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E 232 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð Extensions of Remarks February 28, 1996 worlds, the Pope would not have to make his most dedicated and admired citizens, Eliza- urban communities to all of the District of Co- rounds in a bulletproof vehicle. In all of beth Douphner, who passed away recently. lumbia. these cases, we have willingly made certain Betty Douphner served as executive officer- Perhaps the most difficult issues Mr. Reuter sacrifices in freedom because we recognize clerk of the Board of Resource Conservation has addressed during his tenure at Metro are that there are larger interests at stake. In the case of the metal detectors, for example, District of the Santa Monica Mountains, for- the fiscal challenges faced by all jurisdictions the safety of our children, and our teachers, merly of Topanga-Las Virgenes Resource throughout this region. He has had to be re- and the establishment of a stable climate for Conservation District, which carries out envi- sourceful in order to preserve quality Metro instruction to take place, is paramount. ronmental education and restoration projects. service at a time when State and local re- If the flag amendment is about anything, During the 34 years Betty was employed by sponse to these budgets are lean, and Fed- it's about holding the line on respect, on the the district, she watched it grow from an oper- eral transit assistance has been diminishing. values that you and I risked our lives to pre- ation with one employee, herself, to the 50- Mr. Reuter has provided the kind of leader- serve. We live in a society that respects lit- employee agency it is today. ship necessary to run a public service organi- tle and honors still less. Most, if not all, of zation in these tight fiscal times. He has con- today's ills can be traced to a breakdown in In her position with the district, Betty worked respectÐfor laws, for traditions, for people, tirelessly for our community. She helped se- sistently encouraged private sector partner- for the things held sacred by the great bulk cure conservation services for landowners in ships in order to fully capitalize on the public of us. the area, wrote the district's quarterly news- investment in Metro. He was instrumental in Just as the godless are succeeding at re- letter, coordinated the annual plant sale, hired the negotiation of an agreement with the moving God from everyday life, growing RF&P Corp. to construct, entirely with private numbers of people have come to feel they're personnel, maintained all the district's records, and helped establish and maintain the dis- funds, a Metrorail station at Potomac Yard in not answerable to anything larger than Alexandria, VA. This is the first agreement of themselves. The message seems to be that trict's Vance Hoyt Memorial Library. She be- nothing takes priority over the needs and de- came an expert on the law governing the op- this type ever executed in the United States. sires and ``rights'' of the individual. Nothing eration of resource conservation districts in His commitment to public-private partnerships is forbidden. Everything is permissible, from order to properly advise the district board. has enabled Metro to streamline its joint de- the shockingly vulgar music that urges kids Betty was also responsible for writing and velopment program making it easier for the to go out and shoot cops, to ``art'' that de- obtaining the first grants that expanded the private sector to invest in properties near Met- picts Christ plunging into a vat of urineÐto district's education program. The large number rorail stations. His efforts to bring private sec- the desecration of a cherished symbol like tor investment to locations in proximity to the U.S. Flag. of awards to the district for conservation and Are these really the freedoms our fore- education are a testimony to the effectiveness Metro reflects his firm view that this region fathers envisioned when they drafted the Bill of her work, for which she was twice honored must fully utilize our investment in Metrorail. of Rights? Thomas Jefferson himself did not with a distinguished service award by the Em- Mr. Reuter recognizes that the Metro system regard liberty as a no-strings proposition. ployee Association of the California Associa- provides economic opportunity to all of the His concept of democracy presupposed a na- tion of Resource Conservation Districts. communities along its lines as well as environ- tion of honorable citizens. Remove the hon- mental benefits to the entire region. orable motives from a free society and what Betty contributed much to the community in other ways as well. For her volunteer work Larry Reuter has demonstrated his extraor- you have left is not democracy, but anarchy. dinary ability to lead during one of the most What you have left, eventually, is ``Lord of with schools, the Women's Club, and the the Flies.'' Strawberry Festival, the Topanga Chamber of challenging times for the transit authority. This Amid all this, the flag stands for some- Commerce recognized her as the 1979 ``Citi- region owes Mr. Reuter our gratitude for pre- thing. If respect for the flag were institu- zen of the Year.'' She was also a volunteer serving our investment in the Metro system tionalized, and children were brought up to and for continuing to provide quality public understand the unique collection of prin- with Share International, where she helped publish its monthly magazine. transit service to the entire National Capital re- ciples it represents, there would be inevi- gion. table benefits to society, benefits that would Betty Douphner's warmth, enthusiasm, and f help turn the tide of today's chaos and dis- dedication are greatly missed by all of her col- respect. For no one who takes such prin- leagues at the district, and by everyone else TRIBUTE TO JONATHAN NEWTON ciples to heartÐno one who sees the flag as who knew her. The entire Topanga community an untouchable symbol of democracy, of de- joins me in expressing our deep sorrow to her HON. MICHAEL N. CASTLE cencyÐcould possibly do the things that family and friends, and our heartfelt apprecia- some people do, these days, in the name of OF DELAWARE freedom. tion for her many years of outstanding public IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES The flag stands for something miraculous service. Wednesday, February 28, 1996 that took life upon these shores more than f two centuries ago and, if we only let it, will Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, the volunteer fire live on for centuries more. It stands for a IN RECOGNITION OF LAWRENCE G. service community and the entire State of glorious idea that has survived every chal- REUTER, METRO GENERAL MAN- Delaware suffered a tragic loss recently with lenge, that has persevered in the face of ex- AGER the death of Jonathan Newton. Mr. Newton, at ternal forces who promised to ``bury'' us and internal forces which promised to tear us the young age of 31, was the consummate apart. Let us never forget this. HON. STENY H. HOYER volunteer firefighter. At the time of the acci- And let us not forget that 63 out of 99 sen- OF MARYLAND dent, he was en route to a fire safety program ators voted with us, or that we won over 375 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES at a local middle school. It was not uncommon legislators in total. Our efforts were no more for Mr. Newton to volunteer his time and en- Wednesday, February 28, 1996 wasted than were the efforts to take remote ergy to programs that heightened public outposts in the Pacific a half-century ago. Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to take this awareness about fire safety. In fact, his com- Those efforts, too, failed at first, but eventu- opportunity to recognize the many accomplish- ally we prevailed. munity education work earned him recognition We undertook a noble fight in trying to ments of the general manager of the Washing- as Firefighter of the Year for the Hockessin save our flag, and the fact that we have suf- ton Metropolitan Area Transit System Fire Company. fered a temporary setback does not diminish [WMATA], Mr. Lawrence G. Reuter. It is in- When a firefighter in Delaware suffers a the nobility of what we fought for. This is deed the Washington area's loss that Mr. Reu- tragedy, it is felt by the entire fire service com- not over by a long shot. They will hear from ter has chosen to accept the position of presi- munity. They are like a family, a unique group us again. dent of New York City's transit system. of individuals who take great pride in their her- f Mr. Reuter, as general manager of WMATA itage of volunteer service. Friends and family TRIBUTE TO ELIZABETH for the past 2 years, has consistently proven members alike spoke of Mr. Newton's altru- DOUPHNER that he knows how to run a railroad. His ad- ism, and fondness toward children, as he de- ministrative skills have been evident as he has voted so much of his time to educating them kept the fast-track program, designed to com- about fire safety. HON. ANTHONY BEILENSON plete the planned 103-mile metrorail system in What is most tragic about Mr. Newton's OF CALIFORNIA an accelerated time period, on schedule and death is that he leaves behind a family. He IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES within budget. Under his stewardship, WMATA has a wife who is 7 months pregnant and two Wednesday, February 28, 1996 now has the remaining four rail segments childrenÐall of whom will always have a spe- Mr.

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