The Zapata Times 10/26/2016

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WEDNESDAYOCTOBER 26, 2016

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TEXAS

Early voting is breaking records Zapata County sees uptick in registered voters

By Bobby Blanchard THE TEXAS TRIBUNE

Cuate Santos / The Zapata Times

Candidates and volunteers were at voting sites Monday morning as early voting for the general election got underway. Early voting will run from Oct. 24 to Nov. 4.

Multiple Texas counties reported record-breaking turnout figures on the first day of early voting Monday, according to news outlets across the Lone Star State.

In Zapata County, 145 people cast votes on the first day of early voting. This amounts to

1.9 percent of registered voters in the county, which is 7,623.

The number of total registered voters is up by almost 200 from the last presidential election, where 7,435 were registered in Zapata County. Fortyseven percent of registered voters cast their ballot in Zapata County in 2012.

In Webb County, 3,341 people Voting continues on A10

Courtesy / Secretaría de Marina-Armada de México

This is one of three armored vehicles seized over the weekend in Camargo, Tamaulipas. Mexican marines located the vehicles while on patrol.

ZAPATA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

RED RIBBON WEEK AWARENESS

Marines seize armored vehicles

Officers: ‘Stay drug free’

By César G. Rodriguez THE ZAPATA TIME S

Ammo stashed inside cars

By César G. Rodriguez TH E ZAPATA T IME S

Mexican marines said they seized three armored vehicles, firearms and ammo over the weekend across the border from Starr County.

On Saturday, troops said that while conducting patrol duties in Camargo, Tamaulipas, a town located across from Rio Grande City, they encountered the vehicles and weapons.

Armored continues on A10

Courtesy / Zapata County Independent School District

Sheriff’s Office Deputy Aaron Solis speaks to children at Fidel and Andrea R. Villarreal Elementary School during Red Ribbon Week.

The Zapata County Sheriff’s Office stopped by at Fidel and Andrea R. Villarreal Elementary on Monday to deliver an important message: “Stay Drug Free.”

Sheriff’s officials spoke to the students about the importance of staying drug-free “It was a pleasure and honor to have presented at the Villarreal Elementary School today as we kick off the 2016 Red Ribbon Week,” said Chief Raymundo Del Bosque Jr. in a statement.

Red Ribbon Week is a drug awareness campaign observed in October.

“I want to congratulate the school’s Principal Marlen Guerra, Counselor Noemi Ramirez and the entire staff which made this event possible,” Del Bosque stated.

Authorities also shared HalOfficers continues on A10

RELIGION

Vatican: No more scattering of cremation ashes

By Nicole Winfield A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican on Tuesday published guidelines for Catholics who want to be cremated, saying their remains cannot be scattered, divvied up or kept at home but rather stored in a

sacred, church-approved place.

The new instructions were released just in time for Halloween and “All Souls Day” on Nov. 2, when the faithful are supposed to pray for and remember the dead.

For most of its 2,000-year history, the Catholic Church only permitted burial, arguing

that it best expressed the Christian hope in resurrection. But in 1963, the Vatican explicitly allowed cremation as long as it didn’t suggest a denial of faith about resurrection.

The new document from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith repeats that burial remains preferred,

with officials calling cremation a “brutal destruction” of the body.

But it lays out guidelines for conserving ashes for the increasing numbers of Catholics who choose cremation for economic, ecological or other reasons.

It said it was doing so to counter what it called “new

ideas contrary to the church’s faith” that had emerged since 1963, including New Age-y ideas that death is a “fusion” with Mother Nature and the universe, or the “definitive liberation” from the prison of the body.

To set the faithful straight, the Vatican said ashes and bone Vatican continues on A10

Zin brief A2 | Wednesday, October 26, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

CALENDAR

AROUND THE NATION

TODAY IN HISTORY

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

1

Pumpkin Patch. 11 a.m.—7 p.m.

First United Methodist Church lawn, 1220 McClelland Ave. 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. Learn the basics of chess and compete with friends.

Limited chess sets available for use.

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 26, the 300th day of 2016. There are 66 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Oct. 26, 1861, the legendary Pony Express officially ceased operations, giving way to the transcontinental telegraph. (The last run of the Pony Express was completed the following month.)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27 1

Pumpkin Patch. 11 a.m.—7 p.m.

First United Methodist Church lawn, 1220 McClelland Ave. 1 Business Growth Strategies Workshop. 11 a.m.—3 p.m. LCC’s De la Garza building, room 106 at the Fort McIntosh Campus. Open to the public. $80. This workshop will help participants understand and apply growth strategies for their own businesses.

Lunch provided. Register at www.laredo.edu.

1 Wii U Gaming. Every Thursday, 4—5 p.m. Santa Rita Express Library, 83 Prada Machin Drive, on the corner of Malaga Drive and Castro Urdiales Avenue. Game with friends on Wii U. 1 “Hoy y Siempre: Our Legacies.”

5—7 p.m. Laredo Public Library, 1120 E. Calton Road. Villa San Agustin de Laredo Genealogical Society and the Joe. A. Guerra Public Library will sponsor the exhibit. Open to the public. For more information, call Sylvia Reash at 763-1810.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28 1

DUPLO Fun Time. Every Friday, 10:30—11:30 a.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco Street. LEGOs for toddlers.

1 Pumpkin Patch. 11 a.m.—7 p.m.

First United Methodist Church lawn, 1220 McClelland Ave. 1 Halloween Party. 4—5 p.m.

McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco Street.

Celebrate Halloween with tricks and treats. Costumes are encouraged but not required.

1 Halloween Party. 4—6 p.m. Lamar Bruni Vergara Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. A Halloween celebration for the community. Dress in costume and enjoy a SPPOOKTACULAR time. There will be vendors, free food, crafts and trick or treats.

1 “Approaching the Healing Symbols in Art and Dreams.” 6:30—8:30 p.m. Falcon International Bank, Community Room, 3rd Floor, 7718 McPherson Road. $15. Presented by Volunteer Services Council for Border Region Behavioral Health Center. Anna Guerra, a depth psychotherapist in Houston, will give the presentation. For ticket information, contact Laura Kim at blaurak@borderregion.org or 7943130.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29 1

Pumpkin Patch. 7 a.m.—7 p.m.

First United Methodist Church lawn, 1220 McClelland Ave. 1 Past Lives, Dreams and Soul Travel. 1—2:30 p.m. Fairfield Inn & Suites Meeting Room, 700 W. Hillside Road. Discover how past lives, dreams and soul travel can help you experience God. Free bilingual discussion with booklet included. For more information visit eckankar-texas.org 1 RGISC’s “Rivers and Shivers Spooktacular” family event. 4 p.m.

Father McNaboe Park. Free entry.

Pumpkin patch, children’s art stations, costume contest for 10 and under (with grand prizes), butterfly seed planting, Casa Yoga (adults and children session), Border Slam poetry (bring your best poem!), youth games, live music, live painting, movie screening, and Laredo’s finest food trucks!

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30 1

Pumpkin Patch. Noon—7 p.m. First United Methodist Church lawn, 1220 McClelland Ave.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 31 1

Pumpkin Patch. 11 a.m.—7 p.m.

First United Methodist Church lawn, 1220 McClelland Ave. 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 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.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1 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.

1 Alzheimer’s support group. 7 p.m.

Laredo Medical Center, meeting room 2, building B. The support group is for family members and caregivers taking care of someone who has Alzheimer’s.

For information, please call 956-6939991.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2 1

SRX Chess Club. Every Wednesday, 4—5 p.m.

Colin Atagi / The Desert Sun via AP

Emergency personnel work the scene where a tour bus crashed into the rear of a semi-truck on westbound I-10, just north of the desert resort town of Palm Springs, Sunday.

TIRE TREADS WORN ON BUS LOS ANGELES — The treads on half the tires of a tour bus that slammed into a tractor-trailer on a desert freeway, killing 13 people, were worn down to an unsafe level, a federal investigator said Tuesday as authorities worked to determine the cause of one of California’s deadliest highway crashes.

The condition of the four faulty tires meant the 1996 bus was out of compliance with federal standards and could have been taken out of service, Earl Weener, a board member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said at a news confer-

Mormons preach love for LGBT members SALT LAKE CITY — Mormon leaders told gay and lesbian members Tuesday that attraction to people of the same sex is not a sin or a measure of their faithfulness and may never go away, but reminded them that having sex violates fundamental doctrinal beliefs that will not change.

The newly unveiled “Mormon and Gay” church website

ence in Palm Desert, near the site of Sunday’s crash that also injured 31 people on Interstate 10.

Despite the discovery, the cause of the crash remained undetermined and the NTSB was expected to take about a year to complete its investigation.

The California Highway Patrol has said there was no indication that the driver, Teodulo Elias Vides, applied his brakes before hitting the truck that was going about 5 mph because of utility work being done in the area.

— Compiled from AP reports

includes articles, teachings, videos and stories from church members who identify themselves as gay and lesbian. It is a remake of a site first created nearly four years ago that marked the religion’s most significant outreach to gays and lesbians.

The website is designed to encourage compassion and acceptance for LGBT people and strike a softer tone on an issue that has led to criticism of the conservative Utah-based The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently.

The Mormon church is one of many conservative faith groups staunchly upholding theological opposition to samesex relationships amid widespread social acceptance and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision legalizing gay marriage, while attempting to foster an empathetic stance toward LGBT people.

“There is no change in the church’s position of what is morally right,” church leader Dallin H. Oaks said on the website.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE WORLD Common-law wife of ‘El Chapo’ files complaint MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s national security commissioner insisted Tuesday that drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s health is fine after the kingpin’s common-law wife filed a complaint saying he’s faring poorly behind bars.

Commissioner Renato Sales told Imagen Radio that Guzman is isolated from other prisoners, but receives visits from his family and lawyers.

“He is not subject to torture of course, nor degrading or inhuman treatment,” Sales said. He says Guzman’s common-law wife Emma Coronel has visited the drug lord 35 times, along with his daughters and sisters.

On Monday, Coronel filed a complaint with Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission complaining about Guzman’s alleged treatment in

AUSTIN — Prosecutors in the trial of a former state psychiatrist charged with molesting teenage boys acknowledged in opening statements Tuesday that some of his accusers have a history of lying.

