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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-02-11 Euless Articles Euless apartment owner settles discrimination lawsuit Posted Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014 BY TERRY EVANS tevans@star-telegram.com EULESS — An apartment manager is out of a job and the company that owns the complex where she worked is paying $317,000 to settle a federal discrimination lawsuit concerning the segregation of tenants based on race. “The federal government took my job,” said Nancy Quandt, who left her office at Stonebridge at Bear Creek apartments in Euless last week, the day the owners agreed to the settlement. “I didn’t do anything wrong and it’s not fair.” The U.S. Department of Justice disagreed, naming Quandt and Minnesota-based S&H Realty Management in a suit based on a January 2010 complaint by a former Stonebridge employee. The suit said that Quandt told leasing agents to segregate tenants of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent into two of the complex’s 21 residential buildings “to isolate any smells allegedly associated with ethnic cuisine that the manager disliked,” according to the Justice Department’s news release. Officials at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national Muslim civil-rights group, were encouraged by the suit’s outcome, said CAIR spokeswoman Alia Salem. “Anyone who promotes justice and works for civil rights advocacy should be elated,” Salem said. “This was a big win.” Subject to approval by the federal court in Texas, the settlement ordered that “defendants in United States v. Stonebridge at Bear Creek LLP will pay a total of $107,000 in civil penalties and $210,000 in a damages fund to compensate victims of the defendants’ discrimination identified during the term of the agreement,” the news release said. The complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development alleged that when apartments in the two designated buildings were filled, the leasing agents had to tell Middle Eastern or South Asian applicants that there were no vacancies among the complex’s 184 units, the release said. The leasing agent who filed the complaint, Daneisha Davis, told the Star-Telegram in 2010 that she “was told that no one else wanted to live by these people. That they were dirty and they cooked with curry.” One condition of the settlement was that Quandt would no longer be a Stonebridge employee, and a company spokeswoman said that Quandt resigned last week on her own. The spokeswoman, Nancy Hart, Stonebridge‘s vice president of operations, told the Star-Telegram that the company never has discriminated against anyone. “We never acknowledged that there was discrimination,” Hart said. “We have residents of many different ethnicities living at Stonebridge now and have had many different ethnicities since the property opened in 1998. We will continue to welcome them all, as we always have.” Quandt, too, denied the discrimination allegations and regretted having to leave her employer. “My company, S&H Realty Management, is a very good, professional company and they fought to keep my job,” Quandt said. “The attorney for the federal government wasn’t nice. He said he could take whatever he wanted.” Other conditions of the settlement include that Stonebridge must “adopt a nondiscrimination policy and enact or undertake numerous other corrective measures, including training, record keeping and monitoring.” Hart said that the company is complying with all points in the order, and agreed to the settlement to put an end to the lawsuit. “This investigation has been going on for almost four years,” Hart said. “We signed the order to avoid future legal costs and protracted litigation.” Davis could not be reached for comment, but she said in an earlier article that she no longer worked at Stonebridge. This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives. Terry Evans, 817-390-7620 Twitter: @fwstevans Mr. Orville Ray Ackerman Obituary Ray Ackerman, 90, departed this life on Friday, Jan. 24, 2014. Service: 3 p.m. Monday in Bluebonnet Hills Memorial Chapel. Interment: Bluebonnet Hills Memorial Park. Visitation: begins at 2 p.m. Memorials: May be sent to Odyssey Hospice or First Baptist Church Colleyville. Ray was born June 26, 1923, in Venus, the son of Thomas S. Ackerman and Ruby Mae Morris Ackerman. Ray was a World War II veteran of the United States Air Force and retired after 40 years with Southwestern Bell. Ray accepted the Lord, Jesus Christ, as his personal Savior, served as a deacon and volunteered his time working in the church until his health failed. He was married to the love of his life, Dayne Henderson, for 70 years. Survivors: Wife, Dayne; daughter, Dorothy Roe Fitch and husband, Mal; son, J.T. Ackerman and wife, Judy; brother, T.G. Ackerman; granddaughters, Cindy Reddoor, Deana Eiland, Vanessa Henkelman and Lindsey Ackerman; four great-grandchildren; and a host of other relatives and friends. Historic Fort Worth community has waited too long for promises to be fulfilled Posted Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014 BY BOB RAY SANDERS bobray@star-telegram.com For decades, the oldest black community in Tarrant County — founded by ex-slaves in the 1870s — was basically invisible to its neighbors in the far northeast part of the county and the city of Fort Worth that eventually would annex it. To say it was neglected would be an understatement. It was completely ignored, and unwanted, by the nearby cities of Euless, Hurst and Bedford, as well as Fort Worth. Mosier Valley, named for a plantation that was home to slaves who had been brought from Tennessee (by way of Missouri) to the Trinity River bottomland, not only survived but flourished for a while as a farming community, despite having been rejected. In 1883 it organized a school, for a long time housed in a one-room wooden building, that served residents until 1968, and integration finally came the next year. Although grade-school children went to their “neighborhood” school, Mosier Valley, as part of the then-Euless school district, sent its high school students to Fort Worth’s I. M. Terrell High School, as did about 17 other cities around North Texas. Located east of the Bell Helicopter headquarters and very close to what was soon to be the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, the community was annexed by Fort Worth in 1960, but for more than 30 years the city did nothing for it but make promises. There were no water and sewer lines, street lights, curbs or garbage collection. For a while the closed school served as a community center, but eventually it fell into disrepair and was demolished. For several years the community was invaded by companies mining gravel, leaving large, deep, unsightly and dangerous pits next to homes. In 1995, as Euless was planning a golf course that would border part of the historic black neighborhood, Mosier Valley captured the attention of outsiders. Because 90 percent of the land for the golf course was in Fort Worth, Euless needed that city’s approval. It became known that a consultant for the project had plans for a fence that would “screen out Mosier Valley.” Once again, the community was about to become invisible. It was about that time that Fort Worth City Manager Bob Terrell made a vow to a council chamber packed with community residents that the city was committed to addressing their concerns. He promised them that within a year’s time Mosier Valley would have water and sewer lines. Using the golf course as leverage, Terrell persuaded Euless to partner in making that happen. For about 16 years now there has been talk from various city representatives about a park and community center for Mosier Valley, which has been growing again after a long decline, said Benny Tucker, president of the Mosier Valley Community Area Council. Well, it looks like part of that dream is about to come true. On the Fort Worth council agenda for Tuesday is a recommendation to authorize spending $250,000 (plus $25,000 for closing costs) for the acquisition of about four acres of land for creation of the Mosier Valley Park. The land is being purchased from the Hurst-Euless-Bedford school district, and a spokeswoman for the district confirmed Friday that the tract is the site of the old Mosier Valley School. A state historical marker was erected on the spot in 1983. In documents prepared for the council meeting, the city’s financial management services director certifies that funds for the project “are available in the current capital budget, as appropriated, of the Park Dedication Fees Fund.” Councilwoman Gyna Bivens, in whose district Mosier Valley lies, should have no problem getting support from her fellow council members for this belated project. The patient people of Mosier Valley historically have waited too long for the fulfillment of promises. They shouldn’t have to wait any longer for this one. Bob Ray Sanders' column appears Sundays and Wednesdays. 817-390-7775 Twitter: @BobRaySanders U.S. Concrete Acquires Young Ready-Mix EULESS, Texas, Feb. 10, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- U.S. Concrete, Inc. (Nasdaq:USCR) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Ingram Concrete, LLC, completed the acquisition of Young Ready- Mix, Inc., a single site ready-mix concrete producer in Brady, Texas. The acquisition expands U.S. Concrete's market footprint in West Texas. Adding Young's assets to Ingram's current market presence is part of U.S. Concrete's bolt-on acquisition growth model. "We are very excited to bring Young Ready-Mix into the U.S. Concrete family," said U.S. Concrete President and Chief Executive Officer William J. Sandbrook. "We are committed to expanding our operations in the high growth markets of West Texas and look forward to servicing our new customers in this vibrant region." About U.S. Concrete U.S. Concrete services the construction industry in several major markets in the United States through its two business segments: ready-mixed concrete and aggregate products. The Company has 106 fixed and 10 portable ready-mixed concrete plants and seven producing aggregates facilities. During 2012, U.S. Concrete produced approximately 4.8 million cubic yards of ready-mixed concrete and approximately 3.3 million tons of aggregates. For more information about U.S. Concrete, visit www.us-concrete.com. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains various forward-looking statements and information that are based on management's belief, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims any obligation to update these statements and cautions you not to rely unduly on them. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding: the stability of the business; ready-mix backlog; ability to maintain our cost structure and the improvements achieved during our restructuring; ability to maximize liquidity, monitor fixed costs, manage variable costs, control capital spending and monitor working capital usage; and the adequacy of current liquidity. Although U.S. Concrete believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Such statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, among other matters: general and regional economic conditions; the level of activity in the construction industry; the ability of U.S. Concrete to complete acquisitions and to effectively integrate the operations of acquired companies; development of adequate management infrastructure; departure of key personnel; access to labor; union disruption; competitive factors; government regulations; exposure to environmental and other liabilities; the cyclical and seasonal nature of U.S. Concrete's business; adverse weather conditions; the availability and pricing of raw materials; the availability of refinancing alternatives; and general risks related to the industry and markets in which U.S. Concrete operates. Should one or more of these risks materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results or outcomes may vary materially from those expected. These risks, as well as others, are discussed in greater detail in U.S. Concrete's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including U.S. Concrete's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.