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RECONSTRUCTION FUNDS
FEDERAL COURT
Missing money
Driver pleads in pot case
Auditors: Billions likely wasted in Iraq public works By ROBERT BURNS ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — After years of following the paper trail of $51 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars provided to rebuild a broken Iraq, the U.S. government can say with certainty that too much was wasted. But it can’t say how much. In what it called its final audit report, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Funds on Friday spelled out a range of account-
ing weaknesses that put “billions of American taxpayer dollars at risk of waste and misappropriation” in the largest reconstruction project of its kind in U.S. history. “The precise amount lost to fraud and waste can never be known,” the report said. The auditors found huge problems accounting for the huge sums, but one small example of failure stood out: A contractor got away with charging $80 for a pipe fitting that its competitor was selling for $1.41.
Why? The company’s billing documents were reviewed sloppily by U.S. contracting officers or were not reviewed at all. With dry understatement, the inspector general said that while he couldn’t pinpoint the amount wasted, it “could be substantial.” Asked why the exact amount squandered can never be determined, the inspector general’s office referred The Associated Press to a report it did in February 2009 titled “Hard Lessons,” in which it said the auditors —
much like the reconstruction managers themselves — faced personnel shortages and other hazards. “Given the vicissitudes of the reconstruction effort — which was dogged from the start by persistent violence, shifting goals, constantly changing contracting practices and undermined by a lack of unity of effort — a complete accounting of all reconstruction expenditures is impossible to achieve,” the
See BILLIONS PAGE 9A
THE ARTS
VISUALIZING CREATIVITY IN THREE DIMENSIONS
Photo by Danny Zaragoza | The Zapata Times
Robert Guzman, artist for the Canif exhibit at Chelsea’s Dance Club in Laredo, and visitor Linda Paez are seen in a mirror’s reflection as Guzman gives Paez a preview of his three-dimensional art exhibit on Friday afternoon for one week. Guzman said it took him two years to get all four pieces made.
By STEPHANIE IBARRA THE ZAPATA TIMES
A former ambulance driver, who remained a fugitive for nearly four years after giving deputies chase in 2008, was sentenced Thursday to 30 months in prison. Manuel Guzman, 28, a Roma native, pleaded guilty earlier this year to possession with intent to distribute marijuana. On July 2, 2008, the Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office received an anonymous tip that an ambulance was being “loaded with bundles,” according to court documents. Guzman was employed by Vital Line, an ambulance service, at the time. Once the ambulance was located, documents state Guzman led officials on a “high-speed chase” southbound on U.S. 83. Guzman’s attorney, Christina A. Villarreal, disputed claims that her client placed the lives of other individuals on the road at unnecessary risk. Villarreal said the drivers that could be seen on the sheriff ’s patrol unit camera moving out of the way could just have been yielding to ambulance and police right-of-way rules. Judge George P. Kazen noted that Guzman passed several vehicles in no-passing zones during the 15-minute chase. Guzman, 24 years old at the time of the offense, came to a stop on a private road, where he abandoned the vehicle and fled. Bundles retrieved from the ambulance contained an estimated 880 pounds of marijuana. Guzman has had a warrant for his arrest since 2008. He managed to circumvent capture — despite getting several traffic citations — until March, when he was pulled over for having a defective headlight, Kazen said. The Roma native pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute marijuana one month after he was arrested. “I’m sorry to my family, especially for what I put them through,” Guzman said. The father of two small children told the court that he had “suffered enough shame and embarrassment” leading up to his arrest. Unable to find work, Villarreal said Guzman had returned to school. Guzman remained out on bond and was permitted to turn himself in at a later date. (Stephanie Ibarra may be reached at 728-2547 or sibarra@lmtonline.com)
COMMISSIONERS
Twice-monthly meetings to resume in August By JJ VELASQUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Once-monthly meetings are a thing of the past for the Commissioners Court. Commissioners approved Monday a measure to hold an additional meeting on the fourth Monday of every month, in addition to the one held on the second Monday.
County Judge Joe Rathmell lauded the decision and said it would help the county run business more smoothly. “I think it’ll be good for us to have a second meeting,” he said. “That way we can take care of county business more efficiently.” Commissioners Court switched to a once-monthly schedule during County Judge Rosalva Guerra’s
term from 2006 to 2010. The court began examining the possibility of adding a meeting to the monthly docket as a way to streamline payments and pre-approve them before invoices are brought to the court. “It will also allow us to take care of things that come up during the month and not wait so long,” Rathmell said. “Any other items that
may come up, we can deal with them earlier.” Because law dictates that Commissioners Court approve invoices before the county treasurer issues payments, Treasurer Romeo Salinas was only able to issue payments once a month under the court’s former schedule. The court begins its new schedule in August. In other county busi-
ness, the court approved the following: Polling stations were consolidated to one location, the Zapata County Courthouse. Rathmell said the county expects to save at least $10,000 by doing so. Multiple polling stations were seen by the county as redundant because officials expect a low turnout after the only local runoff, the constable, Precinct 1 race, was
conceded early. Incumbent Adalberto Mejia dropped out of the race. Reim Construction was awarded an approximately $400,000 contract for the paving of several streets in the Falcon Meza subdivision. Funding for the project comes from a state grant. (JJ Velasquez may be reached at 728-2579 or jjvelasquez@lmtonline.com)
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, JULY 14, 2012
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, JULY 14
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Greatest Silence Writing Group will host a workshop from 3 p.m to 4:30 p.m. at the Laredo Public Library’s H-E-B Multi-Purpose Room, 1120 E. Calton Road. The group’s name is based on the film, “The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo,” a documentary about violence and rape against women in the Congo. The workshop will be facilitated by Dr. Barbara Baker, a TAMIU faculty member, and is open to the public. For more information, contact Pam Burrell at 956-795-2400, extension 2268, or pam@laredolibrary.org. The Laredo Specialty Hospital’s free CEU seminar for Parkinson’s disease is today from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be a lecture and hands-on training. Seminar has approved CEUs for PTs and OTs. Certificates of completion will be given at the end of the seminar. Space is limited. To reserve a space, contact Nick Nilest at 956-764-8381. The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show “IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System” at 5 p.m., “Violent Universe” at 6 p.m. and “2012: Ancient Skies, Ancient Mysteries” at 7 p.m. General admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Premium shows are $1 more. For more information, call 956-326-3663. The Laredo Theater Guild International’s rendition of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” is today at Texas A&M International University’s Center for Fine and Performing Arts Theatre at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 for general admission, $10 for students and seniors with ID, and $5 for children 10 years of age and under. For more information, call 956-319-8610.
Today is Saturday, July 14, the 196th day of 2012. There are 170 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On July 14, 1912, American folk singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie (“This Land Is Your Land”) was born in Okemah, Okla. On this date: In 1789, during the French Revolution, citizens of Paris stormed the Bastille prison and released the seven prisoners inside. In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry relayed to Japanese officials a letter from President Millard Fillmore requesting trade relations. (Fillmore’s term of office had already expired by the time the letter was delivered.) In 1881, outlaw William H. Bonney Jr., alias “Billy the Kid,” was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner, N.M. In 1902, the original, centuries-old Campanile di San Marco in Venice, Italy, collapsed. (The bell tower was rebuilt within a decade.) In 1911, Harry N. Atwood became the first pilot to land an airplane (a Wright Model B biplane) on the grounds of the White House after flying in from Boston; he was greeted by President William Howard Taft. In 1913, Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., the 38th president of the United States, was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. in Omaha, Neb. In 1921, Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were convicted in Dedham, Mass., of murdering a shoe company paymaster and his guard. (Sacco and Vanzetti were executed six years later.) In 1933, all German political parties, except the Nazi Party, were outlawed. In 1960, British researcher Jane Goodall arrived at the Gombe (GAHM’-bay) Stream Reserve in the Tanganyika Territory (in present-day Tanzania) to begin her famous study of chimpanzees in the wild. In 1966, eight student nurses were murdered by Richard Speck in a Chicago dormitory. In 1972, the State Department criticized actress Jane Fonda for making antiwar radio broadcasts in Hanoi, calling them “distressing.” Jean Westwood was appointed the first female chair of the Democratic National Committee. In 1976, Jimmy Carter won the Democratic presidential nomination at the party’s convention in New York. Ten years ago: A gunman tried but failed to assassinate French President Jacques Chirac during a Bastille Day parade. Joaquin Balaguerruler of the Dominican Republic for 22 years, died at age 95. Today’s Birthdays: Actor Dale Robertson is 89. Actor Harry Dean Stanton is 86. Actress Nancy Olson is 84. Actress Polly Bergen is 82. Former football player and actor Rosey Grier is 80. Actor Actress Jane Lynch (TV: “Glee”) is 52. Hip-hop musician taboo (Black Eyed Peas) is 37. Actor Scott Porter is 33. Thought for Today: “Life has got a habit of not standing hitched. You got to ride it like you find it. You got to change with it. If a day goes by that don’t change some of your old notions for new ones, that is just about like trying to milk a dead cow.” — Woody Guthrie (1912-1967).
MONDAY, JULY 16 The Area Health Education Center is hosting the Youth Health Service Corp Training for high school students interested in a health care-related field from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at UT Health Science Center Laredo Campus. The event provides hands-on activities that highlights health careersFor more information, call 956-712-0037.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 18 The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show “The Great Space Race” at 4 p.m. and “Destination Saturn” at 5 p.m. For more information, call 956-3263663.
SATURDAY, JULY 21 The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show “Bolt” at noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. For more information, call 956-326-3663.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 25 The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show “Origins of Life” at 4 p.m. and “Extreme Planets” at 5 p.m. For more information, call 956-326-3663.
SATURDAY, AUG. 11 The Back To School Kids Fishing Tournament takes place today.
MONDAY, AUG. 13 Zapata County Commissioners meet at 9 a.m. at the Zapata County Courthouse.
Photo by Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle | AP
Amaya Santos, left, and Michel Barrera, right, wait at a bus stop near a flooded intersection on Friday in Houston. Officials say historic rainfall levels that drenched the Houston area this week flooded dozens of homes but probably also resulted in the end of drought conditions in Southeast Texas.
Rains may end drought By JUAN A. LOZANO ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON — Historic rainfall levels that drenched the Houston area this week flooded dozens of homes and caused widespread street flooding, but the rain also is likely to result in the end of drought conditions in Southeast Texas, officials said Friday. Officials estimated that less than 100 homes were flooded after Cypress Creek, located in the northwest part of the Houston area, rose above its banks after getting about 14 inches of rain over the past couple of days, said Francisco Sanchez, a spokesman for the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. County officials were still trying to reach flooded neighborhoods on Friday to better assess the damage, but initial reports had homes affected anywhere from a few inches
to a couple of feet of water, Sanchez said. “Some areas along Cypress Creek got more rain in the last 24 hours than in Hurricane Ike (in 2008) or from major flooding in 1998,” Sanchez said. Gary Whitaker Jr., who lives in one of the areas affected by Cypress Creek, said street flooding started to recede on Friday but a nearby subdivision still had streets that were impassable. Water from the creek was flowing “like a waterfall” across one street and into a golf course, he said. “Quite a few people in our subdivision couldn’t go to work today. They couldn’t get out (due to flooded streets). It was pretty risky,” he said. Whitaker, 36, who lives in Cypress, an unincorporated area in northwest Harris County, said there were no reports of flooded homes in his neighborhood.
Paroled one-time death row inmate arrested
Parker County family adopts tortured dog
State says yes to booze at the Alamo
DALLAS — A former death row inmate on parole from a life sentence for the murder of an Abilene woman has been arrested and charged with having sex with a child. Wayne Edward East was paroled last August but ordered by a judge not to return to Abilene. He was re-settled in Glenn Heights, near Dallas. The 56-yearold is charged with indecency with a child by sexual contact and is jailed without bond on a parole violation.
WEATHERFORD — A dog found in North Texas with a muzzle taped shut on her severely swollen tongue will have a new home. Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler said Friday that the female pug mix caregivers named Hope will be adopted by the family who owns the ranch she was found wandering on Monday. Hope, who underwent surgery requiring 100 internal and external stitches, is expected to make a complete recovery.
SAN ANTONIO — The Texas General Land Office plans to let caterers serve liquor, beer and wine during events at Alamo Hall, outside the historic compound. Land Office officials say they think the change will accommodate groups who want to host dinners and meetings. But the Daughters of the Republic of Texas say allowing booze disrespects the site. The change in policy is set to go into effect by July 31.
Naked man crashes truck in Dallas mall
3 officers in teen beating video want trials moved
DALLAS — Police say a naked man crashed a pickup truck into a southwest Dallas mall, got out and started putting on clothes and shoes. A police statement identified the man as Arthur Walker of Dallas. He’s jailed without bond on a burglary charge.
HOUSTON — Three former police officers accused of beating a black teenage burglary suspect have asked a judge to move the venue for their upcoming trials. Attorneys for the three officers say publicity from the case means they will not get a fair trial in Harris County.
1 dead, 2 wounded in Dallas drive-by shooting DALLAS — A man has been killed in what Dallas police say was a drive-by shooting. Three people were shot after midnight Friday at an apartment southeast of downtown. The person killed was identified by the medical examiner as 18-year-old LaDarius Williams. — Compiled from AP reports
MONDAY, AUG. 27 First day of school for Zapata County Independent School District. Zapata County Commissioners meet at 9 a.m. at the Zapata County Courthouse.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 21 The Sun Country Fishing Tournament begins and runs through Friday, Sept. 28, at Falcon Lake.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 22 The Bud Light 2012 San Antonio Division tournament takes place at Falcon Lake.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18 The Anglers Quests tournaments begin, to run through Sunday, Oct. 21.
SATURDAY, OCT. 27 The Bass Champs South Region Championship takes place today and Sunday, Oct. 28.
SATURDAY, NOV. 17 The Bud Light Tournament Fall 2012 San Antonio Division tournament returns to Falcon Lake.
AROUND THE NATION CEO of troubled Iowa brokerage charged CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A federal prosecutor says the chief executive of an Iowa-based brokerage firm carried out a $200 million fraud scheme that could land him in prison for years. Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Deegan said Friday that Peregrine Financial Group Inc. CEO Russell Wasendorf Sr. could face "a wide range of criminal charges" for the scheme in which he allegedly falsified bank records. Wasendorf had been hospitalized after attempting suicide outside the company’s headquarters on Monday. Investigators say he admitted in a suicide note to carrying out an embezzlement scheme.
Uzbek man gets more than 15 years for threat BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Uzbek man who came to America
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Antonio Barnabe, left, protests with Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, outside the Federal Court building in Los Angeles on Monday. The protest concerned the court’s ruling on Arizona’s immigration law. for a medical degree but wound up working at a mall in Alabama was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison Friday for plotting to kill President Obama. U.S. District Judge Abdul K. Kallon imposed the sentence on Ulugbek Kodirov, 22. He had
faced up to 30 years in prison. Wearing an orange jail uniform, Kodirov apologized in halting English. "I am truly sorry for every mistake that I have done," he told the judge. — Compiled from AP reports
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Local
SATURDAY, JULY 14, 2012
THE BLOTTER ASSAULT Enrique Arambula, 56, and Jorge Arambula, 28, were arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault that occurred at about 4:15 a.m. July 5 in San Ygnacio. Both men were taken to Zapata Regional Jail. Leopoldo D. Villarreal, 60, was arrested and charged with assault at about 8:15 p.m. in the 1000 block of Hidalgo Boulevard. He was released to appear in court at a later date. Rolando Eduardo Sanchez, 48, was arrested and charged with assault at about 9 p.m. July 7 in the 1500 block of First Street. He was released to appear in court at a later date.
BURGLARY A 22-year-old man reported at 5:36 p.m. July 6 in the 2600 block of Carla Street that someone burglarized his 1999 Ford Ranger and took a stereo worth $250.
DWI Sergio Serna, 56, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated at about 2 a.m. July 5 at 10th and Miraflores streets. He had a $3,000 bond at Zapata Regional Jail. Ramiro Valdez Jr., 23, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated at about 11:45 p.m. July 7 at Third and Miraflores streets. He had a $5,000 bond at Zapata Regional Jail. Raymundo Sanchez-Arredondo, 38, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated at about 1 a.m. Monday at Seventh Street and Juarez Avenue. He had a $5,000 bond at Zapata Regional Jail.
PUBLIC INTOXICATION Victor Alonzo Juarez, 26, was arrested and charged with public intoxication right after midnight July 8 at the Aqua Bar off U.S. 83. He was released to appear in court at a future date.
THEFT A woman reported theft at 3:32 p.m. July 7 in the 5300 block of Mercedes Lane in the Siesta Shores. An incident report states someone stole garden tools worth $170.
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Meeting to discuss aid to producers By MARK WEBBER THE ZAPATA TIMES
The Texas/Mexico Border Coalition Communitybased Organization is meeting Wednesday to cover topics of interest to farmers and ranchers in the area. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. at El Paraiso Restaurant, 1904 North U.S. Hwy. 83. There is no charge for farmers and ranchers. Among several items on the agenda are financing and royalties. Projector Director Aisha Cruz-Reyes said one item involves the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. This program, she said, makes available money for fencing or digging water wells, or to help in the transportation of water. Speakers will discuss fi-
nancing available through government loans and commercial banks programs, she said. Another speaker, an adviser, will assist with documentation needed to apply for the loan. Another item she said is on the agenda is a discussion of royalties, new legislation and changes in tax information. A third item is a presentation by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on how ranchers can increase income by participating in programs relating to hunting. Cruz-Reyes said the 10year-old non-profit organization provides information for farmers and ranchers in South and West Texas. “We make the connection between producers and the programs available to them,” Cruz-Reyes said.
TAMIU ranks 1 in Latino grads SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
The Texas Higher Education Journal has named Texas A&M International University the state’s number one public institution of higher education for producing the largest number of Latino graduates, 94 percent in 2011. Other Texas universities included in The Journal’s top five listing were: UT-El Paso (5, 77.8 percent, Sul Ross State University-Rio Grande (4, 80.4 percent, UT-Brownsville (3, 89.3percent ) and UT-Pan American (2, 90.8 percent). The Journal based its selection on recently released data provided by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s 2012 Higher Education Almanac.
Courtesy photo
Zapata sheriff’s deputies found 208 bundles of marijuana in a Miami man’s vehicle. The contraband weighed 2,511 pounds and had a street value of about $1 million.
Miami man jailed after pot discovery By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A routine traffic stop yielded more than 2,500 pounds of marijuana and landed a Miami man in jail early Thursday in Chihuahua, a small town within Zapata County. Zapata County Sheriff ’s officials seized two big loads worth nearly $2 million in less than a week. ESQUIVEL At 12:34 a.m. Thursday, deputies conducted a traffic violation stop on an 18-wheeler traveling north on U.S. 83 in the Chihuahua area. Deputies called in U.S. Border Patrol for assistance. Federal GARCIA-GONZALEZ authorities brought in a K-9 unit which detected anomalies with the cargo, crates of lemon. After an inspection, deputies and agents found 208 bundles of marijuana. Sgt. Mario Elizondo said the contraband weighed 2,511 pounds and had an approximate street value of
$1 million. Deputies arrested a Miami man identified as Yisnel GarciaGonzalez, 28. He is being charged with possession of marijuana and is being held at Zapata Regional Jail on a $375,000 bond. “The 18-wheeler contained crates of lemons used to disguise the marijuana,” Elizondo said. The second seizure occurred July 6 in Lopeño. A routine traffic stop resulted in the seizure of 1,659 pounds of marijuana worth $862,000. Mario Alberto Esquivel, 20, was charged with second-degree felony possession of marijuana. He remains behind bars at the regional jail. Investigators don’t believe the cases are related. Both these seizures came on the heels of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar’s announcement that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had awarded Zapata County about $442,000 in Operation Stonegarden funds. This project is geared toward enhancing local law enforcement’s border security operations. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
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Zopinion
SATURDAY, JULY 14, 2012
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
OTHER VIEWS
Profit mixes with beauty in mill town By LLEWELLYN KING HEARST NEWSPAPERS
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Across New England they stand as testaments to a time when the United States was a place of untrammeled confidence. The air was infinite, the water clean and abundant. At least for those in the ownership class, life was good and getting better. They are the great textile mills of New England: magnificent stone and brick structures, in their way as beautiful as basilicas, found along the streams of Rhode Island, Massachusetts and elsewhere. Water, as a motive power source, drew them to the streams. Then they added steam, hence the mills’ magnificent smokestacks: sentries standing lonely guard over the memories of a more confident time.
Not in use Mostly the mills are abandoned now, awaiting a new use or the wrecker’s ball. Some have been saved by being converted into residential lofts and art centers. None will again make cloth, or provide thousands of jobs. Before critics and designers began linking form to function, the mill architects of New England, these designers of castles of production, did so, using great stonework and imaginative engineering. They are stunningly handsome, the way that great bridges are — the spirit of enterprise encased in stone and brick lovingly. So when and why did we develop a penchant for ugly buildings? Was it the downside of cost accounting? Why are so many modern schools dumpy and deformed? Why must we put our children to study the classics in structures that implicitly deny the classics? Winston Churchill said, “We shape buildings; thereafter they shape us.” Indubitably. In the second half of the 20th century, did we hand human aspiration over to cost-cutters, put it through a calculating machine and turn it out bent and spindled? Must we learn to appreciate the economics of urban blight, the strips of chain outlets that presage our arrival in any town or city? One can weep now over the beauty of a mill in Rhode Island or a grain elevator on a Virginia farm. But will we weep in a century over the golden arches? Shed a tear for the mall? Swallow hard for Public School 19 somewhere? If the abandoned mills
of the Industrial Revolution were just a little older, we would characterize them as archeological sites — perhaps U.N. World Heritage Sites — and assure their survival for generations to come to marvel at.
The down side Of course the history of New England industrialized weaving was not without strife and folly, greed and cruelty. The loom technology was smuggled out of Britain by industrial espionage, labor conditions were terrible for much of the life of the mills, and labor unrest continued through all the days of the textile industry. Royal Mills in West Warwick, R.I., the former home of Fruit of the Loom, was the scene of a bitter strike in 1922. Incidentally, this giant mill has been preserved. In a stunning piece of imaginative restoration, it has been converted into 250 apartments, keeping the feel and preserving some of the artifacts of the old mill. It is a restoration that deserves global recognition for showing how the 19th century’s relics can find life in the 21st century, just as the restored power plant on the South Bank of the River Thames in London houses the celebrated Tate Modern art gallery. When old beauty meets new high purpose, something thrilling happens. The trick in urban architecture is to remember the people who are outside of the buildings as well as inside, those who can glory in the Empire State Building or the Sears Tower by looking up as well as going in. For this full enjoyment, great architecture needs great public space.
Questions Would the skyscrapers of New York be as glorious without Central Park to view them from? Would the new Shard, the extraordinary glass-clad building in London, the tallest in Europe, be as great if it could not be viewed from the city’s abundant public spaces? Yet urban design today, in an age of public austerity, makes no allowance for public space and has come to accept the myth that economics are at odds with great city design. I am comforted to know that the great squares of London, the avenues of Paris and the mills of New England were built for profit. It can be done. (E-mail lking@kingpublishing.com)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY The Zapata Times does not publish anonymous letters. To be published, letters must include the writer’s first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication. We want to assure
our readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the letter. The Zapata Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms. Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No 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.
COLUMN
John Glenn Lane is still open
A
USTIN — I only recently became aware we have a John Glenn Lane in Austin. I’m pretty sure it’s named for the former astronaut and U.S. senator. And now I’m concerned we could be losing John Glenn Lane (not to be confused with Glenn Lane in North Austin, apparently also named for John Glenn). Famous folks should not be subjected to the ignominy of losing things named for them, even if it’s something as unimpressive as our John Glenn Lane. John Glenn Lane could be the least significant thing in America named for an American hero. It exists for about two blocks, connecting Ben White Boulevard and Airport Commerce Drive, west of East Riverside Drive. John Glenn Lane is in Airport Commerce Park and is a private drive though open to the public. The Ben White entrance to John Glenn Lane is closed because of the highway construction project over there. You can still get onto John Glenn Lane from the other end. There’s not much reason to go there, unless you are heading to the Best Western Plus, Staybridge Suites or the commercial park. I’ve been unable to find out who named it John Glenn Lane or why they did. Probably, it was the developer, but I’ve failed to make contact with those
“
KEN HERMAN
folks. The only street John Glenn Lane crosses is Discovery Lane — named, I’m guessing, for the space shuttle. If so, this could be proof that John Glenn Lane is named for the astronaut who, at age 77, flew on Discovery in 1998, becoming the oldest person in space (and, as comedians noted at the time, perhaps meaning the right blinker stayed on for the entire flight. I look forward to the emails from our more senior readers.). We’re big around here on naming local thoroughfares for local folks, including Edward (Ed) Bluestein and Benjamin (Ben) White.
Few out-of-towners We don’t have many local streets named for folks from out of the county. That makes John Glenn Lane kind of special. Lots of things around the nation are named for John Glenn. There’s Ohio State University’s John H. Glenn School of Public Affairs, the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Colonel Glenn Highway in Dayton, and San Angelo’s John Glenn Middle School. Washington has a John H.
Glenn fireboat. We have John Glenn Lane, which, for some reason, city officials refer to as John Glenn Way. They also refer to Discovery Lane as Discovery Way. City spokeswoman Karla Villalon told me, “The origin of the naming of John Glenn Way is not known, but given the other driveway is ‘Discovery Way,’ there appears to be a spacerelated connection, so it is likely that John Glenn Way is named after the astronaut.” OK, having sort of established that, let’s turn to whether we are losing John Glenn Lane (or Way or whatever). No, we are not, but we are losing 200 feet of it to build an underpass at East Riverside, John Hurt of the Texas Department of Transportation said. “We’re not dissing John Glenn at all — wouldn’t even dream of it.” Hurt said. ”Just nipping the tip.” FYI, because I’m hesitant to invite evidence of ignorance, I opted not to ask anybody at the hotels near John Glenn Lane whether they know who John Glenn is. I myself am ignorant about lots of famous people. I don’t really know what a Kardashian is. (I think it’s a way to deliver a baby, as in “Ms. Smith, just to be on the safe side, we’re going to do a Kardashian.”) Now, having solved the mystery of John Glenn
Lane, let’s turn to another one. Somebody named Chris Walker recently announced he’s on board with the Mitt Romney campaign as ”Southeastern communications adviser” and will be ”handling most of the campaign’s communications and outreach for Texas.” Texas? Southeastern? Did I miss that in redistricting? Does this have something to do with Texas A&M University joining the Southeastern Conference? Walker told me his Southeastern region includes 13 Southeastern states from West Virginia to Texas. I hope this guy doesn’t become interior secretary if Romney wins. And while I’m rambling, this from former Austin American-Statesman colleague Jason Embry, now Texas House Speaker Joe Straus’ press secretary. So far, relayed in a tweet, here’s what Embry has discovered about the difference between his old job and his new job: “My new coworkers are a lot slower to devour a box of doughnuts than my old coworkers.” A colleague at the newspaper noted that government workers are a lot slower to do everything. I told him the comment was inaccurate and disrespectful of the many fine, hard-working government workers in our area. (That should save me from emails from government workers, right?)
Ali is good choice for award PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
The selection of boxing legend Muhammad Ali to receive the 2012 Liberty Medal has sparked debate, given his refusal four decades ago to fight in the Vietnam War. But his standing up for religious principles only makes the award more appropriate. The boxer known more now for his advocacy of
civil rights at home and abroad has been an ardent promoter of world peace and humanitarian causes. A sufferer of Parkinson’s disease, he has helped raise funds for the Special Olympics and for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson’s Research Center in Phoenix. His decision to refuse induction in 1967 came after Ali had converted to the
Muslim faith and changed his name from Cassius Clay Jr. He was subsequently stripped of the heavyweight boxing crown. But Ali held firm to his convictions and eventually won a lengthy legal battle to have his boxing license restored. Later, the U.S. Supreme Court voided his five-year prison sentence for draft evasion. Ali not only regained
DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
his heavyweight boxing title; he rose to even greater heights among sports giants in winning several legendary matches, including the so-called "Thrilla in Manila" in 1975 against Philadelphia boxing great Joe Frazier. Ali, 70, will receive the Liberty Medal in a Sept. 13 ceremony. His wife, Yolanda, is expected to make remarks on behalf of Ali.
Entertainment
SATURDAY, JULY 14, 2012
Guthrie fans celebrate 100th birthday in Okla. By KEN MILLER ASSOCIATED PRESS
OKLAHOMA CITY — Folk singer and native Oklahoman Woody Guthrie was “probably not one of the favorite sons” when he was alive, a state senator said. But Guthrie’s legacy has inspired a celebration in honor of his 100th birthday this Sunday at the annual festival in his hometown of Okemah. Guthrie, perhaps best known for his song “This Land is Your Land,” was hotly political, speaking out against fascism and aligning himself with the working class, influenced by his time in the Dust Bowl. Guthrie had a silly side, too, in ditties such as “Car Song.” And his seemingly simple songwriting inspired countless musicians, among them Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger. Guthrie’s son, singer Arlo Guthrie, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday that he believes his father would find humor in the fact that his life and music are being celebrated as part of the 15th annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival. “We’re living in a very divided time (politically), I think everyone would agree with that,” Guthrie said from his home in Massachusetts. “I think he would have had some fun with that. His hero was Will Rogers, who was able to traverse between political ideologues and he did it very deftly and everybody liked him. “And I think that’s what my dad tried without surrendering his own ideals,” Guthrie said. He performed Wednesday during the opening night of the festival, which runs through Sunday and
Photo by Sue Ogrocki | AP
Mary Jo Guthrie Edgmon, right, sister of the late Woody Guthrie, talks at the History Center in Okemah, Okla., on Friday. She is holding a copy of her book, “Woody’s Road.” Okemah is celebrating the Guthrie Centennial with the annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival. also features singer-songwriter Judy Collins and British folk singer Billy Bragg, who set three albums’ worth of Woody Guthrie’s lyrics to music with Wilco in the late 1990s. State Sen. Roger Ballenger, whose district includes Okemah, said Guthrie “tended to be a little bit abrasive and straightforward” with his beliefs and in talking about what he saw happening to those who were struggling. “His popularity rose, as many do, after he passed away,” said Ballenger, DOkmulgee, noting that the Okemah festival began in 1998, 31 years after Guthrie’s death in 1967. Guthrie would probably still be a polarizing figure in Oklahoma, Ballenger said. “He would be seen as an extreme left political thinker, I’m sure. I’m not sure how political he was, he just had a passion for people that were struggling and he called it like he saw it and that came out in his music.” Rep. Steve Kouplin, DBeggs, whose district also includes Okemah, also
noted that Guthrie wasn’t a favorite of Oklahomans. “A lot of people thought he was Communist-influenced. Time has changed all that, he’s proven to be one of the folk heroes of his generation,” Kouplin said. Sarah Lee Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie’s daughter, said she thinks Oklahoma has seemingly embraced her grandfather. “I think Oklahoma, in a sense, has finally come around,” she said. “I can imagine he’d have a blast down there playing with all those folks. It’s probably way more than his Oklahoma self could have imagined.” Arlo Guthrie spoke to his father’s lasting effects on Okemah and the state. “The controversy about him in Oklahoma I have always thought of, as mentioned elsewhere, no one is a prophet in his own country, and they’ve found a way to make him profitable,” said Guthrie, who called the festival a family reunion of sorts. “I get to see all my aunties and cousins, so that’s an annual pilgrimage if we can make it,” Guthrie said.
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
National
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JULY 14, 2012
Caretaker: Wild animals are not pets By KEN RITTER ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAS VEGAS — Poker pro Lee Watkinson put up the money and girlfriend Timmi De Rosa gave her heart to an effort to rescue two adult chimpanzees that had outgrown their youthful cuteness in a northwest Las Vegas neighborhood. “We wanted to build a sanctuary,” Watkinson said Friday. “We found them in a bad situation. People have them and play with them for five years and then someone has to come and rescue them. That’s what we tried to do. We failed.” On Thursday, after three straight days of stifling 110degree days, the chimps burst through one door of their outdoor pen, opened a
secondary door with two dead bolt latches, and escaped. For 30 minutes they rumbled through yards and climbed into and out of at least one unoccupied vehicle. The male, Buddy, dented fenders and jumped atop a police car before veering toward a gathering crowd of people. A Las Vegas police officer killed him with three shotgun blasts. Buddy and the female, named C.J., had become unmanageable for their former owner, who signed part ownership of the animals over to a nonprofit that De Rosa heads, called the Cortland Brandenberg Foundation. The couple spent $100,000 of Watkinson’s winnings from the 2006 World Series of Poker on a
sturdy double-fenced enclosure of 800 square feet, about the size of two big-rig trailers, this in the backyard of a home in a horsey neighborhood in unincorporated Clark County. Building codes in the area and Nevada state law allow people to keep exotic animals as pets. Officer Marcus Martin, a Las Vegas police spokesman, said the veteran officer who shot Buddy thought he was the last defense between the rampaging animal and people gathering to watch. Martin recalled a 2009 attack on a woman who was blinded and disfigured by a chimp at a friend’s home in Stamford, Conn. A U.S. student also suffered critical injuries including head wounds and
Photo by Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun | AP
The body of a male chimpanze lies on the ground after being shot by police in Las Vegas, Nev., on Thursday. Police also tranquilized a second chimp. The male chimp killed was shot by an officer after it appeared the chimp was headed toward residents watching the chase. the loss of a testicle and fingers when he was attacked by two adult chimpanzees after he entered their enclosure last month at a primate sanctuary in South Africa. Animal control officers tranquilized C.J. twice before she succumbed about an hour later beneath a
shade tree in neighbor Tony Paolone’s backyard. “Typical story. Primates just don’t make good pets,” said Toby Goldman, a veterinarian who previously examined both chimps and was summoned to the scene to help tranquilize C.J. “They’re cute when
they’re young. But they become big and aggressive,” he said. “Thankfully, nobody was hurt.” Goldman on Friday stored Buddy’s body — 4feet-7 and 150 pounds with a 43-inch chest — at his nearby Island Pet Hospital. Goldman believes Buddy was about 13 years old.
Asian carp DNA found in lake By JOHN FLESHER ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Robert Ray | AP
A researcher holds an Asian carp pulled from the Illinois River. Researchers are monitoring fish populations, looking for evidence native species are being affected by the arrival of invasive Asian carp.
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Genetic material from Asian carp has been discovered in Lake Erie water samples collected nearly a year ago, officials said Friday. Researchers with the University of Notre Dame, Central Michigan University and The Nature Conservancy detected DNA from the invasive fish this week when examining more than 400 samples taken in August 2011. It’s the first time DNA from bighead and silver carp has turned up in Lake Erie, although three bighead were caught there between 1995 and 2000. Scientists are uncertain about whether carp DNA
signals the presence of actual fish, but the findings are unsettling because experts have described Erie as the lake that could suffer the biggest harm from an Asian carp incursion. Chris Jerde, a Notre Dame biologist and member of the team that discovered the DNA, said the most likely explanation is that live Asian carp have reached the lake, although how they got in remain unknown. “The number of alternative explanations is dropping precipitously,” Jerde said. “It’s still not a gameover situation. We don’t know how many fish there may be at this point. But the alarm bell has been sounded.” Four positive hits for
bighead carp were found in samples from Ohio’s Sandusky Bay — less than three miles from where the live bigheads were caught years ago. Two hits for silver carp turned up in water from northern Maumee Bay in Michigan. The samples that tested positive were among 2,000 that Jerde and his colleagues took from Lakes Michigan, Erie and Superior last year as part of a broader search for invasive species. They have been processing the samples since then and found no Asian carp DNA until this week, he said. The only other Asian carp DNA found in the Great Lakes has been one sample taken from Lake Michigan.
Although the smallest of the Great Lakes by volume, Erie has the most abundant fish population. Asian carp have moved steadily northward in the Mississippi River and its tributaries since escaping from Southern fish farms and sewage lagoons in the 1970s. They gobble huge amounts of plankton, a crucial nutrient for many fish. An electric fish barrier near Chicago is meant to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes. More than 130 samples taken beyond that barrier in the waterways south of Lake Michigan in the past three years have tested positive for Asian carp. But despite intensive searches just one live bighead and no silver carp have been found there.
SÁBADO 14 DE JULIO DE 2012
Agenda en Breve SÁBADO 14 DE JULIO LAREDO — Seminario gratuito sobre la enfermedad de Parkinson, de 8 a.m. a 5 p.m. en Laredo Specialty Hospital. Habrá una conferencia y entrenamiento. Se proveerá desayuno y comida, así como certificado. Espacio limitado. Reserve al (956) 764-8381 o escriba a nicknilest@ernesthealth.com. LAREDO — Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU presenta “IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System” a las 5 p.m., “Violent Universe” a las 6 p.m. y “2012: Ancient Skies, Ancient Mysteries” a las 7 p.m. Costo: 4 dólares (niños), 5 dólares (adultos). LAREDO — Laredo Theater Guild International (LTGI) presenta “Cinderella” en el Center for the Fine and Performing Arts de TAMIU, a las 8 p.m. Costo: 20 dólares, general; 10 dólares, adultos mayores y estudiantes con identificación; 5 dólares, niños de 10 años y menores. NUEVO LAREDO, México — Estación Palabra presenta “Bazar de Arte” a las 12 p.m.; Lecturas antes de abordar “Franz Kafka y la Metamorfosis” a la 1 p.m.; Festival Infantil “Olimpiadas de la Lectura” a las 2 p.m. Eventos gratuitos.
Zfrontera
PÁGINA 7A
TAMAULIPAS PARTICIPA EN BÚSQUEDA DE VACUNA CONTRA ENFERMEDAD
Proyecto contra dengue TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
CD. VICTORIA, México — Tamaulipas espera ser uno de los Estados pioneros en combatir el dengue con una vacuna. La Secretaría de Salud espera desarrollar un proyecto internacional para crear una vacuna tetravalente que inmunice contra los cuatro serotipos del dengue, enfermedad que transmite el mosquito Aedes Aegypti. Los estudios se desar-
rollan en el municipio de El Mante donde 500 menores de edad fueron seleccionados. “(Los niños) actualmente se encuentran en la fase de recibir una tercera dosis de la vacuna para posteriormente estar en observación durante un año y poder concluir con éxito el proyecto”, informó el Secretario de Salud, Norberto Treviño García Manzo. Es en El Mante donde la Secretaría de Salud de Ta-
maulipas ha detectado los más altos índices larvarios y el mayor número de casos, a consecuencia de la epidemia registrada en 2005. El proyecto de investigación en el que participan otras entidades mexicanas y países de Centro y Sudamérica, podría concretarse durante el 2013, “para disponer de una vacuna efectiva, segura y económica”, dijo García Manzo. Desarrollada por los laboratorios Sanofi Pas-
teur, la vacuna quimérica tetravalente contra el dengue se desarrolla como una vacuna de virus vivos atenuados cultivados en células Vero, un organismo modificado genéticamente estable (quimerización) que contiene el motor de replicación de la vacuna de fiebre amarilla atenuada, cápside y proteína no estructural, proteínas de pre-membrana y envoltura de serotipos salvajes del dengue, explica un comunicado de prensa
VIDA DE SERVICIO
del Gobierno de Tamaulipas. La búsqueda mundial para crear una vacuna contra el dengue nació en 1928. Históricamente, el mosquito transmisor del dengue es el que ha ocasionado más muertes en el mundo por su alta capacidad para reproducirse y de generar brotes o epidemias que pueden ser mortales si no se atienden a tiempo, concluye el comunicado.
TAMAULIPAS
Foto de Cortesía SEDENA
Militares han incursionado en los diferentes puntos geográficos de la frontera mexicana de Tamaulipas, sus estrategias han permitido arrestos, recuperar personas secuestradas y confiscado droga y armas.
DOMINGO 15 DE JULIO LAREDO — Summer Teen Jam 2012 con las hermans McClain, China McClain, Caroline Sunshine, Stefanie Scott, Alexandria Deberry y Carlon Jeffery, será a las 2 p.m. en Laredo Energy Arena. Costos: 65 dólares, 55, 45 y 25 (sin incluir la cuota de instalaciones). Habrá una oportunidad para saludar a las estrellas, comprando un boleto adicional de 38 dólars. LAREDO — Laredo Theater Guild International (LTGI) presenta “Cinderella” en el Center for the Fine and Performing Arts de TAMIU, a las 3 p.m. Costo: 20 dólares, general; 10 dólares, adultos mayores y estudiantes con identificación; 5 dólares, niños de 10 años y menores.
MARTES 17 DE JULIO LAREDO — Décimo-tercer Concierto anual Supply Our Students (S.O.S.) a las 6 p.m. en Laredo Energy Arena. Música en vivo a cargo de: David Lee Garza y Los Musicales, Jimmy González y Mazz, Elida y Avante, Zamorales, Jay Perez, La Calma y Michael Salgado. Costo: 3 artículos escolares por persona. Más información en: (956) 523-4600. Laredo Theater Guild International (LTGI) presenta “Cinderella” en el Center for the Fine and Performing Arts de TAMIU, a las 8 p.m. Costo: 20 dólares, general; 10 dólares, adultos mayores y estudiantes con identificación; 5 dólares, niños de 10 años y menores.
MIÉRCOLES 18 DE JULIO LAREDO — Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU presenta “The Great Space Race” a las 4 p.m. y “Destination Saturn” a las 5 p.m. Costo: 3 dólares. LAREDO — Laredo Theater Guild International (LTGI) presenta “Cinderella” en el Center for the Fine and Performing Arts de TAMIU, a las 8 p.m. Costo: 20 dólares, general; 10 dólares, adultos mayores y estudiantes con identificación; 5 dólares, niños de 10 años y menores.
JUEVES 19 DE JULIO LAREDO — Banquete para entrega del Premio Cinco Estrellas de Servicio al Cliente de la Cámara de Comercio de Laredo. Invitado especial: Peter Kingsley. Evento será a las 6 p.m. en Laredo Country Club. Se requiere boleto. Informes en el (956) 722-9895.
Foto Cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas
Francisco Alfonso Villarreal Martínez, recibe la presea “Emilio Portes Gil”. De manos del gobernador de Tamaulipas, Egidio Torre Cantú. Villarreal es un destacado pro-hombre de esta entidad que ha servido a su patria.
RECONOCEN A EJEMPLAR TAMAULIPECO TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
VICTORIA, Tamaulipas.-En la sesión solemne del Supremo Tribunal de Justicia estatal, fue reconocido el ejemplar Tamaulipeco Francisco Alfonso Villarreal Martínez con la presea “Emilio Portes Gil”. El gobernador Egidio Torre Cantú y su esposa la presidenta del Sistema DIF, María del Pilar González de Torre, subrayaron que el homenaje se atribuia por que se ha distinguido en el ámbito político, académico y jurídico. El presidente del Poder Judicial del Estado, Alejandro Etienne Llano, reconoció a Villarreal su perseverancia y entrega no solamente en el servicio público, sino a la academia y ejercicio libre de la profesión; su trayectoria como un tamaulipeco y un abogado ejemplar, han dejado huella en la historia de Tamaulipas”. Dijo que por todo ello, el Pleno del Supremo Tribunal de Justicia de Tamaulipas tomó la justa decisión de otorgarle la presea al mérito “Emilio Portes Gil”, además de recibir el reconocimiento y gratitud del pueblo tamaulipeco. Don Francisco Alfonso nació
el 8 de octubre de 1923 en Tampico, Tamaulipas, hijo de Francisco T. Villarreal y María Guadalupe Martínez, cursando sus estudios de primaria, secundaria y preparatoria en ese puerto. Es egresado como Licenciado en Derecho de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México y participó en la fundación de la Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, donde fue catedrático desde sus inicios en 1950 impartiendo las cátedras de Introducción al Estudio del Derecho, Teoría del Estado y Filosofía del Derecho. Fue maestro fundador de la Facultad de Derecho de la UAT en Ciudad Victoria, donde impartió, al igual que en Tampico, la primera cátedra. Fue catedrático de la materia de Derecho Fiscal en el Instituto de Ciencias y Tecnología de Tampico. Entre los cargos públicos que ha ejercido, destacan: Presidente municipal de Tampico de 1961 a1962, donde promovió la reforma de la Legislación Municipal, así como la depuración de la Legislación Fiscal. Magistrado del Supremo Tribunal de Justicia del Estado en 1964 y 1965 y presidente del mis-
mo Tribunal, en donde promovió la especialización de las Salas, la profesionalización del personal de las mismas y la mejora en la remuneración a los funcionarios y empleados judiciales, así como fundó la Biblioteca del Supremo Tribunal de Justicia. Rector de la UAT en 1967, donde promovió la profesionalización de la Enseñanza Universitaria, creando las categorías de Maestro de Carrera de Tiempo Completo y Maestro de Medio Tiempo y el Sistema de Becas. En este periodo se da a la Universidad el otorgamiento de la Autonomía Universitaria. En 1967 fue electo presidente de la Asociación Nacional de Universidades e Instituciones de Estudios Superiores (ANUIES). Fue representante del Gobierno de Tamaulipas en la Primera Conferencia de Gobernadores de los Estados Fronterizos de México y Estados Unidos celebrada en 1968 en Santa Fe, Nuevo México. Además fue Procurador General de Justicia del Estado de Tamaulipas de 1981 a 1986, en donde funda el Area de Servicios Periciales, así como la Biblioteca de la Procuraduría de Justicia de Tamaulipas.
Sedena reporta decomisos TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Del 1 de marzo al 8 de julio, los operativos militares realizados desde Nuevo Laredo, México, hasta Matamoros, tuvieron como resultado el arresto de 290 personas vinculadas con la delincuencia organizada, y el decomiso de 1.300 rifles de asalto y 200 pistolas. El reporte fue dado a conocer por la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional (Sedena) una vez que concluyó el periodo electoral que, en México prohíbe a dependencias federales, estatales y municipales emitir comunicados de prensa. En las acciones militares durante ese periodo, se decomisaron 318.000 cartuchos, 9.000 cargadores, 215 granadas, 28 lanza granadas, y 42 toneladas de marihuana. El comunicado de Sedena agrega que en esas semanas fueron confiscados un número indeterminado de camiones blindados y cisternas para transportar gasolina. “En uno de los casos fueron confiscados 100.000 litros de gasolina”, explica el reporte de Sedena. “Se trata de gasolina que es robada a Petróleos Mexicanos por miembros de la delincuencia organizada”. Entre otros artículos encontrados se encuentran chalecos anti-balas, uniformes falsos de diferentes corporaciones policíacas, teléfonos celulares, radios Nextel, radios de comunicación y fuentes de poder. El reporte no especifica cantidades. Militares también han tenido que desmantelar estaciones y torres de comunicación, agrega. En cuanto a las 290 personas puestas a disposición de la autoridad federal, tras su captura, fueron trasladados a prisiones de acuerdo al rango de mando que tienen dentro de del crimen organizado.
ANIVERSARIO
Media década del Centro juvenil ‘Güemez’ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
, Con una jornada cívico cultural celebraron en Güemez, Tamaulipas, el 50 aniversario de la fundación del Centro de Reintegración Social y Familiar para Adolescentes.\ En este Centro, donde se cumplen las medidas de orientación, protección y tratamiento que dictan los jueces especializados en justicia juvenil, se elevan los valores educativos, laborales, sociales y cívicos que procuren la pronta reintegra-
ción social y familiar de los jóvenes que enfrentan conflicto con la ley penal. Los festejos iniciaron con la obra performance Textos de la vida, llevada a la escena con la participación de 11 jóvenes internos con cuatro sketches de 30 minutos de duración y vestuario de mimos. Fue dirigida por Marco Andrés Díaz Juárez. A la obra asistieron como invitados especiales Martha Judith Mendoza Rodríguez, directora del Siste-
ma DIF de Güemez; el director estatal de los Centros, Roberto Huerta Ramos; la juez especializada del Primer Distrito Judicial, Reyna Karina Torres Barrientos; el juez de Primera Instancia de Ejecución de Medida para Adolescentes, Arturo Javier López Córdova y la directora del Centro Juvenil, Maribel Leticia García Barrientos, así como familiares de menores infractores. Los padres de familia asistentes agradecieron al personal del Centro Juvenil de la Secretaría de Seguri-
dad Pública del Estado (SSPE) todo el apoyo que les brindan a sus hijos que por circunstancias adversas se encuentran en internamiento, para que se incorporen a la vida productiva. Estos programas artísticos-culturales, así como los programas multidisciplinarios de atención al adolescente, constituyen una herramienta fundamental en el tratamiento para hacer de los jóvenes mejores ciudadanos e hijos de familia.
State
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JULY 14, 2012
Acid-attack victim restarts life in US By SUSAN CARROLL HOUSTON CHRONICLE
HOUSTON — She was 16 years old, working as an operator in a tiny, public call office in Pakistan, when a man walked in and saw the silver cross dangling around her neck. He asked her three times: “Are you a Christian?” Julie Aftab answered, “Yes, sir,” the first two times, and then got frustrated. “Didn’t you hear me?” she asked. They argued, and the man abruptly left the little office, returning 30 or 40 minutes later with a turquoise bottle. Aftab tried to block the arc of battery acid, but it melted much of the right side of her face and left her with swirling, bone-deep burns on her chest and arms. She ran for the door, but a second man grabbed her hair, and they poured the acid down her throat, searing her esophagus. A decade and 31 surgeries later, Aftab is an accounting major at the University of HoustonClear Lake with a melodic laugh. She spoke no English when she arrived in Houston in February 2004, but is poised to take her citizenship test later this month. Doctors in Houston have donated their time to painstakingly reconstruct her cheek, nose, upper lip and replace her eyelids. Over time, her scars have faded from hues of deep wine to mocha. And, with time, the 26-year-old said, she has learned to forgive. “Those people, they think they did a bad thing to me, but they brought me closer to God,” Aftab said. “They helped me fulfill my dreams. I never imagined I could be the person I am today.”
Eldest of seven Aftab was born in Faisalabad, Pakistan, the eldest of seven children in a Christian working-class
Photo by Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle | AP
Julie Aftab, a Pakistani refugee, and Gloria Ervin share a laugh as they talk at their home in Houston. Gloria and her husband, Lee Ervin, are the host family for Aftab, who was attacked in Pakistan with acid because she was a devout Christian. Doctors in Houston have donated their time to painstakingly reconstruct her face. family. She dreamed of becoming a doctor, but dropped out of school at age 12 to work in a sewing factory after her father, a bus driver and the family’s sole breadwinner, broke his back in an accident. After the sewing factory closed when Aftab was 16, she took a job as a telephone operator helping people place phone calls from the small office in the city’s center. It was June 15, 2002, two weeks into her job, when the customer spotted her silver cross, a gift from her grandfather. She wore it despite knowing it branded her as Christian, a tiny minority in the Muslim-majority country. You are living life in the gutter, the Muslim man told her. She tried to ignore him, remembering what her mother had taught her since she was a child: “You are no one to insult someone’s religion. If someone is insulting religion, they have to answer to God.”
Vet feels guilt after conviction ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT WORTH — Richard David McClanahan no longer considers himself a veteran. Convicted of embellishing his military record and claiming awards he never won, McClanahan says he doesn’t attend Veterans Day parades or Memorial Day events out of shame. Congress passed the Stolen Valor Act in 2006 to try to prevent people from fabricating stories about battle or military honors. But the U.S. Supreme Court last month overturned the law, calling it a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of the right to free speech. Nonetheless, McClanahan, 34, says he doesn’t want his criminal record cleared. “I have no desire to have my record expunged,” McClanahan told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I’m not the victim here. The law was put into place for a good reason.” McClanahan did serve in the military. According to prosecutors, he joined the Navy in 1999 and entered the Army two years later. But Army officials would demote him after a 2005 evaluation showed he
lied repeatedly to his superiors about his achievements and his record. He was eventually discharged later that year “under other than honorable conditions.” McClanahan returned to Amarillo, where he grew up. Prosecutors said he showed off fake letters from former President George W. Bush and thenSecretary Donald Rumsfeld that suggested he was being considered for a Congressional Medal of Honor — the highest military award. He became a speaker at local schools and groups. His old high school gave him nearly $10,000 in scholarship money, according to authorities. And though a local dealership declined McClanahan’s request for a free car, the dealership helped him get financing. McClanahan was found to have lied on the paperwork about his income. Other veterans eventually became suspicious and contacted the FBI. McClanahan was indicted and eventually pleaded guilty to making false statements and making false claims about the receipt of medals. He would serve 30 months of a 34month sentence.
You are going to hell, the man told her. You are living in darkness. “I am living in the light,” Aftab replied. So you think Islam is in darkness? the man demanded. Aftab was frightened. She knew Christians had been accused of violating Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws in the past when others had twisted their words, to make it sound as though they had attacked Islam. “No, you said that,” she replied. “Not me.” But the man was enraged and returned with the battery acid and his friend. When she finally broke away from them, the acid searing her skin and throat, she ran down the street. As she screamed, teeth fell from her mouth and hit the ground. A woman heard her screams and threw her head cover on Aftab so she could touch her without getting burned. The woman took Aftab to her home and
poured water on her. Others eventually came to help take her to the hospital. People in the neighborhood detained the two men who assaulted her until police arrived. Why did you do that? the men were asked. They said Aftab insulted Islam, that she said Muslims are living in the darkness and are going to hell. “They all turned against me,” she said. “Even the people who took me to the hospital. They told the doctor they were going to set the hospital on fire if they treated me.” The police let the two men go, and did not even file an official report on the assault until Christian leaders complained, she said. Aftab’s family was turned away from one hospital, and then another. Her mother begged a doctor at a third hospital to treat her, and he relented. Aftab could not speak or move her arms. Doctors said 67 percent of her esophagus was burned. She was missing an eye and eyelids. Her remaining teeth could be seen through her missing cheek. The doctors predicted she would die any day. She was angry at first, she said. “God, why did you do this to me? Why did you put me through this?” Slowly, she started to heal. Three months and 17 days after being burned, she spoke again and was able to see through her left eye. Aftab quickly learned that in her old neighborhood, she was a pariah. Her mutilated face was plastered on the news, associated with insulting Islam. Her family was persecuted, and their house was burned down. “They wanted to hang me,” she said. “They thought it would be an insult to Islam if I lived.” Aftab and her parents went to a nondenominational bishop in Pakistan. He took her in, contact-
ed Shriners Hospitals for Children, and arranged for her treatment in Houston.
Shy and speechless Lee and Gloria Ervin prayed together on the night they heard that a young Pakistani girl undergoing medical treatment in Houston needed a place to stay. They offered to take Aftab in for six months. When she first arrived, Aftab was painfully shy, stared at the floor and dressed head-to-toe in black, Gloria said. They quickly realized she spoke no English. Lee, a retired Shell worker, taught Aftab how to read and write. The couple would sit with Aftab when she woke up scared in the middle of the night, screaming and crying. Aftab enrolled in Deer Park High School, and endured surgery after surgery at Shriners and at Methodist hospitals. She credits a list of doctors with the careful reconstruction of her face, neck and ears — all done on donated time. “Maybe those doctors don’t know what they did. Maybe they think they just did their jobs,” she said. “But for me, they gave me a life.” She graduated from high school and went to San Jacinto College. In 2007, Aftab applied for and received asylum with the help of Catholic Charities. She is scheduled for her naturalization interview on July 17. Over time, she became part of the fabric of the Ervin family, standing at the center of the group portrait shot at the couple’s 50th wedding anniversary. She still lives in the couple’s spare bedroom, and calls them “Auntie Gloria” and “Uncle Lee.” She stopped wearing all black, and now calls her scars “my jewel, my gift from God.”
State: No discrimination in ID law By HENRY C. JACKSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Lawyers for the state of Texas argued Friday that a contentious voter ID law should go forward because it doesn’t limit minorities’ right to vote and, therefore, does not violate the federal Voting Rights Act. Justice Department attorneys argued just the opposite, saying the law requiring voters to show valid, government-issued photo identification at the polls is exactly the type of statute that the act, passed in 1965, was designed to prevent. Both sides gave closing arguments Friday after a weeklong trial about the Texas law, passed last year by the state’s Republicancontrolled Legislature. Texas currently only requires voters to show their voter registration cards, which do not have photos, or another acceptable alternative form of ID such as a driver’s license or utility bill. Texas’ voter ID law is similar to laws passed by GOP-controlled legislatures in Georgia and Indiana. The Justice Department blocked the Texas law in March, citing the Voting Rights Act. Texas sued the Justice Department, sending the case to federal court in Washington. A threejudge panel is set to decide
the fate of the law. It’s not clear when the judges will make a ruling. The presiding judge, Rosemary Collyer, said they would try to have a decision in “quick order.” The judges have said they would like to rule before November’s elections. Attorney John Hughes, who argued for Texas, said the state had met its burden, showing through expert witnesses, social science studies and its own dissection of the Justice Department’s evidence that there was little cause to believe any eligible voter would be unable to vote because of the ID law. “People who want to vote already have ID or an ability to get it,” Hughes said. He said if the Justice Department’s argument that thousands would be disenfranchised by the Texas law were valid, the courtroom would have been full of witnesses testifying in support of that point. Hughes also reiterated other arguments Texas had made throughout the week: that public opinion backs voter ID laws, that Texas lawmakers had the integrity of votes — not the suppression of minority voters — on their minds when they passed the law, and that other states that have passed ID laws have not seen a drop in turnout.
The three judges hearing the case seemed skeptical of Hughes’ arguments, interrupting him repeatedly with questions. Judge Robert Wilkins asked Hughes how Texas could require some rural voters to drive more than 100 miles to get a new voter ID card when under current law a person cannot be required to travel more than 100 miles for a subpoena. Matthew Colangelo, in the Justice Department’s closing argument, said Texas’ law should be thrown out under the Voting Rights Act because of a number of factors, including the atmosphere in which the law was passed, statistical evidence about its effects and the fact that it creates new barriers to voting. “It’s exactly the kind of law Congress had in mind when it passed the Voting Rights Act in 1965,” he said of the act, which was passed as a safeguard on minority voting rights. Colangelo noted that the ID law in Texas was passed against a backdrop of “tremendous population growth” in the state’s Hispanic community. Texas added 4 million people to its population between 2000 and 2010, he said, and 90 percent of them were Hispanics. “Texas has acted to take away Latino voting strength
as it’s on the verge of growing” he said. Colangelo cited testimony that Democrats in the Texas Legislature gave earlier in the week. They said normal rules were suspended to speed along the voter ID bill. He also argued that the law simply made it more difficult for people to vote, calling it “a new barrier that will disenfranchise.” The judges also interrupted Colangelo at times during his closing argument, pressing him to clarify his points. But they didn’t ask him as many questions as they did Hughes. Closing arguments also came Friday from lawyers for several intervening groups who have joined the Justice Department in opposition to Texas’ law. One of the attorneys, Gerald Hebert, said the law would hurt the poor. He referred to it as “merely a pretext, a cloak for voter suppression.” “It will harm the poor, the downtrodden, the destitute,” he said. “How meanspirited, how callous can you be?”
SATURDAY, JULY 14, 2012
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
GUITARS ALL LINED UP IN ROWS
J.M. (CHUY) MORALES J.M. (Chuy) Morales, of Zapata, went to be with the Lord on Monday, July 9, 2012, at Laredo Medical Center in Laredo. He was born April 9, 1920, to Estanislao and Carmen Morales near Corpus Christi, Texas. His parents, as well as his brother, Estanislao “Lalo” Morales Jr., preceded him in death. When a small boy, his family moved from Corpus Christi to Laredo, where he grew up, attending Heights Elementary and Christen Middle School. He began working at a young age to help support his parents. He worked for Finnigan Hide Company, Alfredo Santos Company, H.B. Zachry Construction and Julian Treviño Grocery Supply. Then, for the next 37 years, he was employed by the Groce Wearden Grocery Company of Donna, Texas, as a salesman and later as a supervisor. He enjoyed his work and considered it an honor and a privilege to serve his customers. He made many friends and acquaintances on his weekly route from Laredo to the Valley. At Christmas time, it was not unusual to find him dressed as Santa for the children in the stores he called on. During World War II he participated in the Home Guard of Laredo and was always interested in community and civic affairs. He was a member of the Mexican Chamber of Commerce and was elected to serve a term as president. He was also proud to be honorary mayor of Warr Acres, Okla., where his son, Junior, served on the City Council. J.M. also served as treasurer of the Republican Party of Zapata County for a time. His hobbies included hunting whitetail deer at his “ranchito” in the Hill Country near Leakey, and taking care of his garden and plants. After retiring, he enjoyed the company of many good pets, who will surely miss him. He married Alicia Tijerina in 1944. They became the parents of five children: J.M. “Junior” Morales Jr., Rosa Herrera, Joel Morales, Josue Morales and Ruth Griffin. He is survived by his children; wife, Mary Morales; his sister, Rachel (Ted) Gonzalez; 10 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren; as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. J.M. also devoted as much time as possible to God’s work on Earth. He was an enthusiastic and faithful worker for the Lord. It brought him great joy to see God’s children working together to cause good things to happen for God’s Kingdom here on Earth, whether it was painting a church steeple, raising funds to air condi-
tion a church, or helping tile a floor to improve the appearance of a house of worship. He was proud of the fact that as a youth he portrayed one of the three kings in dramas at the Iglesia Presbiteriana Sinai, where his family donated the stained glass center window. He visited the Duncan Nursing Home and the jail in Laredo, Texas. He was a member of the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship since the 1970s, when it was held at the Hamilton Hotel. In Laredo, he organized “El Dia del Pastor,” where several congregations would meet to celebrate the birthday of each pastor, giving the pastor honor and thanks on his special day with the service dedicated to that particular pastor. In Zapata, he spearheaded plans for the National Day of Prayer and the March for Jesus for several years. It pleased him greatly to see a group of pastors and churches united in a common cause to bring honor and glory to God. He loved his family and he loved God’s church. He will be greatly missed. A religious service was held Friday, July 13, 2012, at 7 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home, 2102 U.S. 83, Zapata. Visitation was from 6 p.m. to 9 pm. Funeral services will be held Saturday, July 14, 2012, at 10 a.m. at The Church of the Crossroads, 1301 International Blvd., Laredo. Following the service, the procession will leave for the City Cemetery in Laredo, where graveside services will be led by Pastor Norman Howell of Church of the Crossroads. Pallbearers will be Dewayne McMullin, David Morales, Justin Morales, Miguel Morales, Ted Gonzalez Jr. and Arturo Gonzalez. In lieu of flowers you my make a donation to a church of your choice or to an organization that benefits children who are ill. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home of Zapata. For further information, call 956765-8311.
Photo by Todd Yates/Corpus Christi Caller Times | AP
Photographer Marco Aleman gets a close up look at one of Paul Ladewig’s guitars as they are placed on seats in Corpus Christi’s Miller High School auditorium for a photo for a book Ladewig is working on.
Oil prices rise for third day By CHRIS KAHN ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The price of oil climbed Friday for a third straight day as traders fretted about declines in supply in key areas around the world. A series of reports this week showed that oil supplies from Iran, the North Sea and the U.S. have declined. Continued decreases would likely squeeze global supplies, while demand is expected to rise to a record of about 90 million barrels per day this year. Benchmark U.S. crude rose by $1.02 to finish at $87.10 per barrel in New York, while Brent crude increased by 35 cents to $101.42 per barrel in London. Barclay’s analyst Paul Horsnell outlined the supply concerns in a research note on Friday. The U.S.: America’s oil supplies
swelled in June to 22-year highs. They’ve declined since then, including a surprising 4.7 million barrel drop last week. Supplies are falling as demand started to rise again in the U.S., driven by increased consumption of diesel and jet fuel. Refineries also have cranked up production of gasoline and other fuels to the highest level since September 2006. North Sea: Europe gets more than 2 million barrels of oil per day from Norway’s wells in the North Sea. A strike by offshore oil workers slowed that production for weeks before the government forced a settlement. By the time it ended this week, the strike cut oil production by about 5 million barrels, Horsnell said. That will tighten European supplies just as it enforces an Iranian crude embargo. Iran: Horsnell estimated that the European embargo has cut Iran’s exports by half to 1 million barrels per day or less. The embargo is part of a
broader effort by Western nations to force Iran to scale back its nuclear program. Iran’s leaders have threatened to block a crucial Persian Gulf oil route in response to the sanctions. As the embargo continues, “Iranian output and exports may well fall faster than markets are currently pricing,” Horsnell said. Iran continued to spar with the West over its nuclear program on Friday. State-run media reported that recent military exercises in Iran showed that its military has improved the accuracy and firing capabilities of its missiles. The reports, which confirmed a Pentagon assessment last month, followed new U.S. sanctions announced Thursday. Oil prices had lacked a clear direction because of concerns about the global economy. The U.S. isn’t adding enough jobs and Europe appears headed for another recession. China’s burgeoning economy cooled off.
BILLIONS Continued from Page 1A report concluded. In that same report, the inspector general, Stuart Bowen, recalled what then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asked when they met shortly after Bowen started in January 2004: “Why did you take this job? It’s an impossible task.” By law, Bowen’s office reports to both the secretary of defense and the secretary of state. It goes out of business in 2013. Bowen’s office has spent more than $200 million tracking the reconstruction funds, and in addition to producing numerous reports, his office has investigated criminal fraud that has resulted in 87 indictments, 71 convictions and $176 million in fines and other penalties. These include civilians and military members accused of kickbacks, bribery, bid-
rigging, fraud, embezzlement and outright theft of government property and funds. Much, however, apparently got overlooked. Example: A $35 million Pentagon project was started in December 2006 to establish the Baghdad airport as an international economic gateway, and the inspector general found that by the end of 2010 about half the money was “at risk of being wasted” unless someone else completed the work. Of the $51 billion that Congress approved for Iraq reconstruction, about $20 billion was for rebuilding Iraqi security forces and about $20 billion was for rebuilding the country’s basic infrastructure. The programs were run mainly by the Defense Department, the State Department and the
U.S. Agency for International Development. A key weakness found by Bowen’s inspectors was inadequate reviewing of contractors’ invoices. In some cases invoices were checked months after they had been paid because there were too few government contracting officers. Bowen found a case in which the State Department had only one contracting officer in Iraq to validate more than $2.5 billion in spending on a DynCorp contract for Iraqi police training. “As a result, invoices were not properly reviewed, and the $2.5 billion in U.S. funds were vulnerable to fraud and waste,” the report said. “We found this lack of control to be especially disturbing since earlier reviews of the DynCorp contract had found simi-
lar weaknesses.” In that case, the State Department eventually reconciled all of the old invoices and as of July 2009 had recovered more than $60 million. The report touched on a problem that cropped up in virtually every major aspect of the U.S. war effort in Iraq, namely, the consequences of fighting an insurgency that proved more resilient than the Pentagon had foreseen. That not only made reconstruction more difficult, dangerous and costly, but also left the U.S. military unprepared for the grind of multiple troop deployments, the tactics of an adaptable insurgency and the complexity of battlefield wounds. It also left the U.S. government short of the expertise it needed to monitor contractors.
National
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JULY 14, 2012
Ocsar-winner Zanuck dies of heart attack By LYNN ELBER AND BOB THOMAS ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Paul Fraughton/The Salt Lake Tribune | AP
Smoke fills the sky as a fire burns near Eagle Mountain, Utah, on Friday. Officials say about 250 homes are being evacuated after high winds kicked up a fire near a northern Utah dump.
Feds spend millions on post-fire effects By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Nearly $25 million has already been spent to prepare for the immediate aftermath of this year’s wildfires, putting the U.S. Forest Service on track for another possible record year of spending on burned-area recovery efforts. So far, nearly all of the money is going toward building water bars, removing hazardous trees and spreading seed across hundreds of square miles in southern New Mexico. The state recorded both its largest and its most destructive wildfires in the last two months. Neighboring Colorado is also having its worst fire season in a decade. Teams of biologists, hydrologists and soil scientists are on the ground there, analyzing what it will take to deal with post-fire flooding and other hazards. Once their work is done, U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Harris Sherman said he expects spending to increase significantly. “This is a very critical stage in the process,” Sherman told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “Obviously if we can deal with potential flooding and erosion concerns early on, we will all be much better off.” Scientists weigh everything from weather forecasts and topography to the location of streams and the severity of
the burn when determining how much will have to be spent on each acre to keep the damage from getting worse. In New Mexico, about $14 million in Burned Area Emergency Recovery funding has been spent on a lightningsparked fire that raced across more than 465 square miles of the Gila National Forest. Another $9 million is being spent on shoring up water ways and removing debris in the wake of the Little Bear Fire near Ruidoso, where more than 240 homes were destroyed. Last year, the Forest Service spent a record total of $48 million on burned-area recovery work. The funding comes from the agency’s annual fire suppression budget. The formula for recovery is just as complicated as the factors — drought, decades of fire suppression and climate change — giving rise to more severe fires in the West, experts say. “With the kinds of intensity we’ve seen on some of the recent fires, there is, for all practical purposes, permanent impairment of the ecosystem,” said Wally Covington, director of the Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University. He pointed to last year’s Las Conchas Fire near Los Alamos, which burned through hundreds of square miles of tinder dry forest, destroyed dozens of homes and threatened one of the nation’s premier government laboratories.
LOS ANGELES — Film producer Richard Zanuck, who won the best picture Oscar for “Driving Miss Daisy” and was involved in such blockbuster films as “Jaws” and “The Sting” after his father, Hollywood mogul Darryl F. Zanuck, fired him from 20th Century Fox, died Friday. He was 77. Zanuck’s publicist says he died of a heart attack at his Beverly Hills home. Zanuck’s run of successes as an independent producer rivaled the achievements of his legendary father, who reigned over 20th Century Fox from the 1930s until age and changing audience tastes brought him down. The production company the younger Zanuck founded with David Brown produced “The Sting” in 1973, as well as Steven Spielberg’s first feature film, “The Sugarland Express,” in 1974 and Spielberg’s first blockbuster, “Jaws,” in 1975. “The Sting” also won the best movie Oscar, although Zanuck and Brown were not listed as its producers. “Jaws” was nominated for best picture, as was the Zanuck-produced “The Verdict.” “In 1974, Dick Zanuck and I sat in a boat off Martha’s Vineyard and watched the mechanical shark sink to the bottom of the sea,” Spielberg recalled in a statement Friday. “Dick turned to me and smiled. ‘Gee, I sure hope that’s not a sign.’ That moment forged a bond between us that lasted nearly 40 years. He taught me everything I know about producing. He was one of the most honorable and loyal
Photo by Jonathan Short/file | AP
Richard D. Zanuck arrives for the European Premiere of "Dark Shadows," in London, in 2012. Zanuck died at age 77 on Friday, in Los Angeles. men of our profession and he fought tooth and nail for his directors.” Zanuck most recently produced the big-screen adaptation of the cult classic TV series “Dark Shadows,” directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp and Michelle Pfeiffer. Other Zanuck films include “MacArthur” and “Cocoon.” In 1976, Zanuck and Brown announced a muchpublicized deal with the estate of novelist Margaret Mitchell to produce a sequel to “Gone With the Wind.” A book and script were prepared, but the project never materialized on film. In 1988, Zanuck and Brown dissolved their partnership amicably, and Zanuck formed a new venture with his third wife, Lili Fini Zanuck. They won the Oscar with their first movie together, “Driving Miss Daisy.” “Richard was a good and longtime friend,” said Morgan Freeman, who costarred with Jessica Tandy in the 1989 film. “A very
fine producer who was wonderful to work for and with.” The contrasts between Richard and Darryl Zanuck were many and led to father-son clashes throughout their respective careers. Richard Zanuck was reserved, soft-spoken and friendly with directors, writers and actors, and he liked to operate from behind his desk. His authoritarian father, on the other hand, paced his office, issuing orders in a squeaky voice and sometimes wielding a polo mallet. He would reach decisions quickly, and once he did they became studio law. But after decades of success, the studio began to flounder under his rein in the 1960s when the big-budget movie musical era died and films such as “Doctor Dolittle,” “Star” and “Hello, Dolly” failed to earn their money back. Under pressure from the board of directors, he fired his son in 1970 in an effort to save his own job, but the maneuver failed and he soon followed. The dismissal shattered the younger Zanuck, and it was not until shortly before Darryl Zanuck’s death in 1979 that the pair resolved their differences. “It was different from the usual father-son relationship,” Zanuck told The New York Times in 2003. “But I was able to patch everything up before my father died.” His ouster had not been the first time the Zanucks left Fox. During an earlier period of financial trouble, Darryl Zanuck was fired in 1956 by the studio’s board of directors and had become an independent producer, operating from Paris.
SATURDAY, JULY 14, 2012
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL
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CLARA SANDOVAL VAL
Staying busy Lady Hawks get ready for looming season with leagues
Looking forward to the fall
By CLARA SANDOVAL
T
THE ZAPATA TIMES
At the start of the long summer months, the Lady Hawks were vastly disappointed when Laredo didn’t host their annual summer league, but that didn’t stop them from finding another avenue in their quest for some quality competition in their own backyard. Playing against each other in open gym just does not get athletes in a competitive frame of mind, because the routine can sometimes become redounded after a while. With a few phone calls and a lot of optimism, the Zapata Volleyball League was formed in a matter of a week. Zapata hosted its first game with Roma and Cigarroa last week in order to fill the void left by Laredo’s league at the start of the summer. The previous week, Zapata traveled to Roma to see if it was worth putting together a league there and walked away with many answers but more questions in their first outing on the court. This is the time for teams to start working on their chemistry. Players are trying out different positions, but yet Zapata still managed to hold its own against the Laredo Gladiators. Laredo Cigarroa was added into the mix and Zapata was able to take and maintain the lead. The Lady Hawks are itching to get on the court for their Aug. 6 season opener. “I like the fact that they are ready to start,” Zapata coach Rosie Villarreal said. “I think right after school is out, everyone just wants to go home and relax for a while. “It is exciting that the girls are getting ready for the season.” Many athletes have been attending camps around Texas to get ready for the season and are expected to be ready on the first day of the season. The team is also going through the six weeks of strength and conditioning programs. “We have been able to do our weight
Photo by Clara Sandoval | The Zapata Times
The Lady Hawks are in the midst of their summer preparations for the upcoming high school volleyball season via summer leagues, weight training, conditioning and open gym workouts. during that time and open gym has really helped them a lot,” Villarreal said. Villarreal likes the effort that the team has put, from open gym to camp. “Yes they have been hitting it hard, and my assistant coaches are the ones that have been doing the whole conditioning
part,” she said. The Lady Hawks have four returning letterman — Kristina De Leon, Abby Aguilar, Clarissa Villarreal and Valerie Gutierrez.
he fall sports — football, volleyball and cross country — are just around the corner and it’s time to keep in mind that those athletes need your support in the stands. Each one of the three sports brings in a uniqueness and provides a different atmosphere. Football is king in Texas, and Zapata is no exception, with hoards of people filling Hawk Stadium every Friday night. Who does not like the smell of concession-stand foods filling their noses or the sounds of the Hawk band in their ears? Coach Mario Arce is getting ready for the season as a great fan of the ground game, because it has proven beneficial to the Hawks during his tenure. He’s a believer in “Don’t change something that is not broken.” I know people are saying, “Well the team did not make the playoff last year, so something must be wrong,” I am here to dispel that notion, because games are sometimes lost because of small error on the field, a missed tackle, a missed field goal, a missed read by the players, or a missed called by the referee. We could be here forever listing everything that can go wrong, but coach Arce has a good system in place. Go support your Hawks and become the 12th Man for the team, because sometimes crowds provide that extra edge teams need. Zapata running back Mikey Alvarez will sure put people on their feet with his ability to run the ball and he will only get better as a junior.
See VOLLEYBALL PAGE 2B See SANDOVAL PAGE 2B
MARTIAL ARTS
NCAA DIVISION II CROSS COUNTRY
Torres earns first black belt from Guerra Academy
Benavides achieves dream, signs to run with Dustdevils
By CLARA SANDOVAL THE ZAPATA TIMES
Rick Guerra’s Karate Academy of Martial Arts-Zapata made its way from Laredo five years ago to offer classes in martial arts to the town, and results are reverberating already. Zapata is home to the first black belt produced by Rick Guerra’s Karate Academy. Ramiro “Ram” Torres III earned his black belt in December to become the first. Torres started out his first class five years ago and moved up the ranks by earning all his eight kyu’s (belts) to obtain the Shodan first-degree black belt. Torres first became interested in karate when he was attending the local Boys and Girls Club and saw a flyer about classes in Zapata. Something stirred Torres to join from the class. Torres was part of the first class that started with 40 members, although it has dwindled down to three.
Photo by Clara Sandoval | The Zapata Times
Zapata’s Ramiro Torres III earned a black belt in December after attending Rick Guerra’s Karate Academy of Martial Arts-Zapata for five years. The karate school is housed in the Boys and Girls Club and is still going strong with more than 30 members off all different ages.
See TORRES PAGE 2B
By CLARA SANDOVAL THE ZAPATA TIMES
Texas A&M International University began tapping into the Zapata athletic program this year, as it has signed its second Hawk. Zapata graduate Tony Gutierrez decided to take his golf game to TAMIU, and long-distance runner Rafael Benavides has inked a deal to become a Dustdevil in the fall. “I have always wanted to run at the college level; it has been a dream of mine and this was a great opportunity for me,” Benavides said. Benavides was one of the most prolific long-distance runners making his mark on the Zapata the cross country and track teams. He helped the Hawks captured three-straight district titles. Benavides joined cross country as a freshman because of the promise he showed in eighth grade at Zapata Middle. “That is when I knew that I wanted to run cross country, and eventually I dropped football after my freshman year,” Benavides said. As a sophomore, he made a trip to the state meet after plac-
ing second at the 3A regional meet in San Antonio. He placed 10th at the District 31-3A meet a week earlier. His junior and senior years saw him place fifth and fourth, respectively, at the district meet but he never rediscovered the magic to return to state. On the track team, he was equally dangerous as he made three trips to regionals in the 3,200-meter run and two trips in the 1,600-meter run. Last year he placed eighth in the 3,200-meter run at regionals to mark the end of his high school career. Now Benavides will take his talent to TAMIU, a team that captured the Heartland Conference title last year in Laredo. To prepare for the grueling college season, Benavides has dramatically increased his mileage this summer in anticipation for the workouts officially starting in August. “In college they run a lot more, so I have been doing the workouts coach (Benny) Rodriguez has been sending me,” he said. “I was used to running six days a week, but now I run everyday to fit that high mileage required for college.”
Photo by Clara Sandoval | The Zapata Times
Former Zapata long-distance runner Rafael Benavides has inked a deal to become a Dustdevil cross country runner in the fall. It was not until his senior year was coming to an end that he asked Zapata coach Luis Escamilla to make calls to college coaches on his behalf. After speaking with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and -Kingsville, Escamilla steered Benavides toward Laredo, where TAMIU. A call to Rodriguez put Bena-
See BENAVIDES PAGE 2B
PAGE 2B
Zscores
SATURDAY, JULY 14, 2012
U.S. team replaces hurt Griffin By BRIAN MAHONEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Blake Griffin has officially withdrawn from the Olympics and Anthony Davis has been added to the U.S. basketball team’s roster. Griffin needs surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee and joins a lengthy list of American stars that are sidelined this summer. Davis replaced him in the Americans’ 113-59 exhibition victory over the Dominican Republic on Thursday in Las Vegas, scoring nine points in the fourth quarter. The No. 1 overall draft pick couldn’t be put on the 12-man roster for London until Griffin had withdrawn Friday. “Blake worked extremely hard in our training camp and certainly would have been a valuable contributor,” USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said in a statement. “This is another unfortunate injury, but we have to continue to move on and we’re very fortunate to have Anthony Davis available. Anthony offers our team additional height and length, and this will be an incredible experience for him.”
Davis sprained his ankle during a workout with the New Orleans Hornets and was unable to scrimmage when the Americans opened training camp last Friday, ruining any chance he had of making the original 12-man roster. But Colangelo, intrigued by Davis’ skills, asked the 6-foot-10 forward to stick around with the select team of young players that was training against the national team, knowing he could be called upon as a replacement if there were another injury. The college player of the year at national champion Kentucky last season brings rebounding and shot blocking to a team that has lost Griffin, Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh from its frontcourt. “Whatever Coach K wants me to do I am going to do,” Davis said. “I am going to look forward to the challenges, and I’m looking forward to going overseas and my first time out of the United States. I am looking forward to that and getting to mingle with some of the guys and getting to know them and their workout routines and how they get ready for each game. They are superstars and they are here for a reason, so I’ll
Ralph Lauren promises to produce in USA By EDDIE PELLS ASSOCIATED PRESS
At the next Olympics, the team from the USA will wear uniforms made in the USA. Designer Ralph Lauren announced Friday that the uniforms it provides the U.S. Olympic team at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, will, in fact, be made in the United States. The U.S. uniforms for the London Games were made in China, which sparked congressional criticism of the U.S. Olympic Committee. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the USOC should be “ashamed of themselves” and Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., called the decision “not just outrageous, it’s just plain dumb. It is self-defeating.” Ralph Lauren initially declined comment on the
criticism, but 24 hours later announced clothes for future Olympics would be made in the United States. It’s too late to change anything for the 530 American athletes in time for the London Games, which start July 27. The uniforms for Opening Ceremony will remain as planned — blue blazer, cream-colored pants for men and skirts for women and a blue beret with red and white stripes. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who along with Israel wrote a letter to the USOC chairman Larry Probst complaining about the situation, released a statement after hearing Friday’s news. The USOC did not have an immediate comment. On Thursday, it defended the choice of Ralph Lauren, saying it was grateful for the support from an “iconic American company.”
SANDOVAL Continued from Page 1B Some people complain that it is too hot outside, so I come with a solution: attend a volleyball game that is played in doors. An opportunity to watch Kristina De Leon pound the leather off the ball usually has the crowd cheering. You have to see it to believe it. De Leon is legit and Zapata only has one year left to watch this great volleyballer, so make your way to the Zapata gym. Nothing is more exciting than when the ball looks out of reach but a player somehow picks it up before hitting the ground. Zapata, make plans to attend a few of the Lady Hawks’ games and you will not be disappointed. Cross country might be a hard sell for spectators, but the team has only one meet at home, so there is no rea-
son a Zapatan cannot make out there. Even if you’re not a fan of getting up early on Saturday morning, head over to the local cross country meet at least once, because it provides excitement at the finish line. Runners thrust themselves in the air, toward the finish line, in attempt to beat out the other runners ahead of them; disappointment fills that air as seniors realized their high school careers are over at that last meet. The drama is nothing less than intense. All three sports are exciting and are just around the corner, so mark your calendars and enjoy the excitement. (Clara Sandoval can be reached at sandoval.clara@gmail.com).
BENAVIDES Continued from Page 1B vides on a fast track for the opportunity to fulfill his dream of running in college without going far from home. Benavides’ first meet in a Dustdevil uniform will be Sept. 1 as TAMUI hosts its
annual college and high school meet. “That is the day that I’ll feel that I am officially a college runner. I have been working very hard to make my debut on a good note,” Benavides said.
Photo by Jason Bean | AP
USA basketball men’s national team members, from left, James Harden, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, and Chris Paul are looking to lead the USA to a gold medal in London. just try to emulate what they do.” Davis made a quick impression Thursday in his nine minutes on the floor, highlighted by a 3-pointer he hit while being fouled just in front of the U.S. bench. Griffin hurt his knee during the playoffs and
played through the pain before the Clippers were eliminated. He was playing well in camp and being counted on as an option at center before experiencing pain in the knee following practice Wednesday. He flew back to Los Angeles on Thursday and an MRI exam re-
vealed the extent of the injury. “I’m disappointed I can’t be with the guys in London,” Griffin said. “I want to wish them all the best in their pursuit of the gold medal.” Davis will become just the third player to suit up for the U.S. in the Olym-
pics without playing in the pros since NBA players were first used in 1992, joining the Dream Team’s Christian Laettner and former Connecticut center Emeka Okafor in 2004. He will be back on the court with the Americans when they have their first practice here Saturday.
Mavericks snag Brand ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks won the bidding Friday to obtain twotime All-Star forward Elton Brand off waivers, the latest in a series of moves to build their roster after a frustrating start in free agency. Brand was available after the Philadelphia 76ers this week used the onetime amnesty provision in the new CBA to let him go and not have the $18.1 million he is owed in the final season of his fiveyear deal count against their salary cap or luxury tax. Dallas also completed a one-year deal with 7-foot center Chris Kaman, who had tweeted two days earlier that he reached an agreement with the Mavericks. A year after winning their first NBA title, the Mavericks couldn’t sway Deron Williams to come play for his hometown team. Williams stayed with the Nets for their move to Brooklyn and signed his new deal early Wednesday, the first day new deals could be finalized. Plus, guards Jason Kidd and Jason Terry are leaving Dallas in free agency. The Mavs acquired point guard Darren Collison and wing player Dahntay Jones from Indianapolis in a trade Thursday for center Ian Mahinmi. Brand will still get the full $18.1 million he is owed, with Philadelphia paying any difference. Any team under the salary cap was eligible to bid for the 6-foot-9 forward. The winning bid wasn’t
Photo by Matt Slocum | AP
Former Philadelphia 76ers’ Elton Brand, left, was obtained by the Dallas Mavericks who have won the bidding for Brand off waivers. revealed by the Mavericks. ESPN, citing anonymous sources, reported it was $2.1 million. Brand was the top overall pick out of Duke in the 1999 draft by Chicago and has played 860 career games with the Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia. He was an AllStar in 2002 and 2006. His career averages are 18.3 points and 9.4 rebounds while shooting 50
percent from the field. Last season, he averaged 11.0 points and 7.2 rebounds in 60 games with the 76ers. Kaman averaged 13.1 points and 7.7 rebounds in 47 games with the New Orleans Hornets last season. He played the first eight seasons of his career with the Los Angeles Clippers, and has averaged 11.9 points and 8.3 rebounds in 540 career
games. Kaman was on the German national team during the 2008 Olympics and was a teammate of Dirk Nowitzki. Dallas this week designated 7-foot center Brendan Haywood as its amnesty player. Haywood is set to make $8.2 million next season and is due $27 million over the final three guaranteed years in his deal.
VOLLEYBALL Continued from Page 1B De Leon is expected to play all around the court, while Aguilar is a returning libero on the back row.
“I am going to count a lot on Kristina and Abby, who are my top leaders (coming back),” Villarreal said.
Zapata continues to play in the Zapata Volleyball League, anticipating its first day of volleyball practice.
TORRES Continued from Page 1B “I chose karate in case, God forbid anything happen to my family, I’d have the ability to protect them Torres was the first to be tested for the black belt in December but his journey started the day that he stepped into the academy’s grounds. With each kyu he obtained, he
knew that he was one step closer to what he dreamed of for so many years while he advanced through many other belts and ranks. “Every time I tested, I was able to move on to the next belt and it felt good and exciting because I knew I was one step closer to earning that black belt,” Torres said.
Karate has also taught him to think of others before himself. “Karate has a lot of self discipline and help others in need,” Torres said. “I was nervous when I tested, but I knew all my training would kick in when I need it the most. I know that I was ready.”
SATURDAY, JULY 14, 2012
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B
HINTS | BY HELOISE Dear Readers: If you’re a fan of a cold glass of ICED TEA and are looking for some ways to jazz up your next glass, here are a few hints for you: Use frozen strawberries instead of ice cubes. Add a sprig of mint to your drink. Try orange or lime slices in place of lemon for a different flavor twist. Add a teaspoon of powdered lemonade mix for a zingy, lemony taste. I throw a small handful of cinnamon candies into the teapot when I brew tea. Wondering how to store your tea? Keep loose tea and tea bags in a dark, cool, dry place, away from strong odors. Do not refrigerate. Coffee, however, can be stored for a long time in the refrigerator. For more tea hints and a bunch of flavored coffee recipes, order my Heloise’s Flavored Coffees and Teas pamphlet by sending $3 and a long, selfaddressed, stamped (65 cents) envelope to: Heloise/ Coffee, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. Another great tea hint? Don’t pour out leftover brewed tea. Freeze it in an ice-cube tray, and add the cubes to your next glass. The tea won’t get watered down! — Heloise
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HELOISE
LETTER OF LAUGHTER Dear Heloise: After a particularly frustrating day with two small children, I picked up my jacket and car keys to go to the fabric store. My son asked, “Mommy, where are you going?” My answer: “Crazy.” His answer: “Are you taking the car?” My frustration left immediately! — Helen in Bella Vista, Ark. How precious and hysterical at the same time! When I was small, I’d hear my mother say, “Let me put on my lips” before going out. I thought she went into the bathroom and literally put on lips! — Heloise PET PAL Dear Readers: Cynthia B. emailed a picture of her two “wonderdogs,” Piper, a beagle, and BeBe, a mini schnauzer. BeBe is napping on top of the doghouse! I wonder how she got up there? Piper is lying on the porch. To see Piper and BeBe, visit www.Heloise.com and click on “Pets” on the left-hand side of the page. — Heloise
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4B THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JULY 14, 2012
Penn State to make changes to facilities By GENARO C. ARMAS AND MICHAEL RUBINKAM ASSOCIATED PRESS
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State plans to renovate the building where Jerry Sandusky sexually molested boys. University spokesman David La Torre said Friday that Penn State plans to remodel the football shower and locker room area as a direct result of Sandusky’s crimes. The former defensive coordinator was convicted of assaulting some of his victims in the team shower. La Torre said renovation plans to the Lasch Football Building were drawn up shortly after Sandusky’s arrest in November. But he says Penn State can’t move forward until all legal proceedings in the case are over. Penn State President Rodney Erickson says there have been discussions about Lasch building renovations between Athletic Director David Joyner and new Penn State football coach Bill O’Brien. Reminders of the Sandusky child sex abuse scandal — and the senior school officials accused of covering it up — are all over Penn State’s campus and State College. School officials say they are still weighing how to deal with the other imagery associated with the scandal. A statue outside Beaver Stadium served as a focal point for mourners of late coach Joe Paterno, but it has turned into a target for critics angered by former FBI director Louis Freeh’s findings that Paterno and other university administrators concealed allegations against
Photo by Jim Cole | AP
Kyle Busch talks with his crew chief Dave Rogers after winning the pole position during qualifying for Sundays NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Friday in Loudon, N.H. Photo by Gene J. Puskar | AP
After an eight-month inquiry, a report concluded that Joe Paterno and other top officials hushed up child sex abuse. Penn State will now renovate the buildings that were affected. Sandusky in 1998 and 2001 to avoid bad publicity. Some newspaper columnists and former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden have said the statue should be taken down. “You go to a Penn State football game and there’s 100,000 people down there and they got that statute and you know doggone well they’ll start talking about Sandusky,” Bowden told The Associated Press. “If it was me, I wouldn’t want to have it brought up every time I walked out on the field.” The most glaring oncampus reminder might be the Mildred and Louis Lasch building, which was the scene of a 2001 allegation in which a graduate assistant coach said he saw Sandusky abuse a
boy in the shower. Authorities said other attacks occurred in it as well. The Lasch family has no qualms about leaving its name on it, a family member said Friday. “You don’t build a building and put your name on it expecting that something like this is going to happen, but we have seen a lot of good things happen in that building ... and we expect to see a lot of good, honorable things happen in that building in the future,” said Ken Smukler, a grandson of the Laschs, who helped start Penn State football’s booster club in 1959 and donated $1.7 million to build what is billed as one of the finest collegiate football operations facilities in the nation.
Busch bags first pole at New Hampshire By HOWARD ULMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOUDON, N.H. —Kyle Busch was the last driver to go in Friday’s Sprint Cup qualifying, and he made the most of the opportunity. Busch posted a lap of 133.417 mph to capture his first pole position of the season for Sunday’s race at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Kasey Kahne, who drove 133.403 mph on the fastest of his two laps, will start alongside Busch. “It was a good lap for us, but I thought I was probably going to be third or fourth,” said Busch, who won the 2006 NASCAR race at Loudon and will be starting on from the front row for the third time this year.
Busch nearly brushed the wall near the end of his qualifying run when “the car slipped right at the last second,” he said. “There’s no mark on the car, so all is good there.” He went on to his ninth career pole. Denny Hamlin was in line for the top position with a lap of 133.399 mph until Kahne pushed him back a spot in the 44-car field. Hamlin had back spasms last week that cause him to skip the Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway and shelved him for practice for the Sprint Cup stop. But he felt better Friday. “Back spasms come and go. Obviously, last week was a bad week for it,”
Hamlin said. “(I) don’t feel any lingering symptoms from it.” Rounding out the top 10 were Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart. The top 10 qualifying times were very close, from Busch’s lap of 28.548 seconds to Stewart’s of 28.651. And only .047 seconds separated the top eight. “As far as the times, everyone is really close, so you have to go for all you can get,” Kahne said. “I was aggressive on the first lap.” Matt Kenseth, who leads the Sprint Cup series in points, was 27th with a time of 29.023.