Pictures from the Northwood Hills Fall Carnival.

When Todd and Sara Spraggins moved into their Highlands North home in 2001, they knew they had a fixer-upper. But now look at it.

On Friday, Northwood Hills Elementary held its annual fall carnival, featuring games, haunted houses, a hay ride and plenty of adorably costumed kids. Look for these photos in the November issue of the Far North Dallas Advocate.

You’d never have even suspected it driving by, but a couple of months ago, there were eight homeless people living in a pretty elaborate camp down by White Rock Creek off Belt Line and Alexis.

The North Central Police received an iWatch tip about it in August and provide the Advocate with the photos above. What is supposed to be a creek looked like a river of trash. The homeless people had stolen merchandise and picked up items left on curbs. They pitched tents and cooked on camping stoves. They had a framed picture hanging on a tree, and a full-length mirror where they apparently got ready in the morning. There was also evidence of crack and heroine use.

Neighborhood Police Officer Mark Lutz (you met him in our magazine’s “Know Your NPO” feature) helped lead the effort to break up the camp and clean up the area. It took about 10 days to locate each individual who was staying at the camp. And clean-up efforts are still ongoing.

“We still watch it every week,” Lutz says.

The police also brought in crisis prevention representatives to offer help to the homeless – they all refused it, Lutz says. In addition to general clean-up, the police also brought in a city arborist to help reconstruct the area and its native plants and make sure contamination doesn’t flow downstream into Valley View Park.

“This is an overall holistic approach with neighborhoods to solve problems, not just make an arrest.”

Pictures and happenings from around our neighborhood.

Galleria Dallas hosted Fashion’s Night Out Events Thursday night. Many shops offered discounts, plus sparkling wine or cocktails, and free advice from sylists.

The Fashionistas threw a party outside Sephora with complimentary splits of sparkling wine, plus a front-row view of the fashion show.

Photographer Nikki Cotten brought us this slideshow from that event.

Photos by Nikki Cotten

Pictures and happenings from around our neighborhood.

Yes, it’s cold and miserable this week. This weather is not all that fun for those who have appointments to keep. But, now that we actually have several inches of snow, it’s pretty darn beautiful. Here’s a short slideshow of what it looks like in my neck of the woods (from along Preston from Belt Line to Arapaho).

Send us your pictures or post them to the Facebook page. The kids should be building some awesome snowmen by now.

You’ve probably been watching the news all day to see when this winter weather will finally end. If you’re in my boat, you’re experience rolling blackouts and even icier roads than on Tuesday. Check out Rick Wamre’s post on the power outages.

Driving through the neighborhood, it appears that more businesses are open than I expected – Starbucks, Tom Thumb and CVS, of course, but also 12 Burgers and a nearby cleaners store.

The traffic lights at the intersection of Preston and Belt Line has only flashing red lights, so people have to take turns. Avoid driving up-hill – you will most likely won’t make it on these icy roads.

To the left is a photo of the Prestonwood Country Club on Arapaho between Preston and the Tollway, blanketed in snow. Send us your photos of the snow day or post them on our Facebook page.

News and photos from around Far North Dallas.

Bowie Elementary School had its Fall Festival Saturday, and Advocate A-Team member and Estates West resident Maria Munson was there to capture the action. Here’s a photo slideshow of the event:

The sky appears to be clearing now, but last night’s storms certainly took a toll on our neighborhood. Here’s a quick slideshow of storm damage in the Far North Dallas and Richardson neighborhoods. From what I can tell, the areas closest to Central Expressway were hardest hit. You can also see what kind of damage the storm caused over in East Dallas. And if you have any photos, feel free to email them to me.