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To: mr.mark who wrote (2945)	11/27/2001 4:41:41 PM
From: mr.mark	Respond to of 12669

Disputed depot destroyed Little Rock quickly clears land destined for Clinton library grounds 11/24/2001 By SUZI PARKER / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Gregory Ferguson, a North Little Rock lawyer, fought to save the 1899 Choctaw Freight Depot from destruction for nearly three months. He lost that battle Wednesday when the depot, which sat on the future grounds of the Clinton Presidential Library, was destroyed by the city of Little Rock. But the federal lawsuit he filed Wednesday to stop the destruction lives on. In that lawsuit, Mr. Ferguson challenges the way the city circumvented federal preservation laws to tear down the depot. "The way the city went about destroying this historic landmark is shady and cold-hearted," said Mr. Ferguson. "I have questions that will probably never get answered. It's clear the city does whatever it wants, however it wants." Little Rock's Board of Directors voted 8-1 Tuesday night to begin demolition of the depot. The city owns the 27.7-acre site and will lease it to the presidential foundation. On Wednesday morning, Mr. Ferguson filed a lawsuit and a request for an injunction in U.S. District Court against Little Rock, the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and several federal agencies including the Army Corps of Engineers. He was too late. Mr. Ferguson spent all night drafting the lawsuit, only to learn in court that the depot was gone less than 20 hours after City Hall approved its demise. "The city didn't even have all of its paperwork in order," said Mr. Ferguson. Jerry Paul, Little Rock's purchasing manager, said Wednesday that he hadn't seen the usual bond documents needed for such work to begin. The freight depot and the nearby passenger station were the flagship structures for the Choctaw Railroad. Preservationists said the depot was the last of its kind in the mid-South. They said the depot was built by brick craftsmen who were former slaves. Mr. Ferguson discovered the depot, which was hidden inside the May Supply Co.'s metal warehouse, in September. The depot sat on land owned by businessman Gene Pfeifer. Mr. Pfeifer lost his eminent domain case regarding the May Supply Co. land in the Arkansas Supreme Court in early October. That made it possible for the city to clear the land. Mr. Ferguson began an effort to save the depot. He lobbied former President Bill Clinton, Clinton Foundation director Skip Rutherford, and other preservationists and Clinton friends. He even contacted actress Mary Steenburgen, an Arkansas native and close friend of Mr. Clinton. "She had talked to him, and she had done all she could do," said Mr. Ferguson. But Mr. Clinton, in an online interview with CNSNews.com, said of the freight depot: "No one can see it now, no one can use it now, it's of no use to anybody." Mr. Rutherford noted Mr. Clinton's moniker as the "first black president" – an informal title given to him because he is known for relating well to blacks and always won a great a share of the black vote. Those in favor of saving the depot also cited one of Mr. Clinton's key efforts for the presidential library – historic preservation. Mr. Rutherford said in October that the foundation was interested in historic preservation and planned to use the Choctaw station as office space for the library. But he said it was too late to alter architectural plans to save the depot. At Tuesday's city board meeting, Little Rock Mayor Jim Dailey said demolition had to occur because of the time schedule with the presidential library. The groundbreaking is Dec. 5. The library is to open in 2004. "For two years plus, it's been on our agenda to move forward," Mr. Dailey said. "And unfortunately, everything doesn't fit into schedules that mankind would like, whether its God-driven or court-driven." Suzi Parker is a free-lance writer based in Little Rock. dallasnews.com