Q What happened to the church at the intersection of McKinney Avenue and Pearl Street downtown? Was it demolished or did it burn? M.B., University Park.
A. On November 29, 1981, a fire destroyed the historic Trinity Methodist Church. At the time, arson investigators suspected that several transients sleeping in the building had started the blaze. But the transients have since disappeared, and the Arson and Fire Investigation section of the fire department now considers the case inactive. Plans are being made to restore the church, which was the first building in Dallas to be listed in the National Reg-, ister of Historic Places.
Q. Not long ago, on a Q Channel 5 news report, Dallas was mentioned as the national test site for a new consumer service that helps people find lower auto insurance rates. I’ve always thought that insurance prices are all the same since insurance is state-regulated. What does this service actually do? D.R., Dallas.
A. The Insurance Con-sumer Service of America (ICSA) helps consumers find the lowest possible automobile insurance rates. Even though the State Board of Insurance sets guidelines for insurance rates, individual companies may file a request to deviate either above or below those rates. In fact, some companies adjust their rates as much as 31 percent below to 150 percent above the board’s guidelines, according to Raymond Ramos, general manager of ICSA. Since IC-SA receives no commission from the insurance companies, the company charges a flat fee of $15 for one car or about $20 for two to three cars.
Q. Recently, I saw a car Q hit a dog on Central Expressway. 1 called several animal clinics in town hoping that one of them would have an ambulance service, but I couldn’t find one. Is there an animal ambulance service in Dallas? E.S., Dallas.
A. Unfortunately, no ani- mal emergency ambulance service per se exists in Dallas. But we did locate two local veterinarians who make house calls. Dr. Angus Mac-Donald will bring his Mobile Animal Clinic to a pet owner’s house to examine an animal-and even perform minor surgery -at the owner’s convenience. If necessary, he will also transport the animal to his clinic for further treatment. However, MacDonald operates the mobile service only at the request of the animal’s owner. He cannot pick up an animal at anyone else’s request because, he says, “there is no way to establish any financial responsibility.” Another veterinarian, Dr. Tom Damura, runs the Sagebrush Mobile Veterinary Service Clinic, a similar operation that services most of Dallas County. As far as we know, these are the only veterinarians in the area that offer such a service. If medical assistance is necessary for an animal that is not your own, we suggest that you contact the city’s Animal Control section of the Department of Health and Human Services. If the injured animal has identification tags, Animal Control will transport the animal to an emergency clinic. If the animal dies before medical assistance arrives, call the Dead Animal section to remove the body. For pet owners whose animals need immediate medical attention during odd hours, there are five emergency clinics in the Dallas area: North Dallas -Emergency Animal Clinic, 661-2112; Irving-Animal, Medical and Surgical Emergency Clinic, 445-1520; East Dallas-Belt Line East Animal Hospital, 226-0262; South Dallas-South Oak Cliff Animal Hospital, 371-8383; Carrollton-Carrollton Animal Emergency, 446-0262.
Q.What is the shortest book ever written by a Dallas author? A.S., Dallas.
A. Funny you should ask. There is a five-way tie: Max Goldblatt’s The Art of Compromise (Mono Press, $9.95 or six Disney World tokens); Tom Landry’s Playboy Party Jokes (Hard-shell Books, 49 cents); Eddie Chiles’ Stress Management (Glut Press, $199.99, tax deductible); Cullen Davis’ Art Appreciation, with a foreword by James Robison (Born Again Books, 30 pieces of silver); Entertaining on a Shoestring, edited by the Dallas Junior League (Bonbon Books, price: well, if you have to ask…)
Q. Is that last question for real? Y.U., Dallas.
A. April Fools’!
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