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FALCON LAKE
ECONOMY
Mystery body
Community draws ‘winter Texans’ here
No ID yet but sheriff says he’s from Mexico By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
No evidence of foul play was found on the body of a man found floating in Falcon Lake on Tuesday afternoon, Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez Jr. said. Pending notification of next of kin, investigators have not released his name. Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace Juana Maria Gutierrez and Mexican consulate
officials could not be reached for comment as of press time. Gonzalez said the 41year-old man is believed to be from Mexico because authorities found on him an identification card from Nuevo Laredo. At 4 p.m. Tuesday, the sheriff ’s office received a call reporting a body floating about four miles upriver of the Beacon Lodge. Game wardens went out to the location to recover the
body, since state officials are equipped with boats. By 4:45 p.m., game wardens had the body and had turned it over to sheriff ’s officials. Gutierrez pronounced the man dead at 4:50 p.m. and requested an autopsy, which will go through Webb County Medical Examiner Corinne Stern. An investigation is ongoing. In December, a professional fisherman posted on his Facebook account
that he’d encountered human remains on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake, north of San Ygnacio. That led many to believe the body of David Hartley, a jet skier allegedly shot and killed by cartel members while sightseeing in Guerrero Viejo, had been recovered. Later, Mexican authorities said the remains were not his. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
By JJ VELASQUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Carol Case Nelson is charmed by the term “winter Texan.” She said it recalls birds in migration, departing from the bitter cold and settling for a time in the fair-weather confines of small Texas towns. But Case Nelson is perhaps a bird of a different
feather. The 66-year-old has had ties to Zapata since 1982, when her father was first drawn to the fishing available in the area. Since 2009, however, she has lived in Zapata on a more regular basis than your typical winter Texan. She said she spends about 80 percent of her time
See COMMUNITY PAGE 11A
TEXAS
RAIN FALLS, BUT NOT ENOUGH Mid-week weather leaves flooding, much damage By RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI ASSOCIATED PRESS
H
OUSTON — Buckets of rain and powerful winds that apparently spawned several tornadoes swept across Texas on Wednesday, forcing drivers to abandon cars on flooded roads but not dropping enough water to make up for a historic dry spell. The squall of storms swept from north to south, first pounding Dallas and Fort Worth overnight. At dawn, rescue workers were able to peek into car windows to make sure people weren’t stuck in cars stranded in windshield-high water. As the storms inched south and settled over Central Texas and Austin, record amounts of rain — more than 5 inches in some areas of the capital — drenched areas that just a few months ago battled the most devastating wildfires the state
has ever seen. At least one tornado touched down in northeast Austin, damaging an industrial park and a few homes, but causing no injuries, said Chris Morris, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in New Braunfels. Another touched down in northwest San Antonio, damaging roofs and hurling a carport into a house. In total, the National Weather Service was investigating at least half a dozen tornadoes statewide. By midday in Houston, some roads and freeways were flooded, and the Houston Independent School District cancelled all afterschool activities. The National Weather Service also confirmed that a weak tornado tore the roof from a bicycle shop in Pearland, about 18 miles south of Houston. Despite the damage, the downpour was seen as a bless-
See WEATHER PAGE 11A
Photo by Kelly West/Austin American-Statesman | AP
Terri Bennett surveys the damage to her house and yard north of U.S. 290 on Wednesday, in Austin. Buckets of rain and powerful winds that apparently spawned several tornadoes swept across Texas on Wednesday, forcing drivers to abandon cars on flooded roads but not dropping enough water to make up for a historic dry spell.
FEDERAL COURT
Man convicted on conspiracy, racketeering charges By JASON BUCH SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS
Jurors in the federal trial of Gerardo Castillo Chavez on Wednesday convicted him on five charges that he was a Zeta hit man sent by the cartel to the U.S. to take out rivals here. Jurors deliberated for six
hours before convicting Castillo Chavez, 25, of Miguel Alemán, Mexico, on a drug conspiracy charge, two firearms charges and two racketeering charges. He faces up to life in prison on the conspiracy charge and weapons charges and up to 20 years for the racketeering charges when he goes before a federal
GERARDO CASTILLO CHAVEZ: Federal jury convicts him on five charges. judge for sentencing on April 30. Castillo Chavez’s attorneys said they intend to appeal the jury’s decision after sentencing. His conviction came after
nearly five days of testimony that went far beyond the allegations against him. Witnesses, including a federal informant and former Zeta operatives, offered a dramatic and sometimes gruesome peek into the inner workings of the cartel’s drug-smuggling operations in Mexico and the U.S.
Among the most grisly testimony: New cartel recruits were trained to kill at a camp near the small Mexican town of San Fernando, where the remains of 200 bodies were unearthed last year. The informant testified that would-be hit men were or-
See ZETA PAGE 11A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, JAN. 28
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Rio Grande International Study Center will sponsor a river conference today. The theme is “Rio Grande/Rio Bravo: River of Life, River in Peril.” The conference will be held at the UT Health Science Center Laredo campus, 1937 E. Bustamante St. Registration begins at 8 a.m.; conference starts at 9 a.m. Breakfast and lunch are included. Admission is free and open to the public. Seating is limited to 150 people, so RSVP. Translation services will be available. For more information, contact the center at 7181063 or tricia@rgisc.org. The Laredo Public Library will host Super VITA Saturdays today, Feb. 4 and Feb. 11 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the main branch, 1120 E. Calton Road. For more information, call 795-2400. The Imaginarium of South Texas, 5300 San Dario, Suite. 505, is hosting a puppet show at 3 p.m. today. The show is being put on by The SWAT Puppet Team. Admission is $4 per person. For more information, contact the Imaginarium at 728-0404 or info@imaginariumstx.org.
Today is Saturday, Jan. 28, the 28th day of 2012. There are 338 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Jan. 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, killing all seven crew members, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. On this date: In 1547, England’s King Henry VIII died; he was succeeded by his 9-year-old son, Edward VI. In 1813, the novel “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen was first published in London, anonymously. In 1853, Cuban revolutionary Jose Marti was born in Havana. In 1909, the United States withdrew its forces from Cuba as Jose Miguel Gomez became president. In 1912, abstract painter Jackson Pollock was born in Cody, Wyo. In 1915, the United States Coast Guard was created as President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill merging the LifeSaving Service and Revenue Cutter Service. In 1916, Louis D. Brandeis was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson to the Supreme Court; Brandeis became the court’s first Jewish member. In 1945, during World War II, Allied supplies began reaching China over the newly reopened Burma Road. In 1962, the last of Washington, D.C.’s streetcars made its final run. In 1973, a cease-fire officially went into effect in the Vietnam War. In 1980, six U.S. diplomats who had avoided being taken hostage at their embassy in Tehran flew out of Iran with the help of Canadian diplomats. In 1982, Italian anti-terrorism forces rescued U.S. Brigadier General James L. Dozier, 42 days after he had been kidnapped by the Red Brigades. Ten years ago: Hamid Karzai, the first Afghan leader to visit Washington in 39 years, met with President George W. Bush, who promised a “lasting partnership” with Afghanistan. Afghan troops backed by U.S. Special Forces stormed a hospital ward in Kandahar, killing six al-Qaida gunmen who had repeatedly refused to surrender. An Ecuadorean Boeing 727 jetliner crashed into the side of a volcano, killing all 94 aboard. “Pippi Longstocking” creator Astrid Lindgren died in Stockholm, Sweden, at age 94. Today’s Birthdays: Musician-composer Acker Bilk is 83. Actor Nicholas Pryor is 77. Actor Alan Alda is 76. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., is 65. Actress-singer Barbi Benton is 62. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is 57. Actress Harley Jane Kozak is 55. Movie director Frank Darabont is 53. Rock musician Dave Sharp is 53. Rock singer Sam Phillips is 50. Rock musician Dan Spitz is 49. Singer Sarah McLachlan is 44. Actress Rosamund Pike is 33. Actor Elijah Wood is 31. Thought for Today: “It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.” — Robert H. Goddard, American rocket engineer (1882-1945).
TUESDAY, JAN. 31 The Texas A&M International University Small Business Development Center is sponsoring a workshop from 9 a.m. to noon today. The workshop, “Managing Cash — the Small Business Owner’s Guide to Financial Control,” will be held in TAMIU’s Western Hemispheric Trade Center, Room 126. The $20 fee includes a workbook. For more information, call 326-2827 or sbdc@tamiu.edu or register online at http:// sbdc.tamiu.edu.
THURSDAY, FEB. 2 The Texas AgriLife Extension Service will hold free Type 2 diabetes education and control classes from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays from today through March 15 in Laredo Medical Center’s Community Center Conference Room 2. The classes will be conducted primarily in Spanish, but English materials and assistance will be available. For more information, call the service at 721-2626. The Laredo Theatre Guild International, in cooperation with Texas A&M International University, will present William Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” at TAMIU’s Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Theatre at 8 p.m. today through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are available for advance purchase at Foster’s, 1202 Del Mar Blvd., Suite 101; Blue Top, 101 Hillside Road, No. 11; the TAMIU Bookstore; and at the box office before each show. Tickets are $15 general admission and $10 for students with valid ID and for senior citizens. For more information, call 956-319-8610.
FRIDAY, FEB. 3 Today is a staff development day at Zapata County ISD and a student holiday.
TUESDAY, FEB. 7 The Zapata Chamber of Commerce board of directors will meet at noon at a restaurant to be announced. Board meeting date subject to change. For more information, call 956-7654871.
MONDAY, FEB. 13 The Zapata County Commissioners Court will meet in regular session at 9 a.m.
Photo by Lisa Krantz/The San Antonio Express-News | AP
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, left, waves to reporters as he arrives in Austin on Thursday. Bills for his out-of-state security during his presidential race keep mounting.
Security bills mount ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — The state’s bill for providing security for Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s presidential bid is nearly $800,000 and growing. A Texas Department of Public Safety report released Thursday showed the cost of the security detail for Perry and his wife, Anita, was $798,031 from September through part of November. Most of that bill was for out-of-state trips, and the security tab for Perry’s travel outside Texas was more than $1.1 million from his November 2010 re-election to this November. Security costs from November until Perry dropped out of the Republican presidential campaign last week will be in future DPS reports. For security reasons, DPS does not reveal how many state troopers accompany
Shooting suspect seeks to Thieves steal 274 guns delay March trial from Houston-area stores FORT HOOD — Defense attorneys for the Army psychiatrist charged in the Fort Hood shooting rampage want to delay his March murder trial. A military judge set a hearing next week to consider Maj. Nidal Hasan’s request to delay the trial. It’s unclear why defense attorneys want more time or if they’re proposing a new date.
State of Texas accepts Paul Quinn accreditation DALLAS — Higher education officials in Texas have approved new accreditation for the only historically black college in Dallas. Paul Quinn College was granted full membership last year by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board voted unanimously Thursday to accept the accreditation.
TUESDAY, MARCH 8 Spring Break begins for Zapata ISD students. The Zapata County Fair begins today. For more information, call 956765-4871,
THURSDAY, MARCH 10 Today is the last day of the Zapata County Fair.
FRIDAY, MARCH 16 This is the last day of Spring Break for Zapata ISD students.
