WFAA - April 7 - 8, 1971 Part 1

0:00, 11:39 - (April 7, 1971) The board of directors of the Tarrant County Crime Commission, an unofficial citizen’s group, meets to elect new officers; various shots of the meeting; one of the attendees is Tarrant County Sheriff Lon Evans; additional footage from the meeting (Silent). 0:35, 2:10 - A public defender system in Texas courts might be proposed by the Texas legislature to replace the current system which uses court-appointed attorneys – Dallas District Attorney Henry Wade is opposed to the public defender model; additional silent footage of several courtrooms in the Dallas County courthouse; Jim Mitchell reporting. 1:45, 5:11, 16:34 - Dr. David Hyatt, executive vice president of the National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ) is interviewed (Silent); he goes on to say that the NCCJ was partially created in response to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and discusses the Black Panther organization and other “crazy hate movements”; he goes on to say that the greatest problem the NCCJ faces is polarization and a lack of national unity; Judi Hanna reporting. 2:52 - (April 7, 1971) Champlin Petroleum Co. announces the expansion of its headquarters in Fort Worth (5301 Camp Bowie Blvd.); various shots of the meeting and of architectural renderings of the design by architect Preston M. Geren; in an interview, company president and CEO Roger S. Plummer Jr. lists reasons Champlin decided to stay in Fort Worth; Jerry Park reporting. 3:59 - A woman is sworn in by a female uniformed United States Air Force (USAF) officer; various shots of the ceremony and of the woman filling out paperwork (Silent). 4:35 - The Texas Chaparrals play the Utah Stars (Silent). 6:21, 8:05 - (April 7, 1971) A meeting of the Dallas City Council is held after the recent city election; George Hughes Jr., a candidate for city council who narrowly missed the margin needed for a runoff, asks the council to certify the election so that he can request a recount, saying he’s heard rumors of tabulation “errors” (Silent); additionally, the newly elected members of the Fort Worth City Council are sworn in (Silent); Phil Reynolds reports from Dallas, describing election results and saying there will be a runoff for mayor between Wes Wise and Avery Mays; in an interview, Hughes explains why he's challenging the results in his race; reporter Jay Lewis describes the aftermath of Fort Worth's elections (behind him is a large billboard for Tommy Thompson, who was defeated in the mayoral race – the billboard is seen atop the Modern Drugs building at 1300 Hemphill in Fort Worth). 7:05 - Brief shot of Joe Acosta, an 18-year-old El Centro College student and write-in City Council candidate, who lost to incumbent Anita Martinez (Silent). 7:11, 17:13 - A man is interviewed (Silent); he goes to explain why wiretapping would be a useful to investigations in Dallas, especially in regard to organized crime and gambling; the Senate Jurisprudence Committee of the Texas Legislature has recently approved a bill to legalize wiretapping in Texas and allow it as evidence in court. 7:28 - Brief shot of Frank Coffey, Tarrant County District Attorney. 7:33, 11:43 - (April 7, 1971) U.S. Rep. David Pryor (D-AR), who is working to establish a House Committee on Aging, speaks to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) convention in Dallas (Silent); Pryor hears from people who have witnessed poor conditions at for-profit nursing homes; Malcolm Landess reporting. 10:58 - (April 7, 1971) Robert Floyd Angle is sentenced to 2,500 years in prison for the murder of Jack Katz during a robbery at the J & K Auto Supply Store in South Dallas in 1969; various shots of Angle and his attorney, as well as the prosecution team (Asst. District Attorneys Steve Tokoly and Harry Zimmermann); also seen is Katz’s widow, Helen Katz, who was the only witness to the murder and who was also shot during the robbery; at the time, this was the longest sentence ever handed down in a Texas court (Silent). 13:45 - A model rocket is launched from "Azalea Lane," aka Main Street, in downtown Dallas during the city's 2nd annual Azalea Festival; children and Ronald McDonald count down and watch the launch. 14:28 - (April 7, 1971) The Dallas Black Hawks defeat the Omaha Knights, 3-2, in overtime to tie the Central Hockey League (CHL) championship series at a game apiece at Fair Park Coliseum; an extended fight is seen (Silent). 18:19 - (April 7, 1971) William H. Moore, president of Penn Central Transportation Co., discusses the Railpax program, saying that it is focused entirely on intercity rail passenger transportation, not on freight or commuter business; when asked if passenger service can sustain the railroad industry, he says “definitely not,” adding that Penn Central lost $130 million in the passenger business in 1970; Moore is in Fort Worth to speak at the National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ).