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February 4, 2016 Volume 21, No. 3 Southwest Austin’s Community Newspaper Since 1995
Say it ain’t so: Bowie vs Austin High rivalry is over? by Patrick Olson OAK HILL - Monday’s biennial district realignment announcement by the University Interscholastic League effectively terminates a longstanding rivalry between the Austin High and Bowie athletic teams. “We grew up playing baseball at Oak Hill and some would go to Austin High and some would go to Bowie. In Pop Warner, it was the same way,” said Bowie assistant soccer
coach Sam Miller, who played football and baseball for the Bulldogs. “Our biggest rival was Austin High. It’s going to be a shame. Kind of like losing the Texas/ Texas A&M rivalry.” With decreased enrollment, Austin High will drop to Class 5A and compete in District 25 with
six other AISD schools including Crockett, LBJ, Lanier, McCallum, Reagan and Travis. Maroons athletic coordinator/head football coach Mike Rosenthal lined up non-district opponents for 2016 in McNeil, Akins, A&M Consolidated and Anderson. A previous rivalry with
Crockett will be renewed as Austin High aims to improve on 15 wins in 34 overall games versus the Cougars. Bowie athletic coordinator/head football coach Jeff Ables moved quickly to locate five non-district foes for the fall pigskin season after the UIL placed the Bulldogs in Class 6A District 14 with previous district foes Akins, Anderson and Del Valle, in addition to San Marcos and a new entry to the state’s highest
classification in Manor. Ables kept rival Westlake on the 2016 slate and intended to preserve a rivalry with the Maroons. “We had hoped to keep the rivalry going, but it didn’t work out,” Ables noted. “It’s been a good game for 28 years…it is what it is.” Pflugerville will again be the opening opponent for Bowie before Ables’ crew tangles with a perennially athletic LBJ squad. The Bulldogs will See BOWIE on back page
Police unveil mental health crisis program by Penny Levers
Cody Lee, #9, Austin High
Sports starts on p. 12
Gazette: Sarah Weeks
AUSTIN - At the January 21 Region 4 Quarterly Commander’s Forum, CIT Officer Randy Hunt unveiled a new Austin Police Department (APD) outreach program. Titled “Mental Health Crisis Planning: learning to recognize, prevent and prepare” the program is designed to help get the word out to the community on the best ways to deal with mental health crises that might require police intervention. The program is a collaborative effort with NAMIAustin and is based on a similar program used in Dallas. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), about “one in 25 adults will experience a serious mental illness in any given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.” In Austin, when mental health crises occur, the Austin Police Department’s Crisis Intervention
Team (CIT) is often called to the scene to de-escalate the situation and to transport people to places where they can get treatment. CIT officers have a minimum of 80 hours of training in dealing with mental health situations. While all Texas police officers are required by the state to have at least 16 hours of mental health training, APD has set their minimum at 40 hours training for each officer. There are about 160 active CIT officers in APD, and over 400 who have the full 80 hours of training, according to CIT Sergeant Michael King. But getting the CIT team involved in responding to a mental health crisis starts with a See POLICE on page 21