they discovered a deceased infant. The caregiver reportedly had rolled on top of the baby, who suffocated. Ansley recalls the recent case of a 13-year-old impregnated by her own father. Darnell lies awake some nights thinking of a kid she picked up walking down a residential street in his pajamas. It was a nice neighborhood and he was just wandering alone. No one knew who he was. Finally they found his house through the homeowners association. Inside they discovered a filthy, chaotic mess of a living situation and the boy’s father naked and inebriated inside a closet. “He was the sweetest kid,” Darnell recalls. “He drew me a picture that I still have. Thing was, inside that house, there were photos that had been taken maybe a year earlier, and the dad looked OK. They looked happy and OK. What had gone so wrong?” It all brought her own dysfunctional childhood to mind, Darnell concedes. It’s also hard because, once her part is done, she leaves the case behind. She doesn’t know what happened to that little boy after leaving him with Child Protective Services. “We don’t get closure,” she says.

—Christina Hughes Babb

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S HIF T

MEDICAL CITY EMERGENCY ROOM

AM2:49

Kelly Wiggins is a couple hours into her shift at Medical City Emergency Room on Northwest Hwy., a department of Medical City Dallas Hospital. She’s wearing scrubs, which feel like pajamas, a blessing at this time of night. Thanks to a few cans of Diet Dr. Pepper, she’s upbeat and alert.

“I’m trying to cut back,” she swears. “I’ve been trying to drink more water.”

When she gets hungry, around 6 or 7 a.m., she’ll probably eat chicken nuggets or “supper” food. For her, it actually is suppertime.

Wiggins is accustomed to this schedule and this diet. She works overnight five times a week, sometimes here and sometimes at Medical City’s main campus on Forest Lane. Though her hours are strange, she loves being a nurse.

“I think it takes a very strong person to see people at their worst and comfort them and convince them you are trying to help,” she says. “It wasn’t a question of if I’d go to school for nursing but when.”

Wiggins, the youngest of four girls, grew up in North Carolina, near Fort Bragg. Both her parents are altruistic to a fault and clearly inspirational figures in her life.

“My mother was the first female EMT [Emergency Medical Technician] in our town many years ago,” she explains. “And my dad was a volunteer firefighter. He’d get calls during the night and if [my sisters and I] didn’t have school the next day we could go with him … I never lived a sheltered life and I always saw people helping people.”

Wiggins is a travelling nurse and has been for four years. Most of her contracts last about 13 weeks, meaning she’s lived in a lot of cities.

“I usually sign a three month lease and that’s expensive [to do],” she admits. “But you get so many opportunities to see places you wouldn’t ordinarily see and meet a different variety of people.”

AM3:18

In a room down the hall, you’ll find Amin Bayat, a laboratory technician. He has the same positive attitude about his crazy schedule as Wiggins and also splits his time between this satellite building and the main campus. He tests specimen for “pretty much everything,” includ-

ing kidney, heart and liver health. Notably, he isn’t wearing a lab coat.

“There are hard procedures we have to follow,” he explains. “The policy says you don’t have to wear a lab coat unless you are working with specimen.”

At the moment, Bayat isn’t working with

specimen because it’s 3:18 a.m. and there are no patients.

AM3:27

Two women take a break at the nursing station. They are Angie Cagle, a radiology technician, and Rachel Armstead, another nurse

on duty. Their conversation revolves around medical TV dramas like “Code Black” and “Chicago Med” — funnily enough, “The Night Shift” doesn’t come up.

“I like to watch [the medical dramas] and criticize them,” Armstead says, laughing. “They’re all wrong!”

Cagle agrees that most of what you see on T.V. is inaccurate. Then she excuses herself to retrieve a Monster energy drink.

AM3:33

Cagle returns with said energy drink.

“I have to hunt this flavor down,” she notes. “I can’t find it anywhere but QT.”

AM3:50

The conversation turns, gradually but significantly, more somber. Like the rest of the staff on duty, both ladies also work at Medical City proper. Though the Preston Center location is relatively quiet this time of night, they say the main campus can get intense. They discuss what it feels like to see someone in excruciating pain. Cagle has cried out of empathy for patients, but she always holds it together while she’s at work, operating the computerized tomography (CT) scanner.

Armstead takes a deep breath and nods. She’s had similar experiences: “Sometimes you have to put your big girl panties on and do what you need to do to get the job done.”

—Elizabeth Barbee

CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE PAGE: Rachel Armstead, Amin Bayat and Angie Cagle at Medical City Emergency Room in Preston Center.

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“You never get used to the hours. At this point, my friends all know not to call me after 8 p.m.”

—Scott Padgett

CBS DFW MORNING NEWSCAST

AM3:08

It’s almost too quiet for a newsroom. Only the clacking of keyboards can be heard as anchors, producers and news writers prepare the lineup for the morning broadcast.

“Was she the passenger in the car? The woman who died?” asks one news writer who is reporting on a fatal traffic accident.

“Last we heard, she was the driver,” responds senior producer Brenda Lawson, barely looking up from her screen. The mood is subdued, like almost any office toward the end of the workday. By this time, much of the team has already been at work for five hours chasing stories and writing copy for the 4:30 a.m. newscast.

