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ZAPATA COUNTY
SOUTHEAST TEXAS
Well-known scout
Six die in deadly chase
Couple arrested for smuggling four immigrants By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ LAREDO MORNING TIMES
A couple was recently arrested for smuggling people in Zapata County, according to federal court records. One suspect identified as
Jaime Javier Buentello, of Zapata, has had prior runins with U.S. Border Patrol, according to reports. “Buentello … has been documented as a well-known scout, foot guide, driver who mainly operates in Zapata
County, Texas,” states the criminal complaint filed Sept. 18. “(Buentello) has been apprehended by Border Patrol agents in previous occasions for smuggling and scouting. He had freely admitted that
he is an associate in the San Ygnacio (human smuggling organization, drug trafficking organization).” Buentello and Ariana Jasmine Sandoval were
See SCOUT PAGE 10A
SUV crammed with immigrants was running from the police By ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH HOUSTON CHRONICLE
MEXICO
A KILLING GOES IGNORED
EDNA — Brian Miska, the owner of an auto service station in this normally quiet town southwest of Houston, awoke early Thursday morning to the cacophony of emergency sirens, hounds baying and helicopters flying overhead. His house is only about half a mile from a grisly scene where a SUV, crammed with immigrants and running from police, had crashed, killing six of the vehicle’s 14 passengers. “They’ve had chases all the time,” said Miska later Thursday, leaning against a pickup truck in the lot by his shop, Nagel’s Service Station. The horrific crash on U.S. Highway 59 near
See CHASE PAGE 10A
TOUR OF US
Photo by Jin Lee | AP Photo by Marco Ugarte | AP
In this Aug. 8 photo, Afrodita Mondragon, mother of slain college student Julio Cesar Mondragon, sits on her son’s bed with his portrait in San Miguel Tecomatlan, a rural town in the hills of Mexico state. Afrodita likes to look at her son’s Facebook profile, though she is careful not to land on the photos of a skull when she searches his name.
Others died in hours that 43 students vanished By MARIA VERZA ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN MIGUEL TECOMATLAN, Mexico — Unlike the families of the 43 students who disappeared a year ago, Julio Cesar Mondragon’s loved ones were left with a body to bury. But there is little comfort in that, because Mondragon’s corpse bore witness to the horror of his final moments. His autopsy showed several skull fractures, internal bleeding and other injuries consistent with torture. His face had been flayed, a tactic often used by the drug cartels to incite terror. Photos of his bloody skull were uploaded to the Internet. International attention has been focused on the 43 students who vanished a year ago Saturday, but six others died at the hands of police in
those hours, including Mondragon, a 22-year-old father of girl who is now 1 year old. According to an independent group of experts, the disappearances and the killings were the result of a long, coordinated attack against students from the Raul Isidro Burgos Rural Normal School of Ayotzinapa who had come to the southern city of Iguala to commandeer buses for a protest. But the events of last Sept. 26 were far from isolated. Some 25,000 people have been reported missing in Mexico since 2007, and hundreds from the Iguala area in the last year alone. The disappearance of the students has drawn attention to others who have been lost, as well as brutal drug cartels, official corruption, government indifference and languishing legal cases.
According to Mexico’s former attorney general, the 43 disappeared in an attack by police and the Guerreros Unidos drug gang because they were mistaken for rival gang members. The attorney general said last November they were killed and burned to ash in a giant pyre in the nearby Cocula garbage dump. The independent experts assembled by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights took apart that version earlier this month, saying authorities knew who the students were from the minute they headed for Iguala, and at the very least did nothing to stop the attacks. They say the funeral pyre simply didn’t happen, and suggest the attack occurred because students unknowingly hijacked a bus carrying illegal drugs or money. Iguala is known as a transit hub for
heroin going to the United States. Families say the judicial neglect extends to Mondragon and five others killed that night. His fellow students Daniel Solis and Julio Cesar Ramirez, were shot dead at close range. Driver Victor Manuel Lugo Ortiz and David Jose Garcia Evangelista, 15, died when police fired at a soccer team bus. Blanca Montiel, 40, was killed by stray gunfire while riding in a taxi. Mondragon had been on one of the buses when it was attacked, then later showed up at a press conference the students called at 12:30 a.m. amid the mayhem. He fled when police opened fire. Witnesses said shortly after they last saw him, they heard screams from someone they
Pope Francis shakes hands with a New York Police Department officer while visiting the 9/11 Memorial plaza, Friday, in New York.
Pope decries damage to environment Francis visits ground zero in NY By NICOLE WINFIELD AND JENNIFER PELTZ ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — In a day of both forceful words and eloquent silence, Pope Francis stood before the United Nations on Friday to decry the destruction of the environment through the “selfish and boundless thirst” for profit, then paid tribute to the victims of 9/11 with a prayer service at ground zero. Francis’ agenda for his first full day in New York was packed with contrasts befitting a head of state dubbed the “slum pope” for his devotion to the poor. With a schedule expected to take him from the
See MEXICO PAGE 11A See POPE PAGE 11A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Free Health Care Clinic. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Zapata County Pavilion, 23rd Avenue at Glenn Street, Zapata. Appointments: 728-0210. Zapata Lions Club 1st Melvin Jones Fellowship Award Banquet honoring Humberto Gonzalez Jr. for his 55 years of service. The banquet will begin at 7 p.m. at the conference room at IBC Bank, 909 Hidalgo Blvd., Zapata. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 2 p.m.: Accidental Astronaut; 3 p.m.: Secret of the Cardboard Rocket; 4 p.m.: Star Signs; 5 p.m.: Black Holes. 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’s 2nd annual Rio Grande Arts Festival at the Winners Showcase. From 7:30 p.m. to midnight at the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center theater on West End Washington Street. 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. Spiritual Wisdom of Conquering Fear, 1–2:30 p.m., Room A. Laredo Public Library, 1120 E. Calton. Se habla español. For more info please call 210831-7113 or go to www.Eckankar-Texas.org.
Today is Saturday, September 26, the 269th day of 2015. There are 96 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On September 26, 1960, the first-ever debate between presidential nominees took place as Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard M. Nixon faced off before a national TV audience from Chicago. On this date: In 1777, British troops occupied Philadelphia during the American Revolution. In 1789, Thomas Jefferson was confirmed by the Senate to be the first United States secretary of state; John Jay, the first chief justice; Edmund Randolph, the first attorney general. In 1892, John Philip Sousa and his newly formed band performed publicly for the first time, at the Stillman Music Hall in Plainfield, New Jersey. In 1937, the radio drama “The Shadow,” starring Orson Welles, premiered on the Mutual Broadcasting System. In 1945, Hungarian-born composer Bela Bartok, 64, died in New York City. In 1955, following word that President Dwight D. Eisenhower had suffered a heart attack, the New York Stock Exchange saw its worst price decline since 1929. In 1964, the situation comedy “Gilligan’s Island” premiered on CBS-TV. In 1986, William H. Rehnquist was sworn in as the 16th chief justice of the United States, while Antonin Scalia joined the Supreme Court as its 103rd member. In 1990, the Motion Picture Association of America announced it had created a new rating, NC-17, to replace the X rating. (The first movie to receive the new rating was “Henry & June.”) In 1991, four men and four women began a two-year stay inside a sealed-off structure in Oracle, Arizona, called Biosphere 2. (They emerged from Biosphere on this date in 1993.) Ten years ago: Army Pfc. Lynndie England was convicted by a military jury in Fort Hood, Texas, on six of seven counts stemming from the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal. (England was sentenced to three years in prison; she ended up serving half that time.) Five years ago: Gloria Stuart, the 1930s Hollywood beauty who later became the oldest Academy Award acting nominee as the spunky survivor in “Titanic,” died in Los Angeles at age 100. One year ago: American warplanes and drones hit Islamic State group targets in Syria and Iraq as the U.S.-led coalition expanded to include Britain, Denmark and Belgium. Today’s Birthdays: Retired baseball All-Star Bobby Shantz is 90. Actor Philip Bosco is 85. Country singer David Frizzell is 74. Actress Mary Beth Hurt is 69. Singer Olivia Newton-John is 67. Actor James Keane is 63. Actress Melissa Sue Anderson is 53. Actress Melanie Paxon is 43. Jazz musician Nicholas Payton is 42. Singer-actress Christina Milian is 34. Tennis player Serena Williams is 34. Thought for Today: “Pity the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” — Don Marquis, American journalist-author (1878-1937).
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 All you can eat spaghetti lunch sponsored by the United Methodist Men, 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 its 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. TAMIU LBV Planetarium invites the public to the telescopic observation of the ‘Supermoon’ lunar eclipse from 8–11 p.m. at the east end of the Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center. Viewers should bring a lawn chair and dress warmly. For more information, please contact Peter Davis, Planetarium director, at 326-3128 or email peter.davis@tamiu.edu.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 Chess Club meets at the LBV–Inner City Branch Library from 4–6 p.m. Free for all ages and skill levels. Basic instruction is offered. Call John at 7952400, x2521.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 6 p.m.: Cosmic Adventures; 7 p.m.: Led Zeppelin. General Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. For more information call 956-326DOME (3663). The Elysian Social Club members will celebrate its 75th anniversary at the International Bank of Commerce, 1200 San Bernardo Ave. 6–9 p.m. Take the challenge and climb the Rock Wall. Free. All participants must bring ID and sign release form. 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at LBV–Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Call 7952400, x2520.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 Laredo A&M Mothers’ Club monthly meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Los Patios, 4653 Casa Blanca Rd. Mothers who have children at Texas A&M in College Station are invited to attend.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 6 p.m.: Cosmic Adventures; 7 p.m.: Led Zeppelin. General Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. For more information call 956-326DOME (3663).
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 2 p.m.: Accidental Astronaut; 3 p.m.: Secret of the Cardboard Rocket; 4 p.m.: Star Signs; 5 p.m.: Black Holes. 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).
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4 6th Annual “Blessing of All Animals” from 4 to 5 p.m. at St. Peter’s Plaza.
Photo by Eric Gay | AP file
In this March 6, 2013, file photo, John Potter, a member of the San Antonio Living History Association, patrols the Alamo in San Antonio. Leading academics, archivists and others are criticizing efforts by Texas officials to claim ownership of part of a historical collection at the Alamo that’s considered one of the state’s most important treasures.
Dispute over artifacts By DAVID WARREN ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — Leading academics, archivists and others are criticizing efforts by Texas officials to claim ownership of part of a historical collection at the Alamo that’s considered one of the state’s most important treasures. In a letter sent Friday to General Land Office Commissioner George P. Bush, the group argues that the private library maintained by the nonprofit Daughters of the Republic of Texas is one of the finest research facilities in the state. The letter notes the library houses about 38,000 items, from books, maps and flags to paintings, manuscripts and other artifacts. The letter contends that the General Land Office’s claim of ownership “would set an untenable precedent that would potentially impact the ownership of every Texas mu-
seum and library collection acquired through donations.” Among those who signed the letter was former Texas state archivist David B. Gracy II, who said the state agency doesn’t have the expertise to manage the archives. “There’s nothing in the functioning of the (Daughters of the Republic) library that suggests that it needs to be taken over by anybody,” Gracy said. A spokeswoman for the state agency declined comment, citing a pending lawsuit filed by the Daughters over the issue. But in court filings responding to the lawsuit, the General Land Office says it doesn’t want control of the entire collection. Instead, it argues that some of the items belong to the state because taxpayer dollars were used to purchase them. The agency is pushing for a better accounting of the collection.
State Fair of Texas opens in Dallas for 24-day run
Pharmacist charged with distributing oxycodone
Man accused of wounding two band students
DALLAS — The State Fair of Texas has begun a 24-day run including food, football and fun for the crowds. The gates opened Friday at Fair Park in Dallas with the theme “Passport to Texas.” One new attraction is the Lone Star Horse Spectacular, offering the history of Texas through horses, flags and music. The fair runs through Oct. 18.
PLANO — A North Texas pharmacist has been indicted on charges of conspiracy to distribute large amounts of the painkiller oxycodone. John Christopher Esparza, 29, allegedly sold large quantities of oxycodone to an informant. An investigation showed that about $2.9 million of oxycodone was unaccounted for in the pharmacy’s inventory records.
NEW BRAUNFELS — A South Texas man has been accused of using a pellet gun to shoot two high school band students as they practiced outside on campus. New Braunfels police say band members were practicing when they heard popping sounds. Two students realized they were struck by what appeared to be pellets.
33 bikers fight gag order in Waco biker shooting
Man charged after police patrol car stolen
3 San Antonio officers charged in sex case
WACO — Thirty-three bikers are asking that a gag order imposed in a case connected to a Texas shootout in which nine bikers were killed be lifted. The bikers filed a “friend of the court” brief Friday in support of the motion filed by an attorney for Matthew Clendennen, the only person among 177 arrested after the shooting who has filed a lawsuit.
HOUSTON — Houston police say a stabbing suspect faces charges of stealing a patrol car and trying to run over an officer. Police say 37-year-old William L. Rhodes was being held Friday on charges of aggravated assault against a public servant and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. No officers were hurt Thursday when responding to a fight outside a bar and a man stabbed.
SAN ANTONIO — Three San Antonio police officers are accused of having several women sign contracts agreeing to do anything as part of an investigation, including have sex with them. Officers Aaron Alford, Alejandro Chapa and Emmanuel Galindo were charged Thursday with official oppression. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION Critics say duck boats are too dangerous for city SEATTLE — Even before a duck boat crashed into a charter bus in Seattle, killing four international students, calls had emerged for greater oversight and even an outright ban on the military-style vehicles that allow tourists to see cities by road and water. Critics say the large amphibious vehicles are built for war, not for ferrying tourists on narrow city streets. “Duck boats are dangerous on the land and on the water. They shouldn’t be allowed to be used,” Robert Mongeluzzi, a Philadelphia attorney, said Friday, renewing his call for a moratorium on their operation nationwide.
Dalai Lama cancels October US visit MINNEAPOLIS — The Dalai Lama says his doctors are advis-
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Emergency personnel work at the scene of a fatal collision involving a charter bus, center left, and a "Ride the Ducks" amphibious tour bus on the Aurora Bridge in Seattle on Thursday. ing him to rest and so he is canceling a planned October visit to the United States. The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader made the announcement on his website Friday, a few hours after the University of Colorado announced he had can-
celed his visit there. The 80-year-old Dalai Lama was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, this week for what was described as a checkup. The statement gave no more details about his condition. — 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
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Pope urges everybody to be civil WASHINGTON — “Oh, so you drank the KoolAid,” my neighbor superciliously sneered from the stoop he occupies each afternoon to sip wine and critique people’s parking skills on our beloved Olive Street. I did, I confessed. I grabbed the pope’s chalice, gulped it down and asked for more. It was magical. Palliative. Heavenly. For a few hours, I felt un-cynical. I wanted to be a better person and say nice things about Donald Trump. I wanted to invite strangers into my home, wash their feet and feed them fishes and loaves. I wanted to convert. And then morning came, the dog barked, (no cocks crowing, thankfully) and reality lifted me from the reverie of prayer and pressed me into the friction of deadlines, bills and the blasted construction site behind my house going on two years now. I washed my own feet, ate a gruel of hot oats, and cursed the blithering, bombastic, baying of the anti-pope — You-KnowWho. My snap-back to everydayness is not meant to diminish the joyous occasion of Francis’ visit to the nation’s capital. Long his admirer, I love his kindness, his gentle ways, his genuine affection for the poor and downtrodden. I love his openness, his call for tolerance and inclusivity, his appeal to our better angels. He makes me happy. I also love the Golden Rule, which was Francis’ resounding message to the U.S. Congress. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It’s a simple sentiment that pretty well sums up the practices of Christianity. All of the doctrinal debate and theological parsing of Scripture can be reduced to these 11 words. The brilliance of Francis’ address to America’s leadership and to el pueblo — the people — was his nuanced approach to our most divisive challenges — immigration, climate change, the sanctity of life. Careful not to preach, he encouraged thinking of a higher order. Without naming abortion, he said we should protect human life at all its stages. Applying the Golden Rule, would we want to have been aborted, we asked ourselves? The answer lies in the question, which can only be asked of the living. From this subliminal suggestion, Francis segued to the death penalty and his hope that all nations would put an end to it. What else would the Vicar of Christ say? The most consequential stateordered death penalty in
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KATHLEEN PARKER
human history created a movement and a faith that beseeched us to forgive those who trespass against us, to love our enemies and to turn the other cheek. Francis further insisted that rehabilitation should be the goal of our justice system. After all, forgiveness and redemption are fundamental to the Christian faith. Ultimate justice, by which some rationalize the state murder of transgressors, belongs to the heavenly realm. The point is, Pope Francis spoke not of policies but of fundamental Christian as well as universal truths. Those on either side of the political spectrum who sought validation for their own positions might have found them in his words, but they will have looked too hard. The Pope isn’t a socialist, as some might infer from his plea that we not worship money. He’s not a proponent of immigration amnesty in the particular, as some might think. Rather he’s for open hearts and generous spirits. It’s up to us to figure out how to make practicable that which is divinely inspired. Francis referred often to the common good, which can be imagined in a variety of ways, from a society that redistributes wealth to a sublimation of the individual. But church catechism means something else by the common good as “the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily.” How we ensure the common good is the business of politics — and Francis attempted to provide a moral compass to guide us. In the coming weeks, as analysts dissect the meaning of the pope’s address to Congress, it would be helpful to remember that the pope is a proxy for the Almighty, who has a rather grand view of things. His vision isn’t locked on our southern border but on the heavenly horizon. His aspirations are divinely inspired. Most of us can’t dwell in this holy realm in our daily lives, but we can easily remember the Golden Rule, which is decent start to any day. In this spirit, fine: May Donald Trump have a good hair day. And long may the Pope’s flag wave. (Kathleen Parker’s email address is kathleenparker@washpost.com)
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 name-calling 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.
EDITORIAL
Iran wants respect but keeps an innocent reporter jailed THE WASHINGTON POST
With the international community preparing to lift most sanctions on Iran, its president, Hassan Rouhani, no doubt will present his nation as ready to take its rightful, respected place in the world when he addresses the U.N. General Assembly on Monday. The world, including the Obama administration, should think twice about that. Any nation that holds innocent journalists captive, in violation of its own laws and of international norms, will be regarded with suspicion, and deservedly so. Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian was seized by Iranian security officials 14 months ago. Iran has never made clear why, but officially his detention is based on what the State Department has called “patently absurd” allegations of espionage and aiding a hostile government. Iranian law says no one may be detained for long-
er than a year without a conviction, unless accused of murder. No conviction has been announced, but Rezaian remains imprisoned. That is Exhibit One concerning Iran’s trustworthiness as a law-abiding state. Rezaian’s trial was conducted in secret, and he’s been allowed little contact with his court-appointed lawyer or with relatives. His trial apparently concluded a month ago. Verdicts are supposed to be rendered within two weeks, but his lawyer has not been informed of one. That is Exhibit Two.
Against the law The outrage of Rezaian’s detention extends beyond the niceties of Iranian law. U.N. officials have said that his treatment conflicts with international norms. “The arrest, detention and secret trial of Rezaian violate his rights and intimidate all those working in the media in Iran,” Da-
vid Kaye, U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, said last month. In an Aug. 31 report, Secretary General Ban Kimoon expressed concerns about the level of censorship and number of detained journalists in Iran and drew particular attention to Rezaian’s case. “It appears that his arrest and prosecution are linked to his profession as a journalist and his legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of expression,” the report states. Any foreign companies contemplating investment in Iran will have to wonder: To what extent can they count on Iranian courts to protect their assets or their employees? Rezaian, a talented journalist with U.S. and Iranian citizenship, had dedicated his life to improving understanding between the two nations. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called him “a good reporter” and said, more than seven months ago, “I hope
he will be cleared in a court of law. . . . I hope once the court process is completed, we will have a clear-cut case or we will have his acquittal.” Instead, we have continuing lawless limbo, with Rouhani suggesting vaguely that “the American side must take its own steps.” Eager to complete an agreement on Iranian nuclear capability and win approval for it in Congress, the administration has been reluctant to say much about Iran’s egregious human rights violations at home or support of terrorism abroad. We favor the nuclear deal, but that can’t be the only element in the U.S.Iranian relationship. President Obama and Congress both should make clear that further improvement in relations, including the foreign investment that Rouhani craves, is difficult to imagine as long as innocent Americans languish in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.
WORST WEEK IN WASHINGTON
Trump sees his lead shrink By CHRIS CILLIZZA THE WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON — What happens to a candidate whose central message to voters is that he’s winning by a lot, once he’s no longer winning by a lot? That’s the question for Donald Trump, the realitystar real estate investor, who watched this past week as his once-soaring poll numbers began to take a turn for the worse in the wake of the second Repub-
lican presidential debate. Yes, Trump still tops the 15-candidate field in the slew of national polls that have come out since the debate. But his lead has softened significantly in the past two weeks or so. According to the Real Clear Politics average of all polling in the race, Trump was averaging more than 30 percent of the overall vote a fortnight ago but has now sunk below 25 percent. A lead is a lead. But
there’s other evidence out there that the unmatched interest in Trump is waning somewhat. Witness Trump’s speech Wednesday to the South Carolina African American Chamber of Commerce. Despite his insistence that it was a packed house of enthusiastic supporters, photos from the event suggest it, well, wasn’t. And then there was the pledge to boycott Fox News Channel, the news source for conservatives, because
of allegedly unfair treatment. And the feud with National Review editor Rich Lowry. And the attack on Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), a GOP rival, as “sweaty.” Add it all up, and you get a picture of a candidate whose death grip on the Republican race seems to be slipping some. Donald Trump, for looking like you might have peaked, you had the worst week in Washington. Congrats, or something.
