eighth cavalry regiment at Ft.Hood. What follows is an inter-view I conducted with Lt. Hooperto learn firsthand what it’s like tobe stationed in Iraq. Alex is a veryfit and bright individual. He has agood sense of humor but alsoimpressed me as being confidentin his role as an officer in thearmy. I read about the Iraq war inthe newspaper every day and lis-ten to it on the news but Alex isthe first person I’ve talked to whohas been deployed to Iraq whocould talk about it from a soldier’sperspective.

Q: You just returned from Iraq after a14-month tour of duty, where were youstationed?Lt. Hooper: I was stationed in theSalah ad-Din province in central Iraq.It’s about 30 miles north of Baghdad.One of the more well known cities in

the province is Samarra City. I lead aplatoon of 32.

Q: What was your mission in Iraq?Lt. Hooper: Our mission in generalwas to provide a safe and secure envi-ronment for Iraqis in the region. Myplatoon’s responsibility was to secure

ANA President’s Letter . . . . . . . . .2

Crime in Allandale—What the

Numbers and the Neighbors are

Telling Us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Panhandling in Allandale—How to

Help Stop it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Upgrade of Great Northern

Detention Pond in the Works . . . .7

2008 Membership Goal . . . . . . . . .7

McNairs Appliances now known

as KIVA: Where Dreams

Come True . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Old Red—The Allandale Fire

Truck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Update on White Rock Flooding

project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Isat down with First Lieutenant Alex Hooper in mid-December, two weeks after he returned from Iraq. His par-ents, Mike and Vera Hooper live in Allandale where Alex

grew up. He went to Gullett, and to high school at St.Michaels. He graduated from West Point in 2005. Alex is 25and single. He is a First Lieutenant with the third battalion,

DISTRIBUTED TO MORE THAN 3,100 HOMES BY THE ALLANDALE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

AllandaleNeighbor Feb 2008

Vol 23, Issue 1

Issue Highlights:

Have you renewed your

membership?

The next ANA EC Meeting

is on February 28

Back From Iraq—An

Interview with First

Lieutenant Alex HooperTom Linehan

the area I was assigned. It’s kind of likebeing a cop in a really bad ghetto. Iwould gather as much intelligence onwho the troublemakers were—themovers and shakers committing the ter-rorist acts. The terrorists in Iraq didn’tjust attack Americans, they terrorizedthe people. The objective of al-Qaedain Iraq is to create instability.

Continued on page 22

1st Lt. Alex Hooper top row, 2nd from the right.

Iwas going through AllandaleNeighborhood Association (ANA)

records recently and came across a setof ANA goals dated January 1998. Theystarted with the following statement:“The purpose of ANA is to promoteand preserve the quality of life, theintegrity, the safety, the residential char-acter, and the property values of theneighborhood.” This serves as a goodreminder. Our purpose has not changed.This is what we’re about. Everything wedo as a neighborhood associationwhether it’s opposing a project that willoverburden our roads with traffic,assembling a safety committee toaddress crime issues, pursuing projectsto beautify the neighborhood, or attend-ing public hearings regarding zoningissues, continues the tradition of ourpast neighborhood leaders in lookingafter the neighborhood. Allandale is nota neighborhood that takes the quality oflife it enjoys for granted.

So where is the fun you ask? Take alook at the 2008 calendar on page 16that lays out the schedule of ourmonthly meetings, upcoming events,beautification activities, and newsletterpublication dates. Pay particular atten-tion to our four big events planned forthe year: Celebrate Allandale Picnic(Sunday, April 6), Tyke and Bike Ride(Saturday, May 17), 4th of July Parade(Fridy, July 4), and Masquerade Ball andAuction (Saturday, October 25).

A major focus of ANA for 2008 isto boost membership. We are targeting1,000 members this year. That repre-sents about one-third of the house-holds in the neighborhood. It seems

doable. As of this writing we’re up to194. Please send in your membershiptoday. You can sign up on our web siteas well: www.allandalreporter.org. There isstrength in numbers. Let your neighborvolunteers know that their work mat-ters. You can’t beat the price.

The Executive Committee of ANAapproved the formation of a neighbor-hood safety committee to take proactivemeasures in addressing crime inAllandale. You’ll see from the statisticspublished on page 4 in this newsletter,that the number of incidents has notgone up noticeably over the past year butthe level of concern has. If you compare2007 numbers with the number of inci-dents 10 years ago, the jump in crime issignificant. The number of incidents ofthieves stealing from cars is very high andthe number of incidents reported ofhomes being burglarized is disturbing.We’ve got a great group of residentslooking into the matter headed up by ECmember Donna Beth McCormick andwhat we can do about it. Stay tuned.

And speaking of staying tuned, Iencourage you to periodically check in onour web site www.allandalereporter.org, whereyou will find the latest in announcements,updates on matters affecting the neigh-borhood, and some just plain interestingstuff about Allandale. We publish thisnewsletter every other month. We use theweb site to keep you informed of what’sgoing in between newsletters. It’s not adaily “must read” but certainly somethingto navigate to on a weekly basis. Here’s anote from a recent visitor regarding thesite:

The Allandale Neighbor

is published bimonthly by the

Allandale Neighborhood Association (ANA)

www.allandalereporter.org

EDITORS Tom Linehan

ADVERTISING, Cathy Savage, 680-6281

LAYOUT, DESIGN allandaleads@gmail.com

PRINTER Worley Printing, 478-4064

A SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR ADVERTISERS AND CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

CONTACT INFORMATIONAllandale Neighbor,

PO Box 10886, Austin, TX 78766-1886

allandaleneighbor@gmail.com

ANA Executive Committee

PRESIDENT Tom Linehan

VICE PRESIDENT Allan McMurtry

TREASURER Joe Reynolds

SECRETARY Mary Jean Matus

MEMBERS Margie Gordon, Dan Jones,

Cynthia Keohane, Paulette

Kern, Donna Beth

McCormick, George Roman,

and Laura Slaughter

ANA General Meetings are held March and September

on the fourth Thursday. The Executive Committee

meets at 6:30 p.m. at the Yarborough Library, 2200

Hancock Drive, on the fourth Thursday every month.

Meetings are open to the public.

Committees

BEAUTIFICATION Linnea Anderson

BYLAWS Dan Jones

COMMUNICATIONS Tom Linehan

EVENTS Joe Reynolds

MEMBERSHIP Joe Reynolds

NOMINATING Allan McMurtry

ZONING AND PLANNING Paulette Kern

Allandale Police District Representative

David Crowder, 974-5545,

david.crowderjr@ci.austin.tx.us

W. Anderson Lane

Burnet

Road

Hancock

Drive

Allandale

Neighborhood

Boundaries

MoPac

Fre

ew

ay-P

ark

way

45th Street Shoal

Cre

ek

2

The Allandale Neighbor is published and distributed bimonthly by the ANA. For more informa-tion contact Cathy Savage at 680-6281 or allandaleads@gmail.com.

Your Ad Size One time rate*Full Page 7½ x 9¾” $2201/2 Page 7½ x 5 $1551/4 Page 35/8 x 4½ $80Business Card 3½ x 2 $50

Full page inserts (one issue) 1 side––$260 � 2 side (same advertiser)––$360 � 2 side (twoadvertisers)––$460. We prefer digital files, at least 350 dpi (TIFF or PDF are best). We cancreate or alter your ad for a nominal charge.

* a 10% discount is offered on three or more ads!

