INSIDE

February 2, 2018

This paper canbe recycled

RAPPIN’Tommy Wyatt

TPATEXASPUBLISHERSASSOCIATION

Presorted StandardU.S. Postage Paid

Austin, TexasPermit No. 01949

www.TheAustinVillager.com

Vol. 45 No. 37 Phone: 512-476-0082 Email: vil3202@aol.com

Let’s CelebrateBlack History

Month Black History Month

is an annual celebration ofachievements by AfricanAmericans and a time forrecognizing the central roleof blacks in U.S. history.The event grew out of “Ne-gro History Week,” thebrainchild of noted his-torian Dr. Carter G.Woodson and other promi-nent African Americans.

Since 1976, everyU.S. president has officiallydesignated the month ofFebruary as Black HistoryMonth. Other countriesaround the world, includ-ing Canada and the UnitedKingdom, also devote amonth to celebrating blackhistory.

Since Black historyis not included in our pub-lic education, it is up to thecommunity to teach ourchildren and the rest of thecommunity that history. Itis a time for each family toteach their children aboutthe history of their familiesand their neighbors.

Because of the lackof this history, Blacks havebeen down played as totheir role in the develop-ment of this country. Manyof the modern day conve-niences that we enjoy werethe inventions of AfricanAmericans. And as wedelve into this history,many are surprised as towhat we find.

A trip to theGeorge Washington CarverMus- eum is a good placeto start. That facility isnamed in honor of one ofour more popular inven-tors. Dr. Carver developedmany foods from thesimple peanut and otheritems.

We pause in Februaryof each year to acknowl-edge our fore fathers andtheir contri- butions toyour com- munity.

We will be featur-ing some of our local his-tory makers during thismonth and invite you torediscover your roots.

Bruno Mars Crashes Rap’sBig Party at the Grammys

by: David Bauder | AP Media Writer

BrBrBrBrBruno Maruno Maruno Maruno Maruno Mars poses in the prs poses in the prs poses in the prs poses in the prs poses in the press ress ress ress ress room with his aoom with his aoom with his aoom with his aoom with his awwwwwararararards fds fds fds fds for best R&B albor best R&B albor best R&B albor best R&B albor best R&B album,um,um,um,um, r r r r recorecorecorecorecord ofd ofd ofd ofd ofthe ythe ythe ythe ythe yearearearearear,,,,, alb alb alb alb album ofum ofum ofum ofum of the y the y the y the y the yearearearearear,,,,, best engineer best engineer best engineer best engineer best engineered albed albed albed albed album,um,um,um,um, non-c non-c non-c non-c non-classical,lassical,lassical,lassical,lassical, f f f f for “24K Maor “24K Maor “24K Maor “24K Maor “24K Magicgicgicgicgic,,,,,”””””and song ofand song ofand song ofand song ofand song of the y the y the y the y the yearearearearear,,,,, best R&B perf best R&B perf best R&B perf best R&B perf best R&B perfororororormance and best R&B songmance and best R&B songmance and best R&B songmance and best R&B songmance and best R&B song,,,,, f f f f for “Tor “Tor “Tor “Tor “Thahahahahat’t’t’t’t’s s s s s WWWWWhahahahahatttttI LikI LikI LikI LikI Like”e”e”e”e” a a a a at the 60th annt the 60th annt the 60th annt the 60th annt the 60th annual Grual Grual Grual Grual Grammammammammammy y y y y AAAAAwwwwwararararards ads ads ads ads at Madison Squart Madison Squart Madison Squart Madison Squart Madison Square Gare Gare Gare Gare Garden on Sundaden on Sundaden on Sundaden on Sundaden on Sundayyyyy,,,,,JJJJJan.an.an.an.an. 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 2018, 2018, 2018, 2018, 2018, in Ne in Ne in Ne in Ne in New w w w w YYYYYororororork.k.k.k.k. (Photo b (Photo b (Photo b (Photo b (Photo by Chary Chary Chary Chary Charles Sykles Sykles Sykles Sykles Sykes/Ines/Ines/Ines/Ines/Invision/AP)vision/AP)vision/AP)vision/AP)vision/AP)

NEW YORK (AP) —The Grammy Awardsseemed poised to makethis a triumphant year forrap at music’s showcaseevent — until Bruno Marscrashed the party.

The song-and-danceman from Hawaii won allsix awards he was nomi-nated for on Sunday night,including the three mostprestigious Grammys forsong (“That’s What I

Like”), record (“24KMagic”) and album of theyear. His music also domi-nated the rhythm andblues categories.

The Grammys alsosaw Kendrick Lamar win

five awards, Jay-Z go homeempty-handed, somememorable performancesby the likes of Lamar,Kesha, Mars and Logic, an

See LAMAR, page 2

Any Baby Can AnnouncesVeronda Durden as Presidentand Chief Executive Officer

Veronda Durden

AUSTIN, TX – AnyBaby Can, the Austin-based nonprofit dedi-cated to stabilizing fami-lies with wrap-aroundsupport services, todayannounced VerondaDurden, former Commis-sioner of the Texas De-partment of Assistive andRehabilitative Services(DARS), as President andChief Executive Officer ofAny Baby Can effectiveJanuary 8, 2018.

As DARS Commis-sioner, Durden providedleadership and oversightof an operating budget ofapproximately $640 mil-lion dollars and more than3,000 statewide staff re-

sponsible for ensuring Tex-ans with disabilities andchildren with develop-mental delays pursue in-dependent and productivelives. This mission is di-rectly aligned with AnyBaby Can’s, and Durdenviews her role at Any BabyCan as an opportunity to

See HELPED 90% OFFAMILIES, page 3

Community Forum onHomeless Services

at the ARCHAustin Public Health is hosting the final

community forum to gather input and ideasabout services provided at the Austin ResourceCenter for the Homeless (ARCH) to adults expe-riencing homelessness. The forum takes place:

Monday, February 5, 20181:00—3:00 pmCity Hall — Council Chambers301 W. 2nd St., Austin, 78702The forum will begin with a brief presenta-

tion by Acting Assistant Director of AustinPublic Health,

Adrienne Sturrup. The event will be interac-tive so that participants can learn about thehistory and purpose of the ARCH as well as offerinput and ideas about services for individualsexperiencing homelessness in Austin/TravisCounty.

For more information contactARCHideas@austintexas.gov or call 512-972-5027.

TCSO VictimServices Unit

SeeksVolunteersTRAVIS, CO. - The

Travis County Sheriff’s Of-fice Victim Services Unit isseeking volunteers to pro-vide immediate assistanceto victims of various crimi-nal and crisis circum-stances including, but notlimited to: Family Vio-lence, Sexual Assaults,Child/Elder Abuse, Aggra-vated Assaults, Robberies/Burglaries, Suicides, Struc-ture Fires, Death Notifica-tions, Natural/AccidentalDeaths and Major TrafficAccidents.

Volunteers mustcomplete a comprehen-sive training program thatis scheduled for March 12– April 2, 2018. (Mondays6 – 9pm, Thursdays 6 –9pm, Saturdays 9am –5pm).

TCSO is seeking per-sons with the sensitivityand self-awareness neces-sary to provide effectiveassistance to those in cri-sis. Volunteers need to be21 or older, with a reliable,insured vehicle, a workingcell phone and a schedulethat allows for (4) four-hour shifts of on-call dutyper month.

To volunteer, visithttps://www. tcsheriff.org/victim-services/vol-unteers.

Austin Spurs honorAfrican American

Veterans.See HISTORY

Page 3

Randy Clarkenamed Austin’s

new President/CEO.See METRO

Page 7

Candidate D. Mercadoaddresses needs inthe communities.See TRAVIS

Page 6

Page 2 ~ THE VILLAGER/February 2, 2018 THE COMMUNIQUÉ www.theaustinvillager.com

Lamar pays tribute to Jay-Z, Rolling Stones win 3rd

Kendrick Lamar picked up five trophies at theGrammys in Los Angeles on Monday night.Photo courtesy WireImage

Continued from page 1

odd oversight ofsinger Lorde and a surprisecameo from HillaryClinton.

In accepting a trophyfor the album “24K Magic,”Mars recalled when hewas 15 and singing showsfor tourists. He’d performhits written by Babyface,Teddy Riley and Jimmy Jam& Terry Lewis, and lovedlooking down from thestage to see people fromall over the world who hadnever met dancing to-gether and toasting oneanother.

“All I ever wanted todo with this album wasthat,” he said. “Thesesongs were written withnothing but joy.”

Mars has won 11Grammys in his career.

His success, how-ever, instantly became atarget for second-guess-ers, similar to people be-fuddled last year whenAdele won album of theyear over Beyonce. Socialmedia filled with com-mentary about whetherLamar’s hard-hitting disc“DAMN” was more de-serving. One meme thatspread on Twitter showedHouston Rocket JamesHarden rolling his eyes insupposed “reaction” tothe news.

Beyond being a criti-cal favorite, Lamar seemedprimed to be the evening’sstar. He opened theGrammys with a hard-hit-ting medley that depictedBlack dancers falling to thefloor to symbolize beingshot, and won the night’sfirst televised award. Hiswork swept the rap cat-egories, the prime factor inthe night’s most-nomi-nated artist, Jay-Z, winningnothing.

Lamar paid tribute toJay-Z (“Jay-Z for presi-dent,” he said with asmile) and other forebearsin accepting a Grammy.

“I thought it wasabout the accolades andthe cars and the clothes,”he said. “But it really isabout expressing yourselfand putting that paint onthe canvas for the world toevolve for the next lis-tener, the next generationafter that. Hip-hop hasdone that for me.”

Clinton’s appearancewas the punchline for a

skit where host JamesCorden pretended to castcelebrities for what hethought would be a sure-fire Grammy contender forspoken world performancenext year, reading fromMichael Wolff ’s best-seller about the Trump ad-ministration, “Fire andFury.” Cher, John Legendand Snoop Dogg left himfrustrated, but thenClinton lowered a copy ofthe opened book in frontof her face to reveal her-self.

The attempt at humorwasn’t a hit with everyone:President Trump’s ambas-sador to the United Na-tions, Nikki Haley, tweetedthat the skit ruined theshow for her.

Most of the show’spolitical references — totopics like gun violence,immigration reform andwomen’s rights — werecarefully scripted.

Kesha was joined byCyndi Lauper, CamilaCabello, Julia Michaels,Andra Day and others in aperformance of herGrammy-nominated song“Praying,” which is aboutfighting back from abuse.Singer Janelle Monae in-troduced Kesha and tiedthe appearance to the cur-rent flood of womenspeaking up about sexualmisconduct. Dozens of art-ists and music industryplayers also sported whiteroses in support of theTime’s Up and #MeToomovements againstsexual abuse and harass-ment.

“We come in peace

but we mean business. Tothose who would dare tryto silence us, we offer twowords: Time’s Up,” Monaesaid. “It’s not just going onin Hollywood. It’s not justgoing on in Washington.It’s here in our industry,too.”

The show also fea-tured a somber perfor-mance of Eric Clapton’s“Tears in Heaven” bycountry artists Maren, EricChurch and the OsborneBrothers. All were on thebill for the Las Vegas showin October that was tornapart by a mass shooter.

Social media was cu-rious about the seemingsnub of album of the yearnominee Lorde. She wasn’tamong the night’s per-formers, even as classicrockers Sting and U2 mademultiple appearances.

“It’s hard to have abalanced show and haveeverybody involved,” Re-cording Academy Presi-dent Neil Portnow saidbackstage. “Every year’sdifferent. We can’t have aperformance from everynominee.”

The Grammys werealso a clear example ofrock ‘n’ roll’s decline as acreative force. No rockawards were given duringthe televised portion of theGrammys. Sting sang a 30-year-old hit and the major-ity of rock’s referenceswere about artists whohad died like Chuck Berry,Fats Domino and TomPetty.

The Rolling Stones,once judged rock’s king-pins, won the third

Grammy of their career —for best traditional bluesrecording.

Alessia Cara won theGrammy for best new art-ist, and remembered thetime when she would“win” Grammys in herdreams while singing inthe shower.

Chris Stapleton wonthree Grammys in countrycategories. Other multiplewinners included Ed

Sheeran, CeCe Winans,Justin Hurwitz and JasonIsbell.

The late LeonardCohen won a Grammy forhis performance of “YouWant it Darker.” ActressCarrie Fisher and soundengineer Tom Coyne wereother posthumous win-ners.

As it has in recentyears, the Grammysdownplayed the awards

for performances by theindustry’s biggest stars.Highlights included Marsand Cardi B dueting on “Fi-nesse”; Rihanna, DJKhaled and Bryson Tilleron “Wild Thoughts”; andPatti Lupone’s Broadwayclassic “Don’t Cry For MeArgentina.”

Associated Press cor-respondents MesfinFekadu and Jake Coylecontributed to this report.

The Rolling Stones picked up their third career Grammy Award duringthe 2018 ceremony in New York.

Rihanna brings thehouse down during herperformance of “WildThoughts” at the 2018Grammy’s in New York.Ri-Ri won a Grammy for“Loyalty” with KendrickLamar.

St. Peter’s United Methodist Church 4509 Springdale Road Austin, Tx 78723Office 512- 926-1686 Fax 512-929-7281

Christian Web Site-stpetersaustintx.ning.com

stpetersaustintx@att.netTHE PLACE WHERE WE STEP OUT ON FAITH.

COME AND STEP OUT ON FAITH WITH USSunday School 8:45 a.m.

Praise and Worship 10:15 a.m.Wednesday Bible Study 12:00 p.m.

and Praise /Bible Study 6:30 p.m.(to include Children’s Choir Rehersaland

Bible Study with age appropiate Activities)Rev. Jack C. Gause Pastor

Agape Baptist ChurchIn “The Centre” Bldg. F-15 7801 N. Lamar Blvd. (SE Corner of N Lamar and 183)

AGAPE is a chuch for all people. “Where Jesus Christ is Magnified and the love Heexhibited is Exemplified.” Come, receive God’s unconditional lovefor you.

For there is no greater love!

Church ServicesSunday School 9:30 AMSunday Worship 11:00 AM

Mid-Week Service Thursday: Praise,Prayer and Bible Study 7:00 PMCall 454-1547 for Transporation

Website www.agapebcaustintx.comRev. H. Ed Calahan

Pastor

Imani Community ChurchDavis Elementray Auditorium 5214 West Duval Road

Sunday School 9:00 A.M.Worship Service 10:00 A.M.•Power Hour Bible Life Group 6:00 P.M.

Imani Complex & Office,11800 Mustang at Duval Austin, Texas 78727

Visit:imanichurch.comOffice: 512-343-9300Rev. Dr. Jacquelyn Donald-Mims

Olive Branch Fellowship of Austin / All Faith Chapel4110 Guadalupe St Bldg #639 Austin, TX 78751

Sunday MorningWorship @ 11: am

Romans 5:1 Therefore,having beenjustified by faith, we have peace

with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

This life, therefore, is not righteous-ness, but growth in righteousness; not health,but healing; not being, but becoming; not rest,but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be,but we are growing toward it. The process isnot yet finished, but it is going on. This is notthe end, but it is the road. All does not yetgleam in glory, but all is being purified.

