The Zapata Times 11/1/2014

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FRACKING BAN

FEDERAL COURT

Denton to vote on fracking

Bank-fraud scheme

Opponents battle oil, gas firms on issuing drilling permits

Two accused of stealing $800K from local bank THE ZAPATA TIMES

Two women from Zapata have been arrested for allegedly stealing $800,000 through a bank-fraud scheme.

Petra del Bosque, 54, and Anita Arredondo, 52, both of Zapata, were arrested Thursday after a grand jury in a Laredo federal court handed down a 10-count indictment, a copy of which

was not made immediately available.

Del Bosque, a former employee of Zapata National Bank, and Arredondo face 10 counts of bank fraud.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office

states that the indictment alleges Arredondo worked for a construction company in Zapata as a clerk in the accounts payable depart-

See BANK PAGE 10A

By EMILY SCHMALL

MEXICO VIOLENCE

ASSOCIATED PRESS

DENTON — Anti-fracking activists and campaigners backed by big oil and gas companies sparred outside of voting sites on the last day of early voting in a North Texas university town that’s considering a ban on new permits for hydraulic fracturing.

The referendum is on Tuesday’s ballot in Denton, which is about 40 miles north of Dallas. Though preexisting permits would remain valid, opponents have called it a wholesale ban on drilling.

“There are good drillers and bad drillers, and people with drilling near their houses should look into which kind they have before trying to ban it,” said Larry Schumacher, a paid campaigner for Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy, the political action committee created to defeat the measure.

Industry groups have warned the ban could be followed by litigation and a severe hit to Denton’s economy.

Scores of cities in other states have considered similar bans over health and environmental concerns. But the proposal in Denton is a litmus test on whether any community in Texas — the nation’s biggest oil and gas producer — can rebuff the industry and still thrive.

The rankling began when local activists submitted a petition to Denton’s City Council in June with enough signatures to force a vote on the ban. Because the council rejected it, the measure went to a public vote and is on Tuesday’s ballot.

“This is it. The city will uphold the ban as law” if it’s approved by voters, city spokeswoman Lindsey Baker.

Supporters of the measure have raised only a fraction as much as opponents, according to the city secretary’s latest political campaign reports.

Exxon Mobil subsidiary XTO Energy, based in Fort Worth, and Houston-based Enervest Operating have each donated $45,000 to Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy.

Ed Soph, treasurer of the Pass the Ban PAC, said most of his group’s contributions are individual donations of $50 or less.

“It’s David versus Goliath,” he says.

Fracking involves blasting a mix of water,

See OIL PAGE 10A

COPS MAY BE INVOLVED

Photo by Joel Martinez/The Monitor | AP

Raquel Alvarado talks about her three children, Erica Maria Alvarado Rivera, Alex Rivera and Jose Angel Rivera, on Thursday, in Progreso. The three were found dead near Matamoros, Mexico, after visiting El Control, a small town near the Texas border west of Matamoros, Mexico.

Police questioned in deaths of 3 Americans

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

MATAMOROS, Mexico — Authorities are investigating a possible police connection to the killing of three U.S. citizens visiting their father in Mexico who were found shot to death along with a Mexican friend more than two weeks after going missing.

Parents of the three siblings, whose bodies were

identified Thursday, have said witnesses reported they were seized by men dressed in police gear calling themselves “Hercules,” a tactical security unit in the violent border city of Matamoros wracked by cartel infighting.

Nine of the unit’s 40 officers are being questioned, Tamaulipas state Attorney General Ismael Quintanilla

See MISSING PAGE 12A

Associated Press

Erica Maria Alvarado Rivera, left, and her brother Alex, right, were found shot to death in Mexico. According to witnesses armed men took Erica, 26, and her brothers, Alex, 22, and Jose Angel, 21, on Oct. 13, in Mexico.

PUBLIC HEALTH

Judge nixes Ebola quarantine for Maine nurse

By ROBERT F. BUKATY ASSOCIATED PRESS

FORT KENT, Maine — A Maine judge gave nurse Kaci Hickox the OK to go wherever she pleases, handing state officials a defeat Friday in their bid to restrict her movements

as a precaution against Ebola.

In a case that has come to encapsulate the clash in the U.S. between personal freedom and fear of Ebola, Judge Charles C. LaVerdiere ruled that Hickox must continue daily monitoring of her health but

said there is no tion, bad science and need to isolate her bad information” ciror restrict her culating about the lemovements because thal disease in the she has no sympU.S. toms and is thereAfter the ruling, a fore not contagious. state police cruiser HICKOX The judge also that had been posted decried the “misoutside Hickox’s conceptions, misinforma- home left, and she and her

boyfriend stepped outside to thank the judge.

Hickox, 33, called it “a good day” and said her “thoughts, prayers and gratitude” remain with those who are still battling Ebola in West Africa. She said she had no immediate plans other than to watch

a scary movie at home on Halloween.

Gov. Paul LePage said he disagreed with the ruling but will abide by it.

“As governor, I have done everything I can to protect the health and safe-

See QUARANTINE

PAGE 10A

PAGE 2A

Zin brief CALENDAR

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014

AROUND TEXAS

TODAY IN HISTORY

Saturday, Nov. 1

ASSOCIATED PRESS

7th Annual Dia de los Muertos Festival. 3 p.m. to midnight in the 400 and 500 blocks of Starr and 500 to 700 blocks of Mesquite streets in downtown Corpus Christi. Wear a costume. Contact Michelle Smythe at info@kspacecontemporary.org.

Autism Ties support meeting. 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. My Sunny Gardens Day Rehab, 1320 Laredo St. Contact us at : 255-0713 or autismties@ gmail.com.

Autism Ties is on Facebook.

Registration is now in progress for the 35th Guajolote 10K Race. Register at Hamilton Trophies (1320 Garden), Hamilton Jewelry (607 Flores), or on-line at www.raceit.com, Guajolote 10K Race. For information, call (956) 724-9990 or (956) 722-9463.

The Laredo North side Market Association. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at North Central Park on International Blvd. For more information about our free Halloween give away on our facebook page.

Today is Saturday, Nov. 1, the 305th day of 2014. There are 60 days left in the year.

This is All Saints Day. A reminder: Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. local time Sunday. Clocks go back one hour.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Nov. 1, 1954, Algerian nationalists began their successful 7-year rebellion against French rule.

On this date: In 1512, Michelangelo’s justcompleted paintings on the ceiling of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel were publicly unveiled by the artist’s patron, Pope Julius II. In 1604, William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Othello” was presented at Whitehall Palace in London.

In 1870, the United States Weather Bureau made its first meteorological observations.

In 1936, in a speech in Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini described the alliance between his country and Nazi Germany as an “axis” running between Rome and Berlin.

In 1952, the United States exploded the first hydrogen bomb, code-named “Ivy Mike,” at Enewetak (en-ih-WEE’-tahk) Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

In 1968, the Motion Picture Association of America unveiled its new voluntary film rating system: G for general, M for mature (later changed to GP, then PG), R for restricted and X (later changed to NC-17) for adults only.

In 1989, East Germany reopened its border with Czechoslovakia, prompting tens of thousands of refugees to flee to the West.

Ten years ago: American contract worker Roy Hallums was one of several people kidnapped during an armed assault on the Baghdad compound where he lived (Hallums was rescued by coalition forces on Sept. 7, 2005).

Five years ago: Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s challenger, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew from an upcoming runoff election, effectively handing Karzai a victory.

One year ago: A man carrying a bag with a note that said he “wanted to kill TSA” opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle at a security checkpoint at Los Angeles International Airport, killing a TSA officer and wounding two others; the gunman, who was wounded, was taken into custody.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Betsy Palmer is 88. Golfer Gary Player is 79. Magazine publisher Larry Flynt is 72. Country singer-humorist Kinky Friedman is 70.

Rhythm-and-blues musician Ronald Khalis Bell (Kool and the Gang) is 63. Country singer Lyle Lovett is 57. Rock singer Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 52. Pop singer-musician Mags Furuholmen (a-ha) is 52. Rock musician Rick Allen (Def Leppard) is 51. Rapper Willie D (Geto Boys) is 48. Actress Toni Collette is 42. Actress-talk show host Jenny McCarthy is 42.

Actor Penn Badgley is 28. Actor Max Burkholder is 17.

Thought for Today: “Years ago my mother used to say to me, she’d say, ‘In this world, Elwood, you must be’ — she always called me Elwood — ‘In this world, you must be oh so smart, or oh so pleasant.’ Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant.

You may quote me.” — “Elwood P. Dowd” from the play “Harvey” by Mary Chase (1906-1981).

Tuesday, Nov. 4 Planetarium movies. From 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. Contact Claudia Herrera: claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu or visit www.tamiu.edu/planetarium for more information.

Alzheimer’s support group. 7 p.m. Meeting room 2, building B of the Laredo Medical Center. If you have any questions, leave a message at 956693-9991.

Les Amies Birthday Club. At 11:30 a.m. Ramada Inn (formerly the Holiday Inn). The Honorees are Amparo Garcia and Imelda Gonzales. The hostesses are Lely Garza, Aurora Miranda and Ma Eugenia Garcia. For more information call: (956) 721-4994, (956)7954918.

Diabetes education series. From 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. City of Laredo Health Department Auditorium, 2600 Cedar Ave.Contact Erika M. Juarez at ejuarez@ci.laredo.tx.us or go to the website www.ci.laredo.tx.us/health/ healthindex.htm. For more information call: (956) 721-4994, (956)795-4918.

Friday, Nov. 7 9th annual Wish Radio-thon. 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mall del Norte. For more information call 235-0673.

Saturday, Nov. 8 1st Annual Community Remembrance Ceremony. From 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more information contact Jaqueline Vasquez at (956) 718-3000 or jvasquez@altushospicecare.com.

Wednesday, Nov. 12 Deportation law and the New American Diaspora. 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. TAMIU Student Center Ballroom.

Contact Amy Palacios cswht@tamiu.edu or go to freetrade.tamiu.edu/ whtc_services/whtc_speaker_series.asp.

Planetarium movies. From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. Claudia Herrera at claudia.Herrera@tamiu.edu or go to www.tamiu.edu/planetarium for more information.

Saturday, Nov. 15 Football tailgate party. 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at El Metro Park & Ride (by Hillside). Contact LULAC Council 14 at lulac14@yahoo.com or call 286-9055.

Registration is now in progress for the 35th Guajolote 10K Race. Register at Hamilton Trophies (1320 Garden), Hamilton Jewelry (607 Flores), or on-line at www.raceit.com, Guajolote 10K Race. For information, call (956) 724-9990 or (956) 722-9463.

Planetarium movies. From 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. Contact Claudia Herrera at claudian.herrera@tamiu.edu or go to www.tamiu.edu/planetarium.

Tuesday, Nov. 18 Planetarium movies. From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Buliding. Contact Claudia Herrera at clauda.herrera@tamiu.edu or visit the website www.tamiu.edu/planetarium. Monday,

Monday Nov. 24 Monthly meeting of Laredo Parkinson’s Disease Support Group. 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Laredo Medical Center, Tower B, First Floor Community Center. Patients, caregivers and family members invited. Free info pamphlets available in Spanish and English. Call Richard Renner (English) at 645-8649. or Juan Gonzalez (Spanish) at 2370666.

Photo by Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle | AP

Kathryn Griffin-Townsend, right, hugs Vanessa Campbell after she voted at an early voting location in Houston on Wednesday. Griffin-Townsend is a recovering drug addict and onetime sex worker. She started the “Been There Done That” in-jail intervention program after her last stint in jail more than a decade ago.

A voice in voting booth

By ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH HOUSTON CHRONICLE

HOUSTON — April Fisher walked into a brightly lit, flag-adorned room at the Harris County Administration Building this week and, for the first time in her life, contemplated a ballot.

“I’ve never voted in my life,” the 30-yearold Louisiana native said with a shrug. “I don’t even understand politics.”

Fisher came to Houston five years ago after her father gambled away their family’s life savings. The choices she made here ended in addiction, prostitution and criminal convictions.

But on this day, with her life on the mend, Fisher found the name of the judge who heard her most recent prostitution charge, a woman she credits with helping get her life back on track. She tapped the voting ma-

chine’s selector dial. It felt good.

In a booth next to her was the kind of authority figure who had been an adversary in Fisher’s past life — a sheriff ’s deputy.

“I was proud to stand next to that deputy and he didn’t put handcuffs on me,” she said. Fisher walked out of the downtown building and into a balmy fall day minutes later. “I feel like my voice was being heard,” she said, before lighting up a cigarette.

A precious right for many Texans, voting for Fisher and a group of about 15 women — recovering drug addicts, former sex workers and others — was about something more: finding their voice. They were enrolled in the “We’ve Been There Done That,” a program run through the Harris County Sheriff ’s Office, which seeks to rehabilitate women and help them avoid returning to their criminal past.

Mother gets 3 years, put gun into boy’s backpack

Suspect in death of Alabama pastor caught

3 Texas soldiers guilty of smuggling immigrants

CONROE — A Houston-area woman must serve three years in prison for putting her boyfriend’s gun in his son’s backpack to get the child in trouble at school.

Investigators say Hodges believed the 13-year-old boy had mistreated her two younger children.

Nobody was hurt.

PANHANDLE — A suspect in the fatal shooting of his minister father-in-law at an Alabama church has been captured in Texas.

The Carson County Sheriff ’s Office says Brett Richard Yeiter (YET’-er) of Jay, Florida, waived extradition Friday on a murder warrant. Yeiter remained in custody in Panhandle, about 25 miles northeast of Amarillo, awaiting transfer to Alabama.

BROWNSVILLE — Three Fort Hood soldiers who used their U.S. Army identification or gear to help hide immigrants have been convicted in a South Texas smuggling ring.

Eric Alexander Rodriguez of Odem, Brandon Troy Robbins of San Antonio and Christopher David Wix of Abilene face federal prison terms of up to 10 years.

Woman’s case dismissed, then charged with murder SANTA FE — A Galveston County woman has been indicted on a murder charge just days after her case was dismissed because evidence in the death of a 4-year-old girl had been misplaced.

Investigators say 4-year-old Taylor Moore died in 2013 after Kolb drunkenly shoved the child while arguing with her boyfriend, who was the child’s father.

Man had more than 5 million porn images CORPUS CHRISTI — A South Texas man who acknowledged having more than 5 million pornographic images has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.

Terry Lee Clark of Corpus Christi faces up to 20 years in federal prison during sentencing scheduled for February.

San Antonio council OKs 142-mile water pipeline SAN ANTONIO — City leaders have approved a 142-mile pipeline that will carry more than 16 billion gallons of water to San Antonio for at least 30 years. The city council on Thursday approved a pipeline that will be built and operated by the San Antonio Water System and a private consortium. The line will transport water from below Burleson County west to San Antonio. — Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION ‘Grim Reaper’ attacks woman in California home VISTA, Calif. — A San Diego County woman has been attacked and stabbed in her home by an intruder dressed as the Grim Reaper on Halloween.

U-T San Diego says a woman in Vista told sheriff ’s deputies that she was blow-drying her hair in the bathroom of her town house shortly before 2 a.m. Friday when someone dressed like the Reaper stabbed her several times and fled.

Sheriff ’s Sgt. Nick Maryn says the woman was treated for a scratch to her scalp and injuries to her upper body and back.

Drivers scramble for flying cash on highway URBANA, Md. — Drivers scrambled to grab money flying around a Maryland highway after an armored truck’s door burst open. Maryland State Po-

CONTACT US Publisher, William B. Green........................728-2501 Account Executive, Dora Martinez ...... (956) 765-5113 General Manager, Adriana Devally ...............728-2510 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................. 728-2531 Circulation Director ................................. 728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo.................... 728-2505 Copy Editor, Nick Georgiou ....................... 728-2565 Sports Editor, Zach Davis ..........................728-2578 Spanish Editor, Melva Lavin-Castillo............ 728-2569 Photo by Charles Rex Arbogast | AP

High winds create huge wave crashing along a Lake Michigan retaining wall at Chicago’s 31st Street Beach Friday in Chicago. Winds gusting up to 65 mph caused Lake Michigan waves to slam into the Chicago shoreline lice say a lock on the truck seems to have malfunctioned, causing the door to open Friday morning. A bag of cash fell onto Interstate 270 near Urbana and the bills flew in the air.

Police say a number of drivers stopped on the interstate and

grabbed what cash they could before a fire department vehicle arrived and turned on its emergency lights. Responding troopers were able to help the truck’s driver recover about $200. It’s not known how much cash was lost.

— Compiled from AP reports

SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted.

The Zapata Times is free.

The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500.

The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014

Local

Kids get anti-drug message SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

This week, District Attorney Isidro R. “Chilo” Alaniz visited Zapata North and South Elementary schools during Red Ribbon Week to encourage students to stay away from drugs.

These presentations are done on a monthly basis during career day. During his presentations, Alaniz told students about the three D’s: “Don’t Do Drugs!”

Students learned more about the history of Red Ribbon Week and the consequences on how drugs can harm one’s body.

After students took the pledge to be drug free, Huggy the Bear made a special appearance and told students to “Give Hugs not Drugs!”

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

Man indicted in $500K pot case

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Courtesy photo

District Attorney Isidro R. “Chilo” Alaniz and Huggy the Bear appeared at Zapata North and South Elementary schools during Red Ribbon Week to spread an anti-drugs message.

A man accused of transporting more than $500,000 worth of marijuana through Zapata County has been indicted in a Laredo federal court, according to records obtained Friday.

An indictment filed Tuesday against Daniel CardonaPerez charges him with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana.

Cardona-Perez is due back in court for arraignment at 11 a.m. Nov. 6 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Guillermo R. Garcia, if convicted, Cardona-Perez could face five to 40 years in prison.

U.S. Border Patrol agents said the seizure occurred Sept.

29 north of San Ygnacio. That day, agents said they spotted a

gray 1999 Chevrolet Silverado exiting La Perla Ranch. Authorities later identified the driver as Cardona-Perez.

An agent approached the vehicle after noticing “something flapping” in the bed of the pickup. Agents CardonaPerez would allegedly tap on the brakes repeatedly. He then began driving recklessly while heading north on U.S. 83.

Agents activated their emergency lights to pull over the Silverado. The vehicle stopped abruptly. Cardona-Perez then accelerated and drove into a construction zone.

Agents detained Cardona-Perez after a brief foot pursuit.

Agents said they seized 652 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of $521,600.

DEA special agents took over the case.

(César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)

PAGE 4A

Zopinion

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

Some take responsibility, some don’t

By FRANK CERABINO COX NEWSPAPERS

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — John Goodman is back in jail. Where he belongs.

He probably won’t be there for long, though.

Goodman’s latest batch of lawyers are already scrambling to write a litany of appeals aimed at overturning the DUI manslaughter conviction a jury this week leveled against the Wellington, Florida, polo mogul.

And as part of the appeals process, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath will consider releasing Goodman while his appeals are pending.

If that happens, I suggest Goodman watch a couple of YouTube videos made by an Ohio man named Matthew Cordle.

Like Goodman, Cordle got into a vehicle after he had too much to drink and ended up killing another man.

The 22-year-old Cordle was driving the wrong direction on I-670 in Ohio’s Franklin County when he rammed an oncoming car, killing the other driver, Vincent Canzani, 61.

Goodman was racing through a stop sign at a Wellington intersection, causing his Bentley to Tbone a crossing car driven

by Scott Patrick Wilson, 23. The crash sent the young man to his death after his car flipped into a canal, where he drowned.

Goodman and Cordle both acted like cowards in the moments after the crash.

Goodman walked away from the scene, not calling 911 for an hour. Cordle claimed he was innocent and refused to allow law enforcement officers to draw his blood at the hospital, requiring them to get a court order to do it.

Both men had blood-alcohol levels that were more than double the legal limit.

But so far, only Cordle has had the courage to take responsibility for what he did.

Goodman has had two tries at weaving a fantastic fairy tale. It’s about a possessed luxury automobile that runs through stop signs when the brakes are applied, a $212 bar tab that leaves a driver sober, and a man who allegedly chooses to get drunk after causing a fatal crash and before notifying authorities.

And he has had some of the finest legal help available to present this story.

Even so, the first jury took six hours to find his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The jury this week trimmed that deliberation time down to four hours — which included a lunch break.

Goodman’s story hasn’t

gotten any better over time.

But who knows what novel new arguments will be hoisted up the flagpole in the quest to trigger a third trial?

It seems that Goodman is willing to try everything but personal responsibility.

It has been four years, eight months and 19 days since Goodman killed Wilson.

As for Cordle, his comparisons to Goodman ended quickly.

Cordle killed Canzani on June 22nd of last year.

While Cordle’s lawyers were trying to get the blood-alcohol test removed as evidence, Cordle called them off.

Instead, he posted a video confession on YouTube entitled “I killed a man.”

And one week after being indicted, Cordle pleaded guilty to the charges filed against him. No plea bargain. No requested leniency on sentencing.

He didn’t even bother to ask to be free on bond while awaiting his sentencing. He reported to jail while he awaited judgment.

At his sentencing hearing on Oct. 23rd of last year, Cordle said he was sorry for killing Canzani.

“It should have been me that night, the guilty party, instead of an innocent man,” he told the judge.

Cordle, who faced a maximum of 8 1/2 years in prison for aggravated vehicular homicide, was sentenced to 6 1/2 years behind bars and a lifetime suspension of his driver license.

That sentence began four months and one day after he killed Canzani.

Two weeks ago, Cordle posted another video, this time from prison. Like the first video, he took responsibility for his actions that night, and urged others not to drink and drive.

“The exact night that brought me here was one that could have happened a thousand times,” Cordle said in the new video. “I went out drinking with some friends, and eventually made the decision to get in my truck and got on the road after drinking very heavily and unfortunately I collided with another vehicle and took the life of an innocent man.

“I led myself down a path of horrible choice and horrible choice and kept thinking I could get away with it,” Cordle said.

“But eventually it’s going to catch up to you like it did to me.”

It took Cordle less than four months to own up to his actions. Goodman’s closing in on five years of denial.

I guess he still thinks what he did that night isn’t going to catch up to him.

(Frank Cerabino writes for The Palm Beach Post.)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY The Zapata Times does not publish anonymous letters.

To be published, letters must include the writer’s first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication.

We want to assure

our readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the letter. The Zapata Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms.

Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No namecalling or gratuitous abuse is allowed.

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

WORST WEEK IN WASHINGTON

Guv showed bullying side

By CHRIS CILLIZZA THE WASHINGTON POST

There’s such a thing as acting presidential. And then there’s Chris Christie over the past week.

Christie kicked things off with a public back-andforth with Kaci Hickox, a nurse from Maine who was quarantined in New Jersey after spending time in West Africa treating patients with Ebola.

Christie insisted that it was an appropriate response because Hickox “was running a high fever and was symptomatic.”

Hickox said she was

flushed, but never febrile or sick. After Hickox tested negative for Ebola, she was released Monday and sent home to Maine.

She threatened to sue over her weekend in quarantine, a move that prompted this gem from Christie: “Whatever. Get in line. I’ve been sued lots of times before.”

He was just getting started. On Wednesday, Christie was in Belmar, N.J., to commemorate the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy. His speech was interrupted by a man named Jim Keady, a former member of the Asbury Park City

Council, who was urging Christie to get Sandy relief money to affected families faster.

It quickly became apparent that neither Christie nor Keady was going to back down. As Keady yelled without a microphone, the governor yelled with one.

“Somebody like you doesn’t know a damn thing about what you’re talking about, except to stand up and show off when the cameras are here,” Christie said. “. . . All you’ve been doing is flapping your mouth and not doing anything,” he added, before telling Keady to “sit down and

shut up.”

Christie, of course, has built a national reputation — and some 2016 presidential buzz — around his willingness to face down his opponents in blunt terms.

But there’s a fine line between speaking truth to power and being a bully.

Christie crossed it this past week.

Chris Christie, for browbeating rather than leading, you had the worst week in Washington. Congrats, or something.

Cillizza covers the White House for The Washington Post and writes The Fix, its politics blog.

COMMENTARY

Americans in Ebola-stricken areas can protect those here

By CHRISTOPHER A. COONS SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON POST

The best way to protect Americans from Ebola is by stopping the virus at its source.

That’s why President Obama has committed up to 4,000 U.S. military engineers, logistics specialists and public health trainers and $1 billion in funding to help eradicate the virus in West Africa. That’s why philanthropist Paul Allen pledged $100 million in support last week and why Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, visited the affected countries this week.

We cannot protect Americans at home without sending Americans to Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Instead of demonizing those who vol-

unteer for service, through stigmatizing mandatory quarantines or the imposition of a travel ban, we should be honoring them.

There’s a simple way to do that: The president should guarantee that all U.S. citizens who travel to West Africa to help fight Ebola will be allowed to return to the United States, that any medical care they need as a result of their trip will be provided free of charge and that wages lost to any government-imposed quarantine will be reimbursed.

That’s the least we can do for the volunteers, missionaries and military personnel working to end this outbreak.

Doctors Without Borders, Samaritan’s Purse, the Red Cross and other humanitarian organiza-

tions deployed medical personnel to West Africa months before the virus started making headlines in the United States.

These groups and their personnel should be celebrated and thanked for their service.

But some of our political leaders have been sending the opposite message. The measures imposed by officials in New York and New Jersey last weekend - although later softened — sent a dangerous, punitive message to these dedicated people. Forced quarantines and the barring of people without Ebola symptoms are tactics not backed by science. Worse, they are likely to do more longterm harm than good.

Public health experts warn that such measures would deter others from

serving and increase the likelihood of potentially infected people actively avoiding U.S. monitoring efforts. Without more volunteers in West Africa, the virus is likely to spread dramatically — in which case soon no level of airport restrictions would keep it from claiming American lives.

The political pressure for tougher restrictions is mounting, while the need for volunteers to fight the virus is quickly growing.

President Obama should issue a guarantee now that those willing to serve will have that service honored and their right to return home protected.

The writer, a Democrat, represents Delaware in the Senate, where he is chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs.

CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014

THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

National

6A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014

Park graffiti needs removal

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Reed Saxon | AP file

British entrepreneur Richard Branson poses with SpaceShipTwo at a Virgin Galactic hangar in Mojave, Calif. on Sept. 25, 2013.

