They have been keeping records on high school football in the state of Texas since 1923. For 85 years literally thousands of schools have competed in small towns and the state’s largest cities. Saturday night at SMU’s Gerald J. Ford Stadium, the Highland Park Scots football program became the first team in Texas history to record an amazing 700 wins! The Scots blasted the area’s #12 ranked team; Red Oak, by a 19-point final margin to earn the historic win.
Highland Park head coach Randy Allen, who also quietly won his 260th game as a head coach Saturday talked about the impressive, time-tested tradition at HPHS.
“We are honored to be a small part of this significant achievement for the Highland Park football program,” said Allen. “The fact that 85 teams at HPHS have won over eight contests per season is a milestone in Texas High School Football’ It demonstrates the tradition of success the Scots enjoy”.
“Another great thing was that we gained a level of confidence from the victory,” Allen added. “We bonded as a team as we celebrated the 700 wins and the Tom Landry Championship.”
The Scots, ranked number-five in the state in this week’s Associated Press 4A state poll (Lake Travis #1, WF Rider #2, Everman #3, and Dayton #4 complete the top five.), won the historic game in style. The Scots dominated the Red Oak Hawks on both sides of the football for a convincing, 45-26, season-opening victory. It marked the sixth Tom Landry Classic title in the past seven seasons for HP.
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Snider Plaza task force presents plan
By Pete Waters
After a year of meetings, the Snider Plaza Strategic Plan Committee presented their recommendations to the University Park City Council last Tuesday.
Members of the task force were composed or residents who live around Snider Plaza, Snider Plaza merchants and Snider Plaza property owners. The members were Robert Clark, Mike Culwell, Roger Fullington, Duncan Fulton, Max Fuqua, Mary Graves, Marc Hall, Barbara Hitzelberger-Wooten and John Jackson. University Park Councilman Jerry Grable was the chair of the committee.
The lead topic was the lack of parking in Snider Plaza and to update ordinances. The last Snider Plaza Planned Development was adopted 35 years ago.
Currently Snider Plaza has 919 parking spaces available, but several parking studies showed there is a need of 1,624 spaces.
For parking, their recommendations are to increase the number of parking spaces businesses should provide.
Enforce the two-hour parking. The council did pass the purchasing of an automated parking enforcement/auto chalk system.
The equipment will replaced the chalking stick with a state of the art digital photography. The system is capable of identifying “cheaters” or vehicles that have moved over a space or two to avoid a parking ticket. As the parking enforcement officer drives along the parking spaces, the digital camera reads the license plate. When the parking enforcement officer returns two hours later, the system will signal him that a car has not moved or only moved a few spaces. The system can scan up to 1,000 vehicles an hour on both sides of the street.
Prohibit new drive-through businesses to help improve traffic movement and pedestrian safety.
“This council is making a pledge to help solve the problem and it will not be swept under the rug,” said University Park Mayor Blackie Holmes.
“The council is ready to move forward on these short term recommendations and move forward. We want to make Snider Plaza a better place for people to shop,” he added.
Snider Plaza c
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HP students sets new record, again
By Robert Collins
After setting a new record on the ACT with an average score of 26.1, Highland Park High School students have set a new record on the 2008 Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) with a score of 1782. The numbers break down to: 618 in math, 583 in critical reading and 581 in writing. Highland Park students’ scores exceeded state and national averages.
“The news of these record-setting SAT scores comes on the heels of the announcement that the Class of 2008 also broke the record for ACT scores. This is obviously a bright and hard-working group of students,” said HPISD Superintendent Dr. Cathy Bryce.
“We all know how important college admissions tests are in terms of opening the doors to the halls of higher education. Our students have demonstrated that they are prepared to go to college and into the world to pursue their dreams. We are so very proud of them, along with their parents and their teachers.”
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Live from Beijing
By Leslie Horn
BEIJING-It’s hard to say how I will remember my experience in China because I could describe it in so many different ways.
I knew going into my two-month stay in Beijing that I would be living in China during a period of time that would be highly scrutinized and remembered forever. I knew that the games of the 29th Olympiad would be very high profile and that China had a lot invested into the games. But I didn’t really think about how the experience might affect me.
I have thought for a long time that the best way to learn about yourself and your own culture is to experience another culture. Over the past two months I was able to do that. I can say emphatically that I am thankful that I am an American and that I am able to enjoy all the rights and privileges that go along with being from the U.S. Now that I’m home, I no longer have to show my passport to get into church. For Chinese people do not have the freedom to worship as we do. The squabbles between different faiths that we have here in the States can’t even take place in China. They can hardly be discussed. I have never been more thankful for the first amendment. Living in China, I really began to feel the oppression of a communist regime. Every time I picked up the phone, I heard a click on the line, signifying that someone was listening. Every time I wrote an email, I wrote it with the knowledge that someone else was going to read it. By the time I left China, I really felt the communist reality weighing down on me. I can understand the frustration students must have felt on that day back in 1989.
But people in China are happy for the time being. The government has basically told them that they can make money and have things and travel and see the world, as long as they leave the politics to the politicians. But this kind of happiness is fleeting. It would be like trying to fix a leak in the Hoover Dam with a piece of gum. It’s a flawed system. Eventually, it’s all going to break.
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Highland Park ISD celebrates top teachers
The Highland Park Independent School District is proud to announce its Teachers of the Year for the 2008-09 school year: Anne Edwards, kindergarten teacher at Armstrong Elementary; Leslie Kennemer, technology integration specialist at Bradfield Elementary; RuthAnn Funderburk, fourth-grade teacher at Hyer Elementary; Charlie Kenyon, physical education teacher at UP Elementary; Kay Blake, sixth-grade math teacher at McCulloch Intermediate; Georgie Swize - eighth-grade math teacher at HPMS; and Janet Beckmann - special education teacher at HPHS.
Teachers of the Year receive free lunch all year in their school’s cafeteria and a $1,000 cash gift from the HP Education Foundation with support from La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas. They will also receive the use of a Volkswagen for one month, thanks to Alan Brown, general manager of Park Cities Volkswagen.
Kristen Toney, HPHS technology teacher and sponsor for the Community Service Council was presented with the HP Education Foundation’s John and Eileen Howie Community Service Award. Education Foundation President Pat Bolin presented the $5,000 award, which was established through the Education Foundation by the Howie family and their friends. This is awarded annually to both a graduating senior and a teacher in HPISD for their commitment to community service.
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see the current issueo f The Park Cities News.
