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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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Missed Transit
To the editor: I wanted to write about Dan McGraw’s guest column on our bus system (“Transit for the [Middle Class] Masses,” Oct. 1, 2003). I agree completely with his opinion. I would also like to add two other problems with the current transit system. One: There are no coverings at many of the bus stops. When it rains you are just out of luck. I saw a handicapped woman recently in the pouring rain with an umbrella and trash bags covering her legs waiting for her bus. The other problem is just, in general, that the T doesn’t always seem to care about its passengers. Last Saturday (Sept. 27), a man with the Boy Scouts came and took all of the benches up and down Magnolia Street and hasn’t returned them yet (as of Oct. 2). Please help, Mike Moncrief!
Stephanie Carter
Fort Worth
To the editor: I agree with some of what “On Second Thought” contributor Dan McGraw says regarding the bus system. Mass transit in Fort Worth is perceived as being a service for the poor. I have tried to change my commuting habits and ride the bus from my home near TCU to my job downtown. What keeps me from riding the bus more often is my kids’ schedule in the mornings; by the time I get them off to school and take the bus, I would arrive at work very late. Days when the schools are off I do manage to ride the bus sometimes. It does take awhile, but I spend the time reading, etc.
The best part is not having to deal with parking downtown. I attended a meeting about the next step of mass transit in Fort Worth, basically where the light rail should be run. Several people attending the meeting decried the refusal of people in west Fort Worth to “Get out of their cars!” The presenters cited the DART light rail example: When it was first proposed there was a great ballyhoo that the middle class in northern Dallas County would not ride the train. Turns out the ridership is way above and beyond the expectations of the DART officials. The lower-income neighborhoods of Fort Worth need mass transit; the middle-class citizens need to get on the bus and use it. Cleaner air, less traffic congestion, less road rage, less maintenance on the SUV, more time to read, reflect, enjoy. I must refute one statement Mr. McGraw made: On the bus that I take, I met a regular rider of the bus who is a Star-Telegram editorial writer.
Paul Wagner
Fort Worth
DNA Mysteries
To the editor: Dan Malone’s story, “A Very Closed Case” (Oct. 8, 2003), regarding DNA evidence relating to Richard Wayne Jones, was not surprising. My interest also involved DNA evidence in an unsolved “cold case” murder. My concerns about DNA evidence were clearly stated in Fort Worth Weekly stories by Jeff Prince, including “The DNA That Wasn’t There” (May 7, 2003). Recently I received information that DNA evidence had cleared William Ted Wilhoit of the murder of Carla Walker. I have my doubts that such a test was performed, or that such evidence still exists.
J. F. Terrell
Burleson
Editor’s note: Terrell is a retired Fort Worth Police Department detective.
Other Wing Heard From
To the editor: Ron Hacker, I have to say, you, sir, are a funny man. To say (Letters, Oct. 8, 2003) that Republicans won’t do something because it is illegal is the best one I’ve heard in a while. And when I hear a right-wing moron say that liberals are hypocrites, I have to laugh. What a joke.
You are right about Republicans running our country. They are running it right into the ground. And unlike Bush, most of the people actually won their elections. But the fact of the matter is very few poor people vote, and of the ones that do, very few have a clue. A friend of mine, who makes about $1,000 a month, told me she voted for Bush because he would cut her taxes. I had to laugh. To think that Dubya gives a flying fuck about anybody that makes $1,000 a month is funny as hell.
I heard a friend say that “a working man that votes Republican is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders.” Another friend said he saw a sticker that said “re-elect Bush ... four more wars.” I think that about sums it up.
Tim Burt
Fort Worth
A Well-Broken Pledge
To the editor: You did yourself and your newspaper proud with the recent piece on Fort Worth South (“A New Era for Near South,” Oct. 8, 2003). We are grateful.
In August 1996 when I accepted employment in a “to-be-created” urban redevelopment company, I made a pledge to the board of directors that I would work diligently to advance the revitalization agenda, and that I would never do anything that would put Fort Worth South on the front page of the Fort Worth Weekly!
My pledge has been broken, but I think it will be OK. Thanks for the extra effort.
Don Scott
Fort Worth South, Inc.
Correction:
Oleander Street is north of Magnolia Avenue, not south, as was stated in the Oct. 8, 2003, cover story “A New Era for Near South.” In the same story, Frank Widacki’s last name was misspelled in a photo credit line. Fort Worth Weekly regrets the errors.
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