Football still king in spending; Where are the upscale shops promised in Bedford?; Don’t enforce political agenda on mascot; What FDR unveiled now goes down; Fort Worth will take the mounts! | Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Football is king in spending

Teresa Turner’s letter to the editor does not quite tell the story of head football coaches’ salaries (Coaching salaries story, Sept. 10).

During my career as a band director, I was fortunate to work with many coaches who were excellent teachers and fine people as well.

As Ms. Turner points out, they put in a lot of hours and may have classroom duties, too.

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In very large districts in Texas, head coaches receive administrative salaries as athletic directors. Many 5A and 6A football programs have 10-13 assistant coaches. If we were to translate this kind of staff to the band, orchestra or choir, we would have an assistant director for every instrument or voice part.

Texas is fortunate to have excellent music and athletic programs. But it seems salaries for athletics far outweigh the money spent on other extracurricular activities.

Where are the upscale shops?

Another bait and switch by our esteemed City Council!

A few years ago Bedford residents were promised an upscale shopping area with condos, townhouses, lofts, etc. A few weeks ago it was revealed to be just luxury apartments. Obviously, Realty Capital is taking the low-cost building and quick sale route. An overflow crowd filled the P&Z meeting last Thursday to voice its opposition.

Mayor Jim Griffin and other council members campaigned on “no more apartments.” Yet only one council member, Amy Sabol, has voted against the project.

Two others have voiced plans to vote no. The citizens shall see who protects their best interests. Votes matter!

Don’t enforce political agenda on mascot

Recently you published a letter from a Keller High School alumna living in Pennsylvania regarding the Mascot at the high school (Sept. 8 letters to the editor).

We are the Indians and have been for 107 years now. In this article, the author refers to those who support keeping the legacy and the mascot we’ve had were “white supremacists.”

Allowing such irresponsible stereotyping not only puts our community at risk for retaliation, but it hurts our public image. I have submitted a petition on Change.Org to rally around keeping our mascot but representing American Indians authentically.

What FDR unveiled now goes down

Regarding the removal of the statue of General Robert E. Lee in Oak Lawn in Dallas:

I was 6 when my mother took me to see President Franklin Roosevelt unveil the statue in 1936. He sat in the back seat of an old-style touring car with the top down and pulled the ribbon that released the veil over the statue.

The base and the statue were done to celebrate the Texas Centennial Exposition, not to put black people down. Surely the fact that endorsed the statue should have prevented its removal on a whim by the Dallas City Council.

We’ll take the mounts

So Dallas is taking statues down. But why their horses? They haven’t done anything wrong. If you must, take the riders down and send their beautiful mounts to Fort Worth!!