ANA President’s LetterTom Linehan

Continued on page 19

3

The number of reported crimes inAllandale in 2007 was down 2%

from 2006. That’s little comfort to theneighborhood. Ask anyone and theywill tell you crime, specifically burglary,is a problem in Allandale. Thieves arekicking down doors in broad daylightand breaking into cars at night.

Pulling from the Austin PoliceDepartment’s online crime database,“Crime Report Viewer,” the total num-ber of incidents in 2007 was 1,232compared to 1,258 in 2006. As always,stealing from cars, “Burglary ofVehicles,” accounted for the largestnumber of incidents (148 incidents in2007). “Theft” was the second mostcommon reported crime (125 inci-dents), and “Burglary of Residence”ranked number nine on the list with atotal of 33 reported incidents in theneighborhood in 2007.

There were 15 reported incidents of“Solicitation Prohibited,” or aggressivepanhandling which supports the con-tention that panhandling is a problemin our neighborhood. To support thecrime stats, what follows are somerecent crimes as reported by thoseclose to the incidents:

This was emailed to me in December2007:

“Didn’t know if you guys are trying tokeep up with area crime. If interested, therewas an attempted break in at my house in the5500 block of Woodview Ave. yesterday. Inbroad daylight, a man attempted to kick mydoor in. Fortunately, a neighbor was home andscared him (and a woman waiting in a car infront of the house) away. My door is ruined,but he did not get in the house.”

And the following incident inOctober 2007:

“On Saturday, Oct. 7th, around 5 p.m. therewere police units including a forensic unit underthe Mopac/2222 overpass. A neighbor e-mailedOfficer Crowder, asking what had occurred.

Officer Crowder’s reply:‘There was a transient on transient aggra-

vated assault. The suspect was arrested at the

scene. The victim passed away yesterday fromhis injuries.’ ”

Posted to the Allandale newsgroup inJanuary 2008:

“Last week, with my car being locked and

under a streetlight, someone took out my dashboard and took the heater, the air conditioner,CD player and radio. No fingerprints and theforensic person said it was a very professionaljob. I talked to a woman who lives very close

4

Top 50 Reported Crimes in Allandale 2005 - 2007From the Austin Police Department’s Crime Report Viewer

Crime in Allandale—

What the Numbers and the Neighbors are Telling UsTom Linehan

5

by that was home when they kicked in her doorframe and took everything while she locked her-self in her bedroom. A man lept over my sidefence when I came home one day and ran downNorthland. I couldn’t catch him. This is hap-pening in Hyde Park at a record rate. Whatare we going to do about it? The word is get-ting out about this area and believe me, yourreal estate value will ultimately suffer. I’m veryconcerned and if this continues, then I will beforced to move out of this area. When is thenext neighborhood meeting? I hope many canattend it and voice concern and how to addressthis increasing crime wave.”

Another post to the Allandale news-group in January 2008:

“I walk early in the morning, and thismorning, there was a car on Albata Ave. thathad had its passenger window broken and theradio removed. We reported it to the policeand one of the officers told me that he had noidea about the attempted break-in I reportedon Sunday night. He said if he had known,he would have increased the patrols in thisarea. I believe he said he was in charge of ourarea, the Baker area. I told him that four offi-cers came out to investigate, but he was notinformed about it. He told me, from now on,to always report anything like this to the

District Rep. as well as the police. The phonenumber he gave me for our District Rep. was974-5545. Some of our neighbors are not onthe list serve and so we need to pass the wordon to remove faceplates from any “after facto-ry” radios, lock our car/truck doors, turn onthe car alarms and report any suspiciousbehavior. I suspect that this break-in was doneby the same people in the white Toyota Camrythat my daughter witnessed trying to breakinto our truck Sunday night.”

Is Allandale ready to form its ownneighborhood patrol similar to whatsome South Central neighborhoodshave done recently as reported in arecent article in the Austin American-Statesman, “Residents are ‘extra eyes andears’ for police,”by Miguel Liscano,December 28,2007? The articletalks about howresidents feelingan urgent need tocombat crimepatrol their neigh-borhood as part ofthe Austin PoliceDepartment’s

revived Citizens on Patrol program.The residents don’t personally bringdown criminals but instead call policewhen they see something suspicious.

This may not be the answer forAllandale but I think the time has comefor Allandale to once again organize aneighborhood safety committee tostudy our options. If you are interestedin participating, email me attlinehan@austin.rr.com. �

HIGHLAND PARKBAPTIST CHURCHInvites you to worship with us

Sunday School - 9:45 a.m. Church Service - 10:55 a.m.Wednesday Supper & Study 5:30 p.m.

Children’s Programs - apply now for Super Starsand Vacation Bible School

Outstanding Music Program5206 Balcones - 453-6603

www.highlandparkbaptist.org

Join ANA

Subscribe to Allandale’s Yahoo!

newsgroup!

All Allandale residents are invited to join the

neighborhood email forum to share ideas,

ask or answer questions, seek or give advice and receive

neighborhood updates. Give it a try. Go to

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/allandale/ to sign up. Click

on “Join This Group” then follow instructions.

6

As every resident of Allandale knows,there are certain corners that are

always locations for panhandlers, themost popular being at Mopac and 2222.ANA is working to eliminate these situ-ations and need input from the neigh-borhood.

The problem: panhandling is a way oflife for some individuals, some bychoice, some because of mental illness,some because they do not know howthey can escape. There are agencies inthe city that can help, but you mustwant help. In our neighborhood thereare crime, prostitution, and health issuesassociated with panhandling. There hasbeen a homicide. Homes in the areahave been burglarized. The area underthe Mopac bridge where they camp islittered and unhealthy, and neighborsare afraid to walk in this area of theirneighborhood after dark. Panhandlersalso create a traffic hazard by stepping

out to meet cars. Nearby conveniencestores that sell beer by the single can orbottle compound the problem. Onceenough money has been collected, pan-handlers have easy access to alcoholthat they can purchase one at a time,sometimes several times a day.

What has been done in the past: twoyears ago our area police representativetried to contact the appropriateTXDOT and Union Pacific representa-tives but did not find them to be coop-erative. One suggestion was to put up agate to prevent access but UnionPacific was opposed saying they neededto get equipment in the area to get tothe tracks. TXDOT was virtually non-responsive to any solution. The proper-ty is TXDOT property under thebridge and they should be liable. UnionPacific property is adjoining.

The solution: several things havebeen suggested. We can encourage City

Council to pass the ordinance to notsell single bottles/cans of beer at con-venience stores; request lighting beinstalled under the bridge to detercamping and prostitution and to aid lawenforcement; use stones or spikes orsome uneven surfaces under the bridgeto make it impossible to camp. Finally,we can encourage City Council to moveforward on the panhandling law.

As a neighborhood we have strengthin numbers. We can contact Sen. KirkWatson and Rep. Elliott Naishtat tohelp. We can organize through theANA. We can contact TXDOT andUnion Pacific. Possibly, by meeting withall of these entities, we can worktogether to find solutions to make ourneighborhood safe and eliminate pan-handling. In my opinion, the one thingwe can do—DO NOT GIVEMONEY—and encourage everyoneyou know to do the same. �

Panhandling in Allandale—How to Help Stop itDonna Beth McCormick

Please Support our Advertisers—They keep this newsletter in circulation!

The City of Austin isplanning to upgrade

the detention pond at6900 Great NorthernBoulevard to improvethe safety of the struc-ture as required by statelaw. This pond controlsfloodwaters that flowinto Shoal Creek duringsevere storms, and itreduces the risk offlooding for manyhomes along the creekin the Allandale neigh-borhood.

The embankment ofthe pond is high enough to be a damaccording to state criteria and is period-ically inspected by the City of Austinand the State of Texas. Although bothhave found the dam to be in good con-dition, it does not currently meet thestate’s dam safety criteria. This projectwill upgrade the dam to state standardsso that the dam continues to provideflooding protection. There are twomajor components to the upgrade:

� The safety of the structure will beenhanced in the event the dam isovertopped during an especiallysevere storm. A short wall will par-tially encircle the pond. It will directany overflow over a concrete-linedspillway, so that the overflow willnot weaken the structure of thedam.

� Unfortunately, many trees need to beremoved, including all the trees and

brush on the embankment itself. Wehave limited the tree removal asmuch as possible, but it is necessaryto ensure the dam remains in goodcondition. The root systems of treesand brush tend to weaken dams anddecrease their ability to resist theforce of floodwaters.

We know this is an area that manyAllandale residents enjoy. However,access to the areamay be limited tothe existing foot-path for severalmonths duringconstruction. Allare welcome touse the site onceagain after theupgrade is com-plete. �

7

Upgrade of Great Northern Detention

Pond in the WorksStephanie Lott, Public Information Specialist Senior, City of Austin

GOAL

The dam will be upgraded to state standards during the con-struction project.

Become a

paying

member. See

back page

for more

information.

Joe Reynolds

The ExecutiveCommittee of the ANA

has set a goal of 1,000 paidmemberships in 2008. Asof January 28th, when thecount was taken, we were19% of our goal. If you’rereading this newsletter, youhave one very good reasonto get out your checkbookand mail in your member-ship today.

Goal: 1,000 membersCurrent number of members: 194 �

2008

Membership

Goal

8

Almost 70 years ago, right around thestart of WWII and when Austin’s

population was just over 100,000, FredMcNairs’ grandfather, a banker fromKansas City, MO, moved to Texas forits climate and growth. After a shortstop of six months in San Antonio,Fred Ruegg bought into the only avail-able appliance franchise at the time inAustin, Norge, and opened a store onthe west side of the 500 block ofCongress. The store was moved in theyears to follow to West Fifth Street andthen to a third location at 904 Lamar.

In 1950, the family moved fromAvenue G to the newly-developingAllandale, where young Fred McNairwould go out hunting for rabbits and fieldmice up behind the old printing plant onSteck Avenue. The street he lived on,Hancock Drive, was no more than acountry lane with bar ditches on bothsides. Anderson Lane had so many 90-degree turns that people regularly drovethrough the barbed wire into the fields.

In 1970, the family decided to take achance and built their first building atits current location on 6225 BurnetRoad. It was either going to be theirbest or worst decision, but they decidedto go for broke. That first Saturdaywhen the store opened turned out tobe best day in the store’s history.

January, 2008 marks the unveiling of anew McNairs, which is now part of KIVAKitchen & Bath. KIVA started as an appli-ance store in 1992 by Tolar Hamblen and

business partner, James Cozby andhas since grown into a $100+ mil-lion business with eight show-rooms in Texas and four inCalifornia. McNairs, acquired in1999, is being folded under the sin-gle name, but the McNairs namewill be used in tandem for manyyears into the future.

This acquisition appears to beworking as it marries similar oper-ating philosophies—where aknowledgeable staff will makeyou one of its many repeat cus-tomers. The same managers havestayed on, and the professional-ism is intact.

McNairs has always had astate-of-the-art showroom, but now it’sbeing upgraded to offer one of thelargest selections of designer qualitydecorative plumbing fixtures, hardware,appliances, as well as cabinetry andcounter tops for the kitchens in Austin.

While their clients continue to be 75percent commercial(architects, customhome builders,remodeling contrac-tors, decorators, andcustom cabinetmanufacturers), itstill caters to the dis-cerning homeown-ers whose kitchenand bath are thecenterpieces of their

home and who, like me, drool at nameslike Sub-Zero, Wolf, Thermador,DACOR, Viking, Asko, Bosch, and Vent-A-Hood. Though their niche may be thehigh-end market, don’t let the $15,000Sub-Zero refrigerator or the $40,000 cop-per bathtub stop you from going in. They

McNairs Appliances now known as

KIVA: Where Dreams Come TrueC Yang

McNairs before the remodel, and KIVA after theremodel.

HALL LAWN CARE SERVICES

Rick Hall453-3397, c. 297-HALL (4255)

$35.00 to mow & edge average yardOther services available by quote

9

still carry GE, Maytag, Whirlpool, andother brand names. Dreams can cometrue!

While KIVA’s associates are trainedto talk to the architects or homebuilders who come in with their blue-prints or specs in technical terms, theyalso have the patience and knowledgeto want to help all. For us residentialbuyers, spending some time here cansave valuable time, eliminating the needto go to several different stores.

The expanded showroom will be11,500 square feet and will includeindoor and outdoor vignettes,EnergyStar® appliances, inspiring bath-room displays, custom cabinets, andfun cooking demonstrations so thatyou can experience first-hand the ulti-mate in innovative and luxuriouskitchen and bath design.

KIVA takes the time and effort tofirst train their sales associate so thatthey tailor selections to your vision andlifestyle, even if you’re just shoppingfor an extra refrigerator for your garage—like I had to buy. As they say: “Thechoice and style are all yours. We’rehere to make it happen.”

McNairs Appliance Gallery—6225 Burnet Road (454-4526),www.kivahome.com �

Old Red—The

Allandale Fire

TruckJoe Reynolds

Most folks aroundAllandale, especially

those who attend the July 4Parade, remember theAllandale fire truck. It’s a1930 American LaFrancehose and pumper. It’s nowbeen donated to the AustinFire Museum as their firsttruck. The truck is being‘restored’ to safe running con-dition and should be ready for theParade this year.

The Austin Fire Museum is locatedat the main station, downtown at 5thand Trinity. It’s a certified [501(c)3]charitable organization run by currentand former Austin Fire crew. They planfor the truck to be used in publicevents, and for funerals of firefighters.To make the truck ready for regularduty it has been moved to a shop offStassney and Manchaca. Many parts ofthe truck are not original, including theengine. And many are not appropriatefor a truck in regular use. So, plans areunderway to replace many of the bodyitems with period pieces, not necessari-

ly American LaFrance which would bevery expensive, but durable replace-ment parts used in the antique car andhot rod show cars. There will be a newtaller windshield, a new bumper, newflashing lights, new siren, new toolboxes, and ladders and tools. The seatwill be re-stitched in a period pattern.To support funeral duty, casket rollersare being installed, and benches and tallhandrails are being fabricated for thebed. New engine covers and equipmentpanels are being made. To make thetruck drivable in regular duty the engineand transmission are being swapped,modern brakes are being fitted insidethe old wheels, and power steering willbe added.

At the October meeting the neigh-bors voted to support this restorationwith a donation. In return the truck iscommitted to the July 4 Parade and willhave the Allandale name retained.There are plans for a ‘visit the truck’night this spring. ANA will hold afundraising event to support contribu-tions. Anyone interested in helping withthe restoration should contact JoeReynolds (joe-rey@texas.net, 454-8880) orBrent Sjolseth (fd1637@hotmail.com).With a little luck Old Red should be inthe parade this year. �

Old Red in Allandale’s 4th of July Parade.

JOIN ANA!A membership form is

available on the back of this

newsletter

10

11

Update on White

Rock Flooding

ProjectMark Price

What follows is an update on theShoal Creek-Allandale Storm Drain

Improvements Project which was origi-nally slated to begin in January 2008.During heavy rains, the channel thatcrosses under White Rock Drive(between Bull Creek Drive andWoodview Avenue) overflows, resultingin street flooding and yard and interiorhouse flooding for properties in thisarea. Allandale has set up a DrainageCommittee to work with the City on theproject.

The Drainage Committee met withthe City of Austin on December 6, 2007for an update on phase one of thedrainage project. Phase one will add anadditional covered drainage pipe underWhite Rock between Woodview andShoal Creek. Subsequent phases willmake improvements upstream.

After receiving feedback at the ANA

meeting in the Fall and reviewing theirflow rate calculations, the City pausedthe project in order to perform addition-al analyses. There was a significant differ-ence between the capacity of the originaldesign and the calculated flow rates for25 and 100 flood events. The City islooking at ways to increase the watercaptured on White Rock and the impactof capturing additional water on the totalwatershed.

The City has hired an outside consult-ing firm to determine the maximumamount of water that can be divertedwithout causing problems where thewater will enter Shoal Creek at WhiteRock.

With this information, they will deter-mine the maximum size of the newdrainage pipe to be put under WhiteRock. The City noted that the size of thepipe may be further constrained by exist-ing utilities currently under the road.

The City also gave us an update onthe storage facility behind White HorseTrail, Nasco Drive, and Twin OaksDrive. It is still cost prohibitive for themto convert part of this facility into a

retention pond, and they have reviewedhistorical planning applications to ensurethat the current site complies with theseplans. John Panak (ANA) identified anapparent discrepancy to the plans, andalthough it is fairly minor the City saidthat they would follow-up with the stor-age facility.

The Drainage Committee expects tomeet with the City of Austin againsometime in February after this analysishas been completed. The updated sched-ule for phase one of the project is tocomplete the design by the end of May,and then have a 5-month bid process. �

please recycle

this newsletter

12

MoPac 1 Project

Status Report to

MoNACCatherine Judd, RLA, Project Manager

Due to the cash-flow and funding“crunch” that TxDOT is experienc-

ing (and which has been reported inthe media over the past few months),the MoPac 1 project is experiencing abit of a slowdown in schedule, andconsequently, the noise wall workshopsthat had been planned for early 2008will now have to be postponed untilmid-year, although an exact schedulehas not yet been determined. TheNEPA Public Involvement process forthe corridor is continuing, however,and assuming continued favorable pub-lic response, the project is still expectedto move forward over the next coupleof years.

The Aesthetics Advisory Committee(AAC) meetings concluded in August.A copy of the AAC summary reportcan be found on the MoPac 1 projectwebsite www.mopac1.org. The projectteam was fortunate to have active citi-zen participation which provided help-ful guidance on the various aestheticelements of the project (e.g. noise bar-riers and landscaping elements, etc.).The group was so dynamic thatTxDOT has decided to invite the mem-bers to critique detailed concepts dur-ing the detailed design phase.

The next project activity involvingthe public will be a series of noiseworkshops. The project team willdivide the approximately seven miles ofpotential barriers into 13 segments, andwill invite the adjacent property owners,as well as neighbors, to the workshopsto present the potential barriers. Atsome point in the future, the adjacentproperty owners will then have anopportunity to vote on whether or notthey want a noise barrier built alongtheir property in areas where the wallsare determined reasonable and feasible.Non-adjacent property owners can pro-vide input, but only adjacent propertyowners can vote. The majority vote willdetermine the outcome for each indi-

vidual barrier. We expect these work-shops to occur in mid 2008—check theMoPac1 website for information on theexact dates.

The Sample Noise Wall installationon Bull Creek Road is complete, and itis expected that TxDOT will host a rib-bon-cutting event soon to let the publicknow of its availability for viewing. Wewill get the word out to MoNAC assoon as such an event is scheduled. Thesample barriers are located at theTxDOT Bull Creek campus on the east

side of Bull Creek Road across fromthe Westminster Manor retirementfacility. Please note that this samplebarrier does not represent the designsthat would be used for the MoPac 1project, nor will it demonstrate noiseabatement, but will provide a sense ofscale and visual appearance of a repre-sentative barrier.

We thank everyone for their contin-ued interest in this unique and impor-tant project. �

13

VMU updateAnne Young

Remember Vertical Mixed Use (VMU)?Well, it’s been quite a while since our

neighborhood was peppered with VMUyard signs, and we were urged to attendeducational coffees to learn about thenew zoning district created by the City ofAustin. Our neighbors Kerry Kimbroughand Steven Zettner spent untold hourslearning about VMU themselves, thenacted as co-chairs of a task force formedto deal with VMU and strived to educatethe rest of us. They developed a series ofquestions regarding the different aspectsof VMU, and many Allandale residentsparticipated in their on-line survey.

The new VMU zoning district was cre-ated by the City as a way of allowingincreased density along specific roadwaysin Austin. The City then asked eachimpacted neighborhood to provide feed-back regarding the new zoning district.Each neighborhood was allowed to sub-mit a single response document repre-senting the views of the entire neighbor-hood. Burnet Road and Anderson Laneare two of the roadways included in the

new zoning district, so Allandale was defi-nitely impacted by the City’s actions.

The ANA was responsible for creatingour document, called an “Application.”Along with the task force members, thetwo co-chairs developed a draft documentfor consideration by the ANA ExecutiveCommittee (EC). The draft documentwas based on the input gathered duringthe numerous neighborhood coffees andthe on-line survey. After modifications bythe EC, a revised Application was submit-ted to the City. The Application requestedspecific changes to the boundary of theVMU district created by the City, recom-mended density caps within the VMUdistrict, and addressed specific otherissues identified by the City.

So what happened to our Applicationafter we submitted it? Well, the shortanswer is... not much yet. But things areabout to change.

The City of Austin is striving to indi-vidually address each of the Applicationssubmitted by impacted neighborhoods,and we expect that the ANA Applicationwill be acted upon by the City of Austinwithin the next few months. As we beginto see the implementation of the VMU

ordinance play out, we have discoveredthat ANA and the City’s wishes are verydifferent. We are looking for ways to dia-logue with the City and protect our neigh-borhood. Your input is critical to thisendeavor.

Stay tuned to the ANA web page fordetails as our application approachesreview, particularly if you live close toeither of these roads or drive them on adaily basis. If either of those is true foryou, the impacts to your daily life will bedirect and irrevocable. Your feedback willbe incredibly important to the ANA ECas they guide us through this negotiationprocess with the City of Austin.

And each of us, as residents of theAllandale neighborhood, owe it to our-selves and to our neighbors to getinvolved in the VMU issue again. Thespecifics of the final Application must bereviewed and addressed by the City ofAustin. The result of the City’s actionswill be permanent. And there is little cer-tainty that the ANA recommendationswill be accepted and approved. Yourinvolvement in this process will be criti-cal. Make sure that your voice is heard—get involved again. �

14

Tubular VMU and

Heartworms, A

CommentaryAllan McMurtry

What follows is an email that AllanMcMurtry wrote to Austin Chronicle

writer Katherine Gregor who was inquir-ing about our VMU application with theCity for an upcoming article:

As I understand, you are writing somearticle about VMU. Since I have been out-ted as an opponent of this VMU process,let me say a few words about the impactsof this process.

I’d say that tubular VMU is to goodplanning what heartworms are to dogs.The difference is that dogs have an anti-dote for heartworms. Tubular VMU, thebeautiful canyons of modern living, is nei-ther a practical avenue for affordablehousing or a means to densify in a mannerthat supports the very homeownershipthat is the backbone of any city. TubularVMU, the Walt Disneyesque panacea to

stop sprawl, is nothing more than a way toturn commercial land into a formatwhereby people with gobs of money cantriple that gob into a glob. Building 55’ upagainst owner occupied housing, usingpredominantly single family spaces, thencharging $2.50 a square foot for retailrental space below is galatically stupid, butfinancially very lucrative. The bounty forthis largesse from the City Fathers is a dol-lop of money to the parks system.

Let me ask you this, if you could racethrough City planning process a proposalthat would increase the value of your landby $2 million but obligates you to pay$125,000 to parks, how many plots ofland would you be salivating over?Leagues of it, right. Veritable unlimitedvistas would sparkle in your eyes. The Citygives away street capacity as if cars couldtravel in the space time continuum, mov-ing easily between the 5th, 6th, 7th and8th dimensions. Never mind the pollu-tion. What’s that if you can’t see it atnight. Noise, increased traffic accidents,less movement.

The goal of tubular VMU is simple.MONEY. All the other issues pale incomparison. Commercial developmentwas not expanding because the figuresdidn’t work. But when you can bring insmall apartments, stack them to 55’ andcall it environmentally savvy, neighbor-hood friendly, you have yourself a plan tocreate wealth. That wealth comes notfrom stopping sprawl, reducing traffic,increasing mobility, or reducing pollutionin Lake Lady Bird, it comes fromincreased property values for a few limit-ed owners at the expense of the other ele-ments. You use the stability of the owneroccupied homes to destabilize themthrough small, high turnover, single bed-room, beehives.

I think it is important to understandthat the very people arguing for tubularVMU are the ones who have brought us$3.2 billion in tollroads running out 25miles from downtown. That’s not density,that extraurban sprawl, or exbrubs as theyare being called. Lincoln Properties isbringing north Austin Wal-Mart as the

15

solution to sprawl while building the solarsystem’s largest mall at US 71 and FM620.

And finally, the very streets in Austin:Burnet, Lamar, South Lamar, Congress,South First, that cradle small buildingsbeing rented to entrepreneurs at reason-able rates (Dell started on North Lamarand launched his career from there) willnow become cliffs of concrete sitting ontop of incredibly expensive retail space.Nobody starts a business on a shoe stringon 5th Avenue in New York. At least notwith a roof over their head.

Austin has maintained its status as aunique city by having unique people,buildings, and ideas. Tubular VMU is notunique, it’s not Austin. It’s Finance 101dressed up in lipstick, a curly tail. It’s oink-ing into a bullhorn.

The truly disturbing aspect of tubularVMU is the damage it will most certainlydo to neighborhoods. Once you lose thestability that neighborhoods bring to busi-nesses, schools, and themselves, that’swhen the inner city blight takes off. Andif anybody says that mass transit will solvethis, refer them to Cap Metro statistics.On Burnet, the ridership is 2.4 personsper mile. �

Constable’s

Notebook—

January 2008Constable Bruce Elfant

By all accounts graffiti vandalism ismore prevalent than ever nationally

and will cause more than $8 billion indamage this year to public, businessand residential property. According to

Tony Casarez, program coordinator forthe Austin Graffiti AbatementProgram, reported graffiti cases inAustin during the last five years haveincreased four-fold to more than15,000 this year. Texas law makes it acrime to “intentionally or knowinglymake markings with aerosol paint,indelible marker or an etching orengraving device on tangible propertywithout consent of the owner.”Penalties for graffiti vandalism rangefrom a Class B misdemeanor to a firstdegree felony depending on theamount of loss suffered by a propertyowner and what was vandalized. It isalso a Class C misdemeanor offense inTexas and most states to sell spraypaint to a minor.

Graffiti experts have identified fourmain types of graffiti—tagging, satan-ic/hate, gang, and generic (non-threat-ening messages like “Bobby lovesSuzy” or “Class of 2007”). Tagginggraffiti tends to be more ornate whilegang graffiti uses symbols. Gang graffitiis used to mark gang territory, listmembers, offer drugs or contrabandfor sale, or send warnings to rivals. Itmay include letters, symbols, or num-bers known only by gangs and lawenforcement. Ideological or hate graffitiis any racial, religious, or cultural slur.The National Council to PreventDelinquency reports that about 80% ofgraffiti is tagger graffiti. Nationally,gang graffiti represents only about 10%of all graffiti. Graffiti vandals representevery social, ethnic and economic back-ground. Suburban males from pre-teento their early 20s commit approximately

about half of all graffiti vandalism.Every professional I have referenced

for this article agrees that the mosteffective strategy to discourage graffitivandalism is to immediately remove thegraffiti. Graffiti vandals want their workto be seen and swift removal tends todefeat their purpose and causes them tomove on to areas that put up less resist-ance. Austin City ordinance requiresproperty owners to remove graffiti with-in 30 days. The Austin YouthDevelopment Project (854-4125) willcome and remove graffiti within 24 to48 hours at no charge. The City ofAustin also makes available paint andbrushes for neighborhood associationsthat wish to organize graffiti rapidresponse teams. Interestingly, anotherstrategy that has proven effective is toturn a graffiti-plagued wall into a mural.For whatever reason, murals are rarelydisturbed and can be a good way toinvolve young artists in our community.

The Austin Police Departmentemploys a single detective whoseresponsibility is to investigate graffitivandalism. Detective Kevin Bartlesstrongly urges that every graffiti inci-dent be photographed and reported.The use of surveillance cameras in hotspots is encouraged. Any informationand photos regarding patterns of typesof graffiti, locations of graffiti anddescriptions of any suspicious lookingcharacters should be reported toDetective Bartles at 974-5531 orKevin.bartles@ci.austin.tx.us. He is alsoavailable to speak to neighborhood andcivic organizations. �

16

Allandale Neighborhood Association 2008 Calendar

Day Date ActivityMonday 4 February Presentation on plans for Great Northern Detention Pond - Northwest Recreation CenterFriday 15-21 February February Allandale Neighbor deliveredSunday 17 February Austin Marathon - Show Allandale spirit!Monday 25 February Call for articles for April newsletterThursday 28 February ANA EC Meeting - Ralph Yarborough Library, 2200 Hancock Drive Monday 10 March Edit close - Articles for April newsletter submittedMonday 24 March ANA EC Meeting AgendaSunday 6 April Celebrate Allandale at Northwest Park Picnic Saturday 12 April It's My Park Day - Location to be determinedTuesday 15-21 April April Allandale Neighbor deliveredSaturday 19 April Celebrate Earth Day with a recycling project (Make your own grocery tote.)Thursday 24 April ANA EC Meeting - Ralph Yarborough Library, 2200 Hancock DriveFriday 25 April Call for articles for June newsletterSaturday 3 May ANA Garage Sale - Location to be determinedSaturday 17 May Tyke and Bike Ride - Northland DriveThursday 22 May ANA EC Meeting - Ralph Yarborough Library, 2200 Hancock DriveMonday 15-20 June June Allandale Neighbor deliveredWednesday 25 June Call for articles for August newsletterThursday 26 June ANA EC Meeting - Ralph Yarborough Library, 2200 Hancock DriveFriday 4 July Allandale Fourth of July ParadeThursday 24 July ANA EC Meeting - Ralph Yarborough Library, 2200 Hancock DriveFriday 15-21 August August Allandale Neighbor deliveredMonday 25 August Call for articles for October newsletterThursday 28 August ANA EC Meeting - Ralph Yarborough Library, 2200 Hancock Dr, Austin, TXThursday 25 September ANA General Membership Meeting - Ralph Yarborough Library, 2200 Hancock Dr, Austin, TXTBD October National Night Out (date to be determined)Wednesday 15-21 October October Allandale Neighbor deliveredTuesday 21 October Annual MoNAC meeting - Westminster Manor at 6:30 pmThursday 23 October ANA EC Meeting - Ralph Yarborough Library, 2200 Hancock DriveSaturday 25 October Allandale Masquerade BallMonday 10 November Call for articles for December newsletterMonday 15 - 19 December December Allandale Neighbor delivered

Have you joined ANA’sNewsgroup?

