Letters to the Editor — EPA rules, Dallas homeless services, Lewisville ISD, a humble hut

Calling plays develops skills

Re: “Let young athletes call their own plays — Having them make the on-field decisions teaches humility, leadership off field,” by Arnold Holtberg, Saturday Opinion.

This opinion piece by Holtberg about letting young athletes call their own plays was outstanding. I had no idea it had gotten to this extent. His point is spot on. It’s developing young people through decision-making.

Gary Tutt, McKinney

Protect Joppa residents

Re: “EPA rule threatens Texas manufacturing — Proposal endangers a variety of things from transit projects to semiconductor facilities,” by Tony Bennett, Monday Opinion.

Bennett, president and CEO of the Texas Association of Manufacturers, stated in his opinion column that a proposed rule by the Environmental Protection Agency tightening the limits on fine particulate matter would do ”little to benefit the environment while placing an undue burden on American manufacturers, threatening thousands of jobs.”

He also states that some local residents have raised concerns about particulate matter from concrete batch plants operating in their communities but that investments made by concrete manufacturers in “innovative technology” prioritize the health and safety of their neighbors and employees.

Bennett is most likely referring to efforts underway in the Joppa community by residents to protest the Texas Star Ready Mix plant that has been operating without the proper permit since September 2022. Without appropriate oversight by regulatory agencies such as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the EPA, how can residents of Joppa, West Dallas and other impacted communities be protected?

Bennett correctly states that concrete is needed for homes, businesses and infrastructure. I wonder if Bennett would welcome a batch plant in his neighborhood.

Paula Day, East Dallas

Unfair particulate example used

Quote from Bennet’s column: “Locally, some Dallas residents have raised concerns with PM2.5 emissions associated with concrete batch plants. The reality is cement manufacturing represents only 0.2% of Texas PM2.5 emissions.”

A cement manufacturing plant is not the same as a concrete batch plant. The health effects of particulates from a concrete batch plant on local residents cannot be determined by the percent of particulate sources across the entire state of Texas. A similarly useless comparison would be to say that local Texas residents have raised concerns with mass school shootings. The reality is that the number of bullets flying in Texas at any one time is very low, on average across the entire state.

Joel Graber, Richardson

Camps aren’t landowners’ fault

Re: “Just move along now,” by Steve McCluer, Saturday Letters, and “Plan boosts public safety — $4.6B proposal cuts property tax rate, raises police, fire funding,” Aug. 9 news story.

Dallas homeless services need more resources, but many homeless often refuse aid because they are mentally ill or addicted. They cannot be forced by law to accept aid. The federal and state laws need to change to aid the afflicted.

Owners of vacant lots are crime victims and repeatedly fined by the city for vagrants and their trash that spill over from city properties because the city is slow to police and clean its own properties. No-trespass signs on lots are destroyed. Complaints to 311 and 911 about encampments and trespassing too often become a Catch-22 due to city regulations and scattered responsibility.

The city needs more staff and money for fencing, camps removal and cleaning. Private property owners should not be treated as criminals. Just ask property owners in southern Dallas. including old Kleberg where 94% of the residents are Hispanic or Black. They need relief from vagrants, drug dealers and code inspectors.

Dallas needs to remove encampments and illegal dumping on both public and private properties rather than penalizing property owners with cleaning costs and fines.

Marcus Wood, East Dallas

Teen deserves apology

Re: “Teen’s discipline sparks changes — Lewisville ISD moves to ensure punishments ‘fair and consistent,’” Sunday news story.

This is an extremely long story in which the Lewisville ISD seems to dance around the (maybe) wrongful punishment of a Black teen girl for doing exactly what I have understood schools have instructed students to do — to report if they see or hear apparent threats or behaviors which may lead to school shootings or other dangerous behavior.

The girl witnessed a classmate tell another boy not to come to school the next day. She reported it. Follow-up should not have been a “hard administrative decision.” Her statement was true, not false.

The boy in question didn’t do anything the next day. How was she supposed to know that? If he had brought a gun and started shooting, she would have been faulted for not telling. What was she supposed to do? Wait to see if something happened before reporting? Stay home just in case?

Has anyone told the boy not to say anything like that ever again? Was she punished when a white girl would not have been? I believe the school needs to totally rethink its policies, apologize to the girl and her family and pay for her mental health therapy as long as it’s needed.

Carol Stephenson, Mesquite

Huts better left in past

Re: “Behold the humble hut — Architect creates stunning Fort Worth development from a wartime fixture,” by Mark Lamster, Aug. 6 Arts & Life column, and “Ugly housing,” by Larry Huddleston, Monday Letters.

I understand many of the original hideous Quonset huts from World War II were “recycled” across the United States after the war. That was enough, perhaps even too much.

I remember two of them squatting in the middle of the otherwise beautiful Louisiana State University campus in Baton Rouge. They were still there when I graduated in 1963.

I agree with letter writer Larry Huddleston that sometimes some things are better left in the past.

Martha-Allison Blewer, Coppell

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