| June 8, 2026 |
NatNews |
ISSUE 221 |
THANKS A LOT, SINKHOLE
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Summer activities at White Rock Lake in Dallas have always been hot and sweaty, and this summer, they will also have the added element of detours. Dallas City Council District 9 member Paula Blackmon provided the update in her weekly newsletter and posted on the official Facebook page that beginning on the week of June 15, part of the White Rock Lake path will be closed for two to three months for the grouting of approximately 2,800 feet of an abandoned 36-inch diameter wastewater main to fix a sinkhole issue that arose earlier this year. During this time period, the outside westbound lane of Garland Road between E. Lawther Drive and White Rock Creek will be closed. It will also not be an option for runners and cyclists to complete a standard loop around the lake, as White Rock Trail between E. Lawther Drive and Winsted Drive will be closed. Dallas-area resident and runner Rachel Balthrop Mendoza was initially a bit frustrated upon learning of the trail’s partial closure, as she was just beginning to get back out there on a regular basis for her long runs. “But I get it—all in the name of progress and eaglet preservation,” she said. “We’ll be fine. I’ll be fine. Everything will be fine.” The bird situation Balthrop Mendoza mentioned refers to an eaglet that attempted to fly from its nest and was grounded, resulting in the closure of E. Lawther Drive from the Stone Tables playground to Dreyfuss Club Point to keep humans away until that eaglet and the others in the nest learn to fly. The closure for the sinkhole, however, is unrelated to the detour concerning the eaglets. Dallas resident and triathlete Mike Hart only recently became aware of the sinkhole problem that will cause some changes in his normal training regimens, and while he isn’t thrilled with the upcoming adjustments he will need to make, he understands that such occurrences are often necessary and unavoidable. “I first learned about the White Rock section closure from Natalie Merrill, the Dallas runner and the author of NatNews,” he said. “My initial reaction was pretty annoyed because my Saturday morning routine is typically riding loops around White Rock and the trails near it. Also, it’s fun to try to hit Strava PRs around the lake, so that will have to wait. I’m all in for improving the trails, and I’m a firm believer of deferred gratification, so if the payoff leads to improvements, I’m happy to wait.” Dallas resident and runner Alfonzo Gonzalez, who leads the Train Pegasus local running group and coaches hundreds of athletes throughout the world, said he isn’t too bothered by the temporary closure, as his group meets at various rotating locations on Saturday mornings, so there are other options available to ensure that the runners get their mileage without their training being significantly impacted. “We have alternative routes, although they won’t be as flat as running around the lake,” he said. Gonzalez also acknowledged that the closure of part of the White Rock loop doesn’t mean the entire path is off-limits. “We’ll still be able to run one side of the lake to get some miles in,” he said. Balthrop Mendoza noted that the sinkhole repair construction should only create a detour here and there, and she has already scoped out what some of her potential options are. |
“When we first saw the construction was coming to the south end, I saw a post on the council district’s Facebook page that showed a loop that went farther south and came up the Santa Fe Trail to catch the west side,” she said. “I’ll just figure out what those turn-by-turn paths are and will likely pivot to that for the season so that I can still loop.” Regardless, Balthrop Mendoza acknowledged that she won’t let this particular route change or one related to birds learning to fly keep her from running at a place she has enjoyed for many years. “I think a nice and easy detour to reroute away from the eaglets will be to take the ‘high’ path up by the Stone Tables to Dreyfuss Point,” she said. “That’s one reason I love the lake—there’s always a good route, no matter if you really want to take it or not.” For Hart, the closed portion of the lake path will take away some of his safety, though he is willing to endure the risks to keep pursuing his goals and passions. “Well, I’ll probably have to risk my life and ride on more sketchy routes when the White Rock loop is closed during construction,” he said. “However, this temporary disruption reminds me of the quote from Napoleon Hill: ‘Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.’ The training must continue, but it will have to be elsewhere.” And while this sinkhole-related closure creates inconveniences and disgruntled feelings for many individuals in the local community, and the Dallas Water Utilities, Parks and Recreation, and Transportation and Public Works departments are working to ensure efficient coordination and the safety of the public throughout this temporary process (though they did not reply to requests for comment on this matter). Balthrop Mendoza said as much as she may not always like it or want to do so, she must be able to pivot in certain situations in both her personal and professional life. “Being willing and giving yourself grace when things need to change can actually be uplifting in and of itself,” she said. “Because you did it—the training, the work, the parenting—anyway.” Gonzalez also noted that it’s a crucial practice to be able to adapt when faced with such unforeseen plot twists as the upcoming closure. “As marathon runners, we’re accustomed to unexpected circumstances, such as varying weather conditions on race day,” he said. “Runners must adjust to these changes and conditions.” Like Balthrop Mendoza and Gonzalez, Hart said he believes that it’s important for individuals to be able to be flexible and willing to adjust their schedules and plans when presented with various changes and obstacles life often presents. “Mike Tyson once said ‘everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face,’” he said. “Well, the White Rock closure just sucker punched all Dallas runners, cyclists, and even those weird guys riding one-wheeled motorized skateboards. But we must adapt, find new routes, and continue to feed our chronic training addictions.” |
DID YOU KNOW?
