Schools combat computer misuse
By Amie Streater, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas - In response to a few cases in which pornography was found on school computers, Fort Worth school district administrators have purchased new software to help them block objectionable Web sites and track inappropriate use.
The program, Lightspeed Total Traffic Control, will cost $46,320 through November.
The software was bought after one employee resigned, one took early retirement and a third was put on administrative leave in recent months when pornography was found on their computers.
This school year, the district's Office of Special Investigations has responded to 27 allegations of inappropriate material on school computers.
"We saw a problem and we found a solution," interim Superintendent Joe Ross said. "Now we can see who is looking at what."
News from the Lone Star State
Moderator: S2k Moderators
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
City's code enforcement is often seen as unreliable
By Mike Lee, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas - Faye Brown's first contact with the city's code enforcement officials was a letter saying the grass was too tall in front of her house in Polytechnic Heights.
She called and gave them a piece of her mind.
"There's no way that man found high weeds in the 3700 block of Avenue G," she said.
She was right. The weeds were in the 3700 block of Avenue M.
Months later, Brown tried to get help for a problem that actually was on her block: a huge pile of trash that a neighbor had abandoned by the curb.
She said she had no success until new tenants moved into the house.
"I begged and cried," she said. "I tried everything in the world. I couldn't see anything [the city] did."
To many residents, that's the face of code enforcement -- heavy-handed in some cases, absent in others. The result has been uneven enforcement and a lack of oversight that have left the city struggling to clean up some blighted neighborhoods, critics contend.
"It's like we're chasing our tails," said Fort Worth Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who represents much of east Fort Worth and has been a harsh critic of the code enforcement efforts.
"Everything is done the old-fashioned way."
Carl Smart, code enforcement director, acknowledges that the department has had problems but said he's hopeful that new technology, new staff and renewed efforts at solving problems can get things back on track.
"We're changing the way code enforcement is done in Fort Worth," Smart said. "Big changes don't come overnight."
Tackling decay
Run-down houses and junked vehicles can lead to a ticket in one neighborhood but not in another, according to a Star-Telegram analysis.
Residents in south and southwest Fort Worth complained the most, typically about dilapidated buildings, junked vehicles and other visual nuisances, according to the analysis of complaints and citations from 1999 to 2003.
But the most citations were issued generally in east and southeast Fort Worth, with a few concentrations on the north and west side, the records show.
An area southeast of downtown, north of Rosedale Street and east of South Main Street received 250 citations during the four-year period; it was by far the most-cited.
Next highest was an area on the city's west side, north of Vickery Boulevard and east of Bryant Irvin Road, that received 200 citations.
Officials took longer to close cases in some areas than in others, the analysis shows.
The Star-Telegram calculated how long it took to close a code case for every census tract in Fort Worth and calculated an average time for each tract.
The slowest times were in east Fort Worth and on the north side, where some neighborhoods waited about 10 months for a case to be resolved. The average in those areas ranged from 145 to 316 days.
The fastest resolutions were in west and southwest Fort Worth, where the average was from 18 to 32 days.
Brandon Bennett, the department's assistant director, said that cases on the east and north sides take longer in part because older neighborhoods tend to have large numbers of absentee owners or other problems with ownership.
Sometimes the owner has died without designating an heir. Some are just stubborn, or involved in illegal activity. Many don't have the funds to fix the problems.
"People have housing code violations that they would fix but can't because they don't have the money," Bennett said. "You also have a transient population.
"You have a tenant there and you cite them, then a new tenant moves in, and you cite them."
If that's true, east side Councilman Ralph McCloud said, the city should assign more enforcement officers to those areas.
McCloud has joined other council members in complaining about the handling of code violations.
Councilman Donavan Wheatfall, who represents southeast Fort Worth, said that enforcement is uneven.
"We're not providing equal services," he said.
Councilman Jim Lane, who represents the north side, said he is disappointed but not surprised.
"That's the rich folks," he said of the neighborhoods that got quick responses. "If they complain, we move. With poor folks, it doesn't matter."
The code enforcement department has a budget of $7.4 million and handles residential and commercial complaints from overgrown yards to unsafe buildings.
Since 1996, the department has grown from about 18 officers to about 60, and city leaders have increasingly asked the department to deal with problem issues such as rundown apartment complexes and drug houses.
More recently, the department has been put in charge of enforcing the city's trash rules.
City officials say they have tried to concentrate their efforts on problem areas, to have a greater effect on communities.
But Bill Martin, who lives near Riverside Drive in east Fort Worth, said bureaucratic stubbornness prevents the department from solving problems.
Martin said he went to the city in July to stop a neighbor from storing used cars on a vacant lot nearby. The city's Zoning Board of Adjustment had denied the neighbor permission to store the cars, but the city took no action when the cars appeared, Martin said.
Martin, a technical writer, pored through city codes and spent months pressuring city officials to act. In September, he took pictures of the cars and showed them to the City Council.
"Clearly he was in violation of the code," Martin said.
It wasn't until November -- nearly two months later -- that a team of city lawyers and code enforcement officers showed up at the vacant lot, he said. The cars weren't moved until December.
New approaches
The city has also had spotty success in challenging property owners who fail to comply with regulations.
The city collected fines on only 18 percent of the 6,292 tickets issued for code violations from 1999 to 2003. About half -- more than 3,000 tickets -- were awaiting court action, according to a January 2004 report prepared by the municipal court. The remainder were dismissed.
Lonnie Munoz, an administrative assistant for the court, said he didn't know if court supervisors had stepped up their efforts to dispose of cases since the report was completed.
Some of the other problems are out of the department's hands, Smart said. The municipal court, for example, is in charge of collecting fines, and the entire court system has a backlog.
"We're also tracking how long it takes to process an average case," he said. "It's not something we're always in control of."
The same goes for mowing overgrown lots. The city mows the lot, then imposes a lien that prevents the owner from selling the property until the mowing fees have been paid.
The city imposed 5,405 such liens in 2003, records show. In about 35 percent of those cases -- representing 1,843 property owners -- nothing was collected.
Two years ago, a bill that would have made it easier to collect for mowing liens died in the Texas Legislature. The bill would have allowed the county tax assessor to include the lien on a property's annual tax bill.
Under the current law, the property owner can avoid paying until the lot is sold.
"We're spending a lot of money taking care of people's property," Smart said.
Smart said the city is working to improve the system. In January, for example, the department announced that it was surveying the city to identify buildings that had deteriorated to the point that they were a danger to the public.
Those buildings are being logged as Category I, or top priority. Last week, the city demolished an abandoned house that had been discovered through the survey.
Work is also under way to improve the department's technology, making it easier to track complaints by neighborhood and increasing code officers' access to property records.
Smart said the department is field-testing four wireless computers that would allow officers to check records and access other data in the field.
The technology will allow the department to more accurately track problem areas and assign extra officers to them, Bennett said.
Recently, the city has tried to use different approaches, filing nuisance abatement lawsuits, for example, and using the zoning code to attack problem sites, Smart said.
The department is also using neighborhood volunteers, known as Code Rangers, to spot problems and provide information.
"I think that's going to be the answer -- handling special problems in a special way," he said.
Mixed success
Sean and Debora O'Neil are still angry with the code enforcement department, even though the city eventually helped rid them of a problem neighbor.
The neighbor inherited a house next door to the O'Neils, public records show. She began collecting and selling used clothes and other merchandise, which she eventually began leaving in the yard.
She also started storing items in a couple of old cars in the driveway.
Trash began to accumulate, the O'Neils said. The smell became unbearable at times, and mosquitoes bred in pools of standing water, they said.
They called code enforcement.
An officer left warning stickers on the cars, the first step toward having them towed.
But the neighbor rolled them into the garage, the O'Neils said. Case closed, until the cars reappeared.
The same thing happened with the junk in the yard.
The neighbor was issued five tickets, none of which was paid, according to records. The O'Neils said they complained every couple of months for three years.
Smart acknowledged that his department's tactics -- a polite letter, a conversation and a fine as a last resort -- often come up short in such situations.
"Our normal approach is, 'Stop and knock,' " Smart said. "If that doesn't work, we need to take some creative measures."
The city decided to try a new approach and filed a nuisance abatement lawsuit, which would force the owner to make the repairs or forfeit ownership.
The house was sold for back taxes a week before the suit was scheduled to go to trial.
The new owner is renovating it, but the O'Neils are still shaking their heads over their years-long effort to clean up the site. They praise the city lawyer who filed the nuisance lawsuit but are angry and disappointed with code enforcement.
"I don't ever want you to talk about raising my taxes," Sean O'Neil said, "until you can take care of situations like that."
By Mike Lee, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas - Faye Brown's first contact with the city's code enforcement officials was a letter saying the grass was too tall in front of her house in Polytechnic Heights.
She called and gave them a piece of her mind.
"There's no way that man found high weeds in the 3700 block of Avenue G," she said.
She was right. The weeds were in the 3700 block of Avenue M.
Months later, Brown tried to get help for a problem that actually was on her block: a huge pile of trash that a neighbor had abandoned by the curb.
She said she had no success until new tenants moved into the house.
"I begged and cried," she said. "I tried everything in the world. I couldn't see anything [the city] did."
To many residents, that's the face of code enforcement -- heavy-handed in some cases, absent in others. The result has been uneven enforcement and a lack of oversight that have left the city struggling to clean up some blighted neighborhoods, critics contend.
"It's like we're chasing our tails," said Fort Worth Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who represents much of east Fort Worth and has been a harsh critic of the code enforcement efforts.
"Everything is done the old-fashioned way."
Carl Smart, code enforcement director, acknowledges that the department has had problems but said he's hopeful that new technology, new staff and renewed efforts at solving problems can get things back on track.
"We're changing the way code enforcement is done in Fort Worth," Smart said. "Big changes don't come overnight."
Tackling decay
Run-down houses and junked vehicles can lead to a ticket in one neighborhood but not in another, according to a Star-Telegram analysis.
Residents in south and southwest Fort Worth complained the most, typically about dilapidated buildings, junked vehicles and other visual nuisances, according to the analysis of complaints and citations from 1999 to 2003.
But the most citations were issued generally in east and southeast Fort Worth, with a few concentrations on the north and west side, the records show.
An area southeast of downtown, north of Rosedale Street and east of South Main Street received 250 citations during the four-year period; it was by far the most-cited.
Next highest was an area on the city's west side, north of Vickery Boulevard and east of Bryant Irvin Road, that received 200 citations.
Officials took longer to close cases in some areas than in others, the analysis shows.
The Star-Telegram calculated how long it took to close a code case for every census tract in Fort Worth and calculated an average time for each tract.
The slowest times were in east Fort Worth and on the north side, where some neighborhoods waited about 10 months for a case to be resolved. The average in those areas ranged from 145 to 316 days.
The fastest resolutions were in west and southwest Fort Worth, where the average was from 18 to 32 days.
Brandon Bennett, the department's assistant director, said that cases on the east and north sides take longer in part because older neighborhoods tend to have large numbers of absentee owners or other problems with ownership.
Sometimes the owner has died without designating an heir. Some are just stubborn, or involved in illegal activity. Many don't have the funds to fix the problems.
"People have housing code violations that they would fix but can't because they don't have the money," Bennett said. "You also have a transient population.
"You have a tenant there and you cite them, then a new tenant moves in, and you cite them."
If that's true, east side Councilman Ralph McCloud said, the city should assign more enforcement officers to those areas.
McCloud has joined other council members in complaining about the handling of code violations.
Councilman Donavan Wheatfall, who represents southeast Fort Worth, said that enforcement is uneven.
"We're not providing equal services," he said.
Councilman Jim Lane, who represents the north side, said he is disappointed but not surprised.
"That's the rich folks," he said of the neighborhoods that got quick responses. "If they complain, we move. With poor folks, it doesn't matter."
The code enforcement department has a budget of $7.4 million and handles residential and commercial complaints from overgrown yards to unsafe buildings.
Since 1996, the department has grown from about 18 officers to about 60, and city leaders have increasingly asked the department to deal with problem issues such as rundown apartment complexes and drug houses.
More recently, the department has been put in charge of enforcing the city's trash rules.
City officials say they have tried to concentrate their efforts on problem areas, to have a greater effect on communities.
But Bill Martin, who lives near Riverside Drive in east Fort Worth, said bureaucratic stubbornness prevents the department from solving problems.
Martin said he went to the city in July to stop a neighbor from storing used cars on a vacant lot nearby. The city's Zoning Board of Adjustment had denied the neighbor permission to store the cars, but the city took no action when the cars appeared, Martin said.
Martin, a technical writer, pored through city codes and spent months pressuring city officials to act. In September, he took pictures of the cars and showed them to the City Council.
"Clearly he was in violation of the code," Martin said.
It wasn't until November -- nearly two months later -- that a team of city lawyers and code enforcement officers showed up at the vacant lot, he said. The cars weren't moved until December.
New approaches
The city has also had spotty success in challenging property owners who fail to comply with regulations.
The city collected fines on only 18 percent of the 6,292 tickets issued for code violations from 1999 to 2003. About half -- more than 3,000 tickets -- were awaiting court action, according to a January 2004 report prepared by the municipal court. The remainder were dismissed.
Lonnie Munoz, an administrative assistant for the court, said he didn't know if court supervisors had stepped up their efforts to dispose of cases since the report was completed.
Some of the other problems are out of the department's hands, Smart said. The municipal court, for example, is in charge of collecting fines, and the entire court system has a backlog.
"We're also tracking how long it takes to process an average case," he said. "It's not something we're always in control of."
The same goes for mowing overgrown lots. The city mows the lot, then imposes a lien that prevents the owner from selling the property until the mowing fees have been paid.
The city imposed 5,405 such liens in 2003, records show. In about 35 percent of those cases -- representing 1,843 property owners -- nothing was collected.
Two years ago, a bill that would have made it easier to collect for mowing liens died in the Texas Legislature. The bill would have allowed the county tax assessor to include the lien on a property's annual tax bill.
Under the current law, the property owner can avoid paying until the lot is sold.
"We're spending a lot of money taking care of people's property," Smart said.
Smart said the city is working to improve the system. In January, for example, the department announced that it was surveying the city to identify buildings that had deteriorated to the point that they were a danger to the public.
Those buildings are being logged as Category I, or top priority. Last week, the city demolished an abandoned house that had been discovered through the survey.
Work is also under way to improve the department's technology, making it easier to track complaints by neighborhood and increasing code officers' access to property records.
Smart said the department is field-testing four wireless computers that would allow officers to check records and access other data in the field.
The technology will allow the department to more accurately track problem areas and assign extra officers to them, Bennett said.
Recently, the city has tried to use different approaches, filing nuisance abatement lawsuits, for example, and using the zoning code to attack problem sites, Smart said.
The department is also using neighborhood volunteers, known as Code Rangers, to spot problems and provide information.
"I think that's going to be the answer -- handling special problems in a special way," he said.
