West Plano People (Newspaper) - December 22, 2006, Dallas, Texas ffl NEIGHBORS Carl Anderson tells Santas secrets WHEELS Porsche for the kiddies m WEEKEND captures the spirit of an era I FRIDAY DECEMBER 22 VOL3 ISSUE ONE QUARTER H Churches Anticipate Christmas Eve Crowds Congregants advised to arrive early to get good seats By Krystal De Los Santos Staff Writer For those looking to spend part of their Christmas Eve remembering the roots of the holiday area churches are celebrating the birth of Christ in the traditions of their denominations Nativity pageants and can services are to be expected while area Catholic churches will pro vide midnight masses PHOTO MARCO ANTONIO MEDINA The Rev Kathryn Ransdell speaks during last weeks Moravian Love Feast service at St Andrew offers two Christmas Eve serv ices one in the evening focused on children and retelling the Nativity story and another traditional service at 11 pm Both services are really beautiful Theres a little something for everybody said Stephanie Hurst a teacher at the church All children are invited to arrive at pm before the evening service at pm to participate in the Nativity pageant Church volunteers will dress them as charac ters from the story to ipate in the portrayal The family service she said is the most popular and con should arrive at least 30 minutes early to get a good seat This is for anybody If any body wants to participate we have plenty of angel and sheep costumes Everybody is welcome Hurst said You dont have to be a member The more kids we have par that just makes it more special And with a backdrop of candlelight and hundreds of poinsettias she said the nighttime service will be See CHURCH Page 4A SIGNING SANTA STAFF PHOTO MICHAEL Lily Crane 5 signs her Christmas wish list to Santa Claus at The Shops About 150 children got the chance to visit with the Signing Santa who shares their language Church Ministry Pyts Presents Under Tree helps provide Christmas for needy families By Krystal De Los Santos Staff Writer For Trellis Marr a single mother with five children Baptist Churchs annual Christmas Store means more than the dollar value of the gifts she buys there allows needy parents the to place presents under the tree for one quarter of the cost In 13 years the annual ministry has grown from about four small tables of gifts serving a dozen fam ilies to about in mer for 350 families The best thing about the Christmas Store is that it STAFF PHOTO DE LOS SANTOS Kim Lively a volunteer with Baptist Churchs Christmas Store helps and her daughter calculate the total cost of their gifts helps people help them handout It gives them a selves instead of hurting their pride and giving them a See STORE Page City Works to Balance Housing Availability Study highlights need for homes By Krystal De Los Santos Staff Writer The city of Piano will soon take a more proactive role in ensur ing the availability of housing for the average worker after the City Council in a resolu tion accepted the Workforce Housing Study as a guide for revitalizing existing neighbor hoods in the city lifestyle Perry said The study also and regional trends burdening laborers including the rapid growth of the Worth area and the fact that nationally home prices and rents have outpaced wage growth Those burdened by their housing costs estimated at 31 percent of households com UA resolution doesnt make it law but it is a recommendation that we want to invest in these In early 2006 the citys Transition and Revitalization Commission began working with city staff to study the economic significance of adequate housing for the citys labor force and possi ble solutions for a lack of housing for those earning between 80 percent and 120 percent of the areas median income or to annually We want to maintain a competitive advantage as an employment center said Kate Perry a senior planner with the city Often these service workers are our police and firefighters our teachers and others essential to the community According to the study those workers can afford homes ranging in price from to We studied it and basically the outcome is that theres a significant amount of housing available and priced ately for people in this range but most of it is older not energy efficient and not nec suited for a modern Kate Perry Senior planner for that expense by reducing what they spend on other essentials such as food clothing and health care Perry said Also according to the study Homes in the to range are disproportionately located in the eastern part of Piano while a major por tion of Pianos employment base is located in West Piano away from the affordable housing with limited mass transit access Were of the opinion after extensive research that the TRC thinks its important that we designate a work force housing plan so that in the future we can identify adequate housing supply said Russ Kissick chair of the Transition and Revitalization Committee The study recommended that the city preserve and enhance Pianos existing neighborhoods and housing to ensure they remain attractive and functional to meet the See HOUSING Page 4A Service Projects Inspire Students to Reach Out Youth learn to be grateful more aware of those in need By Sarah P Henry Staff Writer Members of the French National Honor Society at Piano West Senior High School did not expect to be so touched when they began planning their holiday serv ice project to buy gifts for angels from the Salvation Army angel tree at Collin Creek Mall They also did not expect such a large turnout More than 50 students showed up on a Saturday afternoon in December to donate money and help shop for six angels According to Sally Schneider a French teacher and sponsor for the group the smallest group of stu dents had to spend on one child because of the stu dents donations You get all caught up in how busy you are grading papers or doing homework Schneider said But this has been the highlight for me this Christmas Because there were so many students participating the groups were uneven when they went to shop Schneider tried to rearrange them so they were more even but the students would not See SERVICE Page STAFF PHOTO LONNIE Piano West senior and French Honor Society historian Jordan Johannsen juniors Gena Dullum Cara Richardson and Liz Keller spent part of their Saturday at the local WalMart shopping for Christmas Angels WEEKEND Hes got such a great perspective on who hes perceived to be who he is and what he can achieve in the world Hanchett on working with George Clooney in The Good German Mostly Sunny
