Landmark Church Delays Demolition & Nightly Roundup

By BJ Austin, KERA News

Dallas, TX – The landmark Oak Cliff Christian Church on 10th Street will NOT be saved from the wrecking ball, but may "live on" in various new locations.

Michael Amonett, president of the Old Oak Cliff Conservation League, says the League and the Dallas School District, which owns the church, signed a new agreement Monday. It gives the League one month to find buyers for "parts" of the 94 year old neighborhood church.

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Amonett: So that someone can take it and reassemble it just part of it elsewhere, so they can re-purpose the brick. Just so it doesn't end up in the landfill.

The League attempted to find a buyer with a new use for the church, but failed to meet Sunday's deadline and price set by the School District.

The DISD intends to demolish it for athletic fields next to a new and expanded Adamson High School campus.

Lawmaker billed twice for travel

A North Texas Republican who rails against the evils of runaway government spending has admitted pocketing thousands of dollars in taxpayer money for travel services that his campaign had already bought.

Rep. Joe Driver, R-Garland, acknowledged in an interview with The Associated Press Monday that for years he has been submitting the same receipts - for luxury hotels, airline tickets, meals and even registration fees - to both his campaign and to the Texas House of Representatives. He has also been collecting thousands of dollars in state mileage reimbursements for travel in vehicles for which his campaign has shelled out more than $100,000 since 2000.

Driver, an anti-tax conservative who sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, vowed to pay back any money he shouldn't have taken.

Downtown Hi-Rise Dancing

If you're in downtown Dallas, near Thanksgiving Square at noon Tuesday look up.

An aerial troupe called Bandaloop will be dancing on Thanksgiving Tower; the Pacific Avenue side of the 50-story high rise.

Organizer Allison Yeaman says it's a half-hour performance that starts at noon.

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Yeaman: It's a combination of climbing, rappelling, and dancing. They'll be starting at the 21st floor of the building and coming down as they perform - dancing on the side of the building.

The San Francisco-based troupe has been dancing on skyscrapers and famous geographic landmarks for nearly 20 years. This is the first Dallas appearance.

Lunch Fixins For Arlington School Students

The Tarrant Area Food Bank's "Mobile Pantry" helped out at an Arlington "back to school" fair Monday.

Andrea Helms says the Pantry came to fill a gap many "low-income" children face during the first week of school - little or nothing to eat for lunch.

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Helms: The school lunch program doesn't automatically start the first week of school. The family's eligibility for the program has to be determined. All this paperwork has to be filled out, signed, and turned into the school before the student can actually start receiving the benefits.

The Mobile Pantry gave parents a supply of lunch meat, bread, fruit and cookies to make lunches for the children until the free and reduced program kicks in. Helms says the Pantry brought "lunch stuff" to serve at least least 300 families.

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