Sept. 6, 2008, TDMN, Page 1B

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MetroThe Dallas Morning News Section B Saturday, September 6, 2008
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COMMUNITY
OPINIONS
Soldier suicides
increase
A draft would
provide relief for
Iraq war soldiers,
who may be feeling
hopeless because
there is no real end
in sight, writes a
reader from Irving.
4B
DALLAS
Detective admits
error on warrant
An editing error by a
Dallas detective on a
search warrant related to
a recent string of
high-profile
Uptown-area burglaries
will probably result in
the warrant being
tossed, officials said
Friday. 2B
INSIDE
Regional roundup 2
Girl Scouts 2
Opinions 4
Religion 8
Obituaries 10-11
Weather 12
A passion for games helped launch Plano-based
Gearbox Software, one of the biggest independent
video game developers in the country. 1D
BUSINESS
Playing for keeps
It might seem like just the other
day that a bus crash in Sherman
claimed the lives of 17 Vietnamese-
American Catholics traveling from
Houston to Missouri for a religious
festival.
But the horrific accident occurred
nearly a month ago, and a handful of
survivors have been in Dallas-area
hospitals ever since, with family
members from Houston still conduct-
ing anxious bedside vigils.
And all this time, many local Cath-
olics — particularly from the Diocese
of Dallas’ four Vietnamese parishes —
have been knocking themselves out to
help.
Every day, for example, volunteers
deliver plates of Vietnamese food to
sons and daughters of 78-year-old
Hoa Pham, recovering from head
trauma at Baylor University Medical
Center in Dallas.
Ms. Pham’s children also have re-
ceived help with hotel and gas costs.
They’ve had regular visits from priests
and lay people, who pop into their
mother’s room for prayers and coun-
SHERMAN BUS CRASH
As victims recover, local Catholics offer support, prayers
LARA SOLT/Staff Photographer
The Rev. Joseph Son-Van Nguyen (right) prays over Hoa Pham, 78, who suffered a head trauma in the Sherman bus crash, at Baylor University
Medical Center. Her daughter Nga Vu, son Son Vu and Catholic charity representative Elizabeth Disco-Shearer pray with him.
Faith in the
healing process JIM MAHONEY/Staff Photographer
The crash in the early morning of
Aug. 8 killed 17 people.By SAM HODGES
Staff Writer
samhodges@dallasnews.com
See VOLUNTEERS Page 8B
The much-anticipated “Tu-
tankhamun and the Golden Age of
the Pharaohs” exhibition may have
some smooth competition next
month: the Golden Age of Butter.
As its butter sculpture this year,
the State Fair of Texas will intro-
duce an 800-pound unsalted King
Tut accompanied by ghee servants
and Egyptian relics.
The King Tut show opens at the
Dallas Museum of Art on Oct. 3
and runs through May 17, 2009.
The State Fair opens Sept. 26 and
goes through Oct. 19.
The State Fair’s iconic butter
sculpture — synonymous with
state fairs nationwide — started in
1922 with renditions of milk-
maids, cows and other butter-re-
lated creations.
It’s since diverged.
Elvis and his hound dog were
featured at the fair in 2005, and
Marilyn Monroe and her flailing
STATE FAIR OF TEXAS
King Tut sculpture may be a lard act to beat
FILE 2006/Staff photo
Sharon BuMann smoothes out creases in the Marilyn
Monroe butter sculpture, which was featured at the fair.
Buttered-up pharaoh follows in Elvis’, Marilyn’s footsteps
By JESSICA MEYERS
Staff Writer
jmeyers@dallasnews.com
See BUTTERING Page 5B
Jenny liked to do things her way at the Dal-
las Zoo. The oldest gorilla in captivity had
earned the right.
Shedidn’tcareforbananas,butshelovedto
devour the peels. She wouldn’t let anyone boss
her around. And she didn’t always show off for
zoo visitors, instead lounging under a fig tree.
Jenny, the grande dame of gorillas, died
Thursday from an inoperable stomach tumor
that made it difficult for her to eat and drink.
At age 55, she was one of only four gorillas
over 50 in North American zoos, zoo officials
FILE 2006/Staff photo
Jenny was euthanized at age 55 Thursday
in Dallas because of a stomach tumor.
Oldest captive
gorilla dies
DALLAS ZOO
Jenny was one of only four
over age 50 in North America
By ERIC AASEN
Staff Writer
eaasen@dallasnews.com
See JENNY Page 6B
What’s in a name? At Dal-
las City Hall, it depends on
whom you talk to.
For several weeks, Dallas
officials had been saying they
wanted to build an “iconic”
convention center hotel down-
town.
Now, they’re saying they
want a “signature” hotel.
So what exactly is the dif-
ference?
Nothing at all or not very
much, depending on who is
quoted at City Hall.
City Council member Ron
Natinsky, who chairs the city’s
Economic Development Com-
mittee, said some council
members just weren’t com-
fortable with the first descrip-
tion.
“The term iconic got picked
on a little,” he said. Signature
just seemed to sound better, he
suggested.
Assistant City Manager
A.C. Gonzales said that from
his point of view, iconic and
signature are interchangeable.
Whether it’s called iconic or
signature or anything else, the
projected $400 million hotel
project is undergoing subtle
shifts that run deeper than its
description.
The hotel’s prospective op-
erators, Marriott Corp. or Om-
ni Hotels, have expressed con-
cern that the focus on the
‘Iconic’
now out
as hotel
adjective
DALLAS
For convention center
facility, city favoring
less-grand ‘signature’
By RUDOLPH BUSH
Staff Writer
rbush@dallasnews.com
See ‘SIGNATURE’ Page 11B
How to help
Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ
Vietnamese Catholic Church has
established a fund to help victims of
the Sherman bus crash. Checks can
be sent to the church marked “Bus
crash victims.” The church’s address
is 2121 N. Denton Drive, Carrollton,
Texas, 75006.
Robert Wright bought his
beloved high-performance
motorcycle a few months ago.
It seemed only fitting when his
longtime friend Derek Smith
bought a bike, too.
The recent L.D. Bell High
School graduates set off for a
ride together Thursday night,
but their plans ended in trage-
dy when both 18-year-olds
were killed after crashing one
after the other and falling
about 34 feet off a highway
overpass in Irving.
According to Irving police,
Mr. Wright of North Richland
Longtime friends die
in motorcycle crash
IRVING
18-year-olds thrown
from bikes, fall 34 feet
off highway overpass
By DAN X. McGRAW
Staff Writer
dmcgraw@dallasnews.com ROBERT
WRIGHT
DEREK
SMITH
See FRIENDS Page 5B
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