Barbs
It's no secret that every time the Oilers play at home, the reporters from
the opposing city go home and dip their pens in poison before writing about
how lame it is to play in Memphis. After the Oilers/Giants matchup this
Sunday, for example, The New York Times had this to say:
"It's a pity to spend a weekend in Memphis and get nothing out of it,
not even a night on Beale Street or a visit to Graceland. The Giants were
stuck somewhere in Mississippi because of a lack of hotel space. They spent
Saturday night in a Holiday Inn watching the Holyfield fight. Then they
wasted yesterday in the Liberty Bowl, an embarrassment of a venue for the
National Football League, being reminded how arbitrarily cruel any Sunday
can be."
Naturally, this has über-booster Kevin Kane in a tizzy. Kane has this
to say, complete with a barb for Commercial Appeal sportswriter Geoff
Calkins, who has been critical of Kane. "This is putting a cloud over
Memphis in the sports world. We may never recover from this." says
Kane. "Geoff Calkins can trash me all he wants, but if he does not
see that, he is brain-dead."
The Big Brush-Off
"He says to look for a brush with soft bristles, that's comfortable
to hold, and one you like. Because dentists say, bottom line, a toothbrush
is only as effective as the person using it." From a hard-hitting report
on toothbrushes yes, toothbrushes on the WHBQ-TV Channel 13 news. Digging
for an angle, reporter Laurie Davison ominously posed the question, "But
can a worn toothbrush also be a haven for bacteria and germs?" Dentist
Dr. William Lacante answered half-heartedly, happily staving off hysteria.
"If it's not cleaned properly, yes," he said. "I mean, anything
is possible."
Takes One To Know One
When Steve Brown, president of the Memphis Police Association, was asked
recently to name some politicians who he thought were truly tough on crime,
he was at a loss, coming up with only one: state representative Joe Kent.
It must be heading the police union that does it for you as far as tough-on-crime
credibility. Kent served in Brown's current post as president of MPA from
1975 to 1977.
Perks
"I'm glad I went last year because before I went he would come home,
sit on that couch, eat and go to bed. After I got back, he just hugged me
and gave me jewelry and roses." Alyssia Webster speaking in the DeSoto
Times Today on the effect competing in last year's Miss Hawaiian Tropic
pageant had on her husband, Clovis.
Unusual Discrimination Case In Final Stages
by Tanuja Surpuriya
his
week, U.S. Magistrate Diane K. Vescovo will decide the final stages of an
employment-discrimination lawsuit that might be the first of its kind in
the country.
Linda Lyons, a white woman and former elementary-school teacher, sued the Memphis Board of Education for employment discrimination based on race and retaliation after being fired from Alcy Elementary School in 1994. In May of this year, while a jury decided she was not fired because of racial discrimination, Lyons did successfully prove that she was fired by Alcy principal Christine Johnson in retaliation for filing complaints with school officials and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Lyons says Johnson, who is the wife of school board member Carl Johnson, constantly harassed her, gave her unearned poor evaluations, and finally fired her because of the EEOC complaints.
Lyons was granted minority status and protection under the Equal Employment Opportunity law, making her case a straight discrimination case rather than reverse discrimination.
Steve North, Lyons' attorney in Nashville, says this is highly unusual because "in most cases where a person of the white race is suing for discrimination, it is because they were part of the majority group and were denied opportunities because of programs like affirmative action."
Lyons was classified as a minority since she worked in a school system where the majority of students and personnel were black.
"I'm not aware of any other case anywhere that this has happened before," says North. "And it probably couldn't happen anywhere else."
Lyons, who says she has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and had to move to Chattanooga because she could not get a job in Memphis after being fired, has already been awarded $134,017 in back pay. This week, Judge Vescovo will decide how much the city school system owes Lyons in compensation, attorney's fees, and expenses and interest.
Public Housing Rehab Causes Enrollment Drop
by Jacqueline Marino
This fall, Cummings Elementary students decorated the school's windows with colored leaves to celebrate the season. Down the street another symbol of change the wrecking ball reduces LeMoyne Gardens to rubble.
Last year hundreds of children lived in the dilapidated public-housing development, long considered an eyesore and a haven for criminal activity. Several months ago, however, the Memphis Housing Authority received the go-ahead to implement a $47 million demolition and revitalization plan for the development.
Neighboring schools started losing students late last year as their families moved to other public-housing developments and private apartments throughout the city. When September arrived, more than one-third of Cummings' students had transferred to other schools. And Cummings' enrollment fell from 635 to 385.
"Most of the [LeMoyne Gardens] students went here from K to sixth grade," says Cummings principal Robert Terrell. "It was difficult, once we knew the boys and girls, to see them leave all at one time."
Georgia Elementary, Booker T. Washington High School, and Vance Middle School experienced similar enrollment drops after MHA moved families out of the LeMoyne Gardens and Foote Homes developments. The schools have eliminated teaching positions and taken other measures to cope with anticipated budget cuts.
In the public-school system, the money follows the student. So, theoretically, a school with fewer students would need fewer dollars. But it's still difficult for the schools to deal with significant enrollment drops. In addition to eliminating 10 teachers, Terrell says his school may have to do without some materials and equipment next year.
"We've had quite a few cutbacks," Terrell says. "We've got a whole floor we're not using. This is the first time in all the years I've worked in the school system when the enrollment dropped below 400."
Georgia Elementary principal Dorothy Walker says her school lost about 200 students this year, mostly from Foote Homes, which is undergoing modernization. Three teaching positions were eliminated, but other significant cutbacks weren't necessary.