The Dallas Morning News Monday, January 24, 2005 Fallen ... · PDF fileback soon Arunner let...
2
YOU DON’T SAY? How low can the mercury go? A blast of arctic air sent chills through North Texans on Sunday, but warmer weather is on the way. Temperatures dipped into the low 20s throughout most of the Dallas-Fort Worth area Sunday morning, the National Weather Service reported. But it could have been far worse. A massive snowstorm pummeled the Northeast with snow, strong winds and subzero temperatures. The storm prompted a few dozen flight cancellations Sunday at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, officials said. In North Texas, it should be practically balmy by Tuesday, with a high temperature approaching 70 degrees. Eric Aasen Mercury to bounce back soon A runner let off some steam Sunday before the Resolution Run in McKinney. INDEX Regional roundup ...............................2B Lottery ...............................................2B Obituaries .......................................6-7B The Quiz.............................................8B Overnight ...........................................9B At a glance ......................................10B II+ ........ The miracle on Mockingbird Mockingbird Station has helped transform a corner of Dallas that seemed to be sliding toward obscurity. INSIDE Handling of county funds is investigated The FBI says the director of a firm that collects property tax and vehicle registration money for Dallas Coun- ty diverted thousands of dollars to personal bank accounts. 8B PAGE 1A Ronne Mendelson M ETRO The Dallas Morning News Monday, January 24, 2005 ◗ B OVERNIGHT Bold adaptation A Country Life , the southern-fried adaptation of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, is well done, but not to perfection. 9B Number of contributors 1,950 Total collected $1,271,342.13 The Dallas Morning News is collecting money through Jan. 31 for distribution to 21 agencies that assist the hungry and homeless in North Texas. Send your check or money order, payable to: The Dallas Morning News Charities P.O. Box 910845 Dallas, Texas 75391-0845 or donate online at: charities.DallasNews.com When the FM55 bridge in southern Ellis County collapsed into the raging waters of Cham- bers Creek on Jan. 2, it followed the same equation as a bridge col- lapse in July on Ovilla Road that led to the death of two men: An older bridge with at least one support column in the water plus a flash flood carrying massive timber and debris equals destruc- tion. “They’re both older bridges on fairly large waterways where the water tends to come up quickly, and they both have a lot of [de- bris] upstream that tends to get carried downstream,” said Bill Pierce, bridge engineer for the Texas Department of Transporta- tion in Ellis County. A recent National Bridge In- ventory, which is a listing of in- spection ratings, found there are potentially several dozen bridges in the region that inspectors rated in worse shape than the two Ellis County bridges that washed out. Some of those are maintained by cities or counties. Most carry fewer than 2,000 vehicles a day. The bridges were noted not only for their poor overall condition but specifically for the underlying sup- port structure and erosion of the creek bed. “People should not be con- cerned,” said Tony Okafor, Mr. Pierce’s counterpart for the Trans- portation Department’s Dallas District, which in addition to Ellis includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, Kaufman and Navarro counties. “All of our bridges are structurally safe. An act of nature we cannot control.” The vast majority of the 5,400 state-maintained bridges within the district are in good shape — 60 percent have high enough inspec- tion ratings that they need little or no work. About 35 percent are rat- ed highly enough that RANDY ELI GROTHE/Staff Photographer Survey team members stand on the FM55 bridge in Ellis County that was washed out Jan. 2. A second Ellis bridge that collapsed in July also had a support column in midstream. Fallen bridges fail to shake confidence Engineer: Area spans are safe despite low ratings for dozens By JIM GETZ Staff Writer Map of washed-out, lower-rated bridges, 5B See ENGINEERS Page 5B I had to chuckle at the no- tion of Brian and Barbara Cullen, two refined and sophisticated New Yorkers, raising cattle on a Texas farm. Looks like a scene straight out of Green Acres, with Brian and Barbara playing the roles of Oliver and Lisa Douglas. But with their roots firmly planted in Hunt County soil for 20 years now, the Cullens have lasted far longer than the TV sitcom, which ran from 1965- 71. That doesn’t mean that the Cullens don’t poke fun at them- selves from time to time. Like earlier this month, when Bar- bara quipped: “I would like to say thank you to this university [Texas A&M-Commerce] for taking a Bronx gal and showing her the difference between an Angus and a Brangus.” Barbara, you see, took it up- They can see the stars better in the country See COUPLE’S Page 4B JAMES RAGLAND Hugh Stone sounds like a child looking forward to Christmas when he talks about his new house. Mr. Stone, 84, a local legend