By David WilfongNDG Contributing Writer

The race to replace Mike Rawl-ings, who will be stepping down asmayor, was already becoming acrowded field. This week, the racegot even hotter, with longtime TexasState Representative Eric Johnsonannouncing he was entering the raceas well.

Johnson, who has served in theTexas House of Representativessince 2010, said having representedone of the most diverse districts inthe state makes him a prime candi-date for the mayor’s position on acouncil that has seen its share ofchallenges recently.

“It’s time to move beyond the olddivisions at City Hall and work to-gether toward real solutions. If wedo, Dallas will be a city of strong,safe neighborhoods where familiesthrive and where every child has theopportunities to succeed that I en-joyed growing up in this incrediblecity,” Johnson said.

There is one current Coun-cilmember in the running as well.Scott Griggs, who represents Dis-trict 1 in Oak Cliff, is extremelypopular among his constituents and

is terming out on the council. Griggshas also raised the ire of a few busi-ness and government interests inDallas, as he has developed some-what of a reputation as a rabidwatchdog. It’s a reputation he hasnot shied away from, promising to“ruthlessly pursue transparency” onthe council.

Albert Black, former chairman ofthe Dallas Housing Authori ty(DHA) and Dallas Regional Cham-ber, was the first to announce andhas already garnered more than

$277,000 in contributions for therace.

“From Dallas’ most prominentleaders, to everyday folks who gaveus five bucks complimented withtheir hopes and dreams for a betterDallas, we’re showing that everyonecan invest in a brighter future for allour families,” Black said.

Mike Ablon, a real estate devel-oper, is looking for ethics reform atcity hall as well. However, as a de-

Volume XXIX, Number III

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People In The News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Op/Ed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6Irving / Plano / Carrollton . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-10Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-12Legal Notices / Career . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Church Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14-15NDG Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

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INSIDE...

January 24-30, 2019

See Page 2

-See Page 3

See MAYOR, Page 6

A packed field of candidatessets sights on the Dallas

Mayor’s office

People In The News...

John Olajide Chanel White

READERSSOUND OFF!!!

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

Lose weightnow for a

healthy future

-See Page 4

DISD and NorthLake create new

program

-See Page 6

MLK’s legacyhonored at

annual breakfast

Dallas Cowboysseason comes

to an end

Black film festand family

events in DFW

Sister Tarpley:

Famous quotesof MLK

-See Page 7

-See Page 9

-See Page 10

-See Page 15

Irving approves$300,000 to deal

with traffic

-See Page 5

ElectedEnemies andthe shutdown

(Above, clockwise) State Rep. Eric Johnson, Dallas Councilmember Scott Griggs, real es-tate developer Mike Ablon and former DHA Chairman Albert Black are four of the 10

candidates currently running for Dallas Mayor.

Tips for Finding theRight School for

Your Child

My daughter is going tostart school next year and Iwant to make sure I put herin the best school for her.Thank you for pointing outthat I should make a list ofattributes I want in a schoolfor her. I'll have to do thisand then do some researchto find the best privateschool for her.

-- Ellie Davis

Richardson mayoraddresses lack of

MLK events

Maybe the " North Dal-

las Gaz should stay focusedon " North Dallas ". Just athought.

-- thomas boughnou

Sister Tarpley:Remembering Rev.Dr. Martin Luther

King, Jr.

Wondering why the au-thor chose to refer to More-house as a 'Negro institu-tion' instead of an Histori-cally Black College(HBCU)...?

It's an outdated term.-- Leslie Jones

(Editor’s response: Thatis a fair question. However,please note Sister Tarpley

grew up in an era when thiswas likely a common term. As an editor, I did not

consider, how some react tothe term as it is one I heardfrom my parents who wouldbe peers of Sister Tarpley.Of course it remains a partof UNCF’s name as well. Thanks for reaching

out!)

Dallas Black Clergychallenge city lead-ers to move beyondlip-service in honor-ing Rev. Dr. Martin

Luther King, Jr.

Ruth Ferguson pleasekeep us updated on theprogress here

-- Glenn Reedus(Chicago)

via Facebook

Great article. I'm proudof the work you guys aredoing. Head down... (andheld high)

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HALLELUJAH-- LaWanda Clark

Washingtonvia Facebook

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Less than a year ago Lan-caster ISD Belt Line Ele-mentary computer scienceteacher Chanel White organ-ized an after school club forstudents interested in com-puter science. Little did sheknow the club would grow solarge that she would be ask-ing her principal Mrs. WendyHawthorne if there could bea computer science class of-fered to elementary students.

“I am very passionateabout teaching computer sci-ence,” White said. “I am pas-sionate about helping stu-dents understand that com-puter science isn’t somethinginside a box. It is something

they use every day from howthey brush their teeth to howthey get up in the morning.”

Since Mrs. White beganteaching computer sciencethis year, more students havebecome involved. Her hard

work hasn’t gone unnoticedas she was nominated byLancaster ISD’s Director ofBlended Learning for theComputer Science TeachersAssociation and Code.org2018 Champion for Com-puter Science award. Mrs.White was recognized as oneof the eight winners at the na-tional convention recently.

“Mrs. White has created aculture of innovation at herelementary school, “ Clarksaid. “She is the definition ofinnovation.”

White said she wanted tostart a computer science classto give students who may nototherwise get exposure to thistype of experience in ele-mentary.

“I wanted to give studentsthe opportunity to work withreal world scenarios in theclassroom,” White said. “Iwanted to teach students howto think creatively in order tosolve problems. This is whatwe do every day in my class-room.”

Mrs. Clark said White hadher after school group up tonearly 50 students beforeconvincing her principal sheneeded a computer scienceclass.

“When this group spiraledinto something magical, Mrs.White was ready to move thisinto the classroom,” Clarksaid. “She has since created aculture of innovation at herelementary campus.”

It is not unusual for one tosee in Mrs. White’s class stu-dents moving around work-ing together to communicatetheir ideas to their peers. Shesaid this will help the stu-dents in their future.

“The skills these studentsare learning in my class arereal world,” White said.“Their ability to think criti-cally and be natural problemsolvers is what companieswill be looking for when theyleave Lancaster ISD.”

White said she enjoys theflexibility she has in herclassroom. Unlike a tradi-tional classroom here stu-dents are never doing thesame thing on any given day.

“I tell them all the furniture

in my lab is moveable andthey can create their ownlearning space with theirpeers to solve problems,”White said. “I do not givethem any answers instead Igive them tools to researchthe problems and solve prob-lems together.”

White said she is happyshe was recognized for thisaward. However she said sheteaches because she enjoysseeing students learn.

“When you see the smileson the students faces whenthey are able to solve a cod-ing puzzle it is awesome,”White said. “This is the bestthing about being a teacher isseeing students excited aboutwhat they are learning.”

John Olajide, founder andCEO of Axxess, the fastest-growing home healthcaretechnology company, hasbeen selected by the DallasRegional Chamber’s Boardof Directors as the organi-zation’s Chair for 2020.

This year, Chris Nielsen,Executive Vice Presidentfor Product Support at Toy-ota North America, suc-ceeds John Stephens, SeniorExecutive Vice Presidentand Chief Financial Officerat AT&T Inc., as Chair ofthe Dallas Regional Cham-ber. Olajide will serve asChair-elect in 2019, andthen succeed Nielsen as

Chair in January 2020.“John has made valuable

contributions to the DallasRegional Chamber over thepast several years as amember of our ExecutiveCommittee, and as Chair ofour Innovation and Capital

Task Force,” said Dale Pet-roskey, President and CEOof the Dallas RegionalChamber.

“He’s a proven leaderwith a clear vision and lotsof positive energy who hasbuilt a highly successfulbusiness in a very shorttime. With his unique back-ground, relative youth, andintimate knowledge of thetechnology and entrepre-neurial sectors, he’ll bring afresh perspective as ourChair in 2020.”

Added Olajide: “UnderDale’s leadership the DallasRegional Chamber has be-come the best chamber or-ganization in the country,and I gain tremendous value

through my engagement. Iam honored and humbledby the Board’s recognitionof my contributions, and Ilook forward to supportingChris’s leadership thisyear.”

The 38-year-old Olajide’svision for Axxess beganwhile earning a degree intelecommunications engi-neering from the Universityof Texas at Dallas. Aftergraduating in 2004, Olajidecontinued working withinthe home healthcare indus-try and learning about itsunique needs. By 2007, heknew he wanted to create aspecial company to makelives better by advancing

home healthcare. Since in-troducing its flagship soft-ware in 2011, Axxess’ solu-tions are used by moreMedicare-certified homecare organizations than anyother home healthcare soft-ware provider.

Olajide was a finalist forthe Tech Titans EmergingCompany CEO of the YearAward in 2017, and was re-cently named by the DallasBusiness Journal as among“20 Healthcare InnovatorsYou Need to Know in NorthTexas.”

In 2015 Olajide becamethe youngest person everhonored as a distinguishedalumnus by the University

of Texas at Dallas, and in2018 was named to theschool’s executive board. Inaddition to his involvementwith the Dallas RegionalChamber and other civicand community boards,Olajide also sits on theboard of the Dallas Entre-preneurial Center.

Axxess is a home healthtechnology company "withroots firmly embedding inconsulting and software de-velopment," states the com-pany's website. Axxess fo-cuses on providing homehealthcare agencies with thesolutions they need to runtheir businesses more effi-ciently.

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Chanel White

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

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Jim Bochum1933 – 2009

Published ByMinority Opportunity News, Inc.

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

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January 24-30, 2019 | North Dallas Gazette | 3For the 411 in the community, go to www.northdallasgazette.com

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

Elected Enemies – The governmentshutdown that’s crippling AmericaBy Jeffrey L. BoneyNNPA Political Analyst

Imagine having to choosebetween paying your mort-gage and picking up themuch-needed prescriptionfor your health crisis be-cause the job you report toand the federal resourcesyou have relied on to liveday to day are no longeravailable to you because ofthings beyond your control.

Choices like those, andmany others, are exactlywhat approximately800,000 federal employees,roughly 4 million federalgovernment contractors andcountless low-income fami-lies — who rely on the fed-eral government assistance— have had to deal withsince the beginning of whathas become the longest gov-ernment shutdown in U.S.history. This has been thethird shutdown of the fed-eral government since Pres-ident Donald J. Trump tookthe oath of office. However,as a result of the current cat-astrophic and life-alteringshutdown, millions of thepeople who rely on the gov-ernment for their livelihood— directly and indirectly —have been severely im-pacted.

People have had theirMedicare and Medicaid dis-rupted. The stock markethas been volatile. Federalworkers have gone withoutpaychecks and are in dangerof losing everything theyhave worked so hard forwhile attaining the Ameri-can dream. Safety has alsobecome an issue.

Our food supply is at risk.As a result of the shut-

down, the Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) im-mediately announced thatthey had stopped most oftheir routine food safety in-spections because the staffhad been working withoutpay, including safety inspec-tions on foods that havebeen imported from over-seas, dangerous recalls,foodborne illness outbreaksand much more.

Our drugs supply is atrisk.

The FDA has stated that,because of the shutdown,they no longer have the abil-ity to review new drugs thatcould be beneficial in help-ing people get better and/oraddress critical illnesses,until the government re-opens.

Even our airports are atrisk.

Just a few weeks ago, apassenger on Delta AirLines, traveling from At-lanta’s Hartsfield-JacksonInternational Airport toTokyo, Japan, informed au-thorities that he had inad-vertently carried his loadedfirearm through airport se-curity and onto the plane.The Transportation Security

Administration (TSA) con-firmed this problematic in-cident took place. There isincreasing concern that un-paid TSA workers may nothave the same level of focusand, perhaps even worse,many of them are not re-porting to work.