A small news team works out of the CBS headquarter in our neighborhood on Northwest Highway; this particular broadcast is filmed in a studio in Fort Worth.

“As long as stupid people keep doing stupid things, we’ve always got work,” laughs field photographer James Pultz, keeping one ear on the police scanner. “You know the codes that make you stand up because they’ve found a dead body or something.”

It’s one of many tricks of the trade he’s learned from more than a decade spent pursuing news stories. He reads between the lines of chatter on the scanner like some people read tealeaves. “You can always tell when the cops shoot someone because it gets really intense, and then it’s quiet,” he says, adding that there is usually no mention of the shooting, just an officer saying, “confirm.”

“It took me years to figure that out,” he says.

AM3:20

All those stories are filtered to Karen Borta, who at this moment is wrapped up in a parka with wooly Ugg boots looking more like a sorority sister than the lead anchor of a major network news market. When the cameras roll, she’ll shed her winter-wear in favor of a sharp white dress and sleek stiletto heels, which matched with her authoritative voice makes this hometown girl one of the more popular anchors in the metroplex. But at this early hour, it’s all about comfort and staying awake, which explains the station’s extensive coffee offerings.

The morning shift doesn’t bother Borta –in fact, she prefers it. After 18 years on the nightly news, she was sick of missing family

dinners and her teenagers’ sporting events. When CBS offered her the morning slot, she jumped on the opportunity, paying little mind to the 2 a.m. wake up call.

“For me, I have a husband and three teenage kids. I was never with them,” she says. “This is ideal for me.”

She is one of the few who seems to have no complaints about the schedule this news team is forced to keep. She gets home in the late morning after her broadcast, takes a nap, then enjoys the evening with her family, catches a couple more hours of sleep before heading to the studio from her Arlington home. Compared to the other producers and news writers huddled at their desks, Borta oozes peppiness, making it clear why she’s an on-air personality. AM3:47

With a flurry of fresh verve, meteorologist Scott Padgett enters the studio, already dressed in a crisp suit and a deep red tie. His energy is almost startling at this early hour as he beelines for his weather forecasting station in the corner of the television studio, a series of monitors displaying real time conditions that he studies to determine the forecast.

One has to ask, in an era where every smartphone tells you the weather by the hour, are television weathermen becoming passé? Not at all, Padgett says.

“Those [weather] apps work off an algorithm,” he says, which explains why it sometimes predicts rain when you go to bed, but you wake to sunny skies. “My challenge is to interpret those algorithms so you can understand the variables.”

It’s a challenge he doesn’t take lightly. He has a pet peeve when it comes to “shock value” news that makes mountains out of meteorological molehills.

“I’m not here to scare anyone,” he says. “I just want to make sure you and your family are safe.”

His own interest in weather was born from fear. As a child growing up in Illinois, he was petrified of the robust storms that sweep across the Midwest. To help him overcome that anxiety, Padgett’s father painstakingly explained weather phenomena to him, from the classic counting the number of beats between lightning and thunder, to watching the same daily forecasts Padgett now conducts. He was hooked. That, paired with his natural stage charisma, made his career choice easy.

S HIF T

“You never get used to the hours,” he laughs. “At this point, my friends all know not to call me after 8 p.m.”

AM4:05

You hear Chelsey Davis before you see her. The clack of her heels reverberates brightly on the long hallways toward the studio. Her wide smile and clear charisma gives her the

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If you want to know the status of Dallas’ notoriously gridlocked rush-hour traffic, you want Davis in your phone contacts. Traffic is her specialty and she is used to getting early morning check-ins from friends or family asking whether Highway 75 is backed up.

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email back,” she laughs.

She’s dressed like Mrs. Claus this morning in cherry red with a big black belt. In addition to traffic, Davis also produces feature segments. Today’s has her presenting a sharkloving 7-year-old cancer patient a slew of surprises since he was stuck in the hospital for Christmas.

“It’s going to be the most amazing day,” she beams.

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With its high-tech studio, you might imagine there’s a behind-the-scenes team of stylists who beautify the on-air talent before each broadcast, but Borta, Padgett and Davis share a sparse room lined with mirrors, where they handle their own hair and make-up. Borta and Davis twirl curling wands through their hair as they discuss Steve Harvey’s major Miss Universe flub when he named the wrong winner, which just happened the night before.

Padgett swings by to check his already perfectly quaffed hair one last time. Then it’s time to head to the studio, where Borta positions herself behind the anchor desk to review the story list one final time, Padgett heads to his weather station and Davis scans the traffic patterns. Surrounded by a bevy of screens and teleprompters under a canopy of bright lights and wires, the anticipation builds as it gets closer to show time.

Producer Brenda Lawson scurries around the studio, checking in with each person and making sure they are ready to go live in a matter of moments.

“Fifteen” she yells.

“Seconds?” Borta asks, dashing to her place behind the desk.

A voice counts down, the cameramen take aim and the script starts rolling as Borta’s authoritative voice booms over the studio, welcoming the morning viewers to the day’s news.

“It all comes down to the teleprompter operator,” aptly notes CBS spokeswoman Lori Conrad. He has the challenge of staying up to speed with Borta, not moving too fast or too slow as she reads the words that scroll across the lens of the camera, so she can speak directly to the camera. Her voice is velvety smooth, growing brighter for light stories, and more subdued when the coverage moves to more somber topics.

