Calling de la Garza
To the editor: I am a three-year member of the Tarrant County College Northwest Dance Company, and I performed at the Bass Hall in November 2000. I am so outraged by the letter defending Dr. de la Garza I cannot think straight. We members of the dance company started a letter-writing campaign months ago in order to get a reason as to why we cannot perform at the Bass Hall again. Nothing and more nothing. When I read the article ("A Tall Ivory Tower," Jan. 31, 2002) it brought all of those angry feelings to the surface again. I brought the article to school the next day to encourage people to write again. When my teacher saw me with the paper, she looked scared; she looked as if she were going to be in trouble if anyone saw it in the dance room. My teacher has been told to keep quiet, her boss has been told to keep quiet, and even students have been told to keep quiet -- "stop writing letters" was the exact response. Yes, we are angry that we cannot dance at the Bass Hall but we are angrier that we, our teacher, or our sponsors were not given a reason. Dr. de la Garza has made us look bad. It gives people the impression that Bass Hall does not want us back. Well I will set it straight. Bass Hall did want us back; we are a very professional, well-behaved group, and no, we did not ask for any money from de la Garza. We had raised more than enough to put on the production at the Bass Hall; all we needed was the "OK." My question is, where is that money now, Dr. de la Garza?
Misty Hurley
Dee Tell
To the editor: I wish I could adequately convey the looks and comments I got when I told people that I, an elected Tarrant County official, was actually cooperating with Fort Worth Weekly on a story about me! ("Dee Man," Feb. 14, 2002) People went out of their way to warn me of the underhanded tricks and problems I would soon encounter. When I told people I had dealt with Jeff Prince many times in the past and he had promised to be fair, I was looked upon as a naive newcomer who would soon learn a sad lesson. So I was quite pleased when the story was fair. My sincere thanks to Jeff Prince for taking the time and making the effort to show the issues facing our organization. Along with my talented staff, I am truly trying to make the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office a place of pride befitting an organization of such history. I knew Jeff would hear negative things, and he did. There is no way anyone can make the drastic changes we have made without ruffling feathers. But Jeff worked and kept digging far enough to see the big picture, and I believe it was accurately reflected in the story. So many said there would never be a positive story about any government official in your pages. I am thankful you proved them wrong and most hopeful it is the first of more positive stories to come. The Weekly, like the organization I inherited, could benefit from an attitude change. I hope this is a first step, not an aberration.
Dee Anderson
Maxed by Jack
To the editor: I seldom pick up Fort Worth Weekly, but I have been to [Judge Jack] Byno's court, and I just had to read your article ("Purity Politics," Feb. 21, 2002). I believe one cannot claim ignorance of the law as an excuse. I have a clean driving record because I think traffic tickets are stupid and a waste of my hard-earned money. But Jack Byno is obnoxious. I made a right on red at Stanley-Keller and 377 right in front of a police officer. Why would I willingly break the law in front of the police? Byno would hear nothing from me, and I had to pay the fine and return to court 90 days later with proof of insurance, which I have had for the last 16 years, not one day of lapse in coverage. That day he sent at least 10 people to jail who had missed court dates or couldn't afford the stiff fines. Dogs without collars, cars parked on grass, and other really obnoxious junk. There were at least 75 people in court that day, and no one got so much as a reduced fine. Thanks for your article.
Scott Mathews
To the editor: Thank you for your wonderful article regarding Judge Billy Mills and his opponent. I have known Judge Mills for about 15 years. I have prosecuted cases in his court, and I have defended cases in his court, and he always treats everyone -- rich, poor, white, black, male, female, or single working mothers -- with the utmost fairness and respect. His record, both in the courtroom and in his private life, is spotless. The most interesting part of the article was the quote from Judge Mills' opponent, where he said, "I have no quarrel with his record as a judge." From where I come from, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Sheila R. Randolph
Blowing Snow
To the editor:Snow job is my job, or it could be. My company has been manufacturing Expanded Polystyrene for 22-plus years now, and 33 employees seem to be doing fine in spite of the whining and wheezing of Dr. James Herman ("Snow Job," Feb. 28, 2002), who must be having a slow allergy week and is perhaps looking for lawyers to bring him more business. To set the facts a little better, our material is white, but the Dow Chemical material is blue. Although chemically very similar, Dow should not be implicated or even mentioned if the "snow" was white. Styrofoam is also a registered Dow trademark, even though it is commonly misused to refer to our material as well. There is no health hazard in either case; otherwise the government would not allow manufacturers to make disposable coffee cups, take-out containers, egg cartons, or picnic coolers out of it. I'll concede it's not very tasty, but not likely to harm in small quantities. It would probably make anybody nervous if they ate a lot of it, or got some in their eye, but no more harmful than a leaf falling off a tree. The "snow" fell on Fort Worth because of the installer, likely a plastering sub-contractor working for Linbeck. After our type of foam is glued to the outer wall of a building, it is covered with a three-layer coating of acrylic stucco, to give it an appearance of stucco or concrete. But before the coatings are applied, the outer foam surface should be rasped to roughen up the surface for a better application of the stucco. Pieces of foam are therefore rasped or sanded off, and "snow" is created. If the plastering contractor is properly instructed and supervised, however, a mechanical "rasper" complete with portable backpack vacuum setup should be used to do the job properly, and any "snow" is minimized. So the fault lies with Linbeck and their sub-contractor, not with our material. I am in sympathy with the pedestrians and coffee drinkers, but Dr Herman is coughing up the wrong tree! And it's great insulation -- also appearing on parts of Bass Hall and the adjacent movie theater complex.
Jan Fersing
Editor's note: The Weekly received several letters pointing out our erroneous labeling of the material as Styrofoam, although that was the term used by Linbeck workers and a city official in discussing the problem with a reporter. Fort Worth Weekly regrets the error.
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