The top 10 stories of 2010 in Carrollton

The follow stories were selected as the top 10 stories in Carrollton over the past year. Stories have been edited for space.

1)

Carrollton to receive first hotel, bans K2

In September the city council made several big decisions

At the top of the list was the city council banning K2 and Salvia from being sold and used within city limits. The ban was unanimously approved by the city council.

“There wasn’t much to talk about when banning that in our city,” Mayor Ron Branson said. “We don’t need anything like that in our city. Once we became aware of it in Carrollton, it did not take long for us to get this to council and ban it in our city limits.”

K2 is typically sold in head shops and is sold as incense, but said to mimic the effects of marijuana when smoked. Neighboring cities such as Allen, Plano and Frisco have also banned K2 in their city limits.

The city is also now in position to bring in its first hotel. Branson has wanted to bring a first class hotel to Carrollton for some time and now the time has come.

“Over and over again we have heard our citizens say they want a hotel in our city,” Branson said. “We are tired of seeing people who want to come to Carrollton have to stay in Lewisville because we do not have any hotels.”

The city reached an agreement with Lowen Holdings to develop a hotel and convention center. The location of the hotel will be on Raiford Road directly behind the Wal-Mart and Lowe’s that is located just off of Trinity Mills Road and the George Bush Turnpike.

The proposal is set to build three hotels with the first hotel holding 135-160 rooms and approximately 15,000 square feet for convention space. Construction on the second hotel would commence after the first hotel has achieved 65 percent occupancy on trailing 12 months. The second hotel would hold 110-120 rooms. Finally the third hotel would be built after the second hotel achieved 65 percent occupancy on trailing 12 months, and would hold 90-110 rooms.

The estimated total development cost will be between $45-50 million and the hotels will provide employment for 90-135 people.

“It almost takes your breath away,” Branson said. “With the DART station coming in and a hotel, Carrollton really has a lot of great things going on right now.”

The first hotel and convention center is estimated to be completed in 2012-2013.

For the full story click here: http://www.scntx.com/articles/2010/09/15/carrollton_leader/news/37.txt

2)

DART rail to begin running Dec. 6

The city of Carrollton waited almost 20 years to bring a DART rail to the city. On Dec. 6 it became a reality.

Three new rail stations opened Dec. 6 to paying customers. The locations of the stations are in Old Downtown Carrollton, Trinity Mills and North Carrollton/Frankford.

“I think we are all extremely happy and we have been for waiting for a long time for this to happen,” said Peter Braster, transit-oriented development manager for Carrollton.

Braster said this is just the first phase of the rail in Carrollton. In the near future the rail looks to expand to more areas across the Metroplex.

“Next year the rail will continue to run north towards Denton. Once that is complete you can ride the DART rail to almost anywhere in Dallas,” Braster said.

For the full story click here: http://www.scntx.com/articles/2010/12/30/carrollton_leader/news/171.txt

3)

Carrollton celebrates first ever Festival at the Switchyard

On Oct. 22 and 23 6,000 people showed up to the festival that was held at the square in Old Downtown Carrollton. The entire square was sectioned off and featured vendors selling food, arts and crafts, games for kids and a stage that hosted an array of music acts over the two day event.

“I think the festival was great, everything went really well,” Mayor Ron Branson said. “My grandchildren loved the music that was played, and I think people really enjoyed themselves.”

The festival honored the role that the railroad played in the city’s history. The railroad tracks, located just north of the square, helped put Carrollton and the Peters Colony settlement on the map more than a century ago.

A big factor in bringing the festival to life was city councilmember Matthew Marchant, who said that he would always go the Carrollton Country Fair growing up and he wanted to build on that tradition.

“I think the festival is a great way to jump start a new big event at the Carrollton square,” Marchant said. “All of the things we have going on from the kid games to the bands have been focused to attract all ages. We want this to become a yearly event that people look forward to coming to.”

The festival brought out some big name bands, all of them having a connection to the Dallas area. The headliners for the event were The Polyphonic Spree, The Old 97s and Robert Earl Keen.

“It was a collaborative effort to bring these different bands in,” city councilmember Terry Simons said. “We wanted bands that are still making new music, had some Dallas roots and would appeal to a variety of people. I personally wanted Robert Earl Keen to come play, and I am glad he is here.”

In addition to the main acts, the city had a variety of musical acts throughout both days including a Battle of the Bands competition. The winning band, Ben Higginbotham, walked away with a $1,000 and an automatic spot at next year’s festival.