Davis and Padgett don’t rely on teleprompters but instead improvise their broadcasts using the data they’ve compiled that morning. Padgett stands before a green screen, the monitor in front of him displaying a mirrored version of the weather map viewers see at home. His hands seamlessly slide up and down as he points out different weather patterns and temperatures expected across the city.

Both he and Davis have mastered the precision of the “broadcast dance,” in which they effortlessly move toward and away from the camera. Watching it in person, it looks somewhat strange but on screen it gives them that friendly approachability that people expect from their morning news.

This cycle will repeat for the next two-anda-half hours. News, weather, traffic, as the team greets each new segment of viewers waking for their day.

By 11:30 a.m., they’ll be home and in bed, right about the time the rest of us are starting to consider lunch. —Emily

Charrier

Still cooking

Six decades in the kitchen at Highland Park Cafeteria

Story by Emily Charrier | Photos by Rasy Ran

Mr. B’s rough and calloused hands are a stark contrast to his soft blue eyes, which crinkle with joy when he speaks about his favorite subject: his faith.

“I just trust in the Lord,” he says proudly and often. “The Lord is taking care of me and I could never turn my back on him.”

His real name is Ernest Bowens, but absolutely no one calls him that. “Why’d you even want to put that in?” he questions

when asked the spelling of his name. “Everyone, even customers, call me Mr. B.”

You may not recognize his name, or even his smiling face (although once you see it, you won’t forget it), but if you’ve lived in East Dallas for any meaningful amount of time, you have most likely eaten his food.

Mr. B has been working the kitchen at Highland Park Cafeteria since 1956 and today, at 84 years old, he is still cooking as the head of

the popular restaurant’s kitchen. He’s seen the business through multiple locations, owners and dozens of employees over the years, but he doesn’t have any plans to hang up his apron — retirement is not for Mr. B.

“Work is good for you, it is,” he insists.

It’s a mantra he’s clearly lived by his entire life. Mr. B was born in 1931, the third of 12 children just as the Depression sunk the country into economic despair. His father was a share-cropper in Pilot Point, Texas, and the children were expected to pitch in.

“My daddy, he took me to the fields to pick corn, but I didn’t have any gloves,” he remembers. “My hands got so cut up. I never forgot gloves again.”

Although he came from humble beginnings, Mr. B never really noticed because the family always had what they needed. They lived on the type of diet hipsters foodies spend a fortune coveting today: organic, home-grown produce and humanely raised livestock.

“We ate whatever was put on the table,” he smiles. “There was no, ‘I don’t like this, I’m not eating it’ in our house.”

Mr. B says in his childhood days he was more of a nuisance in the kitchen than the skilled practitioner he is today. He remembers driving his mother crazy, whooping and running under foot one day when she

You’ve probably eaten Ernest “Mr. B” Bowens’ cooking at Highland Park Cafeteria.

Highland Park Cafeteria loves to celebrate its history, and has walls adorned with old photos, including one of Mr. B’s early years on the kitchen staff.

was trying to make biscuits.

“She just took that biscuit dough and smashed it right into my face,” he says, his laugh warm like his memory of his Daddy’s sweet potato pie.

It was a family built on love and faith. Before every meal, all 12 children were required to recite a Bible verse, a practice he still believes in today.

“Everything I have is thanks to the Lord,” he says. He has an easy way of relating every topic back to his faith in that way that makes him come off like a street preacher.

Mr. B’s path to a professional kitchen was more practical than passion-driven. After graduating high school, he needed a job. World War II had just ended, and employment pickings were slim as the market flooded with vets returning from war. He got work cooking for students at Texas Women’s University in Denton, and found his niche.

“I got to liking it,” he says.

The Korean War briefly interrupted his career in the kitchen, when in 1951 he was drafted into the 45th artillery of the U.S. Army, where he spotted enemy planes for gunners to shoot down.

“I wasn’t the gunner, I couldn’t stand that, it was too loud,” he says.

After his service ended, it was 1956 and he was looking for work. A friend recommended him for a busser position at

Highland Park Cafeteria, which Carolyn Goodman opened on Knox Street in 1925. Goodman herself hired Mr. B, and on his very first day, he knew he’d fit right in.

“We started each day with a five minute devotion,” Mr. B says, explaining how it helped him to begin the day in a grateful place. “That always helped us out, to think about how the Lord brought us all together.”

Like he had been taught from childhood, he worked his way up, from collecting dirty dishes to manning the drink station to carving meat. Eventually he ended up in the kitchen, where his willingness to do the work, whatever it was, came in handy.

“One night we ran out of meringue pies,” he remembers from his early days. The pastry chef had left for the night, but Mr. B had watched plenty of meringue pies being made, so he offered to give it a try. Despite his lack of experience, he expertly whipped the egg whites into the stiff peaks needed for fluffy meringue, a task novice bakers often struggle with. Mr. B’s turned out perfect.

“That was my very first meringue pie,” he beams proudly.

That’s just Mr. B. No matter the job, he wanted to learn it, perfect it and, eventually, teach it to others.

“Everything I learned here, I learned from Mr. B,” says Travis Brown, his voice thick with reverence for his longtime

mentor. Brown manages the kitchen these days but he says Mr. B is still the heart of the kitchen, as well as the keeper of the restaurant’s “hold backs,” those little secret ingredients that good homecooked recipes demand. Mr. B calls them his “come backs.”

“It’s what keeps people coming back,” he smiles.

Current owner Jeff Snoyer once compared the workers whirling around the kitchen to fish in an aquarium. “They’re always moving and they never bump into each other,” he marvels.

It’s an apt description, and Mr. B is definitely the stately elder koi fish that flows along seamlessly through the backof-the-house chaos. He is unflappable, keeping an eye on multiple pots, pans and baking dishes while manning the stove, his hands quickly flitting from stirring to sautéing to slicing. He can prep and cook 14 of the restaurant’s vegetable side dishes in three hours.

“He really is an inspiration for others in the kitchen,” Snoyer says. “When a 20-something is complaining about being on their feet all day, it shuts them up when they look over at Mr. B.”

Mr. B just smiles and reiterates, “Work is good, it really is.”

Everything about Mr. B is reminiscent of a bygone era, and like a walking time capsule, he has seen the times change as the years flew by. When he began at the restaurant the New York Times dubbed “America’s Cafeteria,” the kitchen staff was entirely black, while most of the front-of-the-house was white. Over time that changed, although Mr. B can’t remember exactly when that was. While racial tensions boiled all across the south during desegregation, Mr. B says it was not an issue at Highland Park Cafeteria.

“We had no problems, we always loved each other,” Mr. B insists. It’s how the kitchen has always been, close-knit and hard working, he says. “The crew we have, they may not be the best but they stand up against the rest,” Mr. B gushes. “This is a family here.”

“We ate whatever was put on the table. There was no, ‘I don’t like this, I’m not eating it’ in our house.”

Nonprofits & business

Forerunner Mentoring, a nonprofit that pairs fatherless boys in Lake Highlands with male role models, has expanded its services. The program, which was initially created for middle school students, now operates at the grade school level too. In addition to its clients at Lake Highlands Junior High School, the group serves six boys at Northlake Elementary. Forerunner also offers a family ministry for the moms of its mentees. The ladies receive uplifting texts and phone calls from female volunteers, praising them for their hard work.

Lake Highlands-based business Mess Masters Housecleaning, owned and operated by Sara Anderson, is celebrating 25 years in business. They have always used all-natural cleaning products that they make themselves, Anderson says.

People

The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference recently named James Lonergan, a 2012 graduate of Lake Highlands High School, Men’s Basketball Player of the Week. This accolade came after Lonergan, who plays for Colorado College, led his team to win four out of five games in a seven-day period.

Another Lake Highlands High School graduate, Bess Detar (class of 2012), performed at the 80th annual Cotton Bowl Classic. She’s a Kilgore Rangerette and showed off her high kick during halftime.

Education

District officials at Richardson ISD are considering reallocating $27.6 million in 2016 bond money. Instead of constructing multipurpose practice facilities or redesigning libraries, they’d use the funds to (1) relocate a small portion of the Skyview attendance area to Thurgood Marshall Elementary, (2) add classrooms at Aikin, Stults Road and White Rock elementaries, (3) add up to 12 classrooms to Northlake Elementary for a pre-K and kindergarten center and (4) pursue land to build a new elementary school in Lake Highlands. The bond package will be finalized this month and go to voters in May.

HAVE AN ITEM TO BE FEATURED?

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

HIGHLANDER SCHOOL

9120 Plano Rd. Dallas / 214.348.3220 / www.highlanderschool.com Founded in 1966, Highlander offers an enriched curriculum in a positive, Christian-based environment. By limiting class size, teachers are able to build a strong educational foundation to ensure confidence in academics, athletics, and the creative and performing arts. Highlander offers a “classic” education which cannot be equaled. Monthly tours offered; call for a reservation.

KESSLER SCHOOL

Pre K – 6th Grade / 1215 Turner Ave, Dallas TX 75208 / 214-942-2220 / www. thekesserschool.com The Kessler School offers an innovative academic environment that gives students a solid foundation, confidence, and a love of learning. Located just minutes from downtown Dallas; The Kessler School’s mission is to “educate the whole child,” and provides an individualized approach to teaching – meeting the student where their needs are. Students are educated socially through community time, physically through daily PE, academically through a wellrounded curriculum, and spiritually through a fostering of awareness and individual growth.

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.

SOLAR PREPARATORY SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

2617 N. Henderson Ave. / 972.925.3306/ dallasisd.org/solarprep An exciting new Choice School in Dallas ISD. Accepting student applications Jan. 6-29 for kindergarten, first and second grade in the 2016-2017 school year. The mission at Solar Prep is to prepare girls to become trailblazers in STEAM-related fields and equip them with a depth of knowledge, capacity for leadership, strength of character, and love of self. Solar Prep offers blended learning, project-based learning, tech literacy and coding, engineering, robotics, integrated art, and drama. Enrollment is open to all girls living within the Dallas ISD boundaries, there are no academic entry requirements, and transportation will be provided. Visit www.dallasisd.org/solarprep for more information and to submit an application.

SPANISH HOUSE

Four East Dallas Locations / 214.826.4410 / DallasSpanishHouse.com Spanish Immersion Program in East Dallas! Nursery, Preschool, Elementary and Adult Programs available. Our new K-5 Dual-Language Elementary School will be opening in August 2016 at 7159 E. Grand Avenue. Please visit our website (DallasSpanishHouse.com) or call 214.826.4410 for a tour.

ISCOPAL 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.

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.

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.

A guide to navigating local health and wellness solutions

5 TIPS FOR CHOOSING A NEW DENTIST

Finding a new dentist can be intimidating. Now, more than ever, there seems to be a dental office or clinic on every corner. But Dr. Ashly Cothern is here to help. Before scheduling your next dental appointment, consider these tips:

SEEK THE COMFORTS OF HOME

If you’re anxious about dental procedures — or even a dental cleaning — it’s important to find a dentist that makes the process as painless as possible. At Dr. Cothern’s office there are pillows, blankets, and headphones with your choice of streaming movies or music. If you feel particularly nervous about dental treatment, nitrous oxide and sedation are also available.

RESEARCH YOUR DENTIST’S EDUCATION

A graduate of Texas Tech University and of the Baylor College of Dentistry, Dr. Cothern’s dental practice has several pillars — to offer the most technologically advanced and effective dental care available, and to offer the most comfortable dental care experience possible.

LOOK FOR A SECOND OPINION

Seek out a second opinion if you feel uncertain. “There is no pressure to get work done at our office. We want you to feel confident that you are getting the best care possible,” she says.

LEARN ABOUT PAYMENT OPTIONS

Find a dentist who is willing to estimate fees before starting recommended treatments. “Optimal, comprehensive dentistry is what we practice, and we do not base our treatment on what

insurance will or will not pay. We base our treatment on what is best for you,” Dr. Cothern says.

ASK QUESTIONS

A knowledgeable and friendly staff will answer your questions, demonstrate techniques, and give further education so you can care for your smile in every way. “The health of your mouth can be directly related to the rest of your body, including major organs such as your heart, brain and lungs,” Dr. Cothern says. She helps her patients restore and maintain a beautiful smile, while encouraging them to care for their entire body.

Dr. Cothern knows that you have a choice. If you value quality care and a genuine long-lasting relationship, Dr. Ashly Cothern is here for you.

ANGLICAN

ALL SAINTS EAST DALLAS / allsaintseastdallas.org

Sunday worship service at 5:00 pm

Meeting at Central Lutheran Church / 1000 Easton Road

BAPTIST

LAKESIDE BAPTIST / 9150 Garland Rd / 214.324.1425

Sunday School 9:15am & Worship 10:30am

Pastor Jeff Donnell / www.lbcdallas.com

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

Worship & Bible Study 9:15 & 10:45 Traditional, Contemporary, Spanish Speaking / 214.860.1500

WILSHIRE BAPTIST / 4316 Abrams / 214.452.3100

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

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

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 / Worship 8:30 am - Chapel

10:50 am - Sanctuary / 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

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

Sundays: 9:00 am Early Service, 11:00 am Celebration Service

WEATHERING THE TORNADOS

Faith not to command the winds but to endure them

Maybe I don’t have enough faith. Maybe if I just claimed my spiritual authority, I could do more good. After all, I am a pastor; I’m somehow supposed to be closer to the secret powers of the universe than mere mortals. I mean, what good is ordination if you can’t pray away the bad and pray in the good?

My golfing partners sometimes chide me for not using my powers to chase away the rain when it threatens our game. My standard response: “I’m in sales, not management.” I can’t control the weather; I can only weather it like everyone else.

Apparently, a Rowlett woman doesn’t share my reticence. On the night the illfated tornadoes hit just east of Dallas this past Dec. 26, she says she took charge of the storm in the name of God.

“We actually went outside and started commanding the winds, because God had given us authority over the winds, the airways. And we just began to command this storm not to hit our area. We spoke to the storm and said, ‘Go to unpopulated places.’ It did exactly what we said to do, because God gave us the authority to do that.”

Well, not exactly. The storm didn’t hit her house, but it didn’t miss populated areas altogether. It killed 12 people and damaged more than 1,000 buildings, including churches, by the way. So, the authority of all that spiritual command and control failed, unless it was only meant to divert the deadly funnel from her neighborhood.

But what of the claim that God has given us authority over the winds? It surely comes from the story in the Gospel of Mark where Jesus was on a boat out on the Sea of Galilee with his disciples when a sudden squall kicked up the waters and threatened to capsize them. Jesus was awakened from his nap by scared followers and commanded the winds and the waves “Peace,

be still.” And they were stilled. Then Jesus questioned the fear of the disciples and urged more faith instead.

Somehow, the weather-commanding woman took that to mean that God had given her the same powers as Jesus to direct the storm. If she had enough faith, she could tap into the power of heaven in order to bring peace on earth.

Let’s give her credit for wanting to maximize the power of faith and for wanting to divert the storm to unpopulated areas. These are not unholy impulses. But we ought to question the spiritual premise of whether one’s faith, if great enough, might grant such power over nature.

God is not a wonder worker waiting for us to say the magic words in order to break open the divine box of tricks to astound or advantage us. The day before the storm we celebrated Christmas, which recalls God becoming one of us and thus being subject to all the whims of winds and woes that we are. The Lord of nature took on the harness of nature in order to heal it from within, not in order to harness it for special privileges by the faithful.