CLASSIC DOONESBURY (1985) | GARRY TRUDEAU
State
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
Eagle Ford Shale boomtown busts By ASHER PRICE AND DAN ZEHR AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN
GONZALES — Only a year ago, with oil trading near $100 a barrel, residents of this proud and pretty South Texas boomtown had only one chief complaint: traffic. Heavy-duty trucks bearing gas and equipment were kicking up dust and leaving rural roads pitted. Townspeople don’t have that worry anymore, with roads half-empty as the oil and gas game has slowed. To see what’s at stake for Texas in a shrinking oil economy, one need look no further than Gonzales, 65 miles south of Austin and in the central portion of the Eagle Ford Shale area, which stretches roughly 50 miles wide and 400 miles long in a sweep across what were once some of South Texas’ poorest counties. In a town that long ago made a name for itself as the birthplace of Texas’ battle of independence, the latest malaise suggests how much of its fate is connected to an industry over which it has virtually no control, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Oil now trades under $50, leaving drilling outfits with virtually no incentive to expand on the sort of exploration that brought itinerant workers to this community for jobs several years ago. Now, it’s a reverse migration: Less than a month ago, JM Oilfield Services became the latest company to shut down its Gonzales operation, leading to job losses for more than 200 people. Soon, the laid-off, ready to hit the road, were stopping by National Pawn and Jewelry to get what they could for their flat-screen televisions, their drum kits, their guns. “They come here with
Photo by Jay Janner | AP
In this Sept. 17 photo, St. Joseph Street is quiet in downtown Gonzales. To see what’s at stake for Texas in a shrinking oil economy, one need look no further than Gonzales. their hope and dreams, and now they’re back on their own,” said Linda Arriola, an assistant manager at the shop. “We’re going to have a good job — but it’s bad for everyone else.” Across the Eagle Ford region, a similar story is playing out, driven by the depression in oil prices: The Texas Railroad Commission this year is on track to issue less than half the Eagle Ford drilling permits it issued in 2014. And the number of active rigs in Texas dropped by more than half over the past 12 months — from an average of 904 in September 2014 to just 371 now, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. “When the rig count drops, a lot of these jobs and workers on the rigs, jobs driving trucks to haul sand and water, those jobs drop
off pretty quickly,” said Keith Phillips, assistant vice president at the San Antonio branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. “Those people, when they’re in town, are going out to eat, to buy lunch, to shop,” Phillips said, “so those retail establishments will feel it pretty quickly.” Many of the small and midsize oil and gas producers are heading toward the whipsaw, as previous contracts that paid them higher oil prices expire and banks reassess their credit lines in October. As with much of South Texas, the fracking boom had revived Gonzales — “the town was totally dead, a one-horse town,” said Charlotte Guess, who manages commercial property in the town center — with new taxes easily outstripping growing expenses.
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
‘Homegrown terrorist’ By PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — A former top University of Texas student who pleaded guilty to charges of recruiting terrorists said Friday he was not anti-American and expressed remorse before a federal judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Rahatul Ashikim Khan, a Bangladesh-born U.S. citizen and the son of a U.S. Army psychiatrist, is among what federal officials call a growing number of so-called homegrown terrorists who are trying to join or help Islamic insurgents fighting in Syria. FBI spokeswoman Michelle Lee said the bureau has identified roughly 200 people in the U.S. over the past couple years who have planned or traveled overseas to help insurgents. Khan, 24, pleaded guilty last year to material support of terrorism. He was
accused of using Internet message boards to identify potential terrorists while pulling a 3.75 GPA and even as his mother counseled soldiers at Fort Hood who had returned from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. “When I was young, I ran into people who showed me the suffering of people all over the world,” Khan told the court before his sentencing. “That led me to believe I had to do something.” His attorneys say Khan was an impressionable college student who smoked too much marijuana. They argued to U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks that the Justice Department was under pressure to bolster statistics on terrorism-related cases and that Khan, who had unknowingly worked with a confidential informant, had already started turning a leaf before his arrest.
But federal prosecutors say the damage had been done. Another Texas man who pleaded guilty to similar charges, Michael Wolfe, was sentenced in June to nearly seven years in prison after being arrested last summer at an airport. Prosecutors say Wolfe was on his way to Syria and accused Khan of helping him nearly getting on the plane. Others may have also been influenced by Khan, prosecutors said. “I don’t know that the government knows all the people he planted seeds with,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregg Sofer said. “The stakes are incredibly high here for the U.S.” Khan’s mother and other family members asked the judge for leniency, saying he owned up to his mistake and had a good heart. Sparks called his sentence reasonable and described Khan’s actions before being caught as scary.
PÁGINA 6A
Zfrontera CORTE FEDERAL
Ribereña en Breve
Antecedentes
CLUB LEONES DE ZAPATA Zapata Lions Club invita al primer banquete de premiación Melvin Jones Fellowship, rindiendo homenaje al compañero León, Humberto González, Jr., por sus 55 años de servicio, el sábado 26 de septiembre a las 7 p.m. en la Sala de Conferencias del IBC Bank, 909 Hidalgo Blvd. Informes con Aurelio Villarreal en el (956) 286-3085.
RECOLECCIÓN MEDICAMENTOS Agencias policíacas, proveedores de salud y profesionales del medio ambiente invitan a participar en el programa de recolección de medicamentos, que promueve la DEA, el sábado 26 de septiembre, de 10 a.m. a 4 p.m. en el Zapata County Pavilion, 23rd Ave. y Glenn St. Se aceptarán medicamentos no deseados y/o con fecha vencida.
SEGUROS PARA ARMAS La Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Zapata se une al Proyecto ChildSafe al promover la educación en el manejo y almacenamiento de armas. El sábado 26 de septiembre, de 10 a.m. a 4 p.m. se realizará entrega de equipos de seguridad (seguros para armas) en Zapata County Pavilion, 23rd Ave. y Glenn St.
SÁBADO 26 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2015
POR CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Una pareja fue arrestada y acusada de tráfico de personas en el Condado de Zapata, de acuerdo con registros de la corte federal. Uno de los sospechosos, Jaime Javier Buentello, de Zapata, cuenta con antecedentes con la Patrulla Fronteriza, de acuerdo con reportes. “Buentello… ha sido registrado como un reconocido explorador, guía, conductor que opera principalmente en el Condado de Zapata, Texas”, señala la querella criminal presentada el 18 de septiembre. “En ocasiones pasadas (Buentello) ha sido arrestado por agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza, por contrabando y exploración. Él admitió libremente que él es un integrante en la (organización para contraban-
do de personas, y contrabando de drogas) de San Ygnacio”. Buentello y Ariana Jasmine Sandoval fueron acusados de transportar a cuatro personas indocumentadas el 16 de septiembre. Alrededor de las 11 a.m., agentes se estacionaron por la propiedad El Tejón en el Condado de Zapata, donde observaron un vehículo Pontiac Torrent, color negro, que se dirigía al norte. La Patrulla Fronteriza sostuvo que el vehículo había estado involucrado en un intento de contrabando de humanos previamente. Conforme los agentes se acercaron al vehículo, el conductor aceleró, señalan registros. Entonces, después que los agentes detuvieron el vehículo, realizaron una inspección de inmigración a los ocupantes. “Claramente (los agentes) identificaron al conductor, un ciudadano
(de EU), como Buentello… un reconocido contrabandista que opera en el área de Zapata”, señalan registros. Las autoridades identificaron a Sandoval como una pasajera. Además, agentes dijeron que notaron a varias personas en el asiento posterior y también a un hombre recostado en el área de carga del Pontiac, de acuerdo con documentos de la corte. Al preguntarle sobre su destino, Buentello supuestamente respondió que llevaba a las personas a Laredo. Todos fueron detenidos y trasladados a la Estación de Patrulla Fronteriza de Zapata. En un interrogatorio posterior al arresto, Buentello supuestamente dijo a los agentes que un hombre, a quien identificó como Cristóbal Peña, le ofreció, a través de Facebook,
MIGUEL ALEMÁN, MÉXICO
TEXAS
ARRANCA FIT 2015
Aceptan movían narcóticos
FIT 2015 NUEVO GUERRERO — “Carro de Comedias de la UNAM” se presenta el 27 de septiembre a las 7 p.m. en el Parque de la Comisión; “Baúl Teatro” se presenta el 1 de octubre a las 7 p.m. en Plaza Ruíz Cortinez; “Colectivo Trueque” se presenta el 2 de octubre a la 1 p.m. en Secundaria # 61; “Juan Rogelio y Familia Ruiz” se presentan el 4 de octubre a las 7 p.m. en Teatro del Pueblo. Eventos gratuitos. CAMARGO — “Gerardo Contreras” se presenta el 26 de septiembre a las 8 p.m. en Plaza Hidalgo; “Baúl Teatro” se presenta el 2 de octubre a las 11 a.m. en Escuela Antonia López Ochoa Zona Centro. Eventos gratuitos. CIUDAD MIER — “Carro de Comedias de la UNAM” se presenta el 26 de septiembre a las 8 p.m. en Plaza Juárez; “Artistas Independientes” se presentan el 27 de septiembre a las 8 p.m. en Plaza Juárez; “Baúl Teatro” se presenta el 28 de septiembre a las 11 a.m. en Escuela Club de Leones No. 1; “Artefactum Caravana Cultural” se presenta el 1 de octubre a las 8 p.m. en Plaza Juárez; “Ran Rataplán Teatro” se presenta el 4 de octubre a las 8 p.m. en Plaza Juárez. Eventos gratuitos. MIGUEL ALEMÁN — “Trova Son para Siempre” se presenta el 26 de septiembre a las 5 p.m. en Plaza Principal; “Gerardo Contreras” se presenta el 27 de septiembre a las 5 p.m. en Plaza Principal’ “Manuel Alaffita” se presenta el 2 de octubre a las 5 p.m. en Plaza Principal; y, “En Blanco y Negro” se presenta el 3 de octubre a las 5 p.m. en Plaza Principal.
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.
transportar a los inmigrantes a Laredo. Peña es un reclutador, con participación activa en la Organización Criminal Trasnacional Rubio, que opera en Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, Tamaulipas, México, y Zapata, de acuerdo con documentos de la corte. Buentello esperaba un pago de 200 dólares por persona, de acuerdo con documentos. “Sandoval señaló que no recibiría un pago y que Buentello le mencionó que después del intento de contrabando, le daría dinero par su hija”, señala la querella. Buentello estaba encargado de dejar a los inmigrantes en Dollar General, cerca de Wal-Mart al Sur de Laredo, señala la querella. (Localice a César G. Rodriguez en 728-2568 o en cesar@lmtonline.com)
TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Miguel Alemán
El Alcalde de Miguel Alemán, México, Ramiro Cortéz Barrera, admira una de las obras del artista plástico Aldemar Moreno Maldonado cuya exhibición inició el Festival Internacional Tamaulipas 2015, en el Museo Histórico Municipal.
Exposición marca inicio de actividades ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
C
on una exhibición de artes plásticas arrancó el Festival Internacional Tamaulipas (FIT) en Ciudad Miguel Alemán, México. El Alcalde de la ciudad fronteriza, Ramiro Cortez Barrera, dijo que es de suma importancia la implementación de programas culturales que den identidad a los pueblos.
Las obras del artista tamaulipeco, Aldemar Moreno Maldonado se encuentran exhibiéndose en el Museo Histórico Municipal. Moreno Maldonado ha presentado sus obras en varias salas de México, así como en el extranjero. “Nos sentimos orgullosos de que Miguel Alemán pueda iniciar el FIT 2015 con las obras de Moreno, donde podemos admirar su técnica”, expresó Cortez Ba-
rrera. “Somos testigos de un hecho trascendental que viene a comprobar que la cultura y la historia de un pueblo se fomenta con la participación y el interés de su gente”. El corte de listón del evento estuvo a cargo de Cortez Barrera, la presidenta del Sistema DIF Municipal, Andrea Aguirre de Cortez, y la representa del gobernador de Tamaulipas, Amelia Vitales Rodríguez.
MÉXICO
Buscan pistas ante homicidio de padre y hermano de cineasta ASSOCIATED PRESS
VERACRUZ, México — Autoridades de Veracruz aseguran que ha habido muy poco avance en la investigación acerca de los homicidios del padre y hermano del director de cine mexicano, Alejandro Monteverde, una semana después de que los cuerpos de las víctimas fueran encontrados. Omar Zúñiga, vocero para la oficina del fiscal estatal de Veracruz, dijo el jueves que la investigación continúa en relación a la muerte de Juan Manuel Gómez Fernández y Juan Manuel Gómez Monteverde. Alejandro Monteverde está casado con la actriz y ex Miss USA, Ali Landry. Los dos fallecidos son el suegro y cuñado de Landry. Oficiales están realizando pruebas sobre un vehículo que supuestamente utilizaron los responsables. Tiene placas del estado de Tamaulipas. Los cuerpos fueron encontrados el 19 de septiembre en Pueblo Viejo, al norte de Veracruz, cerca de la frontera de Tamaulipas. Los hombres habían sido reportados como desaparecidos el 4 de septiembre. Ambos salían de su casa en Tampico, Tamaulipas, ciudad donde Gómez Monteverde
Foto de archivo/Matt Sayles | Associated Press
La imagen de archivo muestra a Alejandro Monteverde y Ali Landry, en Los Ángeles. Autoridades mexicanas investigan el homicidio del padre y del hermano de Monteverde, ocurrido la semana pasada en Veracruz. tiene un restaurante, de acuerdo con un reporte de The Latin Times. Ambos fueron asesinados inclusive después que fuera pagado el rescate a los secuestradores, según reporte de The Wrap. Padre e hijo tenías varias heridas en la cabeza. Pese a que ni Alejandro Monteverde, ni Landry han hecho un comentario oficial, el productor y nativo de Tampico, Eduardo Verástegui, expresó sus condolen-
cias a través de su cuenta de Twitter, dio a conocer el San Antonio Express-News. “Con el corazón llenó de dolor y tristeza, pido oraciones para mi amigo y compadre, Alejandro Gómez Monteverde y su familia”, escribió Verástegui a inicios de semana. “…Pongo mi corazón en sus manos y los acompaño en su dolor”. Verástegui produjo la película mas reciente de Alejandro Gómez Monteverde, “Little Boy”.
Recientemente, 18 personas, acusadas de estar involucradas en una organización con base en Laredo la cual transportaba cargamentos de narcóticos para Los Zetas, se declararon culpables a cargos por lavado de dinero y narcóticos. De acuerdo a autoridades a cargo de la Operación Trena Sin Trono, Erasmo Abdón Trejo-Nava era la cabeza de una célula de transporte que operaba fuera de Laredo y era uno de los transportistas primarios de cargamentos de marihuana para el cártel de drogas de Los Zetas en Nuevo Laredo, México. Desde principios de junio del 2011 y hasta junio del 2013, Trejo Nava conspiró con otros para posesión con intento de distribuir un exceso de 1.000 kilogramos de marihuana, además de conspirar para lavado de dinero, según la investigación. Mientras que el propio Trejo-Nava transporta cargamentos de marihuana para él mismo, Jaime Montalvo-Ruiz y Ovidio Rodríguez, Joshua Sánchez y Ricardo Ramírez tenían la tarea de recibir los cargamentos de marihuana por parte de Trejo-Nava para MontalvoRuiz. Salvador Saldaña Medrano fue un co acusado que apoyó a Montalvo-Ruiz en la coordinación de la entrega de marihuana a Trejo-Nava para que ésta fuera transportada a Dallas y también coordinó la recepción de narcóticos procedentes de Trejo-Nava a nombre de Montalvo-Ruiz. Gerardo Moreno Recio brindó apoyo en la casa de seguridad utilizada por la organización. Juan Manuel VargasAguilar envolvió y preparó la marihuana en las casas de seguridad y realizó paquetes para identificarlos una vez que llegaran al área de Dallas. Victor Hugo Trejo asistió en el transporte de la marihuana desde casas de seguridad a una bodega local. Francisco Colin suministró trailers y proporcionó conductores de camiones dispuestos a transportar los cargamentos de marihuana. Mario Alberto Rodríguez y José Ángel Trejo apoyaron al colocar los cargamentos de marihuana en cajas de almacén y transportarlas a Dallas para suministrar los narcóticos. Ángel Trejo también reclutó un conductor para transportar un cargamento de marihuana para la organización. Arturo Alfonso Lozano y Leocadio Rodríguez recibieron los cargamentos de marihuana en Dallas a nombre de TrejoNava, Montalvo Ruiz y Ovidio Rodríguez y fueron responsables de clasificar y distribuir la marihuana en Dallas y cobrar las ganancias. Erika Álvarez era una mensajera de las ganancias por drogas quien viajó a Dallas para transportar las ganancias de regreso a Laredo. Laura Heredia García, quien también fungió como mensajera de las ganancias por narcóticos fue asignada para transportar las ganancias recibidas en Laredo a México, en su vehículo personal. Como parte del esquema para lavado de dinero, Trejo-Nava, Raquel Margarita Ramos Jiménez y Leslie Bernice Trejo realizaron transacciones financieras designadas a ocultar y disfrazar la naturaleza, propiedad, control y fuente de los recursos y para evitar los reportes reglamentarios de transportación. Las ganancias de la venta de narcóticos también fueron usadas para adquirir bienes raíces y bienes inmobiliarios.
National
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
House Speaker Boehner resigns
US, China agree to curb cyberspying
By ERICA WERNER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
By JULIE PACE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Plunging Congress into deeper turmoil, House Speaker John Boehner abruptly announced his resignation Friday, shutting down a tea party drive to depose the nation’s highest-ranking Republican but opening up fresh troubles for the GOP. The 13-term Ohio lawmaker, second in line to the presidency, shocked his rank-and-file when he told them of his plans in an emotional closed-door meeting. He said he would step down from the speaker’s job he’s held for nearly five years, and from Congress, at the end of October. One important result: A government shutdown threatened for next week is all but sure to be averted — but only for now. A new December deadline and a potentially market-rattling fight over the government’s borrowing limit still lie ahead. Boehner’s announcement came one day after a high point of his congressional career, a historic speech by Pope Francis to Congress at the speaker’s request. It also came before what would have been a new low: a potential floor vote to oust him as speaker, pushed by Republican tea partyers convinced he was capitulating in a struggle over Planned Parenthood funding that threatened a government shutdown next Thursday. Such a formal challenge against a speaker has not been used in the House for over 100 years. On Friday, an upbeat Boehner declared that he’d decided to spare the House, and himself, the chaos such a vote would bring. “It’s become clear to me that this prolonged leadership turmoil would do ir-
Photo by Jacquelyn Martin | AP
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio pauses during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday. In a stunning move, Boehner informed fellow Republicans on Friday that he would resign from Congress at the end of October. reparable harm to the institution,” he said. “I don’t want my members to have to go through this. I certainly don’t want the institution to go through this,” he said. Of his resignation, he said, “Frankly, I am entirely comfortable doing it” — and he broke into a brief refrain of “Zip-a-DeeDoo-Dah” to demonstrate his point. Even as he announced his plans to leave, Boehner told lawmakers they could expect to vote next week on legislation to fund the government through Dec. 11 with Planned Parenthood funding intact, a bill likely to pass with Democratic help, notwithstanding conservative complaints. So no shutdown for now. But Boehner will leave behind a stack of other problems, including the new December funding deadline, a crucial highway bill, and the annual battle over the federal borrowing limit. And it’s not clear that the next speaker will have any easier time taming the unruly tea party lawmakers who forced Boehner out, or making the deals with the White House and Senate Republicans that Boehner habitually cut to keep the
gears of government running. Although a disorderly leadership race is certain for some of the top jobs, the likeliest contender to replace Boehner is his current No. 2, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, whom Boehner endorsed on Friday, saying he “would make an excellent speaker.” After Boehner’s announcement, President Barack Obama praised him as “a good man” and a patriot. “Maybe most importantly, he’s somebody who understands that in government and governance, you don’t get 100 percent of what you want,” the president said. “We can have significant differences on issues but that doesn’t mean you shut down the government.” With his relaxed and sociable demeanor, love of golf and well-known tendency to cry in public, Boehner was popular among House Republicans. But though he is also known as a strong conservative, his tactics were never confrontational enough to satisfy the most conservative faction. He said he had planned all along to announce in November that he was resigning at the end of this year.
WASHINGTON — Skeptical of Chinese assurances on cyberspying, President Barack Obama on Friday laid out a fresh threat of sanctions for economic espionage emanating from China, even as he and President Xi Jinping pledged their countries would not conduct or support such hacking. “The question now is: Are words followed by action?” Obama said, standing alongside Xi at a White House news conference. Obama’s wariness underscored deep U.S. concerns about what officials say is China’s massive cyber campaign to steal trade secrets and intellectual property from American companies. While China has publicly denied being behind such activities, U.S. officials say their counterparts in Beijing have begun to take the matter more seriously, as well as the potential impact on ties with Washington. “Confrontation and friction are not the right choice for both sides,” Xi said, speaking through an interpreter. The spying tensions cast a shadow over Xi’s state visit to Washington, a grand affair complete with a formal welcome ceremony and a black-tie dinner. Obama faced criticism from some Republicans for honoring China with a state visit given the cyber concerns, as well as U.S. worries about Beijing’s human rights abuses and assertive posture in territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas. While the latter issues were discussed during Obama and Xi’s lengthy talks, no discernable progress was made. Xi said the Chinese have
Photo by Andrew Harnik | AP
President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping participate in a joint news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Friday. “the right to uphold our own sovereignty” in the South China Sea, where Beijing has alarmed its neighbors with a major campaign of artificial island-building. China has reclaimed about 3,000 acres of land in the past yearand-a-half by dredging sand from the ocean bed. On human rights, long a divisive issue between the U.S. and China, Xi made no commitments, saying only that countries must have the right “to choose their own development independently.” Obama and Xi did herald progress on climate change, one of the few areas of bilateral cooperation that has proceeded smoothly in recent months, largely because Beijing has struggled to contain heavy air, water and soil pollution that has destroyed farmland, sent cancer rates soaring and left its cities cloaked in dense smog. In conjunction with the state visit, Xi announced a blueprint for a nationwide cap-and-trade system beginning in 2017 that would cover highly polluting sectors ranging from power generation to papermaking. China also said it will commit $3.1 billion to help developing countries reduce carbon emissions. At the same time, Oba-
ma has warned that progress on climate change and other issues could be threatened by China’s continued cybertheft of intellectual property. U.S. officials say that while they regularly hack Chinese networks for espionage purposes, they don’t steal corporate secrets and hand them to American companies. Chinese officials traditionally have viewed that distinction as meaningless, saying that national security and economic security are inextricably linked. Ahead of Xi’s visit to Washington, the U.S. administration had been preparing economic sanctions in retaliation for Chinese cybertheft. However, officials decided to hold off on the penalties in hopes that an accord like the one announced Friday could be reached. Still, Obama said the possibility of sanctions against individuals or entities remains on the table. “We will apply those, and whatever other tools we have in our tool kit, to go after cybercriminals either retrospectively or prospectively,” he said. The agreement to clamp down on the theft of trade secrets doesn’t address the theft of national security information.
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
ZAPATA COUNTY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT SPECIAL EDUCATION OFFICE
DISTRITO ESCOLAR INDEPENDIENTE DEL CONDADO DE ZAPATA OFICINA DE EDUCACION ESPECIAL
CONFIDENTIALITY RIGHTS
DERECHOS CONFIDENCIALES
AS A PARENT OF A STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY OR ADULT STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY (18 YEARS OR OLDER OR MARRIED), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO:
USTED, COMO PADRE DE UN ESTUDIANTE CON IMPEDIMENTOS, O ESTUDIANTE ADULTO CON IMPEDIMENTOS DE 18 ANOS EN ADELANTE O CASADO TIENE EL DERECHO DE:
1. RECEIVE A LIST OF THE TYPE AND LOCATION OF YOUR CHILD’S EDUCATIONAL RECORDS WHICH ARE COLLECTED, MAINTAINED, OR USED BY THE SCHOOL (34 CFR 300.565); The student’s records are maintained at the Special Education Office located at 17th & Carla Street and at the school the student attends.
1. RECIBIR UNA LISTA DONDE SE LOCALIZA LOS ARCHIVOS Y TIPO DE EDUCACION QUE RECIBE SU HIJO(A) QUE SE CONSERVAN, O QUE SE UTILIZAN EN LAS ESCUELAS (34 CFR 300.565); Los archivos de los estudiantes se conservan en la oficina del Departamento de Educaciòn Especial ubicada en 17th & Carla asì como en la escuela a la que asiste el estudiante. La informaciòn de referencia, el reporte del comitè de Admisiòn, Repaso, y Retiro (ARD), reporte de servicios relacionados, reportes de evaluaciòn, y correspondencia que estè relacionada con el estudiante se conservan en el archivo principal en la oficina del Departamento de Educaciòn Especial. El archivo que permanece en la escuela contiene copias del reporte de Admisiòn, Repaso y Retiro (ARD), reportes del comitè, y El Plan Individual de Educaciòn (IEP).
The referral information, the Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) Committee reports, the related service reports, assessment reports, and any correspondence pertaining to the student is kept in the main folder at the Special Education Office. The school folder contains the copies of the Admission, Review, or Dismissal (ARD), and Individual Educational Plan. 2. INSPECT AND REVIEW ALL OF YOUR CHILD’S EDUCATIONAL RECORDS WITHOUT UNNECESSARY DELAY AND BEFORE ANY IEP MEETING OR DUE PROCESS HEARING AND IN NO CASE MORE THAN 45 DAYS AFTER YOUR REQUEST (34 CFR 300.562). When you and/or a student makes the request, the Director of Special Instructional Services will ensure that before records are made available, identification will be required when the request is received from an individual of the specified classification who is not personally known. Each request will be honored as soon as possible, but the time will be no longer than forty-five days. The superintendent of schools will be notified if a request cannot be honored in time. A suitable place for record inspection will be provided by the Director of Special Instructional Services. The Director will see that a notification is placed in the student record folder indicating date of access, name of individual obtaining access, and reason for inspection. 3. SEE A LIST OF THOSE PERSONS, BESIDES YOU OR AUTHORIZED SCHOOL EMPLOYEES, WHO HAVE SEEN YOUR CHILD’S EDUCTIONAL RECORDS AND WHY THEY SAW THEM. (34 CFR 300.563) The district will not honor requests for personally identifiable information or records unless authorized by written consent by the parent/guardian or eligible student unless requested by responsible school officials needing the information to provide educational services to the student. Responsible school officials are considered to be representatives of the school listed in Texas Education Agency, Region One Education Center, and the United States Government. The Director will be responsible to determine that representatives of the agencies listed above have a legitimate need to the information to carry out an audit or monitoring function. The list of persons who have seen your child’s records will be maintained in the individual student folder for seven consecutive years. The Director of Special Instructional Services assumes the responsibility for ensuring the confidentiality of any personally identifiable information. If you have any concerns regarding the confidentiality rights, feel free to write or call: CARMEN G. ZAVALA DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICES 1302 Glenn Street / P.O. BOX 158 ZAPATA, TEXAS (956) 765-6130 (956) 765-3967 Fax
2. REVISAR Y REPASAR TODOS LOS ARCHIVOS EDUCATIVOS DE SU HIJO(A) SIN TENER QUE ESPERAR MUCHO TIEMPO, Y ANTES DE CUALQUIER JUNTA DE IEP O AUDIENCIA, Y POR NINGUN MOTIVO ESPERAR MAS DE 45 DIAS DESPUES DE HACER SU SOLICITUD (34 CFR 300.562). Cuando usted o el estudiante hace la solicitud, el Director del Programa de Instrucción Especial , deberà solicitar, ya sea por escrito o verbalmente, que estos archivos le sean proporcionados. El Director se reserva el derecho de pedir identificaciòn al solicitante, si este no es ampliamente conocido. Cada solicitud serà atendida lo màs pronto posible, y siempre antes de los 45 dias. Se darà aviso oportunamente al Superintendente de las escuelas si por algun motivo la solicitud no puede ser atendida dentro de los 45 dìas. El Director del Programa de Instrucción Especial asignará un lugar apropiado para el repaso de los archivos. El Director anotarà en el archivo del estudiante la fecha en que se llevò a cabo el repaso del archivo, el nombre de la persona que hizo la solicitud, y la razòn por la cual se hizo el repaso. 3. TENER ACCESO A L A LISTA DE PERSONAS, ADEMAS DE USTED O PERSONAL AUTORIZADO DE LAS ESCUELAS, QUE HAN TENIDO ACCESO A LOS ARCHIVOS EDUCATIVOS DE SU HIJO(A) Y LA RAZON POR LO CUAL FUERON REVISADOS (34 CFR 300.563). El distrito no atenderà la solicitud para la revisiòn de archivos con informaciòn personal si no està autorizada por escrito por los padres/tutores o estudiante elegible y solamante se està autorizado por algùn oficial responsable de la escuela que necesite la informaciòn para prestar servicios educativos al estudiante. Oficial responsable de la escuela se considera a aquellas personas que se considera sean representantes de la escuela segùn la lista del Boletìn de la Agencia de Educaciòn de Texas, Centro Educativo Region I, la Agencia de Educaciòn de Texas, y el gobierno de los Estados Unidos. El Director tendrà a su cargo la responsibilidad de verificar que las razones de los representantes de las agencias arriba mencionadas sean legìtimas y necesarias para llevar acabo una auditorìa o para supervisar las actividades. Una lista de las personas que han revisado el archivo de su hijo(a) se mantendràn en el archivo personal del estudiante por un perìodo de siete años consecutivos. El Director del Programa de Instrucción Especial es responsable de mantener información confidencial y no podrà dar ninguna informaciòn a la persona sin presentar propia identificaciòn y consentimiento de los padres o tutor. Si tiene alguna duda sobre sus derechos confidenciales, puede llamar o escribir a: CARMEN G. ZAVALA DIRECTOR DEL PROGRAMA DE EDUCACION ESPECIAL 1302 Glenn Street / P.O. Box 158 Zapata, Texas 78076 (956) 765-6130 (956) 765-3967 Fax
International
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
Russia, Ukraine nearing deal By JOHN-THOR DAHLBURG ASSOCIATED PRESS
BRUSSELS — Russia and Ukraine ended months of uncertainty and finally reached agreement Friday on supplies of natural gas to Ukraine for the coming winter, a high-ranking European Union official announced. Maros Sefcovic, the EU Commission vice president for energy union, said the deal in talks he brokered assured that Ukraine would receive Russian gas for six months ending in March 2016. The uncertainty over Russian gas supplies has taken place against the backdrop of the wider conflict between Moscow and Ukraine. In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, and a pro-Russian armed insurgency continues in parts of eastern Ukraine, with Ukraine and NATO accusing Moscow of backing and supplying it. Past gas disputes between Russia and Ukraine have led to cut-offs of supply, and one standoff in 2009 caused serious disruptions in shipments of Russian gas to EU countries as well. Last winter, Russia and Ukraine struck an emergency deal on gas prices, but it subsequently expired. EU-sponsored talks seeking a similar accord for the coming winter began in March. The new deal was initialed in Brussels by Sefcovic, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Ukrainian Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn. Demchyshyn said some procedures remained before a formal signing could take place.
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
UN OKs effort to erase poverty By EDITH M. LEDERER ASSOCIATED PRESS
UNITED NATIONS — With the bang of a gavel, international leaders approved an ambitious 15-year plan Friday to tackle the world’s biggest problems, from eradicating poverty to preserving the planet to reducing inequality. Now comes the tough part: Drumming up support and money to achieve the goals and transform the world. Pope Francis gave his backing to the new development agenda in an address to the U.N. General Assembly before the summit to adopt the 17-point plan opened, calling it “an important sign of hope” at a very troubled time in the Middle East and Africa. When General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft struck his gavel to approve the development road map, leaders and diplomats from the 193 U.N. member states stood and applauded loudly. Then, the summit immediately turned to the real business of the three-day meeting — implementation of the goals, which is expected to cost $3.5 trillion to $5 trillion every year until 2030.
Photo by Frank Franklin II | AP
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama addresses the 2015 Sustainable Development Summit on Friday, at the United Nations headquarters. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Kimoon set the stage, saying the agenda “embodies the aspirations of people everywhere for lives of peace, security and dignity on a healthy planet.” The goals “are a to-do list for people and planet, and a blueprint for success,” Ban said. The document, titled “Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,”
not only outlines 17 broad goals but sets 169 specific targets. The non-binding goals succeed the eight Millennium Development Goals adopted 15 years ago. Only one of those has been achieved: halving the number of people living in extreme poverty, due primarily to economic growth in China. At least one other is close — cutting in half the proportion of people without access to clean water.
The new goals include ensuring “healthy lives” and quality education for all, clean water, sanitation and reliable modern energy, as well as making cities safe, reducing inequality within and among countries, and promoting economic growth and good governance. Critics say they are too broad, lack accountability and will lead to disenchantment among those most in need of hope. Supporters say there is no choice but to go big in a world of expanding population, growing inequality, dwindling resources and the existential threat from global warming. They note that while the millennium goals were developed by then secretary-general Kofi Annan and his staff, the new goals are the result of years of negotiations by all 193 member states, which means they should all have a stake in their achievement. Speaker after speaker pointed to the spread of extremist groups as barriers to development, perhaps none more eloquently than Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousefzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban in Pakistan in 2012 for campaigning for girls’ education.
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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
SCOUT Continued from Page 1A charged with transporting four undocumented immigrants Sept. 16. At about 11 a.m., agents parked by El Tejon property in Zapata County observed a black Pontiac Torrent heading north. Border Patrol alleged the vehicle had been involved in a prior human smuggling attempt. As agents approached the vehicle, the driver accelerated, records state. Agents then conducted an immigration inspection on the occupants after the vehicle stopped. “(Agents) clearly identified the driver, a (U.S.) citizen, as Buentello … a well-known smuggler who operates in the Zapata area of responsibility,” records state. Authorities identified the passenger as Sandoval. In addition, agents said they noticed several people in the backseat and also spotted a man lying down in the cargo area of the Pontiac, according to court documents. Asked about their destination, Buentello allegedly replied he was driving the people to Laredo. All were de-
tained and taken to the Zapata Border Patrol Station. In a post-arrest interview, Buentello allegedly told agents that a man he identified as Cristobal Peña offered him via Facebook to transport immigrants to Laredo. Peña is a recruiter, active participant in the Rubio Transnational Criminal Organization, which operates from Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and Zapata, according to court documents. Buentello expected a payment of $200 per person, records state. “Sandoval stated that she was not going to get paid and that Buentello had mentioned to her that after the smuggling attempt, he was going to give her money for their daughter,” states the complaint. Buentello was tasked with dropping the immigrants at the Dollar General near WalMart in South Laredo, states the complaint. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
CHASE Continued from Page 1A this small town of about 6,000 people occurred about 1:30 a.m., after Edna police tried to pull over a 2003 Ford Explorer on a traffic violation and the driver sped away. The chase ended about 10 minutes later when he lost control of the vehicle, sending four of the occupants flying. Seven people were injured and two tried to flee, but were captured. Residents said the crash was tragic, but not surprising, because incidents involving law enforcement and human traffickers were not uncommon along this stretch of highway, a major artery linking the U.S.-Mexico border and Houston. Clinton Wooldridge, chief of the Edna Police Department, said investigators are trying to identify the SUV occupants. He said he believes the driver was the only U.S. citizen in the vehicle. He did not know the legal status of the passengers but said investigators have ascertained some were from Honduras, Guatemala and South America.
Officers surprised Local authorities often become involved in human trafficking
cases, but in Thursday’s incident, the chief said the pursuing officers didn’t think they were dealing with that scenario. “The officers didn’t realize it was full of people until the crash,” Wooldridge said. “They didn’t think it was a human smuggling case.” Smugglers favor the route because if they make it to Houston their passengers can lose themselves in the sprawling metropolis or fan out across the country, authorities said. Miska said he wasn’t particularly concerned about the prospect of undocumented immigrants moving through the area; smugglers moving them concern him. “When your wife is at home and you’re gone, or your vehicle is at the house …,” he said, his voice trailing off. “It might not just be the illegal immigrants. It might be the guy that’s hauling them. The coyote.” Around the corner, at Eddie’s Barbershop, owner Lucinda Rodriguez said she once had to stop cutting the hair of a constable when he had to join other local law enforcement officers searching for an undocumented immigrant running through nearby fields. “It’s just sad this is going on, that
human beings are having to flee their countries,” Rodriguez said. “The circumstances being what they are. No one knows how to fix it.” Down the street, Stephanie Koch was working at Fireflies Ink, a local printing shop. “We often hear about (things like that), but it doesn’t affect us personally,” Koch said. “Our guys are on top of it.” The stretch of Highway 59 near Edna is part of a long-established pipeline for sneaking people and drugs from Mexico to Houston and the rest of the United States. All along the U.S.-Mexico border, such roadways are seen as the quickest routes to major U.S. cities, where smugglers let down their guard and disappear into heavily populated, immigrant-thick communities. “Once they get to Houston, they are pretty much home free,” said Dan Webb, a retired Texas Department of Public Safety lieutenant who specialized in smuggling. “They love 59 for going north and they love Interstate 10,” he said. “Houston, for whatever reason years ago, established itself as the hub for drugs and human trafficking.”
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
VIDAL M. HERNANDEZ July 2, 1930 – Sept. 14, 2015 Vidal M. Hernandez, 85, passed away 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; twentyone great-grandchildren and by numerous great-greatgrandchildren, nephews, nieces, other family members and friends. Visitation hours were held
By GEIR MOULSON AND PAN PYLAS ASSOCIATED PRESS
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 was held at 10 a.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home. Committal services followed at Zapata County Cemetery. In lieu of flowers monetary donations can be made at IBC Acct. 2311268619. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy 83, Zapata, Texas.
BERLIN — Volkswagen’s board appointed the head of its Porsche unit as CEO on Friday, handing longtime company insider Matthias Mueller the task of trying to lead the world’s top-selling automaker past a growing emissions scandal. The company also said it was suspending some employees and would reorganize its North America operations after admitting it used a piece of engine software to cheat on diesel car emissions tests in the U.S. The decisions come after the previous CEO, Martin Winterkorn, quit the job this week over the scandal, which has shredded the company’s reputation. The company could be heavily fined and hit with class-action lawsuits costing billions. It will also have to fix programming it has said is in some 11 million cars worldwide, far more than the 482,000 identified last week by U.S. authorities. The 62-year-old Mueller, who has spent his career with Volkswagen Group brands, acknowledged that he was taking the job “at a time in which our company faces unprece-
dented challenges. I have respect for this, but I am also facing this task with confidence.” Speaking at Volkswagen’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, he said he would “do everything to win back the trust of our customers, our employees, our partners, investors and the whole public. “We stand by our responsibility,” he said. “Occasionally, our and your patience will be tested, but ... carefulness is even more important than speed.” Mueller said it is “decisive that nothing like this ever happens at Volkswagen again. So we will introduce even tougher compliance and governance standards in the company.” He pledged to make Volkswagen “an even stronger company.” The main risk of VW’s decision to go with an insider is that some in the markets could consider Mueller “tainted” by association with the crisis, said Jason Hanold, managing partner of Evanston, Illinois-based executive search firm Hanold Associates. The upside, he said, is that Mueller’s knowledge of the company offers the chance of “faster traction to help root out the problems within the organization.”
Acting supervisory board Chairman Berthold Huber lauded Mueller’s “great strategic, entrepreneurial and social competence” and “critical and constructive” approach. “He knows the group and its brands well and can immediately engage in his new task with full energy,” Huber said. Winterkorn, who had been CEO since 2007, said he took responsibility for the “irregularities” found by U.S. inspectors in VW’s diesel engines, but insisted he had personally done nothing wrong. Volkswagen offered few new details Friday on the fallout from the scandal. “The supervisory board has, on the basis of current information, recommended suspending some employees immediately until the whole case is cleared up,” Huber said. “This has, in part, already happened.” He did not elaborate, and a statement from Volkswagen did not specify who the employees were, at what level or where they worked. The head of VW’s employee council, Bernd Osterloh, said that Volkswagen “needs a new beginning” with a “different company culture.”
POPE Continued from Page 1A
MEXICO Continued from Page 1A assumed had been detained. About 6 a.m., soldiers found his body less than a mile (kilometer) from where he disappeared. Though Mondragon’s autopsy points to torture, that doesn’t appear in the court records. A report by a military unit at the scene said his face had been peeled off with a knife. But the autopsy says it could have been done by an animal after the body was dumped. His family calls that conclusion “a mockery.” Mondragon’s case could provide clues to who was behind the attack, according to the commission. But it languishes in three separate court files. Mondragon’s body will be exhumed for a new autopsy. The former mayor of Iguala, Jose Luis Abarca, is among 28 people charged with his killing. Authorities say he was the one who ordered the attacks. But Sayuri Herrera, lawyer for the Mondragon family, said it would be easy for any defense attorney to get the charges thrown out because the shabby investigative work and foggy charges filed by prosecutors could weaken the case. Charges have already been dropped against one police officer, who remains jailed for the missing 43. “There’s not even clarity in the accusations,” said Herrera. Mondragon’s family gathers most Saturdays at the large table in his uncle Cuitlahuac’s modest concrete home, sometimes to meet with Herrera, sometimes for psychological counseling, always to plot a path to justice.
Volkswagen names CEO
“Here we all pretend to be strong,” said Lenin Mondragon, 22, who has his brother’s eyes, now filled with sadness. They want the case taken up by federal prosecutors. The Inter-American Commission’s experts also say the six murders should be part of the federal case of the 43 because they complete the picture of what happened that night. The attorney general’s office has refused. The office did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press. The case remains with state prosecutors in Guerrero, where a lack of resources and expertise make it even less likely that justice will be served. Mondragon was a little older than his other first-year classmates because he had passed through several normal schools before enrolling in Ayotzinapa. He liked to challenge the teachers, Cuitlahuac Mondragon said. He also taught reading and writing to poor families in San Miguel Tecomatlan, a rural town in the hills of Mexico state. Julio’s mother, Afrodita Mondragon, likes to look at his Facebook profile, though in wading through the Internet she is careful not to land on the photos of a skull when she searches his name. She is torn between agitating for justice and focusing on her youngest, who is only 3 years old. “The only thing we ask for is the truth,” his uncle said. “The government is betting that this will all be forgotten, and we’re betting on justice.”
halls of global power to a classroom in East Harlem, a parade through Central Park and a Mass in Madison Square Garden, Francis swept into a city on a rock-star wave of popularity and was met with cheering, sometimes shrieking, crowds. On Saturday morning, he flies to Philadelphia for a big Vatican-sponsored rally for Catholic families. As many as 1 million people are expected for the final Mass on Sunday. Amid extraordinarily tight security, the pope started Day 4 of his first-ever trip to the U.S. at the United Nations, where he declared that the environment itself has rights and that mankind has no authority to abuse them. Hoping to spur concrete commitments at upcoming climate-change negotiations in Paris, Francis said a “selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity” has allowed the powerful to ravage the Earth and exclude the weakest and most disadvantaged. Speaking in his native Spanish, demanded immediate access for the world’s poor to adequate food, water and housing, saying they have the right to what the official translation called the “three L’s” — lodging, labor and land. Francis’ speech, the fifth by a pope to the U.N., was a distillation of his recent teaching document on the environment, which has delighted liberals and environmentalists and drawn scorn from big business. The pontiff made clear his belief that there is a “right of the environment.” While his remarks on the environment and the economy carried a message many liberals would welcome, Francis also affirmed the church’s doctrine on life issues: He called for the “absolute respect for life in all its stages” — including the unborn. He cited “moral law written in nature itself” in insist-
ing there is a natural difference between men and women. The Catholic Church has been on a campaign to denounce “gender theory” and the idea that people can choose their sex. And he repeated his denunciation of the “ideological colonization” of the developing world — a reference to how Western ideas about contraception and gay rights are often imposed on poor nations as a condition for development aid. Conservative Catholics have criticized Francis for not focusing more on abortion, and they have complained that by adopting the U.N.’s environmental agenda the church is compromising its stand on key life issues. Francis was greeted on his arrival at the U.N. by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a key supporter of his eco-friendly message. Ban praised Francis for his moral leadership. “You are at home not in palaces, but among the poor; not with the famous, but with the forgotten; not in official portraits, but in ‘selfies’ with young people,” he said. Among those in the audience was Nobel peace laureate Malala Yousefzai, who was shot and gravely wounded by the Taliban for advocating schooling for girls. Also on hand were German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Bill and Melinda Gates. The Vatican flag was raised for the first time just before Francis’ arrival. The General Assembly recently agreed to allow the U.N.’s two observer states, the Holy See and Palestine, to fly their flags alongside those of the 193 member states. Francis’ speech received repeated rounds of applause. It contrasted sharply with the moment of silent prayer during his visit to ground zero for an interfaith tribute to the Sept. 11 victims. After praying before the waterfall
pools that mark the footprints of the fallen twin towers, Francis met with relatives of the 3,000 victims whose names are inscribed on the waters’ edge. Moving into the underground memorial museum, he joined a rabbi, an imam and other faith leaders to pray for peace, standing before a floodwall that became a symbol of New York’s resilience when it held fast after the attacks. Elizabeth Holmes and Nancy Mercado were among the 1,000 people at the memorial pool, invited because they worked on the Sept. 11 recovery effort. The two women have been together for 25 years and married when it became legal in New York in 2011. “We’re both Roman Catholic,” Holmes said, rosary beads wrapped around her wrist. “We’ve felt a little bit estranged from the church, but we’re feeling more hopeful.” She added: “I already feel more welcome. I don’t feel as stigmatized. I feel like I’m part of the community again.” Francis’ plans for Friday afternoon reflected the penchant of the “people’s pope” for engaging with the public. The agenda included a visit to Our Lady Queen of Angels School, set amid public housing in the heavily Hispanic neighborhood of East Harlem. Later, he was to greet as many as 80,000 onlookers during a drive through Central Park, en route to Mass for 18,000 at Madison Square Garden. The visit posed huge logistical and security challenges for New York City. At the United Nations, hundreds of U.N. officers and city police, as well as Secret Service agents, bomb-sniffing dogs and police boats, were on duty. Ticketholders to the procession in Central Park were barred from bringing backpacks, chairs and other items.
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NCAA: TEXAS
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Rose reinstated? Photo by Michael Thomas | AP
Texas freshman Jerrod Heard will start his first game at quarterback for the Longhorns as they face Oklahoma State Sunday.
Leaving court for a field Texas-OSU play while lawsuit continues By JIM VERTUNO ASSOCIATED PRESS
File photo by John Minchillo | AP
Pete Rose has made his case for reinstatement with Commissioner Rob Manfred, who promised a decision by the end of December. Major League Baseball said the meeting with the career hits leader and his representatives took place Thursday. Rose was banned from the game due to betting on his own team to win games as a manager.
MLB reviewing Rose’s lifetime ban from baseball By RONALD BLUM ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Pete Rose has made his case for reinstatement with Commissioner Rob Manfred, who promised a decision by the end of December. Major League Baseball said the meeting with the career hits leader and his repre-
sentatives took place Thursday at baseball’s headquarters in New York. “Commissioner Manfred informed Mr. Rose that he will make a decision on his application by the end of the calendar year,” MLB said in a statement. Then Cincinnati’s manager, Rose agreed in 1989 to a lifetime ban from baseball after an investigation for MLB by law-
NCAA FOOTBALL: NO. 14 TEXAS A&M
yer John Dowd concluded Rose bet on games involving the Reds while managing and playing. Rose applied for reinstatement in September 1997 and met with Commissioner Bud Selig in November 2002, but Selig never ruled on Rose’s application. Manfred
AUSTIN — For most of the past year, the Oklahoma StateTexas rivalry in the Big 12 has been less about playing football than arguing in a courtroom. That changes Saturday— even if for just a few hours — when the winner will be decided by who makes the plays, rather than bickering over who calls them. The No. 24 Cowboys (3-0) and Longhorns (1-2) meet in their league opener while a lawsuit filed by Oklahoma State in 2014 against Texas offensive line coach Joe Wickline plays out in court. The case has been a curiosity around the Big 12 and college football because it has one rival program’s lawyers probing the inner workings and strategy ses-
See ROSE PAGE 2B See TEXAS PAGE 2B
NCAA FOOTBALL: NO. 3 TCU AT TEXAS TECH
No. 3 TCU faces Red Raiders By BETSY BLANEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Sam Craft | AP
Texas A&M’s Josh Reynolds (11) and Ricky Seals-Jones will try to drop Arkansas to 0-3 as they face off on Saturday.
Aggies try to keep Arkansas sliding By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARLINGTON — Perhaps what one coach called a kick in the rear to Arkansas could actually benefit the Razorbacks in their SEC opener against 14th-ranked Texas A&M. Or maybe Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury will be proven correct in his assessment of what he felt his team did to Arkansas. And what he ex-
pects to be repeated Saturday night by the Aggies (3-0), coached by his former boss Kevin Sumlin and with a similar spread offense. Responding to what he considered Arkansas coach Bret Bielema’s criticism of spread offenses during a Texas high school coaches’ convention over the summer, Kingsbury said after a 35-24 win last Saturday that Bielema “just got
See A&M PAGE 2B
LUBBOCK — Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury sees his players maturing this season and is eager to see how that translates to improved performance when the Red Raiders host third-ranked TCU in the Big 12 opener for both teams. This is an early test against the team that scored a Big 12 record 82 points against them last season. “I think I’ve seen more fight in them this year,” Kingsbury said. “And they learned a lot from last year.” The Red Raiders (3-0) have the fewest penalty yards per game in the Big 12 this season after ranking last in the league last year. The Red Raiders have also turned around their penchant for turnovers lost, sitting at No. 30 in the nation with only three in three games after 28 in 12 games last season to ranked 114th. TCU coach Gary Patterson knows this isn’t the same team the Horned Frogs (3-0) beat 82-27 at home last season — when Trevone Boykin threw a TCU-record seven touchdowns in the first three quarters. The Red Raiders haven’t trailed this season. TCU has been behind for less than 4 min-
Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP
No. 3 TCU is preparing for the high-powered offense of Texas Tech as they travel to Lubbock for Saturday’s matchup. utes. “They’re completely different. Our kids see that,” Patterson said. “They understand they’re a really good football team, really played well on offense and keep getting better on defense every week.” Here are some things to watch for when Texas Tech hosts TCU: QUARTERBACK BATTLE Texas Tech QB Patrick Ma-
homes and TCU’s Boykin have put up strong numbers through three games. They are ranked third and fourth, respectively, in the passing-yard averages in the conference. Mahomes has thrown for nine TDs and 1,029 yards, while Boykin has thrown for 10 TDs and 985 yards. “They’re going to see a whole other beast this week with
See TCU-TECH PAGE 2B
PAGE 2B
Zsports
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP
Dallas tight end Jason Witten is expected to play against the Falcons Sunday despite two sprained ankles and a knee sprain.
Witten battling injuries By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS
IRVING — Jason Witten dismisses the significance of his streak of 189 straight regular-season games — 196 counting the playoffs. The Dallas tight end didn’t return from a broken jaw or a ruptured spleen way earlier than expected in previous years so he could say he was the Cal Ripken of the NFL. Same with playing through two sprained ankles and a sprained left knee this week. “The focus is not about being a tough guy,” Witten said Thursday, the second straight day he was listed as limited in practice. “It’s about going out there and playing and playing well. That’s what I’ve been trying to do all week is get myself in position.” Witten expects to be in the lineup Sunday when Atlanta visits in a matchup of 2-0 teams. He has missed one game in 13 seasons — Week 5 of his rookie year in 2003 with a broken jaw. Three years ago, he played in the season opener at the New York Giants just 23 days after a hit ruptured his spleen in a
preseason game at Oakland. So it should have been little surprise to coach Jason Garrett last week in Philadelphia that as coaches tried to make adjustments to personnel each time Witten was injured, they would look up and see him in the huddle. “I think he missed about a play and a half,” Garrett said. Third-year tight end Gavin Escobar is surprised it was that many. “He’s the toughest guy I’ve ever seen play football,” Escobar said. “I was surprised seeing him run out of the huddle. He doesn’t leave the field. Obviously something was going on.” Quarterback Brandon Weeden, set for his second start for Dallas with Tony Romo sidelined by a broken left collarbone, joked of secondhand information that Witten “couldn’t even walk” in the locker room Monday. Witten just chuckled. “That’s even after a good game,” he said with a wide smile. “That’s what happens in year 13. You guys know that.” Practice resumed Wednesday, and Witten was seen walking gingerly
in a hallway outside the locker room on his way back to the training room after the workout. All three aching joints were wrapped, and he assured reporters he was planning to play against the Falcons. He glanced back as he entered the restricted area with a “see you guys tomorrow,” as if to say all things were normal, including his regular weekly visit with reporters. “Witten is a certified war daddy,” defensive end Jeremy Mincey said. “He plays hard. He plays with heart. He plays with passion and desire. I’m sure it’s just nicks and bruises.” Witten caught a goahead touchdown pass from Romo with 7 seconds left in the season-opening 27-26 win over the Giants. The 33-year-old is now 42 catches from joining Tony Gonzalez as the only NFL tight ends with 1,000 catches and 10,000 yards. Three years ago, when Witten returned against the Giants after the spleen injury, he was held to two catches for 10 yards. But as he fought through the injuries against the Eagles, he came up with seven catches for 56 yards. Garrett credited him with
getting the offense going in a 20-10 Dallas win that was mostly dominated by the defenses. The question for the coaching staff is determining how effective Witten can be with two bad ankles and a sore knee. “He has a great credibility with us,” Garrett said. “He’s demonstrated a lot through his career that he can get himself ready to play when things don’t always look so good for him early on in the week.” Since he’s adding a few more injuries that won’t keep him out of a game, Witten naturally gets the question of whether there’s something that can keep him out of a game. He shoots back with, “You’re going to jinx me, don’t jinx me.” Then Witten tries to shrug off the injuries throughout his career as nothing significant before sheepishly smiling when he remembers the spleen. “But other than that, there are things you can work through,” he said. “Look, I love playing and I would expect my teammates to do the same thing, get out there. It’s a great opportunity in front of us, where we are right now.”
TCU-TECH Continued from Page 1B what TCU does and the dynamic athletes they have,” Kingsbury said of what his defense faces compared to Arkansas. Both QBs are threats to scramble: Mahomes is averaging 6.1 yards per rush and has four TDs; Boykin is averaging 4.6 yards per carry with two TDs. TCU DEFENSIVE WOES The Horned Frogs’ defense faces one of the league’s most prolific offenses without as many as seven expected starters. In addition to suspended DE Mike Tuaua, they lost a starter to a season-ending injury in
each of the last two games, and have a couple of injured players who still haven’t played. DT Davion Pierson has been dealing with concussion, but could play for first time against the Red Raiders. Kingsbury contends it’s Patterson who makes the defense hum. “I know they’ve had some injuries, but you watch the film, and he has guys that they can plug in and they’re making plays. They’re always coached to do what they’re supposed to do, so he’s got them rolling right along.” SHORT MEMORIES? The 82-27 TCU win last
year can’t be erased but TCU players say that game is not on their minds. “We’re just worried about this Saturday,” WR Ty Slanina said. Kingsbury, however, said that loss is motivation. “If you lose the game, you want to win it the next year, and that’s basically where we’re at,” he said. DUELING RED-ZONES The two teams are strong once they get inside their opponents’ 20yard line. The Red Raiders have scored 10 TDs and three field goals on 14 trips, while the Horned Frogs have 14 TDs and one field goal on
18 trips. SPECIAL TEAMS Texas Tech senior WR Jakeem Grant is second in the conference in allpurpose yards, with a 175 ypg average. Should the game come to it, the Horned Frogs have senior kicker Jaden Oberkrom to turn to. He hit more than 81 percent of his field goal attempts in 2014 and has missed just one PAT going back to his freshman year. Texas Tech has question marks. Freshmen Clayton Hatfield and Michael Barden continue to get chances. Barden is one for three on FG tries.
TEXAS Continued from Page 1B sions of another. It has dragged the head coaches into depositions and threatens to pull in players as well. All of it over who at Texas was really calling the shots on third-and-long and first-and-goal. Oklahoma State says Wickline owes his former employer nearly $600,000 for his move to Texas where he is primarily the line coach, instead of taking a job that required him to call plays, as specified in his previous contract. The case forced Texas head coach Charlie Strong, assistant head Shawn Watson and Wickline, into long depositions, where each swore that Wickline had some play-calling duties. At one point, an Oklahoma State lawyer reminded Strong of his core value
of “honesty.” Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy also testified, calling Wickline’s move to Texas a “lateral” one at best. Although Texas isn’t named in the lawsuit, the entire dustup has unsettled fans who wanted the school to help Wickline settle and move on. But a new twist came two weeks ago when Strong demoted lead play-caller Watson (and Wickline) and turned the offense over to Jay Norvell. Seizing the opportunity, Oklahoma State told Texas it wants new interviews with the Texas coaches may even depose former Longhorns starting quarterback Tyrone Swoopes, who is now No. 2 behind Jerrod Heard. Texas officials have yet to formally respond. Strong said this
week doesn’t think the case has been a distraction but Longhorns fans wonder how it can’t be. Strong also has refused to say much. The case isn’t set for trial until March 2016. Here are some things to watch for on the field when Oklahoma State meets Texas: JERROD HEARD The freshman quarterback has pumped some life into Texas with his dynamic play the last two weeks. His 527 total yards in a 45-44 loss to California set a school record and nearly rallied Texas from 21 points down in the fourth quarter. TEXAS SPECIAL TEAMS Kickoff and punt returner Daje Johnson already has one touchdown this season and California refused to kick to him last week. And if the game
turns into a shootout, Longhorns place kicker Nick Rose had to be shaken by his missed extra point with 71 seconds last week that could have sent the game to overtime. COWBOYS PASS RUSH Junior defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah has the dual challenge of generating a pass rush against the elusive Heard and keeping him in the pocket. Heard has proven most dangerous to defenses when on the move. Ogbah has 3 1/2 of the Cowboys’ nine sacks. POSTGAME HANDSHAKE There’s been lots of bickering between Big 12 coaches already this season. The ongoing lawsuit and previous depositions given by Strong and Gundy may not spark any new words but there has to be tension there.
Photo by Sam Craft | AP
Texas A&M quarterback Kyle Allen and the Aggies are ranked No. 14 in the nation after a 2-0 start to 2015.
A&M Continued from Page 1B his (butt) kicked twice in a row and probably next week by A&M as well.” The Razorbacks also lost at home to Toledo the previous week. Sumlin had little reaction this week to what Kingsbury said, but the Aggies coach said he has known both coaches for a long time. He drew laughter when he said maybe he would go to the next Texas prep convention to referee. Bielema said he never directly called out Texas Tech’s offense over the summer, and only intended to state his belief in pro-style systems like his going head-to-head against a spread team. Well, that hasn’t worked out so well the last two weeks for Arkansas (1-2). “I really do think there is probably a blessing in disguise for our defense to have the opportunity that we did for four quarters to line up and play, execute and do the things we did well, see the things that we don’t do well get exposed,” Bielema said. “There couldn’t be any better preparation for A&M as far as that goes.” The Aggies have won the last three games in the series, their longest winning streak against their former Southwest Conference rival since six in a row from 1938-43. “Nothing’s changed from our point of view how we view Arkansas,” Sumlin said. “First game of SEC, playing where we play, it’s going to be a bigtime atmosphere and it’s a game both of us need to win.” Here are few things to know when the Razorbacks and Aggies play at the Dallas Cowboys’ NFL stadium: SACKERS VS. BLOCKERS Texas A&M has an FBSbest 15 quarterback sacks, including individual national leader Myles Gar-
rett (5 1-2 sacks), who had 3 1/2 sacks last week against Nevada after having his wisdom teeth removed. Arkansas is one of five teams that hasn’t allowed a sack this season. LOST RECEIVERS Arkansas’ once-promising group of wide receivers has been decimated by recent injuries. Top wideout Keon Hatcher and backup Cody Hollister were each lost for extended periods following foot surgeries two weeks ago, and starter Jared Cornelius suffered a double fracture of his left arm last week against Texas Tech. NEUTRAL SITE Texas A&M was still in the Big 12 and the Cowboys’ stadium was still under construction when the deal was reached for a long-term series at the neutral site. The game was played in North Texas from 2009-11, all won by Arkansas. When the Aggies joined the SEC, there were two years on campus sites before the game returned last season to the stadium, where there is a contract to play through 2024. CATCHING KIRK The Aggies had three returning receivers with at least 40 catches last season. But the top passcatcher so far in 2015 is true freshman Christian Kirk (16 catches for 269 yards and two touchdowns). He was the first A&M freshman with a 100yard game in his debut, and had another one last week. OFF AND RUNNING The Razorbacks’ all-everything offensive line struggled to run the ball the first two weeks of the season. But junior Alex Collins, now in a lead role with top running back Jonathan Williams likely out for the season following foot surgery, had 170 yards rushing against Texas Tech last week.
ROSE Continued from Page 1B succeeded Selig in January, and Rose again applied to end the ban. Ray Genco, Rose’s lawyer, declined comment. Dowd is confident Manfred will turn down the application. “I’m glad he met with him. I’m glad he heard him out,” Dowd said. “I think Rob’s a fair commissioner, and I have no doubt that he’ll do the right thing by the game. I’m not concerned.” Now 74, Rose repeatedly denied betting on baseball until in his 2004 autobiography, “Pete Rose: My Prison Without Bars,” he reversed his stand and acknowl-
edged he bet on the Reds while managing the team. At the time the ban agreement was announced, then-Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti said, “The burden is entirely on Mr. Rose to reconfigure his life in a way he deems appropriate.” The Hall of Fame’s board of directors voted in 1991 to ban those on the permanently ineligible list from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot. Since Rose’s last year of BBWAA ballot eligibility would have been 2006, the impact of reinstatement on his Hall chances is not clear.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
Dear Heloise: I enjoy reading your column, and I like your hints. BUT it drives me crazy when you don’t educate people about being better Earth users. Your reply to the woman about using a TISSUE FOR SPILLS rather than a paper towel? (Heloise here: I did not reply or make a comment to the reader.) How about telling her to keep a sponge, washcloth or towel handy for that, and she can throw it in the washer! Who doesn’t have old washcloths that can be used as wiper-uppers? Or buy a bag of painter’s rags. The only reason to use a paper towel is for something awful, like vomit or grease. Water IS an issue, and will be an even greater one in the future, but you will still be washing clothes and can toss in a few small items like counter cleaners. –– Carole, via email Carole, glad you wrote. Sorry it drives you crazy, but unfortunately I don’t have space in my column to constantly “educate”
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people every time about being better Earth users. Also, water is an issue RIGHT NOW, particularly in California, Nevada, San Antonio, where I live, and most of Texas. WE are in the fifth year of the worst drought since they have been keeping records. Using a sponge or rag, which you have to wet, then rinse and wash, is more harmful to Mother Earth here. We are in STAGE II water restriction: Water the yard only once a week, water in a restaurant only on request, and washing cars at home only on Saturday or Sunday. Bunny, the reader you are referring to, lives in Las Vegas, where water is a precious commodity. Please don’t be too quick to judge without checking your facts. –– Heloise
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