The Zapata Times 12/19/2015

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SATURDAY DECEMBER 19, 2015

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ZCISD

Short of standards Half of district’s campuses struggled on STAAR exams

By JUDITH RAYO THE ZAPATA TIMES

BRUNI

Bruni ousted by mayor

Three of ZCISD’s six campuses fell short of minimum standards and have been placed on the Public Education Grant List for the 2016-17 school year.

When a school is included in the list, it means the campus had passing rates on State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness that are less than or equal to

50 percent in any two of the preceding three years or the school was rated improvement required in 2013, 2014 or 2015.

Students at a PEG school are allowed to transfer to other campuses or a different district.

Schools receiving students from PEG-list campuses receive 10 percent more funding for each of those students.

Zapata County ISD For a second year in a row, Zapata County Independent School District’s Fidel and Andrea R. Villarreal elementary, Zapata Middle and Zapata High Schools are on the PEG list.

Last year, the campuses seemed to be struggling with the science portion of the exam, with the exception of Zapata High School.

The campus struggled in the

reading portion of the exam.

Additionally, Fidel and Andrea R. Villarreal Elementary and Zapata Middle were labeled improvement required for the 201516 school year.

For the 2016-17 school year, Fidel and Andrea R. Villarreal Elementary was labeled improvement required.

The campus is also struggling

See ZCISD PAGE 12A

ZAPATA

ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARADE

Housing Authority contests removal

By KENDRA ABLAZA THE ZAPATA TIMES

The general counsel of the City of Laredo Housing Authority, which serves Webb and Zapata counties, is contesting the removal of Raymond Bruni from its board of commissioners, saying he was not given due proSAENZ cess.

Meanwhile, Mayor Pete Saenz, who appointed Bruni’s replacement, said Bruni’s term had “overstayed his tenure” due to a technicality, so he was allowed to appoint his own commissioner to the board. Saenz said the city’s legal department told him that because Bruni had “overstayed his tenure” past former Mayor Raul Salinas’ term, he now had the right to appoint a commissioner of his choosing.

“It’s not per cause or anything else,” Saenz said.

“It’s just the fact that I had that right.”

Bruni, 68, was first appointed to the board in 2007 by Salinas.

Saenz appointed Jose L. Ceballos to replace Bruni on Dec. 11, about a week after Bruni was arrested. Ceballos that same day signed an oath of office certificate before the city secretary.

The Housing Authority attorney’s, Patrick Bernal of San Antonio, released an opinion Tuesday regarding the removal of Bruni, who was charged with aggravated assault earlier this month.

In a letter addressed to Laredo Housing Authority Executive Director Laura Llanes on Tuesday, Bernal said the housing authority had not received a notice of any charges citing a specific reason for Bruni’s removal.

Bernal says state law allows a mayor to remove a commissioner “for specific grounds, including inefficiency, neglect of duty or misconduct in office.”

He also states that before a commissioner may be removed, he or she must be given a copy of charges at least 10 days before the date of a hearing.

See BRUNI PAGE 12A

Courtesy photos

Zapata’s annual Christmas Parade and Lighting of the County Plaza took place Thursday, and the Zapata Chamber of Commerce deemed it a complete success. “What a great Christmas event we had, and it was all thanks to you,” the chamber said in a news release. “We not only met our goal, but we shattered our previous event record. We hope you had a good time and enjoyed the event.”

ZAPATA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Water Works’ customers scammed

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

The Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office is warning the community about a recent utility bill scam, authorities said this week.

Through their Facebook, officials said scammers are calling Zapata County Water Works’ cus-

tomers about a past due bill.

Scammers then tell customers they have a bill that has to be paid urgently by phone or in person, or the services will be terminated immediately, the Sheriff ’s Office said.

Authorities said the number scammers are calling from is 956-545-

0287.

“If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be your local water works office and you feel you are being victim of such scam, please call your local water district office and verify with them before you take any action,” authorities said.

Often in phone scams,

if a caller pressures people to give them their personal information — social security number or credit card information — it’s likely a scam, according to consumer information by the Federal Trade Commission.

“Every year, thousands of people lose money to telephone scams — from a

few dollars to their life savings. Scammers will say anything to cheat people out of money. Some seem very friendly — calling you by your first name, making small talk and asking about your family,” states the FTC in its website.

See SCAMMED PAGE 12A

PAGE 2A

Zin brief CALENDAR

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2015

AROUND TEXAS

TODAY IN HISTORY

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Teatro Tejano de la Calle from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at La Posada Hotel, 1000 Zaragoza St. Street theatre-style history tour, $5 per person.

Laredo Free Thinkers: Operation Give Back. The LFT will be giving out warm clothing, blankets and toys to Laredo’s needy in Jarvis Plaza at 3 p.m. Please donate clothing or toys or even bring food. For more information please call 744-5674 or visit the Facebook page Laredo Free Thinkers.

TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 2 p.m.: Wonders of the Universe; 3 p.m.: Season of Light; 4 p.m.: Mystery of the Christmas Star; 5 p.m.: Let it Snow (Music Show.) Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. The 3 p.m. show is $1 less. For more information, call 956-326-DOME (3663).

Spiritual Wisdom on Dreams.

Free Bilingual Spiritual Discussion. 12:30 p.m. at the Laredo Public Library on Calton. For more information please call 210-831-7113 or go to our websites: www.Eckankar-Texas.org or www.spiritualexperience.org. Presented by the Texas Satsang Society, Inc.

Today is Saturday, Dec. 19, the 353rd day of 2015. There are 12 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlights in History: On Dec. 19, 1915, legendary French chanteuse Edith Piaf was born in Paris. German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer, who discovered the pathological condition of dementia, died in Breslau (now Wroclaw), Poland, at age 51.

On this date: In 1777, Gen. George Washington led his army of about 11,000 men to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, to camp for the winter.

In 1813, British forces captured Fort Niagara during the War of 1812.

In 1843, “A Christmas Carol,” by Charles Dickens, was first published in England.

In 1907, 239 workers died in a coal mine explosion in Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania.

In 1932, the British Broadcasting Corp. began transmitting overseas with its Empire Service to Australia.

In 1946, war broke out in Indochina as troops under Ho Chi Minh launched widespread attacks against the French.

In 1957, Meredith Willson’s musical play “The Music Man” opened on Broadway.

In 1961, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., 73, suffered a debilitating stroke while in Palm Beach, Florida.

In 1974, Nelson A. Rockefeller was sworn in as the 41st vice president of the United States in the U.S. Senate chamber by Chief Justice Warren Burger with President Gerald R. Ford looking on.

In 1975, John Paul Stevens was sworn in as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1985, in Minneapolis, Mary Lund became the first woman to receive a Jarvik VII artificial heart. (Lund received a human heart transplant 45 days later; she died in October 1986.)

In 1998, President Bill Clinton was impeached by the Republican-controlled House for perjury and obstruction of justice (he was subsequently acquitted by the Senate).

Ten years ago: A Chalk’s Ocean Airways seaplane crashed off Miami Beach, Florida, killing all 18 passengers and both pilots.

Five years ago: The body of an American tourist, Kristine Luken, 44, was found near a road outside Jerusalem.

One year ago: President Barack Obama said Sony Pictures Entertainment “made a mistake” in shelving “The Interview,” a satirical film about a plot to assassinate North Korea’s leader; Sony defended its decision, saying it had no choice but to cancel the film’s Christmas Day theatrical release because the country’s top theater chains had pulled out in the face of threats.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Cicely Tyson is 91. Former game show contestant Herb Stempel is 89. Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is 74. Actor Tim Reid is 71. Singer Janie Fricke is 68. Actor Scott Cohen is 51.

Actor Robert MacNaughton is 49. Magician Criss Angel is 48.

Model Tyson Beckford is 45.

Actress Amy Locane is 44. Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Sapp is 43. Actress Actress Alyssa Milano is 43. Actor Jake Gyllenhaal is 35.

Thought for Today: “He that jokes confesses.” — Italian proverb.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20 Memorial Bells of the First United Methodist Church presents the seventh annual Christmas concert entitled Handbell Festival. 4 p.m. First United Methodist Church sanctuary, 1220 McClelland. The event is free and open to the public. Donations will be accepted to help defray concert-related costs.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show their Holiday Break Special. 2 p.m.: Accidental Astronaut; 3 p.m.: Mystery of the Christmas Star; 4 p.m.: Let it Snow (Music Show). General admission is $3. For more information, call 956-326-DOME (3663).

Chess Club at the LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Free for all ages and all skill levels. Basic instruction is offered.

Call John at 795-2400 x2521 for more information.

Knitting Club at the LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Learn how to knit scarves, crochet hats and much more.

Knit at your own pace. Instruction is available and supplies are limited. Call John at 795-2400 x2521 for more information.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show their Holiday Break Special. 2 p.m.: The Little Star that Could; 3 p.m.: Season of Light; 4 p.m.: Let it Snow (Music Show). General admission is $3. For more information, call 956-326-DOME (3663).

Computer Basics class at the Laredo Public Library, 1120 E. Calton Rd., from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Classroom B on the second floor. Classes are free.

Seating is limited and first come first served. No registration required. Call 795-2400 x2242 for more information.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28 Knitting Club at the LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Learn how to knit scarves, crochet hats and much more.

Knit at your own pace. Instruction is available and supplies are limited. Call John at 795-2400 x2521 for more information.

Photo by Pat Sullivan | AP

Geneva Reed-Veal, the mother of a black woman found dead in a Texas county jail three days after a confrontation with a white state trooper, speaks to the media outside the federal courthouse Thursday, in Houston. A federal judge has set a 2017 trial date for a wrongful death suit filed by the family of Sandra Bland.

Trial date set for Bland

By MICHAEL GRACZYK ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON — A judge on Thursday set a 2017 trial date for a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a black woman who died in a Texas jail cell three days after her arrest during a contentious traffic stop last summer.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner set trial for Jan. 23, 2017, for the lawsuit filed by the family of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old Chicago-area woman whose death July 13 was ruled by a medical examiner to be a suicide.

Her family disputes the finding and is seeking unspecified damages from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the white state trooper who arrested her, Waller County and two jailers.

Cannon Lambert, the Bland family’s lead attorney, told Hittner he couldn’t accept the

Texan arrested on warrant 2 dozen men charged in Ex-banker in Houston in 1973 death of wife prostitution investigation pleads guilty to $2M fraud SUGAR LAND — A Houstonarea man has been arrested on a warrant charging him in the 1973 death of his wife in suburban Chicago, authorities said Friday.

Donnie Rudd, who is 73, was being held Friday on $1 million bond at the Fort Bend County Jail outside Houston after being arrested at his apartment in Sugar Land.

Man gets life sentence for shooting at officers SAN ANTONIO — A man facing an attempted capital murder charge for shooting a police officer during a traffic stop has been sentenced to life imprisonment for shooting at San Antonio officers during a multi-county chase.

A jury deliberated less than two hours in San Antonio before sentencing Robert Rendon to life imprisonment for aggravated assault of a police officer.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29 Computer Basics class at the Laredo Public Library, 1120 E. Calton Rd., from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Classroom B on the second floor. Classes are free.

Seating is limited and first come first served. No registration required. Call 795-2400 x2242 for more information.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13 The Laredo Vet Center (part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) will be hosting an Open House from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at North Town Professional Plaza, Laredo Vet Center, 6999 McPherson Road, Suite 102. This event is meant to inform the community of mental health services available to eligible veterans and their families.

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

Items will run as space is available.

suicide finding — that she hung herself in her jail cell by using a plastic garbage bag as a ligature — because his legal team hasn’t been able to examine the report of an investigation of the case by the Texas Rangers following Bland’s death.

“We’ve not had occasion to assess fingerprints on the ligature,” Lambert told the judge. “A lot of information we frankly don’t have. We’re not able to finish our own medical investigation.”

Asked by Hittner whether he disputed the characterization of suicide, Lambert replied: “That’s right. It’s undetermined.”

Lambert later made the same comments outside the courthouse in downtown Houston, where scores of chanting Bland supporters clogged the sidewalk. Several dozen of them were inside the courtroom during the hourlong status hearing.

HOUSTON — Police say two dozen men allegedly trying to swap money for sex have been arrested in a Houston prostitution sweep.

Houston police on Friday announced the men face prostitution charges in an anti-sex trafficking effort that began Nov. 19 and ended Tuesday. The arrests involved three separate areas near south Interstate 45.

HOUSTON — An ex-banker in Houston faces up to five years in prison for helping a man with only $100 in his account secure a $2 million loan that later went into default. Jason F. Meadors pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Meadors in 2006 worked for Bank of Texas and helped a man seeking $100,000 increase the request to get $2 million.

Man charged with injury 3.0-magnitude earthquake to child in death of son, 2 rattles north Fort Worth KILLEEN — A Central Texas man faces charges following the death of his 2-year-old son who doctors say was severely malnourished and dehydrated.

Bell County jail records show 29-year-old George Ryan Murphy of Killeen was being held Friday on a charge of injury to a child with serious bodily injury.

Murphy was booked Thursday with bond set at $1 million.

IRVING — A 3.0-magnitude earthquake rattled the northern suburbs of Fort Worth.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the 4:30 p.m. Thursday quake was centered almost 17 miles north of Fort Worth in northeastern Haslet.

The USGS received reports that the quake was felt from northern Fort Worth to Roanoke.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION Cleanup from 2 California fires estimated at $243M SACRAMENTO, Calif.

— Cleaning up from two destructive Northern California wildfires this fall will cost at least $243 million, far exceeding the cost for other recent blazes, state officials estimated Friday as they transferred more money from the state’s rainy day fund to help pay for it.

“The devastation caused by these fires is extraordinary,” Department of Finance director Michael Cohen said in a letter Friday to lawmakers. “Debris removal must continue expeditiously to enable community rebuilding and economic recovery.”

Young Pennsylvania man arrested on terror charges A Pennsylvania 19-year-old pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, used Twitter to

CONTACT US

Photo by Eric Risberg | AP file

In this Sept. 13 file photo, a sign hangs above an entryway to a home destroyed by fire in Middletown, Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration estimates it will cost at least $243 million to clean up and remove debris left in the wake of two major Northern California wildfires this fall. spread its propaganda and had a backpack with ammunition that suggests he might have been plotting an attack, federal authorities said Thursday.

Jalil Ibn Ameer Aziz, of Harrisburg, was arrested Thursday and charged with two counts of

attempting to provide material support to terrorists.

Court documents said a “go bag” found in Aziz’s closet during a Nov. 27 search contained a high-capacity magazine loaded with ammunition.

— Compiled from AP reports

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Local

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

Funds help tackle citrus greening SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Congressman Henry Cuellar, D-Zapata, announced Friday he had worked with representatives from other citrusgrowing regions, including California and Florida, to secure $5.5 million in CUELLAR additional federal funding in the proposed government funding package to tackle citrus greening disease and aid the citrus industry in Texas, Florida and California.

The funding will come in a combination of a onetime funding increase and a previously approved allocation of $2 million.

Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening disease, greens ripe citrus and misshapes the fruit, making it bitter and unmarketable. The effect of this disease on the $11.2 billion U.S. citrus industry has been damaging, especially in the Rio Grande Valley and Florida. The federal government’s main response to citrus greening disease is Courtesy photos | Zapata Lions Club

These courtesy photos show Zapata Lions Club members and Zapata Leos at their two Christmas events from this week. The Zapata High School Leos brought gifts to kids at Lago Day Care Center and the Lions gave out turkey feasts to more than 100 families.

Lions Club distributes meals SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

The Zapata Lions Club spread Christmas cheer around town Friday when they gave out holiday meals to more than 100 families.

Twenty Lions Club members and 10 Zapata High School Leos passed out turkeys, mashed pota-

toes, rolls, soft drinks and pie at the Lions Club House, 2310 Hidalgo St. “It was a huge success,” said Zapata Lions Club President Aurelio Villarreal. “We want to thank all our sponsors.”

The group also facilitated a gift-giving to children at Lago Day Care Center.

The Leos, who are a ju-

nior Lion group at the high school, brought gifts for the Pre-K kids at the low-income day care center. The Lions Club donated $200 to assist the students.

The turkey feast was sponsored by Saíd Alfonso Figueroa Zapata Conty Attorney Youth Awareness Program, Zapata County

Sheriff ’s Office, R&R Collision Center, State Farm, Premier, Holiday Inn Express, VPS Zapata-Laredo, Ahh…Smile Family Dentistry, IBC Bank, the Zapata County Fair, Amistad Home Health, Inc., M&S Liquor Run, Ralph’s AC & Refrigeration, Southern Distributing and others.

implemented by two groups: the HLB MultiAgency Coordination task force (MAC) and the Citrus Health Response Program (CHRP).

Both groups are under the jurisdiction of the federal government but also work with state departments of agriculture and the citrus industry to combat the disease.

Through the proposed government funding package, Congressman Cuellar secured an additional $5.5 million for control and management of the disease across the country through September 2017.

This money is a one-time allocation on top of the $50 million announced this summer for a total of $55.5 million.

Dale Murden of Texas Citrus Mutual, a non-profit trade association representing Texas citrus growers, owns a citrus grove in the Rio Gande Valley and has personally seen the effects of the disease since it was first positively identified in the Valley in 2008.

“It is becoming a very wide-spread problem in the Valley … as serious the situation in Florida already is,” Murden said.

PAGE 4A

Zopinion

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2015

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

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

Cruz hits a problem on immigration

By CYNTHIA M. ALLEN FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM

Whatever your feelings about Texas’ junior senator, it must be said: The man sure can debate.

Even if one disagrees with the substance of his statements, it’s hard to not appreciate his skill at verbally sparring with his opponents, parrying even the most pointed assault with ease.

So it was fascinating to watch Ted Cruz back himself into a corner during Tuesday’s Republican presidential debate on an issue that has come to frame the contest for his party: immigration.

During a heated exchange with Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Cruz told the audience, "I have never supported legalization and I do not intend to support legalization."

Cruz was referring to the failed Gang of Eight legislation, of which Rubio was an author - a role that earned him substantial criticism from the party base.

The bill’s opponents denounced it as amnesty, in part because it offered legal status to millions of immigrants before needed border security measures were implemented.

"Indeed, I led the fight against his legalization and amnesty," Cruz declared, affirming his opposition to Rubio’s bill.

It was the kind of response one expects to hear in a debate - concise, definitive, vehement.

It was also questionable, at best.

To be fair, Cruz did oppose the Gang of Eight legislation, as did many Republicans.

But he also offered amendments that in his own words were an attempt to "find (a) solution that reflected common ground and fixed the problem."

For example, Cruz’s proposal included a three-year waiting period for provisional legal status while border security measures where imposed.

And according to Cruz, he believed if his amendments were adopted, the bill would pass.

Speaking at a Princeton University alumni event in May 2013, Cruz described his proposals: "The underlying bill from the Gang of Eight provides for legal status for those who are here illegally. . The amendment I introduced would not change any of that, which would mean the 11 million who are here illegally would all come out of the shadows and be legalized under the Gang of Eight’s bill.

"It would simply provide that there are consequences for having come illegally, for not having

followed the legal rules, for not having waited in line, and those consequences are that those individuals are not eligible for citizenship."

And as the National Review’s Jim Geraghty points out, "At no point did (Cruz) describe his amendment as a poison bill or procedural maneuver to derail the bill. He had every chance to say he opposed a legal status for illegal immigrants and didn’t do so."

There were significant problems with the Gang of Eight bill, and Cruz’s amendments would not have resolved them all.

But by his own description, they appeared to be an earnest and practical attempt to reach compromise on an issue that has reached its tipping point.

That’s a Ted Cruz many of us don’t know.

On Tuesday, Cruz’s characteristic, unmitigated bluster returned.

The Cruz campaign staff immediately reinforced his opposition to legalization by saying, "His plan is attrition through enforcement."

The phrasing is far more careful than that of real estate mogul and fellow candidate Donald Trump, but the position sounds similar to Trump’s "mass deportation," a solution as improbable as Gov. Mitt Romney’s "self-deportation."

Aside from the rhetorical acrobatics Cruz must employ to explain away what appears to be a dramatic shift in his policy stance, his comments raise other potential problems for his campaign.

A firm and unyielding approach to illegal immigration plays well with the Republican base, especially during a crowded primary.

But the general election will be different.

Rubio’s position on immigration has also shifted since his role in the failed Gang of Eight bill.

But Rubio, while scripted, appears far more forthright.

Asked Tuesday night if the very long path to legalization he advocates should end at citizenship, Rubio conceded both that he is "personally open" to that possibility and that he knows such a position is unpopular among many in his party.

Cruz, in contrast, concedes nothing, including his dubious shift to "attrition through enforcement."

Even the best debate skills can’t cloak a lie.

Cynthia M. Allen is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Readers may send her email at cmallen@star-telegram.com.

COMMENTARY

Shush on prison libraries, Chief Justice Roberts

By VALERIE SCHULTZ THE WASHINGTON POST

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., I’m surprised at you. Didn’t your mother raise you better than to insult whole groups of people?

For those who are wondering, I’m talking about a remark the chief justice made last month during oral arguments in Bruce v.

Samuels, a dispute about federal prisoners paying legal fees. Here I quote from Amy Howe of SCOTUSblog: When reminded that prisons maintain libraries, "Roberts then shot back, presumably sarcastically, ’I’m sure they are very good libraries, too.’"

I run a library at a state prison for men in California, and I can attest that it is indeed a "very good library." My library is tasked with assuring that inmates have access to the courts because, although they are convicted criminals, they retain certain civil and human rights. We provide them with access to legal forms, typewriters, law

books and computers that can be used to research case law and the myriad rules of the courts, as well as a daily legal newspaper.

We make available typing paper, numbered pleading paper and envelopes for filing court documents. We make the required number of copies of outgoing legal work. We weigh documents to determine the number of stamps needed for mailing.

In short, we have everything that an inmate acting as his own lawyer needs to bring his concern to the attention of the appropriate court.

I say "we" because I supervise three inmate library assistants, who, five days a week, work harder than a lot of people on the outside but whose wages top out at 24 cents an hour.

These library assistants have acquired many habits and skills they can apply in any job they get after they leave prison, such as punctuality, responsibility, selfdiscipline, proper grooming, teamwork, clerical skills and, perhaps most important, "people" skills. We

often serve more than 300 patrons a day, and library assistants quickly learn how to deal with unhappy or unruly customers. Together, we run a tight ship.

In addition to the law component, my library contains more than 10,000 volumes for recreational and self-help reading. We spend our yearly acquisitions budget on many of the books on the library’s "wish list," and we accept donations from inmates and outsiders.

The prison’s inmate welfare fund pays for subscriptions to more than 30 magazines, and we have a collection of encyclopedias, dictionaries and other reference books.

We offer a peer-tutoring program, a book report program, parole preparation resources and a quarterly newsletter written and compiled by the members of a writers group that meets weekly. Chief Justice Roberts, does this begin to sound like a "very good library"?

The prison library is a place of reading, writing, learning and support. It is an oasis of normalcy in an

oftenintense, custodial desert. It is clean, quiet and welcoming. We don’t have the latest technology, but we make every effort to be a valuable mine of information. If we don’t know something, if we don’t have a needed resource, we will find it.

I sometimes encounter men who never visited a library before going to prison, who never checked out a book and had to be responsible for returning it, who perhaps never before had a chance to learn to read. I meet budding poets and memoirists. I see men trying to atone for their mistakes, using the tools of education and rehabilitation. I work hard and I am rewarded daily when I see the good that can be done in a "very good library."

So Chief Justice Roberts, consider this an open invitation, from one government worker to another, to come and see for yourself.

Valerie Schultz works as a library technical assistant for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

COLUMN

Ashton Carter had the worst week

By CHRIS CILLIZZA THE WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON — Ashton Carter must have spent the past year on another planet. That’s the only logical explanation for the revelation, first reported Wednesday by the New York Times, that the defense secretary conducted a portion of his government business via a personal email address — in direct violation of the department’s rules.

Carter must have never heard of Hillary Clinton, the

former secretary of state and Democratic presidential front-runner who spent most of 2015 dealing with the fallout from her use of a private email account and server during her time as the country’s top diplomat.

While Carter and his team insisted that he had never dealt in classified information while using his private email account and that all emails he sent from that account were copied to his government one, it doesn’t exactly solve the problem. What about poten-

tially exposing his emails to hackers, for instance?

"After reviewing his email practices earlier this year, the secretary believes that his previous, occasional use of personal email for work-related business, even for routine administrative issues and backed up to his official account, was a mistake," a Pentagon spokesman said. Um, you think?

While his email setup was Carter’s main problem this past week, it wasn’t his only one. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadirejected

the Defense Department’s offer to use American Apache helicopters in the fight to take back the city of Ramadi from the Islamic State. While Carter played down the significance of that decision, it speaks to the broader difficulty of U.S. attempts to counter Iranian influence in the region and destroy the Islamic State.

Ash Carter, for forgetting (very recent) history and, therefore, being doomed to repeat it, you had the worst week in Washington. Congrats, or something.

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

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

CLASSIC DOONESBURY (1985) | GARRY TRUDEAU

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

PÁGINA 6A

Zfrontera

Ribereña en Breve ALERTA El Gobierno de EU está advirtiendo a los viajeros visitando México que estén alertas ante asaltos. Según reportes de víctimas, las cuales han obedecido las demandas de los sospechosos.

El reporte indica que aquellos que han pretendido escapar han recibido disparos hacia sus vehículos.

El reporte agrega que aunque los incidentes violentos pueden ocurrir en cualquier momento del día, es más frecuente que ocurren en caminos estrellos o aislados, y cuando es de noche.

A fin de reducir estos riesgos se recomienda tomar las siguientes precauciones: viajar entre ciudades solamente durante el día; evitar caminos aislados; y, utilizar caminos de cuota cuando sea posible.

SÁBADO 19 DE DICIEMBRE DE 2015

CASO RAYMOND BRUNI

Refutan remoción POR KENDRA ABLAZA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

El consejero general de Housing Authority de la Ciudad de Laredo se encuentra refutando la remoción de Raymond Bruni de la junta de comisionados, diciendo que no se le dio el debido proceso.

El martes, el abogado Patrick Bernal, de San Antonio, emitió una opinión en relación al nombramiento que el Alcalde Pete Sáenz hizo de un nuevo comisionado para reemplazar a Bruni, quien fue acusado de agresión con agravantes a principios del mes.

El 11 de diciembre Sáenz nombró a José L. Ceballos para reemplazar a Bruni. Ese mismo día, Ceballos firmó un certificado de juramento al cargo ante el secretario de la ciudad.

El martes, en una carta dirigida a la Directora Ejecutiva de

Housing Authority en Laredo, Bernal dijo que la autoridad de vivienda no ha recibido una notificación de ninguna acusación que cite la razón específiBRUNI ca de la remoción de Bruni.

Bernal dijo que la ley estatal permite a un alcalde quitar a un comisionado “por motivos específicos, incluyendo ineficiencia, negligencia del deber o mala conducta en el cargo”.

También señaló que antes de que un comisionado sea removido, a él o ella se le tiene que entregar una copia de los cargos al menos 10 días antes de la fecha de la audiencia. En la audiencia, el comisionado puede apelar en persona o a través de un abogado.

Bernal añade que Housing Authority no ha recibido detalles es-

pecificando del momento en que Ceballos asumirá el puesto en la junta.

“La ley estatal establece que ‘antes’ de que un comisionado pueda ser reSÁENZ movido, se debe dar el debido proceso, que consisten en la notificación de cargos y una oportunidad de ser escuchados”, escribió Bernal. “Ya sea que el señor Bruni renuncie a su posición como comisionado o sea removido por orden del alcalde tiene que estar en conformidad… con el Código Gubernamental local de Texas, el señor Bruni continúa siendo un comisionado hasta que concluya su término el 31 de marzo”.

Previamente, Sáenz habría dicho que el departamento legal de la ciudad confirmó que tenía el derecho de nombrar a alguien de su elección a la junta. Las llama-

das que se realizaron el jueves para buscar comentarios de Sáenz no fueron respondidas de inmediato.

Bruni, de 68 años, fue asignado a la junta por primera vez en 2007, por el entonces alcalde Raúl Salinas.

El 3 de diciembre, se le entregó y ejecutó una orden con cargos por agresión con agravantes con un arma mortal, un delito grave de segundo grado.

Una denuncia criminal presentada a la Juez de Paz del Precinto 2 de Zapata, Juana María Gutiérrez, alega que Bruni disparó un arma de fuego en un rancho, haciendo que el denunciante, un pariente de Bruni, temiera por su vida.

Bruni se encuentra libre bajo fianza.

(Localice a Kendra Ablaza en 728-2538 o en kablaza@lmtonline.com)

RÍO BRAVO, TEXAS Desfile Navideño en la Ciudad de Rio Bravo, a partir de las 11 a.m. Durante el evento se repartirán más de 500 regalos para niños. Habrá alimentos y música. Más información llamando a Erika Navarro Rebeles al (956) 790-9500 o al (956) 2906176.

CIUDAD DE ROMA

SEGURIDAD

JURAMENTO

Advierten sobre estafas telefónicas

DIPUTADA AMIGA La Diputada Federal Yahleel Abdala dio a conocer que el lunes 21 de diciembre estará atendiendo quejas, sugerencias, denuncias por abusos, extorsión, maltrato u hostigamiento que hayan recibido viajeros por parte de personal de Aduanas en su tránsito por el Puente Internacional I, II o II de Nuevo Laredo, México.

El servicio será de 10 a.m. a 1 p.m. en la Oficina de Enlace ubicada en Av. Santos Degollado 1601 en Nuevo Laredo, México.

Informes en el (867) 7126563.

POR CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Foto de cortesía | Ciudad de Roma

Iván Garza, a la derecha, realizó su juramento para formar parte del Departamento de Policía de la Ciudad de Roma, el jueves. Fue el Alcalde Roberto Salinas quien llevó a cabo la ceremonia, felicitando al nuevo oficial y dándole la bienvenida al departamento.

BAILE DE NAVIDAD El grupo Costumbre se presentará en el Baile de Navidad de Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, Tamaulipas. El baile tendrá lugar el viernes 25 de diciembre, a las 9 p.m. en el Centro Cívico de la Ciudad.

MIGUEL ALEMÁN, MÉXICO El Alcalde de Miguel Alemán, Ramiro Cortez, encabezó el arranque del operativo de seguridad anual denominado Lupe-Reyes. Él encabezó el contingente de vehículos oficiales en su recorrido por las principales avenidas.

El operativo Lupe-Reyes inició el 12 de diciembre y concluirá el 6 de enero.

Cortez reiteró el mensaje de convivir en armonía y respeto a fin de construir un ciclo de vacaciones blanco.

SOCIEDAD GENEALÓGICA La Sociedad Genealógica Nuevo Santander informa que la próxima reunión será el sábado 9 de enero del 2016 a las 2 p.m. en 805 N Main St/ US Hwy 83.

El tema será “Texas Land Heritage Award”.

La sociedad indica que se invita especialmente a quienes tienen una granja o rancho que ha funcionado más de 50 años.

FERIA DEL CONDADO DE ZAPATA La Feria del Condado de Zapata elegirá a sus representantes de belleza a inicios del 2016. El Certámen de Belleza para Jr. Royalty se celebrará el 7 de febrero; en tanto que el Concurso para Reinas de la Feria del Condado de Zapata se celebrará el 28 de febrero.

Los dos eventos se realizarán a partir de las 2 p.m. en el Auditorio de Zapata High School.

HIDROCARBUROS

Empresa mexicana obtiene campo Bardocón TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

La empresa Diavaz Offshore de México, se adjudicó el cuarto campo maduro Bardocón en Tamaulipas, en lo que fue la tercera fase de licitación de la Ronda 1 referente a la extracción de hidrocarburos.

El campo Bardocón es un campo maduro superior a 10 km. cuadrados, que contiene aceite, en la zona de Altamira, dio a conocer el titular de la Agencia Estatal de Energía, José María Leal Gutiérrez.

Diavaz Offshore cumplió con los requisitos establecidos en las bases de licitación y en breve firmará el contrato de licencia para el desarrollo del campo Bardocón, con una superficie d 11 kilómetros cuadrados, y volumen original de aceite 3P de 165.5 millones de barriles de crudo, agregó Leal Gutiérrez.

Agregó que Diavaz Offshore se adjudicó el cuarto campo maduro Barcodón al ofrecer un Valor de la Regalía Adicional de 64.5 por ciento, esto

en comparación al uno por ciento que solicitaba la Secretaría de Hacienda. Por otra parte, la empresa Strata Campos Maduros ganó su segundo contrato al adjudicarse el campo Ricos, el 14 de los subastados, ubicado entre Tamaulipas y Nuevo León, dice el . El complejo posee 24 km. y cuenta con un Volumen Original en Sitio de 62.300 millones de pies cúbicos. La producción acumulada en el campo es de 17.4 mil millones de pies cúbicos de producción de gas.

La Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Zapata advierte a la comunidad sobre un reciente esquema de fraude a través de facturas de servicios públicos.

A través de su página en Facebook, los oficiales dijeron que los estafadores están llamando a los clientes de Abastecimiento de Agua del Condado de Zapata, en relación a una factura vencida.

Entonces, los estafadores dicen a los clientes que tienen un recibo que tiene que ser pagado por teléfono o en persona inmediatamente, ya que si no (se realiza el pago) los servicios serán suspendidos, dijo la Oficina del Alguacil.

Las autoridades dijeron que el número del que están llamando los estafadores es (956) 545-0287.

“Si recibe una llamada telefónica de parte de alguien que sostiene ser un oficial del departamento de agua local y siente que está siendo víctima de dicho esquema fraudulento, llame a la oficina de distrito y verifique con ellos antes de tomar cualquier acción”, dijeron las autoridades.

Regularmente, durante los fraudes telefónicos, si la persona que llama presiona a quien está al teléfono para darle información — el número de seguro social o información de la tarjeta de crédito — usualmente es un fraude, de acuerdo con información emitida por la Comisión Federal de Comercio (FTC, por sus siglas en inglés).

“Cada año, miles de personas pierden dinero en fraudes telefónicos— desde algunos dólares hasta los ahorros de toda su vida. Los estafadores dirán cualquier cosa para engañar a las personas. Algunos se escuchan muy amigables — llamándole por su primer nombre, manteniendo pequeñas pláticas y preguntándole sobre su familia”, sostiene FTC en su página de Internet.

“Deberán decir que trabajan para una compañía en la que confía, o les enviarán un correo electrónico o colocarán anuncios para convencerle de que llame… Cuelgue y repórtelo a la Comisión Federal de Comercio”.

Para reportar un fraude visite http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/.

(Localice a César G. Rodriguez en 728-2568 o en cesar@lmtonline.com)

COLUMNA

Sal de Tamaulipas destaca por sus cualidades POR RAÚL SINENCIO CHÁVEZ ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Una observación realizada por fray Vicente de Santa María a finales del siglo XVIII, indica que la sal es un efecto necesario para gozar la vida civil.

Sostiene que (en Tamaulipas) es “en tanta copia, de tan buenas cualidades y de tan cómoda su cosecha, que [de] estos parajes solamente podrían surtirse, sin hipérbole, todas las islas y todo el resto del continente” americano.

Sostiene que desde las cercanías de Tampico (Pueblo Viejo, Veracruz) hasta el Río Bravo “se encuentran salinas en trechos proporcionados y con inmediación a los ríos navega-

bles”.

Agrega que “en las salinas de San Fernando suele ser necesario la barra [de hierro] y golpes para desquiciarla de su centro”.

Acerca de los usos en la remota época, comenta: “Su color […] es blanco […] y la cualidad de salada es algo excesiva, de manera que es necesario usarla en poca cantidad, para que baste. Para la conservación del pescado y de la carne es excelente […] En los reales de minas debía preferirse a cualquier otra […] por el […] exceso de partículas acres […] en el beneficio de los metales”, regulándose “el mayor o menor exceso de su acrimonia”.

Aunque existen yacimientos también río Bravo

adentro, todos adquieren categoría de “reales” cuando pasan al control de las autoridades novohispanas.

Tras independizarse México quedan en manos de la federación, que establece salvedades en Tamaulipas.

En 1824 el diputado Pedro Paredes propone que “en beneficio de las villas” del norte tamaulipeco, “que sin este aliciente aquellos habitantes abandonarían los puntos referidos y los [indios] bárbaros harían sus incursiones con daño […] a toda la nación”.

Queda así entonces decretado: “Las salinas del Refugio [después Matamoros] y Reinosa […] se ceden por ocho años a beneficio común de sus vecinos y de los de Camargo, Mier, Revi-

lla [luego Ciudad Guerrero] y Laredo [o sea las Villas del Norte] bajo las reglas que establezca la legislatura del estado a que pertenecen”. En 1825 determina por ende el congreso estatal “que los ayuntamientos de las Villas del Norte […] nombren […] un administrador” que cubra fianza y designe éste “el guarda o guardas que crea necesarios”.

En 1873, Alejandro Prieto Quintero sostiene que “Las salinas […] de Tamaulipas son más numerosas que [en] ningún” vecino estado del “Golfo de México, pues […] desde el puerto de Tampico […] hasta Matamoros […] se encuentran salinas naturales, en que la coagulación se hace por sí

misma, sin necesitarse […] el trabajo del hombre sino para cosecharlas”.

Al declinar la dictadura porfiriana, mantienen presencia las producciones tamaulipecas, aunque van retrayéndose al uso gastronómico.

De la oferta comercial da idea “El Progresista”. El 28 de febrero de 1909 este tabloide de Ciudad Victoria anuncia: “Rafael L. Álvarez, cosechero de sal de mar, [la pone en] venta a precios sin competencia. Lomas del Real, Tamaulipas”.

Sobreviven las salinas de Lomas del Real, ubicadas en Altamira.

(Con permiso del autor según fuera publicado en La Razón, Tampico, Tamps. el 4 diciembre 2015)

State

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A

A look at the search for ‘affluenza’ teen ent for a regular visit Dec. 10 with his probation officer. When he didn’t show, authorities issued an order for his arrest the next day.

The U.S. Marshals Service has issued a wanted poster promising a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to Couch’s whereabouts and capture.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

DALLAS — A manhunt is underway for a Texas teenager sentenced to probation in 2013 for killing four people in a drunkendriving wreck after his defense lawyers claimed he suffered from “affluenza.”

Authorities say he missed an appointment last week with his probation officer and the juvenile equivalent of an arrest warrant was issued for him. He’s believed to have fled with his mother, with whom he’d been living. Here are a few questions surrounding the case involving 18year-old Ethan Couch:

Do authorities know where Couch may be?

Officials say they don’t know his whereabouts and have expressed con-

COUCH cern that he may have left the country, although Sam Jordan, a spokeswoman for the Tarrant County district attorney’s office, says there’s no specific indication that he has crossed the border.

“He and his mother have the means to be able to travel to wherever they may want to travel,” Jordan said.

Couch was supposed to be accompanied by a par-

Why would he have fled?

Tarrant County investigators were looking for Couch to ask him about a video posted online a few weeks ago showing people at a party playing drinking games. One of them appears to be Couch, and if found to be drinking, his parole could be revoked and a 10-year prison sentence could be imposed. Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said

Friday that he believes Couch fled in the days after the video came to light. He said Couch and his mother may have left the area in late November, shortly after Couch attended a mandatory meeting with his probation officer and well before their next scheduled meeting on Dec. 10.

Why wasn’t Couch already in prison for killing four people?

In June 2013 at age 16, Couch was driving drunk and speeding on a dark two-lane road south of Fort Worth when he crashed into a disabled SUV off to the side, killing four people. Among the injured were some of the seven minors who were in Couch’s pickup.

Couch pleaded guilty to four counts of intoxica-

tion manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault causing serious bodily injury. Because of his age, he wasn’t certified as an adult for trial and a judge sentenced him in juvenile court to 10 years’ probation and a stint in a rehabilitation center.

What is ‘affluenza’?

During the sentencing phase of his juvenile court trial, Couch’s attorneys relied on a defense expert who argued that Couch’s wealthy parents coddled him into a sense of irresponsibility — a condition the expert termed affluenza. The condition is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association, and its invocation drew widespread criticism and ridicule.

Is Couch’s mother facing charges?

Terry Grisham, a spokesman for the Tarrant County Sheriff ’s Department, said investigators haven’t confirmed whether Tonya Couch fled with her son and he declined to say whether she’s facing any charges.

“We are only assuming that they’re together,” Grisham said. “They’re both missing. But no one has placed them together outside of Tarrant County.”

Where is Couch’s father?

Anderson, the Tarrant County sheriff, said Couch’s father, Fred Couch, told investigators that he hasn’t heard from his son or ex-wife in about two weeks.

State

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES

Bomb threat charges eyed ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARLINGTON — The mother of a Sikh middle school student accused of threatening to detonate a bomb at his Texas school is asking police to drop charges, saying that her son never made such a threat.

Armaan Singh, 12, was arrested Dec. 11 after Arlington police said he admitted to making the threat while they were questioning him without his parents present. He spent three days in juvenile detention before being released and placed under house arrest with ankle monitor. He also was suspended from school.

His mother, Gurdeep Kaur, said a classmate asked whether a battery in Armaan’s backpack was a bomb, and that he said it wasn’t, but the classmate told the teacher he said it was.

There was no bomb in the backpack.

Kaur said the family didn’t learn of Armaan’s arrest until hours after it happened. She told The Associated Press that she panicked when he didn’t come home from school, and after searching the apartment complex, they went to the school to look for him.

She said they called the principal, who told them Armaan had been taken into custody.

“She told them that he was with the police but she didn’t know which facility,” said Arlington schools spokeswoman Leslie Johnston.

Kaur said the family finally learned Armaan was in the detention center four hours after his arrest when they called 911.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2015

Mother vows to escape son’s fate

By JESSICA BELASCO SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

SAN ANTONIO — When Elena Garcia grasps dumbbells, pain from her arthritis shoots through her hands. Her shoulders ache. She grimaces as she wiggles her fingers between sets.

She’s 70 years old, obese and had never formally exercised until she began a workout routine in February. It’s tough going.

But Garcia has a fierce motivation to work through the pain.

With each repetition, she honors her son Hector Garcia Jr., who died a year ago after a lifelong battle with obesity. She vowed to lose the excess weight she carries on her 5-foot, 1-inch frame.

Since willingly taking up her son’s struggle, Garcia has lost 50 pounds by changing her diet and adopting an exercise routine. She hopes to shed more weight.

“I’m doing it for him,” Garcia, who has gone from 270 to 220 pounds, told the San Antonio Express-News. “I hope wherever he is, he can see I’m trying my best.

Hector, who was 49 when he collapsed and died on Dec. 8, 2014, had been overweight since childhood.

At one point, he weighed more than 600 pounds.

As an adult, he once dropped hundreds of pounds through gastric-bypass surgery, but the numbers on the scale inevitably crept back up. Later, without being able to afford the help of a personal trainer or dietitian, he lost about 350 pounds through diet and exercise in order to undergo double knee replacement surgery. With his mobility restricted after four surgeries, he slowly regained the weight.

In the last few years of his life, obesity confined Hector to his bedroom in his parents’ South Side home. In his final months, he spent most of his time in an oversized chair. He talked about starting another diet, but he ran out of time.

After an Express-News article about Hector’s struggle was published in December 2014, the daytime talk show “The Doctors” invited Garcia to share her son’s story. They connected her with Fit Therapy of Texas, which provided her with personal training, nutrition education and counseling sessions.

Garcia had dieted unsuccessfully in the past, but this time it was different. This was her chance to fulfill the promise she had made to

Photo by Lisa Krantz/The San Antonio Express-News | AP

In a Feb. 19 photo, Elena Garcia takes a break as she exercises for the second time with Fit Therapy of Texas co-owner Kenny McClendon in San Antonio. Seventy years old and obese, she had never formally exercised until she began a workout routine in February. She does it she to honor her son Hector Garcia Jr., who died a year ago after a lifelong battle with obesity. her son.

“My son always wanted me to lose weight like he wanted to lose weight,” she said. “I could never do it. I didn’t think I could. But I can, I can do it. And I will do it. I’m not going to let him down.”

From February through midSeptember, Garcia dutifully drove 50 miles round trip from the South Side to Fit Therapy in Stone Oak three times a week. At first, she didn’t have much confidence in her ability to transform her lifestyle.

“I had never exercised in my life,” she said. “I thought I was going to die.”

She started slow. Fit Therapy coowner Kenny McClendon had her walk on a treadmill for 10 minutes, then walk back and forth across the small personal training studio holding a weighted ball.

She grew winded easily and had limited range of motion in her right shoulder, which she had injured hoisting her son’s wheelchair.

Molly Cortez, then a nutritionist with Fit Therapy, wrote up a food plan, took Garcia grocery shopping and gave her an in-home cooking lesson. Garcia cut down on fried foods and salty snacks and started drinking more water and less soda.

Now, she now cooks with olive oil instead of lard. Fruits and vegetables dominate her diet, and she has started reading food labels.

“I’m teaching myself to eat foods I never ate before,” such as feta cheese and yogurt, she said.

Meanwhile, as Garcia’s endurance and strength improved, fitness expert Brittany Ewing ramped up the workouts.

Weight loss was one goal, but

Ewing also led Garcia in moves to improve her range of motion to make everyday activities easier.

Garcia’s positive attitude helped.

“She never complained one time,” Ewing said. “She would get done doing 20 squats, out of breath, and she would look up with a smile and said, ‘OK, what’s next?’ She’s definitely very inspiring. Everyone has an excuse (not to exercise). Elena never had an excuse.”

Garcia’s husband also praised her efforts. “I’m really proud of her,” said Hector Garcia Sr. The hard work has paid off. Garcia no longer has to ride the electric carts to shop at sprawling stores. Her blood pressure has improved, although she still must take medicine to treat it. She has more energy. She dropped dress sizes.

“I’ve already taken in all of my pants twice,” she said. “If I have to take them in again, that’s it. I’ll have to get rid of them. I haven’t seen this weight in 20, 30 years.”

Witnessing her son’s attempts at weight loss taught Garcia about the importance of self-control and commitment. She knows how easy it is to get discouraged, to regain the weight.

Tracy Cooper, co-owner of Fit Therapy of Texas and a licensed professional counselor who worked with Garcia, said that while her son continues to motivate her, Garcia also began recognizing the importance of caring for her health.

“She was always doing everything for everyone else,” Cooper said. “It became about her. It became, ‘I have to do this for myself.”’

Exercise has become a daily

habit for Garcia. She wakes at 4:30 a.m. three mornings a week to walk with her husband at the YMCA near their home, then pedals an exercise bike and uses resistance bands. She attends an exercise class for arthritis relief twice a week and has begun a line-dancing class. At home she lifts weights between household chores. And she visits Fit Therapy twice a month.

It’s not easy. Every day is a battle, she said. She takes it one meal and one workout at a time.

Sometimes she falters — Cheetos are her Kryptonite — but “every time I get tempted to eat something I shouldn’t, I feel like my son is telling me, ‘No, no, no.”’

Garcia’s focus on change extends beyond her personal goals.

Feeling strongly that the community should do more to fight childhood obesity and bullying, she advocates publicly for vulnerable kids.

In May, she visited a South San Antonio ISD board meeting, passing out copies of the Express-News story about her son to the board members.

“My son wanted to help children and adults that were suffering from obesity,” she told them. “He suffered from bullying since he was in elementary all the way through high school and it stayed with him.

It hurt him very much. And if this can help our children make better choices about what they eat and also stop bullying, I’ll all for it. I am trying to keep his legacy going.”

The grief of her son’s death and that of her daughter Terry, who died of cancer in 2007, never leaves Garcia.

“I’m forever crying,” she said. “I just miss them so much. Life will never be the same without them.

Your heart is broken and nothing will ever mend it.”

But she smiles when she remembers the way they laughed, their love of children. She consoles herself by thinking of them in heaven, “teaching the Lord’s little angels.”

On Nov. 19, which would have been Hector’s 50th birthday, Garcia paid tribute to her son and daughter in her front yard with friend Patsy Villarreal.

The week before Thanksgiving, the sun shone, wind chimes on the porch delicately tinkled and lateblooming pink roses swayed in the wind against the small blue-andwhite house.

“I wish mijo could see me now,” she said. “He kept telling me, ‘You’ve got to lose this weight.’

National

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

Photo by J. Scott Applewhite | AP

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., left, and Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., return to Ryan’s office after passing the omnibus bill, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday.

Photo by Nicki Kohl/Telegraph Herald | AP

Jesse Kremer, left, sells soda to Ethan Sanchez, both of Dubuque, Iowa, dressed as a Storm Trooper, before the early showing of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" at Mindframe Theaters in Dubuque, Iowa on Thursday.

‘Star Wars’ on record path

By JAKE COYLE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — “The Force Awakens” fever spread through movie theaters around the globe on Friday, even reaching the White House, as “Star Wars” yet again began toppling box-office records with waves of lightsaberwielding fans.

Following a record $57 million from Thursday night showings in North America, and packed matinees on Friday, the Walt Disney Co. forecast that “The Force Awakens” will surpass $200 million on the weekend and possibly best the record domestic opening of “Jurassic World,” which debuted with $208.8 million in June.

Such an outcome would surprise few analysts, but the numbers were nevertheless eye-popping. “The Force Awakens” was heading toward a Friday take of more than $100 million domestically, said Dave Hollis, head of distribution for Disney. That would surpass the one-day high of $91.1

million set by “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” in 2011.

In such rarified territory, Disney has been cautious about overestimating the box-office force of J.J. Abrams’ seventh chapter in George Lucas’ space saga. Disney’s biggest worry has been that moviegoers will be too daunted by soldout shows and long lines.

Hollis has repeatedly reminded that “there are literally millions of tickets available.”

The international rollout for the film, made for about $200 million, has already brought in an estimated total of $72.7 million since opening in a handful of countries Wednesday. “The Force Awakens” is simultaneously opening around the world just about everywhere but China, where it debuts in January.

It’s setting records overseas, too, including the biggest single day ever in the United Kingdom with an estimated $14.4 million on Thursday.

While “Star Wars” helped create the summer

blockbuster, “The Force Awakens” is debuting in the holiday season of December, where the previous top opening was the $84.6 million debut of 2012’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” By Disney’s estimates, “The Force Awakens” — the widest December opening ever with 4,134 theaters — blew past that number by Friday afternoon.

3-D and Imax screenings are helping to propel the record gross. Disney said that 47 percent of the Thursday box office came from 3-D showings and $5.7 million from Imax screens.

A lot is riding on the film for Disney, which paid $4.06 billion for Lucasfilm in 2012. Sequels and spinoffs are already in development for years to come, not to mention an entire corner of Disneyland devoted to the franchise.

Strong reviews for the film, which is set 30 years after “Return of the Jedi,” have added to the fervor for “The Force Awakens.” Critics have hailed it as a fanfriendly return to form for

the franchise; the American Film Institute listed it among its top 10 films of the year.

Such a positive reaction for “The Force Awakens” may attract the kind of repeat viewings that made James Cameron’s “Avatar” and “Titanic” the highest grossing films of all time.

Whether “The Force Awakens” can come close to the global hauls of those films ($2.8 billion for “Avatar” and $2.2 billion for “Titanic”) won’t be clear for weeks.

But so far, “The Force Awakens” is attracting the interest of seemingly everyone. President Barack Obama began a year-end news conference Friday noting, “Clearly, this is not the most important event that’s taking place in the White House today.” Soon to begin was a screening of the film for families who have lost a relative to combat or service-related injuries.

After fielding questions, Obama concluded the press conference: “OK everybody, I got to get to ‘Star Wars.”’

Facebook plea brings holiday aid

By BLAKE NICHOLSON ASSOCIATED PRESS

BISMARCK, N.D. — When Elizabeth Garcia looked at the bare area under her Christmas tree and considered the bills that had been mounting since her last job layoff, she knew she had to do something to give her family a merry holiday. She turned to social media.

Garcia, 33, one of thousands of North Dakota residents to lose their jobs during oil’s current downturn, went public with her plight on Facebook. She offered to sell a camper she had bought earlier this year for $500 so that she could give a real Christmas to her son, 8, and daughter, 5.

Although she got no offers for the camper, the replies brought her to tears.

A store offered to let her pick out presents for her kids. People donated toys, store gift cards and grocery store cards.

“If you saw my Christ-

Photo by Elizabeth Garcia | AP

This June 21 family photo provided by Elizabeth Garcia shows Garcia posing with her children Cristian, rear, and Nayeli, at their home in Watford City, N.D. mas tree right now, it is absolutely ridiculous how many presents are under there,” she said. “If I wouldn’t have put the (Facebook) post up, I probably wouldn’t have been able to get my kids any presents at all.”

Garcia, a single divorced mother who moved to Wat-

ford City in the western North Dakota oil patch from Colorado in 2012 to start a new life, was laid off last summer from her job with a company building a natural gas plant.

She later was laid off from welding and carpentry jobs.

The North Dakota Petro-

leum Council estimates as many as 20,000 workers have lost their jobs in the current oil downturn.

“There’s a new norm,” Louis “Mac” McLeod, executive director of the Minot Area Homeless Coalition, said of people struggling and agencies like his working overtime to help them.

“And we don’t like the new norm. But it is what it is.”

Garcia was hired by a local laundry, and she’s also selling homemade food to get by until she can find another oil field job. She hopes to make North Dakota her permanent home; she likes the schools and her kids are happy, she said.

And that was before the outpouring of support from her Facebook post. She has lived in many states, she said, and “I don’t think this would have happened anywhere else.”

“There are more warm people here than anywhere else I’ve ever lived,” Garcia said.

Religious colleges vs. LGBT rights

By LISA LEFF ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN FRANCISCO — Nearly three dozen religious colleges and universities in 20 U.S. states have received federal waivers allowing them not to accommodate transgender students in admissions, housing and other areas of campus life, according to a report by the nation’s largest LGBT rights group and documents obtained by The Associated Press.

The church-affiliated schools that in 2014 and 2015 obtained exemptions to a law that prohibits sex discrimination in educational settings collectively enroll more than 73,000 students, the Human Rights Campaign said in a report published Friday.

“What we want students

to know is schools are serious about this, that they have gone out of their way to make sure they have the legal ability to discriminate against LGBT students,” said Sarah Warbelow, the campaign’s legal director.

Eighteen of the 34 universities and colleges that told the U.S. Department of Education that giving transgender students access to single-sex restrooms and facilities that correspond with their gender identity would be inconsistent with their religious tenets are controlled by the Southern Baptist Convention, according to public records obtained by both the Human Rights Campaign and the AP. The Department of Education has seen the surge in waiver applications because its Office for Civil Rights has “exceeded its legal au-

thority” by taking the position since 2013 that the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination applies to transgender students, Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Gregory Baylor said.

“The schools have reasonably concluded that they are quite likely to become the next target of OCR if they follow their religious convictions on these matters,” said Baylor, whose Christian legal advocacy group has advised some colleges on how to seek the exemptions.

The tension mirrors disputes that have arisen over the refusal by Catholic hospitals and universities to offer contraception in their employee health plans and moves by local governments to stop contracting with religiously affiliated adoption agencies that refuse to place

children in households headed by same-sex couples.

Higher education institutions that receive federal funds for research or financial aid are barred from discriminating on the basis of sex under Title IX, the 1972 law that originally was used to open men’s colleges to women and to create more athletic opportunities for women at co-ed schools.

Colleges controlled by religious organizations always have been eligible to seek exemptions from Title IX. More than 190 representing both Christian and Jewish denominations received the waivers from the mid-1970s through the late 1990s, seeking permission, for example, to only hire male teachers for certain positions or to sanction students or employees who had sex outside marriage.

What Congress got done

By MATTHEW DALY ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — In a chaotic year, when Republicans in the House unseated a speaker, Congress produced a significant amount of bipartisan legislation that affects every American.

It enacted laws recasting federal education policy, restricting government access to bulk phone records, renewing highway and transit programs and even resolving a longstanding problem of how Medicare reimburses doctors. Before leaving town for the year, it sent President Barack Obama bipartisan legislation Friday financing government agencies in 2016 and cutting taxes, mostly by extending dozens of expiring levies.

Here are highlights of an eventful year in Congress:

Budget deal A $1.1 trillion spending bill approved Friday funds the government for the 2016 budget year and extends $680 billion in tax cuts for businesses and individuals. The deal — a victory for new House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. — avoids a government shutdown, allows crude oil exports for the first time in 40 years and extends a huge variety of tax breaks, including those for college tuition and renewable energy such as solar and wind power.

Education Obama signed a sweeping overhaul of the No Child Left Behind education law, the biggest education reform since 2002.

The bipartisan law ushers in a new approach to accountability, teacher evaluations and the way the most poorly performing schools are pushed to improve. Students will still take federally required statewide reading and math exams, but the law encourages states to limit time spent on testing and diminishes the stakes for underperforming schools.

College loans Congress extended a federal loan program that provides low-interest money to the neediest college students.

Highways and transit After years of stymied efforts, Congress approved a bipartisan bill to improve the nation’s aging and congested highways and transit systems. The new law assures states that federal help will be available for major projects, although it does not resolve how to pay for transportation programs in the long term.

Trade promotion authority Congress approved a bill granting the president trade promotion authority.

The law allows Congress to ratify or reject trade agreements negotiated by the executive branch, but not change or filibuster

them. Obama has not submitted to Congress a recently competed trade agreement with 11 Pacific Rim nations.

Surveillance Obama signed into law the USA Freedom Act, which extends three expiring surveillance provisions of the USA Patriot Act, passed after the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. The law overhauls the previous law’s most controversial provision, which had been interpreted to allow bulk collection of U.S. phone records by the National Security Agency. The new law gives private companies more leeway to publicly report information about the number of national security surveillance demands they receive.

Defense Congress approved a sweeping defense-authorization bill that includes a troop pay raise and prohibits transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States.

Doc fix Under a bill shepherded by former House Speaker John Boehner and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, Congress finally approved a bipartisan measure that permanently recasts how Medicare reimburses doctors for treating over 50 million elderly people. The $214 billion measure prevented a 21percent cut in physicians’ Medicare fees, preventing a flood of complaints from doctors and seniors.

Export-Import Bank Congress revived the federal Export-Import Bank five months after lawmakers allowed it to expire.

——————————— Despite those accomplishments, the Republican-controlled Congress failed on a number of fronts:

Iran nuclear deal GOP lawmakers failed to block a deal involving the United States, Iran and five other world powers that would curb Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for giving Iran access to billions in frozen assets and oil revenue.

Planned Parenthood Congress tried but failed to halt federal payments to Planned Parenthood, after secretly recorded videos of Planned Parenthood officials discussing tissue donations fueled an uproar among congressional Republicans and abortion opponents.

“Obamacare” Lawmakers tweaked the edges of Obama’s health care law but did not overturn it despite repeated votes to repeal all or part of it.

International

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2015

UN endorses peace process

By EDITH M. LEDERER AND CARA ANNA ASSOCIATED PRESS

AP file photo

In this February 1986 file photo, Pope John Paul II holds his arm around Mother Teresa as they ride in the Popemobile in Kolkata, India.

Mother Teresa to be a saint

By NICOLE WINFIELD ASSOCIATED PRESS

VATICAN CITY — Mother Teresa, the tiny, stooped nun who cared for the poorest of the poor in the slums of India and beyond, will be declared a saint next year after Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to her intercession.

The Vatican on Friday set no date for the canonization, but it is widely believed that it will take place in the first week of September to coincide with the 19th anniversary of Mother Teresa’s death and during Francis’ Holy Year of Mercy.

“With her work, she was always the symbol of mercy, not just with words but with her actions,” said the superior general of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity, the Rev. Sebastian Vazhakala.

The Vatican said Francis approved a decree attributing a miracle to Mother Teresa’s intercession during an audience with the head of the Vatican’s saint-making office on Thursday, his 79th birthday.

The miracle in question concerned the inexplicable cure of a Brazilian man suffering from a viral brain infection that resulted in multiple abscesses. By Dec. 9, 2008, he was in a coma and dying, suffering from an accumulation of fluid around the brain.

The Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk, the postulator spearheading Mother Teresa’s canonization case, said in a statement Friday that 30 minutes after the man was due to undergo surgery, he sat up, awake and without pain. The surgery did not take place and a day later the man was declared to be symptom-free.

The Vatican later attributed the cure to the fervent prayers to Mother Teresa’s intercession by the man’s wife, who at the time of his scheduled surgery was at her parish church praying alongside her pastor.

“This is fantastic news.

We are very happy,” said Sunita Kumar, a spokeswoman for the Missionaries of Charity in the eastern city of Kolkata (earlier called Calcutta), where Mother Teresa lived and worked.

UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Security Council members unanimously approved a U.N. resolution Friday endorsing a peace process for Syria including a cease-fire and talks between the Damascus government and the opposition, but the draft makes no mention of the most contentious issue — the future role of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The resolution makes clear that the blueprint it endorses will not end the conflict, deep into its fifth year with well over 300,000 killed, because “terrorist groups,” including the Islamic State group and the al-Qaidalinked al-Nusra Front, are not part of the cease-fire.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry praised “the unprecedented degree of unity” in the council, which has been stymied in the past over a political solution in Syria, and called the resolution “a milestone.”

Foreign ministers from 17 countries met for more than five hours on how to implement their call in Vienna last month for a cease-fire and the start of negotiations between the government and opposition in early January.

At the same time, diplomats worked to overcome divisions on the text of the resolution.

The resulting agreement “gives the Syrian people a real choice, not between Assad and Daesh, but between war and peace,” Kerry said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State extremists.

“We’re under no illusions about the obstacles that exist ... especially about the future of President Assad” where “sharp differences” remain, Kerry said.

He made clear that Assad must go if there is to be peace in Syria, saying that “Assad has lost the ability ... to unite the country.”

But Kerry later told reporters that the United States and the opposition had eventually realized that demanding Assad’s departure up front in the process was “in fact, prolonging the war.”

Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura made clear that the previously envisioned Jan. 1 start to peace

Photo by Douma Revolution | AP

In this photo released on Dec 13 by the Douma Revolution News Network on their Facebook page, Syrians try to extinguish a fire that was caused by Syrian government aerial bombardment on the Damascus suburb of Douma, Syria. talks was unlikely. De Mistura said invitations to the talks will go out in January, at least.

Kerry said a start to the talks in the middle or end of the month would be more reasonable. “In January, we expect to be at the table and implement a full cease-fire,” he said.

Secretary-General Ban Kimoon told the council that Syria was “in ruins,” singling out besieged areas where “thousands of people have been forced to live on grass and weeds,” which he called “outrageous.”

“This marks a very important step on which we must build,” Ban said of Friday’s resolution.

But Syria’s ambassador to the U.N., Bashar Ja’afari, criticized the “glaring contradictions” between the talk about letting the Syrian people decide their fate and what he called interference in his country’s sovereignty by talking about replacing Assad.

At an earlier ministerial meeting, Ban said he urged the government and opposition to implement confidence-building measures, including a halt to the use of barrel bombs and other indiscriminate weapons against civilians, as well as granting unconditional access to aid convoys, lifting restrictions on the delivery of medical aid and re-

leasing all detainees.

Ministers said they would meet again in January, and de Mistura is now tasked with pulling together a final negotiating team for the Syrian opposition.

The resolution calls on the secretary-general to convene representatives of the Syrian government and opposition “to engage in formal negotiations on a political transition process on an urgent basis, with a target of early January 2016 for the initiation of talks.”

Within six months, the process should establish “credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance,” and set a schedule for drafting a new constitution. U.N.supervised “free and fair elections” are to be held within 18 months under the new constitution.

The resolution calls the transition Syrian-led and Syrian-owned, stressing that the “Syrian people will decide the future of Syria.”

The resolution also says ceasefire efforts should move forward in parallel with the talks, and it asks Ban to report within a month on ways to monitor the cease-fire.

Still, it notes that the ceasefire “will not apply to offensive or defensive actions” against the

Islamic State group and al-Nusra Front. This means that airstrikes

by Russia, France and the U.S.led coalition apparently would not be affected, nor would military action by the extremists.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said he presented lists submitted from each country of groups they consider terrorist organizations. He said some countries “sent 10, 15, 20 names” and others more.

A group of countries will join Jordan in developing that list, Kerry told reporters, without giving details.

Lavrov stressed that “terrorists of all stripes have no place in the talks” and said, “It is inadmissible to divide terrorists among good and bad ones.”

Those around the table included the United States, key European nations and Saudi Arabia, who support the Syrian opposition, and the Assad government’s top allies, Russia and Iran.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the two most important issues are launching political negotiations among Syrian parties and implementing a U.N.-monitored cease-fire. “Without peace talks, the cease-fire cannot be sustained. Without a cease-fire, peace talks cannot continue to produce results,” he said.

Wang noted the “severe threat posed by international terrorism,” a reference to the Islamic State group, which has exploited the chaos to seize large parts of Syria.

The peace plan agreed to in Vienna last month by 17 nations as well as the U.N., European Union, Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation sets a Jan. 1 deadline for the start of negotiations between Assad’s government and opposition groups.

The U.N. representative for the Syrian National Coalition, the main Western-backed opposition group, told reporters Friday that a comprehensive solution to the conflict requires “the removal of all foreign troops from Syria, all of them,” including Russia. Moscow began a campaign of airstrikes in September that have focused on more moderate forces fighting Assad in areas where the Islamic State group has little or no presence.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A

Bill may aid US economy Texas jobless WASHINGTON — Just as the Federal Reserve is pulling back slightly on the economic accelerator, Congress is pressing down a bit harder.

The spending and tax-cut package that Congress approved Friday stands to modestly boost growth next year. It could also help drive a shift away from government as a drag on economic growth to a source of potential stimulus.

“This shift ... is currently being overlooked by financial markets and analysts,” said Joseph Carson, U.S. economist at asset manager Alliance Bernstein. “But we believe this will be a key aspect of a more positive and faster growth environment for next year.”

Economists at Goldman Sachs have forecast that increased federal spending and tax cuts should add to economic growth in 2016 for the first time in six years.

The $1.1 trillion budget deal boosts spending for most Cabinet agencies by about 6 percent next year. A separate tax measure provides $680 billion in tax cuts over 10 years. It would do so mostly by extending or making permanent about 50 different expiring tax breaks.

That measure follows Congress’ approval of a fiveyear, $305 billion highway bill earlier in December.

Taken together, the measures could increase growth to about 3 percent next year, Carson estimates, up from a likely pace of about 2.25 percent this year.

Alec Phillips, an economist at Goldman Sachs, forecasts a smaller gain and envisions overall growth next year of 2.25 percent.

The picture now looks brighter for state and local

rate increases to 4.6 percent ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Zach Gibson | New York Times

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), center, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday. The House overwhelmingly approved a $1.1 trillion spending bill Friday. governments, too. Their tax revenue has increased as the economy has improved.

The economy now has about 4.5 million more jobs than it did before the Great Recession began in late 2007.

Spending on construction at all levels of government, for example, rose 6.1 percent in October compared with a year earlier. Additional government spending can also translate into more purchases of military equipment.

The economic lift from government, if it proved significant and if it raised undesirably low inflation, could make it easier for the Fed to continue raising short-term interest rates.

On Wednesday, citing the improved economy, the Fed announced its first rate increase in nine years. For seven years, the central bank had kept its key shortterm rate at a record low near zero to encourage borrowing and spending.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s predecessor, Ben Bernanke, had frequently called on Congress to limit its budget cuts in the short run to help the economy recover. But in recent months Yellen has noted that governments at all levels were spending a bit more. That likely helped set the stage for the Fed’s rate increases.

“Fiscal policy actions at both the federal and the state and local levels look like they are no longer a significant drag on economic growth,” Yellen said in May. The Fed said Wednesday that any rate hikes next year would likely be gradual and that it may delay further increases if the economy weakens. The Fed’s interest rate target will likely remain below its longer-run average all next year, Yellen said, meaning that consumer borrowing rates should also remain at historically low levels.

Business groups applaud-

ed Congress’ extension of tax credits, particularly those that enable companies to write off their expenses for big-ticket purchases and research and development expenses.

They have long complained that the temporary nature of those tax breaks meant companies couldn’t be sure they would be available. Next year will be the first year since 2013 that companies will start the year knowing that the credits will be available, Phillips noted.

“Fiscal instability and uncertainty in the tax code have stifled investment for years,” said Mark Weinberger, CEO of consulting firm EY and chair of the Business Roundtable, a group of large company CEOs. “By taking steps to address these long-standing problems, Congress will provide a boost to economic growth, innovation and job creation.”

AUSTIN — The Texas unemployment rate for November rose to 4.6 percent, the third straight month of statewide higher jobless figures, the Texas Workforce Commission reported Friday.

The October jobless rate in Texas was 4.4 percent. Texas in September had 4.2 percent unemployment, according to TWC figures. The nationwide jobless rate for November was 5 percent.

“Texas employers added 179,300 jobs over the past year, highlighting the diversity of the Texas economy and job market,” said Andres Alcantar, commission chairman.

Amarillo had the lowest unemployment rate in Texas last month at 3.2 percent. The AustinRound Rock area was also on the low end for jobless rates, at 3.3 percent.

The McAllen-EdinburgMission area had the highest jobless rate statewide at 8.0 percent, the TWC said.

Texas employers expanded their payrolls last month by adding 16,300 seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs. More than half, about 9,000 jobs, were in the construction industry, a commission statement said.

Amarillo had the lowest unemployment rate in Texas last month at 3.2 percent. The Austin-Round Rock area was also on the low end for jobless rates, at 3.3 percent. The Mission area had the highest jobless rate statewide at 8.0 percent according to the TWC. The professional and business service industry also added jobs for the fourth month in a row, adding 5,500 positions in November.

“Texas employers continue to lead the good economic news for our state,” said Commissioner Ruth R. Hughs. “The fact that our state has added jobs for nine of the eleven months of 2015 is a credit to the diversity and resilience of employers in Texas.”

Women out-earning men in corporate finance

By SARAH SKIDMORE SELL ASSOCIATED PRESS

Women may be badly outnumbered in the top ranks of corporate America, but at least they aren’t underpaid.

Compensation for female chief financial officers at S&P 500 companies last year outpaced that of their male counterparts, according to an analysis by executive compensation firm Equilar and the Associated Press. It follows a similar trend seen with female CEOs in recent years.

The median pay for female CFOs last year rose nearly 11 percent to $3.32 million. Male CFO pay rose 7 percent, to $3.3 million. This follows several years of steady gains for both sexes.

The gains, for both men and women, are in part a result of the expansion of the CFO role to include far more responsibility and visibility.

“The CFO is no longer a bean

counter,” said Josh Crist, managing director at executive search firm Crist Kolder Associates.

Companies and shareholders became more focused on financial security and regulation after the financial crisis, and corporate finance began to play a bigger role in company strategy, according to Gregg Passin, a compensation expert at consulting firm Mercer.

Ruth Porat, became one of the most powerful women on Wall Street while helping steer Morgan Stanley, one of the nation’s biggest investment banks, through the aftermath of the financial crisis. She topped the list of highest paid female CFOs with her $14.4 million pay package from Morgan Stanley for the 2014 fiscal year.

Google has since lured her away with a pay deal worth $70 million. Investors have warmly welcomed her arrival at Google, where she is expected to bring

some financial discipline to what some consider their free-spending ways.

The increased responsibility and visibility has helped some women CFOs rise even further, to CEO. Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo and Lynn Good, CEO of Duke Energy are both former CFOs. “It’s a unique position that has the ability to contribute to day-today operations but also on longterm strategic planning,” Good said. She called the CFO position “a critical training ground” for aspiring CEOs. The other top-paid female CFOs, after Porat, include Marianne Lake of JPMorgan Chase, whose compensation package is valued at $9.1 million, Catherine Lesjak of Hewlett-Packard at $8 million, Sharon McCollam at Best Buy at $7 million and Robin Washington of Gilead Sciences at $6.2 million. This ranking reflects only the companies where the CFOs who have served two con-

secutive years in their particular position.

To calculate pay, Equilar adds salary, bonus, perks, stock awards, stock option awards and other pay components. To determine what stock and option awards are worth, Equilar uses the value of an award on the day it is granted, as shown in a company’s proxy statement.

The high median pay for female CFOs is partly a result of sample size — there were only 60 female CFOs at the S&P 500 companies that qualified for inclusion in the study during the last fiscal year, compared with 437 men, according to Equilar.

It is also a factor in female CEO pay. Median CEO pay for women was $15.9 million last year, according to an analysis done earlier this year by Equilar and the AP, compared with $10.4 million for male CEOs. There were just 17 female CEOs, however.

The small group of women in these important roles tended to be focused at the largest companies, where pay is higher. Crist said that he expects more women to take on CFO duties in years ahead but the pay range will broaden as more women join smaller companies.

He notes that women have historically been underrepresented in finance overall. That is changing, and helping fuel this shift at the top. Younger women are getting better opportunities at entry levels and these lead to better opportunities down the line.

A Crist Kolder study found that the percentage of female CEOs and CFOs has hit an all-time in 2015. Of the 672 Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies evaluated, nearly 5 percent had female CEOs and 13 percent had female CFOs. “It’s a heck of a trend,” he said. “It has been predominantly white male centric forever.”

12A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2015

Jackpot-fixing investigation expands

By RYAN J. FOLEY AND DAVID PITT ASSOCIATED PRESS

DES MOINES, Iowa — The allegations read like a movie plot: a lottery industry insider installs undetectable software giving him advance knowledge of winning numbers, then enlists accomplices to play those numbers and collect the jackpots. And they secretly enrich themselves for years — until a misstep exposes them.

Eddie Tipton, former security director of the Multi-State Lottery Association, has been convicted of fraud for fixing one jackpot in Des Moines, but prosecutors say his high-tech scheme extended far beyond Iowa. He’s accused of tampering with lottery drawings in four states over six years, and investigators are expanding their inquiry nationwide.

Investigators have asked states to review jackpots produced by the number-generators Tipton had access to, and whose winning numbers were specifically requested by the ticket buyer. They hope to talk with anyone aware of such payouts being collected by someone other than the person who ends up with the money, said Rob Sand, a state prosecutor in Des Moines who is leading the probe.

Photo by Brian Powers/The Des Moines Register | AP file

In this July 15 file photo, Eddie Tipton looks over at his lawyers before the start of his trial in Des Moines, Iowa. The former security director of the Multi-State Lottery Association, accused of tampering with lottery drawings to rig jackpots in four states, was convicted of fraud in the attempt to claim a $16.5 million jackpot.

The inquiry is sending a chill through state governments that depend on public confidence in contests that generate $20 billion annually in lottery revenue.

“It would be pretty naive to believe they are the only four” jackpots involved, said now-retired Iowa deputy attorney general Thomas H. Miller, who oversaw the investigation for 21⁄2 years. “If you find one cockroach, you have to assume there are 100 more you haven’t found.”

Thirty-seven states and U.S. territories use random-number generators from the Iowa-based association, which administers games and distributes prizes for the lottery consortium. So far, Colorado, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma have confirmed paying jackpots valued at a total of $8 million allegedly linked to Tipton and associates.

Tipton, 52, was sentenced to 10 years but is free pending appeal after being convicted at trial of trying to claim a $16.5 million jackpot

ZCISD Continued from Page 1A with the science portion of the exam, but had an improvement, meeting the standards for the writing portion of the test.

Zapata middle and high schools met all the criteria for the state this school year.

Laredo ISD For the 2016-17 school year, Bruni, Don Jose Gallego, Dovalina, Daiches, Leyendecker, Macdonell, Santa Maria, Sanchez Ochoa, Farias, Zachry, Kawas elementary, Christen, Cigarroa, Lamar middle and Cigarroa, Martin and Nixon high schools are on the PEG list.

According to the Texas Education Agency report, most of the campuses are struggling with the science portion of the exam.

“Last year, we had some drops in science,” said Roberta Ramirez, Laredo Independent School District curriculum and instruction executive director. “The standards are increasing.”

Ramirez said the increase in campuses on the list came as a surprise to district officials.

“We were a little disappointed in that,” she said.

Some campuses, however, met all the state criteria of the exams.

But when a campus is placed on a PEG list, it is required the school remain there for about two to three years, Ramirez explained.

Such schools include Don Jose Gallego, Farias Elementary, Lamar Middle, and Nixon High schools.

United ISD

At United Independent School District, Antonio Gonzalez Middle, Clark Middle, Lamar Bruni Vergara Middle, Los Obispos Middle, Salvador Garcia Middle, and Lyndon B. Johnson high schools are on the PEG list.

Last school year, Clark, Lamar Bruni Vergara, Los Obispos and Salvador Garcia middle schools and Lyndon B. Johnson High School were on the PEG list.

According to the TEA report, Antonio Gonzalez Middle School is struggling with the writing portion of the exam.

The campus was also labeled improvement required.

The rest of the campuses met all the state criteria.

(Judith Rayo may be reached at 728-2567 or jrayo@lmtonline.com)

in Iowa. He’s also charged with criminal conduct and money laundering involving the other three state lotteries. His brother, Tommy Tipton, and his best friend, Robert Rhodes, are under investigation as possible accomplices.

Rhodes’ attorney did not respond to messages. Tommy Tipton, who resigned his elected judicial position in Texas last month, did not return calls. Eddie Tipton’s attorney, Dean Stowers, says his client is innocent.

“There’s just absolutely no evidence whatsoever that he did anything to alter the proper operations of the computers that were used to pick those numbers, absolutely no evidence. It’s just all speculation,” Stowers said.

Prosecutors say Tipton installed software known as a root kit that enabled him to manipulate numbers without a trace. What tripped him up, investigators say, was his decision to buy the winning ticket himself at a service station near the headquarters of the association, whose workers are prohibited from trying their luck.

Iowa got suspicious in 2012 after a New York lawyer representing a newly created trust tried to claim the $16.5 million Hot Lotto jackpot on behalf of a Belize-registered

corporation, turning in the ticket hours before a one-year deadline.

The trust eventually withdrew the claim rather than identify the ticket purchaser.

Investigators initially suspected the buyer was merely trying to hide the winnings from a former spouse or creditor. Still, who would walk away from $16.5 million?

The case took an even more dramatic twist after authorities sought the public’s help, releasing surveillance video showing a stocky, hooded man buying the winning ticket and hot dogs at a service station in December 2010.

Lottery colleagues were stunned, stepping forward to say the man looked and sounded like Tipton.

Eddie Tipton had worked at the association since 2003, after a career in information technology, including at a Rhodes-owned firm in Houston called Systems Evolution.

He was promoted in 2013 to security director, a job that included protecting the integrity of the computer programs that generate winning numbers.

Investigators allege that Tipton passed the winning ticket to Rhodes, a businessman in Sugar Land, Texas, who was his classmate at the University of Houston.

SCAMMED Continued from Page 1A “They may claim to work for a company you trust, or they may send mail or place ads to convince you to call them. …

Hang up and report it to the Federal Trade Commission.”

To report a scam, visit http://www.consum-

er.ftc.gov/.

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

BRUNI Continued from Page 1A At the hearing, the commissioner can appear in person or by legal counsel to be heard.

Bernal adds that the Housing Authority has not received details specifying when Ceballos is to assume his position on the board.

“State law provides that ‘before’ a commissioner may be removed, due process must be given, consisting of notice of charges and an opportunity to be heard,” Bernal wrote.

“Until Mr. Bruni either

resigns his position as commissioner or is removed by order of the mayor pursuant to … the Texas Local Government Code, Mr. Bruni continues to be a commissioner until the expiration of his term on March 31.”

Bruni was served with a warrant Dec. 3 charging him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony.

A criminal complaint filed in Zapata with Precinct 2 Justice of the

Peace Juana Maria Gutierrez alleges that Bruni fired a gun at a ranch, causing the complainant, a relative of Bruni, to fear for his life.

Records state the ranch has been divided through mediation but it does not take effect until May. Bruni was also recently served with a protective order in connection with the case.

He is out on bond.

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

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2015

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Sports&Outdoors MLB: TEXAS RANGERS

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Rangers sign Bush Photo by Ron Jenkins | AP

The Rangers and pitcher Colby Lewis agreed to a one-year, $6 million contract Friday.

Lewis resigns with Texas Rangers bring back starter on 1-year deal

By STEPHEN HAWKINS

Photo by Charles Krupa | AP

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Rangers signed former No. 1 overall pick Matt Bush to a minor league contract after he was released from prison.

Former top pick joins team after release from prison

By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS

Former No. 1 overall draft pick Matt Bush agreed on a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers after spending 3 1/2 years in prison for a drunken driving accident in Florida that seriously injured a man.

Bush said Friday that he has been sober since the March 2012 accident after years of alcohol issues.

“It was a startling experience. ... It was pretty scary to deal with,” Bush said during a conference call with Rangers beat writers. “I didn’t really pay attention to the baseball world for a while because it was too hard for me.”

Bush will report to minor league spring training in Arizona in February, the month he turns 30. He is home with his family in California, where he has been since his release from prison Oct. 30.

Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said Bush will be accompanied through-

out spring training by his father, who will also stay with him through the season if the hard-throwing right-handed reliever makes a minor league roster. Bush will continue in an Alcoholic Anonymous program and will have other requirements, including community service.

Daniels acknowledged that his initial response about Bush “was one of skepticism.” The GM became more open-minded when hearing more, and getting a chance to meet Bush and his father.

“Unlike some who have been accused of different crimes, or have had stuff happen in the past, Matt is not running and hiding from this,” Daniels said. “He has been extremely accountable, extremely remorseful.”

Bush was drafted No. 1 overall as a shortstop by his hometown San Diego Padres in 2004, but had several alcohol-related incidents and was traded five years later to Toronto. After being released by the Blue Jays, he signed a minor league deal as a pitcher with Tampa Bay. He last

played in the minors in 2011.

The Rangers took a look at Bush on a recommendation from Roy Silver, a player development assistant for the team who has helped others come back from troubled pasts. Silver had a big impact on slugger Josh Hamilton, the former No. 1 overall pick who was out of baseball for more than three years because of cocaine and alcohol addictions.

“He saw something in Matt that made him feel like that there was something well worthwhile to invest in and help,” Daniels said.

Bush went to prison after a no contest plea deal he made in Charlotte County in Florida for DUI with serious bodily injury.

Authorities said Bush’s blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit when he hit a 72-year-old man on a motorcycle and left the scene.

There is no probation for Bush, whose sentence ended with a nine-month work

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Colby Lewis is staying with the Rangers.

AL West champion Texas and the pitcher have agreed on a $6 million, one-year contract, a person familiar with the deal said Friday. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal is pending a physical on the pitcher’s surgically repaired right knee, and that exam likely won’t happen until after the holidays.

Lewis was a free agent after setting career highs last season and leading the Rangers with 17 wins and 204 2/3 innings. The 36year-old right-hander has won 27 games over the past two seasons since a hip resurfacing procedure that was unprecedented for a major league pitcher.

In October, only two days after the Rangers lost Game 5 of the AL Division Series to Toronto, Lewis had torn meniscus repaired in his right knee, which

See BUSH PAGE 2B See LEWIS PAGE 2B

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Texans, Colts face for 1st place

By MICHAEL MAROT ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Jeffrey Phelps | AP

Matt Cassel and the Cowboys host New York on Sunday night. The Jets have won three straight games to take control of one of the AFC wild-card spots.

Cowboys look to break Jets’ streak

By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARLINGTON — Ryan Fitzpatrick has the New York Jets in position to make the playoffs even though they didn’t expect him to be their starting quarterback this season.

The Dallas Cowboys have had no such luck with their backups to Tony Romo, and the defending NFC East champions could be eliminated from the postseason by the end of Week

15.

It may be hard for the Jets (8-5) to remember that Fitzpatrick wasn’t their guy when they went to training camp — before Geno Smith’s jaw was broken by a punch from thenteammate Ikemefuna Enemkpali at camp.

Now New York makes its first visit to the $1.2 billion home of the Cowboys on Saturday night with Fitzpatrick clos-

See COWBOYS PAGE 2B

INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis and Houston started the season as the two best teams in the AFC South.

So perhaps Sunday’s game playing a pivotal role in determining a division champion should have been expected.

The surprise will be the quarterbacks determining the crucial outcome — Houston’s T.J. Yates and either Matt Hasselbeck or Charlie Whitehurst for the Colts.

“I feel very fortunate that we’ve got Matt Hasselbeck,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said, sounding confident that Hasselbeck will be healthy enough to play this weekend. “He can play at a winning level, and he will play again at a winning level.”

Without Hasselbeck, the Colts (6-7) might not even be in the playoff hunt.

He has won twice as many games this season (four) as the starter he replaced, Andrew Luck, and with Luck still recovering from a lacerated kidney and a partially torn abdominal muscle and ruled out of this week’s game, the Colts are now pinning their playoff hopes to a 40-year-old backup who has been battered the past two weeks.

If he actually plays.

Photo by Frank Victores | AP

Backup quarterback T.J. Yates will start for the Texans on Sunday in a key divisional showdown against the Colts.

Hasselbeck left late in the loss at Pittsburgh two weeks ago after hurting his neck and shoulder and then was diagnosed with a mild separation of the ribs. Last week, in a loss at Jacksonville, he re-injured the ribs and spent the early part of this week with his left arm in a sling.

He returned to practice Thursday and while Pagano remains hopeful Hasselbeck starts — and finishes —the game, Hasselbeck acknowledged that the hardest part has been breathing.

“I’m not in an incredible

amount of pain, I just need to be able to play at a high level,” he said. “That’s the case at every position, but especially for me.”

If he can’t go, Whitehurst will.

Houston (6-7) has taken its share of hard knocks, too.

The Texans lost former NFL rushing champion Arian Foster in late October with a torn right Achilles tendon. They cut onetime starting quarterback Ryan Mallett two days after he missed a team flight. Two-time defen-

See TEXANS PAGE 2B

PAGE 2B

Zsports

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2015

Rivals face in Las Vegas Bowl

By KAREEM COPELAND ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Las Vegas Bowl has taken on a new moniker: The Holy War in Sin City.

Longtime rivals BYU and No. 20 Utah will meet in the postseason for the first time on Saturday with an eye on finishing on a high note. Both programs ended the season on a dour note despite posting nine wins.

Las Vegas was a far-down-the-list destination for the Utes (9-3) after starting the season 6-0 and being ranked No. 3 in the country. There was talk of playing in the College Football Playoff at one time, but Utah lost three of six to wrap up the regular season and didn’t even win the Pac-12 South. The Utes and USC finished with identical conference records, but the Trojans earned the head-to-head tiebreaker.

“We were essentially one game away from being able to play in the (Pac-12) championship game, so that was disappointing, but it’s still been a very good year for us,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “Co-champs of the South, that’s not bad when you’re picked to finish fifth.”

BYU (9-3) is back in Vegas after playing in the bowl five consecutive times from 2005-09. Life as an independent leaves little on the line after two losses, but the last two weeks energized the Cougars.

Saturday will be the last game for coach Bronco Mendenhall after 11 years at the head of the program.

He’s been hired to coach Virginia, but will go for his 100th win first.

Photo by Rick Bowmer | AP

Cory Butler-Byrd and No. 20 Utah face rival BYU on Saturday in the Las Vegas Bowl.

A showdown with the Utes provides an edge to the game that no other program could.

The two teams have never played in the postseason or at a neutral site.

“One of the first things that I thought after hearing the news from Coach Mendenhall immediately was, ’I can’t wait to play in the bowl game because of how hard we’re going to fight for this guy,”’ BYU receiver Mitch Mathews said. “That is something that will happen. There’ll be a new level of fight in us for Coach Mendenhall.”

Things to watch during the Las Vegas Bowl: HOLY WAR There were extensive debates this year about the series between the two schools located 46 miles apart. They played the so-called Holy War rivalry game every year from 1946 to 2013, when Utah discontinued the series to play Michigan in 2014 and 2015. They pick back up in 2016, but Utah questions the viability of playing every

year. The Utes have a tough Pac-12 schedule and the BYU game presents a difficult nonconference game that doesn’t necessarily carry the weight nationally that a matchup with a Power 5 school would.

CLOSE CONNECTIONS Utah has three coaches who played at BYU — Whittingham, co-offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick and linebackers coach Justin Ena. BYU defensive line coach Steve Kaufusi used to coach at Utah.

FALLEN STARS Both teams are without star offensive players. BYU quarterback Taysom Hill was lost for the year in the season opener. Utah leading rusher Devontae Booker is out after having knee surgery and leading receiver Britain Covey is questionable with a leg injury.

BAD BLOOD Utah defensive tackle Viliseni Fauonuku called BYU “a dirty team” on the microphone at the welcome reception for the two teams. BYU fans were not amused. The university has dealt with several incidents of questionable behavior recently. BYU basketball player Nick Emery was recently suspended a game for punching Utah guard Brandon Taylor during a game.

QUOTABLE “As you get closer to the game, we get more hyped to play the game, we get more juiced and we’re excited to play an in-state rival at a bowl game,” Utah linebacker Gionni Paul said.

“We’re preparing our behinds off to win this game and I think there ain’t no bowl game out there more serious than this bowl game.”

TEXANS Continued from Page 1B sive player of the year, J.J. Watt, played last week after breaking his left hand in practice. And now starting quarterback Brian Hoyer is out after being diagnosed with his second concussion in less than a month.

That leaves their fate in the hands of T.J. Yates, who won his only start this season.

“He’s a really bright guy, so now being here for a while, I think he has a really good grasp of our offense,” coach Bill O’Brien said. “So we can do the things we need to do to help us beat the Colts.”

But the better backup will probably give his team the inside track to a division title and a home playoff game, something everybody in both locker

rooms understands in a high-stakes game.

“Things haven’t been going our way lately but this is a must-win,” Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton said.

“This is our playoff game and one that we have to have.”

Here are some other things to watch in Sunday’s game: WATT’S CLUB Watt has been one of the NFL’s most dominant players but wasn’t himself with the “club” cast protecting his hand last week against New England.

And the Colts neutralized him in their first meeting, in October. If Watt returns to form this weekend, against left tackle Anthony Castonzo, who missed the last three games with a right knee injury, Houston’s chances would in-

crease.

DEFENSIVE DILEMMA The last two weeks have been ugly in Indy. The Colts have been outscored 96-26, allowing Ben Roethlisberger and Blake Bortles to throw for a combined 614 yards and seven TDs. They can’t afford to have a repeat against Yates and the Texans.

NO CLOWNING AROUND Last week, outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft, sacked Tom Brady twice — the first multi-sack game of his injury-plagued career. Now Houston wants to see him do it again. “He’s a confident player,” O’Brien said. “ ... When he feels good and he’s healthy, he’s a good football player.”

GROUNDED For four seasons, Paga-

no has talked incessantly about the need to run.

The Colts might need a ground game more than ever. Over the last four weeks, Indy has rushed for 62.5 yards per game and 2.7 yards per carry.

Improving those numbers would help keep the quarterbacks upright.

LOPSIDED RIVALRY Houston has a problem in Indy. It can’t win. The Texans couldn’t win in December 2011 when their playoff-bound team lost to a one-win Colts’ team that had Dan Orlovsky at quarterback. They couldn’t win in December 2012 when they were facing a rookie quarterback with a shot at the AFC’s No. 1 seed. And if they want to make the playoffs this year, they need to end this 0-13 run.

BUSH Continued from Page 1B release program.

“I feel like my future is as bright as I make it. I have to dial in each day mentally and spiritually, and physically,” Bush said.

“I wake up each morning in a positive state of mind.

I feel renewed after time I served and had to think things through, the agony about destroying my life and the lives of others.

“I want to be a player, be a part of the game, be a role model and show ev-

erybody that I can make something out of the opportunity which I was given a long time ago, and really just make things right for myself, my family and the Texas Rangers.”

Bush, selected just

ahead of Justin Verlander in the 2004 draft, hit .219 with three homers and 70 RBIs in the minor leagues.

As a pitcher, he was 7-3 with a 4.14 ERA in 53 appearances, with 113 strikeouts in 71 2-3 innings.

COWBOYS Continued from Page 1B ing in on his first trip to the playoffs in the former Ivy Leaguer’s 11th NFL season.

During a three-game winning streak that gives the Jets one of the AFC wild-card spots at the moment, Fitzpatrick has 930 yards with nine touchdowns, no interceptions and a 111.5 passer rating.

“I think as a fan of football and someone who’s been around football my whole life, I have an affinity for him,” said Dallas coach Jason Garrett, who was a quarterback at Princeton about 15 years before Fitzpatrick was at Harvard. “He’s a smart guy. He’s a tough guy. He plays the game the right way.”

Matt Cassel once won 10 games filling in for Tom Brady in New England.

But he’s 1-5 as the second replacement for Romo this season, after Brandon Weeden went 0-3. The Cowboys have scored more than one touchdown just twice in his six starts.

“They still have a great offensive line; they’ve got a slew of running backs,” said New York coach Todd

Bowles, who missed Romo last year as well when he was defensive coordinator in a win for Arizona. “We expect to get the Cowboys that won a division, the Cowboys that play hard and do everything they’ve been doing. We expect a tough game.”

Things to consider with the Jets going for their first four-game winning streak since 2010: BRACKET? WHAT BRACKET? The Jets currently have one of two playoff spots among a trio of 8-5 teams with Kansas City and Pittsburgh. Not that Fitzpatrick is looking. “It’s too early for me to even think about that,” he said.

“We’re trying to win every single game, but this is the next one.”

WALKING CONTRADICTIONS New York is among the best offenses inside the 20, converting 68 percent into touchdowns and 96 percent overall (42 of 44). Dallas is among the worst at getting into the end zone (44 percent). “That was one of the things we said to start the season, that was a big goal of ours, to

be very good in that area,” said Jets offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, who coached the Cowboys in 1998-99.

The Jets are one of seven teams with at least 24 takeaways, and the Cowboys are the only team in single digits with eight.

It’s probably not good news for Dallas that New York has just one turnover during its winning streak.

DYNAMIC DUO Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker are having one of the best seasons ever for a pair of Jets receivers. Marshall has 89 catches, five shy of breaking Al Toon’s franchise record.

He has 1,187 yards and 11 touchdowns. Decker has 66 receptions for 875 yards and nine TDs, including eight in the red zone — second in the NFL to Jacksonville’s Allen Robinson (11) among WRs. The duo’s 20 combined TD catches tie the franchise mark, also held by Art Powell and Don Maynard (1960) and Toon and Wesley Walker (1986). Marshall and Decker have also each caught a TD pass in seven games this season,

tying the NFL record set in 1998 by Minnesota’s Randy Moss and Cris Carter.

DEZ AND CONFUSED All-Pro receiver Dez Bryant has 13 straight games for Dallas with at least one touchdown against AFC opponents, the longest interconference streak since 1970.

But he has just two TDs this season after missing five games with a broken foot. It’s likely the end of a three-year run with at least 10 TDs each season.

“Certainly for Dez this year it’s been challenging for a lot of different reasons,” Garrett said. “Dez understands that and you just have to work through it.”

CHASING 1,000 New York running back Chris Ivory needs 86 yards for his first 1,000-yard season in his sixth year. He already has career highs with 914 yards and seven touchdowns. Dallas’ Darren McFadden (798 yards) has a little further to go for the second 1,000-yard season for the fourth overall pick in the 2008 draft

by Oakland.

Photo by Eric Draper | AP

Austin Hill and Arizona face New Mexico Friday in the New Mexico Bowl.

Arizona faces Lobos in New Mexico Bowl

By RUSSELL CONTRERAS ASSOCIATED PRESS

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Playing in the postseason has become something of a habit for Arizona. The same isn’t true of New Mexico, but the Lobos are hoping to start a similar trend.

For Arizona (6-6), Saturday’s New Mexico Bowl marks the Wildcats’ fourthconsecutive bowl appearance under coach Rich Rodriguez in a season that saw the team battling injuries to key players. Star linebacker Scooby Wright, for example, barely played in two games this year due to various injuries.

The New Mexico Bowl appearance comes just a year after Arizona made it to the Pac-12 championship game and eyed a playoff spot. But Rodriguez said he’s not fazed by Arizona’s record this year and is happy the team is playing in the postseason.

“I came here to build one of the best football programs in the country,” Rodriguez said. “We’re not there yet.”

The Lobos (7-5) are returning to the postseason for the first time in nearly a decade and it comes after years of turmoil in the program. New Mexico coach Bob Davie said earning a bowl appearance was the first step in regaining a “winning culture” at New Mexico.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” said Davie, a former coach at Notre Dame who returned to coaching after a 10-year hiatus when he took over at New Mexico. “We can easily return to back if we aren’t careful.”

Here are some things to watch in Saturday’s New Mexico Bowl matchup:

WOLF BITE The Lobos gained national attention in November by beating Utah State and Boise State in back-toback close games. After years of losing records, New Mexico was suddenly within striking distance of going to the Mountain West championship but lost to Colorado State next in another close game. Now, New Mexico finds itself in its first bowl game since 2007 and it will be played on its home field.

SCOOBY WILL Scooby Wright is expected to play on Saturday despite missing most of this season. Rodriguez said Wright could have easily opted not to play but wants in on behalf the Wildcats.

Likely not at 100 percent, Wright is needed to help slow down New Mexico’s triple-option offense that can break a big play on any drive.

RED ZONE LOBOS The Lobos have allowed only 30 scores on 44 red zone possessions by opponents this year. The breakup of scoring opportunities has earned New Mexico a 68.2 percent opponent success rate, the fourth-best mark in the nation. New Mexico also has allowed only 18 touchdowns in those 44 red-zone possessions.

FAST CATS Arizona has had 53 touchdown drives and 28 of those have lasted two minutes of less. That’s a result of Rodriguez’s trademark high-octane offensive attack that can put points on the board quickly and has been adopted by other programs across the country. Davie even acknowledged Rodriguez’s mark and said every offense in the country has a bit of Rodriguez DNA to it. If New Mexico can slow it down, expect a close game.

LEWIS Continued from Page 1B bothered himfor much of the second half of last season. He is expected to be ready for spring training.

If Lewis passes his physical, it would line up the Rangers to go into the 2016 season with the likely rotation including left-handers Cole Hamels, Derek Holland and Martin Perez, along with Lewis. Ace right-hander Yu Darvish expected to return in May after missing all of last season because of Tommy John surgery.

Lewis is 71-67 with a 4.81 ERA over 10 major league seasons, eight of those with the Rangers.

He was a first-round supplemental choice of the Rangers during the 1999 amateur draft and made his big league debut in 2002. He had right shoulder surgery in early 2004 before sitting out all of 2005. He then

pitched for Detroit and Oakland and spent two years in Japan before returning to Texas in 2010 and being part of the Rangers’ only World Series appearances.

After going 4-1 with a 2.34 ERA in eight postseason starts in 2010 and 2011, Lewis was hampered by injuries. He had surgery in July 2012 to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow.

His comeback from that was thwarted by the troublesome hip that had bothered him for some time before he had the resurfacing procedure in August 2013 that was just short of a full hip replacement. He was 1014 with a 5.18 ERA in 29 starts in 2014, but had a 3.86 ERA with two complete games while averaging 6 2/3 innings in 13 starts after the All-Star break that season.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2015

GLOW STICKS Hello, Heloise: I enjoy your column in the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader.

My hint is a child/pet safety warning.

Glow sticks and necklaces can be given to children throughout the holidays and into New Year’s Eve. My granddaughter was given a glow necklace, which she laid on the kitchen counter.

Our cat bit into it, and he shot off the counter and around the house. He was foaming from his mouth.

We held him over the sink and washed his mouth out with water. He was fine, but he might not have been if we hadn’t been there. –– Zelda W., Springfield, Mo. Zelda, these glow sticks are tempting for children, cats, dogs, ferrets and other inquisitive animals. Glad your kitty is fine.

The research I did shows that if animals ingest a small portion of the fluid inside the glow stick, it won’t kill them. An animal may get an upset stomach and minor mouth irrita-

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B

“

HELOISE

tion, which should be temporary symptoms. Much depends on the size of the animal and the way it eats or ingests food. Birds are different from dogs, and cats are, well, cats!

When in doubt, don’t wait! Call your vet or an animal poison-control hotline; with most the call is free, but the consultation may cost. –– Heloise DOG HAIR AND LEAVES Dear Heloise: I read your column every day in the Texarkana Gazette. With four dogs and lots of trees, I had trouble vacuuming the combination of dog hair and leaves with my regular vacuum cleaner; it would stop up too quickly.

I discovered that my wetand-dry workshop vacuum was the answer. It goes for a long time without stopping up or filling up. –– Betty F., via email

4B THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2015