Which leads to the question: What’s faith for, then?

Faith is not the power to command the world to serve our interest; it is the power to serve the interest of the world — whether the weather brings chaos or calm.

advocatemag.com/newsletter

My golfing partners sometimes chide me for not using my powers to chase away the rain when it threatens our game. My standard response: “I’m in sales, not management.”

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.

CLASSES/TUTORING/ LESSONS

ART: Draw/Paint. Adults All Levels. Lake Highlands N. Rec. Ctr. Days: Mon & Wed. Students bring supplies. Nights: 1xt month workshop, supplies furnished. Jane Cross. 214-534-6829,

CREATIVE ARTS CENTER More than 500 adult art classes/ workshops from metal to mosaic! www.creativeartscenter.org

FARMERS BRANCH AQUATICS CENTER Visit our new natatorium. Begin swim, fitness classes & open swim. fbh2o.com

MAKERS CONNECT Craft Classes & Workshops. Led by & for Local Makers. Check Schedule: makersconnect.org/classes

EMPLOYMENT

PET SITTERS, DOG WALKERS reply to http://www.pcpsi.com/join

SERVICES FOR YOU

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

Pounding the pavement

Hoards of runners congregated at White Rock Lake recently for the 45th annual Dallas Marathon, which raises funds for Texas Scottish Right Hospital for Children. Throughout the course, bystanders, including this adorable young lady in a red pea coat, cheered on the athletes.

SERVICES FOR YOU

CARGO BICYCLES Custom Built, Hand Crafted. For You/ Business In Oak Cliff. 214-205-4205. oakcliffcargobicycles.com

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

LEGAL SERVICES

A FREE CONSULTATION Wills/Probate/Guardianships. MaryGlennAttorney.com 214-802-6768

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

ACCOUNTING, TAXES Small Businesses & Individuals. Chris King, CPA 214-824-5313 www.chriskingcpa.com

BOOKKEEPING NEEDS? Need Help Organizing Finances? No Job Too Small or Big. Call C.A.S. Bookkeeping Services. Cindy 214-821-6903

MIND, BODY & SPIRIT

KELLY PRESTON Certified personal trainer. In-Home Training. 214-801-7503. FBK: Trainer Kelly P.

NEXGEN FITNESS Call Today For Free Session. 972-382-9925 NexGenFitness.com 10759 Preston Rd. 75230 UFC GYM WHITE ROCK Workout Blues? Train Different. Power/ endurance/results. 469-729-9900 ufcgym.com/WhiteRock

Becoming bilingual

Pamper Lake Highlands, an organization that empowers families in our neighborhood to break out of poverty, recently held a graduation ceremony for its first class of English as a second language (ESL) students. Dallas City Councilman Adam McGough hosted the event. He explained that 16 percent of those living within a 5 mile radius of Lake Highlands High School struggle to read, write or speak English; he applauded Pamper Lake Highlands for its new educational program.

PET SERVICES

AFFORDABLE HOME PET CARE Pet Sitting, Dog Walks. pawsitivestrolls.com 214-504-5115

DOGGIE DEN DALLAS Daycare, Boarding, Grooming, Training. 6444 E. Mockingbird Ln. 214-823-1441 DoggieDenDallas.com

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

BUY/SELL/TRADE

FREE RANGE PORK & LAMB from local resident’s farm. Hormone & antibiotic free.Heritage Red Wattle pigs. Stock up now. Laraland Farms 214-384-6136 carlandlara@hotmail.com

SHARE FRONT ROW

Texas Rangers, Stars & Mavs seats. Tickets are available in sets of 10 games (sets of 2 or 4 tickets per game available). Participants randomly draw numbers prior to season to determine a draft order fair to everyone. Call 214-560-4212 or rwamre@advocatemag.com

ESTATE/GARAGE SALES

CLUTTERBLASTERS.COM ESTATE SALES Moving & DownSizing Sales, Storage Units. Organize/De-Clutter Donna 972-679-3100

ORGANIZEANDREJUVENATE.COM

Declutter/Files/Feng Shui. 972-816-8004

REAL ESTATE

972-274-2157 www.CrestAirAndHeat.com

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

MESS MASTERS Earth friendly housecleaning. 469-235-7272. www.messmasters.com Since ‘91

WANTED: HOUSES TO CLEAN Windows, too! Great Prices / Refs. Family owned. 20 yrs. Reliable. Call Sunny 214-724-2555. grimestoppershere.com

WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM

Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS

BILL’S COMPUTER REPAIR

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

CONCRETE/ MASONRY/PAVING

APPLIANCE REPAIR

APPLIANCE REPAIR SPECIALIST

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

JESSE’S A/C & APPLIANCE SERVICE

TACLB13304C All Makes/Models. 214-660-8898

ELECTRICAL SERVICES

ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricofdallas.com

50 Yrs. Electrical Exp. Insd. 214-328-1333

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

TEXAS ELECTRICAL • 214-289-0639

Prompt, Honest, Quality. TECL 24668

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.

