By OLIVER SALT

Published: 05:08 GMT, 19 December 2024 | Updated: 05:22 GMT, 19 December 2024

The City of Dallas city plans to make long-overdue investments near Forest Lane and Audelia Road, aiming to revitalize the area and address residents’ frustrations with ongoing crime.

When Tena Faye looks out over the broken concrete parking lot that now makes up a large portion of what’s left of the Forest Audelia Village strip center, she sees progress.

“People will want to come back and live here again,” Faye said.

Faye, a self-described Midwestern transplant who moved to Dallas a decade ago, says she has seen a subtle change in the area around Forest Lane and Audelia Road in far Northeast Dallas.

The corridor around Forest and Audelia has long suffered from a lack of connectivity with areas south of Interstate 635, instead crowded with several multi-family housing complexes, isolated from amenities like a library or a park.

It has remained one of Dallas’ most dangerous areas for more than a decade, plagued by a variety of property and sometimes violent crime.

Faye said Wednesday she expects the pace of change to pick up with the groundbreaking of a new 1-acre park that will take shape in what is now a parking lot.

“This is really for the kids,” Faye said. “What we give them now will determine where they go later.”

Dallas Park and Recreation director John Jenkins says the park will feature a playground, spray grounds, and what he calls a grand lawn.

“They’re going to appreciate that the city has stepped in and going to create a positive experience in this entire complex for them,” Jenkins said.

Additionally, the park completion late next year or early 2026, will serve as the springboard for redeveloping part of a now city-owned building into a community center.

“We’re going to see kids playing, families playing,” Jenkins said. “We won’t see the negative element that was out here before.”

District 10 council member Kathy Stewart, whose district encompasses parts of Lake Highlands and Northeast Dallas, says while small in size, the park will have an outsized impact.

“This says we do care about what happens at Forest and Audelia,” Stewart said. “We’re not going to be just about enforcement, we’re also going to be about improving the quality of life.”

The Dallas Cowboys on Sunday did their best impression of their glory days with hard-nosed football, dominating the run game alongside a stifling defense.

The Cowboys convincingly defeated the Carolina Panthers 30-14, showcasing multiple standout performances on both offense and defense.

Here are the Cowboys’ players whose stock rose or fell after the Cowboys’ win.

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Jake Ferguson has quickly become a fan favorite in Dallas, and after receiving Pro Bowl honors, many were expecting a breakout year from him.

However, Ferguson has dealt with injuries and has failed to make a significant impact. On Sunday, Ferguson had two catches for 23 yards on four targets. His numbers aren’t too discouraging, considering the Cowboys didn’t need to pass the ball much.

However, when Ferguson has missed time this season, both Luke Schoonmaker and Brevyn Spann-Ford have performed exceptionally well, raising doubts about Ferguson’s future role with the team.

This raises questions about whether Ferguson will remain a key piece moving forward and whether he will sign a second contract in Dallas.

For the second straight game, Jonathan Mingo failed to register a catch. On Sunday, Mingo saw limited playing time and did not receive a single target.

While the Cowboys’ wide receiver group has shown overall improvement as the season has progressed, Mingo has seemingly regressed.

It is particularly surprising that he failed to receive any targets, considering the Cowboys traded a fourth-round pick for him before the trade deadline to bolster their wide receiver corps ahead of the offseason.

In a game where the Cowboys’ defense absolutely dominated, Oruwariye was constantly targeted and was the only Cowboys defensive back to allow a receiving touchdown—an 83-yard pass at the end of the second half.

Oruwariye finished with three solo tackles and zero pass deflections, making him undoubtedly the weak link in an otherwise formidable defensive performance.

Rico Dowdle has improved each week this season, which is exactly what the Cowboys need from their starting running back. Since Dowdle took over as the full-time running back, the Cowboys have had their best run-game since Ezekiel Elliott’s early seasons in the league.

On Sunday, Dowdle had a career day with 25 carries for a career-high 149 yards, averaging six yards per carry. His performance helped the Cowboys surpass their previous season-high team rushing yards by 55 yards.

MORE: Rico Dowdle is the NFL’s best running back in the last 3 weeks

Osa Odighizuwa is having a career year in the final season of his rookie contract, adding to the list of star players the Cowboys will need to re-sign.

On Sunday, Odighizuwa recorded four total tackles, three solo tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, and four quarterback hits.

He has been one of the league’s best interior pass rushers and has continually increased his value as the season has progressed.

Outside of Rico Dowdle, CeeDee Lamb was the only Cowboys’ weapon to make a significant impact on Sunday. Lamb surpassed 100 yards receiving for just the second time this season, finishing with nine catches for 116 yards and a touchdown.

Lamb became just the second player in Cowboys history, alongside Michael Irvin, to achieve four straight seasons of 1,000 receiving yards. It is still early, but Lamb is currently well on pace for a Hall of Fame career.

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