Dean Highland Neighborhood Association

Category: Current Projects

  • “Voices from Dean Highland” spotlight: Jessica Shelby

    Hey Dean Highlanders,

    Please allow me to introduce Jessica Shelby, who resides on Homan Avenue.

    Jessica is a proud Dean Highland Dragon and has lived a beautiful life — filled with adventures and a love of history – in many parts of Texas and beyond. As you can see, she’s a big Star Wars fan.

    Jessica contributed to the “Voices from Dean Highland” project on July 11, 2026.

    Given that the neighborhood association’s stated goals are service, advocacy, and fellowship, please be sure to give Jessica a hearty greeting if you see her out and about at one of our service projects, advocacy efforts, or raucous quarterly meetings. If you would like to collaborate or fellowship with her, shoot me (Brandon Christensen) an email and I’ll try to introduce you.

    If you, or somebody you know and love, wants to participate in this project, shoot me (Brandon Christensen) an email and we’ll get started.

    You can read more about our “Voices from Dean Highland” project here. You (yes, you!) and your story are way more interesting and important than you think, and this project is something that your loved ones will appreciate long after you’re gone. Check out some other “Voices” spotlights here.

    The project is going well. In addition to capturing neighborhood stories from residents, I have started to make inroads with people who have worked in the neighborhood at some of our most important institutions: Hillcrest Hospital, Zion Hill Baptist Church, Waco Police Department, and Highland Baptist Church.

    Currently, I am collaborating with the good, God-fearing folks at Zion Hill, who are celebrating their 145th anniversary this year. Please, shoot me (Brandon Christensen) an email or text, and lets get your neighborhood stories told and archived for the generations to come.

    Thanks Jessica!!!

  • Another postponement / SAVE THE DATE

    Hi Dean Highlanders,

    We were supposed to do another cleanup for our Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative yesterday but, alas, it was too darn hot.

    We will absolutely be doing our first cleanup post-summer break on Saturday September 26th, and our friends from Baylor’s Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED) Honor Society will be joining us again!

    We are going to meet in the parking lot of Highland Baptist Church that’s next to the church’s new Wellness Center. Here it is on a map:

    We collaborated with AED this past spring, and had a blast. We’d love to see all neighborhood association members attend this time. The fun will start at 10am. Saturday, the 26th. If you have any questions, shoot us an email at deanhighlandwaco@gmail.com.

    Our next Quarterly Meeting, by the way, will be before the neighborhood cleanup, on Thursday, September 17th 24th, at 6pm. We are still trying to find a spot to hold it, since administrative functions at Dean Highland Elementary School, our traditional meeting spot, are in flux.

    Stay cool out there!

  • Tomorrow’s Conservancy Initiative service project

    has been cancelled. It’s way too hot to be outside doing good around the neighborhood.

    Be well, Dean Highlanders. Be well.

    To read more about our Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative, go here. To check out all the good times we’ve had serving others, click here.

    Don’t forget about our neighborhood oral history project, either. It’s turning into quite the gift. Tell us your neighborhood stories!

  • “Voices from Dean Highland” spotlight: Michael Long

    Hi Dean Highlanders,

    Allow me to introduce you to Michael Long, who comes to us from Fadal Avenue. He and his lovely wife, Edith, sat down with me on May 19th, 2026, although only Michael actually did the interview. Michael was a radio DJ for many years and is currently a filmmaker and podcast host. You can check out his podcast here.

    Michael has been interested in UFOs since his first sighting at the age of 12 in Ellisville, Mississippi. On the same date as Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker’s abduction in Pascagoula, Michael witnessed a huge orange ball float across his property about 90 miles from the coast headed north to south toward the gulf coast and Pascagoula. Since then he has had sightings concurrently about every two years. In 1975 he and a friend observed a huge silver ball hovering over them and moving against the wind. He has witnessed saucer shapes, balls of light, and even a small fleet of unidentified objects.

    Michael was definitely a cool addition to Dean Highland’s oral history project.

    If you, or somebody you know and love, wants to participate in this project, shoot me (Brandon Christensen) an email and we’ll get started.

    Given that the neighborhood association’s stated goals are service, advocacy, and fellowship, please be sure to give Michael a hearty greeting if you see him out and about at one of our service projects, advocacy efforts, or quarterly meetings. If you would like to collaborate with Michael, or simply fellowship with him, shoot me (Brandon Christensen) an email and I’ll try to introduce you.

    You can read more about our “Voices from Dean Highland” project here. You (yes, you!) and your story are way more interesting and important than you think, and this project is something that your kids and grandkids and other loved ones will appreciate long after you’re gone.

  • The Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative’s August 8th cleanup: A recap

    Hi Dean Highlanders,

    Y’all missed out on quite the treat at our latest conservancy initiative cleanup. We didn’t find any guns, but we did manage to fill up four big bags of trash, and we were able to connect with some of our Baylor buddies from Alpha Epsilon Delta Honors Society.

    Our next conservancy initiative project will be August 29th. Mark your calendars! Here’s some more fun:

    And here is the spot in the neighborhood that we hit:

    You can read more about the Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative here. Catch you next time, and don’t forget to bring a friend or, better yet, a neighbor!

  • **Don’t Forget**

    After a well-deserved summer break, the Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative is kicking back off this Saturday beginning at 9am.

    We will be meeting at the empty lot along the border of Dean Highland at 26th and Windsor:

    There is plenty of garbage to pick up, so bring that famous attitude of gratitude that Dean Highlanders are known for. We’ll have all the equipment needed to clean up the area, thanks to our friends at Keep Waco Beautiful, so just bring yourself, your family, and maybe even a neighbor.

    The purpose of these bi-monthly gatherings is to serve our neighborhood, fellowship with each other, and let the powers that be in Waco know that our neighborhood is not be trifled with when it comes to Hillcrest Park (i.e. advocacy).

    Some our friends from Baylor’s Alpha Epsilon Delta Honors Society (remember them?) will be there this Saturday, too. We are also planning to do a major cleanup with them sometime in September as well.

    These bi-monthly service projects have been a huge boon to the neighborhood’s advocacy efforts so far, and they’ve also led to some pretty cool relationships. Check out some our our past Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative cleanups!

    Remember: this Saturday, August 8th, beginning at 9am. The empty field at 26th and Windsor. You can just park anywhere. You can bike to it. You can walk to it. Bring the dogs. Bring the kids. Let’s kick off the last part of the year with a bang!

    If you have any questions, shoot us an email: deanhighlandwaco@gmail.com.

  • “Voices from Dean Highland” spotlight: Rosy Bautista-Ramos

    Hi Dean Highlanders,

    Amid all the hustle and bustle of our Conservancy Initiative (which is kicking butt; catch you at our next service project on Aug. 8th?), our fight for Hillcrest Park, and the ins and outs of all our personal lives, is the Dean Highland Neighborhood Association’s ongoing oral history project: “Voices from Dean Highland.”

    If you haven’t done so yet, please reach out to me (brandon.l.christensen@gmail.com or 530-748-7566[text first!]) to set up an appointment and we’ll get your story added to the neighborhood collection. The more lives we can add to the collection, the cooler our neighborhood will become.

    At any rate, meet Rosy Bautista-Ramos:

    Rosy has been in the neighborhood for decades and has raised two great kids in Dean Highland. In fact, one of her kids was my go-to babysitter before she went off to college in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

    Rosy currently serves at Highland Baptist Church and does an amazing job serving the Spanish-speaking community of Dean Highland and Waco.

    She sat down with me on May 11, 2026. Please, reach out to me so we can add your story to the fabric of our neighborhood.

  • DHNA’s State Historical Marker Challenge: Carl Freeto

    Hi Dean Highlanders,

    Meet our latest Challenger:

    Carl lives on Maple Ave, and can usually be seen out walking with his dog, Rosy (who didn’t walk with Carl the day he took the Challenge because she doesn’t like thunderstorms). Here’s a picture of Rosy saying “no” to a walk:

    If you see them out and about, you know what to do! Carl got a DHNA t-shirt for his efforts, and you could too.

    For past DHNA State Historical Marker Challengers, check this out. Here, by the way, is what our State Historical Marker Challenge is all about:

    Our Texas Historical Marker for the trolley stop is on-site now. You can check it out at the triangle on Trice and 28th:

    If you take a photo of yourselves and/or loved ones next to the Texas Historical Marker, send it to us via email at deanhighlandwaco@gmail.com and we’ll post it here on the website. We will also throw in a free Dean Highland Neighborhood t-shirt for each participant while supplies last.

    T-shirt supplies look like this:

    • 3 smalls
    • 7 mediums
    • and 1 large

  • An Update from our City Councilman, Darius Ewing

    Hi Dean Highlanders,

    Wow, three neighborhood news updates in a row! How did we ever get so lucky? Councilman Ewing has heard us roar, and he sent us the following response on Monday (7/13):

    I want to apologize for my delayed response here. My wife and I welcomed our son two weeks ago and are still getting back into our normal lives and settling in as a family of four, albeit with much less sleep.

    I want to acknowledge that this process has taken longer than anyone would have expected. Not that any of you need an example of how long it’s been, but since we began this process we’ve had two city managers, two city attorneys, three mayors, and three separate presidents at Baylor Scott & White. Since discussions began in earnest in late 2020, there has been a lot of stop-and-go. Plenty of times it seemed like the path was clear and we had momentum, only to be stopped in our tracks by an unexpected roadblock.

    The process on paper is simple: Baylor Scott & White demolished their old hospital and has been looking to sell the acreage from the site ever since. Once the city engaged, there were no other serious conversations with other end-users. I sincerely wish it was as easy as the city fronting the money, acquiring the land, and soliciting plans for development. However, with the environmental concerns we uncovered last year, we’ve had to explore an alternative before the city can acquire the property. This looks like signing off on an MSD, or municipal settings designation, an official state designation certifying that groundwater beneath a specific urban property is not used for drinking and is legally prohibited from future use. To my knowledge, this won’t prohibit development of housing or a park, but it will allow us to acquire the land without prohibitively expensive remediation.

    As of June 12th, BSW was still working through their private contractor to complete the environmental process with TCEQ (the state environmental agency) in order to submit an MSD application.

    That is where we are now. We’re waiting on that application to be completed, submitted, and approved. Once approved, the city will continue our efforts to formally acquire the land and bring development and green space, including parkland, to the area. That is my commitment to you, both as your council representative and as a former neighbor.

    I wish I could put a definitive timeline on this, but with multiple large, regulated private entities and large governmental entities involved, I would only be giving you an estimate that would likely result in unmet expectations. I am committed to seeing this through, and if at any point you’re unsure where we are in the process, or feel it’s been too long since your last update, I’m happy to field any questions or concerns, or even meet for coffee.

    It’s not every day, or in every city, that you get such a swift, thoughtful response from a Councilman. You can still send him an email to let him know Hillcrest Park is on your mind: ccouncil4@wacotx.gov.

    Don’t forget to congratulate him on child #2…

  • An update on our Hillcrest Park email campaign

    Hi Dean Highlanders,

    Melett Harrison, who runs the City of Waco’s wonderful, fantabulous Neighborhood Engagement team, sent us this email in response to our email campaign for Hillcrest Park:

    I wanted to let you know that this property is not being ignored.  I understand it’s taking MUCH longer that DHNA wants it to, but rest assured it’s not fallen off the city’s radar. (neither elected officials nor staff)

    Thanks for continuing to include us in your newsletters.  It’s great to be able to keep up with your efforts.

    It’s truly great that we have such a thoughtful City looking out for us.

    What do you think, Dean Highlanders? Is Hillcrest Park still on the City’s radar?

    I encourage you ask our district’s Councilman, Darius Ewing, yourself via email: ccouncil4@wacotx.gov. If you’re not confident in your writing prowess, just copy-and-paste this:

    Dear Mr. Ewing,

    The Dean Highland Neighborhood Association is committed to bringing a 14-acre, world-class park to the empty Hillcrest lot.

    We are here to collaborate and bargain, not grovel for slivers of green space. Please ensure, Mr. Councilman, that Dean Highlanders get the respect and dignity they deserve when it comes to this space. As of today, this has not happened. The lot is still empty. The garbage is still piling up. And the intent of the land’s donors — a vast space for the public good – has not been met and may even be considered to be actively ignored by City actors and Baylor, Scott, and White.

    You depend on me for my vote, and I am actively paying attention to how you treat my neighborhood and the ongoing Hillcrest Park debacle.

    Feel free to “cc” the Dean Highland Neighborhood Association to the email you send to our councilman, too (our email address is deanhighlandwaco@gmail.com). Please, your voice matters. Email Councilman Ewing today.