MEN'S FACILITY STIRRING THE EMOTIONS IN WEST SHERMAN

Saying it's surely a drug treatment center, neighbors, including a church,
have petitioned Sherman Planning and Zoning commissioners to just say no to
Teen/Life Challenge.

A faith-based organization, Teen/Life Challenge has asked commissioners to
approve a site plan and specific use permit to locate a 125-bed men's
dormitory and chapel at 505 FM 1417 North. The site is between an apartment
complex and church and across the highway from a neighborhood. The site
also backs up to the Laurel Creek housing addition.

Commissioners will consider the request when they meet at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The request officially comes from CAM II LLC, which owns the land, and Paul
Ecker, with Teen/Life Challenge, prospective buyer of the property.

J. Mack Rogers, senior pastor of Sherman Church of the Nazarene, next door
to the site that once was Heritage Country Manor nursing home, wrote a
letter to commissioners.

Rogers said he wrote in behalf of himself and his congregation concerning
the request "to establish ... as a facility to house up to 100 men who have
'life controlling issues.'

"While understanding the need for such a ministry and the validity of Life
Challenge's efforts, we have great concern for this type of facility to be
located next door to our church, where children and teens worship and play
outside on our property. It is our understanding that the men would be able
to come and go from the facility at will. We see this as real danger to our
children and teens."

Reacting to the pastor's concerns in a telephone interview Friday, Ecker
said, "That's not a real part of our thing, that they come and go at will.
. No, no, no, they're not locked down, they are just there and they're
accountable to staff and interns, supervisors, the director, everybody."

He said if a person in the program wanted to leave, he would go to a
counselor and say that. They would talk about the issues he has and pray.
If the man still wanted to leave, they would give him a ride to the bus
station.

Ecker said the people in the program are not there against their will and
not locked down.

Sixteen other neighbors of the site have signed a petition asking
commissioners to deny the request. Those who circulated the petition said
more signatures could be added by Tuesday's meeting.

The petition states in part, "In the surrounding neighborhoods there are
many children. There are also many working adults and therefore many homes
left empty in the daytime hours. We object to the introduction into the
area of a large number of young men whose histories involve criminal
behavior or links to criminal activity."

The petition also states that the "goals of the organizers are high minded
and laudable, we do not believe our safety can be assured. The current
zoning is in place for a reason and we see no compelling argument that it
should be overturned."

Kate Whitfield, one of the neighbors, said that she and her husband have
not been able to get a clear answer from Ecker about whether the facility
will be a drug treatment center. However, she said, the organization's Web
site and a brochure Ecker sent them about the program state that its
mission is to help people overcome addictions through prayer.

Whatever the purpose, Whitfield said, the property is just too small for
that many active young men to live. There is no outdoor space for
recreational activities, she said.

"If you're going to have 125 young men, you're going to have to have some
place for them to be other than just classrooms and bed," Whitfield said.
"They've got to have some physical activity, particularly if they're having
a lot of energy they're used to calming down with drugs."

There are deed restrictions on the property that would allow only
residential and nursing home use for the property, Whitfield said. However,
she is not sure what would be enforceable in this case. Regardless of deed
restrictions, the land is not zoned to allow such a facility, and Whitfield
said, she and her neighbors see no reason for that to change.

Ecker said his program does not administer drugs or medication.

"It is a Christian, faith-based discipleship program to help people grow
their lives," Ecker said. Asked if the program treats those with drug
problems, Ecker said some of them have had drug problems and some have not.

"Substance abuse is what society looks at as or considers a problem, what
we do is look at it as life-controlling problems," Ecker said. "It's based
on the fact we feel everyone should have a relationship with Christ. And so
we approach their lives through Biblical principles of teaching them life
skills, peer to peer mentoring, spiritual coaching, empowerment ... and
skills to help them as they move back into society."

Ecker said the program is for adult men, ranging in age from about 25 to
50. Asked what reasons they might enter the program, Ecker gave the
example, "Say Pastor Jones calls and says Tom Smith doesn't have a GED and
is struggling with getting along in life or where he's going in life, would
you help him?"

Ecker said the man would come into the program, "and while he's learning
the basics of his faith through Christ, he also learns to do his studies to
get his GED. While he's here, he'll do community service projects that help
them learn task orientation and task completion skills."

Asked his reaction to the petition, Ecker said that he would reserve
comment until the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.

He added, "I don't want to create a problem. If the community doesn't feel
comfortable with us, then no problem. No problem from us at all. We want to
approach this from a high, Christian ethical perspective."

In the early 1990s, Teen Challenge, with which Teen/Life Challenge appears
to be afiliated, had a house on Willow Street in Sherman that treated women
with substance abuse problems.

Asked if Teen Life/Challenge had ever been sued for allegations of
mistreatment of youth or anyone in the program (which some opponents have
claimed,) Ecker declined to answer. He referred the question to a Dallas
law firm "because we're prohibited from saying anything about any of that."
The law firm could not be reached Friday evening.

Ecker also declined to answer whether his organization is related to the
program for women located in Sherman in the 1990s.