SpaceShipTwo crashes during test flight

By KENNETH CHANG NEW YORK TIMES

SpaceShipTwo, a rocket plane that is to carry tourists on a short ride to space, crashed in the Mojave Desert on Friday during a test flight, killing one of the two pilots.

The other pilot, who was able to eject from the space plane, was taken to a nearby hospital with "moderate to major injuries," said Ray Pruitt, the public information officer for the Kern County Sheriff ’s Office.

Virgin Galactic, the space tourism company created by Richard Branson, acknowledged the accident on Twitter.

"During the test, the vehicle suffered a serious anomaly resulting in the loss of SpaceShipTwo," the

company reported.

The test flight, the plane’s first under its own power since January and the first since a switch to a new motor, was conducted

by Scaled Composites, the designer and builder of SpaceShipTwo. Pruitt said SpaceShipTwo, carried aloft by a large airplane, WhiteKnightTwo, took off at 9:18 a.m. Pacific time from the Mojave Air and Space Port.

WhiteKnightTwo then flew to an altitude of 50,000 feet where it dropped SpaceShipTwo. SpaceShipTwo’s motor ignited, and then something went wrong.

Pruitt said the sheriff ’s office received a call after 10 a.m. that an aircraft had gone down 20 miles northeast of the city of Mojave.

"We have located a debris field," he said.

SALT LAKE CITY — A series of graffiti-like paintings on rocks in National Parks across the West set off a furor on social media this month, angering people who say they desecrated some of the nation’s most famously picturesque landscapes. They’ve also created a headache for park managers who have the delicate task of cleaning up the sites without causing further damage.

It won’t be easy to get rid of the paintings, photos of which were posted on Instagram and Tumblr and then picked up by hiking blogs. Sandblasting and some chemical strippers can cause even more damage to irreplaceable natural features, especially if graffiti is near ancient rock art.

In some cases, workers use plastic kitchen spatulas to painstakingly scrape off paint. Workers test different chemicals to figure out which will loosen the material without damaging rock, then rinse it off with lots of low-pressure hot water, gently scraping each layer away with the spatula, said National Parks spokesman Jason Olson.

“They will repeat that as often as it takes until they remove all the paint or until they can’t remove any more,” he said. He said Friday he didn’t know how much it might cost to remove the paint in eight parks across California, Colorado, Utah and Oregon. One colorful painting of a woman with blue hair at Crater Lake National Park is already covered in ice and snow and workers

Photo from Instagram/file | AP

This photo taken from an Instagram posting shows an overlook of Crater Lake in Oregon with a rock painting. Casey Nocket, 21, was identified as a suspect by the park service this week. might not be able to reach it until next summer.

Casey Nocket, the 21year-old suspect identified by the park service this week, allegedly used acrylic paint and signed with the handle “creepytings.”

Attempts to reach Nocket were unsuccessful.

A phone listing for her was disconnected and her social media accounts have been shut down or made private.

The National Park Service said this week they’ve found paintings in Yosemite, Death Valley and Joshua Tree in California; Crater Lake in Oregon; Zion National Park and Canyonlands in Utah; and Rocky Mountain in Colorado, where Colorado National Monument was also tagged.

Zion National Park is home to red-rock bluffs, sweeping canyons— and now a backpack-sized drawing of a woman smoking on a rock near a trail named for emerald-colored pools of water.

Pa. murder suspect caught

By KATHY MATHESON AND MICHAEL RUBINKAM

It’s not the first time rangers have had to clean up, though paint is an unusual choice for vandals there.

Supervisory ranger Ray O’Neil said minor graffiti is scratched onto rock every day. Rangers carry nylon bristle brushes and water to brush it off as they see it.

At Joshua Tree in California, the park service has graffiti they think is from Nocket to deal with, and also a project to clean up the historic Barker Dam, which is nearly covered with scratched-on graffiti.

“Even though people know they shouldn’t do it, as soon as someone else has done they just jump right on board,” said cultural resources chief Jason Theuer. Sandblasting the structure originally built in 1902 to provide water for cattle could cause microscopic cracks, damaging the surface and creating a home for water and bacteria that cause

more damage. Instead, they’re using paint to fill it in.

Rangers deal with graffiti nearly weekly there, and the most difficult material to clean off is metallic spray paint. In some cases, graffiti near ancient petroglyphs or pictographs is nearly impossible to remove and rangers have to leave it.

Even if the rock art itself isn’t damaged, the soil itself can contain other essential archaeological clues like microfossils that can be damaged by cleanup chemicals.

That’s why officials say people shouldn’t remove images themselves if they see them. Instead, they’re hoping that the high-profile case raises awareness about an issue that’s all too common in the parks.

“It’s a basic, fundamental underlying facet of human nature is to sort of leave our mark,” said Theuer. “Our national parks are not the place for it.”

Band member convicted

ASSOCIATED PRESS

By KYLE HIGHTOWER MILFORD, Pa. — For 48 days, Eric Frein was everywhere and nowhere, supposedly sighted again and again, only to melt back into the woods in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse.

So on Friday, as state police paraded the gaunt and battered-looking former fugitive in front of a courthouse, residents were relieved to see him in the flesh.

It was proof that the harrowing seven-week manhunt in the Pocono Mountains for the suspected cop-killer was finally over, and things could start getting back to normal.

“It’s just been nervewracking, not knowing where he was, what his next step was, what he was going to do,” said Jody Welsh.

Onlookers shouted “Are you sorry?” and “Why did you do it?” as the survivalist and marksman was led from court the morning after his capture near an abandoned hangar. Hundreds of local, state and federal law officers had taken part in the manhunt.

Frein, 31, had a gash on the bridge of his nose and a scrape over his left eye as he listened to charges that he killed Cpl. Bryon Dickson and critically wounded Trooper Alex Douglass in a sniper attack outside their state police barracks Sept.

12. U.S. marshals who took him into custody said he suffered the injuries while they had him down on the pavement.

He did not have a lawyer and was not asked to enter a plea to first-degree murder and other charges, including possession of two pipe bombs discovered during the search. He remained jailed without bail.

A preliminary hearing was set for Nov. 12.

Pike County District Attorney Raymond Tonkin, who said he would seek the death penalty, told reporters that Frein’s capture Thursday evening brought a measure of comfort to the region after an “unimaginable loss of unspeakable proportions.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Michael J. Mullen/The Scranton Times-Tribune | AP

Eric Frein, charged with murder of Pennsylvania State Trooper Cpl. Byron Dickson and critically wounding Trooper Alex Douglass Sept. 10, is taken to prison after a preliminary hearing in Pike County Courthouse on Friday in Milford, Pa. “We have now started to find the answers that the community desired in this case,” Tonkin said.

Troopers questioned Frein, but authorities would not disclose what he told them or discuss a possible motive. Authorities have said Frein had expressed anti-law enforcement views online and to people who knew him.

Joe Fagan was the first in line to enter the courtroom.

“To be honest, I just wanted to see what evil looked like,” he said. “He had zero emotion.”

Until his capture, Frein had some people beginning to wonder if law enforcement was up to the task, given the rugged terrain and the evident skill with which he eluded dogs, thermal-imaging cameras and teams of heavily armed officers.

Sporadic sightings of the fugitive kept entire communities on edge: A woman claimed to have seen him outside a high school.

A local cop spotted a mysterious man in green, prompting an intensive search that came up empty.

There were other sightings in which Frein supposedly made himself visible to law enforcement, then vanished.

“To see him just walk

past me was just a sigh of relief that he’s not in the woods,” said Welsh, who made sure she was on hand Friday as state police led Frein from his arraignment. “That everybody can continue on with their lives.”

In fact, with Frein behind bars, plans for trickor-treating in Barrett Township were back on, and hunting and trapping were given the go-ahead to resume.

A team of federal marshals stumbled across Frein during a sweep about 30 miles from the barracks where he allegedly opened fire, authorities said. He had no gun on him, but had weapons stashed in the hangar, state police said.

The marshals who captured Frein said he had a “defeated” look on his face when they took him into custody.

A three-man team had spotted Frein and sneaked up on him, taking him by surprise. Scott Malkowski, who helped make the arrest, said Frein made no attempt to flee and didn’t put up a fight.

“He had nowhere to go.

There is nothing he could’ve done,” Malkowski said, adding: “From what I saw, he felt defeated because we’d won. We’d de-

feated him.”

After the marshals turned him over to state police, Frein was placed in Dickson’s handcuffs and driven in Dickson’s squad car to the Blooming Grove barracks.

Authorities said they were trying to reconstruct his time on the run. They believe Frein broke into cabins and other places for food and shelter, and he evidently found time to shave — he had a neatly trimmed goatee when he was caught.

State police Lt. Col George Bivens put the cost of the manhunt at about $10 million.

With the search over, officials began calculating the economic toll to motels, restaurants, shops and other businesses that lost money as tourists avoided the search area and locals stayed home.

Monroe County asked business owners to fill out a “snapshot of their losses” — a possible prelude to a disaster declaration and state and federal aid.

Peggy Fylstra, whose crafts and florist shop in the village of Mountainhome suffered during the manhunt, said it “felt like I hit the lottery” when Frein was caught. “That’s what an impact it’s made on business owners.”

ORLANDO, Fla. — A former Florida A&M band member accused of being the ringleader of a brutal hazing ritual known as “Crossing Bus C” that killed a drum major was convicted Friday of manslaughter and felony hazing.

Prosecutors said Dante Martin, 27, was known as “the president of Bus C” and organized the initiations that required fellow band members to try to make their way through a pounding gauntlet of fists, drumsticks and mallets from the front of the bus to the back in November 2011 after a football game.

Two other band members went through the bus before Robert Champion, 26, of Decatur, Georgia. Martin was convicted of misdemeanor hazing counts in their beatings.

Champion’s parents sat

silently as the verdicts were read. Martin sat with his head down. Martin’s sentencing was set for Jan. 9 and he was taken into custody. Manslaughter is punishable by up to 15 years in prison in Florida.

Champion complained of trouble breathing and vomited after the ritual, then collapsed and died in a parking lot. His death cast a pall over the school’s nationally acclaimed band, which had played at Super Bowls and before U.S. presidents. The band was suspended for more than a year after the death and several school officials resigned in the aftermath.

Defense attorneys told jurors the ritual was more akin to a competition and that there was no actual hazing. They said Champion and the others voluntarily took part. Several other former band members have pleaded guilty to lesser charges, and three others await trial.

$2.25 million settlement for inmate’s family

By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ NEW YORK TIMES

NEW YORK — The family of a homeless veteran who died this year in a searing hot cell at Rikers Island jail complex will receive $2.25 million from the city of New York in a settlement the comptroller’s office announced Friday.

The settlement made final with unusual swiftness, a reflection of the heightened interest in the case and the extraordinary pressure on the city to improve conditions at Rikers, where brutality and corruption have flourished unchecked for years.

The inmate, Jerome

Murdough, died on Feb. 15, when the temperature in his cell in a mental health unit at Rikers exceeded 100 degrees. The case has come to exemplify the many shortcomings of the city jails and the criminal justice system at large.

“What seems clear is that Rikers Island is broken,” Scott M. Stringer, the comptroller, said at a news conference Friday.

“A mother lost a son. A city lost a citizen. As friends and family mourn Mr. Murdough’s death, we will continue to work and demand improved conditions at Rikers.”

Murdough, 56, was arrested a week before his death.

State

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014

THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A

Austin still recovering from Oct. 2013 floods ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle | AP

Shadow Melendez, 6, holds a doll as neighbors walk by the residence where authorities found a young girl dead at an apartment complex.

Dead girl found in refrigerator ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON — The death of a 9-year-old Houston girl whose body was left in a refrigerator for six months has been ruled a homicide.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences said Thursday that Ayahna Comb died from malnutrition and dehydration and suffered from other ailments such as a bone infection. A neighbor called police after Ayahna’s 5-year-old sister and two friends discovered the body in June when looking for a cheese stick.

Medical examiner’s office spokeswoman Tricia Bentley said the death was ruled a homicide because of evidence that the girl was neglected.

She said the six-month delay was because of the girl’s age and additional testing needed to determine her cause of death.

“It usually takes a little bit longer to classify a child’s death,” Bentley said. “Doctors look for signs of child abuse, and that takes longer.”

Court records show that Ayahna’s mother, Amber

Keyes, said she tried to perform CPR on her daughter, who had cerebral palsy and needed a wheelchair to get around, after finding her unresponsive on Jan. 29. When her efforts failed, the mother “panicked,” according to records.

A Child Protective Services worker said Keyes acknowledged wrapping the body in a blanket and putting it in a refrigerator drawer.

Keyes also acknowledged not taking the girl, who had cerebral palsy, to the doctor for two years and collecting Social Security benefits in her daughter’s name after her death, according to court records.

Family members said Ayahna was bottle fed. Investigators said Keyes told them her daughter was “always difficult to feed,” more so toward the end of January.

A Houston Police Department spokeswoman told The Houston Chronicle the agency expects to file unspecified charges against Keyes. She declined to comment to the newspaper.