--- Martin Luther

Kenneth Hill, Pastor

1179 San Bernard Street,Austin, TX 78702, 512-478-7023

Sunday Morning Bible Study, 9:00 A.M.Sunday Morning Worship, 10:15 A.M.Visit our website @ www.obcaus.org

Globalizing the Gospel

A Ministry That Ministers

Edward M. Fleming,Sr. Pastor

OLIVET BAPTISTCHURCH

Felix Bamirin, PastorGRACEWAY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Experience Grace For Life

(By Parmer Lane Baptist Church building, behind Wells Fargo)

Call: 682.472.9073 l Email: gracewayaustin@aol.com lVisit: www.gracewaycca.org

JOIN US This SUNDAY / THURSDAY@ 12424 Scofield Farms Drive, Austin, TX 78758

SUNDAYS 10:30 A.M., THURSDAYS 7:30 P.M.

Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church 5900 Cameron Road Austin, Texas 78723-1843

(512) 451-0808 (512) 302-4575 Fax Web Site - www.themount.net

WORSHIP SERVICESSunday Worship - 7:45 a.m. & 11 a.m.Church School - 9:45 a.m.Bible Studies - Mon, 6:30 p.m. & Wed., 12 noonWednesday Night Worship - 7 p.m.

“Ministries For Mankind” Luke 4:18 A.W.. Anthony Mays, Senior Pastor

Ebenezer Baptist Church1010 East 10th Street 512-478-1875 Fax 512-478-1892

WednesdayMidweek Prayer Service 7:00 P.M.Child Development CenterAges 0-5 years (Daily) 512-478-6709

Bus Ministry Call 512-478-1875

Worship Service 8:00 A.M.Sunday School 9:00 A.M.Discipleship Training 10:00 A.M.Worship Service 11:00 A.M.

Sunday Services

DOUBLE

GROCERY“R”

450l East Martin Luther King Blvd.*We cash ALL Tax Refund*Checks *Check Out

Country Boyz Fixin’s4140 E. 12th Street, Austin, TX 78721

Featuring Fish, Poboys, Hot Wings, Pork Chops,Homemade Gumbo, Shrimp and Alligator

DINE IN OR ORDER TO GOMon - Friday 11 am - 8 p.m.Saturday - 12 noon - 5 p.m.

Closed SundayCall (512) 928-5555

www.theaustinvillager.com THE BULLETIN THE VILLAGER/February 2, 2018 ~ Page 3

We Want YOU!Advertise With

TheVILLAGER

New Lincoln Missionary Baptist Church2215 E. 8th St., Austin, TX 78702

DAVID CHAPEL Missionary Baptist ChurchSUNDAY

Christian Education 9:15a.m. | Worship 10:30 a.m.Nursery Available

WEDNESDAY |Worship 1st Wed. monthly 7:00p.m. | Bible Study 7:30p.m.

Dr. Joseph C. Parker, Jr.Senior Pastor

2211 East Martin Luther King Jr., Blvd.Austin, TX 78702

Office: 512-472-9748 Fax: 512-472-5399Website: www.davidchapel.org Email: info@davidchapel.org

“A Church with a Heart for The Community”

Going to Higher Heights,Trusting God along the way.

Sunday School 9:00amBTU: 10:00am

Morning Worship - 11:00 amChurch Phone (512) 477-2714

Cell Phont (512) 585-0744Email:

newlincolnmbc@att.netwww.newlincolnmbc.org Rev. Darron E. Patterson

Pastor

Pastor J.R.Roberson &First lady Lillian Robertson

(979)542-2784 Church& (979) 540-6352 Hlme

BETHEL-ST. PAUL UNITED BAPTIST CHURCH877 W. Hempstead, Giddings, Texas 78942

Weekly ScheduleSunday School 9:00 a.m.

Sunday Worship 10:45 a.m.Wednesday Night Bible

Study 6:00p.m.

Sunday Schedule:Forum/Adult Religious Education 10-10:50am

Unprogrammed Silent Worship 11am-noonChildren’s Religious Education 11am-noon

Child Care 10am-1pm3701 East Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd

Austin, Texas 78721512.452.1841 • www.austinquakers.org

Friends Meeting of Austin (Quakers)

Dr. Ricky Freeman,Pastor

AUSTIN, TX - TheAustin Spurs, pre-sented by SWBC, willhost their annual BlackHistory Month gameon Sunday, Feb. 11 at 3p.m. vs.the Iowa Wolvesat the H-E-B Center atCedar Park. The first500 fans will receivedrawstring bags cour-tesy of Wells Fargo.

This year, Austinwill honor AfricanAmerican veterans inaccordance with the na-tional theme for 2018,“African Americans inTimes of War”, honor-ing those brave men andwomen who servedtheir countries in the

AUSTIN SPURS HOSTBLACK HISTORY

MONTHCELEBRATION ON

FEBRUARY 11Team to Honor African American Veterans

armed forces. TheSpurs will host veteransat the game, as well ashonor those attendingon court during a half-time ceremony.

During Black His-tory Month, the NBA GLeague, its players andteams celebrate blackhistory and culture andtheir important impacton society and basket-ball. Additionally, play-ers wear special BlackHistory Monthwarmup shirts through-out the month of Feb-ruary. For more infor-mation, please visitwww.austinspurs.comor call (512) 236-8333.

continue her career of commitment to giving Tex-ans the best lives possible.

“Coming onboard at Any Baby Can is an excitingopportunity to join an organization making a differencefor children and families in Central Texas,” says Durden.“Everyone on our staff is committed and passionate.We all know why we are here. We serve as an exten-sion of families providing the support that otherwisemight not be there. Our wraparound services help fami-lies on every step of their journey. We give parents thetools they need to succeed for the sustainable longterm.”

In the past five years, Any Baby Can served morethan 15,000 clients in Central Texas. Clients served facecrises that could permanently destabilize their homeor children and come from every corner of the city. AnyBaby Can services helped 90 percent of families meetor exceed their goals for stabilization – be it health ordevelopmental outcomes, parenting or financial goals.

Prior to DARS, Veronda served as the AssistantCommissioner for the Texas Department of Aging andDisability Services. She holds a Bachelor’s in Educationfrom Northwestern University, and a Master’s of Sci-ence in Health Administration from Texas State Univer-sity. Active in her church and community she serves onthe Board of Directors for United Ways of Texas, UnitedWays of Williamson County and the Greater Texas Fed-eral Credit Union.

As Any Baby Can expands to meet the growingneeds of Central Texans, Veronda will proactively leadthe organization into the future, leaning on her yearsof health and human services experience and detail-oriented, compassionate, team building skills to estab-lish Any Baby Can as a nonprofit industry leader in Aus-tin.

“We are preparing as Central Texas continues tochange and grow and our communities continue toevolve,” says Durden. “We will meet new needs, andwe will meet families where they are. We have a longhistory of helping families and children for the past 39years, and we will continue to grow alongside familiesin Central Texas.”

Veronda will share remarks publicly for the firsttime in her new role at this year’s Rockin’ Round Up2018 benefit concert at ACL Live at the Moody Theaterfeaturing St. Paul & the Broken Bones to benefit AnyBaby Can.

Any Baby Can services helped 90percent of families meet or exceed

their goals for stabilizationCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

BHM Spotlight: Dr. Everett H. Givens

Dr. Everett H. Givens

The Givens Park is lo-cated in East Austin. ThePark houses the recreationcenter, neighborhoodswimming pool, pavilion,two lighted tennis courts,playscape, a large picnicarea, and two softballfields. Givens RecreationCenter consists of a fullsize gymnasium, meeting/dance room, weight / box-ing room, kitchen, and ad-ministrative offices. Giv-ens Recreation Center of-fers Youth, Teen, TotallyCool Totally Art and AdultPrograms as well as Spe-cial Even.

