This will be my last column for The Advocate as your Dallas City Council member. What an incredible privilege it has been to serve Lake Highlands in this capacity for the past seven years.

We have a very unique community that works because our neighborhood has a servant’s heart. Whether it is serving in the local PTA, coaching a youth sport team, leading your local crime watch or homeowner’s association or serving on a City of Dallas board or commission, we have people who are willing to do everything they can to make a difference.

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Lake Highlands shares the same problems that most urban communities face, but we have managed to keep working through them to make our community one that is close knit and a great place to live. Each of my council colleagues is striving to achieve what we are fortunate enough to have in Lake Highlands.

The crime rate for District 10 showed a substantial decrease through February, compared to the same period last year. Violent crime was down 7.6 percent, and non-violent crime was down 13 percent. All crime categories were down except for burglary of a motor vehicle. If you must leave your vehicle outside, please remember to take everything of value out or lock it in the trunk.

We have had some high profile crimes committed in the area with the purse snatchings in the Walmart parking lot, the armed robbery in the White Rock Valley neighborhood and the robbery at the Braum’s on Kingsley. Those events are very disturbing without a doubt, but the good news is that arrests have been made on all these crimes. The Dallas Police Department had deployed additional resources in our area because of these high profile crimes, which led to the quick arrest of the Braum’s suspects.

I am greatly appreciative of Chief Turnage and the personnel at the Northeast sub-station for their aggressive action for our neighborhood.

My last town hall meeting will be held April 7 at Lake Highlands High School in the Student Center from 7-9 pm. The subject will be the 2003 bond program. The bond program has 16 proposals with more than $500 million in projects. I believe in order to fully understand what is in this bond proposal, it is extremely important for you to attend. Several categories such as streets and parks have two separate proposals on the ballot and we will analyze what is in all the proposals at this meeting.

In closing, I want to thank my family for the sacrifices they have made to allow me to serve you. Mom, Sarah, Robert and most of all Joan, I love you and thank you for your understanding and support. Lastly, my office assistant Patricia Love deserves much of the credit of what successes you may have felt I have had in this office. Patricia, you have been great, and all of District 10 and I thank you for all your hard work in making Lake Highlands a better place to live.