The Zapata Times 11/17/2012

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SATURDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2012

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LAW ENFORCEMENT FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

$1.2M of weed Feds: Man had 258 bundles Courtesy photo

Authorities alleged Ruben Contreras,42, of transporting marijuana valued at $1,197,520.

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

A Laredo man has been arrested for possessing nearly 1,500

pounds of marijuana in Zapata County, according to federal court records released Thursday.

Federal authorities alleged Ruben Contreras, 42, transported 258

bundles of marijuana. The narcotics weighed 1,496.9 pounds and had an estimated value of $1,197,520. Contreras is charged with possessing with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

See BUNDLES PAGE 9A Courtesy photo

One bundle of marijuana was in plain site when deputies stopped a vehicle driven by Reynol Montemayor-Madrigal of Rio Grande City. He was in Zapata Regional Jail on Friday night.

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS

READY FOR TAMALES

Stop yields 12 pounds of pot

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Photo by Robin Zielinski/Las Cruces Sun-News | AP

Bobbie Mandoe laughs while watching the tamale-making process on Wednesday at Pro’s Ranch Market in Las Cruces, N.M.

Store sells the fixings for important holiday tradition

By LINDSEY ANDERSON LAS CRUCES SUN-NEWS

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Tamale fixings cover two long ta-

bles in the back corner of Pro’s Ranch Market: bags of corn husks, stacks of masa mix, tamale pots large and larger.

Shoppers pass by the display,

stopping to watch as Olga May and Lala Hernandez demonstrate the art of tamale making.

Hernandez spreads a thin layer of masa on a wet corn

husk. May adds a heaping of chicken and green chile filling to each one.

See TAMALES PAGE 10A

A routine traffic violation yielded 12 pounds of marijuana Nov. 9 in a northern part of town, according to a Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office spokesman.

MONTEMAYORAuthorities MADRIGAL identified the alleged offender as 45-year-old Reynol Montemayor-Madrigal of Rio Grande City. Deputies charged him with possession of marijuana, a third degree felony which carries a punishment of two to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Montemayor-Madrigal was taken to the Zapata Regional Jail, where he remained as of

See POT PAGE 9A

ZAPATA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

‘Power Breakfast’ brings up local issues SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Rep. Tracy O. King said he believes public school finance issues will be first and foremost during next year’s legislative session.

King made the comment during the Zapata Economic Development Corporation’s inaugural “Power Breakfast” on Wednesday at the Zapata Technical & Advanced Education Center.

More than 50 attended to hear updates from King, Za-

pata County Independent School District Superintendent Norma Garcia, Zapata Technical and Advanced Education Center Dean David Brown, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality watermaster Erasmo Yarrito, Zapata County Judge Joseph Rathmell, and Zapata Economic Development Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Peggy Umphres Moffett.

King spoke highly of Zapata’s natural and cultural

“

I’m working with staff that are able to solve these problems.”

ZAPATA COUNTY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT NORMA GARCIA

assets, progressive leadership and community, and spoke on what issues he anticipates will be addressed in next year’s legislative ses-

sion. King said he believes public school finance will be first and foremost in next year’s new legislative term.

He said the current lawsuit

filed by half of Texas’ school districts against the State of Texas as a catalyst for action, and believes the formula to fund schools needs to be readjusted periodically due to the fluctuations in property values and different educational needs across various parts of the state.

Another major issue to be discussed in the Texas House next year is hydraulic fracturing, specifically with regards to the amount

of water that is needed in this process. King reiterated his position as vice-chairman of the Natural Resources Committee and said the House has tremendous issues with natural resource use and uses of water, particularly.

Of special note to Zapata County, King said he believes the state needs to do whatever it can to support maintaining Falcon Lake

See BREAKFAST PAGE 10A

PAGE 2A

Zin brief CALENDAR

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2012

AROUND TEXAS

TODAY IN HISTORY

SATURDAY, NOV. 17

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Bud Light Tournament Fall 2012 San Antonio Division tournament returns to Falcon Lake, 8 a.m. through 5 p.m.

A LiveStrong Cancer Survivorship Training will take place from 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. at the Zapata County Nutrition Center, 7th and Del Mar. The training is free and open to all Zapata County residents, health workers and outreach workers. Call 956-728-0210 for more information.

The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show “Holiday Music Magic” at 2 p.m.; “Mystery of the Christmas Star” at 3 p.m.; “Holiday Music Magic” at 4 p.m.; and “Mystery of the Christmas Star” at 5 p.m. General admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Premium shows are $1 more.

For more information, call 956-3263663.

The Villa de San Agustin Genealogical Society will visit the Farmers Market and tour the historic downtown hotels of Laredo starting at 9:15 a.m. at Jarvis Plaza. For more information, call Sanjuanita M. Hunter at 722-3497.

Today is Saturday, Nov. 17, the 322nd day of 2012. There are 44 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Nov. 17, 1962, Washington Dulles International Airport was dedicated by President John F. Kennedy.

On this date: In 1558, Elizabeth I acceded to the English throne upon the death of Queen Mary.

In 1800, Congress held its first session in Washington in the partially completed Capitol building.

In 1869, the Suez Canal opened in Egypt.

In 1911, the African-American fraternity Omega Psi Phi was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. In 1917, French sculptor Auguste Rodin (roh-DAN’) died in Meudon at age 77.

In 1934, Lyndon Baines Johnson married Claudia Alta Taylor, better known as Lady Bird, in San Antonio, Texas.

In 1962, the musical comedy “Little Me,” starring Sid Caesar in seven roles, opened on Broadway.

In 1969, the first round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks between the United States and the Soviet Union opened in Helsinki, Finland.

In 1973, President Richard Nixon told Associated Press managing editors in Orlando, Fla.: “People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook.”

In 1979, Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the release of 13 black and/or female American hostages being held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

In 1987, a federal jury in Denver convicted two white supremacists of civil rights violations in the 1984 slaying of radio talk show host Alan Berg. (Both men later died in prison.)

In 1997, 62 people, most of them foreign tourists, were killed when militants opened fire at the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor, Egypt; the attackers were killed by police.

Ten years ago: Abba Eban, the statesman who helped persuade the world to approve creation of Israel and dominated Israeli diplomacy for decades, died near Tel Aviv; he was 87.

Today’s Birthdays: Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., is 78.

Rock musician Gerry McGee (The Ventures) is 75. Singer Gordon Lightfoot is 74. Movie director Martin Scorsese is 70.

Actress Lauren Hutton is 69.

Actor-director Danny DeVito is 68. “Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels is 68. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Tom Seaver is 68. Former Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean is 64.

House Speaker John Boehner is 63. Actress Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is 54. Entertainer RuPaul is 52. Actor Dylan Walsh is 49. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice is 48. Actress Sophie Marceau is 46. Actress-model Daisy Fuentes is 46. Rhythm-andblues singer Ronnie DeVoe (New Edition; Bell Biv DeVoe) is 45. Rock musician Ben Wilson (Blues Traveler) is 45. Actor Leonard Roberts is 40. Actress Leslie Bibb is 39. Actor Brandon Call is 36. Actress Rachel McAdams is 34. Rock musician Isaac Hanson (Hanson) is 32.

Thought for Today: “Prejudice is a raft onto which the shipwrecked mind clambers and paddles to safety.” — Ben Hecht, American author and screenwriter (1893-1964).

SUNDAY, NOV. 18 Reverend Pastors Toby Guerrero of St. Peter, Peter Aguilar of United Methodist Church and Paul Frye of Christ Church Episcopal are hosting an ecumenical Thanksgiving Day service at TAMIU recital hall, 5 p.m. People of all faiths are invited. The event will feature music by TAMIU Dr. Ray Keck on the organ and a choir. A free will monetary offering will be donated to the South Texas Food Bank mission of feeding the hungry. For information call 324-2432.

MONDAY, NOV. 19 Staff development day at Zapata County ISD. Student holiday.

TUESDAY, NOV. 20 Staff development day at Zapata County ISD. Student holiday.

The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show: “The Little Star That Could” at 2 p.m.; “Holiday Music Magic” at 3 p.m.; and “Mystery of the Christmas Star” at 4 p.m. General admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. For more information, call 956326-3663. Girl Scouts Troop No. 9111 is collecting non-perishable food items throughout November to benefit Volunteers Serving the Need. In exchange of five items, the Planetarium will give a free adult ticket.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 21 ZCISD holiday: no school.

THURSDAY, NOV. 22 ZCISD holiday: no school.

The Hands Across South Texas 5th Annual 10K Run takes place from 8 a.m. to noon at 603 Shiloh Drive.

All proceeds benefit children, underprivileged families and battered women of surrounding areas. The race will honor Kristi Fitzhenri and Rosario Garcia. General registration is $25 and $10 for elementary, middle and high school students.

MONDAY, NOV. 26 The Zapata County Commissioners Court meeting is set for 9 a.m. at the Zapata County Courthouse.

Photo courtesy Show Of Support | AP

This combination of undated family photos provided by the Show of Support, Hunt for Heroes committee show, from left: Sgt. Maj. Gary Stouffer, 37; Sgt. Maj. Lawrence Boivin, 47; Army Sgt. Joshua Michael, 34, and Sgt. Maj. William Lubbers, 43, four veterans killed when a parade float they were riding on was struck by a freight train at a crossing Thursday in Midland.

Collision kills 4 vets

By JUAN CARLOS LLORCA ASSOCIATED PRESS

MIDLAND — Cheered on by a flag-waving crowd, a parade float filled with wounded veterans and their spouses was inching across a railroad track when the crossing gates began to lower and a freight train that seemed to come out of nowhere was suddenly bearing down on them, its horn blaring.

Some of those seated on the float jumped off in wide-eyed terror just moments before the train — traveling at more than 60 mph — crashed into the flatbed truck with a low whoosh and a thunderous crack.

Four veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan — including an Army sergeant who apparently sacrificed his life to save his wife — were killed Thursday afternoon and 16 people injured in a scene of both tragedy and heroism.

For some of the veterans who managed to jump clear of the wreck, training and battlefield instinct instantly kicked in, and they rushed to help the injured, applying tourniquets and putting pressure on wounds.

A day after the crash, federal investigators were trying to determine how fast the train was going and whether the parade had been given enough warning to clear the tracks.

And locals were struggling to cope with a tragedy at the start of what was supposed to be a three-day weekend of banquets, deer hunting and shopping in appreciation of the veterans’ sacrifice.

‘It’s just a very tragic and sad thing,’ said Michael McKinney of Show of Support, the local charity that organizes the annual event and invited the two dozen veterans. ‘It’s difficult when you’re trying to do something really good and something tragic occurs.’

Workers safe from fire, spokesman says

2 cruise lines commit to Houston-area service

Office manager guilty in nearly $1M fraud

GARLAND — All workers are accounted for and safe after a chemical plant near Dallas erupted in flames.

The fire started at the Nexeo Solutions plant in Garland about 3:30 p.m. Friday. Nexeo spokeswoman Christina Reynolds says all 41 workers who were at the plant then are safeFire Capt. Merrill Balanciere says it’s still unclear what caused the fire, but the flames were fueled by highly flammable toluene and methanol.

HOUSTON — Norwegian Cruise Line and Princess Cruises will set sail from the Houston area.

The Port of Houston Authority has announced the planned service from the Bayport Cruise Terminal in Pasadena. The complex was completed in 2011 but has yet to offer cruises.

MIDLAND — An office manager for a West Texas company has pleaded guilty to embezzling nearly $1 million over 16 years.

Prosecutors in Midland say 51year-old Dora Thea Arreguy pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. The Midland woman faces up to 32 years in prison and remains free pending sentencing.

Austin house fire that left 7 hurt ruled arson AUSTIN — Investigators say a Central Texas house fire that left seven people hurt was intentionally set.

The blaze early Monday injured four children and three adults. Further details were not immediately available Friday.

Shopkeeper gets 4 years for ammo smuggling EL PASO — A West Texas pawnshop manager has been sentenced to four years in prison and must forfeit more than a million rounds in an ammunition smuggling case.

A federal judge in El Paso on Thursday also ordered 61-yearold Bryan Nelson Schonberg to surrender about $86,000 in seized cash and pay a $5,000 fine.

Prosecutors say the investigation involved ammo being smuggled to Mexico.

Mom, toddler die after car goes into pond FORT WORTH — Police say a woman and her toddler daughter have died after a traffic collision sent their car into a pond.

Fort Worth police say the accident happened Thursday night and the woman called 911 as her vehicle sank in a residential pond. Police say both victims were submerged for several minutes.

— Compiled from AP reports

THURSDAY, NOV. 29

AROUND THE NATION

Mariachi Vargas is scheduled at Zapata High School.

TUESDAY, DEC. 4 The board of the Zapata County Chamber of Commerce meets at 6:30 p.m. at the chamber offices.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 5 The board of the Zapata County Fair Association meets from 6:30-8 p.m. The location will be announced.

THURSDAY, DEC. 6 The Christmas Parade and Lighting of the County Plaza is set for 5:30-9 p.m.

MONDAY, DEC. 10 The Zapata County Commissioners Court meeting is set for 9 a.m. at the Zapata County Courthouse.

Thursday, March 21 The Falcon Slam Bassmaster Elite Tournament returns to Falcon Lake. The tournament will run through Sunday, March 24.

Christie won’t answer Twinkie query NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he wasn’t about to take the bait: a question dealing with that quintessential junk food, Twinkies.

So when asked Friday at a news conference about Twinkiesmaker Hostess shutting down, the target of many a fat joke begged off.

The governor quipped: “I know it! You people are the worst! This is a setup! I am not answering questions on Twinkies, no, no, no, no, no, no. It’s bad that I even said the word ‘Twinkie’ from behind this microphone.

“You know,” he said, “I’m on ‘Saturday Night Live’ enough.”

Shipping containers to become condos in Detroit DETROIT — Plans are moving forward to use shipping contain-

CONTACT US Publisher, William B. Green........................728-2501 Business Manager, Dora Martinez ...... (956) 324-1226 General Manager, Adriana Devally ...............728-2510 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................. 728-2531 Circulation Director ................................. 728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo.................... 728-2505 Copy Editor, Nick Georgiou ....................... 728-2565 Managing Editor, Mary Nell Sanchez........... 728-2543 Sports Editor, Adam Geigerman..................728-2578 Spanish Editor ........................................ 728-2569 Photo by Mel Evans | AP

In this Oct. 15 photo, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, right, campaigns at a diner in West Windsor, N.J. Christie refused to answer a question about the snack treat Twinkies during a Friday press conference, thinking it a set-up for weight jokes. ers to build a $3.4 million condominium complex in Detroit.

The Detroit Free Press reports a model unit and sales center will break ground in mid-December near the Wayne State University campus. First proposed in 2008, the project known as Excep-

tional Green Living on Rosa Parks stalled amid the national real estate market tumble.

Leslie Horn, CEO of Three Squared, says construction on the project is expected to begin in 2013.

— 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.

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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, NOVEMBER 17, 2012

Zlocal

STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT MAGNETISM

PAGE 3A

Pet services available at local animal shelter SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Courtesy photo

Nydia Ramirez’s first grade class works on a Science CSCOPE activity in which students learned about magnetism. The students had different learning stations that included classifying magnetic and nonmagnetic items with bar and horseshoe magnets. Pictured from left to right are Itzel Loreto, Moises Hernandez and Rebekka Valadez.

THE BLOTTER Assault An assault was reported at 9:25 a.m. Sunday in the 1600 block of Mier Avenue.

An assault, family violence incident was reported at 8:13 p.m. Tuesday in the 1500 block of Ramireño Avenue.

An aggravated assault with a deadly weapon was reported at 11:48 p.m. Wednesday in the 1500 block of Falcon Avenue.

Burglary A burglary of a habitation was reported at 7:22 p.m. Nov. 7 in the 5300 block of McAllen Lane.

A burglary of a habitation was reported at 11:25 a.m. Monday in the 2500 block of Glenn Street.

Disorderly conduct A disorderly conduct was reported at 9:47 p.m.

Nov. 10 in the 100 block of Juarez Street.

Theft A stolen vehicle was reported at 12:35 p.m.

Nov. 7 in the 400 block of Ramireño Avenue.

A theft was reported at 12:14 p.m. Nov. 9 on Glenn Street.

A theft was reported at 1:43 p.m. Nov. 9 in the 200 block of Mango Drive.

A theft was reported at 10:12 p.m. Nov. 10 in the 600 block of U.S. 83 North.

A theft was reported at 9:23 a.m. Thursday in Ramireño.

Pet zeutering, microchipping and vaccination services will be offered Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Zapata Animal Shelter, 605 N U.S. 83.

Zeutering is a non-surgical castration procedure without the use of anesthesia.

Zeutering consists of injecting zinc-gluconate and l-arginine, which destroys sperm-producing cells without greatly impacting hormone levels.

There is little to no recovery time, no swelling, no irritation and no stitches.

The injection, Esterilsol, is FDA-ap-

proved for use on puppies between 3 and 10 months old.

In Zapata County, owners of dogs and cats must have their pets current with vaccinations against rabies when the pets are 3 months of age and within each subsequent 12-month interval.

A licensed veterinarian must issue a valid certificate of vaccination. The vaccination certificate must be made available upon request to the animal control department.

For more information on the Zapata Animal Shelter, contact Animal Control Officer Martin Saenz at 956-765-6201.

Bank president gets Training Texas Heritage Award to benefit area residents SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

The Texas A&M University Colonias Program and Striving to Educate and Empower through Dedication Promotores Coalition will sponsor a LiveStrong Cancer Survivorship Training on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Zapata County Nutrition Center, 7th and Del Mar. The training is free and is open to all Zapata County residents, health workers and outreach workers.

LiveStrong is the trademark of the Lance Armstrong Foundation established in 1997 to provide support for people and their loved ones affected by cancer.

More information may be obtained by calling 956-728-0210 or emailing lcasares@arch.tamu.edu.

IBC Bank-Zapata CEO Renato Ramirez received the Texas Heritage Award from the Texas Civil Rights Project at the organization’s 22nd Annual Bill of Rights Dinner on Saturday, Oct. 27.

Ramirez was recognized for his commitment to honoring the contribution of Hispanics to Texas culture and history. Over the course of 12 years, Ramirez tirelessly championed the establishment of a Tejano Monument on the state capitol grounds until it became a reality on March 29.

“Renato’s devotion to serving the community is an encouraging example to RAMIREZ all,” IBC Chairman and CEO Dennis Nixon said. “He embodies our ‘We Do More’ attitude and displays dedication in everything he does.

The Tejano Monument may never have come to fruition without his steadfast dedication.”

Under Ramirez’s leadership, a group of volunteers raised $2.4 million, passed three bills through the legislature,

received unanimous approval from the State Preservation Board, and built the largest monument on any capitol grounds in the U.S. The monument, which honors the contributions of Texas’ early Spanish-Mexican settlers and their descendants, will be seen by the more than 1 million people who visit the Texas State Capitol each year.

TCRP was established in 1990 as part of a nonprofit, community-based foundation that promotes racial, social and economic justice through litigation, education and social services.

PAGE 4A

Zopinion

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2012

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

WORST WEEK IN WASHINGTON

OTHER VIEWS

It’s now more like high school

By CHRIS CILLIZZA THE WASHINGTON POST

Who knew that the lives of some of the country’s top generals resembled nothing so much as an episode of “Jersey Shore”?

First came retired Gen. David Petraeus, who stepped aside as CIA director on Nov. 9 after acknowledging an extramarital affair. That little liaison dangereuse “won” Petraeus the Worst Week in Washington a week ago.

Little did we know that it was only the first chapter of an increasingly tawdry novel.

In the past week, we have learned the following facts: 1) The affair was exposed after the woman involved sent threatening emails to another woman, Jill Kelley, whom she

thought was flirting with the general. 2) Kelley told an FBI friend about the threatening emails. There are conflicting reports as to whether the FBI agent was ultimately removed from the case because of an unusually high level of interest in Kelley. 3) In the course of the FBI examination of the first woman and Kelley, the bureau came across scads of emails between Kelley and Gen. John Allen, who was in line to become the next head of the U.S. European Command.

All of this proves that fact is stranger than fiction and that, yes, life really does imitate high school.

Generals, for watching your sterling reputations be tarnished you had the worst week in Washington.

COLUMN

It’s bad when prez doesn’t know debt

By JONATHAN GURWITZ SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Why doesn’t the president know?

During Watergate, Sen. Howard Baker framed the definitive question for any scandal that encroaches on the White House: “What did the president know and when did he know it?”

Four decades later in the Obama era, that question has to be reformulated: “What else doesn’t the president know and why doesn’t he know it?”

The national debt is a fairly substantial issue.

President Obama once considered it important enough to appoint a special bipartisan commission that only two years ago, in its final report, flatly stated, “The era of debt denial is over.”

Yet when the president sat down for a hard-hitting interview on “The Late Show with David Letterman” two months ago, he had no clue about the debt.

“Now, do you remember what that number was?

Was it $10 trillion?” Letterman asked.

“I don’t remember what the number was precisely,” Obama responded.

“We don’t have to worry about it short term,” he added.

The number, of course, is actually $16 trillion — it was close to $10 trillion when President Obama took office. That he could be so uninformed about one of the most critical economic issues of the day, and that he could dismiss its significance, was nothing short of stunning.

That wasn’t a brain cramp, like talking about campaigning in 57 states or joking about the Special Olympics. It was an honest, calculated admission of a politician who simply isn’t interested in issues that might detract from his agenda. So it really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise when the president claims he didn’t know anything about the two latest scandals encroaching on the Obama White House.

Why should the president have known anything about Benghazi? After all, it was only an American ambassador under siege for seven hours, during

which time CIA operatives on the ground requested reinforcements while a Predator drone provided real-time surveillance.

The New York Times reported “about a dozen CIA operatives and contractors” were present in Benghazi, possibly the largest CIA presence in the region, and Benghazi isn’t even Libya’s capital or largest city. Shouldn’t the president have known what they were doing?

By one account, the U.S. mission in Benghazi was executing a secret order from the president — reported by Reuters in August — to coordinate support for Syrian rebels.

Since official U.S. policy is to deny such a role, you can understand why Obama would have no knowledge or interest in Benghazi.

By another account, provided by Petraeus paramour Paula Broadwell in a speech last month, the CIA was holding prisoners in Benghazi. Since one of Obama’s first acts in the Oval Office was to close all CIA detention facilities, you can understand again why — officially at least — he wouldn’t want to know about Benghazi.

Then there’s the Petraeus scandal itself. Is it remotely possible that the FBI conducted a monthslong investigation of the CIA director, an investigation about which FBI Director Robert Mueller and Attorney General Eric Holder were aware but failed to share with the president? Is it conceivable that one of the nation’s top national security officials was subject to blackmail and his personal emails had been compromised without anyone thinking the commander in chief should know?

The conspiracy-minded will find in all this a dazzling web of lies. But there’s a more plausible yet equally damning explanation. As with the debt, the president just doesn’t want to know anything that might discomfit him, and he’s surrounded himself with “yes” men who are willing to oblige his need to be untroubled and untouched by damaging information — no matter the cost.

(Email: jgurwitz@express-news.net)

COLUMN

GOP might mean ‘gone old party’ unless it shapes up

By BILL KING HOUSTON CHRONICLE

We are about to find out if the Republican Party has a death wish or not.

The demographic implications of last week’s election could not be more obvious. The Republicans lost virtually every emerging demographic cohort.

Its only stalwarts, older white Americans, are destined to make up a smaller percentage of the electorate, a trend that effectively is going to last forever.

While we old white guys will give it our best shot, the reality is that we aren’t going to have a bunch more babies.

The absolute imperative of immigration reform is beyond debate. If Republicans do not remove this albatross from around their necks, the 27 percent of the Latino vote that went to the GOP in this election will shrink even further. You can probably attribute Republican losses in New Mexico, Colorado and Florida to this issue alone.

For Democrats, it really is a heads-I-win-tails-youlose proposition. So Republicans, buck up and take your medicine and get immigration reform

Just how precarious the Republican position has become is best evidenced by the fact that this election should have been a lay-up. done before it can do any more political damage. It will probably take a generation to repair the damage done already.

But it is not just Latino repairs that need to be made. Republicans need to shut up about the “bedroom issues” that kill it with younger women.

While more than half the country has moral reservations about abortion, a much larger percentage does not want Roe v. Wade overturned.

It is one thing to be against abortion on moral grounds; it is quite another to use the police power of the state to enforce a view held by a bare majority, at best. We should only make things criminal when there is a wide consensus that such sanctions are appropriate and necessary. And I have always believed that if abortion

opponents spent as much time and effort counseling with and supporting young mothers-to-be grappling with an unwanted pregnancy as they do trying to outlaw abortion, far more unborn children would be saved.

Just how precarious the Republican position has become is best evidenced by the fact that this election should have been a lay-up. With unemployment still hovering around 8 percent and more than half the country believing that we are headed in the wrong direction, President Obama should have been toast, notwithstanding arguably the best ground game ever in politics.

I have been dismayed, but not particularly surprised, to hear a number of the old conservative warhorses insist that the

reason the Romney-Ryan ticket lost is because it was not conservative enough. While the Republican ticket had a number of problems, such as the fact that many evangelicals still mistrust Mormonism, the claim that it was not conservative enough was not among them.

Whatever hope conservatives may have held out that a huge wave of centerright voters would head their way has been washed away in a demographic tsunami.

I sat in a meeting recently where two of the old-guard country-club Republicans were crossing swords with one of the handlers of newly elected U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. The contrast perfectly represented the deep division and challenge the Republican Party faces. Older, pragmatic businessmen and a young true-believer firebrand. Listening to their banter, it was hard to see how the two sides could be reconciled. If they do not and if Republicans cannot find a way to pitch a bigger tent and do it in a hurry, the Grand Old Party is going to be the Gone Old Party.

(E-mail: weking@weking.net)

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To be published, letters must include the writer’s first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The

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readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the letter. The Zapata Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms.

Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No name-call-

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

ing or gratuitous abuse is allowed.

Via e-mail, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2012

THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

State

6A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2012

October jobless rate slips down to 6.6 percent ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — The Texas unemployment rate slipped to 6.6 percent in October, marking the second straight month of decline, according to state job figures released Friday.

The figures announced by the Texas Workforce Commission are slightly lower than September’s 6.8 percent unemployment and keep the state well below the national rate of 7.9 percent.

“Private sector employers in Texas continue to drive our state’s economic growth,” said Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Andres Alcantar, noting that the state added 269,000 private sector jobs over the last year for an annual growth rate of 3 percent.

The Austin-based commission said employers across Texas added 36,600 total nonfarm jobs in Oc-

Over the last year, 10 of 11 industries have shown positive growth. tober for a total of 277,400 jobs added over the year.

Over the last year, 10 of 11 major industries in Texas have shown positive growth, and six of those industries displayed monthly gains in October, the commission said.

Education and health services grew more than any other industry last month, adding 13,700 jobs for the largest monthly gain in the series’ history.

For the year, the industry has added more than 43,000 jobs and it’s one of four industries in Texas showing an annual growth

rate of 3 percent or higher.

Leisure and hospitality employment expanded by 8,700 positions in October.

That industry has added 51,800 jobs over the past year, more than any other, according to the commission.

The Midland area had the lowest October unemployment rate in Texas at 3.3 percent; the Odessa area was second at 3.9 percent, and the Amarillo area third at 4.3 percent.

Local rates are not seasonally adjusted.

The preliminary jobless rates for border and South Texas cities for October, with revised September numbers in parentheses, were: Brownsville-Harlingen 10.1 (10.2) Corpus Christi 5.8 (5.9) El Paso 8.7 (8.7) Laredo 6.3 (6.4) McAllen-EdinburgMission 10.1 (10.4) Victoria 5.3 (5.2)

Blogger led attempt to halt Thurs. execution

By MICHAEL GRACZYK ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON — A California blogger convinced that a Texas death row inmate was innocent used legal documents he found online from other cases as templates to lead an aggressive and unfunded effort that nearly spared the convicted killer from execution this week.

John Allen, known to his readers as “The Skeptical Juror,” worked with an activist in Houston who’s a capital punishment opponent to stall the lethal injection of Preston Hughes III on Thursday.

Their multiple appeals and lawsuits ultimately failed and Hughes was put to death nearly two hours later than scheduled.

“I think that’s meaningless,” Allen said Friday of Hughes getting additional hours of life. “He was executed and that’s the bottom line.”

Hughes, convicted of the 1988 murders of a 15year-old girl and her 3year-old cousin in Houston, had two appeals from his own lawyer rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court although the 46-year-old inmate had tried unsuccessfully to fire the attorney who represented him for the last 12 years, saying he disagreed with the legal strategy in his appeal. A federal judge refused to remove the lawyer from Hughes’ case.

Allen’s name never appeared in any of the documents filed under Hughes’ name as “pro se,” a legal term that indicates someone acting in their own behalf.

His appeal seeking additional DNA testing of evidence pushed the execution beyond the scheduled 6 p.m. time. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected the appeal and he asked the court to reconsider it. The court refused.

He also filed some civil lawsuits that state attorneys determined could not halt the punishment.

“I’ve got a ton of regrets,” Allen, 64, said.

“But it seems so frivolous in light of what’s gone on.”

Lynn Hardaway, a Harris County assistant district attorney who handles capital case appeals, including Hughes’, said the effort was unusual in light of court deadlines that normally should limit the filing of last-minute appeals.

“The stuff was good,” she said of the filings from Allen, who is not a lawyer.

“That’s what was crazy. It was wrong but it was well put together.”

Hughes had no access to computers in prison and had to communicate with Allen by postal mail

Photo by Michael Graczyk/file | AP

Death row inmate Preston Hughes III speaks at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Polunsky Unit near Livingston, on Oct. 12. or through Ward Larkin, a death penalty opponent in Houston who befriended Hughes and was on his prison visitor list.

Allen said his interest in the legal system stemmed from a stint as a juror in a California case several years ago. He was the lone holdout for conviction and that led to a hung jury.

“He was innocent,” Allen said of the defendant in that case. “They wanted to put him away for life and it pissed me off.”

The defendant eventually walked free, he said.

Allen wouldn’t specifically identify where he’s based, only saying that it’s in Southern California.

He described himself as a “recovering engineer” in the aerospace industry. He now works with his wife in their custom computer database business.

He said he discovered Hughes’ case months ago, believed Hughes was innocent and wrote about it on his 3-year-old blog.

“I’m officially agnostic on whether or not to support the death penalty,” Allen said. “I don’t discuss it. It is a distraction from what I do. I write about people I think are in prison and innocent.”

Hughes wrote him a letter in August and that led to a working relationship with Larkin, who had filed clemency petitions with the Texas parole board in previous death row cases.

Larkin estimated he spent a few hundred dollars on copying expenses

and that the entire effort had Hughes’ support.

“He urged me to do everything. He gave me sworn consent,” Larkin said. “I had to do what I felt might work.

“Did it work? No.” Evidence examined for DNA testing after Hughes’ conviction and at Hughes’ request found traces of the 15-year-old girl’s blood on his clothing. At his trial, prosecutors showed the girl’s glasses were found on a couch in his apartment. Hughes said police took the evidence from the crime scene, planted it in his apartment, illegally searched the place, coerced his confessions to the crimes and copied his signature to them from another document.

“The fact is I didn’t kill anyone,” he told The Associated Press last month.

He maintained his innocence in his final comments Thursday night from the death chamber gurney, just seconds before he was executed.

Allen said he spent hundreds of hours preparing filings and posted “90,000 words” about the case on his blog, but that his effort cost him no money. He used filings from other cases he found in online searches as models and adapted them for Hughes’ case.

“I don’t regret a moment of it,” Allen said.

“Straight answer is I would do it again. But I don’t want to go there.

This is a shame. This is an absolute shame.”

Photo by Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News | AP

Gayle and Bill Newman pose at the spot Nov. 9 where they stood as the closest civilian eyewitnesses to President Kennedy at the time his assassination in 1963.

Dallas family saw president’s murder

By JAMES RAGLAND THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

DALLAS — On Nov. 22, 1963, they were just a struggling young couple eager to let their two children steal a glimpse of President John F. Kennedy.

But history reserved a special seat for Bill and Gayle Newman: They were the closest civilian eyewitnesses to the assassination of JFK in downtown Dallas.

About 15 minutes after the president was shot, the Newmans were interviewed live on TV. Their 15 minutes of fame, however, has endured for 49 years, permanently etched in the annals of history.

Both 71 now, the Sachse couple still vividly recalls excruciating details of that fateful day, especially the gunshots that rang around the world.

They shared their recollections again recently at the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, where they’ve interacted with many audiences in recent years.

“I was terrified because of my children,” Gayle Newman said in an interview a day before the “Meet the Museum” presentation.

“I had never been around gunfire, so it was quite a shock to see someone shot in the head. And it was the president of the United States.”

The Newmans actually drove to Love Field that morning to watch the Kennedys disembark from Air Force One. They then rushed to downtown to see the motorcade wind its way past the old Texas School Book Depository.

They were on the north side of Dealey Plaza less than five minutes when the gunfire — which both said sounded like “firecrackers” at first — burst through the air as the president’s motorcade drew closer.

“When the third shot rang out, I turned to Gayle and said, ‘That’s it. Get down,’” Bill Newman told the audience of about 250 people.

They dropped to the ground and shielded their

boys — Clayton, 2, and Bill, 4 — a frightening moment captured in a compelling photograph that still stirs public passion.

“The picture of us covering the kids on the ground — I suspect that’s why there’s so much interest in our story,” Gayle Newman said before the event. “Some people have embellished their story.

We try to keep it straight and pure.”

They don’t delve into the conspiracy theories.

“Two questions always come up,” Bill Newman said in an interview. “Do you think it’s a conspiracy? If I’m talking to school kids, I say, ‘If by conspiracy you mean there could have been more than one person involved, yes, it’s possible.

But I don’t know.’

“The other question is, ‘Mr. Newman, do you think our government had anything to do with it?’ I say it’s possible some individual could have been involved, but I don’t think any government agency had anything to do with it.”

Program moderator Stephen Fagin, the museum’s associate curator and oral historian, grew up near the Newmans when they lived in Mesquite. His relationship with them sparked a lifelong curiosity about the JFK assassination.

Fagin homed in on how some researchers and authors selectively interpret the Newmans’ descriptions of what they heard.

The third shot that the Newmans said came from “behind” them, he pointed out, has been used “as evidence that you heard a shot from the grassy knoll.”

And that’s simply not the case, said Bill Newman.

“It was the visual impact (of the fatal shot) that made me think the shot came down over our head,” he said. “In all honesty, I have no idea where the shot came from.”

When an audience member asked if they thought Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone or was part of a conspiracy, the

Newmans leaned on 49 years of hindsight.

“I think you could take either position,” Bill Newman said. “I tend to think there was only one shooter, but I really don’t know.”

Gayle Newman said she initially thought “it would be hard for one person to plan and carry it out.”

But if someone else was involved, she figured, they’d eventually “blab it out.” Since no one ever did, she said, “I think there was just the one shooter.”

The Newmans have settled into their place in history, even if they’re still coming to grips with what it all means.

“People ask, ‘How has it affected you?’ And that’s almost impossible to answer,” said Bill Newman, a former Mesquite City Council member.

The Newmans have been interviewed countless times. They’ve received letters from people seeking their autographs or pleading for a signed copy of the famous picture taken of them the day JFK was slain.

Filmmakers have flown them to places as far away as England to work on JFK-related projects.

“Early on, the first two to four years, we were bombarded when people could find us,” said Bill Newman. “Then it started dying off.”

But when the 25th anniversary approached, he said, “it picked back up and it hasn’t let up since.”

The couple celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary earlier this month. They spend most of their time on their 1.7acre homestead in Sachse.

Both of their sons, now in their 50s, are married with kids.

“The youngest didn’t recall much” about the assassination, Bill Newman said before the presentation.

The older son, however, remembers seeing the fatally wounded president.

“A day or so later,” Newman said, “he asked his mother, ‘Mama, did you see that blood? Why did they shoot that man?’”

SABADO 17 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2012

Agenda en Breve SÁBADO 17 DE NOVIEMBRE LAREDO — AVISO: Hoy es el último día para pre-inscribirse a la Carrera 10K del Guajolote, pagando 20 dólares. Podrá hacerlo de 11 a.m. a 6 p.m. en Hamilton Trophies, 1320 Garden o en 607 Flores. La carrera será el jueves 22 de noviembre. A partir del lunes y hasta el día del evento la cuota subirá a 25 dólares. Informes en el 724-9990, 7229015 y 722-9463.

LAREDO — Mercado Agrícola El Centro de Laredo será de 9 a.m. a 12 p.m. en Plaza Jarvis, calle Matamoros y calle Salinas.

LAREDO — Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU presenta: a las 2 p.m., Holiday Music Magic; a las 3 p.m., Mystery of the Christmas Star; a las 4 p.m., Holiday Music Magic; a las 5 p.m., Mystery of the Christmas Star. Costo: 4 dólares (niños) y 5, adultos.

LAREDO — Guns-NHoses de Laredo presentan boxeo “Pound for Pound” a las 7 p.m., donde se enfrentarán paramédicos para promover la camaradería y la salud. Costos varían por mesa, o individual.

LAREDO — Jornada Sabatina 2012 de 9 a.m. a 1:00 p.m. en el Consulado de México en Laredo para trámites de pasaportes, matrículas consulares, asistencia consular en el ámbito de protección.

NUEVO LAREDO, México — Vértices 1er Festival de Teatro presenta “Generación Atari” (Nuevo León) a las 7 p.m. en el Teatro del IMSS. Entrada libre.

DOMINGO 18 DE NOVIEMBRE LAREDO — Series Steinway presentan a Fritz Gechter y Mary Grace Carroll de 3 p.m. a 5 p.m. en TAMIU, con música de Beethoven y Claude Debussy. Entrada gratuita.

NUEVO LAREDO, México — Baloncesto: Toros vs Correcaminos en Gimnasio de la Nueva Ciudad Deportiva a las 5 p.m.

MARTES 20 DE NOVIEMBRE LAREDO — Cena y Baile Anual de Acción de Gracias, de 6 p.m. a 10 p.m. en Casa Blanca Ballroom, 6402 avenida N. Bartlett. Se invita a la comunidad en general. Informes en (956) 523-4620.

LAREDO — Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU presenta: a las 2 p.m., The Little Star That Could; a las 3 p.m., Holiday Music Magic; a las 4 p.m., Mystery of the Christmas Star; a las 5 p.m., Seven Wonders; a las 6 p.m., Mystery of the Christmas Star; a las 7 p.m., Ancient Skies, Ancient Mysteries.

Costos: 4 dólares, niños; 5, adultos.

MIÉRCOLES 21 DE NOVIEMBRE LAREDO — Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU presenta: a las 2 p.m., The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket; a las 3 p.m., Mystery of the Christmas Star; a las 4 p.m., Holiday Music Magic. Costos: 4 dólares, niños; 5, adultos.

LAREDO — “Daughtry” y “3 Doors Down” se presentan en concierto en Laredo Energy Arena, a las 7 p.m. Adquiera boletos en taquilla de LEA. Costos varían de 28, 43 y 53 dólares.

JUEVES 22 DE NOVIEMBRE LAREDO — Carrera 10K del Guajolote, a partir de las 9 a.m. con salida en Hamilton Trophies. Inscripciones en 1320 Garden y 607 Flores. Costo: 25 dólares. Informes en el 7249990, 722-9015 y 722-9463.

Zfrontera

PÁGINA 7A

TEXAS

Cuatro muertos Autoridades: Tren embiste remolque donde viajaban militares inactivos; 17 resultan heridos ASSOCIATED PRESS

MIDLAND — Un tren carguero arrolló el jueves un remolque en el que iban militares a un banquete, con resultado de cuatro muertos y 17 heridos en el oeste de Texas, dijeron las autoridades.

El tren se dirigía hacia el este y sonó su bocina antes de que embistiera al vehículo alrededor de las 4:40 p.m. en un cruce en Midland, dijo el portavoz de la empresa ferroviaria Union Pacific, Tom Langer. Los militares es-

taban inactivos por heridas de guerra.

De acuerdo con una investigación preliminar, las luces y la barrera de paso estaban en funcionamiento, señaló Lange, quien dijo desconocer si la tripulación del tren vio aproximarse al camión.

Dos personas murieron en el lugar de la colisión y otras dos en el Hospital Midland Memorial, dijo el portavoz de la Ciudad de Midland, Ryan Stout. Diez de los heridos se encuentran en condición crítica, mientras que otras

siete personas están en condición estable, agregó.

“Habrá una investigación a fondo”, dijo Lange. “Evidentemente es un incidente muy trágico”, apuntó.

El recorrido tipo desfile terminaría en un lugar donde se efectuaría un banquete llamado “Cacería por los héroes” ofrecido en honor de los veteranos de guerra.

Los militares heridos serían llevados después a un viaje de cacería de ciervos previsto para el fin de semana. Ambos eventos fue-

ron cancelados.

Lange dijo que Union Pacific ha ofrecido la asistencia a la comunidad y las familias de las víctimas, así como orientación a la tripulación del tren, cuyos integrantes resultaron ilesos en la colisión. “(El suceso) fue muy traumático para ellos”, apuntó.

La Comisión Nacional de Seguridad en el Transporte también emprendió una investigación, dijo el portavoz del organismo Peter Knudson.

GIRA PRESIDENTE DE MÉXICO

COMUNIDAD

TAMAULIPAS Y COMERCIO EXTERIOR

Ofrecerán servicios para mascotas ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

El Presidente de México, Felipe Calderón, y el Gobernador de Tamaulipas, Egidio Torre, descienden al patio de maniobras, tras viajar a bordo de la máquina 4661 de la empresa Kansas City Southern de México, en una visita a Matamoros.

Supervisan obras en Reynosa y Matamoros TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Fue puesto en marcha el Libramiento Matamoros-Monterrey, para mejorar el tráfico vial en Reynosa, México, por parte del presidente de México, Felipe Calderón, y el Gobernador de Tamaulipas, Egidio Torre.

El Libramiento MatamorosMonterrey mejorará la movilidad de los habitantes y transportistas, además de la continuación de la obra del Libramiento Reynosa Sur, indica un comunicado de prensa de Gobierno del Estado.

“La infraestructura de transporte es un elemento estratégico que eleva la competitividad, dinamiza la economía y contribuye a mejorar las condiciones de vida de los tamaulipecos”, dijo Torre. “Con la terminación del Corredor Económico del Norte, nos enlazaremos comercialmente con los mercados asiáticos a través del Puerto de Mazatlán”.

Tamaulipas cuenta actualmente con casi 5.000 kilómetros de red carretera y en la región fronteriza se ubican 17 cruces internacionales, cuatro de ellos dedicados al tránsito de vehículos de carga, agregó Torre.

Calderón visitó la frontera de Tamaulipas poco antes de viajar a la Reunión Iberoamericana en Cádiz, España.

“No quise dejar pasar la oportunidad de estar nuevamente

aquí en la frontera, para entregar al pueblo de Reynosa y a Tamaulipas estas obras muy importantes, como son el Libramiento Monterrey-Matamoros en Reynosa y la construcción del Libramiento Dos de Reynosa Sur, que implican una inversión del gobierno federal cercana a los 4.400 millones de pesos”, explicó Calderón.

El Gobierno de Calderón, que concluye a finales de noviembre, ha invertido especialmente en materia de carreteras, en materia de infraestructura durante seis años.

“México ha vivido una transformación profunda y para bien, México ha mejorado notablemente su infraestructura carretera”, expresó Calderón. “Esto contribuye poderosamente a elevar la competitividad económica en el país y también, sobre todo, a mejorar la calidad de vida de millones y millones de familias mexicanas”.

Cruces fronterizos En Matamoros, Calderón y Torre supervisaron la construcción de un libramiento y puente ferroviario entre las ciudades de Matamoros y Brownsville.

Los dos mandatarios, junto con el Secretario de Transportes y Comunicaciones, Dionisio Pérez-Jácome, llegaron al patio de

maniobras a bordo de la máquina 4661 de la empresa Kansas City Southern de México.

Este es el primer puente internacional ferroviario que se construye entre México y Estados Unidos en más de 100 años.

La obra inició en mayo del 2011 y se entregará a principios del 2013.

El proyecto consiste en la construcción al poniente de la ciudad de Matamoros de un libramiento ferroviario de 10.3 kilómetros de longitud y un patio ferroviario que consta de 20.3 kilómetros de vías, en las cuales se podrán almacenar 608 carros de carga.

En tanto, el puente internacional ferroviario MatamorosBrownsville tendrá una longitud de 0.6 kilómetros en la parte mexicana, con estructura elevada en concreto. Será clave para el transporte intermodal transfronterizo entre México y Estados Unidos y para reconvertir la infraestructura existente en el centro de Matamoros.

Como parte de la gira de trabajo por Matamoros, Calderón y Torre sobrevolaron el área donde se realizan los trabajos de modernización del puente internacional Los Tomates, con longitud de mil 248.34 metros, de los cuales 799.50 están en México, 30.50 metros son de trama común y 418.34 metros están en Estados Unidos.

Shot Spot Services del Sur de Texas estará ofreciendo un servicio de castración sin operación (zeuter), venta de microchips y servicios de vacunación, el martes 20 de noviembre, de 9 a.m. a 1 p.m. en el Albergue para Animales de Zapata, 605 N US Highway 83 en Zapata.

“Zeutering”, que es nuevo para el mercado, es un proceso de castración sin cirugía que carece del uso de anestesia. “Zeutering” consiste de inyectar localmente un componente de glucosa de zinc y arginina-L, la cual destruye células producidas por los espermatozoides sin impactar ampliamente los niveles de hormona.

Se requiere poco o nulo tiempo de recuperación, no hay inflamación, ni irritación, ni puntadas. La inyección, Esterilsol, está aprobada por la FDA para uso en cachorros entre los 3 y 10 meses de edad. El proceso reduce ampliamente los costos de castración y el tiempo que requiere para realizar una operación. Quienes la avalan indican que es mucho más barato y una alternativa menos invasiva que la cirugía.

En el Condado de Zapata, los dueños de perros y gatos deben tener sus mascotas al día con la vacuna contra la rabia, cuando las mascotas tienen 3 meses de edad y entre cada subsiguiente intervalo de 12 meses. Veterinarios autorizados deben emitir un certificado válido de vacunación. El certificado de vacunación debe estar disponible a solicitud del departamento de control animal.

Un reciente Estudio de Evaluación de Necesidades llevado a cabo en el Condado de Zapata encontró que el cuidado de salud animal debería ser de mayor importancia para residentes del condado y agencias de salud animal. Además, propietarios de mascotas, agricultores e inspectores de salud animal, han expresado amplias preocupaciones ante la Corte de Comisionados del Condado de Zapata acerca de la ausencia de servicios de cuidado veterinario, grande y pequeño, dentro del Condado.

Shot Spot Services espera visitar Zapata y ofrecer servicios de cuidado de salud preventiva mensualmente.

Más información llamando a Shot Spot Services a (956) 638-2970, o en Zapata al (956) 765.6201.

COLUMNA

Recuerda tiempos del Tamaulipas porfiriano POR RAÚL SINENCIO CHÁVEZ ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Las imágenes vivenciales que Emilio Portes Gil nos ofrece del Tamaulipas porfiriano asombran. La entidad “tuvo gobernadores” que “trabajaron intensamente para fomentar el progreso”, asegura. Documentos y estadísticas de la época pintan distinto panorama.

Las haciendas arquetípicas hacían una treintena.

Nomás un tercio de ellas

acumuló 14.000 kilómetros cuadrados, superficie equiparable a la zona fronteriza de Tamaulipas con EUA. Algunas incluso troquelaron monedas especiales para cubrir el jornal de los peones, obligándolos a comprar en las controvertidas tiendas de raya.

Cuatro familias concentraban dos terceras partes de las mencionadas propiedades. Casos se conocen en que ensancharon sus dominios con ejidos. Ciertos terratenientes hicieron

mancuerna con inversionistas extranjeros, sobre todo estadounidenses.

Paradigmática es la hacienda La Sauteña, ubicada hacia el extremo noreste de la entidad. Poseía 810 mil hectáreas, poco menos que cinco tantos la extensión de Victoria, municipio capitalino del estado.

La Sauteña obtuvo financiamiento de empresarios angloamericanos por medio de la Mexican Land Company, subsidiaria de la Texas Oil Company, unida

a su vez con el National City Bank de Nueva York y el Speyer Bank londinense.

Huarache En materia de negocios, sin embargo, nada como el cobijo de gobernantes porfirianos. Entre más arriba se hallaran éstos, mayores favores y ganancias. Tal fórmula dio prosperidad en Matamoros a la hacienda San Vicente, con tecnología de punta. Al igual

que la hacienda Los Borregos, anexa también a La Sauteña, el dueño era Félix Díaz, sobrino de Porfirio Díaz.

Añade Portes Gil: “El día último […] de 1899 se inauguró [en la capital tamaulipeca] el alumbrado de luz eléctrica, que había donado […] don Manuel González, hijo del presidente Manuel González”.

Quién sabe de qué fuente sacó el dato, pues el vástago del exmandatario nunca brincaba sin huarache.

National

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2012

Twinkie maker Hostess says it’s closing

By CANDICE CHOI AND TOM MURPHY ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Twinkies may not last forever after all.

Hostess Brands Inc., the maker of the spongy snack with a mysterious cream filling, said Friday it would shutter after years of struggling with management turmoil, rising labor costs and the ever-changing tastes of Americans even as its pantry of sugary cakes seemed suspended in time.

Some of Hostess’ beloved brands such as Ding Dong and Ho Ho likely will be snapped up by buyers and find a second life, but for now the company says its snack cakes should be on shelves for another week or so. The news stoked an outpouring of nostalgia around kitchen tables, water coolers and online as people relived childhood memories of their favorite Hostess goodies.

Customers streamed into the Wonder Hostess Bakery Outlet in a strip mall in Indianapolis Friday afternoon after they heard about the company’s demise. Charles Selke, 42, pulled a pack of Zingers raspberry-flavored dessert

cakes out of a plastic bag stuffed with treats as he left the store.

“How do these just disappear from your life?” he asked. “That’s just not right, man. I’m loyal. I love these things, and I’m diabetic.”

After hearing the news on the radio Friday morning, Samantha Caldwell of Chicago took a detour on her way to work to stop at a CVS store for a package of Twinkies to have with her morning tea and got one for her 4-year-old son as well.

“This way he can say, ‘I had one of those,’” Caldwell, 41, said.

It’s a sober end for a storied name. Hostess, whose roster of brands dates as far back as 1888, hadn’t invested heavily in marketing or innovation in recent years.

As larger competitors inundated supermarket shelves with an array of new snacks and variations on popular brands, Hostess cakes seemed caught in a bygone time. The company took small stabs at keeping up with Americans’ movement toward healthier foods, such as the introduction of its 100-calorie packs

Photo by Brennan Linsley | AP

Michelle Craft, of Thornton, Colo., loads about $100 worth of Twinkies and Zingers into her car on Friday. of cupcakes.

But the efforts did little to change its image as a purveyor of empty calories with a seemingly unlimited shelf life: Twinkies, for instance, have 150 calories and 4.5 grams of fat. A Ding Dong chocolate cake with filling has 368 calories and 19.4 grams of fat.

CEO Gregory Rayburn, who was hired as a restructuring expert, said Friday that sales volume was flat to slightly down in recent years. He said the company

booked about $2.5 billion in revenue a year, with Twinkies alone generating $68 million so far this year.

Hostess’ problems ran far deeper than changing tastes, however. In January, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in less than a decade. Its predecessor company, Interstate Bakeries, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2004 and changed its name to Hostess in 2009.

Hostess, based in Irving,

said it was saddled with costs related to its unionized workforce. The company had been contributing $100 million a year in pension costs for workers; the new contract offer would’ve slashed that to $25 million a year, in addition to wage cuts and a 17 percent reduction in health benefits.

Management missteps were another problem.

Hostess came under fire this spring after it was revealed that nearly a dozen executives received pay hikes of up to 80 percent last year even as the company was struggling. Although some of those executives later agreed to reduced salaries, others — including former CEO Brian Driscoll — had left the company by the time the pay hikes came to light.

Then, last week, thousands of members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union went on strike after rejecting the company’s latest contract offer. The bakers union represents about 30 percent of the company’s workforce.

By that time, the company had reached a contract agreement with its largest

Petraeus says he regrets affair

By KIMBERLY DOZIER AND EILEEN SULLIVAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — ExCIA Director David Petraeus, who was whisked clandestinely into private meetings with Congress on Friday to avoid reporters, expressed regret anew in an appearance that marked his first official business since he resigned in disgrace over an extramarital affair.

In ways befitting a spy, the former four-star general was sneaked into a secure room beneath the Capitol to escape a clamorous crowd of photographers and television cameras. After more than four hours, Petraeus left much the way he came and was seen departing in a two-vehicle motorcade. About 20 minutes later, The Associated Press photographed Petreaus entering his home — one of the only public images of him since he resigned.

The scandal over Petraeus’ affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, has preoccupied Washington, even as the possibility of war loomed in Israel and the U.S. government faced a market-rattling “fiscal cliff ” that could imperil the economy. So far, the scandal has ensnared Petraeus; the top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen; two Florida socialites; and a decorated FBI counterterrorism agent.

Across town, the White House acknowledged Friday that Jill Kelley, the Tampa socialite who inadvertently triggered the FBI investigation that uncovered Petraeus’ affair, visited the Executive Mansion three times in the last three months with her sister, Natalie, twice eating in its mess. Kelley and her sister — both are friends with Petraeus and Allen — were guests of a mid-level White House aide, according to an Obama administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because those visitor records have not yet been made public.

Kelley and her family also received a tour of the mansion.

The White House also acknowledged that Broadwell visited there twice since 2009.

In his Capitol Hill appearances, Petraeus, who until last week was among America’s most respected military leaders, discussed with the House and Senate intelligence committees the September attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which left four Americans dead. He did not discuss his adultery with Broadwell, except to say that he regretted his behavior and that his de-

Photo by Cliff Owen | AP

A Capitol Hill cop stands guard Friday, near where the Senate Intelligence Committee was holding a closed-door hearing where former CIA Director David Petraeus testified on the Sept. 11 attack in Libya. parture was unrelated to the deadly violence in Libya. The scandal has led to a new CIA internal investigation.

“He was very clear his resignation was tied solely to his personal behavior,” said Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., a member of the Intelligence Committee. “He was apologetic and regretful but still Gen. Petraeus.”

Unlike previous appearances at the Capitol, when Petraeus walked through the front door and greeted reporters, he was smuggled inside through a network of underground hallways.

Police closed down entire corridors in the Capitol.

Members of Congress said they made arrangements to spare Petraeus embarrassment and humiliation. Before the scandal, he famously cultivated personal relationships with journalists and served as the U.S. war commander in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, apologized to reporters and photographers for the stringent security.

“I know that’s wrankling you,” Feinstein said. “We didn’t want to make it any more difficult for him. And you know, you people aren’t always the easiest. So the blame is on us. Any waiting that you did, I apologize, but, you know, there’s a lot of suffering going on.”

Feinstein said no senators asked Petraeus about the affair. A congressional staffer who attended one of the closed briefings said talk about the sex scandal was off the table.

Petraeus, 60, publicly acknowledged last week that he had cheated on his wife of 38 years with Broadwell, 40.

It wasn’t until Oct. 26 that Petraeus acknowledged the affair to FBI agents, during their only interview of him, a federal law enforcement official disclosed Friday. The official was not authorized to speak on the record about the ongoing case and requested anonymity for that reason.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff are expected to meet next week to discuss the recent stumbles of two of the military’s top generals, said Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of U.S. Naval Operations. The joint chiefs want to review ethics, accountability and behavioral issues and determine whether senior officials are living up to the military’s standards, Greenert said Friday at the National Press Club.

The FBI began investi-

gating the case against Broadwell last summer but didn’t notify the White House or Congress until after the election.

In the investigation, the FBI uncovered flirtatious emails between Allen and Kelley, both of them married. On Friday, two U.S. officials said investigators have found just a handful of the emails between Allen and Kelley to be potentially problematic. They said investigators determined the vast majority of the 20,000plus pages of documents were routine. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation.

President Barack Obama has put a promotion nomination for Allen on hold.

Kelley’s emails triggered the eventual downfall of Petraeus and placed others under scrutiny.

Kelley knew Petraeus and Allen from the Tampa social scene when they were sta-

tioned at nearby MacDill Air Force Base. It was there that the mid-level White House aide who hosted her at the Executive Mansion met her, said the White House official.

Broadwell attended two meetings in the White House’s executive office building. In 2009 she met with a member of Obama’s national security staff and in June 2011 she joined about 20 people for a briefing on Afghanistan and Pakistan policy, the official said. The 2011 meeting was just a few hours before Obama gave a prime-time speech about withdrawing troops from Iraq.

Petraeus, in his first media interview since he resigned, told CNN this week that he had never given classified information to Broadwell.

But the FBI found a substantial number of classified documents on Broadwell’s computer and in her home, according to the law enforcement official, and is investigating how she got them. The Army has now suspended her security clearance.

The official outlined new details Friday of the timing of the FBI investigation that showed that agents spent the summer making certain that no one had hacked into Petraeus’ computers to track his movements — a potential national security vulnerability raised by some of the first emails they saw in the case. They also used the summer to rule out any possibility he somehow participated in harassing Kelley by email.

Only after that, in early fall, Broadwell was interviewed for the first time by the FBI and agents searched her computers and found substantial amounts of classified documents, the law enforcement official said. The focus of the investigation shifted and agents spent most of October working with the Pentagon to determine where she got the documents, their significance and her right to have them.

union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which this week urged the bakery union to hold a secret ballot on whether to continue striking.

Although many bakery workers decided to cross picket lines this week, Hostess said it wasn’t enough to keep operations at normal levels.

The company filed a motion to liquidate Friday with U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The shuttering means the loss of about 18,500 jobs. Hostess said employees at its 33 factories were sent home and operations suspended. Its roughly 500 bakery outlet stores will stay open for several days to sell remaining products.

In a statement, the bakery union said Hostess failed because the six management teams over the past eight years weren’t able to make it profitable — not because workers didn’t make concessions.

“Despite a commitment from the company after the first bankruptcy that the resources derived from the workers’ concessions would be plowed back into the company, this never materialized,” the union said.

Aurora victims to get money ASSOCIATED PRESS

DENVER — A mediator handling the distribution of about $5.3 million in donations to victims of the Colorado theater shootings said Friday disbursement amounts have been finalized.

A gunman killed 12 people and injured at least 58 others at an Aurora theater July 20.

Aurora Victim Relief Fund special master Ken Feinberg said Friday that the families of the 12 people killed, plus victims who sustained permanent brain damage or paralysis, will each receive $220,000.

Six people hospitalized at least 20 days will each receive $160,000. Two who were hospitalized between eight and 19 days will each receive $91,680. Thirteen people hospitalized for less than that will each receive $35,000.

Overall, Feinberg approved claims for 38 people and denied 19 claims that didn’t qualify under previously announced protocols. He had previously said victims who didn’t require overnight hospitalization and claims for mental trauma would be denied because of limited funds.

All victims still have access to free counseling.

“These payments won’t replace loved ones who died or completely heal all wounds,” Gov. John Hickenlooper said in a statement.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2012

THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

VIRGINIA GUZMAN Virginia Guzman, 87, passed away Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012, at Laredo Medical Center in Laredo, Texas.

Ms. Guzman is preceded in death by her husband, Jose Maria Guzman; sons, Jose Maria Guzman Jr., Miguel Guzman and Ovidio Guzman; grandson, Miguel Antonio Garza; parents, Pedro and Maria Garcia; brother, Rogelio Garcia; and sisters, Maria Candelaria (Jesus) Dominguez and Emma Bernal.

Ms. Guzman is survived by her sons, Derly (Maria Guadalupe) Guzman, Lucio Guzman, Miguel Guzman and Pedro Guzman; daughters, Carlota G. (Hugo) Garza and Martha Elena (Remigio) Guerra; grandchildren, Derly Guzman Jr., Ovidio Garza, Hugo (Veronica) Garza, Blanca (Jesus) Araiza, Santiago (Maria) Garza, Blanca (Jesus) Araiza, Santiago (Maria) Garza, Rene Guerra, Raul Guerra, Erika Guerra and Rhonda Guerra; numerous great-grandchildren; and a sister, Maria Garcia.

Visitation hours were Friday, Nov. 16, 2012, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral

Man tells court he’s not guilty

Nov. 3, 1946-Nov. 11, 2012

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Home.

A chapel service will be held on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012, at 10 a.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home. The funeral procession will depart at 10:45 a.m.

Committal services will follow at Zapata County Cemetery.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. U.S. 83, Zapata, TX.

Jose M. Martinez Jr., 66, passed away Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012, at a local hospital.

Visitation and a Vigil of the Deceased were held Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012, in the Hernandez, Lopez and Sons Northside Chapels, 800 Boston St. at San Bernardo Avenue.

Funeral services were at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012, departing from the funeral home

LAREDO — An Alice man detained recently with more than 14,300 pounds of marijuana pleaded not guilty this week in federal court in Laredo.

Enrique Morin Jr., 36, waived his presence before U.S. Magistrate Judge Diana Song Quiroga but entered a not guilty plea to the drug charges he’s facing.

An indictment filed Nov. 6 charges Morin with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana and possess with intent to distribute 1,000 kilo-

chapel. Holy Mass was celebrated at Holy Family Catholic Church.

Committal services and interment followed in the Calvary Catholic Cemetery. www.HernandezLopezFH.com

dearly missed by her family and friends and all who knew her, but her charismatic smile, charm, sense of humor and zest for life will forever live in the hearts of those whose lives she touched.

We would like to express our gratitude to Dr. Milton Haber and to all the staff at the Laredo Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.

Visitation hours were Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home.

The funeral procession departed Monday, Nov. 12, 2012, at 9:30 a.m. for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.

Committal services followed at Zapata County Cemetery.

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

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

Julian Villarreal Flores, 68, passed away Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012, at Doctor’s Hospital in Laredo, Texas.

Mr. Villarreal is preceded in death by his son, Francisco Javier Villarreal; parents, Simon and Juana Villarreal; and a brother, Antonio Villarreal.

Mr. Villarreal is survived by his wife, San Juana Escamilla; sons, Julian (Amalia) Villarreal and Simon Villarreal; daughters, Ruby (Seferino Jr.) Salazar, Erica and Julie; grandchildren, Emily Villarreal, Francisco Javier Villarreal, Ruben Javier Sanchez, Alheli Sanchez and Joseph Salazar; brothers, Roel Villarreal, Oziel Villarreal and Rigoberto Villarreal; sisters, Oralia

On Tuesday, agents spotted a 2008 Ford F-250 hauling a flatbed iron frame trailer loaded with wood poles about five miles north of the town of Zapata on U.S. 83.

“As agents followed the truck, they noticed several discrepancies,” a U.S. Border Patrol news release states.

Contreras stated that he was on his way to work but he could not identify his employer, the complaint states. Furthermore, Contreras could not say who owned the truck and cargo.

“The agent conducted several routine questions to the driver (and) noticed that the driver was extremely nervous and could not answer most of the questions,” the Border Patrol release states.

A further investigation

Serna and Yolanda Sanchez; and by numerous nephews, nieces, and many friends.

Visitation hours will be held Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a wake at 7 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home.

Committal services will follow at Cementerio Los Colorados de Abajo in Los Colorados, Nuevo Leon.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. U.S. 83, Zapata, TX.

LEOPOLDO GARCIA Leopoldo Garcia, 82, passed away Friday, Nov. 16, 2012, at Falcon Lake Nursing Home in Zapata, Texas.

Mr. Garcia is preceded in death by his daughter, Diana Garcia; parents, Teodulo and Enedina Garcia; brothers, Benito, Juan, Roberto, Heberto and Teodulo Garcia; and sister, Elena Salinas.

Mr. Garcia is survived by his former wife, Rosalina Gutierrez; son, Leopoldo Jr. (Yolanda) Garcia; daughters, Alma Rosa (Greg) Avery, Enedina (Johnny) Tejeda and Leticia (David) Benavides; grandchildren, Leopoldo III (Stephanie) Garcia, Melissa A. (Sergio) Martinez, Lee Ann Garcia, Kristina Garcia,

Diana Lina (Adrian) Duran, Jessica (Rick) Elizondo, Claudia Veronica Garcia-Bisher, Ashley M. McDermott, Michael James McDermott, Kevin Cody McDermott, Erica M. (Jimmy) Moore, Liza (Israel III) Lozano and Celina Benavides; greatgrandchildren, Derek, Nathan, Christine, Triny, Shelby, Jacee, Mackenzie, Gavin, Skyler, Mary-Evelyn, Ariel, Matilda and Christian; brother, Adalberto Garcia; and sisters, Elma Zepeda, Elmira De Los Santos and Elva Gonzalez; and by numerous nephews, nieces and friends.

Visitation hours will be held Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7

grams or more of marijuana.

A pretrial conference has been set up for 9 a.m. Dec. 12 before U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo.

On Oct. 11, federal authorities alleged Morin transported 14,353 pounds of marijuana.

The contraband has an estimated street value of $ 11,482,552.

Border Patrol agents stopped him around 7 a.m. near Dolores Creek on U.S. 83.

According to a criminal complaint, agents saw “fresh tool marks” around an electrical box, leading federal authorities to believe the box had been tampered.

BUNDLES Continued from Page 1A

JULIAN VILLARREAL FLORES

ANA MARIA CASSO BRAVO Ana Maria Casso Bravo, a former Laredoan and a lifelong resident of Zapata, was called by our Heavenly Father to her eternal reward on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012.

She was born April 5, 1924, in Laredo, Texas, and graduated from Ursuline Academy in 1943.

Mrs. Bravo is preceded in death by her parents, Francisco Casso and Blasa Guerra; three brothers, Francisco Casso Jr., Mario Javier Casso and Carlos Fernando Casso; son-in-law, Hector M. Medina; and a great-granddaughter, Allysia Lynn Solano.

Ana Maria is survived by her husband of 66 years, James Edward “Eddie” Bravo, formerly of Zapata, but now living in Laredo; two daughters, Gloria Alicia Medina of Laredo and JoEmma (Gilbert) Quezada of San Antonio; one son, Edward (Martha) Bravo of Laredo; grandchildren, Hector Manuel (Patty) Medina, Debbie (Victor) Garcia, Ana Maria Medina, George (Laila) Medina of Laredo; Monica (Rick) Solano of Seguin; JoAnn (Jorge Abel) Garcia of San Antonio; David Medina of Austin; Lyanna (Dustin) Traylen of Montreal, Canada; Dinorah (Mark) Serna of Zapata; and James Edward Bravo of Laredo; and 23 great-grandchildren; sister, Gloria Yolanda (Jesus) Herrera; and one brother, Hugo (Berta) Casso of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon; and by numerous nephews and nieces.

Her family is profoundly grateful and fortunate to have had such a wonderful and loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Ana Maria lived a full and enjoyable life. Her presence in our lives will be

JOSE M. MARTINEZ JR.

p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home, and on Monday, Nov. 19, 2012, from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

The funeral procession will depart Monday, Nov. 19, 2012, at 9:30 a.m. for a funeral Mass at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.

Committal services will follow at the Zapata County Cemetery.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 U.S. 83 Zapata, TX.

began after a K-9 unit alerted agents to the presence of narcotics on the pickup and trailer, the complaint states.

“An examination of the truck bed and the trailer revealed that they each had false floors underneath, which were bundles of marijuana. The doors of the truck and the spare tire also contained bundles of marijuana,” a complaint states.

According to court records, the inspection yielded 258 bundles of marijuana weighing about 1,496.9 pounds.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents responded to the Zapata Border Patrol station to interview Contreras.

“Contreras admitted knowledge of the foregoing contraband,” the complaint states.

POT Continued from Page 1A Friday evening on a $30,000 bond set by Justice of the Peace Anna Guerra. According to Sgt. Mario Elizondo, the deputy initiated a traffic violation on U.S. 83, before reaching the town of Zapata, on a 1999 Mercedes Benz.

Deputies identified the sole occupant as Montemayor-Madrigal.

But deputies also found the contraband.

“Officers located one bundle of marijuana in plain view,” said Elizondo, noting the narcotics weighed about 12 pounds.

(César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 7282568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2012

TAMALES Continued from Page 1A

Photo by Robin Zielinski/Las Cruces Sun-News | AP

Pro’s Ranch Market lead tamale maker Olga May, left, and her assistant Lala Hernandez make green chile tamales on Wednesday, in Las Cruces, N.M. She folds them and wraps them in green and white checkered paper before placing them in the stack of tamales, ready to be steamed and sold in the store or bought by customers for the holidays.

“It is a very popular food in this area, especially around the holidays,” said Karim Martinez, program director and home economist at the Doña Ana County Extension Office.

Tamales season starts at Halloween for Pro’s Ranch Market, said Sylvia Madrid, the hot foods manager at the Las Cruces store.

“The holiday seasons are upon us, and that’s one of our top sellers,” she said.

The tamale-making duo began the demonstration last week and will continue to January, May said.

Though Madrid prefers most of the tamales to be made instore, she often has to order a few boxes from the company’s Phoenix warehouse to meet holiday demand.

Madrid was the top seller when she worked in the chain’s Albuquerque location, selling between 972 dozen and 1,500 dozen tamales. She did not have estimates on sales here because she recently relocated to the Las Cruces store.

Tamales mark the holidays, said Reyna Salinas, 27, a graph-

ic designer who remembers watching her mom and grandma make tamales as a child.

“I would just stare at them because of how fast they would go, and then the way they fold the corn husk around — I didn’t get it, how they could put all that stuff into a corn husk and get it to stay,” Salinas said.

“Mine would just fall apart.”

Her mother makes the tamales entirely from scratch, driving to Juárez for masa and to Hatch for fresh chiles to roast. She sells the tamales as well, but keeps the sweet ones for the family.

“I know a lot of other family friends that they get together the night before Christmas or Thanksgiving and get together and make them,” Salinas said.

“It’s usually a bonding-type thing and getting to spend time with the loved ones around you.”

Tamales date back to 5,000 or 7,000 B.C. to the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas, Martinez said. They are still made up and down the hemisphere with corn husks or banana leaves, depending on the region, she said.

“Traditionally, here, you’ll see the masa, the corn meal mixture, and you’ll have red chile or green chile,” Martinez said. “But you can make them with beans, you can make them with squash, you can make

them sweet.”

The lard or shortening-filled masa is high in fat, she said, but OK for infrequent eating on special occasions like holidays, baptisms or weddings.

“Since it’s for a special occasion, it’s a special food you can indulge in on the holidays,” she said.

At Pro’s Ranch, May and Martinez answer questions from shoppers, explaining the process, the ingredients, whether their tamales are sold in the store’s hot foods section. (They are.)

“Now I know where to get them,” one shopper remarks.

Pro’s Ranch sweet pineapple and strawberry tamales sell for $12.99 per dozen and their chicken, pork and beef tamales for $14.99 per dozen. Individual tamales cost $1.39.

No matter where you order from, tamale seekers would be wise to place a phone order at least 48 hours in advance, requesting the number and type of tamales, as well as when to pick them up.

Customers can freeze tamales for up to three months and can reheat them in the microwave or steam them, Madrid said.

For now, she said she has plenty of tamales in stock.

“That’s one thing I try not to sell out of,” she said.

BREAKFAST Continued from Page 1A levels at a more sustainable level. He emphasized that Zapata has a real treasure with Falcon Lake and sees its value to the community in terms of economic development and wealth generation.

Finally, King commended Zapata County and other officials on obtaining the funding and bringing to fruition the ZTAC. He said Zapata is very fortunate in having this state-ofthe-art facility and emphasized the importance of education, specifically bachelor of science degrees as prime mechanisms for boosting both individual and community economic development. He closed by offering his continued assistance to the Zapata County community.

Following King, the community heard brief updates from local and regional leaders on their organizations’ recent activities that are important to the business community.

Garcia, superintendent of ZCISD, started by explaining that the new academic test, adopted by the state last year, requires students to go from a minimal skills test to a college readiness test. However, not a lot of time was given for schools to transition into the new test. She said the district welcomes the challenge, but stated it takes a lot more money to educate economically disadvantaged children, and the challenge increased with additional budget cuts.

“I’m just very fortunate that I’m working with staff that are able to solve these problems,” Garcia said, “because that’s what our kids need and that’s what our kids deserve, and we’re going to provide it for them.”

Garcia said the district has adopted a new transformational model that the state has adopted to help transform schools. With that model comes increased staff development and paradigm shifts in the way the district operates.

“Our kids learn differently today,” Garcia stated.

Garcia also announced that beginning in January, Zapata High School students will be issued iPads, which correlates to the “I-succeed” concept, which stands for learning anytime and anyplace. She closed by announcing her goals of being able to give all students from first graders on up an iPads to take home, and working with the commissioners court to make wi-fi available communitywide. In the interim, she added that the district is setting up a homework center with wi-fi that families can use, especially those

that do not have home computers with Internet access.

Brown, the ZTAC dean, then informed the public of the college’s events. Along with King, he also noted the excellent leadership that made the ZTAC’s success possible, especially the county commissioners, who stood behind the project.

He emphasized that all courses are accredited and available through the Laredo Community College, Texas State Technical College, Texas A&M International University, and the UT Health Science Center, among others. Brown then demonstrated the capabilities of the meeting room where the event took place as being an ideal space to conduct Emergency Medical Technician training and/ or Occupational Safety and Health Administration safety training.

Rathmell also commented on commissioners court support of the ZTAC. “I think this center promises to help a lot in our community,” Rathmell said.

The group also heard from Yarrito, the TCEQ watermaster. He began by providing water management background and said that while Falcon Lake levels do fluctuate, the majority of the fluctuation is due to Mexico. He said his organization does its best to manage all water management-related issues and said that it makes a conscious effort to maintain Falcon Lake at 60-70 percent replenishment. In other words, of the water released from Falcon Lake, 60-70 percent is returned from Amistad Lake back into Falcon. He said the current lake level is 34 feet below conservation level, which is still 20 feet higher than the historical low of 54 feet below, which occurred June 20, 2002. Yarrito added that the lake level has been very stable in the past few months. He said his organization is bracing itself for another drought next year.

The event closed with Umphres Moffett’s comments on the purpose of the Power Breakfast, which is a way for the community to meet and obtain valuable information. She said her organization’s purpose, which is to help strengthen the economy, build partnerships and collaboration, and help businesses to succeed by providing them the information and resources they need, which in turn generates more jobs and tax revenue.

The next Zapata EDC Power Breakfast is slated for Dec. 12 at 7:30 a.m. at the ZTAC.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2012

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Sports&Outdoors NFL

HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL

Hawks finish 10th Photo by Gail Burton | AP

Dallas coach Jason Garrett could find himself on the hot seat with a loss.

Courtesy Photo

The Zapata High School Cross Country team finished 10th on Nov. 10 at the state meet in Round Rock.

Compete in the state meet at Round Rock

By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS

By CLARA SANDOVAL THE ZAPATA TIMES

The Zapata boys cross country team just concluded a successful season that ended at the state meet in Round Rock on Nov. 10.

The Hawks captured third place at the Region IV 3A meet in San Antonio a week earlier, scoring 135 points behind Lytle (52 points) and Progreso (122 points) to punch their ticket to the state meet at Old Settlers Park.

Junior Luis Garza placed 3rd at the regional meet to help the Hawks earn a trip to the state while she was closely followed

by Jerome Cabugos (20th), Carlos Rodriguez (23rd), Heriberto Perez (40th), Jose Garcia (49th), Sammy Camacho (54th) and Romeo Morales (102nd).

Garza continued a great season as he placed 14th overall in the 3A division at the state meet to finish the year on a positive note.

As the team, Zapata placed 10th overall

Dallas prepares for Browns

The Hawks finished in third place at the Region IV 3A meet a week before the state meet was held.

behind Decatur, Lytle, Alvarado, Pollok Central, Sanger, Kaufman, Lufkin Hudson, Clint and Andrews.

Zapata was the highest finisher in South Texas while their former district rival Progreso placed 12th.

“The Hawks cross country team had a

very successful season and made the community very proud,” Zapata coach Roel Ibanez said. “The Hawks finished 10th at state meet as a team. I would like to thank all of our sponsors, supporters and parents for

NCAA FOOTBALL

IRVING — Both coaches get questions about their job security.

Both quarterbacks have to answer to unsightly interception numbers.

Other than that, Dallas and Cleveland are in very different places going into Sunday’s game at Cowboys Stadium.

The Cowboys (4-5) made it through the difficult, road-heavy part of their schedule with their playoff path barely navigable, but navigable nonetheless. Tony Romo and company now get five of the season’s final seven games at home, and only one of those opponents — Pittsburgh — has a winning record.

The Browns (2-7) have more reason to think about next season than postseason as they come off their bye week. After the Cowboys, Cleveland and rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden still have the Steelers twice and a visit to Denver against Peyton Man-

See HAWKS PAGE 2B See DALLAS PAGE 2B

NCAA FOOTBALL

Texas A&M still eyeing BCS

By KATE HAIROPOULOS MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE INFORMATION SERVICES

Photo by Orlin Wagner | AP

Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville and the Red Raiders lost 66-6 last year to Oklahoma State, their worst loss in program history.

Texas Tech looking to avenge 2011 Cowboys blowout

By JEFF LATZKE ASSOCIATED PRESS

STILLWATER, Okla. — Tommy Tuberville’s attempt to build No. 23 Texas Tech back into a regular Big 12 contender and a player on the national stage reaches a checkpoint Saturday at Oklahoma State.

The Red Raiders (7-3, 4-3 Big 12) hit rock bottom during Tu-

berville’s first season with a 66-6 blowout loss to the Cowboys, the most lopsided defeat in the program’s history.

NFL-bound quarterback Brandon Weeden shredded the Tech defense and endured a biting wind far better than counterpart Seth Doege, who enters this weekend’s game as the na-

See TECH PAGE 2B

Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin mentioned this week that the Aggies are "still on the hunt for a lot of different things right now."

He didn’t spell it out, but that would include a decent shot of earning a BCS invite in their first SEC season. The BCS No. 8 Aggies, coming off their upset win at then-No. 1 Alabama last week, have caught the attention and are on the radar of the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, for one.

"The simple answer is yes and yes," said executive director Robert Shelton.

Shelton confirmed that the Jan. 3 bowl in Glendale, Ariz., is looking for an intriguing matchup, strong following and "a team that’s hot and on the rise."

A&M, 8-2 with games against Sam Houston State and Missouri remaining, could provide all of those things, provided it wins out. Plus it has redshirt freshman quarterback "Johnny Football" Manziel, who looks increasingly like a lock to attend the Heisman Trophy ceremony Dec. 8 in New York.

The combination could mean the Aggies will be scooped up before the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic weighs in - preventing a much discussed dream/night-

Photo by Dave Martin | AP

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel is a favorite in the Heisman race after his role in upsetting then-No. 1 Alabama last week. mare matchup, depending on one’s perspective, between former Big 12 rivals A&M and Texas. The Cotton Bowl’s selection committee doesn’t even meet until Nov. 27, as three weeks of games remain.

A handful of early national projections place A&M in the Fiesta Bowl, which could have a shot at its first SEC team since Tennessee in 2000.

The Fiesta would have to pick A&M over a glut of SEC teams with similar bodies of work.

SEC teams are Nos. 4-9 in the BCS standings.

If Alabama defeats Auburn on Nov. 24 and advances to face

Georgia in the SEC championship on Dec. 1, the winner will go to the Sugar Bowl, provided it doesn’t make the BCS national title game. The SEC could be locked out this season unless two of the current three unbeatens in college football (Kansas State, Oregon and Notre Dame) lose.

No more than two teams from one conference can play in BCS games.

So that would leave as possibilities the loser of the league championship game and, as it stands right now: LSU, Florida,

See A&M PAGE 2B

PAGE 2B

Zscores

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2012

Baylor faces off with K. State

By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS

WACO — Collin Klein and Kansas State are two wins away from almost certainly playing for the school’s first national championship.

The Heisman Trophy front-running quarterback graces the cover of the latest Sports Illustrated, and the second-ranked Wildcats are headed to Texas for the second Saturday night in a row — this time to play a Baylor team still trying to get bowl eligible after losing its Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback to the NFL. Drop one of their last two regularseason games, and the Wildcats (10-0, 7-0 Big 12), the No. 1 team in the latest BCS rankings, know their title dreams will likely be out of reach. “(Focus) is a pretty fragile thing.

If you don’t take care of business, any team in our conference and any team is capable of beating you. We understand that,” Klein said. “It’s about having that mindset to be the best you can possibly be. We’ve been able to learn a lot of lessons while still winning. And that’s a great thing to be able to do. We all believe we haven’t played our best game yet, and that’s what we’re striving for.”

K-State is coming off its lowestscoring game of the season, outgained offensively by TCU in a 23-10 win. Klein was held under 200 total yards for the first time this season, though he still ran for two touchdowns after coming out of the previous game early because of an apparent head injury.

“What happens is as you progress during the season, you have more and more exposure to what you do, and so consequently, opponents have more to study, more to define who we are, just like we have more to define in regards to who they are,” coach Bill Snyder said. “There’s an equivalency factor there.”

With a win at Baylor, the Wildcats would clinch at least a share of the Big 12 championship and the league’s automatic berth into the

Photo by Louis Lanzano | AP

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman leaves following labor talks on Nov. 9 in New York.

Photo by Charlie Neibergall | AP

Baylor quarterback Nick Florence and the Bears will look to keep BCS No. 1 Kansas State out of the national title hunt this weekend.

Bowl Championship Series. They want more than only a BCS game — they want to be in the title game.

The last time they were this close was 1998, when they got to 11-0 in the regular season before losing to Texas A&M in the Big 12 championship game that no longer exists.

They have Thanksgiving week off before ending the regular season at home Dec. 1 against 18th-ranked Texas.

Baylor (4-5, 1-5) has to win two of its last three games for bowl eligibility after posting 10 victories last year in the Bears’ final season with Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III. When the Bears won at home 4742 against K-State two years ago, they became bowl eligible for the first time in 16 years. Now they’re still trying to get into a postseason game for the third year in a row.

“The thing that still inspires us, first of all: We do have an opportunity to get where we need to get,” coach Art Briles said. “Secondly, we think we’re getting better as a football team. We certainly feel like we’re better right now than we were the fourth game of the season; that’s the encouraging part. ... Getting bowl eligible is certainly within our reach. We know it’s also a tough reach, too.”

Nick Florence has more yards

passing and one more touchdown rushing than RG3 had at the same point last season, but the Bears have lost three games by eight points or less. They still have matchups left against Texas Tech and Oklahoma State.

“It’s an opportunity, and everyone’s kind of wrote us off,” senior right guard Cameron Kaufhold said.

“This is a chance for us to show everyone we’re still here.”

K-State won 36-35 at home last year, turning a late interception by Griffin into a go-ahead field goal.

RG3 successor Florence is the FBS leader for total offense (395 yards per game) and yards passing per game (355). The Bears have the nation’s top receiver in Terrance Williams at 159 yards per game and have scored at least 41 points in six outings.

“I do not know of a team that has struggled in the win-loss standpoint that has been as effective and dynamic on offense as this football team,” Snyder said. “There is a lot of balance there, and it is a very dynamic offense.”

The big problem for the Bears is that while having the Big 12’s top overall offense (564 yards per game) and second-highest scoring team (42.7 ppg), they let opponents almost match those numbers. Baylor is last in the conference in allowing 520 yards per game.

NHL, players sideline talks to end lockout

By IRA PODELL ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — If the NHL and the players’ association have run out of things to talk about, how can they ever find a way to make a deal to save the hockey season?

It is a question both sides seem to have trouble answering, and not because they are being guarded or coy. The lockout is now in its third month, and there is no obvious path to progress.

There was a hint of optimism after the league and locked-out players met a few times, but the view quickly became bleak. After a one-day break, the sides met Sunday and that brief return to the table also turned badly quickly.

They haven’t met — and have barely talked — since

then.

Now NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has suggested to players’ association chief Donald Fehr that they take a two-week break from each other. If talking doesn’t work, it is possible that not talking will?

Frustration and a hint of anger have entered the equation. So perhaps a cooling-off period would make some sense before the sides agree to get together again.

“I think what you have seen is disappointment with where we find ourselves in the process,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Friday in an email to The Associated Press. “I don’t think it’s a case of personal animosity.”

That might be the only positive development of this week.

Johnson warns Keselowski

By DAVE GEORGE COX NEWSPAPERS

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Jimmie Johnson blew a tire at Phoenix last week. Now, with one last chance to take the Sprint Cup points title in Homestead’s NASCAR season finale, he’s trying to blow Brad Keselowski’s mind.

At every opportunity during Thursday’s Ford Championship Weekend media session, Johnson

referenced the magnitude of this moment for Keselowski and his crew, who are so close to a historic breakthrough as the points leaders but still 267 squirrelly laps from stowing the trophy in the No. 2 Dodge’s hauler.

Five times a NASCAR champion, Jimmie drives this point home with uncommon credibility.

There’s probably much more than a bad pit stop between Johnson and the lead, however. Keselowski has a sizable 20-point

cushion going into Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 and needs only a 15th-place finish to clinch, no matter what Johnson does.

The stage is set, but the final NASCAR script remains wildly improvisational. That’s the beauty of Homestead. Wrecks involving championship contenders can happen at any track all season long, but when it happens here, it truly is “The Big One.”

Photo by J Pat Carter | AP

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers, Brad Keselowski, left, and Jimmie Johnson, talk to the media during a news conference in Homestead, Fla., on Thursday.

TECH Continued from Page 1B tion’s fourth-leading passer — and with a bit of a chip on his shoulder.

“It was an embarrassment, I think, for the entire program,” Doege said. “I mean, they were probably the better football team last year, but there was no reason that it should have been that lopsided. ... I probably played one of my worst games I’ve ever played, and the defense didn’t play a very good game either.

It was just all around. It was just a terrible football game by us.”

This time around, both teams are neck-and-neck in the Big 12 standings, posturing for a better postseason

destination after locking up bowl eligibility early. Oklahoma State (6-3, 4-2) has fallen out of contention for a second straight conference championship despite finding ways to win with three different starting quarterbacks this season.

While Weeden and fellow first-round NFL draft pick Justin Blackmon are gone, there are plenty of holdovers who remember everything about what receiver Charlie Moore called “the massacre.”

“It was one of those things when everything went right for us and everything went wrong for them. The chance of that happening again is a million to one,” Oklahoma State

A&M Continued from Page 1B

defensive coordinator Bill Young said.

“They’re going to be up for us. If I were in that situation, I’d keep that picture on my desk every day.”

For Tech, the memories are horrendous. The Red Raiders turned it over three times in the first half, including a fumble on a kickoff that Josh Stewart picked up for a touchdown and a 35-0 lead in the first quarter.

“I try to wash that out of my mind,” Texas Tech safety D.J. Johnson said. “That was a tough one, man. I’ve never in my wildest dreams even — or nightmares even — imagined getting beat like that.”

South Carolina and A&M. As long as the school is eligible for the BCS - with nine wins and ranking in the top 14 - the at-large pick is at the bowl’s discretion. LSU and Florida beat A&M this season, but that could mean much or little now.

Florida still has a showdown at No. 10 Florida State.

"People have a strong interest in playing in a BCS game," said Mark Womack, the SEC’s executive associate commissioner. "At the end of the day, the bowls make their selections based on the criteria they have to choose from."

Shelton said Phoenix-area fans, who make up about half of the crowd of 70,000, are excited about the idea of an SEC team being available for the Fiesta.

DALLAS Continued from Page 1B ning.

"I think you try to stay away from the schedule, whether it’s good or bad," Dallas tight end Jason Witten said. "You really can’t worry about what’s outside, and what record, and who’s playing who. You’ve got to worry about your opponent that upcoming week. This league’s too hard to try to do anything else other than that."

Two weeks ago, Romo was far ahead of Weeden and the other four rookie NFL starters with 13 interceptions. But Weeden and some veterans are closing in after Romo had consecutive turnover-free games against Atlanta and Philadelphia.

The Cowboys didn’t beat the Falcons, but they rallied past the Eagles sparked in part by a Romo

scramble and completion that kept Dallas from trailing going into the fourth quarter.

Dallas fans have always wondered what would happen if Romo ever combined risky magic acts with stingy ball protection, and they might find out in three straight home games ending with a Philadelphia rematch Dec. 2.

"Every week he’s going to be challenged the same way," coach Jason Garrett said. "We never want to get to the point where he’s got it down pat. He doesn’t have it down pat. Nobody does.

That position is too challenging. So you’ve got to make sure you’re thinking about it the right way every week, you’re taking care of the ball every week and you pick your spots every

week."

Every week seems to bring on new issues for Garrett. He spent the week before the Cowboys beat the Eagles addressing questions of whether suspended New Orleans coach Sean Payton would take his job after a report that the NFL had voided his contract with the Saints. He also had to answer criticism from his old coach, Jimmy Johnson, about whether the Dallas practice facility was a "country club."

On the day of the Philadelphia game, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had to respond to a report that ousted Cleveland president Mike Holmgren was interested in Dallas after he said he might return to coaching when the Browns let him go. It’s no secret that Jones

The opponent could be a Big 12 team, as the Fiesta Bowl takes the Big 12 champion. But if Kansas State wins out and plays in the national championship game, the Fiesta’s replacement doesn’t necessarily have to be a Big 12 team.

After the replacements are set and the champions of other conferences go to their previously slotted bowls, the Fiesta bowl has the first choice among remaining teams to finalize its matchup.

Texas A&M beat Kansas State, 3633 in double-overtime, in the 1998 Big 12 championship, eliminating the Wildcats from playing for the national title and earning the Aggies their lone BCS invite. A&M lost 24-14 to Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.

HAWKS Continued from Page 1B and Holmgren are close, but Holmgren emphatically said he would never show interest in somebody else’s job while they still had it.

The Philly win quieted the chatter, but a loss to last-place Cleveland wouldn’t help Garrett.

"All your focus has to be on this week and getting one win," Witten said. "I thought we did a good job of that amongst the distractions outside."

Browns coach Pat Shurmur has a stronger case for distractions than Garrett.

He has a new owner, a new president, and a 6-19 record in his second season. His roster is young and promising, starting with rookies Weeden, an older-than-usual newcomer who has 12 interceptions but is showing improvement.

making this year a memorable one.”

The Hawks ran their hearts out the state meet and gutted out the course that saw many turns and twists at Old Settlers Park.

While some Zapata fans made the trek to Round Rock, they lined up the side of course to cheer on the Hawks.

Garcia came 43rd while Cabugos crossed the finish line in 51st as the Hawks flocked to the end of the race.

Rodriguez (59th), Perez (64th), Morales (80th) and Camacho (82nd) rounded out the Hawks scoring at the state meet.

Lady Hawks flying high The girls cross country team has become a fixture at the state meet and this year was no exception as junior Jazmine Garcia represented Zapata.

Coach Mike Villarreal has had a team or runner at the state meet for the past nine years as Garcia kept the streak alive.

For the third consecutive year, Garcia ran at Old Settler’s Park and placed 56th overall with a time of 13:14.

During her freshman year, Garcia placed 10th overall (12:03) and 16th last year (12:34).

(Clara Sandoval can be reached at sandoval.clara@gmail.com)

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2012

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B

HINTS | BY HELOISE A HOME FOR FOAM Dear Readers: Have you received packages that are filled with those PLASTIC FOAM PEANUTS? They usually end up scattered all over the place, and then they end up in the trash.

Well, I have some good news: There is an organization that recycles them.

First of all, to easily get the “peanuts” together (since they stick to everything because of static electricity), give them a quick spray or two with anti-static spray.

Now, put them in a container and call 800-828-2214 for a recorded message from The Plastic Loose Fill Council, where it will ask for your ZIP code so it can find a business that will accept the peanuts. Most businesses involve packing and shipping.

Keep this information handy, since the holidays are right around the corner and you may have an abundance of packing peanuts.

You also can share the number with friends and family so peanuts don’t end up in a landfill. — Heloise PET PAL Dear Readers: Linda Caballero Usborne of San Antonio sent a photo of her miniature schnauzer, Bud-

“

HELOISE

dy, gazing to his right. Buddy looks like my miniature schnauzer, Cabbie. Miniature schnauzers are such a sweet breed, aren’t they? To see Buddy, visit www. Heloise.com and click on “Pets.” — Heloise BUDGETING YOUR GROCERY DOLLARS Dear Heloise: My hint is for budgeting grocery dollars. Every month, I put my grocery dollars on a rechargeable store gift card.

Every time I shop, I know exactly how much money I have left for the remainder of the month, which shows on my receipt. Also, it allows me to zip my card on the machine without having to select “debit” or “credit” and signing, so I typically zip and then assist the clerk by bagging my own groceries in my reusable bags. I never hold up the line by having credit issues, etc. Also, I can budget for dinner parties or holiday meals by knowing exactly how much money I have to spend. — Deb in The Villages, Fla.

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Sports

4B THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2012

Tigers sign Hunter for $26 million

By BILL SHAIKIN MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE INFORMATION SERVICES

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Angels would not necessarily have tried harder to retain Torii Hunter if they had been able to trade Vernon Wells, General Manager Jerry Dipoto said Wednesday.

Hunter agreed Wednesday to a two-year, $26 million contract with the defending American League champion Detroit Tigers.

The deal is expected to be announced after he takes a physical examination Friday.

Hunter, who made his major league debut in 1997, has yet to play in a World Series. If Bobby Abreu does not play next season, Carlos Lee will be the only active major league player to play in more games than Hunter without a World Series appearance, according to baseball-reference.com.

The Angels owe $21 million in each of the next two seasons to Wells, whom they project as a reserve outfielder. Dipoto said the Angels would not necessarily have kept Hunter in their outfield had they been able to clear payroll space by trading Wells and part of his salary.

"The situations are independent," Dipoto said.

Hunter, 37, batted a career-high .313 last season.

He hit .350 after the AllStar break, leading the Angels’ spirited but futile bid for a playoff berth.

In a September interview on the team-owned radio station, owner Arte Moreno said this of Hunter: "If we don’t figure out a way to re-sign him, we’re going to get hung, aren’t we?"

Photo by Marcio J. Sanchez | AP

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey added to his World Series winning season by being named the National League’s Most Valuable Player. Miguel Cabrera topped Mike Trout in the AL race.

Cabrera, Posey win MVP

By ROB GLOSTER BLOOMBERG NEWS

Photo by Carlos Osorio | AP

Outfielder Torii Hunter signed a two-year, $26 million contract with the Detroit Tigers yesterday. Hunter last played for the Los Angeles Angels.

Moreno was unavailable for comment Wednesday, team spokesman Tim Mead said.

The Angels declined to present Hunter with a qualifying offer - one year at $13 million - thus forfeiting the compensatory draft pick they would have received since he signed elsewhere. Hunter dismissed the only offer the Angels made - one year at $5 million - as "low ball" to the Los Angeles Times and "disrespectful" to CBS Sports.

Dipoto declined to respond to Hunter’s characterizations of the offer.

"That has no chance to

end positively," Dipoto said. "It’s Torii’s right to say what he wants. I think the world of Torii. He’s a fantastic player and a fantastic person. I wish him well. We’ll certainly miss him here."

Dipoto said the Angels "made a commitment early on" to an outfield of Mike Trout, Peter Bourjos and Mark Trumbo, with Wells in reserve. The salaries of the starting outfield should total less than $2 million - none of the three starters is eligible for arbitration - and the Angels are marshaling their financial resources toward pitching.

Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers and Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants, whose teams faced off last month in the World Series, won their leagues Most Valuable Player awards.

Cabrera was selected as the American Leagues MVP after becoming the first Major League Baseball player in 45 years to win the Triple Crown. Posey, 25, who won a batting title as well as the 2012 Comeback Player of the Year award, took the National Leagues MVP honors yesterday.

It was just happiness, Posey said of his reaction when he found out about the award while helping his mom run a school charity event in their home town of Leesburg, Georgia.

It is an extremely humbling and gratifying accomplishment.

Cabrera, 29, led the AL in batting average (.330), home runs (44) and runs batted in (139), the first player to top a league in all three categories since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.

Cabrera, a third baseman, won the MVP award

with 362 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, who this week was chosen unanimously as the AL Rookie of the Year, got 281 points.

I thought it was going to be very close, because Trout was unbelievable this season, Cabrera said in a conference call with reporters.

Trout, 21, who was seeking to became the third player to win Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in a single season, had an AL-best 129 runs scored and 49 stolen bases along with a .326 batting average with 30 homers and 83 RBIs. Posey said he followed the AL MVP race between Cabrera and Trout with a fans fascination.

Cano Fourth It intrigued everybody with what Cabrera did with the Triple Crown, but on the flipside looking at Trouts numbers they just blow your mind, he said in a conference call. As a fan of the game, it was a fun race to watch.

Third baseman Adrian Beltre of the Texas Rangers was third with 210 points,

followed by second baseman Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees, with 149 points, and Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton, with 127.

Posey, who missed most of the 2011 season after breaking his leg in a homeplate collision, batted .336 to lead the NL and had 24 home runs and 103 runs batted in while playing 148 games and catching for a Giants rotation that had four pitchers win at least 14 games.

Posey, the first Giant to take MVP honors since Barry Bonds won it each year from 2001-04, led San Francisco to its second World Series title in three years with a four-game sweep of the Tigers in the championship round.

Posey won the NL award with 422 points. Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, who won in 2011, was second with 285 points.

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen was third, followed by St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley. Third baseman David Wright of the New York Mets tied for sixth with 86 points.