LETTERS

D Gets Its Grade

Your legislative report cards were a clever way of expressing your opinions and I enjoyed reading about myself and my colleagues. For thé record, however, I would like to correct some of the factual inaccuracies that appeared on my “report card.”

I was elected vice chairperson of the 1972 state convention, not secretary, from a nomination from the floor and after a three hour roll call vote. Secondly, my bill allowing Dallas County Commissioners to hire a jail administrator was not in any manner intended to displace Sheriff Jones. Rather, it was a progressive bill which allowed the commissioners to take job applications and hire the most competent person available to function strictly as an administrator for the jail. Furthermore, you referred to the passage of this bill and it did not pass.

Finally, under the requirements set by HB 247, relating to the licensing of social psychotherapists, I would not qualify to practice as an independent social psychotherapist.

Eddie Bernice Johnson

State Representative



It seems odd that the judge and jury chosen for our Dallas area legislators were D Magazine and a “variety of Capitol sources including several practicing politicians,” respectively. I’ll admit the verdicts were interesting, but the article “Report Card Time for Dallas Legislators” would have fared better within the context of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.

Art Greenhaw



I’m sorry to disagree with you about Bob Maloney. If “doing your homework” means not answering two of my letters in recent months, he’s 100% minus. We are registered Republicans, have six voters in our family, and feel he is not representing us at all. Give us Fred Agnich!

Isabella M. Cummings



Just a few words of warm commendation to you and yours, for your most timely story on our legislators at Austin. For a first try at this so difficult assignment, I believe a fine job, generally, was done. I only hope that it will be a forerunner of more of the same, some two years from now.

I’m quite sure that you are going to get heaps of flak on much of your effort, all of which I predict as just proof of the value of it all. So please do not despair.

Charles W. Ferguson



Across The River

“Coming of Age in Oak Cliff by Jim Baird was really an eye opener for me, one of the many who experienced the same era on the south side of the Trinity. For years I’ve wondered why Oak Cliff folks are so defensive about their part of Dallas, Now I know! Baird has told us! Oak Cliff is as elitist as the Park Cities.

So elitist is your writer that he’s probably never been south of Kiest Boulevard. He’s probably never even heard of Trinity Heights, the area I grew up in. But “Hungry Heights,” as it was called, is today a non-place. Even the Trinity Heights school has been renamed.

The Heights was an embarrassment. Jefferson Boulevard did not welcome us barefoot bums. The high price of the Texas Theater was beyond our means. Still we did have our folk-pleasures. Admission to the Trinity Theater was only a nickel. And we had none of that sissy Roy Rogers stuff: we had Hopalong Cassidy and Wild Bill Elliott. No guitars. No girls. All guts. Of course, if we couldn’t scrape up a nickel, we just spent Saturdays lining up bois d’arc apples on the interurban tracks.

Ray Ward

Having grown up in Oak Cliff in the 40’s and 50’s, I really enjoyed your article “Coming of Age in Oak cliff.” I especially enjoyed your reminiscences of the Dallas Eagles, Shaugnessy Playoffs, and Dixie Series. However, I believe that you were inaccurate in stating that Bill White was the first black player in the Texas League.

I remember a black pitcher, Dave Hos-kins, who played for the Eagles in 1952. I believe that he finished the season with a 22-8 record.

Sam C. Davis



D-Rated Movies

The Board of Directors of the Dallas Association for Retarded Citizens would like to respond to a statement made by David Brudnoy in his D-Rated Movies column in your magazine. In his review of the movie “Death Wish,” he stated “Charles Bronson’s vigilante story, with dialogue your neighborhood Mongoloid idiot could improve upon …” This terminology is most offensive to parents of retarded children, many of which have Downs Syndrome, which is the correct name for the condition referred to by Mr. Brudnoy.

Not only is the name offensive but the entire reference is in very poor taste. This organization, made up of more than 500 parents plus many friends and professionals, wishes to express a strong objection to it. We feel that this kind of insensitive writing is not worthy of space in a magazine which reflects the culture of Dallas.

Pat Wood, Interim Director

Marilyn Kristovich, President

Dallas Association for Retarded Citizens



Yes, Doctor?

In “Park Central’s Medical City: Just What the Doctor Ordered?” you stated that hospitals do make money. You did not explain that since institutions such as Methodist, Presbyterian, Baylor and St. Paul are non-profit organizations, they channel any gains from operations back into the hospitals for technological improvements, equipment replacements, building expansions and new programa.

Secondly, you state Methodist’s net worth September 30,1973, had increased 13 percent. In reality it was 2.0 percent. The other 11 percent represented public fund drive donations for the construction of Margaret Jonsson Charlton Methodist Hospital, opening July, 1975. Our net worth increase June 30, 1974, was just 0.2 percent due to inflation and the controls we were under during the wage-price freeze.

Glenn Scott

Executive Director

Methodist Hospital



El Centro Shoot-Out

Your article on the El Centro buildings scheduled for demolition gave the impression that the Historic Preservation came too late with too little money to save the buildings. Furthermore, it is topped with R. L. Thornton’s comment that we double-crossed the Board by placing the buildings on the National Register.

It costs the same amount of money, or less, to restore 34,000 square feet of the Sanger buildings, which is all that is needed to accommodate the usages in the link designed to replace the buildings; furthermore, the Board will have additional space in the Security Mortgage and Trust Building to continue in use as storage or for future expansion.

The Historic Preservation League had nothing to do with the placement of these buildings on the National Register of Historic Places; it takes far more time and expertise in the evaluation than we had.

Furthermore, placement did not change the legal status of the buildings. All Federal laws apply equally to buildings eligible for the National Register as well as those already placed on it.

Donna Vastine,

President

Historic Preservation League, Inc.



Minority Theater

Our theatre greatly appreciates the support and coverage your magazine has given us. However, there was a very major item left out of the Actors’ Inequity article.

The production of Purlie was a completely joint artistic effort between DMRT and Theatre Three. They graciously extended part of their Mobil grant to our theatre in order to make the production of Purlie the very best possible.

This has been a very healthy, enjoyable effort, and Theatre Three should receive its full credit for its imput into making this a successful show for both theatres.

It is hoped that more theatres will be able to reach out and help each other. The winners will be the people of Dallas, for as evidenced by Purlie, the quality of both theatres is enhanced.

Carolyn Frost

Acting Artistic Director

Dallas Minority Repertory Theatre