Southwest
Texas community for special needs adults is a model for others: 'A joyful place'
“We all need more light today. We need more positivity. We need family and faith, hope and strength — that’s what these stories are all about.”
Those are the words of SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt, co-founders of the Godwinks brands and based in Massachusetts, who shared the following story with Fox News Digital.
The couple specialize in what they call “Godwinks” stories — and believe that the Lord works in mysterious ways.
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“Godwink is the new word of the language,” Rushnell told Fox News Digital. “It means an event that seems like a coincidence — but you know it comes from a divine origin.”
Read on to see what he means.
Nurtured by prayer & persistence
The Brookwood Community for Adults with Special Needs lies on 485 idyllic acres, a half-hour west of Houston, near the village of Brookshire, Texas.
Educators have traveled from all over the globe to learn how Brookwood has become a model of success.
From a low-altitude aircraft, one might mistake Brookwood for a small college campus. A chapel steeple rises from a gathering of charming brick buildings, connected by orderly walkways and rolling green lawns, to homes like those in gated residential areas.
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It may be difficult to imagine that the magnificent property of Brookwood Community grew from the seeds of tragedy — nurtured by the power of prayer and persistence.
The Brookwood story began with its tall and straight-speaking founder, Yvonne Streit, the mother of a severely brain-damaged daughter, Vicki.
Conventional wisdom told the mom that she’d better put her child away.
As a child, she could neither speak nor move.
Conventional wisdom told the mom that she’d better put her child away.
But “oh no, that was not for me,” said Streit.
She found experts who suggested that children with special needs could do many more things than people thought they could. And that, like everyone else, they “needed to be needed” and yearned to have a purpose.
Subsequently, after months and years of patient training, Streit taught her daughter how to grasp, lift and release an object in order to feed herself.
Years later, when Brookwood was started, the girl’s simple skill allowed her to grasp a potted seedling plant, lift it into a tray — and release it.
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To this day, Vicki Streit reportedly has repeated that process with over 15,000 plants in Brookwood’s horticultural enterprise.
So she’s significantly contributed to one of the largest annual crops of Christmas poinsettias in the state of Texas.
Like so many things in life that people start out to do — it often takes a good number of Godwinks to get there.
Yvonne Streit recalled that when her daughter approached the age of 18, it became clear to her that while many places were teaching special needs children, very few facilities were providing life-skills training for special needs adults.
That gave birth to Yvonne Streit’s dream of starting a place called Brookwood.
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Yet, like so many things in life that people start out to do, it often takes a good number of “Godwinks” to get there.
Carefully articulated plan
An undertaking like that needed to begin with a carefully articulated plan.
To create the blueprint for Brookwood Community, Yvonne Streit appeared before Rotary clubs, churches, and chambers of commerce — explaining to anyone standing still that she needed seed money for the necessary travel and study.
One night, her husband, Dave Streit, looked at his wife. Seeing the disappointment on her face, he asked how it went at Rotary that day.
She shook her head and sighed. “One more speech with no takers.”
In her bedtime prayers, she choked back tears, she said later.
“God, I know you placed this desire on my heart. And I was sure you had given me the ‘Go’ sign. But, did I misunderstand you?” she prayed. “Because I’m ready to throw in the towel.”
A man was standing there with an envelope. He said, “Here’s $10,000 for you to study the idea of Brookwood.”
The next morning, she got up and put on the face that many put on sometimes. On the outside, it signals to the world, “I’m good” — but it’s really hiding feelings of sadness, worry or fear that exist on the inside.
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When she got to the office, a man named Frank was standing there with an envelope. He said, “Here’s $10,000 for you to study the idea of Brookwood.”
She was flabbergasted.
Then a few minutes later, her assistant said someone had just called and was “sending over a check for $7,500.”
What?
Then, at 10 o’clock, St Luke’s Church phoned. The church was sending a check for $25,000 “to study Brookwood.”
And at 11 a.m., the Barrow Foundation called: “We’re sending you $30,000.”
Streit couldn’t believe it. She now felt a string of hope, all stemming from her heartfelt prayers of the night before.
It was $72,500 worth of Godwinks — and definitely giving her the “Go” sign.
Long into the future
Today, the Brookwood Community is home to more than 250 citizens.
Some individuals paint pottery in stone casting that is then displayed in the gift shop, which looks like it belongs in the pages of a home and garden magazine.
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Other citizens are servers or assistants in the kitchen at the Brookwood Café, a popular luncheon spot for the garden clubs of Houston.
Here, reservations are recommended.
After 24 years, Streit turned over the daily operations to her daughter, Vivian Shudde, herself the mother of a special needs child.
For the past 17 years, Shudde, with a degree in special education, has overseen an impressive expansion of the Brookwood campus, developed a succession plan and secured the evolution of the Brookwood Community philosophy long into the future.
“Our vision is to change the way the world thinks about adults with disabilities,” the community’s website notes.
Now, a new 20-minute docufilm produced by Crescent Moon Productions, “A Joyful Place – The Brookwood Community,” celebrates the culture of joy that springs from all those who visit the Brookwood campus.
For more details and history — including a view of the new film — anyone can check out the Brookwood Community’s website at www.brookwoodcommunity.org.
Several stories about Brookwood are included in “Godwink Christmas Stories,” a book by SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt, while Yvonne Streit’s book, coauthored by Jana Mullins, “Everybody’s Got A Seed to Grow,” describes Brookwood’s story.
Rushnell and DuArt are also working on a new book due out next year. Anyone can learn more about the Godwinks projects at www.godwinks.com.
Read the full article from Here
Southwest
Dallas Police Department Officer Darron Burks 'executed' in targeted attack, chief says
The Dallas Police Department provided an emotional update after Officer Darron Burks was shot and killed, saying that the former high school teacher was “executed” while in the line of duty.
In a press conference Friday, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said that the department had lost a “brother” and a “hero” following the shooting.
“As a department and as a family, we are devastated,” Garcia said. “Last night we lost a brother, a hero. Officer Darron Burks was a son, a nephew, a friend to many, and he was senselessly and tragically murdered in the line of duty.”
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The shooting, which happened around 10 p.m. Thursday night near the Oak Cliff Community Center, killed Burks and wounded two other officers. The suspected gunman, identified as 30-year-old Corey Cobb-Bey, was killed in a shootout with police after a highway chase.
“We came close to losing other officers,” Garcia said. “Officers who put their lives on the line to protect their brother, and it is by the grace of God that they are still with us today.”
The chief of police said that the officers were “targeted” by Cobb-Bey.
Our officers were targeted by nothing more than the uniforms that they wear.
“Our officers were targeted by nothing more than the uniforms that they wear and for the brave and honorable job that they do,” he said. “I want to be clear here, the word ambush has been thrown around in the last 24 hours. That is not what happened here. Officer Burks was executed.”
Garcia revealed that Cobb-Bey approached Burks and struck up a conversation, while recording the encounter on a cellphone, before pulling out a handgun and opening fire. Police said that they have no evidence that Burks and Cobb-Bey knew each other.
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“Cobb-Bey approached Burks and talked with him briefly at the driver’s side of the window as he recorded the encounter with a cellphone,” he said. “The suspect then pulled out a handgun and executed Officer Burks as he sat in his vehicle.”
Police said they got a 911 call about an officer in distress. Responding officers found Burks in his marked patrol vehicle critically injured.
At 10:11 p.m., Senior Corporal Jamie Farmer pulled into the parking lot after responding to a call for backup. Farmer was met with gunfire from Cobb-Bey. When Farmer returned fire, Cobb-Bey grabbed the shotgun and fired at Farmer, hitting him in the leg.
A minute later, Senior Corporal Karissa David arrived on the scene.
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The Cobb-Bey ran toward David, shooting at her multiple times while she exited her vehicle.
David was shot in the face, according to police.
The officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect, and two additional officers were shot.
The suspect was shot and killed at the end of a high-speed police chase on Interstate 35 from Dallas to Lewisville.
Burks was a former high school math teacher at the Texas Can Academy’s Pleasant Grove Campus, whose passion for helping his community led him to enroll in the police academy, FOX 4 reported, citing sources.
“Last year, Officer Burks bravely decided to leave the field of education to serve our city as a member of the Dallas Police Department. His commitment to serving others, both as a teacher and as a police officer, exemplified his dedication to making a positive impact on the lives of those around him,” wrote Tina Shaw, the principal at Texas Can Academy’s Pleasant Grove Campus.
One former student, Adrian Coleman, said that Burks mentored troubled youths.
“As a troubled youth, he made sure to instill knowledge and provide me with the tools I needed to graduate, to be a man out here in this world,” Coleman told the local outlet. “I am very thankful for him and the time he spent with me.”
A rookie police officer, Burks first entered the Dallas Police Academy last year.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Dallas Police Department for comment.
Read the full article from Here
Los Angeles, Ca
Driver runs across 101 Freeway after slamming into overturned sedan
A hit-and-run driver remains outstanding after they collided with an overturned vehicle on the 101 Freeway and fled on foot.
Preliminary information indicates that police had responded to the eastbound span of the 101 near Balboa Boulevard in Encino just before 3 a.m. Saturday on reports of an overturned red sedan blocking traffic.
As first responders arrived on scene, another vehicle – said to be a gray Nissan – barreled into the overturned sedan.
Footage obtained by KTLA shows the Nissan careening across the freeway before smashing into the right shoulder wall. That driver was taken to a nearby hospital in unknown condition.
The driver of the red sedan fled after the collision; they were seen on video making their way towards the shoulder on foot.
As of 6 a.m. Saturday, they had not been apprehended.
Los Angeles, Ca
San Bernardino County man arrested in child predator operation
Deputies arrested Guy Schneider, 63, of Yucaipa in an undercover child predator operation where he allegedly arranged to meet with a 13-year-old girl for sexual acts.
The 13-year-old girl was in fact an alias created by Perris Sheriff’s Station Special Enforcement Team deputies for this investigation. They received a response from Schneider ultimately expressing his desire to meet and perform sex acts, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies arranged to meet Schneider on Friday and took him into custody without incident. During his arrest, deputies found he also possessed two firearms.
Schneider was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center and is being held on a $1,000,000 bail.
The investigation team asks anyone with information about this case to contact Deputy Hartert at the Perris Sheriff’s Station: 951-210-1000.
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