Mixed success
Sean and Debora O'Neil are still angry with the code enforcement department, even though the city eventually helped rid them of a problem neighbor.
The neighbor inherited a house next door to the O'Neils, public records show. She began collecting and selling used clothes and other merchandise, which she eventually began leaving in the yard.
She also started storing items in a couple of old cars in the driveway.
Trash began to accumulate, the O'Neils said. The smell became unbearable at times, and mosquitoes bred in pools of standing water, they said.
They called code enforcement.
An officer left warning stickers on the cars, the first step toward having them towed.
But the neighbor rolled them into the garage, the O'Neils said. Case closed, until the cars reappeared.
The same thing happened with the junk in the yard.
The neighbor was issued five tickets, none of which was paid, according to records. The O'Neils said they complained every couple of months for three years.
Smart acknowledged that his department's tactics -- a polite letter, a conversation and a fine as a last resort -- often come up short in such situations.
"Our normal approach is, 'Stop and knock,' " Smart said. "If that doesn't work, we need to take some creative measures."
The city decided to try a new approach and filed a nuisance abatement lawsuit, which would force the owner to make the repairs or forfeit ownership.
The house was sold for back taxes a week before the suit was scheduled to go to trial.
The new owner is renovating it, but the O'Neils are still shaking their heads over their years-long effort to clean up the site. They praise the city lawyer who filed the nuisance lawsuit but are angry and disappointed with code enforcement.
"I don't ever want you to talk about raising my taxes," Sean O'Neil said, "until you can take care of situations like that."
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
InSight
An Uppercut Above
By Ron Jenkins, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas - Boxer Vanessa Juarez might be the next Olympic medal winner from Fort Worth. The 16-year-old is already a junior world champion amateur boxer and has her sights set on the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.
In the meantime, the Castleberry High School junior is honing her skills with a structured workout regimen. She runs three to four miles a day, six days a week. She works out at the Fort Worth Boxing Club five days a week with a regimen that includes sparring, shadowboxing, sit-ups and jumping rope.
Juarez says it's hard to find other girls to spar with, so she does the next best thing -- she fights boys. Juarez, who weighs in at around 117 pounds, spars with 114-pound Jose Ortiz and 132-pound Dimitrius Hunter.
At this year's Texas championships, Juarez won her fight by unanimous decision to take the women's senior division title and advance to the national championships next month in Colorado Springs, Colo. If she's successful there, she'll head to Argentina to vie for the 2005 world amateur championship.
8 Years she's trained in boxing.
7 Junior division national championship titles.
6 Days a week she runs three to four miles.
4 Years since she's lost a match. Her record is 49-4.
1 Junior division world championship title.
An Uppercut Above
By Ron Jenkins, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas - Boxer Vanessa Juarez might be the next Olympic medal winner from Fort Worth. The 16-year-old is already a junior world champion amateur boxer and has her sights set on the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.
In the meantime, the Castleberry High School junior is honing her skills with a structured workout regimen. She runs three to four miles a day, six days a week. She works out at the Fort Worth Boxing Club five days a week with a regimen that includes sparring, shadowboxing, sit-ups and jumping rope.
Juarez says it's hard to find other girls to spar with, so she does the next best thing -- she fights boys. Juarez, who weighs in at around 117 pounds, spars with 114-pound Jose Ortiz and 132-pound Dimitrius Hunter.
At this year's Texas championships, Juarez won her fight by unanimous decision to take the women's senior division title and advance to the national championships next month in Colorado Springs, Colo. If she's successful there, she'll head to Argentina to vie for the 2005 world amateur championship.
8 Years she's trained in boxing.
7 Junior division national championship titles.
6 Days a week she runs three to four miles.
4 Years since she's lost a match. Her record is 49-4.
1 Junior division world championship title.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Men Allegedly Hold Police In 7-Hour Standoff
Police Evacuate Neighborhood
DALLAS, Texas -- Police are questioning three men after a standoff in Oak Cliff.
Investigators tracked the men to a home on American Way after two men claimed they had been kidnapped and tied up inside.
Witnesses said the men were covered in blood and wearing handcuffs.
Dallas police surrounded the house and evacuated the neighborhood, NBC 5 News reported.
Seven hours later, two suspects came out peacefully.
Police found the third suspect hiding in the attic allegedly with several weapons and ammunition.
Police Evacuate Neighborhood
DALLAS, Texas -- Police are questioning three men after a standoff in Oak Cliff.
Investigators tracked the men to a home on American Way after two men claimed they had been kidnapped and tied up inside.
Witnesses said the men were covered in blood and wearing handcuffs.
Dallas police surrounded the house and evacuated the neighborhood, NBC 5 News reported.
Seven hours later, two suspects came out peacefully.
Police found the third suspect hiding in the attic allegedly with several weapons and ammunition.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Business Exchange Days helps high school students prepare for the future
IRVING, Texas (Irving Rambler) - The Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce and the Irving Independent School District sponsored the 9th annual Business Exchange Days on Jan. 26 – 27.
Over 100 business professionals with experience in a variety of fields spoke with 11th and 12th grade students about the realities of life and work after high school. The program is designed to help students attending The Academy, Irving, MacArthur, Union Bower and Nimitz High Schools choose and prepare for a career after graduation.
Kimberly Travers DDS, MS, a dentist for six years and owner of Smile with Style Quality Orthodontic Care, spoke with Dr. Keasler’s Health Science Technology II Dental class at The Academy.
“I just wanted to talk to them about careers in dentistry, give them as much exposure as I can and invite them to get their questions answered. I enjoy working with kids and giving back a little. I’m happy to help out with this type of program when I can,” Ms. Travers said.
Dr. Keasler’s Technology II Dental uses cast teeth, mannequin heads and professional dental equipment to teach the basic skills of dental assisting. The mannequin heads work really well because according to Dr. Keasler, “these guys don’t scream, bleed or salivate”.
IRVING, Texas (Irving Rambler) - The Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce and the Irving Independent School District sponsored the 9th annual Business Exchange Days on Jan. 26 – 27.
Over 100 business professionals with experience in a variety of fields spoke with 11th and 12th grade students about the realities of life and work after high school. The program is designed to help students attending The Academy, Irving, MacArthur, Union Bower and Nimitz High Schools choose and prepare for a career after graduation.
Kimberly Travers DDS, MS, a dentist for six years and owner of Smile with Style Quality Orthodontic Care, spoke with Dr. Keasler’s Health Science Technology II Dental class at The Academy.
“I just wanted to talk to them about careers in dentistry, give them as much exposure as I can and invite them to get their questions answered. I enjoy working with kids and giving back a little. I’m happy to help out with this type of program when I can,” Ms. Travers said.
Dr. Keasler’s Technology II Dental uses cast teeth, mannequin heads and professional dental equipment to teach the basic skills of dental assisting. The mannequin heads work really well because according to Dr. Keasler, “these guys don’t scream, bleed or salivate”.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
De Zavala Middle School hosts 2005 Technology Media Fair’s open house
IRVING, Texas (Irving Rambler) - Irving ISD hosted its 2005 Technology Media Fair open house at DeZavala Middle School on Feb. 1.
Parents, students and staff were invited to view this year’s district level winners at the open house. IISD students and staff created approximately 715 entries for competition in 15 separate categories including broadcasting, desktop publishing and photography. Entries competed first at the campus level then advanced to the district level. ISD librarians and instructional technology specialists judged the competition.
The names of first, second and third place winners in each category were posted for the first time during the open house.
IRVING, Texas (Irving Rambler) - Irving ISD hosted its 2005 Technology Media Fair open house at DeZavala Middle School on Feb. 1.
Parents, students and staff were invited to view this year’s district level winners at the open house. IISD students and staff created approximately 715 entries for competition in 15 separate categories including broadcasting, desktop publishing and photography. Entries competed first at the campus level then advanced to the district level. ISD librarians and instructional technology specialists judged the competition.
The names of first, second and third place winners in each category were posted for the first time during the open house.
0 likes
-
rainstorm
TexasStooge wrote:Business Exchange Days helps high school students prepare for the future
IRVING, Texas (Irving Rambler) - The Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce and the Irving Independent School District sponsored the 9th annual Business Exchange Days on Jan. 26 – 27.
Over 100 business professionals with experience in a variety of fields spoke with 11th and 12th grade students about the realities of life and work after high school. The program is designed to help students attending The Academy, Irving, MacArthur, Union Bower and Nimitz High Schools choose and prepare for a career after graduation.
Kimberly Travers DDS, MS, a dentist for six years and owner of Smile with Style Quality Orthodontic Care, spoke with Dr. Keasler’s Health Science Technology II Dental class at The Academy.
“I just wanted to talk to them about careers in dentistry, give them as much exposure as I can and invite them to get their questions answered. I enjoy working with kids and giving back a little. I’m happy to help out with this type of program when I can,” Ms. Travers said.
Dr. Keasler’s Technology II Dental uses cast teeth, mannequin heads and professional dental equipment to teach the basic skills of dental assisting. The mannequin heads work really well because according to Dr. Keasler, “these guys don’t scream, bleed or salivate”.
not a bad idea
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Parents "Trade Spaces" with kids to Refurbish Restrooms at Las Colinas Elementary
IRVING, Texas (Irving Rambler) - Parents of students at Las Colinas Elementary “Traded Spaces” with their kids to redecorate and refurbish the restrooms at the 18-year old school last Saturday. Patterned after the popular The Learning Channel (TLC) decorating show “Trading Spaces”, parent teams had nine hours, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and $250 each to paint and restyle six kid’s bathrooms. Three teacher teams tackled the teachers’ and the nurse’s restrooms.
“Lots of moms and dads have heard kids say they don’t like going in the school restrooms very much because they were kind of old looking,” Cindy Santoscoy, Parent Teacher Association vicepresident, said. “Our PTA came up with the idea of updating the restrooms to make them look fresher and nicer. Having a different theme for each boys’ and girls’ bathroom will make it more fun for the kids to go in there and give them something else to be proud of about their school.”
Themes for the bathrooms are varied. Girls’ restrooms include a Diva/Groovy Girl, a Pottery Barn Butterfly and a Garden Party theme. The boys’ restroom themes are Western/Cowboy, Nautical and Sports.
The LCE PTA donated the money for each team as a gift to the school. Sherwin Williams in Irving donated several gallons of paint as well.
“Team members are already very exited about the project,” Ms. Santoscoy said before the project. “They are planning to work hard - some of the teams are even tiling the walls. Each team will be wearing their own colored shirts, and we even have a dad who is going to video-tape the day, then edit it and Parents “Trade Spaces” with kids to refurbish restrooms at Las Colinas Elementary present it just like a real ‘Trading Spaces’ show to be aired at the next general PTA meeting.”
“Trading Spaces Day” is a great way to help the school, while building community among the parents, according to Ms. Santoscoy. “I just think it is the neatest thing that all these parents are getting involved to make a real difference for their kids and school and yet having a great time in the process,” she said.
Monday, all of the students were treated to a tour of the redecorated bathrooms. During the week, representatives from Freeman Elementary evaluated and judged the bathroom decorations. “Under the Sea”, a nautical themed boy’s bathroom, decorated under the direction of team leaders Greg Parker, Joe Samuels and Jodi Galgay won first place.
IRVING, Texas (Irving Rambler) - Parents of students at Las Colinas Elementary “Traded Spaces” with their kids to redecorate and refurbish the restrooms at the 18-year old school last Saturday. Patterned after the popular The Learning Channel (TLC) decorating show “Trading Spaces”, parent teams had nine hours, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and $250 each to paint and restyle six kid’s bathrooms. Three teacher teams tackled the teachers’ and the nurse’s restrooms.
“Lots of moms and dads have heard kids say they don’t like going in the school restrooms very much because they were kind of old looking,” Cindy Santoscoy, Parent Teacher Association vicepresident, said. “Our PTA came up with the idea of updating the restrooms to make them look fresher and nicer. Having a different theme for each boys’ and girls’ bathroom will make it more fun for the kids to go in there and give them something else to be proud of about their school.”
Themes for the bathrooms are varied. Girls’ restrooms include a Diva/Groovy Girl, a Pottery Barn Butterfly and a Garden Party theme. The boys’ restroom themes are Western/Cowboy, Nautical and Sports.
The LCE PTA donated the money for each team as a gift to the school. Sherwin Williams in Irving donated several gallons of paint as well.
“Team members are already very exited about the project,” Ms. Santoscoy said before the project. “They are planning to work hard - some of the teams are even tiling the walls. Each team will be wearing their own colored shirts, and we even have a dad who is going to video-tape the day, then edit it and Parents “Trade Spaces” with kids to refurbish restrooms at Las Colinas Elementary present it just like a real ‘Trading Spaces’ show to be aired at the next general PTA meeting.”
“Trading Spaces Day” is a great way to help the school, while building community among the parents, according to Ms. Santoscoy. “I just think it is the neatest thing that all these parents are getting involved to make a real difference for their kids and school and yet having a great time in the process,” she said.
Monday, all of the students were treated to a tour of the redecorated bathrooms. During the week, representatives from Freeman Elementary evaluated and judged the bathroom decorations. “Under the Sea”, a nautical themed boy’s bathroom, decorated under the direction of team leaders Greg Parker, Joe Samuels and Jodi Galgay won first place.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Texas Instruments Is #1 Projection Display Panel Supplier in 2004 With DLP(TM) Technology
DALLAS, Texas (PRNewswire) -- Texas Instruments (TI) today announced strong growth of its DLP(TM) technology in 2004, with analyst numbers showing TI as the leading supplier of panel subsystems in 2004 with its DLP(TM) technology for the combined front and rear projection display market. In addition, DLP front projection worldwide marketshare increased to 47% at the close of 2004, which includes projectors for business and home entertainment usage.
According to Techno Systems Research out of Japan, TI supplied 2.65 million DLP subsystems in 2004, leading all other suppliers in projection display subsystems shipped, which includes LCD and LCoS subsystems. A growing base of leading manufacturers with innovative and expansive DLP product portfolios in both projectors and large-screen TVs has allowed this continued acceleration.
DLP(TM) Products also experienced significant growth of marketshare in the front projection segment in 2004, according to Pacific Media Associates (PMA). Closing the year with 47% worldwide marketshare, this represents an unprecedented 8% gain over 3Q04, and an impressive 14 point gain over 4Q03.
"2004 was a strong growth year for DLP technology," said Bill Coggshall of Pacific Media Associates. "DLP technology has gained marketshare for 10 consecutive quarters in the front projection space, which attests to the quality and value proposition that it offers manufacturers and, ultimately, consumers."
"What we have seen in the last few years is unsurpassed innovation from DLP customers that, coupled with the advantages of DLP technology, has delivered products that we believe bring the best in picture quality, style, and functionality to consumers," said John Van Scoter, Texas Instruments Senior Vice President and General Manager, DLP Products. "This is a winning combination, and we expect to continue to see such strong consumer demand for products with DLP technology at their core."
