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PUBLIC HEALTH
Ebola hits US Dallas hospital has 1st case in America By DAVID WARREN AND LAURAN NEERGAARD ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by L.M. Otero | AP
A man walks up the stairway leading to the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, on Tuesday. A patient in the hospital has been diagnosed with the Ebola virus and is being kept in strict isolation.
DALLAS — Federal health officials on Tuesday confirmed the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the U.S., a patient who recently traveled from Liberia to Dallas and a sign of the far-reaching impact of the out-of-control epidemic
in West Africa. The unidentified patient was critically ill and has been in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital since Sunday, officials said. Health authorities have begun tracking down family and friends who may have had close contact with the patient and could be at
risk for becoming ill. But officials said there are no other suspected cases in Texas. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Tom Frieden said the patient left Liberia on Sept. 19, arrived the next day to visit family and started feeling ill
See EBOLA
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TEXAS JUSTICE
PERSONALITY PROFILE
Sex offenders sent out of state
LOOKING BACK AT LIFE
Men living elsewhere again commit horrific crimes By MIKE WARD AND ANITA HASSAN HOUSTON CHRONICLE
AUSTIN — In the past decade, Texas made this deal with at least two men deemed by officials as among the state’s most violent sex offenders: If you leave Texas and never return, you can live on your own. Each of those men had been ordered into civil commitment under a state program that keeps high-risk sex offenders in state custody even after they have completed their prison sentences because of the severity of their crimes. Both men, classified by Texas officials as too dangerous to live freely in society, claimed new victims only a few years after their release from prison — in states where local officials were unaware they had been required to relocate under court orders, a Houston Chronicle investigation revealed. No records are available to confirm that Texas officials alerted authorities in those states that the men were deemed two of Texas’ most dangerous sex offenders. The cases belie a long-standing assertion by Texas officials that no offender in the civil commitment program had ever committed another sexual offense. Moreover, the decisions to exile the men from Texas likely were illegal because of a provision in the state constitution that prohibits the banishment of criminals to other states, legal experts said. Perhaps more surprising, officials with the Office of Violent Sex Offender Management, the Texas agency charged with supervising the state’s most dangerous sex predators, did not
See OFFENDERS
PAGE 11A
Photo by Victor Strife | The Zapata Times
Congressman Henry Cuellar speaks during an interview at his parent’s home in Laredo on Sunday, Sept. 14. He’s a rare breed in congress — that of a conservative Democrat.
Congressman recalls childhood, education, career By DAVID MCCUMBER HEARST NEWSPAPERS
It’s a humble little white house perched on one of the hills that give Laredo’s Las Lomas neighborhood its name. The yard manages to be both neat and cluttered. Its lush plantings, bougainvillea and sweet acacia and succulents are carefully tended, but over the years it has become a place to put things too good for a thrifty man to discard. Henry Cuellar shakes his head good-humoredly as he walks up the drive. “My dad likes to keep things,” he says. Humble, yes. But from the crest of that
little hill on Reynolds Street, you can see a world of opportunity. You can see success. Martín and Odilia Cuellar reared eight children in this house. Three are in law enforcement, two are lawyers. Of those, one is a Laredo municipal judge, one is the Webb County sheriff. Their eldest, Henry Roberto Cuellar, looked out from the hill and saw the farthest. His vista extended to five college degrees. A law practice and customs brokerage. Fourteen years in the Texas Legislature. A year as Texas secretary of state, and another decade as the U.S. representative from
the 28th District of Texas.
Immigration crisis In the crucible of this year’s immigration crisis, which has thrown a spotlight on the polarization and dysfunction of Congress, Cuellar has remained firmly on middle ground — irritating many other Democrats, but surprising no one who knows him well. He was the only Democrat to vote for a House bill that would have made it easier to deport unaccompanied minors from Central
See PROFILE
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ASSISTANCE FOR MILITARY VETERANS
Guideline goals are to aid veterans with PTSD By GABRIELA A. TREVIÑO THE ZAPATA TIMES
The United States Department of Defense issued new guidelines earlier this month to assist review boards with assessing veterans’ petitions on discharge upgrades, according to a press release from the American Legion. The new guidelines are specifically for assessing petitions by
veterans who claim that they had post-traumatic stress disorder at the time of their discharge. Veterans who were dishonorably discharged or received a bad conduct tag could have had undiagnosed PTSD, according to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. Laredo Vietnam veteran Valentin Moreno, 66, agrees with the new guidelines and said he experienced first-hand the effects of
PTSD in his life, as he lived undiagnosed for almost two decades. Moreno, who currently serves as the 23rd district public relations chairman for American Legion Post 59, served three tours in Vietnam with the U.S. Army. He was involved in combat from the ages of 18-21 and served as an Army Ranger. Although Moreno was honorably discharged and heavily deco-
rated, he said these guideline changes could change the lives of veterans living with undiagnosed PTSD. “There was no such thing in the 60s and 70s as post-traumatic stress disorder. Back then, people used to say you were ‘shell shocked,’” Moreno said. After Moreno returned to Laredo from Vietnam, he said he had to readjust to civilian life.
“I saw a couple of psychiatrists, and they diagnosed me with nothing,” Moreno said. He began attending Laredo Junior College and eventually received his associates degree in Applied Science. “But I really struggled a lot for that degree,” Moreno said. In 1980, Moreno enrolled in
See PTSD PAGE 8A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 1
ASSOCIATED PRESS
3rd Annual Youth Domestic Violence Conference. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. UTHSC Laredo Regional Campus, 1937 E. Bustamante, Laredo, Texas. For additional information and to register call Area Health Education Center at (956) 712-0037.
THURSDAY, OCT. 2 Grief support group. Noon to 1:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free and open to public. Contact Patricia Cisneros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org. Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club. From 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Country Club. For more information, contact Beverly Cantu at 727-0589. 18th Annual Domestic Violence Conference. 8 a.m.- 5:30 pm. Texas A&M International University, Student Center. For additional information and to register call Area Health Education Center at (956)712-0037.
SATURDAY, OCT. 4 American Institute of Architects – Laredo Section’s second annual Shoot N’ Cook Sporting Clays Competition and Taco Cook-Off and Michelada Contest. 8 a.m. South Texas Shooting Complex. Registration fees: $150 single shooter, $625 squad of five. Register at aialaredo.org. First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale is from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 1220 McClelland Ave. Prices vary from $.25 to $1. 12th annual Pink To Do Breast Cancer Awareness Walk. 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. LCC South, South Zapata Highway. $20 donation, though not required. Contact Elizabeth Benavides at 319-0384. Monthly Autism Ties support group. 10 am to 12 pm. My Sunny Garden Day Rehab. For more information call 255-0713. Dancer vs. Cancer, featuring Zumba jammer Ingrid Kessler. 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Contact Diana Juarez at 319-3100. Trail clean up. From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. LCC Lamar Bruni Vergara Environmental Science Center at the Paso del Indio Nature Trail, north side of the Fort McIntosh Campus
SUNDAY, OCT. 5 5th Annual Blessing of All Animals. From 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. St. Peter’s Plaza (Matamoros Street and Main Avenue). For more information contact Berta “Birdie” Torres at birdtorres@hotmail.com or call Birdie at 286-7866. Pro-life chain. From 2 to 3 p.m. Sidewalks of McPherson Road starting at Hillside Road. Contact Martha E. Miller at mmiller@dioceseoflaredo.org.
MONDAY, OCT. 6 “Conversations with the Sisters” from 6 to 7 p.m. at Lamar Bruni Vergara Education Center at 1000 Mier. Contact Rosanne Palacios at rosanne.palacios@mercy.net.
TUESDAY, OCT. 7 The Alzheimer’s support group will meet at 7 p.m. at Laredo Medical Center. For questions leave a message at 956-693-9991. Planetarium movies. From 5 p.m to 7 p.m. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium. Contact Claudia Herrera at claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu or visit the website tamiu.edu/planetarium. At 6 p.m. Wonders of the Universe. At 7 p.m. Lamps of Atlantis.
Photo by Bob Owen/file | San Antonio Express-News
Oil and gas industry trucks crowd the intersections in Carrizo Springs’ Highways 83 and 85, near restaurants that have become crowded with oil field workers. Population has increased by close to 3,000 due to the Eagle Ford Shale boom, and Dimmit County Regional Hospital has seen a dramatic increase in trauma cases associated with the oil and gas industry.
Air by wells get monitor ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN ANTONIO — The state’s environmental quality commission said it plans to add a new air monitor in the Eagle Ford Shale to help measure pollution from oil and gas sites in South Texas. The move comes after Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff criticized the agency’s attempts to curb air pollution in the shale region south and east of San Antonio, the San Antonio Express-News reported. The new monitoring site will be in Karnes County. In a Sept. 2 letter to commission Chairman Bryan Shaw, Wolff noted no monitoring sites were close to the busy drilling activity in the shale region. He cited the newspaper’s yearlong investigation that showed natural gas flares pumped out more pollution than all six oil refineries in Corpus Christi. The
State senator makes Holocaust comparison
School fund now worth nation-high $37.7B
Man allegedly made hash oil during explosion
LUBBOCK — A recently elected state senator is comparing what he calls a “spiritual battle” taking place in the United States to the Holocaust. Charles Perry made the comparison after being sworn in. Perry said his biggest concern will be the “spiritual battle for the spirit of this nation and the soul of its people.”
AUSTIN, Texas — A fund Texas uses to buy instructional materials and cover some local school districts’ costs is now worth nearly $38 billion, making it the nation’s largest educational endowment. State officials credited a booming natural gas industry for growing the Permanent School Fund, which was worth about $37.7 billion as of June 30.
ROUND ROCK — A man has been charged with arson and child endangerment after a 2013 explosion damaged a house with his year-old son inside. Justin Michael Rogers, 23, was no longer in custody Tuesday in what prosecutors call a drug-related case. An affidavit says authorities believe the explosion happened during manufacture of hash oil.
Truck carrying 1000s of live chickens overturns
Group could gain ownership of aquarium
BRYAN — More than 5,000 crated chickens on their way to a Texas slaughterhouse have been tossed from a flatbed trailer. It’s not known how many of the about 5,500 chickens died or were injured in the Tuesday wreck on the west side of Bryan. McKethan said the accident happened as the driver of the 18wheeler began turning left from one road to another.
