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Oil and gas woes
County discusses museum, business
Court shows concern over Mexico waste disposal By MIKE HERRERA IV THE ZAPATA TIMES
The South Texas oil boom may be raising rents in Cotulla, but in Zapata, it’s raising ire. These were the general sentiments
of the Zapata County Commissioners’ Court as it adopted a resolution on Monday in opposition to more oil waste coming into Zapata’s back yard. Waste from production and extraction in Eagle Ford Shale facilities in other counties ends up in an 80-acre
treatment facility in Zapata County operated by J. Moss Industries, which has held a permit for such treatment since 2001. J. Moss now wants the permit renewed — but with some changes.
See WASTE PAGE 9A
By MIKE HERRERA IV THE ZAPATA TIMES
CATHOLIC CHURCH
More than 100 visitors have walked through the doors of the Zapata County Museum and close to $7,400 has been raised in donations, entrance fees and through the gift shop, Hildegardo Flores told the Zapata County Commissioners County at its Monday meeting. The court also heard an update on summer college courses offered in Zapata through Texas A&M International University. Dr. David M. Brown, dean of the Zapata County Advanced Education Center, said he was “very impressed” with the work ethic of the 40 students taking the courses.
See COUNTY PAGE 9A
POLITICS
Photos by Danny Zaragoza | The Zapata Times
ABOVE: Bishop James Tamayo looks up and smiles as he walks ahead of Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, toward the altar set up at the Laredo Energy Arena for a Catholic Mass on Saturday morning. BELOW: Deacon Leandro Contreras holds up the Bible as he walks to the main stage of the arena.
THANKFUL GATHERING 8,000 gather for Mass at the LEA By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
S
Photo by Pat Sullivan | AP
In this July 27 photo, Gov. Rick Perry speaks at a ceremonial bill signing for a new tort reform measure in Houston. The Texas governor is expected to announce today that he is running for president.
Gov. Perry to make run for president
houts of “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” and “Viva La Virgen de Guadalupe (Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe)” echoed through a packed Laredo Energy Arena on Saturday morning during the Diocese of Laredo Mass of Thanksgiving. The shouts of joy marked the conclusion of the diocesan celebration. The diocese celebrated its 10th anniversary Aug. 9, 2010. About 8,000 people from South Texas gathered to thank God for his blessings.
DES MOINES, Iowa — Months behind other GOP candidates, Rick Perry has something most of them don’t: buzz. The Texas governor will enter the race Saturday with splashy appearances in South Carolina and New Hampshire. At the same time, he is putting together what looks a lot like a traditional presidential campaign. The path he hopes will lead to the Repub-
See MASS PAGE 9A
See PERRY PAGE 9A
By THOMAS BEAUMONT ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2011
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, AUG. 13 The Laredo Book Festival will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at the Laredo Public Library. Authors will participate in panel discussions, workshops and readings and will sell and autograph their books. The event is free to the public and will have books and authors for everyone in the family, including children’s authors, young adult, fiction and nonfiction, graphic novels and historical books. For more information, call Pam Burrell at the Laredo Public Library at 795-2400, extension 2268. Fernando Mendoza will hold a chess simul today at Scholars Caffe Barrista, 1701 Peaceful Meadow Court, against the first 20 people who register on site. The event is free. Registration is from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. The game starts at 9:30 a.m. For more information, contact Andrew Stock at 956-206-5649 or andrewstock@sbcglobal.net. The City of Laredo will hold an event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today to help drivers become familiar with Cuatro Vientos, the new 7-mile, four-lane roadway. Motorists should head to the Point A location: Roosevelt Elementary School, 3301 Sierra Vista Blvd., about 500 feet west of the Cuatro Vientos intersection. There they will pick up instructions to Point B’s surprise location — after driving on Cuatro Vientos. At Point B, motorists will receive a goody bag while supplies last
SUNDAY, AUG. 14 Texas RioGrande Legal Aid Inc. will host an information session from 2-4 p.m. today in the Laredo Public Library H-E-B Multi-Purpose Room, 1120 E. Calton Road, to educate parents about schools, education and criminal justice. For more information, call 7184600.
MONDAY, AUG. 15 The Laredo Public Library and Texas A&M International University will unveil the details of the fourth annual One City, One Book from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. today, including the book title and author and related activities. Check out a copy of the book at the library, 1120 E. Calton Road, or buy it at Books-AMillion. One City, One Book is a citywide book club that invites the community to read one book. For more information, call Pam Burrell at the Laredo Public Library at 795-2400, extension 2268, or visit www.laredolibrary.org.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 17 The J.W. Nixon High School Class of 1992’s next 20-year reunion planning meeting is at 6 p.m. today at Club Envy (behind the La Quinta on Loop 20). For more information, email 92nixonmustangs@gmail.com or visit www.92nixonmustangs.com. The Safe Fracking Coalition will have its second town hall meeting on the Eagle Ford Shale, “Science and Solutions,” at 6 p.m. in the TAMIU Student Center Theater, Room 236. Attendance is free. The reception is at 5 p.m. Panelists will be Charles Groat of UT-Austin’s Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy, David Burnett of Texas A&M’s Global Petroleum Research Institute, Alisa Rich of Wolf Eagle Environmental and Stephen Ingram of Halliburton and newly appointed member of the state’s Eagle Ford Task Force.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Dario Lopez-Mills | AP
This photo taken Dec. 13 shows a graffiti-covered shell of a home in a nearly-abandoned working class neighborhood in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. A shoot-out between drug gangs in Juarez recently peppered an El Paso high school’s walls.
School shaken by shots By JUAN CARLOS LLORCA ASSOCIATED PRESS
EL PASO — Gunfire broke the calm of the morning outside Bowie High School just as the football team was preparing for practice. A few hundred yards away in Juarez, Mexico, another shootout between drug cartels had begun. No one on campus was injured in the shootout last weekend in which gunmen who killed a police commander fired more than 400 rounds. But the bullets that slammed into the high school’s walls reminded teachers and students yet again about the dangers of a campus that sits so close to the violence-plagued Mexican city. “We never thought it would happen so near here. ... I’m a little worried it could happen again,” said student Gerardo Pedroza, gazing at the fence across the highway that
separates the football field from the border. Pedroza was among the players who fled the football field when gunmen began firing their rifles on Aug. 6. Visiting volleyball players also rushed inside the school’s gymnasium. School administrators are relieved most classrooms were empty due to summer vacation, but they are considering ways to improve campus safety when classes resume this month. Among the ideas: beginning drills to help prepare students for more shootings at the border. “It felt as if the shooting was happening here,” Bowie Principal Jesus Chavez said. A levee along the Rio Grande blocks the campus’ first floor from a direct line of sight into Juarez, but classrooms and hallways on a second floor are visible from the park where the shooting occurred.
Texas AG praises ruling against health care plan
Woman’s body found under Lufkin bridge
Man charged in 1989 killing of Belton woman
AUSTIN — Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is praising a federal court ruling that part of the federal health care plan is unconstitutional. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals said the new federal requirement that virtually all Americans must buy health insurance exceeded the government’s authority. Texas was one of 26 states to sue the federal government over the law.
LUFKIN — Police have identified a woman’s body found under a bridge in East Texas. Lufkin police Detective J.B. Smith said Friday that an autopsy has been ordered on 48-yearold Joy Yvonne Bybee, who had been living in Lufkin. He says police are treating the case as a murder investigation until a cause of death is determined.
BELTON — A Central Texas man has been charged in the 1989 stabbing death of a woman at her home. Belton police say DNA evidence led to the arrest of Samuel Edward Baker of Temple, who was held without bond Friday in the Hays County Jail. Sgt. Larry Berg says Baker was arrested Thursday in Buda, where he worked as a truck driver. The body of 74-year-old Shellie Latham was discovered Sept. 10, 1989, in her home.
Football player missing after post-practice swim RICHMOND — Emergency personnel have been searching a Houston-area river for a 17-yearold high school football player who failed to surface during a swim after practice. Benjamin Ola was among five Travis High School junior varsity players who went swimming in the Brazos River on Friday morning.
School nurse accused of fire at workplace WACO — Investigators say a nurse is accused of setting fire to the school where she worked. Mary Lucille Gutierrez was jailed Friday in Waco on an arson charge. Sheriff ’s Chief Deputy Randy Plemons says video surveillance shows a woman, later identified as Gutierrez, going in and out of Speegleville Elementary School around 2 a.m. Tuesday when the fire broke out.
Woman, 81, dies in house fire in Killeen KILLEEN — Police say a house fire has left an 81-year-old woman dead. Killeen police are trying to determine what sparked the fire early Friday. Police say the elderly woman was found unresponsive in the house. — Compiled from AP reports
FRIDAY, AUG. 19 District III Councilman Alex Perez Jr. will host a free End-of-Summer, Back-to-School Bash from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. today at Santa Fe Park, 510 Canones Blvd., off U.S. 83. The event will feature a water slide, moonwalk, baseball drills, basketball court, and other water and safety activities. For adults only, loteria-style Bingo will be available; win school supplies, one card per player. Free fajitas, hot dogs, popcorn, soda and water while supplies last. Music and entertainment will be provided by Border Media’s Hot 106.1, La Ley 100.5 and Digital’s 107.3 FM.
THURSDAY, AUG. 25 The Texas Historical Commission and the Webb County Heritage Foundation will host a reception and commemoration of the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War featuring a photo exhibit and presentations on the Palmito Ranch Battlefield and the Civil War on the Texas-Mexico border at 6 p.m. today at the Villa Antigua Border Heritage Museum, 810 Zaragoza St. For more information, call the Webb County Heritage Foundation at (956) 7270977 or visit www.webbheritage.org.
AROUND THE NATION Bears fan Obama hosts Packers at White House
CONTACT US
WASHINGTON — Welcoming the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers to the White House was no easy task for President Barack Obama. Obama is a die-hard fan of the Packers’ rivals, the Chicago Bears, the team Green Bay beat in the championship game to move on to the Super Bowl. “I’m just gonna come out and say it,” Obama said. “This hurts a little bit.”
Court tosses challenge to Obama’s health care plan SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court in California says a former state lawmaker and a legal foundation have no standing to challenge President Barack Obama’s health care plan. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday affirmed a lower court ruling tossing out
Today is Saturday, Aug. 13, the 225th day of 2011. There are 140 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Aug. 13, 1961, Berlin was divided as East Germany sealed off the border between the city’s eastern and western sectors and began building a wall that would stand for the next 28 years until it finally came down in 1989. On this date: In 1521, Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez captured Tenochtitlan (teh-natch-teetLAHN’), present-day Mexico City, from the Aztecs. In 1624, King Louis XIII of France appointed Cardinal Richelieu (ree-shuh-LYOO’) his first minister. In 1704, the Battle of Blenheim was fought during the War of the Spanish Succession, resulting in a victory for English-led forces over French and Bavarian soldiers. In 1846, the American flag was raised for the first time in Los Angeles. In 1910, Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, died in London at age 90. In 1932, Adolf Hitler rejected the post of vice chancellor of Germany, saying he was prepared to hold out “for all or nothing.” In 1934, the satirical comic strip “Li’l Abner,” created by Al Capp, made its debut. In 1960, the first two-way telephone conversation by satellite took place with the help of Echo 1. The Central African Republic became totally independent of French rule. In 1981, in a ceremony at his California ranch, President Ronald Reagan signed a historic package of tax and budget reductions. In 1989, searchers in Ethiopia found the wreckage of a plane which had disappeared almost a week earlier while carrying Texas Congressman Mickey Leland and 14 other people — there were no survivors. Ten years ago: Macedonia’s rival political leaders signed a landmark peace accord aimed at ending six months of bloody conflict and clearing the way for NATO troops to disarm ethnic Albanian rebels. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (joon-ee-chee-roh koh-ee-zoomee) tried, with little apparent success, to ease the anger of Asian neighbors by visiting a controversial war shrine two days before the actual anniversary of Japan’s World War II surrender. Today’s Birthdays: Former Cuban President Fidel Castro is 85. Former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders is 78. Opera singer Kathleen Battle is 63. High wire aerialist Philippe Petit is 62. Comedian-writer Tom Davis is 59. Actor Danny Bonaduce is 52. TV host/weatherman Sam Champion (TV: “Good Morning America”) is 50. Actress Debi Mazar is 47. Actress Quinn Cummings is 44. Actress Seana Kofoed is 41. Actress Kathryn Fiore is 32. Poprock singer James Morrison is 27. Thought for Today: “Before I built a wall I’d ask to know / What I was walling in or walling out, / And to whom I was like to give offence.” — From the poem “Mending Wall” by American poet Robert Frost (1874-1963).
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President Barack Obama is presented a stock certificate by Green Bay Packers cornerback Charles Woodson, left, during a ceremony honoring the Super Bowl XLV Champion Green Bay Packers on Friday in Washington the lawsuit filed in San Diego by Steve Baldwin and the Pacific Justice Institute. Baldwin and the foundation alleged that a provision taking effect in 2014 requiring some to buy health insurance or pay a penalty is unconstitutional.
The court says neither can prove that they will be directly affected by the provision. The court ruled on the same day that a federal appeals court in Atlanta found the insurance provision unconstitutional. — Compiled from AP reports
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2011
Zlocal
Insurance program could be discount
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CONGRATULATIONS, BENAVIDES ELEMENTARY!
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
A business traveler who parks her car at the airport several days each week. A city-dweller who drives only on the weekends. A retiree who no longer commutes several hours a day in stop-and-go traffic. A defensive driver who avoids hard braking and late-night driving. All are less likely to be in a car accident, so shouldn’t they pay less for insurance? Brush Country Insurance Agency in Zapata thinks so. That’s why it offers Snapshot, an optional discount program from Progressive that helps safer drivers earn the discounts they deserve. With Snapshot, customers finally have the choice to pay for car insurance based on how they drive, not how their neighbor drives. People who drive less, in safer ways, and during safer times of day can save up to 30 percent more on their insurance. “Snapshot gives customers more control over what they pay, and a clearer understanding of what factors influence price,” said Victoria Vela with Brush Country Insurance Agency. Powering this program is the Snapshot device it-
The device does not have GPS technology, so Progressive does not know where the car is and does not take into account how fast the car is being driven. self, which plugs into the onboard diagnostic port found near the steering wheel of most cars built after 1996. The device’s sleek design houses the latest advances in telematics and mobile technology, enabling the customer to automatically and wirelessly share driving patterns with Progressive. After 30 days, the customer can log in to see how much of an initial discount they’re earning and what changes they can make to their driving habits to save even more. At the end of the six-month policy term, the customer returns the device to Progressive, and Progressive sets the final discount for future renewals. Drivers with more than one car can select which, if any, of their vehicles to enroll in Snapshot. For example, a person with a second car that’s driven less fre-
quently may enroll that car in Snapshot, but may decline to enroll a vehicle they drive 50 miles each way to work in stop-and-go traffic. The Snapshot discount is not based on location or speed. The device does not have GPS technology, so Progressive does not know where the car is and does not take into account how fast the car is being driven. “The best part about the Snapshot Discount is that it’s discount-only,” Vela said. “It’s free to add to your auto policy, easy to plug in, and your rates can only go down.” Brush Country Insurance Agency is at 702 Hidalgo Blvd., Suite No. 4. The experts at Brush Country Insurance Agency provide advice and personal service. For more information about Snapshot, call 956-750-3600 or email v.vela@brushcountryinsurance.com.
Photo by Cuates Santos | The Zapata Times
With the 2011-2012 school year set to start Aug. 22, a sign at the Arturo L. Benavides Elementary School in San Ygnacio congratulates its faculty and students on being designated an Exemplary Campus for the 2010-2011 school year.
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Zopinion
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2011
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Pols put focus on deficits, not unemployment H
as market turmoil left you feeling afraid? Well, it should. Clearly, the economic crisis that began in 2008 is by no means over. But there’s another emotion you should feel: anger. For what we’re seeing now is what happens when influential people exploit a crisis rather than try to solve it. For more than a year and a half — ever since President Barack Obama chose to make deficits, not jobs, the central focus of the 2010 State of the Union address — we’ve had a public conversation that has been dominated by budget concerns, while almost ignoring unemployment. The supposedly urgent need to reduce deficits has so dominated the discourse that on Monday, in the midst of a market panic, Obama devoted most of his remarks to the deficit rather than to the clear and present danger of renewed recession.
Signals What made this so bizarre was the fact that markets were signaling, as clearly as anyone could ask, that unemployment rather than deficits is our biggest problem. Bear in mind that deficit hawks have been warning for years that interest rates on U.S. government debt would soar any day now and that the threat from the bond market was supposed to be the reason that we must slash the deficit now now now. But that threat keeps not materializing. And this week, on the heels of a downgrade that was supposed to scare bond investors, those interest rates actually plunged to record lows. What the market was saying — almost shouting — was, “We’re not worried about the deficit! We’re worried about the weak economy!” For a weak economy means both low interest rates and a lack of business opportunities, which, in turn, means that government bonds become an attractive investment even at very low yields. If the downgrade of U.S. debt had any effect at all, it was to reinforce fears of austerity policies that will make the economy even weaker. So how did Washington discourse come to be dominated by the wrong issue? Hard-line Republicans have, of course, played a role. Although they don’t seem to truly care about deficits — try suggesting any rise in taxes on the rich — they have found harping on deficits a useful way to attack government programs. But our discourse wouldn’t have gone so far off-track if other influential people hadn’t been eager to change the subject away from jobs, even in
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PAUL KRUGMAN
the face of 9 percent unemployment, and to hijack the crisis on behalf of their pre-existing agendas. Check out the opinion page of any major newspaper, or listen to any newsdiscussion program, and you’re likely to encounter some self-proclaimed centrist declaring that there are no short-run fixes for our economic difficulties, that the responsible thing is to focus on long-run solutions and, in particular, on “entitlement reform” — that is, cuts in Social Security and Medicare. And when you do encounter such a person, you should be aware that people like that are a major reason we’re in so much trouble. For the fact is that right now the economy desperately needs a short-run fix. When you’re bleeding profusely from an open wound, you want a doctor who binds that wound up, not a doctor who lectures you on the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle as you get older. When millions of willing and able workers are unemployed, and economic potential is going to waste to the tune of almost $1 trillion a year, you want policymakers who work on a fast recovery, not people who lecture you on the need for long-run fiscal sustainability.
Fashionable Unfortunately, giving lectures on long-run fiscal sustainability is a fashionable Washington pastime; it’s what people who want to sound serious do to demonstrate their seriousness. What would a real response to our problems involve? First of all, it would involve more, not less, government spending for the time being — with mass unemployment and incredibly low borrowing costs, we should be rebuilding our schools, our roads, our water systems and more. It would involve aggressive moves to reduce household debt via mortgage forgiveness and refinancing. And it would involve an all-out effort by the Federal Reserve to get the economy moving, with the deliberate goal of generating higher inflation to help alleviate debt problems. The usual suspects will, of course, denounce such ideas as irresponsible. But you know what’s really irresponsible? Hijacking the debate over a crisis to push for the same things you were advocating before the crisis, and letting the economy continue to bleed.
COLUMN
Expect Perry to talk jobs By KEN HERMAN COX NEWSPAPERS
SAN ANTONIO — Down the corridor, not far from where Rick Perry had just road-tested what’s about to become the central theme of his presidential campaign, a Democratic legislator was ready with an instant review. “That SOB may just have a message that resonates,” he told me, using “SOB” in that sort of positive way one man can use it about another. (He used the “SOB” words, but, reacting to a good point made recently to me by a reader I’m cleaning up my act.) The Perry message is jobs. We need more of them, he often says and probably will say Saturday in Charleston, S.C., when he’s expected to make it clear he’s running for president. As I chatted with the Democratic legislator, who is not likely to be a Perry backer, a Republican state lawmaker chimed in with
this about Perry: “Jobs isn’t the answer to every question.” So here was a Democrat saying Perry might have the right message and a Republican saying it’s an incomplete message. Curious. Perry confidantes believe jobs might be about the only answer he’ll need. Without jobs, without a solid domestic economy, there can be no successful foreign policy, they believe. I believe many Americans, particularly those without jobs, also believe that. Here’s what Perry told Time magazine about that: “I think the most important thing that we can do from a foreign policy standpoint is to be strong economically. Because if we’re not strong economically, we cannot have the resources to be strong militarily.” Governors who run for president always face questions about their foreign policy knowledge. In Texas, our governors basically have a two-river foreign policy to worry about: how
to keep Mexicans from illegally crossing the Rio Grande to pick up paychecks in Texas, and how to keep Texas high school football players from crossing the Red River to pick up paychecks at OU. It will be interesting to see how much foreign policy we hear in Perry’s Charleston speech Saturday. We’re sure to hear themes he’s long touted, and repeated in San Antonio on Wednesday in addressing the National Council of State Legislatures. “You all know you weren’t going to get out of here today without hearing a little bit about what’s working well in Texas,” Perry told the state legislators from across the nation. They also knew they weren’t going to get out of there without hearing about what’s not working well in Washington, home of what Perry has damned as “a reckless culture that has refused to confront spending.” The solution,
EDITORIAL
Update No Child Left Behind MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
P
resident George W. Bush, Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, Rep. George Miller of California and others on a bipartisan basis had a clear goal when they championed No Child Left Behind in 2001. Shine a light on the achievement of all students (not just school averages) and hold schools accountable for results. That five-year law came up for renewal in 2007, but Congress has been unable to craft another bipartisan bill. So President Barack Obama, faced with inaction by Congress, has decided to act himself. Secretary of
Education Arne Duncan announced Monday that he would grant waivers to states if they meet certain conditions. The original No Child Left Behind law required testing of all students in grades three to eight in reading and math. Its aim was that all students should be proficient in those two subjects by 2014. That goal was as dramatic and ambitious as President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 goal of landing an American on the moon within that decade. And it did have the effect of getting schools to focus serious attention on student achievement, particularly students who were struggling in oth-
erwise good schools. So in the absence of action by Congress, the Obama administration is willing to grant waivers to states on the goal of 100 percent proficiency by 2014 if they adopt high standards for what students should learn and evaluate teachers based on student gains in achievement. This Common Core helps to address the “milewide, inch-deep” problem — covering too many topics in the early grades in too little depth — found in the math standards in California and other states. In the English language, Common Core gives students a better foundation in American literature, including
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.
Perry is prepared to tell America, is reduced federal spending and regulation, lower federal taxes and, in general, getting government out of business’ way. “Simply put, our country’s in trouble. Our fiscal house is built on shifting sands,” he said. “The federal government has tried to spend our way out of this economic spiral, which has only deepened the crisis and deepened our debt.” He talked about a nation in “one of our darkest hours,” but insisted that he is a “West Texas optimist” who “sees our brightest hour is just around the corner.” Reaganesque, don’t you think? Perry’s people do. In fact, they’re counting on that. That, and, as the Democrat told me, the fact that the SOB may be on to a message that resonates. Ken Herman is an editorial writer for the Austin American-Statesman. Email: kherman@statesman.com.
DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
literacy in history and science, a cross-disciplinary approach. Certainly, the time is right for some flexibility in the states that do the most to improve outcomes for their students, close achievement gaps and which make dramatic changes in the lowest-performing schools. But the Obama waivers should be seen as a last resort. It would be better for the House and Senate to pass a bill that reflects the lessons of the first nine years of No Child Left Behind, yet keeps the goal of shining a light on and improving achievement for all students. Too many kids still are being left behind.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2011
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Anonymous tips result in NL arrests By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Enforcement actions in Nuevo Laredo due to anonymous tips yielded several arrests, weapons and small amounts of narcotics for troops with the Secretaría de Marina or Mexico’s navy, officials announced. Also this week, a man was sentenced to one year in prison for possessing 290 grams of marijuana. On Aug. 4, troops were tipped off to suspicious activity. Upon patrolling an area in Nuevo Laredo, authorities spotted a man with a firearm. A military report states the man tried to get away and hid inside a car wash business. There, authorities encountered three armed people inside a vehicle. They got out and attempted to fire at soldiers. Two other armed people got out of another vehicle. Eventually, soldiers subdued all men, who were believed to have connections with organized crime. A cartel name was not specified on the report. The report does state authorities seized drugs, ammo and two vehicles. Officials did not specify the
amount of drugs and ammo. A second enforcement action was reported Aug. 5. Mexican authorities responded to an anonymous tip leading them to a stationary vehicle. A report states a male occupant attempted to elude authorities. He was identified as Eloy Martínez Vázquez. He was eventually captured and gave authorities consent to search him. Troops found a revolver, 13 ammo clips and 70 grams of marijuana. Also this week, a man was sentenced to one year, one month and seven days in prison after being found guilty of possessing 290 grams of marijuana, the Procuraduría General de la República or PGR, Mexico’s attorney general’s office, announced Wednesday. Military personnel noticed Sergio Guadalupe Cruz Yáñez acting suspiciously near Perú and Luis Caballero streets in Colonia Matamoros in Nuevo Laredo. A pat down yielded the pot. He is serving his sentence at the prison Centro de Ejecución de Sanciones de Nuevo Laredo. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
Reynosa soldiers seize 3 tons of pot By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Mexican soldiers stationed in the Eighth Military Zone seized more than three tons of pot in Reynosa, the town across from McAllen, Mexican federal authorities announced Monday. The seizure occurred Sunday. Soldiers with Mexico’s defense ministry, or SEDENA, patrolled an area by Calle Adolfo López Mateos in Colonia Luis Donaldo Colosio, where soldiers found 752 bundles of marijuana. A report states the contraband added up to approximately 3.7 tons. It was turned over to the federal authorities. On Thursday, Mexico’s attorney general’s office, PGR, in Tamaulipas announced its monthly statewide seizures for July. The document highlights narcotics, weapons and money. A PGR report states federal armed forces seized about 15.4 tons of marijuana and 14 pounds of cocaine. As for weapons, authorities seized 421 firearms, 3,396 ammo clips,
159,541 rounds of ammo and 101 grenades. The report states that soldiers arrested 367 people and confiscated 364 vehicles. About 2,370,209 pesos and $814,577 were also seized. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
Authorities say nurse set school ablaze
THE BLOTTER ACCIDENT An accident was reported at 8:44 a.m. Aug. 6 at mile marker 756 of U.S. 83. The driver told deputies he lost consciousness and went off the highway onto a ranch.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WACO — Investigators say a nurse has been accused of setting fire to the Central Texas school where she’s worked for more than a decade. Mary Lucille Gutierrez was jailed Friday in Waco on an arson charge, with bond set at $250,000. McLennan County Jail records did not list an attorney for Gutierrez, who was arrested Thursday. Sheriff ’s Chief Deputy Randy Plemons says video surveillance shows a woman, later identified as Gutierrez, going in and out of Speegleville Elementary School around 2 a.m. Tuesday when the fire broke out. No damage estimate has been provided by the school district. Investigators are seeking a motive for the blaze.
ASSAULT Deputies went out to a reported assault and violation of protective order call at 2:11 a.m. Aug. 6 by Roma Avenue and 19th Street. An incident report states a woman was assaulted by her boyfriend. The report adds the alleged offender slammed her to the floor and punched her multiple times on the body, arms and legs. An aggravated assault incident was reported at 10:13 p.m. Sunday at 9 Las Palmas Road. Deputies arrested Francisco Omata Jr. and charged him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was taken to the Zapata Regional Jail.
BURGLARY A burglary of a vehicle was reported at 9:46 a.m. Monday in the 400 block of Elm Street. An incident report
states the alleged offenders stole four 5-gallon gas containers from a truck.
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF A man called deputies at 1:05 p.m. Aug. 3 from Jenning Ranch to report that someone scratched his work vehicle.
IDENTITY THEFT A man reported at 10:12 a.m. Aug. 5 at the Zapata County Sheriff’s Office that someone stole his identity.
An incident report states the man was “highly intoxicated” while walking on a public road. He was taken to the Zapata Regional Jail.
THEFT A man reported at 4:19 a.m. Aug. 6 in the 2100 block of Yucca Drive that someone stole a fire extinguisher from his work truck bed. The man added that two bicycles were also stolen.
PUBLIC INTOXICATION
UNAUTHORIZED USE OF VEHICLE
Ismael Ibarra Jr. was arrested and charged with public intoxication at about 7:45 p.m. Aug. 6 near the corner of Medina and Seventh streets.
A man reported at 9:11 a.m. Monday in the 1100 block of Carla Street that someone had not returned his vehicle since Aug. 6.
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2011
Photo by Mohammad Nasir | AP
Wreckage of a Chinook helicopter shot down last week is seen at the site of a crash at Tangi Valley in Wardak province some 60 miles southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan.
9 troops die in Aghanistan By DEB RIECHMANN ASSOCIATED PRESS
KABUL, Afghanistan — Insurgent attacks have killed nine NATO service members in the past two days in Afghanistan, where the U.S.-led coalition is mourning the deaths of 30 American troops and eight Afghans in a helicopter crash last week, military officials said Friday. The Aug. 6 crash was the single deadliest loss for U.S. forces in the nearly decade-long war. The crash victims’ remains were flown to a mortuary at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The Pentagon said Friday that the military’s medical examiner’s office had positively identified all 30 U.S. troops and two of the eight Afghans, as well as the U.S. military dog that died in the crash. Identification work continues on the other six Afghans, the Pentagon said. The identification team comprised 10 forensic pathologists, two forensic anthropologists, six odontologists (forensic dentists) and dentists, three FBI fingerprint experts, three forensic investigators, two
tissue technicians and a three-person DNA team. To make the identifications, medical examiners used forensic techniques, including fingerprints, dental examination, radiology and DNA matching — techniques that were not available in Afghanistan. The coalition has said that the chopper was apparently shot down in Wardak province by a rocket-propelled grenade, but is investigating whether other causes contributed to the crash. The victims were: 17 members of the elite Navy SEALs, five Naval Special Warfare personnel who support the SEALs, three Air Force Special Operations personnel, an Army helicopter crew of five, seven Afghan commandos and an Afghan interpreter. The crash comes amid fears that the country is far from stable even though U.S. and NATO forces have begun to leave Afghanistan. U.S. military officials have tried to counter those fears, saying that while the downing of the Chinook helicopter was a tragic setback, one crash will not determine the course of the war.
Photo by Lefteris Pitarakis | AP
Flowers and tributes are left Thursday for Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old father of four, who was gunned down by police in disputed circumstances a week ago, in Tottenham, north London. Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday that Britain would look to the United States for solutions to gang violence after nights of riots and looting.
British police face criticism NEW YORK TIMES
As the death toll increased from four nights of rioting and arson this week, senior British police officers openly criticized political leaders Friday for finding fault with the police handling of unrest that shook the nation and forced Prime Minister David Cameron to return home early from vacation. Announcing measures to curb the violence, Cameron told an emergency session of Parliament on Thursday that police tactics had been inadequate when the rioting started on Saturday. Theresa May, the minister in charge of policing, also claimed responsibility for telling the police to cancel all leave to flood the streets with officers — a tactic that seemed on Friday to have
produced a relative calm across the nation. Earlier, unrest and violence had spread far from London to major cities including Manchester in the northwest and Birmingham in the English Midlands. “There were simply far too few police deployed on to our streets,” Cameron said of the initial days of the riots this week, “and the tactics they were using weren’t working.” The criticism apparently was not taken well by Scotland Yard, where its acting commissioner, Tim Godwin, hit back in remarks to reporters Friday. “I think after any event like this, people will always make comments who weren’t there,” Godwin
said, apparently alluding to the overseas vacations of Cameron, May and Boris Johnson, the mayor of London. Days after the rioting had already begun, they canceled their holidays and returned home. In another high-profile response to politicians’ complaints, Hugh Orde, head of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said police forces had quickly learned from and reacted to the violence — the worst in memory — and dismissed the politicians’ role in boosting police numbers to confront the violence. British news reports quoted him as saying that May had “no power whatsoever” to order the police leave canceled. He also said
that the decision of politicians including Cameron and May to return home early to be seen taking charge was “an irrelevance” because police officers with experience in dealing with unrest had already devised a “robust” response, for which politicians later took credit. His remarks opened a new rift in the often fraught relationship between politicians and some senior police officers, British analysts said, and could influence the question of who will take over from Paul Stephenson, former head of Scotland Yard, who resigned as Britain’s most senior police officer in July in a separate scandal over phone-hacking.
SÁBADO 13 DE AGOSTO DE 2011
Agenda en Breve SÁBADO 13 DE AGOSTO LAREDO — El Laredo Book Festival es hoy de 9:30 a.m. a 4 p.m. en la Biblioteca Pública de Laredo. Habrá páneles de discusión, talleres, lecturas y autógrafos. Evento gratuito. LAREDO — Lucha Libre y Rock hoy a partir de las 2 p.m. en Veteran’s Field. Participarán superestrellas de la lucha libre nacional y mundial, así como grupos de rock. La lucha libre está programada a partir de las 8 p.m. LAREDO — El Musical de Broadway “RENT” se presenta por actores del Laredo Institute for Theatrical Education (LITE) en el segundo piso del Laredo Center for the Arts, 500 avenida San Agustin, hoy a las 8 p.m. Entrada general es de 15 dólares. Evento para audiencia madura. Otra función el 14 de agosto a las 3 p.m. SAN ANTONIO — Hoy se transmite la película “Ahí está el detalle” (1940) protragonizada por Mario Moreno “Cantinflas”, a las 5 p.m. en el Auditorio del Instituto Cultural de México, 600 Hemisfair Park. Entrada gratuita. Reserve espacio al (210) 227 0123.
Zfrontera
PÁGINA 7A
GOBIERNO REITERA LLAMADO PARA EXTREMAR PRECAUCIONES
TAMAULIPAS
Clima y salud
Insisten en tener Turismo de Salud
ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
CIUDAD VICTORIA, México — Tras registrarse 87,820 casos de enfermedades diarreicas agudas (EDA) de enero a la fecha, la Secretaría de Salud del Gobierno de Tamaulipas, reiteró el llamado a la población para que extremen precauciones. El Secretario de Salud, Norberto Treviño García-Manzo, explicó que este tipo de padecimientos continúan presentando un comportamiento epidémico, y que el promedio de casos por semana es de 3,028. Sin embargo, solamente el 1.5 por ciento (53 pacientes) requieren manejo hospitalario por presentar algún
NORBERTO TREVIÑO GARCÍA-MANZO: Dice hay 3,000 casos de enfermos por semana. grado de deshidratación. La distribución de casos por jurisdicción sanitaria es: Tampico 24,113 (27.5 por ciento); Reynosa 14,410 (16.2 por ciento); Matamoros 14,228 (16.1 por ciento); Victoria 11,754 (13.3 por ciento); Mante 9,989 (11.5 por ciento); Laredo 9,737 (11.5 por ciento); Jaumave 2,052 (2.2 por ciento) y San Fernando 1,537 (1.7 por ciento). “Se fortalecieron las medidas preventivas para evitar este tipo de padecimientos”, dijo Treviño. “Se ha dispuesto de los recursos
e insumos necesarios para atender de manera inmediata a quienes lo requieran, y enfrentar cualquier contingencia”. Entre los principales consejos están: evitar la exposición al sol por tiempos prolongados e incrementar el consumo de líquidos para prevenir enfermedades como deshidratación, insolación, quemaduras, golpe de calor e intoxicación por alimentos. Treviño también hizo un llamado para que ante cualquier signo de alerta, tanto en caso de deshidratación como en enfermedades diarreicas acudan al centro de salud más cercano, principalmente si se trata de niños y adultos mayores.
SISTEMA DIF TAMAULIPAS
DOMINGO 14 DE AGOSTO NUEVO LAREDO, México — Domingos Culturales celebrando a Cantinflas en la Casa de la Cultura a las 2 p.m., con la proyección de “El Bolero de Raquel”, además de los Talleres de Creatividad. Entrada libre. NUEVO LAREDO, México — Domingos de Teatro Universitario presenta “Jóvenes para un único suicidio” a las 7 p.m. en el Teatro Lucio Blanco de la Casa de la Cultura. Entrada libre.
MIÉRCOLES 17 DE AGOSTO LAREDO — Border Media presentará su Quinta Batalla Anual de Bandas-La Voz de Laredo el miércoles 17 de agosto de 5:30 p.m. a 12:30 a.m. en Laredo Energy Arena. Se trata de una campaña para recaudar uniformes escolares y becas en beneficio de LISD, UISD y STARS. Las personas disfrutarán de un concierto y conocerán al ganador de La Voz de Laredo. LAREDO — Safe Fracking Coalition presenta la segunda reunión pública sobre Hydraulic Fracturing en el Eagle Ford Shale Science and Solutions a las 6 p.m. Recepción programada a las 5 p.m. en el salón 236 del Centro Estudiantil de TAMIU. Panelistas: Dr. Charles “Chip” Groat, de University of Texas; Austin David B. Burnett, de Texas A&M University, College Station; Alisa Rich, de Wolf Eagle Environmental Flower Mound; Stephen R. Ingram, de Halliburton Business Development, Houston.
JUEVES 18 DE AGOSTO LAREDO — El pianista y compositor Carlos Abraham (www.carlosabraham.com) ofrecerá el “Concierto Esperanza 2011” hoy a las 7:30 p.m. en el Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Recital Hall de TAMIU. Costo: 15 dólares. Adquiera su boleto llamando al (956) 324-9342.
VIERNES 19 DE AGOSTO HIDALGO — Marco Antonio Solís y Ana Gabriel se presentan en el concierto “Haciendo Historia” en el State Farm Arena. NUEVO LAREDO, México — El Dr. Cesar Lozano presentará la conferencia “Actitudes Positivas” a las 7:30 p.m. en el Centro Cultural. Venta de boletos en Sala de Música Talamás. Informes al 711-2729.
Foto de cortesía | DIF Nuevo Laredo
La Presidenta del Sistema DIF Nuevo Laredo, México, Martha Alicia Aldapa de Galván, sonríe tras reunirse con adultos mayores durante un festejo. Nuevo Laredo, al igual que el resto de Tamaulipas, participa en la campaña de registro gratuito para adultos mayores que encabeza el DIF estatal.
INICIA REGISTRO GRATUITO DE ADULTOS TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
H
asta el 29 de agosto continúa la campaña estatal gratuita de registro de nacimiento para adultos mayores de 60 años que encabeza el Sistema para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia (DIF) en Tamaulipas en coordinación con la Dirección Estatal del Registro Civil y DIF Municipales. La campaña de registro busca apoyar a las personas de la tercera edad que por alguna razón nunca han tramitado su acta de nacimiento o bien, han extraviado el documento. Los requisitos son: ser mayor de 60 años, mexicano, presentar solicitud llenada del DIF de su
REQUISITOS PARA TRAMITAR ACTA DE NACIMIENTO GRATUITA * Ser mayor de 60 años * Mexicano * Presentar solicitud llenada del DIF de su municipio * Identificación con fotografía * Dos testigos con identificación * Constancia en existencia. Fuente Sistema DIF Tamaulipas
municipio, identificación con fotografía, dos testigos con identificación y una constancia en existencia. “Agosto es un mes de festejos de ellos (y) se pueden ver beneficiados con este documento”, dijo la Presidenta estatal del Siste-
ma DIF, María del Pilar González de Torre, El acta de nacimiento es un documento que en México permite realizar trámites pero además brinda a los adultos mayores una serie de beneficios. El acta de nacimiento es tramitada de forma gratuita en cualquiera de las oficinas del DIF en Tamaulipas y en algunas ciudades inclusive hay oficinas alternas. González dijo que se está trabajando coordinadamente con todas las oficialías del registro civil de manera que el mayor número de adultos mayores se pueda ver beneficiado con esta campaña. Las actas de nacimiento se entregarán posteriormente en una ceremonia especial.
TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
El Turismo de Salud se trata de un esfuerzo conjunto para apoyar cuatro vertientes: turismo médico, referente al traslado y hospitalización en un lugar particular; fronterizo, que incluye el cruce hacia las ciudades de esa región para consultas y servicios ambulatorios; de bienestar, que contempla los balnearios y spas; y finalmente, el de asistencia en el retiro. En la entidad existen cerca de 10,000 establecimientos de servicios de salud y la mitad de ellos se localiza en las principales ciudades fronterizas como Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa y Matamoros. El Gobierno de Tamaulipas considera que el estado cuenta con ventajas competitivas derivadas de su posición geográfica, su infraestructura turística y de salud de primer nivel, para consolidarse como un destino competitivo, con estándares internacionales de calidad en la atención del paciente nacional y extranjero. “Tamaulipas se distingue por su infraestructura moderna, especialistas que abarcan todas las disciplinas, laboratorios clínicos, gabinetes de imagenología y estudios de apoyo a la vanguardia tecnológica”, dijo el Secretario de Salud, Norberto Treviño García-Manzo. La Secretaria de Turismo, Gloria Guevara Manzo considera que esta modalidad forma parte de las estrategias del Acuerdo Nacional de Turismo para incrementar la competitividad del país al que Tamaulipas se adscribió en marzo pasado. Como primer paso, el estado deberá directorios médicos bilingües y la certificación de prestadores de servicios de la frontera para fortalecer este sector. En la actualidad la demanda de servicios médicos en el extranjero constituye un mercado de 40 millones de visitantes con una derrama económica de 50,000 millones de dólares. Nuestro país tiene actualmente 5 por ciento de turismo en salud de origen extranjero, con un potencial de crecimiento alto respecto al mercado de Estados Unidos. “Para mí es muy importante dar a conocer una amplia visión del desarrollo regional, porque creo que es la clave del crecimiento”, dijo el Gobernador de Tamaulipas, Egidio Torre Cantú. El Gobernador señaló que pronto concretarán programas y acciones en una estrategia de desarrollo por región, considerando los techos financieros de cada dependencia, para posteriormente dar a conocer los proyectos importantes con que se va a arrancar.
MÉXICO
Comisión denuncia estrategias militares ASSOCIATED PRESS
FACHADA PARA PRESUMIR Se muestra la fachada de una antigua casa en Ciudad Mier, México, ubicada por la calle Morelos, entre José Piña y J. H. Palacios.
Foto de cortesía | La del Miernes
MÉXICO — La Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos denunció que la policía y los soldados suelen entrar a los domicilios de la gente, colocar pruebas falsas y apoderarse de sus pertenencias. Señaló también que esas prácticas han aumentado al adquirir más fuerza la guerra que México libra contra los cárteles de la droga. La polémica saltó a la palestra pública tras entrar la policía en la vivienda de un poeta esta semana en busca de un presunto cabecilla de un cártel. La comisión sostiene que las fuerzas de seguridad colocan en ocasiones pruebas falsas para justificar los registros, y en la mayoría de sus allanamientos ilegales ocasionan destrozos o despojan de ciertas pertenencias a sus moradores. El organismo defensor de los derechos humanos formuló sus comentarios el viernes en una inusual recomendación general a todos los organismos policiales, militares y de seguridad.
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2011
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2011
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
PERRY Continued from Page 1A lican nomination starts here, in the leadoff caucus state of Iowa, with a message of jobs and values as he tries to set himself apart from GOP front-runner Mitt Romney. The Texan’s team is working to expand what it says is already a robust fundraising network and to hire veteran campaign operatives in early primary states. The campaign, as many before it, aims to march through early states, court a broad coalition of conservatives and stress an economic message backed by the candidate’s home-state job growth. “We cannot and must not endure four more years of rising unemployment, rising taxes, rising debt and rising energy dependence on nations that intend us harm,” Perry is to say Saturday in Charleston, S.C., according to remarks prepared for delivery. Still, his hurdles on the way to the GOP nomination are high, given that Perry is later to the game than his rivals, some of whom have been campaigning and fundraising for months. “We have a consensus that we can do it — and no one’s 100 percent convinced it’s going to work,” Perry’s longtime strategist Dave Carney told The Associated Press. Perry is working quickly to assemble a network of operatives nationally and in key early-voting states Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. He’s attracting staff from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s imploded campaign as well as the aborted presidential bid of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.
Rob Johnson, who left Perry’s office early this year to be Gingrich’s campaign manager, is expected to be central to the Texan’s presidential campaign and was headed to South Carolina on Friday. And Perry’s even started siphoning staff from current candidates. GOP fundraiser Gary Slayton in New Hampshire shifted from supporting former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty to Perry this week, saying of the Texan, “He clearly sees the peril facing our beloved nation and has decided to answer the call.”
Courtship Perry is courting establishment Republicans, economic conservatives and business leaders as he tries to knit together a coalition that spans the GOP spectrum. His team believes that his support among social conservatives already is strong and that he helped himself last week by hosting a national prayer rally. It drew 30,000 people to a Houston arena and the attention of more than 1,000 churches nationwide. His inaugural campaign trip as a full-fledged candidate provides a window into his strategy for winning the nomination. It starts Sunday with a three-day trip to Iowa, where he will appear at iconic state venues, including the Iowa State Fair and Iowa City’s Hamburg Inn, where the walls are covered with photographs of past presidential candidates. He’ll share the spotlight at one stop — Waterloo — with Minnesota Rep. Mi-
chele Bachmann, who changed her schedule after it was announced that Perry would attend a county GOP fundraiser in the city, her birthplace. He’ll travel to New Hampshire on Wednesday, and is scheduled to headline the Politics and Eggs breakfast in Bedford Village. Stops in six other cities also are planned. From there, he heads back to South Carolina, a conservative state where Perry’s evangelical background, punctuated last week with the day of prayer he headlined in Houston, can serve him well. He’ll spend his time meeting with potential supporters and financial backers, including Barry Wynn, who met with Perry in Austin three weeks ago to start building a national finance operation. Perry is looking to be the answer for the GOP establishment, many of whose members are uninspired by Romney, who is leading the field as a business conservative in his second bid for the nomination. Henry Barbour, a longtime Haley Barbour aide who is helping Perry get started, said the Texan’s appeal among business and establishment Republicans and his fundraising ability fill a void in the campaign. “And he’s authentic,” Barbour said. “That’s a natural contrast he has with Gov. Romney and President Obama.” While Perry has never run a national campaign, his ties to the Republican Governors Association, which he chairs and has served as finance chairman, give him an entry with national GOP donors.
MASS Continued from Page 1A The diocese comprises 32 parishes, 17 missions and seven Catholic schools. It also has 54 priests and 32 deacons to minister to 290,000 Catholics. Seven brothers and 66 women live in consecrated life. Diocese Chancellor Lucy R. Cárdenas said nothing brings people closer to Christ than the Eucharist, the divine presence of Jesus Christ. “The person of Jesus is what keeps us together,” she said. “It is the love of the Lord Jesus that keeps us together. It is the love of our Lord Jesus that inspires us to love one another.” Bishop James A. Tamayo delivered a message encouraging churchgoers to serve one another with the love of God as a Christian family. But for that love to spread, Tamayo said believers have to encounter God. He added that the Gospels are full of stories of people whose lives were transformed when they met God. Tamayo said people should reflect with their lives on the ministry of Jesus Christ. By coming together in a time of differences and difficulties, “We will build the kingdom of God in earth,” Tamayo added. The bishop said four values will keep the diocese together for years. The first, he said, is faithfulness — in which ordinary Christians have an active participation in church, such as at Mass or in service. The second core value is respect. Tamayo said churchgoers should respect
each other. Furthermore, Catholics should love each other as God loves his people. Joy is the third core value. “Imagine the positive impact you can make when you share God’s joy,” he said. Finally, churchgoers must have humility to better serve each other.
Reactions In an interview after Mass, Tamayo said the purpose of the gathering was to thank God for the blessings given. “Today, I’m so grateful the people came to express their love of God and their appreciation for the priests, for the ministries (that) we provide in the Diocese of Laredo,” the bishop said. “It was a wonderful way how (people) were able to show the unity that we have in all these seven counties.” Saul and Rosantina Fernandez, of Our Lady of Refuge in Eagle Pass, said they felt the presence of God in the unity shown during the Mass. “I don’t think there was one person who was sitting down. Everybody was up. Everybody was feeling that the Holy Spirit was really present in our community,” Fernandez said. “We are a family, and it felt like that.” (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
COUNTY Continued from Page 1A “They worked hard; they read hard,” he said. Brown said that the center can become a regional educational powerhouse. “Our center doesn’t just see Zapata as its market,” he said. “We can become a regional center.” For posterity, Brown hopes to chase grants from Houston, he said.
Business and development The court approved a request by Border to Border Communications to bury fiber option cables under the right-of-way of Zapata County roads. Stephen Andrews, general manager of
Border to Border, said the move opens up new possibilities for the area. “It’s a different way of doing business,” he said. The court later declined a request for another development option, this one by the Zapata Economic Development Corporation (ZEDC). ZEDC President Peggy Moffett presented a proposal on an advanced geographic information system which she said the county could use to improve data collection and management in a variety of sectors, including education and community safety. “It will help us become more globally competitive,” Moffett said.
In declining the request for over $40,000, which would match funds already acquired by the ZEDC, the court cited exhaustion of its matching grants funds. In other business, the court voted to convene in executive session to discuss personnel matters. After the executive session, the court resolved to accept the resignations of two county fire department employees and to advertise these now open positions. A redistricting plan intended to put Zapata County precinct boundaries in line with the 2010 county census was also approved. (Miguel Herrera may be reached at 728-2567 or mherrera@lmtonline.com)
WASTE Continued from Page 1A Of these changes, the section regarding Mexican oil waste most concerned the court. “I’m afraid Zapata County is being designated the dumping ground of the state,” County Judge Joe Rathmell said during Monday’s meeting. We’ll handle our own waste, but it’s difficult to handle others’.” The original Texas Railroad Commission permit for the J. Moss facility specifically allows it to treat materials from Mexico’s nationalized Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), but the proposed amendments include deletion of conditions that the materials have to meet. Under the original, prior to receipt at the J. Moss site, a representative sample of PEMEX waste must be analyzed for certain compounds and may not exceed expressed limits. The proposed amendments, however, seek to do away with some of those tests. According to a request sent to the Texas Railroad Commission by Gordon and Lawton, an environmental science consulting firm consulted by J. Moss, the Mexican waste would no longer be tested for ignitability or reactivity beginning with the first load and every six months. The document also recommends deletion of several conditions for acceptance to the Zapata facility, including doing away with the required centrifuge test on a representative sample for each load of waste.
Whatever the changes to Mexican waste, uncertainty exists over when or if the Mexican waste is coming to Zapata at all. “I have not received any indication from my clients that they’re receiving Mexican waste,” said Laredo attorney Elisamar Soto, who represents J. Moss. Soto also took issue with the perception that the amendments J. Moss wants to the permit regarding Mexican waste indicate there will be more of it. “We’re allowed to take PEMEX waste,” she said. “We haven’t in a long time because we’re getting so much from Eagle Ford.” In a prepared statement, the Texas Railroad Commission confirmed J. Moss’s right to treat the foreign waste, but said information when it last entered the Zapata facility was not readily available. As of Friday, county officials still had concerns. “I don’t want waste from Mexico,” said County Commissioner Norberto Garza, who represents Precinct 4, where the J. Moss facility lies. “That’s the only thing I’m against.” Garza remains concerned, however, about the jobs the facility brings to Zapata. “I don’t want to close it down completely,” he said. “I just think we need to know more about the Mexican waste.” Other officials were still not convinced they had all the facts, including County Attorney Alfonso Figueroa, who said the county was in
“fact finding” mode, and Rathmell, who called the issue of Mexican waste “ambiguous.” One thing county officials do know is they are resolved to contest the issue even though it will cost the county. On Friday, Rathmell said the county had filed its protest with the railroad commission. The county will get a chance to prove before the railroad commission that the permit amendments are harmful; J. Moss will get a chance to prove they are not. It can be a very long, expensive process, according to Soto. “The protestor needs to have some data as to why they are protesting these amendments,” she said. “They have to show — with engineers, with lawyers, with soil consultants — that the amendments would cause harm.” J. Moss would likewise incur heavy legal and consulting fees, something Soto says they don’t need any more than the county does. “We’d much rather continue the dialogue and come to an agreement,” she said. For the county’s part, Rathmell said: “We realize there will be costs, but we are going look out for the good of Zapata.” The official resolution indicates Zapata will try to involve its state senator and state representative as it continues its protest. (Miguel Herrera IV may be reached at 728-2567 or mherrera@lmtonline.com)
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2011
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SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2011
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors BIG 12
HAWKS ROLLIN’
H.S. coaches go the distance
Aggies eye Big 12 title
I
t takes a special person to coach high school kids. There is a lot more than just X’s and O’s that comes along with coaching. Coaches must sacrifice time away from their families and miss many family events because they are away coaching a team. Some coaches even miss the birth of their child because they were away at a game. A few people, besides their family and players, know the long hours that these individuals put in just tying to give their athletes all the tools to succeed on the field or court. In this day and age, sports are about winning, plain and simple, and people expect and even demand that high school coaches have a winning program. A coach’s job depends on how teenagers perform every time they slide into that uniform. That is the ruthless nature of the business. You don’t win, and you can expect a witch-hunt to start forming around town and a parent of an athlete that does not see the playing field usually leads it. Somehow, if the team is not winning then it’s entirely the coach’s fault. What parents fail to understand is that sometimes you just don’t have the athletes and the other team was just better than their child’s team. Period. I have seen parents go to the school board meetings and demand a coach’s resignation because they are not winning. But it’s not about winning. Especially when it comes to high school sports. Coaches are there because they love to coach. They are certainly not there for the money. No high school coach is going to get rich and retire early. Coaches put in a lot of time in what they do. All you have to do is see how many hours football coaches put in when they are in season. They practically live at the fieldhouse and their wives rarely get to see them. To a coach, the classification of an athlete does not mean anything. If a freshman steps on campus and is better than a senior, well, the freshman is going to play over the senior. Contrary to what some parents or outsiders may think, the coach does put his best team on the field. Coaches coach because they enjoy the sport or, in many cases, played the sport itself in high school. Early in the week, I was able to visit with coach Mario Arce and had to walk a small distance to get to the practice field. I melted on my walk from my vehicle to the practice field, with the heat sweltering and hitting the triple digits. I only lasted 30 minutes and had to go inside. While I was there, I watched the coaching staff go over drill after drill and not complain that it was too hot or that they should cut practice short. Most people were inside the nice air conditioned
See CLARA PAGE 2B
Why not Texas A&M? By KRISTIE RIEKEN ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Clara Sandoval | The Zapata Times
Zapata’s Kristina De Leon gets one of her 24 kills against Nixon in the Lady Hawks’ season opener on Monday at Zapata. Zapata beat Nixon, 25-19, 23-25, 25-17 and 26-24. The Lady Hawks are playing in the Zapata tournament this weekend.
COLLEGE STATION — When Texas A&M players met for informal workouts this offseason, the group always ended the sessions with three simple words that the Aggies have now adopted as their slogan for the year. “Big 12 champs!” the players would shout. Why not the Aggies? Many believe this could be the best Texas A&M team in more than a decade. The Aggies were picked to finish second behind the Sooners in the Big 12 preseason media poll and some polls have them ranked in the top 10 nationally. “Actually we want to win every game and you know what comes with that, so hopefully we can get there,” running back Cyrus Gray said, careful to avoid addressing the national championship directly. Winning the Big 12 will be the first step for a program that is again reportedly discussing a potential move to the Southeastern Conference. Texas A&M is hoping to pick up where it left off in the 2010 regular season with 10 offensive and eight defensive starters returning from last year’s 9-4 team. The Aggies won six their last six regular season games after Ryan Tannehill took over at quarterback before losing to LSU in the Cotton Bowl. Tannehill returns, along with top receivers Jeff Fuller and Ryan Swope and running backs Gray and Christine Michael to create a potent offense. Swope raved about the leadership Tannehill has shown since taking over at quarterback. “He’s a great leader, a guy you look up to, a guy you want running the team, a guy you want calling the plays,” Swope said. “It just feels right and that feeling is so important, to be on the same page with a quarterback that you have confidence in. Every receiver has his confidence and he’s got our confidence, so that’s a huge factor.”
See A&M PAGE 2B
BIG 12 In this Sept. 25, 2010 file photo, Texas’ Garrett Gilbert (7) walks off the field after Texas lost to UCLA in Austin. UCLA won 3412. Gilbert, a high school AllAmerican who was supposed to be the next great Texas quarterback, is locked in a four-way battle to start with sophomore Case McCoy, redshirt freshman Connor Wood and true freshman David Ash.
Longhorns look to build back up By JIM VERTUNO ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Eric Gay | AP
AUSTIN — While surveying the wreckage of his first losing season in 20 years, Texas coach Mack Brown hunkered down on the family couch and turned on the TV. His punishment for the failure of a 5-7 finish in 2010 was to watch his rivals play a bowl game while his Texas Longhorns stayed home. A program on cruise control for 10 or 11 wins every season had veered out of control and crashed, forcing Brown to re-
evaluate everything: His staff, his players and his personal approach to the team. The question now is whether Brown made the right moves to get the Longhorns back on track to being Big 12 and national title contenders. Given the number of unknowns — on offense, defense and in the coaching meetings — Texas fans may have to lower their expectations for another year. Nothing is a given this season. Not wins, certainly not titles and not even that home field ad-
See TEXAS PAGE 2B
PAGE 2B
Zscores
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2011
Rookie WR Harris stars for Cowboys By JAIME ARON ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARLINGTON — Dwayne Harris’ head was spinning. Giddy just to be playing his first game for the Dallas Cowboys, the rookie receiver was learning on the fly, too. Coach Jason Garrett had just pointed out a mistake Harris made running with the ball after his last reception, and now quarterback Stephen McGee was telling him to be ready to recognize a blitz and change his route if it came. So, what did the kid do? Harris indeed saw the blitz and made the adjustment. He wound up right where McGee expected and easily caught a short pass near the middle of the field. Then Harris took off, following Garrett’s advice all the way to the end zone for a 76-yard touchdown. It was quite a highlight for the sixth-round pick from East Carolina. And it wasn’t even his best play of the night. That came with 15 seconds left and the Cowboys driving for the win. On a fourth down, Harris got free in the end zone, jumped and grabbed a 13-yard pass from McGee, setting up a 2-point conversion that gave Dallas a 24-23 victory over the Denver Broncos on Thursday night. “He stepped up,” McGee said. “Man, you love to see guys who come out and play well in the game.” Harris wasn’t always a standout during training
Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP
Denver Broncos linebacker Mike Mohamed tackles Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dwayne Harris on Thursday in Arlington.
camp, and the collection of third-stringers that McGee leads hadn’t worked much on the two-minute drill. Thus, this was quite the debut. “It says a lot for me — coming in, a little nervous, first game up under the lights, in front of millions,
just to come out and play, have fun,” Harris said. “I think the coaches like what they saw in my performance. So it was a good overall game.” Among the things still to be determined this preseason is how the Cowboys’ receiver rotation shakes
out after starters Miles Austin and Dez Bryant. Kevin Ogletree is penciled in as No. 3. Anyone else who makes it is going to have to stand out on special teams, too. Harris and Raymond Radway jumped to the head of that pack with their per-
formances against Denver. Harris caught all five passes thrown his way for 127 yards. The long-haired rookie who was the Conference USA player of the year last season also took a kickoff 32 yards, and lost a total of 10 yards on two punt returns.
“It was a great night for me, I feel good about it,” Harris said. “It’s just a momentum-builder.” Radway, who is bigger and faster but far less polished, had kickoff returns of 40 and 22 yards and caught a 6-yard touchdown pass. He failed to catch two other balls, including a high one with no defenders nearby. “He was impressive in camp right form the start,” Garrett said. “I’ll be honest with you, we didn’t know a ton about him. He is a guy who is big and can run. He has been impressive in making the transition. You’re hopeful they can take it from the practice field to the playing field and he was able to do that.” Harris made the harder step of improving from practice field to the playing field. All of his catches proved to be pivotal. The three that didn’t end up as touchdowns all came on scoring drives. The Cowboys were off Friday and will resume training camp at home today. For the next two weeks, they will be working out at team headquarters or Cowboys Stadium. Dallas came away from the preseason opener without any serious injuries, although there was a notable addition to the list of ailing players. Second-string tight end Martellus Bennett has a hamstring injury that kept him out of the Denver game.
A&M Continued from Page 1B Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman has always admired Tannehill’s confidence and athletic ability, but said they need to work on his decision-making and cut down on his turnovers. Tannehill threw for 1,638 yards and 13 touchdowns, with six interceptions last year. Sherman expects to see more from Tannehill, who has just six starts as quarterback, as he gets more experience. “It’s not like he’s had a wealth of experience,” Sherman said. “I think the factor he’s had with this team going into the offseason and the summertime when he’s been the leader out there with those guys as they practice by themselves ... is significant because he now has the guys he’s going to work with in the game and know their tendencies, they know his. I think the familiarity will be greater. And I think it will help him become a better quarterback.” Fuller led the team last year with 1,066 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns and Swope added 825 yards receiving and four scores. Michael ran for 631 yards and four touchdowns in eight games last season before breaking his leg against Texas Tech. Gray got most of the carries after his in-
Photo by Stuart Villanueva | AP
Texas A&M’s Ryan Swope stretches to make a grab during the team’s practice Tuesday in College Station.
jury and finished the 1,133 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns and ended the season with seven straight 100-yard rushing games. Gray loves the respect the Aggies are receiving, but knows
that he can’t put too much stock in what people are saying about the team. “It’s exciting, but you just have to stay levelheaded,” he said. “At the end of the day it’s not about how you start, but
how you finish and I think guys have bought into that. So hopefully we can play well and continue the hype.” On defense, the Aggies will have to deal with the loss of Von Miller, a hybrid linebacker/de-
fensive end who was taken with the second overall pick in this year’s draft. But Texas A&M returns its entire secondary and linebackers Garrick Williams, who led the team with 112 tackles last season, and Sean Porter, who finished with 74 tackles. Sherman believes the defense will thrive in the second season of defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter’s 3-4 scheme. “Our guys will have a lot more familiarity and knowledge of the defense and be able to fit in a little bit better,” Sherman said. “I don’t think you replace a Von Miller, No. 2 pick very easily with one player. I think we have to do it collectively with a group of guys, and I think we’ll be able to do that.” They’ll be tested early, with a Sept. 24 meeting with Oklahoma State, who was projected to finish third in the Big 12 and has beaten A&M three times in a row, before a game against Arkansas at Cowboys Stadium. “That’s just a matter of believing and we feel like we’ve got a good shot to do it this year, we have the right guys, the right leadership, the right seniors to do it,” receiver Ryan Swope said. “As a team we set goals and that’s one of our goals to be a championship contender.”
TEXAS Continued from Page 1B vantage that imploded with five losses at Royal-Memorial Stadium last season. Brown won’t put a ceiling on how he thinks this team will finish. “Last year, none of us were proud of what happened to us on the field,” Brown said. “We’re not going to talk about the end. We’ve lost that right.” With 20 years of winning and a national championship behind him, Brown could have stubbornly insisted everything was OK within his program. Instead, he made big moves to shake things up. Brown rebuilt his staff behind young, aggressive coordinators (Bryan Harsin and Major Applewhite on offense and Manny Diaz on defense) and sprinkled it with veteran assistants to back them up. Seven new assistants will be on the sideline to help Brown prevent the losing from becoming a trend. “Last year wasn’t fun, but reorganizing the staff
was,” Brown said. “These guys have great ideas and are on the cutting edge.” Brown challenged his team by throwing open every position, from quarterback to safety. No job was safe. “The guys have to compete harder to get a job,” Brown said. “They’re on edge a little bit.” No position is under more pressure than quarterback. Vince Young won 20 games in a row as a starter and Colt McCoy went 45-8 over four years. Garrett Gilbert followed that last season with 17 interceptions and just 10 touchdown passes in one of the lowest-scoring offenses in the Big 12. Gilbert, a high school All-American who was supposed to be the next great Texas quarterback, is now locked in a four-way battle to start with sophomore Case McCoy (Colt’s younger brother), redshirt freshman Connor Wood and true freshman David Ash.
Brown has kept all of them away from the media and closed practices to let them duke it out in private. McCoy threw only one pass last season as Gilbert’s backup, but arguably played better in the spring game when everyone was still learning Harsin’s offense. Brown and his assistants have given few hints as to who they expect will emerge as the starter. “The biggest thing is leadership,” Brown said. “You’ve got to have great leadership at that position. You have got to protect the ball and you have got to be able to put the ball in the end zone.” On offense, the Longhorns find themselves thin at wide receiver after senior Malcolm Williams chose not to return this season for personal reasons. Junior Marquise Goodwin announced over the summer he would skip this season to concentrate on his long jump career in track with hopes of qualify-
ing for the 2012 Olympics. The projected starting offensive line has just 36 career starts, with 19 of those coming from senior center David Snow. On defense, Texas must shore up the interior of a line that got pushed around in the second half of losses to UCLA, Iowa State, Baylor and Texas A&M, and plug holes in a secondary that will replace two starting cornerbacks. And senior safety Christian Scott, who started 10 games last season, was suspended indefinitely after a misdemeanor assault arrest. “Everyone knows they have to work to earn their spot,” said senior safety Blake Gideon. “Nothing carries over from last year.” Texas opens the season Sept. 3 at home against Rice, a team the Longhorns have beaten in 38 of the last 39 meetings. BYU comes to Austin a week later. Then the Longhorns play at UCLA, the team that got
CLARA all that losing started last season with a stunning 3412 beating of Texas in Austin. Texas went just 2-5 at home last season and in the new 10-team Big 12 will be on the road against four teams that beat the Longhorns last season. Texas is picked to finish in the middle or toward the bottom of the league. The USA Today coaches’ poll put the Longhorns at No. 24 to start the season, a position even Brown seemed to think was generous. Unlike previous seasons when the Longhorns were in the mix for a national title run from the start, winning just seven or eight games would be an improvement. “If you ask me if I’d rather have this or the expectations to win the national championships, I’d say I’d rather have the expectation to win the national championship because it means we’re supposed to be really good,” Brown said.
Continued from Page 1B rooms while they were outside coaching. Coaches are truly there for the best interest of the athlete and they will let the athlete know that they need to work on some aspect of their game in order to become a better player. Not everyone can be a starter. Zapata is full of great coaches, as the athletic programs are counted amongst the best in the area. This success is due to coaches who decide to become part of a noble profession that has its rewards when a team does well on the field, court or track. Nothing brings more joy to a coach than to watch their athletes celebrate a great victory.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2011
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B
HINTS BY | HELOISE Dear Readers: GROOMING YOUR DOG is an important part of overall care for good health. Getting into the habit of bathing, combing and brushing your dog regularly can remove dead skin, dirt and loose hair, and can help make the coat shinier and healthier. When is the best time to start grooming? When you first get your dog! Whether you get a brandnew puppy or rescue a shelter dog, get in the habit of regular grooming sessions. It’s also a nice “bonding” time. How often to bathe the dog depends on the breed, and how active (and therefore how dirty) the dog gets. Some breeds, such as the basset hound, for example, have an oily coat and should be bathed more often. Combing is an excellent way to look for skin issues and fleas — on your dog, that is! — Heloise PET PAL Dear Readers: Linda Hamilton of Canton, Ohio, who is a great supporter of animals, sent a picture of her well-loved Chihuahua, Killer Dave, sitting on a comfy bed with his pink tongue sticking out. To see Killer Dave and our
“
HELOISE
other Pet Pals, go to www.Heloise.com and click on “Pets.” — Heloise SUPPRESSING SKUNK ODOR Dear Readers: Did your dog have a run-in with a skunk? The old wives’ tale that tomato juice works to remove skunk odor does help. Because tomato juice is acidic, it helps wash off the oily spray and can bring the odor down a bit. However, the Humane Society has a better solution, and one we have printed many times. Here is the formula recommended to neutralize the odor. Mix the following: 1 quart 3 percent hydrogen peroxide 1/4 cup baking soda 1 teaspoon liquid soap (laundry or dishwashing soap) Apply to the animal, using care to avoid eyes and ears, and rinse after five minutes. Use outside for less mess. A caution: Use the solution right away; it will not keep. — Heloise
DAILY CRYPTOQUOTES — Here’s how to work it:
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Sports
4B THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2011
Rodman, others enshrined By BRIAN MAHONEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Matt Slocum | AP
Tiger Woods hits out of a bunker on the first hole during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament Friday at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Ga.
Tiger appears lost on course By JIM LITKE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — The excuse at last week’s tournament was that he was hitting it too flush. When this one began, Tiger Woods said he was too mechanical. Let’s try lost. It’s no longer about playing up to the standard he once set. Since slinking back into the game after a self-inflicted scandal, then battling leg injuries, Woods has been competitive on no more than a handful of occasions. He can’t stop spraying his drives, his short game isn’t good enough to save him — especially from greenside bunkers — and he isn’t making putts. In his opening round at the PGA Championship, that totaled up to a 7-over 77. To those who expected Woods to come back the way Michael Jordan did after revelations of late-night gambling escapades during the NBA playoffs almost two decades ago — by dropping 55 points on the Knicks the next night, en route to yet another NBA championship — quit holding your breath. Right now, he looks more like Jordan in a Washington Wizards jersey.
“I’m not down. I’m really angry right now,” Woods said Thursday, both hands gripping the lectern he stood behind. “There’s a lot of words I could use beyond that.” Woods has tried changing his swing, his coach and, most recently, his caddie. On this day he started 3 under through the first five holes focused on what he called “mechanical thoughts” — shorthand for the swing changes he and coach Sean Foley have been working on. For reasons he didn’t bother to explain, Woods said he shifted his focus to playing the way he used to. He proceeded to play the next 13 holes in 10 over. “I thought, ‘I can let it go,’ and play by instinct and feel,” he said. Woods is not just playing like all those guys he used to treat as extras in the background of his movie; he sounds like them, too. He says he’s never far from a breakthrough, from climbing back to the lofty position he once held. The numbers say otherwise. Since 2009, he’s dropped more than 100 places in total driving (a measure combining distance and accuracy), sand saves and avoiding three putts. Yet it’s worth remembering that
when Woods segued from his first pro coach, Butch Harmon, to Hank Haney, he shot back up the charts. Despite scant evidence to back him up, Woods is certain he will again with Foley, who’s new-age approach to the swing involves treating a student’s psyche as much as a tendency to lift the head. “I’ve been in this process before. I’ve been through it with Butch. I’ve been through it with Hank and now I’m going through it with Sean,” Woods said. “I just thought this is a major and you peak for these events and once you get to a major championship, you just let it fly, let it go. “I did,” he added, “and it cost me.” If only it were that simple. Haney said the last thing he was going to do was try to analyze Woods’ swing or his mindset from that distance. “I’ll say this, though, from my experience: Tiger thinks about the mechanics of every golf shot he’s ever hit. I doubt the problem is that he’s too mechanical or not mechanical enough. He hasn’t had too many opportunities to practice and play and now he’s at a major championship on a very difficult golf course,” Haney said. “It might just be that simple.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The acknowledgement list could only belong to Dennis Rodman. There were coaches Phil Jackson and fellow inductee Tex Winter. He mentioned teammate Michael Jordan, along with rockers Eddie Vedder and Motley Crue. And he thanked that guy Stern who came to see him Friday night. That’s Howard Stern, not the NBA commissioner. Rodman’s uncommon blend of basketball and entertainment has arrived at the sport’s birthplace, as he was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame on Friday as part of the 10-person class of 2011. “I really didn’t play the game to be in the Hall of Fame. That wasn’t my job,” Rodman said. “My job was to go out there and win ballgames, have a good time and take care of my family. As long as the people had a good time, that was my main objective.” Dressed in all black, wearing sunglasses, an Ed Hardy tattooing hat and a scarf that read “The Worm, HOF ‘11” on the inside, the five-time NBA champion was the center of attention during Thurs-
day’s news conferences. Exactly the way he likes it. “I just love living life free,” Rodman said. Dream Teamer and two-time Olympic gold medalist Chris Mullin was the other headline name in the class, though much of the focus was on Rodman. Looking toward him, Stanford women’s coach Tara VanDerveer joked she was so excited she was “gonna go out and get a tattoo.” VanDerveer, who has led Stanford to two national championships and won more than 800 games, joins Winter and Division II Philadelphia University coach Herb Magee, the career leader at the collegiate level with more than 900 wins, as the coaches being enshrined. Jackson presented both Rodman and Winter, whose triangle offense was used by Jackson to build dynasties in Chicago and Los Angeles. Eight-time NBA champion Tom “Satch” Sanders, big men Artis Gilmore and Arvydas Sabonis; the late Reece “Goose” Tatum of the Harlem Globetrotters, and women’s star Teresa Edwards, who won five Olympic medals — four golds — and entered her fifth Hall of Fame, also were honored at Symphony Hall.