Just this past week, theTSA checkpoint in TerminalB at Houston’s George BushIntercontinental Airport wasclosed due to the number ofTSA agents that called insick, protest the shutdown.

Things are getting moreand more out of hand.

On top of the potentialsafety issues impactingAmericans, the financialstrain this shutdown is put-ting on the American peo-ple, especially in large stateslike Texas, is devastating.

This government shut-down will impact more than3.5 million Texans who re-ceive Supplemental Nutri-tion Assistance Program(SNAP) benefits come Feb-

ruary 2019.SNAP offers nutrition as-

sistance to millions of eligi-ble, low-income individualsand families and provideseconomic benefits to com-munities. SNAP is thelargest program in the do-mestic hunger safety net.According to the TexasHealth and Human ServicesCommission, there were3,580,375 people receivingSNAP benefits in Texasalone as of December 2018.Many African Americansand people of color aremajor beneficiaries ofSNAP benefits in Texas.

Texas State Senator Bor-ris L. Miles stated that whilethe shutdown is alreadyhurting Texans all across thestate, he believes it will hit

the poorest Texans the hard-est, because after February2019, SNAP beneficiarieswill no longer receive thenecessary funds to purchasefood.

“This is unacceptable,”said Miles. “I am calling onthe Texas leadership tomake emergency prepara-tions to help Texans on foodstamps and other programsimpacted by the shutdown. Iam prepared to roll up mysleeves and work with mycolleagues to ensure wefund these programs ade-quately so that no Texanshould go hungry.”

Senator Miles also sent ajoint letter to PresidentTrump, House SpeakerNancy Pelosi and SenateMajority Leader Mitch Mc-Connell to make it clear thatTexas is prepared to helpthose impacted in our stateand expects to be reim-bursed when the federalgovernment reopens.

“This is not a Democratic

or Republican issue, or arural, urban or suburbanissue, it’s a poor peopleissue,” said Miles. “We needto do the right thing, helpthe poorest in our communi-ties and minimize the im-pact of this shutdown.”

It is challenging to wit-ness the very people whowere elected to represent theAmerican people, turnaround and allow their per-sonal politics and uncon-scionable political ideolo-gies severely hurt the peoplethey are supposed to serve— especially after beingvoted into office with theexpectation of representingtheir constituents as advo-cates, not enemies.

The longer this govern-ment shutdown continues,the more the American peo-ple will suffer and the moreAmerica as a whole will beat risk.

The American peoplemust demand more from thefederal officials who wereelected to represent them.Americans, regardless of so-cioeconomic status, must lettheir federal legislators andthe current White House ad-ministration know thatthings have gone too far andmust get back to normal forthe sake of the stability ofthe nation.

To hold the countryhostage because PresidentTrump can’t get his belovedwall across the southernborder, when he stated fromthe onset that he wouldmake the country of Mexicopay for it, is unfair anddisingenuous. Subsequently,any elected official whocosigns this mode of think-ing and action is equally asirresponsible.

It is time for all electedofficials to stop playingchicken with the Americanpeople’s livelihoods andstart doing what they weresent to Washington, DC todo: Act in the best interestsof American citizens andstop playing the role of“Enemy of the People” thatthey were elected to serve.

“To hold the country hostage be-cause President Trump can’t get hisbeloved wall across the southern bor-der, when he stated from the onset thathe would make the country of Mexicopay for it, is unfair and disingenuous.”

Every year there are newfood gurus, fad diets, cook-books and theories thatclaim to offer the “best” wayto lose extra pounds andreach a healthy weight. U.S.News & World Report evencreated a ranking for “BestDiets.” This year after eval-uating 41 of the most popu-lar diets, their panel awardedthe gold to the Mediter-ranean Diet, a heart-healthyeating plan emphasizing pri-marily plant-based foods,whole grains, olive oil andfish.

As part of our national ob-session with weight loss, 7days are dedicated each Jan-uary as National HealthyWeight Week, coming upthis January 19-26 to raiseawareness about healthylifelong eating habits. Ac-cording to Statista.com, 45percent of Americans sur-veyed said their New Year’sresolution for 2018 was tolose weight or get in shape.But a study by the Univer-sity of Scranton found thatjust 8 percent of peopleachieve their New Year’sgoals.

“The reason it’s so impor-tant to attain and maintain ahealthy weight,” according

to Manisha Raja, MD, a pri-mary care physician at Park-land Health & Hospital Sys-tem, “is to increase our lifes-pan and enjoy a better qual-ity of life. There are a wholeslew of health problems as-sociated with being over-weight, including heart dis-ease, hypertension, highcholesterol, diabetes, liverand gall bladder disease,sleep apnea and several can-cers.”

But when it comes toweight, is it actually‘healthy’ to focus on a num-ber on the scale rather thanother health indicators?

“Instead of focusing onyour weight, check yourBMI (body mass index). Itcan be a better indicator ofhealthy weight,” Dr. Rajaadvised. (Use the US Na-

tional Institute of Health cal-culator to determine yourbody mass index.)

According to the Centersfor Disease Control & Pre-vention (CDC), a BMI be-tween 18.5 and 24.9 indi-cates a healthy weight for anadult age 20 or older. A BMIof 30 or more indicates obe-sity. “Some studies haveshown that patients with aBMI of 40-45 or above havea life span 10 years shorterthan those with a normalBMI,” Dr. Raja said.

If you do need to loseweight, be sure to consultwith your doctor beforestarting a new diet or exer-cise plan, Dr. Raja said.

Sharon Cox, RD, whoconducts weight-loss classesfor patients at Parkland’sBluitt-Flowers Health Cen-

ter, recommends a slow andsteady approach.

“Aim for losing one totwo pounds a week througha combination of exerciseand sensible changes indiet,” Cox said. “If you losetoo fast, you won’t be able tosustain and keep it off.”

Dietitians and physiciansagree that achieving ahealthy weight (and main-taining it) is not just aboutwhat foods you choose. It’sabout many other factors in-cluding how much and whenyou eat, exercise, sleep, yourstress level and other healthand lifestyle factors.

Maggy Doherty, RD, whoworks with inpatients atParkland Memorial Hospi-tal, recommends that people“stick to the basics – com-plex carbohydrates, leanproteins, low-fat dairy prod-ucts, healthy fat, and lots offruits and veggies. Eathealthy on weekdays, thenrelax a little on the week-ends. Find the nutritioncombination that works bestfor you.”

“It’s best to work on mak-ing lifestyle changes versusdieting. Think overall aboutyour long-term health, notinstant gratification. We get

lost trying to make too manyc h a n g e s a t o n c e . S e tSMART (Specific, Measur-able, Attainable, Realistic,Time-based) goals,” is whatMarisa Aguillon, RD, a dia-betes educator at Parkland,tells her patients.

Goal-setting begins withknowing your reason forweight change. “Is it for bet-ter health, a smaller dresssize, to have more energy?The purpose is what getsyou through it,” Cox said.

“Keep your goal in frontof you to remind you ofwhat you are trying to ac-complish,” Aguillon said.“Write it down and put it inplaces you’ll see throughoutthe day or team up withsomeone who will hold youaccountable.”

Doherty said we’re morelikely to succeed by “mak-ing small and reachablemonthly goals, instead of amonstrous yearly goal. Forexample, eliminate the saltshaker in January; cut outadded sugar in coffee inFebruary; swap processedchips for raw vegetables inMarch, and so on. When youreach your goal, rewardyourself with somethingsmall to keep you motivated,

like a nice dinner out, mas-sage or manicure.”

Other tips from Parklanddietitians:

• Eat smaller portions.• Burn calories – find an

exercise you enjoy do it 5days a week for 30 to 45minutes.

• Lift weights at least twotimes a week to preservemuscle mass.

• Eat 3 planned meals and1 to 2 healthful snacks perday.

• Drink more water.• Choose fresh lean pro-

tein and put more vegetableson your plate.

• Weigh weekly, chartyour progress and rewardyourself for reaching goals.

• Be prepared for relapse,so have a plan to get back ontrack soon.

• Get 7 to 8 hours sleepeach night.

• Manage stress with exer-cise, meditation, yoga orother positive methods ofstress-relief.

• Have a positive supportsystem in place to keep youfocused and motivated tomaintain weight loss.

For more informationabout Parkland, please visitwww.parklandhospital.com.

For a new study, whichappears in the Journal of Or-thopaedic and Sports Physi-cal Therapy, researcherslooked at previous studies onthe role that the neck’sstrength, size, and postureplay in reducing concussionrisk. They also looked intothe greater risk of head in-jury to female and youngmale athletes who play con-tact or impact sports.

The researchers then de-veloped recommendationsphysical therapists and ath-letic trainers can use to pro-tect athletes.

These include performing

a thorough cervical spine as-sessment as part of the pre-athletic participation exam;screening for pain becausebaseline reports of neck painhave been associated withincreased concussion risk inyoung athletes; and provid-ing interventions such as ex-ercises to strengthen neckmuscles.

“Our ability to detectsports-related concussionshas greatly improved, butour ability to prevent con-cussions and decrease post-injury outcomes remainslimited,” says lead author Al-lison Brown, an assistant

professor at the Rutgers Uni-versity School of Health Pro-fessions.

“We have identified neckstrength, size, and posture aspotential factors that reducerisk by lessening the magni-tude of force upon impact.Thus, increasing neckstrength and possibly sizecould substantially reducerisk or severity of injury oroutcomes.”

An impact that makes thebrain move within the skullcauses concussions, whichcan lead to problems withthinking, concentration,mood, or other neurological

changes. Additional symp-toms can include dizzinessand nausea.

A stronger, thicker neckthat is aligned in a forwardposture—with the ears aheadof rather than aligned withthe shoulders—may reducethe amount of energy trans-ferred to the brain during animpact and reduce the riskand severity of injury, sayssenior author CarrieEsopenko, an assistant pro-fessor at the School ofHealth Professions.

Women typically have lessneck strength and experiencea greater concussion risk as

well as greater severity ofsymptoms and longer dura-tion of recovery compared to

men, Esopenko says.Source: Rutgers Univer-

sity

Health www.NorthDallasGazette.com

4 | January 24-30, 2019 | North Dallas Gazette For the 411 in the community, go to www.northdallasgazette.com

Is there something we should know about?Let us know what’s going on. Send your stories, suggestions or other

editorial material to: editor@northdallasgazette.com

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Lose weight now, gain future years on your life

Can a stronger neck help prevent a concussion?

By Rachel HawkinsNDG Staff Writer

Several educators werehonored during the Irvingschool board meeting onJan. 22. These recognitionsincluded Kendrick Taylor,special education teacher atNimitz High School namedTeacher of the Month.Brenda Anderson, Buyer inthe Purchasing department,was named Employee of theMonth.

Also, Armando Robles

Del Rio, nominated byHanes Elementary School,received Guest Educator ofthe Month.

To celebrate Irvingschool board appreciationmonth, Irving IndependentSchool District (ISD) stu-dents and teachers spokebefore the board and ex-tended thanks to the schoolboard members. The themefor this year’s Irving schoolboard appreciation month is“Planting Seeds of Suc-cess.”

“More than 33,000 stu-dents depend on the schoolto help them prepare for thefuture,” Tierney Tinnin, Ex-ecutive Director of Com-munications of Irving Inde-pendent School Districtstated.

"Our board of trusteesplays a vital role in ensuringthat our schools are avail-able, qualified teachers arein place, the building issafe, and resources are pro-vided.”

To show their apprecia-

tion, teachers, and studentsfrom several schools eithermade or purchased small to-kens of appreciation. Thespecial gifts composed of anavy polo shirt, a hand-crafted tree, a succulent anda framed photo. In the end,the Elliott ElementarySchool bell ringers per-formed “God Bless Amer-

ica” for the board and gath-ered guests.

During the meeting, anannouncement was sharedwith the final results of their2018-2019 Payroll Deduc-tion Campaign Donations toIrving Schools Foundation.Last year, the school districtraised $313,864.

In 2018, they planned and

succeeded in their goal byraising more than $350,000.The leaders were pleased toreport participation rosefrom 71 percent from lastyear to 75 percent for thisyear.

All of this money will gotowards the Irving schoolsfor scholarships and grantsfor their students.

By Rachel HawkinsNDG Staff Writer

The Irving City Councilapproved a $300,000 agree-ment between the City ofIrving and Taurus Technolo-gies Inc., to update the com-munity's traffic system. Theagreement was approved atthe council's Jan. 17 publicmeeting at the Irving CityHall. Irving accepted staff'srecommendation to moveforward with the purchaseof new monitoring equip-ment and controls for the

traffic operating systems.The existing traffic signal

system is at the end of its

18-year life span. The newsystem is designed to pro-vide a fully integrated wire-

less traffic management sys-tem which will improvetraffic flow, integration ofemerging technologies, sys-tem monitoring, trafficsafety, and provide perform-ance measures.

This project will providereplacement and upgradesof the traffic signal con-trollers, traffic signal con-troller software, and centralmanagement software sys-tem. This will also allowthem to watch school zonesand improve their trafficsafety.

With the new update, thesystem will have the capa-bility to evaluate the real-time traffic system, allowthe traffic signals and trafficsignal timing to be adjustedat any time. The can alsoevaluate intersections whichappear to be malfunctioningfrom the traffic operationscenter via cameras; also theability to monitor specialevents and emergencies.

The new traffic cameraswill allow the city staff tolook at the vehicles ap-proaching the intersection

and give them a better view,thus providing better relia-bility and response out ofthe system.

In 2017, The City of Irv-ing’s Traffic Signal Divisionreplaced traffic signal con-trollers at more than 200 in-tersections. This improve-ment allowed all 208 trafficsignals to talk to one an-other thereby offering im-proved safety and trafficflow while passing on vitalinformation to the new traf-fic operations center.

Community

January 24-30, 2019 | North Dallas Gazette | 5

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AlexanderPopov / Unsplash

Irving approves $300,000 agreement to improve traffic control

Irving ISD honors school board members at Jan. 22 meeting

Dallas awards Green BuildingCertification to LBJ Infrastructure Group

Dallas EnvironmentalQuality & Sustainability is-sued its Green Building Cer-tification to LBJ Infrastruc-ture Group for demonstrat-ing leadership in environ-mentally sustainable busi-ness practices. The companyreceived Gold status for di-verting 80% of its wastefrom the landfill through re-cycling and reducing its en-vironmental footprint by ed-ucating its staff to conservewater and energy in theirdaily operations.

LBJ Infrastructure recon-structs expanded frontagelanes and main lanes, as wellas the addition of bypasslanes. Its toll lanes are addedwithin existing roadway tohandle more traffic volume.The company manages lanesin Dallas and offers roadsideassistance services.

The City of Dallas GreenBuilding Certification pro-gram recognizes local busi-nesses which demonstrate acommitment to environmen-tal practices through leader-ship and policy, recycling,education, energy efficiency,

water conservation, andtransportation. To learn moreabout the program and toapply for certification, visitthe Sanitation page atwww.dallascityhall.com oremail DallasRecycles@dal-lascityhall.com.

Dallas zero waste manager Danielle McClelland (left) presents Goldlevel Green Business Certification to LBJ Infrastructure chief operat-

ing officer Roberto Carrasco (center) and environmental health &safety manager Dwayne Smith (right). (Courtesy photo)

The new North Lake Col-legiate Academy is openingin August as a joint effort ofDallas County CommunityCollege District and DallasISD. The new program—open to students anywherein Dallas County— will puta tuition-free high schooldiploma and college degreewithin reach of more areastudents at a substantial fi-nancial savings to their fam-ilies.

The academy will offercourses and career path-ways in public service,criminal justice and busi-ness administration. Risingninth-graders have until

J a n . 3 1 t o a p p l y a twww.dallasisd.org/your-choices. Parents and stu-dents can obtain details atan information sessionsplanned for 6 p.m., Thurs-day, Jan. 24, at North Lake

College, 1081 W. ShadyGrove Rd. in Irving.

North Lake College Pres-ident Christa Slejko wel-comes the new program.“This is a wonderful oppor-tunity for more high school

students to earn a highschool diploma and an asso-ciate degree at the sametime,” she said. “The colle-giate academy is a great op-tion for students within ourcommunity, and we lookforward to welcoming thesenew Blazers to our NorthLake family this fall.”

Dallas ISD PrincipalChase McLaurin, who willserve as administrator of thenew program, says attend-ing high school on a collegecampus is a major attractionfor students who will in onesense be able to jump di-rectly from middle schoolto college.

“I think the location isimportant for students,” hesaid. “Being on a collegecampus helps students real-ize that their dreams ofgoing to college are real,possible, and coming true.This is a game changer forstudents and opens up awhole new world of oppor-tunities.”

The tuition-free opportu-nity offers families the po-tential to save up to $40,000in college tuition. Studentsalso earn credit, hands-onexperience and mentoringfrom industry partners in avariety of career pathways.

Since their inception in

2016, Dallas ISD’s colle-giate academies have be-come a niche for highly mo-tivated students whose fam-ilies recognize the value oftheir student graduatingwith both a high schooldiploma and up to 60 hoursof college credit or an asso-ciate degree at no personalcost to their families.

The schools are a partner-ship of Dallas ISD and theDallas County CommunityCollege District, whichshare faculty and curricu-lum and allow juniors andseniors to take classes on acollege campus.

6 | January 24-30, 2019 | North Dallas Gazette

Education www.NorthDallasGazette.com

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Dallas ISD

veloper Ablon has a per-spective on the city at streetlevel. He is looking for im-provements to infrastructuresuch as streets and emer-gency services.

“We can only do this ifwe come together as a cityand do what’s right for thefuture success of every partof Dallas, starting with im-proving basic city and edu-cation services that make apositive and lasting differ-ence in our everyday lives,”Ablon said.

Dallas IndependentSchool District TrusteeMiguel Solis has alsothrown his hat into the ring,shifting from the educa-tional side of the commu-nity to focus on the admin-istration of city government.

“As a former Dallas pub-

lic school teacher, schoolboard member, and non-profit leader, I’ve heardfrom hundreds of peopleacross our city who believethe old ways of doing thingsjust won’t work anymore,”Solis noted in announcinghis candidacy. “Like me,they’re proud of theprogress being made in Dal-las but recognize the manychallenges still left to over-come. They want to createpaths to prosperity and eq-uity for everyone - butthey’re waiting for newleaders and ideas that willbring hope and change.”

There is also a formerPresidential candidate in therunning for Dallas Mayor.Alyson Kennedy ran in the2016 election for the So-cialist Workers Party

(SWP). The term “Social-ist” has lost some of thestigma it held only a fewyears ago, but Kennedy hasrun for office with the SWPin elections dating back to1977.

“The capitalist owners,Democratic and Republicanpoliticians who run the gov-ernment in their interests,could care less about youngpeople who can’t afford toget a house or apartment oftheir own, get married andstart a family,” Kennedysaid. “The Socialist Work-ers Party calls for a massivegovernment-financed jobsprogram at union scalewages to rebuild crumblinginfrastructure and provideaffordable housing for all.”

Lynn McBee is the CEOof The Bridge, which servesDallas’ homeless popula-tion, as well as the YoungWomen’s Preparatory Net-

work; and she serves as anofficer on the Dallas CountyCommunity College Dis-trict Foundation. She has re-ceived numerous awards forcommunity leadership andbelieves this experience cantranslate into success for theCity of Dallas.

“As a CEO of an educa-tion organization, and withmore than 25 years as a ser-vant leader in Dallas, I’vegained the perspective andexperience to forge thecoalitions and partnershipswe need to solve our city’sgrea tes t cha l lenges ,”McBee says.

Regina Montoya, a for-mer Clinton administrationaide and Harvard Law grad-uate, also comes to the tablewith a wealth of communityand business service, rang-ing from the Mayor’s TaskForce on Poverty, to theVice Chair of the Board of

Directors for DFW Airport.“We need greater collabo-

ration and coordination be-tween city government,civic groups, nonprofits andbusinesses to ensure betterprogress,” Montoya said.“I've spent my life in Dallasworking across all theseareas. I know good work ishappening - but it's a matterof bringing it all together.”

Jason Villalba is a formerRepublican Texas StateRepresentative and a busi-nessman in Dallas. He toutshis record in Austin, includ-ing digging up $5 billionwhen the state’s educationwas at financial risk, asproof he can “get thingsdone” as the leader of thecity.

“Like you, I am a proudTexan and proud of thecommunity we have here inDallas,” Villalba said. “Weare a city of vitality, growth,

optimism, and develop-ment. But that doesn’t meanit can’t be better. We havethe highest percentage ofuninsured and underedu-cated children. There aresenior citizens who areleaving their homes becauseproperty taxes that are sohigh. We must do more forall who call this city home.”

Oak Cliff resident MiguelPatino has also filed paper-work to run for the mayor’sseat, however as of presstime online information onhis campaign is minimal.

The crowded field has al-ready led one candidate,former city attorney LarryCasto, to suspend his cam-paign. Casto has thrown hissupport behind Ablon. Withso many candidates, and somany issues at stake, theroad to the head of thehorseshoe is bound to be atough one.

MAYOR, continued from Page 1

Dallas ISD and North Lake College now recruitingrising ninth-graders for new collegiate program

Texans Can athletes visit SMU basketball game for jersey retirementOn Jan. 12, basketball play-

ers for Texans Can Academy -Fort Worth Lancaster; TexansCan Academy - Dallas OakCliff; and Texans Can Acad-emy - Dallas Ross Avenue at-tended Southern MethodistUniversity’s basketball gamefor a special ceremony for IraTerrell. One of Texans CanAcademies’ longest and mostdedicated volunteers, Terrellplayed basketball for SMUfrom 1972 to 1976 and earned

a place in the SMU AthleticsHall of Fame. His jersey,number 32, was retired during

halftime. Terrell ranks second all-

time at SMU in rebounds,

sixth in scoring, and second incareer scoring average. Hewas selected by the PhoenixSuns in the third round of the1976 NBA Draft, and from1976 to 1978, he played forthe Suns, New Orleans Jazz,and Portland Trailblazers.

Terrell has volunteered withTexans Can Academies forover 30 years and is currentlyon the Dallas DevelopmentCouncil and Golf Committee.He invited Texans Can Acad-

emies’ basketball players toattend the game and the jer-sey-retirement ceremony.

After the ceremony, Terrellshared encouraging wordswith the students, signed theirprograms, and took pictureswith them. Among those at-tending, only one of the stu-dents had ever attended a col-lege or professional basketballgame. The experience wasone these students will notforget.

The Mustangs went on thatnight to take a nearly 30-pointvictory against the Universityof Tulsa.

Texans Can Academies isdedicated to graduatingthinkers and committed to en-suring students have all the in-formation and tools neededfor a successful college or ca-reer path after graduation. Formore information about Tex-ans Can Academies, pleasevisit www.texanscan.org.

Texas C

an Academy

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

January 24-30, 2019 | North Dallas Gazette | 7For the 411 in the community, go to www.northdallasgazette.com

Plano City Manager retiring after nearly three decades serving the cityPlano Ci ty Manager

Bruce Glasscock notifiedthe City Council of his in-tent to retire at the end ofApril, 2019. Glasscockserved in the public sectorfor 50 years, the last 29 withthe City of Plano.

Glasscock began his ca-reer with the City of Planoin 1990 when he was se-lected Police Chief. In 1998he was appointed additionalresponsibilities as DeputyCity Manager and held dualleadership roles through

2001 at which time he tran-sitioned to full-time respon-sibilities as Deputy CityManager. Council ap-pointed him City Managerin 2011. “A lot has been ac-complished during my ca-reer with Plano for which Iam honored to have been apart, but the true credit goesto “Team Plano” and themore than 2000 employeeswho provide service to ourcitizen on a daily basis. Iwill miss those employeesand the tremendous work

they do for our commu-nity,” said Glasscock.

During his tenure, theCity received numerous ac-colades including being rec-ognized as the “Best Placeto Live in Texas,” third“Best Place to Live inAmerica,” third “Best Placein America to Raise a Fam-ily,” “Best Run City inAmerica,” one of “10Healthiest Cities in Amer-ica” and a recipient of the 4-STAR Community Ratingfor Sustainability. In addi-

tion, the City of Plano con-sistently receives AAABond Ratings.

“We applaud Bruce’sservice and wish him thebest. He leaves this rolehaving served Plano withgreat honor and distinc-tion,” said Plano MayorHarry LaRosiliere. “Futuregenerations will feel the en-during impact of what hasb e e n a c c o m p l i s h e dthroughout his tenure.”

Glasscock guided theCity as an active partner in

the development of the es-teemed Legacy West areawhich is home to BoeingGlobal Services, FedEx Of-fice, JCPenney, JPMorganChase, Liberty Mutual,Toyota Connected and Toy-ota Motor North America,among other businesses. Hewas also influential in theurban revitalization ofDowntown Plano, desig-nated by the AmericanPlanning Association as oneof the “Great Places inAmerica” and most recently

listed in the National Regis-ter of Historic Places.

In 2000, during his tenureas Plano’s Police Chief,Glasscock served as the88th President of Interna-tional Association of Chiefsof Police and currentlyserves as a Past President ofthe association.

“The time has come tomove along,” said the retir-ing city manager. Glasscockand his wife, Memrie, havetwo adult sons and threegrandchildren.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy honored at annual breakfastThe annual Dr. Martin

Luther King Jr. PowerLeadership Breakfast drewhundreds of communitymembers to Collin Col-lege’s Plano Campus, Jan.19, to remember the life andwork of Dr. King, and toconsider his belief in educa-tion as a force for good.

The theme of this year’sbreakfast was “Intelligence+ Character = True Educa-tion.” The event included aresolution from Gov. GregAbbott presented by StateRepresentatives Matt Sha-heen (District 66), JeffLeach (District 67) andCandy Noble (District 89),and State Senator AngelaPaxton (District 8), a procla-mation from the city ofPlano delivered by MayorHarry LaRosiliere, a paneldiscussion by area schoolsuperintendent, student pre-sentations and perform-ances, and the announce-ment of multiple scholar-ships. The breakfast wasalso attended by Collin

Allred, U.S. Representativefor Texas (District 32).

The event honored thefollowing students and com-munity members:

• Collin College studentToluwani Ogunbayode wasawarded the Adrian Ro-driguez Scholarship, whichhonors a Collin CollegeBoard of Trustees memberwho has dedicated un-counted hours to the MLKPower Leadership Breakfastas a moderator and co-chairof the committee. Ogunbay-ode will graduate fromCollin this spring and then

head to Texas A&M for adegree in agricultural eco-nomics. He would like toapply his education to im-pact food production in themost rural parts of the Earth.Ogunbayode is picturedabove (center) flanked byRodriguez, MLK PowerLeadership Breakfast Co-Chair Evelyn McKnight,Past Chair Joe McKnightand Collin College DistrictPresident Dr. Neil Matkin.

• Kevin Vicknair wasawarded the Evelyn andDon McKnight Scholarship,named in honor of two long-

time volunteers and leadersin the MLK Power leader-ship Breakfast. Vicknair is ahealth science major whocalls himself a proud familyman. Vicknair is pictured(center) with Rodriguez,Evelyn McKnight, JoeMcKnight and Dr. Matkin.

• Stefanie Lo, a surgicalassistance student, was hon-ored with the Alpha KappaAlpha Chi Zeta OmegaScholarship. Lo has beenactively involved on thecampus and in the commu-nity. Lo is pictured (cen-tered in the picture at right)with Alpha Kappa AlphaPresident Charisse Wright(left) and Dr. Matkin.

• Leticia Reyes wasawarded a scholarship spon-sored by the Plano NorthMetroplex Chapter of TheLinks, Incorporated. Reyesis a surgical assistancemajor who looks forwardher role in the operatingroom. She also volunteers inthe preschool at her church.Reyes is pictured (center) in

the photo at right with PaulaParker, president of TheLinks, and Dr. Matkin.

The college also an-nounced that the Dr. MartinLuther King Jr. UnityScholarship Fund hadreached endowment statusthanks to the donations ofattendees over the manyyears of the MLK Leader-ship Power Breakfast and toa recent large donation bycommunity members Rubenand Mary Alice Garza. Thecouple was honored fortheir donation, whichpushed the fund over the en-dowment threshold, allow-ing it to continue fundingscholarships in perpetuity

The annual celebration isorganized by the Dr. MartinLuther King Jr. PowerBreakfast Committee andwas sponsored this year, asin previous years, by Capi-tal One. Donations for thescholarship fund are ac-cepted throughout the yearthrough the Collin CollegeFoundation. For more infor-

m a t i o n o n m a k i n g ag i f t to th i s fund , ca l l972-599-3145. More photosof the breakfast event areavailable at https://collincol-lege.resourcespace.com/?c=424&k=2d46e83b1a.

Collin College servesmore than 55,000 credit andcontinuing education stu-dents annually and offersmore than 100 degrees andcertificates in a wide rangeof disciplines. The onlypublic college based inCollin County, Collin Col-lege is a partner to business,government and industry,providing customized train-ing and work force develop-ment. In addition, the col-lege operates the CollinHigher Education Center,which serves 3,500 addi-tional students each year inpartnership with The Uni-versity of Texas at Dallas,Texas Woman’s University,Texas A&M Commerce,Texas Tech and the Univer-sity of North Texas.

Collin College student Toluwani Ogunbayode is awarded the AdrianRodriguez Scholarshipat the annual MLK Breakfast. (Courtesy photo)

By Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson

While furloughed gov-ernment employees areturning to pawn shops toborrow money to pay theirrents and mortgages, andothers are standing in line atfood banks for groceries tofeed their families, the pres-ident of the United Statescontinues to be indifferentto their plight and refuses totake the meaningful stepsthat would lead to the re-

opening of our government,and their return to work.

It should be obvious to allof those who witnessedPresident Trump’s most re-cent address to the nationfrom the White House thathe lacks empathy for the800,000 government em-ployees who are eitherworking without pay or aresimply being told to stay athome.

Not once dur ing h isnearly 15-minute addressdid he mention the awful fi-

nancial and personal reali-ties that they are facing ashe holds them and the coun-try hostage. The fact of thematter is that he is moreconcerned about the opin-ions of partisan politicalcommentators, who are im-ploring him not to lookweak, than he is about gov-ernment employees.

Shamefully, he continuesto request $5.7 billion for aborder wall that the vastmajority of security expertssay is not necessary, and

would be a waste of tax-payer dollars. In his speechthe president offered tem-porary protection for ap-proximately 700,000 youngpeople, referred to as”Dreamers, ” who werebrought to this country asminors. He also offered areprieve to nearly 300,000adult immigrants who arefacing deportation.

This is not the first timethat we have been down thispath with the president.There are those who doubt

the sincerity of his propos-als. Nearly one year ago,Mr. Trump rejected a dealthat offered more moneythan he is currently request-ing for a wall in return for aplan that would have of-fered citizenship to theDreamers.

While giving his most re-cent remarks, the presidentdid not address the singlemost pressing problem thatour government faces, theshutdown. It is in his powerto reopen the government,

bring employees back towork, and return our nationto some sense of normalcy.

Frankly, Mr. Trump is notbeing serious, and until hedoes government employ-ees, and the people of ournation will continue to suf-fer. He is presiding over thelongest government shut-down in the history of ournation. Certainly he knowswhat the right thing to do is.Hopefully, he will end thismadness!

Commentary: End the border wall madness now

8 | January 24-30, 2019 | North Dallas Gazette

City Briefs

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AUSTIN - Review of thesupplemental budget turnedto discussions about Hurri-cane Harvey recovery andhow the federal shutdown isaffecting state agencies atthe Senate Finance Commit-tee hearing on Wednesday.For the latter issue the an-swer is: not much, accordingto Legislative Budget BoardAssistant Director JohnMcGeady. He says thatmost agencies that dependon some level of federalfunding still have plenty inreserve, though that be-comes less certain should theshutdown persist through theend of February. Someagencies have staff that arepaid with federal funds, andMcGeady said that agencieshave been able to coverthose wages with statefunds. He expects that they

will be able to recoup thosecosts once federal funds startflowing again.

As for Hurricane Harveyrecovery, Finance committeemembers talked not onlyabout how to pay for recov-ery but also how to preparefor future events. Harveydumped up to 60 inches ofrain, the most ever recordedin the U.S. from a singlestorm, on the Texas GulfCoast in August and Sep-tember of 2017. Damage es-timates for the storm top$125 billion, making it thesecond most costly storm inUS history, after 2005's Hur-ricane Katrina. The state hasor will pay out millions forrecovery efforts in the cur-rent biennium, and thosecosts have to be balanced onstate ledgers. That's wherethe supplemental budget

comes in, and it includes$1.2 billion in state funds,some drawn from the RainyDay Fund, to pay for recov-ery efforts in the current fis-cal period.

McGeady laid out for thecommittee how those fundsare earmarked in the firstdraft of the supplementalbudget. The lion's share,$900 million, is for publicschools. Part of the first$300 million goes towardsholding districts harmlessfor loss of student popula-tion due to the storm. Sincedistricts get education fund-ing based on daily studentpopulation, losing studentsdisplaced by the storm hitlocal school district budgetshard. The rest is for com-pensatory education costs,that is, students who getmore funding from the state

due to some hardship. Thestorm increased the numberof students eligible for thisstatus, and the state mustcover that cost.

The remaining $600 mil-lion would go to cover theloss in property value causedby the storm. Since Texasfunds education based onproperty taxes, if propertyvalues go down due to stormdamage, that eats away atlocal school budgets. Thefinal amount of funding tocover this loss in value andwhere it goes will be up tolawmakers to decide.

The discussion thenturned to additional issues,not only to recovery but toprevention. Lubbock Sena-tor Charles Perry, who chairsthe Senate Water and RuralAffairs Committee, studiedthe issue of a statewide flood

plan during the interim. Hecautioned his fellow mem-bers. "We can end up like aNew Orleans, that still does-n't have recovery becausenothing was done with over-sight, coordination and col-laboration "Perry said. "Weneed to leave here with astatewide flood plan withoversight and accountabilitydesignated for local, stateand federal partners." Hehas filed a bill, SB 396,which would direct relevantagencies to develop astatewide plan for futureflood mitigation, includingprovisions for regional co-operation, by 2024.

One area where the fed-eral shutdown is impactingTexas citizens is in the flowof FEMA money towardsHarvey recovery, said Bren-ham Senator Lois Kolkhorst.

She said that in conversa-tions this week with NimKidd, Chief of the Texas Di-vision of Emergency Man-agement, he warned her thatevery day of the shutdowncould mean the loss of twodays worth of funding.Kolkhorst raised concernsabout how this could impactcoastal districts. "It's kind ofshut down and we're at astandstill on the housingissue that we see in my dis-trict, and then also some ofthe other FEMA funds thatcould come to our localcommunities for mitigationand for repair" she said. Thisis an issue that's out of statelawmakers' hands, as theywait for a resolution inWashington D.C.

The Senate will reconveneMonday, January 28 at 3p.m.

Finance Committee discusses Harvey recovery, federal shutdown

AddisonDon’t miss out on the

Dark Circles Contempo-rary Dance: Winter Serieson Jan. 25, and several daysat 8 p.m. at Addison TheatreCentre, in Addison. Thewinter series will featurethree world premieres cen-tering on gay identity inAmerica. The new workswill explore gay narratives,themes and ideas and willbe performed by a mostlyqueer company of dancers.Dark Circles has commis-sioned gay choreographersMark Caserta, Eoghan Dil-lon and Mikey Morado forthe program. A new creationby Peugh — in collabora-tion with queer multimediaartist Brian Kenny — closesthe evening. For more in-formation visit www.dark-c i r c l e s c o n t e m p o r a r y-dance.com.

ArlingtonFirefall will be held on

Jan. 25 starting at 8 p.m. atArlington Music Hall, inArlington. For founder JockBartley, Firefall is a 40 yearlabor of love. Their layeredharmonies backed by driv-ing rhythms transcendsmany genres from rock tocountry to AC and broughtthe band platinum and goldsuccess with such hits as“You Are The Woman”,

“Strange Way” and “JustRemember I Love You”.Other major Firefall radiohits include “Cinderella”,“Goodbye I Love You”,“Livin’ Ain’t Livin” and“Mexico”. The genealogyand musical roots of FIRE-FALL run deep into the fer-tile soil of American rockand folk rock music.

It began with WoodieGuthrie and later, BobDy-lan, evolving into the Byrdsand the Buffalo Springfield.The genre established bythese luminaries continuedwith Crosby, Stills andNash, Manassas, The Band,Neil Young, The Eagles,Poco, Loggins and Messina,The Flying Burrito Broth-ers, Gram Parsons andEmmy Lou Harris, Dan Fo-gelberg, America and FIRE-FALL. Many of these par-ticipants mingled in the stu-dio and on tour.

Individually and collec-tively they created a soundthat changed the world'smusical landscape. FIRE-FALL is one of the few sur-viving bands of this genre,remaining true to its found-ing vision and roots despitepersonnel changes over its40+ year history.

The band transcends andembraces many industriallabels- rock, soft rock,country rock, contemporary

country, easy listening andAmericana. For more infor-mation visit http://www.ar-lingtonmusichall.net.

The Texas Rangers FanFest will be held on Jan. 26from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. atGlobe Life Park, in Arling-ton. Get ready for a newseason of Texas Rangersbaseball at the 2019 FanFest. Get autographs fromformer and future players,tour the club house andmeet the coaches. Fans ofall ages can take part in avariety of activities. Therewill be a Kids Zone, a homerun derby and more. Admis-sion prices are $10 foradults, $5 for children 13and younger. The first basebox office opens at 7 a.m.and gates open at 9 a.m.

DallasExplore Social Science:

Wild World on Jan. 25starting at 7 p.m. at PerotMuseum of Nature and Sci-ence, in Dallas. Social Sci-ence offers dozens of inter-active activities, discussionsand performances, all in alively Friday-night settingfor adults 21 and older. TheJanuary event is themed"Wild World," giving party-goers the chance to earnabout adaptations, examinecarnivorous plants and ex-

plore weather patterns, allwith a custom cocktail inhand. Zoologists and mete-orologists also will be in at-tendance. Tickets must bepurchased online in ad-vance at tickets.perotmu-seum.org, this event typi-cally sells out quickly, sobuy your tickets early.

You can see the DallasBridal Show on Jan. 26,from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. atDallas Market Hall, in Dal-las. If there are weddingbells in your future, don'tmiss this show. Representa-tives from more than 300wedding-related businesseswill be on hand to guideyou in planning every detailof your wedding and honey-moon. There will be doorprizes and giveaways, afashion show and more.For tickets and more in-formation vis i t br idal-showsinc.com.

Have fun at Krewe ofOrleans Mardi Gras Ballon Jan. 26 starting at 6 p.m.at Centennial Hall at FairPark, in Dallas. It's Carni-vale time and the Krewe ofOrleans is hosting its fifthannual Mardi Gras Ball inDal las . There wi l l beLouisiana-themed food,drinks and entertainment.For more information visit

https://kreweoforleans.com/2019-mardi-gras-ball.

Explore Dallas history atLegacies Dallas HistoryConference on Jan. 26from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. atHall of State, in Dallas. Thetheme of the 20th annualconference will be "Diver-sity in Dallas: TurningPoints." The conferencewill feature presentations,discussion panels and re-freshments. The patron re-ception (for $100 confer-ence registrants) will beheld Jan. 24 from 6 to 7:30p.m. at the Historic Al-dredge House, 5500 SwissAve. Appetizers and winewill be served. Conferencetickets are $35; patron tick-ets include the conferenceand reception for $100; stu-dent tickets are $20. Fortickets and information visitdallasheritagevillage.world-securesystems.com.

International HolocaustRemembrance Day will beheld on Jan. 27, from 2 p.m.to 3 p.m. at Dallas Holo-caust Museum, in Dallas.Marking the liberation ofAuschwitz, InternationalHolocaust RemembranceDay allows us to reflectupon the profound tragedyof the Holocaust.

We also come together toshare a moment of peaceand hope for the future.Free. Included in cost of ad-mission. For more informa-tion visit http://www.dal-lasholocaustmuseum.org/.

Fort WorthDon’t miss out on the

Fort Worth Stock Showand Rodeo on Jan. 25 untilFeb. 8 starting at 8 a.m. atWill Rogers Memorial Cen-ter, in Fort Worth. Look fordaily rodeo action, carnivaland midway fun, acres ofshopping, kid-friendly at-tractions, live music on theCoors Light Roadhousestage, and much more dur-ing the 123rd Stock Show& Rodeo, one of FortWorth's premier events.Running Jan. 18 throughFeb. 9, the event featuresProfessional Rodeo Cow-boys Association and spe-cialty rodeo performances,

See BRIEFS, Page 16

By Dwain PriceNDG Sports

FRISCO – Someone hadto pay dearly for the DallasCowboys missing out onthe Super Bowl for an un-precedented 23rd consecu-tive season. So far, thatsomeone is offensive coor-dinator Scott Linehan.

Not long after the Cow-boy’ season abruptly endedwith a 30-22 loss to the LosAngeles Rams in the Na-tional Football Conferencesemifinals, the team partedways with Linehan, whowas under fire for most ofthis season for his suspectplay-calling. Still, despitereleasing Linehan, coachJason Garrett defended thejob Linehan performed thisseason.

“This was not an easy de-cision because of howhighly we regard ScottLinehan as a football coachand as a person,” Garrettsaid in a prepared state-ment. “He and I had somereally positive, substantiveand open discussions whichtook place in the latter partof this week and we ulti-mately agreed that it wouldbe in the best interest of allof the parties involved if wewere to make a change atthis (offensive coordinator)position.

“This was very much amutual decision, and therewas a great deal of commonground and shared under-standing between both of usduring our meetings. Scotthas had an incredibly posi-tive impact on our footballteam. He has been instru-mental in the developmentand success of a significantnumber of our veteran andyounger players. He is anoutstanding football coach,a great friend and we wishhim and his family nothingbut the absolute best mov-ing forward.”

The Cowboys’ offensivecoordinator the past fourseasons, Linehan expressedin his own statement on

how his career with theCowboys had come to a dis-tressful end.

“At the end, we resolvedthat a fresh start was proba-bly best for both of us,”Linehan said of his meetingwith Garrett. “The DallasCowboys have been noth-ing but great to me -- firstclass all the way.

“There’s a reason thatthey are the most valuablesports franchise on theplanet. And I’ll always re-spect Jason as a coach and Iconsider him a good friend.I’ll miss my fellow coachesand my players a great deal,but life is about change andgrowth, and I very muchlook forward to my nextchallenge.”

While the Cowboys havewashed their hands of Line-han, they haven’t yetreached out and announcedwhether they plan on offer-ing contract extensions toGarrett or quarterback DakPrescott this offseason. Gar-rett only has one more yearremaining on his contract,while this is the first offsea-son Prescott is eligible for along-term contract.

As Garrett’s job statusseemingly has been inlimbo forever, Prescott hada star-crossed season thisyear as he completed 356-of-526 passes for 3,885yards and 22 touchdowns.He also threw eight inter-ceptions, missed severalwide open receivers and ap-peared to have the same re-curring issues with his foot-

work and mechanics.Is the Cowboys offense

going to rise to Bowlexpectations in 2019?Meanwhile, the Cowboys

also look forward to theirnext challenge, whichcomes next season whenthey’ll again probably thinkthey’ll have all the neces-sary tools to win a SuperBowl for the first time since1996. Right guard ZackMartin acknowledged theopinion of many in Cow-boys Nation in that this was

a season of missed opportu-nities, particularly in theseason-ended against theRams.

“I think we have a teamthat can win a champi-onship, and I think every-one believes that in thatlocker room,” Martin said.“That’s what makes thisloss so hard, because weknow we have the team todo that.

“We just didn’t put it alltogether (against theRams).”

S t i l l , r u n n i n g b a c kEzekiel Elliott likes the re-s i l iency the Cowboysplayed with this season afterthey buckled up their chin-straps and fought back froma horrible 3-5 start to wineight of their final 10games. That includes win-ning a wild card playoffgame against the SeattleSeahawks, 24-22.

“We dealt with a lot ofadversity this season and Ithink we did a great jobhandling it,” said Elliott,

who led the NFL in rushingthis season with 1,434yards. “We started off 3-5and nobody ever wouldhave thought that we wouldhave been here.

“We came up short(against the Rams), but I’mproud of these guys.”

The Cowboys had prob-lems scoring before themidseason t rade tha tbrought wide receiverAmari Cooper over fromthe Oakland Raiders. How-ever, if the season doesn’tconclude with a victory inthe Super Bowl, for theCowboys that’s a season ofsheer disappointment.

“ We h a d o u r b a c k sagainst the wall, really,since the middle of the sea-son,” safety Jeff Heath said.“The way this team kind ofresponded after the slowstart, we stuck together andwe kept playing hard andwon a lot of really closegames, and I think it’s justsomething to be proud of.

“But obviously right now

it’s tough to kind of thinkthat way.”

It’s tough for the Cow-boys to think that way, be-cause they wired differentlythan most teams. In theCowboys’ world, it’s SuperBowl or bust. Thus, fromthe Cowboys’ perspective,this season was a bust.

“You have to rememberthese feelings when youstand in these locker roomswhen you have disappoint-ment,” Garrett said. “It hasto continue to drive you,and we have the kind ofguys who do that well.”

For the Cowboys, thatdr ive wi l l cont inue inearnest with obviouslymore offseason changes tocome.

“We took some steps, butwe really didn’t accomplishwhat we wanted to,” line-backer Damien Wilson said.“We only had one goal andI guess we’ll be back shoot-ing at the same goal nextyear.”

January 24-30, 2019 | North Dallas Gazette | 9

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Cowboys' offense leads to a season filled with missed opportunities

Dallas Cowboys offense had it's moments but in the end it did notmeet the challenge to get the team to the Super Bowl.

(Photo: Keith Allison / Flickr)

Car Review

10 | January 24-30, 2019 | North Dallas Gazette

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

NDG Entertainment Guide: Denton Black Film Festival, family shows this week in DFWBy Tiffany GilbertNDG Entertainment

This week as the Oscarnominat ions were an-nounced, film lovers canenjoy both classic and dis-cover new films at localfilm festival. Families haveplenty to choose from espe-cially on the northern side ofMetroplex. Denton BlackFilm Festival will featurenot only movies, but musicfeaturing Kirk Whalum andcomedy.

The Denton Black FilmFestival continues to growand as spotlighted earlier,the films they offer are firstrate, well told and producedflicks. This year the festivalis running Jan. 27-29 atthe UNT- Murchison Per-forming Arts Center. Theywill not only feature newfilms, but classics such asImitation of Life. It is al-most a virtually confirmedfact, that no one in 60 yearsof watching this movie hasever seen it and not weep. A

panel will discuss why thiss t o r y on r ace , mo the rdaughter relationships is justas relevant today.

This year, the festival willalso include music with ap e r f o r m a n c e b y K i r kWhalum, a Grammy Awardwinner with over 20 re-leases whose signaturesound is heard on over 300

recordings . The worldrenowned UNT OneO’Clock Lab Band opens.doors open at 5 p.m. for the6 p.m. show on Sunday, Jan.27.

And there are the movies- more than 60 films tochoose from. The films in-clude documentaries, narra-tives and shorts – will be

screened at the festival.Visit dentonbff.com.Family friendly entertain-

ment choices this week Bring the kids to Brick-

live on Jan. 26 and Jan. 27,starting at 9 a.m. at The Star,in Frisco. Bricklive, whichbills itself as "the largestLego fan experience inAmerica," will take over theFord Center at The Star inFrisco Jan. 26-27. Ticketsgo on sale Nov. 9. This willbe the event's U.S. debut,following several successfulyears in Europe. If "millionsof Lego bricks in one place"isn't enough to sell you,event attractions includelife-sized Lego animals,race ramps, brick pits (likeball pits but, y'know, madeof Lego), a graffiti wall anda wide variety of differ-ent ly- themed "zones ,"centered a round suchthings as Star Wars, cities,gaming, Minecraft, archi-tec ture and more . Formore information vis i twww.brickliveusa.com.

The Family Comedyand Magic Show for allages will be held on Jan. 26,from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.at Addison improv comedyclub, in Addison. There'ssomething magical happen-ing at the Addison Improvand it's called the Comedyand Magic Show for AllAges. The comedy club be-gins its 11th season of pro-viding quality family enter-tainment on Saturdays at 2p.m. Join "Best Magician inDallas" Mike Williams foran 80-minute show filledwith clean comedy, jaw-dropping magic and loads ofaudience interaction. Mikethrills audiences around theworld with his fun-filledshow and now is yourchance to experience themagic for yourself. Comeearly for a magic-themedlunch including a menu de-signed just for the young-sters and a little magic per-formed at your table. Doorsopen at 1 p.m. for lunch andshow starts at 2 p.m.These

shows sell out fast so re-serve your tickets early bycalling the box office at(972) 404-8501 or visitingwww.improvaddison.com.Ticket prices vary from $10to $20 and VIP seating isavailable, call for details.

Dr. Seuss’s The Cat InThe Hat, will be held onFeb. 1 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.at Willow Bend Center ofthe Arts, in Plano. Thebeloved Dr. Seuss book willcome to life on our stage.From the moment his tall,r ed -and-whi te - s t r ipedhat appears around the door,Sally and her brother knowthat The Cat in the Hat is thefunniest, most mischievouscat that they have ever met.With the trickiest of tricksand the craziest of ideas, heis certainly loads of fun. Heturns a rainy afternoon intoan amazing adventure…but what will mom anddad find when they gethome…? northtexasper-formingarts.org

Kirk Whalum is scheduled to perform at the Denton Black Film Festi-val (Image via Whalum's Facebook Page)

January 24-30, 2019 | North Dallas Gazette |11

Contact Marketing at 972-432-5219 for Career Opportunity Advertising

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

Marketplace

City of Dallas encourages businesses to share theirexperiences working on City contracts

Local, small, minority,and women-owned busi-nesses are invited to partic-ipate in the City of DallasOffice of Business Diver-sity’s Availability and Dis-parity Study. Regional/areabusiness owners will be

asked to provide informa-tion about their experiencesdoing business or attempt-ing to do business with theCity or on City projects atthe upcoming public en-gagement meeting to beheld on Feb. 5 from 2 p.m. –

4 p.m. at the Dallas CityHall Council Chambers.

The City has contractedMGT Consulting Group(MGT), a nationally recog-nized firm, to evaluate theutilization of Minority andWomen Business Enterprise

(M/WBE) firms in theCity’s procurement/con-tracting activities in archi-tecture, engineering, con-struction, other services,professional services andgoods. Input from all busi-nesses will be reviewed and

some will be used in thestudy which subsequentlywill provide input to thestudy’s findings and recom-mendations.

MGT Consulting Grouphas partnered with Con-sumer Market Insights, In-

novative Strategies, andRincon & Associates to as-sist with collecting and ana-lyzing anecdotal informa-tion during the study.

To register for this meet-ing visit https://www.cityof-dallasdisparitystudy.com.

Don’t let predatory tax loans take your refundsBy Charlene Crowell

For many consumers, theNew Year brings an annualeffort to file taxes earlyenough to help pay off bigbills, replace major appli-ances or tuck away a fewbucks for the proverbial‘rainy day’.

With a continuing federalshutdown, this year thereare also an estimated800,000 federal workerswho have not had a paydaysince December. For theseconsumers, an early tax re-fund could cover basic liv-ing needs like housing,food, child care and utili-ties.

And across the country,advertising – particularly onurban radio – tempts listen-ers with easy ways to get aloan against anticipated taxrefunds. But just like other

predatory lending products,what is advertised is notquite what consumers re-ceive. Convenient tax-re-lated loans almost alwayscome with a price that takesa big bite out of consumers’money.

The bigger the refund, themore attentive and helpful“tax preparers” will be inhelping with e-filing, theelectronic processing thattypically results in refundsin two to three businessdays. Once the size of therefund is known, these pre-parers encourage unsus-pecting consumers to takeout a short-term loan like aRefund Anticipation Loan(RAL). Depository institu-tions like banks sell a ‘ser-vice’ known as a RefundAnticipating Check (RAC)that is most appealing toconsumers who lack a bank

account. Neither product is as

helpful as they appear. RALs are usually mar-

keted as an ‘advance’ in-stead of a loan. Instead ofinterest, many of theseloans come with “fees” or a“finance charge”. Con-versely, a Refund Anticipa-tion Check or RAC is soldas a temporary bank ac-count that exists exclusivelyto receive the IRS refund.Once the refund reaches theconsumer’s bank account,either a prepaid card or acheck is issued by the de-pository institution. Andonce again, fees taken outof the refund reduce theamount of monies that con-sumers actually receive.

The biggest target forboth of these products areconsumers with the largestrefunds, especially those

who are eligible for theEarned Income Tax Credits(EITCs), one of the few taxbreak programs available tolow-to-moderate incomeconsumers, and/or the Addi-tional Child Tax Credit.

To be eligible for EITC,earned income and adjustedgross income can be as lowas $15,270 for a single fileror head of household to ashigh as $54,884 for a mar-ried couple with three de-pendent children. This year,eligible EITC consumerscould receive as much as$6,431 for families withthree or more qualifyingchildren to $519 for singlefilers.

Similarly, the Child TaxCredit is available to eligi-ble filers with childrenunder the age of 17. Foreach dependent child meet-ing the age requirement, fil-

ers receive a $2,000 creditthat like EITC reduces theamount of taxes owed.

In 2017, 1 .7 mil l ionRALs were sold, and an-other 20.5 million RACsvalued at a half billion dol-lars were also sold, accord-ing to the National Con-sumer Law Center (NCLC).

“Tax-time is hard enoughfor most Americans, butthey also face consumerprotection challenges,”noted Chi Chi Wu, staff at-torney at the National Con-sumer Law Center. “Theyneed to avoid incompetentand abusive preparers anddecide whether to choose fi-nancial products of varyingcosts.”

So how much financialsense does it make to pur-chase an ‘advance’ or opena temporary bank accountwhen the Internal Revenue

Service can deposit the fullrefund into a checking ac-count within two to threebusiness days?

Just because a refund-ad-vance product isn’t called aloan, or doesn’t have an in-terest rate, doesn’t mean it’sfree, said Scott Astrada, theCenter for ResponsibleLending’s Director of Fed-eral Advocacy. “Carefullyread the terms and condi-tions and ask plenty ofquestions”.

Everyone who works fora living should be entitlednot only to a paycheck but100 percent of their tax re-funds. Charlene Crowell is the

Center for ResponsibleLending’s CommunicationsDeputy Director. She can bereached at Charlene.crow-ell@responsiblelending.org.

Five life insurance game changers to benefit consumers in 2019By Brian Greenberg

The year 2018 laid thegroundwork for big shifts inthe life insurance landscapethat will decidedly benefitconsumers in the New Year.And it seems shifts aresorely needed with morethan 40 percent of Ameri-cans not having any type oflife insurance, according toForesters Financial. Whilethe industry is shifting at arapid pace, consumers cantake advantage of some no-table game changers poisedto impact the insurance in-dustry in 2019:

Variable Rates and Fit-ness Trackers

With the pervasiveness offitness trackers and healthapps, it was only a matter of

time before the data theyproduce made its way intothe underwriting process.Policies with variable ratesbased on fitness data werebrought to the forefront ofthe industry back in 2016 bya forward-thinking provider,using the data from in-sureds’ fitness trackers toadjust rates and premiumsaccordingly to benefit con-sumers. While the programstarted out voluntary, it isnow standard with all lifeinsurance policies writtenby this particular provider.

The program even offersperks such as a “free” AppleWatch (subsidized by pre-miums and participation inthe program), discounts onother fitness trackers, anddeals for healthy lifestyle

publications. On the down-side, the program requires alot of upkeep to submit datathrough the company’s pro-prietary app, and premiumscan increase for those peo-ple who don’t realize im-proved health based on sub-mitted data.

My own company, TrueBlue Life Insurance, ran a2018 survey finding thatmost insurance consumerswere not receptive to shar-ing fitness data, even if itmeant getting better premi-ums. Despite these results,programs have reported suc-cessful results. As a result,this trend will continue togrow, as new policy playerstheir hat into the ring.

Agentless SolutionsWhile some life insurance

purveyors use fitness infor-mation to try and offer betterrates, others in the industryare looking for ways theycan cut out the middle-men—even within theirown companies.

Many of these companiesare turning to agentless so-lutions, which utilize infor-mation available from othersources, such as financial,medical and prescriptionhistory to accelerate the un-derwriting process. Thismove toward automated un-derwriting is great for insur-ance companies looking tostreamline their workflowsand trim the amount they arepaying in commissions.This operational efficiencycan factor into consumer-side savings.

The downside to this au-tomation is that it makes lifeinsurance much harder toget for unhealthy people.These agentless solutionsare more likely to reject ap-plicants because there isn’ta human agent trying tomake things work and theyonly want to accept insuredswho aren’t as risky.

Similar to interactive poli-cies, True Blue’s surveyfound that consumersweren’t comfortable sharingany of their information inexchange for a quote or withusing AI when it came totheir life insurance purchas-ing experience. Even so,there is so much investmentgoing into these solutionsthat it is hard to see it slow-ing down anytime soon.

Innovation is DrivingHigher Coverage Maxi-mums Without Medical

ExamsThere was a time, not so

long ago, where maximumcoverage limits topped outat $500k, but now maxi-mums are on the rise. As adirect result of heavy invest-ment in innovation, insur-ance companies can nowoffer maximums as high as$1 million, with the poten-tial to go even higher in thefuture.

In 2017, only one com-pany was able to offer this a$1 million maximum, butnow at least three others areable to match that.

Up ahead, yet more insur-

See INSURANCE, Page 12

ance companies will be ableto start matching maximumsat this level because they areinvesting in solutions thathelp them cut out unneces-sary spending and acceleratethe underwriting process.Many have created incuba-tors where they can focus oninvesting in innovations thatcan help automate and ac-celerate the underwritingprocess.

These innovations arepowered by information thatinsurance companies can getthrough background checks.Specifically, they can nowuse financial, medical andprescription information.This is without mentioningthe potential that DNA in-formation could offer. Theavailability of this informa-tion cuts out the need formedical exams, acceleratingthe approval process andsaving insurers money onthe front end.

As noted above, someconsumers are reluctant tomake health informationgleaned through Fitbit andother smart wearables,which can track everythingfrom heartrate and stepstaken, to quality of sleep andstress levels. This is furtherspurring the popularity of nomedical exam policies, withsome consumers over-whelmingly opting for thisoption even when the poli-cies are more expensivethan traditional medicalexam options.

While it is yet to be seenif consumers will be appre-hensive to using these inno-vations, like with agentlesssolutions, the positive ef-fects are already manifest-ing themselves in the indus-try at large.Group Coverage for Indi-

vidualsAs noted in the point

about agentless solutions,unhealthy people and theirdifficulty to access life in-surance coverage is part of amuch bigger problem inAmerica than some may re-alize. According to a 2017survey conducted byLIMRA, more than a quar-ter of Americans thoughtthey wouldn’t qualify forlife insurance if they appliedfor a policy.

To remedy this, groupshave begun establishingthemselves online to makebasic life insurance easier toattain for people who don’tthink they qualify. For asmall membership fee, peo-ple can join these groupsand receive the life insur-ance benefits that theywouldn’t otherwise receiveoutside of an employer’splan.

Without these groups,many Americans would bestuck with expensive guar-anteed issue policies thatwouldn’t be worth theirtime. This way, they’re get-ting the coverage they wantwithout being rejected byagentless innovations.New Big Players Entering

the MarketAs we look toward the fu-

ture of life insurance, thereare some major new com-petitors entering the field inthe form of Walmart,Costco, and Amazon.

Here’s what we know sofar: Costco is working on itsown proprietary productwith Protective life insur-ance; Walmart has an affili-ation with MetLife and areworking on their own prod-uct; and Amazon has beenworking on getting an insur-ance license and they plan tostart testing out their ownquote engine in the Euro-pean markets as soon as2019.

The entrance of these“market killers” bears manysimilarities to the way majorbooksellers took out momand pop bookstores, and areunderstandably concerningto independent insuranceagencies. Companies likeAmazon, Costco, and Wal-mart can operate on lowmargins and afford to putcustomers and revenue overprofits. That, plus the exclu-sivity and perks they canoffer makes it more difficultfor independents to com-pete.

That’s why this entranceis so radical in the insuranceindustry. It stands to com-pletely change the way thegame is played.

Thankfully for con-sumers, with this much leadtime, current players havetime to adapt and preparefor these new competitors,with consumers reaping thebenefits of local agents in-creasingly offering incen-tives and thinking “outsidethe box” to win business.

In fact, the True Blue sur-vey found that life insuranceconsumers still prefer to buyfrom a local agent versus abig box retailer or even anonline agent. Nearly eightout of ten people surveyedstated they felt more confi-dent buying insurance froma local agent. There may bean emotional aspect to this.Buying life insurance hasramifications that car insur-ance or homeowners insur-ance doesn’t because itforces people to considertheir mortality. So it’s morepersonal. Having a localagent that the client can talkto face-to-face over mattersof life and death can makeclients feel less vulnerable.Also, in developing an in-person relationship, theagent becomes an ad hocpersonal adviser and advo-cate who takes the time to

listen and find out your in-dividual needs.

Even as the landscapestands to change quite a bit,consumers can secure betterdeals than ever from insur-ance companies focused onadaptation, growth andchange in adherence withthe evolving technologies in2019 and beyond.Brian Greenberg is a

multi-faceted entrepreneurwho owns and operatesTrue Blue Life Insurance—an independent, online lifeinsurance agency represent-ing more than fifty of thebest life insurance compa-nies nationwide. He may bereached online ath t t p s : / / w w w . T r u e -BlueLifeInsurance.com.

12 | January 24-30, 2019 | North Dallas Gazette

Marketplace II Contact Marketing at 972-432-5219 for Career Opportunity Advertising Legal / Classifieds

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

January 7, 2019Ed 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:• 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

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

INSURANCE, continued from Page 11

San Antonio representative files bill opposing Trump's border wallAUSTIN - On Jan. 22,

Texas State RepresentativeRoland Gutierrez (D-119)filed Texas House Bill 990which calls for the TexasWater Development Boardand the Texas Commissionon Environmental Quality tosubmit a report to the Gover-

nor, as well as the Legisla-ture, regarding the effects ofthe construction of a borderwall.

“The Rio Grande Flood-plain is home to severaltowns that have seen devas-tating damage from recordbreaking floods recently,

something that a border wallwould only make worse,”Gutierrez said

“ The findings from the re-port shall be submitted nolater than March 1st, 2020,and determine if the State ofTexas will file suit against thefederal government.”

On Monday, January 21stU.S. Congressman Will Hurdwent on the record to say,"Building a wall from sea tosea makes no sense." As doc-umented in the TexasMonthly article, Back to theWall, published by MelissaDel Bosque in the December

issue, a border wall will meandisaster for Texas townswhere a fence becomespacked with debris, creatinga dam effect, thus floodingsurrounding areas. These ef-fects put Texan's lives at riskevery time storms hit Texas.

“Moreover, this is also be-

comes a property rightsissue,” Gutierrez said. “Peo-ple do not want their propertydivided or taken from them.It is their heritage and theirlivelihood. The bottom line isa wall on Texas' southern bor-der put our citizen's lives atrisk and our heritage at stake.

Jan. 29Hiring Now! Aircraft

Cabin CleanerAgents

(DFW Airport)The Hiring Now! Aircraft

Cabin Cleaner Agents(DFW Airport) will be heldon Jan. 29, from 9 a.m. to 3p.m. at ABM Aviation of-fice, in Irving. Available Po-sitions include: Domesticand International CabinAgents, Lead Cabin Agents,Overnight Cabin Agents,Supervisors and more. It 'sr e c o m m e n d e d y o ubring a copy of your re-sume if available. Visitht tp: / / t inyurl .com/AB-MAviationJobs to start onyour application. Please textyour name and time to 817-919-8010 to confirm atten-dance.

Jan 31Dallas Career FairThe Dallas Career Fair

will be held on Jan. 31 from11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at PlanoEvent Centre, in Plano.You'll meet face-to-facewith hiring decision-makersfrom some of the areas topemployers. Dress profes-sionally and bring plenty ofresumes, because they'rehere to hire. Walk in andstart interviewing, it's thatsimple. Save time, moneyand effort interviewing withmultiple companies in oneday at one location. Manyof these companies haveseveral openings and areeager to meet with you.You're no longer just a pieceof paper. Attend the careerfair and get in front of deci-sion makers. To register andfor more information visitchoicecareerfairs.com.

Feb. 7AmeriHome Career

Fair EventThe AmeriHome Career

Fair Event will be held onFeb. 7 and Feb. 8 from 3p.m. to 8 p.m. at Ameri-home Mortgage, in Dallas.This event will be an open

opportunity to learn moreabout what makes Ameri-Home Mortgage differentfrom the rest. Learn moreabout career opportunities,succession plans, our col-laborative culture, benefitsreview, and market-compet-itive compensation struc-tures. Attendees will alsohave a chance to interview1:1 with leadership mem-bers in CorrespondentLending, Consumer DirectRetail Sales, Operations,Technology, and other sup-porting departments. Formore information visithttps://chm.tbe.taleo.net/chm03/ats/careers/v2/viewRequisition?org=AMERI-HOME&cws=37&rid=524&source=Indeed.com

Feb. 12Registered Nurse(RN)- Virtual Job

FairThe Registered Nurse

(RN)- Virtual Job Fair willbe held on Feb. 12 from 8a.m. to 9 a.m., 12 p.m. to 1p.m., and 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.Searching for an employerwhose high standards matchyour own? Then your desti-nation is clear—choose anMedical City Healthcare. Weshare a mission, a commit-ment to the communities weserve and a standard of ex-cellence for providing com-passionate patient care. Andwe've made it easy to learnmore about our open nursingcareers.

Chat with one of their re-cruiters from your smart-phone, computer, or tablet,during whichever timeworks best for you! We havemorning, afternoon andevening times currentlyavailable. Start the year onthe right career path and reg-ister for a virtual hiring eventtoday! You must have 1 yearof nursing with an RN li-

cense. Please visit medicalci-tyhealthcare.com to sign up.

Feb. 13Arlington Job FairThe Arlington Job Fair

will be held on Feb. 13, from11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at HolidayInn Arlington NE-RangersBallpark, in Arlington. Openthe doors of opportunitywhen you meet and inter-view with the top hiringcompanies in Arlington. Thiscareer fair will allow you tolearn about the businessesthat are hiring and what theirhiring needs are. To registerand find out more, visitEventbrite.com.

Feb 27Dallas Job Fair

The Dallas Job Fair will beheld on Feb. 27 from 10 a.m.to 2 p.m. at Embassy SuitesDallas Market Center, inDallas. Open the doors ofopportunity when you meetand interview with hiringmanagers at companies rang-ing from small local busi-nesses to Fortune 500 corpo-

rations. This career fair willallow you to learn about thebusinesses that are hiring andwhat their hiring needs are.Tired of sending your re-sume over the web and notreceiving any responses

back? By attending thisevent, you will be able tomeet directly with hiringmanagers and get instantfeedback on your resumeand possibly even be hiredon the spot.

January 24-30, 2019 | North Dallas Gazette | 13

Career Opportunity Contact Marketing at 972-432-5219 for Career Opportunity Advertising Legal Notices / Career

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

Upcoming DFW area job fairs

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 in

employment or the provision of services.

BETHEL BIBLEFELLOWSHIP,CARROLLTON

(A NEW PLACE TOBELONG)

NOTICE: New Year, NewYou, Pastor Woodsonserves the community byproviding “ProfessionalTherapy and CounselingServices” on a “SlidingFee” scale. To schedule anappointment call the Pas-toral Counseling Center at972-526-4525 or email thechurch at www.bethelbible-felloswhip.org

January 27, 2019,9:45 a.m.

Please join us in our quiettime, “Prayer and Medita-tion” followed by MorningWorship. You will beblessed and inspired as wecelebrate service to God,our community and allmankind.

January 30, 2019, 7 pmJoin us for Wednesday’sPrayer and Bible StudyClass with Senior PastorWoodson, Pastor LarryGardner and others as wecomplete the book “Bound-aries” when to say yes orhow to say no by Dr. HenryCloud and Dr. JohnTownsend with supportingchapters and verses. Spiri-tual maturity is God’s desirefor you; it’s Time to Growin the Word of God.

Dr. Terrance Woodson,Senior Pastor1944 E. Hebron ParkwayCarrollton, TX 75007972-492-4300www.bethelbiblefellow-ship.org ______________________

FELLOWSHIPCHRISTIAN

CENTER CHURCH INALLEN

“THE SHIP”

January 27, 2019,9:45 a.m.

You are invited to join us inour Sunday Morning Serv-ices as we praise and wor-ship God in the JoycieTurner Fellowship Hall, fol-lowed by our Worship Serv-ices; and bring someonewith you, you will beblessed. It’s for God’s gloryand honor.

January 30, 2019, 7 pm Join us in our Wednesday’s12 Noon-Day Live, Prayerand Bible Study classand/or our WednesdayNight Live, Prayer andBible Study at 7 p.m. tolearn more about God’sWord. Be encouraged byGod’s plan for your matu-rity and His glory; and mostof all; be prepared to grow.

Dr. W. L. Stafford, Sr., Ed. D.Senior Pastor2450 K Avenue #300 Plano, TX 75074972-379-3287www.theship3c.org ______________________

INSPIRING BODY OFCHRIST CHURCH,

Let’s Go Fishing!MATTHEW 4:19

January 25, 2019, 8 p.m.All men are invited toMen’s Ministry meetingeach Friday night at 7 p.m.,(IBOC promotes proactivemale leadership.)

January 27, 10 a.m.Please join us for MorningWorship Service; and, don’tforget to invite family andfriends to join us as we cel-ebrate our Lord and Savior,Jesus Christ.

January 28, 7 p.m.You are invited to Monday

School to see what God hasto say to us in the New Year.

Pastor Rickie Rush7701 S Westmoreland RoadDallas, TX 75237972-372-4262www.Ibocchurch.org______________________

MT. OLIVE CHURCH OF PLANO (MOCOP)

(Uniting the Body ofChrist for World Impact)

January 27, 10 a.m.Join us for Morning Wor-ship Service as we praiseand worship God for HisHonor and His glory. Don’tforget to comeback at 7p.m. for our BrazilianChurch.

January 30, 7 pmYou’re invited to ourWednesday’s Bible Studyclass; you will learn whatGod has to say tous. Come to be encouraged

by God’s plan for your spir-itual growth and His glory.

Dr. Sam Fenceroy, PhDSenior Pastor andPastor Gloria Fenceroy300 Chisholm PlacePlano, TX 75075972-633-5511www.mocop.org______________________

SHILOH MBCIN PLANO

(WHERE COMMUNITY BECOMES FAMILY)

Come and connect to Godthrough Shiloh; grow inChrist through the study ofGod’s Word; and Serve Godthrough service to eachother and to the world.John 12:26.

January 27, 8 and 11 amYou are invited to our Wor-ship Services as we honorGod for His goodness andfaithfulness

Our church ministries offeropportunities for motivationand growth; join us and see.Be blessed of the Lord.

January 30, 7 pmYou’re invited to ourWednesday’s Bible Studyclass; you will learn whatGod has to say to us. Come to be encouraged by God’splan for your spiritualgrowth and His glory.

February 2, 10 amAll teens and parents are in-vited to our “Teens Over-coming Pressure Summit.”Call the church for more in-formation or go to onlineregistration.

Dr. Isaiah Joshua, Jr.Senior Pastor920 E. 14th StreetPlano, TX 75074972-423-6695www.smbcplano.org

14 | January 24-30, 2019 | North Dallas Gazette

Church Happenings For non-profit advertising rates, contact NDG Marketing at 972-432-5219

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!

972-432-5219

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?

• Singles space or Side by Side spaces is okay.We will make you a "cash offer" on your cemetery plot today! If you getvoice mail-leave message phone number and information on cemetery

space. We will get back to you

Call Us Today!!!!!!!! 972.432.5219

Dennis Jarvis / Flickr

ChurchHappeningsis a weekly cal-endar of reli-gious servicesproduced by theNorth DallasGazette.To makeadditions orcorrections tothe calendar,contact:

religion@ north-dallasgazette.com

Lest we forget some ofthese inspiring words andquotes of Dr. King, remem-ber the following:

“Darkness cannot driveout darkness; only light cando that. Hate cannot driveout hate; only love can dothat.”

“The ultimate measure ofa man is not where he standsin moments of comfort andconvenience, but where hestands at times of challengeand controversy. The trueneighbor will risk his posi-tion, his prestige, and evenhis life for the welfare of oth-ers.”

“There are some things sodear, some things so pre-cious, some things so eter-nally true, that they are worthdying for. And I submit toyou that if a man has not dis-covered something that hewill die for, he isn’t fit tolive.”

“When we let freedomring, when we let it ring fromevery village and every ham-let, from every state andevery city, we will be able tospeed up that day when all ofGod’s children, Black menand White men, Jews andGentiles, Protestants andCatholics, will be able to joinhands and sing in the wordsof the old Negro spiritual,‘Free at last! Free at last!Thank God Almighty, we arefree at last!’ ”

“I believe that unarmedtruth and unconditional lovewill have the final word inreality. That is why right,temporarily defeated, isstronger than evil tri-umphant.”

“We’ve been in the moun-tain of war. We’ve been inthe mountain of violence.We’ve been in the mountainof hatred long enough.

It is necessary to move onnow, but only by moving outof this mountain can wemove to the promised land ofjustice and brotherhood andthe Kingdom of God.

It all boils down to the factthat we must never allowourselves to become satisfiedwith unattained goals. Wemust always maintain a kindof divine discontent.”

“When our days becomedreary with low-hoveringclouds of despair, and whenour nights become darkerthan a thousand midnights,let us remember that there isa creative force in this uni-verse, working to pull downthe gigantic mountains ofevil, a power that is able tomake a way out of no wayand transform dark yester-days into bright tomorrows.Let us realize the arc of themoral universe is long but itbends toward justice.”

“We all have the drummajor instinct. We all wantto be important, to surpassothers, to achieve distinction,to lead the parade. … Andthe great issue of life is toharness the drum major in-stinct.

It is a good instinct if youdon’t distort it and pervert it.Don’t give it up. Keep feel-

ing the need for being im-portant. Keep feeling theneed for being first. But Iwant you to be the first inlove.

I want you to be the first inmoral excellence. I wantyou to be the first in gen-erosity.”

“Faith is taking the firststep, even when you don'tsee the whole staircase.”

“Hatred paralyzes life;love releases it. Hatred con-fuses life; love harmonizes it.Hatred darkens life; love il-

luminates it.” “I submit that an individ-

ual who breaks a law thatconscience tells him is un-just, and who willingly ac-cepts the penalty of impris-onment in order to arouse theconscience of the commu-nity over its injustice, is inreality expressing the highestrespect for the law.”

In the end, we will re-member not the words of ourenemies, but the silence ofour friends.”

“It may be true that the

law cannot make a man loveme, but it can stop him fromlynching me, and I thinkthat's pretty important.” “Letno man pull you low enoughto hate him.”

Like an unchecked cancer,hate corrodes the personalityand eats away its vital unity.Hate destroys a man's senseof values and his objectivity.

It causes him to describe thebeautiful as ugly and theugly as beautiful, and to con-fuse the true with the falseand the false with the true.”

“Man must evolve for allhuman conflict a methodwhich rejects revenge, ag-gression and retaliation. Thefoundation of such a methodis love.”

January 24-30, 2019 | 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.

Famous Quotes of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. M.L. King, Jr. Renowned Orator (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)

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 | January 24-30, 2019 | North Dallas Gazette

NDG Book Review www.NorthDallasGazette.com

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

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

The view from above wasstunning.

The cliché says that peoplelook like ants when you’relooking down from a ledge,and they do. Trees look likethe lint you’d pick off asweater, and it seems likeyou could reach out and graba cloud. It’s humbling andpowerful, but in the newnovel “Talk to Me” by JohnKenney, it’s a long way downfrom any height.

Ted Grayson was falling.He’d hired the instructor

just hours ago, gotten a quicklesson on skydiving, andhe’d been pushed out of the

plane, just like in the movies.The instructor assured Tedthat he’d survive this experi-ence. Thing was, Ted didn’twant to.

It all started on his birth-day, didn’t it? Or was it

when his daughter, Frannie,was a teenager and had re-belled, as teenagers do? No,the beginning of the end waswhen Ted let his marriageslowly die, he’d stoppedcoming home after the lastnewscast, he lost interest inhis wife, and Claire metsomeone else. Someone, sheso harshly pointed out, whowas “happy.”

But his birthday was thecherry on the sundae. Tedwas in “a mood,” wrappingup the last story of the nightwhen one thing led to an-other and another and he ex-ploded, calling the temporarymake-up girl something vile.It wasn’t on-camera – he was

too professional for that – buton video and then, to his be-fuddled regret, online. Sud-denly, Ted Grayson, newsanchor to millions, was TedGrayson, internet fool.

And don’t think he didn’tapologize. He did, but theridicule expanded upon itselfwhen someone dug up an an-cient clip of a battle-hard-ened soldier insulting Ted.The station was inundatedwith protesters and calls forTed’s f i r ing. Women’sgroups were incensed. ThenFrannie wrote a scathingstory about her father andthough it wasn’t her inten-tion, the story went viral.

And so, in more ways than

one, Ted Grayson wasfalling…

If ever there was a bookplucked from real life, “Talkto Me” is it.

Beginning with a miser-able last-ditch aim at suicide,author John Kenney tells ablunt, hilariously nuancedbut devastatingly emotionaltale of the age of internet andinstant news, when the pastisn’t past and one dasn’t be-come outdated on what couldhappen online. It’s altogethertoo easy to see yourself inthis novel, in other words,and that’s like a gut-punch.

And yet, you’ll laugh be-cause Kenney is profane,with a biting, spit-out-your-

coffee kind of wit that under-scores the pathos and ironyof it all. Indeed, Ted is nasty,but so is what happened tohim and Schadenfreudeweeps from each page.You’ll see it, especially ifyou’ve ever snorted at some-one else’s gaffe.

But again, the reality setsin. We could be Ted. Ted isus.

What a novel.Readers who relish a little

snark with their story willlove this one, as will thosewho enjoy tattletale videosand gossip mags. “Talk toMe” will make you think,and you won’t want to put itdown.

NDG Book Review: Talk to Mewill make you think

as well as exhibitors withlivestock such as cattle,horses, rabbits and sheep.

General grounds admis-sion can be purchased atany gate and permits accessto livestock events, exhibits,

carnival/midway, dailyfrom 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. $10for adults; $5 for ages 6-16;children 5 and younger areadmitted free. PRCA rodeotickets are $22-$30. Rodeotickets include admission to

the grounds. Purchase on-line, by phone at 817-877-2420, or at the gate (if avail-able).

FriscoBring the kids to Brick-

live on Jan. 26 and Jan. 27,starting at 9 a.m. at The

Star, in Frisco. Bricklive, which bills it-

self as "the largest Lego fanexperience in America,"will take over the Ford Cen-ter at The Star in Frisco Jan.26-27.

Tickets go on sale Nov. 9.This will be the event's U.S.

debut, following severalsuccessful years in Europe.

If "millions of Legobricks in one place" isn'tenough to sell you, event at-tractions include life-sizedLego animals, race ramps,brick pits (like ball pits but,y'know, made of Lego), a

graffiti wall and a wide va-riety of differently-themed"zones," centered aroundsuch things as Star Wars,cities, gaming, Minecraft,architecture and more.

For more information ont h e L e g o e v e n t , v i s i thttps://brickliveusa.com.

BRIEFS, continued from Page 8