Lake Highlands People (Newspaper) - December 1, 2006, Dallas, Texas COMMUNITY MATTERS Womens League 2A ENGAGEMENT Soon to Help your children beart I FRIDAY DECEMBER MBER 12006 AN PAPERS COM VOL 3 ISSUE 47 ONE QUARTER Appraisal Reform Hits Resistance Task force to propose legislative changes next session By Peter Simek Staff Writer A task force charged with address ing the steady rise of prop erty values throughout the state met strong resistance during the Dallas public meeting of its statewide tour said task force chair and East Dallas resident Tom Pauken Pauken said that while few property owners turned out for the meeting that was organized to gather taxpayer input on possible changes to Texas property appraisal system local government officials lobbyists and opponents of Governor Rick plans to amend the states appraisal procedures turned out in force Dallas was unusual Pauken said There were a lot more local officials arid a lot more organized effort to fight Much of the opposition to the task force comes from the proposed lowering of appraisal caps to limit the amount of additional taxes homeowners must pay as their property values con to rise from year to year Local governments fear The local governments are indirectly hiding the ball about what they are doing but they are raising Tom Pauken Task force chair this will leave them strapped for cash while allowing the richest residents to go undertaxed But Pauken has called this rising cost to homeowners a stealth tax because munic have not cut the tax rate to correspond with the rising appraisals higher tax bills and some times pricing middle income residents out of their neigh The local governments are indirectly hiding the ball about what they are Pauken said They are say ing they are not raising taxes but they are raising taxes The task force has come See REFORM Page STAIT PHOTOS Gladis Torres 7 gets a hug from Mrs Claus Left The horse knows the way to carry the carriage along the trails at the Arboretum North Pole Moves South The Dallas Arboretum kicked off the holiday season with its version of the North Pole during the Family Rudolph Architect Presides Over Tree House Project Arboretum exhibit draws professional designs By Bruce Staff Writer Tip Housewright lived a childhood without the care free fun of a treehouse The architect however made up for the absence of a tree branch playhouse in a big way when he served as the architectural liaison for the Ultimate Tree House Committee at the Dallas Arboretum In his work on the popular Ultimate Tree House Exhibit Housewright helped plan the display and guided the technical aspect of con designs into struc tures as well as maintaining compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act which kept the struc tures grounded The ADA allows for two alternatives Housewright said Either everyone would have access or no one would have access We didnt want to design only for ied persons and there are always strollers and wagons with young children at the Dallas Arboretum Housewright works as a principal of Inc the Dallas architectural firm that designed the original buildings of Center the newest additions to the mall Tip Housewright the Ultimate Tree House Exhibit COURTESY PHOTO Central also known as the Richards Group building at Central Expressway and Northwest Highway and the Rodgers Tower He also volunteers as a longtime board member at the He and his family have lived in Lake Highlands since 1993 and he graduated from Lake Highlands High School He drew on his architects perspective to help the com devise the initial guide lines Fiftyfive architects submitted renderings and specifications to the Ultimate Tree House Committee The judges panel which included Donald dean of the University of Texas at Arlington School of Architecture and Christine Allison of D Home maga zine selected 13 designs for the Arboretum grounds His vast understanding of architecture and construc tion was instrumental in making the Ultimate Tree House exhibit a success said Mary Brinegar Arboretum board president He is a great team leader who always offers his knowl edge expertise and resources Housewright said the vol work allows him to practice his craft without the business pressures of projects One of the reasons I enjoy See TREEHOUSE Page WEEKEND Theres something in heart that those scenes really touch We just without cynicism Rising Interest Rates To Spur Home Buyers Rising interest rates to spur buyers By Bruce Staff Writer News of the home resale mar kefs demise has been greatly exaggerated So began Sherryl address to the crowd at the Dallas Northeast Chamber of Commerce Economic Summit held Nov 16 Wesson manager of the Ebby Halliday Realtors Northeast and Lakewood offices told the crowd that existing home sales in Lake Highlands and the White Rock Lake area continue to hold at a steady pace The gloomy forecasts of plunging sales stem from dra matic downturns on the East and West coasts Florida and Phoenix she said Reports of weakened home sales in those areas create a negative psycho logical effect among buyers and sellers in other markets she said Wesson backed up her assessment with sales figures from the North Texas Real Estate Information Services database which breaks down Sec RESALE Page Sherryl Wesson a Realtor in the White Rock ahead forthe home resale market New Superintendent For Richardson ISO Board offers contract to superintendent Dr David Simmons By Sarah P Henry Staff Writer Richardson Independent School District has offered Dr David Simmons a contract to become the districts next superintendent Simmons formerly superin tendent of the Tyler school dis was named sole finalist for the Nov 6 and was waiting out the state required period of 21 days before signing a contract Simmons said he feels his experiences in Tyler have pre pared him for work at Richardson I have worked in districts that have diverse student bod ies he said In Tyler were very diverse and there are some similarities between Richardson and Tyler in that regard The new superintendent also said he is aware of the financial challenges facing a district like Richardson and will be working on becoming familiar with the budget In addition to the budget Simmons said he will be focus ing on student achievement and building relationships I WEATHER Dr David Simmons with the staff and community One of the things that attracted him most to the dis was the board he said I felt like I could work col with this board that is in place he said They have their priorities in order and understand their role as well as the superintendents role Simmons received his bach elors and masters degrees in education from Stephen F Austin University in 1982 and 1987 respectively He earned a doctorate in education administration from Texas See SIMMONS Page SA Sunny