But Travis County prosecutor Mary Farrington told jurors that past fabrications and the victims’ history of mental ill-

Ten years ago: A wildfire in Southern California killed five firefighters (investigators later determined the cause of the blaze was arson). President George W. Bush signed a measure authorizing 700 miles of new fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama recalled his struggles with student loan debt as he unveiled a plan at the University of Colorado Denver that could give millions of young people some relief on their payments. In a verdict that disappointed pro-democracy activists, two Egyptian policemen who beat a man to death were convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter and given a relatively light sentence in a case that helped spark Egypt’s uprising.

One year ago: A 7.5-magnitude quake in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan caused extensive damage in neighboring Pakistan and killed around 400 people. The World Health Organization, throwing its global weight behind years of experts’ warnings, declared that processed meats raised the risk of colon and stomach cancer and that red meat was probably harmful, too.

Rebecca Blackwell / AP file

In this Jan. 8 file photo, Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is escorted by army soldiers to a waiting helicopter.

prison.

Coronel is the mother of twin daughters with Guzman. She told local media Monday outside the commission’s Mexico City office that she had just filed the complaint charging that Guzman suffers from declining health due to the conditions of his confinement.

Coronel has filed complaints

before to pressure the government to improve conditions for the Sinaloa cartel’s leader.

Guzman was rearrested in January after escaping from a maximum-security prison last year. He is fighting extradition to the U.S. from the northern border state of Chihuahua.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND TEXAS Trial opens for ex-child psychiatrist accused of assault

On this date: In 1774, the First Continental Congress adjourned in Philadelphia.

In 1825, the Erie Canal opened in upstate New York, connecting Lake Erie and the Hudson River.

In 1881, the “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” took place in Tombstone, Arizona.

In 1921, the Chicago Theatre, billed as “the Wonder Theatre of the World,” first opened.

In 1944, the World War II Battle of Leyte Gulf ended in a major Allied victory over Japanese forces, whose naval capabilities were badly crippled.

In 1949, President Harry S. Truman signed a measure raising the minimum wage from 40 to 75 cents an hour.

In 1958, Pan American Airways flew its first Boeing 707 jetliner from New York to Paris in 8 hours and 41 minutes.

In 1965, The Beatles received MBE medals as Members of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

In 1972, national security adviser Henry Kissinger declared, “Peace is at hand” in Vietnam. Aviation innovator Igor Sikorsky died in Easton, Connecticut, at age 83.

In 1984, “Baby Fae,” a newborn with a severe heart defect, was given the heart of a baboon in an experimental transplant in Loma Linda, California.

(Baby Fae lived 21 days with the animal heart.)

In 1994, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and Prime Minister Abdel Salam Majali of Jordan signed a peace treaty during a ceremony at the Israeli-Jordanian border attended by President Bill Clinton.

In 2001, President George W. Bush signed the USA Patriot Act, giving authorities unprecedented ability to search, seize, detain or eavesdrop in their pursuit of possible terrorists.

Former nurse’s aide Chante Mallard struck a homeless man, Gregory Biggs, with her car on a Fort Worth, Texas, highway; Biggs, who became lodged in the windshield, died in Mallard’s garage after she refused to seek assistance for him and instead enlisted the help of a friend and his cousin to dispose of the body. (Mallard was later convicted of murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison.)

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Shelley Morrison is 80. Actress Jaclyn Smith is 71. TV host Pat Sajak is 70. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton is 69. Actor James Pickens Jr. is 64. Rock musician Keith Strickland (The B-52’s) is 63. Actor D.W. Moffett is 62. Actress-singer Rita Wilson is 60.

The president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, is 57. Actor Dylan McDermott is 55.

Singer Natalie Merchant is 53. Country singer Keith Urban is 49. Actress Rosemarie DeWitt is 45. Writer-producer Seth MacFarlane (TV: “Family Guy”) is 43. TV correspondent and co-host Paula Faris (TV: “The View”) is 41. Olympic silver medal figure skater Sasha Cohen is 32. Rapper Schoolboy Q is 30.

Thought for Today: “Facts are many, but the truth is one.” — Sir Rabindranath Tagore, Indian Nobel Prizewinning poet (1861-1941).

CONTACT US ness do not change a pattern of predatory behavior by Charles Fischer.

Fischer, 64, was a child psychiatrist at the Austin State Hospital who’s accused of having sex with five teens under his care from 2001 to 2005.

Prosecutors over the course of the trial, expected to last about three weeks, could call as many as 11 people alleging they were victims, the Austin AmericanStatesman reported.

Fischer was indicted in 2012 on multiple charges, including

nine counts of sexual assault of a child. He has denied the claims and pleaded not guilty.

Investigators in October 2011 notified administrators at Austin State Hospital that they determined Fischer had sexually abused at least one child in his care, the Statesman reported. They also revealed they had received other reports of abuse dating back several years, but none of those were confirmed by the investigators.

— Compiled from AP reports

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THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, October 26, 2016 |

LOCAL & STATE Tractor Supply Company store opening in Zapata S P ECIAL T O T HE T I ME S

Zapata’s Tractor Supply Company store will hold its grand opening on Saturday, Nov. 5, with specially priced merchandise Nov. 3-Nov. 6.

The store will officially open for business Oct. 29.

The Zapata location is Tractor Supply’s 181st store in Texas and employs 12 team members. The facility has 25,000 square feet, including sales floor and support service space. Tractor Supply is the largest rural lifestyle retail store chain in the United States and has been operating in Texas since 1950.

“Zapata is a great location for Tractor Supply Company because there are a lot of families with riding stables and hobby farms in the area,” said store manager Arthur Solis. “Our knowledgeable, friendly team looks forward to providing our neighbors with Tractor Supply’s legendary customer service.” Solis, a Texas native, joined Tractor Supply in 2016 as a manager in training at the Alice location. He brings more than 20 years of retail experience to the Tractor Supply team.

As store manager, Solis oversees all store operations, including receiving, inventory control and merchandising, as well as customer and team member relations.

To celebrate the grand opening of the store, shoppers will receive 10 percent off their first purchase, up to $100, from Nov. 3-Nov. 6, and can enter to win prizes including $2,000 worth of store gift cards.

Free Tractor Supply caps will also be given away while supplies last.

The grand opening event will feature a number of activities, including Wellness on Wheelz veterinary clinic and fundraisers for the local FFA and 4-H groups.

Regular operating hours for the store, located at 804 State Highway 16, are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Courtesy / Zapata County ISD

Villarreal Elementary School students of the week

A3

The students of the week for Villarreal Elementary School pose for a photo. In the top row, from left, are Saul Martinez, Abigail Hernandez, Emily Martinez, Johanna Bernal, Emily Rodriguez, Genesis Ibarra and Annikah Serna.

In the middle row, from left, are Raul Guerra, Saul Ontiveros, Kaylee Loreto, Rihanna Garcia, Alfonso Lopez, Jorge Lopez, Janel Rivera, Mia Del Bosque and Osbaldo Gonzalez. In the bottom row, from left, are Adrian Caballero, Jayla Rivera, Abigail Terrazas, Francisco Araujo, Jesica Perez, Alan Gonzalez, Kaitlyn Landa, Jaylin Paredes, Jaime Garza, Jorge Fernandez and Adair Garcia.

Ex-executive changes life by becoming South Texas organic farmer

By Natalia E. Contreras CORPUS CHRISTI CALLER-TIME S

ROCKPORT — Every day for about eight years, Justin Butts put on a button-up shirt, slacks and dress shoes and headed out the door to his corporate job.

The Corpus Christi CallerTimes reports Butts in 2008 decided to take a leap of faith — he left his job as a senior national sales executive for CocaCola and became a farmer.

“God called me into farming and I just knew I had to do it,” Butts said. “I had no previous experience at all. House plants I had would die. Everything I tried would fail.”

Butts hit the books, traveled and visited other farms and gardens in India, Europe, and the Himalayas. After his research, he and his wife Kayla Butts opened the Four String Farm in Rockport.

The couple started a farm share, which offers pastured pork, pastured poultry, fresh eggs and seasonal vegetables and herbs for sale throughout the year. They do not give any type of hormones, steroids or antibiotics to the animals and do not use any chemical pesti-

Courtney Sacco / Corpus Christi Caller-Times/AP

In this Oct. 11 photo, Justin Butts plants a variety of vegetables at Three Sisters Farmers in Rockport, Texas.

cides or fertilizers on the plants, Justin Butts said.

“We rely on God so much to grow the food in the way that we do,” he said. “It is very difficult to do this in South Texas but God always, always provides.

“We want to share this, let people know it’s possible and educate them on the methods of how to grow food in their backyards,” he said.

The purpose of the farm is to serve and educate the community through providing fresh produce and offering classes

and on health, wellness, and gardening.

The farmers use the Three Sisters method, which is a Native American system of planting corn, beans, and squash together. Another strategy used at the farm, located off of Highway 35, is the Intensive Successive Companions, which is a poly-culture way of planting herbs, vegetables, and fruit, he said.

Kayla Butts, a licensed dietitian, said she wants to help people reconnect with their food and teach first-time gar-

deners about these methods.

“We have evolved so far away from the relationship with our food that people get so enthusiastic when they find out this is possible,” Kayla Butts said. “People want the goodness that comes from knowing exactly where your food comes from.”

There are about 40 customers in the farm share. Delivery is available for customers in Rockport, but out of town customers can pick up their shares once a week every month.

Frank Scanio has been a customer of the farm for about three years. He said he and his family look forward to picking up their fresh produce every week.

“My wife and I have four young children and we didn’t want to feed them all the chemicals that are out there,” Scanio said. “I really like that everything is organic and that they don’t use any pesticides.

“It’s remarkable to have people like them in South Texas,” Scanio said. The couple teaches gardening and cooking classes every month and they write columns and recipes for “The Bend” magazine.

Zopinion A4 | Wednesday, October 26, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

OP-ED

OTHER VIEWS

Dylan’s works are not poetry

By Joan Murray A LBA N Y T I ME S UNI ON

My brother Charlie emailed me at 7 a.m. with the news that Bob Dylan had won the Nobel Prize in Literature. He wasn’t thinking I’d be elated by the news. He was doing it out of sibling rivalry, since I’m a poet and he’s a huge Dylan fan, and he’s spent a lot of breath over the years trying to persuade me that Dylan’s a poet too.

Because poetry and other literature have such little relevance in our distracting, media-driven, electronic, consumer culture, it’s startling how much contention Dylan’s Nobel has created. I mean, brother and sister pitted against each other in a not-so-civil war!

Why do Dylan fans need to claim he’s a poet?

Why can’t they be content that he’s America’s greatest songwriter? Is it because they miss poetry — you know, that weirdlyshaped writing that uses rhythm and concision to share an insight or tell a story and stir the emotions?

My brother subscribes to the New Yorker and the New York Review of Books, but I wonder if he ever reads poetry. True, he once gave me a book of poems. But it was by Patti Smith, who’s also a rocker, as was the late Lou Reed, the other poet he talks about. But has he ever heard of, say, Billy Collins, the most popular American poet since Robert Frost? For that matter, has the Nobel Committee ever heard of Billy Collins?

I’m not urging Billy for the Nobel in literature, but at least he’s eligible. For one thing, he writes literature — specifically books of poetry, which have sold hundreds of thousands of copies. He’s been America’s Poet Laureate. He even calls himself a poet.

None of which Bob Dylan has ever done—or aspired to do.

Do I dislike Dylan? On the contrary; I’ve been listening to him with pleasure more than half my life — I even went to this year’s BobFest in Wisconsin — and I agree he may be “the greatest American lyricist of the second half of the 20th century.” The first half, of course, had all those Broadway lyricists — but that was back when the Nobel Committee for Literature gave the literature prize to literary artists.

But now that the ceiling is broken, the Nobel committee has lots of other pop lyricists to consider, for instance, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen and the whole Canadian crowd—Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and,

most deservingly, Leonard Cohen—who actually is a poet. Yet I doubt Cohen cares about the prize. Of Dylan’s Nobel, he said it was “like pinning a medal on Everest.”

My problem with lyricists getting the literature prize has nothing to do with genius, innovation, influence, or popularity. It has everything to do with the Nobel Committee ignoring the people who actually do creative work in that tiny slice of the cultural pie called “literature.” As my husband observed, “It’s like giving the Stanley Cup to the Cubs.”

This year, most people believed an American would be chosen — but they were thinking of Joyce Carol Oates, America’s foremost person of letters and author of more than 100 books. The preeminent writer of fiction is also a memoirist, essayist, poet, playwright, critic editor, and literary scholar. The odds in her favor were 20 to 1. Oates graciously called the selection of Dylan an “inspired choice” — adding she’d have preferred the Beatles.

I can’t muster that graciousness — probably because I regard the Nobel’s choice of someone whose work isn’t read — or even meant to be read — as anti-literary, antibook, anti-reading, antiwriting, anti-literacy, in other words, anti-literature. And, speaking technically, no matter how much I love listening to Dylan, his lyrics don’t measure up to good poetry. Sure, he uses “poetic techniques” (as the Nobel committee defensively noted), but judged as poetry, his writings seem overwrought, repetitive, derivative, opaque, and dated. Don’t believe me?

Take the Dylan challenge: sit down and read the lyrics of six Dylan songs (preferably ones whose melodies you don’t know) and see if you want to read more. Then try six poems by recent Nobel winners Seamus Heaney, Derek Walcott or Wislawa Szymborska. Or earlier winners like Yeats, Eliot or Neruda.

See the difference? Yes, Dylan has written some wonderful lines that get quoted by my generation as mantras. But reading a whole set of Dylan lyrics can be pretty unrewarding. All that aside, being awarded the prize probably isn’t a big whoop for Dylan anyway. Over a decade ago, he told NPR, that for someone who just wants to write and play songs, “having these colossal accolades and titles, they get in the way. ... you’re just expected to be something you flat out know you’re not.”

COLUMN

The epidemic of worry We’ve had a tutorial on worry this year. The election campaign isn’t really about policy proposals, issue solutions or even hope. It’s led by two candidates who arouse gargantuan anxieties, fear and hatred in their opponents.

As a result, some mental health therapists are reporting that threequarters of their patients are mentioning significant election-related anxiety. An American Psychological Association study found that more than half of all Americans are very or somewhat stressed by this race.

Of course, there are good and bad forms of anxiety — the kind that warns you about legitimate dangers and the kind that spirals into dark and self-destructive thoughts.

In his book “Worrying,” Francis O’Gorman notes how quickly the good kind of anxiety can slide into the dark kind.

“Worry is circular,” he writes. It may start with a concrete anxiety: Did I lock the back door? Is this headache a stroke?

“And it has a nasty habit of taking off on its own, of getting out of hand, of spawning thoughts that are related to the original worry and which make it worse.”

That’s what’s happening this year. Anxiety is coursing through American society. It has become its own destructive character on the national stage.

Worry alters the atmosphere of the mind. It shrinks your awareness of the present and your ability to enjoy what’s around you right now. It cycles possible bad futures around in your head and forces you to live in dreadful future scenarios, 90 percent of which will never come true.

Pretty soon you are seeing the world through a dirty windshield. Wor-

“

DAVID BROOKS

Worry alters the atmosphere of the mind. It shrinks your awareness of the present and your ability to enjoy what’s around you right now. It cycles possible bad futures around in your head and forces you to live in dreadful future scenarios, 90 percent of which will never come true. ry dims every sunrise and amplifies mistrust. A mounting tide of anxiety makes people angrier about society and more darkly pessimistic about the possibility of changing it. Spiraling worry is the perverted underside of rationality.

This being modern polarized America, worry seems to come in two flavors.

Educated-class anxiety can often be characterized as a feeling overabundant of options without a core of convicting purpose. It’s worth noting that rich countries are more anxious than poorer ones. According to the World Health Organization, 18.2 percent of Americans report chronic anxiety while only 3.3 percent of Nigerians do.

Today, when you hear affluent people express worry, it’s usually related to the fear of missing out, and the dizziness of freedom. The affluent often

feel besieged by busyness and plagued by a daily excess of choices. At the same time, there is a pervasive cosmic unease, the anxiety that they don’t quite understand the meaning of life, or have not surrendered to some all-encompassing commitment that would bring coherence and peace.

Many affluent people use money to buy privacy, and so cut themselves off from both the deep relationships that could give them purpose and the neighborly support systems that could hold them up if things go south.

This election has also presented members of the educated class with an awful possibility: that their pleasant social strata may rest on unstable molten layers of anger, bigotry and instability. How could this guy Trump get even 40 percent of the votes? America may be not quite the country we thought it was.

Among the less educated, anxiety flows from and inflames a growing sense that the structures of society are built for the exploitation of people like themselves. Everything is rigged; the rulers are malevolent and corrupt.

Last weekend’s “Black Jeopardy” skit on “Saturday Night Live” did a beautiful job of showing how this sensation overlaps among both progressive African-Americans and reactionary Trumpians.

It is a well-established fact that people who experience social exclusion have a tendency to slide toward superstitious and conspiratorial thinking. People who feel exploited by, and invisible to, those at the commanding heights of society are not going to worry if their candidate can’t pass a fact-check test. They just want someone who can share

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CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

their exclusion and give them a better story.

Anxiety changes people. We’ve seen a level of thuggery this election cycle that is without precedent in recent American history. Some of the anti-Trump demonstrators seem more interested in violence than politics. Some of the Trumpians are savage.

David French wrote a shocking essay for National Review describing the appalling online abuse he suffered because of his anti-Trump stance. His anonymous assailants Photoshopped pictures of his daughter’s face in a gas chamber and left GIFs of grisly executions on his wife’s blog.

Some of the things that have made us vulnerable to this wave of anxiety are not going away — the narratives of fear, conspiracy and the immobilizing stress. America’s culture may be permanently changed for the worse.

But the answer to worry is the same as the answer to fear: direct action. If the next president starts enacting a slew of actual policies, then at least we can argue about concrete plans, rather than vague apocalyptic moods.

Furthermore, action takes us out of ourselves.

Worry, like drama, is all about the self. As O’Gorman puts it, the worrier is the opposite of a lighthouse: “He doesn’t give out energy for the benefit of others. He absorbs energy at others’ cost.”

If you’re worrying, you’re spiraling into your own narcissistic pool.

But concrete plans and actions thrust us into the daily fact of other people’s lives. This campaign will soon be over, and governing, thank God, will soon return.

Hakuna matata.

David Brooks is a columnist for The New York Times.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, October 26, 2016 |

A5

ENTERTAINMENT

Paul Beatty’s ‘The Sellout’ is first US Booker Prize winner

By Jill Lawless A S S OCI AT E D PRE SS

LONDON — Paul Beatty’s “The Sellout,” a stinging satire of race and class in the United States, won the Man Booker Prize on Tuesday — the first time an American has taken the prestigious fiction award.

Judges said Beatty’s provocative book was a satire to rank with the classics, and as timely as the evening news.

Historian Amanda Foreman, who chaired the judging panel, said the book “plunges into the heart of contemporary American society, and with absolutely savage wit — the kind I haven’t seen since (Jonathan) Swift or (Mark) Twain.”

“The Sellout” is set in a rundown Los Angeles suburb called Dickens, where the residents include the last survivor of the Little Rascals and the book’s narrator, Bonbon, an African-American man on trial at the U.S. Supreme Court for attempting to reinstate slavery and racial segregation.

The book has been likened to the comedy of Richard Pryor and Chris Rock, and Beatty goes where many authors fear to tread. Racial stereotypes, offensive speech and police violence are all subject to his scathing eye.

Beatty was awarded the 50,000 pound ($61,000) prize by Prince Charles’ wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, during a blacktie ceremony at London’s medieval Guildhall.

Beatty acknowledged that “The Sellout” was a hard book — both to read and to write.

“I don’t want to get all dramatic, like writing

Gene Page / AMC/AP

In this image released by AMC, Jeffrey Dean Morgan portrays Negan in a scene from the Season 7 premiere of "The Walking Dead."

John Phillips / AP

Winner of the 2016 Man Booker Prize for the novel, "The Sellout," Paul Beatty, right, speaks Tuesday.

saved my life,” said 54year-old Beatty, who has written three previous novels. “But writing’s given me a life.

“I’m just trying to create space for myself — hopefully that creates space for others,” he added.

Foreman said “The Sellout,” which mixes pop culture, philosophy and politics with humor and anger, sets out to “eviscerate every social taboo.”

“This is a book that nails the reader to the cross with cheerful abandon,” she said. “That is why the book works — because while you’re being nailed, you’re being tickled.”

The five judges met for a marathon four hours Tuesday to choose the winner from among six finalists, whittled down from 155 submissions.

Foreman said the decision for Beatty’s work was unanimous.

Frances Gertler, web editor at the Foyles bookstore chain, called “The Sellout” a “brave and funny” book.

“It takes a bit of getting into, but once there you don’t want to leave,” she said.

Founded in 1969 and previously open only to writers from Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth, the Booker ex-

panded in 2014 to include all English-language authors.

There were fears in Britain’s literary world that the change would bring U.S. dominance to a prize whose previous winners include Salman Rushdie, Ben Okri, Margaret Atwood and Hilary Mantel. But the 2014 and 2015 winners were Australia’s Richard Flanagan and Jamaica’s Marlon James.

One other American novel was among the finalists: Ottessa Moshfegh’s twist on the psychological thriller, “Eileen” Bookies had considered Beatty a longshot. The favorite was Canada’s Madeleine Thien for “Do Not Say We Have Nothing,” the story of two families roiled by China’s tumultuous history during the 20th century.

The other contenders were Graeme Macrae Burnet’s Scottish murder story “His Bloody Project”; Deborah Levy’s tale of mother-child trauma “Hot Milk”; and “All That Man Is,” a portrait of masculinity in a fragmented Europe by Canadian-born British novelist David Szalay.

The prize, subject to intense speculation and a flurry of betting, usually brings the victor a huge boost in sales and profile.

‘The Walking Dead’ has a smashing return

By David Bauder ASSOCIATION PRE SS

NEW YORK — It’s hard to miss the message from the season premiere of “The Walking Dead”: blood pays off.

The gory episode of the popular AMC drama was seen by just over 17 million viewers on Sunday night, the Nielsen company said. That left it short of the 2014 season premiere of 17.3 million for most-watched episode of the series ever, but AMC believes that when additional digital and delayed viewing is added in, this season’s opener will be the all-time champ.

When last season’s opener drew 14.6 million people, there were whispers that “The Walking Dead” was fading in appeal. But a good, oldfashioned cliffhanger — who did Negan kill? — paid off handsomely in interest.

Among the 18-to-49year-old audience that advertisers love, “The Walking Dead” reached 10.7 million people. Prior to Sunday night, the season’s most-watched scripted show among that youthful demographic was the 6.5 mil-

lion who saw the season premiere of “The Big Bang Theory.”

Even for a zombie apocalypse program not known for its gentility, Sunday’s episode stood out for blood ‘n’ guts.

Avert your eyes, those who haven’t seen it and don’t want their anticipation spoiled: Negan bludgeons Abraham and Glenn with a spiked baseball bat.

Come to think of it, you might want to avert your eyes anyway.

The episode “was one of the most graphically violent shows we’ve seen on television, comparable to the most violent of programs found on premium cable networks,” said Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council.

AMC’s postgame show, “Talking Dead,” had its biggest-ever audience among people wanting to dissect the opener.

CBS scored another easy victory in prime time, averaging 9.9 million viewers for the week. Second place NBC, with 7.7 million viewers, won among the 18-to-49year-old crowd. ABC averaged 5.4 million viewers, Fox had 3.1 million, Univision had 1.8

million, Telemundo had 1.6 million, the CW had 1.5 million and ION Television had 1.2 million.

Fox News Channel was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 3.21 million viewers in prime time. AMC had 2.172 million, CNN had 2.169 million, ESPN had 2.14 million and MSNBC had 1.78 million.

The evening news competition had another virtual dead heat: ABC’s “World News Tonight” averaged 7.99 million viewers and the “NBC Nightly News” had 7.97 million. The “CBS Evening News” averaged 6.4 million.

For the week of Oct. 17-23, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: NFL Football: Seattle at Arizona, NBC, 17.71 million; “The Walking Dead,” AMC, 17.03 million; “60 Minutes,” CBS, 15.99 million; “NCIS,” CBS, 14.77 million; NFL Football: Chicago at Green Bay, CBS, 14.202 million; “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 14.196 million; “Bull,” CBS, 12.29 million; “Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick,” NBC, 12.01 million; “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 11.4 million; “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 11.38 million.

Zfrontera A6 | Wednesday, October 26, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

RIBEREÑA EN BREVE EXHIBICIÓN Y LECTURA DE POESÍA 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 así como a la lectura de poesía por parte de la poeta Raquel Valle-Sentíes, quien leerá parte de su colección “The Ones Santa Anna Sold”, desde las 10 a.m. El evento se llevará a cabo en el Museo de Historia del Condado de Zapata.

CURSOS DE LENGUAJE DE SIGNOS (ASL) 1 El Departamento de Educación Especial local está ofreciendo clases de Lenguaje Americano de Signos para el personal profesional y paraprofesional así como para padres, estudiantes o administradores del distrito Zapata County Independent School District, todos los jueves desde el 20 de octubre al 15 de diciembre (ocho semanas de duración).

En el horario de 4:15 p.m. a 5:15 p.m. en el laboratorio de computadoras de la escuela primaria Zapata North Elementary School.

Mayores informes al (956) 285-6877 o a la Oficina de Educación Especial al (956) 756-6130 antes del 13 de octubre.

CONSULADO MÓVIL EN ZAPATA 1 El Consulado General de México en Laredo llevará a cabo su programa Consulado Móvil en la comunidad de Zapata, donde los residentes podrán obtener servicios básicos como expedición de matrícula consular, pasaportes, asesoría legal y orientación en el ámbito de protección. El evento tendrá lugar en las instalaciones del Zapata County Technical & Advance Education Center ubicado en Carretera 83 y Calle 9, con horario de servicio de 9 a.m. a 2 p.m., el sábado 29 de octubre. Para hacer cita y para solicitar requisitos pueden comunicarse a MEXITEL 1-877-6394835 o por internet consulmex.sre.gob.mx/ laredo 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.

FESTIVAL DE OTOÑO 1 La comunidad de Zapata y los comerciantes locales invitan al 1er. Festival de Otoño que se realizará el lunes 31 de octubre, desde las 5 p.m., en los terrenos de la feria del Condado de Zapata. Mayores informes con la Comisionada Olga Elizondo (956) 489-1064.

LAREDO

ITIN

Alertan por heroína

IRS comienza a aceptar solicitudes de renovación

Por Andrea Castañeda TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Durante los primeros nueve meses del 2016, los departamentos de Policía de Laredo y Bomberos respondieron a 249 llamadas relacionadas con la heroína.

Personal de emergencia registró 108 sobredosis de heroína durante ese mismo periodo. En dos de esos casos, las personas murieron.

James R. Reed, agente asistente especial a cargo de la Administración para el Combate de las Drogas (DEA por sus siglas en inglés), dijo que las autoridades locales, estatales y federales están tratando de recabar estadísticas acerca de sobredosis para determinar con precisión en tiempo real dónde está ocurriendo la problemática.

Aunque han habido amplios reportes de sobredosis de heroína impactando la nación, Laredo aún no está enfrentando una epidemia, dijo Reed.

“Tenemos una epidemia en los Estados Unidos y como muestran los números no tenemos una epidemia aquí en Laredo pero tenemos un problema. Básicamente los números son, desde el 2008, Básicamente los números, desde el 2008, indican que las muertes inducidas por drogas han ido en aumento.

“Estas muertes sobrepasaron el número de muertes por accidente de carros y si lo piensas, ése es un número asombroso”.

Verónica Jiménez, directora de programa para la Coalición Comunitaria del Condado de Webb de Sirviendo a Menores y Adultos en Necesidad, dijo que ha habido un aumento en el abuso de drogas prescritas. Este aumento puede ser atribuido a un concepto mal entendido de que los medicamentos recetados son más seguros de ingerir que los narcóticos.

Una alternativa más económica Reed dijo que las drogas oxicodona e hidrocodona son consumidas en un alto porcentaje en los Estados Unidos y a menudo son recetadas en exceso. Estas drogas con receta no son manejadas adecuadamente cuando llegan a manos de personas a las que no se les recetó el medicamento, dijo Reed. Este abuso puede llevar a el uso de la heroína debido a la dependencia al opio.

“El problema con eso, cuando la gente utiliza ese tipo de drogas y no tienen acceso a ellas, sus recetas se acaban”, dijo. “Ellos no pueden obtenerla en la calle y entonces lo que sucede es que recurren a la heroína. Lo que encontramos es que el precio de

la heroína actualmente ha bajado al punto que es compatible. Actualmente es una alternativa más barata a los medicamentos recetados”.

Los distribuidores de drogas han tomado esta oportunidad y han empezado a agregar fentanilo a la heroína para ahorrar dinero. Fentanilo es un calmante del dolor más poderoso que la morfina.

La adición de fentanilo crea una situación mortal y ha causado una alza en sobredosis de heroína.

“Pero el problema de nuevo, es que el fentanilo es mucho más potente que la heroína”, dijo Reed.

“Así que cuando tenemos una situación donde mezclan fentanilo con heroína no solamente tienes una sustancia donde ni siquiera sabes lo qué es, no sabes cual es la dosis”.

En octubre de 2015, un hombre recibió una sentencia de 57 meses en una corte federal en Laredo después que se le encontraron más de 17 libras de fentanilo en el vehículo que conducía. La sustancia fue localizada en un extinguidor de fuego.

Como una forma de bajar la tasa de sobredosis, la DEA lleva a cabo un evento para recaudar medicamentos que no son utilizados o que ya no son requeridos.

El reportero César G. Rodríguez contribuyó con este reporte

SEMANA DEL LISTÓN ROJO

PROMUEVEN VIVIR LIBRE DE DROGAS

Foto de cortesía | Zapata County Independent School District

Estudiantes de Villarreal Elementary School participaron en el evento “Shade Out Drugs” usando lentes de sol para apoyar la Semana del Listón Rojo en contra de las drogas.

E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

WASHINGTON — El Servicio de Impuestos Internos (IRS) recuerda a los contribuyentes afectados por los cambios recientes que afectan al programa de Número de Identificación Personal del Contribuyente (ITIN) que ya pueden comenzar a presentar sus solicitudes de renovación de ITIN al IRS. Bajo la Ley de Protección contra Alzas de Impuestos a los Americanos (PATH, por sus siglas en inglés) de 2015, aprobada por el Congreso y promulgada el año pasado, cualquier ITIN que no se haya usado en una declaración federal de impuestos por lo menos una vez en los últimos tres años dejará de ser válido y no podrá usarse en una declaración de impuestos a partir del 1 de enero de 2017.

Si un contribuyente tiene un ITIN que está programado para caducar y debe presentar una declaración de impuestos, es importante evitar demoras. Al presentar el paquete de solicitud en las próximas semanas los contribuyentes con ITIN pueden evitar retrasos innecesarios y dar paso a un procesamiento más manejable y rápido.

Los ITIN son utilizados por personas que tienen obligaciones de presentación o pago de impuestos bajo la ley estadounidense pero que no son elegibles para un número de Seguro Social.

Quién debe renovar un ITIN Solamente los titulares de ITIN que necesiten presentar una declaración de impuestos en 2017 necesitan renovar sus ITIN. Los contribuyentes tendrán que tener un ITIN vigente para presentar una declaración federal en 2017.

Los contribuyentes con ITIN que no se han usado en una declaración federal de impuestos en los últimos tres años no podrán presentar una declaración a menos que renueven su ITIN.· Un ITIN con los dígitos medios 78 o 79 (xxx-78xxxx; xxx-79-xxxx) necesita renovarse incluso si el contribuyente lo ha utilizado en los últimos tres años.

Los contribuyentes cuyos ITIN tienen los

dígitos medios 78 o 79 tienen la opción de renovar el ITIN de toda su familia al mismo tiempo.

Aquellos que recibieron una carta de renovación del IRS pueden optar por renovar los ITIN de toda la familia incluso si miembros de la familia tienen un ITIN con dígitos medios que no sean 78 o 79. Los miembros de la familia incluyen al contribuyente, su cónyuge y dependientes reclamados en la declaración de impuestos.

Cómo renovar un ITIN Para renovar un ITIN, un contribuyente debe completar un Formulario W-7(SP) y presentar toda la documentación requerida. El IRS comenzó a aceptar renovaciones de ITIN el 1 de octubre. Hay tres maneras de presentar el paquete de aplicación W-7: 1 Envíe por correo el Formulario W-7 — junto con los documentos originales de identificación o copias certificadas por la agencia que los emitió, a la dirección del IRS que aparecen en las instrucciones del formulario W-7. El IRS revisará los documentos de identificación y los devolverá en un plazo de 60 días.

1 Los contribuyentes tienen la opción de trabajar con agentes tramitadores certificados (CAAs) autorizados por el IRS para ayudar a los contribuyentes a solicitar un ITIN. Los CAAs revisarán toda la documentación de un contribuyente y certificarán que una solicitud de ITIN está correcta antes de enviarla al IRS para su procesamiento. Un CAA también puede certificar pasaportes y certificados de nacimiento para dependientes. Esto le ahorra a los contribuyentes tener que enviar documentos originales por correo al IRS. 1 Por adelantado, los contribuyentes pueden llamar y hacer una cita en un centro designado de ayuda al contribuyente del IRS en lugar de enviar documentos originales por correo al IRS. Para renovar un ITIN no se necesita adjuntar una declaración federal de impuestos al Formulario W-7. No obstante, los contribuyentes aún deben incluir la razón por la cual necesitan un ITIN en el Formulario W-7.

KHOY

Estación católica celebra ‘Radiothon’ E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

La estación de radio católica local, KHOY 88,1 FM se encuentra celebrando el 30 aniversario de su fundación y para continuar su labor al aire estará realizando el anual KHOY Radiothon del 31 de octubre al 4 de noviembre en horario de 8 a.m. a 6 p.m.

KHOY fue fundada el 17 de diciembre de 1985 por el obispo Rene H. Gracida de la Diócesis de Corpus Christi, de acuerdo con Bennett McBride, director de comunicaciones de la Diócesis de Laredo, la

estación se fundó cuando Laredo aun formaba parte del Vicariato Oeste de la Diócesis de Corpus Christi con el objetivo de evangelizar a la audiencia y diseminar la Palabra de Dios. Desde entonces, la estación ha estado operando en la comunidad de Laredo y Nuevo Laredo, México.

La estación católica fue la primera en transmitir en línea en la Laredo, según McBride.

KHOY cuenta con programación producida localmente como es el programa “Todo con Amor” con el obispo

James A. Tamayo los domingos a las 3 p.m. y “Encuentros con la Palabra de Dios” con el padre Jacinto Olguín, un programa sobre los eventos actuales del mundo católico transmitido los domingos a las 10:30 a.m.

De acuerdo con un comunicado de prensa, KHOY es la estación de radio favorita para el ambiente de oficina con una audiencia semanal de 27.000 radioescuchas en el sur de Texas.

KHOY es conocida por su relajante sonido, y anuncios públicos sobre la Iglesia y la comunidad, así

también como oraciones que se realizan a diario y programas que inspiran a conseguir un día positivo y pacífico, dice el comunicado.

Puesto que la estación católica es una organización sin fines de lucro, se basa de donaciones para poder mantener su presencia al aire. Cada año KHOY organiza un evento de recaudación de fondos al aire en el cual solicitan ayuda financiera de los radioescuchas.

El equipo de KHOY, McBride y Erica Johnston, junto con la Junta Directiva, darán la bienvenida a

la audiencia para sintonizar el evento y ser parte de esta importante semana.

“Esta es una oportunidad para que el público sea testigo de nuestro ministerio de primera mano. Estamos muy emocionados de invitar a todos para que nos visiten”, dijo McBride en un comunicado de prensa.

Para hacer contribuciones a KHOY puede visitar el estudio localizado en 1901 de la calle Corpus Christi, llamando al 956-722-4167 o en línea en KHOY.org pulsando en la pestaña “Donate now” al final de la página.

Sports&Outdoors THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, October 26, 2016 |

A7

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: HOUSTON TEXANS

Mistake-prone Texans look to improve Houston returning home to face Lions after falling to 0-3 on road

By Kristie Rieken ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Joe Mahoney / Associated Press

Brock Osweiler was 22 of 41 for 131 yards Monday as the Texans fell to 0-3 on the road with a 27-9 loss against the Broncos.

HOUSTON — Of all the mistakes the Houston Texans made in a loss to Denver on Monday night one stood out above the rest.

Brock Osweiler dropped back to pass on the first play of the fourth quarter and with no defender close to him he simply lost his handle on the ball and it tumbled slightly forward and to the ground.

It was scooped up by a Broncos defender, serving as a lasting image of a night where Osweiler and Houston’s supposedly upgraded offense did little right.

Osweiler completed 22 of 41 passes for just 131 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions as the Texans (4-3) fell to 0-3 on the road this season with the 27-9 loss .

He continued to overthrow and underthrow receivers, and at least two of the 6-foot-7 quarterback’s throws were batted down at the line.

This, it’s safe to assume, isn’t what the Texans were hoping for when they lured him away from the Broncos with that massive $72 million contract in an attempt to cure the quarterback woes that have nagged them for

much of their existence.

However coach Bill O’Brien said he hasn’t considered benching Osweiler, simply saying: “No” without further explanation when asked the question on Tuesday.

O’Brien has stood up for his quarterback week after week as outside criticism has grown, with many saying that Osweiler isn’t worth the contract Houston gave him after he had started just seven games before this season.

He continued to back Osweiler on Tuesday and insisted that everyone needs to do more to get the offense on track as the team prepares to host Detroit on Sunday .

“He’s a good player,” O’Brien said. “I think it’s very difficult to come into a new system and a new team and just pick it up right away. I think everybody has to do a better job. Coaches, we all have to do better. I think he can play better. I know that the receivers can run routes better.”

Of course, Osweiler wasn’t the only player who contributed to another lackluster offensive outing. Running back Lamar Miller injured his shoulder when he took a shot at the end of a run in the first quarter and played only sparingly after that.

Alfred Blue got the bulk of the carries after the first quarter and had some good runs.

But his fumble midway through the third quarter when the Texans were down by five points and were driving with a first down might have been the most costly error of the game.

The Broncos took advantage of that mistake with a touchdown and Osweiler’s fumble came on Houston’s next possession to put the game out of reach.

O’Brien said Miller would be day to day this week with his shoulder injury and the Texans will be without right tackle Derek Newton for the rest of the season after he injured both knees on Monday night.

O’Brien said he didn’t have any specifics on Newton’s injuries, but said he spent the night in Denver and was heading back where he will consult with more doctors.

“I feel bad, just a tough injury, but I know he’s going to work hard to come back,” O’Brien said.

Newton has been one of Houston’s most consistent linemen over the past few years and started all 16 games in each of the past three seasons. With Newton out, veteran Chris Clark will take over.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: MIAMI DOLPHINS

ARIAN FOSTER ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT Texans’ franchise rushing leader steps down during 8th year

By Steven Wine A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

MIAMI — Four-time Pro Bowler Arian Foster says he can no longer take the punishment an NFL running back endures, so he is retiring midway through an injury-plagued season with the Miami Dolphins.

Foster, 30, tried to come back from a torn Achilles tendon, but was slowed this season by groin and hamstring injuries. He announced his retirement Monday on the website Uninterrupted as the Dolphins began their bye week.

The team confirmed the decision, effective immediately.

“There comes a time in every athlete’s career when their ambition and their body are no longer on the same page,” Foster wrote. “I’ve reached that point. It’s hard to write those words because this game has been everything to me ... my therapy, my joy, my solace and my enemy.”

Foster signed a $1.5 million, one-year contract with the Dolphins in July after spending his first seven NFL seasons with the Houston Texans. He holds the Texans’ franchise record with 6,472 yards rushing.

This season he rushed for 55 yards on 22 carries, and he had 5 yards on three carries Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.

“My father always said, ‘You’ll know when it’s time to walk away,”’ he wrote. “It has never been more clear than right now. I’m walking away with peace. I know it’s not commonplace to do it midseason, but my body just can’t take the punishment this game asks for any longer.”

Foster was one of several Miami players this season to kneel during the pregame national anthem to protest social inequality. His playing time was curtailed with the emergence of Jay Ajayi, who tied an NFL record by surpassing 200 yards rushing in consecutive games.

Since 2010, Foster ranked second in the NFL with 115.2 yards from scrimmage per game, trailing only Le’Veon Bell’s 121.9.

“No words to describe the appreciation and love I got for Arian Foster,” former Texans offensive lineman Chris Myers tweeted. “Playing center for a player like him makes a career seem like a dream!”

AJ Mast / Associated Press

Arian Foster spent seven years with the Texans and holds the franchise record with 6,472 rushing yards.

A8 | Wednesday, October 26, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

INTERNATIONAL

Iraq battles IS in western town, far from Mosul

By Joseph Krauss and Qassim Abdul-Zahra A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

BAGHDAD — Iraqi forces battled Islamic State fighters for a third day in a remote western town far from Mosul on Tuesday, but the U.S.-led coalition insisted the latest in a series of “spoiler attacks” had not forced it to divert resources from the fight to retake Iraq’s second-largest city.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi acknowledged that the militants briefly seized the local government headquarters in the western town of Rutba, offering new details about the assault, which U.S. and Iraqi officials have sought to downplay since it began on Sunday.

The White House envoy to the U.S.-led coali-

tion battling IS insisted the militants’ strategy was failing, saying there had been “no diversion whatsoever” of forces taking part in the Mosul operation, which is expected to take weeks, if not months.

“Daesh is trying to launch spoiler attacks,” Brett McGurk told reporters at a Baghdad news conference, using the Arabic acronym for IS. “This was expected, it’s planned for, and we can expect more of it.”

The complex assault on Rutba, located hundreds of miles south of Mosul, is just the latest IS attempt to try to divert Iraqi military resources from the fight for the militants’ last major urban bastion in Iraq. Last week the group launched a similar attack in and around the northern city

of Kirkuk, some 100 miles southeast of Mosul, igniting gun battles that lasted two days and killed at least 80 people.

McGurk said the militant attacks on Rutba were carried out by “small, isolated teams” and were “easily defeatable.” But he acknowledged there was still a “small Daesh presence” in two neighborhoods.

The Iraqi military has insisted throughout the Rutba assault that the situation is under control, without offering further details.

Al-Abadi acknowledged Tuesday the militants did have some initial battlefield successes at the start of the offensive Sunday. “They took control, it’s true, of the municipal headquarters,” the Iraqi prime minister told reporters.

Khalid Mohammed / AP

Civilians wait for clashes to end to go to displaced people camps, in the village of Tob Zawa, about 5.6 miles from Mosul, Iraq, Tuesday.

But he said Iraqi security forces drove them out “within hours” and had regained control of the town.

However, Rajeh Barakat, an Anbar provincial councilman who sits on the security committee, said earlier Tuesday that IS fighters were still clashing with security forces in two southern neighborhoods of Rutba.

“We have reports saying the militants killed some civilians and members of the security forces, but we don’t know how many,” he said.

Near Mosul, fighting continued Tuesday in a belt of villages and towns to the north, east and south of the city. Maj. Gen. Haider Fadhil said the Iraqi special forces

had reached a village some four miles the eastern edge of Mosul.

Around 335 civilians were evacuated to a refugee camp from the village of Tob Zawa, about 51⁄2 miles from Mosul, which was retaken by special forces on Monday, Fadhil said. He said the civilians were relocated to protect them from possible IS shelling.

Brazil widens investigation of brutal gang rape

By Adriana Gomez Licon A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian police widened the probe into a brutal gang rape by suspected drug dealers on the outskirts of Rio after the woman told investigators it wasn’t the first time she had been sexually assaulted by traffickers, officials said Tuesday.

The fact that the same woman was apparently victimized more than once infuriated activists and Brazilians alike by highlighting the pervasive violence against women and girls in Latin America’s largest nation. In May, the gang rape of a

16-year-old girl, and the posting of videos of the assault on social media, prompted large protests against gender violence.

The latest victim, a 34-year-old saleswoman, said her nightmare began in March 2013 when her then-boyfriend took her to a party where she had drinks. She said 12 men assaulted her after she lost consciousness.

Debora Rodrigues, head of the investigative unit for crimes against women in Rio’s Sao Goncalo suburb, said the woman learned she had been raped because her attackers shot a video of it and sent it around.

“It’s the first time she is talking about the case in

Leo Correa / AP

Bathrooms stand at the back of the Garota da Lagoinha bar, where a woman was gang raped.

2013 because she was scared of having her life exposed along with the life of her children,” Rodrigues said. “She is very shaken.”

The woman has already identified seven of

the men who allegedly assaulted her in 2013, and Rodrigues said authorities have widened the investigation into this year’s alleged rape to

include the earlier case.

Her nightmare continued last week in a bar in Sao Goncalo, a violent and impoverished bedroom city separated from Rio by the Guanabara Bay. The first moments of the second attack were captured by a bar security camera.

The bar’s owner, Manuel Moreira Santos, said the woman was having beers with a patron when three or four teenagers arrived and interrupted the couple. Santos said he heard one of them tell the man: “You are buying beers for a woman that belongs to others. She is

mine.”

In the video broadcast by the main news channels, a woman is dragged against her will to the men’s bathroom where she was reportedly forced to perform oral sex. The bar’s owner then appears to approach the group.

“I felt there was something evil happening. I went to tell them. For the love of God, not here,” Santos recalls telling the teenagers, fearing they could also hurt him.

The woman tried to escape but was taken to a nearby lot and raped by the group that had grown bigger.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, October 26, 2016 |

A9

BUSINESS

Anger still flares after judge OKs Volkswagen emissions deal

By Sudhin Thanawala and Tom Krisher A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge approved the largest auto-scandal settlement in U.S. history Tuesday, giving nearly a halfmillion Volkswagen owners and leaseholders the choice between selling their cars back or having them repaired so they don’t cheat on emissions tests and spew excess pollution.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said the nearly $15 billion deal “adequately and fairly” compensates consumers and gets the polluting

vehicles off the road as soon as possible.

The German automaker acknowledged last year that about 475,000 Volkswagens and Audis with 2-liter, four-cylinder diesel engines were programmed to cheat on emissions tests.

Under the agreement, owners can choose to have Volkswagen buy back their vehicle regardless of its condition for the full trade-in price on Sept. 18, 2015, when the scandal broke, or pay for repairs.

Either way, Volkswagen also will pay owners $5,100 to $10,000, depending on the age of the car and whether the owner

had it prior to Sept. 18 of last year.

Volkswagen has agreed to spend up to $10 billion compensating consumers and could start buying back the cars as early as next month. Regulators have not approved any fixes.

The settlement also includes $2.7 billion for unspecified environmental mitigation and $2 billion to promote zeroemissions vehicles.

“We’re going to sell it back as soon as humanly possible and try to put this behind us,” said Joe Azam, a 35-year-old attorney in New York who owns a 2014 Jetta wagon.

Still, Azam said he thought Volkswagen “got off easy” in how much it was paying vehicle owners.

Blair Stewart, a 2012 Jetta wagon owner in Palo Alto, California, said Volkswagen should have paid owners the full purchase price of their vehicle, given the company’s fraud.

“This is not enough to deter the kind of behavior they did,” he said.

Breyer concluded that affected car owners were not entitled to a full refund because many had “received a great deal of use out of their vehicles.”

He also raised the specter

Apple’s quarterly sales fall, but forecast calls for gains

By Brandon Bailey A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

SAN FRANCISCO — After stumbling in 2016, Apple is betting on a better year ahead.

The Silicon Valley tech giant is forecasting a return to growth in iPhone sales this winter, after a rare slump that dropped a wet blanket on Apple’s revenue and stock performance over the last three quarters.

The company is also set to unveil new Mac computers later this week, hoping to boost lagging interest in a set of products that are symbolically significant even if they’re less financially important to the company than the iPhone.

Apple has been struggling with shrinking demand for its signature products at a time when analysts say it’s increasingly difficult for tech companies to come up with dramatically new features. Many consumers are holding onto their old smartphones and PCs for longer, seeing little reason to buy a new model that’s only slightly better.

One consequence: Apple sold 45.5 million iPhones in the quarter that ended in September.

That was slightly more than the 45 million that Wall Street expected, but still 5 percent fewer than the 48 million iPhones it sold in the same period a year earlier.

Renewed interest in iPhones Still, analysts say consumers are showing renewed interest in Apple’s

Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP file

In this Sept. 7 photo, Apple CEO Tim Cook announces the new iPhone 7 during an event to announce new products, in San Francisco.

latest iPhone models.

Based on early sales, Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri told The Associated Press, “We feel very good about the momentum of the 7 and 7 Plus.”

The 7 and 7 Plus models aren’t a radical change from the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which were wildly popular when they were introduced two years ago.

But analyst Patrick Moorhead said the new phones have enough improvements, including new camera systems, longer battery life and water resistance, to fare better than last year’s lackluster 6S and 6S Plus.

Apple could also benefit because many iPhone 6 owners may be ready to replace their two-year-old phones.

The company only started selling the new iPhone 7 models last month, which means it had less than two weeks of sales in the quarter. But Apple’s revenue forecast calls for sales of $76 billion to $78 billion in the December quarter. That’s

higher than the Wall Street estimate, which was just under $75 billion.

Apple’s forecast also represents a modest increase over the $75.8 billion in sales that Apple reported for the December quarter last year, and it suggests the company expects to beat last year’s record of 74.8 million iPhones sold in that period, which is traditionally Apple’s biggest quarter for sales.

Maestri wouldn’t comment on how many iPhones Apple expects to sell in December quarter, but Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster estimated the company’s revenue forecast suggests it will sell 78.5 million iPhones.

Apple: Still iPhone-dependent Apple shares closed Tuesday at $118.25, but fell two percent in late trading. The stock had been gaining in recent weeks after wallowing below $100 for much of the spring and summer.

Reporting on its fiscal fourth quarter, which

ended Sept. 24, Apple said revenue declined 9 percent to $46.8 billion, while profit fell 19 percent to $9 billion profit. Earnings amounted to $1.67 a share, compared with Wall Street estimates of $1.66 a share on revenue of $47 billion.

Apple ended its fiscal year with annual sales of $215.6 billion and profit of $45.7 billion. Most companies would be thrilled with those numbers. But some analysts warn Apple relies too heavily on a single product line, the iPhone, which contributed nearly two thirds of Apple’s revenue.

“Management hasn’t diversified the revenue stream,” said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis, who noted that Apple faces a host of competitors in a global smartphone market that’s seeing slower growth overall. “Counting phones is a horrible way to live and die every quarter.”

Samsung’s bad news: Good news for Apple Some of Apple’s growth in coming months may come at the expense of its biggest rival. South Korea’s Samsung was forced this month to recall its entire output of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, which it introduced this fall to compete with Apple’s newest iPhones. As consumers look for alternatives, analysts say that could boost iPhone unit sales by 5 million or more in the coming year.

Apple is widely believed to be working on new products in areas like virtual reality and selfdriving cars.

of bankruptcy for Volkswagen if it had to pay the full purchase price.

The scandal has damaged Volkswagen’s reputation and hurt its sales.

The company is still facing potentially billions more in fines and penalties and possible criminal charges. It also will pay up to $332.5 million in attorney fees and costs and up to $1.2 billion to its U.S. dealers.

The settlement’s approval “is an important milestone in our journey to making things right in the United States,” Hinrich J. Woebcken, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America Inc.

said in a statement.

“Volkswagen is committed to ensuring that the program is now carried out as seamlessly as possible for our affected customers and has devoted significant resources and personnel to making their experience a positive one.”

The lead attorney for car owners, Elizabeth Cabraser, said in a statement that the deal “holds Volkswagen accountable for its illegal behavior and breach of consumer trust.” More than 330,000 people have signed up for settlement benefits, with about 3,200 opting out, she told the judge last week.

US home prices rose in August, lifted by dwindling supply

By Christopher S. Rugaber ASSOCIATED PRE SS

WASHINGTON — U.S. home prices climbed at a solid pace in August as more home buyers competed for fewer available properties.

The Standard & Poor’s CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 5.1 percent in August, after a 5 percent gain in July. Portland, Seattle and Denver reported the strongest year-over-year increases for the seventh month in a row, with gains of 11.7 percent, 11.4 percent and 8.8 percent, respectively.

Steady hiring, low mortgage rates and some early signs of rising pay have encouraged more Americans to buy homes.

Sales of existing properties increased 3.2 percent in September from August, the National Association of Realtors said last week.

Yet the number of homes for sale has fallen nearly 7 percent from a year ago, the NAR said.

Just 2.04 million homes were for sale in September.

“Demand is high and enthusiasm for homeownership remains strong, especially among all-important young, minority and would-be first-time buyers,” Svenja Gudell, chief economist at real estate data provider Zillow, said. “Still, the market can’t stay on this

course forever, and continued inventory shortages are leading to intense competition, escalating prices and mounting buyer frustration, with the average home search over the past year taking more than four months.”

The Case-Shiller index covers roughly half of U.S. homes. The index measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The August figures are the latest available.

Developers are building more new homes, but not quickly enough to restrain price increases.

Builders broke ground on 783,000 single-family homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in September, up 5.4 percent from a year earlier.

Apartment construction fell sharply.

Many institutional investors bought homes after prices fell sharply in the housing bust and are continuing to rent them out, rather than sell them.

Home prices rose 8.1 percent in Dallas from a year ago, 7.1 percent in Miami, and 6.7 percent in San Francisco. All 20 cities recorded price increased from a year earlier.

Home prices plunged 35 percent from their peak in July 2006 until they bottomed out in March 2012. They have since risen to just 7.2 percent below the peak.

A10 | Wednesday, October 26, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

FROM THE COVER

Legendary pilot, air show performer Bob Hoover dies at 94 LOS ANGELES — Robert A. “Bob” Hoover, a World War II fighter pilot who became an aviation legend for his flying skills in testing aircraft and demonstrating their capabilities in air shows, has died at age 94.

Hoover, who lived in Palos Verdes Estates, California, died early Tuesday, said Bill Fanning, a close family friend for many years and fellow pilot.

“He was every pilot’s icon,” Fanning said, recalling his friend as one of the premier test pilots of the 1950s and ‘60s.

“Bob tested everything.

He flew them all.”

When the National Air and Space Museum conferred its highest honor on Hoover in 2007, the museum noted that Jimmy Doolittle, leader of the famed 1942 bomber raid on Japan, had once described Hoover as "the greatest stick-and-rudder man that ever lived.”

“We lost an aviation pioneer today,” Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, said in a Twitter post. “He could do magical things with an airplane. He was the best.”

Hoover, who began flying in 1937 at Berry Field in Nashville, Tennessee, almost came to an early end. While serving in the Army’s 52nd Fighter Group in Sicily during World War II, he flew more than 50 missions before being shot down.

He survived and spent months in a prisoner-ofwar camp before he escaped, stole a German fighter plane and flew to safety in The Netherlands.

Early U.S. jet-powered warplanes such as the P-80 and F-84 were tested by Hoover, who then became a backup pilot in the Bell X-1 program and flew the chase plane when Chuck Yeager became the first to break the sound barrier in 1947.

Hoover also tested the XFJ-2 Fury, which was developed for the Navy

and Marine Corps, and the F-86 Sabre, an Air Force fighter, among more than 300 types of aircraft he flew in his career, according to the National Air and Space Museum.

He later brought his flying prowess to the public in aerobatic performances using such aircraft as North American Aviation’s P-51 Mustang and Aero Commanders.

His Shrike Commander 500S, now ensconced in the Air and Space Museum, changed from an ordinary business-style propeller plane into an aerobatic star with Hoover at the controls during a so-called energy management routine. With both engines off he would do a loop, roll, 180-degree turn and land.

In the early 1990s, the Federal Aviation Administration pulled Hoover’s medical certificate for failing a neurological exam that followed a performance at Aerospace America air show in Oklahoma City. Hoover

fought the decision, and even went to court, and in 1995 he received a restricted medical certificate.

That year he returned to the skies and delivered his signature performance at Daytona Beach, Florida.

“It felt good to be performing in front of my countrymen again,” he said at the time. “I’m just

VATICAN From page A1

ARMORED From page A1

fragments cannot be kept at home, since that would deprive the Christian community as a whole of remembering the dead.

Rather, church authorities should designate a sacred place, such as a cemetery or church area, to hold them.

Only in extraordinary cases can a bishop allow ashes to be kept at home, it said. Vatican officials declined to say what circumstances would qualify, but presumably countries where Catholics are a persecuted minority and where Catholic churches and cemeteries have been ransacked would qualify.

The document said remains cannot be divided among family members or put in lockets or other mementos. Nor can the ashes be scattered in the air, land or sea since doing so would give the appearance of “pantheism, naturalism or nihilism,” the guidelines said.

It repeated church teaching that Catholics who choose to be cremated for reasons contrary to the Christian faith must be denied a Christian funeral.

The new instruction carries an Aug. 15 date and says Pope Francis approved it March 18.

The author of the text, Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, was asked at a Vatican briefing if Francis had any reservations about the text, particularly the refusal to let family members keep remains of their loved ones at home.

“The dead body isn’t the private property of relatives, but rather a son of God who is part of the people of God,” Mueller said. “We have to get over this individualistic thinking.”

While the new instruction insists that remains be kept together, Vatican officials said they are not about to go gather up the various body parts of saints that are scattered in churches around the world. The practice of divvying up saints’ bodies for veneration — a hand here, a thigh bone there — was a fad centuries ago but is no longer in favor.

“Going to all the countries that have a hand of someone would start a war among the faithful,” reasoned Monsignor Angel Rodriguez Luno, a Vatican theological adviser.

The military said they spotted what seemed to be brush out of place.

Authorities inspected

the brushy area and encountered three halfburied armored vehicles covered with a tarp, according to reports.

Troops also discovered three assault rifles, 15 ammo clips for

AR-15s, seven ammo clips for AF-47s, two tactical helmets, among other equipment.

The findings were turned over to federal authorities for an investigation.

Some counties saw as much as double the number of votes cast Monday than they did on the first day of early voting in the last presidential race in 2012.

Many also saw significant increases from the first day of early voting in 2008.

2012.

1 More than 10,000 votes were cast in El Paso County compared to 8,243 votes in 2012.

1 In Hidalgo County, 23,458 votes were cast compared to 11,977 votes in 2012.

1 In Denton County, 16,955 votes were cast compared to 12,300 votes in 2012.

1 In Fort Bend County, 18,182 votes were cast compared to 13,264 votes in 2012.

On Monday, The Texas Tribune reported that voters were seeing unusually long lines for early voting. Amanda Stephens of Corpus Christi said she was told the wait to vote was two and a half hours.

Others said on Twitter that they were able to vote quickly.

Early voting continues through Nov. 4. Election Day is Nov. 8.

Zapatans can vote early at the Zapata County Courthouse, 200 E. 7th Ave., Building B.

By John Antczak A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

VOTING From page A1 turned out for early voting on Monday, 2.7 percent of the 123,011 registered voters in the county.

In the 2012 election, 2,894 people cast their vote on the first day of early voting.

Some counties saw as much as double the number of votes cast Monday than they did on the first day of early voting in the last presidential race in 2012. Many also saw significant increases from the first day of early voting in 2008.

Here’s a quick roundup of turnout figures from some of Texas’ most populous counties: 1 In Harris County, 67,471 votes were cast, compared to 47,093 votes in 2012.

1 More than 58,000 votes were cast in Dallas County compared to 32,512 votes in 2012.

1 More than 43,000 votes were cast in Tarrant County compared to 30,133 votes in 2012

1 In Bexar County, 35,427 votes were cast compared to 30,087 votes in 2012.

1 In Travis County, 35,066 votes were cast compared to 16,378 votes in 2012.

1 More than 30,000 votes were cast Collin County compared to 16,531 votes in

Rob Latour / AP file

In this Jan. 16, 2015 photo, Bob Hoover attends the 12th annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The Zapata Times contributed to this report.

glad all that is behind me and that justice and fairness prevailed.”

A recipient of numerous honors, Hoover was among the 100 heroes of aviation honored in 2003 at the First Flight Centennial celebration.

“It’s fair to say that anyone who ever had the privilege of flying with Bob, saw him perform at an airshow, or who heard

him speak, was affected tremendously by the experience,” said Andrew Broom, executive director of the Citation Jets Pilots Association.

The association, in conjunction with the Bob Hoover Legacy Foundation, provides scholarships in Hoover’s name to students attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Courtesy / Zapata County Independent School District

Chief Raymundo Del Bosque Jr., Joe Peña and Counselor Noemi Ramirez pose for a picture.

OFFICERS From page A1 loween safety tips. Safekids.org suggests the following tips: 1 Decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers and, if possible, choose light colors. Since masks can sometimes obstruct a child’s vision, try non-toxic face paint and makeup whenever possible.

1 Have kids use glow

sticks or flashlights to help them see and be seen by drivers.

1 Children younger than 12 should not be alone at night without adult supervision. If kids are mature enough to be out without supervision, remind them to stick to familiar areas that are well lit and trick-or-treat in groups.

1 When selecting a costume, make sure it is the right size to prevent trips and falls.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, October 26, 2016 |

A11

POLITICS

As Trump falters, more Republicans say they’ll block Clinton

By Alan Fram ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Halie Miller via AP

In this Sept. 26 photo, students in Halie Miller’s fourth-grade class study an Electoral College map.

Teachers use nasty election to spark polite student debate

By Jennifer C. Kerr A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

WASHINGTON — From mock elections to writing projects and Electoral College math, many teachers around the country are embracing the often nasty presidential race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as a real-world teaching tool.

Muslims. Taxes. The wall. Emails. The negative exchanges. They’re all up for discussion in Halie Miller’s fourthgrade class at Glacier Ridge Elementary in Dublin, Ohio. But when the students hold their own debates, they’re polite and respectful.

“We kind of have debates and never yell at each other,” says 9-yearold Mia Dahi. “We give our opinions and what we think about it, but we don’t really fight about it.”

The election provides material for other subjects beyond social studies. In math, Miller’s students have learned about the magic of the number 270, using addition and subtraction to come up with different combinations to get to 270 electoral votes to claim victory.

“Educating students about their role in a democracy was one of the original goals of public education in this country and it should remain so today, as our nation becomes more and more diverse,” Education Secretary John B. King Jr. said in recent remarks at the National Press Club.

This election no doubt has presented challenges for educators, with difficult topics such as sexual assault, infidelity and just

the general bitterness and angry rhetoric.

“Teachers all over the country are having some very hard conversations with their students in a non-partisan way,” says National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen García.

It’s also opened the door, though, to some good debates. “They’re having discussions about race. They’re having discussions about religious freedom,” she said.

“They’re having discussions about should girls aspire to be president as likely as a boy would aspire to be president.”

Alice Reilly, president of the National Social Studies Supervisors Association, says teachers can’t ignore the election.

“It’s part of social studies. It’s part of civics. It’s part of government,” she said.

Teachers Sara Winter and Patricia Carlson at Williamsburg Middle School in Arlington, Virginia, turned the election into a five-week THINKTAC-TOE project for their sixth graders, who are required to complete three of nine activity squares on their worksheets.

Among them: 1 Analyze a newspaper article on the election and write two to three paragraphs about it.

1 Take a 30-minute walk around the neighborhood, tally Clinton and Trump yard signs and write two to three paragraphs about why the student thinks people in the community might support one candidate over the other.

1 Interview five people about who they are voting for and write about why they support a particular candidate.

WASHINGTON — A new fundraising email from House Speaker Paul Ryan’s political operation, over former Speaker Newt Gingrich’s signature, seeks money for Republican congressional candidates by calling the appeal “our very last chance to stop Pelosi and Hillary.”

Indiana Republican Trey Hollingsworth says in one TV ad that he’s running for Congress to stop three Democrats — opponent Shelli Yoder, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — from imposing “higher taxes and government-run health care.” In another spot, the GOP-aligned Senate Leadership Fund attacks the Democratic Senate challenger in Missouri by saying, “It’s surprising how many ways Jason Kander is just like Hillary Clinton.”

With polls showing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump facing a steep path to victory, GOP candidates are increasingly seeking voters’ support by saying they will check Clinton’s agenda. Republicans hope that a loathing for

Eric Thayer / New York Times

Supporters of Donald Trump stand during a campaign rally in Tallahassee, Florida, Tuesday.

Clinton will drive voters to the polls who otherwise might stay home because of their aversion to Trump.

Yet the value of the check-and-balance tactic is questioned by both parties’ strategists as voters express fatigue with gridlock and a desire that Washington address problems like the slow-growing economy. Democrats deride Republicans’ use of the approach as ineffective and blatantly disloyal to their own nominee, and even Republicans are torn over its usefulness this late in the campaign.

“The tightrope you walk is that assuming a Hillary win can potentially depress your base” voters’ turnout, said

GOP pollster Jon McHenry. But he said with Clinton’s favorability ratings nearly as low as Trump’s, arguing you will prevent Clinton from getting “free rein” in Washington is “a potent argument for a lot of independents.”

The tactic is popping up in spots around the country, among them: 1 A new ad by the American Action Network, which backs House Republicans, morphs a picture of Michigan Democratic House candidate Lon Johnson into Clinton and says both have “taken a fortune from special interests.”

Another by the network that starts Wednesday calls Suzanna Shkreli, a Democratic candidate in a second Michigan dis-

trict, “a rubberstamp for Washington insiders” as pictures are shown of Clinton and Pelosi.

1 In central California, the Congressional Leadership Fund supports GOP Rep. Jeff Denham by saying Democratic challenger Michael Eggman and Clinton back the dangerous nuclear arms pact with Iran, though “California families know they’re wrong.”

1 The National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP campaign organization, says Democratic candidate Emily Cain “sides with Hillary, not with us” as she tries unseating freshman Republican Rep. Bruce Poliquin.

1 An NRCC spot says first-term Rep. Brad Ashford, D-Neb., “says he’s with us, but Clinton and Pelosi know he’s with them.”

1 And west Texas GOP Rep. Will Hurd has an ad calling himself “the only candidate willing to stand up to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.”

The reliance on the tactic comes with Republicans worried that a poor Trump showing could help Democrats capture a Senate majority and erode GOP House control.

Some Texas voters say machines changed their votes to Clinton

By Caleb Downs THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

DALLAS — Early voters in Texas have made claims on social media that voting machines in Dallas, Tarrant and other counties have changed their presidential votes from Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton.

The allegations follow a similar pattern: Voters say they voted straight-ticket Republican, but when they reviewed their ballots, they reflected they had voted for Clinton for president, not Trump.

Their votes for Republicans in down-ballot races were not affected, according to the complaints.

But elections officials say the allegations are more than likely false or instances of user error.

Garland City Councilman Stephen Stanley said he went to an early voting station at Nicholson Memorial South Branch Library on Tuesday morning while campaigning for candidates on the ballot.

He said around noon a woman came out of the library and told him she had tried to vote straight ticket Republican but the machine said she had voted straight Democrat.

The woman told him a poll worker apologized

that the machine wasn’t working and instructed her to use another one.

Stanley said he was worried about people who didn’t double-check their ballots.

“My question is how many other people didn’t know,” Stanley said.

Frank Phillips, election administrator for Tarrant County, told WFAA-TV that his office received two complaints Monday, one of which was from a woman who said her presidential vote had switched from Trump to Clinton.

He said the case was resolved. The woman’s first ballot was voided and she was moved to another machine. A technician examined the machine she said was faulty but found no problems, according to WFAA. Election officials could not replicate the error at their headquarters.

“Typically, we’ve found it’s voter error with the equipment,” Phillips said.

“Sometimes they vote straight party and then click on another candidate. ... There is not an issue with the equipment.”

Hector DeLeon, director of communications for voter outreach in Harris County, said his office has not received any legitimate

complaints of faulty voting machines.

He said he’s aware of the allegations made on social media, but no voters have voiced any complaints to election clerks at polling stations in Harris County. If they had, a presiding judge would have been notified and a complaint would have been filed with the Harris County Clerk’s Elections Office.

“At this point, no such process has taken place,” DeLeon said.

DeLeon said voters sometimes select a candidate for president twice to reaffirm a vote and deselect their choice by doing so.

Voters in Amarillo made several claims on Facebook that their votes have been changed from Trump to Clinton.

But Potter County elections administrator Melynn Huntly said her office has not received any reports of faulty voting machines.

Huntley said the touchscreen machines are tested twice before they’re approved, and they’re calibrated daily to make sure where voters touch is accurately recorded.

If a voter has a complaint about a machine, she said, the machine is

closed until a technician can examine it and ensure it is working properly.

“Historically, these complaints are typically voter error,” Huntley said.

Shannon Lackey, elections administrator for Randall County, also in the Panhandle, said a report of a faulty machine in her county was most likely an instance of user error.

“A lot of voters only vote every four years,” she said. “They’re not comfortable with the machines.”

She said the woman from Randall County who made a post on Facebook about her experience was simply trying to tell people to double-check their ballots. Lackey said the woman was able to recast her ballot for the candidate of her choice.

“I don’t do this because it’s fun,” Lackey said. “I do it because I believe in what I do. If I didn’t believe in the machines, I wouldn’t be sitting here doing this.”

Election officials recommend that if voters think a voting machine incorrectly recorded votes, they should notify election clerks so official complaints can be filed and incorrect ballots can be voided.

In the year of Trump, Arab-American voters move away from Republican Party

By Hannah Allam M CCLAT CHY WASHINGT ON BUR EAU

WASHINGTON — Once solidly Republican, Arab-Americans have transformed in recent years into a majorityDemocratic bloc that will vote overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, a change that carries weight in battleground districts with large ArabAmerican communities, according to a poll released Tuesday.

“You can say we are not unlike Hispanic voters. We identify as 2-to-1 Democrat and we vote

3-to-1 Democrat — that’s a significant shift,” said Jim Zogby, co-founder and president of the Arab American Institute, which commissioned the poll. He has family ties to the polling house that did the survey, Zogby Analytics.

The political effects of such a change are evident in demographic data that show more than two-thirds of ArabAmericans are concentrated in 10 states, including such electoral battlegrounds such as Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio.

“Nationally, yes, the

numbers might be very small,” said Amaney Jamal, a Princeton University politics professor who researches Arab and Arab-American political engagement, noting that Arab-Americans are estimated to number from 2 million to nearly 4 million. “But they are very critical in some of these swing states.”

The poll shows other changes that analysts say reflect a political climate of heightened anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim hostility. Arab-Americans are more attuned to their ethnic identities, increasingly worried that

they’ll face discrimination and more supportive of social justice issues such as police reform and citizenship for immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, the survey found.

Still, like any other minority voting bloc, there are sharp differences, too, including on presidential picks. While the majority of ArabAmericans — 60 percent — supports Clinton, 26 percent favor her Republican opponent, Donald Trump. And the survey makes it clear that Clinton isn’t the runaway favorite among ArabAmericans — a third of

those planning to vote for Clinton said “voting against Trump was their primary reason.” In the Trump camp, 32 percent cited “opposition to Clinton” as their main motivation.

They each received single-digit marks among Arab-American voters for likability as a primary factor of support.

The poll was conducted Oct. 4 to 12 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

Other notable findings include: 1 Half of all Arab-Americans say they’ve person-

ally experienced discrimination based on ethnicity or country of origin; 62 percent are concerned about future discrimination.

1 Nearly 8 out of 10 Arab-Americans who are Muslim say they’re worried about discrimination.

1 Arab-Americans from both parties cite “jobs and the economy” as their biggest concern.

1 Sixty-two percent agree that “policing needs to be reformed, but not radically.”

1 Ninety-one percent of Arab-Americans say they’re likely to vote on Nov. 8.

A12 | Wednesday, October 26, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES