Out with the old.

   I know it's a rhetorical question, but what got so old in the past 12 months that we've got to get rid of it this time every year?

   It doesn't really matter as much as what people plan to do in the new year. Yes, I'm talking about the single biggest waste of time we all engage in every December 31 - New Year's Resolutions.

   We're all going to lose weight and exercise, eat better, read, floss, get the band back together and have our taxes done by February 1.

   Most of, if not all of these, resolutions are usually out the door by the first weekend of the new year.

   I heard an ad on TV the other day (probably good that I can't remember the product) but they suggested a shift in thinking about these pronouncements. Don't make "resolutions," make "evolutions."

   I like that because anyone can tell you that effecting real change in life's habits requires us to evolve over time, not to stop caffeine cold turkey just because the calendar clicked over to January. Changing behavior means changing habits and that takes time. Different people argue over how long, but a habit will generally take hold after two to four weeks of constant repetition.

   Here at City Hall, we encourage excellence from our City employees. That success boils down to creating that repetition of going above and beyond expectations. There is an old quotation that crystallizes this point. Through the years it has been attributed to several different people, but let's go with Aristotle: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit."

   Why should any one of us expect any less from ourselves in our everyday living, whether it be in our diet, our exercise program or simply in our personal growth? Be excellent - repeatedly.

   So, for 2015, don't worry so much about making grand declarations of intent that won't be worth the paper you print them on. Decide what you want to do and, to coin a phrase, just do it.

FARMERS BRANCH ~ Not all college students graduate in the originally intended four years. Some take five, some take six.

   Don Ross was on the 50-year plan.

University of North Texas Alumnus Don Ross

   A part-time Farmers Branch Fire Inspector for the past five years, Don is fondly looking back on 2014 today as the year he turned 70 and the year he finally graduated from college.

   It was 1964 when the 20-year-old Don Ross first started working on his Bachelor's degree in Illinois. However, it wasn't long before Uncle Sam called him up for a trip to southeast Asia.

   After two years in the Army, including combat experience in Vietnam, Don returned stateside and tried to go back to school but found the 1960s reception for returning Vietnam Veterans to be unwelcoming.

   So, he hit the workforce. 

   Suddenly, 30 years went by working for an insurance company and a home improvement retailer.

   Then, 10 years ago,at the age of 60, Don and his wife, Nancy had a house fire at their home in Lewisville.

   He was so fascinated by the machinations and procedures of the fire investigation that he went to school to become a Firefighter, Fire Inspector, Investigator and Certified Texas Peace Officer. And, in 2011, he resumed work on that long-idle undergraduate degree program.

   Three years worth of night classes later, Don earned his Bachelor of Applied Arts & Sciences degree from the University of North Texas. What's more is that he did it with a 3.8 grade point average.

   But, he's not stopping there.

   In January he will become Don Ross, the graduate student, working towards a Master's Degree with a concentration in Criminal Justice. He expects this degree to only take about three and a half years.

   "At age 70, Don is really hitting his stride," said Farmers Branch Fire Chief Steve Parker.  "We're looking forward to having Don serve the citizens of Farmers Branch well into the future."

FARMERS BRANCH ~ As part of the $23.5 million voter-approved makeover of City streets, work on Golfing Green Drive, west of Webb Chapel, will limit access to the Manske Library for a few hours on Monday, January 5.

   According to officials, the roto-milling of the asphalt on Golfing Green is in preparation for additional construction that will include concrete work and a new asphalt surface.

   One lane should stay open at all times during Monday's work which is expected to take only a few hours.