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SOUTH TEXAS FOOD BANK
STFB holds conference Members from Helping Hands, Shepherd’s pantries represent Zapata SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
The South Texas Food Bank will host more than 100 people at its annual member agency conference on Tuesday, March 17 at the International Bank of Commerce Annex on Jacaman Road and Loop 20 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Laredo.
Attending are agency coordinators and assistants. Representatives from Webb, Zapata, Jim Hogg, Starr, Dimmitt, Maverick, Val Verde and Kinney Counties will attend. Among the Zapata County attendees will be food bank board member Romeo Salinas; Alma de los Santos, Norma Mendoza
and Andicia Peña of Helping Hands pantry; and Nidia Cruz and Mary Pulido of Shepherd’s Pantry. The Rev. Paul Frye, pastor of Laredo’s Christ Church Episcopal will deliver the invocation. Christ Church Episcopal is one of the largest agencies in Laredo, serving more than 400 families per
IMMIGRATION
month. The South Texas Food Bank serves an average of 27,000 families, 7,000 elderly, 7,000 children and 500 veterans and their widows per month. Villarrreal and South Texas Food Bank board president Anna Benavides Galo will welcome the group. Speakers will include a motivational talk
by Laredo ISD superintendent Dr. A. Marcus Nelson. There will be informational presentations by Laredo Health Department director Dr. Hector Gonzalez on food safety, Feeding Texas disaster awareness coordinator Gaylynn Bailey, Texas A&M International University Agri Life staffer
Cristana Mussett on nutrition and South Texas Food Bank Kids Café director Dr. Jesse Olivarez on civil rights. The South Texas Food Bank, distributes food to the needy of Zapata County. Elia Solis, agency director for the South Texas
See FOOD BANK PAGE 11A
ZAPATA COUNTY FAIR
MEET ROYALTY Photo by Marjorie Kamys Cotera | Texas Tribune file
Rally for Immigration Reform protestors walk on Feb. 22, 2013.
Lawmaker wants to know impact It has been nine years since anyone undertook a comprehensive study By JULIÁN AGUILAR TEXAS TRIBUNE
As state lawmakers debate spending millions of dollars on border security, doing away with instate college tuition for some undocumented students and other controversial immigration issues, they lack a fundamental set of information that could affect their decisions — what impact do undocumented Texans have on the state economy? It’s been nine years since anyone undertook a comprehensive study to find out whether undocumented immigrants help or hurt the state. A border lawmaker wants to fill that information vacuum by requiring the state comptroller to assess the economic impact
of illegal immigration for lawmakers each year. House Bill 2416 by state Rep. César Blanco, D-El Paso, would require regular updates to a 2006 study conducted by former Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn. That study estimated that deporting the approximately 1.4 million undocumented immigrants living in Texas in 2005 would have cost the state about $17.7 billion in gross domestic product. It also showed that the state collected more in taxes and other revenues — about $1.6 billion in 2005 — than the $1.16 billion it spent to provide them with state services. But the study also concluded that local governments weren’t reim-
See IMPACT PAGE 11A
Photo by Victor Strife | The Zapata Times
From left, the 2015 Zapata County Fair queens and her court: Ashley Ibarra, runner-up; Rebecca Villarreal, first runner up; Priscilla Elizondo, 2015 ZCF queen; and Raquel Almaguer, runner-up pose at The Zapata Times offices on Friday afternoon.
Local high school students honored By JUDITH RAYO THE ZAPATA TIMES
A speechless and proud 14-year-old was recently crowned Zapata County Fair Queen for 2015. Ninth-grader Priscilla Elizondo, along with her court, says she is honored to be crowned queen. “It feels amazing,” she said. “It’s been a great experience.” This is not Elizondo’s first time competing at a pageant. She has also participated in Miss PreTeen South West, Junior
Miss Laredo, Miss Falcon Lake, and the 2014 Texas Teen USA pageant. Elizondo said her duties for queen include being a good role model and promoting the fair. Next to her, a smiling 17-year-old Rebecca Villarreal proudly took the honor of being named The People’s Choice Award by Zapata community members. Villarreal is also first runner-up for the court. She said being part of the court is an accomplishment itself.
“I’ve been around the fair since the third grade,” Villarreal said. “I wanted to represent the fair as I finish my high school years.” She said her proceeds went to the Boys and Girls Club in Zapata. A former member herself, she picked the club as a form of gratitude. “I wanted to give back everything they gave to me when I was younger,” Villarreal said. The Miss Congeniality Award was given to Raquel Adriana Almaguer,
runner up of the court. She was voted by the royalty court, because of her friendliness and easy, approachable attitude. The 17-year-old, whose achievements include the National Honor Society and Varsity Cross-Country and track, was speechless as she thanked the court for the award. Ashley Ibarra, 16-yearold runner up, whose accomplishments include Miss Falcon Lake for
See ROYALTY PAGE 11A
OFFICE OF THE STATE DEMOGRAPHER
Report: Texas population could double by 2050 ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — A new report says the state’s population will double by 2050 if migration into Texas continues at the same rate that it did in the last decade. The analysis issued Thursday by the Office of
the State Demographer projects the state’s population will be about 54.4 million if current immigration, both legal and illegal, and migration levels are sustained. The study also projects population in Texas age 14 and under would increase
from 5.7 million in 2010 to 10.2 million in 2050. The 1564 population would increase from 16.8 million to 34.7 million, and the 65 and over population would rise from 2.6 million to 9.4 million. The Austin AmericanStatesman reports an in-
Beginning in 2005, Texas has experienced the largest annual population growth of any state. crease in population could have broad implications for the state’s economy, quality of life, water and transportation infrastructure, schools and politics. “Beginning in 2005, Texas has experienced the largest annual population growth of any state,” wrote the state demographer, Lloyd Potter.
Austin has set the pace for the state. Its population grew 37 percent in the decade ending in 2010. According to demographers, migrants tend to be younger, and can help maintain a high worker to retiree ratio. William Frey, a demographer with the Brookings Institute, said that it is un-
likely that Texas will be able to maintain the growth rate is has had this century, which benefited from a strong economy that was largely unbattered by the recession. Frey also said Texas received a onetime population bump from people leaving Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, MARCH 7
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Texican CattleWomen’s Steak-aRama. In memory of Mary Kay & Gene Walker. Steak dinner with all the trimmings. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Laredo International Fair & Exposition on Hwy. 59. Donation: $7. Tickets from any CattleWoman member, LIFE Office (U.S. Highway 59), Guerra Communications (6402 N Bartlett Ave. at Jacaman Road) or Primped Style Bar, 7718 McPherson). The Laredo Northside Market Association will hold its March market day by the playground at North Central Park from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Arts and crafts tent for boys and girls and a special drawing for boys and girls prizes. See Laredo Northside Market at facebook.com. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. The Little Star that Could, 2 p.m. Earth, Moon and Sun, 3 p.m. Black Holes, 4 p.m. Led Zeppelin, 5 p.m. Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. Call 956-326-DOME (3663). Volunteer training with RGISC. Laredo Public Library. 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. RGISC invites all volunteers to learn how to prepare Laredo for its switch from single-use plastic bags to reusable bags.
Today is Saturday, March 7, the 66th day of 2015. There are 299 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On March 7, 1965, a march by civil rights demonstrators was violently broken up at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, by state troopers and a sheriff ’s posse in what came to be known as “Bloody Sunday.” On this date: In 1793, during the French Revolutionary Wars, France declared war on Spain. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for his telephone. In 1926, the first successful trans-Atlantic radio-telephone conversations took place between New York and London. In 1936, Adolf Hitler ordered his troops to march into the Rhineland, thereby breaking the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact. In 1955, the first TV production of the musical “Peter Pan” starring Mary Martin aired on NBC. In 1975, the U.S. Senate revised its filibuster rule, allowing 60 senators to limit debate in most cases, instead of the previously required two-thirds of senators present. In 1994, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a parody that pokes fun at an original work can be considered “fair use.” (The ruling concerned a parody of the Roy Orbison song “Oh, Pretty Woman” by the rap group 2 Live Crew.) In 1999, movie director Stanley Kubrick, whose films included “Dr. Strangelove,” “A Clockwork Orange” and “2001: A Space Odyssey,” died in Hertfordshire, England, at age 70, having just finished editing “Eyes Wide Shut.” Ten years ago: President George W. Bush nominated John Bolton to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, an appointment which ran into Democratic opposition, prompting Bush to make a recess appointment. Five years ago: The Iraq war thriller “The Hurt Locker” received six Academy Awards including best picture, with Kathryn Bigelow accepting the first directing Oscar awarded to a woman. One year ago: Russia was swept up in patriotic fervor in anticipation of bringing Crimea back into its territory, with tens of thousands of people thronging Red Square in Moscow chanting, “Crimea is Russia!” Today’s Birthdays: Photographer Lord Snowdon is 85. TV personality Willard Scott is 81. International Motorsports Hall of Famer Janet Guthrie is 77. Rock singer Peter Wolf is 69. Actor Bryan Cranston is 59. Actress Donna Murphy is 56. Actor Nick Searcy is 56. Golfer Tom Lehman is 56. International Tennis Hall-of-Famer Ivan Lendl is 55. Opera singer Denyce Graves is 51. Comedian Wanda Sykes is 51. Actor Peter Sarsgaard is 44. Actress Rachel Weisz (wys) is 44. Classical singer Sebastien Izambard (Il Divo) is 42. Actress Jenna Fischer is 41. Actress Sarayu Rao is 40. Actress Audrey Marie Anderson is 40. Actress Laura Prepon is 35. Thought for Today: “History and experience tells us that moral progress cannot come in comfortable and in complacent times, but out of trial and out of confusion.” — Gerald R. Ford, 38th President of the United States (1913-2006).
Photo by Torin Halsey/Times Record News | AP
Mackenzie Bobbitt, left, Anslie Allen and Madison Bobbitt, right, got out early Thursday morning to use mats and plastic lids to slide down the side of the Lake Wichita dam in Wichita Falls. A cold front brought a sleet and snow mix to North Texas on Wednesday evening.
Texas copes with snow By JAMIE STENGLE
MONDAY, MARCH 9
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Laredo Stroke Support Group will be holding its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. at the San Martin de Porres Church Family LifeCenter. www.laredostrokesupport.com. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. Spring Break Shows: The Little Star that Could, 2 p.m. Earth, Moon and Sun, 3 p.m. Black Holes, 4 p.m. Admission is $3. Call 956-326-DOME (3663). Greens of Guadalupe are accepting donations for a rummage sale from March 9 to 12, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church hall on 1700 San Francisco Avenue . Clothing, furniture, jewelry and more accepted. Contact Birdie at 286-7866. Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) for high school students. 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. UTHSC Regional Campus Laredo. Qualified students will receive training, materials and certification. Call AHEC at 7120037.
