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02/16/04  Pick a level -- it's the same low down --

Northwest Dallas has an ever growing Hispanic population.  Many are immigrants who are just making some money to send back to Mexico, and intend to eventually go home.  More are here for good.

Like my neighbors, many Mexican Nationals living in NW Dallas have established careers here, have purchased homes here and are raising their children here.  They are living well and are likely to stay here permanently.

There are also Hispanic families who are stuck in apartments, trying to make ends meet and keep their children in school and out of gangs.  They are barely getting by.

What do they all have in common?  Wherever they live, the dregs of the earth get dumped on them by whatever governmental entity is in a position to do so.

Why do you think Our Downtown Betters (the ODB) locked in on the Harry Hines site to create the street bums' day spa?  Because the nearest neighborhoods to the location are predominantly Hispanic, and the ODB know John Loza will not be looking out for them.

They may have expected the same from Steve Salazar, but he surprised a lot of us by stepping up to the plate to protect the businesses and residents in his district.   It was brave and bold and the right thing to do.

It was also right for Mitch Rasansky to back him up because several neighborhoods in District 13 would also feel the impact of having hundreds of new vagrants roaming NW Dallas streets, threatening and terrorizing children walking to and from school.

Now, Oak Lawn neighborhoods near Sam Houston Elementary have learned they have several convicted sex offenders living in a halfway house (an old apartment building) as their neighbors.  How did this happen?

Thanks to Joe Thug May and Mad Max Aaronson and the other selfish toads who served on the Redistricting Commission (except Rob Richmond and Corky Sherman), Oak Lawn is dissected between Loza's District 2 and Veletta Lill's District 14.  May and Aaronson were their Commission appointees, respectively.  All four of them bear the responsibility of these two gerrymandered districts, which has resulted in a halfway house for sex offenders a couple of blocks from a school whose students are mostly poor and Hispanic. 

Veletta Lill should be protecting District 14 neighborhoods that encircle Sam Houston Elementary.  Most of the schoolchildren do live in the rundown apartments of District 2, but there are hundreds of single women living in the area as well.  No one has advised those women they may have bought condos or rented apartments within blocks of several sex offenders.

Loza and Lill should follow the examples set by Steve Salazar and Mitch Rasansky and take a proactive role in protecting their constituents, particularly the most vulnerable.

Loza and Lill should be leading the charge for the city to demand the relocation of the sex offenders away from Sam Houston Elementary.  They should be requesting the City Attorney and Plan Commission to draft zoning regulations protecting Dallas school campuses from halfway houses for sex offenders.  The DISD needs to step out on this, as well.

Claiming the sex offenders' crimes were not violent in nature is ludicrous.   If sexually abusing a child is not violent, what do they think constitutes violence?  

It's time for Loza to stop sucking up to the ODB looking for another handout and start looking out for his constituents.

It's time for Lill to stop pretending to be concerned about preserving old houses in her district and start showing some concern for the safety of her constituents.

Fortunately, both of their time on the council is almost up.

Unfortunately, the poor Hispanic families who live near Sam Houston Elementary can't expect their Councilman John Loza to stand up for them.  They certainly can't expect Veletta Lill to do anything for them, since they are not big donors to the arts. 
 

Sex offenders' proximity to school stirs worry; Agency says it closely monitors youths placed in Oak Lawn complex 08:34 PM CST Sat 2/14/04 by FRANK TREJO/The Dallas Morning News

Just as in many other Dallas neighborhoods, the streets around Sam Houston Elementary School fill with children and parents as they go to and from classes each weekday.    But some residents of the Oak Lawn-area community have become increasingly concerned about the safety of those children. That's because they have learned that the state houses as many as nine registered sex offenders in an apartment complex just east of the Dallas North Tollway.    Some of the men in the apartment complex served time for crimes against young children. . . . Mr. Fleet said he believes that the men have been placed in the two-story complex within sight of the school because the neighborhood is predominantly Hispanic and many residents don't speak English and aren't able to speak out against the placement. . . . Officials with the Texas Youth Commission say they understand the concerns but they say that the men have been through intensive sex offender treatment programs and that they are closely supervised. . . . One of the considerations for placing the men in the area, officials said, is the affordability of housing. The neighborhood contains numerous apartment complexes and older homes that have been turned into apartments. . . . "We know the realities of what these young men have done in the past, and we take our responsibilities very seriously in making the decision of when they're ready to go out into the community," said Pamela Ward, a spokeswoman for the commission. . . . "We're comfortable that they [the men] no longer are a risk to public safety, or we wouldn't let them out the door," Ms. Ward said. . . .  She said that in many cases, the victims of their crimes are in the homes they left, so the only other alternative would be to release them without any preparation to live on their own. . . . "It is difficult to find places for sex offenders to go," she said. "Unlike adults, we just can't see giving them a few dollars and a bus ticket and saying to them, 'Have a nice life.' " . . .  City Council member John Loza, who represents the district where the apartments are, said that the placement is a concern but that little can be done as long as the men are complying with all the terms of their release from custody.   "Certainly it is something to be concerned about anytime you have a multiple number of sex offenders going into a particular neighborhood," Mr. Loza said. . . .  Sam Houston PTA president Elizabeth Socall . . . "It concerns me a lot because of the number of kids who walk by there and live in the area," Ms. Socall said. "I think if more parents knew about this, they would certainly be upset."

	What about doing that "little" -- doing something, Mr. Loza?
	What about organizing a protest, Mr. Loza?
	What about raising a ruckus, Mr. Loza?

Just because most parents of the children at risk may not be rich or voters, they counted toward the census tracts that your buddy, Joe Thug May used to create your gerrymandered district, Mr. Loza.

This is so very cruel and so very typical of the way things go in this town.  Why do the bad guys come before the working poor?   

If it's a choice between the safety of innocent school children and housing for sex offenders who have already preyed on children, why are the children not the first priority?  If we justifiably can prohibit sex clubs within a certain area around a school, surely we can have a restricted area where sex offenders cannot enter, much less have a residence.

Mr. Fleet is correct "the men have been placed in the two-story complex within sight of the school because the neighborhood is predominantly Hispanic and many residents don't speak English and aren't able to speak out against the placement. "

It's not just that the parents don't speak English.  In many cases, the children are the mother's link to the outside world and serve as her translator.  Even if they heard about the sex offenders living in their neighborhood, the children would not understand the significance.

Why would anyone in their right mind set up an apartment house for sex offenders near an elementary school?   The Texas Youth Commission did it, because they know no one at City Hall would care!

This is exactly how the Harry Hines site got to the front burner -- no one at City Hall cares about the children in NW Dallas or Oak Lawn. 

At City Hall, street bums who made really bad life choices rate attention and big dollars, and hardworking families of NW Dallas have to do the best they can and and deal with the chaos the ODB planned to dump on them.

Apparently, disregard for children and hardworking families goes up to the state level.  It's ironic the Texas Youth Commission is only concerned about young sex offenders and is willing to put innocent children at risk.

Keep street bums away from our families and keep sex offenders away from our schools.