Dean Highland Neighborhood Association

Tag: service

  • **Don’t Forget**

    Our next Quarterly Meeting is Thursday evening, at 6pm, on the 24th. The new Principal for Dean Highland Elementary School will be at the meeting and is going to share some of the challenges that the school faces today. As a longtime supporter of the school, the Dean Highland Neighborhood Association is looking forward to hearing about the challenges and how we can serve.

    So, Thursday, September 24th, 6pm, at Dean Highland Elementary School (3300 Maple Ave., Waco, TX 76707). Here it is on a map:

    The front doors of the school will probably be locked, so you will have to hang a left (if you’re facing the front doors) and follow the building to the black gate, where you will see an entrance to the cafeteria. This is where you will find us!

    We are trying to gather as much information about the needs and wants and demographics of the neighborhood before the meeting, so please fill out (or re-fill out) a membership form before Thursday (the 24th).

    As always, if you have any questions, shoot us an email at deanhighlandwaco@gmail.com.

    ALSO

    Zion Hill Baptist Church will be celebrating its 145th anniversary today (September 20th), beginning at 9am, and they want to let the whole neighborhood know that we are invited to the service. I know I previously reported the wrong date. I regret the error, but it’s this Sunday. Like, service starts in two hours! Zion Hill Baptist Church is located at 2919 McKenzie Avenue, Waco TX, 76708. Here they are on a map:

    This is a fantastic opportunity to get out of the house and explore your neighborhood. You will not regret switching up your Sunday morning routine for this. Check out their Facebook page.

  • **Don’t Forget**

    Our next Quarterly Meeting is Thursday evening, at 6pm, on the 24th. We are pleased to report that our President, Scott Michael, was able to meet with the new Principal of Dean Highland Elementary School and secure our traditional quarterly meeting place. The new Principal will be at the meeting and is going to share some of the challenges that the school faces today. As a longtime supporter of the school, the Dean Highland Neighborhood Association is looking forward to hearing about the challenges and how we can serve.

    So, Thursday, September 24th, 6pm, at Dean Highland Elementary School (3300 Maple Ave., Waco, TX 76707). Here it is on a map:

    The front doors of the school will probably be locked, so you will have to hang a left (if you’re facing the front doors) and follow the building to the black gate, where you will see an entrance to the cafeteria. This is where you will find us!

    We are trying to gather as much information about the needs and wants and demographics of the neighborhood before the meeting, so please fill out (or re-fill out) a membership form before Thursday (the 24th).

    As always, if you have any questions, shoot us an email at deanhighlandwaco@gmail.com.

    ALSO

    Zion Hill Baptist Church will be celebrating its 145th anniversary on Sunday, September 27th 20th, beginning at 9am, and it wants to let the whole neighborhood know that we are invited to the service. Zion Hill Baptist Church is located at 2919 McKenzie Avenue, Waco TX, 76708. Here they are on a map:

    This is a fantastic opportunity to get out of the house and explore your neighborhood. You will not regret switching up your Sunday morning routine for this. Check out their Facebook page.

    ETC.

    Our “Voices from Dean Highland” oral history project is going well. 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 “Voices” spotlights here. Reach out to me (Brandon Christensen) when you’re ready to tell some neighborhood stories!

  • 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!

  • Dean Highland in the news: Arson and murder

    Hi Dean Highlanders,

    I sometimes get carried away sharing all of the great things that are happening in our neighborhood. Our trolley stop revitalization effort, and especially the story it tells, is truly unique and we should be proud of it. The fact that we’re doing, as a neighborhood, a State Historical Marker Challenge (complete with free t-shirt prizes while supplies last) is just icing on a delectable cake.

    Our Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative is unlike anything else in Waco. No other neighborhood is getting out into its streets and pocket parks and alleyways, on a sustained, bimonthly basis, and doing the difficult work of cleaning up a constant mess that the City and its non-profit partners cannot seem to tackle by themselves.

    Our oral history project, “Voices from Dean Highland,” is definitely becoming a bright spot for our neighborhood, thanks to all of your participation (and future participation — wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

    Yet all is not roses and lavender and butterflies and birds, and we have to remember this as we pursue our stated neighborhood association purposes of service, advocacy, and fellowship. There was recently a serious arson on the 2900 block of Colcord Avenue:

    Stay safe out there Dean Highlanders, and be sure to take care of each other. If you have any other information about the arson, feel free to shoot us a message at deanhighlandwaco@gmail.com.

    Even more seriously, there was recently a murder on the 2800 block of Summer Avenue (the star up top-left) and the suspect fled only a few blocks away, to another spot in Dean Highland on the 2600 block of Alexander Avenue (the bottom-right star):

    The Dean Highland Neighborhood Association is currently gathering information in order to put together a care package for the spouse of the murder victim. If you would like to contribute information or thoughtful notes/prayers for the victim’s spouse, shoot us an email at deanhighlandwaco@gmail.com. If you would like to instead make a monetary contribution, click here to get to our Venmo account (once you log in, there should be a spot for you to tell us why you’re giving).

    Thanks Dean Highlanders, and take care of yourselves out there. Take care of each other, too.

  • 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.

  • Plan Commission – July 14, 2026

    Hello Dean Highlanders,

    I hope you are staying cool. Below is an email we received from the one and only Crystal Anthony, our beloved Program Coordinator from the City of Waco’s Neighborhood Engagement team:

    Hello Dean Highland Neighborhood Association,

    Note: This notice is in North Waco’s Neighborhood, but adjacent to Dean Highland.

    Please find attached a public hearing notice from the Plan Commission. The case will be presented before the Plan Commission at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 14, at the Waco Convention Center, Bosque Theatre, 100 Washington Ave. After the case is presented to the Plan Commission, a public hearing will then be held before the City Council at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at the Waco Convention Center, Bosque Theatre, 100 Washington.

    Z-26-25
    A request has been made by Cameron Philgreen and the City of Waco, to rezone from O-3 Office Limited Commercial District to R-3C Multiple Family Residence District of approximately 0.5680 acres described as Lot 1 Block 1 Holley Addition known as 1901 N 25th Street and to rezone from R-3E Multiple Family Residence District to R-2 Two-Family and Attached Single-Family Residence District for property described as Lots 4-5 and 11-14, Block 53 of the University Heights Addition, known as 2410 and 2418 Cumberland Avenue and 2401, 2405, 2409, and 2413 Maple Avenue.

    This attached notice was also mailed out on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, to the residents who live within 200 feet, but we hope this electronic version will be easier to share with your neighbors. Any questions you have about a case should be directed to the Development Services staff at 254-750-5750. Mark Boyd is copied on this email and will be able to assist you. You may also email planning@wacotx.gov to submit a written comment.

    The Plan Commission meeting will be held in person. You may still watch the meeting live at MyWacoTV.com, but if someone wants to comment during the public hearing, they must do so in person.

    Mmkay, it’s me again. Here are two visuals — one and two – that Crystal sent along with this email update. They’re both pdf files and they’re both informative.

    If you have any other questions about this, such as the difference between a planning commission meeting and a city council meeting, shoot us an email (at deanhighlandwaco@gmail.com) and we’ll break it down for you. Now on to some housekeeping:

    Our “Voices from Dean Highland” neighborhood history project is proceeding apace. If you’d like to participate, or to nominate someone who should participate, give me a holler. We need all the voices we can get, so don’t be shy. Your story, and your stories about the Dean Highland neighborhood, are way more important than you think.

    Our Conservancy Initiative will pick back up on August 8th, so don’t forget to mark your calendars!

    I recently got some bad news from the City’s Parks & Rec Department, and it ties in to our Hillcrest Park advocacy. I’ll have more on this in a separate post, but we need to remember to remain vigilant when it comes to fighting for green space.

    I’ll also have some more “Voices from Dean Highland” spotlights, and a couple of cute kids from Wenz Ave were voluntold to participate in our new “DHNA State Historical Marker Challenge,” so please continue to tune in to our newsletter updates, if only for the random glimpses of cuteness we sometimes provide.

    We still have Dean Highland Neighborhood Association t-shirts left after our Father’s Day extravaganza sale:

    • 3 smalls
    • 8 mediums
    • and 2 larges

    So, while supplies last, we’ll throw in some DHNA t-shirts, for free, if you participate in our new “DHNA State Historical Marker Challenge.” Just snap some selfies or group photos of you or some neighbors next to our trolley stop historical marker and send it to us, and we’ll post the photos on here and hook you up with some free DHNA t-shirts. It doesn’t get much better than that…

  • Father’s Day Sale: Dean Highland Neighborhood T-Shirts!

    Hi Dean Highlanders,

    As you are aware, we need to shed some Dean Highland inventory this summer, so we’re offering our world-famous t-shirts at an awesome price: $15/shirt. In honor of Juneteenth and Father’s Day, if you buy a medium t-shirt we’ll throw in a 2nd medium for free. We can give you the same offer for small sizes, too, while supplies last!

    Check out how amazing these t-shirts make you look:

    We have:

    • 3 smalls
    • 11 10 mediums
    • and 4 3 2 larges left

    Shoot us an email at deanhighlandwaco@gmail.com if you’d like to take advantage of this offer!

    Again, if you buy a medium t-shirt ($15) we’ll throw in a 2nd medium t-shirt for free…

  • “Upcoming Baylor librarian looking to live in Dean Highland”

    Hey Dean Highlanders, check this out:

    Hello! I’m Hilary, and I’ll be moving to Waco in early August to work at Baylor as a full-time librarian and am looking for a rental. My budget is $800 – 1200/month and could possibly stretch to $1300 for a great place. I’m really interested in living in Dean Highland. I have a strong preference for a duplex or similar, or possibly a small apartment community. It will just be me and my 14-lb well-behaved pup! One bedroom minimum or more.

    I currently live in the Austin metro area, a 1.5 hour drive from y’all. I’ll be doing my first couple of scouting visits to Waco Saturday, 6/20, and Monday, 6/22, but can also come and view a rental in the neighborhood at a later date if something comes on the market. I’ve got excellent credit my official Baylor contract in hand for proof of income. Thank you so much for considering renting to me! You can reach me at hilary77@gmail.com.

    If you can help, you know what to do!