The Zapata Times 10/1/2016

‘HORNS ON THE ROAD

SATURDAY OCTOBER 1, 2016

FREE

DEFENSE FACES TEST AT OKLAHOMA STATE, B1

DELIVERED EVERY SATURDAY

TO 4,000 HOMES

A HEARST PUBLICATION

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

IMMIGRATION

ZAPATA COUNTY

Officials blast security, crime

Man indicted by grand jury

Lawmakers criticize border surge for moving crime but not ending it

By Julián Aguilar TH E TE XAS T RI BUNE

The $800 million border security operation passed by state lawmakers has helped seal off parts of the state’s southern border. But the surge has also made the rest of the area more of a hotbed for illegal activity, the state’s top law enforcement officer told law-

makers on Wednesday.

The assessment by Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw came during a House Homeland Security and Public Safety meeting in Brownsville, where Democrats hammered away at the DPS chief and questioned whether the buildup is successful if it’s not securing the Border continues on A11

By César G. Rodriguez THE ZAPATA TIME S

Marjorie Kamys Cotera / The Texas Tribune

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw answers questions during a Senate Committee on State Affairs meeting.

U.S. REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM

TEXAS WITHDRAWS BILL Governor cites safety concerns, urges overhaul

By Jonathan Tilove COX NEWSPAPERS

Courtesy photo / UNHCR

This photo shows a child walking in a United Nations refugee camp in Turkey where thousands of Syrian refugees reside. Texas officials say the state is withdrawing from the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program.

AUSTIN — Failing to reach an agreement with the federal government by Friday’s deadline, Texas officials say the state is withdrawing from the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program. But refugees will continue to come to Texas, albeit Abbott without the state acting as the middleman between federal dollars and local resettlement agencies.

“Texas has repeatedly requested that the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the director of National Intelligence provide assurances that refugees resettled in Texas Program continues on A11

A man was indicted this week accused of transporting suspected undocumented immigrants through Zapata County in September, an affidavit states.

A grand jury in Laredo charged Guadalupe Hernandez on Tuesday with one count of conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants within the United States and two counts of attempt to transport undocumented people for money.

Hernandez, a U.S. citizen, has arraignment Oct. 6.

U.S. Border Patrol said they encountered Hernandez on Sept. 7 when an agent observed a green van traveling on U.S. 83.

The agent alleged the passengers “quickly hunched down” as if they wanted to avoid detection, according to a criminal complaint filed Sept. 9.

A records check on the vehicle revealed the license plates had been canceled in 2015, records alleged. Another agent arrived as backup. Then, agents allegedly observed the passengers “were suddenly asleep.”

Agents said they perceived this action as a common tactic used by immigrants to avoid being questioned.

An immigration inspection revealed the five passengers, four Mexican citizens and one Guatemalan national, had entered the country illegally.

Once arrested, Hernandez allegedly agreed to a post-arrest interview. He then stated he was transporting the immigrants from Brownsville to Laredo.

Hernandez expected $100 for transporting the immigrants and the green minivan used in the smuggling attempt if he was successful.

TEXAS EDUCATION

Schools struggle to hire more bilingual teachers

By Eva-Marie Ayala THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

Smiley N. Pool / AP

Bilingual teacher Olivia Mendez works with students in her second grade class at Shands Elementary on Thursday in Mesquite, Texas. The number of limited-English speakers in the state has grown by nearly 50 percent in the last decade.

DALLAS — Olivia Mendez can’t help but see herself in her second-grade students, many of whom barely speak English.

The Dallas Morning News reports she too struggled with the language when growing up in the Texas Panhandle. She too had to navigate the adult

world when she did learn.

“I was always the one translating and telling my parents what the teacher was saying,” she said. “I wanted to be the teacher telling the parent so that the kids don’t have to worry about being that translator. I want to promote success for them.”

But Texas can’t find enough teachers like Mendez to keep

up with the need.

The number of limited-English speakers in the state has grown by nearly 50 percent in the last decade with about 1 in 5 students struggling with the language. But in that same time, Texas had a dramatic 20 percent drop in the number of educators working in bilingual and ESL classes.

Teachers continues on A11

Zin brief A2 | Saturday, October 1, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

CALENDAR

AROUND THE NATION

TODAY IN HISTORY

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

1

Book sale. 8:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Widener Book Room, First United Methodist Church. No admission charge.

Everyone is invited.

1 Laredo Northside Market Association Farmers Market. 9 a.m.–1 p.m.

North Central Park playground. This market will feature the usual vendors as well as a pumpkin decorating event for children. The pumpkins are artificial and will be good until Halloween.

For more information see www.facebook.com/laredonorthsidemarket.

Today is Saturday, Oct. 1, the 275th day of 2016. There are 91 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Oct. 1, 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.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2 1

City of Laredo Comprehensive Plan’s Public Design Workshop (Charrette). Laredo Public Library, 1120 E. Calton Road. This event is part of a two-week intensive planning session where citizens, designers and others can collaborate on their vision for the City of Laredo’s comprehensive plan. Drop in anytime from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to get a first-hand look at how a comprehensive plan is constructed and make a suggestion. An open house will be held at 5 p.m. to show how the public’s ideas are coming to life.

1 7th Annual Blessing of All Animals. 4–5 p.m. St. Peter's Plaza. All animals should be taken in a leash, harness or cage. St. Francis of Assisi medals and T-shirts will be available with a donation. All donations received will go toward projects to protect community cats including a Trap, Neuter, and Return Program for Laredo. For more details, call Birdie at 286-7866.

1 Life Chain. 2 p.m. Sidewalks from Hillside and McPherson roads. The Diocese of Laredo is hosting this pro-life event. The diocese says this will be a peaceful opportunity to pray for respect for the life of every human being. For more information, call 727-2140.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 3 1

City of Laredo Comprehensive Plan’s Public Design Workshop (Charrette). Laredo Public Library, 1120 E. Calton Road. This event is part of a two-week intensive planning session where citizens, designers and others can collaborate on their vision for the City of Laredo’s comprehensive plan. Drop in anytime from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to get a first-hand look at how a comprehensive plan is constructed and make a suggestion.

There will be work group reviews of parks and recreation at 10 a.m. and infrastructure/environmental at 4 p.m.

A planning and zoning board workshop is set for 5 p.m.

1 Movie and Popcorn. Every Monday, 4–5 p.m. Santa Rita Express Library, 83 Prada Machin Drive, on the corner of Malaga Drive and Castro Urdiales Avenue. Enjoy a family movie and refreshments.

1 Chess Club. 4–6 p.m. Every Monday. Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete in this cherished strategy game played internationally.

Free. For all ages and skill levels.

Instruction is offered.

1 Ray of Light anxiety and depression support group meeting.

6:30–7:30 p.m. Area Health Education Center, 1505 Calle del Norte, Suite 430. Every first Monday of the month.

People suffering from anxiety and depression are invited to attend this free, confidential and anonymous support group meeting. While a support group does not replace an individual's medical care, it can be a valuable resource to gain insight, strength and hope.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4 1

22nd Annual Dia del Rio Proclamation. 9 a.m. Underneath bridge I. Officials from both sides of the border will gather to kick off a monthlong celebration of the river. Free and open to the public.

1 City of Laredo Comprehensive Plan’s Public Design Workshop (Charrette). Laredo Public Library, 1120 E. Calton Road. This event is part of a two-week intensive planning session where citizens, designers and others can collaborate on their vision for the City of Laredo’s comprehensive plan. Drop in anytime from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to get a first-hand look at how a comprehensive plan is constructed and make a suggestion.

There will be a work group review of economic development at 10 a.m., trade/logistics at 2 p.m. and health/ wellness at 4 p.m.

1 Rock wall climbing. 4–5:30 p.m.

LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Take the challenge and climb the rock wall! Fun exercise for all ages. Free. Bring ID. Must sign release form. Every Tuesday. For more information, call 795-2400 x2520.

1 LEGO Workshop. Every Tuesday, 4–5 p.m. Santa Rita Express Library, 83 Prada Machin Drive, on the corner of Malaga Drive and Castro Urdiales Avenue. Create with LEGOs, DUPLOs and robotics.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5 1

City of Laredo Comprehensive Plan’s Public Design Workshop (Charrette). Laredo Public Library, 1120 E. Calton Road. This event is part of a two-week intensive planning session where citizens, designers and others can collaborate on their vision for the City of Laredo’s comprehensive plan. Drop in anytime from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to get a first-hand look at how a comprehensive plan.

1 SRX Chess Club. Every Wednesday, 4–5 p.m. Santa Rita Express Library, 83 Prada Machin Drive, on the corner of Malaga Drive and Castro Urdiales Avenue.

Cathy Bussewitz / AP

Darlene Pajarito, executive director of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, in the Philippines, talked about child sexual abuse on Friday in Honolulu.

CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL SEX SITES

By Cathy Bussewitz ASSOCIATED PRE SS

HONOLULU — Prosecutors from around the world say the fight against sex trafficking is moving online as traffickers use popular websites to advertise sexual services.

They talked Friday about how they can crack down on the problem at an international sex trafficking summit in Waikiki that drew prosecutors from Asia, the U.S. and Canada.

The challenges each nation faces are similar, and victims are often unwilling to

Police fatally shoot armed murder suspect near home COLUMBUS, Ohio — Police fatally shot a murder suspect who was seen with a gun in his jacket before he ran from officers and was ordered to stop in a confrontation, authorities in Ohio’s capital said Friday.

Columbus police said officers caught up to the 20-year-old man late Friday morning behind a home in a neighborhood that abuts Interstate 270. They

cooperate with investigators because they’ve endured a history of abuse, said Jackie Lacey, Los Angeles County’s district attorney.

“Most of this is underground,” Lacey said. “It’s not like in the ‘80s and ‘90s where women were on the street. It’s all done by social media, cellphones, emails, text messages.”

Michael Ramos, president of the National District Attorneys Association, said he plans to push for legislation in the United States to make it illegal to use websites to solicit illegal sex.

said the suspect, Jacquarius Robinson, was shot multiple times and died at the scene.

Police said a handgun was recovered. No officers were hurt. Robinson was black.

Police haven’t disclosed the race of any officers involved.

Robinson was suspected of fatally shooting a 21-year-old man, Damion Wade, overnight after an argument at an apartment about a mile from where Robinson was later confronted, police said.

SWAT officers tracked the suspect to the east side neigh-

borhood, and a plain-clothes officer saw him transfer a gun from his waistband to his jacket, police said. A K-9 unit then tried to stop the suspect, who fled, said police.

Officers caught up to him in a yard and ordered him to stop, and witnesses reported hearing multiple shots at that point, police said. Investigators haven’t said whether more than one person fired a weapon at the scene. Officials said it is the 14th police-involved shooting in Columbus this year.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE WORLD UN condemns Congo clashes, calls for quick election UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday strongly condemned recent deadly clashes in Congo fueled by political turmoil and called on the government and electoral commission to establish a calendar for elections “as fast as possible.”

Tensions in Congo have risen as it has become increasingly apparent that President Joseph Kabila will stay in office after his term legally ends in December. Congo’s electoral commission said November’s scheduled presidential vote won’t be possible, and a court has determined Kabila can stay in power until another election is organized.

A resolution adopted by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council called on the government to create “without delay the necessary conditions for

Fabrice Coffrini / Getty Images

United Nations special envoy on Libya Martin Kobler gestures during a press briefing.

holding free, transparent, inclusive and peaceful elections.”

It also called on the government and the electoral commission “to accelerate preparations towards the holding of elections and to establish as fast as possible a credible electoral calendar” as part of a national dialogue.

Dimitris Christopoulos, pres-

ident of the international human rights group FIDH, which includes 184 organizations from close to 120 countries, said: “The United Nations just sent President Kabila a crystal-clear message: respect the rule of law, the constitution and the electoral process; otherwise you will be held to account.”

