The Zapata Times 11/16/2013

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THE PHILIPPINES

STATE DISTRICT COURT

Recovery begins

Wilson County drops Reyes case Prosecutors nix third-degree felony charge in 2004 case

By MATTHEW NELSON THE ZAPATA TIMES

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Liam Kennedy/U.S. Navy | AP

U.S. sailors and Philippine army soldiers help a woman onto a HC-130 Hercules to be airlifted to a safer location on Friday, in Guiuan, Philippines. The George Washington Carrier Strike Group is helping the Philippine government in recovery efforts.

Chain to donate $100K H-E-B also urges customers to help

Photo by David Guttenfelder | AP

A Typhoon Haiyan survivor burns debris in front of the ruins of her home in Marabut village, on Friday. As an international aid effort gathered steam, Filipinos started rebuilding their lives.

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

H-E-B will donate $100,000 to the American Red Cross and will begin accepting customer donations for the families and communities devastated by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

Customers are also encouraged to donate now through Dec. 8 as part of an in-store checkstand donation campaign.

All monies accepted will benefit the American Red Cross, and will assist the organization to quickly respond to the needs of individuals and families impacted by Typhoon Haiyan. One hundred percent of all funds received will go towards logistics, disaster assessments, health, clean drinking water and sanitation for Typhoon Haiyan victims in the Philippines.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragedy,” said Winell Herron, group vice president of public affairs, diversity and environmental affairs for H-E-B. “H-E-B’s checkstand donation campaign offers a convenient and efficient way for our customers to support the needs of those affected by Typhoon Haiyan.”

The campaign offers H-E-B customers an opportunity to join H-E-B’s aid by adding a donation in increments of $1, $3, or $5 to their total grocery bill.

Residents begin burying the dead, rebuilding their lives

By TODD PITMAN AND KRISTEN GELINEAU ASSOCIATED PRESS

GUIUAN, Philippines — People swept dirt from the pews and wiped clean the mud-covered, ornate tile floors of a church. The sound of hammers hitting nails and the buzzing of chain saws reverberated in the streets. Debris was piled on corners and set ablaze.

And amid all this activity, a stream of bodies continued their final journey toward a hillside mass grave where nearly 170 had been buried by Friday afternoon.

One week after Typhoon Haiyan razed the eastern part of the Philippines, killing thousands and leaving at least 600,000 homeless, resilient residents of the disaster zone were rebuilding their lives and those of their neighbors.

An international aid effort gathered steam, highlighted by the helicopter drops conducted from the American aircraft carrier USS George Washington. But the storm victims moved ahead — with or without help from their government or foreign aid groups.

Peter Degrido, a coast guard reserve, was one of the 35 workers trying to move an overturned passenger bus from a road leading to the airport in Guiuan, a town on Samar island. They hitched the bus to a truck

with steel cables and made slow progress. Ahead of them lay many downed electricity poles that must be moved next.

“We’re clearing debris from the roads leading to the airport and the port so that relief goods and medicine can arrive faster,” Degrido said.

“It’s devastating to see this. But people are slowly recovering.”

The Philippines’ main disaster response agency raised the death toll Friday to 3,621, up from the previous figure of 2,360. Most of the casualties occurred on Leyte and Samar islands. It said 1,140 people are missing and more than 12,000 injured.

At 6 a.m., Dionesio de la Cruz was hammering together a bed, using scavenged rusty nails. He has already built a temporary shelter out of the remains of his house in Guiuan, about 100 miles from Leyte’s devastated capital of Tacloban.

The side of the new house is open.

A statue of Jesus stands on a table.

On the ground is a broken mirror.

“Temporary,” he shrugs, referring to the house and their status. “We’re on our own, so we have to do this on our own,” the 40-year-old said as his wife and mother slept on a nearby table. “We’re not expecting anybody to come and help us.”

Elsewhere in town, one man was

See TYPHOON PAGE 9A

Former Zapata Consolidated Independent School District coach Javier Reyes had his third-degree felony charge of indecency with a child by exposure dismissed this week.

Reyes was accused of touching a minor’s genitals on July 1, 2004, in Wilson County, south of Bexar. The case had been on hold while the 56-year-old dealt with a similar charge in Williamson County, located north of Austin.

It’s unclear what led to the dismissal of the charge. Reyes’ attorney and the prosecuting attorney in Wilson County could not be reached for comment Thursday.

In August, Reyes pleaded guilty in the Williamson County case to inappropriately touching a 15year-old girl at her home in Round Rock in 2006.

He was arrested in January for allegedly sexually assaulting the girl. Reyes, however, reached a plea agreement for a lesser charge of attempted indecency with a child by contact, a third-degree felony.

He was sentenced to 10 years probation and must register as a sex offender. Reyes was also ordered to pay a $2,500 fine as well as restitution to the victim.

If Reyes complies with the terms of his probation, he will not serve any time behind bars and the attempted indecency charge will be dropped.

Also under the plea agreement, Reyes agreed to surrender his teaching license for life.

An unrelated investigation was launched against Reyes after claims arose that he was speaking to and touching minors on an Alexander High School (Laredo) basketball team inappropriately. As a result of the investigation, Reyes was reprimanded and placed on a job improvement plan.

In the end, Reyes, following his arrest in January, resigned from Laredo’s United Independent School District in February after he was recommended for termination.

(Matthew Nelson may be reached at 728-2567 or mnelson@lmtonline.com)

COMMISSIONERS

‘Spice’ gets an airing at meeting

By ALDO AMATO THE ZAPATA TIMES

Zapata County officials look to combat synthetic drug consumption in the county after listening to a presentation at Tuesday’s Commissioners Court meeting.

Austin attorney Hector Uribe presented commissioners with statistics and a report on the dangers of synthetic marijuana, also known as Spice. The drug is usually created by spraying natural herbs with synthetic chemicals that, when consumed, allegedly mimic the effects of cannabis.

Commissioner Jose Emilio Vela said around five stores in Zapata County sell synthetic marijuana.

“We really couldn’t take action and tell store owners not to sell it because it would be unconstitutional,” Vela said. “But we want to make an effort to regulate where they can sell it and combat it as best as we can.”

Vela said the presentation was an eye-opening experience and that he underestimated the effects of synthetic drugs.

“These drugs cause severe hallucinations and we saw people trying to eat themselves,” he said.

“We’ve had 15 cases of synthetic marijuana consumption within the past year in Zapata. So we’re going to look at this at future meetings.”

(Aldo Amato may be reached at 728-2538 or aamato@lmtonline.com)

PAGE 2A

Zin brief CALENDAR

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2013

AROUND TEXAS

TODAY IN HISTORY

SATURDAY, NOV. 16

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Influenza Drive Through Clinic. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Laredo Energy Arena parking lot, through Arena Boulevard. 3 years old and above can get vaccinated in car. $8 children and $20 adults (cash or check only). Medicare and Medicaid accepted. Call 795-4951.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving Community Action Meeting. 10 a.m. meeting and volunteer sign-up. 1 p.m. volunteer training. Laredo Police Department, 4712 Maher Ave. Contact Elizabeth Alonzo Villarreal at laredomadd@hotmail.com or 740-3233.

TAMIU Planetarium shows.

“Earth, Moon and Sun” 2 p.m. “Season of Light” 3 p.m. “Mystery of the Christmas Star” 4 p.m.; “Holiday Music Magic” 5 p.m. General admission $4 children and $5 adults. Premium shows $1 more. Matinee shows $4.

Call 326-3663.

Today is Saturday, Nov. 16, the 320th day of 2013. There are 45 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Nov. 16, 1933, the United States and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations.

On this date: In 1776, British troops captured Fort Washington in New York during the American Revolution.

In 1885, Canadian rebel leader Louis Riel was executed for high treason.

In 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state of the union.

In 1917, Georges Clemenceau again became prime minister of France.

In 1946, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded at the conclusion of a conference in London.

In 1959, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The Sound of Music” opened on Broadway.

In 1960, Academy Awardwinning actor Clark Gable died in Los Angeles at age 59.

In 1961, House Speaker Samuel T. Rayburn, 79, died at his home in Bonham, Texas, having served as speaker since 1940 except for two terms as minority leader of the Democrats.

In 1966, Dr. Samuel H. Sheppard was acquitted in his second trial of murdering his pregnant wife, Marilyn, in 1954.

In 1973, Skylab 4, carrying a crew of three astronauts, was launched from Cape Canaveral on an 84-day mission.

In 1982, an agreement was announced in the 57th day of a strike by National Football League players.

In 1997, China’s most prominent pro-democracy campaigner, Wei Jingsheng (way jeengshuhng), arrived in the United States after being released following nearly 18 years of imprisonment in his country.

Ten years ago: Serbs failed for the third time in a year to elect a president because of low voter turnout. Five years ago: Iraq’s Cabinet overwhelmingly approved a security pact with the United States calling for American forces to remain in the country until 2012. One year ago: Financially struggling Hostess Brands Inc. announced it was shutting down its operations following a strike by the union.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Clu Gulager is 84. Journalist Elizabeth Drew is 78. Blues musician W.C. Clark is 74. Actress Joanna Pettet is 71. Actor Steve Railsback is 68. Actor David Leisure is 63. Actor Miguel Sandoval is 62. Actress Marg Helgenberger is 55. Rock musician Mani is 51. Country singer-musician Keith Burns (Trick Pony) is 50. Tennis player Zina Garrison is 50.

Former MLB All-Star pitcher Dwight Gooden is 49. Jazz singer Diana Krall is 49. Actor Harry Lennix is 49. Rock musician Dave Kushner (Velvet Revolver) is 47. Actress Lisa Bonet (boh-NAY’) is 46. Actress Tammy Lauren is 45. Rhythmand-blues singer Bryan Abrams (Color Me Badd) is 44.

Actress Martha Plimpton is 43. Actor Michael Irby is 41.

Thought for Today: “History is a combination of reality and lies. The reality of History becomes a lie. The unreality of the fable becomes the truth.” — Jean Cocteau (zhan kawk-toh’), French author, director, poet (1889-1963).

THURSDAY, NOV. 21 Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club. 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Country Club. Call 727-0589.

FRIDAY, NOV. 22 Dance lock-in to benefit South Texas Food Bank. Noon to 6 a.m. Peter Piper Pizza, 1400 Guadalupe St. Call 285-4441 or email aalisai@mail.com.

Email Ron2cal@yahoo.com or 3240322.

SATURDAY, NOV. 23 Sonya Hernandez Memorial 5K Walk/Run. 9 a.m. Lake Casa Blanca State Park. Benefits students whose one parent is battling cancer or has died of cancer.

Color Vibe 5K. 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

6320 Sinatra Parkway. Come as a blank canvas and leave as a colorful mural. Sign up at thecolorvibe.com/Laredo.php.

TAMIU Planetarium shows. “Star Signs” 2 p.m.; “Mystery of the Christmas Star” 3 p.m.; “Season of Light” 4 p.m.; “Holiday Music Magic” 5 p.m.

General admission $4 children and $5 adults. Premium shows $1 more. Matinee shows $4 for 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. only. Call 326-3663.

Bethany House warehouse sale. 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. 405 Hidalgo St. $5 Clothing bag sale. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bethany House vintage store.

920 Hidalgo St.

SUNDAY, NOV. 24 Laredo Ministerial Association Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service. 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Christ Church Episcopal, 2320 Lane St. Rev. Paul Frye officiating. All religious denominations invited.

Monetary collection offering to benefit South Texas Food Bank. Call 324-2432.

MONDAY, NOV. 25 Zapata County Commissioners Court meeting. 9 a.m. Zapata County Courthouse. Call Roxy Elizondo at 7659920.

TAMIU Planetarium shows. “One World One Sky Big Bird’s Adventure” 2 p.m.; “Earth, Moon and Sun” 3 p.m.; “Mystery of the Christmas Star” 4 p.m. General admission $4. Call 3263663.

TUESDAY, NOV. 26 TAMIU Planetarium shows. “Zula Patrol: Down to Earth” 2 p.m.; “Secret of the Cardboard Rocket” 3 p.m.; “Season of Light” 4 p.m. General admission $4. Call 326-3663.

Photo by LM Otero | AP

A Chevron gas pipeline exploded on Thursday in rural North Texas with no injuries. Chevron requested a 1 1/2-mile evacuation zone for Milford, which has about 700 residents. Some residents were escorted to their homes Friday as the pipeline continued to burn, according to sheriff’s officials.

Some return home after explosion ASSOCIATED PRESS

MILFORD — Some residents of a rural North Texas town were escorted to their homes Friday as a nearby Chevron pipeline continued to burn, according to sheriff ’s officials.

Ellis County sheriff ’s Lt. James Saulter said deputies were accompanying Milford residents who needed to retrieve medication or check on pets. Homeowners were only allowed to stay briefly.

Chevron crews were working Friday to plug the liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, pipeline near Milford, 40 miles south of Dallas. A drilling crew punctured the line Thursday, triggering an explosion and a large fire that could be seen for miles. No injuries were reported.

Nobody hurt in tanker car derailment

Retail gasoline prices down 3 cents

Trauma to head seen as cause of student’s death

ARLINGTON — Nobody has been hurt after a Union Pacific Railroad tanker car derailed in an industrial part of North Texas, knocked over a power pole and interrupted electricity to a neighborhood.

The Arlington Fire Department says crews early Friday located the derailed car hauling ethanol and nothing spilled.

Authorities are trying to determine what caused the derailment.

HOUSTON — Retail gasoline prices across Texas have continued to slide by dropping 3 cents per gallon this week.

AAA Texas on Thursday reported the average price at the pump settled at $2.95 per gallon.

Gasoline prices nationwide also declined 3 cents this week, reaching an average $3.19 per gallon.

NEW BRAUNFELS — Officials say a Canyon High School student who was attacked as he left a classroom earlier this week died of blunt force trauma to the head.

A 15-year-old suspect remains in Guadalupe County Juvenile Detention Center in Seguin (sihGEEN’) on suspicion of aggravated assault, according to New Braunfels police.

32 face drug counts, ring based in Stephenville FORT WORTH — Federal prosecutors say 32 people have been charged in a Texas methamphetamine-running operation in nearly a dozen rural counties.

Investigators say 20 defendants were arrested Thursday, 11 are held on unrelated state charges and one suspect remains at large.

THURSDAY, DEC. 5 Christmas Parade and Lighting of the County Plaza. Parade lineup starts 5 p.m.. 17th Avenue and Glenn Street.

Music, refreshments and toys with Santa. Email cbalderas@zapatachamber.com.

SATURDAY, DEC. 7 First United Methodist Church will hold a used book sale, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 1220 McClelland Ave. Hardback books are $1, paperback books 50 cents, and magazines and children’s books 25 cents.

MONDAY, DEC. 9 Zapata County Commissioners Court meeting. 9 a.m. Zapata County Courthouse. Call Roxy Elizondo at 7659920.

Submit calendar items at lmtonline.com/calendar/submit or by emailing editorial@lmtonline.com with the event’s name, date and time, location and purpose and contact information for a representative. Items will run as space is available.

Chevron requested a 1 1/2-mile evacuation zone for Milford, which has about 700 residents. The company said concerns over air quality, nearby pipelines and other factors prompted the evacuation.

The American Red Cross set up an evacuation shelter in nearby Italy (IT’-lee), where about three dozen people stayed Thursday night.

Jim Barnum, general manager of operations for the Chevron Pipeline Co., apologized Friday on behalf of the company.

“The No. 1 goal for all involved is the protection of life,” he said.

He said Chevron crews hope to have the fire extinguished and the pipeline capped by the end of Friday. He said the fire is shrinking.

Barnum said tests have determined that the air quality in the area is “normal.”

Gov. Perry blasts Obama for health care law change AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry is predictably panning President Barack Obama’s reversing course and calling for canceled health insurance policies to be reinstated under the new health law.

The Republican on Thursday blasted Obama for “cavalierly instructing states to ignore federal law.”

Texas has the highest rate of uninsured Americans.

Voter ID case gets Sept. 2014 trial date AUSTIN — A federal judge has set a September 2014 trial date for a lawsuit seeking to overturn Texas’ Voter ID. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos said Friday the trial will start Sept. 2.

Those challenging the law say it creates an illegal barrier to poor minorities and people in rural areas voting.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION Montana bride says fatal push was instinct MISSOULA, Mont. — A Montana woman charged with shoving her new husband off a cliff to his death says she instinctively pushed him away when he grabbed her arm during an argument.

Twenty-two-year-old Jordan Graham is charged with murder in Cody Johnson’s July 7 death.

She testified in U.S. District Court in Missoula in a hearing on her request to drop the charges.

She is scheduled to go to trial Dec. 9. Prosecutors have requested a delay.

Official: Police officer said TSA victim was dead LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles airport police union spokesman says medical attention for a mortally wounded Transportation Security Admin-

CONTACT US

Photo by Michael Macor/The San Francisco Chronicle

Batman and 5-year-old Miles, as Batkid, arrive on the scene of a report of a damsel in distress along the Hyde Street cable car line in San Francisco, Ca., on Friday. After battling leukemia since he was a year old, Miles fulfilled his dream of becoming Batkid, thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. istration officer was delayed because a Los Angeles Police Department officer told responders the man was dead.

Marshall McClain, president of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association, said Friday the LAPD officer was standing in

front of TSA Officer Gerardo Hernandez, obscuring him from view, telling other responding officers that Hernandez was dead.

The events unfolded on Nov. 1 after a gunman pulled a rifle from a duffel bag in the airport.

— Compiled from AP reports

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Local

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2013

Grand jury indicts man

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

A federal grand jury indicted a man Wednesday for being in the country illegally, court documents state.

Carlos Arellano-Arellano was formally charged with illegal entry after deportation, which could

carry anywhere from zero to 20 years in prison, the indictment states.

U.S. Border Patrol agents detained him Oct. 22 in Zapata County. An investigation determined he was an illegal immigrant from Mexico who had been previously removed from the country Aug. 26 in San Ysidro,

Calif.

Arellano-Arellano remains in federal custody on a $75,000 bond. He has arraignment set for 11 a.m. Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Diana Song Quiroga.

(César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 7282568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)

Man faces unlawful transport charges

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

A man who claimed illegal immigrants who had crossed the Rio Grande in San Ygnacio began following him was arrested Nov. 7 on human smuggling charges, according to court records.

Guadalupe Gonzalez Jr., a U.S. citizen, was charged with unlawfully transport by guiding immigrants through the brush and transport immigrants by means of a motor vehicle, according to a federal criminal complaint filed Tuesday. Gonzalez was in federal custody as of Friday evening.

At 3:45 p.m. Nov. 7, U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned in the San Ygnacio area observed a pickup approaching the location. At 4:15 p.m., agents spotted people on the Mexican

Four people followed a short man with a tan jacket. side boarding a boat. The boat began floating toward the United States and made landfall about 25 yards from the agents’ location, the complaint reads.

Court records state a group of four people followed a short man wearing a tan jacket once they were on U.S. territory.

Agents attempted to apprehend the group but the man with the tan jacket, later identified as Gonzalez, attempted to escape.

Court documents state

Gonzalez was detained about 100 yards away.

Gonzalez, a U.S. citizen, and the four people who had entered the country illegally were taken to the Zapata Border Patrol Station. Two immigrants who were held as material witnesses against Gonzalez said Gonzalez instructed them to follow him.

In a post-arrest interview, Gonzalez said a group of people began to follow him in the riverbank area. He then observed someone coming out of the brush when he was half way up a hill.

Gonzalez ran claiming he did not know who the person was.

“Gonzalez goes on to state he was scared and started running away,” the complaint reads.

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

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

Teen indicted on immigration charge

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ

Each count carries a punishment of up to 10 years.

THE ZAPATA TIMES

A San Ygnacio teenager who expected a $300 payment per illegal immigrant he allegedly attempted to smuggle was indicted Wednesday, according to court records.

A federal grand jury charged Raul Ivan Turi, 18, with one count of conspiracy to transport illegal immigrants within the United States, and three counts of transport and attempt to transport illegal immigrants for financial gain.

Each count carries a punishment of up to 10 years behind bars, according to the indictment filed Wednesday. Turi had requested a bond reduction to be able to graduate from Zapata High School, court records state. But he remained in federal custody after a federal judge denied bond reduction Nov.

1.

At 2:25 p.m. Oct. 25, U.S. Border Patrol agents responded to reports of a sensor being activated in the San Ygnacio area.

Agents spotted a red Chevrolet Cruze driving away from the river toward U.S. 83. Turi was identified as the driver.

Court documents described him as “a wellknown (immigrant) and narcotics smuggler who has been arrested before,” a criminal complaint filed Oct. 28 states. Turi drove the Chevrolet Cruze into the parking lot of Pepe’s Exxon Gas Station, where he got out to go inside the

store.

Two passengers who had exited the vehicle and ran from the scene were apprehended shortly after, according to court documents. Meanwhile, agents could not find Turi inside the store. One agent patrolling at the intersection of Guerrero and Matamoros streets found him inside a red Ford Mustang in the back seat. Turi allegedly admitted to being hired to drive illegal immigrants from San Ygnacio to Laredo for $300 per person, the complaint states.

“Turi admitted that he has been involved in the facilitation of undocumented immigrants about four times prior to this one,” the complaint reads.

Turi has arraignment set for 11 a.m. Thursday in courtroom 2B. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)

PAGE 4A

Zopinion

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2013

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

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

The mess the White House is in

By KATHLEEN PARKER THE WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON — Let’s recap: If you like your insurance policy, you can keep it. No, wait. If you liked your policy, it was probably worthless anyway. Scratch that. If your junk policy was canceled and you still want it, you can keep it. Er, get it back.

Whatever.

So now President Obama has apologized for real. On Thursday, he told Americans, “I hear you loud and clear” (Do I hear an echo?) and announced that insurance companies can ignore the law for a year. The several million Americans whose policies were canceled, or were scheduled to be canceled, can keep them — or get them back — assuming state regulators and insurance companies comply.

It isn’t clear whether insurers can, or will, based on the assurances of someone whose credibility isn’t exactly soaring. Meanwhile, the newest promise dovetails with another earlier delay granted to businesses with at least 50 employees (just 3.6 percent of employers), which were given another year to comply with the ACA. With the computercrash rollout preventing people from signing up, businesses temporarily exempted from compliance, and policyholders either reinstated or facing yet another broken promise (for which the insurance companies will be blamed), is there anyone left to love Obamacare?

In the wake of Obama’s latest tweak, two salient questions have emerged: Can the ACA survive?

Can the president even do what he just did, legally?

Though brilliant minds may differ, the president is probably within bounds, according to a compelling argument by Simon Lazarus, senior counsel at the Constitutional Accountability Center. The relevant constitutional text, he writes on The Atlantic’s website, requires that the president “take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” a broad-enough concept to allow for judgment in the execution.

The only prohibition is that the president not fail to execute the law owing to his opposition to a policy. Obviously, this is not the case here. As a political matter, it is also obvious that Obama is merely trying to right his own sinking ship, especially after Bill Clinton’s undoubtedly heartfelt advice (you just know), as well as to pre-empt a new House bill to aid canceled policyholders that passed Friday with bipartisan support, including 39 Democrats.

Cynics on the left insist that Republicans have no real interest in helping Obamacare. And, of course, they are correct. Do Republicans just want to make sure Obama fails? Yes, but not for reasons sometimes suggested. Oprah recently intoned that many Americans disrespect Obama because he is AfricanAmerican. Even if that were remotely true, it is not the reason half the country opposes Obamacare and many more now doubt its efficacy.

Whether the ACA survives the new timetable remains an open question.

The plan sinks or swims on the basis of young, healthy people signing up, which, for now, they cannot do.

Similarly, when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky notoriously said that his job was to make sure Obama was a one-term president, it wasn’t because of race nor was it immediate to the president’s election. McConnell made his remark in October 2010 on the eve of the midterm elections and after Obamacare passed without a single Republican vote.

In other words, Republicans oppose Obama’s policies, not the man, because they believe the president will so inexorably change the structure of our social and economic system by mandating and punishing human behavior that nothing less than individual freedom is at stake. Under present circumstances, this hardly seems delusional. Does anyone really believe that subsidized policyholders with pre-existing conditions won’t eventually face other mandates and penalties related to their lifestyle choices?

Finally, Democrats incessantly seize upon their prize trophy: The U.S. Supreme Court validated Obamacare. True-ish. The high court didn’t endorse Obamacare as a good idea. It didn’t even find the individual mandate constitutional. It ruled that the mandate/penalty is constitutional only if the penalty is viewed as a “tax.” If one were to examine this gift horse’s mouth, one would have to note that, funny, but throughout the health care debate and oral arguments, and even now, Democrats have insisted that the penalty is not a tax. Paging George Orwell.

Whether the ACA survives the new timetable remains an open question. The plan sinks or swims on the basis of young, healthy people signing up, which, for now, they cannot do except in dribs and drabs.

Further, the ACA clearly needed the canceled policyholders to buy new, more expensive policies to underwrite subsidies and pre-existing conditions.

Given the season, the timing of these un-glad tidings could not be worse.

Soon enough, Americans will figure out whether Obamacare is the gift Democrats promised — or if Obama is the Grinch who stole, you know, the holiday season.

(Kathleen Parker’s email address is kathleenparker@washpost.com.)

COLUMN

In Morton case, a system gone wrong or a system gone right?

GEORGETOWN — Lots of things have happened in American courtrooms.

But, best I can tell, nothing’s ever happened like what I saw happen Friday in a Williamson County courtroom down the hall from where Ken Anderson used to be a judge.

What I saw was an exprosecutor sentenced to jail for his role in putting an innocent man in prison. The Michael Morton case — he spent 25 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit, the 1986 slaying of his wife — is now cause célèbre enough to cause a Hollywood scriptwriter to be in the courtroom Friday.

The room was filled with people filled with emotion over the case, but the proceeding was appropriately unemotional, save perhaps for Anderson’s dejected, defeated countenance. It took about 10 minutes and ended with a 10-day jail sentence for lying to a judge, many years ago, about whether Anderson had withheld any evidence that could have helped Morton’s defense.

Anderson sat with his lawyers at the defense table and didn’t say a word on what would have been a good day for him to say many words, words of defiance if he felt railroaded or words of contrition if

“

KEN HERMAN

he truly acknowledges the egregious error committed back when he was district attorney in his famously tough-on-crime county.

After the hearing, Barry Scheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project that pressed the case against Anderson, said: “To this very day he wants to somehow say, ‘The system is wrong. I did nothing wrong.’ That is not an example for anybody, and it is frankly disgraceful.”

Anderson’s silence and demeanor seemed that of a man — hundreds of thousands of dollars into lawyer bills and facing a possible 10-year prison term — consenting to the best deal he could cut while perhaps believing he’s a victim of a system gone wrong.

Seated on the front row, Morton knew a thing or two about systems gone wrong.

In the end, the whole thing turned on two words Anderson long ago uttered during the Morton trial.

The words led to the contempt charge Anderson did not contest.

“The contempt relates to a question from (thenState District Judge) William S. Lott on Feb. 6, 1987, in which the court said, ‘All right, Mr. Anderson, do you have anything that’s favorable to the accused?”’ State District Judge Kelly Moore said.

“And the response was, ‘No, sir.’ The court makes the finding of contempt as to that issue.”

More serious allegations disappeared in the agreement. Statutes of limitations and the passage of time (much of which Morton spent in prison) impeded charges of tampering with physical evidence (carrying up to 10 years in prison) and tampering with a government record (carrying up to a year in jail).

Anderson, who quit as a state district judge in September, also will pay a $500 fine, do 500 hours of community service and give up his law license.

The time and the money seem trivial. Giving up the law license does not. And though Morton said he was satisfied with the outcome, I left the courtroom unclear on whether justice had been done and whether there are cases that defy justice.

So did the judge who approved the deal.

“I’d like to say that un-

usual cases, to say the least, might often require an unusual resolution,” Moore said in ending the hearing. “And the court had many serious factual and legal issues facing it in all these cases related to the statute of limitations in two of the cases and the factual issues that arise after the passage of time. The parties were very consistent in trying to reach an agreement that the judge would approve, that the judge thought would meet the ends of justice. And in a case like this sometimes it’s hard to say what meets the ends of justice and what doesn’t.”

There was no way, he said, “that anything we could do here could resolve the tragedy that occurred related to these matters.”

Later, I asked Morton’s team whether this turns out to be a story about a system gone wrong or a system that had found a new way to go right.

“A system getting better,” said state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, and Innocence Project board chairman.

“Let’s hope it’s getting better,” Scheck said.

(Ken Herman is a columnist for the Austin American-Statesman.

Email: kherman@statesman.com.)

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2013

THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

GOP seeking bill despite veto threat

By DAVID ESPO ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — House Republicans pushed toward a vote Friday on legislation to let insurance companies sell individual coverage to all comers, even if it falls short of standards in “Obamacare,” saying it would ease the plight of millions of consumers reeling from cancellation notices.

The White House threatened a veto if the measure reaches President Barack Obama’s desk. Democratic leaders worked furiously to minimize defections on the issue, while mindful it is likely to figure prominently in next year’s elections with control of Congress at stake.

The debate and scheduled vote came as Obama arranged a meeting at the White House with insurance company CEOs, and as the industry and state insurance commissioners began adjusting to an abrupt change in policy he announced on Thursday.

Under the shift, Obama said insurers should be permitted to continue to sell individual coverage plans deemed substandard

under the health care law to existing customers.

Without the change, many existing plans would have been banned beginning next year, and the president’s announcement was an attempt to quell a public and political furor triggered by millions of cancellation notices.

The House measure went one step further. It would give insurance firms the ability to sell individual plans to new as well as existing customers, even if the coverage falls short of the law’s requirements.

“For the last six weeks the White House stood idly by ignoring the pleas of millions,” said Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and lead sponsor of the legislation.

“Our straightforward, one-page bill says, if you like your current coverage, you should be able to keep it. The president should heed his own advice and work with us, the Congress, as the founders intended, not around the legislative process.”

But Democrats said the measure was just another

Photo by Charles Dharapak | AP

Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., left, accompanied by House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, are seen in this Wednesday photo. in a long line of attacks on the health care bill from Republicans who have voted repeatedly to repeal it.

“It would take away the core protections of that law.

It creates an entire submarket of substandard health care plans,” said Rep. Henry Waxman of California.

To qualify under the law, insurance plans would have to conform to numerous conditions. Among them, they would have to accept all customers, regardless of pre-existing conditions, would be limited in additional premiums they could charge on the

basis of age and could not cap lifetime benefits. They also would have to include coverage in a wide range of areas — doctor and hospital care for adults and children, laboratory services, preventive coverage and prescription drugs.

In a veto threat Thursday night, the White House accused Republicans of seeking to “sabotage the health care law,” and said their measure would allow “insurers to continue to sell new plans that deploy practices such as not offering coverage for people with pre-existing condi-

tions, charging women more than men, and continuing yearly caps on the amount of care that enrollees receive.”

The cancellation issue is only part of the woes confronting the president and his allies as they struggle to sustain the health care law.

Obama has repeatedly apologized for a dismal launch of www.healthcare.gov, which consumers in 36 states were supposed to use beginning on Oct. 1 to sign up for new coverage.

The website is so riddled with problems that the administration disclosed earlier this week that fewer than 27,000 signups have been completed — a number that Republicans noted is dwarfed by the flood of cancellations issued due to the law.

Compounding the administration’s misery, the poor quality of the website has made it that much harder for consumers receiving cancellation notices to shop for alternative plans.

It is unclear what, if anything, the administration is prepared to do to alleviate the threat of a break in cov-

erage for those consumers.

In addition, there already are signs of resistance among state insurance commissioners, who would have to agree to allow Obama’s proposed change to take effect. At the same time, industry officials and commissioners alike warn that premium prices could rise beginning with 2015 coverage plans if the changes go into effect.

The Democratic opposition to the House measure was based in part on a fear that opening cheaper substandard plans to all comers could wind up driving premiums higher for the rest of the population.

The concern they express is that younger, healthier Americans would be attracted to the cheaper coverage, rather than seek out a plan that conforms with the Obamacare requirements.

Younger, healthier individuals are generally less expensive to cover for an insurer, and the more they shun the government-run insurance exchanges set up under the law, the higher the premiums could be for the relatively older, sicker customers who shop there.

Obama relying on rule changes

By ALICIA A. CALDWELL ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Bob Owen/San Antonio Express-News | AP

Elizabeth Ramirez, right, 38, and Cassandra Rivera, 37, both in the Hobby Unit in Marlin, wait to be escorted back to their cells after being interviewed in Hobby Unit on Sept. 5, 2012.

Inmates may get freedom

By NOMAAN MERCHANT ASSOCIATED PRESS

DALLAS — Three of four San Antonio women imprisoned for sexually assaulting two girls in 1994 could soon walk free after their attorney and prosecutors agreed that a key expert witness’ testimony is now discredited.

Bexar County prosecutor Rico Valdez and defense attorney Mike Ware told The Associated Press on Friday that they agree the convictions of the so-called “San Antonio 4” should be vacated. A judge on Monday is scheduled to review findings of fact that will be sent to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

The women may be able to obtain a bond to allow them to walk free that day, Ware said.

Elizabeth Ramirez, Kristie Mayhugh and Cassandra Rivera remain imprisoned. The fourth, Anna Vasquez, was paroled last year, but under strict conditions.

The four were accused by two of Ramirez’s nieces, ages 7 and 9, of successive attacks during a week in 1994. The girls testified that the women held them by their wrists and ankles, attacked them and threat-

ened to kill them.

Ramirez was given a 37year prison sentence. Mayhugh, Vasquez and Rivera were given 15-year sentences.

More than a decade later, their case came to the attention of attorneys affiliated with the nonprofit Innocence Project of Texas, which investigates potential wrongful conviction cases and pushes for criminal justice reforms. Ware, who has worked on the case for two years, filed petitions on their behalf last month with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

They were convicted in 1998 based on an expert’s testimony that the 9-yearold girl had a scar in her vaginal area caused by the tearing of her hymen — which could only have been caused by a painful attack.

According to a petition filed by Ware, the expert, Dr. Nancy Kellogg, also testified that the injury in question happened around the time of the alleged assaults.

Ware’s petition cites a 2007 study by the American Academy of Pediatrics that found that “torn or injured hymens do not leave scars as a matter of scientific fact.” Valdez said Friday that the mark Kellogg observed “would be identified

as non-specific if she were testifying today,” not as evidence of trauma.

Kellogg declined an interview request.

One of the girls, who was 7 at the time, also has since recanted in an interview with the San Antonio Express-News, though she didn’t specify what led her to make the allegations.

“I can’t take back what I did, but if I could talk to all of them in one room, I would just say I’m sorry,” said the woman in the interview published last year.

“I’m sorry for ruining them.”

Prosecutors don’t agree with Ware that the women should be declared formally innocent — a distinction that would allow them to collect money Texas pays to the wrongfully imprisoned. But Valdez said the women should be granted new trials “at minimum.”

“Realistically, given the age of the cases, given the position as far as it’s been related to us that one of the witnesses is recanting, it would be impossible for us to try to seek additional convictions,” Valdez said.

“And I’m not sure, based on what I know at this point, that that would be in the interest of justice anyway.”

Public Notice Region 11 of the Department of State Health Services, in partnership with the Texas Military Forces may conduct a health care program called “Operation Lone Star” in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Jim Hogg, Zapata and Webb Counties. Free medical and dental services may be provided for up to one week in late July and/or early August 2015.

Questions should be addressed to: Innovative Readiness Coordinator ATTN: MSG Marta Cruz JFTX-J7 P.O. Box 5218 Austin, TX 78763-5218 (512) 782-5738 L-20

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration will allow some relatives of U.S. service members living in the country illegally to stay, according to a policy directive issued Friday.

The nine-page memorandum is the latest in a series of immigration policy changes made by President Barack Obama since he took office. The department has long had the power to stop deportations for relatives of military members and veterans, but Friday’s memo lays out how and when it can be used.

The latest order gives U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials the power to “parole in place” immigrant spouses, children and parents of U.S. service members, reservists and veterans.

Margaret D. Stock, an Alaska-based immigration attorney and retired Army reserve lieutenant colonel, said the latest directive would likely impact thousands of military families. “It is very significant,” Stock said. “It will ease the strain on so many families and military members.”

Peter Boogaard, a Homeland Security Department spokesman, said the policy change would help “reduce the uncertainty our active duty and retired military personnel face because of the immigration status of their family members.”

James Swartout, a Defense Department spokesman, said the military appreciates the clarification on how immigrant family members of service members are to be treated.

Obama is relying more often on making relatively minor administrative changes to America’s complicated immigration system, as the likelihood dims that Congress will overhaul the law. He pledged twice as a presidential candidate to pass immigration reforms.

Obama’s changes initially were broad and controversial. He instructed the government to use its discretion to find and deport only the most serious criminals.

Then in mid-2012, he announced a plan to offer young immigrants in the country illegally a reprieve from deportation and work permits for at least two years.

Now, as it appears less likely that Congress will change immigration laws, the White House is chipping away at the edges with relative minor procedural changes.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told managers in August how to deal with immigrant parents or legal guardians of young children. The memoranda said that before someone is deported, ICE officials should consider whether he or she is the primary caregiver for a minor child, has a direct interest in a family court or welfare proceeding or is the parent or guardian to children who are U.S.

citizens or legal permanent residents.