DALLAS — Officials in North Texas said lessons learned from two winter storms that largely paralyzed the region in recent years have helped them handle a recent string of snow and ice. Some of the changes made include transportation crews having their own snow plows and a different salt solution being used to pretreat roads. “Every winter storm is a learning opportunity,” said Tony Hartzel, a Texas Department of Transportation spokesman for the Dallas area. The Dallas area — which the National Weather Service says usually gets about 1 inch of snow a year — has seen nearly 6 inches so far this winter, but the effects each time lasted only a day or two, with temperatures soon rising. Officials say that among storms they’ve
TUESDAY, MARCH 10 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. Spring Break Shows: The Little Star that Could, 2 p.m. Earth, Moon and Sun, 3 p.m. Black Holes, 4 p.m. Admission is $3. Call 956-326-DOME (3663). Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) for high school students. 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. UTHSC Regional Campus Laredo. Qualified students will receive training, materials and certification. Call AHEC at 7120037.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11 Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) for high school students. 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. UTHSC Regional Campus Laredo. Qualified students will receive training, materials and certification. Call AHEC at 7120037.
FRIDAY, MARCH 13 Cesar Chavez Memorial Alliance Art Competition Exhibit, 6 p.m. Laredo Civic Center meeting rooms. $5 for students and $10 for adults. $500 in cash prizes for art competition winners. Manuel Bocanegra at 775-7027 or Anna Marie at 508-9255. Greens of Guadalupe Greens Rummage Sale from 8 a.m. till 1 p.m. at the Virgin of Guadalupe Church Hall, 1700 San Fransicso. Call Birdie at 2867866.
SATURDAY, MARCH 14 8th Anniversary of the Guadalupe Greens Rummage Sale from 7 a.m. till 1 p.m. at the Virgin of Guadalupe Church Hall, 1700 San Francisco Ave. Call Birdie at 286-7866.
TUESDAY, MARCH 17 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket, 5 p.m. Extreme Planets, 6 p.m. Call 956-326-DOME (3663).
FRIDAY, MARCH 20 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. Extreme Planets, 6 p.m. Live Star Presentation, 7 p.m. Call 956-326-DOME (3663).
drawn lessons from are two in recent years: a winter storm hit the area during the 2011 Super Bowl week and a December 2013 storm that left 4 to 6 inches of ice on Interstate 35 north of Dallas, stranding motorists. But Jodi Hodges, a Texas Department of Transportation spokeswoman for the Fort Worth area, said that even with more strategic thinking, they are still at the mercy of Mother Nature. “When you get a lot of accumulation all at once, the materials are only so effective,” Hodges said. Almost a year after the 2011 Super Bowl, the Texas Department of Transportation announced that the Dallas-Fort Worth area would get its own snow plows that can be hooked up to dump trucks. In the past, officials had waited for plows to arrive from colder parts of the state. The Dallas area now has 18 snow plows, Hartzel said.
Teacher placed on leave after profane lecture
Bodies identified as missing Baytown teens
Lawsuit claims sexual abuse in Catholic Diocese
DALLAS — A Dallas teacher has been placed on administrative leave after a 12-year-old student recorded him delivering a nearly seven-minute profanitylaced lecture. The middle-school student played the cellphone recording for her mother Monday after school. Besides the profanity in the seven-minute lecture, the teacher refers to his own genitals.
BAYTOWN — Authorities have identified two bodies found in a Southeast Texas bayou as teenagers who had gone missing two weeks ago. Authorities have charged a 20year-old with capital murder in the case. The suspect is not yet in custody. Alex Chavez, 18, and Jarvis Morgan, 17, both high school students in Baytown, had disappeared Feb. 19. Their bodies were found on Thursday.
FORT WORTH — A man is seeking over $1 million in damages in a lawsuit against the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese, alleging he was sexually assaulted by a now deceased priest in the 1990s. The man, who now lives near Spokane, Washington, said priest John Sutton was his seventh-grade history teacher at Notre Dame Middle-High School in Wichita Falls.
Man gets 99 years in estranged wife’s slaying MARSHALL — An East Texas man was sentenced to 99 years in prison after pleading guilty to fatally stabbing his estranged wife. A jury Thursday sentenced 36year-old Brad Dunn in the 2013 death of Kari Dunn in a Marshall hotel room. He was accused of dragging Kari Dunn into a bathroom and fatally stabbing her. Her daughter tried to call 911 but was unsuccessful.
Austin police arrest 2 after liquid meth found AUSTIN — Austin police say two people have been arrested after authorities found between 8 and 10 gallons of liquid methamphetamine hidden in a car that officers stopped along Interstate 35. Lt. Frank Dixon says if the liquid was turned back into crystal, it would weigh about more than 60 pounds and have a street value of up to $3 million.
Constable charged in fatal motorcycle crash HOUSTON — Authorities say a Montgomery County deputy constable is charged with intoxication manslaughter in the death of a sheriff ’s deputy after the motorcycle they were riding on crashed. Police say James Earl Selmser III, 26, had twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system when he crashed his motorcycle at about 3 a.m. on Jan. 29. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION NASA spacecraft on first visit to dwarf planet LOS ANGELES — After a nearly eight-year journey, a NASA spacecraft on Friday flawlessly slipped into orbit around Ceres in the first visit to a dwarf planet. The robotic Dawn craft will circle the dwarf planet for more than a year, exploring its surface and unraveling its mysteries. “It went exactly the way we expected. Dawn gently, elegantly slid into Ceres’ gravitational embrace,” said Marc Rayman, chief engineer for the $473 million mission. Ceres is the second and final stop for Dawn, which launched in 2007. ter vapor continue to vent.
Motion filed asking Ala. to issue marriage licenses MOBILE, Ala. — A group of civil rights organizations has fil-
CONTACT US Publisher, William B. Green........................728-2501 Account Executive, Dora Martinez ...... (956) 765-5113 General Manager, Adriana Devally ...............728-2510 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................. 728-2531 Circulation Director ................................. 728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo.................... 728-2505 Copy Editor, Nick Georgiou ....................... 728-2565 Sports Editor, Zach Davis ..........................728-2578 Spanish Editor, Melva Lavin-Castillo............ 728-2569 Photo by NASA | AP
This March 1 photo provided by NASA shows Ceres is seen from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft just a few days before the mission achieved orbit around the previously unexplored dwarf planet to begin a 16-month exploration. ed a motion asking a federal judge to order Alabama probate judges to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and to add plaintiffs to the suit challenging the state’s gay-marriage ban. The motion filed in Mobile on Friday includes the American
Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and others. The motion asks for Alabama judges to issue marriage licenses regardless of a couple’s sexual orientation and to give equal protection. — Compiled from AP reports
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
Local
SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Tickets now on sale for ZCF Carnival SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Photo by Victor Strife | Laredo Morning Times
From left the 2015 Zapata County Fair Jr Royalty Pageant court: Carissa Gonzalez, Tiny Miss; Jannel Esquivel, Little Miss; Andrew Sanchez, Little Cowboy; Yaretzi Landa, Junior Miss; and Lyanna Gomez, Miss Teen pose at The Zapata Times offices on Friday afternoon.
Lots to do at the Zapata County Fair SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
The time has finally arrived once again to draw together with family and friends at the annual Zapata County Fair and enjoy the fresh new assortment of music, entertainment and livestock to be celebrated for the 43rd time in the county’s history. Known as “The Biggest Little Town Fair in Texas,” visitors from the region and surrounding areas join together with friends and family who eagerly plan year-round in preparation for the best entertainment of the season in South Texas. The tradition and culture carried throughout the generations are preserved in the people of Zapata County and are hospitably shared for all to experience the beautiful sights and the mouth-watering aroma of cuisine local to the region. The heritage remains alive as award-winning livestock are exhibited at the county fairgrounds. As local 4-H and FFA exhibitors
Spectators from near and far are drawn to the local livestockshow which has come to be known for showcasing the best livestock in the area. compete with the best of the best, who have invested countless hours of hard work and dedication in search of the coveted top award.
Visitors Spectators from near and far are drawn to the local livestockshow which has come to be known for showcasing the best livestock in the area. Aiming to please the young and the not-so-young, the customs of the past are carried over to the modern and blend comfortably with the carnival lights and festive sounds of the finest entertainment around, designed to please all those
joining in on the fun! The age-old tradition of the Zapata County Fair Trail Ride sets off the events that promise to offer exhibits, vendor booths, art and music for all ages. Headlining this year are Dustin Lynch on Friday and Los Traileros del Norte on Saturday. Spectators don their finest boots, hats and belts to honor the legacy of their predecessors who have left behind more than just memories, but also great community and familial principles and beliefs. Whether it is the parade, livestock, music, food or fun, there is a never-ending adventure for all in discovering Zapata and the surrounding area.
The Zapata County fair is presenting North American Midway: The Largest and Most Modern Rides ever in Zapata. The event will take place Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m. at the ZCF Carnival. Advance tickets are $18 at the Boys & Girls Club at 302 W. 6th Street, which is open Monday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 765-3892. Tickets at the gate are $23.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
US wastes edge over Islamic State By BENJAMIN S. LAMBETH WASHINGTON POST
Ever since the Islamic State swept in to fill the void left by President Obama’s withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq, the debate over how to respond to this new threat has centered on two false and overly simplistic choices: Are airstrikes alone enough to do the job, or will it take a major commitment of U.S. “boots on the ground”? At one extreme, the president complained last month that his critics would have him put “tens of thousands” of U.S. troops back into Iraq. Yet no serious proponent of using U.S. ground forces to counter the Islamic State has suggested that any such response should demand that many combatants. On the other side of the debate, no serious advocate of an air-centric alternative has suggested that U.S. airpower can suffice unaided by a ground presence. What remains unexplored in earnest in this regard is the appropriate mix of air and land involvement to leverage our strongest comparative advantages from the air without risking a return of our troops to high-intensity close combat on the ground. By continuing to resort to just piecemeal attacks, the Obama administration has been systematically squandering our nation’s asymmetric airpower advantage. Its half-measures have also allowed our greatest combat edge, which has a proven record of effectiveness dating to Operation Desert Storm in 1991, to get a bad rap — as attested to by all those who use the lack of much visible progress so far in rolling back the Islamic State to charge that airpower isn’t the answer to the challenge. In fact, airpower hasn’t yet been put to a full and proper test in the fight. This point has been lost in the back and forth over how a congressional authorization for the use of force should be worded and whether an attempted ground push by proxy Kurdish and Iraqi troops to retake Mosul is the right next step. Sad to say, we’ve been here before. Nearly two decades ago, the United States and NATO likewise dithered by using only limited air attacks to counter Serbian human rights abuses against ethnic Albanians at the start of their air war for Kosovo in 1999. Only after the most important targets in Belgrade were struck with full force toward the end of that 78-day campaign was Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic finally driven to
end his atrocities. That early experience over Serbia is being replayed today with our meager daily airstrikes against the Islamic State, proving yet again that hard-learned wartime lessons are often soon forgotten. To better counter the Islamic State, we don’t need to return large numbers of U.S. ground troops to Iraq to engage in casualty-intensive close combat. Rather, we should use as a template the ground-enabled precision airstrikes carried out in late 2001 during the initial phase of the war in Afghanistan. For that, we first need an adequate reintroduction of U.S. Special Operations forces and groundbased forward air controllers. Just as they allowed U.S. airpower and the indigenous Afghan Northern Alliance to drive out the Taliban in less than three months, destroying al-Qaida’s sanctuary in Afghanistan, such forces can empower the able Kurdish pesh merga by identifying and designating worthwhile Islamic State targets for aerial attacks in large enough numbers to make a difference. Second, we need more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, such as the U-2 and the remotely piloted Predator, to locate enemy targets for the pesh merga fighters and forward air controllers to assess and recommend for air attack. Right now, we’re operating only a small fraction of the number of such platforms against the Islamic State as are currently in use in Afghanistan. Third, and most important, instead of the anemic daily airstrikes that continue to hamper our professionally conducted but otherwise desultory effort against the Islamic State, we need a more robust air-centric and landenabled campaign along the lines of the one that worked so successfully in the major combat phase of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2001. U.S. airpower made possible the attainment of that campaign’s immediate goals without the need for any U.S. ground troops to engage in frontal combat with enemy forces. We have the wherewithal to repeat an effective variation on that superb air-land performance against the Islamic State today. The only thing preventing such an effort is the needed leadership and resolve to make more intelligent use of our unique air advantage in pursuit of more decisive results. The writer is a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.
