Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 109, No. 151, Ed. 1 Monday, December 31, 2012 Page: 3 of 16
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Denton Record-Chronicle
LOCAL/ENTERTAINMENT
Monday, December 31,2012
3A
Buck Elliot waves at the cars passing by his house on
Mayhill Road Nov. 29 in Denton. Elliot is one of many prop-
erty owners that will be displaced by the widening of
Mayhill Road.
From Page 1A
People
his mother’s implanted defibril-
lator was shocking her heart
with alarming frequency — it
would end up shocking her 53
times in 43 minutes.
The 911 dispatcher had lots of
instructions for Gavin. He had
had to turn on the porch and
kitchen lights for the para-
medics, relay the names of his
mother’s medications, and try to
take his mother’s pulse. But he
couldn’t find it at her wrist —
even medical professionals
measure it at her neck because
of what her heart disease has
done to her veins and arteries,
his mother said. Instead, the dis-
patcher had Gavin say “OK”
each time he saw his mother
exhale.
He held her hand the whole
time, even though her nails were
digging into his skin. Soon, the
paramedics arrived, and so did
friends to help Gavin. His moth-
er was home after about a week
and is on the mend. More than
once since then someone has
asked Gavin what it means to
him to be called a hero.
“I’m not a hero,” he told us. “I
just do what my mom tells me to
do.”
Levi and Leah Dubrawsky
After seeing the item in a
Jewish community newsletter, a
reader called to let us know
about a new home in Denton for
Jewish university students.
Rabbi Levi Dubrawsky, 25,
and his wife, Leah, 23, are the
leaders of Chabad North Texas,
which is located at their house
on Houston Place. Reporter
Rachel Mehlhaff got the coveted
assignment to cover Leah
Dubrawsky’s kosher cooking
class in September. Students
prepared gefilte fish, carrot
kugel, chocolate cake and
chocolate chip cookies.
Levi Dubrawsky comes from
a line of rabbis. His father is a
rabbi in Dallas and his grandfa-
thers also were rabbis.
He noticed there was a need
for a Chabad house in Denton
because students were driving to
Dallas for services. The couple,
along with their 1-year-old
daughter, moved to Denton in
March to start Chabad North
Texas for students from the
University of North Texas and
Texas Woman’s University. They
lived in an apartment until they
found their house about a
month ago.
College is a time of discovery
for students, Levi Dubrawsky
said, and he wants to provide
them with a safe and warm envi-
ronment where they can hang
out. He will be offering classes
on the Torah and Judaism and is
available for students curious
about the Jewish culture and
religion.
Although the Dubrawskys
have held only a few events at
the house, students already feel
welcome.
“My goal is to bring light to
the world,” he said.
That’s not just a Jewish thing,
he said, it’s a humanity thing.
‘We want to make this world
a better place,” the rabbi said.
“It’s a group effort.”
Buck Elliott
As word got around about the
widening of Mayhill Drive, read-
ers began calling this fall to ask
about the the fate of the man
who waves at passing drivers.
Living landmark Buck Elliott,
75, is one of many homeowners
being displaced as Mayhill
becomes a four-lane, divided
road from Colorado Boulevard
to U.S. Highway 380 next year.
Most mornings for the past 27
years, he has sat out in front of
his Mayhill Road home and
waved at people. Driving by
Elliott and returning the greet-
ing is part of the day for many
residents and city workers, too.
Elliott grew up in the Big
Thicket in southeastern Texas.
His father sat outside and waved
at folks as they passed, too.
When he first moved to Mayhill
Road, it was still the country,
Elliott said. He likes spending
the day outside; as for waving as
someone goes by, well, that’s just
being friendly.
“There ain’t no other way to
be,” Elliott said.
Bryson Gappa
A Lewisville woman’s
uncommon ornament collec-
tion is coming soon to Denton
County museums. Bryson
Gappa began a memorial to the
Iraq War in her front yard in
Denton Record-Chronicle/AI Key
2004 after reading a newspa-
per story about the first 101
Texas casualties. She started
with 117 ornaments, which she
created with the Texans’ pho-
tos.
The work made the losses
real.
“I started identifying with
them,” Gappa said. “One looked
like my brother. One looked
like the kid who mowed my
lawn. One had a smile during
the picture — you had to won-
der what he was thinking
about.
“Other people needed to see
their faces like I did so they
could see real people — so their
absence could mean some-
thing.”
When the war began wind-
ing down, she had 436 orna-
ments. She began taking the
ornaments down and sending
them to families of soldiers
who wanted them. She plans
on giving the rest to the county
for preservation and display.
Gappa still has a tree dedi-
cated to veterans of the war in
Afghanistan.
“We are still in Afghanistan
and there are still casualties, so
I will keep doing it there until
we are out of there as well,” she
told us.
Jason Lim
A new orchestra debuted in
May, thanks to the tireless work
of a former international stu-
dent at the University of North
Texas College of Music who has
made Denton his home. A pri-
vate music teacher, Jason Lim
trained as a violist and was a
member of the UNT Graduate
String Quartet before taking up
conducting.
Together with Clair Salz and
Charles Workinger, he formed
the Odysseus Chamber
Orchestra, a professional, non-
profit chamber ensemble.
“When you look around at all
the high-quality music Denton
has to offer, you start wonder-
ing, Why doesn’t Denton have
a chamber group?”’ Lim said.
The group won’t compete
with the Denton Bach Society,
which covers early music.
Instead, the group is focusing
on orchestral music written by
Mozart and Vivaldi, as well as
concerti and other pieces writ-
ten for small ensembles —
including contemporary works
by Denton area composers.
“When I play or conduct
music, I visualize the impact
that it has on the listener. It has
to have movement, it has to
have feeling,” Lim said. “I have
high expectations of myself and
high expectations of the musi-
cians. What you do depends on
your expectations.”
Monica Thieu
OK, we’ll make an exception
for stories of the rich and
famous for Monica Thieu. A stu-
dent in the Texas Academy of
Mathematics and Science at the
University of North Texas, Thieu
prevailed over 12,000 hopefuls
from around the country and
won the Jeopardy! College
Championship in February.
She went into the second day
of the two-day finals in first
place with $18,000. She
answered the final question cor-
rectly and her total winnings
were combined to make her the
champion. She brought home
the grand prize of $100,000
and a small trophy.
At age 18, she was the
youngest winner of the College
Championship since the tourna-
ment debuted in 1989.
It didn’t take long to decide
what to do with all that money.
“College tuition. Definitely,”
she said.
Shelly Tucker
We thought we knew where
the skeletons were.
Then we met Shelly Tucker.
The Denton resident and pro-
fessional storyteller takes any-
one who dares to the places
where Denton’s skeletons,
ghosts and goblins are.
A professional storyteller
and Denton resident, Tucker
dons a portable microphone
after dark every Thursday,
Friday and Saturday and
guides local ghost hunters and
spooky story lovers around the
Square. She’s half of the local
volunteer ghost tour called
Denton Haunts.
She jumped onto the one-
man bandwagon started by
University of North Texas com-
munications studies professor
Shaun Treat almost as soon as
she discovered it.
See PEOPLE on 5A
Driving distractions can have tragic consequences
Dear Abby: I am a profes-
sional driver. Please allow me
to offer some advice to every-
one I share the road with:
(1) Please do not honk or dis-
play obscene gestures because I
am driving the speed limit. It’s
not my fault that you’re late.
(2) Please don’t pass me on
the right, using the curb lane,
parking lane, bike lane or side-
walk. It’s dangerous for me, for
you, and for anyone who hap-
pens to be in those lanes legal-
ly-
(3) Please obey the stop
signs, stoplights, yield signs
and other signs on the road.
They’re there to protect people.
(4) Please put down that
breakfast sandwich, cup of cof-
fee, lunch or dinner. If you’re
that hungry, pull over to eat.
(5) Please turn off your cell-
phones while driving. What-
ever it is, it can wait. And if it
can’t, you have no business
being behind the wheel.
(6) If you must discipline
your children, please pull over
to do it. I have seen drivers
wrap their vehicles around
trees and lamp posts because
Dear
Abby
they had turned around to talk
to their child.
I drive more than 1,000
miles a week, and I see more
accidents than most will in a
lifetime. Many of them could
have been avoided simply by
paying attention to the road. If
you choose to ignore this
advice, I can pretty much guar-
antee that you will injure, or
possibly kill, someone eventu-
ally.
If my letter prevents just one
fatality, then it was well worth
the time it took to write it.
Milwaukee Mile Man
Dear Mile Man: Thank you
for taking the time to write. As
both a driver and a passenger, I
have seen some frightening
near-misses because drivers
chose to ignore speed limits
and run stop signs and stop-
lights. Usually the infractions
are caused less because of
thoughtlessness than by rude-
ness and an attitude that the
rules of the road apply to every-
one else.
And please don’t think that
automobile drivers are the only
transgressors, because I have
seen bikers and cyclists do
some of the same things.
Dear Abby: Why do some
people think it’s acceptable to
tuck in the tag on my shirt? It’s
bad enough when my mother
does it, but I have had acquain-
tances and even strangers do it
without asking.
I said something the last
time it happened, and the
woman had the gall to take
offense! All I said was, “Please
don’t!” Am I wrong?
Please Don’t in Texas
Dear Please Don’t: I’m sure
there are various reasons why
people try to tuck in an errant
tag — or remove a piece of lint
— from a stranger’s clothing. I
suspect they range from
attempting to be helpful, to
impulsiveness to compulsive
behavior.
However, because what the
woman did made you uncom-
fortable, you were right to tell
her that you didn’t like it. She
should have asked before
touching a stranger because
many people are sensitive to
any breach of their personal
space.
Confidential to my readers:
If you are partying tonight to
celebrate the arrival of the new
year, please don’t drink and
drive. Make sure you have a
designated driver.
I wish you all a happy,
healthy, prosperous 2013!
Lave, Abby
Dear Abby is written by
Abigail Van Buren, also known
as Jeanne Phillips, and was
founded by her mother, Pauline
Phillips. Write Dear Abby at
www.DearAbby.com or P.O.
Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA
90069.
— Universal Press Syndicate
HOROSCOPE
BY NANCY BLACK
10 is the easiest day.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY: Your career
looks to stay busy into July.
A CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
WSeek career advice from a
practical person.
A AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
O Change is coming! Consider
the consequences of your choic-
es, and impacts on those who
love you.
7 PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
i Money-making could interfere
with travel and romance.
A ARIES (March 21-April 19)
What you have is in great
demand, so take advantage.
A TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
Get solid answers.
A GEMINI (May 21-June 21)
0 Make your home your castle.
7CANCER (June 22-July 22)
1 Offer support for a good
cause.
A LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) You’re
exceptionally attractive now.
A VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
WYou’re irresistible. Go ahead
and question authority.
A LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
O Don’t be intimidated by regu-
lations.
A SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
O Friends help you restore bal-
ance.
A SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec.
021) Creative work pays well.
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DAY
50
SCRABBLE® is a trademark of Hasbro in the US and Canada. ©2012 Hasbro. Distributed by Tribune
Media Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
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PAR SCORE 150-160
BEST SCORE 232
FOUR RACK TOTAL
TIME LIMIT: 20 MIN
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points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-
point bonus. "Blanks" used as any letter have no point value. All the words
are in the Official SCRABBLE5 Players Dictionary, 4th Edition. SOLUTION TOMORROW
For more information on books, clubs, tournaments and the school program go to
www.scrabble-assoc.com or call the National SCRABBLE* Association (631) 477-0033.
12-31
SATURDAY’S SOLUTION
SCIMBBIE BRAND GRAMS SOLUTION
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SCRABBLE* is a trademark of Hasbro in the US and Canada. ©2012 Hasbro. Distributed by Tribune
Media Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Cobb, Dawn. Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 109, No. 151, Ed. 1 Monday, December 31, 2012, newspaper, December 31, 2012; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1102609/m1/3/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .