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The High Five: Lifetime Network Cancels Show Featuring Controversial FW Funeral Home


by Eric Aasen 28 Jul 2014 8:44 AM

Five stories that have North Texas talking: Fort Worth prays for Kent Brantly, who has Ebola; immigrant children won’t arrive in Dallas County by the end of July; Eric Nadel is honored for his Texas Rangers announcing; and more:

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johnson family mortuary

Decomposing bodies were found inside the Johnson Family Mortuary. Ron Jenkins/Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Five stories that have North Texas talking: Fort Worth prays for Kent Brantly, who has Ebola; immigrant children won’t arrive in Dallas County by the end of July; Eric Nadel is honored for his Texas Rangers announcing; and more:

  • The Lifetime Network has canceled a reality TV show that was to feature a Fort Worth funeral home. The show, titled Good Grief, was to focus on the Johnson Family Mortuary. But then came news this month that “eight bodies – seven of them decomposing – had been found inside the mortuary, which was followed by a flurry of accusations, denials and arrests,” the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. “On July 15, Fort Worth police were called to the mortuary after the building’s owner showed up to evict the tenants, but instead found the rotting bodies.” Lifetime said in a statement that the allegations are “deeply troubling.”

 

  • A Fort Worth doctor working in Liberia has tested positive for the Ebola virus. Dr. Kent Brantly has been working with Ebola patients with Samaritan’s Purse Ebola Consolidated Case Management Center. The relief agency says he’s undergoing treatment at an isolation center. On Sunday, he was stable and in very serious condition, The Associated Press reported. Brantly “quickly recognized the symptoms and sought speedy treatment,” the AP said. Brantly is married with two kids. “The deadly virus kills up to 90 percent of those infected and is considered the most contagious virus in the world,” The Dallas Morning News reports. WFAA-TV reports that Brantly and his family moved to Liberia last fall for missionary work and a two-year fellowship with Samaritan’s Purse. A sign outside Southside Church of Christ in Fort Worth, where he and his family have attended, said: “Pray for Kent.” The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has more.
  • Immigrant children won’t be arriving in Dallas County by the end of July. Federal site assessment teams sent a report to the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., for review, The Dallas Morning News reports. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins says he’s confident everything will work out. Earlier this month, he announced that the county would welcome 2,000 immigrant children from Central America who have been held in facilities in McAllen. Three sites in the county have been identified to shelter the immigrants, but Grand Prairie ISD officials told The News it could be several weeks before a decision is made about housing the children in one of their schools. The Grand Prairie mayor told the newspaper he was concerned about the condition of Lamar Alternative Education Center, which is empty.
  • Eric Nadel, the longtime Texas Rangers announcer, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame Friday. Nadel was awarded the Ford C. Frick Award for his contributions to broadcasting. Nadel has been the Rangers’ announcer for 35 years. He told ESPN: “Going into the Hall of Fame and seeing my picture up there next to all of the guys who I idolized, it’s mind-blowing. I’m on cloud nine. That’s the best way to put it.” Nadel spoke with KERA back in February about the power of radio and the musician he’d most like to meet.
  • Alumni are donating nearly $1 million to build a bar at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. Tom and Leti Contreras met at St. Mary’s University in the 1980s at The Pub. It closed soon after. Tom Contreras told the San Antonio Express-News that he wants St. Mary’s to “go another level” and attract quality students. He says the college needs to bring back a community atmosphere. Construction is set to begin this fall. The bar is scheduled to open next year. [The Associated Press/San Antonio Express-News]

 

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