Leander ISD Superintendent Bret Champion announced that 638 students earned 684 Advanced Placement Scholar Awards in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the 2014 AP Exams. This is a 14 percent increase from the previous year when 561 students earned 597 distinctions.

“On behalf of LISD, I offer our congratulations to these students for participating in the rigorous AP Program, for fully applying themselves to the demands of the coursework and for excelling on the challenging exams. We are tremendously proud of our AP Scholars,” said Champion.

LISD also reported that 3,280 high school students took 5,537 AP exams in 2014, up from the 2,360 students who took 4,364 tests in 2013. In 2013-14, AP Human Geography was added at the ninth-grade level, which contributed to the district’s 39 percent increase in students testing.

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By SARAH DOOLITTLE, Four Points News

The Heidger family of Steiner Ranch are back home now after spending 403 days traveling the United States in an RV. Ben and Heidi Heidger and their four children, Max, Bowen, Sadie and Mazie, left in June 2013 and returned July 17. In that time they visited all 50 states including Alaska and Hawaii.

The couple was inspired in 2006 by friends who stopped in Austin during their own extended family road trip. The idea immediately captured Ben and Heidi’s imaginations. As much as they wanted to expose their kids to all the country has to offer, they themselves had always wanted to explore the U.S.

The Heidger family of Steiner Ranch just wrapped up a travel adventure of a lifetime. Ben and Heidi and their children Max, Bowen, Mazie and Sadie toured all 50 states in their RV, while working and home-schooling. They also logged more than 1,500 random acts of kindness. Here they are in Key West, Florida.

The trip quickly felt less like a vacation and more like a new way of life. “(Last) summer kind of felt like vacation, and also because we saw a lot of kids at all the RV parks. And then (in the) fall, when it was really just us alone in places and it was getting cooler… then it felt like just hanging out at home.”

That’s not to say it was exactly like home. Max was quick to note that, “It was hard sharing one bathroom.”

Mazie added. “We’d have like four people in there at a time, so they’d be brushing their teeth, or going to the bathroom, or taking a shower.”

“But it makes you realize how much stuff you don’t need,” concluded Heidi.

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By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

Vanessa Mizutowicz was doing laundry and cleaning her upstairs bathroom recently at her Grandview Hills home when she suddenly heard water running on the first floor.

It was the evening of July 27 at around 8:30 p.m., and when she went to investigate, she said that her entire downstairs was flooded and that the water was coming from a first floor bathroom.

She immediately called her plumber, who came to her home at 8119 Tahoe Park Circle, but determined that all her pipes were working fine.

“He checked the sewage pipeline that’s a part of my property and found that it wasn’t clogged,” Mizutowicz said. “Then he looked inside the city’s pipe and he saw it was bubbling and was backed up. The city’s pipeline was actually backed up, not mine. He said because it was city of Austin property, he was not able to replace it or unclog it.”

She then called the city of Austin utility emergency line.

A City of Austin crew digs a hole on Tahoe Park Circle in the Grandview Hills neighborhood on July 31 to repair a clogged sewer pipe. The clogged pipe resulted in one home being flooded.
Courtesy photo

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By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

Having been a patient of the medical aesthetic industry herself, Dr. Claudia Legere, a family practice physician in Four Points, says she began to realize there was a need for care that could be done in-home and could accommodate busy schedules.

Local family doctor, Claudia Legere, starts her own practice in the aesthetics industry called Door to Door Med Spa. The Long Canyon, mother of two, wanted to make treatments easier so she makes house calls.

The aesthetics industry, which includes anti-aging treatments, has continued to grow in popularity. As the mom of two young children, Legere said it was hard to find the time to schedule appointments, and she didn’t like having to wait in the doctor’s office before and after treatments.

Because of this, Legere decided to start her own business, Door to Door Med Spa, which opened in June. Prior to opening her business, Legere worked as a family practice physician at Steiner Ranch Primary Care for five years.

Door to Door Med Spa offers a variety of anti-aging treatments as well as acne treatments, spider vein removal and weight loss assistance, all in the comfort of the patient’s home and with the flexibility to work around busy schedules.

“I thought this would be a novel approach to providing something patients would like to have but to provide it in their own home,” Legere said. Continue reading →

By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

Local medical professionals say they are seeing an increase in the number of concussion injuries in both high school and middle school-aged students.

Stephanie Keiningham, concussion coordinator for Texas Family Physicians in Four Points, said there are several reasons for the increase in the number of cases. While more and more is being understood about concussions and more cases are being reported, she said it’s also due to the increase in popularity of club sports among younger athletes and the increasing intensity of sports for older students.

“As their level of activity has increased, we are seeing more incidents of concussion,” Keiningham said.  “Our kids are bigger and stronger and hit harder and play harder. The intensity of activity has increased.”

credit: Gaylord Specialty Healthcare

Cases

While the majority of concussions she sees are from football, she also sees a high number of cases from sports such as soccer and cheerleading. She said she is seeing an increase in concussions among younger athletes.

“A lot of studies are saying that the 10-14 ages are having the harder time recovering,” she said. “Their brain is still developing so it takes longer for them to recover.”

A concussion occurs when the head is jostled or receives a direct blow, causing the brain to shift inside the skull. Keiningham said so much more is known today about concussions than when she first started in the field 20 years ago.

Despite the risks, she said she never discourages parents from getting their kids involved in athletics.

“I love athletics,” she said. “I believe these sports teach our kids so much. I don’t ever think you should withhold from sports because of the possibility (of injury).” Continue reading →