City News Roundup

Big Tex gets slapped back and more scuffles in this week's Dallas news

Big Tex has his hand out.

The Dallas city council is back and the exciting process of government is back in gear. There were conversations this week about the Trinity toll road, the State Fair of Texas and the DART Rail line in downtown Dallas. Let's get to it:

Trinity toll road vote
After questions about the prospect of flooding in the Trinity River, the city council sort of indirectly voted for a four-lane parkway. The vote was really about how to spend the city's remaining $47.7 million in bond money from the 1998 bond proposition.

They ended up with a measure precluding the use of the money "for any development of a road that is greater than the four-lane parkway, to access the parks development and meet transportation needs." As council member Philip Kingston put it, the bench can now be started "in exchange for a weak statement of support for prioritizing transportation last and for a 4-lane road."

"Yesterday's deal came together because both sides — those who really want the [toll road] and those who want Dallas to be something other than a concrete hellscape — saw the deal as advancing toward their preferred outcome," he said.

Downtown rail line
DART and the city are deciding where to put a second train line through downtown Dallas. This second line is viewed as necessary for expansion. Right now, all four DART Rail lines run on the same single track downtown. You can only squeeze so many trains through one track.

DART has offered a new route that will avoid having to knock down new townhomes near the Farmers Market. It would run underground from Victory Station, rise to street level near Field and Young Streets, head east on Young until it gets to City Hall, then over to Jackson before connecting with tracks in Deep Ellum.

The transportation committee will examine alternatives at its meeting on August 24.

A cool $60 mil
Just as budget talks begin, Fox got ahold of an audit showing that $60 million was paid to city employees with no record of manager approval, and 77 employees who received paychecks show no record of having worked at all. Four high-level city employees, including Karl Zavitkovsky and J. Hammond Perot, the director and assistant director of economic development, took many days off, but did not record their absence.

Big Tex slap
The State Fair of Texas does not like to be messed with. In March, Austin attorney Jennifer Riggs filed an open-records request seeking information on the fair's finances, including contracts with the city of Dallas and deals made by its president Mitchell Glieber and past president Errol McKoy. In response, the State Fair sued her, claiming it wasn't a governmental body and didn't have to respond.

Judge Staci Williams ruled on Thursday that the State Fair's lawsuit qualified as a "SLAPP" (strategic lawsuit against public participation) suit, intended to intimidate critics. The judge sanctioned the State Fair to the tune of $38,587.32, plus that same amount for Riggs' attorney fees.

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Animal News

Wills Point, Texas man charged with cruelty for abandoning 18 animals

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Lucas Wayne Penrod, charged with animal cruelty

Another animal cruelty case has emerged from Van Zandt County, resulting in the arrest of a Wills Point man: Lucas Wayne Penrod was charged with Cruelty to Nonlivestock Animals, a 3rd degree felony.

It began on Friday, October 24, when the Wills Point Police Department performed a welfare check at a mobile home within the city limits. Officers became concerned when they heard multiple dogs barking along with a foul odor of animal waste.

On October 25, after obtaining a search warrant, Wills Point PD and the SPCA of Texas ACI Unit entered the residence and found multiple animals living in deplorable conditions.

The mobile home was filled with trash and animal feces. The team discovered a total of 8 cats, 2 guinea pigs, 4 adult dogs, and 4 puppies, cruelly confined to the unsanitary living conditions on the property.

Two dogs were confined to filthy crates with no access to water.
Three puppies were in a small bathroom covered in urine and feces; one of the puppies was deceased and decomposing.
The guinea pigs were found in a cage without access to food or water.

Most of the animals showed signs of long-term neglect and were in dire need of urgent medical intervention. The animals were seized by the SPCA of Texas and transported to the organization's Dallas location for veterinary care.

Dog in cage Wills Point Lucas Wayne Penrod Dog abandoned in Wills Point by Lucas Wayne Penrod.SPCA

On October 26, Lucas Wayne Penrod, the owner of the animals, contacted an SPCA of Texas Investigator regarding the animals. The Investigator determined that Penrod had unlawfully allegedly abandoned the animals, failing to provide them with proper care, resulting in the death of one of the puppies and the critical state of the surviving animals.

On October 28, the SPCA of Texas Animal Cruelty Investigations (ACI) Unit obtained an arrest warrant for Penrod, who was apprehended by Tyler Police Department and booked into the Smith County Jail with a $50K bond. Penrod was charged with Cruelty to Nonlivestock Animals, a 3rd degree felony.

On November 1, at a civil custody hearing at the Van Zandt County Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 courthouse in Wills Point, Penrod relinquished custody of the 18 allegedly abandoned, cruelly treated animals to the SPCA.

"The squalid conditions these beautiful animals were living in were abhorrent--locked in spaces without food or water, in their own excrement," said SPCA of Texas ACI Unit Chief Investigator Courtney Burns, CAWA. "This is some of the worst mistreatment of domestic animals I've seen in my extensive career in animal cruelty investigations. In no small part, these pets owe their lives to the Wills Point Police Department. If it wasn’t for their quick thinking to involve us right away, I don't think the animals would have made it."

"This case perfectly illustrates the team effort that investigating and prosecuting animal cruelty cases in Texas is," Burns added. "We are extremely thankful to the Tyler Police Department for their efficient assistance in apprehending Penrod so that he can be brought to justice in the timeliest manner possible. And we are especially grateful to the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office and court system with whom we continue to partner to get justice for abused animals in their jurisdiction."