The Zapata Times 11/7/2015

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HEBBRONVILLE

ZAPATA

Agent arrested

Local steals purse from grandmother

Man charged with murder for decapitation

By AARON NELSEN SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

BROWNSVILLE — A border agent in South Texas has been arrested in connection to the decapitation murder of a Honduran national earlier this year, local authorities confirmed on Friday.

Cameron County sheriff ’s deputies arrested Joel Luna, a 30-year-old U.S. Border Patrol agent on possession of a controlled substance. Luna now faces capital murder and engaging in organized criminal activity charges, local authorities said.

Luna was arrested at thorities charged four his home in men with the Hebbronville murder of a after local auHonduran nathorities seized tional whose around a kilo decapitated of cocaine, and mutilated three handbody was guns and nearfound in ly $90,000 hidMarch floating den in a safe at in the bay off the home of South Padre his mother-inIsland.

The law in San murder took Juan. place in EdinLUNA Cameron burg, accordCounty Sheriff Omar Lu- ing to Lucio. cio said the case is beLucio said their inveslieved to be associated tigation into the grisly with organized crime in crime revealed that two Mexico. of the men charged in the Earlier this year au- crime, Fernando Luna

Rodriguez and Eduardo Luna Rodriguez, are the brothers of Luna.

Luna has been a Border Patrol agent for the past six years and assigned to Hebbronville.

He will be placed and will be placed on administrative leave, the agency said.

Border Patrol confirmed Luna’s arrest on Thursday, adding that corruption and abuse are not tolerated within the agency, according to a statement.

Luna was transferred to Cameron County, where he is being held without bond.

EL PASO

BILINGUAL EDUCATION

Authorities arrest man, charge him with robbery, a second degree felony

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

A man was recently arrested for robbing a purse from his grandmother, according to the Zapata County Sheriff’s Office.

County authorities identified the suspect as Jesus Mario Benavidez Jr. He was charged with robbery, a second-degree felony that carries a punishment of up to 20 years in prison.

On Oct 30, deputies responded to reports of a man who had stolen a purse in the Medina Addition. Reports state the suspect, later

identified as Benavidez, snatched the purse, tearing the handles, and ran with it.

Benavidez then took a billfold with cash and tossed the BENAVIDEZ purse, according to reports. Responding deputies caught up to him in the area of Ramireño Avenue and Fourth Street, where they arrested him.

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

CITY ORDINANCE

Photo by Victor Strife | The Zapata Times file

A motorist talks on her cellphone as she approaches a red light in Laredo in this Sept. 19 file photo.

Laredo bans texting and driving

By KENDRA ABLAZA THE ZAPATA TIMES

Photo by Mark Lambie/The El Paso Times | AP

In an Oct. 13 photo, Alvaro Enriquez, a senior at Del Valle High School, was not unlike many El Pasoans whose first language was Spanish. He now says he’s more comfortable speaking English.

Educators seek more effective strategies

By ELIDA S. PEREZ EL PASO TIMES

EL PASO, Texas — English language learners are among the fastest growing student population in the U.S., and they represent much of the country’s future labor force.

Yet the educational outcomes for these students — whose primary language is not English — include low performances on state standardized tests and high dropout rates.

Texas state Sen. Jose Rodriguez, D-El Paso, said ensuring that these students are well educated is not a matter of opinion, it is a matter of economy — and it’s a must.

“In the long run you

are not going to have the educated workforce that you are going to need to fill your jobs,” Rodriguez told the El Paso Times.

“If that is the case, then the economy is going to suffer.”

Steve Murdock, founding director of Rice University’s Hobby Center for the Study of Texas and the state’s former demographer, has projected that by the year 2040 Hispanics might make up more than 50 percent of the population in Texas as the Anglo population declines to 26 percent. His presentations have also predicted that if the educational attainment of the Hispanic population does not improve, the economy will suffer in the long

run.

It is for this reason that Rodriguez has been an advocate for getting more state funding for bilingual education programs and for legislation that eases the process for teachers to participate in dual-language programs across the state and in El Paso.

Texas spent about $1 billion on bilingual programs in the 2012-13 school year, but Rodriguez and educators say it is not sufficient. Bilingual education spending in Texas has not increased since 1984, Rodriguez said.

According to the Texas Education Agency, there are about 900,000 limited English students attend-

ing school in grades preK-12 throughout the state.

Research by the Migration Policy Institute has shown that these students fare better in the long run when they receive support through bilingual education programs, but studies have also found that the dual-language model is showing more successful outcomes.

George Mason University professors Wayne Thomas and Virginia Collier, known for their research on long-term school effectiveness for linguistically and culturally diverse students, have found that dual language programs close the achievement gap for Eng-

See BILINGUAL PAGE 8A

The city ordinance that bans motorists from using handheld wireless communication devices while driving took effect Thursday.

There will be a 90-day grace period to “allow motorists time to adjust to the new law,” the City of Laredo said.

Only warning citations will be issued for the first 90 days. By Feb. 3, Laredo police officers will start issuing citations for motorists caught violating the ordinance. Offenses are punishable by fines of up to $200.

“We all find ourselves on the phone, answering or sending texts, checking Facebook or other social media while we are driving,” said City of Laredo Councilman Juan Narvaez, who initiated the development of the ordinance. “It is dangerous and we must do all that we can to protect our citizens.

“Much like the seat belt law is designed for our safety in mind, so we on the Laredo City Council, in an effort to keep all of our citizens safe — motorists, passengers, pedestri-

ans and even fellow drivers — passed this ordinance to prevent drivers from becoming distracted and hope that this ordinance will help to end that.”

The ordinance, approved by City Council on Oct. 5, prohibits motorists from using a handheld wireless communication device for talking, texting, taking or viewing pictures, gaming or any other purposes. The city said in its statement that drivers are not allowed have a device in their hand behind the wheel at any time, even at a stop light or stop sign.

“Drivers cannot check their phone, answer a text or answer a call, unless it is with the aid of a handsfree wireless device,” the statement says.

Should drivers wish to make or receive a call or text, they must pull over where it is legal to park, such as the shoulder of a road, onto private property, or into other areas that are away from the flow of traffic, the statement says.

There are exceptions to the ban, such as drivers reporting major emergen-

See TEXTING PAGE 8A

PAGE 2A

Zin brief CALENDAR

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2015

AROUND TEXAS

TODAY IN HISTORY

Saturday, November 7

ASSOCIATED PRESS

“Symphony in the Park: A Tribute to our Veterans” from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Blas Castaneda Park on McPherson Road. This concert is presented by Laredo Philharmonic and the City of Laredo Parks and Recreation Division. It is free and open to the public, but donations are graciously accepted. There will be performances by the TAMIU Mariachi Internacional, the TAMIU Guitar ensemble, a dance exhibition from Bel’s Dance Studio and others. The orchestra will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. Veterans are encouraged to wear their forces pin, Tshirt, jacket etc.

United ISD Annual Parent Leadership Summit, held at United High School, 2811 United Avenue from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is free and open to all UISD parents interested in helping their child reach their fullest potential. Informational sessions will be offered by UISD educators and special guests. Breakfast and lunch provided.

Door prizes to be given. For more information, contact your child’s school counselor or the Federal & State Compensatory Programs Office at 956-4736471 or 956-473-6456.

Holy Redeemer Church Garage Sale, 1602 Garcia, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Please contact Amparo Ugarte at 286-0862 for more information.

The Laredo Northside Market Association is holding its monthly market day at North Central Park from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. To celebrate our second anniversary there will a giveaway for children and several items will be awarded to adult customers. Graveyard Ethics will provide live entertainment from 10 a.m. until noon. Visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/laredonorthsidemarket for late information.

TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows, 5201 University Blvd. 2 p.m.: The Little Star that Could; 3 p.m.: Saturn: Jewel of the Heavens; 4 p.m.: Back to the Moon; 5 p.m.: Pink Floyd’s The Wall. General Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. 2 p.m. show is $1 less.

For more information call 956-326DOME (3663).

Rummage Sale, First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 1120 McClelland from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Public invited, and admission is free.

Today is Saturday, Nov. 7, the 311th day of 2015. There are 54 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Nov. 7, 1940, Washington state’s original Tacoma Narrows Bridge, nicknamed “Galloping Gertie,” collapsed into Puget Sound during a windstorm just four months after opening to traffic.

On this date: In 1861, former U.S. President John Tyler was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives (however, Tyler died before he could take his seat).

In 1914, the first issue of The New Republic magazine was published.

In 1916, Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to Congress.

In 1917, Russia’s Bolshevik Revolution took place as forces led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin overthrew the provisional government of Alexander Kerensky.

In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt won an unprecedented fourth term in office, defeating Republican Thomas E. Dewey.

In 1954, the CBS News program “Face the Nation” premiered with Ted Koop as host; the guest was Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wis. In 1972, President Richard Nixon was re-elected in a landslide over Democrat George McGovern.

In 1973, Congress overrode President Richard Nixon’s veto of the War Powers Act, which limits a chief executive’s power to wage war without congressional approval.

In 1980, actor Steve McQueen died in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, at age 50.

In 1989, L. Douglas Wilder won the governor’s race in Virginia, becoming the first elected black governor in U.S. history; David N. Dinkins was elected New York City’s first black mayor.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush, in Panama, defended U.S. interrogation practices and called the treatment of terrorism suspects lawful, saying, “We do not torture.”

Five years ago: Scientists at the world’s largest atom smasher, the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, recreated the state of matter shortly after the Big Bang using collisions of lead ions.

One year ago: President Barack Obama authorized a broad expansion of the U.S. military mission in Iraq that called for boosting the total number of American troops there to about 3,100.

Today’s Birthdays: Evangelist Billy Graham is 97. Actor Barry Newman is 77. Former supermodel Jean Shrimpton is 73. Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell is 72. Former CIA Director David Petraeus is 63. Actor Christopher Knight (TV: “The Brady Bunch”) is 58. Actor Christopher Daniel Barnes is 43.

Actor Adam DeVine is 32.

Rock singer Lorde is 19.

Thought for Today: “All forms of totalitarianism try to avoid the strange, the problematic, the critical, the rational.

To do so, they must deny the metropolitan spirit, equalize everything in city and country, and retain a center which is not the center of anything because everything else is swallowed up by it.” — Paul Tillich, American theologian (1886-1965).

Monday, November 9 Chess Club meets at the LBV–Inner City Branch Library from 4–6 p.m.

Free for all ages and skill levels. Basic instruction is offered. Call John at 7952400, x2521.

Tuesday, November 10 Take the challenge and climb the Rock Wall. Free. All participants must bring ID and sign release form. 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at LBV–Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Call 7952400, x2520.

Thursday, Nov. 12 Laredo Noon Optimist Youth Appreciation Day, noon luncheon, IBC-Laredo Annex on Jacaman Road. Laredo high school seniors take over city, county and federal offices for the day.

Guest speaker is Gerry Schwebel, IBC executive vice president. For more information call Optimist President Rosy Trujano at 744-2401.

Opening reception for Solar Powered Painting Exhibition at LCC from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Martha Fenstermaker Memorial Visual Arts Gallery, West End Washington Street. Featured artwork by renowned artist Carol Flueckiger will be on display. Join us for an opening reception and art discussion led by Flueckiger. Admission is free and open to the public.

Friday, November 13 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows, 5201 University Blvd. 6 p.m.: Earth, Moon and Sun; 7 p.m.: Live Star Presentation (Observing will occur after show if weather permits).

General Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. For more information call 956-326-DOME.

Saturday, November 14 Trail Clean-Up and Open House.

LCC’s Lamar Bruni Vergara Environmental Science Center will host their trail day clean up from 8 a.m.–12 p.m. at the Paso del Indio Nature Trail. The center will be open from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for students and senior citizens.

Entrance is free for children 3 and under, and LCC and TAMIU students, faculty and staff with a valid ID.

Photo by Laura Skelding/Austin American-Statesman | AP

Rashad Owens looks back at family members of the people he killed in a deadly crash at last year’s South by Southwest festival, Friday, in Austin, Texas. A jury on Friday found Owens guilty of capital murder in a crash that killed four people at the festival in Austin.

Man convicted of murder ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — A jury on Friday found a driver guilty of capital murder in a crash that killed four people last year at the South by Southwest festival in Austin.

The Austin American-Statesman reports the Travis County jury returned with the verdict against 23-year-old Rashad Owens after a little more than three hours of deliberation. About 50 people had crowded into the courtroom to hear the verdict.

The verdict means Owens will automatically spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. To find him guilty of capital murder, jurors had to unanimously agree Owens intentionally or knowingly caused the death of two or more people when he drove into the crowd. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.

Owens was on trial after being charged with capital murder and four counts of felony murder.

In closing arguments Friday, prosecutor Amy Meredith told jurors to not talk about Owens’ intent, but to focus on how he was aware his conduct could be deadly. She said an officer had been trying to conduct a simple traffic stop when Owens refused to comply and fled.

Meredith told jurors that Owens had the wherewithal to turn on his blinker, maneuver his way around a gas station and swerve around a parked car in his way.

“There is no other answer than that the defendant knew what he was doing — and he didn’t care,” Meredith said. “He didn’t care who was in his way. He was not going to be stopped. He was not going to go to jail.”

Houston family searches for 80-pound pet tortoise

Tornado damages building in Fort Worth

Man accused of lying about blade in candy

HOUSTON — A northwest Houston family is looking for its missing 80-pound tortoise.

The family’s pet, Carol the tortoise, normally stays in its owners’ backyard. But the tortoise has dug a hole through the fence and escaped. Owner Rose Marie Valdez said she and her husband panicked and began running up and down the street looking for their pet when they realized it was missing.

FORT WORTH — A storm system that moved through North Texas brought a tornado that tore the decorative roof from a Fort Worth bank building.

National Weather Service meteorologist Lamont Bain says the tornado that hit on Thursday afternoon was an EF0, meaning it had winds up to 85 miles per hour.

The storm also brought large hail to Wise County.

FORT WORTH — A 33-yearold Fort Worth man has been accused of making a false report to police after authorities say he put a razor blade in his child’s Halloween treat and then blamed it on someone else.

According to a police report, Charles Weldon Pruitt was arrested Thursday evening on a warrant accusing him of making a false police report. He remained in Mansfield jail Friday.

Juvenile charged in death of college student

Rains made month 5th wettest in 120 years

Mother allegedly poisoned 4-year-old son

BRENHAM — Police say a second person, a juvenile, has been charged in the 2014 fatal shooting of a Blinn College freshman whose body was found on a road in Central Texas.

Brenham Police Department spokeswoman Angela Hahn said Friday the juvenile, 16 at the time of the killing, is facing a capital murder charge.

LUBBOCK — Weather officials say October’s plentiful rains made it the fifth-wettest going back to 1895.

National Weather Service meteorologist Victor Murphy said in an email that October’s 5.84inch statewide average was 230 percent of the 2.53-inch average.

The rainfall last month nearly took the state out of drought.

DALLAS — A 4-year-old boy whose mother allegedly forced him to swallow ant poison Saturday has been released from the hospital. The boy was rushed to Medical City Dallas Hospital in critical condition.

The boy’s 31-year-old mother, Paw Eh, has been charged with attempted capital murder.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION Dakotaraptor ruled as lethal predator SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Tyrannosaurus rex may have been known as the big guy around the Hell Creek Formation 66 million years ago, but a newly discovered species of raptor would have roamed nearby as one of the region’s most lethal predators.

Dakotaraptor stood 6 feet tall at the hips yet moved like a springy, agile sprinter, reaching 30 to 40 mph and rivaling today’s ostrich. But potential prey caught admiring the 17foot-long creature’s grace stood little chance, said Robert DePalma, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History.

Extensive sexting at Colorado school DENVER — Officials investigating an apparently extensive

CONTACT US

Photo by Kylie Ruble | AP

In this Oct. 29 photo provided by Robert DePalma, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History, examines the fierce foot claw of a newly discovered species of raptor in West Palm Beach, Fla. case of sexting at a southern Colorado high school are urging parents to check their children’s phones for explicit selfies and talk to them about the risk of the photos becoming public.

Canon City High School gave police one phone with several

hundred images that investigators will work to identify.

An unspecified number of students have been suspended.

Superintendent George Welsh wouldn’t discuss how long those suspensions would last to protect the students’ privacy.

— Compiled from AP reports

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Local & State

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

Free health care offered to the impoverished

By YASMIN SHARIFF THE ZAPATA TIMES

The Diocese of Laredo’s Catholic Social Services will hold its seventh annual medical mission at the San Luis Rey Catholic Church in Laredo and Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Zapata.

The group aims to provide the less fortunate in Zapata and Laredo with health care services.

The services will be offered Nov. 9-11 in Zapata and Nov. 9-13 in Laredo.

The free services will include medical, dental and vision care for adults and children. The Medical Missionaries of Divine Mercy from the Houston-Galveston Archdiocese will share their medical expertise in col-

laboration with the Diocese of Laredo at this event.

The medical mission — cosponsored by Driscoll Health Plan along with other entities — is part of the Medical and Spiritual Mission Project headed by Bishop James A. Tamayo and Rebecca Solloa, executive director of Catholic Social Services.

“This is a good time for those that are in need to see a doctor,” Solloa said. “This is also a good time for those who may have some kind of tooth pain to see a dentist.

“This is a time for individuals to have proper medical care.”

Solloa said the high-quality medical services are for the impoverished as well as for those who do not have extra

money to see a doctor. She said the charitable services are not only for health maintenance but “a chance for individuals to learn about disease prevention.”

Solloa added that this event is much more than a medical mission, it is offered along with services like Mass and spiritual talks.

Registration for the event will be held Nov. 9-12 starting at 8 a.m. and will be on a firstcome, first-serve basis. Also, on Nov. 13, the registration will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information call Catholic Social Services at 7222443.

(Yasmin Shariff may be reached at 728-2563 or yshariff@lmtonline.com)

Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times file

A woman has her eyes examined by local Optometrist Alfredo Treviño Jr. at San Luis Rey Church in this November 2013 file photo.

Voters approved all seven amendments

By WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — Voters statewide approved all seven proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution on Tuesday — giving themselves tax breaks, cementing their rights to hunt and fish, pumping billions of extra public dollars into roads and freeing some top elected officials from having to live in the state capital.

But the most-watched ballot initiative was defeated, as Houston residents rejected a city ordinance extending nondiscrimination protections to gay and transgender residents.

Tea party-backed Attorney General Ken Paxton declaring that America’s fourth largest city “defeated the latest extreme example of political correctness.”

“Houston rightly ignored Hollywood and the liberal elites,” Paxton said in a statement.

Here’s a guide to what happened on Election Day:

Tax cuts coming Voters approved Proposi-

tion 1, which will increase homeowners’ property tax homestead exemption from $15,000 to $25,000, saving the average family roughly $125 annually while costing the state about $1.2 billion in tax revenue for school districts during the first two years.

The Legislature has budgeted extra funding so schools won’t see shortfalls, at least in the short term.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who oversees the Texas Senate, said the proposition’s “huge margin of victory” will “give us the clout to do more property tax relief” during the next legislative session in 2017.

Also passing was Proposition 2, which offers property tax exemptions to the spouses of totally disabled veterans who died before January 2010. Similar exemptions already exist for spouses of totally disabled veterans who died in 2011 or later.

Anywhere but Austin The land and agriculture commissioners, comptroller, attorney general and mem-

bers of the Railroad Commission will be allowed to live somewhere other than Austin under Proposition 3.

Supporters argued that modern technology allows elected officials to do their jobs from anywhere. None of the current holders of eligible offices have acknowledged any plans to move away from the Texas capital, however.

The amendment won’t apply to the governor and the 1856 Greek Revival-style Austin mansion he occupies. It also has no effect on the lieutenant governor, nor Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals judges.

Raffle rights Passage of Proposition 4 means professional teams can hold charitable raffles at all home games. That’s good news for supporters, which included the Dallas Cowboys and most of the state’s top sports franchises.

Gone fishin’ Proposition 6 recognizes

the right for people to hunt, fish and “harvest wildlife” and will protect those activities from future lawsuits.

Though such legal challenges have been sparse, Texas now joins 18 other states in spelling out such guarantees in their constitutions.

Road funding bonanza Proposition 5 lets counties with fewer than 7,500 people privatize road construction and maintenance — up from the current maximum of 5,000 residents. About 70 counties qualify.

And Proposition 7 means that when sales tax revenue exceeds $28 billion per fiscal year, the next $2.5 billion would go to road construction and maintenance starting in September 2017.

Then, beginning in September 2019, if tax revenue from vehicle sales and rentals exceeds $5 billion per fiscal year, 35 percent of the amount exceeding $5 billion would go to road funding.

The amendment allows the GOP-controlled Legislature to bolster transporta-

tion infrastructure strained

by Texas’ booming population without raising taxes.

“Prop 7 will provide an efficient way to dedicate a portion of our sales tax revenue to build the roads that our children and grandchildren will use,” said Rep. Joe Pickett, an El Paso Democrat who chairs the House Transportation Committee.

“All we are doing is taking the success of the Texas economy and dedicating a portion of it to transportation.”

Gov. Greg Abbott said that by passing all seven constitutional amendments, Texas residents “are creating an even better place for future generations to live, work and raise a family.”

Equal rights referendum Houston’s City Council passed a nondiscrimination ordinance last year, but a public vote ordered by the Texas Supreme Court went the other way.

It was a blow to national gay rights groups, who vowed to make equal protection measures a priority

after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages this summer.

Conservative pastors opposed the ordinance, saying homosexuality violated biblical values. Others worried about men being allowed to use women’s public restrooms.

“The voters clearly understand that this proposition was never about equality — that is already the law,” Patrick said. “It was about allowing men to enter women’s restrooms and locker rooms — defying common sense and common decency.”

Houston mayor’s race Houston also was choosing a successor for termlimited, openly gay Mayor Annise Parker — but none of the 13-candidate field won a majority of the ballots cast.

Veteran state Rep. Sylvester Turner was Tuesday’s top vote-getter. He will face second-place finisher Bill King, former mayor of the Houston suburb of Kemah, in a runoff Dec. 12.

PAGE 4A

Zopinion

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2015

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

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

Is 6 years in prison for a $65 check forgery fair?

AUSTIN, Texas — Tough on crime is one thing. Dumb on crime is another.

I’m against crime. I’m glad it’s illegal. That said, let me ask you this: What do you think the penalty should be for forging a $65 check? Does six years in prison seem more dumb than tough?

It doesn’t to the state of Texas in its case against Donald Lynn Ramsey.

The facts: On June 11, 2013, the then 51-year-old Ramsey showed up at Booger Red Liquor (God bless Texas) in Tulia, about halfway between Lubbock and Amarillo in the Panhandle, with a $65 check made out to him by Owens Motor Machine, where he worked and lived. (Court records show he lived in the machine shop.) The liquor store had been told by Owens Motor Machine to honor the paychecks, but this one turned out to be a forgery.

Ramsey bought cigarettes and beer and got some cash back. Turns out the folks at Owens Motor Machine did not write that check, which apparently came from a checkbook they routinely left in an unlocked truck to which Ramsey had access.

There seemed to be pretty solid evidence that Ramsey forged the check, though there was some legal back and forth. On appeal, the state’s 7th Court of Appeals in Amarillo reversed the conviction. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reinstated the conviction Oct. 28 in a 7-2 decision.

The dissent was penned by Judge Lawrence Meyers, who raised some points worth noting and that help us understand how you can wind up in prison for six years for buying beer and cigarettes with a forged $65 check.

The Texas Penal Code makes forgery a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine. But when the forged instrument is a check, the offense gets elevated to a state jail felony, punishable by 180 days to two years in state jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

And then there’s this well-intentioned additional escalation: A forgery in which the victim is an “elderly individual,” defined in law as someone 65 years of age or older, bumps the offense up an additional level. So, in this case, the $65 forged check became a third-degree felony, punishable by two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

“Hold it there, Herman,” I hear you saying (and, yes, we have a new

“

KEN HERMAN

app that reads your mind as you read our newspaper). “You said the forged check was from the account of something called Owens Motor Machine.

That sounds like a business, not a person 65 years of age or older.”

That’s Meyers’ point. It turns out Owens Motor Machine is a sole proprietorship owned by Jimmie Owens, who was 84 at the time of the offense. The holder of the account from which the forged check was written was listed in bank records as “J.E. Owens DBA Owens Motor Machine.” J.E. is Jimmie.

In his dissent, Meyers said he agrees there was sufficient evidence of Ramsey’s intent to defraud through use of the forged check. But Meyers’ gripe is that the victim was a business, not an elderly individual.

“Thus, the evidence was insufficient to prove that (Ramsey) had any intent to harm or defraud Jimmie Owens the individual,” Meyers wrote. “It was only sufficient to prove he intended to defraud the business, Owens Motor Machine. However, he was not charged with defrauding Owens Motor Machine, and therefore, I would hold the evidence to be insufficient to uphold (Ramsey’s) forgery conviction.”

Even if the forgery conviction is upheld, Meyers added, Ramsey is entitled to a new punishment hearing with lesser punishment.

“The enhancement provision of the forgery statute that (Ramsey) was punished under applies when the victim of the forgery is a person over the age of 65,” he wrote.

“This provision was enacted in order to protect elderly individuals, not the business entities they have an interest in.”

The victim in this case was a business, according to Meyers, not an elderly individual.

“Allowing the elderlyvictim enhancement in this type of situation means that any person who commits forgery against a business would be subject to this enhancement if the victim-business has an owner over the age of 65,” he wrote.

What do you think?

Tough on crime or dumb on crime?

Ken Herman is a columnist for the Austin American-Statesman. kherman@statesman.com.

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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.

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COMMENTARY

Veterans Day should become our national Election Day

By TOM TAFT THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

One of the saddest statistics in America today is the low rate of voter turnout. In the 2012 presidential election only 57.5 percent of eligible voters turned out.

That number is sobering.

Even worse is having to go back to 1896 to find a rate significantly higher (79 percent). The oft-repeated reason for the low rate is that potential voters don’t think their vote will matter.

By combining Veterans Day and Election Day into one national holiday we, as a nation, can provide eligible voters with a whole new reason to vote — to honor the veterans who have given so much to protect this right.

One vote may not change an election, but the individual act of voting can become a message sent to all veterans on Veterans Day that we know what they have done for us. In 2014,

Election Day did fall on Veterans Day. Now we need to make that permanent. A group of students has become interested in pursuing this effort, and you will be able to follow their work on www.VetDayVoteDay.org The most moving moment on a trip to Europe years ago was not seeing the Coliseum, the Eiffel Tower or a masterpiece in the Louvre; it was a visit in Italy to a cemetery dedicated solely to American soldiers. There were thousands of simple white tombstones with the names of our fallen soldiers. Walking among them it was impossible not to cry. So many young Americans whose lives lasted only 18, 19, or 20 years, and who died so far away from their homes.

At a World Economic Forum in 2003, Colin Powell was challenged about American "empire building." His answer silenced the room: "Over the years, the United States has sent

many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return."

We entered World War I with Woodrow Wilson’s call to "make the world safe for democracy." Americans responded, and many — too many — did not return. We must continue to honor their sacrifice by taking the one action that defines a democracy: voting.

There is nothing that connects a Tuesday in November — typically Election Day — to anything meaningful in our national culture. The date was set not by the Constitution, but

by Congress in the 1880s. In those days voting could be a two-day commitment for farmers who had to travel to the county seat — often a day’s journey by wagon. So elections had to be held after the harvest. And they

couldn’t happen on the Sabbath. So allowing Monday for travel, voting could be done on Tuesday, with time left over to buy supplies and head back to the farm. It made sense then, but such thinking is irrelevant today.

If we make a change by linking Election Day and Veterans Day, your candidate still may not win. Your candidate may not even have a remote chance to win. But every vote would become a continuing statement saying that all of those lives marked by white tombstones were not lost in vain. All those veterans, who served in our armed forces and protected our nation, would be further honored and valued.

They fought for you.

They served for you. Honor them. Vote. It is so simple and so obvious and so easy to achieve. We can do this.

Tom Taft is the chief operating officer at Germantown Academy, which is located in suburban Philadelphia.

COLUMN

Who had the worst week in Washington? Gov. McAuliffe

By CHRIS CILLIZZA THE WASHINGTON POST

All Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe needed was one.

