WFAA - May 30 - 31, 1971 Part 2

0:00, 14:21 - (May 31, 1971) The final day of the Texas Legislature session is underway; State Sen. Henry C. Grover (R-Houston) holds an impromptu filibuster arguing against a comparative insurance bill, and he and State Sen. Oscar Mauzy (D-Dallas), a proponent of the bill, exchange barbs on the Senate floor; additional silent footage of activity in both the Senate and House from the final days of the session; a report goes on to describe the slow start to today’s session, due to last night’s late-evening business, which included the lengthy filibuster of State Sen. Don Kennard; the House was slowed down because members of the so-called “Dirty 30” blocked business during the afternoon session; in an interview, House Speaker Gus Mutscher says that this blockage wasn’t a result of vindictiveness concerning redistricting efforts; he says that they’ve accomplished more in this session than any time in the last 10 years; Rosser McDonald reporting. 3:02, 8:31 - (May 31, 1971) U.S. Rep. Jim Collins (R-Dallas) is in Duncanville to speak at a Memorial Day ceremony; in an interview, he discusses reports of a U.S. "withdrawal with strength" from Vietnam; he says that he believes we should bring the soldiers home and focus on domestic defense; additional silent footage of the ceremony and of police officers and Dallas County Sheriff Clarence Jones searching through bushes; Phil Reynolds reporting. 3:53 - (May 31, 1971) At a meeting of the Dallas City Council, minority hiring issues regarding the Dallas Police Department are discussed by Councilmen Fred Zeder (head of the Committee on Fair Practice in Hiring) and Garry Weber, along with Mayor Wes Wise (Silent). 4:39, 11:44 - Western Union is bracing for a strike by the United Telegraph Workers Union and the Communication Workers of America; a group of people are seen seated at a table; brief shot of a Western Union sign (Silent). 5:10, 11:51 - (May 31, 1971) The North Texas Methodist Annual Conference is underway; in an interview, regional bishop Dr. W. Kenneth Pope talks about the state of the Methodist Church and the recommendations which will come out of the conference, including amendments to address issues pertinent to younger people in the church; additional silent footage of conference guest Rev. Colin M. Morris of England, who is seen speaking to the press; Judi Hanna reporting. 7:09, 10:06 - (May 31, 1971) Robert W. Kirkland, (Buck Kirkland) an employee with Stimson Contracting Co. of Garland, uncovered $47,400 in gold certificates while operating a backhoe at a sewer line construction site just west of the intersection of Stemmons Frwy. and Walnut Hill Lane in Dallas; in an interview, he describes the discovery of the bills (buried in a mason jar), which he turned over to the Sheriff’s Office; additional silent footage from the site where the certificates were discovered and of the certificates themselves (at the end of the year, after several parties claimed ownership of the certificates, a judge ultimately decided that Kirkland and the two men who were working with him when the discovery was made would be declared owners of the certificates, the value of which had been estimated to be worth at least 5 times their face value on the collector’s market); Frank Gaston reporting. 10:53 - A man is interviewed outside; Malcom Landess reporting (Silent). 11:05 - (May 29, 1971) Various shots of fans in the stands at the Indianapolis 500 (Silent); additional footage of a man outside the track selling a copy of The Indianapolis News announcing the second consecutive victory of Al Unser Sr. 12:27 - (May 30, 1971) State Sen. Don Kennard (D-Fort Worth) breaks the filibuster world record by talking for 29 hours and 22 minutes in order to stop a bill which would make the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) a 4-year university (by allowing freshmen and sophomores); during his filibuster, Kennard talks about the support he’s receiving while speaking and explains the purpose of the stalling tactics of a filibuster. 13:34 - Wes Wise, mayor of Dallas, says that he does not support a program which would make larger U.S. cities essentially states unto themselves, wherein they would have a direct relationship to the federal government, but he does say that states need to have a closer relationship with their cities (this is in response to the recent idea of “charter cities” proposed by New York Mayor John Lindsay); Gene Thomas reporting. 16:06 - Faded footage from a NASA film on the Mariner Program titled “Mariners to Mars” featuring recreations of a Mariner craft spinning in space and of a planet; additional faded shot of a real satellite dish on Earth; the Mariner 8 satellite failed after liftoff on May 9, 1971, but its backup, Mariner 9, launched successfully on May 30, 1971, becoming the first artificial satellite of Mars, sending information and photos of the planet back to Earth (Silent).