FRIDAY, APRIL 6 Easter holiday begins today for Zapata ISD students. 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.
HOUSTON — Thieves have stolen 274 guns, including rifles and handguns, in an organized crime spree that targets gun stores and pawn shops in the Houston area, authorities said. The culprits strike at night when businesses are closed, authorities said Thursday at a Crime Stoppers news conference.
Dallas, company at odds after pig’s blood spill DALLAS — A Dallas meat packing company says a clogged sewage line spilled pig’s blood into a creek behind its slaughterhouse and polluted the Trinity River with animal flesh and hair. The Columbia Packing Co. said in a statement Thursday the pollution was an accident and claimed the city knew about the sewage problem for 41 days before contacting the company. Investigators raided the Columbia facility Jan. 19.
Penalty rescinded for boy who peed in bottle KLEIN — School officials have revoked the punishment for a 12year-old boy for urinating in a water bottle during class. Bill Hawkins, the boy’s attorney, said the boy won’t have to spend a month at an alternative campus after all. Klein school officials instead said he must serve three days in after-school detention for having a water bottle in class and drinking from it. The boy said a teacher on Jan. 13 repeatedly denied permission for a restroom break.
Former child center’s director guilty of theft LUBBOCK — A West Texas woman who formerly ran a children’s advocacy center has pleaded guilty to a theft count after she was accused of embezzling federal funds from the center. Debra Rucker Brown entered her plea Thursday in Lubbock. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION
THURSDAY, FEB. 16 Today is Winter Texan and Senior Appreciation Day. For more information, call 956-765-4871.
the governor or how far in advance they arrive at Perry’s destination. The report lists only broad expenses for airfare, food, lodging, fuel and other expenses. Expenses for Perry’s security detail are paid mainly through the state highway fund, which includes the state gasoline tax and vehicle registration fees. Perry traveled to 48 out-of-state destinations, most of them to the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Security for a September trip to South Carolina, Iowa and back to South Carolina cost $45,122. The trips also included travel to promote his book “Fed Up!” and carry out duties related to his then-chairmanship of the Republican Governor’s Association. Perry has said he promotes Texas wherever he goes.
Dow slips to first losing week of 2012
CONTACT US
NEW YORK — The stock market closed mostly lower Friday, capping its first losing week of 2012, after the government reported that economic growth was slower at the end of last year than economists expectedThe Dow Jones industrial average spent the whole day in the red. It ended down 74 points, or 0.6 percent, at 12,660.46.
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California passes new auto emission rules SAN FRANCISCO — Seeking to influence other states and Washington, California air regulators passed sweeping auto emission standards Friday that include a mandate to have 1.4 million electric and hybrid vehicles on state roads by 2025. The California Air Resources Board unanimously approved the new rules.
Photo by Paul Beaty | AP
Hull House employees Joyce Arrington back, and May Roberison comfort each other before leaving Hull House in Chicago on Friday. The organization founded more than 120 years ago by Jane Addams closed Friday.
Joe’s son: ‘Dad, you won. You can go home now’ STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Jay Paterno leaned over his dying father, gave him a kiss, and whis-
pered in his ear. “Dad, you won,” he said. “You did all you could do. You’ve done enough. We all love you. We won. You can go home now.” Joe Paterno died Sunday of lung cancer at age 85. — Compiled from AP reports
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
Local
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Military Museum gets $15K donation grabs pot, equipment SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Mexican military recently announced the seizure of more than 6,700 pounds of marijuana and radio communication equipment used by organized crime. The drugs were seized Tuesday near the town of Guardados De Abajo, near Miguel Alemán, where soldiers on patrol found the drugs hidden inside a buried water tank. Inside, the soldiers found 462 bundles of marijuana, weighing more than 3 tons. That day, in rural Puertecitos, near Camargo, soldiers found and seized a radio communication station with three repeaters, the frequency boxes and the power sources used by organized crime to coordinate their movements.
Attorney, philanthropist and Zapata native Jimmy González recently donated $15,000 to the Zapata County Museum of History. During the presentation Gonzalez cited a strong desire to improve the quality of life for the residents of Zapata through the cultural experiences the museum provides. González also said he has an interest in the enrichment opportunities the museum can give to students. “Students are fortunate to have access to a high-quality institution rarely seen in small communities like Zapata. I will continue to support the museum in its enrichment efforts,” González said. Since its grand opening on July 9, the museum has received more than 1,000 visitors. Although many local residents have come to learn about their history, most of the visitors have come from Laredo, the Valley, other parts of Texas and from throughout the country. Students have begun to visit through a special agreement with the local school district. Before the holidays, the
Food bank: Half-million pounds of food for 2011 By SALO OTERO SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
The South Texas Food Bank distributed just over one-half million pounds of product in 2011 to the needy of Zapata County. The total was 503,543 pounds, according to figures released by the Laredo-based South Texas Food Bank. Elia Solis, a native of San Ygnacio and a Zapata High School graduate, is the agency relations coordinator for the STFB. Zapata County food is distributed via four agencies. The largest is Helping Hands, located at 8th and Del Mar. The phone number is 956-765-9327 and the coordinator is Norma Mendoza. More than 454,000 pounds were distributed by Helping Hands. The other three sites, their contact persons, phone numbers and addresses are: Shepherd’s Pantry, Mary Pulido 956765-0123, 305 Hawk Street. Concilio El Buen Pastor, Maria Hernandez, 956-765-1300, Hawk Street and Falcon Meza.
Boys and Girls Club, Viola Torres, 956765-3892, Sixth and Lincoln. “Our figures are down from one year ago,” Executive Director Alfonso Casso Jr. said. “We didn’t get as much product from (the United States Department of Agriculture) because the drought and other weather conditions hurt U.S. farmers.” The other seven counties served are Webb, Starr, Jim Hogg, Dimmit, Maverick, Val Verde and Kinney. Tax deductible donations can be mailed to South Texas Food Texas, PO Box 2007, Laredo, TX 78044. Romeo Salinas of Zapata is a member of the South Texas Food Bank board, which meets monthly on the second Wednesday at noon at the IBC Commerce Bank community suite on Mann Road and San Dario in Laredo. The South Texas Food Bank is at 1907 Freight, Laredo, 78041. The phone number is 956-726-3120, the website is at www.southtexasfoodbank.org and it is on Twitter and Facebook.
“
Students are fortunate to have access to a high-quality institution rarely seen in small communities like Zapata. I will continue to support the museum in its enrichment efforts.” ZAPATA NATIVE JIMMY GONZÁLEZ
museum hosted the middle school gifted and talented students in grades six, seven and eight, who seemed impressed with the museum’s Butterfly Garden and the migrating Monarch butterflies which were in the garden.
Notable visitors Among other visitors and new contributing members of the museum during the Christmas holidays were Dr. Elsa R. Flores, scientist and faculty scholar at M.D. Anderson, and Dr. Kenneth
Tsai, dermatologist specialist at M.D. Anderson. They expressed pleasure at the displays of local and regional history. Also, the visiting Vidaurri family was given a special tour to examine the exhibit mounted to honor their father, Pfc. Manuel Vidaurri Jr., a survivor of the Bataan Death March, and the account of his ordeal as a prisoner of war of the Japanese Army for three-and-a-half years. The museum depends on the generosity of its patrons and friends for donations to enhance its collection and to bring new projects for display.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
OTHER VIEWS
DC visit: unity and division By BILL KING HOUSTON CHRONICLE
HOUSTON — This week I traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend the State of the Union address. While there I had two experiences, one that had a positive impact on me and another that did not. Before the State of the Union, I decided to drop by the Smithsonian Institution. I was walking through the Museum of American History and stopped at an exhibit about the American flag that was hoisted over Fort McHenry on the morning of Sept. 14, 1814, that signaled the fort had withstood a furious British bombardment the night before. Several days before the battle, a young lawyer named Francis Scott Key had been taken prisoner by the British and was confined to one of their ships lying just offshore. Key watched the battle rage through the night and without modern communications, had no idea of the outcome until he saw a huge American flag still waving above the fort in the dawn’s early light. His pride in his country’s triumph inspired him to write ”The Star Spangled Banner.”
Full of pride Seeing this enormous flag (30 feet by 42 feet) only a few feet away from me and thinking about its history gave me goose bumps. While I was looking at the flag, several dozen of my countrymen filed through the viewing area. All seemed to be equally moved in its presence. There were no Democrats or Republicans, no blacks or whites, no Christian or Muslim, just Americans, swelling with pride over the storied history of this flag. What I witnessed at the State of Union address that night could not have been more different. I am not necessarily referring to the speech itself but rather the circus on the floor during the speech. About every two or three minutes, all of the Democrats in the room would leap to their feet to cheer one of President Obama’s lines while the Republicans would sit scowling with their arms crossed. The more partisan the president’s line, the more enthusiastic the Democratic response and the more dour the Republican response. In the last couple of years there have been attempts to get Democratic
and Republican members of Congress to sit together, but the efforts have been largely unsuccessful. With some notable exceptions, such as Rep. Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona, sitting with Rep. Gabby Giffords, the now-resigned Democrat from Arizona, the two parties’ seating was mostly segregated. As a result, members in about half of the room kept jumping to their feet while the members in the other half sat on their hands. The whole spectacle could not have been more sophomoric.
Giffords unites
COLUMN
There were a few moments that united the room. The longest and loudest applause from every corner of the room came when Giffords entered the chamber. The parties also rose in applause together when the president praised our troops. But those moments were exceptions. Near the end of the president’s speech, he said, ”When we act together, there is nothing the United States of America can’t achieve.” It was one of the few lines of the speech that brought the entire chamber to its feet. But after an hour of watching the partisan reactions, the words, while grand, seemed hollow. During my visits around the Capitol before and after the address, I repeatedly heard how we should not expect much until after the election on the major issues facing the country. On issue after issue, I heard that the parties are just too deeply divided to find much consensus. Both parties apparently believe that in the election to come, Americans will give them some kind of a mandate to push their agendas. But what if they do not? What if Americans refuse to endorse either of the views that dominate the parties? What if voters once again decide to return divided government to Washington because the thought of either party being totally in control scares them to death? Do we then have to wait until 2014 to tackle the problems facing our country? And if not then, 2016? 2018? 2020? In the same day I saw a symbol of America’s past, one of unity of purpose and vision, and one of America today, a state of disunion. The question is which will represent America’s future. (King is a columnist for the Houston Chronicle. Email: weking@weking.net)
Why press in a 106-5 route?
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY The Zapata Times does not publish anonymous letters. To be published, letters must include the writer’s first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication. We want to assure
our readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the letter. The Zapata Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms. Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No namecalling or gratuitous abuse is allowed. Via e-mail, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.
By KEN HERMAN COX NEWSPAPERS
AUSTIN — It’s the kind of focus you admire as high school athletes work to turn individual talent into team success. It’s a timeout, and the players are locked in on their coach’s every word. ”I want ball pressure,” Renee Brown tells her LBJ High School Jaguars girls basketball team. ”We’ve got to be pressing the ball on top.” There’s 4:49 to go in the fourth quarter, the crunch time in which so many games are decided. This, however, is not one of those games. LBJ, up 50-0 at halftime, leads Eastside Memorial 95-5. I, along with a handful of fans in the Eastside Memorial gym Tuesday evening, was watching a repeat rout. LBJ, breezing through district play, recently had clinched its 12th straight district title. Eastside Memorial’s Lady Panthers have won once this year, defeating a small charter school’s junior varsity. The losses have been lopsided, including Tuesday’s 106-5 defeat by LBJ, which won the teams’ earlier meeting 105-4. LBJ kept defensive pressure on throughout the game, though it used a full-court press only in the first quarter. On offense,
the Jaguars never stopped running, sending players racing up the court as soon as they got the ball. ”Layups after layups,” is how Brown later characterized it. Recently, I wrote about Eastside Memorial’s difficult year and how impressed I am with the six players’ camaraderie and competitiveness and composure in the face of such grinding adversity. I saw it again Tuesday, layup after layup, as LBJ poured it on. (It’s important to note the LBJ players remained respectful throughout the game, never openly celebrating the mismatch. Good for them.) There are two ways to look at such games. On one hand, why shouldn’t LBJ keep the foot on the pedal and work on what could make it a better team? On the other hand, what about sportsmanship? And when does doing things at will against an overmatched opponent produce diminishing, if any, returns? ”Basically, my main goal when we came in tonight’s game was to work on our offense and defense, basically things we might be using in the playoffs, so, you know, we got layups after layups,” Brown told me after the game. I asked if she ever con-
siders slowing down the offense in an effort to hold down the score against much weaker foes. ”Yeah, I do, but I look at it like in the real-game situation that we might have in the playoffs: If I tell them that now, what will I get later?” she said. ”So I kind of look at it kind of both ways.” I asked Brown if she feels for the Eastside Memorial girls as she maintains full-game pressure on them. ”Yes, I do, because I was in a situation like them some years ago when I first came to LBJ, and I pretty much know what it feels like,” she said. ”And, basically, that’s why with teams like that we don’t run a full-court press the whole time.” With 7:50 to go in the game, up 80-5, Brown yelled ”Go! Push it!” as she exhorted her team to quickly move the ball up the floor. I guess that could just be a coach’s instinctive reaction as she works to get her team to the peak of its potential. It also could be someone who has lost perspective on high school sports. At McNeil High School, girls basketball coach Amanda Aguilar has been concerned about routs for several years. She said she was ”sick” when she saw the LBJ-Eastside Memorial score this week. Agui-
lar said she backs off when her team has a 30point lead. ”I don’t see that working on layups is going to make you a better team in the playoffs,” she said. ”I’ve never been to the state tournament, so maybe I’m wrong.” Aguilar said she spoke with Brown two years ago to express her dismay at LBJ’s lopsided wins. “Her response was, ’You don’t know what you’re talking about. You weren’t there. We could have beaten them by more.”’ Aguilar also said she has had no success in getting coaches organizations to see if anything could, or should, be done about these one-sided contests. After the Tuesday game, Eastside Memorial coach Rhonda Barton declined to pass judgment on her opposite’s tactics. “That’s for the other coach to decide,” she told me. As a sports fan, I get the notion of using every minute on the court, regardless of the opponent or situation, to work on improving your game. But as a human, I was dismayed by what I saw Tuesday in the Eastside Memorial gym. (Ken Herman is a columnist for the Austin American-Statesman. Email: kherman@statesman.com.)
Dole’s negative take on Gingrich By ALEXANDRA PETRI THE WASHINGTON POST
Ever wondered what the opposite of an endorsement is? It’s this letter from Bob Dole on Thursday, blasting Newt Gingrich five days before the Florida primary. Dole calls Gingrich a “one-man band who rarely took advice,” who “had a new idea every minute and
most of them were off the wall.” He writes that “if we want to avoid an Obama landslide in November, Republicans should nominate Governor Romney as our standard bearer.” First Newt’s landing on the moon. Then he’s wandering around to Bob Dole’s campaign headquarters with symbolic empty ice buckets.
I have no idea what this means. I suspect Bob Dole does not either. The trouble with Newt is that you can say this and everyone who reads it will nod understandingly. This is a man who wanted to put mirrors in space to light the streets. An empty ice bucket? A symbol? Of what? Why? Who on earth knows!
DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
“I never did know what he was doing or why he was doing it.” It is a sentence that only Bob Dole could have uttered, but it captures the Gingrich problem well. Some people find this quality in Gingrich impressive. Most — Dole included — find it troubling. Let’s see what Florida thinks.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
State court indicts 13 Texans By JASON BUCH SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
State prosecutors Wednesday indicted 13 people, including one from Pleasanton, accused of involvement in kidnappings and killings for the Zetas. Prosecutors charged six of them with capital murder in two slayings that happened in Laredo in 2010 but said they wouldn’t seek the death penalty. If convicted, they’ll face life in prison without parole. Laredo police announced last year that they’d arrested members of the cartel cell they said was headed by Nicolas Reyes Sanchez, 49, who’s charged in Wednesday’s indictments. A police detective testified in court last year that the Zetas operatives would track targets and hire local prison gang members to be triggermen. One of those charged is Rogelio Tijerina, 24, who has lived in both Pleasanton and Laredo and who’s serving a 10-year prison sentence from a felony cocaine possession charge in Atascosa County. “We believe that Rogelio Tijerina is the triggerman,” said Webb County District
“
Realistically, we realize in law enforcement that you can shut down one cell and another pops up.” WEBB COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY ISIDRO “CHILO” ALANIZ
Attorney Isidro “Chilo” Alaniz. “He would have been working under or with Nicolas Reyes Sanchez.” Prosecutors indicted seven more people in an attempted kidnapping in September 2010, including Eduardo “Aldo” Treviño Treviño, 50, who Alaniz said is a nephew of the Zetas’ second-in-command, Miguel “El 40” Treviño Morales. Federal prosecutors in Chicago indicted Treviño Treviño last year, alleging that he ran an operation to smuggle drug proceeds into Mexico. He remains a fugitive. It’s unclear why the victims were targeted, Alaniz said. “Usually it amounts to money or drugs,” he said. The allegations against Treviño Trevi-
Sides talk redistricting By PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN ANTONIO — A lengthy and contentious fight over Texas redistricting plans took a new twist Friday when the state and a minority group opposing the redrawn maps started negotiating over the disputed districts in hopes of preserving its April 3 primary. The state attorney general’s office told a three-judge panel in San Antonio that the goal should be to draw a temporary map to keep the primary, but minority groups signaled the discussions may have greater significance. While hashing out a temporary map just for the 2012 elections would avoid Texas delaying its primary for a second time, it would leave unresolved a larger clash over minority representation. That separate
battle has escalated all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Texas is one of nine states with a history of racial discrimination that must ask the Washington federal court or the U.S. Department of Justice to preapprove any changes to state election laws. After a hearing Friday in San Antonio, a threejudge panel said that if the sides can’t reach an agreement by Feb. 6, the primary will be pushed back. That hearing came a day after testimony ended in Washington over whether parts of the new Republican-drawn map violate the Voting Rights Act. Closing arguments are set for Tuesday and judges have given no indication about when they might rule. Negotiations between the state and minority groups were under way
even before the court made its ruling late Friday. Democratic state Rep. Trey Martinez-Fischer, chairman of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, said Texas Attorney General Gregg Abbott had approached his group to make a serious attempt to reach a compromise that would keep the state’s April primary. With that trial winding down, Martinez-Fischer said the strong case made by minority groups to the Washington court could be driving the state’s readiness to talk about reaching a compromise on the maps that will be used in the upcoming election while the two cases are resolved. “What’s significant is that there’s never been any discussions. There are now,” Martinez-Fischer said. “Something’s motivating that.”
ño, Sanchez and the others are remarkably similar to a case that played out in federal court in Laredo this week and last. In 2006, Laredo police investigating a crew of Zetas hit men were aided by federal agents using electronic surveillance to break up attempted hits and gather evidence about murders. In this case, a federal wiretap tipped police to the kidnapping attempt, which authorities foiled, and helped them gather information about the homicides. “Realistically, we realize in law enforcement that you can shut down one cell and another pops up,” Alaniz said. “But we want these people to know there’s consequences for this kind of action on this side of the border.”
Army finds ton of pot By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Mexican federal officials announced this week they have launched an investigation into the seizure of nearly 2,000 pounds of marijuana. The seizure occurred at a border town across the Rio Grande from Starr County. Officials with Procuraduría General de la República, Mexico’s attorney general’s office, state in a report that soldiers were patrolling a rural road that leads to Marte R. Gómez dam in Guardados de Arriba, within the municipality of Miguel Alemán. Troops noticed the dirt and brush had been removed. Soldiers inspected the scene and found 90 bundles of marijuana, adding up to 1,995 pounds. The troops turned over the contraband to federal prosecutors to investigate. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012
SÁBADO 28 DE ENERO DE 2012
Agenda en Breve NUEVO LAREDO, MÉXICO 01/28 — Estación Palabra Gabriel García Márquez invita a: Bazar de Arte a las 12 p.m.; Lecturas antes de abordar “Lecturas sobre sueños” a la 1 p.m.; Festival Infantil “Las Pesadillas” (Cuentos: “El Monstruo Pesadillo” y “Desastres de Julián”) a las 2 p.m. Entrada gratuita. 01/29 — Batucada Weekend presenta el ensayo general de los participantes en los talleres de percusiones de 10 a.m. a 12 p.m.; exposición de manualidades de 12 p.m. a 1:30 p.m.; la imperial banda de marcha Cobat se presenta de 1:30 p.m. a 2 p.m.; y, la fiesta carnaval es de 2 p.m. a 4 p.m. Evento a desarrollarse en el Centro Cultural Nuevo Laredo. 01/29 — Partidos de Semifinal de la Liga de Baloncesto: Toros de Nuevo Laredo recibe a Fuerza Regia en Gimnasio de la Nueva Ciudad Deportiva.
RICHARDSON
Zfrontera Refuerzo internacional TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
CD. VICTORIA, México — Dentro de la estrategia para reducir el índice delictivo en los estados fronterizos, el Gobierno de Estados Unidos anunció esta semana que destinará 4 millones de dólares del programa “Iniciativa Mérida” para Tamaulipas. El Gobernador de Tamaulipas, Egidio Torre Cantú anunció que los fondos se destinarán en gran parte para equipo y capacitación de las fuerzas de seguridad pública estatales. El Comisario Rafael Lomelí Martínez, Secretario de Seguridad Pública del Estado (SSPE), explicó que el gobierno estadounidense coadyuva en la capacitación y adiestramiento de los policías en México y apoya en la implementación de cursos y aulas especializadas para el cumplimiento de dicho objetivo. Con el recurso de los 4 millones de dólares se profesionalizarán las fuerzas policiales de Tamaulipas y se reforzará el combate al delito en todas sus modalidades, agregó Lomelí. “El objetivo es que los tamaulipecos tengan una policía más confiable”, sostu-
vo. Según comunicado de prensa del Gobierno de Tamaulipas es la primera vez que el gobierno de Estados Unidos apoye directamente con recursos económicos a Tamaulipas, como parte de la “Iniciativa Mérida” y como reconocimiento a los esfuerzos que se hacen en la entidad en materia de seguridad. Además de los 4 millones de dólares que aportará para la adquisición de equipo, el gobierno estadounidense donará cursos de capacitación a los elementos policiales tamaulipecos. A través de la “Iniciativa Mérida”, aprobada por el Congreso norteamericano, el gobierno estadounidense apoya con recursos económicos y en equipo a México, los que se canalizaron directamente al gobierno federal, quien a su vez los aterrizaba directamente a diversas dependencias policiales. Ahora, por primera vez, los fondos de la “Iniciativa Mérida se van a dirigir específicamente a Tamaulipas, quedando pendientes los términos y fechas para la donación de equipo y capacitación a que serán sometidos los elementos policiales de la entidad.
02/02 — “The Phantom of the Opera” se presenta a las 7 p.m. en el JJ Pearce Theater, 1600 North Coit. Costo: de 5 a 16 dólares. Adquiéra su boleto en: www.pearcetheater.com. Otra presentación el 3 de febrero a las 7:30 p.m.
PÁGINA 7A
Recuperan cuerpo del Lago Falcón POR CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
No se encontró que hubiera un acto criminal acerca del cuerpo de un hombre encontrado flotando en el Lago Falcón, el martes por la tarde, dijo el Alguacil del Condado de Zapata, Sigifredo Gonzalez Jr. Investigadores siguen pendiente notificar a familiares para dar a conocer su nombre. Por ahora, Gonzalez dijo que se cree el hombre de 41 años de edad era de México. Autoridades le encontraron una tarjeta de identificación de Nuevo Laredo, México. Alrededor de las 4 p.m., la oficina del alguacil recibió una llamada reportando un cuerpo flotando a unas 4 millas río arriba del Beacon Lodge. El Capt. Game Warden, Fernando Cervantes, del Departamento de Parques y Vida Salvaje de Texas, dijo que oficiales acudieron al lugar para recueprar el cuerpo, ya que oficiales estatales están equipados con lanchas.
Para las 4:45 p.m., oficiales recuperaron el cuerpo y lo entregaron a oficiales del alguacil. La Juez de Paz del Precinto 2, Juana María Gutiérrez declaró muerto al hombre alrededor de las 4:50 p.m. y solicitó una autopsia, la cual estará a cargo de la Médico Forense del Condado de Webb, Dr. Corinne Stern. La investigación continúa. En diciembre pasado, un pescador profesional escribió en su cuenta social de Facebook que había encontrado los restos de un hombre en aguas mexicanas del Lago Falcón, al norte de San Ygnacio. Eso llevó a que mucha gente creyera que era el cuerpo de David Hartley, un norteamericano quien supuestamente recibió disparos de miembros del cartel, y fue asesinado, mientras miraba las ruinas de Guerrero Viejo. Posteriormente, las autoridades mexicanas revelaron que los restos no pertenecían a Hartley. (Localice a César G. Rodriguez en el 728-2568 o en cesar@lmtonline.com)
LAREDO 01/28 — El museo Imaginarium of South Texas, 5300 San Dario, Suite. 505, presenta un espectáculo de títeres a las 3 p.m. a cargo del SWAT Puppet Team. Costo: 4 dólares. 01/28 — Pase la tarde en el Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU y disfrute: “The Little Star That Could” a las 4 p.m., “Violent Universe: Catastrophes of the Cosmos” a las 5 p.m., “Seven Wonders” a las 6 p.m. y Pink Floyd’s “Wall” a las 7 p.m. Costo: 5 dólares. 01/28 — UETA Jamboozie es hoy en el Centro de Laredo a partir de las 4 p.m. Costo: 8 dólares en preventa y 10 dólares después de las 6 p.m. (por persona). Entrada gratis antes de las 6 p.m. Niños de 12 años y menores entran gratis. 01/28 — PBR: Professional Bull Riders se presentan hoy a las 7:30 p.m. en Laredo Energy Arena. Costos de 10 a 40 dólares. 01/29 — La Orquesta Filarmónica de Laredo ofrecerá su concierto “Movie Magic” a las 3 p.m. en el Center for the Fine and Performing Arts de TAMIU. Costo: 15 dólares (adultos) y 12 dólares para personas de 62 años y mayores. Estudiantes con ID entran gratis. 02/01 — Hockey: Laredo Bucks recibe a Texas Brahmas a las 7 p.m. en Laredo Energy Arena. 02/02 — Laredo Theatre Guild International y TAMIU presentan “Macbeth” de William Shakespeare en el teatro del Center for the Fine and Performing Arts de TAMIU a las 8 p.m. Costo: 15 dólares general y 10 dólares para estudiantes. 02/03 — El equipo de béisbol Dustdevil de TAMIU recibe a University of TexasPermian Basin a las 12 p.m. y 3 p.m. en el diamente de TAMIU. Costo: 5 dólares general, 3 dólares estudiantes y gratis para quienes lleven ID de TAMIU. 02/03 — Hockey: Laredo Bucks recibe a Texas Brahmas a las 7:30 p.m. en Laredo Energy Arena. 02/03 — Laredo Theatre Guild International y TAMIU presentan “Macbeth” de William Shakespeare en el teatro del Center for the Fine and Performing Arts de TAMIU a las 8 p.m. Costo: 15 dólares general y 10 dólares para estudiantes.
Concluye juicio a Castillo Chávez POR JASON BUCH SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
Foto de cortesía | Sedena
Dentro de una cisterna cerca del Municipio de Miguel Alemán, México, elementos del Ejército Mexicano encontraron tres toneladas de marihuana.
GOLPE A LA DELINCUENCIA Militares ubican droga y equipos de comunicación TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
M
ilitares aseguraron más de tres toneladas de marihuana y equipos de radio comunicación que pertenecían a la delincuencia organizada de la región ribereña, en dos incidentes por separado. En el caso de la marihuana, se encontraba oculta en un camino de terracería en el poblado de Guardados de Abajo, Municipio de Miguel Alemán; los radios de comunicación fueron ubicados en el ejido Puertecitos del municipio de Camargo, México. Durante el reconocimiento terrestre en las inmediaciones de Miguel Alemán se observó tierra removida y militares pudieron encontrar que había una puerta de acceso a un estanque, que estaba tapada con tierra y una lona.
Foto de cortesía | Sedena
Cerca de Camargo, México, elementos del Ejército Mexicano encontraron un equipo de radiocomunicación integrado por tres repetidoras, tres sistemas de radiofrecuencia dúplex y tres fuentes de alimentación. Se trataba de una cisterna de plástico enterrada, la que contenía 462 paquetes de marihuana que dieron un peso de tres toneladas 50 kilogramos, indica un comunicado de prensa de la Comandancia de la IV Región Militar. En el segundo caso, personal de la zona arribaron a Puertecitos y aseguraron un equipo de radiocomunicación integrado por tres repetidoras, tres sistemas de radiofrecuencia dúplex y tres fuentes de alimentación. El Ejército Mexicano ex-
plicó en los equipos son utilizados por miembros de la delincuencia organizada para establecer comunicación entre ellos, sin que sean captados por las autoridades. Recientemente militares de la zona ocho desmantelaron la más grande red de comunicación que mantenía control en varios estados de la republica, lo que permitía a la delincuencia organizada mantener estricta vigilancia de sus sectores. En ninguno de los casos hubo arrestos.
Un hombre originario de Miguel Alemán, México, quien tuvo su juicio federal por una semana y media en Laredo, el miércoles fue encontrado culpable por jurados en cinco cargos de que él era un sicario de Los Zetas enviado por el cartel a los EU para deshacerse de rivales. La deliberación se prolongó por seis horas antes de encontrar culpable a Gerardo Castillo Chávez, de 25 años de edad, en cargos por conspiración con drogas, dos cargos por armas de fuego, y dos cargos por chantaje. Él enfrentará cadena perpetua por el cargo de conspiración y por los cargos de armas, y hasta 20 años de cárcel por los cargos de chantaje, cuando acuda ante el juez federal para saber su sentencia el 30 de abril. Los abogados de Castillo Chávez dicen que ellos pretenden apelar la decisión del jurado después de la sentencia. El veredicto resultó tras casi cinco días de testimonios que fueron más allá de las acusaciones en su contra. Testigos, incluyendo un informante federal y ex operativo Zeta, ofreció un dramático y algunas veces un terrible vistazo hacia los trabajos internos de las operaciones para el contrabando de drogas del cartel en México y los EU. Entre los testimonios más macabros: nuevos reclutas del cartel eran entrenados para matar en un campamento cerca del pequeño pueblo Mexicano de San Fernando, donde los restos de 200 cuerpos fueron desenterrados el año pasado. El informante testificó que sicarios recibían órdenes de matar a personas — algunas veces con machetes o mazos — como una forma de medir su temple. “Definitivamente estamos contentos con el veredicto y hace que otro sicario en el grupo salga”, dijo el miércoles, el Fiscal Asistente de EU, José Ángel Moreno, tras escuchar el veredicto del
GERARDO CASTILLO CHÁVEZ: Es originario de Miguel Alemán, México. jurado. “Ahora nos podemos concentrar en trabajar con México y arrestar al resto de los fugitivos y traerlos a enfrentar a la justicia en este crimen”. Fiscales han sostenido que como parte de los negocios de drogas de Los Zetas, Castillo Chávez había estado en un grupo de sicarios, quienes en 2006 fueron enviados a los EU para eliminar a un traficante del área de Laredo, quien pertenecería a un cartel rival. Jesús María “Chuy” Reséndez se había unido al Cartel de Sinaloa contra Los Zetas y sus otroras maestros — el Cartel del Golfo — y estaba arriba de su lista de objetivos, dijeron fiscales. Ellos dicen que Castillo Chávez y otros sicarios dispararon y lesionaron de gravedad a uno de los sobrinos de Reséndez el 18 de marzo del 2006. El 31 de marzo del 2006, dijeron fiscales, Castillo Chávez y sus compañeros sicarios dispararon al hermano mayor de Reséndez en el pie. Y finalmente, el 2 de abril del 2006, ellos y otro grupo de sicarios Zeta, guiados por un miembro de una pandilla en la prisión local, agarraron a Reséndez y su sobrino de 15 años cuando su camioneta se detuvo en un crucero lleno de gente. Ocho sicarios contratados se apilaron junto a la camioneta y armados con pistolas y AK-47s rociaron casi 100 municiones sobre la camioneta de Reséndez, el ya convicto sicario Zeta Raúl “Richard” Lasso Jr., de 29 años de edad, testificó en corte la semana pasada. Abogados de la defensa argumentaron que los federales tenían al hombre equivocado. Castillo Chávez es una de las 34 personas acusadas en la amplia acusación por conspiración federal que tiene por objetivo al No. 2 de Los Zetas, Miguel “El 40” Treviño Morales, y su sistema en ambos lados de la frontera.
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
Feds nix wavier plea By CHRIS TOMLINSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — The federal government on Friday rejected a request by Texas to be excluded from a new law that limits how much health insurance companies can spend on overhead. The law is part of the Affordable Care Act, changes made in federal health care law in 2010 that Texas officials say is unconstitutional. Part of the bill requires health insurers to spend at least 80 percent of their revenue on providing health care or health improvement programs. Those that spend more than 20 percent on overhead and executive salaries will be required to give rebates to customers starting this year. Federal officials at the Department of Health and Human Services said Texas did not prove that the state’s insurance market would be destabilized by the new law. As a result, Texas health insurers will likely pay out $476 million in rebates over the next three years, said Gary Cohen, acting director of oversight at the agency. “We have determined that no adjustment to the 80-20 rule in Texas is warranted,” Cohen said. “This means that consumers will get the full benefit of the Affordable Care Act.” The Texas Department of Insurance issued a statement rejecting the federal agency’s conclusions, saying it did not give insurance companies time to adjust their business models.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
Two charged in bomb plot Baby switch prompts staff re-education
By PAUL FOY AND JENNIFER DOBNER ASSOCIATED PRESS
ROY, Utah — The two teens had a detailed plot, blueprints of the school and security systems, but no explosives. They had hours of flight simulator training on a home computer and a plan to flee the country, but no plane. Still, the police chief in this small Utah town said, the plot was real. “It wasn’t like they were hanging out playing video games,” Roy Police Chief Gregory Whinham said Friday. “They put a lot of effort into it.” Dallin Morgan, 18, and a 16-year-old friend were arrested Wednesday at the high school, about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City, after a fellow student reported that she received ominous text messages from one of the suspects. “If I tell you one day not to go to school, make damn sure you and your brother are not there,” one message read, according to court records. “We ain’t gonna crash it, we’re just gonna kill and fly our way to a country that won’t send us back to the U.S.,” read another message. While police don’t have a motive, one text message noted they sought “revenge on the world.” The suspects say they were inspired by the deadly 1999 Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colo., and the younger suspect even visited the school last month to interview the principal about the shootings and security measures. However, one suspect
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Jim Urquhart | AP
Students leave Roy High School at the end of the school day in Roy, Utah, on Friday. Authorities on Friday charged an 18-year-old man with possession of a weapon of mass destruction after they say he and another teenager planned to bomb the high school. told authorities it was offensive to be compared to the Columbine shooters because “those killers only completed one percent of their plan,” according to a probable cause statement. The teens had so studied their own school’s security system that they knew how to avoid being seen on the facility’s surveillance cameras, authorities said. Whinham said the “very smart kids” had spent at least hundreds of dollars on flight simulator programs, books and manuals, studying them in anticipation of carrying out their plan to bomb an assembly at the 1,500-student high school. While authorities said the suspects believed they could pull it off, experts said, it would have been a long shot.
Royal Eccles, manager at the Ogden-Hinckley Airport, about a mile from the school, said it would have been nearly impossible for the students to steal a plane or get the knowledge to fly one using flight simulator programs. “It’s highly improbable,” Eccles said. “That’s how naive these kids are.” Whinham said authorities searched two homes and two cars and found no explosives, but added that police continue to search other locations. The chief said it appeared that “a key component of their plan was not developed.” “I wouldn’t want to say that they don’t have it or that they weren’t ready for it,” he said. “I’m just saying that we haven’t found anything that says they were ready for it yet.” Whinham said it ap-
peared the suspects, who have no criminal history, had prepared alternate attack plans, but he declined to elaborate. He also declined to say whether any firearms were found during their searches. “Most houses have firearms in them,” he said. “This is the state of Utah.” While authorities have said they have not found any explosives, they charged Morgan on Friday with possession of a weapon of mass destruction. The basis for the charge wasn’t immediately clear, though one of the elements of that offense is conspiracy to use a weapon, not necessarily possessing one. Prosecutors say they are considering additional charges. Morgan has been released on bond, pending arraignment Wednesday.
PLANO — A Texas hospital said Friday it has reeducated staff on patient identification procedures after two newborns were accidentally switched for about three hours following circumcisions. Kevin and Susan Dunagan said they noticed when their son was returned from the procedure that his lips looked fuller, but they didn’t realize what had happened till a worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Plano discovered the mix-up. The Dallas Morning News reported the infants had been circumcised at about the same time last month and their code numbers — 27988 and 27980 — were similar. They were placed in the wrong cribs in the nursery when they came back from surgeries. A volunteer then brought the baby in the Dunagan crib to Susan Dunagan, checking their bracelets, but the mix-up wasn’t discovered till a hospital worker came in to perform a hearing test and typed in the baby’s bracelet code. The Dunagans’ son was quickly found with the other baby’s family, who also thought they had the correct newborn. “You don’t think something like this is really pos-
sible today,” Kevin Dunagan said. “You think it’s something in a movie or 30 years ago or something.” Since Susan Dunagan breastfed the infant she had cared for, his family asked that she be tested for communicable diseases, which the Dunagans said they understood. Administrators apologized for the switch and met several times with the couple. Hospital spokeswoman Jennifer Erickson told The Associated Press on Friday that “human error caused our safety checks to not work as planned. However, redundancies built into our processes caught the error shortly after it occurred with no harm to either mother or infant.” She said in addition to the re-education of staff, volunteers are no longer transporting newborns back to the room. Kevin Dunagan wrote to The Dallas Morning News when he got a bill after being told the hospital would look into waiving their costs. After being contacted by the columnist, the Dunagans were told bills for the mother and son would be waived and the hospital would also pay for counseling. Erickson said the hospital had expressed from the beginning that the family’s bill would be covered.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012
No new books may kill math standards By WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — The Texas Board of Education gave preliminary approval Friday to new math standards for schools statewide, but moved to block implementation unless the Legislature provides funding for books to help students cope with tougher curricula. The board passed the measure 13-0 with two members absent. The rules still must be formally approved during its next meeting in April. They could, however, potentially put pressure on state lawmakers to approve funding for new books and other key classroom materials before Texas can demand its students learn more. “Today is an important day for this body as well as the schools,” said Republican Thomas Ratliff, who authored an amendment compelling funding for books as part of larger rules on new math curricula for elementary, middle and high school students. “This now says we’re not going to pass any new standards without guarantees books will be funded,” Ratliff told the board.
grades nine through 12 when those books are ready, according to Debbie Ratcliffe, a spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency. She said it’s difficult to estimate how much state funding would be needed to purchase new books for the future curricula standards, but that “a very rough estimate for K-12 math material” would be around $350 million.
Fund money Education authorities use the Permanent School Fund, an endowment established in the 1850s and consisting of state land and mineral rights, royalty earnings and stocks and bonds, to raise money for the purchase of new books — then must have the Legislature appropriate that money back so the purchases can go forward. But the Legislature cut $4 billion in education spending during last year’s session — the first time since World War II that lawmakers did not approve education spending increases to meet rising school enrollments
statewide. Lawmakers are not in session currently and don’t reconvene until January 2013. Ratcliffe said during “the last budget cycle or two, there was a problem with purchasing textbooks,” and that the cuts meant authorities had to postpone a plan to buy science books for all grades last year. Instead, they simply bought supplemental text books for some grades. In a statement promoting his amendment, Ratliff said that the board would previously adopt new curricula standards, then “would hope and pray that the Texas Legislature would adequately fund the instructional materials that cover the new standards.” The school board had previously adopted new — or modified existing — math curricula standards for students in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010. “For too long we have put educators and students in the difficult position of being tested on new materials for which we haven’t provided instructional materials,” Ratliff ’s statement said. “That ended today.”
ZAPATA COUNTY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
JOB POSTING Position: Bus Driver Salary:
$15.92 Per Hour Maximum
Auxiliary Pay Ranges: Pay Grade 3 Minimum Duty Days: 187 Days Minimum Requirements: Valid Texas commercial driver's license; Class B with P&S endorsement. Special Knowledge/Skills: Must be 18 years of age; ability to pass physical, alcohol and drug test; ability to complete required bus driver safety training; ability to follow verbal or written instructions; ability to communicate effectively (verbally); knowledge of student discipline procedure; and ability to manage student behavior. Deadline for Applying: Wednesday, February 1, 2012 Applications May Be Obtained From: Human Resources Department 17th & Carla Streets P.O. Box 158 - Zapata, Texas 78076 (956) 765-6858 - Fax (956) 765-5940 Website: www.zcisd.org
Not till 2014 Based on the textbook provisions included in Friday’s vote, new math curricula standards from kindergarten through eighth grade would take effect for the 2014-2015 school year when new books are available; and in 2015-2016 for
$11.06 Per Hour Minimum
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
ZAPATA COUNTY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
JOB POSTING Position(s): Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) Professional Employee Salary Schedule: $19,837.00 $27,945.00 Minimum Maximum Pay Grade: Instructional Support Pay Ranges PG3
ZAPATA COUNTY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
JOB POSTING Position: Certified Nurse Assistant Salary:
$13,958.00 Minimum
$21,587.00 Maximum
Pay Grade: Instructional Support Pay Ranges PG1 Minimum Duty Days: 187 Days
Minimum Duty Days: 187 Days
Minimum Requirements: Possess a high school diploma or GED; Nurse's Aide Certification; CPR Certified; and qualified to perform various screenings.
Minimum Requirements: Education/Certification: I Fr High school diploma or GED; valid Texas license issued by the Board of vocational Nurse Examiners.
Preferred Experience: One year of experience in health-related position, including contact with schoolage children.
Special Knowledge/Skills: Knowledge of basic first aid and cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR); strong j organizational communication and interpersonal skills; proficient keyboarding and file maintenance skills; ~bility to use personal computer and software to pevelop databases and word processing; ability to tommunicate effectively (verbal and written); and treat all peoplel with dignity and respect.
Special Knowledge/Skills: Demonstrate ability to work effectively and harmoniously with administrators and other staff; demonstrate ability to communicate effectively both in written and oral form; treat all people with dignity and respect; knowledge of basic first aid and cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR); strong organizational, communication and interpersonal skills; proficient keyboarding and file maintenance skills; and ability to use personal computer and software to develop databases and word processing.
Applications May Be Obtained From:
Deadline for Applying: Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Human Resources Department 17th & Carla Streets P.O. Box 158 - Zapata, Texas 78076 (956) 765-6858 - Fax (956) 765-5940 Website: www.zcisd.org
Applications May Be Obtained From: Human Resources Department 17th & Carla Streets P.O. Box 158 - Zapata, Texas 78076 (956) 765-6858 - Fax (956) 765-5940 Website: www.zcisd.org
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.
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
An Equal Opportunity Employer
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
MARCIAL A. CADENA FALCON — Marcial A. Cadena passed away Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, at Life Care Hospital. Marcial was born in Paras, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, to Blas and Maria Vicenta Cadena. Mr. Cadena is preceded in death by his parents: Blas Maria and Maria Vicenta Cadena; son-in-law, Mario Saldivar; and a great-grandchild, Baby Oscar Mario Saldivar. Mr. Cadena is survived by his wife of 48 years, Maria Thelma Cadena; children: Elisa (Rudy) Thatcher, Elia (Romeo) Canales, Marcial (Amelia) Cadena, Eva (Martin) Aguayo and Erika (Liberando) Saenz; grandchildren: Michelle (Jose H. Jr.) Garza, Melina (David Jr.) Gonzalez, Marlina Thatcher, Rudie Ann Thatcher, Reannah Thatcher, Mario (Crystal Hernandez) Saldivar Jr., Jose Francisco (Nelia) Saldivar, Luis Antonio (Mizel Gonzalez) Saldivar, Arianna L. Canales, Carlos Daniel Benavidez, Abigail Mae Aguayo, Martin Aguayo Jr., Kassandra Saenz, Kimberly Saenz, Katie Saenz; and three great-grandchildren; two brothers: Blas and Ramiro Cadena; sister: Gloria (Elias) Cortez; and by numerous nieces and nephews. Honorary pallbearers were: Blas R. Cadena, Ramiro Cadena, Apolonio “Polo” Cadena and Fer-
WEATHER Continued from Page 1A
nando “Yoyo” Valadez Jr. Pallbearers were: Marcial Cadena, Mario Saldivar Jr., Jose Francisco Saldivar, Luis Antonio Saldivar, Rudy Thatcher, Romeo Canales, Martin Aguayo and Liberando Saenz. Visitation hours were Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home. The funeral procession departed Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, at 9:30 a.m. for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass at Santa Ana Mission in Falcon, Texas. Committal services followed at Falcon Cemetery in Falcon, Texas. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 U.S. 83, Zapata, Texas.
ing in some regions, including Washington County, a rural area northwest of Houston that hasn’t seen much rain this year. “It’s really nice to see some of the cows in the county have water after all these months,” said Robert Smith, the county’s emergency management coordinator. “I think the cows are doing a jig.” Near San Antonio, some areas got more than 9 inches of rain. The San Antonio Fire Department made 14 rescues, pulling people out of their vehicles after they drove into rising waters. By Wednesday morning, weather was so severe east of Austin that the Bastrop Independent School District closed schools for the day, just months after consoling students who had lost their homes and belongings in drought-sparked wildfires. At least two other school districts experienced delays and closures, and one asked parents to bring their children to school after the roof of the building that houses the school buses was damaged. The National Weather Service also will have to survey damage to confirm whether a tornado or straightline winds toppled trees and power lines, damaged businesses, blew out windows, flattened barns and ruined rooftops throughout Washington County and downtown Brenham, a town about 60 miles northwest of Houston. No one was injured. Another apparent tornado damaged a tire shop in Somerville, and the third was spotted in Waller County. Still, meteorologists said Wednesday’s storms would not be enough to end a drought that has parched Texas for more than a year. “Certainly, it’s not a drought-bus-
ZETA Continued from Page 1A dered to kill people — sometimes with machetes and sledgehammers — to test their mettle. “We’re definitely happy with the verdict, and it puts another hit man in the group away,” Assistant U.S. Attorney José Angel Moreno said Wednesday afternoon after hearing the jury’s verdict. “Now we can concentrate on working with Mexico to apprehend the remaining fugitives and bring them to face justice in this crime.” Prosecutors had alleged that as part of the Zetas’ drug enterprises, Castillo Chavez had been in a group of sicarios, or hit men, who in 2006 were sent to the U.S. to eliminate a Laredoarea trafficker who’d cast his lot with a rival cartel. Jesus Maria “Chuy” Resendez had joined the west coast Sinaloa Cartel against the Zetas and their one-time masters — the Gulf Cartel — and was at the top of a hit list, prosecutors said. They said Castillo Chavez and other sicarios shot and severely injured one of Resendez’s nephews March 18, 2006. On March 31, 2006, prosecutors said, Castillo Chavez and his fellow hit men shot Resendez’s older brother in the foot. And finally, on April 2, 2006, they and another group of Zeta killers, guided by a local prison gang member, caught Resendez and his 15-yearold nephew when their truck was stopped at a crowded intersection. Eight hired killers piled into a pickup and, armed with handguns and AK-47s, pumped nearly 100 rounds into Resendez’s pickup, convicted Zetas sicario Raul “Richard” Jasso Jr., 29, testified in court last week. Defense attorneys argued the feds had the wrong man. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Humberto Lopez testified that officials found Castillo Chavez in 2009 in Houston while inves-
tigating a tip that someone involved with the Resendez killings was living there. They used an informant to set up a meeting with Castillo Chavez, Lopez said, and arrested him and three others at a Houston drug stash house. Defense attorneys said the agents were looking for someone else and just scooped up Castillo Chavez in the process. They disputed testimony from witnesses they said were not credible and motivated by either revenge or, in the case of the former Zeta hit men, to reduce their sentences. The fact that prosecutors told a rambling story about the Zetas’ operations on both sides of the border, much of which had nothing to do with Castillo Chavez, weighed against him, said defense attorney Roberto Balli. “I think there was a great amount of evidence that had nothing to do with Gerardo,” he said. “I think it was overwhelming for the jury to hear all these things, and the only person they had to punish was Gerardo.” Castillo Chavez is one of 34 people charged in the feds’ wide-ranging conspiracy indictment targeting the Zetas’ No. 2, Miguel “El 40” Treviño Morales, and his network on both sides of the border. So far 16 defendants, many of them U.S. citizens, have been brought to court to face charges in the case. Of those, 14 have pleaded guilty in federal court. Prosecutors dismissed their case against one, although he pleaded guilty to related charges in state court. Castillo Chavez was the only one to go to trial. He took his case before a jury in 2010, and jurors dismissed one firearms charge against him but couldn’t reach a verdict on a related racketeering charge and the drug conspiracy charge. A judge dismissed the racketeering charge, but prosecutors later tacked on additional charges.
Photo by Rodolfo Gonzalez/Austin American-Statesman | AP
A four-wheel drive truck is stuck in the mud on South Pope Bend Road in Cedar Creek, on Wednesday. Buckets of rain and powerful winds that apparently spawned several tornadoes swept across the state Wednesday, forcing drivers to abandon cars on flooded roads but not dropping enough water to make up for a historic dry spell. ter. We have a long way to go to dig out of a big hole,” said Clay Anderson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service for the Austin and San Antonio region. It was, however, one of the biggest rain events some parts of the state have seen in months. A record 5.66 inches of rain dropped on the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport between midnight and early Wednesday, Anderson said. Some areas east of Austin and San Antonio got more than 9 inches of rain. Unfortunately, though, only 4 inches of rain fell in areas that recharge the aquifers that are a major source of water for Austin and San Antonio. Pat McDonald, a National Weather Service meteorologist in New Braunfels, said the most rainfall recorded from the storm was in Caldwell County, where 9.3 inches fell in Uhland. Even before the storms reached Houston, wind gusts of up to 50 mph
brought down power lines, leaving thousands without power. An airport spokeswoman said several flights were delayed at the city’s two airports because of wind, rain and tornado warnings. Victor Murphy, a climate expert with the National Weather Service, said these storms could bring enough rain to some parts of North Texas — including Dallas and Fort Worth — to pull them out of drought conditions, but that won’t be clear for another week. But areas of South and southeast Texas that are in severe and exceptional drought will get only minor relief, Murphy said. The streams, reservoirs and lakes are too low to be refilled by one line of storms. “It’s just an improvement,” he said. “This drought’s too severe and too prolonged for one rain event to just end the drought, especially in areas like Houston and Central Texas.”
COMMUNITY Continued from Page 1A here and 20 percent in Rapid City, S.D., where she maintains family ties. Case Nelson helps manage the Four Seasons Resort, which provides a landing spot for the wayfaring northerners to park their recreational vehicles. The resort also offers a recreational hall where “there’s always bingo,” she said, in addition to other games and activities. Case Nelson said the outdoors recreation and mild weather are major draws, but what really attracts the winter Texans is the sense of community, she said. “We’ve had people who have stayed and just planned to be here a night or two, and they’ve never left,” she said “And that says a lot about this community.” Celia Balderas, a spokeswoman for the Zapata County Chamber of Commerce, said in the last six years, Zapata has attracted increasingly more winter Texans. Numbers have risen despite negative media attention Zapata and the border communities have received in recent years. Balderas said the drug violence emanating from Mexico has skewed some potential visitors’ perceptions. But, eventually, word of mouth gets around, and people realize it isn’t so
dangerous, she said. Last year, 450 people from various parts north called Texas home last winter, Balderas said. On Feb. 16, the chamber will host a winter Texan and senior citizen appreciation day. For more information, call the chamber at 765-4871. Blasita Lopez, a spokeswoman for the Laredo Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, said winter Texans have walked into the office in recent months from Illinois, Ohio, Montana, Michigan, Washington, New Jersey, Minnesota, Arizona, Maryland, Missouri and various parts of Canada. The retirement-age people converge in Zapata to escape colder-weather climates. They prefer the wide-open space smaller towns provide. Perhaps another reason, Lopez said, is their proximity to a bi-national community in Laredo. The impact of winter Texans pours into Laredo and surrounding areas as well as they shop, receive medical treatment, dine out and see sights in the Gateway City, she said. “They eat in Laredo, they shop in Laredo, and they spend their money here, so we welcome them,” she said. (JJ Velasquez may be reached at 728-2567 or jjvelasquez@lmtonline.com)
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
POWERLIFTING
Strong Hawks
Photo by Clara Sandoval | The Zapata Times
Epi Martinez (10) and the Hawks basketball team made some noise with their 47-26 victory over PSJA Southwest, Tuesday.
Boys and girls earn wins over Southwest By CLARA SANDOVAL THE ZAPATA TIMES
The second round of District 32-3A play has proven to be favorable to the Lady Hawks as they match the pace of district leader La Feria. Senior Shelby Bigler poured in 18 points to go with her 11 rebounds as Zapata soundly beat PSJA Southwest, 49-22. Zapata (8-1, 18-5) continues to stay one game behind La Feria, setting a collision course when they meet in the second round. Zapata’s offense was evident from the opening tip against Southwest as the Lady Hawks found the basket often thanks to Bigler and Kristina De Leon. De Leon ended the night
with 14 points, but her biggest contribution came on the boards where she led all players with 16 rebounds, giving Zapata control to the boards and the game. Zapata’s Rebecca Quintanilla added eight points while Jackie Salinas chipped in with six points. Zapata was able to take a 10-6 lead first quarter but allowed PSJA Southwest to hang around, as the Lady Hawks were not consistently attacking the basket. “We start the game a little slow — especially on offense — as we miss some easy shots,” Zapata coach Hector Garcia Jr. said. “The second quarter was a little better scoring, but, throughout the game, we were just
See BASKETBALL PAGE 2B
Photo by Clara Sandoval | The Zapata Times
Alexis Garza placed third in the 165 division with a lift of 745.
Zapata performs well at Toros lift meet By CLARA SANDOVAL THE ZAPATA TIMES
Eye opening experience
L
AREDO — The Zapata powerlifting team hit the road and headed to the ninth annual Toros Powerlifting meet in Laredo on Jan. 21. Zapata was able to take home
I
have covered many sports and enjoy the uniqueness of each one. If you know me, then you already know basketball is my first love. I have no problem following it to any level — from elementary to the professional level — and covering it with ease. There is also great excitement when I have the opportunity to cover other sports beyond my comfort zone, like Mixed Martial Arts, boxing or even the professional bull riding. I added something new to the long list of sports I’ve covered, recently, when, for the first time in my journalistic career, I covered a high school powerlifting meet. It was exciting because I would finally get to watch the Zapata powerlifting team in action and see what its all about. I will admit I didn’t know what to expect and didn’t know where to start, but, with great determina-
many medals, including two team trophies in tough competitions. “I am very proud of the kids and all their accomplishments,” Zapata coach Mario Arce said. “We did very well today and took home a few medals.” The Lady Hawks took home second place with 45 points,
while Weslaco, a powerhouse in 5A, took home first place, scoring 62 points. The Hawks took home the third-place trophy with 22 points, behind Laredo United South and Laredo Cigarroa, which placed first and second, respectively.
See POWERLIFTING PAGE 2B
HIGH SCHOOL GOLF tion to make sure I made my first experience a memorable one, I went directly to the coaches. Coach Mario Arce was found in the middle of the Cigarroa gym encouraging the Zapata athletes and yelling encouragement while Coach Veronica Arce was doing the same with the girls’ team. I stood to the side and proceeded to ask some of the coaches that were standing against the wall how the meet works. Everything that these lifters go through was an eye opening experience from the moment they readied to lift. The majority of the lifters listen to their favorite song to pump them up and get the adrenaline flowing.
See SANDOVAL PAGE 2B
Hawks perform well at Mustang invitational By CLARA SANDOVAL THE ZAPATA TIMES
LAREDO — The Zapata golf team’s first venture into the season saw many positive results when they hit the course at the Nixon Mustang Invitational golf tournament this past weekend. Zapata battled ten other teams on the boys’ side while the girls battled seven teams in their division. Zapata was the only 3A school present at the tournament. “Not bad for being our first tournament,” Zapata coach Cylde Guerra Jr. said. “Everyone knows what they specifically need to work on. We’ll get better.”
Zapata’s Tony Gutierrez placed 5th in the individual boys standings out of 59 golfers who took the course at Laredo Casa Blanca Golf Course on Friday and Saturday. “Tony and Leanna did well the second day,” Guerra Jr. said. “Tony missed a lot of birdie putts in two days. Hopefully those putts will go in this weekend.” Gutierrez shot an 82 in his first day of competing and improved his score on the second day with a 76 to earn his 5th place finish behind Laredo Alexander’s Luke Begwin (71-69 -140), who took the first place honors.
See GOLF PAGE 2B
Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times
Zapata’s Tommy Gutierrez tees off the 16th Hole at Casa Blanca Golf Course, Friday, while participating in the UISD Invitational Golf Tournament.
PAGE 2B
Zscores
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012
Baylor mulling new on-campus stadium plans
Softball season approaches By CLARA SANDOVAL
MICHELLE ARCE: District 32-3A’s offensive MVP returns this year.
THE ZAPATA TIMES
The crack of a bat and the sight of a perfectly manicured field can only mean one thing — the high school softball season is here. The season officially opened across Texas on Friday, but the first day practice for the Lady Hawks is Monday. Last year, Zapata softball had a banner year and coach Jaime Garcia guided the team to the school’s first district title in program history. Now, the Lady Hawks head into the softball season as the defending District 32-3A champions with a wealth of experience returning to the diamond.
“It is going to be a battle. District will be tough,” Garcia said. “P.I. (Port Isabel) brings everyone back. Rio Hondo and La Feria can still contend, but, in softball, anything can happen and you have to go out there and play the game.” “We are hoping to repeat (as district champions).” One of the most notable returners is catcher Michelle Arce, who was named Offensive Most Valuable Player last year for the big bat she carried around the plate. She is one of the team’s most versatile player and
is rarely sent back to the dug out. Arce is a three-year letterman along with pitcher Estella Molina, who is excepted to take the mound for the Lady Hawks. “She had a high batting average and led the team with RBI’s,” Garcia said. Molina is very tough in the middle of the plate with her great ball control. “Estella had 67 put outs in district last year,” Garcia said. “She can hit her spots and has great location with her pitches.” Taking first base is Jackie Salinas, who is also an outstanding athlete for the volleyball and basketball teams. There will be a battle for second base where no-
body has established themselves as the front runner. Junior Maria Espinosa is tabbed at third base, and the short stop is Jackie Gutierrez — a threeyear letterman. The outfield is comprised of Lilian Flores (left field), Alisa Solis (center field) and Gabby Chapa (right field). Zapata will host their annual Lady Hawks’ softball tournament March 2-3, but they are already looking ahead to the district season. Zapata opens up with Port Isabel on March 13th to kickstart their quest to defend their district title. (Clara Sandoval can be reached at sandoval.clara@gmail.com)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WACO — Baylor University officials have five stadium builders working on proposals for a new football stadium being considered for the Baylor campus in Waco. Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw tells the Waco Tribune-Herald (http://bit.ly/y3Vyge) that the Kansas City, Mo.-based Populous architectural firm has the five working to come up with more precise cost proposals for the stadium. The stadium being considered for a 90-acre Brazos River front site on campus would replace 62-year-old Floyd Casey Stadium. The 50,000-seat stadium is two miles southwest of the Baylor campus. Baylor officials have warned that the project depends on the results of a feasibility study and whether Baylor can privately raise about $250 million.
Woods shows flashes of potential in U.A.E. By MICHAEL CASEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Maybe those swing changes are paying off for Tiger Woods. Woods moved into contention with a 3-under 69 Friday after three birdies over five holes on the back nine in the second round of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, finishing two shots behind leader Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark (67). “I’ve grown to understand what Sean (Foley) wants me to do and how my body is going to do those things and produce the numbers he wants me to produce,” Woods said. Olesen made seven birdies in his first 12 holes for a one-shot lead over 18-year-old Gareth Maybin of Northern Ireland (70)
and Matteo Mannasero of Italy (65). “For me it’s very special. It’s not many years ago I was watching them on TV,” Olesen said of the world’s best golfers. “I know it’s tough, but I’m trying to keep playing my own game and do my best.” Rory McIlroy finished with a 72 after a two-stroke penalty for brushing away sand in front of his ball on the fringe at the ninth hole. The 22-year-old U.S. Open champion, playing again with Woods and top-ranked Luke Donald (72), opened with a bogey and double bogey on the third after an errant drive and some shaky putting. He rallied with three birdies before a double bogey on the ninth. That’s when Donald spotted the sand infraction and
called him on it. Players are allowed to brush away sand on the green but not on the fringe. “Wasn’t thinking clearly and a penalty there,” McIlroy said. “My ball was just maybe six feet off the green and there was a lot of sand in between my ball and the hole.” McIlroy, the co-leader after the first round with a 67, managed two birdies on the next three holes after the infraction. Woods started slowly with two birdies and a bogey on the front nine. He warmed up with birdies on the 11th, 12th and 15th before dropping a shot on No. 16 after an errant drive landed in deep rough. “I thought I played well today,” Woods said. “I made a couple putts here and there, but it was tough out there. The greens
got a little quicker, a little bit drier and the rough is certainly getting deeper and more lush.” The best score of the day came from Manassero, who made seven birdies in a bogey-free round. Woods is tied for fourth in a group that includes McIlroy and Robert Karlsson of Sweden (72). Spain’s Sergio Garcia (69), Ireland’s Padraig Harrington (69) and South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel (70) are another shot back at 140. Fourth-ranked Martin Kaymer (73) failed to make the cut in a tournament he has won three times. Much of the attention was on Woods, who is trying to follow up his season-ending victory last month at the Chevron World Challenge with another win. That ended a two-year run without a victory, a period in which
the 14-time major winner endured a series of injuries and turmoil in his personal life. Woods had a bogey-free first round but admitted the greens fooled him much of the day. He seemed to figure them out Friday, making several key putts including a 10-footer for his birdie on the 15th. Woods said he’s adapting to the new system under Foley. “If you would have asked me (six to eight months ago) if I would understand the system as well as I do and the numbers I’m producing, I probably would have said no,” he said. “Now I do and when we talk, it’s very simple.” McIlroy said he saw signs of the old Woods during the past two days, which featured a strong short game and ability to shape the most difficult shots.
POWERLIFTING Continued from Page 1B Taking home gold medals were Joana Rivera in the 148-pound weight class with a total of 660 pounds, Michelle Arce in the 165pound weight class (910pounds total weight), Klari Salinas in the 181pound weight class (890pounds total weight) and Joel Elizondo in the 181pound weight class (1,115 total weight). Salinas took home lifter of the meet honors in the 181-220+ division after 370 pounds in the squat, 175 benchpress and 345 on the dead lift, for a total of 890 pounds in the meet. The Zapata girls had one of the biggest groups at the meets, and the popularity of the sport has grown in the past few years. “Powelifting in Zapata has been big for the past decade,” Arce said. “The
girls are doing very well, and so is the boys’ team. We are very proud of all the kids.”
Varsity girls results 97 weight class: 2. Angela Darnell (595 total weight), 3. Gina Rodriguez (525 total weight) 105 weight class: 2. Jackie Garcia (555 total weight) 114 weight class: 4. Alexandra Garcia (545 total weight), 5. Briana Gonzalez (540 total weight) 123 weight class: 2. Crystal Navarro (525 total weight) 132 weight class: 3. Lily Cantu (560 total weight) 148 weight class: 1. Joana Rivera (660 total weight), 2. Christina Velasquez (620 total weight) 165 weight class: 1. Michelle Arce (910 total
Hawks’ freshman Francisco Moreno lifted 1,255 in the 275 freshmen division.
weight), 3. Alexis Garza (745 total weight), 4. Secilia Mata (625 total weight) 181 weight class: 1. Klari Salinas (890 total weight), 3. Elise Muñoz (710 total weight), 4. Amanda Esquivel (710 total weight)
Varsity boys results 181 weight class: 1. Joel Elizondo (1115 total weight) 220 weight class: 2. Guadalupe Gonzalez (1285 total weight)
Freshman boys results: 275 weight class: Francisco Moreno (1255 total weight) Super Heavy Weight: 2. Eduardo Sanchez (1210 total weight)
Photo by Clara Sandoval | The Zapata Times
BASKETBALL Continued from Page 1B playing to Southwest’s tempo.” Zapata responded to Garcia’s challenge and clamped down on defense. The Lady Hawks only allowed PSJA Southwest only four points in the second quarter as they built a 23-10 halftime lead. De Leon, Quintanilla and Salinas anchored the defense. “Our defense has been a big improvement because the girls are very aggressive that they enjoy playing our half press,” Garcia said. “They love to pressure the
ball and cause turnovers.” “Right now, I do think we are peaking at the right time, but we’ll see after our next two games as we play Rio Hondo and La Feria.” Zapata’s half court defense continued to cause PSJA Southwest problems and force many turnovers. “The second half, our defense started to cause some turnovers and started to run the floor as we went up 33-18,” Garcia said. Zapata continued their onslaught on
GOLF Continued from Page 1B United’s Archie Ramos (77-75 -152), claimed second place while Eagle Pass’ Pedro Gomez (79-77-156) and United’s Leo Hernandez (79-78-157) came in 3rd and 4th. Zapata’s Ricky Prado came in 21st with a two-day score of (95, 88) 183 while teammate Victor Garza placed 31st overall with a score of 194. Rounding out Zapata’s efforts was Ramiro Torres (110, 98), who placed 39th overall with a two day score of 208.
The boys team placed 7th overall out of ten teams with a combined score of 743 after a two-day score of 389-354. On the girls’ side, Junior Leanna Saenz — who had the tenth best finish among the girls in the field — led Zapata. Saenz’s first day score of 100 drove her to finish better the second day when she scored 97 to finish the tournament with a two-day score of 197. Freshman Leann Hughes finished the tournament in
21st place with scores of 124-116-240 while Krysta had a score of 128-131. Jess Garza had scores of 117, 130. The girls team finished 5th out of the seven team with team totals of 469-474943. “The two freshmen, Ram and Leann, held their own against a tough field,” he said. The Hawks’ golf team will return to play at the UISD boys’ tournament at the Casa Blanca golf course this weekend.
PSJA Southwest and walked away with a 49-22 victory.
Boys on the rise After a grueling preseason that only witnessed one victory, the Hawks are on the rise in District 32-3A as their over all game improves. Coach Juan Villarreal preached the most important part of the season is dis-
trict play. Saying the pre-season is just to work out the wrinkles. The Hawks have been slowly coming together and were able to pick up another win against PSJA Southwest 47-26 Tuesday night for their third district win. Zapata is sporting a 3-4 district record and coming into their own. The team’s chemistry is evident on the floor. “The kids played very good and are looking forward in playing Rio Hondo,” Villarreal said.
SANDOVAL Continued from Page 1B I also saw a lot of honey bottles that were gulped down through out the day to give those lifters the sugar rush that can be very vital in helping them lift at the right moment. The athletes were in their zone as they chalked their hands and went over last minute procedures in their head, all while listening to music on their Ipods. When it was time to get to the lifting area, some lifters screamed loudly to pump themselves up be-
fore they tackled the challenge. Each one — with great determination — put their best lift forward. They pushed that weight into the air until they were given a green light by all three judges. Some came away with excitement as they had claimed a personal best, but for others it just wasn’t their day when they failed to meet expectations and walked away discouraged. The athletes were usually met by the coach to go
over what they did right or wrong and what they could have done better — from the positioning of their hands on the bar to taking deep breaths at certain points of the lift. I learned so much that day watching these athletes compete and had a blast. I just can not wait for my next meet, I look forward to another day of excitement. (Clara Sandoval can be reached at sandoval.clara@gmail.com)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B
HINTS | BY HELOISE Dear Readers: How long has it been since you’ve CHANGED YOUR TOOTHBRUSH? What about if you’ve had a cold or the flu? Should you change it when you feel better? The American Dental Association (www.ada.org) says yes, and here are some other suggestions: Replace your toothbrush at least every three to four months. If you’ve been ill, the ADA says that would be a good time to change out your toothbrush as well. Rinse your toothbrush thoroughly with tap water, and let it airdry after each use. Don’t store your toothbrush for a long period wrapped in a sealed container. Sharing toothbrushes with someone else is not a good idea. Duh! Yuck, and double yuck! — Heloise P.S.: When toothbrushes are on sale, buy a couple of extra ones! It’s a cheap investment in good dental health. PET PAL Dear Readers: Avis in Smithfield, Maine, sent a picture of her light-brown toy poodle, Buffy, with a pacifier in her mouth! Buffy got the idea from Avis’ granddaughter, Alex. When Alex fell one day, Buffy brought her the “binky” to comfort her. Avis says, “Dogs are so smart and loving.” To see Buffy and our other Pet Pals, visit www.Heloise.com and click on “Pets.” — Heloise PROTECTING PETS Dear Heloise: As a longtime pet rescuer, I’ve become aware that there is an increase in found and lost pets during wintertime. It’s easy for pets to slip out during these times. After the holidays, I’d
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HELOISE
like to remind the finders to post notices, check for microchips and look around the area for “lost pet” signs. Many rescue organizations and shelters can tell you about lost-and-found listings on the Internet, and, of course, the newspaper is a great resource. Pets do get lost. Let’s try to get them back home. Thanks. — Lynnie, via email Woof, woof ! Daisy (a tan Chihuahua), our office mascot who is a rescue dog, agrees. She comes to work daily and adds many smiles for us! — Heloise EASY CLEAN Dear Heloise: Cleaning vases with narrow necks? The easiest way is to use a denture-cleaner tablet. Fill a vase with water and drop in a couple of tablets. Give it time to work, then rinse, and it is clean. — Nancy S., Fort Pierce, Fla. GIFT-TAG HINT Hello, Heloise: Through the years, I have used many hints from both you and your mom. So, here is a hint from me: Most business cards are printed on nice paper. Unused business cards make great gift tags. I glue two business cards back to back, hiding the business information. Then the small tabs can be decorated as you desire. With a simple hole punch and some ribbon, you have individual name tags. I read you in The Villages Daily Sun in The Villages, Fla. Thanks for all your information. — Jean Holder, via email
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Schiano introduced at Tampa Bay By FRED GOODALL ASSOCIATED PRESS
TAMPA, Fla. — Greg Schiano relishes the challenge of trying to turn around the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 45-year-old Schiano was formally introduced Friday as the ninth coach in franchise history, inheriting a team that allowed the most points in the NFL this season. “We’re beginning a new chapter for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” Bucs co-chairman Joel Glazer said, adding that they’re very excited for that new chapter to begin.” Glazer said Schiano “has a vision for what he wants to do.” Schiano transformed Rutgers from a struggling college football program into a Big East contender during an 11-year run with the Scarlet Knights. The Bucs are banking on him to have the same kind of impact in Tampa Bay, which has not won a playoff game since winning the Super Bowl following the 2002 season. “There’s been several opportunities to go to places that were quote, unquote bigger names or bigger programs.,” Schiano said. “And at times I listened. But when I tried to put myself there, it just didn’t feel good. “As I went through this process, and pictured myself being the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I only felt one feeling that was negative and that was sadness of leaving my players (at Rutgers). Other than that it was tremendous ex-
GREG SCHIANO: Was introduced as the new Tampa Bay coach Friday. citement. That’s how I knew this was the one.” Schiano replaces Raheem Morris who went 17-31 in three seasons. The Bucs were 4-12 in 2011, missing the postseason for the fourth straight year. The Morris era ended with a 10-game losing streak, during which a porous defense allowed 31 of more points in seven of the team’s last eight games and the offense sputtered, in part because of the inconsistent play of Josh Freeman, who threw took a step back in his development while throwing a career-high 22 interceptions. Schiano was one of at least 10 candidates the Glazer family interviewed during a 24-day search. Oregon coach Chip Kelly turned down the job earlier this week, leaving Schiano, former Green Bay Packers and Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman and Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski as finalists for the Tampa Bay opening. In addition to getting Freeman back on track, Schiano faces the challenge of improving a defense that yielded a franchise-record 494 points while also ranking near the bottom of the NFL in sacks and yards allowed. The Bucs used first- and second-round selections in each of the past two drafts to rebuild the defense line, yet still have not been able to generate a consistent pass rush.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012
Nadal awaits Djokovic By CAROLINE CHEESE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MELBOURNE, Australia — If anyone knows how Novak Djokovic feels after sweating and scrapping for almost five hours in the Australian Open semifinals, it’s his next opponent — Rafael Nadal. A day after Nadal beat Roger Federer in four compelling sets, Djokovic dug deep to overcome Andy Murray 6-3, 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 7-5 on Friday night after 4 hours, 50 minutes. Defending champion Djokovic will face Nadal in a third straight Grand Slam final on Sunday. It’s a reversal from three years ago, when Nadal had to regroup after his own lengthy semifinal. The Spaniard needed 5 hours, 14 minutes in 2009 to get past compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the longest men’s singles match in the tournament’s history. He was so exhausted, he didn’t lift a racket the following day. Yet when the final rolled around, he beat Federer — who had an extra day to rest — in five sets that reduced the usually composed Swiss player to tears. Now a weary Djokovic has less than 48 hours to prepare to face Nadal, one of the most fit players in the game. “I know that I maybe have a mental edge because I’ve won six finals. ... We played in 2011 and I’ve had lots of success against him,” Djokovic said. “That’s going to be my main priority and concern the next day and a half, to physically be able to perform my best and be ready to play five sets.” Djokovic won 10 titles in 2011, six of them by beating Nadal in finals. Just as Nadal has the mental edge over Federer, Djokovic has developed a hold over the Spaniard. But the No. 1-ranked Djokovic has shown chinks in his armor at Melbourne Park this year. Against David Ferrer in the quarterfinals, he struggled to breathe through most of a straight-sets win and at one point, clutched his leg in agony. Against Murray, he looked completely spent again when he hobbled gingerly back to his chair after dropping serve to go down 2-1 in the third set. “He’s done it many times before,”
Photo by Andrew Brownbill | AP
Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, celebrates after defeating Andy Murray, of Britain, during their semifinal at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, early Saturday. Murray said. “He runs very well even when he’s breathing heavy. I was ready for that. He was similar in the last match. But he moved fine.” Murray had his own slump when he lost the fourth set in 25 minutes — an aberration in a match featuring long baseline rallies that quite often ended in errors. One rally in the eighth game of the second set ended after 41 shots. The third set lasted nearly an hour and a half, with the opening game taking almost 15 minutes alone. There was one serve-volley point in the entire match, won by Murray. The gap between the top-ranked player and the No. 4 was mostly indiscernible throughout a match featuring 18 breaks of serve and almost as many changes in momentum. When a scampering Murray knocked a forehand into the net on the final point, Djokovic collapsed onto the court. He shared a warm hug with his old friend Murray, sank to his knees and did the sign of the cross, then turned to his players’ box and thumped his chest. Many of his 70 match wins in 2011 seemed to come easy — this was anything but. “Definitely one of the best (wins) under the circumstances,” Djokovic said. “Time wise, I think this was one of the longest, if not the longest, that I’ve played in the later stages of a Grand Slam. “As a tennis player, you practice hard every single day knowing that
you will get an opportunity to be part of such a great match and on such a high level.” After losing the last two finals at the Australian Open, Murray went out a round earlier this time but left more encouraged than ever that he can break through and become the first British man to win a Grand Slam singles title since 1936. “Tonight’s match was important for many reasons,” the 24-year-old Murray said. “Obviously I wanted to win first and foremost. But also sort of after last year, the year that Novak’s had, I think there’s a very fine line between being No. 1 in the world and being 3 or 4. I think that gap, I feel tonight I closed it. “My job over the next two or three months is to surpass him and the guys in front of me.” After Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova go for the women’s title and the No. 1 ranking on Saturday, Djokovic will bid for his fifth major title in Sunday men’s final, with the chance to become only the fifth man in the Open Era to win three straight Grand Slam titles. If he can achieve that, Djokovic would make 10-time Grand Slam winner Nadal the first man since the Open Era began in 1968 to lose three straight major finals. Just like Nadal three years ago, Djokovic doesn’t plan on doing much before Sunday’s final. “I think I had enough time spent on the court. Now it’s all about recovery,” said Djokovic, who has won 19 consecutive Grand Slam matches.