On Oct. 23, festival goers did have to deal with rain throughout the day, and the city had to move the musical acts into the theater until the weather cleared up.

“We had a lot of people that stayed while it was raining and had a great time,” said Sheri Chadwick, Carrollton marketing director. “After 5 p.m., we brought the acts back outside and everything stayed on schedule. It was a minor issue, but everyone still enjoyed themselves.”

Every city councilmember considered the festival a success and hope that residents enjoyed themselves.

“We want to build tradition here in Carrollton,” Marchant said. “Hopefully, this festival will be a big part of that.”

For the full story click here: http://www.scntx.com/articles/2010/10/27/carrollton_leader/news/13.txt

4)

Mayor O’Hare gives reason for wanting FB ISD

Farmers Branch Mayor Tim O’Hare made headlines in December over wanting to break away from Carrollton Farmers Branch ISD and Dallas ISD and form the city’s own school district. Controversy ensued, with many people dissagreeing. Still, the Mayor is optimistic looking toward the future.

O’Hare said has many reasons for wanting to form FB ISD, and his reasons are not what many believe them to be. Discussion about forming FB ISD began to gain speed after a C-FB ISD school board meeting earlier this month where the discussion centered around whether it was a good idea to have members of the League of United Latin American Citizens mentor students.

The following Tuesday, the city of Farmers Branch called an executive session to discuss the possiblity of forming its own district. While many felt this was a reaction to LULAC in C-FB ISD schools, the mayor said it was not a response.

“I think that is ridiculious. I would never say lets do this as a knee jerk to that,” O’Hare said. “I brought it up to start a dialogue, but I thought this would be a long range process that would take a couple of years. I did not expect for Farmers Branch to have a district by next week.”

One of the reasons O’Hare wishes to form FB ISD is that he feels a one school district will unite the community and bring more invovlment to the school and students.

“Our kids are spread out over multiple schools. There is no community involvement for a high school in Farmers Branch,” O’Hare said. “I don’t think many people would argue against this, one high school towns create more spirit, bring communities together and more volunteers in those set ups.”

Currently, 75 percent of students who live in Farmers Branch go to C-FB ISD schools, while the other 25 percent go to DISD schools. O’Hare said he has looked at statistics and he cannot find another city the size of Farmers Branch, around 31,300 people, that does not have a high school within its city limits. In addition, he said property values of homes would increase if the city had its own district.

“We are a severe afterthought to DISD. With C-FB ISD, they have to deal with residents and leaders in multiple cities. There are competing interests and they are not always one and the same. DISD doesn’t care about property values in Farmers Branch, but the way the system is set up they don’t have to,” O’Hare said. “Real estate agents say the perception of Farmers Branch is a great community, but the school systems that the kids feed into are questionable. Is that based on fact? Who knows, but that is the perception and perception is everything.”

Another issue the mayor has with C-FB ISD is the new grading system the district is looking to implement. The system will put more weight on summative grades, test, projects and essays, rather than formative grades, daily work and homework.

“The new proposed grading changes are ridiculous and mind boggling,” O’Hare said. “I have spoken to almost 200 people and cannot find one who is supporting this. This is another example of extreme liberalism run amuck in our public school system.”

The odds are stacked against Farmers Branch to form its own district under state law. Both C-FB ISD and DISD have said they do not support FB ISD. In order to form its own district, Farmers Branch would have to have 10 percent of registered voters sign a petition to force an election without the approval of either school board.

From there, 25 percent of registered voters from both districts would have to be in favor of allowing detachment. O’Hare feels that if an election takes place it would pass with ease.

“I think we could get enough signatures for a petition on a Saturday,” O’Hare said. “I would love that to be on ballot in November 2012 and I think it would pass with flying colors.”

O’Hare said he is trying to do what is best for the city and residents.

“At the end of the day, it is my responsibility as mayor is to make sure Farmers Branch the best it can be,” O’Hare said. “After years of research and talking to parents, teachers and others, everyone said your city will be better if it has its own school district. They are difficulties getting there, but they can be overcome to make Famers Branch a better city.”

For the full story click here: http://www.scntx.com/articles/2010/12/30/carrollton_leader/news/160.txt

5)

Local boy is ‘The Last Airbender’

Noah Ringer was a shy boy who began taking taekwondo classes in Carrollton. Three years later he is the star of M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film “The Last Airbender.”

“The Last Airbender” has grossed more than $318 million worldwide since its release on July 2. The story focuses on a young boy named Aang who can control the four main elements of life: fire, water, air and earth. It is up to Aang to defeat the evil Fire Lord, Ozai, and restore peace to the world.

However, this story begins long before the opening movie titles. This story focuses on Ringer and his journey to stardom.

Growing up in Farmers Branch, Ringer was homeschooled but his mother wanted to get him involved in activities outside the home. She enrolled Ringer at the ATA Martial Arts in Carrollton.

“Noah came in when he was 10 years old,” said Eric Pechacek, master candidate taekwondo instructor, owner of the ATA Martial Arts in Carrollton and Ringer’s teacher. “He was very hesitant at first, and as I began to teach him I found out that he had a lot of natural talent.”

As time went on, Pechacek began to see more promise in Ringer’s skills and abilities. Pechacek believed Ringer would do well in tournaments and wanted him to begin competing.

“His first tournament was the world championships, a big tournament in Arkansas,” Pechacek said. “He competed in multiple categories and took home first place in all of them.”

During that same tournament, Pechacek said Ringer took notice of the “extreme competition,” a part of the tournament where competitors create their own routine and style that can include flips and weapons.

“Over a two-year period, he received 100 medals at the 25 tournaments he went to. Eighty of those medals were first place, but the best part was he never let any of the success go to his head.”

Then one day, Pechacek’s friend encouraged him to watch a cartoon, “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” a Japanese anime cartoon that is shown on Nickelodeon.

“When he first told me about the show I had no interest at all,” Pechacek said. “I rented a video, and I actually liked it. The main character in the show looked just like Noah. I showed it to Noah and he fell in love with it as well.”

Pechacek said every time a new episode would come out it would be a race between him and Noah to buy it and watch it. On one of the DVD’s bonus features was an interview with director M. Night Shyamalan talking about the motion picture adaptation.

Pechacek said he and Ringer would joke about Ringer becoming The Last Airbender, but never actually believing it could become a reality. Later that year in July 2008, Pechacek received an e-mail from Paramount pictures having an open casting call looking for the lead character of “Aang.”

“The e-mail asked for him to send a video with the person reading a few lines and then showing off some of your moves,” Pechacek said. “As soon as I received the e-mail I told the Ringers that Noah needs to try for this. There is a 99 percent chance that nothing will happen but we should give it a shot.”

Pechacek said Ringer performed a routine that he used during his “extreme competitions,” and sent the tape off not thinking much would come of it.

In November 2008, Ringer received a call back from a casting director wanting him to come in for an interview. According to Pechacek, of the 2,000 applicants only 16 were called in for interviews.

Ringer and his family flew to Philadelphia for the interview. According to Pechacek, Ringer went into a closed session while his parents waited outside. He came out and sat back down, and noticed that half of the call backs left.

Ringer was called back in once again, and everyone left except for Ringer and one other boy. Pechacek said that Ringer was told to assume that he did not get the role and continue on with your everyday life.

In December 2008, the Ringers asked if Pechacek and his wife would like to have dinner together. Pechacek said he knew something was going on when the Ringer’s invited them over.

“Noah asked me if he could talk to me, he said he had something to tell me,” Pechacek said. “I was thinking he was going to leave the school, I assumed the worst. Instead, Noah looked at me and said ‘I am The Last Airbender,’” said Pechacek.

According to Pechacek, when Ringer has time, he is a regular 13-year-old boy. However, his performance has caught the eye of Iron Man director Jon Favreau. Ringer was offered another role and is currently in New Mexico shooting the movie “Cowboys and Aliens” which co-stars Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde and Sam Rockwell.

Once the shooting of “Cowboys and Aliens” concludes in September, the master hopes his student will once again return to class.

“Our entire school is so proud of him. I am so proud of him,” Pechacek said. “I have had the joy of getting to hang out with him and know him. I wish him and his family nothing but the best.”

For the full story click here: http://www.scntx.com/articles/2010/07/14/carrollton_leader/news/80.txt

6)

McKinney’s assistant police chief hired as Carrollton’s police chief

One of McKinney’s highest-ranking law enforcement officers was hired by the city of Carrollton as its new police chief in April.

Rex Redden replaced by Police Chief David James, who retired on Jan. 15.

“I am very excited and honored and very humbled for this opportunity; every young police officer dreams they can be a police chief,” said Redden. “It doesn’t always work out for everyone, but things fell in place for me; this is the pinnacle of my career.”

It has been a long road for Redden to get to where he is today. He has had multiple jobs throughout many police departments in the state. According to Redden, each stop has prepared him to become chief in Carrollton.

“I started my career in Dallas in 1989, working nights mostly. I also helped out on a violent-crime task force, and I would move around to high-crime areas,” said the new chief. “In 1993, I worked for the Collin County Sheriff’s Office; I got on the narcotics unit and was involved with SWAT and tactical squads. It was a big change, but it gave me a lot of opportunities and expanded my horizons.”

In early 2000, Redden felt it was time for another change. At that time, the city of McKinney was beginning to rapidly expand. Redden and a few of his fellow officers decided to go work for the McKinney Police Department – a decision that Redden says was the best move of his career.

“I became an administrative sergeant for two or three years. I got the experience to develop my administrative skills and found out I had a knack for it,” said Redden. “Then in 2004, I was promoted to assistant chief. Being assistant chief for six years has really broadened my skills and helped me to become a good chief. I hope to bring the experience and lessons I have learned to Carrollton.”

Redden said he was chosen out of a pool of 47 applicants that city officials whittled down to five; officials chose him for the position out of those remaining applicants during an “assessment” period.

“His personality, his approach to managing a police department, was something that we were looking for,” said Leonard Martin, Carrollton city manager. “He is known in the business as a ‘cop’s cop.’”

Other police chiefs and officers from across the nation applied for the chief position. According to Martin, there were applicants who applied from California and Florida; however, Martin knew that Redden would be the right man to take the police department to the next level.

“He gets the opportunity to come into an outstanding department,” said Martin. “He has great people in the department already, and I think once he gets a grasp on the structure and understands the people we already have in the department, he will be able to do some great things for us.”

Redden’s first day as chief will be April 19.

“I will tell the people the same thing I told city council. They have my pledge; I will continue to work hard to make Carrollton a safe place for residents and visitors,” said Redden. “This police department is already very professional, and I want to be able to come in and make the Carrollton Police Department one of the top agencies in the country. When other police departments think of great departments, I want Carrollton to come to mind.”

For the full story click here: http://www.scntx.com/articles/2010/04/14/carrollton_leader/news/46.txt

7)

Three school board seats were up for election in May

This year Places 5, 6 and 7 were up for re-election. After the votes were counted, all three incumbents retained their seats on the school board.

Lynn Chaffin collected 57.31 percent of the vote to beat out Susie Perez and Bob Mora for Place 5 on the board. Chaffin has been on the board for the past 12 years and says she is happy that she has been re-elected for another term.

“I was pleased, of course,” said Chaffin. “I was also relieved that I did not have to face anyone in a runoff.”

According to Chaffin, she plans to keep her focus on the main goal: student achievement.

“The most critical person to a student is the teacher,” said Chaffin. “I want to make sure that the district has the best possible teachers and that we provide them with the support they need.”

Place 6 on the school board will once again be held by Frank Shor, who collected 50.57 percent of the vote. When asked about how he felt when he won the election, Shor had a straight-to-the-point answer.

“I felt good,” he said.

Shor said he will continue to look for ways to improve the district and will try to implement a few ideas that he feels can benefit students.

“I will try to get a foreign language other than Spanish in the elementary schools, grades kindergarten through second,” said Shor. “We are on an annual budget so we might not be able to afford that, but I would like to try.”

Finally, Nancy Watten beat out Mike Sheaffer for Place 7 on the board. Watten won with 68.8 percent of the vote.

“I was very pleased to know that I won. I still have many areas that I still want to continue working on in the district,” said Watten. “I am also very excited that Lynn and Frank both won as well. I am glad voters had confidence in us.”

Watten has been involved with multiple programs within the district. According to Watten, she hopes to continue those programs to help further improve the district.

“I will continue to work on the community technology programs we have going on and also helping with teen pregnancies in our school,” Watten said. “Also, I want to help look into children with diabetes and obesity. I want to figure out ways to lower those numbers.”

In recent months, the school board has faced criticism by many members within the district. However, all three election winners felt that even though the faces have not changed on the school board, things will begin to turn around and flow better than they have in the past.

“I believe that all board members have the best interest of the district at heart, so I believe that relationships improve,” said Chaffin. “There is always a period of adjustment when new members come on the board, but this board is past that now. I am confident that our board members will work for the good of the district.”

Shor and Watten both agreed.

“I hope what will occur is that everybody on the board will continue to strive to make the district the best it can be,” said Shor. “We have had over a year of transition, new faces with new roles. I am optimistic that the board will continue in a positive direction.”

“This was a message from the community that they approve of what we are doing,” said Watten. “We need to keep constant focus on the development of our kids.”

For the story click here: http://www.scntx.com/articles/2010/05/12/carrollton_leader/news/29.txt

8)

Reconnecting can lead to connection in case

A 1988 missing persons’ case involving two popular Carrollton girls is drawing new attention because of modern technology.

On March 19, 1988, Stacie Madison and Susan Smalley were two normal girls who attended Newman Smith High School just months away from graduation. However, after that night, the city of Carrollton was changed forever.

That evening, Madison and Smalley traveled to many locations across the Metroplex. According to police, the girls went to the mall, then to a friends party in Arlington and then to a Steak and Ale restaurant in Addison where Smalley worked.

“It is hard to know exactly every spot they stopped at that night. If this were to happen today we would have been able to pin locations using cells phones and other technology,” said Sgt. Joel Payne, lead detective on the case. “We talked to people at the party that took place in Arlington and found nothing there.”

Payne said that once the girls left the restaurant their whereabouts and location are unknown. He said the next day phone calls were made by both Madison and Smalley’s parents but the police were not notified.

“This was Carrollton in 1988, bad things did not happen in this city,” Payne said. “Both girls were very responsible, so the red flags of something horribly wrong did not go off in either household.”

Madison’s car, a 1967 Ford Mustang, was found in the parking lot of the El Fenix restaurant at the intersection of Webb Chapel and Forrest Lane.

According to Payne, in 1988 Forrest Lane was a very popular place for people to drive around and hang out. He said once people became aware of the situation, leads began to come in from everywhere.

That summer, an ex-boyfriend of one of the girls admitted to his new girlfriend that he was involved in the disappearance of the girls. According to Payne, that lead was looked into but nothing conclusive was found.

As time went on, the months and years passed and the case became cold. Payne said while leads are continually worked, there is not enough evidence to figure out what actually took place.

Interest in the case was renewed when Carrollton resident Shawn Sutherland wrote the book “This Night Wounds Time: The Mysterious Disappearance of Stacie Madison and Susan Smalley,” telling the girls story.

Payne said that the book did not provide any new evidence on that night, but it did make him think differently about how the night progressed.

“In talking to the author and looking back over everything I began to make different connections that were not there before,” Payne said. “I began to start the whole investigation from scratch. I pulled in some of the original witnesses and began to verify things.”

According to Payne, he was amazed at the memory that many people still had of that night.

“The disappearance of these girls is a benchmark for an entire generation of Carrollton residents,” Payne said. “People know where they were and what they were doing. They are connected to that moment in time.”

Payne said because so many people from Carrollton are connected to that moment in time, the conversation about the girls disappearance has never gone away. He said new forms of communication such as social networking has helped police bring in new witnesses to gather information about the girls.

“Facebook groups are huge,” Payne said. “There is a Facebook group about these girls and people post information about them all the time. We are able to contact them and make connections.”

Payne said that individuals who were friends with Madison and Smalley are now adults with children who are 17 or 18 years old, and they do not want another incident like this to occur.

“People are coming forward now and talking more openly about details that night,” Payne said. “Back in 1988, someone we questioned might not have said something because they did not want there friend to get in trouble with their parents, or get themselves in trouble.”

Payne said the culmination of technology and friends of Madison and Smalley now having children of their own are sparking interest in this case once again.

For the full story click here: http://carrolltonleader.com/articles/2010/12/30/carrollton_leader/news/183.txt

9)

Students get blindsided by Hollywood

R.L. Turner High School had a couple of visitors come to speak to students in October. However, these were not your everyday speakers, these were Hollywood actors.

Students gathered in the auditorium to welcome actors Eric Martinez and Quinton Aaron to the stage. Martinez plays the role of “Falani” on the ABC television show “Scoundrels.” He has also been featured in the movie “Gamer” that co-stars Gerard Butler. Aaron is known for his role as “Michael Oher” in the hit movie “The Blind Side” that co-stars actress Sandra Bullock.

“It was a great honor to have Quinton and Eric come to our school and speak to our kids,” said Georgeanne Warnock, principal at R.L. Turner. “They are really able to influence the kids and inspire them.”

Aaron and Martinez were at the school on behalf of the Confidence Music Group, a tutoring and mentoring program that helps students excel in music and academics.

“This is a great school, and being given the opportunity to come and speak to these kids is always a great experience,” Martinez said. “As an entertainer it is our responsibility to help kids, because we have a voice to spread positivity.”

Martinez took the stage first to speak to students. He spoke about his life growing up in a single-parent home and the difficulties that came with trying to break into the entertainment industry. Martinez made a point to make sure students knew the importance of education and going to college, while also never giving up on your dreams.

“I knew I always wanted to be an entertainer,” he said to the crowd. “I did not go to college at first, but I did go back and get a degree in marketing. I know that my dream can be over tomorrow, but I always want to be prepared and have something to fall back on.”

Martinez spoke for a few minutes before opening the floor up for students to ask questions. Some asked what is next for him in his acting career, while others asked him for advice on how to overcome adversity.

After answering a few questions Martinez welcomed Aaron to the stage. The actor was welcomed with a huge ovation from the crowd as they chanted “Big Mike,” the character he portrayed in “The Blind Side.”

The 6-foot-8-inch Aaron spoke to the crowd about his childhood. His mother was an author and was the one who got him involved in singing and acting. A few years ago, Aaron’s mother passed away. He then had to provide for his little brother and was close to being homeless prior to receiving a call that would change his life.

“I was at the NBC studios where they shoot the show ‘30 Rock.’ I was looking down the hallway at Tina Fey when my phone rang,” Aaron said. “I picked it up and they told me that I got the role for ‘The Blind Side.’”

Aaron also opened the floor for questions. When one student raised his hand to ask a question the crowd erupted. Turner student Stephen “Tank” Atkinson, who is also big in stature, had a question for Aaron. The actor invited the student on stage where they compared hand and height size.

Aaron had found out prior to coming on stage that Atkinson could sing, and the two sang for the audience. After the show, both Martinez and Aaron signed autographs and took pictures with students.

“I love coming to schools and talking to the kids. I can still remember what it was like to be in high school so to be able to talk to them is great,” Aaron said. “If I can tell kids my story and they can relate to what I went through, then maybe I can get them through a tough time in their life. That is what it is all about.”

For the full story click here: http://www.scntx.com/articles/2010/11/04/carrollton_leader/news/184.txt

10)

Local Resident turns 100

The average life expectancy in America today is 78 years. For someone to live to 100 is rare; to spend all that time in one place is even rarer.

Walter Berndt turned 100 this year. If that is not impressive enough, Berndt has spent his entire life living in Carrollton.

“I was born on March 4, 1910. When I first came here there was nothing but dirt roads all over Carrollton,” said Berndt, sitting in his recliner slowly rocking back and forth. “It was nothing but dirt roads from here all the way to Dallas.”

Berndt lives on Polser Road just off Standridge Road. His house is located next to those in the Castle Hills neighborhood. However, to get to Berndt’s house you must travel down a gravel road to a house Berndt has spent many years in.

Berndt was a farmer; he owned close to 100 acres of land. In 1986, he sold some of the land which has now become the Carrollton Church of the Nazarene and Polser Elementary School.

“My wife was mad because they didn’t name the school Berndt Elementary, since it was my land before,” Berndt said with a chuckle.

When Berndt was younger he farmed his land and the land of others. He grew wheat and other items, but Berndt’s biggest earning crop was eggs. On Saturdays he would take his eggs down to the farmers market in Dallas and sell those eggs and use the earnings to buy other crops to grow. Berndt had his egg route for more than 50 years.

Berndt’s family has grown through the years. He has had three children, two girls and a boy with his wife Annie Lou, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. One of Berndt’s grandchildren, Michael Averett, knows how fortunate he is to still have his grandfather in his life.

“I think it is wonderful; you don’t realize how fortunate you really are,” said Averett. “There are so many people you meet who never even got to know their grandparents.”

In addition, Berndt’s great grandchild and Averett’s son, Chad, knows he is extremely fortunate to have a great-grandfather

“All of my friends don’t even know their grandparents, and I get the privilege to know my great-grandfather,” said the great-grandchild, looking at his Pa-Pa. “It adds another level to it, the stories you get to hear and the things you learn are great.”

For the full story click here: http://www.scntx.com/articles/2010/03/10/carrollton_leader/news/65.txt

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