AUSTIN — A year after a flood killed three people and damaged hundreds of central Texas homes, Austin officials are still working to buy and tear down houses considered at risk for flooding.

The 2013 Halloween floods, which reached up to 7 feet in some homes, damaged almost 660 structures in Travis County.

Some houses near Onion Creek have been abandoned by homeowners, while other residents have tried to rebuild, undeterred by the threat of future floods.

Since the floods, Austin has three times approved money to

More than 60 arrested ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN ANTONIO— Federal authorities say more than 60 people with criminal records and in the country illegally have been arrested as part of a three-day law enforcement operation.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a statement Friday said officers apprehended offenders in Austin, San Antonio, Waco and elsewhere.

Authorities say 54 of the people had previous convictions for aggravated assault, burglary, alien smuggling and other felony charges. Others arrested this week were longstanding fugitives or had been previously deported.

ICE officials say that in fiscal year 2014 alone, a fugitive operations team based in San Antonio arrested more than 940 people.

buy out homes, the Austin American-Statesman reported. The funds total $129 million to purchase 486 homes.

As of late October, city spokeswoman Wendy Morgan said Austin has made offers on 116 homes and purchased 100 houses. Demolition crews have razed 63 of them, and nine more are slated to be torn down.

Mapi Vigil, managing engineer for the Watershed Protection Department, said more than 430 properties are at risk for flooding and still need to be purchased by the city.

Diana Rivera said her family survived the floods last year after her future son-in-law, Victor Arevalo, ran to the backyard and

retrieved a ladder. The entire family climbed up onto the roof where they waited for the water to subside.

In the months after the flood, Rivera said she stayed with friends and family, but decided in February to rebuild her home using her flood insurance money.

The city made a $127,000 offer in August to purchase her home, originally bought for $100,000, and Rivera said she’ll be moving into another home in south Austin next week.

She said she struggled with the decision and felt like she was abandoning her home near Onion Creek, but the memories of the 2013 flood convinced her to take the offer.

Students’ work was on rocket ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON — Some Texas students’ experiments were destroyed when an unmanned rocket headed to the International Space Station exploded after liftoff in Virginia.

Investigators are trying to determine what caused the explosion on Tuesday that destroyed Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Antares rocket and a cargo module. The rocket was carrying more than 2 tons of experiments and equipment to the space station. The astronauts have enough supplies to last until spring, according to NASA. Students from Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School in Houston had two experiments on board. One was supposed to study the effects of microgravity on slime mold. The other experiment involved lipids.

“The payload was supposed to be returning in early December and we were going to analyze

the data and see if we could draw any conclusions,” science teacher Greg Adragna told the Houston Chronicle.

The rocket also carried a small satellite created by about 30 University of Texas engineering students in association with NASA. Glenn Lightsey, a UT engineering professor, said the accident was unfortunate but was also part of the aerospace industry.

“The nature of building space vehicles is that it is not a 100 percent reliable process,” Lightsey told the Austin AmericanStatesman. “Getting into space is really the hardest part.”

Students at Hobby Middle School in San Antonio provided an experiment involving crystals.

“And if you fail one time, just try it again and see what happens,” Anthony Holmes, 13, told the San Antonio Express-News.

“And rocket explosions look cool.”

Politics

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES

Early votes exceed 15M — but who benefits?

By DAVID ESPO ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Early votes soared past 15 million across 31 states on Friday, an outpouring that is giving hopeful Republicans as well as nervous Democrats cause for optimism heading into the final weekend of a campaign with control of the Senate, the U.S. House and 36 governorships at stake.

Republicans pointed to a strong early-vote performance in Iowa as evidence that Joni Ernst was a step ahead in her bid to capture a Senate seat for the GOP. “I feel real good about it,” said Gov. Terry Branstad, campaigning with the party’s Senate hopeful as he sought a new term for himself, as well.

But in Georgia, Democrats said a strong early turnout by African-Americans in the counties around Atlanta was a good sign for Michelle Nunn, running for a seat long out of the party’s reach.

As candidates headed into a final weekend of campaigning, Democratic hopes of holding a Senate seat in Arkansas appeared to be fading, and Republicans already appeared assured of gains in West Virginia, South Dakota and Montana.

They need to gain six to come away with the election’s biggest prize — control of the Senate during President Barack Obama’s final two years in office.

Strategists in both parties agreed privately that races in Louisiana and Georgia were probably headed for runoffs, and several Republicans expressed concern about Kansas, where polls showed Sen. Pat Roberts was in a tough race to keep a seat held by Republicans for decades.

Democratic incumbents in Alaska, Colorado and New Hampshire also faced difficult tests, as did Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky.

Republicans are all but certain to hold their majority in the House, and Demo-

crats are working to minimize their losses in the campaign’s final days by rushing help to candidates once viewed as safe.

The early vote turnout varied from state to state, exceeding 2010 levels in Louisiana, Wisconsin, Maryland, Florida, Iowa and Georgia. Most of those states are holding intensely competitive races for the Senate or governor or both.

In Louisiana, where Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu is in a difficult threeway fight for re-election, the early vote was 80 percent higher than in the 2010 midterm elections. Officials in both parties say they expect Landrieu and Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy to advance to a Dec. 6 runoff.

In Iowa, figures provided by state election officials showed Democrats had cast about 41 percent of the early vote, Republicans about 39 percent and independents nearly 20 percent.

Four years ago, Democrats held a double-digit advantage.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014

Obama plugs policies for women

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — With an election four days away, President Barack Obama urged women to raise their voices in favor of economic policies that benefit them and against politicians that he said belong in a “Mad Men” episode from a bygone era.

Citing his own experiences as the son of a single mom and the father of two girls, he declared: “Some of this is personal.”

Obama said his grandmother, a bank vice president, got passed over for promotions by people she had trained, and his mother raised him and his sister “without a lot of support.”

“The idea that my daughters wouldn’t have the same opportunities as somebody’s sons, well that’s unacceptable,” he said.

Obama’s appearance at

Rhode Island College in Providence was part of a campaign-oriented swing in the final days of the midterm election. Obama has been making appearances this week in Democratic states where he won in 2008 and 2012 to help mobilize core Democratic voters and members of his own base of support who have a tendency to stay home in nonpresidential election days. Obama’s fellow Democrats need a big turnout from female voters.

Following his remarks, Obama joined Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Raimondo for a takeout lunch at a Providence restaurant and bar. He praised Raimondo, currently the state treasurer, and urged patrons to vote.

First lady Michelle Obama campaigned for Raimondo Thursday in the state.

Pushing for equal pay for women and a higher minimum wage, Obama

said policies that ease financial and other burdens on women will help make the economy stronger overall. And he drew attention to economic growth since the recession at the beginning of his presidency, while conceding that those benefits have not reached many Americans.

Noting that Rhode Island law provides for paid family leave, Obama said that should be the law across the nation. He added that women also need better child-care policies and renewed his call to enroll 6 million children in high-quality day care by the end of the decade.

“So while many women are working hard to support themselves and their families, they’re still facing unfair choices, outdated workplace policies,” he said. “That holds them back, but it also holds all of us back. We have to do better because women deserve better.”

Entertainment

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014

Nielsen: 23.5 million saw Game 7

By DAVID BAUDER ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — An estimated 23.5 million people watched the San Francisco Giants’ 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals in Game 7, enabling the matchup to escape the distinction of least-watched World Series.

The Nielsen company said Thursday that more people watched the previous night’s contest than any other World Series game since the 2011 Game 7 between St. Louis and Texas.

It was 10 million more people than tuned in to any of the previous six games between the Giants and the Royals. Nielsen said the peak average audience came during the last inning, when 27.8 million people saw MVP Madison Bumgarner record the last out.

The series overall averaged 13.8 million viewers, second only to the Giants’ four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers in 2012 as the

series with the smallest audience.

The sixth game had only 13.4 million viewers, no doubt dragged down by an early blowout. But Game 7 was filled with drama, as the Giants clung to their one-run lead behind the masterful performance of their ace in a relief role.

In Kansas City, an estimated 77 percent of the television sets in use Wednesday night had the game on, broadcast by Fox. It was the most popular sports event on TV since the Sochi Olympics in February.

Still, it was a record low audience for a World Series Game 7, baseball’s ultimate game. Both Game 7’s during the 2000s had more than 30 million viewers. When the Minnesota Twins beat the Atlanta Braves in 1991, the audience was 50.3 million people.

Last year, 14.9 million people watched the Boston Red Sox clinch its Series against St. Louis. But it was in Game 6, not a winnertake-all contest.

THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

Watson, Dench honored

By MIKE CIDONI LENNOX ASSOCIATED PRESS

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — There was a bit of a British invasion at the Beverly Hilton hotel, as BAFTA Los Angeles hosted its annual Britannia Awards, honoring film and television talent from both sides of the pond, including director Mike Leigh and actors Dame Judi Dench, Emma Watson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Robert Downey Jr. But most of the attendees Thursday night were Brits — no surprise, given the party was thrown by the L.A. branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Downey received the Stanley Kubrick Award for Excellence in Film, named after the legendary director of such films as “2001: A Space Odyssey” “(The award) means a heck of a lot to me,” said Downey. “I love British filmmakers, and they have such a great talent pool.”

Photo by Chris Pizzello | AP

Honorees Robert Downey Jr., from left, Emma Watson and Judi Dench appear on stage at the BAFTA Awards on Thursday.

Oscar-winning actress Dench was honored with Albert R. ("Cubby”) Broccoli Award for Worldwide Contribution in Entertainment, named after one of the original producers of the James Bond films.

Noted Dench, “Well, I’m rather overwhelmed by (the award), because I didn’t ever expect to have a film career at all. I never knew Cubby Broccoli, although I know, of course, (Albert’s daugh-

ter) Barbara Broccoli and (Barbara’s half-brother and Bond-series producer) Michael Wilson very well. And I’ve had 17 years of doing Bond, which has been just wonderful. So, I’m very, very proud that I shall have something that is named after Cubby.”

Dench and fellow honoree Watson posed together for photographers on the arrivals line.

Watson, named Britannia British Artist of the

Year, said Dench is “just all soul and all grace and strength and beauty, and she really, for me, she’s an iconic British actor. She’s what you aspire to be.”

The 79-year-old Dench is currently on a box-office roll, with her 2012 releases “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” and “Skyfall” and her Oscarnominated 2013 “Philomena” all boasting worldwide grosses of more than $100 million each.

Dench’s next film is the sequel “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” hitting cinemas in February.

Dench said, “People like to say, ’When are you retiring?’ Or ’When are you going to slow down?’

That’s all very rude in my family. We don’t say any of that. I think if I stop, it’ll be like a car: I shall run out of petrol and fall over. So, I plan not to that, if possible.”

The BAFTA Los Angeles Jaguar Britannia Awards are set to air on BBC America 2 November.

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES

BANK Continued from Page 1A ment. Over approximately two years, she issued more than 300 false company checks made payable to contractors, the indictment states.

The contractors, however, had not performed the work that was the alleged basis for the checks, the Attorney’s Office said.

Arredondo endorsed the false checks by forging the signatures of the contractors and then gave the checks to del Bosque at the Zapata National Bank, prosecutors claim.

“Del Bosque allegedly led bank tellers to believe she was cashing the checks on behalf of the contractors who were unable to come to the bank themselves and that she would deliver the funds from the cashed checks,” the Attorney’s Office said.

“However, del Bosque actually pocketed the money and split the proceeds of the fraud with Arredondo.

“The indictment alleges a total loss from the fraud scheme of more than $800,000.”

If convicted, the two women face up to 30 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine on each of the 10 counts.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Johnson is prosecuting.

Arredondo and del Bosque were expected to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Diana Song on Friday.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014

QUARANTINE ty of Mainers. The judge has eased restrictions with this ruling, and I believe it is unfortunate,” LePage said.

Later in the day, the governor lashed out at Hickox, saying: “She has violated every promise she has made so far, so I can’t trust her. I don’t trust her. And I don’t trust that we know enough about this disease to be so callous.”

Hickox was thrust into the center of a national debate after she returned to the U.S. last week from treating Ebola victims in West Africa as a volunteer for Doctors Without Borders.

On Thursday, after Hickox refused to stay home and abide by what Maine called a voluntary quarantine, the state went to court to try to impose restrictions on her until

the 21-day incubation period for Ebola ends on Nov. 10. State health officials were willing to let her go out on a jog or a bike ride, but wanted to bar her from crowded public places and require her to stay at least 3 feet from others.

But the judge turned the state down.

In his ruling, the judge thanked Hickox for her service in Africa and acknowledged the gravity of restricting someone’s constitutional rights without solid science to back it up.

“The court is fully aware of the misconceptions, misinformation, bad science and bad information being spread from shore to shore in our country with respect to Ebola,” he wrote. “The court is fully aware that people are acting out of fear and that this fear is not entirely rational.”

Continued from Page 1A

Hickox’s quarantine in Maine — and, before that, in New Jersey, upon her arrival back in the U.S. — led humanitarian groups, the White House and many scientists to warn that automatically quarantining medical workers is unnecessary and could cripple the fight against Ebola by discouraging volunteers like Hickox from going to danger zone.

Hickox contended that confinement at her home in Fort Kent, a town of 4,300 people in far northern Maine along the Canadian border, violated her rights and was unsupported by science. She twice violated the quarantine by going outside her home — once to go on a bike ride and once to talk to the media and shake a reporter’s hand.

In a court filing, the director of the Maine Center

for Disease Control and Prevention backed away from the state’s original request for an in-home quarantine and called for restrictions in line with federal guidelines — namely, staying away from crowded public places.

Hickox has said she is following the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation of daily monitoring for fever and other signs of the disease. She tested negative for Ebola last weekend, but it can take days for the virus to reach detectable levels.

Her boyfriend, Ted Wilbur, said Friday that the two of them weren’t planning to go into town in the immediate future.

“I’m just happy that Kaci is able to go outside, exercise. It’s not healthy to be inside for 21 days,” he said.

OIL Continued from Page 1A sand and chemicals deep into underground rock formations to release trapped oil and gas. Opponents in Denton say it pollutes air and drinking water, and the disposal of the vast amounts of water produced by the drilling process could cause earthquakes.

Industry groups counter that it’s cleaner than other forms of energy extraction and can be done safely.

College fund Denton resident Randy Sorrells, who hopes to use earnings from the five pump jacks on his property to fund his children’s college education, believes a ban would violate his property rights.

SÁBADO 1 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2014

Ribereña en Breve ACUSACIÓN FORMAL Un hombre acusado de transportar más de 500.000 dólares en marihuana a través del Condado de Zapata ha sido acusado en una corte federal de Laredo, de acuerdo con registros de la corte obtenidos el viernes.

La acusación presentada el martes en contra de Daniel Cardona-Pérez le acusa de conspiración para posesión con intento de distribuir 100 kilogramos o más de marihuana y posesión con intento de distribuir 100 kilogramos o más de marihuana.

Cardona-Pérez regresará a la corte para la lectura de cargos el 6 de noviembre a las 11 a.m. ante el Juez Magistrado de EU Guillermo R. Garcia, en caso de ser condenado, Cardona-Pérez enfrentaría hasta 40 años en prisión.

VISITA DE FISCAL

Zfrontera

PÁGINA 11A

ARRESTO

Fraude bancario TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Dos mujeres de Zapata fueron arrestadas por supuestamente robar 800.000 dólares a través de un esquema de fraude bancario.

Petra del Bosque, de 54 años, y Anita Arredondo, de 52 años, ambas de Zapata, fueron arrestadas el jueves después de que un gran jurado, en la corte federal de Laredo, dictara una acusación formal de 10 cargos. Una copia de la acusación no estuvo disponible de manera inmediata.

Del Bosque, una ex empleada del Zapata National Bank, y Arre-

dondo, enfrentan 10 cargos por fraude bancario.

La Oficina del Fiscal de EU señala que la acusación alega que Arredondo trabajó para una compañía de construcción en Zapata, como secretaria en el departamento de cuentas por pagar. Por aproximadamente dos años, ella emitió más de 300 cheques de compañías falsas a nombre de contratistas, señala la acusación.

Los contratistas, sin embargo, no habían realizado el trabajo que supuestamente eran la base de los cheques, dijo la Oficina del Fiscal.

Arredondo se apoderó de los cheques falsos, al falsificar las firmas de los contratistas, para después dar los cheques a Del Bosque en el Zapata National Bank, afirman los fiscales.

“Del Bosque supuestamente dejó que los cajeros de banco creyeran que estaba cobrando los cheques a nombre de los contratistas que no pudieron acudir al banco y que ella les entregaría los fondos de los cheques cobrados”, dijo la Oficina del Fiscal. “Sin embargo, Del Bosque en realidad se embolsó el dinero y dividió las ganancias del fraude con Arredon-

CULTURA

MATAMOROS

MUSEO DE ZAPATA

Indagan muerte de cuatro jóvenes

Esta semana, el Fiscal de Distrito Isidro R. “Chilo” Alaniz visitó las escuelas primarias del norte y sur de Zapata durante la Semana del Listón Rojo, para instar a los estudiantes a permanecer libres de drogas.

Las presentaciones son realizadas mensualmente durante el día de la profesión.

Durante su presentación, Alaniz dijo a los estudiantes acerca de No Utilizar Drogas

POR CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

CARRERA ZOMBIE El día de hoy los zombies llenarán las calles de Zapata durante la carrera zombie 5K, que organiza la Cámara de Comercio del Condado de Zapata.

La inscripción durante el evento es de 20 dólares. La carrera para niños tiene un costo de 5 dólares.

Los asistentes podrán seleccionar el estilo zombie que más les guste.

Para más información puede llamar al (956) 765.3892 o visitar register@active.com.

FESTIVAL VAQUERO El día de hoy continúa el Décimo Festival Vaquero en la ciudad de Hebbronville, dentro de Peña Ranchito, sobre Highway 16 South.

El evento contará con la presentación de grupos como Intocable, Zamorales, Palacios Bros y el cantante Jon Wolfe.

Además habrá concursos de comida; casas embrujadas; desfiles, cabalgatas, rodeo para niños, concursos de mariachi, comida, manualidades, entre otras actividades.

El festival celebra a los guardianes icónicos de la cultura ganadera del sur de Texas y reconoce a los vaqueros sus muchas contribuciones al sur de Texas y el establecimiento de la industria ganadera prominente en el Condado de Jim Hogg. Asimismo se apunta a la juventud para atraerlos a la herencia vaquera, con actividades tales como Princesa Vaquera, Cariño Vaquero, y Reina Vaquera/Vaquero Queen, entre otras.

Para contribuir con la herencia vaquera habrá cabalgatas, contiendas de comida con bbq, subastas silenciosas, cena vaquera, rodeos.

Parte de lo recaudado durante el evento será destinado a becas escolares para estudiantes de último año de preparatoria.

SEMINARIO DE FOTOGRAFÍA El sábado 16 de noviembre se impartirá un Seminario de Fotografía gratuito, organizado por la Ciudad de Roma.

El evento se llevará a acabo en Roma Birding Center, y será impartido por Los Santitos Photography.

Durante el seminario se impartirán y explicarán herramientas necesarias para capturar buenas imágenes. No se necesita una cámara profesional para acudir al seminario.

Llame al (956) 500.0373.

do”.

“La acusación alega una pérdida total en un esquema de fraude por más de 800.000 dólares”.

En caso de ser condenadas, las dos mujeres enfrentan hasta 30 años en una prisión federal y una multa por 1 millón por cada uno de los 10 cargos.

El caso fue investigado por el FBI. El Asistente del Fiscal de EU, Robert S. Johnson, es quien procesa el caso.

Se esperaba que Arredondo y Del Bosque realizaran su aparición inicial ante la Juez Magistrado de EU, Diana Song, el viernes.

Foto de cortesía | ZCMH

El Museo de Historia del Condado de Zapata se encuentra dentro de un edificio moderno ubicado en 805 Main. Abre sus puertas de martes a viernes en el horario de 10 a.m. a 4 p.m.

Pasado se alberga dentro de un edificio POR MALENA CHARUR TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Un espacio que muestra la historia de la región con el fin de enriquecer el nivel de vida y diversificar la economía de la comunidad es el que presenta el Museo de Historia del Condado de Zapata desde julio del 2011.

Fue en el 2007 que la idea inició con sesiones de planeación estratégica, y posteriormente se presentó a la Corte de Comisionados.

“Queríamos elevar el nivel cultural de la comunidad y diversificar la economía”, dijo Hildegardo E. Flores, director del museo.

Aunque es cierto que Zapata recibe muchos visitantes debido a la Presa Falcón, Flores dijo que se deseaba atraer a las familias de esos pescadores para que permanecieran más tiempo y hubiera consumos en restaurantes, hoteles y comercios, generando en consecuencia, un importante impacto económico en la ciudad.

A fin de financiar la construcción del museo, fue necesario que el Condado de Zapata solicitara fondos disponibles para mejorar la calidad de vida de las comunidades rurales.

Flores explicó que, así, se cuenta con un museo de alta calidad dentro de un moderno edificio.

“Tomamos la idea de muchos museos. Nuestro museo contiene

algo de cada uno de los museos importantes del mundo como los que se encuentran en Europa, China, Tierra Santa y Estados Unidos. Hay un poco de cada uno”, indicó.

El Museo de Historia del Condado de Zapata cuenta el pasado de la región. Desde el Río Nueces hasta el Río Pánuco, que se ubica entre Tampico y Veracruz, estaba conformada la antigua provincia de Nuevo Santander, nombrada así por José de Escandón, primer gobernador de esta provincia, y quien provenía de ésa región de España.

“Naturalmente es historia de la región. Se muestra el pasado de varios pueblos como Zapata, Laredo, San Ygnacio, el Valle y naturalmente Guerrero que es el pueblo madre de los alrededores”, expresó Flores.

El museo consta de 10 salas mayores en la que se incluye la exhibición permanente que inicia con la historia natural donde se explica el periodo geológico en el que se formó el continente y la aparición de los minerales de los cuales, más tarde, se dependería en época de la colonia. También se muestra la flora y la fauna del lugar así como el impacto humano en la región con la presencia de nativos, españoles, mexicanos y anglos hasta la era moderna incluyendo la reubicación de los pueblos y aldeas después de la construcción de la presa Falcón.

“Sabemos mucho de esto por los archivos del español Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca. Según el archivo se habla de flora y de la fauna así como de la organización social de los pobladores como jefes, hechiceros, guerreros y lo cotidiano de las familias como la construcción de las viviendas y el cultivo de cactus, nopal, yuca y sotol entre otros.

Añadió que la colección del museo es muy extensa e incluye fósiles, pedernales, armas antiguas, monturas, herramienta de ganadería, réplica del último chalán en operación y de una casa colonial amueblada con objetos de época, entre otros muchos artículos que hablan de la vida del lugar.

“El museo también alberga eventos especiales como la presentación de autores sobre la historia local o la exhibición del Árbol Familiar que se celebra de manera anual y exposiciones de obras de arte entre otras actividades”, finalizó Flores.

El Museo de Historia del Condado de Zapata se ubica en 805 Main. Abre sus puertas de martes a viernes en el horario de 10 a.m. a 4 p.m.

Si requiere mayor información puede llamar al (956) 765.8983 o bien, visitar su sitio de Internet www.zapatamuseum.org (Localice a Malena Charur en el 956-728-2583 o en mcharur@lmtonline.com)

MATAMOROS, México — Las autoridades están investigando una posible conexión con la policía en el asesinato de tres ciudadanos estadounidenses que estaban de visita en México para ver a su padre cuando fueron tiroteados junto a un amigo mexicano, más de dos semanas después de su desaparición.

Los padres de los tres hermanos, cuyos cuerpos fueron identificados el jueves, dijeron que testigos reportaron que fueron secuestrados por hombres vestidos de policías que se identificaron como “Hércules”, una unidad estratégica de seguridad en Matamoros.

Nueve de las 40 unidades de policías están siendo investigadas, dijo el fiscal general del estado de Tamaulipas, Ismael Quintanilla Acosta.

Este sería el tercer caso reciente de supuesto abuso y asesinato a manos de las fuerzas de seguridad mexicanas y el primero en que hay estadounidenses implicados.

“Se aplicará todo el peso de la ley y cero tolerancia”, dijo el gobernador de Tamaulipas, Egidio Torre Cantú, al tiempo que lamentó la muerte de los tres estadounidenses y del ciudadano mexicano, a pesar de que sus identidades no han sido confirmadas oficialmente por prueba de ADN. El portavoz presidencial, Eduardo Sánchez, no quiso realizar comentarios cuando fue preguntado por el nuevo caso. La embajada de Estados Unidos dijo que estaba al tanto de las informaciones pero que no tenía información para compartir “por consideraciones de privacidad”.

El padre de los tres estadounidenses, Pedro Alvarado, identificó a sus hijos por fotografías de los cadáveres que tenían tatuajes, dijo Quintanilla en declaraciones a Radio Fórmula. La ropa encontrada con los cuerpos también correspondía a la de Érica Alvarado Rivera, de 26 años, y sus hermanos Alex, de 22, y José Ángel, de 21, que desaparecieron el 13 de octubre con José Guadalupe Castañeda Benítez, el novio, de 32 años de edad, de Érica Alvarado.

Cada uno de los fallecidos recibió un disparo en la cabeza y sus cuerpos estaban quemados, posiblemente por una larga exposición al sol, dijo Quintanilla.

COLUMNA

Poinsett describe travesía por Tamaulipas POR RAÚL SINENCIO CHÁVEZ ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Recién independizado, México recibe al diplomático de EU, Joel Robert Poinsett, quien deja México en 1822, por Tula, Tamaulipas, México.

“Emprendimos nuevamente la marcha a las cuatro” de la mañana, y al amanecer entramos a un camino que serpenteaba y daba muchas vueltas […]

Seguimos durante dos horas […] por una comarca desolada y estéril, cubierta

de arbustos chaparros y pequeñas cactáceas, blanquecidos por el polvo en que nosotros mismos estábamos envueltos”, escribió Poinsett acerca de su trayecto.

A finales del otoño traspone la sierra Madre Oriental. Procede del altiplano potosino, rumbo a la bocana del río Pánuco, donde va a embarcarse. Atraviesa una zona, “reseca y polvosa, pero que ahora lo es más que de costumbre, debido a una sequía que se ha prolongado por dos veranos” consecutivos.

Luego de trabajoso periplo, con los tempranos rayos del sol “desde la cumbre divisamos la ciudad de Tula, situada al fin de una extensa llanura, y sentada sobre el declive de los cerros que marcan su término”, continuó. Resalta también “el contraste entre las llanuras polvosas y áridas que se extienden arriba de Tula, y los campos verdes y las corrientes de agua que hay más abajo, es algo delicioso”.

Llegan a Tula el 1 de septiembre de 1822. “Es domin-

go, y los vecinos de los pueblos cercanos han concurrido a la población para oír misa” en la antigua parroquia del lugar. Reflejo probable de la prosperidad imperante, el gentío luce vistosos atuendos.

Vivencia La escala dura hasta el lunes. A medida que transcurre la crónica, Poinsett añade. “Tula es una capital idónea para una región como ésta: está mal construi-

da y es tan triste que ni siquiera la multitud de campesinos bien vestidos que llenaban sus calles era capaz de darle aspecto alegre”.

“Antiguamente Tula fue misión, y después fuerte fronterizo, pero ahora ostenta el título de villa”, escribió.

Hacia 1825 Poinsett vuelve en calidad de ministro plenipotenciario. En 1830 es expulsado.

(Publicado con permiso del autor conforme a La Razón, Tampico, México).

12A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014

MISSING Continued from Page 1A Acosta said.

It would be the third recent case of alleged abuse and killings by Mexican security forces.

The country is already convulsed by the case of 43 students from a teachers college in the southern state of Guerrero, their disappearance blamed on a mayor and police working with a drug cartel. Fifty-six people are under arrest, including dozens of police officers.

In a separate case in June, soldiers killed 22 suspected gang members in Mexico state, then altered the scene and intimidated witnesses to hide the fact that most of the dead were executed after they surrendered, a National Commission on Human Rights report said last week. Three soldiers face murder charges.

“We will apply the full force of the law and zero tolerance,” Tamaulipas Gov. Egidio Torre Cantu said of the latest case, lamenting the death of the three Americans and a Mexican citizen, even though their identities had yet to be confirmed

by DNA. Presidential spokesman Eduardo Sanchez declined to comment when asked about the newest case. The U.S. Embassy said it was aware of the reports but had no information to share “due to privacy considerations.”

The father of the three Americans, Pedro Alvarado, identified his children from photographs of the bodies showing tattoos, Quintanilla told Radio Formula. Clothing found with the bodies also matched that of Erica Alvarado Rivera, 26, and her brothers, Alex, 22, and Jose Angel, 21, who disappeared Oct. 13 along with Jose Guadalupe Castañeda Benitez, Erica Alvarado’s 32-year-old boyfriend.

Each was shot in the head and the bodies were burned, most likely from

lying in the hot sun for so long, Quintanilla said.

Tamaulipas authorities said it could take 24 to 48 hours for DNA tests to further confirm that the bodies were those of the Alvarado siblings, who were last seen in El Control, a small town near the Texas border west of Matamoros, about to return home to Progreso, Texas.

“They were good kids,” said an aunt, Nohemi Gonzalez. “I don’t know why they did that to them.”

The three siblings shared their mother’s modest brick home on a quiet street in Progreso less than three miles from the border. Erica, who has four children between the ages of 3 and 9, had been scheduled to begin studying next month to become a nursing assistant.

Brothers Jose Angel and Alex had been set to make their annual pilgrimage to Missouri as migrant farm workers more than a week ago, Gonzalez said. When they weren’t on the road, they divided their time between their mother’s house in Texas and their father’s in Mexico.

On Sunday, Oct. 12, Erica drove her black Jeep Cherokee across the border to El Control. She dropped it at her father’s house and went to visit with her boyfriend.

Her mother, Raquel Alvarado, had told her to be back in Progreso by early Monday morning, because Raquel had to work and Erica’s kids had to get to school. Raquel put the kids to bed Sunday night and awoke at 4 a.m. to see Erica was not home. She began calling her daughter’s cellphone and continued through the morning.

“I’m always worried about her when she goes over there,” the mother said.

Around 1 p.m., she reached her former hus-

band. He told her Erica had called her brothers and asked them to bring her Jeep to a roadside restaurant under a bridge near El Control where she was eating with her boyfriend. One brother drove her Jeep and the other drove his Chevrolet Tahoe because they all planned to return to Progreso from there.

According to Raquel Alvarado, witnesses told family members that the brothers arrived around 12:30 p.m. and saw members of the police unit called Hercules pushing their sister and Castañeda and hitting Erica.

When the brothers intervened, the police took all four of them, along with their vehicles. The witnesses said the armed men identified themselves as members of the Hercules unit and warned against intervening.

The Alvarados say they later found their children’s cars at an import car lot belonging to Luis Alfredo Biasi, Matamoros director of social services.

Quintanilla could not confirm that. Biasi did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Mayor Leticia Salazar officially introduced Hercules in September as a group with particular skills to confront crime in high-risk operations, according to a press release.

City Clerk Joe Mariano Vega, who was identified in the release as the group’s commander, said in an interview earlier this year that Hercules was comprised of former marines and soldiers who policed hot zones for crime in the city’s neighborhoods.

Neither Salazar nor the city’s spokeswoman returned messages seeking comment.

Quintanilla said he saw no reason so far to interview Salazar or Biasi in the Alvarado case.

Espionage is his course at Bush school

By JOSHUA SIEGEL THE EAGLE

COLLEGE STATION — After 31 years of chasing Soviet KGB secrets and jumping out of moving cars for the Central Intelligence Agency, James Olson made the move into academia.

That led him to Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service.

In the summer of 1997, Olson was about to begin teaching at Marquette’s Les Aspin School of Government. A call from former CIA director George Tenet changed that.

Tenet had a request from former President George H.W. Bush, who served as CIA director from 1976 to 1977. Olson says Bush was always a “strong advocate” of intelligence, and wanted it to be taught at A&M’s new school of government and public service that bore his name. Olson’s move to Marquette was two weeks away, but the idea of “helping build a program of intelligence and national security” was too appealing, he said.

“It was a big leap of faith to consider coming down to a program that wasn’t even formed yet,” Olson told The Eagle of Bryan-College Station. “But we liked the university. We had done some research and found that it had this great tradition of service and patriotism, honor, integrity — values that we thought would be consistent with where we had come from.

“Then we talk to President and Mrs. Bush, and that was the end, because Barbara Bush was insistent that we come here. So, we said, ‘Yes, ma’am.’ And we told Marquette, ‘Sorry.”’

Olson committed to two years with A&M. Offers came to work at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, or overseas. But he and

Photo by Sam Craft/Bryan-College Station Eagle | AP

Professor James Olson, who joined the Texas A&M Bush School of Government and Public Service in 1997, poses in College Station.

After 31 years of syp work, Olson made the move into academia. his wife, Meredith, had grown fond of A&M and College Station. Olson accepted a professorship at A&M in 2000.

“Best decision we’ve made in our lives,” Olson said. “We love it here. How could we not be excited about a second career teaching the next generation of young men and women to come in behind us and do national security? And we’re doing it.”

Olson grew up in West Des Moines, Iowa, and graduated with a law degree from the University of Iowa in 1969. He served in the Navy and was planning to practice law in a small town after graduation.

Though he wasn’t terribly familiar with the CIA, he was recruited to join, and he went through the screening process. He eventually accepted a position with the clandestine service, which covertly gathers information and secrets from other nations. Olson said he didn’t see himself being a spy for more than a couple of years and then returning

to his original plan.

“Well, it didn’t work out that way,” Olson said. “I loved it from the beginning.

I thought the work was rewarding, important work.”

Joining the CIA also introduced Olson to his future wife, Meredith, who was already working as an agent when he started.

“That really works out well, marrying somebody in the CIA, because she’s already cleared,” Olson said.

“She knows what she’s getting into. You can talk to each other. She understands the sacrifices that will be ahead for you, the risks.”

The two worked in tandem undercover, focused on gathering intelligence on the Soviet KGB during the Cold War, but they also worked on digging up information on China, Cuba, North Korea and Iran.

Olson says his job “boiled down to chasing Russians.” He was looking for those with information who were willing to betray their country and pass on secrets in exchange for some sort of inducement.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014

THE ZAPATA TIMES 13A

DANIEL REYES Daniel Reyes, 57, passed away on Tuesday, October 28, 2014 at Laredo Medical Center in Laredo, Texas.

Mr. Reyes is preceded in death by his father, Joel Roel Reyes and by his brothers, David, Oscar and Arturo Reyes.

Mr. Reyes is survived by his wife, Hilda Reyes; son, Daniel Reyes, Jr.; daughters, Isabel (Mario) Bernal, Maria E. Reyes, Darline Reyes and Erica Reyes; ten grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; mother, Olivia Reyes; brothers, Jose Roel (Sylvia) Reyes, Ruben (Rosa) Reyes, Mark (Gloria) Reyes; sisters, Rosalva Reyes, Maude R. (Rodolfo) Domiguez and Griselda R. (Omar) Gonzalez and by numerous nephews, nieces and friends.

Visitation hours will be held on Saturday, November 1, 2014, at 8:30 a.m. with a chapel service at 10 a.m. at Rose Garden Fu-

By SARAH FRIER BLOOMBERG NEWS

neral Home.

Committal services will follow at Zapata County Cemetery.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy 83. Zapata.

U.S. stocks fall amid GDP

By OLIVER RENICK BLOOMBERG NEWS

U.S. stocks fell, after the Federal Reserve ended its bond-buying program, as data showing faster-than-estimated growth fueled speculation the economy is strong enough to withstand higher interest rates.

Energy shares sank 1.4 percent as oil resumed a selloff after U.S. production rose to the highest level since the 1980s. Avon Products Inc. plunged 7.4 percent as revenue fell short of forecasts. Visa Inc. rallied 7.7 percent and MasterCard Inc. added 6.3 percent as the two largest U.S. payment networks reported results that topped estimates.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.3 percent to 1,976.89 at 10:06 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 71.35 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,045.66. Visa is the Dow’s largest member by weighting. The Russell 2000 Index dropped 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index slid 0.5 percent.

“The Fed is affecting the mood,” said Patrick Spencer, head of U.S. equity sales at Robert W. Baird & Co. in London. “They’re basically saying everything is on track for the best case in the economy, but maybe the first interest-rate hike will get closer, and that might worry people.”

The S&P 500 slid 0.1 percent yesterday after the Fed ended its quantitative easing program, indicating the economy is stable.

Officials said labor market conditions “improved

LinkedIn surges as new businesses lift sales

somewhat further,” and that a range of indicators suggests that “underutilization of labor resources is gradually diminishing,” modifying earlier language that referred to “significant underutilization.”

The central bank reiterated its commitment to keep interest rates low for a considerable time until inflation increases toward its goal.

Data today showed fewer Americans filed applications for unemployment benefits over the past month than at any time in more than 14 years.

A separate report indicated the economy in the U.S. expanded more than forecast in the third quarter, capping its strongest six months in more than a decade, as gains in government spending and a shrinking trade deficit made up for a slowdown in household purchases.

“The GDP number’s fine, not spectacular,” Michael Block, chief equity strategist at Rhino Trading Partners LLC in New York, said by phone. “The inflation data isn’t great and the quality of the GDP beat isn’t great as a lot of it is from government and defense spending.

It adds to dovishness.”

European stocks headed lower after the head of the euro region’s banking authority said the end of recent stress tests on banks won’t lead to an immediate boost in lending.

Concerns that Europe will slip into a recession just as Fed bond buying ends sent the S&P 500 down 7.4 percent.

LinkedIn Corp.’s addition of new businesses, such as news content and client-management services for salespeople, lifted third-quarter sales and profit above analysts’ estimates.

The shares soared 13 percent.

Revenue rose 45 percent to $568.3 million, the Mountain View, California-based company said yesterday in a statement. Profit excluding certain costs was 52 cents a share. Analysts on average had projected sales of $557.7 million and profit of 47 cents, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Chief Executive Officer Jeff Weiner has been building out new products, such as a news business with sponsored updates and tools to help salespeople looking for clients, to make up for slower growth in recruiting, where the market is becoming saturated. LinkedIn, owner of the largest professional- networking website, has also expanded into regions such as China.

“The near-term catalysts are their emerging businesses,” said Dan Salmon, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, who has the equivalent of a buy rating on the stock. “They’re moving from this very narrow view that this is a tool for recruiters and HR managers and people looking for jobs, to being one that is driven by products built for salespeople, products built for chief marketing officers.”

The shares climbed to $228.96 at the close in New York, the biggest gain since February 2013.

LinkedIn’s earnings report came the same week as fellow socialmedia companies Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. Twitter reported that user growth had slowed to 23 percent in the third quarter, sending the shares tumbling 9.8 percent the next day. Facebook’s forecast for fourth-quarter sales fell short of the highest analyst projections, and its stock dropped 6.1 percent the day after.

LinkedIn posted a third-quarter net loss of $4.26 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $3.4 million, or 3 cents, a year earlier.

In the fourth quarter, revenue will

Photo by Noah Berger/file | AP

This file photo shows LinkedIn’s Mountain View, Calif., headquarters on May 7, 2013. LinkedIn reports quarterly financial results on Thursday. be $600 million to $605 million, the company said. That was lower than analysts’ average projection for sales of $611.8 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Profit before certain costs in the fourth quarter will be about 49 cents a share, the company said, also missing the 52-cent average estimate.

The company’s website, where people post digital resumes and can hunt or be hunted for jobs, is trying to get users to visit more often.

LinkedIn has built out a content business, drawing in well-known executives such as Arianna Huffington and Martha Stewart to write blog posts on the site giving career advice. Now that publishing ability is open to all its members.

The site is also prompting sales professionals to maintain relationships with their targets by sharing news stories, through a new clientmanagement product called Sales Navigator.

Membership in the recent period increased to 332 million, up 6.1 percent from 313 million in the prior quarter. To boost the amount of time members spend on the site, LinkedIn will study users’ activities and intentions, with the goal of making it easier for them to find resources, Weiner said yesterday on a confer-

ence call.

LinkedIn still gets the majority of its revenue from the talent solutions business, its tool for recruiters. In the third quarter, sales in that division rose 45 percent to $344.6 million, compared with 49 percent growth in the second quarter and 62 percent growth in last year’s third quarter.

Revenue in the advertising business, called marketing solutions, rose 45 percent to $109.2 million, and sales from premium subscriptions rose 43 percent to $114.5 million.

LinkedIn said 47 percent of its traffic came from mobile, as the company builds out its suite of applications tailored to handheld devices.

LinkedIn is working on several new applications that will be released soon, executives said on the call.

The company started a version of its website in China this year, aiming to take advantage of one of the world’s largest economies where few other U.S. technology companies have succeeded. China provided “particular strength” in the third quarter, when 75 percent of new members came from outside the U.S., Weiner said.

“China has quickly emerged as a large contributor to network growth in recent months,” he said.

Amazon discloses more diverse workforce than Silicon Valley

By SPENCER SOPER BLOOMBERG NEWS

Amazon.com Inc. said women make up 37 percent of its total global staff and 25 percent of its managers, showing a more diverse workforce than many Silicon Valley technology companies.

Of the online retailer’s U.S. workforce, 15 percent are black and 9 percent are Hispanic, while 73 percent are white or Asian, the Seattle-based company

said on its website today.

Amazon’s report follows disclosures by other technology companies this year indicating that workforces in the industry are predominantly male and often white or Asian. Diversity reports from Facebook Inc., Google Inc. and Twitter Inc. disclosed that women make up about 30 percent of staff and blacks about 2 percent. Amazon’s numbers are similar to those at e-commerce rival EBay Inc., where women

make up 42 percent of its staff and 7 percent of its U.S. employees are black.

“We are working to develop leaders and shape future talent pools to help us meet the needs of our customers around the world,” Amazon said on its website.

Amazon, which had about 117,000 employees at the end of 2013, has a women’s engineering group and groups for minorities. More than 400 women from Amazon at-

tended the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference earlier this month, the Web retailer said.

Google helped start the spate of diversity reports when it unveiled its data in May. The company said women make up 30 percent of its staff, and hold 21 percent of the leadership roles and 17 percent of technical jobs. More than 90 percent of the U.S. staff are either white or Asian.

14A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014

Canada suspends visas to West African countries

By ROB GILLIES ASSOCIATED PRESS

TORONTO — Canada has joined Australia in suspending entry visas for people from Ebola-stricken countries in West Africa in an attempt to keep the deadly disease away.

Canada’s Conservative government said Friday it is suspending visa applications for residents and nationals of countries with “widespread and persistentintense transmission” of Ebola virus disease.

Canada has not yet had a case of Ebola. Canadians, including health-care workers, in West Africa will be permitted to travel back to Canada, the government said.

The countries most severely hit by the worst Ebola outbreak ever are Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Canada receives very few travelers from those countries, which have no direct flights to Canada.

A similar move by Australia was slammed Wednesday by Dr. Margaret Chan, the World Health Organiza-

tion’s director general, who said closing borders won’t stop spread of the virus.

Canadian Health Minister Rona Ambrose said in a statement the “number one priority is to protect Canadians.” Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Alexander said the government would act in the “best interests of Canadians.”

Kevin Menard, a spokesman for Alexander, said the move is similar to but a bit less restrictive than the one the Australian government announced this week. He

later called it “considerably different.”

“We have instituted a pause, but there is room for discretion and if we can be assured that someone is not infected with Ebola,” Menard said in an email after declining to comment on the phone. He said the government was “doing anything we can to keep Ebola from coming to Canada.”

Nancy Caron, a spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, said that “a number of African countries have imposed stricter

travel bans as have several other countries around the world. Other countries such as the United States have started to place restrictions on travelers from countries with Ebola outbreaks.”

The government said Canadian citizens or foreign nationals with a visa and foreign nationals who do not require visas will continue to be screened at ports of entry in Canada and will be subject to appropriate health screening.

Declining to criticize the move, an Obama adminis-

tration official said Friday that Canada remains an important partner in the effort to stop Ebola. The official was not authorized to discuss diplomatic relations by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.

David Fidler, an international law professor at Indiana University, said the moves by Canada and Australia place both countries in violation of the International Health Regulations, a 2005 World Health Organization treaty to which both are signatories.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Sports&Outdoors NCAA BASKETBALL: AP TOP 25 POLL

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS

Second option Photo by James Crisp | AP

Kentucky is ranked No. 1 in the first AP college basketball poll after losing in the championship game last year.

First poll released for 2014-15

With Tony Romo’s status against Arizona in doubt, former Browns starter Brandon Weeded will be ready to step in as the Cowboys quarterback if necessary on Sunday.

Kentucky leads pack, Texas 10th in preseason AP NCAA poll

Weeden remains ready if Romo can’t play

By JOHN MARSHALL ASSOCIATED PRESS

The story seems to be the same every season at Kentucky: Lose star players to the NBA, replace them with another group of one-and-doners, compete for a national championship.

The Wildcats changed the script this season: This year, the fabulous freshmen will be surrounded by other former McDonald’s All-Americans who played for the NCAA title just seven months ago — a team so deep and talented that coach John Calipari is considering a platoon system.

Kentucky was the runaway No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason

Top 25 released Friday, becoming the fourth program to earn the honor in consecutive seasons.

“It’s something for our kids to live up to,” Calipari said. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to play the games and figure it out.”

Kentucky earned 52 first-place votes from the 65-member panel in landing its fourth preseason No. 1. The Wildcats also were No. 1 in 1995-96, when they won the national championship, and in 1980-81.

Kentucky joins UCLA (1966-60, 1971-74), UNLV (1990-91) and North Carolina (2008-09) to be named No. 1 consecutive seasons since the AP

See AP POLL PAGE 2B

Photo by Jae C. Hong | AP

By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS

IRVING — Brandon Weeden was putting on his ball cap after leading scoring drives on the only two possessions Tony Romo missed against Washington when he felt a tap and turned to see the Dallas starter.

“Hey man, hell of a job.

I’m going back in,” Weeden said Romo told him.

With that, Weeden’s day was done in a 20-17 overtime loss. The Redskins sent Romo to the locker room for a quarter on a sack that injured his surgically repaired back.

When Romo returned for the last possession of regulation, Washington stopped Dallas, then did it again for the win in overtime after taking the lead.

So now Romo’s backup waits to see whether the 34year-old who has had three different back injuries — and two surgeries — in 18 months will play against Arizona on Sunday.

The 31-year-old Weeden, in just his third NFL season because he spent five years mostly as a relief pitcher in baseball’s minor leagues, isn’t likely to be rattled.

“You know, he’s an older player,” said Scott Linehan, Dallas’ passing game coordinator and play-caller.

“Young in the league, but the guy’s got a lot of maturity to him. It’s not too big for him to go out there and step in in a relief mode and play, nor is it too big for him to be prepared as a starter because he’s done it in this

See COWBOYS PAGE 2B

Photo by Tim Sharp | AP

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo injured against Washington Monday, a concern after missing the end of 2014 needing back surgery.

NCAA FOOTBALL: NO. 10 TCU AT NO. 20 W. VIRGINIA, TEXAS AT TEXAS TECH, TEXAS A&M VS. LA-MONROE

Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP

Photo by Eric Gay | AP

File photo by Vasha Hunt | AP

TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin will try to strengthen his Heisman campaign playing at No. 20 West Virginia.

Struggling schools Texas and Texas Tech face off on Saturday with both teams at 3-4 in 2014.

Texas A&M is hoping to get back on track after three straight losses facing Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday.

TCU-WVU in ranked battle

Texas moves on to Lubbock

A&M may bench QB Hill

By JOHN RABY ASSOCIATED PRESS

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Most improved is a label that certainly fit quarterbacks Clint Trickett of West Virginia and Trevone Boykin of TCU. A year ago, Trickett looked lost at times try-

ing to run the Mountaineers’ offense after transferring from Florida State. Boykin was relegated to wide receiver until relieving injured quarterback Casey Pachall.

Both Trickett and Boykin ended up throwing

See TCU PAGE 2B

By BETSY BLANEY ASSOCIATED PRESS

LUBBOCK — Texas and Texas Tech are far removed from 2008.

The teams met on Nov. 1 that year — like Saturday’s game — when the Longhorns were the country’s top-ranked team and the Red Raid-

ers were No. 6.

Texas Tech fans remember the winning touchdown pass in the closing seconds as if it was yesterday. The pass from Graham Harrell to Michael Crabtree took the Red Raiders to their highest ranking ever —

See TEXAS-TTU PAGE 2B

By KRISTIE RIEKEN ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M might have a new starting quarterback when the Aggies host LouisianaMonroe on Saturday.

Kenny Hill, who started the first eight games, could be benched in fa-

vor of freshman Kyle Allen after struggling with turnovers in a threegame skid.

“They’ve both gotten reps over the last week and will both continue to get reps,” coach Kevin Sumlin said. “After what’s happened, there’s

See A&M PAGE 2B

PAGE 2B

Zscores

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014

AP POLL Continued from Page 1B preseason poll started in 1961-62.

Arizona is ranked No. 2 and received five first-place votes after adding a strong recruiting class to a team that came within seconds of reaching the Final Four last season.

Wisconsin, which returns most of last season’s Final Four team, has its highest preseason ranking ever at No. 3. The Badgers received eight first-place votes, but are 35 points behind Arizona in the poll.

No. 4 Duke added a strong recruiting class headed

by Jahlil Okafor and is ranked for the 137th straight week. Reloaded Kansas is No. 5, with North Carolina, Florida, Louisville, Virginia and Texas rounding out the top 10. Virginia is in the preseason top 10 for the first time since Ralph Sampson’s senior season in 1982-83, when it was No. 1.

“I think there are probably seven teams that all could be No. 1 in the country,” Calipari said.

Wichita State, a Final Four team two seasons ago, is No. 11, followed by Villanova, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Virginia Commonwealth, San Diego State, defending national champion Connecticut, Michigan State, Oklahoma and Ohio State.

Rounding out the Top 25 are Nebraska, SMU, Syracuse, Michigan, Harvard and Utah.

They’ll all be chasing Kentucky, at least at the start.

The Wildcats were No. 1 heading into last season after Coach Cal pulled the strings on another best-inthe-nation recruiting class. They lived up to expectations, too, overcoming a midseason slump to reach the national championship game, where they lost 60-54 to UConn.

But a funny thing happened during the offseason: Instead of all those freshman packing up for the NBA after one season, most decided to stick around.

Kentucky lost forward Julius Randle and guard James Young to the NBA. In a bit of a surprise, twin guards Aaron and Andrew Harrison decided to return after their freshman seasons and junior 7-footer Wil-

COWBOYS Continued from Page 1B

lie Cauley-Stein decided to stick around, too.

With forwards Alex Poythress and Marcus Lee, along with 7-footer Dakari Johnson also coming back, the Wildcats were going to be in good shape regardless of what the recruiting class looked like.

But, of course, this is Kentucky and more star recruits made their way to Lexington: forwards KarlAnthony Towns and Trey Lyles, guards Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis.

The Wildcats are 12 deep, talented and confident.

“We are far ahead of last year,” Andrew Harrison said.

But they’re far from the only team with a shot at the title.

Arizona was a last-second shot away from reaching the Final Four last season, an impressive run considering versatile forward Brandon Ashley sat out the final 16 games with a foot injury. He’s healthy and leads a solid core of returning players that includes point guard T.J. McConnell and 7-footer Kaleb Tarczewski.

Coach Sean Miller also brought in another stellar class, headed by athletic forward Stanley Johnson.

“We have the makings of a team that can go on and do some great things,” Miller said.

So do the third-ranked Badgers. Actually, they already have. Wisconsin made a somewhat-unexpected run to the Final Four last season and will have one of the most experienced teams in the country.

Leading them will be no-nonsense coach Bo Ryan and Frank Kaminsky, the 6-foot-10 senior who skipped a shot at the NBA for another chance at an NCAA title.

“I don’t see our guys talking any differently or acting any differently on the practice floor simply because other people are mentioning that we might be pretty good,” Ryan said.

The same thing is being said about the Kentucky Wildcats — just like last season.

TCU Continued from Page 1B seven touchdowns and seven interceptions as their teams finished 4-8.

They’re the main reasons behind their teams’ remarkable improvements in 2014 and will try to move them closer to first place in the Big 12 when No. 10 TCU (6-1, 3-1) and No. 20 West Virginia (6-2, 4-1) meet Saturday. The Horned Frogs also hope to land in the four-team College Football Playoff. TCU is No. 7 in the CFP rankings, West Virginia is 20th.

Boykin set a school record with seven TD passes in an 82-27 win over Texas Tech last week. He’s thrown for 433 and 410 yards in his last two games.

“He is the most improved player in college football,” said West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen.

Both Holgorsen and TCU coach Gary Patterson said their respective quarterbacks are at their best when they aren’t trying too hard.

“Let the offense run itself,” Patterson said.

Boykin has 21 touchdown passes and three interceptions this season.

When Boykin was TCU’s quarterback as a freshman two years ago, TCU was averaging about three turnovers per game, Patterson said.

Although Trickett had his streak of 300-yard passing games snapped at eight last week, he’s completing 68 percent of his throws and has West Virginia going after its fifth straight win, including the second against a Top 10 opponent.

“We’ve talked to him a little bit about that this week as far as just playing the game,” Holgorsen said.

“Don’t try to be perfect. Don’t try to control the game.”

Saturday’s game could be the warmup to a main event. Each school still has to play first-place Kansas State at home: TCU on Nov. 8 and the Mountaineers on Nov. 20.

Here’s some other tidbits about No. 10 TCU and No. 20 West Virginia: KEVIN WHITE TRIFECTA

tions (26) than touchdowns (23).

Because of Romo’s recovery from back surgery, Weeden got more quality practice work in the offseason and training camp than most backups. And he’s been the No. 1 guy every Wednesday in practice during the regular season as part of Romo’s post-surgery routine.

Weeden got a boost on his first play in relief of Romo because DeMarco Murray went 51 yards to inside the Washington 10.

The Cowboys had to settle for a field goal before Weeden led an 80-yard drive capped by his 25-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten for a 17-all tie in the fourth quarter.

“I had made that throw a couple of times in training camp,” Weeden said. “It’s just nice to have the rhythm, the repertoire with those guys. A comfort level is the biggest thing and timing and stuff like that.”

The Cowboys don’t figure to look much different offensively. They’ll try to establish Murray just as they have every week — he has the longest season-opening streak of 100-yard games in league history with eight.

And they’ll try to throw to Witten, Dez Bryant and Terrance Williams and others.

“I think Brandon has proven he can do anything we ask him to do in the offense,” Garrett said. “We’ll game plan with that in mind. He showed that in the game the other night that he’s comfortable with the system that we have and in what we ask him to do.”

A&M Continued from Page 1B

File photo by Louis DeLuca | AP

TCU receiver Josh Doctson and the 10th-ranked Horned Frogs are making a playoff push in 2014.

West Virginia’s Kevin White is one of the nation’s top wide receivers. Kevin White also is a TCU cornerback who will see plenty of his WVU namesake. It’s also the name of the quarterback who led the Mountaineers to a 31-14 win over TCU in the 1984 Bluebonnet Bowl.

INJURY UPDATES TCU receiver Josh Doctson will travel with the team after leaving last week’s game with an ankle injury. Backup quarterback Matt Joeckel was lost for the season with a left knee injury. West Virginia running back Rushel Shell (foot) and cornerback Terrell Chestnut (concussion) are expected to return after missing most of two games.

SAVE THE COUCH After West Virginia’s Oct. 18 win over Baylor, crowds pushed over street lights and threw rocks, beer bottles and other items at public safety personnel and their vehicles.

Three dozen fires were set to couch-

es, dumpsters and trash in Morgantown. Authorities issued citations to more than a dozen people and three students were expelled. University officials are hoping to avoid a repeat of that on Saturday.

BIG 12 BRRR Temperatures will be in the 40s with a good chance of rain showers at game time. Last week it was 89 degrees at kickoff for West Virginia’s game at Oklahoma State and 88 for TCU’s home game against Texas Tech. “We can play anywhere,” said TCU defensive lineman Chucky Hunter. “It’s football.”

TOP KICKERS West Virginia’s Josh Lambert leads the Big 12 in kick scoring with 85 points, followed closely by TCU’s Jaden Oberkrom with 83. Lambert has made 18 of 23 field goals this season, including last-second kicks to beat Maryland and Texas Tech.

Oberkrom was 4 of 4 on field goals last week and is 13 of 17 overall.

TEXAS-TTU Continued from Page 1B No. 2.

That was then, and for both teams, it’s nothing like now. Both teams have struggled this season and their fans would like to forget last week’s debacles: Texas Tech’s 82-27 drubbing at then-No. 10 TCU and the Longhorns first shutout — 23-0 at Kansas State — in 10 years.

The Red Raiders (3-4, 1-4 Big 12) and the Longhorns (3-4, 2-3) need to win three of their remaining four games to become bowl eligible.

Texas coach Charlie Strong knows his staff has a tough task.

“We can’t allow the players to check out because we still have games to play,” he said. “You still have four games left to go play. You have a chance to get to a bowl game. That’s what it’s about now.”

The Longhorns, who have won the last five games, probably won’t know who’ll be behind center for the Red Raiders

league.”

Romo has an unspecified injury — he called it “more than a contusion,” the term coach Jason Garrett used.

He didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday, and all indications point to the Cowboys waiting until Romo sees how he feels Sunday morning before deciding.

“I haven’t really been in this situation,” said Weeden, who was the starter for most of two seasons in Cleveland after the Browns drafted him in the first round in 2012.

“I’m just going to treat it like I’m playing on Sunday.

If I do, good, and if I don’t, I’ll be ready if something happens.”

It’s a much different scenario than the last time Romo injured his back against Washington — last December. He played through a herniated disk that required surgery five days later, knocking him out of a loss to Philadelphia that cost the Cowboys a playoff spot.

Kyle Orton drew the start against the Eagles, and played well. But his second interception, with less than 2 minutes remaining, sealed Philadelphia’s 24-22 win.

It was Orton’s only start in two seasons behind Romo, and he skipped out on the final year of his contract by failing to report and eventually forcing the Cowboys to release him. He’s the starter in Buffalo now.

With the uncertainty surrounding Orton, the Cowboys grabbed Weeden in the offseason after the Browns gave up on him with a 5-15 record and more intercep-

until Texas Tech’s first possession.

Sophomore quarterback Davis Webb reinjured his left ankle and left in the third quarter of the TCU game. If Webb can’t play, it’ll be true freshman Patrick Mahomes’ first career start.

“He’s an accurate passer and does a good job extending plays with his feet,” Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said of Mahomes. “I think that’s something he really excelled at in high school and has continued to do that in our system.”

Five things to know for Saturday’s game: YOUNG QUARTERBACKS Both teams have starting sophomore QBs, though Webb — if he plays — has more experience than Texas’ Tyrone Swoopes.

Webb has thrown for 2,539 yards and 24 TDs. Tyrone Swoopes has thrown for 1,495 yards and eight TDs along with five interceptions for the Longhorns. “Tyrone is

still young, still developing,” Strong said. “It’s hard to put a guy on a pedestal so quickly. He’s going to get better and better.”

PLAGUED BY PENALTIES Texas Tech has hurt itself through much of the season with inopportune penalties. The Red Raiders have gotten 77 penalties (9.63 flags for 89.63 yards per game) to rank next to last in the nation.

Texas, too, has had its share of penalties. The Longhorns have been flagged 53 for 454 yards.

“Little things have cost us games,” Strong said. “The penalties are the biggest issue and detail to assignment.”

TURNOVER TROUBLES The Red Raiders have turned the ball over 20 times this season to rank No. 123 in the nation.

Webb has 13 interceptions this season and lost two fumbles last week. (Texas has 14). Texas Tech has gone 16 games without winning the turnover bat-

tle. “We just as a team are going through some things right now and have to continue to work hard and clean a lot of things up,” Kingsbury said.

HOPING FOR A REBOUND Both teams need a win to stay in the hunt for a bowl. But Texas Tech watched as the Horned Frogs scored the most points ever allowed in the Big 12 game. “It’s something to learn from,” LB V.J. Fehoko said. “The great thing about football is we can come in and we’ve got a big game this week, so we can put our attention and our anger and our frustration toward that.”

RUSHERS When was the last time a running back for passhappy Texas Tech led the Big 12 in anything? Well, this week, actually.

De’Andre Washington leads the conference in rushing average (5.6 yards per carry) and number of 100-yard rushing games (3).

really nothing off the table at that point.”

What happened was an embarrassing 59-0 loss to Alabama to extend A&M’s skid to three games after a 5-0 start. The Aggies need a win on Saturday to avoid losing four games in a row for the first time since 2005.

Hill beat out Allen in fall camp and got off to a great start, throwing for a school-record 511 yards in the season opener and helping the Aggies to their perfect start. The sophomore’s 2,649 yards passing lead the Southeastern Conference and are sixth in the nation, but he has seven turnovers in the last three games combined.

Allen was one of the top quarterback prospects in the country after throwing for more than 8,000 yards and 86 touchdowns in his career at Desert Mountain high school in Scottsdale, Arizona. He has 264 yards passing and three touchdowns in four games this season.

Louisiana-Monroe coach Todd Berry knows this will be a tough game for his team regardless of who starts at quarterback, and he also brushed off A&M’s recent trouble.

“We’ve got a huge challenge this week against a very good Texas A&M football team,” Berry said. “I think this is a team that’s a top-10 team. They had the unfortunate task of playing Alabama, Ole Miss and Mississippi State in back to back weeks. I would challenge anybody in college football to play those three games in a row and see how they fare.”

Some things to know about the LouisianaMonroe-Texas A&M game: THROWBACKS Texas A&M will wear throwback uniforms to honor its 1939 national championship team on Saturday. The special helmets have a leather-like texture made using photos of helmets worn by the 1939 team. The helmets will have ’AMC’ stenciled on the back of them referring to the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, which A&M was known as in 1939. The jerseys will feature a patch inspired by the 1939 uniforms and will have rips and tears to mim-

ic wear. Dark brown shoes with metal eyelets will complete the look.

LONG DAY Louisiana-Monroe’s day will start at about 7 a.m. on Saturday because the team couldn’t get rooms in College Station.

“All of the hotels in College Station are full,” Berry said. “So we are staying about an hour and 15 minutes away, so we will have an early bus ride with the 11 a.m. kickoff.”

They’re not letting their lodging situation dampen the day though.

“This is one of the great venues in college football and one of the great atmospheres in college football, so our players, our staff are excited about going down there and trying to get better this week,” Berry said.

CHASING CLOWNEY Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett has already set the school record for sacks as a freshman with 7 1/2. He’s just one sack away from breaking the SEC freshman sack record of eight set by Jadeveon Clowney in 2011 at South Carolina.

Clowney was taken by the Houston Texans with the top overall pick in this year’s draft. LouisianaMonroe has allowed 21 sacks this season.

ALL HEALED UP Sumlin said his team really benefited from its bye last week after playing eight straight games. He said he didn’t realize just how tough that stretch was on his team — both physically and mentally — until they had a chance to rest during their off week.

“I probably underestimated the eight-game stretch and how we handled it. We didn’t handle it the right way,” Sumlin said. “We had a substantial amount of guys banged up or beat up, and I would say mentally tired.

That’s something we tried to address last week. I think the bye week came at a great time for us.”

GOING BOWLING? With a win on Saturday, the Aggies will become eligible for a bowl game for a school-record sixth straight season. The Aggies have won their last three bowl games, capped by 52-48 victory over Duke in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl last season.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014

Poster Painting Dear Heloise: When trying to decide what color we wanted to PAINT our walls, the small paint chips didn’t help much. They are so small, and we didn’t want to paint large swatches on the wall. Here is our hint: We bought large, white poster boards and painted each color we were thinking about. We pushpinned them on the walls and looked at them for a few days. -- K.J. in New Orleans MELTED PLASTIC Dear Heloise: I accidentally melted some plastic on the top of my toaster. Do you have any hints on how I can get the plastic off ? -Hallie, via email Hallie, don’t worry -- this happens. Get an old washcloth or towel and some rubbing alcohol or acetonebased nail-polish remover.

Be sure the toaster is UNPLUGGED! Pour a little of the liquid onto the washcloth. Rub it over the area.

You should start to see the plastic peel away. You may need to repeat to get it all off. When done, wipe the ar-

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“

HELOISE

ea with a clean, damp cloth.

-- Heloise AFTER-SUMMER SALES Dear Heloise: I love endof-summer sales. You usually can find great deals on summer products right after school starts. I got an inflatable pool for the backyard for 70 percent off ! I live in South Texas, so it is still warm enough to use it well into fall. You also can get great deals on barbecues and school supplies. I often go and buy crayons, etc., when they are on sale after school starts. -- Lisa M., Lubbock, Texas BIRTHDAY SKIRT Dear Heloise: My son’s 4th birthday theme was superheroes. I went to a fabric store and found a fabric that matched the theme and made a simple, cute skirt for the party. So meaningful and fun, and I saved money.

-- Tracy C., via email

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014