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TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
NUEVO LAREDO
Two dead in separate crashes
One killed, four injured
Chapa of Zapata, Ramirez of Falcon, die over weekend By César G. Rodriguez TH E ZAPATA T IME S
Two Zapata County residents in their 20s died in separate vehicle crashes over the weekend, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. DPS identified the deceased as Ozbel Chapa, 25, of Zapata, and Linda Ramirez, 27, of Falcon. The first crash happened in Zapata County. At about 10:39 p.m. Friday, a 2001 Ford Expedition was trav-
eling south on U.S. 83 when the driver, Ramirez, took faulty evasive action and lost control of the vehicle, according to DPS. “The vehicle went on a left side skid and left the roadway to the left, where it struck a drain culvert. The vehicle continued a left side skid on the dirt and began to roll to the left,” said Sgt. Conrad Hein, DPS spokesman, in a statement. DPS said the Expedition ended upside down facing
west. Ramirez was pronounced dead at the scene. She is survived by relatives and friends. Chapa Services are under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home. Webb County DPS said the second fatal crash occurred at about 6:30 a.m. Saturday in Webb County. Chapa was identified as the driver of a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado. Preliminary reports show that the Silverado was traveling southbound on U.S. 83 when it
went off to the left side of the roadway, “partially onto the grass median,” according to DPS. “The driver over corrected to the right, causing the vehicle to veer right into a side skid. The vehicle rolled onto its left side several times,” Hein said in a news release. Chapa died at the scene. He was a member of Zapata High School class 2009. Chapa is survived by numerous relatives and friends, according to his obituary. Visitation was Tuesday at Rose Garden Funeral Home. A chapel service is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday. Committal services will follow at Zapata County Cemetery, his obit states.
EAGLE FORD SHALE
COULD THE OIL BOOM HAVE CAUSED SICKNESS?
Gunmen open fire By César G. Rodriguez THE ZAPATA TIME S
Cartel gunmen opened fire over the weekend on two bars in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, killing one employee and injuring four civilians, Tamaulipas authorities said. The attacks on the bars occurred early Sunday. Gunmen first shot at a bar known as César Palace, located on Avenida Leandro Valle and Calle González in Colonia Victoria. Three men were shot. Two were inside the business while the third one was walking home. Survivors told authorities they did not see who shot them but that the suspects were on board a sport utility vehicle. A second attack occurred Gunmen continues on A11
GATEWAY
Cuate Santos / The Zapata Times
Rachel Gonzalez-Hanson was the keynote speaker at the National Health Week luncheon Monday afternoon. Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News
Raquel Lara and her husband Longjino Lara say they have been suffering from health problems, especially Longjino, like nosebleeds, muscle pain and breathing problems. They lived near Kenedy, Texas across from where a blowout occurred at an Encana oil and gas site almost a year ago, but have moved to nearby Karnes City. Unable to help himself, Raquel helps her husband get ready for a nap.
Well blowout leads family to question life at oil patch By Jennifer Hiller SA N A NT ONI O E XPRE SS-NEWS
KENEDY — Lonjino Lara suffers from a long list of mysterious maladies. There’s no clear explanation for the vague symptoms: headaches, nosebleeds, red eyes, rashes. Also flu-like symptoms that aren’t the flu, like body aches and severe cramps in his abdomen, legs and on the sides of his body. The Eagle Ford Shale oil field sprouted around his country home. It happened quickly, like wildflowers opening after rain: the third-fastest field ever to pump 1 billion barrels of crude oil. Only the Alaska North Slope and Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar field have done it faster. Lara and his wife, Raquel, live in Karnes County, at the heart of the 26-county Eagle
Ford, next to a plant that processes about 9,000 barrels of oil per day and may release each hour, according to its permit application, as much as 183 pounds of volatile organic compounds. So-called VOCs easily become vapors or gases, may have adverse health effects and are included in things such as paint and cleaning solvents. Last year, a well accident across the road from the Laras’ released hundreds of thousands of pounds of air contaminants. The Laras believe Lonjino’s plummeting health is caused by breathing noxious odors. Proving that and recovering anything in the Texas court system, though, would take them into what has been called “the law’s garbage can” — a place where few landowners find success. Oil continues on A11
Health Center Week begins By Taryn T. Walters THE ZAPATA TIME S
Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News
Raquel Lara and her husband Longjino Lara say they have been suffering from health problems. They lived near Kenedy, Texas across from where a blowout occurred at an Encana oil and gas site almost a year ago.
National Health Center Week kicked off Monday with a speech by a woman recognized on a national level for advancing the philosophy of community health. Rachel Gonzales-Hanson, chief executive officer of Community Health Development Inc., provided the keynote speech at a luncheon hosted by Gateway Community Health Center. Gonzales-Hanson holds the honor of being the first Hispanic woman to serve as the chair of the board of directors for the National Association of Community Health Centers. She highlighted a need for Health continues on A11