Galveston 01202013 by Michael Smith

ESCAPE & INDULGE YOURSELF AT SPA SAN LUIS FOR A WELL DESERVED EUROPEAN MASSAGE OR SIGNATURE FACIAL

Celebrating MLK Jr. Galveston memorializes the life of Martin Luther King Jr. with its annual parade downtown with floats, cheerleaders and ROTC members » A4

G A L V E S T O N

C O U N T Y

THE DAILY NEWS

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Texas’ Oldest Newspaper

Publishing Since 1842

galvnews.com

$1.50

Dixon Taking aim – guns found Ammunition, assault rifle guilty sales go ballistic By LAURA ELDER and T.J. AULDS The Daily News The walls and display cases are nearly bare at some area gun shops. Phones there never stop ringing, and names are rapidly accumulating on waiting lists for military-style rifles, particularly AR-15s, while ammunition and See sales | A5

Local districts have no plans to arm teachers By CHRISTOPHER SMITH GONZALEZ The Daily News

JENNIFER REYNOLDS/The Daily News Jason Tumbleson helps a customer at The Arms Room in League City, where the display cases are nearly empty after a run on firearms because of the national gun-control debate.

Is gun control a matter of enforcing old laws? By MICHAEL A. SMITH The Daily News Few political blocs are more sharply, ardently and intractably opposed than those for and those against tightening the nation’s gun-control laws. But even those old foes are finding a little common ground in the weeks after a mass shooting in a Newton, Conn., elementary school left 20 children and six adults dead.

A recent New York Times/ CBS News poll found that 54 percent of Americans favored tighter gun-control laws, up from 39 percent in an April poll, The Times reported. Most noteworthy was an 18-point increase in support among Republicans, whose party traditionally has made opposition to gun-control laws a central part of its platform. See enforcement | A7

Last month’s shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut started a national debate on the role of guns in schools, with some in Texas arguing for allowing teachers to carry weapons in school. But so far, Galveston County school officials say they are not discussing allowing their employees to See teachers | A9

Judge to impose punishment against Whiskerville owner By CHRIS PASCHENKO The Daily News »» TEXAS CITY The seizure of 200 cats, including 27 that died in squalor, led to the conviction Saturday of a feline sanctuary owner on four felony counts of cruelty to animals. The verdict against Wydell Lorraine Dixon, 57, came at noon following two days of deliberation and a bomb threat phoned to the Galveston hotel See Whiskerville | A3

Big raise for new county attorney is questioned By T.J. AULDS The Daily News

KEVIN M. COX/The Daily News A sign outside a Clear Creek ISD elementary school in League City warns that the property is a Federal Gun Free School Zone.

When county commissioners hired a new county attorney to replace the retiring Harvey Bazaman, they did so by paying the new hire more than Bazaman. County Judge Mark Henry defended paying Robert Boemer $33,081 more. Henry said of the five candidates he interviewed for the job, most turned down the opportunity because the $132,929 salary wasn’t in line with what the market demands. Boemer is being paid See attorney | A9

Vol. 170, No. 279

Today’s weather

65 50

Sunny with a little chance of rain » B10

Index Bulletin Board........A8 Lifestyle..................... C1 Lotto...........................A2 Movies........................B3

Obituaries................D6 Opinion......................B8 Sports.........................B1 TV Listings................B7

Coming Monday The old Galveston County Health District buildings are vacant about 18 months after closing

in the know Compiled from Associated Press and Internet reports

Coming wednesday

Going gaga for garlic

Garlic plays a big role in American cuisine today. Read more in Lifestlye.

Winning Numbers

Directory

Subscriber Service Open 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. M-F 409-683-5260

Missed Paper Deliveries Daily 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. M-F; Weekends 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Holidays 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Report missed papers at 409-683-5260 or 888561-3611 Office Locations • 8522 Teichman Road, Galveston 77554 • 7800 E.F. Lowry Expressway 77592 Mailing Address P.O. Box 628, Galveston 77553 Contact Us Main 409-683-5200 or 800-561-3611 Editorial 409-683-5239

After hours and weekend 409-938-6111 Advertising 409-6835252 Classified 800-3907355 or 409-683-5301 Editorial fax 409-7403421

On the Internet www.galvnews.com

Reader Service Dedicated to the growth and progress of Galveston County. Published daily by Galveston Newspapers Inc., 8522 Teichman Road, Box 628, Galveston, Texas 77553. USPS 213400. Periodical postage paid at Galveston, Texas

galvnews.com

Four dozen bidders participate in The Arms Room’s gun auction

Sunday, January 20, 2013 | The Daily News | A2

Students learn watchmakers’ craft at Fort Worth school »» FORT WORTH Hunched over workbenches eight hours a day, a handful of students in white lab coats toils with 21st-century tools to learn a 16th-century craft. Their technique must be precise, like the products they fashion. “It’s perfect for me because it’s a combination of so many different things that I want to do,” Bennie Hernandez said. “I get to be a scientist and a surgeon (and) a mathematician.” Hernandez is part of a tiny class at one of the few watchmaking schools in the country, the prestigious North American Institute of Swiss Watchmaking. At its Fort Worth school, only six students are selected for each year’s class and competition is fierce — as many as 100 applicants for each slot, said John Sokol, the school’s director. They come from a variety of backgrounds, from all over the country. Tuition and supplies are free, but students must pay their living expenses. The school is run by Richemont, the parent company of numerous luxury goods retailers, including prestigious watch-

Texas 3-D sonar shows USS Hatteras »» GALVESTON The remains of the only U.S. Navy ship sunk in combat in the Gulf of Mexico during the Civil War can now be seen in high-resolution, 3-D sonar images from the Gulf’s murky depths. The USS Hatteras images are being released this month to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the battle where the 210-foot ship was

World Algerian hostage siege ends »» ALGIERS, Algeria In a bloody finale, Algerian special forces stormed a natural gas complex in the Sahara desert on Saturday to end a standoff with Islamist extremists that left at least 23 hostages dead and killed all 32 militants involved, the Algerian government said. With few details emerging from the remote site in eastern Algeria, it was unclear whether anyone was rescued in the final operation, but the number of hostages killed on Saturday — seven — was how many the militants had said that morning they still had. The government described the toll as provisional and some foreigners remained unaccounted for. The siege at Ain Amenas transfixed the world after radical Islamists linked to al-Qaida stormed the complex, which contained hundreds of plant workers from all over the world, then held them hostage surrounded by the Algerian military and its attack helicopters for four tense days that were punctuated with gun battles and dramatic tales of escape. Algeria’s response to

AP PHOTO/Michael Ainsworth, The Dallas Morning News First-year student Homer Capetillo machines a part during a class at the North American Institute of Swiss Watchmaking in Fort Worth. makers such as Cartier and Vacheron Constantin. Sister schools are in Hong Kong and Shanghai to ensure a well-trained labor force for the industry, Sokol said. Hernandez, 24, is a fairly typical student at the Fort Worth school, which opened four years ago, Sokol said. “Passion is key here,” the director said. Hernandez has it. “What I find so intriguing and exciting is that lost about 20 miles from Galveston. They show previously unknown details like a paddle wheel, the stern and rudder — and a shell hole that may have been among the ship’s fatal wounds. Archaeologists and technicians spent two days last September mapping the wreckage with sonar imaging technology.

there’s this tradition of practices and techniques,” Hernandez said. “Just a tradition that’s been passed down from generation to generation of watchmakers.” Sokol, 55, has had that same fascination for the intricacies of gears, springs and balance wheels since high school. Passion is necessary, Sokol said, because the two-year certification course follows the rigorous Watchmakers of Switzer-

»» HOUSTON Medical officials and oth-

ers are criticizing a Houston city councilman’s disparaging remarks about flu vaccinations and his comments that people“don’t die from the flu.” During a city council vote earlier this week to consider accepting $3.1 million in federal funding for childhood immunizations, councilman Jack Christie criticized flu vaccines and suggested the media is embellishing“the extreme fear of encouraging flu vaccinations.” On Friday, Christie backed down somewhat from his comments. Christie says he has never taken a flu shot.

the crisis was typical of its history in confronting terrorists, favoring military action over negotiation, which caused an international outcry from countries worried about their citizens. Algerian military forces twice assaulted the two areas where the hostages were being held with minimal apparent mediation — first on Thursday, then on Saturday. “To avoid a bloody turn

of events in response to the extreme danger of the situation, the army’s special forces launched an intervention with efficiency and professionalism to neutralize the terrorist groups that were first trying to flee with the hostages and then blow up the gas facilities,” Algeria’s Interior Ministry said in a statement about the standoff.

City councilman criticizes flu shots

land Training and Education Program curriculum. The intensive program can be grueling. Students face 3,000 hours of study, classroom work, projects and testing. Final exams are graded by Swiss watchmakers who journey to Fort Worth from Europe. After students complete the program, employment prospects are good, said Jim Lubic, executive director of the American Watchmakers-Clockmak-

NATION Sikh priest shows signs of awareness »» MILWAUKEE Day after day, Raghuvinder and Jaspreet Singh hovered by their nearly comatose father and repeated a single word:“Waheguru.” The Punjabi word is a term Sikhs use to refer to God. Roughly translated, it describes the wondrous expression of God’s presence. For 65-year-old Punjab Singh, an internationally known Sikh priest who hasn’t spoken and barely has moved since a white supremacist shot him in the head last summer, the word meant everything. Doctors had cautioned Singh’s prognosis was grim. But his sons were convinced prayer, love and companionship would help their father heal. So, they remained by his bedside 24 hours a day at a long-term care facility in Wisconsin. Every day they repeated the word“waheguru”and watched for a response. For weeks there was nothing. On Jan. 9 he began to move

ers Institute. Many graduates go to work at Richemont’s Fort Worth service facility. Starting salaries are around $45,000 and can go into six figures over time, Sokol said. Opportunities also are plentiful elsewhere, Lubic said, because only eight schools in the country — including one in Paris, Texas — provide certified watchmaking instruction. Some schools, like the one in Paris, use a different curriculum than the one offered by the North American Institute of Swiss Watchmaking. Lubic’s organization has a membership of about 1,300 watchmakers, he said. “The schools in this country are probably providing somewhere between 50 to 60 watchmakers per year,” Lubic said. In Fort Worth, students learn exacting mechanical techniques to make, repair and service timepieces that cost thousands of dollars and resemble works of art. “It’s harder than I expected, working within tight spaces within a hundredth of a millimeter,” said Frank Kerner, 36. his mouth, apparently trying several times to say the word. The next day he tried 30 times. He moved his mouth to match the rhythm of their syllables, in what his speech therapist said appeared to be attempted repetition. He couldn’t vocalize because of a tube in his throat, but it was clear what he was trying to say.

Hundreds rally against gun control »» AUSTIN Hundreds of gun owners and Second Amendment advocates rallied in state capitals nationwide Saturday, days after President Barack Obama unveiled a sweeping package of federal gun-control proposals. Some 600 attendees in Austin carried signs bearing messages such as“An Armed Society is a Polite Society”and“The Second Amendment Comes from God.”About 2,000 people — many carrying American flags and“Don’tTread On Me” banners — turned out for the chilly outdoor rally at the New York state capitol in Albany.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Galveston County, Texas

Whiskerville

Continued from Page A1

where the jury was sequestered overnight. Authorities accused Dixon, owner of Whiskerville Animal Sanctuary Inc. in Texas City, and her former employee, Kimberly Jane Paskert, 49, of abandoning the cats for about a week. Judge Lonnie Cox, of Galveston County’s 56th District Court in Galveston, will impose punishment and was expected to set a sentencing date for Dixon on Tuesday. She faces a maximum of two years in jail on each of the four state jail felony counts of animal cruelty. “We are obviously disappointed by the jury’s decision,” Dixon’s defense attorney R. Scott Shearer said. “It was not totally unexpected, though, given the way the state butchered the indictments and created a jury charge that virtually guaranteed a guilty verdict.” Shearer said Dixon would appeal. Dixon’s trial began with jury selection Monday followed by four days of testimony. The jury started deliberating the cruelty charges at 11:10 a.m. Friday. The jury remained deadlocked Friday night and the panel was sequestered at a hotel until deliberations could resume Saturday morning.

Bomb threat At 1:50 a.m. Saturday, someone phoned a bomb threat to the Galveston hotel, forcing the jurors and other guests to evacuate Candlewood Suites, 808 61st St., testimony revealed. Deputies in charge of the jury were unable to find acceptable lodging all on the same floor of a different hotel and made the decision to return the panel to the jury deliberation room at 3:15 a.m., where the members said they would feel safe. One of the deputies in charge of the jury testified the panel learned of the hoax by overhearing conversations of other evacuated guests, but those guests didn’t talk to the jury. There was no information on who might have phoned the hoax to the hotel, and testimony didn’t reveal whether the bomb threat was meant to tamper with the jury. Galveston police Lt. Michael Gray declined to say whether police had a suspect in the hoax call, which remained under investigation. He reported no arrest. Cox denied Shearer’s motion for a mistrial, saying the jury had been successfully sequestered from the public and that there was no proof anyone tampered with the panel.

‘They reached the right verdict’ Galveston County Criminal District Attorney Jack Roady said he was grateful for the hard work and thorough investigation by the agencies involved and for the long hours of deliberation by the jury. “They reached the right verdict,” Roady said. Authorities seized the surviving cats, and in May, a civil jury awarded custody of the felines to the county. County animal services, however, couldn’t care for all the cats and enlisted the help of other public and

galvnews »» Go to galvnews. com for more details in the Whiskerville case.

private animal benevolence agencies. In May, a civil court jury awarded $231,884 in restitution to be paid by Dixon to those agencies that cared for the animals. The civil court jury’s decision remains on appeal.

County Lines Group to discuss Armand projects »» CLEAR LAKE The Houston-Galveston Area Council will host a kickoff meeting for the Armand Bayou I-Plan from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Environmental Institute of Houston, North Office Annex Building at the University of

Houston Clear Lake, 2700 Bay Area Blvd. Anyone interested in water quality in the area is invited to attend this public meeting. Armand Bayou has been identified by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as failing to meet state water quality standards. One of the primary impairments is elevated levels of bacteria in which might be harmful to human health.

The Daily News

Developing an Implementation Plan, or I-Plan, is the first step in improving water quality. The development of the plan will be based on sound science and local decision-making to decide on recommendations to protect and improve water quality in Armand Bayou. Call 832-681-2524 or email aubin.phillips@ h-gac.com. Houston-Galveston Area Council

Postoffice Street to close for repairs »» GALVESTON The city of Galveston will be installing a 24inch waterline on Postoffice Street between 48th and 54th streets beginning Wednesday. The estimated time of completion is about two months. The street will be blocked off. Call 409-797-3630. City of Galveston

county

Education Series Hitchcock Superintendent Barbara Derrick doesn’t think school choice is the answer to education woes

» Coming Monday

Contact Michael A. Smith, michael.smith@galvnews.com

Sunday, January 20, 2013 | The Daily News | Section C

Chris John Mallios

Taking the plunge

Chris John Mallios, a longtime resident of League City, is writing a series of occasional columns about the history of his hometown. He can be reached at mallios@comcast.net.

One last look at 2012

have failed to say happy new year to everyone, so happy new year. I thought it might be interesting to recap the year on events that happened. I would think the largest event this year was the 50th anniversary celebration. However, the most significant event was in January when the city council voted to move the date of the city election from May to the National Election Day in November. This action increased voter participation and historically increased voter turnout in our city. In April, Mike Loftin became our new city manager. In June, another significant achievement for our city happened when the century-old Ghiradi oak tree was relocated to where the future Watersmart Park will be. City hall reopened after renovations, and the oldest traditional city celebration continued as we celebrated the Fourth of July. In August, school started back up and, in September, as part of the 50th city anniversary celebration, League City began a new tradition. The first Boogie Blues & Brews Festival was in Walter Hall Park from Sept. 21 through 23. It featured bands like the Zydeco Outlaws, The Octanes, Luther and the Healers as well as many others. The three-day extravaganza was closed out by the Los Lonely Boys. It was a well-attended success. In October, the Eastern Regional Park opened. The 28-acre park at 2105 Dickinson Ave. features soccer fields and a 32,255-square-foot recreation facility with multipurpose rooms and two gymnasiums. Youth and adult sports, exercise classes, tournaments and senior programs will all be held at the facility. October ended with the groundbreaking for the new Public Safety Building across from city hall on Walker Street. A new tradition started with Holiday Magic, a monthlong celebration during for everyone to enjoy. One of the last, but certainly not the least, things of significance accomplished in the past year was to name Michael Kramm the new police chief. Please take a moment to honor and remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on his national holiday Monday.

Photos by JENNIFER REYNOLDS » The Daily News

pecial Olympics Texas hosted its second annual Polar Plunge, a charity event where participants jump into the cold Gulf water Saturday. The event raised about $28,000 for Special Olympics athletes in the Gulf Coast area. Top left: Michele Klages races into the near-50 degree water at Stewart Beach. Top right: A group from the Dickinson school district’s

technology department, wearing tutus and Gator hats, race into the water. Almost 200 people, many in costumes, participated. Middle right: Luke Bellar and his mother, Selina, participated in the Polar Plunge dressed as the Super Mario Brothers. Bottom left: Dressed as a convict, Christine Victory races into the Gulf with Galveston Police Lt. Joel Caldwell, left, and Sgt.

Dustin Sims on Saturday. Victory is a three-time Special Olympic medalist from the 2007 World games in China. Bottom middle: Galveston County Criminal District Attorney Jack Roady straightens his tie as he wades out of the Gulf. Bottom right: Steven Dunkel, with the Mills Shirley Sharks team, wraps himself in a robe after racing into the surf.

MLK Parade

slanders celebrated Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday with the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade on Saturday. Left: The Ball High School Army JROTC leads the parade down 29th Street. Below: Parade participants wave. Bottom left: Participants from St. Vincent’s House ride in one of the floats. Bottom right: The L.A. Morgan Starlettes march.

Photos by JENNIFER REYNOLDS » The Daily News

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Galveston County, Texas

The Daily News

sales

taking new orders except for certain parts and accessories, according to its website. The company expects to start taking new orders again for rifles, upper halves and lowers beginning in March, it said. Stag Arms has about two years of back-orders for rifles and certain parts and has pulled staff from normal duties to pack and ship orders to get products to buyers before any potential government restriction, the company said.