FLOORING & CARPETING

Restoration Flooring

Hardwood Installation · Hand Scraping Sand & Finish · Dustless

25+ Years Experience

469.774.3147

restorationflooring.net

Willeford

hardwood floors

Superior Quality: Installation • Refinishing Repair • Cleaning & Waxing Old World Hand Scrape 214-824-1166

FOUNDATION REPAIR

• Slabs • Pier & Beam

• Mud Jacking • Drainage

• Free Estimates

823

2629

CABINETRY & FURNITURE

SQUARE NAIL WOODWORKING

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

CLEANING SERVICES

A MAID FOR YOU Bonded/Insured.Park Cities/ M Streets Refs. Call Us First. Joyce 214-232-9629

AFFORDABLE CLEANING Insd./Bonded. Move In/Out. Routine Cleaning. Reliable. Dependable.

Residential/ Commercial. References. 28+yrs. Delta Cleaning. 972-943-9280.

AFFORDABLE, PROFESSIONAL CLEANING

A Clean You Can Trust

Staff trained by Nationally Certified Cleaning Tech. Chemical-free, Green, or Traditional Cleaning. WindsorMaidServices.com 214-381-MAID (6243)

ALTOGETHER CLEAN

Relax ...We’ll Clean Your House, It Will Be Your Favorite Day! Bonded & Insurance. Free Estimates. 214-929-8413. www. altogetherclean.net

ALL EPOXY COATINGS, CONCRETE Countertops, Stamping, Staining & Designs, Floor Demo and Overlays Landscape Designs Call 214-916-8368

BRICK & STONE REPAIR

Tuck Pointing / Crack Repair. Mortar Color Matching. Windows And Door Cracks Etc. Call Don 214-704-1722

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

BRICK, STONEWORK, FLAGSTONE PATIOS

Mortar Repair. Straighten Brick Mailboxes & Columns. Call Cirilo 214-298-7174

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

AMBASSADOR FENCE INC.

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

FENCING & WOODWORK oldgatefence.com charliehookerswoodwork.com 214-766-6422

HANNAWOODWORKS.COM

Decks, Pergolas, Patio Covers. 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

• Over 20 Years Exp. 972-288-3797

We Answer Our Phones

GARAGE SERVICES

DFW GARAGE PRO Garage Organize/Reorganize. Painting, Shelving, Cabinets, Storage, Disposal. 303-883-9321

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

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

Deckoart.com

EST. 1991 #1

COWBOY

All Wood Decks, Arbors & Patio Covers 214.692.1991

FENCE & IRON CO.

SPECIALIZING IN Wood Fences &Auto Gates

cowboyfenceandiron.com

FLOORING & CARPETING

ALL WALKS OF FLOORS 214-616-7641

Carpet, Wood, Tile Sales/Service Free Estimates

DALLAS HARDWOODS 214-724-0936

Installation, Repair, Refinish, Wax, Hand Scrape. Residential, Commercial. Sports Floors. 30 Yrs.

FENN CONSTRUCTION Full Service Contractor. www.dallastileman.com Back Splash Specials! 214-343-4645

THE TEXAN FLOORING SERVICES

Wood, Laminate. Remodel Showers, Bathrooms. thetexanflooringservices.com 214-680-0901

GLASS, WINDOWS & DOORS

EAST DALLAS WINDOW CLEANING Power Wash. Free Est. Dependable. Derek. 214-360-0120

LAKE HIGHLANDS GLASS & MIRROR frameless shower enclosures • store fronts replacement windows • mirrors 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

HANDY DAN The Handyman. ToDo’s Done Right. handy-dan.com 214-252-1628

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

HOME INSPECTION

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

MELROSE TILE James Sr., Installer, Repairs. 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

TK REMODELING 972-533-2872

Complete Full Service Repairs, Remodeling, Restoration. Name It — We do it. Tommy. Insured. dallas.tkremodelingcontractors.com

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

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

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

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

CHUPIK TREE SERVICE

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

DALLAS GROUNDSKEEPER Comprehensive services designed to meet your needs. 214-504-6788 dallasgroundskeeper.com

DALLAS K.D.R.SERVICES • 214-349-0914

Lawn Service & Landscape Installation

Tips for preventing outside water damage

1. Remove vegitation from behind the downpipes

2. Use a hand mirror to check for cracks or splits that are not easily noticed

3. Install an underground drain (French drain)

4. Create a berm or pond to redirect waterflow

HOUSE PAINTING

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

#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

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 & REMODEL Int./Ext. Sheetrock. Manny 214-334-2160

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

TOP COAT 30 yrs. exp. Reliable, Quality Repair/Remodel Phil @ 214-770-2863

VIP PAINTING & DRYWALL Int/Ext.

Sheetrock Repair, Resurfacing Tubs, Counters, Tile Repairs. 469-774-7111

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS LLC

Complete Kitchen And Bath Remodels. Tile, Granite, Marble, Travertine, Slate. Insured. 214-563-5035 www.blake-construction.com

FENN CONSTRUCTION Full Service Contractor. www.dallastileman.com Back Splash Specials! 214-343-4645

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

HOLMAN IRRIGATION

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

LIGHT IT UP DALLAS

Your lighting specialists. 972-591-8383 Parties, Weddings, Patios, Landscape.

PEST

• Tubs, Tiles or Sinks

• Cultured Marble

• Kitchen Countertops

214-631-8719

WE REFINISH! www.allsurfacerefinishing.com

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

#1 WHITE ROCK TREE WIZARDS Professionals, Experts, Artists. Trim, Remove, Cabling, Bracing/Bolting. Cavity-Fill Stump Grind. Emergencies, Hazards. Insd. Free Est. 972-803-6313. arborwizard.com

LSI LAWN SPRINKLERS “Making Water Work” Irrigation system Service & Repair. Specializing In Older Copper Systems. LI #13715. 214-283-4673

RED SUN LANDSCAPES • 214-935-9779

RedSunLandscapes.com

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

WALTON’S GARDEN CENTER

Plan now for spring. Call us for your Design Work, Bed Prep, and Tree Plantings. 8652 Garland Road 214-321-2387

PLUMBING

ANDREWS PLUMBING • 214-354-8521

# M37740 Insured. Any plumbing issues. plumberiffic69@gmail.com

Sewers • Drains • Bonded 24 Hours/7 Days

*Joe Faz 469-346-1814 - Se Habla Español*

ARRIAGA PLUMBING: General Plumbing

Since the 80’s. Insured. Lic# M- 20754 214-321-0589, 214-738-7116, CC’s accepted.

HAYES PLUMBING INC. Repairs.

Insured, 214-343-1427 License M13238

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

SPECK PLUMBING

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

214-328-7371

MetroFlowPlumbing.com

Lic.# M16620

POOLS

ADAIR POOL & SPA SERVICE

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

REMODELING

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS, LLC Complete Remodeling, Kitchens, Baths, Additions. Hardie Siding & Replacement Windows. Build On Your Own Lot. Insured. www.blake-construction.com 214-563-5035

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

FENN CONSTRUCTION Full Service Contractor. www.dallastileman.com Back Splash Specials! 214-343-4645

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

RENOVATE DALLAS renovatedallas.com 214-403-7247

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.

is online too! LocalWorks.advocatemag.com

TRUE Crime

WOMAN MURDERED DURING APPARENT DRUG DEAL

Patricia Corbin, 56, was murdered in her Montecito Palms apartment, at the intersection of Skillman and Royal, on Dec. 20. A day later, 25-yearold Lewis Norbert was charged with the crime. According to Deputy Chief Rob Sherwin of the Crimes Against Persons division of the Dallas Police Department, Norbert wanted to purchase drugs from Corbin, but didn’t have enough cash. When Corbin refused to extend credit, the suspect allegedly pulled a gun and shot her in the head. A friend of the victim was cooking in the kitchen as the crime unfolded. She says Norbert pulled the gun on her, too, but she threw a pot of boiling water at him before he could fire. She then called the police and provided a thorough description of the perpetrator. Officers responded quickly and found Norbert, identifiable by his long dreadlocks, running down Skillman. Norbert was charged with murder and aggravated assault. His two bonds are set at $250,000 each.

| CRIME NUMBERS | 2

people, a couple, search for mushrooms near White Rock Creek Trail on Dec. 20; while collecting fungi, they find what appears to be a skull

5:30 p.m.

approximate time they spot the human remains and call 911 0

leads regarding the mystery surrounding the skull, at time of press, but that will hopefully change soon; a medical examiner is inspecting the remains to determine the cause of death

WHITE ROCK NORTH 9833 VISTADALE DRIVE

$485,000 | 4 Bed | 3 Bath | 2,795 Sq.Ft.

MARSUE WILLIAMS | 214.762.2108 | marsue.williams@alliebeth.com

WHITE ROCK NORTH 9630 COVEMEADOW

$446,900 | 4 Bed | 2.1 Bath | 2,597 Sq.Ft.

ALEXIS COLLARD | 214.893.3038 | alexis.collard@alliebeth.com

HIGHLANDS WEST 9149 DRUMCLIFFE LANE

$399,900 | 3 Bed | 2.1 Bath | 2,702 Sq.Ft.

SHELBY JAMES | 214.533.7650 | shelby.james@alliebeth.com

MOSS

$348,500 | 4 Bed | 2 Bath | 2,039 Sq.Ft.

SHELBY JAMES | 214.533.7650 | shelby.james@alliebeth.com

L STREETS 10208 LONGMEADOW DRIVE

$342,500 | 3 Bed | 2 Bath | 2,235 Sq.Ft.

LIZ CHALFANT | 469.767.7077 | liz.chalfant@alliebeth.com

L STREETS 10671 LE MANS DRIVE

$269,900 | 3 Bed | 2 Bath | 1,767 Sq.Ft.

SHELBY JAMES | 214.533.7650 | shelby.james@alliebeth.com

L STREETS 10304 LYNFORD DRIVE

$265,000 | 3 Bed | 2 Bath | 1,321 Sq.Ft.

MELISSA OATES | 214.437.9207 | melissa.oates@alliebeth.com

L

$250,000 | 3 Bed | 1.1 Bath | 1,302 Sq.Ft.

TRACY LEWIS | 469.449.9984 | tracy.lewis @alliebeth.com

214.521.7355 | alliebeth.com

MEADOWS 8043 MOSS MEADOWS DRIVE

STREETS 9647 LYNBROOK DRIVE