THUMB AWARD DARING DEDMAN

Thumbs Up to Dallasite Robert Dedman for his service as chairman of the State Highway Commission. Though Dedman took some unpopular and controversial stands on transportation, at least he took a stand. While a number of politicians tried to straddle both sides of the Central Expressway double-decking issue or favored doing nothing and hoping for the best, Dedman insisted that something be done to ease the congestion on Central. He backed off only at the request of Mayor Jack Evans and others who feared that the double-decking issue would jeopardize voter approval of DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) in the August election. “We’ve tried to be as responsive as we know how,” he says of his department. Although he might not serve as chairman of the commission under Gov. Mark White, Dedman will remain on the commission. It is hoped that his boldness will rub off on some of his fellow commissioners.