Louis Moore of Garland

This was so much fun when a group of 18 from Garland visited the Chickasaw Cultural Center last fall in anticipation of our March 7 Garland Native American Awareness Day event. We were invited to join the dancing, and many of us did. Likely tomorrow the dancerss will invite people attending the event at Garland's Plaza Theatre to join them, too. You don't want to miss it!

Not your typical "Cowboys and Indians" fantasy once the regular fare at Garland's Plaza Theatre, but a real-life Western inspired by real people and actual historic events.

Saturday's "Other Steps, Another Time" at Plaza Theatre will be an early preview of featured speaker Derek Ross' appearance on Sunday (the next day) at Wilshire Baptist Church, where he presents three times.

Now it is official. HEB coming to Garland—in two locations, north and south South is a Trader Joe's; North is a full HEB at Firewheel. Two of the best non-kept secrets in town for the past 4 to 6 months.

Here's the Dallas News story today:

H-E-B eying two stores in North Texas city as expansion continues
The grocer’s Joe V’s Smart Shop is one of the retail sites that’s under plan.
By Brian Womack

H-E-B is looking to make some big moves in Garland.

The popular grocer is making plans for two new stores in Garland with one in the more northern area and another in the southern region.

H-E-B intends to develop a store on a 21-acre site located between Crist Road and Firewheel Parkway off President George Bush Turnpike, according to a statement from the company. The purchase of that property is not yet final — and additional details will be shared as projects develop.

Inside the new Netflix House in Dallas
The company also plans to revitalize a vacant shopping center that will bring a Joe V’s Smart Shop, the store focused on price-conscious shoppers, to the city. H-E-B will revitalize a vacant shopping center located on the northeast corner of Centerville Road and LBJ Freeway.

Construction is expected to begin in the coming months.

H-E-B is opening stores in North Texas as it seeks to tap into the region’s growing population and better compete with names like Walmart and Kroger. The company recently opened a store in Forney, which is on the eastern side of the D-FW, after launching sites in cities such as Plano and Frisco.

Actual Native American museum objects will be on display in Garland's Plaza Theatre lobby during March 7 "Other Steps, Another Time: Garland's Native American Awareness Day".

Thank you to our friends on the board of the Preservation Society for Spring Creek Forest for their upfront, honest and bold appraisal of the damage regretfully done recently to a portion of Garland's Spring Creek Forest Preserve.

Most of us were surprised to learn that a major city sewer line was constructed under the creek more than a half-century ago and today still runs beneath the whole Preserve. Unfortunately, previous city leaders for decades failed to maintain properly the sewer line running through the Spring Creek Forest Preserve, leaving a mess for current city officials to clean up.

Spring Creek's board has shown the kind of clear-headed, thoughtful, analytic leadership our city needs in times like these. Kay and I have served on boards and in other capacities with members of the Spring Creek board and know first-hand that these are the voices of citizens and community leaders Garland needs to listen to and support now.

Here is the Spring Creek board's statement in its newsletter this week:

"Update on damage to the forest –

Meeting with Kimley-Horn regarding condition assessment procedure

The Assessment Procedure project is the foundation for the next months/years of work. Kimley-Horn can now begin to discover the details of how to inspect and repair the sewer line while protecting the Preserve and creek integrity. The first priority is to discover and fix any weakness in the sewer line that would both contaminate the creek and jeopardize a fully working sewer line for the 40,000 people relying on it. At the same time, a second team will look at sites outside of the creek, Preserve, and greenbelt to recommend where the sewer could be eventually moved.

Folks, the Society Executive Committee is excited about the excellent caliber of the K-H teams ready to inspect the approximately 4 miles of creek that is in jeopardy. They have drones and cameras that reach 3-4 times farther than the equipment that Garland owns. Their equipment can “see” through the cement and evaluate its strength and thickness. (Note, it would not be a good use of our money to purchase this special equipment for the few times Garland will need it.)

We are eagerly waiting for their assessment, which will be ready maybe by the end of January. It depends quite a bit on the weather.

However, we must remember that there is still likely a lot of harm that will have to be done. Because of that potential harm caused by sewer in the creek, please don’t forget to mention the P**P Project every chance you get. Let’s get the Pipeline Out Of the Preserve!

Another odious problem has cropped up, and we need your help…

Yesterday, we heard the Garland Audit Department’s report on the entire debacle. The Audit Department has spent several months interviewing employees, contractors, the Society Executive Committee, folks from Dallas County Open Spaces, and more to find out the sequence of events that led to the destruction. They also reviewed hundreds of pages of city procedure, contracts, and more.

The conclusion: Yes, inattention and mistakes. However, definitely No corruption.

In the aftermath of the very honest rage at the damage caused by the inattention of as many as 5-6 people (yes, only 5-6), we have heard some of our concerned friends of the Preserve saying things such as, “The city administration is corrupt.” This statement is most absolutely not true. Even the 5-6 who were inattentive are excellent people just trying to do their job.

So please, remember that if someone makes this odious statement, “The city administration is corrupt.”, they are including our librarians, our parks people, people who try to help the homeless, the police that answer your 911 call, and yes, the people who keep our water pure. So please don’t say that, and please politely correct anyone you hear doing that."

The recent for-sale listing of this high-profile dwelling has stirred interest in its rich, colorful past, dating back to a young Garland.

One of the most well-known historic homes in Garland is now for sale, a rare offer in Garland's only residential neighborhood on the National Register of Historic Places.

Now on the market—the beautiful dwelling at 411 South 11th Street in the Travis College Hill Historic District, a popular stop on historic home tours over the years on 11th Street.

Recently listed with C&D Realty Group under the auspices of Cynthia Lopez, the two-story Craftsman-inspired home is one of the most treasured dwellings in Garland. Built in 1913 to be the home of Garland Mayor G. Lester Davis, it has had numerous devoted occupants in its 112-year history.

It features five bedrooms, three baths, a three-car garage, and a high-profile corner lot at the entrance to the Travis College Hill neighborhood.

The virtual tour is available at the link below.
https://listings.fullpackagemedia.com/sites/411-s-11th-st-garland-tx-75040-16003883/branded

Thanks to the efforts of and funding by Friends of Garland's Historic Magic 11th Street, Garland will soon be getting two significant new Texas Historic Markers. This brings to 4 Texas Historic Markers secured by the Friends nonprofit organization, whose goal is to spotlight the history of ALL of Garland's people.

For those who were unable to attend or need a refresher, here is the full video, released today in honor of Juneteenth, of the recent "In Their Words" symposium of Friends of Garland's Historic Magic 11th Street.

This looks to be a terrific and best use of this space. A long time coming. Glad to see the tie-in with the GHS Owls and other GISD high schools and mascots. Let's get it done sooner than later, Garland!

City of Garland to Consider New Development for Historic Downtown Property On March 4, City Council will consider a proposal to turn the former Jones Hardware building into the future The Owl Icehouse.