The administration has also allowed immigrant spouses and children of U.S. citizens to stay in the United States in some cases.

Other rule changes gave more flexibility to the Homeland Security Department’s use of immigration holds for people in local jails.

House Republicans have long criticized the administrative changes.

Obama has repeatedly said immigration reform is a top priority of his administration. His selection of Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon’s former top lawyer, who has no immigration experience, as the next Homeland Security secretary signals that the White House, rather than the department, will now lead the push for immigration law changes.

The Senate earlier this year passed a sweeping bill that called for the doubling of the Border Patrol and a path to legal status for the estimated 11 million immigrants living illegally in the country.

But activity has stalled in the House. On Wednesday, House Speaker John Boehner said the House will not hold compromise talks on the Senate-passed bill. It faces opposition from House Republicans who have objected to a comprehensive approach.

Many of them don’t like the idea of offering citizenship to people who broke immigration laws to travel to the U.S.

State

6A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2013

Valley schools to get $196 million ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Ramon Renteria/El Paso Times/file | AP

AUSTIN — University of Texas System regents unanimously approved nearly $200 million Thursday for construction projects at the new university and medical school in the Rio Grande Valley near the Texas-Mexico border.

The South Texas campus and medical school projects were approved last year by the university system and this summer by the Texas Legislature. But the vote by the Board of Regents provides additional funding, allocating $142 million for campus construction and $54 million for the medical school construction from the multibillion-dollar Perma-

nent University Fund.

As the measure passed, some in the room choked back tears and board members and those watching from a packed public gallery climbed to their feet to applaud.

The plan merged Texas-Pan American in Edinburg and Texas-Brownsville into what has been informally dubbed the University for the Americas in the Rio Grande Valley.

Of the allocation, $70 million will go toward a new science building on the campus in Edinburg, and another $72 million will be used for other capital improvements. Another $54 million will be used for an academic building on the Brownsville Campus

Playboy Marfa, depicting the iconic Playboy bunny logo and a classic 1970’s muscle car on a tilted platform, is shown along U.S. 90 about a mile west of Marfa. The artwork will be moved to the Dallas Contemporary museum for an exhibition next year.

Playboy bunny to be moved to Dallas art museum

By TERRY WALLACE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DALLAS — A 40-foot high Playboy bunny logo that had upset some residents of the West Texas town of Marfa will be removed from a roadside display and hauled to a Dallas museum, where it will be featured in an exhibition.

The neon bunny that’s part of the “Playboy Marfa” sculpture by New York contemporary artist Richard Phillips will be dismantled this month and taken from U.S. 90 to the Dallas Contemporary museum near the city’s downtown. The move to Dallas, about 500 miles northeast of Marfa, is the result of a deal with the Texas Department of

Transportation.

The bunny will be installed at the museum in March and displayed in April. It will be part of an exhibition highlighting Phillips’ work, said museum spokeswoman Erin Cluley.

The museum does not keep its art as part of any collection, so the neon bunny will be moved again — it’s just not clear where, Cluley said.

Peter Doroshenko, executive director of the museum, said Dallas Contemporary has been working with Phillips for a year on his first museum exhibition in the U.S. He said the Playboy piece will be one of several three-dimensional art works displayed along with paintings and drawings.

“I anticipate that the

focus and scope of the project will make it one of the highest attended exhibitions in Dallas for 2014,” Doroshenko said.

The “Playboy Marfa” sculpture debuted last June in Marfa, about 180 miles southeast of El Paso. Some Marfa residents were upset that their town — known as a hub for artists and creative types — was being used for marketing purposes. Also, Texas transportation officials said the sculpture lacked a state permit required for outdoor billboards and moved quickly to give Playboy 45 days to remove it.

“We have been working to find a solution to this, so we are happy this has been resolved and that Texans will still get to enjoy this

piece of art,” said Veronica Beyer, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Transportation.

Still unresolved, though, is the fate of a sealed model Prada showroom that has stood for years beside U.S. 90 in the West Texas desert town of Valentine, about 35 miles northwest of Marfa.

Transportation officials also deemed that a form of advertising similar to a billboard, meaning it would need to be licensed by the state. However, the area where it is located is not eligible for such permits.

“All I can tell you about Prada is we are working on a solution, but cannot get into specifics yet,” Beyer said.

2,900-plus enroll in health plans ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — Fewer than 3,000 Texans enrolled for health insurance last month on the problem-plagued federal online exchange, a small fraction of those seeking to apply amid the rocky rollout of the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s health care law.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday that 2,991 people in Texas had selected a plan from the insurance marketplace. Nearly 54,000 Texans applied for a health plan through the exchange, seeking coverage for more than 108,000 people — including themselves and others like spouses and children.

So few succeeded because the federal website offering insurance coverage has been beset with problems since its Oct. 1 debut.

According to an internal memo obtained by The Associ-

ated Press, the Obama administration had projected that more than 44,000 people would have signed up for the Texas plan by Oct. 31.

Texas has the highest rate of uninsured Americans — more than 23 percent. But it is relying on the federal health coverage exchange website since the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature opted not to create a state-run marketplace.

Gov. Rick Perry also has refused to enact a provision in the White House-backed law to expand Medicaid and cover more of the working poor.

Texas is one of 36 states without its own insurance marketplace. Across the nation, 26,794 people in those states — including Texas — enrolled in health insurance plans in the first month.

States running their own enrollment systems did better, signing up more than 79,000, for a total enrollment of 106,000-plus.

SÁBADO 16 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2013

Agenda en Breve LAREDO 11/16— Estudiantes de Trautmann Middle School estará recolectando suministros para la sociedad protectora de animales en North Central Park de 9 a 11 a.m.

11/16— Se estará aplicando vacuna contra la influenza de 9 a.m. a 1 p.m. en el estacionamiento del Laredo Energy Arena. Costo es de 8 y 20 dólares aplicación de vacuna a menores y adultos. Menores de 3 años podrán recibir vacuna dentro de su vehículo.

11/16— Un Mercado Agrícola por parte de El Centro de Laredo de Laredo Main Street se estará llevando a cabo de 9 a.m. a 1 p.m., en la Plaza Jarvis.

11/16— La tienda BooksA-Million, dentro del Mall del Norte, estará llevando a cabo una feria del libro de 10 a.m. a 9 p.m. El 10 por ciento de las ventas será destinado al programa para fomentar la atención Foster In Texas de Lutheran Social Services’s.

11/16— MADD estará celebrando una reunión comunitaria y estará inscribiendo voluntarios a las 10 a.m. dentro del Departamento de Policía de Laredo (4712 avenida Maher). A la 1 p.m. habrá un entrenamiento para los voluntarios inscritos.

11/16— Se estará celebrando “El Bazaar” a partir de las 4 p.m. y hasta las 8 p.m. en French Quarter sobre Del Mar Bouleverd.

11/16— El Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU estará proyectando “Earth, Moon and Sun”, “Season of Light”, “Mystery of the Christmas Star”, “Holiday Music Magic”, de 2 p.m. a 5 p.m.

Costo de boletos de 4 a 6 dólares. Más información llamando al 326.DOME (3663).

11/16— Artes y Ciencias de la Dirección General de Bellas Artes y Artes Escénicas de TAMIU presenta el Concierto de Danza de Otoño a las 8 p.m. en el teatro del Centro de Bellas Artes y Artes Escénicas. Costo es de 5 dólares y gratuito para menores de 10 años y estudiantes con credencial vigente.

11/17— La Fundación Enciende una Vela, la Ciudad de Laredo y el Campo de Golf Max A. Mandel estarán celebrando el Primer Torneo Anual de Golf, a partir de las 8 a.m. Los fondos recaudados serán destinados a construir una residencia para adultos mayores y un centro de retiro para los sacerdotes 11/17— Se presentará al nuevo instructor de órgano, Colin Campbell, en las Series de Recitales de Órganos de TAMIU, a las 3 p.m. en el Salón de Recitales del Centro de Bellas Artes y Artes Escénicas.

NUEVO LAREDO, MÉXICO 11/16— Se realizará el primer Festival de la Pulga, a las 11 a.m. debajo del puente de la calle Eva Sámano.

Evento contará con demostraciones de hip hop, graffiti, Mc’s, Dj en vivo y skate.

11/16— Estación Palabra presenta “Bazar de Arte” en la Sala Gabriel García Márquez a las 12 p.m.; habrá una presentación musical por parte de Claudia Martínez en el auditorio a la 1:30 p.m.;“Festival Infantil” con cuentacuentos, dinámicas y actividades en el área infantil, a las 2 p.m.; Lecturas “Antes de abordar” con cuentos sobre la Revolución Mexicana a las 2:30 p.m.

11/16— Se realizará un taller para niños, de entre 5 y 12 años, inspirado en la obra de Jorge Marin ‘El cuerpo como paisaje’, de 4 p.m. a 6 p.m. en el Museo Reyes Meza. Se requiere inscripción previa llamando al (867) 717-5960.

Zfrontera

PÁGINA 7A

CONGRESO

Programas vs inseguridad TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

El problema de la inseguridad está en la educación, en la falta de integración familiar, en los programas de salud y en la infraestructura para que se generen fuentes de empleo, aseguró el Diputado Ramiro Ramos Salinas, Presidente de la Junta de Coordinación Política del Congreso de Tamaulipas.

“De cada diez personas que cometen un ilícito, ocho se encuen-

tran en estado de embriaguez y en su totalidad no han terminado la primaria, además nueve de cada diez no conocieron a su papá o mamá”, dijo Ramos. “La inseguridad no se combate solamente por la vía armada, es un tema de inteligencia que se resolverá con apoyos a través de programas sociales”.

Agregó que los grandes temas como el de infraestructura, salud, educación y desarrollo social son

con los que se logra se resuelvan los dos grandes problemas que tiene México, como lo es la inseguridad y desempleo.

Sobre pregunta acerca si el Congreso llamará a comparecer al Secretario de Seguridad Pública, Rafael Lomelí Martínez y al Procurador de Justicia, Ismael Quintanilla Acosta, Ramos dijo que el hecho de que dichos funcionarios estatales se presenten a comparecer no soluciona los problemas de insegu-

ridad.

Aclaró, además, que los diputados han acudido a las oficinas de los funcionarios cuando tienen dudas.

“También podemos ir a verlos, no es un tema de traslados, es un tema de convicción de trabajo de institucionalidad o vienen aquí (Congreso) o vamos a verlos”, reiteró Ramos, aclarando que lo realmente importante es resolver los problemas a la brevedad posible.

COMUNIDAD

TAMAULIPAS

FORTALECEN LAZOS

Escapan reos de prisión Reynosa TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

El Gobernador de Tamaulipas, Egidio Torre Cantú visitó la ciudad fronteriza de Miguel Alemán, México, donde hizo entrega de la recién remodelada Plaza Principal y aprovechó para saludar a las familias ahí reunidas.

Con obras buscan recuperar tejido social TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Más de 87 millones de pesos aplicados a obra pública son los que el Gobierno de Tamaulipas ha invertido en Miguel Alemán, México.

Esta semana, por ejemplo, fue inaugurada la remodelación de la Plaza Principal por parte del Gobernador Egidio Torre Cantú.

“Que nadie tenga dudas de que vamos a seguir trabajando intensamente, que nadie tenga duda que buscamos un solo fin: que a Miguel Alemán le vaya mejor”, dijo Torre durante su mensaje oficial.

El Presidente Municipal de Miguel Alemán, Ramiro Cortez Barrera expresó su disposición de hacer equipo con el gobierno estatal, de fortalecer los lazos de

institucionalidad y de actuar con el propósito de mejorar las condiciones de vida de la población de esta región.

“Sabemos que ha estado muy al pendiente de Miguel Alemán y en ese entendido quiero agradecer a usted las participaciones que ha tenido a bien promover y tomar en cuenta a nuestra ciudad para su realización, por lo que refrendamos con usted nuestro propósito de hacer equipo”, dijo Cortez.

Posteriormente, Torre viajó a Río Bravo, México, donde hizo entrega del vigésimo cuarto Parque de Barrio en Tamaulipas, a un mes de haberse iniciado la obra.

Más de 100.000 tamaulipecos asisten cotidianamente a estos parques y se contempla al concluir a este año llegar a 35.

Estos espacios cuentan con explanada de las artes, canchas de usos múltiples, plazoleta, áreas verdes, recreativas y deportivas, así como bebederos, gradas, caseta de vigilancia y fuente de los pies descalzos que en temporada de calor refrescan a los visitantes, entre otros.

“Lo he dicho y lo vuelvo a repetir, trabajando en equipo es como podremos salir adelante y lo seguiremos haciendo”, dijo Torre.

El Presidente Municipal de Río Bravo, Rogelio Villaseñor Sánchez consideró que el programa de parques de barrio es una gran estrategia del gobernador para rescatar los espacios públicos, que ayudan a la recuperación del tejido social, la integración familiar, y promueven el deporte.

Siete internos, seis del fuero federal y uno del fuero común, se fugaron del Centro de Ejecuciones de Sanciones (CEDES) de Reynosa, México, el miércoles por la madrugada, informó la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública de Tamaulipas, en un comunicado de prensa.

Los reos evadidos fueron identificados como Marcos de León Medina, Jesús Flores Tamez, Homero Guadalupe Martínez Gaona, Leonel Ortiz Peña, Mario Santos Pérez Sosa, José Luis Rodríguez Sánchez y Ernesto Sánchez Rivera. Aunque sus cargos no fueron especificados, los delitos federales incluyen, por ejemplo, tráfico de drogas y posesión de armas, en tanto que un delito estatal frecuente es el homicidio.

Funcionarios del CEDES se percataron de la fuga hasta que pasaron lista por la mañana y de inmediato se dio la voz de alerta a las autoridades de todos los órdenes de gobierno para que conjuntamente se diera inicio a la búsqueda, localización y recaptura de los internos, agrega el comunicado de prensa.

Agentes del Ministerio Público del fuero común y federal tomaron conocimiento del hecho e iniciaron con las investigaciones para establecer cómo se dio la fuga, así como proceder a declarar al personal de seguridad, custodia y dirección que se encontraba de guardia, para determinar las responsabilidades en torno a la evasión.

INTERNACIONAL

Unen esfuerzos para atraer inversiones TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Con la finalidad de unir esfuerzos para impulsar la iniciativa privada de la región binacional que comparten Nuevo Laredo, México, y Laredo, Texas, representantes de ambas ciudades celebraron una reunión esta semana.

El presidente municipal de Nuevo Laredo, Carlos Canturosas Villarreal, se reunió con el alcalde de Laredo, Raúl Salinas, y directivos de la Fundación de Desarrollo de Laredo (LDF, por sus siglas en ingles).

Canturosas anunció la creación de un consejo rector que se encargará de organizar proyectos que impulsen una imagen competitiva que promueva a Nuevo Laredo, lo que a la vez contribuya al desarrollo y fomento industrial.

“El gobierno municipal está trabajando en inversiones de infraestructura, obra pública, seguridad y mejoramiento de imagen

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Nuevo Laredo

El Presidente Municipal de Nuevo Laredo, México, Carlos Canturosas Villarreal, a la derecha, y el Alcalde de Laredo, Texas, Raúl G. Salinas, encabezaron una reunión donde el objetivo fue iniciar la coordinación de esfuerzos para atraer más industrias a la región. urbana para atraer inversionistas”, dijo Canturosas.

“La intención es darle otra cara a Nuevo Laredo y que quien visite la ciudad la encuentre como punto estratégico para establecerse”.

Rolando Ortiz, presiden-

te del LDF, informó que de manera coordinada con la Secretaría de Desarrollo Económico buscarán el establecimiento de empresas en ambas ciudades, impulsarán a la industria maquiladora y desarrollarán ideas para involucrar a la ini-

ciativa privada de Laredo en proyectos comunes con su ciudad hermana.

Salinas dijo que existe disposición para trabajar de manera conjunta con las autoridades de Nuevo Laredo.

“Tenemos un compromi-

so, Laredo y Nuevo Laredo, de trabajo conjunto, de hacer más para animar a aquellos que quieren abrir sus negocios y empresas, porque es necesario el desarrollo industrial y comercial en ambas ciudades”, concluyó Salinas.

International

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2013

Catholics disrupt pope’s ceremony

By MICHAEL WARREN ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Andre Penner/file | AP

A deforested area in Brazil’s northern state of Para is seen Sept. 15, 2009. Officials say destruction of its Amazon rainforest has jumped by 28 percent.

Destruction of Amazon increases

By MARCO SIBAJA ASSOCIATED PRESS

BRASILIA, Brazil — Brazil’s government reported Thursday that annual destruction of its Amazon rainforest jumped by 28 percent after four straight years of declines, an increase activists said was linked to recent loosening of the nation’s environmental law meant to protect the jungle.

However, the destruction was still the second-lowest amount of jungle destroyed since Brazil began tracking deforestation in 1988.

The increase in deforestation came in the August 2012 through July 2013 period, the time when Brazil annually measures the destruction of the forest by studying satellite images.

The country registered its lowest level of Amazon felling the year before.

The Amazon rainforest is considered one of the world’s most important natural defenses against global warming because of its capacity to absorb huge amounts of carbon dioxide.

About 75 percent of Brazil’s emissions come from rainforest clearing, as vegetation burns and felled trees rot.

That releases an estimated 400 million tons of car-

bon dioxide into the atmosphere every year, making Brazil at least the sixthbiggest emitter of the gas.

Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira said Thursday that the most recent figures show 2,256 square miles of rainforest were felled. That’s compared to the 1,765 square miles cleared the previous year.

Environmentalists blame the increase on a loosening of Brazil’s environmental laws. They also say that the government’s push for big infrastructure projects like dams, roads and railways is pushing deforestation.

A bill revising the Forest Code law passed Congress last year after more than a decade of efforts by Brazil’s powerful agricultural lobby to make changes to what has been one of the world’s toughest environmental laws, at least on paper.

The changes mostly eased restrictions for landowners with smaller properties, allowing them to clear land closer to riverbanks and other measures.

Perhaps the most controversial portion of the new law was what activists say was an amnesty, allowing those who illegally felled land to not face penalties if

they signed an agreement to replant trees, which many environmentalists question could be enforced.

Paulo Adario, coordinator of Greenpeace’s Amazon campaign, said that it was scandalous that there was such a spike in the destruction.

“The government can’t be surprised by this increase in deforestation, given that their own action is what’s pushing it,” he said.

“The change in the Forest Code and the resulting amnesty for those who illegally felled the forest sent the message that such crimes have no consequences.”

Adario also said the Rousseff government’s strong push for infrastructure projects in the Amazon region was leading to increased deforestation, and Thursday’s government report showed that much of the destruction was centered along a government-improved roadway running through the states of Para and Mato Grosso.

Better roads make it easier to illegally extract timber from the jungle and push more soy farmers and ranchers, who clear trees so they can work land and plant pasture, into previously untouched areas.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Ultra-traditionalist Roman Catholics have challenged Pope Francis by disrupting one of his favorite events, an interfaith ceremony in the Metropolitan Cathedral meant to promote religious harmony on the anniversary of the beginning of the Holocaust.

The annual gathering of Catholics, Jews and Protestants marks Kristallnacht, the Nazi-led mob violence in 1938 when about 1,000 Jewish synagogues were burned and thousands of Jews were forced into concentration camps, launching the genocide that killed 6 million Jews. Before he assumed the papacy, Buenos Aires Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio and his friend Rabbi Abraham Skorka led the ceremony every year.

A small group disrupted Tuesday night’s ceremony by shouting the rosary and the “Our Father” prayer, and spreading pamphlets saying that “followers of false gods must be kept out of the sacred temple.”

Buenos Aires Archbish-

op Mario Poli, named by Francis to replace him as Argentina’s top church official, appealed for calm as others in the audience rose up to repudiate the protesters, who were soon escorted out by police.

“Let there be peace.

Shalom,” Poli then said, urging everyone to take their seats.

“Dear Jewish brothers, please feel at home, because that’s the way Christians want it, despite these signs of intolerance,” Poli said. “Your presence here doesn’t desecrate a temple of God. We will continue in peace this encounter that Pope Francis always promoted, valued and appreciated so much.”

Skorka, who co-wrote a book of dialogues with Bergoglio seeking common ground between Judaism and Catholicism, described the incident in an interview with Radio 10 on Wednesday.

“The cathedral was full, with people standing, prepared for a profound act of introspection, when a group of about 40 people began to recite from the Christian liturgy, the ‘Our Father,’ and began to hand out little pieces of paper

saying that Jews were blaspheming the place,” Skorka said.

Skorka said protesters made cutting comments like “the Jews killed Jesus.” He said one Jew confronted them, saying, “My grandmother died in Auschwitz,” to which an activist replied, “Do you belive that lie?”

The Rev. Christian Bouchacourt, the South America leader of the Society of Saint Pius X, said Wednesday that the protesters belong to his organization and that they have a right to feel outraged when rabbis preside over a ceremony in a cathedral.

“I recognize the authority of the pope, but he is not infallible and in this case does things we cannot accept,” Bouchacourt said.

“This wasn’t a desire to make a rebellion, but to show our love to the Catholic Church, which was made for the Catholic faith,” Bouchacourt said.

“A Mass isn’t celebrated in a synagogue, nor in a mosque. The Muslims don’t accept it. In the same way, we who are Catholics cannot accept the presence of another faith in our church.”

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2013

THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

JOEL HERRERA May 5, 1928 – Nov. 10, 2013 Joel Herrera, 85, passed away Sunday, Nov. 10, 2013, at Laredo Medical Center in Laredo.

Mr. Herrera is preceded in death by his parents, Fermin and Hortencia Herrera; a brother, Hector Herrera; and a sister, Solia Reyna Lerma.

Mr. Herrera is survived by his sister, Olga H. (Hector) Lopez; nephews and nieces, Hector Lopez Jr., Javier A. Lopez, Olga “Amy” Salinas, Milda Alaniz, Carlos Reyna, Alma Galindo, Hernan Lerma, Dahlia Lerma, Jaime Lerma, Rolando Lerma, Rene Herrera; and by numerous friends and other family members.

He was a WWII veteran, serving in the U.S. Army from 1945-1947.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013, at 10 a.m. including full military honors by the American Legion Post 486

By DAVE HENDRICKS THE MONITOR OF MCALLEN

Color Guard at Rose Garden Funeral Home.

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

TYPHOON Continued from Page 1A selling skewers of meat, and a couple of kiosks were selling soda and soap. Everywhere, freshly washed clothes lay drying in sun.

Guiuan was one of the first towns hit by the typhoon. It suffered massive damage, but casualty figures were lower than in Tacloban and elsewhere because it was largely spared from storm surges.

While many have left the disaster zone, some chose to stay and help.

Susan Tan, a grocery store owner in Guiuan, was all set to fly elsewhere in the country after hungry townsfolk swarmed her business a few days after the storm, stripping the shelves of everything of value.

But a friend persuaded her to stay, and she is now running a relief center from her shop, which has been in the family since the 1940s.

“I can’t just go to Cebu and sit in the mall while this place is in ruins,” she said. “Although I’ve been looted and made bankrupt by this, I cannot refuse my friends and my town.

We need to help each other.”

Tan managed to get her hands on a satellite phone from a friend who works for a local cellphone provider. Hundreds lined up in the sun to use it to call relatives and let them know they are safe. One minute per caller is the rule.

On Thursday, she welcomed her first aid shipment. It’s a fraction of what is needed, but it’s a start: 20 boxes containing dried noodles, canned goods, sardines, medicine and bottled water.

In signs that relief ef-

Ex-POW recalls Korea

forts were picking up, U.S. Navy helicopters flew sorties from the USS George Washington off the coast, dropping water and food to isolated communities.

The U.S. military said it will send about 1,000 more troops along with additional ships and aircraft to join the aid effort.

So far, the U.S. military has moved 190 tons of supplies and flown nearly 200 sorties.

“Having the U.S. military here is a game-changer,” said Col. Miguel Okol, a spokesman for the Philippine air force. “For countries that we don’t have these kinds of relationships with, it can take a while to get help. But with the U.S., it’s immediate.”

In one neighborhood of Tacloban, dozens of people crowded around a mobile generator, where countless cords snaked across the dirt and into power strips. Residents plugged in mobile phones, tablets and flashlights, hoping for a precious gulp of electricity, even though cell coverage remained spotty.

John Bumanig and his wife were cleaning out their secondhand clothes shop, which was swamped by storm surges. They were laying out bras in the sun, though they weren’t hopeful anyone would buy them. Most of the stock had to be thrown out.

They were determined to stay in Tacloban, but faced an uncertain future.

“We cannot do anything, but will find a way to overcome this,” said his wife, Luisa, holding back tears. “We have to strive hard because we still have children to take care of.”

PHARR — For a dead man, Federico “Fred” Garza Jr. still looks spry at 88.

In 1950, the Defense Department reported Garza — a World War II veteran who re-enlisted during the Korean War — dead after a firefight.

The U.S. Army contacted Garza’s father with the solemn news.

“His grandmother, however, still doesn’t know that he has been missing in action, which was reported last month,” according to a yellowed newspaper clipping. “The youth’s father said he has not told his mother, because ‘I don’t want to kill her.”’

Garza, though, survived the Forgotten War and returned to the Rio Grande Valley after spending nearly three years inside a Chinese prison camp. While he hadn’t been forgotten back home, everyone had moved on.

“It was very emotional,” Garza’s wife, Socorro, told The Monitor of McAllen. “They got rid of everything that he owned. His clothes. His car. Everything. See, he was supposed to be dead, you know.”

With the passage of Veterans Day, Garza recently shared his harrowing Korean War story with The Monitor. Even with family, he seldom talks about the details. Flashbacks and painful recollections haunted him for years.

“And I’m sorry to say it, but we had a lot of people that we killed.

And that has been on my conscience for a very long time,” Garza said, wiping away a tear. “But the way it is, you have to kill. Otherwise, you won’t be here.”

When the Korean War broke out, Garza already knew the drill.

During World War II, he left school and joined the U.S. Navy, which deployed Garza to Guadalcanal and the Philippines. Afterward, he re-enlisted with the U.S. Army and headed to Korea, where Garza landed at Incheon in September 1950.

“And from there, we started meeting the enemy right quick,” Garza said. “I mean, the enemy was actually waiting. They knew we were coming, I guess. And we started fighting from the beach all the way up until we overran them.”

Garza continued fighting until late November. China had entered the conflict, posing a new challenge for American troops. Garza’s unit encountered Chinese soldiers, who tossed a grenade into their midst.

“It didn’t hit me personally, but the explosion knocked me down,” Garza said.

He landed facedown and lay still, playing dead.

“And two Chinese came over and stepped on my back,” Garza said.

The uninjured American troops had retreated, forced to leave Garza and other dead men behind. The Chinese soldiers advanced, shooting at the Americans. They, too, left Garza for dead.

“And I had my weapon on the side here, you know, where I laid over it,” Garza said. “And I got my weapon and I started aiming. And I said ‘Well, I hope God will protect me.’

“I hit the first one. He went down.

And the other one just kept looking around, you know. They didn’t know where it was coming from. And when he turned around, I shot the other one, too.”

Not long afterward, he heard movement on a nearby road and

Photo by Nathan Lambrecht/The Monitor | AP

Fred Garza Jr. served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and re-enlisted in the Army during the Korean War. In Korea he was captured and was a prisoner for three years. people speaking English.

“I got up, thinking that it was the American troops coming in,” Garza said. “But they were actually prisoners of war.”

It was Nov. 28, 1950. Garza would spend the next 33 months in a Chinese prison camp.

Inside the camp, Chinese guards attempted to brainwash the American prisoners, who were subjected to brutal living conditions. Many starved to death.

Garza spoke with The Monitor about the prison camp, called Camp 5, for an August 1967 article.

The Chinese required American prisoners to attend classes on communism and write autobiographies, according to the August 1967 article written by Charles Palmer.

“I had to write mine three times and the Chinese never were satisfied with it,” Garza told The Monitor. “I told them that I was from Gary, Ind., when I actually am from McAllen.

They found out that I had lied to them and made me rewrite the autobiography twice.”

Prisoners who cooperated received extra food. Garza resisted whenever possible, and slowly starved.

“I never believed any of the things they were trying to teach,” Garza told The Monitor. “I just tried to play dumb until I could get back home.”

On Aug. 6, 1953, the Chinese released Garza during a prisoner exchange in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. Severely malnourished, he spent four months recovering at Brooke Army Hospital in San Antonio.

Even today, Garza doesn’t talk much about Camp 5.

“This is actually the first time he has really talked about what he went through,” said Garza’s wife,

Socorro. “They were all in one barrack or whatever you call it, wherever they had them. And when they would wake up in the morning, some of them would be dead. And they would have to drag them and bury them in the snow.”

In August 1953, Garza returned to McAllen.

“I have a lot of friends and they all thought I was dead,” Garza said.

“They were surprised to see me.”

Walking down Main Street, Garza bumped into Socorro, a childhood friend. They went to lunch and he proposed to her on the fourth date.

“And I told him: ‘Well, I don’t know. Let me think about it,”’ Socorro Garza said. They were married Jan. 31, 1954.

With Socorro’s help, Garza slowly recovered and decided to re-enlist.

Eventually he left the Army and took a job with Sears selling home appliances. Garza later started a successful sign painting company.

He left the Korean War behind, but the mental trauma remained.

“All the sudden he would jump and sit up in bed. And that would wake me up,” Socorro said. “And he would say: ‘Shh. Don’t make any noise. There’s a plane coming.”’

Military doctors helped Garza handle the painful memories, Socorro said, but he still suffers occasional flashbacks — more than 60 years after leaving Korea.

Today, Garza doesn’t drive anymore and spends most days at home.

The family keeps a display box with old medals and a black-and-white photo from Garza’s military career.

Asked about them, he’s dismissive.

The old newspaper article about him being reported dead, though, prompts a smile.

“A lot of people that I knew passed away,” Garza said. “And I’m still kicking.”

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2013

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2013

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Sports&Outdoors HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS: ZAPATA LADY HAWKS

All-Star season Zapata senior runner Garcia recognized

By CLARA SANDOVAL THE ZAPATA TIMES

The cross country season is over but the postseason awards keep coming Zapata’s way.

The Texas Girls Coaches Association recently selected Zapata senior Jazmine Garcia to the 2013 Cross Country All-Star team.

TGCA selects one AllStar from each conference

across the entire state of Texas.

These athletes are selected by the TGCA Cross Country Committee, which is comprised of cross country coaches, at its annual meeting. Selections are made from nominations submitted by member coaches and athletes must be seniors to be selected.

Only five cross country athletes were selected

state-wide and it included Garden City’s Kamie Halfmann (1A-D2), Crawford’s Ann-Marie Dunlap (2A), Garcia (3A), Highland Park’s Natalie Rathjen (4A) and Northwest’s Kelle McCann (5A).

Garcia blazed through the District 31-3A meet to earn her fourth consecutive trip to the regional meet in San Antonio. She ran away with the Region

IV-3A title to become the second Zapata athlete to hold that distinction behind Marelene Garcia in 2009.

Garcia was also selected to the All-State team in the 3A division and was the only Zapata athlete to hold that distinction for two consectuive years. She was selected after her junior

See ZAPATA PAGE 2B

Photo by Clara Sandoval | Laredo Morning Times

The TGCA selects one All-Star from each conference across the state, and Jazmine Garcia was among those selected.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS

COWBOYS REGATHER Photo by Pat Sullivan | AP

The Texans will try to snap a seven-game losing streak when they play the Raiders Sunday with Kubiak back.

Kubiak returns to sidelines Photo by Dave Martin | AP

Eight-year veteran Ernie Sims will likely be the replacement for one of the Cowboys’ most important defensive players, middle linebacker Sean Lee. Lee strained his hamstring in Sunday’s loss and will miss at least one game.

Texans’ head coach says he will lighten workload after mini-stroke

By KRISTIE RIEKEN ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dallas has bye after blowout loss to Saints

By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS

IRVING — The last time the Dallas Cowboys were embarrassed on national television on a Sunday night, the head coach was gone the next day.

Jason Garrett will make it through the bye week after a 49-17 loss to New Orleans, preaching the importance of not overreacting to by far his worst game in twoplus years since he was the midseason replacement for Wade Phillips.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is stressing the same thing, leaning on the biggest difference between the two debacles.

Three years ago, the Cowboys were a one-win team after a 45-7 loss to Green Bay. This time they have to remind

themselves they are 5-5 and tied for the NFC East lead with Philadelphia, the opponent in the season finale.

So Garrett will be on the same sideline where he made his debut in

See COWBOYS PAGE 2B

HOUSTON — Texans coach Gary Kubiak is back after recovering from a mini-stroke, and he can’t wait to coach his team on Sunday against Oakland.

“It just feels great to be back,” he said. “You have a true appreciation for the opportunity that you have and the oppor-

tunity to be around the players ... and the chance to do my job again.”

Kubiak, who returned to work on Monday, spoke to reporters Wednesday for the first time since collapsing on the field at halftime in Houston’s loss to Indianapolis on Nov. 3.

He said doctors have

See KUBIAK PAGE 2B

NCAA FOOTBALL: TEXAS LONGHORNS

Texas’ title hopes alive

By JIM VERTUNO ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — After a 1-2 start, the No. 23 Texas Longhorns have rallied to contest for the Big 12 title with three games left.

It starts Saturday against No. 12 Oklahoma State, the team most had pegged for the league crown until an early stumble on the road at West Virginia. But like the Longhorns (7-2, 6-0), the Cowboys (8-1, 5-1) regrouped to keep the Big 12 title and the BCS bowl berth that comes with it in sight.

For Texas, this position seemed unthinkable after two blowout losses in September that got defensive coordinator Manny Diaz fired and the Longhorns

Associated Press

Texas Tech quarterback Baker Mayfield lost the starting job to Davis Webb, but returned to the field last week and threw for 276 yards with two interceptions in last week’s loss to Kansas State.

Photo by Chris Jackson | AP

Texas quarterback Case McCoy has been a big part of the Longhorns’ turnaround, winning five consecutive games as a starter.

Tech up next for Baylor

By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS

punted out of the national rankings.

And coming off a home loss to Ole Miss, coach Mack Brown was jeered for immediately starting talk that Texas could still

win the Big 12. The fans mostly wanted to talk about whether Brown would still have a job after this season.

See LONGHORNS PAGE 2B

ARLINGTON — When Baylor first played Texas Tech in the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium four years ago, the game provided an experience the Bears

weren’t going to get anywhere else that season.

It was a regular-season finale with no chance of playing in a bowl game.

“It was really the first time our team experienced what a bowl game would be like,” said coach

Art Briles, who this week got a new 10-year deal through the 2023 season.

“The crowd’s kind of split, and it’s a good festive atmosphere, so that was an experience for us

See TECH PAGE 2B

PAGE 2B

Zscores

ZAPATA Continued from Page 1B season, when she made her third trip to the state meet.

"It’s a great honor to be named to the All-State team and with the All-Star they only choose one, so that’s an amazing honor," Zapata coach Mike Villarreal said. "It’s a reflection of her hard work, determination and the respect the program has throughout the state."

Academic All-State Teams

The TGCA also selects Academic All-State teams in cross country. Athletes must be seniors and carry an average of 94 or above for grades 9-11.

The TGCA selected four Lady Hawks for their work in the classroom, includeing Janet Chapa, Jazmine Garcia, Cassandra Pena and Sara Pena.

E-mail: sandoval.clara@gmail.com

KUBIAK Continued from Page 1B limited his work this week, but that he will lead the team when the Texans try to break a franchise-record seven-game losing streak when they play the Raiders.

“I’m on kind of a different schedule — kind of hard to adjust to, but I’m adjusting to it,” he said.

“I’m listening to them.”

The workaholic coach said he has learned through this ordeal he must take the advice of others — and slow down some.

“I’ve obviously got a lot of people telling me what I need to do,” he said. “Some great people over at Methodist (Hospital) that I’ve been dealing with for the last week and a half, plus my wife is pretty rough to deal with right now.”

Defensive end J.J. Watt said he thinks Kubiak’s return will give the team a lift on Sunday.

“I’m happiest for him because I know that this is what he loves to do and this is his passion,” Watt said. “So you’re really happy that he can be out there and doing what he loves.”

Quarterback Case Keenum said having Kubiak back at practice this week has been great for him.

“Trying to get back to normal,” Keenum said. “So it’s always good to have his input during practice. His leadership is, I think, huge for this team.”

The 52-year-old Kubiak suffered a transient ischemic attack, or TIA, which occurs when blood flow to the brain is briefly interrupted, typically by a blood clot or narrowed blood vessels. TIAs are often called mini-strokes and can cause stroke-like symptoms including sudden dizziness or unconsciousness. Experts say

they are often a warning sign for a future stroke, particularly within three months of a TIA. When asked to recall what happened when he collapsed, Kubiak said the details were fuzzy.

“I really don’t remember a whole lot,” he said. “I remember right before the half not feeling very good, had a headache. That’s about the last thing I remember. From there I was over at the hospital talking to some different people.”

Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips coached the Texans in Sunday’s loss at Arizona with Kubiak out.

He said not being with the team was painful.

“I wasn’t able to watch the whole thing,” Kubiak said. “I watched parts of it.

Very tough. I hurt with them. It was just hard to watch. It’s hard to sit there and watch a football game when you’ve been there the whole time for the last 30 years.”

He declined to discuss specifics of his ongoing medical care, but did reflect a bit when asked if he learned anything from this experience.

“I wasn’t doing anything different than I’ve always done,” he said. “I guess it just makes you stop and think a little bit. I’ve been through a lot of good times in this league, I’m going through a hard time right now, but it’s nice to go through any time and to be doing what you love to do.”

NOTES Houston RB Arian Foster, who was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, will have back surgery in California on Thursday. ... The Texans signed safety Jawanza Starling and linebacker D.J. Smith to take Foster and Ed Reed’s spots on the roster.

COWBOYS Continued from Page 1B 2010 when the Cowboys visit the New York Giants on Nov. 24, perhaps with an uptick in the urgency in a season viewed as playoffs-orbust for Garrett, despite Jones’ claims to the contrary.

“Has this been a perfect season up to this point? Absolutely not,” Garrett said. “We understand that.

Had to deal with some different adversities, had some really good things happen for our team, and we’re in the situation that we’ve earned through 10 weeks of the season. And it’s all in front of us and we’ve got to take advantage of it.”

It won’t be easy.

The defense is worse than last season even though Jones fired defensive coordinator Rob Ryan and replaced him with Monte Kiffin, hoping a simpler scheme would more easily absorb a heavy dose of injuries.

It hasn’t happened. The Cowboys have been decimated on the defensive line this season the same way they were at linebacker a year ago, and they’ve given up the first two 600-yard games in franchise history the past three weeks.

Drew Brees picked apart Kiffin’s zone scheme, while a New Orleans defense revitalized under Ryan led to one of the worst games of Tony Romo’s career: just 10 completions for 128 yards. After the game, Jones questioned whether he had done the right thing dumping Ryan and bringing in Kiffin.

“You look at yourself, our whole staff, starting with me,” Kiffin said. “We critique some things on tape and this and that and maybe we tweak this and that. Get away, catch your breath. We’ll come in Monday morning and we’re rocking and rolling now, let’s go.”

Kiffin has to start by finding a middle linebacker to replace Sean Lee for at least one game, perhaps more, after he strained a hamstring early against New Orleans. The Cowboys looked hopeless without him, most notably when the Saints rolled to a touchdown in eight running plays after they had quit throwing because they were so far ahead.

The most likely fill-in is Ernie Sims, an eight-year veteran brought in last year when Lee was lost for the season to a toe injury.

“Obviously some of our leaders are hurt, but we want to continue to move forward with this season,” Sims said. “I think this bye week is great for us. Our leaders can get some rest and we can heal up and lick our wounds.”

One of those leaders is pass rushing star DeMarcus Ware, who missed games for the first time in his nine-year career with a thigh injury. He returned from a threegame absence against the Saints, but tweaked the injury. It’s uncertain whether he’ll be ready for the Giants.

Because of injuries, the defensive

LONGHORNS Continued from Page 1B “Our guys know we’ve got three games left to win the conference and they understand this one is the only thing they can do anything about.

They’re proud of themselves,” Brown said.

Leading the resurgence has been quarterback Case McCoy, the backup who took over the starter’s job in September when David Ash sustained a concussion.

McCoy’s gunslinger attitude and uncanny ability to deliver big plays in the clutch kept Texas from losses at Iowa State and West Virginia.

Texas rallied against six teams with a combined record of 23-33. The last three opponents — Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Baylor — are 23-4.

While the series history with Oklahoma State is lopsided in Texas’ favor, the road team has won each of the last four meetings.

“I don’t think there’s any question that we are a much better football team than we were a month and a half ago. That’s a credit to the players,” Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said. “They’ve made a decision to work hard together and improve, and they have. I like our leadership and I like the maturity of our team right now.”

Five things to watch in Saturday’s game: WHO STAYS HEALTHY Texas has been racking up key injuries but keeps

plugging the holes with playmakers. The latest is defensive tackle Desmond Jackson, who took over Chris Whaley’s spot when Whaley was injured against West Virginia.

Jackson hounded the Mountaineers’ quarterback all night, making several big plays in the Texas victory.

THE QUARTERBACKS Oklahoma State’s Clint Chelf began season as starter, lost his job, then got it back after J.W. Walsh was benched in a 24-10 win over TCU. Chelf then led the team to three straight wins. McCoy, who has seven touchdowns and six interceptions in five straight wins as the starter, has given the Texas offense a swagger the Longhorns haven’t had since his older brother Colt last played in 2009.

“His brother was the same, so it has to go back to the family, their coaching and their confidence.

He watched his brother do it and (the McCoys) love that. They just want the ball in their hand at the end,” Brown said.

THE RUNNING BACKS Texas lost leading rusher Jonathan Gray to a blown Achilles tendon against West Virginia, leaving Malcolm Brown to carry the load of the Longhorns’ resurgent running game. Brown is averaging 94 yards rushing the past four games and has seven of his eight touchdowns in the last three.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2013

Oklahoma State RB Desmond Roland has 359 of his 506 yards rushing and eight of his 10 touchdowns rushing in the past three games. While the Longhorns have improved their run defense, they’re still in the bottom half of the nation and the conference in rushing defense at 185 yards per game.

COOL MACK Credit Brown for keeping his team loose and staying in a title chase after the horrid start to the season. Under intense pressure to turn things around, Brown has done it with a smile on his face — just like the one he flashed before Texas converted a critical fourth down in the win at West Virginia.

The win streak eased some of the pressure, but if Texas loses, it could start all over again.

“In that situation where the game is on the line, we had to get a first down, and there was no anxiety, no one was freaking out, no one was — it was calm, cool,” McCoy said.

WHO’S DESPERATE Texas can stay in the title chase with a loss. The Longhorns host Texas Tech on Nov. 28 and travel to conference leader Baylor on Dec. 7 in the season finale. But Oklahoma State can’t afford a second defeat in conference play.

That’s where the September stumble at West Virginia comes into play. It’s make-or-break time for the Cowboys in the Big 12.

Photo by Paul Sancya | AP

Wide receiver Dez Bryant may find more room to get open as teammate Miles Austin is expected to be back on the field after missing three games. line has been a revolving door of free agents, and the secondary had three undrafted rookies on the field at the same time against Brees.

If defensive tackle Jason Hatcher (neck), cornerback Morris Claiborne (hamstring) and safety J.J. Wilcox (knee) can return against the Giants, the Cowboys will have a better chance to survive a couple of games without Lee. “We’ve just got to get healthy,” said Hatcher, the only projected starter on the defensive front to play every game before sitting out against New Orleans.

Garrett risked the health of Romo and receiver Dez Bryant by letting them stay in the New Orleans game long after it was decided, even acknowledging a mistake that surely will be fodder if his job security wanes.

Bryant has been dealing with a tight back he says isn’t an issue on game days. Coming off a game in

which he was targeted just twice, Bryant should have an easier time getting open with the expected return of receiver Miles Austin, who practiced during the bye week after missing three straight games with yet another hamstring injury.

The Cowboys thought they were OK without Austin because of the emergence of rookie Terrance Williams and diminutive second-year slot receiver Cole Beasley. But the passing game was inefficient by Romo’s standards while Austin was out.

“When you don’t have those numbers there is a direct correlation to sustaining drives,” said offensive coordinator Bill Callahan, who has come under more scrutiny now that he has taken over playcalling from Garrett. “Just not good enough. Sustaining drives is huge.”

When they get back from the bye, the Cowboys will be trying to sustain their season.

TECH Continued from Page 1B that we hadn’t earned at that point.”

Things have certainly changed for fourth-ranked Baylor (8-0, 5-0 Big 12), which has played in bowl games each season since and now is a national title contender.

The Bears, fifth in the BCS standings, take a school-record 12-game winning streak into Saturday night’s game against Texas Tech (7-3, 4-3) in the NFL stadium.

If Baylor wins its final four games, it will clinch the school’s first Big 12 title and get into a BCS game, maybe even the championship game depending on what happens to the other teams ahead of them.

“We’re really excited for everything that has been going on. ... It’s another one-week season,” Bears linebacker Eddie Lackey said. “We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves or get caught up in the media and hype, along with the respect that we are finally getting as well.”

Texas Tech was 7-0 and 10th in the BCS standings before losing its last three games — the margin growing in each loss, from eight to 18 to 23 last week against Kansas State, the Red Raiders’ only unranked opponent in a span that included games against No. 12 Oklahoma State and No. 22 Oklahoma.

“We’ve lost to three really good football teams and turned it over a bunch,

and had more penalties, and just things you can’t do when you’re playing teams of that quality,” first-year Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “If we play a better, more consistent game, we feel like we have a chance to get back on the winning side of things.”

Here are five things to know when Baylor and Texas Tech play at a neutral site for the fifth year in a row: THRIVING AND TUMBLING Baylor has been a strong finisher over the past three seasons, going an FBS-best 12-1 in November and December since 2011, including two bowl victories. While Baylor has thrived late, Texas Tech has tumbled in that same span. The Red Raiders are 1-9 in regular-season games played in November and December, but did win its bowl game last December.

FRESH STARTERS Baker Mayfield was Texas Tech’s starting quarterback the first five games before Davis Webb started the last five. Mayfield didn’t play again until last week, when he came in and threw for 276 yards with two interceptions. So which true freshman starts Saturday? “That’s an interesting position to be in week 11 and still have that going on,” Kingsbury said. “We’ll get them both reps and see how it goes this week and then trot one of them out there.”

NO SHOCK TO BEARS

After Baylor running backs Lache Seastrunk and Glasco Martin got banged up early against Oklahoma, redshirt freshman Shock Linwood ran 182 yards. “He’s tough, physical, can run in between the tackles, outside the tackles,” Bears quarterback Bryce Petty said.

“His success and production on the field was no surprise to any of us.”

Baylor leads the Big 12 with 295 yards rushing per game. Texas Tech has allowed at least 277 yards rushing in each of its three losses.

EXTRA POINTS ADDING UP Baylor kicker Aaron Jones has made all 59 of his extra point tries this season, extending the longest active NCAA streak to a school-record 166 in a row. Already Baylor’s career scoring leader with 410 points, his 251 career PATs are two shy of matching the NCAA record.

STILL NEUTRAL? This is the fifth year of the six-year agreement between Baylor and Texas Tech to play their game in the Dallas market. The schools have not said if that will be extended or if the game will return to the campus after that. Briles likes the NFL venue but said this week, “one of these days it’d be nice to have a game here on the river.” The Bears, the home team Saturday, move next season into a new $260 million on-campus stadium on the banks of the Brazos River.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2013

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B

HINTS | BY HELOISE ATTACK THE BACKPACK! Dear Heloise: Holiday school break is a good time to wash the little kiddies’ BACKPACKS. Make sure you shake out the crumbs, etc., and secure the loose parts before putting the backpack into the washing machine. Or give it a good bathtub soak. Bags will both look and smell better, as well as being a little less germy. — Rebecca, via email Wow, pretty smart, because kids can “hide” all kinds of junk in there!

Make sure the backpack is machine-washable; some are not. Even if washable, air-dry to finish. If not washable, vacuum out the bag with the upholstery attachment. Next, sponge the entire backpack clean with mild dish detergent and rinse with another sponge and water, then air-dry.

Between deep cleanings, do a backpack check at the end of the week! Throw out unnecessary papers you find, along with any food that may have been forgotten. — Heloise

P.S.: Be sure to let your little darlings help you!

PET PAL Dear Readers: Avalon Ingram of Grapeland, Texas, sent in a photo of her pup, Elvis, sharing an East Texas watermelon with her twin cows, Oleo and Buttermilk. What a sweet treat for the three of them. To see Elvis’ picture, go to my website, www.Heloise.com, and click on “Pets.” — Heloise STROLLER REDO Dear Heloise: We had an old umbrella stroller from when our grandkids were younger. Since the kids are too big for it now, my husband found a great way to reuse it instead of throwing it away. He took the fabric off (but you don’t have to) and placed one of the large, brown paper bags you use for leaves in it. Now when we collect leaves, we can fill the bag and use the stroller to move it around.

No more heavy lifting.

When the bag is full, we just wheel it to the curb and place a new bag in the stroller. So easy! — A Reader, via email

DENNIS THE MENACE

FAMILY CIRCUS

PEANUTS

GARFIELD

DAILY CRYPTOQUOTES — Here’s how to work it:

DILBERT

Sports

4B THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2013

Manziel still strong Heisman contender

By KRISTIE RIEKEN ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLLEGE STATION — The encore to Johnny Football’s Heisman Trophy-winning freshman season is nearing an end.

Johnny Manziel and No. 10 Texas A&M have a bye this week before wrapping up the regular-season with games at No. 18 LSU and ninth-ranked Missouri.

Manziel has put up eyepopping numbers similar to and in some cases better than he did a year ago, but most polls don’t have him favored to join Archie Griffin as the second two-time Heisman winner. His biggest competition to repeat is Florida State’s freshman quarterback Jameis Winston, who has led the Seminoles to a 9-0 start.

If Manziel is at all concerned about that, he isn’t letting on.

“I wasn’t even in it for a long time last year and didn’t really get much into it last year,” he said.

“Same way this year.”

Manziel, who as a redshirt sophomore is eligible for the NFL draft after this season, insists that he is

simply worried about helping the Aggies win their final two games. He won’t discuss whether he has thought about what he will do at the end of the season.

“I want nothing more than to win these next two games and to get into a good bowl game and go 10-2 in another regular season,” he said. “I can’t even put into words how bad I want that for seniors on this team and for this team in general.”

His teammates, as expected, are irked that he isn’t the front-runner for a second Heisman. But they aren’t exactly surprised.

“You know how society is, they get bored with people,” receiver Malcome Kennedy said. “You know, you win one and it’s like: ’OK you don’t want to be greedy.’ But when it comes down to it, the numbers say it all. He knows it, we know it and people who watch sports know it.”

Manziel’s season started out rocky when he was suspended for the first half of Texas A&M’s opener for an inadvertent violation of NCAA rules related to allegedly accepting money

File photo by Beth Hall | AP

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel and the Aggies have two big games left against No. 18 LSU and No. 9 Missouri. for autographs from memorabilia brokers.

After his return, the Aggies won their first two games before a 49-42 loss to No. 1 Alabama. Texas A&M also lost to Auburn.

This season, Manziel has become much more polished in the pocket, already throwing 31 touchdowns after finishing with 26 last year. His 3,313 yards

passing are just 400 yards shy of what he finished with last year.

He’s also become a more efficient passer with a year of experience under his belt, improving his completion percentage from 68 to 73 percent. Manziel has had to scramble far less than he did in 2012 when he finished with 1,410 yards rushing and 21

touchdowns. But he still leads the team with 611 yards rushing and has added eight touchdowns on the ground.

Manziel leads the nation in points responsible for (234), is second in total offense (392.4 yards a game) and third in yards passing and passing efficiency (186.9).

Along with his gaudy numbers, the Aggies also rave about Manziel’s increased leadership this season.

“I look back to last year and we had a lot of senior leaders ... and we didn’t really have to have Johnny step up and be a leader,” said Labhart, a senior. “He did, but this year he’s a completely different leader.

He’s vocal, he challenges guys.”

About the only knock on Manziel statistically this season is that he already has 11 interceptions after throwing just nine last year.

He has a simple explanation for why that’s happened.

“Greed is a terrible thing,” he said.

Manziel went on to ex-

plain that he sometimes wants to throw touchdown passes so badly that he makes throws that he knows better than to make.

“He’s going to take chances because he is a dynamic player and that’s what dynamic players do,” receiver Travis Labhart said. “And you can’t fault him for those times when he takes chances.”

He’s also lacking the signature win he had last season, but his stock could certainly rise if he and Aggies are able to knock off both LSU and Missouri.

Though it’s very unlikely that the Aggies could play for a national title, they could still get a BCS berth, which is what Manziel says drives him.

“People who think we don’t have a chance to do something that hasn’t been done at this school in a long time really are crazy,” he said. “Because we still have a chance to do almost everything that we wanted to do. We still have a chance to win out and go to a BCS bowl and still do some really special things here.”

SMU takes on UConn Patterson’s homecoming

By DAVE SKRETTA ASSOCIATED PRESS

ASSOCIATED PRESS

DALLAS — SMU is in a precarious situation trying to get to its fifth consecutive bowl game under coach June Jones.

Six wins might not be enough this time to get a postseason berth, like it was last year. The Mustangs (3-5, 2-2 AAC) might have to win their final four games.

The first step is Saturday, when SMU is back home as a two-touchdown favorite against winless Connecticut (0-8, 0-4).

Mustangs quarterback Garrett Gilbert is the national leader with 409 total yards a game. He has averaged 480 yards the last four games while throwing for 1,746 yards with 13 touchdowns and only one interception. He has also run for five scores in that span.

“His confidence has risen and his play has shown through that. ... I’m glad we have him,” Jones said. “I didn’t realize that he had never had the same offensive system in college two years in a row. So with that said, that makes sense why he’s starting to gain his confidence.”

Even with Gilbert’s recent surge, the Mustangs have won only two of those four games. Gilbert threw two TDs to Darius Joseph in the fourth quarter last week before a 28-25 loss at Cincinnati.

While SMU is set at quarterback with Gilbert, the Huskies plan to give redshirt freshman quarterback Casey Cochran his

MANHATTAN, Kan. — The road leading to town wasn’t known as Coach Bill Snyder Highway the last time that Gary Patterson exited north off Interstate 70 and headed toward the Kansas State campus.

The football stadium didn’t bear Snyder’s name, either.

In fact, when the current TCU coach and native of tiny Rozel, Kan., returns to his alma mater for the first time in three decades Saturday, the old Wildcat linebacker might be surprised at the building boom on campus and the expansive — and expensive — additions to the stadium.

“I don’t think I’ll have time to worry about it, except for probably standing before the game and maybe after the game,” Patterson said. “It’s been a long time since I was on that field.”

Patterson began his playing career at Dodge City Community College in southwest Kansas, and transferred to Kansas State for the 1980 season.

He played his final two years for the Wildcats, back when the program was mostly a laughingstock in the old Big Eight.

It wasn’t until Snyder arrived prior to the 1989 season that things turned around, and the entire school began a renaissance. For the past two decades, save for Snyder’s brief retirement, he’s

Photo by David Kohl | AP

SMU quarterback Garrett Gilbert’s 409 total yards per game lead the nation, and he’s been even better over the last four games. first career start.

“We think he gives us the best chance at this point in time,” interim coach T.J. Weist said. “He’s done a great job the last few games, coming in and leading us to scoring drives. He’s made good decisions in practice through the whole fall.”

Cochran, who will be the third different starter for the Huskies this season, has completed 17 of 28 passes for 183 yards with two touchdowns and an interception as a reserve in four games. Tim Boyle, the freshman who started the last four games, completed only 44 percent of his passes (58 of 132) with eight interceptions and no touchdowns.

“We will try some different things with our game plan,” Weist said. “We’re not going to reinvent the offense. We just have to throw it and catch it bet-

ter.”

Five things to know when Connecticut plays SMU: BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN SMU has played Connecticut only once before, a home game the Mustangs won 31-30 on Sept. 16, 1989.

The significance of that victory was it was SMU’s first after coming back from being the only team given the so-called death penalty by the NCAA. The Mustangs didn’t play a game in 1987 or 1988 before returning to the field. Coach June Jones said that’s not even something that’s been discussed by his team this week.

HOME LEAGUE SMU is 16-2 in conference games at home since 2009. Most of those were in Conference USA. Since moving to the American Athletic Conference this season, the Mustangs are 1-1 in league home games — a pair of wild ones.

Photo by Charlie Neibergall | AP

TCU running back and Nebraska transfer Aaron Green will likely start Saturday’s game since Waymon James is suspended. somehow managed to keep Kansas State in the upper echelon of college football.

“Coach Snyder has done a great job,” Patterson said, “and there have been a lot of good coaches and good players who have come through since then.”

The job that Patterson has done at TCU has been impressive in its own right.

The Horned Frogs were already on the upswing under Dennis Franchione, but reached new heights when Patterson took over.

He led them to an unbeaten season a couple years ago, and that made the school attractive enough that the Big 12 snapped it up during the latest conference reshuffle.

Now, Patterson gets to travel over some familiar roads when he leads TCU (4-6, 2-5 Big 12) against the Wildcats (5-4, 3-3) in a game between two teams fighting for bowl eligibility.

“All of our players are interested in that,” Snyder

said. “But you have to realize, too, that there is an equal amount of motivation on the other side because TCU is going through the exact same thing. They are fighting for their lives in a bowl game as well.”

The Wildcats, riding a three-game winning streak, can assure their spot in a bowl game with a win. The Horned Frogs need to beat Kansas State and then upset fourthranked Baylor.

Here are five things to keep in mind as they meet at Bill Snyder Family Stadium: PACHALL PRODUCING Horned Frogs QB Casey Pachall threw for 245 yards in a close win over Iowa State, and 394 yards and three TDs the week before against West Virginia. His presence allows TCU to use athletic backup Trevone Boykin as a runner and wide receiver.

“Trevone is a great athlete and we need to get him the ball more,” Patterson said.

Houston eyes statement victory

By GARY B. GRAVES ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville and Houston have to resolve some issues between them before either can think about catching Central Florida and salvaging hopes for a conference championship and a BCS bid.

“It is out of our control with what UCF does,” Louisville center Jake Smith said this week of the team’s AAC prospects. “Obviously, you want things to fall in our favor but we can’t concern ourselves with that.

We are just going to go out and keep playing and try to take control of our own destiny by winning out and playing our best ball.”

That scenario makes Saturday night’s American Athletic Conference showdown more intriguing since the No. 19 Cardinals (8-1, 4-1) and the Cougars (7-2, 4-1) have similar strengths.

The game pits two of the AAC’s top quarterbacks in Louisville junior Teddy

Bridgewater and Houston freshman John O’Korn, who rank first and fourth respectively in passing efficiency. Both schools feature stingy defenses that rank 1-2 in turnover margin with the Cougars proving adept at intercepting passes.

Both have also suffered close losses to UCF and will meet for the first time since Louisville won 65-27 in 2004.

In many areas, the Cardinals have bounced back well since falling to UCF last month.

They’ve beaten South Florida and Connecticut by a combined 65-13 margin and forced five turnovers last week at UConn including touchdown returns off a blocked punt and an interception.

Houston’s late rally fell 10 yards short in last Saturday’s 19-14 loss at UCF, but the Cougars still have one of the league’s best offenses.

Louisville and Houston are both averaging a league-best 38 points a game and are 2-3 in total average yards with the Cardinals holding a 481.2-470.2 advantage.

Photo by Pat Sullivan | AP

Safety Trevon Stewart leads the Cougars with four interceptions and his four fumble recoveries are most in the country.

Though the numbers hint at a shootout, Louisville’s defense is allowing just 10.6 points per game while Houston has forced a league-high 32 turnovers.

“They’re a good team.

We’ll definitely be ready,” Houston offensive lineman Kevin Forsch said. “We’ll come out and give it everything we have. ... We’re excited for the challenge and to be able to go up there and

play.”

Here are five things to watch when Houston visits No. 19 Louisville on Saturday night: STEADY TEDDY Though the Heisman Trophy buzz has subsided with junior QB Teddy Bridgewater, he continues to post consistent numbers.

He extended his streak of games with at least one touchdown to 21 by connect-

ing with DeVante Parker and his 24 TDs are tied with Dave Ragone for seventhmost in a season. He needs seven TDs to break Brian Brohm’s record set in 2007.

HOUSTON QB JOHN O’KORN Recruited by Louisville, the freshman presents a big threat for the Cardinals because he can move his team quickly downfield. Last week against UCF he needed 58 seconds to move Houston 37 yards toward their first TD and swiftly guided the Cougars within 10 yards of beating the Knights in the final minute before the drive ended on back-to-back incompletions. O’Korn has passed for 2,352 yards, 23 touchdowns and just six interceptions this season and ranks third among FBS freshman QBs with a 261 yards-per-game average.

CHARLES GAINES Wide receiver-turned-cornerback Charles Gaines has been a big-play defender and special teamer for the Cardinals. Last week at UConn, he blocked a punt and returned it seven yards

for a touchdown, his third TD this season. He also has a 70-yard interception and a 93-yard kickoff return for touchdowns.

OPPORTUNISTIC COUGARS Houston’s plus-21 turnover margin leads the nation, helped by 14 interceptions that also rank No. 1.

Nine players have picked off passes and recovered fumbles for the Cougars. Free safety Trevon Stewart enters with a team-high four interceptions and a nationleading four fumble recoveries.

HOME COOKING Louisville’s last home game on Oct. 18 resulted in its lone loss, a 38-35 heartbreaker to Central Florida that created the Cardinals’ uphill battle toward contending for the AAC crown.

The good news is that home has been very good for the Cardinals: they are outscoring opponents by an average of 45-12 per game this season and aim to use that strength against the Cougars in hopes of salvaging their league prospects.