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Aloysius Home Director Resigns
Six months after a state licen-sure office
found evidence of client neglect and other code violations at Aloysius Home on North
Parkway, its embattled executive director has resigned.
Jim Shaw, the first director of the
Mid-South’s only residential facility for people with AIDS, declined comment. David
Lusk, the board of directors’ acting secretary, says it was simply “time for a
change.”
But sources associated with Aloysius Home
say Shaw’s resignation was forced and that the board was influenced by
recommendations made by Burt Waller, a consultant who was hired with technical assistance
funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help the home
address code violations.
In March, the state Department of Mental
Health and Mental Retardation, which licenses the facility, discovered articles of
clothing and bed linens contaminated with blood and feces, documented reports of clients
caring for other clients, and found evidence that clients were not receiving their
medications accordingly.
Shaw disputed many of the findings. But the
city’s Division of Housing and Community Development (HCD) refrained from signing off
on a $711,000 grant to Aloysius from HUD anyway and called Waller to help the agency get
back into compliance.
Waller, former CEO of the Regional Medical
Center at Memphis, says he released his findings to the board two weeks ago. Lusk says the
publicly funded report would not be disclosed unless HCD advises that it be released. HCD
director Debra Brown could not be reached before press time.
Lusk says the home will be conducting a
national search for a new executive director. In the meantime, board member Ruth Brown, a
registered nurse who used to manage AIDS services at The Med, will act as interim
director. St. Joseph Hospital president and CEO Joan Carlson will replace Dr. Dan Brookoff
as board chairman.
Aloysius Home operates two residential
facilities for people with AIDS and houses 40 people.  – Jacqueline Marino
Memphian Joins SNL Cast
 Until recently, Chris Parnell had given
up on ever making the cast of Saturday Night Live.
“I’d kind of accepted I would
probably not go the SNL route,” says Parnell, 31, a 1985 graduate of Germantown High
School and one of three new featured players joining the show this season.
SNL’s producers looked at his tapes a
few years ago, but nothing came of it. Resigned, Parnell – who moved to Los Angeles
after studying at the North Carolina School of the Arts, performing with the Alley Theatre
in Houston, and teaching at Germantown High – worked his way into the world of
sitcoms, landing bit parts on Seinfeld, Suddenly Susan, and Murphy Brown, among others.
He also joined up with the Groundlings, the
legendary comedy troupe from which many past and present SNL cast members have been
culled. Four current SNL players – Will Ferrell, Ana Gasteyer, Chris Kattan, and
Cheri Oteri – are likewise Groundlings alumi.
How does Parnell feel about following in
their footsteps?
“It’s still all not completely
real,” he says from New York, where he started work on the show early last week.
“I don’t think it will be until I’ve done at least one episode.”
Saturday Night Live’s season premiere
airs September 26th. –Jim
Hanas
Dollars for Dancing
 While Davon Rainey is practicing his
leaps and bounds, Karen Zissoff is working the phones.
Rainey is a 14-year-old Fairview Junior
High student and participant in an Arts Council project that works with kids from the
Foote and Claeborn housing projects. In July, he won entry to Interlochen Arts Academy, a
top-rated performing-arts school (and alma mater of pop singer Jewel) located in Michigan.
After attending the Dance Works program at Shelby State Community College for two years,
he beat out some 1,000 other candidates to join the 425-member student body. Rainey will
receive $15,000 in financial assistance, but he needs $9,000 more for tuition and living
expenses.
That’s why Zissoff, the director of
Dance Works, has been so busy trying to raise money for the young dancer to start school
September 15th. According to Zissoff, Rainey’s long been recognized for his ability
to adapt to all forms of dance and she hopes to see his gift nutured.
“I can’t hold talent like that
here in Memphis,” she says. To contribute, call Dance Works at Shelby State,
544-5174. – Susan Ellis
New Web Site Accesses Library Periodicals
The information age just took a step
forward in Memphis. The Memphis/Shelby County Public Library is now offering full-text
magazine and journal articles through its Web page.
EBSCOhost previously was only available at
specially designated computers at public library locations throughout the county. Now
anyone who has a library card and an Internet connection can access the fully searchable
database from their homes. EBSCO offers full-text articles going back to January 1990 from
1,500 magazines and newspapers. Abstracts and indexing for more than 3,200 journals, many
dating back to 1984, are also available online. Total coverage includes over 4 million
articles on subjects ranging from general reference to business and health.
The site will be a boon to students.
Charts, tables, and graphs can be converted to ASCII text. Nearly 5,000 Magill’s Book
Reviews are available in searchable full-text format.
The library also offers Health Source Plus
online. That database provides abstracts and indexing for nearly 500 consumer health,
nutrition, and professional periodicals. Also included is USP DI Volume II, Advice for the
Patient which provides patient-oriented drug information.
Library officials know that there is demand
for the service, as EBSCO reported approximately 20,000 searches per month from the
library computers offering the service. The library pays a flat fee of $80,000 for the
service. For more information, call 725-8895. – Dennis Freeland
Announcing: “What’s Next for Wonders” Winners
Some weeks ago, you may recall, we invited readers to wonder about the
next Wonders exhibit. After all, "Ancestors of the Incas" draws to a close next
week, and we were curious about the next cultural exhibition headed our way. We had
already been treated to treasures from Ramesses, Catherine the Great, Napoleon, the
Ottoman Sultans, the emperors of China, and the Titanic what was next?
So we invited readers to send in their suggestions for the next Wonders
show, and we promised to reward the most imaginative with a free Flyer T-shirt.
Some of you took us entirely too seriously. Forthcoming shows, you thought, might include
exhibits devoted to Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the annual carnival of Rio de Janeiro, the
art of Salvador Dali, even a Memphis version of Antiques Roadshow.
Now, none of these are bad ideas for a show, not at all, but they really
don't hold a candle to some of the other, more imaginative, nominations, so here we
present the winners of our "What's Next for Wonders" contest. Your T-shirts are
in the mail:
· The Wonders of Crime and Punishment. "Evidence
from famous crimes, murder weapons, loot, treasure, disguises, punishment,
photographs." Wait, there's more: "Guillotines, gallows, torture devices,
personal effects of famous convicts, artifacts from escape attempts, Bird Man of
Alcatraz." And this, we thought, was the kicker: "Everybody would be ashamed to
go but it would be fascinating." Mike McKaskle, Jackson, Tennessee.
· Weird and Mysterious Objects from Nonconnah Creek.
"This exhibit, sponsored by the plastics recycling industry, traces the course of
this elegant waterway from the posh resort marina on McKellar Lake to its source in a
gravel pit near Collierville. The Corps of Engineers are honored with a pictorial tribute
to the Third Street Pumping Station." Howard Branan, Memphis.
· Earthquake! "Showing location of faults, history
of earthquakes in the United States, showing how buildings can be made earthquake-proof,
do's and don'ts of preparation for, and behavior during and after an earthquake,
etc." And this, we thought, was the kicker: "Have earthquake simulators. We
would probably need more than one if crowds were large, or have a large room-size one that
would accommodate more people." Frances Crain, Memphis.
· The Lost Trees of the Lichterman Nature Center. In the
past, it seems, "people who visited nature centers actually came and went without
buying anything." But not anymore. "Objects from the bizarre and frightening
naturalist culture will be displayed as part of the 25th annual Memphis Wonders Exhibition
and Auto Show, which will be located at the Lichterman Convention Center, amusement park,
48-screen multiplex, one-stop shopping center, 18-hole golf course, casino, karoake bar,
and RV campground. The exhibit will include exact replicas of the trees which once were
allowed to grow, uncontrolled, all over this valuable piece of real estate.
Computer-generated images of small mammals, birds, and other animals will be included in
the displays, providing authenticity to the experience." Jonathan C. Cook,
Memphis.
· The Gated Empire of Countrywood: Relics from the Sacred
Garages. "This exhibit may explain how and why a group of peoples built and
maintained a city and lifestyle far beyond what the common peasants of the Mid-South could
ever imagine. It may explain how, once a year, these wealthy noblemen cast off their spent
extravagances as a recreation solely to watch their less-fortunate fellow man fight like
animals for their worthless refuse. We may never know. If only we can find a sealed
nobleman's garage which hasn't been plundered by garage-robbers, it may shed light on
their everyday lifestyle. The real charm of an exhibit like this is that the gift shop
would not sell replicas of the artifacts, but the artifacts themselves." C.B.
(just "C.B.")
Thanks to all for participating. |
