Volume 62, Number 31
Azle News
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
THE
www.azlenews.net
Fighting the flu Page 1B
Basketball Lady Hornets tied for second Page 12A
Activists descend on Azle to talk quakes Plans underway to send a bus load of local folks to Austin BY CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN As if on cue, Azle and the surrounding area were rattled by two earthquakes – a 2.2 magnitude shaker Saturday afternoon and another registering 3.3 Monday morning. The Monday trembler came just hours before a community meeting at 404 West Main Street that promised answers and helpful information to area residents whose feathers were ruffled by an earlier meeting with a Texas Railroad Commissioner. A string of 30 earthquakes that began in early November seemed to take a holiday vacation, with the last trem-
or of 2013 occurring Dec. 23. The first quake in 2014 was Jan. 11. Still seeking answers to their questions, about 300 area residents flooded the community center Monday evening, Jan. 13. Talking fracking, water With the big city TV cameras running, organizers representing EARTHWORKS Oil & Gas Accountability Project, North Central Texas Communities Alliance and FracDallas, as well as Calvin Tillman, former mayor of Dish took turns trumpeting their successes at stopping the oil and gas in-
ence “we hope you’ll go away from tonight’s meeting still mad... but not mad at us.” Wilson congratulated the community for getting action out of the Texas Railroad Commission, saying “that doesn’t happen often.” A former vice president of Mobil, Wilson said, admitted that hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” creates 50 to 100 times more liquid
dustry in various measures. Sharon Wilson of Washington D.C.–based EARTHWORKS acted as an emcee for the meeting and made a presentation, as well. She described her organization as a national non-profit that works to try to lessen harm to people impacted by energy and mineral extraction. Wilson told the audi-
waste than conventional drilling. Today in the U.S., 95 percent of all gas wells are fracked and not drilled conventionally, she said. By the Texas Railroad Commission’s own estimates, 9.1 billion gallons of water are injected into waste disposal wells each month in the state, Wilson said. Gary Hogan with North Central Texas Communities Alliance expressed his concern about well bores protected by as little as an inch of concrete being shaken apart by earthquakes. If the integrity of the well bores fails, PLEASE SEE QUAKE, PAGE 2A.
Blockbuster dumps customer info
Jaws of Life
BY NATALIE GENTRY Boxes and bags containing personal information were found in the Dumpster outside of the Blockbuster in Azle on Jan 13, a day after the store closed. Unshredded membership applications that include information like full names, phone numbers, addresses, driver’s license numbers, and dates of birth were thrown out. The dump was reported to the News by Jeremy Chinchilla, an employee of the now-closed video rental store. “Just because the company is going out of business doesn’t mean they should lose all integrity,” Chinchilla said. “I think that treating our customers’ information that way is just disrespectful.” Chinchilla said he had called the cooperate office about the refuse and was told that something would be done. This isn’t the first time that the video rental chain has been caught care-
Azle firefighters utilize the Jaws of Life to cut through the doorpost of a black 2000 Ford F350 pickup Sunday evening, Jan. 12. Trapped inside the pickup was its driver, Glyn Ray Williams, 52, of Azle, who sustained serious injuries when his vehicle rolled and came to rest on its side in the 1500 block of SH 199 West. It took firefighters from Azle and Parker County Emergency Services District 1 more than a half hour to extricate Williams from his vehicle, which scattered all manner of tools, hunting equipment, and even an animal carcass along the roadway and in the median as it rolled. Azle police also removed several firearms from the pickup at the scene. No other vehicles were involved, and the accident report filed by Azle Officer C. Kidd indicates Williams may have been fatigued when the crash occurred. Photo by Carla Noah Stutsman
lessly disposing of sensitive customer information. A Blockbuster in upper East Side New York reportedly dumped membership forms and employee applications in the trash after the store closed in 2005. Then, in 2007 a store in Sarasota, Florida hit the headlines when similar paperwork trashing was discovered in a store’s Dumpster. Yet again in 2011 the same type of forms were found in the trash receptacle outside the Mission Valley Blockbuster in San Diego once the store had permanently closed. The corporate policy is that all sensitive customer information is to be shredded before it is disposed of. The actual number of applications in the local dumpster is still undetermined, and as of press time Blockbuster’s corporate office failed to return calls pertaining to the situation.
Sensitive customer information was thrown into the dumpster after the Blockbuster in Azle closed on Jan. 12. Photo by Natalie Gentry
Benefit event will aid Wander
Funds will defray living, travel expenses for victim of rare tumor
BY CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN Five years ago, Matthew “Matt” Wander was a carefree student at Azle High School – an active member of the Marching Green Pride. Now Wander is in the fight of his life. At the age of 23, Wander – a firefighter for Parker County Emergency Services District 1 (PCESD1) stationed at Silver Creek Fire Department – has been diagnosed with a rare desmoid tumor. Wander’s mother, Chris Wander, said Matt went to the emergency room with extreme pain in his right side. He thought he has a kidney stone. “Instead, we found out he had this genetic tumor – probably from my side of the family – that is so extremely rare it’s only treated at major medical centers like M.D. Anderson in Houston, Johns Hop-
kins, and a couple of others in the nation,” Chris said. “Desmoid tumors don’t metastasize, and it’s non-cancerous,” While that sounds like good news, Matt’s doctors say the tumor – which is currently attacking his small bowel – will never go away. According to Chris, the tumor is so rare doctors are not even certain what treatment needs to be done because there are not enough clinical studies. She said it only occurs in about one in every 500,000 people. Doctors have told them the worst place to have a desmoid tumor is in the abdomen, and that Matt’s tumor will likely require ongoing treatment for life. “If they try to remove it, it would come back and attack the next largest organ, which would probably be the liver,” his
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This Week in Azle History
25 Years Ago
mother explained. “With treatment, the tumor can become dormant and stabilize. Some stay in that stage for years, but others come back sooner.” In its current location, Chris said her son’s tumor could potentially shut off blood flow to his small bowel. “It can definitely be fatal.” Initially, doctors prescribed chemotherapy at M.D. Anderson Medical Center. But Matt suffered some complications from that treatment, so his doctors have now prescribed oral chemotherapy. “He is home now since he is on the oral chemo, but we’re all on an emotional roller coaster,” Chris Wander said. “He goes back to Houston Jan. 24 for more tests and again Feb. 4 to see his oncologist.” It’s a lot of traveling back and forth, PLEASE SEE RARE, PAGE 3A.
Matthew “Matt” Wander
Photo courtesy Wander family
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In January 1989, APD busted a Cadillac hood ornament theft ring when three juveniles were questioned; almost 30 ornaments were recovered. The Caddy symbols were popular adornments for youth necklaces.
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