Continued from Page A1

high-capacity magazines for them are almost impossible to find. Gun sales last week in Galveston County and across the nation kicked in to hyperdrive when President Obama asked Congress to reinstate and strengthen a ban on the sale of assault weapons and limit ammunition magazines to 10 rounds or fewer. While it intensified last week, the frenzy that has nearly cleaned out inventory at area gun shops began shortly after Dec. 14 when 20-yearold Adam Lanza killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, before traveling to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, where he killed 20 first graders and six staff members using a Bushmaster AR-15. He turned a handgun on himself.

Rifles under assault Second Amendment advocates were dead-on with their predictions the Obama Administration would call for tougher measures and a possible ban on assault weapons, sending sales soaring since Lanza’s deadly spree. Although current events triggered the run on all types of guns, it’s military-style rifles, such as the AR-15, that are flying off the shelves. “The last AR-15 walked out the door (recently),” said Danny Kitchens Jr., who, with his wife, Theresa, owns Patriot Arms, 2115 61st St., on the island. Kitchens sold the gun to his stepfather, who drove to the island from East Texas to buy it. Many AR-15 buyers in Texas use the guns to pick off wild hogs that have overrun their land, Kitchens said. Some just enjoy taking an AR-15 to the shooting range. And people who believe an armed citizenry is a free citizenry have become AR-15 enthusiasts. Few things can trigger a spike in sales like the threat of prohibition. But the AR-15 often has been the weapon of choice for those who go on rifle rampages. James E. Holmes, who is accused of opening fire and killing 12 people in a movie theater in Colorado in July used an AR15. So did Jacob Roberts, who in December shot and killed two people and then took his own life in a shopping mall near Portland, Ore., according to reports.

Some squeezing buyers Kitchens, a patrol deputy for the Galveston County Sheriff ’s Office, said he has 20 AR-15s on order that are already bought and paid for. He continues to take orders, putting customers on waiting lists. Ammunition and magazines are hard to find, Kitchens said. The surge in demand also is putting pressure on prices, with some gun dealers profiting from the panic. But Kitchens, who bought Patriot Arms in April, said he doesn’t intend to raise prices or take advantage of the circumstance. His shop offers benches and coffee for customers, and he prefers to make profits by selling in volume and to repeat customers, he said. He’s selling basic AR-15s for

JENNIFER REYNOLDS/The Daily News Red tags indicate firearm magazines that are out of stock at The Arms Room in League City. The national gun control debate has led to a run on firearms and supplies.

about $1,185. But in some shops and from some private dealers, the price for a basic semi-automatic rifle — without such extras as upgraded handguards, sights, grips, stocks, triggers and the like — is in the $2,700 to $3,000 range. Pat McCarthy, a federally licensed firearms buyer and trader who owns Pat’s Guns, 7814 College Ave., in Texas City, also has seen prices shoot up fast in recent weeks. He said he recently sold a basic AR15 he bought a few years ago for $1,300. The buyer turned around and sold it for $1,600. An employee answering the phone at Shooter’s Corner, 2835 Palmer Highway, in Texas City, declined to give his name but said some people are buying guns at the shop and reselling them for as much as $3,000. A 30-round magazine

that would normally sell for about $15 is going for as much as $50 in some stores, he said. But Shooter’s Corner, which is having to ration the ammunition it sells, isn’t trying to capitalize on the frenzy, he said. “We’ve been here since 1979, and we’ve got to see our customers tomorrow,” he said. “We’re not a fly-by-night gun shop. We treat our customers fair.” ‘People are getting upset’ Indoor shooting range and gun store The Arms Room, 3270 Interstate 45, in League City, can’t keep AR-15s in stock. The waiting list is 200 names deep, CEO Brandy Liss said. There’s also been a run on high-capacity magazines. Basic rifles are filling the places where AR-15s once were displayed. But gun shop owners aren’t celebrating.

“Sales are at an all-time high; the downside is we don’t have the inventory,” Liss said. “There are no AR-15s to find.” Stores such as The Arms Room also are having trouble finding 30-round magazines. “We can’t keep up, so we can’t get it fast enough and make promises we can get it,” Liss said. “That’s frustrating some; people are getting upset.” Liss said she instructed her staff not to take deposits on AR-15s because she isn’t sure she can get them. Also selling fast are 9 mm pistols, she said. As of Friday, the store had only one remaining in its inventory. Back-order blues It’s the same story for gun stores and sellers across the nation. And inventory doesn’t look to improve anytime soon. Liss last week attended

the annual Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show in Las Vegas where many manufactures said they wouldn’t be able to fill inventory until 2015, she said. The gun show is owned and sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry trade association, of which Liss is a board member. Leander-based LaRue Tactical, a maker of rifles and accessories, said on its website order volume was at an all-time high. “We are currently back-ordered on all rifles and upper receivers,” the company said. LaRue Tactical also is completely out of stock of magazines and doesn’t know when it will have more in stock, according to its website. Stag Arms, a worldwide manufacturer of AR-15s, has stopped

‘Struck fear in me’ On Thursday, Corey Murray and Peyton Cloninger, who both served as infantrymen for four years in the U.S. Army, walked into Patriot Arms to look at 9 mm pistols. Neither was racing to buy guns because of potential bans or legislation. But they had been to several gun stores and pawn shops that day, and what they saw was alarming, they said. Shelves were bare almost everywhere they went, they said. “We just left The Arms Room and it struck fear in me,” Murray said. Murray called the potential ban on assault weapons tyrannical and also futile. Criminals can always buy guns. “I could buy an AK47 off the street for $60,” he said. “You don’t need more than that to take down a whole room.” Mainland editor T.J. Aulds contributed to this report. Reach reporter Laura Elder at 409-683-5248 or laura. elder@galvnews.com.

The Daily News

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Galveston County, Texas

Sunday, January 20, 2013

enforcement

Continued from Page A1

This agreement across party and ideological lines is around measures such as background checks meant to keep criminals, drug abusers and the mentally ill from acquiring firearms, however, rather than around measures banning types of weapons or large-capacity magazines. And while some among the rank-and-file of gunlaw opponents might be warming up to the notion of tighter background checks — requiring them for transactions between ordinary people at gun shows, for example — organized gun advocates who support screening the sale of new firearms and stiff punishment for those who lie in order to buy firearms question whether the country needs new laws or just more aggressive enforcement and prosecution of those already on the books.

Act one Congress approved the nation’s first comprehensive gun-control law in 1968 after the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert and the civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The Gun Control Act of 1968 set out to “keep firearms out of the hands of those not legally entitled to possess them because of age, criminal background or incompetency, and to assist law enforcement authorities in the states and their subdivisions in combating the increasing prevalence of crime in the United States,” according to a U.S. Department of Justice fact sheet. The original act made it illegal for certain people to receive firearms and made it a felony for licensed dealers to transfer firearms “knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe, that the transferee is prohibited from receiving the firearm.”

Prohibited Later amendments made it illegal for people in eight categories to possess firearms. The categories are: • Fugitives; • Drug addicts or unlawful drug users; • People committed to mental institutions or adjudicated as “mentally defective;” • People dishonorably discharged from the armed forces; • People who have renounced their United States citizenship; • Illegal or nonimmigrant aliens; • People subject to certain domestic violence restraining orders; and • People convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence. The program ran mostly on the “honor system” until the mid-1990s, meaning gun buyers were trusted to inform on themselves about whether they fell into a prohibited category.

The database Since 1998, with the launch of FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, gun sellers have been able to conduct computerized background checks to determine whether potential buyers are legally permitted to acquire firearms. In its first year of operation, the system denied firearms to more than

The Daily News

160,000 felons, fugitives and other prohibited people, according to the justice department. Since 1993, laws restricting gun possession have prevented more than 500,000 prohibited people from acquiring firearms from licensed dealers, according to the justice department. Americans wanting to buy firearms from a dealer, rather than from a private individual, must fill out federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Form 4473, which asks whether potential buyers fall into any of the eight forbidden categories. People who admit to falling into those categories and people who lie and get caught at it in the background check are not allowed to complete their firearms purchases. People who lie also have committed one or more felony federal crimes, punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Perception There’s at least a perception among people on both sides of the gun-control debate that the federal government hasn’t been aggressive enough about pursuing, prosecuting and punishing those who lie on ATF Form 4473. Statistics about how often U.S. Attorneys file those types of cases, their conviction rate and the severity of sentences handed down against the convicted have been hard to come by. And the few that have turned up from reliable sources don’t agree. The New York Times, for example, reported justice department figures showing that while 80,000 Americans were denied guns in 2010 because they lied or provided inaccurate information about their criminal histories on the forms, only 44 of those people were charged with a crime. On the other hand, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas prosecutes the false statement cases frequently, spokeswoman Angela Dodge said. Just a cursory search of the office’s news release archive turned up more than 40 cases, Dodge said. “That’s just the ones that came across my desk,” she said. “That’s not all of them.” Priorities Kenneth Magidson, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, said his office puts the highest priority on weapons trafficking, both organized criminal operations meant to move large numbers of firearms and so-called “straw buyers” who purchase smaller numbers of weapons from licensed dealers to resell in transactions occurring outside the background check system. But, Magidson said, the office takes all firearms violations seriously. “We prosecute every one that law enforcement brings us,” Magidson said. Law enforcement officers often file false statement cases in conjunction with other crimes, but they also file them just on their own merits, such as when the national database flags an ATF form, he said. And prosecutors seek the stiffest penalties allowed under federal guidelines, he said. “Anything related to firearms is going to get them some prison time,” he said.

Gun show exemption While there’s agreement on both sides of the debate about the virtue of good background checks, there’s disagreement about what constitutes “good.” All of the national guncontrol advocacy groups support subjecting ordinary people to background checks when they buy or sell guns to each other at gun shows. Most gun advocacy groups oppose such measures. Alice Tripp, legislative director of the Texas State Rifle Association, argues that federal law enforcement seldom prosecutes people for lying on the ATF forms, and doesn’t pursue the stiffest penalties in the few cases it does adjudicate. The association also argues there are serious gaps in the background system that should be closed, Tripp said. She noted the case of Seung-Hui Cho, who in April 2007 killed 32 people on a Virginia Tech University campus in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Before Cho bought the weapons he used in the massacre, a judge had ruled he was seriously mentally ill. Cho would never have been able to legally buy the two pistols used in the killings had the background check system been working as it is supposed to, Tripp said. “There are already laws on the books to keep guns away from people who can’t legally have them,” she said. “They have to fix that, not subject law-abiding citizens to another set of laws.” View from the trenches Danny E. Kitchens Jr. has an unusual perspective on the debate over gun control. He’s a patrol deputy in the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office and owns, with his wife, Theresa, Patriot Arms at 2115 61st St. in Galveston. Kitchens said he believes a ban on guns is the wrong approach. Criminals will always have access to guns, but such bans make innocent people easier targets, he said. But from his experience in law enforcement, Kitchens said he can’t argue with tougher and more extensive background checks for potential gun buyers. “I favor better background checks,” Kitchens said. He said he doubted a law requiring background checks for private, person-to-person transactions, such as those at gun shows, could ever be enforced. What Kitchens wants is for the government to work to get information about seriously mentally ill people into the FBI’s national database. “When I’m on patrol and run somebody through the computer, I get all kinds of information back,” Kitchens said. “I know if they have a criminal record, if they have a concealed handgun license. I should be informed if they been diagnosed as mentally ill. “The mentally disturbed do not need any access to weapons. My feeling is that if you or someone you live with is diagnosed with a mental illness, that should rule you out.” Reporter Laura Elder contributed to this article. Contact Associate Editor Michael A. Smith at 409683-5206 or michael.smith@ galvnews.com.

bulletin board Contact Angela Taylor, angela.taylor@galvnews.com

TODAY

Submit news

»» The Ruby Goodwin Widow’s Club will meet at noon today at Flamingo Steak & Seafood Restaurant, 6028 Heards Lane, in Galveston. All widows are welcome. Call 409-7627427 or 409-765-5146.

The Daily News welcomes Bulletin Board announcements of up to 50 words in length about noncommercial events of public interest. Just include the key elements: what, when (a time and a date), where (with a specific address) and contact information. Nonprofit and charitable organizations can email items to bulletin board@galvnews.com.

Upcoming »» The city of Texas City Department of Recreation and Tourism will offer a Men’s Recreational and Industrial Basketball League Saturdays and/ or Sundays, Saturday through Feb. 24 at the Lowry Fitness Center, 1900 Fifth Ave. N., in Texas City. Registration is $250 per team and will be from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday at the center. For information, call 409-643-5994. »» The Neighborhood Democrats of Galveston County will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at Red River BBQ, 1911 E. Main St., in League City. Doors will open at 6 p.m. if you wish to eat. For information, visit www. NeighborhoodDemocrats. org or call 281-990-5176. »» The Galveston Orchid Society will meet at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Keller Williams Realty Office, 18050 Saturn Lane, Suite 100, in Nassau Bay. John Stubbings of Clown Ally Orchids will do the presentation. Orchids also will be on display and raffled. Light refreshments will be served. Visit http://galves» tonorchidsociety.org. »» The city of Texas City Recreation & Tourism Dept. will offer youth art classes for students in kindergarten through second-grade from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and third- through sixth-grade from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursdays through Feb. 19 at the Nessler Center, 2010 Fifth Ave. N., in Texas City. Registration is $25 per child. To sign-up, call 409643-5990. »» Galveston County Community Action Council will have its

HEALTH BRIEFS »» GALVESTON Narcotics Anonymous meets daily at noon and 8 p.m. at 2504 39th St. For information, call 888955-8822.

KEVIN M. COX/The Daily News Bailey Turner talks with her sister Sarah at the Confederate Encampment Jan. 12 as part of the Civil War Battle of Galveston. regular board of directors meeting at 5:30 p.m. and its finance committee meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Dickinson Head Start Center at St. Michael’s, 1601 Lake Road, in La Marque. For information, call 409-765-7878.

Feb. 15 at 2700 Texas Ave in Texas City. Attendees must be drug free for 90 days or more. First-come, first-served. Orientation will be at 9 a.m. Thursday. For information, visit www. mosaiccwjc.com or call 409-789-8534.

»» The Galveston County Master Gardener’s will offer the “Growing Citrus in the Home Landscape” class from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at 4102 Main St. (FM 519) in La Marque. To RSVP, email galv3@ wt.net or call 281-5343413, Ext. 12.

»» The Dickinson Historical Society will have its third annual Senior History Social session at 10 a.m. Thursday in the community room of the Historic Railroad Center, 218 FM 517 W., in Dickinson. Clint Wolston, owner and operator of the Bayou Wildlife Park and longtime Dickinson resident, will be the guest speaker. Light refreshments will be served. Visitors are welcome. For information, call Mary Dunbaugh, 281-337-2795.

»» The Galveston Lassie League will have its spring softball registration from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and at 2506 83rd St. in Galveston. Financial assistance will be available. For information, visit http://galvestonlassie» leauge.com or call 409744-2231. »» The Mosaic Center will offer a free class on job skills for ages 18 and older from 7:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 7:15 a.m. to noon Fridays Jan. 28 through »» GALVESTON Curves in Galveston, Texas City, Santa Fe and Dickinson will offer this free class for members and nonmembers at various times and at each respective location. Call 409-741-2800, 409941-0705, 409-927-4227 or

»» The Nassau Bay Garden Club will have its annual Arbor Day Celebration at 11 a.m. Friday at Howard L. Ward Park, Martinique Drive and Upper Bay Road, in Nassau Bay. Admission is free and open to the public. For information, email r2g2intl2@ verizon.net. »» The Souper Bowl of Caring Food Drive will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Kroger, 3541 Palmer Highway, in Texas City. The event is sponsored by the Texas City Police Department, Citizen’s Police Academy, Mainland Crime Stoppers and Kroger. Proceeds will benefit United Faith Alliance. »» The Galveston County Master Gardener’s will offer the “Spring Vegetable Gardening” class from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and the “Anyone Can Grow Roses” class from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at 4102 Main St. (FM 519) in La Marque. To RSVP, email galv3@wt.net or call 281-534-3413, Ext. 12. »» There will be a free community Immigration and Citizenship Forum open to the public at 11 a.m. Saturday at Iglesia Rios de Agua Viva, 902 37th St., in Galveston. An immigration attorney will be present to answer questions and inform attendees on the new immigration laws. For information, call 713-9094850.

»» United Way Galveston will have its annual meeting and campaign celebration luncheon at noon Thursday in Ballroom 1 at Moody Gardens, 7 Hope Blvd., in Galveston. Tickets are $25 per person. Visit www.unitedwaygalves» ton.org or call 409-7624357.

»» There will be a barbecue roundup fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

281-614-1000, respectively, to schedule an appointment to attend the class.

days and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. Call 409-763-8521.

»» GALVESTON The student-run clinic at St. Vincent’s House, 2817 Postoffice St., will be seeing patients from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thurs-

»» GALVESTON Meeting times for AlAnon will be at 10:15 a.m. Saturdays at 33rd Street and Avenue P. The only requirement for

submit news Email announcements to bulletinboard@ galvnews.com.

Sunday, January 20, 2013 | The Daily News | A8

The Daily News will run special events, as space is available, twice: once in advance of the event and once on the day of the event. Weekly scheduled meetings will not run in advance. Organizations seeking more frequent listings can do so as a paid featured listing. They can select the dates of their choosing. The cost of that service is $20 per date.

Saturday at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 13136 state Highway 6, in Santa Fe. Plates will be $8 each. There also will be live music and a bake sale. For information, call 409-9253093. »» The Galveston County Ranchers Dance featuring the Southern “Accent” Band will be from 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday in Pickett Hall at Jack Brooks Park, state Highway 6, in Hitchcock. Doors will open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 per couple. For information, call Robert Colston, 409-771-4978, or Phillip Alexander, 713-5621653. »» The Knights of Columbus Council No. 10393 will have their annual free throw competition at 1 p.m. Jan. 27 in the gym of Santa Fe Junior High School, Warpath and Sixth streets, in Santa Fe. Doors will open at 12:30 p.m. The event is open to children ages 10-14. Registration is free. Trophies will be awarded. For information, call Robert Cervantes, 409316-1747. »» The 1867 Settlement Community Committee will sponsor a bus trip to the Coushatta Casino from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 12. Tickets are $15 per person for ages 21 and older. The group will leave and return to the Front Door Club, 1606 FM 1765, in Texas City. The deadline to RSVP is by Feb. 5. To RSVP, call Vera Bell Gary, 409935-5219, or Cynthia Bell Malveaux, 409-770-3085. membership is there be a problem of alcoholism in a relative or friend. Al-Anon is a fellowship of members who share their experience, strength and hope in order to solve their common problems. Contact Karen Lehr, 409762-0316.

Passing Parade HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mary Lou Valencia, Tony Valdez, Ken Scott, Frank Pucar, Shirley Hughes Young, Kendra Joiner Hall, Liz Boening, Allen Perkins, Eddie Vasquez Jr., Emily King, Janice Evans Mays and Armandine Locke.

Send birthdays or anniversary names to Passing Parade, The Daily News, P.O. Box 628, Galveston, TX 77553. Or leave a voice mail at 409-683-5275 or 800-561-3611, Ext. 5275. No nicknames will be printed. The deadline for Saturday, Sunday and Monday editions is noon Friday.

City meetings Monday »» 6 p.m.: City of Jamaica Beach City Council, city hall, 16628 San Luis Pass Road, 409737-1142.

Tuesday

»» 9:30 a.m.: Galveston County Commissioners Court, 722 Moody, Galveston, 409-7662244. »» 5:15 p.m.: Texas City Board of Adjustments, city hall annex, 928 Fifth Ave. N., 409-643-5925. »» 6 p.m.: La Marque City Council, council chambers, 1109-B Bayou Road, 409-9389202. »» 6 p.m.: League City Council, council chambers, 200 W. Walker St., 281-554-1031. »» 6 p.m.: Santa Fe Parks Board, city hall, 12002 state Highway 6, 409-925-6412. »» 7 p.m.: Dickinson City Council, city hall, council chambers, 1621 FM 517 E., 281-3376217.

Thursday

»» 2 p.m.: Galveston City Council, city hall, 823 Rosenberg, 409797-3510. »» 7 p.m.: Santa Fe City Council, city hall, 12002 state Highway 6, 409925-6412.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Galveston County, Texas

attorney

Continued from Page A1

$166,010 a year, plus benefits. Boemer, who was in private practice for 24 years before joining the county last week, has mainly focused on tort law and not governmental legal issues. “This is an issue in a few other areas as well, (human resources) director among them,” Henry said. “We just aren’t paying the salary to expect the kind of professional we want.” County Commissioner Stephen Holmes, the court’s lone Democrat, said the higher pay was

teachers

Continued from Page A1

carry guns on campus. Top state officials have suggested allowing teachers to carry concealed handguns to protect themselves and their students in the event of a mass shooting. Two school districts in Texas have approved measures that would allow teachers and school district employees to bring their handguns on campus if properly licensed. The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary just more than a month ago left 26 dead, including 20 children. In Texas, both Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst have backed the idea of allowing teachers and school employees to carry a concealed handgun. Not long after the shooting in Newton, Conn., Perry told a tea party group that he supported allowing teachers

The Daily News

one of his objections to the hire. “This is the highest salary paid to a county employee in my 14 years on the court,” Holmes said. “I would believe that it is the highest salary paid to an employee in the history of Galveston County.” Holmes said the district attorney is paid $140,000 a year, as are district court judges. “(I) have no idea what the process was in offering and approving this salary.” Holmes said he also objected to the process and argued that he had no background on Boemer’s hire until the

morning county commissioners voted to approve it. Holmes said he is upset the process didn’t give more consideration to internal candidates or residents of the county. Boemer lives in the Clear Lake area. “We have very capable attorneys within the county and our county attorney’s office,” Holmes said. “I do not object with the fact that a local attorney was not hired, but I do object that they were not given the opportunity to apply.” Henry argued that most of the candidates he interviewed were what he considered “lo-

cal,” among them assistant county attorney Don Glywasky, but acknowledged most lived in Harris County. “We lose our people to other entities and shouldn’t limit our recruitment to Galveston County,” Henry said. “I am happy to recruit from anywhere and not happy about being a donor pool for our best talent.” Commissioners also approved a plan to allow Bazaman to stay on board until this summer as county attorney emeritus at his same pay level. Bazaman has been with the county’s legal department since 1977.

County Commissioner Ryan Dennard, who worked with Boemer at a Houston law firm, said the new blood is what the county needs. “The insular nature of the organization’s culture is commonly resistant to change (and) antagonistic to reform,” Dennard said. “We are going to work to reshape that organizational culture.” Dennard said while he and Boemer worked together at Liddell, Sapp, Zivley, Hill and LaBoon — now Locke Lord LLP — for six years, the two rarely worked together. “I believe in my 5½ years there, Bob Boemer (who was a junior

partner) and I worked on two cases together,” Dennard said. “Both matters involved additional partners and were relatively small and short in duration.” Henry said Dennard was unaware Boemer was being considered for the job until Henry had started the process. The judge agreed with Dennard about “entrenched interests” opposed to hiring someone from the outside. “The infusion of private sector experience will pay big dividends as we reshape the idea of county government,” Henry said. “That has a cost, but it’s a fair cost.”

and administrators to carry concealed handguns, according to an Associated Press report. Local school districts should be able to decide on their own policy, Perry said. Earlier this month, Dewhurst called on the state to consider firearms training for school district employees. “God forbid we should have an active shooter crisis in our schools,” Dewhurst said in a speech to the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, according to the AP. But Dewhurst said normal concealed handgun license training would not be enough and would need to be expanded. But so far, local school districts are not looking into allowing teachers or any other employees to carry concealed handguns. “There have been no discussions regarding arming teachers with weapons,”

said Clear Creek school district spokeswoman Elaina Polsen. Representatives from Friendswood, Texas City, Galveston, Dickinson and Santa Fe school districts all said school officials also were not considering allowing teachers or staff to carry concealed handguns on campus. Hitchcock and La Marque school districts did not respond to questions from The Daily News. But the shootings in Connecticut have raised some questions from parents regarding safety, Polsen said. School districts across the county have reviewed their safety measures. Some districts, such as Clear Creek, contract with the Galveston County Sherriff ’s Department to provide security on campus, while others, such as the Galveston and La Marque school districts, have police departments

run by the district. “We have asked teachers and principals to identify vulnerabilities that may exist and report those needs to the superintendent for remediation,” Polsen said. “Additionally, we have increased training for staff and substitutes regarding lockdown procedures.” While schools are considered gun-free zones, any school district can allow employees to carry firearms on campus under state law. Two school districts in Texas have already done so. Harrold school district in North Texas has allowed teachers to carry concealed handguns since 2008. The Union Grove school district

trustees approved this week allowing select licensed teachers and administrators to carry handguns. But while local school districts might not be changing their rules on guns anytime soon, a League City gun store and shooting range is trying to help teachers be ready in case of an attack. The Arms Room in League City is offering “adapt and overcome” classes free to school district employees. The classes, taught by a League City police sergeant, will show teachers and other school employees how to protect themselves with whatever is at hand, deny access to an intruder and conflict resolution tech-

niques, said Kathleen Janes, an owner of The Arms Room. The store is offering concealed handgun classes for school district employees at a discount, but for now, the defense classes might be the most useful for teachers, she said. The next class is Feb. 2, and those enrolled learn to use things like scissors, staplers or a coffee mug for self-defense or how to use a carabiner key chain or I bolts to lock a classroom door, Janes said. “Knowing how to protect yourself in any situation is very important, whether it be with a firearm or anything else that you have at your disposal,” she said.

A10

The Daily News

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Galveston County, Texas

sports

Tennis See what All The Racket is about with Manuel Moreno

» Coming Monday

Contact Jim Levesque, jim.levesque@galvnews.com

Jim Levesque Contact Sports Editor Jim Levesque at 409683-5242 or jim. levesque@galvnews.com.

Sunday, January 20, 2013 | The Daily News | Section B

Scott trades up

Lying abound in sports

BA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley probably said the truest thing ever to come out of any professional athlete’s mouth when he declared, “I am not a role model.” Last week, two prominent sports figures who were role models to many were caught in a lie — and pretty big ones, too. But we shouldn’t be surprised our on-field heroes tell fibs now and again. After all, they’re only human. I lie. You lie. We all lie. Maybe it’s a lie about something small, maybe it’s about something a little bigger. The real problem is, when you’re caught in a really big lie and it becomes worldwide news, then judgment falls upon you like a pile of bricks. There’s been some memorable liars in sports, too many to mention. So, here’s a few of my favorite fibbers. Lance Armstrong Livestrong or lie? Well, it looks like Lance Armstrong did both. After vehemently denying he’s used performance enhancing drugs for years, the seven-time Tour de France winner and champion in the fight against cancer came clean to the world through an interview with Oprah Winfrey. Well, at least he didn’t go on “Maury.” You ARE the steroid-using liar! Armstrong was an American and Texan hero. Now, he’s just an exposed fraud. Manti Te’o and/or Ronaiah Tuiasosopo Manti Te’o, the standout Notre Dame linebacker and Hesiman finalist, has come out to say he thought his Internet girlfriend Lennay Kekua who died of cancer was a real person and he was the victim of an online hoax perpetrated by his friend Ronaiah Tuiasosopo. Even if Te’o had nothing to do with the whole scheme, he did lie about many of the details of the nonexistent relationship, including the fact he met the woman in person. As Te’o put it, he “tailored” his comments to reporters to See lying | B2

Photos by KEVIN M. COX/The Daily News Friendswood girls basketball coach Daron Scott talks to his players before the fourth quarter of a District 24-4A game against Pearland Dawson on Jan. 11 at the Wilson Field House in Friendswood. Scott took over duties as the head girls basketball coach at Friendswood this year after coaching boys subvarsity teams for 11 years and has the Lady Mustangs are in the hunt for the district title.

New coach has Lady Mustangs in hunt for title

Great Scott Under fisrt-year coach Daron Scott, the Friendswood girls basketball team is in second place of District 24-4A with an 8-1 record.

By JOHN DeLAPP The Daily News

»» FRIENDSWOOD Daron Scott has been a familiar figure prowling the sidelines at basketball games, but this year he’s shifted his focus. After 11 years coaching subvarsity hoops on the boys side, Scott has taken over the girls varsity team and has the Lady Mustangs clicking. Under his tutelage, Friendswood is 16-4 overall and making a strong run for the District 24-4A title with a 7-1 record. The team’s heady play doesn’t surprise Scott. “Last year, they finished fourth in the district behind three teams (La Marque, Clear Falls and Manvel) that aren’t here any more,” he said. “We thought we were going to be right in the mix for a district title.” That makes for a pretty enjoyable time in Friendswood. “I have enjoyed it,” Scott said. “The girls are responsive and they’re very coachable. They absorb a lot. I’ve been surprised at their willingness to adapt See Scott | B2

‘‘

I have enjoyed it. The girls are responsive and they’re very coachable. They absorb a lot. I’ve been surprised at their willingness to adapt to the style of play that I want. Daron Scott | Friendswood girls basketball coach

Sumlin’s success brings extention, raise The Associated Press »» COLLEGE STATION Texas A&M has agreed in principle to give coach Kevin Sumlin a contract extension and a raise after he led the Aggies to 11 wins in his first season with the team. Sumlin, who was hired

from Houston after Mike Sherman was fired, recently completed the first year of a five-year contract worth $2 million a year. Terms of the deal weren’t released pending approval from the Texas A&M Board of Regents on Feb. 1. Sumlin’s staff

will also get raises under the new deal. Sumlin and Heismanwinning quarterback Johnny Manziel led the Aggies to their highest final ranking since 1956 at No. 5. They finished 11-2 for the fourth 11-win season in school history, one year after going 7-6.

Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin led the Aggies to an 11-2 record, and a 6-2 record in their first season in the Southeastern Conference. AP PHOTO/ Tony Gutierrez

The Daily News

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Galveston County, Texas

Sports

AP FILE PHOTO/Tom Gannam St. Louis Cardinals great Stan “The Man” Musial strikes his signature pose after unveiling his statue at the re-dedication ceremony for the statues, at the new Busch Stadium, of Cardinals Hall-of- Famers and notables on Oct. 1, 2006.

KEVIN M. COX/The Daily News Friendswood coach Daron Scott watches his team during the third quarter of a game against Pearland Dawson on Jan. 11 at the Wilson Field House in Friendswood. Under the first-year coach, the Lady Mustangs are in second place in District 24-4A with an 8-1 record.

Scott Continued from Page B1

to the style of play that I want.” What Scott wants from his ladies is an inyour-face defense. “I wanted to get out and pressure and run some half-court traps and full-court presses,” he said. “I thought there were a couple of girls who were pretty athletic and we could put in a few things that could make them jump out as great defenders and use those strengths to our team’s advantage. One of the things we really wanted to do was to extend the court and be able to make the transitions into some easy baskets.” Two seniors made that possible. “We put Skylar Murphy at the front of the traps and presses and

At a glance District 24-4A standings Dawson.......................9-0 Friendswood.............8-1 Ball High.....................5-4 Goose Creek..............6-3 Texas City...................4-5 Baytown Lee.............3-6 Santa Fe......................1-8 Galena Park...............0-9 those presses were designed with a player like her in mind,” Scott said. “She is athletic and has a knack for coming up with the ball.” Jill Bergeson brings size and athleticism to the backside of the press. Making the jump to coaching girls was relatively easy for Scott. He had some experience coaching girls in track and he felt he could do the same in basketball, but he talked to a lot of people first.

One of them was Friendswood’s head football coach and athletic director Robert Koopmann, who coached girls basketball at Santa Fe 19 years ago. He was enthusiastic about Scott’s interest in taking the job. “I’m a big believer that great classroom teachers make great coaches and he’s one of the stronger teachers we have,” Koopmann said of the forensic science teacher. Koopmann said Scott has two traits that would make the transition to coaching girls easier. “I knew that he would have a great attitude and patience,” Koopmann said. “Some aspects of coaching girls are a lot easier than coaching boys. They listen a lot better and that’s not jockeying. They do exactly what you ask them to do. “Then, there are some

things that boys can do and the girls can’t, and I knew he would have the patience to get through those times.” So far, the Lady Mustangs have done little to try Scott’s patience. At one point this season, Friendswood rattled off 11 straight wins, and the team’s only loss in the first round of district play was to first-place Dawson. Given his team’s ongoing improvement, Scott is looking forward to a rematch. “Going forward, everyone here is going to improve and we hope to take them one at a time and, hopefully, we can do what we did in the first round and set up for a Feb. 5 (game) that could be pretty eventful,” he said. Contact reporter John DeLapp at 409-683-5244 or john.delapp@galvnews. com.

Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan Musial dies at age 92 By R.B. FALLSTROM The Associated Press »» ST. LOUIS Stan Musial, one of baseball’s greatest hitters and a Hall of Famer with the St. Louis Cardinals for more than two decades, died Saturday. He was 92. Stan the Man won seven National League batting titles, was a three-time MVP and helped the Cardinals capture three World Series championships in the 1940s. The Cardinals announced Musial’s death in a news release. They said he died Saturday evening at his home in Ladue, Mo. surrounded by family. The team said Musial’s son-in-law, Dave Edmonds, informed the club of Musial’s death. Musial was so revered in St. Louis, two statues of him stand outside Busch Stadium. He spent his entire 22-year

lying

ball, Rafael Palmeiro denied using steroids saying, “Let me start by telling you this: I have never used steroids, period. I don’t know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never.” Liar. Months later, he tested positive for using steroids and was suspended by MLB. Palmeiro defended himself by saying he never intentionally used steroids and must have used a tainted product.

Continued from Page B1

make it sound like the relationship was more than phone calls and electronic messages. If Te’o was duped and the entire online relationship was an amazing elaborate and well-executed hoax, Tuiasosopo should be immediately hired to create a reality television show. No matter what really happened, the entire situation is an extremely bizarre scenario — one worthy of amazing mockery on the Internet. Just do a search for “Manti Te’o” on Twitter. Rosie Ruiz In 1990, Rosie Ruiz of Cuba shocked the running world by winning the Boston Marathon in 2 hours, 31 minutes and 56 seconds. The time was 25 minutes faster than the mark she set at the New York Marathon — a race she finished to qualify to run in Boston. Well, turns out she never really ran either marathon. Ruiz looked surprisingly fresh after the 26-mile Boston race, and suspicions were immediately raised. Later, spectators came forward and said they saw Ruiz break through the crowd and enter the

career with the Cardinals and made the All-Star team 24 times — baseball held two AllStar games each summer for a few seasons. A pitcher in the low minors until he injured his arm, Musial turned to playing the outfield and first base. It was a stroke of luck for him, as he went on to hit .331 with 475 home runs before retiring in 1963. Widely considered the greatest Cardinals player ever, the outfielder and first baseman was the first person in team history to have his number retired. Humble, scandal-free, and eager to play every day, Musial struck a chord with fans throughout the Midwest and beyond. For much of his career, St. Louis was the most western outpost in the majors, and the Cardinals’ vast radio network spread word about him in all directions.

AP PHOTOS Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o, left, and cyclist Lance Armstrong have been caught in a web of lies.

race about a half-mile before the finish. Then came word Ruiz rode the subway during the New York Marathon. She was stripped of her finish in both races. Kevin Hart You might not remember this high school football playing lair, but he made national news for his charade in 2008. It’s worth another visit. In front of a packed Fernley High School gym in Nevada, Hart, a 6-foot-4, 315-pound

lineman, made his college pick, choosing Cal over Oregon. The problem was, neither Cal or Oregon had offered Hart a scholarship. He was recruited after his junior year by a handful of Division I schools, but his 1.8 grade-point average and the fact he did not take his SATs scared away schools that had been interested. The hoax was uncovered hours later when Oregon officials got in touch with the high school. Hart then lied

again, saying he was duped by a recruiting agent. Any coach denying taking another job Nick Saban might be one of the biggest perpetrators. Don’t forget about Bobby Petrino. And last week we had Chip Kelly. The list goes on and on. Kelly was the latest coach to say he’s staying put at is current job days before bolting to a new team. Kelly said he wanted to stay at the University of

Oregon and not head to the NFL. Then the Philadelphia Eagles came calling, and Kelly answered and flew from the Ducks. Now, lying about not taking a job and then taking it isn’t exactly a heinous crime, but it happens so often that the media and fans put no stock in when a coach denies he’s leaving. Rafael Palmeiro In 2005 in front of a Congressional hearing about steroids in base-

Pete Rose For almost 15 years, Pete Rose denied he bet on baseball when he was manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Then he came clean ... in a tell-all book ... to make more money. Money he could bet on baseball again, if he wanted. Rose is baseball’s alltime leader in hits, atbats and games played. He made 17 All-Star teams, played in three World Series, won a pair of Golden Gloves and was a league MVP. Charlie Hutsle is an all-time great, but he’s not in the Hall of Fame because he bet on baseball and constantly lied about it. He’ll probably be enshrined one day, probably posthumously, all because of his lies. But you might not want to bet on it.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Galveston County, Texas

The Daily News

National football league

So, we meet again

Two teams with different perspectives By PAUL NEWBERRY The Associated Press

File photos by The Associated Press For the third time in four seasons, Tom Brady’s Patriots and Ray Lewis’ Ravens will square off in the playoffs.

Once more, Brady and Lewis set to meet in AFC championship By BARRY WILNER The Associated Press »» FOXBOROUGH, Mass. You again! Ray versus Tom. Tom versus Ray. Oh yeah, the Ravens and Patriots, along for the ride. Ray Lewis’ last ride, one Tom Brady hopes to cut short today in the AFC championship game. A year after a brutal last-minute loss in Foxborough, Baltimore is back, looking for a reversal of fortune and a spot in the Super Bowl for the first time since winning it in 2001. If the Ravens fall again, Lewis’ superb 17year career as the NFL’s best linebacker of his era will end as he retires. Brady, the most successful quarterback of his time, has no thoughts of retirement — or of failing to make his sixth Super Bowl in the last dozen seasons. That Lewis and Brady will bring a mutual admiration society to Gillette Stadium adds some flattery to what has become an intense rivalry. “Both sides understand the game of football,” Lewis said. “There have been some great, great rivalries and we have one of those going on with

NFL Report Crabtree questioned in sexual assault case »» SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree has voluntarily met with police in their investigation into an alleged sexual assault in a hotel after the team’s playoff victory over the Green Bay Packers last weekend, his attorney said Saturday. “Michael fully cooperated with the inspectors and will continue to do so

New England now.” Adds Brady: “It’s really a pleasure to play against him. He’s really been so consistent over the years and durable and tough. He’s so instinctive.” At the forefront in this rematch, naturally, is Brady, who has won three NFL titles and would be only the second player to reach six Super Bowls by leading New England (13-4) past Baltimore (12-6). And there’s Lewis, the most dominant inside linebacker the league has seen since the heyday of Mike Singletary. Brady is all about composure, accuracy and even sophistication. Lewis brings aggression, ferocity and mayhem to the field. An odd couple, indeed, but one that appreciates the attributes of the other. “He doesn’t give up hardly any plays, makes a ton of tackles,” Brady said of the 37-year-old Lewis, who missed 10 games with a right triceps injury, but has been a tackling machine in the postseason. “He’s great in the pass game, great in the run game. He blitzes well, like he did a few years ago. He’s really a playmaker for them, so they give him an opportunity to make those plays. You see when

he makes a play, their whole sideline gets really amped-up.” No one can be more amped-up for this opportunity than Lewis. No one, of course, raises his teammates to a more fevered pitch than Lewis. But what the Ravens need Sunday is discipline to go with the fervor. Otherwise, Brady will pick them apart. For all the energy and clutch plays Baltimore’s defense has made since Lewis returned, it remains vulnerable because it’s three biggest stars — Lewis, safety Ed Reed, outside LB Terrell Suggs — are aging and not nearly 100 percent healthy. There’s also the exhaustion factor: The Ravens have played one more postseason game than the Patriots, and went into the sixth period last week at Denver. “In all honesty, I thought we were as fresh in the overtime game the other day as we looked at any time during the year,” Ravens defensive coordinator Dean Pees said. “I think at this point in time during the year, too, everybody is a little fatigued. “But at the same time, your adrenaline is pumping, and the emotion is a lot different now than

it is if you’re playing the seventh ballgame of the season playing 87 plays. It’s just different. You’ve got to find a way to pull a little more out of you, and I think the guys do. I think everybody does that — both teams.” The leaders of those teams, Brady and Lewis, aren’t exactly one-man bands. Indeed, Brady seems to make everyone into a star — witness third-string running back Shane Vereen’s three touchdowns against Houston — and Lewis isn’t the best Raven on defense right now, end Paul Kruger is. Baltimore must deal with Wes Welker and Aaron Hernandez, Brady’s top targets — star tight end Rob Gronkowski is out with a broken left arm — and 1,000-yard rusher Stevan Ridley. The Ravens need to find a way to penetrate a line that yielded only 27 sacks, second in the AFC. Kruger (nine sacks in regular season, 2 1/2 in playoffs) is the main threat, and Suggs has been coming on since returning from an Achilles tendon injury. DT Haloti Ngata is a handful, as good as his counterpart with the Patriots, Vince Wilfork.

throughout this investigation,”the attorney, Joshua Bentley, said in a brief statement Bentley provided no additional details and had no further comment. The statement comes after police said they were investigating a sexual assault allegation involving Crabtree in a San Francisco hotel early Sunday. Crabtree hasn’t been detained or arrested, and has agreed to be available for more questions in the future, police said.

Colts new coach eager to reunite with Luck »» INDIANAPOLIS New Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton is eager to get started. Just minutes after Indianapolis made the hiring official Saturday, Hamilton told reporters he was eager to reunite with three of his former pupils at Stanford — quarterback Andrew Luck, tight end Coby Fleener and receiver Griff Whalen. Hamilton replaces Bruce Arians, who was hired

as Arizona’s head coach Thursday.

Jets hire Eagles’ Mornhinweg as OC »» NEW YORK It’s Marty Mornhinweg’s turn to fix the New York Jets’ offense. The Jets hired Mornhinweg as their offensive coordinator after he served in the same position the past seven years under Andy Reid with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Associated Press

»» ATLANTA The Falcons are well aware of just how desperate this city is for its first Super Bowl championship. Mike Peterson sees and hears it everywhere he goes. “The city is hungry,” the Atlanta linebacker said. “You can feel it when you’re in the grocery store. Everybody is saying, `Go Falcons.’ Everyone is wearing red and black. The city is painted red and black.” The Falcons will be playing in the NFC championship game for only the third time when they host the San Francisco 49ers today, a matchup of teams that come into this game from very different historical perspectives. For the 49ers, this is a chance to rekindle the franchise’s glorious legacy, to follow in the footsteps of those magnificent teams that captured five Super Bowls titles in the 1980s and `90s, led by giants of the game such as Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Steve Young. The Falcons? They’ve never won even a single Super Bowl. Heck, they’ve only gotten that far one time, during the 1998 season when a charismatic bunch known as the “Dirty Birds” shockingly made a run to the big game — and was promptly blown out by the Denver Broncos in John Elway’s finale. “They’re trying to recapture greatness,” Falcons safety Thomas DeCoud said. “We’re trying to break the ceiling on it.” While the Falcons (143) are the NFC’s top seed and playing at home, they opened as a threepoint underdog against the 49ers (12-4-1), who looked unstoppable in last week’s rout of the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round.

The most dynamic player on that field was a quarterback who began the season as a backup. Colin Kaepernick took over the starting job when Alex Smith was injured, and coach Jim Harbaugh made the bold decision to keep it that way even when Smith healed. Never mind that the former starter had led San Francisco to the NFC title game a year ago and was one of the top-rated passers in the league this season. Harbaugh looked like a genius when Kaepernick ran all over the Packers in a 45-31 victory, turning in one of the great performances in playoff history. It wasn’t so much that he passed for 263 yards and two touchdowns. What really stood out was what he did when he kept the ball himself. Kaepernick scored two touchdowns — including a 56-yarder in which he looked more like Michael Johnson than a football player — and finished with 181 yards rushing, a postseason record for a quarterback. He also showed plenty of flare, celebrating his scores by flexing his right arm and kissing his biceps — a move that quickly became a social media sensation known as Kaepernicking. Defensive end Justin Smith noticed a divergent mind-set after the victory over the Packers, compared to what he felt a year earlier, when the 49ers pulled out a lastsecond win on the Saints in the divisional playoffs. “We were so excited after winning the Saints game,” Smith said. “This was, `All right, we took care of business, find out who we play, it’s Atlanta, let’s go down there and take care of business and try to get to the big one.’ It definitely had a different feeling than last year.”

The Daily News

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Galveston County, Texas

National Basketball league

New guys lift Wolves to win over Rockets Wayward shooting night spells Houston’s doom in road loss By JON KRAWCZYNSKI The Associated Press

AP PHOTO/Stacy Bengs Houston Rockets guard James Harden was one of several Rockets players who had a poor shooting night. Harden went 5 of 18 from the field. As a team, the Rockets managed to only shoot 32 percent.

»» MINNEAPOLIS Chris Johnson arrived in Minnesota on Friday night just hoping to provide a little bit of energy and make a solid impression in his latest effort to catch on with an NBA team. About 24 hours later, he was hearing chants of “MV-P! M-V-P!” and teaming with another new face to carry the Timberwolves to a much-needed victory. Johnson and Mickael Gelabale signed 10-day contracts on Saturday morning, then scored the first 23 points of the fourth quarter to lift the Timberwolves to a 92-79 victory over the slumping Houston Rockets on Saturday night. Johnson, signed from Santa Cruz of the NBA Development League, scored 13 of his 15 points in the fourth. Gelabale, a forward who arrived from France on Thursday, had 10 of his 11 points in the final 12 minutes to help the injury-plagued Wolves snap a five-game skid. “I don’t think I drew it up that way,” Johnson said with a big smile. Neither did the Rockets, who were caught totally flat-footed by a pair of unknown players who showed more heart and hustle in 12 minutes than the entire Houston team

NBA Roundup SPURS 98, HAWKS 93 »» ATLANTA Tony Parker had 23 points and 12 assists, and the San Antonio Spurs held off the short-handed Atlanta Hawks 98-93 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory. Matt Bonner added 17 points, and Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter each had 14 for the Spurs. The Hawks announced about 90 minutes before the game that guard Lou Williams faces season-ending surgery for a torn ACL in his right knee. Williams was hurt Friday at Brooklyn and the tear was found when Williams was examined on Saturday by Dr. Michael Bernot in Atlanta. Then the Hawks lost guard Devin Harris to a sprained left ankle in the third quarter. Josh Smith led the Hawks with 21 points. Kyle Korver, who started at shooting guard, had 19 points. Spurs forward Tim Duncan was not in uniform as he was given the night off by coach Gregg Popovich. GRIZZLIES 85 BULLS 82 (OT) »» CHICAGO Marc Gasol scored 19 points, Zach Randolph had 13 points and 19 rebounds, and Memphis beat Chicago in overtime. Memphis scored the first six points of the extra period, Gasol’s putback making it 82-76. The Bulls cut it to 83-80 on Jimmy Butler’s layup and had a chance to tie, but Nate Robinson missed a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left. Robinson made a layup with 6.6 seconds left, but Jerryd Bayless scored with

AP PHOTO/Nam Y. Huh Chicago Bulls forward Carlos Boozer reacts after missing a basket late in the Bulls’ 85-82 overtime loss to the Grizzlies on Saturday in Chicago. 4.8 seconds remaining to make it 85-82. Carlos Boozer missed a 3 as time expired. Chicago, playing its third consecutive overtime game in four days, didn’t have enough in overtime. The Bulls played without forward Luol Deng and had to fight back from a 17-point, third-quarter deficit.

WARRIORS 116 HORNETS 112 »» NEW ORLEANS Klay Thompson had a season-high 29 points, Jarrett Jack scored seven of his 25 in the final minute and Golden State beat New Orleans. KINGS 97, BOBCATS 93 »» CHARLOTTE, N.C. Marcus Thornton scored 18 points off the bench, Tyreke Evans came up big down the stretch, and Sacramento held on to beat Charlotte for its third win in four games. After scoring just 69 points in a 16-point loss to Memphis a night earlier, the Kings made sure there

would be not be another offensive letdown. They led most of the way but needed a late burst from Evans, who scored six of the team’s last nine points in the final four minutes. Evans finished with 16 points. DeMarcus Cousins added 17 points and 10 rebounds, and James Johnson chipped in with nine points and nine rebounds for the Kings (16-25).

JAZZ 109, CAVALIERS 98 »» SALT LAKE CITY Randy Foye scored 20 points, Derrick Favors had a season-high 19 and Utah beat Cleveland. Utah (22-19) used a 31-point third quarter to take a 16-point lead into the fourth.Dion Waiters led the Cavs (10-32) with 23 points off the bench. The Associated Press

has in about two weeks. James Harden scored 18 points on 5-of-18 shooting for the Rockets, who have lost seven straight games. Houston shot 32 percent and committed 20 turnovers in another lethargic effort that had coach Kevin McHale scrambling to find anybody who could give them some energy. The Rockets starters shot 25.5 percent for the game and Harden is shooting 28 percent (23 for 80) over the last three games. “We’re so out of character right now,” McHale said. “We have turnovers, when guys are open we’re not hitting them and we take the extra dribble. Right now, we’re really in a funk and we’ve got to get ourselves out of it. That’s the bottom line. And we will.” Andrei Kirilenko had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Luke Ridnour scored 16 points for the Timberwolves, who had lost each of their previous five by double digits and were playing with just nine healthy bodies. They appeared to be running out of gas again when the Rockets closed the third quarter with a 10-2 run to cut Minnesota’s lead to 63-59, but that’s when Johnson and Gelabale improbably took over. The super-athletic Johnson scored Minnesota’s first eight points of

period. He threw down a huge alley-oop from Ridnour and was serenaded with the MVP chants when he knocked down two free throws for a 7162 lead. “I heard it,” Johnson said sheepishly of the chants. “I don’t agree with it at all. It’s just a great fan base. They showed great support tonight.” Gelabale picked up from there, the French Olympian converting a three-point play during an 11-point scoring binge of his own to hold off the Rockets. Kirilenko’s putback with 1:35 to play was the first bucket by someone other than the 10-day duo in the fourth. Getting outworked by two players who weren’t in the league on Friday may have been rock bottom for the Rockets. They haven’t had near the injury issues that the Timberwolves have, but they looked to be hitting a pretty big wall themselves over the last two weeks. They’ve been sloppy on offense, turning the ball over far too many times and falling behind by at least 10 points in eight of the last nine games. “I’m not playing to the best of my ability,” Harden said. “I’m not making shots, I’m not making plays. I think we’re kind of in a fog right now. We’ve got to find a way to get out of this fog.”

Galveston County, Texas

Scoreboard Basketball NBA glance

EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L New York 25 13 Brooklyn 24 16 Boston 20 19 Philadelphia 17 23 Toronto 14 26 Southeast Division W L Miami 26 12 Atlanta 22 18 Orlando 14 25 Charlotte 10 30 Washington 8 29 Central Division W L Indiana 25 16 Chicago 23 16 Milwaukee 20 18 Detroit 14 25 Cleveland 10 32 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W L San Antonio 32 11 Memphis 26 13 Houston 21 21 Dallas 17 24 New Orleans 13 27 Northwest Division W L Oklahoma City 32 8 Denver 24 18 Utah 22 19 Portland 20 19 Minnesota 17 20 Pacific Division W L L.A. Clippers 31 9 Golden State 24 15 L.A. Lakers 17 22 Sacramento 16 25 Phoenix 13 28

Pct GB .658 — .600 2 .513 51/2 .425 9 .350 12 Pct GB .684 — .550 5 .359 121/2 .250 17 .216 171/2 Pct GB .610 — .590 1 .526 31/2 .359 10 .238 151/2 Pct GB .744 — .667 4 .500 101/2 .415 14 .325 171/2 Pct GB .800 — .571 9 .537 101/2 .513 111/2 .459 131/2 Pct GB .775 — .615 61/2 .436 131/2 .390 151/2 .317 181/2

Friday’s RESULTS Chicago 100, Boston 99, OT Philadelphia 108, Toronto 101, OT Indiana 105, Houston 95 Charlotte 106, Orlando 100 Brooklyn 94, Atlanta 89 Memphis 85, Sacramento 69 San Antonio 95, Golden State 88 Washington 112, Denver 108 Oklahoma City 117, Dallas 114, OT Saturday’s RESULTS San Antonio 98, Atlanta 93 Sacramento 97, Charlotte 93 Memphis 85, Chicago 82, OT Minnesota 92, Houston 79 Golden State 116, New Orleans 112 Utah 109, Cleveland 98 Milwaukee at Portland, late Washington at L.A. Clippers, late Today’s Games L.A. Lakers at Toronto, Noon Dallas at Orlando, 5 p.m. Boston at Detroit, 6:30 p.m. Oklahoma City at Denver, 7 p.m.

Betting line Glantz-Culver Line Today

NFL Playoffs FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG San Francisco 3 4 (49) at Atlanta at New England 9 8 (511/2) Baltimore

NCAA Basketball FAVORITE LINE Indiana 12 at N. Iowa 10 Illinois St. 2 at NC State 12 Iona 11/2 at UNC Greensboro 9

UNDERDOG at Northwestern Drake at S. Illinois Clemson at Rider Furman

NBA FAVORITE LINE L.A. Lakers 4 Dallas 1 Boston 3 Oklahoma City 2

UNDERDOG at Toronto at Orlando at Detroit at Denver

NHL

FAVORITE LINE at Buffalo -120 at N.Y. Rangers -110 at Calgary -115 at Minnesota -155 at Vancouver -155 Chicago -120

UNDERDOG LINE Philadelphia +100 Pittsburgh -110 San Jose -105 Dallas +135 Edmonton +135 at Phoenix +100

Hockey NHL Glance

EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA New Jersey 1 1 0 0 2 2 1 Pittsburgh 1 1 0 0 2 3 1 N.Y. Islanders 1 0 1 0 0 1 2 N.Y. Rangers 1 0 1 0 0 1 3 Philadelphia 1 0 1 0 0 1 3 Northeast Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Boston 1 1 0 0 2 3 1 Ottawa 1 1 0 0 2 4 1 Toronto 1 1 0 0 2 2 1 Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Montreal 1 0 1 0 0 1 2

Sports on TV

Sunday, January 20, 2013

The Daily News

Getting the big bucks

NFL 2 p.m. FOX — San Francisco at Atlanta 5:30 p.m. CBS — Baltimore at New England NHL 9 p.m. NBCSN — Chicago at Phoenix PREP BASKETBALL 4 p.m. ESPN — New Hampton (N.H.) Prep vs. Huntington (W.Va.) Prep, at Springfield, Mass. TENNIS 10 a.m. ESPN2 — Australian Open, fourth round, at Melbourne, Australia (same-day tape) 8 p.m. ESPN2 — Australian Open, fourth round, at Melbourne, Australia 2:30 a.m. ESPN2 — Australian Open, fourth round, at Melbourne, Australia Southeast Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Florida 1 1 0 0 2 5 1 Tampa Bay 1 1 0 0 2 6 3 Carolina 1 0 1 0 0 1 5 Washington 1 0 1 0 0 3 6 Winnipeg 1 0 1 0 0 1 4 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Chicago 1 1 0 0 2 5 2 Columbus 1 1 0 0 2 3 2 St. Louis 1 1 0 0 2 6 0 Nashville 1 0 0 1 1 2 3 Detroit 1 0 1 0 0 0 6 Northwest Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Minnesota 1 1 0 0 2 4 2 Calgary 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Colorado 1 0 1 0 0 2 4 Edmonton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Vancouver 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Pacific Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Dallas 1 1 0 0 2 4 3 Anaheim 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Los Angeles 1 0 1 0 0 2 5 Phoenix 1 0 1 0 0 3 4 San Jose 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss.

COURTESY PHOTOS Emily Higgins of Galveston with her first buck, left, an 8-pointer she shot in Fredricksburg during the holidays, and her second buck, right.

Garza with his first whitetail

Taylor snags a buck in West Texas

Saturday’s Games Columbus 3, Nashville 2, SO Pittsburgh 3, Philadelphia 1 Ottawa 4, Winnipeg 1 Chicago 5, Los Angeles 2 Boston 3, N.Y. Rangers 1 Toronto 2, Montreal 1 New Jersey 2, N.Y. Islanders 1 Tampa Bay 6, Washington 3 Florida 5, Carolina 1 St. Louis 6, Detroit 0 Dallas 4, Phoenix 3 Minnesota 4, Colorado 2 Anaheim at Vancouver, late Today’s Games Philadelphia at Buffalo, 11:30 a.m. San Jose at Calgary, 5 p.m. Pittsburgh at N.Y. Rangers, 6 p.m. Dallas at Minnesota, 7 p.m. Edmonton at Vancouver, 8 p.m. Chicago at Phoenix, 9 p.m.

Transactions Saturday’s Sports Transactions BASKETBALL NBA NBA—Fined Dallas Mavericks F Shawn Marion $25,000 for public criticism of officiating.

FOOTBALL NFL BUFFALO BILLS — Named Pat Morris offensive line coach. CHICAGO BEARS — Retained defensive backs coach Jon Hoke and defensive line coach Mike Phair. Announced the retirement of Rusty Jones director of Physical developement. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS — Named Jedd Fisch offensive coordinator and Bob Babich defensive coordinator. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS — Signed DL Marcus Forston from the practice squad.

HOCKEY NHL BUFFALO SABRES — Signed general manager Darcy Regier to a contract extension.

Albert Garza, 9, of Santa Fe bagged his first whitetail from a tower blind during a Dec. 29 morning hunt with his dad in Bastrop.

Paige Taylor of Santa Fe with a buck she shot hunting with her dad during the Thanksgiving holiday in West Texas.

The Daily News

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Galveston County, Texas

College basketball

Texas lets another slip away against No. 4 Kansas Longhorns’ skid hits four games after loss to streaking Jayhawks By PAUL J. WEBER The Associated Press »» AUSTIN Rick Barnes lost his first four games when he took over Texas in 1998. Not until now are the Longhorns again struck in a skid that long. But even back then, the Longhorns weren’t losing like this. Kansas freshman Ben McLemore scored 16 points and the fourthranked Jayhawks stormed back late in the second half from an 11-point deficit — nearly their biggest all season — to stun the Longhorns 64-59 on Saturday for their 15th straight victory while handing Texas its fourth straight loss. Sheldon McClellan led the Longhorns with 18 points. Julien Lewis added 11 and missed a corner

3-pointer with 13 seconds that would have tied the game, sealing another second-half collapse for Texas. How old is this getting? “Pretty old,” Barnes said. “We do a lot of things well. But we don’t win because we don’t do it when the game is on the line.” Lewis had made just three of his previous 12 from behind the arc before that shot, and McLemore said afterward that hoisting that one so early with plenty of time left on the shot clock even surprised him. Jeff Withey added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Jayhawks (16-1, 4-0 Big 12), who looked bound for their first loss since Nov. 13 against Michigan State before McLemore piloted a rally that thwarted the

AP PHOTO/Eric Gay Kansas’Travis Releford leaves the court after the Jayhawks’ 64-59 win over the Longhorns on Saturday in Austin.

reeling Longhorns (8-9, 0-4) from seizing a badly needed victory in this troubled season. “We just had to play through it,” McLemore said of the slow start. “We talked in the huddle. Coach told us to be more aggressive, and that’s what

No. 7 ARIZONA 71 ARIZONA STATE 54 »» TEMPE, Ariz. Mark Lyons scored 24 points and Nick Johnson added 19 as Arizona pulled away in the second half. Arizona (16-1, 4-1 Pac-12) went on the decisive run after Arizona State point guard Jahii Carson picked up his fourth foul midway through the second half. Solomon Hill added 13 points for the Wildcats, who scored 18 points off turnovers and outscored the Sun Devils by 14 inside. No. 10 FLORIDA 83 No. 17 MISSOURI 52 »» GAINESVILLE, Fla. Scottie Wilbekin had 13 points and 10 assists, his first career double-double, for Florida. The victory was coach Billy Donovan’s 400th with the Gators, making him the third coach in Southeastern Conference history to accomplish that feat with the same school. He joined Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp and LSU’s Dale Brown in the 400-win club. No. 18 MICHIGAN ST. 59 No. 11 OHIO STATE 56 »» EAST LANSING, Mich. Keith Appling made two free throws with 7.9 seconds left and finished with 15 points for Michigan State.

gest deficit the Jayhawks faced all season. They had trailed by 12 against Chattanooga — two days after that loss to the Spartans — before roaring back to easily win that one and just about every game since. “It looked to me that

Cougars fall to UCF in OT

Orange rally, take down No. 1 Cardinals »» LOUISVILLE, Ky. Brandon Triche scored 23 points and Michael CarterWilliams scored the final four points as No. 6 Syracuse rallied to upset No. 1 Louisville 70-68 on Saturday in a showdown of unbeaten Big East Conference teams. It was the second straight Saturday No. 1 went down as Duke lost to then-No. 20 North Carolina State 84-76. It was the Orange’s third straight win over the Cardinals. Carter-Williams had 16 points, Jerami Grant and C.J. Fair both had 10 for the Orange (17-1, 5-0) who won their seventh straight. Russ Smith’s 25 points led Louisville (16-2, 4-1), which had its 11-game winning streak stopped.

we did.” Travis Releford added 12 points and Kevin Young had 6 for Kansas. McLemore was 6 of 10 from the field and had six rebounds. When Texas went up 42-31 with 15:22 remaining, it was the second-big-

as experienced as we are, we looked like a bunch of inexperienced kids off the playground playing during that bad stretch,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “We were trying to catch up too fast, had no poise, their pressure bothered us. We turned the ball over just by kicking it to them.” Lewis finished with 11 points while Jonathan Holmes had 10 for Texas. “We were very close out there,” Lewis said. “We keep losing these close games by possessions. It hurts us a lot. But we got to keep going.” The Jayhawks played listless at the start. McLemore showed no hint of an injury after spraining his ankle in Monday night’s win over Baylor, but the Big 12’s second-leading scorer took just three shots in the first half while his teammates missed shot after shot.

The Associated Press »» HOUSTON Isaiah Sykes scored 22 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out four assists to lead UCF past Houston in overtime Saturday night 79-75. Houston sprinted out of the gates, taking a 9-0

AP PHOTO/Timothy D. Easley Louisville’s Gorgui Dieng has his shot blocked by Syracuse’s Baye Moussa Keita during the second half Saturday in Louisville, Ky.

WICHITA STATE 67 No. 12 CREIGHTON 64 »» WICHITA, Kan. Carl Hall had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Malcolm Armstead hit two key free throws in the closing seconds for Wichita State. WYOMING 58 No. 15 SAN DIEGO ST. 45 »» LARAMIE, Wyo. Leonard Washington had 14 points and 14 rebounds to help Wyoming beat a cold shooting San Diego State. No. 16 KANSAS ST. 69 OKLAHOMA 60 »» MANHATTAN, Kan. Rodney McGruder scored 20 points and Will Spradling added 15 for Kansas State. Romero Osby and Amath M’Baye both scored 12 points for Oklahoma. No. 20 NOTRE DAME 69 RUTGERS 66 »» SOUTH BEND, Ind. Jack Cooley had 19 points, 10 rebounds and blocked a shot with 2 seconds left to help No. 20 Notre Dame hang on for a win over Rutgers, ending a two-game losing streak for the Fighting Irish. Rutgers used a 6-1 run late to close to 67-66 when Eli Carter scored on a layup with 7 seconds left then forced a held ball on Eric Atkins two seconds later. Carter drove inside for the layup, but Cooley blocked the shot. Atkins then made a pair of free throws for the Irish (15-3, 3-2 Big East).

No. 21 OREGON 76 No. 24 UCLA 67 »» LOS ANGELES Tony Woods scored 18 points and Oregon pulled away over the final 6 1-2 minutes to improve to 5-0 in Pac-12 play for the first time in 39 years. No. 22 VCU 90 DUQUESNE 63 »» PITTSBURGH Rob Brandenberg scored 22 points and VCU dominated in winning its 13th consecutive game, beating Duquesne. The Rams’Treveon Graham had 17 of his 20 points in the first half, when VCU (16-3, 4-0 Atlantic 10) used a 26-2 run to seize control. It would cruise to extend what is the nation’s secondlongest active winning streak. VCU coach Shaka Smart became the secondyoungest coach to reach 100 career victories. The 35-year-old needed 131 games, 30th-fewest in NCAA history. Only 11 other coaches reached 100 wins in their first four seasons, including Butler’s Brad Stevens. He was 34 when he won his 100th game. CINCINNATI 71 No. 25 MARQUETTE 69 (OT) »» CINCINNATI Sean Kilpatrick scored seven of his career-high 36 points in overtime Saturday night, and Cincinnati blew a 16-point lead before rallying to a victory over Marquette. The Associated Press

lead to begin the game sparked by Leon Gibson who scored the Cougars’ first seven points. The Cougars were up 14-3 before UCF (12-5, 2-1 C-USA) answered back with a 20-7 run to tie it at 23 with 7:41 remaining in the half. Sykes hit a pair of free throws for UCF with

1:27 to go in the game to tie it at 72. In overtime, a Calvin Newell lay-up gave the Knights a 74-72 lead with 2:54 to go and never trailed again. Five players were in double figures for Houston (12-4, 1-2). Danuel House had 15 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

galveston county, texas

Crossword

Look for the answer to the crossword in today’s paper, Page XX.

Stubborn grandma knits name she wants on baby’s afghan

DEAR ABBY: I’m two months pregnant with my second child. Our first child is a boy. My problem is my mother. She loves her grandson dearly, but she’s desperate for a granddaughter. Recently, the subject of names came up. Although we have already decided on a name if it’s a boy, we had not discussed girls names at length. When Mother asked me what the girl’s name would be, I said I had always liked “Melody,” and that if I had my way, that is what I’d name a girl. My mother immediately started knitting an afghan with the name Melody on it. A week later, my husband said that while he didn’t mind the name Melody, he thought we should decide on a name together. I tried to tell Mom that Melody might not be the name we choose. Her response was, “Well, my granddaughter will always be Melody to me.” Mom and I are very close, but she can be extremely stubborn. What’s the best way to tell her we have decided on another name? — WHAT’S IN A NAME IN CANADA DEAR WHAT’S: Tell her in plain English, and do it before the afghan has to be unraveled and redone. If she insists on completing the blanket with the wrong name, accept it graciously and quietly donate it to charity. DEAR ABBY: I was a busy wife, mother and grandmother who had always been active and involved in my church and community. When my beloved husband

The Daily News

Prime Time TV Watch

Dear Abby Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby at www.DearAbby. com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069. died three years ago, everything changed. I became so consumed by grief, all my regular activities suddenly meant nothing to me. Then something remarkable happened: I learned I have an incurable cancer. One of my sons took me to a world-famous cancer center. Everyone I met there was loving and kind. Once again, I felt surrounded by love — and it changed my outlook. I feel blessed and content, and the best part is I am no longer afraid. Abby, what do you think about my change in attitude? I don’t want to have cancer. I don’t want to leave everyone behind. But I am not afraid to die. — LOVING EVERY DAY WITHOUT FEAR DEAR LOVING: What you have experienced could be called an epiphany. In your case, it may be the simple, striking and illuminating discovery that once you felt again surrounded by love, respect and security, leaving this world and joining your husband in the next no longer held terror, but gave you peace. © 2013, Universal Press Syndicate

Best Bets 2 p.m. on FOX NFL Football The NFL postseason is down to the final four teams as the conference championship games today decide who will play in Super Bowl XLVII in two weeks in New Orleans. Fox airs the NFC championship game here, between the homestanding Atlanta Falcons and the San Francisco 49ers, followed by the AFC title game, in which the New England

Patriots host the Baltimore Ravens, on CBS. 8 p.m. on ABC Revenge Emily (Emily VanCamp) is by Daniel’s (Josh Bowman) side as he goes up against Jason Prosser (Dylan Walsh), his most formidable business rival, in pursuit of a deal that Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) is trying to block. Aiden’s (Barry Sloane) behavior takes a dark turn. Conrad (Henry Czerny) holds Jack and Amanda’s (Nick Wechsler, Margarita Levieva) future in his hands

in the new episode “Collusion.” 8 p.m. on HBO Girls Hannah (Lena Dunham) gets some unsolicited attention from Adam (Adam Driver) and criticism of her writing from Sandy (Donald Glover) in this new episode. Marnie (Allison Williams) needs to make a compromise in her career plans, while Elijah (Andrew Rannells) questions his sexuality, and Jessa (Jemima Kirke) thoroughly enjoys her new life as a married woman. Zosia Mamet

also stars in “I Get Ideas.” 9 p.m. on E! Chasing The Saturdays The Saturdays are an all-female British vocal group with a string of chart-topping hits who have captured the media spotlight with their high-profile romantic and family lives, influential fashion sense and engaging personalities. The series follows the members of the highspirited group as they take on life in Hollywood and begin working on a highly anticipated new album.

opinion

Potpourri Gillentine praises the benefits, new and old, of living in Texas City

» Coming Monday

Contact Heber Taylor, heber.taylor@galvnews.com

Sunday, January 20, 2013 | The Daily News | B8

Our View

Gun control: A case of enforcement F

ederal lawmakers could and should change gun laws in ways that make the public safer without seriously crimping the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. But before making one more imposition on law-abiding citizens, lawmakers should look at the federal government’s record for enforcing its own laws. It’s occasionally dismal. Consider, for example, a Galveston case that made national news a few years ago. Robert Durst, the heir to a New York real estate fortune, led a creepy life for a while in a lowrent Galveston apartment. His presence on the island came to light when he killed his neighbor, Morris Black, by shooting him in the head. Durst claimed the killing was an accident, and his case is now part of the lore that affirms the value of high-priced legal counsel. You’d like to think that most gun owners who accidentally shoot a neighbor would call police, but Durst cut and sawed Black’s body into six pieces, five of which were found in Galveston Bay. The head, with the crucial evidence of a .22-caliber gunshot wound, was missing. Testimony in the trial raised questions about how Durst had obtained the pistol. Those questions were answered by Durst’s own testimony. All Americans must comply with federal firearms laws when exercising their Second Amendment rights. One of those laws says it’s illegal for a habitual drug user to possess a handgun. The mechanism for enforcing that law is ATF Form 4473. When a person buys a handgun, he must fill out the form, which asks: “Are you an un-

FILE PHOTO/The Daily News Evidence from the Robert Durst trial is displayed in the jury room of the 212th District Court on Nov. 12, 2003. Durst was never prosecuted for violating federal firearms laws.

lawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana, or any depressant, stimulant, or narcotic drug, or other controlled substance?” People who answer “yes” can’t legally buy or possess a firearm. People who lie commit a felony. Durst answered “no” to that question. He also signed his name to a statement certifying he understood that lying was a felony. At his trial, prosecutors pushed Durst to explain why a man who’d accidentally shot his neighbor would cut up the body and flee the state, rather than calling police and perhaps emergency medical services. His answer, at it’s core, was that his mind just didn’t work very well, in large part because of habitual marijuana use. Durst’s acquittal on a murder

charge left many people with the feeling that justice had not been done, despite Durst’s conviction on the lesser charge of evidence tampering. A Galveston detective, Sgt. Cody Cazalas, urged federal prosecutors to pursue charges on federal firearms laws. He said that, simply by using Durst’s own testimony, prosecutors could send him away for perhaps 10 years. The U.S. attorney said his office wouldn’t act because a conversation between a prosecutor and Durst’s attorney had taken firearms crimes off the table. Durst’s attorney said that was not the case. He suggested it was petty to try a person for firearms crimes after trying him unsuccessfully for murder. Maybe federal firearms laws

are less important than laws against murder. But the fact is that the federal government did nothing to prosecute violations of gun laws, even when it had remarkable evidence that violations had occurred. It’s sometimes difficult for lawmakers from other states to understand why gun control laws are so controversial in places like Texas, where countless ordinary citizens legally own guns and never think about violating the law. After a tragedy involving guns, the easy thing to do is to impose more laws on the law-abiding, rather than to look at the harder question of how the federal government’s efforts to enforce its laws could and should be improved.

• Heber Taylor

It’s the LMISD school board’s responsibility

bout four years ago, Superintendent Ecomet Burley began warning members of the La Marque school board that declining student enrollment and funding trends indicated the board would have to make some difficult decisions sooner rather than later to keep the district on sound financial footing. The board chose later, even though those trends haven’t changed since Burley first began sounding the alarm and, from the state’s standpoint, it was almost too late. On Thursday, just one day before a statemandated deadline, the board unanimously approved a financial solvency plan to submit to the Texas Education Agency, which could have taken over the La Marque district if school officials hadn’t figured out a way to balance the budget. While more details about the school district’s plan can be found on our website, www. galvnews.com, here is what you need to know: • About $5 million has been trimmed from the system’s budget (which

Patrick Graham

La Marque school district superintendent Ecomet Burley warned the board years ago about declining student enrollment. JENNIFER REYNOLDS/ The Daily News

Patrick Graham is president and publisher of The Daily News.

will drop to about $19 million annually) primarily though the consolidation of elementary school campuses and staff layoffs. • The district is also going to take out a $3 million loan to get through the remainder of the current school year and implement the campus and staff changes over the summer for the upcoming school year. • The district’s loan will be paid back with interest over the next three years, with the scheduled budget cuts enabling the school district to pay back $1 million a year on the loan and put $1 million a year into the district’s now almost completely depleted reserve fund. School officials will argue the loan was necessary to prevent

implementing the plan’s measures in the middle of the current school year, creating a more orderly transition this summer. The fact of the matter is if the board had taken the necessary steps to ensure solvency at the appropriate time, it wouldn’t have had to borrow money and pay interest on it — costing La Marque taxpayers even more money — to cover the operating expense on the remainder of this school year. It’s the equivalent of someone putting his or her groceries or utility bill on his or her credit card. It gets the bills paid temporarily, but all it really does is put the individual in a deeper hole down the road when the credit card

bill, with interest, is due. To say Burley and the board haven’t exactly gotten along well would be an understatement. More than once during the four-year span I referenced, the board has put Burley’s contract on a meeting agenda in an attempt to end its dysfunctional relationship with the superintendent. Regardless of whether you think Burley has done a good job or not, he is not the one responsible for the system’s current financial crisis. That responsibility rests with members of the district’s current and previous school boards, who were told this fiscal train wreck was coming but who did nothing to get the district off the tracks until the state forced their hand.

FILE PHOTO/The Daily News A crew works on a water leak repair in League City on Jan. 10, 1981.

From the archives of The Daily News for Jan. 20: »» In 1913, it was the 66th anniversary of the Ursuline Sisters arrival in Galveston. »» In 1913, unusually heavy fog interfered with shipping. »» In 1913, the Galveston soccer team beat indoor soccer teams, 3-1. From Staff Reports

From the files of Texas’oldest newspaper

word on the street Contact Heber Taylor, heber.taylor@galvnews.com

Sunday, January 20, 2013 | The Daily News | B9

Come celebrate MLK Day with us This past Tuesday, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have celebrated his 84th birthday. This year marks the 45th year since his assassination on April 4, 1968. This year, we also will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. King’s historic “I Have a Dream Speech.” At noon Monday at St. Vincent’s House we will remember, we will celebrate, we will pray that Dr. King’s life and legacy will continue in our hearts, our actions and in hope. We continue 50 years after Dr. King’s immortal and inspirational words of his speech, which outlined a dream of a better world, a dream of a beloved community, a dream of dreams where peace and nonviolence prevails and all share in God’s bountiful blessings equitably. Do we still dream? Do we believe it is even a possibility in our nation, state or city? Do we believe and, if so, what action are we taking to make the dream real in 2013? In 2013, it is possible to dream of a better day, with all the adversarial politics at work at every level of government. What will we do as a community to make the dream real? What will you do? St. Vincent’s House invites you to join your sisters and brothers at noon Monday for our annual Prayer Circle. Join us as we continue to come together, to dream, to hope and to pray for a better and brighter day in our community, our state, our nation and even our world. I’d like to leave you with this quote I recently read: “The size of our futures depends on the size of our dreams.” Come celebrate King’s birthday with us, come dream with us, come hope with us. Peace and blessings. Michael Jackson Executive director of St. Vincent’s House Galveston •••

Today in History Today is the 20th day of 2013. There are 345 days left in the year. On this date: »» In 1265, England’s first representative Parliament, which included officials from districts, cities and boroughs, met for the first time. »» In 1649, King Charles I of England went on trial, accused of high treason. He was found guilty and executed by month’s end. »» In 1887, the U.S. Senate approved an agreement to lease Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as a naval base. »» In 1936, Britain’s King George V died; he was succeeded by Edward VIII.

AP FILE PHOTO Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledges the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial for his “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington, D.C. on Aug. 28, 1963. Join St. Vincent’s House to celebrate and remember Dr. King’s life this Monday.

Letters policy The Daily News welcomes letters of up to 200 words and guest columns of up to 500 words on any issue. Guest columns must include a photograph of the writer. Any letter exceeding the word limit and any guest column exceeding the word limit or not including a photograph will not be considered for publication. We publish only original contributions. An address and daytime phone

who are already trained and skilled in urban combat. Why not utilize this training and hire these people as school janitorial personnel? They could carry concealed weapons while roaming the schools in their normal duties. They could be further trained in mutual response, with and by local police. Bill O’Keefe League City •••

Hire ex-military to protect schools

Gun laws aren’t about hunting

As a retired law enforcement officer of 30 years and former firearms instructor, I think having armed school teachers, with weapons locked up in classrooms, may not be the best option for school protection. But, there are many unemployed, ex-military personnel

Enough talk about guns and what kind we should have. None of this talk is about hunting animals. History should have taught us all that the only countries taken over or had their population reduced were ones where their guns were taken away. Do I feel that could

number must be included for author identification. No contributions will be published until authorship is confirmed. Letter writers are asked to limit entries to one per month. The Daily News may edit or decline publication to any submission. Send letters to: Letters to the editor, P.O. Box 628, Galveston, 77553. Fax: 409-740-3421. Email: letters@galvnews. com.

happen here? No, as armed today, no country, even our own, could take us over. We are the most armed country in the world, so I shall fear no government, foreign or domestic. It is exactly because we are so armed that I feel comfortable no one will try to take us over or reduce our population for any means. Since Vietnam, I do not hunt but, yes, I have guns and, if needed, shoot very well. Some say the timing is right to try and take our guns, and I say the timing is right that more talk about this is driving sales

of guns and ammunition through the roof. This kind of talk can remind us of Germany and many other countries that thought their government was right then, too. Not now, not ever, but I strongly support tougher prison time for anyone using a gun illegally. Washington, D.C., is gun free, no permits, no loopholes and more people die every day there per population than almost any other city in this country. It’s not about hunting. Jim Flex II Dickinson

»» In 1942, Nazi officials held the notorious Wannsee conference, during which they arrived at their “final solution” that called for exterminating Jews. »» In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Vice President Richard Nixon were sworn in for their second terms of office

in a private Sunday ceremony. A public ceremony was held the next day. »» In 1961, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States. »» In 1981, Iran released 52 Americans it had held hostage for 444 days, minutes after the presidency had passed from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan. »» In 1986, the United States observed the first federal holiday in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. »» In 1993, Bill Clinton was sworn in as the 42nd president of the United States. Actress Audrey Hepburn died in Switzerland at age 63. »» In 2001, George Walker Bush became America’s 43rd president after one of the most turbulent elections in U.S. history. »» In 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as the nation’s 44th, as well as first AfricanAmerican, president. The Associated Press

B10

The Daily News

Galveston County, Texas

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Keeping a family sport alive State of Galveston’s economy

eather forecasts for the weekend were right on track. Everyone visiting Galveston this weekend enjoyed the best weather of the year so far. Beach-front fishing piers had customers with lines in the water and traffic around boat ramps and bait camps was as brisk as I have seen this month. While only one report was in at press time, I expect to see more coming in as the weekend progresses. Teal at Galveston Bait and Tackle reported a catch of 20 trout and two flounder by Capt. Mike Meza and his guest Stacey Moore. The action took place in West Bay on live shrimp and soft plastics. I must say that good numbers of flounder still are in the bays. Remember, last week I caught my first flatfish in January from the Mecom’s Cut area of West Bay. While we await other reports giving an indication of what is out there and biting, let me address a topic of concern — the

Reel Report Capt. Joe Kent is a columnist for The Daily News. To get your catch in the Reel Report, call 409-6835273 or email reel.report@ galvnews.com. dwindling number of families going fishing. All too often, I ask someone if they have been fishing lately and the reply is in some form of “no, because I have become too frustrated with all of the regulations and just cannot keep up with them.” While I am a strong supporter of sensible regulations to preserve our fishing resources for future generations, I sympathize with those fair-weather anglers who are venturing away from the sport because of the complicated rules and regulations. Take a look at the list of saltwater fish that are now under bag and size limits in Texas waters. The number is 28 and some of the species will

surprise you. When growing up and developing my love for saltwater fishing, there were no restrictions on finfish and no fishing license was required for saltwater fishing. Today not only are licenses required but special stamps as well. Every few years additional species have become part of the bag and size restrictions and some of them are just hard to keep track of by what I call the fair-weather anglers, those who fish occasionally and mostly in the summer months. Many families fall into that category. So, what is the solution to keeping fishing alive as a family sport? The answer is not easy. Perhaps taking time to prepare for a fishing trip by including a pocketsize list of the fish under restrictions, with the bag and size limits listed. Stressing the importance of conservation to young anglers also would help. Families should make the effort to expose kids to the wonderful world of fishing.

Editor’s note: Excerpts from Harris L. ”Shrub” Kempner Jr.’s annual State of the Economy speech to the Rotary Club in Galveston. THE ECONOMY In our opinion, the United States economy has the capability of growing 2 ¾- 3 ¼% in real terms in 2013, as long as the fiscal concern about the debt ceiling limit is resolved by Congress and the Administration. However, if the debt limit is not extended or is extended in small monthly increments as some threaten, there will be a much slower and much more ragged economic picture for the United States. In other words, we believe this time there is clearly a governmental decision that by itself can determine the strength of the ongoing economy. There are actually three continuing fiscal decisions to be resolved by the Administration and Congress. • The debt ceiling. • Whether government spending will be renewed at anything like the same levels. • The resolution of sequestration — cuts to programs. All of these have been delayed until late February or March. Even though a great deal has been made of sequestration and whether government employees will be paid, we believe these issues will be resolved in the relatively shortterm during 2013, with contained and limited effects on the economy. However, the debt ceiling is another animal, with potentially very serious short and much longer term, universal effects if it is violated. Essentially, if the U.S. cannot borrow to pay past bills, the U.S. will renege on those bills. We believe it will not matter how large the reneging is and how long it takes to be resolved. Our thinking is that, if it happens for a day for political reasons, the U.S., for decades, will be burdened by creditor doubts, in so far as our political capacity to pay our bills — not our economic capacity, which can be measured, but our political capacity, which cannot. So, that political capacity will forever be in question worldwide whenever there is a fiscal conflict in the Congress. As 2011 showed, the mere threat of this can cause many short term market dislocations. Longer term, our economy will be penalized by the requirement that our debtors, here and worldwide, will impose, in terms of higher interest rates, to protect themselves against the possibility of this happening again. This will raise all our interest

rates, and cost us all. To prevent the nation’s debt limit being put in play now and in the future, Congress could once again adopt the “Gephardt Rule” of procedures that it followed from 1979 to 2011, but this time make it mandatory. The “Gephardt Rule” ties spending decisions to automatic increases in the debt limit. Globally, much of the world has turned more positive except for the euro area, which continues to be in a recession. The strength of the rest indicates U.S. export markets will be in better shape than they were in the last half of 2012. All in, there are a lot of factors lining up for stronger U.S. economic growth in 2013, more than we have seen for the past three years. However, all of that could be undermined, and possibly stopped in its tracks, if our debt limit and therefore our ability to meet our bills when they come due is held hostage by Washington. We are looking forward to writing a first quarter report that says these concerns were not realized. Time will tell. TEXAS The state presents one of the strongest economic pictures of the 50. In my opinion, this is particularly due to the energy scenario referred to earlier. Two of the most significant areas of production growth in the country are in the Eagle Ford in Southeast Texas and more recently, the Permian Basin in West Texas. The cascade of jobs located around those new fields and the availability of petroleum have affected the state quite positively. All projections are for this particular emphasis to continue. Of course the legislature is meeting this year for the first time in two. Hopefully, they will do no harm as well as address education, infrastructure, and the water needs of the state. Happily there are more funds available this time around to meet those needs. GALVESTON Galveston continues in its gradual recovery from Hurricane Ike. This may be the year that almost all the owner-occupied housing that was destroyed in Ike gets either repaired or replaced. It is clear that our population is growing slowly, at least from GISD statistics, but it is too slow for most of us. We still are plagued by the fact that we’ve lost over 10,000 people from the levels of 2007. Much more work on this needs to be done. A longer-term project, which may bear on population growth, as

well as business development, is colloquially referred to as the “Ike Dike.” I consider this possibility one of the most important local and regional projects that we citizens here could put our weight behind. The effect of an Ike Dike project, along the lines of Dr. William Merrell’s ideas, would be both to protect the entire island from storm surge, but as importantly, also protect the entire bay region from same. If the Galveston-Houston ship channel and its approaches are protected against storm surge by an Ike Dike, the entire bay region, including the city of Houston, will be protected from storm surge. This is a big project. Estimates presently range between $5-10 Billion. It’ll cost .5-1% of the construction cost per year to maintain and operate it. The dike cannot be maintained and operated by any existing organization, so new ones will have to be created. But the city of Galveston stepped out with a region-leading contribution to some initial studies. For the first time in my lifetime, the city is actually taking a lead in a regional project — a fact which so startled Houstonians that they paid attention to what we did. Hopefully, the entire region will begin to collaborate as they will need to, to study analyze, and eventually finance and maintain this project. One thing for sure though, the technology exists to make it happen. We saw this for ourselves in Holland and other examples exist in St. Petersburg Russia, London, Venice, and of course New Orleans. The question is not technological, but political, emotional and financial. Many of us, who have been here for a while, look back in wonder at the prodigious efforts done by the citizens of Galveston to recreate themselves with the seawall and the raising of the community in the period 1900 to about 1915. It is my opinion, and I think many others, that an Ike Dike project would be comparable in breadth and in beneficial effect, but this time not just for Galveston Island, but this entire area — from here to Houston and all along the Bay. However, the key concern at this moment is that a fundamentally strong U.S. economy is held in thrall by one major government decision which will need to be made within the next month! Hang in there. Harris L. ”Shrub” Kempner Jr. is president and portfolio manager of Kempner Capital Management Inc.

lifestyle

pungent & subtle Garlic plays a role in most cuisines Americans enjoy » Coming Wednesday

connecting hearts, celebrating

Contact Michael A. Smith, michael.smith@galvnews.com

Sunday, January 20, 2013 | The Daily News | Section C

cultures

Gala to benefit center’s outreach Story by BRONWYN TURNER » Correspondent Photos by JENNIFER REYNOLDS » The Daily News

»»GALVESTON

New Year celebration for the Family Service Center of Galveston County gala Friday.

olorful parasols created by area artists will help transform The event, the major fundraiser for the Grand Ballroom at the the nonprofit agency, also will feature live Galveston Island Convention Center See gala | C3 at The San Luis Resort into a Chinese

At a glance

WHAT: Family Service Center’s 11th annual Connections of the Heart: Celebrating Cultures Gala dinner. The theme is Connections of the Heart: Celebrating Cultures. DETAILS: The Line Up will provide live music. Parasols created and donated by area artists will be auctioned. Other silent and live auction items also will be up for bid. WHEN: 6 p.m. Friday. The gala begins with a cocktail reception and silent auction, followed by a seated dinner and live auction. WHERE: Grand Ballroom at the Galveston Island Convention Center at The San Luis Resort, 5600 Seawall Blvd., in Galveston WHO: Proceeds benefit the Family Service Center of Galveston County, a private nonprofit agency providing counseling, education and related social services in Galveston County with programs impacting Chambers and Liberty counties. TICKETS: Call 409-762-8636 or 281-576-6366 or visit fscgal.org.

Eddie Drozdik, from left, Dr. Julie Purser, executive director of the Family Service Center of Galveston County, and Shannon Guillot-Wright show of a few of the parasols created by area artists for the center’s 11th annual gala in the Grand Ballroom at the Galveston Island Convention Center at The San Luis Resort on Friday.

The Daily News

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Galveston County, Texas

Lifestyle

Win a ride on Rosenberg Library’s Mardi Gras float

By Rosenberg Library Special to The Daily News

»» GALVESTON Children ages 6-14 can enter a drawing for a chance to win a ride on the Rosenberg Library’s Mardi Gras float in the Firefighters Children’s Parade at 2 p.m. Feb. 10. This year’s theme is “Salute to the U.S. Armed Forces.” Twelve winners will be randomly selected. Each will receive a free camouflage READ Tshirt. Participants will get beads and promotional wooden nickels and wristbands to throw

galvnews »» Go to galvnews. com for information on the Firefighters Children’s Parade on Feb. 10 and how to sign up to register to win a spot on the Rosenberg Library’s Mardi Gras float in the parade.

to the crowds lining the Seawall Boulevard during the parade. Following alongside will be favorite children’s book characters Biscuit, a cute yellow dog who has delighted beginning readers for

COURTESY PHOTO Children ages 6-14 can enter for a chance to win a ride on the Rosenberg Library’s Mardi Gras float in the Firefighters Children’s Parade at 2 p.m. Feb. 10.

more than 15 years and Bad Kitty, a mischievous feline star of

picture and chapter books. Parents and siblings

of winners can walk the route, which begins at 27th Street and Seawall

Boulevard at the McGuire Dent Recreation Center and continues to the Academy Parking Lot at 47th Street and Seawall Boulevard. For a chance to win, fill out a form available at the library’s Children’s Reference Desk. Entries must be received by Feb. 4. Winners will be notified Feb. 6. A waiver form must be completed by a parent/ guardian before the event. Children’s Department hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. The library is located at 2310 Sealy Ave., in Galveston.

Coach Bush, Moose had proven formula for successful teaching

ven though I’ve known George Morton and we’ve been friends for 80 percent of my life, there’s no way I’m going to call him what he insists I call him — Moose. I don’t care if it is his preferred nickname; with me, it’s going to remain Mr. Morton or nothing. When former Ball High School head football coach Bill Bush died recently at 101, Mr. Morton called and reminded me that he had been Coach Bush’s assistant coach. I should write a piece about Coach Bush, Mr. Morton said. And then he added, parenthetically, “Call Frankie Williamson; he has all of the details.” What could I write or say about Coach Bush that hadn’t already been said, that wasn’t written by one of his sons for the press and that told the details of his extraordinary career? But then, New York Times writer Jason DeParle wrote about the educational challenges faced by the Galveston public schools (Dec. 22). That’s when the story Mr. Morton wanted me to write about Coach Bush began to take another direction in my mind. When Bill Bush was at Ball High for his 16 years, spreading throughout the 1940s and 1950s as the head football coach and as a math teacher, he and Mr. Morton developed Ball’s champi-

Guest column Bill Cherry is the author of “Bill Cherry’s Galveston Memories.” onship teams. Coach Bush left to become principal of Lampasas High School, and soon after, Mr. Morton became the principal of Ball High. Although they finished their careers apart, both were remarkably successful as educators. In schools, coaches, choir teachers, band and orchestra directors, speech and drama teachers, and probably some others, have distinct advantages over those who teach required courses. All are measured and selected in a component sort of way. In the case of sports, the students come to the coaches with a built-in interest in the subject. The coaches try them out to see what talent and physical ability they have. Maybe the kid isn’t cut out to be the quarterback but would make a good lineman. Maybe he isn’t at all qualified. That’s quickly determined and put to rest. The history teacher isn’t that lucky. His subject comes to all students and with a “take it or else” demand. When I was a student at Ball High, I was about 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed no more than 120 pounds. The coaches didn’t have to

worry about me trying out for the football team. I knew I couldn’t qualify. But what, if on the other hand, I had been required to play on the football team no matter what — talent or no talent, appropriate physical size or not, interest or not? And what if I were unable to direct my time and interest toward math and science, subjects where I knew I could succeed? The likelihood of coaches Bush and Morton having been able to train me to be so much as a mediocre player, much less at star, would have been naught. Knowing I couldn’t succeed and that their insistence was useless, perhaps I would have dropped out of school altogether. But what if, instead, the curriculum set out for me was one that assured my success? By the time a student reaches high school, he should be able to read, write and do simple arithmetic. That’s a given because those things are necessary to get along in life. But what if every student’s aptitude were found through testing and interview, and his education through his high school years was solely for the purpose of providing him a journey where he could succeed? Perhaps he has interest is cars, but his ability to learn to be a diagnostician is minimal. How about teaching him to

do body work, paint cars or do automobile trim work? What if he knew when he completed the focused curriculum and received his high school diploma, with pride he could say that he had the skills he needed to begin a career? High schools should be of two genders. One for those who have the aptitude and desire to go to college; the other for students to learn a useful trade, be it as a chef, a window glazer, keyboard musician, medical technician, electrician, practical nurse or a rap poet.

Coaches Bush and Morton’s teaching careers had two distinct advantages. First, they were qualified to build award-winning football teams, then they were able to pick students who were likely to learn what they were to be taught. But the other ace in the hole that they had, and all coaches have, is they were not required to teach any student who had no interest or talent. And the trophies their teams won are testimonials to the validity of that formula. The state of Texas and the United States of

America should focus on the elements coaches and principals like Bill Bush and George Morton learned and practiced throughout their public-school careers. We could all be assured that there would be infinitely less dropouts and many more notches of success carved into the board of education. The legacy left behind by Coach Bush and his cohort, Mr. George “Moose” Morton, is a proven formula for successful teaching. Ball High students, their parents and the community were fortunate to have had them.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Galveston County, Texas

The Daily News

Lifestyle

Mah-jongg enthusiasts celebrate birthdays together Scenes Frances Powell is a columnist for The Daily News. Send deets ’n’ pix of your parteez ’n’ proceedings to divascenes@aol.com or call 409-744-6540.

he mah-jongg/ birthday gathering held at Kay Davis’ Harve Lafitte snazzienda was super intimate and fun with family mems such as Susanne Sullivan and other mah-jongg enthusiasts present. Cindy Sullivan and Kay Davis shared details about their son’s recent engagements (Rocky and Brad) over the holidays. Rocky proposed Christmas Eve in Galveston to Kelsey Wegner and Brad to Kristen Spanik of Yorktown, Va. Brad proposed New Year’s Eve in San Francisco. Wedding plans for both couples are in the planning stages for this year.

Gambrinus spectacular Gambrinus plans an Evening enjoying the Pleasures of Morocco and The San Luis Ballroom will be the site of Gambrinus’ spectacular Mardi Gras Coronation on Jan. 26. The spectacles of Casablanca, including veiled dancers and mysterious marketplace performers, will entertain the guests and lead the procession as King Gambrinus XXIV, Lawrence Thomson,

gala

Continued from Page C1

music, a cocktail reception, silent auction, seated dinner and live auction. The goal is to not only raise money but also raise awareness for the agency’s counseling programs. “This is an opportunity for us to increase and enhance the visibility of what it is we do and what needs we address in the community,” said Dr. Julie Purser, the center’s executive director. “In light of the tragedy we’ve just seen, it becomes more imperative that communities

COURTESY PHOTOS New Family Dance presentees are Danielle Carolina Perugini, Panagiotis Aristedes Koutrouvelis, Cameron Scott Gaertner, Madeline Marie Silva, Joseph Anthony Termini III, John David Marion and Marina Leigh Rismiller.

New Family Dance presentees are Luke Taylor Kelso, Kaleigh Elizabeth Coltzer, Ellis Claire Cherryhomes, Olyvia Ann Sjostrom, Mikalya Rhea Watson, Kerry David WengleinCallender, Ashley Taylor Schwab, Philip Bradford Thomas and Quincy Holland Seigel.

and Divafave Her Royal Highness Sophia Smith enter to receive their crowns. The Royal Court of dukes and duchesses include Woodrow Silvertooth and Jan Loman-Lindquist, Steve Comstock and Renee Donaldson, Dr. Tom Wright and Carol Ivey and Kenneth Marx and Julie Jannett. Moroccan Food Court Markets and

Pubs of the Paradise will be open all evening as local favorite The Pee Wee Bowen Band rocks the black tie- and costumed-revelers with classic rock, rock ’n’ roll and New Orleans Mardi Gras faves. Ball chair and producer Sandra Thiem is all aglow over the elaborate decorations and floral arrangements as this evening of fantasy comes together.

For deets and seats, contact Rezzies Chair Barbara Silvertooth at 409-948-3522.

recognize the need for mental health care,” she said, referring to the December shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Conn.

meet the needs of the kids in the classroom,” Purser said. Another recent grant from the state Victims of Crime Act will help bring center counselors to more communitybased settings and possibly police departments. “Part of what we are trying to be is more the generalist, the front-line folks who address the needs,” she said. Purser said the center also collaborates with other mental healthrelated agencies.

education and related social services. Clients served today range from families and individuals to at-risk youth. This is the 11th year for the fundraising gala with its overarching theme of Connections of the Heart: Celebrating Cultures. Featured throughout the evening will be three community couples who live the center’s mission.

Center’s expansion School-based services are among the center’s programs. Officials with the center are planning an expansion after receiving new grants from the Harris and Eliza Kempner Fund and Moody Permanent Endowment. “Actually, it’s just doing what we can to provide more outreach services to children and families and to consult with the teachers in the school settings to best

Center’s history The history of the center dates back to 1914 with an initiative to provide counseling,

Birthday babies Happy birthday to Johnny Maisel, Pete Fredricksen, Gina Spagnola, Joanie McLeod, Michele Chaljub, Lloyd Criss, Divakid Kathryn Rourke Cox, Angela Crummett and Nick O’Donohoe.

Center’s honorees »» Keith and Bernadette Casey. Keith has served as board president for United Way Galveston County Mainland for the past three years. Bernadette and their

The Red Carpet couple Tilman and Paige Fertitta at The Salute last Mardi Gras. This year’s salute honors cardiologist to the stars, Dr. Ken Fujise of UTMB’s Docshop. For tix and deets, call Michelle Beckwith or Kim Schultz, 409-744-1500, or email mbeckwith@ldry.com or kschultz@ldry.com.

New retiree Joyce Dundee and Bobby Moody at her festive retirement party. Story to come next Scenes, stay tuned.

Many happy for mah-jongg gals. Pictured, front row, are Adrienne Bassett and Kay Davis; standing, Vera Carmona, Patsy Cunningham, Merrie Edwards and Cindy Sullivan.

children, Kaitlin and Nicholas, also volunteer in community projects. »» Babe and Marilyn Schwartz. Babe served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1955 to 1959 and in the Texas Senate from 1960 to 1981. Among his major accomplishments are the initiation of legislation to establish Texas A&M University at Galveston and University of HoustonClear Lake, protection of Galveston beaches through the Open Beaches Law and the first Windstorm Insurance program. Marilyn, the 2002 recipient of Steel Oleander Award,

serves on numerous community service boards. »» Otie and Rose Zapp. Otie served as president of the Galveston Chamber of Commerce, the National Foundation of the March of Dimes and the Small Business Division of the United Way. Rose has been a kitchen volunteer for St. Patrick’s, O’Connell junior high and high schools and Our Daily Bread. She also volunteers with the University of Texas Medical Branch’s Care Bear maternity program and as a docent for Galveston Historical Foundation’s May Homes tours.

The Daily News

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Galveston County, Texas

Lifestyle

Mom proud son achieves Eagle Scout rank in short time

Guest column

Jamie Lusby lives in Galveston.

t seems like it was just yesterday that my little boy came home from elementary school and asked me if he could join Cub Scouts. I remember calling the Bay Area Council office. When I asked how much the uniforms would cost me, I had to rethink this idea. I was a single mom and really just couldn’t afford it. It wasn’t until the beginning of his junior year in high school that I met a man named Donnie Rouse while I was at work. I told him it just wasn’t in our budget, and he assured me that there was some assistance through his troop and they could help us. My son attended the first meeting and truly wanted to be a part of this experience. He had several friends who were in other troops. After attending that meeting, he found he already knew some in this troop. Since most boys begin their journey in their younger years, they already have achieved and moved forward

COURTESY PHOTO James Michael Lusby-Garcia, far right, was awarded his Eagle rank Dec. 12. Lusby-Garcia restored gardens lost by Hurricane Ike at University of Texas Medical Branch. His project is dedicated to his grandmother, Dorothy M. Lusby, who was the first female to become a licensed plumber at the medical branch.

as scheduled for this journey. My son joined, and becoming an Eagle might have been out of reach because there was just not enough time for him. You must make Eagle before your 18th birthday. The highest

achievement is becoming an Eagle. After telling his Scoutmaster he wanted to become an Eagle, they had to sit down and look at a calendar. He would have until the week of his 18th birth-

Galveston Island Humane Society Pets of the Week

Cleopatra, above right, and Harry are this week’s Galveston Island Humane Society Pets of the Week. Cleopatra was brought to the shelter in August with her litter of kittens and made herself right at home. Since then, all of her kittens have been adopted and she is sitting here, patiently waiting for her chance to find a forever home. Cleopatra is a gorgeous longhair tortoiseshell. At 5 years old, she will make a gorgeous accessory to any home. Harry is a unique 8-month-old kitten who has one crystal blue and one gorgeous green eye. He came to the shelter and went to foster care, where he became the most loving and wonderful cat. He is great with other cats, dogs and children. Cleopatra and Harry are available for adoption this week for half the humane society’s usual fee. All

adoptions include current vaccinations, including rabies, spay or neuter, heartworm test and preventive, flea preventive, microchip, registration and one month’s health insurance. Fees are $75 for cats and dogs older than 6 months and $90 for kittens and puppies.

Check out all of the adoptable pets at petango.com. Fix Felix is Feb. 13. Call to book your appointment for a discount to neuter a male cat. Call the society at 409-740-1919 or visit the shelter at 6814 Broadway. Galveston Island Humane Society

day. He earned exactly the required 21 merit badges. In August, he was approved by the University of Texas Medical Branch and Dr. David Callender to complete his Eagle project on the campus.

He chose to restore gardens lost by Hurricane Ike and dedicated it in memory of his grandmother, Dorothy M. Lusby, who was the first female to become a licensed plumber at the medical branch.

Our family could not have been more proud of him. To honor our mother was something none of us could have ever imagined. In October during his senior year, he completed the gardens, which was a requirement to becoming an Eagle scout. They are at 13th and Mechanic streets. The project must be something that is for the community. His story that is on his grandmother’s monument reads: “Her story gives hope and encouragement to all that no matter what age or gender you are, it is never too late to achieve your goals. Just believe.” On Dec. 12, my son James Michael LusbyGarcia was awarded his Eagle rank. He was even happier to know he was a Centennial Eagle — 100 years of Eagle Scouting — on a date and day we will all remember, 12-12-12. I think his story and journey alone was that of an Eagle project. He set his goal. He worked hard to accomplish it. More so, he is an example to all young men and boys in our community that it is never too late to achieve your goal. Just believe.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Galveston County, Texas

The Daily News

Applause Of Note

Balentine donates 12 bikes

Meridian Retirement Center owner Jay W. Balentine donated 12 bicycles to the Galveston Police Department Blue Santa Program. The bikes symbolized the twelve days of Christmas. Meridian Tower residents also donated toys and clothes to the program.

GRW inducts 2013 officers

The Galveston Republican Women 2013 officers were inducted Dec. 19 by National Republican Party Committeeman Dr. Robin Armstrong, who conducted the swearing-in ceremony.

BALCOC is official

The Bay Area-League City Optimist Club was officially established with an organizational meeting on Dec. 10, at the Ed White Memorial High School. South Texas District Op-

Pictured, from left, are Vikki Carpenter, second vice president, campaign/legislative activities; Betty Henry, third vice president, public relations; Jane Rigsby, treasurer; Mosette Davis, recording secretary; Jeannie Koenig, president; and Dr. Robin Armstrong. Linda Burton, first vice president, programs, was not present.

Pictured, from left, are Bay Area-League City Optimist Club Charter Vice President Rosalind Perez, SecretaryTreasurer Kendra Persohn, President Greta Ayers and Optimist International South Texas Zone 10 Lieutenant Governor Duane Ullman.

timist International Field Representative Gene Pipes conducted the proceedings and orientation of the fifteen required charter members.

Local SAR installs new officers Past State President David Peterson and a member of the Bernardo de Galvez Chapter No. 1, Sons of the American Revolution, Texas Society installed the new chapter officers of 2013 at a meeting in two of the dining cars at the Railroad Museum.

Pictured, from left, are Bernardo de Galvez Chapter No. 1, Sons of the American Revolution, Texas Society new officers David Peterson, Gordon Robinson, treasurer; Ron Whatley, president; and Jim Cantrell, registrar. Not pictured is George Williamson, vice president.

Pictured, from left, are Galveston Police Officer Ryan Stevens, Sgt. Destin Sims, the Rev. Ray Pinard, police Chief Henry Porretto, Jay W. Balentine, Capt. Byron Frankland and Officer Robert Sanderson. Meridian Retirement Center owner Jay W. Balentine donated twelve bicycles to the Galveston Police Department Blue Santa Program.

Submit your good news Applause accepts submissions about awards, honors and community events. Applause items must be submitted within four weeks of the event. Send a short report accompanied, if possible, by a photograph to The Daily News, Attn: Applause, P.O. Box 628, Galveston, TX 77553, or send an email to applause@ galvnews.com. Photos sent via email must be submitted in .JPG format at a resolution of at least 200 dots per inch. For information, call 409-683-5246.

The Daily News

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Galveston County, Texas

Lifestyle

Morrison proves Author entrances fans, charms new readers Book review her expertise in short story I “Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance,” by Lois McMaster Bujold, Baen Books, 432 pages, $26.

“Home,” by Toni Morrison, Alfred A. Knopf, 145 pages, $24.

rank Money has been released from the hospital after being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from experiences in the Korean War. He was there when his two best friends, Mike and Stuff, were horribly disfigured and killed. He finds assistance from a generous minister (echoes of “Les Miserables”), falls in love with Lily and goes to rescue his sister, Cee, who is being abused by a medical doctor and is nearly killed. It is through his fortunate encounters with others and his basic strength of character that he is able to begin to put the war behind him and struggle to make a life for himself. He tells stories about the war, recalling and recounting adventures and horrors no person would choose to live with. One particularly terrible tale is of the murder of a Korean child by a soldier who had to find some way to pay the bastards back. It takes Frank a long time to come to grips with the truth of that event. It’s almost impossible for a civilized person to understand the attitudes of some people in the postwar South, people who value power over others to

Library events

»» TEXAS CITY Moore Memorial Public Library will offer Toddlerific Storytime for ages 1-2 at 10 a.m. Tuesdays in the Walter Holland Meeting Room of the library, 1701 Ninth Ave. N. There will be stories, finger plays, rhymes, bubble time and play time offered. Admission is free, but space is limited. Call 409-643-5983.

»» LEAGUE CITY Helen Hall Library will offer story times geared toward infants to two-year-olds at 10:15 a.m. and 11 a.m. and pajama story time for ages 3-6 at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays at 100 W. Walker St. The library also will offer preschool story time for ages 3-5 at 10:15 a.m. and 11 a.m. Wednesdays. Free tickets will be passed out 15 minutes before each event. Call 281-554-1113 or visit leaguecitylibrary.org.

»» TEXAS CITY The Moore Memorial Public Library will offer a free computer class on Fixing Photos at 10 a.m. Thursday in the meeting room of the library, 1701 Ninth Ave. N. Potential students must come to the library

Book review

Melvyn Schreiber is a physician at the University of Texas Medical Branch. the extent that they wager on who will win a life-and-death knife fight between a father and a son. I was never convinced that Toni Morrison was sufficiently distinguished to have been awarded the Nobel Prize in literature, and maybe she wasn’t at the time. Partly it was because I was irritated with the Nobel Committee for overlooking John Updike and Philip Roth, clearly the outstanding American novelists of our generation. But now I must reconsider my position, for Morrison has written a really splendid short novel, only 145 pages but full of fascinating characters, believable dialogue and memorable events, including redemption of a character who might very well have been lost forever. Writing a short novel is much harder than writing a long one, and Morrison has proved her expertise with this novel, thick with a good story, interesting characters, believable conflict and intense emotional expression. You won’t want it to end. between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. on the day of the class for pre-class screening. Admission is granted on a first-come, firstserved basis. Seating is limited. Call 409-643-5977. »» HITCHCOCK On the Same Page Book Club will meet at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Hitchcock Public Library, 8005 Barry Ave. Refreshments will be served. Call 409-986-7814, or visit hitchcockpublic library.org. »» HITCHCOCK Hitchcock Heritage Museums, the Cottage and Ms. Genevieve’s House, will have an open tour from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Hitchcock Public Library, 8005 Barry Ave. Attendees will get to learn about the museums, Hitchcock’s history, the Blimp Base and Camp Wallace. Call Joanne Robinson, 409-986-5036, or the library, 409-986-7814. »» TEXAS CITY The Moore Memorial Public Library will offer a class on “Knitting Fun” at 3 p.m. Jan. 29 in the meeting room of the library, 1701 Ninth Ave. N. A representative from the library will teach the basics of knitting. Call 409-643-5977.

van Vorpatril has served in a supporting role through much of the Vorkosigan sciencefiction series. In “Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance,” by Lois McMaster Bujold, Ivan plays the leading man. He turns in an outstanding performance. Ivan Vorpatril is cousin to both Emperor Gregor Vorbarra of Barrayar and Miles Vorkosigan, the crippled son of the former regent of Barrayar. Until Gregor married and produced heirs, Ivan was Gregor’s likely successor. The honor is undesired by Ivan. It made Ivan an attractive prize for every faction seeking to replace Gregor. Ivan grew up allergic

Mark Lardas, an engineer, freelance writer, amateur historian and model-maker, lives in League City. His website is marklardas.com.

to court politics. Disturbances caused during a previous attempt to replace Gregor led to Ivan’s father’s death — on the very day Ivan was born. Ivan has assiduously avoided looking competent enough to replace Gregor, playing at being too unconcerned to realize his potential. This allowed Ivan to play a comic foil to his cousin Miles throughout the series, Watson to Holmes rather than Bunter to Peter Wimsey. Yet equally, when-

ever it really mattered, Ivan somehow always delivered the goods. His insouciant facade hides that Ivan is highly competent and devoted to Gregor and the Empire. “Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance” opens with Ivan right where he wants to be — enjoying life and holding a job with the perfect mix of interesting work and lack of authority. He is on the planet Komarr, aide-decamp to an admiral on an inspection tour. His cousin Byerly Vorrutyer appears at Ivan’s doorstep. Byerly, like Miles, is an Imperial Security agent. Byerly asks Ivan for help in an investigation. He wants Ivan, well-known as a lady’s man, to keep an eye on a woman who the criminal By is investigating wants kidnapped. Against his better judgment, Ivan agrees. The woman, and a blueskinned genetically-

engineered half-sister, proves to be on the run from Jackson’s Whole, a planet run by what would be called organized crime families elsewhere in the galaxy. Her family came up short in a faction fight. What results is best described as a sciencefiction version of a Georgette Heyer romantic farce. Rather, the science-fiction farce that would result if Georgette Heyer collaborated with Ian Fleming and Groucho Marx — part Heyer, part James Bond, part Horsefeathers. “Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance” is marvelously self-contained. The characters and background of the previous series are there without being integral to understanding or enjoying the novel. Bujold has written a novel that will entrance fans and charm new readers.

Story about 1900 Dickinson hard to put down “The Legend of Marcus Benson,” by Ernie Deats, illustrated by Anna Novak, America Press, 2012, 269 pages, $15.

n the early 1900s, Galveston County was a rough-andtumble territory in which those who were chosen to enforce the law often did so by their own rules. The Ku Klux Klan was very active and influential in monitoring its own brand of law, particularly in the northern portion of the county. Most men chose to adhere, were forced into submitting or died when they resisted. One man who would not submit was Marcus Benson, owner of a ranch outside the town of Dickinson. This book is based on his fight with the KKK. The local group didn’t like that Benson not only hired black cowboys, but paid them what he paid his other hands. The real friction came because Benson didn’t cow-tow to what they were demanding. Neither did he obey their interpretation of the law. He defended his right to make decisions on his land and, if necessary, did so with a gun, killing Klan members when they interfered. Though based on this historical clash, the book is a fictional account of events leading up to the showdown, with historical characters and other folks cre-

Book review Margaret Barno, creative storyteller and mentor, lives in Tyler. ated out of the author’s imagination. The result is a fast-paced story that

is difficult to put down. Illustrator Anna Novak is an outstanding Dickinson Independent School District student and artist, who is active in community service and school activities. All proceeds from the sale of this book and Ernie Deats’ previous books go to fund college scholarships for students in DISD through

the Dickinson ISD Education Foundation. The goal of the organization is to be able to have every student attain a higher education opportunity. The book can be purchased at Keyworth Hardware and the Dickinson Historical Museum in Dickinson. It also is available on Kindle.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Galveston County, Texas

The Daily News

Lifestyle

More options than fences to secure perimeter of house The Crime Corner:

Prevention Tips & Tidbits Walt Candelari is a police officer with Dickinson Police Department. He is writing a series of columns on creating an environment of safety from burglars.

was reading one of the Clive Cussler action novels featuring his hero Dirk Pitt — what a name for a hero, it just sounds like a good guy — when it dawned on me that here was a crime prevention manual already done. It featured everything from electrified fences, security alarms, all of the bells and whistles the mind can conjure, and best of all, only the good guys can figure them out. What is even better is that they also have to start at the outside perimeter and work their way in just as a crook has to do in real life. The purpose of all security is as much psychological as physical. Security lighting is a good example. How much of it is a physical obstacle and how much of it is psychological? You also need to weigh the cost effectiveness of what you do. Is the cost of protection beyond what the value is of what you are trying to protect? I was at an auto dealer that was promoting a super vehicle alarm system. While it was good, it cost almost as much as my car was worth. Thanks, but no thanks. Perimeter barriers, the first line of defense, are designed to define the outside perimeter of a site and also the physical and psychological limits as well. They work by channeling the flow of vehicles and people to defined areas. They need to be well maintained and must not obstruct visibility. While the most common perimeter barrier for homes is a chain-link fence, there are other options that may have the same effect and blend better with the overall effect of the property. Chain-link fences seem to offer a relative

metrocreativeconnection.com When considering using bushes as a security choice, determine how much concealment the bushes might offer an intruder.

galvnews »» Go to galvnews. com for links to Texas Crime Prevention Association and Texas Gulf Coast Crime Prevention Association.

low cost per running foot and the security it provides makes it a common choice. If this is an option, here are some recommendations: »» Design the fence to be as straight as possible (the more angles, the more potential hiding places and the harder to focus on specific entry points), the distance between poles should not exceed 8 feet and, unlike my first attempt, the holes need to be filled with concrete, not repacked with dirt and gravel. It also is recommended that you use No. 9-gauge wire with openings of 2 inches or less. »» Post holes should be a minimum of 24 inches deep for 4-foot fences. Add 3 inches in depth for each additional foot of height. You need a center rail for fences that are 12 feet or higher. In cases of higher fencing, increase to No. 11-gauge wire or heavier fabric. Again, no more than a 2-inch opening. At the bottom, make sure the fence extends to within 2 inches of solid ground. Or if you have sandy soil, install below ground level. There are other recommendations that involve the use of barbed wire, but that is normally used in businesses.

Other options Another perimeter option involves the use of bushes, particularly thorny bushes, as a barrier. While an option, you do have to consider how much concealment it might offer an intruder and the degree of visibility it offers at entrances and exits. If you choose shrubbery, plant it 18 to 24 inches away from the entrances and exits. Trim shrubbery at least 6 inches below window level or no higher than 18 inches. Separate the bushes to help prevent hiding places. Another aspect of perimeter security is lighting. It serves as one of the most effective barriers available, especially when used in conjunction with some of the other perimeter options. Lighting offers a strong psychological barrier as it mimics, to some degree, the protection afforded by daylight. Lighting, like security cameras and other barrier devices, needs to be functioning in order to be effective. If the fixtures, switches or fuse box are externally located, protect them with locks. I like the commercial that has the two antelope/deer wearing night-vision goggles watching the lion approach. And no, I do not recommend you buy night goggles and spend your nights peering into the darkness, unless of course, you are worried about lions. Finally, there is the use of animals as an

early warning system to approaching intruders. Dogs are the most common animals used, but people in rural areas have used guinea fowls, geese and other sensitive animals as a warning system. Picking the right dog for the task might be a bit difficult. Some dogs don’t bark often, some are obviously more aggressive than others, while others will lick you to death. Some dogs need a lot of space and exercise, while others are just fine with limited amounts like you may find in an apartment. Be especially careful if you have children or there are children in

the neighborhood that might be attracted to you animal. Do your research. Our last dog had a serious attitude. No one could approach our daughter without his permission and woe-be-unto-you if he decided you were not in the friend category. Nothing could remove that stigma. I was in the marginally friend category and could quickly slip down the ladder, if I wasn’t careful. Another aspect to crime prevention that often is overlooked is the use of curtains or lack of them to conceal the inside your house. You can drive by some residences and — from the street — see large,

expensive TVs and computers sitting on a desk. Put that house down for a closer look. Approach your property and look at it through the eyes of a burglar. What do you see that makes it inviting and how would you gain access? What do you see that would make you pass up this residence and go somewhere else? With Dirk Pitt and cronies, no exterior perimeter was too challenging. They always found a way to get in. Some criminals are just as driven. As always, think, plan and execute crime prevention designs. Don’t be a victim.

The Daily News

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Galveston County, Texas

Lifestyle MLK Day closings

Government • Galveston County and the Federal Courthouse, and city offices in Galveston, Dickinson, Friendswood, Hitchcock, League City and Texas City will be closed Monday. • There will be no trash service Monday in the city of Galveston. Monday’s trash will be picked up Tuesday; Tuesday’s trash will be picked up Wednesday and so on. • City offices in Bayou Vista, Jamaica Beach, Santa Fe and Tiki Island will be open Monday. • Information wasn’t provided from the cities of Clear Lake Shores, Kemah and La Marque.

Schools • Students in the Clear Creek, Dickinson, Friendswood, Galveston, High Island, Hitchcock, La Marque, Santa Fe and Texas City school districts, Galveston Alternative Education Center, Ambassador Preparatory, Mainland Preparatory, Odyssey Academy, Premiere Learning Academy, Holy Family Catholic School, Moody Methodist Day School, Faith Lutheran Church Early Learning Center, Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School, Pine Drive Christian School, Satori, St. Mary’s Catholic School, Trinity Episcopal School, True Cross Catholic School, Galveston College, College of the Mainland,

Texas A&M University at Galveston and the University of Houston-Clear Lake will not have classes Monday. • Information wasn’t provided from Bay Area Charter Schools, Bay Area Christian, O’Connell College Preparatory School and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School.

Libraries • The La Marque Public Library will be closed Monday. • The Dickinson, Friendswood, Moore Memorial and Hitchcock public libraries, Rosenberg Library and the Helen Hall Library in League City will be closed Monday. • The Mae S. Bruce Library in Santa Fe will be open. Mail The U.S. Post Office will be closed. U.S. Express Mail items are delivered every day of the year including holidays and Sundays. Other • Most banks will be closed Monday. • The Friendswood Chamber of Commerce will be closed Monday. • The Galveston, Bolivar and Texas City-La Marque chamber of commerces will be open Monday. • Information wasn’t provided from the North Galveston, League City, Santa Fe and Hitchcock chamber of commerces.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Events »» GALVESTON Galveston Historical Foundation’s AfricanAmerican Heritage Committee and Old Central Cultural Center will honor winners of their annual essay contest at 3 p.m. today at 2627 Ave. M. The event is free and open to the public with a complimentary lunch provided to attendees by Clary’s. Call Tommie Boudreaux, 409-740-0454, or Denise Alexander, 409-765-3410. »» TEXAS CITY The mainland branch of the NAACP No. 6201 will have its annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration and installation of officers at 7 p.m. today at Mount Paran Baptist Church, 19 Sixth St. The public is invited. Call 409-771-4735. »» GALVESTON The King Fest Committee will have its 12th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. church service from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. today at Avenue L Missionary Baptist Church, 2612 Ave. L. The event will involve local churches and feature the citywide MLK Celestial Choir and the Galveston Heritage Choir. MLK Service Awards and Humanitarian Awards also will be presented. Call Manuel or Shirlyn

Thomas, 409-621-2803. »» TEXAS CITY The Mainland United Task Force will have its annual Martin Luther King Jr. rally and inauguration watch celebration at 10 a.m. Monday in the fellowship hall of Greater Barbours Chapel Baptist Church, 7420 FM 1765. The community is invited to take their families and enjoy good fellowship and food. Call the Rev. L.T. Gordon, 409-770-3488. »» GALVESTON St. Vincent’s House will have its annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Prayer Circle at noon Monday at 2817 Postoffice St.

All faiths are welcome. Contact Michael Jackson, stvhope@swbell.net or 409-763-8521. »» GALVESTON The King Fest Committee will have the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Inspirational Tribute from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday in the auditorium of Central Middle School, 3014 Sealy Ave. The event will commemorate the works of Dr. King in song, dance and dramatic interpretation by local school and church groups and various other individuals in the community. Admission is free. Call Manuel and Shirlyn Thomas, 409-621-2803 or 409-621-2817.

»» TEXAS CITY College of the Mainland will have its Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration event from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday in the COM Learning Resource Center, 1200 Amburn Road. The Rev. Malcolm Dotson, of New Beginning Church in League City, will share how citizens can make a difference through volunteering. The school also will have MLK video tributes featuring historical footage of rallies and his “I Have a Dream” speech from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the same location. Admission is free and open to the public. Call 409-933-8916.

CAREERS

Let go of your fears By PATRICIA RIVERA CTW Features

In life and in the workplace, fear is debilitating and it can keep you from expanding your career. Identifying and overcoming your fears is crucial for career success, said Jonathan Alpert, a New York City psychotherapist, columnist and co-author of “Be Fearless: Change Your Life in 28 Days.” (Center Street 2012) Too often adults live with unnecessary fear related to issues like asking for a raise, being unemployed forever, pursuing true callings and even going to work each Monday morning. Alpert said it’s important to face your fears. In his book, co-authored by Pennsylvania writer Alisa Bowman, he details a 28-day plan to overcome fear. He says that once you eliminate one fear, you can easily move on to the next. The program involves many activities in a fivestep process that include: • Step 1: Define your dream life. Make a list of goals and dreams. Then prioritize your list and pick one goal to accomplish in the next 28 days. • Step 2: Break your fear pattern. Think about how letting go of your fear will change your life. • Step 3: Rewrite your inner narrative. Transcribe your mental narrative by envisioning yourself achieving your goal and listening for what negative thoughts emerge. Rewrite your mental narrative to make it more positive and motivating. • Step 4: Eliminate your fear response. Use the characteristics of fear — racing heartbeat, sweaty palms or another nervous sensation — to your advantage. Prove you have control over your fear response by feeling anxiety and then calming yourself again. • Step 5: Live your dream. Craft an action plan, several mini-goals that will eventually take you to your ultimate goal. © CTW Features

GALVESTON COUNTY

jobs

STAYING CLASSY

Local Jobs. Now Hiring.

Contact 409-683-5301, galvestoncountyjobs.com

By PATRICIA RIVERA CTW Features

Take a look in the mirror. What do you really see for yourself in the next 20 years? If you’re a baby boomer, you’ll be joining the growing ranks of individuals in semiretirement or retirement age who, because of financial or personal reasons, are considering their future and reinventing themselves in the process. Some seniors simply must continue to work, said Connecticut career coach Nancy Collamer, author of “SecondAct Careers: 50+ Ways to Profit from Your Passions During Semi-Retirement.” (Ten Speed Press, 2013) Even those who have put money aside have to rethink their retirement plans because of dwindling pensions or the uncertainty about Social Security. So they start pondering how they’ll spend the next decade or two. “But this time around, we want to be able to do so on our own terms, on our own timetable and in our own way,” Collamer said. “This time, we plan to call the shots.” Mark Harris, a career designer from Austin, said reinvention has replaced retirement. Boomers were raised by parents who lived through WWII and the Great Depression. They valued stability and taught their children to do the same. “Many of us went from the security of our parents’ home into the security of a fatherfigure like solid company that would provide a structure for our success until we retired,” said Miller, author of “Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for Baby Boomers.” (Career Pivot Publishing, 2013). The careers they pursued may not have fulfilled them, but they served dutifully. Now they have a chance to ditch the golden handcuffs and pursue work that they find truly meaningful. Finding your north star Collamer said that, despite the economic nose-dive boomers have witnessed, opportunities are plentiful for those with an entrepreneurial mindset, or for those who want contract work. Some points to consider: • Technology has made it

Percentage of adults in 2012 who said they are lower-middle to lower class, compared to 25 percent in 2008. Source: Pew Research Center © CTW Features

Sunday, January 20, 2013 | The Daily News | Section D

Can’t retire, but don’t want to do the same old work? Even baby boomers can start fresh with a new career.

NEVER TOO LATE

easier for people of all ages to work from anywhere at any hour. • Flexible employment options have improved and diversified. • Online services have made it easier and cheaper for more people to start their own business. • The Internet provides unlimited access to information and training. In her book, Collamer profiles dozens of individuals who have turned their expertise into money-making operations, including a lawyer turned mediator and a former Microsoft executive who teaches marketing to magicians. The process of looking at the options available to you should be taken seriously. Collamer calls this “process research and development,” or R & D. You should budget some money to explore different options, take classes or retreats and read books. Keep a reinvention journal for your thoughts and remember important facts. But also

schedule R & D activities on your calendar. Collamer likens creating a new career to planting a garden. “It takes a bit of work to get things rolling, but if you invest the time to create fertile growing conditions, then you get to enjoy a bountiful harvest,” she said. Walking the Uneasy Road Recommendations for finding the right path to your north star vary. Miller takes a strategic approach that requires a thoughtful analysis of your skill sets, resources (both personal and financial), family support, health conditions and emotional well-being. “Picking a new direction for your life requires traveling uncomfortable new territory,” he said. His approach also involves thinking back to what he calls “moments of clarity” during which you saw life differently. These moments could include a marriage or divorce, the birth of a child or an illness. Think back to what those moments

taught you and what you learned about yourself and your needs. Miller offers others action steps for walking down this road: • Throw yourself a pity party, which Miller calls “The Changing Economy Killed My Retirement Party.” Then clean up and move on. • Study the difference between your vision for retirement before the economic collapse to what you see today. • Determine what you find rewarding about work. What factors contributed to that feeling? • Jot down what you need from a job, like freedom, respect, physical activity and variety. • Identify the kind of work culture that most appeals to you. Be specific. • Take a career and personality assessment, such as the Birkman, to uncover underlying needs and motivators. Coaches such as Miller also help you interpret the results. © CTW Features