— Compiled from AP reports.

AROUND TEXAS Records: Prisons have over 330 transgender inmates AUSTIN — Texas prison system records show the number of inmates identifying themselves as transgender is at an all-time high amid greater awareness of gender issues and criminal justice reforms. The Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday that 333 inmates currently identify themselves as transgender. Texas Depart-

On this date: In 1891, Stanford University in California held its opening day ceremony.

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 1936, Gen. Francisco Franco was proclaimed head of an insurgent Spanish state.

In 1940, the first section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike — described as America’s first superhighway — opened to the public, stretching 160 miles from Carlisle to Irwin.

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 154game season. (Tracy Stallard of the Boston Red Sox gave up the roundtripper; the Yankees won 1-0.)

In 1962, Johnny Carson debuted as host of NBC’s “Tonight Show,” beginning a nearly 30-year run.

In 1964, the Free Speech Movement began at the University of California, Berkeley. Japan’s first high-speed “bullet train,” the Tokaido Shinkansen, went into operation between Tokyo and Osaka.

In 1971, Walt Disney World opened near Orlando, Florida.

In 1986, former President Jimmy Carter’s presidential library and museum were dedicated in Atlanta with help from President Ronald Reagan.

In 1994, National Hockey League team owners began a 103-day lockout of their players.

Ten years ago: The Israeli army completed its withdrawal from Lebanon, clearing the way for a U.N. peacekeeping force. Brazil’s leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva fell short of the votes he needed to win a second term outright and was forced into a runoff, which he won by a landslide.

Tiger Woods won the American Express Championship in Chandler’s Cross, England. (It was his eighth victory of the year, making Woods the first player in PGA Tour history to win at least eight times in three seasons.)

Five years ago: More than 700 Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested after they swarmed the Brooklyn Bridge and shut down a lane of traffic for several hours in a tense confrontation with police. Campaigning began in Tunisia for the first elections born of the revolts that swept the Middle East.

One year ago: A gunman opened fire at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, killing nine people and then himself. A 49-year-old convicted murderer of three people in Virginia and California was executed

by Virginia after a series of last-minute appeals failed. Officials in Michigan declared a public health emergency over the city of Flint’s water in response to tests that showed children with elevated levels of lead. Oregon marijuana shops began selling for the first time to recreational users.

Today’s Birthdays: Former President Jimmy Carter is 92. Actress-singer Julie Andrews is 81. Actress Stella Stevens is 78. Rock musician Jerry Martini (Sly and the Family Stone) is 73. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Rod Carew is 71. Jazz musician Dave Holland is 70.

Actress Yvette Freeman is 66. Actor Randy Quaid is 66. Rhythm-and-blues singer Howard Hewett is 61. British Prime Minister Theresa May is 60.

Alt-country-rock musician Tim O’Reagan (The Jayhawks) is 58. Singer Youssou N’Dour is 57. Actor Esai Morales is 54. Retired MLB All-Star Mark McGwire is 53. Actor Christopher Titus is 52. Actress-model Cindy Margolis is 51. Producer John Ridley (Film: “12 Years a Slave”) is 51. Rock singer-musician Kevin Griffin (Better Than Ezra) is 48. Actor Zach Galifianakis is 47. Singer Keith Duffy is 42.

Actress Sarah Drew is 36. Actorcomedian Beck Bennett is 32. Actress Brie Larson is 27.

Thought for Today: “Talent alone won’t make you a success. Neither will being in the right place at the right time, unless you are ready. The most important question is: ‘Are you ready?”’ — Johnny Carson (19252005).

CONTACT US ment of Criminal Justice records show that compares to 67 inmates identifying themselves as transgender in September 2014. Jason Clark, a TDCJ spokesman, said Thursday in a statement that the prison system, as of Tuesday, had 145,795 offenders.

Transgender prisoners require special attention under new federal regulations to reduce inmate sexual assault. The National Inmate Survey administered by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that incarcerat-

ed transgender people are far more likely to be the targets of violence and rape than the average inmate in the general prison population. The Prison Rape Elimination Act requires officials to provide special accommodations to transgender inmates, including prohibiting strip or cavity searches by a guard of the opposite gender.

Administrators must also consider an inmate’s gender identity when deciding on housing assignments.

— Compiled from AP reports

Publisher, William B. Green .....................................728-2501 General Manager, Adriana Devally ..........................728-2510 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................................728-2531 Circulation Director ..................................................728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo..................................728-2505 Managing Editor, Nick Georgiou ..............................728-2582 Sports Editor, Zach Davis ........................................728-2578 Spanish Editor, Melva Lavin-Castillo.......................728-2569

SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Wednesdays and Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata and Jim Hogg counties. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times in those areas at newstands, 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. Call (956) 728-2500.

The Zapata Times

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, October 1, 2016 |

A3

LOCAL & STATE

Courtesy photo

In this March photo, Lions Club president Aurelio Villareal presents a check to ZCFA president Erica Uribe for over $1000 to help exhibitors for their hard work with their fair projects. The Zapata Lions Club will be hosting a BBQ and brisket plate fundraiser today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Zapata County Community Center located at 605 N. US Highway 83.

Lions Club hosting fundraiser today S P ECIAL T O T HE T I ME S

The Zapata Lions Club will be hosting a BBQ and brisket plate fund-

raiser Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016 The fundraiser will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Zapata

County Community Center located at 605 N. US Highway 83 in Zapata, Texas.

Donations are $7 per

plate.

The Zapata Lions Club has been serving the community since 1954.

Records: Man accused of killings stole ID to obtain passport

By David Warren A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

DALLAS — A man in the country illegally who authorities say was responsible for a string of crimes that left two dead in the Dallas area obtained a U.S. passport under a stolen identity, which allowed him to freely travel across the Texas-Mexico border, according to federal court records.

The man, a Mexican national identified as Silvestre Franco-Luviano in federal court records, had already been deported once by the time he stole the identity of a man in Brownsville to obtain a Texas driver’s license and state birth certificate, according to the records.

He provided copies of those stolen documents to receive a U.S. passport in 2006 that allowed him to cross the border 35 times over at least three years, according to the records on file in Dallas, first reported by TV station KTVT. The records also indicate he had 13 different aliases, including Juan Navarro Rios, the name of the Brownsville man whose identity was stolen.

Earlier this week, Dallas County officials indicated that the suspect’s real name was Juan Navarro Rios and that Silvestre Franco-Luviano was an alias.

The identity theft victim later applied for a passport but was denied because records indicated

he already had one. Federal authorities investigated and determined FrancoLuviano had assumed the identity of Navarro Rios, the court records show.

He was eventually apprehended when he attempted to cross into Texas in another instance and started a two-year prison term in January 2013 for making a false statement in applying for a passport.

Over the course of 20 years, Franco-Luviano has also been convicted of offenses that include assault in Dallas, burglarizing vehicles in the Austin area and illegal entry into the country. He’s been deported three times, most recently in 2014 after the passport fraud prison term, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs

Enforcement.

But at some point he entered Texas again, and authorities say he’s suspected of killing two men in separate shootings late Sunday. By the next day he had traveled about 150 miles to the south and abducted then robbed a man doing landscaping work in Georgetown, officials contend.

He was taken into custody Tuesday following a standoff at his sister’s apartment in Georgetown, but not before setting a fire in the apartment and then breaking down a wall to enter an adjacent, evacuated unit in an effort to escape, police have said.

A motive remains unclear.

Hector Gomez, said they appear to be “senseless” opportunistic crimes.

Courtesy photo

The Zapata Farmer and Artisan’s Market will be held today from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Zapata County Plaza, next to the Sheriff’s Office. The event is free and open to the public, as well as provided entertainment, food and fun.

Zapata Farmer and Artisan’s Market today SPECIAL TO THE TIME S

The Zapata County Farmer and Artisan’s Market will be held Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The event is to take place at the Zapata County Plaza, next to the Sheriff’s Office.

Markets are held at the

the beginning of each month.

The public is encouraged to come and discover beautiful creations and healthy food options.

Everyone is invited.

For those interested in becoming a vendor, you can call 956-500-6600 or email zapatafarmersmarket@gmail.com

Zopinion

Letters to the editor Send your signed letter to editorial@lmtonline.com

A4 | Saturday, October 1, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

Fat-Shamer in Chief

By Timothy Egan TH E N EW YORK T IME S

Apparently, millions of Americans don’t care that a man now within a nosehair of the presidency may be the most prolific liar in modern political history. Nor do they care about the authoritarian policies he espouses, his truly scary embrace of dictators abroad and crackpots at home, or his monumental ignorance on every subject.

But as the impact of this week’s debate and the after-chatter have settled in, it’s clear that blood can boil across the land on at least one topic: We care about appearances. With little more than a month to go until the election, the fact that Donald Trump now finds himself in a very public fight with a beauty queen tells you everything you need to know about the sick soul of this man.

So, in the spirit of the discourse that Trump has brought us to, let’s objectify the Republican nominee on his terms.

This guy is fat. em>Bigly/ em>. He’s got an extra chin, a gut you wouldn’t want to see riding above a bathing suit, and a rear that serves no purpose but ballast.

At 6-foot-2, the height that he has long given profile writers, Trump weighs 236 pounds, he told Dr. Oz. Not quite Taftian — he ballooned to 354 pounds by his inauguration in 1909 — but not healthy, either. By government guidelines, Trump is obese. In a weasel move to avoid that classification, Trump now says he is 6-foot-3, which makes him merely overweight. How he grew an inch, at the age of 70, is a story that has escaped his hagiographers at Fox. Trump’s ducktail hairdo, colored in a hue unknown to nature, is a complicated comb-over inspired by Dr. Seuss. He wears a silly cap at outdoor rallies to keep the nest in place. It makes him look like “the warmup guy,” Garrison Keillor wrote, “the guy who announces the license number of the car left in the parking lot, doors locked, lights on, motor running.”

His fingers, as Spy magazine first noted decades ago, are unusually short. At 7.25 inches from the tip of his middle finger to the wrist (according to sleuthing by investigative reporters), Trump’s hands are smaller than 85 percent of American men. No surprise he lies about that as well. “Look at these hands,” he said during a debate earlier this year, holding the dwarf-size digits up for all to see.

“Are they small hands?”

I bring all this up because Trump brings it up — constantly. For someone who is fat, shortfingered and strangelooking, he is obsessed with looks. During his decades in the spotlight,

he has bullied and shamed women for their weight. And more — he has had people fired, at his golf courses, for not being pretty enough, The Los Angeles Times reported this week.

In the days after the most watched political debate in history, Trump didn’t talk about trade policy, war and peace, or health care. Instead, his fetish for the superficial dominated his talking points, trying to fatshame anew the former Miss Universe, Alicia Machado. Hillary Clinton baited him for calling the young woman “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping.” Machado is getting her revenge.

Trump “always treated me like a lesser thing, like garbage,” she told reporters on a conference call.

Trump surrogate Newt Gingrich, another guy you wouldn’t want to be seated next to in a cramped row of a commuter plane, explained that beauty queens should not be fat. Fair point. But nor should beauty queens be so belittled, as Machado said, that the insults triggered a relapse in her bulimia.

You certainly shouldn’t have to be height-weight perfect to work at a golf course. But a catering director at a California course said under oath that she was told to fire an employee “because Mr. Trump doesn’t like fat people,” according to a 2012 deposition.

Trump also revealed his apparent obsession with the obese in dismissing Russian sabotage of the election. More likely, he said during the debate, “it could be someone sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds,” giving techies a great hashtag to play with on Twitter.

This fat-shaming episode by a man who wants to lead the country is deeply resonant because most Americans struggle with their weight. More than two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese.

It’s a serious problem — life threatening, for many people — with multibillion dollar health care consequences.

Trump could express sympathy or offer some solutions. Instead, he stuffs his puffy face with junk food for the cameras, while making fun of anyone who isn’t a cover model. As for exercise, he burns most of his calories by giving speeches, he says. Seriously. Aerobic insults, the Trump diet.

“Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life,” Dean Wormer told a pledge in “Animal House.” Trump would certainly agree, even though he has two of the three attributes. A look in the mirror would give him more than enough to talk about.

Timothy Egan is a columnist for The New York Times.

COLUMN

Saving democracy too important to be left to politicians

By Dick Meyer SCRIPP S WASHINGTON BUREAU

For the decided, it is unfathomable that anyone could still be undecided.

What more could anyone possibly need to know about Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump to make a decision? Even for the masses that can’t abide either, the contrast between them is gargantuan. It is easier to understand not voting than agonizing between these polar-melting opposites.

I believe persuading undecided voters to vote against Trump is as fundamentally important to American democracy and the legitimacy of our government as anything the country has faced in generations.

It is certainly too important a job to leave to the politicians.

The key is to somehow get through to independents and wobbly Republicans who have been flirting with the devilish Trump or have been tempted to keep their hands pure by voting for the Libertarian party.

After so much campaigning and saturation coverage, what can possibly pierce the cloak of indecision for these voters?

So far in the campaign, two things seem to set the undecided against Trump (temporarily, at least).

First, when Trump picks on little guys and gals and second, when he acts crazy.

Two of Trump’s largest craters in the polls came after he attacked Judge Gonazalo Curiel, who is

presiding over a federal case against Trump University, and then Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the Gold Star family that spoke so movingly at the Democratic National Convention this summer.

This might be happening again after Trump reattacked a former Miss Universe, a Latina, after the first debate.

These episodes all have racist elements. They all led to rebukes and wishywashy wrist slaps from Republicans. But the key dynamic that seems to bug undecided voters is the bullying.

Psychologically, this is fascinating - tactically, not so much.

While the ego trip of being attacked by the rich, famous and powerful arouses Trump, he cannot tolerate criticism from the lowly and ordinary. It must feel like an affront to his majesty. We in the press tend to call his behavior bullying, but I would argue bullying is a word that applies only to children.

Trump is an adult (at least biologically) and his behavior is sadistic, cruel and void of empathy. This isn’t locker room bullying. It’s much worse and voters recognize that intuitively and instantly.

But they forget.

The Democrats can and do remind voters of Trump’s sadism in TV ads, but they can’t bait him in to new escapades.

Undecideds also seem to respond when Trump says crazy things. Or, to use the polite newspeak term, when he appears "unhinged."

The problem is there are so many examples.

Like when during the "small hands" era, he bragged about his "down there" in a debate. Or when he did a mocking imitation of a disabled reporter or yelled to get a crying baby out of a rally.

Or when he said Ted Cruz’s father was in on the JFK assassination or that Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly had "blood coming out of . wherever" or when he said he’d like to see what the "Second Amendment people" would do if Hillary didn’t have Secret Service.

Trump’s craziness has apparently been normalized for some undecideds (and, of course, it’s what his loyalists love most about him). In the first debate, Clinton did a fine job of goading Trump into weirdness ("wrong . wrong . wrong?"). Perhaps the cumulative effect will drown Trump before Election Day. But that is a thin strategic reed.

A more important and potentially actionable question is this: Who can get through to undecided voters?

The answer is probably not Clinton, despite her winning performance at the first debate.

There is a catch-22 problem when trying to persuade voters who are tempted by Trump. Voters attracted to Trump’s outsider status and his iconoclasm automatically disregard sources normally qualified or positioned as influential.

Probably 90 percent of the most influential and widely known conservative or Republican commentators have been attacking Trump with every grenade in the

LETTERS POLICY Laredo Morning Times does not publish anonymous letters.

To be published, letters must include the writer's first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity.

The phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary.

Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication. We want to assure our readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the

letter. Laredo Morning Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms.

This space allows for public debate of the issues of the day.

Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No name-calling or gratuitous abuse is allowed. Also, letters longer than 500 words will not be accepted.

Via email, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

ammo box for months, yet it hasn’t deterred right-leaning undecided.

Newspapers that have never endorsed a Democrat have endorsed Hillary.

The GOP establishment has coldly tolerated, disapproved of or ignored Trump. Former President George H.W. Bush is reportedly voting for Clinton. A huge number of military officers, intelligence officials and diplomats who served in high offices in Republican administrations have signed petitions denouncing Trump. But to Trump flirts, they’re all part of the problem.

So who can get through to these voters? Persuading undecideds this year is too important to leave to Clinton and her Democratic teammates. It isn’t enough to hope patriotic Republicans will rally when the bugle sounds.

The august, wise and revered in business, entertainment, the arts and sciences have been marginalized.

In Trump World, everyone is a disaster.

We have entered a news stage of the Twilight of Authority and a Trump victory could set the sun below the horizon.

Unless voters want to trust fate, the job of persuasion has fallen to us as neighbors, colleagues, family members, volunteers and citizens. It is an opportunity and threat in our democracy that is thankfully rare in history.

Dick Meyer is Chief Washington Correspondent for the Scripps Washington Bureau.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, October 1, 2016 |

A5

POLITICS

Clinton calls Donald Trump Twitter tirade ‘unhinged, even for him’

By Catherine Lucey A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — Hillary Clinton is criticizing Donald Trump’s Twitter tirade against a former beauty pageant winner, calling it “unhinged, even for him.”

“Who gets up at 3 o’clock in the morning to engage in a Twitter attack?” Clinton asked at an event in Coral Springs.

She said Trump’s slew of tweets against 1996 Miss Universe Alicia Machado show that he is “temperamentally unfit” to be pres-

ident.

Clinton raised Machado’s name in the first presidential Clinton debate, noting Trump’s mockery when Machado gained weight after winning Miss Universe in 1996. Trump denounced Machado in a television interview the next morning and resumed his attacks with the tweets Friday, questioning her sexual history and whether Clinton

helped her become a citizen.

Clinton reached out to Machado on Friday afternoon to thank her “for all she has done and the courage she has shown,” according to campaign spokesman Nick Merrill.

He said Machado promised to continue supporting her and said she would stand up to the attacks.

Campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri said Clinton did not help Machado become a citizen.

The tweetstorm

sparked a day of criticism focusing on the substance of Trump’s remarks and how they derail his antiClinton message. At the same time, the tweets largely drowned out Clinton’s policy speech, another example of the challenge she faces as she seeks to give voters a more uplifting message — and a reason to vote for her, not just against Trump.

Earlier in the day in Fort Pierce, Florida, Clinton focused her remarks on her plans to expand public service, acknowl-

Eric Draper / AP file

In this 1996 photo, Miss Universe Alicia Machado of Venezuela reacts as she is crowned by the winner.

edging that some might question her choice of subject matter.

“Some might say, ‘Well, hey, my gosh, you’ve only got 39 days to go, why aren’t you out there beating up on your opponent and doing everything to get the vote out and all the rest of it?”’ Clinton said.

“Well, I’ll do that. ... But I’ve been thinking about this for a long time.”

During her speech, Clinton detailed her plans to enhance service opportunities. She wants to triple the size of the

AmeriCorps program, add to the Peace Corps and create a new national service reserve program.

Under her proposed service program, people would enroll, receive some training and then state and local leaders could call on their help during natural disasters or emergency situations.

Clinton said that service had been a priority of Republicans and Democrats in the past, but added, “I don’t think you’ll hear anything about this from my opponent.”

A6 | Saturday, October 1, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

ENTERTAINMENT

With grim topicality, ‘The 13th’ opens New York Film Festival

By Jake Coyle ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Charles Sykes / AP file

Angelina Jolie Pitt and Brad Pitt attend the WSJ Magazine Innovator Awards 2015 at The Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Deal will allow Pitt visitation with children

By Anthony McCartney A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

LOS ANGELES — Angelina Jolie Pitt and Brad Pitt have reached a temporary custody agreement that will allow the actor to visit with his six children, sources said Friday.

Two sources familiar with the agreement but not authorized to speak publicly said the agreement will be in place for three weeks. It calls for Pitt’s first visit with his children to be monitored by a therapist, but that may not be a requirement for subsequent visits.

The sources say both actors have agreed to undergo individual counseling.

Calls to the offices of Pitt’s attorney, Lance Spiegel, and Jolie Pitt’s lawyer, Laura Wasser, were forwarded to recorded messages stating their firms do not comment on clients.

Jolie Pitt filed for divorce on Sept. 19, and her attorney said the following day her decision was “for the health of the

family.” Her filing sought sole physical custody of their six children, who range in ages from 8 to 15.

The temporary agreement has not been filed with the court, and Pitt has not yet responded to the case.

The FBI has said it is gathering evidence about allegations Pitt was involved in a dispute on a private flight with his family on Sept. 14, although the agency has not opened a formal investigation. Sources familiar with the allegations have said they center on the actor’s treatment of his 15-year-old son, Maddox.

Several news outlets have reported that the incident was being investigated by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, but the agency said it could not confirm whether it was involved.

Pitt and Jolie had been one of Hollywood’s highest-profile couples, establishing a joint foundation for charitable work and spending their time offscreen as a family.

NEW YORK — The 54th New York Film Festival kicked off Friday under gray autumn skies, cloaked by an unusual degree of topicality.

Ava DuVernay’s documentary on mass incarceration, “The 13th,” opened the festival, the first documentary to ever mark the start of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s prestigious celebration.

Taking its name from the 13th amendment, DuVernay’s film traces the criminalization of African Americans from the abolishment of slavery up to today’s overcrowded prisons and Black Lives Matter protests.

It’s a portrait of racial dominion through history, by names as varied as Jim Crow and the “war on drugs.”

“We can no longer say that prison is a place bad people go because it’s much more complicated than that,” DuVernay said in an interview ahead of the film’s premiere.

“The 13th” will go from Lincoln Center to Netflix, where it will debut next week. As the first movie with a streaming release to play in such a coveted spot at the New York Film Festival, the documentary’s selection reflects the changing cinematic landscape.

One of the festival’s other much-anticipated world premieres, Ang Lee’s “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,” was conceived as an argument for the theatrical experience. Lee’s adaption of Ben Fountain’s novel about an Iraq war hero on a victory tour in Dallas,

was made in 3-D and with a much faster frame-rate than the traditional 24frames-per-second to boost definition. (Only so many theaters are equipped to screen such a film, so the movie’s festival premiere will be held across the street from Lincoln Center, at a multiplex.)

But both films — one made for the immediacy of the small screen, the other a spectacle tailored for the big screen — receive equally significant platforms at the festival.

“I was like: What are you talking about?” says DuVernay of her surprise at being chosen for opening night. “It wasn’t made with any intention to be

amplified on that scale. I made it to be a resource on Netflix: When you want to know about that thing, this will be here.”

But “The 13th” — which DuVernay says was timed purposefully to the election — was immediately hailed Friday by critics as urgent and necessary. The New York Times called it "powerful, infuriating and at times overwhelming."

“Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” will premiere at the festival Oct. 14 ahead of its November release. But there are many other films in the New York Film Festival’s carefully curated slate that make forceful cases for cinema, big and small.

There’s Kenneth Lo-

nergan’s heart-breaking “Manchester by the Sea,” Barry Jenkins’ lyrical coming-of-age tale “Moonlight” and Maren Ade’s celebrated comedy “Toni Erdmann.” Between them, they encompass some of the top breakouts of the film festival circuit, from Sundance, Cannes and Telluride.

But unlike those buzz factories, the New York Film Festival, led by festival director Kent Jones, generally offers a more sober place for assessment and celebration of some of the year’s best films from around the world.

Also in the main slate is Gianfranco Rosi’s migrant crisis documentary “Fire at Sea.”

Zfrontera THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, October 1, 2016 |

RIBEREÑA EN BREVE FIESTA ROMA 1 La Ciudad de Roma invita a su festival Roma Fest Parade 2016. El Marshal del desfile será Yamil Yunes. El concurso de los carros alegóricos inicia a las 3 p.m.

Desfile desde las 5 p.m. el domingo 9 de octubre.

FERIAS DE SALUD 1 La Oficina de Servicios Fronterizos de DSHS y el Consejo Binacional de Salud SMAC, invitan al público a acudir a dos ferias de salud. Una se llevará a cabo en Colonias Unidas en Río Grande City el 13 de octubre de 8 a.m. a 11 a.m.; la segunda se realizará el mismo día en el Centro Comunitario Roma de 2 p.m. a 4 p.m. Informes con Lupita Guerrero al 956-7298600.

EXHIBICIÓN DE ÁRBOLES FAMILIARES 1 El Museo de Historia del Condado de Zapata y la Sociedad de Genealogía Nuevo Santander invitan a la exhibición de árboles familiares y cocina en sartenes de hierro fundido el viernes 21 de octubre y sábado 22 de octubre de 10 a.m. a 2 p.m. El evento se llevará a cabo en el Museo de Historia del Condado de Zapata.

FIESTA FAMILIAR DE HALLOWEEN 1 La Patrulla Fronteriza y el Departamento de Parques y Vida Silvestre invitan a la fiesta familiar del terror el viernes 29 de octubre en el Parque Municipal de Roma.de 5 a 9 p.m.

Habrá concursos de disfraces para todas las edades, juegos, comida y mucho más.

MUSEO EN ZAPATA 1 A los interesados en realizar una investigación sobre genealogía de la región, se sugiere visitar el Museo del Condado de Zapata ubicado en 805 N US-Hwy 83.

Opera de 10 a.m. a 4 p.m. Existen visitas guiadas. Personal está capacitado y puede orientar acerca de la historia del Sur de Texas y sus fundadores. Pida informes en el (956) 7658983.

FIRMA DE LIBROS 1 La Dra. Alma González Pérez dictará una conferencia y estará firmando su nuevo libro de poesía en la reunión mensual de la Sociedad de Genealogía Nuevo Santander el sábado 12 de Noviembre en el Museo de Historia del Condado de Zapata.

La cita es a las 2 p.m.

LABORATORIO COMPUTACIONAL 1 La Ciudad de Roma pone a disposición de la comunidad el Laboratorio Computacional que abre de lunes a viernes en horario de 1 p.m. a 5 p.m. en Historical Plaza, a un lado del City Hall. Informes en el 956-849-1411.

SE SUSPENDE JUNTA 1 La Sociedad de Genealogía Nuevo Santander informa a sus socios y a la comunidad en general que debido a las fiestas decembrinas no habrá reunión durante ese mes.

A7

HOMBRE TRANSPORTABA INDOCUMENTADOS EN ZAPATA

Acusación formal Hechos derivan del 7 de septiembre Por César G. Rodríguez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Un hombre fue acusado esta semana de transportar inmigrantes indocumentados a través del Condado de Zapata en septiembre, se establece en una declaración jurada.

Un gran jurado en Laredo acusó a Guadalupe Hernández el martes de un cargo de conspirar

para transportar inmigrantes indocumentados dentro de los Estados Unidos y dos cargos de intento de transportar personas indocumentadas por dinero.

Hernández, un ciudadano de EU, tendrá una lectrua de cargos el 6 de octubre.

La Patrulla Fronteriza dijo que econtró a Hernández el 7 de septiembre

cuando un agente observó una camioneta tipo minivan verde viajando por la carretera US 83. El agente alegó que los pasajeros “rápidamente se agacharon” como si quisieran evitar ser detectados, de acuerdo a una querella criminal presentada el 9 de septiembre.

Una revisión de registros del vehículo reveló que las placas habían sido

canceladas en el 2015, se establece en registros.

Otro agente arribó como apoyo. Entonces, los agentes supuestamente observaron que los pasajeros “repentinamente estaban dormidos”.

Los agentes dijeron que percibieron esta acción como una táctica común utilizada por los inmigrantes para evitar ser cuestionados. Una in-

EJÉRCITO MEXICANO

spección migratoria reveló que los cinco pasajeros, cuatro mexicanos y un guatemalteco, habían entrado al país ilegalmente.

Hernánadez supuestamente estuvo de acuerdo en una entrevista posterior al arresto. Declaró que transportaba a los inmigrantes desde Brownsville a Laredo y esperaba recibir 100 dólares.

TAMAULIPAS

RECONOCEN LABOR Logran importantes decomisos en efectivo y armas E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE

Mandos incautan armas en Mier

ZAPATA E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE

CD. VICTORIA, Tamaulipas.- El Secretario de la Defensa Nacional, General Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda y el Gobernador Egidio Torre Cantú, realizaron una gira de trabajo por la entidad. En el municipio de Mier recorrieron la unidad habitacional para elementos castrenses en el cuartel de este municipio de la frontera chica.

En la capital de Estado, sostuvieron un encuentro con representantes de organizaciones civiles, organismos no gubernamentales, integrantes de las Mesas Ciudadanas de Seguridad y Justicia de Tamaulipas y funcionarios de los tres órdenes de Gobierno entre otros, con quienes se hizo una revisión de las acciones en materia de seguridad.

“Nuestra gratitud y por supuesto nuestra amistad por siempre, por el trabajo que las mujeres y los hombres que integran el Ejército Mexicano han hecho y sin duda alguna seguirá haciendo por los tamaulipecos”, afirmó Torre Cantú quien estuvo acompañado de su esposa, María del Pilar González de Torre, Presidenta del

ZAPATA

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

El gobernador de Tamaulipas, Egidio Torre Cantú, acompañado de funcionarios del gobierno y miembros del Ejército Mexicano, realizaron un recorrido por la unidad habitacional que se construye en el Cuartel Militar del municipio de Mier, que ofrecerá viviendas a 500 militares más sus familias que se establecerán de manera permanente en esta localidad, beneficiando además a la zona con una importante derrama económica.

Sistema DIF Estatal, al hacer entrega de un reconocimiento al General Cienfuegos en esta ciudad.

Por su parte, el Titular de la SEDENA aseguró que la seguridad es un tema prioritario en la agenda nacional, donde su atención requiere la participación de todos para alcanzar los resultados deseados, tarea en la que señaló se deben redoblar esfuerzos para lograr la tranquilidad que merecen los ciudadanos.

“Tengan la certeza que no están solos, siempre contarán con sus fuerzas armadas, cumpliremos

con firmeza la instrucción del señor Presidente de la República de seguir trabajando con ahínco aquí en Tamaulipas en estrecha coordinación, atendiendo al llamado de la sociedad que demanda un clima de paz y bienestar”, puntualizó.

El trabajo de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional en Tamaulipas, registra en los últimos cuatro años el decomiso de más de 48 millones de pesos, más de 7 millones de litros de combustible, 7 mil 900 armas, casi dos millones de cartuchos, mil 362 granadas, 9 mil 745 vehí-

culos, 24 embarcaciones, 2 aeronaves, 365 mil 910 kilos de marihuana, 373 kilos de cocaína y la detención en flagrancia de más de 5 mil personas entre otros.

Como parte de su agenda, realizaron un recorrido por la unidad habitacional que se construye en el Cuartel Militar del municipio de Mier, que ofrecerá viviendas a 500 militares más sus familias que se establecerán de manera permanente en esta localidad, beneficiando además a la zona con una importante derrama económica.

CD. VICTORIA, México– El Grupo de Coordinación Tamaulipas informa que policías estatales de Fuerza Tamaulipas, aseguraron en el municipio de Mier, México, un vehículo abandonado en cuyo interior se encontraban cartuchos útiles, cargadores y un arma larga de uso exclusivo militar.

El aseguramiento se efectuó el martes 27 de septiembre cuando los elementos de Fuerza Tamaulipas realizaban recorridos de seguridad y vigilancia sobre la carretera que conecta a Mier con Nueva Ciudad Guerrero.

En ese tramo de la carretera Ribereña, detectaron un automóvil Mercury Grand Marquis con placas del Estado de Nuevo León, el cual se encontraba estacionado sobre una brecha de esa zona.

Al inspeccionar la unidad motriz, los policías estatales detectaron y aseguraron un arma de fuego de alto calibre, así como 16 cargadores y 710 cartuchos hábiles.

COLUMNA

Un matrimonio estratégico Por Raúl Sinencio Chávez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Entre las parejas famosas en México sobresalen Porfirio Díaz y Carmen Romero Rubio. Por la cuna de esta última –apellidada en realidad Romero Castelló–, el asunto suele vincularse a Tamaulipas.

Tras derrocar a Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada y con promesas antirreleccionistas después incumplidas, entre 1876 y 1880 Díaz ocupa la silla presidencial. Apenas un periodo se la confía al compadre tamaulipeco Manuel González, que lo nombra secretario de Fomento. Poco antes Porfirio enviuda de su prima Delfina Ortega; para las previas nupcias religiosas el aún mandatario acepta someterse a la jerarquía eclesiástica, dispensándose el parentesco de los cónyuges.

Suponiéndolo de luto, el jefe de Fomento en 1881 visita Tamaulipas. En Matamoros preside el 11

Foto de cortesía | Raúl Sinencio Chávez

En esta imagen de archivo aparece Carmen Romero Rubio de Díaz al lado de su esposo, Porfirio Díaz, quien fuera presidente mexicano por más de tres décadas. Ellos contrajeron matrimonio el 5 de noviembre de 1881 en la Ciudad de México. Él tenía 51 años y ella sólo contaba con 17 años de edad.

de abril importante junta.

El miércoles 13 inaugura el primer tramo ferroviario a Monterrey. Con repique de campanas, el 27 de abril lo recibe Tampico. Promete mejoras, dejándose agasajar. El sábado 30 –informa la prensa—le ofrecen suntuoso “almuerzo en La Barra”.

Transcurrido el mes, vuelve Díaz a la Ciudad de México. Retoma la oficina que dirige. El 20 de mayo renuncia, dizque ante habladurías que le achacan mangoneos de alto nivel.

En casa de John Foster, diplomático estadounidense, Porfirio conoce a guapa hija de Manuel

Romero Rubio, exlerdista que del exilio salta al Senado durante el porfiriato temprano. El viudo se desata. “Yo debo avisar a usted que la amo”, le escribe con errores ortográficos el 25 de julio de 1881. Él triplica la edad de ella. Sin embargo, alguna seguridad debe animarlo en tan atrevidas pretensiones, que prosperan. El acta detalla: “A las siete de la noche del” sábado 5 “de noviembre de” 1881 celebraron “su matrimonio” civil “Porfirio Díaz y […] Carmen Romero y Castelló; el primero de Oaxaca, de” 51 “años […]

La contrayente de Tula, Tamaulipas, de” 17 “años, doncella”. El lunes siguiente los casa Pelagio Antonio de Labastida y Dávalos.

Díaz acepta el puesto de representante mexicano en la feria mundial de Nueva Orleáns. A cuenta del erario, en 1883 recorre EU, donde otrora financian la revuelta que lo encumbra. En subrepticia luna de miel,

lleva consigo a la consorte. El presidente Chester Arthur les brinda la bienvenida. Lerdo declina recibir en Nueva York a la ahijada Carmen.

El dictador inicia en 1884 sucesivas reelecciones. Siempre, a partir de la referida boda, asoman nepotismos. Manuel Romero Rubio encabeza la Secretaría de Gobernación hasta que fallece. Se adelanta Salvador V. Castelló a ocupar la alcaldía tampiqueña. Luego de merecer la diputación federal, Juan B. Castelló termina convertido en postrero gobernador porfiriano de Tamaulipas.

Carmen envía mientras al “querido padrino” Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada esclarecedora carta. “Mi matrimonio” –le externa—“fue obra de mis padres” y “sólo por complacerlos he sacrificado mi corazón […] El mayor castigo será tener hijos de un hombre a quien no amo; no obstante, […] le seré fiel toda mi vida”. La misiva está fechada en 1885.

A8 | Saturday, October 1, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

NATIONAL

Police releasing video of fatal shooting in San Diego suburb

By Julie Watson and Brian Melley A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

EL CAJON, Calif. — Videos of the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man in a San Diego suburb will be released to the public Friday, police said.

The release comes after protesters and the family of the dead man demanded to see a bystander’s full cellphone video from which a single frame had been released showing the man in what was described as a “shooting stance.”

The decision to release the witness video and footage from a security camera was welcomed by a lawyer for the family of Alfred Olango, who said the single frame was selectively misleading to support the police version of events.

“We’re eager to see it and we definitely want to see it,” attorney Dan Gilleon said. “It’s about time.”

Olango, 38, was killed Tuesday by an officer who was responding to reports that a mentally unstable man was walking in traffic and behaving erratically.

Olango had not obeyed an order to remove a hand from his pants pocket and was fatally shot after he quickly drew an object from the pocket and pointed it at an officer in a “shooting stance,” police said. The object was an e-cigarette device.

The bystander’s video showed his hands together outstretched at chest level and aiming at an

Don Boomer / AP

Reverend Shane Harris, president of the National Action Network, spoke at a press conference on Thursday in San Diego, Calif. to address the killing of Alfred Olango, a Ugandan refugee.

officer.

The killing led to three nights of angry and, at times, violent protests.

El Cajon’s mayor had defended the decision to release the single frame, saying he had seen the entire video and it accurately represented the situation the two officers faced.

Mayor Bill Wells said he reached the decision to release the image with the police chief and District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis to counter reports from people saying Olango had his hands in the air and was begging not to be shot.

“I thought it was way too incendiary to not release something,” Wells said.

Wells said he met with leaders of the black community Thursday who told him releasing the video immediately could help prevent violence.

Wells said then that he wanted to talk to Dumanis to discuss why the video should not be released immediately.

It wasn’t immediately clear why they decided to release the video.

In addition to eyewitness video, police said they would also release footage from a security camera.

Ministers on Friday prayed for healing, unity and peace in the community after nights of chaotic protest.

“We pray to you to thwart those who would bring unrest, chaos and damage to our city and our county, to those who would try to use this tragedy for their own purpose,” the Rev. Dave Hoffman said. “We pray for those who loved Alfred Olango who have lost a father, a loved one, a friend, that your peace and comfort would fall upon them.”

Protests Thursday night were more violent and destructive than gatherings the previous two nights.

Between 50 and 75 people marched through streets and blocked intersections. Some got into fights with drivers angry over blocked traffic, at times breaking car windows and in one case pushing a man off his motorcycle, police said.

Some threw bottles at police.

Police used pepperspray balls to break up the crowd and two men were arrested for failing to end an unlawful assembly.

The fatal shooting happened less than two weeks after black men were shot and killed by police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and North Carolina.

Investigators want to question engineer in Hoboken crash

By Michael Balsamo and Michael R. Sisak ASSOCIATED PRE SS

HOBOKEN, N.J. — Federal investigators trying to figure out the cause of the deadly rail crash at the Hoboken station hoped to question the engineer and lift clues Friday from the train’s black box recorders, though one of the devices was proving difficult to extract from the wreckage.

The recorders contain information on speed, braking and other conditions that could help investigators determine why the NJ Transit commuter train smashed through a steel-and-concrete barrier and hurtled into the station waiting area Thursday morning. One person was killed and more than 100 others were injured.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators aimed to speak to engineer Thomas Gallagher, 48, on Friday. State officials said he was cooperating.

Gallagher, a NJ Transit engineer for about 18 years, was pulled from the wreckage, treated at a hospital and released.

Investigators were also examining the event recorder taken from the locomotive at the rear of the train, NTSB Vice Chairman T. Bella DinhZarr said.

But it was proving difficult to extract a recorder from the forwardfacing camera in the train’s mangled first car.

Authorities used heavy equipment to try to pull a collapsed section of the waiting area roof off the car and get to the recorder, whose footage should show what was ahead of

William Sun / AP

In a photo provided by William Sun, people examine the wreckage of a New Jersey Transit commuter train that crashed into the train station during the morning rush hour in Hoboken, N.J. on Thursday.

the train before it crashed.

“The one thing we know for sure is that the train came into the station too fast. Why that is, we don’t know,” New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said.

“Was it error by the engineer? Did he have some type of medical emergency or circumstance that rendered him unable to control the train? Was there some equipment failure that didn’t allow him to slow down?”

Some witnesses said they didn’t hear or feel the brakes being applied.

Authorities would not estimate how fast the train was going before it hit the bumper at the end of its track. But the speed limit into the station is 10 mph.

Bumpers are meant mainly to denote the end of a track, not to stop a fast-moving train, said David B. Clarke, who runs the Center for Transportation Research at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Some bumpers are designed to absorb the impact if a slow-moving car gets loose, but the maximum speed one can handle can be as low as 5

mph in some cases, he said.

Trains are supposed to stop well clear of bumpers, Clarke said.

Falling debris from the crash killed 34-year-old Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, who had just dropped her toddler daughter off at day care before rushing to catch a train. Sixteen of the injured remained hospitalized, two in intensive care.

More than 100,000 people use NJ Transit to commute from New Jersey to New York City each day. The NJ Transit portion of the Hoboken station remained closed Friday, slowing the morning commute.

The wreck has raised questions of whether technology called positive train control would have made a difference if NJ Transit had installed it.

The GPS-based system is designed to prevent accidents by automatically slowing or stopping trains that are going too fast.

Railroads are under government orders to install positive train control by the end of 2018.

The deadline has been repeatedly extended at the industry’s request.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, October 1, 2016 |

A9

BUSINESS

Malls, stores consider new ways to protect shoppers

By Anne D’Innocenzio A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

NEW YORK — More sophisticated cameras.

Security robots. Customers feeling shaken by recent attacks at U.S. malls may not notice huge changes — but mall operators are testing and putting in place new technologies and other measures to offer people more protection without intruding too much on their shopping time.

Mall executives say shoppers have been adamantly opposed to airport security tactics like metal detectors. So they’re trying other things, and increasingly using mass notifications that let them send text and email alerts to tenants within seconds in case of a crisis.

Concerns about safety have been heightened by the attacks. Those included a shooting in the makeup area of a Macy’s store near Seattle, where five people died, as well as stabbings at a Minnesota mall where ten people were injured before a police officer shot the assailant.

Justin Dye, 41, of Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, said he has felt more on edge when he goes to his local mall.

“You’re not paranoid.

But you are alert of the people around you,” he said. The father of two said he now looks for where the exits are, and in a store he scouts for dressing rooms or back offices should he need to hide. “I’m always thinking about if something could happen, where would I go, and what should I do?” he said.

The recent attacks are “awful tragedies,” and at the top of retailers’ minds, said Lisa LaBruno, a senior vice president at the Retail Industry Leaders Association trade group. She was attending an already-scheduled meeting about security this week with store executives.

“They are committed to reassessing the situation and identifying ways in which they can mitigate risks.”

Still, she and other industry experts acknowledge that mall and store operators don’t have much control over actually stopping any incident from happening.

They do say they hope to minimize any threat and

Frank Whitney / Getty Images

This undated photo shows an oil rig in West Texas.

Oil advanced, adding to the biggest monthly gain in five months, after OPEC agreed to its first output cut in eight years on Wednesday.

Oil caps biggest monthly gain since April after OPEC output pact

By Mark Shenk BL OOMBERG NEWS

Dave Schwarz / AP

People stand near the entrance on the north side of Crossroads Center mall between Macy's and Target as officials investigate a reported multiple stabbing incident, in St. Cloud, Minn.

focus on keeping people safe.

Shopper surveys done every April by the International Council of Shopping Centers show that people aren’t interested in metal detectors or similar tactics, the trade association said. “They don’t want to be impeded as they go about their lives,” said Malachy Kavanagh, a spokesman for the mall association.

Dye’s among those who doesn’t want to deal with the hassle of metal detectors; he said he’d rather see more armed security guards at shopping centers.

The mall group spent $2 million to develop terrorism training programs after the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S., and shopping centers have made more changes since then. A 2007 shooting in Omaha, Nebraska, when a 19-year-old man fatally shot eight people was an impetus for malls to alter their approach. Malls began working with the Homeland Security Department on plans for first responders enter the building to try to stop the shooter, rather than wait for backup as had been the practice.

In the past two years, retailers and malls have offered enhanced training for workers — some use videos of activeshooter scenarios; others have store associates act out the parts. At Macy’s, for example, active shooter training has been a requirement for

all employees since 2014.

Mall operators are also running more evacuation drills, and are collaborating with police departments that may train at malls when they’re closed.

Technology is key too, though experts say there isn’t one single thing that can thwart an attack.

Kavanagh says Homeland Security officials are working with malls on testing cameras with facial recognition that can detect people with criminal records and also cameras that read license plates and send alerts if a criminal or someone on a terrorist watch is around. DHS is also looking at creating virtual walls in open spaces to block drones equipped with handguns and other weapons, he said.

“As technology progresses, there has to be a counter-measure,” Kavanagh said.

Colin J. Beck, a sociology professor at Pomona College and author of “Radicals, Revolutionaries and Terrorists,” said that it’s hard to protect malls from being targets. But he says measures like automatic scanning of license plates and faces in public spaces open up “questions of infringement on constitutional rights and potential abuse.”

Some measures had a bumpy beginning. Security robots made by startup Knightscope read license plates, can identify a vehicle parked in a

certain location for too long or sense intruders at odd hours.

But the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California, scrapped a pilot test of the 300pound robots this summer after one of them knocked over a 16month-old. (The toddler was OK).

Stacy Dean Stephens, vice president of sales and marketing at Knightscope, said the company has since made improvements and expects to have several large mall developers in California start using the robots later this year.

“We learned an awful lot from the incident, and have moved on,” he said.

One of the most-used tactics is the mass notifications which can be used for weather, power outages or more serious scares. Pocketstop, a Dallas-based company that sends such notifications, said business among shopping centers is up 33 percent over the past 12 months.

While less than 1 percent of the incidents involve a shooting or attack, it’s on top of stores’ minds, said CEO Daniel Wagstaff.

By next year, the company will launch a notification service for customers using the mall’s Wi-Fi. Wagstaff said the move is tricky.

“The last thing we want to do is promote fear in our consumer. We want people to be safe, but we don’t want to scare people,” he said.

Oil advanced, adding to the biggest monthly gain in five months, after OPEC agreed to its first output cut in eight years on Wednesday.

Futures climbed 0.9 percent in New York as equities rose and the dollar retreated against its peers, bolstering the appeal of commodities.

Crude surged 7.9 percent this month, providing the first September increase since 2010. Oil surged the most in more than five months after the announcement of the deal, which will see the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries reduce production to a range of 32.5 million to 33 million barrels a day.

“This has been a momentous week,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York hedge fund focused on energy. “OPEC has gotten some reward for this nascent effort at coming together.”

The agreement caught the market by surprise after prior signals from Saudi Arabia and Iran that an accord was unlikely. OPEC now faces the challenge of implementing the cuts, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley expressing skepticism that the deal can be completed.

Nigeria, Iran and Libya have said they are exempt from an agreement, while Iraq has said it doesn’t accept OPEC’s estimates of its production levels.

West Texas Intermediate for November delivery rose 41 cents to settle at $48.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices climbed 8.5 percent this week and slipped 0.2 percent this quarter. Total volume traded was 13 percent

below the 100-day average at 2:36 p.m.

U.S. Shale Brent for November settlement, which expired Friday, dropped 18 cents to $49.06 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, closing at an 82 cent premium to WTI. The moreactive December contract increased 38 cents to $50.19. The North sea crude rose 4.3 percent this month and fell 1.2 percent this quarter.

While Saudi Arabia lowered output this month -- following the typical seasonal shift as local consumption sags at the end of summer -- the group’s overall output remained steady as Nigeria and Libya restored disrupted supplies and Iran continued its return from international sanctions, according to data from Vienna-based consultants JBC Energy GmbH. Russia is sticking with an assumption that oil will average $40 a barrel in the next three years and won’t revise its budget outlook after the OPEC agreement, according to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.

Falling Apart “They have a lot of wood to chop,” Kilduff said. “The Iraqis are mad and probably won’t take part in any cut, and the Russians are sounding lukewarm at best. It’s only a matter of time before this falls apart.”

Oil will need to hold above $50 a barrel for months before U.S. companies commit to more spending, according to analysts at firms including S&P Global Platts and Oppenheimer & Co. The number of rigs targeting oil in the U.S. climbed to 425 this week.

A10 | Saturday, October 1, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

INTERNATIONAL

Five soldiers killed in attack on Mexican army convoy

By Mark Stevenson A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

MEXICO CITY — The sons of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman were likely behind a brazen ambush on a military convoy using grenades and high-powered guns that left five soldiers dead and 10 wounded on Friday, officials said.

The attack in Mexico’s northern Sinaloa state left two military vehicles completely burned out and dead soldiers scattered across a highway. It was apparently launched to free a wounded drug suspect being transported in an ambulance guarded by the convoy.

“Up this point we are not certain about this

group, but it is very probable that it was the sons of Chapo,” said local military commander Gen. Alfonso Duarte.

The pre-dawn ambush was the worst attack on military personnel since 2015, when drug cartel gunmen in the state of Jalisco shot down an army helicopter with a rocket launcher, killing 10 people.

Friday’s attack on the outskirts of Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state, was unusual for the Sinaloa cartel, which Guzman headed until he was rearrested in January.

Some believe his sons are now running the gang and have changed the rules of engagement long practiced by the father, who kept a low profile until last year. However

others say “El Chapo’s” longtime partner Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada is in control.

The fierceness of the attack suggested that whoever was travelling in the ambulance escorted by the convoy was a highranking member of the cartel, or a person of interest to the gang.

“These groups acted with cowardice, in a premeditated manner, and the carried out the attack with weapons, with grenades,” while the soldiers had only automatic weapons, said Duarte.

Duarte said the attack was launched to free the suspect, who he identified as Julio Oscar Ortiz Vega, though he acknowledged the name might be a pseudonym.

Duarte said the wounded man had been picked up by soldiers following a gun fight in Badiraguato, Guzman’s hometown.

Duarte said that Guzman’s brother, known by his nickname as “El Guano,” has been fighting a turf battle against the Beltran Leyva cartel in the area “to control the means of drug production,” which include opium poppy fields.

The Defense Department said in a statement that an army patrol had been attacked in Badiraguato and returned fire; the wounded man was taken into custody when the rest of the attackers fled.

Because local hospitals couldn’t give him the care he needed, an army patrol

Rashide Frias / AP

Forensic workers cover the body of a soldier who was killed when a military convoy was ambushed with grenades and high-powered guns, killing five soldiers in the city of Culiacan, Mexico on Friday.

was taking him to Culiacan when it came under attack. The attackers took the ambulance and the wounded suspect before fleeing. Among those wounded in the convoy were the ambulance driver and one soldier who suffered severe injuries.

Meanwhile, authorities in Jalisco said Thursday they have found a total of nine bodies near a lake popular with tourists.

Jalisco state Attorney General Eduardo Almaguer said the bodies of eight men and one woman

have not yet been identified, in part because of the rural nature of the area and the lack of witnesses.

The bodies have been found over the last few days in a river that leads out of the eastern end of Lake Chapala, near the border with the state of Michoacan. In 2013, 64 bodies were found in mass graves in area nearby.

That is the opposite end of the lake from the town of Chapala, popular among tourists and American retirees.

Stolen Van Gogh paintings found

By Frances D’Emilio A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

ROME — Police investigating suspected Italian mobsters for cocaine trafficking discovered two Van Gogh paintings hidden in a farmhouse near Naples, masterpieces that had vanished in 2002 during a nighttime heist at Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum, authorities said Friday.

The two paintings were “considered among the artworks most searched for in the world, on the FBI’s list of the Top 10 art crimes,” Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said.

They were found in a

farmhouse near Castellammare di Stabia as Italian police seized some 20 million euros ($22 million) worth of assets, including farmland, villas and apartments and a small airplane. Investigators contend those assets are linked to two Camorra drug kingpins, Mario Cerrone and Raffaele Imperiale, according to a statement by prosecutors Giovanni Colangelo and Filippo Beatrice.

The recovered masterpieces, propped up on easels, were unveiled for reporters Friday at a news conference in Naples. Museum director Axel Rueger said Italian investigators contacted

the museum earlier in the week and art experts determined the paintings were authentic.

“Needless to say, it’s a great day for us today,” Rueger told Sky TG24 TV. “We hope they are soon back where they belong.”

With their frames removed and covered by cotton cloths, the paintings appeared to be in relatively good condition despite their long odyssey, the museum said.

One of the paintings, the 1882 “Seascape at Scheveningen,” is one of Vincent Van Gogh’s first major works. It depicts a boat setting off into a stormy sea, and the thick

paint trapped grains of sand that blew up from the Dutch beach as Van Gogh worked on it over two days.

The other is a 1884-85 work, “Congregation leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen,” which depicts a church in the southern Netherlands where the artist’s father was the pastor. Experts believe it was done for Van Gogh’s mother.

Despite the wishes of the museum, the paintings are not leaving Italy anytime soon. They are evidence in an investigation of whether gangsters from the Camorra crime syndicate were behind the original theft or

might have become involved with the artworks later.

The Camorra is one of Italy’s three largest organized crime syndicates, with the Calabria-based ‘ndrangheta by far the most powerful. The Camorra consists of many crime clans, based in Naples as well as many of the Campania region’s small towns.

Financial Police. Col. Giovanni Salerno said investigators looking into the syndicate’s cocaine trafficking operations got a tip that the Camorra might have the Van Gogh artworks.

“One of those being investigated made some

significant comments about their illegal investments made with earnings from drug trafficking, and he indicated two paintings of great value that supposedly were purchased by Imperiale. They were the result of a theft carried out in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam almost 14 years ago,” Colangelo, the chief prosecutor in Naples, told reporters.

When renowned masterpieces are stolen, it’s usually a theft commissioned by a private collector who has already agreed to buy them, since it’s virtually impossible to sell them in the legitimate art market.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, October 1, 2016 |

A11

FROM THE COVER BORDER From page A1

Smiley N. Pool / AP

A sign on the door welcomes students to teacher Olivia Mendez' second grade class at Shands Elementary on Thursday in Mesquite. The state has had a dramatic 20 percent drop in the number of educators working in bilingual and ESL classes.

TEACHERS From page A1 As of the 2014-15 school year, Texas had only one ESL or bilingual teacher for every 46 students struggling with English, according to the Texas Education Agency.

That means students who greatly need one-on-one attention to catch up to their peers are instead being placed in larger classrooms or missing out on services altogether.

Districts turn to teacher aides, long-term substitutes and even talent from Puerto Rico, Mexico and Spain.

The shortage also means that the bilingual teachers Texas does have must pick up the slack, even outside their classrooms.

Robert Surber, who teaches third-graders down the hall from Mendez at Mesquite’s Shands Elementary, often sits in on parent-teacher conferences or makes calls home to students for other teachers.

Surber, a 20-year veteran who mentors younger teachers, said he’s seen many bilingual educators leave the profession after a short time because of mounting stress, even in the elementary grades where they tend to teach.

“Many people thought with our young population, it was going to be all hugs and rainbows,” Surber said. “But you do have difficult children and difficult parents sometimes. And it can be heartbreaking when you work in a high-poverty area. Some people, they just can’t take it.”

The two teachers are exactly the kind of educators districts desperately need to recruit and keep: dedicated, talented and fluent in many languages. Suber, who earned his master’s degree in Mexico, also speaks Vietnamese.

To stop districts from poaching their best teachers — particularly those in bilingual education — Mesquite launched a new incentive program this year to keep their best teachers in the classroom through additional training opportunities and the chance to earn up to

PROGRAM From page A1 will not pose a security threat, and that the number of refugees resettled in Texas would not exceed the state’s original allocation in fiscal year 2016, both of which have been denied by the federal government,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement Friday.

“As a result, Texas will withdraw from the refugee resettlement program,” Abbott said. “As governor, I will continue to prioritize the safety of all Texans and urge the federal government to

To stop districts from poaching their best teachers — particularly those in bilingual education — Mesquite launched a new incentive program this year to keep their best teachers in the classroom through additional training opportunities and the chance to earn up to $12,000 more annually.

But bilingual education professionals say that while such efforts go a long way for retention, salary isn’t the biggest hurdle. $12,000 more annually.

But bilingual education professionals say that while such efforts go a long way for retention, salary isn’t the biggest hurdle.

It’s getting more native speakers interested in becoming a teacher in the first place, said Ana Coca, president-elect of the Texas Association for Bilingual Education.

She and other advocates say Texas could greatly turn around numbers if policymakers focus on two key areas: teacher aides and certification tests.

Schools have long turned to teacher aides to help fill the gap.

They often have similar backgrounds as the students they are working with as well as strong native language skills. But most don’t have a bachelor’s degree.

Over the years, the state, universities and districts have launched programs aimed at getting more aides certified as teachers.

For example, the state had a tuition-exemption plan for such workers, but money for that was eliminated in 2011 when the Legislature slashed funding for many education programs. Last year, lawmakers approved restoring $1.5 million in such grants for two years.

Coca has seen firsthand what a difference that program made in helping aides.

She works for the Fort Worth school district and has taught future teachers at the University of North Texas at Dallas.

“They were usually the strongest ones in my class,” she said. “They had the experience already, so it was very easy for them to develop lesson plans and take control of the class.”

overhaul this severely broken system.”

Because of a notice requirement, Texas’ withdrawal from the refugee resettlement program will be effective four months after today’s deadline, on Jan. 31.

“Since we have not received federal approval of our plan, we are moving forward with our transition out of the Refugee Resettlement Program,” said Bryan Black, spokesman for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which oversees the state’s refugee resettlement program. “After today, the current plan will no lon-

That’s why TABE will push for the state to renew funding this upcoming session.

The group will also seek policies that give aides more credit for their classroom experience, which could put them on track to graduate faster.

About 1 in 5 school paraprofessionals speak a language other than English at home, according to the Washington, D.C.- research group New America. But low wages and other challenges make it difficult for many of them to seek bachelor’s degrees while working full time.

This summer, New America announced it was launching a two-year effort to study policies across the country aimed getting more aides to the front of the classroom.

“These paraprofessionals frequently have the linguistic and cultural competencies their schools need, as well as considerable instructional and educational experience,” according to a briefing from the group.

But even if more aides sought the teacher track, certification tests are tripping many of them up.

Texas sought to strengthen the quality of its force after the federal No Child Left Behind law required all teachers to be “highly qualified.”

In doing so, advocates say, the state made bilingual education one of the hardest certifications to obtain.

Potential teachers must pass a series of tests that include the generalist test teachers in the elementary school grades must take, one on teaching methods and responsibilities, and a bilingual supplement.

ger be in effect, and we will begin exiting the program, with benefits and services ending on Jan. 31, 2017.”

Resettlement groups have said that the state’s withdrawal from the program will not stop refugees from being resettled in Texas with federal monies being channeled to the state programs through a nonprofit structure instead of through the state.

“Working together, Texans from all walks of life will work diligently to create a new refugee service structure independent of the State of Texas to ensure that the

Then there is also a complicated test on bilingual proficiency to assess listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.

But advocates say as designed, the tests put too much emphasis on competency in a range of subject matters. While many candidates are able to pass the generalist test covering similar areas in English, doing so in another language can be challenging.

Now the difficulty of the test is deterring many wouldbe teachers, said Luis Rosado, director of the Center for Bilingual and ESL Education at the University of Texas at Arlington.

For years, Rosado annually had about 50 to 60 students seeking certification through the program. Now it’s about half that, with many struggling to pass the test.

“Even native speakers have a very difficult time passing because it’s moved away from what it should be — a language test — to one that’s centered on content,” Rosado said.

Rosado said the tests should absolutely help identify the best educators. “But that test has really made it more difficult to be a certified bilingual teacher in Texas.”

Lobbying for changes to the certification tests will also be a priority when lawmakers return to Austin in January.

Coca said she and professionals across the state are encouraged by more growyour-own programs that districts are undertaking to encourage high school students to start thinking about education as a career early.

That will eventually help boost the numbers, so changes need to be in place now to get ready for those future teachers, she said.

“We’re not going to give up,” Coca said. “The state and schools do see the value in students being fluent in more than one language.

That’s why you see more dual-language programs for all students. But we don’t have enough bilingual teachers for the students who really need it most, so we have to work on that first.”

most vulnerable and needy among us receive the welcome and support that they deserve, that demonstrates our true capacity as a state and a nation and that makes us all safer and prouder in the long run,” said Aaron Rippenkroger, CEO of Refugee Services of Texas.

“Ending the state’s support of the refugee assistance program is a departure from Texas values, from our shared principles of human decency and constitutes, for many of our volunteers and others, a rejection of the religious belief to serve the needy and vul-

entire 1,254-mile border.

In 2015, lawmakers approved money to fund 250 more DPS officers on the border and to flood the area with cameras and other detection equipment to help stop illicit activity.

The allocation came in response to an unprecedented surge of illegal immigration in Starr and Hidalgo counties, mainly by unaccompanied children or families from Central America. State lawmakers said the surge was necessary because the migration tied up U.S. Border Patrol agents and made the area less safe.

While those counties have seen less crime, gangs have moved their operations into other parts of the border where the DPS presence isn’t as great.

“So what that two-year operation did was it reduced the traffic of crime and drugs in two counties but it moved it to other counties?” asked state Rep. Ryan Guillen, D- Rio Grande City during the hearing, which was broadcast via livestream.

“Yes, that’s correct. They displaced it elsewhere,” said McCraw who described a frustrating situation where cartels and smugglers play a border game of whack-a-mole with American law enforcement.

It means that nearby counties like Zapata and Webb to the west and Cameron to the east have seen a spike in crime, the director testified, adding that the far West Texas counties of Hudspeth and Brewster are “unsecure."

DPS' “unsecure” designation means law enforcement has limited or no detection, interdiction or support capabilities.

“At one time, the Rio Grande Valley was the center of gravity for everything,” he said. “For the first time, we’ve seen the Laredo Sector is increasing and may go beyond the Rio Grande Valley in the number of drugs seized.”

Drug seizures were down in Starr and Hidalgo counties by more than 20 percent from 2014, while seizures in Webb and Cameron counties increased by more than 10 and 20 percent, respectively, according to 2015 data from the El Paso Intelligence Center that McCraw presented to lawmakers.

An irritated Guillen said he was skeptical of the operation if it is spreading crime around but not stopping it.

“All we’re doing is we’re moving [crime] from two counties over to the other 12 counties, and that, I don’t think, is what is intended,” he said. “It’s a great effort, but unless you do the whole thing, you are not achieving what you think you’re achieving.”

Wednesday’s hearing came just weeks after the DPS announced it was going to ask lawmakers for an additional $300 million to sustain the operation and deploy hundreds more DPS officers.

State Rep. Alfonso “Poncho” Nevarez, D-Eagle Pass, said the DPS’s effort was going to be placed under greater scrutiny as lawmakers decided whether to fund that request when they return to Austin in January.

McCraw conceded the operation didn’t yet have a lasting, border-wide effect.

“The next step is going to be Cameron County, and we’ll keep moving to Zapata and Webb and keep moving west,” he said. “It’s working exactly as we expected. We don’t just throw this strategy out based upon anything. This strategy was built on evidence and past experiences.”

Nevarez didn’t doubt the DPS has a strategy, he said, but it’s whether it yields results that matters.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if it’s the most well-crafted plan,” he said. “[But] it’s got to work. And not only does it have to work, it has to work within the certain parameters of what we can afford to spend.”

McCraw did get some support from Republicans on the committee who urged patience with DPS efforts. State Rep. Tony Dale, R-Cedar Park, said a step-by-step approach is the one that makes the most sense.

“I assume your plan is to secure and hold and then target the other areas. I think this is a logical step,” he told McCraw. “It’s the key to success and it shows it can be done, and I think it’s a matter of will.”

nerable, including refugees,” said Rippenkroger, whose agency has five offices, including one in Austin, and another in Dallas, where Rippenkroger is based.

“With the U.S. accepting less than 1 percent of the world’s refugees, Texas and the nation have enormous capacity to welcome more refugees, and this latest step by Gov. Abbott fails to recognize all that we have achieved and that which we can still do, “ Rippenkroger said.

Abbott has used his decision to take Texas out of the refugee resettlement program to raise

campaign money.

In a fund-raising email Tuesday, Abbott wrote potential donors, “The federal government’s refugee settlement program poses a serious threat to our nation. Government’s top priority is security. That’s why Texas will withdraw from the flawed refugee resettlement program.”

“I’m drawing a line in the sand, once again, and the Obama Administration is livid,” Abbott wrote in the appeal. “Will you support my campaign with a contribution to help fight the attacks on me coming from Washington?”

A12 | Saturday, October 1, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

Sports&Outdoors THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, October 1, 2016 |

B1

NCAA FOOTBALL: NO. 9 TEXAS A&M AGGIES

No. 9 Aggies hosting South Carolina Texas A&M looks to continue strong start

By Pete Iacobelli ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Timothy Hurst / Associated Press

Trevor Knight and Texas A&M are averaging 43 points per game. Knight has thrown for 1,055 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for another 308 yards and five scores.

NCAA FOOTBALL: NO. 13 BAYLOR BEARS

BAYLOR TRAVELS TO FACE REBUILDING ISU

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kevin Sumlin has been here before. This time, the Texas A&M coach believes his ninth-ranked Aggies can keep rising past September.

Texas A&M (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) looks to start 5-0 for the third straight season when it plays at South Carolina (2-2, 1-2) on Saturday. But those marks have been the high points of the past two years when the Aggies were waylaid by the SEC Western Division schedule, finishing 3-5 down the stretch in 2014 and 2015.

Sumlin’s a lot more confident the Aggies can improve upon last season.

They defeated then 17thranked Arkansas 45-24 last week.

“Guys understand that,” Sumlin said. “Have different perspective on that than maybe they did as freshmen and sophomores. Maybe they handle it little differently as juniors and seniors.”

Sumlin acknowledged maybe winning came too fast and too easily for his young team in 2014 and 2015. So he emphasized staying strong and not fading throughout the offseason.

“Guarantee things Aggies continues on B2

NCAA FOOTBALL: NO. 21 TCU HORNED FROGS

Max Faulkner / Fort Worth Star-Telegram

No. 21 TCU hosts Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Horned Frogs won 37-33 the last time they hosted the Sooners.

Baylor’s defense has held opponents to 13.5 points per game and leads the Big 12 with nine takeaways.

Fresh start for Oklahoma in Big 12 opener at No. 21 TCU

No. 13 Bears seeking to cap unbeaten 1st half

By Stephen Hawkins

Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

By Luke Meredith A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

AMES, Iowa — As tumultuous as Baylor’s offseason was, the Bears’ first month under interim coach Jim Grobe has gone

relatively smoothly.

No. 13 Baylor (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) is the only team in the league with four wins. Last week it used four turnovers to hold off a talented Oklahoma State team 35-24 , and

with Iowa State (1-3, 0-1) and Kansas (1-2, 0-0) up next, Baylor has a very realistic shot at finishing the first half of the season unbeaten.

“I think we’ve got to improve to be the kind of

team we’re capable of being. But I think we’ve got a talented football team,” Grobe said.

The Cyclones are a big underdog against the Bears, a program that it Baylor continues on B2

NCAA FOOTBALL: NO. 22 TEXAS LONGHORNS

No. 22 Texas defense faces test at Oklahoma State

By Cliff Brunt A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

STILLWATER, Okla.

— The struggling Texas defense will be tested again when it faces Oklahoma State’s explosive offense on the road.

The 22nd-ranked Longhorns gave up 47 points in a win over Notre Dame and 50 in a loss to California. Oklahoma State is capable of doing just as much damage. The Cowboys average 39 points and feature one of the nation’s top pro quarter-

back prospects in Mason Rudolph.

The Texas loss at California left coach Charlie Strong promising to get more involved in the defense, but he’s resisted pressure to fire defensive coordinator Vance Bedford.

“We know we’ve had our issues on defense, and I have a lot of confidence in Vance Bedford, and I know Vance is going to do a good job,” Strong said. “We had a lot of time to sit by and just Texas continues on B2

Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

The Longhorns are attempting to bounce back on defense Saturday against Oklahoma State after allowing 104 points through the first three games.

FORT WORTH — While Oklahoma gets a fresh start in pursuit of its 10th Big 12 title, coach Bob Stoops doesn’t expect the Sooners to have to change their focus after two September losses pretty much ended their playoff hopes.

“We haven’t performed as well as we need to,” Stoops said. “But to say, all of a sudden, ‘Oh, now we’re going to get focused and try harder,’ I don’t believe that. Our guys have been working hard.

We need to execute better, I get that, but guys have been putting in the effort ahead of this.”

The Sooners (1-2) play their Big 12 opener Saturday at No. 21 TCU after their early losses to second-ranked Ohio State and sixth-ranked Houston.

“The morale is great,” Oklahoma receiver Mark Andrews said.

In the same media preseason poll that had Oklahoma as the Big 12 favorite, the Horned Frogs (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) were picked to finish second.

While TCU gained national attention with a 2005 season-opening win

at then-No. 7 Oklahoma while in the Mountain West Conference, this will be the fifth Big 12 meeting between the two schools.

The Sooners lost 37-33 in their last trip to Fort Worth two years ago, and won the other three league matchups by a combined 11 points.

“Everybody wants a trophy. In order to get the trophy, you have to get a piece of their trophy,” TCU defensive end Josh Carraway said. "Right now, Oklahoma has the Big 12 trophy, and we’ve got to take it from them.”

Some things to know when Oklahoma and TCU play: MAYFIELD AND PATTERSON When asked at the Orange Bowl last year which team disappointed him the most in recruiting, Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield said TCU “kind of drug it out” and never offered a scholarship while he turned down other offers. Mayfield then went to Texas Tech and became the first true freshman walk-on quarterback to start a season opener for an FBS school, then transferred to TCU continues on B2

B2 | Saturday, October 1, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

SPORTS

Watt out for season after undergoing surgery

By John McClain HOUSTON CHRONI CLE

As expected, Texans defensive end J.J. Watt underwent surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back and will be lost for the season.

Watt, a three-time winner of the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award, was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. He saw a specialist and elected to have the surgery Thursday, according to people familiar with his situation.

Under league rules, Watt could play in eight weeks, but this time, the Texans don't want to take any chances with their most valuable player, so he's out for the season.

Watt had surgery on the same disk in late July, according to a person close to Watt. He began feeling pain in his back more than a week ago and wasn't sure what caused it. The pain worsened, and tests showed he had re-injured the same disk.

After his first operation, doctors told Watt and the Texans that if everything went well and there were no setbacks, he should be able to play in eight weeks. He returned to practice in seven weeks and played in the season-opening victory over Chicago.