in Celina for his generosity as the leader of the town’s unoffi- cial food bank, lost his old house when it caught fire in October. After reading about Mr. Stone’s plight in The Dallas Morning News, the community and people across the country donated nearly $60,000 to- ward building the World War II veteran a new house. Since the fire, Mr. Stone’s health declined further, and he’s now in a McKinney nurs- ing home. He suffers from can- cer, diabetes and emphysema. The health of his wife, Norma Jean, who has breast cancer, has also worsened. “There’ll be three bedrooms — the biggest one for my wife,” he said with a huge grin while lying on his bed in the nursing home, dressed in his trade- mark overalls. Construction will begin as soon as Mr. Stone can leave the nursing home. Although the contributions and promises from volunteers have been great, Mr. Stone still needs about $10,000 more to build the house where the old struc- ture stood, said Bob Santiago, a friend who has led efforts to collect money to build the home, which will include a ramp and handicap access. Mr. Stone’s friends have taken over the food bank he used to run from his yard, but he hopes to reclaim his duties when he’s feeling better. He wants to regain the 10 pounds he’s lost. Mr. Stone said he’s touched but not surprised by the kind- ness of friends and strangers. He had no doubt there were good people in the world. “They just love me, I guess,” Mr. Stone said. E-mail [email protected] HOW TO HELP Mail donations to First State Bank, Attn: Hugh Stone Fund, P.O. Box 1450, Celina, Texas 75009. For details, call Bob Santiago at 972-382-2055. Many eager to return generosity of Celina man after fire MELANIE BURFORD/Staff Photographer Since his house burned down in October, Hugh Stone has been trying to regain his health in a McKinney nursing home. The 84-year-old World War II veteran suffers from cancer, diabetes and emphysema. New home is within reach By JENNIFER EMILY Collin County Bureau S tate education officials re- cently put forth new rules that they think will slam the door on free-wheeling charter schools. The state lacks the authority to move quickly on schools that are failing in the classroom and mis- using public money. The new rules are supposed to fix that. And while those tougher rules grabbed headlines, other key as- pects of the plan have garnered lit- tle attention but could have a sub- stantial impact on many successful charters. For example, charter schools that post consistently good test scores can get a reprieve from the state’s nepotism laws, teacher training requirements and some other rules that many charter op- erators consider more nuisance than effective. If a charter’s students are suc- ceeding, the thinking goes, then the state shouldn’t concern itself over whether the school’s CEO at- tended an annual 15-hour training class, as is currently required. There’s also a move afoot in Austin to reward successful char- ter schools with more money, most notably state funding for fa- cilities. Currently, charters receive a per-pupil allocation from the state — roughly $6,000 — but they get nothing from the local tax base or from state technology and build- ing funds. The idea to tie facility money to test scores is just a proposal at this point. But if it becomes reality, charters that the state deems “suc- cessful” would have gained a con- siderable advantage when it comes to expanding programs and enrollments. And those deter- mined to be “unsuccessful” will be left behind. Charter schools are tuition- free public schools that are not run by local school boards. In- stead, the state gives tax money to nonprofit groups, businesses and grass-roots do-gooders to create THINKING ABOUT EDUCATION KENT FISCHER Weeding out the bad charters See PROPOSALS Page 4B Two well-known Dallas doctors respected for their experience and expertise with organ transplants died early Saturday morning after a plane crash south of Abilene. Paulose Mathai, 50, and Karl Robert Brinker, 58, were killed after the single- engine plane Dr. Mathai was pi- loting clipped power lines, crashed into trees, lost a wing and erupted in- to flames, police said. The plane was preparing to land in Brownwood, Texas, when landing gear struck the lines, authorities said. The men were on a hunt- ing trip. “This is pretty much sending shock waves through the trans- plantation community,” said Pam Silvestri, spokeswoman for the Southwest Transplant Alliance. Dr. Mathai, a lung specialist, and Dr. Brinker, a kidney special- ist, practiced at Methodist Health System. Ms. Silvestri said Dr. Brinker helped develop Method- ist’s guidelines for organ donor re- quirements. His guidelines were emulated at hospitals across North Texas as organ donations became common. Doctors killed in crash Transplant specialists’ small plane went down south of Abilene By BRANDON FORMBY Staff Writer See TRANSPLANT Page 7B Karl Brinker Paulose Mathai A scrumptious honor for Scout A local Girl Scout smashes the national record in a delicious contest. Metro COMING TUESDAY
Transcript of The Dallas Morning News Monday, January 24, 2005 Fallen ... · PDF fileback soon Arunner let...
YOU DON’T SAY?
How low can themercury go? A blast ofarctic air sent chills throughNorth Texans on Sunday,but warmer weather is onthe way.
Temperatures dippedinto the low 20s throughoutmost of the Dallas-FortWorth area Sundaymorning, the NationalWeather Service reported.
But it could have beenfar worse. A massivesnowstorm pummeled theNortheast with snow,strong winds and subzerotemperatures. The stormprompted a few dozen flightcancellations Sunday atDallas/Fort WorthInternational Airport,officials said.
In North Texas, it shouldbe practically balmy byTuesday, with a hightemperature approaching70 degrees.
Eric Aasen
Mercuryto bounceback soon
A runner let off somesteam Sunday beforethe Resolution Run inMcKinney.
INDEXRegional roundup ...............................2BLottery ...............................................2BObituaries .......................................6-7BThe Quiz.............................................8BOvernight ...........................................9BAt a glance ......................................10B
II+ . . . . . . . .
The miracle onMockingbirdMockingbird Station hashelped transform a cornerof Dallas that seemed to besliding toward obscurity.
INSIDE
Handling of countyfunds is investigatedThe FBI says the director of
a firm thatcollectsproperty taxand vehicleregistrationmoney forDallas Coun-ty divertedthousands ofdollars topersonal
bank accounts. 8B
PAGE 1A
RonneMendelson
METROThe Dallas Morning News Monday, January 24, 2005
◗BOVERNIGHT
Bold adaptationA Country Life, the southern-fried adaptationof Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, is well done, butnot to perfection. 9B
Number ofcontributors 1,950Totalcollected $1,271,342.13
The Dallas Morning News iscollecting money throughJan. 31 for distribution to 21agencies that assist thehungry and homeless inNorth Texas. Send your checkor money order, payable to:The Dallas Morning NewsCharitiesP.O. Box 910845Dallas, Texas 75391-0845or donate online at:charities.DallasNews.com
When the FM55 bridge insouthern Ellis County collapsedinto the raging waters of Cham-bers Creek on Jan. 2, it followedthe same equation as a bridge col-lapse in July on Ovilla Road thatled to the death of two men:
An older bridge with at leastone support column in the water
plus a flash flood carrying massivetimber and debris equals destruc-tion.
“They’re both older bridges onfairly large waterways where thewater tends to come up quickly,and they both have a lot of [de-bris] upstream that tends to getcarried downstream,” said BillPierce, bridge engineer for theTexas Department of Transporta-tion in Ellis County.
A recent National Bridge In-
ventory, which is a listing of in-spection ratings, found there arepotentially several dozen bridgesin the region that inspectors ratedin worse shape than the two EllisCounty bridges that washed out.Some of those are maintained bycities or counties. Most carry fewerthan 2,000 vehicles a day. Thebridges were noted not only fortheir poor overall condition butspecifically for the underlying sup-port structure and erosion of thecreek bed.
“People should not be con-cerned,” said Tony Okafor, Mr.Pierce’s counterpart for the Trans-
portation Department’s DallasDistrict, which in addition to Ellisincludes Collin, Dallas, Denton,Kaufman and Navarro counties.“All of our bridges are structurallysafe. An act of nature we cannotcontrol.”
The vast majority of the 5,400
state-maintained bridges withinthe district are in good shape — 60percent have high enough inspec-tion ratings that they need little orno work. About 35 percent are rat-ed highly enough that
RANDY ELI GROTHE/Staff Photographer
Survey team members stand on the FM55 bridge in EllisCounty that was washed out Jan. 2. A second Ellis bridge thatcollapsed in July also had a support column in midstream.
Fallen bridges failto shake confidence
Engineer: Area spansare safe despite lowratings for dozens
By JIM GETZStaff Writer
Map of washed-out, lower-rated bridges, 5B
See ENGINEERS Page 5B
I had to chuckle at the no-tion of Brian and BarbaraCullen, two refined and
sophisticated New Yorkers,raising cattle on a Texas farm.
Looks like a scene straightout of Green Acres, with Brianand Barbara playing the roles ofOliver and Lisa Douglas.
But with their roots firmlyplanted in Hunt County soil for20 years now, the Cullens havelasted far longer than the TVsitcom, which ran from 1965-71.
That doesn’t mean that theCullens don’t poke fun at them-selves from time to time. Likeearlier this month, when Bar-
bara quipped: “I would like tosay thank you to this university[Texas A&M-Commerce] fortaking a Bronx gal and showingher the difference between anAngus and a Brangus.”
Barbara, you see, took it up-
They can see the starsbetter in the country
See COUPLE’S Page 4B
JAMES RAGLAND
Hugh Stone sounds like achild looking forward toChristmas when he talks abouthis new house.
Mr. Stone, 84, a local legendin Celina for his generosity asthe leader of the town’s unoffi-cial food bank, lost his oldhouse when it caught fire inOctober.
After reading about Mr.Stone’s plight in The DallasMorning News, the communityand people across the countrydonated nearly $60,000 to-ward building the World War
II veteran a new house.Since the fire, Mr. Stone’s
health declined further, andhe’s now in a McKinney nurs-ing home. He suffers from can-cer, diabetes and emphysema.The health of his wife, NormaJean, who has breast cancer,
has also worsened.“There’ll be three bedrooms
— the biggest one for my wife,”he said with a huge grin whilelying on his bed in the nursinghome, dressed in his trade-mark overalls.
Construction will begin assoon as Mr. Stone can leave thenursing home. Although thecontributions and promisesfrom volunteers have beengreat, Mr. Stone still needsabout $10,000 more to buildthe house where the old struc-ture stood, said Bob Santiago,a friend who has led efforts tocollect money to build the
home, which will include aramp and handicap access.
Mr. Stone’s friends havetaken over the food bank heused to run from his yard, buthe hopes to reclaim his dutieswhen he’s feeling better. Hewants to regain the 10 poundshe’s lost.
Mr. Stone said he’s touchedbut not surprised by the kind-ness of friends and strangers.He had no doubt there weregood people in the world.
“They just love me, I guess,”Mr. Stone said.
E-mail [email protected]
HOW TO HELPMail donations to First StateBank, Attn: Hugh Stone Fund,P.O. Box 1450, Celina, Texas75009. For details, call BobSantiago at 972-382-2055.
Many eager to return generosity of Celina man after fire
MELANIE BURFORD/Staff Photographer
Since his house burned down in October, Hugh Stone has been trying to regain his health in a McKinney nursinghome. The 84-year-old World War II veteran suffers from cancer, diabetes and emphysema.
New home is within reachBy JENNIFER EMILY
Collin County Bureau
S tate education officials re-cently put forth new rulesthat they think will slam the
door on free-wheeling charterschools.
The state lacks the authority tomove quickly on schools that arefailing in the classroom and mis-using public money. The new rulesare supposed to fix that.
And while those tougher rulesgrabbed headlines, other key as-pects of the plan have garnered lit-tle attention but could have a sub-stantial impact on manysuccessful charters.
For example, charter schoolsthat post consistently good testscores can get a reprieve from thestate’s nepotism laws, teachertraining requirements and someother rules that many charter op-erators consider more nuisancethan effective.
If a charter’s students are suc-ceeding, the thinking goes, thenthe state shouldn’t concern itselfover whether the school’s CEO at-tended an annual 15-hour trainingclass, as is currently required.
There’s also a move afoot inAustin to reward successful char-ter schools with more money,most notably state funding for fa-cilities.
Currently, charters receive aper-pupil allocation from the state— roughly $6,000 — but they getnothing from the local tax base orfrom state technology and build-ing funds.
The idea to tie facility money totest scores is just a proposal at thispoint. But if it becomes reality,charters that the state deems “suc-cessful” would have gained a con-siderable advantage when itcomes to expanding programs andenrollments. And those deter-mined to be “unsuccessful” will beleft behind.
Charter schools are tuition-free public schools that are notrun by local school boards. In-stead, the state gives tax money tononprofit groups, businesses andgrass-roots do-gooders to create
THINKING ABOUTEDUCATION
KENT FISCHER
Weeding out the bad charters
See PROPOSALS Page 4B
Two well-known Dallas doctorsrespected for their experience andexpertise with organ transplantsdied early Saturday morning aftera plane crash south of Abilene.
Paulose Mathai, 50, and KarlRobert Brinker,58, were killedafter the single-engine plane Dr.Mathai was pi-loting clippedpower lines,crashed intotrees, lost a wingand erupted in-to flames, policesaid. The planewas preparingto land inBrownwood,Texas, whenlanding gearstruck the lines,authorities said.
The menwere on a hunt-ing trip.
“This is pretty much sendingshock waves through the trans-plantation community,” said PamSilvestri, spokeswoman for theSouthwest Transplant Alliance.
Dr. Mathai, a lung specialist,and Dr. Brinker, a kidney special-ist, practiced at Methodist HealthSystem. Ms. Silvestri said Dr.Brinker helped develop Method-ist’s guidelines for organ donor re-quirements. His guidelines wereemulated at hospitals acrossNorth Texas as organ donationsbecame common.
Doctorskilledin crash
Transplant specialists’small plane went down
south of Abilene By BRANDON FORMBY
Staff Writer
See TRANSPLANT Page 7B
Karl Brinker
Paulose Mathai
A scrumptioushonor for ScoutA local Girl Scoutsmashes the nationalrecord in a deliciouscontest. Metro
COMINGTUESDAY
METROThe Dallas Morning News DallasNews.com III+ Monday, January 24, 2005 Page 5B
rehabilitation would make themadequate for a while, and the re-mainder usually are scheduledfor major work or replacement.The Dallas District has scheduled57 bridge projects totaling $51.3million this fiscal year, whichends Aug. 31.
But the number of remainingolder bridges with columns in themiddle of creeks or riverbeds isunknown. Although state inspec-tors usually rate bridges at leastevery two years, and district in-spectors do checks every sixmonths, the inspectors do nottrack whether columns are in themiddle of a waterway.
The National Bridge Invento-ry ratings are the basis for listinga bridge for repair or replace-ment in coming years. Many ofthe worst bridges have been re-paired or replaced since the in-ventory came out, and others arescheduled to be. The FM55bridge that washed out Jan. 2“was in the pipeline” to be re-placed in a few years, Mr. Piercesaid.
But of those that still need tobe addressed, many probablyhave columns that are potentialtargets for swift-moving trees.And bridges such as the one overOvilla Road, built in 1953, andthe one over FM55, built in 1966,were battered for years beforecollapsing.
“It does occur. I won’t lie toyou, but it is not something thatoccurs frequently,” Mr. Piercesaid. “These failures are a sur-prise to me. … Those guys in 1966probably never dreamed that thisbridge would fail in this way.”
Brush clearedrepeatedly
Mr. Pierce and Mr. Okaforsaid road crews repeatedlycleared brush from under theFM55 span in the months beforeit collapsed.
He and Mr. Pierce said whennew bridges are built or replaceolder ones, crews in most casesare able to place columns outsidea creek or river channel. That isbecause today’s technology en-ables 120-foot horizontal spans
instead of 30-foot spans in olderbridges. Columns can now bespaced 120 feet apart, wider thanmany waterways. That’s the planfor the 900-foot FM55 bridge, a$5 million project that Mr. Pierceexpects to take seven months tobuild.
Other replacements or reha-bilitations in upcoming years in-clude State Highway 289 overPanther Creek in Frisco, the Syl-van Avenue Bridge over the Trin-ity River in Dallas and frontageroads along U.S. 67 over FiveMile and Ten Mile creeks. In a $1million job last year, the tops ofcolumns were repaired on east-bound Interstate 30 over WhiteRock Creek in Dallas, a bridgethat averages more than 71,000vehicles a day.
100-year floods in mindMr. Okafor said that new
bridges on state or U.S. routesare designed with the force of100-year floods in mind.
Given those standards and thelevel of funding the Transporta-tion Department has to just keepup with other repairs and main-tenance, Mr. Okafor said it wouldbe nearly impossible to targetolder bridges with columns inwaterways for repair.
“If one column collapses every20 years,” he said, “do you re-place all of the columns in thestate? We would like to replacethem, but funding is the issue.”
Norm Glaze, a Sunnyvale offi-cial who oversaw the replace-ment of one of the worst ratedbridges in the state in 2004, onTown East Boulevard over DuckCreek, agrees.
“Your biggest problem is
funding, but Mother Natureplays tricks on us,” he said. “Youthink something will hold up, butwater is more powerful than youthink it is. Whenever you takewater and put debris in it, it’s likea jackhammer hitting things.
“The only way to stop it, if youhave the money for it, is to con-crete the channel. Otherwise,water is going to do what it wantsto do.”
E-mail [email protected]
1
2
3
4 5
6
78
9
10
11
12
13 0 10Miles
N
75
289
190
121
78
26
TARR
ANT
CO. 30
30
45
20
20
635
35E
35E
80
175
1212
D/FW
287
67
183
114
Tollw
ay
COLLIN CO.
ROCKWALL CO.
KAUFMAN CO.
DENTON CO.
DALLAS CO.
ELLIS CO.
NAVARRO CO.
HENDERSONCO.
HENDERSONCO.
JOHNSONCO.
JOHNSONCO.
LakeRay
Hubbard
LewisvilleLake
LakeLavon
JoePoolLake
MountainCreekLake
NorthLake
WhiteRockLake
RailroadsWaterways
664
1382
55
Sylv
an
TOM SETZER/Staff Artist
TROUBLED BRIDGES OVER WATERSHere is a look at the status of two bridges that washed out and 11 othersin the Dallas area that inspectors rated lower. Like those that washed out,most have columns in the middle of waterways.
TEXASTEXAS
Areaof detailAreaof detail
1931 5,948
1958 17,750
1944 10,400
1952 12,200
1969 7,930
1965 2,730
1940 5,653
1953 4,790
1962 71,285
1925 15,9001948 5,800
1953 6,300
1966 1,700
SOURCES: Texas Department of Transportation; city of Dallas; North Central Texas Council of Governments
Location Status1. SH 289 over Panther Creek2. Audelia over Jackson Branch3. W. Lawther over White RockCreek4. Sylvan over TrinityRiver5. I-30 over White Rock Creek6. U.S. 80 over Terry Creek7. Loop 12 over Five MileCreek8. U.S. 67 northbound frontageroad over Five Mile Creek9. U.S. 67 southboundfrontage over Ten Mile creek10. FM 1382 over Heath Creek11. Ovilla over Red Oak Creek12. U.S. 67 north frontage overWard Branch13. FM55 over ChambersCreek
Replacement to begin this yearAn “imminent” fix because of erosionTo be repaired because of erosion; no timetable but inthe top third on priority listIn preliminary engineering; looking to award constructionin 2007 with new bridge in 2009Tops of columns repaired within the past yearPlans call for rehabilitation within five to six yearsPlans call for rehabilitation within five to six years
In design; contract to be awarded in 2006
In design; contract to be awarded in 2006
Being rebuiltReplaced after being destroyed by a flash flood July 29Plans call for rehabilitation within five to six years
Destroyed by flash flood and debris Jan. 2; constructionof new bridge to take seven months
TOM SETZER/Staff ArtistData analysis by JIM GETZ/Staff Writer
Engineers:Area bridgesare all safe
Continued from Page 1B “People should not beconcerned. All of our
bridges are structurallysafe. An act of nature we
cannot control.”Tony Okafor, the bridgeengineer for the Texas
Department ofTransportation’s Dallas
District, which includes sixarea counties.
IRVING
Resort’s yard sale to aidworkers hurt by tsunami
Four Seasons Resort andClub will have an all-day yardsale to benefit employees in theMaldives who were affected bylast month’s tsunami. Morethan 80 employees of the FourSeasons Maldives lost theirhomes and possessions in theKuda Huraa community. Theyard sale is from 7 a.m. to noonSaturday at the Four Seasonsemployee parking lot, on ByronNelson Way between MacAr-thur Boulevard and Leland.Donated items, except clothing,can be dropped off from 8 a.m.
to 4 p.m. Wednesday throughFriday. Call 972-717-2441.
DALLAS
Infomart to hold serieson import certificates
Global Market Series: Im-port Certificate Program will befrom 8 a.m. to noon Wednes-days from Feb. 2 to Mar. 16 atInfomart Dallas, 1950 N. Stem-mons Freeway. The cost is $45per session or $285 for the en-tire series. Mention The DallasMorning News to receive earlypayment fees of $40 per sessionor $250 for the entire seriesthrough Wednesday. Registerat www.iexportimport.com orcall 214-747-1300.
COMMUNITY CLIPBOARD
SO WAS I, so I got together with my neighbors and compileda list of our favorite service companies. We call it Angie’s
List. Now when we need a plumber, auto mechanic,painter or any other service company, we call to see who
our neighbors recommend. Consumer support letsAngie’s List give you unbiased, unvarnishedhomeowner ratings. If you want to find great serviceor if you have a problem with a service company,
Angie’s List can help.
®
www.angieslist.com
DALLAS
(972) 503-9600FORT WORTH
(817) 561-077140
TIRED OF LOUSY SERVICE?
More than
132,000
homeowners
belong to
Angie’s List!
As featured in the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Real Simple,U.S. News and World Reports and on NPR’s Marketplace and the CBS Morning Show.
January 31, TXU Gas February 1, Atmos Energy
A major change is happening at your gas company. TXU Gas is now Atmos Energy, America’s largest natural gas utility. For over 100 years, we’veworked hard to earn the right to be called America’s best natural gas company. As this change takes place, we’re pleased to welcome our new customers,and we look forward to serving you. Okay, so the news isn’t all that dramatic. But that’s entirely the point.
Same greatgas service.New name.
Knead orbe Kneaded.
$4050minute
massage
972.484.8180 • 2880 LBJ Frwy. Ste 501 (Forest Ln. @ Josey Ln.) Dallas, TX • BBB • NCBTMB
To be the best youhave to train withthe best. Start yourcareer with theschool thatCARES!
Professional Window Washers
No Mess Inside or Outside Home
Same or Next Day Service
Any Size Home, Any Style Windows
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Over 10 Years Experience
Lowest Prices for the BEST Service
Free Over Phone Estimate
Window Washing#Windows In & Out Out Only1-11 $80 $6012-18 $100 $7019-26 $125 $8027-34 $150 $9035-50 $175 $10051-74 $200 $12075-100 $225 $140
Free Sills CleanedStorms & Screens $1 each
Satisfaction GuaranteedOr You Don’t PAY!
1 (866) 489-5846Window Washing& Gutter Cleaning
Call Toll Free1(866)4TY-KUHN
TYKUHNS e r v i c e s
Gutter Cleaning1 Story Home $602 Story Home $903 Story Home $140
Any Size Home & All work done by hand
