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Schools for retarded told to surrender records
By Melinda Henneberger
Staff Writer of The News
U.S. District Judge Barefoot
Sanders on Wednesday ordered the
state's 13 schools for the mentally
retarded, where 45 students died in
a recent 90-day period, to turn over
all records regarding allegations of
abuse and neglect.
Sanders' court order gives plain-
tiffs in a 13-year-old lawsuit on con-
ditions in the state schools long-
sought access to records in those
schools. He also ordered court con-
sultant Linda O'Neall to conduct a
new investigation of allegations at
the Fort Worth State School, where
a 10-year high of four deaths was re-
YMCA
bestows
award
By Lori Stahl
Sta ff Writer of The News
Hugh L. Steger received the The-
udore P. Beasley Distinguished
YMCA Leadership Award on
Wednesday for his outstanding ser-
vice to the Dallas organization.
Steger has served as chairman of
the boards of directors of the YMCA
of Metropolitan Dallas, Camp Grady
Spruce and the Town North branch.
His involvement with the organ-
ization dates back to when he was a
student at the University of Texas.
He also has served on the Park Cit-
ies-North Dallas Branch Board of
Management and has held leader-
ship positions in the YMCA of the
USA, the Mid-America Region
YMCA and the Southwest Area
YMCA.
"So many of you out here de-
serve it so much more than I.. . but
I guess that's really the good part
about the Y," Steger told several
hundred volunteer and staff mem-
bers as he accepted the award at a
luncheon to mark the 102nd anni-
versary of the Dallas YMCA chap-
ter. Thetluncheon was held at the
Fairmont Hotel.
"I am grateful for the opportu-
nity of being able to serve the Y,"
he said. "But then I also feel kind of
humbly sorry that I didn't do more
than I did when I had the chance."
In presenting the award, honor-
ary director Charles P. Storey said
that Steger, quietly and modestly,
provided leadership and creativity
to the YMCA for more than 50 years.
Steger also provided "us with an ex-
ample of the precepts of the Young
Men's Christian Association."
In his acceptance speech, Steger
said, "My wish and hope - and I'm
sure it would have been the wish
and hope of Mr. Beasley - is that
every single family in the Dallas
community could be touched by the
Christian mission of this fine YMCA
and its excellent programs and its
dedicated staff."
Beasley was a Dallas business-
man and philanthropist who died
in 1984.Boy arrested
in alleged
sex assault
A 14-year-old student at Boude
Storey Middle School in Oak Cliff
was taken from his classroom by
Dallas police on Wednesday and ar-
rested in connection with the al-
leged sexual assault of a seventh-
grade girl Tuesday.
Youth investigator Roberto
Garza said the 14-year-old was being
held Wednesday in the Dallas
County Juvenile Detention Home.
He said the boy may be released to
his parents Thursday, pending a
hearing before a juvenile court
judge.
The 13-year-old girl, who was
taken to Parkland Memorial Hospi-
tal for an examination Tuesday,
told investigators that four boys
dragged her into the bathroom,
where two of them attacked her
while two others watched.
The boy told police he was alone
at the time, Garza said. Six wit-
nesses reported that they saw "only
one boy, the one we have in cus-
tody," Garza said.
Garza said police were trying to
determine whether the boy, who
was on his lunch break at the time,
knew the girl.
"At this point, the girl says 'no'
and the boy says 'yes,' "Garza said.
The girl told investigators that
she received a pass from her
teacher to go to the restroom
around 12:30 p.m. and that when
she entered the restroom, she was
grabbed, thrown on the floor and
assaulted for about 15 minutes.porter iin the three-muth period.
For the first time, Sanders' order
also set the stage for a hearing on
contempt of court against the state.
Plaintiffs have filed three mo-
tions alleging that the Texas De-
partment of Mental Health and
Mental Retardation has violated a
1983 settlement agreement guaran-
teeing adequate care and safe condi-
tions in the state schools. A finding
of contempt could result in a range
of punishment including fines, im-
prisonment of agency officials or
closure of state schools.
"Before taking any action (on
the contempt motions) . . . the
court must have before it the mostrecent data posyssi .Sanders
wrote in the court order. After the
report on Fort Worth State School is
filed on June 1, "the court will de-
cide about a (contempt) hearing,"
Sanders wrote.
