Today Cedar Hill (Duncanville, Tex.), Vol. 43, No. 25, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 20, 2008 Page: 1 of 34
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Vol. 43 No. 25
Cedar Hill's oldest newspaper — serving residen
1965!
Thursday, November 20. 2008
Council reviews city plan,
hears Loop 9 complaints
By STEVE SNYDER
/yews Editor
Cedar Hill residents will have to wait just a
little bit longer to see what future development
vision the Cedar Hill City Council adopts.
The council held a public hearing on its
2008 Comprehensive Plan as the main item of
its Nov. 11 agenda. But, after extensive discus-
sion, much of which repeated previous discus-
sion at the Planning and Zoning Commission
level, the council opted to keep the public
hearing open until its Nov. 25 meeting.
Consultant Dan Sefko started the hearing
by giving the council and the largest audience
of residents in the Government Center since its
grand opening an overview of the new com-
prehensive plan.
Bill Strother, chairman of the city’s
Planning and Zoning Commission, urged pas-
sage of the plan. He noted his commission
held its own public hearing as part of the plan
approval process and addressed issues related
to Loop 9, a long-planned beltway around the
southern side of metropolitan Dallas.
Both he and Sefko noted that the city’s
options at the present time were basically lim-
ited to accepting one of two options for Loop
9, and that it was prudent planning to decide to
support one particular option over another.
After Strother, a number of residents spoke
about the plan.
“When you zone someone out from their
property, it’s just stealing,” claimed former
mayor Mark Bielamowicz.
Despite what Strother said, a number of
members of the South Cedar Hill Property
Owners Association, some of whom could
lose land to Loop 9 - if it is built out - still
spoke in a last effort to block the plan.
See PLAN, Page 3
Help Today provide holiday help
By ANGEL MORRIS
Managing Editor
This time last year Today Newspapers
made a request for readers in need to contact
us so that we might share their plight in out
pages. As a result, residents responded with
gifts and monies to help make their holidays
bright.
One local man assisted by readers was
Duncanville native Eric Staalsen, who was
recovering from severe back injury caused by
a bizarre accident that changed his life.
• ••
“I was living in San Antonio in 1997, where
1 was sitting under an oak tree when a large,
dead branch fell and landed square on my
back. I was knocked out cold. When I came to,
they were taking me to the hospital,” Eric said.
“We had X-rays done and nothing seemed at
the time to be really damaged. Little did we
know the extent of the long-term damage that
I would eventually have to deal with.”
In 1999, Eric began experiencing severe leg
and back pain for which he was prescribed
“Then, this past year, I just couldn’t handle
it anymore. The pain in my lower back and leg
was so severe I had trouble getting in and out
of bed. My toes had lost all feeling and were
numb,” Eric said.
Insurance through his most recent job final-
ly enabled Eric to put an end to the pain. Oct.
10, 2007, he underwent a complex surgery
known as a reverse 360 of the L-4 and L-5 ver-
tebrae.
“Basically, they cut a 4.5-inch horizontal
incision in my stomach and moved over all my
vital organs to get to my spinal cord. Then they
turned me over and cut a 2.5-inch vertical inci-
sion in my back to get to the backside of my
spine in order to insert the pins and screws that
hold together my L-4 and L-5 vertebrae for aid
in fusing them together,” Eric explained.
Eric had become unable to work prior to the
surgery, and his family’s finances plummeted.
His wife and their two daughters ended up
sharing a home with his parents at the
International Linguistics Center, where his
parents had been career missionaries.
Post-surgery, Eric’s prognosis was good but
anti-inflammatory and pain medications. He
coped in that manner until 2003.
Doctors determined a d^St m his spinal
canal was pinching off a nerve, causing Eric
sciatic pain all the way down his leg, as well as
severe numbness. Steroid shots in his spine
and more pain medications were the tempo-
rary solution.
entailed intensive physical therapy.
Gifts of cash, computers and even wedding
BiAfliH Id TCpTSCFTHBSETTBBjrB Mfl 16 Sell came
from Today readers last year. As a result, Eric
and his family were able to move into their
own place and Eric secured a full-time job.
See HELP, Page 2
McGuire said he wants to see
a large fan base at Texas
Stadium to counter
Southlake’s vocal fans.
Today photos by CHRIS HUDSON
City cleanup gets beautiful
weather, lots of participation
By BETTY MINSHEW
Special to Today
It was a crisp, cool, sunny morn-
ing Oct. 25 at Virginia Weaver Park.
The weather was perfect for the near-
ly 350 citizens and local groups who
participated in the Keep Cedar Hill
Beautiful, fall cleanup. Given a free
Keep Cedar Hill Beautiful T-shirt,
with a trash bag in hand, the volun-
teers took off to clean up the road-
sides of Cedar Hill.
When the volunteers met back at
the park to drop off their bags of
trash, they were amazed to see what
one group hauled back to the site. To
everyone’s surprise, the group had
found a refrigerator that had been
dumped off. Everyone agreed these
volunteers went the extra mile to
clean up the area.
See CLEANUP, Page 2
Today photo by CHRIS HUDSON
Santa Claus kicked off the Christmas shopping and festivi-
ties season at Uptown Village Nov. 15. The shopping center
had Santa light its interactive tree, started a Toys for Tots
drive and more. See page 8 for more holiday activities in
weeks ahead around the city.
Eddy, Eddy, Eddy!
That was the chant in the
third overtime of the Cedar
Hill/Plano West football game
Nov. 13. Above, although his
assistants are already saying
it’s good, Longhorn Coach
Joey McGuire (squatting)
refuses to celebrate before
the game-winning kick is
through the uprights. At left,
placekicking hero Eduardo
Camara (41) helps hoist the
bi-dlstrict playoff game tro-
phy after hitting his field
goal. The Longhorns advance
to play Southlake Carroll at
7:30 p.m. Nov. 21, with the
game at Texas Stadium.
Tickets are on sale at the
Cedar Hill Independent
School District Athletic
Department office at Cedar
Hill High School at $5 for stu-
dents and $8 for adults, or
$10 at Texas Stadium.
INSIDE
Opinion................4
Lifestyles............ .5
Religion ...............7
Holiday events ...........8
Sports ..........11,13-14
www. todaynewspapers. net
Santa starts early
[vosiori
lb see why talking with Edward Jonn. about your rrtirrtnrut
taae, call today.
Chari** D. Payton. AAMS.
Financial Advisor
241 E FM 1382 #318
Cedar Hill. TX 75104
(In Kroger Shopping Cnlt)
972-293-2010
Jones
MIKE STANTON
INSURANCE MINGY.
YOUR TEAM IN THE HUB.
CAU 972 2912563
FARMERS
Gets you back where you belong:
AUTO • HOME • LIFE • BUSINESS
©2008 gm mrrmm m
Cedar Hill Today 1—gf*
Williams gets extension
V'#:A 4
By STEVE SNYDER
News Editor
Horace Wil-
liams can get a
little more com-
fortable now
leading Cedar
Hill schools.
The Cedar
Hill School
Board, after
having done a
performance
review of Wil-
liams, extended the contract of the
Cedar Hill Independent School
District’s superintendent.
Williams’ contract was extended
to August 2011, along with the board
giving him a 7 percent raise. In dollar
amounts, it’s an increase of $ 12,600 a
Horace Williams
year, from $180,000 to $192,600.
Williams began with the district
Feb. 1, 2007, and his initial contract
ran through Jan. 31, 2010.
“During the time he has been with
us, he has not had a pay raise,”
Boardmember Mike Marshall said.
“When we talk about moving
toward a world-class district, a lot of
improvement has happened that the
public doesn’t see, and it isn’t by
chance,” Boardmember Sonya Grass
said.
Some members of the board
offered similar comments.
However, the vote was not unani-
mous. Boardmember Amy Allen
voted against the increase.
She said it was not about
Williams, but about district finances
after voters rejected a 13-cent proper-
ty tax increase last month.
In other action items, the district
bought new dishwashers for High-
lands Elementary and Beltline Inter-
mediate schools, and made a few rec-
ommended personnel changes.
Valerie Kinlaw of Sodexho Food
Service updated the board on lunch
and breakfast programs in the dis-
trict, especially the use of and bene-
fits of breakfast programs in the dis-
trict.
“We have a growing number of
students coming into our district eli-
gible for free and reduced-income
lunches, and Section 8 families mov-
ing into our apartments,” Williams
said.
Director of Maintenance Bill
Pinson said his staff has completed
95 percent of work order requests
from Aug. 11-Nov. 7.
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Morris, Angel Jenkins. Today Cedar Hill (Duncanville, Tex.), Vol. 43, No. 25, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 20, 2008, newspaper, November 20, 2008; Duncanville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth601881/m1/1/: accessed July 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Zula B. Wylie Memorial Library.