CORPUS CHRISTI — Corpus Christi could give up ownership of the Texas State Aquarium as part of expansion plans for the popular complex. The Corpus Christi City Council on Tuesday is scheduled to consider transferring ownership of aquarium land and buildings to the Texas State Aquarium Association. — Compiled from AP reports
Man arrested in theft of 500-pound statue HOUSTON — Authorities have arrested a 39-year-old man who they say stole a 500-pound bronze statue and then cut it to pieces to sell as scrap. William White has been charged with theft and was being held Tuesday at the county jail. The statue stood in front of a community center in north Harris County for years and depicted a smiling boy returning from a fishing trip carrying his haul.
AROUND THE NATION
THURSDAY, OCT. 9 Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club will meet at the Laredo Country Club from 1:15 to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Beverly Cantu at 727-0589. “Look Good … Feel Better” program. 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Program teaches beauty techniques to women in active cancer treatment to help combat appearance-related side effects. Contact Diana Juarez at 319-3100. Planetarium movies. From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium. Contact Claudia Herrera at claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu. Or visit the website www.tamiu.edu/planetarium. At 6 p.m. Wonders of the Universe. At 7 p.m. Lamps of Atlantis.
FRIDAY, OCT. 10 25th Reunion for JW Nixon class of 1989. Starts at 8:30 p.m. $25/person at Falcon Lakehouse. Contact Teresa Ramos at teresa_ramos10@yahoo.com. Planetarium movies. From 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium.
flares are supposed to burn off impurities in raw gas and convert it into carbon dioxide. Wolff also said the Alamo Area Council of Governments was studying how air pollutants from Eagle Ford could drift into Bexar County and potentially increase ozone levels, triggering stricter EPA regulations. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality had said it had no plans to install more monitors in Eagle Ford, but Shaw responded to Wolff in a letter last week that said more monitoring was on the way. An agency spokesman said Monday plans had been in the works for “well over a year.” Wolff wrote to Shaw on Monday that he was pleased to learn about the plans to install the air monitor. The commission’s chairman also said pollutants from Eagle Ford weren’t likely to increase ozone levels in Bexar County.
Video, photos limited for theater shooting trial DENVER — News organizations won’t be allowed to have their own cameras in the courtroom during the Colorado theater shooting trial, but they can use video and still images from a closed-circuit TV camera already in the courtroom. The small camera is mounted on the ceiling and will show the witness stand, a video screen where evidence will be displayed, the judge, the defense table and part of the prosecution table. Jurors will not be visible. It was not immediately clear whether defendant James Holmes would be in view.
Deportation of minors won’t stop during lawsuit SEATTLE — A federal judge in Seattle is not stopping the deportation proceedings of eight minors suing the federal govern-
Today is Wednesday, Oct. 1, the 274th day of 2014. There are 91 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Oct. 1, 1964, the Free Speech Movement began at the University of California, Berkeley, as students spontaneously protested the arrest of Berkeley alumnus Jack Weinberg, who’d refused to identify himself to campus police as he sat behind a table promoting the Congress of Racial Equality. On this date: In 1885, special delivery mail service began in the United States. In 1908, Henry Ford introduced his Model T automobile to the market. In 1932, Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees made his supposed called shot, hitting a home run against Chicago’s Charlie Root in the fifth inning of Game 3 of the World Series, won by the New York Yankees 7-5 at Wrigley Field. In 1939, Winston Churchill described Russia as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma” during a radio address on the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. In 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People’s Republic of China during a ceremony in Beijing. A 42-day strike by the United Steelworkers of America began over the issue of retirement benefits. In 1957, the motto “In God We Trust” began appearing on U.S. paper currency. In 1961, Roger Maris of the New York Yankees hit his 61st home run during a 162-game season, compared to Babe Ruth’s 60 home runs during a 154-game season. (Tracy Stallard of the Boston Red Sox gave up the round-tripper; the Yankees won 1-0.) In 1964, Japan’s first highspeed “bullet train,” went into operation between Tokyo and Osaka. In 1968, the cult horror movie “Night of the Living Dead” had its world premiere in Pittsburgh. In 1974, the cult horror movie “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” was first released. In 1987, eight people were killed when an earthquake measuring magnitude 5.9 struck the Los Angeles area. In 1994, National Hockey League team owners began a 103-day lockout. Today’s Birthdays: Former President Jimmy Carter is 90. Actress-singer Julie Andrews is 79. Actress Stella Stevens is 76. Rock musician Jerry Martini (Sly and the Family Stone) is 71. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Rod Carew is 69. Jazz musician Dave Holland is 68. Actor Stephen Collins is 67. Actress Yvette Freeman is 64. Actor Randy Quaid is 64. Rhythmand-blues singer Howard Hewett is 59. Alt-country-rock musician Tim O’Reagan (The Jayhawks) is 56. Singer Youssou N’Dour is 55. Actor Esai Morales is 52. Retired MLB All-Star Mark McGwire is 51. Actor Christopher Titus is 50. Actress-model Cindy Margolis is 49. Rock singer-musician Kevin Griffin (Better Than Ezra) is 46. Actor Zach Galifianakis is 45. Singer Keith Duffy is 40. Actress Sarah Drew is 34. Actor-comedian Beck Bennett (TV: “Saturday Night Live”) is 30. Actress Jurnee Smollett is 28. Actress Brie Larson is 25. Thought for Today: “It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.” — Agnes Repplier, American essayist (1858-1950).
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 Matthew Brown/file | AP
Floyd “Creeky” Creekmore ties his oversized shoes while getting dressed before a circus performance in Billings, Montana, on March 29, 2012. Creekmore, the world’s oldest clown, died Saturday night at his home in Billings. He was 98. ment over legal representation. U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly denied on Monday a preliminary injunction sought by the minors’ lawyers because the young immigrants, who range from ages 10 to 17, had not exhausted their options through
the immigration court system. But Zilly did not rule on the overall question of whether minors in deportation proceedings have the right to attorneys at government expense. — 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
National
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Missing women linked By ALAN SUDERMAN AND LARRY O’DELL ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — They both were walking alone, separated from their friends late at night, on or near the University of Virginia campus. One was found dead nearly five years ago. The other is still missing. Now police say there’s a link between the 2009 slaying of Morgan Harrington and the Sept. 13 disappearance of Hannah Graham: Forensic evidence found as a result of the arrest of Jesse L. Matthew Jr., who fled the state after being questioned by police in the Graham case. Matthew, 32, was arrested on a beach near Galveston, Texas, last week and brought back to Virginia on a charge of abduction with intent to defile — or sexually molest — the 18-year-old sophomore from northern Virginia. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison. His bond hearing is set for Thursday. Virginia State Police said Monday that Matthew’s arrest provided a new forensic link for investigators to pursue in the Harrington investigation. In a written statement, they called it a “significant break” released no details about the nature of the evidence, and said they would make no further comment. The latest development may also help solve a 2005 sexual assault of a 26-year-old woman in Fairfax City, since the FBI previously said DNA from Harrington’s attacker matched that of the person who committed that sexual assault. On Monday, Fairfax police spokeswoman Natalie Hinesley said that to maintain the integrity of their investigation, they won’t comment on whether their case has been affected by the Matthew arrest. Matthew has been accused of sexual assault before: When he was a defensive lineman on the Liberty University football team from 2000 to 2002, he was accused of raping a student on campus. That charge was dropped when the person declined to move forward with prosecution, Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Doucette said Friday. Before his arrest, police had searched his car and home, re-
GRAHAM
HARRINGTON
MATTHEW
moving clothing and other items that they sent to the state crime lab for testing. When he became a fugitive and was arrested in Texas, authorities were able to gather more “forensic evidence” as well. Police have released no details about this evidence, nor divulged any results of lab tests. Matthew’s lawyer, James Camblos, said he met with his client for about 21/2 hours Tuesday but still doesn’t know what police have on him in the Graham case, let alone what evidence might link him to the death of 20-yearold Morgan Harrington, who vanished while attending a rock concert at U.Va. in 2009. Harrington’s mother, Gil Harrington, appealed to Matthew on Tuesday tell authorities what he knows. “I would like to appeal to him to please give the family information where Hannah is. We need to find Hannah,” she said on NBC’s “Today” show, where she and her husband Dan Harrington talked about how they have worked to prevent crimes against young women by promoting personal safety after their daughter’s slaying. Harrington, a 20-year-old Virginia Tech student from Roanoke, attended a Metallica concert at John Paul Jones Arena on the Charlottesville campus on Oct. 17, 2009. She left during the concert and vanished. A farmer found her remains three months later in a hayfield, which was among the places searched shortly after Graham disappeared, police have said. At the time, Matthew had a license to drive a taxi, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles. More recently, he worked at the
University of Virginia hospital as a patient technician. Graham disappeared after meeting friends for dinner and attending two off-campus parties. She left the last one alone and was captured on video surveillance walking or running past a pub, a service station and onto Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall, where police say witnesses reported seeing her with Matthew at a bar. Graham had sent friends several text messages, including one saying she was lost. Clint Van Zandt, a former FBI profiler, said he was struck by the similarities — both women were separated from their friends in areas they apparently did not know well, and perhaps were offered assistance by a predator. “Their looking for help was turned against them,” he said. He also said he was not surprised by the new evidence. “Since this most recent victim disappeared, I said time and again that if they could find out who was responsible there was a good chance the same person would be responsible for Morgan Harrington and a number of others,” he said. Van Zandt said he’s “not trying to indict the guy,” but it’s standard procedure for police to search for links to similar crimes. In addition to the Harrington case and the 2005 assault, at least two other victims from the Charlottesville area remain missing. Police previously said they had no reason to link those cases to Graham’s disappearance. Matthew, who was returned from Texas late Friday, is being held without bond at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail. He is scheduled to appear via a video link for a bond hearing in Charlottesville General District Court on Thursday. Graham’s disappearance is on the minds of many people in Charlottesville. Having lunch on a park bench near the courthouse, Cora Kessler, 21, said she has lived in the area her whole life and this case has made her more cautious, but she still believes her community is safe. “I don’t want people to get the idea that it’s full of serial killers,” she said.
Photo by Scott Utterback/The Courier-Journal | AP
Students put their hands on their heads as they are lead out of Fern Creek High School in Louisville, Ky., on Tuesday after a shooting. Officials said a student was injured and one person was being sought in connection with the incident.
1 hurt as shots fired at Kentucky school By DYLAN LOVAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A high school student was injured and one person was being sought after a shooting at a high school in southern Louisville, police said Tuesday. The student had non-life threatening injuries and was reunited with parents at University Hospital, Officer Phil Russell said. He didn’t say if the injured student and shooter knew each other or if the shooter was a student at Fern Creek Traditional High School. Russell said the suspect left the 1,400-student school immediately after firing the shot. “It appears it is an isolated incident that happened just inside the school,” Russell said. “Obviously a large crime scene, but it was isolated to just inside the building.” Video from television stations showed police escorting students with their hands over their heads out of the school in the southern part of the city to a nearby softball field. Police cars surrounded the 91year-old school. Tiata Rodgers, parent of a senior at Fern Creek said her 17-year-old son called right after hearing a gun shot. Rodgers said her son whispered into the phone, but she didn’t believe him. Rogers said her son told her, “No this is real. They’re shooting.” The student said after the shooting “everybody just went running everywhere, shoving kids in classrooms and locking the doors,” Rodgers said. Rodgers lives nearby and made
beeline for the campus. “I jumped up and ran over here,” Rodgers said. Jefferson County Public Schools spokesman Ben Jackey said the school went into lockdown with students put in classrooms. After police arrived, students were led out before being taken to a nearby park for dismissal. Students at a nearby elementary school with a later dismissal were restricted to their building, Jackey said. “This is senseless. This is unacceptable,” Jackey said. “This cannot happen in our school. This is not the type of things students should be exposed to.” Traffic around the school was backed up as parents streamed into the area to pick up their children. Officers were directing traffic to a nearby park, but parents were parking their cars and walking down the street to meet their children. The school, which opened in 1923, concentrates on communications, media and arts. It has a student-run radio station, WFHS. Earlier Tuesday, a student was shot by a fellow student outside a North Carolina high school just minutes before classes began, and the suspect then waited for police to arrive, authorities said. That shooting happened around 7:40 a.m. as the two male students argued in an on-campus courtyard at Albemarle High School, Albemarle Police Chief William Halliburton said at a news conference. The shooter put down his gun after firing two shots, walked into the principal’s office and waited for police, Halliburton said.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Firefighters should have freedom to smoke By FRANK CERABINO COX NEWSPAPERS
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — You probably wouldn’t imagine that firefighters are big fans of smoke. Breathing in smoke, after all, is one of the occupational hazards of the job. But in Boca Raton, Florida, the firefighters’ union is attempting to eliminate a long-standing policy that forbids city firefighters from smoking cigarettes, even when they are offduty. The cigarette battle in Boca is the latest tugof-war that pits individual privacy rights against an employer’s right to set conditions on what behaviors its employees may engage in when they’re not working, even if it means forbidding legal activities. If you think employees have no business controlling their workers’ behaviors when they’re not working, well, welcome to Florida. Florida, unlike most states, gives employers a free hand to fire or discipline workers based on their off-duty conduct, even when that conduct is legal. By contrast, New York, California, Colorado and North Dakota have significant restrictions against firing workers for legal off-duty actions. Eighteen other states have specific laws that forbid employers from discriminating against workers for their use of tobacco products when they’re not working. And eight other states have laws that sanction the use of unspecified lawful products when not working. We frequently hear about this issue when it involves racy conduct. For example, Olivia Sprauer, a 26-year-old Martin County High School teacher, was fired on the spot last year when her principal confirmed that she had posed for bikini modeling photos earlier that year. Sprauer used a fictitious name for her offhours foray into modeling. But it didn’t matter. Bikini modeling on the side was deemed a sufficient reason to fire a high school English teacher. By contrast, no disciplinary action was taken against Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Maj. Robert Van Reeth two years ago after 7-yearold photos of him sur-
faced online. They showed Van Reeth, the head of the department that investigates the conduct of other officers, posing for photos with a naked woman on a Lake Worth golf course during a tournament. The major wasn’t wearing his uniform or badge that day and he was off duty, so his conduct wasn’t questioned by his department. The smoking issue, though, has its own history. In 1981, Florida’s workers compensation laws were amended with something called The Presumptive Act. It held that all law enforcement officers, firefighters and correctional officers in Florida who contract tuberculosis, heart disease, or hypertension resulting in a disability or death shall be presumed to have contracted the illness in the line of duty unless it can be proved by contrary competent evidence. The Florida League of Cities fought this change because of the effect it would have on the insurance premiums and pensions the cities pay for these workers. Meanwhile, fire departments seeking to remove challenges to disability claims started adopting hiring practices that made being a non-smoker a required condition for employment. Boca Raton was one of those departments. Firefighters there must be tobacco free for a year before they are eligible to be hired, and they must remain tobacco free while they are employed. There’s a dollars and cents reason for this. If firefighters die or become disabled from lung or heart disease, and it’s presumed to be job-related, the public costs for that are significant. Smoking in the U.S. results in at least $133 billion in direct medical care for adults and more than $156 billion in lost productivity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So the smoking that firefighters do off-duty — unlike, say, bikini modeling, or acting like a fool on a golf course — is arguably something more than their own private business. Frank Cerabino writes for The Palm Beach Post. E-mail: frank_cerabino@pbpost.com.
EDITORIAL
China faces democracy woes THE WASHINGTON POST
Now that pro-democracy protests have shut large swaths of central Hong Kong, China’s leaders find themselves in a trap of their own making. Denying residents authentic democracy has not led to stability nor peace in the city-state. Crushing the demonstrations would do even more harm to the international reputation for freedom and the rule of law that has allowed Hong Kong to prosper as a semi-autonomous piece of the People’s Republic of China. The future of the citystate — and much more — rests on whether the Chinese central government realizes that its tight grip is ultimately counterproductive. China’s leaders could have avoided this dilemma. They had promised Hong Kong’s residents that they could elect their chief executive by 2017. Instead of
sticking to the spirit of that pledge, they announced this summer that a proBeijing committee would vet every candidate. Beijing’s allies in Hong Kong argue that this is progress. But if only carefully approved pro-Beijing candidates can run, universal suffrage will have limited significance. Instead of listening to objections, Beijing and the Hong Kong government let tensions build, and students began protesting last week. On Sunday, demonstrations turned massive, filling streets in the main business district. Hong Kong police used pepper spray and tear gas on protesters, who refused to leave. Scenes of peaceful students fleeing from tear gas canisters brought more people onto the streets in protests that spread to other neighborhoods. On Monday, workers
from Hong Kong’s financial services industry stopped by on their lunch breaks to express support. The response from China’s leaders has been muted, but there are hints that Beijing is nervous. It blocked Instagram, a photo-sharing service, in mainland China, one of the few Western social media applications that was still available to everyday Chinese. It appears to have censored comments about the Hong Kong protests on popular micro-blogging services. And Chinese media have cast blame for the unrest on foreign influences, rather than admitting that Chinese citizens are demanding self-government. Beijing does not want residents of Hong Kong to be able to elect a leader who openly challenges oneparty rule in mainland China. Even more, perhaps, China’s Communist dicta-
tors recoil from the evidence that full-fledged democracy is not some Western transplant that cannot flower among Chinese people. But the path China’s leaders have taken carries risks. Depending on how events develop, it could erode the reputation for freedom and good governance upon which investment into Hong Kong depends. It degrades the notion that “one country, two systems” can work, which will discourage Taiwan from normalizing its relationship with the mainland on such terms. As before, the way out is to give Hong Kong’s people more direct control over their own affairs. The question is whether the conservative government of Chinese President Xi Jinping can find a way to relent — not because anyone outside of the country says so but because it is in China’s best interests.
COLUMN
WH needs much better security THE WASHINGTON POST
An intruder makes his way deep inside the heavily guarded White House. In an earlier incident, shots from a high-powered rifle strike the president’s residence but are overlooked until a cleaning lady discovers the bullets days later. That such seemingly far-fetched scenarios weren’t lifted from a Hollywood script raises unsettling questions about the protection of the president and his family. These concerns urgently need to be addressed — but in a way that deals with real issues rather than just creating unsightly new barriers, further isolating 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. or pushing the public away. A House committee held
a hearing Tuesday on security breaches at the White House. It had been called after the Sept. 19 incident in which a troubled war veteran jumped the White House fence, ran across the lawn and entered through an unlocked door on the North Portico before being stopped by the Secret Service. Now it turns out there’s plenty more to discuss. A report over the weekend by The Post’s Carol D. Leonnig detailed a string of lapses by the Secret Service in identifying and properly investigating a November 2011 attack on the White House. The seven shots were first judged to be harmless backfire from a construction vehicle and then assumed (incorrectly) to come from rival gangs. It
became clear that the White House was the target and had been hit only when a housekeeper noticed the damage four days later. The incident is said to have angered President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, who were not at the White House at the time but whose younger daughter and Ms. Obama’s mother were. Neither the difficulty nor the danger of the job entrusted to the Secret Service can be minimized. But what does it say about the competence of the agency that a fence-jumper could get inside the White House and, as The Post reported Monday, far into the building before being tackled? What does it say about the culture of the agency that officers
who realized gunfire had hit the White House were largely ignored and, it seems, afraid to speak up for fear of angering their bosses? In the aftermath of the fence-jumping incident, three-foot-high barricades, posted with “Police Line Do Not Cross” signs, have been erected to keep people away from the fence. The Secret Service has floated the idea of shutting Pennsylvania Avenue to pedestrian traffic or setting up military-style checkpoints. No checkpoints can compensate if the agency doesn’t properly do its job. Conversely, a professional Secret Service should not have to maroon the White House on a defended, deserted island inside the nation’s capital.
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CLASSIC DOONESBURY (1978) | GARRY TRUDEAU
National
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Calif. becomes first state to ban plastic bags By FENIT NIRAPPIL ASSOCIATED PRESS
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed the nation’s first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags at grocery and convenience stores, driven to action by pollution in streets and waterways. A national coalition of plastic bag manufacturers immediately said it would seek a voter referendum to repeal the law, which is scheduled to take effect in July 2015. Under SB270, plastic bags will be phased out of checkout counters at large grocery stores and supermarkets such as Wal-Mart and Target starting next summer, and convenience stores and pharmacies in 2016. The law does not apply to bags used for fruits, vegetables or meats, or to shopping bags used at other retailers. It allows gro-
cers to charge a fee of at least 10 cents for using paper bags. State Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, credits the momentum for statewide legislation to the more than 100 cities and counties, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, that already have such bans. The law marks a major milestone for environmental activists who have successfully pushed plastic bag bans in cities across the U.S., including Chicago, Austin and Seattle. “This bill is a step in the right direction — it reduces the torrent of plastic polluting our beaches, parks and even the vast ocean itself,” Brown said in a signing statement. “We’re the first to ban these bags, and we won’t be the last.” Plastic bag manufacturers have aggressively pushed back through
Photo by Rich Pedroncelli/file | AP
Plastic single-use bags are carried past the State Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 12. Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation on Tuesday imposing the nation’s first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags. their trade group, the American Progressive Bag Alliance, which aired commercials in California blasting the ban as a cashgiveaway to grocers that would lead to a loss of thousands of manufactur-
ing jobs. “If this law were allowed to go into effect, it would jeopardize thousands of California manufacturing jobs, hurt the environment and fleece consumers for billions so
grocery store shareholders and their union partners can line their pockets,” Lee Califf, executive director of the manufacturer trade group, said in a statement. Padilla, the bill’s author, said Californians would reject a referendum effort and quickly adapt their behavior to help the environment. “For those folks concerned about the 10 cent fee that may be charged for paper, the simple elegant solution is to bring a reusable bag to the store,” Padilla said. The American Forest and Paper Association, a trade group representing paper bag makers, says the bill unfairly treats their commonly recycled products like plastic, while holding reusable plastic bags to a lower standard for recyclable content. Responding to the con-
cerns about job losses, the bill includes $2 million in loans for plastic bag manufacturers to shift their operations to make reusable bags. That provision won the support of Los Angeles Democratic Sens. Kevin De Leon and Ricardo Lara, who had blocked earlier versions of the legislation. Lawmakers of both parties who opposed SB270 said it would penalize lower-income residents by charging them for bags they once received for free. The bill was amended to waive fees for customers who are on public assistance and limit how grocers can spend the proceeds from the fees. Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico also have pending legislation that would ban single-use bags, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
National
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014
Secret Service head takes heat for breach By ALICIA A. CALDWELL AND JOSH LEDERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Michael Rubinkam | AP
Lt. Col. George Bivens points to images of the pipe bombs that police say were left by trooper ambush suspect Eric Frein in the Pennsylvania woods, at a news conference Tuesday.
Police find pipe bombs during search By MICHAEL RUBINKAM ASSOCIATED PRESS
BLOOMING GROVE, Pa. — State police searching for a man accused of killing a trooper said Tuesday they found two pipe bombs in the Pennsylvania woods during their manhunt that were capable of causing significant damage. The bombs were not deployed, but they were fully functional and had both trip wires and fuses, Lt. Col. George Bivens said at a news conference. The weapons were among several items that were “clearly hastily discarded” at a campsite used by suspect Eric Frein, said Bivens, who then called on the fugitive to surrender. “You are clearly stressed,” Bivens said. “You are making significant mistakes.” Frein, 31, has been on the run since Sept. 12, charged with killing one state trooper and wounding a second outside their barracks in Blooming Grove. Authorities believe the self-taught survivalist is hiding in the rugged terrain near his parents’ home in the Pocono Mountains. But Bivens said Tuesday that he doesn’t believe this was Frein’s original getaway plan. Frein’s car was found submerged in a swamp several miles from the barracks a few days after the shooting. “I think things went wrong with his plan,” Bivens said. Bivens said there has been at least one credible sighting of Frein in the past 24 hours, from between 75 yards and 100 yards away through thick woods.
Police said last week they were treating the search area as if it was boobytrapped, because of evidence Frein had been experimenting with explosives. Bivens said he believes Frein abandoned the pipe bombs because he was “under pressure” from the heavy law enforcement presence. Items found with the pipe bombs “conclusively lead us to know they belong to him,” Bivens said, though he declined to identify other objects. The bombs had the capability of causing substantial damage, Bivens said. The disclosure comes as deer hunters prepare for bow season to open this weekend. Hunters are being asked to keep an eye out for cabins or other structures that look like they’ve been tampered with or used by Frein. It’s not yet clear if the Pennsylvania Game Commission will impose any restrictions during the manhunt, Bivens said. Law enforcement officers have found several structures where they believe Frein has stayed. Police also know what Frein is eating and drinking, but Bivens declined to provide specifics. Authorities say Frein has a vendetta against law enforcement and ambushed two troopers during a shift change. Cpl. Bryon Dickson was killed and Tpr. Alex Douglass Douglass remains hospitalized with unspecified injuries. Bivens said Douglass has a long road to recovery. Dickson wasn’t even supposed to work the night of the ambush, according to Bivens, but was filling in for another trooper. He said there’s no evidence to suggest Frein deliberated targeted the troopers he shot.
WASHINGTON — Facing blistering criticism from Congress, Secret Service Director Julia Pierson acknowledged on Tuesday that her agency failed in its mission of protecting the White House when a man with a knife entered the mansion and ran through half the ground floor before being subdued. “It’s unacceptable,” Pierson told lawmakers. But her promised review of how the storied but blemished agency carries out its mission of protecting the president — and how it failed to intercept the intruder much earlier — left lawmakers from both parties cold. With key details of the extraordinary intrusion still a mystery 11 days afterward, several lawmakers said the agency should be subjected to an independent inquiry. “I wish to God you protected the White House like you protected your reputation here today,” Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch told Pierson at a hearing. Calm but defensive in testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Pierson disclosed that shortly before the intruder jumped the fence Sept. 19, at least two of her uniformed officers recognized him from an earlier troubling encounter but did not approach him or report his presence to superiors. On Aug. 25, Army veteran Omar J. Gonzalez was stopped while carrying a small hatchet near the fence south of the White House, Pierson said. Weeks later, the same officers observed him “for some time” but never intervened. Gonzalez later went over the fence and broke inside the White House. President Barack Obama and his daughters had left for Camp David shortly before
the episode; Michelle Obama had gone to the retreat earlier in the day. “The fact is the system broke down,” declared committee chairman Darrell Issa. “An intruder walked in the front door of the White House, and that is unacceptable.” Not only that, he said, but the intruder penetrated at least five rings of security protecting what is supposed to be one of the world’s most secure properties. “How on earth did it happen?” he asked. “This failure ... has tested the trust of the American people in the Secret Service, a trust we clearly depend on to protect the president.” After the public hearing, which lasted more than three hours, Pierson and the lawmakers went into a closed meeting to discuss classified details. Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania called the Sept. 19 intrusion “stunning, outrageous, disgraceful.” Despite the lapses, Pierson asserted that “the president is safe.” And she said of the intrusion, “I’ll make sure that it does not happen again.” Obama’s spokesman, Josh Earnest, urged the Secret Service to release results from its investigation as soon as possible, although he added that parts are likely to remain classified. He said Obama remains confident in the agency. The president “was obviously concerned about this situation as a parent and as a father who is raising two young women here in this building,” Earnest said Tuesday, and “there is legitimate public interest in this matter because it relates to the safety and security of the commander in chief.” Pierson’s assurances fell short for lawmakers from both parties, who were aghast, too, about a four-day delay in 2011 before the Secret Service realized a man had fired a
high-powered rifle at the White House. The Washington Post reported on the weekend that some Secret Service officers believed immediately that shots had been fired into the mansion but they were “largely ignored” or afraid to challenge their bosses’ conclusions that the shooting was not directed at the White House. Such breaches, combined with recurring reports of misbehavior within the agency, cause “many people to ask whether there is a much broader problem with the Secret Service,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, top Democrat on the committee. Lynch told the agency’s chief at the hearing he had “very low confidence in the Secret Service under your leadership. Based on the evidence, that’s how we have to call it.” Members of Congress briefed by the agency apparently weren’t told of the full extent of the breaches. And the Secret Service gave The Associated Press a statement incorrectly saying the intruder was not armed, and never corrected the release. Under questioning, Pierson said she saw the inaccurate statement before the agency put it out. Details emerged only later. Among them: The recent intruder ran through the White House, into the East Room and near the doors to the Green Room before being apprehended. This, after he made it past a guard stationed inside the White House. On the way to the East Room, the intruder would have passed a stairwell that leads to the first family’s residence. It was unclear what security would have been in place to prevent Gonzalez from attempting to go up to the family quarters. Pierson said Tuesday that the front door to the White House now locks automatically in a security breach.
International
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014
14 missing students found ASSOCIATED PRESS
ACAPULCO, Mexico — Fourteen of the 57 students reported missing after weekend shootings that killed six people in the southern state of Guerrero have been located, officials said Tuesday. Some were found in their homes or at school, and a search was continuing for the 43 teachers college students still unaccounted for, state Prosecutor Inaky Blanco said. Earlier, the head of the state human rights commission, Ramon Navarrete, said some of the students had fled the shooting, and some were detained and then released. He added that there were high hopes of finding the rest. Student activists linked to the Ayotzinapa normal school are known for their radical protests. Authorities say police shot at buses that had been hijacked by students over the weekend, killing three students and wounding 25. Masked men later fired on two taxis and a bus carrying a third-division soccer team. Two people on the soccer bus were killed along with a woman in one of the taxis. Twenty-two police officers from the city of Iguala have been detained. Blanco said Iguala police officers participated in both attacks, and did not rule out the possibility that organized crime may have also been involved. Guerrero Gov. Angel Aguirre said he had contacted federal authorities to request help in keeping the peace in parts of the state. “A majority of police in Guerrero have been co-opted, infiltrated by organized crime,” he said.
THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
Kurds claim victory as UK joins fray By VIVIAN SALAMA AND RYAN LUCAS ASSOCIATED PRESS
SALHIYAH, Iraq — Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq captured a border crossing with Syria on Tuesday, expelling Islamic State militants in heavy fighting that ground down to vicious house-tohouse combat and close quarters sniping. In neighboring Syria, Kurdish militiamen were on the defensive as the extremists pressed ahead with a relentless assault on a town near the Turkish border. The attack on Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab, has driven more than 160,000 people across the frontier in the past few days. Iraqi Kurdish fighters, known as peshmerga, were doing the bulk of the fighting on the ground as a U.S.-led coalition carried out an aerial assault against the Islamic State group in both Iraq and Syria. Britain joined the air campaign Tuesday, carrying out its first strikes against the extremists in Iraq — though it does not plan to expand into Syria. The goal of the campaign is to push back the militant group that has declared a self-styled caliph-
Associated Press
Britain’s Ministry of Defence shows a Royal Air Force strike on an Islamic State group armed pick-up truck, using a Brimstone missile Tuesday, in Iraq. The missile can be seen circled in red before impact. ate, or Islamic state, ruled by its brutal interpretation of Islam in territory it has seized across much of Iraq and Syria. On Tuesday, Kurdish fighters in Iraq said they saw some of the heaviest fighting yet. Peshmerga spokesman Halgurd Hekmat told The Associated Press the Kurds seized the border crossing of Rabia, which the extremists cap-
tured in their blitz across Iraq over the summer. Rami Abdurrahman, the director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, also said the Kurds had retaken the border post. He said Syrian Kurdish militiamen, who control the Syrian side of the frontier, had helped in the fight. Kurds wounded in the fighting
were brought to a makeshift clinic in the town of Salhiyah, where dusty and exhausted, they described savage battles, with militants sniping at them from inside homes and from the windows of a hospital in Rabia. “They’re such good fighters,” said one soldier, resting outside the clinic on a rock surrounded by blood-soaked bandages. He refused to be identified because he was not a senior officer. “They’re fighting with weapons the Iraqi military abandoned — so, American weapons really.” Fighters at the clinic described how the peshmerga first took the town of Mahmoudiya near the Syrian border on Monday, then moved down the highway to assault Rabia. The two sides had intense clashes overnight. Peshmerga fighters advanced on a five-story hospital in the city, only to be ambushed by some two dozen militants inside, the fighters said. Hekmat said the Kurdish fighters intended to push further south toward the town of Sinjar, which the extremists took last month, prompting the flight of members of the small Yazidi religious sect.
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014
Injury group: Award scheme is flawed By MARYCLAIRE DALE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHILADELPHIA — A national brain injury group has condemned the proposed payout scheme for NFL concussion claims as “deeply flawed,” saying it excludes many former players suffering from mood swings, depression, aggression and other related problems. The Brain Injury Association of America said the plan favors former players with memory problems and certain neuromuscular diseases but leaves out those with other symptoms that can stem from brain trauma. “Many of the physical, neurological and neurobehavioral consequences of TBI (traumatic brain injury) are missing from the list of qualifying diagnoses,” the association said in a court filing on Tuesday. “The settlement’s approach ... is deeply flawed.” The group asked to file an amicus brief and weigh in when a federal judge in Philadelphia reviews the settlement plan in November. Senior U.S. District Judge Anita Brody has granted preliminary approval of the plan, which would settle thousands of lawsuits filed against the league. The NFL disclosed this month that it expects nearly three in 10 former players, or 6,000 men, to develop debilitating brain conditions. The league’s experts predicted they will be stricken earlier and at least twice as often as the population. The NFL has agreed to create a $675 million fund, and more if needed, to pay out claims for the next 65 years. Current players are not in-
cluded in the litigation. Most would go to former players under age 45 diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. The payouts would be sharply reduced as the ex-players age, or if they played fewer than five years in the league, based on assumptions that their injuries are less likely to stem from NFL concussions. The Brain Injury Association faults the logic of that plan, arguing that players can suffer severe concussions in their rookie years. “The sole factor in determining monetary awards should be the nature and extent of the impairment,” Drs. Brent E. Masel, the association’s medical director, and Gregory J. O’Shanick, his predecessor, wrote in court papers. Lawyer Christopher Seeger, colead class counsel for the players, called the agreement “an extraordinary settlement for retired NFL players and their families.” “Our focus remains on finalizing this agreement so that former NFL players can soon begin taking advantage of its benefits,” he said. His experts expect the average payouts, in today’s dollars, to be $2.1 million for Lou Gehrig’s disease, $1.4 million for a death involving the brain decay known as CTE and $190,000 for Alzheimer’s disease or moderate dementia. An award potentially reaches $5 million. Some players have signaled plans to opt out, including the family of the late San Diego star Junior Seau, who was found after his 2012 suicide, at age 43, to have had CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The agreement would cover all 21,000 former players.
PTSD Continued from Page 1A East Texas State University to attain his bachelor’s degree. “I only had one semester left and I just … dropped out. I couldn’t handle it,” Moreno said. He worked as a computer programmer in Dallas and San Antonio, and he said he had issues with alcohol abuse, maintaining jobs and went through three different marriages. In 1982, he married his fourth wife. “I realized when my fourth marriage was falling apart that there was something wrong with me,” Moreno said. He said he began to have nightmares, intrusive thoughts and flashbacks from his time at Vietnam and found it hard to socialize at times. In 1996, he went to the VA, where he was diagnosed with PTSD. After receiving counseling and medication for anxiety and depression, he enrolled at TAMIU. He graduated with a bachelor’s in Computer Information Systems in 1998. Moreno said the diagnosis completely changed his life. “My marriage became better. My wife started going to these counseling sessions with me so she could understand what was going on with me,” Moreno said. Moreno said he is now “very involved” with the local veterans community. (Gabriela A. Treviño may be reached at 956-728-2579 or gtrevino@lmtonline.com)
PROFILE America. “We have to send a signal,” he said. For the brother of a sheriff, that “signal” is letting the citizens of other countries know that the rule of law means something here. At the same time, when the surge threatened to overwhelm Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement resources early in the summer, he was the first to call for a FEMA-like humanitarian response — and to prove his point by releasing unauthorized photos of the crowded, unsanitary conditions in Border Patrol detention centers. And he remains firmly in favor of comprehensive immigration reform. Suddenly this summer, the usually low-profile Cuellar was everywhere. One day in mid-surge, he did nine national interviews. He was all over the networks, cable news, Sunday talk shows. He will remain a go-to voice on immigration policy, and he’s comfortable with that. For some, it’s one in a list of issues. For Cuellar, it’s literally where he lives. Cuellar is a conservative Democrat. One of the reasons he stands out so much is that these days in Congress, conservative Democrats are like whooping cranes. Cuellar is not shy about reminding his colleagues about this. In a recent Democratic strategy session, he raised a hand and said, “So, let’s focus on all the remaining liberal districts out there that we can win to regain the majority.” After the ensuing uncomfortable silence, an aide confides: “When you raise your hand at these things, I wince.”
Growing up in Laredo Odilia was born in Zapata but moved as a youngster to Tamaulipas, where she met Martín. After getting married, the couple moved to Laredo, and traveled as far north as Idaho each year, working the harvests. By the time Henry was 3, Odilia said, they decided the migrant life was too tough on the family, and they settled in Laredo, where Martín found work as a gardener and ranch manager. “All these streets were dirt when I was a kid,” Cuellar says as he drives around Las Lomas. “Everybody who ran for mayor always promised: ‘I’ll pave the streets.’” From his earliest days at nearby Buenos Aires Elementary School, Henry “always had his nose in a book,” said his brother Martín, the Webb County sheriff. “The opposite of me.” Now, the sheriff says he tells his kids, “Be like your uncle, not like me. Read.” Odilia and Martín did not speak English, so they couldn’t help the kids directly with their homework. But they helped in other ways. Martín instilled the work ethic. “Work was what my dad knew, and what he cared about,” Cuellar says. “He would make sure we worked hard at whatever we did. “Other kids got up on Saturday and watched the cartoons. My dad told us, ‘You finish your work first.’ So we would be out at the crack of dawn, mowing and raking, so we could watch ‘The Jetsons.’” Martín also taught his children self-reliance. “He doesn’t like debt,” Cuellar says, “and he doesn’t trust lawyers. When I became one, he said, “At least you’ll be my lawyer.” “My mom,” he adds, “was all about studying. ‘Study, study, study.’ She would make sure we sat down to do our homework right away, and didn’t get up until it was done.’” Henry graduated from Nixon High School and enrolled at Laredo Community College, where he would graduate summa cum laude with an associate of arts degree.
EBOLA
Then he went across the country to Georgetown University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in foreign service, again with honors. After that came a master’s in international trade at Texas A&M International University, followed by both a law degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas. In a town that is all about striving for a better life, Henry Cuellar is perhaps the biggest striver of all.
Focus on education “This was my first campaign headquarters,” Cuellar says, pulling up to a tiny, bedraggled building on Clark Street now serving as Alondra’s Beauty Salon. “I was in my early 30s but my nickname during the campaign was ‘grandfather’ because all of my campaign workers were high school and college kids.” Their confidence was well-placed. From the beginning as a state representative in 1987, Cuellar was laser-focused on improving educational opportunity, particularly for high-performing but financially challenged students. He coauthored a children’s health care plan, which insured thousands of previously uncovered children, and was a key player in enabling the Texas Grant program, which guarantees college funding for needy students with strong academic records. “Whatever else he does, that’s a huge part of his legacy in Texas,” said Juan Maldonado, president of Laredo Community College. “He’s been a visionary in aiding access to education.” Ray Keck, president of Cuellar’s other hometown alma mater, TAMIU, says, “Henry was a driving force on the Texas Grant program, and he has been vital to the growth of this institution.” Keck was briefly one of Cuellar’s instructors at TAMIU. “Here was this articulate, nice-looking, smart master’s student, telling me he wanted to go into politics. I thought, ‘How sad,’” he said with a chuckle. “But look at what he’s accomplished.” Cuellar is proud as he drives past TAMIU’s sparkling campus, past the Dr. Henry Cuellar Elementary School, past the airport. “We’ve gotten $100 million for this airport in the last 10 years,” he says. “I’m about to announce $5 million more.”
Climbing the ladder In 2002, Cuellar’s political ambition aimed him toward Washington. He took on popular five-term incumbent Republican Rep. Henry Bonilla of San Antonio, and lost — though only by about 2 percentage points, indicating a promising future. Cuellar and Bonilla braced for a rematch. But a controversial GOP-led redistricting move in 2003 split the city of Laredo, making Bonilla’s seat significantly safer and pushing much of Laredo into the 28th District, the seat of San Antonio Democrat Ciro Rodriguez. “I didn’t go looking for a fight with Ciro,” Cuellar said, “but that’s the way it worked out.” The bitter primary campaign came down to turnout. Laredo precincts turned out at a much higher rate than those in San Antonio. After the initial tally, Rodriguez led by a scant 145 votes, but a recount flipped the result, giving Cuellar a 58-vote margin. Rodriguez sued. But the state courts upheld the recount and Cuellar’s victory was assured. District 28 would be changed again after a court challenge, and it became largely La-
four or five days later. He said it was not clear how the person became infected. Frieden said there was no risk to anyone on the airplane because the patient had no symptoms at the time of the flight. Ebola symptoms can include fever, muscle pain, vomiting and bleeding, and can appear as long as 21 days after exposure to the virus. The disease is not contagious until symptoms begin, and it takes close contact with bodily fluids to spread. “The bottom line here is that I have no doubt we will control this importation, or this case of Ebola, so that it does not spread widely in this country,” Frieden told a news conference. “It is certainly possible that someone who had contact with this individual, a family member or other individual, could develop Ebola in the coming weeks,” he added. “But there is no doubt in my mind that we will stop it here.” Frieden updated President Barack Obama on the patient and the public health investigation, the White House said. Frieden said he believed the case also marked the first time this strain of Ebola has been diagnosed outside of West Africa. Four American aid workers who became infected while volunteering in West Africa have been flown back to the U.S. for treatment after they became sick. They were cared for in special isolation facilities at hospitals in Atlanta and Nebraska. Also, a U.S. doctor exposed to the virus in Sierra Leone is under observation in a similar facility at the National Institutes of Health.
Continued from Page 1A The U.S. has only four such isolation units. But asked whether the patient would be moved to one of those specialty facilities, Frieden said there was no need and virtually any hospital can provide the proper care and infection control. Dr. Edward Goodman, epidemiologist for Texas Health Presbyterian, said the hospital had a plan for handling Ebola should a suspected case emerge and was “well prepared” to provide care. After arriving in the U.S. on Sept. 20, the patient began to develop symptoms on Sept. 24 and initially sought care two days later, Frieden said. The patient was admitted to the hospital on Sept. 28, when Texas Health Presbyterian put him under strict isolation. Blood tests by Texas health officials and the CDC separately confirmed an Ebola diagnosis on Tuesday. Frieden would not reveal the patient’s nationality. Asked how many people the patient may have had close contact with in that time period, Frieden said, “I think a handful is the right characterization.” Since the summer months, U.S. health officials have been preparing for the possibility that an individual traveler could unknowingly arrive with the infection. Health authorities have advised hospitals on how to prevent the virus from spreading within their facilities. People boarding planes in the outbreak zone are checked for fever, but that does not guarantee that an infected person won’t get through. The epidemic has killed more than 3,000 people in West Africa.
Continued from Page 1A redo, solidifying Cuellar’s power base. He now receives only token opposition. In January 2005, Cuellar flew his parents to Washington for his swearing-in. It was the first time Odilia and Martín had been on a plane. They didn’t understand all the words that were being spoken as they watched the ceremony. But they certainly understood that their eldest son was now also their Congressman. Now, Odilia is 86 and Martín is 88. “We are blessed,” Odilia says simply. “Blessed with good children.”
Fundraising galore Cuellar’s reception from his own party in Washington was decidedly frosty. He had endorsed fellow Texan George W. Bush for president in 2000, and he had beaten a popular Democrat in Rodriguez. He remembers being taken aside by a senior Democrat and being told, “If you switch parties, we’ll crush you.” He insisted that he had no intention of becoming a Republican, and in time, tensions within the caucus eased. Cuellar took committee roles on Agriculture and Homeland Security and angled for a coveted spot on Appropriations, which finally materialized in this Congress. There, he’s active on both the Homeland Security and State and Foreign Operations subcommittees. While Cuellar’s skill at relationship-building is partly responsible for smoothing the waters with fellow Democrats, his talent at fundraising has also been enormously helpful. He has traditionally been among the first in each Congress to give his “tithe” to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He is asked to give more to DCCC than rank and file Democrats, because as a member of the Democrats’ Steering and Policy Committee, he’s technically in leadership. And he’s also raised much more, for other Democrats, in a variety of ways. Cuellar came out early and strong for Hillary Clinton in 2007, hosting a fundraiser for her that raised more than $200,000. He has major fundraisers every year in Washington and Houston as well as in his district. His annual Washington event last week featured cooks imported from Laredo’s celebrated Palenque Grill. It drew a significant number of Republicans as well as the traditional Democratic crowd. But the money all goes to Democrats, including the designated “frontline” House members fighting to hold swing districts. Cuellar views his prodigious fundraising as a “pass” for voting flexibility. He votes his convictions and his district, sometimes overriding party concerns. “I’m for my district, for Texas, for America, and then for my party,” he says. He even keeps his full-throated support of immigration reform in perspective. “Hey, this (Laredo) is the most Hispanic city in America,” he said. “Do you think immigration reform is the biggest issue here? Nope. It’s probably second or third. It’s the economy, and jobs.” Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., who spoke passionately against the Cuellar-backed bill on the surge, said, “While we do not always agree, I consider Henry a good friend. I respect his commitment to his principles and his priorities over partisanship.” Cuellar believes he’s right in step with his district on the immigration surge. “Do you think I’d go out on that limb if I weren’t reflecting what my district wants?” he asked. “It’s not 100 percent, but I believe I’m in line with most people in the district.” The Republican whose job it is to make Cuellar’s life miserable admits as much.
Webb County GOP Chairman Randy Blair of Laredo says it’s hard to run anybody against Cuellar. “He’s reaching across the aisle, working with Republicans like Sen. (John) Cornyn, and he’s even standing up to President Obama a lot of the time,” Blair said. Blair was critical of Cuellar for supporting Obamacare, but admitted, “He’s been in office a long time and he’s popular. He was secretary of state under a Republican governor. And he’s got a big campaign organization down here.” “Am I a good Democrat? Check out the DCCC totals,” Cuellar says privately. “Some of the Democrats who talk the loudest don’t put up the money when it counts.”
Relationship with Mexico Cuellar’s other great interest is in enhancing the U.S.-Mexico partnership. He is enormously well-connected in Mexico. Cuellar became friends with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto while the Mexican politician was still governor of the state of Mexico. Cuellar was with the charismatic young leader in Mexico City on the night he was elected president. Last year, Cuellar was mortified when Peña Nieto came to Washington before being sworn in, and was given the cold shoulder by some. Cuellar said House Speaker John Boehner declined to see Peña Nieto, referring Cuellar instead to then-Majority Leader Eric Cantor. After waiting for 10 minutes outside Cantor’s office, Peña Nieto left. Cuellar is equally critical of the White House for lack of engagement with Mexico. When he first met with President Obama, Peña Nieto proposed a partnership to strengthen the border economically, with an injection of resources from both governments. Obama was noncommittal and has not mentioned it again in subsequent meetings. Cuellar continues to nurture his international relationships, and it is noted and appreciated to the south. A counterpart in Mexico’s equivalent of the House, Deputado Marco Gonzalez of Nuevo Leon, said, “He’s one of the best promoters of the U.S.-Mexico relationship in Washington. We need more congressmen to see Mexico as a friend, not a troublemaker.” The future
What’s next for Cuellar politically? As Texas turns purple and then blue, as the demographers are predicting, Cuellar may be the kind of Democrat — a moderate Latino gun-rights supporter — who would do well in a statewide race. He thinks 2018 might be the time when a Democrat could win statewide. There’s both the governorship and a Senate race up that year. Some political analysts doubt the party would get out and work for someone so conservative in a statewide race. “By some measures, he’s the most conservative Democrat in the House,” said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. “Black Democrats were probably not amused by his public challenges to Obama.” But many Texas voters may feel more comfortable with Cuellar than with more liberal Democrats. “I love Texas and someday I’d like to go home and run statewide,” Cuellar said. But for now, he is enjoying the clout his increasing seniority, added visibility and safe seat give him. “I still have work to do here,” he said, which sounds a lot like something his father would say.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS: ZAPATA HAWKS
CLAIBORNE OUT FOR SEASON
Running to district Zapata finishes 2nd at Rio Grande Valley Meet By CLARA SANDOVAL THE ZAPATA TIMES
The Hawks cross country teams are preparing for their district meet on Oct. 20 after giving a great outing at the Rio Grande Valley Meet of Champions at Donna High School. Zapata competed in the 4A division and placed second as a team in the varsity standings while the freshman team ran into some tough competition on the course. Top finishers for the Hawks and receiving top-20 plaques were senior Danny Hinojosa, sophomore Isauro Sanchez and junior Jesus Rubio. Rounding out the rest of the top seven and receiving team medals includ-
ed freshman Mike Trevino, junior Alvaro Rodriguez, sophomore Luis Rodriguez and junior Maycol Mendoza. The rest of the team also ran well and included Pedro Gonzalez, Jorge Garcia, Rubem Castillo, Albert Hinojosa, Jose Alvarado, Job Alvarado and Ricky Garcilazo. The freshman team faced some very tough competition, however, but did not back down from the challenge. Along the way, the squad gained some great experience. Top finisher for the freshmen was Erick Resendiz followed by teammates James To, Pascual Martinez, Juan Angel Barrientos, Hector Barrientos and LeeRoy Bautista.
Zapata will be traveling to La Feria next Saturday as they continue to train and prepare for what looks to be a very tough and competitive district meet on Oct. 20.
Football Zapata continues to roll through the preseason as the Hawks picked up their fourth consecutive victory to put that loss to Laredo Cigarroa in week one on the backburner. Zapata was able to put up 21 points in the second quarter and held their ground in the second half, earning a 33-14 victory over Falfurrias Friday night at Hawk Stadium. Zapata and Falfurries
matched each other in the opening quarter scoring a touchdown, but neither was able to convert on the extra point. Zapata’s offense broke loose in the second quarter as the Hawks came up with three scores to break the game wide open and take a 27-6 advantage into the half. Zapata’s defense shut down Falfurrias after the break, holding the unit to just eight more points in the 33-14 win. Zapata faces Hebbronville in a showdown of 4-1 teams. After both teams dropped their season openers, they have been able to roll off four straight wins. Clara Sandoval can be reached at Sandoval.Clara@Gmail.com.
NCAA FOOTBALL: TEXAS LONGHORNS
Longhorns in underdog role By JIM VERTUNO ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — In his first season in the Big 12, Texas coach Charlie Strong seems to have accepted his role as underdog this week against No. 7 Baylor. “I don’t have a choice,’ Strong said with a laugh on Monday. “We’re a (two-touchdown) underdog right now.”
Some of his players, however, don’t want to hear it. “They’re still Baylor,” Longhorns wide receiver John Harris said. “Just because they started playing better, that’s good for them. We’re still Texas.” The Bears (4-0, 1-0) are the defending Big 12 champions, a crown earned by beating Texas (2-2, 1-0) in freezing
cold on the final weekend of the 2013 regular season. Texas hasn’t won the Big 12 since 2009, a drought that was a big reason why Mack Brown isn’t the Longhorns coach anymore. Since beating then-No. 1 Kansas State in 2012, the Bears are 19-2 and currently have the top-scoring offense in the country behind quarterback Bryce Petty and his receiving corps.
Photo by Brandon Wade | AP
Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne was lost for the season with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. Claiborne was the No. 6 overall pick out of LSU in the 2012 NFL Draft.
PÁGINA 10A
Zfrontera
Agenda en Breve LAREDO 10/02— En el marco del 120 Aniversario de Sisters of Mercy se invita a la serie de discusiones “Conversaciones con las Hermanas”. La segunda charla será a las 6 p.m. en el Centro de Educación Lamar Bruni Vergara, 1000 Mier, esquina con Hendricks, con el tema del Racismo. La conversación será Bilingüe. 10/02— Presentación especial de la cinta ‘Homebound’ a las 6:30 p.m. en Cinemark, Movies 12, 5412 avenida San Bernardo. Costo: 12 dólares.
NUEVO LAREDO, MÉXICO 10/01— FIT 2014 presenta: Silkateatro Andante y La Rendija con Don Quijote, historias andantes, Teatro para una actriz y un mundo de objetos, a las 5 p.m. en la Sala Sergio Peña. Entrada gratuita. 10/01— FIT 2014 presenta: Taller de teatro trinchera con Diálogos de Salvador Novo a las 7 p.m. en el Teatro Lucio Blanco. Entrada gratuita. 10/01— FIT 2014 presenta: Szeged Dance Company, Stabat Mater y la Filosofía de los cuerpos a las 8:30 p.m. en el Teatro Principal del Centro Cultural. Entrada gratuita. 10/02— FIT 2014 presenta: Conferencia sobre Benedetti y presentación de libro ‘La Palabra de Dios’, con Guillermo Lavín, a las 6 p.m. en Estación Palabra. 10/02— FIT 2014 presenta: “Nuestra música, nuestras raíces” con Victor Hernández y Walter Maldonado, a las 7 p.m. en el Teatro Adolfo López Mateos. 10/02— FIT 2014 presenta: Plaza Rock presenta La Función de Repulsa, Jess Castillo, Tech-Support & Radiobot, Kloster Band, a las 8 p.m. en la Plaza Juárez. 10/03— FIT 2014 presenta: Artibus Ensamble, música de cámara, a las 6 p.m. en el Teatro Adolfo López Mateos. Entrada gratuita. 10/03— Tercer Festival de Teatro ‘Vértices’ presenta “Vacas” a las 7 p.m. en el Teatro del IMSS, entre Reynosa y Belden (Sector Centro). 10/03— FIT 2014 presenta: Música, “La noche más larga” con Concha Bulka, a las 8 p.m. en el Teatro principal del Centro Cultural Nuevo Laredo. 10/03— La pasarela “Cheesecake Girls” de la diseñadora de modas Fabiola Sol, a las 8 p.m. en la Sala Sergio Peña de la Antigua Aduana. Entrada gratuita.
CIUDAD MIER, MÉXICO 10/01— FIT 2014 presenta: Teatro “La Dueños” a las 7:30 p.m. en el centro frente a la Presidencia Municipal. Entrada gratuita. 10/02— FIT 2014 presenta: Teatro “El Sueño de Martina” a las 6 p.m. en el Casino Argüelles. Entrada gratuita. 10/03— FIT 2014 presenta: Música “Yekina Pavón” en el centro frente a la Presidencia Municipal a las 7:30 p.m. Entrada gratuita.
NUEVA CIUDAD GUERRERO, MÉXICO 10/02— FIT 2014 presenta: Teatro “La Dueños” a las 11 a.m. en la Plaza Principal. Entrada gratuita.
MIGUEL ALEMÁN, MÉXICO 10/02— FIT 2014 presenta: Literatura “Narradores orales de círculos de lectura” a las 5 p.m. en la Plaza Principal. Entrada gratuita. 10/03— FIT 2014 presenta: Teatro “Cero Uno” a las 5 p.m. en el Teatro Principal. Entrada gratuita.
MIÉRCOLES 1 DE OCTUBRE DE 2014
MÉXICO
Robo de crudo ASSOCIATED PRESS
MÉXICO — Autoridades anunciaron diversos golpes a una organización que robaba al menos cuatro millones de litros de crudo al mes en el noreste de México con el apoyo de un grupo del crimen organizado y la complicidad de autoridades policiales. Funcionarios de la Procuraduría General de la República informaron que cinco personas fueron detenidas, incluido quien es considerado líder de la organización y al mismo tiempo propietario de una empresa en el centro del país, que desde 2011 tenía una concesión con la empresa estatal Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) que le pagaba cinco millones de pesos (unos 370.000 dólares) al mes pa-
Los cuatro millones que el grupo robaba son equivalentes a poco más de 25.100 barriles. ra el traslado de hidrocarburos. El jefe de la Agencia de Investigación Criminal de la Procuraduría, Tomás Zerón, dijo en un mensaje a la prensa que después de una investigación iniciada en marzo se determinó que la empresa, llamada Petro Bajío, pagaba también el equivalente a unos 370.000 dólares a un grupo del crimen organizado en Tamaulipas para que robaran el crudo de al menos dos oleoductos de Pemex. El crudo se vendía después a em-
presas papeleras, fundidoras de metal y productoras de tequila en los estados de Jalisco, San Luis Potosí y Guanajuato, en el occidente y centro del país. Las autoridades también incautaron diversos camiones cisternas en los que se transportaba el crudo. No se dio a conocer el nombre de los detenidos ni se identificó al grupo delictivo en cuestión, aunque en Tamaulipas los dos cárteles del narcotráfico rivales que operan —Los
Zetas y del Golfo— han sido señalados en el pasado por las autoridades de haber diversificado sus actividades criminales y haber incluido el robo de hidrocarburos. Cifras recientes de Pemex señalan que en todo México se han perforado 2.481 tomas ilegales en oleoductos de la petrolera estatal, un tercio más que en el mismo período de 2013. Más de una quinta parte de las extracciones ilegales se perforaron en Tamaulipas. Pemex calcula que ha perdido unos 7,5 millones de barriles por un valor de 1.150 millones de dólares. Datos de la compañía refieren que un barril tiene cerca de 159 litros, por lo cual los cuatro millones que el grupo robaba son equivalentes a poco más de 25.100 barriles.
NUEVA CIUDAD GUERRERO, MÉXICO
TEXAS
MEJORAMIENTO GENÉTICO
Lunes cerrará registro para poder votar ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
El lunes es la fecha límite para registrarse y así poder votar en las elecciones del 4 de noviembre. “La fecha límite del 6 de octubre se acerca rápidamente, y es primordial que los Tejanos elegibles para votar se registren”, dijo la Senadora Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo), el lunes. “Cada voto hará la diferencia en las importantes elecciones locales, estatales y federales que se decidirán en noviembre”. Las votaciones anticipadas darán inicio el lunes 20 de octubre y concluirán el viernes 31 de octubre. El día de las elecciones es el martes 4 de noviembre. Votantes calificados son aquellos con ciudadanía de EU que tendrán 18 años de edad para el día de las elecciones; residentes del condado donde están registrados; no son un criminal convicto (a menos que la sentencia de la persona haya sido cumplida, incluyendo una libertad condicional o libertad bajo palabra); y que esté declarada con incapacidad mental por una corte de ley. Las solicitudes de registro para votantes están disponibles en las oficinas de registro para votantes locales y en la mayoría de las oficinas de correos, bibliotecas, el Departamento de Seguridad Pública de Texas, las oficinas del Departamento de Servicios Humanos de Texas y el sitio de Internet de la Secretaría de Estado de Texas en http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/voter/ reqvr.shtml.
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas
Un total de 50 sementales de ganado bovino podrán ser adquiridos por productores pecuarios en Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, México, como parte del Programa de Mejoramiento Genético.
Fortalecerán actividad ganadera TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
A fin de fortalecer la actividad ganadera en Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, México, el Gobierno de Tamaulipas llevó a cabo la adquisición de sementales de registro. Será a través del Programa de Mejoramiento Genético que serán adquiridos 50 sementales de ganado bovino, lo que impulsará el mejoramiento genético en el citado municipio, dijo el Subsecretario de Desarrollo Pecuario y Forestal en Tamaulipas, Francisco Bonilla López.
La inversión en el programa para Nueva Ciudad Guerrero es de más de medio millón de pesos, indica un comunicado de prensa. Los productores pecuarios a participar en el evento podrán adquirir animales de registro hasta con un 75 por ciento de subsidio de su costo real, lo que permitirá una mejora genética en los hatos ganaderos y la comercialización de becerros a los Estados Unidos, agrega el comunicado. Bonilla López destacó que para éste año se tie-
nen programados un total de 16 eventos en donde se van a estar ofertando 1.400 cabezas de ganado bovino, al igual que 80 cabezas de ganado ovino y 70 de ganado caprino. La inversión total programada es de 21 millones de pesos. “Tamaulipas tiene una ganadería muy importante donde se destaca por la calidad y la genética de su ganado, traduciendo esto en mayores ingresos para todo el sector”, dijo Carlos Solís Gómez, Secretario de Desarrollo Rural.
Tejanos quienes deseen saber si ya están registrados deben visitar http:// votetexas.gov/. Los votantes que no hayan recibido su tarjeta de registro como votante o que necesiten cambiar su nombre o dirección también deberían contactar a sus oficinas de registro local. Igualmente se recuerda que las personas que voten en persona deben mostrar una de las siguientes formas de identificación con fotografía en las casillas: licencia de manejo de Texas, tarjeta de identificación personal de Texas, licencia de arma oculta de Texas, pasaporte de EU o tarjeta de EU; identificación militar de EU con fotografía, Certificado de ciudadanía de EU o Certificado de Naturalización con fotografía. Las personas que carezcan de cualquiera de éste tipo de identificación pueden solicitar un Certificado de Identificación Electoral (EIC) gratuita en las oficinas de Licencia de Manejo o en las ubicaciones móviles del EIC. “Cada Tejano elegible debería programarse con tiempo y asegurarse que posea la identificación con fotografía necesaria antes de acudir a la casilla este noviembre”, dijo Zaffirini. La identificación con fotografía no se requiere para quienes voten por correo o para personas con discapacidades documentadas quienes apliquen para una exención permanente con su oficina de registro local. Para cualquier duda puede comunicarse al (800) 252-VOTE.
NUEVO LAREDO, MÉXICO
Unas ochenta empresas ofertarán vacantes TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
La ciudad fronteriza de Nuevo Laredo, México, será sede de la Segunda Feria del Empleo. La Secretaría de Desarrollo Económico y Turismo (Sedet), a través del Servicio Nacional del Empleo (SNE), informó que hoy, miércoles primero de octubre, se ofertarán 1.200 vacantes a través de 80 empresas durante el evento “Nuevo Laredo Laredo 2014”. Durante la actual administración, el Gobierno de Tamaulipas ha realizado 54 ferias de empleo en las cuales más de 25.500 personas se han vinculado
con un puesto de trabajo, dio a conocer la titular de la Sedet, Mónica González García. “Esto simboliza la confianza que las empresas tienen con nosotros al seguir trabajando juntos y seguir participando en las Ferias con más vacantes”, agregó. El evento se llevará a cabo de 8 a.m. a 2 p.m. en el Autorio Municipal (Centro Cívico) “Carlos Cantu Rosas”, ubicado en Héroe de Nacataz, esquina con Reynosa. Se recomienda a los buscadores de empleo llevar varías solicitudes previamente elaboradas para cubrir todas las entrevis-
tas posibles. González García adelantó que en un futuro cercano realizarán una Feria de Empleo para personas con Discapacidad y Adultos Mayores en el municipio de Reynosa; y, una Feria de Empleo en los municipios de Río Bravo y Díaz Ordaz. Los programas del SNE son gratuitos. Además de llevar a cabo las Ferias y Jornadas de Empleo, también tienen al alcance de las personas la Bolsa de Trabajo, así como los subprogramas Bécate y Fomento al Autoempleo. “Ésta serie de programas tienen por objetivo
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas
La Segunda Feria Estatal del Empleo (en Tamaulipas) tendrá como sede el Centro cívico ‘Carlos Cantú Rosas’, hoy 1 de octubre, a partir de las 8 a.m. Se pide a los interesados acudir con varias solicitudes de empleo previamente elaboradas. impulsar la economía de la región”, indica un co-
municado de prensa del Gobierno de Tamaulipas.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
Windows 10 blends new, old Shareholders get By BRANDON BAILEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft is trying to soften an unpopular redesign of Windows by reviving features from older versions while still attempting to nudge desktop users into a world of touch screens and mobile devices. The company on Tuesday gave an early preview of the new Windows 10 software, which it aims to begin selling by the middle of next year. Although the current version is called Windows 8, Microsoft says it’s skipping ahead to Windows 10 to emphasize its effort to move forward. “Windows 10 represents the first step in a whole new generation of Windows,” said Terry Myerson, executive vice president of Microsoft’s operating systems group. Windows 8 was introduced two years ago as an
Photo by Microsoft | AP
This image shows the start menu of Windows 10, the company’s next version of its flagship operating system. The company has announced it is skipping version 9. answer to the growing demand for mobile devices. But many users hated it because its tablet-like design and controls weren’t a good fit for many devices using keyboards and mice. Sales of personal computers continued to fall. With Windows 10, Microsoft is trying to regain the loyalty of longtime PC users, while reaching out to consumers and businesses that are increasingly adopting touch-screen smart-
phones and tablets. Analysts consider the success of the new Windows crucial for Microsoft and new CEO Satya Nadella, who must show that Microsoft can embrace mobile devices without sacrificing the traditional computing experience. The new system will be a blend of the old and the new. For instance, it will have various controls that are familiar to users of older Windows systems, such
as a start menu to quickly access apps. But this start button will also open a series of tiles that resemble what’s found in Windows 8. Analysts said that more gradual transition is important if Microsoft wants to persuade users to upgrade. “This is what Windows 8 should have been,” said Carolina Milanesi, a tech analyst at the research firm Kantar Worldpanel. Microsoft executives signaled they got that message on Tuesday. They stressed repeatedly that using the next version of Windows won’t be a challenge for businesses or consumers who have continued to use Windows 7 or even earlier versions. The new software seeks to offer “the familiarity of Windows 7 with some of the benefits that exist in Windows 8,” said Joe Belfiore, a Microsoft executive who oversees Windows design and evolution.
OFFENDERS know about the two men until last week. The banishments came to light when OVSOM officials and the Chronicle attempted to determine the exact number of offenders in the state’s civil commitment program. “It’s true we didn’t know about those two offenders until we found a discrepancy in the number we showed were on civil commitment and number (the prison system) showed,” said Marsha McLane, who was appointed OVSOM’s director last May. “We should have known about them.” Officials with the Special Prosecutions Unit, the agency that brings forth civil commitment petitions and that was listed in court documents as responsible for monitoring the two men’s whereabouts, did not return calls for comment last week.
Under review The two cases raise new questions about whom the state chooses to place in the controversial civil commitment program. In May, agency officials began a review of which offenders were placed in the program after a severely disabled, mentally ill, blind man in diapers was transferred into the agency’s supervision. Lawyers familiar with the program say there are many men in the program suffering from severe disabilities and other mental illnesses, including one who is confined to a nursing home. Since the program’s inception in 1999, more than 300 sex offenders have been ordered into the civil commitment program. Nearly half have been returned to prison or jail for violating program rules. While the program is supposed to provide a treatment plan for sex offenders who suffer from “a behavioral abnormality,” not a single detainee has been released in the program’s 15-year history for successfully completing it. Legal experts and mental health professionals question whether the civil commitment program can withstand constitutional muster because of the way it is being operated. Behavioral abnormalities The agency also has been facing intense controversy since April, when a series of disclosures by the Chronicle — including the unannounced placement of high-risk sex offenders in a north Houston neighborhood — revealed allegations of contract mismanagement, missing records and administrative mistakes. Since the agency came under fire, its former director, Alison Taylor, and board chair, Dan Powers, have resigned. Three separate investigations into agency operations are continuing. According to court records and internal agency memos obtained by the Chronicle, the orders sending Lloyd Wilson and Melvin Cody Whipple out of state were signed in August 2004. At the time, Wilson, 44, had just finished serving a 12year sentence for indecency with a child in Fort Worth and aggravated sexual assault of a child in Dallas. Whipple, 58, was completing nine years in prison for aggravated
Exxon response By JONATHAN FAHEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Exxon Mobil issued a report Tuesday that acknowledges the environmental risks of hydraulic fracturing but also defends the practice as being better for the environment than other types of energy production. Under pressure from the corporate responsibility group As You Sow, as well as New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer and other shareholders, Exxon agreed earlier this year to reveal more about how it manages the risks involved with the drilling technique, known as fracking. The report acknowledges that drilling wells and producing oil and gas from shale formations and other so-called unconventional sources do carry risks, in-
cluding the possibility of water contamination and leaks of natural gas into the atmosphere that contribute to climate change. “Hydraulic fracturing has been responsibly and safely used by the oil and gas industry for more than 60 years, but the process isn’t without risks,” said Jeffrey Woodbury, vice president of investor relations, in a statement. But the report also reads like a defense of unconventional oil and gas production and fracking. It cites studies that have failed to show direct links between cracking rock to allow oil and gas to escape and water contamination, and it goes into detail about the benefits of unconventional oil and gas production and how it compares favorably to many other types of energy production and generation.
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kidnapping involving sexual intent and indecency with a child in Amarillo and nearby Deaf Smith County. State prison records show both men had served their full sentences, meaning they would have been freed without supervision. Because they had been convicted of two sex crimes and deemed to suffer from a behavioral abnormality by a state-recruited psychologist, however, they were eligible to be placed in the state’s civil commitment program for sex offenders who are believed to be a continuing danger to the public. Whipple was ordered into the program on Aug. 6, 2004, and Wilson 14 days later by two different judges in Montgomery County district courts. However, both then were ordered to “leave the State of Texas within 72 hours of release” from prison and “not to visit or reside in the State of Texas.” Both were officially declared to be “sexually violent predators” who were likely to commit new crimes. Each was required to check in every 90 days with a special prison prosecutions unit that signed the orders, to be involved in sex-offender treatment programs and to register as a sex offender. District Judge Lee Alworth ordered Whipple to move to Bluff, Utah. Judge Putnam Reiter ordered Wilson to live in Virginia.
‘Outlawry’ How the two men came to be officially ordered out of Texas despite this constitutional provision remains a question, however. Section 20 of the bill of rights of the Texas constitution states: “No citizen shall be outlawed. No person shall be transported out of the State for any offense committed within the same.” The constitution officially refers to banishment as “outlawry.” Alworth and Reiter said Friday that they could not recall the cases, but Reiter suggested that if a defendant agreed to such a provision, it probably would have gone through unchallenged. Rudolph Brothers, executive director for State Counsel for Offenders, the agency that represents offenders in the civil commitment cases, pointed out that Whipple and Wilson may have agreed to the banishment out of preference. However, Brothers, who has been head of the agency for about three years, stressed that he would advise his attorneys against letting their clients agree to such stipulations. “I would not be in favor of any kind of stipulation or agreement that impeded or interfered with someone’s fundamental rights, and the right to travel is a fundamental right under the federal Constitution,” he said. Defense attorneys familiar with the law said banishment clearly is illegal. “I think that’s unconstitutional and that it’s a nonwaivable right, if someone suggests that the defendants could agree to it,” said Richard Gladden, a Denton attorney fa-
miliar with the outlawry provision. “There are some constitutional rights you can waive and others you cannot, like the right to an automatic appeal in a death penalty case. Society has an interest in not having banishing be a form of official government action.” Virginia records show that in July 2005, Wilson was arrested in Fairfax County on charges of rape, abduction and producing child pornography after he allegedly agreed to drive a 16-year-old girl home from work and instead took her to his home and raped her. Police at the time said he hit her with his belt and photographed her with his cellphone before driving her home. He received a 30-year sentence and remains in a prison outside Richmond, Va., officials said. If he is not released early, Wilson will complete his sentence in 2031. Jenna Sands, the prosecutor on Wilson’s Fairfax County case, said she did not recall knowing that Wilson was listed in Texas’ civil commitment program. “If he had been civilly committed (in Texas), I would have thought his attorney would have brought that up, and I have no memory of that coming up at all,” said Sands, now a criminal defense lawyer in private practice. She recalled the case because Wilson was known as the “ducttape rapist” because he tied up the victim with duct tape. Larry Traylor, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Corrections that now has charge of Wilson, said Virginia has its own civil commitment program and does not allow offenders to move to another state.
“No indication” After about a year in Utah, Whipple was arrested in May 2008, accused of fondling an 11-year-old boy after showing him pornography, according to an internal OVSOM memo. He was given a 1- to 15-year sentence for attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a second-degree felony, and is being held in a Utah lockup. “We had no indication that Whipple was on any continued supervision, such as parole,” said Utah Department of Corrections spokeswoman Brooke Adams. She added that Whipple did register as a sex offender in Utah, as required. Utah’s records include a pre-release notification form from the Texas Sex Offender Registration Program, though it is unclear when that document was provided to officials there. The form indicates Whipple was assigned a risk level of “C,” with a reference to “civil commitment” but no additional explanation or judgment order date. After being turned down for parole in 2009, Whipple is not scheduled for another review until 2020, Adams said. He is scheduled to complete his sentence in 2022, she said. McLane questioned why prosecutors, and not the agency that was supposed to keep track of the violent predators, had that responsibility. “This agency should have had supervision of those offenders,” she said.
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014