COLUMN
Purses vs. pockets is no contest Life Mate’s purse often feels heavy enough to be able to provide for an overnight stay, two road trip meals or anything else of similar volume. At any given time, her purse contains a coin purse, a checkbook, a wallet, car keys, house keys, manicure items (scissors, file, emery board, polish), perfume-cologne, address book, cell phone, tissues, comb and I don’t know what all. And, being the literate Sweet Thang that she is, there might be an iPad complete with novels tucked in there as well, not to mention a handy little camera. However, as I have acknowledged to her: “You ain’t got nothin’ on me, darlin’.” When you consider the contents that fill a woman’s purse, analyze everything in a man’s pockets plus, nowadays in particular, whatever devices are clipped onto a belt, then analyze the two collections, men just might have the edge in number of items as well as weight of such boogeying-about necessities. None of this is written or
said with a goofy, good ol’ boy grin, because I’m not poking fun at women’s purses, especially not Life Mate’s handbags. And, the reason is that people who live in glass houses shouldn’t hurl rocks. In other words, the “stuff” (men are experts on that subject) in my pockets would move me up a notch in boxing’s weight classification — from heavyweight to super-heavyweight. Like my ol’ cowboy daddy, I prefer the two-pocket style shirt. His entire business filing system was contained in his shirt. That enabled him to be a moving cow-binniss tycoon 24 hours a day and be hands-free as much as was needed to navigate. Of course, I eschewed the “ol’ cow binniss” as he would label it, because I hated everything a cow could and did do
to me: step on my foot, lacerate my shin with hoof, butt me, gore (almost) me, buck me off (just once), and chase me out of a pasture. So, I chose writing-newspapering as a career for two reasons: 1) I love it, and 2) I hated the ol’ cow binniss even more than I love the writing binniss. But, I found that I went about keeping the “tools” of the writing binniss and that necessitated four or five jean pockets, two-pocket shirts and/ or a jacket-coat with lots of pockets, all containing some necessity. A skin allergy prevents most wrist watches, so that makes a pocket watch necessary. Like most jean-clad Texans, I keep a handkerchief, a wallet, car keys, house keys, office keys, pocket knife, nail clippers, coins, occasionally a comb and, of course, the writing tools themselves: a couple of pens and a note pad. Then I carry a case with my cell phone clipped onto my belt (western with all kinds of metal adornments), plus an eye-glass case, with spare
glasses, that clips on. With all that metal in my pockets plus a hip replacement with a solid steel shaft into my femur, I’m a real stitch in airports. I’ve been strip-searched. Aggravating and plumb invasive is what it is. One guard added insult to injury by laughing during that invasion of my privacy. I almost called him what he is but discretion topped valor in this case, because I didn’t want to be handcuffed and hustled off to jail. Women’s purses are just placed on a conveyor belt and scoped as they pass through, revealing the contents. But, those guards just have to search men. I’d suggest we carry “bags” or valises-attache cases, but that never has caught on real well with us country boys who are usually not the “important business executive” type at all. So, pockets it is, strip search indignities and all. Willis Webb is a retired community newspaper editor-publisher of more than 50 years experience. He can be reached by email at wwebb@att.net.
COMMENTARY
Electricity supply changing its ways By LLEWELLYN KING HEARST NEWSPAPERS
Management theory says, “Stick to what you know. Don’t stray from you core business.” That’s all well and good, but what happens when the core is changing and it’s no longer a reliable source of profit and continuity? At the top of my list of companies that didn’t make changes fast enough is one that is still around, but is far different from the ubiquitous giant it used to be: Western Union. Until change swept away its core business, this was the company that had an iron grip on the business of leased wires, cables and telegrams. Western Union was the communications giant of its day, but it was overwhelmed by disruptive technology — technology it failed to grasp. Gone are the days when it was a household word and
anyone who wanted to move anything electronically, from newspaper copy to birthday wishes, used Western Union. Today it’s a money transfer service. Western Union could not have foreseen the Internet, but it could’ve grasped it. What’s more, the telegraph business began to falter just about the time the overnight package business exploded. So here’s the question: Why didn’t Western Union, which already blanketed the country with offices and messengers, gravitate to the parcels delivery business? The answer is that the history of old-line companies adjusting to new realities is not good. Being willing to change and changing are not the same thing. These are issues that are beginning to buffet the nation’s electric utilities, as they face the disruptive effects of
new technologies. So far the winds of change are blowing lightly, just a zephyr. A conference in Washington on April 9-10, organized by Public Utilities Fortnightly, will examine the issue of the disruptions that are transforming the industry. Ken Silverstein, editor in chief, says, “My own research is showing that people at all levels of all utilities are thinking about the new energy paradigm. But thinking about it and acting are two different things.” The immediate agents of change encroaching on the electric utilities are rooftop solar, installed by homeowners, and microgrids, where a group of alternative generators are linked together and hook into the utility grid as one entity. Rooftop solar generation is growing exponentially, pushed by tax advantages, politics and the preference of individuals
to embrace green alternatives. Large vendorshave made a business of leasing rooftop collectors to homeowners. Selfgeneration often makes economic sense, particularly if surplus electricity can be sold back to the electric grid: a practice called “net-metering.” But net-metering is distressing to the utilities because the self-generators have become customers of convenience and don’t contribute to the maintenance of the grid on which everyone relies. Long term this means high rates for those who can’t go solar, like apartment dwellers. The question for the utilities: Can they adjust fast enough to save the economics of the grid and honor their obligations to serve? They might want to ponder the words of David Lloyd George, the British prime minister, who said: “It is dangerous to leap a chasm in two bounds.”
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Nation
SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Adoption rules eyed after incident By ALLEN REED ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Lauren Victoria Burke | AP
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., right, is pursued by reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Feb. 25. Menendez, under federal investigation for his relationship with a Florida doctor and political donor, is expected to face criminal charges in the coming weeks.
Fed charges expected against Dem senator By ERIC TUCKER ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, under federal investigation for his relationship with a Florida doctor and political donor, is expected to face criminal charges in the coming weeks, a person familiar with the matter said Friday. The disclosure came as Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, said he will give a statement to reporters in his home state after his office issued a statement saying all of his actions have been appropriate and lawful. The person discussed the expected filing of charges on condition of anonymity because the investigation is pending. The Justice Department’s decision to move forward with a criminal case was first reported by CNN. Attorney General Eric Holder, in South Carolina with President Barack Obama on Friday, declined to say
whether he has authorized criminal charges against the senator. Menendez, who served for more than a decade in the House of Representatives before his election to the Senate in 2006, is the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He is critical of the Obama administration’s negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program and outspoken in opposition to normalizing relations with Cuba. He has been dogged for more than two years by questions about his ties to Dr. Salomon Melgen, a Florida ophthalmologist as well as a friend and political donor whose medical office was raided by Florida authorities two years ago. In particular, Menendez has faced questions about trips he took to the Dominican Republic aboard Melgen’s private plane. He has acknowledged taking several actions that could have appeared to benefit Melgen, including contacting the Medicare agency to urge
changes to a payment policy that had cost Melgen millions. His failure to reimburse Melgen for flights between New Jersey and the Dominican Republic on the eye doctor’s Canadair Challenger 600s luxury jet was the first serious signal of Menendez’ legal troubles in early 2013. Menendez and Melgen had flown at least twice in 2010 between New Jersey to the Dominican Republic, but the trips went without reimbursement for more than two years. The flights were one vestige of the close relations between Menendez, who took over the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2013 when previous chair John Kerry left to become Secretary of State, and Melgen, a multimillionaire who was willing to lavish campaign donations on his friend and allied causes. The two men often appeared together at Democratic Party and Latino political functions from Washington to Miami.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is working with lawmakers and the Department of Human Services to potentially change state adoption procedures after a House member gave his adopted daughters to a man who later admitted to sexually abusing one of them. Hutchinson met with two legislators after they filed bills this week to criminalize “re-homing,” an informal term for transferring an adopted child to an unrelated family without state oversight. The lawmakers acted after the Arkansas Times newspaper reported that the adopted daughter of Rep. Justin Harris of West Fork was abused. Harris said Friday that the children had behavioral problems and professionals recommended the transfer. Only a handful of states have enacted laws to regulate “re-homing,” according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Colorado and Wisconsin regulate the advertising of adopted children, while Louisiana and Florida have criminalized the “rehoming” practice. Ohio has safeguards against trading money or goods in return for an adopted child. Harris’ attorney, Jennifer Wells, said the lawmaker and his wife adopted the 6- and 3-year-old girls in March 2013 at the request of the children’s mother. Seven months later, Wells said, he gave the girls to a longtime family friend who had worked at Harris’ family-owned preschool. Wells said the wives of Harris and Eric Francis had
Photo by Danny Johnston/file | AP
Rep. Justin T. Harris, R-West Fork, questions a witness during a meeting of the House Committee on Education at the Arkansas state Capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Feb. 26. The state is to review adoption procedures after Harris gave his adopted daughters to a man who admitted to sexually abusing one of them. known each other for 20 years and that the Francis family had passed background checks for international adoptions. Harris, joined by his wife and Wells at a news conference, said one of his adopted daughters threatened family members and one harmed a pet. A psychiatrist, pediatrician and therapist all recommended they be moved, he said. A Human Services employee he didn’t identify said he would be charged with abandonment if he gave the girls back to the state, Harris said, and he said officials didn’t take steps that could have prevented the abuse. “We were failed by DHS,” Harris said. “When DHS fails adopted parents, they fail the children even more.” Harris, who took only a limited number of questions after making his statement, also said he and his wife adopted an older sister of the girls, who was transferred to another family by the department before her sisters were given to Francis. The state’s Democratic party leader called on Har-
ris to resign. Wells said Harris broke no laws and is “not planning on resigning at the moment.” Francis, 39, pleaded guilty in November to three counts of sexual assault in the second degree, which involved the 6-yearold and two underage girls Francis knew through church. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison with an additional 20 years suspended and is being held at the Benton County Jail. The jail didn’t list a lawyer for Francis and an attorney listed in court records didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Another family has since adopted the two sisters, said Benton County prosecutor Nathan Smith. Representatives Greg Leding, a Democrat from Fayetteville, and David Meeks, a Republican from Conway, have both filed bills to prohibit most transfers of adopted children to non-relatives without court approval. Leding wouldn’t comment on Harris’ situation, but said most lawmakers previously didn’t know giving away children was legal.
PÁGINA 6A
Zfrontera FRONTERA
Agenda en Breve
Mueren cinco
CABALGATA El día de hoy se realizará una Cabalgata como parte de los eventos de la Zapata County Fair Association, a partir de las 7 p.m. con un desayuno para los participantes en Bustamante Roping Arena. A las 8 a.m. la cabalgata comenzará en el área de Bustamante Doping.
TORNEO DE PESCA El torneo de pesca de bagre Falcon Lake Babe —International Catfish Series— para damas solamente, en su ronda de campeonato se llevará a cabo el sábado 7 de marzo. La serie de cinco torneos que se realizan mensualmente desde noviembre finalizará con una ronda de campeonato este sábado. El torneo es un evento individual que permite hasta tres concursantes por embarcación. Las participantes deberán pagar la cuota de participación en los cinco torneos para tener derecho a la ronda de campeonato. Las inscripciones se realizan el viernes anterior al sábado del torneo en Beacon Lodge Rec. Hall. La cuota de inscripción es de 20 dólares por persona. Para mayores informes comuníquese con Betty Ortiz al (956) 236-4590 o con Elcina Buck al (319) 239 5859.
SÁBADO 7 DE MARZO DE 2015
TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Cinco hombres armados murieron tras dos enfrentamientos con soldados en dos municipios del Estado fronterizo de Tamaulipas, de acuerdo con funcionarios de seguridad. El jueves, el Grupo de Coordinación Tamaulipas (GCT), informó, a través de un comunicado de prensa, que una patrulla militar fue atacada en Ciudad Mier el martes por la mañana por un convoy de cuatro vehículos. “Al repeler el ataque, los militares abatieron a cuatro de los delin-
cuentes, entre ellos una mujer”, indicó el comunicado. “Los hoy occisos, que aún no han sido identificados, utilizaban armas largas y vestían uniformes… tipo militar”. Durante varios años Ciudad Mier ha sido escenario de una lucha territorial sostenida por los cárteles del Golfo y los Zetas. A finales de 2010, los enfrentamientos por el control del pueblo se intensificaron al grado que la mayoría de sus 6.000 habitantes optó por buscar refugio en el vecino municipio de Miguel Alemán.
Miguel Alemán Asimismo, también el jueves, GCT anunció que una persona, supuestamente armada, murió la tarde del martes en el municipio de Miguel Alemán, México, después de que se registrara una agresión por parte de civiles armados, dijeron las autoridades. El hoy occiso es un hombre que tenía de 30 a 35 años de edad y no ha sido identificado. El incidente se registró alrededor de las 5 p.m. en el kilómetro 9+100 de la carretera Miguel Alemán-Arcabuz, cuando los policías
LOCAL
TAMAULIPAS
FERIA DEL CONDADO
Incautan armas, narcóticos y municiones TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Una semana de operativos por parte de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional dio como resultado el arresto de tres sospechosos y el decomiso de más de 5.000 kilogramos de narcóticos, armas, municiones, vehículos y otros artículos que son utilizados por elementos criminales, dio a conocer el Grupo de Coordinación Tamaulipas (GCT). Ocho operativos, ejecutados del 26 de febrero al primero de marzo arrojaron la incautación de 5.940 kilogramos de marihuana, 29 armas largas, 356 cargadores, 10.326 cartuchos útiles de diversos calibres, una granada, un cohete, tres vehículos, 50 poncha llantas de metal. Tres personas fueron arrestadas.
JUNTA DE COMISIONADOS El lunes 9 de marzo, los Comisionados de la Corte del Condado de Zapata realizarán su junta quincenal en la Sala de la Corte del Condado de Zapata, a partir de las 9 a.m. a 12 p.m. Para mayores informes llame a Roxy Elizondo al (956) 765 9920.
FERIA DEL CONDADO A partir del jueves 12 de marzo y hasta el sábado 14 de marzo, tendrá lugar la Feria del Condado de Zapata, en Zapata County Fairgrounds. El viernes 13 se presentarán Dustin Lynch Band, La Leyenda, Grupo Siggno, entre otros. El sábado se presentarán Grupo Palomo, Los Palominos, Los Traileros Del Norte, entre otros grupos.
DESFILE Se invita a todos los negocios, iglesias, clubes, escuelas, organizaciones y oficiales electos a participar en el Zapata County Fair Parade 2015, que se celebrará el 14 de marzo. Se entregarán trofeos a las mejores flotas de las diferentes categorías. El desfile está programado para comenzar a las 9 a.m., sin embargo los participantes deben presentarse antes de las 8:30 a.m. El desfile comenzará en 3rd Ave., y continuará hacia el norte sobre U.S. Hwy 83, para después tomar hacia la izquierda en 23rd St. y terminar en los jardines de la feria. Para inscribirse debe presentar su solicitud en las oficinas de la Cámara de Comercio del Condado de Zapata ubicadas en 601 N. U.S. Hwy 83 o enviarlas por correo electrónico a cbalderas@zapatachamber.com. Puede descargar la solicitud en www.zapatacountyfair.com.
JUNTA DE COMISIONADOS El lunes 23 de marzo, los Comisionados de la Corte del Condado de Zapata realizarán su junta quincenal en la Sala de la Corte del Condado de Zapata, a partir de las 9 a.m. a 12 p.m. Para mayores informes llame a Roxy Elizondo al (956) 765 9920.
estatales realizaban labores de patrullaje en dos unidades, señala el reporte. En ese punto se toparon con hombres armados que se desplazaban en una camioneta Journey color negra. Los delincuentes abrieron fuego en contra de los policías estatales, al tiempo que se internaban entre la maleza, de acuerdo con el reporte. Igualmente autoridades aseguraron la camioneta, un arma larga, una fornitura, 17 cargadores y cartuchos útiles de diferentes calibres. (Con información de Associated Press y del Gobierno de Tamaulipas)
Foto por Victor Strife | Laredo Morning Times
De izquierda, la corte de la Feria del Condado de Zapata 2015, Ashley Ibarra, dama; Rebecca Villarreal, primera dama; Priscilla Elizondo, reina 2015; y Raquel Almaguer, dama, posan para la fotografía en las oficina de LMT, el viernes por la tarde.
Realeza habla de sus experiencias POR JUDITH RAYO TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
U
na joven de 14 años de edad recientemente fue coronada como Reina de la Feria del Condado de Zapata 2015. Priscilla Elizondo, de noveno grado, junto con su corte, dijeron sentirse honradas con sus reconocimientos. “Se siente increíble”, dijo. “Es una gran experiencia”. Esta no es la primera vez que Elizondo compite. Entre los otros concurso en los que ha participado están Miss Pre-Teen South West, Junior Miss Laredo, Miss Falcon Lake, y Texas Teen USA 2014. A su lado, una sonriente Rebecca Villarreal, de 17 años, orgullosamente ocupa el nombramiento “The People’s Choice Award”, recono-
La Feria del Condado de Zapata 43 tendrá lugar del 12 al 14 de marzo. Entre las actividades habrá un desfile, cabalgata, carnaval, música y subasta de ganado. cimiento otorgado por integrantes de la comunidad de Zapata. Villarreal también es primera dama de la corte, lo cual dijo es un logro. “Quiero representar a la feria conforme termino la preparatoria”, dijo. El reconocimiento a Señorita Simpatía fue otorgado a Raquel Adriana Almaguer, dama de la corte. La joven de 17 años de edad, cuyos logros incluyen National Honors Society y Varsity CrossCountry, no tenía palabras
para agradecer a la corte por el reconocimiento. Ashley Ibarra, finalista de 16 años de edad, cuyos logros incluyen Miss Falcon Lake 2014, dijo que para ser elegible y participar en el concurso, las jóvenes tienen que mantener un buen promedio escolar y ser residente Zapata. La Feria del Condado de Zapata 43 tendrá lugar del 12 al 14 de marzo. Entre las actividades habrá un desfile, cabalgata, carnaval, música y subasta de ganado.
Operativos El jueves 26 de febrero, el municipio de Camargo, México, se identificó una fosa cubierta con ramas y madera. En el interior se descubrieron 305 paquetes con 1.500 kilogramos de marihuana. En esta misma fecha, pero el municipio de Miguel Alemán, se localizaron 146 paquetes con 900 kilogramos de marihuana, entre la maleza del poblado Las Peñas. Asimismo, también en Miguel Alemán, se encontró una fosa con 466 paquetes, que dieron un total de 3.000 kilogramos de marihuana. Fue el viernes 27 de febrero, se realizó el arresto de tres personas con cinco armas largas, 57 cargadores y 912 cartuchos, en la carretera Río Bravo-Valle Hermoso. Mientras tanto, en el municipio de Díaz Ordaz, México, se localizaron 15 armas largas, 3.873 cartuchos y 130 cargadores, entre la maleza del ejido Lucio Blanco. La colonia Las Fuentes del municipio de Matamoros, México, fue donde se localizó un vehículo con reporte de robo. De su interior se aseguraron siete armas largas, 77 cargadores y 1.884 cartuchos de diferentes calibres, el sábado 28 de febrero. Este mismo día, pero en el municipio de Camargo, México, localización entre la maleza de 56 paquetes conteniendo 540 kilogramos de marihuana. Para finalizar la serie de operativos, el domingo, en las inmediaciones de la aeropista del municipio de Mier, se identificó un vehículo abandonado, en cuyo interior había dos armas largas, 92 cargadores, 3.657 cartuchos, una granada, un cohete y 50 poncha-llantas metálicos.
COLUMNA
Visitantes narran encuentros con lagartos El autor narra un recorrido por diferentes lugares de Tamaulipas donde la presencia de lagartos o cocodrilos sorprendió a visitantes extranjeros.
POR RAÚL SINENCIO TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
De algún tiempo a la fecha, los cocodrilos del sureste de Tamaulipas exhiben ciertas peculiaridades. Asoman en parajes rurales y sitios urbanos. Tiende a considerárseles advenedizos, aunque poseen raíces domésticas.
Definición El Río Tamesí aporta pistas, ya que recorre los
confines meridionales de la entidad y tributa en la desembocadura del Río Pánuco, fronterizo con Veracruz. En lengua huasteca, Tamesí proviene de “tam” y “ahin”, vocablos que significan lugar y lagarto, respectivamente. Es decir, lugar donde hay lagartos o cocodrilos. Esta presencia abarca otros puntos del rumbo, notándose en calendas virreinales. Pedro Martínez de Loayza, capitán y presidente de la provincia de Pánuco, refiere a principios del siglo XVII que en las proximidades de la homónima villa del norte veracruzano habita el caimán. Ocupado de Pueblo Viejo, frente a Tamaulipas, Martínez de Loayza indica también:
“Hay gran cantidad de caimanes, que (no) son de (la) hechura de (los) lagartos de España, sino que son muy grandes”. Apreciamos, pues, que los saurios rebasan el Tamesí. Fray Antonio Vázquez de Espinosa da idea de cómo persisten, “Hay en Pueblo Viejo enorme cantidad de caimanes”, refrenda el misionero.