It’s a great way to stay abreast of neighborhood issues,

find a carpenter,learn about residential

and commercial zoning,plus share thoughts and ideas

that affect Allandale.

Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/

allandale/ to sign up.

Click on “Join This Group” then

follow instructions.

17

ANA EC Meeting

Minutes: January

24, 2008Mary Jean Matus

Executive Committee members inattendance: Tom Linehan, Joe

Reynolds, Dan Jones, Donna BethMcCormick, Margie Gordon, MaryJean Matus, George Roman.

The meeting was called to order at6:45 pm.

Secretary Alan McMurtry was absent;the November 13, 2007 ANA ECmeeting minutes were read by TomLinehan. It was noted that the meetingminutes from October 25, 2007 hadnot yet been approved. In addition,Dan Jones noted that he had previouslysubmitted corrections to the Novembermeeting minutes and that they may nothave been incorporated; he wished toinvestigate further. Donna BethMcCormick made a motion to deferapproval for the October and Nov-ember meeting minutes; it was second-

ed by Dan Jones. The motion passed.Architect Tom Hurt gave a presenta-

tion on preliminary plans for landscapeimprovements at St. John’s MethodistChurch located at Wynona Avenue and2222. Plans include the installation of aseries of 7’ to 9’ trellises along the side-walks flanking the church entrance andextending along Wynona. Although solidfencing is allowed at property lines, thelandscape structures they propose willrequire a variance. Mr. Hurt’s intentionwas to provide information, address anyconcerns, and accept suggestions and/orfeedback from the neighbors. ANAmembers in attendance did not identifyany negative consequences stemmingfrom the project but suggested that St.John’s contact their most immediateneighbors and/or hold an open-houseallowing others to view their plans; ANAoffered to assist if needed. Mr. Hurt wasvery receptive to the idea and assured theANA that St. John’s would like to pro-ceed with these plans in a neighborlyfashion, ie, with due notice, open com-munication, and constructive dialog.

Next, resident Tim Knotzon spoke tothe ANA about safety concerns on ShoalCreek Boulevard, specifically in front ofhis home just south off 2222.Repeatedly, northbound cars have beentraveling at unsafe speeds as they navi-gate the curve just prior to the stoplightat Shoal Creek and 2222. This has result-ed in several accidents including one carcrashing into the newly installed retainingwall and another smashing into a parkedvehicle. Mr. Knotzon is particularly con-cerned about pedestrian and bicycle safe-ty and appealed to the ANA for assis-tance in getting speed control measuresimplemented. Several ideas were raisedas to how this might be addressed. Theissue was referred to the ANA TrafficCommittee for follow-up and possibleactions with the City.

Tom Linehan reported that ANAreceived a notice regarding the City ofAustin’s ordinance that allows neigh-borhood associations to prohibit theparking of motorized vehicles on thefront and side yards of single familyresidences. The ordinance designated

18

February as the month for neighbor-hood associations to submit an applica-tion to prohibit such parking. GeorgeRoman made a motion that the ANAcomplete the application to the City ofAustin; it was seconded by Donna BethMcCormick. The motion passed.

Treasurer’s report: Joe ReynoldsRegular ANA $15,882.66Legal Fund $0.00Total $15,882.66

ANA legal debts to Blazier,Christensen, Bigelow & Virr, have notbeen finalized, and are not expected tobe until resolution of Lincoln’s feesassociated with the lawsuit. The EChad previously approved a monthlypayment of $2000/month until thedebt was retired. Joe expects to negoti-ate a revised payment plan, preferablyone based on timings of fundraisingevents. Therefore, Dan Jones made amotion that the ANA rescind the previ-ous directive to pay $2000/month toBigelow. Joe Reynolds seconded themotion and the motion passed. Afuture payment plan must be approvedby the EC.

Northcross Committee: Tom LinehanIn the absence of a representative

from the Northcross Committee, Tomreported that we have not received thefinal judgment from the trial becausethe amount of legal fees owed LincolnProperties for the case has not yet beendetermined. It also prevents Allandalefrom moving forward with an appeal.

Nominations Committee:

Joe ReynoldsThe Nominating Committee recom-

mended Cynthia Keohane to serve onthe EC. Cynthia has been an activemember of the ANA, has served on theFundraising Committee, and is currentlyrepresenting the ANA at the AustinNeighborhood Council (ANC). Hernomination was unanimously approved.

Alan McMurtry was nominated andapproved as Vice President (thereby vacatingthe position of Secretary). Mary Jean Matuswas nominated and approved as Secretary.

Zoning and Planning: Tom LinehanANA filed their VMU application in

September. No action by the City hasyet been taken. ANA is preparing forthe upcoming review of its application,

currently anticipat-ed to take place inlate March, bymeeting withPlanningCommission mem-bers and city staffto go over therationale behind itsapplication.

ByLaws

Committee:

Dan JonesThe Bylaws

Committee hasbeen reviewingANA bylaws andhas identified areasthat warrant atten-tion and possiblerevision. A formalreport of thesefindings is pend-ing.

Other Committees: A SafetyCommittee has been organized inresponse to growing concerns of a per-ceived increase in crime in the neigh-borhood. Regardless of whether thecrime rates have actually increased ornot, the nature of these crimes—bur-glary of homes and cars, sometimes inbroad daylight and with residents athome, have alarmed many of our resi-dents. Panhandling in and around theneighborhood has also been a source ofconcern. The committee had their firstmeeting on January 23.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm. �

Dog Talk: It Really

Can Happen! Cheryl Silver (512) 454-7219

Ijust learned that a colleague in basenjirescue was in a horrible car accident

along with her husband just last night. Hewas injured, but is now home. She isunconscious and in intensive care. It is avery serious situation. She is the one whohas always provided the “hands-on” carefor their beloved dogs. He is supportiveof her involvement with the dogs, but hedoes not know the nuts and bolts oftheir daily care. There was no one athome with the dogs when this happenedso they were totally on their own.

In many households with pets thereis one person who provides the majori-ty of their care. If you asked anotheradult in the household about them, thesecond person would direct you to thefirst saying, “I don’t really deal withthat stuff. Ask my husband/wife, shehandles all those things.”

At a time of crisis, everyone will bestressed, including the pets, especially iftheir primary caretaker is unable to pro-vide for them. By preparing ahead oftime, you can help the pets and thosewho will be providing their care. Thefollowing is a suggestion for informa-tion you can provide and have availablein a variety of locations.

Basics: Make a folder for each petand include a picture of the pet on her

19

folder along with the pet’s name.Include the name of your veterinarianand the office phone number. Includethe name and contact information foranyone with whom you have alreadymade an arrangement for the care ofyour pets—it is critical that this infor-mation be kept current.

Medical: List any allergies to med-ications. List each health conditionexperienced by each pet. Be sure andmake note of which pets are deafand/or losing vision. List each medica-tion taken by each pet including theamount the pet takes and the frequen-cy. Note where you purchase the med-ication and include phone numbers. Ofcourse, make a note as to where themedications are kept and how youmedicate the pet, e.g., how you hide thepills. Make a note of the date on whichyou give monthly preventatives.

Feeding: List any food allergies foreach pet. Specify the type/brand offood each pet is fed and include theamount fed and the frequency—someof us feed twice a day; some feed oncea day. Very important is to specify thefeeding routine, e.g., are dogs fed inseparate spaces to avoid squabbles—if

so, where is each dog fed. If the pet isfed a prescription diet, make note ofwhere it is purchased since the pre-scription will be on file there.

Skills: Make a list of the skills eachpet has including the command wordsyou use and what that commandmeans. Describe the signal the doggives to let you know he needs to potty.

Where do you put this information?Let numerous people know you havecompiled this information. Give themcopies; go over it with them andanswer any questions they may have.Put a card in your wallet and your glovecompartment noting that you have petsat your address and they need care ifyou are disabled. Include phone num-bers for emergency personnel to call soyour pets can get care. These numberscan include your vet’s contact info andat least one more contact so someonecan tend to them if your vet is notavailable.

This is so important. Once you havedone it, you can pat yourself on theback knowing you have prepared foryour pets’ well being in an emergency.

I am always here to help—never anycharge. �

Hello,

We’ve been in this area for a little over a year

now, and I have to say I’ve found information

on the Allandale site I had not heard anywhere

else. From restaurant reviews (we’ve been won-

dering about the Blue Star Cafeteria) to the

electronics recycling day. I’ve bookmarked the

site and will continue to check back. We don’t

technically live in Allandale, we’re in Oakmont,

but we do so love being in this area, and your

site is a great information source.

Keep up the good work!

And finally, I’ve been asked about use

of membership dues. Two people have

told me about their concern for paying

their annual membership because they

don’t want it going towards the legal fees

related to the Northcross lawsuit. They

don’t share the concern about the nega-

tive impact a Supercenter will have on

the neighborhood. My position has not

changed. A 200,000 sq ft Supercenter is

going to overburden our streets and

negatively impact local businesses. That

said, ANA’s intent is to not use member-

ship dues to retire our legal debt. We will

continue to rely on monies from events,

fundraising and other sources to pay

legal expenses. More importantly, it’s

important to know the Allandale

Neighborhood Association is not going

bankrupt. Please send in your member-

ship dues.If you’re wondering how you can get

involved with any or all of this or justwant to let me know how to make itbetter, send me an email:tlinehan@austin.rr.com. ANA is aboutpromoting and preserving the neigh-borhood’s quality of life. �

ANA President’s

LetterContinued from page 2

Please su

pport o

ur ad

vertisers!

JOIN ANA!A membership form is

available on the back of

this newsletter

20

Gullett Good News

ColumnStephanie Schultz-Smith

Maybe you’ve heard that GullettElementary School is a fun and

unique place to learn. But you’re asking,“What sets it apart from otherschools?” Gullett kids benefit from:

Great teachers and staff: Theaward-winning teachers and super staffkeep our kids interested in learning,motivating and challenging studentswith a combination of cutting-edgetechniques and proven strategies.

Super students and parents: Kidscome to school excited to learn andparents actively participate in their chil-dren’s education.

Exemplary ranking from the State

of Texas: Gullett recently achieved thebest possible rating from the state ofTexas with its “Exemplary” status. The2007 School Accountability Rating,given to all public schools in the state,also acknowledged Gullett for its“Gold Performance” in

Reading/English and Language Arts,Writing, Mathematics and Science.

Entertaining enrichment activi-

ties: Gullett students rotate throughthree special area classes during theweek—physical education, art andmusic. All students attend one of thesethree activities every day. Gullett stu-dents visit the library every week tofind and learn about new books. Kidsalso benefit from Spanish classes,which are funded entirely by the GullettPTA. (Studies show that exposing chil-dren to a foreign language before theage of 12 makes overall language acqui-sition much easier.)

Engaging animal studies: Ducks,chickens and turkeys. Rabbits, chin-chillas and tarantulas. Fish and butter-flies. Sound like a super fun nature hikein the country, or maybe a trip to theAustin Zoo? No wonder Gullett chil-dren love coming to school!

Terrific teaching garden: Kids gettheir hands dirty as they explore naturalhabitats and learn about differentecosystems through Gullett’s teachinggarden. The garden has a large contain-

er pond, beautiful native plants, a raisedbed for handicapped access, rustic seatsarranged for outdoor learning, rain bar-rels to aid in water conservation, a drysteam bed with a stone bridge and evena Native American crop garden.

Pleasing playgrounds: With newswings, slides, monkey bars and more,kids never run out of fun things to doon the playground. There’s smallerequipment on a special playground justfor kindergartners.

So many reasons to tour Gullett.Come and see these things—and more—for yourself. Gullett administratorshave scheduled two days in February forthe families/guardians of perspectivestudents to tour the school. The remain-ing day is Friday, February 29 at 8 a.m.

Visitors do not need to sign up forthe events. Simply come to the officeand sign in as a visitor.

Request Those Transfers … Now

Anyone who wants his/her child toattend Gullett in the 2008-09 school yearwho does not live within the Gullettboundary must request a transfer. The

A u s t i n B e a u t i f u l T r e e s . c o m

i n f o @ A u s t i n B e a u t i f u l T r e e s . c o m

21

first day to request a transfer was Feb. 2,2008. Transfers should be submitted inperson to AISD’s central office.

Math and Science on the Move at

Gullett

At 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February19th, Dr. Walter Stroup, University ofTexas Science and Math EducationProfessor and Gullett parent, alongwith Gullett’s 3rd and 5th grade teach-ers will discuss math and science educa-tion. Dr. Stroup co-founded theUTeach program, an innovative teacherpreparation technique at University ofTexas at Austin, and has trained Gullettteachers in these same methods. Theevent, held in the Gullett Library, willenable parents to see how the teachersare using “UTeach” in the classroomand what it means for their kids.

Dr. Stroup has also worked with ourteachers and students in Science by theHorns Summer Camp. Through thecamp, parents raised $2,000 for scienceequipment for Gullett! This is anothergreat event sponsored by the GullettParent Education Committee.

Gullett Gets Noticed … and

Rewarded

Gullett had applied for several grantsthis fall, and it has resulted in severalmuch-needed items and, in some casesmoney, for the school. The Geckoshave received the following:� The City of Austin Water

Conservation program provided fiverain barrels for the teaching garden.

� Lowe’s on Shoal Creek gave theschool two picnic tables and a birdbath for first grade courtyard area.

� Junior League of Austin awarded theschool a $460 ABC Grant for musicand movement.

� Longhorn Recycle Roundup awardedthe school a Keep Austin BeautifulGrant of $500.

Kids have Fun Keeping Fit

Marathon Kids: On February 23, Gullettstudents and their parents are invited toparticipate in the Marathon Kids FinalMile. The event, which takes place atBurger Stadium at 9 a.m., celebrates thestudents’ accomplishments of runningand/or walking 26.2 miles since the pro-gram kick-off in September.

Sports Day: The always fun and chal-lenging events at Gullett’s Sports Daywill take place on March 6. Come andwatch Gullett students test their athleticskills and just have fun with games andcontests like sack races, tug o’war, andbalance beam. Rain day is March 7.

Upcoming School Holidays

If Old Man Winter stays away thisyear, Gullett students will enjoy severalspring holidays. Put these dates on thecalendar.

March 10-14: Spring BreakMarch 21: Holiday/or snow dayApril 7: Holiday/or snow dayMay 26: Holiday/or snow day �

A low cost, quality Summer camp program for children ages 6 through 12.Our program consists of chapel time, swimming, arts and crafts

activities, indoor and outdoor games, and field trips.

Camp runs June 9 thru August 22HOURS: 7 am - 6 pm

Registration starts on April 1, 2008

Weekly cost $115. First Week’s Tuition, Registration and Supply FeeDue at time of registration.

6600 WOODROW AVE, AUSTIN TEXAS 78757PHONE: 512-451-1116 FAX: 512-451-1101

For more information visit us online at www.faithlutheranaustin.org

Get to know your neighbors—

organize a block party!

22

A lot of the insurgents started put-ting down their weapons by the end ofmy tour. They started reconciling withus and fighting al-Qaeda alongside us.

A side mission was to work with theIraqi army company in the sector. Itwas necessary to get them involved inthe fight. When I took over they werethe most corrupt and worst Iraqi com-pany. They weren’t trusted. The lasttwo commanders were detained for ter-rorist activities. It was a big undertak-ing. I was blessed with the right person-nel and with the right attitude and rightteam. That’s what I’m most proud of,getting this Iraqi Company to workwith us.

When we first got there the Iraqi pla-toon wouldn’t even go out on patrolwith us. By the end they were planningthe mission, gathering the intelligenceand only asking us for support. Theytook over and took ownership of theland. They got a lot of support of thepeople. People started going to themwith intelligence on the bad guys.People started feeling safe when theywere around.

Q: What kind of timeframe are youreferring to with regard to this turn-around?Lt. Hooper: It took every single day ofall 14 months I was there. It was slowand sure. It’s like a new teacher takingover a class or a coach taking on a newteam. You have to build a rapport withthem. You have to share suffering withthem. If they were out pulling securityin the cold you had to be with them.Slowly but surely their attitudeschanged.

Q: How big an area was your platoonresponsible for?Lt. Hooper: It was probably about a20 x 20 km area. I had 32 soldiersassigned to my platoon. It was a largearea and that’s why we really leaned onthe Iraqi soldiers. Sometimes it wouldjust be me and three or four other guyswith a platoon of 20 to 25 Iraqi sol-diers.

Q: What kind of impact did thesurge have?Lt. Hooper: The surge was con-centrated in two areas: Baghdadand up north in the Baqubaharea. Actually, the surge pushedthe bad guys into our area. Ourbattalion was successful in find-ing and bringing the bad guysout and gathering intelligence tofigure out who the main playerswere. We sought them out andwere able to neutralize thethreat.

Q: Was everybody in your platoon newto Iraq?Lt. Hooper: No, we had a number ofreturning veterans who had experiencein other parts of Iraq. I had a lot ofexperienced vets.

Q: What was the day-to-day routine foryour platoon?Lt. Hooper: It depends on the tempo.You go in cycles. When we first arrivedthere, we went eight hours on and 16hours off. That’s eight hours on patroloutside the wire, [and] 16 hours insidethe wire sleeping, fixing your vehicles,eating, trying to unwind as best you canbefore you have to go out again.

There’s really nothing typical aboutit. You go out on patrol to do what youhave to do. Every day you wake up andyou have a purpose. You go out and doyour mission, you engage your bad guy,catch or kill him and you come back inand you’ve affected some positivechange.

Q: Every time you go outside the wire,do you go with a specific purpose?Lt. Hooper: You always go outsidewith a purpose and a task behind thatpurpose. Otherwise you take a casualtyand how do you justify that. How doyou live with yourself ? We’re going outthe wire just to go out the wire? That’snot right. I can’t tell someone’s motherthat we took her son outside the wirejust because we were in Iraq and wehad nothing better to do.

Q: What was the hardest thing aboutbeing in Iraq?Lt. Hooper: I never really thoughtabout that. For everybody it’s different.One of my sergeants has a wife andseven kids. For him, it was hard beingaway from his family and trying to do itover the Internet and over the phone.For others, it was missing their girl-friend or their wife or their parents. Iwas lucky in that I had three of mybest friends from West Point in thesame battalion and I worked with themeveryday. I would go out on missionswith them. I really missed my friendsand my mom and dad.

The hardest part for me as a leaderwas dealing with one of my guys get-ting hurt because you’re always replay-ing in your head what could have beendone differently. Did I make a mistakein my planning or in my decision mak-ing that ended up getting this guy hurt?That was the hardest thing for me wasdealing with my guys getting hurt.Dealing with the emotions you havethat usually manifest itself in anger.You always want to go out and kill thebad guy. That was the hardest part forme—dealing with the reality of the war.War is terrible.

Q: I gather that where you were yousaw a lot of action?Lt. Hooper: Yes, we did. It’s all rela-tive. I saw enough action to keep meon my toes but it wasn’t like I was—and this may just be me—scared formy life everyday. I was always confidentthat whatever the insurgents threw at

Back From IraqContinued from page 1

1st Lt. Hooper and young friend.

23

us they would not overwhelm us. Wewould close with them and destroythem. It wasn’t something our unitcouldn’t handle. If you look at wherewe started and where we got at the endof the deployment. You can argue allday about whether we should be thereor not but you can’t argue we madeIraq, and certainly the little area that Iwas responsible for a better place. Iknow that we made a difference andthat made it good. That justified all ofthe hardships we endured, all of thethings we gave up, all of the sacrificesmy men made. One of the Iraqis toldme right before we left that for the firsttime in four years he could take deepbreath. He said, “I’m not worried aboutpeople hurting me or my family.”

The terrorist don’t just terrorize theAmericans, as I said before—they ter-rorize the local people. They disruptthe local influencers, the shieks, the ex-Baathists, the police chiefs, the leaders

in the community. They try to under-mine them. The militant al-Qaeda wantIraq to follow strict Islamic law. UnderSadam it was secular. They want tomake the area so bad for the peoplethat they just cave to their will.

Q: In your opinion will the religiousextremists prevail?Lt. Hooper: al-Queda in Iraq is losingground. The whole surge did work. Let’spray and hope we can maintain thatmomentum. Baqubah is safe, Al Anbar issafe, Basera down south is being turnedover to the Iraqis by the British. Ramadiis light years ahead of where it was. Myarea is good. Bhadgad is getting safereveryday. I think a lot of our success isdue to the feedback of the people on theground and people at the top whounderstand the culture and understandthe way these people think. Through justthe 5 years over there we’ve learned theirtribal system and can relate to them bet-ter. The vast majority of the populous

have learned that things are going to getbetter slowly but surely.

Q: What’s next for you? You’re onleave for a month and then back to Ft.Hood. I understand you may possiblybe deployed again in another year.Lt. Hooper: Not sure. Everything isup in the air. In the army you just try tobe as proactive as you can. I’m puttingtogether a packet for the SpecialForces. That said, I don’t mind my jobat all. I don’t mind being deployed. It’san adventure and I’m kind of good atit. You just got step up to the call anddo it. With regard to whether and whenI’ll be deployed again, it’s too early tosay.

Q: Alex, I do want to say on behalf ofthe Allandale NeighborhoodAssociation we appreciate your serviceto the country. It’s an honor to spendthis time with you and thanks for shar-ing your experiences with us. �

24

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