On November 12,1974, the Parks and Recre-ation Advisory Boardvoted to recommend to

City Council that the nameof Oak Springs Park bechanged to Dr. Everett H.Givens Park. The CityCouncil adopted the rec-ommendation to renamethe park in the memory ofDr. Givens, a well knownEast Austin dentist andcivic leader. In September1975, approval for con-struction of a large recre-ation center was given bythe City Council. The Parksand Recreation AdvisoryBoard again voted unani-mously to recommend toCity Council that the newcenter be named the Dr.Everett H. Givens Recre-ation Center, and openedto the public on March 30,1979.

Brief history of GivensRecreation Center

Youth of TodayHope of Tomorrow

Kappa Alpha PsiFraternity, Inc

Page 4 ~ THE VILLAGER/February 2, 2018 YOUTH BRIGADE www.theaustinvillager.com

Sam Houston

Hello, Have youheard about the story ofSam Houston? Sam Hous-ton was a american soliderand politician he led theway in the victory at the"Battle of San Jacinto" andit was the shortest deci-sive battles in modern his-tory.

He was the only gov-

ernor within a future con-crete state to oppose se-cession and refuse theoath of the allegiance tothe confederacy in 1861,That decision led to hisremoval from office andthe outbreak of the"American civil war".

Lastly, Sam Houstonhas been honored in manyways. He is the namesakeof the city of Houston,other things named afterHouston is the college"Sam Houston State uni-versity" a memorial namedthe "USS Sam Houston".He was a instrumental fig-ure in the state of Texasand will be rememberedalways. Thanks for read-ing.

100th Day of School

Last week on Fridaywas the one hundredth dayof school. It wasn’t that spe-cial but we got to do a littlesomething. Kipp had a

Kamryn MackKipp Leadership Elem.

Montrae NelsonFour Points M. S.

pretty good idea of what todo for the one hundredthday of school “celebration”.This is what I did on the onehundredth day of school.

We got to createsomething that repre-sented a hundred of some-thing. Like you could dressup as a hundred year oldperson, create/draw a hun-dred emojis, a hundred sig-natures, a hundred doodles,a hundred words, or tengroups of ten randomthings. It was fun but we stillhad to learn, like everyother day. Thanks for read-ing my short article.

The One-and-Done Rule

In 2006, the NBA(National Basketball As-sociation) set the NBA’sdraft-entry requirementsinto place which requiredplayers to attend at leastone year of college beforeentering the draft. This iscommonly known as the“one-and-done” rule. Thismade some players angrybecause they believe thatif they are talentedenough to play profession-ally, then they shouldn’thave to spend a year incollege. I agree with theseplayers’ position, and Ibelieve that the rule is out-dated and unnecessary.The simple solution is forthe market to determinewho can and cannot go tothe NBA straight fromhigh school.

Future Hall-of-Fameplayers Kobe Bryant andLeBron James both wentto the NBA straight out ofhigh school. Becausethey were two of the mosttalented players in thecountry as seniors in highschool, going to collegeseemed unnecessary tothem. For LeBron James inparticular, going straightto the NBA was his chanceto provide financial stabil-ity for his family in a waythey had never experi-enced before.

The original idea forthis rule was to makesure that college basket-ball programs still hadthe chance to recruit thebest players in the coun-

try to play for theirschools for at least oneyear. However, the objec-tive was never to ensurethat these players fin-ished college. Nobodyexpected the top playersto spend more than oneyear (or less) on campus.So, for one year, theseplayers were being askedto play for free forschools that were mak-ing millions of dollarsfrom their basketball pro-grams. Instead of playingfor free in college, theseathletes could be payingoff family debts or taxbills while also havingthe money to supportthemselves by the timethey are 19-years-old. It’seasy to see why there areso many people who dis-like this system.

It is also importantto note that not manyplayers would even begood enough to play inthe NBA right after highschool. Experts believethat fewer than 10 play-ers per year would be ina position to do this. Sothis is probably not goingto lead to a massivenumber of high schoolkids trying to play in theNBA.

In the end, I believethe most effective solu-tion would be to allowathletes to have the op-portunity to enter thedraft as soon as they areready. If they are evalu-ated and drafted by a pro-fessional team, then theyshould be rewarded. Thiswill probably only be anoption for a small numberof elite players each year.If they aren’t ready toplay professionally, thenbeing able to play in col-lege, in a developmentleague or even overseasare good options too.What most experts ac-knowledge is that thecurrent one-and-donerule is unfair, ineffective,and needs to be dropped.

Ira “T.J.” WilliamsCedar Ridge H. S.

Nourishing Lives

On Saturday, January27th, the Jack and Jill ofAmerica Austin Chapterteen group volunteered allmorning at the CentralTexas Food Bank in Austin.We worked alongside vol-unteers from other organi-zations, filling a variety ofroles necessary for theproduct recovery opera-tion, in which donatedproducts are inspected tomake sure they are safe,healthy and clean. My jobwas to carry boxes of do-nated goods and deliverthem to sorters who in-spected and cleanedthem. It didn’t seem likewe were making a lot ofprogress while we wereworking because we justtackled one little box at atime, but those boxesadded up and by the endof the morning we had in-spected enough food toprovide for 7055 meals.

The Jack and Jill ofAmerica Austin Chapteralso donated 216 poundsof food, which adds anadditional 180 meals tothat total.

After the volunteershift was over, the teengroup had the wonderfulopportunity to retire to ameeting room and listento Derrick Chubbs, thepresident and CEO of theCentral Texas Food Bank,talk about his work. Hisgenuine passion for help-ing others was very inspir-ing, and I learned a lotabout the Central TexasFood Bank. It was interest-ing to learn how the orga-nization doesn’t mainlyprovide for homeless orlazy people; in fact, 93% ofthe people they feed livein some sort of permanenthouse or apartment, andmost have at least onefamily member who isemployed or searching fora job. Some people workhard but just can’t makeends meet, so the CentralTexas Food Bank is thereto help out. This was mythird time volunteering ata food bank (second timeat this particular foodbank), and every time Ilearn a lot more and havea greater appreciation forfood. Volunteering hastruly been both nourishingfor me and those that I amworking for.

Quinn LangfordCedar Ridge H. S.

Theater classThis week in theater

class we have been rehears-ing for a play. The numberof people in your play de-termines what play you aredoing. The fist step for thiswas we had to choose whatcharacter we wanted to be.After we did that we had topractice our lines together.Once we were done practic-ing our lines we had to dothe actors position andstage directions.

Joshua MooreManor New Tech M.S.

Sociology

Manor High Schoolprovides college classesfor students and oneclass that i'm taking thissemester is sociology.

Sociology is a very inter-esting subject becauseyou get to learn moreabout you society. Sociol-ogy is the study of groupsand group interactions,from small and personalgroups to very largegroups.

In this class we aretalking about currentevents that's going onand taking surveys or ob-servations on them tofind out why these eventsare happening. I feel likethis is a good requiredcollege class to help usfix the things that are notgood in our society.

Alyssa James WinnManor H.S.

Musical Review

Last week, CedarRidge High School’s the-atre department per-formed “Grease,” theirmusical for the year. Theshow opened on in thenew Performing Arts Cen-ter on the Cedar Ridgecampus. It lasted fromWednesday, January 24thto Saturday, January 27th,and was performed at 7pmevery night. The musical isset in the 1950s and isfilled with classic rock androll style music and popculture of the time.

The tech theatrecrew worked the lights,moved the set, cued thesound, and organizedmany other “behind-the-scene” tasks. RachelLedington, a sophomore intechnical theater, workedthe show all four days and

Cyrena MatingouCedar Ridge H. S.