Testimonios Tras la independencia, México se abre al mundo. El inglés George Francis Lyon remonta en 1826 la bocana del Pánuco y a poco descubre “cinco o seis cocodrilos (…) dentro del agua”, testimonia.
Detrás viene Frances Erskine Inglis, que en los albores de 1842 avanza Pánuco arriba, desde la barra. “Descubrimos —escribe la escocesa—un cocodrilo de aspecto bonachón, con sus fauces abiertas en una como inconsciente sonrisa, dulce y burlona, cual si estuviera cazando moscas”. Antes de concluir vayamos al interior de Tamaulipas. El municipio de Altamira, “Esteros está situada al borde de una extensa laguna en que abundan los lagartos grandes”, asegura el británico Robert Phillips. El coronel Lewis A. Norton, invasor gringo, en 1847 sube por el Tamesí rumbo a Tancasneque y anota:
“Los lagartos se asoleaban a lo largo de las orillas” y “rodaban al agua en cuanto nos acercábamos, haciendo gran chapaleo”.
Reportes El periódico español “ABC” publica en 1949: “Numerosos lagartos enormes, han aparecido en Tampico”. “Se dice que tiene por causa el haber bajado el nivel de una laguna”. “Una vecina vio un lagarto de más de tres metros y medio de largo muerto con machetes, palas y otras armas que esgrimieron […] en su socorro los vecinos”. (Publicado con permiso del autor según aparece en La Razón, Tampico, México)
State
SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015
Ethics questioned over ties to Taser By RYAN J. FOLEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
Two big cities are reviewing their ethics policies after The Associated Press reported on how their police chiefs were closely linked to a company that won contracts to supply officers with body cameras. Officials in Salt Lake City and Fort Worth said their chiefs’ relationships with Taser International didn’t violate current policies, but that they highlight potential shortcomings. The Texas Police Chiefs Association also will look into such relationships, saying they likely violate its ethics code. The reviews come after the AP reported Tuesday that Taser International was building financial ties to current and former police chiefs who promote the company’s body cameras and video storage system. The company is paying for airfare and hotels for chiefs who travel to speak at technology summits and appear in company materials praising its products. Some chiefs have become Taser consultants after retiring. “It’s caused a lot of entities to rethink this,” said Tom Cowan, chairman of the Texas chiefs association’s ethics committee. “It’s extremely important for us to have public confidence and respect, and to be transparent when dealing with public funds.” Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker directed staff to review whether the rules on relationships with city vendors should be updated after facing questions about Chief Chris Burbank’s speeches at Taser-sponsored events and online promotional video. “He recognizes that in retrospect some of that participation maybe wasn’t the best decision to make,”
Photo by Rich Pedroncelli/file | AP
Retired Fort Worth Police Chief Jeffery Halstead speaks at a conference hosted by Taser International at the California Highway Patrol Headquarters in Sacramento, California, on Feb. 19. Becker spokesman Art Raymond said of Burbank. Fort Worth City Manager David Cooke said the city is reviewing whether its code should be strengthened to address perception problems, including vendor-funded travel and product endorsements. He noted that many professional groups have stricter rules. Records show that Fort Worth’s then-police chief, Jeffrey Halstead, worked last year to complete a contract worth $2.7 million for 400 cameras and storage before a quarterly deadline, telling Taser “someone should give me a raise.” Halstead later accepted Taserfunded trips to Boston, Miami and Phoenix. After retiring in January, he said he planned to become an “official consultant” before traveling to Australia and Abu Dhabi for Taser events. Cowan said Halstead likely violated the Texas association’s ethics code, which
says chiefs and subordinates shouldn’t endorse products or accept perks intended to influence or reward. The decision by Memorial Villages, Texas, police chief J.D. Sanders to allow his newly hired assistant Ray Schultz to work on the side as a Taser consultant also “runs counter to the code,” Cowan said. The ethics committee will discuss the matter April 1 and may issue guidance reminding members about the provisions, Cowan said. Schultz is the former chief in Albuquerque, where officials are reviewing a $1.95 million no-bid contract he backed for Taser body cameras in 2013 before stepping down. Reports should be completed in April, the city said Thursday. Sanders, whose city is surrounded by Houston, dismissed the Albuquerque questions as “old news” and said Schultz had done nothing wrong.
THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015
International
SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
Extremists take statues By VIVIAN SALAMA AND CARA ANNA ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD — Islamic State extremists trucked away statues as they damaged the irreplaceable remains of an ancient Assyrian capital, a local resident and a top UN official told The Associated Press Friday. Nimrud, a nearly 3,000year-old city in presentday Iraq, included monumental statues of winged bulls, bearded horsemen and other winged figures, all symbols of an ancient Mesopotamian empire in the cradle of Western civilization. The discovery that extremists removed some statues before using heavy equipment to destroy much of the site Thursday was cold comfort as outrage spread over the extremists’ latest effort to erase history. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon considers the destruction a war crime, his spokesman said in a statement. Iraq’s most revered Shiite cleric, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said in his Friday sermon that the extremists are savaging Iraq, “not only in the present but also to its history and ancient civilizations.” “I’m shocked and speechless,” said Zeid Abdullah, who lives in nearby Mosul and studied at the city’s Fine Arts Institute until the extremists shut that down. “Only people with a criminal and barbaric mind can act this way and destroy an art masterpiece that is thousands of years old.” A farmer from a nearby village told the AP Friday that militants began carrying tablets and artifacts away from the site two days before the attack, which began Thursday afternoon. The militants told the villagers that the artifacts are idols forbidden by Islam and must be destroyed, the farmer said, speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals. But the group also is known to have sold off looted antiquities as a source of revenue. Some statues were “put on big trucks, and we don’t know where they are, possibly for illicit trafficking,” UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova said. UN officials have seen images of destroyed Assyrian symbols including statues with the head of a man, the torso of a lion
Photo by Yonhap News TV | AP
In this Thursday image taken from video by Yonhap News TV, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert, second from left, arrives at Severance hospital after undergoing surgery.
Photo by Karim Kadim | AP file
In this March 1 file photo, Aaman at Iraq’s National Museum in Baghdad walks past two ancient Assyrian winged bull statues. Islamic State militants "bulldozed" the renowned archaeological site of the ancient city of Nimrud in northern Iraq on Thursday, using heavy military vehicles, the government said. Nimrud was the second capital of Assyria, an ancient kingdom that began in about 900 B.C., partially in present-day Iraq, and became a great regional power. The city, which was destroyed in 612 B.C., is located on the Tigris River just south of Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul. and wings of an eagle. These symbols were referred to in the Bible and other sacred texts, she said. “All of this is an appalling and tragic act of human destruction,” she said. UN officials were studying satellite imagery of the destruction, since it remains too dangerous to approach the site, she said. These violent Sunni extremists have been campaigning to purge ancient relics they say promote idolatry that violates their interpretation of Islamic law. A video they released last week shows them smashing artifacts in the Mosul museum and in January, the group burned hundreds of books from the Mosul library and Mosul University, including many rare manuscripts. Many fear Hatra, another nearby ancient site could be next. Iraqi authorities were still trying to assess Friday exactly how badly the ancient site was damaged Thursday. “The destruction of Nimrud is a big loss to Iraq’s history,” Qais Mohammed Rasheed, the deputy tourism and antiquities minister, told The Associated Press on Friday. “The loss is irreplaceable.” UNESCO previously warned that the group was selling ancient artifacts on the black market for profit. Rasheed said authorities have not ruled out the possibility that the militants could try to sell these, too. Bokova already wrote
the International Criminal Court about a possible war crimes prosecution, and plans to alert INTERPOL, major museums, auction houses and Middle East governments to recover any trafficked artifacts. “Somebody is going to buy these,” said Iraq’s U.N. Ambassador, Mohamed Alhakim. Nimrud, also known as Kalhu, was the 9th century B.C., capital of Assyria, an ancient kingdom that swept over much of present-day Iraq and the Levant. The site spans 3.3 square kilometers on the Tigris River, and boasted the remains of temples, palaces and a ziggurat pyramid as well as the huge statues. Many artifacts from Nimrud were moved to museums in Mosul, Baghdad, London and Paris. In the 1980s, archaeologists discovered a trove of hundreds of gold items from Nimrud’s royal tombs — considered one of the 20th century’s most significant archaeological finds. The “treasures of Nimrud” were kept in a basement safe of the Central Bank in Baghdad for years until they were “rediscovered” in 2003, and now most of it is in the Baghdad Museum. Nimrud was already on the World Monument Fund’s list of most endangered sites due to extreme decay and deterioration before it was captured in June as extremists took over nearby Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city. Last year, the militants destroyed the mosque be-
lieved to be the burial place of the Prophet Younis, or Jonah, as well as the Mosque of the Prophet Jirjis — both revered ancient shrines in Mosul. They also threatened to destroy Mosul’s 850-year old Crooked Minaret, but residents surrounded the structure, preventing the militants from approaching. In July, they removed the crosses from Mosul’s 1,800-year old Mar Behnam monastery and then stormed it, forcing the monks and priest to flee or face death. A U.S.-led coalition has been striking the Islamic State group since August and is preparing a largescale operation to retake the city of Mosul. But U.S. and Iraqi officials have been cautious about setting a timeline for preparing Iraq’s embattled military for the campaign. Meanwhile the battle to recover Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit progressed Friday with Iraqi government forces taking back the town of Dawr, 10 miles (15 kilometers) south of the city. Raed al-Jabouri, the provincial governor, said security forces should reach Tikrit by Sunday. The Tikrit campaign launched Monday has been stalled because extremists lined strategic roads into the city with explosives and land mines, military officials said. Dawr is the hometown of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Saddam’s former deputy, who has been suspected of collaborating with the Islamic State militant group.
Security eyed in probe of envoy’s attack By KIM TONG-HYUNG AND FOSTER KLUG ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEOUL, South Korea — Police on Friday investigated the motive of the anti-U.S. activist they say slashed the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, as questions turned to whether security was neglected. The attack Thursday on Mark Lippert, which prompted rival North Korea to gloat about “knife slashes of justice,” left deep gashes on his face and hand. It also raised safety worries in a city with a reputation as a relatively low-risk diplomatic posting, despite regular threats of war from North Korea. While an extreme example, the attack is the latest act of political violence in a deeply divided country where some protesters portray their causes as matters of life and death. Lippert, 42, was recovering well but complaining of pain in the wound near his left wrist and a finger
where doctors repaired nerve damage, Severance Hospital official Yoon DoHeum said in a televised briefing. Doctors plan to remove the 80 stitches on Lippert’s face on Monday or Tuesday and expect him to be out of the hospital by Tuesday or Wednesday. Hospital officials say he may experience sensory problems in his left hand for several months. Seoul Central District Court granted a police request for the formal arrest of the suspect, Kim Kijong, 55, who could face charges including attempted murder, assaulting a foreign envoy, obstruction, and violating a controversial law that bans praise or assistance for North Korea, police officials said. Police searched Kim’s offices and house and seized hundreds of documents, books and computer files. Police also obtained Kim’s telecommunication and financial transaction records to help investigate how the attack was planned and whether others were involved, police officials said.
Indian mob kills accused rapist By NIDA NAJAR NEW YORK TIMES
NEW DELHI — A mob of thousands stormed a jail in the northeastern Indian city of Dimapur, seized a prisoner accused of rape, paraded him through the streets and beat him to death before they could be stopped by police gunfire, a police official said Friday. The dead man, identified by the authorities as Syed Sirf Khan, was accused by locals of being an illegal migrant from Bangladesh and had been arrested on Feb. 24 on suspicion of raping a woman from a Naga tribal community the day before. How the mob was able to overcome armed police officers Thursday at the jail in Dimapur, the commercial hub of Nagaland state, was not clear Friday. The top police official in Nagaland, L.L. Doungel, said that because there were a number of students wearing uniforms in the crowd, the police did not want to resort to violence. "There would have been a lot of casualties. That was one reason," Doungel said. "The mob was in the thousands." Video of the assault that aired on the Indian news channel NDTV showed throngs outside the central jail photographing the event on smartphones. It then cut to blurred images
Photo by Imojen I Jamir | AP
In this Thursday photo, members of a mob raise their hands to take photos of a man, top center, accused of rape after he was lynched and hung in the city landmark Clock Tower in Dimapur. of Khan, apparently naked, being marched down a street. It was also not clear Friday how far he was taken before the police stopped the procession, although Doungel said that it was "quite a distance" from the jail. Eventually, the police fired on the crowd, killing one protester and wounding several others. But by the time Khan was recovered, he was dead. A curfew was imposed after the lynching and continued through Friday, with thousands of security officials and state police officers deployed in Dimapur and surrounding areas, according to Doungel. The attack in Dimapur comes in the same week that a BBC documentary about a 2012 gang rape and murder in New Delhi was aired in Britain. After incendiary comments by one
of the men convicted were released as part of a publicity campaign, the Indian government banned the film, although it still received a wide audience online. But Friday’s attack appears to have more to do with local tensions over migrants than it does with any mounting outrage over violent sexual assault in India. Residents in several states in India’s fractious and isolated northeast, where much of the population is tribal, have sparred in recent years with an apparently growing nontribal population, many of whom are accused of having migrated illegally from Bangladesh. Nagaland’s population is close to 90 percent tribal, according to recent census data. The local news media reported on Friday that residents had been de-
manding that unauthorized migrants be forced out of the state after the accusations of rape against Khan came to light. Doungel said that although a law had been invoked Wednesday night to prevent large-scale demonstrations and gatherings, the authorities had been assured that a peaceful march was being planned for Thursday, so the law’s enforcement was relaxed. The protesters, including the Naga Students’ Federation, were peaceful at first, and some submitted a memorandum to district officials asking for the authorities to revoke the trading licenses of any illegal migrants who had set up businesses in the state, among other demands. But some of the marchers later turned violent. The chief minister of Nagaland, T.R. Zeliang, told NDTV that an investigation of Thursday night’s events had been ordered. Akum Longchari, the editor of the Dimapur-based newspaper The Morung Express, said Friday that groups in Nagaland were mistaken in focusing on the nationality of Khan. "It’s just very disturbing," Longchari said. "For now, we must concentrate on the complete failure yesterday of the state machinery and how this incident was allowed to happen in the manner that it did."
Photo by Ariana Cubillos | AP
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores touch the tomb of Venezuela’s late President Hugo Chavez as they gather to mark the second anniversary of Chavez’s death.
Venezuelans honor Chavez By FABIOLA SANCHEZ ASSOCIATED PRESS
CARACAS, Venezuela — Early morning fireworks burst over Venezuela’s capital Thursday for a commemoration of Hugo Chavez on the second anniversary of his death, even as economic crisis threatens to undo his legacy of lifting many out of poverty. President Nicolas Maduro, Chavez’s tearful daughters and other mourners gathered later in the day at his tomb in a former military barracks perched atop a hillside slum. Chavez died in 2013 after a long battle with cancer, but the exact nature of the cancer has never been revealed. While the socialist leader is still revered by many
poor Venezuelans, support for Maduro, his handpicked successor as president, has plunged almost as quickly as the price of oil on which the economy depends. The economy has been suffering for months from widespread shortages of basic goods that contributed to 68 percent inflation last year, the highest in the world. And poverty, which had fallen under Chavez, has been steadily increasing, a rise that began even before the economy started to contract last year, according to the United Nations. More bad news could be on the way, with analysts pointing to a precipitous drop of Venezuela’s currency on the black market as a sign that inflation could hit triple digits soon.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015
SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
ELIA M. URIBE Jan. 15, 1923 – March 3, 2015
Dollar rallies most since 2011, labor market strong By RACHEL EVANS BLOOMBERG NEWS
Elia M. Uribe passed away peacefully on the morning of March 3, 2015 in Laredo at the age of 92. Elia was a decedent of Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara and Bartolome Martinez, colonizers of Nuevo Santander (New Spain, South Texas). She was a graduate of Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. She then taught and educated young minds for over 40 years, in Laredo, San Antonio, and San Ygnacio, Texas, and was remembered well by her students wherever she went. She is preceded in death by her husband Romeo A. Uribe, Sr.; parents, Enrique and Margarita Martinez; her sister Antonieta Juarez, and brother Juan E. Martinez. She is survived by her children, Romeo II, Maria Elia Hayes (Mark), and Rolando; her grandchildren, Maggie Uribe, Rolando Uribe, Jr., Emily (Michael) Manley, Justin (Jeannette) Hayes, and Victoria Hayes, and her great-grandson Jalen Manley. Visitation was held on Friday, March 6, 2015, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Joe Jack-
son Heights Funeral Chapels, 719 Loring at Cortez. The first Rosary was recited at 6:30 p.m. by the members of Sacred Heart Society of Our Lady of Refugio Church, San Ygnacio, of which she was also a member. A second Rosary was recited at 7 in the evening. Funeral services will be conducted on Saturday morning, March 7, 2015 at St. Joseph Catholic Church for a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. Everyone is encouraged to meet at church. Interment will follow at the family plot in the Uribe Cemetery in San Ygnacio, Texas. You may extend your condolences online at: www.joejackosnfuneralchapels.com Arrangements are under the direction of the funeral service professionals at Joe Jackson Heights Funeral Chapels, 719 Loring at Cortez, Laredo, TX 78040, 956722-0001.
Prudential Financial Inc.’s fixed-income division in Newark, New Jersey. The division oversees $534 billion in bonds. “Apparently there’s still enough room to go on the positioning side to very easily perpetuate the momentum in the strong dollar trade.” Hedge funds and other large speculators pared bets on the dollar versus eight of its major counterparts for a fourth consecutive week in the period through March 3. The difference between wagers on dollar gains versus those on losses slipped to 403,062. So-called long positions were at a record 448,675 in the week ending Jan. 13.
Rate Speculation The odds the Fed will raise borrowing costs by September rose to 60 percent, from 49 percent Thursday, trading in futures contracts showed. “It’s definitely a strong series” in terms of job creation, said Robert Tipp, chief investment strategist for
June Increase U.S. employers added 295,000 workers in February, and the unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent, Labor Department figures showed. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected an increase of 235,000.
FOOD BANK Continued from Page 1A Food Bank, is the organizer for the event, which is mandatory in cooperation with USDA and Feeding America. The food bank relies on more than 80 agencies to distribute supplemental food to the unemployed, under-em-
ployed and those living on fixed incomes in an impoverished eight-county area from Rio Grande City to Del Rio, which has a 30-plus percent poverty rate. Tax deductible donations are accepted. They can be sent to 1907
Freight, Laredo, Texas, 78041. The STFB receives product from USDA through membership in the Feeding Texas Food Bank Network and national Feeding America. For agency and any
other information call the South Texas Food Bank 956-726-3120 or check the website www.southtexasfoodbank.org. The food bank, which opened in 1989, is located in west Laredo, 1907 Freight at Riverside.
ROYALTY Continued from Page 1A
JESUS M. GUTIERREZ, JR. Jan. 31, 1976 – March 5, 2015 Jesus M. Gutierrez, Jr., 39, passed away on Thursday, March 5, 2015 at Laredo Medical Center in Laredo, Texas. Mr. Gutierrez is preceded in death by his father, Jesus M. Gutierrez. Mr. Gutierrez is survived by his wife, Claudia Gutierrez; daughter, Amanda Marie Gutierrez; mother, Norma P. Gutierrez; brother, Charles (Susan) Charo; sisters, Becky Ann (Alejandro) Castillo, Annette Blanco; inlaws, Armando Sr. and Maria Soto; brothers-in-law, Armando Jr. (Maritza) Soto, Alejandro (Mary Ann) Soto; sister-in-law, Sandra De Leon and by numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, other family members and friends. Visitation hours will be held on Sunday, March 8, 2015, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home. The funeral procession will depart on Monday, March 9, 2015, at 9:30 a.m. for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass
The dollar climbed the most in more than three years after a report showing strength in the U.S. labor market bolstered the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates as global peers embrace monetary stimulus. The greenback rose against most major counterparts as U.S. employers added more jobs than forecast and the unemployment rate fell to the lowest since 2008. Traders boosted wagers on a rate rise by September. While the Fed has said it will be “patient” on increasing borrowing costs, Chair Janet Yellen said last week timing will depend on economic data. “We could see the dollar continue to trend upward, especially if U.S. data continues to be strong,” said Kate Warne, a St. Louis-based investment strategist at Edward D. Jones & Co., which manages $870 billion. “Companies are feeling more com-
fortable adding to their workforce.” The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against 10 major peers, gained as much as 1.2 percent — the biggest jump since November 2011 — and closed at 1,198.93, the highest in more than 10 years. The gains capped a third weekly increase. The U.S. currency reached the strongest level against the euro since September 2003, appreciating as much as 1.7 percent to $1.0840 before closing at $1.0844 at 5 p.m. New York time. The dollar rose 0.6 percent to 120.83 yen and touched 121.28 yen, the highest this year.
2014, said to be eligible to participate for the contest, girls should be in good standing in school and must be a Zapata resident.
The 43rd annual Zapata County Fair will take place March 12-14. Activities include a parade, trail ride, carnival, music, and a livestock
auction. Residents will also get to enjoy music from Dustin Lynch Friday night and Los Traileros Del Norte Saturday night.
“It will be fun,” Elizondo said. “Come over and have fun!” (Judith Rayo may be reached at 728-2567 or jrayo@lmtonline.com)
IMPACT Continued from Page 1A
at Our Lady of Refuge Catholic Church in San Ygnacio, Texas. Committal services will follow at Panteon Del Pueblo in San Ygancio, Texas. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy 83 Zapata, Texas.
bursed by the state for about $1.4 billion in health care and law enforcement costs. That study is no longer available on the comptroller’s website. An updated study would ensure that lawmakers have accurate information when considering legislation on hot-button issues like immigration and enforcement, Blanco said in a statement. "We owe it to the public make decisions that affect them based on accurate information," he said. "It is a disservice to make important policy decisions based on groundless statements, especially when taxpayer funding is involved. I’m hopeful that this study will arm lawmakers and state agencies with invaluable informa-
tion moving forward." The study issue is steeped in politics. In 2006, Strayhorn unsuccessfully challenged former Gov. Rick Perry, and lawmakers have speculated that she hoped to peg Perry as soft on illegal immigration. The report’s net-gain analysis dashed those efforts. In June 2013, former U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego, DAlpine, asked then-Comptroller Susan Combs to update the study, arguing that it would be “vital to the 38 Texas members of Congress, and to other elected officials and decision-makers as they grapple with immigration reform.” (Blanco previously served as Gallego’s chief of staff in Washington.) Combs didn’t bite and told Gallego, who served in the Texas House for 20
years before going to Washington, that staffing and budget issues, along with changes to state and federal laws, rendered the task too difficult to try. “Updating the report, thus, would take months to complete and would require the commitment of resources that our office is unable to allocate to such a project at this time,” she wrote to Gallego. While running for the seat, current Comptroller Glenn Hegar said in 2013 that he supported updating the study, or conducting a new one. “In order for Texas to truly understand the costs of illegal immigration to our state, we do need updated numbers. Whether it is updating that specific study or conducting a similar one, is something my
administration will do,” he said. As of Thursday afternoon, Hegar hadn’t seen Blanco’s proposal, spokeswoman Lauren Willis said. But she said Hegar thinks "it’s an issue that is important to Texans" and the office will move forward after lawmakers make a decision on the bill. The closest thing Texans have to an updated analysis is a 2013 study performed by the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based immigration think tank. It found that Texas would lose $69.3 billion in economic activity, $30.8 billion in gross state product and approximately 403,174 jobs if the state’s undocumented immigrant population were deported.
State
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015
Dreamliner pilots train over West Texas By COREY PAUL ODESSA AMERICAN
MIDLAND — Look up during the next few weeks, and you might catch a giant commercial jet doing its training runs over the West Texas area. Officials at Midland International Air & Space Port say the jet is no cause for worry, just practice for pilots of American Airlines Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The jets, far larger than the Southwest 737 planes that commonly fly to and from the airport, are designed to haul 226 passengers and touted for their fuel efficiency and comfort. The first flight was Feb. 14. They are expected to last for about two months. The Dreamliner can land at the airport if needed, but that’s not anticipated, “You should not see them on the ground at all,” said Justin Millican, the operations manager at MAF, who said there was no set schedule for the plane’s flights in the area apart from live tracking monitors. “It’s not like it’s going to stop here, get fuel or stay for a couple of days. They are mainly doing touchand-goes and pattern work.” A “touch-and-go” is exactly what it sounds like — a maneuver where the pilot touches the wheels of the aircraft on the runway for an instant before pulling back up into the sky. The Dreamliner represents the first in Fort Worth-based American Airlines’ fleet. The airline got the jet last month, with plans to add 42 more. None
Photo by LM Otero/file | AP
American Airlines pilots Bill Elder, left, and Jim Dees work inside a Boeing 787 flight simulator with New York’s JFK airport gate scenery, in Fort Worth, on May 9, 2014. will service MAF, but the local airport does offer connector flights to DFW, where the Dreamliners will call home. So that means months of training to get pilots, so far mostly practiced on flight simulators, acclimated.
“Several hundred” pilots will undergo the training, accompanied by “check airmen” already trained on the aircraft, American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller told the Odessa American. There are “several dozen” check airmen. They
leave each morning and return each night. The reason for the seeming randomness of the Dreamliner visits above Odessa and Midland is that there are no flight plans, according to the airline. Instead, each pilot picks
where they will fly but generally pick out west, Miller said. That is in part because the international routes from DFW will go west. “They will do that on the fly,” said Matt Miller, an American Airlines spokesman. Reports of Dreamliner sightings also emerged from El Paso, where a pilot also performed a touch-andgo, The jet will go into service on May 7 with runs between Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport. But the long-term plan is to cease domestic flights of the 787 in favor of international travel. In June, American Airlines will begin nonstop Boeing 787 flights from DFW to Beijing. A separate service would fly to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Boeing first rolled out the Dreamliner on July 8, 2007. But the project was
beset by a series of costly delays. The maiden flight of the 787-8 variation happened on Dec. 15, 2009. It was certified in August of 2011 and was first delivered to an airline later that year, All Nippon Airways, which still maintains the biggest 787 fleet. A commercial jet as big as the 787 is unusual for the area. There is not a rental or other payment agreement between the airline for the training flights, Millican said. (If the plane ends up landing, the airport would receive a fee). But using West Texas for flight training is not uncommon. Sometimes the military uses the area for that purpose, and occasionally calls on MAF to change a flight crew. “We’ve got a long enough runway and the air space is not real congested like it is in DFW or Houston,” Millican said. “It’s just a good place to go. We have a lot of sunny days every year.”
SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NFL: OFFSEASON
NCAA DIVISION I COLLEGE BASKETBALL
All in the family
Reggie Wayne leaving Indy ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Jessica Hill | AP
Ryan and Simone Manuel were always close. They still talk just about every day, even though they attend college in different parts of the country.
Manuel brothers win in different parts of the country By PAUL NEWBERRY ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ryan and Simone Manuel are as close as two siblings can be, even though they attend college in different parts of the country. They chat or text almost every day, doing their best to keep up with what the other is doing. Simone jokingly gets on her big brother to make his free throws. Ryan provides words of encouragement to his little sister before a big swim meet. In all likelihood, these Houston-area natives will have a lot to talk about over the next few weeks. Simone, one of the top freshman swimmers in the country at Stanford, will be competing at the NCAA championships beginning March 19. Her brother is a se-
nior guard at SMU, which is ranked No. 22 and probably will make the field for March Madness. It’s going to be tough keeping up with the Manuels, that’s for sure. “It should be a fun experience,” Ryan said. “Hopefully I’ll make my first NCAA tournament. Hopefully for my sister, it will be the first of many.” Ryan and the family’s oldest child, Chris, both played college basketball. Simone was inspired to follow in her brothers’ athletic footsteps, but she decided on a different path. “I remember it like it was yesterday,” said Ryan, looking back to age 5. “I had the water running and was sitting in the tub. Out of nowhere, my little sister comes around the corner and jumps in the tub with all her clothes on. I think that’s when
my parents knew she wanted to be a swimmer.” Her brothers both swam in a summer recreational league, and Simone started pestering her mother to join them by the time she was 4. Sharron Manuel insisted her daughter take swim lessons first, but by the second day she was paddling from one side of the pool to the other. Simone played plenty of other sports, including basketball, but she never shared her brothers’ love of hoops. “I played basketball one year at this club program, and I hated it,” she recalled. “I was the tall one on the team, so I had to play the post position. Well, I was always getting elbowed or hit in the face.” There was something else, too.
INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts have announced they will not resign veteran wide receiver Reggie Wayne. Indianapolis’ longtime standout has been part of a club-record 143 wins and ranks second in franchise history in receptions (1,070), yards receiving (14,345) and touchdown catches (80). He was Indy’s first-round draft pick in 2001 and has never played for another team. But after tearing the ACL in his right knee in October 2013 and injuring his left elbow in October 2014, Wayne didn’t look the same. In a statement issued Friday, general manager Ryan Grigson called Wayne the “catalyst” to the Colts’ turnaround. Team owner Jim Irsay says the decision was made in the “best interests of the team.” Wayne will become an unrestricted free agent Tuesday. Jets agree to acquire Brandon Marshall from Bears NEW YORK — A person familiar with the deal says the New York Jets have agreed to acquire star wide receiver Brandon Marshall from the Chicago Bears, pending a physical exam. The trade Friday, the first by new Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan, is for an unspecified draft pick, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither team had announced the deal. The trade cannot become official until the NFL’s new league year begins next Tuesday. Marshall, who turns 31 on March 23, has played the last three seasons with the Bears. He had 61 catches last season, his lowest total since his rookie year with Denver in 2006 while dealing
See BROTHERS PAGE 2B See NFL PAGE 2B
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: TEXAS RANGERS
Rangers playing it safe with Darvish By DAVE SKRETTA ASSOCIATED PRESS
SURPRISE, Ariz. — The folks in the Rangers front office would be forgiven for feeling a little bit uneasy these days. After an injury-plagued 2014 season, even minor injuries are cause for major concern. Especially when one of them happens to the staff ace. Three-time All-Star Yu Darvish was headed for an MRI exam Friday after leaving his spring training debut the previous day with tightness in his right triceps. Darvish experienced the pain while warming up in the bullpen and it did not go away over the course of 12 pitches. “We had a rough season last year in terms of injuries, but there’s no sentiment of ’here we go again,”’ assistant general manager Thad Levine said. “We know we’re going to have an injury at some point and it’s probably going to be a very good player, because we have a lot of them.” Texas set a record last season for active players on a 25-man roster during its snake bitten
campaign. Forty different pitchers were used, including three position players. Fourteen different pitchers started a game and nobody in the rotation made more than 25 starts. Among those who wound up on the disabled list was Darvish, who began the season there with tightness in his neck, then ended it there with inflammation in his right elbow. Levine said the tightness Darvish experienced Thursday was in a different place than the inflammation he had last season, and does not think they are related. But it won’t be until team physician Dr. Kevin Meister can look over the MRI exam results that they will know for sure. That might not be until late Friday or early Saturday. “We’re going to leave no stone unturned. He’s too important to the team,” Levine said. “He had an injury last year and we just want to have every piece of information we possibly can have before we make the next decision on him.” Darvish went 10-7 with a 3.06
ERA last season, pitching well when he was available. He’s expected to anchor a starting rotation that could be solid if it remains healthy. “We know as long as this game is played — there is 162 games — there is always a chance players are going miss time,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “It’s an opportunity to move through adversity, move past it and galvanize a ball club and bring us all together.” Darvish is hardly the only injury concern already in spring training. The Rangers had to scratch fellow starter Derek Holland from an intrasquad game last Sunday due to shoulder soreness. Levine said he will be examined by Meister on Friday as well before the team determines the next step in his return to the mound. Shortstop Elvis Andrus has been hobbled by a sore knee that has limited him to infield drills the past couple days. He will also be re-examined on Friday.
See RANGERS PAGE 2B
Photo by John Sleezer | AP
Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish exited his spring training debut with tightness in his arm. The Rangers staff is taking every precaution with their ace.