If just one measly state Senate seat flipped from GOP to Democratic control in Tuesday’s elections, McAuliffe would have a badly needed foothold in the legislature.

He didn’t get it; Republicans held every seat they controlled going into Election Day. For McAuliffe, the de-

feat was particularly bitter.

He had done two dozen events for Democratic candidates in the last four days before the elections and cast taking control of the state Senate — which stood at 21 Republicans and 19 Democrats going into the vote — as critical to his governing hopes over his next (and final) two years in office.

With the state House firmly in Republican control, McAuliffe saw a Democratic takeover of the

Senate as perhaps his only chance to craft any sort of legacy — a la the budget deal then-Gov. Mark Warner, also a Democrat, cut in 2004.

"It makes a lot of difference," McAuliffe told a local TV station in the runup to the vote. "If I have one chamber that will work with me, then it puts a lot of pressure on the other chamber if one chamber passes safe gun restrictions, investments in K through 12, invest-

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

ments in pre-K." It was not to be. McAuliffe is now left to labor under a legislature entirely controlled by the opposition party even as he battles the lame-duck status that the commonwealth’s ridiculous and outdated one-term limit on governors confers on him.

Terry McAuliffe, for watching your legacy get lost by a single Senate seat, you had the worst week in Washington. Congrats, or something.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2015

Zentertainment

Al Roker embarking on 50-state marathon

By DAVID BAUDER ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Al Roker is testing his endurance again — and this time he’s picking up some frequent flier miles.

The “Today” show personality, a year after completing a marathon 34-hour weather forecast, plans to give reports from all 50 states within a week starting Friday. If successful, he’ll try to have it certified as a Guinness World Record, not that anyone has done it before him.

Last year’s stunt ROKER raised $70,000 for the USO. This year, Roker’s trip is benefiting Feeding America.

“If we can shine a light on something that’s a problem, I’m willing to do anything,” he said.

Roker takes care of the big travel issues first, starting Friday in Honolulu before flying to Anchorage, Alaska, on Saturday.

Then the real fun begins. Starting in Spokane, Washington, on Sunday, Roker travels through the Northwest that day. He cheats a little on Monday, visiting the Four Corners, enabling him to cross off Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado at one stop, and gradually makes his way East.

He’ll be delivering forecasts throughout his travels, either on “Today,” local NBC affiliates, cable networks like CNBC, MSNBC or The Weather Channel and online. Planes, trains and automobiles will shuttle him across the country, and Roker is packing a few books and a supply of movies on his tablet.

Johnny Cash’s travelogue song “I’ve Been Everywhere” has been referenced. Roker promises not to sing it.

The NBC veteran will be dependent on the weather to keep on schedule. A bad storm or two might force some rescheduling.

“Don’t think it’s not lost on me,” he said.

Roker is scheduled to begin next Friday in Stamford, Connecticut, before making the 45minute commute to Manhattan and a finish line at the “Today” show studio.

PAGE 5A

Trump’s campaign takes ‘SNL’

By FRAZIER MOORE AND JILL COLVIN ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s unorthodox campaign for president will take another unusual step this weekend when he takes a break from typical campaigning to host “Saturday Night Live.”

The appearance will put the billionaire businessman and reality TV star in rare company: Only eight politicians previously have hosted “Saturday Night Live” in its entire 40-year-old history.

And only one of those politicians-slash-guest hosts was an active presidential candidate — the Rev. Al Sharpton, who was seeking the Democratic nomination when he hosted in December 2003.

The appearance is the latest example of how Trump — who first guest hosted “SNL” in 2004 just weeks after the show he helped create, NBC’s “The Apprentice,” began airing — has been able to capitalize on his celebrity throughout his campaign, which has translated into record ratings for networks on each of the three Republican debates.

Trump has repeatedly bragged about the attention his appearances have been generating, predicting the show will have its highest ratings ever with him at the helm.

Throughout its history, “SNL” has poked fun at political figures — both via cast impersonations and with guest appearances by the politicians themselves. It and other late-night television shows also give candidates the chance to show off their less serious sides and connect with a new and generally younger audience than the usual early-state rallies and debate stages.

Sharpton said his whole campaign team had opposed the idea when he was invited to host by “SNL” execu-

Photo by Dana Edelson/NBC | AP

This Nov. 3 photo provided by NBC shows, "Saturday Night Live" cast member Cecily Strong, left, and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in New York. Trump will host the show on Nov. 7. tive producer Lorne Michaels, but he decided an appearance could help humanize his persona.

“I was known in America at the time as a civil rights leader and protest leader, and I wanted to show that I could laugh at myself, I had a sense of humor, and be self-effacing, and that I could be comfortable with a broader audience,” he said in an interview, adding that the appearance yielded tangible results, with people bringing it up constantly as he campaigned.

The challenge for Trump, whose invitation has provoked an outcry from groups concerned about what they perceive as an an-

ti-Latino bias by the candidate, would be making a similar connection, Sharpton said.

“We know him as this brash, bombastic, self-important person. But can he laugh at himself ? Can he relate to the average guy in a bowling alley?” posed Sharpton. “I think that he has the opportunity or the risk of establishing that tomorrow night.”

In the 2004 host appearance, Trump opened his monologue by joking about his star power: “It’s great to be here at ‘Saturday Night Live,’ but I’ll be completely honest, it’s even better for ‘Saturday Night Live’ that I’m here. Nobody’s bigger

than me. Nobody’s better than me. I’m a ratings machine.”

Trump echoed those words earlier this week in an appearance on CNN when he said “nobody gets ratings like me.” He said he initially had been asked to be in a single skit this week, but then Michaels urged him to guest host instead.

NBC has refused to comment on the objections to Trump’s appearance on the show. Earlier this week, “SNL” released several promotional spots featuring Trump, including one in which he refers to a Republican opponent, Ben Carson, as “a complete and total loser.”

National

6A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2015

Obama quashes Keystone Pipeline proposal

By JOSH LEDERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Ending a seven-year political saga, President Barack Obama killed the proposed Keystone XL pipeline on Friday, declaring it would have undercut U.S. efforts to clinch a global climate change deal at the center of his environmental legacy.

Obama’s decision marked an unambiguous victory for environmental activists who spent years denouncing the pipeline, lobbying the administration and even chaining themselves to tractors to make their point about the threat posed by dirty fossil fuels. It also places the president and fellow Democrats in direct confrontation with Republicans and energy advocates heading into the 2016 presidential election.

The president, announcing his decision at the White House, said he agreed with a State Department conclusion that Keystone wouldn’t advance U.S. national interests. He lamented that both political parties had “overinflated” Keystone into a proxy battle for climate change but glossed over his own role in allowing the controversy to drag out over several national elections.

“This pipeline would neither be a silver bullet for

the economy, as was promised by some, nor the express lane to climate disaster proclaimed by others,” he said.

Although Obama in 2013 said his litmus test for Keystone would be whether it increased U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, his final decision appeared based on other factors. He didn’t broach that topic in his remarks, and State Department officials said they’d determined Keystone wouldn’t significantly affect carbon pollution levels.

Instead, the administration cited the “broad perception” that Keystone would carry “dirty” oil, and suggested approval would raise questions abroad about whether the U.S. was serious about climate change.

“Frankly, approving this project would have undercut that global leadership,” the president said.

Obama will travel to Paris at the end of the month for talks on a global climate agreement, which the president hopes will be the crowning jewel for his environmental legacy. Killing the pipeline allows Obama to claim aggressive action, strengthening his hand as world leaders gather in France.

Though environmental groups hailed Friday as a “day of celebration,” Obama’s decision was unlikely

Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsuvais | AP

President Barack Obama announces he’s rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline because he does not believe it serves the national interest. to be the last word for Keystone XL. TransCanada, the company behind the proposal, said it remained “absolutely committed” to building the project and was considering filing a new application for permits. The company has previously raised the possibility of suing the U.S. to recoup the more than $2 billion it says it has already spent on development.

“Today, misplaced symbolism was chosen over merit and science. Rhetoric won out over reason,” said TransCanada CEO Russ Girling. His criticism was echoed by Republicans including House Speaker Paul Ryan, who said Obama had rejected tens of thousands of

jobs while railroading Congress.

“This decision isn’t surprising, but it is sickening,” Ryan said.

On the other side, climate activists noted the widespread assumption early in Obama’s presidency that he’d eventually approve Keystone, and said his apparent about-face proved how effective a no-holdsbarred advocacy campaign could be.

“Now every fossil fuel project around the world is under siege,” said Bill McKibben of the environmental group 350.org.

Already, the issue has spilled over into the presidential race. The Republican field is unanimous in

support of Keystone, while the Democratic candidates are all opposed — including Hillary Rodham Clinton, who oversaw the early part of the federal review as Obama’s first-term secretary of state.

TransCanada first applied for Keystone permits 2,604 days ago in September 2008 — shortly before Obama was elected. As envisioned, Keystone would snake from Canada’s tar sands through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska, then connect with existing pipelines to carry more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day to specialized refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.

But Democrats and environmental groups latched onto Keystone as just the type of project that must be phased out if the world is to seriously combat climate change. Meanwhile, Republicans, Canadian politicians and the energy industry argued the pipeline would create thousands of jobs and inject billions into the economy. They accused Obama of hypocrisy for complaining about a lack of U.S. infrastructure investment while obstructing an $8 billion project.

Amid vote after vote in Congress to try to force Obama’s hand, the president seemed content to delay further and further. Most pipe-

CBP staff rejects body cameras

By ELLIOT SPAGAT ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN DIEGO — Customs and Border Protection staff concluded after an internal review that agents and officers shouldn’t be required to wear body cameras, positioning the nation’s largest law enforcement agency as a counterweight to a growing number of police forces that use the devices to promote public trust and accountability.

The yearlong review cited cost and a host of other reasons to hold off, according to two people familiar with the findings who spoke on condition of anonymity because the findings have not been made public. It found operating cameras may distract agents while they’re performing their jobs, may hurt employee morale, and may be unsuited to the hot, dusty conditions in which Border Patrol agents often work.

The findings, in an August draft report, are subject to approval by Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske, who last year announced plans to test

cameras at the agency that employs roughly 60,000 people.

The staff report doesn’t rule out body cameras but questions their effectiveness and calls for more analysis before they are widely distributed.

Jenny Burke, a spokeswoman for Customs and Border Protection, had no immediate comment Friday.

From the start, Kerlikowske was noncommittal on whether to introduce body cameras to roughly 21,000 Border Patrol agents who watch thousands of miles of borders with Mexico and Canada, and to roughly 24,000 Customs and Border Protection officers who manage official ports of entry.

“Putting these in place, as you know, is not only complicated, it’s also expensive,” the former Seattle police chief said at a news conference last year. “We want to make sure we do this right.”

The use of police body cameras is still in its infancy, with no count for how many of the 18,000 state and local departments have turned to them.

But dozens of agencies across

the country are testing the cameras after unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, unleashed criticism of police tactics, and many departments have plans to roll them out more broadly.

President Barack Obama supports using police body cameras, and his administration has pledged millions of dollars to local departments.

Customs and Border Protection faces unique challenges. The Southern Border Communities Coalition, a group that has strongly criticized the agency over use of force, said agents and officers have killed 40 people since January 2010. The agency commissioned a 2013 report by the Police Executive Research Forum, a nonprofit group of law enforcement experts, that was critical of its policies and tactics.

During the last three months of 2014, Customs and Border Protection tested cameras in simulated environments including the Border Patrol training academy in Artesia, New Mexico. From January to May, it expanded testing to 90 agents and officers who volunteered across

the country to use the cameras on the jobs.

Widespread deployment hinged on union approval, which was always a question mark. The National Border Patrol Council, which represents Border Patrol agents, expressed concern that supervisors might use the videos to retaliate against agents they wanted to discipline or force from their jobs.

“Under the right conditions and with the right policies, they can be a valuable tool, but obviously CBP has been unable or unwilling to meet that criteria,” Shawn Moran, a spokesman for the agents’ union, said Friday.

The draft report cited significant cost in what would be a multimillion-dollar endeavor, including acquiring equipment, training agents and responding to public records requests. It said widespread distribution might hurt morale because employees could interpret the cameras as a show of distrust. It also said the devices could undermine intelligence gathering if people interviewed by agents know they are being recorded.

Carson backs off scholarship claim

By STEVE PEOPLES ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Ben Carson was not offered a formal scholarship to West Point as he wrote in his autobiography, his campaign said Friday, acknowledging the latest in a series of misstatements from the retired neurosurgeon who has surged to the top of the GOP’s presidential field.

“I guess it could have been more clarified,” Carson said in an interview with Fox News to be broadcast Friday night. “I told it as I understood it.”

Carson, a newcomer to national politics, has developed a passionate following based in part on his inspirational personal story and devotion to Christian values. The only African-American in the Republican 2016 class, Carson grew up in inner-city Detroit and often speaks about his brushes with violence and poverty during his early years.

His campaign on Friday sought to clarify a statement about the U.S. Military Academy in his breakout book, “Gifted Hands,” in which he outlines his participation with the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, commonly known as ROTC, while in high school.

“I was offered a full scholarship to West Point,” Carson wrote in the 1996 book. “I didn’t refuse the scholarship outright, but I let them know

that a military career wasn’t where I saw myself going. As overjoyed as I felt to be offered such a scholarship, I wasn’t really tempted.”

Carson has repeated the story over the years, including in an interview in October with Charlie Rose.

Campaign spokesman Doug Watts said Carson was “the top ROTC student in the city of Detroit” and “was introduced to folks from West Point by his ROTC supervisors.”

“They told him they could help him get an appointment based on his grades and performance in ROTC. He considered it but in the end did not seek admission,” Watts said.

Students granted admission to West Point are not awarded scholarships. Instead, they are said to earn appointments to the military academy, which comes with tuition, room and board and expenses paid, in exchange for five years of service in the Army after graduation.

A West Point spokesman on Friday said the academy “cannot confirm whether anyone during that time period was nominated to West Point if they chose not to pursue completion of the application process.”

Asked on Fox whether he had lied about his past, Carson said, “Lying, I believe, is a grave sin and there’s just no way that I would be sitting

here lying about something like this.”

The story, first reported on Friday by Politico, concerns the latest Carson statement that has been challenged for accuracy.

During last month’s presidential debate, Carson said it was “absolutely absurd” to say he had a formal relationship with the company Mannatech. But Carson is featured in the company’s videos, including one from last year in which he credits Mannatech’s glyconutritional supplements with helping people restore a healthy diet.

On Wednesday, Carson wrote on his Facebook page that “every signer of the Declaration of Independence had no elected office experience.”

But about half had experience as elected members of colonial assemblies, and Watts admitted the error to The Washington Post.

Also this week, a CNN report raised questions about the accuracy of Carson’s oftrepeated claim that he tried to stab a close friend as a teenager. Citing privacy concerns, the Carson campaign has refused to name the person involved, but Watts said Friday that he knows “exactly who the person is. And I know the person is alive and well.”

Carson also came under scrutiny this week for standing by his assertion that Egypt’s great pyramids were built by the biblical figure Jo-

seph to store grain. “I happen to believe a lot of things that you might not believe because I believe in the Bible,” Carson said Thursday.

The idea was dismissed by his church, and experts said it is accepted science the pyramids were tombs for pharaohs.

Republican rival Donald Trump, now looking up at Carson in some recent preference polls, seized on Carson’s troubles in a series of tweets on Friday.

“With Ben Carson wanting to hit his mother on head with a hammer, stab a friend and Pyramids built for grain storage - don’t people get it?”

Trump tweeted.

To date, Carson’s rhetoric and penchant for using extreme examples to prove his points, such as equating abortion with slavery, have not curbed his rise in preference polls and among small-dollar Republican donors. His supporters have cheered his willingness to ignore what he calls political correctness, and have been more willing to blame the media.

“Nobody ever said that taking on the establishment would be easy,” Watts said Friday. “We expected these kinds of personal attacks and distortions of his record, his background and his accomplishments. We’re very confident that his personal background and history and integrity will remain intact.”

lines wait roughly a year and a half for permits to cross the U.S. border, but Keystone’s review dragged on more than 5 times as long as average, according to a recent Associated Press analysis.

The first major delay came in 2011, when Obama postponed a decision until after his re-election, citing uncertainty about the proposed route through Nebraska. When Congress passed legislation requiring a decision within 60 days, he rejected the application but allowed TransCanada to re-apply. He delayed again in 2014 — this time indefinitely — in a move that delayed the decision until after the 2014 midterm elections.

Obama’s decision on Friday risks creating a fresh point of tension in his relationship with Canada’s new government. After speaking by phone with Obama on Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “disappointed by the decision” but pledged to pursue a “fresh start” with Obama nevertheless.

For TransCanada, the financial imperative to build Keystone may have fallen off recently amid a sharp drop in oil prices that could make extracting and transporting the product much less lucrative. TransCanada has insisted that wasn’t the case.

Six migrant farmworkers killed in bus crash

By ANDREW DEMILLO AND JILL BLEED ASSOCIATED PRESS

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A bus ferrying migrant farmworkers from Michigan to Texas ran off a highway and hit an overpass in Arkansas on Friday, ripping off the roof and ejecting passengers onto the interstate. Six people were killed and six injured; the driver survived.

The crash on Interstate 40 in North Little Rock happened at about 1 a.m., in light rain and fog following a heavy storm, but it wasn’t immediately known whether weather played a role. The National Transportation Safety Board investigation is initially focusing on the possibility of driver fatigue, though investigators may focus on other issues once they’re on the scene, spokesman Eric Weiss said.

Roberto Vasquez, 28, of Monroe, Michigan, was behind the wheel when the bus ran off the right side of the highway, struck a wall and hit the bridge. Of those who died, three were thrown from the bus, one was partially ejected and the other two died inside, said Col. Bill Bryant, the head of the Arkansas State Police.

Vasquez has agreed to routine drug and alcohol tests, but there’s no indication he was intoxicated, state police Maj. Mike Foster said.

The driver and two other employees of Vasquez Citrus and Hauling, a provider of foreign farm labor through the federal H-2A visa program, had been transporting 19 workers from Monroe, Michigan, to Laredo, Texas.

A woman who answered the phone Friday at the Lake Placid, Florida-based company hung up as The Associated Press sought more information.

Authorities have not yet released the names or nationalities of those killed in the crash but said the Mexican consulate was helping to contact relatives.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were called in, but only to help local authorities communicate with the Spanish-speaking survivors, according to ICE spokesman Bryan Cox. He said his agency was not pursuing any kind of criminal investigation of the people involved.

The bus had just been sold by Jeff Lawson, who owns Continental Charters in Detroit.

Lawson told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that the buyer “said he needed a second bus to haul people from (Detroit) to Texas... and Florida.” The bill of sale and title to the bus, both dated Oct. 31, declared its value to be $8,000.

Michigan Department of Transportation spokesman Michael Frezell said the 1997 Van Hool bus had passed all of its annual inspections since 2009, as required under state law.

Frezell said the bus was last inspected in April and that transportation officials did not know what condition it was in when it was sold.

The American Red Cross was providing mental health services to those who escaped injury. “As you can imagine, people are pretty shaken by this,” Regional Communications Director Brigette Williams said.

Highway officials said the span remained structurally sound, even though the impact tore off much of the roof, mostly toward the rear of the bus. Traffic was snarled for hours, but the scene was cleared before daybreak.

International

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A

Two dams burst in Brazil Alarm grows in Burundi

By CRISTIANA MESQUITA

By ELOGE WILY KANEZA

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MARIANA, Brazil — The flood of mud came without a warning. The only hint the roughly 600 residents of Bento Rodrigues had that a sea of viscous, clay-red mud was about to flow into their village with the destructive power of lava was a deafening clap.

The sound of two dams bursting Thursday afternoon at the Samarco iron ore mine in Brazil’s central Minas Gerais state sent residents running for the hills, and, miraculously, most appear to have survived.

Only two people were confirmed to have been killed in the accident, which sent some 62 million cubic meters of water and iron ore leftovers flooding into the village, which is located some 4 miles (7 kilometers) downhill from the mine, officials said Friday. Four were injured and another 13 were missing.

Still, officials warned that those numbers could rise. Only about 100 of the nearly 600 people thought to live in the area have been officially accounted for.

The cause of the accident was not known, but a seismology lab at the University of Brasilia reported that several small tremors were registered in the area hours ahead of the disaster, according to O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper.

A spokesman with the U.S. Geological Survey, John Bellini, said the agency, which monitors seismic activity worldwide, had not located any earthquakes in the region on Thursday, noting that they would generally not receive data on any event smaller than a 4.2-magnitude quake. Still, he stressed that it would generally take a quake larger than 4.5 magnitude to damage a dam.

Hundreds of survivors were taking shelter Friday in a gym in the nearby city

BUJUMBURA, Burundi — The son of a human rights activist in Burundi was killed after being arrested Friday, a witness said, as international concern grew that a bloodbath might be imminent in the central African country.

Lily Mbonimpa said his brother Welly Fleury Nzitonda was killed because of their father’s work. Nzitonda’s death is part of an unremitting wave of killings in Burundi that has prompted international outcry and warnings that Burundi could be on edge of a violent upheaval.

A witness, who insisted

Photo by Felipe Dana | AP

Aerial view of the small town of Bento Rodrigues after a dam burst on Thursday in Minas Gerais state, Brazil, Friday. of Mariana, as donations of food, clothing and mattresses poured in. Many of the survivors had injuries to their feet, sustained after they fled their houses barefoot and trekked through the devastated terrain and then onto scorching asphalt.

Gov. Fernando Pimentel called the flood an environmental tragedy and said the accident was the “biggest natural disaster in the history of our state.”

State prosecutor Carlos Eduardo Ferreira Pinto said he will recommend the governor suspend Samarco’s environmental license for its operations in the region.

As rescue workers evacuated remaining survivors, the mining company’s president worked to dispel fears that the mud contained toxins that could contaminate the land and rivers. Ricardo Vescovi also insisted Brazilian law does not require any emergency alarm for dam failures and that the authorities had approved the company’s emergency response plan.

The public prosecutors’ office said it was looking into filing criminal charges against Samarco, which is jointly owned by the Brazilian mining company Vale and Australia’s BHP Billiton, over the facility’s lack of an emergency siren.

Resident Joaquim Teofi-

lo Dutra confirmed that the crash of the dams giving way was the first sign of the impending disaster.

“When I went outside there were already people running uphill saying the dam burst,” Dutra told The Associated Press. “All I did was close my house and run to the top.”

Rescue worker Denir Ubaldo Monterio said neighbors banded together to escape the mudflow.

“As soon as the mud started to come down, the residents started helping and informing their neighbors and assisting those who had difficulties walking,” he said. “When the firefighter helicopter arrived, the mud was still coming down.”

The sucking mud has hampered search and rescue efforts. Still wet in patches, it acts like quicksand, O Globo newspaper quoted state fire official Vinicius Teixeira as saying.

“Whoever steps on it runs a great risk of sinking and drowning in this mud,” Teixeira said, adding that it reached roof-level in some areas. “There is a risk of bodies not being found.”

A representative of Mariana’s mayor said Samarco officials assured them the mining company would pay for the damages, but did not provide details.

on anonymity for fear of reprisals, said she was with Nzitonda when police arrested him. When police saw Nzintonda’s identification card they assaulted him and ordered her to leave, she said. Nzitonda’s body was found in an empty house in the Mutakura neighbourhood in a pool of blood.

Nzitonda’s father, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, who opposed Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term in office, survived an assassination attempt earlier this year.

Last month, Mbonimpa’s son-in-law was killed in front of his home.

The U.N. human rights chief estimates that at least 198 people have been killed

in Burundi since late April, when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced his bid that was ultimately successful for a third term in office. The bid was opposed locally and internationally. At least 13 people have died since last Saturday alone, with many coming from opposition strongholds.

More than 200,000 people have fled Burundi.

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court warned of a worsening security situation and said perpetrators would face justice.

“It is with grave concern that I note the increasing risk of violence in Burundi,” Fatou Bensouda said.

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2015

BILINGUAL Continued from Page 1A lish deficient students.

Dual-language programs teach students in their first language and then transition them to English.

Collier said the dual-language model allows the student to gain the skills they need to be able to learn and understand more complex information in their first language while they begin to learn in English as well. If a student cannot understand a difficult concept in the first language, the student will likely struggle to grasp it in a second language, Thomas said.

“They need support in the first language so they can learn the cognitive development. That development slows down if they are switched to English (too soon),” Collier said.

Collier and Thomas said dual language benefits both students who are trying to learn English and those who only speak English by developing bi-literate individuals.

The achievement gap is never created if a limited English language student is learning continuously in both languages, their research has found.

“Traditional bilingual education only closes half of the (achievement) gap; meanwhile, dual language never has a gap,” Thomas said.

School districts in Texas can choose from four bilingual education models.

There are two transitional models and two dual-language models.

The students selected for these programs are placed in the model offered by the school district based on home language surveys done during en-

rollment, or after a language assessment. If the parent approves, the students will be placed in the program the district and school offers. If parents do not approve, students receive English as a second language program services, known as ESL. ESL programs offer sheltered instruction for those deficient in English regardless of the students’ home language or grade level. Sheltered instruction means students can receive more one-on-one time with the teacher. Students who come in uppergrade levels typically receive ESL services.

In the transitional early exit program, teachers provide instruction in literacy and academic content areas through the student’s first language, along with instruction in English. The goal is to get them transferred into English-only instruction within a few years.

The Socorro Independent School District is currently using this model districtwide.

Jennifer Avila, bilingual and English as a second language program director, said the transitional early exit model has been used in the district for about a decade.

“Roughly 10 years ago we used to use the late exit model. Our students were not introduced to English until the later years,” Avila said. “(But) our students were not benefiting from the program.”

After the district held community meetings and looked at other options, Avila said the district chose the early exit model to provide more English instruction in the early

grades.

“These are the services we offer, whether newcomers or long-term students. We want to ensure they have all the resources,” Avila said.

The transitional late exit model also provides instruction in the child’s first language, then transfers students to Englishonly instruction. The transition to English only may begin during the fifth or sixth grades depending on how the schools or districts structure the program.

“The goal is not for kids to become bi-literate, the goal is to provide sufficient support so kids can move exclusively into English,” said Josefina Tinajero, bilingual education professor and special assistant to the vice president of research at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Tinajero has a doctorate in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in bilingual education.

She also serves on the board of the Texas Association of Bilingual Educators and the National Association for Bilingual Education. She has researched best practices for English language learners, as well as bi-literacy and dual-language programs.

The state has two duallanguage models districts may choose from.

The two-way model integrates students whose first language is English with students whose first language is not English.

Instruction is provided in both English and Spanish, or another language, in an integrated setting. The goal is for both non-Eng-

lish and English speakers to become bilingual and bi-literate, as well as for them to gain cross-cultural awareness and high academic achievement.

The dual-language immersion one-way model is a bi-literacy program only for non-English speakers.

Instruction is provided in both English and Spanish, or another language. The goals of students becoming bilingual and bi-literate mirror those of the twoway model. The one-way model is typically used when there are not enough students whose first language is English to match up with the other students.

Tinajero said all of the models are forms of bilingual education — it is the goal of the programs that make the difference in the long run.

The transitional programs eventually phase out the student’s first language, whereas dual language maintains it and creates bi-literate individuals who can read, write and comprehend subjects in at least two languages.

“These programs — the late exit and to some extent the early exit — do not value children becoming bilingual, or maintaining their native language,” Tinajero said.

The Ysleta Independent School District was using both dual-language models as well as a transitional late exit model in addition to ESL, said Luisa Aguirre-Baeza, YISD’s academic language programs director.

“For this school year all elementaries are on a dual-language model,” Aguirre-Baeza said.

She said the majority is

using the one-way model, but at schools like Alicia R. Chacon International a two-way model is used.

“At Alicia Chacon we get to control who comes through the door, so they maintain the balance of English speakers and the others (non-English speakers),” she said. “At community schools we serve whoever walks in the door.”

Aguirre-Baeza said the district has had dual language for 20 years and the district will be phasing out the transitional late exit model.

“It’s not that it works against us. We really want to maintain the fidelity of being a dual-language district. We really need to focus on the one model,” she said. “If you have several models, you try something one day and (if) it doesn’t work over time there is a plethora of choices. You become a buffet (and) you lose fidelity.”

Aguirre-Baeza said for an immigrant student or any English language learner who enters in elementary participating in the dual-language program will be seamless.

She also said the district is trying to expand dual language to eventually be offered throughout all the grade levels.

“We are trying to beef up our program,” she said.

In the Canutillo Independent School District, the dual-language one-way and two-way models are being used in all elementary schools.

Marnie Rocha, executive director of curriculum and instruction for CISD, said the district has been using dual language for at

least 15 years.

The district is also hoping to expand the program through its middle and high school. Currently, non-English speakers go through dual language through elementary school and by the time they get to middle school they are receiving ESL services where necessary.

“We want to be a premier district with bi-literate graduates,” Rocha said. “We think we can do that with a strong duallanguage program which starts at elementary.”

Mariana Balsinger, El Paso Independent School District director of Connecting Languages, said the district is expanding dual language this year from pre-K and kindergarten to the first grade in all elementary schools.

There are both two-way and one-way models being used based on whether there are enough native English speakers to match with English language learners.

The EPISD was also using the transitional early exit model, but will be phasing it out, Balsinger said.

“Dual language is our bilingual program (now).

We’re taking it in phases; we can’t just do it all at once,” Balsinger said.

The district will be adding grades annually, said Ivonne Durant, the EPISD’s deputy superintendent.

“It’s not as if the district is new to this; the big difference now is that instead of it (dual language) being a sidebar program, this is the way our district does business now,” Durant said. “This is the way we educate our ELLs.”

“When you are driving, just put the phone down,” said Lupita Zepeda, regional director for external affairs for AT&T. “No phone call, no text, is

worth the danger of driving distracted. It can wait.”

(Kendra Ablaza can be reached at 728-2538 or kablaza@lmtonline.com)

TEXTING Continued from Page 1A cies or a crime to law enforcement. The ban also excludes law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical services workers as long as they are using a communications device for official business related to their position. Also exempt are those licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to use a radio frequency device while driving.

The ordinance includes cellphones, personal digital assistants, MP3s or other portable music players, electronic reading devices, laptop computers or tablets, portable computing devices, portable global positioning or navigation systems, pagers, electronic game devices and broadband personal communication devices.

City of Laredo spokeswoman Xochitl Mora Garcia also said the city would launch a publicity campaign to educate residents regarding details on the ban and the consequences of violating it.

The City of Laredo, and various partners in the community, including the Texas Department of Transportation, the Laredo Chamber of Commerce, Laredo Independent School District, United

ISD, Graphitiks Advertising and wireless providers AT&T, Cricket Wireless, Sprint, Verizon and others, are on board and will help with an educational

outreach campaign to spread the message of the ordinance.

A city statement released Thursday regarding the ordinance’s launch did

not specify when the publicity campaign will begin.

“Look for a media, publicity and education campaign to begin soon,” the statement says.

SÁBADO 7 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2015

Zfrontera HOMICIDIO CAPITAL

Agenda en Breve

Decapitado

VOLEYBALL Hoy sábado 7 de noviembre se llevará a cabo el partido de voleyball, dentro de los playoff del área, entre las Lady Hawks de ZCISD vs Fredericksburg, a las 4 p.m. en Cotulla High School, 310 North Main Cotulla.

TEMPORADA DE CAZA Tamaulipas tiene en vigencia la temporada de caza de la Paloma Huilota, anunciaron autoridades del Estado.

La temporada concluirá el 8 de noviembre. Igualmente se aclara que la temporada de caza de la Paloma de Collar y la Ala Blanca ya concluyó.

POR AARON NELSEN SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

BROWNSVILLE — Un agente fronterizo en el Sur de Texas fue arrestado en relación con el homicidio por decapitación de un hombre originario de Honduras a inicios del presente año, confirmaron autoridades el viernes.

Oficiales del alguacil del Condado Cameron arrestaron al agente de la Patrulla Fronteriza de EU Joel Luna, de 30 años de edad, por posesión de una sustancia controlada. Luna ahora enfrenta cargos

JUNTA DE COMISIONADOS La Corte de Comisionados del Condado de Zapata tendrá su reunión el lunes 9 de noviembre de 9 a.m. a 12 p.m. en el Zapata County Courthouse. Informes con Roxy Elizondo al (956) 7659920.

PÁGINA 9A

por homicidio capital y participa- organizado en México. ción en actividad del crimen orgaA inicios de este año autoridanizado, dijeron autoridades des acusaron a cuatro homlocales. bres con el homicidio de un Luna fue arrestado en su hombre de Honduras, cuyo casa en Hebbronville descuerpo decapitado y mutilado pués que autoridades locafue encontrado flotando en la les decomisaron un kilo de bahía de la Isla del Padre del cocaína, tres pistolas y casi Sur en marzo. El homicidio 90.000 dólares escondidos se perpetró en Edinburg, de JOEL LUNA en una caja de seguridad acuerdo con Lucio. en la casa de su suegra en Lucio dijo que la investigaSan Juan. ción del crimen reveló que dos de El Alguacil del Condado Came- los hombres acusados en el criron Omar Lucio dijo que se cree el men, Fernando Luna Rodríguez y caso estaba asociado con el crimen Eduardo Luna Rodríguez, son her-

manos de Joel Luna.

Joel Luna ha sido un agente de la Patrulla Fronteriza durante los pasados seis años, y estaba asignado a Hebbronville. Él será colocado en permiso administrativo, dijo la agencia.

La Patrulla Fronteriza confirmó el arresto de Joel Luna el jueves, agregando que la corrupción y el abuso no son tolerados dentro de la agencia, de acuerdo con una declaración escrita.

Joel Luna fue transferido al Condado Cameron, donde está retenido sin derecho a fianza.

NUEVA CIUDAD GUERRERO, MÉXICO

ACORTARÁN TIEMPO

MISIÓN MÉDICA La 7ª misión médica anual que organiza Servicios Sociales Católicos (CSS, por sus siglas en inglés) de la Diócesis de Laredo se ofrecerá del 9 al 11 de noviembre en el Salón de la Iglesia de Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 1609 Glenn St., el lunes 9, martes 10 y miércoles 11 de noviembre, a partir de las 8 a.m. Los servicios gratuitos incluirán atención médica, dental y cuidado de la visión para adultos y niños.

Se iniciará con el registro desde temprano y se atenderá gratuitamente a las personas conforme vayan llegando.

También habrá Misas de Sanación a las 7 p.m. Más información llamando a CSS en el (956) 722-2443.

DÍA DE LOS VETERANOS La Cámara de Comercio de Zapata permanecerá cerrada el miércoles 11 de noviembre con motivo del Día de los Veteranos.

TAMAULIPAS El miércoles, policías estatales realizaban una vigilancia sobre la carretera ejidal que conduce al poblado Valadeces en el municipio de Díaz Ordaz, México, cuando civiles armados, a bordo de un vehículo Acura, modelo 2007, color negro, empezaron a atacarlos.

Los sospechosos decidieron escapar, abandonando la unidad, de donde agentes aseguraron una ametralladora HK 21, un fusil AR-15, cuatro granadas expansivas, cuatro cargadores para AR-15 con capacidad de 30 cartuchos cada uno, una cinta con 108 cartuchos y otra con 62 cartuchos, 224 cartuchos de diferentes calibres, 10 kilogramos de marihuana envueltos en un paquete, 12 bolsas de plástico con marihuana, 115 poncha-llantas, dos tablas de castigo y dos pantalones militares pixeleados.

Todo lo asegurado quedó a disposición de la Agencia del Ministerio Público Federal.

SEMINARIOS ANTE PÉRDIDAS El seminario “Impactos ante Perdidas en Tierras Rurales sobre Agua, Vida Salvaje y Agricultura” se ofrecerá de manera gratuita para propietarios, abogados, profesionales de recursos naturales, y cualquier persona que trabaje con familias agrícolas y ganaderas.

El seminario, a ofrecerse el viernes 13 de noviembre en Uvalde, se enfocará sobre las tendencias de pérdidas en tierras, administración de herramientas, y programas que ayuden a los propietarios a heredar su tierra a futuras generaciones.

El evento está sujeto a espacio disponible. Comida disponible para quienes se registren para las 6 p.m. del lunes 9 de noviembre.

Foto de cortesía

“Ayúdame a llegar” es el nombre del programa que beneficia a 47 alumnos de escuelas primarias, además de brindar aparatos funcionales a personas de la comunidad, en Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, Tamaulipas, México. El objetivo es “facilitar el camino y acortar las distancias” que estudiantes de las escuelas Primaria Profr. Leoncio Leal, Primaria González Benavides y la Secundaria Oscar González Blackaller, deben tomar diariamente para acudir a la escuela.

COLUMNA

REFORMA ELECTORAL

Revolución y dólares

Congreso aprueba dos iniciativas

México se estremece con la primera revolución social del siglo XX. Asombra que sobre ella pesen versiones de oscuros financiamientos. Las pesquisas del caso nos llevan por insospechadas rutas.

POR RAÚL SINENCIO CHÁVEZ ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

En vísperas del colapso porfiriano, el secretario de Hacienda José Ives Limantour declara que “los americanos aliándose directa o indirectamente con ese movimiento [el revolucionario] lo han hecho con la esperanza de vengar algún sentimiento […] contra el gobierno de México”.

El catálogo lo abre la Standard Oil Company. En fechas previas le autorizan labores exploratorias y de explotación. No obstante, sus planes caen por tierra al cancelarle Porfirio Díaz las concesiones respectivas.

Problemático socio de esta firma y magnate de la Waters Pierce Oil Company, acumula también disgustos Henry Clay Pierce. Mediante facilidades arancelarias, importa de EU insumos e instala aquí las primeras refinadoras, una de ellas ubicada en Árbol Grande, municipio de Tampico entonces. Tras monopolizar el mercado interno de queroseno y lubricantes, adquiere el control del Ferrocarril Central Mexicano. El régimen porfirista coarta empe-

ro dichos intereses rieleros, absorbiéndolos en Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México y cediéndole posiciones directivas a la Compañía Mexicana de Petróleo El Águila, del inglés Weetman D. Pearson. Con ricos yacimientos autóctonos, El Águila obtiene asimismo ventajosa presencia en la comercialización de hidrocarburos y desplaza a Pierce.

Hacia principios de 1911 los resentidos contactaran a líderes rebeldes, ofreciéndoles cuantioso empréstito. Todo indica que los acercamientos sí ocurren, pues el Departamento de Estado angloamericano reconviene por ello a la Standard Oil. Barrida la dictadura, aparecen indicios que alientan suspicacias. Al mencionarlos, Marcial Ocasio Meléndez puntualiza: “La refinería Árbol Grande de Pierce […] dejó de pagar impuestos municipales –los únicos que pagaba—durante el gobierno de [Francisco I.] Madero”. Pero advierte que lo anterior denota acaso “la mentalidad procapitalista y positivista” del mandatario.

Merrill Rippy de plano sostiene: “Uno de los primeros actos del gobierno de Madero fue extender un cheque de […] 685 mil [dólares] a nombre de WatersPierce”, devolviéndole “el dinero que […] le adelantó […] para llevar a cabo la Revolución contra Díaz”.

Considerándola “muy a

la ligera”, José Domingo Lavín controvierte “la aseveración hecha por Rippy […] respecto a que la Revolución de 1910 hubiera recibido fondos de la Watters [sic] Pierce”. Identifica que “la calumnia […] proviene […] de Henry Lane Wilson”, embajador de EU. Debe rechazársele “por el odio que manifestó a Madero”, agrega.

Meras entrevistas aparte, Lorenzo Meyer refuerza: “No hay prueba documental que permita verificar si” el préstamo “se llevó a cabo”.

Aunque había grave pugna con determinados inversionistas gringos, Meyer cree riesgoso sobredimensionarla, ya que “existe el peligro de ver en el derrumbe de […] Díaz un simple episodio de la lucha mundial entre los […] petroleros ingleses y estadounidenses”.

Complementa Arturo Grunstein Dickter: “La disolución de la [primigenia] Standard Oil […] en 1911 separó [de ella] a la WatersPierce”. Esta última iniciaría por cuenta propia “operaciones de extracción y refinación de crudo mexicano”, en vez de importarlo. “En realidad –apunta--, sabemos poco sobre la estrategia que le permitió a Pierce sobrevivir […] en México hasta poco antes de la expropiación cardenista”.

(Con permiso del autor según fuera publicado por La Razón, Tampico, México, el 2 octubre de 2015)

TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

La Suprema Corte de Justicia de México determinó procedentes las impugnaciones hechas por el Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) en relación al porcentaje que deberán obtener los partidos políticos para asignarles un Diputado y tener derecho a los de representación proporcional.

En junio el CongreRIVAS so del Estado, conformado por una mayoría del Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) había aprobado la reforma electoral.

El miércoles, durante la sesión ordinaria en el Congreso de Tamaulipas se aprobaron dos iniciativas que reforman la Constitución Política y la Ley Electoral de Tamaulipas.

Así se reformó la fracción ll del artículo 27 de la Constitución Política

del Estado, estableciendo que a los partidos políticos que hayan obtenido por lo menos el 3.0 por ciento del total de la votación válida emitida, se les asignará un Diputado y tendrán derecho a participar en la asignación restante de Diputados por el principio de representación proporcional.

También se modificaron las fracciones l y ll del artículo 190 de la Ley Electoral local, para que a todos los partidos políticos que hayan obtenido por lo menos el 3.0 por ciento del total de la votación válida emitida, se les asigne una Diputación.

“Solo el voto ciudadano puede comprometer a los Diputados a hacer bien su trabajo y representar con dignidad a los ciudadanos, pues no es posible que sólo por el hecho de existir los Partidos Políticos, estos puedan acceder a los espacios del Congreso a través de los llamados Plurinominales”, declaró el Diputado Federal Enrique Rivas Cuéllar (Distrito I-PAN).

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2015

Russia stops flights to Egypt

By JIM HEINTZ AND MERRIT KENNEDY ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOSCOW — In an abrupt turnaround, Russia on Friday suspended all passenger flights to Egypt after days of resisting U.S. and British suggestions that a bomb may have brought down a Russian plane in the Sinai Peninsula a week ago.

The move dealt a sharp blow to both countries’ tourism sectors amid fears about security in Egypt. It foretold weeks of chaos as tens of thousands of travelers struggled to return home from Red Sea resorts including Sharm el-Sheikh, where the doomed flight originated.

Within hours of the Oct. 31 crash of the Metrojet Airbus 321-200 that killed all 224 aboard — mostly Russians — a faction of the Islamic State militant group claimed to have downed the plane in retaliation for Moscow’s airstrikes that began a month earlier against fighters in Syria. The claim was initially dismissed on the grounds that the IS affiliate in Egypt’s troubled Sinai region didn’t have missiles capable of hitting highflying planes.

British and U.S. officials, guided primarily by intelligence intercepts and satellite imagery, suggested a bomb might have been aboard the aircraft. The Russians and Egyptians called that premature, saying the investigation had not concluded.

After Britain suspended its flights to and from Sharm el-Sheikh, Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday it was “more likely than not” that the cause was a bomb. President Barack Obama also said the U.S. was taking “very seriously” the possibility that a bomb brought down the plane in the Sinai, where Egyptian forces have been battling an Islamic insurgency for years.

As the suspicions grew, Russia appeared unwilling to countenance the possibility, and Egyptian officials played down terrorism as a cause of the crash, with President Abdel-Fattah el-

Sissi calling the IS claim “propaganda” designed to embarrass his government.

But on Friday, the head of Russian intelligence, Alexander Bortnikov, recommended a suspension of all flights to Egypt “until we determine the real reasons of what happened,” and President Vladimir Putin quickly agreed.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the flight suspension order would last until “a proper level of aviation security is in place,” denying it run until the investigation was completed. He added that it “definitely doesn’t mean” Russia regards terrorism as the main theory.

Wreckage from the plane was brought to Moscow to be tested for any trace of explosives, according to Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Puchkov. The samples came “from all parts where traces of explosives could be,” he said in televised comments.

France 2 TV, citing an investigator who had access to one of the Metrojet plane’s flight recorders, reported that “the sound of an explosion can be distinctly heard during the flight.” France’s BEA accident investigation agency said it could not confirm the report.

There was chaos, confusion and frustration at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport as Britain struggled to bring home some 20,000 of its nationals stranded since London halted its flights earlier in the week.

London approved the resumption of British flights to Sinai starting Friday and planned a wave of flights to retrieve its stranded nationals, but it banned passengers from checking luggage on the flights. Instead, any checked-in bags were to be brought later on cargo planes.

But the pileup of checkedin luggage overwhelmed the airport and disrupted flight operations, said Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamal. So Egypt limited the number of incoming British flights to pick up the tourists, reducing them to eight Friday instead of the

planned 29, he said.

Several flights that took off from London had to turn around or go elsewhere after Egyptian authorities told them they couldn’t land at Sharm el-Sheikh.

Hundreds of British tourists were brought to the airport for flights out, only to be told they didn’t have one.

More confusion was caused by the checked baggage ban.

“When are we going home?” one irate tourist shouted at British Ambassador John Casson when he appeared in the departure hall trying to reassure beleaguered travelers.

Early in the morning, the Egyptians carried out expanded security checks as dozens of buses ferrying British and Russian tourists waited outside the airport, the line stretching up to a kilometer (half mile) as police inspected each vehicle.

Standing in a crush of people waiting to go through security, British tourist Terrance Mathurian said hotel staff told him and his family in the morning to head to the airport despite the conflicting information.

Besides Britain, Ireland also suspended flights to Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday. Since then, countries including Belgium, the Netherlands and France have told citizens not to travel to the Red Sea resort. Several carriers have stopped flying to Sharm, including German airlines Edelweiss and Eurowings and Slovenia’s Adria.

Dutch carrier KLM imposed a hand-luggage-only policy on flights out of Egypt, while Air France said it was reinforcing screening procedures in Cairo but still accepting checked-in luggage.

Russia’s suspension of passenger flights was more sweeping than the others, covering all of Egypt.

No plans were immediately announced for how to bring home the crowds of Russian tourists in Egyptian beach resorts, whose number was estimated as at least 40,000. Such an evacuation could take weeks, Russian tourism experts said.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A

THE MARKET IN REVIEW DAILY DOW JONES

STOCK EXCHANGE HIGHLIGHTS

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NYSE 10,513.36

-35.00

GAINERS ($2 OR MORE) Name

NASDAQ 5,147.12

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ChannAdv 13.18 +4.09 +45.0 ZS Pharm 89.04+25.73 +40.6 WtWatch 22.89 +5.96 +35.2 Stamps.cm 104.93+28.95 +38.1 Constellm 8.19 +1.64 +25.0 TrueCar 8.43 +2.30 +37.5 BonanzaCE 9.02 +1.60 +21.6 ZionB wt18 3.15 +.84 +36.3 TableauA 102.44+18.05 +21.4 BldrFstSrc 15.25 +2.94 +23.9 TremorVid 2.13 +.32 +17.7 LexiPhm rs 13.04 +2.50 +23.7 DemndMda 5.29 +.79 +17.6 Qorvo n 55.55+10.47 +23.2 Bankrate 14.47 +2.11 +17.1 HorizPhm 21.00 +3.74 +21.7 Ducomun 21.17 +3.01 +16.6 WinsFin n 8.40 +1.45 +20.9 Nationstar 14.58 +2.01 +16.0 AdvisoryBd 53.33 +9.12 +20.6

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6.90 -9.24 2.50 -.99 5.65 -2.08 6.66 -2.32 8.20 -2.72 33.92-10.99 4.81 -1.53 19.20 -5.88 7.62 -2.00 14.54 -3.71

IconixBr Pixelwrks MarinusPh AvidTech Anavex rs NewLink Skullcandy SierraWr Inventure Osiris

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BkofAm 1488556 17.95 +.64 Facebook GenElec 1205136 29.92 +.28 Microsoft Vale SA 625620 4.14 -.25 Apple Inc Alibaba 382963 83.61 -1.77 Qualcom FrptMcM 350473 10.75 -.73 Nvidia Pfizer 307745 33.93 -.22 Cisco Petrobras 305776 5.06 -.11 SiriusXM HP Ent n 299447 14.40 +1.12 Intel Vale SA pf 293827 3.49 -.15 IconixBr RiteAid 277078 7.84 +.01 Groupon

DIARY Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows

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342530 107.10 -1.67 321982 54.92 +.54 321029 121.06 +.14 295843 53.42 +2.35 281108 31.55 +3.84 256520 28.45 +.02 249998 4.10 -.02 233915 33.84 -.16 221503 6.90 -9.24 220004 2.73 -.18

DIARY

1,204 1,957 74 3,235 61 84 4,243,943,376

Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows

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18,351.36 9,310.22 657.17 11,254.87 5,231.94 947.85 2,134.72 1,551.28 22,537.15 1,296.00

1,720 1,081 151 2,952 153 72 2,012,290,710

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17,910.33 8,241.43 556.46 10,513.36 5,147.12 937.57 2,099.20 1,463.32 21,865.12 1,199.74

YTD 12-mo Chgg %Chg %Chg %Chg +46.90 +.26 +.49 +1.91 +61.28 +.75 -9.83 -7.91 -22.23 -3.84 -9.97 -7.73 -35.00 -.33 -3.01 -3.23 +19.38 +.38 +8.68 +11.11 +1.03 +.11 +3.21 +3.99 -.73 -.03 +1.96 +3.31 -1.61 -.11 +.75 +2.33 -1.34 -.01 +.90 +2.26 +9.06 +.76 -.41 +2.25

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STOCKS OF LOCAL INTEREST Last

YTD Chg %Chg

Name

Div

Yld

PE

AT&T Inc Alibaba AEP BkofAm B iPVixST Caterpillar CCFemsa CmtyHlt ConocoPhil Dillards EmpIca ExxonMbl Facebook FordM FrptMcM GenElec HP Inc HomeDp iShEMkts Intel IntlBcsh

1.88 ...

2.24 .20 ...

3.08 1.98 ...

2.96 .28 ...

2.92 ... .60 .20 .92 ...

2.36 .84 .96 .58

5.7 ...

4.2 1.1 ...

4.2 2.6 ...

5.3 .3 ...

3.5 ...

4.1 1.9 3.1 ...

1.9 2.4 2.8 2.0

36 33.16 -.18 53 83.61 -1.77 15 53.96 -1.97 13 17.95 +.64 ... 18.04 -.40 15 73.84 -.38 ... 76.34 -.53 11 31.64 +1.59 62 55.77 -.51 11 89.33 -.22 ...

1.53 -.05 18 84.47 -.34 ... 107.10 -1.67 12 14.52 -.05 ... 10.75 -.73 ... 29.92 +.28 ... 14.01 -.04 25 125.98 +.26 ... 35.30 -.50 14 33.84 -.16 14 29.63 +1.20

-1.3 -19.6 -11.1 +.3 -42.7 -19.3 -11.8 -41.3 -19.2 -28.6 -68.9 -8.6 +37.3 -6.3 -54.0 +18.4 -23.1 +20.0 -10.2 -6.8 +11.6

Name

Div

Yld

IBM Lowes Lubys MktVGold MetLife MexicoFd Microsoft Modine Penney S&P500ETF SanchezEn Schlmbrg SearsHldgs SonyCp SPDR Fncl UnionPac USSteel UnivHlthS Vale SA WalMart WellsFargo

5.20 1.12 ... .12 1.50 2.20 1.44 ... ...

4.13 ...

2.00 ... ... .44 2.20 .20 .40 .29 1.96 1.50

3.8 1.5 ... .9 2.9 ...

2.6 ... ...

2.0 ...

2.5 ... ...

1.8 2.6 1.8 .3 7.0 3.3 2.7

PE

Last

YTD Chg %Chg

9 138.25 -.34 -13.8 25 73.14 -.44 +6.3 ...

4.97 +.20 +9.2 ... 13.46 -.62 -26.8 12 51.69 +1.79 -4.4 ... 18.35 -.22 -11.8 37 54.92 +.54 +18.2 ...

8.80 +.11 -35.3 ...

8.74 +.06 +34.9 ... 210.04 -.11 +2.2 ...

6.24 -.61 -32.8 27 79.06 +.26 -7.4 ... 24.09 +.56 -27.0 ... 28.05 -.30 +37.0 ... 24.73 +.25 0.0 15 85.98 -1.23 -27.8 ... 10.91 +.52 -59.2 19 125.86 +2.95 +13.1 ...

4.14 -.25 -49.4 12 58.78 +.17 -31.6 13 55.85 +.99 +1.9

Stock Footnotes: g=Dividends and earnings in Canadian dollars .h= Doe not meet continued- listings tandards lf = Late filing with SEC. n = New in past 52 weeks. pf = Preferred. rs = Stock has undergone a reverse stock split of at least 50 percent within the past year. rt = Right to buy security at a specified price. s = Stock has split by at least 20 percent within the last year. un = Units. vj = In bankruptcy or receivership. wd = When distributed. wi = When issued. wt = Warrants.

Mutual Fund Footnotes: b = Fee covering market costs is paid from fund assets. d = Deferred sales charge, or redemption fee. f = front load (sales charges). m = Multiple fees are charged. NA = not available. p = previous day’s net asset value. s = fund split shares during the week. x = fund paid a distribution during the week.

Source: The Associated Press. Sales figures are unofficial.

Prime Rate Discount Rate Federal Funds Rate Treasuries 3-month 6-month 5-year 10-year 30-year

3.25 3.25 0.75 0.75 .00-.25 .00-.25 0.09 0.31 1.73 2.33 3.09

0.08 0.23 1.52 2.15 2.92

Australia Britain Canada Euro Japan Mexico Switzerlnd

Last

Pvs Day

1.4205 1.5039 1.3298 .9307 123.21 16.8284 1.0062

1.4000 1.5212 1.3164 .9185 121.67 16.6090 .9951

British pound expressed in U.S. dollars. All others show dollar in foreign currency.

MUTUAL FUNDS Name AB GlbThmtGrA m Columbia ComInfoA m Eaton Vance WldwHealA m Fidelity Select Biotech d Fidelity Select BrokInv d Fidelity Select CommEq d Fidelity Select Computer d Fidelity Select ConsFin d Fidelity Select Electron d Fidelity Select FinSvc d Fidelity Select SoftwCom d Fidelity Select Tech d T Rowe Price SciTech Vanguard HlthCare Waddell & Reed Adv SciTechA m

Total Assets Obj ($Mlns) NAV WS 524 88.81 ST 2,741 61.70 SH 1,012 12.86 SH 14,124 241.57 SF 421 72.54 ST 214 30.05 ST 556 77.04 SF 110 13.40 ST 1,509 83.16 SF 1,271 88.24 ST 3,121 127.48 ST 2,970 124.64 ST 2,873 41.34 SH 11,648 226.13 ST 3,132 15.13

Total Return/Rank Pct Min Init 4-wk 12-mo 5-year Load Invt +5.7 +4.0/B +3.5/E 4.25 2,500 +10.0 +16.7/A +12.4/C 5.75 2,000 +5.8 +6.8/E +18.5/D 5.75 1,000 +10.7 +18.7/A +33.5/A NL 2,500 +10.2 -0.8/E +9.2/C NL 2,500 +2.7 0.0/E +5.2/E NL 2,500 +5.7 -3.5/E +9.4/E NL 2,500 +2.1 +1.2/D +14.0/A NL 2,500 +8.8 +13.4/B +15.1/A NL 2,500 +6.1 +1.3/D +9.8/C NL 2,500 +9.9 +16.0/A +17.8/A NL 2,500 +9.2 +12.3/B +12.0/C NL 2,500 +9.6 +11.5/C +13.6/B NL 2,500 +5.3 +12.2/B +21.2/C NL 3,000 +6.3 +2.1/E +14.9/A 5.75 750

CA -Conservative Allocation, CI -Intermediate-Term Bond, ES -Europe Stock, FB -Foreign Large Blend, FG -Foreign LargeGrowth, FV -Foreign Large Value, IH -World Allocation, LB -Large Blend, LG -Large Growth, LV -Large Value, MA Moderate Allocation, MB -Mid-Cap Blend, MV - Mid-Cap Value, SH -Specialty-heath, ST - Technology, WS -World Stock, Total Return: Chng in NAV with dividends reinvested. Rank: How fund performed vs. others with same objective: A is in top 20%, E in bottom 20%. Min Init Invt: Minimum $ needed to invest in fund. Source: Morningstar.

While markets tumbled, many savers held tight

By STAN CHOE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — When fear was pumping through the stock market this summer, most retirement savers kept their cool.

So say figures from Fidelity, which could see how individual investors in general behaved by looking at its 13.5 million 401(k) and 6 million IRA accounts as stocks tumbled in New York, Shanghai and places in between during the turbulent third quarter. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index sank more than 10 percent within a week during August, driving the index to its worst quarter in four years.

Even amid the tumult, only 4.9 percent of Fidelity’s 401(k) account holders made changes to how their nest eggs were invested, such as selling stocks to move into bonds or cash. Workers also diverted more of their paychecks into their 401(k) accounts than they did a year earlier, not less: an average of 8.2 percent of their pay last quarter, up from 8 percent.

"People are starting to get the message," says Jeanne Thompson, vice president at Fidelity Investments. "During volatility, many times the best course of action is none at all."

That’s because 401(k) accounts and IRAs are for long-term sav-

ings, even for investors approaching retirement. And the power of compound interest works best when investments are given time.

For investors who have had a 401(k) account at Fidelity for the last 10 years, just about half the growth in their balance has come from investment gains. The other half came from contributions from savers and their employers.

Trying to time the market can hurt over the long term — and in the short term. Fear among investors hit a high on Aug. 24, when the S&P 500 was in the midst of its fifth straight loss. Fidelity received more than 160,000 calls from its IRA and 401(k) investors that day, close to a record,

looking for help on how to manage their investments.

Anyone who sold out of their stocks that day has missed out on the subsequent 10 percent rise in the S&P 500 in just over two months.

It wasn’t just bravery that pushed so many investors to leave their accounts alone last quarter. So-called target-date mutual funds likely played a big role too. These funds take care of how to divvy up a nest egg. They are invested mostly in stocks when the target retirement date is far away, and they move more into bonds as the date approaches.

They’ve also become the default investment for many 401(k)

plans since the government implemented new rules in 2006.

Among the defined-contribution plans administered by Vanguard, 88 percent offered target-date funds last year, up from 75 percent five years earlier.

That means many investors may not even know how much stock they own, just that they have a target-date retirement fund. It’s also one reason why even during the panic-strewn days of the Great Recession, the vast majority of 401(k) account holders held off on changing their investment mix.

"It’s the perfect result of working with inertia," Thompson says, "rather than against it."

US hiring surges in Oct.

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Robert F. Bukaty | AP file

In this Nov. 28, 2014, file photo, a shopper pays for her purchases at a Target store in South Portland, Maine.

Consumer credit up a record $28.9 billion

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer borrowing jumped by a record amount in September, driven higher by big gains in borrowing for auto and student loans.

The Federal Reserve said Friday that consumer borrowing increased $28.9 billion, the largest one-month increase on record going back to 1941. It followed a gain of $16 billion in August and pushed total consumer borrowing to an all-time high of $3.5 trillion.

The big September gain reflected a $22.2 billion increase in the category that covers auto loans and student loans and a $6.7 billion increase in credit card borrowing.

It was the biggest increase in auto and student loans since July 2011.

Economists believe consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity, will remain strong in coming months. A healthy labor market is helping give consumers confidence to spend and finance part of their purchases by taking on more debt.

The Labor Department reported earlier Friday that the economy created 271,000 jobs in September, the most this year, pushing the unemployment rate down to a sevenyear low of 5 percent.

Economists are looking for a strong consumer sector to help offset soft spots in other parts of the economy.

The overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, grew at a lackluster annual rate of 1.5 percent in the July-September quarter, less than half the 3.9 percent rate turned in during the April-June period.

Part of that weakness reflected global economic weakness, which is causing problems for American manufacturers. However, economists are forecasting that growth will rebound in the final three months of this year to around 2.5 percent, with the revival fueled in large part by consumer spending.

WASHINGTON — U.S. hiring swelled in October by the largest amount all year, and unemployment dropped another notch to 5 percent, increasing the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month for the first time in a decade.

With Americans spending more on everything from restaurant meals and clothing to new cars, employers added an impressive 271,000 jobs last month.

That was a strong rebound from August and September, when turmoil in China and other economies overseas proved a drag on the U.S. job market.

Unemployment declined from 5.1 percent in September and is now at its lowest point since April 2008, just a few months after the Great Recession began.

Even before Friday’s report, expectations for a Fed rate increase in December were building. Fed chief Janet Yellen and other top officials said this week that the economy is generally healthy and a move at next month’s meeting is a “live possibility.”

“This data tips the scales toward a rate hike in December, but more importantly is a sign that our economy may have more punch than we thought,” said Tara Sinclair, chief economist for job site Indeed.com.

The Fed cut the shortterm rate it controls to a record low of nearly zero in December 2008 to try to stimulate growth during the recession. An increase would eventually raise borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans and business loans.

The prospect of higher interest rates initially drove down financial mar-

Photo by Wilfredo Lee | AP file

In this Oct. 6 file photo, people attend a job fair at Dolphin Mall in Miami. The federal government issued its October jobs report Friday. kets Thursday, though stock indexes finished mixed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note surged to 2.33 percent from 2.23 percent, suggesting that investors see a greater likelihood of a rate increase.

After a prolonged period of relatively stagnant pay for many Americans, hourly wages climbed a solid 9 cents in October to $25.20.

Average pay is up 2.5 percent in the past year, the largest annual gain since 2009.

The pay gains should fuel more consumer spending in coming months, which, in turn, could support further hiring.

“These are very strong numbers and likely to continue,” said Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist at Northern Trust. “The two summer months that were low now look like the aberration.”

Manufacturing employment was flat in October, after two months of job cuts. The strong dollar and faltering growth in China, Europe and Japan have

cut into exports of factory goods. Oil and gas drillers also shed workers as oil prices stayed low.

But retailers added nearly 44,000 jobs last month, a sign that they expect a good holiday shopping season. Hotels and restaurants added 41,000, while health care providers hired nearly 57,000.

Higher-paying sectors also gained, notably professional and business services, which include architects, engineers and many IT workers. That sector added 78,000 positions, the most in nearly a year.

Matt Friedman, chief executive of the Wing Zone restaurant chain, said he thinks lower gas prices are encouraging more people to eat out and boosting sales at his company’s 93 U.S. sites. Company sales have grown 6 percent this year from 2014.

Wing Zone expects to open 15 stores this year and 19 next year.

“People are spending more money,” Friedman said. “Fuel prices have a big impact.”

The company receives plenty of applications for its hourly jobs and hasn’t had to increase pay for those positions to attract applicants, Friedman said.

But it has had to raise pay to fill professional jobs in marketing, training and operations, he said. Pay for those positions has increased about 10 percent in the past two years.

Eric Renninger, vice president of Honest-1 Auto Care, said his 54-shop chain is seeing evidence that cheaper gas is encouraging more travel.

“You are seeing people bringing in vehicles in preparation for road trips,” he said. The company expects to open five more locations this year.

The economy grew at just a 1.5 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter. Still, Americans boosted their spending at a healthy 3.2 percent annual pace.

Economists expect growth to rebound to 2.5 percent or more in the final three months of the year.

12A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2015

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2015

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Sports&Outdoors NCAA FOOTBALL: NO. 5 TCU

NCAA FOOTBALL: NO. 25 TEXAS A&M

Aggies face Auburn A&M tries for another win with new QB

By KRISTIE RIEKEN ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON — Texas A&M’s Kyler Murray had to compete all last week to start against South Carolina.

This week against Auburn, the job was his from the start after his big performance helped the 25th-ranked Aggies to a win that ended a twogame skid.

Kyle Allen started A&M’s first seven games but was benched last week after he threw four interceptions in the team’s two losses.

Murray was named SEC freshman of the week after throwing for 223 yards and a touchdown and running for 156 yards and another score. The performance made him the first A&M quarterback since Johnny Manziel to have 200 yards passing and 100 yards rushing in the same game.

His ability to scramble elicited comparisons to Johnny Football before he set foot on A&M’s campus, and Saturday’s outing only intensified those comparisons.

“We never compare quarterbacks,” coach Kevin Sumlin said.

“Everyone is their own guy. Because he plays here at A&M that’s going to be a comparison (but I) don’t think it’s fair, really don’t. Each guy has his own skillset and is little bit different.” He said he thinks Murray’s job will be tougher this week now that people have extended video of him and because he’ll be facing a defense led by veteran coordinator Will Muschamp.

“We have to bolster his weaknesses and get the other 10 guys involved to not put the game on his shoulders,” Sumlin said. “That’s exactly what happened last week. He was the beneficiary of the other 10 guys on

Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP

TCU’s Josh Doctson (9), quarterback Trevone Boykin (2) and the No. 5 Horned Frogs take on No. 12 Oklahoma State Saturday in a battle of unbeatens.

TCU to face challenge vs. unbeaten OSU

By CLIFF BRUNT ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Eric Gay | AP

Texas A&M wide receiver Ricky Seals-Jones and the No. 25 Aggies have an SEC showdown with Auburn this weekend looking to win their second straight under new quarterback Kyler Murray. the field playing pretty well. He did good job operationally and he’s got talent.”

Auburn coach Gus Malzahn didn’t have to watch last week’s game to find out about Murray, who went 43-0 in leading his high school in Allen, Texas, to three state titles.

“Murray ... is dynamic with his feet,” Malzahn said. “He was a great

high school player that we are very familiar with, we actually recruited him. He is somebody that will definitely get your attention.”

EVOLVING BACKFIELD Tailback Peyton Barber has been Auburn’s biggest offensive weapon, but the SEC’s fifth-leading rusher

See A&M PAGE 2B

NCAA FOOTBALL: TEXAS LONGHORNS

TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin has put up numbers worthy of Heisman consideration, and he has put his Horned Frogs in position to claim a spot in the College Football Playoff.

The senior ranks second nationally in total offense, and TCU ranks No. 2 in the nation in scoring offense and yards per game.

Boykin’s most difficult challenge awaits Saturday. He must avoid Oklahoma State defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah if he wants to keep the fifth-ranked Horned Frogs (8-0, 5-0 Big 12, No. 8 CFP) in contention.

Ogbah ranks fourth nationally with 1.13 sacks per game,

and he already has set the school record for quarterback hurries in a season with 14.

“Obviously, he’s had a sack in a bunch of games,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said of Ogbah. “He’s relentless.

He comes after you.

You’ve got to be ready to play.”

The Horned Frogs have given up just two sacks in five conference games, but 12th-ranked Oklahoma State (8-0, 5-0, No. 14 CFP) ranks second in the Big 12 with four sacks per game in league play.

“They’ll be the best front we’ve played up to this point,” Patterson said.

The Cowboys know what they are dealing with. Boykin passed for

See TCU PAGE 2B

NCAA FOOTBALL: TEXAS TECH

Tech heads to Morgantown

By JOHN RABY ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Justin Hayworth | AP

Following a disappointing 28-0 shutout loss to Iowa State, Texas running back Johnathan Gray and the Longhorns face winless Kansas Saturday.

Longhorns host winless Jayhawks

By JIM VERTUNO ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — Texas looked like it had turned things around. Two straight wins, including a physical pounding of rival Oklahoma, had taken the pressure off coach Charlie Strong and had the Longhorns talking about a postseason bowl game.

Then came a Halloween night shutout loss at Iowa State. Even a befuddled Strong had to call that huge step backward.

Next up is Kansas (0-8, 0-5 Big 12). Lose to the Jayhawks on Saturday night and Texas (3-5, 2-3) would face an even bigger crisis than anyone imagined just a few weeks ago, when Strong seemed to have silenced his critics.

“I know the players are just as frustrated as I am,” Strong said.

“There’s more than enough talent

on this team to win ... You would have thought that because of the way we had come on the last two weeks that you would walk in and just be ready to go play.”

Little was expected of Kansas coach David Beaty’s squad in his first year. Strong, however, had promised just a year ago that five losses in a season would never happened again in his program.

Texas got there before October ended.

“I can make those predictions, but it doesn’t always happen, so there’s not much I can do about it,” Strong said.

Texas has just eight shutout losses since 1960, and two of them belong to Strong in the past two seasons.

The running game that dominated Oklahoma disappeared against

See TEXAS PAGE 2B

MORGANTOWN — West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen has seen for himself over the past few weeks how Baylor’s Corey Coleman and TCU’s Trevon Boykin can wreck a defense.

Now comes the potential for more trouble Saturday for West Virginia from Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes and all-purpose playmaker Jakeem Grant.

They are reasons why Texas Tech has the nation’s fourth-highest scoring offense at 47 points per game.

Mahomes threw for 480 yards and four touchdowns in a 70-53 loss to No. 12 Oklahoma State last week, while Grant had 178 receiving yards and his school-record fourth career kickoff return for a TD. Mahomes “really does a great job of extending the play and running around and keeping his eyes downfield and throwing it downfield to create plays,” Holgorsen said. “The biggest thing that we’ve got to do is play to the whistle defensively. They will keep it alive and sling that thing all over the place.”

Holgorsen wants to give Grant plenty of opportunities, especially on kickoff returns, because he hopes it means West Virginia is having its own success.

“If you score, you kick off,” Holgorsen said. “If that’s the case, let’s see if we can contain him. We’ve contained guys this year and we expect to do

Photo by Sue Ogrocki | AP

Texas Tech wide receiver Jakeem Grant and the Red Raiders travel to West Virginia Saturday looking for a win to become bowl eligible. the same thing with him.”

Both defenses will have work to do.

West Virginia (3-4, 0-4 Big 12) has lost four straight and allowed 40 and 62 points in losses to No. 5 TCU and No. 2 Baylor.

Texas Tech (5-4, 2-4) has scored 50 points five times this season but, in addition to the Oklahoma State loss, surrendered 63 points the previous game to No. 14 Oklahoma.

“More than anything I think it’s how the league is set

up,” said Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury. “I always look at it from the offensive side, should have scored here, should have scored there. The defense on Saturday in the third quarter gave us, I think, three times in a row the ball back to go up 17, and we didn’t go do it.”

Some other things to consider when Texas Tech and West Virginia meet: GAUGING GRANT

See TECH PAGE 2B

PAGE 2B

Zscores

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2015

Photo by Gary Landers | AP

Cleveland quarterback Johnny Manziel was 15-for-33 with 168 yards and one touchdown in the Browns’ 31-10 loss at Cincinnati Thursday night.

File photo by LM Otero | AP

Starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo received a qualifying offer of $15.8 million by Texas as other teams will have to surrender a first-round pick if they sign him for 2016.

Gallardo, others receive offers

By RONALD BLUM ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — The qualifying offers are in. Based on recent history, few if any big leaguers will accept.

Second baseman Daniel Murphy and outfielder Colby Rasmus were among a record 20 free agents who received $15.8 million qualifying offers before Friday’s deadline.

With teams sensing that starting pitching will be prized, Jeff Samardzija (Chicago White Sox), Marco Estrada (Toronto), Yovani Gallardo (Texas), Ian Kennedy (San Diego), Wei-Yin Chen (Baltimore), Hisashi Iwakuma (Seattle) and Brett Anderson (Los Angeles Dodgers) also received offers.

Players have until Nov. 13 to accept. In the three previous offseasons of the current collective bargaining agreement, none of the 34 qualifying offers was taken as free agents sought contracts with longer terms.

Teams had easy decisions in making offers to top pitchers such as Zack Greinke (Dodgers), Jordan Zimmermann (Washington)

and John Lackey (St. Louis), and to hitters such as outfielder Jason Heyward (Cardinals) and first baseman Chris Davis (Baltimore).

For a less-sought-after free agent, a qualifying offer could dampen his market because clubs hesitate to give up a high draft pick.

“I expect free agent compensation will be an important part of bargaining in 2016, as it has been over our entire history,” players’ association head Tony Clark said last offseason.

The 30-year-old Murphy homered in a record six straight postseason games for the New York Mets but then slumped in the World Series, hitting .150 (3 for 20) and making key errors in Games 4 and 5. He batted .281 during the regular season with 73 RBIs and a career-best 14 homers.

Rasmus hit .238 with a career-high 25 homers and 61 RBIs for Houston, then batted .412 in the postseason with four homers, six RBIs and seven talks.

Others who received offers were catcher Matt Wieters (Baltimore), second baseman Howie Kendrick

(Dodgers), shortstop Ian Desmond (Nationals), and outfielders Alex Gordon (Kansas City), Dexter Fowler (Chicago Cubs) and Justin Upton (San Diego).

This year’s total was up from nine in 2012, 13 in 2013 and 12 last year.

An offer could be made only to a free agent who was with the team for the entire season, a provision blocking Toronto from making an offer to pitcher David Price and the Mets from giving one to outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. The price was determined by the average of the top 125 major league contracts this year by average annual value.

If a team made a qualifying offer to a player who signs a major league contract with another club before the June amateur draft, his former club would receive a draft pick as compensation at the end of the first round.

The club signing that player loses its first-round pick in the amateur draft, unless that pick is among the top 10, in which case the club signing that player loses its next-highest pick.

TECH Continued from Page 1B Against West Virginia last year, Grant scored on a 43-yard reception and caught five passes for 84 yards. The 5-foot-7 senior is 110 yards away from overtaking Eric Stephens for the school record for kick return yards and is 155 yards from passing Michael Crabtree as the career receiving yards leader.

DEPENDABLE DEANDRE Texas Tech’s DeAndre Washington needs 63 rushing yards to go over 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. He’d become the first Red Raider to do that since Byron Hanspard in 1995 and 1996.

DROPPED PASSES West Virginia’s Jovon Durante and other members of the young receiving corps are looking to bounce back after dropping several passes that could have been touchdowns against TCU. “I just tell them to shake it off,” said West Virginia senior wide receiver Jordan Thompson. “You have to keep your head up, because the ball is going to find its way back to you. When the opportunity strikes you have to take advantage of it.”

SUFFERING SKYLER When West Virginia won its first three games, quarterback Skyler Howard completed 69 percent of his passes for nine touchdowns with one interception. During the current losing streak, he’s completed 48 percent of his passes and has seven TD passes and nine turnovers, including six interceptions.

NO REST Texas Tech is playing for the 10th straight week without a bye. The Red Raiders won’t get a week off until after playing Kansas State at home next Saturday.

Manziel still not named Browns’ starting QB

By TOM WITHERS

against the Bengals but was shut down after halftime.

Pettine said his choice will be based on the same criteria he has used since training camp.

“We’ll make the decision each week based on, as I’ve said all along, who gives us the best opportunity to win,” he said.

However, with another season quickly unraveling following a fourth straight loss, the Browns could be shifting toward seeing what they have for the future. It might be time to see if Manziel, who completed 15 of 33 passes for 168 yards against Cincinnati, can be a long-term solution at a position that continues to drag down Cleveland’s franchise.

While he’s clearly better than he was as a rookie, Manziel remains an unpolished product. He posted solid stats — 11 of 18 for 128 yards — in the first half, but Manziel also fell back on old habits, scrambling and improvising the way he did in college.

It’s tough to do that consistently in the pros, and although he couldn’t argue with Manziel’s early success, Pettine said

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CLEVELAND — Johnny Manziel’s prime-time TV performance didn’t earn him a full-time gig.

At least not yet.

Browns coach Mike Pettine said Friday he’ll wait until next week before deciding on whether to stick with Manziel as his starting quarterback.

Manziel filled in for injured starter Josh McCown on Thursday night against Cincinnati and delivered some Johnny Football moments as well as a few he’d like to have back during a 31-10 loss to the unbeaten Bengals.

After playing three games in 12 days and not having a break this season, Pettine said he and his coaching staff “all are going to hit the pause button and get away for a little bit.”

When they return, the Browns (2-7) will then decide whether to keep McCown, who is still recovering from injured ribs, as their starter or turn Cleveland’s offense over to Manziel, who capped a 92-yard scoring drive with a touchdown pass late in the first half

the Browns would prefer if the 22-year-old would make more plays from the pocket.

During a halftime interview, Pettine said the Browns would try to get Manziel “calmed down” in the second half.

On Friday, Pettine made it clear he doesn’t want to prevent Johnny from being Johnny.

“I thought he did some good things getting out of the pocket in the first half, but there were a couple plays where the read was there early,” Pettine said. “Those are the plays we want him to make when they are there. I thought in the second half that they did a good job of taking away the first read initially.”

In the first half, Manziel completed 11 of 18 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown. In the second, he went 4 of 15 for 40 as the Bengals kept him from rolling out where he can be so dangerous. The Browns didn’t pick up their initial first down of the second half until late in the fourth quarter.

“He has all the abilities to do it,” tackle Mitchell Schwartz said. “He is making a huge progression.”

TCU Continued from Page 1B 410 yards and three touchdowns last year as TCU rolled past Oklahoma State 42-9 in Fort Worth.

“He creates a lot of issues,” Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer said. “It doesn’t take long on film to see that he can throw, he can elude the rush, he’s got an unbelievable release and he’s a tremendous running back with the ball in his hand. He’s got great vision.”

TCU has won 16 straight games, but Oklahoma State has won 10 straight dating back to last season. The Cowboys aren’t intimidated.

“We’ll have our work

cut out for us this week, but we’re at a point where we’re really excited about the game,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said.

Here are some things to watch for during Saturday’s showdown: DOCTSON’S DAMAGE TCU WR Josh Doctson leads the nation in yards receiving per game (156.3).

He has joined Michael Crabtree as the only receivers in the nation in the past 20 years to have at least 100 yards and multiple touchdown catches in at least six straight games. Last season, he burned Oklahoma State with seven catches

for 225 yards, including scoring grabs of 84 and 77 yards.

STRENGTH vs. STRENGTH Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph throws for just over 300 yards per game, but TCU counters with a pass defense that ranks 18th nationally in pass efficiency defense.

TCU’s Corry Meally leads his team with seven pass breakups in league play.

WALSH PACKAGE J.W. Walsh takes over as Oklahoma State’s quarterback in red zone situations, and he has been masterful. He has completed 18 of 23 passes for 296 yards with nine touchdowns and no intercep-

TEXAS Continued from Page 1B Iowa State as the offensive line got pushed around. The Longhorns passing game has been almost non-existent over the last four games.

In his first game as a starter, freshman quarterback Jerrod Heard set a school record with 527 total yards passing and running with three touchdowns. In the last five games, Heard has 605 total yards with one touchdown.

Strong said he won’t replace Heard with Tyrone Swoopes, who started most of 2014 and was demoted after a season-opening loss at Notre Dame.

“I’m fine with Jerrod,” Strong said. “We know this: We’ve seen him make plays, and we know he’s capable of making plays.”

Some things to watch for when Texas hosts Kansas on Saturday night: TEXAS PASSING Has Texas abandoned its passing game entirely? Heard looked so fluid early in the season, but over the last five games has looked confused in the pocket on the rare times Texas even asks him to throw. His 111 attempts in eight total games don’t even qualify him for the minimum 15 attempts per game to be in the NCAA national rankings. The Jayhawks have given up 23 passing touchdowns already this season.

YOUTH MOVEMENT Both teams have young rosters and the game may turn on who makes more mistakes. The Longhorns have a two-deep depth

chart with freshmen sprinkled throughout.

They Jayhawks started six freshmen last week in a blowout loss to Oklahoma.

SCORING OPTIONS Both teams struggle to score and need help from the defense or special teams. In its first four games, Texas scored four touchdowns on special teams or defense and produced nothing in those areas since.

SLOW START In eight of Texas’ 12 losses the last two years, the Longhorns have scored seven or fewer points in the first half. In 11 of those losses, the opponent scored first. Kansas isn’t much better, averaging fewer than 17 points per game, but at least the Jayhawks haven’t been shut out.

tions this season. He also has seven rushing touchdowns on 35 carries. The Cowboys rank sixth nationally in red zone efficiency.

GROUND GAMES The biggest difference between the offenses is that TCU has run the ball well and Oklahoma State hasn’t. TCU averages 224 yards rushing per game and 5.8 yards per carry in league play. Oklahoma State averages just 134 yards rushing and 3.5 yards per carry in Big 12 games. TCU is middle-ofthe-pack against the run.

JAMES WASHINGTON Oklahoma State’s sophomore receiver broke out

against Texas Tech with touchdown receptions of 75 and 73 yards in the fourth quarter. He finished with four catches for 200 yards. David Glidden is the most consistent receiver, but Washington is the most explosive. He’s averaged 20.7 yards a catch in conference play, best among the top 10 in receptions per game.

“He’s a great athlete, he’s got good ball skills and he can jump,” Oklahoma State cornerback Ramon Richards said. “It just seems like he gets faster the farther he goes down the field. His downfield speed is tremendous.”

A&M Continued from Page 1B isn’t necessarily a game breaker. Malzahn expects both junior college transfer Jovon Robinson and freshman Kerryon Johnson — who’s largely played the Wildcat quarterback role — to get more carries.

MY OH MYLES Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett was named a semifinalist this week for the Lombardi Award given annually to the nation’s best collegiate lineman. He has 10 1/2 sacks, 15 1/2 tackles for losses and has forced five fumbles to lead the SEC in all three categories. The sophomore also has 44 tackles, seven hurries, a blocked punt and an interception this season.

Malzahn said he could tell last season that Garrett had the “it factor.”

“He just has a knack,” Malzahn said. “He is a playmaker, and he is someone that you have to be aware of ... because he can change the game.”

WHITE’S KNEE Auburn quarterback Sean White played against No. 19 Mississippi on a gimpy left

knee, but is expected to start on Saturday. Kerryon Johnson will almost certainly take some snaps in the Wildcat spot and former starter Jeremy Johnson could, too.

Texas A&M defensive coordinator John Chavis raved about White’s skills.

“Has a tremendous arm,” Chavis said. “With the multitude of things they do, for him able to grasp all those concepts and put it all together (is impressive). Seen him improve week to week.”

KIRK’S WORK Texas A&M WR/PR Christian Kirk needs nine yards receiving to break Uzoma Nwachukwu’s school record for yards receiving as a freshman of 670. He has three 100-yard receiving games this season and needs just one more to tie the school record for such games by a freshman last set by Mike Evans in 2012. Kirk is tied for the FBS lead with two punt returns for touchdowns and leads the nation with three returns of 50 yards or more.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2015

When Do Dogs Dine?

Dear Readers: Dogs are wellknown as big CHOWHOUNDS, and for a good reason. They are known (most, anyway) as hunters, and so the chase is on for food, food and, oh yes, did I woof "I’m hungry" at you?

Some people feed their pets once a day, twice, three times, or just free feed. A lot depends on the household. Everyone up and out by 7:30 or 8 a.m.? Anyone home during the day? How late do you get home to eat dinner? The feeding schedule has to fit with the household.

We feed our dogs, Chammy and Henry VIII, in the morning, around 1 p.m. and in the evening about 7 p.m. They have their own doggie door, so they can go and come at will. We are home (I work in my office here) most days, so this is not a problem for us. And the dogs love it! They are not overfed, just spread out during the day.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals recommends that dogs be fed two times a day. Divide the amount of food into equal sizes and serve eight to 12 hours apart is their ad-

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vice. Limit snacks and treats.

Of course, this is for normal, healthy dogs, not a pregnant one, nursing, elderly or with health issues. Talk with your veterinarian for professional advice about this topic.

OUTDOOR DOG BED Dear Heloise: I have a Great Pyrenees, who is an outdoor dog.

How can I keep his bed from freezing to/sticking to our deck?

Every year, the bed sticks to the deck, and then when it snows, I cannot lift the bed up without ripping it to get the snow off. -- Lisa in Jamestown, N.D. Lisa, a layer of hay or straw under the bed should help to protect it from freezing. I used to put a "space blanket" (found at outdoors stores with survival products) under the outside bed, and under that, layers of thick newspapers. This should help prevent the bed from sticking to the deck, as well as keep some cold from coming through the bed. As for the snow, I can’t help you there! It’s going to snow where you live. Any chance of a cover of some type over the bed, even if only a lawn umbrella?

4B THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2015