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There are currently more than 800 episodes in 37 seasons of The Simpsons, which is the longest-running American scripted primetime television series in history. |
TATTOOS ARE OFTEN MORE THAN MERE BODY DECORATIONS
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Art can be expressed in a variety of ways—including in the form of permanent images and/or words on one’s body. This weekend, Dallas Market Hall will host more than 500 booths with world-class tattoo artists at the Sinners Tattoo Expo Friday through Sunday. The event will include entertainment and competitions and will allow vendors to showcase their talents and tattoo enthusiasts and other members of the general public to meet the artists and potentially walk away with new ink or ideas of what they eventually want. Tattoos are more common than they were in the days of yore, with nearly one-third of U.S. adults having at least one tattoo. Dallas resident Eli Rodriguez said he currently has 14 tattoos, the first of which he got was when he was 18 years old. Some of the art on his body certainly carries special meaning behind it. “My most recent tattoos reference my Mexican heritage and my guardian angel,” he said. “I’m a first-generation Mexican American.” Dallas-area resident Kyle Burnett’s total number of tattoos has a little more ambiguity, though he said he supposes that he technically has five. However, he now equates his amount of body art with time spent on the table, which he estimates is close to 40 hours, beginning in his teenage years. “I was 18 years old getting what, at the time, I thought was a really badass tattoo—a tribal Godsmack sun on my waist,” he said. Burnett, who describes himself as an introvert, said his tattoos definitely serve as forms of expression that include significant individuals and roles in his life. “My thigh piece is a tribute to my father, who was the most influential person in my life,” he said. “My side piece is an accountability piece to myself as a father to boys.” Dallas-area resident Katy Flynn has nine tattoos right now but has an appointment for a 10th this Friday. Her initial tattoo journey began when she was with her sister in her late 20s. “We got matching cupcake tattoos, which we now call the family crest,” she said. Like Burnett, Flynn said all of her tattoos carry significant meanings with them. “Either they were done during pivotal moments of change in my life, representing a new beginning and outlook for myself, or done in memory of someone,” she said.
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Flynn acknowledged that tattoos are a form of personal art and can hold different significance to different people, and the reasons people choose to get tattoos aren’t necessarily the same, either. “Whether it’s random or, in my case, signifying a new beginning, they all have meanings behind them—whether big or small,” she said. “The way artists these days can make tattoos look so real is astounding, and a lot of it ends up being free-form and not from stencils, which is incredibly impressive when your canvas is skin.” As tattoos have become more commonplace on individuals of all different types of personalities and walks of life, Burnett said he has noticed that people don’t seem to have nearly as many disapproving perceptions of tattoos as they did in the past. “I think they have become a norm in society rather than a negative stigma,” he said. It’s also not as common for individuals to make concerted efforts to conceal their tattoos in certain situations and environments. One recent survey found that most respondents (60 percent) with tattoos indicated that their body art is visible to the public most of the time. Of those with visible tattoos, 24 percent said they have purposefully covered their tattoos for job interviews, 17 percent have done so while at work, and 11 percent have hidden their tattoos while attending a work event. However, a majority (64 percent) of respondents with visible tattoos said they have never covered them. Rodriguez noted that although many individuals used to think only “thugs” and those in lower demographics proudly displayed tattoos, he does not believe that is the case any longer. “I have my tattoos visible in senior leadership meetings at work, and I’m not treated any differently,” he said. Like Rodriguez, Flynn said she thinks that, in the past (and sometimes still today), tattoos were often affiliated with gangs or criminals, and individuals viewed them as dangerous or somewhat “trashy,” but she believes that it’s unwise to make up one’s mind about another person so quickly. “Before you judge, there could be a story behind why someone chose to permanently put something on their body,” she said. “This is a decision I do not take lightly and would never take back the countless hours and dollars I have spent on putting meaningful art on my body.” WEEKLY PHOTO OP     .jpg)  Big Berkley's fans |
| Upcoming Events |
Monday, June 8: Mumford & Sons at Dickies Arena; Free Cult Classic Movie Monday — The Big Lebowski at Sundown at Granada |