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Human smuggling charges Two men indicted for transporting 13 undocumented people via Falcon Lake By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Two men who smuggled 13 people via Falcon Lake were indicted this week, according to court documents. On Tuesday, Benito Cruz and Jesus Eleazar GarciaBautista were charged with one count of conspir-
acy to transport undocumented people and two counts of attempt to transport undocumented people for money. Each man could spend up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Garcia-Bautista allegedly agreed to talk to Home-
See FALCON LAKE PAGE 12A
Harlingen man attempted to transport immigrants in San Ygnacio By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A man from Harlingen could serve up to 10 years in federal prison if he’s convicted for smuggling people in the San Ygnacio area, records state. On Tuesday, a grand jury charged Steve Casas with one count of con-
spiracy to transport undocumented immigrants within the United States and two counts of attempt to transport undocumented people for financial gain. Casas allegedly admitted to the smuggling attempt.
See SAN YGNACIO PAGE 12A
Grand jury indicts couple, both face 10 year sentences for immigrants By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A couple was indicted Tuesday for transporting people who had entered the country illegally, court records state. A grand jury charged Jacob Casares and Viviana Yvette Gonzalez with one count of conspiracy
to transport undocumented people within the United States and two counts of transport undocumented people for financial gain. If convicted, the couple could face up to 10 years in prison. Casares and Gonzalez
See COUPLE PAGE 12A
UNITED NATIONS
BORDER PATROL
REFUGEES FLOCK TO HOUSTON
5,000 more agents needed
County takes more than any other By ANDREW KRAGIE HOUSTON CHRONICLE
HOUSTON — Ali Al Sudani did not know who wanted to kill him. In the chaos of southern Iraq in 2004, anyone could become a target: translators, journalists, teachers. Al Sudani even knew a barber who was assassinated. So when he started to receive anonymous threats, he knew he had to leave his job translating for the British army. A mechanical engineer by training, Al Sudani signed up to translate for the British in Maysan, his hometown about 120 miles north of Basra. Locals working with coalition forces became targets for assassination. After several years translating for the British and for the Coalition Provisional Authority, Al Sudani took a transla-
See REFUGEES PAGE 12A
Union head says threat persists By JULIÁN AGUILAR THE TEXAS TRIBUNE
addition of 3,200 positions in the construction industry, and the decline in the unemployment rate to the lowest point in 14 years, demonstrates the resilience and strength of the Texas economy,” said Andres Alcantar, commission chairman.
More boots on the ground and fewer supervisors to oversee them: That’s what the head of the United States Border Patrol Union told a congressional committee is needed for the understaffed and outgunned federal agency grappling with the threat that violence south of the Rio Grande will spread north. Some advocacy groups aren’t so sure. They point to the increase in alleged abuse and corruption at the hands of Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection agents when their numbers were nearly doubled from about 10,800 in 2004 to 21,400 in 2013. About 18,160 agents are stationed on the Southwest border from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific, including about 1,785 in the Laredo sector and 3,065 in the Rio Grande Valley sector, according to statistics from the Department of Homeland Security. The El Paso Sector, which includes New Mexico, is staffed with about 2,520, while the Del Rio and Big Bend sectors have 1,540 and 590, respectively. The agency doesn’t need to redouble its ranks, Na-
See UNEMPLOYMENT PAGE 12A
See BORDER PAGE 12A
Photo by Gary Coronado/Houston Chronicle | AP
Giup Nguyen, far right, sells rau muong, a common Vietnamese vegetable, and other food items in the parking lot at the Thai Xuan Village on Aug. 2 in Houston. The state health services department reports that nearly 40 percent of Texas’ refugees land in Harris County. A Catholic priest and Vietnamese refugee sought to create a refuge for Vietnamese escapees in the 1970s and with community support, purchased this complex in the 1980s creating a Vietnamese village where about 1,000 Vietnamese residents live.
TEXAS
Unemployment lowers to 4.1 percent ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN The unemployment rate for Texas slipped to 4.1 percent in August — the state’s lowest jobless level since January 2001, the Texas Workforce Commission reported Friday. Last month’s jobless rate compares to a nationwide unemploy-
ment figure of 5.1 percent. Statewide unemployment held steady in June and July at 4.2 percent, according to commission figures. The Austin-Round Rock and Midland areas had the lowest unemployment in Texas last month at 3.2 percent. The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission region had the state’s highest jobless rate at 7.9
percent, a TWC statement said. Leisure and hospitality led all major industries in Texas with an expansion of 5,900 jobs in August. The professional and business services industry added 4,000 positions over the month, the commission said. “The increase in jobs for key industries in August, such as the
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 2 p.m.: Accidental Astronaut; 3 p.m.: Cosmic Adventures; 4 p.m.: Extreme Planets; 5 p.m.: Led Zeppelin. General Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. Matinee Shows are $1 less. Call 956-326-DOME (3663). LCC presents “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhed.” A blockhead begins to question the afterlife during this coming-of-age drama. Adult audiences. General admission is $7 and $5 for seniors and students. Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center Theater, West End Washington Street. “Screenings for Cancer” presented by Dr. Mohensen Ghadimi-Mahani, oncologist, from 3–4 p.m. at the Laredo Public Library on McPherson Road and Calton Road.
Today is Saturday, September 19, the 262nd day of 2015. There are 103 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On September 19, 1985, the Mexico City area was struck by a devastating earthquake that killed at least 9,500 people. On this date: In 1777, the first Battle of Saratoga was fought during the Revolutionary War; although British forces succeeded in driving out the American troops, the Americans prevailed in a second battle the following month. In 1796, President George Washington’s farewell address was published. In 1881, the 20th president of the United States, James A. Garfield, died 2 1⁄2 months after being shot by Charles Guiteau; Chester Alan Arthur became president. In 1915, vaudeville performer W.C. Fields made his movie debut as “Pool Sharks,” a onereel silent comedy, was released. In 1945, Nazi radio propagandist William Joyce, known as “Lord Haw-Haw,” was convicted of treason and sentenced to death by a British court. In 1955, President Juan Peron of Argentina was ousted after a revolt by the army and navy. In 1959, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, visiting Los Angeles, reacted angrily upon being told that, for security reasons, he wouldn’t get to visit Disneyland. In 1960, Cuban leader Fidel Castro, in New York to visit the United Nations, angrily checked out of the Shelburne Hotel in a dispute with the management; Castro ended up staying at the Hotel Theresa in Harlem. In 1970, the situation comedy “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” debuted on CBS-TV. In 1995, The New York Times and The Washington Post published the manifesto of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, which proved instrumental in identifying and capturing him. Ten years ago: North Korea pledged to drop its nuclear weapons development and rejoin international arms treaties, but its leaders backpedaled the next day, demanding civilian nuclear reactors from the U.S. Five years ago: The BP oil well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico was declared “effectively dead” by retired Coast Guard Adm. One year ago: President Barack Obama signed legislation authorizing the military to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels fighting Islamic State militants in the Middle East. Today’s Birthdays: Author Roger Angell is 95. Host James Lipton (TV: “Inside the Actors Studio”) is 89. Actress Rosemary Harris is 88. Former Defense Secretary Harold Brown is 88. Actor Randolph Mantooth is 70. Former NFL running back Larry Brown is 68. Actor Jeremy Irons is 67. Celebrity chef Mario Batali is 55. Country singer Trisha Yearwood is 51. “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon is 41. TV personality Carter Oosterhouse is 39. Folk-rock singers-musicians Sara and Tegan (TEE’-gan) Quin are 35. Actress Danielle Panabaker is 28. Thought for Today: “Do not let yourself be tainted with a barren skepticism.” — Louis Pasteur, French scientist (18221895).
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 Chess Club meets at the LBV– Inner City Branch Library from 4–6 p.m. Free for all ages and skill levels. Basic instruction is offered. Call John at 795-2400, x2521. The Elysian Social Club will be recognized at Laredo City Hall by Mayor Pete Saenz at 5 p.m.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 6 p.m.: Extreme Planets; 7 p.m.: Stars of the Pharaohs. General Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. Call 956-326-DOME (3663). Take the challenge and climb the Rock Wall. Free. All participants must bring ID and sign release form. 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at LBV–Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Call 795-2400, x2520. New York-based jazz bassist Marcos Varela brings his talents and musical finesse to Laredo Community College for a concert at 7:30 p.m. at the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center on West End Washington Street. The performance will feature classic and original jazz music selections, including a mix of well-loved Latin American and Brazilian jazz hits. Admission is free and open to the public.
Illustration by Brigitte Woosley | AP
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, left, and defense lead counsel Eugene Fidell, center, look on as Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl is questioned during a preliminary hearing to determine if Sgt. Bergdahl will be court-martialed, Friday, at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Bergdahl, who left his post in Afghanistan and was held by the Taliban for five years, is charged with desertion.
Bergdahl trial continues By JUAN A. LOZANO ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN ANTONIO — Bowe Bergdahl said he walked away from his post in Afghanistan six years ago hoping to spark a massive search and get the attention of a general so he could discuss what he felt were problems with his unit’s leadership, the officer who led the investigation of the Army sergeant’s disappearance testified Friday. Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl told the packed courtroom at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio that Bergdahl felt the problems were so severe that they put his platoon in danger, but that Bergdahl’s concerns were found to be unsubstantiated. Dahl said Bergdahl planned to head from his post to the forward operating base roughly 19 miles away. He expected to arrive after a search had been launched and thought this
would create a “PR event” that might get a general to listen to him speak about the problems. “He felt it was his duty to intervene,” said Dahl, who later added that he doesn’t think Bergdahl should go to prison. Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban after leaving his post on June 30, 2009, and was held until last year, when he was exchanged for five Taliban commanders being held at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. His commanding officers in Afghanistan testified Thursday about the grueling 45-day search for Bergdahl, saying it put other soldiers in danger. Military prosecutors charged Bergdahl in March with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. Dahl was among those called by Bergdahl’s lawyers to testify at his Article 32 hearing.
Texas widow, her daughter charged in fatal shooting
Towering Big Tex set up for State Fair of Texas
South Texas man gets life terms for killing wife, son
Spanish Book Club meets from 6-8 p.m. at the public library on Calton Road. Call Sylvia Reash at 7631810. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 6 p.m.: Extreme Planets; 7 p.m.: Stars of the Pharaohs. General Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. Call 956-326-DOME (3663).
CLIFTON — Police have charged a Texas man’s widow and his stepdaughter with murder after he was shot in 2007 and died four years later. Hendricks says police in March 2007 responded to reports of a violent family fight. Investigators later determined John Wesley Frizzell, who was shot in the head, attempted suicide. Frizzell required nursing home care and died in January 2011.
DALLAS — The towering greeter at the State Fair of Texas has been set up for next week’s opening of the annual expo in Dallas. Crews using a crane on Friday lifted the 55-foot Big Tex character into place, complete with his 95-gallon hat, at Fair Park. Big Tex last year got a new outfit, with a navy blue shirt featuring patches of red on the chest and shoulders and white stars.
BROWNSVILLE — A South Texas man must serve life in prison for the 2014 shooting deaths of his wife and their 4year-old son at the family’s home. Donald Edward Pierce of Brownsville pleaded guilty Thursday to two capital murder counts. A judge then sentenced Pierce to life in prison without parole in a case Brownsville police have said involved domestic violence.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
Convicted rapist gets 70 years, gave victim gifts
Day care operator charged in infant girl’s death
Agents at bridge seize nearly $1.3M in cocaine
McKINNEY — A North Texas man has been sentenced to 70 years in prison for raping a woman after he gave her gifts and thought she owed him something in return. Felipe DeJesus Blanco, of Plano, was convicted of aggravated sexual assault in the April 2014 attack. DNA evidence tied 33year-old Blanco to the victim.
TEXAS CITY — A Southeast Texas day care operator has been charged with criminally negligent homicide in the May death of an infant girl. Divina Archie is charged over the death of 3-month-old Amani Ball of La Marque. Texas City police say the baby stopped breathing while at Archie’s in-home day care.
EL PASO — Agents at a border crossing in West Texas have seized nearly $1.3 million worth of cocaine hidden in an SUV’s spare tire. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials in El Paso on Thursday announced a woman from Mexico has been detained on drug smuggling charges. — Compiled from AP reports
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 2 p.m.: Accidental Astronaut; 3 p.m.: Cosmic Adventures; 4 p.m.: Extreme Planets; 5 p.m.: Led Zeppelin. General Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. Matinee Shows are $1 less. Call 956-326-DOME (3663). Relive the exciting music, dance, film, and theater performances from LCC’s 2nd annual Rio Grande Arts Festival during the upcoming Winners Showcase. From 7:30 p.m. to midnight at the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center theater on West End Washington Street. This night features award-winning performances by this year’s Rio Grande Arts Festival Winners. General admission is $10. Senior citizens and students with a valid ID are $5.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 All you can eat spaghetti lunch sponsored by the United Methodist Men. From noon to 1:30 p.m. at Fellowship Hall, First United Methodist Church, 1000 Guadalupe at 1220 McClelland. No admission fee. Crochet Club of the First United Methodist Church will hold their annual pre-holiday sale from noon to 1:30 p.m., Fellowship Hall, FUMC. In conjunction with the Spaghetti Lunch. No admission fee; public invited. 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.
AROUND THE NATION Protests continue over Confederate flag ban CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. — Protests continued Friday over a western Virginia high school’s ban on Confederate flags displayed on clothing and cars, but no more students were suspended for the violating the policy and one student said he’s considering legal action. A group of roughly 40 people gathered near the school Friday morning and flew Confederate flags from their cars and trucks. They called on the administration to reverse its policy a day after roughly 20 students were sent home for refusing to take off their Confederate flag gear before entering the school.
US officials to stop screening for Ebola NEW YORK — Travelers entering the U.S. from Liberia will no longer be screened for Ebola.
CONTACT US Publisher, William B. Green........................728-2501 Account Executive, Dora Martinez ...... (956) 765-5113 General Manager, Adriana Devally ...............728-2510 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................. 728-2531 Circulation Director ................................. 728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo.................... 728-2505 Copy Editor, Nick Georgiou ....................... 728-2565 Sports Editor, Zach Davis ..........................728-2578 Spanish Editor, Melva Lavin-Castillo............ 728-2569 Photo by Matt Gentry/The Roanoke Times | AP
Christiansburg High School student Sam Sheppard, left, displays a Confederate flag while fellow student Andrew Love displays another flag in a shopping center parking lot after being suspended from school in Christiansburg, Va., Thursday. U.S. officials said Friday that the screening will end Monday for passengers from Liberia. But the screening and monitoring will continue for travelers from Guinea and Sierra Leone. The screening of travelers from the three West African na-
tions began last October when the countries were in the midst of the worst Ebola epidemic in world history. But the epidemic has waned. Health officials this month said the Ebola virus is no longer spreading in Liberia. — Compiled from AP reports
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
Local and State
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Bright choices light Dallas skyline Free By STEVE BROWN THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
DALLAS — Downtown Dallas’ new KPMG Plaza tower is all business during the day, with its conservative blue-gray glass exterior. But as soon as the sun goes down, the Arts District high-rise is ready to party with an eyepopping lightshow. The Dallas Morning News reports LED strips on the exterior of the 18-story Ross Avenue building flash snippets of classic movies to light up the northeast corner of downtown. “The character of our downtown skyline is definitely changing,” said lighting designer Scott Oldner, who did the display on the building. “For the most part, the industry doesn’t know the limits of where we can go.” Over the last decade, Dallas commercial buildings have donned an increasingly elaborate wardrobe of high-tech lighting systems. “It’s a good time for our business, and keeping up with the workload is a challenge,” Oldner said. “Most of the time we are brought in by an architect that understands the power of lighting. “Lighting brings emotion and spirit and character.” Dallas’ love affair with downtown building lights goes back almost a century. In the 1920s and early 1930s, the city’s first skyscrapers, including the art deco Tower Petroleum Building on Elm Street and the Davis Building on Main Street, used colored lights to stand out.
Photo by David Guzman/The Dallas Morning News | AP
In this photo taken on Monday, the Goodwill logo is illuminated on the Omni Dallas Hotel the night before Goodwill’s 2015 First Annual Lunch, in Dallas. Over the last decade, Dallas commercial buildings have donned an increasingly elaborate wardrobe of high-tech lighting systems. By the time the flying red horse was installed atop the Magnolia Building in 1934, lighting displays were de rigueur downtown. In the 1970s, Reunion Tower made headlines with its lightshow ball. And the 72-story Bank of America Plaza was outlined with 2 miles of green lights when it opened in 1985. One Arts Plaza was the first to use a large LED display when it debuted a decade ago. But the latest generation of LED exterior lights is going way beyond simple outlines or spotlights. Dallas’ huge Omni hotel dominates the south side of the skyline with its nightly light shows. “The building can take on a completely different character at night when most buildings tend to go away,” said Scott Lowe of
architect 5G Studio Collaborative, which designed the downtown convention hotel. “Architects have always been intrigued with the idea of a building as a sign — more like a graphic. “The intent of the Omni is obvious — it’s a beacon for the city’s convention business, and it wants to attract attention.” Lowe said that falling equipment costs and increased flexibility and durability are making exterior LED lights even more attractive to building designers. 5G Studio is designing a Frisco hotel tower that will also feature LED displays on the outside. “We are planning the lighting system as an integral part of the concept design,” he said. “I don’t think this trend is close to being played out by any stretch of imagination,” Lowe said. “We are just on the fore-
front of it.” Developers always looking to distinguish their properties are embracing the technology. Granite Properties made use of the first LED display in Uptown on its 17Seventeen McKinney tower. “It’s been quite a good amenity in a city like Dallas that likes bright lights,” said Granite chief operating officer Greg Fuller. “We use the lighting every day, and most of the time it’s white.” But the building sports red, white and blue on Independence Day. And the tower sometimes switches to team colors for local sports events. “We also get requests for special occasions,” Fuller said. “Occasionally, we will change it for one of our tenants for their company colors.” KPMG Plaza’s motion picture displays are a new twist for the LED lights. “We wanted to do something special since it’s in the Arts District,” said project designer Eddie Abeyta of architect HKS. “We didn’t want to create a Vegas light show, but something more sophisticated and more meaningful to its location. “We are displaying classic black-and-white movie clips,” Abeyta said. “The impact the property has at night is pretty cool — it’s a unique approach.” Abeyta said installing an LED system for the exterior of the building was always part of the plans for the new tower. “The building is a very simple, clean glass box,” he said. “We are trying to push the envelope a little bit and maximize the architectural experience.”
health clinic today SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Hands & Feet Medical Missions by Baptisit Student Ministries and UTMB Health and providing a free health care clinic today. The clinic will take place at the Zapata County Pavilion, 23rd Avenue at Glenn Street, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The clinic will offer pediatric and adult physician consultations; occupational and physical therapy consultations; vision consultations and free eye glasses; medications; blood pressure screening and glucose screenings. To make an appointment, call 728-0210. Special thanks goes to: Health & Human Services Commission–Office of Border Affairs, TAMU Colonias Program, Superior Health Plan, Driscoll Health Plan, Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office, Zapata Crime Stoppers and Molina Health Care for their support of the organization.
Judge reprimanded in rape case of 14-year-old girl ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — A judge in Texas has been publicly reprimanded for questioning whether a 14-year-old girl was really a rape victim. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued the reprimand this month for Dallas County district Court Judge Jeanine Howard, The Dallas Morning News reported. Howard presided over the case of Sir Young, who was convicted
last year in the 2011 sexual assault of a classmate while at school. Howard sentenced Young, who was 18 at the time of the assault, to five years of probation and 45 days in jail. She also sentenced him to community service at a rape crisis center, which raised safety concerns by center staffers. In a May 2014 interview with the newspaper, Howard said the girl “wasn’t the victim she claimed to be.” The commission wrote that the
judge’s comment “undermined the public’s confidence in her impartiality and independence by defending her rulings in the press, giving rise to a legitimate concern that she would not be fair or impartial in other sexual assault cases.” Another judge took over Young’s case following Howard’s comments, and imposed stricter probation rules. Howard could ask the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Tex-
as to review the commission’s decision to publicly reprimand her. The commission also ordered the judge to undergo four hours of education with a mentor. Howard released a statement Thursday saying she hadn’t decided how to proceed legally, but wanted “to assure the citizens of Dallas County that I will continue to work hard every day to promote the proper and fair administration of criminal justice in my court, just as I have done for the
last eight and a half years.” Young, now 22, remained jailed without bond Friday after prosecutors last month filed a motion to revoke his probation. Young allegedly did not abide by requirements including reporting to probation officers, finding a job, attending sex offender treatment and paying his legal fees. Online jail records do not list an attorney for Young, who could remain on probation or be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015
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COMMENTARY
OTHER VIEWS
Faith keeps this couple together By ADA AND GIULIANO SPIGONARDO THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Thirty-two years ago, on Sept. 17, we were married in the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. What a momentous gift that next week we will get to experience Pope Francis celebrating Mass at this same exact location. In fact, we were also both present along the parkway in 1979 when Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass there, although at that point we had not yet met. This place of serenity has become a special one in our marriage and our lives that we now get to share with the world.
Strong union Ours is a Catholic marriage and one that thrives at a time when the subjects of religion and marriage dominate much of our public discussions. But it is exactly this base of faith that has made our marriage so strong and allowed it to endure for 32 years. Many might think it has been a road paved with only happy times in order to still be flourishing. Not so. While we certainly have experienced many joyful times, we’ve also had a good deal of challenges, as well. We’ve faced these trials only by virtue of our faith and a commitment to God’s mission of love — and to our marriage, which serve as a reflection of that. It has given us the strength to believe in our union and continue forward. And it’s for this very reason we are grateful Pope Francis is coming here for the World Meeting of Families to remind our city and our world that strong marriage and family life is, indeed, possible. In his inaugural Mass in March 2013, Pope Francis commented on the role of Joseph, who is the protector of Mary, Jesus and the Church. When we took our own vows, we dedicated ourselves to become one in God, and like Joseph, to be protectors of marriage, our future family, our faith and our Church. Of course we hoped for fruitfulness, good times, health, the best life had to offer and for a long life together. Yet it really was a leap of faith, as we did not know what the future would bring. As Pope Francis has said about those embarking on their newly formed oneness, “The couple does not know what joys and pains await them. They are set-
ting out, like Abraham, on a journey together. That is what marriage is. Setting out and walking together, hand in hand, putting yourselves in the Lord’s powerful hands.” And that we did. Pope Francis calls for married couples (and all people) to be “constantly attentive to God, open to the signs of God’s presence and receptive to God’s plans, and not simply to his own.” When our first child, our daughter Ariella, was stillborn after a full pregnancy, it was tough to see anything positive in the world, let alone see God’s presence. We felt as though we had been abandoned and almost lost our faith. How could something so precious be given so freely and then suddenly, harshly taken away? Yet we worked through this with the help of our Catholic faith, and although many couples break apart after just such an event, we stayed together.
More children We were subsequently blessed with two more gifts, our daughter Gianna and our son Vincenzo. Today we consider ourselves a family of five with one angel in heaven and two on earth. As a Christian couple, we know the dilemmas and fears of modern life: how to ensure our children get a good education, how to help our families when they are in crisis, how to take care of a sick parent, and how to be present in our children’s lives, all while diligently working fulltime jobs and somehow still having time as a couple. Life is hard, and it takes its toll on a marriage. Yet that toughness that has brought us closer together to work as a team, to see God’s presence in each day. It is when we forget this that things go awry and we must get ourselves back on track. We honestly cannot say what our marriage would look like without our Catholic faith, God’s presence, or our shared sacrament. We may have just given up after each devastation rather than clinging to our vows in Christ. But we cannot imagine a different family life or marriage than the perfect and imperfect one we have had for 32 years. How blessed we are that Pope Francis’ visit allows us to rediscover this blessing anew — and for his invitation to the rest of the world to embrace it, as well.
EDITORIAL
China’s apparent role in Fed’s policy isn’t good for US THE WASHINGTON POST
For almost seven years, since December 2008, the Federal Reserve has been holding its key interest rate near zero; and Thursday, the Fed announced it would keep it there at least a little while longer. This is contrary to many hints of an impending rate rise the Fed has dropped over the years, the clearest of which was the goal it announced — way back in December 2012! — to raise rates when the unemployment rate fell to 6.5 percent, a target reached 16 months ago. Fed Chair Janet Yellen assured the public Thursday that a one-quarter percentage point hike is still likely by the end of 2015, but at this point, one could be forgiven for won-
dering if the Fed will ever muster enough confidence in the economy’s capacity for self-sustaining growth. To be sure, there was no particular urgency about a rate hike, notwithstanding the expectations the Fed had repeatedly fueled. Though the economy grew 2.25 percent in the first half of the year and unemployment is just 5.1 percent, labor-force participation remains subpar and, most important, inflation is still well below the Fed’s target of 2 percent. Under the circumstances, the U.S. economy can hardly be said to be overheating. What’s striking about the Fed’s decision, though, is that international factors, rather than domestic ones, tipped the balance. Specifically, Yellen acknowledged that the
Fed “focused particularly” on the slowdown in China and its spillover effects such as lower oil prices and trouble for various emerging markets. She expressed “concern” about the “deftness” of Chinese policy, which in recent months has included an officially orchestrated stock market boom, followed by a bust and partial bailout, as well as a disruptive currency devaluation in August. Indeed, Yellen was under pressure from both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank not to roil the international waters by raising rates; the latter institution’s chief economist warned a rate hike could spark “panic and turmoil” in emerging markets. She did as they suggested, if not explicitly be-
cause they suggested it. There are benefits, including to Americans, to keeping rates at zero a while longer, as long as inflation remains negligible. Among those benefits are more affordable mortgages and car loans, which should bolster stillweak domestic demand. But there are risks, too, such as the formation of asset bubbles and the sheer loss of credibility the Fed suffers every time it flirts with a new interest rate policy and then doesn’t deliver. The latter risk may have been compounded by the Fed’s so openly acknowledging that its decisions are subject to the vagaries of China’s economic “rebalancing,” and the nontransparent policy processes in Beijing upon which that depends.
WORST WEEK IN WASHINGTON
Walker had little debate time By CHRIS CILLIZZA THE WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON — Scott Walker and his campaign team must have had Wednesday night’s GOP debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library circled on the calendar ever since he turned in a decidedly forgettable effort at the first gathering of 2016 candidates back in August. Amid his sliding poll numbers — he fell from 10
percent to 2 percent over the past month in one survey — the debate offered Walker a perfect chance to counter the “he’s fading” narrative that had taken hold in the race. Which makes his flat and largely nonexistent performance all the more troubling for him. Despite a relatively central location (next to Jeb Bush, two podiums down from front-runner Donald Trump), the Wisconsin
governor struggled to stand out. His best line — “We don’t need an apprentice in the White House. We have one right now” — came in the debate’s first minutes, after which Walker seemed to shrink from the stage. He had the least screen time of any candidate. In the wake of the debate came whispers that Walker needed to do something drastic — like jettison members of his senior staff — to show
that he could reverse course. He insisted he needed to do no such thing (always the kiss of death) and said no one except reporters had asked him about it. Nevertheless, he pulled back from most early-voting states Thursday and vowed to focus on Iowa. Scott Walker, for falling down rather than breaking through, you had the worst week in Washington. Congrats, or something.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY The Zapata Times does not publish anonymous letters. To be published, letters must include the writer’s first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication. We want to assure
our readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the letter. The Zapata Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms. Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No namecalling or gratuitous abuse is allowed. Via e-mail, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.
CLASSIC DOONESBURY (1985) | GARRY TRUDEAU
Entertainment
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Something for everyone at Emmys By LYNN ELBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Donn Jones/Invision | AP
In this Sept. 10 photo, Jewel poses for a portrait to promote her latest album, "Picking Up the Pieces," at The Standard in Nashville, Tenn.
Jewel releases memoir, album
LOS ANGELES — If we look to television for more than entertainment — and let’s face it, we do — then Sunday’s Emmy Awards ceremony will have something for everyone. The masterful storytelling of television’s second golden age rightfully will be center stage, with leading contenders including “Game of Thrones,” “Orange is the New Black” and the final season of “Mad Men.” But growing pressure on media to reflect American diversity, and Emmy voters’ response, will be a crucial part of the ceremony as well. The transgender comedy “Transparent” is up for top honors, and two black actresses are hoping they can break the white-only hold on a major category. The digital-revolution vanguard will be out in force, as Amazon’s “Transparent” and Netflix series including “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black” gnaw away at the prestige awards that for decades were the exclusive domain of broadcast networks and cable channels. That was until just two years ago, when Netflix muscled its way in with “House of Cards” and “Arrested Development.”
Photo by Helen Sloane/HBO | AP
In this image released by HBO, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen appears in a scene from “Game of Thrones.” Clarke is nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series for her role on the show. The 67th annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be held on Sunday in Los Angeles. Record-keepers may find much to occupy themselves with the three-hour ceremony airing 7 p.m. Zapata time Sunday on Fox. Andy Samberg (currently of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” formerly of “Saturday Night Live”) is the host. “Game of Thrones,” or “GOT,” the shorthand used by devotees of the HBO hit, could become the rare fantasy series to capture the top drama award in its fifth nomina-
tion. Eight-time nominee Jon Hamm of AMC’s “Mad Men” gets a last shot at a trophy for his portrayal of a midcentury man in crisis. The tea leaves and odds are in their favor, said Tom O’Neil, whose Gold Derby website handicaps Hollywood awards and other events. “The theme of this year’s Emmys is that, finally, ’Game of Thrones’ will win. Finally, Jon
Hamm will win. This could be one of the most popular Emmys ever because of fan favorites prevailing,” O’Neil said. A “Game of Thrones” victory, a follow-up to the 2005 best-drama win by another genre series, the sci-fi saga “Lost,” would keep “Mad Men” from earning its fifth trophy and setting a record as most honored drama ever. But other award breakthroughs would carry far greater weight. Viola Davis, who stars as a cutthroat attorney in ABC’s “How to Get Away With Murder,” and Tariji P. Henson, unyielding matriarch Cookie in Fox’s hip-hop family drama “Empire,” are vying to be the first black woman to claim top drama acting honors. “I gotta win! I gotta win for history!” an exuberant Henson said when asked about the prospect during an “Empire” panel last May. That an African-American actress has yet to receive the award is offensive, said Gabourey Sidibe, who plays Becky on “Empire.” But “no matter what happens Emmy night, no matter what happens for another 100 Emmy nights, the work that both Taraji and Viola do is undeniable,” Sidibe said Tuesday. “They are powerhouses and they are amazing people, and they will forever win, whether they win that night.”
By KRISTIN M. HALL ASSOCIATED PRESS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Most people know Jewel’s rags-to-riches story — growing up on an Alaskan homestead, getting discovered as a homeless teen in a California coffee shop, going platinum on her debut album, “Pieces of You,” a folksy anthem in the grunge era. But as she reveals in her new memoir, “Never Broken,” and a companion album, “Picking Up the Pieces,” her story didn’t have a fairytale ending. “I’ve always been very transparent as an artist,” said the 41-year-old singer. “I’ve been known throughout my career to share a lot. But I think people will be quite surprised by what is in the book. Honestly, I think the biggest setbacks I faced were after I became famous.” Difficult and sometimes painful family relationships led her to become mostly independent as a teenager, crafting her skills in bars and coffee shops. She writes that her father was physically and verbally abusive to her and her brothers, which she attributes to his drinking and his own personal trauma. They have since reconciled. “I think that anybody that reads the book won’t consider this a salacious book, but it is incredibly forthright,” Jewel said. “My dad gave me permission. ... My dad grew up in an abusive household. My dad became abusive. ... What are cycles of abuse and what kinds of conversations can we have in America about emotional patterns?” She also details how her mother took control of her finances and subsequently led her into debt despite selling millions of albums, according to the book. The two stopped talking in 2003. The final chapters of the book describe her romance with champion rodeo cowboy Ty Murray.
‘The Muppets’ return in mockumentary By LYNN ELBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — It took a decade for Bill Prady to bring his dream of a mockumentary-style sitcom peopled by Muppets to television. When Muppets owner Walt Disney Co. finally agreed this year, Prady quickly encountered his next key constituency: the puppets’ adoring fans, whose congratulations to the producer came with a stern warning. “‘Listen, these were a very important part of my childhood, and if you do anything to screw it up we’ll never forgive you,”’ Prady recalled being admonished by everyone from his sister to strangers.
Photo by Bob D’Amico/ABC | AP
Muppet characters, shown from left, are Miss Piggy, Pepe The King Prawn, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Animal, background center, Scooter, Janice, Kermit the Frog and Floyd Pepper. “‘We’re going to be watching. Best of luck!”’ The moment of truth arrives at 7 p.m. Zapata time Tuesday with the debut of ABC’s “The Muppets” starring Kermit, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear, Animal and the ever-
fabulous Miss Piggy. She’s the host of a talk show produced by on-again, off-now boyfriend Kermit with a staff that sets its own standard of professionalism. Despite that, “Up Late With Miss Piggy” attracts guests
that include Josh Groban, Laurence Fishburne and Reese Witherspoon and has caught the eye of a documentary film crew. They’ve got plenty to cover: star tantrums (Piggy, of course), office romances (Kermit and an ABC marketing executive, Denise, who happens to be a pig; he likes pigs, the frog concedes) and the Muppets’ offset lives (Fozzie meets his human girlfriend’s parents and encounters blatant species-ism). The show aims for humor that can be appreciated on both adult and kid levels, its producers say, with a gentle reminder that these Muppets, save for Kermit, never mixed with their tamer “Sesame Street” relatives that include Cookie Mon-
ster and Elmo. The jokes aimed at grown-ups likely will go over a child’s head. Example: When the staff gathers for a meeting, house band member Zoot jumps up and introduces himself in apparent accordance with rehab protocol. No, he’s told, it’s not THAT kind of meeting. “The Muppets” is the crew’s first regular primetime TV gig since the shortlived “Muppets Tonight” aired in 1998, and it comes more than three decades after the 1976-81 success of “The Muppet Show.” The puppets haven’t been idle, of course, making TV movies and specials — including one with Lady Gaga — and big-screen hits “The Muppets” (2011) and “Muppets Most Wanted” (2014).
PÁGINA 6A
Zfrontera
Ribereña en Breve CLÍNICA GRATUITA Hands & Feet Medical Missions del Baptist Student Ministries, y el UTMB Health invitan a una Clínica para Cuidado de la Salud gratuita el sábado 26 de septiembre de 10 a.m. a 4 p.m. en Zapata County Pavilion, 23rd Ave. y Gleen St. Se ofrecerán consultas físicas para niños y adultos, consultas de terapia física y ocupacional, revisiones de la vista y anteojos gratuitos, medicamentos, revisiones de presión arterial y de glucosa. En el marco del Proyecto Cuidado Infantil se ofrecerán seguros gratuitos para armas, y la campaña nacional de recepción de medicamentos. Informes en el (956) 728-0210.
MISS ROMA 2015 La Cámara de Comercio de Roma invita a alumnas del 10o, 11o y 12o grado en Roma High School a participar en el certamen de belleza ‘MISS ROMA 2015’. La fecha límite de registro es el lunes 21 de septiembre. Pida informes llamando a Blanca Ruiz al 956-849-1411 o en 956844-1428, de lunes a viernes de 8 a.m. a 5 p.m.
CLASES DE INGLÉS ROMA — Se ofrecen clases de inglés, gratuitas, para principiantes y avanzados. El espacio es limitado. Pida informes en el (956) 9846270.
SÁBADO 19 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2015
CORTE
Acusación formal POR CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Cuatro hombres y una mujer fueron acusados formalmente esta semana en cortes, en tres casos independientes. En el primer caso, el martes, Benito Cruz y Jesús Eleazar GarcíaBautista fueron acusados con un cargo de conspiración para transportar a personas indocumentadas y dos cargos por intento para transportar a personas indocumentadas, a cambio de dinero. Supuestamente García-Bautista aceptó hablar con agentes especiales de Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional, en relación al incidente. “Garcia-Bautista atestiguó que Benito Cruz y él supuestamente tenían que guiar a un grupo de personas a través de la maleza”, indica la querella criminal presentada el 24 de agosto. El intento de contrabando ocurrió el 19 de agosto. Agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza de EU respondieron a reportes de posibles inmigrantes ilegales en el sector de Siesta Shores.
Agentes respondieron a un área y descubrieron huellas que los llevaron hasta el Lago Falcón. Agentes alegan que los inmigrantes desembarcaron de una lancha y corrieron hacia la maleza, indican archivos.
San Ygnacio El martes, un gran jurado acusó a Steve Casas con un cargo de conspiración para transportar inmigrantes indocumentados dentro de los Estados Unidos y dos cargo de intento para transportar personas indocumentadas para obtener ganancia financiera. Supuestamente Casas admitió el intento de contrabando. “Casas declaró que sabía que estaba transportando (personas indocumentadas), y que se le iban a pagar 800 dólares para transportar a (las personas indocumentadas) desde Weslaco, Texas, al Siesta Motel en Laredo, Texas”, indica la querella criminal presentada el 28 de agosto. Autoridades federales dijeron que el caso se desarrolló el 26 de agosto
cuando un patrullero del Departamento de Seguridad Pública de Texas detuvo a una GMC Yukon, modelo 2001, por tener una luz posterior defectuosa. Autoridades dijeron que descubrieron que Casas estaba transportando seis inmigrantes quienes se encontraban de manera ilegal en el país. El oficial entregó a Casas una cita para comparecer por no proveer licencia de conducir y le dio una advertencia por la luz posterior del freno defectuosa, antes que agentes lo arrestaran.
Un favor Una pareja fue acusada el martes por transportar personas quienes habían entrado de manera ilegal al país, indican archivos de la corte. Un gran jurado acusó a Jacob Casares y Viviana Yvette González con un cargo de conspiración para transportar personas indocumentadas en el interior de Estados Unidos y dos cargos de transportar personas indocumentadas para ganancia financiera.
ANIVERSARIO
ZCISD
19 DE SEPTIEMBRE
Anuncian Semana del Listón Rojo en escuelas
CIERRE CONSULADOS El viernes 9 de octubre, debido a una actualización de los sistemas consulares, las operaciones consulares de la embajada de EU en la Ciudad de México y los nueve consulados en toda la República Mexicana, permanecerán cerrados al público. Ciudadanos estadounidenses que requieren asistencia de emergencia deben llamar al 867714-0512 extensión 3128 de 8 a.m. a 5 p.m., o al 867-7272797 después de horas de oficina.
ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
ACTIVIDADES EN PUERTO ISABEL 5a Pachanga Anual en el Parque se realizará el sábado 3 de octubre, de 5 p.m. a 1 p.m., en Washington Park, 156 W. Madison St. Entrada gratuita. Ganancias beneficiarán a las mejoras de los parques en Puerto Isabel. Lightouse Market Day se realizará el sábado 10 de octubre, de 9 a.m. a 4 p.m. Entrada gratuita. Habrá manualidades, comida y módulos de información. Además habrá el especial de $1 de entrada a todos los museos durante todo el día. Celebración del Día de los Muertos se realizará del 10 al 31 de octubre, en horario de 4 p.m. a 11 p.m. en 317 E. Railroad Ave. Habrá música, baile, vendedores, exhibiciones, actividades, música y concursos de disfraces. Recepción para Artistas de la Galería se realizará el viernes 30 de octubre, de 5 p.m. a 8 p.m. en los Museos de Puerto Isabel y en la Biblioteca Pública de Puerto Isabel. El evento es abierto a la comunidad y se les invita asistir disfrazados. Se ofrecerán refrigerios por el Día de los Muertos y Halloween.
DESFILE ROMA — El Roma Fest Parade, con el tema “250 Years of Culture and Heritage” será el domingo 11 de octubre a partir de las 3 p.m. La alineación de participantes será en Nix Street (detrás del Citizens State Bank). Los contingentes continuarán hasta US Hwy 83 (Garcia St.). Interesados en participar puede llamar al Ayuntamiento de la Ciudad de Roma en el (956) 849-1411. Entrada es de 10 dólares para empresas y gratis para organizaciones sin fines de lucro.
Casares y González fueron arrestados el 27 de agosto tras que oficiales del Departamento de Seguridad Pública de Texas realizaran varias detenciones viales simultáneas. Agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza de EU respondieron como apoyo. Agentes dijeron que una Chevy Equinox, modelo 2010, conducida por Casares tenía a tres personas quienes habían cruzado de forma ilegal la frontera, indica la querella criminal presentada el 31 de agosto. Agentes dijeron que otro oficial detuvo a un Saturn Aura XR, modelo 2007, por exceso de velocidad, la cual era conducida por González. Una investigación reveló que la Equinox estaba registrada bajo el nombre de González. En declaraciones posteriores al arresto, Casares dijo que los tres inmigrantes se le acercaron mientras estaba en McDonald’s y le ofrecieron 60 dólares por llevarlos a Zapata. González dijo que ella desconocía que Casares estaba transportando inmigrantes. Ella supuestamente declaró que le había prestado la Equinox a Casares para que pudiera ir a la escuela.
Foto de cortesía
Simulacros fue una de las varias acciones desarrolladas por personal de las Direcciones de Protección Civil en Tamaulipas, a fin de celebrar la Semana Nacional de la Protección Civil, cuyo aniversario es el 19 de septiembre.
Celebran Semana de Protección Civil TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
H
oy sábado 19 de septiembre se celebra el 30 Aniversario del sismo de 1985 en la Ciudad de México, a la vez que el nacimiento del Día de la Protección Civil. Por tanto, durante el transcurso de la semana se llevó a cabo la Semana Nacional de Protección Civil con varias actividades realizadas en los municipios de Abasolo, Aldama, Altamira, Antiguo Morelos,
Ciudad Victoria, Díaz Ordaz, Jaumave, Jiménez, Llera, El Mante, Mier, Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, Padilla, Valle Hermoso, Villagrán, Soto la Marina, San Fernando, Tampico, Reynosa y Madero. El objetivo de las actividades fue fortalecer la prevención y atención ante siniestros, indica un comunicado de prensa del Gobierno de Tamaulipas. Agrega que se busca “salvaguardar la integridad física de la sociedad en centros de trabajo de los tres órdenes
de gobierno e iniciativa privada”. De acuerdo al programa establecido por la Coordinación General de Protección Civil, durante toda la semana se programaron simulacros para evacuación ante incendios. Se esperaba una participación total de 39.600 trabajadores los tres órdenes de gobierno, de 21 dependencias y empresas, tan solo en Ciudad Victoria, México. En cada municipio de la entidad se programaron diferentes acciones.
ZCISD conmina a estudiantes y la comunidad en general a celebrar una vida libre de drogas durante la Semana del Listón Rojo que se llevará a cabo del 23 al 31 de octubre. La Semana del Listón Rojo representa un compromiso a nivel nacional para incrementar la atención sobre drogas en las escuelas. En 1986 el Congreso declaró a Octubre como el Mes Nacional para Prevención de las Drogas en reconocimiento de la mayor participación ciudadana en los programas para prevención del abuso de sustancias. El tema nacional para el Listón Rojo este año es “Respect Yourself. Be Drug Free”. (Respétate a ti mismo. Sé libre de drogas). Por medio de honrar la historia acerca del sacrificio del agente de la DEA Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, los estudiantes portaran listones rojos con frases de una vida libre de drogas y decorarán puertas y pasillos de la escuela. “El público meta es el distrito escolar, los estudiantes de las escuelas primaria, secundaria y preparatoria, además que esperamos llegar a los integrantes de la comunidad que aún no asisten a la escuela”, indicó Zapata County Independent School District en un comunicado de prensa. El distrito también conmina a realizar donaciones. Fondos que sean donados serán utilizados para la compra de regalos por el Listón Rojo para estudiantes en ZCISD. Las donaciones pueden ser enviadas a Community in Schools, con atención a Norma González. Puede contactarla en el 956-765-8389 ext. 1050 o escribiéndole a ngonzalez1@zcisd.org
COLUMNA
Tamaulipas es ‘musa’ de compositores Nota del Editor: El autor escribe acerca de la música dedicada a las regiones de Tamaulipas.
POR RAÚL SINENCIO CHÁVEZ ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Samuel M. Lozano abre la saga de compositores que han encontrado inspiración en Tamaulipas. Su prestigio es gracias a numerosos y típicos corridos, como “La rielera”, por ejemplo. Bohemio y excéntrico, cierto día aborda el ferrocarril a la bocana del río Pánuco. Ahí, corriendo el año 1922, reparte hojas impresas con versos que entona de propia voz por las calles, guitarra en ristre. Aquel estreno alcanza resonancia: “¡Tampico hermoso! ¡Oh puerto tropical!/ tú eres la gloria de todo mi país/ y
por doquiera de ti me he de acordar, / con tus tesoros al pobre haces feliz…”. Así, con ingredientes tamaulipecos por vez primera “Tampico hermoso” describe y ensalza las características del entorno nacional. Al transcurrir el Siglo XX los acordes rancheros mantienen espacios indisputables, pero ritmos novedosos ganan y ensanchan simpatías entre la audiencia, de gustos cosmopolitas. Distinguiéndolo un sincretismo que maneja la cumbia y el rock, Rigo Tovar dirige el grupo “Costa Azul” e inicia carrera artística. Empírico, proviene de los estratos sociales menos favorecidos en la frontera con EU. En 1972 concluye balada para el terruño, que causa furor: “A orillas del río Bravo hay una linda re-
gión, / con un pueblito que llevo muy dentro del corazón: / mi Matamoros querido, nunca te podré olvidar, / mi Matamoros del alma…”. Reutiliza la fórmula José Sierra Flores. Doctorado en medicina y prolífico compositor, en pleno cacicazgo quinista exalta a la metrópoli petrolera de México con lo que Rafael Ramírez Heredia considera “bonito […] huapango” en 1979. “Yo soy de Ciudad Madero, soy maderense, / y soy vecino del mar, / la brisa me da de frente/ cuando me pongo a cantar…”, interpreta la Rondalla Tamaulipeca, que cosecha aplausos y vítores domésticos. Surgen entretanto letras que aluden de paso al estado, si bien varios municipios las vuelven símbolos
de identidad. En Ciudad Victoria, capital de Tamaulipas, sucede con “El cuerudo”. Obra de Lorenzo Barcelata y Francisco Sánchez Flores, la presentan durante una asamblea del Partido Socialista Fronterizo, que usufructúa Emilio Portes Gil. “Yendo de Tula a Jaumave/ me encontré con un ranchero, / iba en su cuaco retinto, / todo vestido de cuero. / Le pregunté pa’ dónde iba/ y haciéndose el remolón, / voy pa’ Victoria, me dijo, / a darle vueltas a mi amor…”, oyen los delegados en 1926. De Cuco Sánchez, detrás viene “El mil amores”. Se difunde mediante homónima película, que el taquillero Pedro Infante protagoniza en 1954. Gustosos, los coterráneos del autor deciden adoptar la melodía, pues
arranca: “De Altamira, Tamaulipas, / traigo esta alegre canción, / al son del viejo violín/ con jaranas canto yo…”. Tampoco faltan composiciones extranjeras que de algún modo remiten a parajes del rumbo. Mencionemos sólo la “Canción de Margaret”. Escrita hacia 1927 por el francés Pierre Dumarchey, alias Pierre Mac Orlan, retoma sórdidamente las goteras del sureste tamaulipeco: “Sí, en Tampico se fueron mis primaveras. / […] En ese cochino país, donde el aire envenena, / donde la marihuana te empuja al hastío…”. Dicha balada “Eréndira” se incluye en película de 1983. (Con permiso del autor según fuera publicado en La Razón, Tampico, Tamps.)
National
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015
Old hospital becomes part of art display By ULA ILNYTZKY ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — A derelict Naval hospital that treated soldiers from the Civil War through World War II is the site of an art installation that deals with the wounds of war and the human power of healing. Conceptual artist Bettina WitteVeen said it took five years to secure the Brooklyn Navy Yard site for her “When We Were Soldiers — once and young” exhibition, which opens Saturday. “I basically perceive the building and my artwork as one,” she said. It is the first time an artist has been allowed to use the building, preserved as a time capsule of another era and boarded up for decades. The Navy Yard, which served as a major military shipbuilding site for more than 200 years, was decommissioned in 1966. The 300acre campus has evolved into a bustling urban industrial park. Its largest tenant, Steiner Studios of film and television, plans to restore the hospital over the next several years and turn it into a major media-technology center along with other nearby historic buildings. “The public has never had a chance to see the beauty of this building,” said Doug Steiner, chairman of Steiner Studios. “The building is so integral to her art. ... I can’t distinguish between the two.” WitteVeen, who was born in Germany and lives in New York City, said the cracked walls, shattered windowpanes and worn state of the building serve as a metaphor for her work. She has traveled around the world photographing the beautiful landscapes once destroyed by war. Indeed, it is easy to envision the soldiers who once
occupied the former treatment rooms that line a long white plaster-wall corridor of the first floor. Here, WitteVeen focuses on how combat affects the soldier. She groups her color photos with black-and-white archival images that she has reworked using a complex process that “quiets” the picture and directs the viewer’s gaze toward the subject’s face. “You don’t just see the missing limb or prosthesis; you see this intelligent human being. You get a sense of the personality,” she said. WitteVeen has deliberately placed these images in a room near a broken inner staircase propped up with poles and sealed off by glass — as a metaphor for the amputees pictured next door. There are rooms with images of weapons and the injuries they inflict; of war robots and drones; and of bravery and compassion by nurses and soldiers carrying and bandaging the wounded. The installation continues in the basement, where it focuses on industrial warfare’s effects on civilians. A portrait of an anonymous woman raped when she was 12 hangs in an empty prison cell — another weapon of warfare that devastates lives and communities, WitteVeen said. Elsewhere, there’s a walkin altar inspired by a church in Berlin, Germany, a tranquil space for reflection with soft music by Bach in the background. The last room features a series of panoramic photographs of a garden in Crimea, Ukraine. The pictures are bright and colorful, but on closer inspection a rusted barbed wire also appears. “A wound can become a scar, but it can heal and permit a blooming life,” she said.
THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
AP: Police shot bikers By EMILY SCHMALL ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT WORTH — When two rival motorcycle gangs clashed outside a Texas restaurant, the violence took many forms — handguns, knives, clubs, brass knuckles. After the melee was over, nine bikers were dead, their bodies sprawled on the pavement, surrounded by blood and shell casings. Four months after the shootout, authorities have released almost nothing about the gunfight beyond a vague initial description of a brawl that spiraled out of control. But evidence reviewed by The Associated Press now confirms that the gunfire included rounds fired by police that hit bikers, though it isn’t clear whether those rifle shots caused any of the nine fatalities. The AP reviewed more than 8,800 pages of evidence related to the May 11 confrontation, including many police reports that offered the best insight yet into how the shootout unfolded. Reporters also viewed dash-cam video and photos and listened to audio interviews. Investigators have offered scant details about what sparked the fight or how the gunfire played out, and no one has been charged with any of the deaths. The trove of evidence — expected to be presented to a grand jury — includes dashboard video of people fleeing the scene while shots ring out, audio of police threatening to shoot people if they rise from the ground and photos of bodies lying in pools of blood in the restaurant parking lot. The gunfire erupted shortly before a meeting of a coalition of motorcycle clubs that advocates rider safety. Waco police were aware of the potential for violence and assigned 16 officers to watch over the gathering. State police were also present.
Photo by Jerry Larson/file | AP
Authorities investigate a shooting in the parking lot of the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco. Police shot bikers in the deadly shootout that erupted last spring outside a Texas restaurant, though it remains unclear if their bullets caused any of the nine fatalities. Many witnesses, including bikers and waitresses at the Twin Peaks restaurant, told police that the shooting began after a Bandido rider hit a prospective member of the Cossacks with his motorcycle. A fistfight ensued, followed by several minutes of shooting, according to the evidence reviewed by the AP. Bikers and drivers can be seen on video fleeing the restaurant parking lot on foot and in vehicles while officers carrying rifles run to the scene. As shots pop off in the background, an officer swears repeatedly. Back in June, Waco Police Chief Brent Stroman said three officers fired a total of 12 shots, but police have never said whether those bullets struck anyone, fatally or otherwise. Officer George Vrail was assigned to a special detail to cover the meeting and wrote in a 724-page incident report that he saw two officers during the shootout who “had multiple suspects down on the ground.” The officers told him they had been “engaged” by gunfire as they got out of their marked police car. Both of them returned fire and “struck multiple suspects with their patrol ri-
fles.” In his portion of the incident report, officer Keith Vaughn wrote that another officer spotted a man shooting into the crowd and told Vaughn that he fired one round “to stop the individual from shooting anyone else.” Police and prosecutors have said that there is video footage that shows Bandidos and Cossacks shooting at one another. The AP has reviewed video from Twin Peaks and an adjacent restaurant, but neither shows clearly who is shooting at whom. At least 20 people were treated for gunshot wounds and other injuries. Waco police spokesman Patrick Swanton declined to comment on the evidence, citing a gag order in the criminal case of one of the bikers. Media organizations, including the AP, have gone to court to fight the order, which they contend is overly broad and unconstitutional. According to the incident report, a separate Waco police investigation into the police shootings was underway as of July 20. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is conducting ballistics analyses. ATF spokeswoman Nicole Strong declined to com-
ment. Following the shooting, 177 people were arrested and held for days or weeks on $1 million bonds on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity. But no one has been indicted, and it remains unclear whose bullets struck the dead and wounded. Also unclear is when a grand jury will hear the evidence, which has been shared with criminal defense attorneys. More than 430 weapons were recovered from the crime scene, including 151 guns, according to the incident report. Many weapons were taken from bikers. Others were recovered from vehicles, bushes outside the restaurant and the men’s bathroom, where two pistols were found in toilets, photos show. Authorities did not know exactly what to do with the large number of weapons and “just started laying them on the ground away from the suspects,” officer Joshua Fischer wrote in a report. After the shooting ceased, an officer asked everyone with a weapon to raise a hand, according to the incident report. Nearly everyone did. The bikers were taken to the Waco convention center for processing and were told on the way that they were going to be interviewed as witnesses, according to a 430-page Texas Department of Public Safety report that corroborates what arrested bikers have told AP. But prosecutors decided late that night to arrest the majority of those detained. District Attorney Abel Reyna and his staff told authorities at the convention center that anyone wearing a patch, clothing or insignia that indicated support for the Bandidos or Cossacks should be charged with engaging in organized crime, according to the report. Reyna did not return calls seeking comment.
National
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015
Mom arrested, boyfriend faces murder charge By DENISE LAVOIE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON — A mother has been arrested and her boyfriend is charged with murder in the death of a little girl whose body was found inside a trash bag on a Boston Harbor island this summer, a prosecutor said Friday, after a monthslong campaign to learn the child’s identity. Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said he authorized a murder charge for Michael McCarthy, 35, and the girl’s mother, Rachelle Bond, 40, is under arrest for accessory to murder after the fact. “At just shy of three years old, Bella Bond was a true innocent,” Conley said at a news conference announcing the charges. “This child, whose very name means beauty, was murdered,” he said. House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, said Bond and McCarthy are blaming each other for the girl’s death. “It appears as though it was a situation of the boyfriend who was involved and apparently, I think,
Photo by Suffolk County District Attorney/file | AP
This Suffolk County Massachusetts District Attorney flyer includes a computer-generated composite image depicting the possible likeness of a young girl whose body was found on June 25.
mother and boyfriend sort of blaming each other in terms of who harmed the child.” Conley said McCarthy was being treated at a Boston hospital for a medical condition unrelated to the case. Both Bond and McCarthy are due to be arraigned on the charges Monday. The discovery of the girl’s body sparked a massive social media campaign. Within two weeks, a composite image of the chubbycheeked, brown-eyed girl had reached an estimated 47 million people on Facebook. Despite the widespread publicity, a text tip line and billboards with the girl’s image, investigators were frustrated for months as they tried to figure out who she was and how she died. They got their big break after Boston police received a tip and a search warrant was executed Thursday at Rachelle Bond’s apartment. Officials from the state’s child protection agency said they had contact with Bella twice, for four months in 2012 and three months in 2013. In both cases, officials described the involvement
as “support for neglect,” and the cases were later closed. Between 2001 and 2006, the Department of Children and Families terminated parental rights for two of her mother’s older children. One of the children was adopted by her maternal grandmother; the other was adopted by someone outside the family, officials said. Rhonda Mann, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, said the agency has been working with law enforcement for several months in an effort to help police identify the girl. “Now that we know her name, the story is no less tragic. DCF has not had an open case with this family for over two years, but did have brief involvement with Baby Bella as an infant,” she said in a statement. Because the case involving Bella had been closed, it was not among cases DCF examined after the discovery of the remains on Deer Island, the agency said. The girl’s body was found June 25 inside a trash bag on Deer Island in Winthrop by a woman walking a dog.
Conley would not say specifically how her body got there, but implied that her mother placed her there. He said evidence investigators uncovered led them to “have a good faith basis” to charge her with being an accessory after the fact to murder. After her body was found, police immediately appealed to the public for help in identifying the girl. Using photos of her remains, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children created a composite image of what the girl might have looked like when she was alive. They were flooded with tips, which led authorities to check on the well-being of dozens of little girls but did not lead them to Baby Doe’s family. Conley would not comment on how the girl died, but said more information may be released when McCarthy and Bond are arraigned Monday. There were no obvious signs of trauma to her body. An autopsy performed by the state medical examiner’s office did not immediately determine the manner or cause of her death.
Man pleads insanity after eating pot, killing wife By SADIE GURMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
DENVER — A Denver man accused of eating marijuana-infused candy he bought at a legal pot shop and then killing his wife while she described her husband’s erratic behavior on a 911 call has changed his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. Richard Kirk, 49, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife, Kristine, 44, in April 2014. Defense attorneys have suggested that Kirk was so impaired by “Karma Kandy Orange Ginger” that he may not have intended to kill her. The shooting stoked concerns about the effects of
the marijuana snacks, which have become popular since the state legalized recreational marijuana stores. Colorado lawmakers last year tightened regulations on edible marijuana, responding to the Kirk case and the death of a college student who jumped from a hotel balcony after eating a potent marijuana cookie. Just before she was shot, Kristine Kirk told dispatchers that her husband was acting more drunk than violent, crawling through a bedroom window and cutting his legs on broken glass. But prosecutors argue he had the wherewithal to remember the code to a locked gun safe and press the weapon to his wife’s head.
Kirk pleaded not guilty in March. He has since gotten a new attorney, who did not respond to questions about the plea change. It was unclear what role marijuana would play in his defense. But willful drug and alcohol use cannot be the basis for an insanity defense in Colorado, where a defendant is considered legally insane if he or she was so mentally ill at the time of a crime as to be incapable of telling right from wrong. Experts will have to consider Kirk’s behavior in the days, weeks and months leading up to and following the shooting, said Steven Pitt, a forensic psychiatrist who has worked on sanity cases but isn’t involved
with Kirk’s case. His mental health history likely will also come into play. “The substance-use piece may or may not be a red herring,” Pitt said. “At the end of the day, he’s not going to be found insane because of some edible marijuana he ingested. If he’s legally insane, it will be because he has a mental disease or defect that is separate and apart from his substance use, which resulted in him being unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct.” Kirk will be evaluated at the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo before a
hearing scheduled for Dec. 17. On the 911 call, Kristine Kirk said her husband was paranoid and hallucinating after eating pot candy he bought at a recreational pot shop. Dispatchers heard the woman beg her husband not to retrieve a gun from a safe. Then they heard a gunshot, and the line went quiet. The couple had three young sons, who were home at the time of the killing. Colorado now has stricter potency limits on edibles. By next year, the state is expected to require each
edible to be stamped “THC,” for the drug’s psychoactive ingredient. Denver police Detective Troy Bisgard testified during Kirk’s preliminary hearing last year that the only substance found in Kirk’s blood was THC. The detective said Kirk’s THC levels were relatively low. The couple’s marital and financial problems were escalating, and Kristine Kirk was covered by a $340,000 life insurance policy, Bisgard said. She had recently told friends she had grown afraid of her husband because they had been fighting so much.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
International
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015
Europeans eye stopping migrants By DANICA KIRKA AND DUSAN STOJANOVIC ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Shuji Kajiyama | AP
A protester shouts slogans as he is surrounded by police officers during a rally against the Japanese government in front of the parliament building in Tokyo, on Friday. Japan’s parliament approved legislation will loosen post-World War II constraints placed on its military.
Japan military gets boost with new bills By MARI YAMAGUCHI ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOKYO — Japan’s parliament has approved contentious legislation that enhances the role of the country’s military by loosening post-World War II constraints, as the ruling bloc defeated opposition parties’ last-ditch effort to block a vote. The upper house’s approval in the early hours of Saturday makes the legislation into law, reinterpreting Japan’s constitution and fundamentally changing the way it uses its military. Opponents say it violates Japan’s constitution and puts the country at risk of becoming embroiled in U.S.-led wars. The legislation has sparked sizeable protests and debate about whether Japan should shift away from its pacifist ways to face growing security challenges. Rallies have spread across the nation especially after the ruling parties approved the bills in July in the more powerful lower house. Japan’s military can now defend its allies even when the country isn’t under attack — for the first time since the end of the World War II — and work more closely with the U.S. and other nations. Japan will also be able to participate more fully in international peacekeeping, compared to its previous, mostly humanitarian, missions. “The legislation is necessary in order to protect the people’s lives and their peaceful livelihood, and it is to prevent a war,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters after the passage of a total of 11 bills — one related to international peacekeeping and a package of 10 others designed to allow Japan’s military to defend its allies in an action called “collective selfdefense.” Dozens of constitution scholars, lawyers and other legal experts have joined protests, saying the legislation allowing Japan to use force to settle international disputes violates its U.S.drafted postwar constitution that renounces a right to wage war.
China said it and other Asian neighbors are closely watching the vote because of Japan’s wartime aggression. “We demand that Japan genuinely listen to just appeals from both at home and abroad, learning from historical lessons and adhering to the path of peaceful development,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a regular news briefing Friday. Previous postwar governments had all made the notion of collective self-defense unconstitutional. But Abe’s Cabinet last year decided to allow it by unilaterally adopting a new interpretation of the constitution, instead of formally revising the charter, saying it must be adapted to today’s increasingly challenging security environment. The constitutional reinterpretation triggered public criticism that Abe’s government undermined democracy. Opponents also say the change would cause Japan to do more in the bilateral alliance with the U.S. In Washington, leaders of Senate committees overseeing U.S. defense and foreign policy welcomed the legislation’s passage, saying it would contribute to international peace and security and strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance. “We welcome a larger role for Japan in regional and global security affairs and look forward to our country working with Japan to implement these new measures,” the Republican and Democratic committee leaders said in a joint statement Friday. Even though many Japanese acknowledge growing security risks and have grown accustomed to sending peacekeepers overseas, many remain wary of a greater military role. Media surveys have consistently shown a majority of respondents oppose the legislation. “This legislation betrays the constitutionalism, pacifism and democracy that Japan has built over the past 70 years since the end of World War II,” said Tetsuro Fukuyama, a senior lawmaker representing the main opposition Democrat-
ic Party of Japan. Opposition lawmakers chanted “Unconstitutional!” and “Invalid!” while casting a ballot during a vote on the bills at the upper house, which came at the end of the session. Since Thursday, opposition parties had pulled out all the stops to delay the vote. They introduced a series of no-confidence measures against government ministers and parliamentary leaders, and made filibuster speeches. One opposition lawmaker, Taro Yamamoto, used a snail-paced “cow walk” to shuffle to the podium to vote, while others made drawn-out speeches, a variation that has become known as the “cow tongue.” Yamamoto wore a black suit and tie with Buddhist prayer beads around his wrist, as if attending a funeral. He kept using “cow walk” tactic, ignoring repeated scolding by the house president to stop it and heckling from the ruling lawmakers criticizing him. The maneuvers were destined to fail, but ate up hours of time requiring debate and votes on each measure. As the drama played out in Parliament, protesters rallied outside for a fifth night in a row. On Wednesday, 13 protesters were reportedly arrested. Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party rushed to pass the bills before the start of a five-day weekend Saturday to avoid a possible swelling of the protests. Abe had promised the U.S. that the legislation would be approved by this summer. The legislation that lacks public support would face resistance in the future, said Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University Japan. “In a way you can say that this legislation lacks legitimacy in the eyes of the people,” he said. “It’s going to be very controversial to actually invoke this legislation to justify dispatch of troops that obviously most people don’t want. That probably has electoral consequences.”
ZAGREB, Croatia — Thousands of migrants were trapped Friday in a vicious tug-of-war as bickering European governments shut border crossings, blocked bridges and erected new barbed-wire fences in a bid to stem the wave of humanity fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. Asylum-seekers who fled westward after being beaten back by tear gas and water cannon on the Hungarian-Serbian border just days earlier found themselves being returned to Serbia, where their ordeal began, after Croatia declared it could not handle the influx. The EU’s failure to find a unified response to the crisis left this tiny Balkan nation, one of the poorest in the European Union, squeezed between the blockades thrown up by Hungary and Slovenia and the unending flood of people flowing north from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. With more than 17,089 migrants arriving in just three days, Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic declared that his nation of 4.2 million could no longer cope and the asylum-seekers could not stay. “What else can we do?” Milanovic said at a news conference. “You are welcome in Croatia and you can pass through Croatia. But go on. Not because we don’t like you, but because this is not your final destination.” “Croatia has shown it has a heart,” he said. “We also need to show we have a brain.” Across eastern Europe, barriers to the migrants’ passage were thrown up as nations tried to shift the burden of handling the influx onto their neighbors, leaving asylum-seekers ever more desperate and confused. Croatia declared itself overwhelmed and began busing migrants to Hungary and closing its border crossings with Serbia. Slovenia halted rail service to Croatia and was sending migrants back there, while Hungary began building yet another razor-wire border fence, this time on its border with Croatia. Caught in the middle of this high-stakes game of hot potato were the masses of miserable men, women and children who have found their way to the wealthier European nations they wish to settle in blocked at every turn. “We are seeing the result of haphazard policies,” said Maurizio Albahari, a social anthropologist at the University of Notre Dame and author of “Crimes of Peace: Mediterranean Migrations at the World’s Deadliest Border.” “The situation is largely due to the lack of a coordinated approach toward the reception of these displaced persons.”
Photo by Levent Kulu/Hurriyet | AP
Migrants make their way down a highway towards Turkey’s western border with Greece and Bulgaria, near Edirne, Turkey, on Friday. The group, which wishes to cross into Europe, were stopped by Turkish law enforcement before reaching the city center. Most migrants don’t want to stay in Croatia — only one woman with children has requested asylum, the country’s foreign minister said. Instead, they are trying to reach Western European countries like Germany that have said they are welcome. While Croatia is happy to let people pass through, Hungary and Slovenia say allowing the migrants to cross their borders would violate European Union rules. Croatia is part of the EU but not a party to the Schengen treaty, which allows people to travel freely between 26 European countries without showing their passports. Slovenia and Hungary are treaty members and say they are protecting Europe’s borders. Events in the Balkans have underscored the failures of the EU’s common asylum policy, which calls for a “joint approach to guarantee high standards of protection for refugees.” Though the EU says “asylum must not be a lottery,” scenes from Croatia on Friday showed it isn’t working out that way. “The emergency is being actively reproduced by the refusal to acknowledge the reality on the ground. Migrants and refugees have a goal in mind — to reach Germany, France, the Netherlands, Britain, Sweden and so forth,” Albahari said. “Many have gone through political violence, exploitation by smugglers, and the peril of crossing the Mediterranean. Fences are not only proving futile: They are actively contributing to exasperation and to needless, additional suffering for families and vulnerable persons.” The finger-pointing among leaders has become vicious. Croatia and Hungary bickered into the night, with Croatia saying the two countries had agreed to create a corridor for the migrants and the Hungarian Foreign Ministry calling that a “pure lie.” Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, called the Croatian prime minister’s handing of the migrant crisis “pathetic.” “Hypocrisy rules in Europe today. No one is saying honestly how big a challenge this is,” Szijjarto
told the MTI news agency. “This will not end soon.” It is also causing tremendous strain on relations between neighbors in a region with a volatile past. Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia are all products of the break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Even before the latest crisis, many efforts to restore normalcy have been hard won. In a sign of the discord, Hungarian authorities seized a Croatian train carrying 1,000 migrants as it crossed into Hungary, accusing its neighbor of failing to coordinate the transport. The train’s conductor was taken into custody and 40 Croatian police officers escorting it were disarmed, said homeland security adviser Gyorgy Bakondi. Hungary denied assertions by Croatian officials that the transport had been coordinated by the two governments. “These people were coming toward the border without prior consultation, without respecting official channels,” government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said. The U.N. refugee agency warned the crisis was being worsened by the contradictory national policies. “The crisis is growing and being pushed from one country to another,” said Adrian Edwards of UNHCR. “You aren’t going to solve these problems by closing borders.” The human misery was evident in Croatian towns like Beli Manastir, near the border with Hungary. Migrants slept on streets, on train tracks and at a local gas station. People scrambled to board local buses without knowing where they were going. Hundreds of others were stranded Friday on a large Danube River bridge in the Serbian town of Bezdan after Croatian authorities closed all but one border crossing. A large truck lifted barriers onto the bridge. The group, which included many women and children, stood in a no-man’s land in the middle in the scorching heat for hours with little water or food. Finally Serbian authorities began busing them 120 kilometers (75 miles) to the south, near the Serbian town of Sid, so they could enter Croatia illegally through unguarded cornfields.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
Stocks close low after Fed’s decision By KEN SWEET ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Stocks ended mostly lower after a volatile day as traders tried to figure out what was next for U.S. interest rates. The bumpy trading Thursday came after the Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates low for now, citing weakness in the global economy and unsettled financial markets. Investors did make significant bets on U.S. Treasuries and, for a change, precious metals. The U.S. dollar weakened against its major currency counterparts as the threat of higher interest rates abated. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 65.21 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,674.74. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 5.11 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,990.20 and the Nasdaq composite index rose 4.71 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,893.95. The Fed said that while the U.S. job market is solid, there are reasons to be concerned about global economic growth. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said a rate hike is still likely this year. The Fed meets again in October and December. “The market got what it wanted,” said Alan Rechtschaffen, a portfolio manager at UBS. “The market had a ’rate rant’ last month and that scared the Fed.” Interest rates have been near zero since 2008, when the Fed drastically cut rates in response to the financial crisis and Great Recession. The last time the cen-
Photo by Jacquelyn Martin | AP
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen answers questions during a news conference in Washington, Thursday. The Federal Reserve is keeping U.S. interest rates at record lows in the face of threats from a weak global economy, persistently low inflation, and unstable financial markets. tral bank actually raised rates was 2006. Ultra-low interest rates tend to help the stock market because they make bonds, CDs and other income-producing investments less appealing by comparison. They also make it inexpensive for companies to borrow money
VIDAL M. HERNANDEZ July 2, 1930 – Sept. 14, 201 Vidal M. Hernandez, 85, passed away on Monday, Sept. 14, 2015 at Laredo Specialty Hospital in Laredo, Texas. Mr. Hernandez is preceded in death by his sons, Joseph James Hernandez and Eddy Hernandez. Mr. Hernandez is survived by his wife, Olivia T. Hernandez; sons, Vidal Hernandez Jr., Ruben Hernandez, Gary James Hernandez, Anthony J. Samora, Edward J. Hernandez, Joseph J. Hernandez; daughters, Carmen Y. Garcia, (Terry Lee Peña), Tanya M. Samora, Olivia E. Hernandez; grandchildren, Monica Hernandez, Jacqueline (Pete) Luna, Jason Hernandez, Erica Hernandez, Melissa (Nick) Ortiz, Michael Hernandez, Mark Hernandez, Gary J. Jr. (Maile) Hernandez, Benjamin Hernandez, Christopher John Hernandez, Robert J. (Jasmin) Hernandez, Yvette C. Becerra (Alfredo Hernandez, Jr.), Joanna Hernandez (Daniel Arambula), Daisy G. Garcia (Daniel J. Alaniz), Brianna Y. Maldonado (Luis Tovar), Christy E. Hernandez; twenty-one great-grandchildren and by numerous greatgreat-grandchildren, nephews, nieces, other family members and friends.
to buy back their own shares, which also sends stock prices higher. On the other hand, the Fed has made it abundantly clear that the current policy of super-low rates is an unusual measure intended to shore up the economy and will eventually be dismantled. Keep-
EPA orders Volkswagen recall By MATTHEW DALY ASSOCIATED PRESS
Visitation hours will be held on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015, from 8 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. with a rosary at 9 a.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home. A Catholic Service will be held at 10 a.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home. Committal services will follow at Zapata County Cemetery. In lieu of flowers monetary donations can be made at IBC Acct. 2311268619. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy 83 Zapata, Texas.
ing it in place is a signal that the Fed believes the economy isn’t quite strong enough to withstand higher rates. For investors wondering when interest rate policy will be “normalized,” that means more waiting. “They just need a little more time. The drumbeat is getting
louder for them to actually raise rates,” said Tony Bedikian, head of global markets at Citizens Financial Group. With interest rates not changing soon and inflation in check, investors bought up bonds. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note dropped to 2.19 percent from 2.30 percent the day before, a large move. The two-year Treasury note, which would be more heavily impacted by higher short-term interest rates, had even an even more dramatic move, dropping to 0.68 percent from 0.80 percent. In precious metals markets, gold and silver saw significant buying in after-hours trading after the Fed released its statement. Gold fell $2 to settle at $1,117 an ounce in regular trading but was up $12.80 to $1,131.80 an ounce later. Silver added 10 cents to settle at $14.98 an ounce, and gained another 25 cents to $15.13 in extended trading. Copper finished unchanged at $2.45 a pound in regular trading. It was up a penny in after-hours trading. Oil finished slightly lower after the Fed’s comments. U.S. crude fell 25 cents to $46.90 a barrel. Brent crude, a benchmark for many international oils imported by U.S. refineries, fell 67 cents to $49.08 a barrel. In other energy futures trading, wholesale gasoline fell less than a penny to $1.376 a gallon. Heating oil slipped 1.17 cents to $1.53 a gallon and natural gas fell 1 cent to $2.652 per 1,000 cubic feet.
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday that Volkswagen intentionally skirted clean air laws by using a piece of software that enabled about 500,000 of its diesel cars to emit fewer smog-causing pollutants during testing than in real-world driving conditions. The agency ordered VW to fix the cars at its own expense. The German automaker also faces billions of dollars in fines, although exact amounts were not determined. The cars, all built in the last seven years, include the VW Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Passat models, as well as the Audi A3. The vehicles all contain a device programmed to detect when they are undergoing official emissions testing, the EPA said. The cars only turn on full emissions control systems during that testing. The controls are turned off during normal driving situations, the EPA said, allowing the cars to emit more than the legal limit of pollu-
tants. The EPA called the company’s use of the socalled “defeat device” illegal and a threat to public health. “EPA is committed to making sure that all automakers play by the same rules,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant EPA administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance. The EPA called on VW to fix the cars’ emissions systems, but said car owners do not need to take any immediate action. The violations do not present a safety hazard and the cars remain legal to drive and sell while Volkswagen comes up with a plan to recall and repair them, the EPA said. VW, which also owns Audi, said in a statement it is cooperating with the investigation, but declined further comment. The EPA said VW faces fines of up to $37,500 per vehicle for the violations — a total of more than $18 billion. No final total was announced. California issued a separate compliance order to VW, and officials announced an investigation by the
California Air Resources Board. Despite the seriousness of the violation, the EPA said VW will be given “a reasonable amount of time to develop a plan to complete the repairs,” including both the repair procedure and manufacture of any needed parts. It could take up to a year to identify corrective actions, develop a recall plan and issue recall notices, the EPA said. Environmental groups hailed the EPA and California for moving aggressively to enforce clean air laws. “The charges here are truly appalling: that Volkswagen knowingly installed software that produced much higher smogforming emissions from diesel vehicles in the real world than in pre-sale tests,” said Frank O’Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, a Washingtonbased advocacy group. O’Donnell accused VW of “cheating not just car buyers but the breathing public.” He said the charges undercut industry rhetoric about “clean diesel” cars. The Volkswagens likely
perform better with the emissions controls defeated than they do with them on, said Aaron Bragman, Detroit bureau chief for the Cars.com automotive shopping and research site. Otherwise, he said, there would be no reason to have a setting that turns on the controls for tests and turns them off for regular driving. “Obviously it’s changing the way the engine operates somehow that may not be pleasing to consumers,” he said. “It would follow that it would put it into a very different feel in terms of operation of the vehicle.” But Bragman said other countries may allow different modes for testing and normal driving. The allegations cover roughly 482,000 diesel passenger cars sold in the United States since 2008. Affected models include: Jetta (model years 2009-15) Beetle (model years 2009-15) Audi A3 (model years 2009-15) Golf (model years 2009-15) Passat (model years 2014-15)
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015
COUPLE Continued from Page 1A were arrested Aug. 27 following simultaneous traffic stops done by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers. U.S. Border Patrol agents responded to assist. Agents said a 2010 Chevy Equinox driven by Casares had three people who had crossed the border illegally, states the criminal com-
plaint filed Aug. 31. Agents said another trooper pulled over a speeding 2007 Saturn Aura XR driven by Gonzalez. An investigation revealed the Equinox was registered to Gonzalez. In post-arrest statements, Casares said the three immigrants approached him while he was at a McDo-
nald’s and offered him $60 to take them to Zapata. Gonzalez said she did not know Casares was transporting immigrants. She allegedly claimed that she had lent the Equinox to Casares so he could use it to go to school. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
BORDER Continued from Page 1A tional Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform last week. But he did say that at least 5,000 more agents are needed, noting that one of every five undocumented immigrants apprehended in 2014 had a criminal past. “I want to be very clear on this, especially given the recent incendiary comments about who is crossing the border and the assertions that the border is safer than it has ever been,” Judd testified. “In 2014, ICE deported 177,000 convicted criminals. Of this number, 91,000 were arrested by the Border Patrol trying to illegally reenter this country.” Judd also said in the 20 years he’s been with the agency, he’s seen a shift in strategy by criminal groups. “They would rather risk losing a load of narcotics to the Border Patrol than opening fire on agents,” he said of the mindset then. “This all began to unravel in 2000 with the emergence of the drug cartels.” Wendy Feliz, a spokeswoman for the National Immigration Council, a Washington-based, non-partisan think tank, doesn’t downplay the violence in Mexico. But she said more U.S. agents aren’t the answer because evidence suggests there is no spillover into this country.
“Cartels are obviously dangerous and we need to deal with that element, but on this side of the border El Paso is one of the safest cities,” she said. “There are other ways to interrupt the cartels. It’s not more enforcement, it’s better enforcement.” Feliz said the federal government should follow the recommendations of former Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, who argued in 2012 that chasing immigrants and drugs is a losing fight. State and federal governments should instead focus on seizing cash and analyzing wire transfer data to stymie the criminal elements’ efforts, Goddard said Rashly adding thousands of agents will lead to similar problems the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General outlined in 2013, Feliz said. That agency’s report concluded that a majority of the alleged excessive force cases investigated showed violations of agency standards. The report added, however, that the hiring surge didn’t weaken training standards and the amount of time that agents train — about two months — was sufficient. Judd didn’t address the report in his testimony and a spokesman with the U.S. Border Patrol didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Judd did advocate for a return to 20-week training periods, which he said were scaled back during the administration of President George W. Bush. Feliz said even that was too short, and that some municipal police officers are trained for six months. “The agents need it for their protection, not just to protect civil rights,” she said. Judd added that the United States Border patrol is a “top-heavy organization with far too many layers of management.” He said there is one supervisor for every four agents and a 10-to-1 ratio could return 1,500 agents to the field if those supervisors were reassigned. Judd’s testimony comes as the federal government faces the threat of another shutdown. Speculation has swirled for weeks that internal gridlock could shutter the government, at least temporarily. When the Department of Homeland Security faced a similar threat earlier this year, lawmakers said that 85 percent of Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection officials would still report for duty. When the government shut down for a few weeks in 2013, an estimated 31,300 DHS employees were furloughed but more than 85 percent of all department employees still showed up for work, the Washington Post reported.
SAN YGNACIO Continued from Page 1A “Casas stated he knew he was transporting (undocumented people), and he was going to be paid $800 for transporting the (undocumented people) from Weslaco, Texas, to the Siesta Motel in Laredo, Texas,” states the criminal complaint filed Aug. 28.
Federal authorities said the case unfolded Aug. 26 when a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper pulled over a 2001 GMC Yukon for having a defective rear light. Authorities said they then discovered that Casas was transporting six immigrants who were in
the country illegally. The trooper cited Casas for not providing a driver’s license and gave him a warning for the defective brake light before agents took custody of him. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
UNEMPLOYMENT Continued from Page 1A “While most regions of our state are seeing these declines, we are working
hard with our local workforce partners to address the needs in those regions
that are still struggling,” said Commissioner Ronny Congleton.
FALCON LAKE Continued from Page 1A land Security Investigations special agents regarding the incident. “Garcia-Bautista attested Benito Cruz and he were supposed to guide a group of people through the brush,” reads the criminal complaint filed Aug. 24.
The smuggling attempt occurred Aug. 19. U.S. Border Patrol agents responded to reports of possible illegal immigrants in the Siesta Shores neighborhood. Agents responded to the area and discovered foot
prints that led them to Falcon Lake. Agents alleged that the immigrants disembarked from a boat and ran toward the brush, records state. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
REFUGEES Continued from Page 1A tor job with a Czech nonprofit working in Maysan. The nonprofit promoted him to project manager and transferred him to Jordan in 2008. There, he applied for a U.S. refugee visa. “The rest is history,” Al Sudani told the Houston Chronicle, employing one of the English idioms he uses with gusto. The American resettlement process assigned him to Houston, where he arrived in 2009. Every new refugee works with a local nonprofit that provides federally funded assistance for about six months; Al Sudani was matched up with Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston. The United States takes the “lion’s share” of United Nations-referred refugees accepted for permanent resettlement. According to U.N. data, between 2010 and 2014, the U.S. alone resettled 71 percent of all refugees. Out of every 1,000 resettled U.N. refugees, more than 700 come to America. Though all 50 states accept some refugees, 75 of those 700 find their way to Texas, according to U.S. State Department numbers. And more of those will come to the Houston area than to anywhere else in Texas: The state health services department reports that nearly 40 percent of Texas’ refugees land in Harris County. This means that Harris County alone welcomes about 30 of every 1,000 refugees that the U.N. resettles anywhere in the world — more than any other American city, and more than most other nations. If Houston were a country, it would rank fourth in the world for refugee resettlement. The number of refugees the United States takes in could swell even further in the next year after President Barack Obama said last week that the U.S. would take at least 10,000 Syrians displaced by the war in their country. This year, the U.S. accepted fewer than 2,000. Al Sudani’s first days in
Houston were not easy. He came here without any family members; he knew no one. He had no phone or Internet to keep him connected with people back in Iraq. “You miss your family; you miss your friends; you feel lonely,” he said. Without family or work to occupy his time, he felt aimless: “I don’t have a car; I’m not working — what am I going to do?” Though he spoke fluent English, he attended the language classes at his apartment complex. “I didn’t need them,” he said, “but I wanted to go and do something.” The U.S. resettlement program emphasizes early employment; refugees over 18 are expected to start working within weeks of their arrival, even if they have poor English skills or little education. Al Sudani had fluent English and a university degree but knew the recession would make it hard to find work. “I just wanted to get a job, even if it (was) in Burger King,” he said. “I knew it would be better than sitting at home.” He got a job within two months but not in a fast food restaurant. Because of his language skills and his previous nonprofit experience, Interfaith Ministries hired him as a caseworker for the many Iraqis on their way. Now, after several promotions, he supervises the organization’s refugee services department. He welcomes new arrivals to his adopted homeland. After six years in America, Al Sudani sounds and acts like the quintessential American. He takes road trips. He shoots pool at Slick Willie’s. He likes country music; he first heard the genre in Iraq when he listened to Kenny Rogers, though he now finds Rogers “cheesy.” He recently took his girlfriend, a native Alabaman, on a weekend winery tour. As he talked in a Persian restaurant near his home, Al Sudani sliced a roasted tomato on his plate. Ira-
nian cuisine shares much in common with Iraqi food, he said, but he usually prefers Italian. He still lives in the same modest one-bedroom apartment that Interfaith Ministries arranged for him in 2009. He seems at home here, with sunglasses on his slightly gelled hair and some salt-and-pepper stubble on the weekend. After the required fiveyear waiting period, he became a U.S. citizen in November. “Probably I’m not the huggiest person,” he said. But when he learned he had passed the citizenship test, “my eyes started to water. ... It was a moment that some people wait their whole lives for.” Al Sudani takes pride in his adopted homeland, partly because of its role in resettling refugees. “That’s why the U.S. is a great country,” Al Sudani said. “It’s not because we have the most powerful military ... It’s because there’s no other country in the world that brings more refugees and welcomes them to their country.” A trend stands out in Harris County refugee data. The vast majority of Houston’s refugees came from warm regions: Cuba, Iraq, Congo and Somalia. But the resettlement agencies don’t place people based on a preference for a hot, steamy climate. Houston has been a major resettlement area for Vietnamese refugees and immigrants since the fall of South Vietnam in 1975. But since then, the city’s heavy in-flow of refugees has been defined by the absence of a predominant nationality. “Oh, Houston is diverse,” Al Sudani said, ticking off major refugee communities: “Bosnians, Russian Jews, Afghanis, Iraqis, Congolese, Rwandese, Somalis, Iranian minorities, Burmese, Bhutanese.” Harris County welcomed refugees from 40 different countries in fiscal year 2014, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NCAA : NO. 3 TCU
NCAA FOOTBALL: TEXAS LONGHORNS
Young playmakers Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP
TCU running back Trevorris Johnson and the Horned Frogs host SMU Saturday looking for their 11th straight victory.
No. 3 TCU hosts SMU Horned Frogs look for 11th straight win By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Edward A. Ornelas | San Antonio Express-News
Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoopes is feeling pressure from young backup Jerrod Heard for the starting job for the Longhorns.
Longhorns bring youth into matchup with Cal By JIM VERTUNO ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Charlie Strong is in the middle of a complete rebuild at Texas. Laying the foundation is a handful of freshmen starters who so far are making the biggest plays for the Longhorns. Quarterback Jerrod Heard, linebacker Malik Jefferson and wide receiver John Burt emerged as the top playmakers in the first two games. Throw in four more freshmen starters when Texas (1-1) plays
California (2-0) Saturday night, and it’s clear Strong has decided youth will carry the Longhorns in 2015. “I think they felt like when they came in they were going to re-energize the team and take us back to where we need to be. A lot of the older guys have fed off that,” junior safety Dylan Haines said. Heard redshirted last season and finally got his first start last week against Rice. He delivered an ultra-efficient performance with 96 yards rushing and 4of-7 passing with two touchdowns, in-
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: SA JOHN JAY
cluding a 69-yard strike to Burt. Heard said getting the start made him finally feel part of the team. “You are sitting on the sideline thinking, man, I can’t wait to get out there and play with my boys,” Heard said. California coach Sonny Dykes took notice of a Texas offense that had new life with Heard and new play caller Jay Norvell. “He’s certainly a dynamic playmaker
FORT WORTH — SMU’s schedule was set long before Chad Morris became the Mustangs’ head coach, at a time when TCU and Baylor weren’t both top five teams. Morris has talked about wanting to get the Mustangs to that kind of level. But their first-year head coach knows it could take some time. While SMU (1-1) has already matched its 2014 season victory total, that was a home win against North Texas after losing 56-21 to fifth-ranked Baylor in its opener. Now the Mustangs play the other defending Big 12 co-champion, going on the road for the first time with Morris. They are at the third-ranked Horned Frogs (2-0) on Saturday night. “They’ve got several guys that can run and have elite speed and talent at the skill positions. We’ve seen it. We obviously saw it early in the year,” Morris said. “Just because you see it, we didn’t do a good job
See TEXAS PAGE 2B See TCU PAGE 2B
NCAA FOOTBALL: NO. 17 TEXAS A&M AGGIES
A&M squares off with Nevada By KRISTIE RIEKEN ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by AP
John Jay High School football players Michael Moreno and Victor Rojas spoke in public for the first time on Good Morning America as they said their coach instructed them to hit a referee during the game.
Jay duo: Coach said to hit ref By DAVID WARREN ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — A Texas high school football coach directed two players to strike a referee during a game because of missed calls that had hurt the team, the players claimed Friday during a national broadcast. During an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning, America,” Michael Moreno and Victor Rojas also repeated earlier claims that the ref had used ra-
cial slurs. Moreno said he regrets hitting Robert Watts and wants to apologize. Rojas said he was just doing what he was told. The two were suspended from the Jay High School football team in San Antonio in the aftermath of the game early this month at Marble Falls. The Northside school district moved them to an alternative school as investigations into the matter continue.
See JOHN JAY PAGE 2B
COLLEGE STATION — When No. 17 Texas A&M and Nevada meet on Saturday it will be the first time Aggies’ coach Kevin Sumlin will face one of his former assistants who has become a head coach. With Wolf Pack coach Brian Polian in town, Sumlin said he has appreciated watching his coaching tree grow. “Think that helps attract quality people to your program and create an atmosphere that is conducive to creating head coaches,” Sumlin said. “Something I got from working with Bob Stoops for years. Something we take pride in. Got guys here now that that’s going to continue to happen. Challenge is to replace talent with talent just like it is with your team.” But he doesn’t particularly enjoy competing against former members of his staff. “You don’t like playing those guys but that’s all part of it,” Sumlin said. “More you’re in the business you’re playing guys that are your friends. That’s never easy, whatever happens. Always winner and loser.” Polian was Texas A&M’s special teams coordinator and
Photo by Bob Levey | AP
Texas A&M defensive back Justin Dunning and the No. 17 Aggies try to improve to 3-0 with a battle with Nevada on Saturday. tight ends coach in 2012 in Sumlin’s first year at the school. He told reporters that he learned a lot in his short time with Sumlin and that he’s looking forward to the matchup even though his team is more than 30-point underdogs. Earlier this week, Polian was
fined $10,000 by his own school after he was called for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties during Saturday’s 44-20 loss to Arizona. Athletic director Doug Knuth called the thirdyear coach’s behavior unaccept-
See A&M PAGE 2B
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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015
TCU Continued from Page 1B
Photo by Brandon Wade | AP
Dallas quarterback Tony Romo has made big plays on big drives in three straight games going back to last year’s playoffs.
Romo rolling late in games By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS
IRVING — Tony Romo can’t make the big play or win the big game. The Dallas quarterback will always make the big mistake. That’s the narrative Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was asked about on his radio show Friday, with Romo now on a three-game streak of huge throws on late drives going back to the playoffs last season. Included in that run is Dez Bryant’s catch that wasn’t, a pivotal play in a divisional round loss to Green Bay. “Let’s don’t spend a lot of our time talking about the narrative, although we are all aware of what you’re talking about when you say, ’the narrative,”’ Jones said. “I want to restate it: If he should go through a career with the Cowboys and not have knocked on the door — I’m going to go as far as say won a Super Bowl — it would be my biggest disappointment having owned this team. “He is a quarterback that can win Super Bowls. He is a franchise quarterback. He’s who I want as opposed to a choice throughout the league.” Yes, “the narrative” could very well be changing, although there’s probably no way Romo can completely rewrite it without winning a Super Bowl, or getting close. But consider the following as the Cowboys (1-0) get set to face NFC East rival Philadelphia (0-1) on Sunday. Romo has a seven-game streak of 100-plus passer ratings, including the two playoff games last January. It’s the longest current streak in the NFL — four more than New England’s Tom Brady at No. 2 — and the run includes 19 touchdowns with just three interceptions in that span. He converted a game-saving fourth down with a pass to Jason Witten on a late drive to beat Detroit
in the wild-card round last season. Romo found Witten again with 7 seconds left in a 27-26 win over the New York Giants in last weekend’s opener. In between, in a second-round playoff contest at Lambeau Field, he decided to go deep to Dez Bryant on fourth-and-2 with the Cowboys driving against the Packers in the fourth quarter. The throw was just about perfect, and the play was ruled a catch. The replay that overturned the call was talked about the entire offseason. Eight years earlier, though, the offseason was filled with talk of Romo’s flub of the snap on a field goal that could have beaten Seattle in the playoffs. Then there was the interception at the goal line of a playoff-opening loss to the Giants a year later when the Cowboys were the top seed in the NFC. Then came repeated losses in season finales that could have sent Dallas to the playoffs, including the stigma of three straight 8-8 seasons even though Romo was out with a back injury for the last of those in 2013. “When the Cowboys went 8-8, I called him an average quarterback,” said Joe Theismann, who led Washington to consecutive Super Bowls, winning the first after the 1982 season. “But what is 8-8, if not average? Then all of a sudden things happen around him, and all of a sudden his game gets elevated.” By that, Theismann mostly means an offensive line that includes three first-round picks since 2011: left tackle Tyron Smith, center Travis Frederick and right guard Zack Martin. But Theismann also credits Romo, and illustrates it by saying he doesn’t believe the offense will be slowed with All-Pro receiver Bryant sidelined at least a month with a broken right foot.
“This isn’t a mirage,” Theismann said. “This is Tony Romo, an upperechelon quarterback in the National Football League.” Eagles coach Chip Kelly says Romo flourishes through his ability to put players in the right places and get the Cowboys in the right play. Kelly also says those traits show up late in the games through winning drives similar to the one that beat the Giants last weekend. “He’s as good as anybody playing right now,” Kelly said. Romo says he’s actually drawing on the experience of the 8-8 years, when the Cowboys frequently rallied in the fourth quarter to win. “Either you’re going to be comfortable in these situations, or you’re going to lose a lot of them,” he said. “You just have to execute under that feeling.” With Romo coming off three back injuries in a span of 18 months last year, DeMarco Murray eased the load by leading the NFL in carries (392, the most in eight years) and yards rushing (1,845). Romo had the most efficient season of his career with a franchiserecord 113.2 passer rating, and was his most competent late in the season with one interception in the last six games. Receiver Cole Beasley just isn’t sure that means Romo is on a roll. “I just think he’s just good, man,” Beasley said. “You can argue him with the Tom Bradys and the Aaron Rodgers and the Peyton Mannings all day to me. He’s just a great quarterback. And he’s going to be at his best when his best is needed.” Romo might be converting more critics outside his locker room. “He won me over a year ago,” Theismann said. “What we saw last year was the way Tony Romo can play football.” His owner has been a believer a lot longer than that.
JOHN JAY Continued from Page 1B Video from the Sept. 4 game shows Rojas blindsiding Watts and Moreno diving on top of him. Watts was the umpire on the defensive side watching a play along the line of scrimmage. The players didn’t name the coach Friday. The school district has suspended assistant coach Mack Breed pending an investigation. Attempts to find a phone number to contact Breed for comment were unsuccessful.
Rojas alleged that Watts at one point told a Hispanic player to “speak English, this is America.” The soft-spoken Rojas said he couldn’t explain why he targeted Watts, only saying he was following instructions. Moreno contends the ref used a racial slur directed at a black player. The teenager also said at the last moment he realized the gravity of what he was about to do and softened his blow on
Watts. “That’s not who I am,” he said. “Underneath the helmet and the pads, I’m really a great kid.” Watts has denied using inappropriate language. His attorney, New Jersey lawyer Alan Goldberger, told The Associated Press on Friday that the game video shows a crime was committed against Watts and now the perpetrators are blaming the victim for their actions. “He didn’t say hurtful
things to anybody and he certainly didn’t say racial epithets,” Goldberger said, adding that civil action is being considered. Watts has officiated nearly 500 football games over 14 years, but has stepped aside because he’s now under a doctor’s care for injuries inflicted by the players, Goldberger said. “It’s so typical that these accusations are made,” he said. “It’s always the referees fault.”
stopping it.” Heisman Trophy hopeful Trevone Boykin and the Frogs followed their opening victory at Big Ten team Minnesota with a 70-7 win over FCS team Stephen F. Austin in their home opener. They have won 10 in a row, second only to defending national champion Ohio State’s 15game winning streak. SMU has its own dualthreat quarterback in Matt Davis. The junior who started his career at Texas A&M behind Johnny Manziel has thrown for 337 yards and four touchdowns, and run for a teamhigh 240 yards and two mores scores. While TCU’s injury plagued defense is filled with youngsters, including freshmen starting at both linebacker spots, they have held their own so far. And they are used to go against Boykin and the Frogs’ up-tempo offense in practice. Returning defensive line starters Davion Pierson and James McFarland haven’t played yet because of injuries. Senior safety Kenny Iloka sustained a right knee injury last week, and both starting linebackers from the first game are also gone — one to an injury and the other leaving the team for personal reasons. “This season’s not any different because of the high expectations,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “This season’s different because we’ve had injuries, the guys we’ve lost.” Here are a few things to know when the former Southwest Conference rivals play in the Battle for the Iron Skillet: COMPARISON GAME TCU and Baylor were
snubbed for the first College Football Playoff last season, but are both expected to contend for one of those four spots this year. While this is the first chance in 2015 for people to compare them against a common opponent, Patterson doesn’t really have that same thought. “I don’t listen to it if they say Baylor played better than we did, and I don’t listen to if they say we played better,” Patterson said. “Because it won’t matter until we play Baylor.” That won’t be until after Thanksgiving. GREEN RECEIVER Redshirt freshman Courtland Sutton is SMU’s leading receiver with eight catches for 147 yards and three TDs. “He’s so raw and so green. He doesn’t realize how good he can be,” Morris said. “He’s taking great pride in his role and will become one of the top wide receivers in the country before it’s all over with. But right now, he’s just a redshirt freshman that’s trying to figure out where all his classes are located at.” FROG AND PONY SHOW This is the 95th meeting between SMU and TCU; the first came in 1915. The Frogs have won 13 of the last 15 meetings to take a 47-40-7 series lead, and their 56-0 win last season was the most lopsided game ever between the teams in Dallas and Fort Worth. EQUAL STANDING The Horned Frogs are one of only three teams ranked in the top 20 nationally in both total offense and total defense. They are 17th in both categories, averaging 538 total yards per game, and giving up less than half of that (254 yards a game).
A&M Continued from Page 1B able and out of line with university standards. Sumlin said the two of them texted earlier this week and joked about their plans for Saturday. “He texted me Sunday night and said: ’I’ll huddle if you’ll huddle,”’ Sumlin said. “I said: ’We’ll huddle on kickoffs and punts.’ Don’t think (I got) much of a response after that.” Some things to know about the Nevada-Texas A&M game, just the second meeting between the teams and the first since Sept. 23, 1950, when the Aggies won 48-18 in San Antonio: WHAT A START Texas A&M freshman Christian Kirk is off to a great start just two games into his career with the Aggies. He leads the team with 10 receptions for 149 yards. He had a 79-yard return for a touchdown in the season-opener and returned one 56 yards last week. STREAKING The Aggies have won 18 straight nonconference games, which is the longest active streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Aggies haven’t lost a nonconference game since a loss to Arkansas in 2011 when they were in the Big 12. Texas A&M will begin Southeastern Conference play next week against the Razorbacks in Arlington, Texas. LOOKING FOR IMPROVEMENT Despite a 2-0 record, Sumlin knows that his team needs to get better be-
fore jumping into conference play next week. “We need to be more consistent as a football team,” he said. “What I’m interested to see is improvement from our guys from a consistency standpoint to see if we can play at that level and to see if we can play like we did in first half again this week. And the improvement from other guys we’re counting on from a depth standpoint, so there’s not a drop off.” PILING UP YARDS Nevada’s Hasaan Henderson had six receptions for 58 yards last week to reach 1,023 yards in his career. The junior started his college career as a quarterback when he redshirted in 2012. After that he switched to receiver is now one of the top receiving threats in the Mountain West conference. NOIL GETTING HEALTHY Texas A&M receiver Speedy Noil was dealing with an undisclosed injury that caused him to miss much of fall camp. Now he’s getting better, the Aggies are looking for him to build on his solid 2014 season when he had 583 yards receiving with five touchdowns. “As he gets healthier he’s really accelerating and doing some things,” Sumlin said. “Two impressive blocks he made on punts. Effort without getting the ball has improved from last year. Look for him to get better every week as he gets healthier.”
TEXAS Continued from Page 1B ... He made a couple of big-time throws,” Dykes said. “You mix in a quarterback that’s very fast, very elusive and you got yourself a good offense.” Jefferson is the top playmaker on the Texas defense, even if his inexperience has led to overaggressiveness. So far, he’s everything Texas expected. Jefferson was the freshman class’s most highly-touted recruit and he enrolled in January in order to join spring drills. He has 18
tackles in two games, four behind the line of scrimmage. The freshmen can make the Texas resurgence happen quickly, Jefferson said. “It is coming fast. We know it is. But we have to get in our heads that it starts today,” he said. “We can’t wait until it’s too late.” Some things to watch for when California plays Texas: THE QUARTERBACKS Heard freshman has to deliver
another big game because Cal’s offense is humming behind Jared Goff. Special teams set up two Texas touchdowns last week and the Longhorns had only 38 offensive plays. Goff, perhaps the top quarterback in the 2016 NFL draft, already has six touchdown passes. GETTING PRESSURE Texas needs to pressure Goff and not give him time to pick apart the secondary. The Texas defensive line has struggled
badly through two games. If Texas is forced to blitz to pressure, Goff ’s ability to spot and connect with receivers will be key for Cal. GRAY MIA Texas running back Johnathan Gray has mostly been a noshow. The Longhorns’ leading returning rusher from 2014 has 17 carries for 57 yards and averaged just 1.9 yards against Rice. SPREADING IT AROUND Goff keeps the ball on the
move. Six Cal receivers have at least four catches already and five have touchdowns. The Bears are averaging 560 yards per game. PLAY-CALLING Norvell’s debut as Texas play caller last week was a success, but the offense was hardly on the field and the Longhorns never trailed. If Texas gets into a shootout, or falls behind, Norvell’s instincts and strategy will be challenged.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015
Dear Readers: RABIES. The word is scary, but do you know the facts? Rabies (Lyssavirus) affects the NERVOUS SYSTEM of mammals. If you see a wild animal (skunk, bat or raccoon, for example) that is acting erratically, snapping at objects and foaming at the mouth, it may be infected with the rabies virus. Call your local Animal Control. The only way for a person to contract rabies is through a BITE from an infected animal. The virus is transmitted only through SALIVA; it is not blood- or airborne, nor can you get it through contact with animal waste. Humans, surprisingly, rarely die from rabies here in the United States (death rates can be high overseas). You are most likely to be infected by a bat bite. Government wildlife officials are trying to curb rabies by setting out feed laced with the rabies vaccine. This way, wildlife will self-vaccinate. What’s the best way to avoid getting the virus?
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HELOISE
Naturally, don’t go up to wild animals and touch them. They could bite you. Get all pets under your care vaccinated. Fall on the side of caution. Seek treatment if you have been bitten. Sept. 28 is World Rabies Day. This is an effort to make people aware of rabies and how to control it. –– Heloise NO ESCAPE Dear Heloise: I bathe our small dogs in the tub with a shower hose, but they immediately move to the back of the tub, where the hose nozzle will not reach! We recently bought a small convection oven with one unused rack. I placed the rack in the rear of the tub, and now they have to stay in the front where the hose reaches! –– Duane in Mineola, Texas
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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015