By LYNETTE HAALAND [email protected]Quinlan Crossing’s anchor tenant Randalls grocery store is expected to open the first day of spring 2012. Joining Ran- dalls will be a variety of tenants including Chase Bank, the Cof- fee Bean & Tea Leaf shop, Great Clips, Steiner Ranch Wine and Liquor and 4 Hip Chicks. All have signed leases at the retail shopping center which totals 163,000 square feet and is located at the entrance of Steiner Ranch, according to Gail Whit- field, president and founder of the Whitfield Co., which is leas- ing the property for Property Development Centers. Other tenants are in the nego- tiating stages including a phone store, tire store and optometrist. Still others show interest includ- ing a mattress store, dry cleaners, fitness studio, massage studio CMYK Steiner Ranch Orthodontics Treatment for Children, Teens & Adults Call for your Complimentary Exam Central Austin Steiner Ranch Bastrop All Insurances 512-266-8585 www.BracesAustin.com Inside School.....................................3 Opinion ..................................4 Food........................................5 Classifieds ..............................6 Sports .....................................7 Find us on Facebook We wish you a warm holiday season with family and friends. Serving Steiner Ranch, River Place, Volente, Grandview Hills, Westminster Glen and Lake Travis Volume 7, Issue 51 • 8 pages Thursday, December 29, 2011 • 50 cents Urgent Care ~ Now Open! 6618 Sitio Del Rio #A101 I Austin, TX 78730 512-241-1370 I www.hillcountrypediatrics.com We are now open Sunday aſternoons for sick visits by appointment only. You can call our office directly at 512-241-1370 between the hours of 1PM and 5PM to schedule an appointment with our nurse practitioner, Pat Budd, RN, CPNP. e phones turn on at 1PM. NOW OPEN! Come meet your River Place branch staff! River Place Blvd & 2222 512.435.4545 800.531.2328 WWW.UHCU.ORG DESIGNER, 2 Concordia University Texas presented three full college scholarships to the children of the Zdroj family during Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’s press conference recently. e Zdroj family is from Smithville and they received a new home courtesy of the ABC reality show aſter losing theirs in the September wildfires. In addition to donating scholarships for the children’s education, more than 120 volunteers from Concordia served more than 750 hours on the home building project. Smithville is 65 miles to the west, not far from Bastrop. “Our mission is based on servant leadership,” said Dr. Tom Cedel, president of Concordia Uni- versity Texas. “When Extreme Makeover: Home Edition an- nounced plans to build the home for this deserv- ing family our students, faculty and staff jumped Steiner Ranch designer Julie Tamez of Chic Interiors and several other volunteers helped redecorate James Ferguson's apartment recently. Here is Ferguson with case worker Roy Salazar and Tamez after receiving a James Bond movie at his newly redone apartment. Tamez and several employees of Amplify Federal Credit Union volunteered to do a one-day cleanup and makeover. 'He told one of the volun- teers it was the best day of his life,' she said. Brad and Jodi Melnick are opening their latest Great Clips shop in Steiner Ranch. “We are looking at opening at the end of March when Randalls does,” said Brad Mel- nick, whose day job is product engineering at Freescale Semiconductor. Jodi manages their chain of a dozen shops. Great Clips will occupy just under 1,000 square feet in the space beside Randalls, on the Quinlan Crossing Road side. e Melnicks started their local Great Clips chain Mane Image LLC some 16 years ago. Now they have a dozen shops includ- ing the three they are currently opening throughout Austin. With 3,000 salons throughout the United States and Canada, Great Clips is the world’s largest salon brand. “We wanted something that is family ori- ented and local,” Melnick said. ey have three children, a freshman in college, a senior in high school and a 5th grader. ey moved to Austin in the Circle C neighborhood near- ly 20 years ago. “Great Clips is customer-centric, has value oriented pricing and is a good, solid, fantas- tic company,” he said. “We really like working with this franchise. ey have good support.” By Staff Reports James Ferguson’s once sim- ple East Austin apartment was transformed by the help of Steiner Ranch’s Julie Tamez, owner and partner with Shelley Hause of Chic Interiors. Tamez and Hause spent five days shopping for furniture and decorations for Ferguson's apartment before the seven hour makeover earlier this month. Ferguson is part of the Austin American-Statesman's Season for Caring campaign, which helps 10 families nominated by local nonprofit agencies and hundreds more like them through reader donations. Amplify Federal Credit Union and Chic Interiors teamed to- gether to provide more than $10,000 in products and man hours to remodel the apart- ment. Ferguson, 66, has intellec- tual disabilities and spent most of his childhood in foster homes and the Austin State Supported Living Center. He has diabetes, high blood pressure and arthri- tis. His apartment 500-square- Great Clips to open in Steiner in late March Steiner designer volunteers on apartment makeover Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN Concordia donates three scholarships to area Extreme Makeover family MAKEOVER, 2 e Vandegriſt Viper family pulled together to help support the Salvation Army Angel tree last week. Over 70 Vandegriſt students, coaches and parents gave their time and energy to help make someone else’s Christmas a little bit merrier. Students from wrestling, football, volleyball, tennis, band and lacrosse were shelv- ing, bagging, shopping and de- livering presents. “is experience taught the Viper volunteers that helping others is the true meaning of Christmas,” said Scarlet He- bert, one of the event organiz- ers. e most valuable lesson the kids learned was that through volunteering they get so much more out of it than what they put into it, she said. Viper volunteers team with Salvation Army Above: Cousins Caitlin McKeand (6th Grader FPMS) and Hannah work together to move a bag full of presents. See more photos on page 2. Quinlan Crossing brings in more tenants The Whitfield Co.’s demographic information shows median an- nual household income in a one mile radius of Quinlan Crossing is $150,991, in a three mile radius $132,483, and a five mile radius at $122,233. Demographic information also shows current population within one mile is 2,512, three miles is 21,943 and five miles is 46,884. QUNILAN, 2 478-3376 (4PT-DERM) I FOUR POINTS DERMATOLOGY Medical • Surgical • Cosmetic • Adult • P e d i a t r i c www.FourPointsDermatology.com Visit our website for our December Specials. Give yourself the gift of Peace of Mind this Holiday Season. Schedule your skin exam. Roopal Bhatt, MD Board Certified Dermatologist
Quinlan Crossing’s anchor tenant Randalls grocery store is expected to open the first day of spring 2012. Joining Ran-dalls will be a variety of tenants including Chase Bank, the Cof-fee Bean & Tea Leaf shop, Great Clips, Steiner Ranch Wine and Liquor and 4 Hip Chicks. All have signed leases at the retail shopping center which totals 163,000 square feet and is located at the entrance of Steiner Ranch, according to Gail Whit-field, president and founder of the Whitfield Co., which is leas-ing the property for Property Development Centers. Other tenants are in the nego-tiating stages including a phone store, tire store and optometrist. Still others show interest includ-ing a mattress store, dry cleaners, fitness studio, massage studio
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We wish you a warm holiday season with family and friends.
Serving Steiner Ranch, River Place, Volente, Grandview Hills, Westminster Glen and Lake TravisVolume 7, Issue 51 • 8 pages Thursday, December 29, 2011 • 50 cents
Urgent Care ~ Now Open!
6618 Sitio Del Rio #A101 I Austin, TX 78730 512-241-1370 I www.hillcountrypediatrics.com
We are now open Sunday afternoons for sick visits by appointment only. You can call our office directly
at 512-241-1370 between the hours of 1PM and 5PM to schedule an appointment with our nurse practitioner,
Pat Budd, RN, CPNP. The phones turn on at 1PM.
NOW OPEN!
Come meet your River Place branch staff! River Place Blvd & 2222512.435.4545 800.531.2328
WWW.UHCU.ORG
DESIGNER, 2
Concordia University Texas presented three full college scholarships to the children of the Zdroj family during Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’s press conference recently. The Zdroj family is from Smithville and they received a new home courtesy of the ABC reality show after losing theirs in the September wildfires. In addition to donating scholarships for the children’s education, more than 120 volunteers
from Concordia served more than 750 hours on the home building project. Smithville is 65 miles to the west, not far from Bastrop. “Our mission is based on servant leadership,” said Dr. Tom Cedel, president of Concordia Uni-versity Texas. “When Extreme Makeover: Home Edition an-nounced plans to build the home for this deserv-ing family our students, faculty and staff jumped
Steiner Ranch designer Julie Tamez of Chic Interiors and several other volunteers helped redecorate James Ferguson's apartment recently. Here is Ferguson with case worker Roy Salazar and Tamez after receiving a James Bond movie at his newly redone apartment. Tamez and several employees of Amplify Federal Credit Union volunteered to do a one-day cleanup and makeover. 'He told one of the volun-teers it was the best day of his life,' she said.
Brad and Jodi Melnick are opening their latest Great Clips shop in Steiner Ranch. “We are looking at opening at the end of March when Randalls does,” said Brad Mel-nick, whose day job is product engineering at Freescale Semiconductor. Jodi manages their chain of a dozen shops.
Great Clips will occupy just under 1,000 square feet in the space beside Randalls, on the Quinlan Crossing Road side. The Melnicks started their local Great Clips chain Mane Image LLC some 16 years ago. Now they have a dozen shops includ-ing the three they are currently opening
throughout Austin. With 3,000 salons throughout the United States and Canada, Great Clips is the world’s largest salon brand. “We wanted something that is family ori-ented and local,” Melnick said. They have three children, a freshman in college, a senior
in high school and a 5th grader. They moved to Austin in the Circle C neighborhood near-ly 20 years ago. “Great Clips is customer-centric, has value oriented pricing and is a good, solid, fantas-tic company,” he said. “We really like working with this franchise. They have good support.”
4900 N Quinlan Park Rd, Aust... Latitude: 30.388683Longitude: -97.882426
Site Type: Ring Rings: 1, 3, 5 Miles
By Staff Reports
James Ferguson’s once sim-ple East Austin apartment was transformed by the help of Steiner Ranch’s Julie Tamez, owner and partner with Shelley Hause of Chic Interiors. Tamez and Hause spent five days shopping for furniture and decorations for Ferguson's
apartment before the seven hour makeover earlier this month. Ferguson is part of the Austin American-Statesman's Season for Caring campaign, which helps 10 families nominated by local nonprofit agencies and hundreds more like them through reader donations. Amplify Federal Credit Union and Chic Interiors teamed to-
gether to provide more than $10,000 in products and man hours to remodel the apart-ment. Ferguson, 66, has intellec-tual disabilities and spent most of his childhood in foster homes and the Austin State Supported Living Center. He has diabetes, high blood pressure and arthri-tis. His apartment 500-square-
Great Clips to open in Steiner in late March
Steiner designer volunteers on apartment makeover
Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Concordia donates three scholarships to area Extreme Makeover family
MAKEOVER, 2
The Vandegrift Viper family pulled together to help support the Salvation Army Angel tree last week. Over 70 Vandegrift students, coaches and parents gave their time and energy to help make someone else’s Christmas a little bit merrier. Students from wrestling, football, volleyball, tennis, band and lacrosse were shelv-ing, bagging, shopping and de-livering presents. “This experience taught the Viper volunteers that helping others is the true meaning of Christmas,” said Scarlet He-bert, one of the event organiz-ers. The most valuable lesson the kids learned was that through volunteering they get so much more out of it than what they put into it, she said.
Viper volunteers team with Salvation Army
Above: Cousins Caitlin McKeand (6th Grader FPMS) and Hannah work together to move a bag full of presents.
See more photos on page 2.
Quinlan Crossing brings in more tenants
The Whitfield Co.’s demographic information shows median an-nual household income in a one mile radius of Quinlan Crossing is $150,991, in a three mile radius $132,483, and a five mile radius at $122,233. Demographic information also shows current population within one mile is 2,512, three miles is 21,943 and five miles is 46,884.QUNILAN, 2
478-3376 (4PT-DERM) I FOUR POINTS
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Visit our website for our December Specials.
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and an enrichment school. The shopping center is sitting on approximately 15 acres and the remainder of the 61 acres is going to remain natural green space.
Marketing materials show that traffic counts are 39,000 ve-hicles per day on RM 620. Demographic information at the Quinlan Crossing website show median annual household income in a one mile radius is $150,991, in a three mile radius $132,483, and a five mile radius at $122,233. Demographic information also shows current population within one mile is 2,512, three miles is 21,943 and five miles is 46,884. Whitfield marketing materi-als state that once fully built out
there will be 19,000 residents in Steiner including the 200 or so homes by Lake Austin. Steiner is almost finished building its 4,071 homes. The materials say that the total Steiner households occupied now are 3,257 which average 2.84 people per house-hold making the population 9,250. Earlier expectations were that Quinlan Crossing would open in the fall of 2011. Now it will be closer to the end of March. Whitfield is optimistic about getting the types of tenants the Four Points community wants.
Page 2 • Four Points News, Thursday, December 29, 2011
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Above: ACF volunteers (from left) Mi Kim Goelkel, Carol Emmerich and Lorri Payne try to stay warm while making sure last week’s hayrides run smoothly. Left: Christen Black attempts to make sense out of a tangled mess of lights at Sun-Tree Park last week. Black joined Austin Christian Fellowship members to organize hayrides for area families, with donations contributed to a needy family in a local RV park.Below Right: ACF’s Cameron Childs (blue) is ‘all smiles’ after riding around the River Place neighborhood atop bales of hay during last week’s holiday festivities.Below left: ACF members Todd Childs, Terry Payne and Chuck Oertli took the reins of three trailers last week, hoping to earn donations for a needy family in the Armadillo RV park. The hayride event, sponsored by the Four Points’ area church, included about 300 riders.
Shop local for unique fashion and fabulous finds!Shop local for unique fashion and fabulous finds!
Wishing You a Happy New Year!
foot apartment was scrubbed, de-cluttered, organized and re-furnished with a recliner, dining room table and chairs, flat-screen television and DVD player. Am-plify employees donated a full day to cleaning and fixing up the. They removed broken down furniture and cleaned out dated items in the refrigerator. Tamez added a number of rail-road pictures because Ferguson loves trains. She also gave him a model boxcar from her own col-lection, something she received from her uncle. She updated the apartment but also kept it simi-lar so it would not be too much change. Tamez also added bright, over-stuffed pillows and colorful ac-cent pieces of blue and gold fab-ric on canvas squares, along with several framed pictures of Fergu-son, she said. Ferguson spent the day shop-ping at Wal-Mart, bowling and watching a movie before return-ing home. He was amazing when he stepped into his place. "He told one of the volunteers it was the best day of his life," Ta-mez said.
at the opportunity to serve this family and community,” Cedel said. Not including the hours spent volunteering on the Extreme Makeover:Home Edition project, since September 2011, Concor-dia volunteers have served more than 900 hours cleaning home sites in Bastrop County, distrib-uting clothing at shelter locations and collecting funds to aid fami-lies in wildfire recovery efforts.
MAKEOVER, FROM 1
QUINLAN, FROM 1
Above Left: Marisa Collmann (8th Gr CRMS) loads a large load of gifts into a cartAbove Middle: Viper Parents and siblings - Debe McKeand and David CollmannAbove Right: Jake Gordon, Kelsea Janak, Liz Slezak , Austin Hebert, Conner Voekel, Sydney VoekelLeft: Jordan Leitao, Austin He-bert, Joseph Suttorus, Sydney Voekel, Conner Voekel, Valerie Schroeder
The holiday season is a great time for reflection, to remem-ber everything for which we are thankful. And so as we conclude 2011 and look forward to 2012, I would like to thank our fabulous teachers and staff for all of the work they do to open doors for the students of Leander ISD. If you have a student in LISD, you know that our district is made up of outstanding folks who work tirelessly to support learning. And you also prob-ably know that it isn’t an easy task. No matter what the job is, few careers present as many fan-tastic opportunities and daunt-ing responsibilities as those in education. The stakes are high because we are working with
our community’s most precious commodity—your children. But while it can be challenging, it is also, without a doubt, one of the most rewarding careers out there. Principals, teachers and staff are in our schools building rela-tionships with students, serving as mentors, coaches and advo-cates for students who are trying to find their way in the world. They work together to create en-gaging and rigorous learning op-portunities for students because they believe in the value of edu-cation. Our principals, teachers and staff equip our students with the skills to take responsibility for their own learning. Above all, they do whatever it takes to
open doors and keep all students on paths to success. Speaking as a former class-room teacher, sometimes it’s not easy to see if you are making an impact on the students you see every day. But that doesn’t mean prog-ress isn’t being made. And it’s often the little things that make a big difference. In the almost four years I’ve served as superintendent, I have had numerous opportunities to be out in the community and to hear about the great things going on in LISD. I get to hear about
the teachers who go out their way before, during and after school to help students with their homework. I get to hear about the Plant Services employee who
drives across the district to mentor a young boy because the student needed a little extra at-tention. I get to hear about the bus driver who
visits campuses in December dressed in a Santa suit just to bring a little cheer to students and staff alike. I get to hear about the middle school registrar who goes above and beyond to en-sure elementary students have
enough to eat over the weekend. I get to hear about the numer-ous Child Nutrition Services employees who take time to read to elementary students. I get to hear about the principal and ad-ministrative assistant who make coats for underprivileged kids in the Austin area. Believe me when I say that the list could go on. But no matter where I am, I hear that LISD principals, assistant principals, teachers, counselors, transition coordinators, coaches and others are challenging and encouraging students to pursue excellence, all the while open-ing doors and creating powerful learning experiences. Parents often tell me how blessed they feel to be in LISD, a
place where they know their chil-dren are supported and teachers truly care about their students. I couldn’t agree more. I know that the students of LISD are steadily reaching for the highest levels of success because of the outstand-ing staff we have in our district. Every one of us is committed to staying true to what’s most im-portant, to student learning, and to demonstrating the heart of the LISD Learning Model every day. And so this week I close with a simple message to the principals, teachers and staff of the district: thank you for opening doors and making a difference.
Four Points newswww.FourPointsNews.comschool thursday
December 29, 2011 • Page 3Four Points newswww.FourPointsNews.com
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When the devastating fires of Central Texas burned through Steiner Ranch, many Four Points residents thought of those who lost everything. The parents and students of Laura Welch Bush El-ementary School worried about those who were affected, and they wanted to do something to help. After considering various ways to raise money, the LWBE PTA opted to host a coin drive. The challenge: boys versus girls in a friendly penny war-of-the-sexes to see which gender could raise more. The proceeds from their coin drive will benefit the children who lost their homes in the devastating Steiner Ranch fire in September. Specifically, these funds will go to-ward rebuilding personal libraries. While the boys proved to be a collective formidable opponent, the girls were the victors in the end. Together, the generous families of Laura Bush contributed $888.50, which went toward the purchase of
104 Scholastic books. Furthermore, Scholastic Books has generously agreed to match the children’s efforts: for every dol-lar raised a book will be donated to non-profit organization such as Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, Kids in Distressed Situations, Inc., and Kids in Need Foundations. In other words, 888 additional books will be donated due to the philan-thropic efforts of the star students of Laura Welch Bush Elementary School.
Three students at Canyon Ridge Middle School were recognized for the State of Texas at the American Mathematics Competition 8 (originally called the American Junior High School Math-ematics Examination) which too place last month. Victor Lai (on the left) and Samiksha Mulpuri (on the right) in 6th grade were recognized on the Achievement Roll and Brendan Hollaway (in the middle) in 8th grade was recognized on the Distinguished Honor Roll for achieving in approxi-mately the top 1%.
LWB collects nearly 1,000 books for fire families
Recently three students at Vandegrift High School competed in the Texas Computer Education Association’s Robotics competition and won the Area 13 “Robotics Arena Champi-onships”. Hannah von Oldenburg, Spencer Ronshangen and Ben Gilbert finished 1st place in the Area 13 TCEA Robotics Arena Championships and will now advance to the TCEA State Robotics Championships in April in San Angelo. This has gar-nered the VHS Engineering Club and these students their first visit to the TCEA’s state championships in April 2012.
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By KARIN FLAGGGuest Contributor
For some people just the mere mention of the word “organizing” is enough to send them into a panic. There’s usually a long laundry list of reasons why they can’t go there, but ac-tually most of those reasons are based on myths. Here are the top 7 organizing myths and the truth behind them. 1. I wasn’t born with the organizing gene. We all know those people, the ones who are super-organized and make it look so easy. What’s the difference between them and you? They’ve learned the skills that let them be organized. The good news is you can learn those skills too! 2. Getting organized takes so much time. It may seem like a waste of your time to spend it getting organized, but you’ll actu-ally gain time. Just think how much time you waste looking for things, not to mention the stress that goes with it. Start small and set a timer for 15 minutes. Little actions lead to big results. 3. Getting organized is expensive. There are lots of items you already have around the house that can be repurposed for organizing, and if you’re creative, personalized to fit your décor. Think shoe boxes covered with wrapping paper, cutlery organizers for drawer organizers, and little plastic boxes with dividers for jewelry. 4. There is a ‘perfect’ way to organize. The only perfect way is the one that works
for you. There is no one perfect system and if you try to make yourself fit one that doesn’t match your style, you’re setting yourself up to fail. Do you like things put away in drawers and filing cabinets, or would that mean ‘out
of sight, out of mind?’ Learn your style and select a plan that fits you. 5. I know exactly what’s in every pile of paper. Yes, these people will tell you they actually know what’s in every single pile. The real-ity is they spend valuable time hunting through those piles to
find that one specific piece of paper. And not just, once but over and over – and over again! 6. It looks neat so it must be organized. Looks can be deceiving! You can cram lots of things in those cute little organizers and sure it may look nice. However, will you be able to remember what’s in them? Being organized is about being able to find what you want, when you want it. 7. Once I’m organized I’ll finally be able to relax. Getting organized is not a one-time event or a destination you finally arrive at then you’re done. It’s like weeding a garden or cleaning a house. If you do a little bit every day it’s easy to maintain. Leave it alone for too long and it’s as if you never did it at all.
Karin Flagg is the founder of Organize With Purpose! - a professional organizing company and has a free newsletter at www.Organize-WithPurpose.com.
Many people are thinking about New Year Resolutions this week. If we voice them or not is another thing. According to a SlideShare survey, the top 5 resolutions for 2012 are:
• Be financially-savvy• Read at least one book per month• Eat properly• Get enough sleep• Keep a journal of awesome mo-ments
I have one friend who made the “reading a book a month” resolu-tion a year or two ago and puts all of the books she has read on one shelf as a visual reminder of her accomplishments. A study in 2007 from the Uni-versity of Bristol showed that 22% of those who set New Year resolutions succeed. In the study, men achieved their goal 22% more often when they set smaller, measurable goals like lose a pound a week instead of just saying “lose weight”. Women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends. Other popular goals made by many on New Year’s include: Improve health: lose weight, exercise more, eat better, drink less alcohol, quit smoking Improve finances: get out of debt, save money Improve career: get a better job Improve education: improve grades, get a better education, learn something new Improve self: become more organized, reduce stress, be less grumpy, manage time, build stronger relationships, watch less tele-
vision, play less video games Take a trip Volunteer to help others, use civic virtue, give to charity Four Points families have the last one down for certain. This week’s issue of our paper shows at five examples of local people
volunteering time and donating money to help others: Viper ath-letes working with Salvation Army, a church group raising money at a hot cocoa stand, and a local de-signer volunteering on a makeover project. Additionally Concordia donated scholarships to children who lost their home in the Septem-ber fires, and Ernie Reyes World Martial Arts donated thousands to the Heart of the Pines Volunteer Fire Department.
Wow! Isn’t it great to be surrounded by good hearted neighbors! Another popular resolution is staying fit. One New York City woman has a reso-lution to be more active. She is starting off the new year with about 5,000 others at the 4-mile Emerald Nuts Midnight Run through Central Park in New York City. This coming year I am resolving for the first time to bump up my very comfortable fitness regiment to prepare for the Shape Diva Dash obstacle course in April.
Thanks to neighbor Ann for getting a group together for this “wild celebration of action and adventure, camaraderie and bonding, with more obstacles than ever!” I need to convince myself to embrace the new idea and in a few months look out for the Ranch Divas!
Four Points newswww.FourPointsNews.comoPinionthursday
Page 4 • December 29, 2011Four Points newswww.FourPointsNews.com
Publisher’s Point of View
LYNETTE HAALAND
This New Year, I resolve to...
Hannah Bell Steiner Ranch
Quit procrastinating on all of my homework. I’m a sophomore at Vandegrift.
Do you have a New Year’s Resolution?Four Points oF View
It’s time for that annual rite of passage into the New Year: mak-ing your resolutions. In addition to vowing to lose 10 pounds or or-ganize your photo drawer, perhaps 2012 should be the year to focus on your finances. Regardless of your age or financial status, the follow-ing ideas might help make 2012 more financially beneficial.Twenty-Somethings: If you are fortunate enough to have school behind you and have landed a job in this challenging job market, congratulations! Now it’s time start preparing for your finan-cial future. Once you have a plan to repay your student loans, perhaps the most important step you can take in 2012 is to start creating a cash reserve for emergencies. Some ex-perts recommend stashing away three to six months worth of liv-ing expenses to keep you afloat in the event of a job loss, accident or any other unforeseen situation that might affect your financial security. Keep your cash reserves in liq-uid investments that will be readily available in case you need them.Thirty-Somethings: With all the current demands for your time and money, it’s hard to think about saving for retire-ment. If you haven’t started doing so already, resolve to make 2012 the year you start making contri-butions to your company’s retire-ment savings plan.
If you can’t contribute the maxi-mum right away, contribute at least enough to qualify for any employer matching contribution. It’s essen-
tially free money that can help you take full advantage of the savings plan. Forty-Somethings: Now that you have more at stake financially, make 2012 the year to review your insurance coverage to ensure that it reflects your current situation and your future goals. Start by asking yourself these ques-tions:How might unexpected events im-pact my family’s goals? How will I provide for depen-dents if I’m unable to earn income or if I am gone?Fifty-Somethings: Are you feeling behind on your retirement savings? Resolving to take advantage of retirement plan catch-up contributions in 2012 can help make you feel more on track. People age 50 and older can make special contributions to their qual-ified and non-qualified plans over and above the regular contribution limits. With retirement just around the
corner, you can make this the year to kick your savings into high gear.Sixty Plus-Somethings: If you are retired and enjoying the fruits of your financial plan-ning, it’s time to start thinking about your legacy and estate plan. If you’ve procrastinated doing so, 2012 can be the year to give your-self peace of mind knowing that you’ve secured your family’s future, and are ready to help the causes close to your heart. Designing a legacy consistent with your values is a personal and complex process, but well worth the effort. Before the year gets away from you, set up a family estate planning meeting to open commu-nication, prevent conflicts and let your family know what’s important to you. Then seek professional ad-vice from an attorney, tax profes-sional or financial advisor to make sure your estate plan is in order. Before you close the book on 2011, take a look back at what you’ve accomplished with your money and think about what you’d like to change for next year. Your financial picture is ever evolving – and it’s never too late to make changes to help ensure many hap-py new years to come.
Source: IRS 401(k) Resource Guide - Plan Partici-pants Jon M. Fletcher, CRPC®, Financial Advisor, Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Advisor is reg-istered to do business with U.S. residents only in the states of AZ, FL, MN, NV, TX, and VA.
New Year’s resolutions for every stage of your financial life
7 Organizing myths that keep you stressed, stuck and crazy
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By CAROL KILLGOREFood Contributor
This Paula Deen starch is one of my favorites to serve, especially with her Italian Meatloaf. It's a stick-to-yourguts dish and will keep 'em coming back for more.
Ingredients:• 1 cup plus 2 ta-blespoons heavy cream• ¾ cup sour cream• 2 lbs small red potatoes• 1 tsp salt• 1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened• 2 tsp roasted garlic (jar or homemade)• 1 tsp The Lady's House Season-ing (below)• 1 tsp seasoned salt• 4 tbsp butter, slivered• ¼ cup green onions, sliced• 1 tbsp chives, chopped fresh
Preparation:1. Prepare the Crème Fraîche ahead of time by combining 1 cup of heavy cream with ½ cup sour cream. Coverwith plastic wrap and let stand for 12-24 hours at room tem-perature. Stir well and refrig-erate for at least 4 hours; Mix will keep up to two weeks.2. Put the potatoes in a pot and add cold water. Add the salt and bring to a boil.3. Cook until potatoes are tender; about 20-25 minutes; drain.4. Preheat oven to 350° F. With an electric mixer, beat potatoes with the cream cheese and the ¼ cup sourcream and 2 tablespoons heavy
cream, the garlic, house season-ing and seasoned salt.5. Stir in butter and onions.6. Place the mashed potatoes in a lightly greased 2-quart round
casserole dish. Spoon the Crème Fraîche on topand sprinkle with chives.7. Bake until the potatoes are hot, 20-30 minutes.Servings: 8
Carol Killgore is a Steiner Ranch resident, stay-at-home mother of
one and volunteer. She shows her love for others through cooking and baking. This fall, Carol com-pleted her second online cookbook “Food for Thought”, a compila-tion of food experiences. Nestled between the pages are over 35 of
her current favorites. These reci-pes are all gathered from cook-books, magazines, websites, blogs, family and friends, and they are all tested, photographed and tweaked!
Catering to many different types of parties during the holi-day season can be difficult. To make it easier for you, I put to-gether a few ideas. The first recipe is perfect for a large informal party. The endive itself is the vessel for the food so it makes for an elegant display and no plate is needed (meaning less clean up). You can mix up the ingredients that go into the endive as you wish.Endive SpearsIngredients:• 1/2 baguette – cut into ½ inch cubes• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper• 1 tbsp. fresh picked thyme• 4 anchovy fillets - mashed• 1 small garlic clove – roughly minced• 1/4 cup mayonnaise• 1-2 lemons – zest & juice• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (plus more for gar-nish)• 3 Belgian endives – larger outer leaves intact (inner leaves will be julienned)
Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 375°. In a medium bowl, toss the bread with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and season with salt, pepper and thyme. 2. Spread the bread on a parch-
ment covered sheet pan. Toast for about 10 minutes, stirring once, until golden and crisp. Place into a bowl and set aside. 3. Using a blender, blend the anchovies, garlic and a small pinch of salt. 4. Add the may-onnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice and blend again. You may have to clean the sides of the blender with a spatula. 5. Add remaining oil, Season with salt/pepper if needed. Stir in 1-2 tbsps. grated cheese. 6. Remove the largest leaves from the endives (about 15-20). Using a sharp knife carefully cut the bottom of each endive leaf so it has a flat base. Thinly slice remaining endives & toss w/ dressing. Season with lemon juice, salt & pepper. 7. Spoon salad onto each spear and garnish with the croutons & Parmigiano. Enjoy! Next up is a gift idea that can be used during the holidays or as a hostess gift anytime. Nothing makes a gift more personal than something you’ve made. Anyone can just go and buy something already made. Spending the time to make something from scratch shows how much you treasure the relationship. Chimichurri is Argentina’s
quintessential sauce that we have with almost anything that
is meat (sau-sages, beef, and empana-das). The rec-ipe below is a step by step guide to make Chimichurri so you can give it dur-
ing the holidays or anytime. The sauce can be kept refrigerated in a tight sealed jar for up to 4-6 weeks.Argentine ChimichurriIngredients:• Coarse sea salt & Fresh ground pepper• 4 garlic cloves – finely chopped• 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley AND oregano – finely chopped• 1 tsp. crushed red- pepper flakes• 1/2 tsp. each - smoked and sweet paprika• 2-3 tbsp. – Argentine spice mix (Purchased from Chef Crusco or Phoenicia Bakery)• 1 lemon – zest from half the lemon only• 1/4 cup red-wine vinegar• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Directions: 1. Mince the garlic, parsley and oregano very finely, and put in a medium bowl. 2. Add the red-pepper flakes,
paprika, the spice mix and the zest. 3. Whisk in the red-wine vin-egar, then the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 4. Transfer to a jar with a tight-fitting lid, and keep in the refrigerator. 5. If possible, let the flavors mingle for at least a day or two and serve with grilled meats.
I hope you enjoy these recipes and share them with your friends at your next get together. Next
month’s article will be about Mendoza - Argentina’s famous wine country! If you would like more information regarding my
recipes or my personal chef ser-vices, please visit my website at www.chefcrusco.com for contact information.
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Some Hill Country Bible Church families braved the elements and hosted a donut, coffee, hot chocolate stand at John Simpson Park last Thurs. They raised $278 that was delivered to an area family in need on Friday.
Steiner Ranch Elementary teachers supported children of CASA of Travis County this holi-day season by raising $400.
Donations went toward providing the children with You Are Good Angel T-shirts.
Steiner Ranch Elementary teachers sup-ported children of CASA of Travis County this holiday season by raising $400. Donations went toward providing the children with You Are Good Angel T-shirts. “Not only do these women work tire-lessly to provide a great education to their students but they are thinking of those less fortunate as well,” said Jennifer Rountree, who is a special education teacher at SRE and who also volunteers at CASA.
CASA or Court Appointed Special Ad-vocates of Travis County promotes and protects the best interest of children who have been abused or neglected. CASA trains volunteers to advocate for children in courts, schools and the community to help them find safe, permanent and loving homes. “I feel so blessed to have theses amazing women teaching my children,” Rountree said.
Each year, thousands of people, mostly children and teens, are injured while using consumer fire-works. The result of not following safety rules and manufacturer’s recommendations is often acciden-tal fires, devastating burn injuries, and even death. The Travis County Fire Marshal strongly recom-mends that families attend public fireworks dis-plays rather than purchase fireworks for home use. Remember that it is illegal to possess and transport fireworks in the City of Austin. If celebrating with fireworks is legal in your area, and you decide to use them, follow these safety tips:
Before you shoot:• DO NOT LET YOUR CHILDREN BUY FIRE-WORKS WITHOUT ADULT SUPERVISION• Only buy from reliable fireworks sellers • Never experiment or attempt to make your own fireworks • Find a smooth, flat surface -- away from the house and other buildings, or dry leaves and grass Be sure to have water handy in case of a malfunc-tion or fire • ALWAYS HAVE ADULT SUPERVISION!
When you're ready to shoot:• NEVER ALLOW CHILDREN TO PLAY WITH OR IGNITE FIREWORKS• Always read and follow label directions, warn-ings, and instructions• Be considerate of your neighbors• Only ignite fireworks outdoors, and away from houses and other buildings• Be sure other people are out of range before light-ing fireworks• Light only one firework at a time• Never try to re-light fireworks that have not fully functioned• Don’t give sparklers to small children. They can reach temperatures of 1,200 degrees. Never throw fireworks at another person, ve-hicle, or animal• Do not use fireworks while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.• Never shoot fireworks in metal or glass contain-ers• Dispose of spent fireworks properly
SRE teachers raise $400 to benefit CASA kids
Firework safety tips
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Clive Muka- JuniorFavorite part about being involved in Viper Basketball: Basketball has changed my life in a positive way. It is also easy to be pas-sionate about basketball.
BASKETBALL
StarS of the Week thurSdayDecember 29, 2011 • Page 7
four PointS neWSwww.FourPointsNews.com
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Natasha Desai - JuniorFavorite part about being involved in Viper Basketball: I love that we work hard together as a team to win a tough game.
Jack Evans - SophomoreFavorite part about being involved in Viper Soccer: I love the team, the guys are great and the coaching staff is superb. I hope we do very well in the approaching season!
SOCCER
Regan Williams - SeniorFavorite part about being involved in Viper Soccer: I really love the overnight tournaments.
Elise Patterson - SeniorFavorite part about being involved in Viper Swimming and Dive:After a swim workout it is like being on cloud nine! It’s AWESOME.
S W I
M MiNG
KevinRutkowski - SeniorFavorite part about being involved in Viper Wrestling: I like wrestling because its an individual sport. Even though you practice with others, your matches are all dependent on you and how hard you’ve worked during practice. If you ain’t 1st your last!
WRESTLING
512.372.9700Located in the Shops at Riverplace
El SeñorMexican Cuisine
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CMYK
Above: Natasha Desai (#5, junior) with ex-ecuting the reverse layup perfectly against the Ranger defense Right: Jasmine Mobley (#13, senior) taking the tip off for the Lady VipersBelow: Sophia Duffield (#3, junior) defend-ing against Vista Ridge
During the Dec. 20 Vandegrift vs Vista Ridge game, the Vipers were neck and neck until the end of the 3rd quarter and then broke away in the 4th quarter. The final score was 65 Vandegrift 46 Vista Ridge.
The Vandegrift Lady Vipers traveled to Vista Ridge, taking on the Rangers before the Christmas holiday. The game began as a defensive battle; however Vista Ridge prevailed beating the Lady Vi-pers 44-17.
Vista Ridge beat the Lady Vipers 44-17
Photos by: John Lichtenberger
Scott W. Coleman, Hill Country NewsScott W. Coleman, Hill Country News
Jim Parker, from Jim Parker Photography.
Boys Basketball: 65 Vandegrift 46 Vista Ridge
CMYKPage 8 • Four Points News, Thursday, December 29, 2011
The Ernie Reyes World Martial Arts Kick-a-thon held in Steiner Ranch weeks ago raised $7,000 for the Heart of the Pines Volun-teer Fire Department. Chief Na-than Decker and his wife Teresa Murphy from Heart of the Pines received the donation recently."As a student body, we did 41,000 kicks in 90 minutes, rais-ing $7000 for the department! We learned that of the 24 vol-unteer firefighters, 14 lost their homes in the Bastrop fires. We were humbled and delighted to make our donation," said Cindy Villanueva-Allen, owner of the local studio.
Leadership and service to others is a huge part of our curriculum - it's not just about kicking and punching. Being a well-rounded martial artist means thinking about and acting on behalf of others, and this was a wonderful opportunity for our students to help our neighbors in a big way, Villanueva-Allen said.In addition to the presentation to the Heart of the Pines Volun-teer Fire Department, the Steiner Ranch Ernie Reyes studio gradu-ated four first-degree black belts: Jakob Tan, Ryan Kamp, Lauren Kamp, and Arthur Li.
Ernie Reyes World Martial Arts Kick-a-thon raised $7,000
