PLACES TO GO Around the Neighborhood
WEST SIDE STORIES Kelley Cooper McClure
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VOLUME 37 ISSUE 11 - SINCE 1986
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NOV. 21, 2024
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House Park Bar-B-Que Is Open Again By Forrest Preece It’s been four long years, but House Park Bar-B-Que on West 12th Street just east of Lamar reopened on Thursday, November 7. Its owner Matt Sullivan is all smiles now, but on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, his expression was the exact opposite after his worst nightmare happened. In the early morning hours of that day, while his father Joe was cooking meat for the upcoming meal service, a stray ember from the barbecue pit caught in some grease and ignited. The sudden blast of flame was so intense that Joe couldn’t begin to extinguish it and he had to race outside to save himself. By the time the Austin Fire Department managed to quell the blaze, the small restaurant’s interior was destroyed. It was difficult for Matt to see his family’s beloved eatery in that condition, but he took a deep breath and vowed that they would reopen. Ever since, Matt has worked tirelessly to restore this iconic West Austin institution that started serving food in 1943. It has been tough sledding, but Matt and his crew of staffers and helpers never slowed in their quest to bring the business back to life. A complication was that
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Rawson Saunders Troop 1997 aims at dyslexia awareness to earn Bronze Award By Alana Moehring Mallard
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many things in the building were not up to current codes, and significant updating was needed. “It took a lot longer than we were expecting,” Matt says. “We learned a lot about navigating the permitting process with the city.” On the bright side, the original pit was saved, so how they smoke the meat will not change. Matt also hints that some new items may be added to the menu when the proper licenses come through. Matt is appreciative of everyone who helped along the way. “My landlord was so patient throughout the process, especially after my father died two years ago,” he says. “His support was crucial.” He added that when diners dig into their brisket, they are agreeing once again, “Need no teef to eat my beef!”
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Girl Scout Troop 1997 of Rawson Saunders School in Tarrytown received a proclamation from City Council member Alison Alter last month, proclaiming October as Dyslexia Awareness Month. The proclamation, requested by the troop, is part of their work towards earning a Bronze Award. The Bronze Award is the highest award a Junior Girl Scout can earn. It demonstrates a girl’s leadership skills and ability to collaborate with others to solve a community problem. To earn the Bronze Award, each girl is expected to spend a minimum of 20 hours on their project.
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“Our Girl Scout year starts Oct. 1,” said Ana Garcia, a co-leader of Troop 1997, “so Troop 1997 has just begun working on its project of Dyslexia Awareness.” Garcia’s Troop 1997 co-leader is Danielle Hasso.
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As part of the Bronze Award, Rawson Saunders School Junior Girl Scouts also participated in a virtual 5K race, Dyslexia Dash, sponsored by a Georgia dyslexia awareness organization, and raised more than $1000 to support dyslexia literacy programs. The girls also designed a patch for Dyslexia Awareness to wear on their uniform vests, and they will distribute 100 patches to local Girl Scouts who earn the patch by learning about dyslexia. Rawson Saunders School on Exposition in Tarrytown is the only full-curriculum school in Central Texas for students with dyslexia. It was named a School of Distinction in 2022 for
excellence in education. Laura Steinbach is Rawson Saunders head of school. As much as 20 percent of the population is affected by dyslexia, a difficulty in decoding written language, says the proclamation, and many with dyslexia possess extraordinary strengths in creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, and innovation. Dyslexia awareness helps reduce the stigma often associated with dyslexia, promotes understanding of the particular challenges faced by people with dyslexia, and celebrates their achievements. Dyslexia Awareness Week in Austin ran from Oct. 1 through Oct. 31.
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Tarrytown’s Reed Park on Nov. 2 It’s My Park Day By Alana Moehring Mallard
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On this month’s It’s My Park Day, neighbors of Reed Park turned out to lavish some love on their green space on Exposition just off 35th Street. James Page and Justin Halloran of Friends of Reed Park estimated that probably two dozen volunteers came out that overcast Saturday morning to clear out invasive plant such as nandina, ligustrum and poison ivy; do some tree trimming; pick up trash; spread mulch; and just generally spiff up Reed Park. Across Austin, some 3,300 volunteers
came together at 90 parks to make parks, trails, and green spaces better. Austin Parks Foundation, the sponsor of Austin’s twice-a-year It’s My Park Day workday, estimates that across Austin 34,000 pounds of trash was removed by volunteers on Nov. 2, and that volunteers spread 713 cubic yards of mulch. With 2024’s spring and fall It’s My Park Days combined, volunteers provided more than $600,000 in labor value, Austin Parks Foundation estimates. It’s My Park Day, an Austin tradition for more than 20 years, happens next on March 8, 2025.
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