Park Cities People (Newspaper) - October 16, 1986, Dallas, Texas 1 THURSDAY OCTOBER 16 1986 PARK Fire rips through Beverly Drive horr By Jeff Kerber PC People Photos by Jeff Ketter GIVING COOL RELIEF from the heat of Thursdays fire on Beverly Drive is UP paramedic Larry Schmitz who is seen flushing out the eyes of HP firefighter Sgt Bruce McDonald Firefighters from three cities battl ed a midmorning blaze Beverly Drive last Thursday Oct 9 The fire which firefighters are calling the worst fire this year caused an estimated in damage and injured seven v firefighters The home at 3925 Beverly belongs to Frank and Debbie Branson who were on a business trip in Texarkana at the time A woman driving her Cadillac on Beverly spotted the blaze and flagged down HP DPS officer Chuck Rowland who then reported the emergency to the dispatcher at am Firemen arrived on the scene at to find the blaze spreading across the roof and through the second and third stories HP Fire Marshal Wide Bragg called for two levels of mutual aid summon ing the University ftirk and Dallas Fire Departments had in laymans terms a three alarm fire Bragg said in explaining mutual aid The fire originated when Raul a painting contractor was standing on a ladder stripping lacquer off an oak cabinet I looked down and saw a small fire on the desk part of the cabinet Poole said I jumped off grabbed a canvas dropcloth and threw it on top of the fire The canvas quickly caught fire as the Damage set at blaze mushroomed and engulfed the second story study where the fire began The fire spread fast I mean fast There were flames coming out of the second story study just like that Poole said It went from the study to the roof and then just spread According to Bragg a private alarm company reported the fire at am four minutes after firefighters had reached the house The fire was by am said Bragg Initial estimates on the damage are set at but may increase Damage to the contents of the house could make that explain ed adding that the house was insured for million excluding the contents Public records indicate that the home was appraised for more than million dollars After receiving news of the fire Bransons Dallas office notified the FRANK DEBBIE BRANSON flew back from Texarkana to find their million home ruined couple in Texarkana and they im mediately flew home to find their home virtually gone Branson said Bran son said that the first story was damaged heavily by smoke and water Branson his wife and two children had moved into the house in August just two short months ago The children Buck and Jennifer were in school at McCulloch Middle School at the time of the fire Although his home was still stand ing Branson found it hard to be optimistic after surveying the damage Having been inside it doesnt feel like still standing Branson said had furnished the house with antiques and personal items some of them over 100 years old Branson added They were priceless and irreplaceable t Bragg said that the fire was the highest dollar loss in the past 12 months The previous high was a fire which ironically was also on Beverly Drive and also in August The cause of the fire is still under see FIRE on page 3 gets glowing review from panel of educators gains new accreditation By Ellen Dupree Superintendent Winston Power and School Board President John Eisenlohr gave a number of reports to the members of the board at their regular meeting on October 14 at Hyer Elementary the most notable being a glowing review from a national ac board on the State of the District at Powers announced to the group the favorable results of the school systems review by the Southern Association Visiting Committee stating that I thought the committee and their assessments were fair One of the things I appreciated was that they recognized some of the talents and at tributes of our faculty The one thing they said which I took the greatest heart in was that the faculty cared Some 50 professionals came from this state and three we consider to be outstanding in their various review us Power explained They looked at our own supporting materials such as curriculum made onsite visits to classrooms with many teachers and asked lots of questions about curriculum facilities school philosophy The report they made Monday was very commendable he continued It ended with the recommendation for full accreditation of the SA for all three levels of schools Power outlined some interesting points made during the evaluation that is blessed with a disproportionate amount of master teachers that some of the classes they at tended were boring u it was suggested the the district do some sharing with teachers bet ween various classes letting one teacher with a particular skill work with other teachers classes that needs to make some plans regarding the upkeep of the school facilities that reviewers were very impress ed with the discipline teachers main in the classrooms that had a very solid cur and had stayed true to pro ven teaching methods rather than in teaching fads into lessons see SCHOOL on page 4 i i i Wheel of good fortune masterpiece Artist Toig Thompsons epic mural still thrills at Biblical Arts Center By Ellen Dupree THE PENTECOST is Thomsons long which Biblical Arts Center was built Leonardo da Vinci would have been proud In 1965 as the paint was chipping off his fifteenth century fresco The Lost Supper in Milan and discussions of its eighth restoration had not yet begun the idea for an even bigger New Testament mural was taking shape in the mind of a Dallas artist Today the artist Torger G Thompson can hardly believe that the mural depicting the miracle at Pentecost is really the product of his own labor He has return ed from Arkansas in time for the anniversary of the museum that was built especially to house his work The story of the paintings evolution is legendary In 1965 Thompson wasnt even in the business of painting portraits He was a graphic artist by profession who specialized in patterns and quick sketches rather than in the precision necessary for a master oil painting in fact the only mural to his credit was in an Oak Cliff night club called the El Thomp son was talented enough to invent the logos for Texas Instruments and Lone Star Steel but his minds eye also held a different vision Thompson imagined something glorious and aweinspiring He wanted to create vibrant characters who would seem to move and speak with the resplendence of men touched by God His painting would have enormous dimensions and be flooded with light As Thompson sat in his garage studio making sketches of his idea for The Miracle at he realized that financing such an auspicious project would require a miracle at McFarlin He got one Thompsons miracle was named Mattie Caruth Byrd An architect Jim Cheek in him to this elderly benefactor and friend When she and her son Harold Byrd Jr entered the studio and saw the sketches the artist and the patron became see THOMPSONS on page 12