Plaintiffs' attorney David Fer-
leger said, "the court has never be-
fore discussed holding a hearing
... his suggestion of a hearing
means we'll probably get one."
Sanders ordered the Texas De-
partment of Mental Health and
Mental Retardation to turn over
records of allegations of abuse and
neglect within 20 days. Within 45
days, the state was ordered to pro-duce "al document analyses, re-
ports, correspondeire or state-
ments, including sureys and inter-
views with staff on those
allegations.
"The court is degly concerned
about the situation in the state
schools and the exent to which
conditions there ma be out of com-
pliance with the . . settlement (a
1983 settlement agrement guaran-
teeing safe condiions in state
schools)," Sanders wrote in the
court order.
Ferleger said ie was "very
pleased that for th first time ever
we will have information about the
13 state schools ad 8,000 peoplewho live there and the harms
they're suffering."
"That will be fairly burdensome
to provide in the time period," said
Toni Hunter, attorney for the de-
fendants. "I don't know if the court
understands how much informa-
tion that is."
Ms. Hunter said the state has
nothing to hide, adding "I hope this
information is not misused by the
plaintiffs' attorney and the press. So
much is made of so little."
The 45 deaths in the state schools
in the last three-month reporting
period are an increase from an av-
erage that Ms. Hunter said "hovers
around 30 a quarter."The recent deaths include those
of a 16-year-old boy at the Fort
Worth State School who died of sur-
gical complications after swallow-
ing a rubber glove, wire, nuts and
bolts; an 18-year-old man at the
same school who choked on his
vomit when left in a body cast after
surgery; and a 27-year-old man at
the Travis State School who
drowned while strapped into a
chair in a whirlpool bath.
"Some of those figures may be ac-
cidental that shouldn't have hap-
pened," Ms. Hunter said, "but the
majority are because of the fragility
of the population."Deep Ellum zoning
wins council's
Bernie Willett takes a look at the Breath of
Life Award, which he received Wednesday
for his work for the Cystic Fibrosis Foun-The Dallas MorninNews: David Leeson
dation. Willett, an Americar Airlines em-
ployee in Boston, has lost three sisters to
the disease.Bostonian is honored for work
with Cystic Fibrosis FoundationBy Leslie Barker
Staff Writer of the News
Bernie Willett was 5 when his 3-
year-old sister died of cystic fibro-
sis. When he was 18, his 7-year-old
sister died of the disease. When he
was 29,dhe lost his 16-year-old sister
to cystic fibrosis.
"He knew the disease firsthand,"
said his mother, Elizabeth Willett.
"He grew up with it. He was very
good to his sisters."
Willett, an account manager for
American Airlines in Boston, has al-
ways felt a need to help families af-
fected by the disease. So when the
airline decided to co-sponsor a Ce-
lebrity Ski Event and give the pro-
ceeds to charity, he worked to see
that the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
became the benefactor.
"It gave me an opportunity to do
something near and dear to my
heart," Willett said.
The ski event raised $70,000. And
Wednesday, Willett thought he was
coming to Dallas only to see the
check presented to the Cystic Fibro-N Potential breakthrough. 4A
sis Foundation.
But the ceremony at American
Airlines headquarters turned out to
be in his honor. He received the
Breath of Life Award from the Cys-
tic Fibrosis Foundation. It was only
the eighth time the award has been
presented in the foundation's 32-
year history.
"It means a lot to be able to do
something after their deaths," Wil-
lett said. "We haven't forgotten my
sisters."
He said he was especially close to
his sister Marcia, who died at age
16. "Nothing ever bothered her," he
said. "A lot of people complain
about feeling bad, but few people
know what sick is like a kid with
CF."
Cystic fibrosis is a chronic dis-
ease of the respiratory and diges-
tive system and affects one in every
1,800 newborns. There is no cure,
but researchers reported Wednes-
day that they may have found thegene responsible for cystic fibrosis,
which could be a big step toward
identifying its case.
Willett's wife parents and only
child, 8-year-old Erin, were at the
ceremony.
Erin watched her father accept
the award, whidi he did on behalf
of the aunts shE never knew. Erin
doesn't have cystic fibrosis, but her
father said she probably is a car-
rier.
"Whatever we can do to stop the
disease will benefit somebody in my
family," he said.
His parents, Elizabeth and Ber-
nard, surprised their son by flying
in from Boston for the award cere-
mony. Because cystic fibrosis took
the lives of three of their six chil-
dren, they feel compelled to help
others who have the disease.
"It was a way of life with us,"
Bernard Willett said. "It's there.
You can't just crawl in a hole and
forget it. Marcia's been dead for 11
years, but she's still a member of
our family as far as we're con-
cerned."Most council members favor tax hike
to avoid major cuts in basic servicesContinued from Page 33A.
the 1987-88 city budget on May 18.
Council members would have to
increase the tax rate about 23 per-
cent in order to make up a projected
revenue shortfall of $52 million to
$56 million in the 1987-88 city
budget. It would mean a $101 in-
crease in the $440 tax bill for the
owner of a home valued at $125,000.
The $52 million to $56 million
shortfall figures assume the city
would hire more police officers and
firefighters and keep the city's
bond program on schedule.
Seven council members -
Mayor-elect Annette Strauss,
Charles Tandy, Jerry Rucker, Craig
Holcomb, Lori Palmer, Dean Van-
derbilt and John Evans - said they
would consider raising taxes only
to protect basic city services, such
as police and fire protection, streets
and parks.
"I would support a small tax in-
crease to give the police the tools
they need to fight crime," said Mrs.
Strauss, who assumes office on Mon-
day. "But if, in fact, city revenuesare so short that major cuts in other
services are required, we need to go
to the citizens and discuss it with
them and let their voices be heard."
Tandy, the new council member
from District 1 in Oak Cliff, said he
would support a tax increase for ba-
sic services.
"We're going to provide basic
services and if that takes a tax in-
crease, we'll have a tax increase,"
Tandy said. "How much frill we're
going to have, well have to decide
this summer."
Holcomb, the council member
from District 5 in East Dallas, said
his constituents would support a
tax increase for public safety.
"But we're going to have to ex-
amine all of our expenses very care-
fully," he said. Holcomb, chairman
of the council's public safety com-
mittee, estimated that it could cost
$10 million to $15 million to hire
more police and to add additional
police storefronts in minority
neighborhoods.
"It is a healthy exercise of gov-
ernment to go through and scaledown to zero-based budgeting,"
Rucker said. "But it is also totally
unacceptable to start cutting the es-
sential services first."
"I tend to believe the public un-
derstands the situation we are in,"
Ms. Palmer said. "People want to be
sure that all other possibilities
(other than raising taxes) have
been looked at but that we have to
maintain some level of service de-
livery."
Council members Al Lipscomb
and Diane Ragsdale said they have
not decided whether to consider a
tax increase. Newly elected at-large
council member Al Gonzalez could
not be reached.
Newly elected council member
Jerry Bartos, who also will be
sworn in Monday, said he would
consider a tax increase only as a
last resort.
"Everybody makes the assump-
tion that a cut in the budget is a cut
in service," Bartos said. "That is not
an assumption I will operate under.
We may have to reduce some areas."By Sherry Jacobson
Staff Writer of The News
The once-controversial zoning
plan for Deep Ellum - the eclectic
East Dallas neighborhood of indus-
trial businesses, artist's studios and
nightclubs - was passed unani-
mously Wednesday by the City
Council.
The plan, which grew out of a
collision of uses in Deep Ellum, es-
sentially allows all of those uses to
continue in the former industrial
area, located east of downtown.
"It was a consensus by everyone
involved," said Deputy Mayor Pro
Tem Diane Ragsdale, who repre-
sents the area. "And I'm very
happy."
The plan allows the artists to re-
main, although the area techically
did not allow residential uses, and
restores many of the industrial uses
that had been outlawed in a previ-
ous zoning plan.
Redevelopment guidelines also
were set for property owners who
want to introduce more retail and
residential uses to the area. Some
Deep Ellum residents were con-
cerned that new development
would rob the area of its appeal.
Deep Ellum resident KatherineContinued from Page 33A.
certain classes of peo-
ple," she said. "Next time it might
be age, race or gender."
Lipscomb later denied that he
had changed his vote because of
Rucker's references to Milliken's
sexuality.
"I'm not concerned about any-
one's sexual preference," he said.
"Lori Palmer is a liar if she's accus-
ing me of gay-bashing."
Lipscomb said he cast his first
vote in favor of Milliken while he
was talking on the telephone across
the briefing room. Moments later
he changed the vote, he said, be-
cause he had nominated another
candidate for the vacancy on the
cable board.
However, City Secretary Robert
Sloan said Lipscomb had not sub-
mitted a name for the at-large posi-
tion on the board. Lipscomb also
has not appointed his individual
representative to the board, which
was set up earlier this year.
Gay activists, told later of the
council's action, predicted a public
outcry.By Joe Drape
Staff Writer of The News
Lady Brighton showed up just
to be seen.
She turned up her nose at the
Rodeo Drive collection of pet per-
fumes, looked bored while padd-
ing past a display of jeweled ban-
danas and evening neckwear and
only yawned when offered the
newest issue of Dogue magazine -
an owner's bible of canine chic.
"She's hot. You ought to see her
by the pool," said Dan Mills, the
owner and escort of the golden re-
triever. "She's a two-time cham-
pion."
But when waiter Mike Gunder-
son passed by with a silver tray
stacked with gourmet doggie bis-
cuits, the Lady was a tramp.
She scarfed the pork and garlic
appetizer, leaving a trail of
;crumbs behind her.
"She's hungry," Mills said, apol-
ogizing for his dog's lack of table
manners at Wednesday's grand
opening of Happy Tails Pet
Boutique and Biscuit Bakery, 4514Owens complained that the plan did
not provide incentives for artists to
remain in the area. It was estimated
that about 500 to 600 people reside
in Deep Ellum.
Bennett Culum, spokesman of
the Deep Ellum Northeast Side
Property Owners Association, said
such incentives could be reviewed
by property owners in the future.
In 1985, the previous Deep Ellum
zoning ordinance was struck down
in state district court after property
owners sued the city for not involv-
ing them in the zoning process.
In other action Wednesday, the
council:
Approved a $7.3 million settle-
ment with Blount Brothers Corp.,
whose contract to enlarge the
southside Wastewater Treatment
Plant was terminated in January.
Approved a three-year con-
tract with the law firm Heard, Gog-
gan, Blair, Williams & Harrison for
delinquent property tax collection
services. The firm will receive 15
percent of the taxes, penalty and in-
terest it brings in. However, council
member Al Lipscomb complained
that other law firms were not given
a chance to submit proposals."I hope we clearly demonstrate
our unwillingness to let this go
unanswered," said Don Baker, past
president of the Dallas Gay Alliance
and the plaintiff in the unsuccess-
ful challenge last year to the state's
homosexual sodomy law.
Gay leader Bill Nelson, who ran
against Rucker in the city election
earlier this month, said he was not
surprised by Rucker's position on
homosexuality.
"Jerry Rucker has a proven
record of being a bigot. This is noth-
ing new. He's always been this
way," Nelson said. "It surprised me
that he would be so homophobic to
deprive the city of such a qualified
individual."
Milliken, who had served for two
years on the defunct Dallas Cable
Television Board, said he was "very
angry" that he had been rejected.
"I didn't believe there was that
type of discrimination against gay
men in Dallas at this time, espe-
cially those who have proven them-
selves," said Milliken, who pro-
duces educational videos for a Dal-
las computer software company.E Related photo. 33A
Lovers Lane.
"Every dog's had one," said a
good-humored Gunderson, who
was charged with serving the
fresh-baked biscuits to a dozen
pets and champagne to their own-
ers. "It's kind of strange, but they
all seem to enjoy them."
And a steady crowd of humans
who streamed through the
boutique seemed to enjoy spying
items for the dogs and cats who
have everything - items such as
designer tuxedo coats, fancy col-
lars and leashes and a S3,500 dog
house with a marble portal.
For pet owners, there are greet-
ing cards, T-shirts, key chains and
a host of other pet paraphernalia.
"Pet people are real nice," said
store owner Pam Lappin, who has
operated a mail-order business
since 1982. "They have a higher
sense of awareness. We thought it
would be a nice place for people to
come in and have a cup of coffee
and talk about their pets."OK
Choice of homosexual
for Dallas panel rejected'Bone appetit'is the watchword
as pet boutique's bow wows 'em36 A 0-e alaltfiurning Xelvs Thursday, April 30, 1987
H-2
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Jacobson, Sherry. [Clipping: Dallas council rejects gay nominee], clipping, April 30, 1987; Dallas, TX. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1763417/m1/4/: accessed June 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.