Our Great City

Submitted by Laura Hill with S.P.A.R.K.

I have been receiving calls and emails this week, as the result of school beginning, asking if S.P.A.R.K. would approach the City about an Ordinance that would ban phone use in School Zones. As many of you know the schools do post "no cell phones" in the pick-up and drop off zones, this is not enforceable though.

By S.P.A.R.K. proposing a City wide Ordinance , City Council will be able to vote on this, thus making it enforceable in our City.

Thanks for your support of S.P.A.R.K. I look forward to your input !

Email Laura Hill

Article Submitted by Commissioner Gary Fickes - Northeast Newsletter, August 2008 

The Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corporation (THSRTC) is a not-for-profit corporation consisting of local transportation and elected officials from across the State in a grassroots, collaborative effort to realize the first-ever high-speed rail passenger system in Texas.

What is High Speed Rail? A transportation system that travels 180-200 mph with Steel- Wheel technology and up to 300 mph with Mag-Levitation technology. Both systems are in place and being used by millions of riders a day in Germany, France, Spain, Great Britain, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China. This mode of transportation has a 40 year track record of safety and on time travel.

The Southlake Historical Society invites you and your family to a behind-the-scenes tour of the historic Nash Farm, 626 Ball St. near downtown Grapevine, at 6:30 p.m., Monday, Sept. 15.

"This farm represents the agrarian heritage of Southlake, too" said Anita Robeson, president of the Southlake Historical Society. "This tour is a great way to reminisce about farm life, or to show your children what it was like."

Land for the farm was purchased in 1859 by Thomas and Elizabeth Nash, who first lived in a log cabin. Their 1880s farmhouse has recently been restored and painted its original color, a WOW! shade of green. The farmstead also boasts a barn, crops, an array of interesting farm machinery and much more.

You don't have to be an SHS member to attend. RSVP to Anita, 817-896-4280. Please park on Homestead Avenue, in front of the house.

The Citizens’ Academy gives participants a view into the inner workings
of public safety in Southlake. The Academy opens communications
between the community and the department, promoting an exchange of
information and ideas between the two groups.

Each session begins with dinner, followed by classroom instruction
and interactive activities. Participants get hands-on experience with
public safety equipment and vehicles, as well as exposure to specialized
units within the agency.

During these sessions, DPS personnel and citizens build bonds that
last far past participants’ graduation date. Many graduates opt to continue
working public safety through various Southlake DPS volunteer groups.
The key requirement for participation in the these volunteer groups is
that the applicant successfully complete the DPS Citizens’ Academy.

The dates for the upcoming Citizens’ Academy: Thursday, September 4 through Thursday, November 20. The class graduation dinner & ceremony is set for Wednesday, December 3rd.

The classes start with a meal at 6:30 pm and class from 7:00 – 9:00.

For more information, call Rhonda Moore, Southlake DPS at 817-748-8349

Click Here to Read the Article

About the author: Todd Baker is a Certified Mortgage Planner with over $100,000,000.00 of Mortgages Under Management. Todd Baker helps
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When we are kids, everyone tells us what to do. We long for the day we can make our own decisions about what to wear, what to eat and when to wake up. We graduate from the tricycle to the bicycle to a car as teenagers, feeling liberated by the breadth of possibilities before us.

Then work comes along and takes the place of our parents in telling us what to do. We get married and have kids, which although they are wonderful, further limit our options. What ever happened to the ideal of total freedom we had about adulthood? Sometimes it seems like we have fewer choices now than when we were kids.

It's easy to forget that, no matter how full or demanding our schedules become, our lives as adults are a direct result of the choices we've made. From careers to the debts we incur to the people we choose to spend our time with, we're hardly victims of circumstance, though sometimes it would be nice to pass off our situation as out of our control.

Perhaps the hardest part of freedom to swallow is the freedom to make mistakes. No one enjoys owning up to their goofs and blunders, but with freedom comes risk and accountability. This also applies to others, from employees to children, and even spouses. As people in positions of responsibility, it is not so much our job to ensure that those under our care never make mistakes. It's hard sometimes when it feels like someone else's error reflects on you, but those mistakes that don't kill have the potential to make us wiser.

Wisdom, after all, is not so much reflected by a life free of failure, but rather by a life absent of the fear of failing. Feel free to fail sometimes; it's part of life!

Sumitted by:  Laura Steves, PhD, PsyD