By Jennifer WarnickStarbucks Newsroom

The Red Bird neighborhood ofsouthern Dallas is starting to singagain, and Starbucks is ready to jointhe chorus. On Friday, the companyopens its 12th Community Store nearthe RedBird Mall.

The mall, which opened in the’70s, served as a hub of commerceand socializing for the neighborhoodfor decades. When Brittani Horton,assistant manager of the new DallasCommunity Store, started work atFoot Locker in the mall in 2008, itwas still a vibrant hangout.

“The mall was jumpin’,” Hortonsaid. “Now, if you don't know, theonly thing that's in RedBird Mallright now is shoe stores. So withStarbucks comin', it's gonna create adifferent type of environment. Yougot other stores that are lookin' tocome here now, just for the simplefact that Starbucks is here. So, I thinkit's definitely gonna shake somethings up in the community. It'sgonna create a lot more job opportu-nities, which we need here as well,and the RedBird Mall parking lot isnot gonna be as empty anymore. It'snot called be called ‘Dead Bird’ nomore.”

In June, the Dallas City Council

voted unanimously to approve $22million toward the redevelopment ofthe RedBird Mall. The city’s revampwill include a renovation of the ex-isting mall in addition to retail, officeand hotel space.

“We’re starting the snowball,” saidVania Perez, manager of the DallasCommunity Store. “There’s so muchdevelopment here, and it’s startingwith us. Because we’re coming here,and we’re the type of brand we are,it’s a catalyst to get the place shakingagain. It’s going to be really cool tooto offer a place where people canhave community, because it hasn’tbeen consistent.”

Community stores are part of aspecial Starbucks initiative to sup-port youth and economic develop-ment in diverse, underserved areas ofthe country. Each community storeseeks to hire from the neighborhoodand partner with local women- andminority-owned businesses. Com-munity stores also feature classroomspace to provide in-store job trainingfor young people ages 16 to 24 whoaren’t in school or working. Througha grant from the Starbucks Founda-tion, the Dallas store will work with

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INSIDE...

December 6-12, 2018

See Page 2

-See Page 3

See STARBUCKS, Page 11

At new StarbucksCommunity Store, they know

why the RedBird sings

People In The News...

Kelly Brinkley Magda Hernandez

READERSSOUND OFF!!!

See Page 2 to see whatNDG readers are sayingabout the latest news!

NDG endorsesCarolyn King

Arnold for Dist. 4

-See Page 3

Rep. Giddingsreceives DBCClifetime award

-See Page 5

Holiday tipsfor help withfamily pets

Dallas makesstatement withwin over Saints

Win tickets tothe 25th annualKwanzaa Concert

Sister Tarpley:

Finding the willof God

-See Page 7

-See Page 9

-See Page 10

-See Page 15

Time is runningout for ACA openenrollment

-See Page 4

The legacy ofPresident

George HW Bush

Starbucks is opening its 12th Community Store with the location at Red Bird Mall. Therenovated development has been at the forefront of efforts to revitalize the southern sec-

tor and has been the focus of millions in investment. (Photo: Starbucks)

District 4 runoffcandidates meet in a

debate as earlyvoting getsunderway

God see u through (toKeyaira D. Saunders)

-- Oheneba Afriyie Clinton Einstein

via Facebook

Early College Startoffers Irving

students a solid firststep toward a college

degreeCongratulations to Steve

Lomeli, a senior at Jack E.Singley Academy, whoearned his associate’s de-gree through Irving Inde-pendent School District’s

College Early Start Pro-gram.

-- Rick Stopfervia Facebook

South Dallas Clubinducts new and

returning membersWhat s awesome group

what are they being in-ducted for?

-- Pauline Bostic

Thank you for retweetso f o u r c o n t e n t v i a@NDGEditor, feel free tosend us a message withnews, opinion and updates.

From @KaraBelew ---#Plano School Board: Of9,656 eco devo kids, 59%READ BELOW gradelevel! Board should set agoal of 70% reading by2020. @Plano_Schools#txlege #txed @cityofplan-otx @plano @pisdtransi-t i o n # p l a n o p o s i t o r@NDGEdi tor @Anto-nioArellano

In response from@KendallGPace --- Looka t l o w i n c “ g r e e n ”

schools..... they still outper-form “the rest” public ESin city vs. schls of similardemographics... year afteryear in math, writing, scitoo. Media, research & pol-icy folks.... ask why. Lookinto. Who can do it consis-tently better?

Building the faith ona firm familyfoundation

via Twitter @DivaAdvo-cate Sorry, I have no usefor mega church pastorsright now or their "evange-listic travels"

To share youropinion visit

NorthDallasGazette.com

A familiar face has beennamed the lone finalist inthe Irving ISD superintend-ent search. During a spe-cial-called meeting heldMonday, the Irving ISDBoard of Trustees approvedunanimously, Magda Her-nandez as the candidate forthe district’s top position.By law, the Board must wait21 days before Hernandez’semployment is official asthe superintendent of IrvingISD.

Hernandez has served thedistrict for 23 years in vari-ous roles, most recently asacting superintendent fol-

lowing the resignation ofthe former superintendentin September.

“We are making historytoday as Magda Hernandezbecomes the first Hispanicfemale selected to lead our

school district,” Board Pres-ident Randy Randle said.“But more importantly, shehas a commitment to educa-tion and knows the district.She knows how we operate.She has seen our strengthsand our weaknesses, and wecan hit the ground running.We are confident that wecan make larger progressand faster progress hiringsomeone who knows - andwho is - Irving ISD.”

“I want to express mygratitude and appreciationto the Board of Trustees fortheir vote of confidence andfor the opportunity to leadIrving ISD,” says Hernan-dez. “The district is fortu-

nate and blessed to have avisionary school board thatstrongly desires to seehigher achievement and im-proved student-growth re-sults. Consequently, eachboard member is fully com-mitted to making this hap-pen, and I am humbly hon-ored to be part of their planto accomplish such a wor-thy objective.”

Hernandez began her ca-reer in the district as a bilin-gual aide before earning herteaching degree from TexasWoman’s University. Her-nandez was then a bilingualand gifted and talentedteacher at Good and Town-ley elementary schools be-

fore promoting to assistantprincipal at Townley. Her-nandez then moved up tothe administration buildingwhere she has served ashuman resources staffingand recruiting coordinator,director of human re-sources, assistant superin-tendent of human resources,associate superintendent ofhuman resources anddeputy superintendent ofadministrative services.

Hernandez also held theposition of assistant super-intendent of human re-sources in Waxahachie ISD.She graduated cum laudewith a bachelor’s degreeand master’s degree in edu-

cational administrationfrom TWU. She also holdssuperintendent certificationfrom the University ofNorth Texas. She currentlyserves as Region 10 HumanResources Advisory BoardMember and District IVrepresentative for the Ad-ministrators (TASPA).

“As a long-time em-ployee, I am equally com-mitted and invested in thiseducational community,”says Hernandez. “I believewe can ensure this task isaccomplished by havingstrong support systems forour teachers, staff and ad-

W A S H I N G T O N(PRNewswire) -- The Exec-utive Leadership Council(ELC) today announced theappointment of Kelly VeneyBrinkley as the organiza-tion's Executive Vice Presi-dent and Chief OperatingOfficer (COO). She will beresponsible for providingleadership and overall man-agement direction concern-ing a wide range of organi-zational activities, includingstrategic planning, buildingeffective business opera-tions and supporting depart-mental collaboration initia-tives.

The Executive Leadership

Council Names Kelly VeneyBrinkley as Executive VicePresident and Chief Operat-ing Officer

Brinkley will serve asCOO effective immediately,reporting directly to TheELC's president and chief

executive officer, SkipSpriggs.

"Kelly brings a proventrack record of operationalleadership and financialacumen paired with her ex-perience as a corporatelawyer and political advi-sor," says Spriggs. "She willplay a key role in develop-ing and executing our strate-gic plan going forward. Herknowledge and expertisewill be instrumental in help-ing us achieve operationalexcellence across the organ-ization. We are excited tohave Kelly join our team."

"I am honored to becomeCOO of this extraordinaryorganization whose purposeis to create pathways of op-

portunity for the develop-ment of black executiveswho can then positively im-pact the communities inwhich they live and work,"says Brinkley. "I look for-ward to using my opera-tional experience in helpingThe ELC to reach its full po-tential and to ensure its con-tinued growth and excep-tional service to its membersand our community."

Prior to The ELC, Brink-ley served as COO forUnited Way of the NationalCapital, where she led theorganization's operations,including community im-pact, marketing and com-munications, and fundrais-ing. Her operations experi-

ence also includes hertenure as COO for theWashington, D.C. Office ofthe State Superintendent ofEducation in which she ledstudent transportation, pro-curement, human resourcesand general operations.Prior to her operations posi-tions, Brinkley served on thetransition team for the Bankof America/Merrill Lynchmerger and previously heldpositions at Fannie Mae andthe National CommunityReinvestment Coalition.She also practiced corporatelaw at Saul Ewing, LLP.

Brinkley serves on theboards of the D.C. Chamberof Commerce, D.C. BarFoundation and Calvary

Women's Services. Sheholds a bachelor's degree ineconomics from SpelmanCollege, a master's of publicadministration from theUniversity of Maryland, anda law degree from the Amer-ican University, WashingtonCollege of Law.

The Executive LeadershipCouncil, an independentnon-profit 501(c)(3) corpo-ration founded in 1986, isthe pre-eminent member-ship organization committedto increasing the number ofglobal black executives inC-Suites , on corporateboards and in global enter-prises. For more informa-tion, please visit www.el-cinfo.com.

People in the News www.NorthDallasGazette.com

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2 | December 6-12, 2018 | North Dallas Gazette

Kelly Brinkley

Magda Hernandez

For the 411 in the community, go to www.northdallasgazette.com

NDG Readers Sound Off...

See HERNANDEZ, Page 7

Carolyn King Arnold (left) andKeyaira D. Saunders meet in debate.(Photo: David Wilfong / NDG)

www.NorthDallasGazette.com Op-Ed

Religious/ Marketing EditorShirley Demus Tarpley(“Sister Tarpley”)

NDG Senior Columnist Ed Gray

Columnist A.D. Jenkins

Contributing WritersTiffany GilbertJackie HardyRachel HawkinsAngela Loston

Jacquinette MurphyDwain Price

Terri Schlichenmeyer Nicole ScottDavid Wilfong

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STAFFChairman Emeritus

Jim Bochum1933 – 2009

Published ByMinority Opportunity News, Inc.

