Thomas Jefferson shooting rocked the school’s Walnut Hill neighborhood. just one day after two students were shot in Arlington.
On Tuesday, a gunman opened fire on a student in the parking lot of Thomas Jefferson High School. The shooting came minutes after school dismissal. Thomas Jefferson High School is in northwest Dallas.
The assailant shot one student in the arm. That student was transported to a local hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
Dallas ISD Police are taking the lead on investigating the shooting. Dallas ISD Police are receiving assistance from Dallas Police. The school district police force has limited experience in violent crime investigation.
The police did not describe a motive for the shooter.
Thomas Jefferson High School will have no school today. Additionally, nearby Walnut Hill Elementary School will have no classes.
Thomas Jefferson Shooting Sees Increased Security
Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said counselors are available for staff and students when they return to class on Thursday.
A spokesman could not answer why a clear backpack policy had no effect on school safety. The clear backpacks policy has been troublesome for parents all year. Multiple groups explained prior to the school year start why they do not work.
In a summer article, USA Today quoted security experts saying this was “theater.” They went on to say that this “funnels resources away from more effective approaches.”
American unprepared for emergencies in the air per a new lawsuit alleging the airline did not have properly functioning equipment.
The lawsuit alleges American Airlines did not have a properly functioning automated defibrillator on board in 2022 when a teen died.
Kevin Greenidge was on flight AA614 on June 4, 2022 when he became unconscious and went into cardiac arrest. Crew members tried to administer a shock from the automatic external defibrillator, but its battery was not functioning per the lawsuit.
Melissa Arzu, Greenidge’s mother, says his death was a result of carelessness and gross negligence by the airline. She cited the uncharged mobile battery pack and lac of employee training in resuscitation.
Federal law requires airlines to have medical equipment such as defibrillators on board. The law also required flight crew to be trained in the use the equipment.
Arzu’s complaint states Greenidge sustained several injuries prior to his death. Had he survived, the complaint reads he would have been entitled to actual and punitive damages.
More than 350,000 people die of sudden cardiac arrest in the United States every year per the 9-11 Foundation.
Survival rates are as high as seventy percent when they are defibrillated within the first three minutes.
Multiple Reports: American Unprepared For Emergencies
American Airlines is having a challenging legal year.
An American jet hit a bus on the tarmac of Los Angeles International Airport earlier this year. Crews initially refused to speak to investigators.
American Airlines jet crashed into a bus early this morning at Los Angeles International Airport. The jet was being towed when it struck a passenger bus injuring five people.
The collision happened near 10:00 PM Pacific time when the American Airlines’Airbus A321 plane was towed from a gate. A bus was transporting passengers between terminals and the two vehicles collided.
In a statement, Los Angeles World Airports said, “The aircraft that was being towed from a gate to a remote parking location made physical contact with a bus traveling on the south side of the LAX airfield.”
Los Angeles World Airports is the governing body for Los Angeles International Airport.
American Airlines Jet Crashed – One Of Many Near Aviation Issues
The accident happened on the south side of the airport. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
American Airlines operations continued otherwise.
Other Side Dallas will update this story as information becomes available.
The Dallas Opera unstable on many fronts is the song sung by insiders at The Winspear Opera House. This comes after several recent issues. The Dallas Opera in celebrating its 65th anniversary this year. It is showing signs and symptoms of old age and in need of adult supervision.
Tonight, The Dallas Opera will present its latest production tonight, Das Rheingold. Some media organizations have already pronounced it a success. Insiders tell a very different story.
This week several cast left the production after TDO chose not to corral a wayward employee. The was doubling as a production extra. The employee was acting threatening towards other cast and crew.
Other Side Dallas has reached out to the reported victims in this case who will not return calls or emails.
Cast and crew describe walking on eggshells around a trans male Facility Manager. The employee works from the Karayanis Rehearsal Production Center.
Other Side Dallas was able to speak to a few cast and crew about Das Rheingold and this employee.
There is “too much testosterone” and he has a “hormonal imbalance” was a familar refrain.
A person with the production said senior staff know the situation is unsafe. They refuse to provide the adult supervision he needs.
One other person said, “no one wants to deal with the problem out of fear of violence.”
This is a problem given the production has several youth extras, or supernumeraries.
Safety: Children
Despite working with minors, the opera does not provide any safety guard rails. There are no provisions for their own staff or volunteers.
This is one area of oversight that the opera appears guilty of from a management standpoint. There are no background checks and no training for working with children.
These basic safety measures have come about from decades of abuse scandals. involving nonprofit groups.
One firm noted every forty-three hours a registered sex offender tries working for a nonprofit. Those persons are caught by organizations undertaking basic precautions. The Dallas Opera skips these basic steps in providing a measure of protection.
There is a notation from Josh Martin, Artistic Services Coordinator, that seems problematic. The memo reads the opera does “not employ a “child wrangler.”
He appears to mean children should be seen and not heard. He also seems to indicate they’re not doing anything to protect children.
Other Side Dallas has also seen the submission of a related Child Protective Services report. The report was made Monday morning by a school counselor.
The report details an adult improperly brushing a teenage girl. It names the Winspear Opera House as the location of the incident. We are working to confirm that these issues are related.
We do know that both the employee and the underage girl were co-located in a cramped substage crawl area.
Other Side Dallas has reached out to The Dallas Opera more than six times for comment. So far no one from their organization has responded.
Safety: Adults
Other Side Dallas also found that another employee, Mark Wagenhurst, died during production. This happened at Karayanis Rehearsal Production Center a few weeks ago.
He was found dead by other employees, but no attempts were made to help him. This comes despite the opera employing a medical safety officer.
The Dallas Opera Unstable Costumes, Set, and Stage
Finally, the production has many problems. TDO got a positive review from the Dallas Morning News before the show ever got to The Winspear Opera House. It seems
Invited audience members on Tuesday night noted a few problems.
At one point, the the orchestra stopped playing during a transition. This occurred when a lighting issue arose causing the several minute delay.
Additionally, several cast members have had wardrobe malfunctions. “Grand” costumes caught on set design pieces like a scaffolding set up. There have also been issues with elevators and lifts.
One crew member said, “you have elaborate transitions so some designer can prove who they are, but they don’t go together.”
The costumes are getting caught on “modern set designs” and everyone is at risk.
The Dallas Opera was the first to return to the stage last year after coronavirus. Their production of Madame Butterfly received good reviews at the time. Since then they seem off track.
The Dallas opera company seems less focused on quality now than pre COVID19.
The current quantity over quality production makes a company unstable for future audiences.
UIL investigating Duncanville ISD girls basketball coach LaJeanna Howard per a district admission this week.
Howard violated her UIL suspension from earlier this school year per the school district. Additionally, she violated directives from school leadership also.
The entire girls varsity basketball staff is on paid administrative leave after the UIL investigation.
Duncanville ISD cancelled Tuesday night’s girls basketball game against Dallas’ Skyline High School. School sources say this was a direct result of the latest allegations.
Duncanville ISD Superintendent Dr. Marc Smith says, “The District is taking swift and decisive steps to address the allegations.”
He continues, “If the result of the investigation reveals any wrongdoing by the Girls’ basketball coaches, Duncanville ISD will immediately self-report those issues to the UIL and institute strong corrective action.”
It is unclear if the district will move to terminate Ms. Howard or not.
No details about UIL investigating Duncanville ISD basketball programs again are available.
UIL Investigating Duncanville ISD – Again
The girls’ basketball team was suspended from this school year’s playoffs. This sanction comes for violating recruiting rules and practice restrictions.
According to the UIL, Coach LeJeanna Howard advertised she was having an open gym tryout in August. This tryout then came a full two months before practices were allowed.
At the time, Howard denied it was a try-out for the team, calling it just an open gym.
Duncanville is considered a local powerhouse for hoops and the Duncanville Field House conducts a great deal of off season preparation.
Panther Boys
UIL also hit the Duncanville boys basketball program with sanctions in October also.
The UIL ruling states Duncanville’s boys team must forfeit all games from the 2021-2022 season.
The sanction includes all postseason games and the 2022 Conference 6A State Championship. Additionally, Duncanville coach David Peavy lost a year due to suspension from competition.
On Thursday, Dallas ISD announced its schools will reopen Friday, but with a two-hour delay. This decision came despite weather reports saying melting ice would refreeze overnight.
Arlington ISD, Duncanville ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Irving ISD, and Mansfield ISD all chose to cancel school. So did Dallas ISD, but not until this morning. This left frustrated parents looking for last minute child care options.
Decision Points: Opened Or Closed
Chief of Operations David Bates told local media they inspected its 250 school campuses. These inspections were both internal and external at both schools and other district buildings and drove the decision on schools bring opened or closed.
Bates said, “We have some minor pipes that have ruptured. A lot of them have been outside the buildings or on top of the building that we’re able to mitigate right now. Nothing major.”
The February freeze which has continued as the month begins saw several accidents this morning and a working house fire in northeast Dallas.
Dallas Zoo Person of Interest has been identified by Dallas Police in a photograph released Tuesday morning.
The Dallas Police want the public’s help in identifying this individual shown in a Facebook post.
Dallas detectives want to speak with the man in regard to the two missing tamarin monkeys. The Emperor Tamarins were reported missing on Monday afternoon.
Anyone with information on the pictured individual, or in the case is asked to call (214) 671-4509.
Dallas Police are looking for the public’s help in identifying the pictured individual. Detectives are looking to speak with the man in regard to the two tamarin monkeys missing from the Dallas Zoo. Anyone with information- call 214-671-4509. pic.twitter.com/VVvvHFAdgJ
The Dallas Zoo reported the monkeys lost continuing a series of animal events at the zoo. No further information was made available by Dallas Police about the individual.
A February freeze will open February in a continuation of the January freeze that started Tuesday. Temperatures will not go up until then.
Per the National Weather Service, temperatures are expected to stay below freezing longer than expected.
The earliest temperatures will rise above freezing is Wednesday afternoon for most areas.
Sleet and freezing rain is expected to develop across North Texas on Tuesday morning.
It is expect to last until early afternoon when it will convert into patchy freezing rain and drizzle. Rain will continue until Thursday, but temperatures will be above freezing.
February Freeze And Black Ice
Black ice is a thin coating of ice on surface or highway streets. The ice is not black, but is usually visually transparent.
Areas of black ice are often practically invisible to drivers or people stepping on it. There is, thus, a risk of slippage and subsequent accident due to the unexpected loss of traction.
Dallas Zoo monkeys are now missing in what is now a series of events at the local wildlife park. Federal officials are now involved in the investigation.
The Dallas Zoo told Dallas Police that two Emperor Tamarin monkeys were missing on Monday afternoon.
Zookeepers searched the immediate vicinity and wider zoo grounds, but could not locate the animals.
Less than three weeks ago Dallas officials determined a clouded leopard had been intentionally set free from its enclosure. Since then a vulture has been found dead of an intentional injury and there have been other suspicious events.
Both the FBI and United State Fish and Wildlife Service are now involved with the investigation. They have been called in due to the death of the zoo’s vulture which is on the endangered species list.
Dallas Zoo Monkeys Actually Emperor Tamarins
The Emperor Tamarin is so named because they appear to look like German emperor Wilhelm II. These tamarins normally reside in western Brazil.
The fur of the emperor tamarin is predominantly grey colored, but it does have yellow speckles on its chest.
The hands and feet are black and the tail is brown.
Outstanding is its long, white beard, which extends to both sides beyond the shoulders. The animal reaches a length of 23–26 centimeters (9–10 in), plus a 35–41.5 cm (13.8–16.3 in) long tail.
January winter weather arrives finally after several weeks of a very mild start to the year. There is a wintry mix warning for North Texas from Monday through Wednesday morning.
Icing is possible, making travel conditions dangerous on North Texas roadways. Ice accumulations from 0.1″ to 0.25″ are expected.
Dallas Independent School District and surrounding districts are currently planning to open on time. They say they will monitor the situation throughout the day.
Major travel impacts are possible though on both Tuesday and Wednesday across parts of North and Central Texas.
Freezing rain and sleet will become widespread Monday night and again Tuesday.
This will create slick bridges and overpasses as well as some surface roads.
There is a low threat of damage to power-lines and trees due to icing as well.