Watt played well in the second game, a victory over Kansas City in which

TCU From page B1 Oklahoma after one season. TCU coach Gary Patterson took a different tone than in December when responding this week, saying, “I’m past it.

He’s in a great place,” and wishing him luck. Mayfield said, “All that last year got blown out of proportion, so that’s way in the past.”

BAYLOR From page B1 used to share space with in the Big 12 basement.

But Iowa State might have turned a corner last week. After losing three straight under new coach Matt Campbell, the Cyclones destroyed San Jose State 44-10 behind an opportunistic defense and an emerging offense.

Baylor will be their toughest challenge yet though.

The Bears defense, often forgotten about as the offense racked up historic stats in recent years, is ranked among the nation’s best. Baylor’s ingenuity in the passing game has been paired with increased balance in 2016 as well, as it ranks second nationally with 326 rushing yards per game.

“They have really good football players. That hasn’t changed,” Campbell said. “They expect to win.

That hasn’t changed.”

Here are some of the story lines to follow as Baylor gets set to make the trip to Ames: STOUT BEARS D

TEXAS From page B1 go look at the games that we’ve played this season and just how much better we could have been. And I said to him, it’s just three errors.”

The Longhorns will need to limit errors against the Cowboys.

Rudolph entered the week ranked 11th nationally with 1,296 yards passing. The strong-armed junior passed for a school-record 540 yards against Pittsburgh, and

Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle

Houston defensive end J.J. Watt is out for the season after undergoing surgery Thursday to repair a herniated disk.

nator George Godsey, Texans coach Bill O'Brien was emphatic Friday that nothing is different in his opinion because he was always in charge of every offensive play.

The Texans are averaging just 14 points per game, tied for 31st in the

NFL in scoring offense and are last in passing offense.

"I know you guys have been giddy about waiting to ask me that question," O'Brien said. "As the head football coach, I'm in charge of every play that goes into the game.

SOME STREAKS AND NUMBERS The Sooners haven’t lost consecutive games since October 1999, Stoops’ first season.

They’ve won 35 consecutive regular-season games following a loss. ...

TCU has at least one sack in a school-record 34 consecutive games. Only Ohio State has a longer active streak (38). ... Oklahoma has won seven consecutive true road

games since losing at TCU two years ago. ... In a 33-3 win at SMU last week, TCU didn’t allow a touchdown for the first time since 2014.

sidelined briefly last week after a hard hit that led to a targeting penalty and ejection for an SMU defender. Diarse returned and caught to catch a 75-yard TD pass on the first play after halftime.

“When he took a shot in the end zone, a lot of guys would have taken themselves out of the ballgame,” Patterson said.

“He represents what you’re trying to get to as a football team. You’ve got a

guy who’s tough, mature.”

NOT-SO RECORD NUMBERS Baylor became just the second team in FBS history, along with BYU (197981), to lead the nation in scoring three years in a row with 48.1 points per game. The Bears have dipped a bit in that regard, averaging 42 points while playing just one Power Five school. But Iowa State is just seventh in the Big 12 in scoring defense, and Saturday’s weather, often a big problem in the league’s most northern outpost, is forecast to be perfect.

AGGIES From page B1

the SEC, struggled with freshman quarterback Brandon McIlwain.

Muschamp said McIlwain has played well and will continue to start.

“I’m just trying to be very realistic; where we are and where we’re headed,” Muschamp said. “And moving forward with the guys that are going to do it the South Carolina way and that’s with great effort, toughness and discipline, urgency and energy in everything we do.”

Things to watch when No. 9 Texas A&M faces South Carolina.

game). The Gamecocks get some help with injured freshman Rico Dowdle expected to see his first college action.

he had 1 ½ sacks and a fumble recovery. Watt had two tackles in the loss to New England and began feeling pain in the same area of his back. Tests showed the problem was the same disk, and Watt and team doctors determined that another sur-

gery was the best course of action.

SPREAD IT AROUND New TCU starting quarterback Kenny Hill has completed passes to 16 different receivers, including 11 in the SMU game. “He’s a hard guy to get a hold of when he’s running around,” Stoops said of the dual-threat quarterback. “That and the ability to spread the ball around as much as they do in the throwing game.”

The Bears are 11th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 13.5 points per game, first in pass efficiency defense and fifth in tackles for loss. Baylor also leads the Big 12 with nine takeaways.

“It’s a pretty big deal.

We have a group of guys who are hungry to try and go get the ball. Any time we see it loose, we go for it,” linebacker Aiavion Edwards said.

CYCLONE QB SHUFFLE Iowa State has split snaps between starter Joel Lanning and Jacob Park the past few games, and against San Jose State that rotation was a major success. The pair combined for over 300 yards and five touchdowns on 22 of 29 passing, with Park tossing for three scores in a breakout performance. The two are expected to get similar playing time against Baylor.

“Both have earned the right to play quarterback,” Campbell said. But if the Cyclones get down early expect to see more of Park, the more accurate passer of the two.

he faces a secondary that has allowed nine passing touchdowns in the first three games. The Cowboys also are having some success running the ball with the tandem of Justice Hill and Rennie Childs doing most of the damage.

Texas (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) can get a leg up in the conference race with a win and put Oklahoma State (2-2, 0-1) in a bind to start league play. If the Longhorns lose and can’t slow Oklahoma State’s offense, Bedford said he will accept responsibility.

“I look at myself first,”

You'd be amazed at how many defensive calls I've made, how many specialteams called I've made and how many offensive calls I've made in the time I've been here and most of them haven't worked. It doesn't matter. I'd really like the next question.

"I've made more play calls than you would even imagine, defensive calls, special-teams calls, offensive calls. As a head football coach, that's what you're paid to do to make sure the calls that go into the game are basically approved by you as the head football coach. I don't even know why that matters. I don't even know why that's a story.

It's not a story. Nothing has changed."

Godsey assumed playcalling duties last year after O'Brien called the plays during his first season with the AFC South club.

The two coaches stand next to each other on the sideline every game holding play sheets and have collaborated on what plays to call.

The Texans have scored just three touchdowns this season, all on passes with no touchdown runs.

They are averaging 326.3 yards per game and are 24th in total offense.

When asked what he hopes from the offense going forward, O'Brien replied: "Score touchdowns."

O'Brien on taking over play-calling: 'It doesn't matter' Combative in his answers after taking over play-calling responsibilities from offensive coordi-

SERIES HISTORY It’s easy to forget how lopsided this series used to be — in favor of Iowa State. The Cyclones won four straight matchups from 1997-2004, including a 41-0 blowout in Ames in 2001. But Iowa State hasn’t beaten Baylor since 2012, losing in Waco 71-7 the following season.

HE SAID IT “Finally being able to get that first win is just a sigh of relief. Just knowing that we put in all of that work for a good reason,” Iowa State wide receiver Allen Lazard said.

he said. “I will never put the blame on a player or system. Look at yourself first and see what you can do to help the players be successful.”

Here are some things to watch on Saturday: PERKINS SUSPENDED Senior offensive guard Kent Perkins has been suspended following his arrest last week for allegedly driving while intoxicated. The team’s most experienced offensive lineman was arrested last Friday.

TIGER TURNED FROG WR John Diarse, an LSU graduate transfer classified as a football junior, has 13 catches the last two games for TCU — he had 28 in two seasons for the Tigers. Diarse was

change?” Sumlin said.

“No. Performance guarantees change.”

On the field, the Aggies have shown all the right moves.

Graduate transfer quarterback Trevor Knight leads an offense that’s averaging 43 points a game, third best in the SEC. Defensive ends Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall have combined for 10 tackles for loss and power a group that’s held opponents to 16 points a game, also third best in the league.

“We remember nobody was talking about us at the beginning of the season,” receiver Christian Kirk said. “Now, everybody’s talking about us.

We’re 4-0, top 10 in the country. But we’ve got to forget about all that.”

The Texas A&M offense may have a difficult task putting up big numbers against the Gamecocks, who have given up 17 points a game so far in coach Will Muschamp’s first season. South Carolina’s offense, dead last in

Perkins apologized to the team.

“I’m really grateful that I didn’t cause injury to somebody else, you know,” he said. “I mean, it’s crazy what happened, and I’m just thankful to God that nothing physically happened to me or anybody else.”

JAMES WASHINGTON Oklahoma State’s speedster caught nine passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns against Pittsburgh two weekends ago and six passes for 89 yards against Baylor last

STREAKY STARTS A victory by Texas A&M would make it 5-0 for a third straight season, something the program last accomplished in 193941. The Aggies are also looking to go 3-0 in conference playing, which they have not done since 2004 when they were in the Big 12.

WHAT’S THE RUSH? South Carolina has been slow to get its running game going. The Gamecocks are the lone SEC team averaging under 100 yards rushing this season (90.8 yards a

week. He’s a playmaker who can beat defenses down the field or turn a short pass into a long gain.

YOUNG GUN Freshman quarterback Shane Buechele had his first rough game in his first road contest against Cal, getting briefly knocked out of the first half with a rib injury and throwing a key interception that set up a score in the loss.

AUSSIE RULES FOOTBALL Texas punter Michael

DFW DOUBLE After its conference opener in Fort Worth, the Sooners will return to the Dallas-Fort Worth area the following Saturday.

They play No. 22 Texas in the annual Red River rivalry game at the State Fair of Texas, about 40 miles away in Dallas.

Oklahoma split that twostep in 2014.

VAST DIFFERENCE Part of Texas A&M’s success has come from its big-play attack while limiting the opposition’s ability to make big plays. The Aggies have scored 11 touchdowns of 20 yards or more while allowing only one TD of 15 yards or longer this season.

HOME STAND South Carolina is done traveling for a while. The Texas A&M game starts a five-game home stand at Williams-Brice Stadium.

The run includes the bye week, meaning the Gamecocks don’t play on the road until Nov. 12 at Florida.

OFFENSIVE POWER Texas A&M is among three Football Bowl Subdivision teams with 1,000 yards passing and rushing. The Aggies have gained 1,107 yards through the air and 1,077 yards on the ground, joining No. 3 Louisville and Oregon in that productive club this season.

Dickson’s fumbled snap and 10-yard punt set up Oklahoma State’s winning field goal season.

The Australian has been nothing short of excellent in 2016. His 50.4-yard average is best in the Big 12.

DYNAMIC DUO Texas running backs D’Onta Foreman and Chris Warren III are quite the one-two punch. Foreman has rushed for 288 yards and three touchdowns in just two games.

Warren has rushed for 260 yards in three games.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, October 1, 2016 |

Dear Heloise: When my children were small, they frequently ARGUED about whose turn it was to go first, or get the front seat, or whatever. Nothing worked.

Finally, I wrote their initials on the calendar on alternating days. If their initials were on the calendar, that day was "their day" to sit in the front seat, or choose something first, or whatever.

Once in a while, a child would observe that "We did all the fun stuff on his (or her) day!" This was an opportunity for them to learn that life isn't always fair, but that things generally even out over time.

This worked in our family for years, and virtually ended all arguments over whose turn it was. -Cheers from Lisa S., Dayton, Tenn.

Lisa, it's a wonderful system. When traveling with children, note that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (www.nhtsa.gov)

advises that those under the age of 12 should always ride in the back seat.

Family time is wonderful. Enjoy your kids while they are young. -- Heloise CANINE QUICKIES Dear Readers: Here are some pooch pointers collected over the years: * Lightly dusting a dog with baking soda can work as a dry shampoo.

Sprinkle, rub and brush well. * If you have to board your dog, stash a piece of your clothing in his travel bag. Your scent can help alleviate anxiety. * Stitch a piece of reflective tape around the dog's collar or harness and on the leash. This will make the animal more visible during nighttime walks. * Table scraps are a big no-no. People food is too high in fat, sugar and salt for animals. * Removing dog hair from the couch is a cinch.

Dip a sponge in half vinegar and half water.

Squeeze out and wipe.

B3

B4 | Saturday, October 1, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES