To the editor: The Metropolis story “Bloody Monday at JPS” (Oct. 26, 2011) by Peter Gorman is another testament to the economy gone sour. And the middle class and lower class are the sacrificial lambs at the altar of avarice, losing their jobs while the higher echelon keep their wallets fat.
Several of the people terminated by John Peter Smith hospital system on Oct. 3 are older, some over 50, the group that finds it hardest to find re-employment. Even with a severance package, they are in partial expendability mode. Maybe even eventual dumpster-diving mode!
Why couldn’t a compromise be implemented? Employees could accept lower pay or work fewer hours, maybe forfeit their insurance — anything to stay employed, which is better than the alternative: no work, no money.
Of course JPS President Robert Early and other execs could take pay cuts too.
Eva Hoffsetz
Fort Worth
Cats Can
To the editor: The Nov. 2 Static column, “Cats Cough Hairballs,” almost reads like the coup de grace for this wonderful piece of real estate called LaGrave Field.
It has played host to many baseball games since the inaugural one in 1888. LaGrave Field is used for Tarrant County jury parking and other purposes. Auto and swap meets attract thousands of locals and out-of-towners. The property has tourist appeal and a grand view of the downtown skyline.
With the extreme heat this summer, attendance was down for the Cats, and they suffered a financial exigency, as many businesses have these days.
Hopefully the ball club will get out of its moribund status. Someone needs to purchase this historic field of dreams and make LaGrave Field the piece de resistance of this season of giving.
Yvonne Roth
Fort Worth
Shop Local for Supers
To the editor: Reading the recent story about the school district (“Broken Connects-ions,” Nov. 23, 2011), I am flabbergasted that the Fort Worth school district is still engaging in the ill-advised “nationwide” search for a school superintendent. All our practical experience has been that candidates hired by these expensive searches have produced less than stellar results.
In a day when school resources are stretched to the max, I cannot for the life of me understand why school districts are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to personnel consultants (headhunters) to search out candidates for superintendent. Even a candidate who is well equipped to perform the tasks of the job still needs six to 12 months to learn personnel, policies, and concerns in Fort Worth.
Walter Dansby, the interim superintendent, has demonstrated the value of having an executive who is familiar with the school district: its strengths, weaknesses, and personnel. He has spent his time addressing existing problems, not identifying them.
Wake up! Just because someone is considered a star in their district does not mean that they are the best candidate for our district. By the same token, what is the incentive for our existing employees to perform if they know that they can never be considered for the top job just because they are local?
We need good people who know our kids and their needs, not some shiny polished resumé for a person who — when called upon to perform — comes up short. It is time to pick our own peaches, not those in someone else’s yard.
Phyllis W. Allen
Fort Worth
Clean Up Saunders
To the editor: Dan McGraw’s Nov. 16 story “Stockyards Cesspool” was a great bio of Saunders Park, its problems, and its potential to become a tourist attraction, if only the city would lend a hand on maintenance to return it to its intended role. Since this obscure park runs along Marine Creek and under the historic Stockyards, it is worth the time and effort to do this.
Drago Reid is trying to recruit the city and our newly minted mayor, Betsy Price, who never responded to his call for action.
Reid should contact U. S. Rep. Kay Granger. With her backing, Saunders Park could get its cleanup and begin to bring in added revenue to our famed Stockyards.
Sharon Ream
Fort Worth
