Volume 62, Number 43
Azle News
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
THE
www.azlenews.net
Finding the mind-body connection Page 1B
District track meet begins at Little Elm HS Page 12A
Shearer cooks his way to a win at Final Four Silver Creek PE teacher secures physical fitness grant BY CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN Shearer won. There is some confusion about that When you tell someone a local elementary school PE teacher competed grand prize that needs to be cleared in a cook-off at halftime at the Final up. Apparently, a different Project Fit Four, they tend to look at you like you America grant program held just prior have two heads. “Yes, we mean the actual Final Four to the one Silver Creek Elementary – the series of basketball games that competed in was for $100,000. However, the amount of the particular grant determines the NCAA champion.” Silver Creek Elementary School the Azle school went for and won has Principal Heidi Nelson and PE teacher not yet been disclosed. What has been disclosed is this: the Trey Shearer were transported there Saturday, April 5, for a chance to win grant will be used for new indoor and a physical fi tness Project Fit America outdoor physical fi tness facilities, a grant from LG Electronics USA in the curriculum, and onsite training to help physical education teachers incorpoLG Coaches Cook-Off. The event took place outside AT&T rate the information in their lessons. Stadium, at the Infi niti Tip-Off Tail- According to a press release from gate, during the NCAA Final Four LG Electronics USA, Shearer secured the victory for Silver Creek by cookweekend. Shearer – along with three other ing the tastiest pizza of the group. area elementary PE teachers – comPLEASE SEE SILVER, PAGE 3A. peted for the grand prize.
State Champs!
Trey Shearer of Silver Creek Elementary School accepts the award for winning the LG Coaches CookOff from William Cho, president and CEO of LG Electronics USA, left, basketball legend Clyde Drexler, back, and Baylor University Head Basketball Coach Scott Drew, right. Photo courtesy of PRNewsFoto/LG Electronics USA
Under attack:
AHS Indoor Drumline wows judges in College Station BY CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN No. 1. “You could feel the energy when you walked in – it was incredible,” Richard Kearns said. “The kids did a
great job, but the amount of support at Azle High School, as well as diwe get from Azle is overwhelming. rector of the AHS Indoor Drumline. So many people drove down to supThe drumline won the equivalent port us.” Kearns is the percussion director PLEASE SEE AHS, PAGE 3A.
Man wrecks city vehicle, injures two officers at Azle police station BY CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN A former employee of the Springtown Independent School District is held in the Tarrant County jail after he waged an attack on the Azle Police Department Saturday night, April 5. A police vehicle owned by the city was damaged and two offi cers were injured in the wake of the attack. Robert Rubin Garza III, 26, of the La Junta area, was charged with driving while intoxicated, a B misdemeanor; criminal mischief $1,500-20,000, a state jail felony; and three counts of assault on a public servant. Garza is held in lieu of $2,500 bond for the DWI charge; however, he is confi ned without bond for the criminal mischief and assault charges.
ed. Near him, Scheid, who had just started his shift, was placing his gear into the unit he would be driving. The offi cers heard a sudden, loud boom and ran around the corner of the building to see a green 1997 Ford Escort that had backed into the department’s unit 119, a Tahoe typically driven by the Corporal on each shift. Damage was obvious. Garza was behind the wheel of the Escort, attempting to restart the engine. When Kuenzle and Scheid approached the driver and told him to get out of the vehicle, he told them “No, I’m leaving.” When he realized his car was not going to start, Garza got out of the car, looked at the offi cers and said, “I did Just another night For Azle police offi cers Eric Scheid that on purpose.” Then Garza walked toward the offi and Alex Kuenzle, it was just another cers, who ordered him to stop and get shift change. on the ground. Until all hell broke loose. He refused. Kuenzle was unloading his gear This is the 2014 Azle High School Indoor Drumline after winning the Texas Color Guard Circuit from the patrol unit he had driven on PLEASE SEE MAN, PAGE 2A. Championship title for Scholastic Open Class Saturday, April 5 in College Station. It’s the equivalent the evening shift, which had just endof being named state champion.
Former AHS wrestler dies in Colorado Heard grew up in Azle area BY MARK K. CAMPBELL Dammion Heard, a Texas high school state wrestling champion who honed his skills in Azle, died in Colorado. The 20-year-old student-athlete at Western State University in Gunnison had just completed his freshman season. Heard was last seen on the campus Saturday, March 29. His body was discovered on Bureau of Land Management property about eight miles from Gunnison April 3. Heard’s death is still under investigation. Azle High School coach Chris Allen
said part of the reason for the success of some AHS wrestling athletes today is because of Dammion. “He was part of the original group of Azle wrestlers in Texas Select,” Allen said. “I’ve known him my whole time here.” Allen said they often saw each other at camps and clinics. Heard was a member of Azle’s national dual team that competed successfully in Fargo, North Dakota. The coach said Heard would encourage other athletes to come try wrestling. “He would work with them and encourage them,” Allen said. “Dammion was just that kind of kid.
“Despite all the success he had as a wrestler, he was always giving back to other wrestlers and youth wrestlers – doing anything asked to help another wrestler get better. That is an admirable trait not often seen by kids with his success.” After qualifying for the state UIL tournament as an alternate his freshman year as a Hornet, Heard moved to Keller where he attended Fossil Ridge. As a senior he won the state championship in the 113-pound class. Even after he moved, Allen said Heard returned to Azle to help instruct. From Keller, Heard headed to Gunnison where, at 125 pounds, he earned a starting berth as a true freshman. He posted a 10-12 record before a knee injury slowed his season. Western State University president Greg Waggonner said, “We are deeply saddened by the loss of Dammion. He was a valuable member of the Moun-
Follow us on Twitter @TheAzleNews
This Week in Azle History
5 Years Ago
Dammion Heard, competing here as an Azle High School freshman in 2010, died in Colorado April 3. Photo by Mark K. Campbell taineer family.” WSU wrestling coach Miles Van Hee said, “We are devastated by the loss of Dammion and will miss him dearly.” The school’s athletic web site – gomountaineers.com – posted an extended video of him competing at WSU.
Funeral services are planned locally for Sunday, April 13. Allen summed the feelings of many with an online post: “Too talented, taken too soon. He worked too damn hard and earned everything he ever got, including a permanent place in our hearts.”
Like The Azle News on Facebook
In early April 2009, a city employee found a “pineapple” style hand grenade atop a fi re hydrant. A robot from the Fort Worth Arson and Bomb Squad broke it up.
26 pages plus supplements
$1 Azle, Texas 76020