Pre-Black History Month

My seven year old sis-ter was shown a movie ofDr. Martin Luther king Jr. Ithad surprise affect on her.Before she never camehome and commented onanything. She said Dr. Kingwas a good man but did notknow he was treated so bad.

In the movie she saidshe saw dogs attackingpeople. She wanted toknow why they would shoot

water on all those people.All that violence botheredher. She wanted to knowwhy. Why people didn'twant Black people to sit nextto them. The last thing shesaid was that they evenkilled him.

It sort of shocked her.Especially since she has rela-tive all of all colors andshades of color. I had to tellher that times havechanged some what. Yet Itold her that their were stillbad people in the world. Sonow I know that someonehas to tell the younger onesabout the past. We cannotforget the past.

I always look forwardto Black American Historymonth. Even though aroundour house you cannot getaway from it.

was at every rehearsal.Miss Ledington said thather favorite part of theshow was getting to see allof their hard work cometogether at the end. “Onechallenge we faced,” shesaid “was fitting all of theset on stage during inter-mission.” HannahSedlacek, a sophomorewho was a supporting ac-tress, said her favorite partof the show was doing the“Hand Jive” in the Promscene. She enjoyed thispart because “everyonewas singing and dancingtogether and you can justfeel everyone genuinelyhaving fun with each otheron stage.”

In my opinion, theshow was outstanding.The vocal ranges of thelead singers amazed meand it was evident that theentire cast and crew puthundreds of hours into per-fecting the show. My onecritic about the musical it-self was that the it was setin the ‘50s, so women andAfrican-Americans werenot treated as respectfullyas they should have been.I really enjoyed musicalseason this year and Ican’t wait for it to returnnext year!

Tyler AllenGus Garcia YMLA

www.theaustinvillager.com THE COURIER THE VILLAGER/February 2, 2018 ~ Page 5

The Announcement Team

I’ve been wanting todo the announcementteam since I was in 3rdgrade, but it was only for5th graders. Now was mychance. I had to get a formfrom the library becausethe librarian runs the an-nouncements. Everyonewho filled out a form, hadto go to the library onfriday and eat lunch therebecause we had to try out.So in the library there is a

big projection screen, andon that we had aslideshow of what we sup-posed to say. You had tohave enthusiasm, person-ality, and a loud clearvoice! Of course I hadthose things because,hello, I’m a dancer. Youalso had to have the flowof names, because we saybirthdays, and if there is ahard-to-pronounce name,you can’t stumble, youhave to say what you thinkit is. After we were done,the librarian told us thatonly four kids can make itand there was twelve kidsthat tried out. We got let-ters that either said: ‘I’msorry you did not makeit’,or, ‘congradulations!’.When I was walking home,I hesitated to open it, but Iended up having the paperright in my hands. AHHHH!I made it!!

Ruby GeorgeRiojas Elementary

Modeling College Courses

Since the beginningof the second semester,my AP English Languageclass has transformed toemulate an actual collegecourse. Our class routinenow generally shifts fromseminars to lectures de-pending on the day, andwe've been assigneddaily readings for home-work that are requiredfor participation in the

following class.The purpose of AP

Language is tostrengthen our ability tomake and analyze argu-ments. Our current unit iscentered around the is-sue of mass incarcerationand we're currently dis-cussing the issues of thecriminal justice systemand the prison industrialcomplex as well probablesolutions. My school is al-most entirely composedof Black and Brownpeople, so we find thistopic critical to discussbecause we are dispro-portionately representedin the prison population.

I'm really enjoyingthe meaningful seminarsand lectures we're havingthis quarter. It makes meall the more excited forthe intellectual insightsoffered by an institutionof higher education.

Jalen MooreKIPP Austin Collegiate

Science Fair Experiment

My pre-AP scienceclass is required to do ascience fair project. Wehad the choice to workalone or with anotherstudent. I welcomed theidea of collaborating withone of my peers, so Ichose to work with apartner. Our project isthe affects that sunlighthas on the cooking timefor a solar oven.

For our project, webuilt a solar oven usingpizza boxes. We chose to

Ava RobertsPflugerville M. S.

cook a s’more. Lucky forus, the weather variedacross the experiment.This gave us good datapoints for the trials. Wespent over 60 hours do-ing our project. The timeincluded research, for-mulating a hypothesis,formulating a question,doing the experiment,documenting the quanti-tative and qualitativeanalysis, logging our ma-terials, documenting theprocedures, and writing asummary. Our last task isto design and constructour project displayboard.

Science is my favor-ite subject. I really en-joyed doing the experi-ment and believe that al-most everything we docan be converted into ascience project. If youhave never done an ex-periment, I encourageyou to try doing one.

Pathway Day and Night

Biomed, media tech,and engineering are thethree different pathwaysprovided at my school. Thepathways are classes thatwill last until we graduate(4 years), starting in 9thgrade. Wednesday, Janu-ary 24th was pathway dayat our school. For pathwayday, we were given theprivilege to miss two ofour classes and go on atour simulation. We weretaken to different class-rooms that demonstratedwhat is taught and whoteaches the pathway. Wefirst went to the biomedclass in which we wereshown animal dissections,an arm called John Cena(because of the muscleand buff ness of the arm)in which you can stick anactual needle into it andpull out fake blood, as wellas a station to copy yourDNA. The next class was astudent panel where wegot to ask students in all

three pathways what it’slike to be in high school.Afterwards we went tomedia tech where we gotto digitally draw, seeequipment, experiencefake bruise makeup, andvoice over a movie. Lastly,we visited the engineeringroom. We participated ina challenge of building thetallest structure made outof straws and pipe clean-ers that can hold the mosttennis balls. My team ac-tually won! I enjoyed path-way day and I think that itwas a great way to give usan idea and the chance toask about each pathwaybefore we had to make afinal decision. I have cho-sen to take the biomedclass next year because Iwant to become a veteri-narian, and I am still decid-ing my elective prior toband. Pathway night wastypically the same thingbut your parents were ad-vised to come so theycould get an idea of whatpathway you were think-ing of. Although the otherpathways were interest-ing, I think that biomedwould be my best fit. Highschool seemed stressfulbefore, but after talking tothe high schoolers it maynot be so bad after all. Toget our choices for nextyear we are required to fillout a choice sheet and aapplication. Next year I willbe a Freshman. Highschool watch out, here Icome!

SaNaya WhiteAnn Richards

www.TheAustinVillager.com

@TheVillagerATX

The book will fuseDavis’ paintings of positiveaffirmations with poetryby women of color to in-spire and encourage.

Through Life-Threat-ening Adversity, An Idea isBorn

A native Texan andbased out of San Antonio,

TEXAS ARTIST PRODUCINGAN INSPIRATIONAL

PAINTING AND POETRYBOOK BY WOMEN OF COLOR

by Ashlee Harris

Jumpan, Jumpman

I like a lot of shoesbut the ones that reallycaught my eye were AirJordan’s. The first Air Jor-dan 1 was created forMichael Jordan in 1984. Itwas designed by Peter C.Moore, who also designedmany other shoes associ-ated with Nike. Air Jordangot the name from

Kevin ParishHendrickson H. S.

Michael Jordan because itwas created and made forhim. Jordan is a brand ofbasketball footwear andathletic clothing producedby Nike. The shoes weredesigned for Nike by PeterMoore, Tinker Hatfield,and Bruce Kilgore. Since itsintroduction into thesports shoe market, theAir Jordan’s evolved fromthe original basketballshoes to models for differ-ent uses. They also spon-sor other leagues such asthe MLB, NFL, NASCARand the WNBA. For manyyears this shoe brand hasbeen one of a top sellingbrand in America and Ican’t wait to get my newpair!

Kennedy GeorgeWeiss High School

Being Sick

I just recently missedthree days of school be-cause I was sick.On Tues-day during school I evenwent to the nurse duringclass. Now I have a lot ofwork to catch up on. Be-ing sick wasn’t fun. I had afever, I was coughing andsneezing and I just feltawful.

On Wednesday I just

didn't get up from bed,and thankfully my parentslet me stay home. I sleptall day but I didn’t feel anybetter. I didn’t really eat atall that day either,otherthan so grapes. On Thurs-day my fever was gone andI was just coughing up astorm. It made my throatpretty sore.

I tried to sleep be-cause Friday I had to per-form at the Globetrottersgame and I had dancepractice on Saturday. OnFriday I was feeling muchbetter and I went to thegame. I only had a sorethroat. Then on Saturday Istill went to practice, andabout halfway through Istarted feeling crummyagain. When we made itback home I rested. Beingsick hasn’t been fun, butI’m glad I’m better now.

Akaimi Davis has beenpainting since she fell inlove with it in a watercolorclass in 2005. A few yearsago, Davis was diagnosedwith Leukemia. While go-ing through treatment,she found herself gettingdiscouraged and usedpainting to keep her fo-

cused on something posi-tive. She is now in remis-sion and putting her en-ergy into creating a bookof hope and love.

26 Women of ColorPoets Speak

Davis is choosing 26women of color poets.Each will be assigned a let-ter of the alphabet that co-incides with an affirmingword. They must developa poem that is upliftingand reflects that word,and Davis will create apainting to match.

Davis wanted to createa platform for these tal-ented poets to share theirvoices and to showcase theintertwining perspectiveswe as women all share.

Project is ImportantIn such a pivotal time

in society, with the#metoo and #timesupmovements, this project,too, will show how womenshare certain experiences

across races and cultures,and there’s something forwomen of all races to learnfrom these poets and eachother.

However, Davis feelsthat this book isn’t just forwomen or people of color,but it’s for anyone on thejourney to self-love andself-appreciation.

Backing the ProjectDavis needs your

help. Donations to theproject will fund photogra-phy equipment, editingsoftware, and payment forthe poets for their words.Project backers will get re-wards and Davis’ eternalgratitude.

Her goal is $5,700. It’san all or nothing Kickstartercampaign, so this projectwill only be funded if itreaches its goal by Saturday,February 3. If the goal isreached, the book will bepublished in May in timesfor Mother’s Day.

Super BowlLII Watch

PartySunday,

February 4th5:00 Monday,February 5th

11:30 pm

Encore ATX presentsthe SuperBowl LII WatchParty! Experience the BigGame in Style at the BestVenue in North Austin @Hanovers 2.0 on SundayFebruary 4th starting5pm.

* 2 Giant Screen Pro-jectors + Multiple FlatScreen TVs

* Food and DrinkSpecials

* Reserved Seats,Tables, VIP Sections avail-able.No cover w/ RSVP at superbowlatx.eventbrite.com

Page 6 ~ THE VILLAGER/February 2, 2018 DIASPORA www.theaustinvillager.com

Dyana Limon Mercado Meets WithTravis County Residents

On January 28th,Dyana Limon Mercadowho is running for theTravis County Demo-cratic Party met some

African American andAfrican communityleaders. It was an op-portunity for the DyanaLimon Mercado to lis-ten about the needs ofthe African and AfricanAmerican communities,such as, the greater in-

volvement of the partyin their activities. In ad-dition, they mentioneda greater involvementin the African and Af-rican Communitieswill also increase themembership withinthe party.

According to theorganizers, the eventwas meant to get thesecommunities of colorto hear directly from aperson, like Dyanawho is running for oneof the most importantposition within thecounty. Not only doesthe party chair “set theagenda for the party”but also oversee thefundraising and com-munity involvement ofthe party.

Moreover, DyanaLimon Mercado hasextensive experience inDemocratic party poli-tics. Over the years,she has worked for nu-merous State represen-tatives. In 2014, Dyanabecame the Deputy Ex-ecutive Director forPlanned ParenthoodTexas Vote, which, isthe political and advo-cacy arm of PlannedParenthood.

Dyana Limon Mercado mets with African American and African Leaders.Photo by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

by Tsoke(Chuch) Adjavon |Villager Columnist

Congressman Castro AttendsJohn Bucys’ Campaign Event

Saturday, January27, 2018, CongressmanCastro attends the JohnBucy for Texas House Dis-trict 136 campaign.

Moreover, it was an op-portunity to galvanize thesupporters and also raisesome fund for a winnablerace. According to politi-cal experts, “ Texas HouseDistrict 136 is one of thewinnable House race inthe State of Texas.” Texas

House District 136 is aWilliamson County seatthat is nestled in the sub-urbs of Austin.

Texas HD 136 in-cludes parts of NorthwestAustin, Cedar Park andLeander. Moreover, HD136 was recently created

due to the explosiongrowth occurring inWilliamson County. HD136 consist of newcom-ers; immigrant communi-ties and Austinites mov-ing away from the cityinto the suburb. In politi-cal jargon, “Texas HouseDistrict 136 is consideredto be a purple district.” Inother words, it is neithera solid republican orDemocrat district.

John Bucy is a hus-band and businessowner. John foundedthe Texas Charter School& Athletic league, whichhas organized competi-tive league serving bothcharter and publicschool. Moreover, JohnBucy has been involvedin local politics for a verylong time. John servedin the following posi-tion: Assistant Director ofCanvassing for Texas dur-ing the 2006 elections;precinct captain; del-egate to the 2012 StateParty Convention; andalso has volunteered fornumerous campaigns.

by Tsoke(Chuch) Adjavon |Villager Columnist

Pictured left to right: John Bucy and Congressman Joacquin Castro.Photo by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

Battle of theConfederacy

Brews at AISDSchool Board

In past years, Americans have understood that theConfederacy represented only a small segment of thepopulation who supported the cause of slavery. Con-sequently, concerned citizens and elected officials haveworked hard to remove the vestige of the South. InCentral Texas, the University of Texas has removedsome Confederate soldiers and leaders statues. How-ever, Austin Independent School District has chosento postpone the removal of school name after Con-federacy.

At AISD, some of the board members mentionedthat they needed more time to look into the removalof school named after Confederacy. In addition someboard members have mentioned that this process iscostly, as a result, it is taking a back seat. However, DrTed Gordon an AISD board member who has been vo-cal for the removal of school named after Confederacyhas been “warned” of being censured by fellow AISDboard members for speaking on this matter.

Moreover, the position of the AISD board to post-pone the removal of school named after the Confed-eracy has been puzzling. Their stance to “punt” theremoval of Confederate is troubling because the ma-jority of the board members claim to be “progressiveDemocrats”. In addition, the call for censure by AnnTeich to fellow board member Ted Gordon has causedsome to take action. For instance, some members ofthe Black Austin Democrats have gone to the AISDboard meeting to voice their support for board mem-ber Dr. Ted Gordon.

by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon | Villager Columnist

Dr. Ted Gordon

When the school board started this discus-sion in November, it proposed changing thenames of the following buildings:

* Eastside Memorial High School at theJohnston Campus (formerly called Johnston HighSchool)

* Sidney Lanier High School* John H. Reagan High School* Zachary Taylor Fulmore Middle School* The former Allan Elementary School (now

an administrative building)Each was named after a man involved in the

Confederacy. The board said these men didn'talign with the district's current core values.

LOOKINGFOR A

BLACKDOCTOR IN

AUSTIN?CHECK OUT

THIS LIST

www.austinbpa.com/find-a-doctor

Apply at HRMiddle Fiskville Rd.

6th Floor, Austin, TX 78752Job Line (512 223-5621hhtp://www./austincc.ed

EEOC/AA/M/F/D/V

EMPLOYMENT | PROPOSALS | PUBLIC INFORMATIONFOR SALE | FOR RENT | BIDS | MISCELLANEOUS

www.theaustinvillager.com CLASSIFIEDS THE VILLAGER/February 2, 2018 ~ Page 7

Are you interested in doing businesswith the City of Austin?

We are here for you!City of Austin

Purchasing OfficeVendor Registration

512-974-2018VendorReg@austintexas.gov

www.austintexas.gov/department/purchasing

For information on the City of Austin’s Minority/Women-Owned Procurement Program please contact theSmall & Minority Business Resources at 512-974-7600 orvisit www.austintexas.gov/smbr.

Jay-Reese Contractors,Inc. is soliciting DBE subs& suppliers for the AustinEnergy District CoolingPlant #3. Plans & Specsare available. Quotes aredue by 2/14/2018. Pleasesend quotes by fax to (512)829-5366 or emailrparkinson@jayreese.net.Call (512) 829-5360 withquestions.

Invitation to Bid, IFB 6100 CLMC694 City of Austin Public Works Concrete and AsphaltRepair North IDIQ Unity Contractor Services, Inc. is requestingsubcontractor and supplier bids for the abovereferenced project. Project Name: IFB 6100 CLMC694 City of AustinPublic Works Concrete and Asphalt Repair NorthIDIQProject location: Various Streets around the City ifAustinDescription of Work: The repair and restoration of hot mix asphalticconcrete (HMAC) pavement damaged by utility cuts.The work shall include furnishing all tools, labor,materials, equipment, and miscellaneous itemsnecessary for the completion of Work Assignment. Construction Start Date: TBD Bids Due: February 7 @ 5 PM Certified MBE and WBE Subs are encouraged tobid this project. Please attach any certificates alongwith your bid. Plans, Specs & any Addendums can be viewed at:https://www.dropbox.com/sh/g51h5pncmg9og52/AABmSPd96yK3fK-wk-eOM_YVa?dl=0Submit Bids to fax # 512-926-1292 or emailsamantha@unitycs.com Do not include Sales Tax on materials to be used onproject. Include trade specific permit fees asapplicable.Please respond if you will or will not bid.

Unity Contractor Services, Inc. is requestingsubcontractor and supplier bids for the above

referenced project. Project Name: 381851-SP1 Texas Department ofTransportation Renovation of 1st and 4thFloor,Bldg #6 at Camp Hubbard

Project location: 3712 JACKSON AVE.BUIDLING #6, AUSTIN, TX 78731

Description of Work: Installations of free-standing (floor to ceiling),“dedicated circuit” power poles complete andoperable. Each installation shall include but not belimited to: 20 amp branch circuit breaker, run of upto 150 feet of conduit, and (3) #10 AWG copperconductors. Installations of electrical circuits andconnections of modular furniture power poles and/or base power feeds. Each installations of modularfurniture power poles and/or base power feeds. Eachinstallation shall include but not be limited to: 4-20amp branch circuit breakers, up to 150 feet of conduit,up to 4 ceiling/ wall J-box (s), up to 20 feet of flexconduit per J-box, and (6) #10 and (2) #12 AWGcopper conductors color coded. Installation of avoice/data outlet shall include all items specified,ancillary to., and necessary for complete and operablevoice and data network circuits. Each installationshall include but not be limited to up to 125 feet ofeach cable required per outlet installation.Construction Start Date: TBDBids Due: February 6 @ 5 PM Certified HUB Subs are encouraged to bid thisproject. Please attach any certificates along with yourbid. Plans, Specs & any Addendums can be viewed at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/csthbzjed31i7fc/ESBD_File_111768_381851_SP1_PROPOSAL.pdf?dl=0Submit Bids to fax # 512-926-1292 or emailsamantha@unitycs.comDo not include Sales Tax on materials to be used onproject. Include trade specific permit fees asapplicable.Please respond if you will or will not bid.

Invitation to Bid, IFB 6100 CLMC691 City ofAustin Public Works Annual Asphalt Repair

Contract 2018 IDIQ South Unity Contractor Services, Inc. is requesting sub-contractor and supplier bids for the above referencedproject. Project Name: IFB 6100 CLMC691 City of AustinPublic Works Annual Asphalt Repair Contract 2018IDIQ South Project location: Various Streets around the City ifAustinDescription of Work: The repair and restoration of hot mix asphaltic con-crete (HMAC) pavement damaged by utility cuts. Thework shall include furnishing all tools, labor, materi-als, equipment, and miscellaneous items necessary forthe completion of Work Assignment.Construction Start Date: TBDBids Due: February 7 @ 5 PM Certified MBE and WBE Subs are encouraged tobid this project. Please attach any certificates alongwith your bid. Plans, Specs & any Addendums can be viewed at:https://www.dropbox.com/sh/faupb86od3bj21w/AAAYVgamlby3fRBZipYjZ3noa?dl=0 Submit Bids to fax # 512-926-1292 or emailsamantha@unitycs.com Do not include Sales Tax on materials to be used onproject. Include trade specific permit fees as appli-cable. Please respond if you will or will not bid.

New Jobs for theWeek of 01/28/2017Specialist, Student LifeRound Rock Campus

Job# 1801023Coordinator, Benefits Program

Highland Business CenterJob# 1801028Analyst, LMS

Pinnacle CampusJob# 1801029

Enrollment AdvisorMultiple Locations

Job# 1801030Specialist, Area of Study Advising

(Student Services)Round Rock Campus

Job# 1801033

NOTICE TO ALLPERSONS HAVING

CLAIMS AGAINST THEESTATE OF

LATOYA MACHONJONES, DECEASED.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVENthat original Letters ofDependent Administration onthe Estate of Latoya MachonJones Deceased, were issued onMay 23, 2017, in Cause No. C-1-PB-16-001453, pending in theProbate Court No. 1 of TravisCounty, Texas, to TomaurzWhite. Claims may be pre-sented in care of the attorneysfor the Estate addressed asfollows: Estate of LatoyaMachon Jones, Deceased, c/oLeonard W. Woods, of the lawfirm Duggins Wren Mann&Romero, LLP, P. O. Box 1149,Austin, Texas 78767-1149. Allpersons having claims againstthis Estate are required topresent them within the time andin the mannerprescribed by law.

NOTICE TO ALLPERSONS HAVING

CLAIMS AGAINST THEESTATE OF RUTHIE M.WILLIAMS, DECEASED.

NOTICE IS HEREBYGIVEN

that original Letters Testamen-tary on the Estate of Ruthie M.Williams Deceased, were issuedon May 16, 2017, in Cause No.C-1-PB-17-000670, pending inthe Probate Court No. 1 ofTravis County, Texas, to MonicaWilliams. Claims may bepresented in care of theattorneys for the Estateaddressed as follows: Estate ofRuthie M. Williams, Deceased,c/o Leonard W. Woods, of thelaw firm Duggins Wren Mann& Romero, LLP, P. O. Box 1149,Austin, Texas 78767-1149. Allpersons having claims againstthis Estate are required topresent them within the time andin the manner prescribed by law.

Capital Metro BoardApproves Contract for

New President/CEOAUSTIN, TX - Capital

Metro’s board of directorshas voted to approve acontract for Randy Clarketo become the agency’snew President/CEO.Clarke is expected to as-sume his new role at Capi-tal Metro on March 7.

For the past twoyears, Clarke served asvice president of opera-tions and member ser-vices at the American Pub-lic Transportation Associa-tion (APTA) in Washington,D.C. Prior to that, he spentseven years in various po-sitions with the Massachu-setts Bay TransportationAuthority (MBTA) in Bos-ton, including deputy chiefoperating officer and as-sistant general manager ofengineering, maintenanceand preparedness, and se-nior director of security.

Clarke was a keymember of the seniorleadership team at theMBTA, which provides 1.2million trips daily. He wasfeatured in/Mass Transit/magazine’s 2011 “Top 40under 40” list, which high-lights leaders in the tran-sit industry nationwide.

Clarke has said thathe looks forward to beinga visible leader for CapitalMetro during a time ofcontinuing growth in the

region. “I want to thankthe board of directors forgiving me this opportu-nity,” he said. “I can’t waitto get started and leadCapital Metro as the Cen-tral Texas region addressesits complex mobility chal-lenges. I look forward toworking with the commu-nity and stakeholders todevelop equitable and in-novative transit solutions.”

Capital Metro wentthrough a rigorous searchprocess to ensure theagency found the bestpossible leader to take itforward. The board se-lected Clarke as its choiceearlier this month. Execu-tive search firmKrauthamer & Associatesaided Capital Metro start-ing in late July 2017 whenLinda Watson announcedher retirement followingmore than seven years inthe position.

Randy Clarke

LOCALFILM

PRODUCERHEADS TO

LASVEGASBLACKFILM

FESTIVALBy Naomi RichardVillager Columnist

AUSTIN, TX - HarrellD. Williams, Sr., an Austinfilm writer, producer anddirector recently receivednotice that his latestproject, Romans 12:19,will premiere during theupcoming Las Vegas BlackFilm Festival (LVBFF).

The festival will beheld at the Mediterra-nean-themed SuncoastHotel & Casino in Las Ve-gas, Nevada, April 26 -April 29, 2018. The LVBFFhas been attended bysome of the industriesmost decorated stars andfilm-makers always show-casing new

groundbreaking films toentertain their audiences.

“Romans 12:19”marks Harrell’s forth shortfilm and like the otherswas shot in Austin, Texas.This is also Harrell’s thirdtime working with UTgraduate, cinematogra-pher Bejan Faramazi.

The film stars AndreaMorton (Libra), SamoneMurray (Velma), BirgetSchroeder (Cindy), AlanNelson (Dan), Sam Pleas-ant (Ray), Keith “EK” Har-ris (John B), WilliamJohnson-Ofoegbu (Keith)and Harrell D. Williams, Sr.(Darnell). The story follows

Attorney Libra Young whois hunted by the unjustmurder of her fatherDarnell. Known in the le-gal field as an attorneywho gets results, Libraplays her trump card toenlist the help of Ray, acareer criminal one stepaway from prison. Boydoes Ray deliver! ThroughRay, Libra gets the chanceto come face to face withthe man who killed her fa-ther.

Harrell’s objective isclear, to present hisprojects in front of largefilm loving audiences. Hissuccess is far reaching,presenting at numerous

festivals in the past threeyears such as the Holly-wood Black Film Festival,the San Diego Black FilmFestival, Miami’s UrbanFilm Festival, St. LouisBlack Film Festival, theCharlotte Black Film Festi-val and several others.

What an outstandingcredit to our rich film com-munity in Austin, to havesuch a prominent African-American professionalplay such a leading role infilm. For more informationvisit www. harrell will-iams .com.

Quan Cosbyto call 2018Longhorn

Baseball season(Austin, TX) - The

Longhorn IMG Radio Net-work and its flagship sta-tion, “The Horn” 104.9FM/101.9 FM/AM 1260 inAustin, have announcedits radio broadcast crewfor the 2018 Texas Long-horn baseball season. Inaddition to primary play-by-play voice Craig Wayand Roger Wallace, Life-time Longhorn QuanCosby joins the baseballbroadcast team for thenew season.

Cosby was a key con-tributor for the 2005 Na-tional Championship foot-ball team at Texas as awide receiver and kick re-turner. Cosby was also aprofessional baseballplayer spending four sea-sons with the Los AngelesAngels of Anaheim systemfrom 2001-04. He has ap-peared on select Texasbaseball broadcasts as aguest analyst in past sea-sons.

Page 8 ~ THE VILLAGER/February 2, 2018 THE DISPATCH www.theaustinvillager.com

AUSTIN, TX – Univer-sity of Texas at AustinPresident Gregory L.Fenves has appointed a13-member search com-mittee of students,alumni, faculty, staff andcommunity members toassist and advise in thesearch for a new vice presi-dent of the Division of Di-versity and CommunityEngagement, a pivotal po-

sition that promotes andsupports diversity, inclu-sion and community en-gagement at the univer-sity.

“The vice presidentfor diversity and commu-nity and engagement isone of the most significantleadership roles at TheUniversity of Texas and isvital to our efforts to fos-ter an inclusive campus,”

said President Fenves.“The search committeewill work with me to finda remarkable candidatewho has the knowledge,experience and skills toform strong bonds withour students, facultymembers, staff membersand the greater Austincommunity.”

A central part to theuniversity’s mission, the

Division of Diversity andCommunity Engagementleads the way in makingeducation accessible to allthrough its partnershipswith UT’s academic col-leges and schools, admin-istrative divisions andunits, and organizationsacross the state of Texas.The division works to con-nect the university’s aca-demic resources to stu-dents and faculty mem-bers and to communitiesacross Texas. The new vicepresident will spearheadthe division’s strategic planand coordinate with manyother university diversityand education initiatives.

Dean Luis Zayas ofthe Steve Hicks School ofSocial Work will chair thecommittee, and the uni-versity has hired RussellReynolds Associates, anexecutive recruiting firm,to assist in the search.

The committeemembers are:

^ Luis Zayas, chair,dean, Steve Hicks Schoolof Social Work.

^ Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, founding direc-tor, Voces Oral HistoryProject, professor of jour-nalism, Moody College ofCommunication, Centerfor Mexican AmericanStudies.

^ Carolyn Brown,professor of pharmacy

and Tanabe ResearchLaboratories, U.S.A., Inc.Regents Endowed FacultyFellow, College of Phar-macy, Center for Africanand African AmericanStudies.

^ Wilhelmina Delco,former member, TexasHouse of Representatives;former trustee, AustinCommunity College;former trustee, Austin In-dependent School District.

^ Cal Varner, presi-dent, Varner & AssociatesInc.; member, Huston-Tillotson University boardof trustees.

^ Hector de Leon,founder and managingpartner, De LeonWashburn & Ward PC;chair of DDCE AdvisoryBoard, president of theUniversity of Texas Foun-dation Inc.

^ Mark Williams,member, Austin Commu-nity College board of trust-ees; former president,Austin IndependentSchool District board oftrustees; DDCE AdvisoryBoard.

^ Carlos Zaffirini,president and CEO,Adelanto HealthCare Ven-tures Texas; member ofUniversity of Texas SystemChancellor’s Council Ex-ecutive Committee; mem-ber of University of Texasat Austin University Devel-

opment Board.^ Betty Hwang,

founder chairwoman andCEO, West Lake ComputerSystems; board director,Texas Asian Chamber ofCommerce; Austin Com-munity College board oftrustees.

^ A l e j a n d r i n aGuzman, student, presi-dent, University of Texas atAustin Student Govern-ment.

^ Austin Reynolds,president, UT Austin Sen-ate of College Councils.

^ Cameron Maxwell,finance director, Universityof Texas at Austin StudentGovernment.

^ Jaimie Davis, chair,University of Texas at Aus-tin Staff Council.

Fenves hopes to con-clude the search andname a new vice presidentbefore the fall 2018 se-mester.

Dr. Gregory Vincent,the university’s first vicepresident for diversityand community engage-ment, left last year tobecome president of hisalma mater, Hobart andWilliam Smith Colleges inNew York. Dr. LeonardMoore, the GeorgeLittlefield Professor ofAmerican History, is cur-rently serving as interimvice president of theDDCE.