More than 75 companies are manufacturing TVs and projectors based on DLP technology, and there are now more than 350 DLP-based projector and large- screen TV models available worldwide. DLP technology has experienced incredible momentum with manufacturers and consumers largely due to the inherent advantages of its pure digital, single-panel design.
The advantages of DLP technology, including outstanding picture reliability, no burn-in or fade, deep rich colors, and incredible, industry- leading contrast ratios, have led more and more manufacturers to choose DLP technology. The speed advantage of DLP technology also allows for a 1-chip architecture that provides razor-sharpness that will not misconverge over time, and excellent reproduction of fast video such as sports and live action with no motion lag.
About Texas Instruments DLP Products
Texas Instruments DLP(TM) display technology offers clarity down to the most minute detail, delivering pictures rich with color and brightness to large-screen HDTVs and projectors for business, home, professional venue and digital cinema (DLP Cinema(TM)). More than 75 of the world's top projection and display manufacturers design, manufacture and market products based on DLP technology. At the heart of every DLP chip is an array of up to 2 million microscopic mirrors which switch incredibly fast to create a high resolution, highly reliable, full color image. DLP technology's chip architecture and inherent speed advantage provides razor-sharp images and excellent reproduction of fast motion video. Since early 1996, more than 5 million DLP subsystems have been shipped. For more information, please visit http://www.dlp.com/
Texas Instruments Incorporated provides innovative DSP and Analog technologies to meet our customers' real world signal processing requirements. In addition to Semiconductor, the company's businesses include Sensors & Controls and Educational & Productivity Solutions. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing, design or sales operations in more than 25 countries.
Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN. More information is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.ti.com/ .
Digital Light Processing, DLP and DLP Cinema are trademarks of Texas Instruments. All other products and names may or may not be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Texas Instruments DLP Products
CONTACT: Molly Mulloy of Texas Instruments DLP Products,+1-214-882-1262, or mollym@ti.com ; or Nick Mendoza of Rogers & Cowan,+1-310-854-8128, or nmendoza@rogersandcowan.com , for Texas Instruments DLPProducts
Web site: http://www.dlp.com/http://www.ti.com/
Source: PRNewswire
DALLAS, Texas (PRNewswire) -- Texas Instruments (TI) today announced strong growth of its DLP(TM) technology in 2004, with analyst numbers showing TI as the leading supplier of panel subsystems in 2004 with its DLP(TM) technology for the combined front and rear projection display market. In addition, DLP front projection worldwide marketshare increased to 47% at the close of 2004, which includes projectors for business and home entertainment usage.
According to Techno Systems Research out of Japan, TI supplied 2.65 million DLP subsystems in 2004, leading all other suppliers in projection display subsystems shipped, which includes LCD and LCoS subsystems. A growing base of leading manufacturers with innovative and expansive DLP product portfolios in both projectors and large-screen TVs has allowed this continued acceleration.
DLP(TM) Products also experienced significant growth of marketshare in the front projection segment in 2004, according to Pacific Media Associates (PMA). Closing the year with 47% worldwide marketshare, this represents an unprecedented 8% gain over 3Q04, and an impressive 14 point gain over 4Q03.
"2004 was a strong growth year for DLP technology," said Bill Coggshall of Pacific Media Associates. "DLP technology has gained marketshare for 10 consecutive quarters in the front projection space, which attests to the quality and value proposition that it offers manufacturers and, ultimately, consumers."
"What we have seen in the last few years is unsurpassed innovation from DLP customers that, coupled with the advantages of DLP technology, has delivered products that we believe bring the best in picture quality, style, and functionality to consumers," said John Van Scoter, Texas Instruments Senior Vice President and General Manager, DLP Products. "This is a winning combination, and we expect to continue to see such strong consumer demand for products with DLP technology at their core."
More than 75 companies are manufacturing TVs and projectors based on DLP technology, and there are now more than 350 DLP-based projector and large- screen TV models available worldwide. DLP technology has experienced incredible momentum with manufacturers and consumers largely due to the inherent advantages of its pure digital, single-panel design.
The advantages of DLP technology, including outstanding picture reliability, no burn-in or fade, deep rich colors, and incredible, industry- leading contrast ratios, have led more and more manufacturers to choose DLP technology. The speed advantage of DLP technology also allows for a 1-chip architecture that provides razor-sharpness that will not misconverge over time, and excellent reproduction of fast video such as sports and live action with no motion lag.
About Texas Instruments DLP Products
Texas Instruments DLP(TM) display technology offers clarity down to the most minute detail, delivering pictures rich with color and brightness to large-screen HDTVs and projectors for business, home, professional venue and digital cinema (DLP Cinema(TM)). More than 75 of the world's top projection and display manufacturers design, manufacture and market products based on DLP technology. At the heart of every DLP chip is an array of up to 2 million microscopic mirrors which switch incredibly fast to create a high resolution, highly reliable, full color image. DLP technology's chip architecture and inherent speed advantage provides razor-sharp images and excellent reproduction of fast motion video. Since early 1996, more than 5 million DLP subsystems have been shipped. For more information, please visit http://www.dlp.com/
Texas Instruments Incorporated provides innovative DSP and Analog technologies to meet our customers' real world signal processing requirements. In addition to Semiconductor, the company's businesses include Sensors & Controls and Educational & Productivity Solutions. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing, design or sales operations in more than 25 countries.
Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN. More information is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.ti.com/ .
Digital Light Processing, DLP and DLP Cinema are trademarks of Texas Instruments. All other products and names may or may not be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Texas Instruments DLP Products
CONTACT: Molly Mulloy of Texas Instruments DLP Products,+1-214-882-1262, or mollym@ti.com ; or Nick Mendoza of Rogers & Cowan,+1-310-854-8128, or nmendoza@rogersandcowan.com , for Texas Instruments DLPProducts
Web site: http://www.dlp.com/http://www.ti.com/
Source: PRNewswire
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Haltom City murder probe intensifies
By MARY ANN RAZZUK / WFAA ABC 8
HALTOM CITY, Texas — The investigation into a 14-year-old Haltom City girl's murder is focusing more on a man who has been considered a "person of interest," police announced Sunday.
Lan Bui was found stabbed to death in the courtyard of her apartment complex on February 7. Police said Laverne Pratt, who lives at the complex, stepped forward this weekend with new information.
"Mr. Pratt recanted his earlier statements that he'd been giving us earlier this week, and subsequently admitted to witnessing the offense and possibly even participating in it," said Haltom City police chief Ken Burton.
Police identified Pratt as the stepfather of Gustavo Flores, 19, who is currently being held in the Haltom City jail on a different charge.
"(Pratt) has implicated Gustavo Flores as the person who committed the act," Burton said.
However, police said Pratt did not specify what the alleged act was in this complicated murder investigation. According to police, he also indicated others may be involved. Pratt was arrested and charged with hindering apprehension.
In an arrest warrant affidavit, detectives stated: "After speaking with Mr. Pratt for an hour, Mr. Pratt admitted to having significant and specific information about the capital murder of Lan Bui."
News 8 talked to Gustavo Flores last week about the police investigation. Flores said police asked him "if I were a killer and stuff, if i would kill her, you know ... I was like, 'no.'"
"We were in Azle and came back about the time the body was dropped there," Flores said.
As the police investigation continues, Bui's family waits patiently for answers they hope will bring them closure.
"We knew that somebody knew something, and we were just waiting for them to talk," said sister Lacey Lerma.
By MARY ANN RAZZUK / WFAA ABC 8
HALTOM CITY, Texas — The investigation into a 14-year-old Haltom City girl's murder is focusing more on a man who has been considered a "person of interest," police announced Sunday.
Lan Bui was found stabbed to death in the courtyard of her apartment complex on February 7. Police said Laverne Pratt, who lives at the complex, stepped forward this weekend with new information.
"Mr. Pratt recanted his earlier statements that he'd been giving us earlier this week, and subsequently admitted to witnessing the offense and possibly even participating in it," said Haltom City police chief Ken Burton.
Police identified Pratt as the stepfather of Gustavo Flores, 19, who is currently being held in the Haltom City jail on a different charge.
"(Pratt) has implicated Gustavo Flores as the person who committed the act," Burton said.
However, police said Pratt did not specify what the alleged act was in this complicated murder investigation. According to police, he also indicated others may be involved. Pratt was arrested and charged with hindering apprehension.
In an arrest warrant affidavit, detectives stated: "After speaking with Mr. Pratt for an hour, Mr. Pratt admitted to having significant and specific information about the capital murder of Lan Bui."
News 8 talked to Gustavo Flores last week about the police investigation. Flores said police asked him "if I were a killer and stuff, if i would kill her, you know ... I was like, 'no.'"
"We were in Azle and came back about the time the body was dropped there," Flores said.
As the police investigation continues, Bui's family waits patiently for answers they hope will bring them closure.
"We knew that somebody knew something, and we were just waiting for them to talk," said sister Lacey Lerma.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
One dead in Lewisville shooting
LEWISVILLE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Lewisville police said one person was shot and killed Monday morning at the Brighton Place Apartments.
A police SWAT team surrounded the complex in the 300 block of Corporate Drive after the incident was reported around 6 a.m. Several people were arrested.
The unidentified victim was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Other details about what happened were not immediately available.
WFAA-TV contributed to this report.
LEWISVILLE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Lewisville police said one person was shot and killed Monday morning at the Brighton Place Apartments.
A police SWAT team surrounded the complex in the 300 block of Corporate Drive after the incident was reported around 6 a.m. Several people were arrested.
The unidentified victim was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Other details about what happened were not immediately available.
WFAA-TV contributed to this report.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
After standoff, 3 men face robbery charges
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Three men face robbery charges in connection with a seven-hour police standoff Saturday, police said.
In custody were Jose Negrete Jr., 22, Mario Jesus Alvarado, 24, and Cesar Padron, 30. All were being held on two counts of aggravated robbery. Bond was set at $100,000 for each.
Two victims told police that they were kidnapped and had their car stolen Friday night. They told police that they had escaped from a house in the 6800 block of American Way in the Red Bird area.
When police knocked on the door about noon Saturday, the three men refused to come out. Two men came out about 3 p.m., and a third man was found in an attic.
Tanya Eiserer contributed to this report.
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Three men face robbery charges in connection with a seven-hour police standoff Saturday, police said.
In custody were Jose Negrete Jr., 22, Mario Jesus Alvarado, 24, and Cesar Padron, 30. All were being held on two counts of aggravated robbery. Bond was set at $100,000 for each.
Two victims told police that they were kidnapped and had their car stolen Friday night. They told police that they had escaped from a house in the 6800 block of American Way in the Red Bird area.
When police knocked on the door about noon Saturday, the three men refused to come out. Two men came out about 3 p.m., and a third man was found in an attic.
Tanya Eiserer contributed to this report.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Cowboys VP reflects on new stadium
Stephen Jones says new stadium will benefit fans, Arlington
By JEFF MOSIER / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - The agreement linking the futures of the Dallas Cowboys and the city of Arlington for at least the next 30 years was approved and signed during the last week, ending months of intense negotiations.
That City Council vote and signing ceremony kicks off a furious four years of planning and construction, all leading to opening day 2009, when the franchise unveils the $650 million stadium that Arlington voters agreed to help finance. The exact location, design and name are still to be determined, but the 75,000-seat retractable-roof stadium will be the new home for America's Team.
As the final hurdles were cleared, Cowboys vice president and chief operating officer Stephen Jones, son of owner Jerry Jones, spoke to The Dallas Morning News about the team's past and its future in Arlington.
Q: Why do the Dallas Cowboys need a new stadium?
A: If you look around the NFL – for that matter, if you look around professional sports – the new facilities that have been built have really, I think, catered to the fans. The fans are what make the sports. The fans are what have made the Dallas Cowboys. I think our fans deserve to have the same state-of-the-art facilities that other NFL teams have. ... They [other teams] have these brand-new fabulous facilities that make the experience very comfortable, exciting and interactive for the people who buy tickets.
Q: How will a fan's experience at a Cowboys game differ in the new stadium?
A: One of the things that we've seen when going to other football facilities – like Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Philadelphia – there's all these areas where fans can not only sit in their seats and enjoy the games, but they can also get up and socialize with their friends. These places have views of the field, and they don't necessarily have to be in their seats. ... They can be standing up, socializing and interacting with the fans and the facility, and yet also be part of the ballgame.
Q: Why did the negotiations fall through with Dallas officials?
A: We put forth a lot of resources and effort to try to make it happen in Dallas. It's well documented that we spent a lot of time and a lot of effort. Unfortunately, I think that for our fans in Dallas and the people who wanted the stadium to be in Dallas, it didn't work out. We have to respect the county judge, the commissioners, as well as the mayor and the leadership of Dallas who made the decision that there wasn't a deal there to be made. We had to do what was in the best interest of the franchise in the long term. It's not just for the upcoming five years, but it's almost a generational decision. ... Even though the stadium is not going to be in Dallas, we're still going to be great neighbors like we were in Irving.
Q: When talks broke down in Dallas, why was Arlington your next stop?
A: When you are looking at a deal of this magnitude, there were only certain communities that had the resources to do it. Obviously, we went to great lengths to make sure that the city of Dallas and Dallas County and any city within Dallas County could do a deal like this. Arlington certainly had the resources to do something like this, and there were a couple of others. Arlington had done this before with the [Texas] Rangers. ... They had some very aggressive leadership with a lot of vision who stepped up and wanted to make this happen in Arlington. We felt the same way.
Q: Did you have a backup plan in case the proposition failed in Arlington?
A: When you look at a $650 million stadium, part of that is a domed, retractable roof; $250 million of that is to put a roof on. Part of what made this a good business deal and made the business deal work was that we were going to drive things other than just football games into the economy. ... The domed retractable roof is more for the city that's participating. Our backup plan would have been to go to more of an outdoor-type facility – like a New England or a Philadelphia – and build something that was more in tune for the Dallas Cowboys, major bowl games and things like that.
Q: If you would have decided to build the stadium without a retractable roof, would that mean more cities would have been considered?
A: I think so. Obviously, you're talking about a project that's $250 million less than what one would cost with a domed retractable-roof, air-conditioned facility. The economics change quite a bit when you look at a situation like that.
Q: Did you expect to have such vocal, organized opposition to the stadium election in Arlington?
A: Absolutely. If you look at any of these facilities that have been built anywhere in the country where there has been a public-private partnership, without fail, there's been opposition. We had done due diligence going around to all the cities that have built new stadiums and had success. We were pretty sure that we were going to have some good opposition.
Q: How do you respond to critics of the financing plan who say that Jerry Jones could afford to build the stadium on his own without city money?
A: When does a city get a chance to have a facility that can host these events and compete against the Houstons, the San Antonios, the New Orleanses, the Atlantas, not only for all these sporting events, Super Bowls and Final Fours, but for major religious conventions and other conventions? It's a perfect opportunity for a city to take advantage of a partner that's willing to put a significant amount of money into a facility like this that benefits not only a team in terms of what they are trying to get accomplished, but also benefits the community in terms of having these other events. Not only is it an economics issue, but it is also a lifestyle asset.
Q: Why were you able to win the election in Arlington?
A: What we were able to do was to get these critical points across that this is something that's going to be great for the city of Arlington. Not only will you have a great partner who's going to bring a lot of vision to the city, but it's going to drive jobs. It's going to drive economic development. ... Our opposition was able to get their points across, so I think they [voters] made a well-educated decision when they went to the polls. I think the results spoke for themselves.
Q: What consideration was given to relocating the Valley Ranch complex to Arlington?
A: It's something that we haven't ruled out. When you are looking at something that's $650 million-plus like this stadium and then you have to look at another $40 [million] or $50 million to move a facility like this, you're starting to add on to the price tag. We need to take the priorities in order. ... If it makes sense from a business standpoint both for the city of Arlington and from our standpoint, then that's something we would consider.
Q: How important is the proposed "town center" development to the success of the new stadium?
A: It's a very important piece to the overall puzzle. I think it would be a huge positive for there to be a successful overall master plan. Obviously that's not something that we have control over, but we are working with the [Rangers owner Tom] Hicks group so that the new facility we're bringing to the table fits in. We're certainly going to do what we can to make that happen.
Q: What are you going to miss about Texas Stadium?
A: Texas Stadium has been wonderful. The city of Irving has been a wonderful partner. There have been so many wonderful things happen in Texas Stadium, the NFC championship games that have been won. The hole in the roof has been symbolic of the franchise. It's a great compliment to Clint Murchison to put in the suites that he did and the way he designed the bowl and the sight lines. It's a great compliment to him that Texas Stadium has withstood the test of time.
Stephen Jones says new stadium will benefit fans, Arlington
By JEFF MOSIER / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - The agreement linking the futures of the Dallas Cowboys and the city of Arlington for at least the next 30 years was approved and signed during the last week, ending months of intense negotiations.
That City Council vote and signing ceremony kicks off a furious four years of planning and construction, all leading to opening day 2009, when the franchise unveils the $650 million stadium that Arlington voters agreed to help finance. The exact location, design and name are still to be determined, but the 75,000-seat retractable-roof stadium will be the new home for America's Team.
As the final hurdles were cleared, Cowboys vice president and chief operating officer Stephen Jones, son of owner Jerry Jones, spoke to The Dallas Morning News about the team's past and its future in Arlington.
Q: Why do the Dallas Cowboys need a new stadium?
A: If you look around the NFL – for that matter, if you look around professional sports – the new facilities that have been built have really, I think, catered to the fans. The fans are what make the sports. The fans are what have made the Dallas Cowboys. I think our fans deserve to have the same state-of-the-art facilities that other NFL teams have. ... They [other teams] have these brand-new fabulous facilities that make the experience very comfortable, exciting and interactive for the people who buy tickets.
Q: How will a fan's experience at a Cowboys game differ in the new stadium?
A: One of the things that we've seen when going to other football facilities – like Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Philadelphia – there's all these areas where fans can not only sit in their seats and enjoy the games, but they can also get up and socialize with their friends. These places have views of the field, and they don't necessarily have to be in their seats. ... They can be standing up, socializing and interacting with the fans and the facility, and yet also be part of the ballgame.
Q: Why did the negotiations fall through with Dallas officials?
A: We put forth a lot of resources and effort to try to make it happen in Dallas. It's well documented that we spent a lot of time and a lot of effort. Unfortunately, I think that for our fans in Dallas and the people who wanted the stadium to be in Dallas, it didn't work out. We have to respect the county judge, the commissioners, as well as the mayor and the leadership of Dallas who made the decision that there wasn't a deal there to be made. We had to do what was in the best interest of the franchise in the long term. It's not just for the upcoming five years, but it's almost a generational decision. ... Even though the stadium is not going to be in Dallas, we're still going to be great neighbors like we were in Irving.
Q: When talks broke down in Dallas, why was Arlington your next stop?
A: When you are looking at a deal of this magnitude, there were only certain communities that had the resources to do it. Obviously, we went to great lengths to make sure that the city of Dallas and Dallas County and any city within Dallas County could do a deal like this. Arlington certainly had the resources to do something like this, and there were a couple of others. Arlington had done this before with the [Texas] Rangers. ... They had some very aggressive leadership with a lot of vision who stepped up and wanted to make this happen in Arlington. We felt the same way.
Q: Did you have a backup plan in case the proposition failed in Arlington?
A: When you look at a $650 million stadium, part of that is a domed, retractable roof; $250 million of that is to put a roof on. Part of what made this a good business deal and made the business deal work was that we were going to drive things other than just football games into the economy. ... The domed retractable roof is more for the city that's participating. Our backup plan would have been to go to more of an outdoor-type facility – like a New England or a Philadelphia – and build something that was more in tune for the Dallas Cowboys, major bowl games and things like that.
Q: If you would have decided to build the stadium without a retractable roof, would that mean more cities would have been considered?
A: I think so. Obviously, you're talking about a project that's $250 million less than what one would cost with a domed retractable-roof, air-conditioned facility. The economics change quite a bit when you look at a situation like that.
Q: Did you expect to have such vocal, organized opposition to the stadium election in Arlington?
A: Absolutely. If you look at any of these facilities that have been built anywhere in the country where there has been a public-private partnership, without fail, there's been opposition. We had done due diligence going around to all the cities that have built new stadiums and had success. We were pretty sure that we were going to have some good opposition.
Q: How do you respond to critics of the financing plan who say that Jerry Jones could afford to build the stadium on his own without city money?
A: When does a city get a chance to have a facility that can host these events and compete against the Houstons, the San Antonios, the New Orleanses, the Atlantas, not only for all these sporting events, Super Bowls and Final Fours, but for major religious conventions and other conventions? It's a perfect opportunity for a city to take advantage of a partner that's willing to put a significant amount of money into a facility like this that benefits not only a team in terms of what they are trying to get accomplished, but also benefits the community in terms of having these other events. Not only is it an economics issue, but it is also a lifestyle asset.
Q: Why were you able to win the election in Arlington?
A: What we were able to do was to get these critical points across that this is something that's going to be great for the city of Arlington. Not only will you have a great partner who's going to bring a lot of vision to the city, but it's going to drive jobs. It's going to drive economic development. ... Our opposition was able to get their points across, so I think they [voters] made a well-educated decision when they went to the polls. I think the results spoke for themselves.
Q: What consideration was given to relocating the Valley Ranch complex to Arlington?
A: It's something that we haven't ruled out. When you are looking at something that's $650 million-plus like this stadium and then you have to look at another $40 [million] or $50 million to move a facility like this, you're starting to add on to the price tag. We need to take the priorities in order. ... If it makes sense from a business standpoint both for the city of Arlington and from our standpoint, then that's something we would consider.
Q: How important is the proposed "town center" development to the success of the new stadium?
A: It's a very important piece to the overall puzzle. I think it would be a huge positive for there to be a successful overall master plan. Obviously that's not something that we have control over, but we are working with the [Rangers owner Tom] Hicks group so that the new facility we're bringing to the table fits in. We're certainly going to do what we can to make that happen.
Q: What are you going to miss about Texas Stadium?
A: Texas Stadium has been wonderful. The city of Irving has been a wonderful partner. There have been so many wonderful things happen in Texas Stadium, the NFC championship games that have been won. The hole in the roof has been symbolic of the franchise. It's a great compliment to Clint Murchison to put in the suites that he did and the way he designed the bowl and the sight lines. It's a great compliment to him that Texas Stadium has withstood the test of time.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
VA patients paint picture of neglect
Director acknowledges problems, says Dallas hospital is improving
By DOUG J. SWANSON / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - John Hahn lay marooned in his bed last year at the Dallas veterans' hospital, desperately seeking a nurse. An Air Force vet whose terminal bone cancer had made him a paraplegic, Mr. Hahn required turning every two hours.
That day, March 21, he started at 5:30 a.m. pushing his call button, which rang at the nearby nurse's station. No one came. He pushed it throughout the morning and into the afternoon, and still nothing.
"Called/Requested help for the past 8 hrs," he wrote in his journal.
Finally, in anger and frustration, Mr. Hahn used his bedside phone to summon the police.
An officer arrived within minutes, and nurses said they had in fact checked on Mr. Hahn several times. When the officer left, a hospital aide gave the patient the relief he sought.
"Took 5 min," Mr. Hahn, 61, wrote in his journal. "Within an 8 hr period of time they couldn't find 5 mins. to turn me."
Although his solution was unusual, Mr. Hahn's story of neglect at the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center is not.
Virginia Pritchett of Mineral Wells recalled her father's stay there for hip surgery.
"I can take my animals to the veterinarian and get better treatment than my father got at the Dallas VA," she said. "They shouldn't do this to anybody, let alone someone who fights for their country."
Tammy Turner of Fort Worth also took her father to the Dallas VA. "They made it a living hell there," she said.
Stephanie Canada of Dallas remembered her husband's hospitalization last year for a stroke. "The nurses there do not care if people live or die," she said. "There was plenty of staff, but they'd rather play cards."
Officials with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said they are aware of problems at the medical center, which ranked last among all veterans hospitals in its adherence to federal performance standards in 2004.
Changes are being made, said Thomas Stranova, director of the VA Heart of Texas Health Care Network, which operates hospitals and clinics from the Red River to the Rio Grande.
"It's like turning around a battleship. ... We are making visible improvements," he said, adding: "We have a good distance to go yet."
Mr. Stranova did not blame funding or staffing levels for the problems. "We need to look at how we use our resources," he said. "Do we have the right people in the right place?"
Dozens interviewed
Over the last three weeks, a reporter for The Dallas Morning News has spoken to, or exchanged e-mails with, more than 150 Dallas VA patients or their families. Some said in interviews that they fared well at the Oak Cliff hospital.
"There are so many good things to point out," said Kenneth Hackney, who supervises Disabled American Veterans volunteers at the Dallas hospital. "We have people who care about the veterans. They are concerned about veterans, and they understand veterans."
Of his stay there in 2003 for a spinal epidural procedure, Mr. Hackney said: "I think it's the best care I could receive anywhere."
Even those with major complaints about the hospital praised some individual doctors, nurses and therapists who showed extraordinary devotion to duty. Some singled out the spinal cord injury unit as particularly good.
But many of those interviewed also described deliberate mistreatment at the hands of nurses and support staff. They portrayed much of the medical center as a dirty and ill-equipped institution where patients cry out vainly for aid and others are left to die alone.
Ms. Pritchett, for example, said nurses and aides routinely ignored her bed-ridden father, an 81-year-old Marine veteran of World War II who won the Navy Cross. He wasn't alone in his suffering at the hospital's Transitional Care Unit.
"I would be walking down the hall, and patients would be calling out for me to get help, because the nurses wouldn't answer," Ms. Pritchett said. When she went to nurses to complain, she said, she found them "sitting there having lunch."
Steve Van Note, a Plano police officer, said his stepfather, an Army veteran of World War II, checked into the Dallas VA in late 2003 for treatment of breathing problems. In his bathroom "there was feces splattered on the wall," Mr. Van Note said. "In one week alone there were three or four days when they didn't feed him."
Aides told the family the patient had been set for medical tests that required them to withhold food. Actually, Mr. Van Note said, no tests had been scheduled.
At the stepfather's request, the family moved him to a private facility, Mr. Van Note said. "Even he himself said, 'I need to get out of here and get to another hospital.'"
His stepfather, John M. Patton, died in April at the age of 74.
Not only patients and families find fault. Dr. Dell Simmons, a resident physician in emergency medicine at the Dallas VA, said patients are dying needlessly.
"Lives are being lost unnecessarily due to the mismanagement of this facility," Dr. Simmons said. "We're constantly in a battle to get care accomplished. ... They have an undertrained and undermanned staff, and it's poorly deployed."
Dr. Simmons, who is in the second month of his residency, said many patients face long delays in receiving routine tests and procedures, especially on nights and weekends. "Those kinds of things can turn a problem that can be easily treated into a disaster," he said, adding that he sees little hope for improvement. "People here have really kind of given up fixing problems."
Low marks
The inspector general for the Department of Veterans Affairs, in a report completed in November 2004, gave the Dallas hospital low marks in many areas, including sanitation, management and patient safety. Hospital officials said problems cited by the inspector general were eliminated while the investigation was under way.
But Robert Faulkner of Abilene, an Air Force veteran and safety engineer, said he was admitted to the hospital in November and found his room filthy. A urine-soaked pad had been left under his bed, he said. He discovered another pad in the nightstand drawer, this one smeared with excrement.
"There was bloody gauze all over the floor," Mr. Faulkner said. "I showed it to the nurse, and she said, 'What do you expect? This is the VA.' "
Dorothy Davis of Dallas said the man for whom she is a legal caretaker, a 56-year-old Army veteran, spent time in the Dallas VA in October for a stroke that paralyzed his left side. "He received the worst care any human could have," she said.
Ms. Davis said the man, who asked that he not be identified for fear of retaliation, had a tracheotomy with a breathing tube inserted. Such tubes often need to be suctioned for the removal of mucous and saliva. Many times, she said, nurses refused to perform this procedure.
"I literally had to go in and do the suction for him," she said. "The nurses would disappear."
Last month, The News disclosed results of a federal survey of medical students at the Dallas VA. They said an incompetent and uncaring nursing staff often neglected and abused patients.
One day later, the chief of nursing services for the hospital was replaced. And the national veterans health office in Washington announced it was sending two special teams to Dallas to investigate conditions.
The Department of Veterans Affairs turned down a request by The News to interview members of the inspection teams. The department also refused requests for interviews with managers of the nursing service at the Dallas VA.
Network director Stranova said the national office sent inspection teams to Dallas in part because of publicity and in part because of need.
"I'd like to say that 85 percent of the veterans who walk through our door get excellent care," he said. "But what about the other 15?"
Some patients have no complaints. Richard Hearne, 62, of Dallas said he had colon surgery last year and was treated well. "It was great for what it is," he said. "I found the people to be delightful."
An Army veteran, Mr. Hearne said much depends on one's approach. "The people who have a good attitude have a good experience. The people who have a bad attitude have a bad experience,"
Fred Cantrell of Point, Texas, said he has enjoyed excellent care during and after five surgeries at the Dallas VA. A 69-year-old Army veteran, Mr. Cantrell said part of the problem lies with the medical students.
"These wannabe doctors, they don't have any power," he said. "They can't tell a nurse what to do, so they feel like the nurses are not doing their jobs."
Expectations of nurses may be too high, said Donna Jackson, a registered nurse who worked at the Dallas VA for more than 10 years. She left in 2001.
"People have ideas in their heads about what nurses are supposed to provide," she said. "But patients may want something that's not a priority. If you want a pain pill, that should be a priority over issues of personal care."
Mrs. Jackson, who now works at a Houston VA hospital, said she found nurses at the Dallas hospital to be dedicated and compassionate.
Some nurses and doctors at the Dallas VA pointed to difficulties with poorly performing support staff, such as aides and custodians. Incompetent workers are rarely fired, they said.
"These people are protected by the union," one nurse said, "and they move from one unit to another because nobody wants them."
Lack of cooperation
Network director Stranova said hospital management and union officials "have not worked well together." He said he hopes new leadership at the hospital will provide "an opportunity to build new bridges."
Donald Burrell, president of the American Federation of Government Employees local that represents all unionized workers at the Dallas hospital, including nurses, declined to comment.
Many patients and families said hospital management has shown little interest in reacting to problems.
Ms. Turner said she filed an estimated 10 complaints with hospital officials but never received a satisfactory response. "Nobody wants to do anything there," she said. "Ninety percent of the people, if you ask them to do anything, they act like you asked them to do a flip or something."
Her father, an ex-Marine named Ronald Short, had cancer that had spread to his spine, she said. That made sitting or standing excruciatingly painful. So when she brought him to the Dallas VA for his check-ups, Ms. Turner said, he needed to lie on a gurney.
However, she said, "they wouldn't ever have a gurney. ... They told me they didn't have enough."
Once, while waiting to see a doctor, "He said, 'I've got to lay down. I've got to lay down now,' " Ms. Turner recalled. With no bed or gurney available, "I had to take him outside on one of those steel benches in the pouring rain."
Mr. Short died last year at age 68. During one of his hospital stays, Ms. Turner said, "two of the nurses that were supposed to be helping my dad were out in the hallway cussing up a storm about what they had to do for him. My dad could hear the whole thing."
She conveyed her concerns about such treatment to hospital officials, Ms. Turner said. "They never got back with us on anything. Nothing."
Lynn Lopez, the daughter of the journal-keeping Mr. Hahn, echoed those sentiments. "We complained at least 15 or 20 times over three months," she said. "The response was kind of like a brush-off. You never saw anything different."
For example, she said that despite their complaints, the staff often failed to give Mr. Hahn all his medications. Sometimes they would find his pills dumped into his bed, Mrs. Lopez said.
"We basically turned into the policing agency," she said. "We had somebody up at that hospital 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week." Mr. Hahn died in June.
Frank Watson, a retired American Airlines executive and Navy veteran, came to the hospital's Transitional Care Unit in January for a two-week stay. Mr. Watson, 74, has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Mr. Watson, who once enjoyed playing tennis, was diagnosed with the degenerative nerve disease in 2002. It has left him with no use of his legs and only two functioning fingers. He went to the Dallas VA so his wife, Carol, could have a much-needed break from caring for him.
Mr. Watson had been a patient at the medical center about five years before, "and everything was terrific," he said. This time was different.
He got one bath in two weeks. His teeth were never brushed. An emaciated patient roamed from room to room, stealing food off other patients' trays. Nurses told Mr. Watson that the man had a tapeworm.
When he needed to urinate, Mr. Watson pressed his call button for help with the bottle. Frequently no one responded. This made little sense to Mr. Watson, who could see the nurse's station from his bed.
"I could see three or four nurses sitting over there just chatting, having a good time," he said. "Sometimes they'd let it ring for around a half-hour."
At times he was left lying in his own waste for hours, and no one would answer his call button. "One night they just turned it off for an hour or more," he said.
On another occasion he asked a nurse who was in his room to help him move his feet to ease his pain. "I said, ' Nurse, could you help me for a second?' She said no and just kept on going out the door."
After he returned home, the Watsons complained and received an apology from one of the nursing managers. "He asked that we give him another chance," Mrs. Watson said. "I would never send Frank back there. Never."
Another family – a daughter, three grandchildren and four great grandchildren – came to the Dallas VA in October to visit David Sledge, 67, an Army veteran who had been admitted two days before with symptoms of a possible stroke.
A death unnoticed
Expecting a pleasant chat, they walked into his room one night and found him in bed, wearing only a diaper, unattended and not connected to equipment that monitors heart rate and blood pressure. His call button was several feet away on a nightstand.
He had been dead so long his body was cold to the touch. "His ears were blue, and his tongue was black," said his granddaughter, Teresa Garvin of Coppell. "More than half his body was discolored."
She went to the nurse's station about 50 feet down the hall. The time was 8 p.m.
"I asked the nurse, 'When was the last time you checked on David Sledge?' " Ms. Garvin said. "She said, 'We checked on him about 6:30 [p.m.]. Why?' "
An autopsy later showed the cause of death to be cardiac arrest, Ms. Garvin said.
The family was informed that Mr. Sledge had not been connected to monitors because his condition was believed to be stable, which is in accordance with standard practice at many hospitals.
An attending physician had this explanation for Ms. Garvin of her grandfather's unattended death: "She stated to me, 'I apologize, but our nurses are overworked and underpaid, and things like this just happen.' "
Network director Stranova said he believes the Dallas VA staff is large enough and sufficiently paid to deliver services well.
Hospital management, he said, needs to pay more attention to recently incorporated performance standards. "We still have a steep curve to go up, but we're climbing the curve," he said. "We're anxious to change the culture."
With the next wave of VA patients coming from the war in Iraq, officials are bracing for new challenges and increased scrutiny.
"We're here to serve veterans. They've earned it," Mr. Stranova said. "We care about them. We see them as members of our family."
Director acknowledges problems, says Dallas hospital is improving
By DOUG J. SWANSON / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - John Hahn lay marooned in his bed last year at the Dallas veterans' hospital, desperately seeking a nurse. An Air Force vet whose terminal bone cancer had made him a paraplegic, Mr. Hahn required turning every two hours.
That day, March 21, he started at 5:30 a.m. pushing his call button, which rang at the nearby nurse's station. No one came. He pushed it throughout the morning and into the afternoon, and still nothing.
"Called/Requested help for the past 8 hrs," he wrote in his journal.
Finally, in anger and frustration, Mr. Hahn used his bedside phone to summon the police.
An officer arrived within minutes, and nurses said they had in fact checked on Mr. Hahn several times. When the officer left, a hospital aide gave the patient the relief he sought.
"Took 5 min," Mr. Hahn, 61, wrote in his journal. "Within an 8 hr period of time they couldn't find 5 mins. to turn me."
Although his solution was unusual, Mr. Hahn's story of neglect at the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center is not.
Virginia Pritchett of Mineral Wells recalled her father's stay there for hip surgery.
"I can take my animals to the veterinarian and get better treatment than my father got at the Dallas VA," she said. "They shouldn't do this to anybody, let alone someone who fights for their country."
Tammy Turner of Fort Worth also took her father to the Dallas VA. "They made it a living hell there," she said.
Stephanie Canada of Dallas remembered her husband's hospitalization last year for a stroke. "The nurses there do not care if people live or die," she said. "There was plenty of staff, but they'd rather play cards."
Officials with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said they are aware of problems at the medical center, which ranked last among all veterans hospitals in its adherence to federal performance standards in 2004.
Changes are being made, said Thomas Stranova, director of the VA Heart of Texas Health Care Network, which operates hospitals and clinics from the Red River to the Rio Grande.
"It's like turning around a battleship. ... We are making visible improvements," he said, adding: "We have a good distance to go yet."
Mr. Stranova did not blame funding or staffing levels for the problems. "We need to look at how we use our resources," he said. "Do we have the right people in the right place?"
Dozens interviewed
Over the last three weeks, a reporter for The Dallas Morning News has spoken to, or exchanged e-mails with, more than 150 Dallas VA patients or their families. Some said in interviews that they fared well at the Oak Cliff hospital.
"There are so many good things to point out," said Kenneth Hackney, who supervises Disabled American Veterans volunteers at the Dallas hospital. "We have people who care about the veterans. They are concerned about veterans, and they understand veterans."
Of his stay there in 2003 for a spinal epidural procedure, Mr. Hackney said: "I think it's the best care I could receive anywhere."
Even those with major complaints about the hospital praised some individual doctors, nurses and therapists who showed extraordinary devotion to duty. Some singled out the spinal cord injury unit as particularly good.
But many of those interviewed also described deliberate mistreatment at the hands of nurses and support staff. They portrayed much of the medical center as a dirty and ill-equipped institution where patients cry out vainly for aid and others are left to die alone.
Ms. Pritchett, for example, said nurses and aides routinely ignored her bed-ridden father, an 81-year-old Marine veteran of World War II who won the Navy Cross. He wasn't alone in his suffering at the hospital's Transitional Care Unit.
"I would be walking down the hall, and patients would be calling out for me to get help, because the nurses wouldn't answer," Ms. Pritchett said. When she went to nurses to complain, she said, she found them "sitting there having lunch."
Steve Van Note, a Plano police officer, said his stepfather, an Army veteran of World War II, checked into the Dallas VA in late 2003 for treatment of breathing problems. In his bathroom "there was feces splattered on the wall," Mr. Van Note said. "In one week alone there were three or four days when they didn't feed him."
Aides told the family the patient had been set for medical tests that required them to withhold food. Actually, Mr. Van Note said, no tests had been scheduled.
At the stepfather's request, the family moved him to a private facility, Mr. Van Note said. "Even he himself said, 'I need to get out of here and get to another hospital.'"
His stepfather, John M. Patton, died in April at the age of 74.
Not only patients and families find fault. Dr. Dell Simmons, a resident physician in emergency medicine at the Dallas VA, said patients are dying needlessly.
"Lives are being lost unnecessarily due to the mismanagement of this facility," Dr. Simmons said. "We're constantly in a battle to get care accomplished. ... They have an undertrained and undermanned staff, and it's poorly deployed."
Dr. Simmons, who is in the second month of his residency, said many patients face long delays in receiving routine tests and procedures, especially on nights and weekends. "Those kinds of things can turn a problem that can be easily treated into a disaster," he said, adding that he sees little hope for improvement. "People here have really kind of given up fixing problems."
Low marks
The inspector general for the Department of Veterans Affairs, in a report completed in November 2004, gave the Dallas hospital low marks in many areas, including sanitation, management and patient safety. Hospital officials said problems cited by the inspector general were eliminated while the investigation was under way.
But Robert Faulkner of Abilene, an Air Force veteran and safety engineer, said he was admitted to the hospital in November and found his room filthy. A urine-soaked pad had been left under his bed, he said. He discovered another pad in the nightstand drawer, this one smeared with excrement.
"There was bloody gauze all over the floor," Mr. Faulkner said. "I showed it to the nurse, and she said, 'What do you expect? This is the VA.' "
Dorothy Davis of Dallas said the man for whom she is a legal caretaker, a 56-year-old Army veteran, spent time in the Dallas VA in October for a stroke that paralyzed his left side. "He received the worst care any human could have," she said.
Ms. Davis said the man, who asked that he not be identified for fear of retaliation, had a tracheotomy with a breathing tube inserted. Such tubes often need to be suctioned for the removal of mucous and saliva. Many times, she said, nurses refused to perform this procedure.
"I literally had to go in and do the suction for him," she said. "The nurses would disappear."
Last month, The News disclosed results of a federal survey of medical students at the Dallas VA. They said an incompetent and uncaring nursing staff often neglected and abused patients.
One day later, the chief of nursing services for the hospital was replaced. And the national veterans health office in Washington announced it was sending two special teams to Dallas to investigate conditions.
The Department of Veterans Affairs turned down a request by The News to interview members of the inspection teams. The department also refused requests for interviews with managers of the nursing service at the Dallas VA.
Network director Stranova said the national office sent inspection teams to Dallas in part because of publicity and in part because of need.
"I'd like to say that 85 percent of the veterans who walk through our door get excellent care," he said. "But what about the other 15?"
Some patients have no complaints. Richard Hearne, 62, of Dallas said he had colon surgery last year and was treated well. "It was great for what it is," he said. "I found the people to be delightful."
An Army veteran, Mr. Hearne said much depends on one's approach. "The people who have a good attitude have a good experience. The people who have a bad attitude have a bad experience,"
Fred Cantrell of Point, Texas, said he has enjoyed excellent care during and after five surgeries at the Dallas VA. A 69-year-old Army veteran, Mr. Cantrell said part of the problem lies with the medical students.
"These wannabe doctors, they don't have any power," he said. "They can't tell a nurse what to do, so they feel like the nurses are not doing their jobs."
Expectations of nurses may be too high, said Donna Jackson, a registered nurse who worked at the Dallas VA for more than 10 years. She left in 2001.
"People have ideas in their heads about what nurses are supposed to provide," she said. "But patients may want something that's not a priority. If you want a pain pill, that should be a priority over issues of personal care."
Mrs. Jackson, who now works at a Houston VA hospital, said she found nurses at the Dallas hospital to be dedicated and compassionate.
Some nurses and doctors at the Dallas VA pointed to difficulties with poorly performing support staff, such as aides and custodians. Incompetent workers are rarely fired, they said.
"These people are protected by the union," one nurse said, "and they move from one unit to another because nobody wants them."
Lack of cooperation
Network director Stranova said hospital management and union officials "have not worked well together." He said he hopes new leadership at the hospital will provide "an opportunity to build new bridges."
Donald Burrell, president of the American Federation of Government Employees local that represents all unionized workers at the Dallas hospital, including nurses, declined to comment.
Many patients and families said hospital management has shown little interest in reacting to problems.
Ms. Turner said she filed an estimated 10 complaints with hospital officials but never received a satisfactory response. "Nobody wants to do anything there," she said. "Ninety percent of the people, if you ask them to do anything, they act like you asked them to do a flip or something."
Her father, an ex-Marine named Ronald Short, had cancer that had spread to his spine, she said. That made sitting or standing excruciatingly painful. So when she brought him to the Dallas VA for his check-ups, Ms. Turner said, he needed to lie on a gurney.
However, she said, "they wouldn't ever have a gurney. ... They told me they didn't have enough."
Once, while waiting to see a doctor, "He said, 'I've got to lay down. I've got to lay down now,' " Ms. Turner recalled. With no bed or gurney available, "I had to take him outside on one of those steel benches in the pouring rain."
Mr. Short died last year at age 68. During one of his hospital stays, Ms. Turner said, "two of the nurses that were supposed to be helping my dad were out in the hallway cussing up a storm about what they had to do for him. My dad could hear the whole thing."
She conveyed her concerns about such treatment to hospital officials, Ms. Turner said. "They never got back with us on anything. Nothing."
Lynn Lopez, the daughter of the journal-keeping Mr. Hahn, echoed those sentiments. "We complained at least 15 or 20 times over three months," she said. "The response was kind of like a brush-off. You never saw anything different."
For example, she said that despite their complaints, the staff often failed to give Mr. Hahn all his medications. Sometimes they would find his pills dumped into his bed, Mrs. Lopez said.
"We basically turned into the policing agency," she said. "We had somebody up at that hospital 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week." Mr. Hahn died in June.
Frank Watson, a retired American Airlines executive and Navy veteran, came to the hospital's Transitional Care Unit in January for a two-week stay. Mr. Watson, 74, has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Mr. Watson, who once enjoyed playing tennis, was diagnosed with the degenerative nerve disease in 2002. It has left him with no use of his legs and only two functioning fingers. He went to the Dallas VA so his wife, Carol, could have a much-needed break from caring for him.
Mr. Watson had been a patient at the medical center about five years before, "and everything was terrific," he said. This time was different.
He got one bath in two weeks. His teeth were never brushed. An emaciated patient roamed from room to room, stealing food off other patients' trays. Nurses told Mr. Watson that the man had a tapeworm.
When he needed to urinate, Mr. Watson pressed his call button for help with the bottle. Frequently no one responded. This made little sense to Mr. Watson, who could see the nurse's station from his bed.
"I could see three or four nurses sitting over there just chatting, having a good time," he said. "Sometimes they'd let it ring for around a half-hour."
At times he was left lying in his own waste for hours, and no one would answer his call button. "One night they just turned it off for an hour or more," he said.
On another occasion he asked a nurse who was in his room to help him move his feet to ease his pain. "I said, ' Nurse, could you help me for a second?' She said no and just kept on going out the door."
After he returned home, the Watsons complained and received an apology from one of the nursing managers. "He asked that we give him another chance," Mrs. Watson said. "I would never send Frank back there. Never."
Another family – a daughter, three grandchildren and four great grandchildren – came to the Dallas VA in October to visit David Sledge, 67, an Army veteran who had been admitted two days before with symptoms of a possible stroke.
A death unnoticed
Expecting a pleasant chat, they walked into his room one night and found him in bed, wearing only a diaper, unattended and not connected to equipment that monitors heart rate and blood pressure. His call button was several feet away on a nightstand.
He had been dead so long his body was cold to the touch. "His ears were blue, and his tongue was black," said his granddaughter, Teresa Garvin of Coppell. "More than half his body was discolored."
She went to the nurse's station about 50 feet down the hall. The time was 8 p.m.
"I asked the nurse, 'When was the last time you checked on David Sledge?' " Ms. Garvin said. "She said, 'We checked on him about 6:30 [p.m.]. Why?' "
An autopsy later showed the cause of death to be cardiac arrest, Ms. Garvin said.
The family was informed that Mr. Sledge had not been connected to monitors because his condition was believed to be stable, which is in accordance with standard practice at many hospitals.
An attending physician had this explanation for Ms. Garvin of her grandfather's unattended death: "She stated to me, 'I apologize, but our nurses are overworked and underpaid, and things like this just happen.' "
Network director Stranova said he believes the Dallas VA staff is large enough and sufficiently paid to deliver services well.
Hospital management, he said, needs to pay more attention to recently incorporated performance standards. "We still have a steep curve to go up, but we're climbing the curve," he said. "We're anxious to change the culture."
With the next wave of VA patients coming from the war in Iraq, officials are bracing for new challenges and increased scrutiny.
"We're here to serve veterans. They've earned it," Mr. Stranova said. "We care about them. We see them as members of our family."
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Phone system to help find the missing
Phone alerts will aid young, disabled and elderly
By BRENT FLYNN / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Texas police departments have a new tool at their disposal in missing person cases.
Representatives from 17 local law enforcement agencies, including Richardson, Dallas, Dallas County, Garland and Frisco, gathered at Richardson City Hall on Thursday to learn about a new first-response network called A Child is Missing, or ACIM.
It is an alert system designed to supplement the National Amber Alert Network that assists in the recovery of abducted children. Whereas the Amber Alert uses local media outlets to broadcast the description of an abducted child and the suspect on radio and television, ACIM uses a recorded telephone message and 181 T1 lines to blanket nearby residences, businesses and neighborhood organizations with information about a missing person.
The Richardson Police Department will be one of the first law enforcement agencies in the state to implement the alert. On Thursday, Richardson Police Chief Larry Zacharias noted the timeliness of the presentation in his opening remarks.
"Dallas has a 3-year-old missing today. They broadcast it this morning. The question they were asked was, 'Have you activated the Amber Alert?' Because he was with a family member, it couldn't be activated. This system could have been activated."
As helpful as the Amber Alert has been in recovering abducted children – 155 since 1996 – it has limitations.
The Amber Alert is only activated when a child, 17 years of age or younger, has been abducted by a stranger and is in imminent danger of bodily harm or death.
ACIM is intended for children, the elderly, Alzheimer's patients and disabled people but can be used for any missing person. ACIM can also be activated even when foul play is not suspected.
Chief Zacharias said the most frequently reported missing people in Richardson are Alzheimer's patients. He said that he expects to see more of them as the city's population continues to age and that ACIM would be a great help.
"I think for Richardson it would mainly be used for Alzheimer's and missing children," Chief Zacharias said, noting that some adjustments would be made to the suggested standard operating procedure to ensure that the alert is not overused.
The founder of A Child is Missing, Sherry Friedlander, said the beauty of the program is that officers investigating a missing person case can activate it on site.
"We are there as soon as you are there," she said.
All it takes is a telephone call from a police officer to a toll-free number. The officer then gives a description of the individual and the last time and place the missing person was seen to technicians on duty 24 hours a day, every day. The technician creates a message saying that the local police department is looking for the person.
The service is offered at no charge to police departments and is capable of making 1,000 calls a minute to telephone numbers from a national database updated quarterly. Grants, federal and state funds, and business and private donations pay for the program.
Ms. Friedlander said the calls get a 98 percent listen rate and the network has been credited with 81 recoveries in the last three years. So far, 16 states have implemented A Child is Missing. Its introduction to Texas is part of a 20-state push in 2005.
Jerry Durham, the constituent services director for U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Plano, he said is examining how to get federal funding for the Texas ACIM program.
"On the surface it seems like a great way to protect the most innocent victims," Mr. Durham said.
Chief Zacharias agreed.
"We think it's a good program."
Phone alerts will aid young, disabled and elderly
By BRENT FLYNN / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Texas police departments have a new tool at their disposal in missing person cases.
Representatives from 17 local law enforcement agencies, including Richardson, Dallas, Dallas County, Garland and Frisco, gathered at Richardson City Hall on Thursday to learn about a new first-response network called A Child is Missing, or ACIM.
It is an alert system designed to supplement the National Amber Alert Network that assists in the recovery of abducted children. Whereas the Amber Alert uses local media outlets to broadcast the description of an abducted child and the suspect on radio and television, ACIM uses a recorded telephone message and 181 T1 lines to blanket nearby residences, businesses and neighborhood organizations with information about a missing person.
The Richardson Police Department will be one of the first law enforcement agencies in the state to implement the alert. On Thursday, Richardson Police Chief Larry Zacharias noted the timeliness of the presentation in his opening remarks.
"Dallas has a 3-year-old missing today. They broadcast it this morning. The question they were asked was, 'Have you activated the Amber Alert?' Because he was with a family member, it couldn't be activated. This system could have been activated."
As helpful as the Amber Alert has been in recovering abducted children – 155 since 1996 – it has limitations.
The Amber Alert is only activated when a child, 17 years of age or younger, has been abducted by a stranger and is in imminent danger of bodily harm or death.
ACIM is intended for children, the elderly, Alzheimer's patients and disabled people but can be used for any missing person. ACIM can also be activated even when foul play is not suspected.
Chief Zacharias said the most frequently reported missing people in Richardson are Alzheimer's patients. He said that he expects to see more of them as the city's population continues to age and that ACIM would be a great help.
"I think for Richardson it would mainly be used for Alzheimer's and missing children," Chief Zacharias said, noting that some adjustments would be made to the suggested standard operating procedure to ensure that the alert is not overused.
The founder of A Child is Missing, Sherry Friedlander, said the beauty of the program is that officers investigating a missing person case can activate it on site.
"We are there as soon as you are there," she said.
All it takes is a telephone call from a police officer to a toll-free number. The officer then gives a description of the individual and the last time and place the missing person was seen to technicians on duty 24 hours a day, every day. The technician creates a message saying that the local police department is looking for the person.
The service is offered at no charge to police departments and is capable of making 1,000 calls a minute to telephone numbers from a national database updated quarterly. Grants, federal and state funds, and business and private donations pay for the program.
Ms. Friedlander said the calls get a 98 percent listen rate and the network has been credited with 81 recoveries in the last three years. So far, 16 states have implemented A Child is Missing. Its introduction to Texas is part of a 20-state push in 2005.
Jerry Durham, the constituent services director for U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Plano, he said is examining how to get federal funding for the Texas ACIM program.
"On the surface it seems like a great way to protect the most innocent victims," Mr. Durham said.
Chief Zacharias agreed.
"We think it's a good program."
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Jury To Decide If Mother Accused Of Killing Baby Fit To Stand Trial
Psychiatrist: Plano Mother Has Bi-Polar Disorder, Postpartum Onset
PLANO, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- A jury will decide if a Plano mother accused of killing her baby is fit to stand trial at a court hearing Monday at the Collin County courthouse.
A court-appointed psychiatrist has already evaluated Dena Schlosser, 36, and his finding was that she is not competent to stand trial.
The decision will be in the hands of a McKinney jury.
Dr. David Self, the psychiatrist who evaluated Schlosser, determined that the Plano mother has bi-polar disorder and postpartum onset.
Dr. Self also wrote that shunts placed in her brain during surgeries as a child could have caused water on the brain and contributed to her actions.
Schlosser was charged with capital murder in November after she told a 911 operator that she killed her 10-month-old baby.
Police found Schlosser in her apartment holding a knife. Religious hymns were playing in the background.
Schlosser was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis right after giving birth to her third daughter, and tried to commit suicide the day after her daughter was born.
Her husband, John, just won sole custody of the two surviving children last Friday.
It is now up to a jury to decide if they agree with the court-appointed psychiatrist.
Psychiatrist: Plano Mother Has Bi-Polar Disorder, Postpartum Onset
PLANO, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- A jury will decide if a Plano mother accused of killing her baby is fit to stand trial at a court hearing Monday at the Collin County courthouse.
A court-appointed psychiatrist has already evaluated Dena Schlosser, 36, and his finding was that she is not competent to stand trial.
The decision will be in the hands of a McKinney jury.
Dr. David Self, the psychiatrist who evaluated Schlosser, determined that the Plano mother has bi-polar disorder and postpartum onset.
Dr. Self also wrote that shunts placed in her brain during surgeries as a child could have caused water on the brain and contributed to her actions.
Schlosser was charged with capital murder in November after she told a 911 operator that she killed her 10-month-old baby.
Police found Schlosser in her apartment holding a knife. Religious hymns were playing in the background.
Schlosser was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis right after giving birth to her third daughter, and tried to commit suicide the day after her daughter was born.
Her husband, John, just won sole custody of the two surviving children last Friday.
It is now up to a jury to decide if they agree with the court-appointed psychiatrist.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Houston academy offers basketball education
Charter school nets rep for getting scholarships for kids, lax academics
By TIM MacMAHON / The Dallas Morning News
HOUSTON, Texas – The Gulf Shores Academy campus, a converted strip mall in a tough part of Houston, does not have a gym. No trophy case, either. No indications that the charter school is a national basketball powerhouse.
Unless you walk into the right classroom. That would be the one the basketball team occupies when it isn't on one of the 11 out-of-state trips Gulf Shores scheduled this season. Fifteen boys – ranging in classification from a freshman to several fifth-year seniors and in height from 5-10 to 6-11 – receive individual instruction from one teacher in this room. The curriculum focuses on preparing them for the TAKS and SAT, standardized tests required to graduate from high school and to enroll in a Division I college.
But their foremost focus is on playing ball, something they do quite well. Four players have signed with Division I schools, and several others have that kind of potential. The recruiting Web site Rivalshoops.com ranks 6-8 wing Gerald Green as the No. 1 senior in the nation and point guard Javon Adams No. 19. Gulf Shores will play South Oak Cliff in The Dallas Morning News Classic at 4 p.m., Saturday at Reunion Arena.
"We could probably beat the Rockets," said coach Ken "Juice" Williams, 46, a trash-talking former University of Houston standout.
Gulf Shores does not compete in the University Interscholastic League or any other sanctioned league, meaning Mr. Williams has the authority to run his program free from the regulations that most high school programs must follow. Critics of the program question whether Gulf Shores players sacrifice academic growth at the expense of basketball.
Mr. Williams, sitting in his closet-size office, offers a simple explanation for how he assembled such an impressive collection of basketball talent.
"Everybody wants to play for me," he said with a smile, revealing a front tooth with a star cut out of the gold cap. That's why parents and AAU coaches are constantly calling or approaching him, hoping he'll make room for their kids on his squad. Opposing players often give Mr. Williams their phone numbers while shaking his hand after scrimmages and games.
Mr. Williams, who grew up in a Houston housing project and has long been a fixture on the city's AAU scene, is always willing to give a kid a chance. As long as the kid can play.
Mr. Adams, known as "Winky," was discouraged when he was being ignored by college recruiters as a junior at Houston Worthing. Mr. Williams, when contacted by Mr. Adams' mother, guaranteed Mr. Adams a Division I scholarship if he played for Gulf Shores.
Deal sealed. Mr. Adams transferred and was reclassified as a sophomore. He signed a national letter of intent with UNLV in November.
"When I came in, I was looking at all junior colleges – just somewhere to go," said Mr. Adams, who is averaging 28 points and 10 assists. "The next thing I knew, people are ranking me, and reporters are calling me."
Mr. Green butted heads with his coach at Houston Dobie and struggled to remain academically eligible for three seasons before his AAU coach, Lawrence Willis, intervened.
"Juice, I've got a pro for you," Mr. Williams recalled Mr. Willis telling him. Mr. Green transferred to Gulf Shores the next week and was reclassified as a sophomore. "It was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life," said Mr. Green, who averages 33 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. "I don't know where I'd be if I stayed at my other school."
Mr. Green has been projected as a lottery pick in this year's NBA draft. He said, however, that he plans to play at Oklahoma State, the school he signed with in November.
Dobie coach Scott Talbert said he'd be pleasantly surprised if Mr. Green survives academically at Oklahoma State. He remembers Mr. Green as a talented player but a poor student. That Mr. Green became an honors student at Gulf Shores raises suspicion from Mr. Talbert.
"He went to Gulf Shores because the work's easier there, so his grades will look better," Mr. Talbert said. "All they do is play basketball."
Building a basketball powerhouse wasn't Linda Johnson's intention when she founded Gulf Shores in 1994. Ms. Johnson had worked 19 years with at-risk children in the Houston school district. She opened Gulf Shores as a private school and set up a partnership with HISD to work as a transitional campus for troubled students.
Gulf Shores became an independent charter school, funded by the Texas Education Agency, five years later. It has 1,047 students.
Only 20 percent of Gulf Shores' students passed all TAKS tests last year, less than a third of the state average. Eight percent of the school's seniors in 2003 took the SAT. They had an average score of 777, well below the state average.
Ms. Johnson decided to begin an athletic department soon after the school opened to give the campus a more traditional feel.
A chance meeting
The basketball program was in its infancy when Ms. Johnson had a chance meeting with Mr. Williams, who was working as an athletic director at a private middle school and running a basketball scouting service as a hobby. Ms. Johnson heard Mr. Williams boasting about his basketball knowledge and approached him about coaching at Gulf Shores.
Mr. Williams, who accepted the job after Ms. Johnson persisted for almost a year, said he had to plead with his players to stop committing crimes and start thinking about college.
Several players listened, and Gulf Shores started winning. Mr. Williams helped most of his players land scholarships, primarily to junior colleges and Division II and NAIA schools.
"I ... [have] helped a lot of kids since I've been here," Mr. Williams said. "That's the greatest feeling in the world."
Gulf Shores now gets players because of Mr. Williams' reputation for helping players get scholarships. Two examples are shooting guard Terrell Henry and power forward Anthony "Mann" Vereen. Both transferred to Gulf Shores last year after completing their eligibility at Pearland. They were on track to graduate on time but were reclassified as juniors.
"I was a little apprehensive," Mr. Vereen said. "People said it was a school for bad kids. But that's far from the truth."
Academics had nothing to do with the transfers. Mr. Henry and Mr. Vereen weren't satisfied with the scholarship offers they received and wanted more time to showcase their games to recruiters. They signed with UT-Arlington after playing on a summer AAU team with other Gulf Shores starters. Mr. Williams said schools in major conferences have since expressed interest in both players.
It's common for players to take a post-graduate year at prep schools on the East Coast. Mr. Henry and Mr. Vereen essentially found a way to do the same thing close to their homes.
"The kids are taking advantage of the system," Pearland coach Stephen Buckelew said. "I don't like it. I don't think it's right. I don't think it's fair for a kid to be reclassified."
Said Ms. Johnson: "I won't deny the children a chance to come into Gulf Shores. I won't deny them a chance to play ball."
Ms. Johnson responded to a question about the possibility of joining the UIL – an option for charter schools – with a puzzled look. "What's that?" she said. Mr. Williams, listening in on the conversation, just shook his head.
The Gulf Shores basketball program, as it is currently operating, wouldn't work in the UIL. All five starters would be ineligible because they are fifth-year seniors. Most transfers would have to wait a year before playing varsity. And Mr. Williams wouldn't have the scheduling freedom he has now.
Gulf Shores typically practices three times a week, usually renting a gym at a nearby church for $150 per session. It's a relaxed atmosphere, with Mr. Williams often sitting on the sideline with his cellphone to his ear. He'll challenge his players to post-practice shooting sessions, knocking down shots with a smooth stroke while standing five feet out of bounds.
'The greatest coach'
"Juice's probably the greatest coach on earth," Mr. Henry said. "I never had a coach like him. He's like one of us."
The team often travels to a tournament on Thursdays, accompanied by teacher Tiffany Taylor. The top tournaments cover travel expenses. Gulf Shores relies on sponsors – including Ms. Johnson and many of the people who finance Mr. Williams' AAU teams – to cover the other costs.
Mr. Williams' family makes as many of the trips as possible. One son, Ken, 27, is an assistant coach/statistician. His youngest son, also named Ken, is a 10-year-old budding star.
Mr. Williams is looking forward to coaching his youngest son at Gulf Shores. The plan is to pair him in the backcourt with Juice's grandson, an 11-year-old also named Ken.
There's nothing conventional about the Gulf Shores basketball program, and that won't change soon.
Charter school nets rep for getting scholarships for kids, lax academics
By TIM MacMAHON / The Dallas Morning News
HOUSTON, Texas – The Gulf Shores Academy campus, a converted strip mall in a tough part of Houston, does not have a gym. No trophy case, either. No indications that the charter school is a national basketball powerhouse.
Unless you walk into the right classroom. That would be the one the basketball team occupies when it isn't on one of the 11 out-of-state trips Gulf Shores scheduled this season. Fifteen boys – ranging in classification from a freshman to several fifth-year seniors and in height from 5-10 to 6-11 – receive individual instruction from one teacher in this room. The curriculum focuses on preparing them for the TAKS and SAT, standardized tests required to graduate from high school and to enroll in a Division I college.
But their foremost focus is on playing ball, something they do quite well. Four players have signed with Division I schools, and several others have that kind of potential. The recruiting Web site Rivalshoops.com ranks 6-8 wing Gerald Green as the No. 1 senior in the nation and point guard Javon Adams No. 19. Gulf Shores will play South Oak Cliff in The Dallas Morning News Classic at 4 p.m., Saturday at Reunion Arena.
"We could probably beat the Rockets," said coach Ken "Juice" Williams, 46, a trash-talking former University of Houston standout.
Gulf Shores does not compete in the University Interscholastic League or any other sanctioned league, meaning Mr. Williams has the authority to run his program free from the regulations that most high school programs must follow. Critics of the program question whether Gulf Shores players sacrifice academic growth at the expense of basketball.
Mr. Williams, sitting in his closet-size office, offers a simple explanation for how he assembled such an impressive collection of basketball talent.
"Everybody wants to play for me," he said with a smile, revealing a front tooth with a star cut out of the gold cap. That's why parents and AAU coaches are constantly calling or approaching him, hoping he'll make room for their kids on his squad. Opposing players often give Mr. Williams their phone numbers while shaking his hand after scrimmages and games.
Mr. Williams, who grew up in a Houston housing project and has long been a fixture on the city's AAU scene, is always willing to give a kid a chance. As long as the kid can play.
Mr. Adams, known as "Winky," was discouraged when he was being ignored by college recruiters as a junior at Houston Worthing. Mr. Williams, when contacted by Mr. Adams' mother, guaranteed Mr. Adams a Division I scholarship if he played for Gulf Shores.
Deal sealed. Mr. Adams transferred and was reclassified as a sophomore. He signed a national letter of intent with UNLV in November.
"When I came in, I was looking at all junior colleges – just somewhere to go," said Mr. Adams, who is averaging 28 points and 10 assists. "The next thing I knew, people are ranking me, and reporters are calling me."
Mr. Green butted heads with his coach at Houston Dobie and struggled to remain academically eligible for three seasons before his AAU coach, Lawrence Willis, intervened.
"Juice, I've got a pro for you," Mr. Williams recalled Mr. Willis telling him. Mr. Green transferred to Gulf Shores the next week and was reclassified as a sophomore. "It was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life," said Mr. Green, who averages 33 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. "I don't know where I'd be if I stayed at my other school."
Mr. Green has been projected as a lottery pick in this year's NBA draft. He said, however, that he plans to play at Oklahoma State, the school he signed with in November.
Dobie coach Scott Talbert said he'd be pleasantly surprised if Mr. Green survives academically at Oklahoma State. He remembers Mr. Green as a talented player but a poor student. That Mr. Green became an honors student at Gulf Shores raises suspicion from Mr. Talbert.
"He went to Gulf Shores because the work's easier there, so his grades will look better," Mr. Talbert said. "All they do is play basketball."
Building a basketball powerhouse wasn't Linda Johnson's intention when she founded Gulf Shores in 1994. Ms. Johnson had worked 19 years with at-risk children in the Houston school district. She opened Gulf Shores as a private school and set up a partnership with HISD to work as a transitional campus for troubled students.
Gulf Shores became an independent charter school, funded by the Texas Education Agency, five years later. It has 1,047 students.
Only 20 percent of Gulf Shores' students passed all TAKS tests last year, less than a third of the state average. Eight percent of the school's seniors in 2003 took the SAT. They had an average score of 777, well below the state average.
Ms. Johnson decided to begin an athletic department soon after the school opened to give the campus a more traditional feel.
A chance meeting
The basketball program was in its infancy when Ms. Johnson had a chance meeting with Mr. Williams, who was working as an athletic director at a private middle school and running a basketball scouting service as a hobby. Ms. Johnson heard Mr. Williams boasting about his basketball knowledge and approached him about coaching at Gulf Shores.
Mr. Williams, who accepted the job after Ms. Johnson persisted for almost a year, said he had to plead with his players to stop committing crimes and start thinking about college.
Several players listened, and Gulf Shores started winning. Mr. Williams helped most of his players land scholarships, primarily to junior colleges and Division II and NAIA schools.
"I ... [have] helped a lot of kids since I've been here," Mr. Williams said. "That's the greatest feeling in the world."
Gulf Shores now gets players because of Mr. Williams' reputation for helping players get scholarships. Two examples are shooting guard Terrell Henry and power forward Anthony "Mann" Vereen. Both transferred to Gulf Shores last year after completing their eligibility at Pearland. They were on track to graduate on time but were reclassified as juniors.
"I was a little apprehensive," Mr. Vereen said. "People said it was a school for bad kids. But that's far from the truth."
Academics had nothing to do with the transfers. Mr. Henry and Mr. Vereen weren't satisfied with the scholarship offers they received and wanted more time to showcase their games to recruiters. They signed with UT-Arlington after playing on a summer AAU team with other Gulf Shores starters. Mr. Williams said schools in major conferences have since expressed interest in both players.
It's common for players to take a post-graduate year at prep schools on the East Coast. Mr. Henry and Mr. Vereen essentially found a way to do the same thing close to their homes.
"The kids are taking advantage of the system," Pearland coach Stephen Buckelew said. "I don't like it. I don't think it's right. I don't think it's fair for a kid to be reclassified."
Said Ms. Johnson: "I won't deny the children a chance to come into Gulf Shores. I won't deny them a chance to play ball."
Ms. Johnson responded to a question about the possibility of joining the UIL – an option for charter schools – with a puzzled look. "What's that?" she said. Mr. Williams, listening in on the conversation, just shook his head.
The Gulf Shores basketball program, as it is currently operating, wouldn't work in the UIL. All five starters would be ineligible because they are fifth-year seniors. Most transfers would have to wait a year before playing varsity. And Mr. Williams wouldn't have the scheduling freedom he has now.
Gulf Shores typically practices three times a week, usually renting a gym at a nearby church for $150 per session. It's a relaxed atmosphere, with Mr. Williams often sitting on the sideline with his cellphone to his ear. He'll challenge his players to post-practice shooting sessions, knocking down shots with a smooth stroke while standing five feet out of bounds.
'The greatest coach'
"Juice's probably the greatest coach on earth," Mr. Henry said. "I never had a coach like him. He's like one of us."
The team often travels to a tournament on Thursdays, accompanied by teacher Tiffany Taylor. The top tournaments cover travel expenses. Gulf Shores relies on sponsors – including Ms. Johnson and many of the people who finance Mr. Williams' AAU teams – to cover the other costs.
Mr. Williams' family makes as many of the trips as possible. One son, Ken, 27, is an assistant coach/statistician. His youngest son, also named Ken, is a 10-year-old budding star.
Mr. Williams is looking forward to coaching his youngest son at Gulf Shores. The plan is to pair him in the backcourt with Juice's grandson, an 11-year-old also named Ken.
There's nothing conventional about the Gulf Shores basketball program, and that won't change soon.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
N. Texans send love to military sweeties
By KATIE MENZER / The Dallas Morning News
For Janie Breor, nothing says love like new running shoes.
That's why the McKinney resident included a pair in the Valentine's Day care package she sent to her husband, Jeff, serving in Iraq with the 56th Brigade, 36th Infantry Division of the Texas Army National Guard.
"I know his running shoes are probably worn out by now," said Ms. Breor, a teacher in the Anna district whose husband was deployed in January. "And chocolate melts in the mail."
Cupid's shoes – along with his wings – might need replacing after he's through delivering the thousands of Valentine wishes sent today from North Texans to their loved ones serving in the military in Iraq and elsewhere. While many sweethearts are forced to forgo candlelit dinners, chocolate and other Valentine's Day staples this year, they're not letting a few thousand miles of sand and sea get in the way of romance.
Philip and Stacey Blackstone of Killeen were married just two weeks before he left for Iraq early last year, so they've spent their first two Valentine's Days as husband and wife apart.
They celebrated the holiday through e-mails and cards last year. They'll do the same this year, but with one major change, Ms. Blackstone said.
Since her husband is scheduled to return home at the end of the month, they'll honor Feb. 14 all over again when he touches down.
"We're just going to hang out and be together," said Ms. Blackstone, 23. "We're going on a cruise too."
Valentine's Day can be especially difficult for people parted by military service, said Plano's Fran Lawrence, who counsels military families needing help dealing with separation.
Not only do military sweethearts have to deal with the loneliness of being apart, but they also must grapple with their continuing fears for their loved ones' safety in combat zones, Ms. Lawrence said.
Communication is key to keeping couples and families happy, even if it can only be by e-mail, letter or a three-minute phone call.
"It's OK to tell them how much you miss them, but you want to be as positive as possible," said Ms. Lawrence, whose son has been stationed in Iraq for about a year. "Tell them you love them and you are proud of them and that they are your hero."
Sgt. Ricardo Padron, 22, of Dallas has been pining for his girlfriend, Vanessa Salomon, since he was deployed to Iraq in August with the Marine Corps Reserve. Since they can't share a romantic dinner tonight, he's decided instead to share his love for her with the world.
"Happy Valentine's Day to all my family and friends. I miss you all very much, please take care," Sgt. Padron wrote in an e-mail from Iraq to The Dallas Morning News. "To my lady Vanessa, thank you for all you support and love. We will be together again soon enough."
That can't be too soon for Ms. Salomon, 22, of Dallas. The lovebirds met while he was working in an office supply store two years ago, and they started dating six months later. She and her daughter, Lila, are now living with Sgt. Padron's parents while he is away.
The days have been tinged with sadness since her beau left, but Ms. Salomon said Sgt. Padron has always been there by phone or e-mail to cheer her up.
"Instead of me helping him out, it was him helping me out," said Ms. Salomon, who works as a circulation coordinating director for a magazine.
She said her Valentine wish is that her true love comes home safe, sound and soon. But she's got other wishes, too, and they sound like wedding bells.
"I'm hoping that he's thinking about it. I would love to marry him," she said. "I love him so much."
Cpl. Joel Chaverri of DeSoto also has a surprise. The Marine serving in Iraq has a special message for his friend Rachel Magee, a student at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.
"She is a sweetheart, but unfortunately not mine ... yet," he wrote in an e-mail. "I plan on changing that."
The butterflies of young love have long settled for Ms. Breor and her husband, who have been married almost 16 years and have two children. Still, she says she'll miss their traditional Valentine's Day night out.
"It does kind of stink," Ms. Breor said. "We always go on a date."
As for her V-Day wishes for him?
"We love you, and we miss you," she said. "And I won't go on a Valentine's Day date without you."
By KATIE MENZER / The Dallas Morning News
For Janie Breor, nothing says love like new running shoes.
That's why the McKinney resident included a pair in the Valentine's Day care package she sent to her husband, Jeff, serving in Iraq with the 56th Brigade, 36th Infantry Division of the Texas Army National Guard.
"I know his running shoes are probably worn out by now," said Ms. Breor, a teacher in the Anna district whose husband was deployed in January. "And chocolate melts in the mail."
Cupid's shoes – along with his wings – might need replacing after he's through delivering the thousands of Valentine wishes sent today from North Texans to their loved ones serving in the military in Iraq and elsewhere. While many sweethearts are forced to forgo candlelit dinners, chocolate and other Valentine's Day staples this year, they're not letting a few thousand miles of sand and sea get in the way of romance.
Philip and Stacey Blackstone of Killeen were married just two weeks before he left for Iraq early last year, so they've spent their first two Valentine's Days as husband and wife apart.
They celebrated the holiday through e-mails and cards last year. They'll do the same this year, but with one major change, Ms. Blackstone said.
Since her husband is scheduled to return home at the end of the month, they'll honor Feb. 14 all over again when he touches down.
"We're just going to hang out and be together," said Ms. Blackstone, 23. "We're going on a cruise too."
Valentine's Day can be especially difficult for people parted by military service, said Plano's Fran Lawrence, who counsels military families needing help dealing with separation.
Not only do military sweethearts have to deal with the loneliness of being apart, but they also must grapple with their continuing fears for their loved ones' safety in combat zones, Ms. Lawrence said.
Communication is key to keeping couples and families happy, even if it can only be by e-mail, letter or a three-minute phone call.
"It's OK to tell them how much you miss them, but you want to be as positive as possible," said Ms. Lawrence, whose son has been stationed in Iraq for about a year. "Tell them you love them and you are proud of them and that they are your hero."
Sgt. Ricardo Padron, 22, of Dallas has been pining for his girlfriend, Vanessa Salomon, since he was deployed to Iraq in August with the Marine Corps Reserve. Since they can't share a romantic dinner tonight, he's decided instead to share his love for her with the world.
"Happy Valentine's Day to all my family and friends. I miss you all very much, please take care," Sgt. Padron wrote in an e-mail from Iraq to The Dallas Morning News. "To my lady Vanessa, thank you for all you support and love. We will be together again soon enough."
That can't be too soon for Ms. Salomon, 22, of Dallas. The lovebirds met while he was working in an office supply store two years ago, and they started dating six months later. She and her daughter, Lila, are now living with Sgt. Padron's parents while he is away.
The days have been tinged with sadness since her beau left, but Ms. Salomon said Sgt. Padron has always been there by phone or e-mail to cheer her up.
"Instead of me helping him out, it was him helping me out," said Ms. Salomon, who works as a circulation coordinating director for a magazine.
She said her Valentine wish is that her true love comes home safe, sound and soon. But she's got other wishes, too, and they sound like wedding bells.
"I'm hoping that he's thinking about it. I would love to marry him," she said. "I love him so much."
Cpl. Joel Chaverri of DeSoto also has a surprise. The Marine serving in Iraq has a special message for his friend Rachel Magee, a student at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.
"She is a sweetheart, but unfortunately not mine ... yet," he wrote in an e-mail. "I plan on changing that."
The butterflies of young love have long settled for Ms. Breor and her husband, who have been married almost 16 years and have two children. Still, she says she'll miss their traditional Valentine's Day night out.
"It does kind of stink," Ms. Breor said. "We always go on a date."
As for her V-Day wishes for him?
"We love you, and we miss you," she said. "And I won't go on a Valentine's Day date without you."
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Neighbor: Stepson abducted teen
Haltom City man not ruled out as suspect, police say; both jailed
By KATHRYN YEGGE / The Dallas Morning News
HALTOM CITY, Texas – A man has admitted he saw his stepson abduct a 14-year-old Haltom City girl later found brutally slain, police said Sunday.
After repeatedly denying any knowledge of the girl's death, neighbor Laverne Pratt said he saw his 19-year-old stepson, Gustavo Flores, abduct Lan Thuan Bui, but he stopped short of saying he saw Mr. Flores kill her, police said.
Police said Mr. Pratt may have "participated" in the abduction and has not been ruled out as a suspect.
"Our investigative scope has narrowed significantly," Haltom City Police Chief Ken Burton said.
Mr. Pratt, 43, was taken into custody on suspicion of hindering the apprehension of a suspect, a third-degree felony.
Mr. Flores had not been charged Sunday in Lan's death. He was in police custody on an unrelated charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Both men were in the Haltom City jail Sunday with bail set at $100,000 each. Neither could be reached for comment.
Lan was found slain the night of Feb. 7 on a playground at the Waldemar Apartments, where she lived. Her body was face down, and she had been bound and gagged and had stab wounds in her neck and chest. Investigators are awaiting lab results to determine whether she was sexually assaulted.
Family members said they are grateful to Haltom City police for investing the manpower to search for her killer.
"Nothing's going to ever replace her," grandfather Jimmie Walker said. "I don't have feelings of revenge because that would never fill that void that was created in our family. But when someone commits such a crime, I think they should be punished."
On Sunday, two police dog units searched for a weapon near the apartment complex. Fire officials were also in the area scouring rooftops for more evidence.
The search had yielded no results late Sunday, authorities said.
Police said they still don't have a motive in Lan's death. They plan to re-interview witnesses and sort through evidence before filing additional charges.
Police also said Sunday that they don't believe the gang ties that Lan's father, Phu Bui, had before he went to prison had anything to do with her death. He is serving a 99-year sentence for a 1991 fatal stabbing.
Mr. Flores has been described as a "person of interest" in the case after three police dogs led officers to the apartment where he and Mr. Pratt lived. Chief Burton thanked the FBI and other agencies for their help in recovering "significant" evidence from the apartment.
Mr. Flores also reportedly threatened Lan last month. He has denied making any threats and told investigators he was in Azle the day Lan's body was found.
Mr. Flores' fiancee, 17-year-old Ericka Gonzales, declined to comment Sunday, but her aunt, Jonetta Parker, said Ms. Gonzales plans to support Mr. Flores.
"She's still going to stand beside him because he's not a bad person, and she doesn't think he could have done something like that," Ms. Parker said.
Haltom City man not ruled out as suspect, police say; both jailed
By KATHRYN YEGGE / The Dallas Morning News
HALTOM CITY, Texas – A man has admitted he saw his stepson abduct a 14-year-old Haltom City girl later found brutally slain, police said Sunday.
After repeatedly denying any knowledge of the girl's death, neighbor Laverne Pratt said he saw his 19-year-old stepson, Gustavo Flores, abduct Lan Thuan Bui, but he stopped short of saying he saw Mr. Flores kill her, police said.
Police said Mr. Pratt may have "participated" in the abduction and has not been ruled out as a suspect.
"Our investigative scope has narrowed significantly," Haltom City Police Chief Ken Burton said.
Mr. Pratt, 43, was taken into custody on suspicion of hindering the apprehension of a suspect, a third-degree felony.
Mr. Flores had not been charged Sunday in Lan's death. He was in police custody on an unrelated charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Both men were in the Haltom City jail Sunday with bail set at $100,000 each. Neither could be reached for comment.
Lan was found slain the night of Feb. 7 on a playground at the Waldemar Apartments, where she lived. Her body was face down, and she had been bound and gagged and had stab wounds in her neck and chest. Investigators are awaiting lab results to determine whether she was sexually assaulted.
Family members said they are grateful to Haltom City police for investing the manpower to search for her killer.
"Nothing's going to ever replace her," grandfather Jimmie Walker said. "I don't have feelings of revenge because that would never fill that void that was created in our family. But when someone commits such a crime, I think they should be punished."
On Sunday, two police dog units searched for a weapon near the apartment complex. Fire officials were also in the area scouring rooftops for more evidence.
The search had yielded no results late Sunday, authorities said.
Police said they still don't have a motive in Lan's death. They plan to re-interview witnesses and sort through evidence before filing additional charges.
Police also said Sunday that they don't believe the gang ties that Lan's father, Phu Bui, had before he went to prison had anything to do with her death. He is serving a 99-year sentence for a 1991 fatal stabbing.
Mr. Flores has been described as a "person of interest" in the case after three police dogs led officers to the apartment where he and Mr. Pratt lived. Chief Burton thanked the FBI and other agencies for their help in recovering "significant" evidence from the apartment.
Mr. Flores also reportedly threatened Lan last month. He has denied making any threats and told investigators he was in Azle the day Lan's body was found.
Mr. Flores' fiancee, 17-year-old Ericka Gonzales, declined to comment Sunday, but her aunt, Jonetta Parker, said Ms. Gonzales plans to support Mr. Flores.
"She's still going to stand beside him because he's not a bad person, and she doesn't think he could have done something like that," Ms. Parker said.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Residents map ideas for city
Input from planning session will be used to create land-use strategy
By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Dallas residents took a forward-thinking approach to their city on Sunday, using giant maps, stickers and colored tape to create development scenarios for their communities.
The citywide planning party – held at the Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center and accompanied by a lively youth salsa band and endless tamales – was part of Dallas' $1.4 million comprehensive land-use study.
At Sunday's event, participants spread out over table-sized maps, marking areas they wanted to leave unchanged, then taping over streets they hoped would be central to new retail and redevelopment. They used colored stickers representing downtown, commercial centers, industrial uses and office space to decide where in their communities to put future residents and places of employment.
The citywide planning session follows nearly three months of neighborhood studies in eight Dallas neighborhoods. After one more citywide event scheduled for Tuesday night, urban planner John Fregonese and his staff will compile the full report. Details should be released this spring, with a final copy and implementation strategy due by December.
"This exercise is extremely important," City Council member Veletta Forsythe Lill said. "The technology is available to assist us. There's a great deal of citizen interest. ... We'll begin to see concrete ideas by mid-March."
A comprehensive plan should help city officials identify where basic services – from streetlights to sewers – are lacking. It will also serve as a blueprint for future development, pinpointing specific areas for retail and residential growth.
Preliminary results from neighborhood sessions show residents desire a downtown and Farmers Market with outdoor malls, two-way traffic, a park corridor and an artist row.
In southeast Dallas, homeowners want more transportation options, safer streets and better lighting.
Along the Stemmons Corridor, business owners foresee waterfront entertainment and fewer sexually oriented businesses.
And on Oak Cliff's Jefferson Boulevard, longtime residents hope for a lively cultural district and the preservation of historic structures.
Aundrel Givens grew up in Oak Cliff. At 37, she still calls it home. And she has high hopes for what the future of her neighborhood can hold – from more jobs for residents to upscale supermarkets and bookstores.
"It would be nice to have options," she said. "It seems like a good idea to be part of that planning."
For Maricela Aguilar, a northeast Dallas resident with strong ties to the city's Latino community, the seminar was a chance to address her personal priority: bridging the gaps among Dallas' neighborhoods. While the city is blessed with vibrant sections, she said, corridors in between have been long overlooked.
"This is an opportunity to fill in the disconnect with green space or user-friendly thoroughfares," she said.
Dallas' planning mistakes are obvious even to the untrained eye, from Swiss Avenue mansions bordered by gas stations and coin laundries to rusty West Dallas warehouses with scenic views of the Trinity River.
While most major cities turn to comprehensive plans to guide decision-making, Dallas still charts its course on an ad hoc basis, deferring to individual council members and neighborhood studies for direction.
Today's cityscape is a result of zoning decisions made as far back as the 1960s, planning officials say, when the cadre of businessmen running City Hall decided South Dallas should be the city's industrial core and East Dallas should be a bedroom community for the city's labor force.
No matter how good the study is, Ms. Aguilar said, there must be a commitment to implementing residents' recommendations.
"The feedback is there," she said. "It's incumbent on the city" to put it into effect.
Input from planning session will be used to create land-use strategy
By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Dallas residents took a forward-thinking approach to their city on Sunday, using giant maps, stickers and colored tape to create development scenarios for their communities.
The citywide planning party – held at the Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center and accompanied by a lively youth salsa band and endless tamales – was part of Dallas' $1.4 million comprehensive land-use study.
At Sunday's event, participants spread out over table-sized maps, marking areas they wanted to leave unchanged, then taping over streets they hoped would be central to new retail and redevelopment. They used colored stickers representing downtown, commercial centers, industrial uses and office space to decide where in their communities to put future residents and places of employment.
The citywide planning session follows nearly three months of neighborhood studies in eight Dallas neighborhoods. After one more citywide event scheduled for Tuesday night, urban planner John Fregonese and his staff will compile the full report. Details should be released this spring, with a final copy and implementation strategy due by December.
"This exercise is extremely important," City Council member Veletta Forsythe Lill said. "The technology is available to assist us. There's a great deal of citizen interest. ... We'll begin to see concrete ideas by mid-March."
A comprehensive plan should help city officials identify where basic services – from streetlights to sewers – are lacking. It will also serve as a blueprint for future development, pinpointing specific areas for retail and residential growth.
Preliminary results from neighborhood sessions show residents desire a downtown and Farmers Market with outdoor malls, two-way traffic, a park corridor and an artist row.
In southeast Dallas, homeowners want more transportation options, safer streets and better lighting.
Along the Stemmons Corridor, business owners foresee waterfront entertainment and fewer sexually oriented businesses.
And on Oak Cliff's Jefferson Boulevard, longtime residents hope for a lively cultural district and the preservation of historic structures.
Aundrel Givens grew up in Oak Cliff. At 37, she still calls it home. And she has high hopes for what the future of her neighborhood can hold – from more jobs for residents to upscale supermarkets and bookstores.
"It would be nice to have options," she said. "It seems like a good idea to be part of that planning."
For Maricela Aguilar, a northeast Dallas resident with strong ties to the city's Latino community, the seminar was a chance to address her personal priority: bridging the gaps among Dallas' neighborhoods. While the city is blessed with vibrant sections, she said, corridors in between have been long overlooked.
"This is an opportunity to fill in the disconnect with green space or user-friendly thoroughfares," she said.
Dallas' planning mistakes are obvious even to the untrained eye, from Swiss Avenue mansions bordered by gas stations and coin laundries to rusty West Dallas warehouses with scenic views of the Trinity River.
While most major cities turn to comprehensive plans to guide decision-making, Dallas still charts its course on an ad hoc basis, deferring to individual council members and neighborhood studies for direction.
Today's cityscape is a result of zoning decisions made as far back as the 1960s, planning officials say, when the cadre of businessmen running City Hall decided South Dallas should be the city's industrial core and East Dallas should be a bedroom community for the city's labor force.
No matter how good the study is, Ms. Aguilar said, there must be a commitment to implementing residents' recommendations.
"The feedback is there," she said. "It's incumbent on the city" to put it into effect.
0 likes
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests