LETTERS

Support Your Local Sheriff

Your article about Dallas County Sheriff Carl Thomas (“Inside Dallas,” March) stated that Sheriff Thomas said that unless the Sheriffs Association endorsed him for re-election, the Sheriff’s Association would, in effect, cease to exist.

I am sure that this bit of sour grapes information was given to you by one or more former employees, who would like nothing better than to see an internal conflict between Sheriff Thomas and the Sheriffs Association.

The Dallas County Sheriffs Association will not be a sounding board for former employees who are carrying a grudge. Neither will we be intimidated by anyone. Our decisions are our own.

Bill Ingram, President Dallas County Sheriffs Association



United Way for the Arts?



I take slight exception to your statement (“What Is TACA, Anyway?” March) that “TACA is the closest thing in Dallas to a United Way for the arts, an umbrella fund-raising organization that offers the city an opportunity to transcend its loyalties to specific artistic institutions and do something for ’culture.’”

In fact, local leaders already are calling The 500 Inc. the “United Way for the arts” in our city. While it may not yet wield the political or Financial clout that TACA does, The 500 has operated for as long, raising a total of more than $1 million, and supports about twice as many arts organization as TACA.

TACA, with such leaders as Annette Strauss, has performed stunningly well for Dallas’ cultural arts community, but let’s not overlook the blood-and-sweat efforts of over 1000 dedicated volunteers who have helped make The 500 an effective booster for the city’s cultural life.

William G. Smith

Richardson

Ms. Heinsen responds: For the record, The 500 Inc. funded 16 arts organizations, performing and non-performing, in 1979; the group raised $260,000 that year, for a total of slightly less than $1 million since 1966. TACA funded eight performing arts groups with its $470,000, for a total of just under $3 million since 1966. The 500’s contributions to the local arts community were well-documented in the story.



Plane Speaking



Rowland Stiteler’s statement that Jim Wright and Martin Frost “know that the critics who say the A7 is obsolete are probably right” (“The Most Powerful Texan in Washington,” March) does a disservice not only to the A7 aircraft but to Congressmen Wright and Frost.

The A7 for the last two years in a row has won the Royal Air Force’s bombing competition against the world’s best – Fill, F4, Jaguar, etc. The airplanes are judged not only on bombing accuracy, but also navigational accuracy, ability to evade enemy fighters, and electronic detection.

Neither the F16 nor the F/A18 can deliver ordnance any more accurately than the A7, and both cost more than $20 million per copy versus $7 million for the A7E.

P.J. Smith

Grand Prairie



Mr. Stileler responds: A trustworthy source close to Rep. Wright described the plane as a “flying dog” and told me that Wright and Rep. Frost have joked about the plane being “an embarrassment.” What 1 wrote was not intended to be a conclusive analysis of the merits of the aircraft but a report about what the two Congressmen think of the plane they are selling to the Congress.



Corrections



In the article “Clout on Capitol Hill” by Bill Choyke (March), Rep. Jim Collins is incorrectly described as a self-made millionaire; Mr. Collins’ wealth is inherited. Mr. Choyke phoned in a correction but due to a clerical error it failed to appear in the magazine.



In the March fashion feature “Undressed to Kill,” we neglected to credit Cindy Gregg for makeup and hair styling.