PAGE 2B
Zscores
SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015
Boeheim suspended nine conference games By JOHN KEKIS ASSOCIATED PRESS
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The NCAA denounced one of the country’s most decorated basketball programs Friday, suspending Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim for nine conference games next year and outlining a decade-long series of violations that included academic misconduct, improper benefits, and drug-policy failures. The governing body, saying the school lost control of its athletic department, placed Syracuse on probation for five years for breaking with the “most fundamental core values of the NCAA.” The bulk of the violations concerned athletic department officials interfering with academics and making sure star players stayed eligible. The basketball team must vacate wins in which ineligible players participated. Those players competed during five seasons: 2004-2007 and 2010-2012. “The behavior in this case, which placed the desire to achieve success on the basketball court over academic integrity, demonstrated clearly misplaced institutional priorities,” the NCAA said. Boeheim, the second-winningest coach in Division I history with 966 victories, has coached at Syracuse for 39 years, having played at the school as well. The 70-year-old coach has been an assistant on the last two U.S. Olympic champion teams. The punishment includes financial penalties and the reduction of three men’s basketball scholarships a year for four years. Recruiting restrictions will be enforced for two years. Boeheim’s suspension will sideline him for half of the Atlantic Coast Conference next season. The four-year investigation also revealed violations by the football program and women’s basketball, although most were in men’s basketball. In anticipation of the report, Syracuse chancellor Kent Syverud had announced a postseason ban for this year for the men’s basketball team. The NCAA accepted the ban and indicated the school could delay the loss of scholarships for one year. Boeheim has a
File photo by Nick Lisi | AP
The NCAA suspended Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim Friday for nine games for academic, drug and gifts violations committed primarily by the men’s basketball program. stellar class coming next fall, rated the best in his long tenure. Syverud said the school does not agree with certain aspects of the ruling and is considering a possible challenge. Syverud said Boeheim may choose to appeal the part of the decision that affects him personally. “Should he decide to do so, we would support him in this step,” Syverud said in a statement. Boeheim was en route with the team to North Carolina and could not be immediately reached for comment. The exact number of victories Boeheim will lose has not yet been determined, according to Syracuse University spokesman Kevin Quinn. The NCAA said Boeheim did not promote an atmosphere of compliance and failed to monitor the activities of those who reported to him regarding academics and boosters. The NCAA said several violations involved students and staff. The report added that academic violations stemmed from the di-
rector of basketball operations, who was hand-picked by Boeheim to address academic matters. “The rule’s pretty clear,” said Britton Banowsky, chief hearing officer for the NCAA. “The head coach has a duty to monitor activities in his program. Jim Boeheim did dispute that he should be held accountable. There was controversy over that. It (the charge) was not effectively rebutted at all.” The report said the former director of basketball operations, whose job primarily consisted of monitoring academic performance of basketball student-athletes, became overly involved. He collected and maintained studentathletes’ usernames and passwords and provided them to others, including student-athlete support services. The report said the director and members of the support staff regularly accessed student-athletes’ network and email accounts in an effort to monitor academic progress, tracked course respon-
sibilities and scheduling as well as incoming communications from professors regarding course work and class status. As part of the routine, they also accessed and sent emails from student-athletes’ accounts and corresponded directly with professors and included attached course work, which was necessary to maintain the required grades for the student-athletes to remain eligible, the report said. In 2012, former center Fab Melo was declared ineligible for the NCAA tournament days before it started. NCAA spokesman Erik Christianson said the university declared Melo ineligible. Melo also missed three Big East games during the season because of an academic issue. In the 2012-13 season, former forward James Southerland sat out six games for an academic issue related to a term paper but played in the NCAA Tournament and helped lead the Orange to the Final Four. In its decision, the committee
specifically addressed academic integrity. “Improper institutional involvement and influence in a student’s academic work in order to gain or maintain eligibility is a violation of NCAA rules and a violation of the most fundamental core values of the NCAA and higher education,” the committee wrote. The committee also found that from 2001-09 the school did not follow its own written policies and procedures for students who tested positive for banned substances. NCAA rules require that if schools have a drug-testing policy, it must include substances on the banned list and the school must follow its policy. Syracuse had a written policy, but both Boeheim and athletic director Daryl Gross acknowledged they did not follow it. In addition to the one-year postseason ban for the men’s basketball team, the university announced it also had self-imposed other penalties, including elimination of one scholarship for men’s basketball for the 2015-2016 season, vacating 24 men’s basketball wins (15 in 2004-05 and nine in 2011-12) and 11 football wins from 2004-07 under former coaches Paul Pasqualoni and Greg Robinson. The school must return to the NCAA all funds it has received through the former Big East Conference revenue sharing for its appearances in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The 94-page NCAA report said a booster developed relationships with men’s basketball and football players and members of the men’s basketball staff. In some instances, the report said the basketball staff encouraged students to develop relationships with the booster, which resulted in rule violations. The investigation also found that the booster provided more than $8,000 in cash to three football and two men’s basketball students for volunteering at a local YMCA. Additionally, the booster gave money to basketball staff members for appearances or assistance at YMCA events, and those payments were not reported to the school as outside income or supplemental pay, as NCAA rules require.
BROTHERS Continued from Page 1B “I hate sweating. When you’re running up and down the court, you’re sweating so much,” Simone said with a chuckle. “Besides, I really enjoyed telling my brothers what to do, but I didn’t like them telling me what I was doing wrong on the court.” Simone emerged in the last couple of years as one of the top U.S. sprinters. She earned a gold medal at the 2013 world championships from the prelims of the 400-meter freestyle relay. She will compete in both the 50 and 100 free, and at least one relay, at this summer’s worlds in Kazan, Russia. She will be
a leading contender to make the Rio Olympics. Her college coach, Greg Meehan, thinks the longterm potential is even more exciting. He believes Simone will be even faster by the time the 2020 Olympics roll around. “You can just tell this kid is different,” Meehan said. “She’s got something special in her. She’s swimming well because of what she does on a daily basis. She’s incredibly consistent. To be consistent in her events, the sprint-oriented events, that’s hard. It’s hard to be consistent because of the intensity that’s asked from them on a daily basis.”
While Simone’s college career is off to a flying start — she’ll compete in the 50, 100 and 200 free at the NCAAs in Greensboro, North Carolina, along with several relays — her brother endured a few bumps along the way at SMU. Larry Brown took over as coach when Matt Doherty was fired after Manuel’s freshman season. Brown wanted the 6-foot-4 Ryan to take on more of a point guard role, which didn’t exactly come naturally. “When I got him, it was like taking a power forward and trying to make him a point guard,” Brown said. “It was a tough transi-
tion. But every day, he gets better.” Sharron Manuel beams with pride at the way her son handled his up-anddown career. “Every year, things changed more for him than he would have liked, but we encouraged him to stick with it,” the mother said. “I used to tell him, ’It’s not going to rain every day. There will be sunshine. Just keep working at it.”’ Things definitely brightened up as a senior. Moore has started 24 games for the Mustangs (23-6), who host Tulsa in their regularseason finale on Sunday. He is averaging 6.6 points, 3.4
rebounds and ranks second on the team in assists. More important, SMU has a shot to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1993. “When you’re trying to help build a program, to get to the level we hope to get to, you need quality kids, high-character kids. Ryan is at the top of the list,” Brown said, before jokingly adding, “The only negative is Ryan’s sister swimming at Stanford and not here.” As an African-American, Simone is an anomaly in a sport that remains predominantly white, despite the inroads made by Olympic
NFL Continued from Page 1B with injuries. Panthers sign OT Oher to replace Bell CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Panthers have signed free agent offensive tackle Michael Oher to a two-year contract. The move was announced Friday but terms were not immediately available. Oher, the subject of the popular movie The Blind Side, gives the Panthers an experienced option at left tackle. Carolina has already informed last year’s starting left tackle Byron Bell he will not be re-signed. The 6-foot-4, 315-pound Oher is a veteran of six NFL seasons. He started 11 games last season for the Titans. In his first five seasons with Baltimore, Oher started all 80 regular season games he played and helped the Ravens win Super Bowl XLVII after the 2012 season. He has started 10 postseason games. Panthers coach Ron Rivera says in release that Oher is “a pro who understands what it takes to win.” Chicago Bears, quarterback Jimmy Clausen agree to extension LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Chicago Bears and quarterback Jimmy Clausen have agreed to a oneyear contract extension through
File photo by Darron Cummings | AP
The Colts have announced they will not re-sign veteran wide receiver Reggie Wayne. the 2015 season. The Bears announced the move on Friday. Clausen appeared in four games and made one start for Chicago late last season after former coach Marc Trestman benched Jay Cutler. He completed 26 of 48 passes for 223 yards, had two touchdowns and one interception. Clausen went 183 of 347 for
1,781 yards, had five touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 17 appearances for Carolina (2010-13) and Chicago (2014). Chargers sign wide receiver/kicker returner Jacoby Jones SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Chargers on Friday signed Jacoby Jones, the wide receiver and kicker returner who was a major contributor to the Ravens’ last Super Bowl championship but
swimmers such as Cullen Jones. For her family, though, it didn’t seem all that unusual. The pool was a popular place to be during those hot Texas summers, and Sharron Manuel arranged swimming lessons for all three of her children at a young age. Ryan, in fact, was pretty good at the sport, “but I didn’t like those Speedo outfits,” he said. Simone would love to see more African-Americans heading to the pool. “I always loved the water,” she said. “I’m trying to let my swimming inspire other people.”
RANGERS who was cut by Baltimore last week. Chargers general manager Tom Telesco said in announcing Jones’ two-year deal that one of San Diego’s offseason goals was to upgrade its return game. Said Telesco: “We feel Jacoby brings a dynamic aspect to our kick and punt returns that we need and he also has solid experience playing wide receiver.” The 30-year-old Jones played three seasons with Baltimore after a five-year run with Houston. Seattle releases TE Zach Miller after failed physical RENTON, Wash. — Tight end Zach Miller was released by the Seattle Seahawks on Friday. Miller had his contract terminated with the designation of “failed physical.” Miller played in just three games last season before undergoing ankle surgery in late September. He was placed on injured reserve in November after complications slowed his recovery. Miller spent four seasons with the Seahawks after signing as a free agent in 2011. He proved more important as a blocker than a pass catcher in Seattle’s offensive system. Miller restructured his contract before the 2014 season to remain with Seattle.
Continued from Page 1B Michael Kirkman, who is trying to win a bullpen job, has been dealing with an impingement in the back of his shoulder. He was scheduled to throw a bullpen session Friday or Saturday. “Every team faces adversity,” Levine said. “What we’ve been very in tune with, nobody feels sorry for anybody. Hunter Pence just broke his arm, he’s going to be out six to eight weeks. We’re not going to feel sorry for any teams; we’re not going to feel sorry for ourselves.”
SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015
Dear Heloise: I am hoping you can assist me with a question about my cat, Patches. She is an INDOOR/OUTDOOR CAT, and we are moving to a new home to take care of in-laws. I would prefer her to be strictly indoors, so that she would always be safe. She is 13 years old. Can I train her to stay inside and become an indoor cat? My vet said to just do it, and eventually she will quit crying when she learns I’m not going to let her out. Can you give me any pointers on how to make this easier for both Patches and me? –– Cheryl in San Antonio “Meow” to Patches and “Hi” to you! Moving for any pet (or human) can be upsetting and a stressful change. As far as her “wanting” to be outside, of course she wants to! She has been doing so, and now she can’t! You’re a loving and responsible owner, knowing it could be dangerous for her outside. She may not come back. Do set up some “distractions” for her: a scratching
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post and new toys. An elevated, carpet-lined perch by a window will let Patches look outside and keep watch about what is going on. I once saw a large motor home with a pop-out “cat window.” The owners had attached a large wire cage, with carpet on the bottom, to the window. The cat went through the window “outside” to sit and watch the world go by, but was safe! You could try something like that for Patches. She may try to sneak out when a door is open, so do be sure that everyone in the house keeps an eye on her. Maybe distract her when you leave. She will fuss and make noise, but you must stay the course. Indoor cats generally are healthier and live longer, so she most likely will have more happy years with you. –– Heloise
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