Editor Ruth Ferguson

Web MasterTodd Jones

Community MarketingNadina Davis

Account Executive LaRoyce Jones

Production David Wilfong

North Dallas Gazette assumes no responsibility forunsolicited material and reserves the right to edit and make

appropriate revisions.

The North Dallas Gazette, formerly Minority Opportunity News, was foundedin July 1991, by Mr.Jim Bochum and Mr.Thurman R. Jones. North DallasGazette is a wholly owned subsidairy of Minority Opportunity News, Inc.

December 6-12, 2018 | North Dallas Gazette | 3For the 411 in the community, go to www.northdallasgazette.com

“Do what you say you aregoing to do ... when you sayyou are going to do it. ”

P.O. Box 763866 - Dallas, Texas 75376-3866Phone: 972-432-5219 - Fax: 972-509-9058

NDG endorsement for therunoff election in

Dallas City Council, Place 4

Dallas CityCouncil

District 4Carolyn King

Arnold

A look back at the legacy ofGeorge Herbert Walker Bush

President George HerbertWalker Bush, died Nov. 30,2018, and the absence of lifegives us pause to celebratelife.

Today the country has be-stowed upon PresidentGeorge Bush 41 the respectof a beloved leader. The re-spect that his broad accom-plishments of a leader recog-nized by a country that real-ized there should be decencyin politics.

Despite the racism of some

in the Republican Party, Bushwas one of few southern Re-publicans who voted for the1968 Fair Housing Act.

Through the years, that andhis monetary support of theUnited Negro College Fundwas cited as reasons thatBush was not racist. He wasnot a racist, however, he wasin politics, that sometimesappeals to racist sentimentsfor votes. The infamousWillie Horton advertisingthat played to white fears ofblack male rapists was usedby his operatives to securethe 1988 election.

In office, Bush 41 was amoderate in a conservativeRepublican Party. Suspect tofar-right leaders like PatrickBuchannan, he was indeed

the last of the country clubRepublicans. Conservative innature, he did appoint blackleaders such as General ColinPowell, to preeminent leader-ship roles.

President George HerbertWalker Bush would success-fully end the Cold War,thereby ending Russian dom-inance of Central and EasternEurope. He would be re-membered Bush for defeat-ing the Iraqi led forces ofSadaam Hussein in PersianGulf I. George Bush 41should have been re-elected.Bush a man of his times,would lose the presidency toGovernor Bill Clinton.

President Bush 41 until hisdeath, earlier this month wasbest remembered, as a one-

term president in an era oftwo-term presidencies.

Presidents are men that wemay not agree with at times,however, their intentionsused to be never questionedas being less than honorable.In today’s political climate,President George HerbertWalker Bush will be remem-bered for his overall decency.We didn’t appreciate it, untiltoday.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Presi-dent.

I am Ed Gray, and this isStraight Talk.Ed Gray is the host of The

Commish Radio Show airingSaturdays 3-5 p.m. onFBRN.net, can be reached ateegray62@att.net.

StraightTalk

Ed GrayNDG SeniorColumnist

North Dallas Gazette endorses Carolyn King Arnoldin the runoff for Dallas City Council District 4

NDG’s View

Fol lowing the 2018midterms and local elections,there is no denying the youthof this generation are poisedto do wonderfully amazingthings. They are poised tolead Dallas and the nation toa brighter future. Every dayyoung activists and groupsare fighting the relics of timeand outdated laws. They areleading the call for a more in-clusive world where WE areall equal - now, not someday.

However, sometimes forprogress, experienced voicesmust step forward to speakon behalf of both the genera-tions of yesterday and today.For this reason, the NorthDallas Gazette (NDG) con-tinues to support and endorseCarolyn King Arnold for theDallas City Council District4 seat.

Her experience beganserving as an educator in thecommunity for many yearsand later as the president ofGlenn Heights HomeownersAssociation. Arnold has beenin the trenches of city gov-

ernment when she waselected to represent Dallas’District 4 in 2015. FormerMayor Pro Temp and coun-cilman Dwaine Caraway,who could not run again atthe time due to term limits,previously held the seat.

Her platform is simple;take care of the residents ofDistrict 4 by:

• Developing smart eco-nomics such as better hous-ing and transportation;

• Creating workforce andeducation opportunitiesthrough vocational training;and

• Establishing an overallquality of life with safe andclean neighborhoods andquality healthcare.

Arnold's opponent in Dec.11 runoff is a revolutionaryactivist, Keyaira Saunders, aco-founder of the Next Gen-eration Action Network withDominique Alexander. Alsofollowing the disappearanceof D'Lisa Kelley in District 4,Saunders co-founded theKelley Alert Foundation withAlexander and Damon Cren-shaw. These are just exam-

ples of initiatives whichdemonstrating that althoughher career in the politicalarena is relatively new, shehas fought to keep a focus onaddressing police brutality,community safety and morein Dallas. Her youth andnewness to the political arenado not disqualify Saundersfrom leading District 4 in thefuture. NDG is confident herpassion and energy will con-tribute to her continuinggrowth as a leader in Dallas.

However, at this time,NDG is again endorsing Car-olyn King Arnold because ofher commitment to rebuild-ing District 4 for the better-ment of its residents withoutcompromise. Arnold’s focusand passion are ensuring Dis-trict 4's best interests are atthe forefront as other stake-holders propose solutions im-pacting the community. Shetakes a no holds bar approachand is not afraid to go head-to-head with developers andother power brokers. She haslearned to be effective whenfacing those seeking to takeadvantage of the district

while building strategic rela-tionships necessary to getthings done. This is a skillgained through experience.

In no way is NDG suggest-ing Saunders will not havethe same dedicat ion i felected, but we believeArnold’s time in office givesher the advantage. As the dis-trict has lacked official repre-sentation for more than 100days, effective leadership isneeded on day one. Thismakes her the better candi-date for District 4 today. Shewill provide a voice for thecommunity as vital decisionsare considered such as theCity's Master Plan.

The residents of District 4have to get to the polls andelect Arnold to serve again onDec. 11. We join Elite News,the Police and Fire ActionPolitical Committees, Com-missioner John W. Price,Honorable Diane Ragsdale,Vonceil Hill, Maxine-Thorn-ton Reese, Joyce Foreman,Hector Flores and others inendorsing Arnold.

We congratulate Saunders,but we believe Arnold is thebest candidate for District 4.

By Joanne Fink

Without our loved onesthe holidays aren’t thesame. For most of us, holi-days are hard for years afterour loss. Here are some tipsfor making this time of yearless emotional, lonely andchallenging.

Listen to Your Heart -Embrace the holiday tradi-tions you find meaningful;and feel free to create newtraditions, especially oneswhich will keep your lovedone’s memory and legacyalive. Don’t do more thanyou want and don’t do any-thing that does not feelcomfortable, including dec-orating, making holidaydinners and sending outcards.

Take Care of Yourself -Try to exercise, eat health-fully, get enough sleep, and

do things which call to yoursoul. For some that may becoloring, writing in a jour-nal, taking a nature walk orreading a book; for others itmay mean connecting withfriends, getting a massageor seeing a movie. Grievingis hard work! It impacts usphysically and cognitively,as well as emotionally andmakes it harder for us toconcentrate and rememberthings-- so don’t forget tomake time for YOU.

Have an Escape Plan -If you are invited to a party,let the host know in ad-vance that you may not staythe entire time. Considerdriving yourself so you canleave if you feel trapped. Bewilling to give up thingswhich may be stressful, andgive yourself permission todecide— or change yourmind— at the last minute.

Develop— and Train—a Support Network -Being with people who care

about us is healing, espe-

Heads up to all consumerswho plan to buy their own in-surance on the federal healthinsurance marketplace – thesixth open enrollment period,which began on Nov. 1, endson Saturday, Dec. 15.Through the Health InsuranceMarketplace, individuals areable to go to one place tosearch for health coverageoptions and choose from thehealth plans available in their

area.The best source for infor-

mation about the Marketplaceis the website www.health-care.gov. The website is avail-able 24/7 and provides infor-

mation on how the Market-place works, what the bene-fits are and key deadlines. In-dividuals can also call 1-800-318-2596 to speak withtrained customer service rep-resentatives 24 hours a day, 7days a week.

For individuals needingfurther assistance, ParklandHealth & Hospital Systemhas certified applicationcounselors available from 8

a.m. to 4 p.m., Mondaythrough Friday in Parkland’sBusiness Office to answerquestions about the Afford-able Care Act (ACA) andprovide help enrolling in theMarketplace. The BusinessOffice is located on the firstfloor of the old ParklandOPC, 5201 Harry HinesBlvd., Dallas, 75235.

If an individual misses the2019 open enrollment period

and does not qualify for aSpecial Enrollment Period(SEP), they will have to waituntil open enrollment beginsfor 2020. Additional informa-tion on exemptions is avail-able at www.healthcare.gov.

In addition, a special en-rollment period (SEP) outsideof the yearly open enrollmentexists for those with certainlife events including losinghealth coverage, moving, get-

ting married, having a baby oradopting a child. If an indi-vidual qualifies for an SEP,they usually have up to 60days following the event toenroll in a plan. If they missthat window, they have towait until the next open en-rollment period to apply.

For more informationabout Parkland’s services,visit www.parklandhospi-tal.com.

Health www.NorthDallasGazette.com

4 | December 6-12, 2018 | North Dallas Gazette For the 411 in the community, go to www.northdallasgazette.com

See GRIEF, Page 11

Time’s running out for ACA Marketplace 2019 enrollment

A single workout can boost metabolism for daysLounging around all

weekend may weigh heavyon the minds of the healthconscious. But these seden-tary stretches may not affectthe waistline, providedthey’re preceded by a bit ofexercise.

A new study from UTSouthwestern Medical Cen-ter shows neurons in micethat influence metabolismare active for up to two daysafter a single workout. Theresearch offers new insightinto the brain’s potential rolein fitness and – in the longerterm – may provide a targetfor developing therapies thatimprove metabolism.

“It doesn’t take much ex-ercise to alter the activity ofthese neurons,” said Dr.Kevin Williams, a neurosci-entist at UT Southwestern.“Based on our results, wewould predict that gettingout and exercising evenonce in a semi-intense man-ner can reap benefits thatcan last for days, in particu-lar with respect to glucosemetabolism.”

The study measured theeffects of short- and long-term exercise on two typesof neurons that comprise themelanocortin brain circuit,which is shared by both hu-mans and mice. One of the

neuron types (POMC) is as-sociated with reduced ap-petite, lower blood glucoselevels, and higher energyburning when activated; theother type (NPY/AgRP) in-creases appetite and dimin-ishes metabolism when acti-vated.

The study found that asingle bout of exercise canboost the activity of POMCneurons and inhibit thecounterpart NPY/AgRPneuron for up to two days.Those changes last longerwith more training.

The findings expand thescientific understanding ofthe melanocortin circuit,

which previous studiesshowed could be alteredthrough feeding or fastingbut had not yet been linkedto exercise.

The results also provideanother avenue to researchpotential treatments to im-prove glucose metabolismin patients with conditionssuch as diabetes. More than30 million Americans havediabetes, accounting fornearly 10 percent of thepopulation. Another 84 mil-lion have prediabetes, whichcan lead to diabetes withinfive years, according to theCenters for Disease Controland Prevention.

“It is possible that activat-ing melanocortin neuronsmay hold therapeutic bene-fits for patients one day, es-pecially for diabetics whoneed improved blood-glu-cose regula t ion ,” Dr.Williams said.

The study measured braincircuit activity in mice giventraining regiments thatlasted from zero to 10 days.Scientists found that a singleworkout (consisting of three20-minute treadmill runs)caused a decrease in ap-petite that lasted up to sixhours. “This result may ex-plain at the neural circuitlevel why many people

don’t feel hungry immedi-ately after exercise,” Dr.Williams said.

The longer-term effects ofexercise were seen in thePOMC neurons, which im-prove glucose metabolismwhen activated. These neu-rons remained active longerif they also expressed a pro-tein called the leptin recep-tor.

“This research is not justfor improving fitness,” Dr.Williams said. “A better un-derstanding of neural linksto exercise can potentiallyhelp a number of conditionsaffected by glucose regula-tion.”

Five tips for surviving holiday grief

On Wed., Nov. 14, theU.S. Department of Laborrecognized two registeredapprenticeship projects inpartnership with the DallasCounty Community CollegeDistrict: the Dallas CountyManufacturers AssociationManufacturing Consortiumand the ACE Logistics Con-sortium with KLLM Driving

Academy and FFE (FrozenFood Express). Both proj-ects were in the spotlight aspart of National Apprentice-ship Week and Texas Ap-prenticeship Week.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbottissued a proclamation recog-nizing Nov. 12-16, 2018, asTexas Apprenticeship Weekto focus on the importance

of apprenticeship programsand cutting-edge workforcedevelopment efforts in thestate. “Texas leads the nationin job creation because weempower workers and em-ployers alike to innovate, co-operate and maximize theirpotential,” said Abbott.

“DCCCD is committed topartnering with the Texas

Workforce Commission, theU.S. Department of Labor,DFW businesses and otherorganizations to offer regis-tered apprenticeship pro-grams,” said Mark Hays,DCCCD vice chancellor forworkforce and economic de-velopment. “These pro-grams help current and fu-

ture employees earn betterwages while their employ-ers’ businesses grow andcontribute to economic de-velopment in our region.That’s a win-win for all ofus.”

The Dallas County Manu-facturers Association andDCCCD have started to

build a series of registeredapprenticeships in areas thatinclude computer numericalcontrol (or CNC) operations,industrial maintenance,welding and machine opera-tions.

The programs are de-signed to meet the needs of

Community

December 6-12, 2018 | North Dallas Gazette | 5

www.NorthDallasGazette.com

For the 411 in the community, go to www.northdallasgazette.com

DBC

C

See LABOR, Page 16

Rep. Helen Giddings receives the DBCC Lifetime Achievement Award Rep. Helen Giddings re-

ceived the distinguishedLife t ime AchievementAward this evening at theDallas Black Chamber ofCommerce (DBCC) 92ndAnniversary Annual AwardsDinner at the RenaissanceDallas Hotel.

Giddings was the firstwoman to serve as BoardChair of the Dallas BlackChamber of Commerce. Shewas recognized for hertwenty-five plus years ofhard work and leadership inthe Texas Legislature.

"What a blessing it hasbeen to be chosen as one of

150 members of the TexasHouse of Representatives,serving over 27 million peo-

ple in this state. I am appre-ciative for the many relation-ships that will continue to en-

rich my life," Giddingsshared.

Rep. Giddings priority inthe Legislature has alwaysbeen education and extend-ing opportunities to Texaschildren. She led an effort toobtain a $25 million appro-priation in the base budgetfor both historically Blackcolleges, Texas Southern,and Prairie View A&M. Shekept the doors of Paul QuinnCollege open after raising$1.3 million and workingwith the Higher EducationCoordinating Board to en-sure degrees could beawarded.

She has stood up for chil-dren throughout her career,securing alcohol free zonesaround schools and endingso-called "lunch shaming".She led efforts to overhauljuvenile justice laws to ceasethe criminalization of youngchildren and reformed reme-dial education by establish-ing new standards to supportstudents' success.

Whether it be creating theAcademic Bridge Program atUTD, or partnering withSenator Royce West to estab-lish the University of NorthTexas at Dallas, her commit-ment to education has never

wavered.In front of hundreds of

community leaders, friends,and supporters, Rep. Gid-dings humbly accepting heraward said "I have been en-trusted with work which al-lows me the great opportu-nity to touch many lives inthe most basic and profoundways, and for that I am eter-nally grateful. Although I amcoming to the end of my leg-islative career, my publicservice will not end. I will al-ways care about and continueworking for our community."

U.S. Department of Labor recognizes two projects in partnership with DCCCD

Educational First Steps(EFS), whose mission is toincrease the number of eco-nomically disadvantagedchildren receiving high-quality early childhood ed-ucation, held its sixth annualOne Childhood One Chanceluncheon on Nov. 13 atRenaissance Dallas Hotel.Wendy Stanley and MicheleValdez served as co-chairsfor the luncheon which fea-tured Grow the Future as thetheme.

“A solid academic begin-ning and the support of aloving family are keys to abright future, and Educa-tional First Steps helps fam-ilies across North Texas, re-gardless of income, to pro-vide their children with theacademic, social and emo-tional foundation they needto achieve bright futures,”Valdez stated. “We cast awide net by working di-rectly with existing daycarecenters in neighborhoodsthroughout North Texas andhelp turn these babysitting

centers into accredited pre-schools. We invite you tojoin our Culture Club,which creates special expe-riences for EFS children, in-c luding by reading tothem.”

A few of the stark realitiesshared with guests included:

• One in four Dallas fam-ilies has an annual income

less than $25,000 and morethan half the families havean income less than$50,000.

• Childcare is “home” forthese children for 10-12hours a day so these fami-lies can work.

• Only 18 percent of day-

The silence in the hall-way is shattered by enthusi-astic chanting and singingas a class at C.F. Carr Ele-mentary School preparesfor another day of learning.

Students are having funbefore tackling the work ofthe day. Principal CarlottaHooks, in her second year atCarr, said that strategy isjust one teachers are usingto engage students andbuild genuine relationshipswith them to foster an envi-ronment that expects andrewards academic success.

Carr is one of 13 DallasISD schools with improve-ments significant enough toremove it from the state’slist of low-performing cam-puses. Some of those 13 im-proving schools, includingCarr, are part of the dis-trict’s Accelerating CampusExcellence (ACE) program,which pays incentives tohigh-performing educatorsto draw them to schools thatneed them the most. ACEalso provides additional re-sources and requires parents

to be a major part of the ed-ucational process.

A preliminary plan lastyear would have closedCarr and consolidated itsstudent population at an-other district school. Theschool’s success shut downthat plan.

“Our staff was dedicatedto giving the students a newstart, and showing the kidsthey believe in them,”Hooks said.

Strategic structureAcademic systems are

now in place that let stu-dents automatically knowthe expectations each day.

For example, students ar-rive knowing they willwork a “Math Problem ofthe Day” that is alignedwith the curriculum andstate requirements.

In language arts, studentsknow they will be writingabout the novel they arestudying. The continualwriting assignments are de-signed to help students be-come better readers.

“Kids have real books intheir hands,” Hooks said.“They understand that read-ing changes everything.They are writing every day,and writing with a pur-

pose.”Teachers also give instant

feedback to individual stu-dents in class. She said thatis important because cor-recting mistakes when workis in progress can more ef-fectively teach the studentsand eliminates errors mov-ing forward.

Community and parentalsupport is also gainingstrength. Volunteers fromMercy Street are at theschool every day and somefrom Trinity ChristianAcademy volunteer at theschool once a month.

Hooks, an avid gardener,has introduced her passionfor plants to students, who

enjoy helping water andmaintain the school garden.There are other new oppor-tunities for students beyondthe classroom, including anafter-school basketball pro-gram coordinated by a vol-unteer who offered to bringthe game to Carr.

“We get a lot of blessings,just out of the blue,” Hookssaid.

Charting changesKarla Johnson-Ritch-

wood knows how Carr haschanged. She teaches 5th–and 6th-grade Reading andhas been at Carr the past 11years. In fact, she is the onlyteacher to remain after Carrbecame an ACE campus.

She also points to strongteacher-student relation-ships as a driving factor.

“The students know theteachers actually care,”Johnson-Ritchwood said.“Teachers are here becausethey want to be here. Thekids know that.”

District administrationhas provided resourcesteachers need to succeed,she said, and while there isa lot of pressure on the staffand students to do well, it’sworth the effort.

“I’m loving it,” she said.“I know everybody ex-pected us to fail. We knewwe were going to provethem wrong, and we did it.”

6 | December 6-12, 2018 | North Dallas Gazette

Education www.NorthDallasGazette.com

For the 411 in the community, go to www.northdallasgazette.com

Dallas ISD

See FIRST, Page 16

NBA Legend Rolando Blackman and The Voice of the Cowboys BradSham read and posed with children from Creative Steps Academy, an

Educational First Steps accredited preschool.

Relationships key to turnaround success at Dallas elementary school

Rolano Blackman and Brad Sham speakat Educational First Steps Luncheon

Arts & Entertainmentwww.NorthDallasGazette.com Irving / Plano / Carrollton

December 6-12, 2018 | North Dallas Gazette | 7For the 411 in the community, go to www.northdallasgazette.com

ministrators. “Therefore, I will pro-

mote and advocate for allour students, clearly com-municate the board’s key

goals and lead our districton the path to reaching thehighest level of achieve-ment our students deserve;all in collaboration with the

talented teachers, staff andadministrators we have inplace. Additionally, I willensure our teachers andcampus administrators havethe resources and supportneeded to be successful.”

As a longtime resident ofIrving, Hernandez’s familymembers are products ofIrving ISD.

Her sons are Irving ISDgraduates, and her daughteris a junior at Singley Acad-

emy. In addition, her grand-

children attend Gilbert Ele-mentary School.

Outside of work, Hernan-dez cherishes spending timewith her family, reading

multiple approaches toleadership and literaturethat carries social implica-tions for improving theworld in which we live,traveling and attending livemusic events.

HERNANDEZ, continued from Page 2

Plano Animal Services offer pet friendly holiday tipsWhile you are busy mak-

ing festive plans for theholidays, don't forget to in-clude your pets. A little pre-caution and preventionmakes the holidays a happytime for everyone. Somecommon holiday pet haz-ards include:

• Bones: The holidayturkey or chicken leaves alot of tantalizing bones butdon't feed them to your pet.Beware of steak bones too.Small bones or chips canlodge in the throat, stomachand intestinal tract.

• Fat: Those wonderfulpotato latkes (watch the hotoil), gravies and poultryskin can cause severe gas-trointestinal upset as well.

• Holiday plants: Hollyand mistletoe are poisonouswhen eaten. The lovelypoinsettia may not be trulypoisonous but its milky

white sap and leaves cancertainly cause severe gas-tric distress. With so manyhybrid varieties availableeach year, the best ap-

proach is to keep the plantsout of your pet's reach.

• Electrical cords: Holi-day lights mean more elec-trical cords for kittens andpuppies to chew. Be sureyou have cords safely se-cured out of the way.

• Candles: Lighted can-dles should never be leftunattended, especially atkitty's eye level or withinpuppy's chewing zone. Anexuberant tail, a swat of apaw and candles with hotwax can quickly cause adisaster. Anchor candles se-curely and away from curi-ous faces and feet.

• Pine needles: Checkholiday trees and greeneryfrequently. Ingested pine

needles can puncture yourpet's intestines if sharpenough.

• Holiday tree: Make sureyour tree is well secured. Ifyou have a tree climbingcat or a large dog with ahappy tail, anchor the top ofthe tree to the wall with astrong cord or rope. Preser-vatives often used in thewater in a tree stand cancause gastric upset, so besure it is not accessible ornot used. Avoid sugar andaspirin additives in thewater as well.

• Ornaments: Sharp orbreakable ornaments, drei-dels and even aluminumfoil should be kept out ofreach. String objects, espe-

cially tinsel and ribbons,are to be safeguarded at allcosts. They are thin andsharp and can wrap aroundintestines or ball up in thestomach.

• Stress and company:Make sure your pets havecollars and tags on in caseof escape. Ask guests tokeep an eye out for pets un-derfoot and remind themyour normally friendly dogor cat may be less than will-ing to deal with enthusias-tic children and rooms fullof unfamiliar people. Pro-vide a special quiet placewith a blanket and freshwater for your pets to re-treat to when the festivitiesget too stressful.

8 | December 6-12, 2018 | North Dallas Gazette

City Briefs

For the 411 in the community, go to www.northdallasgazette.com

www.NorthDallasGazette.com

December 6-12, 2018 | North Dallas Gazette | 9

www.NorthDallasGazette.com Entertainment

Do you have an upcoming event? Contact NDG Entertainment at marketing@northdallasgazette.com

NDG Entertainment Ticket Giveaway!!! Visit us on Facebook to win ticketsto the the hottest events in Dallas/Fort Worth!!!!

Enter to Win!Ticket Giveaway

By Dwain PriceNDG Sports

FRISCO – Even aftergoing to Philadelphia andAtlanta and beating the Ea-gles and Falcons for theirfirst road victories of theseason, and then backingthat up with a huge Thanks-giving Day victory over theWashington Redskins, thecritics still had their linger-ing doubts about the DallasCowboys.

That’s why when theCowboys hosted the ultrared-hot New Orleans Saintslast Thursday, no one gavethe home team any respectgoing into that game.

Final score: Cowboys 13,Saints 10.

“No one believed in us,”running back Ezekiel Elliottsaid. “I think all four of thepanelists up there on the

NFL network said we weregoing to lose. The whole na-tion thought we were goingto lose, and we came out andwe shocked the world.

“The crazy thing about itis we could have played somuch better. So, I mean,

we’ve just got to enjoy thisvictory, we’ve got to cele-brate it, but we’ve got to getback to work because we’vestill got a lot of football leftand we still have a lot of get-ting better to do. I think wecame out and showed that

we can compete with thebest teams in this league.”

The win over the Saints,who came in sporting anNFL-high 10-game winningstreak, was the fourthstraight for the Cowboys.The streak started when theCowboys went to Philadel-phia and shocked the worldby stunning the Eagles, 27-20, back on Nov. 11.

Guess who’s coming toAT&T Stadium in Arlingtonto visit the Cowboys onSunday at 3:25 p.m.? It’sthose same Eagles, who willbe seeking revenge and try-ing to stay in the thick of theNFC East race.

Dallas leads the NFC Eastwith a 7-5 record, and theEagles and Redskins areeach one game back at 6-6.A victory by the Cowboyswould almost lock up the di-visional title and send Dallas

to the playoffs for the firsttime since 2016.

Quarterback Dak Prescottsaid the Cowboys’ overallmindset changed when theywere dragging around a piti-ful 3-5 record midwaythrough the season.

“We didn’t get down onourselves,” Prescott said.“We didn’t count ourselvesout like everybody did whenwe were 3-5. We knew wehad lost a couple of gamesbefore that, that we shouldhave won.

“We just kept that mental-ity to get better every week,stack good days on top ofgood days at practice, andthat will end up just stackingwins. That’s what we’vebeen able to do, but as I said,we’ve got to continue to getbetter at that.”

Defensive tackle TyroneCrawford went so far as to

tell reporters to continue de-scribing the Cowboys as analso-ran team that doesn’tstack up with the best theNFC has to offer.

“Please keep calling usthe worst,” Crawford said. “Imean keep calling us noth-ing. Keep downplaying us.

“I like that. We’re betterlike that -- backs against thewall.”

Coach Jason Garrett ex-plained that the growth ofthe Cowboys has been onfull display during this four-game winning streak, andhopes it’ll continue with thebig showdown against theEagles.

“We have a young foot-ball team, so they’re learn-ing from their experiences asthey go,’ Garret t said.“When things are good you

Cowboys serve notice with win over Saints

The Dallas defense was up to the task on Sunday, with standout perform-ances by players like Leightn Vander Esch. (Photo: Keith Allison / Flickr)

See COWBOYS, Page 12

The Black Aacadmy ofArts and Letters (TBAAL) ishosting the 25th AnnualPromising Young Artists Se-ries Christmas KwanzaaConcert on Saturday, Dec.15 at 8 p.m. North DallasGazette readers can win freetickets to enjoy the festiveholiday event.

Each year TBAAL brings

together talented youthacross the metroplex to helpfamilies celebrate the holi-days. Produced by CurtisKing, this year the partici-pating schools include SouthOak Cliff, Life School OakCliff, Franklin D. Roosevelt,Conrad, Irma P Rangel andJ.F. Kimbal featuringNavarro College, Charles

Rice Elementary HonorsChoir and Townview Band.Kchristrian Howard is coor-dinating the affair.

The show will featuremany familiar holiday clas-sics as the audience is in-vited to join in and sing aswell. Also, Kwanzaa, sooften not celebrated, infor-mation will be shared with

the guests.For an opportunity to win

tickets visit our Facebookpage and share with us your

favorite Christmas song andthe artist version you prefer.Better yet, send include avideo in your comment

which will serve as yourentry.

To purchase tickets call214-743-2400.

Car Review

10 | December 6-12, 2018 | North Dallas Gazette

Entertainment Too! To advertise your upcoming entertainment event contact marketing@northdallasgazette.com

Do you have an upcoming event? Contact NDG Entertainment at marketing@northdallasgazette.com

By Rachel HawkinsNDG Staff Writer

Seeing how Thanksgivingis over, it’s no shock seeingeveryone getting into theswing of Christmas. Withprepping for holiday decora-tions, listening to the classicson the radio, and watchingthe latest Christmas specialson Netflix, it’s safe to say theholidays have officially in-vaded almost everyone’slives.

And what’s a better way to

start off the cheerful seasonby watching Elf the Musical.

Based on the famous 2003motion picture starring WillFerrell, Elf the Musicalopened on Nov. 27, and willrun until Dec.2. at the MusicHall at Fair Park.

The musical, presented byDallas Summer Musicals,featured an extremely color-ful production with severaluplifting original songs,perky dance choreographies,and fantastic acting the en-tire family is sure to enjoy.

Elf the Musical is thestory of Buddy, a young or-phan child who mistakenlycrawls into Santa’s bag ofgifts and is transported backto the North Pole. Unawarethat he is actually human,Buddy’s enormous size andpoor toy-making abilitiescause him to face the truth.With Santa’s permission,Buddy embarks on a journeyto New York City to find hisbirth father, discover his trueidentity, and help New Yorkremember the true meaning

of Christmas.Eric Williams, the star of

the show who played Buddy,gave a wonderful perform-ance with his upbeat attitude.While the play does followthe same story as the origi-nal movie, there are a coupleof twists and changes whichis sure to delight the audi-ence.

Single tickets starts at $20.You can purchase them atDallasSummerMusicals.orgor by contacting 1 (800)745-3000.

Buddy, played by Eric Williams (left), and Santa, played Mark Fish-back (right), during Elf the Musical. (Photo Credit: Joan Marcus)

Elf the Musical takes the stage at Dallas Summer Musicals

Win tickets to 25th annual Christmas Kwanzaa Concert

DCT offering two holidaytreats for the family

This year the Dallas Chil-dren's Theater is offering twoshows for families to enjoythe holiday season and be-yond. One show is alreadyunderway and the secondproduction kicks off thisweekend.

Magic Tree House's Holi-day Musical: A Ghost Talefor Mr. Dickens is on stageuntil Dec. 23 and is a perfect

story for children 6 and up.They will enjoy watchingJack and Annie, swept backto Victorian times on theirMagical tree ride. With a lit-tle help from three ghostfriends, Jack and Annie learnhow charity and kindness canchange the course of history.

The Snowy Day is a jointproduction with the Soul RepTheatre and it comes to life

on Dec. 8 featuring humorand fun - with puppets. Theuplifting story collection en-courages your guests (andadults too!) to play and livelife to the fullest each day.The play will take a breakfrom Christmas Eve untilJanuary 3, 2019, when it willcontinue until Jan. 20.

Tickets are available atdct.org.

By Tiffany GilbertNDG Entertainment

Come out and experienceChristmas at the Anatolefeaturing Peppermint Parkon Dec. 7 from 5 p.m. to 9p.m. at Hilton Anatole, inDallas. Experience themagic of the holiday seasonwith the return of Christmasat the Anatole, featuringPeppermint Park. This out-door, holiday experiencewill feature games and ac-

tivities for kids, festiveshows, train rides, a pettingzoo, Breakfast with Santaand so much more. Staypackages are available now;visit ChristmasAtTheAna-tole.com to plan your stay!

Go on an adventure at theWhy Women Trip on Dec.8 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. atthe The Black Academy ofArts and Letters, Inc., inDallas. Why Women Trip isa love story about Zori

Johnson that shows howlove can really damage theheart. Zori is a person thatloves hard and seems to al-ways get hurt by thosearound her. She shows thatlife must go on but withtime the right one will ap-pear. The question is willyou allow your heart to beopen to that new love? Topurchase tickets visittbaal.org.

NDG Entertainment Guide: Holidaysin the park and under the sea

See GUIDE, Page 12

By Charlene Crowell

In February 2017, theConsumer Financial Protec-tion Bureau (CFPB) suedNavient Corporation andtwo of its subsidiaries for al-legedly using shortcuts anddeception to illegally cheat12 million borrowers out oftheir rights to lower loan re-payments. These practices,according to CFPB, led toan additional $4 billion inborrower costs.

Forbearance is only oneoption available to borrow-ers repaying their studentloans. While other optionsless costly to borrowers likeincome-based repaymentwere available, Navient’swidespread use of forbear-ance boosted corporateprofits by minimizing timespent advising distressedborrowers.

Navient’s profit-enhanc-ing measures came at agreat expense to borrowers.For example, three-years ofdeferment on $30,000 instudent loans would cost aborrower an additional$6,742.

A few weeks later and in

response to CFPB’s lawsuit,the Education’ Depart-ment’s Federal Student Aid(FSA) division auditedNavient from March 20-24,2017, and later produced areport of its findings onMay 18, 2017.

But the audit remainedsecret until late Novemberthis year when the inves-tigative expertise of Associ-ated Press, aided by U.S.Senator Elizabeth Warren(MA), finally led to publicdisclosure of its devastatingfindings. Rather than incurthe wrath of consumers na-tionwide, and/or appear tosupport the CFPB or any ofthe multiple state attorneysgeneral who also suedNavient, the Education De-partment never made thecritical audit public.

As journalists would say,this story has legs: A Cabi-net secretary allowed a fed-eral contractor to act as if akey public agency workedfor a private company. Ad-ditionally, audit findingshidden for a year from thepublic today impact 44 mil-lion student loan borrowers.

The one encouraging de-

velopment in this still-un-folding scenario is that aU.S. Senator is still wagingan effort to protect con-sumers. In a November 13letter this year from Sen.Warren to Navient’s Presi-dent and CEO, the Massa-chusetts Senator was justifi-ably direct.

“This report bolsters alle-gations that Navient ille-gally cheated struggling stu-dent borrowers out of theirrights to lower repay-ments…This finding is bothtragic and infuriating, andthe findings appear to vali-date the allegations thatNavient boosted its profitsby unfairly steering studentborrowers into forbearancewhen that was often theworst financial option forthem.”

My own review of the re-port’s hidden findings bythe audit’s six-member on-site review team uncoveredhow Navient not only failedto advise student loan bor-rowers of all available op-tions to repay their loans butbelieved that its servicingcontract with the Depart-ment of Education did not

require the firm to do so. A section of the report en-

titled, ‘Servicer Response’states in part: “We disagreewith 168 of the 228 servic-ing opportunity determina-tions (call review and serv-icing history review)….Norare we aware of any re-quirement that borrowersreceive all of their repay-ment options – IDR, defer-ment and forbearance – oneach and every call…If FSAchooses to require all ser-vicers to discuss IDR to allborrowers on all calls or torequire all service represen-tatives follow a commoncall flow, specific require-ments should be provided inan approved Change Re-quest.”

That’s a lot of corporatenerve.

Navient is supposed towork for the Department ofEducation, and by exten-sion, the American people.Further, if Secretary DeVosallows this major contractorto shape what will or willnot happen on her watch,what kind of public stewardof taxpayer dollars is she?

The FSA findings give

even more credence to theearlier CFPB investigationundertaken before filing itsNavient lawsuit. CFPBlearned that many of theborrowers that incurred ex-cessive charges includedmilitary veterans who be-came disabled during theirservice to the country. Fed-eral law provides that mili-tary veterans whose disabil-ities were incurred duringservice to the country areentitled to loan forgiveness.

Navient also holds title toa related and dubious dis-tinction: More consumersfiled complaints aboutNavient than any other stu-dent loan servicer. Com-plainants identified dealingwith the servicer or lenderas the key issue, comparedto nearly half at 34 percentwhose problems were basedon an inability to pay theirloans.

“At every stage of repay-ment, Navient chose toshortcut and deceive con-sumers to save on operatingcosts,” said then-CFPB Di-rector Richard Cordray atthe time the lawsuit wasfiled. “Too many borrowers

paid more for their loans be-cause Navient illegallycheated them.”

"Too many Americans arestruggling to make their stu-dent loan payments everymonth,” said WhitneyBarkley-Denney, a policycounsel specializing in stu-dent lending with the Cen-ter for Responsible Lend-ing. “While the Departmentof Education has createdprograms to help makemonthly payments more af-fordable, those programsonly work if servicers areactually helping eligibleborrowers access them. Ser-vicers aren't merely debtcollectors - they can be aborrower's lifeline to finan-cial stability."

Navient still has a chanceto set its record straight.Sen. Warren’s letter requestsa written reply to the litanyof concerns by December 4.

Stay tuned.Charlene Crowell is

the Center for Responsi-ble Lending’s Communi-cations Deputy Director.She can be reached atChar lene .crowel l@re-sponsiblelending.org.

December 6-12, 2018 | North Dallas Gazette |11

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Marketplace

GRIEF, continued from Page 4

DeVos hid student loan repayment abuses for 18 months

the non-profit Generation toprovide a multi-week train-ing program to 200 youngpeople over the next two

years. The company willalso support existing pro-grams aimed at helping con-nect young people with in-

ternships, apprenticeshipsand jobs.

Since announcing theCommunity Store initiativein 2015, Starbucks hasopened similar community

stores in Ferguson, Mo.; En-glewood in Chicago’sSouthside; East Baltimore;Miami Gardens; Bed-Stuy inBrooklyn, N.Y.; Birming-ham, Ala.; and Seattle’s

White Center, among otherplaces. The company willopen two others soon, inNew Orleans and near At-lanta, with more comingover time.

As the new store opens inDallas, meet five Starbuckspartners who are excitedabout its potential and itsrole in helping to reinvigo-rate the neighborhood.

STARBUCKS, continued from Page 1

cially if they can say ourloved one’s name and lis-ten to us cry without try-ing to fix us, or fix the sit-uation.

But many people are soafraid of saying the wrongthing or doing somethingto upset us that they oftendisappear right when weneed them the most,which is hurtful. It is up tous to be their teachers;don’t be afraid to reachout and let people knowwhat you need and howthey can help.

Focus on What YouHave, Not What You’veLost - While this is easiersaid than done, we can tryto stay grounded in grati-

tude by looking for theblessings in every situa-tion; being kind; seekingconnection; reaching outin love and friendship toothers; and celebrating ourloved one’s legacy.

Joanne Fink is anaward-winning designer,calligrapher, bereavementadvocate, and author ofWHEN YOU LOSESOMEONE YOU LOVE.Her studio, Lakeside De-sign, specializes in devel-oping products for the gift,stationery, craft and faith-based markets. With morethan a million books inprint, Joanne is the authorof 11 books from FoxChapel Publishing.

McKesson Corp moving headquarters to Irving SAN FRANCISCO —

McKesson Corporation thisweek announced the reloca-tion of its corporate head-quarters from San Fran-cisco, California to Las Col-inas, Texas, effective April1, 2019, expanding upon itspresence in the Dallas area.

“We are excited tostrengthen our presence inTexas and make Las Colinasour official global headquar-ters,” said John H. Hammer-gren, chairman and chief ex-ecutive officer, McKessonCorporation. “Governor Ab-bott and the Irving/Las Col-inas community have pro-vided tremendous supportsince we opened our LasColinas campus last April.

Making this move will im-prove efficiency, collabora-tion and cost-competitive-ness, while providing an ex-ceptional work environmentfor our employees.”

McKesson’s Las Colinascampus is already a key hubfor the company. Employeesat the North Texas locationperform vital functions forthe company in areas suchas operations, informationtechnology, finance and ac-counting, marketing andsales, administration andsupport, purchasing, andproject management.

"I’m delightedMcKesson, a Fortune 6company, is making Texasthe home of its new global

headquarters,” said TexasGovernor Greg Abbott."The company has a longrecord of success in ourstate. McKesson’s expan-sion is an example of thekind of high-quality compa-nies and jobs Texas has at-tracted as a result of ourfocus on economic growth,and I am proud to welcomethem to the Lone StarState.”

McKesson’s Las Colinascampus has achieved aLEED Gold certification,recognizing its resource ef-ficiency, as well as a WELLBuilding Silver certification,the first building standardfocused solely on humanhealth and wellness. Ele-

ments of the building are de-signed to support employeeproductivity and wellness,empowering employees towork the way they likewhile fostering team collab-oration amidst an array ofamenities and enhancedtechnology capabilities.

“We are proud thatMcKesson has decided tomake Irving/Las Colinas itsofficial, corporate home,”said Irving Mayor RickStopfer. “Irving is an amaz-ing city with talented, hard-working people and won-derful amenities. We’re de-lighted to have yet anotherFortune 500 company makeIrving their global head-quarters.”

12 | December 6-12, 2018 | North Dallas Gazette

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Paid Internship opportunityfor writers, college students

in the Dallas AreaThe North Dallas Gazette has an internshipposition available. Thegoal is to provide stu-dents and aspiringwriters an opportunityto gain published clips,experience and pro-fessional feedback.The position is for upto 20 hours a week at $8.00 per hour. Appli-cants must have reliable transportation.

Send resume and writing samples to:businessoffice@northdallasgazette.com

try to build on those things,and when things aren’t goodyou try to correct them andmove forward and keepworking.

“They try to get betterevery day and grow week byweek. I think we’ve donethat. This team works hard,they play with a tremendousspirit, they love playingfootball, they love playingtogether. I think that’s show-ing up in these games.”

Still, to emerge victoriousin three games in 12 daysover the Falcons, Redskinsand Saints speaks volumesabout the 180-degree turn-around the Cowboys have

made in recent weeks.“Our guys did a really

good job preparing over thislast month or so knowingthat we had a lot of footballin a short period of time,”Garrett said. “They werevery professional in takingcare of their bodies, gettingtheir mind and spirit right topractice the right way andplay the right way.”

Part of playing the rightway came after the acquisi-tion of Amari Cooper. TheCowboys are 4-1 since ac-quiring the talented wide re-ceiver in a trade with theOakland Raiders on Oct. 23.

Because of Cooper’s

speed and ability to stretchthe defense on the outside,it’s becoming increasinglydifficult for teams to puteight players in the box in aneffort to stop Elliott whiledaring Prescott to beat themwith a cast of average re-ceivers. Since the arrival ofCooper, that game plan foropposing team is no longereffective.

“I’m really happy thatwe’re 4-1 since I’ve beenhere,” Cooper said. “I justwant to keep winning.

“It feels good to be on awinning streak. We deserveit. We practice hard, we playhard, and why not keep win-ning?”

And while they’re win-

ning, the Cowboys knowthey’ll have to continue tokeep proving the naysayerswrong.

“As I said, we’re a youngteam, but it’s a team with alot of confidence and a teamwith a lot of fight,” Prescottsaid. “As I said, our backswere against the wall. It justshows the character of thisteam.

“We’re not surrenderingto anybody and we’re mov-ing forward, regardless ofwhat we have to do. That’sjust been special for us overthe last four weeks or so,(we've) just been able tomove forward and not wor-ried about anything outsideof our locker room.”

COWBOYS, continued from Page 9

Allstate Agency Owners Support DFW Students with Back-to-School Supply Drive, Earn $28,000 Grant for DFW-Area SchoolsDFW Allstate agency

owners recently joined All-state volunteers across sevenstates to secure $193,000 inAllstate Foundation HelpingHands® grants to benefit 21schools and youth groups,including an $8,000 grant toAikin Elementary School,an $11,000 grant to Lake-wood Elementary Schooland a $9,000 grant toStevens Park ElementarySchool.

Allstate volunteers mobi-lized people in communitiesaround the country to donatevital items such as back-packs, hand sanitizer, linednotebook paper, pencils,pens and other supplies – apowerful way to enhancestudents’ learning experi-ence by ensuring theystarted school with the toolsthey need to succeed.

"As small business own-ers and community mem-bers we see firsthand the

challenges schools, teachersand students alike often facein securing critical suppliesthat ensure academicachievement,” said RobertoDeLeon, Allstate seniormanager of corporate rela-tions in Texas. “Giving backis core to who we are, whichis why we’re proud to vol-unteer and provide DFWarea educators and studentsthe resources needed toexcel.”

The school supply drivealso empowered educatorsto focus on preparing for theacademic year instead ofworrying about critical sup-ply needs. Each year, publicschool teachers spend nearly$500 of their own wages onsupplies for their class-rooms, according to the Na-tional Center for EducationStatistics.

Through their volunteerefforts, DFW Allstateagency owners secured a

$28,000 Allstate FoundationHelping Hands® grant tobenefit the schools – with$8,000 supporting Aikin El-ementary School, $11,000supporting Lakewood Ele-mentary School and $9,000supporting Stevens Park El-ementary. The schools willuse the grant to support stu-dent and teacher success.The schools are amongthousands of organizationsthis year to receive AllstateFoundation Helping Handsgrants secured by Allstateagency owners and financialspecialists for their volun-teer efforts. The grants sup-port organizations address-ing domestic violence, youthempowerment, disaster pre-paredness, hunger and othercauses.

The school supply drivewas part of a multi-state ef-fort of the Allstate Founda-tion Good Starts Young®initiative and its national

youth empowerment part-ner, WE Charity. The supplydrives benefitted participat-ing schools and youthgroups in California, Con-necticut, Kentucky, Illinois,Minnesota, Pennsylvaniaand Texas.

Good Starts Young is asignature initiative of TheAllstate Foundation to pre-pare today’s youth for thefuture and build our nextgeneration of leaders. In2017, Allstate Foundation-supported programs pro-vided more than 2 millionyouth with the guidance andresources they need to mas-ter critical social and emo-tional learning (SEL) com-petencies – critical thinking,collaboration, culturalawareness and communica-tion – so they can take ac-tion.

Participating DFW All-state agency owner volun-teers include (in alphabetical

order by last name):A i k i n E l e m e n t a r y

School• Willie Bradley, Dallas• V i n c e n t G r e e n e ,

Mesquite• Kari Heatherly, McKin-

ney• Jay Jaroszewsk, Rowlett• Freder ick Moreno,

McKinney• Stanley Smith, Dallas• Jake Tedesco, Plano• D i a n a W i c k m a n ,

RichardsonLakewood Elementary

School• Jay Adkins, Bedford,• Alex Behar, Bedford• Maria Bustillo, Irving• Frank Correa, Grapevine• D o r i a n J i m e n e z ,

Grapevine• Alex Long, Irving• Sarah Nelson, Bedford• Cecil Nutall, Fort Worth• Sue Smith, Watauga• Hugo Valdes, Grand

Prairie

Stevens Park Elemen-tary

• Gary Daniels, Dallas• Shebra Dunlap, Grand

Prairie• Hugo Gonzalez, Dallas• Derrick McKee, Irving• Kevin McKee, Dallas• Maviela Medrano, Dal-

las• Deborah Naulls, Lan-

caster• Maria Romero, Dallas• Carol Valentine, Mans-

fieldThe Allstate Foundation

works to create more pros-perous communities wherepeople are empowered tofulfill their hopes anddreams by inspiring the nextgeneration of leaders, break-ing the cycle of domestic vi-olence, closing the nonprofitleadership gap and honoringAllstate volunteers. More in-formation on The AllstateFoundation is available atAllstateFoundation.org.

You can watch ScubaDiving Santa take theplunge at Sea Life Aquar-ium on Dec. 12 from 11:30a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at theSEA LIFE GrapevineAquarium, in Grapevine.SEA LIFE GrapevineAquarium is swimming inholiday cheer this Decem-ber. Experience a dive show

like no other as Scuba Div-ing Santa, along with hiself, make a jolly appearancein a water wonderlandamongst the fish, sharks andstingrays in SEA LIFE's160,000-galloon oceantank. Pose for pictures andfind out if Scuba DivingSanta thinks you've beennaughty or nice. Other fes-

tive fishy activities includea meet and greet with SantaSharky, finding the aquar-ium's mischievous elf Min-now and snapping a selfie,and writing holiday cards toyour favorite sea creature.Scheduled dives occur at11:30 a.m. on Wednesdaysand Sa turdays , Dec .12, 15, 19 and 22. Formore information vis i thttps://www.visitsealife.co

m/grapevine/.

Go and spread the holi-day cheer at Holidays atthe Heard on Dec. 14 andDec. 15 at various times atHeard Natural Science Mu-seum & Wildlife Sanctuary,in McKinney. Bundle upand experience Holidays atthe Heard, the most uniqueholiday event in NorthTexas. Holidays at the

Heard brings the beauty ofthe holiday season into na-ture. Guests will see lightsand holiday décor along ahalf mile Heard nature trail.In keeping with the Heard'srole as a nature preserve,this light display is designedto enhance, rather thanoverpower, the sanctuary'snatural beauty. Children andthe young at heart willenjoy the opportunity to

take a photo with FatherChristmas and Mother Na-ture in a festive setting.

Hot beverages and treatswill be available for pur-chase. Family-friendly en-tertainment will comple-ment the holiday atmos-phere. Local musicians willdelight audiences with liveholiday music in the Heardoutdoor amphitheater.

GUIDE, continued from Page 10

Dec. 7Schneider - DriverRecruiting EventThe Schneider - Driver

Recruiting Event will beheld on Dec. 7 from 9 a.m.to 12 p.m. at Comfort InnDallas Park Central, in Dal-las. Schneider is hosting atruck driving recruitingevent where you will beable to one of their knowl-edgeable and personable re-cruiters about obtaining aCDL, driving opportunities,pay and benefits, militaryprograms, requirements,terminology clarification,and any other questions youmay have. For more infor-mation, you can contactbowermanb@schneider.com or (866) 928-2116.

Dec. 7 and 8Encore Career FairThe Encore Career Fair

will be held on Dec. 7 andDec. 8 at different times atOmni Mandalay Hotel, inIrving. They will be hostingon-site interviews. This isan opportunity to meet withseveral hiring managers andkey decision makers in theregion. They will hiring forthe following positions:audio visual event techni-cians, audio visual salesmanagers, operations man-agers, and directors of eventtechnologies. To apply visitfreeman.dejobs.org.

Dec. 11Irving ISD Career

FairIrving ISD and Work-

force Solutions GreaterDallas will host Irving ISDCareer Fair for the commu-nity on Dec. 11 from 5 p.m.to 7 p.m. at Irving ISD Ad-ministration Building, inIrving. They will be lookingfor the following positions:Guest educators (substituteteachers), grounds person,journeyman plumber, car-penter-roofer, utility helper,preventative maintenancetechnician, food service as-sistant/technician, nightlead custodian, custodian,appliance technician, cam-

pus auxiliary officer, secu-rity dispatch/patrol, custo-dian coordinator and deliv-ery helper. Benefits wouldinclude: automatic enroll-ment in a retirement plan,low-cost employee medical,summer flexible schedules,free employee training, andpaid holidays & vacation(261-day employees only).

Dec. 13Hiring Event/JobFair-Valet Special

Events Teamin Dallas

The Hiring Event/JobFair-Valet Special EventsTeam in Dallas will be heldon Dec. 13 in Dallas. Thetime and location will beprovided once you apply.The Guest Service Associ-ate is responsible for pro-

viding exceptional cus-tomer service to guests orpatients in an attentive,friendly and efficient man-ner. The Guest Service As-sociate is responsible fordriving, parking and retriev-ing guest vehicles in aprompt yet safe manner andassisting guests in and outof their vehicle during ar-rival and departure. Formore information and toapply visit Linkedin.com.

Dec. 20Route DeliveryDriver Job Fair

The Route DeliveryDriver Job Fair will be heldon Dec. 20 from 9 a.m. to 1p.m. at Nestle Waters NorthAmerica, in Dallas. Starttime is between 7 a.m. and8 a.m., Monday throughFriday flexible to work Sat-urdays as needed through-out the year and with theschedule as needed.

Qualifications: You’llneed the ability to get aCDL class B license with

airbrake endorsement andhave a clean driving record,ability to work in all kindsof weather while workingout on your own with lim-ited supervision, ability toobtain a DOT medical cardfor the purpose of workingfor Nestle Waters, a cleandriving record means in thelast three years, and must be21 years of age or older. Toapply visit nestlewatersca-reers.com.

Jan 8Hospitality Hiring

EventThe Hospitality Hiring

Event will be held on Jan 8,from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at3020 N Westmoreland Rd,in Dallas. Goodwill is host-ing a hospitality hiringevent at Goodwill Indus-tries of Dallas. Charlestonand Dallas Methodist Hos-pital Systems are hiring forhospitality positions:Cooks, food service work-ers, and general utilityworker. For more informa-

tion, and to register visitEventbrite.com.

Jan 12Profession Pursuit

Job FairThe Profession Pursuit

Job Fair will be held on Jan.

12 from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30p.m. at the center court inIrving Mall. Sponsors willinclude: Desoto ISD, UPS,F e d e x , A c t i v e L L C ,YesThrive, and more. Formore information vis i tEventbrite.com.

December 6-12, 2018 | North Dallas Gazette | 13

Career Opportunity Contact Marketing at 972-665-0170 for Career Opportunity Advertising Legal Notices / Career

For the 411 in the community, go to www.northdallasgazette.com

Upcoming DFW area job fairs

December 01, 2018Ed Bell Construction is a Dallas based heavy highway contractor doingbusiness in the North Texas market since 1963. With clients such asTxDOT, Dallas County Public Works, and the Cities of Dallas, Fort Worth,Richardson and Mansfield (plus many others), we have a strong backlogof work in the highway market locally.We are currently hiring for the following positions:• Field Mechanic• Paving Machine Operator• Excavator Operator (Underground)• Finishers (Structures, Paving)• Form Setters (Structures, Paving)• Laborers (Structures, Underground, Paving)• CDL Drivers (Water Truck, Fuel Truck, End Dump)Available: multiple openingsRate: NegotiableMust have own transportationYears of Experience required will vary, from 6 months to 2 years (de-pending on position)Physical and Drug Screen RequiredMust have a Clear BackgroundMust be at least 18 years old (CDL Driver, 21 yrs)

Ed BellConstruction

CompanyAn Equal Opportunity Employer

Must apply in PERSON, Monday – Friday from 8am to 11am @ 10605 Harry Hines Blvd.

Please visit our website: www.edbellconstruction.com/careersOr email your resume to: careers@edbellconstruction.com

Attention Suppliers of Goods,Services and Construction

Review Competitive Opportunities athttps://garlandtx.ionwave.net

www.garlandpurchasing.com

972-205-2415

DO YOU WANT AN EXCITING ANDREWARDING CAREER?

PURSUE A CAREER AS A POLICEOFFICER OR FIREFIGHTER!

• Competitive wages• Array of benefits

• Education incentive pay• ...and more

REGISTER ONLINE TO TAKETHE CITY OF IRVING’S NEXT

CIVIL SERVICE ENTRANCE EXAM

www.cityofirving.orgThe City of Irving does not discriminate on thebasis of race, sex, religion, age or disability inemployment or the provision of services.

Dr. James L. Snyder

Two days in the year Idon’t like. Somebody isthinking it is my wife’sbirthday and our weddinganniversary.

I worked that out a longtime ago. My birthday istwo days before the Gra-cious Mistress of the Par-sonage and our anniversaryis three weeks after ourbirthday. No way can I for-get that.

When my wife gives mea birthday card with somegift it reminds me that Ihave two days to recipro-cate. And reciprocate, I dovery well. I love it when aplan comes together.

I remember my wife’sbirthday and I rememberour wedding anniversary,but more often than not, Icannot remember the years.I do not know how old mywife is. At least, that’s mystory. And, I am not surehow long we’ve been mar-ried.

I know we have beenmarried long enough towork out many things.

The two days I’m notvery happy with are thedays when we turn theclock forward an hour andthen turn the clock back-ward an hour. I still do notknow why in the world wedo that. We gain an hour inthe spring, but then we losean hour in the fall. What'sthe sense in all that?

I finally figured out whatthe sense of all that is. It isto confuse me, in particular.It is not that I am easily con-fused, but rather, I confuseeasily. If that makes sense, Ihave a bridge I want to sellyou.

Why would you want togain something and thengive it back a couplemonths later?

I grew up in the non-tech-nical age. I had to wind mywatch every day to makesure it had the right time. Itwas not like it is todayworth the time is set auto-matically.

I look at my cell phoneand the time is updated au-tomatically. I look at our TVset and see that the time isupdated automatically. Ilike that.

My problem is that I likeit too much. I have becomeaccustomed to things beingadjusted automatically.

Now they have cars thatpart automatically and youcan be sure I’m not going tobuy one. I am satisfied withthe automatic setting of myclock and TV.

When I was in highschool, I worked part-timefor a woman. I mowed thegrass and cleaned inside thehouse. One big thing shehad in the house was about25 clocks. I’m serious.Twenty-five clocks that allhad to be set manually.

The first time I did it, Idid not realize that eachclock was set differently.You go upstairs and theclocks were 15 minutesfaster than the clocks on thefirst floor so she would notbe late for an appointment.

Being my employer, itwould have been nice for

her to explain that to me.But, as most employers do,they do not explain every-thing to their employees.

I was the kind of em-ployee that liked to impressmy employer with howgood I was.

It was in the fall and wewere to set the clocks backone hour. I thought shewould appreciate the factthat I went around and resetall 25 of her clocks. Afterall, I was doing somethingon my own that neededdone.

The thing I did not knowof course, the clocks wereall set different on differentlevels of the house. I wentaround and set all 25 clocksto the same time. I was sohappy.

I did not tell her because Iwanted her to be surprised.

I was anxious to hear hercommend me for a “jobwell done.” I was not pre-pared for what she wasgoing to do.

When I arrived on herproperty, she comes outyelling and screaming at meat the top of her lungs. Trust

me, she had lungs. At first, Icould not understand whatshe was so upset about.

“Did you,” she said hys-terically, “reset all theclocks in my house?”

I smiled back at her andsaid quite cheerfully, “Yes,ma’am, I did.”

Courtesy keeps me fromquoting her right here. Itwas more than French shewas yelling back at me.

I have never been yelledat so much in my life and Idid not really understandwhy.

I stayed away from herfor a couple of days andthen I was working for herhusband at his store. When Iwalked in, he looked at meand laughed hysterically.

I was not sure what hewas laughing at that he mo-tioned me to come over. So,I did.

“My wife,” he said be-tween laughs, “told mewhat you did the other day.”Then he broke into somemore hysterical laughter.

Why he was so cheerfulabout the incident was be-yond me at the time.

Then he sat me down andexplained the whole situa-tion to me. I must confesswhen he finished telling methe whole story, I joinedhim in some hystericallaughter. We kept this toourselves for as long as Iworked there.

I thought of what Paulsaid, “Let’s not get tired ofdoing what is good, for atthe right time we will reap aharvest—if we do not give

up” (Galatians 6:9).Not everything is auto-

matic, some things youhave to work for.Rev. James L. Snyder is

pastor of the Family of GodFellowship. He lives withthe Gracious Mistress of theParsonage in Silver SpringsShores. Call him at 1-866-552-2543 or e-mail jamess-nyder2@att.net. His website is www.jamessnyder-ministries.com.

14 | December 6-12, 2018 | North Dallas Gazette

Church Happenings For non-profit advertising rates, contact NDG Marketing at 972-665-0170

For the 411 in the community, go to www.northdallasgazette.com

NDG now has a “Special Advertis-ing Package” for churches andnon-profit organizations that needto let the community know aboutyour Special Event.Opportunity You Can Measure...

Church Events• Church Anniversary• Pastor’s Anniversary• Women’s Day• Men’s Day

Non-Profit Org. Events• Fundraisers(Concerts)• Special Events(Personal or Community)

Special Rate $199(Black & White, per insertion)

Ad size - 4.905”x 6”(Quarter Page, B&W)(NOTE: Color Ad $75 extra per inserion)

Production disclaimer - NDG ad meake-ready is not included in promotion.

Layout/production of “copy ready”ad will be a nominal extra cost.

E-mail ad copy to:Marketing@NorthDallasGazette.com

or call our Marketing Department today!

972-665-0170

Cemetary Space Broker will make youoffer on your cemetery plot

• Inherited plot and can't sell it?• Bought plot years ago and your plans have changed?

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Dennis Jarvis / Flickr

Not everything in life is automatic

I desire to do Your will, Omy God; Your law is withinmy heart. (Psalm 40:8)

How would you describethe process by which youfind and do God's will inyour life? For some, find-ing God's will is like play-ing bumper cars. We keepgoing in one direction untilwe bump into an obstacle,turn, and go in another di-rection.

It is a constant process ofelimination, failure or suc-cess. This is not the wayGod would have us find Hiswill. There is much morerelationship between hear-ing God's voice and livingwithin the mystery of Hisomnipotence in our lives.Perhaps this process is morelike water in a streambed.The water is constantlyflowing to a final destina-tion. As it presses againstthe streambed, it gentlypoints the water toward itsfinal destination. There areno abrupt head-on colli-sions, simply slight modifi-cations of direction.

Occasionally, we come toa sharp turn in the contoursof our life. For those times,God allows us to stretch ournormal response to change.A popular Bible study saysthat we cannot go with Godand stay where we are.Finding and doing God'swill always require change.What changes are necessaryin your life to join God inwhat He is already doing?There is a direct connectionbetween finding and doingGod's will and having God'slaw in our heart.

In my Monday nightBible Class, a Christianlady complained that shedid not know what Godwanted of her in her life.The immediate response toher was, "How much time

do you spend with God inBible study, prayer, andmeditation on Scripture?""Only a few minutes a day,"she replied. How can weexpect to hear and discernGod's voice if we don'tspend focused time withHim? If you have a specialfriend or a spouse, how didyou get to know him or herbefore you became friendsor were married? You spenttime together. You got toknow everything about eachother.

Our walk with God is nodifferent. It isn't enough tohave a desire to follow God;we must put our energy intogetting to know Him. ThenHis will for us flows out ofour relationship, it is not anend in itself. Commit your-self to seeking Him more inyour life by spending moretime with Him.

"Call to Me and I will an-swer you and tell you greatand unsearchable thingsyou do not know" (Jere-

miah 33:3). The Word of God says,

"Do nothing out of selfishambition or vain conceit,but in humility considerothers better than your-selves. Each of you shouldlook not only to your owninterests, but also to the in-terests of others. Your atti-tude should be the same as

that of Christ Jesus"(Philippians 2:3-5).

Ask God to work throughyou and to guide you so thatyou will have the mind ofChrist in all you do.

Ask Him to help you sothat you will not do any-thing in the flesh and out ofselfish ambition or vainconceit, but that you will re-

main humble and neverconsider yourself betterthan others. God will pro-vide the means and the de-sire to look after the inter-ests of others as well asyour own interests. Praythat you will have a godlyattitude in all your actionsand decisions, and that

God’s love will flowthrough you to others.

Ask God to help you be ablessing to Him and toeveryone around you in thisspecial season of the year.And, always pray in the pre-cious name of Jesus, be-cause He paid the price withHis blood.

December 6-12, 2018 | North Dallas Gazette | 15

www.NorthDallasGazette.com Church Directory

For the 411 in the community, go to www.northdallasgazette.com

Send email to: businessoffice@northdallasgazette.com to sign upfor Sister Tarpley's weekly elec-tronic newsletter.

Finding the Will of God

The Council of Bethel Bible Fellowship Church’s Women Min-istry at the Annual Christmas Party, L to R: Ronda Gibson, FirstLady Ve Woodson, Stephanie Jackson (host), Melinda Gardner

and Sharon Upshaw

North Dallas Gazette takes a moment toreflect on the past with

Historical Perspectivesfrom Sister Tarpley

Hear what it was like growing up in a very dif-ferent Dallas when Booker T. Washington wasa black school. Sister Tarpley graduated frmthere and went on to college and later became

a city councilmember in Carrollton.

Look for NDGTV at NorthDallasGazette.com

16 | December 6-12, 2018 | North Dallas Gazette

NDG Book Review www.NorthDallasGazette.com

For the 411 in the community, go to www.northdallasgazette.com

NDG Book Review: Remembrance is an easy readBy Terri Schlichenmeyer

For weeks, you’ve beenscouring the stores. You havea lot to give.

Most of it is wrapped upcolorfully, beribboned andbowed. Some gifts are inbags with shiny trim, whileothers are tucked away inclosets. You have a lot togive this holiday season, butin the new novel, “Remem-brance” by Mary Monroe,when you give of yourself,you also get.

Beatrice Powell couldn’tunderstand what was wrongwith people.

When she married Eric allthose years ago, he told her

that she could do whatevershe wanted, as long as itmade her happy – and so shefound an excuse to throwdozens of annual parties. Thebiggest one was her Christ-mas-birthday celebration and

everyone always had a goodtime. This year, though, allher usual guests made otherplans that weekend.

This year, Bea had extra tocelebrate.

It was the twenty-fifth an-niversary of the day she al-most died of a hit-and-runaccident, a date that shecould never forget. She wasstill a teenager then; only theCPR skills of a handsomebut anonymous man hadsaved her.

Each anniversary, that dayweighed on Bea’s mind andshe gave of herself in grati-tude for her life. BecauseEric’s business was success-ful, she didn’t have to work

for money; instead, sheworked at Sister Cecile’ssoup kitchen, and helpedfeed the homeless. It was ajob that fulfilled her soul,and she tried to lift up thepeople she served withsmiles and little kindnesses.

But while she put on acheery face at the shelter,this party-not-party botheredher. Her three grown chil-dren couldn’t attend, her par-ents were going on a cruise,even her so-called bestfriends were declining.

Was her Mama right, thatthere were too many parties?Did her oldest friend have apoint, that Bea was too self-focused? Was she bored with

her marriage, and was it timeto separate from her hus-band? Could an angel in dis-guise soothe her mind?

The holidays can bring thekind of chaos, good and bad,that occupies your brain. It’seasy to forget to bring yourgratitude. “Remembrance”has that covered.

For an adult who likesquick, painless novels at atime when reading mightfeel like a luxury, authorMary Monroe offers a bookthat’s easy to grab and finish.“Remembrance” is as un-complicated as they come,which is nice when yourmind is on other things: it’sperfect for starting and stop-

ping as time warrants. It’sfilled with just enoughdrama to keep you readingand a good amount of char-acters that are basicallypretty simple, but the story isnot boring. Readers shouldalso know that the plot is onthe unsophisticated side, andpredictable, but not entirelyso.

In short, this short littlebook is an excellent choice ifyour book group wants tosqueeze in a before-the-holi-days pick. It’s perfect fortucking in your handbag, andthose wait-times you’ll have.Because, of course, you needthat now, “Remembrance” isworth giving a try.

cares in Texas meet mini-mum standards, just tobabysit a child, much lessteach a child.

• A high quality child carecenter can give these chil-dren developmental oppor-tunities they would not getanywhere else.

Mistress of CeremoniesShelly Slater introducedBrad Sham and RolandoBlackman.

“Brad Sham has had a 47-year broadcasting career

and is known as the Voice ofthe Cowboys. Brad will in-t e r v i e w N B A l e g e n dRolando Blackman. Hisstory is a successful immi-grant’s tale. Born in PanamaCity, he moved with hisfamily to the United Statesin pursuit of a better life. Aninquisitive student, Black-man took advantage of theAmerican educational sys-tem, and developed his bas-ketball skills. He attendedKansas State University and

was drafted by the DallasMavericks. Rolando Black-man was a college All-American, FOUR-t imeNBA All-Star, and USOlympian. His basketballaccomplishments are leg-endary. Currently, Rolandois entering his third seasonas the Dallas Mavericks Di-rector of Basketball Devel-opment.”

Sham and Blackman hada conversation about educa-tion, basketball and givingback. Both were able to visitand to read to the Creative

Steps Academy studentsearlier this fall, so they werefamiliar with EFS.

Blackman said, “Pro-grams like Educational FirstSteps are so important to beable to give our youngestchildren a chance to learnand a chance in life. Weneed to give them the tools,so that they can have a baseto develop their talents.”

Sham discussed Black-man’s second career.

“Today, he is focused onthe development of theRolando Blackman Educa-

tion, Athletic, and CulturalDevelopment Foundation,which will advance pro-gramming initiatives to fos-ter STEM education, ath-letic preparedness, andmulti-cultural awareness.”

Clearly sports played abig role in Blackman’s suc-cess, but he emphasized theimportance of a solid educa-tional foundation.

“Through this program,we need to teach our chil-dren about the world aroundthem. It’s important forthem to know about school,

but it’s also important forthem to know about theworld around them and ofcourse, about basketball,”Blackman concluded.

For information aboutgiving, contact Erika Dzan-gare, edzangare@educa-tionalfirststeps.org or 214-824-7940. From now untilMay 31, 2019, a generousdonor is matching new andincreased donations, thusdoubling one’s contribution.More information can befound at http://educational-firststeps.org/.

FIRST, continued from Page 6

Garland manufacturers, in-cluding General Dynamics,Epiroc, Nutribiotech, KraftHeinz, Karlee, Plastipak,Mapei, Hatco, GSC andArrow Fabricated Tubing.These are “learn and earn”models in which employeesare paid while they learn,and they are able to practicetheir skills immediately onthe job.

John Kuznar, field repre-sentative for the US. Depart-ment of Labor, presented theofficial apprenticeship cer-tificate for the program toDCMA. Employers whoparticipate in the programwere recognized; the eventwas held at the GarlandChamber of Commerce.

“With more than 300manufacturing companiesand tens of thousands of em-ployees, this sector is thelargest part of our economy

in Garland,” said PaulMayer, president of the Gar-land Chamber of Com-merce.

Mayer added, “Currently,more than 600 new employ-ees are needed at twoDCMA member companiesalone. Without the partner-ship with Workforce Solu-t i o n s G r e a t e r D a l l a s ,DCCCD, the Department ofLabor and the Garland Inde-pendent School District, cre-ating a skilled employeepipeline would be an impos-sible task. Going forward,automation will demandboth a higher level of ex-per t i se and increasedwages.”

In a separate program atKLLM Driving Academy inLancaster, the ACE Logis-tics Consortium apprentice-ship project involvingKLLM, FFE and DCCCD

was officially recognized bythe U.S. Department ofLabor as well. This appren-ticeship program for profes-sional truck drivers providesemployment and training for300 or more drivers, accord-ing to KLLM and FFE.

The one-year, “learn andearn” model will move suc-cessful apprentices from anentry-level wage of less than$15 an hour to a full marketwage of $21.23 an hour.Content includes permitpreparation, safety, defen-

sive driving, accident pre-vention, visual scanning, tripplanning and logging, plusbacking skills, double-clutchshifting, night driving, cargoloading and unloading, andcity driving.

“KLLM/FFE currently

needs about 100 drivers inNorth Texas, and we expectthat number to increase up-ward to approximately 400to 600 drivers,” said MarkRhea with KKLM. “Our tar-get recruiting will focus onentry-level drivers who wantto break into this high-de-mand career which is expe-riencing a national drivershortage.”

Rhea added, “We plan toapproach this (effort) bycontinuing to offer com-pany-sponsored scholar-ships, followed by paid in-ternships, to new driver can-didates and also to returningdrivers who need refreshercourses and training.”

For more informationabout these apprenticeshipp r o g r a m s t h r o u g hDCCCD, contact CynthiaBrink at 214-860-5806 orcbrink@dcccd.edu; or AnitaBedford at 214-860-5766 orabedford@dcccd.edu.

LABOR, continued from Page 5

George Laffoon, DCCCD; John Kuznar, field representative for the U.S. Department of Labor; PaulMayer, CEO, Garland Chamber of Commerce; Cynthia Brink, DCCCD; and Anita Bedford, DCCCD.