Star-Telegram.com: News

Texas stimulus application for education draws concerns

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 06:42 CDT

By TRACI SHURLEY

Texas officials will know soon whether an application they submitted this week for $4 billion in federal stimulus funds passes muster with the Education Department, despite nervousness from school districts on how the money is to be spent.

Education experts and legislators predicted this week that federal officials will find that the stimulus money is being spent in accordance with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Almost $1.9 billion of the money is being spent on an education funding increase that requires teacher raises of $800 or more.

"I don’t have any reason to believe [the application] doesn’t" meet the requirements, said Richard Kouri, director of public affairs for the Texas State Teachers Association.

"It’s $1.9 billion that, if this grant wasn’t funded, school districts wouldn’t get, and it’s basically $1.9 billion more than they had the last biennium."

Gov. Rick Perry submitted the application for money from the federal stimulus package’s State Fiscal Stabilization Fund on Wednesday, just before the deadline. State officials expect to receive almost $4 billion from that fund starting in September.

Many states had already submitted their paperwork and, by Thursday morning, 42 had been approved to receive the bulk of their stimulus education funds.

Application concerns

But officials at some school districts in Texas have worried that Education Secretary Arne Duncan could balk at state legislators’ use of stimulus money. Their concerns center on $1.9 billion that is being used to back a funding increase that requires the teacher raises. Less controversial is $1.38 billion to compensate for a decline in the value of the state’s Permanent School Fund, and $723 million from a separate discretionary fund.

Duncan has warned at least one other state against using stimulus money as a way to decrease state funding while leaving its rainy day fund untouched. Texas has a rainy day fund of about $9 billion.

This spring, several members of the state Senate, Texas’ congressional delegation and some superintendents sent letters to Duncan urging him to clarify for Texas how the stimulus money should be spent. An April 16 letter signed by state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, and others accuses the state of supplanting state dollars with money from the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund.

"Our concern lies with the fact that the SFSF was used to supplant general revenue in the Senate budget, swapping out — dollar for dollar — state funds for federal funds," the letter said. It also contains a chart showing how stimulus dollars would have flowed to local districts.

Fort Worth would have gotten about $94 million and Arlington would have gotten about $41.5 million, the letter said.

In Texas, public school funding is accomplished through a combination of state money and local property tax revenue. In his application, Perry says that the state portion of funding would have dropped in the coming fiscal years because of increases in local property tax revenues. So the $1.9 billion in stimulus money is restoring state funds to 2008 levels and allowing an overall increase, the application said.

"State leaders are confident that the allocation of SFSF is consistent with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act," Perry’s letter said.

Safety net language

Leslie James, assistant superintendent of policy, planning and governmental relations for Fort Worth schools, believes that federal officials will approve Texas’ overall plan.

Doubts remain, however, about whether they will let the state require the $800 minimum raises for teachers, counselors, librarians and speech pathologists, James said.

Schools are being encouraged not to use stimulus money to establish new expenses that would continue after two years. That’s something the salary increases would do, James said.

Fort Worth, which recently approved some layoffs to cut $15.4 million from next year’s budget, expects to receive $18 million in increased state funding next year, and $6.5 million of that must be spent on teacher raises, according to the new law.

"It really kind of becomes a burden for the districts down the line," he said. "We have to maintain those same levels of salaries even though the stimulus money is not there to maintain it."

Fort Worth mayor asks for federal review of Rainbow Lounge incident

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:09 CDT

By ELIZABETH CAMPBELL and MITCH MITCHELL

FORT WORTH — Mayor Mike Moncrief has asked the U.S. attorney’s office to review the results of a Fort Worth police internal-affairs investigation into what happened early Sunday at gay bar near downtown where one customer was injured and six others were arrested.

In a statement released Friday morning, Moncrief said he and the City Council trust that the Police Department will conduct "a thorough and professional investigation."

But, Moncrief wrote, he has asked acting U.S. Attorney James Jacks to review that report when it’s finished "to ensure the department has thoroughly and impartially carried out its obligation to all the citizens of Fort Worth."

"I encourage the [Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission] to follow the same course."

Chad Gibson, 26, of Euless remained hospitalized in good condition Friday with a head injury he received after six police officers and two beverage commission agents and a supervisor entered the Rainbow Lounge about 1 a.m. Sunday.

When contacted Friday, Moncrief declined to elaborate on his statement. He referred questions to Jason Lamers, a city spokesman.

"This in no way signifies the council has a lack of confidence in the Police Department’s internal investigative process," Lamers said. "The purpose is to show those who may have doubts about what we already know — and that is that we have a fair, impartial process."

The arrests and Gibson’s injury have been widely publicized and loudly condemned, especially by gay and lesbian activists. The incident occurred on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York, a significant moment in the gay-rights movement.

Fixing the mistakes

State Rep. Lon Burnam — who has joined state Sen. Wendy Davis, also a Fort Worth Democrat, in calling for an independent review of the incident — said Friday that he is pleased by Moncrief’s action.

Beverage commission officials acknowledged to the two lawmakers that mistakes were made at the Rainbow Lounge, Burnam said.

"The question is now, 'How can these mistakes be fixed?’ " he said.

For example, Burnam said, beverage commission agents entered the bar wearing shirts labeled "State Police." Those shirts are typically worn during special events when commission officials are assigned crowd-control duties, Burnam said.

Wearing beverage commission shirts might have given Rainbow patrons a better idea of what was happening Sunday, but "state police" shirts might have seemed provocative to some, Burnam said.

"The agents should have changed their shirts before entering the bar," he said.

Texas has no "state police."

Police response

At the Rainbow Lounge, 651 S. Jennings Ave., officers took more than 20 people outside for questioning, and six were arrested on suspicion of public intoxication, police said. Gibson was injured while in the custody of beverage commission agents, officials have said.

Fort Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead said Thursday that he has suspended joint operations between Fort Worth police and the commission until internal-affairs investigators file their report.

In a phone interview Friday afternoon, Thomas Anable, who said he was the accountant for the Rainbow Lounge, agreed that a third party should review police and beverage commission findings.

Healthcare overhaul plans are provoking debate in North Texas

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 06:39 CDT

By AMAN BATHEJA

The North Texas congressional delegation is hearing a recurring theme when talking to Texans about a healthcare overhaul: Most people know more about what they don’t want than what they do.

President Barack Obama has called on Congress to deliver him a sweeping healthcare overhaul bill by October. The issue is expected to dominate Washington when Congress returns from recess Monday.

While Obama’s general goals — lower costs and fewer uninsured — have widespread support, the debate over how to get there remains intense. Several members of Congress from Texas have held events in the state to brainstorm with constituents about the complex issue.

And North Texans are making it clear that they are worried about numerous administration proposals and want their representatives in Congress to fight many provisions in the bill.

"Texas is not Massachusetts," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said at an event this week, referring to that state’s policy of assessing a tax penalty on those without health insurance. "I think people are a little bit anxious of what they hear coming out of Washington, D.C."

The Obama administration has touted the potential benefits of a government-run health insurance program but has held out the possibility of signing a bill that doesn’t go so far with government control.

Cornyn held several healthcare forums in Texas last month. In Dallas on Tuesday, he met with local healthcare leaders at a clinic at Preston Road Church of Christ. The clinic is part of Project Access Dallas, which solicits donations of time and resources from area physicians and healthcare facilities to provide medical care for over 1,100 working-poor patients. Organizers hope to expand the program to serve 5,000 patients.

Cornyn said he worries that the proposals in Congress could end up "crushing the creativity that’s coming out of the local level," such as Project Access.

But the status quo is also untenable, he heard from Beverly Cunningham with Medical City Dallas Hospital. She praised Project Access but said its growth represents "baby steps" compared with the need in the community.

"We need to have bigger steps take place," Cunningham said.

James Scoggin Jr. of the Hospital Corp. of America told Cornyn, "We’re a resilient bunch, but we can only be stretched so thin."

Questions on immigrants

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, held a healthcare forum last weekend in Dallas. Many in attendance worry about how an overhaul might affect their own health plan, she said.

Several people asked whether a healthcare overhaul would address the number of illegal immigrants receiving free care in public hospitals, Johnson said.

"I have not actually seen that addressed in the bill," Johnson said. "I think that is an issue that we must come to grips with."

Johnson said any overhaul must help the millions of uninsured Americans.

"The only way I can figure out how to do that is a similar program to Medicaid and Medicare, and those are public programs," Johnson said.

Private-sector worries

Speaking at a healthcare forum Tuesday in Mansfield, Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, said a public program would put the private healthcare sector out of business.

Barton invited a mix of representatives from the healthcare industry as well as public advocacy groups. At one point, he split those in attendance into four groups to discuss a healthcare overhaul in more detail.

Southlake woman is named Miss Texas 2009

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:39 CDT

By YAMIL BERARD

ARLINGTON — "And Miss Texas 2009 is Kristen Blair, Miss North Texas."

Blair, 22, of Southlake had dazzled the audience at Texas Hall at the University of Texas at Arlington with her vocal range while singing an aria from a Puccini opera.

Miss Carrollton, DaNae Couch, was named first runner-up. Other top finishers were Miss Grapevine, Ashley Melnick, second runner-up; Miss Fort Worth, Faith Bates, third runner-up; and Miss Frisco, Kathryn Dunn, fourth runner-up.

Last year, Blair was fourth runner-up as Miss Fort Worth.

Before Miss Texas was announced, Taylor Lowery, 16, of Lufkin was named Miss Teen Texas 2009.

The pageant began at 8 p.m. with talent displays, including ventriloquism, baton-twirling, dancing and singing.

Miss Texas was crowned about 11:30 p.m.

Relinquishing her title was Miss Texas 2008, Rebecca Robinson, a Texas A&M graduate who speaks four languages.

As part of Friday’s entertainment, a video was shown of Robinson reading to schoolchildren in historic spots throughout Fort Worth. The video was produced by United Way as part of its "Live United" campaign.

The last Miss Fort Worth to become Miss Texas was Morgan Matlock in 2005. Before her, Molly Grubb was crowned in 1967.

Blair said her hobbies are music, as well as traveling and spending time with family and friends.

Along with her title, the new Miss Texas wins a $12,000 scholarship and a chance to compete in the Miss America pageant.

Organizers are already working on next year’s pageant, which will be the 75th celebration of the Miss Texas pageant.

"It’s one of the largest self-improvement programs that any young lady has the opportunity to participate in," said Jean Magness, executive director of the Miss Texas and Miss Teen Texas pageants.

"The guys get to portray their talents on the football field. This is a way for young women to perform their talent on a stage."

Since Monday, the teens and young women have been competing in the preliminary rounds.

A total of 36 contestants vied for Miss Texas.

The judges were Mansfield Bias Jr., president and executive director of the Miss Georgia organization; Judith Carrier, president of Tarrant County College Southeast Campus in Arlington; David Kendall of the Miss America pageant; Teresa Walsh, interim vice president of the southwest region of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America; Cynde Watson-Richmond, former Miss New Jersey and executive director of Global Makeup Artistry; Jennifer Webb, talent director at Dolphin Entertainment; and David Williams, Emmy-nominated celebrity makeup artist.

Health-screening businesses are attracting more consumers

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 06:46 CDT

By JAN JARVIS

Diana Mays has a high-stress job and a lifestyle that leaves little time for cardio workouts.

The combination led the Arlington teacher to a mobile health-screening service.

"I wanted to find out how far I am away from a stroke or aneurysm," said Mays, 59. "I feel like those are secret things that go on inside our bodies."

Mays is among a growing number of adults who are bypassing their doctor’s office and paying hundreds of dollars out of pocket for health screenings. Despite an ailing economy, the mobile-screening business is healthier than ever as the population ages, people lose their jobs and the worried well look for ways to prevent silent killers such as strokes.

When baby boomers see their friends suddenly drop dead from heart attacks, it hits home. The unexpected deaths of celebrities their own age — including newsman Tim Russert and actor John Ritter — increase their anxiety.

"Since these were people thought to be healthy, it has caused increased concern," said Dr. John Willard, medical director of cardiovascular services at Texas Health Fort Worth hospital. "People are realizing that proactive healthcare is much better than reactive."

That’s especially true for people who lose their jobs and feel as if they cannot afford to get sick, said Aimee Whitfill of Health Yes, an Austin-based screening business that recently expanded to Fort Worth and Dallas.

"A high percentage of people either don’t have health insurance or the screenings aren’t covered," she said. "They see us as a cheap way to get screened."

In the past 10 months, Health Yes has grown from operating one van in Austin to six in cities throughout the state. It expanded into Fort Worth in April with enough equipment to conduct five screenings per week, attended by more than 90 people. The company plans to expand to other states.

Dan Potter of Arlington, who signed up for screenings in Arlington, said the tests are economical and important, especially as one gets older.

"If the tests caught something, it would be worth the out-of-pocket costs," he said. "And if not, it’s nice to know you headed something off."

Recommendations vary greatly.

Private insurance usually does not cover the tests unless the individual is at risk. Medicare covers testing for aortic aneurysm once in a lifetime. The Society for Vascular Surgery recommends the ultrasound tests to screen for artery disease in adults 55 and older, but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends the test only for men 55 to 75 who have smoked sometime in their life. Most insurance companies do not cover the tests.

Circulatory, heart and osteoporosis packages typically cost about $200 through mobile-screening services. At a hospital, an abdominal aortic ultrasound alone costs around $300.

But some hospitals have started taking tests to the community at a price that is competitive with mobile-screening businesses.

Unlike the screening businesses, which will test virtually any adult, Texas Health Fort Worth hospital’s program targets people who are at risk, Willard said.

"If you have someone who is 30 and they’re worried because an aunt had a heart attack, then for them to go get a screening is a total waste of money," Willard said.

But for some people — especially those at high risk because of high blood pressure, diabetes or family history — the screenings can be lifesavers.

"We’ve done a lot of screenings in the past several months and found several people who needed surgery because they had blockages in their blood vessels that put them at high risk for a stroke," Willard said.

Roughly 15 to 18 percent of tests performed through the Texas Health program reveal something significant enough to require follow-up, he said.

Owners restore buildings on historic Arlington property

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:05 CDT

By JOHN AUSTIN

ARLINGTON — Since about 1914, the old house on the hill just south of West Division Street has overlooked the flood plain between Village and Rush creeks in this corner of far west Arlington.

Now the owner of the historic home, built by Col. Paul Waples, is set to reinject life into it. Scott Howell bought the property and 40 surrounding acres of woods and water from Waples’ descendants in 2002. He has restored a barn and cottage as a special-events venue and opened for business.

"We really want it to be for high-end functions," Howell said. "It’s tailor-made for weddings, corporate parties."

There’s no telling what Waples, a turn-of-the-century magnate who made his fortune with the Waples-Platter wholesale grocery company, spent on the original 622-acre estate. Howell’s restoration tab is already between $500,000 and $600,000 for the barn and cottage, and he has yet to tackle the main house.

But one event planner thinks the investment on the project, which will be billed as Howell’s Farm at Waples-Platter, could pay off.

Chuck Barry, executive producer of Big Dog Productions in Arlington, said that although event planners like to schedule venues close to their main meeting sites, they also like to get participants off-site occasionally, within about a 20-minute drive.

Venues with local color — Billy Bob’s Texas, for instance — are good.

"That’s a neat property," said Barry, who grew up in Arlington and knows the Waples place.

On a recent tour of the cottage, Howell picked up a stray cup left from a soiree. The cottage, like the 12-stall barn, is made of sandstone and dates to the 1930s.

Howell, a South Carolina native and Republican political consultant who worked under Lee Atwater and Karl Rove, knew what he wanted in the property. His affinity for historic houses was honed by living in Charleston, which boasts a wealth of antebellum properties.

"It was important to me that everything look the same," he said.

"Even though I was updating, I wanted it to be related to the period."

For example, he had to figure out how to make the new oak floorboards match the well-worn originals.

His contractor’s solution? "We beat it with chains."

Howell added a wide plantation porch on three sides of the cottage, a standing-seam metal roof, air conditioning and updated kitchen and bathroom facilities.

Howell, his wife, Julie, and their children, ages 9 and 12, don’t live there, but he clearly feels at home on the porch.

"It just takes you back 100 years," he said, adding that he’s seen fireflies, hawks and a peacock in the woods. "It’s like a time warp."

He also added another Southern touch: a long "joggling board" set between two uprights with rockers on the bottom, allowing visitors to gently bounce as they sit.

"Of course, you can’t have a plantation porch without a joggling board," Howell said. "I don’t think there’s another joggling board in Texas."

The barn is the most recent project to be completed, with brick pavers on the floor, an oak staircase to the second floor and three chandeliers.

Body found burned and dumped in field in Denton County

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:04 CDT

By ELIZABETH CAMPBELL

A man believed to be a cabdriver was stabbed, burned and then dumped in a field west of Alliance Airport, the Denton County Sheriff’s Department reported Friday.

Firefighters found the body about 9 p.m. while putting out a grass fire near Texas 114 and John Day Road.

He had been stabbed several times in the torso and his throat had been slashed, according to a news release from sheriff’s spokesman Tom Reedy.

The body had not been identified late Friday by the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office.

A blue Freedom Cab Co. van was found about a mile away. Investigators found blood on the front and rear seats, Reedy wrote. Representatives of the cab company told investigators that they last had contact with the driver about 7:45 p.m. The driver’s daughter had been unable to reach her father on his cellphone, according to the news release.

No money was found in the cab or on the man.

A spokeswoman for the Dallas cab company declined to comment Friday.

Texas Rangers are helping investigate, Reedy wrote.

Fireworks dealers hope for a big bang in sales

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:52 CDT

By SHIRLEY JINKINS

WHEATLAND — Beer, bait, barbecue and even tattoos are standard fare at shops in an area that is informally called Whiskey Flats along U.S. 377 between Benbrook and Granbury.

But this time of year, people want a literal bang for their bucks.

"The girls like the pretty stuff; the boys like the noise," said Gary Johnston, an Alamo Fireworks vendor at an open-air stand who is preparing for a big July Fourth weekend.

Police and fire authorities and fireworks vendors alike believe that the economic slowdown will cause fewer people to travel this year, so more will choose to buy fireworks and celebrate near home.

The American Pyrotechnics Association, a trade group, has estimated that U.S. sales of fireworks will reach $960 million in 2009, up by $20 million from last year. Two-thirds of all fireworks sales are to the public from independent stands and stores.

Johnston’s stand is one of about a dozen spots in the area where people can buy a popper for 32 cents, a seriously loud 5,000-round Monster Bang for $50 and everything in between.

"I like the big firecrackers that make a lot of noise," said 9-year-old Mylz Petty of Fort Worth, who visited the stand with his parents Wednesday afternoon.

His father, Brian Petty, usually has to work on the Fourth, but this year he wants to put on a show for Mylz and his 2-year-old sibling.

He said they just drive out to land owned by his wife’s family and "pop a few and drive back home." He plans to spend about $30 on firepower.

Firepower rules

Most Tarrant County cities prohibit igniting or possessing fireworks within their municipal boundaries, and strict state laws also control how they are set off in the county’s unincorporated areas, according to Tarrant County Fire Marshal Randy Renois. Unlike in previous years, no burn bans are in place preventing fireworks.

Fireworks fans must be on private land and have permission from the owners to use fireworks. Merely pulling over to the side of a county road to shoot them off is illegal.

Fireworks cannot be used within 600 feet of a church, hospital, school or child-care center, or within 100 feet of a place where fireworks are sold or flammable liquids or gases are stored. Violating these state laws is a Class C misdemeanor and can lead to a $500 fine. And local authorities are serious about enforcing the law.

In Fort Worth, for example, authorities confiscated more than 600 pounds of fireworks and issued 21 citations for illegal fireworks in the city limits during 2008. Violators could be fined up to $2,000 for breaking the city’s rules. Even those who drive through Fort Worth with fireworks on their way to an unincorporated area could be in trouble.

"If a person is observed buying fireworks, if they’re later pulled over and the fireworks are visible, they could be issued a citation because they would be in violation," said chief fire investigator Bobby Tatum of the Fort Worth Fire Department.

Patriotic rush

Fireworks fans say they are eager to comply with the rules so they can experience the rush.

While some families spend under $100, Casey Parks and Jescee Mauch, a 20-something couple from Midlothian who were comparison-shopping for the weekend haul, were prepared to spend up to $300, Parks said.

"Once, I spent two grand on fireworks for a party of 60 people when I lived in Emory," Parks said. "It took a 16-foot trailer to haul it home."

It’s all for their friends’ children, Mauch said, though she admitted to getting a personal thrill at the sight of an illuminated night sky. "I love Roman candles best, and anything that’s big and bright," she said.

Miss Texas contestants let the good times bowl in Arlington fundraiser

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:19 CDT

By MELODY McDONALD

ARLINGTON — The state’s finest beauty queens and teens, wearing shorts and sashes, laced up some retro-looking shoes Thursday afternoon and let the bowling balls roll.

"I’m having a blast," said Bailey Miller, 19, Miss Lubbock. "It feels good to do something fun."

Since Monday, the teens and young women have been competing in the preliminary rounds of the Miss Texas and Miss Teen Texas scholarship pageants. They were judged in talent, swimsuit and evening gown competitions, as well as a personal interview. Tonight, after a final competition, the winners will be crowned.

To help the contestants settle their nerves, pageant officials hosted the first "Bowl with a Beauty" fundraiser Thursday at the new Splitsville Luxury Lanes and Dinner Lounge in Arlington. Dozens of fans bought tickets for the event, seizing the chance to eat, collect autographs and bowl with the contestants.

For Kevin Lawson, 28, who has Down syndrome, it was a magical afternoon.

"I love it!" Lawson shouted between frames, while visiting with reigning 2008 Miss Texas, Rebecca Robinson.

Lawson’s mother, Jeane, said her son has been following pageants since 1992. He knows the women’s names, their talents and which cities they represent, she said.

"We buy [pageant] DVDs every year and he watches them over and over and over," Jeane Lawson said. "If they’ve been around, he knows them."

For an early birthday present [his birthday is in September], Jeane Lawson said she promised her son that she would buy tickets for tonight’s final competition. When they heard about the "Bowl with a Beauty" luncheon, however, she quickly decided it would be more fun for him to meet and bowl with the contestants.

Jeane Lawson said the $100 she spent on her son’s VIP ticket was well worth it.

"If they do it again next year, we’ll be here," she said.

For two hours, contestants bowled and chatted with Lawson, who proudly told them he played basketball and volleyball on the Arlington Eagles team at the Special Olympics.

Nor was Lawson shy about rattling off pageant trivia and announcing his predictions for tonight’s top five winners: Miss Oak Cliff, Miss Midland-Odessa, Miss Texarkana, Miss Dallas and Miss San Antonio.

"Isn’t he cute," said Robinson, who will relinquish her crown tonight. "This was so much fun."

Tonight’s competition
Miss Texas and Miss Teen Texas will be crowned tonight.

The final competition begins at 8 in Texas Hall at the University of Texas at Arlington, 701 W. Nedderman Drive.

Doors open at 7:15. To buy tickets, which cost $75, call 817-335-9000 or go to CentralTicketOffice.com. Tickets can also be bought at the box office, which opens at 7.

The show is not televised.

Excitement, anxiety as homeless begin moving out of Fort Worth shelter

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:53 CDT

By ALEX BRANCH

FORT WORTH — Samuel David Speck spent his first night in the "real world" Monday.

The 60-year-old spread a sleeping bag on the floor of his empty, silent apartment. He slid inside, took off his glasses and closed his eyes.

Turns out, sleep doesn’t come any easier in the real world.

"All these things going on in my head, you know," Speck said. "Did I put this, that and the other on the list of furniture that I need. What am I forgetting?"

For the last six years, Speck has lived at the Presbyterian Night Shelter. He slept on a bunk inches from other homeless men. His few possessions included a Panama hat, a canteen and a couple of ponchos.

Speck is among 65 clients moving out of the shelter this summer and into permanent supportive housing through a program funded by Fort Worth’s 10-year-plan to end homelessness.

It is the largest relocation of residents from the city’s biggest emergency shelter through one program. It will, advocates say, provide clients stable housing while caseworkers help them resolve problems that kept them homeless.

But the transition also stirs emotions — fear, excitement, uncertainty — among those who consider the shelter their safety net, especially older, more vulnerable clients.

"The shelter isn’t the real world," Speck said. "You don’t make your own decisions in here. It’s a different world out there."

Reluctant to leave

For nine months, Speck has slept in a room at the shelter set aside for men 60 and older. Those clients are allowed to stay inside the shelter all day because of their age and health.

But the shelter has been his home since 2002. Nicknamed "Rock ’n’ Roll" for his tendency to dance whenever there is music, he is a fixture among the clients. "I know this place pretty well," said Speck, sporting a bright red shirt.

A vulnerability survey of Tarrant County’s homeless identified Speck among more than 100 people who urgently needed permanent supportive housing. The survey was based on factors such as age and health. Many of the most vulnerable were found in the night shelter.

The program will pay Speck’s rent until he starts to earn income, whether it be from a job or Social Security benefits, said Lyndsay Hoover, the shelter’s interim director. Then Speck will pay 30 percent of his rent.

Through all its transitional programs, the shelter expects to move 35 percent of elderly clients into more stable housing by fall, Hoover said. At any given time, the shelter may have 100 elderly clients.

The percentage moving out is unprecedented in part because older clients tend to stay for years.

When Stephanie Broussard, a caseworker for the Area Agency on Aging of Tarrant County who is assigned to the shelter, arrived in October, she found few elderly clients interested in leaving.

"They were like, 'No, that’s OK,’ " she said. "Here, they have a guarantee that people will come check on them. They have people watching out for them, fending for them. It’s hard to leave that behind."

Those who want out are sometimes trapped. Eugene Andrews, 67, who has stayed at the shelter for 15 years, didn’t have a birth certificate or his correct Social Security number, she said.

It meant that he could not get state identification. And it meant that he could pretty much forget about finding his own place to live.