Daily Archives: August 31, 2009


Blooms Galore

Fall will soon be here again and it will be time to separate your irises if you did not get around to it last year. Irises and Shasta daisies are two of my favorite bloomers, and they love to be cut up and given more room. They bloom much better if they have some […]


Kidney Function

Shaped like a kidney bean about the size of your fist, the kidneys have an impressive array of functions. Even though you have two of them, you can live a perfectly normal life with just one. Functioning like a sieve, the kidneys filter hundreds of gallons of blood every day, cleaning and purifying it […]


Their Dream House

The sprawling stone and brick Mediterranean-style home of Bruce and Lynn Basden is the third house they have built, and the one they plan on calling home permanently — quite a claim for a family, which has moved about a dozen times. With its beautiful landscaping, inner courtyard, guest house and pool, this 4,000-square-foot […]


The Changing Face of Education

According to the U.S. Charter Schools organization, nearly 3,000 new schools have been launched since state legislatures began passing charter legislation in the 1990s. Chartering is at the center of a growing movement to challenge traditional notions of what public education means. Charter schools run independently of the traditional public school system, and they […]


Keeping a Good Head

Upon reaching the end of eighth grade, playing football was the last thing Eddie Johnson wanted to do. However, with a little nudging from the coach, he acquiesced to the request long enough to try out for the team. “I don’t regret it at all,” Eddie recalled. “When we moved to Midlothian at the […]


Lucky Charms

Whether changing your hair color or adding baubles to apparel to reflect your sense of style and taste, the art of self-expression can be accomplished in many ways. Local resident Stephanie Welch’s interest in artistic self-expression began at a very early age. Many of Stephanie’s earliest memories of creating art involve her grandmother, Nana. […]


Teamwork at Its Best

Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams tend to have a glorified reputation based on TV more than reality. Why are specialized law enforcement teams needed anyway? Cedar Hill’s team, designated Emergency Response Team or ERT, is made up of police officers who volunteer both for training and service when crisis situations arise or when […]