The Zapata Times 1/8/2011

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ADVANCE ED CENTER

ZAPATA COUNTY

Chief’s goal is higher ed

Eye on expenditures

David Brown was at Mercy Health Center

Commissioners want unnecessary spending stopped

By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Commissioners will come down hard on county departments by demanding updates and status reports at the next regular Commissioners Court meeting Monday. They also will direct county departments to cut down on unnecessary spending.

Several county projects have been in the works for several

months and Commissioner Jose E. Vela is requesting updates on the Zapata County Museum of History, the Advance Education Center, and the CACST Health Clinic, according to the agenda.

“I want to know if we’re going to get the errors corrected in the museum and we’ll also be addressing the outcome of the grant reimbursement we’re pending,” Vela said. “I also want to know what the status is on the

health clinic we purchased to see what we need to do.”

The county is expecting a $1 million federal grant reimbursement for the Advance Education Center and purchased the CACST Health Clinic for more than $600,000 last month.

With the budget deficit, commissioners are constantly looking for ways to bring in revenue and alleviate the debt.

Commissioner Eddie Martinez

has requested that all departments present proposed raises only during the budget process, unless mandatory to the specific departments due to having several requests for pay increases last month.

“If a (sheriff’s) sergeant makes captain, I think those are mandatory. Other than that I want everything brought to

See ZAPATA PAGE 9A

By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Newly hired Advance Education Center Director David Brown has taken on the responsibility of providing higher education to the underserved and partially rural community of Zapata after a successful stint as development director at Mercy Health Center, where he helped secure funding benefiting the United States and the Mexican border.

Brown, a graduate of the University of Texas-Austin and William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minn., procured more than $20 million for BROWN public health care projects, economic development industry incentive grants, higher education fundraising, public infrastructure, and service projects along the U.S.Mexico Border, he said.

In addition to his studies in William Mitchell, Brown was associate editor of the William Mitchell Law Review and a published law student author on the subject of legal ethics, he said.

He also had a hand in raising more than $6 million for public health projects along the U.S.Mexico border, including the first multi-million dollar National Cancer Institute research grant to study cancer disparities among Hispanic and Latino communities, Brown said.

Brown supervised the assignment and distribution of approximately $130 million in state funds to public schools, colleges, universities, libraries, and non-profit health care organizations for technology telecommunications connectivity and upgrades as the regional state administrator for South Texas at the Texas Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Board in Austin.

Technology is up Brown designed the first state telemedicine grant initiative in the U.S., to spend approximately $30 million earmarked for public and nonprofit health care facilities and hospitals to deliver direct patient care to underserved and rural communities in Texas via the Internet and high-tech medical peripherals, he said.

Also, while helping recent high school graduates and others interested in furthering their educations, Brown is also completing a

See BROWN PAGE 10A

TAMIU facing budget cuts

By NICK GEORGIOU THE ZAPATA TIMES

Photos by Danny Zaragoza | The Zapata Times

ABOVE: Zapata Middle School students head towards their second-period classes on Friday morning. BELOW: Students in Michael Guerra’s science class learn about the Periodic Table of Elements through lab activities and experiments Friday morning at Zapata Middle School.

BACK TO CLASSES New middle school welcomes students

By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Zapata County Independent School District resumed classes Wednesday after a long winter break.

Zapata Middle School students, faculty, and staff are especially excited to return to school after the campus received a complete face lift.

“All the kids are back but there are still some things that need to be completed,” said Assistant Principal Dahlia Garcia.

Teachers moved in during the winter break to prepare their classrooms, Garcia said.

“They were really great about fixing up their rooms before school started,” Garcia said.

Seven maintenance workers helped with the move in progress, Garcia added.

Both the library and the gym are still in the finishing stages.

The library was expanded and books are still needed to be shelved, while the floor in the gym is being replaced with wooden flooring, Garcia said.

From faculty buyouts and layoffs to cutting office supplies and travel expenses, public universities in Texas are responding in various ways to state-mandated budget cuts.

Officials at Texas A&M University in College Station announced in December that the school would save $15 million by cutting 105 tenured faculty members through buyout agreements, which involve the faculty leaving the university by next fall.

The buyouts came on the heels of the Legislative Budget Board asking all state agencies, including Texas universities, for an additional 2.5 percent budget reduction in general revenue for this fiscal year, which ends Aug. 31.

That’s in addition to the 5 percent in state funding that state agencies were ordered to return for the 2010 and 2011 biennium.

Agencies are also projecting an additional 10 percent cut.

That figure may change depending on what happens with the projected state budget shortfall, which has been estimated to be as high as $25 billion.

The gym also includes new bleachers, scoreboards and dressing rooms, Garcia said.

“The girls’ dressing room is very nice and private with separate stalls and showers,” Garcia said.

Dressing rooms can also now be given to visiting teams, Garcia added.

The new middle school campus, formerly the high school before a new high school campus was built several years ago, houses 750 students.

“At this time, since we don’t have specifics, we do not know what, specifically, would be reduced,” a Texas A&M International University official wrote in an e-mail to Laredo Morning Times on Tuesday.

See SCHOOL PAGE 10A

See TAMIU PAGE 9A

At TAMIU

PAGE 2A

Zin brief CALENDAR

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

AROUND TEXAS

TODAY IN HISTORY

SATURDAY, JAN. 8

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Learn about robotics, drive a real robot and explore opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Meet Laredo’s award-winning teams and discover more about Robotics at the Imaginarium of South Texas in Mall del Norte from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, contact Jose Perez at jose@imaginariumstx.org.

Walk for suicide prevention by joining the Out of the Darkness Community Walk at Laredo Community College’s Fort McIntosh Campus. Registration, which is free, starts at 8:30 a.m.

The walk begins at 9:30 a.m. Donations will be accepted. For more information, call Julia Rubio at (956) 3374933.

MONDAY, JAN. 10 Join Laredo Community College for an opening reception for DigiArt 3, an exhibit featuring the works of students and faculty from the Computer Aided Drafting and Design Technology Program, at 10:30 a.m. in the Yeary Library at the Fort McIntosh Campus.

Admission is free and open to the campus body and public. For more information, call (956) 721-5280.

The Laredo Little Theatre will hold auditions for “Real Women Have Curves” from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The allgirl cast requires one girl between 18 and 25 and five older girls. For more information, call Jeannie Lopez at (956) 723-0644.

TUESDAY, JAN. 11 LB Johnson High School is hosting a blood drive from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 5626 Cielito Lindo. Blood donor requirements are as follows: anyone who is 16 years old weighing 120 pounds (with parental consent form), or at least 17 years old weighing 110 pounds, and in good general health can donate blood. Identification required. call 1-800-292-5534 for more information.

The Laredo Little Theatre will hold auditions for “Real Women Have Curves” from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. today.

The all-girl cast requires one girl between 18 and 25 and five older girls.

For more information, call Jeannie Lopez at (956) 723-0644.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 12 Martin High School is hosting a blood drive from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 2002 San Bernardo. Blood donor requirements are as follows: anyone who is 16 years old weighing 120 pounds (with parental consent form), or at least 17 years old weighing 110 pounds, and in good general health can donate blood. Identification required. call 1800-292-5534 for more information.

The American Cancer Society and Doctors Hospital of Laredo will cosponsor classes for people with cancer and their family and friends. The I Can Cope program gives participants an opportunity to share their concerns with others having similar experiences and to design a way to cope with the challenges that arise from a cancer diagnosis. Guest speakers include professionals in the field of cancer management. A physician will be present at all meetings to answer cancer-related questions. This month’s topic is Learning About Cancer. The classes will be offered the second Wednesday of every month from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Doctors Hospital of Laredo, Women’s Center. To RSVP or for more information, contact Diana Juarez at (956) 723-9682 or Jessica Guajardo at (956) 523-2658.

Photo by Customs Border Patrol, Marfa Sector | AP

Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin, left is joined by Big Bend National Park Superintendent Bill Wellman at Big Bend National Park, Texas on Thursday. Bersin announced the U.S. has approved a plan to allow informal crossings between the United States and Mexico inside the remote park.

Big Bend gets crossing

By WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN ANTONIO — Authorities have announced a plan to build a border crossing in West Texas’ remote Big Bend National Park that would allow outdoor enthusiasts to explore the picturesque region on both sides of the Rio Grande — despite U.S. government warnings that some parts of Mexico are unsafe to visit due to drug violence.

The crossing will be through Boquillas Canyon, which encompasses part of the park and Mexican protected lands, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin said at a news conference in the park.

Construction of the necessary infrastructure, including a boat dock and visitor’s center, is set to begin in July and a boat carrying people back and forth should be running

by April 2012, he said.

Court says AG can’t block gay divorce

More than 1,100 DWI arrests over holidays

Algae blamed for Lake Meredith fish kill

DALLAS — A Texas appeals court says the state’s attorney general can’t block the divorce of two women who were married out of state.

The 3rd Texas Court of Appeals in Austin ruled Friday that the state cannot appeal the divorce of Angelique Naylor and Sabina Daly.

The two were married in Massachusetts in 2004 and then returned home to Texas, where same-sex marriage is banned.

AUSTIN — Troopers arrested more than 1,100 drivers in a DWI crackdown during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

The Department of Public Safety on Friday announced results of the special enforcement program.

DPS said 1,106 people were arrested from Dec. 21 to Jan. 1 on charges of driving while intoxicated.

LUBBOCK — Experts say a fish kill at Lake Meredith that’s prompted Lubbock to put an odor-smothering chemical in city drinking water is blamed on a toxic algae bloom.

As many as 20,000 gizzard shad were found dead last week in Lake Meredith. Water from Lake Meredith is used by nearly a dozen communities.

FARMERS BRANCH — A suburban Dallas mayor whose efforts to ban illegal immigrants from renting housing drew international attention is not seeking another term.

Farmers Branch Mayor Tim O’Hare says he wants to devote more time to his family and to his law practice.

three children is coming under renewed scrutiny as a panel hears from arson scientists who have studied evidence that sent Cameron Todd Willingham to the death chamber seven years ago.

The Texas Forensic Science Commission is hearing from experts that Willingham was convicted with faulty evidence.

left at least four people hurt.

Police were diverting traffic after the wreck just before 2 a.m.

Friday on eastbound I-30 involving a gasoline tanker truck and at least one car. Westbound I-30 reopened just before daybreak.

Victims appear to have nonlife threatening injuries.

— Compiled from AP reports

I-30 just west of Dallas State panel reviews arson reopens after fiery wreck execution case Farmers Branch mayor not DALLAS — A fiery accident AUSTIN — The execution of a just west of downtown Dallas seeking re-election man for the fire deaths of his closed Interstate 30 for hours and

AROUND THE NATION

THURSDAY, JAN. 13 Martin High School is hosting a blood drive from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 2002 San Bernardo. Blood donor requirements are as follows: anyone who is 16 years old weighing 120 pounds (with parental consent form), or at least 17 years old weighing 110 pounds, and in good general health can donate blood. Identification required. call 1800-292-5534 for more information.

FRIDAY, JAN. 14 Doctor’s Hospital is hosting a blood drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 10700 McPherson Ave. Blood donor requirements are as follows: anyone who is 16 years old weighing 120 pounds (with parental consent form), or at least 17 years old weighing 110 pounds, and in good general health can donate blood. Identification required; call 1800-292-5534 for more information.

To submit an item for the calendar, send the name of the event, the date, time, location and contact phone number to editorial@lmtonline.com

“What’s good for one side of the border is good for the other side of the border. This is one, bi-national region,” Bersin told a small group of reporters in Big Bend. A Border Patrol spokesman later provided an audio recording of the event to The Associated Press.

There will be no vehicle traffic since everyone crossing will be doing so by boat. The border crossing also will not have customs, but Americans will still be required to show passports or other travel documents to Border Patrol agents, who will be in contact with colleagues in El Paso, or other, full-service field offices. Mexicans using the crossing will still need U.S. visas.

“While we’ll retain our separate national parks and our separate identities as we maintain our separate sovereignties,” Bersin said, “nature has a different timeframe in mind and a different set of priorities.”

Sisters who will share kidney out of prison

CONTACT US

PEARL, Miss. — Sisters Jamie and Gladys Scott left prison on Friday for the first time in 16 years, yelling, “We’re free!” and “God bless y’all!” as they pulled away in a silver SUV. That freedom, though, comes with an unusual condition: Gladys has one year to donate a kidney to her ailing sister.

Now, with their life sentences for armed robbery suspended, their future is uncertain.

Falling blackbirds air out conspiracy theories LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The moon turns blood red. The earth shakes. Soldiers die in wars. And the world keeps spinning, even though these events fit neatly into apocalyptic predictions.

So why, when swarms of winged creatures hit the dirt, do some believe that the end of days

Today is Saturday, Jan. 8, the eighth day of 2011. There are 357 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Jan. 8, 1811, Charles Deslondes (some sources say “Deslandes”) led an uprising by hundreds of slaves in the Territory of Orleans in presentday Louisiana. (The revolt, which claimed the lives of two whites, failed on its third day, and Deslondes and many of his followers were killed by federal and local troops.)

On this date: In 1798, the 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was declared in effect by President John Adams nearly three years after its ratification by the states; it prohibited a citizen of one state from suing another state in federal court.

In 1815, U.S. forces led by Gen. Andrew Jackson defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans — the closing engagement of the War of 1812.

In 1861, President James Buchanan’s pro-Southern Secretary of the Interior, Jacob Thompson, resigned.

In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson outlined his “Fourteen Points” for lasting peace after World War I. Mississippi became the first state to ratify the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, which established Prohibition.

In 1935, rock-and-roll legend Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Miss.

In 1959, Charles de Gaulle was inaugurated as president of France’s Fifth Republic. In Cuba, Fidel Castro and his army arrived in Havana in triumph following the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a “War on Poverty” in his State of the Union address.

In 1989, 47 people were killed when a British Midland Boeing 737-400 carrying 126 people crashed in central England.

In 2003, a US Airways Express commuter plane crashed at the Charlotte, N.C., airport, killing all 21 people on board.

A Turkish Airlines jet crashed in Turkey, killing 75 people.

Ten years ago: Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined a quarter of a million dollars for extorting payoffs from businessmen applying for riverboat casino licenses. Pope John Paul II was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Today’s Birthdays: Actorcomedian Larry Storch is 88.

Actor Ron Moody is 87. Broadcast journalist Sander Vanocur is 83. CBS newsman Charles Osgood is 78. Singer Shirley Bassey is 74. Game show host Bob Eubanks is 73. Country-gospel singer Cristy Lane is 71. Rhythm-and-blues singer Anthony Gourdine (Little Anthony and the Imperials) is 70.

Actress Yvette Mimieux is 69.

Physicist Stephen Hawking is 69. Rock musician Robby Krieger (The Doors) is 65.

Rock singer David Bowie is 64.

Movie director John McTiernan is 60.

Thought for Today: “Contempt for happiness is usually contempt for other people’s happiness, and is an elegant disguise for hatred of the human race.” — Bertrand Russell, English philosopher and mathematician (1872-1970).

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Anna Nicole Smith’s longtime companion, Howard K. Stern, center, and his attorneys leave a Los Angeles court on Thursday. Judge Robert Perry dismissed the drug conspiracy conviction of Stern, who was Smith’s boyfriend and lawyer. is near?

NYC overprepares for new snow after blizzard mess NEW YORK — New York City came out overprepared Friday

for a weak storm that delivered just a few inches of snow — not enough to plow in most places and not likely enough for the mayor to redeem himself from a disastrous response to a postChristmas blizzard.

— 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, JANUARY 8, 2011

Zlocal

PAGE 3A

RISING STARS RECITAL

Men rustle up felony theft charges

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Two men are facing felony charges after deputies say they stole cattle valued at thousands of dollars.

Joel Angeles-Olvera, 20, and Fernando Reyes, 45, were arrested and charged with theft after they allegedly stole cattle Jan. 2 from a ranch located a quarter mile south of Zapata.

Both men were taken to Zapata Regional Jail, where they each were held

JOEL ANGELES-OLVERA: Arrested Monday, facing felony theft charges. in lieu of $25,000 bonds.

Deputies responded to a theft call at 12:16 p.m. at Uribe Ranch, off South U.S. 83.

A tick inspector in the area noticed suspicious activity.

He saw a truck and a trailer out of place. According to deputies, a witness identified one of the alleged offenders.

The men were accused

FERNANDO REYES: Arrested Tuesday, faces felony theft charges. of stealing four bovines valued at $16,000.

A further investigation led deputies to serve arrest warrants on the men.

Angeles-Olvera was arrested Monday.

Reyes was taken into custody the next day.

The owner recovered the cattle.

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

Deputies catch men with items inside car Caller reports duo at tire shop

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Deputies say two men allegedly stole motor vehicle accessories from a tire shop Dec. 28.

Sgt. Mario Elizondo said the Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office received a call around 2 a.m. reporting a theft in progress in an area near the intersection of 23rd Avenue and Alamo Street.

Elizondo said the complainant told deputies that two men were seen taking

EUGENIO PEÑA IV: Facing theft charges after December incident. several mechanical items from a tire shop. Deputies received information about the men fleeing the scene in a white sport utility vehicle.

Officials patrolled the vicinity of U.S. 83 and noticed a vehicle matching the description. Deputies pulled the vehicle over and talked to two men who, officials say, had questionable items inside the vehicle.

The people inside the vehicle were identified as Zapata residents Eugenio

GILBERTO SANCHEZ: Accused in December theft incident.

Pena IV, 30, and Gilberto Sanchez, 33. They were arrested on theft charges after a further investigation. Deputies took both men to Zapata Regional Jail, where they each were held in lieu of $15,000 bonds.

Elizondo said the stolen items — two engine heads and an engine compressor, among other items — were returned to the owner.

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

THE BLOTTER ASSAULT Nicolas Jaramillo Jr., 25, was arrested and charged with assault causing family violence at 7:40 a.m. Tuesday in the 2500 block of Carla Street. He was taken to Webb County Jail, where he was held in lieu of a $200 bond.

Alberto Mendoza-Ochoa, 54, was arrested at 1:40 a.m. Jan. 1 while walking in the middle of the roadway of the corner of 10th Street and Villa Avenue.

He was charged with public intoxication and taken to Zapata Regional Jail, where he was released to later appear in court.

BURGLARY

TERRORISTIC THREAT

A 45-year-old man reported around 8 p.m. Monday in the 2200 block of Elm Street that someone broke into his Suburban and pickup. The victim told deputies the offender stole a wallet and a handgun.

Daniel A. Lozano, 34, was arrested and charged with resisting arrest, terroristic threat against a public servant and terroristic threat family violence at 7:45 a.m. Jan. 1 in the 1400 block of First Street.

The man was taken to Zapata Regional Jail, where he was held in lieu of a combined $30,000 bond.

PUBLIC INTOXICATION

THEFT Deputies responded to a theft call at 2:48 p.m. Jan. 1 at Zapata County Cemetery, off FM 496.

The 41-year-old female complainant told officials that someone stole a wreath from a grave site. The item was valued at $350.

A 62-year-old man called deputies at 9:14 a.m. Jan. 1 from Alejandrenas Road, west of FM 2687.

He told officials that someone stole several items from the oil rig area. Items missing were cement sacks, pipe wrenches and gas monitors, among other assorted tools.

Photo by Ulysses S. Romero | The Zapata Times

Nancy Zhou, an 18-year-old violinist from the San Antonio Symphony, performs Caprices No. 7 and 24 during the Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra’s eighth annual Rising Stars Recital at the Laredo Civic Center on Friday morning.

Mr. and Ms. TAMIU is ‘new tradition’ at school SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

In an effort to better recognize Texas A&M International University students who embody “Dustdevil” spirit, two TAMIU students will be selected by their peers as “Mr. and Ms. TAMIU” this spring.

Jerry Alva, director of Student Affairs, who helped students develop the initiative, explained the effort’s process and goal.

“Our group worked hand-in-hand with various on-campus departments and student organizations to develop a ‘Mr. and Ms. TAMIU.’ Students agreed from the inception that this would not be a contest focused on appearance, but rather on two students who best exemplify a commitment to the institution, and have an interest in promoting the University through academic excellence, student involvement and school pride,” Alva explained.

The election of “Mr. and Ms. TAMIU” will coincide with the launch of TAMIU’s Spirit Week, dedicated to the celebration of student life and school pride.

In the fall, students were nominated by faculty, staff or student organizations to participate in the selection. Nominees completed an intensive interview process with a university-wide panel including alumni, faculty, staff and students. Six finalists advanced to ballot selection. An online election takes place Jan. 24Jan. 26 for enrolled students.

Student finalists selected are Alvaro Aguirre, junior political science major; Andrea Beattie, senior political science; Diana Galindo, junior communication disorders major; Triana Gonzalez, junior English major;

Juan Ortiz, junior business administration major and Erik Villa, sophomore business administration major.

The election of “Mr. and Ms. TAMIU” will coincide with the launch of TAMIU’s Spirit Week, dedicated to the celebration of student life and school pride.

Students elected for the honor will be announced in a ceremony on Jan. 27 between men’s and women’s Dustdevil basketball games in the KinesiologyConvocation Building.

PAGE 4A

Zopinion

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

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

EDITORIAL

OTHER VIEWS

Changes bad for Twain NEW YORK TIMES

N

ext month, you will be able to buy the single-volume NewSouth Edition of Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” It differs from other editions because “nigger” — as used

by Tom and Huck — into “slave.” Also changed: “Injun” becomes Indian.

The editor said he wants to make these classics readable again — for young readers and for anyone who is hurt by the

use of an epithet used in Missouri in the 1830s and 1840s, which is when both books are set. We are horrified, and we think most readerswill be, too. The trouble isn’t merely adulterating Twain’s text. It’s also adulterating social, economic and linguistic history. Substituting the word “slave” makes it sound as though all the offense lies in the “n-word” and has nothing to do with slavery.

There is no way to “clean up” Twain without doing irreparable harm to the truth of his work.

COLUMN

Spending As Texas goes, so goes the US addicts take T pledge again “ COLUMN

By JONATHAN GURWITZ SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

E

very two years, politicians of both parties pledge on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November to stop wasteful spending and make government work harder for the health and welfare of the nation.

But sometime after noon on the third day of January, many of them slip into the mindset of the addict.

Just one more earmark.

A balanced budget, next year. This is our last omnibus spending bill, I swear.

More than temptation is at work here — even more than the glad-handing of special interest lobbyists and the donations of political action committees. A belief system prevails on Capitol Hill that holds as its primary article of faith that every district, every state, indeed every person can and should get back from Congress in the form of perks and benefits more than they send to Washington in taxes.

To any person of sound mind, such a belief is obviously implausible. It’s the political equivalent of a Ponzi scheme, promising endless returns on limited investments.

Eventually the money runs out, even in Washington, where the results of eight years of fiscal profligacy were met in 2009 with two additional years of more — more spending, more deficits, more quantitative easing.

The United States has been on a 10-year bender under Tom DeLay Republicans and Nancy Pelosi Democrats, stumbling down a path of debt monetization and currency devaluation well-trodden by economic invalids in the Third World, Argentina and, lately, Greece. Will the resolutions for sobriety in 2011 meet with any more success than in years past?

Changes There’s good reason for pessimism. In December, the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform issued its recommendations — sort of. The 10-year plan to put the United States back on sound fiscal footing received support from 11 of the commission’s 18 members. That was three short of the 14 votes needed to officially endorse the blueprint and send it to Congress.

“After all the talk about

debt and deficits,” the commission’s final report states starkly, “it is long past time for America’s leaders to put up or shut up. The era of debt denial is over.”

One month later, its recommendations are largely shelved and forgotten, along with those of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Debt Reduction Task Force and the Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform, which also issued plans.

Still, there’s some cause for optimism. The fact that three bipartisan groups that include quite a few political heavyweights — Paul Volcker, Alice Rivlin, Tom Coburn, Max Baucus and Paul Ryan, to name a few — are working on serious debt-reduction plans is a sobering sign. Our $14 trillion national debt hasn’t gone away. Neither will the efforts of sensible people to find common ground in promoting governmental abstinence. The November election was a referendum on the size and scope of government.

A Congress infused with the temperate effects of independent voters and tea party members who determined its results may act differently from previous ones.

Old habits During the lame-duck session, Democrats brought forward a $1.2 trillion omnibus spending bill with 6,630 earmarks, many of them from Republicans who had just pledged to go cold turkey. You could see some of the old spenders wavering. You could read their minds: “Just one more.”

In the end, Republicans — including Sens. John Cornyn and John Thune — repudiated their own earmarks and stopped the spending bill.

“Old habits aren’t easy to break,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, a recovering earmarker, explained on the floor of the Senate. “It’s time for some of us in Washington to show in every way possible that we mean what we say about spending.”

Admission is the first step on the road to fiscal recovery. But it’s still far too early to tell whether the era of debt denial is truly over.

(E-mail Jonathan Gurwitz at jgurwitz@expressnews.net)

hese are tough times for state governments. Huge deficits loom almost everywhere, from California to New York, from New Jersey to Texas.

Wait — Texas? Wasn’t Texas supposed to be thriving even as the rest of America suffered?

Didn’t its governor declare, during his re-election campaign, that “we have billions in surplus”?

Yes, it was, and yes, he did. But reality has now intruded, in the form of a deficit expected to run as high as $25 billion over the next two years.

Taxing beliefs And that reality has implications for the nation as a whole. For Texas is where the modern conservative theory of budgeting — the belief that you should never raise taxes under any circumstances, that you can always balance the budget by cutting wasteful spending — has been implemented most completely. If the theory can’t make it there, it can’t make it anywhere.

How bad is the Texas deficit? Comparing budget crises among states is tricky, for technical reasons. Still, data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities suggest that the Texas budget gap is worse than New York’s, about as bad as California’s, but not quite up to New Jersey levels.

The point, however, is that just the other day Texas was being touted as a role model (and still is

PAUL KRUGMAN

by commentators who haven’t been keeping up with the news). It was the state the recession supposedly passed by, thanks to its low taxes and businessfriendly policies. Its governor boasted that its budget was in good shape thanks to his “tough conservative decisions.”

Few unions Oh, and at a time when there’s a full-court press on to demonize public-sector unions as the source of all our woes, Texas is nearly demon-free: Less than 20 percent of publicsector workers there are covered by union contracts, compared with almost 75 percent in New York.

So what happened to the “Texas miracle” many people were talking about even a few months ago?

Part of the answer is that reports of a recession-proof state were greatly exaggerated. It’s true that Texas job losses haven’t been as severe as those in the nation as a whole since the recession began in 2007. But Texas has a rapidly growing population — largely, suggests Harvard’s Edward Glaeser, because its liberal land-use and zoning policies have kept housing cheap. There’s nothing wrong with that; but given that rising population,

Texas needs to create jobs more rapidly than the rest of the country just to keep up with a growing work force.

And when you look at unemployment, Texas doesn’t seem particularly special: Its unemployment rate is below the national average, thanks in part to high oil prices, but it’s about the same as the unemployment rate in New York or Massachusetts.

Budget magic What about the budget?

The truth is that the Texas state government has relied for years on smoke and mirrors to create the illusion of sound finances in the face of a serious “structural” budget deficit — that is, a deficit that persists even when the economy is doing well.

When the recession struck, hitting revenue in Texas just as it did everywhere else, that illusion was bound to collapse.

The only thing that let Gov. Rick Perry get away, temporarily, with claims of a surplus was the fact that Texas enacts budgets only once every two years, and the last budget was put in place before the depth of the economic downturn was clear. Now the next budget must be passed — and Texas may have a $25 billion hole to fill. Now what?

Given the complete dominance of conservative ideology in Texas politics, tax increases are out of the question. So it has to be spending cuts.

Yet Perry wasn’t lying

about those “tough conservative decisions”: Texas has indeed taken a hard, you might say brutal, line toward its most vulnerable citizens.

Among the states, Texas ranks near the bottom in education spending per pupil, while leading the nation in the percentage of residents without health insurance. It’s hard to imagine what will happen if the state tries to eliminate its huge deficit purely through further cuts.

I don’t know how the mess in Texas will end up being resolved. But the signs don’t look good, either for the state or for the nation.

Cuts, balances Right now, triumphant conservatives in Washington are declaring that they can cut taxes and still balance the budget by slashing spending. Yet they haven’t been able to do that even in Texas, which is willing both to impose great pain (by its stinginess on health care) and to shortchange the future (by neglecting education). How are they supposed to pull it off nationally, especially when the incoming Republicans have declared Medicare, Social Security and defense off limits?

People used to say that the future happens first in California, but these days what happens in Texas is probably a better omen.

And what we’re seeing right now is a future that doesn’t work.

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-call-

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

ing 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.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

State

6A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

Lawyer’s signing skills aids her deaf clients

By STEVEN KREYTAK AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN

AUSTIN — When Amber Farrelly Elliott was 9, her mother enrolled her in an American Sign Language class in hopes of keeping the inquisitive youngster occupied during summer vacation.

The language immediately fascinated Elliott, whose hearing is not impaired. Every day she eagerly rode her bike to the class in a church in her hometown of Lawton, Okla., a military town near Fort Sill. Elliott studied signs at night to keep up with her adult classmates.

That summer began an affinity for sign language and deaf culture that El-

AMBER ELLIOTT: The only attorney in Austin fluent in sign language. liott calls upon today as a criminal defense lawyer in Travis County. Licensed to practice law for just over a year, she fills a niche at the Travis County Courthouse with her ability to directly communicate with deaf clients instead of indirectly through an interpreter.

“It’s a beautiful language,” Elliott said. “It’s just so expressive. And captivating. When you see somebody sign, you can’t help as a hearing person to look and be like, ‘Wow, they are communicating with their hands, and they understand each other.”’

Court officials say they assign Elliott to represent all the deaf people in Travis County who have been arrested for Class A and B misdemeanors and can’t afford to hire their own lawyer. That amounts to about two or three defendants a month, said court administrator Debra Hale. Certified interpreters still translate for those clients during most official court hearings. Because of her limited experience, the local judges have not yet approved Elliott, 34, to represent court-appointed clients in felony cases.

County Court-at-Law Judge Nancy Hohengarten said Elliott’s ability to communicate with clients in their language further en-

sures defendants will receive fair representation.

“I think she’s a very good lawyer,” Hohengarten said. “She has good communication skills and perhaps that’s in part because of her (sign language) training.”

County officials estimate there are 50,000 to 60,000 deaf and hard of hearing people in the Austin metropolitan area. That’s one of the largest populations in the country, according to deaf advocates and county officials, who believe it is partly because of the presence of the Texas School for the Deaf and government agencies that offer services to deaf people.

Paul Rutowski, president of the Texas Association of

the Deaf, an advocacy organization, said some deaf people have been skeptical of Elliott, worrying that she is using her sign language skills to “patronize the deaf community.”

Rutowski does not believe that is the case.

“I value Amber’s contributions to her profession as we all benefit from her expertise,” he wrote. “Her knowing sign language is really a benefit to us and everyone else. She has a good personality and is a good person.”

Elliott is 5 feet tall with a high-pitched voice. But that can be misleading, said Alexandra Gauthier, the president of the Austin Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, who has

worked closely with Elliott.

“She’s a little pit bull” in court, Gauthier said. “She’s also whip-smart and extremely well-organized.”

Elliott estimated she has represented about 65 deaf clients, most of them in Travis County and a few in Williamson County, mostly on misdemeanors.

She said that because the deaf community is so small, she takes steps to protect their privacy, such as not scheduling clients to come to her office or to court at the same time.

In many of the cases, she said, prosecutors have dismissed charges after Elliott convinced them that there was no crime and simply a misunderstanding between hearing and deaf people.

Sheriffs watching immigration bills

By PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — Illegal immigration isn’t on the short list of issues Texas sheriffs gave this year’s Legislature, but it could end up becoming a new priority.

Texas has 254 sheriffs, and while opinions vary about whether illegal immigration should be their problem, some Republicans are pushing measures that won’t give them a choice.

More than a dozen bills targeting illegal immigration await the Legislature when it convenes Tuesday, when the GOP will enter with a historic conservative supermajority in the House.

One bill would require police to ask drivers without identification if they’re in the country legally. Another would cut off funds to departments that don’t enforce immigrations laws.

“It’s split among my colleagues on whether we should be out here just stopping individuals without probable cause, and questioning them on their immigration status,” said Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton, who believes the proposals invite profiling.

On Thursday, El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles planned to join immigrant advocacy groups at the Capitol, where they’re expected to denounce bills targeting illegal immigrants as bad for the Texas economy and constitutionally unworkable.

In Arizona, a new law passed last year requires police officers, when enforcing other laws, to question the immigration status of those they suspect are in the country illegally. The Obama administration filed a lawsuit to block portions of the law, and the outcome remains pending in federal court.

Many Texas sheriffs along the border, long vocal about being understaffed and underfunded on the edge of Mexico’s violent drug war, oppose the measures as another drain on their deputies. They and sheriffs in Houston and San Antonio also worry about profiling.

Others don’t see it as an imposition, and maybe a necessity. In Fort Bend County, which includes Houston’s conservative suburbs, Sheriff Milton Wright said he would support laws requiring enforcement im-

REP. LAMAR SMITH: Part of new approach to immigration. migration laws if the federal government won’t.

“If they’re not going to do it, then we need to,” he said.

Arizona’s new law left Texas facing unavoidable questions. Texas has an estimated 1.6 million illegal immigrants, second only to California, and Republicans control every statewide office. Gov. Rick Perry has said he doesn’t support Texas adopting a law identical to Arizona’s, while at the same time praising that state’s initiative for taking on the illegal immigration problem.

Texas lawmakers have filed immigration bills before, only to see them wither. Deep ties Texas has to Mexico are as much cultural as economic, and leading business groups in the state oppose tough crackdown measures.

But between the new GOP supermajority in the

House and Arizona’s success, outnumbered Texas Democrats aren’t willing to make wagers on the chances of the bills prevailing this time.

“You’ve got a bunch of new Republicans who campaigned with some very inflammatory rhetoric, and they now find themselves in charge,” said Democratic Rep. Rafael Anchia. “I’m sure they’re going to want to deliver for some of their constituencies.”

So important is the issue to state Rep. Debbie Riddle that she camped outside the clerk’s window to ensure her get-tough immigration bills would be first in line. State Sen. Dan Patrick filed a bill that would require police to ask anyone without an ID whether they’re in the country illegally, but the Houston-area talk radio host says his measure affords officer discretion. For instance, he said an officer could choose not to arrest a minivandriving mom who is an illegal immigrant.

Patrick, who visited Ari-

zona to see its new law in action, said the possibility of legal challenges is no barrier.

“Too many people want to duck and cover and bury their heads in the sand,” Patrick said. “This is an issue we have to stand tall on. Republicans have to stand together.”

In most Texas counties, a suspect’s legal status becomes an issue only if they’re booked into jail.

Their fingerprints are run through a Homeland Security database, and people who are flagged are referred to federal immigration agents.

Harris County was the first place in the nation to try the federal program, called Secure Communities. But that’s about the extent that Sheriff Adrian Garcia wants to be involved in immigration enforcement.

ZAPATA COUNTY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT JOB POSTING Position:

Instructional Assistant for Special Education Program

Salary:

Minimum $15,932.00

Pay Grade:

Instructional Support Pay Ranges Pay Grade 2

Minimum Duty Days:

187 Days

Minimum Requirements:

1. Possess a high school diploma or it’s equivalent and 2. Meet one of the following qualifications A. Completion of an associate’s degree or higher degree from an accredited institution.

B. Possess 48 semester credit hours from an accredited institution.

C. Successful completion of a rigorous training program approved by the Superintendent.

Preferred Qualifications:

Some experience working with children with special needs

Special Knowledge/Skills:

Demonstrated ability to work effectively and harmoniously with administrators and other staff.

General knowledge of teaching and interacting with special needs children.

Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively both in written form and orally.

Possess technical skills necessary to perform essential job requirements, such as adequate knowledge of subject matter, sound teaching methodology and effective discipline techniques. Treat all people with dignity and respect.

Deadline for Applying:

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Maximum $23,891.00

Applications may be obtained from: Human Resources Department P.O. Box 158 17th and Carla Zapata, Texas 78076 (956) 765-6858 Fax (956) 765-5940 We consider applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, national origin, age, religion, sex, marital or veteran status, the presence of a medical condition, disability or any other legally protected status.

An Equal Opportunity Employer

SÁBADO 8 DE ENERO DE 2011

Agenda en Breve SÁBADO 8 DE ENERO LAREDO — Camine para prevenir el suicidio al unirse a la Out of the Darkness Community Walk en el Campus Fort McIntosh del Laredo Community College.

La inscripción es gratuita a partir de las 8:30 a.m. La caminata iniciará a las 9:30 a.m. Se aceptarán Doanciones.

LAREDO — El equipo de baloncesto femenil de Texas A&M International University recibe a St. Edward’s University a las 2 p.m. La entrada general es de 5 dólares. Visite godustdevils.com para más información.

LAREDO — El equipo de baloncesto varonil de Texas A&M International University recibe a St. Edward’s University a las 4:30 p.m. La entrada general es de 5 dólares. Visite godustdevils.com para más información.

NUEVO LAREDO — Jóvenes del Colectivo Amorfo tendrán el día de hoy sus talleres de Skate, Graffiti, Street Art, Innovación Musical, Serigrafía, Teatro Callejero, Dibujos con Gis, Fotografía y Rincón de Lectura y Cosplay del club de anime Yakusoku No Sekai, a partir de las 12 p.m. en la Maquila CreativaEspacio de Artes y Oficios, Av. Eva Sámano 1501, colonia 20 de Noviembre, antes Maquila Cives, del Parque Industrial Longoria. Entrada libre.

NUEVO LAREDO — Hoy a la 1 p.m., ASEDUNE hará entrega de juguetes que fueron regalados y donados por ciudadanos de Nuevo Laredo y Laredo Texas en la Colonia ITAVU, junto a la Colonia Palmares. Habrá un show de muppets, mimos y refrigerios, dulces y piñatas.

LUNES 10 DE ENERO LAREDO — Únase al Laredo Community College para una recepción de apertura para DigiArt 3, con trabajos de estudiantes y maestros de los programas de Computer Aided Drafting y Design Technology Program, a las 10:30 a.m. en la Biblioteca Yeary del Campus Fort McIntosh de LCC. La entrada es gratuita y abierta al público en general.

Zfrontera Texas analiza ley de inmigración Alguaciles del Estado tienen opiniones encontradas sobre las reformas.

POR PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — El aluvión conservador que recorre Texas podría generar una serie de reformas que asignarían a la policía funciones tradicionales del servicio de inmigración. Y la idea no entusiasma demasiado a muchos de los interesados.

La policía tejana parece estar dividida en torno a la posibilidad de que se le pida que combata a los indocumentados. Y esa es una posibilidad real, ya que hay más de una docena de proyectos de ley que darían a la policía mayores responsabilidades en el área de inmigración.

Los republicanos gozan de mayoría absoluta en la legislatura tejana tras sus victorias en las elecciones de noviembre y promueven proyectos como uno que contempla que la policía le pregunte a los conductores que no tengan identificación si están en el país legalmente. Otro reduciría los fondos que asigna el estado a un departamento policial si éste no hace cumplir las leyes de inmigración.

“Estamos divididos con mis colegas en torno a si corresponde que detengamos a individuos sin razón alguna y les preguntamos por su status migratorio”, comentó el alguacil del condado de Travis Greg Hamilton, quien considera que ese tipo de iniciativas generarán discriminación.

El sheriff, o jefe de la policía, de El Paso County Richard Wiles anunció su participación en una movil-

ización frente al capitolio estatal para denunciar proyectos de ley enfocados en los indocumentados, que son descriptos como perjudiciales para la economía tejana y difíciles de llevar a la práctica.

Una ley aprobada en Arizona exige a la policía que, al hacer cumplir las leyes, investigue el status migratorio de personas que sospecha podrían estar en el país ilegalmente. El gobierno de Barack Obama acudió a los tribunales para tratar de impedir que algunos elementos de esa ley entren en vigor.

Texas tiene 254 condados con departamentos y alguaciles propios, muchos de los cuales se quejan de que no tienen suficiente personal para desempeñar sus funciones en un corredor fronterizo afectado por la violencia del narcotráfico y se oponen a que se les asignen nuevas funciones. Al igual que sus colegas de Houston y San Antonio, temen que iniciativas de ese tipo generen discriminación.

Otros, en cambio, opinan que el desempeño de funciones del servicio de inmigración es una necesidad.

En el condado de Fort Bend, que incluye algunos suburbios conservadores de Houston, el sheriff Milton Wright dice que apoyará el que sus hombres combatan a los indocumentados si el gobierno nacional no lo hace.

“Si ellos no lo van a hacer, tenemos que hacerlo nosotros”, expresó.

Se calcula que en Texas hay unos 1,6 millones de indocumentados, más que en

ningún otro estado, con excepción de California, y los republicanos controlan todas las dependencias del gobierno. El gobernador Rick Perry ha dicho que no apoya una legislación como la de Arizona, pero que le parece bien que el estado tome cartas en el asunto de los indocumentados.

En el pasado hubo iniciativas de este tipo que no prosperaron en Texas, estado que tiene profundos lazos culturales y económicos con México y donde importantes grupos empresariales se han opuesto a medidas represivas hacia los indocumentados.

Pero la situación ha cambiado ahora que los republicanos tienen una mayoría absoluta en la legislatura y que la ley de Arizona genera iniciativas similares en el resto del país.

La representante Debbie Riddle considera que el asunto es tan importante que acampó afuera del capitolio para asegurarse de que sus proyectos sobre los indocumentados recibían prioridad. El senador estatal Dan Patrick presentó un proyecto por el cual la policía deberá preguntarle a cualquier persona que no tenga identificación si está en el país legalmente. Dice que no será obligatorio hacerlo, sino que quedará a discreción del agente. Según pinta él las cosas, el agente puede decidir no arrestar a una mujer que lleva a sus hijos a algún sitio en una minivan y que resulta ser una indocumentada.

En la mayoría de los condados de Texas, la policía averigua el status migratorio de una persona solo si es arrestada por alguna razón.

MARTES 11 DE ENERO LAREDO — Hal’s Landing inicia hoy el segundo año de “una campaña de recaudación de fondos al mes” en beneficio del South Texas Food Bank (6510 Arena Road), de 7 p.m. a la medianoche. La música estará a cargo de Jus-B-Cuz. La entrada general es de 10 dólares por persona. Adquiera sus boletos llamando al (956) 7263120 ó (956) 324-2432.

JUEVES 13 DE ENERO LAREDO — El equipo de baloncesto femenil de Texas A&M International University recibe a Newman University a las 5:30 p.m. La entrada general es de 5 dólares. Visite godustdevils.com para más información.

LAREDO — El equipo de baloncesto varonil de Texas A&M International University recibe a St. Edward’s University a las 8 p.m. La entrada general es de 5 dólares. Visite godustdevils.com para más información.

VIERNES 14 DE ENERO LAREDO — Juego de Hockey, los Laredo Bucks reciben a Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees a las 7 p.m. en Laredo Energy Arena.

SÁBADO 15 DE ENERO LAREDO — El equipo de baloncesto femenil de Texas A&M International University recibe a Oklahoma Panhandle State University a las 2 p.m. La entrada general es de 5 dólares. Visite godustdevils.com para más información.

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

El Gobernador de Tamaulipas Egidio Torre Cantú, cuarto de izquierda a derecha, se reunió con representantes de los medios de comunicación durante la celebración del Día del Periodista, el 4 de enero.

Ahí destacó la importancia de trabajar unidos para el bien del estado.

Gobierno Estatal destaca a periodistas TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Una visión de futuro fue la propuesta general del Gobierno del Estado a representantes de los medios de comunicación reunidos en Ciudad Victoria con motivo del Día del Periodista.

El Gobernador Egidio Torre Cantú resumió los objetivos de la administración en materia de desarrollo agropecuario, seguridad, generación de empleos, medio ambiente, abasto de agua potable, educación, desarrollo social y vivienda.

“Creo que una de las formas para que perduren y trasciendan los tiempos de las administraciones municipales y estatales es con la participación ciudadana”, dijo Torre.

Principalmente se trabaja en crear un plan de colaboración interinstitucional y entre los distintos órdenes de gobierno, para lograr el restablecimiento de la paz.

Torre dijo que para esto se cuenta con la colaboración de las autoridades federales.

Esta primera semana de actividades del nuevo gobierno estatal está siendo utilizada para evaluar los proyectos de infraestructura estratégica a la vez que las distintas dependencias de la administración están adquiriendo un ritmo de trabajo antes de que decida realizar una gira por los municipios del Estado.

Torre dijo que se estableció un término de un par de meses para que cada uno de los funcionarios

responsables presenten su visión de los proyectos que se deben desarrollar.

Serán estas ideas las que formen el Plan Estatal de Desarrollo, que se pondrá a consideración de la ciudadanía.

El Plan Estatal de Desarrollo contempla la planeación de obras y proyectos para todo el periodo de la administración.

“Traemos planes, traemos programas, traemos equipo de trabajo y muchas ganas de salir adelante en beneficio de esta estado y de todos sus habitantes”, dijo Torre.

Agregó que apoyará principalmente a la agroindustria para que los productos del campo sean no solamente exportados sino aprovechados en la misma entidad.

PÁGINA 7A

Ejército presenta reporte POR CÉSAR G. RODRÍGUEZ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Soldados mexicanos tuvieron un ocupado 2010 con decomisos de aproximadamente 96 toneladas de marihuana, más de 800 personas arrestadas, más de 3,500 armas de fuego y 1,600 granadas confiscadas, junto con 940,000 rondas de municiones, y la lista sigue con bazookas, vehículos armados, millones de pesos y aproximadamente medio millón de dólares.

Ese fue el resultado de decomisos obtenidos por soldados con la Octava Zona Militar ubicada en Reynosa durante el 2010, de acuerdo a un comunicado de prensa dado a conocer por el Ejército Mexicano.

Esta zona tiene como objetivo las actividades sospechosos a lo largo de la frontera norte de Tamaulipas, incluyendo a Nuevo Laredo.

“Con estas acciones, el personal militar involucrada en la operación conjunta Nuevo León-Tamaulipas, continúa combatiendo a las organizaciones criminales en todos sus niveles, sea en áreas urbanas como rurales”, indica el comunicado de SeDeNa, agregando que oficiales militares están comprometidos a traer la paz que la sociedad merece y demanda.

La Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional dio a conocer el comunicado diciendo que los decomisos son el resultado final de la estrategia contra el narcotráfico y el crimen organizado.

Soldados decomisaron 96.34 toneladas de marihuana durante el 2010. Oficiales de SeDeNa creen que la organización de tráfico de drogas pudiera haber hecho 48, 171,557 dosis. Oficiales del ejército creen que distribuidores pudieran haber obtenido 500 dosis de un kilogramo. Si las drogas hubieran llegado a las calles, el narcótico pudiera haber sido vendido por 100 pesos la dosis. Oficiales de SeDeNa valuaron la marihuana en aproximadamente 4, 817, 155,760 pesos, ó casi 395 millones de dólares.

Soldados también eliminaron 200.16 libras de cocaína de las calles. Distribuidores pudieran hab-

DECOMISOS POR SEDENA 2010 96 toneladas de marihuana 3,540 armas de fuego 1,600 granadas 941,132 rondas de municiones 25 bazookas 94 vehículos armados Más de 3 millones de pesos Aproximadamente medio millón de dólares; y, 864 personas arrestadas.

Fuente: Sedena.gob er creado 90,790 dosis, cada dosis con un valor aproximado en la calle de 150 pesos. Oficiales de SeDeNa estima que el valor total de la cocaína es de 13, 618,500 pesos.

También en 2010, soldados recuperaron 1,342 vehículos.

Un buen indicador de que la guerra de las drogas pudiera escalar es el decomiso de 94 vehículos armados. Autoridades y armas también son parte de la batalla actual.

Soldados decomisaron 3,540 armas de fuego, 1,684 granadas y 25 bazookas. Oficiales también decomisaron 941,132 municiones, junto con 34,359 clips para municiones.

Los calibres no estuvieron disponibles al momento de cierre de la edición.

Los decomisos de efectivo variaron entre los millones de pesos además del dinero en dólares. Soldados confiscaron 3, 104,226.40 pesos y 583,163 dólares.

De acuerdo a las estadísticas de SeDeNa, soldados arrestaron a 864 personas en relación con los decomisos en el 2010.

Cuando se trata de luchar contra la guerra de las drogas, la colaboración entre México y autoridades policíacas de EU pudo ayudar, dijo el Investigador Joe E. Baeza, vocero del Departamento de Policía de Laredo.

“Cualquier intervención es una buena intervención pero hay mucho más trabajo por hacer”, agregó él.

“Ciertamente trataremos de hacer (nuestro trabajo) para contrarrestar la actividad del narcotráfico”.

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

Crean ‘Centro Emprende’ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

NUEVO LAREDO — A mediados de diciembre la Cámara Nacional de Comercio, Servicios y Turismo de Nuevo Laredo cambió para convertirse en Centro México Emprende Fue el Gobierno Federal y la Secretaría de Economía quienes realizaron la inversión de casi 4 millones de pesos para responder a las necesidades de los empresarios locales.

El Presidente Nacional de la Confederación de Cámaras de Comercio (CONCANACO) Jorge Enrique Dávila Flores explicó que el centro otorgará servicios de atención integral, ágil y oportuna, ya que cuenta con área de asesoría digital, aula de capacitación con pantalla y proyector, módulos de atención y personal capacitado.

En tanto, el Presidente de la Cámara de Comercio-Nuevo Laredo, Emilio

EMILIO GIRÓN: Dijo se ofrecerán capacitaciones a empresarios.

Girón Fernández de Jáuregui dijo que con este cambio se podrán ofrecer más beneficios a los socios.

“México Emprende tiene como objetivo promover y vincular programas de desarrollo, así como también ofrece el servicios de capacitación a empresas e instituciones del sector público y privado”, dijo Girón.

Aclaró que esto incluye cursos, talleres y diplomados con contenido y metodología para cubrir las necesidades de los Empresarios-Emprendedores, además de asesoría fiscal, jurídica y financiera.

Las oficinas de Centro México Emprende se encuentran en el segundo piso de la Cámara Nacional de Comercio-Nuevo Laredo en Álvaro Oregón # 2244.

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

School connects to social networking

By LAURA HEINAUER AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN

AUSTIN — Starting this semester, some Eanes school district elementary students will be asked to write book reports as short as a Twitter message — 140 characters or fewer.

And an Eanes middle school principal is lifting the ban on cell phones for eighth-graders.

No, it’s not Armageddon, though the principal did joke that the thought of giving middle school students access to cell phones during the school day was initially frightening to some.

Carl Hooker, Eanes’ instructional technology coordinator, said the changes are among the forwardlooking innovations the district is testing to bring more technology into the classroom.

Eanes is among districts across the country that are embracing technology ubiquitous among today’s youngsters, smart phones, PC tablets and anything else that keeps “Generation Net” constantly plugged in to online social networks.

The Austin district expects to deploy 20,000 netbooks by spring break, and many area district libraries check out iPads to students who receive lessons on “digital chalkboards.”

The phones must remain on students’ desks in silent mode and can only be used for purposes allowed by their teachers, such as adding tests to calendars, texting an answer to a question asked in class or using the Internet for research.

Some private schools, including the Khabele School in downtown Austin, have put laptops on the school supply list. But Eanes is among the first public districts encouraging teachers to make use of tech that has often been forbidden, such as cell phones and social media, particularly in the early grades.

“There’s a lot of collaboration and communication” among teachers, administrators and technical staffers in this pilot stage, Hooker said. “I really wanted to bring an openness to it, but we also need to be sure we are spending our money wisely. As a result, we’ve really tried to create an environment where people feel comfortable piloting things on a small scale. And if they work, then we look at expanding.”

West Ridge Middle School Principal Karl Waggoner said his decision to end the longtime ban on cell phones for eighthgraders was prompted mostly by “having a group of teachers brave enough”

to test it out last semester, while the rest of the school adhered to the rule that cell phones be turned off and left in lockers.

The move is quite a departure from the student conduct policies at other middle schools. In Austin, using a cell phone during the school day can result in its confiscation. Austin officials said it will consider whether to change the rule this year.

Waggoner said about 80 percent of students bring a cell phone to school anyway, and most others have one at home.

“I think a lot of schools are looking for ways to truly reach students where they are,” he said. “Certainly, we have computers and smart (chalk) boards, but when you think about what’s growing in the palms of their hands — it’s their cell phones.”

West Ridge’s new cell phone privileges come with several rules, Waggoner said. The phones must remain on students’ desks in silent mode and can only be used for purposes allowed by their

teachers, such as adding tests to calendars, texting an answer to a question asked in class or using the Internet for research.

Students are still expected not to send or receive calls or unauthorized texts at any time during the school day, he said.

Waggoner, an iPhone user, said his appreciation of the device as a tool for research and organization played a part in his decision to allow their use.

“Would I have done it without using it myself ?

Probably not,” he said.

“Technology is scary and it freaks people out. But what I’ve found is if you get in and start driving it, you lose that fear, you gain confidence and you start using it as a tool.”

Don Knezek , the CEO of the Oregon-based International Society for Technology in Education, said, “This opening up of school networks to nontraditional applications and devices is clearly a trend that’s gaining momentum.”

Knezek, who also is an advisory board member of the South by Southwest In-

teractive Conference on technology in education that is being held in Austin in March, added: “I think schools are becoming much more aware that they can’t just outlaw these things and that, in fact, it’s now their job to help teach kids how to use them responsibly.”

In using new technology, Knezek said, teachers are finding that different types of students are becoming more engaged.

Teachers using wiki groups for online discussions have often discovered that a whole different group of students lead discussions than in the classroom.

“We’re finding girls, in particular, are much more participatory in those settings,” he said.

At Eanes’ Forest Trail Elementary School, reading specialist Alyson Collins will be asking her third- and fifth-grade students to write book reports this semester in 140 characters or fewer. She said the students, who all signed up for private, anonymous Twitter ac-

counts last semester, will be asked to tweet on computers as part of a lesson on how to summarize.

“I was brainstorming on how to use more technology in the classroom, and that’s where Twitter came in,” Collins said.

Of course, students are still writing traditional book reports, Collins said, but by employing Twitter in this case, as opposed to the old technique of using Post-it notes to get students to summarize an idea, Collins is taking advantage of the excitement that using social media has with today’s students.

“Some have already seen their parents use it or even had access to their own personal accounts, but getting to do it together at school has been very exciting for them,” she said. “ If it’s something they’re excited about and engaged in, then it’s a great avenue for teaching traditional skills in an innovative way.”

The new technology comes with new responsibilities, Hooker said. Teachers who use social networking with students need to be trained on what’s considered appropriate behavior. Changes to the Texas Educators’ Code of Ethics that address electronic communications with students took effect last month.

Guantanamo Cleanup efforts cause argument detainee asks judge for leniency

By HARRY R. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS

By LARRY NEUMEISTER ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — The first Guantanamo Bay detainee to be convicted on a terrorism charge in a U.S. civilian court has asked for leniency at sentencing, citing his “mistreatment” at an overseas CIA camp, prosecutors said in papers filed Friday in which they seek to keep him incarcerated for life.

The treatment of Ahmed Ghailani after his 2004 arrest was not mentioned at his trial last year, when he was convicted by a jury in U.S. District Court in Manhattan of one count of conspiracy to destroy U.S. property and acquitted of 280 other charges. Papers filed Friday by defense lawyers were under seal, presumably because they discuss his treatment.

The charge of which Ghailani, 36, was convicted stemmed from the August 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.

The bombings killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.

The mention of Ghailani’s post-arrest treatment ensures that his handling by the CIA will be a focus of his sentencing, which is scheduled for Jan. 25.

Just before Ghailani’s five-week trial began, Judge Lewis Kaplan excluded the government’s main witness, saying prosecutors could not show they would have learned about him were it not for information divulged while Ghailani was held at a CIA camp where harsh interrogation tactics were used. After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the CIA used 10 harsh methods, including waterboarding, a form of simulated drowning.

The judge said prosecutors failed to show Ghailani’s rough CIA interrogation played no role in getting the witness to cooperate.

Though many of the details about Ghailani’s treatment have been kept secret, the defense divulged during a pretrial hearing that he was subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques for 14 hours over five days. Ghailani was arrested in Pakistan, was transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2006 and was moved to Manhattan for trial in 2009.

Prosecutors said in pa-

The mention of Ghailani’s post-arrest treatment ensures that his handling by the CIA will be a focus of his sentencing, which is scheduled for Jan. 25. pers filed Friday that defense lawyers want leniency on the grounds that Ghailani was “mistreated” while in CIA and Department of Defense custody and because he provided information to U.S. authorities.

They noted that the federal probation office rejected the defense request in recommending that he be sentenced to life in prison. The government said the probation report cited the enormity of the crime, the painful impact the bombings continue to have on the victims and “Ghailani’s lack of compassion for human life.”

Prosecutors said in their papers that Ghailani participated in an “appalling crime.”

“The scale of this killing and maiming was tragically vast,” they said.

They said Ghailani “operated at the very heart of the al-Qaida terror cell that destroyed” the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and played a hands-on role in the final preparations for the attacks. They said he bought essential bomb components, including fertilizer and more than 100 explosive detonators, and helped load the components into a truck that he had bought and that was used to commit one of the bombings.

Defense lawyers maintained that Ghailani was a dupe who did not know the supplies were to be used in a terrorist attack.

A message left with one of Ghailani’s lawyers wasn’t immediately returned Friday.

PORT SULPHUR, La. — Federal and Louisiana officials got into a heated argument Friday over the cleanup of marshes during a tour of an area that remains fouled 8-1/2 months after the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

State and Plaquemines Parish officials took media on a boat tour of Barataria Bay, pointing out an area where oil continues to eat away at marshes and protective boom is either absent or has been gobbled up by the oil. The area that reporters saw was 30 feet to 100 feet wide in sections.

No cleanup workers were there when reporters toured the area.

The marshes are critical to the Louisiana coast because they protect the shore from hurricanes and serve as a nursery for Gulf sea life.

“This is the biggest cover-up in the history of America,” Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser told reporters, gesturing with his gloved right hand, which was covered in oil.

Nungesser was accompanied by Robert Barham, the secretary of Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

As the two were answering questions from reporters, representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration interrupted to point out that a plan is being developed to clean up the marshes. They also insisted that the government has not abandoned the Gulf.

“Clearly there is oil here in the marsh but we are

Photo by Gerald Herbert | AP

Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser holds up a glob of oil from the marsh shoreline of Bay Jimmy, which was severely impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, as he tours the area with Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham in Plaquemines Parish, La., on Friday. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster remains in marshes off the coast of Louisiana, where officials renewed complaints Friday about the cleanup effort by BP and the federal government. working as a team to find a best way to clean it up,” said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr.

Dan Lauer. “It’s a high priority.”

The two sides then got into a heated argument, with Nungesser using profanity.

“It’s like you’re in bed with BP,” Nungesser told the Coast Guard and the NOAA officials.

Lauer responded that he understands the frustration, but vowed that the cleanup would continue.

“No one has ever said, ‘It’s over, we’re going home,”’ he said.

Nungesser has been a frequent and outspoken critic of the cleanup effort ever since oil from the April 20 accident began infiltrating the environmentally delicate Louisiana coast line.

Lauer and the NOAA official who tagged along on the boat tour, Scott Zengel, said a cleanup plan was being developed, though they gave few details. They also couldn’t explain why there is no mechanism in place to keep the situation from getting worse nearly six months after the flow of oil to the sea was stopped.

A Coast Guard spokesman, Lionel Bryant, said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press that rushing to clean oil from fragile areas can cause more harm than good. He also pointed out that the treatment plan being developed must be approved by federal, state and local officials.

BP spokesman Daren Beaudo said in an e-mail that with the exception of the occasional tar ball, there is no evidence of sig-

Oil falls to $88 per barrel

By CHRIS KAHN ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Oil prices fell to about $88 per barrel Friday after the government reported that the U.S. economy continues to add jobs, although not at the pace many experts hoped for.

The economy gained 103,000 jobs in December and figures for October and November were revised upward. More jobs means more cars will join the morning commute, and that usually boosts gasoline consumption in the U.S. But drivers are expected to stay closer to

home this month as severe winter weather sweeps across the country.

Retail pump prices added less than a penny overnight to a new national average of $3.08 per gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. A gallon of regular is 11.5 cents more expensive than a month ago and about 37 cents higher than it was last year.

Oil had been rising, increasing 22 percent from Labor Day through the end of the year. It hit a two-year high on the first trading day of 2011 before dropping in the second

half of the week.

Traders have grown cautious in January. For more than a year, oil stayed in a relatively stable range of about $70 to $80 per barrel. It appears that even bullish forecasts from investment banks couldn’t keep them buying at above $90 per barrel.

"All this happened so fast, just a few weeks," said Tom Kloza, chief analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. "They hit a speed bump."

Benchmark crude for February delivery fell 30 cents to settle at $88.03 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

nificant amounts of oil from the blown-out well reaching the Louisiana shoreline since the end of August.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

Man gathers war histories

By SCOTT K. PARKS THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

DALLAS — George Cone is among the legions of people gathering the oral histories of World War II veterans before they die.

But Cone has taken his campaign a step further: He’s also interviewing the Germans who once tried to kill his dad on the battlefields of Italy.

He realized that he would never learn the complete story of what his father and his buddies faced at Anzio and Salerno without talking to German veterans who opposed them.

Cone estimates he has taken the oral histories of 20 German veterans, who are linked to the evil of Hitler and the Nazi party responsible for the genocide of 6 million Jews.

In Germany, Cone found the war a taboo subject.

“Their politicians say the veterans have to allow themselves to be called murderers,” he said.

Cone’s fascination with

Photo by Jim Mahoney/The Dallas Morning News | AP

Dallas oil industry executive George Cone is seen with WWII memorabilia he has collected as a result of his fascination with his father’s service with the 36th Infantry Division during WWII. Cone has interviewed between 40 and 50 veterans from the Texas 36th.

In addition he has interviewed and has become friends with German WWII veterans who fought against his father.

World War II began when he was a child growing up in East Dallas during the 1960s.

He rummaged through his dad’s sock drawer to find a shiny war medal resting in a darkblue box embossed with the

words “Legion of Merit.”

Playing “army” with his brothers stimulated fantasies about his dad’s combat experience.

“I was 4 or 5 when my older brother got this game with Army men,” he re-

called. “It included a spring-activated device that hurled a jeep up in the air.

And I thought to myself that my dad had seen things like that happen.”

Now 49, Cone reckons he has taken the oral histories of 50 or 60 World War II veterans, including many who served with his father in the 36th Infantry Division.

Among the German veterans he interviewed was Guenter Halm, now 86. The artillery gunner won the Knight’s Cross — Germany’s equivalent of the Medal of Honor — after knocking out several tanks to stop an Allied advance during one battle.

Karl Koenig, in a tank crew, was captured at Tunis and spent time as a prisoner of war. Christian von Lucke commanded a tank regiment at the battle of Salerno.

“Von Lucke fought against my dad, and now we are friends,” said Cone, who still becomes emotional about his father’s wartime experiences.

ZAPATA Continued from Page 1A Commissioners Court during the budget process only,” Martinez said.

State law requires for the county to only award pay incentives to law enforcement, fire department, emergency medical services, and water and sewer departments after the county budget has been approved.

“It was brought to my attention that there were some incentives we did not approve because the money wasn’t in the budget,” Martinez said.

Most commissioners including Martinez approved the pay raises for the tax assessor/collector department in the last regular Commissioners Court meeting and are now asking to rescind the item.

In other business, Vela has requested the approval of video recordings for the

Commissioners Court meetings, providing the public access via Zapata County’s public website.

“Once we approve the video recordings of the meetings people can download them on the county website and watch what is going on in the meetings,” Vela said. “It keeps transparency.”

The technology was installed by County Treasurer Romeo Salinas, but was never approved by former County Judge Rosalva Guerra.

Also at the next meeting, the Zapata County Historical Commission will welcome three new members, Laura E. Ramirez, Ana Katrina Ramirez, and Jose Luis Elizondo, who will serve two-year terms.

Only Commissioners Court has the authority to

appoint or reappoint members, Vela said.

The Commission consists of seven or more members, Vela added.

“Once they are appointed, the officers select their officers,” Vela said.

The purpose of the commission is to preserve the history of the county and work together with the museum, Vela said.

“They have the impression that it’s all about the Quinceñiera Ball, and its not; it’s to preserve our history and historical markers and get involved with the museum,” Vela said.

Vela does not disagree with the ball meant for young girls coming of age, he said, but would like to see more done about the preservation of the history of the county by the commission.

“It’s a good thing they do for these girls, but that’s not all it’s about,” Vela said.

The commission will now also be handling its own bank account and will have to give a report to Commissioners Court at the end of the year, Vela added.

The court will also discuss the approval of all Zapata County offices to be open during lunch hours and the approval of an ordinance relating to the licensing and regulation of amusement redemption machines, also known as maquinitas or eight-liners.

The meeting will be held at the Zapata County courthouse, 200 E. 7th, Suite 108, at 9 a.m.

(Lorraine L. Rodriguez may be reached at (956)7282557.)

TAMIU Continued from Page 1A “Individual (TAMIU) departments are currently evaluating their budgets for potential reductions.”

Although university officials are not yet sure what they will cut or how much will have to be trimmed for their budgets, Juan Castillo, TAMIU vice president of finance and administration, wrote that TAMIU does not plan to offer a buyout agreement for its faculty members, some of whom earn more than $100,000 a year.

According to a TAMIU

briefing for the 82nd legislative session, which begins Tuesday, potential reductions to TAMIU’s budget range from $3.9 million to, in a worst-case scenario, $29.2 million.

In 2010, TAMIU returned about $2.1 million to the state through a flexible hiring freeze, downsizing summer school and eliminating the fund for deferred maintenance, university President Ray Keck said in late December.

Also, TAMIU has been raising class sizes, elimi-

nating smaller classes and using all large rooms for lecture halls, he said, adding that something has to give when student enrollment continues to grow and additional faculty members can’t be hired.

Meanwhile, state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, said she is “exceedingly worried” about the projected state budget shortfall and its potential impact on public education.

“And the reason is we don’t have the final (budget shortfall) figure,” she

said Tuesday. “Some say it could be as high as $25 billion. Some say $18 billion.”

As chair of the Senate higher education committee, Zaffirini said she plans to work with colleges and universities to try to make the “least hurtful cuts.”

Also, she urged the higher education community to speak “forcefully” and ensure its ideas and concerns are heard by lawmakers.

(Nick Georgiou may be reached at 728-2582 or ngeorgiou@lmtonline.com)

Jesus Guadalupe Navarro Jr. Jesus Guadalupe Navarro Jr. 17, passed away Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011, in Zapata.

Jesus is survived by his mother Eva Alaniz (Freddy Hernandez); father Jesus G. Navarro; brother Brian Lee Navarro; and by numerous Alaniz and Navarro families and many friends.

Visitation hours were held Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011, from noon to 2:30 p.m. with a rosary at 1 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home. A funeral Mass followed at 3 p.m. at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. Committal services followed at Zapata County Cemetery.

Condolences may be

sent to the family at www.rosegardenfuneralhome.com.

Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 Highway 83, Zapata.

Rosa A. Gray Rosa A. Gray, 73, passed away Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011, at Laredo Medical Center.

Ms. Gray is preceded in death by her husband Tommy G. Gray Sr.; father Jose Amaya; mother Maria Gomes de Amaya; brother Ramon Amaya and a son Juan J. Amaya Z. Ms. Gray is survived by her sons Roberto (Norma) Amaya, Joe H. (Ana) Gray and Tommy G. Jr. (Jennifer) Gray; daughters Rosa E. (Ernesto Jr.) Elizalde and Connie S. Gray; grandchildren Roberto C. Amaya, Rachel D. Amaya, Krystyna A. Gray, Alexander J. Gray, Thomas G. Gray III, William D. Gray, Sarah E. Gray, David Jr. (Jessica) Saldivar, Juan D. Saldivar, Rosie S. Saldivar, Enrique E. Elizalde and Elias E. Elizalde; great-grandchildren Daryana Saldivar and Samantha Saldivar; and by numerous nephews, nieces, and friends.

Visitation was Monday, Jan. 3, 2011, from 6 p.m. to

9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home.

The funeral procession departed at 9:30 a.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011, for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. Committal services followed at Zapata County Cemetery.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.rosegardenfuneralhome.com.

Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 Highway 83 Zapata.

Jose Jesus Rios Jose Jesus Rios, 77, passed away Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011, at McAllen Medical Center.

Mr. Rios is preceded in death by his parents Jesus (Amalia) Rios and brother Conrado Valadez Coronado.

Mr. Rios is survived by his wife Julianita Sanchez; brothers Zaragoza Valadez Coronado and Felipe (Blanca) Valadez Coronado; sister Irma (Adolfo) Coronado de Ramos; uncle Servando (Tina) Coronado; aunt Maria Elena Corona-

do de Salinas; and by numerous nephews, nieces and cousins .

Visitation hours were Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. with a rosary at 5:30 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.rosegardenfuneralhome.com.

Cremation arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 Highway 83, Zapata.

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

BROWN Continued from Page 1A

SCHOOL Continued from Page 1A “It’s a huge school,” Garcia said.

The large number of students called for the hiring of an additional security guard, Garcia said.

There are three guards on the campus, not including gate guards, Garcia added.

A visit from the American Disabilities Association showed the campus was now in compliance with wheelchair accessibility and other disability requirements.

The district included ADA requirements with all campus renovations, including the concession stand and entrances to the campus, Garcia said.

“It’s all up to par with wiring and up to code with the ADA,” Garcia said.

Other renovations included new paint, new ceilings, removed lockers, and the expansion of both the library and the cafeteria.

“Students eat breakfast in the classroom but are divided into two lunch periods in the cafeteria,” Garcia said.

New paint included inspirational murals, Garcia said.

New furniture and technology was installed on the campus, including tables, chairs, computers and projectors for the now-conjoined science classrooms and science labs.

Before, science classrooms and science labs were separate and teachers needed to carry their materials to the lab, said science teacher Michael Guerra.

“Before we were so limited in what we can do and now we can do so much more,” Guerra said.

After working with the district for nearly 16 years, Guerra was has been through three or four campuses, he said.

“It’s awesome to see the transformation,” Guerra said. “It’s going to be a big

Photo by Danny Zaragoza | TZT

Zapata Middle School students walk inside their newly remodeled school, formerly Zapata High School, on Friday morning. transition for everyone, but now our kids have something to be proud of.”

Principals have put an emphasis on technology, so computer labs also received new computers and the campus is completely wireless, Guerra said.

A shipment of more than 30 document cameras is still pending, Garcia added.

An open area for the trades department was enclosed to create classrooms, Garcia said.

“There are no more portables (buildings), so everyone is under one roof in a classroom,” Garcia said. “It’s great.”

Both the band hall and the Mariachi hall were completely renovated with new carpeting and paint, Garcia said.

The outside also received a few touch-ups, including roofs over walkways and a new pick-up area for students.

“Hopefully, later on we can get benches for the kids to sit (on) while they wait,” Garcia said.

Also included in the renovations were two designated offices for the two campus counselors, Garcia added.

In the future, Zapata Middle School plans to locate the drama department across the street, Garcia said.

(Lorraine L. Rodriguez may be reached at (956) 728-2557.)

masters degree in public health through a summer graduate study at Harvard University, he said.

Brown foresaw a great opportunity with the AEC, he said.

“I came to Zapata to be part of a team of local community leaders who want new solutions to providing higher educational and vocational training access for rural communities,” Brown said. “The chance to work with creative, dedicated and generous people who really care about the future of this community and understand the importance of higher education and vocational training was the reason I accepted the job at the center.”

Brown, now living in Zapata, said it is everything he expected.

“I knew Zapata was a beautiful county with a long tradition of environmental and good stewardship by land owners and the local county government,” Brown said. “The town has a welldeserved reputation for fishing, hunting, and lots of friendly welcoming people.

“I knew of Zapata’s oil and gas wealth, which is still a major producing county, but I know other counties located north over the Eagle Fort reserves will surpass Zapata’s production and Zapata must diversify its economy now, while its gas fields are still generating great wealth for the county,” Brown added.

Brown was officially hired Nov. 26 and since then has felt very welcomed by the community, he said.

“The community has been warm, kind and embracing,” he said. “I really like living here and the people are wonderful.”

Soon after getting hired, Brown got to work on collaborating with surrounding colleges and universities on courses of study for the center and potential students.

“There is great enthusiasm among the people for the new center,” Brown said. “The high school stu-

dents are especially interested in taking courses leading to college degrees here at home.”

The construction of the center in Zapata County confirmed Brown’s first impression that the community wants access to higher education and job training that is affordable and convenient, he said.

“The concept of an Advance Education Center working with multiple universities, colleges, public and private sector businesses and institutions through high-tech telecommunications and face-to-face instruction is a workable solution for rural communities like Zapata,” Brown said.

The center will provide the working class, students, and others seeking new job skills with access to the resources of the Texas A&M System, the University of Texas System, Laredo Community College and other participating higher education institutions, Brown said.

In addition, “The Advance Education Center will work with both public and private sector employers in Zapata to provide advance job skills training,” Brown said.

Freshman courses will be available to recent high school graduates to start working towards specific degree programs of their choice, Brown said.

Also, unemployed individuals who are interested in improving or learning new job skills and individuals seeking employment will be able to work with the inhouse Texas Workforce Solutions team, Brown said.

“Any and all Zapata residents who want to pursue advance education or study, including students outside of Zapata County, will be eligible to attend on a spaceavailable basis,” Brown said.

“Both federal and state leaders are watching Zapata and anticipating great things,” Brown said. “Others will know Zapata is serious about higher educa-

tion.”

As the director of the center, Brown was responsible for developing all courses of study in collaboration with surrounding colleges and universities and other higher education institutions.

“The center will mark a new era in Zapata, bringing the community access to higher education and training,” Brown said. “The future in the new 21st Century global based/knowledge based economy, fast evolving with every new advancement in telecommunications, cell phones, computers and biotechnologies, will not leave Zapata behind.

“Zapata will have access to the world through stateof-the-art computer labs, with audio/visual and technology that will rival those anywhere,” Brown added.

Recent high school graduates will be able to study undergraduate courses leading towards a bachelor’s degree or an associates degree for the Summer I semester available in May, Brown said.

Also, Texas A&M International University and Laredo Community College have entered into a memorandum of understanding that freshman and sophomore courses will be taught by LCC and junior and senior courses will be taught by TAMIU, Brown said.

“Where LCC does not provide courses for freshman and sophomores, TAMIU will offer such courses and vice versa for eligible college credit transfer from LCC,” Brown said.

LCC will also be providing students with Zapata

County Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services training, including advanced training and certification in Emergency Medical Training (EMT) from a program in LCC leading to state certification as part of the center’s vocational courses, Brown said.

Among all the courses of study and new job skills, the center in collaboration with LCC will be providing partnerships with major oil and gas companies operating in the region, Brown said.

“They have already started designing classes for technology training to increase worker’s knowledge, efficiency and productivity in gas pipeline maintenance, production above and below the well head, and local contractors,” Brown said.

Last but not least, courses at both the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and University of Texas Health Science Center-San Antonio in Laredo have also been planned for next year, Brown added.

“We are correcting some safety concerns and construction defects with the new building, which is normal for any new construction project,” Brown said.

“As long as all responsible parties work together and cooperate with the center’s director and steering committee to remedy those concerns, we should be open to the public well before summer classes start in May 2011.”

(Lorraine L. Rodriguez may be reached at (956) 7282557.)

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Sports&Outdoors NFL PLAYOFFS

BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Photo by Matt York | AP

Auburn and Oregon football helmets are displayed during an NCAA news conference, Thursday in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Oregon is scheduled to play Auburn in the BCS Championship on Monday in Glendale, Ariz.

GLORY IN GLENDALE Differing paths collide in Arizona

By JOHN ZENOR AND ANNE M. PETERSON ASSOCIATED PRESS

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — If there was one word to characterize the typical Oregon game this season, it would be blowout.

For Auburn — try comeback.

Both of the teams playing in BCS title game are undefeated, but they’ve taken wildly different paths to Arizona. While the No. 2 Ducks have been in just one game that was closer than double-digits, the topranked Tigers have had to rally eight times.

Somebody’s going to have

an atypical night.

game

Monday

AUBURN The Tigers’ defining moment came on Nov. 26.

See BCS PAGE 2B

Photo by John Bazemore | AP

Carolina running back Tyrell Sutton (22) is stopped by Atlanta cornerback Dunta Robinson (23) and Atlanta linebacker Sean Weatherspoon (56) with a questionable helmet hit. All eyes will be on the NFL’s reactions to helmet-to-helmet hits throughout the playoffs.

Big hits a wild card Flags look to dictate NFL’s Wild Card weekend

By HOWARD FENDRICH ASSOCIATED PRESS

As a player in the 1980s and ’90s, Hall of Fame defensive back Ronnie Lott was known for — and roundly praised for — jarring tackles. As a newly appointed cochairman of the NFL Player Safety Advisory Panel, he’s looking forward to watching this year’s playoffs and keeping tabs on what he calls “good hits.”

After a regular season in which unnecessary roughness penalties rose from 2009, and there was so much attention on concus-

Photo by Fred Beckham | AP

Members of the Texas bench react late in the second half of their 88-74 loss to Connecticut in Storrs, Conn., on Jan. 23, 2010. The ’Horns look to avenge their defeat tonight against the Huskies in Austin.

No. 12 ’Horns want revenge on No. 8 Huskies

By JIM VERTUNO ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — The fast-rising Texas Longhorns remember just how far and hard they fell last season — and how the collapse started in early January.

They promise it won’t happen again. The chemistry and talent on the team are too good to let another good start dissolve into another epic meltdown.

“The guys pull for each other and we have fun on the court,” forward Gary Johnson said this week, before the No. 12 Longhorns (12-2) face eighthranked Connecticut (11-2) on Saturday.

“It’s too early to tell if we’re a Final Four team at this

point,” Johnson said, “but we’re in a pretty good situation right now.”

It was a loss to UConn last season that seemed to start a nasty tumble from No. 1 all the way out of The Associated Press rankings in just a few weeks.

The Longhorns began the year 17-0 and was No. 1 for the first time in school history. The unbeaten streak ended with a loss to Kansas State, and the season began getting ugly a few days later when they were humbled by a Huskies team that didn’t even have Jim Calhoun on the bench.

Texas finished 24-10 and with a first-round loss in the NCAA tournament.

“We didn’t expect to lose to

UConn,” senior guard Dogus Balbay said simply. “And after that, we started losing games.”

Sophomore Jordan Hamilton, Texas’ leading scorer this season at 19.6 points per game, said better chemistry off the court has led to better play on it.

“We play harder,” Hamilton said. “We do everything together off the court. We all hang out. We never individualize ourselves with anything.”

Texas has won six in a row.

And just like last season, the Longhorns already have impressive wins over schools like North Carolina, Michigan State and Arkansas.

But beyond similar sched-

See TEXAS PAGE 2B

sions and dangerous hits — including elevated fines and threats of suspensions — the first glimpse of how that all will play out in the playoffs comes Saturday and Sunday during wild-card weekend.

Lott figures players have had sufficient time to adjust to the NFL’s increased emphasis. He also figures players should — and can — adjust.

“You’re still going to play hard.

You’re still going to hit hard.

You’re still going to find a way to get to the ball. Great players will

See PLAYOFFS PAGE 2B

Red Raiders accused by NCAA Recruiters text messaged illegally ASSOCIATED PRESS

LUBBOCK — The NCAA accused Texas Tech of major rules violations tied to recruiting on Friday, saying 16 athletics department staff members sent nearly 1,000 impermissible text messages sent to football, softball and golf prospects.

The NCAA said the school discovered the violations and reported them. It did not add punishments beyond the school’s self-imposed two years of probation, recruiting restrictions and scholarship reductions.

The NCAA said the football violations occurred between August 2007 and February 2009, which would have come under former coach Mike Leach. The NCAA said the football coaching staff sent approximately 234 text messages to 45 prospective student-athletes.

Leach, who was fired in De-

The worst infractions occurred in the men’s golf and women’s softball programs, the NCAA said. cember 2009 amid allegations he had mistreated a player with a concussion, told the Finebaum Radio Network no one on his staff broke any rules.

“I don’t know anything about it,” said Leach, who has sued the school over his termination. “We never had anything more than a secondary violation when I was there.”

Tommy Tuberville, who just completed his first year as Tech’s football coach, said every coach and staff member understands

See TX TECH PAGE 2B

PAGE 2B

Zscores

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

BELTRE GETS BIG MONEY TO BECOME RANGERS’ THIRD BASEMAN Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels, left, shakes hands with newly acquired third baseman Adrian Beltre, right, following a news conference, Wednesday in Arlington. Beltre agreed to a $96 million, six-year contract with the team.

By JANIE MCCAULEY ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP

TEXAS Continued from Page 1B ules, coach Rick Barnes dismisses any comparisons to last year.

“It’s a new season,” Barnes said, “a new team.”

But Barnes made a point of praising a group of seniors on a squad getting the bulk of its flash from freshmen and sophomores.

Johnson, Balbay, forward Matt Hill and guard Jai Lucas are largely role players on a team dom-

inated by Hamilton and freshmen Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph, but they lead by example with the work they put in practice, Barnes said.

“They’ve learned they all need each other,” Barnes said.

Balbay said the seniors have made a point of making sure the younger players give the same effort every day.

“What we do in practice, we take the same intensity

to the game. We didn’t do that last year,” Balbay said.

Balbay will have a tough job Saturday trying to guard Connecticut’s Kemba Walker, the nation’s leading scorer at 26.1 points per game. Walker had 19 points and 10 assists against Texas last season.

“He’s really fast with the ball and he’s really tough,” Balbay said. “That’s my job. I’ve got to guard him

somehow ... I’ll get help from other guys. We’ll try to shrink the court and keep him out of the paint.”

Johnson said everyone must be willing to help stop Walker. Texas’ 6-6 small forward says he’s been playing good defense this season and wants to test himself against one of the most explosive offensive players in the country.

“We’ll have a lot of guys on him,” Johnson said.

“I’m up for the challenge.”

BCS Continued from Page 1B Auburn was down 24-0, nothing was going right, and 100,000-plus fans were mostly counting them out either with gleeful celebration or stunned silence.

The Tigers rebounded from that deficit, the biggest they’ve ever overcome in a victory, to beat bitter rival Alabama 28-27 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in the regular-season finale. It stands as the latest and largest comeback led by Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton.

Auburn has turned one cliche into practically an art form this season.

“It’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish. I know everybody’s heard that before,” linebacker Josh Bynes said.

“That’s basically it. We started out horrible against Alabama and we were down 24-0 and all of a sudden ended up winning the game 28-27 because we know how to finish as a team.

“We’re all about finishing and that’s why we’re here now.”

It’s a defining character trait that surfaced in Game 3, when Auburn rallied from a 17-3 halftime deficit against Clemson. A missed 32-yard field goal in overtime preserved a 27-24 victory.

A week later, Auburn

Harbaugh jumps to NFL with 49ers

was down 20-7 against South Carolina and won by eight points after forcing four fourth-quarter turnovers. Thrillers followed against Kentucky (37-34), Arkansas (65-43, with 28 straight points in the fourth), LSU (24-17) and, of course, Alabama.

The Crimson Tide had never blown so large a lead in defeat.

“I think the chemistry of our team was built on the fact that we’ve had to win games about every way you can win them,” Tigers coach Gene Chizik said.

“We’ve had to win them late. We’ve had to win them just different ways, defensively, offensively, special teams. We’ve been in a lot of big games. I think that anytime you are really exposed to a lot of different things, it can’t do anything but help.”

And maybe it did. The Tigers nailed down a spot in the national title game with their most dominant performance yet, winning 56-17 over South Carolina for the Southeastern Conference championship. No comeback necessary.

Newton accounted for six touchdowns, with 335 yards passing and 73 rushing. He won the Heisman a week later, after also claiming the Maxwell Award as player of the year and the Davey

O’Brien Award as the top quarterback.

Defensive tackle Nick Fairley, like Newton a junior college transfer, won the Lombardi Award.

OREGON Oregon running back LaMichael James, a Heisman finalist, keys what some have called Oregon’s “Blur Offense.” It’s a nohuddle, spread-option with an emphasis on speed.

Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh described it as “fastfast.”

Here’s the way it works.

Oregon wears down opposing defenses, then scores pretty much freely after halftime.

The Ducks have outscored their opponents 592221. In the fourth quarter, they’ve outscored foes 11524. As for speed, 35 of their 71 scoring drives have taken five plays or less, and 24 have taken less than 56 seconds.

James delights in how often he gets to see the opposition get gassed.

“It makes teams where they can’t sub. That really is a big key for us. When they can’t sub, most guys get tired. They have the wrong personnel group in,” he said. “We really excel on that.”

Oregon opened with a bang, beating New Mexico 72-0, and followed it up with a 48-13 win at Tennessee.

The Ducks also blanked Portland State 69-0, giving the team multiple shutouts for the first time since 1964.

Oregon’s winning margin was at least 20 points in all but a few of their games.

The only time the Ducks deviated from the formula was midway through November, when they visited Cal and barely escaped with a 15-13 victory. The Golden Bears had a chance to go ahead early in the fourth quarter, but they were thwarted by a missed field goal and the Ducks held on.

Afterward, coach Chip Kelly insisted that it wasn’t a big deal.

“A win’s a win,” he said.

More often, Oregon’s games looked like the team’s 52-31 win over Stanford on Oct. 2. The Ducks fell behind 21-3 early, but the frenetic pace eventually caught up with the Cardinal, who didn’t score in the second half.

UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel was asked whether he’d ever seen a team click like the Ducks, who downed the Bruins 60-13 this season.

“That was impressive,” he said. “I’ll leave it at that.

That was impressive.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Jim Harbaugh is the new coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

The successful Stanford coach gets to remain in the Bay Area, moving to the NFL after four years with the Cardinal.

The 49ers announced the hiring Friday. A news conference is planned for 6:30 p.m. EST in San Francisco.

Harbaugh, a longtime NFL quarterback, replaces fired coach Mike Singletary. ESPN reported Harbaugh’s deal is for $25 million over five years.

“Welcome coach harbaugh,” tweeted 49ers four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Willis.

Harbaugh decided to make the jump to the pros even though San Francisco has missed the playoffs for eight straight seasons and Orange Bowl MVP quarterback Andrew Luck decided to remain at Stanford for another season.

The Cardinal (12-1) finished with a school-record 12 wins following a 40-12 victory over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

Harbaugh, though, has long admired the late Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh, one of his mentors, and how Walsh made the successful leap from Stanford to the 49ers.

Now, he must turn around a once-proud franchise that is desperate to become a contender again right away. The 49ers were picked to win the NFC West this season, then began 0-5 for their worst start since losing seven straight to begin a 2-14 season in 1979 — Walsh’s first year as coach.

The 49ers finished 6-10 this year — in the chase for a playoff berth in the NFL’s worst division until the second-to-last week — and haven’t had a winning season since their last trip to the playoffs in 2002.

Harbaugh likely will be grooming a new quarterback in the coming months. Alex Smith, the 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick out of Utah, becomes a free agent. So, finding a QB is high on the team’s to-do list heading into what should be a busy offseason.

Once the season begins, Harbaugh will face a familiar foe — big brother John Harbaugh, coach of the Baltimore Ravens.

Niners team president and CEO Jed York said when Singletary was fired that money would be no object in finding the team’s next coach. He promoted vice president of player personnel Trent Baalke to general manager earlier this week, then they worked together to make their push for Harbaugh, who also was in talks with the Miami Dolphins and Stanford.

The 47-year-old Harbaugh went 58-27 overall as a college coach and 2921 in four seasons at Stanford. He took over a 1-11 team when he was hired in December 2006 and quickly turned the program back into a winner and bowl contender.

The Cardinal went 4-8 in his first season, 5-7 the next, then improved to 8-5 and earned a Sun Bowl berth in 2009.

When Stanford arrived back on campus Tuesday, one man hollered “Stay in the Bay Area!” when Harbaugh hopped off the bus.

TX TECH Continued from Page 1B NCAA and Big 12 Conference rules.

“The infractions that occurred with football here at Tech happened between 2007 and early 2009, before I arrived as head coach,” he said. “We are glad to have this behind us.”

The worst infractions occurred in the men’s golf and women’s softball programs, the NCAA said.

Between August 2007 and November 2008, the head men’s golf coach and the former assistant men’s golf coach sent approximately 399 impermissible

text messages to six prospective student-athletes and 25 impermissible text messages to a parent.

During the same time, the former head softball coach and two former assistants sent 293 impermissible text messages to 10 prospects.

Both the men’s golf and softball coach were accused of failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance, a major violation under NCAA rules. The golf program was hit with the strictest limits on recruiting as punishment.

PLAYOFFS Continued from Page 1B adapt, and you want to respect the integrity of the game. ’Great’ trumps fines. ’Great’ trumps doing it wrong. You can’t be ’great’ if you’re doing it wrong,” Lott said in a telephone interview. “That’s the most important thing: If the rules change, and you want to be ’great,’ you’re going to learn how to adapt; you’re not going to learn how to complain.” According to STATS LLC, there were 184 unnecessary roughness penalties called this season, a 14 percent increase from 162 in the 2009 regular season — and the highest total since at least 1991; that’s how far back STATS LLC’s penalty information goes. In 2010, there were 0.719 unnecessary roughness calls per game, which also is the highest average in the span for which data were available; the average was 0.713 in 1998, when there were fewer teams and games.

There also was a jump in roughing-the-passer calls this season, from 72 in 2009 to 91 in 2010, STATS LLC said.

The NFL’s own data, provided to the AP, include various penalties the league

considers to fall under the unnecessary roughness “umbrella,” including leg whips, roll blocks and facemask calls. The NFL’s numbers show a smaller increase — of 8 percent, from 220 such calls in 2009, to 238 in 2010.

Linebacker David Harris, whose New York Jets play at Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts on Saturday night, said his team did not need to talk about making sure to keep hits clean.

“We didn’t spend one second on it. It should be natural, knowing how to tackle.

It’s never been a problem for us,” Harris said.

“The league is all about player safety, and they want (officials) to be stricter,” he added. “We just have to be smart about it.”

Per-game unnecessary roughness penalties have gone up from the regular season to the postseason in recent years, according to STATS LLC data. In 2009, for example, there were an average of 0.6 such calls in the regular season, compared to 1.2 in the postseason; in 2008, the 0.7 regular-season average was followed by a 1.1 postseason average.

“

We didn’t spend one second on it. It should be natural, knowing how to tackle. It’s never been a problem for us,” LINEBACKER DAVID HARRIS

“It’s playoff football. Guys are coming; they’re coming hard,” Chicago Bears center Olin Kreutz said. “You may risk fines you wouldn’t risk in the regular season. That’s just something you have to understand when you play.”

Lott couldn’t account for why such calls might increase in the postseason. He thinks officials call games consistently, and players play consistently — whether it’s Week 1 or the Super Bowl.

Current players agree.

“You can’t go out there thinking about fines or penalties or anything like that.

You’ve got to play on edge and make the play. No one’s intentionally trying to hit anybody in the head or do anything malicious or anything like that. It’s just a part of the game,” Philadel-

phia Eagles defensive end Darryl Tapp said. “Sometimes you’re in that situation, but, uh, you got to play ’controlled reckless.”’

In the leadup to his team’s game against the visiting Green Bay Packers on Sunday, one of the key storylines is a play from their regular-season meeting in Week 1: In the second quarter, Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews tackled Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb from behind and drove him into the turf.

Kolb left at halftime with a concussion; Michael Vick replaced him and wound up putting together a superb comeback season.

Indeed, that first Sunday signaled that head injuries would be a major thread through the season. Another starting QB, Matt Moore

of the Carolina Panthers, left his team’s game that day with a concussion, as did New York Giants tight end Kevin Boss.

It all reached a crescendo on one Sunday: Oct. 17, when a series of particularly frightening collisions across the league drew widespread attention — and action from the league. Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson and Falcons defensive back Dunta Robinson were knocked out of their game with concussions after Robinson launched himself head-first at Jackson. Ravens tight end Todd Heap took a vicious hit from Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather. Steelers linebacker James Harrison sidelined two Browns players with jarring hits that resulted in head injuries.

In the next couple of days, the NFL threatened suspensions for illegal hits — although no player was punished that way during the regular season — and handed out fines of tens of thousands of dollars. Later, the league reduced the fines given to Harrison, Robinson and Meriweather for their Oct. 17 hits.

The league also sent out various warnings to try to get players to focus on limiting dangerous collisions: a memo from Commissioner Roger Goodell, a video showing can- and can’t-dos, lists sent to coaches letting them know which players have multiple unnecessary roughness penalties. Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers said there was no need to place a special emphasis on illegal hits while preparing for this weekend.

“You go out and play the game the way you’ve been playing it. I think that the league has gotten their point across, what they wanted to, in terms of making guys conscious,” Capers said. “I don’t think that’ll change one bit in the playoffs.”

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B

HINTS BY | HELOISE CARROTS FOR CANINES Dear Heloise: When I adopted my dog Dusty from the animal shelter, he was pretty scrawny. Since then, he has thrived and is now a bit overweight. I have to cut back on his treats and food.

My vet suggested CARROTS. Dusty didn’t like raw carrots, so I cooked them in water. He loves them as a treat instead of dog biscuits.

— Pat Z. in Warren, Ohio Pat, our Cabbie loves carrots, too! She will “speak” for a slice or two of raw carrot. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other sources we checked, carrots are an OK treat for dogs.

Check with your veterinarian to be sure your pet can have carrots as an occasional treat. — Heloise PET PAL Dear Readers: Jean Croyle of Central City, Pa., sent a picture of her terrier mix, Molly, lying on the bed, patiently waiting for her to come home. Molly was adopted from a shelter, and Jean says, “Molly reminds us of what is truly important: wet doggy kisses, patience and loyalty.” To see Molly and other Pet Pals, visit www.Heloise.com. — Heloise

“

HELOISE

NOT DOG TREATS Dear Heloise: I have two dogs, a cocker spaniel and a basset hound. A couple of years ago, I came home from shopping for dinner.

There were several items I put on the counter before I left to do other errands.

When I returned, I couldn’t find the loaf of warm French bread. The bread was in the dogs’ tummies.

Both of their stomachs were bulging, but no lasting damage was done, except to our dinner that night! — Leslie Soyster, via e-mail A good reminder to keep foods off the counters and away from prying paws and mouths. — Heloise EASY SWEATER Dear Heloise: I had an old sweater and a cold dog. So, I measured my dog from her shoulders down to her tail, and cut one of the sleeves of the sweater just slightly longer. I hemmed the sleeve, then cut a slit for each of her legs and hemmed those also, to avoid unraveling.

She looks so cute, and is now snuggly warm in her “new” sweater! — H.C. in Virginia

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4B THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

’Hawks hope for big upset in Seattle

By TIM BOOTH ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEATTLE — A year ago, the New Orleans Saints rode the raucous enthusiasm of the Superdome through the NFC playoffs to the first Super Bowl title in franchise history.

Hope they waved goodbye to the Superdome on their way out of town earlier this week. There’s a good chance if these Saints are going to get all the way back to the league’s title game, they’ll be asked to do it on the road.

The first stop on their postseason road trip begins Saturday in Seattle, against the Seahawks in the first round of the NFC playoffs.

It doesn’t quite seem right the defending champs and an 11-win team this season would be asked to travel 2,000 miles on a short week to face the first division champs in league history with a losing record — and a team the Saints beat 34-19 in Week 11.

“We all have a formula for getting in. We all know ahead of time. No one was upset about it or complaining about it before the start of the season,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “I think that value of winning your division means something.

Just as a season ago when the postseason began, the teams that are in now really are 0-0. That’s just the

Photo by Elaine Thompson | AP

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll watches the team’s practice Tuesday in Renton, Wash. The Seahawks host the New Orleans Saints on Saturday in an NFC Wild Card game. truth. I think our players understand that more than anything.”

But the task in front of the Saints as the No. 5 seed in the NFC became seemingly more difficult as the week progressed.

There’s the second consecutive short week having played at Atlanta on Dec. 27, losing at home to Tampa Bay last Sunday and taking off Thursday after practice to make the five-hour flight to Seattle. There’s the Pacific Northwest weather, where rain and even a chance of some light snow

are being forecast for Saturday.

There’s the Saints history, which tells the story of a franchise that has never won, let alone played well, away from the Superdome in the playoffs. New Orleans lost 16-6 at Chicago in 1991; 34-16 at Minnesota in 2001; and 39-14 at Chicago in the NFC championship game four years ago.

Then there’s the injuries.

Already this week, the Saints placed their top two running backs — Chris Ivory and Pierre Thomas — on injured reserve. Only

Reggie Bush and Julius Jones remain as the Saints healthy running backs from the regular season.

The injury concerns stretch beyond the backs.

Marques Colston, who had eight catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns in the first meeting against Seattle, is listed as probable, but underwent knee surgery less than two weeks ago.

Safety Malcolm Jenkins is out, thinning a secondary that allowed 366 yards passing to Seattle earlier this year. Starting outside linebacker Danny Clark, tight

end Jimmy Graham and defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove are also out.

What first looked like a glorified scrimmage for the Saints to get ready for the next round of the playoffs has turned, leaving just the slightest bit of possibility to the thought: “Can Seattle actually pull the upset?”

“It’s a home playoff game, it’s going to be loud, and it is going to be crazy,” Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. “It’s one of the louder venues in the league. I think they showed how well they can play last

week.”

With Ivory and Thomas out, Bush is likely to get plenty of touches. And his opportunity just so happens to be with Pete Carroll on the other sideline in the fourth playoff game of his career as a head coach.

But this position Carroll finds himself in is unfamiliar — in the postseason and a decided underdog.

A large part of Carroll’s success at Southern California was rooted in coming through in the postseason. He was 7-2 in bowl games with the Trojans, his only losses coming in his first season (10-6 to Utah) and in the Trojans’ title game loss to Vince Young and Texas, 41-38.

But “underdog” wasn’t uttered this week around the Seahawks practice facility.

“It’s kind of funny because Pete always says, ’Hey, I don’t care who they bring in here — they could bring in the world champs!’

And the irony is they are really bringing in the world champs, so there you go,” Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “But he has been saying that from day one, and he’s been saying it for practice even.”

A Seattle upset would be quite the big deal and at least silence some of the criticism lobbed toward the Pacific Northwest after Seattle won the NFC West with a 7-9 record.

Packers try to clip Vick’s wings

By ROB MAADDI ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Michael Conroy | AP

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne (87) is tackled by New York Jets safety Kerry Rhodes during the 2010 AFC championship game in Indianapolis. The Jets return to Indianapolis for a playoff game against the Colts on Saturday night. The Colts won the 2010 game.

Playoff rematch in Indy Rex gets personal with Peyton

By MICHAEL MAROT ASSOCIATED PRESS

INDIANAPOLIS — Peyton Manning has kept it all business this week.

He studied tapes, looked for flaws and worked overtime to figure out how he beat the Jets defense. No change there, so don’t take it personally, Rex. “It takes you absolutely forever to watch one game with their defense because they have so many different players and formations.

It’s a full-time cram session,” Manning said. “It just takes you time if you are going to truly study.”

Few prepare more thoroughly than Manning, and even fewer can match the feats of the only four-time MVP league in history.

This week’s possible milestones include passing Joe Montana for No. 2 on the postseason completions list and moving into the top five in playoff TD passes.

So if Ryan thought he could make Manning fret by calling this week’s matchup “personal,” well, think again.

As Ryan continued chirping, Manning kept working.

“I really don’t have any reaction to it,” Manning said. “I know how hard it is to prepare for this style of defense.”

Playing mind games with Manning is dangerous, something nobody understands better than Ryan.

He’s 1-5 against Manning as the Jets coach and Ravens defensive coordinator,

with the win coming in a game Manning didn’t even finish. The Colts yanked their starters early in Week 16 last season, throwing away their chance at a perfect season and helping the Jets position themselves to charge into the playoffs.

Four weeks later, the teams met again in the AFC championship game and Manning led the Colts to a 30-17 come-from-behind victory.

So given what Ryan has endured in the past, anything is worth a shot.

“I remember in Baltimore, we had to get a stop to get the ball back and make it a game, and it was third down and it was just impossible to make the pass he makes to Dallas Clark. The coverage by Corey Ivy was ridiculous,” Ryan recalled of another playoff loss to Manning’s Colts. “He still made the throw and they went down and kicked a field goal, and the game was essentially over at that point.”

Over the years, Ryan has seen that scenario play out time and again.

From implausible throws to perfect game management to timely calls, Manning seems to have written the book on beating Ryan.

Changing that will likely take a ball-control offense, a lockdown defense, no turnovers and a little good luck.

New York (11-5) certainly has the pieces to do it.

Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson helped the Jets rank fourth in the NFL in rushing, and the Jets are coming off last week’s season-high 276-yard showing at Buffalo.

Defensively, the Jets are No. 3 overall and No. 6 against the pass and they’re hoping to get a payoff after bringing in cornerback Antonio Cromartie to team with All-Pro Darrelle Revis. Ryan acknowledged that the move for Cromartie was designed specifically to stop two teams — the Colts (10-6) and the Patriots.

It still might not be enough to beat Manning.

What Revis remembers about last year’s championship game loss was the way Manning adjusted on the fly.

“I have never seen a quarterback know somebody else’s defense that well,” Revis said. “He knows what coverage you are in, it’s sometimes like he’s toying with us. You know, ’I’m going to play around with you.’ He knows how to move people around and then to throw it where he needs to.”

That goes back to the homework.

But there are troubling signs for the Jets, too.

Since Week 5, the 31year-old Tomlinson has averaged just 3.3 yards per carry. Quarterback Mark Sanchez has been contending with a sore throwing shoulder and the Jets have only beaten two teams with winning records this season — Week 2 against New England and Week 15 at Pittsburgh.

Indy, which had one of the worst defenses against the run this season, allowed only 79.8 yards in the last four games despite facing four of the league’s top runners — Chris Johnson twice, Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden.

PHILADELPHIA — DeSean Jackson can score anytime he touches the ball from anywhere on the field.

The problem for the Philadelphia Eagles is they don’t have much success when opponents shut Jackson down. The Eagles were 10-4 in games Jackson played this season.

The Pro Bowl wide receiver had just 11 catches for 107 yards and no touchdowns in the four losses.

Guess who the Green Bay Packers (10-6) will focus on stopping when they play Philadelphia (10-6) in an NFC wild-card game on Sunday?

Yes, the Packers have to contain Michael Vick. But he’s the quarterback and there’s no way to keep the ball out of his hands. So, they’ll try to take away Vick’s main target instead.

“He’s a gamebreaker,” Packers cornerback Charles Woodson said of Jackson. “He’s done it his whole career, and he can do it from anywhere on

Photo by Mel Evans | AP

Eagles QB Michael Vick (7) runs from Packers LB Frank Zombo (58) during in Philadelphia. Going into Sunday’s playoff game, the Packers have had all week to get ready for the Eagles’ dynamic quarterback, but they’re still in for a challenge. the field. He’s a guy that, if he gets his hands on the ball, he can get it to the end zone from anywhere.

He has that type of speed.

So, he’ll be a tough challenge for us.”

Jackson finished the season with 47 catches for 1,056 yards and six touchdowns. He led the NFL with an average of 22.5 yards per reception. In Philadelphia’s 10 wins, Jackson averaged 3.6 catches and 94.9 yards.

Vick is quite aware that getting the ball to Jackson is crucial. He’s thrown deep passes to Jackson on the game’s opening play a couple times and connected for big plays. Jackson had an 88-yard scoring catch against Washington on Nov. 15, and a 60-yard reception against Dallas on Dec. 12.

This will be a rematch of Green Bay’s 27-20 victory at Philadelphia in Week 1.

Ravens, Chiefs boast similarities

By DOUG TUCKER ASSOCIATED PRESS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Eric Berry just couldn’t find the words.

Finally, Kansas City’s rookie safety just gave up.

There’s no way to describe the excitement he’ll feel Sunday when he lines up on the same field as Ed Reed, the Baltimore safety he’s idolized since he was 14.

“Being on the field with him this Sunday is — I don’t even have words for it,” Berry said. “Growing up watching him and actually being on the field with him is going to be a big step. I don’t know. I can’t even put it into words right now.”

The resurgent Chiefs (10-6) are hoping the game at Arrowhead Stadium will mark the beginning of a new era of football in Kansas City, the start of a turnaround under second-year GM Scott Pioli and secondyear coach Todd Haley.

Photo by Brett Coomer | Houston Chronicle

Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco (5) throws to TE Ed Dickson (83) for a first down reception. The Ravens prepare to take on the 10-6 Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

To some, it might also mark the beginning of the passing of a torch in one of football’s key defensive positions.

The 32-year-old Reed has been recognized as an elite safety since the Ravens drafted him in the first round out of Miami in 2002.

The 22-year-old Berry shows promise of reaching elite status himself some day. He has a long way to go before he’s considered another Reed, who led the NFL this season with eight interceptions and was chosen for his seventh Pro Bowl even though he missed the first six games.

But Berry, a Tennessee All-American, has started every game since the Chiefs made him the first safety taken with a top-five pick since 1991, and a big December made him the NFL’s defensive rookie of the month.

“I’m just looking forward to playing against him,” said Berry, who had a team-leading four interceptions and returned one 54 yards for a touchdown.

“I’ve never met him, personally,” Reed said. “So it’ll be interesting to meet him this week, being that it’s going to be in the playoffs.”