Arlington Morning News (Newspaper) - May 30, 1999, Arlington, Texas WEATHER of thunderstorms high 86 Heat index to 90 Overnight low 68 See Page 2A FINISHING TOUCHES Convention Center expansion close to completion See Page 11 A LIVING BRANCHING OUT OP library finishing rem SPORTS RIDING ON Spill cant keep Martin from success See Page 1C Own Newspaper Arlington Sunday May 30 1999 IW Arlington Ne 3 Sections 50 cents MEMORIAL DAY LAKE SAFETY TIPS Alcohol Is not permitted at any city or state park on the shores of area takes A boating while Intoxicated charge has a maximum punishment of 180 days In jail and a fine must be enough life jackets or under 13 are r and large sailboats must b The registration number must be displayed and easy to Mirrors are required on motorboats and oft or devices Anyone t a boater education dass to operate t they are accompanied by someone wt Children under 13 are not allowed personal watercraft unless t SOURCE Texas Parts and Parks gear up for busy holiday Arlington Morning News By Nancy Calaway Staff Writer of the Arlington Morning News Forget the line that stretched for 20 feet Laugh in the face of Mother Nature as she poured a round of showers Nothing would stop these diehard campers from securing a site on Joe Pool Lake for the extended Authorities stress Memorial Day safety Memorial Day weekend It could be freezing rain or 150 degrees outside and theyd still be out here on Memorial said Chris True assistant manager at Cedar Hill State Park on Joe Pool Lake Its like a tradition for a lot of them Theres just something about Memorial Day weekend that brings them Officially summer doesnt begin for another month But try telling that to the hordes of campers not to mention picnickers boaters and fishermen who will descend on area lakes Sunday and Monday About lake visitors are expected at Grand Prairies Cedar Hill State Park each day during the holiday weekend Mr True said But the long line of campers Friday morning booked what was left of the 355 camp sites at the park for Sunday night Typically Memorial Day is the busiest weekend of the year throughout the state he said Usually its pretty nice weather the wildflowers are in bloom The Fourth of July is another busy week end but Id have to say that Please see Officials on Page Lone Star ready for a million Officials have high hopes for events future By Jenni Smith Staff Writer of the Arlington Morning News Corey Johnsen approached this weekends Lope Star Million with the tenacious determination of a col lege football recruiter he pursued the most talented athletes he could find on their turf Youve got to be visible You have to see the trainers You need to know horses that could run in your he said It sounds glamorous but its very hard work and a lot of Mr Johnsen vice president and general manager for Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie and other track officials spread the message about the richest day in Texas horse rac ing during half a dozen trips to California Kentucky and Louisiana A few of the talented Thorough breds that will participate in Mondays races include trained by Bobby Barnett and Truluck trained by Walden Lone Star Park will offer seven graded stakes races for a combined purse of million marking the first Lone Star Million Day By spreading the money out in seven races it garners national and local attention Mr Johnsen said could have had one race with a million purse but if you spread money out in a number of races your local horsemen will have a bet ter chance of he said And also you may get one or two top horses for your race but things may not break right and there you are with a lar race and a field that doesnt spread Also by having several notable races renowned jockeys are more likely to come to your event Mr Johnsen said Having one big race would make it difficult for a Shane Sellers whos the leader in money in the world right now to justify coming in for just one Mr Johnsen said Christopher Scherf executive vice president of Thoroughbred Racing Associations said through Please see Officials on Page PIPING GOOD TIME Festival has grown by leaps and bounds By Kevin J Shay Staff Writer of the Arlington Morning News Over the past four Robert G Richardson has played his pipes in some 40 countries The Scottish native and Arlington resident has per formed in front of three presidents and Great Britains royal family Starting Friday Mr Richardson will be the head judge and one of numerous performers at the 13th annu al Texas Scottish Festival Highland Games at UTAs Maverick Stadium Its a gig he looks forward to This is one of the better festivals in the said Mr Richardson 50 It has a bigger variety of music and a higher quality of musicians playing than There is a real of tal ent Attracting such acts as Mr Richardson has helped cata pult this event from a small gathering near the former site of the Caelum Moor sculpture off Interstate 20 to one of the biggest Scottish festivals in the world said founder and organizer Ray McDonald We were the first to push entertainment and build on that he said We chose to focus on the enter aspect and bring in top performers from Scotland and all Now they all do A new performer this year is Eric Rigler leader of the band Bad Haggis whose cred its include the soundtracks of Titanic and Braveheart as well as recordings by Phil Collins and Barbra Streisand Arlington Morning News Mall Houston Robert G Richardson has played the bagpipes at festivals and concerts in 40 coun tries for almost as many years He has performed at the upcoming Texas Scottish Festival Highland Games since it began 13 years ago Hes probably the most recorded bagpiper in histo Mr McDonald said The lineup also includes fiddler Alasdair Fraser who also played for the Titanic soundtrack renowned Scottish folk singer Alex Beaton Edin burgh folk singer Ed Miller and the Texas group Clandestine This is the year of Celtic rock n Mr McDonald said More people are getting interested in Celtic rock groups Weve sold more advance tickets this year than ever before and expect See Scottish on Page SA INSIDE Area traffic 2A Classifieds 81 OB Business Free Advice 2b Lottery 2A Movies Obituaries 2A Opinions Sports 1C Stocks TV listings 83197 00026 Sense of community characterized The Hill By Kelly D Patterson Staff Writer of die Arlington Morning News Life in The Hill was unlike anything in the rest of Arlington The all black neighborhood was a commu unto itself The Central Arlington neighborhood bounded by Division Sanford Robinson and Taylor streets was home to small African American population during the and 40s No one owned their own homes they rented from white landlords It had its own primary school Booker T Washington as schools were racially seg And it had its own churches most notably Mount Olive Baptist Church Life in The Hill wasnt unlike other life in black neighborhoods What set it apart from toe white part of town was the closeness among its residents said Geraldine Mills who works with the Fielder House Museum and historical society Families lived together and everyone really helped out one Mills said Theres a very strong sense of com For three years Ms Mills has been working to put together a special exhibit at the museum dedicated to black community The exhibit is expect ed to open in June For lifelong residents of the area seg regation didnt seem odd The separation of Weeks and whites was normal to them When they did venture into the citys downtown the differences were clear It takes Jessie Mae Ditto a while to come to grips with those differences Once Ms Ditto 76 was old enough to walk to town to get groceries for her mother she learned of a different world People would call us the petite woman recalls They would throw rocks at us when we walked down the street I guess I was But there really wasnt much talk of discrimination within her community Ms Ditto said When I was a kid 1 didnt really know what that meant My parents didnt talk about she said In 1930 black population was 302 which was percent of the citys residents according to the Census white population numbered about By 1940 the black M0 on Page Athletic funding lagging Teams competitive despite tight budget By Todd Wills and Brian Davis Staff Writers of the Arlington Morning News When Arlington High School football coach Mickey Finley moved here in March from Class Cuero the school districts level of athletic fund ing surprised him In Cuero he received everything he needed from the administration excellent facilities top equipment new uniforms and most importantly a coaching staff Mr Finley quickly found out that treating his players and coaches in the manner he was accus to might be difficult in Arlington which has one of Class SAs smallest athletic budgets but consistently fields competitive teams This is pretty scary to said Mr Finley who was surprised to learn the Arlington school dis spends much less than its Class 5A Region 1 competitors on athletic programs The district spends on athletic tures per student well below the state average of according to the most recent Texas Education Agency records obtained by the Arlington Morning News The would have to increase its overall athletic budget by almost million for its students to meet the state average Among the 21 school districts in the University Interscholastic Leagues Class 5A Region I cation the main schools teams regularly compete against Arlington schools rank last in athletic expenditures per student DeSoto and Duncanville which are in District 7 5A along with the five schools and Mansfield spend and per student respectively according to the TEAs Academic Excellence Indicator System report for the 199798 school year Mansfield rates 18th among the 21 districts spending per student Grand Prairie which competes in District is No 17 at per student Arlington is below the state average in athletics funding despite being ranked near the top of Region I districts in local tax base and median household income per pupil value of tax base at fourth on the list and 19 percent Please see on Page SA Lou Henry Taylor seated at far left opened Lous Blue Lounge a music venue in the 40s Ms Taylor now 80 received a loan from her grandmother in 1946 to open The Hills first grocery store on the corner of Houston and Indiana streets Courtesy photo
